Callas in Concert Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2018 | 7PM Jackson Hall
Sponsored by
Individual Support Provided by
Barbara K. Jackson (1918–2018)
Barbara K. Jackson, a founding philanthropist of the Mondavi Center, passed away Sept. 7, only a few weeks short of her 100th birthday. Along with Larry and Rosalie Vanderhoef and Robert and Margrit Mondavi, Barbara Jackson helped give life to the dream of a performing arts center on the UC Davis campus—a dream first described by Chancellor Vanderhoef at his inaugural convocation. Her generous gift to name the center’s largest performance space as Barbara K. and W. Turrentine Jackson Hall played a significant role in launching this great performing arts center.
R O B E R T A N D M A R G R I T M O N DAV I C E N T E R F O R T H E P E R F O R M I N G A R T S P R E S E N T S
Callas in Concert Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera
La Gazza ladra Overture Gioachino Rossini (1792–1868) Roméo et Juliette
Juliet’s Waltz Charles Gounod “Je veux vivre” (1818–1893)
Macbeth Letter Scene Giuseppe Verdi “Vieni t’affretta…Or tutti sorgete” (1813–1901) Carmen Prelude Georges Bizet (1838–1875) Habañera “L’Amour est un oiseau rebelle” Card Aria “En vain pour éviter” Macbeth Sleepwalking Scene Verdi “Una macchia è qui tutt’ora” La Wally
Prelude to Act 4 Alfredo Catalani (1854–1893) “Ebben ne andrò lontano”
Hamlet Mad Scene Ambroise Thomas “À vos jeux, mes amis” (1811–1896)
La Gioconda Prelude to Act 4 Amilcare Ponchielli “Suicidio!...Ecco il velen di Laura” (1834–886)
Tosca Vissi D’Arte Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924) Norma Casta Diva Vincenzo Bellini (1801–1835)
The artists and fellow audience members appreciate silence during the performance. Please be sure that you have switched off cellular devices. Videotaping, photographing and audio recording are strictly forbidden.
Callas in Concert Forty years ago, Maria Callas shrugged off the earthly binds of temporal life, leaving a bereft world longing for her presence, her performances, her voice. Now she returns to the stage, in all her grandeur, confirming her immortality to stunned audiences. Introducing Callas in Concert, a triumphant event that brings the beloved La Divina to the stage via hologram, singing to the accompaniment of a full live orchestra. As this unprecedented performance unfolds, you will surrender all notions of what is real and get lost in the magic of perhaps the best opera singer of all time.
Callas in Concert
BASE Hologram Staff
Executive Producer: Marty Tudor
Brian Becker, Chairman & CEO
Producer: Paul Salmons
Marty Tudor, Executive Producer & CEO Production Division
Production Manager: Bobbie Davis Director: Stephen Wadsworth
Robert Ringe, CEO, Distribution, Touring & Merchandise
Technical Director: Michael Rahr
Tim Ward, President & COO
Music Director/Conductor: EĂmear Noone
Norelle Becker, EVP, Partner Relations & PR
Tour Manager: Marilyn Saidman
Gary Shoefield, EVP, Content Development
Set Design: David Gropman
Mike Swinney, EVP, Location-Based Productions
Costume Design: William Ivey Long
Henry Chu, SVP, Finance
Lighting Design: Marc Brickman
Ashley Saccenti, SVP, Marketing
Sound Design: Nevin Steinberg
John Proaccini, VP, Tour Operations
Advertising: AKA
Ryan Latham, VP, Location-Based Productions
Press Representative: DKC/O&M
Michael Rahr, Technical Director
Social Media: Kirvin Doak Communications
Dale Head, Business & Legal Affairs
North American Booking Agency: Paradigm Talent Agency
Tom Thompson, Marketing Manager
International Booking Agency: Arts & Entertainment Productions Supertitles created by Celeste Montemarano
Morgan Hartmann, Associate Producer, Production & Distribution Jordan Temple, Associate for Distribution & Merchandise
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ABOUT MARIA CALLAS
EÍMEAR NOONE
Maria Callas was born to a Greek family in New York in 1923. Her vocal training took place in Athens, where her teacher was the coloratura soprano Elvira de Hidalgo who had sung with Enrico Caruso and Feodor Chaliapin. After early performances in Greece, Callas’ international career was launched in 1947 when she performed the title role in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda at the Arena di Verona in Italy. Her voice defied simple classification and her artistic range was extraordinary. In her early 20s, she sang such heavy dramatic roles as Gioconda, Turandot, Brünnhilde and Isolde, but over the course of her career, her most famous roles came to be Bellini’s Norma and Amina (La sonnambula), Verdi’s Violetta (La traviata), Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Anna Bolena, Cherubini’s Medea and Puccini’s Tosca. Though her timbre was not always conventionally beautiful, Callas’ musicianship and phrasing were in a class of their own. She brought characters to vivid life with her skill in coloring her tone and making insightful use of the text. She is credited with changing the history of opera by placing a perhaps unprecedented emphasis on musical integrity and dramatic truth, and by transforming perceptions—and reviving the fortunes—of the bel canto repertoire, particularly Bellini and Donizetti. The 1950s marked the height of Callas’ career. Its base lay in the opera houses of Italy and she became the prima donna assoluta of Milan’s legendary La Scala—notably in the productions of Luchino Visconti—but her operatic appearances also encompassed London’s Royal Opera House, the New York Metropolitan Opera, the Paris Opéra, the Vienna State Opera, the opera houses of Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Lisbon, and in the early 1950s, Mexico City, São Paolo and Rio de Janeiro. From 1959, when she started a life-changing love affair with the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis, her performing career slowed down and her voice became more fragile. Her final stage performances came in 1965 when she was only 42. There were many plans for a return to the stage—and for further complete recordings—but they never reached fruition, though in 1974, she gave a series of concerts in Europe, North America and Japan with the tenor Giuseppe di Stefano; he had partnered with her frequently in the opera house and in the studio, not least in the 1953 La Scala Tosca under Victor de Sabata, considered a landmark in recording history. Callas died alone in her Paris apartment in September 1977.
CONDUCTOR
Eímear Noone is a Californiabased award-winning Irish composer and conductor. She has conducted orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic, Pittsburg Symphony and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and has worked on scores for directors such as Gus Van Sant and Joe Dante. She has also orchestrated for Academy Award–nominee Javier Navarrette. Noone also consults on Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle as coach to female lead, Lola Kirke. Recently her work has included Scheherazade by RimskyKorsakov, The Firebird by Stravinsky and The New World Symphony by Dvořák. Noone has performed sold-out shows at The Mann Center, Wolftrap and Beijing’s Olympic Stadium, where she performed to an audience of 80,000. She has led some of the world’s great ensembles, including the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Symphony Orchestra. Noone has had the pleasure of conducting the orchestra for the Los Angeles Ballet in their inaugural production of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker, earning recognition from the Los Angeles Times.
BASE HOLOGRAM A DYNAMIC, AWE-INSPIRING, IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCE…
BASE Hologram harnesses the magic of holographic live entertainment to create concerts, theatricals and spectacles to entertain all types of audiences, in all types of venues, across the globe. Fusing extraordinary theatrical stagecraft with innovative digital and laser technology, BASE Hologram brings true music legends back to the global stage in a way where audiences are not just watching a show, but are drawn into an ultra-realistic experience where fantasy becomes reality. BASE Hologram, a BASE Entertainment Company, develops, produces and distributes live theatrical entertainment and location-based productions worldwide from its offices in Los Angeles, New York, Las Vegas and Houston.
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ABOUT SACRAMENTO PHILHARMONIC & OPERA What began as the Sacramento Symphony in 1948 is now combined into the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, returning as a melded organization boldly and with authority in 2015. The organization is now entering its third season under the executive leadership of Alice Sauro, and once again offers power, beauty, and innovation. As one of the Central Valley’s premier arts ensembles, the organization continues to bring the very best artistic talent to audiences throughout the region. As an emissary for the arts to a culturally diverse region, the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera continues its long history of community engagement and dedication through outreach initiatives that bring the passion of classical music to schools, hospitals, shelters, and more. We try to retain this spirit of community involvement in our programming choices, by offering a broad spectrum of musical styles—from works such as Vaughan Williams’ very community-minded Concerto Grosso to our Pops Series to the large-scale classical symphonic repertoire. The Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera continues toward a status of artistic leadership in the community. As a melded organization our mission is to rise above and transcend past challenges and become an integral, thriving, sustainable part of the greater Sacramento area.
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Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera Dan Flanagan, concertmaster Cindy Lee, assistant concertmaster
VIOLIN I
CELLO
HORN
Anita Felix
Lena Bonhorst Andaya, principal
Eric Achen, principal
Sandra Togashi Chong
Susan Lamb Cook, assistant principal
Mark Almond, second horn
Robert Donehew
Leo Gravin
Susan Vollmer, third horn
Dagenais Smiley
Julie Hochman
Janis Lieberman, fourth horn
Baker Peeples
Gretchen Egen
Ljubomir Velickovic
TRUMPET
Jolan Friedhoff
BASS
Michael Meeks, principal
George Hayes
Thomas Derthick, principal
James Rodseth, second trumpet
Steven Comber, assistant principal VIOLIN II
Ben Tudor
TROMBONE
Erika Miranda, principal
Craig McAmis, principal
Mark Tammes, assistant principal
FLUTE
Steve Perdicaris, second trombone
Catherine Heusner
Tod Brody, principal
Wayne Solomon, bass trombone
Ingrid Peters
Mathew Krejci, second flute
Myriam Cottin-Rack Darren Sagawa Mathew Oshida Daniel Lewin VIOLA Melinda Rayne, principal Viola Gay Currier, assistant principal Daria D’Andrea Lynn Richburg
TUBA OBOE
Julian Dixon, principal
Ruth Stuart Burroughs, principal Kathy Conner, second oboe
TIMPANI John Weeks, principal
CLARINET Sandra McPherson, principal
PERCUSSION
Ann Lavin, second clarinet
Thomas Rance, principal Ward Spangler, second percussion
Randy Fisher
BASSOON
Alex Volonts
David Granger, principal
HARP
Maryll Goldsmith, second bassoon
Anna Maria Mendieta, principal
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