By Wayne Laepple
SUNBURY — Mention opera, and most people have visions of a large woman wearing a Viking helmet, brandishing a sword and screeching away in some foreign language.
It doesn’t have to be that way, though, and the Susquehanna Valley Chorale sets out this weekend to prove it.
Their concerts at Zion Lutheran Church, Fifth and Market streets in Sunbury on March 13 at 7:30 p.m. and March 14 at 3 p.m. in a program titled “Love and Loss...Famous Operas” will showcase choruses from 12 operas by nine composers.
“These are all compositions the public will recognize,” said William Payn, the Chorale’s conductor. “They’ve heard the tunes in commercials, movies and cartoons.”
Payn said he’s wanted to do a program of opera choruses for some time, but it’s only recently that it’s become possible. He explained that it was difficult to separate the choral parts and orchestration from entire opera scores until Oxford University published an anthology of famed operatic choruses.
In spite of the aversion of some to opera, it remains very popular worldwide, Payn said. Even though people believe it’s archaic, operas are being composed even today, and some will eventually achieve the status of operas written a century or more ago.
“The combination of theater and vocal music attracts people,” he said. “The stories are always very dramatic, very heart-rending.”
The Chorale will perform all but two of the selections in the original French or Italian, he said, giving credit to Andrea Halpern, a Bucknell psychology professor and opera buff who assisted in teaching the pronunciation of the words in the scores.
“We will sing the witches chorus from Verdi’s ‘Macbeth’ and the famous Wedding March from ‘Lohengrin’ (Here Comes the Bride) by Wagner in English,” he said.
The full orchestra will accompany the Chorale, and they will be joined by soprano soloist Jill Gardner and Zachary Stans, tenor.
“They are both world-class solists,” Payn said. “The Chorale members are very excited to have them. Both have performed with us before and fit in very well.”
For the March of the Toreadors from Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” the Susquehanna Valley Children’s Chorus will join the Chorale’s 90 singers for this exciting piece.
Payn said when the Chorale performs the Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdi’ “Nabucco,” it will demonstrate the full range of the chorus and orchestra.
“The words ‘oh my country, so lovely and lost’ show their despair, but are so uplifting,” he said. “This piece epitomizes the role of the chorus in opera, that of getting a message across.”
The performance concludes with what Payn terms “a tour de force,” the Easter Hymn from “Cavalleria Rusticana” by Mascagni.
“It’s a powerful, powerful piece, with Jill singing a solo and the chorus backing her up,” he said.
Gary Boerckel, a professor of music at Lycoming College, will once again hold his pre-concert talk, at 6:45 on Saturday and at 2:15 on Sunday.
“He’s very knowledgeable,” said Payn. “He always brings out interesting facts. He plays little snippets of the music, which helps them know what to listen for. It’s very helpful to one’s understanding of the music.”
Tickets are available by calling 523-1041 or at the door for both performances.
