Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra: Mahler Symphony No. 2

The Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra (BPYO), comprised of some of the Northeast’s top musicians age 12-21, closes its 2022-23 Boston season on a grand scale with Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 (Resurrection) on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at 8:00 PM at Symphony Hall, conducted by Maestro Benjamin Zander. Two extraordinary vocalists perform as soloists—soprano Maria Brea, making her Boston debut, and mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano—in addition to Chorus pro Musica. A live stream is also available for those who are unable to attend in person.

The 80-minute-long Resurrection Symphony—so-called because of its view of the splendor of the afterlife—starts by laying the Titan, the hero of Mahler’s First Symphony, to rest with a funeral march. The rest of the symphony builds a new pathway to hope and ultimate affirmation, while also recognizing the world’s absurdity amidst its incredible beauty.

According to Benjamin Zander, “A live performance of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony is always more than a concert—it is a communal experience. There is no work in the repertory, none whatsoever, that so completely unites performers and audience in a transformative musical affirmation.” freeform

About the Soloists

Soprano Maria Brea is one of Venezuela's most acclaimed opera singers. A fine recitalist and promoter of art song, as well as an avid oratorio singer, Maria has performed throughout the world, from Cardiff to Paris, stunning her audiences with her exciting renditions, sparkling clarity, and dazzling range. Praised for being a "very classy Venezuelan soprano" by The Arts Desk and “luxurious soprano" by Opera Wire, Ms. Brea’s recent significant roles include: Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto, Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen, Nedda in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème, Agrippina by Handel, Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Elena in Giménez's El Barbero de Sevilla.

Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano has performed more than 100 times at the Metropolitan Opera; her most recent roles include Nicklausse in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Emilia in Verdi’s Otello, Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel, and Meg Page in Verdi’s Falstaff. She appears with major orchestras and conductors and has collaborated on numerous projects with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst, as well as with the Los Angeles Philharmonic with Gustavo Dudamel in both the US and Europe. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic and with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Manfred Honeck. In response to her performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera News praised her “impressive tone and dead-on pitch throughout a wide range, and a fierce command of words,” calling her “a matchless interpreter of contemporary opera.”

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