Marywood University, Choral Society of NEPA, and Wyoming Seminary Civic Orchestra to Present
“Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem”
SCRANTON, PA (April 6, 2016)-The combined forces of the Marywood University’s Campus Choir, the Choral Society of Northeast Pennsylvania’s (NEPA), and the Wyoming Seminary Civic Symphony Orchestra, will present Giuseppe Verdi’s monumental Requiem in Marywood University’s Sette LaVerghetta Center on Saturday, April 30, 2016, at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be repeated at the Kirby Center for the Creative Arts at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, Pa., on Sunday, May 1, 2016, at 2 p.m.
This extraordinary work, sometimes called “Verdi’s greatest opera,” is one of the most dramatic and gripping pieces in the entire choral repertoire. It returns to NEPA after an absence of more than 30 years. Both performances are free and open to the public.
The performances at Marywood University and Wyoming Seminary will feature four of the country’s most talented opera soloists, including Sarah Gardner, soprano; Raehann Bryce-Davis, mezzo-soprano; Andrew Lunsford, tenor; and David Leigh, bass.
Sarah Gardner, soprano, a native of Berwick, Pa., has received many accolades for the rare power and richness of her voice. She was a national semifinalist in the 2013 New York Lyric Opera Theatre Competition. Recent role debuts have included Sister Rose in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and Lady Billows in Britten’s Albert Herring.
Among her many awards, Raehann Bryce-David, mezzo-soprano, won the 2016 Richard F. Gold Career Grant, the 2015 International Hilde Zadek Competition in Vienna, and the 2015 Sedat Gürel – Güzin Gürel International Voice Competition in Istanbul. The New York Times called her a “striking mezzo-soprano,” and The San Francisco Chronicle praised her “electrifying sense of fearlessness” and her “wealth of emotional and vocal color.”
Andrew Lunsford, tenor, has sung on some of this country’s greatest stages, including The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Carnegie Hall, N.Y. According to Fox News, he is “quickly rising to the top due to his jaw-dropping voice.” He has also been profiled by CNN, ABC News, NBC News, and Classical Singer Magazine. Inside Magazine noted in particular his “take-your-breath-away high C.”
David Leigh, bass, was a finalist in the 2016 Concorso Franciso Viñas and will compete as a semifinalist in the McCammon Competition at Fort Worth Opera. In 2015, he won the eastern region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and sang on the MET stage as a national semifinalist. He recently performed in the New York City Opera Gala alongside Frederica von Stade, Placido Domingo, and other opera superstars.
Beloved by audiences and performers since its premiere in Milan in 1874, Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem was composed in memory of Italy’s national literary hero, Alessandro Manzoni, and the Requiem explores the tumultuous, tortured, terrifying, stunningly theatrical, and possibly the greatest “opera” Verdi ever wrote.
For additional information about the performances of Giuseppe Verdi’sRequiem at Marywood University and Wyoming Seminary, please call the music, theatre, and dance department at Marywood University, at (570) 348-6268.