Learn About the Music for Atlanta Ballet's Production of Carmina Burana

The Carl Orff score is one of the most recognized pieces of music, and you may not even realize that you already know it! Many films and television shows have used or incorporated the melody of "O Fortuna" (opening and closing movement) from Carl Orff’s Camina Burana into their soundtracks. Some of these films include Glory (1989), Hunt for Red October (1990), Natural Born Killers (1994), and Cheaper By the Dozen (2003). TV shows include Friends, The Office (US), The Simpsons, Glee, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Late Show with David Letterman.

Click on the image below to watch the Georgia State University Singers rehearse "O Fortuna" for the upcoming performance of David Bintley's Carmina Burana. See if you recognize the music!

Georgia State University Singers perform "O Fortuna" in Carmina Burana written by Carl Orff; video by Brian Wallenberg.

Atlanta Ballet's production of Carmina Burana by David Bintley will be reminiscent of an arena-sized concert with not only a live orchestra but also a full-sized chorus and three professional soloists! Learn about the musical artists who will be bringing this dazzling, modern interpretation and North American premiere to life April 12-14. Get your tickets today by clicking here!

score to life for all Atlanta Ballet performances of David Bintley's Carmina Burana!

THE SOLOISTS

Brendan Daly (Tenor Soloist), an Atlanta native, finished the 2011|2012 season with critically noted lead roles in Le 66 by Offenbach, Trial by Jury by G&S, and The Mighty Casey by Schuman (Opera Saratoga). Recent supporting credits include La Bohème (Atlanta Opera), Die Fledermaus (Saratoga), Kurt Weil’s Mahagonny (Opera Boston), Haydn’s Creation, Handel’s Messiah, and the Magnificat and St. Matthew Passion of Bach. Brendan apprenticed two seasons with Opera Colorado, appearing in Tales of Hoffmann by Nathanaël and the Barber of Seville (Almaviva). He is in residency at Boston University’s Opera Institute, recently appearing in stage works of Massenet, Poulenc, Britten, and Jake Heggie.

Angela Gilbert (Soprano Soloist), a South African born soprano, is an accomplished international interpreter of the Bel Canto repertoire. She has performed the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Maria Stuarda for San Diego Opera under the batons of Richard Bonynge and Edoardo Müller, respectively. The title role in Lucia has also taken her to the Anna Livia International Opera Festival in Dublin, Ireland, Cape Town Opera in South Africa, Connecticut Grand Opera, Kentucky Opera, and Palm Beach Opera; and she has covered the role for Natalie Dessay at the San Francisco Opera. She has also performed Norina in Don Pasquale with Cape Town Opera and Wolf Trap Opera, Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore with the Bar Harbor Festival, and Inez in La Favorita for Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall. Additional engagements with OONY include covering the title role in Adelia and Elena in Rossini’s La Donna del Lago. An alumna of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, Angela is a versatile performer relishing her ongoing relationship with Mozart and Verdi.

Gabriel Preisser (Baritone Soloist), praised for his "rich and powerful voice," has performed over 30 operatic and musical theatre roles with companies such as Des Moines Metro Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Pensacola Opera, and Kentucky Opera. He has also appeared as a soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic, Ars Lyrica, Mercury Baroque, and others. Recently, he reprised his role as Lt. Gordon in the Pulitzer Prize winning Silent Night with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, a role he created with Minnesota Opera last year. A district winner in the 2010 Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition and winner of the American finals of the International Lirico Concorso Competition in 2011, he has earned performance degrees from Florida State University and the University of Houston.

GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY SINGERS UNDER THE DIRECTION OF DR. DEANNA JOSEPH

Dr. Deanna Joseph (Conductor, Georgia State University Singers) is director of choral activities at the Georgia State University School of Music, where she conducts the University Singers and the Women’s Chorus, teaches conducting and choral literature, and supervises the master’s program in choral conducting. She is an active guest conductor and clinician who has conducted all-state and honor choirs in eight states. Dr. Joseph is a frequent conductor of choral-orchestral repertoire and has led performances of pieces such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Beethoven‘s Mass in C, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation and Lord Nelson Mass, Schubert’s Mass in A-flat, and Bruckner’s Mass in D Minor. Dr. Joseph holds a BS in music education from Duquesne University and both the MM and the DMA in conducting from the Eastman School of Music. At Eastman, she taught conducting and served as the assistant conductor of the Eastman Chorale and the Eastman-Rochester Chorus and was awarded the Walter Hagen Conducting Prize. Dr. Joseph has also been a conducting fellow at the Oregon Bach Festival. Prior to her appointment at Georgia State University, Dr. Joseph served on the faculties at Smith College (2004-2007), the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2007-2008), and Hobart and William Smith Colleges (2008-2010) and served for three summers as a conductor and teacher on the artist faculty of the New York State Summer School for the Arts - School of Choral Studies (2007-2009).

Georgia State University Singers (Choir), under the direction of Dr. Deanna Joseph, is the Georgia State University School of Music’s premier vocal ensemble. Selected by competitive audition, the choir is comprised of both music majors and non-majors, undergraduate and graduate students, while representing the diverse population of Georgia State University. The ensemble’s annual performances have included appearances before the Georgia Music Educators Association, American Choral Directors Association, and at the Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards. The Singers’ tours have taken them throughout much of the United States, including Carnegie Hall on two occasions, and six international tours with stops in France, Belgium, Italy, Yugoslavia, Finland, Russian, Estonia, Canada, and Great Britain. The University Singers is honored to have been selected to represent the United States in the 2013 Florilège Vocal de Tours International Choral Song Competition this May. Click here and select the 'Music' tab for the Georgia State University Singers listing.

ATLANTA BALLET ORCHESTRA WITH GUEST CONDUCTOR
BEATRICE AFFRON

Beatrice Affron (Conductor) was born and raised in New York City. She joined Pennsylvania Ballet in 1993 as the assistant conductor and was promoted to music director and conductor in 1997. A graduate of Yale University, Beatrice studied conducting with Robert Spano and Pascal Verrot at New England Conservatory. At Pennsylvania Ballet, Beatrice has conducted many Balanchine ballets as well as other classics such as The Sleeping Beauty and Romeo and Juliet. In 2004, she conducted the world premiere of Christopher Wheeldon’s Swan Lake. Other dance credits include Les Sylphides, Moor’s Pavane, and Dark Elegies, all of which Beatrice led at the Boston Conservatory. Outside of dance, Beatrice is heard in a large and varied repertoire that encompasses works from Handel to Donizetti to Philip Glass. In 2002, she received international attention when she led the world premiere performances of Philip Glass and Mary Zimmerman’s Galileo Galilei at Chicago’s
Goodman Theater and subsequently on a tour to London’s Barbican Theatre. In 2005, Beatrice made her debut with the Glimmerglass Opera conducting Donizetti’s Lucie de Lammermoor. Other guest conducting appearances include Opera Theatre St. Louis, the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, the Landmarks Orchestra, and New England Conservatory. Beatrice lives in Boston with her husband and daughter. Click here for the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra listing.