Production Bios

COMPOSER: Georges Bizet LIBRETTISTS: Henri Meilhac, Ludovic Halévy

SUNG IN FRENCH

WORLD PREMIERE:

Opéra-Comique, Paris, 1875.

telling him how she danced for Zuniga. She dances for him now, but when a bugle call is heard, he says he must return to the barracks. Carmen mocks him. To prove his love, José shows her the flower she threw at him and confesses how its scent made him not lose hope during the weeks in prison. She is unimpressed: if he really loved her, he would desert the army and join her in a life of freedom in the mountains. José refuses, and Carmen tells him to leave. Zuniga bursts in, and in a jealous rage José fights with him. The smugglers return and disarm Zuniga. José now has no choice but to join them.

ACT III

Carmen and José quarrel in the smugglers’ mountain hideaway. She admits that her love is fading and advises him to return to live with his mother. When Frasquita and Mercédès turn the cards to tell their fortunes, they foresee love and riches for themselves, but Carmen’s cards spell death — for her and for José. Micaëla appears, frightened by the mountains and afraid to meet the woman who has turned José into a criminal. She hides when a shot rings out. José has fired at an intruder, who turns out to be Escamillo. He tells José that he has come to find Carmen, and the two men fight. The smugglers separate them, and Escamillo invites everyone, Carmen in particular, to his next bullfight. When he has left, Micaëla emerges and begs José to return home. He agrees when he learns that his mother is dying, but before he leaves, he warns Carmen that they will meet again.

ACT IV

Back in Seville, the crowd cheers the bullfighters on their way to the arena. Carmen arrives on Escamillo’s arm, and Frasquita and Mercédès warn her that José is nearby. Unafraid, she waits outside the entrance as the crowds enter the arena. José appears and begs Carmen to forget the past and start a new life with him. She calmly tells him that their affair is over: she was born free, and free she will die. The crowd is heard cheering Escamillo. José keeps trying to win Carmen back. She takes off his ring and throws it at his feet before heading for the arena. José stabs her to death.

K eturah Director

S ti ann

Keturah Stickann’s directing and choreographic work has been seen in countless opera houses across the United States and Canada, as well as in Chile, Japan, France, Germany, Hungary and Australia. A champion of new American opera, she has directed and choreographed multiple works by Jake Heggie & Gene Scheer, as well as works by Robert Aldridge, Anthony Davis, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jennifer Higdon, Laura Kaminsky and Jose “Pepe” Martinez. Recent productions by Ms. Stickann include As One (Eugene Opera), Candide (Michigan Opera Theatre), Rusalka (Madison Opera), It’s A Wonderful Life (San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera), Pelléas et Mélisande (West Edge Opera), Orfeo ed Euridice (Florida Grand Opera), Turandot (San Diego Opera), Norma (Opera Southwest), L’Orfeo (Monteverdi orchestrated by Respighi, Chautauqua Opera), Lucia di Lammermoor (Opera Colorado), Don Quichotte (San Diego Opera) and The Seven Deadly Sins and Pagliacci (Virginia Opera). Before becoming a director, Ms. Stickann was a classically trained dancer, performing in opera and concert dance around the country.

J ennifer J ohnson C ano Mezzo-Soprano Carmen

A naturally gifted singer noted for her commanding stage presence and profound artistry, Jennifer Johnson Cano has garnered critical acclaim. Highlights of the 2018-2019 season include her role debut as Offred in Poul Ruders’s The Handmaid’s Tale with Boston Lyric Opera and appearances as Emilia in Otello and Meg Page in Falstaff at the Metropolitan Opera. She collaborated with the Pittsburgh and Cincinnati Symphonies and Colorado Springs Philharmonic. In chamber music, she appeared at Chamber Music of Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and joined tenor Matthew Polenzani and pianist Julius Drake at Carnegie Hall. Ms. Cano will also be part of two world premiere performances this season: Paul Moravec’s A New Country and Gregg Kallor’s Sketches from Frankenstein Suite.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Ms. Cano has given over 130 performances at The Metropolitan Opera, with recent roles including Bersi, Emilia, Hansel, Meg Page, Mercédès, Nicklausse, Wellgunde and Waltraute. Highlights of other recent operatic appearances have included Carmen and Donna Elvira with Boston Lyric, The Sharp-Eared with the Cleveland Orchestra, and Orphée with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Des Moines Metro Opera. She has recently worked with an impressive array of conductors, such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Franz Welser-Möst, Gustavo Dudamel, Manfred Honeck, Marin Alsop, Robert Spano, Louis Langrée, Osmo Vänskä and Sir Andrew Davis.

R afael D avila Tenor Don José

With an international career that has expanded over 20 years to include 60 roles, tenor Rafael Davila’s recent important engagements include Don José in Carmen with the Metropolitan Opera, Renato Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu (and under Maestro Placido Domingo’s baton for Opera de Valencia in Spain), the premiere of Jimmy Lopez’s opera Bel Canto with the Chicago Lyric Opera (where he created the role of General Alfredo), Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci for Sarasota Opera, Teatro San Carlo in Naples and for the Macerata Festival in Italy, and Don Carlo, Carmen, Norma and La forza del destino for Washington National Opera.

For the 2020-21 season, Rafael will return to the Metropolitan Opera to sing the leading tenor role in performances of Verdi’s Nabucco. Other highlights in his career include the title role in Verdi’s Otello for Sarasota Opera and Teatro de la Opera in Puerto Rico, Radames in Aida for Opera de Valencia and Manitoba Opera in Canada, Dick Johnson in La fanciulla del West for Michigan Opera Theatre and Minnesota Opera, Manrico in Il trovatore for Opera New Jersey and Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Z a hary Baritone Escamillo

N elson

Zachary Nelson, a native of Annapolis, Maryland, has been praised for his rich and powerful baritone, as well as his ability to embody dramatic and comic characters on the operatic stage. Mr. Nelson’s 2019-2020 season features numerous house debuts, including this performance, Chicago Opera Theater as Doug Hansen in Everest, and Fort Worth Opera as Marcello in La bohème. He also returns to Palm Beach Opera as Ping in Turandot, and Des Moines Metro Opera as the title role in Sweeney Todd.

The baritone’s 2018-2019 season included a return to Lyric Opera of Chicago as a soloist in their widely attended annual Millennium Park concert, followed by performances of Marcello in La bohème. Additionally, he joined Arizona Opera as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro and returned to Santa Fe Opera as Marcello in La bohème. Other notable performances include Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Santa Fe Opera, Germont in La traviata with Lyric Opera of Virginia, Angelotti in Tosca and Mandryka (cover) in Arabella with Santa Fe Opera, Quinault in Adriana Lecouvreur with Opera Orchestra of New York, Sciarrone in Tosca with The Glimmerglass Festival, and a soloist in Steven Blier’s “Killer B’s” with the New York Festival of Song.

S arah J ane M Micaëla M ahon

Praised by Opera News as having “a golden sound,” New Orleans native Sarah Jane McMahon performs with the world’s top opera companies and symphony orchestras. Recently, she performed as Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire at the historic Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, one of the most prestigious opera houses in the world. Sarah Jane has appeared with the Los Angeles Opera, Dallas Opera and the Washington Concert Opera, among many others. With the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center, she performed in Purcell’s King Arthur and as Galatea in Acis and Galatea, the latter earning her the coveted Kolozsvár Award. She also appeared as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance for which The New York Times called her “the most polished and flexible singer in the cast.” Other roles performed include Marguerite (Faust), Violetta (La traviata), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Musetta (La bohème), Maria (West Side Story), Gilda (Rigoletto) and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro). Concert credits include the San Francisco Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Cleveland Pops, Colorado Symphony, the Portland Symphony and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a summa cum laude graduate of both Loyola and Yale Universities, performs frequently with Lyrica Baroque and serves as a principal cantor at the St. Louis Cathedral. For more information, please visit: www.sarahjanemcmahon.com.

I van G riffin Bass-Baritone Zuniga

Ivan Griffin has delighted audiences in the United States, Europe and South Africa in concert, operatic and musical theater performances. During the 2016 fortieth anniversary celebration of Spoleto Festival USA, he appeared in two historic productions: he sang the role of Robbins in Porgy and Bess and The King in the world premiere of Afram ou La Belle Swita, an operetta by Charleston’s native son Edmund Thornton Jenkins. He was recently featured in the title role of Ulysses in Opera Louisiane’s re-telling of Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria.

A familiar face to New Orleans audiences, Mr. Griffin has appeared with the New Orleans Opera in such productions as Tosca (Cesare Angelotti), Madama Butterfly (Il Commissario), Der Vampyr (Toms Blunt), La bohème (Benoit), La traviata (Dr. Grenvil), Carmen (Zuniga) and Tabasco (Grand Vizier).

He has also sung the roles of Lucien Aubry in Minette Fontaine by William Grant Still and Rodolphe Desdunes in Les Lions de la Reconstruction, both with OperaCréole. He has been a featured soloist with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería and Orquesta Sinfónica de México, South Bend Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic, Nashville Symphony, South Carolina Philharmonic, Toledo Symphony, Symphony of Southeast Texas and Flint Symphony. 34

D ennis J esse Baritone Le Dancaïre

Dennis Jesse has performed in a variety of genres both nationally and Internationally. Beginning on the musical theater stage, he moved to operetta and then a twenty-year career in grand opera. He frequents the stages of many of America’s opera houses. This season, he will appear in productions with New Orleans Opera, Opéra Louisiane, Sinfonia da Camara and Pensacola Opera. On the concert stage, he will appear with the Acadiana Symphony, Lawrence University and with the Pensacola Choral Society. On the recital stage, he will appear at Stephen F. Austin State University and Young Harris College. Recently, he has been seen in productions with Central City Opera, Opera Ithaca and Opera Orlando. Mr. Jesse is an Associate Professor at LSU and is the General and Artistic Director of a summer abroad program sponsored by LSU in Orvieto and Rome, Italy titled Opera Festival di Roma. For eleven years, he has served on the international faculty of La Musica Lirica, an intensive summer abroad program for young opera singers.

T yrone C ha bers, Tenor Le Remendado II

Recently making his Swiss debut with L’Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Tyrone Chambers sang Joe in Gershwin’s Blue Monday. Roles include Diron Hachard in William Grant Still’s Minette Fontaine, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, King Nebuchadnezzar in The Burning Fiery Furnace, Gastone in La traviata, Hans in Schwarzwaldmädel, and most recently Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, the title role in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, and a concert of Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer at Castle Henfenfeld. As principal tenor and founding artist in New Orleans-based OperaCréole, Chambers created the role of Jean Torrès in Lucien Lambert’s La Flamenca and Basile Barès in a new work entitled Les Lions de la Reconstruction.

Mr. Chambers has been in Germany since Summer 2017 and frequently performs around the country. The Süddeutsche Zeitung heralded him for singing with “tenorissimo…, fine in the heights, elegantly gliding on the tempi waves and in forte with powerful dedication.” He recently toured The Andrew Lloyd Webber Musical Gala throughout western Europe and Scandinavia. The 2019-2020 season includes concerts in Brazil, in Germany at Papageno Musiktheater am Palmengarten in Frankfurt, and with Opera et Cetera. He returns home this season for the role of Le Remendado and Monostatos in The Magic Flute. In February 2020, Mr. Chambers will premiere the role of Russell Davenport in Dan Shore’s Freedom Ride at Chicago Opera Theater.

S pen er Baritone Moralès

R ei h an

Most recently Spencer performed Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Shreveport Opera and Central City Opera, 1st Mate in Billy Budd with Central City Opera, and Wagner in Faust with the New Orleans Opera Association. Equally at home with operetta, Mr. Reichman was invited in the summer of 2016 to Harrogate, England to perform in Patience at the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival. Upcoming engagements include performances with the Shreveport Opera, the New Orleans Opera Association and being a Mary Ragland Emerging Artist with Nashville Opera in the Spring of 2020. Mr. Reichman has completed apprenticeships with Central City Opera, Shreveport Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, the Crested Butte Music Festival, Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music Opera Boot Camp and Opera in the Ozarks. Competition wins include twice being named a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and receiving an encouragement award in 2016. Mr. Reichman holds a master’s degree from Loyola University, where he studied with Luretta Bybee, and an undergraduate degree from Texas State University.

H aley W hitney Soprano Frasquita

Haley Whitney, a rising soprano from New Orleans, has enthralled audiences with her elegant lyric singing and sparkling theatricality. She most recently performed with the New Orleans Opera’s chamber opera series as Woman I in the regional premiere of Lera Auerbach’s The Blind, and as Céphise is Rameau’s Pygmalion. Other roles include Blanche de la Force in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites and the Youth in Tom Cipullo’s After Life in a featured performance for the 2018 National Opera Association convention. Previous roles include Rose Maurrant in Weill’s Street Scene, Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen and Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica. As a concert soloist, she performed with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra in Bach’s Easter Oratorio. Past performances of sacred works include Poulenc’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, and Kodaly’s Missa Brevis, in which she was a featured soloist in a stirring collaboration with New Orleans Opera and the José Limón Dance Company, presented by the New Orleans Ballet Association. She is a proud graduate of NOCCA, where she studied with Phyllis Treigle, and recently received a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Loyola University in the studio of renowned mezzo-soprano Luretta Bybee.

C laire S ha leton Mezzo-Soprano Mercédès

Claire Shackleton, mezzo-soprano, has been praised for her “ripe mezzo of polished sheen and warmth.” A champion of new music, Claire has participated in the workshop debut performances of Ben Moore’s Enemies, a Love Story and Robert Paterson’s Three Way. Claire also debuted the song cycles Letters to Santa by Logan Skelton and Stacy Garrop’s The Book of American Poetry Volume III. Last season, Claire enjoyed debuting the title role in Glyn Bailey’s How to Kill a Diva as well as performing Eriks Ešenvalds’ new St. Luke Passion.

Standard roles performed by Claire include Hermia-A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Maddalena-Rigoletto, Composer-Ariadne auf Naxos, Prince Charming-Cendrillon, Cherubino and Marcellina-Le Nozze di Figaro, Dorabella-Così fan tutte, Annio-La Clemenza di Tito, Siébel-Faust, Angelina-La Cenerentola, and Dinah-Trouble in Tahiti. These roles and others were performed with Central City Opera, New Orleans Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, Austin Lyric Opera, Kentucky Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Pacific Opera Project, Opera Louisiane, Amarillo Opera, Pine Mountain Music Festival, JPAS and Ohio Light Opera.

Claire received her master’s degree in music from the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati. She received her bachelor’s degree in music from Loyola University New Orleans, where she is currently on the voice faculty and directing opera.

P eter G abb Lillas Pastia

Peter Gabb is a character actor and is excited to be playing Pastia again for the New Orleans Opera, where he has also played Frosch the drunken jailer in Die Fledermaus and Doc in West Side Story. Other roles in other theaters include Erronius in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, the Rabbi in Fiddler on the Roof, the Custodian and Caesar Rodney in 1776, Osgood in Some Like it Hot, and many others. His most recent film roles include the Cab Driver in Treme and Charlie the Pawnbroker in Green Book.