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For the lives you touch.
GET TO KNOW US
from the board chair WELCOME
Welcome to the 2024 Festival Season! We are so glad to have you at the Loretto-Hilton Center for what I know will be a fantastic performance. What takes place in these all-too-short six weeks is nothing short of magical, and I’m grateful that you’re with us.
Opera is a unique art form in that it encompasses all the art forms with profound impact: music, drama, costuming, scenic design, carpentry, lighting, and so much more. The result is an immersive sensory experience, and one that I hope adds value to your life. Opera offers us the opportunity to gather, empathize, and learn by being visually transported to another place through the magic of the stage. We can find solace and connection while being entertained — what a gift!
I am grateful for all of our artists who, by sharing their talents with us, create a place for entertainment, reflection, and beauty. It is impossible to quantify their impact on us all.
It’s frequently said that “opera is the ultimate team sport,” and I want to acknowledge the incredible team of volunteers, staff, and board for their tireless efforts to support our artists and make these operas come to life.
And of course, to you, our loyal audience — you are an essential part of the OTSL family. Our work here at Opera Theatre would be meaningless without your participation. Thank you for being here, whether you’re exploring opera for the first time or are a seasoned veteran. OTSL has planned a remarkable season designed to delight and inspire, and we’re so glad you’re here!
Kim Eberlein Chair, Board of Directors
from the general director WELCOME
The Festival Season is my favorite time of year. From enjoying wonderful dinners in our beautiful gardens, to experiencing incredible talent on and off stage, and mingling with artists and audience members under our iconic tents after performances — what we have at Opera Theatre is incredibly special. I find myself deeply humbled and grateful for all that has been created here, and this year I am particularly thankful to our founding General Director, Richard Gaddes.
Sadly, Richard passed away on December 12, 2023. He is missed by friends and colleagues both at Opera Theatre and within the greater opera community. We’ve relished sharing our memories of him and celebrating his vision for this company — a vision ahead of its time in 1976, and which continues to inspire our work to this day.
Together with the other founders, Richard established an opera company that is grounded in a few key principles — a commitment to nurturing young singers; championing new and innovative repertory; and creating an approachable, accessible audience experience. Those principles have been nurtured and maintained for nearly fifty years, and continue to thrive at OTSL, stewarded by my brilliant artistic colleagues. Artistic Director James Robinson, Artistic Director of Young Artist Programs Patricia Racette, and Principal Conductor Daniela Candillari have curated an exciting season that we hope will transport audiences not only to Seville, Paris, Alexandria, and Rome, but to emotional heights and depths that only opera can inspire.
It is a privilege to share opera with our community, and it truly takes a community to bring this work to life. My thanks to the staff, artists, artisans, volunteers, donors, community partners, and board members for all they do to champion this art form and this company. I am especially grateful to our Board Chair Kim Eberlein for her ongoing partnership and leadership.
It is with great joy that we dedicate our 2024 Festival Season to our founding General Director Richard Gaddes, whose memory we will cherish and whose legacy will continue to inspire our work. On behalf of all of us at OTSL, thank you for sharing this meaningful season with us.
Andrew Jorgensen General Director
our shared PROMISE a community code of conduct
WELCOME TO OPERA THEATRE OF SAINT LOUIS!
At Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, we are dedicated to creating an atmosphere of warmth, joy, and shared appreciation for the beauty of opera. We pledge to make every effort to make operagoers feel welcome, respected, and valued. To achieve this, we’ve crafted “Our Shared Promise” — a set of shared, mutual expectations that will foster a positive and inclusive experience for all. We invite you to join us in shaping an environment where everyone can fully enjoy the magic of the performing arts!
When you attend an OTSL performance or engage with our community, we pledge to do our best to ensure you experience:
1. Respect and Kindness: We agree to treat one another with kindness, respect, and compassion. We believe in the power of courtesy and understanding to create a shared space where everyone can enjoy music, theater, and shared experiences.
2. Inclusivity: We are proud to be an inclusive organization. Discrimination, harassment, or disrespect based on any aspect of ability or identity have no place at Opera Theatre.
3. Fun: We believe that opera is not only a form of artistic expression, but also a source of joy and entertainment. We hope that together, we can share in moments of laughter, appreciation, and the comradery of a shared artistic experience.
4. A Safe Environment: The safety of our community is our top priority. We ask you to please notify the appropriate staff or security if you observe physical harassment, abusive language, or any form of threatening behavior. We will abide by all government laws and regulations in our theater and at our events, including local health and safety guidelines. Together, we hope to create an environment that respects the well-being of all.
While we believe in the power of shared values, we know that sometimes misunderstandings can occur. If you witness a situation that goes against “Our Shared Promise” or if you have concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our friendly ushers or any other member of the Opera Theatre team. You are also welcome to send us an email at boxoffice@ opera-stl.org, and we’ll be more than happy to assist.
Thank you for being a part of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Your presence is what makes our work meaningful, and we’re thrilled to share this experience with you. Together, let’s make every moment at the opera unforgettable!
There’s no shortage of captivating performances to enjoy in May and June. We look forward to seeing you at one or more of these operas!
MAY
JUNE
p.m.
Post-Show Champagne Toast Young Friends Night ASL (American Sign Language) Audio Description Pride Night
Pre-show picnics may be enjoyed in the David W. Mesker Festival Gardens prior to each performance. Free opera previews begin one hour before each performance in the Community Music School, next door to the theater.
DISCOVER MORE DURING OUR FESTIVAL SEASON
BEYOND the stage
Every Festival Season, more than 20,000 people attend a mainstage performance. However, even during the height of a season, Opera Theatre works to make opera as fun and accessible as possible by going “beyond the stage” to bring free and low-cost events featuring the season’s shows, directors, designers, and artists to more of our community. In total, Opera Theatre reaches more than 80,000 people a year! From inviting students to attend dress rehearsals at no cost, to providing networking opportunities for young professionals, to exploring the intersections of visual art and theater at the Saint Louis Art Museum, we always aspire to create and connect to great art in new, surprising, and delightful ways.
Read on for a snapshot of the many ways you can engage with Opera Theatre this May and June — we hope to see you at one or more of these offstage events! Everyone is welcome.
CAROL L. KIMBALL SPOTLIGHT ON OPERA SERIES
Mondays, May 6, 13, 20, & June 3 at 7 p.m.
Kirkwood Performing Arts Center, 210 E. Monroe Ave.
Discover insights into the season’s operas through panel discussions with composers, directors, designers, and special guest speakers. Moderated by General Director Andrew Jorgensen, each Spotlight focuses on a different production and features live performances of operatic excerpts by members of OTSL’s Young Artist Programs.
ExperienceOpera.org/Spotlight
OPERA PREVIEWS
May 25 – June 30
6:30 p.m. before evening performances
11:30 a.m. before matinee performances
Community Music School, 535 Garden Avenue
One hour before each performance, members of OTSL’s music staff present a free, informative 20-minute talk highlighting the story and music of each opera. Previews take place in the Concert Hall of the Community Music School, located next door to the theater, and are the perfect introduction to the opera you are about to see!
Opera Previews are generously underwritten by Mary
YOUNG FRIENDS NIGHTS
May 25, June 5, 13, 14, 19, 23, 26 & 29 at 6 p.m.
Loretto-Hilton Center, 130 Edgar Road
Young Friends events are designed to give patrons 45 and under the chance to meet, mingle, and socialize during an unforgettable trip to the opera...without breaking the bank. Participants enjoy an exclusive pre-performance buffet and open bar along with great seats for the opera, all starting at just $49
INTERMEZZO NIGHT AT THE OPERA
The Intermezzo Society is dedicated to supporting and celebrating new voices in opera. Four events throughout the year offer opportunities to connect with the St. Louis community and OTSL artists. At this third event of 2024, members enjoy a preperformance dinner in the lush David W. Mesker Festival Gardens. Membership starts at $50 per month or $600 annually. Visit page 122 to learn more about the Intermezzo Society!
Leadership support for Opera Theatre’s year-round community programs comes from Noémi K. Neidorff
BEYOND THE STAGE DISCOVER MORE DURING OUR FESTIVAL SEASON
PRIDE NIGHT AT THE OPERA
Saturday, June 1 at 6 p.m.
Join us for a loud and proud celebration of Pride Month! Unleash your inner diva, enjoy special welcome drinks, and party with a post-show DJ while you mingle with OTSL’s artists. This fabulous evening features Puccini’s timeless masterpiece La . Special Pride Night ticket packages range from $49-$149.
ExperienceOpera.org/PrideNight
SING OUT VOCAL CAMP
June 3–7
560 Music Center, Washington University
Sing Out is an extension of OTSL’s award-winning Bayer Fund Artists-inTraining Program. High school students receive daily voice lessons, participate in vocal master classes with season artists, and study movement, acting, and audition preparation. Sing Out includes tickets to live performances of The Barber of Seville and La bohème. The camp culminates with a recital and a fully staged scene performance.
ExperienceOpera.org/SingOut
OPERA EXPLORERS
June 10–14
Carpenter Library, 3309 S. Grand Blvd.
This popular summer camp introduces young people to the magic of opera. Hosted by the St. Louis Public Library, students ages 9-13 will explore the basics of stagecraft, including singing, writing, composing, costuming, stage makeup, and set design. Campers will use their new skills to create and stage their own original mini-opera. After the camp, students and their parents or guardians will have the opportunity to attend a matinee performance of The Barber of Seville.
ExperienceOpera.org/OperaExplorers
OPERA TOURS AT THE ART MUSEUM
Sundays, June 2 & 9 at 1 p.m. (The Barber of Seville)
Sundays, June 16 & 23 at 1 p.m. (Galileo Galilei ) Saint Louis Art Museum, 1 Fine Arts Drive
In two special one-hour tours, Saint Louis Art Museum docents lead guests through the Museum’s collection, highlighting sculptures, paintings, and themes that correspond to Opera Theatre’s productions of The Barber of Seville and Galileo Galilei. Tours depart from the Visitor Information Center in the Sculpture Hall in the Main Building. All tours are free; no reservations are required.
ExperienceOpera.org/ArtTours
Noémi K. Neidorff
JOHN D. & SALLY S. LEVY MASTER CLASSES
June 2, 14, & 28
Sally S. Levy Opera Center, 210 Hazel Ave.
Inaugurated by the legendary Eleanor Steber in 1988, these extraordinary master classes offer insights by distinguished artists into the craft of singing and interpretation, featuring performances by select Richard Gaddes Festival Artists and Gerdine Young Artists. Tickets are $15 and available at the door. Donors at or above the $250 Contributor level may attend free of charge.
ExperienceOpera.org/MasterClass
PATRICIA RACETTE
Soprano
Sunday, June 2 at 12:30 p.m.
Patricia Racette is known as one of the great singing actresses of our time, and she continues to share her artistry with audiences around the world. However, in St. Louis, she is even more beloved for her work as the Artistic Director of OTSL’s Young Artist Programs. Every season, she crafts a rigorous curriculum for our young artists that helps push them to new heights of musical and dramatic interpretation — and this master class is the perfect example of that work in action!
PAUL GROVES
Tenor
Friday, June 14 at 12:30 p.m.
One of the great American tenors of his generation, Paul Groves continues to enjoy an impressive international career performing on the stages of the world’s leading opera houses and most prestigious concert halls. Before returning to OTSL for the role of Older Galileo in Philip Glass’ Galileo Galilei, he sang the role of Howie Albert in Terence Blanchard’s Champion at the Metropolitan Opera (2022-23) and Lyric Opera of Chicago (2023-24). Mr. Groves is an Artist-in-Residence at Louisiana State University’s School of Music.
ANA MARÍA MARTÍNEZ
Soprano
Friday, June 28 at 12:30 p.m.
Grammy Award-winner Ana María Martínez is one of the foremost sopranos of her time, with an international career that spans the world’s most important opera houses and concert halls. A winner of the 15th Annual Opera News Awards, she is steadfastly committed to being a leader in the industry, as well as an advocate and educator for the next generation of musicians. In 2019, Ms. Martínez joined the Houston Grand Opera as their first-ever Artistic Advisor. In July 2021, she was also appointed Professor of Voice at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, following a two-year appointment as Artist-in-Residence.
of
Sally S. Levy, founding board members of Opera Theatre.
Webster University’s Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts is the only undergraduate training program that has a major regional theatre and an opera company on campus, providing students the unparalleled opportunity to train with expert faculty and working professionals.
To learn more, scan the QR code or visit webster.edu/conservatory
2023
production of Myths and Hymns. Photo by Phillip Hamer.
OTSL experience
SAVOR A PRE-SHOW PICNIC
Enjoy open-air dining in our beautiful David W. Mesker Festival Gardens, surrounded by your fellow opera-goers. Seating is first come, first served — no reservations required! The gardens open 2.5 hours prior to performances.
Pre-order one of our picnic boxes (prepared by Ces & Judy’s Catering) for an easy and delicious meal. Just visit ExperienceOpera.org/Picnics or call the Box Office at (314) 961-0644 by 4 p.m. the day before your show to place an order. Craving your favorite recipes? You’re also welcome to bring your own food and beverages!
The David W. Mesker Festival Gardens are made possible by the
GIVING THANKS for where we stand
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis acknowledges that we exist and gather on the ancestral homelands of the Osage Nation, Missouria, and Illini Confederacy, who were removed unjustly, and that we in this community are the beneficiaries of that removal. Despite centuries of forcible removal and the loss of many tribal nations, more than 183,400 Indigenous individuals still live in Missouri today. We pay respect to elders both past and present, and we honor them as we live, work, and create art here.
To learn more about the history and legacy of Indigenous peoples, as well as ways to get involved in advocacy, please visit the Alliance for Native Programs & Initiatives at nativealliance.org.
A NOTE OF THANKS
Since Opera Theatre’s inaugural season in 1976, Webster University has graciously provided a warm, welcoming home for the company. Dr. Leigh Gerdine, who was the university’s president at the time, was also OTSL’s founding board chairman. Without his advocacy and the university’s decades of support, it is unlikely that Opera Theatre could have grown into the world-class festival it is today.
Each spring, opera fans from around the world make the journey to Webster University’s LorettoHilton Center to experience OTSL’s Festival Season. A key landmark of the OTSL experience is the university’s idyllic backdrop of lush, green gardens, where audience members and staff gather for pre-show picnics and late-night toasts. More importantly, our
partnership continues to nurture new generations of talented theater artists who begin their training in Webster’s Conservatory of Theater Arts program and later graduate into professional roles with Opera Theatre.
We extend our profound gratitude to Webster University’s administration and board for their ongoing partnership.
The largest earthen mound in North America, aerial view of Monk’s Mound in Cahokia, IL.
Terms align with Opera Theatre's fiscal year (October 1 – September 30).
John H. Russell
Robert L. Scharff, Jr.
Linda Seibert
Rex Sinquefield
Stephen Trampe
Timothy Wentworth
J. David Levy, Jr.
David J. Meiners, M.D.
Mabel L. Purkerson, M.D.
Win Reed
Allison W. Roberts
Lori Samuels
Joseph Shepard
Dr. Amber Simpson
Thelma Steward
Dr. Donald M. Suggs
Mary Susman
Maria Guadalupe Taxman
Mark Throdahl
Franklin F. Wallis
Phoebe Dent Weil
Robin Wentworth
Joanne Kohn
Charles MacKay
Gene W. Spector, M.D.
Roma B. Wittcoff
Janet McAfee Weakley 2002–2003
Donna Wilkinson 2004–2008
Spencer B. Burke 2009–2015
Noémi K. Neidorff 2016–2021
the STORY of OTSL
Born in 1976, Opera Theatre began as the brainchild of a handful of opera-lovers who were determined to bring a permanent first-class opera company to this very musical city. They knew there was enough interest in St. Louis to support such a company, thanks to the popularity of other local and touring opera productions.
THE FOUNDERS
Opera Theatre’s founders brought a deep appreciation for opera and a keen knowledge of business. Leigh Gerdine was the president of Webster College and the former
a patron of the Santa Fe Opera (another summer opera festival), Leigh was convinced that a similar model could succeed in St. Louis. He enlisted James A. Van Sant, president of General Steel Industries and a long-time opera champion, and Laurance (Larry) Browning of Emerson, whose young daughter was studying vocal performance. Both knew the business community well and could help build credibility for a fledgling enterprise. Larry later followed Leigh as board chairman; his greatest gift to Opera Theatre was insisting on the strongest fiscal responsibility from the outset, a value that is faithfully upheld to this day. These local leaders knew that they needed to find the right artistic leader to bring their vision to life. They turned to Richard Gaddes, then an artistic administrator for the Santa Fe Opera, and hired him as a consultant. Richard toured several local theaters, but the Loretto-Hilton
unique potential, from its intimate size to the inviting lawns outside, and he knew that an opera company could thrive here. His vision inspired such excitement that he was quickly hired to become Opera Theatre’s first general director.
STARTING SMALL
The first season opened on May 22, 1976. No one knew what to expect, and fewer than 200 people had actually paid for tickets to the opening night performance of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. Board members handed out free tickets to employees, neighbors...anyone who they thought might attend. But the audience agreed in no uncertain terms: it was a smash success. By the end of the season, OTSL was playing to sold-out houses. From the start, Opera Theatre was doing things differently, presenting rare works such as Mozart’s The Impresario and Britten’s Albert Herring.
Where it all began, with Opera Theatre’s very first production: Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, 1976.
year history, the company has had only four general directors. Richard Gaddes was succeeded as general director by Charles MacKay (1985–2008), under whom OTSL would expand its backstage capacity, build its first office and rehearsal building (the Sally S. Levy Opera Center), and launch its nationally acclaimed Bayer Fund Artists-in-Training Program for local high school students. Important artistic appointments were also made: Colin Graham was named Artistic Director in 1985 and held that position until his passing in 2007. Stephen Lord served as Music Director from 1991 through 2017.
The role of general director was next taken up by Timothy O’Leary (2009–2018), who began OTSL’s influential New Works, Bold Voices series of world premieres by American composers and
doubled the company’s endowment during his ten-year tenure. Joining him that same year was James Robinson, who has been OTSL’s Artistic Director ever since.
Most recently, General Director Andrew Jorgensen has carried on this tradition of excellence, making waves both in St. Louis and the broader opera industry. Shortly after his tenure began, Jorgensen announced that celebrated soprano Patricia Racette would be joining the company as Artistic Director of Young Artist Programs, a position she still holds currently. In the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, the Metropolitan Opera produced two of OTSL’s world premieres by Terence Blanchard: Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Champion. These productions
marked the Met’s first operas by a Black composer. Meanwhile, here in St. Louis, the company weathered the COVID-19 pandemic by presenting its first-ever outdoor festival in 2021, held on one of Webster University’s parking lots; the season sold out in three days. The 2022 Festival Season marked OTSL’s successful return to the Loretto-Hilton Center, along with Daniela Candillari’s premiere as OTSL’s Principal Conductor.
Opera Theatre owes a great debt of gratitude to the many founders, donors, and visionaries who made — and continue to make — our success possible. We look forward to bringing you another fantastic season this year. Thank you for joining us!
Julia Bullock in the 2019 OTSL world premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones.
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RICHARD GADDES
Remembering OTSL’s
Founding General Director
by mark tiarks
“Thank God I’m not going to be running an opera company here in St. Louis!”
That’s what Richard Gaddes remembered thinking on a rainy Saturday in November 1975, as he was visiting different venues with a small group of civic leaders who were determined to start a new company here. “The theaters were all drab and technically inadequate, and only Kiel Opera House [now the Stifel Theatre] had a large enough orchestra pit, but it was frighteningly big, at around 3,500 seats,” he later wrote.
Richard and his volunteer driver decided to make a last-minute detour on the way to Gaddes’ hotel, to Webster College’s Loretto-Hilton Center. Leigh Gerdine, Webster’s president, was one of the leaders who had invited Richard to St. Louis.
At the time, Gaddes was the Santa Fe Opera’s artistic administrator, where he had happily been working for the previous six years. “The idea of a couple of days in St. Louis with all expenses paid and a fee of $250 sounded like fun, so I said yes,” Gaddes said of his consulting visit.
Five months later, Richard was managing Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, helping tech crew members and volunteers scramble to build flats and paint scenery for the opening night of Don Pasquale on May 22, 1976, at the Loretto-Hilton.
Opera impresario was a surprising career path for the native of Wallsend, a small town in northeast England where the two conventional vocations for young men were coal mining and shipbuilding.
Thomas Gaddes, his father, had opted for the latter vocation. He and his wife Emily sang with local choruses, as did Richard, who was also a precocious piano student. Knowing his father would never approve of a career in music, Richard conspired with his mother, who squirreled away a few pence every week from the housekeeping allowance until they had enough saved up for a train ticket to London. They eventually found a day-trip that would get
Richard Gaddes stands before the set of The Magic Flute in the Loretto-Hilton Center, 1984.
Richard to and from London for an audition at Trinity College of Music before his father returned home from the shipyard. Mother and son stayed mum for many weeks until they got news that Richard had been accepted on a scholarship, when it was too late for Thomas to do anything more than grumble.
Last year Richard called me and said, “My dear, when the time comes, I want you to write my obituary, and I want it to show me as I really was, warts and all.” After a pause, he added, “Well, maybe not all the warts, OK?”
That ambivalence was part of a personality more complex than it appeared at first glance. He seemed, and was, a dapper Brit with highly cultured tastes in music, food, art, and wine. A man of legendary charm (most of the time), Richard was a skilled party host, fundraiser, and raconteur.
and post-show festivities, similar
But the posh accents of his countrymen and women from the south of England secretly set his teeth on edge, and he loved to sneak off from the OTSL office for lunch at Miss Hulling’s Cafeteria, often with me in tow, since he knew that I wouldn’t rat him out for his plebeian sensibilities.
In other words, beneath the suave, upper-crust exterior lurked an egalitarian spirit that found room for expression in St. Louis for the first time since his arrival in the United States.
That spirit was evident in the report he submitted to the St. Louis group after his two-day visit, which described a company with an ensemble orientation that performed in English with singers drawn from the burgeoning ranks of young American artists, like those found in the Santa Fe Apprentice Program.
B eneath the suave, upper-crust exterior lurked an egalitarian spirit that found room for expression in St. Louis for the first time since his arrival in the United States.
to the Glyndebourne Festival of Richard’s native England.
The democratic sensibility of St. Louis’ young opera company got a big boost in 1978 with Richard’s inspiration to put a tent on the grounds where refreshments would be sold. The post-show atmosphere was particularly notable, with attendees and VIPs casually mingling with soloists, orchestra musicians, and tech crew members. Richard’s knack for bringing extraordinary artists and colleagues to St. Louis focused national and international attention on the company.
Tickets would be moderately priced, and the overall atmosphere at the Loretto-Hilton would be classy but friendly and welcoming, along the lines of what you’d get if Fred Astaire could be reincarnated as an opera company. The gardens outside also presented the ideal setting for pre-
By 1980, it was clear Richard was indeed all in on Opera Theatre, having left his position in Santa Fe two years earlier. What started as a three-opera, three-week festival now offered four operas over four weeks. That, however, was just the beginning. With the addition of smallscale, one-act operas that toured to
Richard Gaddes with (L to R) sopranos Pauline Tinsley, Sheri Greenawald, and Ashley Putnam under the tent, 1985.
outside the spring festival season, he and a small staff were soon mounting close to ten productions a year.
Consider 1983, for example.
There were four mainstage productions in May and June: La traviata, Don Giovanni, Hector Berlioz’s Beatrice and Benedict, and a double bill of works by Francis Poulenc and Frederick Delius. In September, OTSL became the first American company to perform at the Edinburgh Festival, with a gala concert, Stephen Paulus’ The Postman Always Rings Twice, Delius’ Fennimore and Gerda, and Henry
Barroom Floor. In its copious free time, OTSL also produced Carlisle Floyd’s Slow Dusk for a tour of area schools and a holiday staging of Die Fledermaus at the American Theater. That’s nine different operas plus a gala concert.
Richard was justifiably proud of the mainstage season successes and the Edinburgh Festival invitation, but he secretly loved the scrappier, informal aspects of the communitybased events. There were public performances of Dominick Argento’s The Boor (in which a horse plays a key off-stage role) inside AnheuserBusch’s Clydesdale stables, and of The
Face on the Barroom Floor in a series of taverns around town.
Top place in his heart went to a celebrated 1982 production of John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera in an old wooden barn called The Apple Shed in Clarksville, Missouri. It was decades ahead of its time both as a site-specific production and a community-based project.
With minor modifications the barn was a perfect venue for a piece that satirized grand opera, among many other targets. The beggar of the title had to contend not only with its low-budget staging, which was part of his script, but also with unscripted performance interruptions by freight trains rumbling past outside, which prompted lots of improvisation. A scruffy eight-person “orchestra” was in costume and part of the action throughout, playing from memory.
For ten days before opening night, the entire company lived in and around Clarksville, staying in area homes where the hosts provided
Richard Gaddes observes a rehearsal of Così fan tutte with stage director Jonathan Miller, 1982.
breakfast. Lunches and dinners were catered at The Apple Shed by various community groups competing to see who could feed the company most gloriously. Area residents were welcome to stop by and watch rehearsals, and many got drafted to help with costumes and props, including a Mennonite family with a mule team that pulled down some outbuildings to create a parking lot.
breakfast. and dinners by various community groups to see who could the most gloriously. Area residents were welcome to stop by and watch many drafted costumes and props, a Mennonite family with mule team down some parking
The ability to conspire that Richard demonstrated with his mother over the music school audition wasn’t an anomaly. His skills at strategy, secrecy, and skullduggery would have made him a plausible candidate for Survivor ; the athletic feats and bug-eating, not so much. He seemed the sort of person who would (and did) tell anybody almost anything, but in fact he had many different compartments in his life, and none of us felt as though we had gained entrance to all of them.
to conspire that Richard mother over the music school audition wasn’t an anomaly. His skills secrecy, and skullduggery would made him a for athletic feats and so much. He seemed the sort of person who would (and did) tell anybody almost anything, but in fact had many life, of felt as we entrance to all of them.
Richard was also skilled at reading the room (“I have very good antennae,” he would explain from time to time) but there were some occasional misfires. After the last in a series of daily fundraising lunches at a celebrated eatery in the Central West End, he returned to the OTSL office and proclaimed, “I’m so sick of great food I can hardly stand it!”
was also skilled the room (“I have very good antennae,” he explain to time) some After the last in a series of fundraising lunches a celebrated eatery in the West End, he to the OTSL and proclaimed, “I’m of great food stand it!”
Sarah Bernhardt tragic desperation of declamation, but its Three of us just finishing our bologna on white bread sandwiches and looked up in disbelief.
“Well, you’ll miss when gone!” walked back to couldn’t help laugh at what became one his standard useful as an oblique of apology.
Sarah Bernhardt would have envied the tragic desperation of his declamation, but not its timing. Three of us were just finishing our braunschweiger or bologna on white bread sandwiches and looked up at him in disbelief. After a pause he said, “Well, you’ll miss me when I’m gone!” and walked back to his office. We couldn’t help but laugh at what became one of his standard lines, useful as an oblique means of
After stepping down from OTSL following its 10th season in 1985
After stepping down from 10th season 1985
OTSL’s first two general directors, Richard Gaddes and Charles MacKay, 1994.
OTSL’s four general directors (L to R): Timothy O’Leary, Richard Gaddes, Charles MacKay, and Andrew Jorgensen, 2018.
H e was a dapper Brit with highly cultured tastes in music, food, art, and wine...a man of legendary charm.
e a with highly tastes music, food, art, and wine...a of charm.
when Charles MacKay was named OTSL’s next general director, Richard became president of Grand Center, serving in that capacity until 1994. He also started inching his way back to the Santa Fe Opera, becoming a consultant to the apprentice program for singers in 1988, rejoining the company full-time in 1994 to work on its capital campaign to build a new theater, graduating to associate general director in 1995, and
Charles was named OTSL’s next general director, became president of Center, in that capacity until 1994. He also started inching way the Santa Fe Opera, becoming a to apprentice program singers in rejoining company full-time 1994 to work capital campaign build a new theater, graduating to general director in 1995, and
succeeding General Director John Crosby after the 2000 season.
General Director John Crosby the 2000 season.
The national keystone to Richard’s career was in 2008, when the OTSL founder received one of the inaugural Opera Honors Awards from the National Endowment for the Arts. He was in exceptional company — other honorees included composer Carlisle Floyd and soprano Leontyne Price.
The national keystone to career in 2008, OTSL one of inaugural Opera Honors the Endowment for the He — other composer Leontyne Price.
When Richard asked me to write his obituary, neither of us knew it would be needed so soon. Those who knew him well at least take some solace in the prestissimo pace of his departure — he would have been the worst lingerer in the history of health care.
asked me to write neither of knew it would who least take some solace in pace of his departure — he would have been the worst lingerer the history of
Meanwhile, I have to say he was right. Richard, we do miss you now that you’re gone.
Meanwhile, I have to say he was right. you you’re
Richard Gaddes at OTSL’s spring gala, 2012.
Richard Gaddes (left) and Mark Tiarks (second from left) with the OTSL staff, 1981.
WORLD PREMIERE
AMERICAN APOLLO
DAMIEN GETER AND LILA PALMER
2024 FESTIVAL SEASON
June 28 - July 21
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE by Gioachino Rossini / Alexander Birch Elliott as Figaro SALOME by Richard Strauss / Sara Gartland as Salome PELLÉAS & MÉLISANDE by Claude Debussy / Sydney Mancasola as Mélisande and John Moore as Pelléas AMERICAN APOLLO by Damien Geter and Lila Palmer / Justin Austin as Thomas Eugene McKeller (pictured)
La salute to the BROWN FAMILY LEGACY
family estate plan. The plans are often made quietly, driven by a desire to give future generations the experiences that bring joy to our lives.
Rex and Phyllis Brown made this choice by expressing a desire to their daughter that Opera Theatre of Saint Louis eventually be the beneficiary of the family’s estate. Phyllis died in 2016 and Rex died in 2018. Opera Theatre first learned of this bequest in 2021 from Rex and Phyllis’ daughter, Susan, and the $1.1 million gift arrived across 2022 and 2023. Their generosity and firm belief in the company’s future was especially meaningful as we returned to live performances for the first time following the pandemic.
Rex and Phyllis were enthusiastic supporters of Opera Theatre from the company’s earliest days. They were Thursday night subscribers and would often picnic in the gardens before performances. The warmth and magic of the pre-show gardens is a famed part of the Opera Theatre
Phyllis also volunteered her time as an Opera Theatre docent. The docents are a volunteer group that travel throughout the St. Louis community to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about opera. In this role, Phyllis worked side-by-side with teachers to bring opera into school classrooms. Retired Washington Montessori teacher and current co-chair of the Docents, Rose Nester, remembers Phyllis as a sweet person, a tireless worker, and a friend who was always welcome in her classroom.
In recognition of the Brown family’s extraordinary generosity to Opera Theatre, the docent program that Phyllis loved will be named in their memory going forward as the Rex & Phyllis Brown Docent Program.
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is deeply grateful to the Brown family and to all who support the company’s work in many ways.
Rex Brown, Erika Goldberg, and Phyllis Brown.
Photo courtesy of OTSL.
Washington University Voice and Airway Center
Offering the latest innovative treatment for all voice and airway conditions. 314-362-7509 | physicians.wustl.edu/voice
THE LEXUS ES
The Lexus ES isn’t actually complete when it leaves the factory—because even with its dynamic touchscreen, available Head-Up Display and Intelligent Assistant,1 it’s still not quite finished. Lexus Safety System+ 2.52 and available 302 horsepower aren’t quite enough to complete it. Because the Lexus ES isn’t really a Lexus ES until it has its most important piece: you.
MUNGENAST LEXUS OF ST. LOUIS 13700 Manchester Road, Manchester (314) 822-7681
The BARBER of SEVILLE
Brandani*
Eric Sean Fogel*
Boyce
THE CAST
(in order of vocal appearance)
FIORELLO
David Wolfe*♦
COUNT ALMAVIVA
Andrew Morstein*
FIGARO
Justin Austin + ROSINA
Hongni Wu*
DR. BARTOLO
Nathan Stark
DON BASILIO
Patrick Carfizzi
BERTA/NOTARY
Chase Sanders*♦
AN OFFICER
Jared Werlein*♦
SYNOPSIS
* Opera Theatre main season debut
♦ Gerdine Young Artist
○ Former Gerdine Young Artist
+ Former Gaddes Festival Artist
Meanwhile, Rosina has heard Lindoro’s love songs and wants to send him a letter. Bartolo tells Don Basilio, Rosina’s music teacher, that he plans to marry Rosina so he can take possession of her dowry. Don Basilio informs Bartolo that Count Almaviva is Rosina’s unknown lover, and vows to spread ugly rumors about the Count to have him thrown out of the town. Overhearing this, Figaro tells Rosina of Bartolo’s plan to marry her. Rosina scoffs at the idea and gives Figaro her note for Lindoro. Bartolo realizes that Rosina has been corresponding with someone; when she refuses to confess, he locks her in her chamber.
Christopher Tiesi as Almavivia, Emily Fons as Rosina, and Jonathan Beyer as Figaro in The Barber of Seville, 2015.
When Almaviva returns, he is disguised as a music teacher, Don Alonso. He tells Bartolo that Basilio is sick. To gain the doctor’s trust, Almaviva produces a love letter from Rosina, “obtained by accident,” and explains how it could be used to discredit Rosina’s secret lover. Impressed with this scheme, Bartolo allows Alonso to give Rosina a music lesson. Basilio appears, in perfect health,
planned to elope with Lindoro that very evening and agrees to marry Bartolo out of spite.
Later, when the Count and Figaro arrive, Rosina angrily confronts them before learning, to her amazement, that her earnest suitor Lindoro is the Count himself. As they prepare to escape, they find that the ladder has been removed. Amidst the confusion, Basilio arrives with a notary; encouraged by a bribe from the Count, he is pressed into witnessing the marriage of Rosina and the Count. Bartolo arrives but it is too late — young love has won the day.
de Beaumarchais (17321799) was, what we might call today, a Renaissance man. In addition to being a playwright, he was also a watchmaker, publisher, revolutionary, and musician.
Beaumarchais wrote several plays but is most famous for his Figaro trio: Le Barbier de Séville (The Barber of Seville), Le Mariage de Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), and La Mère coupable (The Guilty Mother).
Produced in 1775, 1781, and 1792, respectively, all three plays feature the characters Figaro and Count Almaviva. They represent the changing social mores before, during, and after the French Revolution.
Several composers turned
Beaumarchais’ plays into operas, with varying degrees of success. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote The Marriage of Figaro 30 years before Rossini’s The Barber of Seville made its premiere. Italian composer Giovanni Paisiello’s Le Barbier de Séville premiered in 1782, and La Mère coupable by French composer Darius Milhaud premiered in 1966.
a note from THE DIRECTOR
by Eric Sean Fogel
Iwas elated when James Robinson asked me to come to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and create a new The Barber of Seville. But I was also a little bit intimidated — the opera is notoriously difficult to stage.
The Barber of Seville tells the story of two young lovers and an elder who tries, unsuccessfully, to stand between them. It’s a familiar trope on the stage, perhaps because it’s familiar in real life. My own grandparents were forbidden to marry by their guardians, but they didn’t let that stand in their way. In 1943, they traveled here to St. Louis to elope at the Chase Park Plaza.
But the opera is more than a love story — the title is, after all, The Barber of Seville! The Count’s friendship with Figaro is at least as important as his romance with Rosina. In my earliest conversations with Kelley Rourke (who wrote our English translation) and other members of the creative team, I wanted to make sure Figaro remained at the center of the plot.
We decided to set the piece in 1930s Spain, just before the Spanish Civil War that led into the Second World War. At that time, the country was teeming with artists who were challenging the status quo, just as Beaumarchais’ Figaro — a character who had a lot in common with his creator — challenged norms in the original Figaro trilogy. Figaro is a creative fellow, a jack-of-all-trades, and we decided to lean into the idea of Figaro as “Artist.”
Inspired by Spanish artists like Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dalí, and Joan Miró, our Figaro is an artist performing a difficult balancing act: entertaining the masses without alienating the nobility. The Spanish surrealists were living and working in a world that was, on the surface, very different from that of Beaumarchais, yet their aims were largely the same: to fight against oppressive structures and clear the way for love and truth.
What I love about Figaro is that he makes magic out of everyday items and quick thinking. There is so much audacity and optimism — just like the audacity and optimism that inspired my grandparents to defy their families and run off to St. Louis all those years ago.
Iconsider The Barber of Seville one of those incredible works of art that — even after centuries of performances — never lose their brilliancy and freshness: from beginning to end, this opera is a miracle of musical energy and it’s not surprising that some of its most memorable pieces have acquired an iconic status even in the broader popular culture.
One example of this is the sinfonia that opens The Barber of Seville. As a young kid, years before I experienced the full opera, I was already familiar with its overture, which I heard many times in different contexts: concerts, TV, radio, and even (memorably) sung by my uncle, complete with his own nonsensical lyrics! Its main themes are so memorable and its rhythmical activity so forwarddriving that when combined with Rossini’s ability to create incredible momentum through a wellcalibrated intensification of energy using crescendo and accelerando, no one can escape the sheer vitality and enthusiasm of this music!
“Largo al Factotum,” the title role’s cavatina, is also one of this opera’s greatest hits and rightly so; its music immediately communicates Figaro’s irresistible energy, joie de vivre, resourcefulness, and humor.
Rossini’s ability to create comedy through music is astonishing to me.
Don Basilio’s aria “La calunnia” is a brilliant example of how Rossini uses his irresistible crescendo technique
to build up comic excitement of hilarious and exaggerated proportions, which perfectly matches the character’s excessive and hyperbolic narrations. The quick sections of Don Bartolo’s aria “Signorina un’altra volta” require the baritone to sing a ridiculous number of syllables at neck-breaking speed; the point here, though, isn’t to showcase the singer’s virtuosic skills, but to create music that vividly and immediately conveys Don Bartolo’s hysteric frenzy and loss of selfcontrol. And at the very end of the Act I finale, it is Rossini’s ingenious music, with its relentless rhythmical energy and growing momentum, which brings to the forefront the ridiculous comedy of this scene by highlighting the characters’ sense of disbelief and turmoil.
But The Barber of Seville is not just lightness and comedy — you can also find moments of sincere tenderness and melodic introspection that betray the influence of Romanticism, such as Count Almaviva’s opening cavatina or his serenade in Act I. Most notably, the storm music in Act II, with its violent and impassioned character, is not meant to depict the weather in Seville that night, but rather the stormy feelings of Rosina, who in that moment believes she has been betrayed by her lover. It is a powerful parallelism between human emotions and natural events, typical for the Romantic age, but one that you probably would not expect to find in a comedy like this one.
D o n B a si lio’s ar i a “L a c a lunni a ” i s a b r i l li ant e x amp le of how R o s sini u s e s hi s ir re si s t ib le c re s c e n d o te c hni q u e to b ui l d up c o mi c e x c ite m e nt of hi lar iou s an d
e x a g ge ra te d p ro p o r t io n s, w hi c h p e r fe c t ly m a tc he s t he c hara c te r ’ s
e x c e s sive an d hy p e rb o li c n ar ra t io n s.
We are honored to support the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and its mission to nurture the development of the next generation of opera artists and artisans.
La BOH È ME
E R A I N F O U R A C T S
Giacomo Puccini
b y Giuseppe Giacosa a n d Luigi Illica af te r t he no v e l Scènes de la vie de bohème b y Henri Murger
ra n s l a t i o n b y Richard Pearlman a n d Francis Rizzo w i t h re v i s i o n s b y Kelley Rourke
La bohème w a s fir s t p e r fo r m e d a t t he Teatro Regio, Turin , o n February 1, 1896. o r m e d b y Opera Theatre of Saint Louis o n May 19, 1978
t ive te am
José Luis Gómez*
o r
Michael Shell
re c to r
Takeshi Kata
ne r
Amanda Seymour
D e s i g ne r
Marcus Doshi
D e s i g ne r
Seán Curran a p he r
Krystal Balleza
Will Vicari
Wi g & Ma k e u p D e s i g ne r s
Andrew Whitfield
C h o r u s Ma s te r
Jennifer Ringo
E
Kedrick Terrell Armstrong
Marika Yasuda* R e p e t i te u r
Anna Theodosakis
A s s i s t a n t S t a ge D ire c to r
Kristen Barrett
S t a ge Ma n a ge r
Jessie Mhire
A
Emily Stafford*
Chris Moeggenberg
*Opera Theatre main season debut
THE CAST
(in order of vocal appearance)
MARCELLO
Thomas Glass
RODOLFO
Moisés Salazar*○
COLLINE
André Courville*
SCHAUNARD
Titus Muzi III ■○
BENOIT/ALCINDORO
Robert Mellon +○
MIMÌ
Katerina Burton○
A STROLLING VENDOR
Benjamin Ruiz*♦
PARPIGNOL
Levi Adkins*♦
MUSETTA
Brittany Renee*
CUSTOMS OFFICER
Jared Werlein*♦
SERGEANT
Justin Ramm-Damron*♦
* Opera Theatre main season debut
♦ Gerdine Young Artist
■ Richard Gaddes Festival Artist
○ Former Gerdine Young Artist
+ Former Gaddes Festival Artist
SYNOPSIS
Another knock at their door reveals his beautiful neighbor, Mimì, whose candle has gone out in the stairwell. Rodolfo welcomes her in and is instantly smitten. Mimì has a brief fainting spell and, as she recovers, realizes she has dropped her key. Rodolfo helps her to look, but when he finds it, he hides the key as an excuse to spend more time with Mimì. He invites her to join his friends for dinner, and she accepts.
Sean Michael Plumb as Schaunard, Bradley Smoak as Colline, Lauren Michelle as Musetta, Anthony Clark Evans as Marcello, Andrew Haji as Rodolfo, and Hae Ji Chang as Mimì in La bohème, 2016.
On a cold February morning, Mimì seeks Marcello’s advice. She tells him that her relationship with Rodolfo is deteriorating because of his jealousy, but that they love each other too much to break up. Marcello notices with concern that Mimì seems ill. They see Rodolfo coming, and Mimì hides while Marcello reprimands Rodolfo for his behavior. Rodolfo confesses that he loves Mimì more than
Back in their garret, Marcello and Rodolfo are heartbroken — both Musetta and Mimì are in new relationships with wealthier men. Schaunard and Colline enter with a meager supper and the artists attempt to make light of their situation. Musetta bursts in and tells the men that Mimì has collapsed in the stairwell. Rodolfo helps her to bed, and the group sends for a doctor. Mimì confesses that she has never stopped loving Rodolfo, and the pair shares one last passionate embrace.
A NOTE FROM
KATERINA BURTON
When I came to OTSL as a Gerdine Young Artist in 2019, I could have only dreamed that it would lead to a role debut I’ve dreamed of for years. I first saw La bohème in 2014 at Washington National Opera with Corinne Winters (another former GYA) as Mimì, and I fell in love with the opera.
I think many of us return to this work because we see ourselves in these characters. They’re all struggling with the harsh realities of life in their own way, and yet they still choose art, friendship, and above all else, love.
Like Mimì, I’ve always been a dreamer; my first summer at OTSL I sang a sweeping Puccini duet for Center Stage I knew in my heart that it was all I ever wanted to do. Returning to St. Louis to share this debut with everyone at my first artistic home is nothing short of a dream come true!
a note from THE DIRECTOR
by Michael Shell
Being in love can be the most fantastic sensation you’ve ever felt. Especially in the early days of a romance, it can lift everyday moments and make them seem like they are accompanied by a symphony orchestra. With a perfectly timed soundtrack following every action you and your beloved take, it seems like nothing could ever tear you apart. Sadness, pain, and even death cease to exist. This is what Mimì and Rodolfo experience in Act I and II of Puccini’s La bohème The feeling of being swept away changes as the piece moves on — it becomes larger than Mimì and Rodolfo and will soon engulf them.
Our La bohème takes place in the early 1950s. Everything about Paris in that time becomes even more vibrant, electric, and theatrical when Mimì, Rodolfo, and their friends visit streets of the Latin Quarter of Paris on Christmas Eve. But as the story progresses, the vibrancy and color are slowly removed. The heightened theatricality that carried the characters becomes more pedestrian. The characters' lives now experience pain and tragedy.
This setting epitomizes both the abstraction and the expressionism of art and the artist’s life at that time. Art is new, literature is new, and we highlight these sweeping changes in the bohemian world where our artists find themselves.
Setting the opera in this early period of post-war art takes us out of the social realism of the 30s and 40s and into a new realm. This setting epitomizes both the abstraction and
the expressionism of art and the artist’s life at that time. Art is new, literature is new, and we highlight these sweeping changes in the bohemian world where our artists find themselves.
Puccini´s La bohème constitutes an important pillar of any opera conductor’s repertoire, and to have the chance to conduct this piece many times is not only a joy but an incredible experience all together. Puccini’s score is one of complexity and perfection that is difficult to match. The fresh straightforwardness of the musical text in conjunction with the poetry of the words hits directly in the listener’s heart and soul, performance after performance.
La bohème was one of the first works I approached in my opera career, and each time I’ve conducted it, I’ve discovered the enduring greatness of a story that is timeless and universal. The sweetness of youth’s innocence speaks through the joyful melodies and playful passages in the first act. These elements convey unstoppable joie de vivre embraced by the four friends — Rodolfo, Marcello, Colline, and Schaunard — as depicted in the opera’s opening motif. In addition, we hear Puccini’s genius through the soft sound of muted strings and a faint knock on the door, signaling the pivotal moment that alters Rodolfo’s life and destiny. By the end of the act, Rodolfo takes flight alongside the angelic and ethereal Mimì, their harmonious duet becoming one of the most beautiful moments in the entire operatic repertoire.
In this magnificent opera, Puccini offers the conductor and orchestra not only a chance to support the singers through near-impressionistic language, but to also be a clear protagonist of the entire drama,
inflicting the actions with colors, textures, and atmospheres that makes one wonder if the music and text are, in fact, a single entity rather than two separate elements.
I personally would like to emphasize in our La bohème the nuances of the very specific dynamics and articulations that maestro Puccini intended in the score, thereby delivering as literally as possible all the detailed shapes that affect the soloists, the chorus, and the full orchestra.
It is a great honor and responsibility to perform this masterwork at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and to collaborate with director Michael Shell to bring every emotion of this work to the audience.
AN EXCERPT FROM HENRI
MURGER'S
SCÈNES DE LA VIE DE BOHÈME
"Gustave C olline, the g reat philosopher; Marcel, the g reat painter; Sc haunard, the g reat musician; and Rudolph, the g reat poet as they were wont to style themselves re g ularly frequented the C afé Momus where, being inseperable, they were nic knamed the four musketeers...indeed they always went about together, played together, dined together, of ten without pay ing the bill, yet always with a beautiful har mony wor thy of the C onservatoire Orc hestra "
VISIT WCHOF.ORG/MUSICSERIES FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION
Julius CAESAR
OPERA IN TWO ACTS
Music by George Frideric Handel
Libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym , adapted from Giulio Cesare in Egitto by Giacomo Francesco Bussani
English translation by Brian Trowell with revisions by James Robinson
Julius Caesar was first performed at the King’s Theatre, London , on February 20, 1724
creative team
Daniela Candillari Conductor
Elkhanah Pulitzer
Stage Director
Allen Moyer
Set Designer
Constance Hoffman
Costume Designer
Eric Southern
Lighting Designer
Seán Curran
Choreographer
Krystal Balleza
Will Vicari
Wig & Makeup Designers
Andrew Whitfield
Chorus Master
Erie Mills
English Diction Specialist
Darwin Aquino
Assistant & Cover Conductor
Emily Hamper*
Repetiteur
Michelle Cuizon
Assistant Stage Director
Cindy Knight
Stage Manager
Valerie J. Clatworthy
Assistant Stage Manager
Rickelle R. Williams
Assistant Stage Manager
Chris Moeggenberg
Intern Assistant Stage Managers
performance will last approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, including one 25-minute
*Opera Theatre main season debut
Kim & Tim Eberlein .
THE CAST
(in order of vocal appearance)
JULIUS CAESAR
Sarah Mesko
CORNELIA
Meridian Prall +○
SEXTUS
Megan Moore
ACHILLAS
Cory McGee*
CLEOPATRA
Emily Pogorelc*
NIRENA
Madeleine Lyon*♦
PTOLEMY
Key’mon W. Murrah*
CURIO
John Godhard Mburu*♦
SYNOPSIS
ACT ONE
Julius Caesar has just defeated his rival Pompey prior to arriving in Alexandria, where Cleopatra and her younger brother Ptolemy are currently vying for the throne of Egypt. Pompey had appealed to Ptolemy for arms and refuge, but Ptolemy betrayed him to gain Caesar’s favor. As the opera begins, Cornelia and Sextus, the wife and young son of Pompey, come to Caesar and the Roman general Curio to beg for peace. The entire group is horrified when Achillas, Ptolemy’s general, reveals Pompey’s severed head as a gift for Caesar. Caesar condemns Ptolemy’s barbarous act, and Sextus and Cornelia vow to seek vengeance.
When she hears of her brother’s actions, Cleopatra resolves to win Caesar’s favor for herself. Meanwhile, Achillas informs Ptolemy of Caesar’s anger and disgust. The two make a deal: if Achillas murders Caesar, Ptolemy will reward him with Cornelia’s hand in marriage.
* Opera Theatre main season debut
♦ Gerdine Young Artist
○ Former Gerdine Young Artist
+ Former Gaddes Festival Artist
Cleopatra meets Caesar in his camp, disguised as a servant girl named Lydia. Caesar is enchanted by her beauty. Later, “Lydia” overhears Cornelia and Sextus discussing their plans for revenge and promises them Cleopatra’s support with the help of Nirena, Cleopatra’s aide.
Julius CAESAR Julius CAESAR
Caesar meets Ptolemy and the two exchange tense niceties. Ptolemy invites Caesar to stay in his palace, and Caesar warily accepts. After Caesar departs, Sextus and Cornelia encounter Ptolemy, and Sextus challenges him to a duel. Instead, Ptolemy imprisons Sextus and sends Cornelia to work in his harem. Achillas promises to free both mother and son if Cornelia agrees to marry him. When Cornelia refuses, Achillas sends Sextus to prison.
Later that evening, Cleopatra invites Caesar to her palace for entertainment. Caesar arrives to see “Lydia” perform and falls even more helplessly in love with her.
ACT TWO
Despite her hardships, Cornelia holds firm in her refusal to marry Achillas. Her situation grows even more dire when she is accosted by Ptolemy, who also desires her. Soon after, Sextus, who has escaped from prison with the help of Nirena, finds his mother and promises they will escape after he kills Ptolemy.
Meanwhile in Cleopatra’s apartments, Caesar proclaims his love for Lydia. Curio interrupts them to tell Caesar that Achillas’ assassins are searching for him. In her distress,
Cleopatra reveals her true identity to Caesar and vows to defend him. When Achillas’ men breach her palace, Cleopatra advises Caesar to flee, but he runs toward the fight. Distraught, Cleopatra prays for her beloved’s safety.
In the ensuing battle, Ptolemy mortally wounds Achillas. Ptolemy’s troops defeat Cleopatra’s forces, and he takes her prisoner. Rumors are swirling that Julius Caesar is dead after leaping from a balcony into the ocean to escape his would-be assassins...but unbeknownst to all, Caesar has survived after swimming to shore. Sextus and Nirena find Achillas dying on the beach, holding a seal that allows the bearer to command his troops. Sextus offers the seal to Caesar and they all set out to rescue Cornelia and Cleopatra. When Caesar bursts into her chambers, Cleopatra is overjoyed to see him alive and well.
Ptolemy still believes he has won the day. He attempts to seduce Cornelia again; she draws a dagger to avenge her dead husband. In that same moment, Sextus arrives and kills Ptolemy. Cleopatra is triumphant — as she is crowned Queen of Egypt, she declares her alliance with the Roman Empire and her love for Julius Caesar.
Left: bust of Cleopatra in the Altes Museum in Berlin. Right: copy of an ancient bust of Julius Caesar.
a note from THE DIRECTOR
What a joy it is to return to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and what a thrill to share this new production of Julius Caesar. Ever since James Robinson and Andrew Jorgensen invited me to bring my years of research and understanding of the lives of these irresistible lovers to focus on Handel’s version, Maestro Candillari and I have marveled at the breadth and richness of this work. Together we wrestle with it, mine it for gems, and work to streamline it to allow us all time to share in reflecting on the work. For me and many others, discourse in the Opera Theatre tents after the last note is a rich part of those reflections.
Daniela and I have spent months getting to know the full opera intimately, listening to various versions with differing scene cuts. Our own conclusions about what feels crucial are very similar to those who have approached this work in the past. We know we want to preserve the beauty and arc of the characters and remain faithful to their journeys of discovery. We also want a story that feels inevitable and well-paced, that moves forward with momentum while giving space for the vastness of Handel’s emotional expressivity. We want to avoid some of the late-breaking twists and turns near the end and give priority to the leading lovers above all others. Paramount to us both is the need to give Cleopatra the full range of expression for her “infinite variety” while also affirming her liberation
the courage to overthrow tyranny, as well as the deep valleys of loss and healing we all experience, make it universal. We need leaders like Handel’s interpretations of Caesar and Cleopatra, characters who contemplate their own mortality with humility and grace, surrender to vulnerability in love, exhibit sobriety and courage, and ultimately fight for justice in the face of monstrous
stories that make space for rulers and the world outside.
Did you know?
Elkhanah Pultizer first came to OTSL in 1995, as Assistant Stage Director for Offenbach’s La belle Hélène. Her first production as Stage Director was in 2003 with Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio.
When Andrew Jorgensen and James Robinson first asked me which opera I wanted to conduct in the 2024 Festival Season, my immediate answer was Julius Caesar long been fascinated with the level of intimacy that Baroque operas offer. Although some criticize its most common aria form, as nothing more than a vehicle for display of vocal abilities, I find that it’s precisely this strict structure that allows for improvisation and personalization of the characters.
When Julius Caesar London in 1724, it was an instant success. During Handel’s life, the opera was produced three more times. Each time the opera was revived, Handel was open to making small changes and adjustments. Sometimes those changes were purely practical...for example, accommodating singers’ schedules or changing the male role of Nirenus to a female role named Nirena. Learning about how flexible (in certain instances) Handel was with his music was a wonderful guide in exploring what our production could become.
The flexibility of interpretation can also be heard in different stylistic choices. Minimal interpretations can be quite traditional in their shape of recitatives, sometimes played only by a harpsichord and theorbo, while extremely lavish, ornamental ones have the potential of sounding romantic and almost impressionistic. While preparing the opera, I found
invaluable guidance and inspiration in the work of the late conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt, who I had the chance of hearing often when I was a student in Austria, as well as more recent performances led by Jane Glover and Harry Bicket. Harnoncourt’s reading of the score, though played by a baroque orchestra, was especially illuminating in finding different orchestral colors that could be used to express various dramatic layers and offer a variety of textures. When dealing with a translation, one also needs to marry the articulation of the music to the speech rhetoric. That aspect alone can stimulate a change in how we hear a piece of music!
From the beginning of our conversations about the piece and
what we wanted to convey with the story, Elkhanah Pulitzer and I were focused on keeping the musical and dramatic momentum moving ahead. We wanted to give each of the characters a chance to show the different layers of their emotions and circumstances, making them feel like real people that we could encounter today, instead of historic figures that we only see from a distance.
Did you know?
In addition to conducting Julius Caesar, Daniela Candillari will also be playing the harpsichord. She’ll be conducting directly from the keyboard, which is not uncommon for Baroque-era compositions.
Hear interviews with local artists, listen to live symphony and opera performances, learn about upcoming shows, concerts, and arts events in the region, explore the world through Musical Ancestries , and unwind with the world’s greatest music.
GALILEO Galilei
Kwamé Ryan*
C o n du c to r
James Robinson
S t a ge D ire c to r
Allen Moyer
S e t D e s i g ne r Marco Piemontese*
C o s t u m e D e s i g ne r
Greg Emetaz
Vi d e o P
Eric Southern
L i g ht
Seán Curran
C
Kedrick Terrell Armstrong
Jessie Mhire
THE CAST
(in order of vocal appearance)
OLDER GALILEO GALILEI/SPEAKER
Paul Groves
CARDINAL 2/SERVANT/ORACLE 2
Robert Mellon+○
CARDINAL 3
Jared Werlein*♦
POPE URBAN VIII/SIMPLICIO/CARDINAL BARBERINI/FATHER
Hunter Enoch
CARDINAL 1/ORACLE 1/OTHER
Elijah English*♦
OTHERS
Luke Elmer*♦
Emilio Vasquez*♦
David Wolfe*♦
MARIA CELESTE/EOS
Vanessa Becerra
SCRIBE
Gabriela Linares♦
SALVIATI/YOUNGER GALILEO GALILEI
Sean Michael Plumb
SAGREDO
Jennifer Kreider*♦
PRIEST
Brad Bickhardt*♦
MARIE DE MEDICI
Lucy Evans*♦
MARIA MADDALENA
Michelle Mariposa*♦
DUCHESS CHRISTINA
Kathleen O’Mara*■○
* Opera Theatre main season debut
♦ Gerdine Young Artist
■ Richard Gaddes Festival Artist
○ Former Gerdine Young Artist
+ Former Gaddes Festival Artist
SYNOPSIS
recants his revolutionary theories. Nevertheless, he is sentenced to home imprisonment for the rest of his life. During the trial, Galileo and the Pope reminisce about their conversations when the Pope was still a Cardinal and Galileo’s daughter was still alive.
A month prior to the trial in Rome, Galileo’s illegitimate daughter, Maria Celeste, who has been confined to a convent for a decade, reads a letter to her father in a tranquil garden. Along with the letter, she sends him handmade treats, baked pears, and a rose. She urges her father to maintain his faith and his belief in his work.
recalls conducting experiments in his laboratory and testing his theories of mechanics, all of which challenged conventional notions of the acceleration and motion of falling objects.
telescope. The Grand Duchess Christina is deeply impressed. Vincenzo Galilei, a member of the Florentine Camerata.
In one final reflection on his life, a boyish Galileo and the young Duchess watch an opera by Vincenzo. Old Galileo can see once again; past and present are bridged as the opera within an opera concludes.
a note from THE DIRECTOR
by James Robinson
Galileo Galilei was, in fact, not originally planned to be a part of this Festival Season. When another new work we had planned to premiere in 2024 revealed itself to be not quite ready for prime time, we were required to do something Opera Theatre has had to do occasionally: pivot. There are many criteria taken into consideration when something like this happens, including the scale of an opera, the forces required, the orchestration, and so on. Ultimately, it’s important to find an opera that balances out the rest of the season.
As I was looking at several titles, all recently composed operas, I was reminded of a piece that fascinated me: Philip Glass’ Galileo Galilei. Originally commissioned and first performed by Chicago’s Goodman Theatre some 20 years ago, Galileo Galilei makes very infrequent appearances in American opera houses compared with the composer’s other operas. The success of Glass’ The Trial, which OTSL presented in its American premiere in 2017, was a guiding star, so it made perfect sense to mount a new production of Galileo Galilei
has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”
the creation of the first operas in the final years of the Renaissance.
There is something increasingly relevant and resonant about Galileo the man, and how he faced charges of heresy for reconciling the study of science with the dogma of the Church. A devout Catholic, Galileo explained that faith and science could co-exist and benefit one another. Perhaps his most famous quote is the most revealing: “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who
Galileo Galilei takes us on the journey of the older Galileo reflecting on his life. It focuses not just on the accusations and trials he endured with the Pope and the Church but also the tender relationship he had with his illegitimate daughter, who was shuttered away in a convent. In fact, much of the opera’s libretto is drawn from letters between father and daughter in addition to other historical documents that explore Galileo’s work as inventor, astronomer, and astrologist. There is also something inherently “operatic” about the life of Galileo: his father was a founding member of the Florentine Camerata, responsible for
My creative team and I draw much inspiration from the various aspects of Galileo’s life. The theater and spectacle of the Church also played a major factor in guiding our visual and dramatic choices, along with the gorgeous Fellini film Roma. As mentioned before, it’s remarkable to consider just how resonant Galileo’s personal and professional struggles are today, and we hope to shine a light on how strangely the present resembles the past.
Did you know?
OTSL is only the fourth opera company to stage this work!
Even as a teenage student, my interest in science and technology was almost equal to that in music. So, when I was recently offered the opportunity to work with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis on Galileo Galilei, an opera about a scientist, with a score incorporating elements of music technology, I didn’t hesitate to jump onboard!
Apart from my curiosity regarding Philip Glass’ use of samples and synthesizers, which are a hobby of mine and have experienced a quantum leap in their development since this work’s premiere in 2002, I was excited to explore the connections between the planetary orbits within Galileo’s posited solar system and the motion of Glass’ instrumental lines within the strong gravity of his rhythmic and harmonic systems. I also enjoyed the libretto’s poetic allusions to Eos, the Goddess of Dawn, aptly underscored by musical lines emulating the mysterious nature of light; wavelike in shape, but particulate in the stacking of their arpeggiated notes.
However, once I started looking beyond these evocative but superficial resonances, something else jumped out at me that has made my time with this elegant work even more intriguing. Glass’ 11-piece ensemble — a model of creative constraint — while often embodying the dispassionate order of the cosmos, in some scenes delivers a strikingly earth-bound and expressive range of motifs.
While this more human affect is unsurprising where the narrative depicts the ideological discussions of Galileo’s contemporaries — the intellectual exchanges with his colleagues or his navigation of the inquisition, for example — in the final scene, we hear Glass adding a warm, lighthearted humor that is unique within the musical language of the work. This final scene is an opera within the opera, which depicts the imagined music of Galileo’s composer-father, tells the story of Orion and Eos, and completes the telescoped narrative of Galileo’s life (we open the opera towards the end of his life, and end with his childhood).
I wonder whether in this final mix of myth and mirth, we might interpret
an authorial world view that contrasts the perspectives which give rise to some of the unfortunate events of the narrative. Is it that in the midst of our never-ending search to understand the nature of the universe and our place in it, an awareness of “the lightness of being” is proposed? And might that “lightness,” far from the short-sighted belief systems that arrest the imaginations of some of the opera’s characters, be a sense of freedom that arises alongside an understanding that the universe may well lack inherent meaning; that it cannot be understood and certainly neither orbits the earth, nor indeed, its inhabitants?
I hope you enjoy your experience of Galileo Galilei and invite you to judge for yourself!
An inheritance, a calculating mastermind, and a beautiful woman- shaken and stirred. Dial “M” for Murder has all the ingredients for a perfect cocktail of murder and mayhem. Join the relentless Inspector Hubbard as he unravels the twisted truth on a journey that will leave you breathless until the final curtain falls.
DECEMBER 4 – DECEMBER 22 Celebrate the holidays with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis!
FEBRUARY 5 – MARCH 2
This comedic feast takes you on a quest for the perfect sandwich!
MARCH 19 – APRRL 13
You won’t want to miss a moment of this swashbuckling fun!
CENTER STAGE C
S H O W C A S E C O N
e a t u r in g t he
Tu e s d ay, t
A c c o mp a ni e d o n s t a ge b y m e mb e r s of t he re a t ive te am
i e l a C a n d i l l a r i
a t r i c i a R a c e t te
O l iv i a G a c k a
D i a ne Ma c hin
Pa t r i c i a R a c e t te
Ja m e s R o b in s o n
Ia n S i lv e r m a n
n d re w W hi tfie l d
l iv i a G a c k a
l a d S o l o v i e v
a l e r i e J C l a tw o r t hy
Je s s i e M hire
E mi ly S t affo rd
R i c k e l l e Wi l l i a m s
C hr i s Mo e g ge nb e r g
E R T
Richard Gaddes Festival Artists a n d Gerdine Young Artists
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra
RICHARD GADDES FESTIVAL ARTISTS
L au re l S c hmi d t i to ne o p ra no no r e z z o-s o p ra no o p ra no no r no r no r
Kathleen O’Mara
YOUNG ARTISTS
Sophia Baete
Georgia Belmont
Brad Bickhardt
Jordan Costa
Devin Eatmon
n te r te no r
Elijah English
Lucy Evans
Me z z o-s o p ra no
Erik Grendahl
B a r i to ne
Hakeem Henderson Te no r
Jennifer Kreider
S o p ra no
Gabriela Linares
Me z z o-s o p ra no
Ryan Lustgarten
Te no r
Madeleine Lyon
Me z z o-s o p ra no
Michelle Mariposa
Me z z o-s o p ra no
John Godhard Mburu
B a s s
Joseph O’Shea
B a r i to ne
Lauren Paul
Me z z o-s o p ra no
Olivia Prendergast
S o p ra no
Justin Ramm-Damron
Jouelle Roberson
S o p ra no
n te r te no r e no e no e no e no e no e ra to to to
B a s s-b a r i to ne
Benjamin Ruiz
Te no r
Chase Sanders
S o p ra no
Laura Santamaria
S o p ra no
Veronica Siebert
Me z z o-s o p ra no
Emilio Vasquez
B a r i to ne
Jared Werlein
B a s s-b a r i to ne
Patrick Wilhelm
B a r i to ne
David Wolfe
B a r i to ne
is supported by a gift honoring the memory of Sally S. Levy from The Saucy Foundation
Additional support comes from Mary Susman & Tom Herm , Gene Kornblum , and Allison W. Roberts .
Patricia Racette’s engagement is made possible with generous support from Tim & Robin Wentworth
FUTURE STARS , under the STARS
1,045
Sof Saint Louis has built a reputation for identifying, nurturing, and promoting the operatic world’s most promising early-career singers. The company’s celebrated young artist programs include the Gerdine Young Artist Program and the Richard Gaddes Festival Artist Program, which cultivate the next generation of promising opera talent through invaluable professional experience. Led by Artistic Director of Young Artist Programs Patricia Racette, these two programs span nine weeks during the Festival Season and offer artists extensive vocal coaching, master classes with renowned opera artists, and onstage experience in both the ensemble and featured supporting roles.
In 2015, Opera Theatre introduced the first Center Stage concert to celebrate its young artists. This one-night-only event is where opera lovers, artist managers, and opera administrators look to discover the next rising stars. This electrifying performance features duets, trios, and ensemble pieces from opera’s cherished classics and rare gems, sung in their original language and accompanied onstage by the Grammy Award-winning St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.
Opera Theatre’s young artist programs. This year, only 30 were selected for the Gerdine Young Artist Program, and just two were offered a spot in our Richard Gaddes Festival Artist Program, an honor reserved for exceptionally remarkable young singers. In addition, two young artist staff members were selected, for the positions of apprentice assistant director and apprentice pianist. Seven principal artists in the 2024 Festival Season began their careers in OTSL’s young artist programs.
Many OTSL alumni go on to perform on the world’s most renowned stages, from the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden to the Metropolitan Opera, and include names such as Jamie Barton, Christine Brewer, Lawrence Brownlee, Christine Goerke, Kate Lindsey, Erin Morley, Paula Murrihy, Matthew Polenzani, Morris Robinson, Michael Spyres, Russell Thomas, Corinne Winters, and many more.
Opera Theatre’s steadfast commitment to promising young singers has played an important part in the company’s remarkable success. It’s a joy to welcome and support these talented singers. We can’t imagine a season without them!
by Patricia Racette , Artistic Director of Young Artist Programs
elcome to Center Stage! As Artistic Director of Young Artist Programs, I am so excited for you to witness the talent of our singers this year in what invariably represents a beloved highlight of the season! This evening encapsulates the kind of work I believe is vital to a young artist program: “boots on stage,” which has become my favorite catchphrase. There is nothing more instructive than the “doing of” the art form and integrating all the elements necessary to forge a professional artist.
To that end, I think OTSL’s young artist programs face the work headon during our nine-week adventure! That adventure includes many responsibilities and opportunities, from covering leading roles and performing supporting roles to participating in one of the finest choruses you will hear anywhere. We have also implemented staged cover runs for each mainstage production, where our young artists have the chance to perform an entire role in front of an audience of our administration, donors, and their peers. Beyond that, we facilitate a catered curriculum focusing on musical style, interpretive investment through selfexamination, linguistic nuance, stage deportment, and repertoire exploration.
Additionally, our curriculum addresses timely issues about how to build a sustainable life and career in this art form. Many of our artists are bridging the gap between academia and a professional career, and that can be challenging. It is this day-to-day work that drives me to help this next
WELCOMING BACK PAST YOUNG
ARTIST ALUMNI
Not only does OTSL hire dozens of young artists each season, we also invite alumni to return in principal roles! Below are the former young artists performing in our 2024 Festival Season.
generation of singers emerge with confidence and a sense of their own artistic voice. I want to help these artists put their own interpretive stamp on their work — from audition arias to cover assignments to mainstage casting assignments. Our young artists have access not only to me and the rest of our talented music staff, but also the guest artists and other professionals from the industry who join us throughout the season.
While Center Stage is a single performance, it is the work of many months of planning and preparation. I want to thank my artistic colleagues: Principal Conductor Daniela Candillari and Director of Artistic Administration Yvette Loynaz. Together, we have programmed a wide variety of repertory, incorporating not only beloved standard operatic excerpts but also pieces spanning contemporary opera, musical theater, zarzuela, and operetta — and all of it accompanied by the incredible St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Please join me in celebrating this evening’s performance!
Richard Gaddes Festival Artist Former Gerdine Young Artist
YOU ARE INVITED TO AN INTERFAITH CONCERT “One World, One Family”
Featuring soprano Christine Brewer, the Interfaith Youth Chorus and musicians of many faiths
Sunday, October 13, 2024 at 4PM the Sheldon Concert Hall
69TH SEASON
HEAR THE CHORUS CRITICS HAVE CALLED THE BEST A CAPPELLA CHOIR IN THE MIDWEST.
Philip Barnes, Artistic Director
To reserve your free tickets, visit www.ArtsFaithStLouis.org
Building a harmonious St. Louis through music, visual arts, and spoken word
SIX CONCERTS IN SIX UNIQUE VENUES
SUNDAYS AT 3:00
SEPTEMBER 29, 2024
The Sound of Silence
NOVEMBER 10, 2024
Classic Pop
DECEMBER 22, 2024
Holiday Works
FEBRUARY 16, 2025
Love Conquers Hate
APRIL 6, 2025
Old Roots, Fresh Blooms
MAY 25, 2025
War And Peace
For concert information and tickets visit chamberchorus.org.
Soprano Christine Brewer
Chorus Director Maria A. Ellis
Interfaith Youth Chorus
Garden
Garden
Garden
Garden
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ADVANCING THE NEXT GENERATION
INCUBATING EXCELLENCE ACROSS ALL SECTORS OF OPERA
One of the most crucial components of Opera Theatre’s mission is “to foster the next generation by empowering a diverse group of artists, artisans, and administrators at the highest level.” Every year, OTSL advances that work through a robust slate of initiatives, thanks to the generous support of many individuals and organizations. The Gerdine Young Artist Program, Richard Gaddes Festival Artist Program, the Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation Young Artist Education & Development Programs, along with several other initiatives, are industry leaders in the development of young opera professionals. Alumni of these programs can be found onstage, backstage, and in the administrations
JOHN D. & SALLY S. LEVY MASTER CLASSES
Inaugurated by the legendary Eleanor Steber and named for two of OTSL’s great benefactors, these extraordinary master classes give members of the company’s young artist programs the opportunity to learn from leaders in the field through focused, intense sessions. This season, three such master classes are open to the public: soprano Patricia Racette on June 2, tenor Paul Groves on June 14, and soprano Ana María Martínez on June 28. John D. & Sally S. Levy Master Classes are funded in part by the John D. & Sally S. Levy Master Class Endowment Fund and presented in memory John D. & Sally S. Levy, founding board members of Opera Theatre. For more information about attending Levy Master Classes, see page 15.
CLAYCO FUTURE LEADERS FELLOWSHIP
Launched in 2021, the Clayco Future Leaders Fellowship supports and cultivates future BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Color) arts leaders and administrators by providing in-depth experiences that advance the skills, knowledge, and capabilities that make these careers possible. Fellows serve in a full-time position specializing in one area (Administration, Marketing, or Production) while also participating in a variety of networking, mentorship, and professional development, and experiences. Through this fellowship, Opera Theatre seeks to develop successful arts administrators who will add to the vibrant future of opera. This program is possible thanks to a generous commitment from Clayco and Bob & Jane Clark
THE ADMINISTRATIVE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM
OTSL is committed to the advancement of the next generation of arts management professionals. Interns are integral members of the company’s seasonal staff and may also work on special projects during the off-season. Members of the administrative, artistic, and music staffs lead seminars for the interns, who may also attend rehearsals, lectures, and special events. Many interns have gone on to full-time positions both at Opera Theatre and other arts organizations. The Administrative Internship Program is made possible with generous support from Penny Pennington & Michael Fidler. Professional development programs are also supported by the Charles MacKay Career Development Fund , the Dixie Long Memorial Fund , and gifts made in memory of Mrs. John Sausele.
L to R: Fellows Camryn Moore (Marketing), Allyson Sims (Production), and Astrid Bacy (Administration).
EMERSON BEHIND THE CURTAIN
The Emerson Behind the Curtain Program provides young backstage staff with advanced instruction in technical theater production, construction, design, and logistics by leaders in their fields. Special scholarships for outstanding college-level assistants in this program are supported by Emerson , gifts from Rabbi Dr. Jay & Erika Goldburg , and a fund established in memory of Catherine Vail Levy. Distinguished young designers of OTSL productions are supported by the Alvin R. Frank Memorial Fund
For more information about Emerson Behind the Curtain, see page 81.
LARRY & JINNY BROWNING FUND FOR TECHNICAL FELLOWSHIPS
Made possible with a transformative endowment gift from the family of Opera Theatre’s late Board Chairman, Larry Browning , the Larry & Jinny Browning Fund for Technical Fellowships offers advanced training for young artisans pursuing careers in technical theater production. Browning Fellowships are offered to young technicians who are returning after at least one season with the company, progressing through the ranks backstage just as Gerdine Young Artists do onstage. Browning Fellows attend advanced seminars taught by visiting designers, directors, and OTSL professional staff. A $5,000 career grant is awarded to one Fellow each season in recognition and support of extraordinary potential to advance the field of technical theater.
BAYER FUND ARTISTS-IN-TRAINING GRADUATE STUDY AWARDS
AIT program graduates who are currently pursuing advanced vocal training are eligible to receive scholarship awards for their continuing studies. These scholarships are supported by Bayer Fund , Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Guerrerio/Wedgewood Partners, Inc. , and funds named for composer Scott Joplin and noted St. Louis music educator Kenneth Billups .
In addition to the extensive training programs offered during the festival season, Opera Theatre is pleased to provide career grants to exceptional singers and theater artisans to continue their artistic and professional growth. Twenty singers and 16 technical theater artisans received professional development awards in 2022 and 2023:
singers and 16 technical theater artisans received professional development awards in 2022 and 2023:
FOR SINGERS
FOR SINGERS
Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation Prize
Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation Prize
Justin Austin (2023)
Justin Austin (2023)
Thomas Glass (2022)
Thomas Glass (2022)
Elihu M. Hyndman Memorial Award
Elihu M. Hyndman Memorial Award
César Andrés Parreño (2023)
César Andrés Parreño (2023)
Shelén Hughes (2022)
Shelén Hughes (2022)
Barbara & Stanley Richman Memorial Award
Barbara & Stanley Richman Memorial Award
Yuntong Han (2023)
Yuntong Han (2023)
Keith Klein (2022)
Keith Klein (2022)
FOR TECHNICAL THEATER ARTISANS
FOR TECHNICAL THEATER ARTISANS
Larry & Jinny Browning Technical Fellowship Career Award
Larry & Jinny Browning Technical Fellowship Career Award
Spencer Lawton (2023)
Spencer Lawton (2023)
Javi Cervantes (2022)
Javi Cervantes (2022)
Emerson Behind the Curtain Scholarship Awards
Emerson Behind the Curtain Scholarship Awards
J. Carlin Decker III (2023)
J. Carlin Decker III (2023)
Megan Gilchrist (2023)
Megan Gilchrist (2023)
Catherine Good (2023)
Catherine Good (2023)
Danelle Leinonen (2023)
Danelle Leinonen (2023)
Christiana Osborne (2023)
Christiana Osborne (2023)
Kassidy Schley (2023)
Kassidy Schley (2023)
Paris Aguilar (2022)
Paris Aguilar (2022)
James Burch (2022)
James Burch (2022)
Adriaen Hobgood (2022)
Adriaen Hobgood (2022)
Richard Gaddes Career Awards
Richard Gaddes Career Awards
Kathleen O’Mara (2023)
Kathleen O’Mara (2023)
Titus Muzi III (2023, 2022)
Titus Muzi III (2023, 2022)
Jared Esquerra (2022)
Jared Esquerra (2022)
Meridian Prall (2022)
Meridian Prall (2022)
Thelma Steward Endowed Artist Alumni Awards
Thelma Steward Endowed Artist Alumni Awards
Joshua Blue (2023)
Joshua Blue (2023)
Melissa Joseph (2023)
Melissa Joseph (2023)
Lauren Michelle (2023)
Lauren Michelle (2023)
Chaz’men WilliamsAli (2023)
Chaz’men WilliamsAli (2023)
Dorathy Johnston (2022)
Dorathy Johnston (2022)
Aldayr “Peanut” Molina (2022)
Aldayr “Peanut” Molina (2022)
Katie Radford (2022)
Katie Radford (2022)
Rabbi Dr. Jay & Erika Goldburg Scholarship Award
Rabbi Dr. Jay & Erika Goldburg Scholarship Award
Ezekiel Ajibade (2023)
Ezekiel Ajibade (2023)
Grant Vocks (2022)
Grant Vocks (2022)
FOR BAYER FUND ARTISTS-IN-TRAINING ALUMNI
FOR BAYER FUND ARTISTS-IN-TRAINING ALUMNI
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Guerrerio/ Wedgewood Partners, Inc. Award
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Guerrerio/ Wedgewood Partners, Inc. Award
Erica Ancell (2023)
Erica Ancell (2023)
Sam Krausz (2022)
Sam Krausz (2022)
Scott Joplin Award
Scott Joplin Award
Eric Curry (2023)
Eric Curry (2023)
Angel Riley (2022)
Angel Riley (2022)
Kenneth Billups Award
Kenneth Billups Award
Tony Washington (2023)
Tony Washington (2023)
Michael Lee, Jr. (2022)
Michael Lee, Jr. (2022)
and Gaddes Career Grants are supported by the Richard Gaddes Fund for Young Singers and funds established in memory of OTSL founding board members Elihu Hyndman and Barbara & Stanley Richman . A major gift from The Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation - Mabel L. Purkerson, M.D., Trustee in 2010 helped endow OTSL’s professional development programs and established the Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation Prize. Additional funding for these programs is generously provided by the E. Desmond Lee Family Fund for Professional Development , the William T. Kemper Fund – Commerce Bank, Trustee, the Herman T. & Phenie R. Pott Foundation , and the contributors listed on page 106.
The Gerdine Young Artist Program is supported in part by the Charles MacKay Career Development Fund . The Richard Gaddes Festival Artist Program and Gaddes Career Grants are supported by the Richard Gaddes Fund for Young Singers and funds established in memory of OTSL founding board members Elihu Hyndman and Barbara & Stanley Richman . A major gift from The Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation - Mabel L. Purkerson, M.D., Trustee in 2010 helped endow OTSL’s professional development programs and established the Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation Prize. Additional funding for these programs is generously provided by the E. Desmond Lee Family Fund for Professional Development , the William T. Kemper Fund – Commerce Bank, Trustee, the Herman T. & Phenie R. Pott Foundation , and the contributors listed on page 106.
The Gerdine Young Artist Program is supported in part by the Charles MacKay Career Development Fund . The Richard Gaddes Festival Artist Program
and longtime generosity of Emerson. Emerson Behind the Curtain, which began in 2005, prepares students for a range
and longtime generosity of Emerson. Emerson Behind the Curtain, which began in 2005, prepares students for a range
on-the-job experience in production and attend professional development seminars with Opera Theatre designers and
Cas Blessing
Justin Buontempo
on-the-job experience in production and attend professional development seminars with Opera Theatre designers and
Aspen Kinomoto
Isa LoPiccolo-Kleine
Lauren Whyte
AB Wildes
Emmalee Berger
Will Everson
Leo Fuller
Ryne Halstead
Jordan Kerr
Josh Kline
Aspen Knight
Matalyn Thayer
EMERSON COSTUME APPRENTICES are college students receiving advanced training in costume design and construction, working with visiting designers and other professionals in the company’s costume department.
EMERSON COSTUME APPRENTICES are college students receiving advanced training in costume design and construction, working with visiting designers and other professionals in the company’s costume department.
Blake Blanning
Blake Blanning
Vanessa Buck
Vanessa Buck
Corissa Gavin
Corissa Gavin
Pearl Modine
Pearl Modine
Elizabeth Randall
Elizabeth Randall
Cecelia Skemp
Cecelia Skemp
Marissa Thompson
Marissa Thompson
L to R: Raphael Regan, Nina Evelyn Anderson, and Rick Tuckett at a fitting for Treemonisha , 2023.
SPECIAL APPEARANCES BY ST. LOUIS CARDINALS BASEBALL LEGEND: OZZIE SMITH, “THE WIZARD" INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED VIOLINIST: CHO-LIANG (JIMMY) LIN
Presenting Sponsor: Noémi K. Neidorff
Honorary Chairs: Mary Strauss, Thomas and Carol Voss
Event Chair: Miran Halen
Co-Chairs: Becky Domyan and Amalia Pfannenstiel
For VIP and Sponsor Opportunities, contact: info@chambermusicstl.org or call: 314-941-6309 www.chambermusicstl.org/vintage-gala/
“MUSIC gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination & LIFE TO EVERYTHING.”
~PLATO
Proud to support Opera Theatre of Saint Louis & the St. Louis Arts.
Offering five remarkable series featuring icons and new talent! Folk & American Roots
The War and Treaty, Mark O’Connor, Martha Redbone, Suzanne Vega, Martin Sexton Rhythm & Jazz Martin, Cohen and Lubambo, Joshua Redman, Bria Skonberg, Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents, Coffee Concerts Eleanor and Dario, Elsie Parker & the Poor People of Paris, The Wee Heavies, The Bosman Twins, Pop! Pop! Pop! Whitaker World Music Lila Downs, Carminho, Sona Jobarteh, SLSO: Live at The Sheldon and many special concerts!
Visit thesheldon.org/series-subscriptions/
www.boppchapel.com
OCTOBER 5, 2024
DECEMBER 14, 2024
MARCH 8, 2025
MAY 10, 2025
Contact us at acchorale.com for
Stephen Morton, Artistic Director and Conductor
“ Mr. Morton, a bass-baritone, enjoyed singing with the OTSL in several operas, including two world premiers, The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Woodlanders. ”
Photo Credit Pratt & Kreidich
Experience the joy of performing with your SLSO and Music Director Stéphane Denève. 24/25 programming includes Mozart's Requiem, Beethoven's Ninth, and Elgar's Peer Gynt. Learn more and sign up for an audition at slso.org/chorus-auditions
SOLO ARTISTS
SOLO ARTISTS
Levi Adkins*♦
Levi Adkins*♦
Justin Austin+
Vanessa Becerra
Vanessa Becerra
Brad Bickhardt*♦
Brad Bickhardt*♦
Katerina Burton○
Katerina Burton○
Patrick Carfizzi
Patrick Carfizzi
André Courville*
André Courville*
Luke Elmer*♦
Luke Elmer*♦
Elijah English*♦
Hunter Enoch
Hunter Enoch
RICHARD
meet our 2024 ARTISTS
meet our 2024 ARTISTS
Lucy Evans*♦
Lucy Evans*♦
Thomas Glass
Paul Groves
Paul Groves
Jennifer Kreider*♦
Jennifer Kreider*♦
Gabriela Linares♦
Gabriela Linares♦
Madeleine Lyon*♦
Madeleine Lyon*♦
Michelle Mariposa*♦
Michelle Mariposa*♦
John Godhard Mburu*♦
John Godhard Mburu*♦
Cory McGee*
Robert Mellon+○
Robert Mellon+○
RICHARD GADDES FESTIVAL ARTISTS
GADDES FESTIVAL ARTISTS
SOPRANO BARITONE
SOPRANO
Kathleen O’Mara BARITONE Titus Muzi III
GERDINE YOUNG ARTISTS
GERDINE YOUNG ARTISTS
SOPRANOS
SOPRANOS
Georgia Belmont
Georgia Belmont
Jennifer Kreider
Jennifer Kreider
Olivia Prendergast
Olivia Prendergast
Jouelle Roberson
Jouelle Roberson
Chase Sanders
Laura Santamaria
Laura Santamaria
DANCERS
Eibhlin Arvizu
Eibhlin Arvizu
MEZZO-SOPRANOS
MEZZO-SOPRANOS
Sophia Baete
Sophia Baete
Lucy Evans
Lucy Evans
Gabriela Linares
Gabriela Linares
Madeleine Lyon
Madeleine Lyon
Michelle Mariposa
Lauren Paul
Lauren Paul
Veronica Siebert
Veronica Siebert
Jennifer Egley
LA BOHÈME CHILDREN’S CHORUS
LA BOHÈME CHILDREN’S CHORUS
Sasha Alur
Sasha Alur
Raina Bentley
Raina Bentley
Bryndis Ann Bryan
Makayla Hout
Makayla Hout
Veronica Jakul-Potter
Veronica Jakul-Potter
Peter Knapp
Peter Knapp
Adia Kohles
Adia Kohles
Eliza Merideth
Eliza Merideth
Sarah Mesko
Sarah Mesko
Megan Moore
Andrew Morstein*
Andrew Morstein*
Key’mon W. Murrah*
Key’mon W. Murrah*
Titus Muzi III ■○
Titus Muzi III ■○
Kathleen O’Mara*■○
Kathleen O’Mara*■○
Emily Pogorelc
Emily Pogorelc
Sean Michael Plumb
Sean Michael Plumb ○
Meridian Prall+○
Justin Ramm-Damron*♦
Justin Ramm-Damron*♦
Brittany Renee*
Benjamin Ruiz*♦
Brittany Renee* ♦
Moisés Salazar○
Moisés Salazar○
Chase Sanders*♦
Chase Sanders*♦
Nathan Stark
Nathan Stark
Emilio Vasquez*♦
Emilio Vasquez*♦
Jared Werlein *♦
Jared Werlein *♦
David Wolfe*♦
David Wolfe*♦
Hongni Wu*
COUNTERTENORS
COUNTERTENORS
Luke Elmer
Luke Elmer
Elijah English
Elijah English
TENORS
TENORS
Levi Adkins
Brad Bickhardt
Brad Bickhardt
Jordan Costa
Jordan Costa
Devin Eatmon
Devin Eatmon
Hakeem Henderson
Hakeem Henderson
Ryan Lustgarten
Ryan Lustgarten
Benjamin Ruiz
Benjamin Ruiz
BARITONES
BARITONES
Erik Grendahl
Erik Grendahl
Joseph O’Shea
Joseph O’Shea
Emilio Vasquez
Emilio Vasquez
Patrick Wilhelm
Patrick Wilhelm
David Wolfe
David Wolfe
BASS-BARITONES
BASS-BARITONES
Justin Ramm-Damron
Jared Werlein
BASS
BASS
John Godhard Mburu
John Godhard Mburu
Lauren Kravitz
Lauren Kravitz
Alyssa Watson
( from the St. Louis Children’s Choirs)
( from the St. Louis Children’s Choirs)
Inga Ranheim
Laura Smith
Laura Smith
Kezia Speicher
Izzy Trippeer
Izzy Trippeer
Autumn Turner
Autumn Turner
Kati Zustiak
Kati Zustiak
ARTISTIC STAFF
ARTISTIC STAFF
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
James Robinson
James Robinson
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAMS
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAMS
Patricia Racette
PRINCIPAL CONDUCTOR
Daniela Candillari
CONDUCTORS
Patricia Racette CONDUCTORS
Jonathan Brandani*
Jonathan Brandani*
Daniela Candillari
Daniela Candillari
José Luis Gómez*
José Luis Gómez*
Kwamé Ryan*
Kwamé Ryan*
STAGE DIRECTORS
STAGE DIRECTORS
Eric Sean Fogel*
Eric Sean Fogel*
Elkhanah Pulitzer
Elkhanah Pulitzer
James Robinson
James Robinson
Michael Shell
Michael Shell
CHOREOGRAPHER
CHOREOGRAPHER
Seán Curran
Seán Curran
DESIGNERS
DESIGNERS
Krystal Balleza
Krystal Balleza
Andrew Boyce
Andrew Boyce
Marcus Doshi
Marcus Doshi
Greg Emetaz
Greg Emetaz
Constance Hoffman
Constance Hoffman
Takeshi Kata
Allen Moyer
Marco Piemontese*
Marco Piemontese*
Lynly Saunders*
Lynly Saunders*
Amanda Seymour
Amanda Seymour
Eric Southern
Eric Southern
Will Vicari
CHORUS MASTER
CHORUS MASTER
Andrew Whitfield
Andrew Whitfield
COVER & ASSISTANT
* OTSL Debut
COVER & ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS
Darwin Aquino
Kedrick Terrell Armstrong
♦ Gerdine Young Artist
■ Richard Gaddes Festival Artist ○ Former Gerdine Young Artist + Former Gaddes Festival Artist
Commissioned Composer, Dialogues V Festival, Hamburg, Germany; Conductor, Interlochen Center for the Arts
PAST
Conductor, New Works Collective, OTSL;
Conductor, The Secret Marriage, Florida Grand Opera; Music Director, Giselle, St. Louis Ballet
SOPHIA BAETE
Mezzo-soprano
Dr. Mary Anne Rudloff Endowed Artist
Gerdine Young Artist
PAST
Eros and Co., Ned Rorem at 100, 100 Years of Broadway Love, New York Festival of Song; I due timidi, Suor Angelica, Juilliard Opera
KEDRICK TERRELL ARMSTRONG
Assistant & Cover Conductor
La bohème, Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
2023 Festival Season
PAST
KRYSTAL BALLEZA
Wig & Makeup Designer
The Barber of Seville, La bohème, Julius Caesar, Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT 2023 Festival Season , Signature Theatre; The Connector, MCC Theater; Real Women Have Curves, American Repertory Theater; The Tempest, The Public Theater; Hair and Makeup Department Head, Broadway
Factotum (world premiere), Champion, The Puppy Episode (world premiere), Lyric Opera of Chicago; Freedom Ride (world premiere), Chicago Opera Theater; Candide, DePaul Opera Theatre
EIBHLIN ARVIZU
Dancer
Julius Caesar
OTSL DEBUT PAST
Wildflowers (world premiere), Catalyst Dance Company; Becoming, My Dear Watson (world premiere), The Big Muddy Dance Company Trainee Program; Dancer, Space Station Dance Residency; Moses, Sight and Sound Theaters
JUSTIN AUSTIN
Baritone
Dr. James Hinrichs & Mary Schoolman Artist Figaro, The Barber of Seville
OTSL DEBUT
Pyarelal Kaul, Shalimar the Clown, 2016
FUTURE
Romeo and Juliet, Così fan tutte, LA Opera
PAST
Dead Man Walking, The Metropolitan Opera; Romeo and Juliet, Washington National Opera; Champion, Lyric Opera of Chicago
VANESSA BECERRA
Soprano
Phoebe & Spencer Burke Artist
Maria Celeste/Eos, Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
Despina, Così fan tutte, 2023
FUTURE
Ainadamar, LA Opera; Leonora, Chicago Opera Theater
PAST
The Elixir of Love, Minnesota Opera; Don Pasquale, Opera Omaha; Romeo and Juliet, Boston Lyric Opera
GEORGIA BELMONT
Soprano
Clark & Jeanette Gamble Memorial Endowed Artist
Gerdine Young Artist
PAST
The Pirates of Penzance, Kentucky Opera; Wing on Wing, LA Philharmonic; A Little Night Music, Pasadena Playhouse
BRAD BICKHARDT
Arnold Hershman Endowed Artist
Galileo Galilei
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
Don Giovanni, Romeo and Juliet, Frankenstein, The Magic Flute, Arizona Opera; Messiah, The Phoenix Symphony
ANDREW BOYCE
Set Designer
The Barber of Seville
OTSL DEBUT
An American Soldier, 2018
PAST
Dana H, Lyceum Theater, Broadway;
All’s Well That Ends Well, Chicago Shakespeare Theater; Susannah, OTSL
JONATHAN BRANDANI
Conductor
Mr. & Mrs. Laurance L. Browning, Jr. Endowed Artist
The Barber of Seville
OTSL DEBUT FUTURE
Bluebeard’s Castle/Gianni Schicchi, Calgary Opera
PAST
Das Rheingold, Calgary Opera; La bohème, The Atlanta Opera; The Barber of Seville, Staatstheater Meiningen; La Cenerentola, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari
KATERINA BURTON
Soprano
Mr. & Mrs. Sanford N. McDonnell Endowed Artist La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
Verna/Young Lovely/Evelyn, Fire Shut Up in My Bones
FUTURE
Don Giovanni, Madison Opera
Carmen, Washington National Opera; Falstaff, Aspen Opera Theater; Rose Bampton Award Winner, The Sullivan Foundation,
JORDAN COSTA
Tenor
Margery Fort Armstrong Endowed Tenor
Gerdine Young Artist
FUTURE
The Magic Flute, Nashville Opera
PAST
The Barber of Seville, Virginia Opera; Le comte Ory, Yale Opera; Carmen, The Glimmerglass Festival; The Elixir of Love, Opera in Williamsburg
ANDRÉ COURVILLE
Bass-baritone
Mr. & Mrs. William H.T. Bush Endowed Artist Colline, La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
Hamlet, Teatro Regio di Torino
PAST
Parsifal, Houston Grand Opera; Fernand Cortez, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; Maria Stuarda, Zurich Opera; The Barber of Seville, Opéra National de Bordeaux
DANIELA CANDILLARI
Principal Conductor & Conductor
Kim & Tim Eberlein Artist
Julius Caesar Center Stage
OTSL DEBUT
New Works, Bold Voices Lab, 2021
FUTURE
Madame Butterfly, Opera Ballet Vlaanderen; American Sounds Concert, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; Classical Series Concert, Kansas City Symphony
PAST
10 Days in a Madhouse (world premiere), Opera Philadelphia; Grounded (world premiere), Washington National Opera , The Metropolitan Opera;
SEÁN CURRAN
Choreographer
Mr. & Mrs. Ernest A. Eddy, Jr. Endowed Artist La bohème, Julius Caesar, Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
Nixon in China, 2004
FUTURE
Acteon, Opera Lafayette
PAST (world premiere), Seán Curran Company Irish Arts Center; Susannah, OTSL; Co-Director & Choreographer, Harvey Milk, OTSL; M. Butterfly (world premiere), The Santa Fe Opera
MARCUS DOSHI
Lighting Designer
The Barber of Seville, La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
Treemonisha , Così fan tutte, 2023
Richard III, Chicago Shakespeare Theater; The Nose, Chicago Opera Theater; The Wreckers, Houston Grand Opera; Edward Tulane, Minnesota Opera; Tannhäuser, LA Opera
JENNIFER EGLEY
Dancer
Julius Caesar
OTSL DEBUT
PAST
Taking Shape, FreeForm, Spark, The Big Muddy Dance Company Trainee Program; My Dear Watson (world premiere), The Big Muddy Dance Company
ARTIST PROFILES
LUKE ELMER
Countertenor
Other, Galileo Galilei
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
PAST
Orfeo, The Santa Fe Opera
GREG EMETAZ
Video Designer
Mr. & Mrs. Harvard K. Hecker Endowed Artist
Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
The Golden Ticket, 2010
Don Giovanni, Boston Baroque; , Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago; , OTSL; Little Shop of Horrors, The Muny; Man of La Mancha, Asolo Rep
ELIJAH ENGLISH
Countertenor
Cardinal 1/Oracle 1/Other, Galileo Galilei
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
PAST
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Chicago Summer Opera; Dido and Aeneas, Opera Fort Collins; Cendrillon, Agrippina, University of Colorado Eklund Opera
Maggie & Ron Holtman Artist
Pope Urban VIII/Simplicio/Cardinal Barberini/Father, , 2023
, Jacksonville Symphony; Hansel and Gretel, Opera , Washington National Opera; , Dallas Symphony Orchestra
LUCY EVANS
Mezzo-soprano
Sarah Bryan Miller Memorial Artist
Marie de Medici, Galileo Galilei
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT PAST
Bulrusher (workshop), Robeson (workshop), Cincinnati Opera and Opera Fusion: New Works; Rigoletto, Holy City Arts & Lyric Opera; Orfeo M. Butterfly (world premiere), The Santa Fe Opera
ERIC SEAN FOGEL
Stage Director
Colin Graham Master Artist Endowment
The Barber of Seville
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
Pagliacci, La Calisto, The Glimmerglass Festival; The Magic Flute, The Metropolitan Opera PAST
Songbird, Washington National Opera; West Side Story, Opera Australia; The Sound of Music, Houston Grand Opera
THOMAS GLASS
Bass-baritone
Tani Wolff Memorial Artist
Marcello, La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
Harvey Milk, Harvey Milk, 2022
PAST
Romeo and Juliet, The Metropolitan Opera; The Shining, The Atlanta Opera; Don Giovanni, Minnesota Opera; Così fan tutte, Palm Beach Opera; Antony and Cleopatra ; San Francisco Opera
JOSÉ LUIS GÓMEZ
Conductor
Barbara M. Osborne Memorial Artist
La bohème
OTSL DEBUT PAST
La bohème, Teatro Coccia, Frankfurt Opera; Don Giovanni, Teatro Sociale di Como; La forza del destino, New National Theatre, Tokyo; La Cenerentola, Staatstheater Stuttgart
ERIK GRENDAHL
Baritone
Gerdine Young Artist PAST
The Barber of Seville, Virginia Opera; Faust, Opera Baltimore; La traviata, Lyric Opera of Kansas City; M. Butterfly (world premiere), Tristan und Isolde, The Santa Fe Opera
Virginia Weldon & Francis Austin Artist
Older Galileo Galilei/Speaker, Galileo Galilei
Eugene Onegin, 1991
The Magic Flute, The Metropolitan Opera; , Houston Grand Opera; Champion, Lyric Opera of Chicago
EMILY HAMPER
Repetiteur
Julius Caesar
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
The Elixir of Love, Das Rheingold, Calgary Opera
PAST
The Marriage of Figaro, Calgary Opera
HAKEEM HENDERSON
Gerdine Young Artist
Into The Woods Bernstein’s Mass The Cask of Amontillado Royal Northern College of Music; West Side Story, Edinburgh International Festival; , Maryland Opera
CONSTANCE HOFFMAN
Costume Designer
Julius Caesar
OTSL DEBUT
The Merchant and the Pauper, 1999
FUTURE
Antony and Cleopatra, The Metropolitan Opera PAST
Doppelganger, Park Avenue Armory; Antony and Cleopatra, San Francisco Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu; Der fliegende Holländer, The Santa Fe Opera; Mozart-DaPonte Trilogy, San Francisco Opera
TAKESHI KATA
Set Designer
Dr. Alvin R. Frank Memorial Endowed Artist
La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
Assistant Set Designer, The Rape of Lucretia, 1996 PAST
Water for Elephants, Imperial Theatre, Broadway; Prayer for the French Republic, Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway; Clyde’s, Helen Hayes Theater, Broadway; Until the Flood, Schaubühne, Berlin; Associate Professor, USC School of Dramatic Arts
JENNIFER KREIDER
Soprano
Dorothy & Billy Firestone Endowed Artist
Sagredo, Galileo Galilei
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
PAST
Vanessa, Spoleto Festival USA; La bohème, Opera in the Ozarks; The Magic Flute, Anne Frank (world premiere), Indiana University Opera Theater; Second Place, Upper Midwest Region, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2023
GABRIELA LINARES
Mezzo-soprano
Robert & Martha Scharff Endowed Artist
A Scribe, Galileo Galilei
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
Birds & Balls (world premiere), Opera Parallèle and SF
Jazz
PAST
Gianni Schicchi Suor Angelica Chautauqua Institution; Susannah, OTSL; The Consul, San Francisco Conservatory of Music Opera and Musical Theatre; Oregon District Winner, Northwest Region Award
Recipient, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2023
RYAN LUSTGARTEN
Tenor
Gerdine Young Artist
PAST
The Abduction from the Seraglio, Pacific Northwest Opera; The Love for Three Oranges American Apollo (workshop), Des Moines Metro Opera; Tevye’s Daughters (workshop), American Lyric Theater; La traviata, Virginia Opera
(world premiere), Seán Curran Company Irish Arts , Opera Lafayette; world premiere), Agora Artists at Wyly (world premiere), Seán Curran Company at Brooklyn Academy of Music; , Tino Sehgal installation at The
MADELEINE LYON
Mezzo-soprano
Adelaide Cherbonnier Memorial Artist
Nirena, Julius Caesar
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
PAST Lucia di Lammermoor, The Rape of Lucretia, El último sueño de Frida y Diego, Moses, Der Zwerg, LA Opera
MICHELLE MARIPOSA
Mezzo-soprano
Steve Trampe & Jenny Gupta Endowed Artist
Maria Maddalena, Galileo Galilei
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
PAST
The Nose, Chicago Opera Theater; La liberazion di Ruggiero dall’isola d’Alcina, Haymarket Opera; Sullivan Award Winner, The Sullivan Foundation, 2023; Orfeo, The Santa Fe Opera
ARTIST PROFILES
JOHN GODHARD MBURU
Bass
Edes P. Gilbert Artist
Curio, Julius Caesar
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
Romeo and Juliet, Minnesota Opera
PAST
The Marriage of Figaro, University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music; Romeo and Juliet, The Glimmerglass Festival; Fidelio, Queen City Opera
CORY MCGEE
Bass-baritone
Achillas, Julius Caesar
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
La bohème, Houston Grand Opera
PAST
Parsifal, Houston Grand Opera; Blue, New Orleans Opera; Simon Boccanegra, Opera Philadelphia; Don Giovanni, Wolf Trap Opera
ROBERT MELLON
Baritone
Janet McAfee Weakley Memorial Artist
Benoit/Alcindoro, La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
A Customs Officer, La bohème, 2016
PAST
Breaking the Waves, Detroit Opera; Pagliacci, Florida Grand Opera; Of Mice and Men, Livermore Valley Opera; La Cenerentola, Opera Maine
SARAH MESKO
Mezzo-soprano
Margaret B. Grigg Memorial Artist
Julius Caesar, Julius Caesar
OTSL DEBUT
Ottavia, The Coronation of Poppea, 2019
FUTURE
Cardinal 2/Servant/Oracle 2, Galileo Galilei
MEGAN MOORE
Fred Wehrle, Jr. Memorial Artist
Julius Caesar
Così fan tutte, 2023
The Barber of Seville, Seattle Opera; , San Diego Opera; Buddha Passion, Seattle Symphony; , Les Musiciens du Louvre; Dialogues of the Carmelites, The Metropolitan Opera
ANDREW MORSTEIN
Emma Coulter Ware Artist
Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville
OTSL DEBUT
The Barber of Seville, Theater an der Wien; Lucia di Lammermoor, Pensacola Opera; L’aube Rouge, Wexford Festival Opera; The Marriage of Figaro, Salzburg Festival; Awakenings, Boston Modern Opera Project
ALLEN MOYER
Set Designer
Julius Caesar, Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
The Marriage of Figaro, 1999
Champion, Der Fliegende Holländer, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Champion Fire Shut Up in My Bones Orfeo and Euridice The Metropolitan Opera; , OTSL
KEY’MON W. MURRAH
MacKay Career Development Fund Artist
The Marriage of Figaro, Lyric Opera of Chicago PAST
Carmen, The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Tulsa Opera;
Semiramide, Rodelinda, Il trovatore, The Metropolitan Opera
, The Metropolitan Opera; El último sueño de Frida y Diego, LA Opera; , Bayerische Staatsoper
ERIE MILLS
English Diction Specialist
The Barber of Seville, Julius Caesar
OTSL DEBUT
Britomarte, The Tree of Chastity, 1978
PAST
Arizona District Judge, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2023
CONTINUES AS
Secretary of Board of Directors, The Sullivan Foundation;
Artistic Director, Livermore Valley Opera
TITUS MUZI III
Bettie S. Johnson Artist La bohème
Richard Gaddes Festival Artist
OTSL DEBUT
Carmen, 2022
The Magic Flute, Annapolis Opera; Don Pasquale, Academy of Vocal Arts; Carmina Burana, Cincinnati Ballet; Finalist, Vincerò World Singing Competition, 2022
KATHLEEN O’MARA
Soprano
MacKay Career Development Fund Artist
Duchess Christina, Galileo Galilei
Richard Gaddes Festival Artist
OTSL DEBUT
PAST
The Barber of Seville, Der Zwerg, LA Opera
JOSEPH O’SHEA
Baritone
Gerdine Young Artist
PAST
Madame Butterfly, The Barber of Seville
Lammermoor, Cincinnati Opera;
Fellow Travelers, University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music
EMILY POGORELC
Soprano
Mark & Sudie Throdahl Artist
Cleopatra, Julius Caesar
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
La traviata, Detroit Opera; La bohème, The Metropolitan Opera
PAST
La sonnambula, Semperoper Dresden; Lucia di Lammermoor, Bayerische Staatsoper; La rondine, The Metropolitan Opera
LAUREN PAUL
Mezzo-soprano
Elleard B. Heffern Fine Jewelers Endowed Artist in memory of Keith Shaw
Gerdine Young Artist PAST
Die Walküre, TUNDI Productions; Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, Alcina, University of South Dakota Opera
MARCO PIEMONTESE
Costume Designer
Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
PAST
Rigoletto, Teatro Massimo; Semiramide, Teatro La Fenice; The Turn of the Screw, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; The Cherry Orchard Three Sisters Ivanov Classical Stage Company
Sullivan Award Winner, The
The Magic Flute, Livermore Valley Opera; The Rape of Lucretia, Merola Opera Program; Ainadamar, Indiana University Opera Theater; The Magic Flute, Merola Opera Program; Second Place Winner, Tulsa Region, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2023
, Bayerische Staatsoper
ELKHANAH PULITZER
Edward Chase Garvey Memorial Foundation Artist
The Abduction from the Seraglio, 2003 , Carnegie Hall; , West Edge Opera , San Francisco Opera; , NY Philharmonic; 12 Little Spells, US tour
Artistic Director of Young Artist Programs Robin & Tim Wentworth Artist
Don Giovanni, 1993
, San Francisco Presidio Theater; Don Giovanni, San Francisco Merola
La traviata, Susannah, Center Stage, Romeo and Juliet, Arizona Opera
The Berges Family Foundation Endowed Artist
Sullivan Foundation, 2023; Grand Prize Winner, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and
ARTIST PROFILES
ARTIST PROFILES
JUSTIN RAMM-DAMRON
JUSTIN RAMM-DAMRON
Bass-baritone
Bass-baritone
Carla Myerson Artist
Carla Myerson Artist La bohème
A Sergeant, La bohème
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
Gerdine Young Artist OTSL DEBUT
PAST
The Elixir of Love, New Jersey Lyric Opera; Gianni Schicchi, Bronx Opera;
The Marriage of Figaro, Opera Magnifico; Romeo and Juliet, Central City Opera; The Daughter of the Regiment, Sarasota Opera
The Elixir of Love, New Jersey Lyric Opera; Gianni Schicchi, Bronx Opera; The Marriage of Figaro, Opera Magnifico; Romeo and Juliet, Central City Opera; The Daughter of the Regiment, Sarasota Opera
BRITTANY RENEE
BRITTANY RENEE
Soprano
Thelma Steward Endowed Artist
Musetta, La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
La bohème, The Metropolitan Opera; Porgy and Bess, Washington National Opera
Thelma Steward Endowed Artist La bohème , The Metropolitan Opera; , Washington National Opera
PAST
Champion, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, The Metropolitan Opera; Omar, San Francisco Opera
Fire Shut Up in My Bones, The Metropolitan , San Francisco Opera
JENNIFER RINGO
JENNIFER RINGO
English Diction Specialist
English Diction Specialist
Karen & Mont Levy Artist
Karen & Mont Levy Artist
Galileo Galilei
La bohème, Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
2023 Festival Season
2023 Festival Season
FUTURE
The Sound of Music, Houston Grand Opera PAST
Susannah, Tosca, OTSL; Le comte Ory, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Falstaff, Houston Grand Opera; M. Butterfly (world premiere), The Santa Fe Opera
The Sound of Music, Houston Grand Opera , OTSL; , Lyric Opera of Chicago; , Houston Grand Opera; (world premiere), The Santa Fe Opera
JOUELLE ROBERSON
JOUELLE ROBERSON
Soprano
Soprano
Lucy & Stanley Lopata Memorial Artist
Lucy & Stanley Lopata Memorial Artist
Gerdine Young Artist
PAST
Gerdine Young Artist PAST
The Anonymous Lover, Morgan State University Opera Workshop
The Anonymous Lover, Morgan State University Opera Workshop
LAUREN ROMANO
LAUREN ROMANO
Teaching Artist, St. Louis Children’s Choirs
Teaching Artist, St. Louis Children’s Choirs
La bohème
La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
OTSL DEBUT
Tosca, 2023
Tosca, 2023
PAST
PAST
St. Louis Children’s Choirs Teaching Artist, Tosca, OTSL; Choir Director, St. Louis Children’s Choirs
St. Louis Children’s Choirs Teaching Artist, Tosca, OTSL; Choir Director, St. Louis Children’s Choirs
CONTINUES AS
CONTINUES AS
Children’s Choir Director, Emmanuel Episcopal Church
Children’s Choir Director, Emmanuel Episcopal Church
KELLEY ROURKE
KELLEY ROURKE
Translator
Translator
The Barber of Seville
OTSL DEBUT
The Barber of Seville OTSL DEBUT
The Elixir of Love, 2014
The Elixir of Love, 2014
FUTURE
FUTURE
Jungle Book, Washington National Opera
PAST
Jungle Book, Washington National Opera PAST
Hansel and Gretel, Royal Opera House; The Emissary (world premiere), Opera Parallèle; Cinderella, The Metropolitan Opera; The Beekeeper (world premiere), Chicago Opera Theater
Hansel and Gretel, Royal Opera House; The Emissary (world premiere), Opera Parallèle; Cinderella, The Metropolitan Opera; The Beekeeper (world premiere), Chicago Opera Theater
BENJAMIN RUIZ
BENJAMIN RUIZ
Tenor
Tenor
A Strolling Vendor, La bohème
A Strolling Vendor, La bohème
Gerdine Young Artist
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT PAST
OTSL DEBUT PAST
Orpheus in the Underworld, Angélique, MSM Opera Theatre;
Orpheus in the Underworld, Angélique, MSM Opera Theatre;
Romeo and Juliet, Pagliacci, Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Encouragement Award, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2023
Romeo and Juliet, Pagliacci, Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Encouragement Award, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2023
KWAMÉ RYAN
KWAMÉ RYAN
Conductor
Conductor
Sally S. Levy Endowed Artist
Sally S. Levy Endowed Artist
Galileo Galilei OTSL DEBUT
Galileo Galilei OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
FUTURE
The Time of Our Singing, La Monnaie; Die ersten Menschen, Dutch National Opera; Porgy and Bess, Washington National Opera
The Time of Our Singing, La Monnaie; Die ersten Menschen, Dutch National Opera; Porgy and Bess, Washington National Opera
PAST
PAST
Intelligence, Houston Grand Opera
CONTINUES AS
Intelligence, Houston Grand Opera CONTINUES AS
Music Director Designate, Charlotte Symphony
Music Director Designate, Charlotte Symphony
Appearing courtesy of Charlotte Symphony
Appearing courtesy of Charlotte Symphony
JAMES ROBINSON
JAMES ROBINSON
Artistic Director & Stage Director
Artistic Director & Stage Director
William T. Kemper Foundation Artistic Director
William T. Kemper Foundation Artistic Director
Galileo Galilei
Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
OTSL DEBUT
Radamisto, 2000
Radamisto, 2000
FUTURE
FUTURE
La bohème, The Santa Fe Opera; , Houston Grand Opera
La bohème, The Santa Fe Opera; Il trittico, Houston Grand Opera
PAST
Fire Shut Up in My Bones The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago; M. Butterfly (world premiere), The Santa Fe Opera
Champion Fire Shut Up in My Bones The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago; M. Butterfly (world premiere), The Santa Fe Opera
MOISÉS SALAZAR
MOISÉS SALAZAR
Tenor
Mary Ann Lee Memorial Artist Rodolfo, La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
Norma, Palm Beach Opera
Mary Ann Lee Memorial Artist La bohème OTSL DEBUT , Palm Beach Opera
PAST
Madame Butterfly El último sueño de Frida y Diego San Francisco Opera
Madame Butterfly El último sueño de Frida y Diego San Francisco Opera
CHASE SANDERS
CHASE SANDERS
Soprano
Soprano
Ann & Bill Sullins Artist
Ann & Bill Sullins Artist
Berta/Notary, The Barber of Seville
Berta/Notary, The Barber of Seville
OTSL DEBUT
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
FUTURE
The Pirates of Penzance, Little Women, Tulsa Opera PAST
The Pirates of Penzance, Little Women, Tulsa Opera PAST
Sky on Swings, Opera Saratoga; Treemonisha, OTSL Opera on the GO!;
District Encouragement Award, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2022
Sky on Swings, Opera Saratoga; Treemonisha, OTSL Opera on the GO!; District Encouragement Award, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2022
LAURA SANTAMARIA
LAURA SANTAMARIA
MICHAEL SHELL
MICHAEL SHELL
Stage Director
Stage Director
Ann Lee & Will Konneker Endowed Artist
Ann Lee & Will Konneker Endowed Artist La bohème
La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
OTSL DEBUT
The Ghosts of Versailles, 2009
PAST
The Ghosts of Versailles, 2009 PAST
Sweeney Todd, Indiana University Opera Theater; The Daughter of the Regiment, The Barber of Seville, Utah Opera; The Barber of Seville, The Atlanta Opera; Gianni Schicchi, International Opera Performing Experience, Mercatello, Italy
Sweeney Todd, Indiana University Opera Theater; The Daughter of the Regiment, The Barber of Seville, Utah Opera; The Barber of Seville, The Atlanta Opera; Gianni Schicchi, International Opera Performing Experience, Mercatello, Italy
Gerdine Young Artist
Gerdine Young Artist
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Boston Conservatory
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Boston Conservatory
With Blood, With Ink, Seagle Festival; The Marriage of Figaro, Pluto (world premiere), Vienna Summer Music Festival
With Blood, With Ink, Seagle Festival; The Marriage of Figaro, Pluto (world premiere), Vienna Summer Music Festival
LYNLY SAUNDERS
Costume Designer
The Barber of Seville
OTSL DEBUT
PAST
Faust, Wolf Trap Opera;
VERONICA SIEBERT
VERONICA SIEBERT
Mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
Pershing Charitable Trust Artist
Pershing Charitable Trust Artist
Gerdine Young Artist
Gerdine Young Artist
Eugene Onegin Swimming in the Dark (world premiere), Indiana University Opera Theater; La Calisto Postcard from Morocco, MSM Opera Theatre
Eugene Onegin Swimming in the Dark (world premiere), Indiana University Opera Theater; La Calisto Postcard from Morocco, MSM Opera Theatre
An American Soldier, Proving Up, Così fan tutte, Washington National Opera; Idomeneo, Aspen Music Festival
Proving Up, Così fan tutte, , Aspen Music Festival
ERIC SEDGWICK
MacKay Career Development Fund Artist
The Barber of Seville , 2023
, MSM Opera Theatre; Lessons in Love and Violence, Tanglewood Music Center; , Opera in Williamsburg; , Beth Morrison Projects
MacKay Career Development Fund Artist , MSM Opera Theatre; Lessons in Love and Violence, Tanglewood Music Center; , Opera in Williamsburg; , Beth Morrison Projects
AMANDA SEYMOUR
AMANDA SEYMOUR
Costume Designer
La bohème
Costume Designer La bohème
OTSL DEBUT
OTSL DEBUT
The Elixir of Love, 2014
The Elixir of Love, 2014
PAST
PAST
Faust, Wolf Trap Opera;
Faust, Wolf Trap Opera;
An American Soldie r, Proving Up Così fan tutte
An American Soldie r, Proving Up Così fan tutte
Washington National Opera; Idomeneo, Aspen Music Festival
Washington National Opera; Idomeneo, Aspen Music Festival
VLAD SOLOVIEV
VLAD SOLOVIEV
Apprentice Pianist
Apprentice Pianist
2024 Festival Season
2024 Festival Season
OTSL DEBUT
OTSL DEBUT
Salome, Carmen, The Magic Flute, Madame , Canadian Opera Company
Salome, Carmen, The Magic Flute, Madame , Canadian Opera Company
ERIC SOUTHERN
ERIC SOUTHERN
Lighting Designer
Lighting Designer
Salvatore & Dagnija Comado Master Artist
Salvatore & Dagnija Comado Master Artist
Julius Caesar Galileo Galilei
Julius Caesar Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT Susannah, 2023
OTSL DEBUT Susannah, 2023
Romeo and Juliet, Boston Lyric Opera; , Urban Arias and Prototype Festival; The Secret Agent, Center for Contemporary Opera; The Good Swimmer, Brooklyn Academy of Music; Le Nozze di Figaro, Curtis Opera Theatre
Romeo and Juliet, Boston Lyric Opera; , Urban Arias and Prototype Festival; The Secret Agent, Center for Contemporary Opera; The Good Swimmer, Brooklyn Academy of Music; Le Nozze di Figaro, Curtis Opera Theatre
NATHAN STARK
NATHAN STARK
Bass-baritone
Bass-baritone
Sondra & Milton Schlesinger Artist
Sondra & Milton Schlesinger Artist
Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville
Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville
OTSL DEBUT
OTSL DEBUT
Military Judge, An American Soldier, 2018
Military Judge, An American Soldier, 2018
FUTURE
FUTURE
Holiday Concert, San Jose Symphony; Don Pasquale, Tampa Opera
PAST
Holiday Concert, San Jose Symphony; Don Pasquale, Tampa Opera PAST
Breaking the Waves, Detroit Opera; Dark Sisters, OrpheusPDX; Harvey Milk, OTSL
Breaking the Waves, Detroit Opera; Dark Sisters, OrpheusPDX; Harvey Milk, OTSL
THE UNION BEHIND ENTERTAINMENT IN SAINT LOUIS SINCE 1893
STAGEHANDS UNION
LOCAL #6
ELI
BARRERA, Business Manager
JAMES SPIES, President
CHRISTINA BECK, Secretary
DOUGLAS SUMI
Repetiteur
Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
Così fan tutte, 2023
FUTURE
Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, New Orleans Opera, Indianapolis Opera
PAST
Madame Butterfly La Cenerentola, Boston Lyric Opera
EMILIO VASQUEZ
Baritone
Other, Galileo Galilei
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
FUTURE
The Marriage of Figaro, CCM Opera d’Arte
PAST
La bohème International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia; Dido and Aeneas , CCM Opera d’Arte
WILL VICARI
Wig & Makeup Designer
The Barber of Seville La bohème Julius Caesar
Galileo Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
Wig & Makeup Intern, 2016
PAST
Twelfth Night, Axis Theater Company; Orlando, Signature Theatre; The Connector, MCC Theater; Spamalot, St. James Theatre, Broadway; Harmony, Bernard B. Jabobs Theatre, Broadway
ANDREW WHITFIELD
Chorus Master
John H. Russell Artist
The Barber of Seville La bohème Julius Caesar Galileo
Galilei
OTSL DEBUT
Treemonisha, Tosca, Susannah, 2023
PAST
Cover Conductor, La traviata, The Metropolitan Opera; Guest Chorus Director, Carmina Burana, Cavalleria Rusticana, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; Guest Chorus Director, Oedipus Rex, Symphony of Psalms, San Francisco Symphony; Chorus Director, Minnesota Opera
ALYSSA WATSON
Julius Caesar
OTSL DEBUT
Company member, The Big Muddy Dance Company Trainee Program; Dancer, Space Station Dance Residency
PATRICK WILHELM
Baritone
Gerdine Young Artist
PAST
Faust, La traviata, Wolf Trap Opera; Così fan tutte, Curtis Opera Theatre; Encouragement Award, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2023
DAVID WOLFE
Baritone
Robert and Lorraine Duesenberg Endowed Artist
Fiorello, The Barber of Seville
Other, Galileo Galilei
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
PAST
The Tales of Hoffmann, Palm Beach Opera; National Grand Finalist, The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, 2023; Carmen, The Love for Three Oranges, Des Moines
Metro Opera
JARED WERLEIN
Bass-baritone
Phoebe Dent Weil Artist
The Barber of Seville
A Customs Officer, Cardinal 3, Galileo Galilei
Gerdine Young Artist
OTSL DEBUT
PAST
Josephine & Monte Throdahl Endowed Artist The Barber of Seville
(world premiere), The Santa Fe Opera; Dream of the Red Chamber, San Francisco Opera
Later That Same Evening, Proving Up, Atalanta, Juilliard Opera; La bohème, Music Academy of the West; Don Giovanni, Chautauqua Institution
MARIKA YASUDA
Lucia di Lammermoor, New Orleans Opera; , Palm Beach Opera; The Elixir of Love, El último sueño de Frida y Diego, San Francisco Opera
THE ORCHESTRA FOR THE BARBER OF SEVILLE AND LA BOHÈME
FIRST VIOLIN
Erin Schreiber
Hannah Ji
Joo Kim
Melody Lee
Xiaoxiao Qiang
Angie Smart
Kyle Lombard
Marin Osawa
SECOND VIOLIN
Alison Harney
Andrea Jarrett
Ling Ling Guan
Asako Kuboki
Seul Lee
Nathan Lowry
Shawn Weil
VIOLA
Alejandro Valdepeñas
Jonathan Chu
Susan Gordon
Chris Tantillo
Davis Perez
Amy Greenhalgh
CELLO
Daniel Lee
James Czyzewski
Alvin McCall
Bjorn Ranheim
Jun Seo
BASS
Aleck Belcher
Brendan Fitzgerald
Ron Moberly
Kathryn Bradley
HARP
Megan Stout
FLUTE/PICCOLO
Andrea Kaplan
Jennifer Nitchman
Ann Choomack
OBOE
Philip Ross
Xiomara Mass
Cally Banhan
ENGLISH HORN
Cally Banham
CLARINET
Scott Andrews
Tzuying Huang
Ryan Toher
BASS CLARINET
Tzuying Huang
BASSOON
Andrew Cuneo
Julia Paine
HORN
Thomas Jöstlein
Blaine Dodson
Tod Bowermaster
Victoria Knudtson
TRUMPET
Steven Franklin
Omri Barak
Michael Walk
THE ORCHESTRA FOR JULIUS CAESAR AND GALILEO GALILEI
FIRST VIOLIN
Celeste Golden Andrews
Jessica Cheng Hellwege
Ann Fink
Emily Ho
Weilu Zhang
Jessie Chen
Heidi Harris
Jacqueline Tso
SECOND VIOLIN
Kristin Ahlstrom
Eva Kozma
Nicolae Bica
Janet Carpenter
Lisa Chong
Siyu Zhang
Jane Price
VIOLA
Beth Guterman Chu
Michael Casimir
Andrew François
Shannon Williams
Xi Zhang
CELLO
Melissa Brooks
David Kim
Elizabeth Chung
Grace Park
BASS
Erik Harris
David DeRiso
Sarah Kaiser
HARP
Megan Stout
ST. LOUIS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA TEAM
MARIE-HÉLÈNE BERNARD President and Chief Executive Officer
PAUL PIETROWSKI Chief Operating Officer
ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION
Ian Kivler
Eliza Caperton
ORCHESTRA OPERATIONS
Audrey Kwong
Chris Aman
UNITEY KULL Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
ALEX SHAPIRO Chief Philanthropy Officer
ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
Cacia Meeks
Andrew Williams
PRODUCTION
Margaret Bailey
Alana Szeles
TROMBONE
Jonathan Randazzo
Amanda Stewart
Jonathan Reycraft
CIMBASSO
Chance Trottman-Huiet
TIMPANI
Shannon Wood
PERCUSSION
Alan Stewart
Kevin Ritenauer
Kim Shelley
GUITAR
Kirk Hanser
KEYBOARD
Eric Sedgwick (OTSL)
FLUTE
Matthew Roitstein
Nadine Hur
PICCOLO
Matthew Roitstein
OBOE
Jelena Dirks
Tamara Winston
CLARINET
Ryan Toher
BASSOON
Andrew Gott
Ellen Connors
HORN
Roger Kaza
Julie Thayer
Cara Kizer
Tricia Jöstlein
MAUREEN BYRNE
Vice President, Education and Community Programs
TRUMPET
Wesley Skidgel
Mary Weber
TROMBONE
Amanda Stewart
PERCUSSION
William James
Sasha Luthy
HARPSICHORD
Daniela Candillari (OTSL)
KEYBOARD
Peter Henderson
Emily Hamper (OTSL)
Douglas Sumi (OTSL)
STEVEN ROSENZWEIG Chief Financial Officer
STAGE PERSONNEL
Franklin Horvath
Ron Bolte, Jr.
Nigel DeLuca
MUSIC LIBRARIANS
Katie Klich
Henry Skolnick
Amanda Tallant
Orchestra lists complete as of April 19, 2024.
About the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra: Celebrated as a leading American orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is the second-oldest orchestra in the country, marking its 144th year with the 2023/2024 season and its fifth with Music Director Stéphane Denève. The SLSO maintains its commitment to artistic excellence, educational impact, and community collaborations, honoring its mission of enriching lives through the power of music.
Opera Theatre’s annual staff numbers fewer than 50 individuals, but during the festival season, our ranks grow into the many hundreds! We’re incredibly grateful for all our wonderful seasonal staff, artists, interns, and volunteers who help bring this incredible art form to life.
This list of Opera Theatre staff is accurate as of April 19, 2024. We regret the ommission of anyone who was hired after this date.
ANDREW JORGENSEN General Director
ALLISON FELTER Director of Education & Engagement
JAMES ROBINSON Artistic Director
ANH LÊ Director of Marketing & PR
PATRICIA RACETTE Artistic Director of Young Artist Programs
YVETTE LOYNAZ Director of Artistic Administration
DANIELA CANDILLARI Principal Conductor
MICHELLE MYERS Director of Administration & Finance
NICOLE AMBOS FREBER Managing Director
STEPHEN RYAN Director of Production & Operations
HANS FREDERICKSON Manager of Board Relations
BOX OFFICE
ALYSSA GOVE Associate Director of Box Office and Patron Services
DEVELOPMENT
STACEY BREGENZER Senior Manager of Donor Engagement
BRITTAINY BROWN Event Coordinator
MONICA ROSCOE Box Office Systems & Operations Manager
TYLER MCKENZIE Manger of Volunteer Engagement
ZAC MCMILLAN Deputy Director of Development, Individual Giving
BOX OFFICE REPRESENTATIVES
Jordyn Carnes Julie George
JENNA PIEPER Data Assistant
DILLON POTTS Development Intern
MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS
KELLY GLUECK Graphic Designer & Brand Manager
NAOMI EKE Digital Marketing Intern
BRADY HARDIN Web & E-Marketing Manager
CHANTAL INCANDELA Press & Communications Manager
ERIN LEE Graphic Design Intern
CAMRYN MOORE Clayco Marketing Fellow
Lucy Guillemette Annaleigh Kimes Erin Mathiesen Anna Rimar
TORI REZEK Deputy Director of Development, Institutional Giving & Events
Taijha Silas Celene Totry
RACHEL SINCLAIR Manager of Institutional Giving
LINDA SCHULTE Director of Development & Campaign Strategy
CAMERON TYLER Artistic Coordinator ADVANCEMENT
ALEXIS AIMÉ Manager of Artistic Planning
ERICA ANCELL Artistic Administration Intern
SAM TARTER Press & Communications Intern
MACY WHITE Social Media & Content Strategy Manager
STEPHANIE NIGUS Senior Manager of Artistic Administration
TARA BENNETT HR Assistant
JOSHUA GOLDMAN Finance Intern
PRODUCTION & OPERATIONS
MAGGY BORT Production Manager
LUCIE GARNETT Archive & Concierge Coordinator
STACY HARRIS Costume Shop Manager
GINA PEARSON Production Administrator
MARIE JOWETT Senior Accountant
JACK RUSHEN Technical Director
ALLYSON SIMS
Clayco Production Fellow
JUDY POLLACK Payroll & Benefits Administrator
OREVIA VONGSA Office Manager
ERIC WOOLSEY Operations Manager
SEASONAL PRODUCTION STAFF
PRODUCTION ADMINISTRATION
ASSOCIATE TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
ASSISTANT TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
INTERN
Emilie WeilbacherMcMullan
Catherine Adams++
McMullan
SCENERY
IATSE STAGE CARPENTERS
Daniel McCarthy
Rick Shetley, Jr.
IATSE SHOP CARPENTERS
Jeffrey Berry
Jeff Dattoli, Jr.
Jake Goodwin
Daniel Roach, Jr.
ASSISTANT TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Victoria Esquivel+
CHARGE ARTIST
Stephen Pollihan
ASSISTANT CHARGE ARTIST
Allison Larkins
PROPERTIES
PROPERTIES
MANAGER
Meg Brinkley
ASSISTANT PROPERTIES MANAGERS
Derek Alley
Katie Orr
IATSE PROPERTIES CARPENTER
Scott De Broux
PROPERTIES ARTISANS
Audrey De Haan+
Leo Fuller
PROPERTIES
INTERN
Ryne Halstead IATSE
PROPERTIES RUN SUPERVISORS
John Amann
Nichelle Williams
SCENIC ARTISTS
Emily Frei
Sarah Frost
Scott Loebl
James Van Well
STAGE CREW
Cas Blessing*
Heidi Clouse
Lindsey Cook
Elijah Dickey
Ryan Fraley
Emma Gregory
PROPERTIES RUN CREW
Catherine Good
Jordan Kerr
Sophie Reidt
Matalynn Thayer
LIGHTING/VIDEO/SOUND/ORCHESTRA OPERATIONS
IATSE PRODUCTION
ELECTRICIAN
Peggy Thierheimer
IATSE DECK
ELECTRICIAN
Christine Shetley
WIGS & MAKEUP
WIG & MAKEUP ARTISANS
Bekah Toone
M. Nottke
IATSE BOARD PROGRAMMER
Lou Ritter
IATSE NETWORK
ELECTRICIAN
Eric Elz
WIG & MAKEUP INTERNS
Rebecca Mack Ryan Moore
COSTUME CRAFTS
CRAFT SHOP MANAGER
Angelique Newbauer
ASSISTANT DECK ELECTRICIAN
Will Everson
ELECTRICS CREW
Finnegan Gavelli
Jules Houston
Chuck Immer
Josh Kline
AB Wildes*
IATSE AUDIO ENGINEERS
Adam Shepherd (A1)
Savannah Gipson (A2) IATSE ORCHESTRA SUPERVISOR
Michael Lynch
Aspen Knight
Isa LoPiccolo-Kleine*
Noah Vos
ASSISTANT CRAFT SHOP MANAGER
John Inchiostro
COSTUME CRAFT ARTISANS
Barbara Casement
Corissa Gavin
Sydney Martin
Cecilia Skemp
DYER/PAINTER
Garth Dunbar
ORCHESTRA OPERATIONS CREW
Echo Hicks
Lauren Whyte*
COSTUMES
ASSISTANT COSTUME SHOP MANAGER
Spencer Lawton
COSTUME DESIGN ASSISTANTS
Christiana Osborne+ Vanessa Tabourne**
WARDROBE
WARDROBE SUPERVISOR
Calyn Roth
HEAD DRAPER
Robert W. Trump
DRAPERS
Paula Buchert
Elizabeth Eisloeffel
Ginny McKeever
Rick Tuckett
ASSISTANT WARDROBE SUPERVISOR
Claire Cosby
FRONT OF HOUSE
HOUSE MANAGER
Ethan Ryan ASSISTANT HOUSE MANAGERS
Jorge Falconi
Claire Himstedt
STAGING STAFF
RESIDENT ASSISTANT STAGE DIRECTORS
Diane Machin
Ian Silverman
ASSISTANT STAGE DIRECTORS
Michelle Cuizon
Anna Theodosakis
DESIGN SUPPORT STAFF
COSTUME ASSISTANTS
Antonella Buono
Beth Goldenberg
Bailey Hammett
Brynne Oster-Bainnson
Martin Schnellinger
STAGE MANAGEMENT
KIMBERLEY S. PRESCOTT Production Stage Manager
KRISTEN BARRETT Stage Manager
VOLUNTEERS
DRESSERS
Pam Belloli
Ann Fusz
Ellen Fusz
Christi Maginn
Chris Saulter
Bec Zakreski
FIRST HANDS
Lisa Drewel
Ariella Lebowitz+
Bruk Longbottom
Bryan McDonald
Carrisa Sexton
CINDY KNIGHT Stage Manager
FRANCESCA MACBETH ₪ Stage Manager
LIGHTWALKERS
Bob Feibel
Alan Fiddleman
Ann Fusz
Ellen Fusz
Susie Hahn
Marilyn Humiston
Margie Knapp
Pam Mahonay
STITCHERS
Hattie Barieau
Blake Blanning
Rose Bonarek
Vanessa Buck
Kate Collins
Zoie Cox
Jennifer Goldstein
Adriaen Hobgood
WARDROBE CREW
Emmalee Berger
Justin Buontempo*
Elle Hartman
ACCESSIBILITY MANAGER
Carl Wickman
APPRENTICE
ASSISTANT STAGE DIRECTOR
Olivia Gacka
SCENIC ASSISTANTS
Valerie Green
Ryan Howell
Warren Karp
Lauren Nichols
VALERIE J. CLATWORTHY Assistant Stage Manager
JESSIE MHIRE
Assistant Stage Manager
Gloria Park
Harriet Scholle
Janice Seele
Kathleen Sitzer
Kirk Stein
Cay Sullivan
Rowena Van Dyke
Anne Williams
Aspen Kinomoto*
Virginia Parkinson
Codi Rasor
Pearl Modine
Katie Radford
Elizabeth Randall
Michael Romero
Calyn Roth
Marissa Thompson
GARDEN MANAGER
Nash Davis SEASON CATERING
Ces & Judy’s Catering
VAN DRIVERS
Daniel Brodsky
Theresa Pearson
Brittany Ware
ASSOCIATE LIGHTING DESIGNERS
Maximo Grano de Oro++ Cheyenne Sykes
EMILY STAFFORD Assistant Stage Manager
RICKELLE R. WILLIAMS Assistant Stage Manager
SUPERNUMERARIES
Simon Aholt
Dan Barnett
Kekoa Blakemore
CHRIS MOEGGENBERG l
Intern Assistant Stage Manager
LAUREL SCHMIDT
Intern Assistant Stage Manager
Brian Maginn
Harry Moppins
Kéelin Russell
Christopher Bowser
Christopher Bowser
Kyle Clark
Ann Fusz
Ellen Fusz
Ryan Keller
Louisa Russell
DONORS: ANNUAL FUND 2023–2024
Opera Theatre acknowledges with gratitude the spirit and generosity of the following individuals, corporations, foundations, and public agencies, whose investments at all levels provide invaluable support for the company’s mission. Their philanthropy permits Opera Theatre to maintain its fiscal soundness and high level of artistic achievement. Thank you to the following current members:
THE COUNCIL FOR ARTISTIC EXCELLENCE
The Council for Artistic Excellence recognizes donors who have made significant leadership commitments in support of the 2024 season.
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE $100,000+
Anonymous Donor (1)
Jim Berges & Elizabeth Mannen
Berges & Berges Family Foundation
Robert & Jane Clark
Clayco
Edward Jones
Lelia & David Farr
The Mellon Foundation
Missouri Arts Council
National Endowment for the Arts
Noémi K. Neidorff
Regional Arts Commission
The Saigh Foundation
Ted & Lori Samuels & Samuels Family Fund of the St. Louis Community Foundation
DIRECTORS’ CIRCLE $50,000-$99,999
Anonymous Donor (1)
Bayer Fund
Mrs. Laurance L. Browning, Jr.* & The Pulley Foundation
Kim & Tim Eberlein
THE PATRON PROGRAM
Emerson
Mr. & Mrs. Irl F. Engelhardt & Engelhardt Family Foundation
The Margaret Blanke Grigg Foundation
William T. Kemper Foundation
Dr. Jeanne & Rex Sinquefield
David & Thelma Steward & Steward Family Foundation
Robin & Tim Wentworth
Whitaker Foundation
Roma B. Wittcoff
World Wide Technology Foundation
The Levy Family & Saucy Foundation
Karen & Mont Levy
Penny Pennington & Michael Fidler
Roy Pfautch
Emily Rauh Pulitzer
The Patron Program recognizes donors who make annual gifts of $2,500-$49,999. These donors make possible work at the heart of Opera Theatre’s mission — mainstage productions, education and community engagement programs, and more.
PRODUCTION UNDERWRITER PATRONS $25,000-$49,999
Anonymous Donors (2)
Boniface Foundation
Buckingham Strategic Wealth
Phoebe & Spencer Burke*
Alison & John Ferring & John & Alison Ferring Family Foundation
Edes P. Gilbert
Diane & Paul Jacobson
Bettie S. Johnson
Nancy & Ken Kranzberg
J. David & Lucy S. Levy*
Clemence S. Lieber Foundation
Robert J. Lieber Charitable Trust
William D. Merwin *
OPERA America, Inc.
Pershing Charitable Trust
PNC Arts Alive
Mabel L. Purkerson, M.D.
The Mabel Dorn Reeder FoundationMabel L. Purkerson, M.D., Trustee
John H. Russell
Mary Schoolman & Jim Hinrichs
Stifel
Mary Susman & Tom Herm*
Mr. & Mrs. Mark C. Throdahl
Stephen Trampe & Jenny Gupta*
Washington University
Webster University
Edward H. & Rosemary Young
Fund of the St. Louis Community Foundation
Ann Ziff
David & Melanie Alpers
Ameren
Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP
Commerce Bank
Crawford Taylor Foundation
Robert & Jane Feibel
Dorothy & Billy Firestone
Roxanne H. Frank
Edward Chase Garvey Memorial Foundation
David & Angie Hagee
Mrs. William S. Knowles
Gene Kornblum
MacCarthy Foundation
Marcela Manjarrez
Dr. & Mrs. Robert J. Myerson*
Allen & Merry Richon
SPONSOR PATRONS $10,000-$14,999
Anonymous Donor (1)
Dr. John T. Biggs
Cynthia J. Brinkley
Sara Epstein
Ann Faget*
Keith & Ann Fischer
Richard Gaddes *
Mrs. Ronald A. Holtman
Heather Hunt-Ruddy
Mary Ranken Jordan & Ettie A. Jordan Charitable Foundation
Andrew Jorgensen & Mark Stuart-Smith
Mr. & Mrs. David W. Kemper & Kemper Family Foundation
Gerald M. Kowarsky*
Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Langsam*
John Frank Lesser*
Leigh & Jean Mason
Randy McDonnell & Mr. & Mrs. Sanford N. McDonnell Foundation
Dr. & Mrs. David Meiners
PRODUCER PATRONS $7,500-$9,999
Louis D. Beaumont Fund No. 1 of the St. Louis Community Foundation
Employees Community Fund of Boeing St. Louis
Mr. & Mrs. Robert H. Craft, Jr.
George Yeh ARIA PATRONS $15,000-$24,999
Crystal & Patrick Dallas & Excel Business Concepts
Greg & Prissy Evans
Mrs. Joseph F. Gleason
Elma Kanefield
Pam & Jim Krekeler
Peggy & Don Lents
Liz* & Brian Mischel & Melissa Wohlwend
BENEFACTOR PATRONS $5,000-$7,499
Anonymous Donors (2)
Donna & Harvey Allen
Lee & Alexandra Benham
Mr. & Mrs. Stephen F. Brauer & Brauer Charitable Trust
Lee Broughton & Christine Taylor Broughton
Pamela Buell*
Sara Burke
Professor Adrienne Davis
Bill Dolan & Suzanne Bromschwig Dolan*
Enterprise Holdings Foundation
Enterprise Bank & Trust
Melanie & Anthony Fathman, M.D.
Marti & Bob Fowler
Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Scharff, Jr.*
The St. Louis Trust Company
Ann McFarland Sullins
Franklin F. Wallis*
Nina Coulter Ware
Dr. Virginia V. Weldon & Mr. Francis Austin
Ellen & Bill Yeckley
Adrienne Warren Patton
Georgia C. Pettus
Lee & Nancy Reycraft
Allison W. Roberts
Sondra Schlesinger*
Dr. David Sewall & Mr. Jeff Kapfer
Dr. Amber Simpson & Kenneth Simpson
St. Louis Magazine
Phoebe Dent Weil*
Sharon & Elliot Zucker*
Jan Paul Richter & Ellen von Seggern Richter
Marsha & William C. Rusnack & Rusnack Family Trust
Annemarie & Matt Schumacher
Thompson Coburn LLP
Rabbi Dr. Jay & Erika Goldburg*
C. R. Grigg
Dr. Lannis E. Hall
Janet & Andy Hoyne
Phyllis R. Hyken
Carolyn Losos
Sedgwick Mead, Jr. & Catherine Perry
LaVerna Meyer
Pinnell Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Rodger Riney & Paula & Rodger Riney Charitable Fund of the St. Louis Community Foundation
Peggy Ritter
Mr. & Mrs. John R. Roberts
Dr. Mary Anne Rudloff*
PATRONS $2,500-$4,999
Anonymous Donors (3)
William Aitken
Robert C. Anderson
Gailya & John Barker
Tania Beasley-Jolly & William Jolly
Dr. Martin Bell*
Pam Belloli & Dave Shimek
Marie-Hélène Bernard & Douglas Copeland
Rudi J. Bertrand & Paul A. Williams, M.D.
June R. Bierman
Catherine Binns
Elaine & Harold Blatt
Catherine S. Bollinger
Mary I. Brown
Buron F. Buffkin & Donn Kleinschmidt, M.D.
Linda Burns
Paul & Elissa Cahn
Amanda Trudell Cambridge & Paul Cambridge
Tobie Chapman
Elaine Coe
Mrs. P. Terence Crebs
DM 3 Fund
Dr. & Mrs. Charles Ettelson
Sara & Darryl Fabick
David C. Farrell & Farrell Family Fund of the St. Louis Community Foundation
Linda & Bruce Ryder
Mrs. Edward L. Salmon, Jr.
Janice & Stephen Seele
Stephen W. Skrainka, in memory of Linda Skrainka
Barbara & Gene Spector
James V. & Susan S. Stepleton
Alan R. Fiddleman*
Nicole & Keith Freber
Walter & Nancy Galvin
Mr. & Mrs. Jeff Gershman & Gershman Foundation
Ann & Randy Getz
Jan & Ronald Greenberg
Mrs. Gerard K. Gunther, Jr.
Carolyn Henges & Jay Henges Charitable Trust
Arnold & Myrna Hershman*
Gina & Lee Hoagland
Alfred & Marilyn Holtzer
Dr. Alan W. Hopefl
Jeannette R. Huey*
Frank Jacobs & Marylen Mann
W.W. & Anne Jones
Craig & Anne Jorgensen
Barry Kirk & Andrew Martin
Mrs. Newell S. Knight
Stephen E. Kraft
Sally Lefler*
Andrew S. Love
Joe & Alice Maffit
Diane McCullough*
Lisa Mechele
Jack Austin Miller
Moneta Group & Moneta Group Charitable Foundation
John & Christy Nickel
Mary Strauss
Dr. Donald Suggs
Shoshana Tancer
Susan & Ben Uchitelle
Josephine & Richard Weil
Miriam Wilhelm
Susan & David Young
Marti Reichman
Mrs. Robert L. Rosenheim & Rosenheim Charitable Family Foundation
Alan J. Savada & Will Stevenson
Tom & Ulrike Schlafly
Mr. & Mrs. Henry L. Schweich
Kathy Sears, in memory of Sally Levy
Thomas Sehr & Margaret A. Wayne
Linda Seibert
Sudie Shinkle
Eve Simon
Ray M. Simon & Mel Pashea
Mr. & Mrs. V. Raymond Stranghoener
Mr. & Mrs. E. R. Thomas, Jr. & Thomas & Proetz Lumber Co.
Susan & Peter Tuteur
George & Betsy Vogt
Drs. Craig & Terri Weldon
Peter J. Wender
Keith Williamson & Stephanie Williams
James & Barbara Willock
Melissa Wohlwend
YPO St. Louis Chapter
Stuart & Susie Zimmerman
FRIENDS OF THE FESTIVAL
Friends of the Festival make generous gifts of $50-$2,499 to support Opera Theatre’s annual operations. These wonderful partners make Opera Theatre’s work possible through generous unrestricted support.
GUARANTORS $1,000-$2,499
Anonymous Donors (2)
Gwen Adams
H. Dieter & Karla Ambos
Susan Frelich Appleton & Robert O. Appleton, Jr.
Tony Bardol
Elizabeth Barnes-Wilson
Anthony Bassett
Mr. & Mrs. Barry Beracha
Sam C. Bertolet & Helen Ziercher
Sharon Biegen & Brian Vandenberg
Sally Brayley Bliss & Jim Connett
Drs. Nanci & James Bobrow
Eugenie R. Bonte
Dr. Michael R. Borts & Dr. Mary Gorman
Dr. & Mrs. Alan Braverman & Alan & Rebecca Braverman Family Foundation
Martha Brewer & Calvin Bentley
Charitable Foundation Trust
Richard Brickson
Ashley Budde-Taylor & Dr. Matthew Taylor
Mr. & Mrs. James Buell
Nelda Carlisle-Gray
Carol Carlson
Dr. Anne Carman
Beverly Clarkson
Vicki & Brian Clevinger
Kwofe Coleman
Dr. & Mrs. Michael Darcy
Dr. Carlos C. Daughaday
Richard M. Dolphus
Mr. & Mrs. Arnold W. Donald & Arnold & Hazel Donald Fund of the St. Louis Community Foundation
Dr. & Mrs. James W. Donnelly
Dr. Majella Doyle & Bob Roth
Sarah Duffy
Dr. & Mrs. Gerald Early
Hope Edison & Julian I. & Hope R. Edison Foundation
Richard L. Egilsrud
Barbara Enneking
Helen Etling
Mr. & Mrs. John Evans III
Janice & Bill Forsyth
Gerard Frankenfeld
Nancy Friedland & James Florczak
Ann M. Fusz*
Ellen M. Fusz*
Mr. & Mrs. Martin E. Galt III & The Jackes Foundation
Dr. James Gandre & Dr. Boris Thomas
Ann Carole Gaspar
Joseph E. Geist
Anne P. Grady
Michael L. & Paula E. Gross
Rik & Gail Hafer
Mr. & Mrs. Bruce Hecker
Kit & Patricia Heffern & Elleard Heffern Fine Jewelers
Donna & Robert Heider
Shirley A. Heiman*
Mr. & Mrs. John Hensley
Anne W. Hetlage
Dr. & Mrs. John W. Hubert
Margaret & Martin Israel
Ron Jagels & Tim Bahr
Nanette K. Johnson & Glen N. Yonetani
Wesley Jones & Nancy Ylvisaker
Richard Kalfus
Jean Kennedy
Mark Kent & Jean Hunleth
Richard & Shirley Knight
Susie L. Kopp
Fran & Norman Leve
Ronald Levin
Rosalyn & Charles Lowenhaupt
Mr. & Mrs. John Peters MacCarthy & Ruth Peters MacCarthy Trust
Dr. John E. Mazuski
Mr. & Mrs. Mark McCallum
Pat & Brigid McCauley
Brenda K. Melson
Andrew J. & Roxanne T. Miller
Erie Mills* & Thomas Rescigno
Jane & Steve Mitchell
Alice Montgomery
Mr. & Mrs. James R. Moog
Wilhelm & Ingrid Neuefeind
Dr. & Mrs. Matthew Newman*
Bob & Kara Newmark
Robert & Carol Nordman
Martha C. Nussbaum
Mr. & Mrs. John Oliver
Mr. & Mrs. Tom O'Neal
John Howard Percy
Cindy & Sandy Peters
Dr. Keith I. Polakoff
Harriet & Philip Polster
Lynn Post
Judy & Paul Putzel
Brian Abel Ragen
Susan & John Rava
Heidi & Win Reed
Charles & Marian Rice
Richard Robb
Jane & Bruce Robert
John C. Rorris
John Ross
Philip & Reggie Roy
Ann R. Ruwitch & John Fox Arnold
Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Ruwitch
Jo-Ellyn M. Ryall, M.D.
Alan & Marilyn Sachs
Saligman Family & The Linda & Harvey Saligman Charitable Foundation
Sara Saul
Damaris Schmitt
Harriet Scholle
Sandy Schonwald
Ann Scheuer
Linda E. Schulte
Dr. Richard Shaw
Drs. Andrey Shaw & Cynthia Florin
Dr. Mim Shelden & Lou Kinsey
Jenny Shifrin
SUPPORTERS
$500-$999
John Ansehl & Timothy Solberg
Linda Apicello
Dr. Jennifer Arch & Robert Arch
Mrs. Walter F. Ballinger II
Stephen & Rebecca Bolen
Jane & Charlie Brader
Dr. & Mrs. Bill Brizzard
Elsbeth Brugger & Gretchen Vender Meulen
Barbara M. Bryant
Brandy Burkhalter
Charles & Katherine Claggett
John Michael Clear & Isabel Marie Bone
Karen Coburn
Missey Condie
Dr. Janet Congdon
Mr. & Mrs. John J. Corbett
Ann M. Corrigan
Joseph E. Corrigan*
Laura & William Courtney
Anthony Cutaia
Cyrano’s
Diane Dark
Erin Mahony Simon & Jason Simon
Kenneth & Marjorie Smith*
Dr. John Sopuch
Dr. Jamie Spencer & Anna Ahrens
Mary Ann & Andrew Srenco
Bill & Karen Stebelski*
Molly Strassner
J. Kennard Streett
Drs. Elizabeth & Paul Stroble
Dr. Pamela Stuerke*
Mr. & Mrs. Warren G. Sullivan
Peggy Walter Symes
Maria & Philip Taxman
Mary Fathman Thomas
David & Susan Dobmeyer
Quintus L. Drennan, Jr.
Connie Emge
Mary Karen Engel & Mark Engel
Dr. Kathleen Ferrell & Dr. Richard
Brasington
Gary & Susan Fletcher
Lynne Foote
Don & Darlene Freber
Mary Jane Fredrickson
Casey Gardonio-Foat
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Garnett
Mr. & Mrs. James Gavin
Elaine Gernstein
Barbara Gervais
Amy & Amrit Gill
Gerald & Dr. Colette Gordon
Dr. & Mrs. Kevin Graepel
Gary Gronau
Steven Harpole
Anna Harris
Virginia E. Heagney & James P. Tobin
Philo Holcomb
Douglas M. & Sherida E. Tollefsen
Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Trapp
Arlie & Eileen Traughber
Rowena B. Van Dyke
Robert & Nancy Wagoner
Barbara & David Ware
Mr. & Mrs. John D. Weil & Pershing Place Foundation
Ellen White
Ted Wight
Barbara McAfee Wohltman
Mr. & Mrs. Richard R. Woods & Heart of Oak Foundation, Inc.
Donna Zoeller
Linda Horne & Daniel Phillips
Margie Horowitz
Marisa Human & Antonio Longrais
Mr. & Mrs. David H. Hutchinson
Thomas Incrocci
Gayle Jackson
Mark Jacobs
Suzanne & Jim Johnson III
Marjorie Eddy Johnson
Mr. & Mrs. Steve Kidwell
Harry Knopf
Paul & Martha LaFata
Laura & Anthony Lancia
Mark & Ginny Lawson
Anh Le & Ryan Kulage
Dr. & Mrs. Frederick Lewis
Kellie J. Mandry
Dr. & Mrs. David Margolis
Lauren V. McGee
Laura & John Meyer
Tisha & Ahmeed Micko
Verla & Richard J. Mitchell
Lucy Morris
Michelle Myers
Dianne C. Nichols
O & O Hospitality
Carolyn & John Odom
Ruth Orth
Dr. Gwendolyn D. Packnett
Mr. & Mrs. Keith Patten
Kimberly Perry
Jeffrey A. Pierce
Lynne Puetz
Mrs. B. Franklin Rassieur, Jr.
Dr. & Mrs. Peter H. Raven
Xiuli Ren
Patricia Rice
Laverne Riebold Moseley & Willard Moseley
CONTRIBUTORS $250-$499
Anonymous Donors (4)
Audrey & Leonard Adreon
Scott Amelung
Lester Anderson
M. J. Aneskievich
Ted & Dr. Carol Ballou
Ronald Bauer
Christy Beckmann & Jim Vykopal
Marcia Bernstein, in memory of Neil Bernstein
Michael G. Biggers
Dr. Ellen F. Binder
Mr. & Mrs. David Bishop
Mrs. Merle N. Blundell
Lynn Bodicky
Kenneth & Ann Bohm
Ellen Bonacorsi
Sharon Bower
Breadsmith
Joan T. Briccetti
Ralph H. Bruns
Richard & Sujata Buck
Mary Riebold
Leon & Ann Robison
Dr. Carol L. Roslund
Anne Marie Ruhlin
Jennifer A. Sage
Mrs. Gideon H. Schiller
Jerry & Sue Schlichter
Damaris Schmitt
Linda Schwartz
Mr. & Mrs. James Shafter
Drs. Andrey Shaw & Cynthia Florin
Michael & Susan Shaw
Dr. Richard Shaw
Drs. Barry & Marilyn Siegel
Kathleen & William Sitzer
Raymond G. Slavin, M.D.
Jermaine Smith & Family
Daniela Candillari
Rodney & Elaine Carlson
Belinda Carstens-Wickham
Shandy & Kristine Casteel
Christopher Chan
Brian Corry & Sue Arnold
Kathianne & David Crane
Dr. & Mrs. James P. Crane
Cravings Catering & Bakery
George L. Crow
Rand Dankner
Dr. Debbie Depew & Brad Moore
Robert & Jamie Driver
Kay & Larry Dusenbery
Mary Edwards
Barbara Enneking
Explore St. Louis
Mary Ferguson
Felicia Foland
Forest Park Forever
Lance & Marcy Fortnow
Stephen & Kristine Sneeringer
Janet Spencer
Deanna Stevenson
Jennifer Stokes
Alicia Underwood
Vance Urick
Dr. & Mrs. Garry Vickar
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Weinstock
Michael W. Weisbrod
Mr. & Mrs. Matthew J. Wheeler
Kathryn R. White
Gerald Wilemski
Mary Wittry
Douglas & Lynn Yaeger
Dr. & Mrs. Myles Yanta
Bree Yard
Peter & Sally Franzmann
John Gedrick
Marianne Gillis
James Glazier
Deborah J. Goldstein
Marc Goldstein & Elizabeth Zucker
Robert & Catherine Gresick
Susan L. Hahn
Mr. & Mrs. David Halen
Mr. & Mrs. Stephen C. Hall
Mark Halton & Toni Kutchan
Mr. & Mrs. Keith Hamilton
Richard & Susan Hancey*
Glenda Hares
Dr. J. Michael Hatlelid
Dr. Nanette Hegamin
Mr. & Mrs. John Hensley
Michael Herron
Virginia A. Hoeper
Luise N. Hoffman
Kathy Hoffman
John Hollman
Mark & Peggy Holly
Cathy Hooper
Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence J. Horgan
Ann & Ed Imgrund
Mr. & Mrs. Joel S. Iskiwitch
Silvian Iticovici & Cathy Ifune
Barbara Jenkins
Sharon Price John
Nancy F. Kalishman
Dr. Michelle E. Kemp
Gerry & Ginge Kettenbach
David Kirkland Catering
Steve & Margie Knapp
Dr. & Mrs. Ira Kodner
Christie Kovac
Jack & Mary LaBarge
Douglas R. Lane
Bob & Marcia Lange
Le Macaron
Mary Jo & Jerry Liberstein
Brad Liebman
Laurie & Sean Lock
Dr. George A. Lodoly
Melvin Loeb
Cindy & Gregg Lueder
Charles MacKay & Cam McCluskey*
Bruce & Sharon MacKenzie
Dr. Jerald & Jane Maslanko
Michele M. Maue
Mrs. Lansden McCandless, Jr.
MaryAnn McCormick
Mr. & Mrs. Richard McDaniel
Mr. & Mrs. Hugh A. McGaughy
The McGregor Family
Shawn Merys
Judy & David Milton
Missouri Historical Society
Mr. & Mrs. Jean-Paul Montupet
Harry & Carol Moppins
Mr. & Mrs. Edward Morris
Ilze Muehlenbachs
June C. Mueller
Larry Mueth
Rose Marie Nester & James Heine
Lee Nickelson & Lynda Dautenhahn
Francis & Peggy Oates
June Pellarin
Gina Pellegrino & Eric Staley
Alan & Dr. Sunny Pervil
Marta & Jorge Pineda
Pin-Up Bowl
Ann Podleski
Michael Podolsky & Dr. Irina Podolsky
Donald Prahlow
Stanley Ransom*
Mr. & Mrs. Derek K. Rapp
Trevor D. Reese, Jr.
Dr. Valerie Reichert
Larry Rizzello
Ronnoco Coffee LLC
Larry Rosen
Mitchell & Gina Rotman
John M. Ryan
Joy Ryan
Anthony & Darlene Scaglione
Mark V. Scharff
Whitney Scherr
Maria Schlafly & David Aholt
Leann & Andrew Schuering
Ann Scott
Jim & Jane Shumate
Dr. & Mrs. L.D. Smith
Laurie K. Smith & Gerald L. Shaikun*
John & Nancy Solodar
St. Louis Zoo
Kevin T. Staley
Gary L. Stansbery
John & Jolly Stewart
Maxine Stone*
Jobie Summers
The Art of Entertaining
The Initial Design
Sarah Trulaske
Mr. & Mrs. James von der Heydt
Ellen A. Wallace
Robert W. & Linda Kamp Waugh
Steven Weber
Roy Wehrle & Vonnie Hinesley
Mr. & Mrs. Ted Weinberg
Marlita Weiss
Mei Chen Welland
K. E. Wentzien
Klair White
Beverly Whittington
Jim Wilson
Alan & Susan Witte
Daniel E. Woodward
Jessica M. Wubker
Aleene Zawada
In Memoriam
In-kind Gift
* Crescendo Circle member
This list includes contributors who made annual fund gifts before April 1, 2024, and we look forward to acknowledging donors who made a gift after that date on next season’s contributor list.
We regret that donors of less than $250 are not listed due to space limitations. Their generosity is vital to the company’s continued success, and we extend our sincere thanks for their support.
Understanding Starts
St. Louis Public Radio brings context and humanity to the stories that a ect life in the metro area.
LOYALTY GIVING
As we celebrate Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ 49th year, we are mindful of the many who have invested in this company’s success. This includes donors who have faithfully supported OTSL every year for the past 20, 30, or even 40 years. Thank you to all the current donors on this list. And to all who have supported the company across the last 49 years, thank you for your loyalty and dedication to our mission!
40+ CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF GIVING
Anonymous Donor (1)
Audrey & Leonard Adreon
David & Melanie Alpers
Lee & Alexandra Benham
Rudi J. Bertrand
June R. Bierman
Mrs. Merle N. Blundell
Phoebe & Spencer Burke
Paul & Elissa Cahn
Mary & Elliott Chubb
Elaine Coe
Mary Diboll
Bill Dolan & Suzanne Bromschwig Dolan
Robert & Jane Feibel
Dorothy & Billy Firestone
Keith & Ann Fischer
Joseph E. Geist
Mrs. Joseph F. Gleason
Rik & Gail Hafer
Arnold & Myrna Hershman
Anne W. Hetlage
Alfred & Marilyn Holtzer
Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence J. Horgan
Phyllis R. Hyken
Margaret & Martin Israel
Mary H. Karr
Richard & Shirley Knight
Harry Knopf
Dr. Stuart Kornfield
Gerald M. Kowarsky
Nancy & Ken Kranzberg
Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Langsam
John Frank Lesser
Fran & Norman Leve
J. David & Lucy S. Levy
Karen & Mont Levy
Carolyn W. Losos
Mrs. Lansden McCandless, Jr.
Hugh A. McGaughy
LaVerna Meyer
Jack Austin Miller
Wilhelm & Ingrid Neuefeind
Mrs. Matthew Newman
Adrienne Warren Patton
Georgia C. Pettus
Laura & Rick Pfeiffer
Mr. & Mrs. J. L. Price
Marti Reichman
Jan Paul Richter & Ellen von Seggern Richter
Mrs. Robert L. Rosenheim
Mr. & Mrs. Alan C. Rosenkoetter
Dr. Mary Anne Rudloff
Ann R. Ruwitch & John Fox Arnold
Dr. & Mrs. Joseph Ruwitch
Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Scharff, Jr.
Jerry & Sue Schlichter
Dr. Mim Shelden & Lou Kinsey
Jim & Jane Shumate
Drs. Barry & Marilyn Siegel
Stephen W. Skrainka
Brian & Jane Smith
James V. & Susan S. Stepleton
J. Kennard Streett
Peggy Walter Symes
Mr. & Mrs. E. R. Thomas, Jr.
Stephen Trampe & Jenny Gupta
Susan & Peter Tuteur
Franklin F. Wallis
Ellen White
Sharon & Elliot Zucker
Anonymous Donor (1)
Robert C. Anderson
M. J. Aneskievich
Kenneth & Mary Biskup
Eugenie R. Bonte
Ralph H. Bruns
Mr. & Mrs. John J. Corbett
Joseph E. Corrigan
Mrs. P. Terence Crebs
Rand Dankner
Mr. & Mrs. Irl F. Engelhardt
Alison & John Ferring
Janice & Bill Forsyth
Ann M. Fusz
Ellen M. Fusz
Deborah J. Goldstein
Donna & Robert Heider
Jan & Carl Hermann
Luise N. Hoffman
Mrs. Ronald A. Holtman
Diane & Paul Jacobson
Nanette K. Johnson & Glen N. Yonetani
Rosalyn & Charles Lowenhaupt
Dr. John E. Mazuski
Pat & Brigid McCauley
Diane McCullough
Sedgwick Mead, Jr. & Catherine Perry
Dr. & Mrs. Robert J. Myerson
Rose Marie Nester & James Heine
John Howard Percy
20-30 CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF GIVING
Gailya & John Barker
Anthony Bassett
Pam Belloli & Dave Shimek
Michael G. Biggers
Sally Brayley Bliss & Jim Connett
Catherine S. Bollinger
Jane & Charlie Brader
Mary I. Brown
Elsbeth Brugger & Gretchen Vender Meulen
Buron F. Buffkin & Donn Kleinschmidt, M.D.
Mr. & Mrs.
Richard Christenson
Jill Cumming
Mr. & Mrs. Arnold W. Donald
Dr. & Mrs. James W. Donnelly
Sarah Duffy
Kay & Larry Dusenbery
Kim & Tim Eberlein
Hope Edison
Richard L. Egilsrud
Connie Emge
Sara Fabick
Melanie & Anthony Fathman, M.D.
Alan R. Fiddleman
Roxanne H. Frank
Mary Jane Fredrickson
James P. Tobin & Virginia
E. Heagney
Carolyn Henges & Jay Henges
Dr. Alan W. Hopefl
Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Horst
Janet & Andy Hoyne
Marjorie Eddy Johnson
Nancy F. Kalishman
Steve & Margie Knapp
Mr. & Mrs. Richard Kniep
Mrs. Newell S. Knight
Gene Kornblum
Pam & Jim Krekeler
Jack & Mary LaBarge
Douglas R. Lane
William Larson & Christopher Harlow
Mary Jo & Jerry Liberstein
David Linzee
Stanley Ransom
John & Nancy Rice
John C. Rorris
Thomas Sehr & Margaret A. Wayne
Dr. David Sewall & Jeff Kapfer
Drs. Andrey Shaw & Cynthia Florin
Jenny Shifrin
Sudie Shinkle
Dr. & Mrs. L.D. Smith
Dr. Jamie Spencer & Anna Ahrens
Mr. & Mrs. Warren G. Sullivan
George & Betsy Vogt
Phoebe Dent Weil
Marlita Weiss
Peter J. Wender
Melvin Loeb
Iona A. Long-Baldwin
Cindy & Gregg Lueder
Joe & Alice Maffit
Laura & John Meyer
Judy & David Milton
Richard J. Mitchell
Mr. & Mrs. James R. Moog
Jo Anne Morrow
Martha C. Nussbaum
Francis & Peggy Oates
Alan & Dr. Sunny Pervil
Mr. & Mrs. Mike Pishko
Susan & John Rava
Fredric Rissover
Richard Robb
Marsha & William C. Rusnack
John H. Russell
Alan & Marilyn Sachs
Jennifer A. Sage
Kathleen & William Schnyder
Harriet Scholle
Jurgen Skoppek
Kenneth & Marjorie Smith
Dr. John Sopuch
Rabbi Jeffrey & Dr. Arlene Stiffman
Maxine Stone
Mr. & Mrs.
V. Raymond Stranghoener
Mary Strauss
Ann McFarland Sullins
Mary Susman & Tom Herm
Douglas M. & Sherida E.Tollefsen
Arlie & Eileen Traughber
Madge Treeger
Susan & Ben Uchitelle
Rowena B. Van Dyke
Sharon Biegen & Brian Vandenberg
Robert & Nancy Wagoner
Josephine & Richard Weil
Drs. Craig & Terri Weldon
Belinda Carstens-Wickham
Ellen & Bill Yeckley
George Yeh
Stuart & Susie Zimmerman
THE GOLDEN CIRCLE:
MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS TO THE ENDOWMENT
Opera Theatre’s high standards of performance and, indeed, the company’s survival in the future depend on building a substantial endowment. To ensure the quality of this institution for succeeding generations, individuals, foundations, and corporations in the Golden Circle have made major gifts to Opera Theatre’s endowment fund. For their commitment to the company’s continued artistic excellence and community service, we express our deepest gratitude.
DONORS OF $1,000,000 & ABOVE
Anonymous Donors (3)
Phyllis Brissenden
Mr. & Mrs. Laurance L. Browning, Jr.
Salvatore & Dagnija Comado
The Ford Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Harvard K. Hecker & The Hecker Family Charitable Fund
Ann Lee & Will Konneker
Sally S. Levy & the Levy Family
David W. Mesker
DONORS OF $500,000-$999,999
Anonymous Donor (1)
Rex & Phyllis Brown
Susan Brown
Rudolph W. Driscoll / The Driscoll Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. E. Desmond Lee
DONORS OF $250,000-$499,999
Jim Berges & Elizabeth Mannen
Berges & The Berges Family Foundation
Adelaide Cherbonnier
Emerson
David & Lelia Farr
Dr. & Mrs. Leigh Gerdine
Margaret B. Grigg
Dorothy Kelley
Mr. & Mrs. L. Max Lippman, Jr.
Sarah Bryan Miller
Mr. & Mrs. Reuben M. Morriss III
Robert W. Schaefer
DONORS OF $100,000-$249,999
Anonymous Donors (4)
Mrs. Norris H. Allen
Paul M. Arenberg
Barry Family Trust
Bayer Fund & Monsanto Fund
Gertrude & William A. Bernoudy Foundation
Ruth Palmer Blanke
Mr. & Mrs. Donald L. Bryant, Jr.
Gertrude B. Busch
Mr. & Mrs. William H.T. Bush
Margaret Crumpacker, M.D.
The Robert H. & Lorraine F. Duesenberg Foundation
Mrs. Ernest A. Eddy, Jr.
Enterprise Holdings Foundation
Clark & Jeanette Gamble Trust
Colin Graham, O. B. E.
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony L. Guerrerio
The William Randolph Hearst Foundation
William T. Kemper Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Lopata
Mrs. Charles W. Lorenz
Morton J. May Foundation
Mr. & Mrs. Sanford N. McDonnell
Mr. & Mrs. William B. McMillan, Jr.
The Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation –Mabel L. Purkerson, M.D., Trustee
The Saigh Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
Noémi & Michael Neidorff
David & Thelma Steward & The Steward Family Foundation
Jack C. Taylor
Fred J. Wehrle, Jr.
Whitaker Foundation
Dr. Richard D. Yoder
Arthur Osver & Ernestine Betsberg Osver
Mr. & Mrs. Emmanuel C. Paxhia
Emily Rauh Pulitzer
Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Scharff, Jr.
Mrs. William H. Sheffield
Dr. Jeanne & Rex Sinquefield
Mrs. Leif J. Sverdrup
Mr. & Mrs. Monte Throdahl
Janet McAfee Weakley
Professor Emeritus
Charles M. Weiss
Marjorie Wyman
CRESCENDO CIRCLE
Members of the Crescendo Circle help secure Opera Theatre’s commitment to artistic excellence, innovative programming, and fiscal stability by making provisions for OTSL in their estate plans or by establishing life income arrangements naming the company as a beneficiary. Thanks to their support, the quality you experience today will be enjoyed by future generations of operagoers.
By informing us of your planned gift, you will be included as a member of this important group of friends. To learn more about planned gift opportunities or to arrange to speak with a member of Opera Theatre’s Planned Giving Advisory Council, please contact Linda Schulte, Director of Development & Campaign Strategy, at (314) 9634227 or lschulte@opera-stl.org. All inquiries are strictly confidential.
WITH UTMOST GRATITUDE, OPERA THEATRE ACKNOWLEDGES
THE MEMBERS OF THE CRESCENDO CIRCLE
Anonymous Donors (4)
Susan Ahl
Dr. & Mrs. Martin Bell
Virginia Benson
Robert A. Bilzing
Delores J. Blehm
Rex & Phyllis Brown
Susan Brown
Mrs. Laurance L. Browning, Jr.
Pamela Buell
Phoebe & Spencer Burke
Carolyn Kehlor Carr
Earl Charvet
Salvatore & Dagnija Comado
Mrs. James Corrigan
Joseph E. Corrigan
Irene Cortinovis
Terry E. Crow
Charles G. Dennis
William Dolan & Suzanne Bromschwig Dolan
Ann Faget
Alan R. Fiddleman
Ann M. Fusz
Ellen M. Fusz
Richard Gaddes
David R. Ganz
Rabbi Dr. Jay & Erika Goldburg
Dr. Richard C. Hancey
Shirley A. Heiman
Mr. & Mrs. Arnold Hershman
Jane House
Jeannette R. Huey
Amy Kaiser
Dorothy Kelley
Gerald M. Kowarsky
Michael Kramer
George B. Kyle
Mr. & Mrs. Lawrence Langsam
Sally Gene Lefler
John Frank Lesser
Mr. & Mrs. J. David Levy, Jr.
Barry Arthur Litwin
Charles MacKay
Helen McCallie
Cameron A. McCluskey
Diane McCullough
Erie Mills & Tom Rescigno
Liz Mischel
Dr. & Mrs. Robert J. Myerson
Dr. & Mrs. Matthew Newman
Timothy & Kara Graziano O’Leary
Peggy Otto
Stanley Ransom
Dr. Mary Anne Rudloff
Joy Ryan
Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Scharff, Jr.
Sondra Schlesinger
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Seltzer
Cynthia Shaw
Mr. & Mrs. Donald J. Sher
H. M. Siegfried & Dr. Monica Minkoff Siegfried
Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth R. Smith, Jr.
Laurie K. Smith & Gerald L. Shaikun
Mrs. James P. Stearns
Bill & Karen Stebelski
Maxine Stone
Pamela S. Stuerke
Mary Susman & Tom Herm
Isolde Thalmann
Dr. Patrick R. Thomas
Stephen L. Trampe & Jenny Gupta
Franklin F. Wallis
Phoebe Dent Weil
Sharon & Elliot Zucker
In Memoriam
DONORS TO THE 2023–2024 TRIBUTE FUND
Opera Theatre gratefully acknowledges the following gifts to the Tribute Fund in honor/memory of the following special individuals.
In Honor of Harold & Elaine Blatt Matter Family Office
In Honor of Brittainy Brown
Rick Fortner
In Memory of Rebecca Browne
Luise N. Hoffman
In Memory of John R. Buckley
Sarah & Michael David Smith
In Honor of Phoebe & Spencer Burke
John Ross
Ann Scott
In Memory of Robert Craft
Stacey Bregenzer
Nicole & Keith Freber
Noémi Neidorff
Jan Paul Richter & Ellen von Seggern Richter
Franklin F. Wallis
In Honor of OTSL Docents
Ethical Society of St. Louis
In Memory of Darryl Fabick
Robert & Jane Feibel
Phyllis R. Hyken
Bob Kaemmerlen
Noémi Neidorff
Jan Paul Richter & Ellen von Seggern Richter
Kenneth & Marjorie Smith
Cay Sullivan
Mary Susman & Tom Herm
Rowena B. Van Dyke
Margaret Wald
Mary Jane Whaley
Sharon & Elliot Zucker
In Honor of Bob Feibel
Dr. Jennifer Arch & Robert Arch
Dr. Martin J. Bell
Dr. & Mrs. James H. Epstein
Mrs. Edward E. Etheredge
Nicole & Keith Freber
Phyllis Goldberg
Mr. & Mrs. Joel S. Iskiwitch
Barbara Lewington
Marcia B. Mellitz
Dr. & Mrs. Gary Ratkin
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Schraibman
Mary Susman & Tom Herm
Dr. & Mrs. Lawrence A. Taylor
Sharon & Elliot Zucker
In Memory of Mary Feldmeier
John G. Carroll
Jim Hone
Mr. & Mrs. Roger Robards
In Honor of Allison Felter
Marilyn E. Votaw
In Honor of Dorothy & Billy Firestone
Miriam Wilhelm
In Memory of Richard Gaddes
Mrs. Edward E. Etheredge
Robert & Jane Feibel
Mrs. Stanley J. Goodman
Charles MacKay & Cam McCluskey
Patrica McKinnis
Nedra & Richard Matteucci
Noémi Neidorff
Marianna M. Newirth
Georgia C. Pettus
Jan Paul Richter & Ellen von Seggern Richter
Allison Swenson
Rita & David Wells
Kathryn R. White
In Honor of Ella Heigham
Phyllis R. Roberts
In Honor of Emilie Hensley
Mr. & Mrs. John Hensley
In Honor of Gina Hoagland
Marc Goldstein & Elizabeth Zucker
In Honor of Lee Kaufman
Sharon & Elliot Zucker
In Honor of Richard & Shirley Knight
Nancy Birge
In Honor of Gene Kornblum
Paul & Elissa Cahn
In Memory of Dianne Lazaroff
Mr. & Mrs. Scott Harris
Mr. & Mrs. Mark M. Wenner
In Honor of Wellington Lemmer
Laura Havranek
In Honor of Mont & Karen Levy
Elinore Weinhaus
In Honor of Marcela Manjarrez
Sarah S. Bernard
Mary Karen Engel & Mark Engel
Ellen Franzel
Mary Franzen
Nicole Ambos Freber
Miran Halen
Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Johnson
Sandy McBride
Christine Polk
Loree Rowe
Linda E. Schulte
In Memory of Grace McGaughy
Shirley A. Heiman
In Memory of Sarah Bryan Miller
Mary Edwards
In Memory of William C. Morris
Charles MacKay & Cam McCluskey
In Honor of Noémi Neidorff
Dr. & Mrs. Alan Braverman
Dr. James Gandre & Dr. Boris Thomas
In Honor of Kevin Nicoletti
Sean Ringey
In Honor of Gretchen O’Neal
Paul & Elissa Cahn
Mr. & Mrs. Ed Feutz
In Memory of
Bob Packman
Kathy Berg
Glenn Mitchell
Noémi Neidorff
John Howard Percy
Mr. & Mrs. Brian Spanel
In Honor of Patricia Racette & Beth Clayton
Beth
W.W. & Anne Jones
In Memory of Maynord Rosen
Larry Rosen
In Honor of Lori Samuels
Wesley Jones & Nancy Ylvisaker
In Memory of Charla Sausele
Mr. & Mrs. Joseph Sausele
In Honor of Mary Schoolman & Jim Hinrichs
Nicole & Keith Freber
In Memory of John Sheridan
Arlie & Eileen Traughber
In Memory of Moisy Shopper
Shirley A. Heiman
Sharon & Elliot Zucker
In Honor of Jamie Spencer
Kate S. Pitman
In Honor of Ann Sullins
Carol Carlson
Nicole & Keith Freber
Lea Virtel
In Memory of Dr. Stephen Waltman
Gillian Waltman
In Honor of Roma Wittcoff
Shelley Berger
Noémi Neidorff
In Memory of Tani Wolff
Nila Whitfield
The list of Opera Theatre contributors was complete at press time and indicates those who made tribute fund gifts before April 1, 2024. Donors who made gifts later will be recognized during the 2025 Festival Season. To honor or remember a loved one, please call (314) 963-4228 or visit us online at ExperienceOpera.org/Tributes.
Led by Crystal Allen Dallas and Marcela Manjarrez, the Intermezzo Society is dedicated to supporting and celebrating new voices in opera. Members discover new artists, attend social events, and enjoy behind-the scenes access — all while making new connections throughout the St. Louis community.
Membership starts at $600 ($50 per month) and includes complimentary tickets to four events throughout the year: a Winter Brunch in January, A Toast to Opera in March, Intermezzo Society Night at the Opera in June, and a Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration in September.
Membership is also open to any current donor of Opera Theatre who has given $600 or more in the past year. Intermezzo Society membership may impact the tax-deductibility of your gift. For more information or to sign up, please email intermezzo@ opera-stl.org.
CO-CHAIRS
Crystal Allen Dallas & Marcela Manjarrez
MEMBERS
Pam Belloli & Dave Shimek
Sam C. Bertolet & Helen Ziercher
Ashley Budde-Taylor & Dr. Matthew Taylor
Brandy Burkhalter
Amanda Trudell Cambridge & Paul Cambridge
Laura & William Courtney
Crystal Allen Dallas & Patrick Dallas
Diane Dark
Connie Emge
Mary Karen Engel & Mark Engel
Dr. & Mrs. Charles Ettelson
Sara Fabick
Casey Gardonio-Foat
Barbara Gervais
Amy & Amrit Gill
David & Angie Hagee
Steven Harpole
Margaret & Martin Israel
Laura & Anthony Lancia
Mark & Ginny Lawson
Anh Le & Ryan Kulage
Kellie J. Mandry
Marcela Manjarrez
Kimberly R. McAllister
Diane McCullough
Tisha & Ahmeed Micko
Liz & Brian Mischel
Michelle Myers
Dianne C. Nichols
Lynne Puetz
Gwendolyn Packnett
Xiuli Ren
Allison W. Roberts
Ann Marie Ruhlin
Mrs. Edward L. Salmon, Jr.
Annemarie & Matt Schumacher
Linda Seibert
Dr. Amber Simpson & Kenneth Simpson
Mary Ann & Andrew Srenco
J. Kennard Streett
Alicia Underwood
Rowena B. Van Dyke
Bree Yard
George Yeh
Top from L to R : Jesús Vicente Murillo, Maribell Smith, and Alicia Underwood at A Toast to Opera, 2024.
Under the leadership of Gala Chairs Gina Hoagland and Marcela Manjarrez, the May 11th gala raised over $900,000 in support of accessible arts experiences for all ages, living wages for artists in our community, and OTSL’s performances that bring acclaim to our city.
Community and business leaders celebrated at Clayton’s new Commerce Bank Tower. We are deeply grateful to Commerce Bank and Husch Blackwell for providing such an exciting location for the event.
This year’s gala featured performances from 2024 Festival Season artists Emily Pogorelc and Moisés Salazar, along with a special appearance from Katerina Burton.
Opera Theatre is profoundly grateful to the following donors for their support of the 2024 Spring Gala:
PRESENTING SPONSORS
BENEFACTORS
PRODUCERS & PATRONS
Cynthia J. Brinkley
Commerce Bank
Crystal & Patrick Dallas
VENUE HOSTS
Noémi K. Neidorff
LEAD SPONSORS
Lori & Ted Samuels
SUSTAINER
Lelia & David Farr
Penny Pennington & Mike Fidler
Dr. Jeanne & Rex Sinquefield
UNDERWRITERS
Phoebe & Spencer Burke
Nancy & Ken Kranzberg
Karen & Mont Levy
Marcela Manjarrez
Dr. David Sewall & Mr. Jeff Kapfer
Stephen Trampe & Jenny Gupta
Jim Berges & Elizabeth
Mannen Berges
Kim & Tim Eberlein
Robin & Tim Wentworth
Edward Jones
Alan R. Fiddleman
Kit & Patricia Heffern
Andrew Jorgensen & Mark Stuart-Smith
Gene Kornblum
J. David & Lucy S. Levy
Liz & Brian Mischel
John & Christy Nickel
Linda & Bruce Ryder
Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Scharff, Jr.
Tom & Ulrike Schlafly
Mary Schoolman & Jim Hinrichs
Annemarie & Matt Schumacher
Linda Seibert
Mr. & Mrs. V. Raymond Stranghoener
Dr. Donald Suggs
Ann McFarland Sullins
Mr. & Mrs. Warren G. Sullivan
Special thanks to the following individuals and organizations for making this event possible.
Erika Fogelstrom
Cole Frizzo
Casie Galczynski
Kala Gebhard
Jenny Hoelzer
Travis Kuhl
Kristen Lewis
Jack Rushen
List complete as of April 11, 2024. We regret the omission of anyone who contributed after this deadline.
NATIONAL PATRONS COUNCIL
Opera Theatre’s National Patrons Council is a group of generous friends from around the country who encourage ongoing national support of OTSL.
The guidance and perspective of National Patrons Council members are important resources for Opera Theatre, helping the company better define key issues and trends in the field. Council members guide OTSL’s efforts to achieve enhanced artistic quality, to raise the company’s national profile, and to advance outstanding young American artists.
National Patrons Council members enjoy special benefits throughout the year, including a dedicated weekend of exclusive events during the Festival Season, involvement in strategic planning questions, and company updates from Opera Theatre leadership. Membership is available with an annual gift of $2,500, with additional levels of support available at $5,000 (NPC Gold Circle) and $7,500 (NPC Platinum Circle).
We are always interested in expanding the Opera Theatre family. If you would like to join this group of dedicated supporters, we would love to speak with you about this opportunity. Please contact Linda Schulte, Director of Development & Campaign Strategy, at (314) 963-4227 or lschulte@opera-stl.org.
Opera Theatre is deeply grateful for the support of the following National Patrons Council, NPC Gold Circle, and NPC Platinum Circle members.
CHAIRS
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Mr. & Mrs. Donald L. Bryant, Jr. California
Bill Dolan & Suzanne Bromschwig Dolan Oregon
Robert H. Duesenberg Missouri
Ann Faget Texas
John Forestner & Brad Alford Texas
Mr. & Mrs. Robert H. Craft, Jr. Washington, D.C. In Memoriam
Diane & Paul Jacobson Minnesota
Marilyn Meeker Michigan
Ellen von Seggern Richter & Jan Paul Richter Maryland
Marsha & William C. Rusnack California
Alan Jay Savada & Will Stevenson Washington, D.C.
Sondra Schlesinger California
Kathy Sears Washington, D.C.
Eve Simon Nebraska Shoshana Tancer Arizona
Drs. Craig & Terri Weldon Missouri
Susan Staley Young California
Sharon & Elliot Zucker Missouri
Members of Opera Theatre’s NPC come from around the nation, and gather annually in St. Louis.
Photo courtesy of Mr. & Mrs.
Robert H. Craft, Jr.
IN MEMORIAM
may the tide that is entering even now the lip of our understanding carry you out beyond the face of fear may you kiss the wind then turn from it certain that it will love your back may you open your eyes to water water waving forever and may you in your innocence sail through this to that
— blessing the boats (at st. mary’s), Lucille Clifton
David Berland
Gil Bickel
Lillian Boly
Dr. Richard Brasington
Becky Browne
Grace Bumbry
Robert H. Craft, Jr.
Charles Dennis
Michael W. Drake
Richard Duesenberg
Darryl Fabick
David Farrell
Mary Feldmeier
Jean M. Fisher
Marilyn Fox
Warren French
Richard Gaddes
Roger Goldman
Milton Hieken
Dr. Ken Holmes
Lesley Incandela
Lesley Knowles
Shirley Kronemer
Sharon Lapin
Harold Lazaroff
Chau Thanh Minh
Lê
Donald Levin
Thomas Martin
Grace McGaughy
Verla Mitchell
Kathleen Moenster
Annabelle Nigus
Dr. Robert Packman
Emilio Pagoulatos
Georgia Prstojevich
Barbara Roberts
Stewart Robertson
Henry Schweich
Judy Scott
Suzanne Sessions
Cynthia Shaw
Dr. Virginia Sue Taylor
Mark Templeton
James Van Sant
Denny Wedemeyer
Opera Theatre’s Community Engagement & Inclusion Council first began in 2011 as the “Engagement & Inclusion Task Force,” an informal network of supporters and volunteers who came together to promote interfaith dialogue around the staging of John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer. In the fall of 2012, the group formalized its commitment to helping Opera Theatre grow an audience that more fully reflects the rich diversity of the St. Louis region. It was renamed in 2022 to make clear its enduring role in advising Opera Theatre’s community work.
The Council represents community leaders and advocates from all walks of life, who share the belief that by bringing audiences from diverse backgrounds together to share a common operatic experience, we build community, create opportunities for dialogue, and ultimately, strengthen our region.
MEMBERS OF THE 2023–2024
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & INCLUSION COUNCIL
Sara Burke
Philip Deitch
Lisette Dennis
Vickie M. Denson
Kim Eberlein
Caroline Fan
Dr. C.J. Harlan
Magan M. Harms
Naretha Hopson
Marcela Manjarrez
Kimberly Morton
Maria Taxman
Emily Underwood
If you are interested in joining the Community Engagement & Inclusion Council, please contact Nicole Freber, Managing Director, at (314) 963-4222 or nambos@opera-stl.org.
YOUNG FRIENDS STEERING COMMITTEE
Opera Theatre’s Young Friends program was formed in 2009 to expand the next generation’s interest in opera through vibrant events that combine arts performances, culinary experiences, and networking opportunities.
Building upon the success and popularity of Opera Theatre’s in-season Young Friends events, the Steering Committee is a volunteer-based group of young professionals who guide OTSL’s efforts to discover and inspire other young arts lovers. By serving as ambassadors for OTSL among their friends and professional networks, the Steering Committee is instrumental in helping the company reach new audiences year-round.
To learn about this year’s in-season Young Friends events, see page 13.
MEMBERS OF THE 2023–2024
YOUNG FRIENDS STEERING COMMITTEE
Ashley Budde-Taylor
Chair
Ryan Niehaus
Vice-Chair of Recruitment
Casey Gardonio-Foat
Vice-Chair of Season Events
Rebecca Buffington
Paul Cambridge & Amanda Trudell Cambridge
Patrick Dallas
John F. Herget IV
Teresa Lane
Kaitlin N. Page
Christina Rios
Miriam Ruiz
If you are interested in joining the Young Friends Steering Committee, please contact Anh Le, Director of Marketing & PR, at (314) 963-4294 or ale@opera-stl.org.
OPERA THEATRE OF SAINT LOUIS GUILD
The volunteers of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Guild provide vital support for OTSL’s festival season, community and education programs, special events, and off-season activities. OTSL’s volunteers are dedicated and innovative, adapting to virtual platforms and utilizing digital resources whenever needed, all with great aplomb. Their versatility enables the Guild to provide invaluable support and connections, and strengthens the company’s programs in the community.
Guild Volunteers provide transportation, housing, and welcome bags for our artists, publish bi-annual newsletters, staff the lobby boutique, advocate for the arts to legislators, give talks to schools and adult education groups, provide support for dress rehearsals and performances, edit opera libretti, help staff community events, offer administrative support in the main offices, and much more.
Learn more about volunteering at OTSL by visiting ExperienceOpera.org/Volunteer or contacting Tyler McKenzie, Manager of Volunteer Engagement, at (314) 963-4225 or tmckenzie@opera-stl.org.
Since the company’s founding, Opera Theatre has been able to rely on the unwavering support, dedication, and passion of the Guild. Our heartfelt thanks to each volunteer.
GUILD EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
PRESIDENT Linda Seibert
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Janice Seele
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Sara Fabick
SECRETARY
Patricia Codden
COMMITTEE CHAIRS
ADVOCACY
Diane McCullough
ARTISTS-IN-TRAINING
Mark Kent
Beverly Whittington
BOUTIQUE
Gerry Frankenfeld
Susie Hahn
CONCIERGE
Margie Knapp
Harry Moppins
DOCENTS
Gwen Adams
Rose Nester
Kathleen Sitzer
TREASURER
Gerry Frankenfeld
ADVISORS
Gailya Barker
Ann Fusz
Ellen Fusz
Janet Hoyne
Mary Susman
Peggy Walter Symes
Bob Wagoner
DRESS REHEARSAL REFRESHMENTS
Harriet Scholle
Cay Sullivan
DRESSERS, SUPERS, & LIGHTWALKERS
Ann Fusz
Ellen Fusz
GREETERS
Gail Hafer
Mark Scharff
GUILD EVENTS
Gloria Park
GUILD RECRUITMENT
Sara Fabick
VICE PRESIDENT OF ARTISTIC SUPPORT
Janice Seele
VICE PRESIDENT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Harriet Scholle
VICE PRESIDENT OF MEMBERSHIP
Gail Hafer
GUILD RELATIONS
Deanna Stevenson
HISTORIANS
Patricia Codden
Casey Gardonio-Foat
HOUSING
Janice Seele
LIBRETTI
Ellen Richter
Jan Richter
George Yeh
MARKETING
Kay Whittington
MET AUDITIONS
Connie Emge
Gerry Frankenfeld
NEWSLETTER
Jane Brader
Deanna Stevenson
OFFICE SUPPORT
Sara Fabick
SPOTLIGHT ON OPERA
Eugenie Bonte
Damaris Schmitt
TEMPOS
Connie Emge
TRANSPORTATION
Steve Seele
Elliot Zucker
VOLUNTEER RECORDS
Steve Knapp
2024 OPERA THEATRE OF SAINT LOUIS GUILD
THE VOLUNTEER SUPPORT GROUP OF OPERA THEATRE
Gwen Adams
Susan Adams
Lenessa Age
Anna Ahrens
Paige Alyssa
Darwin Aquino
Lekha Bala
Gailya Barker
John Barker
Betsy Barnes-Wilson
Victor Barrios
Tania Beasley-Jolly
Martin Bell
Pamela Belloli
James Berges
Laura Bezona
Lynn Bodicky
Eugenie Bonte
Celia Bouchard
Allison Bowers
Geoff Bowers
Jane Brader
Kimmy Brauer
Stephen Brauer
Marilyn Brickson
Cindy Brinkley
Be.Be Brown
Anna Buckner
Ashley Budde-Taylor
Rebecca Buffington
Buron Buffkin
Dwayne Buggs
Spencer Burke
Phoebe Burke
Sara Burke
Tim Burnham
Amanda Cambridge
Paul Cambridge
Carol Carlson
Anne Carman
Tiélere Cheatem
Pat Church
Jane Clark
Kyle Clark
Robert Clark
Beverly Clarkson
Patricia Codden
Louis Colombo
Lyna Colombo
Janet Congdon
Laura Cooper
Ann Corrigan
Michaeleen Cradock
Jamison Craft
Robert Craft
Karen Crebs
Jill Cumming
Crystal Dallas
Patrick Dallas
Jim Daues
Adrienne Davis
Philip Deitch
Michelle DeMumbrane
Lisette Dennis
Vickie Denson
Mary Desloge
Ann Divine
Arnold Donald
Noreen D’Souza
Richard Duesenberg
Sally Eaton
Kim Eberlein
Timothy Eberlein
Fay Eckert
Holly Eggert
Connie Emge
Sue Engelhardt
Cecily Erker
Helen Etling
Sara Fabick
Caroline Fan
David Farr
Lelia Farr
Anthony Fathman
Melanie Fathman
Jane Feibel
Robert Feibel
Alan Fiddleman
Dorothy Firestone
Ann Fischer
Vincent Flewellen
Gerard Frankenfeld
Mary Franzen
Barbara Fraser
Marie Furrer
Ann Fusz
Ellen Fusz
Richard Gaddes
Casey Gardonio-Foat
Anne Gerst
Ann Getz
Randy Getz
Edes Gilbert
Mary Gordon
Sol Guber
Delores Guyton
Gail Heyne Hafer
Rik Hafer
Angie Hagee
David Hagee
Susie Hahn
Lannis Hall
Sally Hanson
Angela Harlan
C.J. Harlan
Magan Harms
Sara Hasz
Patricia Heffern
Robert Heider
Shirley Heiman
John Herget IV
Tom Herm
Michael Herron
Arnold Hershman
Myrna Hershman
Victoria Herwig
Britny Hill
Gina Hoagland
Virginia Hoeper
Neil Hoffsten
Mark Holly
Peggy Holly
Ken Holmes
Diane Holt
Maggie Holtman
Ann Holton
Jim Holton
Naretha Hopson
Stephen
Houldsworth
Jane House
Andrew Hoyne
Janet Hoyne
Lee Ann Huckaby
Jeannette Huey
Laura Huff
Kaylee Hughes
Marilyn Humiston
Heather Hunt-Ruddy
Phyllis Hyken
Chakita Jackson
Glenn Jackson
Ingeborg Jackson
Dorothy Jackson-Durity
Franklin Jacobs
Laura Jarasek
Bettie Johnson
James Johnson
Jessica Kaiser
Richard Kammenzind
Patricia Kaplan
Heather Kartal
Mark Kent
Barry Kirk
Donn Kleinschmidt
Margie Knapp
Steve Knapp
Joanne Kohn
Eugene Kornblum
Kenneth Kranzberg
James Krekeler
Pamela Krekeler
Shirley Kronemer
Bill Kumke
Anthony Lancia
Douglas Lane
Teresa Lane
William Lawler
Grace Lee
Sally Lefler
John Lesser
J. David Levy
Karen Levy
Lucy Levy
Mont Levy
Cora Lippi
Andrew Love
Charles MacKay
Betsy Mahoney
Pamela Mahoney
Elizabeth Mahony
Kellie Mandry
Marcela Manjarrez
Susan Markovich
Nancy Marron
Andrew Martin
Roz Marx
Helen McCallie
Diane McCullough
Meridith McKinley
Kara Mealer
Marilyn Meeker
Susan Mello
Ezra Meyer
Karen Miller
Carl Mitchell
Eliza Mitchell
Ursula Moeller
Jessica Moore
Carol Moppins
Harry Moppins
Jim Morrell
Kimberly Morton
Sheryl Moschner
Judy Muckerman
Vimal Nair
Noémi K. Neidorff
Rose Marie Nester
Ingrid Neuefeind
James Nicholson
Ryan Niehaus
Melany Nitzsche
Tammy O’Donnell
Carol O’Keefe
Kristen O’Keefe
Regis O’Keefe
Kaitlin Page
Sue Paster
Douglas Pedersen
June Pellarin
Kathy Petersen
Georgia Pettus
Barbara Piper Green
Kevin Raines
Meryl Raines
Win Reed
Patricia RiceHellmuth
Ellen Richter
Jan Paul Richter
Christina Rios
Allison Roberts
Brenda Rodi
Charles Rodi
John Rorris
Robert Ruddy
Ann Marie Ruhlin
Miriam Ruiz
John Russell
Kéelin Russell
Jo-Ellyn Ryall
Sharon Ryan
Lori Samuels
Chris Saulter
Mark Scharff
Robert Scharff
Christine Scherzinger
Christopher Schmid
Damaris Schmitt
Harriet Scholle
Janice Seele
Stephen Seele
Linda Seibert
Jason Sellers
Charles Shannon
Joseph Shepard
Sudie Shinkle
Anne Shultz
James Shumate
Jane Shumate
Anna Simms
Rex Sinquefield
Kathleen Sitzer
Kenneth Smith
Marjorie Smith
Gene Spector
Jamieson Spencer
Janet Spencer
Linda Stark
Kirk Stein
Caitlin Stephen
Deanna Stevenson
Thelma Steward
Raymond Stranghoener
Donald Suggs
Ann Sullins
Cay Sullivan
Mary Susman
Peggy Symes
Pamela Tapsell
Maria Taxman
Phillip Taxman
Elise Tegtmeyer
Jacqueline Thompson
Mark Throdahl
Sudie Throdahl
Alonzo Townsend
Stephen Trampe
Eileen Traughber
Emily Underwood
Rowena Van Dyke
Linda Vandivort
Nancy Wagoner
Robert Wagoner
Franklin Wallis
Robert Waugh
Phoebe Weil
Michael Weisbrod
Keith Welsh
Robin Wentworth
Tim Wentworth
Beverly Whittington
Kay Whittington
Asa Wild
Cathie Wille
Gerald Wille
Anne Williams
Anne L. Williams
Diane Wilson
Tina Wisdom
Roma Wittcoff
Alan Witte
Philip Woodmore
Roslyn Wylie
Rick Yakimo
George Yeh
Jessie Youngblood
Nancy Zander
Elliot Zucker
Sharon Zucker
volunteer extraordinaire GERRY FRANKENFELD
Gerry Frankenfeld lights up a room with his warmth, genuine kindness, and love for opera. As one of Opera Theatre’s most loyal and beloved volunteers, he embodies the spirit of community and friendship that sets our company apart.
Gerry is part of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Guild, a volunteer group that is the envy of opera companies around the world. Soon after joining the Guild in 2012, Gerry accepted an invitation to join the Guild’s Board and later joined the Guild’s Executive Committee as Treasurer.
Gerry can regularly be seen welcoming guests to Opera Theatre gardens in his role as a greeter — often sporting a fun, colorful bowtie — or supporting the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition as co-chair of the Guild’s Met Auditions Committee. Behind the scenes, Gerry also helps to welcome artists to St. Louis. He provides rides for the artists upon their arrival, houses them during their stay, offers rides back to the airport, and follows their careers, often attending their performances at other opera companies, no matter how far away!
Gerry fell in love with the arts long before his involvement with Opera Theatre. Music was always present in his childhood; his father played pipe organ and piano, and Gerry grew up playing violin and cello. He was a vocal music major in college and taught music for 14 years in his hometowns of Trenton and Washington, Missouri. Gerry went on to a career in sales and his success in that field is no surprise, given his remarkable ability to quickly convert strangers to friends — a talent that we see in full force every opera season!
Gerry does not hesitate to answer a call for volunteers and puts a smile on every face along the way. His willingness and excitement to serve as the next Boutique Merchandiser is the perfect example of his steadfast support for OTSL, the Guild, and the community. When asked about favorite memories from his time with the Opera Theatre Guild, he stated, “It’s been one big happy memory.” His response truly captures his love for life,
people, and the arts. The next time you are strolling through the gardens prior to a performance or shopping the Boutique, feel free to introduce yourself to Gerry. We are so grateful for his leadership and warm presence at Opera Theatre!
Stars of Saint Louis, 1983 (International touring production: Edinburgh Festival)
*Performed by a cast of young people and featured professional singers.
**Performed by a cast of young people.
The creation of each season’s program book is made possible through the generous support of our advertisers.
We hope you will join us in making use of their services and tell them how much you enjoyed seeing their advertisements in these pages.
The following current advertisers have supported the program book for ten years or more:
Elleard Heffern Fine Jewelers (47)
Webster University (47)
IATSE Local #6 Stagehand Union (42)
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (39)
The Muny (39)
Ces & Judy’s Catering (38)
Janet McAfee (38)
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis (35)
Saint Louis Art Museum (31)
The Delmar Gardens Family (30)
Gunther Salt Company (28)
Wildflowers (23)
Regional Arts Commission (21)
ADVERTISER INDEX
Advertiser’s Printing Company, 23
Allegro Richmond Heights, inside back cover
American Chamber Chorale, 85
Arts & Faith St. Louis, 75
Assistance Home Care, 60
Berges Family Foundation, 45
Big Sky Café, 84
The Black Rep, 24
Bopp Chapel, 84
Castle Design, 52
Central City Opera, 74
Ces & Judy’s Catering, 8
Chamber Music Society of St. Louis, 82
Chase Park Plaza, 52
Classic 107.3, 61
Clayco, 83
COCA, 84
Cyrano’s, 60
The Davey Tree Expert Company, 86
The Delmar Gardens Family, 76
Des Moines Metro Opera, 32
Elleard Heffern Fine Jewelers, 1
The Fabulous Fox, 33
Gunther Salt Company, 115
IATSE Local #6 Stagehand Union, 98
Janet McAfee, 25
Jazz St. Louis, 76
Laclede Groves Lutheran Senior Services, 115
Le Macaron, 82
Lewis Rice, back cover
St. Louis Public Radio (21)
Des Moines Metro Opera (19)
St. Louis Chamber Chorus (19)
Big Sky Café (18)
Central City Opera (18)
Cyrano's (14)
Siteman Cancer Center (13)
St. Louis Magazine (13)
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival (13)
Advertiser's Printing Company (12)
Chase Park Plaza Hotel (12)
Marsh McLennan Agency (11)
Lexus, 37
Link Auction Galleries, 86
Marsh McLennan Agency, 77
The Muny, 77
Nine PBS, 69
O’Connell’s Pub, 82
Opera Edwardsville, 2
Regional Arts Commission, 34
The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, 68
Saint Louis Art Museum, inside front cover
The Saint Louis Chamber Chorus, 75
Saint Louis Dance Theatre, 85
The Sheldon Concert Hall, 84
Siteman Cancer Center, 4
The St. Louis Children’s Choir, 74
St. Louis Magazine, 22
St. Louis Public Radio, 111
St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, 118
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, 9
St. Louis Symphony Orchestra Chorus, 86
STAGES St. Louis, 130
Union Avenue Opera, 100
Washington University Voice and Airway Center, 36
Washington University Great Artists Series, 131
Webster University, 16
Wildflowers, 87
Wolfgram Law, 60
World Chess Hall of Fame, 53
World Wide Technology, Inc., 44
We are grateful to STL Programs for their outstanding efforts and dedication to the success of the 2024 Program Book.
OPERA
made accessible
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis strives to make our Festival Season accessible to all patrons by offering several different services. For additional information, questions, or assistance (or if you need an accommodation not mentioned below), please contact the Box Office by calling (314) 961-0644 or by visiting the Patron Services window.
WHEELCHAIR AND SCOOTER SEATING
Enjoy designated seating with top-notch views! The Loretto-Hilton Center has wheelchair-accessible seating locations where patrons can remain in their chairs or transfer to a theater seat. Patrons who cannot transfer from their wheelchairs to a theater seat should request wheelchair-accessible locations when ordering tickets.
Ushers are available to assist patrons in getting from the theater entrance to their seats. If mobility aids cannot be stored safely within the patron’s seating area, or if a patron prefers to transfer from a wheelchair to a theater seat, those aids will be stored outside the auditorium door as close as possible to the patron’s seat. At intermission and after the performance, ushers are happy to assist patrons to restroom entrances, concessions bars, accessible parking, etc.
ASSISTIVE LISTENING DEVICES
A frequency modulate (FM) audio enhancement system is available for all performances. Both headset receivers and magnetic loop adapters for enabled hearing aids are available for pick-up at the Patron Services window. Patrons may also bring their own headphones if they desire.
SIGN LANGUAGE
OTSL is proud to offer American Sign Language interpretation at select performances in partnership with TLC Interpreting Services, LLC. Patrons interested in using this service can visit ExperienceOpera.org/Accessibility to purchase ASL tickets and select appropriate seats. Please speak with the Box Office for further details.
The Barber of Seville : May 31 at 7:30 p.m.
La bohème : June 14 at 7:30 p.m.
Julius Caesar : June 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Galileo Galilei : June 21 at 7:30 p.m.
LARGE PRINT AND BRAILLE PROGRAMS
Condensed large print and Braille playbills are available for each opera at the Patron Services window in the lobby.
AUDIO DESCRIPTION
For patrons who are low-vision or blind, we are pleased to offer audio-described performances presented in partnership with MindsEye. Patrons can pick up a device prior to the performance or during intermission at the Patron Services window in the lobby, free of charge. Audio-described performances include:
The Barber of Seville : May 31 at 7:30 p.m., June 8 at 12:30 p.m.
La bohème : June 14 at 7:30 p.m., June 22 at 12:30 p.m.
Julius Caesar : June 15 at 12:30 p.m., June 28 at 7:30 p.m.
Galileo Galilei : June 21 at 7:30 p.m., June 29 at 12:30 p.m.
SERVICE ANIMALS
Service animals are welcome. If you plan to bring a service animal, please inform the Box Office in advance.
Accessibility services for the 2024 Festival Season are sponsored by
The June 8 matinee will be sensory-conscious to meet the needs of patrons with higher sensory sensitivities. We are pleased to partner with Different Dynamics for this performance.
We hope that these offerings assist in making your experience at Opera Theatre a wonderful and engaging one!
This season’s program book cover features the painting Crafting at Night by Ainura Ashirova Barron, a native of Kazakhstan who lives and works in St. Charles, MO. She earned received her MFA in Visual Studies from Missouri State University in 2019. Her work explores identity, history, and roots in a globalized society.
Learn more at ainurabarron.com . Opera Theatre of Saint Louis looks forward to presenting more works by local artists in future program books.
GENERAL INFORMATION
If you would like to receive future communications from Opera Theatre, please leave your name, mailing address, and email address with the Box Office, or sign up for our mailing list at ExperienceOpera.org
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis 210 Hazel Ave. St. Louis, MO 63119
Administrative Offices: (314) 961-0171
Box Office: (314) 961-0644
Email: info@opera-stl.org
Website: ExperienceOpera.org
THEATER POLICIES AND INFORMATION
To ensure the enjoyment of our audience, and out of respect for our artists, Opera Theatre will not seat latecomers until there is a pre-determined break in the opera. However, latecomers are invited to watch the performance via closed-circuit television in the lobby. Patrons who leave the auditorium during a performance will be allowed to return to their seats at predetermined breaks in the opera.
All patrons are welcome at Opera Theatre. Please notify the Box Office as early as possible to arrange special seating if you have a service animal or any accessibility needs, as these seats are limited (please see the previous page for more information).
All cell phones and other electronic devices must be turned off during the performance. Any use of smartphones for texting, browsing, or recording is prohibited, as is the use of any cameras or other recording equipment not previously authorized by Opera Theatre management.
Leave something behind? Lost articles may be claimed at the House Manager’s Office, or you can call (314) 246-8009 after 10 a.m. the next performance day.
All casting is subject to change.
In the event of a fire, please walk to the nearest exit. In the case of a tornado warning, please follow ushers to the designated evacuation zone.
The scenic and lighting designers of The Barber of Seville, La bohème, Julius Caesar, and Galileo Galilei and costume designers of La bohème and Julius Caesar are represented by United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 of the IATSE.
All Scenic Artists employed by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis are represented by United Scenic Artists, IATSE Local USA 829, AFL-CIO, CLC.
Performing Artists, Stage Directors, Choreographers, and Stage Managers are represented for collective bargaining purposes by the American Guild of Music Artists, the union of professional singers, dancers, and staging personnel of the United States.
Opera Theatre of Saint Louis is a member of OPERA America. Opera Theatre promotes diversity and inclusiveness and affirms its ADA compliance.
