Performing the Utah premieres of both older and newer works is a specialty of Joel Rosenberg and his American West Symphony. Rosenberg has done as much as anyone in bringing a wide range of music to local concertgoers. And next weekend will be no exception.
On Friday and Saturday, May 21 and 22, at 7:30 p.m., Rosenberg and the symphony and chorus will present a concert version of Verdi's early opera, "Nabucco," in the Temple Square Assembly Hall. According to Rosenberg, this will be the first performance of the opera in Utah. "As far as I can determine, Nabucco' has never been done in Utah before."But then, Rosenberg adds that "Nabucco" isn't performed very often anywhere. "It's difficult to cast, because the work places great demands on the singers, especially the roles of Abigaille and Zaccaria.
"The reason I wanted to do 'Nabucco' is because it has a large choral part, unlike most operas."
The opera will be sung in Italian. The cast includes Marie-Adele McArthur, Mary Ann Dresher, George Dyer, Greg Pearson and Travis Lewis. All of the singers, except Lewis, who is making his Salt Lake City debut with these performances, are local artists.
Rosenberg points out that this will be an abridged version of "Nabucco." Because of restraints on the length of performances in Assembly Hall, the opera would be too long if performed in its entirety. "The performance features most of Parts I and II and all of Part II, but nothing from Part IV," Rosenberg admits. But there will, nonetheless, be continuity in the plot, and people will be able to follow along in the story.
The May 21 concert will also be a milestone for Rosenberg -- it will mark his 100th performances with the American West Symphony. "I started in March 1993. 'Someone connected with the orchestra asked if I would guest conduct one evening, and after the concert I was asked if I wanted to become the (music director), since the orchestra was between conductors at the time."
The 65-member symphony and the 45- to 50-member chorus are both volunteer organizations. "These are very dedicated people," the maestro says. "The orchestra does four different programs in a season, and the chorus joins the orchestra in two of those four programs. We rehearse on Sundays, but something like 'Nabucco' takes extra rehearsal time."
The American West Symphony is based in Sandy and gets its financial support from the city. "We have good support from Tom Dolan, the mayor of Sandy."
The orchestra's home in Sandy is Good Shepherd Lutheran Church at 8600 S. and 700 E., where they've been performing since 1993, when Rosenberg came on board as music director.
The orchestra's second home is the Assembly Hall, where they give repeat performances of the concerts they do in Sandy. "Since the 1993-94 season, the orchestra has been a regular member of the Temple Square Concert Series," Rosenberg says. "We give six concerts there a year."
Though the current season isn't over yet, the maestro is already busy planning the orchestra's future concerts. "For our first concert next season, I would like to do Brahms' 'Academic Festival Overture' and Tchaikovsky's 'Pathetique' Symphony.
"For our Christmas concert, I'm thinking of doing John Rutter's 'Gloria.' "
Rosenberg is also planning a European tour for both the orchestra and the chorus in about two years. This would be their second tour of Europe, but the first since Rosenberg took over as director. "We're planning the tour so that it would make it worth their while for the members of the orchestra and chorus to go. I want to give them a chance to do some sightseeing between concerts."