In September, the Amadeus Chamber Ensemble opened its 2023-24 season with Sacred Rossini, a concert of selections from the Italian master’s Stabat Mater and Messa Solenne. For a full house audience as part of the Cathedral Concert Series at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Knoxville, Maestro Howard Skinner led the Ensemble’s chorus and orchestra, along with soloists Rochelle Bard, Diana Salesky, Aaron Short, and Stephen Morscheck.
Now, ACE has revealed the remainder of that 2023-2024 season—and is packing its bags for France and Spain. Well, not literally. Through some imaginative programming, the full-scale orchestra and international soloists will take the audience on an intriguing virtual journey.
First stop is France and a program entitled French Opera Jewels on Sunday, March 3 at 6:30 PM. Featured will be selections from Faust, William Tell, The Tales of Hoffmann, Lakme, The Pearl Fishers, and The Huguenots. Conducted by Brian Salesky, former Executive and Artistic Director of Knoxville Opera, the concert will showcase returning artists Rochelle Bard and Aaron Short, along with baritone Nathan Matticks in his Knoxville debut. ACE concertmaster Miroslav Hristov will perform the beloved Méditation from Thaïs.
The concluding stop is Spain and ¡Fiesta Española! on Sunday, May 26 at 5:30 PM. Salesky again will conduct the ACE orchestra in music by de Falla, Albéniz, Torroba, Turina, Obradors, and Chapí. Venezuelan soprano Maria Brea will return to perform a rich variety of songs, along with arias from the zarzuelas Emigrantes (Barrera y Calleja) and El Barbero de Sevilla (Giménez y Nieto). The concert will also include a special rendition of “Una Noche en Sevilla” featuring violinist Hristov.
Salesky summed up his enthusiasm for the upcoming concerts: “I’ve had a passion for the French Grand Opera repertoire my entire life and have been privileged to conduct some of my favorites by Bizet, Gounod, Massenet, and Offenbach. This performance is a wonderful opportunity to present absolute gems from some of the less-familiar operas. Come May, we will be honored to show appreciation for our Spanish-speaking community as we perform music representing a century of Spain’s dynamic and diverse musical culture.”
The Cathedral Concert Series presents Amadeus Chamber Ensemble at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Concerts are free and open to the public.
