Coming Up!

Donizetti's sparkling comedy, "The Daughter of the Regiment"
Sung in English.
Marie Lester Loy Friday, September 20, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, September 22, 3 p.m., Brodbeck Music Hall, Hood College.
Marie Lester Loy sings the title role and the cast and chorus will be accompanied by a professional chamber orchestra. Tickets are $22 general admission and $11 for students and seniors over 65. For the Sunday show, special reduced prices will be available for those who donate canned goods to Grace Church's grocery basket for the hungry and homeless.

Download the ADVANCE TICKET ORDER FORM (PDF)

The 2012-2013 Season

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Announcing an all-Verdi concert in his bicentennial year,
"A Celebration of Verdi."
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A Sunday, March 24, 2013, 3 p.m., Brodbeck Music Hall, Hood College.
Vocal soloists, the MCO chorus, and maestro Noel Lester performed highlights from "Nabucco," "Simon Boccanegra," "Il Trovatore," "La Traviata," the Requiem, "Don Carlos," and "Rigoletto."

Featured performers: Lynn Staininger, director of the MCO Chorus, mezzo soprano Katelyn Jackman, soprano Marie Lester Loy, tenor Stephen Campbell, bass baritone Jeffrey Martin and pianist/music director Noel Lester.
SOLD OUT!! High Tea with Gilbert and Sullivan
Monday, January 21, 2013, at 3:30 at Brewer's Alley.
The MCO is pleased to announce an English high tea and music from "Pirates of Penzance," "The Mikado" and "H.M.S. Pinafore,"served up by the chef at Brewer's Alley and some of the MCO's brightest stars. Seating is limited and this event is sure to sell out, so make your reservations as soon as possible. Tickets are $40 per person. To reserve your place, contact Noel Lester at pianolover51@gmail.com.
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Highlights from Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro"
Sunday, November 4, 2012, 3 p.m. at Grace Church.
The stellar cast includes Peter Tomaszewksi as Figaro and Lisa Dodson as Susanna. Tickets are $20 general admission and $10 for students and seniors over 65. 50% of ticket proceeds support Grace Church's ministries to the hungry and homeless.

Great memories

Special guest star, mezzo soprano Tracie Luck
Spring Concert
Sunday, May 27, 2012, at Grace Church
Special guest star, mezzo soprano Tracie Luck

Opera star and Frederick native Tracie Luck returned to her hometown to perform arias by Gluck, Massenet, Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, Handel, Blitzstein, and Danielpour. She was accompanied at the piano by Maestro Noel Lester. 50% of ticket sales benefitted Grace Church's ministries to the hungry and homeless. To read about Tracie Luck, go to: http://www.carnegiehall.org/honor/artists/artistDetail.aspx?art=tluck

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"The Magic Flute"
Mozart's "The Magic Flute," with professional chamber orchestra, performed as a semi-staged performances, in costume, in Brodbeck Music Hall at Hood College.

Click on the poster to see a slideshow of photos from rehearsals.

Friday, Nov. 4, 2011,
Saturday, Nov. 5, 2011, special family show
Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011,

Listen to a clip from the finale of “The Magic Flute”. If you do not see the in-page player, click here to download the mp3 clip.

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"Opera Goes Back to the Movies"
In response to the enthusiastic response we received to last seasons' "Opera Goes to the Movies," we took a trip back for more great operatic music featured in films and TV. On Sunday, May 29, 2011, at Grace Church, sopranos Jennifer Holbrook and Marie Lester Loy, mezzo soprano Katelyn Jackman, tenor William Davenport, and baritone Christian Waugh, along with members of the Choral Arts Society of Frederick under the direction of Lynn Staininger, and meastro Noel Lester at the piano, will present operatic favorites from "The Marriage of Figaro," "Madama Butterfly," "Rigoletto," "Elixir of Love," "La Traviata," "Samson and Delilah," and others, as well as parallel selections from "Carmen" and, then, as reconfigured in "Carmen Jones." These selections have been featured in such films as "Fatal Attraction," "Philadelphia," "Trading Spaces," "Pretty Woman," "Mrs. Doubtfire," "Prizzi's Honor," "Honeymoon in Vegas," and many more.

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"Pasta and Puccini."
The MCO hosted its first gala fundraiser on January 15, 2011, at 5 p.m. at Brewer's Alley in downtown Frederick. The evening began with appetizers and a cash bar, followed by a mini-concert by some of the MCO's favorite singers—Katelyn Jackman and Marie Lester Loy, our Hansel and Gretel, Peter Tomaszewski, our baritone par excellence, and Jennifer Edwards and William Davenport, who will star in "Opera Goes Back to the Movies." After the concert, the chefs at Brewers Alley served up a full-course Italian dinner, complete with wine and dessert.

For a review by attendee Kathy Krach, go to "Pasta and Puccini" at Want2Dish.

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Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" in English with chamber orchestra

Listen to a clip from the finale of “Hansel and Gretel”. If you do not see the in-page player, click here to download the mp3 clip.

Two performances: Friday Nov. 12, 2010, 7 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 14, 2010, 3 p.m., Grace United Church of Christ. Cast includes Katelyn Jackman as Hansel, Marie Lester Loy as Gretel, Jan Aaland as the Mother, Peter Tomaszewski as the Father, Jenni Bank as the Witch, Jonathan Goldblith as the Sandman, and Nola Richardson as the Dew Fairy. Also participating is the children's chorus from the Trinity School of Frederick.

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A deluxe, 2-CD souvenir recording of our production is available. Please contact Noel Lester at nlester@hood.edu for details.

Left: Marie Lester Loy is Gretel and Katelyn Jackman is Hansel in the production of Humpedinck's Hansel and Gretel.

According to Marge Neal of the Frederick News Post "When the curtain rises Friday night on the Maryland Concert Opera's production of 'Hansel and Gretel,' it will mark the culmination of efforts to bring a community together." See the complete article for more about the production and additional photos.

Listen to a clip from our March 2009 performance of “Die Fledermaus”

If you do not see the in-page player, click here to download the mp3 clip.

Corporate Sponsors

Brewer's Alley, Frederick, MDPiano Craft, Frederick, MD

Donations

To make a donation to the Maryland Concert Opera, you can send a check to the attention of Noel Lester, made payable to Grace UCC Church and marked MCO, to:
Grace United Church of Christ, 25 E. 2nd St., Frederick, MD, 21701

Or you can donate online through Grace UCC Church. Use the box for Maryland Concert Opera for your donation.

Thanks!