7 scenes from a church

I was sure this 5 PM matinee was to be held at Waters and Henry, so I had lollygagged around at home, thinking I had plenty of time...

nope!!!

"Sanctuary", my third volunteer shift for SVF12, was all the way downtown!!!

Christ Church Episcopal was in the first block of Bull Street!

 

Fortunately, our call time was 90 minutes before the operatic scenes began.

Even more fortunately, I snagged parking just south of the Lucas Theatre.

Most fortunately of all, the rain didn't start until I was safely there.

In fact, I'd placed the black armbands on ten of the pews - and done so before Kim had completed putting purple ones on six pews - before the rain began.

Penny and Lonnie Breslow arrived after that.

So... I wasn't so late after all!

(smile!)

Billed as "sacred themed scenes from opera, musical theatre, and song", the program had been curated by Jorge Parodi, the VOICE festival's Artistic Director.

These were clearly pieces that were close to his heart...

and there was one that even brought me to tears.

Remember "Suor Angelica", the Puccini one-act that I'd loved so much I saw it twice?

That was back in 2015, so I'd not remembered quite how the "Final Scene" listed in today's program had played out.

Then, all of a sudden, while enjoying the performance by Anna Farysej, I watched, transfixed, as she drank the poison so she could die and join her dead child in heaven... with her realizing too late that suicides cannot go to heaven so she would not be reunited with him after all... and tears came to my eyes.

Too recently, and for the fourth time, have I had another suicide of someone I loved.

What has become of their souls?

I hope it is as Aaron Freeman has described the transition.

I hope.

What other pieces were performed here at Christ Church Episcopal?

Three of the staged scenes were from operas: from Act 4 of "Faust", Marguerite's plea for forgiveness after her affair; from Act 2 of "Tosca", Floria's plea with Baron Scarpia (showcasing Chad Sonka's bass) for the life of her lover, but to no avail; and from the one-act "Cavalleria Rusticana", Santuzzo's plea with her lover's mother to convince her son to give up the other woman.

Two songs from the musical, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", were performed.

Maria Zouves sang "God Help The Outcasts", the one with Esmeralda pleading with God to show his mercy to others less fortunate, rather than to herself.

An alternate side is shown in "Hellfire", with Trollo (sung by John Tibbetts) pleading with God to help him sort out his lust for Esmeralda from his moral convictions.

Very serious stuff.

So, that just leaves the scene from a song: "Kyrie", from "Messe Solennelle".

This time, the choir of the Christ Church performed the entire piece, rather than acting in accompaniment with the opera singers.

Wow.

What fabulous acoustics that church has!!!

How marvelous that I was sitting far to the side, so I could snap that photo of them, ringing the balcony, and letting their voices soar above us!

Wow.

And by the time the program was done, the rain was as well, with the air cleanly washed and somewhat cooler than it had been.

How fortunate to have been there!

i thank You, God.