Mendelssohn: Elijah
Friday, October 4, 2024 – 7:30 PM
Gambrell Center, Queens University of Charlotte
2319 Wellesley Ave, Charlotte, NC
The Charlotte Master Chorale and Charlotte Symphony unite for a captivating, semi-staged production of the 19th century’s most enduring oratorio, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, depicting the dramatic story of the biblical prophet, his battle with the priests of Baal, and his final ascent to heaven on a flaming chariot.
This special performance is presented in partnership with the Charlotte Symphony and in conjunction with the state conference of the North Carolina chapter of the American Choral Directors Association and is made possible, in part, with support from the Sally Ann and Joe Hall Fund of the Charlotte Symphony’s Endowment.
Check out the Gambrell Center Box Office FAQ page for information on parking, ticketing, accessibility, etc.
Sung in English and presented in an abridged 90-minute production with no intermission.
Our Soloists
MELINDA WHITTINGTON
Soprano
The Salt Lake Tribune praises Melinda Whittington for her “performances of emotional resonance along with their powerhouse vocals.” Last season, Melinda made her role debut as Mimi in Minnesota Opera’s new production of Puccini’s La bohème and sang her first Verdi Requiem with the Charlotte Symphony. This season, she revisits the role of Mimi with her home company, Opera Carolina, where she will also sing Micaëla in Carmen. She also returns to one of her most well-known roles, singing Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Greensboro Opera. Other roles Melinda has sung with her home company include Violetta in La traviata, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, the Coming Home Soldier in Redler and Dye’s The Falling and the Rising, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte. She joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for both its 2022 and 2019 productions of Akhnaten, as well as the Lyric Opera of Chicago for its recent production of Eugene Onegin.
Among the soprano’s other recent performance debuts with Arizona Opera as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and a return for the title role of Rusalka, Utah Opera for Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Ash Lawn Opera as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, and North Carolina Opera as Ada in Higdon’s Cold Mountain and Nedda in Pagliacci. She has sung Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Carolina, Opera Grand Rapids, and Kentucky Opera; the title role of Arabella with Pittsburgh Festival Opera; Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Birmingham and Pensacola Opera; Micaëla in Carmen with Greensboro Opera; and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Green Mountain Opera. She sang Micaëla in Carmen and Marie Antoinette in Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles as a Filene Young Artist at Wolf Trap Opera and subsequently returned to the company for a birthday concert celebration honoring the composer.
Ms. Whittington is a former Resident Artist of the Academy of Vocal Arts, at which she sang Marguerite in Faust and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. She joined Opera Philadelphia for an exciting evening of new opera with Opera Philadelphia and their composers in residence, Lembit Beecher and Missy Mazzoli. On the concert stage, in addition to Verdi’s Requiem, she has also sung Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Philadelphia Sinfonia, Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Back Bay Chorale, and excerpts of Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with the Charlotte Symphony.
She was the 2015 first place winner of the Opera Birmingham competition, 2016 third place winner in Fort Worth Opera’s McCammon Voice Competition, a 2013 semi-finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, two time winner of the Opera Guild of Charlotte Competition, and an encouragement award winner in the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition. She is a former participant in the prestigious Merola Opera Program in association with San Francisco Opera at which she performed scenes as the title role in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, Barber’s Vanessa, and Bizet’s Le jolie fille de Perth. She holds a Master of Music degree from the University of North Carolina Greensboro and a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
In addition to pursuing her operatic career, Melinda is a skilled and experienced performer and teacher of contemporary vocal styles, including jazz, musical theater, and pop. She is an adjunct professor of voice at Davidson College and maintains a private studio. Her most important role is being mom to two little boys, Isaac and Simon, and wife to husband, Phil. When not performing or teaching, Melinda enjoys photography, vintage shopping, yoga, cooking, hiking, and traveling. If you’d like to hear more, Melinda has an album entitled Night and Day, available for purchase on her website: www.melindawhittington.com
KATE MARONEY
Mezzo-Soprano
Mezzo-soprano Kate Maroney is in demand as a versatile concert soloist in repertoire from Bach to the 21st-century. Kate has appeared with the Metropolitan Opera, Baldwin Wallace Bach Festival, Bangor Symphony Orchestra, Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, Blue Hill Bach, Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, New York City Ballet, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Seraphic Fire, Berkshire Choral Festival, Voices of Ascension, TENET Vocal Artists, Ekmeles, Carmel Bach Festival, Opera Grand Rapids, Beth Morrison Projects, Bard SummerScape, Trinity Wall Street, LA Opera, Lincoln Center Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Musica Sacra, Bach Collegium San Diego, Princeton Pro Musica, Bach Vespers Holy Trinity, Mark Morris Dance Group, Yale Choral Artists, American Opera Projects, The Crossing, Lorelei Ensemble, and Clarion. Kate has premiered works and collaborated closely with the Philip Glass Ensemble (world tour from 2012—2015 in Einstein on the Beach) and has collaborated frequently with many composers including David Lang, Michael Gordon, Martin Bresnick, Julia Wolfe, Missy Mazzoli, Matthew Ricketts, Hannah Lash, Nina Young, Dominick Argento, Christopher Cerrone, and Ted Hearne. She is featured on Grammy-nominated recordings with Albany, Naxos, and New Amsterdam Records, and is part of the Grammy-winning recording of Ethel Smyth’s “The Prison” (Chandos 2020.) She is a soloist on recordings with Clarion (Maxamillian Steinberg’s Passion Week,) Seraphic Fire’s recording of Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum, and a vocal quartet recording with David Lang of the little match girl passion, which was released on Cantaloupe Records in Fall 2023. She holds a D.M.A. from Eastman, degrees from SUNY Purchase and Yale, teaches at Mannes and at Yale. While not singing or teaching her heart out, Kate enjoys studying French, and embarking on urban hikes around her beloved Brooklyn, where she resides with musician-husband, Red Wierenga, and their son, Ossian. www.katemaroney.com
JONNY KAUFMAN
Tenor
Tenor Jonathan Kaufman possesses a voice of entrancing power, beauty, and finesse, which he employs with considerable technique and musicianship. In their review of Kaufman’s portrayal of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, BroadwayWorld makes it clear why Kaufman is quickly ascending the ranks as one of the greatest tenors of his generation: “Tenor Jonathan Kaufman, as Pinkerton, has a voice so grand — even heroic — that there are many times when, lost in the glory of that voice, we quite forget what a cad the Lieutenant is. Superb!”
Last season, Kaufman rejoined Opera Carolina for their productions of Cavalleria rusticana and Madama Butterfly as Turiddu and Pinkerton, respectively. He sang Don José in Opera Western Reserve’s Carmen, Rodolfo in La bohème with Opera Grand Rapids, and Cavaradossi in Tosca with Opera Wilmington. He also joined the Cleveland Pops and Western Piedmont Symphony for concerts of lighter fare. This season he makes role débuts as Samson in Samson et Dalila with St. Petersburg Opera, Obadiah in Elijah with Charlotte Symphony & Master Chorale, and returns to Opera Carolina to reprise his Rodolfo.
Recently, Kaufman made house débuts at New Orleans Opera as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Opera Western Reserve as Rodolfo in La bohème and he returned to Opera Carolina to cover Cavaradossi in Tosca and Winter Opera St. Louis to sing Macduff in Macbeth. He also joined the Northern Lights Music Festival to sing Rodolfo in La bohème. Other débuts included Western Piedmont Symphony in their Foothills Pops! holiday concert and Aiken Symphony Orchestra for their Home for the Holidays concert. Kaufman returned to Opera Wilmington for Viva Italia! as part of their summer concert series Under the Stars; he joined the company of Douglas Tappin’s I Dream in a new co-production between Opera Carolina and Charlottesville Opera; and he returned to Opera Carolina for their Bella Notte and Opera Hits concerts. He made débuts with Winter Opera St. Louis in both their fall gala and as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, with the Aiken Symphony Orchestra in their romantic concert Amore! Famous Love Songs from the World of Opera, in concerts with River City Opera and Traverse City Opera, and with Charlotte Symphony Orchestra as part of their Opera Masterpieces concert.
Previous engagements included débuts with Opera Delaware in their Fall Jukebox concert and with Toledo Opera and Opera Carolina as Malcolm in Macbeth. Additionally, Kaufman made appearances and performed with Opera Experience Southeast as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly; as Rodolfo in La bohème with Opera Wilmington, Central Piedmont Opera Theater, and Little Opera Company of Charlotte; Alfred in Die Fledermaus with Little Opera Company of Charlotte; Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana with Repertory Opera Theater of Washington D.C.; as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with State Opera Varna, marking his international début; and as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Lancaster.
Kaufman was a finalist in both the Giulio Gari and The Jensen Foundation competitions, as well as being named the Winner of the Jennifer White Memorial Award in Shreveport Opera’s Mary Jacobs Smith Singer of the Year competition. He was the winner of the Second-Place prize in the SAS Performing Arts Company Vocal competition, winner in NYIOP’s first-ever Anonymous Audition Project, and a finalist in the NOA Carolyn Bailey and Dominick Argento Vocal Competition.
MARQUES JERRELL RUFF
Bass-Baritone
Marques Jerrell Ruff is an international musician and passionate music educator hailing from New England. Marques has graced the stage as a soloist with numerous organizations, including the National Chorus of Korea, Tallahassee Symphony, Charlotte Master Chorale, and the Hartford Symphony. The Hartford Courant marveled, “Ruff has a voice that has power, clarity, and brilliant shades of color.” His unwavering commitment to the Negro spiritual has been a cornerstone of his artistic and scholarly endeavors, ensuring that this vital musical tradition continues to inspire and educate future generations. In addition to his solo career, Marques has sung with some of the most prestigious choral ensembles in the United States. His impressive roster of collaborations includes the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Chanticleer, Seraphic Fire, Conspirare, and Exigence. Marques earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Central Connecticut State University, where his passion for music flourished. He then pursued dual Master of Music degrees in Choral Conducting and Voice Performance from the University of Missouri-Columbia, further honing his skills and expanding his expertise. Marques’s dedication to music education culminated in a Ph.D. in Music Education with an emphasis in Choral Conducting from Florida State University. Most recently, Marques accepted an appointment at Arkansas State University where he serves as Assistant Professor of Vocal Music Education and Associate Director of Choral Activities. Marques is a proud member of the American Choral Directors Association, the National Association of Negro Musicians, the Society of Pi Kappa Lambda, Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity of America, and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated. He can be found on all social media @marquesjruff
