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Kudos also to chorusmaster Michaella Calzaretta; the singers are both zesty and accurate.

Thrown together with one primary rehearsal of the orchestra and chorus together on Monday afternoon and using singers currently in New York for Met productions, the concert showcased the Met chorus and chorusmaster Donald Palumbo.

The excellent children’s chorus, prepared by chorusmaster Beth Kirchhoff, is surprisingly affecting as they emerge in a stupor from the Witch’s candied domain — giving opera fans a truly heartwarming finale.

The volunteer chorus — a 200-voice gem founded in 1970 by Robert Shaw, the orchestra’s music director from 1967 to 1988, and maintained by its current chorusmaster, Norman Mackenzie — was superb, from its first hushed utterances to its final rousing shouts.

Chorusmaster John Keene’s singers were vitally engaged in the action and vocally excellent.