Presenting a fresh perspective, this dual language collaboration combines the classic Messiah with a new arrangement, El Mesías, commissioned by Bach Collegium San Diego. Founder & Artistic Director Ruben Valenzuela premiered El Mesías in 2020 to enthusiastic audiences in San Diego and Tijuana and regards Messiah as “one of those iconic works that belongs to the people, rather than a frozen artifact kept under museum glass.”
The Choral Society will present all of Part I and selections from Parts II and III with a 21-piece orchestra.
Full translations in the program will ensure audience members can fully appreciate Mario Montenegro’s Spanish libretto alongside the traditional English text.
The Sunday performance is not only on Palm Sunday, but also on the 283rd anniversary of the Messiah premiere charity performance in Dublin, Ireland.
Featuring:
- Christina Bristow, Soprano
- Christina Pezzarossi, Mezzo Soprano
- JJ Lopez, Tenor
- Colin Ramsey, Bass
Dates:
Saturday, April 12 at 7pm
Sunday, April 13 at 3pm
Venue:
Trinity Lutheran Church
909 N. La Cumbre Road
Santa Barbara
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American baritone, Ralph Cato has travelled the world extensively, telling stories in song with his warm, clarion baritone voice.
Tenor, Benjamin Brecher has performed over fifty operatic roles with many of the world’s most prestigious opera companies, specializing in the high lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 16 roles with New York City Opera alone. Career highlights include performances with Opera Orchestra of New York, L’Opera de Nice, Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, L’Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, among many others. His orchestral solo repertoire includes Mozart, Handel, Orff, Bach, Haydn, as well as many performances of Britten. In 2000 he began performing the great Irish Tenor songs in a concert produced for him entitled A Celtic Celebration, Twenty years later, the show has become a North American hit with performances with 45 Symphonies in North America. Ben continues his discography having added his twelfth recording in 2016 Forgotten Liszt, with pianist Robert Koenig, and will record a new release in 2022 entitled “Three Centuries of Thomas Moore” including the music of Britten, Berlioz, and Sarah Gibson on MSR Classics. He is a Professor of Voice at University of California Santa Barbara, where he has served as the Head of Voice.
Tracy Van Fleet is pleased to return to the Santa Barbara Choral Society. As a soloist, she has performed with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lüneburg Symphony in Germany, Orquesta Filarmónica de Boca del Río in Mexico, Pasadena Symphony, Naples Philharmonic, Los Angeles Bach Festival, San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Colorado Philharmonic, USC Symphony and Chorus, and others. She has had many appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera and Opera Colorado.
Born and raised in Southern California, April Amante is a versatile soprano with expertise and facility in repertoire spanning from early music to contemporary musical theater.