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12:00pm | <\/strong><\/span>The Long Beach Chorale and Chamber Orchestra is presenting what many consider to be Franz Joseph Haydn’s greatest work, The Creation. It is ambitious, monumental, and filled with celebratory joy, with a masterful interweaving of orchestral and choral arrangements which frame soaring solo voices. <\/p>\n Grace First Presbyterian Church, located on the corner of Los Coyotes Diagonal and Studebaker, is hosting both performances, the first on Saturday at 7 PM, and another on Sunday at 4 PM. Advance tickets are still available, but seating is limited. General admission tickets are $25, and students with ID pay $15. <\/p>\n In the midst of rehearsals, teaching, and other demands, the Chorale’s Artistic Director, Eliza Rubenstein, took a few minutes to answer questions about the performance, and the work. <\/p>\n “We’ll be using an 1825 Broadwood fortepiano,” said Eliza, “from the same factory where Haydn rented a piano for his 1800 London premiere of the work. Another fun fact: At that performance, the pianist was none other than Antonio Salieri.” [Note: Salieri was depicted, some say unfairly, as Mozart’s nemesis in the 1984 award-winning<\/a> film, Amadeus. – srw] <\/p>\n The work, known as an oratorio, is based on a text that was given to Haydn while on a visit to England. The text was translated into German, and then back into English. Both versions of the work still exist, and both are performed. I asked why she chose the English version. <\/p>\n “Haydn’s preference was for the work to be performed in English for English-speaking audiences,” Eliza explained, “and we think this will enhance the enjoyment of those who come to hear it this weekend.” <\/p>\n Of the orchestra, she said, “we’ll have about 30 instrumentalists with us, including Bob Gunn on the fortepiano. Haydn uses the orchestra to great effect in this piece as he illustrates all the colorful natural objects, animals, and plants God creates. <\/p>\n “Our soloists are world-class,” Eliza continued. “Baritone David Stoneman has sung with us frequently in the past, and LBCCO audiences know him for his booming sound and wonderful expressiveness. Harriet Fraser, who began her professional life as a doctor in her native England, has quickly become one of the most respected sopranos in the Los Angeles area (you’ll immediately hear why), and this music is particularly suited to her voice; when I first mentioned the word “Creation” to her many months ago, her eyes lit up! And tenor Robert MacNeil, a graduate of Chapman University, has soloed with LA Opera and at Carnegie Hall. <\/p>\n “This is one of Haydn’s last works,” she said, “and one of his greatest. He was already a rock star in England and on the continent when he wrote “The Creation”; the premieres were packed full of his fans. <\/p>\n “‘The Creation’ calls upon the Handelian tradition of oratorio-writing. If ‘Messiah’ and other Handel works hadn’t been so popular, Haydn might never have written this piece but, as it was, he knew there was a demand and an audience for large-scale non-staged works of this sort.” <\/p>\n I asked Eliza what she discovered during her time with The Creation. <\/p>\n “One of the features that makes this work so enjoyable for the audience,” said Eliza, “also makes it challenging for the chorus and the performers: It’s so irrepressibly cheerful! I can’t think of another work of this length with so little anguish, conflict, or grief. Haydn even cuts the narrative short before Adam and Eve get themselves into trouble in Paradise. That’s great for listeners, but it requires that we find other ways to create contrast and nuance in our performance. <\/p>\n “Mostly, though, I’ve discovered what I already knew to be true: Haydn is a genius of the happiest sort, and our world would be a great deal less sunny without him.” <\/p>\n — <\/p>\n For tickets, please call (562) 427-1931. <\/p>\n For more information about the LBCCO, visit LongBeachChorale.org<\/a>. <\/p>\n