ILLUSTRATION BY HADLEY HOOPER.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Hadley Hooper
is an artist and illustrator living in Denver. In addition to a successful gallery career and wide experience with editorial illustration, Hooper has illustrated a series of picture books and created packaging for food products. Her most recent installation entitled Tableau was at the Denver Art Museum for 16 months in Precourt Hall. Designed as a walkable pop-up book, visitors could perch on a moon held aloft by a loon or sit in the belly of a whale. Her illustrated book on the young Matisse, The Iridescence of Birds written by Patricia MacLachlan, is in multiple re-printings and has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian and Chinese. She is currently at work on a picture book about the lives of Alberto and Diego Giacometti. She will have a show of her paintings at Goodwin Fine Art in Denver in September of 2018. Hadley Hooper's illustration work is represented by Marlena Agency.
COMPANY
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Chairman of the Board’s Letter General/Artistic Director’s Letter 2019 Festival Board of Directors | Volunteer Leadership
CENTRAL CITY OPERA
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Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program Education & Community Engagement Preserving the Past Festival Schedule Festival Extras Central City Opera Presents ENCORE: A MUSICAL REVUE 2018 Central City Plein Air Festival Short Works
PRODUCTIONS
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THE MAGIC FLUTE IL TROVATORE ACIS AND GALATEA THE FACE ON THE BARROOM FLOOR
PEOPLE
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Company Profiles Apprentice Artists Studio Artists Festival Orchestra Administration
SUPPORT
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Yellow Rose Society Donor Spotlight Become a Member of the Elevation Club Become a Member of the Impresario Circle Community Support Tributes | In Honor Central City Opera Guild Tributes | In Memory L'Esprit de Noël Theatre of Dreams Gala Special Thanks Flower Girls
OTHER INFORMATION
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Repertory Information & Imagery Credits
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FROM THE DESK OF CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
JUDITH W. GRANT Welcome to Central City Opera! We are excited to be celebrating our 86th season with all of you. To be around this long in the world of fine arts, non-profits and especially opera, you have to have qualities that ensure your continued existence. We are the fifth oldest opera company in the United States and proud of it. I am happy to say that Central City Opera possesses those very attributes which do confirm longevity and success. To wit:
• An A+ product, superior performances and artists that are known the world over
• A talented and dedicated staff
• A devoted and committed board of directors
• A jewel box theater that is historic and intimate
• A long line of performers, community leaders, patrons, donors and past board members who care deeply about the organization
We continually rely on the example of those who have come before us, who through the years have had a vision and the determination and dollars to keep that vision alive to this day. At our January 2018 board meeting, where I called the group together for the first time as Chairman of the Board, I provided two words as guideposts for the year ahead: Strength and Stability. Those words define everything we do as the supporters and staff of Central City Opera. Today, as you sit in the jewel box theater and enjoy the extraordinary performances, let us remember upon whose shoulders we stand. We are ever grateful to the Welsh and Cornish miners who built the Opera House in 1878 and to Anne Evans and Ida Kruse McFarlane who heroically led the effort to restore it in 1932. Lastly, I want to thank you personally for being part of this inspirational season. We offer many ways to support Central City Opera in addition to attending the opera. I hope you will join me as either a member of the Guild, the Elevation Club, the Impresario Circle or by participating in our annual Theatre of Dreams Gala and Dream Events.
Judith W. Grant Chairman of the Board
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FROM THE DESK OF GENERAL/ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
PELHAM G. PEARCE Welcome to the 2018 Festival, Central City Opera has once again created a group of unique operatic experiences, which feature our beautiful historic venues filled with great artists and artisans of all stripes who have come to Colorado this summer to make magic just for you. We feel confident that you can count on us to entertain, challenge, amaze and delight as you engage with our wonderful performances. Our 2018 Season covers a large swath of styles and highlights our amazing company. I have always felt that this journey through various composers offers our audiences something special every summer. Sometimes it is a new look at something familiar (The Magic Flute) or reintroduction to an old friend (Il trovatore) and (The Face on the Barroom Floor) and possibly a new piece to add to your list (Acis and Galatea). As always, every opera is curated with great care and attention to detail. We continue to appreciate your presence and support! Without it, this wonderful experience could not exist. We are thankful you are here! Next season will feature another visit to Puccini’s glorious Madama Butterfly along with a wonderful event a long time in the making—Britten’s masterpiece Billy Budd makes its first visit to Colorado at Central City Opera. This Benjamin Britten work is truly something you will not want to miss. Please enjoy this season, and help us celebrate this great art form. Sincerely,
photo by amanda tipton.
Pelham G. Pearce General/Artist Director
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Madama Butterfly Billy Budd The Blessed Damozel litanies to the black virgin
GIACOMO PUCCINI
BENJAMIN BRITTEN
PAINTING BY GREGG CHADWICK.
CLAUDE DEBUSSY FRANCIS POULENC
2019
F E STI VA L
303.292.6700 | centralcityopera.org
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS | VOLUNTEER LEADERSHIP Judith W. Grant, Chairman Roopesh Aggarwal, President Dr. Gregg Kvistad, Treasurer Michael Huseby, Secretary Nancy S. Parker, Immediate Past Chairman J. Landis Martin, Chairman Emeritus DIRECTORS Margaret Baker Pamela Bansbach Maureen K. Barker Lori Stone Bellingham Nancy P. Brittain Melinda Couzens Michelle Dorman Ronald Engels Suzanne Goderstad Richard A. Goozh Heath C. Hutchison Kevin Kearney Hilton G. Martin Anne McGonagle Susan B. Rawley Laura Trask Schneider Brian Weldon Robert “Sonny” Wiegand II HONORARY BOARD Gerald Bader The Honorable Jack W. Berryhill Barbara Danos Robert A. Ellis Barbara Ferguson Jeannie Fuller The Honorable Robert Fullerton Gail Gordon James R. Hilger, Jr. Larry J. Manion Edward C. Nichols Daniel L. Ritchie Elizabeth Rostermundt Robert D. Showalter Phoebe Smedley George Ann Victor EX-OFFICIO BOARD
Dr. Rebecca Chopp Chancellor, University of Denver The Honorable Michael B. Hancock Mayor, City of Denver The Honorable Kathryn Heider Mayor, City of Central The Honorable John W. Hickenlooper Governor, State of Colorado Central City Opera continues to build its advocacy councils to represent the company and to bring an important perspective regarding trends throughout the world of opera. NATIONAL ADVOCACY COUNCIL Elisabeth M. Armstrong, Chairman Dallas, TX Robert A. Ellis San Francisco, CA Eva Womack Austin, TX REGIONAL ADVOCACY COUNCIL Lori Stone Bellingham, Chairman Roger Ames Judeth and Doug Comstock Tricia Dickinson William Lynn Dixon Nancy Hemming Tammy and Tom Kenning Marcia Ragonetti Karen Ritz Linda Weise Andrew Yarosh ENDOWMENT FUND BOARD J. Landis Martin, President Nancy S. Parker, Secretary/Treasurer Roopesh Aggarwal John W. Low, Esq. Jim Palenchar Julia Secor Robert A. Unger
Kristin Bender President, Central City Opera Guild
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BONFILS-STANTON FOUNDATION
ARTISTS TRAINING PROGRAM
2018 ARTIST SPONSORSHIPS El Pomar Foundation Betsy Diaz • Central City Opera Guild Kira Dills-DeSurra • Denver Lyric Opera Guild Griffen Hogan Tracy
left: cabildo, 2017. right: the burning fiery furnace, 2017. photos by amanda tipton.
“Central City Opera is known for its history, but the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artist Training Program gives audiences a glimpse into the future. Along with world-class core artistic teams, every production includes rising stars and new voices in opera.” Founded in 1978 and led for more than 25 years by Central City Opera’s Artistic Director emeritus John Moriarty, the rigorous eight-week training program is now a national model for the professional development of young singers. A lot hinges on a five-minute audition. That’s all the time the young performers have to impress. A good voice, yes, but also that certain presence. Each year aspiring opera singers apply for the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program, considered one of the top summer programs in the country. It integrates daily training in diction and movement, individual coaching and sessions in career management, along with rehearsals and performance opportunities in the main stage and surrounding productions. Approximately 30 participants are selected from more than 900 applicants each year.
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All the singers who participate take the same classes, though the program has a two-tiered structure: Apprentice Artists and Studio Artists. Apprentice Artists are career-track singers who have earned their bachelor’s, and usually graduate degrees. They are selected not only for their singing ability, but also their suitability for specific roles, as they will understudy the principal singers. Apprentice Artists sing secondary roles for mainstage performances and principal roles for the Nina Odescalchi Family Matinee. Outstanding Apprentices are often invited back for another year. The Studio Artists are younger singers who show potential, have talent and are ready for more training beyond academia. They sing in the chorus, play secondary roles in family performances and perform in the many festival events.
Many singers from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program have gone on to successful and major careers in opera—singers such as Denyce Graves, Alan Held, Cynthia Lawrence, Alexandra Loutsion, Michael Mayes, David Adam Moore, Matthew Polenzani, Emily Pulley and Brenda Rae. Alexandra Loutsion and Michael Mayes are among the many alumni of the program who have appeared as principal artists at Central City Opera through the course of their rapidly growing careers. They can both be seen this season in Verdi’s Il trovatore. Central City Opera is known for its history, but the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program gives audiences a glimpse into the future. Along with world-class core artistic teams, every production includes rising stars and new voices in opera.
“A successful career in opera involves hundreds of hours of offstage work for every hour on stage...” - John Moriarty
EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
“I have never met anyone more committed to ‘spreading the gospel’ about this art form than Deb Morrow. The programs she has created and the lives she has touched have cemented her legacy throughout the State of Colorado.” General/Artistic Director Pelham G. Pearce photo by amanda tipton.
When I inherited a thoughtfully conceived handful of programs created by Maestro Duain Wolfe in 1993, I had no idea I would still be creating and delivering similar programs 25 years later. Reflecting, I am eternally grateful to Duain for setting the patterns for this company’s meaningful community engagement: unique, entertaining, curriculum-based school programs; regular touring to communities outside the Denver area; and partnering with other arts organizations to achieve together what we could not do alone. While programming has dramatically expanded over the years, those concepts remain the foundation of Central City Opera’s community engagement. One of my favorite quotes about the business of theatrical performing comes from the film Shakespeare in Love: “The natural condition is one of unsurmountable obstacles on the road to imminent disaster. Strangely enough, it turns out well. How? It’s a mystery.” There really is some unexplained magic surrounding “putting on a show.” Considering all of the factors and moving parts that can go awry, surprisingly few performances go off the rails; in fact, they are often better than they have
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any right to be. This is particularly true of touring performances, mounted in unfamiliar spaces with unknown pianos and acoustics, and very little time to set up and adapt. Performers and crew have to be prepared and flexible, but in the end, we rely on “the magic” to bring us through. It’s a mystery! Performing artists are the salt of the earth! I am humbled by their talent and dedication, and learn from them daily. They are instinctive teachers, eager to share their enthusiasm and knowledge with all who show an interest, nurturing and respectful to everyone from pre-schoolers to seniors in eldercare facilities. They rarely refuse any request, no matter how off-the-wall. Pianists deserve special mention: They are the key to every successful touring performance. It is sometimes possible to work around an ailing singer, but opera without an orchestra —or piano, in the case of touring programs—is nothing. Pianists carry a huge responsibility in their nimble fingers. Respect! The act of throwing caution to the wind and “saying yes” often yields gratifying results, including excellent partnerships. Linda Weise, of the Colorado Springs Conservatory, once asked me if it might be possible for students who participated in her summer performing arts camp to spend a few days in Central City attending
performances and having sessions with Festival artists, conductors and directors. I took a deep breath and said “yes,” well aware that the Festival schedule is jam-packed with rehearsals, performances and classes, and that wedging in additional activities would be highly problematic. Positivity prevailed, and as a result, more than 200 high school performers have experienced mentoring from highly trained professionals and performed their own work during the Festival.
The universal language of music has enormous power —to uplift, to heal, to express emotion, to engage—a song can change the world. I have enjoyed the privilege of making music for and with thousands of students, teachers, seniors and families. What a lucky human I am! Deborah Morrow, Director of Education and Community Engagement
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PRESERVING THE PAST THE HISTORIC TELLER HOUSE BY VALERIE SMITH Built in 1872 by the legendary Henry Moore Teller, the Teller House stands today as a monument to Central City’s colorful history. Within two months of gold being discovered in 1859, 10,000 miners descended on the nearby hills. In 1861, Central City was an established—if rowdy—town, clocking 217 fist fights, 97 revolver fights, 11 Bowie knife fights and a dog fight. For the security of the gold and since miners were bringing their families, it became imperative that civilizing influences hold sway. The city’s most prominent citizen by 1872, Henry Teller had arrived in town as a young lawyer but soon moved into business and politics, promoted statehood, and became one of the new state’s first senators, serving 25 years in the U.S. Senate and three years as Interior Secretary. He gathered investors and together they built a fourstory 80-room brick luxury hotel to host luminaries from all over the country. Its lavish parlors were furnished in Victorian splendor. It boasted a restaurant, a bar, a grand ballroom and a bank where the miners could have their gold minted into coinage from the assay office next door. The Teller House was declared the most opulent hotel between San Francisco and Chicago, certainly the best in
the territory. When Ulysses S. Grant visited in 1873, proud residents laid twenty-six silver ingots at the entrance of the hotel for the President and his wife to walk on. The Teller House survived two great fires and has been rescued twice from massive neglect. The first restoration occurred in the depths of the Great Depression for the grand re-opening of the Opera House. Classical murals discovered under 12 layers of wallpaper were restored, and the mysterious “Face on the Barroom Floor” was painted by Herndon Davis in the bar and remains a tourist draw to this day. In the 1990s, the hotel was again renovated, this time as a casino which closed in 2006. Today, the Teller House is used mainly for receptions and is a recital venue for the Opera. In the summer months, it hosts a bar, two restaurants and a gift shop. It also acts as a living museum featuring rooms of Victorian artifacts and furniture once belonging to Baby Doe Tabor, Horace Tabor and Governor John Evans. Now almost a century and a half old, the Teller House remains a testament to a vibrant past.
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2018 | FESTIVAL SCHEDULE SAT 7 JULY
TUE 17 JULY
SUN 22 JULY
SAT 28 JULY
WED 1 AUGUST
5:00 pm
1:15 pm
11:45 am
10:00 am
2:30 pm
Opening Night Celebration
Short Works
Lunch & a Song
Opera Bus - Denver
IL TROVATORE
7:15 pm
1:45 pm
1:15 pm
10:45 am
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
Opera Notes
Opera Notes
Short Works
Opera Bus - Lakewood
8:00 pm
8:00 pm
2:30 pm
1:45 pm
11:45 am
THE MAGIC FLUTE
ACIS AND GALATEA
THE MAGIC FLUTE
Opera Notes
Lunch & a Song
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
2:30 pm
1:15 pm
IL TROVATORE
THE FACE
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
1:45 pm
WED 11 JULY 10:00 am
WED 18 JULY
Opera Bus - Denver
10:00 am
10:45 am
Opera Bus - Denver
TUE 24 JULY
Opera Bus - Lakewood
10:30 am
11:45 am
Opera Inside Out
Lunch & a Song
10:30 am Opera Inside Out
Opera Notes
1:15 pm
2:30 pm
THE FACE
1:15 pm
IL TROVATORE
1:45 pm
Short Works
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
Opera Notes
10:45 am
1:45 pm
8:00 pm
2:30 pm
1:15 pm
Opera Bus - Lakewood
Opera Notes
ACIS AND GALATEA
THE MAGIC FLUTE
Short Works
11:45 am
2:30 pm
POST-OP
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
1:45 pm
Lunch & a Song
IL TROVATORE
Opera Notes
1:15 pm
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
SUN 29 JULY
FRI 3 AUGUST
2:30 pm
Short Works
1:15 pm
THE MAGIC FLUTE
1:45 pm
WED 25 JULY
11:45 am Lunch & a Song
THE FACE
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
Opera Notes
10:00 am
1:15 pm
1:45 pm
2:30 pm
Boomer Bus - Denver
Short Works
Opera Notes
IL TROVATORE
10:45 am
1:45 pm
2:30 pm
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
Boomer Bus - Lakewood
Opera Notes
IL TROVATORE
1:15 pm
2:30 pm
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
THE FACE
THE MAGIC FLUTE ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
FRI 13 JULY 1:15 pm Short Works 1:45 pm
THU 19 JULY
Opera Notes
7:15 pm
1:45 pm
2:30 pm
Opera Notes
Opera Notes
THE MAGIC FLUTE
8:00 pm
2:30 pm
TUE 31 JULY
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
THE MAGIC FLUTE
THE MAGIC FLUTE
11:30 am
2:30 pm
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
Opera Adventures
THE MAGIC FLUTE
8:00 pm
2:30 pm
ACIS AND GALATEA
FAMILY MATINEE THE MAGIC FLUTE
SAT 14 JULY
FRI 20 JULY
5:00 pm
7:15 pm
Opening Night Celebration
Opera Notes
7:15 pm
8:00 pm
THU 26 JULY
Opera Notes
IL TROVATORE
5:00 pm
Opera Notes
8:00 pm
POST-OP
ACIS AND GALATEA
8:00 pm
7:15 pm
THE MAGIC FLUTE
IL TROVATORE
SUN 15 JULY
SAT 21 JULY
Opera Notes
7:15 pm
10:30 am
8:00 pm
WED 1 AUGUST
10:00 am
Opera Inside Out
IL TROVATORE
10:00 am
Opera Bus - Denver
11:45 am
10:45 am
Lunch & a Song
FRI 27 JULY
Opera Bus - Lakewood
1:15 pm
7:15 pm
Boomer Bus - Lakewood
11:45 am
Short Works
Opera Notes
1:15 pm
Lunch & a Song
1:45 pm
8:00 pm
THE FACE
1:15 pm
Opera Notes
THE MAGIC FLUTE
1:45 pm
Short Works
2:30 pm
POST-OP
Opera Notes
1:45 pm
THE MAGIC FLUTE
Opera Notes
ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
2:30 pm
THE MAGIC FLUTE ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE
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Boomer Bus - Denver 10:45 am
CONTINUED >
SUN 5 AUGUST 1:45 pm Opera Notes
Boomer and Opera Buses leave from the Bed, Bath and Beyond parking lot, 370 S. Colorado Blvd, Glendale at 10 am. Boomer and Opera Buses leave from the Simms Steakhouse parking lot, 11911 W 6th Avenue, Lakewood at 10:45 am. Artists Mix & Mingle follows matinees, weather permitting
FESTIVAL EXTRAS
Expand your festival experience LUNCH & A SONG 30 minute solo performances preceded by lunch to whet your vocal appetite Teller House SHORT WORKS Engaging short scenes for opera veterans or virgins Williams Stables Theater OPERA NOTES Free pre-performance talks 45 minutes before Central City Opera main stage shows Williams Stables Theater POST-OP Impromptu performances by Central City Opera artists and a cash bar after select weekend evening shows to expand your experience Teller House ARTISTS MIX & MINGLE Mix and mingle with the artists after matinee performances. Enjoy a cash bar and the chance to meet the stars. Weather permitting Teller House deck
OPERA INSIDE OUT Behind the scenes tours for all ages NINA ODESCALCHI KELLY FAMILY MATINEE THE MAGIC FLUTE A child-friendly matinee of The Magic Flute performed by Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists with narration before each act, followed by an autograph session. Bring a picnic and add on fun preshow Opera Adventures activities BOOMER BUS Add the Boomer Bus package for an insider’s look at Central City Opera and its historic mining town. Enjoy a live presentation and a glass of champagne during the ride to Central City as well as a buffet lunch, and an exclusive conversation with a member of the production team OPERA BUS Leave the driving to us! Add the Opera Bus for a scenic drive to Central City
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There's still more to experience... RA TY OPE TS I C L A N CENTR PRESE
s avorite f d e r u r. in treas l theate a c Delight i s n! u ssic m 8 Seaso a 1 l 0 c 2 e m h t fro s from g star
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SE :30 pm A HOU ces // 2 n Y OPER a IT m C r o L A erf :00 pm CENTR tinee P & 9 Ma nce // 8 a 8 m T r S o f U r AUG ning Pe T 11 Eve S U G U A
sept
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fri - sun central city, colorado Plein Air Exhibition & Sale Awards Ceremony juried by Desmond O'Hagan Plein Air Paint-Outs “Quickest” Draw Competition Artist Demonstration with Lorenzo Chavez
event is free and open to the public Visit centralcityopera.org for more info. FESTIVAL SPONSORS: Dana Edwards • Paul Moore • Diane Zing ADDITIONAL SUPPORT PROVIDED BY: Central Presents • Barbara Froula
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Watercolor © Barbara Froula | www.barbarafroula.com
SHORT WORKS See the stars of tomorrow in Short Works, featuring Studio Artists from Central City Opera’s Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program. These 30-minute performances are staged opera scenes from the world’s most popular operas. Performed in Williams Stables Theater. See page 22 for the complete schedule.
Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia Act II, Duet “Dunque io son” Rosina Ann Fogler Figaro Michael Floriano Music Director Tom Getty Stage Director David Radamés Toro Britten’s Billy Budd Act II, Quartet “Come here. Remember your promise” John Claggart Daniel Fridley A Novice Chris Mosz Billy Budd Evan Hammond Dansker Griffen Hogan Tracy Music Director Michael Baitzer Stage Director Cara Consilvio Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel Act I, Duet “Mister Snow…when the children are asleep” Carrie Véronique Filloux Enoch Snow Benjamin DaCosta- Kaufman Music Director John Arida Stage Director Ken Cazan
Mozart’s Don Giovanni Act I, Quartet “Non ti fidar, o misera” Don Giovanni Donna Anna Donna Elvira Don Ottavio Music Director Stage Director
Matthew Peterson Lauren Jean McQuistin Graycen Gardner Chris Mosz Peter Walsh Cara Consilvio
Donizetti’s Don Pasquale Act III, Duet (English translation by Phyllis Mead) “Cheti, cheti, immantinente” Don Pasquale Griffen Hogan Tracy Dr. Malatesta Michael Floriano Music Director John Arida Stage Director David Radamés Toro Wright & Forrest’s Kismet Act II, Quartet “And This Is My Beloved” Marsinah Graycen Gardner Hajj Evan Hammond Caliph Chris Mosz Wazir Daniel Fridley Music Director Peter Walsh Stage Director Ken Cazan
Rossini’s La Cenerentola Act II, Sextet “Siete voi?” Cenerentola Ann Fogler Clorinda Véronique Filloux Tisbe Whitney Robinson Ramiro George Milosh Dandini Evan Hammond Don Magnifico Daniel Fridley Music Director John Arida Stage Director Cara Consilvio
Puccini’s Madama Butterfly Act III, Trio and Aria “Chi sia? Oh!...Io so che alle sue pene… Addio, fiorito asil” Suzuki Kaleigh Sutula B.F. Pinkerton Benjamin DaCosta- Kaufman Sharpless Matthew Peterson Music Director Peter Walsh Stage Director Cara Consilvio
Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann Act II, Duet “C’est une chanson d’amour” Hoffmann Benjamin DaCosta- Kaufman Antonia Lauren Jean McQuistin Music Director John Arida Stage Director David Radamés Toro
Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance Act II, Trio “Now for the pirates’ lair!” Frederic George Milosh Ruth Whitney Robinson The Pirate King Griffen Hogan Tracy Music Director Tom Getty Stage Director David Radamés Toro
Mozart’s Così fan tutte Act II, Duet “Il core vi dono” Dorabella Guglielmo Music Director Stage Director
Vaughn William’s Sir John in Love Act II, Duet & Trio “Thine own true knight…Sigh no more, ladies” Mistress Page Lauren Jean McQuistin Mistress Ford Kaleigh Sutula Mistress Quickly Whitney Robinson Music Director Tom Getty Stage Director David Radamés Toro
Ann Fogler Michael Floriano Peter Walsh Cara Consilvio
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illustration by hadley hooper.
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THE MAGIC FLUTE COMPOSER Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart LIBRETTO Emanuel Schikaneder CONDUCTOR André de Ridder DIRECTOR Alessandro Talevi CHOREOGRAPHER Melinda Sullivan ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Cara Consilvio SCENIC DESIGNER Madeleine Boyd ASSOCIATE SCENIC DESIGNER Anna Bonomelli COSTUME DESIGNER Susan Kulkarni ASSOCIATE COSTUME DESIGNER Charlotte Young LIGHTING DESIGNER David Martin Jacques WIG/MAKEUP DESIGNER Ronell Oliveri ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR/CHORUS MASTER Aaron Breid* MUSICAL PREPARATION John Arida, Michael Baitzer GERMAN DICTION COACH Richard Cross DRAMATURG Kara McKechnie STAGE MANAGER Erin Thompson-Janszen ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Bryce Bullock SUPERTITLES Thomas Getty *Conducting July 31, 2018, Nina Odescalchi Kelly Family Matinee
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THE MAGIC FLUTE | SYNOPSIS Act One Pursued by a dragon, Prince Tamino calls out for help, then faints. Three fearsome Ladies arrive to slay the beast, and then muse over the beauty of the unconscious youth. Regretfully, the ladies depart so as to inform their sovereign of this event. Then, the carefree bird-catcher Papageno arrives. When Tamino awakes, Papageno takes credit for the dead dragon. The Ladies return in time to punish Papageno for telling lies and to recruit Tamino for a quest. Their ruler, the Queen of the Night, has a daughter Pamina, imprisoned by the sorcerer Sarastro. Entranced by an image of Pamina that the Three Ladies show him, Tamino agrees to rescue her. Papageno is ordered to be his assistant, and both men receive magical tools for their mission: Tamino a flute and Papageno a set of bells. Three magical spirits will guide them. At Sarastro’s palace, Papageno finds Pamina under the guard of Monastatos. The men are so afraid of each other that both tremble, and Monastatos runs away, leaving Pamina and Papageno together. He tells her that a prince is coming for her; she and the bird catcher sing of the delights of love. Tamino has been brought to Sarastro’s grounds by the Three Spirits. As he confronts a set of doors, he learns that Sarastro is, in fact, not evil but is rather protecting Pamina from her mother’s dark influence. Having overcome his fear, Monastatos declares that Pamina and Papageno will be imprisoned. Papageno uses his magical bells to charm the slaves who would have restrained them, setting those would-be captors to dancing. Pamina begs Sarastro’s forgiveness, which is granted. Tamino arrives. Monostatos is punished for his advances to Pamina. Sarastro declares that if Tamino and Pamina pass their rites of initiation, they will be worthy of each other. Papageno, too, will have an initiation of his own to endure. Act Two
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Monastatos still pursues Pamina. The Queen of the Night arrives and demands that Pamina assist her in revenge by assassinating Sarastro. Overhearing the Queen’s command, Monastatos hopes to use it as blackmail to win Pamina for himself. However, before Monastatos can proceed far with this plan, Sarastro himself enters. Pamina begs his forgiveness, and Sarastro declares that within his temple, there is no revenge, only love. Tamino and Papageno are under an oath of silence, easier for Tamino than Papageno. A mysterious old woman distracts the bird catcher. The Three Spirits bring food and drink, and return to Tamino and Papageno the flute and bells that had been taken from them. Pamina arrives, and not knowing of the vow of silence, is deeply hurt when Tamino will not speak with her. Having been given one wish, Papageno asks for a wife. To his combined horror and amusement, the old woman again appears, but before long is transformed into a pretty bird-like woman named Papagena: his perfect match. The priests, however, quickly take her away. Despairing, Pamina is about to take her own life. The magical spirits dissuade her and bring her to join Tamino as he is finishing his trials. Together they take the last steps. Abruptly deprived of his perfect mate, Papageno is about to hang himself. The Spirits, having just saved Pamina, now save Papageno and advise him to play his bells. He does so, Papagena reappears, and together, they sing of the joys of wedded bliss – and a great many children. The villains – the Queen, her Three Ladies, and Monastatos – still need their comeuppance, and receive it, as thunder and lightning send them to their fates. The opera closes with a chorus on the theme of good triumphing over evil. Betsy Schwarm
Sarastro’s priests of Isis and Osiris are meeting in a grove. Sarastro himself comes to tell them of the upcoming initiation rites. As Tamino and Papageno are being
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prepared for their ordeal, the Three Ladies of the Queen of the Night appear to warn them against Sarastro. The priests send the Three Ladies away.
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CAST | THE MAGIC FLUTE
CAST IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE
DENNIS
LIVERMAN
HOUSER
TAMINO FIRST LADY SECOND LADY THIRD LADY PAPAGENO THE QUEEN OF THE NIGHT MONOSTATOS PAMINA THREE SPIRITS THE SPEAKER SARASTRO AN OLD WOMAN (PAPAGENA) TWO ARMORED MEN
MANLEY
SEWAILAM
LANGAN
Joseph Dennis Tasha Koontz Kira Dills-DeSurra Melanie Ashkar Will Liverman Jeni Houser Fidel Angel Romero Katherine Manley Colorado Children’s Chorale Ashraf Sewailam Kevin Langan Véronique Filloux Martin Luther Clark and Hans Tashjian
The conductor’s podium is endowed in perpetuity by the Eleanore Mullen Weckbaugh Foundation. Assisted Listening devices generously donated by Myra B. Levy Set constructed by You Want What? Productions, Englewood, CO Costumier services by Angels Costumes, London U.K. Additional costumes rented from The National Theatre, London, and Bristol Costume Services, Bristol, U.K. Ostrich puppets created by Sophie Clayton, Bristol, U.K. Egyptian costumes constructed by Martina Trottman. CENTRAL CITY OPERA FESTIVAL SPONSORS Avenir Foundation, Inc. • Bonfils-Stanton Foundation • Central City Opera House Association Endowment Fund Lanny and Sharon Martin • Citizens of the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District • State Historical Fund PRESENTING SPONSORS The Virginia W. Hill Foundation • OPERA America, Inc. PRODUCTION SPONSORS Always Best Care Senior Services • El Pomar Foundation • Mr. Daniel L. Ritchie PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Mr. and Mrs. Gerald L. Bader, Jr. • Endeavour Capital • Mrs. Charles L. Ferguson • Judy and Newell Grant Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Huseby • Lloyd J. King and Eleanor R. King Foundation • Jeanne Land Foundation • LARRK Foundation Nancy S. Parker • Mr. and Mrs. John D. Priester • Trask Family Foundation
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“...their adventure is symbolic of the journey that every human being must take towards adulthood.”
IMPRESSIONS FROM THE DIRECTOR ALESSANDRO TALEVI, DIRECTOR OF DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE I see the essential theme in The Magic Flute is that of the “deepening of knowledge,” “coming towards the truth,” and “becoming whole.” This implies that during the passage towards enlightenment, old belief structures are necessarily discarded as one moves towards the deeper truths. The way we see the world at the beginning of our life adventure is often very different to the way we see it at the end. This can happen with gradual, incremental
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change. It can be a seismic shift, a “carpet pulled from underneath you” moment, as happens to Tamino in his encounter with The Speaker, the pivotal and, in my opinion, most important scene in the opera. This complete upending, not only of Tamino’s belief system, but of the entire plot of the opera has bewildered scholars for years. It’s described as an “awkward plot
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change,� a reaction to external coincidences such as another opera being composed within the same story or as proof that Mozart and Schikaneder concocted a plot that awkwardly married comedy with freemasonry. I would like to suggest, however, that we should look beyond the superficial difficulties this gear-change creates to appreciate how the resultant rich complexity reflects the whole of human life and experience. If the plot change was the result of external factors, as is often the case with our own lives, then we are so much the richer for it. If the story of the opera had continued the way it started, Tamino would have rescued Pamina from the evil Sarastro for her brittle mother and her stuffy, officious sidekicks, the Three Ladies, and that
would have been that. As it happens, Tamino embarks on a life-changing journey towards self-fulfilment and realises that what seemed good and loving (symbolised by the Queen of the Night) is not necessarily true, while that which was purported to be evil and unjust by the Three Ladies at the beginning (Sarastro and his temple) turns out to be the path towards true knowledge and understanding. We dread change and try to avoid it; however, the final tapestry of life is far richer and more profound when these changes occur and the same can be said for The Magic Flute and Tamino’s adventure. I am weary of the way Sarastro is normally presented in productions. Whether traditional or modern, he is usually incorrigibly sage, boring and two-dimensional,
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It is an essentially positive reading of the story, which places importance on the notion of fostering creativity and fantasy in young people to create well-rounded and fully formed individuals... with the right balance of reason, creativity, discipline and fantasy in their upbringing. in some cases a priest, in others a headmaster-figure or a fascist. The Queen of the Night is usually a far more interesting character. This poses a problem: at the end of the opera the audience experiences, I feel, a vague sense of disappointment at what the future entails for Tamino and Pamina, incarcerated in their temple of wisdom forevermore. Is it not going to be deathly boring and uninteresting? Is this really what enlightenment means? The solution is therefore to turn the tables and make Sarastro the interesting, dynamic and imaginative character, while the Queen of the Night must be somehow turned into the embodiment of stifling conventional wisdom and intolerance. The story is seen entirely through the eyes of the Three Spirits. They are the creators of the action and also help guide it along. Their personal situation living in a palace with an overbearing governess and a widowed mother, leads them to fantasize about a story in which a hero and his love manage to escape and live in a world of magic and beauty. Their toy theater is their escape and becomes the portal into the idealised world. There is also the implication that their lack of a father figure leads to their creation of Sarastro, who allows them their escape into the realm of the imagination. They identify with Prince Tamino in his quest for love and knowledge. Seen thus as a night-time journey of the imagination, literature and film are populated with this genre, from Peter Pan to Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander, the otherworldly, surreal and sometimes improbable aspects of the plot become quite normal. Because they are
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seen through the eyes of three young boys, the simplistic, childlike quality of the dialogue and some of the overly simplistic or archaic elements of the plot also are taken into account, as well as the “girl-hating” misogyny. This interpretation respects and conveys the essential meaning of Die Zauberflöte: the journey of every human being towards self-fulfillment and wholeness. The implication here is that within every little boy (and girl) there is a Tamino and a Pamina, and their adventure is symbolic of the journey that every human being must take towards adulthood. At the beginning of the story Tamino is a rather arrogant young prince, an older version of the Three Spirits, yet to reach maturity. He accepts his mission from the Queen and her Ladies with unquestioning zeal and readily believes what they have to say about Sarastro and his evil doings. When Tamino arrives at the portal to Sarastro’s realm, his prejudices are confronted for the first time by someone with worldly and spiritual wisdom. The Speaker, as spokesman for the philosophy of Sarastro’s temple, succeeds in throwing doubt over Tamino’s up until then unshakeable belief in his rightness. It is a distressing moment for him, and indeed for the whole audience, as we are invited to share the protagonists’ crisis of identity and witness the dissolution of everything he believed was right and just. It is truly a life-changing moment almost everyone can identify with: the destruction of the old, and the moment of fear and emptiness before something new and stronger takes its place.
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This is where Tamino begins to understand that the ‘hateful’ world of Sarastro (according to the Queen) is actually the world of magic, theater and creativity—a place of great spiritual and imaginative richness, far from the stultifying world of conventional morality embodied by Prussian/Victorian society and the Queen plus the governess and the other maids. This implies that the Three Spirits are aware of the true nature of the world at the beginning of the story. They might not be absolutely conscious of it, but children have a profound inner knowledge, and an ability to sense the truth, which is often lost when they grow up. The production, therefore, hints at how the over-rigid upbringing of children, where fantasy and imagination are often frowned upon, risks stifling their imaginations and best creative impulses.
importance on the notion of fostering creativity and fantasy in young people to create well-rounded and fully formed individuals. The final tableau, rather than simply displaying again the union of Pamina and Tamino in the temple of enlightenment, hints at what might hopefully become of our Three Boys in their journey towards adulthood, with the right balance of reason, creativity, discipline and fantasy in their upbringing. This reading of The Magic Flute is thus more relevant than ever, with the continued undervaluing of the arts and cultural spheres of our modern society in favor of money, materialism and warfare.
This reading of The Magic Flute is more relevant than ever. The toys that the Ladies give the boys, however, are symbols of expression and creativity which can be used for good. The flute and the bells are a protective force that also lead the friends and lovers towards each other. The underlying idea here is that every child contains a Tamino and a Pamina within them, and the journey of the protagonists is symbolic of every young person’s journey towards adulthood and wholeness of being. It is an essentially positive reading of the story, which places
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DIRECTOR: ALESSANDRO TALEVI BY VALERIE SMITH
“It’s true that I think visually when creating a new production” Talevi explained. “This comes from the fact that if I had not chosen music, I probably would have studied stage design. It is also true that I am influenced by the techniques of film and the inventiveness of physical theatre, and perhaps this can be seen in my work...”
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he Magic Flute marks the fourth production at Central City Opera for director Alessandro Talevi, who’s staging operas this year in Rome, Naples and the U.K. While his productions have been seen around the world—from Korea and Tokyo to Madrid and Wales—Talevi looks forward to working in Colorado, where he previously directed Amadigi di Gaula (2011), The Turn of the Screw (2012) and The Marriage of Figaro (2014).
famous stages. I also love the amount of creative freedom I am given to experiment and find innovative ways to stage operas.”
“I love the festival atmosphere at Central City Opera,” Talevi exclaims. “The company is extremely welcoming and well run, and the casts are first-rate, with singers who are well known on many of the world’s biggest and most
As Central City Opera audiences can attest, Talevi’s productions are distinguished by a strong visual aesthetic. “It’s true that I think visually when creating a new production,” Talevi explains. “This comes from the fact that
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According to critics, innovation and imagination are hallmarks of Talevi’s work. His The Turn of the Screw “keeps us guessing and imagining,” wrote one critic, while another described his Don Giovanni as “zany,” even as it won accolades as Best Opera Production at the 2012 Manchester Theatre Awards.
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if I had not chosen music, I probably would have studied stage design. It is also true that I am influenced by the techniques of film and the inventiveness of physical theatre, and perhaps this can be seen in my work, but I really don’t know what I would pinpoint as being ‘my style’.” Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Talevi grew up in an accomplished musical family. His grandmother’s aunt, Giulia Tess, was an important soprano in the 1920s and 30s in Italy. “I loved it when my grandmother showed me old photos of Zia Giulietta (as she is called in the family) in costume and with the sets behind her,” Talevi says. Another relation, Riccardo Castagnone, was a pianist and harpsichordist, and taught score-reading to Riccardo Muti and Claudio Abbado. On his mother’s side, “We had a pianist who beat Myra Hess in a piano competition—my English grandmother was very proud of that fact!” After majoring in music and art history at the University of the Witwatersrand, Talevi studied piano accompaniment at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he discovered his calling. “I used to play for the vocal department’s opera scene performances, and when I watched the directors working, I really wanted to do what they were doing, far more than playing the piano! I also helped out as a stage manager in the Academy’s theatre with the opera performances, and it was then that I realized I really wanted to be a director—I just loved being backstage.” When he’s not globe-trotting for opera, Talevi lives in Turin, Italy, “a very beautiful city surrounded by mountains and nature, a bit like Denver actually. I like to make the most of that, so I cycle and do yoga every day. It’s very important as a director, when you’re not working, to keep your eyes and ears open, to read, go to galleries and theatre, concerts and opera, wherever and whenever you can, even if you’re not in the mood. It’s the only way to stretch your mind and keep it fertile”— something at which Talevi clearly excels.
EXCERPT FROM IMPRESSIONS FROM THE DIRECTOR “The underlying idea here is that every child contains a Tamino and a Pamina within them, and the journey of the protagonists is symbolic of every young person’s journey towards adulthood and wholeness of being. It is an essentially positive reading of the story, which places importance on the notion of fostering creativity and fantasy in young people to create well-rounded and fully formed individuals. The final tableau, rather than simply displaying again the union of Pamina and Tamino in the temple of enlightenment, hints at what might hopefully become of our Three Boys in their journey towards adulthood, with the right balance of reason, creativity, discipline and fantasy in their upbringing. This reading of The Magic Flute is thus more relevant than ever, with the continued undervaluing of the arts and cultural spheres of our modern society in favor of money, materialism and warfare.” Alessandro Talevi See full article on page 32.
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illustration by hadley hooper.
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COMPOSER Giuseppe Verdi LIBRETTO Salvadore Cammarano CONDUCTOR John Baril DIRECTOR Joachim Schamberger ASSISTANT DIRECTOR David Radamés Toro SCENIC/PROJECTIONS DESIGNER Joachim Schamberger COSTUME DESIGNER Dana Tzvetkova LIGHTING DESIGNER David Martin Jacques WIG/MAKEUP DESIGNER Ronell Oliveri ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR/CHORUS MASTER Aaron Breid* MUSICAL PREPARATION John Arida, Michael Baitzer, Peter Walsh STAGE MANAGER Rachel L. Ginzberg ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Bryce Bullock SUPERTITLES Thomas Getty *Conducting July 26, 2018
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IL TROVATORE | SYNOPSIS Act One
Act Three
Outside the palace of the Count di Luna in 15th century Spain, soldiers man their posts. Their captain, Ferrando, tells the tale of a gypsy woman burned at the stake for witchcraft and that gypsy’s daughter taking revenge by flinging into the fire the infant son of the nobleman who had condemned the woman. That gentleman had been father of the present Count. Intending to avenge his brother’s death, di Luna still seeks the younger gypsy.
Having identified the fortress where Manrico and Leonora are in seclusion, di Luna and his men besiege the site. Azucena, attempting to reach the fortress, is captured by Ferrando, captain of di Luna’s guards, and recognized as the gypsy woman sought by di Luna. Seeing her as a tool with which he can force his enemy into the open, di Luna orders a place of execution to be built within sight of the castle walls.
The noblewoman Leonora recounts to her companion Ines her love for an unknown Troubador who has been serenading her at the window. She has also attracted the attention of the Count di Luna, and unfortunately for all, both men come calling upon her at the same time. The Troubadour is revealed to be Manrico, head of the anti-royalist rebels, giving the Count a further reason to hate him. Di Luna proposes a duel. Neither man yields to Leonora’s pleas for calm.
Inside the castle, Leonora and Manrico are about to be married, pledging their love despite the formidable opponent who awaits beyond the walls. When informed of his mother’s peril, Manrico sets out to rescue her, to Leonora’s great dismay.
Act Two In the aftermath of the duel it is revealed that, although Manrico triumphed, he chose to spare the life of di Luna: a decision he shall regret. The continuing civil war became more perilous. Manrico was wounded, and his mother nursed him back to health. Azucena, it happens, is the very gypsy di Luna seeks. The other gypsies revel in the freedom of their lives and loves, but Azucena darkens their mood, recounting the tale of her mother’s death and that of the baby whom she herself consigned to the flames. Now, she reveals that the infant was not the Count’s brother, but rather her own child, for she had seized the wrong boy. When Manrico then asks after his own identity, Azucena evades the question. News arrives that Leonora, believing Manrico to have died in battle, will soon enter a convent. Manrico and his men go to stop her.
Act Four Manrico is captured by di Luna’s forces, and now both mother and son face execution. Leonora comes to di Luna and offers herself to him in exchange for Manrico’s life. The Count is persuaded but does not know that Leonora has taken poison: he will embrace only a corpse. In their shared cell, Azucena and Manrico reminisce. Leonora arrives to tell Manrico that he is saved. At first, he is furious that she would sell herself for him, but his anger turns to desperation when he realizes that the price was not her virtue but rather her life. The poison takes effect and she dies in his arms. Arriving on the scene to see the woman he loves die, di Luna sends his rival to be executed. As the fatal blow falls upon Manrico, Azucena exults, for her vengeance is complete: the man whom the Count has just killed was, in fact, his own long-sought brother. The final words—despairing or exultant—are di Luna’s. “And I still live!” Betsy Schwarm
Count di Luna and his men are bent upon the same mission. They, too, arrive at the convent, but Manrico intervenes before they can abduct Leonora. In the ensuing meleé, di Luna again avoids death at Manrico’s hands, and Manrico escapes with Leonora.
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CAST | IL TROVATORE
CAST IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE
SEWAILAM
LOUTSION
MAYES
FERRANDO INES LEONORA COUNT DI LUNA MANRICO AZUCENA A GYPSY A MESSENGER RUIZ
BURTON
AMMANN
Ashraf Sewailam Michelle Siemens Alexandra Loutsion Michael Mayes Jonathan Burton Lindsay Ammann Griffen Hogan Tracy Zachary Johnson Fidel Angel Romero
The conductor’s podium is endowed in perpetuity by the Eleanore Mullen Weckbaugh Foundation. Assisted Listening devices generously donated by Myra B. Levy Set constructed by You Want What? Productions, Englewood, CO Knight gates and fire pit constructed by Mark Smith and Gwen Law, Indiana University, Bloomington
CENTRAL CITY OPERA FESTIVAL SPONSORS Avenir Foundation, Inc. • Bonfils-Stanton Foundation • Central City Opera House Association Endowment Fund Lanny and Sharon Martin • Citizens of the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District • State Historical Fund PRESENTING SPONSORS The Virginia W. Hill Foundation • OPERA America, Inc. PRODUCTION SPONSORS Pamela and Louis Bansbach • Nancy P. Brittain • Heather and Mike Miller PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Butler Family Fund • Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Corporation • John and Melinda Couzens • John and Anne Draper Mr. and Mrs. John E. Fuller • Diana W. and F. Michael Kinsey • Jean and Larry Manion • Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. McGonagle Phoebe Smedley • Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Unger • Buzz and George Ann Victor
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WAR, LOVE, REVENGE BY RICHARD S. BOGART
Premiered in 1853, Verdi’s Il trovatore was an immediate hit. Its sensational plot and gloriously beautiful music, which challenges each of the four principal singers, makes it the quintessential opera. Usually, the love-interest soprano is the prima donna of opera, but in the case of Il trovatore, Verdi placed such importance on Azucena, the older gypsy woman, that his original working title was La Zingara (The Gypsy Woman). The opera does not consist of a single plot but rather three intertwining, concurrent subplots involving many of the same characters. The following is a synopsis in the strict sense of the word: it presents a description of the same events viewed in the context of each of the semi-independent threads of the story. As you are reading, notice the words in bold: “THE DUEL,” “THE GYPSY WOMAN,” “SON,” and “THE PUNISHMENT.” These words correspond with the names of the four acts of the opera. Consider this: was Verdi’s leading lady Azucena really a devoted mother, or was her adopted son’s death her end game all along?
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War
King Martin I of Aragon died May 31, 1410, without heirs. After two years of civil strife between no fewer than seven claimants to the throne, Ferdinand I was chosen king by the Aragonese parliament. This historical background informs the fictitious narrative of Il trovatore. As Il trovatore begins, the Count of Urgel has raised a rebellion to press his claims to the throne. Among his commanders is Manrico, a gypsy who became a knight of recognized valor and military prowess. A clash emerges between Manrico and Count di Luna, the leader of the royal forces. Manrico has risked his life coming to the royal palace, the court of Aragon, on an amorous affair. Intercepted by the Count di Luna, he reveals his identity as the rebel commander — THE DUEL ensues. At the point of slaying the Count, a mysterious force stays Manrico’s hand.
IL IL TROVATORE TROVATORE
The rivals meet again later on the battlefield of Pelilla. Manrico alone bravely stands his ground, but di Luna cuts him down and leaves him for dead. Manrico’s mother, THE GYPSY WOMAN, Azucena finds him and nurses him back to health in their native mountains, where the gypsies lead a carefree existence. Azucena berates Manrico for not having killed the Count di Luna when he had a chance. A fellow rebel soldier arrives with a message: the strategic castle at Castellor has been seized by the rebels, and Manrico has been ordered to take command of its defence. Ignoring Azucena’s pleas to remain and warnings that his wounds are still not healed, Manrico hurries off. In a camp before Castellor, soldiers under the command of the Count di Luna await the attack on the castle. Reinforcements arrive, and they look forward eagerly to an easy victory and rich loot. Azucena, who has come down from the mountains in search of her SON, is brought before the Count di Luna. Recognizing in her the mother
of his hated enemy, the Count exults in THE PUNISHMENT he will wreak on her. Manrico hears of Azucena’s capture and rushes out to save his mother or to die in the attempt. Manrico and Azucena are captured and lie imprisoned in a tower of the royal castle awaiting death. They recall the peace and happiness of their mountains. The Count arrives and orders Manrico off to be beheaded, forcing Azucena to watch from the window.
Love
The Count di Luna is enamored with Leonora, a noble lady-in-waiting to the Queen of Aragon, but she awaits the return of a troubadour, Manrico, with whom she has fallen in love. One evening, di Luna approaches to pay Leonora a visit but freezes at the distant sound of a lute. Leonora runs into the darkness, flying into the arms of the startled Count, declaring her love. When Leonora realizes he is not Manrico and begs forgiveness, the Count jealously challenges his rival to reveal his identity and fight to the death.
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when Manrico himself, whom all had thought dead, appears. Manrico and Leonora escape together.
M a n r i c o as a rebel and a the king, risking his palace. The men DUEL, to di Luna and both
introduces himself condemned traitor to life appearing at the royal but Manrico shows mercy escape alive.
Manrico sustains serious injuries in a later run-in with di Luna on the battlefield, and he disappears into the mountains as his mother, THE GYPSY WOMAN, Azucena nurses him back to health. Believing her love was killed in battle, Leonora renounces the world, planning to take the veil. The Count arrives with his followers at the convent, hoping to win her over at last. He is ready to seize her by force: he vows that not even God shall keep her from him. The stunned Leonora hardly has time to remonstrate
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Azucena, who has come down from the mountains in search of her SON, is jailed at Count di Luna’s hand. Manrico and Leonora are preparing to wed in the castel when news arrives of Azucena’s capture. Manrico rushes to save his mother or to die in the attempt. Di Luna’s forces capture Manrico and he is jailed alongside Azucena. Manrico’s voice is heard from the tower as he sings a farewell ballad to Leonora. She swears that her love for him shall defy even death. Leonora confronts di Luna, offering to die in Manrico’s place, but her evident devotion only fans his anger. Leonora then offers herself to the Count in return for Manrico’s freedom. She secretly swallows a poison as di Luna instructs a guard to release Manrico. The Count and Leonora exult, he in his happiness to have won Leonora, she to be giving her life to save Manrico. When Manrico discovers that Leonora cannot go free with him he gallantly refuses to leave. Accusing her of having betrayed their love, he denounces and curses Leonora. As Leonora succumbs to the poison, she confesses that she would rather die Manrico’s than live belonging to another. Manrico is beside himself after cursing her in their final moments together. The Count appears and, seeing he was deceived, furiously orders Manrico off to be beheaded and forces Azucena to watch in PUNISHMENT.
Revenge
Il trovatore opens on Ferrando, the captain of the royal forces under the young Count di Luna, drowsily recounting the story of the old Count di Luna and his youngest son
IL TROVATORE
“He was your brother!” she cries, “Mother, you are avenged!” Garcia to restless soldiers and royal staff: One night the nurse awoke to discover an old gypsy woman, looming over the infant in his cradle. She was immediately ejected from the palace, but the baby soon became sick and lay near death. Convinced that the gypsy had bewitched him, the people hunted her down and burned her at the stake. Soon after, the baby disappeared, and a half-burnt skeleton of a child was discovered on the still smoldering embers where the old gypsy had been burned. Before the broken-hearted Count died, he bade his older son never to give up the search for his lost brother. The daughter of the old gypsy was blamed for the murder but she was never found. Later, in the mountains of Vizcaya, THE GYPSY WOMAN Azucena broods over her fire, singing a ballad of a gypsy woman burned at the stake. Her son Manrico, who has been lying at her side, asks her about the sad song. She tells him of the haughty Count who accused her mother of bewitching his child. She was brought in chains to meet her doom at this very spot. Her mother’s last words, in her death agony, were “Avenge me!” Azucena goes on saying that she abducted the Count’s son and brought him to the still-burning fire. The baby cried piteously, in a confusion of visions and grief, she hurdled the child into the fire. Her vision subsided, only the raging flames remained, and there beside her was the son of the wicked Count. It was her own son she had cast into the fire!
Azucena implores Manrico, if he should ever DUEL the Count di Luna again, to plunge his sword through the Count’s heart. Manrico, horror-struck, but enduringly loyal, agrees. Urgent news soon calls Manrico away. Azucena pleads with him to remain. His blood is hers, and every drop he sheds is squeezed from her heart. Ignoring Azucena, Manrico hurries off. Some time later, Azucena wanders down from the mountains searching for Manrico. She stumbles onto a military encampment and is brought before the Count di Luna for questioning. She tells of a SON who has cost her heart great grief. Recognizing the mother of his enemy and his hated rival, as well as the killer of his brother, the Count exults in THE PUNISHMENT he will wreak on her. In Castellor, Manrico hears of Azucena’s capture. He rushes out to save his mother but is quickly jailed. Azucena is maddened by visions of her mother’s tortured death at the stake, of her own impending doom. Manrico comforts Azucena; they recall the peace and happiness of their mountains. Soon the Count orders Manrico off to be beheaded, forcing Azucena to watch from the window. “He was your brother!” she cries, “Mother, you are avenged!”
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DIRECTOR: JOACHIM SCHAMBERGER BY VALERIE SMITH opera lovers,” he explains. “My great-grandfather was the artistic administrator in my hometown theater in Coburg, Germany in the 1920s, and from early childhood my parents took me to the opera. I immediately liked it.” As a young man, Schamberger studied singing at the Musikhochschule of Würzburg but soon realized that he preferred the storytelling aspect of opera. “As opposed to most other singers, who came to opera through singing, I came to singing through opera, and this realization eventually led to my changing careers,” he says. “As a director, I very much enjoy my work with the singers and the conductor. I believe in the power of connection, empathy and communication, and I adjust my work to each performer. As a final result, I look for genuine, believable and human characters.”
“I believe in the power of connection, empathy and communication, and I adjust my work to each performer. As a final result, I look for genuine, believable and human characters.”
pera has provided the North Star for Joachim Schamberger’s life and career. “I grew up in a family of
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He next studied in the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, where he received a grant to pursue digital film production and 3-D animation at the New York Film Academy. Starting in 2011, Schamberger was appointed Visiting Professor of Opera at DePauw University, and last fall he became Director of Opera at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. He also serves on the faculty for many young artist festivals and maintains a private coaching studio in New York. As a director, Schamberger has staged more than 50 world premieres and classics, most recently The Barber of Seville at the Savannah Voice Festival and The Magic Flute at the Prague Summer Nights Festival. “The way I approach a piece doesn’t really change whether I stage classical or new works,” he notes. “I take them equally seriously and try to treat them respectfully. I look for what you might call their essence.” His many productions have been seen around the world, including the United States, Germany, Brazil, Norway, Israel, Japan and China.
DIRECTOR'S NOTE IL TROVATORE MEDIEVALISM – BEAUTY AND ATROCITIES
Schamberger also designs his own video projections and Central City Opera audiences may recall his Tosca (2016), which reviewers hailed as “superbly innovative” and “thrilling.” When asked about his mix of video and live performance, he said, “It all lies in the music. When I listen, images appear in my imagination and I develop it all from there. I love applying the storytelling devices from movies to the opera: flashbacks and looks into the characters’ emotional world. The key is really the right timing and capturing the essence of the music.” The story of Il trovatore (The Troubadour) takes place in the Middle Ages and, as Schamberger pointed out, “The fascination around medieval narratives and aesthetics is so pronounced, a special term evolved to describe it: “Medievalism.” During the Romantic Era of the 19th century, artists were continually drawn to medieval themes. Examples from literature include Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Idylls of the King and Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe, and visual artists such as William Morris and the Pre-Raphaelites. “Based on a play by Antonio García Gutiérrez (El trovador, 1836), Verdi’s opera Il trovatore stands in the same tradition,” Schamberger continues. “In my production, the visual aspect will include elegant elements in contrast to the violence of the story. It is the same approach Verdi employs by pairing tasteful music with atrocities that unfold in the drama.” Schamberger is pleased his production team for Il trovatore includes many artists with whom he created Tosca two years ago: “It is a dream to work with friends and in an environment where everybody truly cares and is interested in exploring the piece in a fresh and curious way.”
Stories of the Middle Ages have intrigued humans from the moment of their origin. During the Romantic Era of the 19th century when Verdi wrote Il trovatore, artists were continually drawn to medieval themes. Examples from literature include King Arthur tales, poetic masterpieces like Ivanhoe and Beowulf and Goethe’s Götz von Berlichingen. In the visual arts, works of Dicksee, Waterhouse and Blair-Leighton circle around themes of knights and chivalry. Architecture echoes Gothic Revival, which leads to the Arts and Crafts Movement, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. In opera, similar themes are seen in Wagner’s Lohengrin, Tristan and Isolde, Tannhäuser and Parsifal. The fascination around medieval narratives and aesthetics is so pronounced, a special term evolved to describe it: Medievalism. Verdi’s opera Il trovatore, based on a play by Antonio García Gutiérrez (1836), stands in the same tradition. At the time of Verdi’s death, we enter the Art and Crafts Movement in England and the Art Nouveau in Europe. The aesthetics of this period mirror architectural elements originating in Ancient Greece and reappear in the Medieval and Renaissance. Our current perception of medieval times has often little to do with historic accuracy and more with a romanticized version, visually as well as in values. “A knight in shining armor” is just one example found in modern thinking and language. In movies and TV, we see many romantic visions of medieval aesthetics transported into the genre of fantasy. Productions like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings entertain by setting violent subject matters within visually stunning images. The paradox of paring beauty and cruelty is present in opera and maybe nowhere as pronounced as in Il trovatore. Verdi’s most exquisite music accompanies heinous atrocities and produces a truly disturbing contrast. The alluring visuals of our Central City Opera production mirror that unsettling contradiction. The artistic choice to place the production in Art Nouveau was born of a desire to honor the tradition of Medievalism in the way it was perceived in Verdi’s time. Joachim Schamberger
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mixed media painting by karen fisher illustration by hadley hooper . .
COMPOSER George Frideric Handel LIBRETTISTS John Gay, Alexander Pope, John Hughes CONDUCTOR Christopher Zemliauskas DIRECTOR Ken Cazan COSTUME DESIGNER Stacie Logue WIG/MAKEUP DESIGNER Ronell Oliveri MUSICAL PREPARATION Peter Walsh STAGE MANAGER Anna Eck ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Autumn Jessica Mitchell Edited for the Hallische Händel-Ausgabe by Wolfram Windszus Used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, U.S. and Canadian agent for Baerenreiter-Verlag, publisher and copyright owner.
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ACIS AND GALATEA | SYNOPSIS
In the fields and glades of ancient Greece, all is blithe and merry, as the birds sing of love and games. However, the nymph Galatea does not share their joy. Her beloved, the shepherd Acis, is away, and for Galatea, the delight of this “warbling choir” only reminds her of the empty place in her heart. For his part, Acis, too, longs to see his lady, and muses innocently upon where he might find her. Acis’ friend, the shepherd Damon, urges him to set aside sorrow and join instead in the frolic, but Acis is not to be consoled. All his joy is in Galatea, all hers in Acis. The two are like a pair of doves, cooing when together, mourning when apart. Fortunately, they are soon reunited. Ah, “happy we!” Unfortunately, their love is not destined to be untroubled. The cyclops Polyphemus lusts for Galatea, whom he declares to be “more bright than moonlit night.” His passion will not be restrained, and he confronts the nymph, less with pleading than with demands that she become his. Declaring her loathing for Polyphemus, Galatea refuses, and Acis, reassured by her fidelity, is yet enraged by the cyclops’ pretention. For love, Acis declares, he would not fear even death. His friend Damon advises caution, suggesting that love is only fleeting and not worth one’s life, but Acis and Galatea shall not be parted.
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Their raptures of eternal devotion are torture to Polyphemus. He swears that he shall not be denied, and that “presumptuous Acis” must perish. Alas, this comes to pass as Polyphemus strikes him down. The muses lament, calling upon shepherds’ pipes to echo their tears. Heartsick Galatea laments that her “lovely, charming youth” is no more. The muses, however, exhort her ito action, for as a nymph, Galatea has goddess powers. Though she cannot restore Acis to human life, she can blend him with the natural spirits, making of Acis an eternal stream. In this form, the lovers are reunited, their whispers of love preserved in the murmuring stream. There beside Sicily’s Mt. Etna, the passion of Acis and Galatea endures. Betsy Schwarm
CAST | ACIS AND GALATEA
CAST IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE
GARDNER
MILOSH
MOSZ
GALATEA ACIS DAMON CORYDON POLYPHEMUS
KAUFMAN
PETERSON
Graycen Gardner George Milosh Chris Mosz Benjamin DaCosta-Kaufman Matthew Peterson
This one-act opera features members of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program. The conductor's podium is endowed in perpetuity by the Eleanore Mullen Weckbaugh Foundation.
CENTRAL CITY OPERA FESTIVAL SPONSORS Avenir Foundation, Inc. • Bonfils-Stanton Foundation • Central City Opera House Association Endowment Fund Lanny and Sharon Martin • Citizens of the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District • State Historical Fund PRESENTING SPONSORS The Virginia W. Hill Foundation • OPERA America, Inc. PRODUCTION SPONSORS City of Central • Cheryl and David Dutton • Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Anonymous (2) • Anschutz Foundation • Margaret and Stan Baker • Fred and Jana Bartlit • Colorado Creative Industries Mabel Y. Hughes Charitable Trust • John W. Kure and Cheryl L. Solich • Lizabeth A. Lynner and James L. Palenchar MDC/Richmond American Homes Foundation • National Endowment for the Arts • Stabio Family Trust Estate of Laura Hannah Stein-Leavitt • Dave and Mary Wood Fund
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HANDEL'S EXPERIMENT BY MICHAEL DIXON
In the summer of 1718, German composer George Frideric Handel found himself composer-in-residence amid the lush grounds of Cannons, the huge estate of his patron James Brydges, Earl of Carnarvon, 1st Duke of Chandos. A devotee of the arts, Lord Brydges kept a contingent of singers and a small orchestra on staff for his own entertainment and that of his guests which
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at this time included the English poet-critics, John Gay, Alexander Pope and John Hughes. All three poets were members of the satirical literary group, the Scriblerus Club. All three had published biting commentary on the current sorry state of English pastoral poetry. In a preface to his volume of pastoral poetry, Pope set out the standards essential to the true pastoral poem. He maintained that the pastoral described “not what is, but what may be and should be,” and that it was meant to idealize nature and rural life, not to expose and revel in its crudeness and clownishness. The essence of the classical pastoral he asserted was “simplicity, brevity and delicacy.” But above all, at the heart of pastoral poetry was sound—simple words naturally expressed masking sophisticated thought.
ACIS AND GALATEA
Handel exhibited his genius in molding words and music to dramatic purpose... Versions of Handel’s opera ended up being one of his most often performed pieces today. The Scriblerians’ feelings about the Italian opera then invading English stages were no less intense. They ridiculed its effeminacy as evidenced by its castrati, its decadence, its absurdity, its bombast, its foreignness. In the same way they focused their passion on elevating English pastoral poetry to former glory, they were equally dedicated to wresting opera from the Italians and making it distinctly English. Though his reputation rested heavily on composing Italian opera, as one critic noted, Handel “was nothing if not adaptable.” Having met them all at the London home of his previous patron, Handel knew the Scriblerians well. They had helped him improve his English. Now, with Gay as chief librettist, they would help him set his first English opera and forge an entertainment that would appeal specifically to English audiences, audiences whose tastes Handel needed to understand if he were to secure a place on the English musical scene. The fact that Acis and Galatea was to be a private performance also shielded him from commercial risk and critical attack. Cannons was a safe place to experiment.
English audiences restless, relying instead on da capo arias and the chorus to advance the story. Throughout, Handel exhibited his genius in molding words and music to dramatic purpose. His meta-pastoral musical language synthesized so completely with that of his English librettists that one critic noted, the effect is one “of naturalness…the creation of pastoral soundscapes whose complexity belies their supposedly innocent origins.” Handel went on to revise and lengthen Acis and Galatea. Versions of Handel’s opera ended up being one of his most often performed pieces during his lifetime and today.
The “little opera” was performed outside on a grand terrace to celebrate the Duke’s upgrading of his garden’s new water features highlighted by a great fountain, a jet d’eau. Given the resident resources available, the work was performed simply. It required as few as five singers— one soprano, three tenors, one bass and a small orchestra. Handel included few recitative passages, which made
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DIRECTOR: KEN CAZAN
DIRECTOR'S NOTE ACIS AND GALATEA
BY VALERIE SMITH en Cazan returns to Central City Opera for his 17th year, having directed many acclaimed productions for the company over that time. Highlights include the 60th Anniversary of Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe, Dead Man Walking and multiple operas by Benjamin Britten—Cazan’s specialty—including The Burning Fiery Furnace, The Prodigal Son and Gloriana. He will be returning to Central City in the summer of 2019 to direct Britten’s Billy Budd. Mr. Cazan has directed over 160 productions of opera, musical theater and plays in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe. He has received various Outstanding Director and Best Production awards. Besides Central City Opera’s North American production premiere of Britten’s Gloriana, Mr. Cazan has directed numerous world and American opera debuts which include Thomas Morse’s opera Frau Schindler for the Gärtnerplatz Theatre in Munich, the Kaminsky/Campbell/Reed opera As One for American Opera Projects and the BAM Festival in 2014 and the Lieberman/McClatchy collaboration, Miss Lonelyhearts. “A particular passion of mine is having the freedom to create in experimental spaces with younger artists,” says Mr. Cazan. “This off-off Broadway approach to opera is the wave of the present and future in the opera business, particularly in the U.S. where world premieres are happening in virtually every company. New, brilliantly talented composers are being discovered on a regular basis through this mentality and initiative. Likewise, more traditional operas are being redefined and rediscovered.” Cazan is a full Professor, Resident Stage Director and the Chair of Vocal Arts and Opera at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music for whom he has worked since 2004. He has taught masterclasses and acting for the Chautauqua Opera and at Indiana University, Ohio State University, Kent State University, Manhattan School of Music, the Juilliard School and California State University Long Beach, as well as The Metropolitan Opera and Central City Opera’s artist training programs.
Opera is almost always about sex, religion and/or politics. This charming, very early Handel opera, however, is a simple, moving mythological study on the subjects of how young people deal with first love, death and acceptance of loss. One of the most wonderful aspects of the piece is the intimate size of the cast who function both as commentators/ chorus and principals. I see no huge political significance in the opera except perhaps in the character of the cyclops Polyphemus, the classic bully, who swoops in like some power-hungry official to be the antagonist and ruin the lives of the young lovers and their friends. Even in this case, he is a deus ex machina, a “device” used to further the plot, to create conflict and motivate resolution as the demi-goddess nymph, Galatea, uses her one divine power to turn her beloved Acis into a fountain so that she may eternally bathe in his waters. Ken Cazan
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mixed media painting by karenillustration fisher. by hadley hooper.
40th ANNIVERSARY
COMPOSER Henry Mollicone LIBRETTO John S. Bowman MUSIC DIRECTOR Thomas Getty DIRECTOR Ken Cazan COSTUME DESIGNER Stacie Logue WIG/MAKEUP DESIGNER Ronell Oliveri LIGHTING DESIGNER Szu-Yun Wang STAGE MANAGER Emma Cooney ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER Autumn Jessica Mitchell
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THE FACE ON THE BARROOM FLOOR | SYNOPSIS
Scene One MODERN TIMES Isabelle, a young opera singer in the chorus at the opera house, brings her friend Larry to the Teller House Bar, where they revel in the vintage atmosphere. Upon noticing a mysterious face painted on the bar’s floor, Larry asks the bartender Tom about the painting. At first, Tom demurs, but Larry insists. When Isabelle joins in his request, Tom obliges.
Scene Three MODERN TIMES
Scene Two GOLD RUSH DAYS Tom becomes John, a frontier bartender. Isabelle is transformed into Madeline, a song-and-dance girl. Larry steps away, soon to reappear as the painter Matt. John begins the story, as it has been passed down from barman to barman, of the most irresistible nugget in all of Gold Rush Central City: Madeline. Madeline is particularly treasured for her ability to charm a room full of miners, though she poignantly remembers when she had only a single man in her heart. The painter Matt enters and recognizes Madeline as his own lost love. Having no cash to pay for a drink, he offers to paint upon the bar floor a portrait of the only woman he ever loved. Deciding that the sight of it might keep his patrons happy, John agrees, so Matt sets to work.
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As the painting nears completion, John recognizes that it is Madeline, who since her arrival in Central City has become John’s beloved. John and Matt come to blows, over their rivalry for Madeline. The men struggle, and Madeline attempts to part them. A shot rings out with tragic results.
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Back in the present time, the three resume their original characters. Tom tells the others that the spirit of Madeline still haunts the bar. When Larry dismisses it as a fantasy, the tension between him and Tom escalates. Will this fight end differently? Betsy Schwarm
CAST | THE FACE ON THE BARROOM FLOOR
CAST IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE
AUSTIN
HOLLIS
CLARK
ISABELLE/MADELINE LARRY/MATT TOM/JOHN
SKOOG
HILL
JOHNSON
Amanda Rose Austin and Gillian Hollis Martin Luther Clark and Brian Skoog Nathaniel Hill and Zachary Johnson
This one-act opera features members of the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program. The conductor's podium is endowed in perpetuity by the Eleanore Mullen Weckbaugh Foundation.
CENTRAL CITY OPERA FESTIVAL SPONSORS Avenir Foundation, Inc. • Bonfils-Stanton Foundation • Central City Opera House Association Endowment Fund Lanny and Sharon Martin • Citizens of the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District • State Historical Fund PRESENTING SPONSORS The Virginia W. Hill Foundation • OPERA America, Inc. PRODUCTION SPONSORS City of Central • Cheryl and David Dutton • Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Anonymous (2) • Anschutz Foundation • Margaret and Stan Baker • Fred and Jana Bartlit • Colorado Creative Industries Mabel Y. Hughes Charitable Trust • John W. Kure and Cheryl L. Solich • Lizabeth A. Lynner and James L. Palenchar MDC/Richmond American Homes Foundation • National Endowment for the Arts • Stabio Family Trust Estate of Laura Hannah Stein-Leavitt • Dave and Mary Wood Fund
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THE MONA LISA OF CENTRAL CITY BY VALERIE SMITH
The truth about the origin of the famous face on the barroom floor in Central City’s Teller House Bar is elusive. We know that the painting was probably inspired by one of two poems on the same subject from the end of the 19th century. The first poem, written by John Henry Titus, was published in the Ohio Sentinel in 1872. While Titus’ poem never enjoyed the same success as its famous counterpart, Titus kept his version alive through his own performances in taverns nationwide. He continued to perform it well into his nineties, right up until his death in 1947. The poem we recognize today, however, is that of Hugh Antoine D’Arcy who published The Face upon the Floor in the New York Dispatch in 1887. The poem became a popular performance piece for vaudeville actors (a supposed favorite of Maurice Barrymore, father to Ethel, Lionel and John). As a successful PR agent, D’Arcy and
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“The stories surrounding the poem... can't surpass the various yarns that flourished in the wake of Herndon Davis' 1936 painting in the Teller House. Why did Davis paint it?” his friend, veteran actor Porter J. White, would know that a good backstory could further fuel the poem’s popularity. As White told it, he was awakened one night by an excited D’Arcy, pages in hand, who on a visit to Joe’s Saloon, witnessed a drunk drawing a portrait on the floor of the bar. The drunk was tossed out. D’Arcy followed him, offered him some money and got the derelict’s sad story of faithless love which he then transformed into poetic history. The “Barroom” portion of the title was later added by an unscrupulous music publisher whom D’Arcy sued over copyright infringement. The addition to the title stuck and annoyed D’Arcy to the end of his days.
THE FACE ON THE BARROOM FLOOR The stories surrounding the poem, however, can’t surpass the various yarns that flourished in the wake of Herndon Davis’ 1936 painting in the Teller House. Why did Davis paint it? The official version is that he was angry after being fired from his mural restoration job at Central City Opera, and the painting was a form of vengeful self-validation. Davis himself said he did it on a whim. In one news article, Davis was supposedly spurred on by a vivid dream. In another account, it was a team effort between the opera’s stage painter and Davis whose collaboration was enhanced by a fifth of Puerto Rico’s finest rum. In yet another personal account, the painting happens amidst a party, with a tipsy Davis in the bar reciting the famous poem to an audience that included the bartender and a lovely young visiting sculptress who, the account claimed, was the actual model for the painting. Which brings us to whose face is actually on the floor. The official answer is that Davis painted his wife Nita’s face from memory. But Davis never directly admitted
this, and his wife actively denied it, being “sore as a boil” over becoming “the drinking world’s favorite Mona Lisa.” One reporter at the time speculated that Davis’ silence was one way to avoid a marital confrontation over his legendary carousing, but the lack of definite attribution has produced any number of likely and unlikely candidates. Whatever the truth about either poem or portrait, both have enjoyed enduring popularity. It was only natural then that in 1978, Central City Opera commissioned a one-act cabaret opera to be set in the Face Bar. Written by Henry Mollicone with libretto by John Bowman, the opera combines a tale of the Old West mining town with present-day Central City. Mollicone and Bowman did not use the poem’s sentimental plot but “created” their own legend which, given the fictions surrounding the poem and the painting, seems only fitting. Also fitting is that, like the poem and the portrait, the opera has enjoyed immense popularity and is one of the most performed modern American operas.
Celebrating 40 years 2 0 1 8
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Central City Opera thanks the following donors for supporting the restoration of the Face on the Barroom Floor painting.
THE FACE ON THE BARROOM FLOOR H E N RY M O L L I CO N E
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Robert and Mildred Beebe Mrs. Joan Berg Kim Edmiston Joseph Elinoff Mr. Stephen G. Fincher Mr. Robert M. Frank Mr. and Mrs. Karl Garrett Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Hall Mr. and Mrs. Martin B. Hidalgo Mr. and Mrs. Richard J. Karlin Ms. Barbara Kelley Mrs. Margaret Krawiec
Susan Martin and Chet Hampson Christopher H. Merrell Ms. Donna M. Minear Mr. Richard Moraskie Nancy S. Parker Anton and Clare Schulzki Robert and Lucy Showalter Lorraine and Craig Shuler Mr. and Mrs. James A. Swanson Sandy and Jerry Wischmeyer George and Arla Zimmerman
THE FACE ON THE BARROOM FLOOR
(POEM EXCERPT) BY HUGH ANTOINE D'ARCY I made a picture, perhaps you've seen, 'tis called the 'Chase of Fame.' It brought me fifteen hundred pounds and added to my name. And then I met a woman — now comes the funny part — With eyes that petrified my brain, and sunk into my heart.
Did you ever see a woman for whom your soul you’d give, With a form like the Milo Venus, too beautiful to live; With eyes that would beat the Koh-i-noor, and a wealth of chestnut hair? If so, ‘twas she, for there never was another half so fair. Say boys, if you give me just another whiskey, I’ll be glad, And I’ll draw right here a picture, of the face that drove me mad. Give me that piece of chalk with which you mark the baseball score — And you shall see the lovely Madeline upon the barroom floor.
Another drink, and with chalk in hand, the vagabond began, To sketch a face that well might buy the soul of any man. Then, as he placed another lock upon that shapely head, With a fearful shriek, he leaped and fell across the picture — dead!
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COMPANY PROFILES Lindsay Ammann*
Michael Baitzer
John Baril
Madeleine Boyd
Mezzo-Soprano: Azucena, Il trovatore Recently: Orfeo, Orfeo ed Euridice, Florida Grand Opera; Death, The Nightingale and Other Short Fables, Canadian Opera Company; Alto Soloist, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Omaha Symphony
Central City Opera Music Director Conductor: Il trovatore Central City: (Partial Listing) Così fan tutte, 2017; Tosca, 2016; La traviata, 2015 Recently: Les pecheurs des perles, Toledo Opera; Il barbiere di Siviglia, Romeo et Juliette, Virginia Opera
Scenic Designer: Die Zauberflöte Central City Opera: Le nozze di Figaro, 2014; The Turn of the Screw, 2012; Amadigi di Gaula, 2011 Recently: Scenic Designer, Semiramide, L’Opéra de St. Etienne; Scenic and Costume Designer, Don Giovanni, Opera North, England; Liebelei, Vorarlberger Landestheater, Bregenz
Aaron Breid
Jonathan Burton
Ken Cazan
Colorado Children’s Chorale
Richard Cross
Joseph Dennis*
Associate Conductor, Chorus Master: Die Zauberflöte, Il trovatore Central City Opera: Carmen, 2017; Così fan tutte, 2017; The Ballad of Baby Doe, 2016 Recently: Conductor and Chorus Master of Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers; The Little Prince (cover conductor), Washington National Opera; Dido and Aeneas, University of Nebraska
Director: Acis and Galatea, The Face on the Barroom Floor Central City Opera: (Partial Listing) The Burning Fiery Furnace, 2017; The Ballad of Baby Doe, 2016; The Prodigal Son, 2015 Recently: Chair of Vocal Arts and Opera and Resident Stage Director, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music; Director of Fall of the House of Usher, Long Beach Opera and Chicago Opera Theater; As One (World Premiere), American Opera Projects and Brooklyn Academy of Music
Guest Instructor in German Diction, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program German Diction Coach: Die Zauberflöte Central City Opera: Paul Bunyan, 2005; Don Giovanni, 1963 Recently: Voice faculty, Yale School of Music
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Administrator and Principal Coach, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program Central City Opera: Principal Coach, 2012-present; Music Staff 1999-2004 Recently: Head of Music Staff, Washington National Opera
O p e r a
Tenor: Manrico, Il trovatore Central City Opera: Cavaradossi, Tosca, 2016; Don José, Carmen, 2011 Recently: Calaf, Turandot, Tulsa Opera, Dayton Opera, Knoxville Opera; Bacchus, Ariadne auf Naxos, Austin Opera
Mary Louise Burke, Associate Director Spirits, Die Zauberflöte: Vinny Falk, Charles Hutchings, Adedoyin Jaiyesimi, Elliot Jenkins, Connor Kramer, Gareth Page-Roth
Tenor: Tamino, Die Zauberflöte Recently: Edgardo, Lucia di Lammermoor, Virginia Opera; Il Duca, Rigoletto, North Carolina Opera; Alfredo, La traviata, Opera Memphis
Jeni Houser*
David Martin Jacques
Susan Kulkarni
Kevin Langan
Soprano: The Queen of the Night, Die Zauberflöte Recently: Zerbinetta, Ariadne auf Naxos, Austin Opera; Susanna, Le nozze di Figaro, Minnesota Opera; The Queen of the Night, Die Zauberflöte, Cincinnati Opera
Costume Designer: Die Zauberflöte Central City Opera: Le nozze di Figaro, 2014 Recently: Blade Runner, Secret Cinema, U.K.; Dance Journeys, English National Ballet at Sadler’s Wells, U.K.; Teen Spirit, Feature Film shot in London
Will Liverman*
Resident Lighting Designer Central City Opera: Resident Lighting Designer 2007-present; 2000-2005 Recently: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Spain; As One (World Premiere), American Opera Projects and Brooklyn Academy of Music; Il barbiere di Siviglia, Florida Grand Opera
Bass: Sarastro, Die Zauberflöte Central City Opera: Dr. Gibbs, Our Town, 2013; Commendatore, Don Giovanni, 2006; Seneca, L’incoronazione di Poppea, 2006 Recently: Rocco, Fidelio, San Francisco Symphony; Capitan, Florencia en el Amazonas, Opera Colorado; Parson/Badger, The Cunning Little Vixen, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Italy
Alexandra Loutsion
Baritone: Papageno, Die Zauberflöte Recently: Marcello, La bohème, Portland Opera; Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Virginia Opera; Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker's Yardbird, Madison Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, English National Opera, Hackney Empire, U.K.
Soprano: Leonora, Il trovatore Central City Opera: Tosca, Tosca, 2016; Melissa, Amadigi di Gaula Family Matinee, 2011; Cio-Cio San, Madama Butterfly Family Matinee, 2010 Recently: Tosca, Tosca, Palm Beach Opera; Turandot, Turandot, Pittsburgh Opera; The Overseer, Elektra, San Francisco Opera
Katherine Manley
Michael Mayes
Soprano: Pamina, Die Zauberflöte Central City Opera: Maria, The Sound of Music, 2014; Oriana, Amadigi di Gaula, 2011 Recently: Zenna Briggs, Sunken Garden, Dallas Opera; Asenath Nicholson, The Hunger, Brooklyn Academy of Music; Wife, The Last Hotel, Covent Garden and Edinburgh Festival, U.K.
Ronell Oliveri
Resident Wig/Makeup Designer and Supervisor Central City Opera: Resident Wig/Makeup Designer and Supervisor 2017-present; Wig and Makeup Co-Designer, 2011 Recently: Primetime Emmy Nominated Makeup Artist; Wig and Makeup Designer, Opera Omaha and Opera Colorado
Baritone: Count di Luna, Il trovatore Central City Opera: Escamillo, Carmen, 2017; Scarpia, Tosca, 2016; Joseph De Rocher, Dead Man Walking, 2014 Recently: Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd, The Atlanta Opera; Starbuck, Moby Dick, Pittsburgh Opera; Joseph De Rocher, Dead Man Walking, Teatro Real Madrid, Spain
André de Ridder*
Conductor: Die Zauberflöte Recently: Music Director, Musica Nova Helsinki Festival; Conductor, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, Gothenburg Symphony, LA Philharmonic; Opera premieres and productions at English National Opera London, Edinburgh International Festival, Basel Opera and Komische Oper Berlin
* Indicates a Central City Opera Debut
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COMPANY PROFILES CONTINUED Joachim Schamberger
Ashraf Sewailam*
Alessandro Talevi
Dana Tzvetkova
Director and Projections Designer: Il trovatore Central City Opera: Director and Projections Designer, Tosca, 2016 Recently: Director of Don Giovanni, Northwestern University; Projections Designer of Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York; Director of Die Fledermaus, Meininger Theater, Germany
Director: Die Zauberflöte Central City Opera: Le nozze di Figaro, 2014; The Turn of the Screw, 2012; Amadigi di Gaula, 2011 Recently: Tosca, Rome Opera; Don Giovanni, Opera North, U.K.; Rigoletto, Korea National Opera
Bass-Baritone: The Speaker, Die Zauberflöte and Ferrando, Il trovatore Recently: Capitan, Florencia en el Amazonas, Madison Opera; Basilio, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Opera San Antonio; Stage Director, The Cunning Little Vixen, dell’Arte Opera New York
Costume Designer: Il trovatore Central City Opera: Costume Coordinator for Carmen, 2017; Tosca, 2016 Recently: Hagar, National Opera Association; Saudade, Carmen, Peter Grimes, Indiana University Musical Arts Center
Christopher Zemliauskas
Conductor: Acis and Galatea Central City Opera: The Burning Fiery Furnace, 2017; Cabildo, 2017; Gallantry, 2017 Recently: Cendrillon, Wonderful Town, La clemenza di Tito, Ithaca College
APPRENTICE ARTISTS
BONFILS-STANTON FOUNDATION ARTISTS TRAINING PROGRAM
Melanie Ashkar
Amanda Rose Austin•
Andres Cascanrte
Alice Chung•
Mezzo-Soprano Arlington, VA Recently: Ida, Die Fledermaus, Utah Opera; Ciesca, Gianni Schicchi, Utah Opera; La Maestra delle Novizie, Suor Angelica, Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance
Baritone San Jose, Costa Rica Recently: The Speaker, Die Zauberflöte, Yale Opera; Marcello, La bohème, Yale Opera; Servo, Macbeth, New Orleans Opera
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Soprano Maplewood, NJ Recently: Cendrillon, Cendrillon, Manhattan School of Music; Adina, L’elisir d’amore, Chautauqua Institution; Carolyn Bryant, Emmett Till, Opera Noire of New York
Mezzo-Soprano Loma Linda, CA Recently: Giovanna, Rigoletto, Lyric Opera of Kansas City; The Witch, Hänsel und Gretel, University of Missouri-Kansas City; Larina, Eugene Onegin, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Martin Luther Clark
Betsy Diaz•
Kira Dills-DeSurr•
Nathaniel Hill
Gillian Hollis
Zachary Johnson
Tasha Koontz
Fidel Angel Romero
Michelle Siemens
Brian Skoog•
Tenor Marshall, TX Recently: Tenor 1 Soloist, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, Kansas City Symphony; Draco, Final Fantasy, Kansas City Symphony; Borsa, Rigoletto, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Mezzo-Soprano Petaluma, CA Recently: Iseult, Le Vin herbé, Chicago Opera Theater & Long Beach Opera; Vera Boronel, The Consul, Chicago Opera Theater & Long Beach Opera; Mercedes, Carmen, Central City Opera
Soprano Miami, FL Recently: Kathie, The Student Prince, Ohio Light Opera; Barbarina, Le nozze di Figaro, Cleveland Opera Theater; Zémire, Zémire et Azor, Skylight Music Theater
Soprano San Diego, CA Recently: Edith, The Pirates of Penzance, San Diego Opera; Annina, La traviata, San Diego Opera; First Woman, The Grapes of Wrath, Sugar Creek Opera
Mezzo-Soprano Victoria, Canada Recently: Principal Ensemble, Candide, Los Angeles Opera; Madame de la Haltière, Cendrillon, University of California Los Angeles (guest artist); Daughter of Akhnaten, Akhnaten, Los Angeles Opera
Soprano Miami, FL Recently: Micaela, Carmen, Family Matinee, Central City Opera; Liu, Turandot, Opera Naples; Mimi, La bohème, Miami Music Festival
Baritone Defiance, OH Recently: Priest/Armored Man, The Magic Flute, Florentine Opera; Cascada, The Merry Widow, Florentine Opera; Guildenstern, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, Seagle Music Colony
Baritone Hudson, MA Recently: Prince Yamadori, Madama Butterfly, Opera Theatre of Connecticut; Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, Yale Opera; Sancho Panza, Don Quichotte, Yale Opera
Tenor Stafford, TX Recently: Tamino, Die Zauberflöte, Yale School of Music; Rodolfo, La bohème, Yale School of Music; Governor and Vanderdendur, Candide, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra.
Tenor Birmingham, AL Recently: Elder Hayes, Susannah, Nashville Opera; Remendado, Carmen, Dayton Opera; Tamino, Die Zauberflöte, The Cleveland Opera
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APPRENTICE ARTISTS
CONTINUED
Jeffrey Strand
Tenor Scottsdale, AZ Recently: Evangelist, Bach’s St. John Passion, Grand Canyon Symphony; Don José (cover), Carmen, Brott Opera Festival; Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, National Arts Centre Ottawa
Samuel Weiser
Bass Princeton Junction, NJ Recently: Solomon Weill/Gissing, Elizabeth Cree, Chicago Opera Theater; Reverend John Hale, The Crucible, Chicago Summer Opera; Fred/Pump Guy 2, The Grapes of Wrath, Opera Theater of Saint Louis
STUDIO ARTISTS
Baritone Suffern, NY Recently: Parmenione (cover), L’occasione fa il Ladro, Rossini in Wildbad: Belcanto Opera Festival; Baritone Soloist, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Associazione Amici della Scuola di Musica di Fiesole; Antonio, Le nozze di Figaro, Northwestern University
Véronique Filloux
Soprano Redwood City, CA Recently: Soeur Constance, Dialogues des Carmélites, Maryland Opera Studio; Servilia, La clemenza di Tito, Maryland Opera Studio; Isifile, Il Giasone, Opera NEO
Michael Floriano+
Ann Fogler+
Daniel Fridley
Bass Corvallis, OR Recently: Leporello, Don Giovanni, La Musica Lirica; Polyphemus, Acis and Galatea, Case Western Reserve University; Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, Cleveland Institute of Music.
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Gabriel Alexander Wernick•
Tenor Richmond, VA Recently: Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni, Northwestern University; Red Whiskers (cover), Billy Budd, Des Moines Metro Opera; Tamino, Die Zauberflöte, Shenandoah Conservatory
Baritone Rochester, NY Recently: Oliver Jordan, Dinner at Eight, University of Michigan; Sciarrone, Tosca, Finger Lakes Opera; Demetrius, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, University of Michigan
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Bass East Concord, NY Recently: Melchtal, Guillaume Tell, Opera Southwest; Luther/Crespel, Les contes d’Hoffmann, St. Petersburg Opera; Mustafá (cover), L’italiana in Algeri, Sarasota Opera
BONFILS-STANTON FOUNDATION ARTISTS TRAINING PROGRAM
Benjamin DaCosta-Kaufman
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Mezzo-Soprano Los Angeles, CA Recently: Olga, Eugene Onegin, Boston Conservatory; Mrs. Patrick De Rocher, Dead Man Walking, Boston Conservatory; Announcer, Gallantry, Central City Opera
Graycen Gardner
Soprano Mequon, WI Recently: Alcina, Alcina, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music; Margarita Xirgù, Ainadamar, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music; Vitellia, La clemenza di Tito, University of Southern California Thornton School of Music
Evan Hammond
Lauren Jean McQuistin
George Milosh
Chris Mosz
Soprano Stranraer, Scotland Recently: First Lady, Die Zauberflöte, Yale Opera; Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni, Center for Opera Studies in Italy; Florencia Grimaldi, Florencia en el Amazonas, Indiana University
Baritone Florence, AL Recently: Ford, Falstaff, Louisiana State University; Marcello, La bohème, University of North Alabama; Mercutio, Roméo et Juliette, University of North Alabama
Tenor Aliquippa, PA Recently: Giuseppe Zangara, Assassins, West Virginia University; Prunier, La rondine, Undercroft Opera; Mariachi, The Summer King, Pittsburgh Opera
Tenor Tulsa, OK Recently: Le petit vieillard, L’enfant et les sortilèges, University of Missouri-Kansas City; Horatio, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Seagle Music Colony; Young Collector, A Streetcar Named Desire, Tulsa Opera
Matthew Peterson
Whitney Robinson
Kaleigh Sutula
Griffen Hogan Tracy+
Baritone Brush, CO Recently: A-rab, West Side Story, Boulder Philharmonic; Baron Duophol, La traviata, Boulder Symphony; Demetrius (cover), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Virginia Opera
Mezzo-Soprano Houston, TX Recently: Thelma, Later the Same Evening, New England Conservatory; Third Lady, Die Zauberflöte, New England Conservatory; Hexe/Gertrud, Hänsel und Gretel, New England Conservatory
Bass Golden, CO Recently: Figaro, Le nozze di Figaro, University of Tennessee; Reverend John Hale, The Crucible, University of Tennessee; Neptune, Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, University of Tennessee
Mezzo-Soprano Orlando, FL Recently: Elisabeth, Les enfants terribles, Eastman School of Music; Third Lady, Die Zauberflöte, Buffalo Opera Unlimited; Kate Pinkerton, Madama Butterfly, Buffalo Opera Unlimited
2017 ARTISTS AWARDS Eric Nathan Brady Ann Fogler Brendan McNamara Marlen Nahhas Louise Rogan Kaileigh Riess Regina Ceragioli Tyler Putnam Quinn Middleman Jacob Scharfman
Adelaide Bishop Award Award in Memory of Mrs. John (Sherry) Williams Award in Memory of Brett Clough Award in Memory of Peter and Donna Heid Lew Cady Memorial Award Dorsey Family Award Studio Artist Award Apprentice Artist Award John and Ginny Starkey Award Iris Henwood Richards Memorial Award
• Indicates Past Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Apprentice Artist + Indicates Past Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Studio Artist
Kira Dills-DeSurra Betsy Diaz Dean Murphy Armando Contreras Linnea Jean Soderberg Shay Dite Kendra L. Green
McGlone Award (Central City Opera Guild) Award in Honor of Scott Finlay and Barbara Zarlengo John Moriarty Award Central City Opera Young Artist Award Outstanding Intern in Memory of Greg Miller Outstanding Intern in Memory of Greg Miller Outstanding Intern in Memory of Greg Miller
2018 awards will be announced at the closing performance of the Festival.
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ERON JOHNSON ANTIQUES
Centuries of Design
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MOVING ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
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JUNE 8-AUG. 12
Love’s Labour’s Lost Richard III Cyrano de Bergerac
Based on the translation written by Anthony Burgess of the play written by Edmond Rostand
You Can’t Take It With You By Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman
Edward III
By William Shakespeare and Thomas Kyd
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2018 | FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA
John Baril MUSIC DIRECTOR Kim Peoria ORCHESTRA MANAGER AND MUSIC LIBRARIAN Brian Cook INTERIM ORCHESTRA MANAGER
VIOLIN Rachel Segal, concertmaster Takanori Sugishita, 2nd chair first violin Sharon Park, principal second violin Chris Jusell, 2nd chair second violin Laura Tait Chang Natasha Colkett Angela Dombrowski James Wyn Hart Filip Lazovski Cyndi Mancinelli Susie Peek Győngyvér Petheő Veronica Sawarynski Leslie Sawyer
BASS John Arnesen, principal Andy Holmes, 2nd chair
TRUMPET Leslie Scarpino, principal Mark Hyams
FLUTE Masha Popova, principal Ebonee Thomas
TROMBONE Bron Wright, principal Andy Wolfe Jeffrey J. Craig
VIOLA Hannah Rose Nicholas, principal Kostadin Dyulgerski Samantha Headlee Christopher McKay Lora Stevens
BASSOON Francisco Delgado, principal^ Christopher Reid
CELLO Jonathan Lewis, principal Cedra Kuehn, 2nd chair Kimberly Patterson Alex Romanenko^
OBOE Jeffrey Stephenson, principal Sarah Bierhaus CLARINET Anna Brumbaugh, principal^ Michelle J. Orman
HORN Carolyn Kunicki, principal Young Kim Devon Park Chris Jackson
TUBA Stephen Dombrowski, principal HARP Janet Harriman, principal TIMPANI Michael P. Tetreault, principal PERCUSSION Carl Dixon, principal Peter Cooper Nena Lorenz Wright KEYBOARD Michael Baitzer, principal ^ = new artist
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CENTRAL CITY OPERA | ADMINISTRATION
Pelham G. Pearce was selected in 1996 as Managing Director and named General/Artistic Director of Central City Opera in 1998. During his 22-year tenure, Mr. Pearce has set forth the company’s current artistic mission of balancing traditional and progressive works. Central City Opera’s national/ international reputation has been elevated with American premieres such as Gloriana in 2001 and world premieres including the new Chinese opera, Poet Li Bai, in 2007, garnering press coverage all over the world. Nationally, he has served as Chairman of the Grants Review Panel for the NEA, as a juror for the Rosa Ponselle International Voice Competition and Regional Met Auditions, and as a Board Member for OPERA America. In May of 2013, Mr. Pearce received the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Award for the Arts and Humanities.
Pelham G. Pearce, Jr., General/Artistic Director John Baril, Music Director John Moriarty, Artistic Director Emeritus Michael M. Ehrman, Director Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF Rita Sommers, Director of Operations Josy Ellis, Controller Sara Blackwelder, Staff Accountant Wanda Larson, Office Administrator/Gift Shop Buyer BOX OFFICE Deb Mountain, Sales Operations Manager Rachelle Cole, Box Office Associate DEVELOPMENT Scott Finlay, Director of Development Katherine Nicholson, Associate Director of Development Clare Mail, Assistant Director of Development Lane Melott, Development Associate Jenaveve Linabary, Development Operations Coordinator Cindy Kraus, Events Coordinator Shira Zimmerman, Grants Officer Katherine Wilson, Grants Writer
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HISTORIC PROPERTIES Eric Chinn, Director of Historic Properties Sam Carrington, Historic Property Maintenance MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS Lisa Zetah, Director of Marketing Sara M. Francois, Associate Director of Marketing Margaret Siegrist, Marketing Consultant Blake Communications, Public Relations Melissa Rick, Art Direction and Graphic Design EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Deborah Morrow, Director of Education and Community Engagement Emily Murdock, Associate Director of Education and Community Engagement, Podcast Host and Producer Dianela Acosta, Touring Artist, mezzo soprano Steven Aguiló-Arbues, Touring Artist, piano Roger Ames, Resident Teaching Artist and Composer* Jason Baldwin*, Touring Artist, tenor Sarah Barber*, Touring Artist, mezzo soprano James Baumgardner*, Touring Artist, tenor Jovahnna Borboa, Touring Artist, soprano Adam Buer, Touring Artist, guitar Ruth Carver, Touring Artist, soprano Judeth Shay Comstock*, Touring Artist, soprano Christie Conover, Touring Artist, soprano Jennifer DeDominici*, Touring Artist, mezzo soprano Josh DeVane, Touring Artist, baritone Adam Ewing*, Touring Artist, baritone Phoenix Gayles, Touring Artist, soprano Erin Hackel, Touring Artist, soprano Eapen Leubner, Touring Artist, tenor Kenny Martinez, Production Assistant Christiana McMullen, soprano Carl Morrow, Stage Director Emily Murdock*, Touring Artist, soprano Margaret Ozaki, Touring Artist, soprano Sara Parkinson, Touring Artist, piano Matthew Peterson, Touring Artist, baritone Amanda Raddatz, Touring Artist, soprano Marcia Ragonetti, Touring Artist, mezzo soprano Chad Reagan, Touring Artist, baritone Rebecca Robinson, Touring Artist, mezzo soprano Deborah Schmit-Lobis, Touring Artist, piano, composer/arranger* Margaret Siegrist, Touring Artist, mezzo soprano Tom Sitzler*, Touring Artist, baritone Jeremy Reger, Touring Artist, piano Leslie Remmert Soich, Touring Artist, mezzo soprano
Erin Joy Swank, Production Assistant Steven Taylor, Touring Artist, baritone Michelle Diggs Thompson, Touring Artist, soprano Bradley Thompson*, Touring Artist, baritone Malcolm Ulbrick, Touring Artist, baritone Travis Yamamoto, Touring Artist, piano MUSIC AND COACHING STAFF John Baril, Music Director & Principal Conductor – Il trovatore Andre de Ridder, Conductor – Die Zauberflöte Kim Peoria, Orchestra Manager/Music Librarian Brian Cook, Interim Orchestra Manager Christopher Zemliauskas, Conductor – Acis and Galatea Aaron Breid, Associate Conductor/Chorus Master Thomas Getty, Assistant Conductor Peter Walsh, Assistant Conductor John Arida, Assistant Conductor Erick L. Wolfe, Stage Combat Instructor/ Resident Fight Choreographer Michael M. Ehrman, Director, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program Michael Baitzer, Administrator, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program and Principal Coach/Diction Coach Melinda Sullivan, Movement Coach/Resident Choreographer Richard Cross, Guest Coach in German Diction PRODUCTION STAFF Karen T. Federing, Director of Production Kerry M. Cripe, Technical Director Erin Thompson-Janszen, Stage Manager, Die Zauberflöte Rachel L. Ginzberg, Stage Manager, Il trovatore Bryce Bullock, Assistant Stage Manager, Die Zauberflöte and Il trovatore Cara Consilvio, Assistant Director, Die Zauberflöte David Radamés Toro, Assistant Director, Il trovatore Eric Nathan Brady, Production Scheduler Kurt Tiede, Properties Master Chelsea Kuehnel, Assistant Properties Master Stacie Logue, Costume Shop Manager Kelsey L. Albright, Wardrobe Head/ Assistant Costume Shop Manager Miranda S. Nation, Stitcher/Dresser Jessica Rose, Stitcher/Dresser Ronell Oliveri, Resident Wig and Makeup Designer/Supervisor Sarah A. O. Demmon, 1st Wig and Makeup Assistant Candace Leyland, 2nd Wig and Makeup Assistant Erick L. Wolfe, Stage Combat Instructor/ Resident Fight Choreographer Melinda Sullivan, Movement Coach/Resident Choreographer Szu-Yun Wang, 1st Assistant Lighting Designer David Zahacewski, 2nd Assistant Lighting Designer
Joachim Schamberger, Director and Projections Designer, Il trovatore Alessandro Talevi, Director, Die Zauberflöte Madeleine Boyd, Scenic Designer, Die Zauberflöte Anna Bonomelli, Associate Scenic Designer, Die Zauberflöte Susan Kulkarni, Costume Designer, Die Zauberflöte Charlotte Young, Associate Costume Designer, Die Zauberflöte Kara McKechnie, Dramaturg, Die Zauberflöte Dana Tzvetkova, Costume Designer, Il trovatore Brooke Nicole Kesler, Costume Design Assistant, Il trovatore Stacie Logue, Costume Designer, Acis and Galatea David Martin Jacques, Resident Lighting Designer Ronell Oliveri, Resident Wig and Makeup Designer/Supervisor Thomas Getty, Supertitles, Die Zauberflöte and Il trovatore FESTIVAL INTERNS Daniella T. Ampudia, Costumes/Wardrobe Assistant Kirby Brayman, Events Assistant, Missouri Emily Christenson, Costumes/Wardrobe Assistant, Michigan Emma Cooney, Stage Management Production Assistant, Il trovatore, The Face on the Barroom Floor, Nebraska Christen Donlon, Props Assistant, New York Anna Eck, Stage Management Production Assistant, Die Zauberflöte, Acis and Galatea Victoria Brianna Floyd, Gift Shop Assistant, Georgia Alyssa Henkelman, Assistant House Manager/ Company Management Assistant, Ohio Maggie Hervey, Props Assistant, Georgia Hannah Humphrey, Wig/Makeup Assistant, Georgia Sophie Kraemer, Wig/Makeup Assistant, Florida Autumn Jessica Mitchell, Stage Management Production Assistant, Acis and Galatea, The Face on the Barroom Floor, Illinois Mackenzie Peacock, PR/Marketing Assistant, Maine Julia Woodward, Office/Music Library Assistant, South Carolina IATSE/STAGE CREW HEADS David E. Clough, Head Props and Union Steward Mariah Becerra, Assistant Props Jame “Rusty” Culp, Assistant Props Michael Boswell, Head Carpenter Cindy Maupin, Assistant Carpenter Miles Stasica, Master Electrician Stephen D. Mazzeno, Board Operator Jeff Riedel, Head Flyman Greg Killpack, Assistant Flyman C.J. Polich, Head Sound * Teaching Artist
DIRECTORS/DESIGNERS/CHOREOGRAPHERS Ken Cazan, Director, Acis and Galatea, The Face on the Barroom Floor
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Leave a legacy
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BECOME A MEMBER OF
THE YELLOW ROSE SOCIETY
left: central city opera’s carmen,
1953. right: central city opera’s carmen, 2017; photo by amanda tipton.
The Yellow Rose Society acknowledges those who are leaving a legacy for Central City Opera through a planned gift. These donors, with their foresight and generosity, are ensuring the long-term artistic and financial stability of the Company. YELLOW ROSE SOCIETY MEMBERS Charles and Joan Albi Mr. and Mrs. Patrick K. Bains Nancy P. Brittain The Morss Dehncke Family Cheryl and David Dutton Ms. Arline Echandia Mr. David Ericson Mrs. Charles L. Ferguson Mr. and Mrs. John E. Fuller Mr. and Mrs. Verne J. Goodwin Gina Guy Deborah Hayes and James L. Martin Cathey A. Herren Jane A. Hultin Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Huseby Kathryn S. Keller Johanna Elizabeth Kelly Phyllis Gottesfeld Knight Mrs. Ann C. Levy Dr. and Mrs. William Maclay Hilton G. and Elizabeth A. Martin Lanny and Sharon Martin Mrs. Buddie Mees Dr. Ron and Alys Moubry Mr. and Mrs. John E. Ness, Jr. Nancy S. Parker Bette and David Poppers Pam and Korvin Powell Mr. and Mrs. John D. Priester Mr. Daniel L. Ritchie Andrew and Karen Ritz Steven and Barbara Sande Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Schaefer Terrence and Elaine Scholes Dr. Ann M. Shaw Robert and Lucy Showalter Phoebe Smedley Alice and Tom Stephens Susan Stiff Jenene C. and James J. Stookesberry Jane Alexandra Storm Ms. Barbara N. Walton Mr. Jerry F. Wathen
IN MEMORIAM Remembering a member of the Yellow Rose Society who passed away this year: Laura Hannah Stein-Leavitt Remembering members of the Yellow Rose Society who thoughtfully included Central City Opera in their estate plans: Ms. Catherine H. Anderson Mr. Vincent L. Bates Edward E. and Jean R. Bolle Erna D. Butler Mary Ruth Y. Duncan Mr. Charles L. Ferguson Celeste Fleming E. Atwill and Callae Gilman Carol K. Gossard Gloria Gossard Barbara J. Hartley Murlie J. Kogan Mr. Roy G. Krug Mrs. Charles C. Reineman Mrs. Joan. A. Siegel John R. and Virginia L. Starkey David G. Wood Dr. Raymond P. Wood II Ms. Ruth M. Zancanella
FOR MORE INFORMATION on planned giving, or to inform Central City Opera of your estate plans, please contact Assistant Director of Development Clare Mail at 303.331.7014 or cmail@centralcityopera.org.
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DONOR SPOTLIGHT
Thank you Central City Opera is proud to shine a spotlight on the following supporters who have guaranteed another season of celebrated productions. These donors have provided extraordinary financial support over the past year, and we are truly humbled by their appreciation of this Company.
To me, Central City Opera is an icon in our community. It has been a joy and an honor for me to be a part of this organization's future. – Nancy P. Brittain
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Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Accetta PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
Pamela and Louis Bansbach PRODUCTION SPONSORS
Nancy P. Brittain PRODUCTION SPONSOR
John and Melinda Couzens PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
Cheryl and David Dutton PRODUCTION SPONSORS
Mrs. Charles L. Ferguson PERFORMANCE SPONSOR
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Mr. and Mrs. John E. Fuller PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
Judy and Newell Grant PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
Jean and Larry Manion PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
Lanny and Sharon Martin CENTRAL CITY OPERA FESTIVAL SPONSORS
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. McGonagle PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
Nancy S. Parker PERFORMANCE SPONSOR
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Schneider PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
Phoebe Smedley PERFORMANCE SPONSOR
Mr. Daniel L. Ritchie PRODUCTION SPONSOR
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My interest has always been in education and community outreach – giving to Central City Opera allows us to continue the tradition of excellence we’ve witnessed as Flower Girl parents and to inspire the next generation through compelling year-round programs. – George Ann Victor
Vic and Mary Ann Stabio PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
NOT PICTURED: Anonymous (2) PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Mr. and Mrs. Gerald L. Bader, Jr. PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Margaret and Stan Baker PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Fred and Jana Bartlit PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Michelle and Mark Dorman PERFORMANCE SPONSORS John and Anne Draper PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Huseby PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Diana W. and F. Michael Kinsey PERFORMANCE SPONSORS John W. Kure and Cheryl L. Solich PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
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Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Unger PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
Buzz and George Ann Victor PERFORMANCE SPONSORS
Lizabeth A. Lynner and James L. Palenchar PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Heather and Mike Miller PRODUCTION SPONSORS Mr. and Mrs. Larry A. Mizel PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Erin Nichols PRODUCTION SPONSOR Max Nichols PRODUCTION SPONSOR Mr. and Mrs. John D. Priester PERFORMANCE SPONSORS Estate of Laura Hannah Stein-Leavitt PERFORMANCE SPONSOR Mr. and Mrs. Frederick K. Trask III PERFORMANCE SPONSORS For more information on major giving, please contact Director of Development Scott Finlay at 303.292.6500 or sfinlay@centralcityopera.org.
BECOME A MEMBER Enrich your experience and become more deeply engaged with Central City Opera by joining one of two new membership programs designed to expand your knowledge of the Company and increase your investment in its future.
CENTRAL CITY OPERA
MAXIMUM RETURN FOR YOUR CONTINUED INVESTMENT THE ELEVATION CLUB is for supporters who believe in the continuation of a great legacy of opera in the Rockies and who would like to ensure the growth and sustainability of Central City Opera by pledging to increase their annual gift over a period of three years. Membership provides behind-the-scenes access and helps to support Central City Opera programs throughout the year.
ELEVATION CLUB MEMBERS
Joseph J. Adler and Shelby D. Green-Adler David and Debra Flitter Greg and Cathy Groene Cynthia Kruse William R. and Leigh F. Maclay Michael and Veryl McBride Carrie M. Mitchell Harold and Sarah Nelson Jenene and James Stookesberry Norman and Dolores Williams
We joined the Elevation Club because after 15 straight years of enjoying summer opera in an intimate, acoustically perfect setting, we wanted to help ensure the continued success of the Central City Opera. -David and Debra Flitter For more information on the Elevation Club, please contact Associate Director of Development Katie Nicholson at 303.331.7015 or knicholson@centralcityopera.org.
THIS EXCLUSIVE ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP offers a range of unparalleled opportunities, including a season reveal, a private reception with cast and creative team and the option to travel with other members and General/Artistic Director Pelham “Pat� Pearce to appreciate the work of leading opera companies around the country.
impresario circle members Margaret and Stan Baker Nancy P. Brittain Mrs. Carol Coe and Mr. Gilbert Verbit John and Melinda Couzens Mr. and Mrs. Chris Dinsdale Mr. and Mrs. D. Mark Dorman Mr. Scott Finlay and Mr. Thomas J. Duggan Judy and Newell Grant Mr. and Mrs. John Grier Jennifer Heglin Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Huseby Mr. and Mrs. George G. Hutchison III Ms. Barbara L. Knight Lanny and Sharon Martin Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. McGonagle Jon and Lynne Montague-Clouse Ms. Kim I. Morss and Mr. Richard J. Dehncke Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Phelps, Jr. Andrew and Karen Ritz Diane and Bill Schneider Dr. Sarah K. Scott and Mr. Kevin Kearney Ms. Tolly Tate Mr. and Mrs. David Tryba Mr. Roy Varela Pam and Sonny Wiegand
FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Impresario Circle, or to secure your membership for 2019, please contact Events Coordinator Cindy Kraus at 303.331.7012 or ckraus@centralcityopera.org.
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COMMUNITY SUPPORT
None of this happens without you! Outstanding performances like the one you are about to enjoy depend on your generosity. The Central City Opera board and staff join the entire company in saying “thank you” for your continued support.
ENDOWMENT FUND The following funds have been established to preserve the work of Central City Opera for future generations. These noteworthy gifts have an enduring impact, and Central City Opera is truly honored to be the recipient of such incredible investments.
Established Funds
The Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program Fund The Nancy P. Brittain Fund for the Presentation of Established Works The Barbara and Charlie Ferguson Endowed Fund The Gilman Fund for Apprentice Artists The Verne J. and Pat B. Goodwin Fund for Festival Support The William Randolph Hearst Foundation Fund for Education Programs The Jane A. Hultin Fund for General Support The Nina Odescalchi Kelly Family Matinee Performance Fund The John Moriarty Fund for Apprentice Artists The Neusteter Fund for General Support The John R. and Virginia L. Starkey Fund for Apprentice Artists The Trask Family Foundation Fund for Historic Property Maintenance The Eleanore Mullen Weckbaugh Foundation Conductor’s Fund
Major Contributions The following donors made major contributions to the Central City Opera Endowment Fund between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018. Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Mr. Reynolds G. Cannon John and Anne Draper Betty B. Dutton Charitable Remainder Trust
ANNUAL FUND The following donors made gifts to support the activities of Central City Opera between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018. While space limits this list to donors of $100 or more, every gift is important and truly appreciated. If your name is listed incorrectly, or omitted, you have our sincere apologies. Please contact the Central City Opera office at 303.292.6500 to ensure correction.
Corporate, Foundation, Association and Government Donors Central City Opera Festival Sponsor ($100,000+) Avenir Foundation, Inc.* Bonfils-Stanton Foundation* Central City Opera House Association Endowment Fund* Citizens of the Scientific & Cultural Facilities District* State Historical Fund
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Presenting Sponsor ($50,000 - $99,999) The Virginia W. Hill Foundation* OPERA America, Inc. Production Sponsor ($25,000 - $49,999) Always Best Care Senior Services Bansbach Foundation* City of Central* Betty B. Dutton Charitable Remainder Trust El Pomar Foundation* R.C. Kemper Charitable Trust Galen and Ada Belle Spencer Foundation* Performance Sponsor ($10,000 - $24,999) Anschutz Foundation* Butler Family Fund* Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage Corporation Collage Giving Fund Colorado Creative Industries Endeavour Capital Fuller Real Estate* Mabel Y. Hughes Charitable Trust* Lloyd J. King and Eleanor R. King Foundation Jeanne Land Foundation LARRK Foundation MDC/Richmond American Homes Foundation National Endowment for the Arts* Priester Foundation* Stabio Family Trust Trask Family Foundation Dave and Mary Wood Fund Director’s Circle ($5,000 - $9,999) A. E. H. Royalty Co.* Kathy and Brad Coors Foundation Denver Lyric Opera Guild* Barbara and Charlie Ferguson Foundation* Fuller Family Fund* City of Glendale John Madden Company Northern Trust Bank Scott Family Charitable Fund Conductor’s Circle ($2,500 - $4,999) AssuredPartners Colorado, LLC* Morss Dehncke Fund Denver Private Wealth Management Colleen Healey Charitable Fund Jay’s Valet Land Title Guarantee Company Trilogy Financial Services, Inc. US Bank Dean Yannias Charitable Fund
Artist’s Circle ($1,000 - $2,499) Patricia Bateman Charitable Giving Account Community First Foundation The Dobie Fund Erzinger Family Fund Gerard’s Pool Hall The Gilman Family Foundation* Catharine Hawkins Foundation The Deborah Hayes and James L. Martin Fund Haynes Family Foundation* Heinschel Family Fund Innovest Portfolio Solutions, LLC* Mammel Family Fund Greg Miller Memorial Fund The Monaghan Foundation* The Parker Foundation Schramm Foundation Henry R. Schwier Charitable Fund* Tom and Joan Tyree Memorial Fund Watt Family Foundation of Pikes Peak Community Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation* Henry Wurst, Inc. West Benefactor ($500 - $999) Autrey Foundation*# Lone Tree Farm Fund* The Maven Hotel at Dairy Block Donald C. Peterson Fund Marcia L. Ragonetti Arts Education Fund Shaller Family Fund Silver Oak Cellars Lee and Debbie Stuart Family Foundation University of Colorado Health Xcel Energy Foundation Zeppelin Family Foundation Patron ($250 - $499) Barbara U. Calkins Trust Gold Peak Investments Corp. Halvorson-Freese 21st Century Fund Hutchison Rental Equipment Nelson Family Foundation* Associate ($100 - $249) Briggs Family Trust MARS Associates Robbins Weiner Design Rosser-Call Family Fund RPM Parking Companies Sigma Alpha Iota Denver Alumnae Chapter*# L. Sullivan Revocable Trust Matching Gift Companies Caterpillar Foundation The Colorado Health Foundation* El Pomar Foundation GE Foundation The Williams Company
Individual Donors Central City Opera Festival Sponsor ($100,000+) Lanny and Sharon Martin*◊ Production Sponsor ($25,000 - $49,999) Pamela and Louis Bansbach*◊ Nancy P. Brittain* Cheryl and David Dutton* Heather and Mike Miller Erin Nichols Max Nichols Mr. Daniel L. Ritchie* Performance Sponsor ($10,000 - $24,999) Anonymous (2) Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Accetta* Mr. and Mrs. Gerald L. Bader, Jr.* Margaret and Stan Baker*# Fred and Jana Bartlit John and Melinda Couzens*◊ Michelle and Mark Dorman John and Anne Draper Mrs. Charles L. Ferguson*◊ Mr. and Mrs. John E. Fuller*◊ Judy and Newell Grant *◊ Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Huseby*◊ Diana W. and F. Michael Kinsey* John W. Kure and Cheryl L. Solich*# Lizabeth A. Lynner and James L. Palenchar* Jean and Larry Manion* Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. McGonagle*◊ Mr. and Mrs. Larry A. Mizel Nancy S. Parker*◊ Mr. and Mrs. John D. Priester* Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Schneider Phoebe Smedley* Vic+ and Mary Ann Stabio# Estate of Laura Hannah Stein-Leavitt+ Mr. and Mrs. Frederick K. Trask III Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Unger* Buzz and George Ann Victor*◊ Director’s Circle ($5,000 - $9,999) Charles and Joan Albi* Mr. and Mrs. William D. Armstrong*◊ Jim and Kristin Bender◊ Nancy Benson* Jack and Karen Berryhill* Heidi Burose Mrs. Carol Coe and Mr. Gilbert Verbit Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Bradford Coors Dr. and Mrs. Donald C. Ferlic Mr. Scott Finlay and Mr. Thomas J. Duggan Robert P. Fullerton and Beverlee Henry*#◊ Richard and Rebecca Goozh Mrs. James P. Gordon* Robert S. Graham* Mr. and Mrs. Cannon Y. Harvey Jennifer Heglin* Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Hutcheson, Jr. Andrew and Karen Ritz*
Dr. Sarah K. Scott and Mr. Kevin Kearney◊ Robert and Lucy Showalter* Pam and Sonny Wiegand* Conductor’s Circle ($2,500 - $4,999) Anonymous (3) Joseph J. Adler and Shelby D. Green-Adler Earl D. and Julia A. Banks*◊ Mr. and Mrs. John Barker, Jr.* Mr. and Mrs. Norman Bellingham◊ Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Billings Ms. Karen Christiansen◊ The Morss Dehncke Family*◊ Tyson Dines III Mr. and Mrs. Chris Dinsdale Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Erzinger* Mr. and Mrs. John Grier Kathryn Heider*# Mr. and Mrs. James R. Hilger* Mr. and Mrs. George G. Hutchison III*◊ Mr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Kenning Mark and Barbara Kiryluk# Ms. Barbara L. Knight Hilton G. and Elizabeth A. Martin* Jon and Lynne Montague-Clouse◊ Robert Montgomery* Mr. and Mrs. Kevin O’Hara Mr. and Mrs. Gordon R. Parker* Pelham G. Pearce, Jr.* Mr. Alexander and Mrs. Cynthia Read*◊ Sally and Richard Russo*◊ Mr. and Mrs. Ron Sachs Mr. Howard C. Sauter Mr. and Mrs. George Secor*◊ Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Shamos Mr. and Mrs. David Tryba Frank and Karen Van De Water◊ Mr. Roy Varela Eva and Marvin Womack* Mr. and Mrs. Keith Woods Dr. Dean Yannias Artist’s Circle ($1,000 - $2,499) Mr. Roopesh Aggarwal and Ms. Lauren Lovejoy Mr. Edward F. Altman and Dr. Dina Brudenell Altman Mr. and Mrs. William D. Atkinson◊ Hartman Axley* John Baril and Brian Cook* Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Bateman Edie Bell* C. Deen Buttorff# Leslie Cady* Marty and John Chamberlin Merle Chambers* Mr. and Mrs. Collis P. Chandler III Sue Cole* Jeanne Collopy and Christopher Koenigs Chris and Lisa Curwen# Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Danos* Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Dencker Mr. and Mrs. Leonard A. Dinegar*◊ Max and Joyce Douglas*#
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Robert A. Ellis and Jane Bernstein+* Ronald Engels and Zane Laubhan* Mrs. Thomas Francis Robert K. and Virginia E. Fuller*◊ Greg and Cathy Groene*#◊ Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Hall Deborah Hayes and James L. Martin* Rox Ann and Fred Haynes* Norma and Phil Heinschel* Julie Hughes*# Ms. Barbara Kelley Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Kraemer George and Ruth Krauss Gregg Kvistad and Amy Oaks*# Ken and Barbara Laff* Danni L. Langdon and Carl Jacobson Ms. Pauline R. Langsley Mr. Poe Leggette Carolyn L. Longmire*#◊ John and Merry Low William R. and Leigh F. Maclay Brooke and Charles Maloy* Mrs. Susan Mammel Suzanne Matthews# Sharon L. Menard Trish Millice*#◊ Patrick Mooney# Ms. Lin Murphy Jim Neely*# Harold and Sarah Nelson# Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Nichols*◊ Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Phelps, Jr.* Lori A. Pidick and Mark A. Niles* Rich and Kim Plumridge Frederick Poppe and Jana Edwards Mr. John Potter Mr. and Mrs. Paul Pulley Mr. Paul Ruotolo Mr. and Mrs. James W. Sanderson* Helen Scott Santilli Mr. and Mrs. Lars O. Soderberg, Jr.* Mr. and Mrs. Douglas S. Sparks◊ Mr. and Mrs. Dale S. Sweat, Jr.◊ Ms. Tolly Tate◊ Mr. and Mrs. John I. Taylor Mr. and Mrs. Al Troppmann Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Tyree, Jr.◊ Rev. Dr. Patrice Von Stroh*# Ed and Patty Wahtera* Ms. Cathie Walker and Mr. Stuart Gilman Betty and Tom Watt Dorothy Watts and Mike Jenkins Sandy and Jerry Wischmeyer* Duain Wolfe# Benefactor ($500 - $999) Anonymous (3) Mr. and Mrs. Edward James Anderson◊ Mr. and Mrs. Guy M. Arnold Gary D. Autrey* Tom Barlow Janice H. Baucum Mr. and Mrs. Donald C. Bauder Libby Bortz Ms. Heather Brecl Mr. and Mrs. Michael Cain
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Ms. Joyce Castle Mr. and Mrs. Jon B. Clarke* Ms. Janet P. Cline Polly W. Cox Mr. Thomas Cox Richard and Doris Cross# Mrs. Mary Ann G. Davis Michael and Sara DiManna* Ms. Marian Dines and Ms. Joanne Christensen Ms. Barbara Dorsey Jack Dysart and Carole Milligan Missy and John Eliot* Ms. Josy Ellis Mr. Paul Finkel Larry and Joanne Fisher David and Debra Flitter Todd and Terry Gander# Tim and Patricia Givens# Gina Guy*#◊ Mr. and Mrs. Mark J. Hamling Mr. and Mrs. John J. Hanley Jane Hascall Thomas E. Healy and Erin S. Colcannon# Ms. Nora Heitmann Cathey A. Herren* Mr. and Mrs. Martin B. Hidalgo Mr. Robert Homiak and Ms. Susan Schneider Chip Horne and Jan Kennaugh# B.J. and Kristel Hybl# Mr. and Mrs. Eric K. Johnson The Honorable and Mrs. Robert Kapelke Dr. and Mrs. Melvyn H. Klein* Mr. and Mrs. Sandy F. Kraemer Cynthia Kruse Elizabeth B. Labrot* Annemarie and Wolfgang Lampe# Bruce and Eileen Leland Stan and Jody Lipson Mr. and Mrs. Donald D. MacKenzie◊ Dr. and Mrs. Manning Mauldin Michael and Veryl McBride Charles K. and Catherine McClean*#◊ Mr. and Mrs. Dirk McDermott* Bob Meade Carrie M. Mitchell Mollie Mitchell and John Wilson William R. Moninger and Bonnie J. Phipps# Doug and Laura Moran# Carl and Deborah Morrow*# Sue and Walter Nagel Kimberly Victor Neckers◊ Jane and Skip Netzorg Dr. Ronald Otsuka Carl Patterson# Mr. Donald C. Peterson Emily Pulley# Mr. and Mrs. Robert Quillin* Ms. Marcia Ragonetti Mr. and Mrs. Matt Rawley Mr. and Mrs. Jack H. Robinson Richard B. Robinson and Nina Saks Robinson* Dr. Evan Schwartz R. A. Seeliger* Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Shaller Lorraine and Craig Shuler*# Nancy J. Siegel
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Sisk, Jr. Mr. Marlis E. Smith Ronda Barlow Smith Dr. Carol Stamm Mr. and Mrs. Cliff Stanton Alice and Tom Stephens#◊ Kari and Daryl Stewart Jenene and James Stookesberry* Mr. Stephen M. Strachan Mr. and Mrs. James A. Swanson* Jim and Kathy Switzer# Joyce Thurmer* Mr. and Mrs. James Zachry Turner Mr. Timothy Walker Norman and Dolores Williams Joe and Donna Worsham* Dr. and Mrs. Ray Yost* Mr. Morton Zeppelin George and Arla Zimmerman* Patron ($250 - $499) Anonymous (4) Nancy Abbott Mr. Charles E. Anderson Sue Anschutz-Rodgers* Mr. and Mrs. Robert Barnes Mr. and Mrs. Charles Bennett Mrs. Joan Berg Linda Bjelland*# Sondra Bland and Robert Spencer# Janet Bruchmann Ron and Gordon Butz* Mr. and Mrs. Douglas M. Cain Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth W. Calkins Sue M. Cannon* Elizabeth Carver Ethel Clow# Ms. Ann M. Corrigan and Mr. Kent A. Rice Vicki and Jack Dehner# Mr. William B. Dehner and Ms. Emily Busalacchi# Joy Dillon# Stephen Dilts*# Mrs. Nancy W. Downing Marian and Peter Downs*# Mr. and Mrs. H. Benjamin Duke, III Roger and Carol Dutton# Kim Edmiston Ms. Julia S. Emmanuel Mr. Bayard C. Ewing# Ms. Christine W. Farrel Fred and Susan Forman*# Dick and Sigrid Freese Zach and Katie Frisch# Mr. and Mrs. Ryan Fuessel Mr. and Mrs. Karl Garrett K. Sue Giovanini*# Mrs. Lillian M. Glahn* Mrs. Louise Haggerty Dr. Linda J. Hargrave* Alfred and Ingrid Lenz Harrison Carolyn L. Harrison Richard L. Hay* Ronald Henrikson# Virginia Hersch# Sandy and Rosemary Hertz
William and Susan Hiatt*◊ Jane A. Hultin*# Paul Hultin Mr. and Mrs. Heath C. Hutchison Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Hybl Theresa and Bob Keatinge# Hal and Marianne Knott Mr. and Mrs. Ted Knutzen Mr. and Mrs. Tom Lee Mr. and Mrs. Kent A. Lester Dan and Beth Lincoln# Scott Lundgren# Mrs. R. T. Lyford, Jr. Katie MacWilliams*# William Malone◊ Ron and Nancy Marshall# Susan Martin and Chet Hampson# Dr. Vicki McFarlane Michael E. McGoldrick Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Meckel Mr. and Mrs. Tim Miller Mr. and Mrs. John Moritz Emily Murdock and Steven Aguiló-Arbues# Mr. Peter Nelson and Ms. Peggy Smith Mr. and Mrs. W. Peterson Nelson* Mr. and Mrs. Rupert O’Neal Mr. and Mrs. Kent Obee* Ms. Sondra D. Pappas Mr. and Mrs. James Parsely Dorothy A. Pearson Dave and Cici Peterson* Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Pierce Ann and Ralph Poucher* Ms. Amanda Raddatz Mr. and Mrs. Cameron J. Richards Mary Ann Ross* Luana Rubin# Mr. Charles E. Samson David and Ella Schleicher Mr. and Mrs. Warren Schlichting Ruth E. Schoening* Anton and Clare Schulzki Mr. and Mrs. Edward Clarkson Shaw Mr. and Mrs. George G. Shaw Terry and Bonnie Shetler*# Mr. Edwin Smith Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey J. Smith Rita Sommers*# Nancy and HJ Stalf James B. Steed# Susan Stiff*# Steve and Phyllis Straub Marcia D. Strickland* Laura Stuntz# Lynn Swanson# Professor and Mrs. Joseph S. Szyliowicz Linda Tarpeh-Doe# Mr. Lloyd O. Timblin, Jr.* Mr. Robert C. Tripp Bill and Deborah Tryon John Uppendahl and Travis Railey# Richard A. Vickery, Jr.# Russ and Margaret Wehner Ms. Marilyn L. Wheeler Mr. Paul Wimer and Ms. Lisa Pinto Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Woodward Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Writz, Jr.
Andrew E. Yarosh# Mr. and Mrs. Gene A. Young* Jeffrey Zax and Judy Graham Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Zirin Mary Zulack*# Associate ($100 - $249) Anonymous (10) Mr. Peter Abuisi Ms. Raydean Acevedo and Mr. Walter Jenkins Lorraine and James Adams# Ms. Ellen Alderson Susanne R. Anselmi Katy and John Arnold# Edwin A. Austin# Carolyn and Ron Baer Mr. and Mrs. Barrett D. Baker◊ Mr. David K. Ballast Mr. and Mrs. Harvey P. Barnard III Mr. and Mrs. Francis Barron Jennifer N. Bater*# Mr. and Mrs. Donald J. Baxter Mr. and Mrs. Kurt Beam Cynthia Beard# Mix and Karen Beauvais# Robert and Mildred Beebe Eunice Beeman Mariette Bell# Dr. and Mrs. John Bender Ms. Barbara Benedict Mr. and Mrs. Craig Richard Benes Mr. Daniel Bettinger◊ Janet L. Bishop# Lieutenant Colonel and Mrs. Gordon E. Bloom Mr. and Mrs. Joe Bowers* Brewster and Helen Boyd William E. Bradford, Jr. and Chin Keong Tan# Christopher and Margot Brauchli# Ms. Suzanne Brauer Mr. Michael E. Brewer and Dr. Ben Kemena Mr. and Mrs. James E. Briggs Mr. and Mrs. James Brothers# Darrell Brown and Suzanne McNitt# Mr. Jeffrey A. Brown Valerie G. Brown Ms. Jon Marie Broz Sandra and William Bruns Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Bryant Mr. Thomas Bunge Mary Burke# John and Janet Burtt# Ms. Patricia A. Butler# Carol Canon Ms. Teresa D. Case# Ms. Grayson R. Cecil Mr. Andrew Chitiea Mr. and Mrs. Steven Choquette Mr. and Mrs. Fred Cielo Mr. and Mrs. Allan Gray Clark Mr. and Mrs. Seth Clark Lew and Enid Cocke# Andrea and Ken Cohen* Ms. and Mr. Arlene Cole Catherine Cole#
Ms. Sheryl L. Colgan Mr. Terry Collings Mr. Hubert Collins and Mrs. Cathy J. Shuler-Collins Ms. Lynda B. Collins Mr. David A. Connell Dr. Aubrey Copeland, M.D. Mr. Daniel B. Cordova and Mrs. Julie R. Becker-Cordova Mrs. Patricia J. Cordova Mrs. Phyllis J. Cotten* Ms. Tinka Crosby Mr. and Mrs. James Campbell Crossman Ms. Susan Crowe Dr. and Mrs. William W. Dahlberg Ms. Valerie Davia Ronald L. Deal* Ms. Alison M. M. Dehncke◊ Mr. and Mrs. Matthew C. Domich Ms. Mary DuBois and Mr. David Gnuse Mr. and Mrs. Baker Duncan* Ms. Lanette Duncan Ms. Heather Ehret-Faircloth◊ Mr. and Mrs. Jim Eichberg Joseph Elinoff* Mr. and Mrs. Josiah Ellis Mr. and Mrs. B.J. Ellison◊ Mr. and Mrs. Harry A. Ells, Jr.* Ms. Amy Estes◊ Mrs. Margaret Ewell# Joseph and Joanne Fanganello Donald Ferguson# Mrs. Mary Lou H. Flater Mr. and Mrs. Bret A. Fox Allan and Margot Frank◊ Mr. Robert M. Frank Richard M. and Marguerite W. Franklin Meg Frantz# Mr. James T. Frazier Mr. and Mrs. Paul K. Freeman Mr. Terrence Gallagher Dr. and Mrs. Cody Garner Ms. Ashlie Gates# Caleb and Sydney B. Gates*# Lloyd and Mary Gelman# Mr. and Mrs. Brent Gephart Mr. and Mrs. James Gillula Ms. Karen Goldberg Patty Goward# Mr. and Mrs. Dennis A. Graham Tennyson Grebenar and Judy Graese# Dr. Daniel J. Greenholz Mr. John Greiner Ms. Kay Griffel Ronald and Elnore Grow# Mr. and Mrs. Russell W. Haas Dr. and Mrs. William M. Hammon Richard R. and Carolyn C. Hansen Mr. and Mrs. Gregory A. Hanson◊ Ms. Diane Hart Richard W. Healy# Mr. and Mrs. Josh Heidbrink◊ Robert and Nancy Hemming*# Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Hilt*
Mrs. Sarah C. Hite Leon Hojegian Mr. and Mrs. Graham Hollis◊
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Rev. and Mrs. Horle# Miles Horne# Bruce and Heidi Hoyt*# Mr. Jeffrey D. Hughes Mr. Tom Hughes Ms. Sydney E. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Michael Kane Carl and Marybeth Kantner# Jim and Charla Kates* Mrs. George Y. King III* Mr. John Kinsey and Mrs. Joyce K. Paloma◊ Mr. and Mrs. Greg Kintzele Bonnie Kipple* Ms. Kay Knifer and Mr. Ray D. Robertson Mr. Richard M. Kohl+ Mr. and Mrs. Peter J. Korneffel, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Frank Kreith Chris and Mary Kuser Greg Labbe, Mayor of Leadville# Mrs. Wendy E. Labbett◊ Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Ladd, Jr. Wanda M. Larson Mr. and Mrs. Warren Lawrence* Mr. and Mrs. Jack Le Cuyer Wesley E. and Catherine H. Le Masurier Ms. Lisa Lee Mr. and Mrs. Donald G. Leitch* Ms. Diane Lesher◊ Igor and Jessica Levental Mark and Lois Levinson# Mrs. Ted Lewis Rosalind G. Lidstone* Mr. Curtis M.D. Lundberg Frances A. MacAnally* Mr. and Mrs. Dennis A. MacDonald, Jr. Janet MacKenzie Henry Mahlman# Ms. Clare K. Mail and Mr. Michael D. Rardon Ms. Victoria Makings Ms. Nancy L. Maley Ms. Joan L. Malm Mrs. Marian Matheson George Mathews# Ms. Jeanine Matney Catherine B. Maxwell* Yolanda McAllister# Deb McBride# Mr. and Mrs. Nello McDaniel Mr. and Mrs. James Edgar McDonald, Jr.◊ Dr. and Mrs. James P. McElhinney Dr. and Mrs. John McGinty Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. McWilliams, Jr. Priscilla Mead and Charles Edwards# Russell R. Mellon and Lauretta C. Moell*# Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Mendelsberg Christopher H. Merrell Michael and Julie Mills# Mr. Richard Moraskie Mr. Andrew Moravcsik and Ms. Ann-Marie Slaughter Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Mordhorst Lawrence Moskow Ms. Kendal B. Murray Kathleen M. Ness◊ Mr. and Mrs. Sam Nicholson Mr. and Mrs. J. Kent Oehm
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Mr. Eric Olson Roger and Stephanie Oram# Mr. and Mrs. Severin E. Oudet Dirk and Janet Pasterkamp# Mary R. Payson* Dr. and Mrs. David S. Pearlman Mrs. Roxane Pecchio Ms. Barbra Pehrson Rhona and David Pessel Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Peterson◊ Mr. Dennis Peterson Mr. Kurt M. Peterson and Ms. Rose Williams Mr. James Petrock Ms. Jan Pettegrew* Ms. Lynne Pickett Fay Plummer Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Pons Mr. and Mrs. Alfred W. Powell◊ Kathryn L. Pride* Mr. and Mrs. John P. Raeder, Jr. Elisabeth Rebman# T. R. Reid# Richard Replin and Elissa Stein*# Al Revzin# Nancy and Gene Richards* Mr. Nasit Ari and Ms. Libby Rittenberg Mary and Tom Rogers# Mr. and Mrs. E. Michael Rosser Mr. and Mrs. Leo Rostermundt* Ms. Sharon N. Rouse Nancy and Charlie Runion Prof. Thomas Russell# Kathryn and Tim Ryan* Mr. and Ms. Michael Saracino Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Schenkein Mr. Charles Schunior# Stephen W. Seifert# Karl and Jocelyn Seller Mr. and Mrs. D. Dale Shaffer Mr. Peter Shand and Ms. Kathleen Baker Mr. and Mrs. David A. Shore Ms. Helen Shreves Mr. and Mrs. Peter D. Shultz* Mr. and Mrs. James Sizer Catherine and Jacob Skokan Dr. and Mrs. Charles Smith Mr. Richard Smith Mr. and Mrs. John Snyder Ms. Ann Spaeth Libby Stokes Ms. Julia H. Stone and Mr. Ron Cummings Ms. Cathy Strange Ms. Randi Stroh Frank and Sylvia Sullivan Mr. and Mrs. Mark Sullivan Mr. Vincent Szafranko Dr. and Mrs. John W. Tabash Mr. and Mrs. Donald Tallman# Mr. and Mrs. Martin N. Tarabocchia Mr. and Mrs. Milo Tedstrom Ms. Jean Theobald Mr. Robert Trembly and Ms. Martha Coffin Evans Howard and Susan Turetzky# Charles and Deborah Turner Teresa Vogler
Terry and JoAnn Vogt Bernd and Marta Wachter Mr. and Mrs. James R. Wade Roberta and Leonard Waldbaum◊ Mr. Ned Walley John and Susan Ward Ms. Shirley C. Ward* Mr. and Mrs. Richard Warner# Ms. Hanna M. Warren Ms. Anne Wattenberg and Mr. Peter Buttrick Ms. Valerie Weber Mr. Claude M. Weil and Ms. Carolie J. Coates Hedy and Michael+ Weinberg Mr. and Mrs. Reed Welch Ms. Cia Wenzel Mr. and Mrs. Troy A. Westergren◊ Nancy and Jan Westman◊ Mr. and Mrs. Richard Wham Ms. Marie Belew Wheatley Mr. and Mrs.+ Sidney J. White Beth and Karl Williamson* Mr. and Mrs. John P. Woods Ruth and Kenneth Wright# Mr. and Mrs. Steven M. Wyman Don and Sandy Yale# Mr. Ray C. Young Ms. Barbara E. Zarlengo Lisa and Tom Zetah
* Loyal donors who have made gifts to Central City Opera for ten consecutive years or more # Includes gifts made through Colorado Gives + Friends who have passed away in the last year ◊ Diva/Divo Guild Members
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Now at our new location 589 Fillmore St. Denver CO 80206 3 0 3 . 3 2 0 . 6 3 6 3 ~ w w w. s h a v e r ~ r a m s e y. c o m
TRIBUTES | IN HONOR Central City Opera acknowledges with gratitude the following gifts made in honor of the persons below. Gifts listed were received between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018. In honor of 2017 Flower Girls Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Phelps, Jr. Dr. Sarah K. Scott and Mr. Kevin Kearney In honor of Lila Reed Arnold Mr. and Mrs. James Parsely Ms. Ann M. Reed In honor of John Baril Anonymous Mr. and Mrs. Milo Tedstrom In honor of Maureen K. Barker Mr. Michael E. Brewer and Dr. Ben Kemena Ms. Ann M. Corrigan and Mr. Kent A. Rice In honor of Nancy P. Brittain Mr. Scott Finlay and Mr. Thomas J. Duggan In honor of Jeanne F. Collopy Mr. and Mrs. Peter J. Korneffel, Jr. In honor of Anne Craft LARRK Foundation In honor of Sarah Katherine Dencker Mr. and Mrs. Joseph M. Dencker Mr. and Mrs. Reed Welch In honor of Emma Mills Domich Mr. and Mrs. Severin E. Oudet In honor of Barbara Ferguson Mr. and Mrs. Milo Tedstrom In honor of Scott Finlay C. Deen Buttorff In honor of Judith W. Grant Mr. Scott Finlay and Mr. Thomas J. Duggan Mr. and Mrs. John J. Hanley Mr. and Mrs. Warren Schlichting In honor of Jane A. Hultin Mr. Scott Finlay and Mr. Thomas J. Duggan Paul Hultin Ms. Cia Wenzel In honor of Claire Catherine Hutchison Mr. and Mrs. George G. Hutchison III Mr. and Mrs. Heath C. Hutchison Hutchison Rental Equipment Ms. Kendal B. Murray
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In honor of Sarah Mallory Hybl Mr. and Mrs. Kyle Hybl Mrs. Ted Lewis In honor of Susan G. Janssen MARS Associates In honor of Madeline Knight Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Michael Cain Mr. and Mrs. Eric K. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Dennis A. MacDonald, Jr. In honor of Kaytlyn Jornayvaz LARRK Foundation In honor of Elise Evelyn Korneffel Mr. and Mrs. Peter J. Korneffel, Jr. In honor of Hannah Nicole Lester Mr. and Mrs. Kent A. Lester Nancy S. Parker In honor of Molly Jordan Little Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Deline Ms. Genevieve Emerson Mr. and Mrs. Matt Emerson Ms. Christy Jordan and Mr. Christopher B. Little In honor of J. Landis Martin Bonfils-Stanton Foundation In honor of Albert and Rosie Melcher T. R. Reid In honor of John Moriarty Betsy Schwarm and Rick Glesner In honor of Deb Morrow Mr. Scott Finlay and Mr. Thomas J. Duggan Pelham G. Pearce, Jr. Marcia L. Ragonetti Arts Education Fund In honor of Alexandra Kiley Niles Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Mendelsberg Lori A. Pidick and Mark A. Niles Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey J. Smith In honor of Nancy S. Parker Margaret and Stan Baker Pamela and Louis Bansbach Edie Bell Nancy P. Brittain Jeanne Collopy and Christopher Koenigs Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Danos
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Mr. and Mrs. Leonard A. Dinegar Mrs. Nancy W. Downing Cheryl and David Dutton Ronald Engels and Zane Laubhan Mrs. Charles L. Ferguson Mr. Scott Finlay and Mr. Thomas J. Duggan Mr. and Mrs. Paul K. Freeman Mr. and Mrs. John E. Fuller Robert P. Fullerton and Beverlee Henry Mrs. James P. Gordon Norma and Phil Heinschel William and Susan Hiatt Mr. and Mrs. James R. Hilger Bev and John Howell Bruce and Heidi Hoyt Hal and Marianne Knott Mr. and Mrs. Robert W. Ladd, Jr. Carolyn L. Longmire Lanny and Sharon Martin Dr. and Mrs. Charles K. McClean Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. McGonagle Trish Millice Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Nichols Ann and Ralph Poucher Rick and Pam Riebesell Mr. and Mrs. Leo Rostermundt Mr. and Mrs. George Secor Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Schenkein Alice and Tom Stephens Buzz and George Ann Victor
In honor of Wylie Eastman Schwartz Brooke and Charles Maloy
In honor of Pelham G. Pearce, Jr. Phebe Berkowitz-Tanners and Dr. Paul Tanners Mr. and Mrs. Milo Tedstrom Ed and Patty Wahtera
In honor of Kelly Maureen Quinn Wulf Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Deline
In honor of Jody Phelps Mr. and Mrs. Bret A. Fox Mr. and Mrs. Donald D. MacKenzie Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Pierce In honor of Carolyn Cooper Robbins Dr. and Mrs. John Bender Robbins Weiner Design Mr. and Mrs. David A. Shore In honor of Denise Sanderson The Dehncke Family In honor of Katherine Wyckoff Sawyer Mr. and Mrs. Thomas C. Deline Mr. Richard Smith
In honor of Steve Seifert Pelham G. Pearce, Jr. In honor of Ashraf Sewailam Luana Rubin In honor of Elizabeth Brooke Smedley Anonymous In honor of Phoebe Smedley Ms. Sharon N. Rouse In honor of Allison Booth Smith Ms. Valerie K. Blackburn Ms. Nancy S. Miller Mr. Peter Nelson and Ms. Peggy Smith In honor of Sydney Mariel Kitsu Turner Mr. and Mrs. James Zachry Turner Mr. and Mrs. Dirk McDermott In honor of George Ann and Buzz Victor Bill and Deborah Tryon In honor of Vivian Wilson Claire Walter
In honor of Barbara Zarlengo C. Deen Buttorff
Join the Guild AND JOIN US IN SUPPORTING CENTRAL CITY OPERA
photos by kathy wells.
The Central City Opera Guild membership offers a variety of ways to be involved:
Education Programs Historic Preservation Bonfils-Stanton Apprentice Artists & Company Audience Development & L’Esprit de Noël
2018 EXECUTIVE BOARD PRESIDENT Kristin Bender VICE PRESIDENT OF MEMBERSHIP Suzie Erzinger VICE PRESIDENT OF EDUCATION Karen Ritz VICE PRESIDENT OF HISTORIC PROPERTIES Cathy Groene TREASURER Josy Ellis SECRETARY Margaret Baker PAST-PRESIDENT Edie Bell PRESIDENT-ELECT Open
See the Annual Fund Contributions for a list of Central City Opera Guild Divas/Divos. Learn more at centralcityopera.org/guild
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TRIBUTES | IN MEMORY Central City Opera acknowledges with gratitude the following gifts made in memory of the persons below. Gifts listed were received between April 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018. In memory of Kay Brady Amberg Chris and Mary Kuser In memory of Gwendolyn Ashbaugh Patrick Mooney
In memory of Duane M. Engels Ronald Engels and Zane Laubhan Pelham G. Pearce, Jr.
In memory of Trudy Barlow Tom Barlow Ronda Barlow Smith In memory of Nan Barnett Ms. Teresa D. Case In memory of Jane Bernstein Pelham G. Pearce, Jr.
In memory of Edward E. Bolle William E. Bradford, Jr. and Chin Keong Tan In memory of Mark Brechbill Pelham G. Pearce, Jr. In memory of Erna Butler Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Accetta Butler Family Fund In memory of Anne F. Bryant Pelham G. Pearce, Jr. In memory of Lewis Cady Susan Martin and Chet Hampson In memory of Brett Clough Anonymous Pelham G. Pearce, Jr. In memory of Judge Donald E. Cordova Mrs. Patricia J. Cordova
In memory of Emma Eames Liana Lansing
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In memory of Dean Gillespie and Walter Land Jeanne Land Foundation
In memory of Peter and Donna Heid Anonymous In memory of Carolyn Henrickson Ronald Henrikson In memory of Deb Hruby Carl and Deborah Morrow In memory of John Zach Jordan Mr. Jeffrey D. Hughes In memory of Joan G. Keith C. Deen Buttorff Ms. Barbara Dorsey Mr. and Mrs. Harry A. Ells, Jr. Mr. Scott Finlay and Mr. Thomas J. Duggan Tennyson Grebenar and Judy Graese Ms. Jeanne C. Kostelic Mr. and Mrs. Nello McDaniel Mr. and Mrs. Ralph W. Shelburne Ms. Barbara E. Zarlengo In memory of Christopher Mark Kiryluk Mark and Barbara Kiryluk
In memory of John Dexter Phebe Berkowitz-Tanners and Dr. Paul Tanners
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In memory of Charlie Ferguson Donald Ferguson Mrs. Charles Ferguson
In memory of Carol and Bill Gossard Carolyn L. Longmire
In memory of Terry Ann Biddinger Lanny and Sharon Martin Pelham G. Pearce, Jr.
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In memory of Vinny and Priscilla Ellwood Virginia Hersch
In memory of Alice S. Maercklein Ms. Debby Williamson Mr. and Mrs. Gene A. Young
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In memory of Susan Marsh Mary Zulack
In memory of Maryjane Raabe Lanny and Sharon Martin
In memory of Peter, Yetta, Fred, and George McFarlane Watt Family Foundation of the Pikes Peak Community Foundation Betty and Tom Watt
In memory of Iris Henwood Richards Anonymous
In memory of H. Hudson Mead Priscilla Mead and Charles Edwards
In memory of Charles Shissler Deb McBride
In memory of Greg Miller Dorothy Watts and Mike Jenkins Greg Miller Memorial Fund
In memory of Shirley Smith Pelham G. Pearce, Jr. Ms. Barbara E. Zarlengo
In memory of Tony Murray Patty Goward
In memory of Victor P. Stabio Pelham G. Pearce, Jr. Lisa and Tom Zetah
In memory of George Narcavage Anonymous In memory of Cornelia and Henry Neuswanger Debra Wykoff In memory of Melva T. Pearce Margaret and Stan Baker Mr. Scott Finlay and Mr. Thomas J. Duggan Mr. and Mrs. John E. Fuller Robert P. Fullerton and Beverlee Henry Mr. and Mrs. James R. Hilger Nancy S. Parker Rita Sommers Buzz and George Ann Victor Lisa and Tom Zetah In memory of Minnie Perry William R. Moninger and Bonnie J. Phipps In memory of Edwin M. Poorman Pelham G. Pearce, Jr. Lisa and Tom Zetah In memory of Jane and Gene Pulley Emily Pulley
In memory of Tracy Schwartz Ms. Lynda B. Collins Mr. and Mrs. Richard Schwartz
In memory of Marjorie Stuntz Laura Stuntz In memory of Dr. Gordon E. Von Stroh Rev. Dr. Patrice Von Stroh In memory of Edda Wenke Anonymous In memory of Shirley B. White Sondra Bland and Robert Spencer John and Janet Burtt Mr. and Mrs. Fred Cielo Ms. Claudia Cruz Ms. Lanette Duncan Ms. Ashlie Gates Ms. Georgia Mucilli and Mr. Steve Creamer Ms. Lynne Pickett Mr. and Mrs. Norman Smith L. Sullivan Revocable Trust Mr. and Mrs. Brian Walker Mr. Sidney J. White Mr. and Mrs. Richard Zinn In memory of Mrs. John (Sherry) Williams Anonymous
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l’esprit de noÍl holiday home tour
THANK YOU TO THE 2017 SPONSORS presenting sponsor Coldwell Banker Devonshire gold sponsors Barbara H. Ferguson City of Glendale silver sponsors Kristin and Jim Bender Land Title Guarantee Company
Save the Date
NOVEMBER 16 & 17
2018
bronze sponsors Suzie and Marty Erzinger Karen and Andrew Ritz Denise and Jim Sanderson media sponsors Colorado Expression Magazine The Denver Post The Villager Newspaper The Hilltop Sundial photos by kathy wells.
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2018 | THEATRE OF DREAMS GALA
The 2018 Theatre of Dreams Gala treated patrons of Central City Opera to a magical evening at Palazzo Verdi in Greenwood Village. Kyle Dean Massey, known for his performances in Broadway’s Wicked and ABC’s Nashville, enchanted those attending with songs and stories of his path to the stage and screen. The gala raised critical funds for Central City Opera’s festival productions, year-round programs and ongoing operations.
photos by amanda tipton.
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The organizing committee included a group of new and long-time Central City Opera supporters. PLATINUM SPONSORS El Pomar Foundation Lanny and Sharon Martin GOLD SPONSOR Kathy and Brad Coors Foundation John Madden Company SILVER SPONSORS Kristin and Jim Bender Jay’s Valet US Bank GALA CHAIR Nora Heitmann GALA COMMITTEE Margaret Baker Pam Bansbach Tamara Barron Lisa Curwen Riisa Dikeou Christina Dinegar Michelle Dorman Lisa Duke Scott Finlay Sara Francois Judy Grant Emily Hemming Kitty Koch Cindy Kraus Harriet LaMair Clare Mail Brooke Maloy Anne McGonagle Kim Morss Dehncke Nicole Mulvany Emily Murdock Meg Nichols Nancy Parker Jody Phelps Karen Ritz Julie Sachs Denise Sanderson
Sally Scott Kim Sullivan Tolly Tate Kathy Tyree Lisa Zetah PATRON TABLE HOSTS Roopesh Aggarwal and Lauren Lovejoy Pam and Dutch Bansbach Melinda and John Couzens Lisa and Chris Curwen Scott Finlay and Tom Duggan Judy and Newell Grant Nora Heitmann Heath and Jeannine Hutchison Brooke and Chas Maloy Anne and Tom McGonagle Sally Scott and Kevin Kearney Tolly Tate Kathy and Tom Tyree University of Denver DREAM EVENT CO-CHAIRS Christina Dinegar Lisa Curwen Sally Scott DREAM EVENT HOSTS AEG Live Margaret and Stan Baker Nicole and Bart Bansbach Tamara Barron Kristin and Jim Bender Nancy Benson The Broadmoor Golf Club Central City Opera Brian Cook Melinda and John Couzens Lisa and Chris Curwen Denver Art Museum Denver Botanic Gardens Christina and Leonard Dinegar Michelle and Mark Dorman Suzie and Marty Erzinger Estate Brands Distributing Company The Family Jones Spirit House Scott Finlay and Tom Duggan
Garden of the Gods Club Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa Judy Grant Betsy and Mike Huseby Innovest Portfolio Solutions, LLC Arlene Johnson Kevin Taylor Restaurant Group Harriet LaMair Rob Lewis Brooke and Chas Maloy Ed Martin Sharon Martin Carol McDermott Anne and Tom McGonagle Ken Mirr Florence Müller Meg Nichols Northern Trust Stephanie Ohnmacht Nancy Parker The Ritz-Carlton Denver Karen and Andrew Ritz Rockmount Ranch Wear Sally Scott and Kevin Kearney Jenny and Don Strasburg Paul Tamburello Tolly Tate Kathy Tyree George Ann and Buzz Victor Steve Weil Whiskey Sisters Supply ADDITIONAL SUPPORT Allwell Rents Epicurean Catering Estate Brands Distributing Company Imprint Events Ed Martin Aaron and Brittany Steinke Urquid
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SPECIAL THANKS AND GIFTS-IN-KIND Central City Opera sincerely appreciates the following individuals and organizations who have dedicated their time, opened their doors, and contributed much-needed products and services in the last year. AEG Live Roopesh Aggarwal Allwell Rents Amizetta Fresh Flowers Ed Anderson Applewood Valley United Methodist Church Mr. and Mrs. William D. Armstrong ART Hotel Michael Baitzer Fred Baker Margaret and Stan Baker Roger Baker Mr. and Mrs. Louis P. Bansbach IV John Baril and Brian Cook Mr. and Mrs. John Barker, Jr. Tom Barlow Mr. and Mrs. Francis Barron Reba Bechtel Edie Bell Lori Stone Bellingham Mary Bell, Mountain Goat Gallery Mr. and Mrs. Michael Bell Jim and Kristin Bender Nancy Benson Jennifer Berkman, Dorfman-Pacific Birdsall & Co. Blocki Perfumes BŌLDI Fashion Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra Bouquets Bouzy Wine and Spirits Ms. Heather Brecl Nancy P. Brittain The Broadmoor Golf Club Butler Rents C. Deen Buttorff Catering by Design CBS4 City of Central Central City Business Improvement District Central Presents Charming Chairs Lorenzo Chavez Ms. Karen Christiansen City Floral Pat Clark Mr. and Mrs. Jon B. Clarke Classic Wines Dr. and Mrs. Charles Cole Colorado Children’s Chorale Colorado Springs Conservatory Judeth Shay Comstock John and Melinda Couzens Chris and Lisa Curwen Daniels Fund Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Danos Jennifer DeDominici Denver Art Museum Denver Botanic Gardens 104
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Riisa and Panayes Dikeou Mr. and Mrs. Leonard A. Dinegar Brooke B. Domich Mr. and Mrs. D. Mark Dorman Ms. Barbara Dorsey The Duncan Family Dwell Antiques Steve Edmonds Kathy Eichenberger Missy and John Eliot Ronald Engels Epiphany Episcopal Church Epoch Estate Wines Erik Erlandson Mr. and Mrs. Martin J. Erzinger Estate Brands Distributing Company Evans Ranch The Family Jones Spirit House Mrs. Charles L. Ferguson Craig Ferguson Jeremy Fey Mr. Scott Finlay and Mr. Thomas J. Duggan Missy Fisher Flower Power Dave Forsyth Carolyn Foster Fraiser Meadows Barbara Froula Jeannie Fuller Garden of the Gods Club Anne Livingston Garret Gateway Canyons Resort and Spa George Washington’s Mount Vernon Gerard’s Pool Hall Frederika Gilbert Amanda Gillie Gilpin County Arts Gilpin Historical Society Ms. Karen Goldberg Judy and Newell Grant Mr. and Mrs. Gregory A. Groene Mark Hanson Mag Hayden The Honorable Kathyrn Heider Ms. Nora Heitmann HookFish Manufacturing Hadley Hooper Heidi Hoyt Jennifer and Chad Hulan Jane A. Hultin Mr. and Mrs. Michael C. Huseby Image Audiovisuals Imprint Events Innovest Portfolio Solutions, LLC Mr. and Mrs. Herb Jacobs Jay’s Valet Jazz 93.5 Justin Jelenik Arlene Johnson Kathy Jolly
KCME Kathryn Keller Deborah Kelly Johanna Elizabeth Kelly Kevin Taylor Restaurant Group Mark and Barbara Kiryluk Wayne Kjorvestad Mr. and Mrs. Karl Frederick Koch Mr. and Mrs. Sandy F. Kraemer Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Kraemer Dewey Kratzer Gregg Kvistad and Amy Oaks Travis LaBerge, Parlando School of Musical Arts Mr. and Mrs. Michael E. LaMair The Lark Mr. Don Larson Laser Focus Engraving Dr. Lloyd Lewan Rob Lewis lulu’s furniture & décor Suzanne G. MacKenzie Brooke and Charles Maloy Ed Martin Hilton G. Martin Lanny and Sharon Martin Suzanne Matthews The Maven Hotel at Dairy Block Gray McCurdy Mr. and Mrs. Eric R. McDaniel Mr. and Mrs. Dirk McDermott Dr. Vicki McFarlane Roy and Donna McGinnis Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. McGonagle Larry and Barbara Meckel Lane Melott Daniel Miera Mike Ward Maserati Ken Mirr Jon and Lynne Montague-Clouse John Moriarty Marylee and Walter Mosgovoy Florence Müller Mr. and Mrs. Edward C. Nichols Sam Nicholson Northern Trust Novacek Greenhouse Desmond O’Hagan Stephanie Ohnmacht Pacific Office Automation Nancy S. Parker Ed Parks Evelyn Petros Mr. and Mrs. Robert F. Phelps, Jr. Planet Bluegrass George Preston Heather Quiroga Susan B. Rawley Ray Rears Red Rocks Amphitheatre Andrew and Karen Ritz
The Ritz-Carlton Denver Rockmount Ranch Wear The Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Nicole Roush Sage Hospitality Saint James United Methodist Church Mr. and Mrs. James W. Sanderson Mr. Howard C. Sauter Melissa Schwartz Dr. Sarah K. Scott and Mr. Kevin Kearney Seasonally Yours Sharing Connexion Nancy Siegel Silver Oak Cellars Phoebe Smedley Christie Smith Ronda Barlow Smith Mr. and Mrs. Lars O. Soderberg, Jr. Stabio Productions Aaron and Brittany Steinke Susan Stiff Jenny and Don Strasburg Kim Sullivan Sur La Table Charlotte Talbert Paul Tamburello Ms. Tolly Tate The Tended Thicket Dr. Alexandra Theriault and Mr. Ron Guillot Ms. Barbara J. Thielemann Richard Thomas Tommyknockers Holiday Craft Fair Vivian Tone Elaine Torres Mr. and Mrs. David Tryba The Twisted Tulip Mr. and Mrs. Thomas B. Tyree, Jr. The University of Denver Music Library Urquid Dory Vanderhoof Mr. Roy Varela Buzz and George Ann Victor Shirley Voorhies Evelyn Waldron Barbara Walton Washington National Opera Waters Edge Winery & Bistro Steve Weil Wells Fargo Private Bank Kathy Wells Whisky Sisters Supply Gary Whitney Katherine Wilson Sandy and Jerry Wischmeyer Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Woolley II Henry Wurst, Inc. West Ms. Barbara E. Zarlengo ZIM Consulting Shira and Marty Zimmerman
2018 | FLOWER GIRLS
photo by bettinger photo
Caroline Rose Morris Atkinson
Madeline Taylor Darré
Madeleine Taylor Hunt
Margaret Grace Mulvihill
Claire Elizabeth Boland
Everdina Wilhelmina de Koning
Rhys Elizabeth Jansen
Emma Ruth Murphy
Grace Armour Buyers
Therese Choquette DeLine
Margot Pease MacKenzie
Hadley Jane Nolan
Caroline Elizabeth Caplis
Lucille Marian Egan
Larissa Elizabeth Martin
Aubyn Roning Roemer
Kathleen Cecily Coors
Avery Delaney Hamilton
Alexandra Perry Mayer
Mathilde Grace Von Thun
Claire Beth Lathrop Crossman
Elsie Bell Hauser
Julia Jane McDonald
Payton Currigan Waters
Julia Amélie Danos
Sarah Ann Hibbeln
Máire Eileen McHugh
The Central City Opera Flower Girl Presentation is the oldest debutante ceremony in Colorado. This special Central City Opera tradition began in 1932 at the grand re-opening of the Opera House in the midst of the Great Depression. Two strong-willed women with powerful pioneer roots—Anne Evans and Ida Kruse McFarlane— engaged key members of the community and founded the Central City Opera House Association. With great vision, they created a summer music festival, bringing world-class theatrical and opera artists to the stage—a tradition that continues to this day. Two young ladies, Nancy Kountze and Elaine Oakes, were presented as the first Flower Girls. They often watched the rehearsals of the inaugural production of
the play Camille and were asked to pass out nosegays to members of the audience at intermission. Those bouquets were tossed across the footlights at the end of the production, much as the miners had tossed gold coins onto the stage during curtain calls in the 1880s. Prior to each Opera Festival, young women from prominent Colorado families are invited to be Central City Opera Flower Girls. A dynamite blast celebrating the rich mining history of Central City heralds their presentation and the church bells ring while the Flower Girls and their fathers dance the traditional “Yellow Rose Waltz” on Eureka Street in front of the Opera House. Patrons still receive flower nosegays to toss on stage, celebrating the beginning of another Opera Festival.
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CENTRAL CITY OPERA | REPERTORY Opera, Operetta, Musical Theatre by Composer ADAMO Little Women, 2001 regional premiere
K ERN Show Boat, 2013 Denver
AITKEN Fables, 1981
DONIZETTI The Daughter of the Regiment, 1985 Don Pasquale, 1950, 1951, 1967, 1978, 1987 The Elixir of Love, 1961, 1983 Lucia di Lammermoor, 1960, 1980, 1989, 2009
ANDERSON Soyazhe, 1979 world premiere
EDWARDS 1776, 1972
LEIGH Man of La Mancha, 2015
ARGENTO The Boor, 1978, 1980 Postcard from Morocco, 1980 regional premiere
FLOTOW Martha, 1947
LEONCAVALLO I Pagliacci, 1958, 2003
FLOYD Of Mice and Men, 1970 regional premiere Susannah, 1997 regional premiere, 2008
LOEWE Gigi, 1974
BALFE The Bohemian Girl, 1978 BARBER Vanessa, 2005 regional premiere
FRIML Rose Marie, 1993 The Vagabond King, 1987, 1994
BEACH Cabildo, 2017
GERSHWIN The Gershwin Years A Review, 1973
BEETHOVEN Fidelio, 1947
GLUCK Orpheus, 1941
BERNSTEIN Candide, 1980, 2000 West Side Story, 2008 Trouble in Tahiti, 2014
GOUNOD Faust, 1954, 1992 Romeo and Juliet, 1951, 1991
BIZET Carmen, 1953, 1966, 1985, 1993, 2002, 2011, 2017 BOISMORTIER Don Quixote and the Duchess, 2015 BRITTEN The Burning Fiery Furnace, 2017 Curlew River, 2008 Gloriana, 2001 1st North American production A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 1974, 1977, 2002 Paul Bunyan, 2005 regional premiere The Prodigal Son, 2015 The Rape of Lucretia, 2008 The Turn of the Screw, 2012 CAVALLI Scipio Africanus, 1975 regional premiere DÉLIBES Lakmé, 1965
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GRANADOS Goyescas, 2003 regional premiere GUO WENJING Poet Li Bai, 2007 world premiere HÄNDEL Acis and Galatea, 2018 Amadigi di Gaula, 2011 North American fully-staged premiere Rinaldo, 2009 regional premiere HEGGIE Three Decembers, 2010 regional premiere Dead Man Walking, 2014 HERBERT Naughty Marietta, 1986 HOIBY The Scarf, 1981 Summer and Smoke, 2002 regional premiere
LEHAR The Merry Widow, 1933, 1967, 1979, 1990, 1997
MARSCHNER The Vampyre, 1980 MASCAGNI Cavalleria Rusticana, 1958 MASSENET Manon, 1965, 1994 Le Jongleur de Notre Dame, 2004 regional premiere Cendrillon, 2007 MENOTTI Amelia Goes to the Ball, 1951 The Medium, 1979, 2012 The Saint of Bleecker Street, 2007 MOLLICONE The Face on the Barroom Floor, 1978 world premiere through 2010, 2018 Gabriel’s Daughter, 2003 world premiere MONTEVERDI L’incoronazione di Poppea, 2006 MOORE The Ballad of Baby Doe, 1956 world premiere, 1959, 1966, 1976, 1981, 1988, 1996, 2006, 2016 Gallantry, 2017 MOZART The Abduction from the Seraglio, 1946 Così fan tutte, 1948, 1990, 2017 Don Giovanni, 1963, 1975, 2006 The Impresario, 2016 The Magic Flute, 1989, 1995, 2018 The Marriage of Figaro, 1952, 1972, 1979, 2014
MUSTO Later the Same Evening, 2016 NICOLAI The Merry Wives of Windsor, 1953 OFFENBACH Isle of Tulipatan, 1981 La Périchole, 1958 Orpheus in the Underworld, 2010 The Tales of Hoffmann, 1948, 2004 PASATIERI Signor Deluso, 2010, 2011 POULENC Dialogues of the Carmelites, 2000 Les mamelles de Tirésias, 2011
STRAUSS, J. Die Fledermaus, 1949, 1959, 1969, 1977, 1991, 1999 The Gypsy Baron, 1957 STRAUSS, R. Ariadne auf Naxos, 1954 Capriccio, 1976 Salome, 1978 Denver SULLIVAN The Gondoliers, 1936 H.M.S. Pinafore, 1955, 1968 Iolanthe, 1955, 1968 The Mikado, 1955, 1968 The Pirates of Penzance, 1968 Trial by Jury, 1955 The Yeomen of the Guard, 1939, 1955, 1968
PUCCINI La bohème, 1952, 1962, 1970, 1976 Denver, 1986, 1994, 2001, 2012 Gianni Schicchi, 1978, 2011 The Girl of the Golden West, 1962, 1999 Madama Butterfly, 1950, 1964, 1981, 1987, 1997, 2005, 2010 Tosca, 1956, 1969, 1991, 1998, 2016
SUPPE The Beautiful Galatea, 1951
PURCELL Dido and Aeneas, 2008
VERDI Aida, 1960, 1975 Denver Falstaff, 1972, 1973, 1993 Macbeth, 1988 A Masked Ball, 1967 Rigoletto, 1957, 1974, 1984, 1996 La traviata, 1946, 1961, 1983, 1990, 2000, 2007, 2015 Il trovatore, 1963, 2018
RODGERS Oklahoma!, 2012 The Sound of Music, 2014 ROMBERG The Desert Song, 1985, 1989 The New Moon, 1988, 1996 The Student Prince, 1984, 1992, 2004
TCHAIKOVSKY The Queen of Spades, 1995 regional premiere ULLMAN Der Kaiser von Atlantis, 2013 Denver
ROREM Our Town, 2013
WARD The Crucible, 1998 regional premiere The Lady from Colorado, 1964 world premiere
ROSSINI The Barber of Seville, 1941, 1965, 1973, 1979, 1986, 1998, 2013 Cinderella, 1984 The Italian Girl in Algiers, 1966, 1992, 2003
WEILL Die sieben Todsünden, 2011 regional premiere Street Scene, 1999 regional premiere The Threepenny Opera, 1995
SCHMIDT I Do! I Do!, 1971
WILDER Sunday Excursion, 1978
SCHEFTER The Mistake, 1981
WOLF-FERRARI The Four Ruffians, or School for Fathers, 1975
SMETANA The Bartered Bride, 1940, 1977 SONDHEIM A Little Night Music, 2009
THEATRE PIECES, continued Barefoot in the Park, 1964 Seeing Things with John Mason Brown, 1951 An Afternoon with Ilka Chase, 1953 Buried Child, 1980 Bus Stop, 1955 Cactus Flower, 1967 The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, 1954 Camille, 1932 Central City Nights, 1935 The Circle, 1979 The Constant Wife, 1951 The Devil’s Disciple, 1950 Diamond Lil, 1949 A Doll’s House, 1937 Forty Carats, 1970 The Gazebo, 1959 Harvey, 1947, 1971 Hay Fever, 1980 The Hollow Crown, 1973 The Irregular Verb to Love, 1973 The Lark, 1956 Last of the Red Hot Lovers, 1972 Lillian Gish and the Movies, 1971 Mary, Mary, 1962 Max Morath at the Turn of the Century, 1971 Burgess Meredith in An Unpleasant Evening with H. L. Mencken The Miracle Worker, 1961 A Month in the Country, 1979 Mrs. McThing, 1952 Never Too Late, 1963 The Odd Couple, 1966 Othello, 1934 The Play’s the Thing, 1948 Plaza Suite, 1969 Private Lives, 1972 Daniel Reed, Susan Reed, Jordan Reed, 1952 Ruy Blas, 1938 Separate Tables, 1957 Cornelia Otis Skinner in The Loves of Charles II, 1951 Cornelia Otis Skinner in The Wives of Henry VIII, 1951 Cornelia Otis Skinner in Mansion on the Hudson, 951 Tallulah, A Memory, 1973 There’s a Girl in My Soup, 1968 A Thurber Carnival, 1960 The Time of the Cuckoo, 1953 William Windom Plays Thurber, 1975 An Evening of Mirth and Music with Meredith and Rini Willson, 1961
THEATRE PIECES And Perhaps Happiness, 1958 Anna Russell, 1977 Any Wednesday, 1965
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CREDITS AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS OPERA HOUSE POLICIES Thank you for attending this Central City Opera performance. For the benefit of all patrons, please note the following policies: • Performances begin promptly at the advertised time. Latecomers and those that exit during a performance will not be admitted until the next intermission but can view the performance on closed-circuit television located on the first floor of the Teller House. • Patron use of cellular phones, cameras and recording devices is not allowed in the Opera House. Food and drink are also not allowed in the Opera House. • Please be considerate of other patrons and refrain from talking or making other audible disturbances during the performance. • Unless the performance is cancelled, no refunds are given for any reason, including supertitle malfunction and weather conditions. • Casting is subject to change without notice. Restrooms are located off the Opera House Patio and on the lower floor of the Teller House. Should first aid become necessary, please contact the nearest usher.
GIFT SHOP Be sure to stop by the Central City Opera Gift Shop, located in the Teller House adjacent to the Opera House to find CCO 2018 Festival apparel and souvenirs, stylish opera hats and unique gifts.
GROUP SALES Groups of 10 or more receive a 20% discount. Contact the Box Office at 303.292.6700.
BOX OFFICE The Denver Box Office is located at 400 S. Colorado Boulevard, Suite 525, Denver, CO 80246. Hours are 10 am to 4 pm, Monday through Friday. The Box Office in Central City is
located at the Teller House adjacent to the Opera House and is open one hour before each performance. The Central City Opera Box Office number is 303.292.6700 or 1.800.851.8175. Ticketing online is available at centralcityopera.org.
PROGRAM CREDITS Sara M. Francois, Editor Deborah Morrow, Emily Murdock, Lisa Zetah, Advisors Contributors: John Baril, Richard S. Bogart, Ken Cazan, Michael Dixon, Michael M. Ehrman, Karen T. Federing, Judy Grant, Deborah Morrow, Emily Murdock, Pelham G. Pearce, Joachim Schamberger, Margaret Siegrist, Valerie Smith, Alessandro Talevi. Contributing photographers: Bettinger Photo, Marco Borggreve, Sarah Neumann Photography, Amanda Tipton and Kathy Wells Art direction and graphic design: Melissa Rick The Central City Opera Festival Program is published by Brock Media Company, 603 S. Broadway, Suite A, Boulder, CO 80305. Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. Duplication of the contents without the express written consent of Brock Media is prohibited. getboulder.com Central City Opera is funded in part by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), created by Metro voters in 1988 to provide public financial support to scientific and cultural organizations via the .1% retail sales and use tax in the seven-county district. Central City Opera is a member of OPERA America. You Tube
Central City Opera, 400 S. Colorado Blvd. Suite 530, Denver, CO 80246 centralcityopera.org
ADVERTISER INDEX Colorado Shakespeare Festival/CU Presents.... 72
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Denver Center Attractions...................................4
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Antlers at Vail.....................................................20
Denver Centre Theatre Company.......................5
Opera Colorado....................... Inside Front Cover
Aspen Music Festival & School.........................65
Denver Lyric Opera Guild..................................91
Opera Steamboat..............................................99
Avanti Music Academy......................................85
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Opera Theatre Saint Louis................................64
Balfour Senior Living...........................................1
Dostal Alley......................................................102
Phase One Landscapes..................................102
Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado.........98
Eron Johnson Antiques.....................................72
Regis Jesuit High School..................................99
BDT Stage.......................................................103
Friends of Chamber Music................................92
Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre...................93
Boulder Philharmonic........................................27
Gilpin Arts in Central City..................................84
Saratoga Casino Black Hawk............................75
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Gilpin Historical Society.....................................93
Shaver-Ramsey.................................. Back Cover
Century Casino................................................103
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Changing Landscapes.......................................27
Grand Z Casino Hotel......................................102
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Cherry Creek High School.................................93
Lamont School of Music....................................75
St. Mary’s Academy...........................................74
City of Glendale...................................................6
Loveland Opera Theatre....................................99
Utah Festival Opera............................................3
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Margarita Bravo.................................................13
Vail Racquet Club Mountain Resort...................14
Colorado Children’s Chorale.............................85
Steve A. Miller, PC.............................................74
The Wild Animal Sanctuary...............................15
Colorado Conservatory of Dance......................84
Miner’s Pick Bed & Breakfast............................92
Colorado Public Radio.......................................54
Monarch Casino Black Hawk.. Inside Back Cover
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