Stabat Mater, our interview with Stefano Visconti

Two words about the Monte Carlo Opera Chorus…

We have a seasonal chorus with 40 singers, mainly from Italy. Depending on repertoire requirements and the venue, where our performances take place, I increase the number to 80-90. I have been choirmaster in Monte Carlo for 15 years, and have tried to implement a certain continuity regarding our choir’s sound standards.

Often, the work of an opera chorus covers symphonic and sacred repertoire as well.

Choir concerts or concerts where a choir forms part of the cast are absolutely fundamental to our art! We are very lucky that from time to time we may participate in the symphonic seasons of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo, and over the years we got to sing some rare and interesting repertoire. It is wonderful that this genre will now be integrated in the Monte Carlo Opera’s season and that the chorus can show the Opera’s audience its own identity.

What are some of the differences between singing in opera and in concert?

First of all, it is incredibly enriching to sing both! The greatest differences are that in opera the music has to be memorized, and the choir also acts, i.e. is constantly moving about, which has a great impact on sound and precision. Since they usually sing by heart and in movement, opera choruses are mentally extremely flexible. When preparing a concert, we work intensely on musical detail because the chorus will be set in a fixed position on the platform, and I can place my singers in a way that makes the choir appear regular and even. We adjust the balance, search for an evenness of sound and softness in tone: concert work makes choristers musically flexible and malleable.

Please tell us a little about Rossini’s Stabat Mater?

I adore this work and am delighted to work on it for the first time! In this piece Rossini shows a great sensibility and spirituality, and what might surprise listeners is the fact that he did not use any music from previous compositions… I feel that he did not worry about any prescribed rules concerning the sacred genre, however. It seems that he simply let the text inspire him as he went along, section by section. This is why there is so much stylistic variety in this mass.