O18 Festival Program by Opera Philadelphia

2018 2019

ON SALE NOW! T HE SPEL L BI N DI NG SEQU EL TO

THE PH A NTOM OF THE OPER A

“A REASON FOR CELEBRATION!” –NEW YORK MAGAZINE

STEP INSIDE A WORLD OF

PURE IMAGINATION

DATE: 4.4.18

ASSIGNMENT: THE LIGHTNING THIEF

ROUND: 5 CONCEPT: 1

Journey to the past.

KIMMELCENTER.ORG BROADWAY PHILADELPHIA is presented collaboratively by the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Shubert Organization.

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#O18

For 11 days, our city is a stage. festival calendar September

Academy of Music

LU C IA DI L AMMERMOO R Perelman Theater

SKY ON SWINGS

8:00 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

2:30 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

8:00 p.m.

Theatre of Living Arts

NE QUITTEZ PAS: A Reimagine d La voix humaine The Barnes Foundation

GL ASS HANDEL Theatre of Living Arts

8:00 p.m.

9:00 p.m. Preview

9:00 p.m.

8:00 p.m. Blythely After Hours

QU EENS OF THE NIGHT

8:00 p.m.

8:00 p.m. Faureplay

8:00 p.m. Dito & Aeneas

Curtis Institute of Music

FRIDAYS AT FIELD

Independence National Historical Park

OPERA ON THE MALL: WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED

4:00 p.m.

6:00 p.m. Pre-show 7:00 p.m. Broadcast

ACA D EMY

V OC A L ARTS

2018 // 2019

opera season Founded in 1934 and headquartered in Philadelphia, the Academy of Vocal Arts is dedicated to giving voice to opera’s future. AVA provides four years of tuition-free training in voice, languages, acting and other skills needed by the opera stars of the future and focuses exclusively on the study of voice. More than 200 singers from across the globe audition each year for the 6-10 spots available in each class. AVA proudly counts among its alumni such distinguished international stars as Stephen Costello, Ellie Dehn, Joyce DiDonato, Michael Fabiano, Bryan Hymel, Angela Meade, Latonia Moore, James Morris, Ailyn Pérez, Ruth Ann Swenson, Richard Troxell, Corinne Winters, and many more.

Giving Voice to Opera’s Future Join us for an exciting opera season, call for tickets today!

Subscriptions and tickets are available online at www.avaopera.org or by calling 215.735.1685.

@avaopera

Giargiari Bel Canto Competition October 5, 2018 at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center Generously sponsored by Walter and Alice Strine, Esqs.

Suor Angelica & Le Villi

GIACOMO PUCCINI with the AVA Opera Orchestra November 3 – November 27, 2018 in Center City, Haverford and Bucks County Join us for our Opening Night Celebration on November 3 at AVA!

Russian Romances

December 17 and December 18, 2018 at AVA Generously sponsored by Walter and Alice Strine, Esqs.

Rusalka ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK

FIRST TIME EVER AT AVA! with piano accompaniment January 26 – February 2, 2019 Generously sponsored by Walter and Alice Strine, Esqs.

Così fan tutte WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART with the AVA Opera Orchestra March 2 – March 12, 2019 in Center City and Haverford Generously sponsored by the Gray Charitable Trust

Jubilate!

A CONCERT OF SACRED MUSIC with the AVA Opera Orchestra March 16 – March 17, 2019 in Center City and Bryn Mawr

Roméo et Juliette CHARLES GOUNOD with the AVA Opera Orchestra FIRST TIME EVER AT AVA! April 27 – May 7, 2019 in Center City, Haverford and Bucks County Generously sponsored by Judith Broudy

With concerts and recitals throughout the season!

14 32 48

SKY ON SWINGS

world premiere

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR new production

NE QUITTEZ PAS

new production & company premiere

GLASS HANDEL

world premiere production

the ring cycle of drag, tenors, and rock & roll

opera on the mall

QUEENS OF THE NIGHT

WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED

Festival Calendar

From Bergamo to Benjamin Franklin

102 Corporate Council

Board of Directors

A Super-Human Freak Show

104 Community

Board Chairman

Fragile Glass, Handel With Care

106 Opera on Trial

Festival Support

The Picture of Giving

109 Spring at the Academy

General Director

Leadership Giving

110 The O18 Team

Remembering Gerry Lenfest

Patron Program

112 Festival App

Reinterpreting Alzheimer’s

Membership

113 Festival Map

My Alzheimer’s Fight

100 Legato Society

Editor Frank Luzi

Assistant Editor Shannon Eblen

Design Manager Katie Kelley

Advertising Account Managers Diane Homer Joe Ciresi

114 O19

Printing Onstage Publications

board of directors Officers

Members

Honorary Members

Peter Leone Chairman of the Board Charles C. Freyer Vice Chair Caroline J. MacKenzie Kennedy Vice Chair Dr. Eugene E. Stark, Jr. Secretary Thomas Mahoney Treasurer David B. Devan* President Benjamin Alexander Sandra K. Baldino Willo Carey Katherine Christiano Ady L. Djerassi, M.D. Allen R. Freedman Charles C. Freyer Alexander Hankin Frederick P. Huff Caroline J. MacKenzie Kennedy Beverly Lange, M.D. Peter Leone Thomas Mahoney Sarah Marshall Daniel K. Meyer, M.D. Immediate Past Chairman Agnes Mulroney Scott F. Richard Carolyn Seidle Jonathan H. Sprogell Dr. Eugene E. Stark, Jr. Kenneth R. Swimm Maria Trafton Donna Wechsler Kelley Wolfington Dennis Alter H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest â&#x20AC; Stephen A. Madva, Esq. Chairman Emeritus Alan B. Miller Alice W. Strine, Esq. Charlotte Watts *Ex officio

â&#x20AC; Deceased List as of August 21, 2018

from the board chairman Dear Friends, Welcome to O18, Opera Philadelphia’s second season-opening festival. Over eleven days you and I can see seven very different productions, united by the human voice, in six venues. It’s our opportunity to binge-watch opera, but better than streaming because we see it and share it as it’s unfolding live before us. If, at the end of the festival, we are exhausted, exhilarated and elevated … well, that’s the idea. Last year we launched Festival O, which was hailed as “an innovative and daring way to open an opera season” (Toronto Star) and “one of the most enjoyable additions to the fall calendar in years” (Washington Post). O17 was nominated for Best Festival at the International Opera Awards, and The Wake World, which premiered at O17, was named Best New Opera by the Music Critics Association of North America. After that celebrated first festival we asked our audiences for their reactions and their expectations. They told us they loved what they had seen; and they wanted O18 to be surprising and different from O17. The tireless Opera Philadelphia staff went to work with our artistic collaborators and made it so. Their dedication and collective genius render it a pleasure to serve on the Board and a privilege to be a supporter of Opera Philadelphia. For support is, of course, essential. These performances represent a labor of love for hundreds of artists, crafts persons, and professionals, but it’s also how they make their living. The materials and infrastructure on which this sort of world-class opera relies are complex and expensive. Which is why, in order to sustain Festival O, our Opera at the Academy season, and our many community initiatives over the long term, we have unveiled the Picture of Giving Initiative, by which we aim to raise $75 million by May 2023. We are deeply grateful to those of you whose generosity has nurtured Opera Philadelphia thus far. Whether you are among that group or new to us we hope what you see prompts you to help us forge a bright future for Festival O and for Opera Philadelphia. Meanwhile, there’s a lot to see and to share: the much-awaited premiere of Sky on Swings; the re-engineered opera-plus-prequel Ne Quittez Pas; the all-star art performance Glass Handel; the gender-bending opera-novela that is Queens of the Night; and our grand new production of Lucia di Lammermoor. We can preview leading singers of the future in Fridays at Field recitals at the Curtis Institute of Music, and view a free HD screening of We Shall Not Be Moved at our eighth annual Opera on the Mall broadcast. Please also join us – the singers, musicians, production artists, staff, and patrons in our Opera Philadelphia community – in some of the many other O18 events. Attend one of the three opening night after-parties with the artists or participate in a Community Conversation after performances of Sky on Swings. Our friends at Flying Fish Brewing formulated Opera Philadelphia Ale, which you can enjoy at our partner restaurants and beer gardens. Our guests will happily talk opera with you at the Loft on Tier One of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, or review the entire experience in The Alley beer garden that will pop up alongside the Academy of Music for the closing weekend. On behalf of my hard-working, generous and delightful colleagues on the Board I hope what you are about to experience does leave you exhilarated and elevated. And if, after the festival closes, you want more, I invite you to return for A Midsummer Night’s Dream in February and La bohème in the spring. Thank you,

Peter Leone Chairman 7

Thank you Major support for O18 has been provided by William Penn Foundation

Festival O is presented in partnership with Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

Principal support for O18 has been provided by

The Wallace Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Dr. David G. Knott and Ms. Françoise Girard, Per J. Skarstedt, Mr. Robert L. Turner, and Mr. Kevin Dolan

O18 has received additional support from

Susan Baker and Michael Lynch, Elizabeth A. R. and Ralph S. Brown, JeanPierre and Olivia Chessé, the Director's Grant Program of The Barra Foundation, Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation, Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for New Opera, Stephanie French, Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Glauber, Linda and David Glickstein, Ms. Mariko Ikehara and Mr. Jeffrey Cunard, Mrs. Sheila Kessler, Ms. Dominique Laffont, Dr. Beverly Lange and Dr. Renato Baserga, William and Helen Little, Andrew J. Martin-Weber, the Mazzotti/Kelly FundBBH of the Philadelphia Foundation, Daniel K. Meyer, M.D., an OPERA America Innovation Grant supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation, PECO, Steven and Michèle Pesner, PNC Arts Alive, Katie Adams Schaeffer and Tony Schaeffer, and Laura A. Williamson.

Opera at the Academy is underwritten, in part, by Judy and Peter Leone

Aurora productions in the Perelman Theater are underwritten, in part, by

Wyncote Foundation at the recommendation of Frederick R. Haas

Dear opera Phi ladelphia, CoNgRatu latioNs oN aNother faBu lou s f estiVal.

P.S. I plaN to siNg Your praises for DeCaDes to come.

from the general director Dear Friends, I have been humbled by the incredible talent, energy, generosity, and spirit of innovation surrounding Festival O18. From Opera Philadelphia’s tirelessly supportive Board of Directors, to the spirited and indefatigable staff, to the artists performing on our stages and behind the scenes, to the many generous supporters who made it all possible, I am surrounded by leaders who are dedicated to creating an important annual gathering for opera here in Philadelphia. This second annual festival is not our final destination but part of an ongoing journey of inquiry and creativity that will continue for many years to come thanks to the support of those of you who believe in giving artists the opportunity to do their most inspired and creative work. O18 offers excellence behind every curtain. At the Perelman Theater, our very first Composer in Residence, Lembit Beecher, brings us the world premiere of Sky on Swings, a daring new opera about two women battling memory loss, portrayed with elegance by Frederica von Stade and Marietta Simpson. This premiere is the latest in a celebrated collection of Aurora productions at the Perelman Theater. At the Academy of Music, the great Laurent Pelly makes his Opera Philadelphia debut with a new production of Lucia di Lammermoor, conducted by our tremendous Corrado Rovaris and starring Brenda Rae in the title role alongside an amazing cast including Michael Spyres, Troy Cook, and Christian Van Horn. At the Barnes Foundation, Anthony Roth Costanzo shows us that he is truly an artist and producer of many talents, as he gathers creative greats from dance, film, and visual art for Glass Handel, an operatic art installation the likes of which we have never seen before. You’ll then come down to South Street at one of our most iconic multi-genre concert venues, the Theatre of Living Arts, for two explorations of opera: James Darrah’s expanded version of La voix humaine, here titled Ne Quittez Pas, with Patricia Racette in the role of Elle; and Queens of the Night, with mezzo Stephanie Blythe bringing opera’s version of drag – the trouser role – together with Philadelphia’s leading drag performer, Dito van Reigersberg, and director John Jarboe. All of that, plus a special series of recitals starring graduates of the Curtis Institute of Music and a special community gathering for some opera in HD. The broadcast exemplifies Festival O’s spirit. We Shall Not Be Moved, by composer Daniel Bernard Roumain, librettist Marc Bamuthi Joseph, and director Bill T. Jones, premiered in O17 to seven sold-out performances marked by critical acclaim and meaningful dialogue among those who saw the opera. It was important that more people see this opera, and I am grateful to Opera Philadelphia’s Frank Luzi and local filmmaker Mike Dennis, who last year had the foresight to create an HD video of the opera. We can now bring this important work about our community back home for a free broadcast in the shadow of the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. The setting, in the birthplace of our nation, magnifies one of the central questions posed by We Shall Not Be Moved: “For whom America the beautiful?” This free event was also made possible by our community, who came together to support it with gifts as small as $10 along with major support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, PNC Arts Alive, PECO, and hundreds of generous individuals. I thank all of you who helped make Festival O18 a reality.

David B. Devan General Director & President

Marguerite and Gerry Lenfest at Opera Philadelphia’s 40th Anniversary Gala in 2014. Photo by Dominic M. Mercier.

Remembering

H. F “ G e r r y” Len f e st

The entire Opera Philadelphia community joins with our fellow citizens to mourn the loss of H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest, an unparalleled leader in our civic space. Gerry and his wife Marguerite marshaled their love, vision, and resources to fuel an extraordinary impact on Philadelphia, and their generosity inspired and enabled so many of us to work for the collective improvement of our city. We are forever grateful for Gerry’s support of our work both inside the opera house and outside in our community, and we will think of him every time we bring one of his favorite works to the stage.

BEECHER/MOSCOVITCH

SKY ON SWINGS

WORLD PREMIERE

S E P T E M B E R 2 0 , 2 2 , 2 5 , 2 7, 2 9 , 2 0 1 8 P E R E L M A N T H E AT E R Part of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

C R E AT I V E MUSIC Lembit Beecher LIBRETTO Hannah Moscovitch CONDUCTOR Geoffrey McDonald* DIRECTOR Joanna Settle* SET DESIGN Andrew Lieberman COSTUME DESIGN Tilly Grimes* LIGHTING DESIGN Pat Collins PROJECTION DESIGN Jorge Cousineau SOUND DESIGN Daniel Perelstein WIG & MAKE-UP DESIGN David Zimmerman STAGE MANAGER Lisa Anderson CAST DANNY Frederica von Stade MARTHA Marietta Simpson WINNIE Sharleen Joynt* IRA Daniel Taylor ELDER #1 Veronica Chapman-Smith ELDER #2/ELDERLY WOMAN Maren Montalbano ELDER #3 George Somerville ELDER #4/ADMINISTRATOR Frank Mitchell *Opera Philadelphia debut

Aurora productions in the Perelman Theater are underwritten, in part, by the Wyncote Foundation at the recommendation of Frederick R. Haas. Additional production support received by the Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for New Opera. The Composer in Residence Program is made possible by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. 15

SYNOPSIS

We open on an Alzheimer’s hallucination. Martha, a woman in her seventies, sees a surreal and exaggerated world in which strangers torment her and weather invades her kitchen. Martha remains in the grips of her hallucination until the presence of Martha’s daughter, Winnie, rips her out of it. Suddenly, shockingly, Martha is back in the Alzheimer’s care facility where she lives. As Martha visits with her daughter, elements of the hallucination linger, complicating her ability to interact in a normal way. We meet Danny, a woman in her sixties, as her son Ira pushes her to undergo a simple Alzheimer’s test: remembering a list of ten nouns. When Danny struggles to recall even one or two of the words, she’s forced to reckon with her cognitive decline. Danny’s memory is fading but, at this point, she’s still fully able to reckon with and agonize about the bleakness of her future. Danny and Martha meet at the Alzheimer’s care facility and fall into a strange intimacy. Danny reminds Martha of a girl she fell in love with when she was fifteen years old. Martha’s nostalgia blurs past and present until Danny becomes the girl she loved. As Danny’s mind starts to ebb, the women exist in a romantic, fantastical and incoherent landscape together.

RUNNING TIME Approximately 1 hour and 18 minutes, with no intermission Photos by Dominic M. Mercier

COMPOSER

LIBRETTIST

Praised by The San Francisco Chronicle as “hauntingly lovely and deeply personal,” Lembit Beecher’s music combines “alluring” textures (The New York Times) and vividly imaginative colors with striking emotional immediacy. Noted for his collaborative spirit and “ingenious” interdisciplinary projects (The Wall Street Journal), Beecher is currently the composer-in-residence of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, having previously served a three-year term as the inaugural composer-inresidence of Opera Philadelphia. A constant across his wide range of works is a potent sense of drama, which manifests itself through a musical language filled with both poignant intimacy and propulsive rhythmic energy.

Hannah Moscovitch is considered one of the strongest playwriting voices in Canada. Her work has won multiple awards, most recently the prestigious Windham-Campbell Prize for Drama. She was the first playwright to win the Trillium Book Award in the prize’s twenty-seven year history for This is War, a play premiered by Tarragon Theatre in 2013, which also won the Toronto Critic’s Award for Best Canadian Play. Moscovitch’s first full-length play, East of Berlin, premiered at Tarragon in 2007 to critical and audience acclaim and toured nationally. Moscovitch’s other writing for the stage includes Old Stock: A Refugee Love Story co-created with Ben Caplan and Christian Barry (winner of a Fringe First and a Herald Angel Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and nominated for six 2018 Drama Desk Awards in NY), Bunny (premiered at Stratford Festival and winner of a Toronto Critic’s Award for Best Canadian Play), What a Young Wife Ought to Know (premiered by Halifax’s Neptune and 2b theatre company (nominated for the Masterworks Award and a Dora Mavor Moore Best Touring Production Award), as well as The Russian Play and Essay, both of which won awards at SummerWorks Performance Festival. She’s also been nominated for the Governor General’s Award, the Siminovitch Prize, and the international Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. Upcoming, she is writing a combination of TV, opera, theatre, and film projects, including a stage adaptation of the Oprah Winfrey Book Club novel, Fall on Your Knees. She is a playwright-in-residence at Tarragon Theatre in Toronto.

LEMBIT BEECHER

Born to Estonian and American parents, Beecher grew up under the redwoods in Santa Cruz, California, a few miles from the wild Pacific. Since then he has lived in Boston, Houston, Ann Arbor, Berlin, New York, and Philadelphia, earning degrees from Harvard, Rice, and the University of Michigan. This varied background has made him particularly sensitive to place, ecology, memory, and the multitude of ways in which people tell stories. Recent and upcoming premieres include The Conference of the Birds for the chamber orchestra A Far Cry, as well as new works for the Juilliard Quartet and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. Many of Beecher’s latest projects involve the incorporation of untraditional elements into operatic form, working with baroque instruments, electronic sounds, animation, new technologies, and devised theatre actors. Recent honors include a MacDowell Colony Fellowship, the S&R Foundation Washington Award Grand Prize, and a major grant from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage to develop and produce Sophia’s Forest, a chamber opera for soprano Kiera Duffy, the Aizuri Quartet, and a multi-piece sound sculpture, developed in collaboration with librettist Hannah Moscovitch, director Brian Staufenbiel, and the ExCITe Center at Drexel University.

HANNAH MOSCOVITCH

Sky on Swings is the third opera Moscovitch has written with composer Lembit Beecher. Their first collaboration, I Have No Stories to Tell You, premiered with Gotham Chamber Opera in 2014 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was staged in 2017 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of the O17 festival. Their second collaboration, Sophia's Forest, premiered in 2017 at Drexel University’s URBN Center. 17

COMPOSER’S NOTE By Lembit Beecher Sky on Swings went through many stages of development. I first began thinking about this project during my final year as a composer-inresidence of Opera Philadelphia in 2014, and these seeds of ideas took new shape when I began working with librettist Hannah Moscovitch and director Joanna Settle. Perhaps more than anything else, the music of the opera was shaped and inspired by the voices of Marietta Simpson and Frederica von Stade. There are many stories to tell about Alzheimer’s; family members, caretakers, researchers, and doctors all have unique perspectives. From an early stage of working on this piece, I knew I wanted the focus to be on the experience of the disease—to try, as much as possible, to view the world through the eyes of two individuals with Alzheimer’s and to give voice to those characters. A caretaker I was talking to about the disease told me, “Once you’ve seen one case of Alzheimer’s, you’ve seen one case of Alzheimer’s.” Part of the challenge of this piece was to try to figure out how to express the effects of Alzheimer’s in two vocally distinct characters whose experience of the disease is different. Working with Marietta and Flicka (Frederica) as I began to write was crucial to the development of the opera, and I’m so grateful for their generosity, artistry, and openness to experimentation throughout the process of writing and workshopping. One of the unexpected joys of writing Sky on Swings was the realization that I had the opportunity to write music that could not be sung by younger singers. The wide range of sounds and subtleties of expression that Marietta and Flicka are able to create provided a wonderful sense of freedom for me as a composer as I searched for moments of both strength and vulnerability, and moments that could suggest in an expressive way the deterioration Alzheimer’s causes. This 18

Handwritten pages from the score of Sky on Swings. Photo provided by Lembit Beecher.

is particularly true of the Martha character, who is in a more progressed stage of the disease, and who vocalizes in a way that some Alzheimer’s patients do as they are losing the ability to speak. In the music of the orchestra and the four Elders, I wanted to create an unstable sonic world that is moving and shifting, as if one were aboard a large creaking ship, slowly rolling in the waves. Sometimes the music gets stuck on repeat, but mostly it keeps slipping through one’s fingers, with recognizable phrases, gestures, and almostremembered quotations appearing briefly before evaporating. As the orchestral music fractures and disintegrates through the course of the opera, the voices of Flicka and Marietta become a constant, cutting against the deterioration of the instrumental music. As I worked, I kept returning to this question: Does the disease change who we are, or does it reveal in some way our deepest selves by stripping away layers? I have heard or read many of examples of both: the pious aunt who develops a cursing habit, or the immigrant father who sings perfectly the songs of his youth even after he has lost all other facility to communicate. This was a central question for me as I thought about how the characters of Martha and Danny would be expressed and developed through music. As I neared the end of the opera, this question seemed to diminish in importance, and the music I wrote for the two took on a life of its own, inspired and carried by the deep sense of humanity that Marietta and Flicka are able to project through their voices.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE By Joanna Settle

More than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, and a new person is diagnosed with the disease every 66 seconds. More than 15 million Americans are unpaid caregivers of someone with Alzheimer’s. This opera wonders, aside from the tragedy of the disease for caregivers, what discovery might step into the space left by the degeneration of consciousness in the diagnosed. If your attachments faded away, what might you find? If the things you hold certain, the rules of societal engagement, were lifted? What if you didn’t keep all your memories, but you did keep one? A single memory. The memory choosing you, reality begins to build around this randomly selected perception. From this seed, you build a

new reality. What would it be? Hannah, Lembit, and I began conversations on a retreat in Canada two years ago, and the project has truly been a blessing in my life. As I move through the world I’m frequently answering the question “what are you working on?” With this project, I knew that introducing Sky on Swings to any conversation meant setting some more time aside to listen. Over and over, in Philadelphia, Abu Dhabi, New York, Paris, Boston, Dubai… whenever I have described this project even strangers have generously shared their personal stories with me. It’s deeply meaningful to have spent so much time attempting to give voice to the elusive, immersive life created inside the multi-verse of life with Alzheimer’s.

A mock-up of a scenic element for Sky on Swings, designed by Andrew Lieberman, in the Opera Philadelphia scene shop in June. Photo by Shannon Eblen.

REINTERPRETING

Alzheimer’s

By Shannon Eblen

Even in an art form filled with tragedies, this one seemed a step too far.

lot, is opera is so good at the psychological,” Moscovitch said. Unlike Moscovitch, mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stade didn’t have to be convinced. “I had two aunts that I just adored that passed away from Alzheimer’s,” she said. She was sold as soon as she read the libretto.

“I don’t shy from dark topics,” said librettist Hannah Moscovitch, “but for whatever reason, She said she saw Sky on Swings as an when Lembit (Beecher) called me and said he opportunity to create empathy and wanted to write about Alzheimer’s, I was like, understanding for those with Alzheimer’s and their families. “They’re essentially losing that’s my limit.” someone,” von Stade said, “only they don’t die.” Not only was she plagued by visions of The arts, said Dr. Jason Karlawish, co-director doctors in white coats “giving you the worst of Penn Memory Center, can help shape the possible diagnosis” she said, but “from a way people think about the disease. Karlawish storytelling perspective, there’s no suspense is also the project leader of Making Sense because you know what’s going to happen. of Alzheimer’s, an online space that explores You’re going to get an Alzheimer’s diagnosis Alzheimer’s through stories, ideas, and other and then you’re going to decline and die.” creative expression. “We know the story.” “The arts begin to give us the words we use to talk about the disease, the metaphors we use, However, as she talked to Beecher, the and the stories,” he said. composer, and Joanna Settle, the director, and learned the narrative would center on the What Karlawish liked about Sky on Swings characters of Martha and Danny and explore was that it dared to tell the story through the their version of reality, Moscovitch changed perspective characters with Alzheimer’s. her mind. As artists, she pointed out, rather than scientists or doctors, they had the freedom to inhabit the characters’ minds and explore what it might be like to live without the constraints of place, time, or memory. “One of the things I admire so much about opera, as someone who shifts mediums a

When it comes to Alzheimer’s, there is no one patient experience, Karlawish said. Every experience is different. And patients do indeed have experiences; the stereotypes that they are out of it or unaware are just that – stereotypes. Some experience grief, some experience

The cast of Sky on Swings rehearses during a workshop for the opera. Photo by Shannon Eblen.

depression or anxiety. Some find acceptance. Often, he said, the patients say they aren’t worried about themselves, but rather how it will affect their families. “One of the things I hope Sky on Swings does is help us move beyond the gothic horror metaphors that surround the disease, to respect the subjectivity of the patient experience. That the patient does have a legitimate experience that isn’t just a wasted mind engaging in meaningless and intentionless activities, that there’s a person there who’s suffering but also trying to make sense of and enjoy life.” Karlawish spoke to the cast and creative team about the disease during their workshop in March. (During which he discovered, coincidentally, he had treated von Stade’s Aunt Carol). He explained what the disease is and isn’t, what the experience is like for

caregivers as well as for patients. “I think the more you know what something is, the better you can use art to make sense of it, and interpret it, so you’re not merely repeating the stereotypes and beliefs that surround the disease,” he said. While von Stade’s family’s experience gave her insight, in a way so did coming to the role at 73. “You know, I’m a senior citizen and I sometimes have terrible times remembering the easiest things in the world,” von Stade said. “It’s not really far from any of our concerns at my age, and even at earlier ages.” As there are an estimated 5.7 million Americans afflicted with Alzheimer’s, it is likely many in the audience will have had their own brush with the disease. “I just hope they’re touched,” von Stade said. “I hope they can believe the people and feel for these two women and feel for their families. And maybe a little bit enlightened.” “If anything,” Moscovitch said, “I hope that we offer the possibility of a momentary grace within this experience of having Alzheimer’s.”

Dr. Jason Karlawish giving a presentation on behalf of Penn Memory Center. Photo provided by Penn Memory Center.

As an award-winning sportswriter for The Philadelphia Inquirer for more than 40 years, Bill Lyon has seen both the pain and the triumph of the game. Now, Bill is fighting his own battle, living with the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Bill was 75 when he was diagnosed at the Penn Memory Center. After writing an initial series of five columns in summer 2016, he has continued

My Alzheimer's fight: Never, ever quit By Bill Lyon

to write periodically about his experience living with the disease and how his wife Ethel, who passed away in March 2018, supported him with a mantra of “resist, persist, and never, ever, give in.” Bill writes honestly about physical discomforts and involuntary bodily functions he experiences due to his disease, his realist view about his diagnosis, and his difficulties coping with his nemesis “Al,” the nickname he gave

Former Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bill Lyon. Photo by Clem Murray.

to Alzheimer’s disease.

writings on his battle with Alzheimer’s

In the winter of 2013, with the February cold bone deep, I sat in one of those cramped and sterile little examining cubicles in the Penn Memory Center and listened to the man in the white lab coat ask if I knew what Alzheimer’s was.

disease. Read his full series at

Death by inches, I said.

The following is an excerpt from Bill’s

http://bit.ly/BillLyon. 22

And you have it, he said.

And never, ever, ever give in.

I’m pretty sure the world stopped at that moment, and then there was a roaring sound, like a freight train barreling through my brain pan. I sat there, frozen, and I remember thinking what a crummy job this poor guy’s got.

Behold the brain

Introductions I call him Al, for short. We’ve been joined to each other for going on three years now. We’re a popular couple – more of us elders join the ranks every year, Alzheimer’s being the name that we used to use to describe “natural causes.” Or, as my grandmother used to say: “Parts just wear out.” (Maude Murphy’s parts lasted 95 years, and I hope fervently that she has passed along that DNA.) Al is an insidious and relentless little bastard, a gutless coward who won't come out and fight. Instead, he lies in ambush in my brain, and the only way I can put a face on him is to look in the mirror. So what do you want to do? The man in the white lab coat asked.

So there it sits, perched atop your neck, squatting between your shoulders, looking rather like a small football, a squishy-looking three-pound marvel of engineering, tauntingly mysterious, hopelessly complex, breathtakingly alluring, a confounding maze of intricate wiring that houses more than 100 billion nerves – 100 billion – and trillions of synapses and neurons and connectors and they are all firing at warp speed and you can’t help thinking that inside are lights of blinding colors that swirl and dance, like a giant pinball game busily sending out commands to you: Stand up. Sit down. No, over here. Now let’s find your glasses. Did you remember to take your meds?

Al is undefeated, you know.

What an altogether extraordinary organ. You stand before it in dumbstruck awe. Yes sir, there it sits, so inviting, so tantalizing, bidding you to come on in and browse. And just as you enter you are rudely shoved aside by some interloper.

So far.

Al.

Al has no known cure.

Of course. He loves your brain. It amuses him to watch you flail about, trying to free yourself from his clammy, reptilian embrace.

I should very much like to kick Al’s ass, I said. Which was a sweeping response woefully short on details but long on passion and sincerity.

Yet. That “so far” and that “yet” are important from a psychological standpoint. We don't concede an inch to Al. Defy him at every turn. Fight dirty. Loose the dogs. No mercy.

How long?

Al is a sneak thief who comes in the night and steals away with something precious, the links to your past.

So you ask the man in the white lab coat what’s the longest you’ve had someone live after the initial diagnosis?

You wake up one morning and something is missing and you're not sure how or what.

Believe it or not, he said, smiling, 20 years.

Patience. Soon it will be our turn. Strap it on, Al. Strap it on.

So what do we do?

I was 75 at the time, so I said 20 more would take me to 95 … so then, put me down for 96 (at least).

Resist.

Teammates

And persist.

I’m not in this alone. Far from it. It starts with a warrior woman named Ethel. She and I have 23

Bill Lyon says Alzheimer’s has sapped away the penmanship in which he once took pride. Photo by Clem Murray.

been wed for more than half a century and have seen both sides of that extraordinary arrangement called caregivers.

“Divorce, no,” she said. “Murder, maybe.” About three years ago, it was my turn. Al introduced himself.

She went first. Cancer. I told her that if the chemo took her hair I would shave my head bald and we could line up side by side and pretend to be bowling balls. So I retired from following athletic mercenaries around the world and we settled in to face off with cancer together.

And then my warrior woman came down with emphysema.

And cancer didn’t have a chance. My warrior woman is 5-1 and 90 pounds, but she has the heart and soul of a middle linebacker. What caregiving and marriage teach you are that generally you get out of it what you put into it. You learn to say “I’m wrong” and you learn to say “I’m sorry” and you learn to say both of them together even when you’re not. Especially when you’re not. Ruth Graham was married to the celebrated evangelist Billy Graham for 64 years, and she pretty much raised their five children while he was off preaching. She was asked if she had ever considered divorce.

Didn’t seem fair. But, we decided, we’re surrounded by three generations of family, plus a legion of friends, and when you add it all up, Al, we’ve got you right where we want you.

Why? My intent is to write columns about my dementia. My hope is that the columns will be cathartic and perhaps be of some help to anyone else who’s going down this same long and winding road. Let’s gang up on Al. My intent is to write until … well, until I can’t .

IN OPERA WE TRUST

TICKETS ON SALE NOW! Buy multiple performances & save!

2019 FESTIVAL

DEAD MAN WALKING

Music by Jake Heggie Libretto by Terrence McNally Based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean

APRIL 27 & MAY 4

SCALIA/GINSBURG An opera by Derrick Wang

& TRIAL BY JURY Gilbert & Sullivan

APRIL 28 & MAY 3

TICKETS: 302-442-7807 | operaDE.org This organization is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on www.DelawareScene.com.

ARTISTS

VERONICA CHAPMAN-SMITH Elder #1, soprano PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

2018 Carmen, 2017 The Wake World, 2016 Turandot (partial listing) recent: Ligeia, The Wake World, Opera Philadelphia; Sojourner Truth, Bastille Day Cabaret, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret; Andy Soloist, ANDY: A Popera, Seattle Symphony next: Ensemble, Fire in My Mouth, The Crossing and New York Philharmonic PAT COLLINS Lighting Designer BRANFORD, CONNECTICUT

2016 The Elixir of Love recent: Lighting Designer, Fulfillment Center, Manhattan Theater Club; Lighting Designer, Skintight, Roundabout Theatre Company; Lighting Designer, Minor Fantastical Kingdoms, University of Delaware Resident Ensemble Players JORGE COUSINEAU Projection Designer PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

2017 We Shall Not Be Moved, 2015 ANDY: A Popera recent: Sound Designer, Fun Home, Arden Theatre Co.; Set & Projections Designer, Hope & Gravity, 1812 Productions; Set & Projections Designer, Seedfolks, New Victory Theater next: Set, Projection, & Sound Designer, Doll’s House Part 2, Arden Theatre Co. TILLY GRIMES Costume Designer LONDON, ENGLAND

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Costume Designer, Seared, Williamstown Theatre Festival; Costume Designer, The Great Leap, The Atlantic Theatre Company; Costume Designer, Noura, The Red Box Theatre next: Costume & Scenic Designer, We Live in Cairo, ART SHARLEEN JOYNT Winnie, soprano OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Cunegonde, Candide, Tanglewood; Cunegonde, Candide, Anchorage Opera; Queen of the Night, Die Zauberflöte, Pacific Opera Victoria next: Musetta, La bohème, Vancouver Opera ANDREW LIEBERMAN Set Designer NEW YORK, NEW YORK

2015 Don Carlo recent: Set Designer, The Summer King, Pittsburgh/Michigan Operas; Set Designer, The Glass Menagerie, Broadway; Set Designer, Partenope, English National Opera next: Set Designer, Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno, Royal Danish Opera

GEOFFREY MCDONALD Conductor AACHEN, GERMANY

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Conductor, Idomeneo, Wolf Trap Opera; Conductor, Ariodante, Opera Omaha; Conductor, Elizabeth Cree, Chicago Opera Theater next: Music Director, Amahl and the Night Visitors, On Site Opera FRANK MITCHELL Elder #4/Administrator, bass PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

2018 Carmen, 2017 The Magic Flute recent: Soloist, Handel’s Messiah, Salem Baptist Church; Recitalist, Medford Leas Retirement Community; Soloist, Bach’s Magnificat, West Jersey Chamber Society next: Chorus, La bohème, Opera Philadelphia MAREN MONTALBANO Elder #2/Elderly Woman, mezzo-soprano WILLINGBORO, NEW JERSEY

2018 Carmen, 2017 The Marriage of Figaro, 2015 ANDY: A Popera (partial listing) recent: Jane Quig/Annie, Elizabeth Cree, Opera Philadelphia; Bridesmaid, Le nozze di Figaro, Opera Philadelphia; Soloist, Bach Cantata 187, Mallarmé Chamber Players next: Soloist, Messiah, Chatham Baroque DANIEL PERELSTEIN Sound Designer RYE, NEW YORK

2017 War Stories, 2015 ANDY: A Popera, 2014 A Coffin in Egypt recent: Sound Designer, War Stories, Opera Philadelphia; Sound Designer, Kingdom Comes, Roundabout Theatre Company; Sound Designer, Adapt, Wilma Theater Company next: Sound Designer, Water Passion after St. Matthew, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia JOANNA SETTLE Director NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Director, Noura, Shakespeare Theater Company DC and Art Center, NYU Abu Dhabi; Director, An Octoroon, The Wilma Theater; Director, The Total Bent, The Public Theater NYC next: Director, Noura, Playwrights Horizons MARIETTA SIMPSON Martha, mezzo-soprano PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

2016 Cold Mountain recent: Old Lady, Candide, Opéra Nationale de Bordeaux; Old Lady, Candide, Washington National Opera; Soloist, “Feel the Spirit” (World Premiere of John Rutter’s new song cycle), Vocal Essence St. Paul next: Recital in conjunction with release of new solo CD Songs of my people, Indiana University 27

ARTIST BIOS

GEORGE SOMERVILLE Elder #3, tenor POINT PLEASANT, NEW JERSEY

2018 Carmen, 2017 The Wake World, 2016 Breaking the Waves recent: Morbus, The Wake World, Opera Philadelphia; The Evangelist, St. Matthew Passion, The Choristers; Trin, La fanciulla del West, Des Moines Metro Opera next: Snout, A Midsummer Nightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dream, Opera Philadelphia DANIEL TAYLOR Ira, tenor BRISTOL, PENNSYLVANIA

2018 Carmen, 2017 Elizabeth Cree recent: Priest/Librarian/Mr. Gerrard/Witness #5, Elizabeth Cree, Opera Philadelphia; Remendado, Carmen, Opera Philadelphia; The Beloved/Horus, The Rose Elf, Double Exposure/Opera Philadelphia FREDERICA VON STADE Danny, mezzo-soprano SOMERVILLE, NEW JERSEY

2014 A Coffin in Egypt recent: Madeline, Three Decembers, Opera Hawaii; Soloist, Leonard Bernstein Tribute Concert, Boston Symphony Orchestra; Mrs. Winnie Flato, Great Scott, San Diego Opera next: Madeline, Three Decembers, San Diego Opera DAVID ZIMMERMAN Wig & Make-up Designer MT. PLEASANT, TEXAS

2018 Carmen, 2017 The Marriage of Figaro, 2016 Cold Mountain (partial listing) recent: Wig & Make-up Designer, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Santa Fe Opera; Wig & Make-up Designer, Aida, Washington National Opera; Wig & Make-up Designer, The Shining, Minnesota Opera next: Wig & Make-up Designer, La Rondine, Minnesota Opera

ORCHESTRA VIOLIN 1

BASS

PERCUSSION

CLARINET

HARP

Dayna Hepler, Concertmaster

Miles B. Davis

VIOLIN 2

Doris J. Hall-Gulati

VIOLA

Brian Kuszyk

Emma Kummrow

TRUMPET

Jonathan Kim

TROMBONE CELLO

Branson Yeast

Bradley Ward

Ralph Sorrentino Rong Tan

PIANO

Emily Senturia

ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION TEAM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

WIGS & MAKE-UP ASSISTANT

SUPER CAPTAIN

HEAD CARPENTER

PROPS SUPERVISION

HEAD PROPS

Kate Bergstrom Bobb Hawkey

Avista Custom Theatrical Services

Mannie Jacobo Tom Devine

Chuck Scott

HEAD ELECTRICIAN ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER

Eric Watkins

Travis Johnson

ASSISTANT ELECTRICIAN

Uel Bergey

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

Derek Hachkowski

FLYMAN

James Wojnarowski

ASSISTANT SOUND DESIGNER

Lucas Fendlay

VIDEO OPERATOR

ASSISTANT PROJECTION DESIGNER

COVER CAST

John Bezark

Rich Nordaby

DANNY PRINCIPAL PIANIST/ ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

Emily Senturia

Deanne Meek* MARTHA

Jeanette Blakeney*

SECONDARY PIANIST

Grant Loehnig

WINNIE

Jessica Beebe

DICTION COACH

Lynn Baker

IRA

Colin Doyle*

SUPERTITLES AUTHOR

Julia Bumke

ELDER #1

Lauren Cook*

SUPERTITLES OPERATOR

Tony Solitro

ELDER #2/ELDERLY WOMAN

Kaitlyn Tierney*

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS

Brandon Ehrenreich Tracy Hofmann

ELDER #3

COSTUME COORDINATOR

ELDER #4/ADMINISTRATOR

Kate Edelson

WARDROBE SUPERVISOR

Sue Cerceo STITCHERS

Members of Local 799

Toffer Mihalka John Miles

SUPERNUMERARIES

David Alexander Susan Atlas Victoria Baccini Joan Bernstein Maureen Broadbent S. Hope Eagle Paula Gansky James Goff Mary Groce Tom Hann John Herb Charlotte Humes Margi Ide Joseph Kane Steven Kravtiz Learley McAllister-Wilkins Diane McManus Anne-Marie Mulgrew Permelia Mullen Maria Palamarchuk Josh Pober Michael Rissinger RenÃ©e Rollin Robert Smith Bruce Zahn

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DONIZETTI

LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR

NEW PRODUCTION

S E P T E M B E R 21 , 2 3 , 2 6 , 2 8 , 3 0 , 2 0 1 8 AC ADEMY OF MUSIC Part of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

C R E AT I V E MUSIC Gaetano Donizetti LIBRETTO Salvadore Cammarano CONDUCTOR Corrado Rovaris DIRECTION & COSTUME DESIGN Laurent Pelly* SET DESIGN Chantal Thomas* LIGHTING DESIGN Duane Schuler WIG & MAKE-UP DESIGN David Zimmerman CHORUS MASTER Elizabeth Braden STAGE MANAGER Laura R. Krause* CAST LUCIA Brenda Rae ENRICO Troy Cook EDGARDO Michael Spyres* RAIMONDO Christian Van Horn* ARTURO Andrew Owens* NORMANNO Adrian Kramer* ALISA Hannah Ludwig* *Opera Philadelphia debut

Co-produced by Opera Philadelphia and Wiener Staatsoper. Opera at the Academy is underwritten, in part, by Judy and Peter Leone. Production underwritten, in part, by Mrs. Sheila Kessler.

NICO MUHLY / LIBRETTO BY NICHOLAS WRIGHT

PHOTO: VINCENT PETERS / MET OPERA

MARNIE

Don’t miss the U.S. premiere of Nico Muhly’s vivid new opera, in an inventive production by Michael Mayer. Isabel Leonard is the mysterious title character who dons multiple identities. Christopher Maltman is her manipulative husband, and Iestyn Davies and Denyce Graves also star. Opens October 19. metopera.org 212.362.6000

Peter Gelb

Yannick Nézet-Séguin

GENER AL MANAGER

JEANET TE LERMAN-NEUBAUER MUSIC DIRECTOR

SYNOPSIS ACT I, PART I Scotland, mid-19th century. An intruder has been spotted at night on the grounds of Lammermoor Castle, home of Enrico Ashton. Normanno, the captain of the guard, sends Enrico’s men off in search of the stranger. Enrico arrives, troubled. His family’s fortunes are in danger, and only the arranged marriage of his sister, Lucia, with Lord Arturo can save them. The chaplain Raimondo, Lucia’s tutor, reminds Enrico that the girl is still mourning the death of her mother. But Normanno reveals that Lucia is concealing a great love for Edgardo di Ravenswood, leader of the Ashtons’ political enemies. Enrico is furious and swears vengeance. The men return and explain that they have seen and identified the intruder as Edgardo. Enrico’s fury increases. Just before dawn at a fountain in the woods nearby, Lucia and her companion Alisa are waiting for Edgardo. Lucia relates that, at the fountain, she has seen the ghost of a girl who was stabbed by her jealous lover. Alisa urges her to leave Edgardo, but Lucia insists that her love for Edgardo brings her great joy and may overcome all. Edgardo arrives and explains that he must go to France on a political mission. Before he leaves he wants to make peace with Enrico. Lucia, however, asks Edgardo to keep their love a secret. Edgardo agrees, and they exchange rings and vows of devotion. ACT I, PART 2 It is some months later, the day on which Lucia is to marry Arturo. Normanno assures Enrico that he has successfully intercepted all correspondence between the lovers and has in addition procured a forged letter, supposedly from Edgardo, that indicates he is involved with another woman. As the captain goes off to welcome the groom, Lucia enters, continuing to defy her brother. Enrico shows her the forged letter. Lucia is heartbroken, but Enrico insists that she marry Arturo to save the family. He leaves, and Raimondo, convinced no hope remains for Lucia’s love, reminds her of her dead mother and urges her to do a sister’s duty. She finally agrees.

As the wedding guests arrive, Enrico explains to Arturo that Lucia is still in a state of melancholy because of her mother’s death. The girl enters and reluctantly signs the marriage contract. Suddenly Edgardo bursts in, claiming his bride, and the entire company is overcome by shock (Sextet: “Chi mi frena in tal momento”). Arturo and Enrico order Edgardo to leave but he insists that he and Lucia are engaged. When Raimondo shows him the contract with Lucia’s signature, Edgardo curses her and tears his ring from her finger before finally leaving in despair and rage. INTERMISSION ACT II Enrico visits Edgardo at his dilapidated home and taunts him with the news that Lucia and Arturo have just been married. The two men agree to meet at dawn by the tombs of the Ravenswoods for a duel. Back at Lammermoor, Raimondo interrupts the wedding festivities with the news that Lucia has gone mad and killed Arturo. Lucia enters, covered in blood. Moving between tenderness, joy, and terror, she recalls her meetings with Edgardo and imagines she is with him on their wedding night. She vows she will never be happy in heaven without her lover and that she will see him there. When Enrico returns, he is enraged at Lucia’s behavior, but soon realizes that she has lost her senses. After a confused and violent exchange with her brother, Lucia collapses. At the graveyard, Edgardo laments that he has to live without Lucia and awaits his duel with Enrico, which he hopes will end his own life. Guests coming from Lammermoor Castle tell him that the dying Lucia has called his name. As he is about to rush to her, Raimondo announces that she has died. Determined to join Lucia in heaven, Edgardo stabs himself. RUNNING TIME Approximately 2 hours and 44 minutes with one 25 minute intermission. 35

F R O M B E R G A M O T O B E N J A M I N F R A N K L I N Lucia di Lammermoor has special bonds to Philadelphia and its acclaimed music director

By Bill Chenevert

The Monument to Donizetti by Francesco Jerace, located in a public garden in Piazza Cavour, adjacent to the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo.

“Donizetti has always been in my heart.” Left: Corrado Rovaris. Photo by Gabello Studios. Below: Friedrich Heinrich Kern’s glass harmonica. Photo by Frank Luzi.

The connections run deep between Corrado Rovaris, Opera Philadelphia’s Jack Mulroney Music Director since 2005, and composer Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848). Rovaris has conducted around the world, globetrotting from Teatro alla Scala, where he was assistant chorus master in the 1990s, to his adopted home of Philadelphia, to the Santa Fe Opera, where I spoke to him one July morning as birdsong wafted into his environs. Through decades at the podium in the U.S., Germany, Italy, Japan, and many other international locations, Rovaris has earned accolades from artists and audiences for his ability to both develop new operas with fresh compositional voices like Kevin Puts (Elizabeth Cree) and Daniel Schnyder (Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD), while also invigorating the classic repertoire of Verdi, Puccini, and Rossini. Growing up in Donizetti’s native Bergamo, Rovaris was exposed to works like The Elixir of Love and Don Pasquale at an early age. By age 14, when he left home for Milan to study composition, organ, and harpsichord, the seeds were sown for a lifelong bond. Rovaris returns home each year on Donizetti’s birthday (November 29) to lead an emotional tribute to the late, great composer where he is interred at Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. “Donizetti wrote about 75 operas but only a few of them have remained in the standard repertoire,” said Rovaris, speaking on Lucia di Lammermoor’s lasting impact. “Lucia is really the typical romantic opera, with madness, and the dynamic technique of a soprano.” “Usually operas were very staid in the 19th century,” he went on. Lucia di Lammermoor was an exception, one that really rocked opera houses at the time. “You can’t forget it. It has been always very present

in the seasons all over the world.” The new production from Opera Philadelphia and Wiener Staatsoper premiering in Festival O18 comes with a particularly Philly-centric bit of music trivia involving one of the city’s favorite sons, Benjamin Franklin.

The glass harmonica, or armonica as it is also known, is one of the most fascinatingly odd instruments ever invented. Marie Antoinette played it. Marianne Davies and her sister, soprano Cecilia Davies, performed with it as a duo publicly around Europe as the American colonies were headed toward revolution. Beethoven and Mozart composed for it. And Philadelphia’s own Benjamin Franklin is its founding father. An old, beatenup version (it is said his descendants and their children took delight in smashing some of the glasses) is owned by the Franklin Institute Science Museum, where it gets pulled out of its display case for the occasional birthday tune. Donizetti composed Lucia di Lammermoor with Franklin’s instrument in mind, seeking 37

Brenda Rae stars as Lucia. Photo by Kelly & Massa.

an otherworldly sound for several of his title characters arias and one key scene in particular. The glass harmonica has come to be associated with derangement, mental instability, and frightening sadness, a perfect match for Lucia’s manic spiraling. So why do most Lucia productions feature a flute solo during the famous “mad scene?” “Donizetti wrote this opera for the glass harmonica and during the last rehearsals in Naples, there was a management problem and the [glass harmonica player] left,” explained Rovaris. “The glass harmonica is so peculiar and so specific but it is impossible to replace. Donizetti had to give it to the flute player as a last-minute solution.” Of course, the glass harmonica has cultivated some particularly incredible lore over time. All the more important for a scene like Lucia’s post-marital madness to be accompanied by an instrument characterized by its mythology of insanity. German musicologist Friedrich Rochiltz wrote in a popular European music periodical that the armonica was not to be played by those with a nervous disorder or morose disposition. “This kind of sound, it almost boggles the mind,” explains Rovaris. “Donizetti really wanted to describe the madness of Lucia, so that’s why it’s really important - if you don’t use the glass harmonica, you miss the most important characterization in the score. It’s the most 38

interesting thing in the Lucia score because it’s really so modern to be able to describe what’s on stage with the sound.” Brenda Rae, singing the title role in Philadelphia, is no stranger to Rovaris, the glass harmonica, the production’s dynamic director (French superstar Laurent Pelly, named Best Director at the 2016 International Opera Awards), or the opera’s famed “mad scene.” Her connection to Lucia as a character goes all the way back to her college days, when she thought she was headed more in the singersongwriter or jazz singing direction. Rae’s first exposure to Donizetti and the character of Lucia came through Anna Moffo’s popular collection of opera performances, La Bellisima, given to her by a music teacher. “I would just listen over and over again, I was so in love with it,” she explained from Wisconsin, on a break between Pelly-directed performances of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide in Santa Fe. “Whenever I sing this piece, it reminds me of why I decided to focus on being an opera singer.” While this is her fourth time embodying Lucia, she is positive that even regular opera-goers will be floored by this unique production. “The glass harmonica is something that most of the audience won’t be familiar with and the sound is so incredibly haunting. It immediately transports you - ‘Oh, something is wrong here,’” she expects

audiences to think. “It’s so ghostly. If people are thinking ‘I’ve seen Lucia before, so I don’t need to go’ - this changes the mad scene completely.”

that he can see me and he’ll have to use his ears and it might go differently depending on how I’m feeling – he has to react to that, too.”

Rae says she is spoiled with the freedom and interpretive license she can take with the famous soprano solo. “She’s not really seeing what’s in front of her,” she explains. In previous productions, Lucia’s wedding night nightmare is compounded by loads of fake blood, perhaps a dripping dagger, and her looming death is greatly debated – does she die of sadness or internal bleeding or mania? “She’s retreated into her own head space and experiencing past things. A word that I like to remember is freedom – she’s unleashed.”

That certainly sounds like a production of Lucia di Lammermoor that must been seen to be believed. Bill Chenevert is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. His first opera was The Barber of Seville, conducted by Corrado Rovaris.

Rae is delighted to duet with Friedrich Heinrich Kern, a glass harmonica player with whom she worked alongside Rovaris in a different 2017 Santa Fe production. “The player has to be aware of what’s on stage. Hopefully, we’ll have it set up so

october 4-7, 2018 philadelphia

Annette Peacock ’

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ARTISTS

ELIZABETH BRADEN Chorus Master EASTON, PENNSYLVANIA

2018 Carmen, 2017 The Wake World, 2017 The Magic Flute (partial listing) recent: Conductor, The Wake World, Opera Philadelphia; Chorus Master, Carmen, Opera Philadelphia; Director of Music, Wallingford Presbyterian Church. next: Chorus Master, La bohème, Opera Philadelphia TROY COOK Enrico, baritone EMINENCE, KENTUCKY

2017 Elizabeth Cree, 2015 Don Carlo, 2013 Silent Night (partial listing) recent: Rodrigo, Don Carlo, Washington National Opera; Enrico, Lucia di Lammermoor, Florida Grand Opera; Marcello, La bohème, Utah Opera next: Father Palmer, Silent Night, Minnesota Opera ADRIAN KRAMER Normanno, tenor TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Tenor, Tchaikovsky: None But the Lonely Heart, Ensemble for the Romantic Century; Ralph Rackstraw, HMS Pinafore, Edmonton Opera; Don José, La tragédie de Carmen, San Diego Opera next: Gérard, Les enfants terribles, Opera Omaha HANNAH LUDWIG Alisa, mezzo-soprano SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Isaura, Tancredi, Teatro Nuovo; Azucena, Il trovatore, Academy of Vocal Arts; Alto Soloist, Messiah, Baltimore Symphony next: Rosina, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Annapolis Opera ANDREW OWENS Arturo, tenor BUCKS COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Bénédict, Béatrice et Bénédict, Seattle Opera; Solado 1/Famigliari/Lucano/Tribuno, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Cincinnati Opera; Mads, Peer Gynt, Theater an der Wien next: Almaviva, The Barber of Seville, Manitoba Opera LAURENT PELLY Director & Costume Designer FONTENAY SOUS BOIS, FRANCE

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Director & Costume Designer, Candide, Santa Fe Opera; Director, Set, & Costume Designer, L'Oiseau Vert, Théâtre de la Port Saint-Martin; Director, Set, & Costume Designer, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Théâtre des Champs Elysées next: Director & Costume Designer, Falstaff, Teatro Real

BRENDA RAE Lucia, soprano APPLETON, WISCONSIN

2017 Tancredi recent: Cunegonde, Candide, Santa Fe Opera; Amina, La sonnambula, Oper Frankfurt; Zerbinetta, Ariadne auf Naxos, Bayerische Staatsoper next: Konstanze, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Opernhaus Zürich CORRADO ROVARIS Conductor BERGAMO, ITALY

2018 Written on Skin, 2017 Elizabeth Cree, 2017 Tancredi (partial listing) recent: Conductor, Written on Skin, Opera Philadelphia; Conductor, A Quiet Place, Curtis Opera Theatre; Conductor, Anna Bolena, Canadian Opera Company next: Conductor, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Opera Philadelphia DUANE SCHULER Lighting Designer ELKHART LAKE, WISCONSIN

2006 Margaret Garner recent: Lighting Designer, Candide, Santa Fe Opera; Lighting Designer, Cendrillon, The Metropolitan Opera; Lighting Designer, Faust, Lyric Opera of Chicago next: Lighting Designer, Falstaff, Teatro Real Madrid MICHAEL SPYRES Edgardo, tenor SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Vasco de Gama, L'Africaine, Frankfurt Opera; Fernand, La favorite, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona; Conte d'Almaviva, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Chorégies d'Orange Summer Festival next: Don Ramiro, La Cenerentola, Vienna State Opera CHANTAL THOMAS Set Designer PARIS, FRANCE

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Set Designer, Le Médecin malgré lui, Geneva Grand Theatre; Set Designer, Viva la Mamma, Lyon Opera; Set Designer, Candide, Santa Fe Opera next: Set Designer, La Cenerentola, Nationale Opera & Ballet Amsterdam CHRISTIAN VAN HORN Raimondo, bass-baritone LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Enrico, Anna Bolena, Canadian Opera Theater; Méphistophélès, Faust, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Julio, The Exterminating Angel, Metropolitan Opera next: Mefistofele, Mefistofele, Metropolitan Opera DAVID ZIMMERMAN Wig & Make-up Designer MT. PLEASANT, TEXAS

THE SANTA FE OPER A

EXPERIENCE THE ENCHANTMENT LIVE

63RD SEASON JUNE 28 – AUGUST 24

LA BOHÈME Giacomo Puccini

THE PEARL FISHERS Georges Bizet

COSÌ FAN TUTTE Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

JENŮFA Leoš Janáček

THE THIRTEENTH CHILD Poul Ruders | Becky and David Starobin

RENÉE FLEMING santafeopera.org 800-280-4654

sings Letters from Georgia with the Santa Fe Opera Orchestra

ROMEO & JULIET O C TO B E R 1 1 - 2 1 , 2 0 1 8

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THE NUTCRACKER® DECEMBER 7-31, 2018

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M A R C H 7 - 1 7, 2 0 1 9

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ORCHESTRA VIOLIN 1

FLUTE

Dayna Hepler, Concertmaster Igor Szwec, Assistant Concertmaster Meichen Liao Barnes Charles Parker Diane Barnett Donna Grantham  Elizabeth Kaderabek Luigi Mazzocchi Tess Varley Natasha Colkett Peter Filochowski Palys

Adeline Tomasone, Principal Eileen Grycky Kimberly Trolier

VIOLIN 2

BASSOON

Emma Kummrow, Principal Sarah DuBois Paul Reiser Heather Zimmerman Messé Lisa Vaupel Rebecca Harris Gared Crawford Rebecca Ansel Yu-Hui Tamae Lee

OBOE

Geoffrey Deemer, Principal Dorothy Freeman CLARINET

Doris J. Hall-Gulati, Principal Allison Herz Erik Höltje, Principal Emeline Chong FRENCH HORN

John David Smith, Principal Ryan J. Stewart Karen Schubert Angela Cordell Bilger TRUMPET

VIOLA

Jonathan Kim, Principal Carol Briselli, Assistant Principal Julia DiGaetani Ellen Trainer Elizabeth Jaffe Ruth Frazier Yoshihiko Nakano

Brian Kuszyk, Principal Steven Heitzer TROMBONE

Bradley Ward Principal Edward Cascarella Phil McClelland HARP

CELLO

Branson Yeast, Principal Vivian Barton Dozor Jennie Lorenzo Brooke Beazley David Moulton Dane Anderson

Sophie Bruno Labiner, Principal   TIMPANI

Martha Hitchins, Principal PERCUSSION

Ralph Sorrentino, Principal Christopher Hanning

BASS

Miles B. Davis, Principal James Freeman, Assistant Principal Anne Peterson Stephen Groat

GLASS HARMONICA

Friedrich Heinrich Kern

CHORUS SOPRANO

Lauren Cook Natalie Dewey NoĂŤl Graves-Williams Julie-Ann Green Valerie Haber Cara Latham Carole Latimer Jessica Mary Murphy Christine Nass Aimee Pilgermayer Evelyn Santiago Amy Spencer

BASS

Jeff Chapman Lucas DeJesus Matthew Adam Fleisher James Osby Gwathney, Jr. Chris Hodges Matthew Lulofs Mark Malacheksy John David Miles Robert Phillips Scott Purcell Tim Stopper Jackson Williams

ALTO

Robin Bier Marissa Chalker Patricia Conrad Annalise Dzwonczyk Eve Hyzer Megan McFadden Meghan McGinty Margaret Mezzacappa Ellen Grace Peters Paula Rivera-Dantagnan Karina Sweeney Kaitlyn Tierney TENOR

Benjamin T. Berman Corey Bonar Sang B. Cho Stephen Dagrosa Colin Doyle Christopher Hoster A. Edward Maddison Fernando Mancillas Toffer Mihalka DonLeroy Morales Andrew Skitko Steven Williamson

ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION TEAM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Laurie Feldman

PROPS SUPERVISION

Avista Custom Theatrical Services

CUTTER/DRAPERS

Julie Watson Mark Mariani Suzie Morris Kara Morasco Nell Unrath

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

Vinnie Feraudo

ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER

Sasha Anistratova

FIRST HANDS

Patrick Mulhall Joy Rampulla STITCHERS

HEAD CARPENTER

Frank Grasso

HEAD FLYMAN

Mike Ruffo

HEAD ELECTRICIAN

Terry Smith

Susie Benitez Catherine Blinn Kathryn Calhoun Muriel Mangual Julia Poiesz Katie Yamaguchi Members of Local 799 WIGS & MAKE-UP ASSISTANTS

ASSISTANT ELECTRICIAN

Ali Blair Barwick

Mannie Jacobo Monique Gaffney

HEAD PROPS

Paul Lodes

ASSISTANT CHORUS MASTER

Emily May Sung

PRINCIPAL PIANIST/ ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR

David Hanlon

SECONDARY PIANIST

Grant Loehnig

SUPERTITLES OPERATOR

Jack Schmieg

SUPERTITLES AUTHOR

Christopher Bergen

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS

Jen Shaw Hannah Holthaus

COSTUME COORDINATOR

Sarah Greenstone

WARDROBE SUPERVISOR

Elisa Murphy

THE ENGLISH CONCERT Handel’s Semele

Save 25% on tickets with code SEMELE25 !

APR 16 | 7 PM Direct from sold-out appearances at Carnegie Hall, “one of the period-instrument world’s most successful ensembles” (The New York Times) makes its Philadelphia debut in this opera-in-concert starring coloratura soprano Brenda Rae (currently performing the title role in Opera Philadelphia’s Lucia di Lammermoor).

AnnenbergCenter.org // 215.898.3900 3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia

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2019 FESTIVAL SEASON | MAY 25 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; JUNE 30 World Premiere

FIRE SHUT UP IN MY BONES | Terence Blanchard & Kasi Lemmons Based on the memoir by Charles Blow

THE CORONATION OF POPPEA | Monteverdi RIGOLETTO | Verdi THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO | Mozart

. JAZZ N I S. RA OPE PERA . E O R C E I IS SI PREM EE CLAS ST. LOU D L THR ONLY IN WOR ONE

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POULENC/COCTEAU

NE QUITTEZ PAS

NEW PRODUCTION & C O M PA N Y PREMIERE

A Reimagined La voix humaine S E P T E M B E R 2 2 , 2 3 , 2 7, 2 9 , 3 0 , 2 0 1 8 T H E AT R E O F L I V I N G A RT S

C R E AT I V E MUSIC Francis Poulenc LIBRETTO Jean Cocteau BASED ON THE PLAY BY Jean Cocteau ADDITIONAL MUSIC Francis Poulenc BanalitÃ©s, texts by Guillaume Apollinaire Chansons gaillardes, anonymous texts of the 17th century Intermezzo #3 for piano in A-flat Major MUSIC DIRECTOR & PIANIST Christopher Allen* DIRECTOR James Darrah PRODUCTION DESIGN Tony Fanning* COSTUME DESIGN Chrisi Karvonides LIGHTING DESIGN Pablo Santiago SOUND DESIGN Robert Kaplowitz WIG & MAKE-UP DESIGN David Zimmerman STAGE MANAGER Janet Neukirchner CAST ELLE Patricia Racette LE JEUNE HOMME Edward Nelson* PAUL Marc Bendavid* ELIZABETH/LISE Mary Tuomanen THE OWNER Ames Adamson* *Opera Philadelphia debut

Major support for Ne Quittez Pas: A Reimagined La voix humaine has been provided by the William Penn Foundation. Made possible by an OPERA America Innovation Grant, supported by the Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation.

SYNOPSIS Paris, 1979—or maybe it was 1980, we can’t remember. That familiar, rapidly aging, unnamed rock club that has definitely seen better days, but could possibly yield a memory or three worth saving. The show has ended. The owner prepares to close down the venue for the evening. The pianist practices a new piece for the next cabaret. Someone starts knocking on the outside door: it is Paul, Elizabeth (Lise) and a young man. Paul and Lise are siblings—and have encountered this young man out in the city. They coax him into the club, and beg him to begin performing. Once he agrees—they commence a dangerous Game,

and the young man is unaware. It begins simply: Lise and the young man must act according to Paul’s every whim. The “Game” quickly becomes dangerous and holds unexpected consequences. Elle enters, searching, having waited all night. She dials a number. Hangs up. The phone rings. She misses the call. She calls back. Hangs Up. She hears the phone ring again and picks up. She begins a pivotal conversation with her lover…

RUNNING TIME Approximately 1 hour and 39 minutes with one 20 minute intermission

A rendering of the set for Ne Quittez Pas: A Reimagined La voix humaine. Set design by Tony Fanning. 50

“The festival expands the boundaries of the form with artist-led events…pushing limits is what the ONE Festival is all about,” The Wall Street Journal

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DIRECTOR’S NOTE By James Darrah It is not lost on the creative team and me that “re-imagining” La voix humaine was, and remains, a bit of an undesirable task. Francis Poulenc’s trilogy of operatic output is in part fascinating for it singularly never recreates the same operatic or instrumental forces or requirements in what are three staggeringly potent and arguably perfectlyconstructed operatic works. They are a trilogy of striking creation in the operatic repertoire, layered with gorgeous music (not often open to debate, with good reason), and possess plots and texts that one can still mine for modern resonance socially and politically. His grand, orchestrally-rich historical drama Dialogues des Carmélites directly contrasts against his fast-paced surrealist comedic chamber opera Les Mamelles de Tirésias. Both are actually a director’s dream and potent in their nascence given the events of the first world war or the reign of terror during the French Revolution. But it is his monodrama La voix humaine that has perhaps haunted me most to date in my creative life. Deceptive in its simplistic plot—a woman is on the phone with her lover—I’m constantly struck by Cocteau’s unforgiving and nuanced portrayal of the human mind. The piece is direct and devastating, riveting when it is even simply spoken. Poulenc’s ability to set that turbulent interior life to music is a limitless well of theatrical possibility and when approaching the piece for O18, we wondered: Why perform La voix humaine today? What can it hold for us in 2018 in the United States? To that end re: America, I’ve admittedly ignored Poulenc’s own stated desire to perform his works in the language of the audience. (I’m still guessing he would prefer La voix in English in the U.S..) But I also like to imagine he’d forgive this blatant transgression … it just sounds better in French. It feels original, it’s authentic and real (at a time when authenticity seems at a premium). The nuance of the French language for Elle felt essential if I were to add anything to the piece for these performances. It also felt important to forgo the rather richly romantic and large orchestrations for the piece and find a direct simplicity: a framework for the piece to speak to us without some of the operatic expectations. We’re using Poulenc’s original piano part—a solo instrumental 52

voice paired with the solo voice of Elle. Instead of altering the very structure or content of La voix humaine, or changing any of its text, we’ve preserved its taut and concise construction and devastating portrait in its full entirety. The Prologue, a creation designed to give us insight into our setting and this young man (who, perhaps, might be on the other end of the phone line for La voix) is the creation and gives an opportunity to delve further into Jean Cocteau, the collaboration of Poulenc with the texts Apollinaire, and the larger Cocteau character world. We have left some of the lingering questions about this young man on the other end of Elle’s phone line unanswered—though perhaps one might now picture him in vivid detail and draw their own new conclusions. I’ve always imagined Elle as significantly older than the man on the other end of the line and have utilized that age difference here in casting and character. Perhaps one might disagree—but therein lies the genius in Cocteau: we shouldn’t ultimately really know who this other man truly is. He’s our Dorian Grey, our Helen of Troy: vivid in the imagination, but admittedly paltry in the flesh. I’ve therefore attempted a prologue that leaves one to draw their own conclusions and find their own parallels between these overlapping worlds. Is this indeed the young man lying to Elle? Where do they go? If you want to believe the young man is indeed the lover, I hope you’ll find new discoveries within the subsequent La voix humaine. If you find the notion sacrilegious, I’ve attempted to leave room for doubt as well. The young man of the prologue is a student, of unknown origin, drawn to the song cycles of Poulenc but unable to avoid a sense of increasing unease. He becomes ensnared by two actors and is led through a rather intense personal exploration of self. With this inclusion of actors, I’ve drawn intentional inspiration from Cocteau’s own novel Les Enfants Terribles and crafted two siblings based on the primary anti-heroes of that story. Iterations of Cocteau’s own creation here cross the canon of his body of work and are reincarnated in

our world. Within their interactions, we’ve been faithful to Cocteau’s own creative output and drawn characters he’d hopefully recognize. Paul and Elizabeth have here become slightly older versions of their novel-based youths. They are still fascinated with their dangerous “game” and increasingly worrisome in their commitment to psychological warfare, ensnaring our young student in their poetic allure but one that I find has great resonance with the similarly detailed psychology of La voix. For the prologue, Paul and Lise also speak in primarily Cocteau and Apollinaire poems, reacting to Poulenc’s cycle of hedonism, abandon and folly (also with texts by Apollinaire) before the evening gives way to a deconstruction and evolution of the young man with Poulenc’s psychosexual Chansons gaillardes.

Patricia Racette last performed the role of Elle in 2016 with Chicago Opera Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

CHAUTAUQUA OPERA COMPANY 2019 BEAUMARCHAIS TRILOGY

Rossini/ Sterbini

Steven Osgood, General & Artistic Director 90th Anniversary Season

Mozart/ da Ponte (adap. Guerrerio)

Il BARBIERE di SIVIGLIA

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July 5, 8 & 25 • Norton Hall Romano/Belcher/ Sewailam Osgood/Smith Belcher

June 28 & 30; July 7, 14 & 26 Athenaeum Hotel Parodi / Einhorn

Corigliano/Hoffman

The GHOSTS of VERSAILLES

July 27 • Amphitheater Lynch/Romano/Belcher/Sewailam

Osgood / Kazaras

Entire Beaumarchais Trilogy ONE TIME ONLY: July 25–27, 2019

Packages now available at opera.chq.org Explore. Rethink. Recharge.

CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION • CHAUTAUQUA, NY 53

A SUPER-HUMAN FREAK SHOW Ne Quittez Pas strives to bring opera to the big screen in a new way By Naila Francis

James Darrah is no stranger to Francis Poulenc’s La voix humaine, the French composer’s 1958 monodrama based on Jean Cocteau’s play of the same name.

its heart, it’s a super-human freak show. You’re watching people breathe in, use that full breath and sing very loud, often very intense, hypertheatrical—sometimes still very human—things.

The Los Angeles-based artist previously directed the one-woman tour-de-force for Opera San Antonio in the intimacy of a small theater, substituting a lone pianist for the full orchestra.

“Filming that isn’t very interesting to me because you have to find a way to film it so the theatricality of it makes sense. And that’s hard to do, which is why it tends to be done as a documentary.”

It is then not surprising that he is once again at the helm of staging Poulenc’s psychological drama, sung by soprano Patricia Racette, sans proscenium and sans orchestra for Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O18. Those choices of diminished scale have marked productions around the world.

Darrah had no interest in treading such familiar ground. With La voix humaine, reimagined for Festival O18 as Ne Quittez Pas, he is instead delivering two distinctive productions—a live staging of the opera and a film that will be shot independently, with the potential to launch an entire sub-genre of independent films.

But this time Darrah, who is known for his pioneering, unconventional body of work, embraced a fresh challenge, a new element of risk. He decided to include a prologue to the opera, which chronicles the devastating phone conversation of a woman desperate to win back a former lover who has moved on. He is also producing an art film adaptation of this tragic operatic monologue. “I always had an interest in what opera could do in a film that hasn’t been done,” said Darrah, who directed Opera Philadelphia’s acclaimed world premiere Breaking the Waves in 2016. “I think opera is a very strange thing to film in general. At 54

“I thought, if we film this as an art film, experimentally and psychologically, there are things we can’t do with a live performance,” he said. “The use of a camera and cinematography opens up a whole bunch of possibilities to tell the story in a really cool way.” Ne Quittez Pas, which is being staged and filmed at The Theatre of Living Arts, a former movie house turned concert venue, is a work of raw immediacy and voyeuristic intimacy. One of its great challenges—indeed the challenge of any La voix production—is inviting the audience into the drama of a phone conversation from a

single perspective, as the protagonist’s ex-lover is never heard.

the role of Elle. He is also excited to be working with a creative team equally invested in the storytelling.

Darrah’s introduction of a prologue not only “James is a minimalist but not just for minimalism’s stretches the one-act opera, sake,” said lighting designer Pablo Santiago, a frequent frequently staged as a collaborator of Darrah’s. “It’s about stripping everything companion piece, into a down to the essence of the story. This story is not just full evening, it gives some the plot. It’s ‘This is sadness, this is envy, this is jealousy insight into the gentleman as a self-fulfilling spiral.’” on the other end of the phone. That cabaret “How do we show that with design? How do I performance will feature investigate that with light?” baritone Edward Nelson drawing from Poulenc’s art For celebrated costume designer Chrisi Karvonides, song catalog, as well as the who worked with Darrah and Santiago on Breaking the poetry of Apollinaire. Waves, the minimalist scenery means the costumes have to tell the visual story. Darrah, she said, not only strives The opera is set in a to get to the essence of a character, he is also continually Paris nightclub circa looking for ways to enhance the story through the 1980, the era allowing for drama of each costume. the prominence of the telephone and the space for Though the shift to film will require some technical the stark piano rendering adjustments, many elements of the opera will remain of Poulenc’s alternatingly the same onscreen. tense and lyrical score. The paring down honors the opera’s origins, as Poulenc did write a version for piano “There is not a way to design the film without designing before treating the work to a full orchestration. the opera,” said production designer Tony Fanning. “Ideally it would be great if they were one and the “The score is very much aligned to interior thought, where same but also exciting if the visual identity differed the music leads you on a journey. It’s not descriptive. It but accomplished the same thing—conveying the immerses you in this world and it’s a really fast, fun ride,” emotional impact of the piece fully to either audience.” said Darrah. “We were never going to get a full orchestra in such a small venue. Since Fanning, whose production the piece is just about the credits include Lemony human voice, isn’t it much Snicket’s A Series of more poetic then that Unfortunate Events, Amistad, musically there’s a solo voice? and Straw Dogs, envisions an eventual double bill, or For the multifaceted director simultaneous run, of the and designer, Ne Quittez Pas live performance and film. is ultimately a characterdriven piece, and any decision Darrah does have ambitious made in its staging and hopes for its release but is filming should serve the story mindful that his experiment and its protagonist, whose not compromise the seeming self-possession, and haunting enigma and at times even exuberance, universal humanity of eventually unravels into Poulenc’s opera. desperation and despair. Director James Darrah’s Opera Philadelphia debut was 2016’s Breaking the Waves. Photo by Dominic M. Mercier. “We’re actually celebrating “On paper, La voix looks so it and maybe deepening it simple, but what the character goes through is so and creating an experience that feels complementary to incredibly intense and visceral and really potent in it because it’s pretty perfect,” he said. terms of its humanity. It is an emotionally exhaustive Naila Francis is a writer and editor based in Philadelphia. opera,” said Darrah, who is thrilled to have Racette, both a consummate artist and powerful actor, singing 55

ARTISTS

AMES ADAMSON The Owner ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Hastings, Richard III, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; Hugh Fennyman, Shakespeare in Love, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey; Dr. Bradman, Blithe Spirit, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey next: Old Shepherd, The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey CHRISTOPHER ALLEN Musical Director/Pianist LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Conductor, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Aspen Opera Center; Conductor, La traviata, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Conductor, La fille du régiment, Atlanta Opera next: Conductor, Candide, New England Conservatory of Music MARC BENDAVID Paul TORONTO, ONTARIO

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Louis, 2b Theatre’s When It Rains, LaMama New York; Jace Corso, Dark Matter, SyFy Network; Romeo, Romeo and Juliet, Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre next: Charlie, How To Buy A Baby, CBC TV JAMES DARRAH Director LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

2016 Breaking the Waves recent: Director, Alcina, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe; Artistic Director of ONE Festival and Director, Proving Up, Opera Omaha and Miller Theater; Director, Boris Godunov, San Francisco Symphony next: Director, Prism, Los Angeles Opera and PROTOTYPE Festival TONY FANNING Production Designer GLEN COVE, NEW YORK

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Scenic Designer, Outside Mullingar, The Geffen Playhouse; Production Designer, Alex, Inc., ABC Television; Production Designer, Ideal Home, Remstar Studios next: Production Designer, Five Feet Apart, CBS Films ROBERT KAPLOWITZ Sound Designer ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS

2017 We Shall Not Be Moved recent: Sound Designer, We Shall Not Be Moved, Opera Philadelphia; Sound Designer/ Composer, Office Hour, Berkeley Rep & Long Wharf Theaters; Installation Designer/ Composer, Re-envisioning, Lapidarium Museum of Prague next: Composer, Minors, Lantern Theater Company Philadelphia 56

CHRISI KARVONIDES Costume Designer HERMOSA BEACH, CALIFORNIA

2016 Breaking the Waves recent: Costume Designer, Here and Now, HBO; Costume Designer, Alcina, Badischen Staatstheater; Costume Designer, Proving Up, Opera Omaha and Miller Theater next: Costume Designer, Macbeth, Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2019 EDWARD NELSON Le Jeune Homme, baritone SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Maximillian, Candide, Washington National Opera; Pelléas, Pelléas et Mélisande, Ópera de Oviedo; Count Almaviva, Le nozze di Figaro, Michigan Opera Theatre next: Title Role, Don Giovanni, Palm Beach Opera PATRICIA RACETTE Elle, soprano MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

2003 Il trovatore, 1996 Così fan tutte recent: Madga Sorel, The Consul, Chicago Opera Theater; Stage Director (debut), La traviata, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Anna Murrant, Street Scene, Teatro Real Madrid next: Title Role, Káťa Kabanová, Liceu Barcelona PABLO SANTIAGO Lighting Designer LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

2016 Breaking the Waves recent: Lighting Designer, Proving Up, Opera Omaha One Festival and Miller Theater; Lighting Designer, The Threepenny Opera, Boston Lyric Opera; Lighting Designer, Destiny of Desire, Oregon Shakespeare Festival next: Lighting Designer, Prism, LA Opera MARY TUOMANEN Elizabeth/Lise PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

2015 ANDY: A Popera recent: Alison Bechdel, Fun Home, Arden Theater; Andrei Warhola, ANDY: A Popera, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret and Opera Philadelphia; Cassius, Julius Caesar, Quintessence Theater Group next: Quincy, Mr. Burns, The Wilma Theatre DAVID ZIMMERMAN Wig & Make-up Designer MT. PLEASANT, TEXAS

ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION TEAM ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

WARDROBE SUPERVISOR

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

DICTION COACH

ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER

SUPERTITLES AUTHOR

Corinne Hayes Sara Prince

Dom Chacon

Bridget Beauchamp

Marie-France Lefebvre Chadwick Creative Arts SUPERTITLES OPERATOR

PROPS SUPERVISION

Avista Custom Theatrical Services

Lily Kass

STITCHERS

Members of Local 799

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

Cynthia Hennon Marino

WIGS & MAKE-UP ASSISTANT

Jason Goldsberry

COSTUME COORDINATOR

Hanna Hamilton

“[BalletX] dancers are among America’s best” T h e N e w Yo r k T i m e s

BalletX 2018 - 2019 Season Resident Dance Company of The Wilma Theater

Philadelphia’s Premier Contemporary Ballet www.BalletX.org

Christine Cox

Artistic & Executive Director

MUSIC OF GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL AND PHILIP GLASS

GLASS HANDEL

WORLD PREMIERE PRODUCTION

S E P T E M B E R 2 2 ( P r e v i e w ) , 2 3 , 3 0 , 2 018 T H E BA R N E S F O U N DAT I O N

C R E AT I V E MUSIC George Frideric Handel and Philip Glass  CONDUCTOR Corrado Rovaris PRODUCTION Anthony Roth Costanzo, Visionaire*, Cath Brittan* PAINTING George Condo* COSTUME DESIGN Calvin Klein, designed by Chief Creative Officer Raf Simons* CHOREOGRAPHER Justin Peck* VIDEOS James Ivory* and Pix Talarico*, Mark Romanek*, Tilda Swinton* and Sandro Kopp*, Tianzhou Chen*, Daniel Askill*, Maurizio Cattelan* and Pierpaolo Ferrari*, Rupert Sanders*, AES+F*, Mickalene Thomas* LIGHTING DESIGN Brandon Stirling Baker* PRODUCTION FORMAT Ryan McNamara* VIDEO CONSULTANT Adam Larsen STAGE MANAGER Betsy Ayer* REHEARSAL DIRECTOR Miguel A. Castillo* CAST COUNTERTENOR Anthony Roth Costanzo DANCERS Patricia Delgado*, David Hallberg*, Ricky Ubeda* PAINTER George Condo* *Opera Philadelphia debut

Produced by Anthony Roth Costanzo, Visionaire, and Cath Brittan. Co-produced by Opera Philadelphia and National Sawdust. Co-presented by The Barnes Foundation and The Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. Major support for Glass Handel has been provided by the William Penn Foundation. Principal production support is provided by Dr. David G. Knott and Ms. Françoise Girard, Per J. Skarstedt, Mr. Robert L. Turner, and Mr. Kevin Dolan. Additional support provided by The Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for New Opera, Andrew J. MartinWeber, William and Helen Little, Susan Baker and Michael Lynch, Jean-Pierre and Olivia Chessé, Ms. Dominique Laffont, Steven and Michèle Pesner, Ms. Mariko Ikehara and Mr. Jeffrey Cunard, Elizabeth A. R. and Ralph S. Brown, Stephanie French, and Mr. and Mrs. Robert R. Glauber.

RUNNING TIME

Approximately 66 minutes with no intermission 61

GLASS HANDEL

SONGS / MUSIC VIDEOS

HANDEL

Inumano fratel … Stille amare (Tolomeo) Opera Music Video by James Ivory & Pix Talarico

GLASS

Liquid Days Opera Music Video by Mark Romanek

HANDEL

Rompo i lacci (Flavio) Opera Music Video by Tilda Swinton and Sandro Kopp

HANDEL

Lascia ch’io pianga (Rinaldo) Opera Music Video by Tianzhuo Chen

GLASS

In the Arc of Your Mallet (Monsters of Grace) Opera Music Video by Daniel Askill

HANDEL

Vivi tiranno (Rodelinda) Opera Music Video by Maurizio Cattelan & Pierpaolo Ferrari

GLASS

How All Living Things Breathe (The Fall of the House of Usher) Opera Music Video by Rupert Sanders

HANDEL

Pena Tiranna (Armadigi di Gaula) Opera Music Video by AES+F

GLASS

The Encounter (1000 Airplanes on the Roof) Opera Music Video by Mickalene Thomas

Photo by Matthu Placek.

ANTHONY ROTH COSTANZO COUNTERTENOR

Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo began performing professionally at the age of 11 and has since appeared in opera, concert, recital, film, and on Broadway. He is an exclusive recording artist with Decca Gold, and his first album, ARC, will be released in September of 2018. Costanzo has appeared with many of the world’s leading opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Los Angeles Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Dallas Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Spoleto Festival USA, and Finnish National Opera. In concert he has sung with the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has performed at a wide-ranging variety of venues including Carnegie Hall, Versailles, The Kennedy

Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Sawdust, Minamiza Kyoto, Joe’s Pub, The Guggenheim, The Park Avenue Armory, and Madison Square Garden. Costanzo is a Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions and won first prize in Placido Domingo’s Operalia Competition. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his role in a Merchant Ivory film. He has begun working as a producer and curator in addition to a performer, creating shows for National Sawdust, Opera Philadelphia, the Philharmonia Baroque, Princeton University, WQXR, The State Theater in Salzburg, Master Voices, and Kabuki-Za Tokyo. Costanzo graduated from Princeton University where he has returned to teach, and he received his masters from the Manhattan School of Music. In his youth he performed on Broadway and alongside Luciano Pavarotti.

ARC album cover painting by George Condo.

Fragile Glass, Handel With Care

The story of getting some of the brightest lights in art, dance, film, and fashion to take on opera. By Anthony Roth Costanzo I’m not an impulsive person. But I found myself having to make a quick decision. I had just walked off the stage after singing an opera in Miami, and I saw the name of the famous painter George Condo flash on the screen of my phone. I picked up. “ANTHONY,” he said in his inimitable, spirited rasp, “Is there any way you can be in New York tomorrow at 4 p.m.? I think it’s important for your project.” The universe in which I book a flight with frequent flyer miles while throwing clean socks into a backpack at 2:00 a.m. as I head to the airport for a flight a few hours later, is the universe in which I have found myself building Glass Handel with equal parts luck and sweat. So how did I get here? Here, into this beautiful program book, trying to elucidate a project that has become my passion and is ten times bigger than anything I’ve ever created before? Two years ago, the president of Universal Classics, Graham Parker, asked me to make a record for the Decca Gold label. My first solo album! As a countertenor, my repertoire lies at two ends of the spectrum: baroque and contemporary. Instead of becoming a specialist in one or the other, I’ve split my career evenly between the two. Handel defined me and Glass changed me, as I like to say. They both use repetition in almost all of their work, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that they might form an invigorating musical partnership. I chose selections from both composers that ranged from obscure to obvious, and we made the CD. It was one of the most joyful and satisfying musical experience of my life. Then I started thinking. How do I give this CD a life? A concert tour, sure. But at heart I’m a renegade. I want to excavate a new audience for opera and classical music from yet untapped factions of artistically inclined people, old and young, who aren’t already in an opera house or a concert hall. Let’s start with the cover of the CD, I

thought. I wanted it to be something strange but beautiful, not the regular glamour shot. I have always loved the art of George Condo, and I’d met him on the street years back. He was excited he had stumbled across a countertenor because he loves playing lute – John Dowland in particular – and had been looking for someone to sing the melody. I would go over to his apartment or his painting studio and we’d pluck our way through some doleful tune. But I hadn’t seen him much since those days some five years back. Nonetheless, I couldn’t shake the dream of him painting me for my album cover. Given the enormous demand for his paintings and the fact that he’d only ever done one album cover, for Kanye West, it seemed like a pipe dream. Nevertheless, I wrote and asked if I could come see him. We sat down together a week later and before I knew it, I was singing Dowland’s “Go Crystal Tears” while he miraculously extracted multiple melody lines from the lute with various colors of paint wedged into the corners of his fingernails. When the crystal tears had gone, I leveled with him. If an artist of his stature were to paint a countertenor for an album of Glass and Handel, people who didn’t usually pay attention to classical music might perk up their ears. He wholeheartedly and magnanimously dove in. He said he had to get my face in his fingers, and we’d spend long nights together cooking dinners and talking while he drew my face. One night he took me into the studio in the back of his apartment and presented a prepared canvas. He started to paint me. It was not lost on me that one of the great living artists was explaining chiaroscuro while making masterful tiny brush strokes; telling me secrets about turpentine and glazing while regaling me about his days with Warhol, Basquiat, and Allen Ginsberg. Before I knew it, we had a painting, we had a cover, and it was insane in the best way possible. 65

With an asset like that painting, I knew I had to create a live embodiment of the album that went beyond a concert tour. I was in the sweep of the painter’s stroke, and so I began to think about museums. What if instead of a straightforward concert, I could make some sort of art installation? It occurred to me that David Byrne, who wrote the lyrics to Glass’s “Liquid Days,” had been making art installations for years. After a lot of calling and emailing, I found my way to his email address and asked if he would have coffee. We both arrived on 19th Street in Manhattan with bike helmets in hand, and I had the thrill of learning about how he approached his groundbreaking work and telling him about my nascent ideas. He told me I was on the right track, pushed me forward, but said that he wasn’t the person to help me because he was in the midst of creating a new show of his own. A few weeks later I was asked to sing at a small fundraiser at someone’s home. I should have said no given the demands on my time and vocal chords, but “no” is not my forte. At the event I ran into Cecilia Dean and James Kaliardos, founders of the incredible art and fashion multimedia publication Visionaire, whom I had collaborated with a decade before. Their 27 years of work together has produced collaborations with the biggest names in art, fashion, architecture, and pop music, but never classical music. In 2017, they had earned over 1 billion media impressions and they told me that they wanted to be channeling this huge following towards more live performance and digital content, in addition to the physical editions they create. Click – a lightbulb. I asked them for a meeting. I sat in their office and set up a portable speaker and played them a rough cut of the album. While I didn’t know what the installation should be, I knew that we had to perform the music live, with full orchestra, and I told them I had some ideas. I wanted to cross disciplines. I had always envisioned classical music videos, but unconventional, artsy ones, and thought it would be exciting if those videos could be part of the installation, as well as existing digitally. I explained to them that when listening to Glass or Handel, I experience the music deeply when in motion – biking around a city or sitting on a train. I had this idea that somehow we could get the audience in motion. Without missing a beat, Cecilia and James told me about Ryan McNamara, a performance artist who had come up with a system for moving people in their chairs around a space during performance. They explained it to me and we started imagining 66

how such a performance could unfold. People would move around the space without leaving their chairs, and they would encounter different “stations”, each an embodiment of the live music in a different discipline. The “music videos” could be one embodiment played on monitors, but perhaps also dance and maybe even art. My mind started racing. When I was 15 years old, I acted in a Merchant Ivory film, and the director James Ivory quickly became a close friend and mentor. What if I were to ask him and artist and music video expert Pix Talarico to make one of the videos? Would they ever do it? It turned out they would. I fell in love with Justin Peck’s choreography at New York City Ballet when I saw “Everywhere We Go.” I then fell in love with him and his now fiancée, the incredible dancer Patricia Delgado, when I met them, and I wondered if I could dare to ask Justin to make a dance for this piece and for Pat to dance it. Justin was busy choreographing Carousel on Broadway while simultaneously revolutionizing ballet, but I gave it a shot. We came up with the idea of having the choreography repeat itself just like Handel and Glass’s music does, but in less predictable ways. He could give the dancers agency to riff on a phrase and create a dance that would react in real time to the music and the other art happening around it. Shortly after Justin and Pat signed on, I ran into the ABT star and ballet idol David Hallberg at a party. He told me how he was ever hungry to explore new modalities and I saw my chance. David was in. I told George Condo how this whole project was

On the set of the making of James Ivory (pictured) and Pix Talarico’s video “Stille Amare.” Photos by Erik Freer.

growing out of his painting. He had an idea. At Allen Ginsberg’s memorial, he had stood behind a huge canvass and painted while backlit, so only the emerging lines were visible, but not the artist. He had always wanted to try this with live music and suggested he join the crew of performers. You can imagine my response. With Visionaire on board, and artists joining the ranks, we embarked upon constructing the world of this show. Cecilia and James opened their rolodex, and with their uncanny knack for engaging superstars to contribute to artistic projects, found eight more artists fascinated by the idea of trying to make a music video for a piece of classical vocal music. We were cooking with gas. While this was all unfolding, Opera Philadelphia’s General Director David Devan took me to dinner after a Written on Skin rehearsal and asked if I would be interested in doing something for the O18 Festival. “Well it just so happens that I’m working on a crazy project, but it’s totally unconventional and just taking shape … ” David saw the vision immediately and got behind it with the full weight of his influence. The Barnes Foundation signed on to host the event in Philadelphia. I then asked National Sawdust to coproduce the project with us and eventually we convinced the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine to co-present it. The idea of costumes kept coming up, but none of us had found quite the right solution. Then I got the call from George Condo when I was in Miami. He had told his friend, the revered fashion

innovator Raf Simons, what we were up to, and Raf wanted to hear more. George explained how intensely busy Raf was running Calvin Klein and that if I wanted a shot at getting him to do this, I had to show up and meet him. Slightly delirious from no sleep and an unexpected flight, I arrived at George’s apartment only minutes before Raf Simons swept in the door bearing beautiful oversized T-shirts from his collection for George and me. We donned them and proceeded to sing him Dowland songs and cook him dinner. And then in George’s ornately pink sitting room, Raf got down to brass tacks. He wanted to know what the vision was, what the impetus was. Simply put, I told him I wanted to put classical music in a new context. I wanted to make something beautiful, complex, and that would engage audiences new and loyal in the emotion of the music. “If we do this, the whole orchestra should be dressed, the extras, the dancers and of course you!” That comes out to over a hundred costumes, a daunting number. Raf said he would take it to Calvin Klein and see if they’d get on board. Isn’t this all just wild? I’ve only touched the surface of what was and is involved in putting together this project, and the most interesting part of the process is yet to come. As I write this, about two months before our Philadelphia premiere, we are immersed in the artistic work of making sure that all of these disparate parts fit seamlessly together, and that the show has a flow that feels unique, entrancing, and new. I’d tell you more about how we’re planning to do that, but George Condo is calling. I hope I don’t have to get on an airplane! 67

ARTISTS

BRANDON Sellars; 2018 Soundbox Season, STIRLING San Francisco Symphony; Orphic BAKER is Moments dir. Zack Winokur with a lighting The Master Voices; Abraham In designer working Flames (composer Aleksandra internationally in Vrebalov); Arkhipov (composer ballet, opera, and theater. Peter Knell) and Birds in the His recent work can be seen Moon (composer Mark Grey). in the repertories of the New Cath is also the producer for York City Ballet, San Francisco AMOC* (dir Zack Winokur & Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Joffrey Matt Aucoin). Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Alvin GEORGE Ailey American Dance Theater, CONDO Houston Ballet, Pennsylvania was born in Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Concord, New Semperoper Dresden, and Hampshire Berlin Staatsballet. Baker is in 1957. He a frequent collaborator with attended the choreographer Justin Peck of University of the New York City Ballet and Massachusetts, studying has worked with Jamar Roberts, Music Theory and Art History. Benjamin Millepied, Emery Condo’s art can be viewed as LeCrone, Ernst Meisner, Stephen a multilayered experience that Powers, Karl Jensen, Daniel brings the viewer in touch with Buren, Marcel Dzama, and a psychological exploration of Shepard Fairey. His lighting has human nature. His work is in been presented by major ballet the permanent collections of companies around the world. many major museums and public collections around the world CATH BRITTAN is including The Metropolitan a music, theater and Museum of Art, The Museum opera producer and of Modern Art, The Broad production manager Foundation, The Tate, and the based in California. Centre Georges Pompidou. Originally from Currently, Condo’s first major Manchester, England, solo exhibition in Greece is being she spent 15 years in Vienna, presented at the Museum of working for the Vienna Festival Cycladic Art in Athens. In early and freelancing throughout the 2017, he was the subject of a major opera houses of Europe. Since survey of works on paper titled moving to California in 2015 she The Way I Think at the Phillips has worked with the Los Angeles Collection in Washington D.C, Philharmonic, Cal Performances, which traveled to the Louisiana Kronos Quartet, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in Symphony Soundbox, and Peter Denmark in Fall 2017. Sellars. She produced Aci, Galatea e Polifemo with Anthony Roth PATRICIA Costanzo in 2017 at National DELGADO, Sawdust. 2018 productions and born in Miami, projects in development include Florida, was Das Paradies und die Peri, Los a principal Angeles Philharmonic and Peter dancer with

the Miami City Ballet and is currently a freelance artist living in NYC. She began her dance training, under Cuban tutelage, at 5 years old, spending summers in New York City at the School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, joining the company as an apprentice in 2000. She has performed at The Bolshoi; the Theatre du Chatelet; the Chicago Dancing Festival; the Vail International Dance Festival; Fall for Dance at City Center; the Joyce Theater and at the Koch Theatre in Lincoln Center. She performed as Maggie Anderson in the Musical “Brigadoon,” at Encores! City Center and most recently, and starred in the music video “The Dark Side of the Gym” for The National. She has begun doing work as a repetiteur for Justin Peck. She staged “In Creases” at Boston Ballet and “Heatscape” in Dresden, Germany at Semperoper Ballett. DAVID HALLBERG, born in South Dakota, Hallberg trained at the Arizona Ballet School and the Paris Opera Ballet School before joining American Ballet Theatre in 2001, becoming a principal dancer in 2005. In 2011 he became the first American to join the Bolshoi Ballet under the title Premier Dancer. With ABT, his repertoire includes leading roles in Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, Onegin, La Bayadère, Othello, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, Sylvia, The Bright Stream, and Raymonda. Hallberg danced at the Kennedy Center Honors, celebrating the career of Natalia Makarova, attended by President and Mrs.

Obama. Hallberg has been a guest artist with Mariinsky Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, La Scala, Teatro Colon, Kiev Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet, Opera di Roma, Georgian State Ballet, and The Australian Ballet and toured with Kings Of The Dance. In 2017, The Australian Ballet named Hallberg resident guest artist, the first dancer to hold that title. ADAM LARSEN is a projection designer for live performance and documentary filmmaker. Designs include Hal Prince’s LoveMusik on Broadway; Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking The Waves at Opera Philadelphia and Prototype; Lee Breuer’s The Gospel at Colonus at the Athens, Edinburgh, and Spoleto festivals; Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle at the Singapore and Edinburgh festivals; Saariaho’s Maa with Atlanta Symphony; Janáček’s From the House of the Dead at Canadian Opera; Bernstein’s Mass at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Lincoln Center; Debussy’s Le martyre de Saint Sébastien, Britten’s Peter Grimes, Bernstein’s On the Town, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann at Hawaii Opera Theatre. Mr. Larsen’s documentary about autism entitled Neurotypical aired on the PBS series POV. RYAN MCNAMARA works with performance, installation, and sculpture. Many of his works have a collaborative or participatory quality, incorporating elements of theatre and dance into situationspecific installations. McNamara originally developed People

Movers for "ME3M: A Story Ballet About the Internet" in 2013. He has shown at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY, Museum of Modern Art, NY, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY, to name a few. JUSTIN PECK is the Resident Choreographer and a soloist dancer with the New York City Ballet. He is the second person in the institution’s history to hold this title. Justin has created over 30 ballets – 16 of those for New York City Ballet. His works have been performed by Paris Opera Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, LA Dance Project, Dutch National Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Houston Ballet, and Pennsylvania Ballet, to name a few. Peck choreographed the 2018 Broadway revival of Carousel for which he received the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards for best choreography. RAF SIMONS serves as the Chief Creative Officer of Calvin Klein. He leads the creative strategy of the CALVIN KLEIN brand globally across the designer, contemporary, bridge, jeans, underwear and home categories in addition to overseeing all aspects of Global Marketing and Communications, Visual Creative Services and Store Design. Mr. Simons was born and raised in Belgium, where he later studied and obtained a degree in industrial and furniture design. In 1995, he launched his eponymous line, Raf Simons. In 2005, he was appointed creative director of Jil Sander, where he served at the helm for seven years. Mr. Simons

assumed the position of creative director at Dior in 2012, a position he held until 2015. Mr. Simons lives and works in New York City. RICKY UBEDA, is originally from Miami, Florida where he grew up training in a variety of dance styles. In 2014, Ricky was crowned the Season 11 winner of “So You Think You Can Dance”. Immediately after, he moved to NYC finding a home in the Broadway community. His broadway credits includes On the Town, Cats (Mistoffelees), and Carousel. Aside from this, he was a member of Travis Walls Shaping Sound as well as a soloist for recording artist, Sia. Ricky is also an emerging choreographer who brings his unique classes to dancers across the nation. He can be found on social media under the handle @RickyUbeda11. VISIONAIRE founders Cecelia Dean and James Kaliardos have been collaborating with the biggest and most talented personalities in the creative industries for over 25 years. Visionaire conceptualizes and produces events, installations, films, digital content, and art publications all curated through the lens of art, fashion, and contemporary culture. By allowing a platform for creative freedom, Visionaire shares ideas and experiences with a voracious audience. For Glass Handel, Dean and Kaliardos curated Opera Music Videos with top filmmakers and artists that can be shared online.

GLASS ORCHESTRA VIOLIN 1

Luigi Mazzocchi, Concertmaster Igor Szwec, Assistant Concertmaster Meichen Liao-Barnes Diane Barnett Charles Parker Tess Varley

TROMBONE

Matt Gould, Principal Edward Cascarella

TUBA

Paul Erion, Principal   HARP

VIOLIN 2

Donna Grantham, Principal Paul Reiser Natasha Colkett Gared Crawford

Sophie Bruno Labiner, Principal   LUTE

Richard Stone HARPSICHORD

VIOLA

Elizabeth Jaffe, Principal Julia DiGaetani Ellen Trainer Joseph Kauffman

Adam Pearl

CELLO

Elizabeth Thompson, Principal Brooke Beazley BASS

Mary Javian, Principal FLUTE

Kimberly Trolier, Principal OBOE

Geoffrey Deemer, Principal Stephen Labiner CLARINET

Agnes Marchione, Principal Allison Herz BASSOON

Erik Höltje, Principal Jon Gaarder FRENCH HORN

John David Smith, Principal Karen Schubert TRUMPET

Robert Skoniczin, Principal Steven Heitzer

Celebrating 26 years of the Astral National Auditions. We applaud the careers of our notable Voice Auditions winners: Eric Owens, 1994 Karen Slack, 2001 Meredith Arwady, 2002 Angela Meade, 2007 Jonathan Beyer, 2009 Sarah Shafer, 2014 Chrystal E. Williams, 2014 Astral is an early career incubator that fosters ingenuity in rising-star classical musicians in instrumental and voice disciplines. Astral is a nonprofit, registered charitable organization. AstralArtists.org / 215.735.6999

HANDEL ORCHESTRA VIOLIN 1

Elizabeth Field, Concertmaster Mandy Wolman Linda Kistler Marika Holmqvist Margaret Humphrey

VIOLIN 2

Nancy Wilson, Principal Christof Richter June Huang Leah Nelson

CELLO

John Mark Rozendaal, Principal Eve S. Miller BASS

Anne Peterson, Principal OBOE

Stephen Bard, Principal Fiona Last BASSOON

Benjamin Matus, Principal

VIOLA

David Miller, Principal Daniela Pierson Amy Leonard

THEORBO

Richard Stone HARPSICHORD

Adam Pearl

ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION TEAM HEAD CARPENTER

Paul Hewitt

HEAD ELECTRICIAN

Ryan Morris

WARDROBE SUPERVISOR

Marla Schleffer

PEOPLE MOVERS

Steve Wei Adam Howard Gavin Whitt Timothy Sheridan Ebony Pullam Marshall Roy Donny James Smith Ivan Flores Sandoval Joe Iuliucci Ryan Tygh Nicholas Handahl Jeff Giarusso

Oliver Rith Keenan Bey Catherine Purcell Liam Mulshine Greg Peese Austin Burkey Linnea Bond Hyresh Davies Robert Hawkey Martin Skocelas-Hunter Bronwyn Sims

MUSIC DIRECTION & ARRANGEMENTS BY DANIEL KAZEMI TEXT BY JOHN JARBOE WITH STEPHANIE B LY T H E A N D D I TO VA N R E I G E R S B E RG

QUEENS OF THE NIGHT The Ring Cycle of drag, tenors, and rock & roll, unfolding over three different nights S E P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 018 B LY T H E LY A F T E R H O U R S | H o s t e d b y B l y t h e l y O r a t o n i o S E P T E M B E R 2 5 , 2 018 FA U R Ã&#x2030; P L AY | H o s t e d b y M a r t h a G r a h a m C r a c k e r S E P T E M B E R 2 8 , 2 018 DITO & AENEAS: T WO QUEENS, ONE NIGHT T H E AT R E O F L I V I N G A RT S

C R E AT I V E WRITER & DIRECTOR John Jarboe MUSIC DIRECTION & ARRANGEMENTS Daniel Kazemi COSTUME & PRODUCTION DESIGN Machine Dazzle MARTHA COSTUMES Max Brown LIGHTING DESIGN Drew Billiau SOUND DESIGN Daniel Perelstein STAGE MANAGER Bee Reed CAST BLYTHELY ORATONIO Stephanie Blythe MARTHA GRAHAM CRACKER Dito Van Reigersberg BEY Rachel Camp* LINDA Rob Tucker* MEREPEOPLE Dane Allison, Messapotamia Lefae, Kathryn Raines, Bobby "Fabulous" Goodrich* SPECIAL GUEST APPEARANCES BY Machine Dazzle, John Jarboe, Cookie Diorio*, Justin Vivian Bond*, Patricia Racette, Brenda Rae, Virgil Gadson*, and more Major support for Queens of the Night has been provided by the William Penn Foundation. This series is underwritten, in part, by Daniel K. Meyer, M.D., and by Linda and David Glickstein. Additional support provided by The Wallace Foundation and Andrew J. Martin-Weber. 73

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RUNNING TIME Each performance is approximately 1 hour and 36 minutes with no intermission

SYNOPSIS PART 1: BLYTHELY AFTER HOURS Blythely Oratonio, the testosterone-filled tenor of the century, has just finished another swoon-worthy performance, and for the first time in his storied life, he is also truly swooning. This is not like the crushes he had on the cute blond prompter, the lesbian stage manager, or lady number 3, but on someone who is not really a lady at all. Blythely longs for the hairy legs, shoulders, chest, and face of famed drag queen/substitute teacher Martha Graham Cracker. As he retires to his dressing room, he confides in the audience he keeps on hold there for these very moments of musical candor – you. With you, he imagines a life beyond the confines, classism, and cattiness of the classical music world, brainstorms other adjectives that start with the letter c, and plans his transformation into the rock god of Martha’s dreams with a little help from his friends. PART 2: FAURÉPLAY Audition Notice September 25, 2018 World’s tallest and hairiest drag queen seeks the following positions for upcoming first date with Opera Divo Blythely Oratonio:

Blythely Oratonio’s Grindr profile as of 9/24/18 Online now 30 feet away Height 5’11 Position Tenor  Relationship Status  Single  Pronouns He/Him Tribes Leather, Rugged, Geek, The Metropolitan Opera Club, Kate Smith and Rick Springfield Commemorative Societies (President) Looking for Dates, Friends, Relationship, Right Now

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lassical musicians: Must be virtuosic, blend C easily into the background, and be under 7 feet tall. Bonus if you come as a foursome. Chorus/backup singers: Must be classical, under 7 feet tall, and know how to step-touch in time with passion. Hair stylists: Must be proficient with head, leg, chest, back, arm, face, and thigh hair, must be under 7 feet tall. Coach: Must know what opera is and be able to transform a rock-and-roll drag queen into a classical Diva in three nights’ time. Think Queer Eye meets Masterclass. Must be under 7 feet tall.  Extras: Must be good at clapping, drinking, spontaneous sing-a-long. Must be under 7 feet tall. Fluffers: No height requirement. PART 3: DITO AND AENEAS Opera Philadelphia cordially welcomes you to Blythely Oratonio and Martha Graham Cracker’s first date. If you’ve been on a first date before, you know what to expect: A string quartet, a rock band, marshmallow roasting, and a lot of laughing over salad. Your role is supportive friend, fake royalty, enabler, confidant, and/ or the water that divides our lovers-to-be. For essential context we have inserted Blythely Oratonio and Martha Graham Cracker’s most recent Grindr profiles. Martha Graham Cracker’s Grindr profile as of 9/25/18 Online now 0 feet away Height 7 Position Vers  Relationship Status  Single  Pronouns She/Her Tribes Grammar Geek, Subs and Substitute Teachers, Hirsute Looking for Networking, Right Now

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Pipes4days  Age Old enough to know better “Working hard, I don't know why. I'm like a working-class dog and I just get by. Tonight I'm crawling out from in it, and though we're living on a brink love is alright tonight, we're gonna be alright”

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BLYTHELY ORATONIO

MARTHA GRAHAM CRACKER

Critically acclaimed and beloved dramatic tenor Blythely Oratonio was born in the basement of a church in Philadelphia. Discovered and mentored by brilliant dramaturg and vocal stylist, Jean Jarbeaux, Blythely quickly found his footing in the world of opera, becoming a sensation on stages across the globe. Although he has traveled the world singing before the footlights in Paris, Milan, Helsinki, Budapest, Sydney, New York, Alexandria, Graz, Plovdiv, Atlanta, Nantes, Karlsruhe, Dortmund, Reykjavik, Salerno, Vilnius, Oslo, Madrid, Stockholm, Lidköping, Buckinghamshire, Seattle, Surrey, Cardiff, Manitoba, Tucson, Toronto, and West Palm Beach, just to name a few, his heart and soul have always belonged to Philadelphia. When Mr. Oratonio is not singing one of his signature roles, such as Cavaradossi, Calaf, Radamès, Fileno, Manrico, Filipeto, Canio, and Vasco de Gama, he can be heard on the concert stage from very far away.

Martha Graham Cracker is famously ‘the tallest and hairiest drag queen in the world.” She hails from the Amalfi coast and was suckled and raised by wolves until a kindly sword-swallower from the circus took her in. She then joined the nowdefunct circus, The Family Guba Gaba, at the age of eight, and spent her childhood sitting under the piano during circus performances, singing along to the incidental music and making up her own lyrics. Eventually she made her way to Philadelphia – she was curious about powdered wigs, tried one on (hated it!) and then just stayed. She fell in with a band of roustabouts and began singing for her supper in a monthly cabaret series at L’Etage here in the city of Brotherly Love, the cradle of American democracy, where she was told she could make it if she could handle walking on cobblestones in high heels. That was 13 years ago. She is now getting the paperwork together to start the nation’s first-ever School of the Kiss, a two-year doctorate program in the art of kissing – classes include: Lip Workout/ Embouchure, Close But Not Touching, Staring Contests, Wordless Communication, Kissing in Other Languages, and On the Neck/Behind the Ears. She loves pop music, articulate discussion, biscuits, any place with a lot of reverb, righteous anger, breathing exercises, and the movie 9 to 5.

DIRECTOR’S NOTE By John Jarboe TLA photo by Dominic M. Mercier.

Cabaret is form of wish fulfillment. In 1881 Paris, when the form first took hold, the cabaret was a space where artists and audiences of all stripes came to experiment, commune, and shed the pretense of high art and high class. Cabaret was space where expectations subverted, different classes mocked and mingled, and old artistic forms became something new. Artists could experiment with saying, composing, and singing what was forbidden or uncouth in more established institutions. Because of the radical permission it granted, we have cabaret to thank for its great influence on artists such as Satie, Debussy, Lautrec, Picasso, and, well, Barbra Streisand. Cabaret also creates a space where the integrity of an art form can be explored out of its typical context and confines. Is an opera singer in a rock club singing Barry Manilow mashed with Tosca still opera? Once it’s happening, do we even care? David Devan once defined opera as “virtuosity, the classical voice, and dramatic drive.” Have you ever heard a bunch of opera singers singing at a piano bar post show? I posit you often get more virtuosity, more voice, and more drama there than on most major stages. With Queens of the Night, we are skipping the show and going straight (or not so straight) to the bar. Stephanie Blythe (Blythely Oratonio) and Dito van Reigersberg (Martha Graham Cracker) are two incredible singers whom you might never expect to share a stage, let alone a rock venue on South Street. Yet, both are virtuosic, both are classy, if not classical, and both are full of drama. Is it still opera? If it fulfills some need of ours to see humans in full voice, vulnerability, and the passion of a story, do we even care?

One of the most transformative encounters with opera I’ve had was watching the final room run of Opera Philadelphia’s production of La traviata featuring Lisette Oropesa. There was just a piano, fancy chairs, a ridiculously bloody bed, and some flats on wheels meant to represent walls. The chorus were in their everyday athleisure, sneakers and all. The only one in costume was Lisette. All through the run you could see the chorus in the background checking their music, whispering and intensely watching as Lisette threw herself onto one chaise or another. Occasionally there would be an interjection in a Scottish accent from the director (“be sexier, boys!”), or the squeak of a sneaker passing as, all the while, a single pianist did the work of a whole orchestra. There was something so magical about all these adults playing make believe in their rehearsal wear, dancing around tiny walls and miming their way through a party scene. All this silliness and humanity contrasted with the utter virtuosic humanity of Lisette’s performance. Watching, I felt like I finally understood what opera was, is, or can be. It took me seeing it out of its normal context, and being somewhere where I can shed my expectations for me to get to the heart of the act. Cabaret offers us a chance to see opera without it’s common trappings, to encounter the voice in a totally different relationship. So, I invite you to relax, let go of your expectations, and prepare yourself for a new kind of opera: Queens of the Night.

ARTISTS

DANE ALLISON Mereperson #1 RIDLEY, PENNSYLVANIA

2017 Dito & Aeneas recent: Ensemble, Dito & Aeneas, Opera Philadelphia; Chorus, Don Carlo, Opera Philadelphia; Mayor Upfold, Albert Herring, Lawrence University Opera DREW BILLIAU Lighting Designer ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS

2017 Dito & Aeneas, 2012 The Magic Flute recent: Lighting Designer, Sunset o639 Hours, BalletX; Lighting Designer, Samsung Both, Consumer Electronics Show Las Vegas; Lighting Designer, Beautiful Decay, BalletX next: Lighting Designer, Laneway Mural, Toronto, Ontario STEPHANIE BLYTHE Blythely Oratonio ELLENVILLE, NEW YORK

2017 Tancredi, 2017 Dito & Aeneas, 1997, The Rake’s Progress (partial listing) recent: Madame de la Haltière, Cendrillon, Metropolitan Opera; Marquise de Berkenfield, La fille du régiment, Atlanta Opera; Cornelia, Guilio Cesare, Houston Grand Opera next: Frugola/La Principessa/Zita, Il trittico, Metropolitan Opera JUSTIN VIVIAN BOND Special Guest HAGERSTOWN, MARYLAND

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Curator/Host, The Spiegeltent, Bard College; Ambassador at Large, Joe’s Pub, The Public Theater; Feature Artist, Trigger: Gender as a Weapon and a Tool, The New Museum next: Collaboration with Collective Fierce Pussy, The Beeler Gallery at Columbia College of Art and Design and The Southern Theater in Columbus, Ohio RACHEL CAMP Bey KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Assistant Director, Sing the Body Electric, Theatre Exile; Helena/Snug, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Arden Theatre Co.; Dancer/Dance Captain, Choreography by Jenn Rose, Dance Break NYC 2018 next: One-woman concert, An Evening With Rachel Camp, Theatre Horizon MACHINE DAZZLE Costume Designer & Production BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

2017 Dito & Aeneas recent: Performer & Costume Designer, Taylor Mac 24 Decades: A History of Popular Music, Currently Touring; Costume Designer, Spiegleworld’s Opium,Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas; Performer, Scenic & Costume Designer, Do You Want A Cookie Cabaret, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret next: Performer, Costume, & Scenic Designer, Taylor Mac Holiday Sauce, San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles 78

COOKIE DIORIO Special Guest PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Soloist & Host, Telling HERstories, Art Of The Heel; Soloist & Host, I, Too, Sing America, Art Of The Heel; Soloist, Do You Want A Cookie?, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret next: Soloist, Imagine, Annual Fundraiser for Orion Communities VIRGIL GADSON Special Guest PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Principle Dancer, Songs For a New World, City Center Theater; Featured Guest Artist, Spectrum, Apollo Theater; Principal Dancer Footwork, Made for Now, music video for Janet Jackson next: Performing with Yumi Kurosawa at The Kennedy Center BOBBY "FABULOUS" GOODRICH Mereperson #4 PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Son & Costume Designer, Eternal Glamnation, BRAT Productions; Divine, Divine/ Intervention, Faux Real Productions; Skzp, Musical Director, & Costume Designer, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, ReTheater next: Oceana, Basic Witches, Arden Theatre Company JOHN JARBOE Writer & Director MONTAGUE, MICHIGAN

2017 Dito & Aeneas, 2015 ANDY: A Popera recent: Writer & Performer, You Can Never Go Down The Drain, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret at Wilma Theater, Joe’s Pub, and La Mama ETC; Director & Co-conceiver, Do You Want A Cookie, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret with Fringe Arts; Director & Librettist, ANDY: A Popera, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret and Opera Philadelphia next: Co-writer, Performer, & Producer, My Dinner With Dito: A How To Be Gay Cabaret, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret and La Mama ETC DANIEL KAZEMI Music Direction & Arrangements SPRINGFIELD, NEW JERSEY

2017 Dito & Aeneas recent: Music Director, Lizzie, 11th Hour Theatre Company; Music Director, Guys and Dolls, Milwaukee Repertory Theater; Music Director, Big Red Sun, 11th Hour Theatre Company next: Music Director, In The Heights, Milwaukee Rep, Seattle Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park MESSAPOTAMIA LEFAE Mereperson #2 LINCOLN, RHODE ISLAND

2017 Dito & Aeneas recent: Performer & Deviser, Do You Want a Cookie?, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret; Solstice, Color Me Bearded, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret; Revolutionary, Bastille Day, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret next: Bingo Verifying Diva, GayBINGO, AIDS Fund

ARTISTS

KATHRYN RAINES Mereperson #3 VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA

2015 ANDY: A Popera recent: Co-creator, Wanderlust; Valerie Solanas, ANDY: A Popera, Opera Philadelphia; Jane Avril, The Body Lautrec, Fringe Arts ROB TUCKER Linda GLASSBORO, NEW JERSEY

Opera Philadelphia Debut recent: Maria, Twelfth Night, Shakespeare in Clark Park; James L. Johnson, Big Red Sun, 11th Hour Theatre Company; King, The Light Princess, Arden Theatre Co. next: Actor 4/Musical Director, This is the Week That Is..., 1812 Productions DITO VAN REIGERSBERG Martha Graham Cracker WASHINGTON, D.C.

2017 Dito & Aeneas recent: Bishop Ah-Ni, Live Faster, Pig Iron Theatre Company; Christina/Joan, Mommie Queerest, The Bearded Ladies Cabaret; Miss Tracy Mills, The Legend of Georgia McBride, Arden Theatre Co. next: Martha Graham Cracker, Lashed But Not Leashed, Guthrie Theatre

BEAUTIFULLY CURATED, MULTIFACETED CONCERTS OF S0NG Visit www.lyricfest for full concert listing ARTISTIC DIRECTORS SUZANNE DUPLANTIS & LAURA WARD BRYAN HYMEL • JAMIE BERNSTEIN • JENNIFER AYLMER ELIZABETH SHAMMASH • JONAS HACKER • RANDALL SCARLATA SYMONE HARCUM • JARED BYBEE • IRINI KYRIAKIDOU CHRISTINA VIAL • KARA MULDER • COLIN DOYLE • MAEVE HÖGLUND • MAREN MONTALBANO • CODY MÜLLER • VARIANT 6 RACHEL SPEIDEL LITTLE • AMY VAN ROEKEL • KELLY ANN BIXBY HANNAH LUDWIG • RAEHANN BRYCE • HAROLD EVANS WILLIAM BURDEN • JAMES REESE • KEITH PHARES • SIDNEY OUTLAW • MELISSA DUNPHY • DEREK BERMEL • GILDA LYONS JAMES PRIMOSCH • DAVID SHAPIRO • CURT CACIOPPO • GLEN ROVEN • ISABELLA NESS • RAYMOND LUSTIG • NKEIRU OKOYE

Mr Burns, a post-electric play by Anne Washburn directed by Yury Urnov

10.23.18 – 11.11.18

SINGLE TICKETS NOW ON SALE 215.546.7824 wilmatheater.org

Photo of Ross Beschler, Sarah Gliko, Campbell O’Hare, Brett Robinson by Matt Saunders

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available exclusively at 19th & Sansom Streets

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Woman Impressionist

OCT 21

B A R N E S FO U N DAT I O N .O RG

Meet a trailblazer who defied social norms to help shape the story of impressionism.

Denise Littlefield Sobel Aileen and Brian Roberts

BULLHEADED can be a compliment.

With critical support from contributors to the Barnes Foundation Exhibition Fund and additional support from Morisot Philanthropy Circle Donors and other funders. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

The Bull-Headed Lyre One of the earliest musical instruments in the world, and the only one like it on view in the United States. Featured among 1,200 outstanding objects and interactives that illuminate the human story.

NEW

MIDDLE EAST GALLERIES Now Open

3260 South Street, Phila. | www.penn.museum

Berthe Morisot, Self-Portrait (detail), 1885. MusĂŠe Marmottan Monet, Paris, Denis and Annie Rouart Foundation. ÂŠ Bridgeman

Berthe Morisot:

ORCHESTRA VIOLIN

Elizabeth Kaderabek, Concertmaster Alexandra Cutler-Fetkewicz

CELLO

ELECTRIC BASS

ELECTRIC GUITAR

DRUMS

Jennie Lorenzo

Andrew Nelson

Richard T. Hill

Jimmy Coleman

VIOLA

Joseph Kauffman

ARTISTIC AND PRODUCTION TEAM ASSISTANT MUSIC DIRECTOR

John Daniels

ASSISTANT SOUND DESIGNER

Lucas Fendlay

COP_Opera_Phila_3x4.9375_2018.qxp_8.17.18_FINAL 8/17/18 11

ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER

THE CHAMBER ORCHESTRA OF PHILADELPHIA

PROPS SUPERVISION

2 0 1 8

Kimitha Cashin

KORA

Dom Chacon

Bridget Beauchamp

PIPA

Tunde Jegede

ASIA:

Mozart, Dvořák, and Harrison

MANDOLIN

Dirk Brossé, Conductor Wu Man, Pipa

Wu Man

EUROPE:

Bach, Vivaldi, and Corelli

Sunday, February 24, 2019 | 2:30 PM Monday, February 25, 2019 | 7:30 PM Caterina Lichtenberg, Mandolin

GUITAR

WARDROBE SUPERVISOR

Schubert, Arriaga, and Jegede

Sunday, December 9, 2018 | 2:30 PM Monday, December 10, 2018 | 7:30 PM

Tara Bowler Julia Poiesz

S E A S O N

Dirk Brossé, Conductor Tunde Jegede, Kora

ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGER

COSTUME COORDINATOR

2 0 1 9

Sunday, October 7, 2018 | 2:30 PM Monday, October 8, 2018 | 7:30 PM

PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR

Cynthia Hennon Marino

AFRICA:

Caterina Lichtenberg

THE AMERICAS:

de Falla, Villa-Lobos, and Clearfield

Sunday, March 31, 2019 | 2:30 PM Monday, April 1, 2019 | 7:30 PM

CUTTER/DRAPER

Julie Watson

WIG & MAKE-UP ASSISTANT

Jason Goldsberry STITCHERS

Members of Local 799

OUD

Dirk Brossé, Conductor Jordan Dodson, Guitar Astral Spotlight Artist

Jordan Dodson

MIDDLE EAST:

Mozart, Saint-Saëns, and Shaheen

Sunday, May 19, 2019 | 2:30 PM Monday, May 20, 2019 | 7:30 PM Dirk Brossé, Conductor Simon Shaheen, Oud

Simon Shaheen

Artists, Dates, and Programs subject to change

FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS, CALL 215.545.1739 CHAMBERORCHESTRA.ORG

Dirk Brossé Music Director

OPERA ON THE MALL

WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED S A T U R D AY , S E P T E M B E R 2 9 , 2 018 I N D E P E N D E N C E N AT I O N A L H I S TO R I C A L PA R K 6 : 0 0 P. M . P R E - S H O W | 7: 0 0 P. M . B R O A D C A S T C R E AT I V E MUSIC Daniel Bernard Roumain* LIBRETTO Marc Bamuthi Joseph* DIRECTOR/CHOREOGRAPHER/DRAMATURGE Bill T. Jones* CONDUCTOR Viswa Subbaraman* SET DESIGN Matt Saunders* COSTUME DESIGN Liz Prince* LIGHTING DESIGN Robert Wierzel* PROJECTION DESIGN Jorge Cousineau SOUND DESIGN Robert Kaplowitz* WIG/MAKE-UP DESIGN David Zimmerman STAGE MANAGER Mike Janney* BROADCAST DIRECTOR Mike Dennis* ASSISTANT BROADCAST DIRECTOR Melody Wong SUPERTITLES OPERATOR Aurelien Eulert CAST UN/SUNG Lauren Whitehead* GLENDA Kirstin Chรกvez JOHN BLUE John Holiday* JOHN LITTLE Daniel Shirley* JOHN MACK Adam Richardson* JOHN HENRY Aubrey Allicock* OG Michael Bishop OG Duane Lee Holland, Jr.* OG Tendayi Kuumba* OG Caci Cole Pritchett* VOICE OF THE REPORTER Pat Ciarrocchi* CALLER Mike J. Dees* *Opera Philadelphia debut

Opera on the Mall is presented through the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and PNC Arts Alive. Opera Philadelphia has received dedicated funding for Opera on the Mall from PECO, the Mazzotti/Kelly Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, Drs. Beverly Lange and Renato Baserga, the Virginia Brown Martin Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation, the Hamilton Family Charitable Trust, and Ms. Robin Angly and Mr. Miles Smith. Additional funding was received from more than 200 generous individuals who supported Opera on the Mall through the company's first-ever crowdfunding campaign. Co-commissioned and co-produced with The Apollo Theater. Developed in partnership with Art Sanctuary. Presented in partnership with FringeArts as part of the 2017 Fringe Festival. Production underwritten by the Wyncote Foundation at the recommendation of David Haas. Major support for We Shall Not Be Moved has been provided by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Additional support is provided by William Penn Foundation and The Wallace Foundation. Generous commissioning support provided by Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Ed Bradley Family Foundation. The Student Performance of We Shall Not Be Moved was made possible by the Mazzotti/Kelly Fund-BBH of The Philadelphia Foundation. Special thanks to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance. 85

The

P ICTU R E of

GIVI NG

S TAG E its groundbreaking

F E S T I VA L & SEASONAL LINEUP along with community and educational programs

OPERA PHILADELPHIA relies on annual donations from generous patrons like you. What can you

GIVE T O D AY that will make all the difference tomorrow?

Without you, the picture of giving remains incomplete. Curtains remain closed, arias are

unsung, and potential is unrealized. But your generosity kindles a passion for opera so powerful, it reverberates down Philadelphiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Avenue of the Arts, through every city block.

With YOU the show WILL go on. PICTUREOPERA.ORG

$70 one hour of fight choreography | $125 a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

| $500 moving and tuning for one piano | $500 3 ho

score | $1,800 set transportation | $2,500 opera s

four voices to workshop one new opera | $5,000 a co

dress | $5,000 a 10-week opera residency for pro

I M A G I N E

W H A T

Y O U

$10,000 four weeks of rehearsal space | $10,000

OperaPhila app development | $25,000 a seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s w

| $40,000 a behind-the-scenes creative team | $50

$80,000 a contemporary libretto | $150,000 a world

and music fees at the Academy of Music | $1,00

s seat at a dress rehearsal | $250 one school bus rental

ours of diction coaching | $1,500 a groundbreaking

study guides | $5,000 one artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s housing | $5,000

onductor for T-VOCE | $5,000 a leading ladyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s custom

omising artists | $7,500 translated supertitles |

G I F T

C O U L D

F U N D

0 assessment of in-school programs | $15,000 My

worth of wigs and makeup | $30,000 stage lighting

0,000 an opera star | $75,000 a guest conductor |

d-renowned composer | $300,000 chorus, orchestra,

00,000 new production in the Perelman Theater

Clockwise from top: Chairmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Council members Hal Maryatt and John Alchin with General Director and President David B. Devan; Rachel Sterrenberg, Leadership Circle Member Barbara Teichert, and Jarrett Ott; Stephanie Blythe and Board Member Agnes Mulroney; Chairman of the Board Peter Leone and Judy Leone with General Director's Council members Anne Leone and Daniel Ludwig. Photos on this page by Sofia Negron, Mark Hylton, and Andre Flewellen. 92

Clockwise from top left: Leadership Circle member Frederick Haas and Rafael Gomez; Robert Driver with General Director’s Council Member Renée Rollin; O17 Festival Artist Sondra Radvanovsky with Chairman’s Council Members David and Linda Glickstein; Board member Charles Freyer with Johnathan McCullough; Costume Director Millie Hiibel shows Patron Program Member Rhoda Herrold the secrets of Carmen’s dress. Photos on this page by Andre Flewellen, Sofia Negron, Dominic M. Mercier, Ashley Magitz, and Shannon Eblen. 93

Clockwise from top: Board members Donna Wechsler and Caroline Mackenzie Kennedy with Rebecca Luzi and Natalie Kay; Patron Program member Lydia Alvarez (center) with Carol McCloskey and Elida Rouby; Board members Sandra Baldino and Daniel K. Meyer, M.D.; Dorothy Hanrahan and Alex Kaplan with Board member Katherine Christiano and Drew Christiano; 2018-2019 Emerging Artist Ashley Robillard with Patron Program member Wynn Lee. Photos on this page by Sofia Negron, Ashley Magitz, Mark Hylton, and Andre Flewellen. 98

Clockwise from top left: Board member Maria Trafton with Jack Trafton; Opera Philadelphia Composer in Residence Rene Orth and Alfredo Perales with VIVACE Ambassador and member Clint Walker; Leadership Circle member Gabriele Lee with Board member Kenneth Swimm; Opera Philadelphia Members take a Backstage Tour of the Carmen set. Photos on this page by Andre Flewellen, Sofia Negron, and Shannon Eblen. 99

PLA NNE D G IVING SPOTLIG H T ROBERT

DRIVER

When I retired from the Opera in 2012, I was pleased that the Board and I had worked closely together to ensure a smooth transition in leadership by hiring David Devan six years earlier. Today, another six years later, I am ecstatic at where David and the Board, with your support and participation, have taken Opera Philadelphia! My tenure began in 1991 with securing the tenuous financial condition of the Company, offering known works from the central repertory, and employing rising young international stars—many from our own community—training at Curtis and the AVA. In the fall of 1996, we celebrated the eradication of our deficit with a gala concert at the Academy. It was only in my second decade that we were able to carefully introduce innovative new American operas by composers such as Tan Dun and Richard Danielpour. Today, Opera Philadelphia has moved from just participating in the important task of adding to America’s legacy of new works to offering leadership in that task with its inauguration of Festival O. Opera Philadelphia is now internationally recognized for both its innovative new works and for its outstanding grand opera productions in the Academy of Music. It has also continued and enhanced the tradition of introducing Philadelphia audiences to today’s most exciting artists. Producing great opera will always require the loyal support of opera’s public. Ensuring the long-term well-being of Opera Philadelphia will require more than ticket purchases and general support. It is important to connect today’s generation to the future of opera, which we can all do at our appropriate levels by making a provision to benefit the Opera in our will or estate plan. My wife Monica and I are honored to have made such a provision for Opera Philadelphia as a testament to our belief in this company and our support for the work it is doing. Those of us who love and care about the Opera need to take the lead in helping to ensure that there is no gap between recognition of greatness and the support required to sustain it. Please consider joining me in the Legato Society by making a provision for the Opera in your own estate plan.

Robert B. Driver General & Artistic Director, Opera Philadelphia (1991-2012) and Legato Society Member 101

CORPORATE COUNCIL The Corporate Council generously supports Opera Philadelphia’s artistic and educational programming through contributions and in-kind donations.

2018–2019 SEASON SPONSORS

Official Hotel

Official Sponsor, Legato Society

Official Piano Service Provider

Brand Communications Partner

Season Media Partner

Official Sponsor, Patron Program

Season Media Partner

Official Piano

CORPORATE COUNCIL SPONSORS

102

Affairs To Be Remembered, Inc.

Garces Group

Ballard Spahr LLP

PECO

Center City Film and Video

PNC

CRW Graphics

Saks Fifth Avenue

Deluxe Corporation Foundation

Termini Bros. Bakery

Ernst Brothers Designers + Builders

Tiffany & Co.

Exelon Business Services

Universal Health Services

The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and Opera Philadelphia are collaborative partners in delivering the highest quality opera programs in world class venues for the benefit of regional audiences, international artists, and the broader community. EITC APPROVED The Opera is a recognized Educational Improvement Organization, eligible for EITC

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, EITC contributions, or to join Opera Philadelphia’s Corporate Council, contact Nathan Schultz, Manager of Institutional Giving, at 215.893.5932 or schultz@operaphila.org.

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COMMUNITY

Help ever yone see themselves i n O p e r a P h i l a d e l p h i a . To g e t h e r, we can inspire vitality in ever y r e a c h o f t h e c i t y.

104

Amplifying every voice

School Programs & Community Initiatives

For an opera company to make a significant

Te e n Vo i c e s o f t h e C i t y E n s e m b l e

impact it must be part of its city. It is

(T-VOCE)—a performing arts and vocal

because of this responsibility that Opera

ensemble program provided free-of-charge

Philadelphia established a firm commitment

to participating students—nurtures the

to expanded arts education and increased

creation of art with diverse voices and gives

access to community programs, giving

rise to those underrepresented in the arts.

opportunities to all voices who wish to be heard.

Sounds of Learning introduces thousands

When you support Opera Philadelphia’s

5-12 to opera each year, through lessons

community initiatives, you foster a greater

in music, language arts, foreign languages,

understanding and ignite conversation

social studies, and more, culminating in a

between people from all walks of life.

trip to the Academy of Music for a final

Help us keep the dialogue going.

dress rehearsal. Furthermore, it addresses

of Philadelphia-area students in grades

the shortage of music education in the School District of Philadelphia and other regional schools. Opera Philadelphia introduces Philadelphia high-school students to thrilling backstage careers in the arts through a Workforce Readiness Program designed for students

“[T-VOCE brings local organizations]

t ogether to val i dat e, c eleb r at e, and

empower Philadelphia’s teens through

song, dance, and spoken word and build

a communit y of young people who

collectivel y grow individuall y.”

who are not college bound. Opera Philadelphia’s annual signature civic event, Opera on the Mall, is a free, open-to-the-public broadcast of an opera at Independence National Historical Park, attracting as many as 6,000 annual attendees.

– Va l e r i e Gay,

Executive Director of A rt S anctuar y

105

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Don José

what happens when opera characters go on trial? By Shannon Eblen

It wasn’t an average murder trial. The lawyers and jury saw the crime unfold. They watched intently from red velvet seats as the woman was killed and the man holding the knife fell to his knees, admitting his guilt. Then they applauded as the curtain fell and the perpetrator and victim reemerged to take their bows.

Photo by Dave DiRentis.

defendant committed the crime or not, Riley said. But for a crime committed before an audience of 2,700, it became a question of Don José’s mental state. The Community Initiatives staff scoured the Pennsylvania Bar Association website, creating mock trial packets for The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania vs. Don José and writing witness statements with the help of teaching artist Karina Sweeney, who also went to Esperanza to work with the students.

Although a trick of acting and stagecraft, the murder case at the center of the Esperanza Academy Charter School mock trial was somehow more real than others the students had worked on before. The case didn’t just exist within a packet of “It’s an opera program for someone who doesn’t papers, it played out in front of them – at the opera, necessarily like opera,” Bolton said, “and we’re not no less. trying to make them converts. But here we are using art as a way to help fulfill curricular needs, Michael Bolton, Vice President of Community to connect people to the art in ways that they Initiatives at Opera Philadelphia, is always on the wouldn’t have thought there would be hunt for out-of-the-box programming. Why not, a connection.” he thought, create a crime scene of Carmen that students could explore? In fact, why not do a mock The Mock Trial Class studied the packet and the trial and use the opera to teach students about the story, but it was the next steps that really resonated legal system? with them: Attending the final dress rehearsal and visiting the scene of the crime on the stage of the “Initially team members were maybe intimidated by Academy of Music. this process because it was so foreign,” Bolton said. But he encouraged them: “This is creativity time.” For Julianis Ramos-Ramos, exploring a crime scene for the first time – even if it was contrived Opera Philadelphia already had a relationship with from the confetti-strewn remnants of Act IV, a Esperanza Academy, so when Bolton discovered prop knife, and fake blood – was a highlight. they had a mock trial class, the stars aligned. “I personally want to be a crime scene investigator, “We were really excited about the idea,” said Mock so it was a more personal view of what I want to Trial teacher Kyle Riley. “Part of it has to do with do in the future,” she said. the idea when we do mock trial, it really is acting.” Usually mock trial cases are about whether the The crime scene investigation taught Opera 106

Philadelphia a lesson, too: Never underestimate the laser-sharp observation skills of teenage mock trial students. A randomly selected knife turned out to be a specific type of knife, leading the defense to use it to question Don José’s intent. Then there were the footprints.

Sanchez, who was a lawyer for the prosecution, about watching Johnson’s portrayal of Don José at the dress rehearsal. “You could quite see his obsession.” Six weeks of work culminated in a mock trial held in a courtroom at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law. This was the best part for many of the teens, a chance to feel like a real lawyer. Tom Zemaitis, a retired trial lawyer who acted as the judge, also happened to be a fan of Carmen. It was interesting, he remarked, to see these largerthan-life characters portrayed as regular people in a court setting. He could see the students had worked hard, he said. “They asked thoughtful questions. Sometimes they were surprised by the answers, but that happens in a courtroom, so they got a taste of what it’s like.”

Photo by Shannon Eblen.

“The kids were obsessed with the bloody footprints,” Bolton said. They questioned the size of the footprints, whose footprints they were, and the path the footprints made around the stage. They finally convinced the teens to forget about the footprints, pleading, “We just bought them at Halloween Adventure!” The students were displaying the same critical thinking skills Bolton had witnessed at the Carmen dress rehearsal when he checked in with them at intermission. He could tell they weren’t just enjoying the performance, they were probing it for clues. “Their observation was at a very different level,” he said, “and their engagement was at a very different level because there was something else riding on the line for them. It may have been a grade, but it was a project that suddenly they were very interested in.” Just as visiting the crime scene put the students in their clients’ shoes, seeing the opera and meeting with the stars, Daniela Mack (Carmen) and Evan LeRoy Johnson (Don José), put them in their clients’ heads. “It kind of gave me more of a sense of who he was, the way he interacted with other characters, especially Carmen,” said Rosa Photo by Dave DiRentis.

The defense made a case that Carmen had manipulated Don José and driven him to insanity, but the young women who made up the jury, having grown up in the #MeToo era, weren’t having it. As prosecution lawyer Kimberli Rojas said, “He knew what he was doing and his obsession with Carmen led him to do the unthinkable.” It was unanimous. Don José was guilty. Though it was the last day of school for the seniors in the group, many of the Intro to Law students who served on the jury will be taking their place next year in the Mock Trial class. Would they be interested in trying more operatic crimes? Riley said absolutely. “The kids started talking about it on the bus back to the school.” Opera on Trial was made possible by The Mazzotti/ Kelly Fund - BBH of The Philadelphia Foundation and The William Penn Foundation.

TODAY’S PE R FO R M A N C ES STARRING TOMORROW’S LUMINARIES. Don’t miss today’s most promising young voices in four rousing Curtis Opera Theatre productions, including Don Giovanni and Empty the House in partnership with Opera Philadelphia and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Leonard Bernstein (‘41) and Henry Purcell

Stephen Sondheim

TROUBLE IN PARADISE

SWEENEY TODD

Trouble in Tahiti | Dido and Aeneas O C T O B E R 4 –7

N OV E M B E R 1 4 , 1 6 , & 1 8

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Rene Orth (’16)

DON GIOVANNI

EMPTY THE HOUSE

M A R C H 7– 1 0

M AY 2 , 4 , & 5

BUY TICKETS TODAY AT CURTIS.EDU/OPERA * Don Giovanni and Empty the House are presented as part of Curtis Opera Theatre at the Perelman in partnership with Opera Philadelphia and the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. The Curtis Opera Theatre season is sponsored by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and the Wyncote Foundation. Don Giovanni is sponsored in part by the Allen R. and Judy Brick Freedman Venture Fund for Opera.

OPERA AT THE ACADEMY SPRING 2019

BRITTEN

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM February 8–17, 2019 U.S. Production Premiere

PUCCINI

LA BOHÈME April 26–May 5, 2019 Beloved Revival

P L A N YO U R S P R I N G R E T U R N TO THE ACADEMY OF MUSIC O P E R A P H I L A . O R G | 215 . 7 3 2 . 8 4 0 0 Opera at the Academy is underwritten, in part, by Judy and Peter Leone. A Midsummer Night's Dream is underwritten, in part, by Barbara Augusta Teichert.

O18 festival team

LEADERSHIP David B. Devan, General Director & President Corrado Rovaris, Jack Mulroney Music Director Michael Bolton, Vice President of Community Initiatives David Levy, Vice President of Artistic Operations Ryan Lewis, Vice President of Marketing Frank Luzi, Vice President of Communications Jeremiah Marks, Chief Financial Officer Rachel McCausland, Vice President of Development Lawrence Brownlee, Artistic Advisor Mikael Eliasen, Artistic Advisor Ken Smith, Assistant to General Director & Board Relations Coordinator MUSIC Michael Eberhard, Artistic Administrator Sarah Williams, New Works Administrator Elizabeth Braden, Chorus Master & Music Administrator J. Robert Loy, Director of Orchestra Personnel & Orchestra Librarian Grant Loehnig, Head of Music Staff Rene Orth, Composer in Residence Emily May Sung, Assistant Chorus Master Nathan Lofton, Assistant Orchestra Personnel Manager & Librarian Colleen Hood, Orchestra Library & Personnel Coordinator Ben Newman, Festival Company Manager PRODUCTION John Toia, Director of Production Drew Billiau, Director of Design & Technology Stephen Dickerson, Technical Director Millie Hiibel, Costume Director Meggie Scache, Production Manager Lisa Anderson, Production Stage Manager Katie Foster, Assistant Costume Director Bridget A. Cook, Artistic Operations Coordinator Christopher Frey, Festival Lighting Supervisor Rachel Merryman, Festival Production Coordinator Brett Finley, Festival Scheduler Christie Kelly, Lead Festival Driver/Runner Tom Devine, Paul Lodes, Pete Mohan, Michael Ruffo, Stephen Wolff, Scene Shop Crew

110

O18 festival team

MARKETING & GUEST SERVICES Michael Knight, Director of Guest Services Karina Kacala, Marketing Manager Emma Storm, Marketing Intern Siddhartha Misra, Lead Guest Services Associate Ashley Colabella, VIP Services Concierge Catherine Perez, Festival Guest Services Concierge Marissa Chalker, Rodney McGhee, Guest Services Associates Joshua Cote, Elizabeth Kelly, Rae Rosenbayber, Anthony Sharp, Jiaqi Teng, Stephen Trygar, Festival Guest Services Associates DEVELOPMENT Rebecca Ackerman, Director of Individual Giving & Advancement Services Derren Mangum, Director of Institutional Giving Adele Mustardo, Director of Events Mark Nestlehutt, Director of Planned Giving Aisha Wiley, Director of Research Rachel Mancini, Development Special Projects Manager Nathan Schultz, Manager of Institutional Giving Erica Weitze, Development Operations Manager COMMUNICATIONS Shannon Eblen, Communications Manager Katie Kelley, Design Manager Karma Agency, Brand Communications Partner 21c Media Group, National Media Representatives Gabriela CastaĂąo, Promotions & Communications Intern COMMUNITY INITIATIVES Steven Humes, Education Manager Veronica Chapman-Smith, Community Initiatives Administrator Fumika Mizuno, Community Initiatives Intern FINANCE Brian Ramos, Controller Bethany Steel, HR & Operations Manager Megan Harris, Accounting Assistant COUNSEL Ballard Spahr, LLP, General Counsel

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YO U R D I G I TA L FEATURED EVENTS

GUIDE TO

– Explore Philadelphia – Create your festival schedule – Access mobile performance tickets – F ind a spot to enjoy an Opera Philadelphia Ale –S hop festival merchandise – And more!

DOWNLOAD THE My OperaPhila A P P F O R O 18 !

operaphila.org/app 112

O18 festival map

N 20TH

N BROAD

THE BARNES FOUNDATION

CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC

INDEPENDENCE NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

S 17TH

ACADEMY OF MUSIC

LOCUST ST

S 20TH

THEATRE OF LIVING ARTS

ST S 17TH

S 18TH

PERELMAN THEATER AT THE KIMMEL CENTER

Academy of Music

LU C I A D I L A MMER MO O R Perelman Theater

SKY ON SWINGS Theatre of Living Arts

NE QUITTEZ PAS:

A Rei m agi n ed La voix humaine The Barnes Foundation

G L A SS HANDEL Theatre of Living Arts

Q U E E N S O F TH E NIG H T Curtis Institute of Music

FRIDAYS AT FIELD Independence National Historical Park

OPERA ON THE MALL: WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED The Academy of Music and Perelman Theater are part of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Venue map photos by Jeff Fusco, B. Krist, and George Widman for Visit Philadelphia.

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Festival O

Will Return

SEPTEMBER 18â&#x20AC;&#x201C;29 2019

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