“Jeffrey Rink … Boston’s pre-eminent Verdi conductor.” — Lloyd Schwartz, Boston Phoenix
On Sunday, June 4 at 3 pm, Chorus pro Musica brings its 2005-2006 season to a spectacular close with the Boston premiere of Giuseppe Verdi’s grand opera Attila at NEC’s Jordan Hall. The concert opera performance will feature Metropolitan Opera bass Stephen West as Attila the Hun, Paula Delligatti as the warrior princess Odabella, tenor Benjamin Warschawski is Foresto, the man she loves, and bass-baritone Robert Honeysucker as Ezio, commander of the Roman armies. Major sponsor for the performance is Concert Opera Boston.
Scholar and conductor Steven Ledbetter, who served for two decades as Musicologist and Program Annotator for the BSO, will present a pre-concert lecture at 2 pm in Jordan Hall.
Rampaging through Italy on his way to Rome, Attila the Hun defies the Roman army, confronts Pope Leo I, and falls under the spell of the beautiful Odabella, who ultimately obtains a bloody vengeance on their wedding night. Verdi’s ninth opera, Attila is known for its dazzling orchestration, massive patriotic crowd scenes, and some of Verdi’s most exciting arias, duets and choruses. A real crowd-pleaser from its opening in 1846, the opera is popular in Europe, especially in Italy, but is heard less often in the US. The June 4 performance will be the first in the Boston area.
The performance continues Chorus pro Musica’s longstanding tradition of successful concert opera performances, especially of the operas of Verdi. In recent years the chorus, under Music Director Jeffrey Rink, has won acclaim for performances of Verdi’s Othello, Macbeth, Nabucco, and La traviata. Now in his 16th year as Music Director, Jeffrey Rink is the 2005 recipient of the New England Opera Club’s Jacopo Peri Award for outstanding contributions in the art of opera.
Chorus pro Musica is a distinguished, independent Boston-based chorus recognized for versatility and excellence in performing traditional, adventurous and seldom-heard works. The chorus was founded in 1949 by the late Alfred Nash Patterson and quickly built a superb reputation for its professional-level musical standards and innovative programming. These strengths have led to collaborations with such organizations as the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra as well as with opera companies including the Opera Company of Boston and Commonwealth Opera.
Tickets for Attila are $15 to $60, with discounts available on selected seats for groups, students, seniors and WGBH members. Seats may be selected and tickets purchased at www.choruspromusica.org, or by phone (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) at 800-658-4CPM (800-658-4276). For wheelchair-accessible seats, call 617-267-7442.
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For more information or interview requests, please contact Toni Ballard, 508-633-8583, toniballard@townisp.com or Peter Pulsifer, Chorus pro Musica Concert Promotions Director, at 617–267–7442.
Posted May 2, 2006. Modified May 20, 2006.