The promise is alluring – a night to remember with selections from 13 operas performed concert-style.

This is what the Menaka Singers’ Opera Ensemble promises during ‘A Grand Night for Singing — at the Opera’ on September 7 to raise funds for ‘Samata Sarana’, an approved charity in Colombo 15.

Seven soloists will perform extracts from pieces such as Handel’s Ariodante, Gounod’s Faust, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Verdi’s Il Trovatore and Bizet’s Carmen.The soloists are sopranos Trudy Herft, Dhanushi Wijeyakulasuriya and Anagi Perera, mezzo sopranos Rachel Haliday and Joanne Aloysius, baritone Gehan Cooray and tenor Jaliya Senanayake.

Coming from diverse professions, they meet on opera’s common ground. Trudy, actress, singer, director and teacher is currently completing the diploma of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM-UK) and Dhanushi is a third-year special degree student at the University of Colombo. Gehan who holds a degree in theatre, is often seen on stage as well as Broadway performing in many operas, musicals and dramas and also directing, while Jaliya who has just graduated as an engineer from Jesus College, Cambridge, has toured extensively with the Cambridge choir, the most recent being in Australia performing Beethoven 9 with the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

Anagi, meanwhile, is a qualified marketer, part-time teacher and choir director; Rachel has completed her Advanced Certificate in Singing from Trinity College, London, being Sri Lanka’s prize winner for 2010; Joanne is a Licentiate in singing from Trinity College, London and holds a Master’s from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura..

‘A Grand Night for Singing — at the Opera’ will be on 7.30 p.m. on September 7 at the Lionel Wendt. For information and tickets, contact the Lionel Wendt on Phone: 011-2695794.
 

 Caption - AT rehersals performers get ready for the show