The Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra’s Grammy-winning music director, Michael Repper, nominated for two more Grammys to be awarded in 2026, led the first of three “Holiday Joy” concerts Thursday evening, starring guest soloists from the opera circuit, soprano Kresley Figueroa and baritone Jonathan Patton.
Jonathan Patton
Following an opening medley of seasonal favorites, including Rachael Yokers’ flute-solo mating call in “Let It Snow, Let It Snow” by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne, Patton and Figueroa showcased their vocal and acting chops on arias from timeless operas that, nevertheless, span three centuries.
The accomplished young soloists – Figueroa performed in MSO’s 2024 New Year’s Eve concert and Patton is making his Mid-Atlantic Symphony debut – are paired in the Bei Mannern/Liebe Fuhlen aria from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” with lyrics translating in English: “Men who feel the call of love/Do not lack a gentle heart” coupled with “To return that gentle feeling/Is a woman’s finest art.” Next, portraying Escamillo, Patton’s lyrical and dramatic range is delivered with the jaunty bravado of a bullfighter on “Votre Toast” (better known as “March of the Toreadors”) from Bizet’s Carmen.”
Wrapping up the aria triple play, Figuero, perhaps autobiographically, sings the role of a budding soprano longing for opera superstardom in the polonaise from “The Barber of Seville” by Geronimo Gimenez. She makes her dream seem like a sure bet in this popular zarzuela – Spanish for comic opera.
Hanukkah, which begins on Dec. 14, was rated an instrumental affirmation just before the Act I closing number, “Sleigh Ride,” conducted by the highest bidder of the pre-concert fund-raising dinner, vice chairman Philip Davis. He was assisted by staff consultant Mary Lou Tietz who supplied a whip to crack on the imaginary horses drawing the imaginary sleigh. (Despite the audible cracking sound, no actual horses were whipped.)
Kresley Figueroa
After intermission, Figueroa returns to deliver a warmly felt Beverly Hills memory opener to “White Christmas,” before outdoing Bing Crosby on the greatest Yuletide hit ever written by a Jewish lyricist, Irving Berlin. (Personally, like Maestro Repper, I favor Mel Torme’s “The Christmas Song,” also making the “Holiday Joy” playlist, featuring a soulful horn solo by Beth Lunt in place of Nat King Cole’s tender reminiscence. Meanwhile, Christmas observers native to the Northern Hemisphere are reminded that Dec. 25th falls on the calendar, “In the Bleak Midwinter”: “Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone” as written by Gustav Holst and soulfully sung by Patton.
On a lighter vein, “Little Bolero Boy” makes fun of what Repper calls two of the most monotonous tunes ever written – “Bolero” by Maurice Ravel and “Little Drummer Boy” by Katherine Kennicott Davis. Percussionist Dane Krich kept the beat going, and going, and going.
Figueroa and Patton cap the “Holiday Joy” celebration with a stagecraft reading of “ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas” by Bill Holocombe, with full orchestral accompaniment directed by an effervescent Repper.
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If you missed Thursday’s performance and can’t make to the next two concerts on Saturday in Lewes and Sunday in Ocean City, you can catch the MSO Brass Quintet in the holiday spirit at 7 p.m. Friday, Dec. 19 at Community Church in Ocean Pines; 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 20 at Ellsworth United Methodist Church in Rehoboth Beach, and 4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 21 at Christ Church in Easton. Also, at Christ Church, toast the arrival of 2026 with an early New Year’s Eve concert at 7 p.m., Dec. 31, of course, with the MSO and guest soprano Viviana Goodwin.
‘HOLIDAY JOY’ MSO CONCERT CELEBRATION
Thursday evening at Todd Performing Arts Center, Chesapeake College, Wye Mills. Upcoming performances; 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Cape Henlopen High School, Lewes, Delaware, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Ocean City Performing Arts Center. midatlanticsymphony.org
Steve Parks is a retired New York arts critic now living in Easton.
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