originally published: 02/26/2025

(PLAINFIELD, NJ) -- The Plainfield Symphony is thrilled to welcome back Canadian American dramatic soprano Othalie Graham on Saturday, March 15, 2025 at the Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church in a concert program entitled "Loss and Renewal." Maestro Charles Prince will lead the ensemble in the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss and Symphony No. 5 by Jean Sibelius. Showtime is 7:00pm.

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) composed Vier Letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs) for Soprano and Orchestra in 1948, when he was 84 years old. The piece was posthumously published. Strauss set the text to music of a poem "Im Abendrot" (In the Glow of Evening) by Joseph von Eichendorff, which had a special meaning for him as well as three poems by Hermann Hesse – "Frühling" (Spring), "September", and "Beim Schlafengehen” (Going to Sleep). They all treat the subject of death in a calm manner of acceptance of the natural transformation of the soul. With “Im Abendrot,” he concludes the work with the utterance of the word “death” in a moment where the solo horn quotes the theme from Strauss’s early tone poem, Death and Transfiguration. Each song features exquisite word painting and together, they represent some of the most beautiful music that was ever written.

Their soloist for the Strauss songs will be dramatic soprano Othalie Graham, who continues to receive critical acclaim in North America and throughout the world. She is widely known for her interpretations of lead operatic roles in Turandot, Tosca, Aida, Elektra and Ariadne Auf Naxos as well as for her commitment to Wagnerian repertoire. She is a graduate of the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Graham was awarded first place in the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques Competition and received the coveted Jean Chalmers prize in the Canadian Music Competition. Other awards include a first-place winner in the Wagner Division of the Liederkranz Competition, the first-place winner of the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition in the Wagner Division and winner of the Edward Johnson Competition. She spent a summer training under the late, acclaimed Italian opera soprano Renata Scotto at the Renata Scotto Opera Academy at the Music Conservatory of Westchester.

Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (1965-1957) completed revisions to his three movement Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82in 1919. Sibelius was so beloved in his home country of Finland that the government declared his birthday a national holiday and commissioned him to write his Fifth Symphony to honor it. It is his most important largescale work from World War 1 era. He often drew inspiration from nature and the Finnish landscape. The “Swan Hymn” theme in the last movement evokes the graceful beating of swans’ wings, reminiscent of an inspirational moment of viewing a group of 16 swans. The Fifth is one of Sibelius’s most accessible works expressing an optimistic and heroic spirit.

Concerts are held at the Crescent Avenue Presbyterian Church located at 716 Watchung Ave, Plainfield NJ and begin at 7:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase online or at the door.