The Verdi Chorus will open its 43rd season with “From Verdi to Verismo,” two performances at First Presbyterian Church in Santa Monica on Nov. 14 and 15, 2026.

Anne Marie Ketchum, the chorus’s founding artistic director, leads the ensemble in her 43rd consecutive year. The program features sequences from Verdi’s “Otello,” “Giovanna d’Arco,” and “Il Corsaro,” along with selections from Leoncavallo’s “Pagliacci” and Puccini’s “Le Villi,” “Tosca,” and “La Bohème.” The program closes with a slightly abridged version of the entire second act of “La Bohème.”

Soprano Jamie Chamberlin Granner, tenor Nathan Granner, and baritone Joel Balzun appear as soloists. Wendy Caldwell is the pianist.

“As I approached our 43^rd season I decided to focus on our namesake Giuseppe Verdi and contrast his music with operas from the verismo tradition,” Ketchum said, per an official press release. “I can’t think of a better way to end our program than by showcasing one of Puccini’s most beloved and recognized operas, ‘La Bohéme.’ When Musetta decides to abandon the rich older guy she is currently stringing along in order to rekindle her romance with the man she truly loves, it is verismo opera at its very best, exposing the jealousies and playfulness of young love.  It’s such a joy to pull together a full story line by presenting a slightly abridged version of the entire second act of this masterpiece!”