Makes me Want to Shop at Macy's

Copied from operphila.org.



On Saturday, October 30, 2010, the Opera Company of Philadelphia kicked off National Opera Week by partnering with Macy’s and John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to produce one of Knight Foundation’s “Random Acts of Culture” on a grand scale in Philadelphia.

With the Opera Company of Philadelphia Chorus as a core, over 600 singers from area choirs, accompanied by the famed Wanamaker Organ – the world’s largest pipe organ – surprised shoppers at the Center City Philadelphia Macy’s with a spontaneous rendition of the Hallelujah chorus from Handel’s Messiah. (Please see below for a full list of participating choruses!)

The performance builds on the success of the Opera Company’s April 2010 performance of a pop-up Brindisi chorus that featured 35 choristers from La traviata at the Reading Terminal Market, and which has received nearly 3 million hits worldwide on YouTube since its posting.

The Opera Company is committed to encouraging the personal practice of singing in fun and accessible ways, and is honored to be performing with the revered Wanamaker Organ. Macy’s is committed to preserving this treasured, historical instrument as one of the many community investments – such as their annual fireworks display, their famed Thanksgiving Day Parade, and the Macy’s Christmas Light Show and Dickens Village in Center City Philadelphia – which are made possible by their support.

This Hallelujah performance is generously funded as one of 1,000 “Random Acts of Culture” that Knight Foundation will make possible over the next three years. The “Random Acts of Culture” program is committed to bringing artists out of the performance halls and into the streets as a reminder of how the classical arts enrich lives.

This “Random Act of Culture” is scheduled to coincide with the launch of National Opera Week, spearheaded by Opera America and the National Endowment for the Arts as a way to celebrate the exciting opera activity in the United States each year by offering accessible, fun, free activities that encourage opera appreciation.

Our most sincere thanks to all of the individuals who joined us in song and in spirit on October 30th – follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr for information on future events!