Vigil for Love

Saturday, October 18th, 4pm

Pre-Concert Discussion, 3:15p

Special guests to be announced

Church of the Holy Trinity

1901 Walnut Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103

Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia opens its season with an afternoon that explores love's deepest mysteries and most profound transformations. Experience the US premiere of  Vigil for Love, a luminous new 40-minute work by Artistic Director Dominick DiOrio, featuring poetry by singer Kyle Conner and created as a heartfelt tribute to former board chair Charlotte S. Sibley. This moving composition takes audiences on an intimate journey through love's many dimensions—from its power to ennoble and illuminate to its capacity to confound and mystify. As DiOrio notes, the work seeks "a more profound understanding of love's unique mysteries and many layers," offering both tender reflection and soaring revelation.

Paired with a semi-staged performance of Henry Purcell's timeless chamber opera  Dido and Aeneas, the evening presents two complementary portraits of love's complexity. Under the direction of singer and stage director Jeff Pufahl, Purcell's baroque masterpiece distills Virgil's epic tale into an intimate psychological drama that traces Queen Dido's emotional journey from passionate devotion to heartbreaking sacrifice. This 1689 opera showcases Purcell's genius for capturing complex human emotions through sophisticated musical storytelling, culminating in the devastating beauty of Dido's Lament.

While Purcell's masterpiece chronicles love's tragic trajectory, DiOrio's contemporary work celebrates love's transformative power and enduring grace. Together, these pieces create a rich tapestry that honors both love's shadows and its light, its capacity for both profound joy and noble sorrow. This concert stands as a testament to love's central place in the human experience, inviting audiences to witness how music can capture what words alone cannot express—the full spectrum of our most essential emotion.

This performance is funded in party by the Roberta Rote & Martin Levitas Professional Musicians Fund.

Photo credit: Jennifer Sheffield