COLD MOUNTAIN Program

FEB. 5, 7M, 10, 12, 14M, 2016 ACADEMY OF MUSIC PA R T O F T H E K I M M E L C E N T E R F O R T H E P E R F O R M I N G A R T S

Once in a Lifetime Location ON LY 3 8 E XC LU SI V E R E SI DE NC E S F U L LY C U S T OM I Z A B L E F L O OR PL A N S E X PA N SI V E 2 0 F T. B A L C ON I E S AUTOMATED ROBOTIC PARKING SYSTEM

This is u ltr a-lu x u ry.

This is 50 0 wa ln u t.

2 1 5 . 5 74 . 0 5 0 0 5 0 0 WA L N U T. N E T

2

PHILADELPHIA’S ULTRA-LUXU R Y DEVELOPER

CONTENTS

PROGRAM INFORMATION

OPERA PHILADELPHIA GENERAL INFORMATION

8 Cold Mountain 12 Synopsis & Running Time 14 Program Notes 17 Director’s Note 18 Composer & Librettist 20 Q&A with Jennifer Higdon 23 A Civil War Perspective 24 Artist Bios 28 Orchestra & Chorus

4 Letter from the Chairman 5 Board of Directors 6 Welcome from the

Showcase is published by Kimmel Center, Inc. 1500 Walnut Street, 17th Floor Philadelphia, PA 19102 215-790-5800 / Fax: 215-790-5801 www.kimmelcenter.org

General Director

31 Leadership Support & Major Gifts

33 Annual Fund Support 38 Corporate Council 44 Administration 45 Up Next: The Elixir of Love For information about advertising in Showcase, contact Joe Ciresi at 215-790-5884.

Image: Isabel Leonard and Nathan Gunn in the World Premiere production of Cold Mountain.

Photo by Ken Howard for The Santa Fe Opera 3

FROM THE

CHAIRMAN Dear Friends, As I have been reflecting on the path that led us to this East Coast Premiere of Cold Mountain, I have often returned to this thought: In opera, just as in life, time seems to pass us by both very quickly and very slowly.

It has been nearly five years since Opera Philadelphia joined with our friends at The Santa Fe Opera to announce that we were co-commissioning the first opera

by Philadelphia-based composer Jennifer Higdon, who would join with renowned librettist Gene Scheer to create a most American opera based on the National Book Award-winning novel by Charles Frazier.

To give you a sense of how much time – and how much progress – has passed since then, consider this: When we made that announcement, we hadn’t even staged the first work in Opera Philadelphia’s American Repertoire Program, Nico Muhly’s Dark Sisters. That came 10 months later. Tonight, Cold Mountain becomes the SIXTH production from our company’s commitment to new American opera, all staged in the past 3 ½ years here in Philadelphia.

It takes a marvelous Board of Directors, an enthusiastic opera-loving audience, a talented group of artists, and a dedicated staff to embrace this level of commitment to new work. It also takes the bold leadership of our General Director & President David B. Devan. In January, we celebrated David’s 10-year anniversary with the company, and I cannot think of a more appropriate tribute to him than to reflect upon how far he has led this company in the past decade. From his slow and steady support of the creative team behind Cold Mountain (and the creative teams behind many new works in the pipeline for future seasons) to his fast-paced darting around the Academy of Music and the Perelman Theater on performance nights, David always sets the proper pace for growth, innovation, and artistic excellence at Opera Philadelphia.

Thank you for joining us for Cold Mountain.

Sincerely,

DANIEL K. MEYER, M.D. CHAIRMAN 4

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Daniel K. Meyer, M.D., Chairman David B. Devan*, President Frederick P. Huff, Vice Chair Peter Leone, Vice Chair Alice Strine, Esq., Vice Chair Scott F. Richard, Secretary Thomas Mahoney, Treasurer Stephen A. Madva, Esq., Chairman Emeritus

Benjamin Alexander

Joel M. Koppelman

Jonathan H. Sprogell

Sandra Baldino

Beverly Lange, M.D.

James B. Straw

F. Joshua Barnett, M.D., J.D.

Ellen Berman Lee

Alice Strine, Esq.

Willo Carey

Gabriele Lee

Kenneth R. Swimm

Nicholas Chimicles, Esq.

Peter Leone

Maria Trafton

Ady L. Djerassi, M.D.

Thomas Mahoney

Charlotte Watts

Charles C. Freyer, Esq.

Daniel K. Meyer, M.D.

Donna Wechsler

Ehab Hammad

Agnes Mulroney

Honorary Members

Mark Hankin

Scott F. Richard

Dennis Alter

Frederick P. Huff

Harold Rosenbluth

Alan B. Miller

Caroline Kennedy

Stephen G. Somkuti, M.D.

H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest

List as of January 2016 *Ex officio 5

WELCOME Dear Friends, In August, it was my honor to accompany a group of Opera Philadelphia patrons to attend the World Premiere performance of Cold Mountain at The Santa Fe Opera. I am proud to say that Philadelphia was well represented as our hometown composer, Jennifer Higdon, basked in the enthusiastic applause that Saturday evening in New Mexico.

This acclaimed new opera based on the novel by Charles Frazier is anchored by Jennifer’s music and supported by Gene Scheer’s skillful libretto, Lenny Foglia’s able direction, the skills of the design team, and the talents of a worldclass cast, orchestra, and chorus. This incredible array of artists gave their all and they were met with unprecedented enthusiasm, with six sold-out performances and international media attention.

I was just one of the dozens of Philadelphians who traveled to Santa Fe to share in the opening with Jennifer, and it is a thrill to now share Cold Mountain with our entire city. You are witnessing one of five performances of the opera, which has been surrounded with a number of special events including lectures, film screenings, and backstage tours. And, since we do things BIG in Philadelphia, we’ve turned our city into one big book club, reading and discussing Cold Mountain through the 2016 One Book, One Philadelphia initiative from the Free Library of Philadelphia and the Mayor’s Office.

Thank you for joining us for the East Coast Premiere of Cold Mountain. Please join me in enthusiastically applauding the team that brought this opera to the Academy of Music stage.

Sincerely,

DAV I D B . D E VA N GENERAL DIRECTOR & PRESIDENT @ddevan

For more of David’s thoughts, read his blog at operaphila.org/devantagepoint 6

IT’S WARM INSIDE. Never mind the thermometer. It’s always warm at The Hill in winter, with lots to do indoors. Like water volleyball in our Aquatic Center. Wine tastings and lectures. Special interest clubs and art exhibits. Concerts and cultural programs.

Dinner with friends. Afternoons with a best seller. Alas, there’s no shoveling, but you’ll get used to that.

YOU’LL FEEL RIGHT AT HOME. CALL 215-240-8890 TO DISCOVER OUR NEW NEIGHBORHOOD, HAWK RIDGE.

A CONTINUING CARE RETIREMENT COMMUNITY 4000 Fox Hound Drive | Lafayette Hill, PA 19444 | TheHillatWhitemarsh.org/Arts

OPERA PHILADELPHIA Cold Mountain East Coast Premiere American Repertoire Program Co-commission and co-production with The Santa Fe Opera and Minnesota Opera, in collaboration with North Carolina Opera

Music

Jennifer Higdon

Text Gene Scheer

Based on Charles Frazier’s National Book Award-winning novel, Cold Mountain

Conductor Corrado Rovaris

Director

Leonard Foglia

Set Design

Costume Design

David C. Woolard

Lighting Design

Brian Nason

Projections Design

Fight Director

Chorus Master

Wig & Make-up Design

Stage Manager

Robert Brill*

Elaine McCarthy* Rick Sordelet* Elizabeth Braden David Zimmerman Becki Smith

*Opera Philadelphia debut

Production underwritten in part by The Wyncote Foundation as recommended by Frederick R. Haas and Daniel K. Meyer, M.D., Ms. Barbara Augusta Teichert, and The General Director's Council Production supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and by the Aaron Copland Fund for Music Events surrounding Cold Mountain are supported in part by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Wallace Foundation Part of One Book, One Philadelphia—A Project of the Free Library of Philadelphia 8

9

Cold Mountain CAST THE

SARA Rachel Sterrenberg

W.P. INMAN Jarrett Ott

LILA Heather Stebbins

ADA MONROE Isabel Leonard*

KATIE/SIREN #1 Heather Phillips*

RUBY THEWES Cecelia Hall

OLIVIA/SIREN #2 Lauren Eberwein*

TEAGUE Jay Hunter Morris

CLAIRE/SIREN #3 Olivia Vote*

STOBROD/BLIND MAN Kevin Burdette

REID/HOME GUARD Roy Hage

VEASEY Paul Groves*

THOMAS John David Miles

LUCINDA Marietta Simpson* REVEREND MONROE/PANGLE/ HOME GUARD Anthony Michaels-Moore OWENS/ETHAN/HOME GUARD Marcus DeLoach* JUNIOR/CHARLIE

BIRCH Andrew Farkas* GRACE Francesca Luzi* OWENS’ SON Jackson Williams

Alasdair Kent* *Opera Philadelphia debut 10

LAURA Aimee Pilgermayer

OPERADELAWARE •IS A REVELATION•

“The Wilmington Grand Opera House is a smaller version of Philadelphia’s Academy of Music...Its intimacy allows everyone to see the singers’ facial expressions...it’s a pity that few Philadelphians seem to have discovered it.” -Steve Cohen, Broad Street Review FRANCO FACCIO

HAMLET

Faccio’s major w ‘Amleto’ is a o being p rk... worthy of lac Verdi a ed between nd Ver ismo.

–Enric

EAST COAS PREMIE T RE

Maestro Anthony Barrese leads the OperaDelaware Orchestra and Chorus with a stellar cast including Joshua Kohl, Sarah Asmar, Tim Mix, Lara Tillotson and Ben Wager Directed by E. Loren Meeker.

o Girard i RE DE LLA S

CORRIE

ERA

GIUSEPPE VERDI

FALSTAFF ns umatio tic exh nce are ra e p O importa . of this unheard of.. y virtuall is

e Loom –Georg L TIMES IA C N FINA

Maestro Giovanni Reggioli, leads a thrilling cast including Steven Condy, Grant Youngblood, Victoria Cannizzo, Sharin Apostolou and Ryan MacPherson. Directed by Dean Anthony.

•COME REVEL WITH US• MAY 14-22, 2016 *Save 30% on a special AMTRAK companion fare to Wilmington. Visit operade.org/PlanYourVisit

For performance schedule, tickets and travel info

call 302-442-7807 or visit operade.org

SYNOPSIS Approximate running time for Cold Mountain is two hours and 45 minutes, including one 20-minute intermission

ACT I Teague, the leader of the local Home Guard, is hunting down Civil War deserters.

Photo by Ken Howard | The Santa Fe Opera

W.P. Inman, a Confederate soldier, decides to desert and return home to his beloved Ada. On his journey, Inman meets Solomon Veasey, whom he stops from committing murder. Meanwhile, the once-privileged Ada lives a life of deprivation at Black Cove Farm until she meets Ruby, a mountain woman who teaches Ada about farming and surviving.

Inman reencounters Veasey near a river while fleeing the Home Guard, and bargains with him for passage across the water. Fate and weather conspire against the pair, who capsize and drift downriver. The next morning, Lila and her three sisters stumble upon the two men. Lila’s husband drugs Inman and Veasey before giving them up to the Home Guard. The men are put on a chain gang of deserters.

Back at the farm, Ruby finds her estranged father, Stobrod, trying to steal food. She wants nothing to do with him, despite his assertions that he has changed. When Teague approaches, Ruby hides her father, but later orders him to stay away.

Meanwhile, Inman starts an insurrection, but the guards shoot the entire chain gang and leave. A wounded Inman is the lone survivor. He relives the day he bid Ada farewell, but the memory dissolves to the gruesome reality of war: Inman, chained to six dead men, loses consciousness.

12

INTERMISSION

ACT II Lucinda, a runaway slave, is rifling through the pockets of the dead prisoners when Inman stirs and startles her. She frees him, and Inman continues his journey.

Back at Black Cove Farm, Stobrod and his traveling companion Pangle are still relying upon Ruby and Ada for sustenance. Stobrod tries to convince Ruby that he is a new man, but she remains skeptical.

Inman now happens upon Sara, a war widow, who is trying desperately to comfort her baby. Inman helps her, gains her trust, and is invited to spend the night.

At Black Cove Farm, Teague appears. He has brought a copy of the newspaper that lists the names of deserters. Ruby sees her father’s name, as Teague intended.

The next morning, Inman and Sara must react quickly when Union soldiers appear.

At a campfire in the woods, Teague and his men confront Stobrod and Pangle. Both men are shot and left for dead.

Ada goes hunting deep in the woods, where she and Inman finally reunite. Although both are deeply altered by the war, they manage to promise themselves to each other− but Teague is not done pursuing deserters. And the next morning when they wake, they are unaware that it will be the last morning they spend together…

LET US SHOW YOU AROUND

FREE TOURS

Your Happily Ever After.

1pm Daily Commonwealth Plaza The Kimmel Center

KIMMELCENTER.ORG 13

PROGRAM NOTES: ASCENDING COLD MOUNTAIN

By Gene Scheer Gene Scheer is one of the opera world’s most esteemed and busiest librettists. In adapting the story of Cold Mountain as a libretto, Scheer found himself−like the novel’s protagonist, W.P. Inman−on a long and eventful journey, but Scheer’s experience, unlike Inman’s, offered artistic collaboration and creative challenge at every turn.

In his essay “Why Read the Classics?” Italo Calvino defines a classic as “a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.” Having spent almost two years distilling Charles Frazier’s beautiful novel Cold Mountain into a libretto, I still find myself surprised by the wondrous ways that this book continues to resonate deeply, how it always seems to have something more to say.

At the start of the project I went down to Asheville, North Carolina, to meet Charles and Katherine Frazier. When I arrived in Asheville, Charles picked me up himself and drove us through the woods, up to the real Cold Mountain. As we drove, ascending higher and higher, I wondered whether Charles was nervous about handing over his novel to me.

Maybe that was because I was nervous myself about finding a way to transform his book into an opera−into a treatment that would convey not just the power of the story, but the power of Charles’s beautiful language. Because it is Charles’s exquisite voice that anchors the novel and allows the reader not only to understand but also to feel the struggles being depicted.

Kevin Burdette and Nathan Gunn. Photo by Ken Howard.

When I began work on Cold Mountain, I had recently completed an opera based on Moby-Dick. That project also took years to complete, but I was secure at least in the knowledge that Herman Melville would not be phoning or emailing to let me know what he thought of my work. I’ll admit that was comforting.

14

As we got out of the car and I had my first glimpse of Cold Mountain off in the distance, it became clear that this was to be a different kettle of fish. As Charles looked out at Cold Mountain, he began to describe how his father had told him a story about an ancestor, a great-uncle, who was wounded in the Civil War and walked all the way home. I thought about the eight years he had spent writing this very personal novel. And I thought about the fact that, unlike Moby-Dick, which is surely the most famous novel that relatively few people have actually read, this novel has most likely been read and is still clearly remembered by many who would come to see the opera.

My primary goal in writing this libretto was to produce something that would be faithful to the spirit of the novel, to create the scaffolding around which Jennifer Higdon could re-imagine the story through her inspired music. When adapting something for an opera, my starting thought is not “How can I improve this work?” but rather “How can I enable music to explore the feelings woven into the marrow of the source material?”

The first question I need to answer, therefore, is not what to cut, is not even what to include, but rather: What is it about this story that music can communicate on its own?

How can the narrative be structured in a way to allow music to take the lead and reinvent the experience?

It may seem self-evident, but this is why opera exists. We come to opera for the unique catharsis that only music can provide.

Running counter to that imperative is the strong gravitational pull I feel of wanting to include all of the wonderful details that make up the source material. I’ve often sat at my computer for days struggling and asking myself: “How can I not include that?” It seems essential because, in the written form, all of the details of a great literary work are essential.

But the written elements of an opera are a different matter. And, curiously, transforming narrative art into an active theatrical form does not mean that the narrator no longer exists. Rather, the narrative voice in opera is reborn in the voice of the composer. Literary details that seem to have been jettisoned reemerge and are reborn in a vocabulary of direct emotion, the vocabulary of music.

After taking a few pictures of Cold Mountain, Charles and I headed back into town for a dinner with Katherine and a few of the Fraziers’ close friends. They all made me feel very welcome and were careful not to pepper me, at least at first, with too many questions about how Charles’s novel might be reinvented as an opera. This was, after all, a dinner to get to know each other. It was an opportunity to earn Charles’s and Katherine’s trust that his characters Inman, Ada, and Ruby were being placed in good hands.

As the night proceeded, and glasses of bourbon were consumed, the topic eventually turned to opera and how the transformation from page to stage takes place. I explained that my principal task

$45.00 3-Course Menu BYOB - No Corkage

Live Piano Nightly

15

was to structure the story in a way that made it as active as possible. More specifically, I described how I am always trying to distill a story to its essence in ways that create opportunities for characters to make active choices, both large and small, which ultimately change the trajectories of their lives.

By “active” I did not mean frenetic, or even physical. Nor was I looking for “choices” that result in histrionic confrontations. What I intended to convey is that the transformative journeys that Inman, Ada and Ruby undertake result from acts of their will. Certainly, each of them is reshaped by the experience of the war. But the drama is not about what the war does to them; it is about how they respond, moment by moment, how they choose to grow and to endure.

Before writing the text of a libretto, my first task is always to create an outline, an exercise that is not dissimilar to creating an outline for a silent film. Without the availability of spoken language to communicate all the details about characters and situations, silent film depended on whittling a story down to active, dramatic gestures> The subtlety in the best silent films comes from the magical marriage of performance and camera. In opera, the partner to performance is the music, and the challenge for the librettist is to provide just enough language−to create space for the music to breathe and reinvent the story.

Asked to give an example of this during our dinner table discussion in Asheville, I turned to a masterpiece, La bohème. I described a beautiful moment in the opening scene between Rodolfo and Mimì. She has come to his garret to get her candle lit. Her key falls on the floor and both get down on their knees to search for it in the dark. Rodolfo finds the key and quickly pockets it, not wanting her to leave. Their hands touch and he begins his aria: “Che gelida manina” (“how cold your little hand is”). The text of the aria is quite beautiful.

But the decision to have them search for a key in the dark, creating the chance for innocent deception and a casual but electric touch, is where the libretto’s success actually begins, for it has created a moment worthy of being sung.

After nearly five wonderful hours of food, drink and conversation, the dinner was over. The next day I set off for an inn just off the Appalachian Trail. Amazingly, I discovered once there that the inn was an old farmhouse that had been run by women when the men were off fighting the “war of Yankee Aggression.” I had stumbled into a perfect place to begin my work on the opera.

I spent a few weeks there, thinking and writing. Hiking along the Appalachian Trail, I imagined Inman in these woods, where everything “seemed vertical.” Sitting at my writing table, I felt as though I could hear Ruby and Ada outside on the porch. I still hear their voices; sometimes they are speaking and now sometimes singing, but they are still out there.

It seems certain they will never finish saying what they have to say.

CONNECT WITH US Follow @operaphila and join the conversation #ColdMtnPhilly facebook.com/operaphila

operaphila

A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

By Leonard Foglia Several years ago, I was invited to a July 4th celebration at Arlington House in Virginia, which overlooks the Potomac River and the National Mall in Washington, D.C. I was told we would have a spectacular view of the fireworks. What better way to celebrate our nation’s birthday, I thought. This will be fun!

Arlington House, known for many years as the Custis-Lee Mansion, was once the home of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. After Lee went off to lead the Confederate Army, Union troops occupied his property with its enviable view of our nation’s capital. To ensure he never returned, they began burying Union officers in his wife’s garden, then outside his front door. As the dead multiplied, they eventually surrounded the house completely and filled the grounds. Arlington National Cemetery was born.

While being given a tour of the cemetery that day, I learned that more Americans have been killed by other Americans than by any foreign entity since the founding of this country. More than 600,000 Americans died in the Civil War. As I walked among the graves that day, it was difficult to join in on the “oohs” and “aahs” every time a new explosion of color appeared in the night sky. The pyrotechnic display was no match for the power exerted by so much of our nation’s blood beneath my feet.

Buried and forgotten, In our beautiful country Where we lie buried.

We rest beneath every step you take, In the dust, in the ground on which you tread. −Excerpt from Gene Scheer’s libretto of Cold Mountain

The house, which is now a memorial to General Lee, is filled with memorabilia.

On the walls are quotes attributed to him.

One stood out to me: “It’s a good thing war is so terrible or we’d get to liking it too much.”

If only, I thought. If only.

presents

Sincerely Yours – Letters set to Music Saturday, April 2, 2016 at 8:00 PM at Haverford College

Sunday, April 3, 2016 at 3:00 PM at the The Academy of Vocal Arts

Tickets - $25 Call 215.438.1702 or Visit www.lyricfest.org

Newly commissioned songs by:

Benjamin C.S. Boyle, John Conahan, Daron Hagen, Juliana Hall, Lori Laitman, Thomas Lloyd and Logan Skelton. With singers Kelly Ann Bixby, Katy Pracht, Andrew Fuchs and Keith Phares with Laura Ward, piano

17

JENNIFER HIGDON | COMPOSER Pulitzer Prize-winner Jennifer Higdon (b.

Brooklyn, NY, December 31, 1962) is one of America’s most acclaimed and most frequently performed living composers.

Higdon started late in music, teaching herself to play flute at the age of 15 and beginning formal musical studies at 18, with an even later start in composition at the age of 21. Despite this late beginning, Jennifer has become a major figure in contemporary Classical music and makes her living from commissions. These commissions represent a range of genres, from orchestral to chamber, to choral, as well as vocal and wind ensemble. Cold Mountain is her first opera.

The Washington Post called her “a savvy, sensitive composer with a keen ear, an innate sense of form and a generous dash of pure esprit,” and her works have been performed throughout the world, enjoyed by audiences at several hundred performances a year and on over four dozen CDs. Her orchestral work blue cathedral is one of the most performed contemporary orchestral compositions by a living American with more than 500 performances worldwide since its premiere in 2000.

Higdon’s list of commissions and performing organizations is extensive and includes The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Chicago Symphony, The Atlanta Symphony, The Baltimore Symphony, The Boston Symphony Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra, The London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Luzern Sinfonieorchester, The Hague Philharmonic, The Melbourne Symphony, The New Zealand Symphony, The Pittsburgh Symphony, The Indianapolis Symphony, The Dallas Symphony, as well as such groups as the Tokyo String Quartet, eighth blackbird, and the President’s Own Marine Band. She has worked with musicians that include Nathan Gunn, Isabel Leonard, Hilary Hahn, and Yuja Wang.

Her Percussion Concerto won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Classical Composition in January, 2010. Higdon also received the 2010 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her Violin Concerto, with the committee citing Higdon’s work as “a deeply engaging piece that combines flowing lyricism with dazzling virtuosity.”

Learn more at jenniferhigdon.com.

18

GENE SCHEER | LIBRETTIST Gene Scheer’s work is noted for its scope and versatility. He has collaborated with composer Jake Heggie on a number of different projects, including the critically acclaimed 2010 Dallas Opera world premiere, Moby-Dick, starring Ben Heppner as Captain Ahab; Three Decembers (Houston Grand Opera), which starred Frederica von Stade; and the lyric drama To Hell and Back (Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra), which featured Patti LuPone. Other works by Scheer and Heggie include Camille Claudel: Into the fire, a song cycle premiered by Joyce di Donato and the Alexander String Quartet. Scheer worked as librettist with Tobias Picker on An American Tragedy, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005. Their first opera, Thérèse Raquin, written for the Dallas Opera in 2001, was cited by Opera News as one of the ten best recordings of 2002.

Other recent collaborations include the lyrics for Wynton Marsalis’s It Never Goes Away, featured in Marsalis’s work Congo Square. With the composer Steven Stucky, Scheer wrote the oratorio August 4, 1964. The Grammy-nominated work was premiered by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in 2008 and was performed by the orchestra, with Jappvon Sweeden conducting, at Carnegie Hall. Also a composer in his own right, Scheer has written a number of songs for singers such as Renée Fleming, Sylvia McNair, Stephanie Blythe, Jennifer Larmore, Denyce Graves, and Nathan Gunn. The distinguished documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns, prominently featured Scheer’s song “American Anthem” (as sung by Norah Jones) in his Emmy Award-winning World War II documentary for PBS entitled The War. Learn more at genescheer.com.

CURTIS

LA BOHÈME MANON

OCTOBER 3-4

NOVEMBER 19-22

World Premiere

EMPTY THE HOUSE JANUARY 21-24 CAPRICCIO

MARCH 2, 4, 6

Collaboration with Opera Philadelphia and Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

LE NOZZE DI FIGARO

MAY 4, 7, 8

Special Gala Performance: Amadeus Affair, May 6 TICKETS STARTING AT $5 CURTIS.EDU/TICKETS

19

Q&A WITH COMPOSER JENNIFER HIGDON

By Diana Burgwyn

Photo by Sarah Bloom

Q: Though Cold Mountain had its world premiere in Santa Fe, its ties to Philadelphia are strong. Could you talk about that?

A: Cold Mountain was really born in Philadelphia. I wrote all of it here. And it took over my life for two years. It was pretty obvious; everyone could tell I was distracted. The characters drove me crazy, living with me 24 hours a day, every day. They were present in my head wherever I was−on the street, at the supermarket, in my dreams. Sometimes I thought, how do you keep from going mad? But when it was done I felt kind of bereft. I saw this imaginary room in my head, and Ada [the leading female role] walked out and closed the door. Then there was silence−a very loud silence. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Q: What were the toughest parts of composing the opera?

A: It was totally heartbreaking to deal with the death of Inman [a Civil War soldier, the main character]. I mean, I’d spent two years trying to keep him alive and now I was going to kill him? I had to work up the strength to do that scene. I’d be weeping over the manuscript paper just trying to get it out. Teague [a member of the local militia and a sadist] was something else. I couldn’t stand him. I had to chew a lot of gum when I was writing his music because it settled my stomach!

Q: The opera had a strong connection with The Curtis Institute of Music where you teach, right?

A: Yes. It was workshopped at Curtis with 12 students taking on the different roles.

We rehearsed Act I for a week in 2012, and I asked them lots of questions about how the music sat for the voice and what was awkward to sing or needed adjustment. So they were teaching me, which was fascinating. Act II went a bit easier, and that was workshopped at Curtis a year later.

Q: Can you describe your relationship with the author of the book?

A: When I first met Charles I was really nervous. I was thinking, I’m responsible for his characters, and he doesn’t know me or anything about opera−he grew up listening to southern rock basically. But he was so supportive. Before I left him and his wife, I said, 20

“I promise to take care of Inman and Ada. I’ll do them justice.” And he really did like the opera. At the end of the premiere I went backstage and he was so moved he was in tears.

Q: What about the librettist, Gene Scheer?

A: Frazier’s book is huge, and I’d made the decision that the whole opera had to come in at two-and-one-half hours, so we had to decide what points in the story would make a good opera. Gene and I met at the Starbucks at 10th and Chestnut one day back in 2010 and we pulled out the parts that we each felt were relevant. We mapped it all out in an hour, though I had thought it would take weeks. We were like minds. So I knew right away that he was the guy for the project.

Q: You had considered a number of literary sources for your first opera before you came upon Charles Frazier’s National Book Award-winning novel Cold Mountain.

Was it a natural fit for you?

A: It was. Finding the story took years, and getting the rights to turn it into an opera was extremely difficult, but after reading the first few pages of the novel, I knew this was the book. It just felt right. And since I grew up right in that area of North Carolina, I was very familiar not only with the music but with how different strata of people speak in the south. Gene is a New Yorker and he’s Jewish, and some of the conversation, like the use of double negatives, wasn’t familiar to him, so I would adjust his language to fit with each of the characters.

Q: How would you describe the music?

A: I’ve heard people define the music as neo-romantic, but for me it just sounds southern. It’s different from a lot of the music I’ve written−it’s more in the category of my bluegrass concerto. When someone asks me about it, I say, “It has tunes; you’ll know what’s going on.” And it’s singable though it’s not easy to learn, because my rhythms tend to be kind of quirky and complex.

T HE C R OS S ING

D O N A L D N A L LY | C O N D U C T O R

Q: Did you use original folk music from the area in the opera?

A: I debated that. For instance, there is a church scene in the opera with a fiddling tune, and I had to decide whether to use a standard tune like some of the ones Charles Frazier references in the book. But I decided to compose my own in that style, and I alternated rhythms that you’d not find in the original tunes, so that gave it a little more interest.

Q: The choruses in the opera seem to have really touched audiences. What do you think makes them so powerful?

A N I N T E R N AT I O N A L E V E N T: A D I A L O G U E B E T W E E N T H E 1 7 TH A N D 2 1 ST C E N T U R I E S

ICE

with

and

Q U I C K S I LV E R B A R O Q U E

FRIDAY, JUNE 24 + SATURDAY, JUNE 25 T H E P H I L A D E L P H I A C AT H E D R A L Seven Responses has been suppor ted by The Pew Center for Ar ts & Heritage.

W W W.CROS SINGCHOIR .COM

21

A: The story is so moving, and that was what inspired the choruses. The sheer pain and love and agony of those shared moments just needed that music. It’s that simple, and it’s what came out. I honestly don’t know where it came from. I actually feel it was channeled through me.

Q: You were best known as an orchestra composer before composing this opera. How did you approach the orchestral writing in Cold Mountain?

A: I had studied a lot of operas over a five-year period, especially those by Benjamin Britten, because I figured his musical language was the closest to mine. My own experience in writing for orchestra definitely helped me with color. People seem stunned by the colors in the orchestral music and tell me they’ve never heard music like this in an opera. One surprising thing was that when we were rehearsing in Santa Fe, we found that we could always hear the singers, but there were spots where you had trouble hearing the orchestra. It’s usually the opposite. I guess I was overcompensating. So I made small changes as we went.

Q: How did the opening go?

A: It was wild. All the tickets were sold, the librettos, everything in the store. People were trying to scalp tickets and doing everything they could to get back for a second and third hearing. They added chairs and sold folding chairs. There was standing room. It was the first time in Santa Fe that they were entirely sold out.

Q: What’s the next opera going to be?

A: First I have to recover from this one!

Diana Burgwyn is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia

22

A Civil War

PERSPECTIVE

By Derren Mangum

A S S O C I AT E D I R E C T O R O F INSTITUTIONAL GIVING

In Mid-December, my sons had a music recital as part of a holiday open house at the Belmont Mansion, home to Philadelphia's Underground Railroad Museum. My family toured the exhibits, and we were overwhelmed by the first-person accounts of victims of American slavery’s cruelty. We listened to historians, dressed in authentic Colored Troops uniforms, describe the experiences and contributions of the Union's 200,000 African-American soldiers. And my mother, down from New York for her grandsons' performance, reminded me of our own roots; my grandmother's grandfather, as a teenager in Virginia, had escaped slavery to join the Union Army. As I thought about what his odyssey must have been like —my oldest is just thirteen— it struck me:

" We are about to present a love story set in the Confederacy, in Philadelphia, during Black History Month.”

While sharing in the excitement of this vital new American opera’s East Coast Premiere, I had a simmering concern about the need for more cultural context in our presentation, which finally emerged when faced with visceral references from my own ancestry. I fully acknowledge the authenticity of the story and perspective we will enjoy with Cold Mountain, but I'm reminded of the authentic stories and perspectives that we bring to the opera as an audience, and how they sculpt our encounters with artistic work woven from historical fabric.

I am particularly proud of Opera Philadelphia’s achievements in bringing diverse voices and stories to the operatic stage, whether through the contemplations on a jazz giant in Charlie Parker's YARDBIRD, the mashup of hip-hop and opera for the upcoming We Shall Not Be Moved, or the groundbreaking casting of Eric Owens and Morris Robinson in Don Carlo. But in our expanding civic role, we cannot rest when we present a piece that evokes our nation's greatest internal conflict, so saturated with conflicting emotion and opinion, and very much relevant to our social struggles of today. Though the African-American Civil War experience goes largely unaddressed in this particular work, it will rightfully haunt the perspective of many as they consider this opera, especially at this time when we traditionally increase our focus on the historical saga of Black Americans.

23

ARTISTS KEVIN BURDETTE (New York, New York)

LAUREN EBERWEIN* (Qualicum Beach, BC)

Bass

Mezzo-soprano

STOBROD / BLIND MAN

OLIVIA / SIREN #2

2014 Doctor Bartolo, The Barber of Seville

Opera Philadelphia debut

2012 Prophet, Dark Sisters Recent Activities: Eric Gold & Ghost of Bazzeti, Great Scott, The Dallas Opera; Sulpice, La fille du Régiment,, The Santa Fe Opera; Stobord & Blindman, Cold Mountain, The Santa Fe Opera

Recent Activities: Komponist, Ariadne auf Naxos, Curtis Opera Theatre and Opera Philadelphia; Shéhérazade, Curtis Symphony Orchestra; Dido, Dido and Aeneas, Curtis Opera Theatre

LEONARD FOGLIA (Washington, Virginia) ELIZABETH BRADEN (Easton, Pennsylvania) CHORUS MASTER 2015

Oscar

2006

Margaret Garner

2004 The Grand Duchess

of Gerolstein (Partial Listing) Recent Activities: La traviata, Opera Philadelphia; ANDY: A Popera, Opera Philadelphia and The Bearded Ladies; Director of Music, Wallingford Presbyterian Church

ROBERT BRILL (San Diego, California) SET DESIGN Opera Philadelphia debut Recent Activities: Everest, The Dallas Opera; The Manchurian Candidate, Minnesota Opera; Cabaret, Broadway Revival

DIRECTOR 2014 A Coffin in Egypt Recent Activities: The Gin Game, Broadway; El Pasado Nunca Se Termina, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Everest, The Dallas Opera

PAUL GROVES (New Orleans, Louisiana) Tenor VEASEY Opera Philadelphia debut Recent Activities: Painter/ Prince, Lulu, The Metropolitan Opera; Title Role, Le Cid, Odyssey Opera; Eumople, Perséphone, Festival d-Art Lyrique d’Aix en Provence

JARRETT OTT* (Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania) MARCUS DELOACH (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) Baritone OWENS / ETHAN / HOME GUARD Opera Philadelphia debut Recent Activities: Schaunard, La bohème, Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Ping, Turandot, Wichita Grand Opera; Maximillian, Candide, London Symphony Orchestra

*Opera Philadelphia Emerging Artist 24

Baritone W.P. INMAN 2015

archese D’Obigny, M La traviata

2015 Prison Patient #1, Oscar Recent Activities: Marullo, Rigoletto, The Santa Fe Opera; Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, Annapolis Opera; Roderick/Sam, The Long Christmas Dinner, American Symphony Orchestra

ARTISTS ROY HAGE* (Beirut, Lebanon)

ELAINE MCCARTHY (Arlington, Massachusetts)

Tenor

PROJECTION DESIGN

REID / HOME GUARD

Opera Philadelphia debut

2015

Gastone, La traviata

2015

rison Chaplain, P Oscar

2014

Second Jew, Salome

Recent Activities: Great Scott, The Dallas Opera; Iolanta, The Dallas Opera; Everest/La Wally, The Dallas Opera

Recent Activities: Le Chevalier Des Grieux, Manon Lescaut, Curtis Opera Theatre; Home Guard/Reid, Cold Mountain, The Santa Fe Opera; Tom Rakewell, The Rake’s Progress, Curtis Opera Theatre

ANTHONY MICHAELS-MOORE (Santa Fe, New Mexico) Baritone

CECELIA HALL (Durham, North Carolina)

REVEREND MONROE / PANGLE / HOME GUARD

Mezzo-soprano

1988

RUBY THEWES 2013

Zerlina, Don Giovanni

Recent Activities: Ramiro, La finta giardiniera, The Santa Fe Opera; Rosina, The Barber of Seville, Canadian Opera Company; Javotte, Manon Lescaut, The Metropolitan Opera

uglielmo, Così fan G tutte

Recent Activities: Recital, Pontarddulais Male Choir; Don Carlo di Vargas, La Forza del destino, English National Opera; Monroe/ Pangle, Cold Mountain, The Santa Fe Opera

JAY HUNTER MORRIS (Roswell, Georgia) ALASDAIR KENT* (Perth, Australia) Tenor

TEAGUE

JUNIOR / CHARLIE

2003 Sam Polk, Susannah

Opera Philadelphia debut Recent Activities: Prince Claus (cover), Becoming Santa Claus, Dallas Opera; Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni, The Academy of Vocal Arts; Ernesto (cover), Don Pasquale, Merola Opera Program

2000 Narraboth, Salome

ISABEL LEONARD (New York, New York) Mezzo-soprano ADA MONROE Opera Philadelphia debut

The Santa Fe Opera

Tenor

Recent Activities: Rosina, The Barber of Seville, The Metropolitan Opera; Angelina, La cenerentola, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Ada, Cold Mountain,

Recent Activities: Captain Ahab, Moby Dick, Los Angeles Opera; Teague, Cold Mountain, The Santa Fe Opera; Erik, The Flying Dutchman, Washington National Opera

BRIAN NASON (New York, New York) LIGHTING DESIGN 2014

A Coffin in Egypt

Recent Activities: Madea on the Run, National Tour; West Side Story, Asolo Repertory Theater; Cold Mountain, The Santa Fe Opera

25

ARTISTS HEATHER PHILLIPS (North Canton, Ohio)

RACHEL STERRENBERG* (Madison, Georgia)

Soprano

Soprano

KATIE / SIREN #1

SARA

Opera Philadelphia debut

Arizona Opera

Recent Activities: Katie, Cold Mountain, The Santa Fe Opera; Elvira, L'italiana in Algeri, Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Nanetta, Falstaff,

2015 Annina, La traviata 2015 Chan Parker, Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD Recent Activities: Soprano soloist, Carmina Burana, Reading Choral Society; Anne Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, Curtis Opera Theatre; Soprano soloist, Curtis Symphony Orchestra

CORRADO ROVARIS (Bergamo, Italy) CONDUCTOR 2015

Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD 2006 Cinderella 1999 The Marriage of Figaro (Partial Listing) Recent Activities: Artosphere Festival, Blackford Schönberg; Donizetti Festival, Anna Bolena; Donizetti Festival, Bellini, Chopin, Mendelssohn

OLIVIA VOTE (St Mary's City, Maryland)

Soprano LILA Opera Philadelphia debut Recent Activities: Ariadne, Ariadne auf Naxos, Opera Philadelphia and Curtis Opera Theatre; Soloist, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra; La Ciesca, Gianni Schicchi, Curtis Opera Theatre

Mezzo-soprano

DAVID C. WOOLARD (New York, New York)

CLAIRE / SIREN #3

COSTUME DESIGN

Opera Philadelphia debut Recent Activities: Il tramonto, Hugo Wolf String Quartet; Laurene, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (workshop), The Santa Fe Opera; Dryade, Ariadne auf Naxos, Opernhaus Zurich

MARIETTA SIMPSON (Bloomington, Indiana) Mezzo-soprano LUCINDA Opera Philadelphia debut Recent Activities: Old Lady, Candide, Glimmerglass Opera; Mezzo Soloist, St. Matthew Passion, Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia; Queenie, Showboat, Houston Grand Opera

26

HEATHER STEBBINS (Wellsville, New York)

*Opera Philadelphia Emerging Artist

2015

Oscar

Recent Activities: Dames at Sea, Helen Hayes Theater; Incedent at Vichy, Signature Theater; Cold Mountain, The Santa Fe Opera

DAVID ZIMMERMAN (Mt. Pleasant, Texas) WIG & MAKE-UP DESIGN 2015 2015

La traviata Charlie Parker’s YARDBIRD 2013 The Magic Flute (Partial Listing) Recent Activities: Becoming Santa Claus, The Dallas Opera; Faust, International Music Festival, Macau, China; Great Scott, The Dallas Opera

ADDITIONAL CAST ARTISTIC Assistant Director................................................... Keturah Stickann

Properties......................................................................... Paul Lodes

Principal Pianist................................................................ Lisa Keller

Flyman...............................................................................Mike Ruffo

Musical Assistant........................................................ Grant Loehnig

Assistant Electrician....................................................Shawn Gallen

Diction Coach......................................................................Erie Mills

Assistant Stage Managers.......................... Gregory Boyle, Jen Shaw

Dialect Specialist.......................................................... Lydia Mackay

Wardrobe Supervisor......................................................Elisa Murphy

Supertitle Operator...........................................................Tony Solitro

Costume Shop Assistant.................................................Katie Foster

PRODUCTION/TECHNICAL

Cutter/Tailors.....................................................Althea “Nell” Unrath

Properties Supervisor.................................................... Shane Dreher

Cutter/Drapers...........................................Kara Morasco, Anna Light

Assistant Lighting Designer...............................................Chris Frey

First Hands...........Derwin Cooper, Joyanne Rampulla, Patrick Milhall

Associate Projections Designer....................................Austin Switser

Shopper...................................................................... Kathy Calhoun

Technical Director.................................................Stephen Dickerson

Wig & Make-up Assistants.....................Amanda Clark, Lexi O’Reilly

Master Electrician............................................................Terry Smith

Fight Captain.......................................................Jeffrey D. Moorhead

SUPERNUMERARIES: Fighters: John Basiulis, Adam Howard, Jeffrey D. Moorhead, David Pica, Steve Wei Ruby's Children: Nate Braden, Nate Luzi, Cole Semel Supernumerary: Kate Graham

FACILITIES A Commitment to Safety: The safety and comfort of visitors, artists, volunteers, and staff at the Kimmel Center, Academy of Music, and Merriam Theater are of paramount importance. In the event of an emergency, audience members will be advised of appropriate procedures by ushers and security staff. At this time, please take note of the exit nearest you. A red, illuminated EXIT sign should be visible, with an arrow indicating the direction of the exit door. Should an emergency arise, you will be directed to leave the auditorium and further instructions will be provided as to the safest and quickest way to exit the building. Patrons who need special assistance should contact an usher. Smoking is prohibited on the Kimmel Center campus.

names that are similar to our website or even include the names of our various venues. These websites are not authorized to sell tickets to events in our venues. By purchasing only through our official outlets, you are assured that the ticket you receive is valid and is being sold to you at face value.

Accessibility: The Academy of Music is wheelchair accessible from the east lobby entrance on Broad Street. Seating is available on the Parquet and Balcony levels, with accessible restrooms located on the Canteen level. Assistive listening devices are available for loan. A limited number of ADA-compliant parking spaces are available in the Kimmel Center garage.

Coat Check & Restrooms: A complimentary coat check is located on the ground floor of the Academy of Music. Restrooms are located on all levels of the Academy of Music.

Food and Beverage: Concessions by Chef Jose Garces and Garces Group are available to Academy of Music and Merriam patrons at satellite bars located in the lobbies and upper levels. Water fountains are located on all levels of the Academy of Music.

Official Ticket Outlet: Ticket Philadelphia, a division of the Kimmel Center, is the only authorized outlet for individual tickets for shows at the Kimmel Center, Academy of Music, and Merriam Theater. We urge patrons to purchase tickets only through kimmelcenter.org, ticketphiladelphia.org, or the official websites of our Resident Companies. Tickets purchased from other sources are purchased at your own risk. Many unauthorized ticket sellers use website

STARRING

KATE LINDSEY

(photographed)

RANDALL BILLS JOHN RELYEA ANTONY WALKER

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR/CONDUCTOR

CONCERTOPERA.ORG | 202-364-5826 27

OPERA PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA CORRADO ROVARIS, JACK MULRONEY MUSIC DIRECTOR VIOLIN I Dayna Anderson, Concertmaster Igor Szwec, Assistant Concertmaster Meichen Liao-Barnes Charles Parker Yan C. Simmons Donna Grantham Elizabeth Kaderabek Guillaume Combet Gared Crawford Alexandra Cutler-Fetkewicz Madison Marcucci VIOLIN II Emma Kummrow, Principal Sarah Dubois Paul Reiser Heather Zimmerman Lisa Vaupel Jennifer Lee Samantha Crawford Yu-Hui Tamae Lee Rachel Segal VIOLA Jonathan Kim, Principal Carol Briselli, Assistant Principal Julia DiGaetani Ellen Trainer Elizabeth Jaffe

Steven Heitlinger Kathleen Foster CELLO Priscilla Lee, Principal Vivian Barton-Dozor, Assistant Principal Brooke Beazley Dane Anderson Jennifer Lorenzo David Moulton Elizabeth Thompson BASS Miles B. Davis, Principal Anne Peterson Stephen Groat Mary Javian FLUTE Adeline Tomasone, Principal Eileen Grycky OBOE Geoffrey Deemer, Principal Jeffrey O'Donnell CLARINET Joseph A. Smith, Principal Allison Herz

BASSOON Jacob Smith, Principal Jon Gaarder FRENCH HORN Angela Bilger, Principal Lyndsie Wilson Karen Schubert Ryan Stewart TRUMPET Brian D. Kuszyk, Principal Steven Heitzer Frank Ferraro TROMBONE Robert Gale, Principal Edward Cascarella Philip McClelland TUBA Paul Erion, Principal HARP Sophie Bruno Labiner, Principal PERCUSSION Ralph Sorrentino, Principal Christopher Hanning Kenneth Riehman

OPERA PHILADELPHIA CHORUS TENOR Sang B. Cho Christopher Hoster Steven Humes David Young Koh William Lim, Jr. A. Edward Maddison Fernando Mancillas Toffer Mihalka DonLeroy Morales George Ross Somerville Orin Strunk 28

Daniel Taylor Paul L. Vetrano Cory O’Niell Walker Steven Williamson BASS Gregory Cantwell Jeff Chapman Lucas DeJesus James Osby Gwathney, Jr. Chris Hodges

Scott Johnson Mark Malachesky John David Miles Frank Mitchell Case Nafziger Garrett Obrycki Robert Phillips Lourin Plant Andrew Skitko Tim Stopper Jackson Williams

The Curtis Institute of Music and Opera Philadelphia CONGRATULATE

MIK AEL ELIASEN ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE CURTIS OPERA THEATRE AND ARTISTIC ADVIS0R TO OPERA PHILADELPHIA

on 30 years of nurturing operatic talent at Curtis and invite you to attend an Amadeus Affair in his honor on May 6. Curtis.edu/AmadeusAffair

THE LEADERSHIP CIRCLE & CHAIRMAN’S COUNCIL Opera Philadelphia’s top giving programs, the Leadership Circle & Chairman’s Council, are comprised of passionate groups of philanthropists committed to ensuring that the future of opera is right here in Philadelphia.

Their collective generosity underwrites more than half of Opera Philadelphia’s artistic expenses each season, including productions in the Academy of Music, the nationally-lauded Aurora Series for Chamber Opera at the Perelman Theater, Opera on the Mall, and our award-winning programs for children.

Top left to right: Board member and Chairman’s Council member Dr. Joshua Barnett with his wife, Dr. Heidi Kolberg; Michael Gorman, husband of Frederica von Stade (center); Board member and Chairman’s Council member Nick Chimicles and his wife, Kathleen Chimicles; Board member and Leadership Circle member Peter Leone and his wife, Judy Leone. Bottom left to right: Board Chairman and Leadership Circle member Daniel K. Meyer, M.D., composer Jennifer Higdon, Chairman’s Council member Andrew Wechsler, M.D., and his wife Board member Donna Wechsler; Chairman’s Council members Rita and Phil Harper; Chairman’s Council member John Alchin with Vice-Chairman and Chairman’s Council member Joel Koppelman and his wife, Sharon Koppelman.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT Erin Sammis, Director of Development, at 215.893.5904 or sammis@operaphila.org.

LEADERSHIP SUPPORT AND MAJOR GIFTS Peter Leone, Institutional Advancement Chair Opera Philadelphia gratefully acknowledges the following individuals and institutions contributing more than $25,000 annually in underwriting support for artists and productions, as well as educational programs.

LEADERSHIP CIRCLE $1,000,000+ The William Penn Foundation

Wyncote Foundation

John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

$500,000+ The Wallace Foundation

$250,000+ The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Mrs. Sandra K. Baldino^

Judy and Peter Leone^ Ms. Barbara Augusta Teichert^

$100,000+ Anonymous Judith Durkin Freyer^

$50,000+ Mr. John R. Alchin and Mr. Hal Marryatt^ Mrs. Kay Bossone^ The CHG Charitable Trust Mr. and Mrs. Frederick P. Huff^ Independence Foundation

The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Estate of Ellen Cole Miller*

Alice and Walter Strine, Esqs.

The Leslie Miller and Richard Worley .....Foundation

CHAIRMAN'S COUNCIL Ms. Lisa D. Kabnick and Mr. John H. McFadden Joel and Sharon Koppelman Mr. William A. Loeb^*

The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage PNC Jean & Gene Stark^

Mrs. John P. Mulroney^ Pennsylvania Council on the Arts

Charlotte* and Bob Watts^

Rita and Philip Harper Dr. Heidi L. Kolberg and Dr. F. Joshua Barnett Ellen Berman Lee Gabriele Lee The Lenfest Foundation Mr. Thomas Mahoney^ National Endowment for the Arts

OPERA America The Presser Foundation Scott F. Richard^*

$25,000+ Drs. Renato and Beverly Baserga^ Mr. Peter Benoliel and Ms. Willo Carey Gray Charitable Trust Nicholas and Kathleen Chimicles Ady L. Djerassi, M.D., and Robert Golub, M.D. Mr. and Mrs. Mark Hankin

^ Indicates patrons who have made new or increased gifts in the past 12 months.

Mr. and Mrs. James B. Straw Mr. Jonathan H. Sprogell and Ms. Kathryn Taylor Wells Fargo

* Indicates membership in the Encore Society

Opera Philadelphia is a proud contributor of world class performances on the Kimmel Center campus and gratefully acknowledges the Center’s generous support in maintaining the Academy of Music and the Perelman Theater.

31

TH E

GENERAL DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL M E M B E R S of the General Director’s Council play a pivotal role in the future of Opera Philadelphia through their generous annual support, collectively underwriting principal artists, and individually sponsoring Emerging Artists. Members enjoy insider access to artistic planning and company initiatives through Strategy Sessions as well as intimate gatherings with Opera Philadelphia’s stars and leadership at private dinners, cast parties, and exclusive events. Council membership begins with annual gifts of $10,000 and can be made in convenient monthly or quarterly installments or with gifts of stock. Become an essential member of Opera Philadelphia’s donor family by joining the Council today!

Clockwise from left: General Director & President David B. Devan with General Director’s Council members Sandy and Steve Sheller at the Friends Vocal Recital and Appreciation Reception. Photo by J.R. Blackwell. General Director’s Council members Allen R. and Judith Brick Freedman with Emerging Artist Will Liverman whom they underwrote for the 2014-2015 Season. Photo by Elisa Gabor. General Director’s Council and Encore Society members Don and Dianne Cooney with baritone Jared Bybee at the Season Soirée. General Director’s Council members Robert V. Taglieri and Timothy Moir with Patrons Nancy and James Abbott at the 40th Anniversary Gala. Photo by Michael Branscom.

For more information, visit operaphila.org/gdcouncil or contact Jennifer Dubin, Associate Director, Individual Giving & Patron Services, at 215.893.5908 or dubin@operaphila.org.

ANNUAL GIVING We are sincerely grateful for the generosity of the following members and institutions who support Opera Philadelphia's thrilling productions, engaging community events, and stimulating educational programs through their membership in our annual giving programs.

GENERAL DIRECTOR’S COUNCIL

BEN ALEXANDER & KEN SWIMM, CO-CHAIRS PLATINUM $15,000+ Jacob Burns Foundation, Inc./ Hamilton Family Foundation Drs. Herbert and Rosalie† Goldberg Kathy Hanrahan^ Mr. and Mrs. Allen Freedman^ Nancy and Al Hirsig^ Eugene Garfield Foundation

Mrs. Constance C. Moore*

Linda and David Glickstein

Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer and Joe Neubauer

William and Nadine Haines^

Dr. Renée Rollin^* Ms. Carolyn Horn Seidle^ Kenneth and Sheila Swimm^ Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Wechsler*^ Wells Fargo Private Bank

DIAMOND $10,000+ Lorraine and Ben Alexander*

Kenneth B. and Pamela R. Dunn^

Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rollins

Sarah Billinghurst and Howard Solomon

Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation

Ms. Patricia S. Scott

Mrs. Sheila Kessler*

Mr. and Mrs. Roberto Sella^

Mr. and Mrs. Julian A. Brodsky^ Constance and Michael Cone^ Dianne and Don Cooney* Aaron Copland Fund for Music David B. Devan and David A. Dubbeldam

Donald and Gay Kimelman^ William Lake Leonard, Esq.

^

Morgan Stanley Foundation David and Susan Rattner^

Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Memorial Fund Mr. and Mrs. Steve Sheller^ Robert V. Taglieri and Timothy J. Moir^

Mr. and Mrs. Harold Rosenbluth^

PATRON PROGRAM

DONNA WECHSLER, CHAIR

Sponsored by Wells Fargo Private Bank

GOLD $7,500+ Anonymous

Mr. Robert Devoe*

Victory Foundation

Drs. Jean and Robert Belasco

Tom and Jody O’Rourke^

Suzanne and Robert Welsh^

Alpin J. and Alpin W. Cameron Memorial Fund

Philadelphia Cultural Fund

SILVER $5,000+ James and Nancy Abbott

Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence O. Houstoun

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Wiener

Mrs. Carolyn R. Aller

The McLean Contributionship

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Williams

Myron and Sheila S. Bassman^

Dr. Stanley Muravchick and Ms. Arlene Olson

Drs. Anne and Jim Williamson*

Cecile and Eugene Block Robert Bryan and Julie J. Bryan Madeleine and James Carlson

^

Pauline Gray and Edward S. Barnard^ Hellendall Family Foundation^

Mr. and Mrs. R. Anderson Pew Dr. and Mrs. Joel Porter

Ethel Benson Wister Mr. Robert Zimet^

In Honor of Joseph G. Leone^ Dr. Stephen G. Somkuti

33

BRONZE $2,500+ Anonymous (2) Drs. Ronald D. and Marcia Abraham Mr. John Aglialoro and Ms. Joan Carter Brett and Nan Altman Mr. and Mrs. Paul Anderson Dr. Valerie Arkoosh and Mr. Jeffrey Harbison Ms. Theresa Baker^ Frances and Michael Baylson Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bergen^ Mrs. Joanne Berwind^ Rick and Kelly Biesecker Mr. Allen D. Black and Mr. Randolph Apgar^ Dr. Claire Boasi^* Beaty Bock and Jonathan Miller Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Bohn^ Mr. Michael Bolton and Mr. Peter Keleher^ Laurie Wagman in Memory of Irvin J. Borowsky Dr. Luther W. Brady Ms. Annie Burridge and Mr. Paul Richichi^ Mr. Michael F. Cade and Mr. Mayron Lizardo Lopez Ruiz^ Joan and Frederick Cohen^ Dr. and Mrs. Frank Craparo Dr. Richard Davidson Barbara M. Donnelly Bentivoglio and Dr. Lamberto Bentivoglio Mark Duckett and Stan Gaddy^ Drs. Bruce and Toby Eisenstein

PARTNER $1,000+ Anonymous (2) Mr. and Mrs. Andy Abel Dorothy and Stanley Abelson Ms. Mary Jo Ashenfelter Heckman and Mr. Thomas Heckman^ Ms. Susan Asplundh Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Bazelon Rebecca Bien and David S. Poll, M.D. John Bisignano and Alexandra Storm^ Mrs. Elaine Camarda William B. Carey Drs. Judith and Jeffrey Carpenter^ Mrs. Rhonda Chatzkel^ Louis N. Cassett Foundation Mrs. Ineke M. Dikland 34

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph P. Fanelli, Jr.^* Mr. and Mrs. David Friedman Jim and Kay Gately^ Mr. Robert H. Gerlach William and Joan Goldstein^ Mr. and Mrs. William A. Graham, IV Ms. Carolyn L. Green and Mr. Michael T. Blakeney Dr. and Mrs. Henry J. Greenwood and Ms. Marilyn Greenwood^ Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance David and Ann Harrison, Esqs.^ Bruce and Robin Herndon Ms. Rhoda K. Herrold^ Matthew and Karen Hoffer^ Dr. and Mrs. Leonid Hrebien^ Victor and Joan Johnson Mr. Jeffrey Jowett^ Mr. Matthew Karstetter and Ms. Ellen Rosenberg^ Ms. Joan C. Mazzotti and Mr. Michael C. Kelly^ Terri and Thomas Klein^ Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Lans^ Cheryl Lawson and Jennifer Higdon^ Maribeth and Steven Lerner Fran and Leon L. Levy^ Liddy and John Lindsay William Lockwood Mr. Wayne R. Lorgus Dr. and Mrs. Michael B. Love Harriet and Shelly Margolis^ Jeremiah and Leslie Marks^

Leonard Mellman and Deborah Glass Ms. Evalind Minor Denise and Volker Oakey Anna C. O’Riordan, M.D.^ John Pcsolar and Alan Sandman Ms. Harriet Potashnick and Mr. Marshall Levine Kelley S. Reilly^ Dr. and Mrs. A. Gerald Renthal^ Dr. David J. Richards Mr. David Sacker and Ms. Darcy Hayes Joyce Seewald Sando Mr. and Mrs. Curtis E. Sawyer^ Drs. Daniel Schidlow and Sally Rosen Henry and Yumi Scott^ Dr. William Sigmund and Mr. Vito Izzo Drs. Richard and Rhonda Soricelli Stacey Spector and Ira Brind Dr. Laura Stanton and Mr. Kim Tomlinson Ms. Kathleen Stephenson and Mr. James E. Colberg Ms. Kira Sterling and Mr. Timothy Sterling Dr. and Mrs. Michael D. Strong^ Dr. and Mrs. Richard N. Taxin^ Mr. and Mrs. Jay H. Tolson Mr. and Mrs. Richard L. Ullman Carol Westfall^ William A. Wheatley and Giovanna Cilia Wheatley^ Dr. Leah Whipple Ana-Maria Zaugg and David Anstice

MEMBERSHIP Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation Mrs. Helen Herr Ford

^

Ms. Valerie Gay Mr. and Mrs. W.D. Gillen, Jr.^ Ms. Phyllis S. Gitlin^ Dr. and Mrs. Stanley Goldfarb^ Dr. Brett Gutsche^ Mr. Donald A. Hamme, III and Dr. Christina Gregory^ In memory of Isabel Ferguson^ Dr. and Mrs. Peter M. Joseph^ Dr. Mark Hemling and Mr. John Marrazzo Mr. Nicholas Karp^ Dr. Richard B. Kent^

Mr. and Mrs. David Levy^ Merle and Marvin Levy B.A. (Mackie) and Charlotte MacLean Edward and Roberta Martin^ Mr. and Mrs. George Morris Ms. Susan F. Morris^ Dr. and Mrs. Michael Naidoff^ Dr. and Mrs. A. H. Nishikawa Mr. and Mrs. Bert Redgrave^ Michael Sanyour Susan and Paul Shaman Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Smith The Stainrook Foundation Ms. Lynne Van Buskirk^ Mr. Thomas C. Woodward

SUSTAINER $500+ Anonymous (3)

Mr. Marco Georeno

Mr. and Mrs. H.G. McDonald^

Mr. and Mrs. Ronald M. Agulnick

Ms. Phyllis S. Gitlin^

Dwight and Christina McCawley

Asplundh Foundation

Deborah E. Glass

Mr. Benjamin F. Minick

Mrs. Eileen M. Baird^

Joanne T. Greenspun

Ms. Barbara Moskow^

Brian and Max Baker

Ms. Cheryl Gunter and Mr. Paul A. Rabe Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Munson^

Mr. and Mrs. Walter Baker

Mr. and Mrs. John B. Hagner

Mr. Richard F. Baruch and Mrs. Clark Hooper^

Drs. Tomoko and S. Tsuyoshi Ohnishi Dr. and Mrs. R. Barrett Noone^

^

Mr. Luke H. Halinski

Mr. and Mrs. Mario Palumbi

Mr. Timothy Harris

Dr. and Mrs. Paul Batastini

Ms. Margaret M. Healy

Dr. and Mrs. William P. Potsic^

Mr. and Mrs. Dale Heist

Plannerzone^

Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Helverson

Catherine M. Ravé^

Terry and Paul Hirshorn

Ms. Barbara Rice^

Mr. and Mrs. L. Stockton Illoway^

Mr. Philmore Robertson

Laura and Bernard Jacobson^

Dr. Joel Rosenbloom^

Marjorie and Joel Jensen

Mr. and Mrs. Daniel R. Ross

Ms. Aileen M. Kennedy

The Reverend Dr. Alan K. Salmon

Mr. Robert E. Keppler and Mr. Edward Feldman^

Dr. Barbra Eaton and Mr. Edward Salners^

Dr. and Mrs. Richard P. Kluft

Erin and Adam Sammis^

John A. Kotyo, M.D.

Dr. Margot Savoy

Dr. Alfred Knudson and Dr. Anna Meadows^

Anne Faulkner Schoemaker

Mr. and Mrs. George T. Craven, Jr.^

Dr. Judith M. LaLonde and Mr. Peter V. Bodine^

Mr. James L. Smith

Mr. Peter Cressman^

Lucinda and Charles Landreth

Mr. and Mrs. Claude DeBotton

Dr. and Mr. Jeffrey Martin Lang^

Mr. and Mrs. Mark S. Dichter

Mr. and Mrs. Michael Lastowski^

^

Mr. John Beck^ ^

Drs. Deidre and Michael Blank Mr. Andrew F. Blittman^

Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Blumental Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Bohen Mr. Will Sears Bricker, II Lynn and Jerri Burket^ Mr. Yuming A. Chiu Mrs. Mary E. Chomitz and Mr. Morton A. Collier Mr. Patrick Connolly and Ms. Karen Carvalho Dr. and Mrs. Michael Conrad Mr. Mark Cornish

^

Dr. and Mrs. Robert Sharrar Dr. and Mrs. Stanton N. Smullens Ms. Corinne R. Stone^

Lois and John Durso

Dr. and Mrs. J. Frederick Laucius

Ms. Carol S. Eicher

Ann Csink and John Linck

Mr. Thomas Faracco Mr. Arthur F. Ferguson^

Mr. Daniel Ludwig and Ms. Anne Leone^

Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Fiorenza^

Dr. Colin F. Mackay

Mr. and Mrs. Barry Fisch^

Dr. & Mrs. Larry Mapow

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Foehl

Dr. Joel Marmar and Ms. Alexis Berg Marmar, Esq.

Ms. Helen H. Ford Mr. Andrew R. Gelber (in memory of Sylvia Gelber)

Indicates membership in the Encore Society List as of January 1, 2016

*

Mr. and Mrs. Edward L. Thomas Dr. and Mrs. Rocco P. Triolo^ Mrs. Rita Turner Mr. John Ventura Dr. Maria Vogiatzi^ Mr. Edward Wagner^ Mr. Peter Wender^ Ms. Nancy B. Wingo Ms. Laura Williamson^

Mr. and Mrs. James M. Matarese

Dr. Robert Winn^

Mr. and Mrs. Norman McCausland^

Mr. Richard Joseph Yoder^

^ Indicates patrons who have made new or

† Deceased

^

increased gifts in the past 12 months.

List as of January 1, 2016. Please accept our sincere apology if we have made an error in your listing. We encourage you to call Subscriber & Member Services at 215.732.8400 to inform us of any errors or omissions, so that we may correct our records.

35

BECOME

A

MEMBER

T O D AY !

Even when ever y seat in the house sells out, this dazzling blend of theatrical, orchestral, and vocal splendor requires considerable philanthropic support from within our communit y.

Play an active role in bringing great opera to Philadelphia while enjoying exclusive benef its that enhance your opera experience.

M E M B E R S E N J OY:

Early access and savings on ticket purchases Invitations to member-only recitals and lectures Behind-the-scenes events like dress rehearsals and backstage tours And much more!

Memberships start at $100 (or only $8 per month)

Photo by Ken Howard, The Santa Fe Opera

VISIT OUR INFORMATION DESK IN THE LOBBY Or, contact Subscriber & Member Services 215.732.8400 | membership@operaphila.org

REMEMBERING DR. ROSALIE BURNS GOLDBERG 1932–2015 For more than 40 years, Dr. Rosalie Burns Goldberg was a cherished member of the Opera Philadelphia family as a subscriber, supporter, and board member.

A native New Yorker, Rosalie’s first opera was Carmen at the Metropolitan Opera when she was 14 years old; she saved her allowance to purchase the ticket, and from then on, she was hooked. When Rosalie and her husband, Herb, moved to Philadelphia in the 1970s, they purchased a subscription to the Philadelphia Grand Opera Company, which would merge with the Philadelphia Lyric Opera Company in 1975 to become the Opera Company of Philadelphia.

Everyone that knew Rosalie remembers her kind and thoughtful demeanor, unmatched intellect, and sage advice. She was a truly remarkable woman, and while she was immensely modest, her professional accomplishments were extraordinary. She was one of four women to be accepted to the Yale University School of Medicine in 1952, and went on to enjoy a 30-year career as a prominent neurologist at Hahnemann Medical College.

As avid supporters of the arts, Rosalie and her husband of 57 years, Herb, especially adored opera, and in addition to Opera Philadelphia, they were actively involved with the Metropolitan Opera and the Academy of Vocal Arts. For many years, Rosalie served as a Director of the Jacob Burns Foundation, which was founded by her father. Through the Foundation, they generously underwrote many Opera

Philadelphia productions over the years, including Rigoletto, Hansel and Gretel, Margaret Garner, Tea: A Mirror of Soul, Tosca, The Abduction from the Seraglio, and Don Giovanni. Additionally, Rosalie and Herb were among the first supporters of Opera Philadelphia’s Emerging Artists Program. Rosalie was as generous with her time as she was with her resources, and served as a treasured and dedicated member of the Opera Philadelphia Board of Directors from 2000-2012.

Rosalie was a dear and beloved member of the Opera Philadelphia family, and meant the world to all who knew her. Opera Philadelphia is honored to play a part in her legacy, and will think of her every time we bring one of her favorite works to the stage.

37

C O R P O R AT E C O U N C I L The Corporate Council generously supports Opera Philadelphia’s artistic and educational programming through contributions and in-kind donations.

2015–2016 SEASON SPONSORS

Official Hotel

Official Automotive Dealership

Season Media Partners

Official Sponsor of Opera Philadelphia’s Patron Program

Brand Communications Partner

Chariman’s Opening Night Dinner Sponsor

Intermission Reception Sponsor

C O R P O R AT E C O U N C I L M E M B E R S Center City Film and Video

Bank of America Ballard Spahr LLP

PNC

BNY Mellon Wealth Management Kalnin Graphics

Universal Health Services

Menchey Music Morgan Stanley PECO

Evantine Design

LinguiSearch

Moonstruck Restaurant

Exelon Business Services

MAC Cosmetics

Termini Bros. Bakery

For more information about sponsorship opportunities, or to join Opera Philadelphia’s Corporate Council, please contact Rachel McCausland, Major Gifts Officer, at 215.893.5909 or mccausland@operaphila.org.

ADVERTISE WITH PHILADELPHIA’S

MOST IMPACTFUL

ENTERTAINMENT DESTINATION!

1400+

PERFORMANCES ANNUALLY

Disney’s© THE LION KING Photo: Joan Marcus

1.2 MILLION+ ATTENDANCE ANNUALLY

6.3 MILLION+ EMAIL IMPRESSIONS ANNUALLY

4WEBMILLION+ HITS ANNUALLY

25 MILLION+ ON-SITE IMPRESSIONS ANNUALLY

For information about advertising, contact Joe Ciresi at 215.790.5884

KIMMELCENTER.ORG/ADVERTISE 39

THE PAT R O N PROGRA M

Official Sponsor of Opera Philadelphia’s Patron Program

The Patron Program is a vital force behind Opera Philadelphia’s spectacular productions and community programs

FOR MORE

through their united annual support and

I N F O R M AT I O N

enthusiasm for Opera Philadelphia and

about the Patron Program, visit

the art form. Patrons enjoy access to VIP benefits in the opera house including a VIP coat check and champagne intermission receptions, as well as exclusive social events throughout the

operaphila.org/patrons or contact Jennifer Dubin, Associate Director, Individual Giving & Patron Services, at

season and priority ticketing services. Join

215.893.5908 or

this passionate group of opera lovers with

at dubin@operaphila.org.

a gift of $2,500 today!

40

Clockwise from top left: Patrons Robin and Bruce Herndon with tenor Lawrence Brownlee at the Meet the Artists event. Photo by Elisa Gabor. Patron John Pcsolar, countertenor David Daniels, Oscar director Kevin Newbury and composer Theodore Morrison, and Patron Alan Sandman at the Director’s Salon event. Emerging Artist Jarrett Ott with Patrons Dick and Margaret Ullman and General Director & President David B. Devan at the Friends Vocal Recital & Appreciation Reception.

Photo by J.R. Blackwell. Patron Program Chair Donna Wechsler and Andrew Wechsler at the 40th Anniversary Gala. Photo by Dominic M. Mercier. Patrons Arlene Olson, Stanley Muravchick, Bernadette and Jeff Bohn at the Meet the Artists event. Photo by Elisa Gabor.

THE HARD PROBLEM

Tom Stoppard Blanka Zizka January 6 – February 6, 2016 by

directed by

“A rich, ideas-packed work that offers a defense of goodness whatever its ultimate source.” – The Guardian

TICKETS

25 $10

$

General Public

StudentS and theater ProfeSSionalS

wILMATHEATER.ORg (215) 546-7824

AN OCTOROON

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins directed by Joanna Settle March 16 – April 10, 2016 by

Sarah Gliko aS hilary Photo by

Matt SaunderS

JuStin Jain, JaMeS iJaMeS, ed Swidey Photo by

Matt SaunderS

41

OPERA PHILADELPHIA ENCORE SOCIETY If the Opera has played a significant role in your life, we invite you to pay it forward to future generations by including Opera Philadelphia in your estate plans.

Opera Philadelphia’s Encore Society acknowledges the generosity of those individuals who have included the company in their estate plans as an important philanthropic commitment to opera’s future in Philadelphia, and the Society is our way of honoring members today for the legacy they will leave tomorrow.

Not only do members enjoy exclusive access to events that allow them to celebrate the impact of their commitment to the organization’s continued artistic growth, but these gifts have the potential to provide valuable tax and income benefits now and in the future.*

Encore Society members Ben Alexander (left) and Sheila Kessler with baritone Mark Stone at the annual Encore Society Luncheon.

42

TO JOIN OR TO RECEIVE M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N : Go to OPERAPHILA.ORG/ENCORE-SOCIETY OR

Contact Rachel McCausland, Major Gifts Officer, at 215.893.5909 or at mccausland@operaphila.org. * Please consult your financial and/or legal advisors to determine which type of gift is best for you and for the legal requirements and tax advantages specific to these gifts.

IN PHILADELPHIA EVERYONE IS READING

Mb yOc hU N TA I N arles frazier FEBRUARY 2-MARCH 30, 2016

LET THE ARTS PERFORM FOR YOU.

Call Joe Ciresi at 215.790.5884 today for information about advertising in Showcase.

43

ADMINISTRATION LEADERSHIP David B. Devan General Director & President Corrado Rovaris Jack Mulroney Music Director Annie Burridge Managing Director Jeremiah Marks Chief Financial Officer David Levy Senior Vice President, Artistic Operations Michael Bolton Vice President of Community Programs Mikael Eliasen Artistic Advisor Nathan Gunn Director, American Repertoire Council Youngmoo E. Kim Resident Technologist MUSIC Michael Eberhard Artistic Administrator Elizabeth Braden Chorus Master and Music Administrator J. Robert Loy Director of Orchestra Personnel & Orchestra Librarian Sarah Williams New Works Administrator David Hertzberg Composer in Residence David T. Little Composer in Residence Andrew Norman Composer in Residence

44

PRODUCTION Alexander Farino Production Manager Drew Billiau Technical Production Manager Stephen Dickerson Technical Director Millie Hiibel Costume Director Meggie Scache Production Coordinator MARKETING & MEMBERSHIP Ryan Lewis Director of Marketing & Membership Karina Kacala Marketing Manager Michael Knight Marketing Operations Manager Filiz O'Brien Membership Manager Lucy Clemens Concierge Siddhartha Misra Guest Services Associate DEVELOPMENT Erin Sammis Director of Development Adele Mustardo Director of Events Jennifer Dubin Associate Director, Individual Giving & Patron Services Rachel McCausland Major Gifts Officer Derren Mangum Associate Director of Institutional Giving Nathan Schultz Grants Manager Christina Polet Advancement Research Manager

COMMUNICATIONS Frank Luzi Director of Communications Katie Dune Multimedia Communications Coordinator ADMINISTRATION Ken Smith Assistant to General Director & Board Relations Coordinator Bethany Steel Assistant to the Managing Director COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Adrienne Bishop Education Coordinator FINANCE Brian Ramos Controller Maureen McHale Senior Accountant COUNSEL Ballard Spahr, LLP General Counsel

UP NEXT AT

DONIZETTI

THE ELIXIR OF LOVE

A P R I L 2 9 – M AY 8 , 2 0 1 6 | A C A D E M Y O F M U S I C

Is it a truly magic brew or just a bottle of snake oil?

When Jack Mulroney Music Director Corrado Rovaris teamed up with director Stephen Lawless to debut a new staging of The Elixir of Love that transplants the action to the World War II-era, the Santa Fe Reporter cautioned: “Be warned, please: The Santa Fe Opera’s charming, warm-hearted new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love is liable to give you a bad case of those morning-after-the-opera, just-can’t-get-those-tunes-out-of-my-head hangovers. … Much of the credit for this happy state of things belongs to Corrado Rovaris.”

Drawing Opera Philadelphia’s 41st season to a fittingly glorious close at the Academy of Music, Rovaris and Lawless reunite to reprise their hit take on Donizetti’s tender bel canto comedy. Anchoring a talented cast of Opera Philadelphia favorites are soprano Sarah Shafer (Ainadamar) as Adina and tenor Christopher Tiesi (Powder Her Face) as Nemorino. A recent graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, Shafer was praised for her “luminous voice” and “intensely expressive interpretations” in the New York Times, and named “a singer to watch” by Opera News. Having already sung Donizetti’s pining peasant at Glyndbourne and Semperoper Dresden, Tiesi has been recognized as “a great find as Nemorino, bringing a gloriously warm and mellow tenor voice to the role which is perfect for the lovelorn fellow” (Daily Express).

Baritone Craig Verm, who impressed as Schaunard in 2012’s La bohème, is a striking Sergeant Belcore, with bass Kevin Burdette, who delighted audiences as the hilarious Dr. Bartolo in 2014’s The Barber of Seville and appears as Stobrod Thewes in Cold Mountain, returns as the pinstriped huckster Dulcamara.

Photo by Ken Howard, The Santa Fe Opera The Academy of Music is part of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts

TICKETS ON SALE NOW OPERAPHILA.ORG | 215.893.1018 45

O P E R A P H I L A D E L P H I A & T H E A P O L L O T H E AT E R P R E S E N T

NE W YORK P R E MI E RE

S C H N Y D E R / W I M B E R LY

C H A R L I E PA R K E R ’ S

Y ARD BIRD APRIL 1 & 3M, 2016 T H E A P O L L O T H E AT E R NEW YORK CITY

TICKETS ON SALE NOW O P E R A P H I L A . O R G / YA R D B I R D

46

Proud Supporter of Opera Philadelphia

1 2 - D AY O P E N I N G N I G H T SEPTEMBER 14—25, 2017 Opera Philadelphia’s new, annual festival O makes the soaring song, sound, and soul of opera accessible to aficionados and newcomers alike, while opening the genre to creative opportunity. As a groundbreaking season opener for Opera Philadelphia, O17 will feature twelve days of opera with compelling performances all around the city.

L E A R N M O R E AT O P E R A P H I L A . O R G / F E S T I VA L

HERMÈS BY NATURE