Those Were the Days

For its fifth and final concert of the 2008-09 season, The Metropolitan Chorus (TMC) joined the Washington Balalaika Society (WBS) Orchestra for a evening of Russian folk music. The evening marks the orchestra's 20th anniversary season.

TMC provided the choral backdrop during the first half of the concert, opening with the powerful Hymn to the Great City from the ballet Medny Vsadnik (The Bronze Horseman) by Ukrainian composer Reinhold Glière. Next was an arrangement of Evening Bells, enhanced by the talent of Steve Nixon. The first half then concluded with Polovetsian Dances from the opera Prince Igor by Russian composer Alexander Borodin.

Founded in 1988, WBS promotes the study and performance of folk music from Russia, Ukraine, and eastern Europe using traditional instruments: balalaika, domra, bayan, and related wind and percussion instruments. WBS Orchestra has grown from an initial membership of 8 to more than 50 and is now the largest of its kind in America, with musicians of all levels and ages.

The concert was presented on Saturday June 6 at 7:30 pm at the Rachel M Schlesinger Concert Hall and Arts Center in Alexandria, Virginia.

Night at the Opera

For its fourth concert of the 2008-09 season, The Metropolitan Chorus (TMC) presented an evening of favorite opera choruses and solos, featuring the concert verson of Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin. Program selections were discussed during a pre-concert lecture by TMC's artistic director, Barry Hemphill. Solosts included Gina Powell (soprano), Winona Stanback (soprano), Colin Eaton (tenor), and Alvy Powell (bass-baritone).

The program began with Le carnaval Romain, ouverture pour orchestre (Roman carnival overture) by French Romantic composer Hector Berlioz (comprised of materials and themes from Berlioz's opera Benvenuto Cellini).

Opera choruses performed by TMC included:

• Don, din, don - suona vespro (Bell chorus) from the opera Pagliacci by Italian composer Ruggero Leoncavallo


• Va, pensiero, sull'ali dorate (Chorus of the Hebrew slaves) from the opera Nabucco by Italian Romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi


• Coro a bocca chiusa (Humming chorus) from the opera Madam Buterfly by Italian composer Giacomo Puccini


• O welche Lust! (Prisoners' chorus) from the opera Fidelio by German composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven


• Vedi le fosche notturne (Anvil chorus) from the opera Il Trovatore by Italian Romantic composer Giuseppe Verdi


• Polovetsian dances from the opera Prince Igor by Russian composer Alexander Borodin

Solo performances included:

• Pleurez! Pleurez, mes yeux! from the opera Le Cid by French composer Jules Massenet


• Where ‘er you walk from the opera Semele by German-English Baroque composer George Frideric Handel


• When I am laid in earth (Dido's lament) from the opera Dido and Æneas by English Baroque composer Henry Purcell


• Tombe degli avi miei from the tragic opera Lucia di Lammermoor by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti


• Vous qui faites l’endormie from the opera Faust by French composer Charles Gounod

The concert was presented on Saturday May 16 at 8 pm, with pre-concert lecture beginning at 7 pm, at Kenmore Middle School in Arlington, Virginia.