Please note our offices will be closed on Friday, March 29, 2024 for the Easter holiday.

Choir Practice: A Comic Opera in One Act (CD Recording)

Chatman, Stephen

$13.98
SKU
CD-47-SC
Canticle Distributing
More Information
SKUCD-47-SC
Composer/ArrangerChatman, Stephen
Voicing & InstrumentsCD Recording
Reviews

"Choir Practice's overriding theme is the transformative power of music; it makes its point through a dialectical mix of materials encompassing a wide range of musical and comedic ideas." - David Gordon Duke, Vancouver Sun

"Choir Practice is a tiny wonder, a scintillating and effervescent one act romp. Stephen Chatman's music is light and playful, consistent with the frolicsome fabric of the proceedings. Wohlberg's crystalline and original libretto…carry the day." - Kate Mackin, vanclassicalmusic.com

PublisherCanticle Distributing

Recorded by University of British Columbia Symphony Orchestra in 2016
Music by Stephen Chatman / Words by Tara Wohlberg
University of British Columbia Opera Ensemble / Nancy Hermiston, director
Members of University of British Columbia Symphony Orchestra / Jonathan Girard, conductor
Total time: 61:08

 
Synopsis: In a community hall in Vancouver, circa 1985, a somewhat motley blend of characters arrive for choir rehearsal. There's Dawn, a blind woman, who sees more than most. Corey, a shy and stuttering tenor keen to join the choir who soon attracts the eye of a curvaceous soprano. Warm-ups, roll call and plenty of comic conflicts ensue as a dozen singers prepare for a national competition. Willie is the well-intentioned director, but his most successful conquests to date are anything but musical – in fact they rival those of Don Giovanni! After various interruptions and a near-fatal duel between rival sopranos, a miracle takes place. The individuals are magically melded into a choir and a world of light, harmony, understanding, and musical perfection. Dawn leads the way in the rousing Finale: Darkness to Delight. Through all the nonsense and Hanky Panky, things come round right!

 

Track Listing:
1. Opening – My first rehearsal
2. Aria: He has only just arrived
3. Isn't my Marilyn talented?
4. Aria: Not that kind of song
5. You made your point
6. The Grand Hotel
7. Before I choose the soloist
8. Duet: Ladies' Duel
9. I don't know what's wrong with you
10. Fantasy Time - Dawn's Miracle
11. Aria: Seeing is believing
12. The spell is broken
13. Aria/Duet: Hanky-Panky
14. What a transformation!
15. Finale Darkness to Delight
16. Applause