MOZART’S REQUIEM

Solve the Mystery of Some of History’s Greatest Music

Mozart lies dying in his bed, frantically trying to finish a requiem commissioned by a ghostly figure in funeral attire – a requiem he now realizes is for himself.

Salieri – Mozart's nemesis, who may have poisoned him – anxiously takes dictation, pressing Mozart to finish the requiem, which he will steal and dedicate to Mozart once he has died.

Mozart takes his quill one last time to compose the most astonishing music ... and dies, manuscripts spread around him on the bed, signature in the corner of the unfinished Lacrimosa.

An astonishing story...if only any of it were true!

But the real history is even more fascinating than the fiction. In this concert, we’ll lay out the true story of this remarkable piece, highlighting the individual contributions from as many as five (or possibly six!) different composers who helped complete the music after Mozart’s death. You will learn all there is to know about the many layers of deception and mystery surrounding this piece, before we perform it for you in its entirety.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Requiem in D Minor, K. 626

RUN TIME: 1 hour, 30 minutes (including intermission)

Featuring the Colorado Springs Chorale:

2024-25 Season Sponsor:

Select Your Date:

JAN 11th
2025

JAN 12th
2025

Saturday, 7:00PM

First United Methodist Church

Sunday, 2:30PM

First United Methodist Church

Featuring:

  • Sabina Balsamo is an emerging operatic soprano, bringing depth of character and playfulness to performances in opera, concert, and recital settings. In addition to traditional roles such as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (Opera Fort Collins) and the title role in Manon in concert (Boulder Opera), she has created characters in new works like Margery Mansfield in Leanna Kirchoff’s Welcome to the Madness (Opera Steamboat) and Angustias in Griffin Candey’s The House of Bernarda Alba (Cleveland Opera Theater). A passionate advocate for the creation and performance of contemporary classical music, Balsamo has workshopped roles in several new operas, including Vicky Hobson in Tom Cipullo’s Hobson's Choice with CU NOW and Ben Morris’s Colorado Sky, which she co-commissioned and premiered. Award-winning composer Tom Cipullo praised the opera, saying, “It’s a howl!”

    Notable performance credits include: Rose in At the Statue of Venus, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, the title role in Manon, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, Elsie in The Yeomen of The Guard, Rose in Ruddigore, Clara in It’s a Wonderful Life, and Governess in The Turn of the Screw, among others.

    On the concert stage, recent solo engagements include Mozart’s Requiem and “Addio, del passato” from La Traviata with the University of Wyoming. She was a soloist with the Boulder Bach Festival in 2022, the CU Boulder University Orchestra after winning their Honors Competition in 2018, and Central City Opera’s Lyric Theater Singers and outreach group in 2023 and 2024.

    Based in Southern California, Balsamo grew up in the Pittsburgh area of Pennsylvania. She is currently the Operations Manager at Camerata Pacifica. Learn more at sabinabalsamo.com or on Instagram @sabina.balsamo.

  • Gabrielle Razafinjatovo is an American mezzo-soprano known for her versatile singing style, expressive musicality, and rich tone. She is an active performer and teacher in the Front Range of Colorado.

    Gabrielle has tackled a wide range of opera roles, showcasing her versatility. Her most recent roles include Iolanthe in Loveland Opera Theatre’s Iolanthe and chorus member in La Bohème with Bravo! Vail Festival under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Past roles include Sally in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, Third Lady in Boulder Opera Company’s production of Die Zauberflöte, Dido (cover) with Opera Fort Collins, Abuela (Cover) in Manuel de Falla’s La vida breve with Opera Fort Collins, Lady With a Hat Box/A Foreign Singer in Eklund Opera's production of Argento's Postcard from Morocco, Javotte in Boulder Opera Company's production of Manon, Flora in La Traviata, Narciso in Agrippina, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Mercedes in Carmen, Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof, and Anna Leonowens in The King and I. 

    In addition to opera, Gabrielle is an accomplished choral singer, contributing both as a soloist and chorus member with groups including Colorado Bach Ensemble, Seicento Baroque Ensemble, and the Boulder Philharmonic Chorus. She has also been a featured soloist in concerts with Central City Opera, Art Song Colorado, the Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra, and Boulder Chamber Orchestra. She is currently a member of Boulder Bach Festival’s Fellowship Artist Vocal Quartet as well as an Apprentice Artist and section leader with Seicento Baroque Ensemble.

    In addition to her performance career, Gabrielle maintains a private voice and piano studio in Lafayette and occasionally works as a collaborative pianist and vocal coach. Gabrielle holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from University of Colorado Boulder (2022) and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Minot State University (2017).

  • Eapen Leubner, tenor, brings passion to all aspects of his multifaceted career. Eapen's roles range from traditional to cutting-edge modern opera. As Younger Thompson, Opera News called Eapen "ardent and striking" (Chelsea Opera; Glory Denied by Tom Cipullo). The Fairbanks News-Miner praised him for a "pleasing tenor...[that] brought insight and tenderness to the aria 'Dalla sua pace'" in Mozart's Don Giovanni (Opera Fairbanks). Musical America called him "a charming Don Gaston "who was "the opera's most engaging character, or so it would appear from Eapen Leubner's deft portrayal, sung with a trim, attractive tenor voice" (Bronx Opera; Die Drei Pintos).

    A first-generation American (German father and Indian mother), Eapen began his professional singing career at the age of nine, recording jingles and children's songs. He studied voice at Ithaca College and Binghamton University. He worked his way up from the Seattle Opera Chorus through apprenticeships at Tri-Cities Opera and Opera Colorado to singing leading roles at Opera Fairbanks, Chelsea Opera, Bronx Opera, Encompass New Opera Theatre, Opera Theatre of the Rockies and many more.

    As a concert soloist, Eapen's performances include Mozart's Requiem, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle, and Orff's Carmina Burana. In 2012, he sang at Tre Tenoret, an annual concert in Tirana in honor of the 100th anniversary of Albania’s independence. He has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall (Mid-America Productions). 

    After moving to Colorado in 2014, Eapen founded Art Song Colorado (originally “Denver Art Song Project”) to bring innovative and engaging classical recitals to his new home.  The performances range from traditional recitals to staged skits and all include an aspect of storytelling and poetry.  The company has released six albums on their non-profit label, DASP Productions. It now supports vocal artists for niche projects that fall outside of the usual non-profit model including hybrid, dance/song/video projects, curation of Latin American art song and even a recital of new American music about cowgirls.

    Eapen has partnered frequently with Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, singing in Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, producing and directing Enough! Voices Against Abuse, Voices of the African Diaspora, and Glory Denied.  In February 2025, Eapen will direct two of the three operas for All About Love: A Flight of Operas and sing the role of Bill in Barber’s “A Hand of Bridge.”

    Eapen lives with his family in Highlands Ranch and you can follow Art Song Colorado at www.artsongcolorado.org.

  • American baritone Bradley Thompson has enjoyed a career that has taken him from the Rocky Mountains to the Italian Alps, and Coors Field to Carnegie Hall. A singer of well over one hundred opera performances in thirty different roles, he is known for his versatility in both comedy and drama. 

    He has been a Regional Finalist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and received the Gold Award in the Scammon International Voice Competition. Bradley Thompson currently resides in Colorado where he serves as the Director of Vocal Studies at Metropolitan State University of Denver.

  • Robert S. Bruce originally comes from a far-off place called New Jersey. He received a music degree from CU Boulder and later obtained a Masters in Library Studies at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, all the while appearing in various productions of plays, musicals, Gilbert and Sullivan, and an opera or two. Robert has appeared with Opera Theatre of the Rockies as Ko-Ko in The Mikado and Mayor Shinn in The Music Man, and most recently in Springs Ensemble Theatre’s production of Proof. A life-long passionate enthusiast of classical music and opera, Robert is also a lover of classic movies (as well as some not-so-classic) and a reader of fantasy and horror literature. In early 2010, Robert left New York City, where he had been working at The Juilliard School library, to come to Colorado Springs to pursue a long dreamed-of career in Classical Radio. He is now extremely happy to be serving as Program Director for Classical 88.7 KCME, where he hosts Composers a la Carte, Robert’s Hour of Opera, Evening at the Pops, and the Saturday Evening Concert.

View the Program:

WHAT TO KNOW

VENUES

This concert is held at First United Methodist Church (Map), 420 N Nevada Ave, in Colorado Springs, CO.

Doors open 1 hour + 15 minutes prior to the performance - and all seating is general admission.

PARKING

Parking is on-site at First United Methodist Church, next to the building and across St Vrain Street.

Parking lot signage may say pay to park - the parking lot is free while you park for Chamber Orchestra events.

PRE-CONCERT TALK

This concert does not have a pre-concert talk.