The historic first collaboration between BARS and San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
Friday, March 26, 2010, 8pm
First Unitarian Universalist Church, 1187 Franklin St at Geary, SF 94109 (Map)
Saturday, March 27, 2010, 8pm
San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak St at Van Ness, SF 94102 (Map)
Schubert – Overture to Die Zauberharfe (The Magic Harp) in C, D. 644
(Also known as Rosamunde)
Brahms – Alto Rhapsody
Marla Volovna, mezzo-soprano
San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
Dr. Kathleen McGuire, Artistic Director & Conductor
Sibelius – Symphony no. 2 in D major, Op. 42
About Marla Volovna, mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano, opera director, and voice builder, Marla Volovna made her operatic debut in Besancon, France, as Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma. She has performed the Verdi Requiem in Paris and Bordeaux, radio broadcasts of Mahler’s Kindertoten Lieder in France, Darius Milhaud’s Return of the Prodigal Son and Mahler’s Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesesllen for the RAI, Italian Radio. Among the roles she has sung in Europe and America are Olga and Filipievna in Tschaikowsky’s Eugene Onegin, Taven in Gounod’s Mireille, Fenena in Verdi’s Nabucco, Astarto in Bononcini’s Astarto, Nancy in Fowtow’s Martha, Baba in Stravinsky’s Rakes’s Progress, the Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Carmen the Witch in Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel, Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Adah in Victor Herbert’s Naughty Marietta, and the Second Lady in Mozart’s Magic Flute.
Ms. Volovna frequently directs for the Apollo Opera and received extraordinary acclaim for Carmen, Madame Butterfly, Rigoletto, Dido and Aeneas and, most recently, Amahl and the Night Visitors. Ms. Volovna is a renowned voice teacher who has taught voice at the University level for thirteen years. Her students have repeatedly achieved the highest honors including 1st prize in the Metropolitan Opera Completion for the western region. Ms. Volovna has just returned from Buenos Aires, Argentina where she gave master classes at the School of the Colon Theater and has now opened a voice studio in San Francisco. For more information, visit volovnavocalstudio.com
About San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
Dr. Kathleen McGuire, Artistic Director & Conductor
Teddy Witherington, Executive Director
Founded in the fall of 1978, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus was the world’s first chorus to have the word “gay” in its name. The chorus made its first public appearance on the steps of San Francisco City Hall the night Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk were assassinated. Rising to instant acclaim, the chorus embarked upon an inspirational national tour in 1981, which led to the formation of many new gay choruses across the nation and overseas. The Chorus has raised over $400k for other charities and has a current budget of $700k. The full chorus is over 200 members strong and presents a home season of five concert productions. In addition, the SFGMC Ambassadors and small ensembles, The Lollipop Guild and Vocal Minority, support communities around the Bay Area by performing at over 30 events each year. For more information, visit sfgmc.org