Friday, June 20, 2014

Resonance Works Announces 2014 - 2015 Season

Resonance Works | Pittsburgh
music bridging passion and place

For immediate release
Media contact:
Maria Sensi Sellner
Maria@ResWorks.org
412­607­1892



Resonance Works | Pittsburgh announces 2014-­2015 Season
Music collaborative forges a season of chamber ensemble and opera projects


2014-2015 SEASON HIGHLIGHTS:
● L’elisir d’amore - Opera’s original love potion takes over the Strip District
● Amahl and the Night Visitors - Beloved holiday classic returns to Pittsburgh
● Lamentation - Andrey Nemzer and Amelia D’Arcy sing Pergolesi
● Flamenco Y Tango - A fiery and festive finale


PITTSBURGH, PA (05.30.2014)— RESONANCE WORKS, an innovative, multi-modal performing arts company announces a full 2014-2015 season of opera, choral, and chamber ensemble projects. With an eye to the alchemy between music, space, artist and audience, Resonance Works’ broad range of performances will offer moments of joy, love, jealousy, sorrow, contemplation, humor, and celebration.

“I’m excited to show the people of Pittsburgh what Resonance Works is really about through a complete season”, says Artistic Director and founder, Maria Sensi Sellner. “Our goal is to engage Pittsburgh audiences with a breadth of creative experiences through the performances of outstanding professional artists. Our projects have been designed to feature these artists and to thoughtfully re-consider the context of each work we present. This context includes the venue for each project, as well as the combination of repertoire and other collaborations. We are thrilled to bring performances to four neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and feature so many new and returning artists!”

The season opens in September with one of opera’s most popular romantic comedies, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, but with a bit of a twist! Director Andrew Nienaber will transform The George White Studio at Pittsburgh Opera in the Strip District into Adina’s Cabaret Lounge, where the audience will find themselves right in the middle of the action. Carnegie Mellon alum Patrick McNally sings the role of Belcore, and favorites Christopher Lucier and Rebecca Shorstein return after last fall’s Macbeth. Making her Pittsburgh debut with this production is soprano Lindsay Ohse (Portland Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Southwest).

The first weekend in December brings a pair of Holiday favorites to the Third Presbyterian Church in Shadyside. Filled with hope, generosity and holiday miracles, Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors is sure to delight the whole family. A heartwarming tale of a child’s encounter with the three kings on their way to Bethlehem, Amahl is paired with Britten’s contemporary settings of old English yuletide poems in the Ceremony of Carols, for women’s vocal ensemble and harp.

“We see this as the start of a new Pittsburgh Holiday tradition,” says Sellner. “Amahl is a timeless tale, and we plan to explore new pairings in future years.” Returning for Amahl is Macbeth director David Gram and bass Jonathan Stuckey as King Balthazar, with Pittsburgh’s own Daniel Teadt as King Melchior. Mezzo-soprano Barbara LeMay (Asheville Lyric Opera, Center for Contemporary Opera, St. Petersburg Opera) makes her Pittsburgh debut in the role of Mother. Resonance Works will hold local auditions in late August for the role of Amahl.

Spring brings two SonoMosaic projects. Sellner explains: “Just like a photomosaic, in which a composite of images form a larger image, a combination of musical pieces can make a broader statement. This is the idea behind our SonoMosaic projects.” In late March, Waverly Presbyterian Church in Regent Square is home to Lamentation, which explores passionate expressions of grief and sorrow through words and music, designed to resonate with the reflective themes of both Passover and Holy Week. The centerpieces of this program are Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony, based on his eighth string quartet, “dedicated to the victims of fascism and war,” and Pergolesi’s beloved Stabat Mater. Framing these pieces will be shorter works from the 18th through the 20th centuries, including works of Bach, Pärt, and Lili Boulanger. The Pergolesi will
feature powerhouse soloists soprano Amelia D’Arcy and countertenor Andrey Nemzer in a performance that is not to be missed! Last season, Mr. Nemzer made his Metropolitan Opera debut and was winner of the 2012 Metropolitan Opera National Council Grand Finals. Ms. D’Arcy starred in Resonance Works’ inaugural production of Macbeth last fall and has appeared locally with the Pittsburgh Symphony, River City Brass Band, and Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh.

Flamenco y Tango is the fiery finale to Resonance Works’ season - featuring mezzo-soprano Maria Dominique Lopez, tenor Daniel Arnaldos, violinist Greta Mutlu, and a collaboration with the CAPA High School Choir at the CAPA Theater, downtown. Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the premiere of Manuel de Falla’s El Amor Brujo, the program features music and dance from Spain and Argentina. Ms. Mutlu will be featured in Astor Piazzolla’s Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas (Four Seasons of Buenos Aires), and Mr. Arnaldos and the CAPA Choir will perform a set of scenes from Zarzuela (Spanish operetta).

After its acclaimed production of Verdi’s Macbeth last fall, Resonance Works | Pittsburgh completes its inaugural season next week with Natural Frequency on June 7 and 8 at the New Hazlett Theater on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Featuring music that evokes imagery of the natural world, this program melds works of Debussy, Barber, Copland, and Pittsburgh-based composer Nancy Galbraith with projected images designed by local photographer Chuck Beard.

Tickets and subscriptions will be available for the 2014-15 season on June 5, 2014. Tickets for Natural Frequency and a Meet the Artists Reception are on sale now.

For more information, please visit www.ResonanceWorks.org

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Resonance Works | Pittsburgh --- 2014 - 2015 Season

L’elisir d’amore by Gaetano Donizetti
Friday September 19, 2014 @ 8:00 pm
Sunday September 21, 2014 @ 3:00 pm
The George R. White Studio at Pittsburgh Opera, Strip District
Performed in Italian with English supertitles

Directed by Andrew Nienaber
Conducted by Maria Sensi Sellner
Adina - Lindsay Ohse
Nemorino - Christopher Lucier
Belcore - Patrick McNally
Giannetta - Rebecca Shorstein

Join us at Adina’s Cabaret Lounge and you’ll have a seat at the heart of this romantic comedy! This production will put the audience at the center of the action for an immersive opera experience.

Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti
Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten
Friday December 5, 2014 @ 7:30 pm
Saturday December 6, 2014 @ 7:30 pm
Sunday December 7, 2014 @ 3:00 pm
Third Presbyterian Church, Shadyside

Directed by David Gram
Mother - Barbara LeMay
King Melchior - Daniel Teadt
King Balthazar - Jonathan Stuckey
Maria Sensi Sellner, conductor
Resonance Chamber Orchestra & Vocal Ensemble

Auditions for the role of Amahl will be held in late August.

Filled with hope, generosity and holiday miracles, this heartwarming tale of a child’s encounter with the three kings on their way to Bethlehem is sure to delight the whole family.

Lamentation
Friday March 27, 2015 @ 8:00 pm
Sunday March 29, 2015 @ 3:00 pm
Waverly Presbyterian Church, Regent Square

Shostakovich - Chamber Symphony, Op 110a
Pergolesi - Stabat Mater
plus works of Bach, Pärt, L. Boulanger and others.

Amelia D’Arcy, soprano
Andrey Nemzer, countertenor
Maria Sensi Sellner, conductor Resonance Chamber Orchestra & Vocal Ensemble

With sacred and secular works from the 18th to the 20th centuries, this exploration of lament in words and music is designed to resonate with the reflective themes of both Passover and Holy Week.

Flamenco Y Tango
Friday May 15, 2015 @ 8:00 pm
Sunday May 17, 2015 @ 3:00 pm
CAPA Theater, Downtown

de Falla - El Amor Brujo (1915 version)
Scenes from Zarzuela
Piazzolla - Four Seasons of Buenos Aires

Greta Mutlu, violin
Maria Dominique Lopez, mezzo-soprano
Daniel Arnaldos, tenor
CAPA High School Choir - Stephen Neely, Director
Maria Sensi Sellner, conductor
Resonance Chamber Orchestra

A fiery and festive finale celebrating the vital energy and visceral rhythms of music and dance from Spain and Argentina. 
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About Resonance Works | Pittsburgh
Inspired by Pittsburgh’s industrial and economic reinvention, Resonance Works is a collaborative, multi-modal  performing arts company dedicated to exploring the confluence of music, space, artist, and audience. We provide artists of the highest caliber opportunities to realize works on their own creative wish lists, and match these artists and repertoire with complementary spaces so that each may elevate and illuminate the other. Whether we perform in coffeehouses, churches, or concert halls, our projects aim to trigger the alchemical possibilities of art, creating unique experiences that resonate with audiences and artists alike, and thus our community as a whole.

Ticketing & general questions:
resworkspgh@gmail.com
412­501­3330

Posted on behalf of Dreamweaver Marketing Associates.  Joyce Kane is the owner of Cybertary Pittsburgh, a Virtual Administrative support company, providing virtual office support, personal and executive assistance, creative design services and light bookkeeping.  Cybertary works with businesses and busy individuals to help them work 'on' their business rather than 'in' their business.  www.Cybertary.com/Pittsburgh

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