Western Health Advantage Season of Performing Arts
RISING STARS OF OPERA SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016 San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows NIAN WANG, Mezzo-Soprano PENE PATI, Tenor MATTHEW STUMP, Bass-Baritone MARK MORASH, Piano
UC Davis Symphony Orchestra CHRISTIAN BALDINI, Music Director and Conductor
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
RISING STARS OF OPERA San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows NIAN WANG, Mezzo-Soprano PENE PATI, Tenor MATTHEW STUMP, Bass-Baritone MARK MORASH, Piano
UC Davis Symphony Orchestra CHRISTIAN BALDINI, Music Director and Conductor
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2016 • 7PM Jackson Hall, UC Davis
This event is provided free to the community through the generous support of BARBARA K. JACKSON Presented in partnership with the UC Davis Department of Music and the San Francisco Opera Center
The artists and fellow audience members appreciate silence during the performance. Please be sure that you have switched off cellular phones, watch alarms and pager signals. Videotaping, photographing and audio recording are strictly forbidden. Violators are subject to removal.
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PROGRAM
San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows Mark Morash, piano Four Shakespeare Songs, Op. 31 Erich Wolfgang Korngold Desdemona’s Song (1897–1957) Under the Greenwood Tree Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind When Birds Do Sing Nian Wang, mezzo-soprano
Don Quichotte à Dulcinée Maurice Ravel Chanson romanesque: Moderato (1875–1937) Chanson épique: Molto moderato Chanson à boire: Allegro Matthew Stump, bass-baritone
3 Songs of Paolo Tosti L’alba sepàra dalla luce l’ombra Ideale Marechiare Pene Pati, tenor
Paolo Tosti (1846–1916)
Trio (“Chi sia”) from Madama Butterfly Nian Wang (Suzuki), mezzo-soprano, Pene Pati (Pinkerton), tenor, Matthew Stump (Sharpless), bass-baritone
Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
INTERMISSION Crisantemi (Chrysanthemum) for Strings Puccini UC Davis Symphony Orchestra “Questa o quella” from Rigoletto Giuseppe Verdi Pene Pati, tenor (Duke of Mantua) (1813–1901) “Parto, parto, ma tu, ben mio” from La Clemenza di Tito, K. 621 Nian Wang, mezzo-soprano (Sesto)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)
“Madamina, il catalogo è questo” from Don Giovanni Matthew Stump, bass-baritone (Leporello)
Mozart
“Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle” from Romeo et Juliette Nian Wang, mezzo-soprano (Stefano)
Charles Gounod (1818–1893)
“Ha, welch ein Augenblick!” from Fidelio Matthew Stump, bass-baritone (Pizarro)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
“La donna è mobile” from Rigoletto Pene Pati, tenor (Duke of Mantua)
Verdi
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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 Four Shakespeare Songs, Op. 31 (1938) Erich Wolfgang Korngold Born May 29, 1897 in Brünn, Austria (now Brno, Czech Republic). Died November 29, 1957 in Hollywood, California. Erich Wolfgang Korngold (his middle name honored Mozart), the son of Julius Korngold, one of Vienna’s most influential music critics at the turn of the 20th century, was playing piano by age 5, composing by 7, and at 9 produced a cantata (Gold) that convinced his father to enroll him at the Vienna Conservatory; his Piano Sonata No. 1 was published in 1908, when he was 11. The following year he wrote a ballet, Der Schneemann (“The Snowman”), which was staged at the Vienna Royal Opera at the command of Emperor Franz Josef. In 1911, the budding composer gave a concert of his works in Berlin, in which he also appeared as piano soloist. Korngold was an international celebrity at 13. He wrote his first opera in 1915 and five years later produced his dramatic masterpiece, Die Tote Stadt (“The Dead City”), and was appointed professor at the Vienna Staatsakademie. Korngold settled in Hollywood in 1934 and during the next decade he created an unsurpassed body of film music, winning two Academy Awards (for Anthony Adverse and The Adventures of Robin Hood). His father’s death in 1945, however, caused him to re-evaluate his career, and he returned to writing concert music with concertos for violin (for Heifetz) and cello, and a large symphony. Korngold died on November 29, 1957; his remains were interred in the Hollywood Cemetery, within a few feet of those of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., D.W. Griffith and Rudolf Valentino. In 1938, with his Hollywood career on the wane and his properties in Austria confiscated by the Nazis, director Max Reinhardt devoted himself to establishing a “workshop” on Sunset Boulevard to train young American actors, directors and musicians with the help of the huge influx of émigrés then arriving from Europe. For a production titled Shakespeare’s Women, Clowns and Songs in June 1941 starring Nanette Fabray, Korngold provided songs and incidental music for excerpts from Twelfth Night, Othello and As You Like It, from which he extracted the Songs of the Clown (Op. 29) and the Four Shakespeare Songs (Op. 31).
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Don Quichotte à Dulcinée (1932–1933) Maurice Ravel Born March 3, 1875 in Ciboure, France. Died December 28, 1937 in Paris. Ravel spent four months early in 1932 on tour with Marguerite Long putting his new Piano Concerto in G on display throughout much of central Europe to enthusiastic praise. When he returned to his native Basque countryside for a rest, he found waiting for him there a commission to write music for a film version of Don Quixote starring the legendary Russian basso Feodor Chaliapin in the title role. Despite his declining health and his doctor’s warning to save his strength, Ravel was intrigued by the project and he accepted it, agreeing to compose both background music and songs specially prepared for Chaliapin. The film’s producer, Georg W. Pabst, had already engaged as screenwriter and lyricist Paul Morand, a world traveler, skilled diplomat and writer well-known for his novels depicting many cultures with clarity and realism. With the widely regarded Ravel as another contributor, Pabst not only had a fine artistic team, but also figured to attract backers for the undertaking. Ravel, despite an ambitious beginning during the summer, was unable to complete any of his assignment on time, and Jacques Ibert was entrusted to take over in his place in the production team. (Pabst overcame financial difficulties to complete his film, a valuable document of Chaliapin if not a memorable cinematic endeavor.) Ravel, however, continued the songs as a concert work, and he completed them some time early the following year, though his deteriorating neurological condition made it difficult for him to control his hands, forcing him to seek the help of Lucien Garban and Manuel Rosenthal in preparing the fair copy of the full score. Don Quichotte à Dulcinée was Ravel’s last work. These songs are the final evidence of Ravel’s long interest in the music of Spain, which had blossomed in such earlier works as the Rapsodie espagnole, L’Heure espagnole and Boléro. He had even contemplated an opera based on the tale of Cervantes’ quixotic knight, though that plan never came to fruition. Each of the three settings of Morand’s poems is based on a traditional dance rhythm of Spain: Chanson romanesque on the quajira, Chanson épique on the zortzico and Chanson à boire on the jota. The first is a love song of near manic devotion to the beloved Dulcinée in the characteristic Spanish meter produced by alternating measures of 6/8 and 3/4 meters. The second song presents Quixote as a holy warrior invoking the aid of the Madonna and Saint Michael to sustain him in his valiant quest. The closing Drinking Song paints the hero in his one undeniable virtue—as an expansive tippler.
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Three Songs Paolo Tosti Born April 9, 1846 in Ortona sul Mare, Italy. Died December 2, 1916 in Rome, Italy. 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 Ortona, 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 Ortona, 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. Trio (“Chi sia”) from Madama Butterfly (1901–1903) Giacomo Puccini Born December 22, 1858 in Lucca, Italy. Died November 29, 1924 in Brussels, Belgium. In turn-of-the-20th-century Nagasaki, B.F. Pinkerton, an American naval lieutenant, takes as his bride the geisha Cio-Cio-San, known as Madama Butterfly. Soon after the wedding, Pinkerton leaves Japan and Butterfly. Three years pass with no word from him. Suzuki, Butterfly’s maid, has abandoned hope for his return, but the former geisha remains certain that her husband will come back, and she constantly watches Nagasaki harbor for his ship with the child that she has borne him. Pinkerton finally returns, accompanied by the American consul, Sharpless, but only to ask Butterfly to let him and his new American wife adopt her baby. In the poignant trio that drives
the story toward its tragic conclusion, Sharpless tries to persuade Suzuki that this arrangement is in the best interests of the child, but she is consumed with grief for Butterfly as Pinkerton expresses his remorse. Crisantemi (“Chrysanthemums”) for Strings (1890) Giacomo Puccini Crisantemi, composed during the difficult time before Puccini had scored his first hit with Manon Lescaut in 1893, is one of just a handful of his non-operatic works, which otherwise include an early Mass, a small setting of the Requiem text, a motet for soprano, a cantata, three brief orchestral scores, seven songs and a few pieces for string quartet and for piano. Crisantemi, written in memory of the recently deceased Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of the ruling house of Aosta (chrysanthemums are traditionally associated with funerals and mourning in Italy), is a wistful piece, filled with the bittersweet melancholy that so touchingly marks Puccini’s later operas. Indeed, so faithful is the manner of Crisantemi to his characteristic lyricism and pathos that he borrowed both of its themes for use in the tragic last act of Manon Lescaut. “Questa o quella” from Rigoletto (1850-1851) Giuseppe Verdi Born October 10, 1813 in Le Roncole, Italy. Died January 27, 1901 in Milan, Italy. Rigoletto opens on a party scene in the palace of the libertine Duke of Mantua, who declares that he takes his pleasure where he finds it in the aria Questa o quella (“This one or that one?”). “Parto, parto” from La Clemenza di Tito, K. 621 (1791) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Born January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. Died December 5, 1791 in Vienna, Austria. Vitellia, proud daughter of the deposed Roman Emperor Vitellius, loves the new Emperor, Titus (Tito), but she is furious that he has chosen Berenice, daughter of the King of Judaea, as his consort instead of her. She tries to persuade her admirer Sextus to join her in an assassination plot on Titus’ life. Sextus, a close friend of the new Emperor, is at first loath to participate in such a monstrous undertaking, but his love for Vitellia proves irresistible, and he agrees to initiate her plan. In the aria Parto, parto, Sextus sings that he will do anything
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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 to win Vitellia’s love. The murderous adventure goes forward, but proves unsuccessful, and Titus grants the conspirators clemency in the final scene.
“Ha, welch ein Augenblick!” from Fidelio (1814) Ludwig van Beethoven Born December 16, 1770 in Bonn, Germany. Died March 26, 1827 in Vienna, Austria.
“Madamina, il catalogo è questo” from Don Giovanni (1787) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Florestan, a Spanish nobleman fighting against despotism, has been wrongly imprisoned by his enemy Pizarro, governor of the state prison. Pizarro receives notice that Don Fernando, the Spanish Minister of State, will soon arrive to inspect the prison and to question Pizarro about suspected abuse of his power. To cover up his malfeasance, Pizarro determines to execute Florestan immediately in strict secrecy, and exults in his decision in his aria Ha, welch ein Augenblick! His evil is eventually exposed, however, and Florestan saved through the devotion and courage of the prisoner’s wife, Leonore.
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. “Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle” from Roméo et Juliette (1865–1867) Charles Gounod Born June 17, 1818 in Paris, France. Died October 18, 1893 in Saint-Cloud, France. Romeo, a Montague, has fallen in love with Juliet, of the rival Capulet family, in 14th-century Verona, and Friar Laurence marries the couple in hopes of ending the enmity between the families. After the wedding, Stéphano, Romeo’s page, searches for his master while singing a song (Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle) that likens the Capulets to a nest of vultures harboring Juliet, whom he calls a “white turtledove.”
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“La donna è mobile” from Rigoletto (1850–1851) Giuseppe Verdi The Duke of Mantua, one of opera’s most notorious libertines, sings of his brazen attitude toward love in La donna è mobile. ©2016 Dr. Richard E. Rodda
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Korngold: Four Shakespeare Songs, Op. 31 Desdemona’s Song (Othello, Act IV, Scene 3)
Under the Greenwood Tree (As You Like It, Act II, Scene 5)
The poor soul sat sighing by a sycamore tree, Sing all a green willow; Her hand on her bosom, her head on her knee, Sing willow, willow, willow. The fresh streams ran by her, and murmur’d her moans; Sing willow, willow, willow. Her salt tears fell from her, and soften’d the stones; Sing willow, willow, willow. Sing all a green willow, my garland must be. Sing all a green willow; Let nobody blame him, his scorn I approve. Sing willow, willow, willow. I call’d my love false love, but what said he then? Sing willow, willow, willow. If I court moe women, you’ll couch with moe men! Sing willow, willow, willow.
Under the greenwood tree Who loves to lie with me, And turn the merry note Unto the sweet bird’s throat, Come hither, come hither, come hither: Here shall he see No enemy But winter and rough weather.
Blow, Blow Thou Winter Wind (As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7) Blow, blow thou winter wind, Thou art not so unkind As man’s ingratitude; Thy tooth is not so keen Because thou art not seen, Although thy breath be rude. Heigh ho! sing heigh ho! unto the green holly: Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly: Then, heigh ho! the holly! This life is most jolly.
Who doth ambition shun, And loves to live i’ the sun, Seeking the food he eats, And pleas’d with what he gets, Come hither, come hither, come hither: Here shall he see No enemy But winter and rough weather. If it do come to pass That any man turn ass, Leaving his wealth and ease, A stubborn will to please, Ducdame, ducdame, ducdame: Here shall he see Gross fools as he, An if he will come to me. Under the greenwood tree Who loves to lie with me.
Freeze, freeze thou bitter sky, Thou dost not bite so high As benefits forgot: Though thou the waters warp, Thy sting is not so sharp As friend remember’d not. Heigh ho! sing heigh ho! unto the green holly: Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly: Then, heigh ho! the holly! This life is most jolly.
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Korngold (con’t.) When Birds Do Sing (As You Like It, Act V, Scene 3) It was a lover and his lass, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino That o’er the green corn-field did pass. In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding; Sweet lovers love the spring.
This carol they began that hour, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, How that a life was but a flower In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding; Sweet lovers love the spring.
Between the acres of the rye, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, These pretty country folks would lie, In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding; Sweet lovers love the spring.
And therefore take the present time With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, For love is crownéd with the prime In the spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding a ding; Sweet lovers love the spring.
Ravel : Don Quichotte à Dulcinée Text: Paul Morand Chanson romanesque (“Romanesque Song”)
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Si vous me disiez que la terre A tant tourner vous offensa Je lui dépêcherais Pança: Vous la verriez fixe et se taire.
If ever for rest you are yearning, I’ll hush the winds and the seas, my love, I will say to the sun above, “Cease in your flight, stay in your turning!”
Si vous me disiez l’ennui Vous vient du ciel trop fleuri d’astres, Déchirant les divins cadastres, Je faucherais d’un coup la nuit.
If ever for morning you sigh, the stars I will hide and their wonder, the splendor of heaven tear asunder, and banish the night from the sky.
Si vous me disiez que l’espace, Ainsi vidé ne vous plaît point, Chevalier-dieu, la lance au poing, J’étoilerais le vent qui passe.
If space lost in chaos was o’er you, filling your soul with nameless fear, god-like I’d come, shaking my spear, and sow the stars, radiant before you.
Mais si vous disiez que mon sang Est plus à moi qu’à vous, ma Dame, Je blêmirais, dessous le blâme Et je mourrais, vous bénissant. O Dulcinée.
But if ever I hear you cry, “Give me your life! Prove how you love me!” Darkness will fall, shadows above me, blessing you still, then I shall die. O Dulcinée.
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Ravel (con’t.) Chanson épique (“Epoch Song”) Bon Saint Michel qui me donnez loisir De voir ma Dame et de l’entendre, Bon Saint Michel qui me daignez choisir Pour lui complaire et la défendre, Bon Saint Michel veuillez descendre Avec Saint Georges sur l’autel De la Madone au bleu mantel.
Saint Michael, come! my lady bring to me, unto my soul her presence lending, Saint Michael, come! he champion let me be, with knightly grace her fame defending, Saint Michael, come! to earth descending, with good Saint George before the shrine of the Madonna with face divine.
D’un rayon du ciel bénissez ma lame Et son égale en pureté Et son égale en piété Comme en pudeur et chasteté: Ma Dame, (O grands Saint Georges et Saint Michel) L’ange qui veille sur ma veille, Ma douce Dame si pareille A Vous, Madone au bleu mantel! Amen.
May the light of heaven on my sword be lying, give to my spirit purity, and lend my heart sweet piety, and lift my soul in ecstasy, undying! (O good Saint George and Saint Michael, hear me!) An angel watches ever near me, my own beloved, so like to you, Madonna, maid divine! Amen.
Chanson à boire (“Drinking Song”) Foin du bátard, illustre Dame, Qui pour me perdre à vos doux yeux Dit que l’amour et le vin vieux Mettent en deuilmon coeur, mon âme! Ah!
Lady adored! Wherefore this sorrow? I live in your glances divine, say not that love, love and good wine, brings to us mortals grief tomorrow! Ah!
Je bois A la joie! Drink then! drink to joy! La joie est la seul but O! je vais droit ... For good wine makes you laugh like a merry boy! lorsque j’ai ... lorsque j’ai bu! Makes you laugh, laugh like a boy! Ah! Ah! Ah! la joie! La La La! Ah! Ah! Ah! to joy! La La La! Je bois A la joie! Drink on, drink to joy! Foin du jaloux, brune maîtresse, Qui geind, qui pleure et fait serment D’être toujours cepâle amant Qui met de l’eau dans son ivresse! Ah!
Who wants a maid (not I, I’m thinking!), a maiden who mopes all day long, silent and pale, never a song, frowning to see her lover drinking! Ah!
Je bois A la joie! La joie est la seul but O! je vais droit ... lorsque j’ai ... lorsque j’ai bu! Ah! Ah! Ah! la joie! La La La! Je bois A la joie!
Drink then! drink to joy! For good wine makes you laugh like a merry boy! Makes you laugh, laugh like a boy! Ah! Ah! Ah! to joy! La La La! Drink on, drink to joy!
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Tosti: Three Songs L’alba sepàra dalla luce l’ombra (“The Dawn Divides the Darkness from the Light”) Text: Gabriele D’Annunzio L’alba sepàra dalla luce l’ombra, E la mia voluttà dal mio desire. O dolce stelle, è l’ora di morire. Un più divino amor dal ciel vi sgombra.
The dawn divides the darkness from the light, And my sensual pleasure from my desire, O sweet stars, the hour of death is now at hand: A love more holy sweeps you from the skies.
Pupille ardenti, O voi senza ritorno Stelle tristi, spegnetevi incorrotte! Morir debbo. Veder non voglio il giorno, Per amor del mio sogno e della notte.
Gleaming eyes, O you who’ll ne’er return, sad stars, snuff out your uncorrupted light! I must die, I do not want to see the day, For love of my own dream and of the night.
Chiudimi, O Notte, nel tuo sen materno, Mentre la terra pallida s’irrora. Ma che dal sangue mio nasca l’aurora E dal sogno mio breve il sole eterno!
Envelop me, O Night in your maternal breast, While the pale earth bathes itself in dew; But let the dawn rise from my blood And from my brief dream the eternal sun!
Ideale (“My Ideal”) Text: Carmelo Errico Io ti seguii com’iride di pace Lungo le vie del cielo; Io ti seguii come un’amica face De la notte nel velo.
I followed you like a dove of peace Along the paths of heaven; I followed you like a friendly light Through the veil of darkness.
E ti sentii ne la luce, ne l’aria, Nel profumo dei fiori; E fu piena la stanza solitaria Di te, dei tuoi splendori.
And I felt you in the light and in the air, In the perfume of the flowers; And your presence filled my lonely room With its bright splendor.
In te rapito, al suon de la tua voce Lungamente sognai; E de la terra ogni affanno, ogni croce In quel giorno scordai.
Ravished by your call, the sound of your voice, I lingered in my dream; And every memory of earthly pain and burden Was in that dream erased.
Torna, caro ideal, torna un istante A sorridermi ancora, E a me risplenderà, nel tuo sembiante, Una novello aurora.
Return, my cherished ideal, return a moment And smile at me once more. Then will the light of your image shine again upon me Like a new dawn.
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Tosti (con’t.) Marechiare Text: Salvatore Di Giacomo Quanno sponta la luna a Marechiare pure le pisce nce fann’a l’ammore, se revotano l’onne de lu mare, pe la priezza ca gneno culore, quanno sponta la luna a Marechiare.
When the moon rises over Marechiare ‘Tis then that lovers’ vows are spoken. See the silver light shining on the waters As fisherman gives maid a kiss of token, when the moon rises over Marechiare.
A Marechiare nce sta na fenesta, la passione mia nce tuzzulea nu carofano addora int’a na testa, passa l’acqua pe sotto, e murmuléa: A Marechiare nce sta na fenesta.
At Marechiare, a troubadour singing a song of love still lingers in the memory, As the strains of sweet guitars strumming softly ‘neath the stars, brought an echo from the moonlit sea: Ah, Marechiare, your song of love is ever in my heart!
Chi dice ca li stelle so lucente nun sape st’uocchie ca tu tiene nfronte. sti doje stelle li saccio io solamente, dint’a lu core ne tnego li ponte. Chi dice ca li stelle so lucente. Scetate, Caruli, ca l’aria è doce; quanno maie tanto tiempo aggio aspettato. P’accompagna li suone cu la voce stasera na chitarra aggio portato. Scetate, Caruli, ca l’aria è doce!
Awaken for the night is all enchantment, And stars in all their beauty shine upon the distant shore. ‘Tis the hour when the fondest hopes of lovers Come true in dreams of happiness for evermore. Awaken for the night is all enchantment. So sang the troubadour beneath the moon, A song of love to the lady of his choosing. Beneath her balcony his melody In a plaintive little strain now pleads his wooing. So sang the troubadour beneath the moon!
Puccini: Trio from Madama Butterfly SUZUKI Chi sia? Oh!
Who can that be? Oh!
PINKERTON Zitta! Zitta! Non la destare.
Hush! Hush! Don’t wake her.
SUZUKI Era stanca, sì tanto! Vi stette ad aspettare tutta la notte col bimbo.
She was quite worn out! She has been standing waiting for you all night long with the baby.
PINKERTON Come sapea ...?
How did she know?
SUZUKI Non giunge da tre anni una nave nel porto che da lunge Butterfly non ne scruti il color, la bandiera.
For three years now no ship has put into the harbor without Butterfly scrutinizing its color and flag from afar.
SHARPLESS (to Pinkerton) Ve lo dissi?
I told you, didn’t I?
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Puccini (con’t.) SUZUKI La chiamo ...
I’ll call her ...
PINKERTON No, non ancor.
No, not yet.
SUZUKI Lo vedete, ier sera, la stanza volle sparger di fiori.
You see, last night she insisted on strewing flowers all over the room.
SHARPLESS Ve lo dissi?
I told you, didn’t I?
PINKERTON Che pena!
This is dreadful!
SUZUKI Chi c’è là fuori nel giardino? Una donna!
Who’s that out in the garden? It’s a woman!
PINKERTON Zitta! Hush!
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SUZUKI Chi è? Chi è?
Who is it? Who is it?
SHARPLESS Meglio dirle ogni cosa.
Best tell her everything.
SUZUKI Chi è? Chi è?
Who is it? Who is it?
PINKERTON È venuta con me.
She has come with me.
SUZUKI Chi è? Chi è?
Who is it? Who is it?
SHARPLESS È sua moglie.
His wife.
SUZUKI Anime sante degli avi! Alla piccina s’è spento il sol!
Holy spirits of my ancestors! For the little one the sun has gone out!
SHARPLESS Scegliemmo quest’ora mattutina per ritrovarti sola, Suzuki, e alla gran prova un aiuto, un sostegno cercar con te.
We chose this early hour in order to find you alone, Suzuki, and in this hour of trial to seek some means of consolation and support with you.
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Puccini (con’t.) SUZUKI Che giova? Che giova?
What’s the use? What’s the use?
SHARPLESS Io so che alle sue pene non ci sono conforti. Ma del bimbo conviene assicurar le sorti.
I know that for her deep distress there is no consolation. But it is necessary to provide for the child’s future.
PINKERTON Oh! l’amara fragranza di questi fior velenosa al cor mi va; immutata è la stanza dei nostri amor ...
Oh, the bitter perfume of these flowers is poison to the heart! The room where we loved is unchanged ...
SHARPLESS La pietosa che entrar non osa materna cura del bimbo avrà.
That kind woman who dares not enter will care like a mother for the child.
SUZUKI Oh, me trista! E volete ch’io chieda ad una madre ...
Oh, I’m so miserable! And you want me to ask a mother ...
SHARPLESS Suvvia, parla con quella pia e conducila qui ... S’anche la veda Butterfly, non importa ... anzi meglio se accorta del vero si facesse alla sua vista. Vien, Suzuki, vien ...
Come, speak to that kind lady and bring her in here. Even if Butterfly should see her, no matter ... On the contrary, better if she should realize the truth through seeing her. Come, Suzuki, come ...
PINKERTON Ma un gel di morte vi sta. Il mio ritratto ... Tre anni son passati, e noverati n’ha i giorni e l’ore! Non posso rimaner ... Sharpless, v’aspetto per via ...
But the coldness of death is in here. My picture! ... Three years have passed, and she has counted the days and the hours! I can’t stay here ... Sharpless, I’ll wait for you on the way back ...
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Verdi: “Questa o quella” from Rigoletto Questa o quella per me pari sono a quant’altre d’intorno mi vedo, del mio core l’impero non cedo meglio ad una che ad altra beltà. La costoro avvenenza è qual dono di che il fato ne infiora la vita; s’oggi questa mi torna gradita, forse un’altra doman lo sarà. La costanza, tiranna del core, detestiamo qual morbo crudele; sol chi vuole si serbi fedele; non v’ha amor se non v’è libertà. De’ mariti il geloso furore, degli amanti le smanie derido, anco d’Argo i cent’occhi disfido, se mi punge una qualche beltà.
This one or that one? They all seem alike to me when I see such beauty around me. But I give my heart no more to one beauty than to another. If today one smiles on me graciously, tomorrow it will be another! I hate tyrannous constancy of heart. It is cruel. Let him who wishes to be faithful; he wants not love who wants not liberty. Ignore the husband’s jealous anger, and the lover’s derided fury. Yes, even were the hundred eyes of Argus to frown on me, I’d not stop if I saw a pleasing beauty!
Mozart: “Parto, parto, ma tu, ben mio” from La Clemenza di Tito Parto, parto, ma tu, ben mio, meco ritorna in pace: sarò qual più ti piace, quel che vorrai farò. Guardami, e tutto obblio, e a vendicarti io volo. A questo sguardo solo da me si penserà. Parto, ma tu … Ah qual poter, o dei! Donaste alla beltà!
I go, I go, but you, my love, look kindly upon me again: I shall be whatever pleases you, do whatever you wish. Look at me, and, oblivious to all else, I shall hasten to avenge you. I shall think of nothing but that glance. I go, but you … Ah, what power you gave, o gods, to beauty!
Mozart: “Madamina, il catalogo è questo” from Don Giovanni
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Madamina, il catalogo è questo Delle belle che amò il padron mio, Un catalogo egli è che ho fatt’io, Osservate, leggete con me.
My dear, let me show you the list Of the beauties my master has loved; It’s a list that I have made myself: Take a good look, and read along with me.
In Italia seicento e quaranta, In Lamagna duecento e trent’una, Cento in Francia, in Turchia novant’una, Ma in Ispagna son già mille e tre.
In Italy, he’s had six hundred and forty, In Germany, two hundred and thirty-one; A hundred in France, in Turkey ninety-one, But in Spain already a thousand and three.
V’han fra queste contadine, Cameriere, cittadine, V’han contesse, baronesse, Marchesane, principesse, E v’han donne d’ogni grado, D’ogni forma, d’ogni età.
Some of these are from the country, Others are chambermaids or city girls, Some are even countesses or baronesses, Others are marchionesses or princesses; Together they’re women of every rank, Of every size and shape and age.
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Don Giovanni (con’t.) In Italia seicento e quaranta, ecc.
In Italy, he’s had six hundred and forty, etc.
Nella bionda egli ha l’usanza Di lodar la gentilezza, Nella bruna la costanza, Nella bianca la dolcezza.
With blonds it’s always his habit To praise how very kind they are; His brunettes are true and faithful, And his fairest ones are sweet.
Vuoi d’inverno la grassotta, Vuoi d’estate la magrotta; È la grande maestosa, La piccina è ognor vezzosa …
In the winter he likes them plump, In the summer he likes them thin; He calls the tall ones stately, And the short ones nice and dainty …
Delle vecchie fa conquista Pel piacer di porle in lista; La passion predominante È la giovin principiante.
He even tries to court the oldsters, Just so he can put them on the list; But by far his greatest favorites Are the innocent young beginners.
Non si picca se sia ricca, Se sia brutta, se sia bella: Purchè porti la gonnella, Voi sapete quel che fa.
He doesn’t care if they’re rich or poor, Or if they’re pretty or they’re plain; As long as they’re all wearing skirts, You can well imagine what he does!
Gounod: “Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle” from Roméo et Juliette Que fais-tu, blanche tourterelle, Dans ce nid de vautours? Quelque jour, déployant ton aile, Tu suivras les amours! Aux vautours, il faut la bataille, Pour frapper d’estoc et de taille Leurs becs sont aiguisés! Laisse-là ces oiseaux de proie, Tourterelle qui fais ta joie Des amoureux baisers! Garder bien la belle! Qui vivra verra!
What are you doing, white turtledove, In this nest of vultures? Some day, unfolding your wing You will follow love! To the vultures, a battle is necessary, To hit with a cut and a thrust Their beaks are sharpened! Leave them, these birds of prey! Turtledove, who gets your joy From amorous kisses! Guard well the fair one! Whoever lives will see!
Votre tourtlerelle vous échappera, Un ramier, loin du vert bocage, Par l’amour attiré, À l’entour de ce nid sauvage A, je crois, soupiré! Les vautours sont à la curée, Leurs chansons, que fuit Cythérée, Résonne à grand bruit! Cependant en leur douce ivresse Les amants content leurs tendresses Aux astres de la nuit! Gardez bien la belle!
Your turtledove will escape from you, A ring-dove, far from his green grove Drawn by love, All around this wild nest Has, I believe, sighed. The vultures are at the quarry, Their songs, from which Cytheria flees, Resound with a big noise! Meanwhile, in their sweet intoxication The lovers tell of their tenderness To the stars of the night! Guard well the fair one!
RISING STARS OF OPERA
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Beethoven: “Ha, welch ein Augenblick!” from Fidelio Ha, welch ein Augenblick! Die Rache werd ich kühlen! Dich rufet dein Geschick! In seinem Herzen wühlen, O Wonne, grosses Glück! Schon war ich nah im Staube, Dem lauten Spott zum Raube, Dahin gestreckt zu sein. Nun ist es mir geworden, Den Mörder selbst zu morden, In seiner letzten Stunde, Den Stahl in seiner Wunde, Ihm noch ins Ohr zu schrein: Triumph! Der Sieg ist mein!
Ha, what an moment! Revenge shall be slaked! Your destiny is calling you! To tear out his very heart — What joy, what a pleasure! Once I cringed in the dirt, Ridiculed as a thief And ready to be dispatched. Now it is in my power To slay the slayer himself, And in his last moments, My dagger in his wounds, To cry into his ear: Victory! The battle is mine!
Verdi: “La donna è mobile” from Rigoletto La donna è mobile qual piuma al vento, muta d’accento e di pensiero. Sempre un amabile leggiadro viso, in pianto, in riso, è menzognero. La donna è mobile, ecc. E sempre misero chi a lei s’affida, chi le confida mal cauto il core! Pur mai non sentesi felice appieno chi su quel seno non liba amore. La donna è mobile, ecc.
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All women are fickle as a feather in a breeze, to one thing never constant. A countenance of grace and charm in tears or smiles is only lying. All women, etc. Sorrow and misery follow her smiling, fond heart beguiling, falsehood assailing! Yet all felicity is her bestowing, no joy worth knowing is there but wooing. All women, etc.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS Mezzo-soprano Nian Wang is a second year San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow who made her San Francisco Opera debut in 2015 as Ascanius in The Trojans, followed by performances of the Second Lady in the 2015–2016 Season production of The Magic Flute. She participated in the 2014 Merola Opera Program where she was featured in the Schwabacher Summer Concert. At the Curtis Institute of Music, her credits include the title roles of La Cenerentola and Rinaldo, Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Kate in Owen Wingrave, Siébel in Faust, Mother Jeanne in Dialogues des Carmélites, Laura in Iolanta, Lucilla in La scala di seta and the First Witch in Dido and Aeneas. Other credits include Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Beijing National Center for the Performing Arts; Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann with the Martina Arroyo Foundation; Chinese Tea Cup, Female Cat, Shepherd, and Squirrel in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges at Bard College. Wang also performed in the Dawn Upshaw and Donnacha Dennehy Young Artist Concert at Carnegie Hall, and she received fourth prize in the 2012 Opera Columbus Irma M. Cooper Vocal Competition and the 2013 Opera Index Encouragement Award. Bass-baritone Matthew Stump is a secondyear San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and a participant of the 2014 Merola Opera Program, where he appeared on the Schwabacher Summer Concert. He made his San Franccisco Opera debut as a Trojan Soldier and Sentry in The Trojans in 2015 and has been seen this past season as Officer (Barber of Seville), Monk (Don Carlo) and Foreman ( Jenůfa). He has appeared in the title role of Sweeney Todd, the Prime Minister (Cendrillon), the Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance), and Capulet (Roméo et Juliette) at the University of North Texas as well as the title role of Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), and Frank (Street Scene) at Luther College, where he holds a bachelor’s degree. He holds awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and Dallas Opera Guild.
Samoan-born New Zealander and tenor Pene Pati is a first-year San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and a participant of the 2013 Merola Opera Program. Having been awarded an array of prizes in recent years, including the prestigious Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonygne Bel Canto Award in 2012 and the Dame Malvina Major Foundation New Zealand Aria award in 2009, Pati has most recently taken first place at the Montserrat Caballé International Aria Competition. In 2010, he was named as the Performing Arts Competition Society’s New Zealand Young Performer of the Year, and other awards include the inaugural Iosefa Enari Memorial scholarship from Creative New Zealand, the Seamus Casey Memorial Award and a string of accolades from the University of Auckland including the Pears-Britten and Marie D’Albini awards. He holds a master’s degree from the Wales International Academy of Voice. Pati, along with his brother Amitai Pati and their cousin Moses Mackay, comprise the highly successful New Zealand vocal trio SOL3 MIO, which mixes both classical and contemporary music. Mark Morash is 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, CA, 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, 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 masterclasses 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. RISING STARS OF OPERA
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ABOUT THE ARTISTS 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
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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, NY, 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 Britten-Pears 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.
UC DAVIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTR A
2016–17 Season Fall — Members appear in seated order. —
VIOLIN 1
VIOLA
Devon Bradshaw, concertmaster Ton Bui Amelia Reynolds Benjamin Porter Gayane Malayan Christina Thompson Raphael Moore Hawk Hammer Jeske Dioquino Joseph Torreano Kevin Sun Caroline Campbell
Sogol Aliabadi, co-principal Jonathan Spatola-Knoll, co-principal Maria Gonzalez Casey Zhang Sean Calabro Ziad Asadi Rudy (Jiangru) Wu Abigail Meehan Angel Ramirez
VIOLIN 2
Cynthia Bates, co-principal Cheolhee (Charlie) Lee Sharon Inkelas Lily Brown Claire Montgomery Cindy Priyanto Mira Pranav Audrey Bergmann Desiree Negrette Ryan Sie Sandra Arias
CELLO
Lauren Ho, principal Joanna Kim Ryan Jung Steven Sato Angelica Rojas Alex Monroe Austin Kyan Maia Paddock Megan Ng Yu-Hsuan (Shandy) Chiu Alice Hsieh Diane Le DOUBLE BASS
Chris Castro, principal Kaity Ronning, assistant principal Alexis Reynolds Emily McDonald Sam Skinner
FLUTE
Megan Rees, principal Ifren Fuentes Clement Yuen Yihua Zhang PICCOLO
HORN
Evan Barnell, principal Parker Hampson, assistant principal Julie Meyers Ava Hagwood Ross Kelly
Ifren Fuentes TRUMPET OBOE
Iden Amiri, principal Ana Menchaca Davia Kot ENGLISH HORN
Davia Kot CLARINET
Robert Brosnan, principal Katie Desmond Sydney Bonnell Louie Lee Daniel Choi
Liliana Moore, co-principal Allie Knitter, co-principal TROMBONE
Burkhard Schipper, principal Aaron Levins BASS TROMBONE
Jonathan Minnick TUBA
Risako Shima BASSOON
Jeffrey Seidl, principal Emily Bergmann Ezra Evans Oscar Santamaria
PIANO
Claire (Ruicong) Zheng CELESTA
Jubi (Yung-Ling) Lin HARP
Maxime Lacour PERCUSSION
Joey Harrington Madison Dosh
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