The May 2022 season went so well, the Natchez Music Festival will return for an encore this fall
Published at 5:00 a.m. Monday, August 22, 2022
NATCHEZ – 31str the Natchez Music Festival season brought us the music of Queen, an acrobatic opera, and the world premiere of a harp and saxophone composition by the Kontra Duo. We said goodbye to the Impromptu Piano Trio, whose violinist retired after the event. Concert attendees were mesmerized by the sounds of ancient Chinese songs played by pianist Zhaolei Xie and enjoyed the music of Stephen Sondheim and the songs of Carole King and Judy Garland.
Organizers of the Natchez Music Festival urged them to plan a new concert season starting in October.
The 2022-2023 Natchez Music Festival, in its 32nd season, will include 14 concerts of jazz, rock, opera, Broadway, chamber music, gospel and more.
Here are some important dates coming up, in the near future.
October 6, 2022, Red Summer, Rossini and Rampal
The festival, along with the Autumn Pilgrimage, will present Red Wine, Rossini and Rampal, celebrating the centenary of French flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal. The renowned musician brought the flute to new prominence as a solo instrument suitable for a wide range of musical styles. Performers that night will be flutists Fabio Angelo Colajanni and Danilo Mezzadri, vocalist Susan Ruggiero and pianist Brian Murphy. The Carriage House is the venue for this gala chamber concert.
October 27, 2022, Gianni Schicchi and The Medium
Opera lovers won’t want to miss this one.
The festival will present two short operas: Giacomo Puccini’s comic opera Gianni Schicchi and Gian Carlo Menotti’s The Medium. Gianni Schicchi involves an untimely death, a forged will, thieving relatives and a con man. The Medium, first released in 1946, deals with the occult, guilt and madness.
Of course, there’s always romance lurking in the wings. Puccini set his opera, first performed in 1918, in Renaissance Florence, but the Natchez Music Festival sets this production in contemporary Gulfport, Mississippi. Both operas will be in English. Menotti is best known for his Christmas opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors. For those wanting a preview of the music from these operas, try an online search of Gianni Schicchi’s “O mio bambino caro” and “Monica’s Waltz” from The Medium.
November 6, 2022, Handel’s Messiah
Co-sponsored with Trinity Episcopal Church to celebrate the congregation’s 200th anniversary, this concert featuring excerpts from George Frederic Handel’s Messiah will be performed by a 40-member choir and orchestra.
The magnificent oratorio with its rousing Hallelujah chorus was composed in 1741 and first performed in Dublin, Ireland, at Easter, 1742, but today Messiah is most often performed during the Christmas season.
December 2, 2022, Elvis Christmas
For this Festival’s Christmas cabaret, Elvis-Victor Trevino-will be in the room.
Trevino is the winner of the 2022 Ultimate Elvis Contest.
Coming in 2023
Concerts in 2023 will include a Martin Luther King Weekend commemoration with Voices of Freedom on January 15. The Festival’s Valentine’s Gala is scheduled for February 10, with “Be My Love,” a tribute to Mario Lanza, performed by Peter Lake, Stacey Trenteseaux and Tyler Kemp. A chamber concert in March by the Herrington Jazz Quintet is planned for the Spring Pilgrimage.
On April 29, Johann Strauss’s operetta Die Fledermaus will open the 32nd season of May Music.
See ticket information for each concert at natchezfestivalofmusic.com.
The Natchez Music Festival is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation supported by donations, grants and ticket sales.