Hill Auditorium
Verdi’s Requiem
Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the UMS Choral Union
From the hushed opening of the Requiem aeternam to the thunderous cries of the Dies irae, Verdi’s Requiem is one of the most powerful choral masterpieces ever written.
UMS’s 25/26 Season opens with Verdi’s monumental work that fuses the drama of opera with the spiritual depth of sacred music. Written in memory of the Italian poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni, it is a profoundly moving reflection that is simultaneously intimate and epic.
This performance by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the UMS Choral Union, and DSO music director Jader Bignamini will be performed only in Ann Arbor and unites a stellar, international cast of soloists: South African soprano Vuvu Mpofu, American mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke, Mexican-American tenor René Barbera, and Chinese bass-baritone Shenyang.
Program
Giuseppe Verdi Messa da Requiem
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Verdi’s Requiem
Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the UMS Choral Union
Hill Auditorium
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Jader Bignamini was introduced as the 18th music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in January 2020, commencing with the 2020–2021 season. His infectious passion and artistic excellence set the tone for the seasons ahead, creating extraordinary music and establishing a close relationship with the orchestra. A jazz aficionado, he has immersed himself in Detroit’s rich jazz culture and the influences of American music.
A native of Crema, Italy, Bignamini studied at the Piacenza Music Conservatory and began his career as a musician (clarinet) with Orchestra Sinfonica La Verdi in Milan, later serving as the group’s resident conductor. Captivated by the operatic arias of legends like Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Jader explored their complexity and power, puzzling out the role that each instrument played in creating a larger-than-life sound. When he conducted his first professional concert at the age of 28, it didn’t feel like a departure, but an arrival.
The young South African soprano Vuvu Mpofu is already entering the international spotlight with her shimmering vocal quality and technique, boundless musicality, and authentic stage presence. In 2019, she was awarded the prestigious John Christie Award at the Glyndebourne Festival, and she is also a recent prizewinner at the Operalia Competition and the Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition.
Two-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke has been called a “luminous standout” by the New York Times and “equal parts poise, radiance and elegant directness” by Opera News. Ms. Cooke has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux, and Gran Teatre del Liceu, among others, and with over 90 symphony orchestras worldwide frequently in the works of Mahler. In 2022 Ms. Cooke was appointed at the Music Academy of the West as Co-Director of the Lehrer Vocal Institute. Her album how do I find you was nominated for a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Vocal Solo Album.
Tenor René Barbera has quickly established himself as one of today’s most exciting vocal artists. The first-ever recipient of all three top awards of the Operalia Competition in 2011 and winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2008, René has earned critical praise and audience acclaim for his effortless singing, his “old-fashioned warmth” (Opera News), and his expressive musicality.
Shenyang came to swift international attention as the winner of the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition with numerous impressive debuts to follow. While his early career focused principally on Rossini, Mozart and Handel roles, recent seasons have brought a range of acclaimed debuts in the dramatic bass-baritone repertoire including Don Pizarro (Fidelio) with both Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra under Gustavo Dudamel and Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich under Paavo Järvi and Jochanaan (Salome) with Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Alexander Liebreich.
Contact Info
scottph@umich.edu
About Scott
Scott Hanoian is the Music Director and Conductor of the University Musical Society Choral Union where he conducts and prepares the Grammy Award-winning chorus in performances with the world’s finest orchestras and conductors. Choruses prepared by Mr. Hanoian have sung under the batons of Yannick Nézet-Seguin, Leonard Slatkin, Ivan Fischer, Dennis Russell Davies, and Osmo Vänskä.
Mr. Hanoian is active as a conductor, organist, lecturer, continuo artist, accompanist, choral adjudicator, and guest clinician. He is the Director of Music and Organist at Christ Church Grosse Pointe, where he directs the church’s four choirs and oversees the yearly concert series. Mr. Hanoian has served on the faculty of Wayne State University and Oakland University and was the artistic director and conductor of the Oakland Choral Society from 2013–2015.
As an organist and conductor, Mr. Hanoian has performed concerts throughout the US and has led choirs on trips to Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, France, and Spain. Most recently, Mr. Hanoian led the Christ Church Choirs during weeklong residencies at York Minster, Durham Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Wells Cathedral, and Westminster Abbey.
Before moving to Grosse Pointe, Mr. Hanoian was the Assistant Organist and Assistant Director of Music at Washington National Cathedral where he played the organ for many services including the funerals for Presidents Ronald Reagan and Gerald Ford.
Mr. Hanoian has recorded the complete organ works of Johannes Brahms for the JAV label.
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