Verdi Chorus Presents VERDISSIMO! Plus! Next Month

The Verdi Chorus' 39th season culminates with VERDISSIMO! Plus! for two performances only at the First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica on April 29 and 30. Led by Founding Artistic Director Anne Marie Ketchum, 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 four Verdi operas - Otello, Il trovatore, La forza del destino, and Un ballo in maschera, as well as beloved melodies from Strauss' Die Fledermaus

The program will also feature four guest soloists: soprano Jessica Tivens Schneiderman, hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as "a singer of considerable gifts," celebrated mezzo soprano Danielle Marcelle Bond, who was part of the Grammy Award winning cast of LA Opera's Ghosts of Versailles, tenor Todd Wilander, praised by The New York Times for his "brave, vocally assured portrayals" and who has returned for over eight seasons thus far with The Metropolitan Opera, and renowned baritone Roberto Perlas Gómez who, with over 100 roles to his credit, has performed extensively throughout the United States.

These performances are 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.

Conductor Anne Marie Ketchum says, "When I started looking for possibilities for this concert, the more I searched, the more I realized everything I was coming up with was Verdi, and I thought to myself 'of course it's all Verdi, why not?' It's simply some of the greatest music there is, especially for an opera chorus. "

Ketchum continues, "Our program is filled with wonderful colors and contrasts. I love the storm scene at the beginning of Otello in which the chorus goes absolutely crazy, and you can hear the actual storm itself in the music. The second act finale of Il trovatore is simply gorgeous - and this opera includes the Anvil Chorus, which is always great fun. For dessert, what could be sweeter than a little Viennese operetta in the form of Strauss' Die Fledermaus? This led me to the "plus" in this concert's title, and I realized I had it - a perfect program, complete with four exceptional guest soloists. Our audiences will even get to hear Todd Wilander sing the lead tenor role in Un ballo In maschera before he flies off to New York to cover this role for the Met! We get him first!"

The Verdi Chorus prepares for concerts with rehearsals every Monday night. There, an amazing thing happens as over 55 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.

Raising their voices together they become everything from the people of Cyprus anxiously awaiting the arrival of their new governor Otello, to the joyful guests of Prince Orlofsky in turn of the century Vienna.

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 May Claire La Plante, counter tenor Brandon Harris, mezzo-soprano Sarah Wang, tenor Axel Mejia, baritone Matthew Morton, and bass Mario Hong.

Performance times are Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 pm, and Sunday, April 30 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.

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