Little Women | Boston University Opera Institute Program

A NOTE FROM THE DEAN W

elcome to the Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre! We built this building for you. I am thrilled that you are here. The story of Little Women is a local tale with international impact. 16 miles from Booth, Louisa May Alcott, in 1868, sat down in her home, set pen to paper, and wrote about the experiences of sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy. The novel, blending truth and fiction, offers a glimpse into late 19 th century life in Concord, Massachusetts and centers on the varying hopes and dreams of four dynamic, young women. Originally commissioned as a book for young girls, Little Women quickly attracted a wide readership. President Theodore Roosevelt proudly declared that he “worshipped” Louisa May Alcott’s story. Little Women is for everyone. There have been many adaptations of Little Women: film, television, theatre and, now, opera. I hope that you will enjoy our production.

Harvey Young Dean, College of Fine Arts

FEBRUARY 23 - 26, 2023

JOAN & EDGAR BOOTH THEATRE

820 COMMONWEALTH AVE. BROOKLINE, MA 02446

music and libretto by MARK ADAMO based on the novel by LOUISA MAY ALCOTT

stage director

BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC OPERA INSTITUTE AND SCHOOL OF THEATRE PRESENT conductor WILLIAM LUMPKIN

Scenic Designer

AMI OKAZAKI

Lighting Designer SLICK JORGENSEN

Costume Designer

MICHAEL O’HERRON

SARAH ZIEBA

ALEXIS PEART

OLIVIA SCHURKE

BECCA ALLEN

SARAH ROGERS

ADDISON PATTILLO

MADELEINE LEW

ERIN SHEA HOGAN

EVE SUMMER

Production Stage Manager

ELLIOT DUPCAK

Production Manager

JAMES D. TEMPLETON

Managing Director

OSHIN GREGORIAN

with

ANDREW BEARDEN BROWN

MARCUS HUBER

WAYNE ARTHUR

YUNUS AKBAS

LAURA COUCH

ALENA FELDMAN

CORTNEY TOWNS

Principal Coach & Music Preparation

ALLISON VOTH

Coach & Music Preparation

MATTHEW LARSON

Répétiteur

MARIA RABBIA

ALLISON HOLLOWAY

ANTHONY PILCHER

CARLI MAZICHADDICE

ANNABRETT RUGGIERO

LUCIA PALLADINO

YOMI PARK

MEGAN COOK

Runtime: 2 hours

GRETCHEN STRUCKMEYER

COURTNEY

FITZGERALD

OLIVIA PELLEGRINO

REBECCA NEHMEH

WILL BENOIT

MICHAELA USHER

Little Women by Mark Adamo presented under license from G. Schirmer Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, copyright owners. Photography and video recording are prohibited.

Jo

ALEXIS PEART *

SARAH ZIEBA +

Meg

BECCA ALLEN *

OLIVIA SCHURKE +

Beth

ADDISON PATTILLO *

SARAH ROGERS +

Amy

MADELEINE LEW *

ERIN SHEA HOGAN +

Laurie

ANDREW BEARDEN

BROWN *

MARCUS HUBER+

Cover: Meg

REBECCA NEHMEH

Cover: Beth

LUCIA PALLADINO

John Brooke

WAYNE ARTHUR *

YUNUS AKBAS+

Friedrich Bhaer

ALENA FELDMAN *

LAURA BETH COUCH +

Alma March

ALLISON HOLLOWAY*

CORTNEY TOWNS+

Gideon March/

Mr. Dashwood

ANTHONY PILCHER *+

Cecelia March

ANNABRETT RUGGIERO *

CARLI MAZICH-ADDICE+

COVERS

Cover: Amy

MEGAN COOK

Cover: Laurie

WILL BENOIT

Quartet of female voices

Soprano 1

YOMI PARK *

LUCIA PALLADINO +

Soprano 2

GRETCHEN

STRUCKMEYER *

MEGAN COOK +

Soprano 3

OLIVIA PELLEGRINO *

COURTNEY FITZGERALD+

Soprano 4

LAURA BETH COUCH *

REBECCA NEHMEH +

* Thursday & Saturday performers + Friday & Sunday performers

Cover: Cecelia March

MICHAELA USHER

BOSTON UNIVERSITY CHAMBER ORCHESTRA

Conductor

WILLIAM LUMPKIN

Violin 1

JULIET KIM

concertmaster

BENNETT ASTROVE

MANUEL ALEJANDRO

ORDÓÑEZ SIERRA

MANUEL ALEJANDRO

ORDÓÑEZ SIERRA

CLARA MONTES

SING-SHEN LIN

AVERY SCOTT

Violin 2

MALACHI PROCENZANO principal

JUAN SHIN

ABIGAIL RINGDAHL

SOFIA JANSSEN

CHIARA TAN

GRACE REMBERT

Viola

NIEN-TZU CHRISTINE LIN prinicpal

KARA CHARLES

ISABEL WHEAT

TAISIYA SOKOLOVA

Cello

BRYAN PING principal

JOHNNY MOK

PIN-HSUAN CHEN

DAHYUN HONG

Bass

SAMANTHA DONATO principal

LINDY BILLHARDT

Flute/Piccolo/Alto Flute

JACKIE BARTLING-JOHN

Oboe/English Horn

HANNAH STAUDINGER

Clarinet/Bass Clarinet

PEILIN ZHOU

Bassoon/Contrabassoon

JEFF DOUCETTE

Horn

DANIEL KLUGMAN

Percussion

MASON MCDONALD principal

CHANG-CHUN TSAI

Harp

FELITA ELEONORA

Keyboard

YUYEON LEE

Assistant Conductor

MARIA KUROCHKINA

CORE COLLABORATORS

CONDUCTOR

STAGE DIRECTOR

SCENIC DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

COSTUME DESIGNER

PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER

PRODUCTION MANAGER

PRINCIPAL COACH & MUSIC PREPARATION

COACH & MUSIC PREPARATION

William Lumpkin

Eve Summer

Ami Okazaki

Slick Jorgensen

Michael O’Herron

Elliot Dupcak

James D. Templeton

Allison Voth

Matthew Larson

Maria Rabbia

MANAGING DIRECTOR

Oshin Gregorian

ASSOCIATE COLLABORATORS

ASSOCIATE PRODUCTION MANAGER

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

ASSISTANT SCENIC DESIGNER

Youyou Huang

Emily Cady

Rebecca Kleeman

Anna Vidergar

Marc Andrea Vento

SCENIC PAINT CHARGE

PROPS COORDINATOR

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

ASSISTANT TECHNICAL DIRECTOR

MASTER CARPENTER

ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER

PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN

ASSISTANT PRODUCTION ELECTRICIAN

CONVENTIONALS & MOVING LIGHTS PROGRAMER

ASSISTANT COSTUME DESIGNER

WIG DESIGNER

SOUND ENGINEER

ASSISTANT SOUND ENGINEER

SOM DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION

SOT PRODUCTION MANAGER

SOT FACULTY PROJECT ADVISOR

Evan Johnson

Brenda Dziadzio

Samantha Galvao

Marc Andrea Vento

Zoe Charbonneau

Marco Liguori

Emily Listner

Jackson Hamman

Celeste Deldaillo

Klara Ballay

Zachary Connell

Valerie Zhao

Molly Beal

Maya Sabatini

Yao Kuang Lee

Gage Baker

Sam Bliss

Christopher Dempsey

Johnny Kontogiannis

Joel Brandwine

PRODUCTION CREW

WARDROBE HEAD DRAPERS

Morgan Baile

Stacy Brannan

Duncan Cordell

Julianna Devaney

Sasha M. Nemi Lato

Sofia Nastri

Quinn Nayenezgani

Evan Petrow

Ava Luman

FIRST HAND

WARDROBE CREW

RUN CREW PHOTOGRAPHER FRONT OF HOUSE

Esther O’Shea

Saber Stetson

Andrew Green

Dylan Mejia

Eva Cirilo

Ava Cronin

Sydney Jackson

Jacob Chang-Rascle

Jordan Berke

Lillian Devlin

Christian Donnerson

Lucy Leahy

Mairead O’Neill

Dylan Gozdziewski

Tiayana, Leah Katz

SCENE BREAKDOWN

Prologue

The attic of the March house

Act I

Scene 1: The attic, two years ago

Scene 2: The path in front of the March house, weeks later

Scene 3: The March garden, the summer of the following year

15 minute intermission

Act II

Scene 1: The publishing offices of ‘The Daily Volcano’, a fiction tabloid based in New York City, one year later

Scene 2: Jo’s boarding house, late that night, after the opera; the March parlour, at midnight; a sunny lane on the campus of Oxford, midafternoon

Scene 3: Beth’s bedroom, three sleepless nights later

Scene 4: The path in front of the March house, the following spring

Scene 5: The attic

COMPOSER NOTE

Little Women, that indispensable chronicle of growing up female in post-Civil War New England, has most often materialized on screen (and onstage) as the romance of a free-spirited young writer torn between the boy next door and a man of the world. Closer reading of Louisa May Alcott’s novel revealed to me a deeper theme: that even those we love will, in all innocence, wound and abandon us until we learn that their destinies are not ours to control. So I shaped a libretto in which Jo’s love for her sisters regained the power it wielded in the original novel; and imagined a finale in which Jo at last accepts that even sincerest love and strongest will cannot stave off change and loss.

Jo’s journey called to mind the Buddhist suggestion that a lesson unlearned will present itself over and over again, in slightly different guise, until at last the pilgrim makes progress and grasps the point. It suggested to me a score in which, amid a riot of inflection and colour, one could clearly hear Jo’s music of stubbornness and resistance tangling with and at last yielding to an ardent but unstoppable music of change. In fact, I wanted two scores: a character music which made the emotional journeys of the characters everywhere clear and traceable, in bold relief against a narrative music as distinct as I could make it from the thematic foreground.

So, Jo’s resistance theme and Meg’s and Laurie’s change theme, among others, are written in a free lyric language of triad and key. But those moments driven by language and story, rather than music and psychology, take a kind of dodecaphonic recitativo secco —crisp and terse, made from the twelve tones of the horn melody in the Prologue, designed to distinguish the flavor of the non-thematic dialogue. That melody also gave Jo the makings of her exuberant scherzando sections in her Act One scena , “ Perfect As We Are.”

This long solo, which portrays Jo’s divided feelings by disrupting her long-lined F-major cantilena with careening dodecaphonic comedy, best exemplifies what I dreamed for this piece: a music in which even the most unlike materials could fuse into a single music if the ear is sensitive and the design is sound.

I am surprised, and humbled, by the critical and popular embrace Little Women has enjoyed in the twelve years of its life. The list of those who have been generous to this work is endless; but for the truths of love and courage I have tried to reflect in this piece, I would like to thank above all my parents, Julie and the late Romeo Adamo, to whom Little Women is lovingly dedicated.

Mark Adamo Composer

ABOUT THE COMPOSER

American composer-librettist Mark Adamo’s work has been present in full force in concert halls and opera houses this year. London’s Opera Holland Park gave the U. K. premiere of his first opera, Little Women, in July of 2022; that same month, Pittsburgh Festival Opera introduced its filmed version his second opera, Lysistrata, and Tanglewood Institute introduced the windorchestra version of the Overture to Lysistrata, arranged by Peter Martin. For the New York premiere of Last Year, his concerto for cello and string orchestra which refracts Vivaldi’s Four Seasons through the prism of climate change, Mei-Ann Chen leads soloist Jeffrey Zeigler and the American Composers’ Orchestra at Carnegie Hall in October. Teatro Colón, in Buenos Aires, gives the Argentine premiere in Buenos Aires of Little Women in November; that same month, Boston Modern Orchestra Project gives the East Coast premiere of The Lord of Cries, the opera, after both Euripides and Stoker, Adamo co-created with composer John Corigliano for Santa Fe Opera in 2021. These performances will be recorded for the work’s premiere release on CD. The autumn of 2021 saw the first performances of Last Year in San Francisco and in Houston, followed, in December, by Chicago Opera Theater’s new production of Becoming Santa Claus, Adamo’s fourth opera, which was conducted by Lidiya Yankovskaya (CFA’10) and directed by Kyle Lang. This followed the warmly received Dutch premiere by the Dutch National Opera Academy of Little Women, given in Amsterdam in January of 2020.

Other notable commissions include Aristotle, for Thomas Hampson and the Jupiter String Quartet, by Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; Four Angels: Concerto for Harp and Orchestra, for the National Symphony Orchestra. The Racer’s Widow, for New York Festival of Song; and the cantata Late Victorians, for Eclipse Chamber Orchestra, which recorded it on its all-Adamo recording for Naxos. His choral work has been commissioned and performed by Chanticleer, Conspirare, The Esoterics, The Gregg Smith Singers, Choral Arts Society in Washington, Young People’s Chorus of New York City, and The New York Virtuoso Singers. His music is published exclusively by G. Schirmer. (markadamo.com)

CORE COLLABORATORS

William Lumpkin (Conductor)

Lumpkin’s extensive repertoire and career have led to engagements with Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Boston Lyric Opera, having previously served on the music staff for Los Angeles Opera, Aspen Opera Theatre, and Wolf Trap Opera. Additionally, Maestro Lumpkin led performances of the Mary Zimmerman production of Philip Glass’s Galileo Galilei as part of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s New Wave Festival, having previously conducted world premiere performances at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago. Mr. Lumpkin conducted the American premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Flight with Opera Theatre of St. Louis and again for Boston Lyric Opera, which Opera News praised, stating “Dove’s impressive score was conducted wonderfully by another veteran of the Saint Louis production, William Lumpkin.” Additional credits at St. Louis include La Bohème, The Magic Flute, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Hansel and Gretel. He also joined Boston Lyric Opera to conduct Così fan tutte. Of this production, Opera News stated “Lumpkin kept his players and singers under firm control, at the same time allowing them sufficient liberty to bring out nuances in their performances,” and the Boston Globe noted “His work had brio, style, and heart, and the orchestra played beautifully for him.” As Associate Professor of Music and the Artistic Director and Conductor for the Opera Institute at Boston University, he has conducted over 40 opera productions, including a co-production with Glimmerglass Opera of E. Loren Meeker’s production of Janacek’s “The Cunning Little Vixen”, a co-commission

with New York City Opera of Tobias Picker’s chamber version of his opera “Dolores Claiborne”, and a concert version of “Vanessa” with Boston University alum Lauren Flanigan. He has also appeared as guest conductor at Indiana University and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. As a pianist, Mr. Lumpkin collaborated with Juliana Gondek recording Roger Bourland’s “Four Quartets of Songs and Arias” for Navona Records. A native of Lewisburg, PA, Mr. Lumpkin holds a BM from the Eastman School of Music, an MM in Conducting from UCSB, and a D.M.A. from the University of Southern California.

Eve Summer (Stage Director)

Hailed “a rising star of stage directing whose approach refreshes hope for the future of opera,” Eve Summer is a director, producer, and choreographer. She has been described as having “a gift for translating classic symbolism into familiar detail with just enough flippancy to bring out the fun of the opera without skewing the emotional equation.” Recent directing credits include The Glimmerglass Festival, Trouble in Tahiti; Opera Columbus, Tosca, Don Giovanni; Curtis Opera Theatre, Così fan tutte, Albert Herring ; Opera Saratoga, The Barber of Seville; Tulsa Opera, The Little Prince; Opera Carolina, Don Giovanni; Opera Grand Rapids, Così fan tutte, The Pirates of Penzance, Don Giovanni, The Mikado; Opera Orlando, The Tales of Hoffmann, Lizbeth; Connecticut Early Music Festival, Xerxes; A.J.Fletcher Opera Institute at UNCSA, Volpone; Opera Tampa, The Pearl Fishers; Opera in Williamsburg, La bohème, The Pearl Fishers, The Magic Flute, Boheme Opera New Jersey, Aida, Lucia

CORE COLLABORATORS

di Lammermoor, and Later the Same Evening at the BU Opera Institute. Her theater productions have included The Merry Wives of Windsor, Extremities, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Woolgatherer, ‘Art,’ Two Gentlemen of Verona, and her own play Neighbors, an adaptation of the novel by Thomas Berger. A former ballet dancer, Eve has served as staff and assistant director and choreographer at The Glimmerglass Festival, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Colorado, Boston Lyric Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Saratoga, and Opera Boston.

Oshin Gregorian (Managing Director) is the Managing Director and Producer for the Boston University Opera Institute. Previous positions include Director of Operations with the ProArte Chamber Orchestra, and General Manager for Collage New Music. Mr. Gregorian holds a BM in vocal performance from Boston University, a MM in vocal performance from Manhattan School of Music, and is a graduate of the Opera Institute with honors. With the Opera Institute, he has been seen as Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Il Podesta in La Finta Giardiniera, and Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, among others. He has performed in numerous concerts and oratorio works with ensembles such as the Tanglewood Festival Chorus/Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Newburyport Choral Society, and Boston Youth Symphony, among others. Mr. Gregorian made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2005 under the auspices of Music Armenia.

Matthew Larson (Coach) received his Doctorate in Collaborative Piano from Arizona State University under the tutelage of Eckart Sellheim. An accomplished

recitalist, Dr. Larson has played over 1,000 performances in the US and Europe. He has worked with such varied artists as Metropolitan Opera stars Carol Vaness, Maria Spacagna, Eric Owens, and Lawrence Brownlee; Academy of Ancient Music director Christopher Hogwood; vocal pedagogy pioneer Richard Miller; and the eminent collaborative artist Dalton Baldwin, with whom Matthew was invited to study in New York. Past positions include Assistant Conductor for Boston Lyric Opera; Music Director for the University of Connecticut Opera Program; Staff Pianist for Yale University Opera; Vocal Coach at Brown University; Staff Pianist for The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria; Music Director of Opera Providence; Vocal Coach at Walnut Hill School for the Arts; Pianist for the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Festival Chorus; Music Director of Cape Cod Opera; and Vocal Coach for Tanglewood Institute’s Young Artist Vocal Program. Currently, Dr. Larson is on faculty at Boston University; Music Director of Seaglass Theater Company of New Bedford MA; and Minister of Music at First Congregational Church of Milton, Massachusetts. In January 2020 he earned a Grammy Award as pianist on Boston Modern Opera Project’s recording of Tobias Picker’s Fantastic Mr. Fox.

Allison Voth (Principal Coach) is an Associate Professor of Music at Boston University and Principal Coach at BU’s Opera Institute. A well-known coach with a specialty in diction, she has worked with such companies and festivals as Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, Chautauqua Opera, Opera North, Opera Unlimited, The Florence Voice Seminar, and the Athens Music Festival. Also a recognized supertitlist, her titles have been used nationwide, including at Washington

CORE COLLABORATORS

Opera and the Chicago Symphony, and, internationally, at the Barbican Festival in London. As a specialist in the music of Paul Bowles, in 1992, she produced and performed in a multi-media performance piece entitled Paul Bowles: One Man, Two Voices at Merkin Hall in New York, and in 1995, she premiered a set of piano preludes in the EOS Ensemble’s Bowles Festival. Ms. Voth is also the Music Director of the Cantata Singers’ Chamber Series and can be heard on CRI recordings.

Maria Kurochkina (Assistant Conductor) graduated from Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, majoring in opera and symphony conducting, studying with Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Igor Dronov. In 2022, Maria started her studies at Boston University to pursue her DMA in Orchestral Conducting under the guidance of James Burton. During her studies in Russia, Maria worked as an assistant conductor with various Moscow orchestras, including the State Academic Symphony Orchestra and Vladimir Jurowski. In 2018-2020 she worked as an assistant conductor at the Opera Theatre of the Moscow Conservatory. In June 2021, Maria became the Principal Conductor of the Pangea Festival (St. Petersburg). Maria was a Conducting Fellow of the Diaghilev Festival in 2018 and 2019; in 2019, she also staged R. Yunusov’s chamber opera “Steps ” (world premiere) at the festival. In 2021, Maria became a Conducting Fellow of the Cabrillo Festival, and in 2022 she became one of the 14 selected participants of La Maestra conducting competition organized by the Paris Philharmonie.

Maria Rabbia (Répétiteur) (she/ her) is in the second year of her DMA in Collaborative Piano at Boston University, studying under the tutelage of Shiela Kibbe. Previously, Maria received her MM

in Collaborative Piano from Ithaca College. Coaching and collaborative credits include Boston University Tanglewood Institute (BUTI), International Performing Arts Institute in Kiefersfelden, Germany, The Voice Institute of the Finger Lakes, and participation as a Young Artist with Opera Company of Middlebury. Maria has worked with Opera Ithaca on several productions including La bohème and Carmen, and most recently served as a vocal coach at BUTI and as the Assistant Conductor and Pianist at the inaugural Opera Direction Professional Certificate Program in Ithaca, NY. She has previously worked with the Boston University Opera Institute on productions Così fan tutte and Our Town.

Ami Okazaki (Scenic Designer) (she/her) is in her senior year at Boston University studying Scenic Design. Her design credits at BU includes: Far Away (Boston University, 2020), Shakespeare’s R+J (Boston University, 2021) and Machinal (Boston University, 2021). Her design for Caryl Churchill’s Machinal is chosen for the 2023 American Exhibit at the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space. She would like to thank her friends, her team, and her mentors for an incredible support throughout this journey! Her upcoming credits include Alligator-A-Phobia in 3D! (Boston Playwrights Theatre, 2023).

Gage Baker (Sound Engineer) is a sound designer and mixer currently pursuing an MFA in Sound Design at Boston University. Design credits include Catastrophic Theatre (Innominate), and Rec Room (The Moonlit Princess, The Children, Dance Nation, Sound Scripts Series). Production credits include Alley Theatre (Quixote Nuevo, Alley All New), Hangar Theatre (Cabaret), Stages Repertory Theatre (The Fantasticks). He currently mixes the Boston company of Blue Man Group. gagebaker.com

SYMPHONY HALL , BOSTON

301 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston

FREE Reservations required

bu.edu/cfa/symphonyhall

ALCINA

Fenlon Lamb, stage director

Sung in Italian with English supertitles

TSAI PERFORMANCE CENTER

685 COMMONWEALTH AVE, BOSTON

APRIL 27 - 28, 2023

Music by George Fredric Händel

Libretto by Antonio Fanzaglia

William Lumpkin, conductor

CORE COLLABORATORS

Klara Ballay, (Assistant Lighting Designer) This is Klara’s first show on the design team for an opera, and they could not have gotten a better team to jump into the world of opera with. They want to thank the lighting team for their support and patience. They are so proud of their friends who have grown so much in the past 4 years and stepped up to the challenge of designing in this space and hope you enjoy the show!

Emily Cady (Assistant Stage Manager) (she/her) is currently studying in the School of Theatre and Kilachand Honors College here at BU. She will graduate in 2025 with a BFA in Stage Management. Favorite Credits: Most Happy In Concert (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Just For Us (Regional Premiere, WTF), Lizzie (BU STAMP), Colossal (BU SOT). A million thanks to Elliot, Rebecca, and the entire Little Women Team! She also sends an endless amount of love to her family and the dream team for always supporting her in her endeavors. @emilyycadyy

Elliot Dupcak (Production Stage Manager) is a senior stage management student. He is thrilled to be working on this production of Little Women. Previous selected credits at BU include Proving Up, Mansfield Park, and Photograph 51. Elliot is also a sound designer (Hamlet, The Midsummer Projects) and a playwright (Against a Village). He is looking forward to his work beyond BU. Many thanks to his team and friends, who have supported him endlessly throughout this project.

Brenda Dziadzio (Scenic Paint Charge) is a freelance Scenic Painter in Boston. She brings her education in Fine Art and 30 years of Graphic Design experience in marketing and advertising to solve design problems in theatre, events and video/film production

– with paint. Brenda completed a Scene Painting Certificate program under Diane Fargo at Boston University. She has painted for multiple theatres and scene shops in the Boston area including The Huntington Theatre, Company One Theatre, Boston Playwrights Theatre, Shakespeare Actors Project, Berklee College of Music & Boston Conservatory, Reagle Music Theatre, Boston University Opera Institute, Fever Events, VDA Events and Wooden Kiwi Productions.

Samantha Galvao (Scenic Charge) is a Boston & New York based Scenic Artist. While studying Scenic Art, Design and Arts Administration at Boston University, Samantha worked with companies such as the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Des Moines Metro Opera; VDA Inc. — working on productions featured on Broadway and across the US. Samantha has loved painting since she first worked on scenery for her middle school plays (back when she had no idea it was a real job), and hopes to continue her work as a scenic artist and move into positions that allow her to mentor and teach others.

Youyou Huang (Associate Production Manager) is grateful to work as an associate production manager for Little Women. Youyou is a first-year production management major. Previously, she graduated from the Shanghai Conservatory of Music and worked as an assistant stage manager on Sleep No More Shanghai.

Slick Jorgensen (Lighting Designer) is a second year MFA in Lighting Design from Chicago, Illinois. Previous Boston University credits include Passage, Little Row Boat, or, Conjecture, and Aurora Borealis. Slick is a proud member of IATSE Local 2 Stagehands and IATSE Local 476 Studio Mechanics. He would like to thank his father and James Kasprzyk for sharing his love of opera.

CORE COLLABORATORS

Rebecca Kleeman (Assistant Stage Manager) (she/her) is currently studying Stage Management at Boston University and is intended to graduate in 2025. Her most recent credits at BU include Assistant Stage Manager on Little Row Boat, or Conjecture and Aurora Borealis. This is her second production with the BU Opera Institute as she was previously a Production Assistant on Cosi fan Tutte. She is originally from Baltimore, Maryland and thanks her family for their endless support in helping her study what she loves.

Michael O’Herron (Costume Designer) is a Boston-based Costume Designer currently in his final semester at Boston University, pursuing a BFA in Costume Design. Michael’s recent design credits include Our Town for the Boston University Opera Institute, Freaky Friday for the Bigfork Summer Playhouse, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for Boston University School of Theatre. Recent assistant design credits include Seven Guitars at Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Paradise Blue at Gloucester Stage Company, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Shakesperience Productions, and Passage and Shakespeare in Love at Boston University.

Maya Sabatini (Assistant Costume Designer) (she/her) is a little guy from Kansas and a current student at Boston University pursuing a BFA in Costume Design. She will graduate in 2025 and live the rest of her life making art! Maya grew up dancing but has now cultivated a love for each area of the performing arts. Although she still has some time left in school, she is excited to surround herself with the arts and continue her education journey for the next three years. She would like to say thank you to the amazing Little Women team!

James David Templeton (Production Manager) is a Second-Year MFA

Production Management student from Rochester, NY. BU Production Management credits include: Little Row Boat, La Hija de Rappaccinni, Revolt She Said Revolt Again, Cosí fan Tutte, Passage, Proving Up & The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace Prior to BU he was on stage management teams in Missouri including Lyric Opera Kansas City, Kansas City Rep, Kansas City Ballet, Kansas City Actors Theatre, & Arrow Rock Lyceum.

Marc Andrea Vento (Assistant Scenic Designer, Props) is a senior scenic design major in the College of Fine Arts at Boston University. He has designed and been involved in other BU productions including: Walking the Tightrope, The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace, Patterns of Wind, Exit the King and most recently Eat Your Young. Upon graduation, he intends to pursue other scenic design opportunities both locally and internationally.

Anna Vidergar (Assistant Scenic Designer) (she/her) is a junior Theatre

Arts - Design and Production major concentrating in scenic design and playwriting. Favorite BU credits include La Hija de Rappaccini (Scenic Design), Laure (Scenic Design), Cosi fan Tutte (Assistant Scenic Design), and Colossal (Assistant Scenic Design/Props). You can find her work at @designeragvid on Instagram. •

MUSIC, MAGIC, AND MORE…

FAMILY CONCERT

Saturday, April 15, 2023, 12noon

Symphony Hall

With Young People’s String Orchestra and members of the Intensive Community Program

Marta Żurad, Conductor Matt Roberts, Magician

TICKETS

Adults $20, Kids under 18 are Free (limit four per family).

Visit www.BYSOweb.org or call Symphony Charge at 617-266-1200

PERFORMERS

Yunus Akbas (John Brooke), baritone, is in his second year at the Opera Institute where he studies with David Guzman. He has sung the roles of Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, Paul in If I Were You, Charles Babbage in The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace, and Mr. Webb in Our Town with the Opera Institute. In 2019, Yunus completed his BM in Opera and Concert Singing at Haliç University. Recently in January of 2023 he received an encouragement award from Metropolitan Opera Laffont competition in the Los Angeles District. This spring he will perform in Handel’s Alcina as Melisso.

Becca Allen (Meg), a Seattle-born mezzo-soprano, is excited to be making her Opera Institute debut! She is a first-year Performance Diploma in Voice student under the tutelage of Dr. Lynn Eustis. Her previous credits include Carmen in Carmen, La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, Dryade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, The Narrator/Mysterious Man in Into the Woods, Hucklebee in The Fantasticks, among others. Becca can next be seen as Bradamante in Alcina with the Opera Institute.

Wayne Arthur (John Brooke) is a baritone from Brooklyn, New York in their first year at the Opera Institute studying with Jim Demler. While at BU, Wayne has performed the role of Dr. Rappaccini in La Hija de Rappaccini. Wayne performed Baritone 1 in X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (Detroit Opera, Odyssey Opera) and was in the Ensemble of Fire Shut up in my Bones (Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera). Wayne appeared on the 2021

Grammy Award-winning Metropolitan Opera recording of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Wayne will reprise the role of Baritone 1 in X: The Life and Times of

Malcolm X at Seattle Opera in 2024. Andrew Bearden Brown (Laurie), tenor, from Washington DC, is a first-year Performance Diploma student under the tutelage of Dr. Lynn Eustis. With the Opera Institute, Andrew has performed as Stage Manager in Rorem’s Our Town. Recent roles include Torquemada in Ravel’s L’heure espagnole (Royal College of Music) and Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Felici Opera). Upcoming performances include as Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion with Ashmont Hill Chamber Music in March, Oronte in Handel’s Alcina with the Opera Institute in April, and as Marzio in Mozart’s Mitridate with Opera Neo in San Diego in July.

Will Benoit (Laurie cover) is an emerging professional tenor from Portland, Oregon, and is a second-year MM in Voice Performance at Boston University. Throughout his young career, Will has performed with organizations such as the Oregon Symphony, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Previous roles performed at BU include Giovanni in Daniel Catàn’s La hija de Rappaccini and David in Jake Heggie’s If I Were You. This is his fourth and final opera with the BU Opera Institute. Will Benoit studies under the tutelage of Dr. David Guzman. Megan Cook (Quartet, Amy cover), a South Korean soprano, is a first-year MM student at Boston University, under the instruction of Matthew DiBattista. Megan attended The Academy of Musical Arts Darmstadt, Germany and earned her Bachelor of Music degree under the instruction of Soprano Petra Lang and Baritone Thomas Bauer. She performed the roles such as Adele, Blonde, Despina, and Papagena in Darmstadt. She was the finalist of Jugend Musiziert Landes

PERFORMERS

Wettbewerb competition in 2017 and participated in masterclasses with Professor Monica Pick-Hieronimi, Claudia Visca, and Edda Moser.

Laura Beth Couch (Quartet), mezzo-soprano, from New Jersey, is a Performance Diploma candidate who studies with James Demler. This is Laura’s first role with the Opera Institute. In the fall, she sang with the ensemble of Our Town. With Opera in the Ozarks, she performed the roles of Dorothée in Cendrillon and Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor. At Shenandoah University, Laura performed Dorabella in Così fan tutte and Hannah After in As One. At Rutgers University, she performed La Chatte in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. In the Spring, Laura will be covering Bradamante in the Opera Institute’s performance of Alcina.

Alena Feldman (Friedrich Bhaer), mezzo-soprano, originally from Pottstown Pennsylvania, is a first-year Master’s student in Voice Performance in the studio of Professor Penelope Bitzas. Ms. Feldman will be debuting with the Opera Institute as Friedrich Bhaer in Little Women. She earned her BM in Voice Performance from Boston Conservatory at Berklee under the tutelage of Professor Frank Kelley, and is excited to stay in Boston for her MM Voice Performance degree. Ms. Feldman has appeared as the title role in Dido and Aeneas with the Classical Musicians Coalition at Berklee. She has also sung the role of Idamante (Idomeneo) in the Act III quartet with the Boston Conservatory at Berklee Opera studio. She is looking forward to covering the role of Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro) this summer at Chicago Summer Opera Festival.

Courtney Erin Fitzgerald (Quartet), soprano, is from Tallahassee, FL and is currently a firstyear master’s student in the studio of Lynn Eustis. She has performed Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro with both the European Music Academy in the Czech Republic and with the UNF Opera Department, as well as the title role in Barab’s Little Red Riding Hood with UNF Opera Outreach.

Marcus Huber (Laurie), tenor, from Lancaster, Pennsylvania is a second-year masters student in the studio of Professor Penelope Bitzas. With the Opera Institute, Marcus has performed the roles of George Gibbs in Our Town, David in If I Were You, and William in The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace. Other past roles include Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, Detlef in The Student Prince, Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus, and Pisandro in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria Marcus has been named a winner in the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and OperaLancaster young artist competitions, and will perform with Opera Neo this summer.

Allison Holloway (Alma March), soprano, from the Chicagoland area, is a second-year Master of Voice student under the tutelage of Matthew DiBattista. With the Opera Institute, she has performed the roles of Nanny in The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace, Young Woman in If I Were You, and Flower in Daniel Catán’s La hija de Rappaccini. Previously, Ms. Holloway was a studio artist with Opera in the Ozarks, and performed Papagena in The Magic Flute. Her previous roles include Lola in Gallantry, The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Carrie in

A true collaboration brings an entertaining evening of laughter... and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of an original live-action TV comedy pilot

BU College of Fine Arts School of Theatre

BU College of Communication Department of Film & Television

a co-production of April 27 - May 6, 2023

Boston University Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre

PERFORMERS

Speed Dating Tonight, and Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel.

Erin Shea Hogan (Amy), soprano, is a Master of Voice student under the tutelage of Dr. Lynn Eustis. Previously at BU, Erin was a cover for Selena and in the chorus of Jake Heggie’s If I Were You. She has performed excerpts of Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice as Eurydice, Yolanda in El Caminante by Eduardo Sánchez de Fuentes, and Emily in Our Town by Ned Rorem. In addition to her participation in BU Opera, Erin is a chorister at the Church of the Advent and a Compassion in Action Fellow supported by the Namchak Foundation, a lineage of Tibetan Buddhism based in Montana.

Madeleine Lew (Amy), soprano, is a Los Angeles native completing her first year as a member of Boston University’s Opera Institute in the studio of Penelope Bitzas. This season, she performed the title role of Beatriz in La Hija de Rappaccini, and will be singing the role of Morgana in BU’s production of Alcina. Previously, Madeleine has sung the role of the Bear in Pulkiss’s world premiere of All the Truths We Cannot See: A Chernobyl Story, Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice, and Yniold in Pelléas et Mélisande among others. She is a 2023 Boston District Winner of the Laffont Metropolitan Opera Competition and has won awards from James Toland Vocal Arts and East Bay Opera League.

Carli Mazich-Addice (Cecelia March) is a second-year mezzosoprano from the Jersey shore. She is in the studio of Penelope Bitzas. Carli appeared in BU Opera Institute’s production of If I Were You in the role of Rachel. She looks forward to singing

the role of Susan Veeder in Jodi Goble’s Whaling Women in March at BU.

Rebecca Nehmeh (Quartet, Meg cover), mezzo-soprano, is a first year MM student at Boston University, under the instruction of James Demler and is the cover of Meg in this year’s production of Little Women by Mark Adamo. Rebecca was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York and attended Brooklyn Music School’s Summer Vocal Arts for three summers following her undergraduate studies as a soprano, earning the roles of Eglé from Gluck’s Écho et Narcisse and Bastienne from Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne. Following her time at LaGuardia Arts HS, she received her BM from Rutgers University, under the instruction of Finnish soprano, Taina Kataja and continued her studies with Professors Amy Burton and Cyndia Sieden post-grad.

Lucia Palladino (Quartet, Beth cover) is a soprano from South Windsor, Connecticut. She is a second-year Master of Music student at Boston University studying with James Demler. Lucia earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Belmont University in 2021, where she performed the roles of Romilda in Handel’s Serse, Beth in Copland’s The Tender Land, and numerous partial roles. She also completed a minor in Italian and is a member of the international foreign language honor society Phi Sigma Iota and national college honor society Alpha Chi.

Yomi Park (Quartet), a South Korean soprano, is a first-year MM student at Boston University, studying with Matthew DiBattista. Yomi attended Hanyang University in Korea,

PERFORMERS

earning a Bachelor of Music. In Korea, she has performed the role of Mimì in La bohème. This spring, she will be covering the role of Morgana in Alcina with the Opera Institute.

Addison Pattillo (Beth March), soprano, is from Flower Mound, Texas. She is a second year Master of Vocal Performance student and is studying with Dr. Lynn Eustis. Her previous roles at BU include Diana (If I Were YouHeggie,) Beatriz (La Hija de RappacciniCatàn,) and covering Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte - Mozart.) Addison is making her Boston Symphony Hall debut as the soprano soloist in the Boston University Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Mahler’s Symphony no. 2.

Alexis Peart (Jo), mezzo-soprano, from Titusville, NJ is a second-year MM student studying under Penelope Bitzas. Featured Opera Institute roles include Brittomara in If I Were You, and Taller Daughter in Proving Up. Professional credits include Ada Lovelace in Ruehr’s The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage (Guerilla Opera) and The Voice of Israel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses (Rochester Oratorio Society). Alexis is a two-time alumna of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio Artist Program, and a winner of BU’s Carnegie Hall Competition. Upcoming performances with BU include Ruggiero in Alcina, Mezzo Soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, and Carmen (cover) in Bizet/ Brook’s La tragédie de Carmen (Chautauqua Opera Company).

Olivia Pellegrino (Quartet), soprano, is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is a first year Master of Voice student studying under Dr. Jennifer Sgroe. Olivia has previously

performed in the chorus of Our Town with the Opera Institute in the fall. In the past, she has performed the role of Emma Woodhouse in The Loathly Lady by Paul Richards and Wendy Steiner. In 2019, Olivia came in second place in the NATS Boston vocal competition.

Anthony Pilcher (Gideon March/ Mr. Dashwood), baritone, from Buffalo, New York, is a second-year masters student under the tutelage of James Demler. Anthony earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Ithaca College. With the Opera Institute, Anthony has performed the roles of Dr. Rappaccini in La hija de Rappaccini, Jonathan in If I Were You, and The Butler in The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace. Previously, Anthony has performed the roles of Marcello in La bohème, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and Dr Malatesta in Don Pasquale. Later this season, Anthony will be covering the role of Melisso in Alcina with the Opera Institute.

Sarah Rogers (Beth), soprano and Florida native, is in her second year with the Boston University Opera Institute, in the studio of Professor Penelope Bitzas. With BU, she has sung the role of Selena in Heggie’s If I Were You and performed Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder with the BU Symphony Orchestra. Past highlights include performances as Erste Dame in North Carolina Opera’s production of Die Zauberflöte and Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro. This year, she can be seen as The Woman in Erwartung, Eliza Brock in Goble’s Whaling Women, and covering Micaëla in La tragédie de Carmen.

Annabrett Ruggiero (Cecelia March), mezzo-soprano, is from Orlando, Florida, and is a first-year

PERFORMERS

Master of Voice Student studying under Matthew DiBattista. This is Annabrett’s first role with the Opera institute. She has previously performed the roles of Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, Emma Jones in Street scene, and First Lady in Die Zauberflöte. In 2021 Annabrett became a winner of Stetson University’s Giffin Competition. Additionally, she was granted the honor of representing the voice department in the Stetson Showcase.

Olivia Schurke (Meg), is a mezzosoprano from St. Paul, Minnesota pursuing a Masters degree in Vocal Performance at Boston University in the studio of Penelope Bitzas. She has performed several roles with the Opera Institute at Boston University, most recently as Isabela in La Hija de Rappaccini. During her first year at BU she performed the roles of Dorabella in Così fan tutte and Taller Daughter in Proving Up. This spring she will appear as Bradamante in Handel’s Alcina. In addition to singing, Olivia began studying violin at age 3 and continues to play for enjoyment.

Gretchen Struckmeyer (Quartet), soprano, from Raleigh, North Carolina, is a first year Master of Voice student under the tutelage of James Demler. She was featured last semester as Lady in the Balcony in BU Opera Theatre’s Our Town. Previous roles outside BU include Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte (both with Appalachian Opera Theatre). She is the winner of the Hayes School of Music Concerto/Aria Competition (Boone, NC) as well as a semifinalist for the Heafner/Williams Competition (Lincolnton, NC).

Cortney Towns (Alma March), soprano, from St. Louis, Missouri is a second-year Master of Voice student un-er the tutelage of Dr. David Guzman. With the Opera Institute scene programs, Ms. Towns has performed the roles of Contessa in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and Euridice in Glück’s Orfeo ed Euridice. She was also featured as a “flower” in the women’s trio in the opera, La Hija de Rappaccini by Daniel Catán with the Opera Institute.

Michaela Usher (Cecelia March cover) is a mezzo-soprano from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a secondyear Master of Voice student under the tutelage of Professor Matthew Di Battista. With the Opera Institute, Michaela performed in last semester’s Opera Scenes presentation and as a member of the chorus in Our Town. Currently, she is covering the role of Miss Cecilia March in Mark Adamo’s Little Women.

Sarah Zieba (Jo), Polish American mezzo-soprano originally from Chicago, Illinois, is a first year Performance Diploma student in the Opera Institute studying with Penelope Bitzas. With the Opera Institute, Zieba has performed the role of Isabela in Daniel Catan’s La Hija de Rappaccini. Previous roles include Brittomara in Jake Heggie’s If I Were You and Mrs. Grose in Britten’s Turn of the Screw, both with the Northwestern Opera Theater where she completed her MM and BM with Nancy Gustafson, as well as a BA in Biochemistry. This season with the Opera Institute, she will also perform the role of Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina. •

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BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS

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BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS SCHOOL OF MUSIC: OPERA INSTITUTE

The Opera Institute at CFA School of Music is an intensive, highly selective two-year performance-based training program for emerging operatic artists. A professional faculty and renowned guest artists provide personal support and training in all areas pertinent to a career in opera, including voice, acting, languages, and movement styles. Additionally, the Opera Institute selects undergraduate and graduate singers from the School of Music who demonstrate true operatic potential and have mastered an intermediate integration of acting, vocal, and movement skills for the Opera Theater, Opera Workshop, and Opera Project programs. Find more at bu.edu/cfa/opera/season.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS SCHOOL OF THEATRE

The School of Theatre at Boston University College of Fine Arts offers conservatory-style education for the study of acting, stage management, design, production, and all aspects of the theatre profession within the setting of a major research university. The School of Theatre seeks to provide students with opportunities for artistic growth through a rigorous curriculum, professional connections, and an emphasis on collaboration and new work. Learn more about the current BU School of Theatre production season at bu.edu/cfa/theatre/season.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY JOAN & EDGAR BOOTH THEATRE

Since its inaugural season in 2018, this bold, state-of-the-art structure encourages innovation, conversation, and collaboration. The flexible design of Booth Theatre allows for the inventive evolution of performances and a deep engagement with audiences. Research is at the core of Boston University, and BU College of Fine Arts practices it every day in the form of creative experimentation. Booth Theatre and the adjacent CFA Production Center are laboratories for such research, and in every detail, they are purpose-built for discovery. Recent productions include Once, Let the Right One In (co-production with Actors’ Shakespeare Theatre), Angels in America (Parts I and II), Shakespeare in Love, If I Were You, Patterns of Wind, The Rake’s Progress, Mansfield Park, Dolores Claiborne, The Lathe of Heaven, The Exonerated, ...and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi, and Antigone. Learn more at bu.edu/booth.