Barbara K. Jackson Rising Stars of Opera

A CELEBRATION IN MUSIC

Barbara K. Jackson 1918–2018 Barbara K. Jackson Rising Stars of Opera THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018 | 8PM Jackson Hall

BARBARA K. JACKSON RISING STARS OF OPERA

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Barbara K. Jackson 1918–2018

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TH U R SDAY, O C TO B E R 4, 2018

Remembering Barbara DON ROTH, PH.D. Executive Director Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis

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alk into Barbara Jackson’s living room almost any summer afternoon or evening and the TV screen was flickering in orange and black as she followed the ups and downs of her beloved San Francisco Giants. Baseball was a passion second only to one, her love of opera, especially of the Italian variety. That love translated into extraordinary generosity, as Barbara provided funds in support of young singers through the Adler Fellows and Merola programs at the San Francisco Opera and ensuring that the Barbara K. Jackson Rising Stars of Opera annual concert in Jackson Hall would be free, inviting in a public new to opera as well as established aficionados.

If you work in the arts, you meet many generous patrons who voluntarily provide the means to put great work on stage. It diminishes no one to state that in the company of great arts supporters, Barbara held a very special place. In her younger days, she was generous with her time, sewing costumes for the Sacramento Opera and Sacramento Ballet, and making sure that the Mondavi Center had a gift shop, even if it meant many nights as a cashier on site! During the last several decades, she was able to provide transformational gifts in support of UC Davis academic programs (in honor of her late husband Turpie), UC Davis Music and, most of all, to the San Francisco Opera and the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. As long as she was physically able, Barbara was a regular presence in both those venues; her generosity followed her passion for music, vocal music and opera most of all.

When I lived in Texas (my wife Jolán and I, along with Barbara all have degrees from the University of Texas), I associated that state with a sense of time somewhat looser than what I grew up with in New York. A social event at 7 p.m. was rarely fully attended until 7:30 or 8.

Show up at on time and you were likely to be alone. So I was quite surprised to find in Barbara— native of Austin, fellow Longhorn—a stickler for promptness to the nth degree. Since we were fortunate to spend many Sundays at the Opera with Barbara, we never missed a curtain, could always attend the lecture, have lunch and, in general, spend the day more leisurely than usually happens in the Type A world in which we live. That penchant for promptness meant a longer day, but one where the focus and main event was going to be the opera that afternoon—clear the slate and enjoy.

While Barbara had an extraordinary knowledge of opera (she had seen and heard most of the greats) she also had a generosity of spirit, and a Texas-bred politesse, such that she was rarely ever critical of performances, even when the performance might warrant it! She was ever patient and attentive, never flagging even during the 14-hour span of Wagner’s Ring.

If nonagenarians can have an entourage, Barbara certainly did. She travelled in a pack, generously sharing her five Sunday opera subscriptions with friends (and when her sister Sue Drake was alive, with family). For Rising Stars of Opera, which we started because of Barbara’s love of young singers, Barbara rarely had fewer than 30 guests. Friends from San Francisco often would attend and unfurl “Happy Birthday, Barbara” banners to honor her, since this concert generally has been in proximity to October 4, Barbara’s big day. This year it will be on October 4th, on what would have been her 100th birthday.

When you visited Barbara, her first words often would be: “What do you know that’s good?”

That would invite an analysis of the Giants’ bullpen, a recent symphony concert at the Mondavi Center or a great new tenor just seen in HD. But, more consistently, what’s good was to be a friend of Barbara’s, a beneficiary of her philanthropy and a fellow music-lover. For me, a goodly portion of what is so wonderful about being in Davis, on this campus and at the Mondavi Center, has been to know this truly great, modest and generous human being.

BARBARA K. JACKSON RISING STARS OF OPERA

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RO B ERT A N D M A RG RI T

MONDAVI CENTER

FO R T H E PERFO R M I N G A RTS PRES EN TS

Barbara K. Jackson Rising Stars of Opera Brian Jagde, David LomelĂ­, Daniel Montenegro, Amitai Pati and Kyle van Schoonhoven, tenors Philippe Sly and Brad Walker, bass-baritones Mark Morash, piano UC Davis Symphony Orchestra Christian Baldini, music director and conductor

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2018 • 8PM Jackson Hall

This event is provided free to the community through the generous support of Barbara K. Jackson

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.

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PROGRAM

Barbara K. Jackson Rising Stars of Opera Mark Morash, piano “Au fond du temple saint” from Les pêcheurs de perles

Mr. Montenegro, Mr. Sly L’alba sepàra dalla luce l’ombra

Mr. Lomelí

Georges Bizet (1838–1875) Paolo Tosti (1846–1916)

“Voilà donc la terrible cité!” from Thaïs

Mr. Walker

Jules Massenet (1842–1912)

“Flower Song” (“La fleur que tu m’avais jetée”) from Carmen Bizet

Mr. van Schoonhoven “Wie Todesahnung ... O du mein holder Abendstern” from Tannhäuser

Mr. Sly “Ardir! ... Voglio dir” from L’elisir d’amore

Mr. Pati, Mr. Walker

Richard Wagner (1813–1983) Gaetano Donizetti (1797–1848)

INTERMISSION

UC Davis Symphony Orchestra Christian Baldini, music director and conductor “De’ miei bollenti spiriti” from La traviata

Mr. Pati

Giuseppe Verdi (1813–1901)

“Mein lieber Schwan” from Lohengrin Wagner

Mr. van Schoonhoven “Le veau d’or” from the Faust

Mr. Walker

Charles Gounod (1818–1893)

“Madamina, il catalogo è questo” from Don Giovanni

Mr. Sly “No puede ser” from La taberna del Puerto

Mr. Lomelí

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) Pablo Sorozábal (1897–1988)

“Parmi veder le lagrime” from Rigoletto Verdi

Mr. Montenegro “Nessun dorma” from Turandot

Mr. Jagde

Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)

BARBARA K. JACKSON RISING STARS OF OPERA

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T E X T S , T R A N S L AT I O N S , A N D N O T E S “Au fond du temple saint” from The Pearl Fishers (1863) Georges Bizet (Born October 25, 1838 in Paris Died June 3, 1875 in Bougival, near Paris) Act I of The Pearl Fishers is set on a wild beach on the island of Ceylon. The hunter Nadir enters, and he is invited to stay by his friend Zurga, chief of the village. They recall their last trip together, on which they happened upon a temple where a beautiful young woman was conducting a religious ceremony.

Both men fell in love with her, but, in the duet Au fond du temple saint, they promise to avoid her lest she should trouble their friendship.

L’alba sepàra dalla luce l’ombra (1907) Paolo Tosti (Born April 9, 1846 in Ortano sul Mare Died December 2, 1916 in Rome) Paolo Tosti, singing teacher to royalty and song composer to drawing rooms and recital stages across Europe and America, created some of the most enduring musical mementos of the Victorian era. Born in 1846 in Oranto, on the Adriatic coast south of Pescara, Tosti was sent to the other side of the Italian boot when he was 12 to study violin and composition at the Naples Conservatory. His talent and dedication sufficiently impressed his principal composition teacher, Saverio Mercadante, to be taken on as his assistant, but ill health from overwork sent Tosti back home in 1869. During his convalescence in Oranto, he played organ and directed the choir at the local 12th-century cathedral and started writing songs, for which response was strong but publication was difficult. To better his fortunes, he moved to Rome, where the celebrated pianist, conductor and teacher Giovanni Sgambati invited him to sing his music at one of his recitals. Crown Princess Margherita of Savoy attended the event, was duly impressed with the young Tosti, and hired him as her singing teacher. In 1875, Tosti visited London for the first time, and returned there every spring until he settled permanently in the city in 1880, when he was appointed singing teacher to the royal family. In 1888, he married an Englishwoman, Bertha Pierson; in 1906, he became a British citizen; and in 1908, he was knighted by King Edward VIII. He retired to Italy in 1912, and died in Rome four years later. Tosti’s many songs, in Italian, French and English, remain among the beloved items in the singer’s repertory.

“Voilà donc la terrible cité!” from Thaïs (1893–1894) Jules Massenet (Born May 12, 1842 in Montaud, France Died August 13, 1912 in Paris) Massenet’s Thaïs is based on the historical account of a beautiful courtesan-turned-saint in 7th-century Egypt. Athanaël, a monk in an Egyptian Christian Cenobite community, returns from Alexandria, his birthplace, to report that the city has given itself over to debauchery, personified by Thaïs. Athanaël’s sleep

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is disturbed by dreams of the sensual Thaïs. He awakes with horror, and vows to journey again to Alexandria to convert her to God. When he arrives, he sings the aria Voilà donc la terrible cité! (“Here, then, is this awesome city!”). Despite the feelings Athanaël expresses about Alexandria and Thaïs, the courtesan ultimately renounces her empty life and accepts his message of redemption.

“Flower Song” (“La fleur que tu m’avais jetée”) from Carmen (1872–1875) Georges Bizet The seductive Carmen flirts with Don José, a guardsman in Seville’s militia, during a break from her work at the cigarette factory. Carmen returns to the factory. A melee erupts; Carmen has stabbed one of the other girls. She is caught as she runs from the factory, bound, and left in the charge of Don José. She promises to meet him at a local tavern and reward him with her love if only he will untie her hands and help her to escape. He does, and is imprisoned. After his release, he seeks out Carmen, and tells her of the special pleasure the flower she gave him had during his prison term in the lovely “Flower Song.”

“Wie Todesahnung ... O du mein holder Abendstern” from Tannhäuser (1843–1845) Richard Wagner (Born May 22, 1813 in Leipzig Died February 13, 1883 in Venice) Tannhäuser has journeyed to Rome to seek forgiveness for the sins of living for one year in the Venusberg, the mountain where German legend says that Venus, the goddess of love, took refuge after the fall of ancient civilization. His friend, Wolfram, awaits his return, hoping that his reappearance will end the grief that Tannhäuser’s faithful lover, Elisabeth, has endured because of his absences. A band of pilgrims marches past, but Tannhäuser is not among them, and the distraught Elisabeth prays that the Virgin may claim her life and end her suffering. She leaves, and Wolfram takes up his lyre and sings of Elisabeth’s longing for death, asking the friendly evening star to accept her soul.

“Ardir! … Voglio dire” from L’elisir d’amore (1832) Gaetano Donizetti (Born November 29, 1797 in Bergamo, Italy Died there April 1, 1848) The gentle villager Nemorino is in love with Adina, and he is upset with her apparent indifference to him. In hope of enhancing his attractiveness to her, he buys a bottle of “magic love elixir”—actually, just cheap wine—from the quack Dr. Dulcamara in the sprightly duet Ardir! (“Courage!”), in which Nemorino expresses his thanks and Dulcamara candidly reveals his eagerness to get out of town before his scheme is discovered.

Nemorino persists in his suit, and before the curtain falls he wins Adina’s love and the couple are betrothed.

T E X T S , T R A N S L AT I O N S , A N D N O T E S “Lunge da lei … De’ miei bollenti spiriti” from La traviata (1852–1853) Giuseppe Verdi (Born October 10, 1813 in Le Roncole, Italy Died January 27, 1901 in Milan) The young Alfredo Germont has fallen in love with the Parisian courtesan Violetta Valéry, and they have been living together in idyllic happiness in the country for three months. Alfredo sings of his joy at having found a true mate in Violetta in the aria De’ miei bollenti spiriti.

“Mein lieber Schwan” from Lohengrin (1845–1848) Richard Wagner Elsa, unjustly accused of murdering her younger brother in a bid for the throne of Brabant, prays for a champion. Lohengrin, a knight of the Holy Grail, arrives magically in a boat drawn by a swan, and promises to love and defend her on the condition that she not seek out his identity. Elsa is saved, but before the opera’s end she asks the forbidden question, and Lohengrin sorrowfully tells her he is therefore compelled to leave. In the aria Mein lieber Schwan (“My Beloved Swan”), he greets the swan boat when it reappears to carry him away.

“No puede ser” from La taberna del Puerto (1936) Pablo Sorozábal (Born September 18, 1897 in San Sebastian, Spain Died December 26, 1988 in Madrid) The composer and conductor Pablo Sorozábal was born on September 18, 1897, in San Sebastian. He first studied with Enrique Fernández Arbós in Madrid, and from 1920 to 1931, attended the conservatories in Leipzig and Berlin. Sorozábal returned to Spain in 1931 for the premiere of his first zarzuela, Katiuska, whose success established his reputation in his homeland. He composed nine further examples of the genre through 1958, incorporating distinctive styles from the Basque region and Madrid; he was one of the last exponents of the zarzuela form. Sorozábal also wrote two operas and several scores for orchestra. In addition to his work as a composer, he was conductor of the Madrid Municipal Band and Madrid Philharmonic Orchestra. He died in Madrid in 1988. La taberna del Puerto of 1936 is a story of high passion and low crime set in a seedy fishing port in northern Spain. The young fisherman Leandro is in love with the beautiful Marola (the tavern-keeper, the taberna, of the title), and he sings No puede ser when he is told (incorrectly, as it turns out) that she is luring him into a dangerous smuggling plot.

“Parmi veder le lagrime” from Rigoletto (1850–1851) Giuseppe Verdi

“Le veau d’or” from Faust (1852–1859) Charles François Gounod (Born June 17, 1818 in St. Cloud Died October 18, 1893 in Paris) The aged Faust has signed away his soul to the devil, Mephistopheles, in exchange for the return of his long-lost youth. Faust and Mephistopheles set out on their adventures, and come to a village fair, where Wagner, a young soldier, is singing a comic song about a rat. Mephistopheles cuts him off.

“I can sing a better song than that,” he boasts, and launches into a cynical aria (“Round Dance of the Golden Calf”) about mankind’s worship of Mammon.

“Madamina, il catalogo è questo” from Don Giovanni (1787) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Born January 27, 1756 in Salzburg Died December 5, 1791 in Vienna) Don Giovanni and his servant, Leporello, come upon a woman in distress, whom the rake proposes to comfort in his usual way. The woman vents her rage about a faithless lover, and Giovanni and Leporello discover as they move closer that she is Donna Elvira, whom Giovanni has jilted and upon whose head she pours her scorn. Giovanni retreats, and leaves his servant behind to offer Elvira whatever comfort lies in his recitation of Giovanni’s prodigious catalog of amorous conquests— Madamina, il catalogo è questo.

In Verdi’s opera, Gilda, daughter of the court jester, Rigoletto, has been seduced by the licentious Duke of Mantua in disguise as a poor student calling himself Gualtier Maldè. The Duke’s emotions are unexpectedly stirred by the encounter, however, and he frets for Gilda’s safety in the aria Parmi veder le lagrime (“I seem to see the tear”) when he learns she has been abducted.

“Nessun dorma” from Turandot (1921–1924) Giacomo Puccini (Born December 22, 1858 in Lucca Died November 29. 1924 in Brussels) Turandot, Puccini’s unfinished last opera, was based on Carlo Gozzi’s play set in mythical China. The Princess Turandot will marry any man who can answer three riddles. Anyone who fails must forfeit his life, and the Imperial Palace at Peking has been the scene of many resultant executions. Prince Calaf, unknown in Peking, accepts Turandot’s challenge, and answers her riddles. Faced with the necessity of marrying Calaf, Turandot begs him to release her from her promise. He offers to do so only if she can discover his name by the following dawn.

Turandot commands that no one in Peking shall sleep until the name of the Unknown Prince is revealed. In the aria Nessun dorma, Calaf comments on the situation and sings of his love for the icy Turandot, whose heart he vows to melt with a kiss.

Turandot is stirred by the depth of Calaf’s love, and the two are jubilantly united at the end of the opera. ©2018 Dr. Richard E. Rodda

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS Christian Baldini, music director and conductor

Christian Baldini works regularly with several international orchestras including the Munich Radio Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Buenos Aires Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra (of Portugal, Argentina and the U.S.), the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, and opera for the Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), and the Aldeburgh Festival (U.K.). Since 2011, Baldini was invited to serve as assistant conductor with the BBC Symphony Orchestra on various occasions, and in 2014 he was invited to serve as cover conductor with the San Francisco Symphony by Michael Tilson Thomas. In December 2014 he made his debut conducting the San Francisco Symphony at Davies Hall.

He made his debut conducting in Salzburg at the Award Weekend when an international jury selected him and two other conductors out of 91 submissions worldwide. Baldini has been described as a conductor who “left sighs all over the hall and the rows of the orchestra” (Folha de Sao Paulo, Brazil) and who has “a keen ear for detail” (Scotsman).

When he made his conducting debut in South Africa, Moira de Swardt wrote that “passion and dedication intersect for a fabulous orchestral concert.” Equally at home in the core symphonic and operatic repertoire in the most daring corners of contemporary music, he has presented world premieres of over 70 works. He has also conducted and recorded contemporary Italian music for the RAI Trade and Tactus labels. His compositions are published by Babel Scores in Paris. As conductor, Baldini has been privileged to learn from Kurt Masur, Peter Eötvös, Leonard Slatkin and Martyn Brabbins, and he holds degrees from SUNY at Buffalo (Ph.D., composition), Pennsylvania State University (Master’s, orchestral conducting), and Catholic University of Argentina (Bachelor’s, conducting and composition). His work has received awards in several competitions including the top prize at the Seoul International Competition for Composers (South Korea, 2005), the Tribune of Music (UNESCO, 2005), the Ossia International Competition (Rochester, New York, 2008), the Daegu Chamber Orchestra International Competition (South Korea, 2008) and the Sao Paulo Orchestra International Conducting Competition (Brazil, 2006). He has been an assistant conductor with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BrittenPears Orchestra (England), and a cover conductor with the National Symphony Orchestra (Washington, D.C.). After teaching and conducting at SUNY, Buffalo, Baldini joined the UC Davis faculty in 2009 and serves as the music director of the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, and as the chamber music coordinator. Baldini is also music director of the Camellia Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento, California.

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Mark Morash, piano

Mark Morash s a conductor and pianist originally from Halifax, Canada. Currently, he serves as the director of musical studies for San Francisco Opera Center. There, he has conducted for the Merola program, the Adler Fellow Showcase and Western Opera Theater. He has also led performances of Rigoletto for Opera Colorado, Don Giovanni and The Turn of the Screw for the Lincoln Theater in Yountville, California, La Serva Padrona and Trouble in Tahiti for Opera Santa Barbara. San Francisco Opera Center performances have included Argento’s Postcard from Morocco, The Barber of Seville, The Rape of Lucretia, Così fan tutte, Die Fledermaus, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Pasatieri’s The Seagull.

As a collaborative pianist, Morash’s performances have taken him throughout Canada and the U.S., as well as to Japan and Russia. Artists with whom Morash has appeared include Michael Schade, Tracy Dahl, Leah Crocetto, Melody Moore and Elza van den Heever. He has accompanied numerous emerging singers in San Francisco Opera’s esteemed Schwabacher Debut recitals. He performed in the West Coast premiere of Ned Rorem’s song cycle Evidence of Things Not Seen for the Other Minds Music Festival. In addition to his work with young artists in San Francisco, Morash has been involved with the Opera Center of Pittsburgh Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, the Banff Centre, and Hawaii Opera Theater as well as having taught at the University of Toronto. He has given master classes throughout the U.S. and Canada and, most recently, in New Zealand. Morash is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he studied collaborative piano with Martin Katz.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS Brian Jagde, tenor

Daniel Montenegro, tenor

American tenor Brian Jagde launches his 2018–19 season with a return to the San Francisco Opera as Cavaradossi in a new production of Puccini’s Tosca. He then travels to London’s Royal Opera House, starring as Don José in Bizet’s Carmen, conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson.

He sings Calaf for the first time in Europe this season, in a new production of Puccini’s Turandot this January at Palermo’s Teatro Massimo. Recent seasons have featured several important debuts, including his first appearance at the Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam as the tenor soloist for a live radio broadcast performance of Verdi’s Requiem and his debut as Der Fremde in a new Christof Loy production of Korngold’s rarely performed Das Wunder der Heliane at Deutsche Oper Berlin. Jagde has received numerous accolades, including top prize at the Loren L. Zachary Competition (2014) and second prize in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia Competition (2012). Jagde won additional honors at Operalia for his interpretations of Wagner-Strauss repertoire, receiving the Birgit Nilsson Prize. He is a graduate of San Francisco Opera’s Adler and Merola Programs.

David Lomelí, tenor

David Lomelí recently made his New York debut to tremendous critical acclaim as Nemorino in New York City Opera’s staging of Jonathan Miller’s production of The Elixir of Love. During this season, Lomelí has debut performances with Deutsche Oper Berlin (Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata), Pittsburgh Opera (Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor), Opéra de Lille (MacDuff in Verdi’s Macbeth, and The Santa Fe Opera (Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème).

Next season Lomelí broadens his list of important debuts to include those with the Canadian Opera Company (The Duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto), Houston Grand Opera (Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata), and The Glyndebourne Festival (Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème). Over the next few seasons, Lomelí will sing at San Francisco Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Oper Frankfurt, Oper Köln, and Deutsche Oper Berlin, among others. In 2006, the Mexican tenor won first place in Plácido Domingo’s prestigious Operalia competition—the first artist ever to win top prize in both the opera and zarzuela categories. He is a graduate of both the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship and Merola Opera Program.

In 2015, Daniel Montenegro made his Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera and San Diego Opera debuts as Luis (a role he created) in El Pasado Nuca se Termina. Recent seasons included Giovanni in La Hija de Rappaccini with Gotham Opera and his European opera debut at the Théâtre du Châtelet as Mario in Daniel Catán’s Il Postino alongside Plácido Domingo. Other roles include Roderigo in Otello with San Francisco Opera, Alfredo in La Traviata with New Orleans and Minnesota Operas, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with Washington National Opera, Pang in Turandot at the Hollywood Bowl conducted

by Gustavo Dudamel, Pong (Turandot) with San Francisco Opera and Dallas Opera, Roméo in Roméo et Juliette with Tulsa Opera and the Castleton Festival, and most recently, Mario in Il Postino with Opera Saratoga, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Arizona Opera, and Rafael in Cruzar la Cara de la Luna in his debut with Fort Worth Opera. The 2018–19 season sees him again as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opera Columbus, Alfredo in La Traviata with Arizona Opera, Luis in El Pasado Nuca se Termina with Fort Worth Opera, and making a return to San Francisco Opera.

Amitai Pati, tenor

Amitai Pati is a tenor of Samoan descent who received his master’s degree in advanced vocal studies at the Wales International Academy of Voice under the tutelage of tenor Dennis O’Neill. As a participant of the 2016 Merola Opera Program, he performed his first principal role as Ferrando in Così fan tutte. Pati won the Lexus SongQuest in 2012 and the Waiariki Institute of Technology NZ Aria in 2015. In 2014, he was invited to be a part of the Young Singers Project in Salzburg, Austria, where he appeared in performances and concerts including La Favorite with Elīna Garanča, Juan Diego Flórez and Ludovic Tézier, and the tenor solo in a production of Mozart’s Spatzenmesse.

Pati has extensive experience in choral singing, having performed and toured with the New Zealand Youth Choir, Graduate Choir, and the Auckland University Choir. He has sung in master classes with the likes of Joseph Rouleau, Della Jones, Dame Josephine Barstow, Dame Anne Murray, Maestro Richard Bonynge and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. Pati, along with his brother, Pene Pati, and their cousin Moses Mackay, comprise the highly successful New Zealand vocal trio SOL3 MIO, which mixes both classical and contemporary music.

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS Philippe Sly, bass-baritone

French-Canadian bass-baritone Philippe Sly is a first-prize winner of the prestigious Concours Musical International de Montréal and a grandprize winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, singing the varied repertoire of Mozart, Bach, Handel, Stravinsky and Wagner. Recently, he was awarded Concert of the Year in Romantic, Post-Romantic and Impressionist Music at the 16th annual ceremony of the Prix Opus in Québec. In the 2017–18 season, Sly returned to the Paris Opera in the new production of Così fan tutte as Guglielmo, the same role that served for his debut the previous season. At the Paris Opera, he also made his role debut as Zebul in Claus Guth’s new production of Jephtha. In concert, he debuted with the Minnesota Orchestra in Fauré’s Requiem and with the Academy of Ancient Music in Bach’s Johannes-Passion. With the Montreal Symphony, he sang Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3, as well as songs of Rachmaninoff, Grieg and Sibelius. He was also heard in concert as Narbal in Berlioz’s Les Troyens with Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, which was recorded by Warner/Erato, and in Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Kyle van Schoonhoven, tenor

Tenor Kyle van Schoonhoven is a second-year Adler Fellow at the San Francisco Opera. He made his San Francisco Opera debut last fall as the Young Servant in Strauss’ Elektra, and has covered other leading roles, including Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Aegisth in Elektra, Froh in Das Rheingold and Siegmund in Die Walküre. In 2017, van Schoonhoven was named a winner of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In addition, he was the recipient of a 2018 Sara Tucker Study Grant, the Nicolai Gedda Memorial Award from the prestigious George London Foundation, winner of the top prize in the Brava! Opera Theater and James M. Collier Young Artist Program Vocal Competition, and was a finalist in the 2016 Jensen Foundation Voice Competition. Van Schoonhoven’s other repertory includes the title role in Chandler Carter’s Bobby, Don José in Carmen, Alfredo in La Traviata, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, Hoffmann in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Oronte in Alcina, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Peter Fallow in Stefania de Kenessey’s Bonfire of the Vanities, and Genaro in Prokofiev’s Maddalena. In summer 2016, he participated in the Merola Opera Program. Van Schoonhoven holds

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a master’s degree in music from Westminster Choir College as well as a bachelor’s degree in music from Fredonia School of Music.

Brad Walker, bass-baritone

American bass-baritone Brad Walker has just completed his two residencies as an Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera. After making his debut as Zuniga in the American premiere of Calixto Bieto’s Carmen, he was also seen as Dumas in Andrea Chénier, Strojnik in Vĕc Makropulos, Il Mandarino in Turadot, and Schaunard in La bohème. Walker has been seen as Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Don Magnifico in La cenerontola, Colline in La bohème, Orgon in Tartuffe, William Jennings Bryan in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Mr. Peechum in The Beggar’s Opera, Betto in Gianni Schicchi, Bonzo in Madama Butterfly and Olin Blitch in Susannah. In addition to the Adler Fellowship, Walker has participated in many of the country’s top young artist programs including The Merola Opera Program, Chautuaqua Opera Company, Des Moines Metro Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City. He won the San Francisco region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, as well as the Brava! Opera Theater and James M. Collier Young Artist Program Vocal Competition.

He received degrees from Michigan State University, The University of Kansas and the Yale School of Music.

UC DAVIS SYMPHONY ORCHE STR A

Christian Baldini, music director and conductor Jonathan Minnick, teaching assistant Benjamin Porter, Marjolein Schelvis and Clement Yuen, librarians —Names appear in seated order— FLUTE

Sarah Wald, principal Babs Sandeen and Marty Swingle

Jin Seo, assistant principal Sydney Cliff Katelyn Addison Alex Richardson

HORN

Benjamin Kimelman, co-principal Richard & Gayle Simpson, In honor of Kristin & David

Shivani Maisuria Jinming (Jimmy) Nian, co-principal Maya Way

PICCOLO

Alex Richardson Phyllis & Thomas Farver

Grant Cottier

Shazib Elahi, principal Andrew Mollner

OBOE

Rose Baunach, principal Wilson & Kathryn Smith

Noa Gorgas, co-principal Mone Matsuoka Grant Cottier

Allie Knitter, co-principal Nicholas Cheung, assistant principal Kai Goodman Valley Stewart TROMBONE

Rebecca A. Brover

Ana Menchaca

Patrick Ama, co-principal

CLARINET

True Randall, principal W. Jeffery Alfriend, DVM

Lisa Pacumio Micheala Garza Jennifer Zavala-Briseno Sydney Bonnell

Brian McCurdy & Carol Anne Muncaster, in honor of Michael J. Malone

Katherine Chiu Michael Gunnarson BASS TROMBONE

Sydney Bonnell

TUBA

BASSOON

Matthew Rasmussen, principal Vicki Glumm & Kling Family

Paige Talle William Storz

Maya Khayat HARP

Maxime Lacour Benjamin & Lynette Hart, in honor of Calvin B. Arnason

VIOLIN I

Devon Bradshaw, concertmaster Cynthia Bates Concertmaster

Ton Bui, assistant concertmaster Damian Ting

Natalie Mao Clairelee & Ralph Bulkley Francis Dubois

Adonia Thai Ralph & Judy Riggs

Alyssa Yuen Raphael Moore Raphael S. Moore, in memory of Dr. Irena Anna Henner

Lydia Lee Matthew Kim Daniel Chao Molly Bainbridge Olga Tatar VIOLIN II

Cynthia Bates, principal Barbara Jackson, in honor of Fawzi Haimor

Brandon Hatch

Kayana Leung, assistant principal

TIMPANI

Lily Brown Yuxin Bai Jiaman (Betty) Wu Cassidy Zhang Ryan Sie Sherry Sheu Karla Santamaria Veronica Guerra

Shari Benard-Gueffroy

Veronica Blanco, principal Friedman Family

CONTRABASSOON

Gary C. Matteson & Family

Jonathan Minnick

Barbara Jackson, in honor of Brian McCurdy

BASS CLARINET

Ruicong (Claire) Zheng

Ben Porter Burkhard Schipper, co-principal

ENGLISH HORN

Robin Houston William Storz

TRUMPET

PIANO/CELESTA

PERCUSSION

Veronica Blanco Ruicong (Claire) Zheng Ruixiao (Rachel) Wang Jianing (Donna) Li Mengshi Ren Ke Zhang Yifan Zhu Leona (Xinyi) Zhang

VIOLA

Sogol Aliabadi, co-principal James & Jocelyn Morris

Soojin Oh, co-principal John T. Bakos, in memory of Dr. John & Grace Bakos

Matthew Curtis, assistant principal Monique Marino Jacquelina Pesola Abigail Meehan Lina Nguyen Mira Evans Kayla Gibson CELLO

Zhenya Farrington, principal Herman and Diane Phaff

Lauren Ho Brian & Louanne Horsfield, in honor of Tracy McCarthy

Austin Kyan Eldridge & Judith Moores

Ruoxi Chi Don & Louise McNary

Matessa Martin Liam Newquist Nikki Yang Claire Armstrong Yuer Wang Scarlet Johnson Sarah Moore BASS

Amanda Fencl, principal Barbara K. Jackson

Sherman Zhi, assistant principal William Storz Bob Comarow

BARBARA K. JACKSON RISING STARS OF OPERA Endowed seats are named with a gift to the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra Endowment of $10,000.

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FILM FESTIVAL @ UC DAVIS

May 2 and 3 @ 9:30 PM Varsity Theatre 616 Second St. Davis

Single Night: $9 Two-Night Pass: $12 Advance sale online: filmfreeway.com/FilmFestUCDavis

Sponsored by the Department of

Art and Art History, Cinema and Digital Media, Design, Music, Theatre and Dance

COLLEGE OF LETTERS AND SCIENCE

Photo credit: “Iris Bloomfield in Maripose Variations,” Jury Grand Prize winner 2017

ART & ART HISTORY

arts.ucdavis.edu

FOR PERFORMANCE, CONCERT, EXHIBITION AND EVENT SCHEDULE/DETAILS, OR TO SIGN-UP FOR THE COLLEGE OF LETTERS AND SCIENCE ARTS NEWSLETTER.

ART STUDIO CINEMA & DIGITAL MEDIA DESIGN MUSIC THEATRE & DANCE

IMAGE CREDITS: Top row: “Instinct/Extinct” Design Museum exhibition, Fall 2017, photo: Barbara Molloy, copyright UC Regents. Film Festival @ UC Davis poster, Spring 2018.

Art by Doug Loree, Arts and Humanities Graduate Exhibition, Spring 2018. Bottom row: Outside the Lines, Fall 2017. Photo: Nicholas Yoon, copyright UC Regents. “The Bluest Eye,” Spring 2018. Photo: Luke Younge. Concert Band, courtesy of Department of Music.

BARBARA K. JACKSON RISING STARS OF OPERA

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