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Community Corner

Exceptional concert for opera lovers

The program for the Dec. 1 Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra concert at 8 pm at Ridgefield High School is a generous collection of sixteen famous opera excerpts.  It includes two vocalists, soprano Yunah Lee and tenor William Joyner, a Ridgefield resident.  There will be six orchestral pieces, six arias, and four duets. 


   Yunah Lee has a masters from Juilliard and has won First Prize at the Mario Lanza and Verismo Opera competitions.  She has appeared in operas in Europe, Asia, and the United States and has sung in leading roles at the New York City Opera, including Carmen, La bohème, and Madama Butterfly.  As a concert singer she has performed Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation, and J.S. Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the New York Oratorio Society at Carnegie Hall.


   William Joyner has given over 525 performances of 55 different roles, in twelve countries on three continents.  His education spans four well-known institutions, including Juilliard.  He has sung in some of the world’s foremost opera theaters and has performed with the Chicago Symphony and the New York Philharmonic.  He has sung the major parts in Puccini’s Tosca, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, and Massenet’s Manon—all featured in the concert.

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   The composers represented span seven nationalities and a variety of styles.  Additional examples include Gilbert and Sullivan (H.M.S. Pinafore), Cilea (L’arlesiana), Catalani (La Wally), Menotti (The Old Maid and the Thief), and Lehár (Giuditta).  Orchestra pieces are from Verdi’s Nabucco, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, and Joplin’s Treemonisha, as well as Berlioz’ Rákóczy March, Chabrier’s Danse slav, and R. Strauss’ Moonlight Interlude.


   The concert is sponsored by the Paydenfunds.  Single ticket prices are $25, $45, or $60.  To purchase tickets, use www.ridgefieldsymphony.org (preferred) or call the orchestra office at (203)438-3889.

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