Brahms – Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45
Chamber orchestra version by Johannes Linckelmann
Video Option
Unlimited access through July 15.
This deeply personal masterpiece is both intimate and universal, and a profound expression of human loss. With its exploration of sorrow and transformation, Brahms’ sublime music transports, comforts, and uplifts us; a welcome balm in today’s chaotic world.
Composed after the death of his mother, the Requiem is scored for large orchestra and a chorus of 200. Enjoy this rare opportunity to experience an intimate chamber orchestra version which retains both the variety and richness of the original, but at a scale more suitable to our size and venues.
Rita Lilly, soprano
Nikolas Nackley, baritone
and the Jubilate Orchestra
Rita Lilly has been lauded by The New York Times for “possessing a voice of strength, clarity, and virtuosity” and by San Francisco Classical Voice for “having a pure,
silvery voice with plenty of color.” A native New Yorker, she has appeared as a featured soloist with the American Classical Orchestra, Artek, Clarion Music Society, Folger
Consort, and the New York Consort of Viols, among others. As soprano soloist of the Waverly Consort, she toured throughout the US and abroad, including performances at
Alice Tully Hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and live broadcasts on New York’s WNYC, National Public Radio, and Radio-Canada. Since coming to the Bay area, Ms. Lilly has been a soloist with the Albany Consort, American Bach Soloists, Berkeley Early Music Festival, California Bach Society, Capella SF, Chora Nova, Clarion Music Society, Contra Costa Chorale, Marin Oratorio, MUSA, San Francisco Bach Choir, S.F Choral Society, Soli Deo Gloria, and Sacramento Baroque. She has recorded on the EMI/Angel; Musical Heritage; Naxos; and Musicmaster labels. Ms. Lilly is currently the Choral Director at Mills College, Music Director of Lafayette Christian Church, the Director of Sorella girls chorus, and is on the faculty of the Pacific Boychoir Academy. She is a voice teacher and coach for the SFEMS Baroque Summer Workshop, Marin Baroque Workshop, and maintains a vocal studio in her home.
Baritone Nikolas Nackley is in demand for his work on both the concert and operatic stage. He has been heralded by the San Francisco Chronicle as “sonorous and heroic” and praised by the Boston Globe for his ability to “continually impress with his beautiful voice and acting.” Recently featured in the title role of West Edge Opera’s critically acclaimed Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Mr. Nackley returned to WEO this past summer to sing the role of Captain Bouchardon in the West Coast premiere Matt Mark’s opera Mata Hari. Recent credits include the role of Joe Pitt in the West Coast premiere of Peter Eötvös’s opera Angels in America with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; Adonis in John Blow’s Venus and Adonis with Marin Baroque; Bach’s St. John Passion with the SF Bach Choir, Santa Clara Chorale, and Bay Choral Guild; Figaro in Paisiello’s Barber of Seville with WEO’s Opera Medium Rare; Haydn’s The Seasons with Marin Oratorio; and the West Coast premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s “The Tempest Songbook” with Cal Performances. Mr. Nackley is currently on the faculty at the School of Music at SF State University and at UC Berkeley, where he is the director of vocal studies.