Night at the Opera

Westminster Choir College professors Julia Kemp and Guy Rothfuss will perform an evening of opera’s best choruses with the Bucks County Choral Society June 1.

By: Sally Silverman
   With a nod toward the growing popularity of opera, the Bucks County Choral Society brings a lighthearted evening of opera’s best choruses.
   The group’s June 1 season finale at Central Bucks East High School in Doylestown, Pa., "A Night at the Opera," tosses aside the weighty plots and cumbersome costuming of the genre, focusing on opera’s most satisfying element: the music. The program presents a compelling mix of some of opera’s most magnificent choruses and arias, highlighted by guest soloists soprano Julia Kemp and baritone Guy Rothfuss.

The Bucks County Choral Society (above), under artistic director Thomas Lloyd, will present its season finale, "A Night at the Opera," June 1 at Central Bucks East High School in Doylestown, Pa.

   Residents of Abington, Pa., the husband-and-wife team has deep roots in this area. Both soloists have studied and hold professorships at Westminster Choir College in Princeton. They are graduates of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and pursued Advanced Studies at the Music Academy of the West. Both have more than two decades of experience in Europe, where opera was born.

Baritone Guy Rothfuss and soprano Julia Kemp, who are husband and wife, will be the guest soloists.

   In Germany, Mr. Rothfuss was the leading tenor and Ms. Kemp the leading soprano for the City Opera of Kiel and the City Opera of Osnabruch. Mr. Rothfuss has a flexible voice with a secure high range, while Ms. Kemp, the recipient of numerous awards including a Fulbright Scholarship, is known for her versatility and the soaring, lyric quality of her voice. Their reputation is evidenced in their many invitations to appear as guest artists in some of the greatest opera houses and music festivals of the world.
   "Not only are they wonderful singers with fantastic voices," says Bucks County Choral Society Artistic Director Thomas Lloyd, "but they are equally talented at engaging the audience."
   As each piece is introduced, the soloists will offer a sense of scene and help put the work in context. This informal, engaging approach, especially helpful for those unfamiliar with the choruses and arias, will help the audience get inside the story.
   "Kemp and Rothfuss know how to break down the overly formal barriers that are all too often found in classical music," Mr. Lloyd says.
   Mr. Lloyd collaborated with the pair when selecting the program, aiming to include the best choruses in opera.
   "Chorale music is part of what makes opera exciting," he says. They wanted to treat the audience to widely recognized pieces and introduce them to something new as well. The choruses and arias represent a pleasant balance of familiar favorites and lesser-known selections.
   The first half of the program is devoted to Carl Maria von Weber’s Der Freischutz — an often-performed favorite of Ms. Kemp and Mr. Rothfuss. It is a fantasy based on a love triangle, and they believe it gets too little attention. It features fantastic choruses, with writing that puts the chorus in its best light in terms of dramatic and melodic, lyrical passages. The writing for the voice is well-crafted and the melodies memorable, including the Hunter’s Chorus, which is the most recognizable.

Lyric soprano Katja Rothfuss, daughter of Ms. Kemp and Mr. Rothfuss, will appear as a special guest.

   After intermission, the audience will be treated to better-known selections from Mozart. The portion includes arias from Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) and Le Nozze di Figaro, along with the Italian classics, including the Triumphal Scene from Verdi’s Aida, the Duet (Brindisi) from La Traviata and the Easter Hymn from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana.
   "Make Our Garden Grow," from Leonard Bernstein’s wickedly humorous and challenging Candide, provides a rousing finale. Mr. Lloyd’s aim was to bring the concert to an American close.
   "Yes," he says, "it is patriotic. But opera is a tradition that has really taken root in America and is thriving here. We want to acknowledge that."
   Katja Rothfuss, daughter of Ms. Kemp and Mr. Rothfuss, will appear as a special guest. With her exceptional lyric soprano voice, she will join her parents in the Trio from Act II of Der Freischutz and selections from Le Nozze di Figaro. Katja Rothfuss is a recent graduate of Westminster Choir College and an opera veteran in her own right.
   Another special guest, Ryan Guth, a senior at Council Rock High School, brings his infectious musicality and fresh, young baritone to the Papageno aria from Die Zauberflote. Mr. Guth, who will be attending Westminster Choir College in the fall, is the only singer to win the annual Bucks County Choral Society BCMEA Award Competition two years in a row.
   Pianist Wendy McNally will accompany the 90-member chorus and soloists.
The Bucks County Choral Society will present A Night at the Opera at Central Bucks East High School
Auditorium, 2804 Holicong Road, Doylestown, Pa., June 1, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $15; seniors $13; students $10.
For information, call (215) 598-6142. On the Web: www.buckschoral.org