Verdi Chorus to Present Fall Concert November 21/22

When most people think of going to the opera, there´s a good chance they´ll think of productions by Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini or Georges Bizet. On Saturday, November 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 22 at 4:00 p.m., opera fans – or those who are curious to learn more about the art form without the investment of time or money that often accompanies attending a full production – can hear famous choruses from works by all three composers when the Verdi Chorus presents its annual Fall Concert.

On the program, which will take place at First United Methodist Church in Santa Monica, are opera choruses from The Pearl Fishers by Bizet, Verdi´s Giovanna d´Arco and Puccini´s La Boheme, plus operettas by Sigmund Romberg and Victor Herbert. Soprano Ani Maldjian, tenor Bradley Wisk and baritone Museop Kim will appear as guest artists.

"The Verdi Chorus is the only chorus of its kind – an ensemble that focuses solely on performing works written for the opera chorus – in the Los Angeles area," says Music Director and Founder Anne Marie Ketchum, a soprano highly regarded not only in the world of opera but contemporary art music and vocal chamber music. "In fact, we´re named the Verdi Chorus because Verdi is an example of a composer who loved the chorus. He used it a lot and was a master at writing for it."

At the Fall Concert, audiences will hear excerpts from one of Verdi´s earlier works Giovanna d´Arco, or Joan of Arc – a work infrequently performed. "But it is chock full of gorgeous music," says Ketchum. "I kept getting distracted by music from the opera that we´re not going to do, it´s such a rich work. We´ll definitely revisit Giovanna d´Arco at future performances."

The chorus will also perform the full Second Act Finale from Bizet´s The Pearl Fishers as well as excerpts from the Second Act of La Boheme by Puccini, with soprano Ani Maldjian playing the role of the flirtatious singer Musetta. "The chorus has a very strong presence throughout both operas," Ketchum explains. "The Pearl Fishers is probably Bizet´s most successful opera aside from Carmen…and for good reason, as you´ll hear when Bradley and Museop perform the famous duet ´Au fond du Temple Saint´. "It´s beautiful!"

Future plans for the Verdi Chorus include taking part in The Ring Festival L.A. On May 1 and May 2, 2010 the chorus will present Wagner Vs Verdi: Opposing Roads to Greatness. "Verdi and Wagner lived at the same time but never met," says Ketchum. "Audiences were often militant about which composer they liked more. You were either a Wagner-lover or a Verdi lover."

The chorus, however, is not taking part in that old debate. "We´re the Verdi Chorus and it´s the Wagner Ring Festival," Ketchum observes with a smile.

To order tickets for the Fall Concert or for more information about the Verdi Chorus, call 310.684.3024 or visit www.verdichorus.org. Ticket prices are as follows: $40 reserved; $30 general admission; $25 seniors: $10 students. The First United Methodist Church is located at 1008 11th Street in Santa Monica.

ABOUT THE GUEST ARTISTS

Soprano Ani Maldjian

Armenian-American Soprano Ani Maldjian has been described as a "remarkable soprano", with a voice that is "richly mature and full of lyric nuance", and her singing "elegant, commanding, brilliant, fresh and strong…definitely a name to watch as she rises through the ranks of young sopranos."

This 2009-2010 season, Maldjian makes her debut with West Bay Opera as Musetta in La Boheme and with Townsend Opera as Valencienne in The Merry Widow. She returns to Opera Santa Barbara in November, as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. Later in the spring, she returns to Long Beach Opera for a fourth season, as Madame Mao in Nixon in China, and in the summer, returns to Sun Valley, Idaho, for a concert with Sun Valley Opera. Future engagements include a return to Seattle Opera, and her debut with Opera in the Heights.

Maldjian has performed over 25 major operatic roles including Clorinda, Nannetta, Lauretta, Serpina, Cleopatra, Adele, Despina and her Armenian title roles as Zvart, Armine and Zemire, premiered in Los Angeles. With a great passion and enthusiasm for 20th and 21st century music, she has also performed the title roles in The Diary of Anne Frank and The Cunning Little Vixen with Long Beach Opera, Fire/Princess/Nightingale in Ravel´s L´enfant et les sortileges with Seattle Opera´s YAP, Princess (#1) in Susa´s Transformations with the Merola Program, among others. She also created the role of Jane in the world premiere of Wet by Anne LeBaron at the Walt Disney Center in Los Angeles, with critical acclaim.

Her concert credits include Hatzis´ Light from the Cross with the Camerata Orchestra in Athens, Greece, Rossini´s Stabat Mater with the Sacramento Choral Society and numerous recitals and aria concerts throughout California and Hawaii, with companies such as the Hoku Concert Series, Southcoast Symphony Orchestra, Opera Associates of Los Angeles, Opera Reading Club of Hollywood, Long Beach Festival, Armenian American Medical Society, Mozart Live on the Radio, Palm Springs Opera Guild, and Merola Opera.

Maldjian, who earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the California Institute of the Arts and completed the Masters Program at The California State University of Northridge, received additional opera training at Seattle Opera´s Young Artist Program (06-08), San Francisco Opera´s Merola Program (06/07), Music Academy of the West (04/05), Aspen Music Festival (03), and OperaWorks (02). She was the First Place Winner of the Western Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2005.

Tenor Bradley Wisk

Bradley Wisk studied with Giorgio Tozzi at Indiana University, singing the baritone roles of St. Brioche in The Merry Widow and the Bouncer/Politician in The Ballad of Baby Doe. At the Manhattan School of Music, he sang the role of the Doctor in Vanessa before switching to tenor roles, singing Tinca in Il Tabarro and Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi. He sang Goro in Madama Butterfly at Martina Arroyo´s 2006 Prelude to Performance program and completed his Masters Degree in 2007. He then spent the 2007 and 2009 summer seasons at Utah Festival Opera, where he covered the roles of Tony in West Side Story and Don José in Carmen.

A recipient of scholarships from both Indiana University and the Manhattan School of Music, Wisk was recently given awards by the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation in Santa Barbara and the Opera Buffs in Los Angeles.

Baritone Museop Kim

Museop Kim has appeared at Wolf Trap Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Juilliard Opera Center, Aspen Music Festival, Manhattan School of Music Opera Theatre and the Academy of Vocal Arts. Roles the baritone has performed include Dandini from La Cenerentola, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Escamillo in Carmen, Voltore in John Musto´s Volpone, Raimbaud from Le Comte Ory, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Gugielmo, in Cosi fan tutte, the title role of Don Giovanni, Il Conte in Le Nozze di Figaro, Marcello in La Boheme, Ford in Falstaff, Simeon in L´Enfant prodigue, and Frank in Puccini´s Edgar.

In addition, Kim has won several awards throughout Europe as well as the U.S. including the Liederkranz Foundation Competition, Aspen Concerto Competition, Leopoldschlosskron Singing Competition in Salzburg, Austria, Metropolitan Opera National Council New York District, Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation, FGO Singing Competition, and Washington International Singing Competition.

Upcoming performances include an appearance in Haydn´s Il mondo della Luna at Gotham Chamber Opera and in the world premiere of Amelia at Seattle Opera.

ABOUT THE VERDI CHORUS

Twenty-seven years ago, Verdi, Ristorante di Musica in Santa Monica offered its customers far more than dinner, drink and dessert. As its name implied, music figured prominently on the menu…and not just as background music either. Young professional opera singers performed – among them, soprano Anne Marie Ketchum.

Shortly after the restaurant opened, owners Sheila and Bernie Segal found a way to please their opera loving customers even further. Any patron who had ever dreamed of singing onstage was invited to become part of an opera chorus, which would also perform at the restaurant. Meanwhile, Ketchum, who also held a degree in choral conducting, agreed to teach and guide the ensemble as Music Director of the chorus.

The Verdi Chorus was an instant success and, in 1991, after Verdi, Ristorante di Musica closed, reorganized as a nonprofit corporation. The group held auditions, began to restrict its membership and focus on the quality of its sound. Today, the Verdi Chorus – the only ensemble in Southern California devoted solely to performing great choruses from opera – is still under the direction of Anne Marie Ketchum and, under her guidance, has mastered a repertoire of nearly 200 choruses. The Chorus has also taken part in a full-scale production of Cavalleria Rusticana, and served as the chorus for the USC production of La Clemenza di Tito. Future plans include a performance in Pasadena, as part of the LA Opera "Ring Festival" in April 2010.

Over the years, more than 60 top opera professional singers have performed with the Verdi Chorus, including soprano Shana Blake Hill; mezzo sopranos Cynthia Jansen and Suzanna Guzmán; tenors Daniel Montenegro, Roberto Gomez, Gregorio Gonzalez and Robert MacNeil; baritone Nmon Ford; and bass-baritones Dean Elzinga and Cedric Berry. The Chorus also supports the Metropolitan Opera National Council by offering performance opportunities to the Metropolitan Western Region audition finalists.

"Our guest artist program extends to our section leaders," adds Ketchum, "who are fine singers in their own right and add a richness and professionalism to our sound."

Currently, the Verdi Chorus numbers over 50 voices, with virtually every profession represented – artists, scientists, dentists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, homemakers, architects, accountants, business owners, and network administrators.

"The chorus members are people who have one thing in common, a true love of opera," says Tom Redler, retired dentist and the group´s president. "Plus they can sing."