Missa Solemnis

Yes, Mozart was his inspiration, but Haydn was Beethoven’s teacher. Concertmaster Naha Greenholtz performs the Violin Concerto in G major. A great work from the height of Beethoven’s composing career, the monumental Missa Solemnis is one of his supreme achievements and one of the most significant Latin Mass settings ever penned.

The muse, the mass, and the money. The sentiments in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis appeal to humankind’s highest aspirations, but Beethoven’s business dealings with it were decidedly earthbound. He sold the work seven times. While haggling with the publisher Simrock, Beethoven not only hung onto the fee he had received but wrote to six other firms promising the Mass to them. When Simrock wanted their money back, Beethoven promised another Mass, but never got around to writing it.
– Norman Gilliland

Health and Safety Information

○ Masks Required for these Performances: As of April 4, Overture Center announced that wearing a facial mask is optional, but recommended, while in the building. The Madison Symphony Orchestra will continue to require that masks be worn for the entirety of our April performances.

○ Proof of Vaccination Required for these Performances: All who enter the Overture Center building must show proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test. Patrons not vaccinated, including children under age 12, are required to show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test result from within 72 hours prior to the performance. Please visit overture.org/health for more information on masks, vaccination proof, negative COVID test criteria, and more.

○ New Overture Security Measures: Overture will be utilizing new walk-through security screening technology that you will be required to move through on arrival. This should eliminate lines and allow foot traffic to quickly flow into the spaces. Additionally, large bags and backpacks are prohibited from entering the theater and can be checked after being inspected. For your convenience, we suggest you make other arrangements for these items before arriving. Visit overture.org/security for more information on these policies.

○ Read MSO’s Health and Safety FAQs: More information about our ticket policies, concessions, and answers to other frequently asked questions can be found at madisonsymphony.org/faq. Programs, dates, and artists subject to change.

About Naha Greenholtz

Naha Greenholtz is concertmaster of both the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Quad City Symphony Orchestra. Additional performance highlights include guest concertmaster appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Calgary Philharmonic, National Ballet of Canada, Omaha Symphony, and Memphis Symphony, among many others. She has also held positions with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, joining the latter as Associate Concertmaster. Ms. Greenholtz became concertmaster of the Madison Symphony Orchestra in 2011 at the age of 26. Her position is endowed by William & Joyce Wartmann.

“Greenholtz’s tone matched perfectly with the orchestra. It was pure magic.” – Matt Ambrosio, The Cap Times

Guest Singers

 Sara Duchovnay

Sara Duchovnay, Soprano, was introduced to opera by her grandfather, before continuing on to receive a Bachelor of Music from the Hartt School of Music and a Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Early in her career, notable credits included Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Opera Santa Barbara; Nanetta in Falstaff and Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire with Opera San Jose; Jemmy in Guillaume Tell and Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Southern Illinois Music Festival; and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro with Pacific Opera Project. She sang her first Nedda in Pagliacci in 2019, and other roles in Sara’s repertoire now include Donna Anna and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Rusalka (Rusalka), and Alcina (Alcina), as well as Nedda (Pagliacci), Susannah (Susannah), and Leonora (Il trovatore).

“…alluring…piercing beauty.” – San Francisco Chronicle

Briana Hunter

Briana Hunter, Mezzo-Soprano, recently debuted as Hannah Before in Laura Kaminsky’s As One at the Kaufman Music Center in New York. Additional recent performances include creating the role of Dee Dee Reyes in Hillard and Boresi’s The Last American Hammer; Annie and Strawberry Woman in Porgy and Bess at the Glimmerglass Festival; and Giovanna in Rigoletto and Gertrude Stein in Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 at Michigan Opera Theatre, for which she won the EncoreMichigan award for Best Performance in an Opera. At the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, she performed the role of Flora in La Traviata, as well as Pvt. Stanton in the world premiere of An American Soldier. She made her Lincoln Center Theater debut in a gala performance of Camelot starring Lin Manuel Miranda. Ms. Hunter has held additional roles with the Music Academy of the West, Michigan Opera Theatre, Knoxville Opera, American Opera Projects, and the Sarasota Opera. She is a Lotte Lenya Competition finalist and winner of the Lys Symonette Award from The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music. She participated in the I SING BEIJING program where she performed at The National Center for the Performing Arts. Ms. Hunter holds a M.M. from the Manhattan School of Music and a B.A. from Davidson College.

“a mesmerizing mezzo-soprano with a fiery theatrical presence and dynamic vocalism.” – Opera News

Clay Hilley

Clay Hilley, Tenor,  has appeared on many international stages in the most demanding operatic repertoire. In the 2020-21 season, Mr. Hilley was engaged to sing Walther von Stolzing in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the title role of Siegfried at Nationaltheater Mannheim, Fidelio at Prague State Opera and Washington National Opera, Aïda at Pittsburgh Opera, the title role of Der Zwerg at San Francisco Opera, and the role of Phoebus in Schmidt’s Notre Dame for the St. Gallen Festival.  Emerging as a world class Straussian tenor, he has sung Menelaus in Die ägyptische Helena with Gil Rose and Odyssey Opera and Gundelfingen in Feuersnot with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. The Wagner Society of New York presented Clay Hilley with its Top Prize, the Robert Lauch Award, in 2015. He received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education at the University of Georgia, a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Georgia State University, a Professional Studies Certificate from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Performer’s Certificate from the Opera Institute at Boston University.

Mr. Hilley has been celebrated by The New York Times for his “vocal heft, clarion sound and stamina.”

Kenneth Kellogg

Kenneth Kellogg, Bass, was born and raised in Washington, D.C. where he began formal training at the Duke Ellington School of the Performing and Visual Arts. His professional roles include staples of opera repertoire: the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust, Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Ramfis and Il Re in Verdi’s Aida, Colline in Puccini’s La Boheme, the title role of Handel’s Hercules, The King in Handel’s Ariodante, Osmin in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Sarastro and the Speaker in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Sparafucile in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and Fasolt in Wagner’s Das Rheingold. Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s opera Blue was written for him, and was named the best new opera of 2020 by the Music Critics Association of North America. Mr. Kellogg has worked with many leaders in the field at houses including San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Atlanta Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Opera Tampa, Opera Memphis, Opera North Carolina, and Opera Parallele. Mr. Kellogg in an Alumnus of the Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera and the Domingo-Caftriz Emerging Artist Program at Washington National Opera.  He also holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Ohio University.

“…his voice was wonderfully rich and smooth.” – Broadway World

THANK YOU TO OUR EXCLUSIVE SPONSOR

Rosemarie Blancke, in loving memory of Fred Blancke