MASTERWORKS • 2016-2017 Colorado Symphony 2016/17 Season Presenting Sponsor:
LA BOHÈME CONDUCTED BY ANDREW LITTON COLORADO SYMPHONY ANDREW LITTON, conductor ROBERT NEU, director JOHN PICKLE, Rodolfo SONJA KRENEK, Mimi RAYMOND AYERS, Marcello TESS ALTIVEROS, Musetta ADAM EWING, Schaunard MATTHEW TREVIÑO, Colline JOHN CLAYTON SEESHOLTZ, Benoit and Alcindoro KEVIN GWINN, Parpignol COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS, MARY LOUISE BURKE, associate director COLORADO CHILDREN’S CHORALE, DEBORAH DESANTIS, artistic director Friday’s Concert Is Gratefully Dedicated To Jane Costain and Gary Moore Saturday’s Concert Is Gratefully Dedicated To Donna and Ted Connolly / Raymond and Suzanne Satter Sunday’s Concert Is Gratefully Dedicated To Michael and Francie Gundzik
Friday, October 21, 2016, at 7:30pm Saturday, October 22, 2016, at 7:30pm Sunday, October 23, 2016, at 1:00pm Boettcher Concert Hall
PUCCINI La Bohème Act I Act II — INTERMISSION —
Act III Act IV
SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 1
MASTERWORKS BIOGRAPHIES
JEFF WHEELER
ANDREW LITTON, conductor Andrew Litton is Music Director of the New York City Ballet and Principal Guest Conductor of the Colorado Symphony. He recently ended his twelve-year tenure as Music Director of Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic. Under Litton’s leadership, the Bergen Philharmonic gained international recognition through extensive touring, making debuts at London’s BBC Proms, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, and appearances at Vienna’s Musikverein, Berlin’s Philharmonie, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. They recorded 25 CD records for Sweden’s BIS and Britain’s Hyperion labels. In acknowledgment of Litton’s service to the cultural life of Norway, Norway’s King Harald knighted Litton with the Royal Order of Merit. Now Bergen Philharmonic Music Director Laureate and Conductor Laureate of Britain’s Bournemouth Symphony, he carries on as Artistic Director of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Sommerfest, a post he has held since 2003. He guest conducts the world’s leading orchestras and opera companies, and has a discography of almost 130 recordings with awards including America’s Grammy,™ France’s Diapason d’Or, and many other honors. Litton was Principal Conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony from 1988-1994. A Music Director of the Dallas Symphony from 1994-2006, he hired over one third of the players, led the orchestra on three major European tours, appeared four times at Carnegie Hall, created a children’s television series broadcast nationally and in widespread use in school curricula, produced 28 recordings, and helped raise the orchestra’s endowment from $19 million to $100 million. He has conducted the Colorado Symphony both as Music Director and Artistic Advisor since 2012. An accomplished pianist, Litton often conducts from the keyboard and enjoys performing chamber music with his orchestra colleagues. Passionate about jazz, and long an admirer of the late jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, Litton recorded his first solo piano album, A Tribute to Oscar Peterson, released in 2014.
ROBERT NEU, director Robert Neu has directed over 80 productions of operas, musicals, and plays throughout the country. Neu’s recent productions include St. Matthew Passion for Central City Opera; La Bohème for Gulf Coast Symphony; Bernstein’s Mass, Peer Gynt (also adaptation), La Traviata, The Magic Flute, and Carousel for the Minnesota Orchestra; Hansel and Gretel with both the Minnesota Orchestra and Colorado Symphony; Tosca and The Music Man for Colorado Symphony; Don Pasquale, Carmen, and The Barber of Seville for Lyric Opera of the North; Art and Death of a Salesman for Bloomington Civic Theater; The Marriage of Figaro for Bellevue Opera; Ayn Rand in Love for Chameleon Theater; The Laramie Project, Godspell, and Blithe Spirit for Lyric Arts Theater; and On the Town, The Fantasticks, Candide, and Putting It Together for Skylark Opera. Upcoming: St. Matthew Passion for Colorado Symphony, Hansel and Gretel for Jacksonville Symphony, Don Giovanni for Opera Orlando, and La Bohème for Shreveport Opera. Nine of Neu’s productions have received “Best of the Season” citations from various media including Minneapolis Star Tribune, Cincinnati Post, St. Paul Pioneer Press, and Minnesota Public Radio. His production of The Laramie Project received awards for Best Ensemble and Outstanding Theater Event of the 2014 season from Broadway World. Neu teaches masterclasses in audition techniques for the
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MASTERWORKS BIOGRAPHIES University of Minnesota’s opera department, and he is a Resident Director at Lyric Arts Theater, and Artistic Director of Skylark Opera Theatre. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School and is the co-founder of Angels & Demons Entertainment, a production and arts consultancy organization.
MARY LOUISE BURKE, associate director, Colorado Symphony Chorus Mary Louise Burke is in her 22nd season as Associate Chorus Director of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. In addition to assisting Chorus Director Duain Wolfe, she also prepares the chorus for various Colorado Symphony pops concerts and special chorus projects. Burke is also Associate Director of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, conducting the Concert Choir and acting as vocal coach for the Chorale. With an expertise in vocal technique, Burke frequently does seminars in vocal and choral techniques for area church and community choirs. She is the Assistant Music Minister at Montview Presbyterian Church and has taught classes in “Find Your Authentic Voice” at the University of Denver. She has a Doctorate in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado.
DEBORAH DESANTIS, artistic director, Colorado Children’s Chorale Deborah DeSantis has been instrumental in the growth and success of the Colorado Children’s Chorale since 1983. She regularly conducts performances throughout metropolitan Denver and has led numerous tours, nationally and internationally. Her passion for artistic excellence and music education has been a driving force in the development of the Chorale’s School Partnership program, which she established in 1994. In addition to designing and directing community performance residencies for the Chorale, she frequently serves as guest clinician and conductor for school and community children’s choral programs throughout the nation. Debbie has conducted seminars and workshops for Chorus America, the American Choral Director’s Association, Colorado Music Educators Association, the Choristers’ Guild, and the Suzuki Institute. She has served as co-chair of Chorus America’s Children/Youth Choir Constituency.
SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 3
MASTERWORKS BIOGRAPHIES JOHN PICKLE, Rodolfo Tenor John Pickle quickly has established himself as a strong tenor, most recently for his portrayals of Erik in Der fliegende Holländer, a role he débuted with Los Angeles Opera. Of a performance as the jilted hunter with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Kansas City Star raved, “Pickle’s emotionally-wrought characterization drove this [performance] even harder home than usual.” In recent seasons, Mr. Pickle also enjoyed performances as Erik with Utah Festival Opera and Michigan Opera Theatre. This season, Pickle will be performing Canio in Pagliacci with Dayton Opera, Cavardossi in Tosca with Intermountain Opera Bozeman, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with National Chorale. He will be joining the roster of Lyric Opera of Chicago for their production of Norma.
SONJA KRENEK, Mimi Soprano Sonja Krenek is a passionate and emotionally-expressive performer based in New York City. This summer she made her debut as Mimì in La Bohème with the Crested Butte Music Festival. She will reprise the role in 2017 with Knoxville Opera as part of their Education and Outreach program. In 2016, she was the Opera Division Grand Prize Winner at the Metropolitan International Music Festival Competition, the Third Prize recipient at the Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition, and a semi-finalist in the Loren L. Zachary International Vocal Competition. She is also the winner of encouragement awards from The Gerda Lissner Foundation Lieder/Song Competition, The Giulio Gari International Voice Competition, and the Opera at Florham Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition in 2015. In 2012, she won the MetroWest Opera Young Artist Competition, and subsequently appeared with the company as Micaëla in Carmen. A dedicated concert artist, Ms. Krenek performed as the soprano soloist in Canciones y arias with the Lyric Unlimited, Lyric Opera of Chicago.
RAYMOND AYERS, Marcello American baritone Raymond Ayers has accumulated over 60 roles over the span of his career in theaters across the U.S. and Europe, and belongs to the ensemble at Germany’s National Theater in Mannheim. Raymond performs the roles of Ford in Falstaff, Ping in Turandot, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Danilo in Merry Widow, Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Belcore in Elisir, Hercules and Apollo in Alceste, and the solo part in a scenic version of Carmina Burana. Critics have hailed Ayers for his performance of Posa in Don Carlo as the “hero of the evening” and “powerful.” Recently he was seen on TV and heard on radio broadcasts singing the role of Marcello in La Bohème at Theater Bremen. Ayers has also been involved with a number of modern music productions and premieres, including the world premiere of Der Golem and the German premier of Dancer in the Dark, the European premiere of Salsi Puedes, the world premiere of The Star Gatherer, and the New York premiere of The Seagull. PROGRAM 4 SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG
MASTERWORKS BIOGRAPHIES TESS ALTIVEROS, Musetta Praised by Opera News as “a ripe, sensual lyric soprano,” Seattle-based soprano Tess Altiveros is in high demand on both operatic and concert stages nationwide. Past season highlights include The Turn of the Screw (Eugene Opera), Così fan tutte (City Opera Ballet), Le Nozze di Figaro (Angels & Demons Entertainment)—a performance described as “transcendent” and “luminous” by the Twin Cities Arts Reader—and the completion of her eighth season singing anthems for the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Her 2016-2017 season will include La Tragédie de Carmen (Skylark Opera); West Side Story and Dialogues des Carmélites (Eugene Opera); Don Giovanni (Angels & Demons Entertainment); Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem (Seattle Pro Musica); Poulenc’s Gloria (Bremerton Symphony); Bach’s St. Matthew Passion (Colorado Symphony); Eads’ Mass for the Oppressed (Notre Dame University); and song recital appearances in Washington, Oregon, and California.
ADAM EWING, Schaunard Lyric baritone Adam Ewing is an Affiliate Professor of Voice at Regis University. He recently made his operatic debut as Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance with Loveland Opera, and his orchestral debut as the lead of the barbershop quartet in The Music Man with the Colorado Symphony. Ewing has appeared as Schaunard (La Bohème), the Celebrant (Bernstein’s Mass), Sondheim (Side by Side by Sondheim), John Brooke (Little Women), and Miles Gloriosus (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Forum), among others. In addition to dramatic works, Ewing is an avid performer of art song. In summer 2013, he was one of six singers chosen for the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, where he studied with Stephanie Blythe and Alan Smith. Ewing enjoys singing contemporary American art song as well, working with both student composers and celebrated masters. He has sung in masterclasses and recitals for Roger Vignoles, William Bolcom, Lori Laitman, Jake Heggie, Libby Larsen, and Colorado composer Bob Spillman, whose songs he will record next summer.
MATT TREVIÑO, Colline A former member of the San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Opera Program and recipient of the “Best Singer Award” by the 2011 Austin Critics’ Table for his performance in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, Matthew Treviño is proving to be one of today’s most sought-after young basses. The 2015-2016 season saw appearances as Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Vancouver Opera and Hawaii Opera Theatre, Colline in La Bohème with Opera Coeur d’Alene, Ashby in Lafanciulla del West with Opera Omaha, the King in Aïda with Utah Opera, Leporello in Don Giovanni with Intermountain Opera, and the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Brevard Symphony Orchestra. Additional recent engagements include Count Ribbing/Tom in Un ballo in maschera and the Duke in Roméo et Juliette with Austin Lyric Opera, Monterone in Rigoletto with SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 5
MASTERWORKS BIOGRAPHIES Opera Omaha, Leporello in Don Giovanni for Opera Colorado, Dr. P in The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and Eddie in Carly Simon’s opera Romulus Hunt in Nashville.
JOHN SEESHOLTZ, Benoit and Alcindoro John Seesholtz, dramatic baritone, holds vocal performance and pedagogy degrees from University of Michigan, University of Texas at San Antonio, and the University of North Texas. His most recent operatic performances include Florencia en el Amazonas (Alvaro), Verdi’s Otello (Iago), Faust (Valentin), Candide (Pangloss), CosÌ fan tutte (Guglielmo), and Pagliacci (Sylvio). Some of his solo concert performances include Carmina Burana, Brahms' Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Sea Symphony, and Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughan Williams. He has traveled Europe performing both Opera and Art song. In 2006, he made his Italian debut in Venice performing Guglielmo in the opera Cosi fan tutte, as part of the Goldoni Teatro Festival Italia. In 2014, he debuted new arrangements of the “Old American Songs” for Baritone and Chamber Wind Ensemble by Copeland in Austria, Germany, Hungary, and Slovakia. Some of his awards include Finalist for the Merola San Francisco Opera Program and the Irwin Bushman Award as NATSAA finalist.
KEVIN GWINN, Parpignol An emerging young tenor, Kevin has performed around the Denver area as a mainstage artist and concert soloist for the past three years. He has recently performed the roles of Archibald in Norman and Simon’s Secret Garden, Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and Nicely-Nicely in Loesser’s Guys and Dolls. He has also performed as King Xerxes in the premiere workshop performance of Oscar Sladek’s Far Beyond Rubies, Fenton in Otto Nicolai’s Merry Wives of Windsor, Lt. Joseph Cable in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, and Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. A winner in the 2016 Young Voices of Mississippi Competition, he has also been named a finalist in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild’s Competition for Young Singers in both 2015 and 2016. Kevin holds both a Performance Certificate and a Master of Music degree from the University of Denver and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Mississippi. He is a student of Matthew Plenk.
PROGRAM 6 SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG
MASTERWORKS BIOGRAPHIES COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS The 2016-2017 Colorado Symphony Concert Season marks the 33rd year of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. Founded in 1984 by Duain Wolfe at the request of Gaetano Delogu, then the Music Director of the Symphony, the chorus has grown, over the past three decades, into a nationally-respected ensemble. This outstanding chorus of 180 volunteers joins the Colorado Symphony for numerous performances (more than 25 this year alone), and radio and television broadcasts, to repeat critical acclaim. The Chorus has performed at noted music festivals in the Rocky Mountain region, including the Colorado Music Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, where it has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony. For over two decades, the Chorus has been featured at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival, performing many great masterworks under the baton of notable conductors Lawrence Foster, James Levine, Murry Sidlin, Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano, and David Zinman. Among the recordings the CSO Chorus has made is a NAXOS release of Roy Harris’s Symphony No. 4. The Chorus is also featured on a recent Hyperion release of the Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem and Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis. In 2009, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Chorus, Duain Wolfe conducted the Chorus on a 3-country, 2-week concert tour of Europe, presenting the Verdi Requiem in Budapest, Vienna, Litomysl, and Prague, and in 2016 the Chorus returned to Europe for concerts in Paris, Strasbourg, and Munich. From Evergreen to Lochbuie, and Boulder to Castle Rock, singers travel each week to rehearsals and performances in Denver totaling about 80 a year. The Colorado Symphony continues to be grateful for the excellence and dedication of this remarkable, all-volunteer ensemble! For an audition appointment, call 303.308.2483. Duain Wolfe, Founding Director and Conductor; Mary Louise Burke, Associate Conductor; Travis Branam, Assistant Conductor; Taylor Martin, Assistant Conductor; Eric Israelson, Chorus Manager; Barbara Porter, Associate Manager Brian Dukeshier, Joshua Sawicki, Danni Snyder, Accompanists SOPRANO I Jamie Brown* Denelda Causey LeEtta Choi Gretchen Colbert Jenifer Gile Lori Gill Susan Graber* Jennifer Harpel Sarah Henrich* Lynnae Hinkley Mary Hofmeister Marina Kushnir Lisa Long Anne Maupin* Stephanie Medema Kathi Rudolph Camilia Schawel* Stephanie Solich Cara Young SOPRANO 2 Jude Blum Alex Bowen Kerry Cote
Esther Gross Dana Linder Christine Nyholm Jean O’Nan Kim Pflug* Mahli Ruff Lynne Snyer* Stacey Travis Sue Von Roedern Sherry Weinstein Sandy Woodrow
ALTO 2 Cass Chatfield* Joyce Dominguez* Brandy Jackson Ellen Janasko Joanna Maltzahn* Barbara Marchbank Kelly McNulty Leslie Nittoli Lisa Pak* Lisa Townsend*
ALTO 1 Priscilla Adams Kim Brown Clair Clauson Jayne Conrad Kaia Hoopes* Susan McWaters Ginny Passoth Jennifer Pringle Mary Thayer Pat Virtue
TENOR 1 Brian Dukeshier Tim Nicholas* William Reiley Ryan Waller* Ken Zimmerman* TENOR 2 Mac Bradley Dusty Davies* Roger Fuehrer John Gale* Ken Kolm
Taylor Martin* Tom Milligan Ron Ruth Jerry Sims BASS 1 John Adams Grant Carlton* George Cowen Bob Drickey Matthew Gray* Tom Jirak Ken Quarles* BASS 2 Eric Israelson Terry Jackson* Roy Kent Ken Moncrieff* John Phillips Russ Skillings Wil Swanson Stage Chorus*
SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 7
MASTERWORKS BIOGRAPHIES COLORADO CHILDREN’S CHORALE For more than forty years, the Colorado Children’s Chorale has brought its artistry and charm to audiences throughout the world. With a diverse repertoire ranging from fully-staged opera and musical theater to standard choral compositions in classical, folk, and popular traditions, the Chorale performs with an innovative stage presentation and a unique theatrical spirit. In recognition of its artistic excellence, the Chorale was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, and the prestigious El Pomar Award for Excellence in Arts and Humanities. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Deborah DeSantis and Executive Director Meg Steitz, the Colorado Children’s Chorale annually trains 500 members between the ages of 7 and 14 from all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds representing more than 180 schools in the Denver metro area and beyond. Since its founding in 1974, the Chorale has sung countless performances with some of the world’s finest performing arts organizations, performed for numerous dignitaries, and appeared in several television and radio broadcasts. The Performance Program includes a series of self-produced concerts, numerous performances with other Colorado arts organizations, and touring around the world. The Chorale presents annual performances of Christmas with the Children’s Chorale and Spring with the Children’s Chorale at Boettcher Concert Hall in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, A Classical Afternoon at Montview Presbyterian Church, and Performing Small Miracles at Colorado Heights Theater. Spring Fling Sing! is presented in venues across the metro area. This season also includes La Bohème, A Colorado Christmas, Mahler No. 3, and St. Matthew Passion with the Colorado Symphony, Carmina Burana with the Aspen Music Festival, and Carmen with Central City Opera.
Deborah DeSantis, Artistic Director and Conductor Mary Louise Burke, Associate Director and Conductor REGIONAL TOUR CHOIR West Arleth Nathan Ashworth Kelton Ayars Alicia Chavez Logan Day-Richter Jack Diamant Caroline Donnelly Margaux Dufrene Reagan Dukeshier Haylee Gonzales Sophia Haynes Ana Henderson
Reed Jacobs Emily Johnson Kuyper Kim Claire Mann Luke McAdams Ava McClure Collin McClure Olivia Mobus Linna Mora-Calderon Marisa Mulryan Nick Orndoff Kyle Peitzmeier Jack Peterson
Ben Ragan Morgan Rooks Anna Russell Mary Seaman Audra Snyder Teddy Sopkin Henry Trask Annisa Tunnell Cheranne Wang James Winter-Deciga Owen Wolfinger Ben York
PROGRAM 8 SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG
MASTERWORKS PROGRAM NOTES Music by GIACOMO PUCCINI (1858-1924) Libretto by GIUSEPPE GIACOSA (1847-1906) and LUIGI ILLICA (1857-1919) La Bohème, Opera in Four Acts Giacomo Puccini was born on December 22, 1858, in Lucca and died on November 29, 1924, in Brussels. Giuseppe Giacosa was born on October 21, 1847, in Colleretto Parella (now Colleretto Giacosa), Italy, and died there on September 2, 1906. Luigi Illica was born on May 9, 1857, in Castell’Arquato, Italy and died on December 16, 1919, in Colombarone. La Bohème was composed between 1893-1896 and premiered on February 1, 1896, in Turin, conducted by Arturo Toscanini. The score calls for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp, and strings. Duration is about 2 hours. Last performance of the complete opera by the orchestra was on March 5, 6, & 9, 1973, with Brian Priestman conducting at the former Auditorium Theater (converted now as the Ellie Opera House). Even before the successful premiere of Manon Lescaut at the Teatro Regio in Turin on February 1, 1893, had rocketed Puccini to international operatic prominence, he had begun searching for his next libretto. He toyed with the curious notion of writing an opera on the life of Buddha (Richard Wagner once entertained the same idea), and seriously considered a bloodthirsty and rather lascivious drama titled La Lupa (“The She-Wolf”) by Giovanni Verga, one of whose short stories had provided the subject for Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana of 1890. Puccini was serious enough about La Lupa to visit Verga in Sicily, but he was talked out of the project on the voyage back to the mainland by the Marchesa Gravina, the daughter of Hans von Bülow and Cosima Liszt—“It would be better if you worked at something nobler,” she advised him. By March 1893, these plans had been abandoned in favor of a libretto based on Henri Mürger’s novel Scènes de la vie de bohème, originally published in installments in the Parisian journal Le Corsair between 1847 and 1849 (Le Corsair printed Hector Berlioz’s first criticisms), and Théodore Barrière’s 1849 stage adaptation of the book as La vie de bohème. Puccini set his librettists for Manon (and later for Tosca and Madama Butterfly), the learned Giuseppe Giacosa and the mercurial Luigi Illica, to work on the book, but they encountered problems from the demanding composer (“To work for Puccini means to go through a living hell,” complained Illica), as well as from the varied and episodic construction of Mürger’s book—the first draft had twenty acts. Puccini’s working method required extensive and timeconsuming alterations to the libretto before he was ready to set it to music, but progress on this new opera—La Bohème—was given urgency since Ruggiero Leoncavallo, the composer of I Pagliacci (1892), was then working on the same subject. The competing projects were announced on consecutive days in the press. Despite what turned out to be a nearly vitriolic competition for the earlier premiere date, Giacosa and Illica could not get final approval for their libretto from Puccini until the summer of 1894. Puccini, busy travelling to oversee productions of his operas and always as eager to spend a day hunting in the forests around his newly purchased villa at Torre del Lago as much as composing, took the next eighteen months to complete the music. The first performance of La Bohème was given on February 1, 1896, at the Teatro Regio in Turin, site of Manon’s success exactly three years before; it beat Leoncavallo’s version to the stage by more than a year. SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 9
MASTERWORKS PROGRAM NOTES The premiere of La Bohème, conducted by the 29-year-old Arturo Toscanini, was greeted with cool indifference by the audience and sharp disappointment by the press. The cast seemed unable to rise to the challenges of the new work, and local music lovers were bemused by the economy of Puccini’s score in the wake of the first Italian performance of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung, conducted in the same house by Toscanini six weeks before. A subsequent production in Rome raised little more enthusiasm, and it was not until La Bohème reached Palermo in April 1897 that the opera won unbridled approval. It was staged at Covent Garden, London, in July 1900, and at the Metropolitan Opera in New York seven months later, and has since been one of the most enduring and beloved creations in all opera.
Synopsis The opera is set in the Latin Quarter of Paris in the 1830s. ACT I A scantily furnished and unheated garret. Christmas Eve. The poet Rodolfo and his companion Marcello, a painter, are at work in their impoverished flat. The lack of fuel for the stove prompts Marcello to comment that the water in the painting on his easel, “The Passage of the Red Sea,” looks bitterly cold. To provide some warmth, Rodolfo offers to burn the manuscript of the romantic tragedy upon which he had been working. As they are feeding the first act to the fire, Colline, a philosopher, arrives with the news that he has been unsuccessful in trying to pawn a bundle of his old books. The rest of the manuscript provides a few more moments of bright flames until the fire dies out. Before the three friends can become despondent, however, two boys enter bearing food and fuel—Schaunard, the musician among these Bohemians, has just been engaged by a wealthy Englishman for a series of lessons. Schaunard tosses some coins across the table to verify his good fortune. The food is unpacked and the stove stoked, but Schaunard suggests that they celebrate his luck by dining at the Café Momus. Their departure is delayed by a knock on the door: Benoit, the landlord, wants his rent. The four friends invite him in, ply him with wine, and allow him to boast of his flirtations with the ladies. The Bohemians feign indignation at this confession, and eject the tipsy landlord from the room without his payment. Marcello, Colline, and Schaunard leave the garret to wait in the courtyard below while Rodolfo finishes an article for a paper. No sooner have they departed than a timid knock is heard. Rodolfo opens the door to find Mimi, an upstairs neighbor, holding a key and a candle blown out by a draft. She asks Rodolfo if he could re-light her candle, but she is overcome by breathless weakness, and swoons. Rodolfo, touched by her pale, fragile beauty, revives her, and offers her some wine. He lights her candle and she starts to leave, but she realizes that she has lost her key. The wind again blows out her candle and Rodolfo surreptitiously extinguishes his own, leaving the room bathed in moonlight. Rodolfo finds the key, but conceals it and pretends to go on searching, seeking now to touch Mimi’s hand. “Your little hand is frozen” (Che gelida manina), he sings, “let me give it back its warmth.” Rodolfo tenderly holds Mimi’s hand as he tells her of his life: “I’m a poet.... I live in lighthearted poverty. But when it comes to dreams and visions, I’ve
PROGRAM 10 SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG
MASTERWORKS PROGRAM NOTES the soul of a millionaire.” She responds (Mi chiamano Mimi—“I’m called Mimi, but my name in Lucia”): “I embroider linen or silk. I delight in making roses and lilies. I live quite alone, looking out on the roofs and the sky.” The Bohemians shout from below that they are leaving for the Momus. “I’m not alone,” Rodolfo tells them. “Save two places for us.” Rodolfo and Mimi sing of their new-found love (O soave fanciulla—“O lovely girl”). The last lines of their rapturous duet die away as they walk slowly into the night. ACT II A bustling, brightly-lit square in the Latin Quarter. The terrace of the Café Momus occupies one side of the square. Christmas Eve. Hawkers, soldiers, students, and merrymakers fill the scene. Schaunard is haggling with a man over a horn, Colline is buying a coat, and Marcello is ogling the girls. The three take their table at the Café Momus, where they are joined by Rodolfo and Mimi, who is carrying a pink bonnet that the poet has bought for her. The toy-vendor Parpignol enters, followed by a crowd of excited children. As the clamor dies down, Musetta, Marcello’s old flame, arrives at the Momus, followed by her current patron, the pompous Alcindoro. Failing to attract Marcello’s attention, she breaks into her famous waltz, Quando men vo (“When I walk out alone along the streets, all the people stop and stare”). She sees that Marcello is unable to remain indifferent to her and pretends to Alcindoro that her shoe is hurting her, sending him off in search of a cobbler. Marcello and Musetta embrace and join the other Bohemians. The waiter brings the check, which Musetta instructs be added to Alcindoro’s bill. A military procession passes by and the Bohemians join the parade. Alcindoro returns with a new pair of shoes only to find Musetta gone and two large bills awaiting payment. ACT III Just inside the Porte d’Enfer, a tollgate in Paris. A bleak February dawn. The city is awakening: street cleaners arrive, demanding admittance; carters, milkmaids, and peasants exchange greetings. Voices are heard from an adjacent tavern, where Marcello and Musetta have found work and rooms. Mimi enters, pale and agitated, and asks a peasant to bring Marcello to her. She tells him that Rodolfo is madly jealous, and that she fears they must part—they quarreled the previous evening and he fled. Marcello agrees that parting may be for the best, telling Mimi that her lover spent the night with him at the tavern. Rodolfo awakens and approaches Marcello; Mimi hides behind a tree. Mimi overhears the poet tell Marcello that she is heartless and a coquette, but he then confesses that his real anxiety is caused by Mimi’s illness, which he can do nothing to help in his squalid flat. He fears that she will die. At the height of his outburst, Mimi’s coughing and sobs reveal her presence, and the lovers fall into each other’s arms. Musetta’s laughter from the inn sends Marcello into a rage, and he runs inside, leaving Mimi and Rodolfo alone. They agree to stay together until spring in a tender duet punctuated by the quarrel between Marcello and Musetta. “We shall part when the flowers bloom again,” sing the lovers. “I wish winter would last forever,” says Mimi.
SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 11
MASTERWORKS PROGRAM NOTES ACT IV The garret, as in Act I. Several months later. Mimi and Rodolfo have parted. Rodolfo and Marcello feign indifference to their former lovers, but then reveal their continuing strong feelings for Mimi and Musetta. Schaunard and Colline enter with a meager meal of some rolls and herrings, which the four pretend is a banquet. They clown and indulge in a mock duel and a series of dances, but are cut short when the door is flung open by Musetta. She has found Mimi, exhausted and ill, who asked to be brought back to Rodolfo. Mimi enters and Rodolfo helps her to the bed. Musetta gives her earrings to Marcello to sell to provide medicine and a doctor for Mimi. They leave. Colline offers to pawn his overcoat, and sings it a sad farewell before departing on his task with Schaunard. In a touching scene, the lovers recall their earlier happiness. Mimi is suddenly seized by a fit of coughing and falls back onto the bed. Schaunard returns, followed by Marcello and Musetta, who bring a muff to warm Mimi’s hands and the report that a doctor is on the way. Mimi gratefully accepts the muff, thinking that it is a present from Rodolfo. She places her hands in it and slowly sinks into unconsciousness. Musetta murmurs a prayer. Schaunard moves to the bed and then whispers to Marcello that Mimi is dead. Colline returns with the money from his coat and asks about Mimi. Rodolfo replies that she is peaceful, but he becomes apprehensive at the worried attitudes of his companions. He grows agitated, and Marcello comforts his friend when the realization of Mimi’s death strikes him. The curtain falls as Rodolfo despairingly cries the name of Mimi. ©2016 Dr. Richard E. Rodda
PROGRAM 12 SOUNDINGS 2016-2017 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG