Ms. Montalbano reprised her performance of Agnus Dei from Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with the Rutgers University Singers last week. Here’s what it looked like:
A recording of the Choral Arts Philadelphia February concert will be up soon.
Maren Montalbano, mezzo-soprano
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Ms. Montalbano was praised in the press for her work as the alto soloist in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle, one of two different interpretations of the work that will be performed in Philadelphia this February.
Choral Arts gives masterful tour of Rossini piece – David Patrick Stearns for The Philadelphia Inquirer, February 11, 2013
Mezzo-soprano Maren Montalbano, one of four vocal soloists, sang a wonderful “Agnus Dei.”
Choral Arts sings Rossini’s ‘Petite Messe’ – Tom Purdom for Broad Street Review, February 12, 2013
For his soloists, Glandorf recruited experienced early music performers, who absorbed the peculiarities of 19th-Century French style just as they normally master the styles of 18th-Century England or 16th-Century Portugal. Glandorf headed his cast with a world-class early music star, soprano Julianne Baird, but the other three soloists were all A-list vocalists with the strong, supple voices that this mass requires.
One of the evening’s highlights was a trio for mezzo, tenor and baritone that blended three distinctive, richly colored voices singing three distinct, perfectly harmonized melody lines.
…Good as Baird was, she was upstaged by mezzo Maren Montalbano, who followed her with the kind of passionate outcry that pulls opera audiences out of their seats. The soprano may get the hero in operas, but the mezzo got the last word in Rossini’s version of the Mass.
Ms. Montalbano will be performing a program of Medieval Florentine music at the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC with Trio Eos.
FLORENCE: Christmas Music of the Trecento
with The Folger Consort
Where
Folger Shakespeare Library – Elizabethan Theatre
201 East Capitol Street Southeast
Washington, DC 20003
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When
December 14, 2012 8pm
December 15, 2012 5pm
December 15, 2012 8pm
December 16, 2012 5pm
December 16, 2012 2pm
December 19, 2012 7:30pm
December 20, 2012 7:30pm
December 21, 2012 8pm
December 22, 2012 2pm
December 22, 2012 5pm
December 23, 2012 2pm
Tickets: $50
Pre-concert discussion
Friday, December 14, 7pm
Free
Click here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Ms. Montalbano will be performing Mozart’s Requiem at Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr.
A Lenten Memorial Concert and Fundraiser
Carol Chickering, soprano
Maren Montalbano, mezzo-soprano
William Burden, tenor
Brian Ming Chu, baritone
with orchestra and the Redeemer choirs
Michael Stairs, organist
Michael Diorio, director
Where
Church of the Redeemer
230 Pennswood Road
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
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When
Friday, March 16, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.
Tickets $20, ($10 students) available online or at the door.
Advance ticket purchase is recommended for priority seating.
Childcare available by advance online request.
All proceeds go to benefit the music program at The Redeemer.
Ms. Montalbano will be appearing at Millersville University to teach a masterclass and perform with Millersville University’s Choral Ensembles.
Maren Montalbano, mezzo-soprano
Millersville University choirs
Dr. Mark Boyle, conductor
Where
Steinman Hall
The Ware Center
Millersville University Lancaster
42 N. Prince St.
Lancaster, PA 17603
When
MASTERCLASS: Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM (free)
CONCERT: Saturday, March 3, 2012 at 7:30 PM (tickets: $10 – free for students)
For more information, contact the Millersville music department at 717-872-3357.
Ms. Montalbano was praised in the press for her performance in Lyric Fest’s Bawdy Bard.
Lyric Fest’s ‘Bawdy Bard’ – Tom Purdom for Broad Street Review, September 27, 2011
Mezzo Maren Montalbano added color and personal liveliness; bass Colin Dill contributed a pleasingly unforced masculinity; and tenor Steven Bradshaw spanned a broad range with a knowledgeable feel for the nuances of period music. They’re all notably expressive vocalists.
…
Montalbano: Cheerfully risqué.
Michael Caruso of Chestnut Hill Local, September 26, 2011
Leslie Johnson’s soprano rang with scintillating brilliance beautifully paired with creamy refinement. Maren Montalbano’s mezzo rang with throaty vibrancy and tawny resonance. Steven Bradshaw’s tenor took flight with effortless projection and eloquent lyricism. And Colin Dill’s baritone coursed with power cloaked in velvet. Glandorf achieved equally exemplary results with the choir as a whole. Blend and balance were flawless, pitch and tuning were immaculate, and phrasing was arched and shapely.
Musically, the Undark Ages – by Lewis Whittington for ConcertoNet.com, October 11, 2011
…“L’autrier jost’una sebissa,” a 12th century pastorale by Marcabru sung by Montalbano and Dill made it a saucy mezzo and basso duet. “Le Chant des oiseaux” from the 14th century by Clément Janequin is an a capella quartet for the soloists who all displayed both silky technique in the vocal overlays and crisp interlocks in the transitional phrases.
The Broad Street Review reviewed Ms. Montalbano’s performance in Benjamin Britten’s Abraham and Isaac with Choral Arts of Philadelphia.
Choral Arts Society’s Gesualdo Program (2nd Review):
David Price’s dark tenor and Maren Montalbano’s mezzo created a vivid, remorseless picture of a father tormented by divided loyalties and a son who gradually works out the truth of his situation.
The Reading Eagle reviewed last week’s performance of Mozart’s Requiem with the Reading Choral Society.
Choral society in top form for program of sacred works
The soloists, who were featured throughout the concert, were impressive…Soprano Jennifer Michalik (who sings with the Wheatland Chorale) has a crystalline timbre, and alto Maren Montalbano Brehm is equally clear in the lower range. The four blended beautifully in all their work.
Ms. Montalbano will be performing the alto solo in Mozart’s Requiem and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore with the Reading Choral Society.
Peter Hopkins, conductor
Jennifer Michalik, soprano
Maren Montalbano, mezzo-soprano
Steve McMahon, tenor
Jackson Williams, bass
Where
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church
701 Franklin Street
West Reading, PA 19611
When
Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 4:00 PM
General Admission
$18 advance tickets
$20 at door
Students $1 at door
To order tickets, call the RCS office: (610) 898-1939
Ms. Montalbano will be performing the role of Isaac in Benjamin Britten’s Abraham and Isaac. This piece will be one of three of Britten’s Five Canticles that will be performed with Choral Arts of Philadelphia, directed by Matthew Glandorf.
Written in 1952, Britten adapted text from medieval language of the Chester Miracle Plays rather than the authorized version of Bible. During this canticle, Britten portrays the most dramatic moment in the life of Abraham as recounted in Genesis 22, the binding and near sacrifice of his beloved son Isaac in obedience to God.
- program notes from Krista Tippett’s Being from American Public Media
Benjamin Britten
David Price – Abraham
Maren Montalbano – Isaac
Matthew Glandorf – conductor
Where:
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
1625 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
When:
Friday, April 8, 2011 at 8:00pm