Birsan Returns to Performing Arts Center
Soprano Emily Birsan will return to the Middleton Performing Arts Center Wednesday for “An Evening of Song and Dance.” Birsan, a second-year member at the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, will join the Middleton Community Orchestra (MCO) as featured soloist for the second season in a row.
The Middleton Community Orchestra is conducted by Steve Kurr. The MCO will play a selection of classical dances and accompany Birsan on several well-known arias.
MCO co-founder and performer Mindy Taranto said the group is “thrilled to have someone this talented returning.”
“The last concert had a myriad of arias in all different styles,” said Birsan. “It was a wonderful experience and everyone was so warm. This time around we’re doing something that’s geared a little bit more toward song and dance and the selections will be fairly well known.”
The evening will include: Strauss — Blue Danube Waltz; Saint-Saens — Danse Bacchanale; Puccini — La Boheme - Musetta’s waltz “Quando men vo”; Mozart — Die Entführung aus dem Serail - Costanza’s aria “Ach ich liebte”; Lehar — The Merry Widow - “Vilija’s lied”; Verdi — La Traviata: Sempre Libera; Brahms — Hungarian Dance Nos. 1 & 3 Dvorak — Slavonic Dance Op. 46 No. 8; Rimsky-Korsakov — Polonaise from the Christmas Eve Suite; and Strauss — Persian March.
Originally from Wisconsin, Birsan has been touted as an artist of great promise.
In the 2011-2012 season, she covered he roles of Lucia, Papagena and Armida and performed the roles of Stella (Tales of Hoffman) and Xenia (Boris Godunov) and was praised for her work - especially in Bel Canto and Handel roles.
For this year’s season at Lyric Opera, Birsan performs the Trainbearer (Strauss’ Elektra), Sandman (Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel) and the Page (Verdi’s Rigoletto). She is also covering leading roles in Massenet’s Werther, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Puccini’s La Bohème.
Birsan received her Masters degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied with Julia Faulkner and sang the tile roles of Alcina (Handel), Thais (Massenet) and Maria Stuarda (Donizetti). She has also sung with Des Moines Metro Opera and Madison Opera.
Birsan considers Middleton performances a sort of homecoming at the end of a hectic year. “It’s nice to come back to the Madison area and sing arias I love,” she commented.
The soloist said first-time audiences will be surprised by opera’s accessibility and almost visceral impact.
“Opera is changing as my generation comes up,” she said. “The one thing that hasn’t changed is how opera moves you. It’s a universal language, particularly with the orchestral performances and the virtuosic singing, and it borders on otherworldly. I think people are often surprised by just how moving it can be.”
Tickets are available at Willy St. Coop West and at the door on the night of the show. General admission is $10. Tickets are free to students. Call 212-8690 for more information or visit the MCO website.
The holiday concert is slated for Wednesday, Dec. 19 at 7:30 p.m. The Middleton Performing Arts Center is located at 2100 Bristol Street in Middleton.
