From walking down the aisle to hosting an annual fundraiser, the theater is all yours. Michigan's premier venue is unmatched, offering versatile spaces for any celebration. Home to world-class performances and legendary productions, the historic Detroit Opera House offers a backdrop of elegance and drama. Between our exclusive lounges, main stage, grand lobby, and 360° panorama-view Sky Deck, this iconic venue is guaranteed to impress your guests.
Discover why we’re Detroit’s destination for show-stopping experiences.
A message from Patty Isacson Sabee
Welcome to our 24/25 Season!
We are thrilled to host you at the glorious Detroit Opera House with a much fuller series of programs than last year, producing four powerful operas on our main stage and doubling the number of dance companies we present. We are delighted to embrace so many new and renewing subscribers and to see our dance fans join us for opera—and vice versa.
In our 54th season, we are proud to open with the news that Yuval Sharon, our Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director, has renewed his relationship with Detroit Opera through the 27/28 season. A visionary leader, he continues to build on this company’s legacy of innovation and sets the stage for ever more creative and unexpected ways to transform our experience of opera and dance.
And while he has been busy with dynamic projects here and abroad, he somehow found the time to write a book! A New Philosophy of Opera was published in September to critical acclaim and animated discussion in many major media outlets. I encourage you to explore what the Washington Post describes as “an infectious ode to opera.” We look forward to continued engagement and conversations with you about our role in the bright, bold future of our beloved art form.
We hope you find many transformative moments in our productions this season. Your generosity is crucial to our work, as is the leadership support of The William Davidson Foundation in sponsoring the 24/25 season at Detroit Opera. We are proud to have earned their investment in the vitality of our community.
On behalf of the Board, staff, volunteers, and hundreds of eclectic, opinionated, and creative workers from the Detroit region and beyond, we are so delighted to share the enchantment of this season with you.
Patty Isacson Sabee President & CEO, Detroit Opera
FEB 22, 2025 / SAT / 7:30PM
FEB 28, 2025 / FRI / 7:30PM
MAR 02, 2025 / SUN / 2:30PM
MUSIC GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
LIBRETTO GIACOMO ROSSI
Handel’s Baroque blockbuster is viewed through the lens of a child’s fantasy in a contemporary pediatric ward. The young patients venture on a heroic journey, where knights, sorcerers, monsters, and magic are used as a salve for unimaginable challenges. Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo leads the talented cast in Louisa Proske’s reimagined production, conducted by Detroit Opera Music Director Roberto Kalb.
BY
PHOTO
EVAN ZIMMERMAN
A message from Jon H. Teeuwissen
Welcome to Dance @ Detroit Opera!
The 24/25 season features an eclectic mix of six worldclass companies, four of them accompanied by live music. Our dance season presents the widest possible spectrum of dance styles, including modern dance, classical ballet, and contemporary ballet.
Mark Morris Dance Group opens the fall season with The Look of Love, a loving tribute to one of pop music’s greatest songwriting teams, Burt Bacharach and Hal David. Mark Morris has been described as “indisputably the most musical” choreographer by The New York Times. Many in the audience will be familiar with Bacharach’s music, but his songs sound completely fresh in new arrangements by Ethan Iverson, sung and played live. Fourteen selections include “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head,” “Walk on By,” and “I Say a Little Prayer,” the latter recorded in the 1960s, first by Dionne Warwick and then by Aretha Franklin. This piece is bound to be loved by “Anyone Who Had a Heart.”
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, celebrating its 50th-anniversary season, presents an evening of great classical works, but with a comic twist. This all-male ensemble—also known as the Trocks—dances both the male and female roles, offering some seriously proficient pointe work in excerpts from classics such as Swan Lake. They pay homage to and parody well-known choreography by the likes of George Balanchine and Merce Cunningham. The Trocks perform an exaggerated, hilarious version of iconic ballerina Anna Pavlova’s most famous ballet solo, The Dying Swan. This signature piece is serious fun!
Complexions Contemporary Ballet debuts at the Detroit Opera House just in time for its 30th anniversary. Co-founded by two former Ailey dancers as “a concept in dance,” Complexions originally featured dancers from the major New York-based companies such as Joffrey, Ailey, and Dance Theatre of Harlem. What started as a project evolved into a well-respected, inventive contemporary ballet company that tours internationally. The repertoire features choreography by Dwight Rhoden that melds classical and contemporary ballet. The first half of the program, danced to classical music, includes my favorite Rhoden pas de deux, Ave Maria, and will feature a live performance by soprano Brianna Robinson, one of Detroit Opera’s 24/25 Resident Artists. A brand-new spoken-word piece by Aaron Dworkin will be performed to Global Warming by Michael Abels, co-composer of the 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera Omar. The second half, Love Rocks, is choreographed to the music of Lenny Kravitz. I promise that you will leave the opera house feeling the love!
Jon H. Teeuwissen Artistic Advisor for Dance
Volunteers are the heart of all we do.
For lovers of opera, dance, theater, history, and community.
Join Detroit Opera’s volunteer community and share your gifts and talents. Have fun and make friends while participating in a multitude of opportunities all supporting Detroit Opera’s mission.
Our volunteers are ambassadors for Detroit Opera and the city of Detroit, warmly welcoming patrons from near and far to the beautiful, 100-year-old Detroit Opera House for an experience they will cherish forever.
Easily sign up for events using our online volunteer portal.
Detroit Opera Youth Chorus presents
DECEMBER 15, 2024
@2:00PM AT DETROIT OPERA HOUSE TICKETS AVAILABLE AT DETROITOPERA.ORG
Operetta Remix
This summer, Operetta Remix, a camp for aspiring artists ages 13-18, performed at DO with a company of 24 students. The students worked with experienced opera and theater professionals to develop their skills in singing, acting, stage movement, healthy vocal technique, and audition practice. The repertoire included pieces from the operetta, opera, and musical theater canon.
Create & Perform
Making a successful return to our summer programming, Create & Perform recently welcomed students ages 8-12 for an innovative two-week program. These young artists created their own stories, dances, and music compositions, culminating in a performance at Detroit Opera titled Wonderland: No Town Like Motown
Questions about summer programs?
Contact Director of Education Branden Hood at bhood@detroitopera.org or Associate Director of Education Mark Vondrak at mvondrak@detroitopera.org
The Future of Opera. Built in Detroit.
Introducing our National Circle giving society
If you are a proud champion of all things “Detroit-made” and an advocate of operatic distinction and innovation on a national—and even international—level, then you belong in our newly established National Circle giving society.
Through your generous annual gift of $25,000 or more, you will be making a resounding statement demonstrating your profound passion for our art form and unwavering belief in its potential to affect meaningful change. It is a vote of confidence in our intention to present a broad spectrum of operatic experiences—from the traditional, time-honored gems of the repertoire to living-and-breathing contemporary creations and re-imaginings—that bring together people of all ages and backgrounds, and inspire timely and important conversations.
It’s Your Turn to Be in the National Spotlight
To learn more about the National Circle and associated donor benefits, please contact Juliano Bitonti Stewart, Director of Development, at 313.965.4271 or jstewart@detroitopera.org.
“We want to be very inclusive in creating the National Circle because it’s all about supporting Detroit Opera on a national stage. So if you care about Detroit, if you care about opera, and if you care about the integral role Detroit Opera plays in shaping the future of both of those important things, then we would like to welcome you to be a part of what we’re doing.”
Barbara Walkowski, National Circle Founding Chair
By Dr. Naomi André
Verdi’s opera La traviata helps us see ourselves. We all have something to strive for as we negotiate the social codes that we were born into. Some of us are able to live comfortably within the conventions of society and are grateful for what we have. While we hold charitable ideas towards others who are less fortunate, who we are comes down to our reputation; no one will argue against the honor in protecting our families. Yet some of us are born with fewer opportunities and work hard with the limited resources we have. We make the best choices we can, even when they are not ideal. Here, when we have a chance at happiness, and it fits within society’s mores, we believe that we have found success. This is the world of La traviata.
The opera’s heroine, Violetta Valéry, has risen to prominent society through her ability to fit within the patriarchal codes of the time (both of Verdi’s time and the original setting of the opera, Paris in 1700s) by charming and delighting men. Giorgio Germont is not averse to socializing with Violetta; they attend the same parties and frequently enjoy the same lifestyle. When his son Alfredo falls in love with Violetta (and she returns that love), desire, respectability, and reputation clash together. Violetta invests her hard-earned life’s savings into a new beginning with Alfredo, hoping for a few months of happiness before her sickness overtakes her. Giorgio Germont sees a young, beautiful courtesan sullying the standing of his family; he follows his instincts to put his family’s reputation first and uphold the code that prevents incongruous social pairings, despite his son’s feelings and Violetta’s reality.
We think that we easily understand Violetta. She is the fallen woman at the center of the narrative. She seems so familiar. We recognize the trope of the over-sexualized woman who might have fun for a while yet eventually must pay for her transgressions. This was true for contemporary audiences in 1853 when the opera premiered. The tantalizing story of purchased sex cloaked within the safety of the opera stage helped spectators explore a hushed illicit pleasure and fantasy. Today, while we might scoff
at what we perceive as repressed Victorian mores, we also excitedly peer into a party culture fueled by sexual desire. Against the backdrop of Verdi’s elegant music, featuring lyrical melodies and an abundance of triple-metered dance rhythms, it is easy for us to get carried away in the well-orchestrated drama. What might be less obvious is the reason our attention is held.
Past the effervescence of desire is the meaning behind the entanglements and consequences of love. La traviata reminds us why we are willing to risk everything. And it unveils that uncomfortable reckoning of how we so easily judge who is worthy and deserving.
Within Verdi’s lifetime, we see that the model of 19th-century womanhood presents unfair stakes for Violetta; it isn’t an evenhanded game for her, as she lives outside of having access to social respectability. An unusual element for this Verdi opera is that all the women we meet in La traviata are outside of royal, aristocratic, and reputable bourgeois society. Violetta associates with the upper classes through the exchange of money and protection for her services. There’s nothing to indicate that her friend Flora Bervoix occupies a different social position. Annina is Violetta’s faithful servant, and the other women in the opera are either the guests of the parties that Violetta and Flora host for upper-class gentlemen (hardly a place their
wives would appear), or the exotic fortunetellers in the chorus who entertain at Flora’s party.
The ideal model of womanhood for La traviata exists only in an ethereal sense: through Alfredo’s nameless sister, who presents the flawless foil to Violetta, the fallen woman. We first hear of this sister strategically in Act II, when Giorgio Germont accuses Violetta of bewitching his son and demands that she leave him immediately. Violetta’s response is poised and spot-on; she lets him know that she’s a dignified woman in her own house. She quickly reveals that she’s been supporting them on her money, and that she loves Alfredo in a sincere way that she believes makes up for her past. Germont realizes that Violetta has a noble self-possession, and he searches for another argument to persuade Violetta to leave. Up to this moment, Germont and Violetta have been singing in a free-style type of verse with very sparse orchestral accompaniment; at this point the usual operatic conventions (la solita forma) for the formal tempo and verse forms of duets haven’t yet taken hold.
However, when Germont sings of his daughter—“pure as an angel”—who isn’t able to marry (due to her brother’s liaison with Violetta), the rules of la solita forma set in. Verdi scripts Germont’s patriarchal stance in a way that ensnares Violetta formally in the music and thrusts the two
characters into the standard duet convention. Musically, Verdi had allowed Violetta to stand up to Germont in a way that was outside of traditional duets—to speak her mind in a way not bound by predictable versification and rhyme schemes. But as Germont gets his way, the conventions take hold. Nonetheless, Violetta doesn’t give up easily, fighting back with her refusal to sing Germont’s melodies or follow his lead, as she attempts to negotiate to leave Alfredo for only a short time, until his sister marries. She tells him that leaving Alfredo will destroy both of them, but Germont thinks she’s being overly dramatic and insists that she leave Alfredo permanently, while trying to reassure her that she’ll meet someone else one day. Yet by this time, the crux of Germont’s argument—that Violetta is not “pure as an angel”—has sunken into her psyche. She no longer feels worthy or deserving of happiness with Alfredo, especially at the expense of his virtuous sister. As the duet progresses within the familiar conventions, Germont offers Violetta a proposition she accepts—to “be the consoling angel of my family.”
That duet is the opera’s backbone, as it reveals a fundamental tension within the patriarchal codes of behavior. When Violetta wants to settle down and devote herself to Alfredo, she is not allowed to do so. The opera sits squarely in
the era of the Victorian ethic, with women’s respectability centered primarily in the domestic sphere. Though Italy can’t uncritically be conflated with cultural and political movements in the rest of Europe and the United States, it seems fitting that Coventry Patmore’s wildly successful narrative poem, “The Angel in the House”—about a feminine ideal for women as wife and mother safely ensconced within domesticity—appeared in 1854, the year after La traviata premiered. Violetta achieves neither of these identities and her interaction with Germont illuminates the potency of this model from Alfredo’s pure angelic sister to Violetta’s own acceptance of her invisible role as the banished consoling angel to the Germont family.
Verdi gives keen attention to form and characterization in La traviata. The title takes the past participle of the Italian verb traviare (to lead astray), and turns it into a noun frequently translated as “The Fallen Woman.” This etymology has significance for the opera, since it can be read that the title character, Violetta, is the one to do the misleading; after all, she’s a courtesan, and when Germont confronts her in Act II, he certainly feels that his son has been led astray. However, in the opera’s third act, we see a different side of the story, as Violetta herself seems more the victim of having been betrayed as she suffers and slowly expires, nearly alone and feeling abandoned in Paris.
The libretto for La traviata , written by Francesco Maria Piave (Verdi’s most frequent librettist), was based on La Dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas, fils. Verdi and Giuseppina Strepponi—his life partner who later became his wife—both read the novel (1848) and saw the play (1852) together in Paris. Strepponi, previously his leading soprano at the triumphant premiere of his first hit, Nabucco (1841), became his trusted advisor from her extensive experience in the opera industry. Though it pushed society’s norms for them to live together unmarried (they didn’t officially become husband and wife until 1859), they remained devoted to each other for the rest of their lives. Their life together provides one of the background contexts for Verdi as he was writing La traviata .
Although one of Verdi’s most beloved and often-performed operas, La traviata had a much bumpier beginning than one might anticipate. The word “fiasco” came up several times in Verdi’s own words about the work, and the initial reception was generally cool. After only nine performances, the opera was withdrawn. Once Verdi had revised it, the new version premiered a year later at the smaller Teatro San Benedetto, also in Venice. From the singers cast in the two productions and specific elements in the music (though Verdi downplayed the revisions, scholars suggest that some were quite substantial), in 1854 the opera fulfilled the potential Verdi
always believed it had. This time, the reception was much stronger and Verdi now referred to it as a and an unmitigated success. The topic of women’s positions in society that weren’t rooted in the domestic sphere was bold in the 1850s and remains relevant today. We live in an era where gender dynamics continue to be complicated. Inequities surrounding identity, trans women, and sexual abuse uncovered by the #MeToo movement are the result of an outdated social system architecturally designed by and for men. Yet in this biased atmosphere of La traviata witnesses how Giorgio Germont is affected by Violetta. He sees and acknowledges her dignity. While ultimately he still holds the upper hand regarding societal power in their duet, Violetta emerges as the more sympathetic, human, and fully developed character.
Violetta is revealed as a truly decent and upright character when she forgives both father and son at the end. In the audience, we understand that onstage this opera’s heroine can’t get what she deserves at the end—fair treatment and a sanguine, respectable life with Alfredo. Yet the larger picture, offstage with the complementing story of Verdi in real life choosing to be with Strepponi, a strong, honorable woman, feels especially powerful today as it approaches more equitable goals within a long-term committed relationship.
This essay is taken from a 2019 Lyric Opera of Chicago essay and updated for Detroit Opera, October 2024.
Naomi André is the David G. Frey Distinguished Professor in Music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Board Member of Detroit Opera. From 2019 to 2024 she was Seattle Opera’s Scholar in Residence and has worked with opera companies across the United States. She is the author of Voicing Gender: Castrati, Travesti, and the Second Woman in Early Nineteenth-Century Italian Opera and Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement and co-editor of Blackness in Opera and African Performance Arts and Political Acts .
The trope of the “fallen woman” has been a recurring theme in opera for centuries.
By Dr. Austin T. Richey
La traviata is perhaps the most famous opera to feature a woman who defies social or sexual norms and faces tragic consequences.
Dr. Naomi André’s in-depth essay in these pages provides a fascinating look at Violetta and the world of La traviata. Other prominent examples in opera include the characters Lucia di Lammermoor, Carmen, Cio-Cio-San, Anna Nicole Smith, and Bess McNeill. These “fallen women” are not just victims but complex characters who challenge, question, and break societal rules, at great personal cost. While frequently reinforcing contemporary gender norms, these operas also offer a critique of the restrictive roles imposed on women, making these characters figures of both pathos and resistance. These operas address timeless themes such as love, suffering, autonomy, societal judgment, and the desire for dignity.
Lucia— Lucia di Lammermoor, premiered 1835
In Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, the title character is caught in a feud between her family and the family of her lover, Edgardo. Manipulated into marrying another man, Arturo,
Lucia goes mad on her wedding night and kills Arturo. She later dies, still longing for Edgardo, embodying the “fallen woman” archetype through a descent into madness and tragic death, exacerbated by societal and familial pressures. Lucia’s story is a poignant exploration of the devastating effects of patriarchal control, forced marriage, and mental health.
Carmen— Carmen, premiered 1875
Carmen is a free-spirited, passionate Romani woman who works in a cigarette factory in Seville.
Her rejection of social norms makes her a symbol of independence and defiance. However, her relationships, particularly with Don José, lead to jealousy and violence, culminating in Don José murdering her after she rejects him for another lover, Escamillo. Carmen’s refusal to be “owned” by any man makes her both a feminist icon and a tragic figure in the patriarchal context of the 19th century. Her unapologetic independence and uninhibited sexuality challenge traditional gender roles, and her tragic end reflects the violent consequences that often
face women who live authentically a nd assert their independence today, particularly those forced to the margins of society.
Cio-Cio-San— Madama Butterfly, premiered 1904
In Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Cio-Cio-San, a 15-year-old Japanese geisha known as “Madama Butterfly,” marries an American naval officer, Pinkerton. Pinkerton views their marriage as a temporary arrangement, and quickly abandons her. With an unwavering belief in love and honor, she awaits his return for many years. Eventually, Pinkerton returns with his new American wife. Cio-Cio-San is devastated and takes her own life, a victim of her love and trust in a society that does not accept her.
Cio-Cio-San’s story delves into the destructive effects of colonialism and cultural imperialism, particularly on women. Her tragic fate is a result of a power imbalance between herself and Pinkerton, who disregards her culture, her feelings, and her future.
Anna Nicole Smith—Anna Nicole, premiered 2011
Mark-Anthony Turnage’s opera dives into the tumultuous life of Anna Nicole Smith, a woman whose quest for the American dream catapulted her into the chaotic world of fame. From Playboy model to billionaire’s wife, Anna Nicole's life was a vivid spectacle of excess, ambition, and exploitation, painted against a backdrop of glittery highs and devastating lows. The opera exposes the fragile reality beneath the glamour: addiction, media scrutiny,
and a relentless pursuit of love and belonging in a world eager to devour its stars. It is a story of love and loss, glitz and grit—a modern fable where the line between ambition and selfdestruction blurs under the harsh lights of fame.
Bess McNeill— Breaking the Waves, premiered 2016
In Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Breaking the Waves, Bess McNeill is a nuanced example of a “fallen woman,” whose defiance of strict religious norms and her community’s moral standards leads to her being ostracized. Driven by an intense love for her paralyzed husband, Jan, Bess engages in risky sexual behavior at his request, believing it will aid his recovery. Her actions, viewed as sinful and degenerate in her rural 1970s Scotland town, mark her as an outcast, beyond redemption. However, Bess’s motivations are deeply rooted in faith and sacrificial love: she becomes a martyr-like figure whose purity and devotion starkly contrast with the way her community judges her. Her tragic fate invites reflection on the harsh consequences and stigmatization faced by those who defy societal norms.
Austin T. Richey is Detroit Opera’s Storyteller and Digital Media Manager. He recently joined the faculty at College for Creative Studies, where he teaches Introduction to Material Culture. He is an ethnomusicologist whose research explores diasporic African music’s role in social movements, identity, and resistance— particularly in Zimbabwe and Detroit.
BY SCOTT SUCHMAN
PHOTO
SYNOPSIS
The story of La traviata , courtesy of The Glimmerglass Festival
ACT I
Violetta Valéry, the renowned courtesan, is suffering from the final stages of consumption. As she languishes in a sanatorium, she relives moments from her brief, tumultuous life.
When Alfredo Germont arrives at a party at her home, she is surprised by his devotion and concern. Alfredo leads a toast to love; Violetta responds with a toast to pleasure. Feeling faint, she excuses herself to rest. Alfredo follows, begging her to allow him to love and care for her. She tells him she is not interested in commitment, but invites him to return the next day. Alone, she wonders if she is capable of real love, but dismisses the idea as nonsense.
ACT II
Three months later, Violetta and Alfredo are living together outside Paris. After learning that she plans to sell her belongings to maintain their country retreat, Alfredo goes to Paris to pay their debts. While he is away, Giorgio Germont visits and begs Violetta to leave Alfredo, his son, arguing that her association with the family will ruin his daughter’s prospects. Violetta, moved and heartbroken, writes to Alfredo and tells him she no longer loves him. When Alfredo receives the letter, he is devastated; his father’s attempts to console him are unsuccessful.
INTERMISSION
ACT III
Violetta attends a party with her new protector, Baron Douphol. Violetta pulls Alfredo aside and begs him to leave; he refuses and threatens to duel with the Baron. To avoid breaking her promise to the elder Germont, Violetta insists that she loves the Baron. Furious and hurt, Alfredo calls the guests together and publicly insults Violetta.
Violetta, returning to the present, rereads a letter from Giorgio Germont. According to the letter, Alfredo went abroad after dueling with the Baron; his father wrote to him to explain Violetta’s sacrifice.
Alfredo arrives, asking forgiveness and pledging eternal love. Violetta expresses hope for their future together, but she is very weak. Alfredo sends Annina for the Doctor. He arrives with Giorgio Germont, who reproaches himself for his earlier behavior toward Violetta. He asks forgiveness and pledges to accept her as a daughter, but he is too late.
These performances of La traviata are presented by William Davidson Foundation 24/25 SEASON SPONSOR
PHOTO BY SCOTT SUCHMAN
MUSIC Giuseppe Verdi
LIBRETTO Francesco Maria Piave
BASED ON THE NOVEL
La dame aux camélias by Alexandre Dumas fils
World premiere: March 6, 1853, Teatro La Fenice
Opera in three acts, performed in Italian with projected English surtitles
SAT OCT 19, 7:30 PM
PRE-OPERA TALK @6:30PM WITH YUVAL SHARON AND ROBERTO KALB
FRI OCT 25, 7:30 PM
PRE-OPERA TALK @6:30PM WITH JACK BLASZKIEWICZ AND SUZANNE MALLARE ACTON
SUN OCT 27, 2:30 PM
PRE-OPERA TALK @1:30PM WITH ROBERTO KALB AND SUZANNE MALLARE ACTON
No photography or video during the performance is allowed. Please silence all phones.
DURATION: 2HR 25MIN - ONE INTERMISSION
PRODUCTION
DIRECTOR
Francesca Zambello
SET DESIGNER
Peter Davison
COSTUME DESIGNER
Jess Goldstein
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Mark McCullough
CHOREOGRAPHER
Parker Esse
WIG AND MAKEUP DESIGNER
Joanne Middleton-Weaver
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Joshua Horowitz
ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNER
A.J. Guban
ASSOCIATE CHOREOGRAPHER
Andrea Beasom
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Kimberley S. Prescott
STAGE MANAGER
Nan Luchini
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS
Hailli Ridsdale, Lauren Wickett
CHORUS MASTER
Suzanne Mallare Acton
REPETITEURS
Nathalie Doucet, John Etsell
Scenery for this production was constructed at The Glimmerglass Festival and is jointly owned by Washington National Opera, the Atlanta Opera, Glimmerglass Opera Theater, Seattle Opera, and Indiana University.
Costumes for this production were constructed at the Washington National Opera Costume Studio and are jointly owned by Washington National Opera, the Atlanta Opera, Glimmerglass Opera Theater, Seattle Opera, and Indiana University.
FLORA’S SERVANT Matthew Konopacki = Resident Artist
Detroit Opera gratefully acknowledges Henry Ford Health’s team of professionals, who provide care for the artists on our stage.
DETROIT OPERA CHORUS
Detroit Opera principal cast and choristers are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists
CHORUS MASTER
Suzanne Mallare Acton
DETROIT OPERA CHORUS
Brandy Adams
Ernesto Alvarez-Ramirez
Gregory Ashe
Alaina Brown
Paige Chapman
Benton DeGroot
Brianna DeSantis
Marko Farion
William Floss
Michael Fowler
Kurt Frank
Anna Hart
Paige Heidrich
Richard Jackson Jr.
Cameron Barrett Johnson
Audrey Kline
Matthew Konopacki
Hillary LaBonte
Keiwon Lambert
Adrian Leskiw
David Magumba
Jovia McNeal
Sarah Catherine Moore
Darryl Mopkins
Leslie Ann Naeve
Jessie Neilson
Paolo Pacheco
Katya Powder
Loren Reash-Henz
Kristina Riegle
Claire Ryterski
Kevin Starnes
Terrence Stewart
Daniel Strawder
Sofia Vasileiadou
Allison Wamser
Justin Watson
Catherine Wilson
Olga Yalovenko
Alexa Zeremenko
Heidi Bowen Zook
DANCERS & SUPERNUMERARIES
DANCERS
Meghan Allen
Claire Bechard
Parker Brudzinski
SUPERNUMERARIES
Sharon Baynard
Kyle Bjorklund
Scott Brozowski
Amy Donow Heinrich
Jake Falls
Joseph Galba
Gabi Iriarte
Savanna McFadden
Elizabeth Schanz
Alexandra Sergakis
Carl Fontana
Bill Forgacs
Sandeep Gupta
Jahleel Hunley
Liza Kazimi
Katrina Kubisiak
Jonni Paige
Catherine Rapp
Brandon Stuart
LA TRAVIATA ORCHESTRA
Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local #5, of the American Federation of Musicians
VIOLIN I
Daniel Stachyra* Interim Concertmaster
Yuri Popowycz* Acting Assistant Concertmaster
Henrik Karapetyan*
Mallory Tabb
Beth Kirton*
David Ormai
Molly Hughes*
Courtney Lubin
Emily Barkakati*
Zola Hightower
VIOLIN II
Emelyn Bashour* Principal
Jenny Wan*
Velda Kelly*
Karen Donato
Anna Bittar-Weller*
Jennifer Berg
Judith Teasdle
Melody Wootton
VIOLA
John Madison* Principal
Scott Stefanko*
James Greer
Jacqueline Hanson*
Julianne Zinn
Joseph Deller
CELLO
Ivana Biliskov* Principal
Benjamin Maxwell*
Andrea Yun*
Sabrina Lackey
Terence Lo
Tung-An Chien
BASS
Derek Weller* Principal
Clark Suttle*
Jean Posekany
Robert Stiles
FLUTE
Dennis Carter II Acting Principal
Caen Thomason-Redus
OBOE
Eli Stefanacci* Principal
Yuki Harding
CLARINET
Roi Karni* Principal
J. William King*
BASSOON
Daniel Fendrick* Principal
Christian Green
* Detroit Opera Core Orchestra Members Members of the violin sections occasionally rotate.
HORN
Colin Bianchi* Principal
Carrie Banfield-Taplin*
Susan Mutter
Nicholas Culver
TRUMPET
David Ammer* Principal
Mark Davis*
TROMBONE
Mark Broschinsky Acting Principal
Dustin Nguyen*
Bryan Pokorney Bass Trombone
CIMBASSO
Philip Sinder
TIMPANI
Eric Stoss* Principal
PERCUSSION
John Dorsey* Principal
David Taylor
HARP
Juan Riveros Acting Principal
ROBERTO KALB CONDUCTOR
Mexican-born conductor Roberto Kalb has served as Music Director of Detroit Opera since 2022. He conducted Detroit Opera’s performances of The Cunning Little Vixen in May 2024 and two concerts featuring the Detroit Opera Orchestra and Resident Artists in the fall of 2023. He conducted Yuval Sharon’s new production of La bohème at Detroit Opera in 2022. Additional 2023–24 season performances for Roberto included house debuts at Santa Fe Opera (L’elisir d’amore) and Atlanta Opera (Rigoletto), concerts with the Kansas City Symphony and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci at Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Season highlights in 2022–23 included performances at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, San Diego Opera, and San Francisco Opera.
In 2019, Roberto concluded a five-year tenure as resident conductor and head of music at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), where he led the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Awakenings (2022); he also conducted OTSL’s critically acclaimed run of Rigoletto (2019) in collaboration with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Roberto has also conducted at companies including Op éra Orchestra National Montpellier, Florida Grand Opera, Kentucky Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Maine, and Tulsa Opera.
He has conducted performances with the Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México, Orquesta Carlos Chavez in Mexico City, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Palm Beach Symphony, and the Orquestra Sinfonica da USP in São Paulo, Brazil.
Roberto holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and in 2021 was awarded the prestigious Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award. He is married to soprano Mané Galoyan.
Website: robertokalb.com
FRANCESCA ZAMBELLO DIRECTOR
Francesca Zambello is an internationally recognized director of opera and theater who has served as the Artistic Director of the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center since 2013. She was Artistic and General Director of the Glimmerglass Festival from 2011 to 2022, when she was named the company’s Artistic and General Director, Emerita.
Francesca’s work has been seen at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, the Bolshoi, Covent Garden, the Munich Staatsoper, Paris Opera, New York City Opera, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and English National Opera. She has staged plays and musicals on Broadway, at the Royal National Theatre, BAM, the Guthrie Theater, Vienna’s Raimund Theater, the Bregenz Festival, Sydney Festival, Disneyland, Berlin’s Theater des Westens, and at the Kennedy Center. She received the San Francisco Opera Medal for Artistic Excellence for her more than 30 years of artistic contributions to the company, including serving as Artistic Advisor from 2006 to 2011.
She received the Knighthood of the Order of the Star of Italy for her contribution to the promotion of Italian culture and heritage and has been awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for her contribution to French culture. Theatrical honors include three Olivier Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, two French Grand Prix des Critiques, Helpmann Award, Green Room Award, Palme d’Or in Germany, and the Golden Mask in Russia.
She began her career as the Artistic Director of the Skylight Opera Theatre and as an assistant director to the late Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. An American who grew up in Europe, she speaks French, Italian, German, and Russian. She is a graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, from which she also received an Honorary Doctorate. Francesca lives in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Cooperstown, New York with her wife, Faith Gay, a founding partner of Selendy & Gay, and their son, Jackson.
Website: francescazambello.com
GIUSEPPE VERDI
COMPOSER
Born: Le Roncole, Italy, October 9, 1813
Died: Milan, Italy, January 27, 1901
Giuseppe Verdi was the major Italian musical dramatist of the nineteenth century, the successor to Bellini, Donizetti, and Rossini. Along with Wagner, he was the most important opera composer of the period and received national and international recognition for his powerful stage works. Whereas Wagner turned to myth and legend for inspiration and fashioned his own librettos, Verdi drew on dramas by figures such as Dumas, Hugo, Schiller, and Shakespeare as the basis for his output, working closely with established librettists such as Piave and Boito.
Verdi began his formal musical training aged 12 and came to the attention of Antonio Barezzi, a Busseto businessman. Barezzi became his patron and later on his father-in-law. Following studies in Milan, Verdi made his earliest attempts at writing operas. The premiere of Nabucco at La Scala, with its celebrated chorus of the Hebrew slaves, “Va, pensiero,” catapulted him to national fame. This chorus of longing for a homeland later became associated with the Italian nationalist movement. The 1850s brought three operas whose popularity has never waned: Rigoletto, Il trovatore, and La traviata . The premieres of his later Italian operas were all major cultural events, eagerly anticipated.
While Verdi remained loyal to many of the well-established musical structures he inherited from the previous generation of Italian composers—such as the cavatina (a solo aria in distinct sections, moving from slow to fast)—he did much to expand and refine the available forms and generate a more sophisticated style of opera. Verdi’s harmonic language is simple and direct, gaining in subtlety and adventurousness as his career progressed. His orchestral writing always supports the vocal line and underlines the dramatic argument.
Verdi wrote 26 complete operas during his lifetime as well as plenty of other works. As well as being performed in opera houses, theaters, and concert halls worldwide, Verdi’s music appears in films, television shows, video games, and advertisements.
Courtesy of English National Opera. Visit eno.org to read more.
FRANCESCO MARIA PIAVE
LIBRETTIST
Born: Murano, Italy, May 18, 1810
Died: Milan, Italy, March 5, 1876
Francesco Maria Piave was an Italian poet and writer best known for his librettos to operas by Giuseppe Verdi. He was Verdi’s most frequent collaborator, and between 1844 and 1862 the pair created Ernani, I due Foscari, Macbeth, Il Corsaro, Stiffelio, Rigoletto, La traviata, Simon Boccanegra, Aroldo, and La forza del destino. He also supplied texts for operas by many other prominent composers of the time, including Giovanni Pacini, Carlo Romani, Saverio Mercadante, and Federico Ricci.
The son of a glassmaker, Piave studied briefly for the priesthood, then embarked on studies of rhetoric and philosophy. As a young man, he worked as a proofreader and published translations, criticism, and short stories. He was working at Teatro La Fenice in Venice when he first met Verdi, who was looking for a librettist. Their first collaboration, Ernani , based on Victor Hugo’s play Hernani, was an immediate success at its 1844 premiere at La Fenice. Piave and Verdi worked together frequently for almost two decades, becoming close friends.
For his operas, Verdi was often drawn to subjects that were considered controversial, and Piave’s diplomatic skills came in useful during negotiations with the Italian censors who controlled whether and how an opera got staged. He had an excellent theatrical sense and a special ability to capture a character in a few simple, memorable tag-phrases that matched Verdi’s recurring themes: Violetta’s soaring “Sempre libera” (always free) in La traviata, or the Duke of Mantua’s “La donna è mobile” (Woman is fickle) in Rigoletto, which perfectly conveys the Duke’s corrupt, hedonistic nature.
Piave was paralyzed after suffering a stroke in 1867. He died in Milan nine years later; Verdi paid for his funeral and arranged for him to be buried at the city’s Monumental Cemetery, where Verdi was later buried.
EMILY POGORELC | VIOLETTA VALÉRY
American soprano Emily Pogorelc is quickly gaining notice for her “marvellously flexible lyric soprano, both warm and luminous” (Opera magazine) and captivating stage presence. During the 2023–24 season she made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Lisette in Puccini’s La rondine and made her role debut as Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Other 2023–24 performances included a house and role debut as Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito (Royal Danish Opera), also the vehicle for her debut with the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Over several seasons as an ensemble member of Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, her roles have included Ilia in Idomeneo, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte , Adina in L’elisir d’amore , Sister Constance in Dialogues des Carmelites , Xenia in Boris Godunov, and Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel . She has performed Amina in Rolando Villazón’s production of La sonnambula at Semperoper Dresden, the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor at Staatsoper Hamburg, and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette in her hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Recent concerts include an open-air gala in Bratislava with Rolando Villazón, a recital debut at the Kennedy Center, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg. Passionate about performing new works, she sang the role of Chan Parker in Opera Philadelphia’s production of Daniel Schnyder’s Charlie Parker’s Yardbird at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem in 2016. Additional credits include the title role in David Hertzberg’s The Rose Elf at Opera Philadelphia and Norma in Marina Abramovic’s 7 Deaths of Maria Callas at Royal Theatre Carré, Amsterdam. Website: emilypogorelc.com Instagram: @ emmypogo
GALEANO SALAS | ALFREDO GERMONT
Mexican-American tenor Galeano Salas is establishing himself as one of the leading operatic tenors of his generation, praised for his romantic, Italianate sound. His 2023–24 season highlights included Camille de Rosillon in Die lustige Witwe (Teatro Colón), Rodolfo in La bohème (Teatro Regio Torino, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Carlo Felice), and Alfred in Die Fledermaus (Semperoper Dresden). In Verona, he made his role debut as Ruggero in Teatro Filarmonico’s production of Puccini’s La rondine and sang Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore at the Bayerische Staatsoper. His 2022–23 season included Chevalier des Grieux in Manon (Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile), Rodolfo in La bohème (Teatro Filarmonico, Verona), Alfred in Die Fledermaus (Bayerische Staatsoper), and Rodolfo in La bohème (Semperoper Dresden). He made his professional role and theater debut as Alfredo in Volksoper Wien’s production of La traviata , sang Arvino in I lombardi alla prima crociata in concert performances with the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra, and debuted as Don José in Carmen at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago. He spent seven seasons as a member of the Bayerische Staatsoper, where his roles included Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), Rinuccio (Il trittico), Fenton (Falstaff ), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), and the Italian singer in Strauss’s Capriccio and Der Rosenkavalier, among others. He made his film debut in the critically acclaimed film Orphea in Love by Axel Ranisch, in conjunction with the Bayerische Staatsoper. Galeano is a grand prize and audience choice award winner of the Éva Marton International Singing Competition in Budapest. He holds degrees from the University of Houston, Yale University, and the Academy of Vocal Arts, and was an apprentice with Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera Company. Website: galeanosalas.com Instagram: @ galeanosalas
JOO WON KANG | GIORGIO GERMONT
South Korean baritone Joo Won Kang has been described as a “vocal powerhouse” (Schmopera) and “a most impressive Germont” (Opera News). His 2023–24 season included two roles at the Metropolitan Opera, Ping in Turandot and Marcello in La bohème , and the role of his Met debut in 2021. The past season also included his Canadian Opera Company debut as Marcello, and a return to Minnesota Opera in that same role. His 2022–23 season included Germont in La traviata at Seattle Opera. He made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, both in Boston and at Carnegie Hall, singing in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk , concerts that were recorded for release on Deutsche Grammophon. He has appeared in leading roles such as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia , Papageno in The Magic Flute , Dandini in La Cenerentola , Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and the title role in Eugene Onegin with companies including San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Arizona Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Utah Opera. He sang the role of Chou En-lai in John Adams’s Nixon in China with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, conducted by the composer, and made his New York City Opera debut as Manfredo in L’amore dei tre re At the Wexford Festival in Ireland, he sang leading roles in two rarely performed operas: Donizetti's Maria de Rudenz and Franco Leoni’s L’Oracolo. He is a top prize winner in vocal competitions including the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Opera Index, Giulio Gari International Competition, and the McCammon Competition. Instagram: @baritonejoowonkang
JONATHAN LASCH | DOCTOR GRENVILLE
Jonathan Lasch has been described by critics as possessing a voice of “arresting color and heft,” capable of making “every note of the fast passagework perfectly clear,” and a “master of the stage” and “tour de force.” Last season, Jonathan was baritone soloist in the Philadelphia Orchestra’s performance of Brahms’s Requiem with the UMS Choral Union, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor. He performed and taught at the historic Athens Academy in Athens, Greece; sang a recital of new works at Purdue University; and performed Carmina Burana with the Macomb Symphony. Other recent performances include the Green Lake Festival of Music in Wisconsin, Rackham Choir, and Wayne State University combined ensembles. In July, Navona Records released its recording of Jocelyn Hagen’s Amass, featuring Jonathan as baritone soloist. This season, Jonathan returns to Detroit Opera as Doctor Grenville in La traviata , sings Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Wayne State University combined ensembles, and will perform at the College Musical Society’s International Conference in Bogotá, Colombia. Jonathan’s degrees include a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. He has taught voice at Concordia College in Moorhead (Minnesota), Adrian College (Michigan), and University of Michigan, and returns to Wayne State University in Detroit as assistant professor and coordinator of voice. Jonathan lives in Ferndale, Michigan with his wife and three children. He is co-founder and director of Detroit Song Collective, dedicated to fostering professional, accessible, and inclusive music-making spaces.
Youtube: @jonathanlasch7090
RIVER GUARD | GASTONE DE LETORIÈRES
Tenor River Guard, hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, holds a bachelor’s degree in music and an opera diploma from Wilfrid Laurier University, and a master’s degree in opera from the University of Toronto Opera School. River is a 2021 recipient of the Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance and Residency Program from the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Glenn Gould School. He is an alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival and School and the Opera in the 21st Century program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Past roles include Lensky in Eugene Onegin (Highlands Opera Studio), Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi (Canadian Vocal Arts Institute/ CVAI), and Miles in Proving Up (Aspen Music Festival and School). River has covered the roles of Cavaradossi in Tosca and Sam Polk in Susannah at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. As a 2023–24 Detroit Opera Resident Artist, he sang the role of Pasek in The Cunning Little Vixen , covered the roles of Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly and Dr. Richardson in Breaking the Waves , and performed as Soldat and Harlekin in Der Kaiser von Atlantis with the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings. After performing as a member of the Florentine Opera Summer Studio Ensemble over the summer, he returns for a second year as a Resident Artist. Instagram: @ riverguardtenor
COLE BELLAMY | BARON DOUPHOL
Baritone Cole Bellamy hails from Olathe, Kansas. Highlights of Cole’s 2023–24 season included his Santa Fe Opera debut singing the role of Deacon 1 in the world premiere of Gregory Spears’s The Righteous . Cole was a 2023–24 studio artist at Opera Neo in San Diego, where he was featured in the annual Aria Gala at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center and was described by the San Diego Story as a “rich baritone” with “commanding presence and fearless declamation.” He was a first-place winner in Mobile Opera’s 2024 Madame Role Palmai-Tenser Scholarship competition. Cole’s solo professional debut was with Wichita Grand Opera in the role of Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia; he made his concert debut with Tallahassee Community Chorus as the baritone soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana . As a master’s degree student at FSU, Cole has participated in numerous productions by the Florida State Opera, including Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire (Stanley Kowalski) and Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro). He earned his undergraduate degree from Wichita State University, where he performed in Così fan tutte (Guglielmo) and Street Scene (Frank) and was baritone soloist in the university choir’s performances of Brahms’s Requiem and Orff’s Carmina Burana . Instagram: @ colegbellamy
CAMERON ROLLING | MARQUESE D’OBIGNY
Baritone Cameron J. Rolling, hailing from Waycross, Georgia, is recognized for his “mellifluous baritone” (San Francisco Classical Voice) in the realms of opera, oratorio, symphonic, and recital performance. As a 2023 Young Artist in the Merola Opera Program, Cameron performed the role of Junius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia . As a Young Artist at the 2024 Glimmerglass Festival, he sang the role of Sylvano in Cavalli’s La Calisto and covered the roles of Mr. Lister/Karl Marx/Voiceover/Solomon Weil/Witness #8 in Kevin Puts’s Elizabeth Cree . In November, he will make his symphonic debut as bass soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Savannah Philharmonic.
Recent performances include Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte (University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, UMKC), bass soloist in Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude and Mendelssohn’s Elijah (UMKC), bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah (Spire Chamber Ensemble), and chorus master for Massenet’s Chérubin (UMKC Opera). Cameron won first place in Classical Singer Magazine ’s national voice competition in 2020. He holds master’s degrees in Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance from UMKC and a bachelor’s degree in music education with concentrations in voice and conducting from Mercer University. Instagram: @ cam.j.r
KENDRA F. BEASLEY | FLORA BERVOIX
Mezzo-soprano Kendra Faith Beasley, acclaimed by Opera News for her “big voice, powerful at both extremes of the range,” made her debut at Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO) in the summer of 2024. As an Apprentice Artist with DMMO, Kendra took on the dual roles of Florence McKeller/Mrs. Smithson in the world premiere of Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s new opera American Apollo, about Thomas Eugene McKeller, a Black hotel worker who served as model and muse for painter John Singer Sargent. In 2023, Kendra captivated audiences with standout performances as Berta in Cincinnati Opera’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Girlfriend #3 in New Orleans Opera’s Blue. In 2022, Kendra premiered the role of Raksha in Glimmerglass Festival’s innovative adaptation of The Jungle Book , directed by Francesca Zambello. She earned an Artist Diploma from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and a master’s degree in performance from the University of Kentucky. During her Detroit Opera residency, Kendra will perform on the Detroit Opera House main stage and other metro Detroit performance venues. Instagram: @kfmezzo
BRIANNA ROBINSON | ANNINA
Soprano Brianna J. Robinson, proclaimed as “a radiant voice and presence” by the Boston Globe , is a native of Ravenna, Ohio and a proud graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Eastman School of Music. As a Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, she covered and performed roles including Lucy in Gregory Spears’s Fellow Travelers, Mimì (cover) in Puccini’s La bohème, and Lena in Ana Solokovic’s Svabda; she also covered several roles in Poul Ruders’s The Handmaid’s Tale . She recently stepped in as Julie in Omar, Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’s 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, at Boston Lyric Opera. In the 2023–24 season, she made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Cecilia Chorus of New York in Vaughan Williams’s Dona nobis pacem and was a District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Brianna has performed in the Handel and Haydn Society’s immersive concert experience Crossing the Deep and with ensembles including the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra/New World Chorale. Brianna was a finalist in Opera Ebony’s Benjamin Matthews Vocal Competition and was awarded first prize at the Getting to Carnegie Competition in 2020. She made her international debut in Ruse, Bulgaria in 2021, creating the role of Ophelia in the world premiere of Joseph Summer’s Hamlet . Brianna returned to Boston Lyric Opera in 2024 in the role of Leontine in Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ The Anonymous Lover. Instagram: @brianna.jashai Website: briannajrobinson.com
PETER DAVISON
SET DESIGNER
Peter J. Davison’s set designs for opera include Le nozze di Figaro (Vienna), Die Gezeichneten , Falstaff, and Die Schweigsame Frau (Zurich); Capriccio (Berlin and Torino); Der Rosenkavalier, Carmen, and Mary Stuart (ENO); Anna Bolena (Bayerische Staatsoper); Katya Kabanova (New Zealand); Mitridate, re di Ponto (Salzburg); Manon Lescaut (Australia); The Rake’s Progress, Le nozze di Figaro (Metropolitan Opera); The Queen of Spades (Royal Opera House); Guillaume Tell (Opera Bastille); Fidelio, Die Walküre, Porgy and Bess, Salome, La forza del destino, La traviata (Washington); La bohème (Royal Albert Hall), La rondine (La Fenice); Cyrano de Bergerac (La Scala); Les contes d’Hoffmann (Beijing); Heart of a Soldier, Two Women, Porgy and Bess (San Francisco Opera); La traviata (Bolshoi Theatre); and Norma (Santiago, Chile). Theater work includes The Liar (Old Vic), The White Devil, Don Carlos, and The Duchess of Malfi (Royal Shakespeare Company); Bed, Le Cid, Afterlife (National Theatre); Medea, Hamlet, Deuce, Copenhagen, Democracy, Is He Dead, Blithe Spirit (Broadway); Saint Joan, Embers (West End, London). Musicals include Rebecca (Vienna), Showboat (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Washington Opera), West Side Story (Houston Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago); and Sound of Music (Glimmerglass Festival, Houston Grand Opera). Peter was nominated for a Tony, Drama Desk, and Olivier Award for Medea . He won the Best Designer at the 1994 Martini/TMA award for Medea and Saint Joan and a Schikaneder award for Besuch der Alten Dame. Peter was nominated for an Olivier Award for Le Cid and Saint Joan
JESS GOLDSTEIN
COSTUME DESIGNER
Costume designer Jess Goldstein’s opera credits include Il trittico (Metropolitan Opera), Lucia di Lammermoor, and La traviata (Washington National Opera); Agrippina, Of Mice and Men, The Pirates of Penzance, and Dead Man Walking (New York City Opera); La rondine (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); and the world premieres of Two Women and Heart of a Soldier (San Francisco Opera), and The End of the Affair (Houston Grand Opera). A 2005 Tony Award winner for Lincoln Center Theater’s The Rivals and a 2015 recipient of the prestigious Irene Sharaff Lifetime Achievement Award, Jess has hundreds of theater credits, including the Broadway premieres of Jersey Boys and Disney’s Newsies as well as the Broadway revivals of On the Town, Henry IV with Kevin Kline, and The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino. Website: jess-goldstein.com
MARK MCCULLOUGH LIGHTING DESIGNER
Mark McCullough creates lighting designs for opera houses and theaters in the United States and around the world. His international work includes productions for Vienna State Opera (Macbeth), Bolshoi Theatre (La traviata), Metropolitan Opera (Le nozze di Figaro), National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing (The Tales of Hoffmann), La Scala in Milan (Cyrano de Bergerac), Teatro Real in Madrid (Luisa Miller), Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg (The Beggar’s Opera), and Royal Opera House Covent Garden (The Queen of Spades). His theatrical credits include the Broadway productions of How I Learned to Drive, Outside Mullingar, Jesus Christ Superstar (revival), After Ms. Julie, and The American Plan , as well as internationally Whistle Down the Wind (Aldwych Theatre, London), The Visit of the Old Lady (Ronacher), Artis-Excalibur (Theater St. Gallen, Switzerland), Rebecca (Theater St. Gallen and Palladium Theater, Stuttgart), and the U.K. tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. His work also includes numerous productions at Lyric Opera in Chicago, LA Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Seattle Opera, and San Francisco Opera, including the Ring cycle directed by Francesca Zambello. Future engagements include West Side Story at Houston Grand Opera and Porgy and Bess at Washington National Opera.
PARKER ESSE CHOREOGRAPHER
After performing on Broadway in the Tony Awardwinning Fosse , Parker was associate choreographer for Broadway’s Finian’s Rainbow, A Tale of Two Cities, Follies (pre-Broadway), and 5 Encores! (New York City Center). His credits as choreographer include Oklahoma! 50th anniversary (Arena Stage), and Sondheim and Marsalis’s A Bed and a Chair (New York City Center). His choreography has been featured at the Ed Mirvish Theatre (Toronto), Arena Stage, Goodspeed Musicals, Kennedy Center, Washington National Opera, Omaha Symphony/NBC Holiday Televised Specials, Shaw Festival Canada, Lyrics and Lyricists 92nd Street Y, York Theatre, Signature Theatre, Ogunquit Playhouse, Buck’s County Playhouse, The Rev Theatre Company, and Casa Mañana Theatre. Recent: Light in the Piazza (New York City Center), West Side Story (The Muny), and Fiddler on the Roof (Paper Mill Playhouse). Upcoming: Fiddler on the Roof (The Muny), Beautiful (Maine State & Fulton Theatre), and Million Dollar Quartet (Casa Mañana Theatre). Parker is a proud SDC and AEA Member. When he is not in rehearsals, he can be found gardening in the backyard with his wife, Maria. Instagram: @lplonglegs
JOSHUA HOROWITZ
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Joshua R. Horowitz is a theater and opera director originally from Old Bethpage, New York. He began his work in opera while assistant directing for the inaugural season of the Finger Lakes Opera in Rochester, New York in 2014, and returned for their 2015 season. After studying directing at Miami University of Ohio and earning his Master of Fine Arts in Directing at Baylor University, he began directing and assistant directing at opera companies throughout the United States. Joshua has had the opportunity to assist directors such as Francesca Zambello, Simon Godwin, Phelim McDermott, James Robinson, and Allison Moritz. Website: joshuarhorowitz.com
A.J. GUBAN
ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNER
A.J. Guban recently designed Il trovatore and The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson for Washington National Opera and the 50th Anniversary Celebration for PBS at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. In addition, he has lit productions for Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Seattle Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Cleveland, Atlanta Opera, Opéra de Montréal, Synetic Theater, New Orleans Opera, National Symphony Orchestra, and Smithsonian American Art Museum, among others. Upcoming projects include Macbeth at Washington National Opera and a concert by Masego at the Kennedy Center. Guban is Lighting Director for Washington National Opera and is a proud member of USA Local 829. Website: ajguban.com
ANDREA BEASOM ASSOCIATE CHOREOGRAPHER
Andrea Beasom’s direction and award-winning choreography have been featured at Washington National Opera, Kennedy Center, LA Opera, Seattle Opera, Atlanta Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera San Antonio, Glimmerglass Festival, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Bard SummerScape, Berkshire Opera Festival, and Austin Opera. Andrea has collaborated with director Francesca Zambello, Washington National Opera’s artistic director, and many other celebrated directors. She has worked closely with the composer Jeanine Tesori, Tony Award-winning director Warren Carlyle, director Anne Bogart, and artists including Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Nadine Sierra, Kelsey Grammer, and Christine Ebersole. In addition to her work as a director and choreographer, Andrea has performed as a professional singer and dancer. She danced with Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet Studio, Pasadena Dance Theater; in commercial productions for Sony, Puma, Moncler, and Microsoft; and in the film The One That I Want. Andrea earned her bachelor of music degree in voice from Mannes School of Music. Website: andreabeasom.com
JOANNE MIDDLETON-WEAVER WIG AND MAKEUP DESIGNER
Born in England, Joanne Middleton-Weaver came to the United States in the late 1980s. She began apprenticing with Elsen Associates at what was then Washington Opera, now Washington National Opera. Joanne has since designed at many opera companies throughout the U.S. during her 30-year career: Glimmerglass Opera, Sarasota Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera, to name a few. She has designed for Detroit Opera since 1995. Her credits there include La boh è me , The Passenger, Frida, Margaret Garner, Cyrano, Faust , and make-up design for X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.
SUZANNE MALLARE ACTON CHORUS MASTER
Known for her versatility and energy on the podium, Suzanne Mallare Acton has more than 160 production credits covering seven languages. In addition to her chorus work, Suzanne has conducted over 35 productions for Detroit Opera, including West Side Story, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Carmen, The Music Man, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, Die Fledermaus, La traviata , A Little Night Music, a staged version of Carmina Burana with members of Cirque du Soleil, The Medium, A View from the Bridge, Les pêcheurs de perles, and Frida . She has conducted Dayton Opera, Artpark, Augusta Opera, Verdi Opera Theatre, El Paso Opera, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Bach Festival, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, and Dearborn Symphony Orchestra. For 25 years, Suzanne was artistic director of Detroit’s Rackham Choir. She premiered Too Hot to Handel at the DOH, Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre, and the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis.
THATCH
Thatch is a six-year-old Labrador, descended from lines that excel both in the show ring and on the hunt. Thatch has built quite the resumé for himself: he is pointed toward his AKC Championship, has guided upland hunts at prestigious hunt clubs, and has achieved many hunting and performance event titles. Thatch’s favorite pastime, however, is waterfowl hunting with his owner, Arthur Hartman. Hartman is owner and head trainer at Springfield Pet Resort and Training Center, a full-service pet resort that includes shuttle service, boarding, daycare, and grooming. Thatch is thrilled to make his stage debut at the Detroit Opera House and can’t wait to befriend the audience, crew, and cast members.
BY SCOTT SUCHMAN
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Thank you to our donors Detroit Opera Honor Roll
Detroit Opera gratefully acknowledges these generous donors for their cumulative lifetime giving. Their transformative support has played a vital role in the history of Detroit Opera since being founded by Dr. David DiChiera as Michigan Opera Theatre in 1971, the building of the Detroit Opera House in 1996, and the metamorphosis into Detroit Opera in 2022 under the leadership of Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director Yuval Sharon.
Their leadership plays an integral part in the company's viability, underwriting quality opera and dance performances as well as award-winning community.
$10,000,000+
The William Davidson Foundation
Ford Motor Company Fund
The State of Michigan
$5,000,000+
Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
General Motors
The Kresge Foundation
Stellantis
$2,000,000+
Mr.* & Mrs. Douglas Allison
Mr. Lee & Mrs. Floy Barthel
Marvin, Betty & Joanne Danto Dance Endowment and Marvin & Betty Danto Family Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Herman Frankel
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Lear Corporation
Linda Dresner & Ed Levy Jr.
Masco Corporation
McGregor Fund
The Skillman Foundation
R. Jamison & Karen Williams
$1,000,000+
AT&T
Bank of America
Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation
Mr.* & Mrs. John A. Boll Sr.
Compuware Corporation
Estate of Robert & RoseAnn Comstock
DTE Energy Foundation
The Fred A. & Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation
Mrs. Margo Cohen Feinberg & Mr. Robert Feinberg
Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
Mrs. Barbara Frankel* and Mr. Ronald Michalak
Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Frankel*
General Motors Corporation
Hudson-Webber Foundation
JPMorgan Chase
Paul Lavins
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
Richard Sonenklar & Gregory Haynes
Dr. & Mrs. Sam B. Williams*
Matilda R. Wilson Fund
Every effort has been made to accurately reflect donor names and gift levels. Should you find an error or omission, please contact Angela Nelson-Heesch at anelsonheesch@detroitopera.org or 313.237.3438
KEY
* Deceased
Contributors to Detroit Opera
Detroit Opera gratefully acknowledges these generous corporate, foundation, government, and individual donors whose contributions to Detroit Opera were made between July 1, 2023, and August 31, 2024. The generosity of our donors is vital to sustaining Detroit Opera’s position as a valued cultural resource.
Foundations, Corporate & Government Support
$1,000,000+
William Davidson Foundation
State of Michigan
$500,000-$999,999
John S. and James L.
Knight Foundation
$250,000-$499,999
The Fred A. & Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation
Ford Foundation
Gilbert Family Foundation
The Mellon Foundation
Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation
Individual Support
$100,000-$249,999
Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
Ford Philanthropy
General Motors
$50,000-$99,999
Hudson Webber Foundation
Milner Hotels Foundation
$25,000-$49,999
Applebaum Family Foundation
Kresge Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
Matilda R. Wilson Fund
$10,000-$24,999
Detroit Children’s Choir
Oliver Dewey Marcks Foundation
DTE Energy Foundation
Geoinge Foundation
Masco Corporation
MGM Grand Detroit
OPERA America
Penske Corporation
Ralph L. and Winifred E. Polk Foundation
Louis and Nellie Sieg Fund
Ida and Conrad H. Smith Endowment for MOT
The Mary Thompson Foundation
The Williams Family Fund
Burton A. Zipser and Sandra D. Zipser Foundation
$5,000-$9,999
C&N Foundation
James & Lynelle Holden Fund Honigman LLP
The National Circle
Donald R. and Esther Simon Foundation
Somerset Collection
Charitable Foundation
Strum Allesee Family Foundation
The Samuel L. Westerman Foundation
$1,000-$4,999
Joyce Cohn Young Artist Fund
Marjorie And Maxwell Jospey Foundation
Josephine Kleiner Foundation
Elmira L. Rhein Family Foundation
Sigmund and Sophie Rohlik Foundation
Rugiero Promise Foundation
Introduced in 2024, members of the National Circle are Detroit Opera’s leading supporters in this pivotal moment, playing an essential role in bringing the transformative power of opera to audiences in our city and across the country. Through their annual support of $25,000 or more, these donors have an unwavering belief in our art form’s ability to affect meaningful change.
$100,000+
Ethan & Gretchen Davidson
Leslie Lazzerin*
Linda Dresner & Ed Levy Jr.
Ms. Vivien McDonald*
David & Christine Provost
Gary Wasserman & Charles Kashner
$50,000-$99,999
Richard Alonzo
Ruth Rattner
Mr. David W Schmidt
Mr. Cyril Moscow
$25,000-$49,999
Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya
Elaine Fontana*
Susanne McMillan
James & Ann Nicholson
Matthew & Mona Simoncini
Mrs. Phyllis Funk Snow*
The DiChiera Society
Richard Sonenklar & Gregory Haynes
Jesse & Yesenia Venegas
Ms. Barbara A. Walkowski
R. Jamison & Karen Williams
DiChiera Society members honor the legacy and vision of our company’s founder, David DiChiera, while bolstering our future as one of the most significant and innovative opera and dance organizations in the country under the leadership of the Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director, Yuval Sharon, with an emphasis on community engagement, accessibility, and artistic risk-taking.
$10,000-$24,999
Mr. Joseph A. Bartush
Gene Bowen
Richard & Joanne Brodie
Wayne Brown & Brenda Kee
Enrico & Kathleen DiGirolamo
Ms. Nina S. Drolias
Carl & Mary Ann Fontana
Ms. Nancy B. Henk
Patty Isacson Sabee & David Sabee
Mary Kramer
Denise Lewis
Jack Martin & Bettye Arrington-Martin
Ms. Mary C. Mazure
Ali Moiin & William Kupsky
Donald & Antoinette Morelock
William & Wendy Powers
Waltraud Prechter
Dr. & Mrs. Samir M. Ragheb
Irvin & Pamela Reid
Michael Wellman
$5,000-$9,999
Ms. Christine Ammer
Dr. Harold Mitchell Arrington
Ms. Mary Barton Letts
Richard & Susan Bingham
Nicole A. Boelstler
Ms. Violet Dalla Vecchia
Maria & David Duey
Marianne Endicott
Fern Espino & Tom Short
Paul & Mary Sue Ewing
Michael Fisher
Ms. Laurie R. Frankel
Bharat & Lynn Gandhi
Ralph & Erica Gerson
Allan Gilmour & Eric Jirgens
Toby Haberman
William Hulsker & Aris Urbanes
John & Arlene Lewis
Stephan & Marian Loginsky
Robert & Terri Lutz
Don Manvel
Ronald Michalak
Ms. Evelyn Micheletti
Phillip Minch
Mary Moll
Robert & Susan Morris
George & Jo Nyman
Prof. Sara A. Pozzi, Ph.D
Ms. Stephanie M. Prechter
Ms. Pam E. Rodgers
Evan & Kelsey Ross
Janice Ross
Ankur Rungta & Mayssoun Bydon
Mary Schlaff & Sanford Koltonow
Terry Shea & Seigo Nakao
Frank & Susan Sonye
Ms. Mary Anne Stella
Mr. Peter C. Stern
Dr. Lorna Thomas, MD
Barbara Van Dusen
Mr. Lewis Wagner
Ned & Joan Winkelman
Ellen Hill Zeringue
$2,500-$4,999
Nina Abrams
Thomas & Gretchen Anderson
D. L. Anthony
Gregory & Mary Barkley
Douglas & Sandra Bitonti Stewart
Paul & Lee Blizman
Bob & Rosemary Brasie
Ronald & Mildred Burkman
Dr. Lynne Carter
Albert & Janette Cassar
Dr. Mary Carol Conroy
Maurice & Carolyn Cunniffe
Walter & Lillian Dean
Carolyn Demps & Guy Simons
Cristina DiChiera &
Neal Walsh
Ms. Lisa Maria DiChiera
Ms. Mary Jane Doerr
Marla Donovan
Ms. Judith Ellis
Marjory Epstein
Raina Ernstoff & Sanford Hansell
Michael & Sally Feder
Yvonne Friday & Stephen Black
Clifford & Zoe Furgison
Glendon Gardner
Robert & Christine Hage
Mrs. Beverly Hall Burns
Ms. Carole Hardy
Barbara Heller
Doreen Hermelin
Roberto Kalb & Mane Galoyan
Barbara & Michael Kratchman
Max Lepler & Rex Dotson
Arthur & Nancy Liebler
Amy McCombs
Mary McGough
Friends of Detroit Opera
Van Momon & Pamela L. Berry
Xavier & Maeva Mosquet
Brian Murphy & Toni
Sanchez-Murphy
Geoffrey Nathan
Peter & Barbara Nickles
Sally Orley
Mr. Jonathan F. Orser
Brock & Katherine Plumb
The Estate of Magdalena Predeteanu
Ted & Carrie Pryor
Leon & Debbe Saperstein
Rosalind Sell
Mark & Lois Shaevsky
Laura Sias*
Susan Sills
Michael & Stacey Simmons
Susan A. Smith
Dr. Gregory E. Stephens
C. Thomas & Bernie Toppin
Jeff & Amy Voigt
Stanley Waldon
Bret & Susanna Williams
Every gift helps to ensure that opera and dance thrive in our community, and that we share the indescribable experience we feel when the curtain rises. Friends of Detroit Opera are among our most loyal and crucial supporters and receive exclusive benefits with annual gifts of $500 or more.
$1,000-$2,499
Nell Duke & David Ammer
Ms. Geraldine Atkinson
Peggyann & Ramon Berguer
Mr. Stanislaw Bialoglowski
Mr. & Mrs. Mitchell Bleznak
Constance Bodurow
Marsha Bruhn
Patricia Cosgrove
Tonino & Sarah Corsetti
James & Elizabeth Ciroli
Dr. Shauna Ryder Diggs
Alex Erdeljan
Burke & Carol Fossee
Joseph Fontana & Nada Jurisich-Fontana
Carol Gagliardi & David Flesher
Mr. Thomas M. Gervasi
Stuart Grigg
Mr. Lawrence Glowczewski
Mr. Nathaniel Good
Mary Ellen Hoy & Jim Keller
Marc Keshishian & Susanna Szelestey
Richard & Involut Jessup
Gregory Knas
William & Jean Kroger
Jeff & Joanne Kukes
Mr. Loreto A. Manzo
Patrick & Patricia McKeever
Eugene & Lois Miller
Craig & Shari Morgan
Ms. Maryanne Mott
Harold Munson & Libby Berger
Allan & Joy Nachman
George & Nancy Nicholson
Joshua & Rachel Opperer
Coleen Pellerito
Mark & Kyle Peterson
Mr. Shane Pliska
Michael & Charlene Prysak
Rip & Gail Rapson
Ms. Alice Rea
Kingsley & Lurline Sears
Alvin & Harriet Saperstein
Gabriel & Martha Stahl
Dr. Andrew James Stocking
Ann Steglich
Manuel Tancer & Claire Stroker
Andrew J. Sturgess
John Lovegren & Daniel Isenschmid
John & Susan Zaretti
Katina Zaninovich
Torben Winther & Linda Hall
$750-$999
Frank & Jenny Brzenk
Ms. Vera C. Magee
John & Marie McElroy
Walter & Elizabeth Newgeon
Barbara Roden
Michael Schon
Joseph & Rosalie Vicari
Dennis & Jennifer Varian
$500-$749
Dr. Antonia Abbey
Mr. David A. Agius
Robert & Catherine Anthony
Ms. Allison Bach
Eugene & Roselyn Blanchard
Barbra Bloch
Ms. Terry P. Book
Anne Missavage & Robert Borcherding
Gretchen Thams & James Bowman
Amy & Tyler Bouque
Grethen Thams & James Bowman
Dr. Cynthia Browne, MD
Marceline Bright
Jonathan Cohn & Daniela Wittmann
Leonard Dimsa & Nicholas Tapl
Mr. John R. DiLodovico
Daniel & Susan Drucker
Mr. M. Brennan Farrell
Todd Gordon & Susan Feder
Daniel H. Ferrier
Sue Force
Erin & John Gianopoulos
John Gierak & Dona Tracey
Joseph & Lois Gilmore
Gil Glassberg & Sandra Seligman
Mr. Robert Theodore Goldman
Larry Gray
John & Kristan Hale
Mr. Gary M. Hawkins
Paul & Nancy Hillegonds
Elizabeth Hoger & Lisa Swem
Jane Iacobelli
Ms. Jill Johnson
Kimberly Johnson
Shawn Rieschl Johnson & Christian Kirby
Mr. Dennis Johnston
Geraldine & Jacqueline Keller
Ms. Lee Khachaturian
Justin & Joanne Klimko
Mr. Alex Koprivica
Ms. Cynthia Kratchman
Mary Jane Kupsky
Albert Kurt
Lori Maher
Mr. Russell Moore
Natasha Moulton-Levy
Ms. Nancy K. Murray
Ronald Northrup
Ms. Monica E. Parrish
Bertram & Elaine Pitt
Concetta Ross*
Julie Finn & Bradley Rowens
Drs. Adam & Rebecca Rubin
Marjorie Sandy
Michael Schon
Maj. Carl R. Smith
Dr. Geneva Tatem
John M. Toth
Gifts in Tribute
Suart & Barbara Trager
Rennard & Daphne Tucker
Ms. Janet Beth Weir
Ian D. Wiesner
Rita Winters
Janice Zeltzer
We extend a heartfelt thank you to the families, friends, colleagues, businesses, and groups who generously made gifts to Detroit Opera in honor of or in memory of the special peoples in their lives, whose names are listed bold below.
IN HONOR OF
Abbie E Wisusik
Michelle Tornopilsky
Allan & Joy Nachman
Eliot & Elizabeth Bank
Andrew Berg
Anne & Robert Berg
Ann Katz
Ruth Rattner
Bill & Ali Moiin
William & Elizabeth S. Kupsky
Brenda Kee
Ruth Rattner
Carl & Mary Ann Fontana
Mrs. Nina Dodge Abrams
Thomas E. Barron
Michael J. Bartoy
Andre Boulanger
Barbara E. Camph
Wilson Curle
Pamela Fontana
Cynthia Gitt
Peter Gude
Patty Isacson Sabee
Theresa Johnson
Ms. Mary Kramer
William Kupsky
Allen A. Lewis
Holton Shipman
Sarah Siwek
Teresa Taranta
Sara Valenti
Robert Wittenberg
Ellen Jacobowitz
Ann Conrad
Sandra A. Jacobowitz
Gary Wasserman
Rodger & Loree Wasserman
Harriet Berg
Mr. Richard D. Cavaler
John Estell
Katina Zaninovich
Lisa DiChiera
Ruth Rattner
Lois Shaevsky
Everett & Margery Jassy
Mary Kramer
Amy McCombs
Mark & Lois Shaevsky
Sandy Duncan
Wayne Brown & Brenda Kee
Shunbin Xu
Ali Moiin & William Kupsky
Dr. Willaim Kupsky
Mary Jane Kupsky
IN MEMORY OF
Florence, David, & Joyce Schon
Michael Schon
Anne Strciker
Torben Winther & Linda Hall
Aphrodite Roumell
Allan & Joy Nachman
Armando Delicato
Jacqueline Shuster
Barbara & Michael Kratchman
Jeff & Joanne Kukes
Barbara Frankel
Wayne Brown & Brenda Kee
Beate M. Vreeken
Karen & Matthew Cullen
Cameron "Sandy" Duncan
Ethan & Gretchen Davidson
Gary Wasserman & Charles Kashner
Devon Hoover
Dr. Cynthia Browne, MD
Patricia Cosgrove
Stephan & Marian Loginsky
Donald Epstein
Marjory Epstein
Elaine Fontana
Bryan Pukoff
George & Eleanor Bodurow
Constance Bodurow
Heather Gehring
Shawn Rieschl Johnson & Christian Kirby
Dr. Charles B. Smith
Dr. Peggie J. Hollingsworth
Enrico & Olga Petrini
Miss Alma M. Petrini
Joseph Katulic
Stuart Grigg
Karen Hodgson
Stephan & Marian Loginsky
Dawn Minch
Stephan & Marian Loginsky
Harry Cook
Ms. Susan Chevalier
Pauline Fucinari
Mr. Anthony Delsener
Alphonse S. Lucarelli
Waltraud Prechter
John P. McMullin
Alexander Ford
Tori Murphy
Margaret Winters
Elizabeth Porter
Nancy Rade
Paula Lisa Cole
Pauline Virginia Fucinari
Martha Chamorro
Dr. David Fucinari
Carole Ireland
Phyllis Snow
Lisa Gross
Carole Heinrich
Kathleen Kennedy
Sarisa Zoghlin
Kevin Dennis & Jeremy Zeltzer
Vreevious
Bradley & Rachel Benigni
Every effort has been made to accurately reflect donor and honoree and memorial names for gifts received between July 1, 2023, and August 31, 2024. Should you find an error or omission, please contact Angela Nelson-Heesch at anelsonheesch@detroitopera.org or 313.237.3438
Capital Campaign for the Detroit Opera House
The Detroit Opera Board of Directors began the first phase of fundraising for the Detroit Opera House capital improvements in January 2020. This multiphase capital campaign grew from recommendations identified in the facilities master plan completed by Albert Kahn Associates, Inc. Scheduled facility improvements and upgrades will shape the patron experience at the opera house for years to come. We extend heartfelt thanks to the following donors who made contributions that enabled capital improvements to begin.
LEADERSHIP GIFTS
Ethan & Gretchen Davidson
William Davidson Foundation
National Endowment for the Humanities
Matthew & Mona Simoncini
CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTORS
Naomi André
Michael Azar
Nancy Azizi
Lee & Floy Barthel
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Gene P. Bowen
Elizabeth Brooks
Mr. Elliott Broom
Wayne S. Brown & Brenda Kee
Mrs. Judith Christian
James & Elizabeth Ciroli
Hon. Avern Cohn* & Ms. Lois Pincus
John & Doreen Cole
Mr. Adam Crysler & Dr. Oxana Crysler
Joanne Danto & Arnold Weingarden
Ms. Julia Donovan Darlow & Hon. John C. O'Meara
Kevin Dennis & Jeremy Zeltzer
Shauna Ryder Diggs, MD
Enrico & Kathleen Digirolamo
David & Carol Domina
Mr. Cameron B. Duncan*
Ms. Wendy L Ecker
Mr. Michael Einheuser
Marianne T. Endicott
Alex & Lil Erdeljan Foundation
Fern Espino & Tom Short
Carl & Mary Ann Fontana
Mrs. Barbara Frankel* & Mr. Ronald Michalak
Mr. & Mrs. Herman Frankel
Samuel* & Toby Haberman
John & Kristan Hale
Dr. Devon Hoover*
Eleanor & Alan Israel
Robert Jesurum & Christine Petrucci
The Karen & Drew Peslar Foundation
Ms. Velda Kelly
Mary Kramer
Michael & Barbara Kratchman
Denise Lewis
Alphonse S. Lucarelli*
Don Manvel
Marvin, Betty & Joanne Danto Family Foundation
McGregor Fund
Benjamin Meeker & Meredith Korneffel, MD
Ali Moiin & William Kupsky
Donald & Antoinette Morelock
Allan & Joy Nachman Philanthropic Fund
James & Ann Nicholson
Peter Oleksiak
Ms. Linda Orlans
Penske Corporation
Mr. Shane Pliska
Prof. Sara A. Pozzi, Ph.D.
Waltraud Prechter
Paul & Amy Ragheb
Mrs. Ruth F. Rattner
Ankur Rungta & Mayssoun Bydon
Terry Shea & Seigo Nakao
The Skillman Foundation
Mr. Richard Slama
SOLO World Partners LLC
Richard Sonenklar & Gregory Haynes
The State of Michigan
Lorna Thomas, MD
Mr. & Mrs. C. Thomas Toppin
Jesse & Yesenia Venegas
R. Jamison & Karen Williams
Ellen Hill Zeringue
Listing reflects gifts and pledges as of August 31, 2024, in alphabetical order.
Avanti Society Members Setting the Stage for Tomorrow
Found in many Italian opera texts, the word avanti means “ahead” or “forward,” and the Avanti Society— Detroit Opera’s planned gift recognition program—is a group of thoughtful donors whose generosity is defined by foresight. By including Detroit Opera in their estate plans, members are leaving lasting gifts which will bring the transformative power of opera and dance to audiences in our community and around the country, well beyond our own lifetimes.
Those listed below have chosen to include Detroit Opera in their estate plans to secure the future of American Opera unfolding in Detroit. Thank you, Avanti Society Members!
Douglas* & Sarah Allison
Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya§
Mr. & Mrs. Agustin Arbulu§
Mr.* & Mrs. Chester Arnold§
Dr. Leora Bar-Levav
Mr. & Mrs. Lee Barthel
Mr. & Mrs. Brett Batterson§
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Bowlby
Mrs. Doreen Bull
Mr.* & Mrs. Roy E. Calcagno§
Dr. & Mrs. Thomas E.Carson
Dr.* & Mrs. Victor J. Cervenak
Father Paul F. Chateau
Mary Christner
Mr. Gary L. Ciampa
Hon. Avern Cohn* & Ms. Lois Pincus
Prof. Kenneth Collinson
Douglas & Minka Cornelsen
Dr. Robert A. Cornette§#
Mr. Thomas J. Delaney
Walter & Adel Dissett
Ms. Mary J. Doerr#
Mrs. Helen Ophelia Dove-Jones
Marianne T. Endicott§#
Mr. Wayne C. Everly
David & Jennifer Fischer
Mr. & Mrs. Herb Fisher§
Derek & Pamela Francis
Mrs. Barbara Frankel* & Mr. Ronald Michalak§#
Mr. & Mrs. Herman Frankel§#
Dr. & Mrs. Byron P. Georgeson§
Albert & Barbara Glover
Robert Green
Mr. Ernest Gutierrez
Mr. & Mrs. Stephen Hagopian
Mr. Lawrence W. Hall§
Mr. & Mrs. Jerome Halperin§
Ms. Heather Hamilton
Charlene Handleman
Preston & Mary Happel
Mr. Kenneth E. Hart§
Mr. & Mrs. Eugene L. Hartwig§
Dr. & Mrs. Gerhardt A. Hein
Fay & Allen Herman
Derek & Karen* Hodgson
Andrew & Carol Howell
Dr. Cindy Hung§
Eleanor & Alan Israel
Ms. Kristin Jaramillo§
Mr. Donald Jensen§
Mr. John Jickling
Mr. Patrick J.* & Mrs.
Stephanie Germack Kerzic
Josephine Kessler
Edward & Barbara Klarman
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Klein#
Mr. & Mrs. Erwin H. Klopfer§#
Myron & Joyce LaBan
Paul Lavins
Mr. Max Lepler & Mr. Rex Dotson
Linda Dresner & Ed Levy Jr.
Mr. Hannan Lis
Florence LoPatin
Mr. Stephen H. Lord
Ms. Denise Lutz
Laura & Mitchell Malicki
Ms. Jane McKee§
Bruce Miller
Drs. Orlando & Dorothy Miller§
Ms. Monica Moffat & Mr. Pat McGuire
Drs. Stephen & Barbara Munk
Mr. Jonathan F. Orser
Ms. Julie A. Owens
Mr. Dale J. Pangonis§
Mr. & Mrs. Charles A. Parkhill
Mr. Richard M. Raisin§
Mrs. Ruth F. Rattner§#
Ms. Deborah Remer
Dr. Joshua Rest
Mr. & Mrs. James Rigby§
Mr. Bryan L. Rives
Ms. Patricia Rodzik§
David & Beverly Rorabacher
Dulcie Rosenfeld
Professor Alvin & Mrs. Harriet Saperstein
Ms. Susan Schooner§
Mark & Sally Schwartz
Arlene Shaler§
Ms. Ellen Sharp
Ms. Edna J Pak Shin
Mr. & Mrs. Harold Siebert
Mrs. Loretta Skewes
Ms. Anne Sullivan Smith
Mr.* & Mrs. Richard Starkweather§#+
Ms. Mary Anne Stella
Mr. Stanford C. Stoddard
Mr. Ronald F. Switzer§ & Jim McClure
Lillie Tabor
Peter & Ellen Thurber
Alice* & Paul Tomboulian
Jonathan & Salome E. Walton
Susan Weidinger
Mr. Andrew Wise
Larry* & Mary Lou Zangerle
We express profound thanks to these Avanti Society members whose planned gifts to Detroit Opera have been realized.
Robert G. Abgarian Trust
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Allesee#
Serena Ailes Stevens
Mr. & Mrs. J. Addison Bartush§#
Mr. & Mrs. Mandell Berman
Margaret & Douglas Borden
Charles M. Broh
Milena T. Brown
The Gladys L. Caldroney Trust
Charlotte Bush Failing Trust
Mary C. Caggegi
Allen B. Christman
Miss Halla F. Claffey
Ms. Virginia M. Clementi
Robert C. & RoseAnn B. Comstock
Mary Rita Cuddohy
Marjorie E. DeVlieg
Nancy Dewar
James P. Diamond
Dr. David DiChiera
Mrs. Karen V. DiChiera
Dr. & Mrs. Charles H. Duncan§
Mr. Wayne C. Everly
Dr. Evelyn J. Fisher
Mrs. Anne E. Ford
Ms. Pamela R. Francis§
Mrs. Rema Frankel
Barbara Lucking Freedman
The Edward P. Frohlich Trust
The Priscilla A.B. Goodell Trust
Freda K. Goodman Trust
Priscilla R. Greenberg, Ph.D.§#
Maliha Hamady
Patricia Hobar
Mary Adelaide Hester Trust
Ms. Nancy B. Henk
Gordon V. Hoialmen Trust
Carl J. Huss
Mr. John Jesser
H. Barbara Johnston
Maxwell & Marjorie Jospey
Mrs. Josephine Kleiner
Misses Phyllis & Selma Korn§*
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Krolikowski§
Mr. Philip Leon
Dores & Wade McCree
Lucie B. Meininger
Helen M. Miller
Ella M. Montroy
Ronald K. Morrison
Ruth Mott
Elizabeth M. Pecsenye
Clarice Odgers Percox Trust
Thomas G. Porter
Mitchell Romanowski
Ms. Joanne B. Rooney
Concetta Ross
Mr. & Mrs. Giles L. & Beverly Ross
Ms. Merle H. Scheibner
Drs. Heinz & Alice
Platt Schwarz§
Ms. Laura Sias
Mrs. Marge Slezak
Ms. Phyllis Funk Snow§
Edward L. Stahl
Mary Ellen Tappan
Charitable Remainder Trust
Dr. Mildred Ponder Stennis
Margaret D. Thurber
Mr. & Mrs. George & Inge Vincent§#
Herman W. Weinreich
J. Ernest Wilde Trust
Mrs. Ruth Wilkins
Helen B. Wittenberg
Mr. & Mrs. Walter & Elizabeth Work§
Joseph J. Zafarana
Mr. & Mrs. George M. Zeltzer§
KEY
§ Founding Members
# Touch the Future donors
* Deceased
Membership in the Avanti Society is open to all who wish to declare their intention for a planned gift to Detroit Opera. Call Juliano Bitonti Stewart to learn more, 313.965.4271.
Orchestra
Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local #5, of the American Federation of Musicians
VIOLIN I
Daniel Stachyra Interim Concertmaster
Yuri Popowycz Acting Asst. Concertmaster
Emelyn Bashour Second Principal
Emily Barkakati
Anna Bittar-Weller
Molly Hughes
Bryan Johnston
Henrik Karapetyan
Velda Kelly
Beth Kirton
Jenny Wan
Andrew Wu
VIOLA
John Madison Principal
Jacqueline Hanson
Scott Stefanko
CELLO
Ivana Biliskov Principal
Benjamin Maxwell
Andrea Yun
BASS
Derek Weller Principal
Clark Suttle
HARP
Open Position Principal
FLUTE
Open Position Principal
Open Position Second
OBOE
Eli Stefanacci Principal
Open Position Second
CLARINET
Roi Karni Principal
J. William King
BASSOON
Daniel Fendrick Principal
Greg Quick
HORN
Colin Bianchi Principal
Carrie Banfield-Taplin
TRUMPET
David Ammer Principal
Mark Davis
TROMBONE
Open Position Principal
Dustin Nguyen
TIMPANI
Eric Stoss Principal
PERCUSSION
John Dorsey Principal
Administration & Staff
LEADERSHIP
Patty Isacson Sabee, President & CEO
Yuval Sharon, Gary L.Wasserman Artistic Director
Roberto Kalb, Music Director
Andrew Berg, Chief Development Officer
Daniel T. Brinker, General Manager, Detroit Opera House & Parking Center
Shawn Rieschl Johnson, Chief Programming & Production Officer
Alexis Means, Director of Operations & Patron Experiences
Holly Clement, Senior Manager of Events & Rentals
Jennifer George-Consiglio, Manager of Venue Operations
Michael Hauser, Curator of History & Architecture
Kathie Booth, Volunteer Coordinator
USHERS
Max Aghili, Christine Berryman, Ellen Bishop, Kathie Booth, Lori Burkhardt, Randall Davis, Erin G-Doakes, Suzanne Erbes, Pamela Fergusson, Jo-Ann Hale, Sue Hargrave, Myrna Mazure, Ennis Mcgee, Steven McReynolds, Heddie O’Connor, Bill Ried, Kimberly Ried, Edna Rubin, Ida Vance, Sheryl Weinan-Yee
IN CASE OF EMERGENCY
Please observe the lighted exit signs located throughout the theater. In the event of an emergency, remain calm and walk, do not run, to the nearest exit. Ushers and security personnel are trained to assist. An emergency medical technician (EMT) is on-site during most events. Contact an usher or staff member if you need medical assistance.
GUEST SERVICES:
Vincent Lobby and Broadway Lounge
There are a variety of amenities for your comfort and use located in both guest services locations. Wheelchairs, booster seats*, earplugs, assisted listening devices, feminine hygiene products, basic first aid items, and more are complimentary and available for your convenience. Coat check is also available. The Vincent Lobby is located on the Madison Street side of the building and the Broadway Lounge is located on the Broadway Street side of the building.
*Limited quantity
PHOTOGRAPHY, RECORDING, AND CELL PHONE USE
Photography and/or recording during any performance is strictly prohibited. Photographs taken in the lobby areas, before or after a performance, and during intermission are welcome. As a courtesy to all guests, please turn off all electronic devices and refrain from use during the performance.
RESTROOMS
Women’s restrooms are located off the Ford Lobby (Broadway Street entrance) and down the stairs, and on third floor (Madison Street entrance). Men’s restrooms are located under the Grand Staircase and on the third floor (Broadway Street side). There are two sets of elevators or stairs available to access all third-floor restrooms. All third-floor restrooms are wheelchair accessible (women’s restroom, press 3R in the elevator). There are single-use unisex wheelchair accessible restrooms on the first floor of the Broadway Street side of the building and the Madison Street side of the building. There is also a wheelchair accessible women’s restroom on the Broadway Street side of the building.
NO SMOKING
The Detroit Opera House is a non-smoking facility. This includes e-cigarettes, vapes, and other “smokeless” products.
USHERS
Ushers are stationed throughout the building to assist patrons as needed. Please direct questions, concerns, and feedback to them during your visit. Enjoy volunteering? Please go to guest services or the Detroit Opera website, detroitopera.org/volunteers, for information on becoming a volunteer.
LOST AND FOUND
During the performance, lost and found is located in guest services. Unclaimed items are logged and taken to the Safety and Security office after each performance. To inquire about a misplaced or lost item, please call 313.961.3500. Items left over 30 days will be discarded or donated.
RECORDING IN PROGRESS
Entry and presence on the event premises constitute your consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded, and to the release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction of any and all recorded media for any purpose whatsoever in perpetuity in connection with Detroit Opera and its initiatives. By entering the event premises, you waive and release any claims you may have related to the use of recorded media of you at the event.
