Handel's 'Messiah' to grace the Bartlesville stage

Four of country’s most accomplished operatic singers, including two Bartlesville natives, will join the Bartlesville Choral Society on Sunday as they revel in one of the most joyous oratorios of all time, George Frideric Handel’s “Messiah.”

Local arts treasure Susan Mueller, who taught vocal music at Bartlesville High for 20 years and conducted the choral society for 34 years, is the guest conductor for the special performance set for 2 p.m. at the Bartlesville Community Center.

The Messiah is as beloved now as it was when it premiered 279 years ago. Today, this masterpiece and its uplifting "Hallelujah" chorus has become a yuletide tradition world-wide. Taken from the Bible, it tells the story of Christ, including the prophesy, birth, death, resurrection and second coming.

At a recent rehearsal, the choir talked about how all-encompassing the story is and how amazing the writing is to match the text of each song. Even Mozart was in awe, famously saying of Handel, “When he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt.”

Deidre Schexnayder, an alto in the choir, said the Messiah is a great reminder that “Christmas is so much bigger than the gifts you get from your friends or the eggnog.”

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Most historians believe Handel composed the Messiah, including orchestra, chorus and soloists, in about 24 days. NPR music commentator Miles Hoffman estimates there are roughly a quarter of a million notes. Schexnayder said Mueller has made solo and choral selections from the more than four-hour score to create a special 2-hour and 15-minute performance.

Soloists include André Chiang, baritone; Jeffrey Picón, tenor; Kathryn Stewart, alto, and Skye Singleton, soprano.

Skye Singleton

Singleton, a Bartlesville native, was hailed by KUCO, the classical music radio station in Oklahoma City, as “magnificent” with “high Ds that topped the ensemble...” in her portrayal of the tragic Lucia in “Lucia di Lammermore.” Her other operatic roles have included Queen Shemaka in “The Golden Cockerel,” Norina in “Don Pasquale,” Dido in “Dido and Aeneas,” Galatea in “Acis and Galatea” and Frasquita in “Carmen.” She sings with the Painted Sky Opera as an educational outreach singer. She is a recipient of both the Marilyn Horne and Dame Eva Turner awards and plans to complete her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Voice Performance at the University of Oklahoma next year.

Kathryn Stewart

Stewart, another Bartlesville native, is the director of traditional music at First Presbyterian Church of Bartlesville. She has performed with the Los Angeles Opera, Opera Pacific, Long Beach Opera, Tulsa Opera, and many others, under the direction of conductors such as Simon Rattle, André Previn and Leonard Slatkin. She toured nationally with Opera A La Carte, the Gilbert & Sullivan repertory company, and well as locally with the Bartlesville Symphony, Signature Symphony, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, LOOK Festival and Tulsa Oratorio Chorus.

André Chiang

Chiang has performed as a soloist with the Dayton Opera, Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre, Mississippi Opera, Mobile Opera and Painted Sky Opera and has had glowing reviews in publications including Opera News and the Washington Post. He is currently an assistant professor of music-voice at Oklahoma State University and maintains a private studio as well.

Jeffrey Picón

Picón has performed in opera houses and with major symphonies across the U.S. including the New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Cleveland Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic, the Naples Philharmonic and others. He is an assistant professor of voice and diction for the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University.

Mueller is a member of the Oklahoma Music Educators Hall of Fame and the Bartlesville Public School Foundation Hall of Fame.

Tickets: $13 to $25. For more information, visit bartlesvillecommunitycenter.com or call the box office at 918-337-2787

The Bartlesville Choral Society is a 501(c)3 organization and contributions over and above the price of tickets are tax deductible. Support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Oklahoma Arts Council, ConocoPhillips and other companies, organizations and individuals.

This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Handel's 'Messiah' to grace the Bartlesville stage