This Sunday: Amadeus Chamber Ensemble Surveys the Operatic Works of Mozart

Cathedral Concert Series: “Mozart! An Operatic Feast”
Amadeus Chamber Ensemble, conducted by Brian Salesky
Sunday, February 5, at 6:00 PM
Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, 711 S. Northshore Drive
Admission is FREE but Registration Here is Requested

Music history is full of stories of prolific composers, some of whom turned out incredible numbers of works in various genres. However, for every Joseph Haydn and his 106 symphonies, every Antonio Vivaldi and his 500+ concertos, or Gaetano Donizetti and his 75 operas, there are others whose works are sadly—or perhaps happily—consigned to dusty shelves, their names remembered only for the sake of historical completeness. 

And then—there is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. By his death at the young age of 35 in 1791, his full catalog of works exceeded 800 compositions in various genres, 22 of them operas with the first written at age 10. Of those 22, four are among the most produced operas worldwide—and continue to receive performances year after year from both major and minor opera companies. The depth and importance of his work is simply unparalleled in music history. 

For their first production of 2023, the Amadeus Chamber Ensemble—once again performing as part of the Cathedral Concert Series—is surveying the operatic works of Mozart in a program entitled “Mozart – An Operatic Feast.”

Conductor Brian Salesky has chosen 15 Mozartian examples, the earliest being from Mitridate, re di Ponto (1770) and reaching to his last opera, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) from 1791. Along with the very familiar—the finale of Le Nozza di Figaro, for example—comes a few rarely heard selections like “L’ombra de’ rami tuoi” from Ascanio in Alba, written for a 1771 commission from Empress Maria Theresa. A turning point in Mozart’s operatic evolution is represented by Idomeneo, re di Creta (Idomeneo, King of Crete). Salesky and the orchestra will perform the Ballet Pas de seul from that opera.

Maestro Salesky will conduct an orchestra and chorus and be joined by a quintet of singers, three of whom are making their Knoxville debuts. Those three are Venezuelan soprano Maria Brea, New York based mezzo-soprano Kara Cornell, and Minnesota Opera baritone Aaron Keeney. Familiar voices for Knoxvillians will be soprano Jacqueline Brecheen and tenor Kirk Dougherty, known for Knoxville Opera productions of Mefistofele, Gianni Schicchi, and The Impresario. The Ensemble’s concertmaster is violinist Miroslav Hristov who will play solos in scenes from Il re pastore and Die Entführung aus dem Serail.