2023-2024 Toledo Opera Season Brochure

Hope,Heart & Humanity

CINDERELLA . ROMEO & JULIET . RAGTIME

HOPE, HEART & HUMANITY

Introducing the new season gives me HOPE that our lives will continue to be filled with beautiful music and storytelling that lifts up the HEART. Timeless stories will be told through music that is known, loved and refreshed in live performances produced by Toledo Opera. As part of the audience, you can participate in the HUMANITY of a shared experience. Together with your fellow audience members, each time you come to our three season productions you will have an opportunity to understand and react to problems that occur in the story, to feel the characters’ emotions as they face those problems, and to wonder at the jaw-dropping vocal talent. The reactions and engagement of the audience are the secret sauce in opera. In truth, our audiences are essential to the success of every one of our performances. We invite you to be present with us in mind, in spirit and in person.

With this season we hope to strengthen our audience numbers to achieve the close-to-sold-out numbers of pre-Covid times. If you have not been able to come in the past several years, please consider returning to this unique, shared experience. If you are new to opera and wish to try it, we welcome you. Note that there are significant savings in ticket costs if you subscribe to the whole season of Rossini’s La Cenerentola (Cinderella), Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet and the American musical, Ragtime

As Toledo’s regional opera company since 1961, we are local yet international in terms of the artists we employ. We are here for everyone in our community. I look forward to seeing and talking with you in 2023–2024.

Suzanne Rorick Executive Director

THE CLASSIC TALE OF LOVE, KINDNESS & DREAMS COMING TRUE

Never before seen by Toledo Opera audiences, the beloved tale of Cinderella meets operatic delight in this Rossini hit. Based on the iconic children’s story, Angelina (Cinderella) sweeps the floors while her farcical stepsisters try on dresses, vying for the extremely eligible Prince Ramiro’s hand in marriage. With a twist of fate, Angelina meets Prince Ramiro. Charmed by her goodness, he knows he has found his soulmate. Amid household chaos, squabbling family members, and mistaken identities, Angelina’s honesty and forthrightness bring this story to its rightful and hilarious conclusion. Rossini’s charming take on the classic Cinderella story will delight audiences of all ages in this family-friendly opera.

Cinderella stars mezzo-soprano Sarah Coit as Angelina and tenor David Walton as Prince Ramiro. M aestro Douglas Kinney Frost conducts Rossini’s sparkling score as director Marc Verzatt brings this enchanting story to life.

Starring Sarah Coit as Angelina (Cinderella) and David Walton as Prince Ramiro

Performed in Italian with English supertitles.

SUBSCRIBE AT 419.255.7464 OR TOLEDOOPERA.ORG

SARAH COIT AS ANGELINA DAVID WALTON AS PRINCE RAMIRO KEITH PHARES AS DANDINI

ROSSINI’S LA CENERENTOLA . OCTOBER 6 & 8, 2023

ROMEO & JULIET

CHARLES GOUNOD . FEBRUARY 16 & 18, 2024

A TIMELESS TALE OF FAMILY, BETRAYAL & SELFLESS LO VE

The world’s most celebrated love story finds new dimension in Charles Gounod’s classic retelling of William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Set in 15th century Verona, the deep and rapturous love between Romeo and Juliet rivals the longstanding feud between their families –the Montagues and the Capulets. Will these star-crossed lovers be able to endure their feuding kin or succumb to tragedy? From tender intimacy to ecstatic grandeur, Charles Gounod’s classic operatic telling of Shakespeare’s eternal drama comes to life in a cinematic-inspired production. Gounod’s lush, romantic opera will explore the fragility of innocence and youth in the face of political turmoil.

Real life couple – and Toledo Opera audience favorites –Zach Borichevsky and Kathryn Lewek star as Romeo and Juliet. Maestro Adam Turner returns to Toledo to conduct as director James Mitchell brings this timeless tragedy to life.

Sung in French with English supertitles.

SUBSCRIBE AT 419.255.7464 OR TOLEDOOPERA.ORG

KATHRYN LEWEK AS JULIET ZACH BORICHEVSKY AS ROMEO SIDNEY OUTLAW AS MERCUTIO

A HISTORICAL TALE OF THREE DIVERSE AMERICAN EXPERIENCES

Nominated for 13 Tony Awards® including “Best Musical,” and winning for “Best Original Score” and “Best Book of a Musical,” Ragtime makes its premiere to Toledo Opera audiences! Based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow, this musical tapestry depicts an African-American family, a Jewish family, and a wealthy white suburban family in turn-of-the-century New York. As they collide in pursuit of the American Dream, they discover the surprising interconnections of the human heart, the limitations of justice, and the unsettling consequences when dreams are permanently deferred. Ragtime is a powerful portrait of life at the turn-of-the-20th century, exploring America’s timeless contradictions of freedom and prejudice, wealth and poverty, hope and despair.

Ragtime stars baritone Derrick Davis (Toledo Opera’s I Dream) as Coalhouse Walker, Jr., Broadway soprano Raquel Suarez Groen as Mother, and baritone Joshua Jeremiah as Tateh. J. Ernest Green returns to Toledo to conduct, as James M. Norman brings this poignant musical to life.

Sung in English with English supertitles.

SUBSCRIBE AT 419.255.7464 OR TOLEDOOPERA.ORG

DERRICK DAVIS AS COALHOUSE WALKER, JR.

RAQUEL SUAREZ GROEN AS MOTHER

JOSHUA JEREMIAH AS TATEH

APRIL 19 & 21, 2024 . BASED ON THE NOVEL BY E.L. DOCTOROW

BOOK BY TERRENCE MCNALLY . LYRICS BY LYNN AHRENS . MUSIC BY STEPHEN FLAHERTY

ORDER NOW! THREE SHOW SUBSCRIPTIONS

If you need assistance selecting seats, please call us at 419.255.SING (7464).

BRING OPERA TO EVERYONE

For over 60 years, Toledo Opera has thrived because of the generosity of our donors. Through charitable giving, individuals, businesses, and foundations, we are able to close the gap between ticket revenue and the true cost of producing beautiful, magical, and thrilling performances. As a donor, you are supporting community and education programs that engage students and families through free performances, foster artistic collaborations, and train tomorrow’s artists.

TOLEDOOPERA.ORG/SUPPORT/MAKE-A-DONATION

EDUCATIONAL & COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

OPERA ON WHEELS

Toledo Opera’s flagship education program tours regionally bringing opera to K-6 students in the fall and spring. This season’s opera, sung in English, is Who is Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? based on the music from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, adapted by Joshua Borths, and directed by James M. Norman.

STUDENT NIGHT AT THE OPERA

Student Night at the Opera invites middle and high school students, accompanied by teachers and/or parents, to come to the final dress rehearsal of the season’s main stage productions for the nominal fee of $10 a ticket.

AN OPERA IS A STORY

An opera education program designed for early learners. Each year An Opera Is A Story (AOIAS) offers pre-K through first grade classes an age-appropriate adaptation of an opera which encourages preschoolers to explore feelings and themes through music.

PRE-OPERA TALKS

Toledo Opera offers a free Pre-Opera Talk one hour before each opera in the Grand Lobby of the Valentine Theatre. Local scholars provide historical context and insight and are available to take questions after the talk.

OPERA OUTDOORS

Opera Outdoors offers live performances at outdoor community hubs throughout Toledo. Toledo Opera Resident Artists perform vocal selections from the classical repertoire, along with musical theatre and other American standards. All Opera Outdoor events are free and open to the public.

FOR MORE DETAILS, VISIT TOLEDOOPERA.ORG/BEYOND-THE-STAGE OR CALL 419-255-SING.