An Early Music Concert - Stabat Mater, G. B. Pergolesi

An Early Music Concert of Pergolesi’s Stabat Matter by mezzo-soprano Vanessa Moya, soprano Lucia Panizza, and collaborative pianist Dr. Libor Dudas.

Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater is an Early Music masterpiece divided into twelve movements, including solos and duets sung by a soprano and an alto.

The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ’s mother during his crucifixion. The title comes from its first line, “Stabat Mater dolorosa”, which means “the sorrowful mother was standing”.

This hymn has been set to music by several Western composers, including Giovanni Battista Pergolesi who composed this magnificent work of art in 1736.

Dr. Libor Dudas, Historical Performance, piano

A native of Croatia, Libor Dudas began his piano studies at the age of 8. His professional career began at 14 when he gave his first organ recital in his hometown of Osijek. This was soon followed by performances in major cities of the former Yugoslavia and East Germany. A scholarship took him to the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Austria, to study organ and liturgical music.  While in Austria he performed in Vienna, Innsbruck, and extensively throughout Bavaria and Italy.  Upon receiving his Diploma with Distinction, Dudas moved to the United States to further his studies at the University of Notre Dame, where he received his Master’s in Music. He went on to receive a Doctorate of Musical Arts in organ performance at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.

Dr. Dudas has studied organ with Rudolph Scholz, Craig Cramer, Gail Walton, William Porter, and Peter Sykes. He has premiered organ compositions by Boston composers James McDonald and Felipe Lara. His recording of Elgar’s “Vesper Voluntaries” can be heard on the CD “Historic Organs of Boston” published by the Organ Historical Society. Dudas has been the Organist and Choir Director at Boston’s Old North Church since 1998.

Dudas has studied harpsichord with Darlene Catello, Edward Parmentier, and Peter Sykes (with whom he also studied fortepiano). He recorded and premiered the harpsichord piece “Summer Mischief” by Michigan composer Matthew H. Fields. He has also studied conducting with Jeffrey Rink, Director of the Chorus Pro Musica, Boston.

As a harpsichordist, fortepianist and organist, Dr. Dudas has given numerous concerts throughout North America and Europe. Recent recitals on the fortepiano have included programs of Mozart and Beethoven sonatas and variations. He has presented a series of master classes in historical performance practice at the Music Academy in Osijek, Croatia. Most recently Dr. Dudas has performed recitals on harpsichord and organ in Austria, Croatia, Germany and Hungary.

In addition to being a solo keyboard instrumentalist, Dr. Dudas is also active as a vocal coach and collaborative pianist and teaches at the Longy School of Music, Boston Conservatory, and the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School. He previously served as the music director of the Fine Arts Chorale, where he conducted major works by Kodaly, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Handel, Haydn, Poulenc, Langlais, Faure, Bernstein, Orff and Brahms.

Vanessa Moya, mezzosoprano 

Vanessa Moya is a Latina mezzo-soprano based in Boston who expertly uses her voice to sing music of both the past and present. A flexible artist comfortable in many styles and settings, she can regularly be seen and heard singing everything from contemporary opera to Handel oratorios.

Vanessa has performed across all eras of operas, including the roles of Gertrude Stein (After Life), Dritte Dame and Dritte Knabe (Die Zauberflöte), Cornelia (Giulio Cesare in Egitto), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), and L’enfant (L’enfant et les sortilèges). As an oratorio soloist, she has performed The Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and as Mercurius in a staged production of J.S. Bach’s Phoebus und Pan. Her upcoming performances include Caroline Norton (Angels of the House), Candelas (El Amor Brujo), Third Lady (The Magic Flute), and Arsamene (Serse). Vanessa holds a B.M. from Stetson University and will soon graduate with her M.M. from Longy School of Music of Bard College.

Lucia Panizza, soprano

Lucia Panizza is a Uruguayan-American soprano, who graduated from University of Florida with the highest honors, as well as from Universidad de la República. In Uruguay, she attended Escuela Nacional the Arte Lirico, SODRE, and the Escuela de Música Vicente Ascone. The soprano was awarded two full scholarships by the Uruguayan Association of Musicians (SUDEI), and was later chosen to take part at a summer program at the Instituto Superior del Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires, Argentina). In the United States, she has engaged with The Opera Atelier, Miami Lyric Opera, Miami Classical Music Festival, Florida Opera Prima, La Zarzuela Inc., and Florida L’Opera & Zarzuela performing in their programs, concerts, and full productions. Furthermore, she participated actively in international summer opera programs including the European Music Institute in Vienna, and the Russian Opera Workshop. She also attended numerous Master Classes with such notables as Francisco Araiza, Ghenady Meirson, Juliana Gondek, Frederica von Stade, Deborah Voigt,  Jake Heggie, and Manny Perez, among others. She is currently completing a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Studies at Longy School of Music in Boston, MA.