Don Giovanni
UBC OPERA 2019/20 SEASON
NOV 2, 3, 8, 9, 2019
JAN 30, 31, FEB 1, 2, 2020
JUNE 13, 14, 19, 20, 2020
The Tales of Hoffmann
The Passenger
The Journey to Reims
Jacques Offenbach Composer Jules Barbier Librettist Old Auditorium Directed by Nancy Hermiston Conducted by Leslie Dala
Mieczysław Weinberg Composer Alexander Medvedev Librettist Chan Centre for the Performing Arts Directed by Nancy Hermiston Conducted by David Agler
Gioachino Rossini Composer Luigi Balocchi Librettist Old Auditorium Directed by Nancy Hermiston Conducted by Gordon Gerrard
Opera Teas
The Singer Behind the Song
Opera Ball
Botanical Garden and Old Auditorium Sep 29, Nov 24, 2019 March 1, April 5, 2020
Old Auditorium Luca Pisaroni — Saturday, October 19, 2019 Sondra Radvanovsky — Thursday, October 31, 2019 Jane Archibald — Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Chan Centre for the Performing Arts March 6, 2020
Additional Special Event information at
www.ubcopera.com
Box Office: 604.822.6725
UBCOPERA presents
Don Giovanni Sung in Italian with English surtitles Opera in Two Acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte
June 20, 21, 22 at 7.30 p.m. | June 23 at 2 p.m. Conductor – Leslie Dala Director – Nancy Hermiston Lighting Design – Jeremy Baxter Set Coordinator – Alessia Carpoca Costume Consultant – Parvin Mirhady Sets & Costumes – Estates Theatre, Prague UBC Opera Ensemble with members of the Vancouver Opera Orchestra There will be one 20-minute intermission after Act One. This production is made possible by the David Spencer Endowment Encouragement Fund We acknowledge that the University of British Columbia is situated on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Musqueam people.
A Message from the Director FROM MOZART’S HOUSE TO OURS We are so proud to present this production of Don Giovanni. It is almost ten years ago that we opened the newly-restored Old Auditorium with this production, which originates from the Estates (or “Mozart”) Theatre in Prague – this opera’s birthplace. The set and costumes evoke the same spirit of the first performance held on October 29, 1787. Almost 232 years later, we are fortunate to present this opera in our intimate European-style theatre. It is not only the set and costumes that recall the premiere: the first performer of the infamous Giovanni, Luigi Bassi, was only 21 at the time and Teresa Saporoto – the first Anna – was only 20! The past and present appeal of Mozart’s music has always been its youthful exuberance – a joy matched in our young singers’ performances. While Don Giovanni faces a tragic end in the opera, Mozart and da Ponte’s brilliant music and libretto make the infamous rogue immortal. Mozart’s glorious music continues to bring new life into the Old Auditorium and inspires a new generation of talented young UBC singers. Thank you so much for supporting UBC Opera! Yours truly,
ABOUT MOZART AND DON GIOVANNI (Excerpted from Jiri Kotous, Art Director of Opera Mozart 2006): “Prague received a new Mozart opera with indescribable excitement,” writes the librettist Lorenzo da Ponte in his memoirs. “Before the time of Don Giovanni, just one thing was played, sung, or whistled in Prague: Figaro.” Mozart was invited to come to Prague and arrived in January 1787 together with some friends and his wife, Costanza. Mozart conducted performances of Figaro, gave concerts in the halls of aristocratic palaces and the Estates or Mozart Theatre. Crowned with laurels, Mozart returned to Vienna with a contract for another opera in his pocket: Don Giovanni. Mozart asked Lorenzo da Ponte, his great collaborator on Figaro, to write the libretto for his new opera. The best Mozart libretti were written by da Ponte – Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte. Mozart was eager to start working and return to the city which had received him so warmly. The opera was finished at the last minute October 28, 1787, and premiered at the Mozart Theatre October 29 – the next day! It was a triumph for the composer, who also conducted the premiere, as well as for the whole company. Great singers have always loved singing Mozart all over the world. But Don Giovanni will forever be associated with its birthplace in Prague. Singers appearing on the stage of the Mozart Theatre have included Cesare Siepi, Gabriel Bacquier, Sherill Milnes, Thomas Hampson and for Mozart’s 250th Anniversary, Canadian Gerald Finley.
The Cast* Don Giovanni Leporello Commendatore Donna Anna Don Ottavio Donna Elvira Zerlina Masetto Elvira’s Maid Don Giovanni’s Servants Wenches Demons
JUNE 20 & 22 JUNE 21 & 23 Luka Kawabata** Stephen Duncan Matthew Kim Matthew McLellan Liam Robertson William Constable Leila Kirves Sarah Anderson-Caulfield Ian McCloy Dae Hyun Justin Cho Taryn Plater Irem Ince Sydney Frelick Magdalena How Hossein Abrishamkar Philip Wing Rachel Park Rachel Park Turgut Akmete, Thomas Brosky, Brian DeLong Cassie Chang, Erika Pryer Maya Goell, Amanda Na, Clara Wiens
UBC Opera Ensemble Chorus: SOPRANOS: Cassie Chang, Maya Goell, Amanda Na, Rachel Park, Erika Pryer MEZZO-SOPRANOS: Neusha Amir-Rahmani, Juliana Cook, Clara Wiens TENORS: Turgut Akmete, Jackson Allen, Ian Cleary, Christopher Nakatani BARITONES: Hossein Abrishamkar, Thomas Brosky, William Constable, Brian DeLong, Rafael Laurindo, Liam Robertson, Kurt Ward-Theiss, Philip Wing
UBC OPERA DON GIOVANNI 2010. PHOTO: JAY LEE
*All cast and chorus are subject to change **Appears with the permission of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association
Synopsis ACT ONE At night, outside the Commendatore’s palace, Leporello grumbles about his duties as servant to Don Giovanni. The masked Don appears, pursued by Donna Anna, the Commendatore’s daughter, whom he tried to seduce. Hearing Anna’s cries for help, the Commendatore himself comes to her aid. In the ensuing duel, Giovanni kills the Commendatore. Anna returns with her fiancé, Don Ottavio, and upon finding her father dead swears vengeance on the assassin. At dawn, Don Giovanni flirts with a high-strung traveller outside a tavern, who turns out to be Donna Elvira. Elvira, recently rejected by the Don, has followed him; he escapes by leaving Leporello to distract her by reciting Don Giovanni’s infamous “book of conquests.” Peasants arrive celebrating the nuptials of their friends Zerlina and Masetto. Giovanni enters and pursues Zerlina, in turn angering Masetto, who is removed by Leporello. Alone with Zerlina, the Don applies his charm, but Elvira appears and leads Zerlina away. Just then, Anna and Ottavio arrive and ask Don Giovanni for aid in their search; Elvira quickly returns and tries to convince them of the Don’s true character. As Giovanni takes his leave, he kisses Donna Anna’s hand and speaks softly to her. She recognizes the tone of his voice as that of the man who accosted her and subsequently murdered her father. Outside the palace, at a party arranged by Giovanni, Zerlina begs Masetto to forgive her. Masetto hides when the Don appears, revealing himself when Giovanni corners Zerlina. After a brief confrontation with Masetto, Giovanni leads the couple into his palace. Elvira, Anna, and Ottavio arrive in masks, intent on punishing Don Giovanni for his crimes. As everyone joins the banquet, Don Giovanni calls for a dance. Leporello distracts Masetto while Giovanni draws Zerlina into the garden. When the girl’s cries for help put him on the spot, Giovanni tries to blame Leporello – but no one is convinced. Elvira, Anna, and Ottavio unmask and all confront Giovanni, who barely escapes.
— Intermission — ACT TWO Under Elvira’s balcony, Leporello exchanges cloaks with Giovanni, leaving the disguised Don free to serenade Elvira’s maid. When Masetto passes with a band of armed peasants bent on punishing Giovanni, the disguised rake gives them false directions and beats up Masetto. Zerlina arrives and tenderly consoles him. In a passageway, Elvira and Leporello are caught unawares by Anna, Ottavio, Zerlina, and Masetto. Mistaking servant for master, they threaten Leporello. Frightened, Leporello eventually unmasks himself and escapes. When Anna departs, Ottavio affirms his faith in their love.
Leporello catches up with his master in a cemetery – the cemetery where the Commendatore is buried. A voice from a statue warns Giovanni of his doom. The Don sees that it is indeed the Commendatore’s statue and proposes that Leporello invite him to dinner. He reluctantly stammers an invitation, and the statue accepts. The two leave the cemetery, Leporello terrified, the Don defiant. In the garden of her house, Anna, still mourning her father’s death, puts off Ottavio’s offer of marriage until her father is avenged. Hurt by this perceived rejection, Ottavio accuses her of needless cruelty towards him. Anna, shocked by his response, assures him of her love and devotion. As Leporello is serving Giovanni’s dinner, Elvira rushes in and begs the Don, whom she still loves, to reform. Unrepentant, he cruelly rejects her and contemptuously turns her away. Her sudden screams announce the arrival of the Commendatore’s statue. Even in the face of death, Giovanni boldly refuses the statue’s warnings to repent. As flames engulf his house, Don Giovanni is dragged to Hell. Anna, Ottavio, Elvira, Zerlina, and Masetto arrive, determined to see the Don punished for his actions. A shocked Leporello informs them of the Don’s fate; satisfied, they all discuss their plans for the future. Joyously, they call all good people to sing together: “Such is the end of those who do evil; wicked people will die as they lived.”
Prague’s Estates (or “Mozart”) Theatre, where the first performance of Don Giovanni was held on October 29, 1787.
Nancy Hermiston, O.C., Director Canadian-born lyric coloratura soprano Nancy Hermiston has performed throughout Europe and North America. Parallel to her extensive singing career, Ms. Hermiston worked as voice teacher, stage director, and Co-coordinator with the University of Toronto’s Opera and Performance Divisions. In 1995, she joined the University of British Columbia’s School of Music as the Head of the Voice and Opera Divisions, where she established the UBC Opera Ensemble. Professor Hermiston is also a favourite guest for master classes throughout Canada, the United States, China, and Germany. Her UBC Opera Ensemble tours regularly to the Czech Republic, Germany, China, Ontario, and throughout British Columbia. Ms. Hermiston has also appeared as Stage Director with Vancouver Opera and Regina Opera. In addition, Prof. Hermiston has been the UBC University Marshal since 2004. UBC has awarded Prof. Hermiston the Dorothy Somerset Award (2008) and a Killam Teaching prize (2010). She also received an Opera Canada Rubie Award for her contributions to opera in Canada (2011). Ms. Hermiston was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in December 2013. In 2017, she was awarded the BC Award of Excellence (Canadian Music Centre) and the Honorary Alumnus Award (Alumni UBC). In 2018, she received the Faculty of Arts 2017/18 Dean of Arts Award for her outstanding contributions to UBC’s creative research, teaching, and service to the scholarly and broader community; and in Fall 2018 Ms. Hermiston was inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame.
Vancouver Opera Guild Escorted Opera Tours WEXFORD FESTIVAL OPERA Wexford (5 nights), Dublin (2 nights), Cork (2 nights), October 27–November 5, 2019 • Don Quichotte (Massenet), Dorilla in Tempe (Antonio Vivaldi), La Cucina (Andrew Synnott) & Adina (Gioachino Rossini), The Veiled Prophet (Charles Villiers Stanford) in concert plus lunchtime recitals and afternoon short operas • Tosca (Puccini) in concert at the Cork Opera House NEW YORK METROPOLITAN OPERA March 23–29, 2020 • Der Fliegende Hollander (Wagner) with Sir Bryn Terfel, La Cenerentola (Rossini) with Tara Errault and Javier Camarena, Tosca (Puccini) with Anna Netrebko, Werther (Massenet) with Piotr Beczala, Joyce DiDonato and Etienne Dupuis For more information, please contact Lis Dawson at 604-922-8008 or Genny MacLean (Great Expeditions) at 604-738-5535
Leslie Dala, Conductor Leslie Dala is the Music Director of the Vancouver Bach Choir, the Associate Conductor and Chorus Director of Vancouver Opera, and the Music Director Emeritus of the Vancouver Academy of Music Symphony Orchestra. He has worked at the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Canadian Opera Company, the Santa Fe Opera, l’Opera National du Rhin, Edmonton Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria and Saskatoon Opera and he is a frequent guest conductor with the UBC Opera Ensemble, the COSI Program in Sulmona Italy and Soundstreams Canada. Recent highlights include the world premiere of The River of Light by Brian Current during the Vancouver Opera Festival as well as Rossini’s La Cenerentola. In the fall of 2018 he made his debut at the Wexford Festival in Ireland where he conducted William Bolcolm’s opera Dinner at Eight as well as Max Richter’s The Four Seasons Recomposed. Other recent highlights include the Verdi Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Vancouver Bach Choir; the UBC Opera Ensemble’s productions of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and Puccini’s Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi; and the world premiere production of The Overcoat, an Operatic Tailoring by James Rolfe and Morris Panych, co-produced by Vancouver Opera, Tapestry Opera, and Canadian Stage Theatre.
UBC Opera Ensemble The University of British Columbia Opera Ensemble was founded by Canadian lyric coloratura, Nancy Hermiston, in 1995. Beginning with a core of seven performers, Ms. Hermiston has built the program to a 90-member company. The Ensemble performs three main productions at UBC every season, several Opera Tea Concerts, and a series of Singer Behind the Song events featuring international stars who work with Ensemble students. As well, the Ensemble has several engagements with local community partners such as the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Opera, and Bard on the Beach. In addition, the Ensemble travels each year to the Czech Republic to gain valuable European performance experience. Frequently they appear in concert with the Plzen Opera Orchestra, and they are regular guests at the Nürnberg Opera House for their Musikalischen Damen Teas (founded by Prof Hermiston in 1985). They have also given several concerts in Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu, China. The Ensemble has also toured throughout B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Ontario. The Ensemble’s mission is to provide an outstanding performance and academic education for young, gifted opera singers, preparing them for international careers. Past mainstage productions have included Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Die Gärtnerin aus Liebe, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Suor Angelica, La Bohème, Dido and Aeneas, The Bartered Bride, Manon, Eugene Onegin, Florence: the Lady with the Lamp, Dreamhealer, Falstaff , Don Giovanni, Cendrillon, Albert Herring, the Western Canadian Premiere of Harry Somer’s Louis Riel, The Crucible, Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), Rusalka, Così fan tutte, Dialogues des Carmélites, Carmen, The Tales of Hoffmann, The Florentine Straw Hat, La Traviata, A Night in Venice (Eine Nacht in Venedig), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Consul, Orfeo ed Euridice, La Cenerentola, Il Tabarro and Gianni Schicchi, and Silent Night by Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell.
Vancouver Opera Orchestra The Vancouver Opera Orchestra was established in 1977, replacing an orchestra made up of members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Comprised of the region’s leading freelance players, the VO Orchestra has developed into a fine ensemble that has taken the specialized and demanding art of pit performance to a very high level. Several of the current roster of musicians were in the pit for the orchestra’s inaugural performances, in 1977, of Massenet’s Le Roi de Lahore, starring Joan Sutherland and conducted by founding Music Director Richard Bonynge. There have since been two music directors: David Agler (1992–1999) and Jonathan Darlington (2002–2018). VIOLIN I
BASS
HORN
Angela Cavadas* (Concert Master) Domagoj Ivanovic (Assistant Concert Master) Peter Krysa
Les Kasprzak*
Laurel Spencer* Nick Anderson
VIOLIN II
Patricia Armstrong* Andrea Siradze** Evelyn Creaser
FLUTE/PICCOLO
Brenda Fedoruk* OBOE
David Owen* CLARINET
Mary Backun* Michelle Anderson
VIOLA
BASSOON
Marie-Claude Brûnet* Barbara Irschick**
Ingrid Chiang*
TRUMPET
Tom Shorthouse* TIMPANI
Philip Crewe* ORCHESTRA MANAGER/ STAGE MANAGER
Jim Littleford ORCHESTRA LIBRARIAN
Tom Shorthouse * denotes principal ** denotes assistant principal
VIOLONCELLO
Min Jee Yoon* Isidora Nojkovic**
Special Thanks David Spencer Endowment Fund The Wall Family Mohammed Faris Vancouver Opera Guild Robert Dales Martha Lou Henley Charitable Foundation Judith and Graham Forst
Dean of Arts, Gage Averill Assistant Dean, Gerald Vanderwoude SOM Director, Alexander Fisher SOM Administrative Assistant, Isabel Da Silva
Stephen Quigley and Colborne Architects Vancouver Opera Parvin Mirhady Catherine Alchenbrack and Suzanne Poohkay Grant Windsor Lynn Burton, Properties, Theatre UBC
Production Team DIRECTOR
WARDROBE
OPERA LIBRARIAN
Nancy Hermiston
Jillian Clow (Head) Andrea Wyllie (Co-Head) Juliana Cook Simran Claire Amanda Na Sarah Sum Tessa Waddell
Sydney Frelick
CONDUCTOR
Leslie Dala LIGHTING DESIGNER
Jeremy Baxter LIGHTING OPERATOR
Erika Champion SET COORDINATOR
Alessia Carpoca
BOX OFFICE DIRECTOR
Tony Koelwyn STUDENT BOX OFFICE DIRECTOR
Luka Kawabata OPERA MARKETING DIRECTOR
PROGRAMME
William Constable Magdalena How
Leila Kirves TECHNICAL DIRECTOR/ CARPENTER
PROGRAMME COVER ILLUSTRATION
Grant Windsor
CHOREOGRAPHER
Lyndsey Britten
Roan Shankaruk
STUDENT TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHERS
PROGRAM PRINTING
Philip Wing Justin Cho
Ancan Marketing
OPERA COACHES
Miles Linklater
David Boothroyd Richard Epp Michael Onwood
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT
STAGE MANAGER
Sheila Munn* HAIRDRESSING & WIGS
Elke Englicht
STUDENT LIGHTING TECHNICIANS GRAPHIC DESIGN
Michael Kerns EVENTS MANAGER
Francesca Corrado STAGE AND EVENTS MANAGERS
William Constable Magdalena How
MAKE-UP
Carmen Garcia
SURTITLES
Jason Klippenstein
PROPS
Lynn Burton Jacqueline Wax
Matthew McLellan (Head) Ian Cleary
SURTITLES OPERATOR
Jason Klippenstein
COSTUME CONSULTANT
Parvin Mirhady
*Appears with the permission of the Canadian Actors’ Equity Association
Brian DeLong Matthew Kim ASSISTANT TECHNICAL DIRECTORS
Jackson Allen Jason Klippenstein Jacqueline Wax FRONT OF HOUSE
Sydney Frelick Magdalena How
The Taming of the Shrew Andrew McNee & Jennifer Lines Photo: Emily Cooper
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