FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 2, 2016
CSO to Perform Mendelssohn’s Magnificent Elijah April 1 & 2
with the Columbus Symphony Chorus and Quartet of
Sublime Guest Vocalists
One of the supreme examples of music for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, Mendelssohn’s glorious
oratorio Elijah tells the story of the Old Testament prophet charged with bringing Israel back into God’s
fold. Stirring choruses, including “Thanks Be to God,” and gorgeous arias abound in this uplifting
masterpiece led by CSO Maestro Rossen Milanov. The program will also feature the Columbus
Symphony Chorus and guest vocalists Martha Guth (soprano), Margaret Mezzacappa (mezzo-soprano),
Jonas Marcel Hacker (tenor), and André Courville (bass-baritone).
The Columbus Symphony presents Mendelssohn’s Elijah at the Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.) on Friday
and Saturday, April 1 and 2, at 8pm. Tickets start at $10 and can be purchased at the CAPA Ticket
Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by
phone, please call (614) 228-8600 or (800) 745-3000. The CAPA Ticket Center will also be open two
hours prior to each performance. Young people between the ages of 13-25 may purchase $5 All Access
tickets while available. For more information, visit www.GoFor5.com.
The 2015-16 Masterworks Series is made possible through the generous support of season sponsor
Anne Melvin.
About CSO Music Director Rossen Milanov
Respected and admired by audiences and musicians alike, Rossen Milanov is the new Music Director of
the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, and begins his tenure with transformative and creative ideas for new
programming and expanding the orchestra’s reach to new audiences.
Recently completing his first season with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra to enthusiastic
acclaim, Milanov is also the Music Director of the Princeton Symphony and of the Orquesta Sinfónica del
Principado de Asturias (OSPA) in Spain. During the 2015-16 season, he is dedicating the Princeton
concert season to the creativity of women, showcasing the compositions of some of the most respected
emerging female composers, such as Anna Clyne, Caroline Shaw, and Sarah Kirkland Snyder. With
OSPA, he celebrates the orchestra’s 25th anniversary with 25 new works and premiere performances in
Spain. He will also be conducting a new production of Tchaikovsky’s “Swan Lake” at the Zurich Opera.
Milanov studied conducting at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, where he received the
Bruno Walter Memorial Scholarship.
About the Columbus Symphony Chorus – Ronald J. Jenkins, director
The Columbus Symphony Chorus, now in its 56th season, has excelled under the leadership of chorus
director Ronald J. Jenkins for the past thirty-two years. The 140-member Chorus, comprised entirely of
volunteer singers from central Ohio, performs major works from Bach through the 21st century. Past
performances have included the requiems of Brahms, Verdi, Fauré, Mozart, and Duruflé; the Bach B
Minor Mass; Mozart's Grand Mass in C Minor and Coronation Mass; Haydn's Lord Nelson and Harmonie
Mass; Haydn's Creation and the Seasons; works by Rossini, Orff, Walton, Britten, and Prokofiev; and
concert performances of operas, including this past May, Bizet’s Carmen. In 2013, the chorus premiered
Stephen Paulus' "Of Songs and Singing," conducted by Jenkins and commissioned by the chorus to
honor his 30+ years of service. In addition to their classical concerts, the Chorus' annual Holiday Pops
concerts, conceived and directed by Jenkins from their beginning in 1983, have grown into one of the
best-loved musical traditions in central Ohio during the holiday season.
About guest soprano Martha Guth
Soprano Martha Guth brings consummate musicianship, interpretive intelligence, and a distinctive tonal
palette to a wide range of musical styles and periods. A persuasive actress, she recently performed as
Frau Fluth in the Boston Midsummer Opera production of Nicolai’s rarely-staged The Merry Wives of
Windsor. Past operatic forays include Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (Countess) and Don Giovanni (Donna
Anna) at Opera Lyra Ottawa; the same composer’s Die Zauberflöte (Pamina) and Die Entführung aus
dem Serail(Konstanze) in Göggingen, Germany; the title role of Händel’s Alcina in Lucca, Italy; Lauretta in
Bizet’s Dr. Miracle and Norina in Don Pasquale with the Santa Fe Opera (the latter on tour as a past
apprentice of the company); and Alyce in Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied at New York’s Chelsea Opera.
About guest mezzo-soprano Margaret Mezzacappa
A graduate of Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts, mezzo-soprano Margaret Mezzacappa made her
San Francisco Opera debut as Antonia's Mother in Les Contes d'Hoffmann. She received a bachelor’s
degree from Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music, and since 2008, the Ohio native has won
numerous awards, including the George London Award, George London Foundation Vocal Competition
(winner), Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (fourth prize), Giulio Gari Foundation
International Vocal Competition, Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition (top
prize), Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition (second prize), Gerda Lissner Foundation International
Vocal Competition (second prize), Loren L. Zachary Society Vocal Competition (third prize), Sergio
Franchi Award, Giargiari Bel Canto Competition (winner), and Opera Index Competition (third prize). At
Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts, her roles have included Ulrica (Un Ballo in Maschera), Frugola (Il
Tabarro), La Principessa (Suor Angelica), Cuniza (Oberto), and Mistress Quickly (Falstaff) among others.
About guest tenor Jonas Marcel Hacker
American tenor Jonas Marcel Hacker has been praised for his beauty of tone, innate musicality, and
intuitive interpretation, especially in the operas of Mozart. He currently attends the Academy of Vocal Arts
in Philadelphia where he studies voice with William Stone. Hacker participated in the 2015 Glimmerglass
Opera Young Artist Program where he covered the role of Catone in Vivaldi’s Catone in Utica. That same
year, he made his professional operatic debut with Annapolis Opera as Ferrando in Cosí fan Tutte. He
has been awarded the Robert Crosby Memorial Award in the Opera Index competition, and received third
prize in the DC regionals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
About guest bass-baritone André Courville
Praised by Opera News for his "splendid, lush bass-baritone", André Courville is quickly establishing
himself as one of America's foremost young singers. He has garnered attention for his recent role debut
as Méphistophélès in Faust at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, where he is a resident artist.
Last season brought other debuts at Carnegie Hall in Opera Orchestra of New York's acclaimed
production of Roberto Devereux, with Caramoor International Music Festival as Monterone in Rigoletto,
and with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra as Masetto in Don Giovanni.
About composer Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (1809–1847)
Born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, this German composer, pianist, organist, and conductor of
the early Romantic period wrote symphonies, concerti, oratorios, piano music, and chamber music. His
best-known works include his overture and incidental music for A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Italian
Symphony, the Scottish Symphony, the overture The Hebrides, his mature Violin Concerto, and his String
Octet. His Songs Without Words are his most famous solo piano compositions. Elijah premiered in 1846
at the Birmingham Festival. It depicts events in the life of the Biblical prophet Elijah, taken from the books
1 Kings and 2 Kings of the Old Testament. The piece was composed in the spirit of Mendelssohn's
Baroque predecessors Bach and Handel, whose music he loved.
www.columbussymphony.com
CALENDAR LISTING
The Columbus Symphony presents MENDELSSOHN’S ELIJAH
Friday & Saturday, April 1 & 2, 8 pm
Ohio Theatre (39 E. State St.)
One of the supreme examples of music for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, Mendelssohn’s glorious
oratorio Elijah tells the story of the Old Testament prophet charged with bringing Israel back into God’s
fold. Stirring choruses, including “Thanks Be to God,” and gorgeous arias abound in this uplifting
masterpiece led by CSO Maestro Rossen Milanov. The program will also feature the Columbus
Symphony Chorus and guest vocalists Martha Guth (soprano), Margaret Mezzacappa (mezzo-soprano),
Jonas Marcel Hacker (tenor), and André Courville (bass-baritone). Tickets start at $10 and can be
purchased at the CAPA Ticket Center (39 E. State St.), all Ticketmaster outlets, and
www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 228-8600 or (800) 745-3000.
www.columbussymphony.com
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The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, education
excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The CSO also appreciates the support of the Greater Columbus
Arts Council, supporting the city's artists and arts organizations since 1973, and the Sayre Charitable (Huntington),
Martha G. Staub, Kenneth L. Coe, and Jack Barrow funds of The Columbus Foundation, assisting donors and others
in strengthening our community for the benefit of all its citizens.
About the Columbus Symphony Orchestra
Founded in 1951, the Columbus Symphony is the only full-time, professional symphony in central Ohio. Through an
array of innovative artistic, educational, and community outreach programming, the Columbus Symphony is reaching
an expanding, more diverse audience each year. This season, the Columbus Symphony will share classical music
with more than 200,000 people in central Ohio through concerts, radio broadcasts, and special programming. For
more information, visit www.columbussymphony.com.
Contact:
Rolanda Copley
614.719.6624
[email protected]