Local Residents Perform in Symphony and Opera in Honor of the Downers Grove Music Club

Downers Grove-based, Sinfonietta Bel Canto, presents its second chamber symphony and opera performance in its debut season.  This concert will be performed in honor of the Downers Grove Music Club.  The concert will feature Ludwig Von Beethoven’s Symphony #1 in C Major (1800) as well as Henry Purcell’s opera, Dido and Aeneas on Sunday, March 13, 3:00 pm, at Immanuel Lutheran Church, 5211 Carpenter St., Downers Grove IL.  Tickets are $15 adult; $12 senior (60+); and, $5 student (21/under); Free–children under 7 (with parent) – Non-reserved seating; handicapped accessible.  For more information, visit www.SinfoniettaBelCanto.org or call 630-384-5007.

Conducted by Dan Pasquale D’Andrea of Downers Grove, the Sinfonietta Bel Canto’s (SBC’s) upcoming performance will feature several local residents in leading roles of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.  Downers Grove residents include mezzo-soprano Maggie Clennon Reberg in the role of Dido; tenor, Jim Stahulak in the role of Aeneas; mezzo-soprano, Jann Mochelle, in the role of the Sorceress; and, soprano, Elizabeth Quaintance in the role of a Witch.  Soprano, Jeanne Seyller of Lisle, will play the role of the 2^nd Woman, soprano Celeste Martino of Westchester will play the role of a Witch and soprano Ingrid Israel of Roselle will play the role of Belinda.

Opera Chorus members include Phil Roberts from Addison; Henry Odum and Dominic Frigo from Berwyn; Barbara Kellert Brookfield; Andrea Anderson, Ted Anderson and Janet Bane from Downers Grove; Betty Klauser and Pam Pfeifer from Itasca; Todd Diehl from Lisle; Bob Bahrey from Lombard; Mike Drapak from Naperville; Carolyn Stopka from Westchester; and, Brad West from Westmont.

The opera also features several dance numbers under the direction of choreographer, Diane Wawrejko.  The dancers performing are Anastasiya Andreeva, Adam George, Leanna Johnson, Caroline Krol, Kelly Lancaste, Melina Landry, Mallory Peterson and Dustin Searer.

Sinfonietta Orchestra members performing this concert include Alex Brown, Violin from Aurora; Liz Moog, Horn from Burr Ridge, Heather McCowen, Bassoon and Kevin Wong, Harpsichord from Chicago;  Florence Naprstek, Violin, Lettie Janka, Flute and Peter Ralph, Trumpet from Downers Grove; Betty Volkening, Violin from Elgin; Nadda Onkanauwonk, Violin, Joan Husak, Horn, Sara Desjardins, Violin and Carolyn Breidenbaugh, Violin from Elmhurst; David Jackson, Viola and Carol Dickenson, Trumpet from Glen Ellyn; Marion Sarkar, Cello from Lisle; Jason Hollowed, Viola and Erik Grant, Timpani from Lombard; Wayne Ryerson, Oboe and Hubert Ley, Cello from Plainfield; Jacob Johnson, Violin and Carol Bowers, Violin from Naperville; Cynthia Toika, Violin from Villa Park; Sandra Wiedemeier, Cello from Wheaton; Barbara Sterba, Violin from Willowbrook; Nancy Kandl, Flute from      Winfield; Chris Griffith, Bass from Yorkville; and, Carolyn Wright, Cello, Frank Delo, Clarinet, Steve Klaus, Clarinet and Eileen Barnes, Oboe.

Dido and Aeneas is a tragic opera in a prologue and three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell to a libretto by Nahum Tate. The first known performance was at Josias Priest's girls' school in London no later than the summer of 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid and recounts the love story of Dido, Queen of Carthage and the Trojan hero Aeneas, and her despair at his abandonment of her. A monumental work in Baroque opera, it is remembered as one of Purcell's foremost theatrical works.  Dido and Aeneas  was Purcell's first (and only) all-sung opera and is among the earliest English operas.

Beethoven's Symphony #1 in C Major  was his first symphony, at the age of 29 and was dedicated to Baron Gottfried Van Swieten.  It appeared late in what scholars define as the first period of Beethoven's career, just a year or two before the crisis brought about by his gradual loss of hearing. By the mid-1790s, Beethoven had tried most of the important instrumental genres, save for symphony and string quartet. Those were the pieces in which his teacher Haydn had made his greatest mark and enjoyed his most significant successes. When Beethoven did come forward with his first symphonies, he built on the achievements of Haydn and Mozart while not hiding his debt to them. Contemporaries reacted to the work by using the word "masterpiece" repeatedly and praising its "originality."

A reception with complimentary food and music will immediately follow the opera.  Recent winners of the Downers Grove Music Club scholarship will perform during the reception.

Combining both chamber orchestra and opera performances, the SBC presents a concert series that includes at least 1-2 operas (with “sub-titles” if needed) each season. With its home at an acoustic treasure–Immanuel Lutheran Church in Downers Grove –the SBC offers its community members and audience high quality, affordable orchestra and opera performances with open seating; a handsome, convenient location; and recording quality acoustics. Concerts are handicapped accessible and have plenty of free parking.  More information can also be found at the SBC website: www.SinfoniettaBelCanto.org or by calling 630-384-5007. Tickets can be ordered by mailing the order to: Sinfonietta Bel Canto, P.O. Box 272, Downers Grove IL 60515.

The Downers Grove Music Club, founded in 1927, is a service organization whose mission is to stimulate the interest in and promote a high standard of education and performance of music in the greater Downers Grove area. The club offers many varied music programs and performances each year which are free and open to the public. Each year the Downers Grove Music Club provides music scholarships to local deserving high school students to be used to help further their musical education.  More information about the Music Club can be found on their website, www.dgmusicclub.org.