Decouvrir l'Opéra Français : a conference and performance about French opera history and the great composers

Join us for a combined presentation on French opera and singing by young soprano Gabriela Godin and her accompanist Ting Ting Wong.

You will be served a glass of wine, followed by a one-hour program.

Philippe Poirier, our executive director, is an opera enthusiast and will be presenting about the tradition of opera in the French language. French opera is one of Europe's most important operatic traditions, containing works by many French composers, but also foreign-born composers who have played a part in the French tradition. Throughout the presentation, Gabriela Godin will perform the following :

• Chants D'Auvergne 1st series by Joseph Canteloube
• Chacun le sait, chacun le dit from La Fille du Régiment (Donizetti)
• Les oiseaux dans la charmille from Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Offenbach)
  
• L'Air des clochettes from Lakme (Delibes)
  

Gabriela received her BS in Neuroscience with Honors in May 2023, graduated with a Master of Bioethics from the University of Pennsylvania in May 2024, and will be starting medical school next fall. At Haverford College, she sang as a member of the Haverford-Bryn Mawr Chamber Singers and with the Outskirts a cappella group. She conducted her vocal studies under Misoon Ghim, and in 2022 received second place in the Eastern Regional National Student Auditions hosted by the National Association of Teachers of Singing. 

She will be accompanied by Collaborative pianist Ting Ting Wong who is a vocal coach and currently a staff accompanist for The Academy of Vocal Arts, adjunct faculty at Curtis Institute of Music, collaborative pianist for the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia. She regularly coaches singers at Haverford College ,Bryn Mawr College and maintains a busy schedule with her private coaching studio. She has served as chorus pianist with Opera Philadelphia, assistant conductor with Concert OPERA Philadelphia, and pianist for the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh and Castleton festivals. 

Later in January, Opera Philadelphia is performing The Anonymous Lover , (Music by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges / Libretto by François-Georges Fouques Deshayes, Desfontaines, based on the play L’amant anonyme by Stéphanie Félicité). The opera is performed in French. Details and tickets here.

*** WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ***

Day: Friday, January 17th, 2025
Time: 7:00-8:00 pm
Duration: 1 hour
Location: Alliance Francaise de Philadelphie
Language: English, French
Fee: $25 non AF members/ $20 for members