Extraordinary drama — both within the music and within the concert hall — is on the agenda for the kickoff of the Fairfield County Chorale’s 49th season with “The Power of Fantasy,” featuring the Russian-born pianist and guest conductor Eugene Sirotkine.
In this huge production, the more than 100 voices of the FCC will be joined by the 90 members of the Concert Choir of the Fairfield County Children’s Choir, directed by Kevin Cotellese; the New York Metamorphoses Orchestra, which Sirotkine founded in 1994, and continues to direct; and six professional singers from the world of opera.
In addition to conducting, the Manhattan musician will be featured as pianist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy.
And adding to the drama, when Sirotkine steps on stage — Saturday, December 3, at 7:30 p.m. at the Norwalk Concert Hall — he will take the podium as one of three finalists competing to lead the FCC into a new era.
John Parkinson, the FCC’s executive director, pointed out that this season will be “an exciting one for audiences, as well as for the organization itself” as it concludes its search for a successor to the group’s legendary maestro, the Swiss-born Johannes Somary. Somary, who died February 1st at age 75, had been the FCC’s artistic director since 1975.
