All Mozart, all evening

With an exceptional group of talented vocalists, the Caltech Chamber Singers student ensemble will stage the complete second act of the opera The Marriage of Figaro as part of their 17th annual All-Mozart Concerts. This year’s performances will take place on Friday, April 4, and Saturday, April 5.

Says Don Caldwell, director of the Chamber Singers, “Mounting such a production is a major endeavor not usually undertaken outside of a music school environment. But this year’s group of students includes an exceptional array of vocal talents who are up to the challenge.”

He notes that only once before, in 1989, has the concert been devoted to one of Mozart’s operas. That year, the group also staged Figaro, featuring two staff members (the group became all-student in 1993) and two students, one of whom was Dean Elzinga, who played the Count. Elzinga has since become a professional singer who has performed at the Metropolitan Opera and around the world.

This year’s performance of Figaro, sung in English, will feature graduate student Ding-shyue Yang as Figaro; graduate student Tashica Williams as the Countess; senior Karl Hammond as the Count; freshman Theresa Grieco as Susanna; sophomore Abigail Elliott as Cherubino; and sophomore Jesse Escobedo as Antonio.

A chamber ensemble conducted by Caldwell will accompany the concert, which will also include Mozart’s Missa Brevis in D Major, K. 194.

According to Caldwell, K. 194 is one of the early Mass settings, written when Mozart was a mere 18 years old and employed by the archbishop of Salzburg. “Although constrained by the archbishop’s lack of empathy for music of any length,” Caldwell says, “the work abounds in melody and invention. The Agnus Dei is one of the composer’s most poignant settings.”

The free public performances will begin at 8 p.m. in Dabney Lounge. For more information, contact Public Events at 1 (888) 2-CALTECH, (626) 395-4652, or events@caltech.edu, or visit www.events.
caltech.edu. Individuals with a disability can call 395-4688 (voice) or 395-3700 (TDD).
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