Merrill conducts Handel's Rodelinda Saturday

SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASPEN TIMES MONDAY, AUGUST 16, 2021 VOL 31, NO. 8

Merrill conducts Handel’s Rodelinda Saturday

SHANNON ASHER

Festival Focus Writer

On Saturday, August 21 the Aspen Music Festival and School will present an abridged concert version of Handel’s Rodelinda, regina de’ Longobardi performed by the extraordinary rising talents of the Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS program. The performance will be conducted by AMFS artist-faculty member Kenneth Merrill with stage direction by Omer Ben Seadia.

Longtime AMFS artist-faculty member Merrill has been with the Festival for 40 years, starting the same year as his esteemed colleague and friend, Edward Berkeley, who passed away suddenly this summer. “I was originally hired by the Festival to come out to prepare a new opera,” Merrill says. “The Festival asked me to come the following year for the full summer. And from then on, every year since.”

The cast for Handel’s Rodelinda is a group of six singers, all of whom Merrill thinks show unique vocal and performing gifts in bringing their roles to life. “In this opera, that is such an important thing, since it is mostly a succession of individual arias,” Merrill explains. “For that dramatic form to work at its best, all the singers must really be at the same high level and that is indeed the case here. AOTVA Co-Artistic Directors Renée Fleming and Patrick Summers have truly assembled a stunning cast for this production of Rodelinda.”

Although abridged due to COVID-19 restrictions, Merrill says this concert version still hits all the major plot points of the opera. “Rodelinda is, for me, Handel’s greatest opera. Unlike so many Baroque libretti, the story is very easy to understand and follow. It deals with the nature of true love (with a few complications and misunderstandings) as opposed to a totally corrupt lust for power and love.”

Aspen Opera Theater and VocalARTS artist-faculty member Kenneth Merrill conducts Rodelinda, August 21.

In the story, Rodelinda, the queen, faces a dire dilemma. Believing her husband, the king, dead, she must choose between marrying the man who stole his throne or watching him murder her son. Audiences will delight in seeing how things unfold for the beleaguered queen while hearing some of the most stunning music ever written for the Baroque opera stage.

“Two of Handel’s most famous arias, ‘Dove sei’ and ‘Vivi, tiranno,’ are from Rodelinda, and you will be able to hear Key’mon [Murrah] sing them both,” Merrill says. “The amount of beautiful music and characterization you will hear from all our singers in this Aspen performance is astounding.”

Cast members include soprano Yaritza Véliz singing the role of Rodelinda, countertenor Key’mon W. Murrah as Bertarido, tenor Ricardo Garcia as Grimoaldo, contralto Lauren Decker as Eduige, mezzo-soprano Erin Wagner as Unulfo, and bass William Guanbo Su as “Summer often allows people Garibaldo.

Expressing his passion and love the chance to explore and for the AMFS, Merrill says, “It truly attracts a world-class student extend their talents and skills body to work with world-class more deeply. Such focus often faculty, performing artists, and conductors.” Merrill continues, gives them even greater insight “Summer often allows people the into their own futures in music chance to explore and extend their talents and skills even more and performing.” deeply. And such focus often gives them even greater insight Kenneth Merrill into their own futures in music and performing. To be part of this AOTVA Artist-Faculty Member dynamic has always been such a wonderful and fulfilling thing.”

Soprano Yaritza Véliz (left)—pictured during an Opera Theater Master Class with baritone and fellow AOTVA student Joshua Conyers (right)—sings the title role of Rodelinda, Queen of Lombardy, on August 21.

CARLIN MA

FESTIVALFOCUS

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