JANÁČEK!

Chamber Music at the Scarab Club is excited to present the next concert of its 25th season in the beautiful sanctuary of Grosse Pointe Unitarian Church. CMSC will highlight the music of Czech composer Leoš Janáček, (1854 -1928). The Detroit Opera will present Janáček’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen on May 11th, 17th, and 19th. CMSC’s program serves as a Janáček ‘appetizer’, showcasing the chamber music of this original and exceptionally talented composer, just a couple weeks before the opera opens. In past seasons, the Detroit Opera has collaborated with CMSC to familiarize audiences with works by less familiar composers.

The CMSC program features Janáček’s String Quartet # 1, “Kreutzer Sonata”. It’s considered one of the masterpieces of the string quartet literature and was inspired by Tolstoy’s novella, “The Kreutzer Sonata”. Fittingly, the string quartet performers for this amazing concert are all members of the Detroit Opera Orchestra: violinists Laura Roelofs and Velda Kelly, violist Scott Stefanko and cellist Ivana Biliskov. Pianist Mary Siciliano will also perform on this program, joining violinist Velda Kelly in Janáček’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. Additionally, the musicians will present a string trio by Antonín Dvořák, another Czech composer who had a great love and affinity for folk song.

Detroit Opera Resident Artists and baritones Ben Reisinger and Rolfe Dauz will perform several Janáček folk songs as well as favorite arias from other opera composers. Their collaborative pianist is Nathalie Doucet, Director of the Detroit Opera Resident Artist Program.