Whidbey Island’s Massed Choir and the Saratoga Orchestra bring you Carmina Burana for 2 dates in 2 locations.
Saturday – March 21st – 7pm – Oak Harbor High School
Sunday – March 22nd – 7pm – So Whidbey High School
MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE NOT TO BE MISSED
Carmina Burana is a scenic cantata composed by Carl Orff in 1935 and 1936, based on 24 poems from the medieval collection Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana is structured into five major sections, containing 25 movements total.
Program
Humperdinck: Three Excepts from Hänsel und Gretel
Soloists:
Lisa Berritella, soprano
Karl Olsen, baritone
Voltaire Verzosa, countertenor
Massed Choir of Whidbey
Dianne Vars & Darren McCoy,
Choral Directors
Lisa Berritella, soprano. Ms. Berritella of Oak Harbor, has appeared on three continents in over 80 different operas, oratorios and musicals. A former choreographer and teacher, she toured nationally as a Broadway dancer, singer and cabaret artist. She has appeared in mainstage and concert venues with the Tokyo-Sagamihara Chamber ensemble, world-class Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Diego, Pittsburgh and Cleveland Orchestras, San Diego Opera, the US Army Band and in concert under the late, great Marvin Hamlisch. Her leading classical roles include Suor Angelica, Anne Truelove, Fiordiligi, Rosalinda, Mrs. Ford, Mabel and Papagena as well as other secondary roles and ensembles. In addition to national and international appearances as the Soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah, her solo and choral oratorio credits include multiple appearances with The Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and the San Diego Master Chorale and as the Soprano in the Faure Requiem with the Whidbey Community Chorus. Ms. Berritella holds a Bachelor of Music from Heidelberg College and a Professional Studies graduate degree in Opera Performance from The Cleveland Institute of Music.
Karl Olsen, baritone, is Minister of Music at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland. He earned a degree in Music Education and an M.A. in voice and choral music from the University of Denver as well as certification in Orff Schulwerk. Karl has been a singer, songwriter, choral director, church music director, and elementary school music and folk dance teacher throughout the northwest. He sings in a maritime group The Shifty Sailors and is a member of the popular folk group The Brothers Four.
Karl’s home is in Greenbank with wife Deb Lund, a children’s author and teacher, and dad to their three children, Kaj, Sandra and Jean.
Voltaire Verzosa, countertenor, received his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance degree from the University of Montana and his Master of Music in Voice Performance degree from the University of Colorado. He pursued further studies in piano at the Eastman School of Music and at the Dorothy Taubman Piano Institute. Voltaire has performed at the International Bamboo Organ Festival, the Las Vegas International New Music Festival, s’Hertogenbosch Internationaal Vocalisten Concours, the Bach Aria Festival, the Vancouver Early Music Festival Baroque Programme, Amherst Early Music Festival, Las Vegas Music Festival and Seattle Accademia d’Amore. He has won top prizes at the District Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions and Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition. On January 24, 2010, Voltaire made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall as a result of winning first prize in the Barry Alexander International Vocal Competition. He has been a guest countertenor soloist with the Colorado Springs Symphony, the Chiara String Quartet, the Montana Baroque Ensemble, the Philippine Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Baroque Players, the Boulder Philharmonic and the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society Orchestra, with which he also has performed several times as solo pianist in several piano concertos. Currently, he holds the post of Principal Pianist for the Las Vegas Philharmonic.
The Oak Harbor High School Choirs, along with other Whidbey Choirs and countless Whidbey residents will make up the choir for this powerful performance.
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