Opera Choruses & American Music Will Highlight Choral Society Spring Program

Newtown Choral Society will join with Candlewood Children’s Chorus when they present their spring concert Sunday, May 8, at 3 pm, at Newtown Meeting House. The program will feature major opera choruses of the 19th Century and iconic American music of the 20th Century.

Both choirs will be under the direction of Mary Andreotta and accompanied by Susan Anthony-Klein. The Candlewood Children’s Choir is directed by Dan Coffman

Two opera choruses of Giuseppe Verdi (“Brindisi” and “Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”), as well as Georges Bizet’s well-known “March of the Toreadors” and “Habanera” from the pivotal opera Carmen, will be featured. Choruses of Piotr Tchaikovsky, Ruggero Leoncavallo and Richard Wagner will also be presented.

The works of Gershwin, Aaron Copeland, Kurt Weill and Leonard Bernstein will headline the second half of the program with excerpts from Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess and from Bernstein’s comic operetta Candide. The choir will also be presenting Aaron Copland’s “Stomp Your Foot” and “The Promise of Living” from his popular opera The Tender Land and Kurt Weill’s “Down in the Valley.”

Now in its 25th year, the non-audition Newtown Choral Society accepts members from all area towns.

 Tickets are $10, $8 for seniors and ages 12 and under, and are available at the door. Contact Laura E. Lerman (203-326-3769 or lel-pub@se-ltd.com) for information about the concert or membership opportunities.

Newtown Meeting House is at 31 Main Street in Newtown, at the flagpole.