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Press Releases
Venezuelan-born Soprano Maria Brea Makes her Boston Debut with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 Performed by the Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra on May 3
The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO), comprised of some of the Northeast’s top musicians age 12-21, closes its 2022-23 Boston season on a grand scale with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at 8:00 PM at Symphony Hall, conducted by Maestro Benjamin Zander. Two extraordinary vocalists perform as soloists—soprano Maria Brea, making her Boston debut, and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano—in addition to Chorus pro Musica. A live stream is also available for those who are unable to attend in person.
The 80-minute-long Resurrection Symphony—so-called because of its view of the splendor of the afterlife—starts by laying the Titan, the hero of Mahler’s First Symphony, to rest with a funeral march. The rest of the symphony builds a new pathway to hope and ultimate affirmation, while also recognizing the world’s absurdity amidst its incredible beauty.
According to Benjamin Zander, “A live performance of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony is always more than a concert—it is a communal experience. There is no work in the repertory, none whatsoever, that so completely unites performers and audience in a transformative musical affirmation.” freeform
About the Soloists
Soprano Maria Brea is one of Venezuela's most acclaimed opera singers. A fine recitalist and promoter of art song, as well as an avid oratorio singer, Maria has performed throughout the world, from Cardiff to Paris, stunning her audiences with her exciting renditions, sparkling clarity, and dazzling range. Praised for being a "very classy Venezuelan soprano" by The Arts Desk and “luxurious soprano" by Opera Wire, Ms. Brea’s recent significant roles include: Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème, Agrippina by Handel, Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Elena in Giménez's El Barbero de Sevilla.
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano has performed more than 100 times at the Metropolitan Opera; her most recent roles include Nicklausse in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Emilia in Verdi’s Otello, Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel, and Meg Page in Verdi’s Falstaff. She appears with major orchestras and conductors and has collaborated on numerous projects with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst, as well as with the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel in both the US and Europe. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic and with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck. In response to her performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera News praised her “impressive tone and dead-on pitch throughout a wide range, and a fierce command of words,” calling her “a matchless interpreter of contemporary opera.”
Tickets are $60.00, $40.00, $20.00, and $10 for students with code STU-DIS. The live stream is $20 for general admission, $10 for students, and $40 for supporters. View tickets and subscriptions at www.bostonphil.org or by calling 617-236-0999. View ticket policies at https://www.bostonphil.org/concerts/ticket-policies.
Currently Symphony Hall does not require proof of vaccination, a negative Covid test result, or masks, although masks are recommended. For coronavirus updates visit https://www.bostonphil.org/concerts/experience/virus.
About the Boston Philharmonic
Founded in 1979 by its current leader, Benjamin Zander, the Boston Philharmonic is comprised of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO), Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO), and its robust Crescendo Education and Community Engagement programs. It aims to share the vibrancy of classical music with new and existing audiences, aspiring to expand the limits of possibility to reinvigorate the classical music experience for audiences and players alike.
As one of Boston’s premier orchestras, the BPO features professional, student and amateur musicians who perform inspiring renditions of celebrated masterworks in Boston’s most storied concert halls. The BPYO offers year-long, tuition-free orchestral and leadership training at the highest level for talented musicians from age 12-21. The Crescendo Education and Community Engagement programs provide high quality music education for children who would otherwise not have access, often serving the most disadvantaged, at-risk, and under-resourced children in the city.
About Benjamin Zander
For more than 50 years, Benjamin Zander has occupied a unique place as a master teacher, a deeply insightful and probing interpreter, and a profound source of inspiration for audiences, as well as students, professional musicians, corporate leaders, politicians, and more. He has persistently engaged some of the most well-informed musical and public intellectuals in a quest for insight and understanding into the Western musical canon and the underlying religious, social, and political issues that inspired its creation.
For more than 25 years, Zander has also enjoyed a unique relationship with the Philharmonia Orchestra, recording a series of Beethoven and Mahler symphonies. High Fidelity named the recording of Mahler’s 6th as Best Classical Recording of 2002; the 3rd was awarded Critic’s Choice by the German Record Critics; and Mahler 9th and 2nd and Bruckner’s 5th recordings were all nominated for Grammy Awards.
Zander enjoys an international career as a leadership speaker, with several keynote speeches at the World Economic Forum in Davos and at TED. His best-selling book, The Art of Possibility, co-authored with his former wife and leading psychotherapist Rosamund Zander, has been translated into 18 languages.
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