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 winter 2025 performances at the Detroit Opera House! As the year begins, we are preparing for Handel’s 314-year-old opera Rinaldo, set in a modern pediatric ward in Louisa Proske’s imaginative new staging. One of the greatest joys of Rinaldo is the gorgeous soprano aria “Lascia ch’io pianga” (“Let me weep”). Listen for it. It may well survive as an undeniable earworm days after you leave the Opera House. This winter the Detroit Opera Youth Chorus has also been deep in rehearsals for Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta H.M.S. Pinafore , which will be performed on Saturday, March 8. It is sobering to look back to the pandemic shutdowns of 2020, when joining others in song seemed like the most dangerous thing one could do. The youth chorus produced its first virtual opera during the pandemic, The Very Last Green Thing, a bright spot during those dark months, but there is nothing like witnessing these young singers’ joy at rehearsing and performing on the mainstage of the Detroit Opera House.
Young people are the future of opera. Thanks to an award from the State of Michigan, Detroit Opera will be able to bring 2,000 students to a performance of H.M.S. Pinafore, where they will see their peers on stage, mixing it up with the witty lyrics and joyful tunes of this Gilbert and Sullivan classic.
We also look forward to the return of Ailey's much-heralded residency, which utilizes Alvin Ailey's signature work, Revelations, as the inspirational framework for a comprehensive study of language arts, social studies, and dance! Thanks to a grant from the Fisher Foundation, this community engagement program will take place at two Detroit public schools in March, with students exploring and embodying the life story of Alvin Ailey and Revelations, while connecting this story to their own life experiences, community, and the broader world around them. Ailey’s Detroit residency will also include a professional development session and a workshop on active aging through dance.
Thank you to the many who have supported Detroit Opera’s education programming, including the Bartush Foundation challenge grant, which will double the impact of new and increased gifts this winter.
We are so grateful that you will join us at the Detroit Opera House, either again or for your first time, to experience the power and impact of opera and to thrill to the ensemble magic of dance.
Patty Isacson Sabee President & CEO, Detroit Opera
Così fan tutte
APR 05 / SAT / 7:30PM
APR 11 / FRI / 7:30PM
APR 13 / SUN / 2:30PM
This brand-new production by Artistic Director Yuval Sharon offers a fresh take on Mozart’s controversial comedy, where the role of Artificial Intelligence turns the tale into a futuristic experiment. Don Alfonso’s manipulations of the “emotions” of his robotic inventions (the lovers) become an obsessive quest to develop spiritual machines.
The Central Park Five
MAY 10 / SAT / 7:30PM
MAY 16 / FRI / 7:30PM
MAY 18 / SUN / 2:30PM
Malandain Ballet Biarritz
APR 26 / SAT / 7:30PM
APR 27 / SUN / 2:30PM
DANCE
Malandain Ballet Biarritz has become one of the most important companies of the French choreographic landscape. This original production combines Antonio Vivaldi’s famous Four Seasons and the little-known works of his contemporary and compatriot Giovanni Antonio Guido. With Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, dancers are moved by a more natural, more human form of dance.
Anthony Davis, composer of X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Music for this true story adaptation of systemic discrimination. This gripping opera follows the wrongful convictions of five African American and Latino teenagers in the assault of a white female jogger in Central Park.
A message from Jon H. Teeuwissen
Twyla Tharp has been a force in dance for over six decades. A milestone in her choreographic career was her creation of Deuce Coupe in 1973, commissioned by the Joffrey Ballet, set to the popular music of the Beach Boys. It is considered the first “crossover” ballet, combining elements of classical ballet and modern dance. She has since created ballets for dance companies around the world, while continuing to create work on her own hand-selected artists.
In 1998 Twyla Tharp choreographed a ballet to a set of variations for the piano written by Ludwig van Beethoven on a waltz composed by Anton Diabelli. I had the opportunity to see a run-through of Diabelli in a studio at New York’s City Center when the piece had just been created. Performed with live piano, it remains my favorite piece of Tharp repertoire. I am thrilled that this masterful work is back in active repertoire, and that it will grace the opera house stage.
Also on the program is a new piece by Twyla Tharp called SLACKTIDE, set to the music of Philip Glass and performed by Chicago’s Grammy award-winning ensemble Third Coast Percussion.
Alvin Ailey premiered his masterwork Revelations in 1960. It is now the most performed ballet in the world. Originally a full-length piece set to spirituals, Revelations was edited down to the version we know and love today. Interestingly, Matthew Rushing, Ailey’s interim artistic director, has revisited the spirituals that were cut from the original Revelations, and choreographed a new ballet called Sacred Songs.
This season Ailey celebrates the 25th anniversary of Ronald K. Brown’s Grace , also a very spiritual piece, which opens and closes with two versions of Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday”—the first by Jimmy McPhail, and the last by Jennifer Holliday—to the lyrics “God of love, please look down and let my people go.” The middle section is infused with house music. Brown interweaves modern and contemporary with West African forms to create some of the most rigorous dance one will ever experience.
Also on the theme of spirituality and connecting with one’s higher power is a new piece called Many Angels, choreographed by Lar Lubovitch to the serene, poetic Adagietto of Mahler’s 5th Symphony.
May your spirit soar!
Jon H. Teeuwissen
Artistic Advisor for Dance, Detroit Opera
Storybook Opera presents
Touring April – June, 2025
This spring, Detroit Opera’s Education Department will present two operas in its Storybook Opera touring season: Cinderella, composed by Gioachino Rossini and illustrated by Detroit-based artist Carole Morisseau, and Little Red Riding Hood, composed by Seymour Barab and illustrated by Detroit-based artist Vito Valdez. Storybook Opera shares these operas in a truncated form aimed at
pre-K through 2nd-grade audiences. Advised by Dr. Shannan Hibbard, Assistant Professor of Vocal Music Education at Wayne State University, and instructed by DO teaching artists Lucia Flowers, Victoria Lawal, and David Moan, this program encourages early literacy comprehension-infused with the creativity of song and dance.
To bring a performance to your community or school, call 313.309.8258 or email edinfo@detroitopera.org
Imagine a gift that outlives you, allowing future generations to experience and enjoy the world of opera and dance. The Avanti Society at Detroit Opera represents a designated group of donors who have included the organization in their estate plans—whether by will, trust, insurance, or life income arrangement.
Membership in The Avanti Society is open to all. In thanks for their generous support and foresight, Avanti Society members are given special benefits and recognition for their heartfelt commitment to Detroit Opera.
The Avanti Society— Ensuring the Future Mona Alonzo
Membership benefits to The Avanti Society include...
■ Your named recognition in opera and dance program books
■ Annual events held exclusively for members of the Avanti Society
■ Invitations to special events and previews
Contact Juliano Bitonti Stewart, Director of Development, at
or jstewart@detroitopear.org to learn more.
A Legacy of Generosity (1941-2024)
Anyone who had the good fortune to know Mona Alonzo—a longtime Detroit Opera donor and patron who passed away in February 2024— will remember her as an exceedingly warm and sincere person who was deeply committed to her family and friends, and generously supportive of the numerous organizations that were dear to her heart.
Possessing a profound passion for culture, and especially the arts, Mona attended theater festivals every summer and regularly visited and contributed to cultural institutions like Detroit Opera. Mona and her husband Richard were loyal DO subscribers for 25 years and donors for more than 30. And now, with her passing, Mona has left us a generous legacy gift as well. In accordance with her wishes, and her enthusiasm for Yuval Sharon’s ambitious artistic vision for DO, this gift will be used to support our general operations, giving us the freedom to direct the funds wherever they are most needed.
We are eternally grateful to Mona—for her stalwart support through every phase of our evolution as a driver of culture in Detroit, for her fervent belief in our transformative vision and auspicious future, and for her tremendous generosity, which will significantly benefit our organization, our audiences, and our community for many years to come.
PHOTO BY
TWYLA THARP DANCE
DIAMOND JUBILEE
CHOREOGRAPHER
Twyla Tharp
ENSEMBLE
Renan Cerdeiro Angela Falk Miriam Gittens
Zack Gonder Oliver Greene-Cramer Kyle Halford
Daisy Jacobson Marzia Memoli Nicole Ashley Morris
Alexander Peters Molly Rumble Reed Tankersley
Vladimir Rumyantsev, Piano
FEATURING THIRD COAST PERCUSSION
David Skidmore, Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin and Constance Volk, Flute
PHOTO
DIAMOND JUBILEE
DIABELLI 1998
Choreography by Twyla Tharp
Music: 33 Variations on a Waltz by Diabelli, Op. 120 by Ludwig Van Beethoven
Live musical performance by Vladimir Rumyantsev, Piano
SLACKTIDE was commissioned by New York City Center (New York), The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.), UC Santa Barbara, Arts & Lectures (Santa Barbara)
This arrangement by Third Coast Percussion of Aguas da Amazonia by Philip Glass was commissioned with support from Modlin Center for the Arts, University of Richmond, the Zell Family Foundation, the Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation, the Julian Family Foundation, and Steph and Daniel Heffner.
TWYLA THARP
Since graduating from Barnard College in 1963, Twyla Tharp has choreographed more than 160 works: 129 dances, 12 television specials, six Hollywood movies, four full-length ballets, four Broadway shows, and two figure-skating routines. She has received one Tony Award, two Emmy Awards, 19 honorary doctorates, the Vietnam Veterans of America President's Award, the 2004 National Medal of the Arts, the 2008 Jerome Robbins Prize, and a 2008 Kennedy Center Honor. Her many grants include the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and an Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
In 1965, Tharp founded her dance company, Twyla Tharp Dance. Her dances are known for creativity, wit and technical precision coupled with a streetwise nonchalance. By combining different forms of movement—such as jazz, ballet, boxing, and inventions of her own making—Tharp’s work expands the boundaries of ballet and modern dance. In addition to choreographing for her own company, she has created dances for the Joffrey Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, the Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, the Boston Ballet, the Australian Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Martha Graham Dance Company, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, and Royal Winnipeg Ballet. Today, ballet and dance companies around the world continue to perform her works.
Tharp’s work first appeared on Broadway in 1980 with When We Were Very Young, followed by her collaboration with musician David Byrne on The Catherine Wheel and later Singin’ in the Rain . 2002 brought the dance musical Movin’ Out , set to the music and lyrics of Billy Joel. Tharp later worked with Bob Dylan’s music and lyrics in The Times They Are A-changin’ and Come Fly Away, set to songs sung by Frank Sinatra. In film, Tharp has collaborated with director Milos Forman on Hair, Ragtime, and Amadeus. She has also worked with Taylor Hackford on White Nights and with James Brooks on I’ll Do Anything. Her television credits include choreographing Sue’s Leg for the inaugural episode of PBS's Dance in America in 1976 , co-producing and directing Making Television Dance and directing The Catherine Wheel for BBC Television. Tharp co-directed the television special Baryshnikov by Tharp.
In 1992, Tharp published her autobiography Push Comes to Shove. She went on to write The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life, followed by The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together. 2019 brought the publication of her fourth book, Keep It Moving: Lessons for the Rest of Your Life. Today, Tharp continues to create.
CONSTANCE VOLK FLUTE
Constance Volk is a musician, a painter, and an illustrator. She is a member of Ensemble Dal Niente, the Grossman Ensemble and the Chicago Wind project. She has collaborated with Lookingglass Theater, Alarm Will Sound, Eighth Blackbird, and Third Coast Percussion. She has exhibited paintings at Bridgeport Art Center, Zhou B Art Center, Miller Beach Arts and Creative District, and Rendezvous Arts. Her illustrations are featured with “Density Seeds,” an offshoot of the “Density 2036” solo flute repertoire project. Constance is the creator of Connie’s Characters, a series of mix-and-match coloring books full of wacky weirdos. Her paintings, poster art, coloring books, and music can be found at constancevolk.com .
VLADIMIR RUMYANTSEV PIANO
Vladimir Rumyantsev is an accomplished pianist, known for his virtuosity and ability to interpret the piano’s vast repertoire. His talent emerged early; he won Moscow’s Glinka competition at just seven years old. Vladimir has performed at prestigious venues such as the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Moscow Philharmonic, and Carnegie Hall, among others. Internationally, he has graced stages like the Great Guild in Riga and the Dzintari Concert Hall in Latvia. A notable tour in China in 2002 further established his global presence.
In addition to his solo career, Vladimir has participated in renowned festivals including the Golden Mask Festival in Moscow, the Bermuda Piano Festival, The Art of Piano Duo in Boston, IKIF (International Keyboard Institute and Festival), and the Mannes Summer Piano Festival in New York. His performances of Shostakovich and Stravinsky concertos led to collaborations with the Mariinsky Ballet, under the batons of Valery Gergiev and Boris Gruzin, at iconic venues such as Covent Garden, the Mariinsky Theatre, and the Bolshoi Theatre.
Vladimir received his foundational training at the Gnessin Moscow Special School for Music under Mikhail Khokhlov and later studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Sergey Dorensky and mentors like Alexander Bakhchiev, Elena Sorokina, and Nikolai Lugansky. He completed his advanced degrees at the Mannes School of Music in New York under Prof. Pavlina Dokovska.
Currently, Vladimir is engaged in solo and chamber performances, recording projects, and is pursuing his DMA at The Hartt School under the mentorship of Jose Ramos Santana. In 2024, he recorded Sean Hickey’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind for piano solo, which is set for release in early 2025 by Sono Luminus.
THIRD COAST PERCUSSION
With nearly two decades of spellbinding performances to its name, Chicagobased quartet Third Coast Percussion (Sean Connors, Robert Dillon, Peter Martin, and David Skidmore) is the first percussion ensemble to win a Grammy Award in the classical genre. Also nominated for a Grammy as a composer collective, TCP recasts the classical musical experience with a brilliantly varied sonic palette, crafting music to “push percussion in new directions, blurring musical boundaries and beguiling new listeners” (NPR). The ensemble celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2025, having blossomed from percussion students who met in 2005 at Northwestern University into an internationallyrenowned performing arts organization. TCP’s 2023 album Between Breaths was nominated for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance in the 2024 Grammy Awards.
During its 20th anniversary season in 2024–25, the ensemble embarks on ambitious collaborative projects including national tours with composer/ violinist Jessie Montgomery and Twyla Tharp Dance. Other highlights include performances of TCP’s acclaimed Metamorphosis program. TCP has also commissioned new works from composers Tigran Hamasyan and Jlin.
TCP has toured widely across the U.S. and four continents, exuding “rare power” (The Washington Post) and “an inspirational sense of fun and curiosity” (Minnesota Star-Tribune). The ensemble’s recordings include 19 feature albums and appearances on 14 additional releases, including its GRAMMY®-winning recording of Steve Reich’s works for percussion. It has commissioned and premiered new works from such artists as Augusta Read Thomas, Philip Glass, Missy Mazzoli, Clarice Assad, Danny Elfman, and Jlin, whose TCP commission Perspective was a 2023 Pulitzer Prize finalist.
TCP has also produced collaborative art alongside engineers, architects, and musicians of all genres, and connected with audiences through talks, play-alongs, educational programs, and mobile apps. They collaborate with numerous Chicago-based civic and cultural institutions, teach thousands of students through educational partnerships, and maintain multi-year collaborations with Chicago-based composers. The quartet also serves as ensemble-in-residence at Denison University.
Follow Third Coast on Instagram (@ThirdCoastPercussion), YouTube (@thirdcoastpercussion), TikTok (@thirdcoastpercussion), X (@ThirdCoastPerc), Facebook (@Third Coast Percussion), and LinkedIn (linkedin.com/company/third-coast-percussion).
RENAN CERDEIRO DANCER
Renan Cerdeiro was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At a young age he began practicing in various dance styles at the Escola de dança Alice Arja in Rio de Janeiro, where he did most of his training. In 2008, Renan was named a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne in Switzerland, and that same year was awarded a scholarship to train at the Miami City Ballet School. Within two years, he was invited by the company’s founding artistic director, Edward Villella, to join the Miami City Ballet as a company apprentice. In 2013, he was promoted to principal dancer by current artistic director Lourdes Lopez. Renan has performed numerous principal roles in works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, Liam Scarlett, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Nacho Duato, Pam Tanowitz, Brian Brooks, Peter Martins, Sir Kenneth Macmillan, Richard Alston, and original works by Justin Peck. Renan has performed leading roles in classics such as Petipa’s Coppélia , Giselle, and Don Quixote, John Cranko's Romeo and Juliet , and Alexei Ratmansky’s Swan Lake. Renan has danced at New York City Center and at the Koch Theater in New York, participated in multiple Works & Process performances at the Guggenheim, was part of the Vail Dance Festival and Nantucket Dance Festival, performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and at the Music Center and Cal Performances in California, Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts, Harris Theater in Chicago, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, as well at the Bolshoi Theater in Russia as part of the Benois de la Danse Gala. Renan was named one of the world’s “Top 25 Artists to Watch in 2011” by Dance Magazine. Most recently, Renan has been guesting as a principal dancer and working with Twyla Tharp Dance. Instagram: @renancerdeiro
ANGELA FALK DANCER
Angela Falk is from the San Francisco Bay Area. She received her BFA in 2017 from the Juilliard School, where she was awarded the Joseph W. Polisi “Artist as Citizen” prize. Since 2018, she has been a member of the CCN Ballet de Lorraine in France. Angela previously danced for Limón Dance Company and the Merce Cunningham Trust, among others, and is very excited to join the Twyla Tharp Dance Company for this 60th Anniversary Tour. Instagram: @chancellorfalk
MIRIAM GITTENS DANCER
Miriam Gittens was born and raised in Fresno, California, where she received a diverse dance education at The Dance Studio of Fresno. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Juilliard School in 2017. Following graduation, Miriam joined chuthis, a project-based company presenting the work of Peter Chu, and continues to collaborate there. In 2018, she joined Ballet BC under the direction of Emily Molnar. Miriam had the extreme honor of performing works by Aszure Barton, Sharon Eyal & Gai Behar, William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Felix Landerer, Ohad Naharin, Out Innerspace, Crystal Pite, and Medhi Walerski, spanning over four seasons. In 2022, Miriam returned to New York to join Gibney Company, where she is currently an Artistic Associate. In 2023, Gittens was featured in Dance Magazine ’s “On the Rise” column. Instagram: @miriamgittens
ZACK GONDER DANCER
Zack Gonder grew up near Chicago and trained at the Chicago Academy for the Arts under the tutelage of Randy Duncan. He graduated in 2018 from the Juilliard School, where he performed works by Austin McCormick, Aszure Barton, Pam Tanowitz, Richard Alston, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, and Crystal Pite. He recently was in the Broadway show Illinoise at the St. James Theater, as well as its Off Broadway runs at the Park Avenue Armory and the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He has performed with Pam Tanowitz Dance, Brian Brooks Moving Company, PARA.MAR Dance, Zvi Dance, and the Mark Morris Dance Group. He is very excited to be part of Twyla Tharp Dance. Instagram: @zackgonder
OLIVER GREENE-CRAMER DANCER
Oliver Greene-Cramer was raised in southern Vermont, where he received his early training at the Brattleboro School of Dance and Burklyn Ballet Theatre before obtaining his BFA from the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. Prior to Twyla Tharp Dance, Oliver was a member of Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Ballet Austin, and Los Angeles Dance Project. In his career Oliver has performed works by Twyla Tharp, Pam Tanowitz, Lar Lubovitch, Pontus Lidberg, Christopher Wheeldon, George Balanchine, Merce Cunningham, Anthony Tudor, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Stephen Mills, Benjamin Millepied, Septime Webre, Salia Sanou, Thang Dao, Janie Taylor, and Dimitri Chamblas, among others. Additionally, he has had the privilege of performing in such festivals as Jacob’s Pillow (2019), Danza in Arte a Pietrasanta (2017), Vail Dance Festival (2023), and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2011, 2013, 2019). Oliver has also performed in works by artists Rodney McMillian (2018–Against a Civic Death), Jack Ferver (2019–Mon Ma Mes), and Madeline Hollander (2023–Devotion). Instagram: @olivergreenecramer
KYLE HALFORD DANCER
Kyle Halford (he/him) is a 2021 BFA graduate from the University of Arizona and received the Undergraduate Creative Achievement Award junior year. Upon graduation, Kyle joined Eisenhower Dance Detroit as a company member, where he performed featured roles in new works by Maleek Washington, Hope Boykin, Tamisha Guy, and many other choreographers. In 2023, Kyle moved to New York City to pursue his passion and has been working with Twyla Tharp since, including her new work for Little Island last year, How Long Blues. Aside from his work with Tharp, Kyle was recently a guest artist with Mark Morris Dance Group and is a company member with Skyla Schreter Dance. Other highlights this past year include an evening-length work by Alexander Anderson, film projects by Chelsea Thedinga and Dylan Pearce, and a new solo creation by Igal Perry. Kyle is ecstatic to be joining Twyla Tharp Dance for this momentous tour in celebration of Tharp’s accomplishments. Instagram: @kylehalford
DAISY JACOBSON DANCER
Daisy Jacobson is from Los Angeles, California and earned her BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School in 2017. Soon after, she joined Benjamin Millepied’s LA Dance Project, where she performed in new works and repertoire by Millepied, Justin Peck, Kyle Abraham, Ohad Naharin, Martha Graham, Bella Lewitzky, Janie Taylor, Madeline Hollander, Gianna Reisen, Jill Johnson, Bobbi Jene Smith, and Or Schraiber. In 2022, Daisy guested with Twyla Tharp Dance and performed in the revival of In the Upper Room and Nine Sinatra Songs. Since leaving LADP to pursue freelance work, Daisy has danced in Tharp’s Ocean’s Motion and The Ballet Master for the company’s season at the Joyce Theater and in How Long Blues at Little Island in 2024. This summer, Daisy was also a guest artist at Vail Dance, where she reconstructed and performed Tharp’s 1903 and premiered Justin Peck’s new work, Nine Freights. She will be joining the festival again in 2025. Daisy is also a part of Millepied’s new production in Paris titled GRACE . She is a YoungArts Winner as well as a Princess Grace Award Nominee and a Presidential Scholar in the Arts. Daisy is thrilled to join Twyla Tharp’s 60th Anniversary Tour this year. Instagram: @daisykate_j
MARZIA MEMOLI DANCER
Marzia Memoli, from Palermo, Italy, graduated with high honors from the Academy of Teatro Carcano in Milan. Marzia attended the Maurice Béjart School under the direction of Michael Gascard. She was asked to perform by Artistic Director Gil Roman in The Ninth Symphony and Le Sacre du printemps with the Béjart Ballet Lausanne. In 2016 she joined the Martha Graham Dance Company; her repertory with the company includes Graham’s The Rite of Spring as the Chosen One, El Penitente , Chronicle , The Princess in Cave of the Heart , Diversion of Angels, Dark Meadow Suite, Act of Light, Deep Song, Satyric Festival Song. She performed works by Hofesh Shechter, Elisa Monte (Treading), Bobbi Jean Smith, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Maxine Doyle, Pam Tanowtiz, Sonya Tayeh, Pontus Lidberg, Micaela Taylor, Lar Lubovitch, Andrea Miller, and Jamar Roberts. In 2022 she performed for Twyla Tharp in In the Upper Room and Nine Sinatra Songs at New York City Center. She is a recent recipient of the Fini International Rising Star Award 2023. Memoli is currently working with Twyla Tharp for this 2024–25 season. Instagram: @marziamem
NICOLE ASHLEY MORRIS DANCER
Nicole Ashley Morris, a movement artist from Sarasota, Florida, has been passionate about the arts from a young age. She trained intensively with Cheryl Copeland and Sarasota Ballet before earning her BFA in Dance from Florida State University. After graduation, Nicole moved to New York City, where she began working with Kristin Sudeikis and Jackie Nowicki’s NOW Dance Project. She continues to perform actively with Kristin Sudeikis Dance. As a concert dancer, Nicole has performed works by Twyla Tharp, Al Blackstone, Reed Luplau, Lauren Lovette, Troy Schumacher, Hope Boykin, Melissa Hough, Josh Prince, and Cherice Barton. She has also participated in pre-production workshops for several Broadway shows. Nicole’s additional credits include music videos for Darlingside’s “All the Lights in the City,” Ben Harper’s “Uneven Days,” and “Disappear,” and Alison Sudol’s “The Runner,” all choreographed and directed by Kristin Sudeikis. Nicole is so excited to be a part of Twyla’s 60th Anniversary Tour! Instagram: @nicoleashleymorris
ALEXANDER PETERS DANCER
Alexander Peters was born and raised in State College, Pennsylvania and began his early dance training with teacher Nicole Swope. He was later accepted to the School of American Ballet and attended as a recipient of the Andrei Kramarevsky Scholarship. Alexander is currently a principal dancer with Miami City Ballet and has performed across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. His extensive repertoire includes works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alexei Ratmansky, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, and many others. Throughout his career he has originated featured roles in numerous works and has filmed archival segments with the George Balanchine Foundation. He previously performed with Pennsylvania Ballet and Kansas City Ballet and is a recipient of a Princess Grace Award and the 2010 Mae L. Wein Award for outstanding promise. Instagram: @a_peters__
MOLLY RUMBLE DANCER
Molly Rumble is a freelance artist based in New York City. She began studying ballet in her hometown of Virginia Beach, VA at Ballet Virginia and Virginia Beach Ballet Academy. Rumble continued her dance training at Butler University under the direction of Larry Attaway and graduated cum laude in 2020 with her Bachelors of the Arts in Dance Pedagogy. While dancing with Butler Ballet she performed notable roles such as the principal woman in Gerald Arpino's Light Rain and a soloist Patrick de Bana’s Falling Sky. In 2021, Rumble joined the City Ballet of San Diego where she performed principal and soloist roles, including Queen of the Dryads in Don Quixote and Snow Princess in The Nutcracker. She then moved to New York City in 2022 to freelance and has since performed with multiple companies and dance projects. Rumble has traveled to Europe and the UK performing with the Berlin-based ballet collective Ballet Surreal, has guested as a principal with Prague Festival Ballet, and most recently danced with English National Ballet in Derek Deanne's Swan Lake In-the-Round at the Royal Albert Hall. Instagram: @molly000001
REED TANKERSLEY DANCER
Reed Tankersley, from Northern California, earned his BFA from the Juilliard School in 2014. Shortly after, Reed joined Twyla Tharp’s 50th Anniversary Tour and has continued to perform with the company in numerous Tharp works including In the Upper Room, Nine Sinatra Songs, How Long Blues, The Fugue, Brahms Paganini, Ocean’s Motion, and Eight Jelly Rolls. He has also worked as a repetiteur for Tharp’s Baker’s Dozen. In 2019, Reed ran away to the circus and toured the country as the lead performer in Cirque Du Soleil’s Volta . Reed is a YoungArts Winner and one of Dance Magazine ’s “25 to Watch.” Instagram: @tankerbell
TWYLA THARP DANCE
TOUR CREDITS
ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE
Alexander Brady
PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR & STAGE MANAGER
Tony Crawford
WARDROBE SUPERVISOR
Jeffrey Shirbroun
LIGHTING SUPERVISOR
Jesse Campbell & Stacey Boggs
COMPANY MANAGER
Jesse Ontiveros
Tour Booking & Management Opus 3 Artists
Robert Berretta, Managing Director
Benjamin Maimin, Chief Operating Officer
Jemma Lehner, Associate Manager
Major support for the Twyla Tharp Dance Foundation is provided by Jay Franke and David Herro.
Funding for the 60th Anniversary Tour made possible by Jody and John Arnhold, Valerie and Chuck Diker, Peter and Sarah Finn, Sarah Hoover, Bill Miller, James Nederlander Jr., Patsy and Jeff Tarr, Stephen and Cathy Weinroth, and Vicente Wolf.
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PHOTO BY MARK SELIGER
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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
National Endowment for the Arts
Matthew & Mona Simoncini
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 received between December 1, 2023 and November 30, 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
Fred A. & Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation
Ford Foundation
Mellon Foundation
$100,000-$249,999
Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan Ford Philanthropy
General Motors
Gilbert Family Foundation
Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation
$50,000-$99,999
J. Addison Bartush and Marion M. Bartush Family Foundation
Max M. & Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
Milner Hotels Foundation
$25,000-$49,999
Applebaum Family Philanthropy
Hudson-Webber Foundation
Kresge Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
The Karen and Drew Peslar Foundation
The Rattner and Katz Charitable Foundation
Matilda R. Wilson Fund
$10,000-$24,999
Detroit Children's Choir
DTE Energy Foundation
Geoinge Foundation
Masco Corporation
Individual Support
McGregor Fund
MGM Grand Detroit
Oliver Dewey Marcks Foundation
OPERA America
Penske Corporation
Ralph L. and Winifred E. Polk Foundation
Ida and Conrad H. Smith Endowment for MOT
The Mary Thompson Foundation
The Williams Family Fund
$5,000-$9,999
C&N Foundation
Aaron Copland Fund for Music
James and Lynelle Holden Fund
Honigman LLP
Louis and Nellie Sieg Fund
Donald R. and Esther Simon Foundation
The National Circle
Somerset Collection Charitable Foundation
Strum Allesee Family Foundation
The Samuel L. Westerman Foundation
$1,000-$4,999
ABM Janitorial Services
John A. and Marlene L. Boll Foundation
Joyce Cohn Young Artist Fund
Marjorie And Maxwell Jospey Foundation
Josephine Kleiner Foundation
Elmira L. Rhein Family Foundation
Sigmund and Sophie Rohlik Foundation
Introduced in 2024, The National Circle is comprised of 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+
Richard & Mona* Alonzo
Ethan & Gretchen Davidson
Leslie Lazzerin*
Linda Dresner & Ed Levy Jr.
Vivien McDonald*
David & Christine Provost
Matthew & Mona Simoncini
Gary L. Wasserman & Charles A. Kashner
$50,000-$99,999
Mrs. Phyllis F. Snow*
Richard Sonenklar & Gregory Haynes
Lorna Thomas, MD
Jesse & Yesenia Venegas
R. Jamison & Karen Williams
$25,000-$49,999
Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya
Alex Erdeljan
Patricia Isacson Sabee & David Sabee
Denise J. Lewis
The Hon. Jack Martin & Dr. Bettye Arrington Martin
Susanne McMillan
Allan & Joy Nachman Philanthropic Fund
Ann & James B. Nicholson
Ebbie Parsons III & Ayana Parsons
Mrs. Ruth F. Rattner
Barbara Van Dusen
Ms. Barbara A. Walkowski
KEY
* Deceased
The DiChiera Society
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 with an emphasis on community engagement, accessibility, and artistic risk taking under the leadership of Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director Yuval Sharon.
$10,000-$24,999
Gene P. Bowen
Richard & Joanne Brodie
Wayne Brown & Brenda Kee
Mr. Thomas Cohn
Enrico & Kathleen Digirolamo
Nina S. Drolias*
Dr. Raina Ernstoff & Mr. Sanford Hansell
Carl & Mary Ann Fontana
Bharat & Lynn Gandhi
Nancy B. Henk*
Mary Kramer
Michael & Barbara Kratchman
Ms. Mary C. Mazure
Ms. Evelyn Micheletti
Ali Moiin & William Kupsky
Donald & Antoinette Morelock
Mr. Cyril Moscow
William & Wendy Powers
Dr. & Mrs. Samir M. Ragheb
Dr. Irvin D. Reid & Dr. Pamela Trotman Reid
Janice Ross
Concetta V. Ross*
Terry Shea & Seigo Nakao
Prof. Michael Wellman
$5,000-$9,999
Ms. Christine Ammer
Thomas & Gretchen Anderson
Dr. Harold M. Arrington
Richard & Susan Bingham
Beverly Hall Burns
Ms. Violet Dalla Vecchia
Kevin Dennis & Jeremy Zeltzer
Maria & David Duey
Fern Espino & Tom Short
Paul & Mary Sue Ewing
Ms. Laurie R. Frankel
Ralph & Erica Gerson
Toby Haberman
William Hulsker & Aris Urbanes
Jane Iacobelli
Jody & Tara Ingle
John & Arlene Lewis
Don Manvel
Mr. Ronald Michalak
Phillip Minch
Mrs. L. William Moll
Robert & Susan Morris
Mr. George & Mrs. Jo Elyn Nyman
Sara A. Pozzi, Ph.D.
Waltraud Prechter
Ms. Pam E. Rodgers
Evan & Kelsey Ross
Ankur Rungta & Mayssoun Bydon
Mrs. Rosalind B. Sell
Frank & Susan Sonye
Ms. Mary Anne Stella
Mr. Peter C. Stern
Ned & Joan Winkelman
Ellen Hill Zeringue
$3,000-$4,999
Nina Abrams
Gregory & Mary Barkley
Paul & Lee Blizman
Bob & Rosemary Brasie
Dr. & Mrs. Ronald T. Burkman
Dr. Lynne Carter
Albert & Janette Cassar
Anonymous
Maurice & Carolyn Cunniffe
Walter & Lillian Dean
Lisa DiChiera
James & Margo Farber
Sally & Michael Feder
Michael Fisher
Yvonne Friday & Stephen Black
Allan Gilmour & Eric Jirgens
Mr. Lawrence Glowczewski
Mr. & Mrs. Robert & Christine Hage
Roberto Kalb & Mane Galoyan
Max Lepler & Rex Dotson
Mary B. Letts
Nancy & Bud Liebler
Amy McCombs
Ms. Mary McGough
Benjamin Meeker & Meredith Korneffel, MD
Van Momon & Pamela L. Berry
Geoffrey Nathan
Sally Orley
Brock & Katherine L. Plumb
Magdalena Predeteanu*
Carrie & Ted Pryor
Lois & Mark Shaevsky
Susan A Smith
Dr. Gregory E. Stephens, D.O.
Samuel Thomas & Daniel VanderLey
Bret & Susanna Williams
Friends of Detroit Opera
Every gift helps 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
D.L. Anthony, Ph.D.
Ms. Geraldine Atkinson
Mr. Stanislaw Bialoglowski
Sandra & Doug Bitonti Stewart
Mr. & Mrs. Mitchell Bleznak
Constance Bodurow
Ms. Nicole A. Boelstler
Mr.* & Mrs. John A. Boll Sr.
Marsha Bruhn
Ilse Calcagno
James & Elizabeth Ciroli
John & Doreen Cole
Tonino & Sarah Corsetti
Patricia Cosgrove
Sue Cutler & Jeff Fessler
Carolyn Demps & Guy Simons
Cristina DiChiera & Neal Walsh
Shauna Ryder Diggs, MD
Ms. Mary J. Doerr
Marla Donovan
Nell Duke & David Ammer
Ms. Judith Ellis
Marianne T. Endicott
Marjory Winkelman Epstein
Joseph Fontana & Nada Jurisich-Fontana
Burke & Carol Fossee
Dr. & Mrs. Clifford Furgison
Carol Gagliardi & David Flesher
Arline Geronimus
Thomas M. Gervasi
Mr. Nathaniel Good
Stuart Grigg
Ms. Carole Hardy
Barbara Heller
Mary Ellen Hoy & Jim Keller
Paul Jednak & Tim Kasunic
Richard & Involut Jessup
Mrs. Stephanie Germack Kerzic
Marc Keshishian & Susanna Szelestey
Mr. & Mrs. Gerd H. Keuffel
Gregory Knas
Ms. Cynthia Kratchman
William & Jean Kroger
Jeff & Joanne Kukes
Meria Larson
Stephan & Marian Loginsky
Mr. John Lovegren & Mr. Daniel Isenschmid
Mr. Loreto A. Manzo
Ms. Janet Groening Marsh
Patrick & Patricia McKeever
Eugene & Lois Miller
Craig & Shari Morgan
Ms. Maryanne Mott
Harold Munson & Libby Berger
Brian Murphy & Toni Sanchez-Murphy
George & Nancy Nicholson
Dr. & Mrs. Peter Nickles
Joshua & Rachel Opperer
Daniel & Margaret Pehrson
Coleen Pellerito
Mark & Kyle Peterson
Ms. Irene Piccone*
Shane Pliska
Elizabeth Porter & Larry Hickman
Michael & Charlene Prysak
Rip & Gail Rapson
Ms. Alice Rea
Leon & Debbe Saperstein
Professor Alvin & Mrs. Harriet Saperstein
Mary Schlaff & Sanford Koltonow
Kingsley & Lurline Sears
Susan Sills-Levey & Michael Levey
Michael & Stacey
Simmons
Gabriel & Martha Stahl
Ann Steglich
Dr. Andrew James Stocking
Andrew J. Sturgess
Manuel Tancer & Claire Stroker
Mr. Jon Teeuwissen
Mr. & Mrs. C. Thomas Toppin
Jeff & Amy Voigt
Stanley Waldon
Torben Winther & Linda Hall
Katina Zaninovich
John & Susan Zaretti
$750-$999
Antonia Abbey & James Lee
Marceline Bright
Frank & Jenny Brzenk
Beth Hoger & Lisa Swem
Ms. Vera C. Magee
John & Marie McElroy
Walter & Elizabeth Newgeon
Barbara Roden
Dennis & Jennifer Varian
Ms. Janet Beth Weir
Meredith Weston-Band & Jeffery Band
Rita Winters
$500-$749
Robert & Catherine Anthony
Paul Augustine
Ms. Allison Bach
Ms. Mary Anne Barczak
Martin & Marcia Baum
Barbra Bloch
Amy & Tyler Bouque
Dr. Cynthia Browne, MD
Jonathan Cohn & Daniela Wittmann
Daniel & Susan Drucker
Murray & Alice Ehrinpreis
Daniel H. Ferrier
Julie Finn & Bradley Rowens
Sue Force
John Gierak & Dona Tracey
Joseph & Lois Gilmore
Gil Glassberg & Sandra Seligman
Mr. Robert Theodore Goldman
Todd Gordon & Susan Feder
Philip & Martha Gray
John & Kristan Hale
Paul & Nancy Hillegonds
Kimberly Johnson
Ms. Jill Johnson
Geraldine & Jacqueline Keller
Ms. Lee Khachaturian
Justin & Joanne Klimko
Mr. Alex Koprivica
Jennifer Lindsay Kott
Mary Jane & Jeff Kupsky
Albert Kurt
John & Kimi Lowe
Mrs. Marsha Lynn
Lori Maher
Dr. Anne Missavage & Mr. Robert Borcherding
Mr. Russell Moore
Natasha Moulton-Levy
Ms. Nancy K. Murray
Mr. Ronald Northrup
Jane Panikkar
Bertram & Elaine Pitt
Garry Post & Robert Hill
Shawn Rieschl Johnson & Christian Kirby
Adam D. Rubin, M.D, Lakeshore Professional Voice Center
Mr. Richard Lee Ruby
William* & Marjorie Sandy
Michael Schon
Clara Sumeghy
Dr. Geneva Tatem
Dr. Gretchen Thams
John M. Toth
Barbara & Stuart Trager
Rennard & Daphne Tucker
Joseph & Rosalie Vicari
Ian D. Wiesner
Janice Zeltzer
Elliot & Dr. Susan Zeltzer
Gifts in Tribute
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 people in their lives, whose names are listed in bold below.
IN HONOR OF
Andrew Berg
Anne & Robert Berg
Harriet Berg
Mr. Richard D. Cavaler
George* & Eleanor Bodurow
Constance Bodurow
Wayne S. Brown
Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya
Barbra Bloch
Philip Brunelle
Larry & Dodie David
Ethan & Gretchen Davidson
Dr. Shauna Ryder Diggs
Mary Lou Falcone
Susan Feder & Todd Gordon
Mary Ann & Carl Fontana
Ellen Hill Zeringue
Patty Isacson Sabee
Ms. Jill Johnson
Barbara & Michael Kratchman
Denise J. Lewis
Bud & Nancy Liebler
Dr. Ali Moiin & Dr. William Kupsky
Allan & Joy Nachman
Naomi Oliphant
William & Wendy Powers
Carrie & Ted Pryor
Mrs. Ruth F. Rattner
Irvin & Pamela Reid
Ankur Rungta & Mayssoun Bydon
Lorna Thomas, MD
John Etsell and Europeras 3 & 4
Katina Zaninovich
Carl Fontana
Nina Abrams
Paul & Orvilla Ashely
Thomas E. Barron
Andre Boulanger
Barbara E. Camph
Wilson Curle
Mary Jo & Donald Dawson
David Feeny
Pamela & Lou Fontana
Cynthia Gitt
Peter Gude
Patty Isacson Sabee
Dan & Theresa Johnson
Allen A. Lewis
Skip Shipman
Sarah Siwek
Michael Bartoy & Lana Tapani-Bartoy
Teresa Taranta
Sara Valenti
Robert Wittenberg
Ellen Jacobowitz
Ann & David Conrad
Chuck & Sandra Jacobowitz
Brenda Kee
Dr. Ali Moiin & Dr. William Kupsky
Mary Kramer
Lois & Mark Shaevsky
Barbara & Michael Kratchman
Jeff & Joanne Kukes
Dr. Ali Moiin & Dr. William Kupsky
Mary Jane Kupsky
William & Elizabeth S. Kupsky
Allan & Joy Nachman
Eliot & Elizabeth Bank
Ruth Rattner
Ann Katz
Lois Shaevsky
Everett & Margery Jassy
Lorna Thomas, MD
Paul & Lee Blizman
Barbara Walkowski
Neal S. Goren
Abbie E. Wisusik
Michelle Tornopilsky
IN MEMORY OF
Harry Cook
Ms. Susan Chevalier
Armando Delicato
Judith Gordon & Lawrence Banka
Jacqueline Shuster
Donald Epstein
Marjory Epstein
Pauline Fucinari
Martha Camorro & Fernando Peralta
Mr. Anthony Delsener
Dr. David & Yvonne Fucinari
Therese, Carole &
Mary Louise Ireland
Heather Gehring
Shawn Rieschl Johnson & Christian Kirby
Devon Hoover
Dr. Cynthia Browne, MD
Patricia Cosgrove
Joseph Katulic
Stuart Grigg
George & Ann Marisl
Thomas Dickson & Carol Dick
John P. McMullin
Alexander Ford
Sean & Tori Murphy
Enrico & Olga Petrini
Miss Alma M. Petrini
Nancy Rade
Paula Lisa Cole
Aphrodite Roumell
Allan & Joy Nachman
Florence, David & Joyce Schon
Michael L. Schon
Dr. Charles B. Smith
Dr. Peggie J. Hollingsworth
Phyllis Snow
Lisa Gross
Carole Heinrich
Kathy & Jack Kennedy
Anne Stricker
Torben Winther & Linda Hall
Beate M. Vreeken
Karen & Matthew Cullen
Vreevious
Bradley & Rachel Benigni
Dr. Margaret Winters
Elizabeth Porter
Sarisa Zoghlin
Kevin Dennis & Jeremy Zeltzer
Every effort has been made to accurately reflect donor, honoree, and memorial names for gifts received between December 1, 2023 and November 30, 2024. Should you find an error or omission please contact Reema Mahmood, Manager of Events and Donor Relations at rmahmood@detroitopera.org or 313.237.3267.
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. Thank you, Avanti Society Members!
Douglas* & Sarah Allison
Richard & Mona* Alonzo
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
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§#
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
Hon. Avern Cohn* & Ms. Lois Pincus
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
Eliot Heaton
Concertmaster (on leave)
Daniel Stachyra
Interim Concertmaster
Yuri Popowycz
Acting Asst. Concertmaster
Open Position
Acting Asst. Concertmaster
Emelyn Bashour
Principal Second Violin
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
Open Position
CELLO
Ivana Biliskov
Principal
Benjamin Maxwell
Andrea Yun
Open Position
BASS
Derek Weller
Principal
Clark Suttle
HARP
Open Position
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.
Opera has been described as an art form that tells a story through music and singing. Detroit Opera is innovating new and exciting ways to tell those stories. At The Whitney, we see architecture as another art form that tells a story, in our case through our 125-year-old Romanesque-style mansion, one of the last remaining mansions that once lined Woodward Avenue. It is a true reflection of Old Detroit. Before your next opera, or whenever the urge hits you, come visit our mansion. We promise that the welcoming reception you’ll receive, the food and drink you’ll enjoy, and the ambiance you’ll experience, will make you think you’ve gone back in time. Pre-Theater Dining, Sunday Brunch or Afternoon Tea—It’s a story you won’t forget.
