4 minute read
THURSDAY, JULY 22
THURSDAY, JULY 22, 11 AM | CIA AT COPIA
Audrey Vardanega piano
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FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Nocturne in D-flat major, Op. 27, No. 2 (1837)
Nocturne in B major Op. 62, No. 1 (1846)
Mazurka in C-sharp minor, Op. 50, No. 3 (1842) WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART (1756-1791)
Andante
Rondo: Allegretto
ROBERT SCHUMANN "Träumerei" from Kinderszenen, Op. 15 (“Dreaming” from Scenes from Childhood, 1838) "Einsame Blumen" from Waldszenen, Op. 82 (“Lonely Flowers” from Forest Scenes, 1848-1849)
Concert underwritten by Bouchaine Vineyards, Tatiana and Gerret Copeland, proprietors
A Festival Napa Valley Arts for All program
NOCTURNES & MAZURKA
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Chopin’s teacher Josef Eisner introduced him to the composer John Field, the originator of the nocturne form. Chopin took the form to new heights and depths with his numerous collections in a variety of keys. The nocturne is defined as “a piece of a dreamily romantic or sentimental character without fixed form” (literally, “night music”). While that hardly fulfills a description of Chopin’s nocturnes, it is a start at understanding these wonderful works in which the right hand is vocalist.
Chopin based his some 59 mazurkas on the traditional Polish folk dance but, like other composers such as Béla Bartók who turned to folk music for inspiration, he brought to it new dimensions. This included elaborate chromaticism, complex harmony, counterpoint, fugues, and chorales—all of which we hear in the Op. 50, No. 3 Mazurka performed on this program.
SONATA NO. 15 IN F MAJOR, K. 533
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
At the time of his composition of the Sonata No. 15, Mozart was in Vienna where he was involved in a performance of his opera Don Giovanni. Perhaps it was that association which helped to lend the Sonata its distinct operatic qualities. The work also bears a certain maturity in its strong use of counterpoint in which two or more melodies can be developed simultaneously.
TRAUMEREI & EINSAME BLUMEN
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Central to Schumann’s music is the reflection of his so-called “split personality,” that is, the free and happy Florestan side and the restrained and pensive Eusebius side, so named after the imaginary characters that Schumann created to express his life. How much this reflects his own mental illness resulting in his attempted suicide in 1854 by a leap into the icy Rhine and his death two years later in a mental institution, we shall leave to the psychiatrists. What we need to study is the glorious result of his compositional efforts despite his sufferings.
“Traumerei” (Dreaming) is the seventh in a set of thirteen pieces for piano entitled Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood) that Schumann composed in 1838. It is one of his best-known works, and among its many uses was the opening and closing theme of the 1947 Hollywood film Song of Love.
“Einsame Bluman” (Lonely Flowers) is the third in his Op. 82 set of nine pieces known Waldszenen (Forest Scenes) composed in 1848-49. As its title suggests, the piece is both lyrical and contemplative.
THURSDAY, JULY 22, 6:30 PM | CHARLES KRUG
PUCCINI’S GIANNI SCHICCHI
GIACOMO PUCCINI (1858-1924) Gianni Schicchi (1917-1918) Libretto by Giovacchino Forzano (1883-1970)
With a libretto by Gioachino Foranzo , Gianni Schicchi is Puccini’s one-act comic opera set in Florence in the thirteenth century. Buoso Donati, a rich Florentine has died and left his fortune to a monastery. This loss of fortune disturbs Donati’s family, and Rinuccio, in love with the family’s daughter Lauretta, tries to devise a scheme for acquiring Buoso’s wealth. He does this by calling in the wily Gianni Schicchi who notes that Buoso’s death has not yet been made public. Because of this, Schicchi offers to impersonate the dead man. The news of Buoso’s death is to be spread through Florence after Schicchi, as Buoso, dictated a new will bequeathing Buoco’s fortune to his family. The family calls in a lawyer to draw up the will and, to their horror, Buoso’s fortune has been left to one Gianni Schicchi. In order not to incriminate themselves, the family must remain silent. Nevertheless, when the lawyer leaves, they attack Schicchi who drives them away with a stick. As Rinuccio and Lauaretta express their love, Schicchi remarks that no better use can be made of his new fortune that to help the lovers. The opera premiered in New York’s Metropolitan Opera in December 1918.
Manetti Shrem Opera, underwritten by Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem
Festival Orchestra Napa’s appearance is made possible through a generous gift from Tatiana and Gerret Copeland, proprietors of Bouchaine Vineyards.
Concert is part of Frost at Festival Napa Valley.
Music Director / Conductor Kent Nagano Stage Director Jean-Romain Vesperini Assistant Conductor Christopher James Ray Assistant Stage Director Nicolas Aliaga Garcia
Gianni Schicchi Lauretta Lucas Meachem Mikaela Bennett
Zita Rinuccio Gherardo Nella Gherardino Betto di Signa Simone Marco La Ciesca Jacquelyn Matava Mario Rojas
Conor Brereton Natalia Santaliz Kai Esainko Jose Maldonado Mark Covey Jonathan Patton Simone McIntosh Maestro Spinelloccio Joseph Parrish Ser Amantio di Nicolao Keaton Brown Pinellino Nathan Savant Guccio Carlos Suárez Buoso Donati Slater Penney
Rehearsal pianist Veronika Dafoe
Vocal Coaches
Vocal Instructors
Movement Coach
Donna Racik, Met Opera Ronny Greenberg, San Francisco Opera Noah Lindquist, Chicago Lyric Malcolm MacKenzie, Rhoslyn Jones Slater Penney Production Manager Bethanie Baeyen Assistant Stage Manager Julie Chin Video Designer Anour Brissel Costume Designer Callie Floor Hair & Make-up Designer Lindsay Saier Costume Assistant Jocelyn Leiser Herndon Make-up and Hair Assistant Lyre Alston Carpenter David Gardner Props Designer / Stagehand #1 Kevin Landesman Supertitle Details Nicolas Aliaga Garcia Supertitle Rentals Ted Zoldan Supertitle Operator Veronika Defoe Staging / Lights / Sound Sound Image
Simone McIntosh and Mario Rojas appear as the recipients of the 2021 Manetti Shrem Prize.
