The March 13 Diane Ballweg Winterfest Concert is Almost Sold Out!

Mar 7, 2020 | News

The Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras (WYSO) will present the second concert series of its 19-20 season on March 13 and 14, 2020. In the Friday night Youth Orchestra Concert, the top WYSO orchestra will take the stage with the four Madison Opera Studio Artists in the beautiful new Hamel Music Center on the UW- Madison campus. In this stunning collaboration, concert-goers will hear a concert of opera scenes and arias, conducted by WYSO Music Director Kyle Knox.

According to Mr. Knox, the audience will be in for a treat: “Opera repertoire is every bit as thrilling and spectacular as anything in the orchestral repertory.  Indeed, for many of  the composers we play on the concert stage – Mozart, Wagner, Richard Strauss — much of their greatest output was in opera.

The works we’ve chosen represent a wonderful sampling of some of the best opera composers in history. Whether the lighthearted comedy of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, or the spiritual depth of Wagner’s Lohengrin, there is something for everyone on this program. This is magnificent music and the musicians have responded enthusiastically to the repertoire.”

The concert will take place in the new 660-seat Mead Witter Foundation Concert Hall of the Hamel Music Center, which opened to the public in October 2019. This jewel-box of a performing venue is spectacularly appointed with copper trim, and wrapped in a theme of flowing curves. The sound quality is magnificent and the WYSO Youth Orchestra musicians and Madison Opera Studio Artists feel grateful to perform in this beautiful space.

The WYSO Winterfest Concert series is funded by Diane Ballweg, with additional funding from the Wisconsin Arts Board, Dane Arts, Madison Arts Commission, American Girl’s Fund for Children, Eric D. Batterman Memorial Fund, and the Coe and Paul Williams Fund for New Musicians. The performance in this concert space was made possible by an additional gift from Martha and Charles Casey. The appearance of the Studio Artists in this program has been graciously underwritten by the Charles and Mary Anderson Charitable Fund, Charles and Martha Casey, and David Flanders and Susan Ecroyd.

The concert will begin at 7:00 pm at the Hamel Music Center, 740 University Avenue, with a reception to follow. Concert admission is $10 for adults, and $5 for youth, with tickets available in advance through the Campus ticket office and at the venue 30 minutes prior to the concert. The concert is almost sold out, so be sure to purchase your tickets right away to have a seat for what is sure to be a memorable experience!

CONCERT REPERTOIRE

Overture to Nabucco – Giuseppe Verdi
Act III Quartet from Rigoletto – Giuseppe Verdi
“Ah perdona al primo affetto” – from La Clemenza di Tito – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
“Ah! qual colpo inaspettato” – from Il barbiere di Siviglia – Gioachino Rossini
Overture to Guillaume Tell – Gioachino Rossini
Prelude to Act I from Lohengrin – Richard Wagner
“Una parola, o Adina” from L’elisir d’amore – Gaetano Donizetti
“O Mimi  tu più non torni” from La Boheme – Giacomo Puccini
Entr’acte, Gypsy Song, and Toreador Song from Act II of Carmen – Georges Bizet

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