The Minnesota Orchestra will close out its 2009 Sommerfest season at Orchestra Hall on the weekend of July 31-August 1 with an all-Mendelssohn program honoring the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth and a concert performance of Verdi’s Aida, both led by Sommerfest Artistic Director Andrew Litton. For the Mendelssohn concert, the orchestra will perform selections from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Symphony No. 4 (“Italian”), and the Piano Concerto No. 1, with pianist Andrew Staupe. For Aida, which will be performed complete, the orchestra will be joined by the Minnesota Chorale and soprano Latonia Moore (Aida), tenor Carl Tanner (Radamès), mezzo-soprano Elena Bocharova (Amneris), and bass-baritone Eric Owens (Amonasro). Smaller roles will be sung by soprano Lola Watson, tenor Brian J. Kuhl, and basses Chester Patton and Raymond Aceto. The Minnesota Orchestra’s annual Sommerfest series includes performances by the orchestra as well as pops and other musical events featuring guest artists.
Posted July 10, 2009