Chorale Bel Canto Opens 30th Concert Season with Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance

Oct. 19, 2011 - PRLog -- Whittier-based masterworks Chorale Bel Canto celebrates the opening of its 30th concert season Saturday, October 29, 2011 at 4:00 PM at the Downey Civic Theatre with Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance in collaboration with Los Angeles-based Opera á la Carte.  Maestro Stephen Gothold, also in his 30th consecutive year as music director and founder of the ensemble, will lead the production as conductor.
    The concert will feature costumed and staged principals from Opera á la Carte led by founder Richard Sheldon, who will be starring as the Modern Major General.  The 80 members of Chorale Bel Canto will perform in supporting roles as pirates, police, and maidens, but dressed in their customary concert attire.
    The musical offering provides zaniness, fun, and great music that retells the story of the hapless Pirates from Penzance.
    Chorale Bel Canto and Opera á la Carte have partnered in several Gilbert and Sullivan productions in the past, including H.M.S. Pinafore and The Mikado.  The last collaborative production of The Pirates of Penzance featuring the two ensembles was on May 18, 1996.
Opera á La Carte is a first-class professional company producing the works of Gilbert and Sullivan exclusively.  Over its nearly 40-year history the company has amassed a fantastic track record with presenters and audiences all over the United States.                              
    Founded in 1970 by noted British Gilbert and Sullivan scholar and artist Richard Sheldon , Opera á la Carte has enjoyed a remarkable rise to fame. Known for the authentic style of its productions, the company is constantly winning new fans through its nationwide tours and is acclaimed as the foremost Gilbert and Sullivan touring repertory company in the country.
    Chorale Bel Canto was founded in 1982 by a group of Whittier College Choir alumni who wished to continue singing after graduating. Director of Choral Activities Stephen Gothold, himself an alumnus, organized the recruiting efforts and the Chorale made its debut performance on Saturday, December 4, 1982 at the Whittier Presbyterian Church with a complete performance of Handel's Messiah.
    Since then, the Chorale has sung over one hundred concert programs in the Southern California area. The Chorale performed in Japan in 1994 and at the Hollywood Bowl in 1995 as it joined together with 1,000 singers from America and Japan to sing Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
    In 2001, members of the Chorale - along with Whittier College students, alumni, and members of the Imperial Valley Choral Society - toured Eastern Europe and performed selections of American hymns, spirituals, and sacred songs.  
    In the summer of 2011, members of the Chorale toured Italy and performed Verdi's Requiem under the direction of Stephen Gothold.
    The Downey Civic Theatre is a 738-seat professional performing arts center that offers comfortable seating, excellent sightlines, and adequate parking -- an impressive venue which has inspired the Chorale to return to this theatre once again for the opening of another concert season.
    The Downey Civic Theatre is located at 8435 E. Firestone Blvd., Downey, California 90241.  The venue is located near the intersection of Firestone Blvd. and Brookshire Ave.
    Tickets for The Pirates of Penzance on Saturday, October 29, 2011 are available by calling the Downey Civic Theatre Box office at (562) 861-8211.

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Author, screenwriter, and novelist. Public relations and social media consultant to Chorale Bel Canto.