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.

Light Up Washington

Continuing The Metropolitan Chorus' community outreach, The Met Singers were invited to perform during the Light Up Washington Small Business Conference Luncheon in Washington, DC. The luncheon paid tribute to small business owners and government officials and experts for their efforts in developing and promoting small businesses.

The luncheon also was part of the Light Up Washington Small Business Trade Show, an annual event designed to stimulate small business growth and provide employment to the unemployed. The trade show also provides remarkable opportunities for community-based businesses to market their goods and services to a widespread, diverse, and influential audience.

The opportunity for The Met Singers to perform was due to Jay McElroy, president and CEO of Premier Small Business Solutions. In addition to coordinating the luncheon, Ms McElroy worked with Washington, DC wards to hire for the trade show 10 unemployed workers from each ward.

America's Polo Cup

As part of The Metropolitan Chorus' community outreach, The Met Singers were invited to perform at the America's Polo Cup match between the United States and Australia at the Capitol Polo Club in Poolesville, Maryland. Music selections inlcuded: This Land Is Your Land, Anchors Aweigh, America the Beautiful, I Still Call Australia Home, and This Is My Country.

The event honored the Battle of the Coral Sea, a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II between the Imperial Japanese Navy and Allied naval and air forces from the United States and Australia. In commemoration of the bi-lateral relationship between the two nations, attendees experienced a special Battle of the Coral Sea Air Show featuring original warbirds and Japanese aircraft as well as other high-flying demonstrations, military presentations, and fireworks show.