By Janelle Gelfand
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cecily Nall is working with director David Donovan on the Lebanon Symphony Orchestra and Chorus performance of Handel's Messiah. (Steven M. Herppich photo)

Soprano Cecily Nall has sung parts of Handel's Messiah many times in her career, but never the entire oratorio.

"I've certainly heard a complete Messiah - I've just never performed one," says the opera singer, who lives in Hyde Park.

Nall, who has performed with Cincinnati Opera and major opera houses of Europe, will sing her first complete Messiah - all three parts, lasting about three hours - with other soloists and the Lebanon Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, conducted by David Donovan. The concert is Friday and Sunday at Lebanon Presbyterian Church.

"Having sung 45 Queens of the Night, I know a little bit about the waiting game," says Nall, referring to the queen's treacherous aria in Act II of Mozart's The Magic Flute, with its high F's. "(The Messiah's) solos are wonderfully intertwined between the choruses. It flows."

Understudy gets the call

The Atlanta native came to Cincinnati in the early '80s to study at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. She became part of Cincinnati Opera lore when, in 1982, she stepped in on a few hours' notice to sing the demanding role of Juliette in Romeo et Juliette.

She was the understudy, but she had never sung a rehearsal.

IF YOU GO

What: Handel's Messiah. Lebanon Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, David Donovan, conductor; Cecily Nall and Carola Donovan, sopranos; William Sauerland, countertenor; Peter Stovitzky, tenor; Samuel Smith, bass When: 7:30 p.m. Friday; 3 p.m. Sunday Where: Lebanon Presbyterian Church Tickets: $15; $10 students. 228-0346 or www.musicinlebanon.com About the performance: The Lebanon Symphony and Chorus has performed Messiah every two years since 1991. For the first time, the soloists will include a countertenor, Sauerland, a senior at Miami University, in the alto role. "A countertenor, a voice type frequently used in Handel's day, is a male alto with a highly developed falsetto range," says Donovan. "William is highly gifted. There are few countertenors in the region, so this is a unique opportunity." The performance also will include a Baroque-style, 21-piece orchestra with harpsichord.

"Friends who were with me (when she got the notice) said I went white," she recalls.

She spent an hour singing through the score. She worried about forgetting lines and throwing off other cast members. It was decided she would have a prompter. At 4:30 p.m., artistic director James de Blasis left the final decision of performing up to her. Curtain was at 8.

"I remember sitting there. It was totally silent," she says. "I felt like my whole life was flashing before me. I thought, 'OK, I can go out there and I may make some mistakes, or I can say no and wonder about this the rest of my life.' "

She took the risk - and triumphed. After that, she moved to New York, where she won the Metropolitan Opera, Baltimore Opera and Eleanor Steber competitions.

"I survived in New York for five years," she says. She then went to Germany, where she was a leading soprano with opera houses in Aachen and Darmstadt.

Many 'Messiah' moments

In 1996, Nall moved back to Cincinnati. She has sung Juliette and Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte with Dayton Opera, and has appeared with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Ballet.

And, since 1997, she has taught voice students - aged 10 to 70s - at the Musical Arts Center in O'Bryonville. She also finally has time to finish her master's degree at CCM.

For Nall, singing the Messiah is as rewarding as any opera role. She can't pick just one favorite moment.

" 'Rejoice Greatly' is a real joy to sing when you've got the right kind of musicians with you. It's got such wonderful energy," she says. "But I find just as much fulfillment singing the solo for soprano and alto, 'Come Unto Him.' It's so beautiful, and the message is so comforting."

Handel's music is timeless, she adds.

"I think people respond to Baroque music - the rhythmic energy, the drive, the sparkle, the brass and timpani. It has a broader appeal than most people realize," she says. "And everybody knows the Hallelujah Chorus!"

E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com