Chorale Bel Canto Goes to the Theatre!

Please join us for a thrilling program to close our 33rd season of beautiful singing! May 16, 2015, 4:00pm Order tickets at www.ChoraleBelCanto.org

The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore (Gian-Carlo Menotti) and Great Opera Choruses May 16, 2015, 4:00pm First United Methodist Church 500 E. Colorado, Pasadena You are in for a treat: a 20th century madrigal fable by Gian-Carlo Menotti. Chorale Bel Canto will be joined by dancers from ArtistsPlus Productions, who will dance the story as it is sung by members of the Chorale. A challenging program, musically and philosophically! and   Great Opera Choruses Chorale Bel Canto, 80-voices strong, will sing eight well-known opera choruses.  Soloists will be young artists from Redlands Opera Theatre. Donor Reception    Donors should soon be receiving an invitation to a special reception to follow the concert. Please respond to let us know you are attending. Library Program And mark your calendars for April 29 for another Chorale program at the Whittwood Public Library!   Chorale Bel Canto Goes to the Theatre! A lecture discussion with video and musical excerpts by Dr. Stephen Gothold, Music Director, and members of the ensemble From 16th century Italian madrigal comedy through 19th century grand opera with a focus on Gian-Carlo Menotti’s 20th century “madrigal fable” The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore Wednesday, April 29, 2015, 7:00 pm Whittwood Library 10537 Santa Gertrudes Ave. Whittier CA  90603

Next for Chorale Bel Canto

The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore

Plus

Great Opera Choruses

May 16, 2015 4:00 p.m.

First United Methodist Church Pasadena

500 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena

The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore or, The Three Sundays of a Poet is a “madrigal fable” for chorus, dancers and instrumental ensemble, with original libretto and music by Gian-Carlo Menotti. Premiered in 1956, the work coni8sts of a prologue and twelve madrigals that tell a continuous story, interspersed with six musical interludes.

The piece is based on the 16^th century Italian genre of madrigal comedy. The madrigal comedy was an important forerunner of opera, a form first developed in Florence, Italy around 1600. It is fitting, therefore, that the second half of this Chorale Bel Canto program consists of choruses from some of the great operas of the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

While not staged and acted as fully as an opera, these madrigal comedies were often performed with backdrops, costumes and dancers.

The plot, while comic, ultimately embodies serious themes about social conformity, the ease with which no longer fashionable fads are abandoned, and the casual killers of a poet’s dreams.

Menotti’s fable tells the story of a strange, hermetic poet who keeps these mythical creatures as pets. On three successive Sundays he parades a different pet through the town, each creature an allegorical representation of a stage in the poet’s life.

The Bach Festival concert was a resounding success on March 28! First Friends Church nearly overflowed with listeners and performers. Thank you to all who attended and all who participated for a marvelous afternoon devoted to J.S. Bach and his talented forebears.

And now it's time to start looking forward to our next program! Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 16, 2015, 4:00pm.

The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore (Gian-Carlo Menotti) and Great Opera Choruses May 16, 2015, 4:00pm First United Methodist Church, Pasadena 400 E. Colorado, Pasadena   You are in for a treat: a 20th century madrigal fable by Gian-Carlo Menotti.  Chorale Bel Canto will be joined by dancers from ArtistsPlus Productions, who will dance the story as it is sung by members of the Chorale. A challenging program, musically and philosophically!   and Great Opera Choruses Chorale Bel Canto, 80-voices strong, will sing nine well-known opera choruses.  Soloists will be young artists from Redlands Opera Theatre.   Please join us for this thrilling program to close our 33rd season of beautiful singing! May 16, 2015, 4:00pm Order tickets at www.ChoraleBelCanto.org