The vengeful Puritans of Howard Hanson’s opera Merry Mount — as embodied by the Eastman-Rochester Chorus — take the stage of Carnegie Hall tonight, along with soloists,the Nazareth Bach Children’s Chorus, and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, all led by Michael Christie. (They shown here in last month’s performance in Kodak Hall.) Merry Mount is…
Howard Hanson’s Merry Mount is a challenging opera to bring off, but the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra did just that last week (April 10 and 12) in its concert version, with help from Eastman forces including the Eastman Rochester Chorus, Eastman Chorale, and several soloists chosen from recent graduates and current students. Conductor Michael Christie of…
…for the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s presentation this week of Howard Hanson’s rarely performed opera (in fact, his only opera), Merry Mount. This three-act piece was written when Hanson was director of the Eastman School of Music, and premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1934. The Rochester Philharmonic’s concert performance, conducted by Michael Christie, previews a…
Outside of George Eastman, Howard Hanson is the most visible historical presence on the campus (and inside of George Eastman, it’s too dark to see anyway). Rightly so: hired by Eastman himself, Hanson served as director for 40 years and, as school historian Vincent Lenti in a video produced by James Goodman of the Democrat…