The Verdi Chorus To Present BELLA BELLINI In April

Led by Anne Marie Ketchum, who is celebrating forty-one consecutive years as Artistic Director of the organization, the Verdi Chorus is the only choral group in Southern California that focuses primarily on the dramatic and diverse music for opera chorus. The program will feature selections from three Bellini operas – La Sonnambula, Norma, I Puritani and Verdi's La Forza del Destino.

The program will also feature four guest soloists: soprano Jamie Chamberlin, praised by Opera News for her “shimmering tones”; mezzo soprano Christina Pezzarossi, whose captivating performances have enthralled audiences on stages across the nation;renowned baritone Roberto Perlas Gómez, who, with over 100 roles to his credit, has performed extensively throughout the United States; and Chinese-American bass Colin Ramsey, who has become known for his “majestic, rotund, ravishing bass” (Opera Today).  
 
These performances are made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Sahm Family Foundation and the Colburn Foundation, and by grant funding from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, and the City of Santa Monica through the Santa Monica Arts Commission. 
 
Conductor Anne Marie Ketchum says, “Bella Bellini seemed to be the obvious title for this concert. Bellini was part of the Italian Bel Canto style along with Rossini and Donizetti, and in the Bel Canto style there was a focus on the beauty of the voice. Often what you hear in this style is coloratura, melody that is greatly embellished. Bellini does this also, but in a particularly beautiful way. Wagner, who rarely complimented anyone else, was a big fan. What he admired in particular was the way Bellini combined music and text, so that the music had great depth and meaning in the way it depicted the ideas of the text.  This is especially evident in ‘Ah dolor' from I Puritani, one of the pieces we are presenting in this concert that demonstrates how Bellini used music to depict the emotion of the text. ”
 
Ketchum continues, “Bellini lived a very short life, he died at thirty-three, but he is still one of the most beloved composers of this period, mainly because of his melodic writing. Verdi always respected him for this, and with Verdi being one of the great melodists of all time, this makes complete sense. We will be performing selections from three of Bellini's most beloved operas, La Sonnambula, Norma, and  I Puritani, and we will also be  performing selections from Verdi's La Forza del Destino, as our namesake composer always makes his way into whatever we are presenting!”

The Verdi Chorus prepares for concerts with rehearsals every Monday night.  There, an amazing thing happens as over 50 singers gather from every walk of life to become the Verdi Chorus.  This wide swath of people includes singers from 20 to 87 who come from a variety of professions, and yet have one thing in common: the desire to sing side by side each week and delve into the rich, dramatic world of opera.  They in turn are joined by up-and-coming opera singers at the beginning of their careers, and college students who have just begun to realize their operatic gifts, as all of them become one under the direction of Founding Artistic Director Anne Marie Ketchum. Each rehearsal is like a vocal master class. 
 
Further demonstrating the organization's mission to provide performance opportunities to young professional singers, sixteen highly promising singers are hired as section leaders and rehearsal coaches. Known as the Fox Singers, named in memory of long-time Chorus and Board member Walter Fox, these singers assist the Artistic Director, provide direction for their sections in rehearsals, and have opportunities to perform as featured singers in performances. The Fox Singers also perform on occasion independently of the full Chorus, serving as a showcase for the singers and as ambassadors for the Verdi Chorus. Performances of special arias and ensembles have been presented at venues in Southern California including the Annenberg Beach House, the Huntington Library, and the Nixon Library.
 
The Chorus is also proud to continue with the Sahm Foundation Apprentice Singers program that was established in 2015, in which talented vocal music students at the college level gain the opportunity to work with the Chorus in rehearsals and sing operatic music in concert. Each receives a scholarship to provide funds with which they can broaden their music studies.  Sahm Foundation Apprentices who successfully complete the program are invited back to sing with the Chorus for subsequent sessions.
 
Apprentices for this session, named in honor of a generous grant from the Sahm Family Foundation, are soprano Janie Dusenberry, soprano Olivia Kellett, tenor Christiaan Westerkamp, tenor Ethan Eliafan, and baritone Eric Cornwell.  
 
Performance times are Saturday, April 26 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, April 27 at 4:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica, located at 1220 2nd Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401. Tickets are now available for purchase at www.verdichorus.org. Priority seating is available for $50, general admission is $40, seniors are $30, and students aged 25 and under with a valid ID are $10.