Suor Angelica Program

Suor Angelica

2016-2017

Mobile Opera’s 71st Season

The Lynn McDermott Whitmore Group of Wells Fargo Advisors is proud to support Mobile Opera The Lynn McDermott Whitmore Group of Wells Fargo Advisors Laureen Lynn, CIMA®, CPWA® First Vice President – Investments 41 W. I-65 Service Rd. N., Ste. 220 Mobile, AL 36608 Direct: 251-345-8811 laureen.lynn@wellsfargoadvisors.com wellsfargoadvisors.com Michael (Mike) McDermott Financial Advisor

Doug Whitmore Financial Advisor 41 W. I-65 Service Rd. N., Ste. 220 Mobile, AL 36608 Direct: 251-345-8815 douglas.whitmore@wellsfargoadvisors.com

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MOBILE OPERA IN THE SCHOO OPERA SCHOOL TOUR

VOCE

Voices of Children Everywhere is an after-school choral program that is offered to 1st - 5th graders in participating schools. VOCE provides age- appropriate instruction in choral singing, music theory and performance in a fun environment.

Cast of Pagliacci with High School Students

This season’s Opera School Tour, The Tortoise and the Hare is an operatic version of the childhood story based on Aesop’s fable with music from the operas of Gioachino Rossini and designed for K-5 schools. With themes of persistence, courage, and acceptance, this tale teaches that possessing talent does not bring success unless that talent is applied with determination.

Mobile Opera presents this fun and colorful mini-drama to schools as part of the Resident Artist function of the Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Developing Artist Program.

STUDENT PREVIEW

Middle and High School students have the opportunity to experience Opera first-hand by attending a final dress rehearsal. For many of our children, live performance and Opera is not something to which they have been exposed. In conjunction with the Student Preview, a Mobile Opera Teaching Artist visits the participating students prior to the performance to tell them the story of the Opera and to discuss their role as an audience member.

Jack and the Beanstalk School Tour, 2015

OLS AND IN THE COMMUNITY AFTERNOON OF STARS In partnership with the Mobile Public Library, these Sunday afternoon informal performances followed by a reception give you the opportunity to meet and hear the artists prior to the mainstage performances.

LIBRETTO BOOK CLUB

Who says Opera is only about the singing? Join Mobile Opera’s Book Club and read the “Opera Book Choice” for the upcoming performance.

Then join the Libretto chat over coffee for a lively and informative discussion. This presentation is cosponsored by the Mobile Public Library and admission is free.

OPERA INSIGHTS

Each Spring The Puccini Lecture series will explore the musical, historical and social significance of this musical genius and his major works. Hosted

by General Director, Scott Wright, and Education Director, Stacey Driskell, the lectures delve into different aspects of Puccini’s life and influence as well as the literary and historical elements he drew upon in creating his operas. This presentation is cosponsored by the Mobile Public Library.

NIGHT OF SONG

Mobile Opera’s monthly cabaret of opera and musical theatre, is held on the 2nd Monday of each month. Enjoy fine cuisine and your beverage of choice with entertainment from some of Mobile’s favorite singing artists. For locations please visit www.mobileopera.org.

Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Developing Artist Program

Young Artist Program

Elizabeth Bemis Soprano

University of South Alabama

Evan Mazur, Mezzo

University of South Alabama Susan B. Gardberg Scholar

David Meredith, Tenor

University of South Alabama Mobile Opera Workshop Scholar

The Young Artist Program is a scholarship program for students selected from area colleges and universities. These students participate in main stage productions, education and outreach programs and act as musical ambassadors for Mobile Opera. Young Artists work with internationally recognized soloists, directors, designers and conductors.

Resident Artist Program Gabrielle Richardson

Ezekial Andrew

Soprano

Baritone

Resident Artists, selected from across the U.S., are professional singers of exceptional artistry at the beginning of their careers. In programs performed throughout the community, they introduce the classical voice and the performing arts, helping to develop an interest and awareness of opera that creates future singers, audiences, and patrons.

Congratulations to the winners of The 2017 Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Scholarship Competition

Mark Thomas WINNER

Michelle Lange FIRST RUNNER UP

Lydia Beasley SECOND RUNNER UP

University of soUth AlAbAmA

DepArtment of mUsic The University of South Alabama Department of Music, through its innovative curriculum, empowers professional musicians, music educators, and those who wish to enrich their lives through the arts. The Department serves the needs of the University to promote general education and to provide a vital cultural link to the great state of Alabama and to the Gulf Coast region. Its excellent facilities and faculty, promotionoftechnology,anddedicationtolife-longlearningprovideawidespectrumofexperiencesforboththestudentandthecommunity.

The Music Starts Here

Ensembles

Instrumental ensembles

Wind Ensemble Symphony Band Symphony Orchestra String Ensemble Jaguar Marching Band Jaguar Pep Band Jazz Ensemble

Vocal ensembles

University Chorale USA Opera Theatre USA Concert Choir

chamber ensembles

Flute Choir Trumpet Ensemble Trombone Ensemble Tuba Euphonium Ensemble

Chamber Brass Ensembles Chamber Woodwind Ensembles Percussion Ensemble USA Steel Band USA World Music Ensemble Piano Ensemble Guitar Ensemble

Degrees:

BM with Concentration in Music Education (Instrumental or Vocal) BM with Concentration in Performance (Instrumental or Vocal) BM with Concentration in Elective Studies (Business or Specific Outside Fields) MM with Concentration in Music Education (Instrumental or Vocal) MM with Concentration in Music Performance (Piano and Vocal) MM with Concentration in Collaborative Keyboard

Contact Information

University of South Alabama, Department of Music • Laidlaw Performing Arts Center, Room 1072 5751 USA Drive South, Mobile, AL 36688 • (251) 460-6136 • E-mail: usamusic@southalabama.edu www.southalabama.edu/music • Facebook: facebook.com/southalabamamusic • Twitter: twitter.com/usouthalmusic

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From opening night to the closing curtain, Mobile Gas applauds the artists and innovators who put creativity center stage in our community.

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WHERE DISCOVERY FINDS DIRECTION.

SouthAlabama.edu

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Your talent lights up our state.

We are proud to support the Mobile Opera. Thank you for more than 70 years of world-class productions hailed by critics and beloved by audiences.

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S

uor Angelica is Mobile Opera’s fifth production of a ten-year project to produce and interpret the entire canon of Giacomo Puccini’s works, some of the most beloved and well-known operas in the entire repertoire. In addition to Puccini’s operatic works, Mobile Opera is engaging in an intensive study of the man and his tremendous impact on the world of performing arts. On the calendar are: social events to bring the community together for food, fun and fellowship; a scholarly approach to the literature and times that shaped Puccini; educational and interesting opportunities for all ages to learn more about the timeless contributions made by his music; and other events to enhance, through the arts and humanities, our understanding of this composer and the monumental works that changed the face of opera.

The twelve operas are: Le Villi, 1884 • Edgar, 1889 • Manon Lescaut, 1893 • La Bohème, 1896 • Tosca, 1900 • Madama Butterfly, 1904 • La fanciulla del West, 1910 • La Rondine, 1917 • Il trittico: Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, 1918 • Turandot, (left unfinished 1924) These operas, because of Puccini’s mastery of line and color in both aria and orchestration, comprise some of the most beautiful music in existence. The musical dialogue among his operatic characters is unique and the flow and sweep of his scores is a continuum that includes, rather than isolates, arias of profound beauty.

There is and ever will be only one Giacomo Puccini. Mobile Opera is excited and proud to honor the works of this distinctive and distinguished composer. In the process we expect to learn more about him, his music and the living truths in that music which resonate so strongly with generations of appreciative audiences. We invite you to join us as we continue the journey of discovery in The Puccini Project.

Hitting the High Notes for 40 Years While we may be in our 40th year of providing the finest healthcare in Mobile, we continue to innovate new ways to enhance your comfort and health. Our beautiful new Labor and Delivery Birthing Suites and recently expanded Emergency Department are just two examples. Your comfort and good health— that’s music to our ears.

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MOBILE OPERA STAFF

I

FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR D. Scott Wright

want to thank you for another wonderful season at Mobile Opera. This production of Suor Angelica completes our 71st season of quality opera and fine education programs. The Arts make a profound difference in our community and your support makes all the difference. With your help, we have brought artists of the highest caliber to our stage. You have made possible the development of after school programs that teach elementary school children the discipline, teamwork, and joy of choral singing. At one school, children are performing an opera on their own, learning and singing the roles on sets they have designed and painted (we don’t let them use the sharp tools). You have enabled touring productions that take the performing arts into area schools to entertain, enlighten, and spark the imagination of young people. You have provided funding for scholarships to aspiring young artists at local universities and you have made possible a vocal competition that provided prize scholarships to competitors from seven states across the Southeast.

With your help, we have pleased audiences at monthly free cabarets, giving us the opportunity to show our Scott Wright (top right) in Mobile Opera’s Rigoletto, 1987 quality to potential patrons and allowing the excellent artists who live in our area a chance to shine. Perhaps you were not aware that you have done all this but your gifts make all of this possible. Mobile Opera’s patrons have enabled a noble art form to thrive, to educate a new generation, to develop new talent, and to continue to raise the cultural dialogue of our community.

We thank you and we covet your continued support. Please make a donation today so that all this may continue to bless us for years to come. Mobile Opera – More Than Expected – More Than Imagined – More Than Music!

MOBILE OPERA STAFF Stacey B. Driskell, Associate Director, Education & Outreach

O

pera is the ultimate performance expression of the human condition, of what we feel, fear and care deeply about. Storytelling is a part of all of our lives, and there is nothing that beats opera as a way of telling stories that need telling - stories that help us to understand what and who we are.

Combining so many art forms in one makes opera the most expensive and intensively detailed of the performing arts. It also creates a full experience with unparalleled power to move us to exhilarating heights and depths.

Opera can cross barriers, unite us, make us feel the same emotions, turn strangers into a community. One of the finest aspects of my association with Mobile Opera has been the community that has embraced me; a community of wonderful people whose interest in the performing arts has brought them together from all walks of life. So many of my friends and close associations have come to me as a result of my involvement both on and off of the opera stage.

Stacey Driskell with Tommy Rowell in Mobile Opera’s La Traviata, 2007

We at Mobile Opera want everyone to feel welcome to come and try it and see why Mobile Opera is “more than music”.

MOBILE OPERA STAFF Ian Weaver, Ticketing Services Manager

W

e open the scene on a bustling Dauphin Street, midday. A tumbleweed of “Lagniappe” newspapers, blown askew by passing Duck Boats, bumble across Joachim and cozy up against the door of Three George’s Candy Store. The Downtown Alliance, along the sidewalk, are re-planting flowers rescued from the recent Mardi Gras stampede as deafening sounds of classic rock and pop music from the local restaurants and bars rhapsodize together in a disastrous cacophony silenced only by the four-inch-thick doors of the Larkins Music Center.

Behind those doors, however, something else uniquely Mobile is happening.

Many people see the final product, the opera. A lot of dedicated work goes into creating that final product. The staff works past closing many days to keep Mobile Opera moving forward. There are thousands of details to think of and deal with, plan for and execute. Planning and producing an opera is an incredibly complex and intricate endeavor. For years, Mobile Opera has kept close ties with the school systems along the Gulf Coast. Almost every show at Mobile Opera has a student matinee the week of a show’s opening. The yearly school tour goes out to nearly 4,500 students a year. In a world where schools are constantly removing arts in education, Mobile Opera is here to encourage music education any way we can. My job is to help accomplish all of those things. My day can range from marketing, accounting, and graphic design, to ticket sales and development. Sometimes, I even write all of that down and remember to do it!

Every Fall and Spring, we strive to produce wonderful opera, but I

wanted to give a small insight to the moments when we are not producing fun and exciting shows. We are here working year round for those two or three weekends we get a chance to perform. We wouldn’t have it any Scott, Stacey and Ian at the Summer Soiree other way. Thank you for joining us this weekend, Thank you for years of support and loyalty and thank you for your continued support of something uniquely Mobile; Mobile Opera.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

O

n behalf of the board of directors of Mobile Opera, I want to welcome you to this performance and thank you for supporting the arts by your gifts and by your attendance. This is the final production of my tenure as President of the board but it will not be the end of my involvement. I was introduced to this great art form through Mobile Opera. When I was asked to join the board I protested that I knew nothing about opera and I was told, “Great, you’re exactly who we want”. The contributions of time, talent, and treasure to this organization are incredible and inspiring. It did not take me long to appreciate that this was an enormous undertaking that was built right here in our community by people of awe-inspiring dedication. It takes a village to raise an opera and I am proud to be a part of that village. One of the surprising things I learned about opera is that it makes a tremendous difference in bringing a community together.

It inspires and encourages those who perform it, the audience that experiences it, and the many, many dedicated men and women who put it all together. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of Mobile Opera. Your role awaits you. Please support this wonderful company with your tax-deductible contribution, your continued patronage, and your own involvement. I can assure you that you will not regret it.

Executive Board R. Terry Hartley, President Douglas Whitmore, Vice-President Melissa Safin, Treasurer Leslie Suffich, Secretary Sheryl Bates, Immediate Past President Directors Lynda Carroll, PhD Sorina S. Christian Finn Cox Bruce Earnest Martin Flechsenhar Joe Gerard* Duane A. Graham* Jean Harper Ann Hearin Brigitte Kemnade Michael O. Landers Heather Cook Lawton Laureen Lynn* Charmein Moser Danny K. Patterson

Wade B. Perry, Jr.* John Strope Celia Wallace Darrel Williams Jane Williamson Michael Zoghby Honorary Directors Beverly Corte* Spencer C. Frost, III * David Gardberg* J. Russsell Goodloe, DMD * Theodore Greenspan* John Hafner* Jimmie Hatcher*

J. B. Horst* Earl G. Jackson* F. Michael Johnson* L. Keville Larson* John N. Leach* Christopher L. Lee* William C. Regan, Jr.* James T. Robson* Stephen V. Russell* Ronald Snider* Lewis Wilder Katherine Willson* Forrest C. Wilson *Past President

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Suor

Angelica

Music by Giacomo Puccini Libretto by Giovacchino Forzano

Conductor: Bernard McDonald Stage Director: Scott Skiba* Costumes: Mobile Opera Costume Guild Lighting Design: John Bridges for ShowBiz Lighting Set Design: MMI & Co. Scenic Artists: Rebecca Lake and Connie Smith Properties Master: Albert “Ski” Lopuhovsky Rehearsal Pianist: Eric Andries Chorus Master: Laura Moore Makeup Design: Lisa Davis Production Stage Manager: James Boykin Assistant Stage Manager: Morgan Carithers SISTER ANGELICA..........................................................Jennifer Davison* THE PRINCESS......................................................................Rachel Gibson* THE ABBESS.........................................................................Monika Cosson THE MONITOR...............................................Cristina Bakhoum Sanchez* MISTRESS.......................................................................................Linda Grill SISTER GENEVIEVE...................................................Tjaden O’Dowd Cox SISTER OSMINA..................................................................Elizabeth Bemis SISTER DOLCINA..................................................................Monica Ganoe THE NURSING SISTER....................................................Kathryn Hedlund THE TOURIÈRES, THE NOVICES, and THE LAY-SISTERS .........................................Mobile Opera Chorus * Mobile Opera Debut

SYNOPSIS

S

uor Angelica is part of a collection of three, singleact operas by Puccini called, Il Trittico. Originally designed to be performed together as one, long evening of opera, they are more often today performed separately or combined with another in a “double-bill”.

We present Suor Angelica in a single act with no intermission.

The opera takes place in one spring evening in an Italian convent in the year 1600. The Monitor Sister reprimands two lay sisters who missed evening prayers. She and the Mistress of the Novices, then allow the nuns to take some time to appreciate the arrival of spring.

A joyful Sister Genevieve points out the golden sunlight bathing the scene. The nuns see it as “a sign of the Virgin,” reminding them of passing time and the memory of their sisters and friends who died over the past year. Sister Angelica’s mood is unlike that of her sisters.

She says that “death is the loveliest time of life.” We see parts of monastic life as the nuns find small, guilty pleasures in treats of fruits and berries brought by the mendicant sisters. A nurse sister urgently seeks Angelica’s help for a nun who has been stung by a wasp. We learn that

Sister Angelica has a knowledge of medicinal herbs. There is even a little gossip where we learn that Angelica is from an aristocratic Florentine family and was sent to join the convent after she gave birth to an illegitimate child. She has had no news from her family for seven years and she is desperate to hear from them, although she pretends indifference. Someone announces that a magnificent coach has pulled up in front of the convent. It is Angelica’s aunt, the Princess, who demands that her niece waive any claim to her inheritance because of the shame she has brought to the family name. The poor nun has not seen her son since he was taken away from her at birth and wants to hear about him. The haughty princess’ cruel response is to bluntly announce that the child is dead.

Overcome by grief and pain (“Senza mamma”), Sister Angelica decides to join her son in death by taking poison. Realizing too late that suicide is a sin, she begs the Virgin for forgiveness… [How will it end?]

ARTIST PROFILES

ERIC ANDRIES, Rehearsal Accompanist

Eric Andries, rehearsal accompanist, is pleased to be returning to Mobile Opera where he has accompanied several productions previously, including The Crucible, The Merry Widow, Tosca, Don Pasquale and La Fanciulla del West. He has a wide range of musical experience in several genres. Over the past few years, he has been the rehearsal pianist for several opera companies, including Des Moines, Amarillo, Omaha, Hidden Valley Ensemble, Shreveport, Mobile, Syracuse, Indianapolis, and the Ashlawn Music Festival. In addition, he is an avid jazz pianist who has worked with Princess Cruise Line as piano player for the showband. He was also the keyboardist/arranger for salsa music group that was featured at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. A native of Baton Rouge, he holds degrees from LSU in piano performance and has studied abroad in France and Austria.

South Alabama, where she is a John W. Laidlaw Scholar, Whiddon Scholar, and Presser Scholar.

In 2013, she sang at the Kennedy Center as part of the Washington National Opera Institute. She has sung several operatic roles, including Edith in The Pirates of Penzance with University of South Alabama Opera Theatre, Käthchen in Werther with Mobile Opera, and Josephine in HMS Pinafore with University of South Alabama Opera Theatre. This Spring she will perform the role of Gabrielle in La Vie Parisienne with the USA Opera. She has placed at NATS competitions, including winning 2nd place in Senior Collegiate Women Classical, 2nd place in Junior College Women Classical, 1st place in Sophomore College Women Classical, 1st place in Freshmen Women Musical Theatre, and 1st place in Lower High School Classical divisions. Elizabeth is pleased to be returning for a second year as the Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Developing Young Artist for the 2016-2017 season.

MONIKA COSSON, The Abbess

ELIZABETH BEMIS, Sister Osmina

Elizabeth Bemis is a senior Vocal Performance major and German minor at the University of

Monika Cosson began her singing career in 1994 as a member of the highly esteemed, longstanding choral group The Gregg Smith Singers in New York City, followed by an internship with the Adirondack Festival of American Music in Saranac Lake, NY. She has performed opera roles with New Orleans Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Southwest, Jefferson Performing Arts Society, and Mobile Opera. Her concert credits include guest appearances with the New Orleans Philharmonic Orchestra, Santa Fe Marimba Festival, Canticum Novum Chamber

ARTIST PROFILES Chorus and Orchestra, Santa Fe Community Orchestra, and the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans. Ms. Cosson has been a featured soloist with many organizations including the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Santa Fe Federated Republican Women for the New Mexico State Senate, The City of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Film Festival, and the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association.

Recent engagements include alto soloist for Handel’s Messiah with the Choral Society of Pensacola, Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus with the Symphony Chorus of New Orleans, and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the Eastern Shore Choral Society in Fairhope, Alabama and the Northwest Florida Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to performing, Ms. Cosson directs the Protestant Chancel Choir at Eglin Air Force Base.

TJADEN O’DOWD COX, SisterGenevieve Tjaden O’Dowd Cox is a Soprano from Mobile, Alabama. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree from James Madison University. Tjaden has been singing on stage about as long as she can remember and was blessed to perform at Carnegie Hall, as well as the White House with Mobile’s Singing Children while still very young. Tjaden has had the opportunity to study and perform in Chemnitz, Germany, Beijing, China and all over the USA. Some of her roles include Mabel, (Pirates of Penzance), and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi).

When not singing, Tjaden runs her aerial yoga studio and performs as an aerialist.

JENNIFER DAVISON, Sister Angelica

Jennifer Davison studied at the Peabody Conservatory, the University of Cincinnati (CCM), and was a young artist in such prestigious programs as Wolf Trap Opera, the Merola Opera of the San Francisco Opera Center, and the Ravinia Festival. A winner of the Palm Beach Opera, the Metropolitan National Council Auditions, and the Houston Grand Opera competitions, she has won acclaim from audiences and critics alike on the stages of Europe and the US. Her career in Europe began as a member of the Luzern Theater in Switzerland. In 2006 she moved to Vienna where she has appeared with the Vienna Chamber Opera, the Neue Oper Wien, the Osterklang Festival in Wien, Theater an der Wien and most recently the Wiener Festwochen.

In concert she has appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic and Symphonic orchestras, the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Mozart Orchestra, and the Asheville Symphony Orchestra.

Recent highlights include roles with the Theater of Passau, Bavaria, the Operette Theater in Baden/Vienna and the Tirol Landestheater in Innsbruck, Austria and her debut with the Festival opera in Napier, New Zealand. Recent appearances in the US include Madama Butterfly and Pagliacci/Suor Angelica with Asheville Lyric Opera NC. Miss Davison also maintains an active voice studio in Vienna, Austria, where she lives with her husband and daughter.

ARTIST PROFILES

MONICA GANOE, Sister Dolcina

Soprano, Monica Ganoe, should be a familiar face to many, as she has performed with Mobile Opera since she was 13 years old. She began her singing career with Mobile’s Singing Children under the direction of Bonnie Jean Early, with whom she later took private voice lessons.

Under the tutelage of Dr. Thomas Rowell, Monica also pursued a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance. Her talents are not limited to the stage; she has also been featured in two local movies. Suor Dolcina is her first comprimario role with Mobile Opera. Monica wants to thank her awesome parents, her fiance Andrew, and everyone who has been a part of Mobile Opera for continuing to support her.

RACHEL GIBSON, The Princess

Rachel Gibson, mezzo-soprano, is from Tupelo, Mississippi. She completed her Bachelor’s degree at Millsaps College in Jackson, MS, and her Master of Music degree at SMU in Dallas, TX. She is currently a Doctoral Candidate

at The University of Southern Mississippi.

At USM, she has performed as Julia Child in Hoiby’s Bon Appetit!, Hansel in USM’s outreach production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and most notably as the title role in Bizet’s Carmen. She also appeared as Marcellina in Opera Festival di Roma’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro. She has worked professionally for The Dallas Opera, performing in a weekly travelling operetta for children. Rachel loves that opera allows her to explore the full range of human emotions through characters as distinctive as Hansel and Carmen. Her goal is to be an engaging storyteller.

KATHRYN HEDLUND, The Nursing Sister

Soprano, Kathryn Drake Hedlund, is a native of Big Rapids, Michigan. Recent performances include the Mobile Opera Winter Gala Concert, the NATS Artist Awards National Semifinals in Chicago,IL, singing the role of La Ciesca in Mobile Opera’s Gianni Schicchi, as well as soloing with the Eastern Shore Choral Society, Mozart’s Requiem with Florence Camerata, and a Valentine’s Day concert for Mississippi Opera with tenor Robert Grayson. Favorite performances include Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust with Opéra Louisiane, the soprano solo in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, the role of Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with LSU Opera, and the soprano solo in the Brahms Requiem with the Memphis Symphony. Kathryn spent the summers of 2007 and 2008 as an apprentice artist at Des Moines Metro Opera, and was chosen as a Gulf Coast Regional Finalist at

ARTIST PROFILES the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions from 2006 through 2008. Kathryn serves as Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Mobile, and resides in Mobile with her husband Ryan, son Theo, and giant cat Micio.

LINDA GRILL, Mistress of the Novices

Linda Grill has appeared in Mobile Opera productions for over 40 years in supporting roles and as a member of the chorus. She is also active in community theatre and sings with Bella Voce of Mobile, St. Paul’s Singers, and is a member of the choir at Christ Church Cathedral.

A favorite of Mobile audiences, she recently was acclaimed for her roles as Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie, Miss Andrew in Mary Poppins and Signora Naccarelli in The Light in the Piazza, at Chickasaw Civic Theatre.

major opera companies in America, Europe and the Far East. He currently holds the G. Dewey and M. Maine Larsen Chair in Opera at Simpson College.

Upcoming and recent engagements as conductor include: Opera Kelowna, British Columbia; Opera Theater of Pittsburgh; the Pittsburgh Opera; Bay View Music Festival, Michigan; The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow; De Nieuwe Opera Academy in Amsterdam and The Hague. His debut at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, was on piano, in recital with mezzo-soprano Marietta Simpson and tenor John Aler.

Professional training at the Merola Program of the San Francisco Opera led directly to an invitation to join the music staff of the New York City Opera. He was subsequently Head of Music and Chorus Master at the Florida Grand Opera in Miami. As Chorus Master of Glyndebourne until 2005, he prepared over twenty-five productions to great critical acclaim for a host of internationally renowned conductors, including Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Charles Mackerras, Vladimir Jurowski.

A native of Scotland, his studies include piano performance at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD); opera at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, and CCM; musicology at the University of Glasgow; and a doctorate in conducting from Indiana University.

He has also worked with, among others, the Aspen Music Festival and School, the New National Theatre Tokyo, the Netherlands Opera, the Netherlands Radio Choir, and the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir. He has been on the faculty of the RSAMD and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

BERNARD MCDONALD, Conductor

Bernard McDonald is also a pianist and has garnered wide-ranging experience as a vocal coach, conductor, and chorus master with

ARTIST PROFILES

CRISTINA BAKHOUM SANCHEZ, The Monitor Hailing from Texas, Cristina Bakhoum Sanchez is a rising Mezzo-Soprano of Egyptian and Mexican parents. She recently placed as a finalist in the Fielder Grant for Vocal Career Advancement and as a semi-finalist in the Soma International Foundation Competition.

Previously, she has also advanced to the semifinals for both Shreveport Opera’s Singer of the Year Competition and the Dallas Opera Vocal Competition.

Cristina has had the pleasure of working with Central City Opera, Capital City Opera, Shreveport Opera, and Pine Mountain Music Festival. Previous roles include: Flora in La Traviata, Fermina in Man of la Mancha, and Amante in Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, the title roles in La Périchole, Dido and Aeneas, and Bizet’s Carmen, Amastre in Handel’s Serse, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Thelma in Musto’s Later the Same Evening, and Annio in La Clemenza di Tito.

Cristina received her Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of renowned Luretta Bybee. She holds a Master of Music from Florida State University and Bachelor of Music from Loyola University New Orleans.

SCOTT SKIBA, Stage Director

Scott Skiba has led more than 60 new operatic productions earning critical acclaim for his imaginative stage direction and dynamic physical approach to storytelling. Scott is the Executive Artistic Director of Cleveland Opera Theater where his recent production of A Streetcar Named Desire earned praise for “first-rate stage direction... vivid and emotionally charged.” Additional directing credits include Die Csardasfürstin and Die Fledermaus for Opera Circle Cleveland and new productions of Carmen with Opera Western Reserve and The Student Prince for Opera Grand Rapids. Upcoming engagements include: Le nozze di Figaro with Cleveland Opera Theater, Barbiere di Siviglia for Natchez Festival of Music, and Don Giovanni for the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. He is currently the Executive Director of the Oberlin in Italy, movement and acting instructor for the Cornish American Song Institute, and stage director for the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. Scott is the recently appointed Director of Opera Studies and Associate Professor for the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music.

MOBILE OPERA CHORUS

LAURA MOORE, Chorus Master

Laura Moore is Director of Choral Activities at the University of South Alabama. She received her doctorate in Choral Conducting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a Master’s degree in Piano Performance from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from UNC Greensboro, and the BA from Davidson College. Dr. Moore is active in church music and musical theater, and enjoys coaching singers and accompanying vocalists and instrumentalists.

She has served as clinician and adjudicator in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama.

As part of the Alabama Ambassadors of Music tour to Europe in 2009 and 2011, Dr. Moore conducted choral concerts in England, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany.

Joyce Barber

Heather Lawton

Vaughan Luker

Candace Matheny

Sally Pearsall

Katherine Powell

Kate Sherrill

Audra Weaver

SUPERNUMERARY Christopher Powell, Rehearsal Accompanist

Sarah Beth Dudley

THE MOBILE OPERA ORCHESTRA

IN COOPERATION WITH MOBILE SYMPHONY Violin I

Bass

Trumpet

Flute

Trombone

Gosia Leska, principal Bret Heim Barbara Flechsenhar

Oboe

Timpani

Viola

Clarinet

Percussion

Bassoon

Harp

Horn

Stage Technician

Enen Yu, Concert Master Silvia Suarez Ellen Grant

Andra Bohnet

Violin II

Razvan Berindean, principal Jim Lichtenberger

Cello

Taylor Hollyer

Guo-Sheng Huang, principal Jose Sunderland

Patricia Malone

Richard Jernigan

Evelyn Watkins

Ken Ortlepp Judy Sykes

Ismael Brandao

Arie vandeWaa

Laura Noah

Matthew Greenwood

Katie Ott

Ben Harper

M O BI LE SYM PH O NY O RCH ESTR A THE

Ultimate 2016-2017

SEASON

featuring the best of history’s greatest composers

MobileSymphony.org

|

251.432.2010

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 • 1812 Overture • Pictures at an Exhibition

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Mobile Opera is grateful to the following Aria Lopuhovsky Barbara Flowers Ben Harper Billy Dunn Charmein Moser Chickasaw Civic Theatre Clinton Doolittle Connie Smith Ginna and Cliff Inge Graham Driskell Hartley Bros. Manufacturing JoAnn McKnight Karen Smith Kevin Lee, Lagniappe Margaret Martin Mary Parker Antiques Michelle Matthews, AL.com

Mobile Public Library Plantation Antique Galleries Rachel Morey Rebecca Lake Robert Lord Zimlich RSVP Volunteers Show Biz Lighting Designs The Steeple on St. Francis Suzi Onderdonk The Temple Downtown Theatre 98 Thomas Rowell Zelda Peach

Artist Housing and Transportation Darla & Bruce Earnest Jean Harper Stephanie & Patrick Jacobs Cherie & Randy Jennings Sally & David Pearsall Sarah & Scott Wright

Cast Party Provided By

CONTRIBUTORS • Corporate and Foundations Impressario Level

$20,000 and above The Laura Lee Patillo Norquist Charitable Foundation

Maestro Circle

$10,000-$19,999 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama City of Mobile The Community Foundation of .

South Alabama The Daniel Foundation Metcalfe Charitable Trust Mobile County/Mobile Arts Council Sybil H. Smith Foundation

Prima Donna Circle

$5,000-$9,999 Alabama State Council on the Arts Alabama Power Company Anonymous The Crampton Trust J.L. Bedsole Foundation Springhill Medical Center

Sponsor Level

$2,500-$4,999 C.D. Helen & Jeff Glaze Foundation Mobile Gas Shell Oil Company Foundation University of South Alabama

Patron Level

$1,000-$2,499 Alabama Humanities Foundation Mike and Patsy Dow Foundation IBM International Foundation Red or White Wine Turner Supply Company United Way Vanguard Charitable Trust

Corporate Supporter Gifts under $600 Amazon Smile Anonymous Lawrence and Lawrence The Schumann Music Club

CONTRIBUTORS • Individuals Maestro Circle

$10,000 and above Scott and Sarah Wright

Prima Donna Circle

$5,000-$9,999 Anonymous Ms. Ann Hearin Mrs. Ivey Williamson Dr. and Mrs. James K.V. Willson

Wagner Level

$2,500-$4,999 Anonymous Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bates Ms. Laureen Lynn Mr. and Mrs. Wade B. Perry Mr. James T. Robson Dr. and Mrs. David G. Walsh Mr. Larry Wooley

Puccini Level

$1,250-$2,499 Mr. and Mrs. Dan Benton Mr. R.P. Denniston Mr and Mrs. Duane A. Graham Dr. and Mrs. Joerg Kemnade

Verdi Level

$600-$1,249 Anonymous Mr. and Mrs. William Barnhill Mr. J. Gregg Buckalew Dr. Lanier Cauley Mr. and Mrs. Finn Cox Mr. Jimmie J. Duet Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Earnest Mr. and Mrs. Spencer C. Frost, III Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Moser Dr. Allen Perkins Mr. and Mrs. John Ruggiero Dr. and Mrs. Chris Salter Mr. and Mrs. Len Turner Dr. Nicholas Viyuoh Mr. and Mrs. Michael Zoghby

Donizetti Level

$300-$599 Dr. and Mrs. Steven Alsip Anonymous Mr. Richard F. Beirne, IV. Dr. Joseph Busta, Jr. Drs. Marion and Lynda Carroll Mrs. Fran Danley Mr. and Mrs. Valrey Early Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Friedman Mr. and Mrs. Michael Gewin Dr. Byron Green Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Grill Dr. Douglas Hungerford Mr. Michael O. Landers Mr. and Mrs. Robert Maceluch Mr. and Mrs. David Pearsall Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Pitsios Ms. Melissa Safin Mr. and Mrs. Richard Rothenberg Mr. Clayton Ryan Dr. and Mrs. Julio Turrens Mr. Richard Vesely Ms. Celia Wallace Mr. Doug Whitmore Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Wilson

Rossini Level

$150-$299 Dr. Julia H. Box Mr. and Mrs. Michael Box Ms. Liz Campbell Mr. and Mrs. Tim Corrigan Stacey and Brian Driskell Dr. and Mrs. Jim Glasser Ms. Jean Harper Mr. and Mrs. Marion F. Hartley Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Kennedy Dr. John Kessinger Mr. Terry Mannion Mr and Mrs. Mike Patton Mrs. and Mrs. Albert Reed Mr. Douglas Sinchak Mr. John R. Wilson, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. James E. Wright

CONTRIBUTORS • Individuals Mozart Level

$100-$149 Mrs. and Mrs. Ray Adams Anonymous Mrs. Frank DeBellis Mrs. Charles G. Drake Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ellis Mr. Lorenzo Franklin Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hayes Mr. Ralph G. Holberg, III Mr. and Mrs. Brian Naylor Mr. and Mrs. John Day Peake, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Steve Russell Dr. and Mrs. Cort B. Schlichting Ms. Laura Anne Shaver Ms. Leslie D. Suffich Mr. and Mrs. William J. Sufich Mr. Ian Weaver Mr. Gran Wilson

In Kind Gifts

AL.com - Press Register Alabama Coast Magazine Alabama Public Radio Dogwood Productions Kangal and Associates Lagniappe Mobile Arts Council Mobile Bay Monthly Mobile Public Library RSVP Volunteers Smith, Dukes, & Buckalew The Steeple on St. Francis University of Mobile University of South Alabama Wintzell’s Oyster House 92 ZEW

HONORARY AND MEMORIAL GIFTS In Honor of Forrest & Anne Wilson In Memory of Cara Lynne Early Valrey and Bonnie Jean Early

In Honor of Scott Wright

Ray and Martha Adams Valrey and Bonnie Jean Early

Dr. Nicholas Viyuoh

(remembering her previous role in Suor Angelica)

_____________________________

In Memory of Sally Green

In Memory of Terry Barkins Mr. Larry Wooley

In Memory of Anne Bryant Dr. and Mrs. James K.V. Willson Scott and Sarah Wright

In Memory of Scott Chandler Mrs. Ivey Williamson

In Memory of Rose Eileen Dooley Mr. Ian Weaver

Mrs. Ivey Williamson Scott and Sarah Wright

In Memory of Nicholas Holmes Ms. Stacey Driskell Mrs. Ivey Williamson

In Memory of Danielle Juzan Ms. Stacey Driskell Mrs. Ivey Williamson Scott and Sarah Wright

In Memory of Cecelia Williams Ms. Laureen Lynn

TOP 10 REASONS TO BE A SEASON SUBSCRIBER 10.

It impresses your neighbors to be a part of the 12th oldest opera company in the nation.

9.

Information about the performances, singers, events, and happenings comes to you as a member of the opera family. You are included!

8.

You don’t have to set reminders, stand in line, or make multiple calls. You are done with one.

7.

It makes it possible to plan the finest quality productions possible.

6. It makes the staff

and the many people who offer their time and talents feel appreciated and supported.

5.

Discounted tickets. A ticket to each show would cost you $115 dollars separately. A season ticket is just $80 – big savings!

4.

You get to pick your seats as much as four months before single ticket purchasers!

3. You get to keep seats that you like as well as first choice of available seating.

2. Being in the same seats from year to year gives you a feeling of you look forward to seeing the nice people around you.

community as

1. A single ticket gets you in to see the show. A season ticket is an investment in Mobile Opera that helps to ensure continued success!

Mobile Opera is a member of Opera America.

This program has been made possible in part by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Mobile, the Mobile County Commission, Mobile Arts Council.

Mobile Opera Media Sponsors

MOBILE OPERA HISTORY

M

obile Opera, located on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in the United States, as well as the oldest in the State of Alabama, having been founded in 1945. Its founder, Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser, a concert artist from Czechoslovakia, directed the first two performances in April 1946. As its General Director, Mrs. Tenser continued to lead the company until her death in 1971.

Katherine Willson became the company’s Production Coordinator and General Manager and oversaw the growth of the company through the next twenty-five years.

During the company’s 1995/1996 season, she became the first female President of the Board, celebrating Mobile Opera’s 50th Anniversary Season and her own thirtyfive year involvement with the company. Under Pelham “Pat” Pearce, Mobile Opera maintained its productions’ quality and its innovative programs dedicated to education and community outreach. The development of Mobile Opera as a nationally recognized company continued with the ten-year supervision of Jerome Shannon as General Director. Shannon was succeeded by Earl Jackson who retired in 2011. The company currently operates under the direction of General Director Scott Wright.

In July 2002, Mobile Opera relocated its offices to the Josephine Larkins Music Center, a newly renovated rehearsal and administrative facility located in the designated downtown arts district, which the company shares with the Mobile Symphony. This collaboration between two of the city’s most important performing arts organizations has been instrumental in the revitalization of the downtown area.

With a 2,400-square-foot rehearsal hall, seven private music studios, conference room, catering kitchen, patron ticketing services, landscaped courtyard and administrative offices, the Larkins Music Center is a significant cultural and community asset.

Mobile Opera continues to encourage young American operatic talent.

Artists such Christine Weidinger, Michael Devlin, Susan Quittmeyer, Anthony Laciura, Gran Wilson, Barry McCauley, Stella Zambalis, Linda Zoghby, Amy Johnson, Philip Webb, Andy Anderson, Hal France, and Sylvia McNair are veterans of the Mobile Opera stage who have made appearances with major opera companies and festivals across North America and Europe.

Under General Director, Scott Wright, Mobile Opera continues its commitment to quality productions and education. In addition to main-stage productions, programs of opera excerpts are presented in schools community venues Mobile Opera’s La Traviata, 1966 and throughout the region, establishing the company’s long-standing commitment to arts education in the schools and communities of Alabama and the Gulf Coast. Education and Community Outreach, under the direction of Stacey Driskell, produced “Pigaro’s Diner” beginning in 2009. This award-winning program on child nutrition has been seen by more than 50,000 Alabama school children.

Mobile Opera lives by its motto: More than Expected. More than Imagined. More than Music!

DATA CAPTURE CONSULTANTS, INC. Merchant Credit Card Processing Specialists

James M. Compton jcompton@datacapture.cc (800) 476-5022 (251) 432-6601 A Registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

Kangal & associates An Office TechnOlOgy cOnsulTing firm Mobile’s premier IT consulting and outsourcing company for professional organizations 60 North Royal Street Mobile, Alabama 36602 (251) 694-0045 www.kangal.com

RSVP of Mobile engages individuals age 55 and older in a diverse range of community service activities. With a mission of enriching the lives of older adults, strengthening the community and encouraging civic engagement, RSVP has proudly served our community for 40 years.

Mobile Opera continues its new tradition of costume excellence by the Mobile Opera Costume Guild. These multi-talented stitchers have expertise in a variety of skills that are put to use in creating costumes for Mobile Opera’s productions.

Costumes for this season’s productions were created with the assistance of Marsha LeBoeuf, Costume Director of Washington National Opera, serving as consultant to the MOCG. If you have fabrics and sewing notions that you no longer need, MOCG welcomes your donations - - call Mobile Opera at 251-432-6772 and we will arrange to pick up your items.

Mobile Opera Costume Guild Members: Chair: Sarah Wright Susan Ames Nancy Goodman Michele Hill Michelle Patton Viola Thornton Angie Wilkie

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