Verdi Chorus Presents CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA, January 20

The Verdi Chorus' 40th Anniversary season continues with its first opera, Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana for one performance only at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica on January 20, 2024.  The performance will be followed by a wine and dessert reception featuring The Fox Singers, an auxillary group of the Verdi Chorus, singing Italian favorites.
 
Helmed by Anne Marie Ketchum, who is celebrating forty consecutive years as Artistic Director of the organization, Cavalleria Rusticana will star award-winning mezzo soprano Audrey Babcock as Santuzza, tenor Todd Wilander as Turiddu, who comes to the production direct from the Metropolitan Opera, and renowned baritone Roberto Perlas Gómez, who, with over 100 roles to his credit, has performed extensively throughout the United States. The Verdi Chorus, the only choral group in Southern California that focuses primarily on the dramatic and diverse music for opera chorus, will join the opera.
 
Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana is considered the first verismo opera, which is focused not on mythological figures, or kings and queens, but of the much earthier daily struggles and emotions of men and women.   And it depicts the emotionally charged, and sometimes violent situations that can result.  According to Opera Online, “Cavalleria Rusticana, which could be translated as “rustic chivalry,” is characterised by the extreme simplicity of its plot in which fits of jealousy clash with the exaltation of honour. Mascagni was able to retain all the power of a bloody news story.  Verdi himself, after hearing the work, said ‘I can die in peace.'”

Conductor Anne Marie Ketchum says, “Our 40th Anniversary season continues to offer us landmark events, and presenting an opera in its entirety with the Verdi Chorus has been a dream of mine for years. It's an honor to welcome back three of our favorite guest soloists for Cavalleria Rusticana. The phenomenal mezzo-soprano Audrey Babcock as the firey Santuzza, alongside powerhouse tenor Todd Wilander and the sensational Roberto Perlas Gómez will create a love triagle that will thrill our audience.”

This performance is made possible, in part, through the generous support of the Sahm Family Foundation and by grant funding from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, the Creative Recovery LA Initiative through the Federal American Rescue Plan Act, and the City of Santa Monica through the Santa Monica Arts Commission.
 
Cavalleria Rusticana will be presented for one performance only on Saturday, January 20 at 7:30 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.  
 
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 18 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.
 
Music Director and Founding Artistic Director ANNE MARIE KETCHUM has been the conductor of the Verdi Chorus since its beginning in 1983. Well recognized as a singer, conductor, stage director and educator, she taught on the voice faculty of Pasadena City College for 34 years until her recent retirement. During her tenure at Pasadena, she directed a full opera each spring to critical acclaim.  As a singer, she has appeared internationally and is well known for her performances of contemporary art music, vocal chamber music, solo recitals, and opera.  Her recordings of Morten Lauridsen's Cuatro Canciones and of Aurelio De La Vega's Recordatio were both honored with Grammy nominations. She has premiered numerous works by such composers as Ernst Krenek, Aurelio De La Vega, Schulamit Ran, and Hans Werner Henze.  
 
Among Ms. Ketchum's creative activities is This and My Heart: A Portrait of Emily Dickinson in Text and Song – a concert/theater piece which she co-wrote and performs with actress Linda Kelsey and pianist Victoria Kirsch. This was first presented as part of Grand Performances in Los Angeles and made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Cultural Affairs Department of Los Angeles.  She has also served on the faculty of OperaWorks, Angels Vocal Art and at California State University, Northridge.  Ms. Ketchum and the Chorus have received commendations on several occasions from the county of Los Angeles and from the city of Santa Monica. 
 
Pianist LARAINE ANN MADDEN has garnered acclaim as one of the most sensitive and experienced collaborating artists in the Los Angeles area. Trained in the Bay Area, she made her solo debut with the Oakland Symphony at age 13 performing Mozart's Piano Concerto in A Major, K. 488. Ms. Madden studied Accompanying at the University of Southern California with its pioneer teacher, Gwendolyn Koldofsky and has accompanied in the master classes of Martin Katz, Geoffrey Parsons, Giorgio Tozzi, Martial Singher, Joan Dornemann, and Peter Pears. She has served as “repetiteur” accompanist under conductors Simon Rattle, Christoph Perrick and Richard Buckley, and has appeared in concert with singers associated with New York City Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, and Los Angeles Opera including Alan Titus, Rod Gilfry, Erie Mills, Young Mi Kim, and Ealynn Voss. Recent engagements include performing on the Jacaranda Concert Series and with the Fox Singers at the Annenberg Beach House in Santa Monica, the Huntington Library in Pasadena, and the Richard Nixon Library for the Marshall B. Ketchum University Shared Visions Gala. This is her twenty-second year as collaborator with the Verdi Chorus.
 
About the Soloists
 
Genre-bending mezzo soprano Audrey Babcock has captivated audiences worldwide with her mesmerizing performances and versatile vocal and dramatic range, establishing herself as a compelling interpreter in the world of opera. Her exceptional ability to embody character and her passion for craft have earned her a place among the most esteemed vocalists of her generation. Engagements for the 2023-2024 season include her role début as Amneris in Aida and Mrs. Gibbs in Ned Rorem's Our Town with Utah Festival, Flora in Opera Omaha's La Traviata, and her début as Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana.
 
Dedicated to contemporary works, Audrey recently débuted the roles of Toledo in Redler/Dye's new work The Falling and Rising with Arizona Opera and Opera Carolina, Nica in Yardbird with Seattle Opera, and Eva in An American Dream with Opera Santa Barbara, and she has worked closely with Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Ellen Reid and Jorge Sosa. As a producer, writer, and creator, her projects Lily; her life, his music — the story of a queer Jewish heroine who escapes Nazi Germany, told through the music of Kurt Weill — and Beyond Carmen, with flamenco guitarist Andres Vadin, provide audiences an evening of compelling, thought-provoking storytelling with sensational presentation. Additional premieres include Tobias Picker's Thérèse Raquin (NY premiere — Dicapo Opera), With Blood, With Ink (world premiere — Fort Worth Opera), La Reina (American Lyric Theater and Prototype Festival), The Poe Project (American Lyric Theater), and Winter's Tale (Prototype Festival).
 
An accomplished Carmen with more than 200 performances, Ms. Babcock made her French début in the title role with the Festival Lyrique en Mer and has sung it with Florentine Opera, Nashville Opera, Florida Grand Opera, New York City Opera, San Antonio Opera, Knoxville Opera, Opera Delaware, Toledo Opera, Anchorage Opera, Dayton Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Mill City Summer Opera, and Utah Festival Opera, of which The Salt Lake Tribune wrote “Audrey Babcock's performance as Carmen was a spellbinding tour de force...from the moment she took the stage her self-assured characterization was mesmerizing... Babcock's caramel-hued mezzo was a pleasure... her supple tones caressed the notes, radiating earthy allure.” Engaging beyond singing and acting, Ms. Babcock also works as a movement and breath specialist and a dance and fight choreographer skilled in hand-to-hand combat as well as weaponry.
 
Ms. Babcock is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory with a BM in Voice and the California Institute of the Arts with an MFA in VoiceArts with concentrations in Producing and Dramaturgy, and she has a certification in Somatic Voice WorkTM the LoVetri Method. She currently serves on the Voice faculty and teaches movement and sound in the Drama Department at the California Institute of the Arts, the Musical Theatre faculty at California State University, Fullerton, as well as Voice faculty at California State University, Los Angeles. Ms. Babcock's numerous awards include “Artist of the Year” for her portrayal of Jo in Mark Adamo's Little Women (Syracuse Opera), the George London Award, the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Award, and the Opera Index and Sullivan Foundation Encouragement Awards. Recording under the name Aviva, she has released an album of Ladino pieces called Songs for Carmen, a collection of works sung in Ladino and Arabic, inspired by the character Carmen. 
 
Pasadena native Todd Wilander is thrilled to be singing with the Verdi Opera Chorus in this thrilling opera presentation of Cavalleria Rusticana.  He has enjoyed the many times performing under Anne Marie Ketchum and her great leadership. Praised by Opera News for his “clear and sweet lyrical tone” and “brave, vocally assured portrayals” (The New York Times), Todd Wilander is one of America's most sought-after leading tenors. Since winning The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, he has appeared with the company as Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor (James Levine), Harry in La fanciulla del West, and Ensemble 15 The Nose (HD movie) and covered many roles including Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Beppe in I Pagliacci, Der Nerr in Wozzeck, Congressman in Two Boys, Marcellus in Hamlet, Gambler 1 in Gambler,  Malcolm in Macbeth, and Young Prisoner in From the House of the Dead. He was most recently engaged by the Met in the lead covers of Erik in Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer and as Riccardo in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera.

Upcoming engagements include a return to the Metropolitan Opera covering Don Alvaro in Verdi's La Forza del Destino, and Faust in La Damnation de Faust (Berlioz) with Theater Erfurt (Germany). 
 
Recent performances at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden include covering Samson in Samson, Canio in Pagliacci, and The Prince in Dvorak's Rusalka.  He sang Des Grieux in Puccini's Manon Lescaut for the Dorest Opera Festival (UK), Cavaradossi Tosca for the Angels Vocal Arts in Pasadena, Pollione Norma, Leicester Maria Stuarda and Duke Rigoletto for Opera Hong Kong,  Don José Carmen covering for Canadian Opera Company, Rodolfo La Bohème with Opera Tampa and for Opera Long Island, New York, Radamès Aida at Bohème Opera New Jersey, Riccardo Un Ballo in Maschera for Amore Opera in New York, Erik Der Fliegende Holländer for Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, China, Florestan Fidelio with Symphony of the Vines (California) and the title role of Hoffmann Les Contes D'Hoffmann  with Opera North (USA). 
 
He appeared with New York City Opera as Charles Clayton in Stephen Schwartz's Séance On A Wet Afternoon, Uberto in La donna del lago, and Harry in La fanciulla del West.  For New York Opera Society he sang Rodolfo in La bohème and Nemorino in L'Elisir D'Amore.
 
Elsewhere in the U.S., he has appeared with Portland Opera as Rodolpho in View From The Bridge, Captain Leadbetter in Princess Sofia for Orpheus Project Juneau Alaska,  Brooklyn Academy of Music as Molqi in Death of Klinghoffer, Pollione in Norma for Pacific Opera Northwest Washington, Don José in Carmen for Central Florida Lyric Opera, Calaf in Turandot at Mississippi Opera; Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, with Opera Memphis and Bohème Opera New Jersey, the title role of Tito for West Bay Opera, at the Center for Contemporary Opera as Andrew in A Death in the Family, and  later as Dimmesdale in Hester. Other companies with whom he has appeared include Madison Opera as Rodolfo in La bohème,  Santa Fe Opera as Young Servant in Elektra, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte for St. Petersburg Opera, Florida, at Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream, as Nanki-Poo in Mikado, and as Fairfax in Yeoman of The Guard, at Opera Saskatchewan (Canada) as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Chautauqua Opera as Fenton in Falstaff, Grant Park Music Festival Chicago in the title role of Candide, Nevada Opera as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Opera Orchestra of New York as Wilhelm Meister in Mignon, Opera Delaware as Macduff in Macbeth and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicch, Opera in the Ozarks in the title-role of Albert Herring, Glimmerglass Opera as Eurimaco in Il ritorno d'Ulisse, the Coach in Bounce with Manhattan's ADA Arts, and Camille in Merry Widow and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte for Opera Fairbanks, Alaska.
 
With over one hundred roles to his credit, baritone Roberto Perlas Gómez has performed extensively throughout the United States. He has performed supporting roles with Michigan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, San Diego Opera, and San Francisco Opera. He has done multiple leading roles with most of the regional companies in California. 
 
Mr. Gómez made his international debut as Marcello in La bohème with the Shanghai Opera. He was also in Manila, Philippines to create the title role of Jose Rizal in an opera honoring the final days of the Philippine national hero. He was recently at Kennedy Center to perform the role of Elias in the Tagalog opera Noli me tangere.
 
In 2008 Mr. Gómez made his Italian and European debut for the Arena di Verona Foundation as the Chinese Prime Minister Chou en-lai in the Italian premiere of John Adams' Nixon in China, a role he reprised with Long Beach Opera. 
 
Mr. Gómez has done numerous roles to great press including the Verdi baritone leads in La traviata, Un ballo in maschera, Il trovatore, Il finto Stanislao, Don Carlo, Aïda, and Verdi's Requiem. He debuted the leading roles of the kings in Die Kluge, The Emperor of Atlantis, and in its American premiere, Vivaldi's long lost Motezuma with Long Beach Opera. 
 
As an Opera San Jose resident artist, Mr. Gómez performed lead roles in Carmen, La traviata, Il barbiere di Siviglia, and created the role of Drosselmeier in The Tale of the Nutcracker. He has further performed what has become his signature role of Figaro with Nevada Opera, Santa Barbara Opera, Accorde Opera in Mexico, Sacramento Opera, and Opera Idaho. 
 
The Verdi Chorus is a Southern California nonprofit organization dedicated to presenting opera choruses in concert and to providing career development opportunities for young professional singers.  As the only choral group in Southern California that focuses primarily on the dramatic and diverse music of the opera chorus, The Verdi Chorus gives talented amateur singers the unique opportunity to sing side-by-side with professional singers in rehearsals leading up to performances held to the highest artistic standards.  Under the direction of its remarkable Artistic Director Anne Marie Ketchum, each rehearsal is like a vocal master class.

The Verdi Chorus was founded in 1983 at the Verdi Restaurant in Santa Monica.  When the restaurant closed in 1991, The Verdi Chorus continued.  In 1999, the chorus incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Under the continuous direction of Founding Artistic Director Anne Marie Ketchum, the Chorus presents four concerts each year as well as other collaborative events.  Its repertoire includes over 300 choruses from 81 operas in seven languages.
 
For more information visit: https://www.verdichorus.org

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