The Vermont Philharmonic opens its 66th season with "Gems of Opera and Song," a concert featuring important yet under-performed music influenced by Black folk music, Latin American and Creole themes, and Italian verismo opera.

The program opens with the overture to Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha, composed in 1911 but not performed until 1972. Though Joplin was known for his ragtime music, he made clear that this composition was not a "ragtime" piece, but rather a "serious opera in the European tradition." It has been called America's first folk opera.

The program continues with two versions of the Bamboula, a West Indian dance. Local virtuoso pianist Stephen Brown will perform Louis Moreau Gottschalk's 1848 piano version and the orchestra will perform Samuel Coleridge-Taylor's 1910 version. Both versions celebrate the rich musical traditions of the Caribbean and Creole cultures.

Italian opera music follows intermission with Pietro Mascagni's 1890 prelude to Cavalleria Rusticana, and music and arias from Umberto Giordano's 1896 opera Andrea Chenier. The singers are Elizabeth Perryman, soprano; Adam Laurence Herskowitz, tenor; and Michel Kabay, baritone.

Tickets, available online or at the door, are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, and $5 for students. The concert will also take place on Saturday, October 19, at 7:30 at the Highland Center for the Arts in Greensboro.

Comprising professional and talented amateur musicians from throughout Vermont, the Vermont Philharmonic is Vermont's oldest community orchestra. The Barre Opera House has been its home base since 1993; Lou Kosma has been the Philharmonic's Music Director since 1999.

Event Info

Dec 24, 2024, 4:30 to 6 PM

Dec 24, 2024, 7 to 8 PM

Dec 27, 2024, 6 to 7 PM