I’m off to the opera this month and very excited I am too. It was on my list – you know, the list you make at the beginning of the year either literally or mentally of the things you want to achieve in the next 12 months – a list which often gets forgotten as real life gets in the way and the months whizz by. Well, time waits for no one so the tickets are purchased, the train times checked and London Coliseum, here I come. I remember a trip to the opera at school (a very distant memory) but other than that this will be a first. I have chosen my opera companion carefully – long time friend, likes a glass of prosecco and knows her stuff when it comes to classical music. I can relax knowing only to clap when she does.
Rehearsals for the Hadleigh Choral Society Spring Concert on 25 March are well underway now. I caught up with the choir recently whilst they practised Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, one of the pieces they will be performing. Giacomo Puccini was born in 1858 in the Tuscan village of Lucca, a most beautiful city (that’s on my list too). He was one of nine children and studied at the Milan Conservatory, his first work being performed when he was just 21. Most famous for his operas including La bohème, Tosca and Madame Butterfly, Puccini died in 1924. The Messa di Gloria is charming, as you would expect, and cracks along at a pace including tenor and baritone solos which give the choir a minute to catch their breath. Once again, the choir will be accompanied by the Colchester Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Musical Director, Christopher Phelps.
Hadleigh is very lucky to have this choir and so many other groups and opportunities for the community to enjoy sharing interests and friendship. If you haven’t been along to one of our concerts before, I highly recommend the programme for the Spring Concert, make it a first for 2023. As well as Puccini, the choir will be performing two works of French composer, Fauré – another colourful character but more about him another time.
For more information about the choir please contact the Secretary, Helen Rogerson: helenrogerson@googlemail.com or 07886 416034. Tickets for the concert will be available via the website www.hadleighchoralsociety.org.uk or at The Idler (open Thursday-Saturday), 37 High Street, Hadleigh.
Beth Clarke for Hadleigh Choral Society