Mezzo soprano Ariana Chris joins fellow soloists baritone Jason Stearns, soprano Carla Thelan Hanson, and tenor Charles Reid, the Western Michigan University Grand Chorus and the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra to perform Mendelssohn's oratorio Elijah, under the direction of maestro Raymond Harvey on Friday night. Ms. Chris, who lives in Toronto, first performed in Kalamazoo at the invitation of Raymond Harvey in 2011, in a production of Verdi's La Traviata.
Mendelssohn's oratorio is one of the most dramatic and exciting works of its kind, according to Ms. Chris. She says that even though it's a sacred story lifted from the Old Testament, it has the dramatic highs and lows of grand opera. She and her fellow soloists have the opportunity to fill in many points of view during Elijah's journey.