PRESENTS
UTRGVOPERATHEATER
THURSDAY,APRIL11TH,7PM
SUNDAY,APRIL14TH,3PM
TSCPERFORMINGARTSCENTER,BROWNSVILLE
PROGRAM
UTRGV Opera Theatre Presents:
Intimate Entanglements: A Night of One-Acts
Dr. Shayna Isaacs, director
Dr. Kenneth Saxon, piano
April Music and Libretto by Monica Pearce
United States premiere
Lucy: Xitlaly Garcia
Dream Lucy: Kristen Salinas
Peter: Ramon Curzio
Dr. Sean Taylor, conductor
Dr. Jonathan Guist, clarinet
Maria Ochoa, violin
Victoria Zamora, Assistant Director
Thirst Music by T.J. Rubin, Libretto by Laura Barati
Texas premiere
Intermission
Jill: Victoria Zamora
Jaqueline: Xitlaly Garcia
A Hand of Bridge
Samuel Barber (1910-1981)
Geraldine: Kristen Salinas/Victoria Zamora^
Sally: Katy Quellhorst/Angela Leal^
Bill: Jonathan Gonzales
David: Hector Duran
Ramon Curzio, Assistant Director
Trial by Jury
PROGRAM
W.S. Gilbert (1836-1911)
Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900)
The Learned Judge: Julian Niño
Edwin, the Defendant: Jonathan Gonzales/Isaac Mancillas^
Angelina, the Plaintiff:
Jaquelynn Gordillo/Madelyn Cardoza^
The Counsel for the Plaintiff: Joanna Escobedo/Ramon Curzio^
The Usher: Eric Robledo-Peña/Hector Duran^
The Foreman of the Jury: Ivan Melendez
Bridesmaids: Casey Edge, Larissa Chavez, Maria Avila, Jocelyn Rocha, Yazmin Cepeda, Katy Quellhorst People of the Jury, Barristers, and Public- Juan De La Torre, Jacob Leo Leal, Victoria Zamora, Angela Leal, Xitlaly Garcia, Kristen Salinas, Jonathan Gonzales, Isaac Mancillas, Taylor Perez, Jesus Guevara, Tristan Landgraf, Jaquelynn Gordillo, Madelyn Cardoza, Eric Robledo-Peña, Hector Duran, Joanna Escobedo, Ramon Curzio
^denotes Sunday cast
PROGRAM NOTES
Synopses
April
Lucy is riding her bike up the Don Valley trail, as the sun is setting. She is taking the long, scenic way home to take some time to think and worry about an upcoming life change, and procrastinating facing her partner In a dream, she meets Peter for the first time - she, cautious and polite, he, all-in with over-the-top friendliness The same exact scene plays in summer, then replays in fall and then in the winter Through the journey home, she is coming to terms with a decision. April was written for the Bicycle Opera Project and Toy Piano Composers collaboration travelogue.
Thirst
A 10-minute chamber opera for two femmes, Thirst is a magical realist exploration of intimacy and the tension between one’s desire for partnership and one’s desire for independence. The opera begins with Jill waking up gasping next to her girlfriend Jacqueline in the middle of the night. In the magical journey that ensues, the two are forced to face the unspoken tensions in their relationship. This dreamy opera offers queer representation at its most realistic - magic and all.
A Hand of Bridge
David, a businessman, and his wife Geraldine play bridge with their neighbors Bill, a lawyer, and his wife Sally. After a few moments of game play, time stops and the audience becomes privy to the inner thoughts of Sally, who dreams of owning a new hat. Time resumes and the game continues until Bill reveals to the audience his obsessive thoughts of his lover, Cymbeline. After more game play, time stops again to reveal the heart-rendering thoughts of Geraldine, who sings the now-famous aria, “Who is there to love me?” lamenting the inevitable loss of her mother.
PROGRAM NOTES
Synopses (cont’d)
Finally, the audience becomes privy to the inner workings of David’s mind, which are much darker than his wife and neighbors would suspect.
Trial by Jury
The case before the court is a breach of promise of marriage. Angelina is suing Edwin for having gone back on his promise to marry her, and she wants “damages” — that is, compensatory payment. Edwin, the defendant, arrives in a huff. The members of the public and jurors take an instant dislike to him, despite the court usher’s insistence that the trial must proceed without any kind of bias. The judge recounts how he worked his way to his prominent position, assisted by a rich attorney whose “elderly, ugly daughter” he pretended to woo and then later “threw over.”
Angelina, the plaintiff, arrives with her bridesmaids in tow and melts the hearts of the jury. Seeing the way things are going, Edwin offers to marry Angelina this very day, if he can marry one of the bridesmaids tomorrow. The judge has no objections, but Angelina’s counsel points out that this would be “burglary!” Stymied for a solution, the entire company can do nothing but sing.
Angelina makes a final heart-wrenching plea for a substantial sum to make up for her heartache. Edwin claims that he is such an unpleasant chap that she’s well off without him. In desperation, he goes so far as to suggest that he might even “thrash her” when he is drunk. The judge suggests plying him with liquor to test that theory but is overruled by the rest of the court (except Edwin). Finally, the judge, who has an eye for an attractive woman, comes up with a solution to the case which satisfies everyone.
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5 0 % o f f e v e n t s
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$ 2 5 / m o n t h
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E d i n b u r g : ( 9 5 6 ) 6 6 5 - 3 8 8 1 B r o w n s v i l l e : ( 9 5 6 ) 8 8 2 - 7 0 2 5
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