In Soviet Russia, Music Sings You!

Well, I suppose better late than never. This is Jeremy Lane, T1. I've been a little slow to start posting here at the Singing City blog, but I thought now would be a good time, as this evening and tomorrow afternoon mark out first performances of the 2007/8 season! And, this being our 60th Anniversary Year, we're going big, right from the beginning, with Alexander Nevsky, by Sergei Prokofiev. Not only that, but it is also Singing City's first time collaborating with Symphony in C (formerly the Haddonfield Symphony). The Camden waterfront will never be the same.

As a first tenor, let me vouch for the entire choir when I say this piece is exhausting to sing. Not only is the tessitura (the general range of pitch used most consistently in a piece of music) very high, but almost the entire piece needs to be sung full-blast, so the choir can be heard alongside the orchestra. And what an orchestra! Prokofiev's orchestration here is truly exciting--full of bombast, but also whimsy and pathos (the piece is about a terrible winter battle, after all)--and Symphony in C is really working it. Sometimes, I find it hard not to stop singing and just listen to the huge amount of beautiful sound being created. Let's just say that the piece is so big, our conductor, Rossen Milanov, had to conduct yesterday's rehearsal from Switzerland! (Well, okay, so he didn't actually run the rehearsal, but he was in Switzerland.)

In any event, it's real knock-your-socks-off stuff. There are still tickets available for Sunday's performance, so check out Symphony in C's website here for more information. And, after the performance, go rent Alexander Nevsky, the film for which this piece was originally the score, and you can tell us which one was better! Or does that only apply for books? Well, regardless, come and enjoy this wonderful piece of music, and help us get the season started right!