Guadalajara Reporter

The acclaimed 40-voice Jalisco State Choir is set to perform an unusual piece of early baroque religious music. The two concerts, Saturday February 13, 7:30 p.m., and Monday, February 15, 8:30 p.m., promise to be distinctive in many ways. One is the participation of dancers of the Compañía de Danza Clásica y Neoclásica de Jalisco (State Ballet Company), directed by Lucy Arce. Another is the inclusion of 16 musicians from the Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra.

The venues are also distinctive: Saturday’s performance will be free and held outdoors in the Plaza Liberacion in front of the Teatro Degollado, a spectacle which should be well attended. Monday’s event will be held inside the theater, taking advantage of its excellent acoustics. Tickets are available at the theater box office.

The 1 1/4-hour-long performance of Claudio Monteverdi’s “Vestre della Beata Vergina” will include six soloists in addition to the State Choir, directed by Sergio Hernandez. By all accounts, the piece is distinguished by cascading, syncopated choral harmonies that go well beyond the canon style of earlier music.

“Everyone is thrilled. It’s very unusual. The choir hasn’t sung a major work by Monteverdi in a large concert like this,” said Choir alto Debra Rodriguez, who will sing septimus, a voice named according to the older system used during the period around 1610 when Monteverdi composed the work.

The director of the entire performance is James Demster, an American who has worked in Mexico for 25 years, as well as in Europe and elsewhere. He is famed for recording operatic arias with pop star Tania Libertad, among other distinctions. Stage direction is being handled by Rafael Felix.

Teatro Degollado box office is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. (33) 3614-4773.