Magdala Autumn Gala Concert - Saturday 30th October 2010
Magdala is delighted to be performing a very special Autumn Gala Concert, sponsored by our good friends Upton Steel at The Albert Hall, Nottingham.
This special evening's performance features a sparkling line up of international professional soloists Neil Allen - Tenor, Allison Cook - Mezzo Soprano, Maria Droulou - Soprano and Garry Magee - Baritone, alongside the dynamic Magdala Chorus.
The programme will take you through a myriad of spectacular pieces including Puccini's "Madame Butterlfy", Gounod's "Faust", Mascagni's "Cavalleria Rusticana", Don Carlo, Sweeney Todd and Cabaret, to name but a few.
A special treat for the evening includes hearing the magnificent Binns Organ in a rendition of the Easter Hymn from Cavalleria Rusticana.
The Albert Hall, North Circus Street, off Derby Road, Nottingham NG1 5AA
Performance Starts: 7.30pm
Tickets: £15 / £12.50 concessions available from Nottingham Playhouse Box Office on 0115 941 9419
Maria Droulou is flying into Nottingham especially from Vienna for this performance. The Greek soprano has sung the roles of Rosina "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" and Desdemona "Othello", Mme la Folie "Platée", Erste Dame "Die Zauberflöte", Fioridiligi "Cosi Fan Tutte", Helena "Midsummer Night's Dream", Arabella "Arabella", La Femme "La voix humaine" and more recently Santuzza "Tosca". She currently lives in Vienna and is in constant demand as a concert soloist and as an interpreter of German lied.
Allison Cook is one of the new generation of British mezzo soprano's and has worked on repertoire as diverse as a critically acclaimed world premiere of Michael Berkeley's "For You" with Music Theatre Wales, the title role in "L'incoronazione di Poppea" in Aix en Provence, Baba The Turk "The Rake's Progress" in Portugal, and the title role in Bizet's Carmen for Glyndebourne. More recently she sang the role of Amastre in Handel's "Xerxes" for Opera TheatER Company, Ireland and covered the roles of Geschwitz for the Royal Opera Covent Garden's 2009 production of "Lulu".
Garry Magee is a leading baritone who is increasingly acknowledged as a remarkable and distinguished talent. Recent highlights include the title role in Eugene "Onegin" with Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulous in Paris; Don Alfonso "Cosi Fan Tutte" with Netherlands Opera; Figaro "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" with English National Opera; and Walton's "Belshazzar's Feast" with Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Neil Allen is our resident professional tenor whose concert platform work has seen him singing with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, Manchester Camerata and the orchestra of Opera North as a principle soloist. He has performed with many opera companies in this country and abroad and is a successful concert artist.
The Magdala Opera Chorus delight audiences wherever they appear with their very own take on the best loved opera arias and songs from musical theatre. Made up of Nottingham residents from various backgrounds, chorus members develop their singing and performing talents and take the enjoyment of opera to a wide audience across Nottinghamshire and have firmly established their reputation as highly talented performers with a professional approach.
