The Wallis Presents Los Angeles Master Chorale's LAGRIME DI SAN PIETRO

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, a dynamic hub for the lively arts and vital community resource, presents the Los Angeles Master Chorale in two performances of Orlando di Lasso's dramatic a cappella masterpiece Lagrime di San Pietro (Tears of St. Peter) directed by Peter Sellars on Saturday, October 20, and Sunday, October 21, 2018, at 7:30 pm, in the Bram Goldsmith Theater at The Wallis. Conducted by the Master Chorale's Associate Conductor Jenny Wong and featuring 21 singers, the production is the first a cappella staging and most personal and emotionally-charged work to date from the acclaimed director's creative mind. Twenty-one singers transform the 75-minute Renaissance masterpiece - committed to memory and dramatically staged - into both a biblical parable of St. Peter's disavowal of Jesus Christ and a contemporary allegory for our fractious times. This marks The Wallis debut of the Master Chorale, whose appearance is part of a 13-city international tour that also includes performances at the Ravinia Festival in Illinois, the Melbourne International Arts Festival in Australia, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, The Barbican Centre in London and the Cité de la Musique in Paris.

"The Wallis is proud to present the Los Angeles Master Chorale, one of the country's foremost professional choirs, in what has become one of this cultural gem's signature works," says The Wallis' Artistic Director Paul Crewes.

The Los Angeles Master Chorale's production of Lagrime di San Pietro was first staged in its home venue, Walt Disney Concert Hall, in October 2016. The work is a Renaissance-era 21 madrigal cycle depicting the seven stages of grief that St. Peter experienced after disavowing his knowledge of Jesus Christ on the day of his arrest and prior to his crucifixion. It is set to the poetry of 16th century Italian Renaissance poet Luigi Tansillo. Sellars, working with his frequent collaborator, lighting designer James F. Ingalls, translates Lagrime di San Pietro through a contemporary lens, suggesting a powerful allegory that by taking responsibility and facing our past head-on, we can forge a more resolved and fulfilling future. Critics declared, "If evidence were needed that imaginative staging can provide us with access to difficult works of art, then it was offered in abundance by the Los Angeles Master Chorale in an extraordinary performance of Orlando di Lasso's a cappella masterpiece, Lagrime di San Pietro" (Opera News).

Single tickets range from $45 - $95. Visit TheWallis.org, call 310.746.4000, or stop by in person at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts Ticket Services Office located at 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90210.

Jenny Wong (conductor), a Hong Kong native, is one of the youngest conductors to win two consecutive World Champion titles at the World Choir Games (China, 2010) and the International Johannes Brahms Choral Competition (Germany, 2011), conducting the Diocesan Girls' School Choir from Hong Kong. She has conducted and performed in Germany, Austria, New Zealand, Australia, Korea, China and across the United States. Wong assumed the position of Associate Conductor of the Los Angeles Master Chorale in 2017, after first becoming Assistant Conductor in 2016. In this position, she made her solo conducting debut at Walt Disney Concert Hall conducting the six Bach Motets. She has prepared choruses for Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic, Susanna Mälkki, Eric Whitacre and María Guinand.

Peter Sellars (director), an opera, theater and festival director, has gained renown worldwide for his groundbreaking and transformative interpretations of artistic masterpieces and collaborative projects with an extraordinary range of creative artists across three decades. Whether it is Bach, Mozart, Handel, Shakespeare, Sophocles or the 16th- century Chinese playwright Tang Xianzu, Sellars strikes a universal chord with audiences, engaging and illuminating contemporary social and political issues. He has staged operas at the Glyndebourne Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Netherlands Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Salzburg Festival, San Francisco Opera and Teatro Real, among others, establishing a reputation for bringing 20th-century and contemporary operas to the stage. Sellars has been a driving force in the creation of many new works with longtime collaborator composer John Adams, Nixon in China, El Niño, Doctor Atomic and The Gospel According to the Other Mary, among them. A professor in the Department of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA, he is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, the Erasmus Prize, The Sundance Institute Risk-Takers Award, and the Gish Prize, and is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Los Angeles Master Chorale is widely recognized as the country leading professional choir and one of Southern California's most vibrant cultural treasures. Hailed for its powerful performances, technical precision and artistic daring, the Master Chorale is led by Grant Gershon, Kiki & David Ginder Artistic Director, and Jean Davidson, President and CEO. Grammy Award-winning composer Eric Whitacre currently serves as the ensemble's Swan Family Artist-in-Residence. Created by legendary conductor Roger Wagner in 1964, it is a founding resident company of The Music Center and choir-in-residence at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Chorister positions are highly sought after and the fully professional choir is a diverse and vocally dynamic group showcasing the many voices of Los Angeles. Presenting its own concert series each season, the Master Chorale performs choral music from the earliest writings to contemporary compositions striking a balance between innovation and tradition.

Since opening its doors in October 2013, The Wallis has produced or presented more than 250 dance, theatre, opera, classical music, cinema and family programs to an ever-expanding audience. Located in the heart of Beverly Hills, California, The Wallis brings audiences world-class theater, dance and music, performed by many of the world's most talented and sought-after artists. Featuring eclectic programming that mirrors the diverse landscape of Los Angeles and its notability as the entertainment capital of the world, The Wallis offers original and revered works from across the U.S. and around the globe. The mission of The Wallis is to create, present and celebrate unique performing arts events and educational programs that reflect the rich cultural diversity of our community. Nominated for 46 Ovation Awards, seven L.A. Drama Critic's Circle Awards and the recipient of six architectural awards since opening in 2013. The Wallis is a breathtaking 70,000-square-foot venue that celebrates the classic and the modern and was designed by Zoltan E. Pali, FAIA, of Studio Pali Fekete architects. The building features the restored, original 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office (on the National Register of Historic Places) that serves as the theater's dramatic yet welcoming lobby, and houses the 150-seat Lovelace Studio Theater, GRoW at The Wallis: A Space for Arts Education (a gift of Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Family and the Annenberg Foundation) and the contemporary 500-seat, state-of-the art Bram Goldsmith Theater. Together, these structures embrace the city's history and its future, creating a performing arts destination for L.A.-area visitors and residents alike.

For more information about The Wallis, please visit: TheWallis.org.

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