 Puccini |
Sunday April 10th, 2022 at 7:00 pm |  Rossini |
| ***NEW MORE CONVENIENT VENUE*** Stoller Hall, Hunts Bank, Manchester. M3 1DA |
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| We are delighted to be performing for the first time in the prestigious THE STOLLER HALL, HUNTS BANK, MANCHESTER M3 1DA
Find us directly opposite Manchester Victoria Station, convenient for trains and trams from Oldham and within easy reach of all main train, bus, tram and road links. Visitor access is via Hunt’s Bank, with the main entrance directly facing Manchester Arena. The nearest car park is Q-Park Deansgate North, M3 7WJ, which is a three minute walk from The Stoller Hall. The Stoller Hall is pleased to partner with Q-Park Deansgate North to offer discounted parking for all our visitors. With a discount voucher you can park for up to 8 hours in the indoor, multi-storey Q-Park for just £5. Click here for details on directions to the parking facility, which is open 24/7. To claim the discounted price, just collect a voucher from the Box Office during your visit and scan it when returning to the car park to pay. Card payments only are accepted. |
| Petite Messe Solennelle – Rossini |
| The Petite Messe Solennelle is the finest work of Rossini’s late years. He composed the it in 1863 at the age of 71. There is nothing petite about this monumental mass setting, which Rossini wrote following a thirty-year self-imposed retirement from composing opera. It is full of drama, pathos, colour and intensity. Rossini brings his artistry as a towering giant of the theatre to this heartfelt composition. The sheer variety of movements is extraordinary, ranging from a desolate Crucifixus, ecstatic solos, sublime duets and dramatic trios, a hair-raising Et resurrexit, as powerful an Agnus Dei as any of the era. |
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| Messa di Gloria – Puccini |
| Messa di Gloria is one of Puccini’s earliest works, and has become one of the composer’s most often performed. It was composed when Puccini was just 18 and combines the excitement of youth with the fabulous melodic writing to be found in his later operas. Audacious, colourful and unpredictable, the piece opens with a radiant string introduction, and explodes into the intense melodic and rhythmic energy that characterise much of the piece. There’s barely space for listeners to pause for breath in between one glorious tune and the next. |
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| Concert Report |
| This concert was a great success. Click here to view the concert programme which contains lots of information about the choir, the composer, the work and the soloists.
Aimee Belmore has kindly provided the following review which appeared in the Saddleworth Independent: OLDHAM Choral Society proved that live music is alive and well after the Covid-19 pandemic as they put on their debut performance at The Stoller Hall in Manchester. Having performed three concerts since they resumed their rehearsals after lockdowns, they now made a first-time visit to the new venue. Their concert ‘Italian Treasures’, including Puccini’s ‘Messa Di Gloria’ and Rossini’s ‘Petite Messe Solennelle’, was a delight. The choir was ‘bruised and battered’ by the dreaded virus but rose to the challenge and produced a magical performance. Forsaking an orchestra, the choir returned to the original accompaniment of piano and harmonium, beautifully rendered by Duncan Robertson and Roddy Barrand. The choir continued its long-standing tradition of engaging brilliant soloists, and Yvonne Howard, Kathleen Wilkinson, Amar Muchhala, and Dean Robinson (substituting for Thomas Hopkinson who was indisposed), produced an inspirational performance. The whole was presided over by the choir’s Musical Director, Nigel Wilkinson who ensured the audience had a wonderful evening’s music. |
| The choir will be joined by a first-class team of professional soloists. |
| Soloists | |
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Soprano – Yvonne Howard. Studied at the Royal Northern College of Music and performs regularly with all the major UK opera companies. Read more….. |
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Mezzo – Kathleen Wilkinson. Born in Burnley, but of Irish heritage, Kathleen Wilkinson studied at the Royal Northern College of Music, where she won a Peter Moores Foundation Scholarship and was the first female winner of the Webster Booth Competition. Read more.. |
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Tenor – Indian tenor Amar Muchhala made his Royal Opera House debut in 2013, singing Chulak The Firework-Maker’s Daughter, David Bruce, world premier, in the Linbury Studio Theater. Read more.. |
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Bass-Baritone – Thomas D Hopkinson. Originally from Nottingham, Thomas is an Associate Young Artist at The National Opera Studio and is a Sybil Tutton award winner supported by Help Musicians. He was previously a Young Artist at The National Opera Studio Read more.. |
| Harmonium | Roddy Barrand |
| Piano | Duncan Robertson |
| Conductor | Nigel P Wilkinson |
Tickets: £18 available from the either the Ticket Secretary Tel No: 0161 797 3585 or from the Stoller Hall Box Office Tel No: 03333 130 0967 (2-4pm Monday to Friday). Email: boxoffice@stollerhall.com. Students (in full time education) £10.