On February 22 at 7:00 P.M., Voices of the Valiant will present Wondrous Love — a concert featuring mezzo-sopranos Madison Marie McIntosh and Vita Koreneva, bass Nathan Resika, and pianist Yannis Xylas. The performance will take place at St. John’s in the Village in New York, New York.
Wondrous Love will include gorgeous arias by composers such as Verdi, Puccini, Handel, and Saint-Saëns as well as the New York premieres of A las once de la noche (a scena by composer Walter Seyfarth and librettist Liche Ariza), "I Am Poured Out" (from Sabachthani, by composer Daniel Gowans), and "Jesus's Mother and Brothers" (composer Stéphane Tesan's setting of Matthew 12:46–50).
The concert will also feature highlights from 3:16, a new opera that will premiere in March 2025. Ms. McIntosh will portray Mary James, and Ms. Koreneva will portray Aurelia Raven.
“3:16 is an inspirational story of redemption and transformation, loosely based on the real-life experiences of a United States Army chaplain. The young Mary Raven has run away from a harsh and unloving father, only to discover that the outside world is even crueler. She grows up to be Lieutenant Mary James — steely on the outside but secretly unable to overcome her intense anger and guilt… until she has a miraculous experience that changes everything.
“The opera is full of the sheer beauty, lush harmonies, and emotional depth of Romantic-era music but also has a breathtaking style all its own. The music is a collaboration among some of today’s most exciting composers — including esteemed opera composer Theodore Christman; military veteran and award-winning composer Gary Vincent Koda; award-winning mezzo-soprano and composer Vita Koreneva; award-winning composer Akihiro Masuda; internationally acclaimed orchestral composer Stéphane Tesan; and Jeff Shankley, not only a brilliant composer but also a legendary actor who performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and premiered roles in Cats and other musicals by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Each composer has something special to offer, and all of their music comes together to form the arc of a story with a joyous ending that will lift your eyes to hope.”
—Susan Conti, librettist
About the performers:
“Sparkling” mezzo-soprano Madison Marie McIntosh has been praised for her “wondrously flexible voice,” “prodigious vocal skills,” and “richly textured and strong lower register” (Voce di Meche). OperaWire has praised her “vocal power,” “enchanting voice,” “velvety mezzo-soprano,” and “abundant vocal and dramatic technique, with no shortage of soaring high notes and flexible roulades.” On the main stage of Carnegie Hall, she has performed as the alto soloist in Bach’s Magnificat, BWV 243; Vivaldi’s Magnificat, RV 610; and Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living. Madison won The American Prize in Vocal Performance in 2020 and has performed roles with opera companies such as Caramoor, the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Teatro Nuovo, Sarasota Opera, Teatro Grattacielo, and the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice. She has performed in three of Eve Queler’s annual concerts in Massachusetts and sung in events presented by Florida Grand Opera, Fort Worth Opera, and the Kravis Center.
Bass Nathan Resika has been hailed as “a magnificent singing actor who easily combines beautiful singing with deeply emotional feelings behind each and every note” (Delaware & Hudson CANVAS). The New London Day wrote of his performance in Don Giovanni, “Resika, with perfect comic timing, a gift for the double take and a commanding and rich timbre, very much made this opera his.” He has performed as the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C Major and Haydn’s Mariazellermesse at Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium) and performed roles with Caramoor, Opera North, Opera Orchestra of New York, the Center for Contemporary Opera, New York Grand Opera, Hudson Opera Theatre, Cleveland Opera Circle, Connecticut Lyric Opera, Opera New Jersey, the New Britain Symphony, Opera in the Heights, and Utah Festival Opera, among many others. He was a finalist in the New Jersey Association of Verismo Opera’s 28th Annual International Vocal Competition.
Award-winning mezzo-soprano and composer Vita Koreneva has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Guild, the United Nations Orchestra, and the Washington National Cathedral Choral Society and appeared at venues such as the esteemed State Capella of St. Petersburg. For her performance at Lincoln Center, presented by the Federation of Hellenic Societies, she was praised for her “deep and distinguished” voice and received the UNESCO Honorary Award. Vita performed with Bel Cantanti Opera as Lyubava in the U.S. premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sadko. Other operatic appearances include Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Giulietta (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Maddalena (Rigoletto), Charlotte (Werther), the Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica), and the title role in Mascagni’s Zanetto. Vita studied piano at the Central Music School of Moscow (Tchaikovsky State Conservatory) and voice in Russia and the United States. She holds an MBA in Finance from American University and a Composition degree from Berklee School of Music (2024).
Born in Greece, Yannis Xylas studied piano and received his Diploma with Honors. He has performed extensively in Greece, mainly in concerts for two pianos. He resides in New York and has worked with MidAmerica Productions, Opera Orchestra of New York, Miller Theatre, New York Grand Opera, and Lubo Opera as rehearsal pianist, chorus master, and assistant conductor. In 1999, he made his Avery Fisher Hall debut in the triple capacity of performer, orchestrator, and artistic director. He appeared at the Kennedy Center in 2002 and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2010 in the two pianos, percussion, and chorus version of Carmina Burana. He has performed extensively in the USA, China, Czech Republic, Greece, India, Indonesia, Honduras, Poland, and Spain, collaborating with singers, instrumentalists, and orchestras on an extensive repertoire of opera, oratorio, operetta, and Lieder. As Music Director of the Hellenic Music Foundation Symphony Orchestra, he has conducted excerpts from many operas and ballets. He has also performed as piano soloist with the Pan American Symphony Orchestra.
