A Roman Hallow-e'en

OK, a ROMAN program may be a stretch.  
 
It is a fact that Il Trovatore was premiered at the Teatro Apollo in Rome. That’s definitely Roman. Puccini was in Rome often and Tosca was set in Rome; so there’s the Roman connection for the Messa. That’s slightly Roman.  And, Paligacci has been performed many times at multiple theatres in Rome.  That’s Roman of a sort.  
 
So, please forgive the stretch of the truth.  I suppose that An Italian Hallow(e’en) might have been more accurate, but it lacks the cachet of a ROMAN Hallow(e’en), don’t you think?  

​Maybe we should have chosen Venice (as in a VENETIAN Hallow(e’en)) since Venice does have Carnavale where celebrants are masked and costumed – not quite like our Halloween, but, again, sorta.
 
And, in case you missed it, we inserted the apostrophe to create the contraction for “evening” since the concert was at night and we didn’t want the reference to Halloween to be too obvious.  But that also allowed for the HALLOW to be set apart and hint at the "sacred" nature of the Messa.
 
But these are all just labels and marketing.  
 
We were attempting to encapsulate the “idea” of the concert while also exciting both our singers and our audience with the idea of using an adjective that hinted at the Italianate and operatic repertoire.  And while acknowledging the impending October 31st holiday with the inclusion of the Lewis Carroll text (Jabberwocky), representing the fantastical, whimsical, and bizarre nature of the observance of Halloween.
 
OK, it’s all a stretch. But aren’t you just a little bit intrigued? I am.