Maria Ferrante To Be Soloist At Seventh Annual Holiday Concert

The soprano Maria Ferrante will return to sing selections from oratorios and opera when she once again will be the featured soloist at the Seventh Annual Holiday Concert by the Concert Society Chamber Orchestra. The performance, under the direction of Richard E. Serbagi, will be Friday, December 28, at 8 pm, at Trinity Episcopal Church, 36 Main Street.

This concert has quickly become one of the favorite holiday traditions in Newtown and each year sees the pews and the organ loft filled with delighted and enthusiastic concert goers. A gala reception will again follow the concert.

Miss Ferrante studied voice with Elly Ameling in Florence and with Loretta and Franco Corelli in Cortina and also at the University of Vienna. She won the Mario Lanza Vocal Competition and other prestigious prizes and has already sung in more than 30 operas.

Her concert appearances include oratorio, requiems, radio broadcasts, and collaborations with a number of leading artist-accompanists. She regularly appears at festivals, on TV and radio, and premiers here and around the world.  Her Compact Disc recordings, like Christmas at Worcester, Sea Tides and Time, The Shakespeare Concerts and Best Kept Secrets, a Treasury of Passionate American Songs, are always a popular stocking stuffer.

She is admired for her lilting soprano voice and her supple and colorful approach to a broad variety of repertoires.  After hearing her sing in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Boston Globe critic Richard Dyer enthused: “Maria Ferrante broke my heart … her combination of delicacy and intensity … brought tears to my eyes … In her honesty, imagination and investment, she was infinitely superior …”  “... her eyes and hands and body know how to sing, and with her voice she can act.”

To be featured prominently on the program this year, in addition to the full chamber orchestra, is the Newtown debut of the young pianist Graciela Herrera. New this year will be the participation of the Newtown High School Singers under the direction of Choral Director John Harned.

Tickets for the Holiday Concert, all $30 each, can be purchased at Newtown Savings Bank, Cyrenius H. Booth Library, Drug Center Pharmacy, Newtown Country Club, and other venues in Newtown. They can also be purchased by sending a check together with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Newtown Friends of Music, PO Box 295, Newtown CT 06470-0295.

Please note that only 250 tickets will be sold, interest in this annual affair has always been strong, and tickets will not be sold at the church nor on the day of the concert. Contact Friends of Music President Ellen Parrella, at 426-6470, for tickets and additional information.

Ticket sales benefit Newtown Friends of Music’s School Outreach Program.