Toi Toi Toi 2018 - Portland Opera

A MAGAZINE FOR PORTLAND OPERA / 2018 ISSUE

toi toi toi

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CONTENTS 7 Toi Toi Toi

PORTLAND OPER A 9 Toi Toi Toi! 10 Meet Portland Opera 17 Message from the General Director 19 Message from the Board President 74 Resident Artists 76 Meet the Season Artists 82 Orchestra & Chorus 87 Production Staff 93 Staff & Board

2018 SE A SO N 20 36 50 64

Rigoletto Faust La Cenerentola Orfeo ed Euridice

FE AT U R E D

CO M M U N IT Y

John Frame Marty Rugger Angel Blue Margaret Bichteler Carolyn Kuan Paul Wright Judy & Louis McCraw, MD 105 Nel Centro

90 Opera a la Cart & Portland Opera TO GO 95 Donors 107 Season Sponsors 108 Legacy Society 111 Young Patron Society 112 Volunteers

28 35 44 49 58 63 103

The Hampton Opera Center ARTSL ANDIA.COM

211 SE Caruthers St., Portland, OR 97214 PORTLANDOPERA.ORG

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AT TH E P E R FO R M A N C E

PUBLISHER + FOUNDER Misty Tompoles SALES DIRECTOR Lindsey Ferguson MEDIA DIRECTOR Chris Porras MEMBERSHIP MANAGER Katrina Ketchum DESIGNERS Lisa Johnston-Smith Dan Le Jackie Tran COPY EDITOR Kristen Seidman EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Blanche Minoza PUBLISHING COORDINATOR Janelle Bonifacio

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PHOTOGRAPHERS Christine Dong Max McDermott CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Angela Allen Paul Maziar PODCAST HOST Susannah Mars ARTSLANDIA BOX MANAGER Bella Showerman SALES ASSISTANT Sara Chavis PORTLAND OPERA MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTORS & TEAM Sue Dixon, Director of External Affairs Andrea Tichy, Associate Director of Marketing & Audience Development Silja Tobin, Marketing & Communications Manager Garrick Antikajian, Graphic Designer Celeste Miller, Corporate & Institutional Giving Manager Alexis Hamilton, Manager of Education & Outreach

ET FILLE WINES applauds the PORTLAND OPERA

Toi Toi Toi is a magazine for Portland Opera, published by Rampant Creative, Inc. ©2018 Rampant Creative, Inc.

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All rights reserved. This magazine or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher.

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Toi, Toi, Toi!

/ toy toy toy / an operatic good luck Theater is historically steeped in superstition and tradition, and you may know that it’s considered bad luck to say good luck backstage. Actors say, “break a leg!”

Dancers say, “merde!” In opera, we say, “toi, toi, toi!”

We’ve created this new magazine in celebration of the community that produces, builds, supports, performs, and enjoys the magic of opera, and we love the positive energy and the inherent collaborative spirit that the phrase “toi, toi, toi” invokes. We’ve filled the following pages with the stories of people who make opera thrive in Oregon—and it is our hope that you find yourself reflected here. You are a vital part of the Portland Opera family.

We invite you to participate in our operatic well-wishing.

Wish our singers “toi, toi, toi” on social media. Attend our Resident Artists’ recitals, or visit our Opera a la Cart as it makes its way around Portland. We are so grateful that you are part of our community, and we are delighted to spend the season with you.

It is with great excitement that we release this first edition of Toi Toi Toi! Cheers!

Portland Opera + Artslandia

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

9 Toi Toi Toi | PORTLAND OPERA

We don’t know exactly where it came from, but most people believe the phrase is adapted from the tradition of spitting to ward off evil spirits. This old practice has developed a modern edge, and it is now common to see the phrase as the signoff on an email or attached to a hashtag on social media (#toiX3!).

The Elixir of Love (2015), photo by Cory Weaver

PORTLAND OPERA | Toi Toi Toi

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T

ouring opera companies filled Portland theaters as far back as the 1860s, but Portland Opera as we know it today was born on the stage of Madison High School on November 7, 1964, with a production of Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus. This first season also included Puccini’s beloved masterpiece, La Bohème, which has been the most performed opera in the company’s history.

As the years went on, Portland Opera continued to grow and expanded to new venues throughout the city. From Madison High School, the company moved to the Keller Auditorium in 1968, just four years after its inaugural season. In July 2003, the company moved into its new eastside facility—The Hampton Opera Center—where music and staging rehearsals, coaching facilities, a costume shop, and administrative offices are all housed under one roof. In 2009, the company staged its first opera in the 850seat Newmark Theatre. The Gregory K. and Mary Chomenko Hinckley Studio Theatre at the Hampton Opera Center was dedicated in 2017. The use of multiple venues gives Portland Opera great versatility in staging—from classic grand works to intimate chamber operas, discovery pieces, and solo shows. The company also had deep roots in Washington Park, giving performances in the Rose Garden Amphitheater for several years. In addition to sharing the beauty and breadth of opera with the community, the company has also served as a pioneer in the field:

In 1984, Portland Opera became the second American opera company to utilize projected English translations above the stage. Known as “surtitles,” these projections allow audiences to understand the opera without requiring them to know the language in which it is being sung.

In 1994, Portland Opera became the first American opera company to present a subscription series of nationally touring Broadway shows. The U.S. Bank Broadway in Portland series continues to bring the best of Broadway to the Portland community.

In 1997, Portland Opera played a role in the founding of Portland’s celebrated dance company, BodyVox, which developed out of the dance troupe assembled for the double bill of Pagliacci and Carmina Burana.

In 2005, the company established the Portland Opera Resident Artist program, providing a bridge from the conservatory to the professional opera world for promising young singers. More than 400 singers audition each year for the four two-year residencies.

Program alumni have won opera’s most prestigious competitions and are performing on some of opera’s largest stages.

Over the last half century, Portland Opera has staged nearly 250 opera productions in seven languages, including world, American, North American, and West Coast premieres. The company has brought opera to over 230,000 students over the last decade through its Portland Opera To Go program, and continues to bring the art form to the Portland community through the mobile music venue, Opera a la Cart, and an annual live simulcast outside of the Newmark Theatre.

Meet

Portland Opera exists to inspire, challenge, and uplift our audiences by creating productions of high artistic quality that celebrate the beauty and breadth of opera.

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Portland Opera

Portland Opera To Go’s The Magic Flute (2017)

Big Night Concert (2017), photo by Garrett Downen

Winterreise (2018), photo by Cory Weaver

Cosi fan Tutte (2017), photo by Cory Weaver

Baroque Ball Gala (2017), photo by Garrett Downen

PORTLAND OPERA | Toi Toi Toi

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§

Most performed operas:

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Most often-performed composers:

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Languages Portland Opera has performed in:

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World premieres:

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West Coast premieres:

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1984: Portland Opera becomes the second American opera company to utilize projected English translations (surtitles) above the stage.

Bernard Hermann’s Wuthering Heights (1982); Christopher Drobny’s Lucy’s Lapses (1990)

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1986: Portland Opera performs its first classic American musical—Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

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American premiere:

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Portland Opera has recorded two commercial albums—both Philip Glass operas: Orphée (2009)

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North American premiere:

La Bohème (9), Carmen (8), The Barber of Seville, Madame Butterfly, Rigoletto, Tosca (7) Puccini (30), Verdi (29), Mozart (24) Italian, French, German, English, Russian, Czech, Latin

Ernst Krenek’s Life of Orestes (1975) Reynaldo Hahn’s Merchant of Venice (1996)

Philip Glass’s Orphée (2009), William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge (2003) 2017: Portland Opera staged a double bill of two operas written by David Lang: The Difficulty of Crossing a Field and The Little Match Girl Passion. This was the first time these operas had been performed together.

and Galileo Galilei (2012).

Artistic Collaborations with the Portland Community: BodyVox (Carmina Burana & Pagliacci – 1997, The Cunning Little Vixen – 2000, Macbeth – 2006) Third Angle New Music (Trouble in Tahiti, two Monteverdi works, Il Ballo delle Ingrate & Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda – 2010) Portland Baroque Orchestra (La Calisto – 2009 & Rinaldo – 2013) Northwest Film Center (Jean Cocteau’s “Orpheus” and “Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts” film screenings – 2009) PICA & Northwest Film Center (“Creativity and Collaboration: An Evening with Philip Glass” lecture and event featuring Philip Glass) Oregon Shakespeare Festival (The Pirates of Penzance – 2014)

Portland Opera To Go, The Magic Flute (2013), photo by David Kindler

Newmark Theatre, photo by Cory Weaver

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Portland Art Museum (“David Hockney: A Rake’s Progress” special exhibit – 2015) Chamber Music Northwest (brought composer David Lang to Portland –2017) GLMMR (Production design for Winterreise – 2018)

that brings opera directly into community spaces and venues throughout the summer months.

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Co-Productions: Klagenfurt (Austria) Opera – (Offenbach’s La Belle Helène – 2001) Minnesota Opera (John Adams’s Nixon in China – 2006) Opera Theatre of St. Louis (John Adams’s Nixon in China – 2006) Vancouver Opera (Verdi’s Macbeth – 2006) Edmonton Opera (Verdi’s Macbeth – 2006) Virginia Opera (Strauss’s Salome – 2013) Lyric Opera of Chicago (Gounod’s Faust – 2018)

About Us

Toi Toi Toi | PORTLAND OPERA

Big Night (2017), photo by Cory Weaver

2016: Launch of Opera a la Cart, a mobile music venue

Big Night (2017), photo by Cory Weaver

Photo by Jonathan Ley

Photo by Megan Petersen

Photo by Megan Petersen

§

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Grand opera returns to Portland this fall!

Photo by Cory Weaver/San Francisco Opera

Toi Toi Toi

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VERDI

LA

November 2, 4m, 8, 10 | Keller Auditorium

TRAVIATA Subscription packages available in June of 2018.

Single tickets available August 17, 2018 portlandopera.org | 503.241.1802 | concierge@portlandopera.org

CONTRIBUTORS

®

15 CHRISTINE DONG, Photographer Christine Dong lives in Portland, Oregon, with her camera where she is a dedicated Blazers fan, as well as a pho enthusiast.

Toi Toi Toi

ANGELA ALLEN, Writer A former daily newspaper journalist, Angela Allen writes about the arts in Portland.

She’s a published poet and photographer; belongs to the Music Critics Association of North America; and grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, listening to a lot of music.

MAX MCDERMOTT, Photographer

PAUL MAZIAR, Writer

BLANCHE MINOZA, Writer

Max McDermott is a photographer turned videographer turned food blogger. “There’s nothing better than a rack focus on a cheese pull.”

Paul Maziar is a writer and small-press editor.

His first pamphlet of poems, Little Advantages, was published in 2013 and was followed by three others. His first full-length poetry collection, Opening Night, is forthcoming from BlazeVOX [books].

As a recent college graduate, Blanche Minoza is anxiously attempting to navigate the rest of her life on a day-to-day basis. Currently, she is Artslandia’s editorial coordinator.

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MESSAGE FROM THE GENER AL DIRECTOR

Christopher Mattaliano Welcome to Portland Opera!

I am so glad that you are part of our 2018 season. This July marks my 15th season as general director of Portland Opera. As I reflect on what that great privilege means to me today, I realize what a true joy it is to be a part of sharing and celebrating this art form in this amazing city.

I am grateful for my staff colleagues, our board of directors, the artists, collaborators, orchestra musicians, chorus members, stagehands, funders, advocates, hospitality and wine partners, and audience members who challenge, interpret, question, and engage in making Portland Opera an opera company for this community, at and for this time.

‘‘

May this music and these stories stir our souls.

17 Toi Toi Toi | PORTLAND OPERA

It takes the work of all of these people for just one note of opera to be sung on our stage. For our 2018 season, we wanted to create a publication that celebrates every facet of this company. You are part of what makes the magnitude of this work thrive, and I hope that you feel that in the theater, and see that reflected in these pages.

In addition to the biographies, synopses, and notes for each opera in our season, you will find a deeper look into the community that brings opera to life here in Portland.

If we succeed in sharing great work, it is because of the great people who have made it so, by their acts of collaboration and intersection, by the act of presence and partnership.

This season our work comes together in a year of legendary tales—full of wisdom and tomfoolery, tragedy and fate. We’ll sit among gods and flirt with princes.

We’ll jeer tyrants and cheer for love to triumph over misfortune. We’ll watch our heroes resist evil and villains, while they challenge fate and future.

And I am so grateful to you: for your presence, for your partnership in choosing Portland Opera, and for taking the epic journey of our 2018 season with us. May this music and these stories stir our souls, and may the art of going to the opera remain an act of shared public life that makes us weep, makes us laugh, makes us angry, makes us proud, makes us connect, and makes us listen—so that we may discover and create, together, what happens next.

Christopher Mattaliano General Director, Portland Opera

Photo by Max McDermott, Artslandia

Welcome again. Your presence and participation means the world to us.

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MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD PRESIDENT

Kay Abramowitz Dear friends, Welcome to Portland Opera’s 53rd season! WOW! So far this year, we’ve been on a winter journey with Schubert’s Die Winterreise, performed in our own Hampton Opera Center home overlooking Tilikum Crossing. We enjoyed an elegant start to our main stage season with our annual Big Night concert of opera’s greatest hits at Keller Auditorium.

Now, we celebrate all things opera—from the classic Rigoletto and La Cenerentola, both directed by our own Christopher Mattaliano, to the stunning tale of Orfeo ed Euridice and the hauntingly beautiful new Faust, designed for the stage by acclaimed visual artist John Frame.

We are committed to presenting opera in its myriad forms as we continue to be a vibrant and evolving regional arts organization.

We are committed to you—our audiences and supporters. We are listening to you. We hear what you want from your opera company and all the ways we can enhance your experience. You will see this ref lected in some exciting changes this season: the launch of our opera concierge and this season magazine, with inspiring and in-depth articles. And more—next season, we’re bringing grand opera back to autumn with Verdi’s classic La Traviata!

Toi Toi Toi | PORTLAND OPERA

‘‘

Our mission is to inspire, challenge, and uplift our audiences by creating and sharing the beauty and breadth of opera with our region, and our 53rd season exemplifies this in a powerful way.

19

None of this would be possible without the 400+ musicians, stage-hands, and artists who dedicate their lives to making the art that you see on stage. I want to thank the many volunteers, the administrative staf f, and the skilled professionals who, with their years of experience, bring opera to fruition. And, I want to thank you, our patrons, our donors, our advocates, for sharing your time and energ y by supporting opera and this company.

Warmest regards,

Kay Abramowitz President, Portland Opera Board of Directors

Photo by Christine Dong, Artslandia

I look forward to seeing you at the opera!

Giuseppe Verdi’s

Rigoletto 2 hours 50 minutes / three acts / two intermissions

Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave / Performed in Italian with projected English translations

2018 SEASON | Toi Toi Toi

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George Manahan

Christopher Mattaliano

CONDUCTOR

STAGE DIRECTOR

Sarah J. Conly & J. Michael Deegan

Susan Memmott-Alred

Don Darnutzer

SET DESIGNERS

COSTUME DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Nicholas Fox

Audrey Chait

Jon Wangsgard

Mario Antonio Marra *

CHORUS MASTER

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

STAGE MANAGER

PRINCIPAL ACCOMPANIST

* Portland Opera Debut

Latecomers will not be seated until intermission. Patrons leaving the theater during the performance will be re-seated at intermission. Recording equipment, cameras, and personal phones are prohibited.

PRODUCTION SPONSORS

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR INSTITUTIONAL ALLIANCES

Portland Opera’s Rigoletto (2009), photo by Cory Weaver

21 Toi Toi Toi | 2018 SEASON

Premiere March 11, 1851 La Fenice, Venice Portland Opera Premiere May, 1968

M AY 4

6

10

12

Keller Auditorium

Starts @ 7:30 P

Starts @ 2:00 P

Barry Banks

Scene 1: Mantua, Italy, 16th century. At a party in his palace, the Duke of Mantua boasts of his way with women. He dances with the Countess Ceprano, and his hunchbacked jester, Rigoletto, mocks the countess’s enraged but helpless husband.

The courtier Marullo bursts in with the latest gossip: Rigoletto is suspected of keeping a young mistress in his home.

The jester, unaware of the courtiers’ talk, continues to taunt Ceprano, who plots with the others to punish him. Monterone, an elderly nobleman, forces his way into the crowd to denounce the duke for seducing his daughter and is viciously ridiculed

by Rigoletto. Monterone is arrested and curses Rigoletto.

In his palace, the duke is distraught about the abduction of Gilda. When the courtiers return and tell him the story of how they took the girl from Rigoletto’s house and left her in the duke’s chamber, the duke hurries off to her. Rigoletto enters, looking for Gilda. The courtiers are astonished to find out that she is his daughter rather than his mistress but prevent him from storming into the duke’s chamber.

The jester violently accuses them for their cruelty, then asks for compassion. Gilda appears and runs in shame to her father, who orders the others to leave.

Alone with Rigoletto, Gilda tells him of the duke’s courtship, then of her abduction. When Monterone passes by on his way to execution, the jester swears that both he and the old man will be avenged. Gilda begs her father to forgive the duke.

Intermission

Intermission

ACT III Rigoletto and Gilda arrive at an inn on the outskirts of Mantua where Sparafucile and his sister Maddalena live. Inside, the duke laughs at the fickleness of women. Gilda and Rigoletto watch through the window as the duke amuses himself with Maddalena. The jester sends Gilda off to Verona disguised as a boy and pays Sparafucile to murder the duke. Gilda returns to overhear Maddalena urge her brother to spare the handsome stranger and kill the hunchback instead. Sparafucile refuses to murder Rigoletto but agrees to kill the next stranger who comes to the inn so that he will be able to produce a dead body. Gilda decides to sacrifice herself for the duke. She knocks at the door and is stabbed.

Rigoletto returns to claim the body, which he assumes is the duke’s. As he gloats over the sack Sparafucile has given him, he hears his supposed victim singing in the distance. Frantically tearing open the sack, he finds his daughter, who dies asking his forgiveness. Horrified, Rigoletto remembers Monterone’s curse.

Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

Kate Farrar

Scene 2: Rigoletto hurries home, disturbed by Monterone’s curse. He encounters Sparafucile, a professional assassin, who offers his services. The jester reflects that his own tongue is as sharp as the murderer’s dagger. Rigoletto enters his house and warmly greets his daughter, Gilda. Afraid for the girl’s safety, he warns her nurse, Giovanna, not to let anyone into the house. When the jester leaves, the duke appears and bribes Giovanna, who lets him into the garden. He declares his love for Gilda, who has secretly admired him at church, and tells her he is a poor student. After he leaves, she tenderly thinks of her newfound love before going to bed.

The courtiers gather outside the garden intending to abduct Rigoletto’s “mistress.”

Meeting the jester, they quickly change their story and fool him into wearing a blindfold and holding a ladder against his own garden wall; then they carry off Gilda. Rigoletto, rushing into the house, realizes his daughter is gone and collapses as he remembers Monterone’s curse.

Stephen Powell

ACT II

Hannah S. Penn

2018 SEASON | Toi Toi Toi

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ACT I

Reginald Smith, Jr.

SYNOPSIS

Helen Huang

Thomas Cilluffo

CAST

in order of vocal appearance

Barry Banks * THE DUKE OF MANTUA

Thomas Cilluffo + MATTEO BORSA,

a courtier & henchman of the Duke

Helen Huang + COUNTESS CEPRANO

Stephen Powell RIGOLETTO,

a court jester & a hunchback

MARULLO,

a courtier & henchman of the Duke

Shi Li + Shi Li

Zachary Lenox

Zachary Lenox *

COUNT CEPRANO

Reginald Smith, Jr. * COUNT MONTERONE

Scott Conner * SPARAFUCILE,

23 an assassin

GILDA,

Rigoletto’s daughter

Katrina Galka

Scott Conner

Kate Farrar + GIOVANNA,

Gilda’s attendant

Aline Bahamondez * A PAGE

Erik Hundtoft AN USHER

Hannah S. Penn ^ Portland Opera’s Rigoletto (2009), photo by Cory Weaver

MADDALENA,

Sparafucile’s sister

* Portland Opera Debut + Member of the Portland Opera Resident Artist Program ^ Alumni of the Portland Opera Resident Artist Program Biographies of artists begin on page 74

Christopher Mattaliano

George Manahan

WITH THE PORTLAND OPERA ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS Scenery designed by Sarah J. Conly & J. Michael Deegan for The Atlanta Opera, made available through Utah Symphony & Opera. Costumes designed by Susan Memmott-Alred for Utah Symphony & Opera. Projected English surtitles written and produced by Cori Ellison.

Toi Toi Toi | 2018 SEASON

Katrina Galka ^

2018 SEASON | Toi Toi Toi

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Verdi to Venetian impresario, Carlo Marzari, in a letter enclosed with the signed contract for Verdi’s new opera for the Fenice. It became Rigoletto.

Portland Opera’s Rigoletto (2009), photo by Cory Weaver

As soon as you get this letter, get yourself four legs: run all over the city, and try to find an influential person who can get the permission for Le Roi s’amuse.

Don’t go to sleep: get moving: hurry.

A HISTORY

I

— by Alexis Hamilton —

D ece m be r 1850, Carlo Marzari, owner/ producer of the Fenice Theatre in Venice received the following letter, three months before the proposed opening of Giuseppe Verdi’s much anticipated new opera. Originally called La maledizione, this opera became Rigoletto: n

“

His Excellency of the Military Governor Chevalier Gorzkowski… directs me to communicate to you his profound regret that the poet Piave and the celebrated maestro Verdi should have chosen a more worthy vehicle to display their talents than the revolting immorality and obscene triviality of the libretto of La maledizione submitted to us for intended performance at the Teatro Fenice.

His above mentioned Excellency has decided that the performance shall be absolutely forbidden, and wishes me at the same time to request you not to make further enquiries in this matter. I am returning the manuscript sent to me with your accompanying letter…

—The Imperial and Royal Central Director, Martello

1

“

I don’t understand why the sack has to be eliminated. What difference does a sack make to the police? Are they afraid it won’t be effective? But let me ask this: why do they think they know more about it than I do?

To Verdi, the greatest insult in the “improved” libretto seems to have been that the Rigoletto character was no longer a hunchback. In the same letter, Verdi fired back:

“

What is their motive? A singing hunchback?

Why not? Will it be effective? I don’t know— But if I don’t know, neither does the person who proposed these changes.

After hurling this missive at the theater, Verdi wrote caustically to Piave that their contract was necessarily cancelled and that while he could keep 200 of the 500 lire Verdi had paid for the libretto, he was to return the other 300 lire immediately. This was a fortnight before Teatro Fenice opened its season—the posters were about to be printed!

Flustered, frustrated, and in the unenviable position of being caught between the infuriated composer and the intractable Austrian censors, Marzari and Piave, caps in hand, again approached the Imperial and Royal Central Director to craft a compromise on the offending libretto. Verdi could retain his “absolute ruler” and his “deformed buffoon” (and, yes, his death sack), but the implied rape must be less explicit and the kidnapping must “conform to the demands for decency on stage.”

With trepidation, librettist and impresario traveled to Busetto to visit Verdi. Things moved very quickly after that. A contract was quickly knocked out—although Verdi did alter the due date for the piece, requesting that the newly named Rigoletto be mounted at the end of the season rather than the beginning to make up for the time lost censor-wrangling. While it was rumored that Verdi wrote Rigoletto in 40 days, the truth is that he had had it in mind much longer—nearly a year—and that he had already begun work on the score.

Though Rigoletto is undeniably a magnificent work of art, modern audiences (particularly in the era of #MeToo) may feel increasingly uncomfortable with the plot. To quote the title of an article by Michael Handelzalts, an Israeli theater critic, Rigoletto is “definitely a pre-feminist opera.” Just look at the way women (not just Gilda) are treated and referred to in this piece. From the very beginning, women are defined as objects, interchangeable. The duke lets us know this in his first aria, saying, “This girl or that girl, it’s all the same to me.” As he sings, he is plotting to abduct the Countess Ceprano—and not for a ransom. Courtiers react with concern, not for the sake of the Countess, but for the duke’s safety in the face of her husband’s wrath. The duke has “seduced” many of his courtiers’ wives, sisters, and daughters and his jester, Rigoletto, is implicated in it all. Rigoletto taunts the court, with no regard for the ladies, and even urges the duke to rid himself of Count Ceprano by any means necessary to secure the Countess. The men are obsessed with their wives’ and daughters’ “honor,” which is tied up in their marriageability and their family pride. Little time or thought is expended upon the psychological or emotional toll the Duke’s depredations may be taking on the women.

Northern Italy was part of the Habsburg Empire at this time.

25 Toi Toi Toi | 2018 SEASON

Verdi appears to have been shocked by this response, having been “assured” by his librettist Francesco Piave “in several letters” that there would be little trouble having the subject approved. It is hard to imagine that anyone was shocked by the censor’s response, given the outrage and subsequent ban that Victor Hugo’s play Le Roi s’amuse, on which the opera was based, engendered in Paris at its 1832 premiere. Hugo’s play insulted the King of France (past and present); the daughter of a deformed jester is raped (offstage, but in no uncertain terms); and the desperate, enraged father curses the indifferent courtiers, crying, “Bastards! Your mothers slept with their lackies!” (a direct reference to Louis Philippe’s more “egalitarian” family members’ amorous adventures). The fact that the central figure was an ugly, brutish, “malformed” court jester also did nothing to recommend the play.

If the French had banned it, how could the Austrian1 authorities do less?

Teatro Fenice was in a financial bind. In order to meet Verdi’s contractual demands, they needed his opera to be successful and to be successful, it must open. Revisions were made under the supervision of the librettist and producer. The title was changed, the demands of “decency” were met and the censors approved the new libretto, which was then sent to Verdi. Verdi was not enthused. “…My artistic conscience will not allow me to set this libretto to music,” was his emphatic reply.

The novelty, the passion—the drama—of the play that Verdi had found so compelling had been gutted by the alterations. Verdi did not object to the names being changed, but he needed the ruler to be an “absolute ruler,” a libertine, otherwise there was no dramatic impetus to the jester’s anxiety or his paternal outrage which propelled him to the inevitable tragic conclusion. The censors

had even demanded that the mode of Gilda’s death be altered, prompting Verdi to rail:

>>> Continued on page 26

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<<< Continued from page 25

A HISTORY Even when Rigoletto seems to be caring for and loving Gilda, he is neither listening to her nor granting her any autonomy. He hides his past and identity from her, and he hides her away from the world. The court knows nothing of her—and for good reason. The duke is rapacious, and his power renders all those around him helpless to stop him. But in sheltering Gilda, Rigoletto has not allowed her to have normal relationships. She is easy prey for the duke who has seen her in church and has begun to groom her with flattery and romance…and escape? Like the Weinsteins of the world, the duke excuses his behavior, downplays it by blaming the “fickleness” and “treachery” of women—even after pronouncing that he could love a single woman if she were Gilda. For her part, Gilda acts the part of the loving woman—sacrificing her very life for a man, even if the man is manifestly unworthy of her or anyone.

Many great works of art are disturbing to modern audiences. Opera is often discomfiting if we really take a look at what is going on rather than simply allowing the music to wash over us.

But that is what we are charged with doing in this time. By acknowledging and responding to what is problematic in a plot; by understanding the cultural milieu in which it was written; by offering new and different interpretations of older works (For instance, is Rigoletto actually the villain?), we can still learn from and revel in the beauty of the art without becoming complicit in its message.

Rigoletto remains one of Verdi’s greatest triumphs. It was immediately successful and has never been very far from the theater. It is the first of his “middle period” operas, along with Il Trovatore and La Traviata, each a crown jewel of the opera house. In Rigoletto, Verdi proves himself to be the master of operatic form but un-mastered by it—he breaks the long established rules of the bel canto gods as he deems fit to best serve the drama and characters.

In this opera, Verdi’s building blocks are full scenes rather than shorter, simpler arias and duets. The scenes ebb and flow naturally from the through line of the drama and the music instead of constantly breaking the action with obvious applause breaks. Verdi never abandoned traditional Italian forms, but he was not ruled by them. In Rigoletto, Verdi has given us a remarkable gift of theater, melody and characterization, thoroughly impervious to the vagaries of individual productions and performances. As one critic at the time said, and it still rings true today, “There was never such powerful eloquence in sound.”

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Alexis Hamilton is the Manager of Education and Outreach for Portland Opera.

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Photo by Carey Haskell, Courtesy of John Frame

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Izonewantthatit tonobeoneincan a time quite

determine: It’s not 16th century. It’s not 19th century.

It’s not 20th or 21st century.

I’ve always wanted it to be outside of any ability to determine a period.

”

JOHN T

FRAME

His art sees the world in a completely different way, reflecting the human condition in a way that’s poignant, dark, and funny. Our production team is taking his work as our inspiration.

Because much of the opera is about Faust’s search for knowledge and truth, we portray him as an artist, searching for truth through his art.

Visual artist and production designer shares with Artslandia his insights on storytelling and bringing his characters to life, including Faust

By Paul Maziar

—Kevin Newbury, Director, Faust Composed in the 19th century, Gounod’s Faust is based on the first part of Goethe’s classic about a man who makes a deal with the devil (Mephistopheles) for the promise of love from a young maiden.

The tragic implications are obvious, but thanks to Frame’s highlyimaginative work, this new version of the Gounod production gets the touch of humor that many of the drama’s translators missed.

Given the constraints of setting, duration, and the breath of life in the way of song and performance, the opera version of Faust is less philosophically weighty than the familiar English-language translations of Goethe’s masterpiece.

I sat down for a phone conversation with Frame one afternoon, eager to discuss the collaborations between Frame and his colleagues: Victoria “Vita” Tzykun (scenery and costume design), Duane Schuler (lighting design) and David Adam Moore (video design), along with Newbury (director). The conductor for Faust’s score is George Manahan.

I also wanted to hear about his approaches to composition and about how his past work and the upcoming Faust production intersect or differ. He was working in his Wrightwood studio, an hour and a half outside of Los Angeles, continuing to refine the production, which was opening in Chicago a few weeks later, March 3.

Like his full-of-life sculptures and designs, Frame is full of verve and insight as an interviewee.

See more features at ®

>>> Continued on page 30

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his June, the new Lyric Opera of Chicago and Portland Opera co-production of Charles Gounod’s Faust will fill the Keller Auditorium stage for four performances, the production’s West Coast premiere. The visual artist John Frame—whose vignettes, sculptures, score, and installations were a distinct hit when exhibited at the Portland Art Museum back in 2012 for his Three Fragments of a Lost Tale show—is the opera’s production designer. For Faust, Frame’s novel approaches to composition and his visionary aesthetic manage to locate the production inside Faust’s mind—and soul.

Although Gounod’s Faust is familiar, this co-production was widely anticipated, in large part because of Frame’s reimagining of it, which includes sculpture and 3D projections. It’s a production that, however augmented by contemporary technology, presents a world that’s of its own unique timeframe—neither present nor past. In a Chicago Tribune interview, the director, Kevin Newbury, pointed to Frame’s contribution to the production.

<<< Continued from page 29

« How does your role in the Faust production

wanted it to be outside of any ability to determine a period. But in this production, because of some constraints, we’ll have in some measure a kind of late-Victorian, pre-World-War-I feeling about it.

That ended up being OK with me.

In a lot of my work—especially with the Three Fragments period—I’m using a ton of found objects, almost all of which are from exactly that period (about 1850–1920). So there is a kind of logic to the way that this has worked out. I’m a really big believer of intuitively following things and trusting that things are going to, generally speaking, move in the right direction. Especially with people.

Getting to the question of collaboration, I came to be able to trust all of these people very early on.

That made a huge difference.

« You’ve talked about the importance of story in

your practice—how connected to Faust were you in the beginning? » That’s a really good question. I’ve always—well, certainly for the last decade or so—thought of myself as a non-linear, non-narrative storyteller.

Maybe as a person who works with poetry, you can identify with that. There’s always a presence of story in what I do, but I don’t think, if somebody tried to parse that, that they would be able to find specific symbolism where they’d say “this means this, and

I WANTED TO BE ABLE TO WORK AS AN ARTIST IN THIS. I really wanted to be able to apply my normal approach to art-making, which is highly intuitive.

The entire team flew out to California from New York, and we spent a lot of time in my studio together, looking at all of the components that I had already built for Faust, and also looking at all of the rest of my work from the past decade. And without trying to analyze why, we selected things that just seemed to make sense. Some of those things I felt very strongly needed to be in the production, but if you had asked me why, I absolutely could not have told you. of people. So far [with Faust], we’ll have our singers onstage for the first time. So as far as treating it as a set of changing and ongoing compositions throughout the evening, I don’t think I’ll know what I’m up against or how to alter anything until I see it in front of me.

«

I’m wondering about working with the other mediums that you’re presented with— particularly the costumes. Have you been able to collaborate with any of the other artists or performers yet? » Yeah. The costuming was one of the more interesting parts of the collaboration. Originally, the production would’ve had costuming from top to bottom, meaning from the principal’s performances all the way through the chorus. That would’ve been based on the aesthetic that already exists in my work. But, because of some constraints, we ended up having to use existing costumes that were in stock in Chicago.

I’ve always tried to avoid any feeling of “period” in my work. I want it to be in a time zone that no one can quite determine: It’s not 16th century. It’s not 19th century. It’s not 20th or 21st century. I’ve always PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

that means that.” It’s a much more abstract approach to storytelling, and I feel like it’s my natural bent, and it’s worked very well so far with Three Fragments and also with Part II of Three Fragments, which I’ve been working on for the last few years.

To get to the second part of your question, which has to do with my approach to Faust: that’s a very different set of problems. There’s an existing framework there, of the narrative in the form of the libretto and then the music. Those two things are very fixed-position elements that we had to work with. So there’s an interesting problem-solving that had to go on. I wanted to be able to work as an artist in this. I really wanted to be able to apply my normal approach to art-making, which is highly intuitive. The entire team flew out to California from New York, and we spent a lot of time in my studio together, looking at all of the components that I had already built for Faust and also looking at all of the rest of my work from the past decade. And without trying to analyze why, we selected things that just seemed to make sense. Some of those things I felt very strongly needed to be in the production, but if you had asked me why, I absolutely could not have told you.

Image courtesy of John Frame

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differ from that of your Three Fragments of a Lost Tale? » Well, for Three Fragments, I was basically in charge of absolutely everything and doing almost everything myself or with the assistance of a family member. So in terms of the day-to-day action of the work, it’s entirely different from what’s going on with Faust. I have had a lot of solo time to work on a bunch of the components, but ultimately, everything has to be filtered through a collaborative system that involves—most of the time—three other people, who are the director, Kevin Newbury; the set and costume designer, Vita Tzykun; and the video designer, David Adam Moore.

It’s a different process, and of course, I’ve never worked in this scale at all, and so I’ve had to really rely on these people to steer me when I’ve gone wrong. There are a lot of things about the amount of space between the objects that are meant to be onstage and the audience members. In Chicago, it’s really a significant difference—that’s a gigantic house. Compositionally, it’s considerably more complex with Faust. The one major thing that has to happen that I haven’t had any experience with is, even when we have the sets up and the props in place in Chicago, we still don’t have the presence

Photo by Carey Haskell, courtesy of John Frame

31

«

In the Faust Overture Study linked on your website, you’re able to draw from all manner of sources for the setting: perhaps reimagined film and photography fragments, sculpture, constructed set pieces, found objects, all aided by the luxury of editing and confinement to that small screen. Did the larger, more temporal stage production in its present form bear any constraints that added to your original concepts? » Yeah, there are lots of constraints, not only in the video elements in this production but also the physical elements (the props). Everything has to be exaggerated to be read by the audience. My natural inclination is to work on something I’ve made in the studio that’s eight or 10 inches tall that’s going to be 12 or 15 feet tall—my natural inclination is to go for the refinement that I would want in the studio for those surfaces. But there really is no point in doing that, because the audience can’t see it.

How that gets translated to the video elements of the production is that David Adam Moore [the video designer] has been back and forth with me over the last nine months to sort out which of the pre-existing images that I already worked out in small-scale (you’re right to point that out) primarily for the internet. A lot of what I’ve shot has been for film work that eventually will be projected, if I’m lucky, in theatrical environments and in film festivals.

I’ve had to trust everyone when they say, “this won’t work in that scale,” or that the timing isn’t right for the music. I did the little Faust Overture piece to sort out for myself if the images felt right for the music.

It led me to believe that, yes, the images will work with the music. The one interesting thing going on here is that we’re using 3D projection mapping technology.

We’re able to project onto things in ways that I have never even seen before. The 3D system allows us to put video only where we want it. I’ve done a lot of silhouette animation where a character walks from one edge of a table and walks across and off the other edge. David uses the projection technology to make it appear as though that character is walking onto a wall but instead with a doorway, so it looks like a shadow has walked through the door and onto the wall. It’s just really cool, a beautiful image.

«

That sounds incredible. I’m wondering if the Faust tale, told through the Gounod production, resonates with or remains fresh to the contemporary world. » When I was first approached by Chris Mattaliano, the head of the Portland Opera, he asked what I would like to do, and I sent him back a list of about a dozen possible productions that I’d be interested in, and one of them was Faust.

He and I both immediately agreed that Faust was the right thing to do now. My biggest attraction to it was that it deals with fundamental human questions, something I’ve tried to deal with in my own work since the very beginning. I’m really interested in the oldest human questions: Where do I come from? What am I supposed to do while I’m here? What, if anything, happens when I die?

What’s my relationship to nature? All of those questions are things that I hope live at the center of my own content. And in Faust, the fundamental >>> Continued on page 32 PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

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Now that we’re down the road a year, and this is all coming together, when someone asks the other members (not me, I’d have a different answer) why is this or that element in there, they now have a story for that. They’ve shaped a response that does, in fact, make sense in the context of the production.

And so, my hope is that the initial impulse that I had, to include things based on my intuition, works.

“Argus Questions,” image courtesy of John Frame

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<<< Continued from page 31

question is: What if I get to a point in my life, where I feel like I’m wasting my life, like I’ve done it wrong?

In the traditional approach to Faust, he’s an old man, and he gets to go back and have youth to start it all over again. My feeling is that the reason that can resonate for contemporary audiences is that it’s a question that anybody can hit at any time. Lots of people hit it at midlife, the midlife crisis where you say, “I’m just wasting my life here. I’m on the wrong track.” But they find a way to reset. It can happen at any time, though; it can happen when you’re 25.

What’s interesting about the way that Faust does it is that he calls upon the devil. Instead of going to career counseling or something, or psyche counseling, he calls upon the devil, and the devil becomes the instrument of change. Méphistophélès is just a fascinating character to me, and Faust has stayed in the repertoire for so long for several reasons. One is that it’s asking fundamental questions; two is, Méphistophélès is just a fascinating character. It’s always great to have the devil onstage personified, and this is the charming, funny, nasty, very well-drawn version.

«

I loved what you had to say in an interview back in 2001, about problem-solving, about how one’s “flow” and being challenged by the work being presented to you, and how the process can be so generative. It sounds like that might be happening to you in this production, and I wonder how you’ve been challenged and changed by this Faust production. » This particular question is interesting because I thought that, when I was assigned the job of being production designer, I would have to come up with an overarching vision for the entire production.

And it turned out that, even though I had parts of things that I came up with, I didn’t have that overarching, powerful vision for the entire thing.

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And so I never experienced flow in that part of the design process. The only exception was when we were out here working on it collaboratively.

T

he production design really is, genuinely, a result of collaboration. Using my name as production designer is not entirely accurate. We should all be credited, to some extent, and everybody should be credited with a little bit of everybody else’s because we’re still collaborating, even now.

So, although I didn’t experience flow in the studio part of the design phase, I have experienced it repeatedly with the elements that I’ve created, including the animations. For example, we’ve made Faust into an artist; he’s not the traditional scholar or doctor.

One of the things that I wanted to do (and I’ve never done anything like this) is, when our Faust is onstage in his atelier, one of the first things he does is put his hand on [a wood block on his table.] I’ve made a stop-motion animation that creates Méphistophélès directly from that block in time-lapse photography. His hand is moving on the block, and we have a very large scrim onto which is projected, using projection mapping, Méphistophélès growing directly out of this block. He becomes completely animated and in costume from a raw wood block. That was just really exciting to do. It was part of a long stretch of being in flow because I had to start with the block; it took days and days and days to get this thing from a raw block to this fully articulated figure with fully articulated hands and feet, all of its joints and everything. That is an example of being in flow that I think has worked well. I haven’t seen it on the stage, of course, but that’s coming soon.

We appreciate the art of great storytelling.

Cheers to the 2018 Portland Opera season.

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Marty Rugger Flyman Hometown: Portland, Oregon How long have you been working with Portland Opera?

I’ve been working with the opera since 1988 when I worked in the scene shop.

Tell us about what you do.

My job is to get things that go in the air (like lights, drops, or sound equipment) to go up safely with counterbalanced weight so that they can be used in the production.

What is your favorite Portland Opera memory or production?

There are so many! I don’t know that I can say one because there were so many very cool sets. One of my favorites was when we spent almost an entire day choreographing a scene change of La Bohème. It was a lot of fun to create.

A RTIST SPOTL IGHT

Describe Portland in 5 words.

Wet, gray, green, wonderful, summertime What are your favorite things to do in Portland?

I’m currently building a teardrop trailer—I like to build things.

I also like to go paddling, and hiking and exploring Oregon.

What’s currently playing on your iPhone/iPod/ Spotify/CD player/radio?

Old ‘60s and ‘70s rock. The playlist is titled “Cleansing”—I need it to get musicals out of my head when we’re working on those!

What do you want our audiences to know?

Art and theater are important for our society. Please support them; it’s needed! Also, please don’t just come to the hot ticket shows. There’re a lot more out there.

35 Toi Toi Toi | FEATURED

How did you get involved with the opera?

What is your “opera story?”

I previously had worked at Portland Civic Theatre, and then I started in the scene shop at Portland Opera. I knew that Warner Brothers used a lot of opera music in their cartoons, and I loved cartoons, just like a whole generation of people who learned opera through Bugs Bunny. Every time I hear the overture to The Barber of Seville, I just think Rabbit of Seville, and every word comes to mind.

Photo by Chris Porras, Artslandia PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

Charles Gounod’s

Faust 3 hours 30 minutes / five acts / two intermissions

Libretto by Jules Barbier & Michel Carré / Performed in French with projected English translations VISIONARY SPONSORS:

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Dorothy P iacentini G regory K. & M ary C homenko H inckley

George Manahan

Kevin Newbury

CONDUCTOR

STAGE DIRECTOR

John Frame *

Victoria “Vita” Tzykun

Duane Schuler

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

SET & COSTUME DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

David Adam Moore

Zack Winokur *

Nicholas Fox

PROJECTION DESIGNER

MOVEMENT DIRECTOR

CHORUS MASTER

Elise Sandell

John Armour

Cynthia Hennon Marino *

Mario Antonio Marra

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

FIGHT DIRECTOR

STAGE MANAGER

PRINCIPAL ACCOMPANIST

* Portland Opera Debut

Latecomers will not be seated until intermission. Patrons leaving the theater during the performance will be re-seated at intermission. Recording equipment, cameras, and personal phones are prohibited.

PRODUCTION SPONSORS

Pat & Trudy R itz and R itz Family Foundation

the

Mc Geady Family Foundation

Image courtesy of John Frame

37 Toi Toi Toi | 2018 SEASON

Premiere March 19, 1859 Théâtre-Lyrique, Paris Portland Opera Premiere November, 1966

JUN 8

10

14

16

Keller Auditorium

Starts @ 7:30 P

Starts @ 2:00 P

ACT II Soldiers and townspeople gather to celebrate. A young officer, Valentin, asks his friend Siébel to protect his sister Marguerite when he leaves for the wars and prays to God for his sister’s well-being.

Wagner, a student, begins a lively song but is interrupted by Méphistophélès, who sings an homage to greed and gluttony. He astounds the crowd by creating a fountain of quality wine. When he proposes a toast to Marguerite, Valentin draws his sword, but it shatters. Recognizing Satan, the soldiers use crosses to confront Méphistophélès, who leaves in disgust. The townspeople return to their dance. Faust manages to meet Marguerite just before she is lost in the crowd of dancers.

Intermission

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Intermission

ACT IV Marguerite, pregnant and abandoned by Faust, seeks refuge in a church. Méphistophélès torments her with threats of damnation. She collapses.

Soldiers returning from the war gather in the town square. Valentin questions Siébel about Marguerite but receives only vague answers.

Faust, repenting his abandonment of Marguerite, arrives with Méphistophélès, who serenades the girl with a lewd ballad. Valentin challenges Faust to a duel. At a crucial moment, Méphistophélès intervenes, and Valentin is fatally wounded.

Marguerite kneels by her brother, but he curses her with his last breath.

Angela Niederloh

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Alone in his study, the aged Dr. Faust broods that his lifelong search for the meaning of existence has been useless.

He raises a goblet of poison to his lips but hesitates when he hears young people outside his window, awakening all the unfulfilled passions of his youth.

Cursing life, the philosopher calls on the devil for help. Méphistophélès appears, and Faust tells him he craves youth and pleasure. This can be arranged if Faust will forfeit his soul. Faust hesitates until Méphistophélès produces a vision of the beautiful Marguerite. A magic potion transforms Faust into a handsome young man, and he leaves with Méphistophélès in search of Marguerite and pleasure.

Shi Li

ACT I 38

ACT V Marguerite lies sleeping on the floor of her prison cell, where she has been confined for the murder of her illegitimate child. Faust and Méphistophélès appear in the cell to help her escape. At first she is happy to see her lover and recalls their days of happiness together. But she refuses to move, and Faust realizes her mind has darkened. Méphistophélès steps forward to urge the couple to hurry, but Marguerite recognizes his true nature and calls on the angels to save her as she dies. Méphistophélès claims her soul but is overruled by a choir of angels who announce salvation.

Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera

Angela Niederloh

SYNOPSIS

Siébel, watched by Faust and Méphistophélès, leaves a humble bunch of flowers at the door of Marguerite’s home and then leaves. Faust is enchanted with the small, simple house. Méphistophélès returns with a box of jewels that he places near Siébel’s flowers.

When Marguerite arrives, she sings a ballad about the king of Thule, trying to forget about the handsome stranger she met at the fair. She is touched by Siébel’s simple flowers but is amazed by the box of jewels.

Unable to resist the temptation, she tries on all the jewels. Méphistophélès flirts with Marthe, the nosy elderly neighbor, so that Faust and Marguerite can be alone. Méphistophélès calls forth a night of stars to help in Faust’s seduction. Marguerite confesses her love for Faust. Méphistophélès mocks Faust and points to Marguerite, still enraptured by the night of love. Faust seduces Marguerite as Méphistophélès laughs with contempt.

Jonathan Boyd

ACT III

CAST

in order of vocal appearance

Jonathan Boyd FAUST

Alfred Walker * MÉPHISTOPHÉLÈS

Edward Parks * VALENTIN

Shi Li + Edward Parks

Alfred Walker

WAGNER

Kate Farrar + SIÉBEL

Angel Blue * MARGUERITE

Angela Niederloh MARTHE SCHWERLEIN

Biographies of artists begin on page 74

Angel Blue

Kate Farrar

WITH THE PORTLAND OPERA ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS Faust is a co-production of Portland Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Scenery constructed by McGuire Scenic Studios. Costumes provided by Costume Armour, Seams Unlimited, Costume Gallery, Ltd, Elizabeth Flauto, Steppenwolf Costume Shop, Jonah Emerson-Bell, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Specialty props by Kathryn Johnson. Projected English surtitles by Colin Ure at Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2018

Kevin Newbury

George Manahan

VIDEO CREDITS Original photographs Trees in Fog and Trees in Fog 2 by Gerben van Dijk.

Video excerpt from Milk Mountain by Keegan Luttrell, originally part of “Digital Fairy Tales” presented by Leo Kuelbs Collection. Cinematography by Fabio Mota and Maxmillian Conway.

Images from The Swan Girl and Three Fragments of a Lost Tale courtesy of John Frame and Johnny Coffeen.

Act V frost footage courtesy of Brenda Loewen.

39 Toi Toi Toi | 2018 SEASON

* Portland Opera Debut + Member of the Portland Opera Resident Artist Program

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Yet art thou still but Faustus, and a man? ...Here Faustus, try thy brains to gain a diety.

Image courtesy of John Frame

Christopher Marlowe, The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, 1593

A HISTORY

T

— by Alexis Hamilton —

was concerned that the church scene might cause an international incident with the Vatican and insisted that it must be removed. Gounod mentioned the problem to his dear friend, the papal nuncio.

No more “concerns” from the Minister of Fine Arts were forthcoming.

After such travails getting the show up, one would hope that the opening would be a tremendous success. Sadly, it was not initially.

Critical opinion was mixed. “Decidedly, the devil does not bring luck to M. Gounod,” read one notice. The work had its champions, however. Among them were the composers Hector Berlioz and Giacomo Meyerbeer, both of whom attended the opera numerous times.

The public, while not damning, was reticent to embrace the work, used as it was to the grand theatrical extravaganzas of Meyerbeer.

Slowly, Faust gained in popularity. While performed with spoken dialogue at its opening, Gounod later added recitatives. A performance at the Paris Opera necessitated the addition of a ballet (which he at first asked his protégé Bizet to write—Bizet managed to dissuade him)1, and in London, the fame of the baritone demanded an aria for Valentin. The Metropolitan Opera in New York performed Faust for its 1864 debut.

Eventually, Faust became the most beloved opera of the 19th century and, for 50 years, dominated the operatic stages of the world. If a theater found ticket sales to be lagging, it only had to replace a show with Faust to see box office receipts pour in.

Gounod never wrote another opera that showed his genius as eloquently as Faust.

Others of his operas simply didn’t come close, with the possible exception of Roméo et Juliette, though many of the more scathing criticisms express the opinion that the only reason that Roméo et Juliette is comparable to Faust is that it is derivative of Faust. There were even rumors swirling about that Gounod hadn’t really written Faust at all. Such gossip cited the failure of his operas before and after his masterpiece as evidence of the theory. The composer Camille Saint-Saëns dismissed this fantasy as the invention of a jealous Berlioz, who felt that his own Damnation de Faust had not received the recognition it deserved—particularly in light of the popularity of Faust. Whether Berlioz started such a whisper campaign or not, it hardly seems likely that librettists of such repute as Barbier and Carré would have consented to write a libretto for an unknown. Of course, Gounod was not alone in being accused of having a ghostwriter. Shakespeare and Dickens have received the same short shrift. It seems such stories are inevitable—and date back to antiquity. As W.S. Gilbert once quipped, “The Iliad was not written by Homer but by some other man of the same name.”

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he French composer Charles Gounod first met the librettists Jules Barbier and Michael Carré in 1855. Barbier mentioned to Gounod that he would like to try his hand at an opera based on Goethe’s masterwork, Faust. Gounod was amenable, having been interested in the subject himself. The two approached Carré, who was considerably less enamored. Carré had written a play based on the first part of Goethe’s poem five years before, and it soured him on the project. He declared the plot too stale, too big, not dramatic enough, and on and on. Still, despite his many objections and distinct lack of enthusiasm, Carré humored his compatriots and his 1850 play Faust et Marguerite provided the basic structure for the opera. Carré managed to participate in the project just enough to garner a credit, but not much more than the outline is his. Gounod completed the work in 1858 and began the rather arduous process of getting the opera produced. Theater after theater declined to mount the project, each objection mirroring Carré’s: Producers proclaimed the subject, “Not stagey enough” or “outdated.”

Eventually, Gounod found his way to Léon Carvalho, impresario of the Théâtre Lyrique.

Carvalho agreed to produce the opera but then delayed the opening for a year because another interpretation of Faust was opening.

When at last the opera made it into rehearsals, Gounod still faced problems.

Madame Carvalho, the producer’s wife, was cast in the role of Maguerite.

While a talented soprano, Madame Carvalho saw no harm at all in altering a composer’s work to suit her. The prima donna encrusted melodies—no matter the dramatic context—with vocal ornamentation, signing each ideation with Variante de Mme. Carvalho. The very famous “Jewel Song,” with its virtuosic vocal line, is an example of how both librettist and composer bowed to the iron will of Mme. Carvalho.

Her husband was no less shy about altering shows he produced.

For months Carvalho badgered his librettists and composer, dragging them into his office night after night to wrangle about changes to the score.

The result of these “epic battles,” in which Barbier alone remained resolute in defending his art against the vagaries of the changeable impresario, was Barbier’s inability to attend the opening because of nerves.

The opera ended considerably shorter than originally conceived, losing several scenes and gaining a chorus number, the much admired “Soldier’s Chorus,” which Gounod had actually written for an opera he never finished.

There were other issues too. The tenor cast as Faust became ill and needed to be replaced three weeks before opening. More troubling was the Minister of Fine Arts, who

In a 1921 article, Saint-Saëns asserts that it was he that Gounod asked to write the ballet because Gounod’s religious convictions would not allow him to do so. Like Bizet, Saint-Saëns says that he demurred. Which of his protégés was offered the chance to write the ballet? Who knows? Perhaps Gounod asked both.

1

>>> Continued on page 42

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That this story persisted for so long may be taken as evidence for how far Gounod’s star fell as Wagner’s rose in Germany and Verdi’s in Italy. Eventually, their music was subsumed in the fertile experimentation of the fin de siècle too. To once again quote Saint-Saëns:

“

[From the beginning] this fine production [has been criticized] for being not sufficiently Italian, then not sufficiently German [and is now] regarded as too simple because it does not respond to that craze for exaggerated complication which is the bane of the new style of music, instead attaching prime importance to the human voice, which it has become the fashion to disparage. [Faust] has always had on its side the masses who do not trouble about theories, love to understand what they hear, and, when they see singers on the stage, naturally consider that they are there for the purpose of singing.

2018 SEASON | Toi Toi Toi

Today, Faust enjoys a solid foothold in the opera house. The passage of time has given modern audiences a refreshed ear with which to hear both the beauty and bombast of Gounod’s score. What makes Faust great is its uncommon loveliness and theatrical effectiveness. Historically, Gounod broke the mold of French operatic taste, taking as his models Gluck and Mozart, bringing humanity back to French opera and defining what constituted truly French music. Gounod was friend and patron to Bizet, Saint-Saëns, Massenet, and Debussy, and his influence is apparent in their work and all French music that followed. Gounod described his as a country of “precision, neatness, and taste… the opposite of excess, pretentiousness, disproportion, long-windedness.” All that is masterful in Faust reflects this sentiment.

po rtland’s ho tel to the arts Alexis Hamilton is the Manager of Education and Outreach for Portland Opera.

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We are so happy to support Portland Opera’s production of

GOUNOD’S

FAUST • February 10, 2017 •

showcasing artist John Frame’s creativity in set design and costumes. John was part of The Fountain Gallery of Art’s family of artists for many years.

WE ARE SO PROUD TO BE PRODUCTION SPONSORS OF THIS EXCITING OPERA. ARLENE SCHNITZER & JORDAN SCHNITZER

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Artslandia caught up with powerhouse soprano Angel Blue as she prepares for her role as Marguerite in Portland Opera’s groundbreaking production of Faust

By Blanche Minoza

You graduated from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, have had many successful endeavors since, and I’m sure had many before.

How early in your life was music—or more specifically opera—clearly your vocation?

My earliest memory of opera is when I was four years old.

I saw the opera Turandot, a concert version. I loved the music and was moved by the performance, the singing, the music, the costumes, everything. From that moment on, I knew. As I explained to my Dad when I was a child, “I want to be the woman in the light.”

You’ve performed in 35 countries in the last six years. How has working all across the globe influenced your understanding of performance and music?

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said: “Music is the universal language of mankind.” What I’ve learned from traveling is that he is entirely correct. I’ve been to many countries with languages and cultures/customs I don’t know. However, we all understand music that moves us.

[It] is one language all humankind can understand and share. We all have that in common.

Which has been your favorite city that you’ve performed in so far?

London is one of my favorite cities to visit and perform.

But I enjoy singing so much that, regardless of where I am, I enjoy the job as much as possible because I’m grateful to be performing.

If you had to choose the most challenging aspect of your job, what would that be?

Traveling. Traveling is definitely the most challenging aspect of my job because it is wonderful to do, but it also takes time away from being with family. Thankfully, my family has been traveling with me for the last few months.

I’m very happy about that.

Is there anything new or significant you’ve gotten out of practicing for the role of Marguerite so far?

YES! This is my first time singing the role of Marguerite, and I’m learning so much about her character. Before I studied the score, I didn’t know that her music and role were so dramatic. The most important thing I’ve learned from this role is that it is a “big sing!” By that I mean, I will pace myself throughout the opera to sing this part well.

See more features at ®

What is your favorite part about Faust—whether it be a song, an outfit, performing in Portland?

To be totally honest, I’m so excited to come to Portland. I might be more excited about singing in Portland than Faust. And who can blame me—Portland is a beautiful city! However, I’ve fallen in love with this opera and am looking forward to singing and acting this great piece of music. >>> Continued on page 46

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Photo by Sonya Garza

45 Toi Toi Toi | FEATURED

M y personal goal and dream is to become

a better person each day.

I want to live in more compassion, more mercy, more grace, and more love.

My heart is full of love, and I hope to share it with everyone who I meet.

â&#x20AC;?

<<< Continued from page 45

Can you elaborate on the importance of your character in Faust, Marguerite, as a female societal figure?

Marguerite represents so many women in so many different ways.

She is important because her story, albeit from a different time period, resonates strongly in today’s society.

She is innocent in the beginning— her only crime is being beautiful and, perhaps, naive. However, she is deceived by Faust, who abandons her after seducing and impregnating her.

She is blamed by her own brother, Valentin, for his death, and he curses her to hell. So much happens to her over the course of the opera. However, in the end, she remains steadfast and true to what she believes is right. She is a strong woman, a fighter.

FEATURED | Toi Toi Toi

46 Thank you to our wardrobe sponsor Wildwood & Company, Portland’s finest bespoke clothier.

How do you determine whether or not to take on a role?

I have to understand the character and the music! I’ve been offered certain roles where I can sing the music but cannot relate or understand how to portray the character and vice versa.

For me to take a role, I have to be able to meet the requirements of the role on every level: acting, singing, communicating as the character, and portraying the character with as much integrity as possible. I treat each role as though the [character is] a real person whom I’ve met.

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

What do you hope audiences will take from Faust?

This opera is the epitome of evil versus good. In my opinion, good always wins! Always. I hope the audience takes away that we all have choices to make in our lives; sometimes we choose the right thing, and sometimes we choose the wrong thing. However, there is always redemption when we recognize our mistakes and try to do better. There is hope—that is what I take away from this opera.

Is there anything new you hope to accomplish down the line, either professionally or personally?

My dream with my foundation is to one day be able to fund an innercity graduating senior through four years of college. My dream in singing is to be able to do it for as long as I can. My personal goal and dream is to become a better person each day. I want to live in more compassion, more mercy, more grace, and more love. My heart is full of love, and I hope to share it with everyone who I meet.

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47 Toi Toi Toi | FEATURED

The first award from Sylvia’s Kids Foundation, which you founded, was given July 2017.

How do you go about the process of choosing one lucky young adult to be granted such a great opportunity, and have you begun to consider the next recipient?

Yes! Sylvia’s Kids is a foundation that I’m very proud of and so thankful to have. There were three different high schools that participated in the Sylvia’s Kids Award in 2017. This year, we are looking to add schools in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. Last year, the award was given to a student in Las Vegas, which is where Sylvia’s Kids originated. The award is chosen by the board of the Sylvia’s Kids Foundation who read the essays and recommendations provided by each student. The award is given to the student with the best essay and highest GPA. Thank you for asking this question.

This foundation is very dear to my heart. I would love to start a branch of Sylvia’s Kids in Portland one day.

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Margaret Bichteler Concertmaster

How did you get involved with the opera? What is your “opera story?” I moved here after playing for 10 years in the San Francisco Symphony and was looking for freelance work.

I called contractors and other concertmasters and let them know I was in town. Playing opera was refreshing, as I was kind of burnt out on the symphonic repertoire at that time.

Describe Portland in 5 words. Getting too hip for itself!

What are your favorite things to do in Portland? I love eating out, and Portland is great place to do that. The fact that you can go outside year-round is something I got used to in San Francisco and continue to value in Portland. Lately I’ve been trying to go to more plays, as my two daughters are interested in theater.

What’s currently playing on your iPhone/iPod/Spotify/ CD player/radio? I’m either listening to the next opera to check out how my bowings are going to work or learning new pop songs that my kids like on the radio. I really value silence and time away from music. I’m also a big NPR fan.

What do you want our audiences to know? As a member of the orchestra, I want audiences to know how hard we work on making the music to support the singers. You can’t have opera without an orchestra, yet we are never onstage. When the conductor acknowledges us from the stage, it means a lot to hear the audience applaud a little louder or cheer for us! And by all means, come down to the pit and ask us a question if you have one. You may get an earful!

Photo by Max McDermott, Artslandia PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

49 Toi Toi Toi | FEATURED

Hometown: Austin, Texas How long have you been working with Portland Opera?

I worked as a substitute from 1999–2011. I auditioned for concertmaster in 2011 and was thrilled to win that position.

Tell us about what you do. As concertmaster, I have some unique responsibilities. One is that I decide the bowings for the violin sections (the direction that all our bows will go together) so that we sound unified. I get the opera parts in January and start with bowings right away. Then my part goes out to the other string principals, and they adapt my markings to what they have.

During rehearsals, I listen to what kind of direction we get from the music director and sometimes suggest a certain articulation or part of the bow to play in so that we get the sound that he/she wants. Sometimes we change the bowings based on that, and I have to make quick decisions about what is best. I also listen to the winds and make sure that our articulations match when we are playing the same line. During rehearsals and performances, it is up to me to lead the first violins and, to some degree, all of the strings. I can never forget to count in the rests! I also get to play all the violin solos. There’s a beautiful duet between violin and tenor in Faust that I am looking forward to, although it will be a little nerve-wracking, as it ends on the highest note I’ve ever played in all my, ahem, almost 50 years of playing the violin—a high A flat that is almost at the very top of the fingerboard. Singers are not the only ones that worry about high notes!

What is your favorite Portland Opera memory or production? Part of my audition for concertmaster was a production of Madama Butterfly. It was also my first time ever to play that opera. It was exhilarating, terrifying, and extremely satisfying all at once. You can’t beat Puccini.

A RTIST SPOTL IGHT

Gioachino Rossiniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

La Cenerentola 2 hours 45 minutes / two acts / one intermission

Libretto by Jacopo Ferretti / Performed in Italian with projected English translations

2018 SEASON | Toi Toi Toi

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Carolyn Kuan *

Christopher Mattaliano

CONDUCTOR

STAGE DIRECTOR

Daniel Meeker

Sue Bonde

Connie Yun

SET DESIGNER

COSTUME DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

Nicholas Fox

Seth Hoff

Valerie Wheeler *

Joel Ayau *

CHORUS MASTER

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

STAGE MANAGER

PRINCIPAL ACCOMPANIST

* Portland Opera Debut

Latecomers will not be seated until intermission. Patrons leaving the theater during the performance will be re-seated at intermission. Recording equipment, cameras, and personal phones are prohibited.

PRODUCTION SPONSORS

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR INSTITUTIONAL ALLIANCES

51 Toi Toi Toi | 2018 SEASON

Premiere January 25, 1817 Teatro Valle, Rome Portland Opera Premiere March, 1977

JUL 13

15

19

21

25

Newmark Theatre

Starts @ 7:30 P

Starts @ 2:00 P

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Early 19th century. In Don Magnifico’s run-down mansion, his two daughters, Clorinda and Tisbe, prepare for the day while Cinderella (Cenerentola), his stepdaughter, who serves as the family maid, sings a forlorn ditty about a king who found a wife among the common folk.

When a beggar appears, the stepsisters want to send him away, but Cinderella offers him bread and coffee. Just then, several courtiers arrive to announce that Prince Ramiro will soon pay a visit. He is looking for the most beautiful girl in the land to be his bride. Magnifico, awakened by the commotion, comes to investigate.

When he learns of the prince’s visit, he exhorts the girls to save the family fortunes by capturing the young man’s fancy. Prince Ramiro, disguised as his own valet, arrives alone. Cinderella is startled by the handsome stranger, and each admires the other. Asked who she is, Cinderella gives a flustered explanation about her mother’s death and her own servile position, then excuses herself to respond to her stepsisters’ call. When Magnifico enters, Ramiro says the prince will be along shortly. Magnifico fetches Clorinda and Tisbe, and they greet Dandini—the prince’s valet—disguised as the prince himself. The sisters fawn over Dandini, who invites them to a ball.

Don Magnifico also prepares to leave, arguing with Cinderella, who does not want to be left behind. Ramiro notes how badly Cinderella is treated. His tutor, Alidoro, reads from a census list and asks for the third daughter of the household.

Magnifico denies she is still alive. Once Dandini has left with Magnifico, Alidoro tells Cinderella she is to accompany him to the ball. Casting off his rags, he identifies himself as a member of the court and assures the girl that heaven will reward her purity of heart.

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

Helen Huang

Intermission

ACT II Later that evening, Magnifico has consumed copious amounts of wine and is hailed by the servants as the prince’s new wine counselor. Elsewhere in the palace, Ramiro conceals himself as Dandini arrives courting the magnificently attired Cinderella. She politely declines, saying she is in love with someone else—his valet. At this, the delighted Ramiro steps forth. To test his sincerity, Cinderella gives him one of a pair of matching bracelets, saying that if he really cares for her, he will find her. After she leaves, Ramiro calls his men together so that the search can begin.

Once again the prince’s valet, Dandini, faces Magnifico, who still believes he is the prince and insists he decide which daughter to marry. Dandini confesses he is a valet. When Magnifico turns indignant, Dandini orders him out of the palace.

At Magnifico’s house, Magnifico and the sisters return, all in a vile mood. Dandini appears at the door, saying the prince’s carriage has overturned outside. Cinderella, bringing a chair for the prince, realizes he is Ramiro. He, in turn, recognizes her bracelet. Angered by the family’s unkindness to Cinderella, Ramiro threatens them, but Cinderella asks him to show mercy. Her family still against her, Cinderella leaves with the prince.

In the throne room of Ramiro’s palace, Magnifico kneels before the newly created princess, but she asks only to be acknowledged at last as his daughter. Cinderella asks the prince to forgive Magnifico and the two stepsisters, and the opera ends with a scene of great joy and reconciliation.

Courtesy of Opera News

Daniel Mobbs

ACT I

At the palace, Dandini reports to the prince with his negative opinion of the two sisters. This confuses Ramiro, who has heard Alidoro speak well of one of Magnifico’s daughters. Clorinda and Tisbe rejoin Dandini; when he offers Ramiro as an escort for one of them, they turn their noses up at a mere servant. Alidoro announces the arrival of an unknown, veiled lady. Ramiro recognizes something in her voice. When she lifts her veil, he and Dandini, as well as the sisters, sense something familiar about her appearance. Magnifico is taken aback by the newcomer’s resemblance to Cinderella. All express their inner confusion and consternation as they are seated for dinner.

Alasdair Kent

SYNOPSIS

CAST

in order of vocal appearance

Helen Huang + Don Magnifico’s daughter

Laura Beckel Thoreson TISBE,

Don Magnifico’s daughter

Kate Farrar + Kate Farrar

Laura Beckel Thoreson

CLORINDA,

CENERENTOLA/ANGELINA

Daniel Mobbs ALIDORO,

Philosopher, Don Ramiro’s tutor

Eduardo Chama DON MAGNIFICO,

Baron of Montefiascone

Ryan Thorn ^ DANDINI,

Don Ramiro’s valet

DON RAMIRO,

Prince of Salerno

Biographies of artists begin on page 74 Ryan Thorn

Eduardo Chama

* Portland Opera Debut + Member of the Portland Opera Resident Artist Program ^ Alumnus of the Portland Opera Resident Artist Program

Christopher Mattaliano

Carolyn Kuan

WITH THE PORTLAND OPERA ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS Scenery constructed by Oregon Ballet Theatre for Portland Opera. Props and costumes constructed

by Portland Opera. Projected English surtitles written and produced by Chris Bergen. Zedda Critical Edition performed by arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, sole agent in the U.S., Canada and Mexico for Casa Ricordi/Universal Music Publishing Ricordi S.R.L., publisher and copyright owner.

Toi Toi Toi | 2018 SEASON

Alasdair Kent *

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2018 SEASON | Toi Toi Toi

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Fool! Before Carnival is done, everyone will be in love with La Cenerentola; before a year is up it will be sung from Lilibeo to Dora, and in two years it will please in France and astound the English.

Impresarios will fight over it and, even more, so will prima donnas.

Rossini to his librettist, Ferretti, after La Cenerentolaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s inauspicious opening

A HISTORY

E

— by Alexis Hamilton —

opera for the Teatro Valle in Rome. Rossini’s timeline was compressed—while his fulltime job in Naples allowed him to write for other companies, he could not do so at the expense of his Neapolitan obligations. The composer traveled to Rome in December 1816 to prepare the new opera. The Teatro Valle gave Rossini a libretto, but the Roman censor nixed the idea, much to everyone’s chagrin.

This necessitated a panicked regroup, and the theater’s impresario, Pietro Cartoni, and Rossini made an impassioned plea to the librettist Jacopo Ferretti. Unfortunately, Ferretti held a grudge against Rossini—the year before, Rossini had refused a libretto for Il Barbiere di Siviglia that Ferretti had prepared for him. So it must have been with great satisfaction that Ferretti told the story of how he became involved with La Cenerentola:

“

Two days before Christmas Day of the year 1816, I was invited by the theater manager Cartoni and Maestro Rossini for a meeting with the Vatican censor.

[The objectionable libretto] could not be suitably modified, so they begged me to find another subject and write a new libretto on the spot. I say “they begged,” and so it was, because there were bad feelings between me and Rossini, due to a little wrong he had previously done me.

I proposed some twenty or thirty subjects.

But one was too dramatic for the carnival season, another too tricky, another required an expensive staging or did not suit the singers… Sick of proposals and nearly prostrate with weariness, I yawned, “Cinderella.” Rossini, in order to concentrate, was lying on his bed. He abruptly stood up like Alighieri’s Farinata 2 and said, “Would you have the heart for writing me a Cinderella?” I replied, “And you for setting it to music?” And he asked, “When would the draft be ready?” And I: “Despite my sleepiness, tomorrow morning!” And Rossini, “Good night!” [Whereupon] he wrapped himself in the sheets and fell asleep…

HAPPY HOUR PRE-THEATER DINNER

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LATE NIGHT

Toi Toi Toi | 2018 SEASON

cu lt u r e has a Cinderella story. The one most familiar to us was first published by the Frenchman Charles Perrault in his 1697 collection, Tales of Mother Goose. This version of the story is full of magic, with the pumpkin transforming to a carriage, mice into horses, and lizards into footmen. In this tale, we find the glass slipper and enchantment-breaking midnight. Composer Gioachino Rossini dispensed with the magic in his opera La Cenerentola. The Italian culture, unlike that of the English or Germans, does not often include magic in their fairy tales, so while the Perrault story was clearly the basis for the opera, it is just as influenced by several other operas, including Niccoló Piccini and Carlo Goldoni’s La Cecchina, ossia La buona figliola and Charles-Guillaume Etienne’s French libretto entitled Cendrillon (not to be confused with Massenet’s later opera of the same title).

What enables La Cenerentola to delight audiences is not in the details and plot points. What endears us to the opera is the beauty of the music and sweetness of our leading lady, Angelina. Angelina journeys from servant girl to princess in a ripple of music, from her simple folk song at the opening to her grand aria of forgiveness at the end. Of all Rossini’s comedies, La Cenerentola is by far the most tender and heartfelt. There is much in the music that sparkles with Rossinian wit and flash—splashy ensembles, rollicking patter, and virtuosic arias—but there is also pathos, gentleness, and humanity.

In La Cenerentola, Rossini is gracious and patient with his characters’ foibles, and the audience is left with the buoyancy of hope and a renewed faith in kindness, patience, and love.

When Rossini wrote La Cenerentola, he was already a master of opera buffa (comic opera). He was 25 and had cut his teeth with comedies, creating and refining a formula which allowed him to whisk together all of the elements of frothy entertainment quickly. For modern audiences, his comedies are his legacy. When he wrote La Cenerentola, however, Rossini was shifting focus from the comic world of opera buffa to concentrate more on opera seria. La Cenerentola is a transitional piece being neither a buffa, nor a seria, but representative of an emerging trend in Italian opera, the opera semiseria.1 There are two main elements which help to define the opera semiseria: 1) the romantic leads are not comic characters but sentimental ones, whose tunes reflect more popular musical idioms, and 2) the presence of a comic bass.

After the success of his opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Rossini was offered a contract to write an v e ry

So, no doubt bolstered by a good cappuccino, Ferretti set to work that night and, true to his word, presented Rossini with a draft in the morning.

In a time crunch, Rossini and Ferretti both took short cuts with La Cenerentola. The two worked at a breakneck pace to make their January 25th opening night. Fortunately, Rossini was not above stealing from himself, as he had on numerous occasions. The overture is from his opera La Gazzetta.

Opera semiseria is a term that is confusing since it is essentially the same thing as a dramma giocoso, which was a term used for operas like Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte in the 18th century. La Cenerentola has been categorized as both an opera semiseria and a dramma giocoso. Important for opera semiseria is the presence of a comic bass. Of course, all of the operas mentioned here contain a comic bass.

1

A reference to Dante’s Inferno. In Canto X, in which the spirit of the heretic Ferinata degli Uberti rises up from the flames of hell. “It is Farinata rising from the flames. From the waist up his shade will be made clear.”

2

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A HISTORY La Gazzetta was far too racy to make it past Roman censors, so Roman audiences would not have had a chance to hear it, making it a good compromise. Rossini also employed the aid of skilled church musician to compose a chorus at the top of Act II and two arias, one for Alidoro (which Rossini later replaced) and one for Clorinda (one of the stepsisters). Clorinda’s aria is often cut in modern performances, since it was originally conceived as an aria del sorbetto, performed to afford the audience time to step out and buy an ice cream. Some of the recitatives were also hired out by Rossini, but the rest of the opera is his and his alone, written in a remarkably short amount of time, making the loveliness of the music even more noteworthy.

From conception to reception, La Cenerentola was created in little over three weeks. The singers and orchestra were ill-prepared, having received the pages piecemeal as they were completed. The premiere was not a rousing success, but after his experience with the opening of Il Barbiere di Siviglia (when he had to flee the theater in humiliation after the initial performance, only to find the piece had become a huge success by the next day), he was not dismayed by the chilly first night.

When it was first performed in France, it did cause some consternation. After all, it was based upon a French tale, but the Italians had substantially altered Perrault’s classic story. Many critics objected to the changes, wondering if the change from a glass slipper to a bracelet was made at the behest of a prima donna with less than attractive legs. The prima donna in question, Gertrude Righetti Giorgi, answered the charge in a letter to the editor. One imagines her stamping her foot as she writes:

“

You miserable people who soil paper to earn undeserved attention from your readers! On Roman stages, it is not permitted to display the same situations that are seen in France. It seemed that decency might be offended by displaying a slipper, and since it was a musical comedy, it was easy to substitute a bracelet. But Signor Parisian Journalist should not think that I say this to defend my feet: he does not know me, and if he did he might say that I have more to gain by adopting the original slipper than by clinging to a bracelet.

Ultimately, Rossini’s prediction was right.

Within 10 years, La Cenerentola had been performed in the major opera houses of Europe, as well as New York City, and in 1844, 27 years after its premiere, it became the first opera ever performed in Australia.

The opera took its place as one of the most popular and often performed works of the 19th century.

Alexis Hamilton is the Manager of Education and Outreach for Portland Opera.

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Ienvironmentalist would have become an if not a musician. We need that inner conservation. How do we preserve ourselves inside, make a better place for ourselves? If more people listened to music, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be happier.

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Photo by Charlie Schuck

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CAROLYN

wo moments led Carolyn Kuan to decide—without a note of doubt—to conduct orchestras.

The first occurred when she was a Smith College student. She listened to the end of the Eroica, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, written when the composer was going deaf. “It was absolutely breathtaking. It moves you to places you didn’t know possible,” said Kuan, who will conduct Portland Opera’s La Cenerentola this season.

The second time that Kuan, now 41, convinced herself that she’d chosen the right path occurred in 2005, early in her career as an assistant conductor of the North Carolina Symphony in Raleigh.

As part of her job, she toured throughout the state with orchestra musicians. This time, the concert was presented to a crowd of fourthgraders in a quintessential school gymnasium. After the music, she talked to the students before they climbed onto school buses to return home. They were jumping and chatting with excitement.

Some children might never hear another symphonic concert, but for others, a seed might have been planted. Now, six years into her job as music director of the 75-year-old Hartford Symphony Orchestra in Hartford, Connecticut, Kuan argues that if more people listened to music, we’d live in a better world: “I would have become an environmentalist if not a musician. We need that inner conservation.

How do we preserve ourselves inside, make a better place for ourselves? If more people listened to music, they’d be happier.”

In her high-spirited manner on the podium, she will conduct Gioachino Rossini’s 1817 La Cenerentola (Cinderella or Goodness Triumphant) from July 13–28 in the Newmark Theatre. Rossini wrote the exuberant opera in three weeks, off the tailwind of his highly successful The Barber of Seville.

“We needed someone with a lot of energy to conduct this opera,” said 15-year Portland Opera General Director Christopher Mattaliano, who will direct the piece. And energy Kuan has, for many kinds of music.

She and Mattaliano met when he saw and heard her conduct the American premiere of Philip Glass’s The Trial, based on the dark Franz Kafka story, for the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in June 2017.

Mattaliano was impressed with her style and musical interpretation.

The two talked at a post-opera reception and then later at a diner where they ran into each other when struck by late-night hunger.

Impressed with Mattaliano’s “energy and the way he thinks,” Kuan agreed to come to Portland.

“She’s very gifted. She’s a special person,” Mattaliano said about Kuan, adding that Portland Opera “tries to make sure we have female conductors on a regular basis. We’re committed to getting as diverse a casting pool as we can. It’s always about talent, but our stage should reflect the world we’re living in.”

Kuan grew up in Taipei, Taiwan (officially the Republic of China), and played piano from the age of five (a natural for a “good Asian girl when your parents want to marry you off well,” she half-joked, adding that flower-arranging, ballet, and theater lessons were part of an Asian girl’s “well rounded” middle-class education). She shared her older brother Michael’s piano—a gift for his 10th birthday. (Michael

Artslandia’s conversation with barrier-busting conductor Carolyn Kuan, who’ll lead Portland Opera’s production of La Cenerentola this season, reveals our good fortune that she couldn’t settle on which instrument to play

By Angela Allen

See more features at ®

>>> Continued on page 60

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“Many had never experienced anything like this.

The music moved them. It was as if they’d just gone to a foreign country or tasted a new dish.”

KUAN

>>> Continued from page 59

Kuan works in finance in Hong Kong these days and can play “a couple of tunes,” Kuan teases.) After piano, she added the violin, then the flute. She sang seriously for 10 to 12 years, thinking about becoming an opera star, and played harp for awhile—and trumpet for a day.

Her love for music, combined with her rebelliousness—as she calls her determination to follow her heart—along with her lifelong drive to “improve and be better,” kept her on her conducting path, though it is a constant journey of learning and revision. “The more I know, the less I feel I know. Being a conductor is a significant responsibility, and it is so much more than just about music. It is also about life.”

Confessing that she had trouble settling on which instrument to stick with, Kuan reflects: “It was perfect that I ended up as a conductor.”

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As a conductor, she could “play” all the instruments.

At 14, she traveled to the United States to attend Massachusetts’ Northfield Mount Hermon School (a sister school to her Taipei school). She wouldn’t have imagined becoming a conductor had she stayed in Taiwan, she says. In the United States, she was encouraged to ask questions, a completely different approach from her former school’s methods of memorization and rote learning. When she decided to stay in the United States— and she has lived here for almost 30 years—she initially fell in love with the “U.S. education system,” not with the prospect of becoming a musician. At least at that point. “I never intended to be a professional musician.”

After boarding school, she applied to Smith College in Massachusetts, was rejected, and then applied again (“I’m stubborn”). When she does alumnae events at Smith, she often reminds students that she had to apply more than once. She graduated cum laude from the Seven Sisters liberal arts college, where her parents pushed her to study investment banking, despite her musical interests. She demurred somewhat to her family and double-majored in economics and music. She considered a triple discipline—computer science—but music marched on as her primary interest. After Smith, she went on to earn a master’s in music from University of Illinois and a performance certificate from the Peabody Institute in Baltimore.

It’s not lost on her that she stands out. She is a young, Asian, female conductor in the agonizingly slow-to-change, white-maledominated, classical music world, where few women hold the baton. “As a musician, I want people to focus on the music and not what I look like. At the same time, I’m proud to be young, Asian, and female. We live in a society with many unspoken stereotypes.

We may not like to admit it, but it is a challenge, and I am grateful for the people who have believed in me and have given me opportunities.”

And yet, the opportunities come slowly to women who want to conduct. She and her colleagues conclude that American voters will elect a female president before a woman is chosen to lead one of the “Big Five” orchestras: Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, and Chicago.

“This takes time. It’s not surprising,” she said, though she realizes her good fortune to have such mentors as Marin Alsop, the dynamic conductor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra since 2007 (and former music director of the Eugene Symphony), to help her to navigate her artistic way. Aside from being a mentor, Alsop is a friend and a mother figure to Kuan, who lost her mom when she was 18.

The two met at a workshop where Alsop, the first woman to conduct a major North American orchestra, said she was “immediately struck” by Kuan’s “natural talent and musicality.”

Kuan was hired in 2003 as Alsop’s assistant at the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, California—two summer

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weeks of standard-making and standard-breaking contemporary music—and continued until 2012. During that stretch, Kuan developed a “true love for new music and living composers,” said Alsop, who recently has been named the 2019 chief conductor for the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, known for its innovative and bold programming.

The year 2003 also included Kuan’s win of the Herbert von Karajan Conducting Fellowship, which gave her a 2004 Salzburg Festival residency. She was the f irst woman to take home that prize. In 2006, she was hired a s a s s i st a nt conductor of t he Seattle Symphony, and in 2007, was promoted to associate conductor.

From 2007 to 2012, she directed the San Francisco Symphony’s Chinese New Year concerts and later helped to launch and lead Seattle’s Celebrate Asia program representing eight Asian cultures.

She has conducted multimedia productions of the Butterfly Lovers’ Violin Concerto and A Monkey’s Tale as part of Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s world music program.

Because a music conductor doesn’t make a sound onstage— except maybe turning the pages of the score—she must communicate to the musicians and audience the music’s excitement and passion without saying a word. She must inspire “the musicians to internalize [the music] and give it to the audience,” Kuan said. Kuan argues that it’s essential when conducting to understand what a composer meant to express, “to get into a composer’s head and to bring their work to life.” Yet, it’s equally important for audiences to experience new music, even though they don’t have to embrace every piece they hear. “Dialogue is fascinating. Music is one of the most direct ways to share new experiences.”

“Versatile” is a consistent word that critics and colleagues use to describe Kuan, an adjective that keeps her from being trapped in any kind of musical box. Her first job was with the New York City Ballet, and her first Nutcracker at the Lincoln Center went on without her rehearsing with the orchestra. As much as she loves the ballet, symphony, opera, and multimedia projects, she has a new fervor for conducting live orchestral music to such movies as The Red Violin and Star Wars IV. “I think Carolyn will succeed in many realms of conducting— from standard rep to opera to new music and multimedia,” Alsop said. “The sky is the limit for her!”

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After singing seriously for a decade or more, Kuan especially loves to work with contemporary opera. She conducted the ambitious American premiere of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, composed by Chinese born, American composer Huang Ruo for the Santa Fe Opera in 2014, as well as the 2017 production of The Trial in St. Louis, where she and Mattaliano met. “It is amazing to be on the team that tries to figure out how best to do the opera and how best to connect with the audience in our time. Interestingly, the more contemporary operas I do, the more I develop perspective on traditional opera.

As artists, we try to ask certain questions and share our thoughts through our work. Often, we explore the same questions in new as well as old operas.”

Aside from opera and orchestral music, her passion for contemporary and Asian works is a strong theme for her.

In early 2018, she conducted two Chinese New Year concerts for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and, before that, led several symphonic world premieres at Toronto’s New Creations Festival.

PO

Paul Wright Chorister

A RTIST SPOTL IGHT

Hometown: Scappoose, Oregon How long have you been working with Portland Opera?

I auditioned in 1975 and will start my 43rd season with Portland Opera this year.

Tell us about what you do.

I am retired but keep busy with making blankets for homeless Native American children, gardening, and home improvement projects.

What is your favorite Portland Opera memory or production?

I have so many great memories with Portland Opera; from going to schools as the Wolf in The Three Little Pigs (one of the many bit parts I’ve been given), to performing in Seattle with an exchange production we sent up, to practicing the prisoner’s chorus from Fidelio in the old Rocky Butte jail. But my favorite production is the I Pagliacci/Carmina Burana double bill. The melding of those two was a marvelous concept, a challenging piece to memorize, and a thrill to perform.

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How did you get involved with the opera?

What is your “opera story?”

My voice teacher saw an announcement for singers needed for Krenek’s Life of Orestes. I auditioned and then had to try and sight read a choral passage from that opera—aagh. I must have done all right and was given my first bit part as the servant of Orestes.

What are your favorite things to do in Portland?

Obviously, performing with Portland Opera, but I also play snooker, eat out, go to movies, and attend beer festivals.

What’s currently playing on your iPhone/iPod/ Spotify/CD player/radio?

All Classical Portland.

What do you want our audiences to know?

We at Portland Opera have come a long way from rehearsing in schools, old bank buildings, the Jantzen warehouse, and church meeting halls; but we need your continued financial support to sustain and grow the opportunities for you to see great opera in Portland.

Paul Wright in Portland Opera’s production of The Tales of Hoffmann (1995)

Describe Portland in 5 words.

Great food, people, beer, weather

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Christoph Gluck’s

Orfeo ed Euridice 2 hours / three acts / one intermission

Libretto by Raniero de’ Calzabigi / Performed in Italian with projected English translations

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Nicholas Fox

Chas Rader-Shieber

CONDUCTOR & CHORUS MASTER

STAGE DIRECTOR

Jacob A. Climer

Connie Yun

Jillian Foley *

SET & COSTUME DESIGNER

LIGHTING DESIGNER

CHOREOGRAPHER

Hayley Glickfeld Bielman ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Jon Wangsgard

Jessica Hall

STAGE MANAGER

PRINCIPAL ACCOMPANIST

* Portland Opera Debut

Latecomers will not be seated until intermission. Patrons leaving the theater during the performance will be re-seated at intermission. Recording equipment, cameras, and personal phones are prohibited.

PRODUCTION SPONSORS

Des Moines Metro Opera’s Orphée et Eurydice (2016), photo by Duane Tinkey

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Premiere October 5, 1762 Burgtheater, Vienna Portland Opera Premiere July 27, 2018

JUL 27

AUG 29

31

2

4

Newmark Theatre

Starts @ 7:30 P

Starts @ 2:00 P

Sandra Piques Eddy

SYNOPSIS ACT III

The poet and singer Orfeo grieves before the tomb of his young wife, Euridice, as his friends try to console him. Orfeo is touched by their laments, but his sorrow is acute, and he asks to be left alone. He calls on the spirit of his beloved wife to hear his despair; then, cursing the gods for having taken Euridice from him, he resolves to descend to Hades and brave the Furies to find her. As he speaks, Amor, the god of love, appears and announces that the other gods, moved by Orfeo’s despair, will allow him to reclaim his wife from the underworld. There is one condition, however: He must not look at her until they have returned to the upper world.

Alone once more, Orfeo can scarcely believe what has happened, but, conquering his fears, he sets out for the infernal regions.

Orfeo urges his wife to hurry as he leads her toward the upper world. He has obeyed the gods’ injunction that he must not look at her throughout their journey. Euridice, stopping for a moment to celebrate her reunion with her husband, soon becomes anxious. Why will Orfeo not look at her? Has death faded her beauty? With difficulty, Orfeo keeps his face turned away and exhorts his wife to have faith and continue their ascent. Euridice laments that she has been liberated from death only to face the colder fate of unrequited love. Unable to resist her anguished pleas, Orfeo defies the gods’ command and turns to embrace his wife, who at once breathes a farewell and dies.

Overcome with grief and remorse, the poet cries that life has no meaning for him without Euridice. Preparing to take his own life, he resolves to join his wife in death. Before he can do so, Amor appears and announces that Orfeo has passed the tests of faith and constancy and restores Euridice to life. The happy couple returns to the upper world, where they are greeted by friends, as Orfeo, Amor, and Euridice praise the power of love.

ACT II At the entrance to the underworld, the Furies who stand guard demand to know the identity of the bold intruder. Orfeo sings a lament, begging them to take pity on his tears. At first, they refuse and try to frighten him away. But the Furies at last respond to his eloquent song; when Orfeo repeats his request, they allow him to approach the gates of hell.

Courtesy of the Metropolitan Opera

Intermission In the Elysian Fields, a group of blessed spirits dances serenely. They depart, and Orfeo enters searching for his wife. Though he pauses to delight in the scene, he says that only the sight of Euridice can ease his grief. The Shades, hearing his plea, bring Euridice to Orfeo. He joyfully grasps her hand and, taking care not to look at her, begins the journey back to the upper world.

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Nicholas Fox

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ACT I

Des Moines Metro Opera’s Orphée et Eurydice (2016), photo by Duane Tinkey

Helen Huang

CAST

in order of vocal appearance

Sandra Piques Eddy ORFEO,

a singer and poet

Helen Huang + AMORE,

god of love

Lindsay Ohse ^ EURIDICE,

Orfeo’s lover

* Portland Opera Debut

Biographies of artists begin on page 74

Lindsay Ohse

WITH THE PORTLAND OPERA ORCHESTRA AND CHORUS

Des Moines Metro Opera’s Orphée et Eurydice (2016), photo by Duane Tinkey

Des Moines Metro Opera’s Orphée et Eurydice (2016), photo by Duane Tinkey Chas Rader-Shieber

^ Alumna of the Portland Opera Resident Artist Program

Scenery constructed and owned by Des Moines Metro Opera. Costumes owned by Des Moines Metro Opera and Portland Opera. Projected English surtitles courtesy of Des Moines Metro Opera.

Orfeo ed Euridice (Vienna version 1762) edited by Anna Amalie Abert and Ludwig Finscher, used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, U.S. and Canadian agent for Baerenreiter Verlag, publisher and copyright owner.

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+ Member of the Portland Opera Resident Artist Program

Des Moines Metro Opera’s Orphée et Eurydice (2016), photo by Duane Tinkey

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Orpheus with his lute made trees, And the mountain tops that freeze, Bow themselves when he did sing.

Ovid, Metamorphosis

A HISTORY

T

— by Alexis Hamilton —

its early 17th century roots. Monteverdi didn’t have rules to follow—he was making them up as he went along, using whatever musical tools he had to communicate what he wanted. In the 150 years since, opera had “gone public,” become an entertainment available to wider audiences, and had its conventions codified to such a point that composers were working within a strict and specific set of expectations.

A composer had to consider everything from the length of time a candle could burn before it needed to be changed to light the next act, to the stage machinery available to create effects at a given theater. And then, a composer had to please the most demanding force in the theater—not the audience or the impresario—but the singers, virtuosic stars who commanded huge fees to display their highly trained bravura voices. Da capo arias1 , designed to allow the performer the widest range to showcase their talents, had become the main attraction of the opera—to the detriment of the dramatic impetus of the art form. These elaborate (though beautiful) hybrids of the composer’s intent and the singer’s hubris were just one of the many complaints that Gluck and Calzabigi had with the state of opera seria.2 Gluck summed up his feelings about this when he spelled out his goals for Orfeo ed Euridice:

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of Orpheus and Eurydice is a love story in which the stakes reach towering heights—Orpheus risks all the powers of Hell to bring back his beloved. At first glance, one can see the appeal of this epic to composers in general—and opera composers in particular.

The author, Ovid, is a descriptive, dexterous storyteller, unafraid to add a dash of passion and eroticism to tales of life and death— and with a few deft adjustments by a skilled librettist, his Orpheus became an operatic hero for the ages. As a protagonist richly eloquent both in poetry and music, Orpheus has become an artists’ archetype—appearing in many allegorical roles, changing with time and circumstance.

So many poets and musicians found inspiration in the Orpheus myth that there were more than 20 major adaptations written between 1599 and 1699. And it is not just artists of the past who find Orpheus compelling. Orpheus rides a motorcycle into Hell, for example, in Reza Abdoh’s 1990 play The Hip-Hop Waltz of Eurydice.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, we have seen works by Igor Stravinsky, Tennessee Williams, Jean Cocteau, Rainer Maria Rilke, Margaret Atwood, Philip Glass, and Sarah Ruhl breathing new life into an ancient story.

Of all of the works based upon the Orpheus myth, none has proved as enduring and successful as Christoph Willibald Gluck’s 1762 masterpiece, Orfeo ed Euridice. Since its premiere, this opera has never left the opera house, and it is the most popular of Gluck’s pieces.

Gluck’s Orfeo owes much to another operatic genius, writing 150 years before: Claudio Monteverdi.

Monteverdi’s 1604 L’Orfeo (also based on Ovid) is the earliest opera that remains in the regular repertoire of the opera house. Both Monteverdi’s and Gluck’s Orpheus adaptations were written at musical inflection points, defining new directions for this art form. Monteverdi’s opera is often considered the first “real” opera, and it is certainly the first that reflected all of the dramatic possibilities of the burgeoning new art form. Monteverdi was one of the pioneers of opera, and so everything he created was essentially revelatory and innovative.

He mastered the declamatory power of the recitative and coupled it with arias and ensembles that communicated emotion directly.

Monteverdi’s librettist, Alessandro Striggio, was no less brilliant, and together they created a framework for telling Orpheus’ story that would point the way for Gluck and his librettist, Ranieri Calzabigi, in their quest to remake opera.

By the 18th century, opera had come a long way from the Wild West/anything goes atmosphere of he myth

I did not wish to arrest an actor in the greatest heat of dialogue in order to wait for some tiresome ritornello, 3 nor hold him up in the middle of a word on a vowel favorable to his voice, nor to make display of the agility of his fine voice in some long-drawn passage, nor to wait while the orchestra gives him time to recover his breath for a cadenza… I believed my greatest labor should be devoted to seeking a beautiful simplicity.

If Monteverdi had had few rules to follow when he wrote his L’Orfeo, Gluck had to break them all to get the effect he wanted.

The first convention Gluck and Calzabigi jettisoned was the standard eight to 10 principal roles typical of opera at the time. Orfeo ed Euridice has only three named characters, plus chorus and dancers. The plotlines that justified the number of singers and their numerous arias were off-loaded too, leaving behind a clean, lean, briskly moving drama A da capo aria is composed of three sections. The first section is a complete musical entity that could in principle be sung alone. The second section contrasts with the first in its musical key, texture, mood, and sometimes tempo. The third section was usually not written out by the composer, who rather simply specified the direction “da capo” (Italian for “from the head”), which meant that the first section should be repeated in full but embellished with ornaments improvised by the singer.

1

Opera seria, (Italian: “serious opera”) was the style of Italian opera dominant in 18 th century.

It emerged in the late 17th century. The primary musical emphasis of opera seria was on the solo voice and the f lorid vocal style of the period. Chorus and orchestra played a circumscribed role.

2

3

A short instrumental refrain or interlude in a vocal work.

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A HISTORY

Des Moines Metro Opera’s Orphée et Eurydice (2016), photo by Duane Tinkey

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dealing with the most direct and relatable aspects of Ovid’s telling. Calzabigi, like others before him, had excised all of the disagreeable elements of the plot—no mention is made of Orpheus’ misogyny (developed after losing Euridyce), nor of his subsequent pederasty or the vindictive mobs of Thracian women who tore him limb from limb in the original myth. In fact, the only rule of importance that Calzabigi and Gluck did not see fit to break was the expected lieto fine or “happy ending.”

In creating Orfeo ed Euridice, Calzabigi shied away from Ovid’s original second, heart-wrenching death of Euridyce and the dramatic dismemberment of Orpheus (and his head bobbing along down the river Thrace, singing as it goes). He also rejected Monteverdi’s lieto fine, in which Orfeo faces a second, unalterable death of Euridice and is raised to the Heavens by Apollo, in the ultimate deus ex machina.4 Nor did Calzabigi adopt the solution offered by another early opera composer, Jacopo Peri, which ended after Orfeo’s triumphant harrowing of Hell and reunification with Euridice (to general rejoicing). Instead, Calzabigi and Gluck chose to split the difference. Calzabigi allowed Orfeo to lose Euridice the second time, necessitating the pathos of a second gut-wrenching lament, but then he spared the audience a depressing evening by the divine intervention of Amor, who returns the living Euridice to Orfeo’s arms.

Because it is bereft of massive stage machinery, gargantuan costumes, and vocal pyrotechnics, Orfeo is an opera that relies heavily on the acting abilities of its performers.

Those who wish to bring Gluck’s opera to life must strip away any pretense from their performance and be willing to embody the emotions of the characters. Gluck recognized this when, directing a later production, he explained to a too-reserved Orfeo that he must cry, “Euridice!” as if he “were having his leg sawn off.”

Gluck could not have asked for a better interpreter of his Orfeo than the alto castrati 5 who created the role, Gaetano Guadagni.

Besides his uncontestable musical talent, Guadagni was a consummate actor, who had studied with the renowned British actor David Garrick. Guadagni was so committed to the realism of his portrayals that he risked offending his audiences every time he took to the stage. For instance, Guadagni refused to break character to bow and acknowledge the audience after an aria in the middle of a performance, nor would he encore a popular song during the opera. In this commitment to dramatic truth, Guadagni was completely in line with Gluck and Calzabigi.

Orfeo ed Euridice premiered on October 5, 1762, at the Bergtheater in Vienna. It was immediately embraced and enjoyed a revival the following year. Gluck then went on to adapt it for the Paris Opéra in 1774, adding two of his most popular instrumental pieces Dance of the Furies and Dance of the Blessed Spirits. By far the most

substantial difference, however, was that Gluck transposed the role of Orfeo from an alto castrati to a haute-contre, which is a very high type of tenor. This was merely an effort to please the French audience, which considered castrati to be distasteful. Most modern Orfeo’s are sung by female mezzosopranos, a tradition pioneered by the brilliant 19th century singer Pauline Viardot, who starred in an adaptation written for her by Hector Berlioz. Berlioz did this as much for practicality as for preference for a timbre closer to Gluck’s original musical intentions. The standard concert pitch had risen consistently from 1784 to 1859, making Gluck’s transposition improbable for a tenor.

A contemporary audience hearing Gluck’s seminal work may find it difficult to truly understand what a bold, innovative, and dramatic departure it was from the typical operatic fare common in 1762. After all, we have experienced the brilliance of Mozart, reveled in Verdi, and wept with Puccini. Yet without Gluck, these masters may not have been possible. Rousseau declared that Gluck’s operas were “the beginning of a new era.” With Orfeo ed Euridice, Gluck demonstrated the “beautiful simplicity” and balance between music and drama possible (though not always achieved) in the opera house.

A plot device in a play or novel where an unexpected event or entity saves a seemingly hopeless situation.

4

A classical male singing voice equivalent to a female soprano, mezzo-soprano, or contralto created through castration of the singer before puberty.

5

Alexis Hamilton is the Manager of Education and Outreach for Portland Opera.

THE 2018-2019 SEASON! THE COLOR PURPLE

CROSSING MNISOSE

Based on Alice Walker’s intensely moving American classic, this Tony Award winner for Best Revival of a Musical has a fresh, joyous score of jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues.

Mary Kathryn Nagle pairs Sacajawea with the present day fight to protect the Mnisose (or what Europeans named the “Missouri River”) in this Northwest Stories world premiere.

A LIFE

THE BREATH OF LIFE

A wickedly funny, insightful and totally unpredictable play by Adam Bock about the meaning and implicit value of life.

In this bitingly funny comedy from David Hare, two women of a certain age meet face-to-face and fi nd common ground in their independence from the man they unknowingly shared.

SENSE & SENSIBILITY This exuberant, innovative staging of Jane Austen’s classic romantic comedy bursts with humor and bold theatricality.

NATIVE GARDENS In this hysterical comedy by Karen Zacarías, wellintentioned neighbors turn into feuding enemies as they clash over their approaches to gardening — and life.

BUYER & CELLAR An outrageous and entirely fictional comedy from Jonathan Tolins about the oddest of odd jobs — working as a shop boy in Barbara Streisand’s real life private shopping mall.

TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!

A CHRISTMAS MEMORY - paired with - WINTER SONG TWIST YOUR DICKENS

A funny and deeply touching story of human resilience based on Cheryl Strayed’s (Wild) beloved anonymous online advice column, “Dear Sugar.”

UNTIL THE FLOOD Pulitzer Prize-fi nalist Dael Orlandersmith brings an extraordinary theatrical event exploring the reactions of the St. Louis region to the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

Portland Center Stage at

Storm Large in

pcs.org/2018-2019 503.445.3700 All titles, artists and dates subject to change.

CRAZY ENOUGH A one-week special engagement!

Private sale open to 2018-2019 season ticket holders only.

Get your season tickets today!

Resident Artists RESIDENT ARTIST RECITALS 7 p.m. at Whitsell Auditorium

Kate Farrar

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

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Shi Li

Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Helen Huang

Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Portland Opera established the Resident Artist Program in 2005, providing a bridge from the conservatory world to the professional stage for talented young singers who join the company for a rigorous residency and training program. Each Resident Artist appears in featured roles in main stage productions and gives an art song recital at the Portland Art Museum during the season. As a group, they perform at season and individual production previews and other community-based performances. Selected through a competitive national search process, each of Portland Opera’s Resident Artists reflects a bright future for the art of opera.

Thomas Cilluffo Tenor

Portland Opera Debut

Hometown: Traverse City, MI Role: Borsa, Rigoletto Recently: Adolfo Pirelli, Sweeney Todd, Pittsburgh Festival Opera; Tamino, The Magic Flute, Portland Opera to Go; Roméo, Roméo et Juliette, University of Michigan Helen Zhibing Huang Soprano

Portland Opera Debut

Hometown: Beijing, China Roles: Countess Ceprano, Rigoletto; Clorinda, La Cenerentola; Amor, Orfeo ed Euridice Recently: Baby Doe, The Ballad of Baby Doe, Central City Opera; La Fée, Cendrillon, Poppea, Agrippina, New England Conservatory Kate Farrar Mezzo-soprano

Portland Opera Debut: Soloist, Songs of Love and War (2017)

Hometown: Hillsborough, NC Roles: Giovanna, Rigoletto; Siébel , Faust; Angelina, La Cenerentola Recently: Dorabella, Così fan tutte, Antonia, Man of La Mancha, Portland Opera; Angelina, La Cenerentola, Saratoga Opera Shi Li Bass

Portland Opera Debut

Thomas Cilluffo

Wednesday, August 1, 2018

RSVP AT eventrsvp@portlandopera.org Suggested donation of $20

Hometown: Harbin, China Roles: Count Ceprano, Rigoletto; Wagner, Faust Recently: John Magee, 170 Days in Nanking, Jiangsu Centre for the Performing Arts; Bartender, A Wedding, Aspen Music Festival; Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra

SPONSORS: George and Lee Anne Carter, Drs. Dolores and Fernando Leon, the Eleanor Lieber Auditions Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, Portland Opera Resident Artist Storage Fund, The Monday Musical Club of Portland, and George Rowbottom and Marilyn Crilley.

75 Toi Toi Toi | PORTLAND OPERA Photo by Bethany Antikajian

From left to right: Thomas Cilluffo, Helen Huang, Kate Farrar, Shi Li

MEET THE SEASON ARTISTS

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BARRY BANKS Tenor

Hometown: Stoke-on-Trent, England Role: Duke of Mantua, Rigoletto Portland Opera Debut Recently: The Astrologer, The Golden Cockerel, Santa Fe Opera, Teatro Royal de Madrid; Norfolk, Elisabetta, Regina d’Inghilterra, Teatre an der Wien; Flute, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Metropolitan Opera Upcoming: Ladislao, Sigismondo, Münchner Rundfunkorchester; Adolfo Pirelli, Sweeney Todd, Opernhaus Zürich LAURA BECKEL THORESON Mezzo-soprano

Hometown: Vancouver, WA Role: Tisbe, La Cenerentola Portland Opera Debut: Zulma, The Italian Girl in Algiers (2016) Recently: Alto soloist, Mozart’s Requiem, Portland Baroque Orchestra; Mother, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Ensemble of Oregon; Ursele, Béatrice et Bénédict, Eugene Opera Upcoming: Messiah, Portland Baroque Orchestra; Elijah, Willamette Master Chorus ANGEL BLUE Soprano

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA Role: Marguerite, Faust Portland Opera Debut Recently: Mimi, La Bohème, Metropolitan Opera; Liu, Turandot, San Diego Opera; Violetta, La Traviata, Seattle Opera Upcoming: Violetta, La Traviata, Royal Opera House; Bess, Porgy and Bess, Metropolitan Opera; Mimi, La Bohème, Staatsoper Hamburg

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

Hometown: Chicago, IL Role: Costume Designer, La Cenerentola Portland Opera Debut: Costume Designer, The Return of Ulysses (2006) Recently: Costume design, The Italian Girl in Algiers, Postcard from Morocco, and Trouble in Tahiti, Portland Opera JONATHAN BOYD Tenor

Hometown: Corning, NY Role: Faust, Faust Portland Opera Debut: Sam Kaplan, Street Scene (2005) Recently: Lensky, Eugene Onegin, OpéraThéâtre de Metz Métropole; Narraboth, Salome, Pittsburgh Opera; Tom Rakewell, The Rake’s Progress, Portland Opera Upcoming: Alfredo, La Traviata, OpéraThéâtre de Metz Métropole, France; Alfredo, La Traviata, Portland Opera EDUARDO CHAMA Bass-baritone

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA Role: Don Magnifico, La Cenerentola Portland Opera Debut: Antonio/Prince d’Maroc, Merchant of Venice (1996) Recently: Sancho Panza, Don Quichotte, San Diego Opera; Mustafà, L’Italiana in Algeri, Calgary Opera; Falstaff, Falstaff, Portland Opera JACOB A. CLIMER

Hometown: Dallas, TX / New York, NY Role: Scenery and Costume Designer, Orfeo ed Euridice Portland Opera Debut: Set and Costume Designer, Rinaldo (2013) Recently: Rusalka, Orphée et Eurydice, and Abduction from the Seraglio, Des Moines Metro Opera; The Flying Dutchman, Atlanta Opera; Raw Bacon From Poland, Abrons Art Center; Les Misérables, Dallas Theater Center Upcoming: The Flying Dutchman, Houston Grand Opera and Cincinnati Opera; The Little Prince, Utah Opera

Portland Opera’s Man of La Mancha (2017), photo by Cory Weaver

Portland Opera’s Così fan tutte (2017), photo by Cory Weaver

SUE BONDE

Rigoletto Faust La Cenerentola Orfeo ed Euridice

SCOTT CONNER Bass

KATRINA GALKA Soprano

CAROLYN KUAN

Hometown: Olathe, KS Role: Sparafucile, Rigoletto Portland Opera Debut Recently: Police Commissioner, Der Rosenkavalier, Metropolitan Opera; Colline, La bohème, San Francisco Opera; Angelotti, Tosca, Palm Beach Opera Upcoming: Mustafà, L’Italiana in Algeri, Santa Fe Opera

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI Role: Gilda, Rigoletto Portland Opera Debut: Ida, Die Fledermaus (2014) Recently: Cunegonde, Candide, and Rosina, Il Barbiere di Sigivlia, Arizona Opera; Blondchen, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Atlanta Opera; Elvira, L’Italiana in Algeri, Portland Opera Upcoming: Blondchen, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Opera San Jose; Serpetta, La finta giardiniera, On Site Opera at Caramoor International Music Festival; Frasquita, Carmen, Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, Japan

Hometown: Taipei, Taiwan Role: Conductor, La Cenerentola Portland Opera Debut Recently: Music Director, Hartford Symphony Orchestra; The Trial, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; Dr. Sun Yet-Sen, Santa Fe Opera Upcoming: Chinese New Year Concert, Toronto Symphony; Red Violin, Santa Barbara Symphony; debut with the Singapore Symphony

NICHOLAS FOX

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA Role: Conductor, Orfeo ed Euridice Portland Opera Debut: Conductor, The Elixir of Love (2015) Recently: Winterreise, Così fan tutte, Songs of Love and War, Eugene Onegin, Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master, Portland Opera JOHN FRAME

Portland Opera’s Man of La Mancha (2017)

Hometown: Colton, CA Role: Production Designer, Faust Portland Opera Debut Recently: Sculptor, Three Fragments of a Lost Tale, Portland Art Museum and Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Upcoming: Three Fragments of a Lost Tale, Colorado Springs Center for the Arts ( June 2018)

ALASDAIR KENT Tenor

Hometown: Perth, Australia Role: Don Ramiro, La Cenerentola Portland Opera Debut Recently: Il cavaliere Belfiore, Il viaggio a Reims, Rossini Opera Festival; Lindoro, L’Italiana in Algeri, Opéra Orchestre National de Montpellier; Giocondo, La pietra del paragone, Wolf Trap Opera Upcoming: Ferrando, Così fan tutte, Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Lindoro, L’Italiana in Algeri, Hungarian State Opera; Der Steuermann, Der fliegende Holländer, The Dallas Opera

ZACHARY LENOX Baritone

Hometown: Newark Valley, NY Role: Marullo, Rigoletto Portland Opera Debut Recently: Businessman, The Little Prince, Opera Parallèle; Count Almaviva, Le Nozze di Figaro, Tacoma Opera; Marcello, La Bohème, Opera Bend Upcoming: Enrico, Lucia di Lammermoor, Opera Bend; Victor, Tango of the White Gardenia (World Premiere), Cascadia Opera

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Hometown: Niskayuna, NY Role: Choreographer, Orfeo ed Euridice Portland Opera Debut Recently: The Dance Collective; Amy Marshall Dance Company; Orphée et Eurydice, Des Moines Metro Opera

Portland Opera’s The Elixir of Love (2015), photo by Cory Weaver

JILLIAN FOLEY

MEET THE SEASON ARTISTS GEORGE MANAHAN

DANIEL MEEKER

KEVIN NEWBURY

Hometown: Atlanta, GA Role: Conductor, Rigoletto and Faust Portland Opera Debut: Conductor, Macbeth (2006) Recently: Fellow Travelers, Prototype Festival/American Composers Orchestra; Champion, New Orleans Opera; La Traviata, Aspen Music Festival; Man of La Mancha, La Bohème, Portland Opera Upcoming: Tales of Hoffmann, Aspen Music Festival; Champion, Opéra de Montréal

Hometown: Portland, OR Role: Scenic Designer, La Cenerentola Portland Opera Debut: Scenery Designer, Eugene Onegin (2016) Recently: The Difficulty of Crossing a Field & The Little Match Girl Passion, Così fan tutte, Big Night, Portland Opera; The Curious Incident, Pioneer Theater Company Upcoming: Kodachrome, Portland Center Stage; Scarlet and Fences, Portland Playhouse, The Pickathon Festival

Hometown: Auburn, ME Role: Director, Faust Portland Opera Debut: Stage Director, Nixon in China (2006) Recently: Fellow Travelers: Lyric Opera of Chicago, Prototype Festival, Cincinnati Opera; The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Santa Fe Opera; Faust, Lyric Opera of Chicago Upcoming: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs: San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera; Candy and Dorothy (feature film); The Good Swimmer, BAM Next Wave Festival

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Portland Opera’s Rigoletto (2009), photo by Cory Weaver

CHRISTOPHER MATTALIANO

DANIEL MOBBS Bass-baritone

Hometown: Somerset, NJ Role: Director, Rigoletto and La Cenerentola Portland Opera Debut: Director, Manon (1991) Recently: Songs of Love and War, The Magic Flute, Falstaff, Candide, L’heure espagnole & L’enfant et les sortilèges, Pagliacci & Carmina Burana, Portland Opera; Candide, Arizona Opera Upcoming: Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Michigan Opera Theatre

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA Role: Alidoro, La Cenerentola Portland Opera Debut: Lord Sidney, The Journey to Reims (2004) Recently: Music Master, Ariadne auf Naxos, Kentucky Opera; Kromow, The Merry Widow, The Metropolitan Opera; Assur, Semiramide, Baltimore Concert Opera/ Opera Delaware/The Metropolitan Opera (cover); Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, Portland Opera

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ANGELA NIEDERLOH Mezzo-soprano

Hometown: Portland, OR Role: Marthe, Faust Portland Opera Debut: Marchese Melibea, The Journey to Reims (2004) Recently: Second Lady, The Magic Flute, Baba the Turk, The Rake’s Progress, Portland Opera; Meg Page, Falstaff, Karolka, Jenufa, Houston Grand Opera

Rigoletto Faust La Cenerentola Orfeo ed Euridice

LINDSAY OHSE Soprano

HANNAH S. PENN Mezzo-soprano

STEPHEN POWELL Baritone

Hometown: Topeka, KS Role: Euridice, Orfeo ed Euridice Portland Opera Debut: Big Night (2011) Recently: Marie Celeste, Galileo Galilei (2012); Alice, Falstaff, Intermountain Opera Bozeman; Norma, Norma, Opera Southwest; Semiramide, Semiramide, Opera Delaware; Magnolia, Showboat, Portland Opera Upcoming: Shadow 2 (cover), Marnie, Metropolitan Opera

Hometown: Washington, IN Role: Maddalena, Rigoletto Portland Opera Debut: Mercedes, Carmen (2007) Recently: Jo, Little Women, Eugene Opera; Mrs. Williamson/Mezzo-Soprano Soloist, The Difficulty of Crossing a Field & The Little Match Girl Passion, Portland Opera; Mercedes, Carmen, Opera Coeur d’Alene; Alto Solist, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Pink Martini, Oregon Symphony; Alto Soloist, Voices of Light, Portland Youth Philharmonic Upcoming: Dorabella, Così fan tutte, Siletz Bay Music Festival

Hometown: West Chester, PA Role: Rigoletto, Rigoletto Portland Opera Debut: Giorgio Germont, La Traviata (2001) Recently: Germont, La Traviata, Seattle Opera and San Diego Opera; Oliver Jordan, Dinner at Eight, Scarpia, Tosca, Minnesota Opera; Macbeth, Macbeth, Count, Le nozze di Figaro, Michigan Opera Theatre Upcoming: Rigoletto, Rigoletto, San Diego Opera

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EDWARD PARKS Baritone

SANDRA PIQUES EDDY Mezzo-soprano

CHAS RADER-SHIEBER

Hometown: Indiana, PA Role: Valentin, Faust Portland Opera Debut Recently: Mercutio, Roméo et Juliette, Royal Opera House Muscat; Figaro, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Metropolitan Opera; Steve Jobs, The [R]evolution of Steve Jobs, Santa Fe Opera Upcoming: Escamillo, Carmen, Veroza Japan; Lieutenant Audebert, Silent Night, Minnesota Opera

Hometown: Boston, MA Role: Orfeo, Orfeo ed Euridice Portland Opera Debut: Hansel, Hansel and Gretel (2010) Recently: Meg Page, Falstaff, Opera Colorado; Dido, Dido and Aeneas, Florentine Opera; Title role, Carmen, Austin Lyric Opera Upcoming: Title role, Carmen, Seiji Ozawa Music Academy

Hometown: St. Louis, MO Role: Director, Orfeo ed Euridice Portland Opera Debut: Stage Director, Rinaldo (2013) Recently: Eugene Onegin, Curtis Institute of Music; La Traviata, Pittsburgh Opera; Orphée et Euridice, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Des Moines Metro Opera Upcoming: Artaserse, Pinchgut Opera, Australia; Rusalka, Des Moines Metro Opera

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One-of-a-kind rings....

Fine Custom Design RUBY, SAPPHIRE & DIAMONDS IN 18K GOLD AND PLATINUM

Toi Toi Toi

80 503.636.4025 DYKEVANDENBURGH.COM 27 A AVENUE, LAKE OSWEGO TUESDAY–FRIDAY 10:00–5:30, SATURDAY 10:00–4:00

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New & contemporary films in a restored 1926 movie house.

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PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

RYAN THORN Baritone

Hometown: Elkhart Lake, WI Role: Lighting Designer, Faust Portland Opera Debut: Lighting Designer, Il Barbiere di Siviglia (1995) Recently: Norma, Houston Grand Opera; Cendrillon, Luisa Miller, Thaïs, Fidelio, The Metropolitan Opera; Faust, Lyric Opera of Chicago Upcoming: Candide, Santa Fe Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor, Opera Philadelphia/Opera Wien

Hometown: Kenosha, WI Role: Dandini, La Cenerentola Portland Opera Debut: First Priest, The Magic Flute (2016) Recently: Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, Duke/Dr. Carrasco, Man of La Mancha, Schaunard, La Bohème, Portland Opera

ALFRED WALKER Bass-baritone

REGINALD SMITH, JR. Baritone

VICTORIA “VITA” TZYKUN

Hometown: Atlanta, GA Role: Count Monterone, Rigoletto Portland Opera Debut Recently: Potter/Airlie/Bartender, Fellow Travelers, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Amonasro, Aida, Opera Hong Kong; Monterone, Rigoletto, San Francisco Opera Upcoming: Bass Solo, Haydn/Beethoven Concert, Cathedral Choral Society; Bass Solo, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, New Jersey Symphony; Soloist, Recital and Residency, Kennesaw State University

Hometown: Odessa, Ukraine Role: Set and Costume Designer, Faust Portland Opera Debut: Set and Costume Designer, Winterreise (2018) Recently: Faust, Fellow Travelers, Lyric Opera of Chicago; (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Santa Fe Opera; The Passenger, The Bolshoi Theater/Ekaterinburg State Opera and Ballet Theater Upcoming: Silent Night, Glimmerglass Festival / WNO; Dinner at Eight, Wexford Opera; (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Seattle Opera and San Francisco Opera

Rigoletto Faust La Cenerentola Orfeo ed Euridice

81

Hometown: New Orleans, LA Role: Méphistophélès, Faust Portland Opera Debut Recently: Amonasro, Aida, Seattle Opera; Méphistophélès, Faust, Orest, Elektra, San Francisco Opera; Speaker, The Magic Flute, Titurel, Parsifal, Metropolitan Opera Upcoming: Porgy, Porg y and Bess, Seattle Opera; Jochanaan, Salome; Oper Köln; Speaker, The Magic Flute, Metropolitan Opera CONNIE YUN

Hometown: East Lansing, MI Role: Lighting Designer, La Cenerentola and Orfeo ed Euridice Portland Opera Debut: Lighting Designer, The Return of Ulysses (2006) Recently: Beatrice and Benedict, An American Dream, Seattle Opera; The Difficulty of Crossing a Field & The Little Match Girl Passion, Così fan tutte, Portland Opera Upcoming: The Magic Flute, Kentucky Opera; Turn of the Screw, Seattle Opera; Cavelleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, Madison Opera

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

Toi Toi Toi | PORTLAND OPERA

Portland Opera’s The Difficulty of Crossing a Field (2017), photo by Cory Weaver

DUANE SCHULER

Portland Opera’s The Difficulty of Crossing a Field (2017), photo by Cory Weaver

MEET THE SEASON ARTISTS

Portland Opera

ORCHESTRA

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VIOLIN Margaret Bichteler, Concertmaster James McLennan, Asst. Concertmaster Linda Vasey, principal second violin Nelly Kovalev, Asst. Concertmaster (La Cenerentola, Orfeo ed Euridice) Lucia Atkinson Robin Baldino Casey Bozell Jennifer Estrin Barbara George Janet Groh Dubay Hae-Jin Kim Hannah Leland Heather Mastel-Lipson Peter Miliczky Elizabeth Peyton Peter V. Piazza Eva Richey VIOLA Hillary Oseas, principal Pamela Burovac Angelika Furtwangler Shauna Keyes Michelle Mathewson Marissa Winship CELLO Isaac Pastor-Chermak, principal Dylan Rieck, principal (Rigoletto) Katherine Schultz

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BASS Michelle Lindberg, principal Dave Anderson Chang Min Lee David Parmeter

HORN Michael Hettwer, principal Jen Harrison Jonathan Kuhns Leander Star

FLUTE GeorgeAnne Ries, principal Sydney Carlson, principal (La Cenerentola, Orfeo ed Euridice)

TRUMPET Charles Butler, principal Robert Rutherford Craig Gibson

PICCOLO Rachel Rencher

TROMBONE John Church, principal David Bryan Gary R. Nelson

OBOE Kelly M. Gronli, principal Alan Juza ENGLISH HORN Karen Strand CLARINET TBA, principal Theresa Schumacher BASS CLARINET Carol Robe BASSOON Ann Crandall, principal Janice Richardson CONTR ABASSOON Jennifer Bleth

TUBA Jay Steele, principal HARP TBA, principal Denise Fujikawa TIMPANI Will Reno, principal PERCUSSION Gordon Rencher, principal Brian Gardiner

Portland Opera

CHORUS SOPR ANO Gina Adorno Aline Bahamondez * Aimee Chalfant * Hannah Consenz Lindsey Johnson Cristina Marino * Rachael Marsh Dru Rutledge * Audrey Sackett Jocelyn Thomas Eva Wolff * MEZZO-SOPR ANO AnDee Compton * Sadie Gregg Anna Jablonski * Allison Knotts Beth Madsen Bradford * Sarah Maines Olga Melendez Valdes Valery Saul * Kate Strohecker * Sherrie Van Hine * Jena Viemeister

TENOR John Boelling Jody Chastain * Scot Crandal * Robert S. Gardner * Ernest C. Jackson Jr. Jim Jeppesen * Joseph M. Muir * Bryan Ross David Warner * Paul Wright * BASS-BARITONE Gregory Brumfield André Flynn * Jason Fowler Deac Guidi Erik Hundtoft * Timothy Lafolette * Brian Langford * Michael P. Schmidt Patrick Scofield * Tracy Siciliano Anders J. Tobiason *

* Vested choristers who have been a regular member of the Portland Opera Chorus for more than two years and have sung in five or more productions.

ADDITIONAL CHORISTERS FAUST Christopher Cheek Kristyn Christman-McCarty Emmanual Henreid Adrian Rosales Daniel Ross Paul Sadilek Ivy Zhou

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ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS FOR THE 2018 SEASON Joel Ayau, harpsichord (La Cenerentola) Heather Blackburn, cello Jamie Chimchirian, violin Jennifer Craig, principal harp (Faust) Louis DeMartino, principal clarinet (Rigoletto) Gregory Dubay, cello Bruce B. Dunn, principal trumpet (La Cenerentola) Miriam English Ward, viola Irene Gadeholt, violin Janet George, violin Laura Gershman, clarinet Paloma Griffin Hébert, violin Jessica Hall, harpsichord (Orfeo ed Euridice) Justin Kagan, cello Catherine Lee, oboe/English horn Carin Miller Packwood, principal bassoon (La Cenerentola) Andrea Oh, violin Searmi Park, violin Daniel Partridge, French horn Holland Phillips, viola Nic Price, violin Douglas Schneider, organ Karen Schulz-Harmon, cello Larry Zgonc, principal bass (Rigoletto)

Finding Inspiration is important.

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Adjacent to Hotel Modera | 1408 SW 6th Avenue, Portland 97201 | 503.484.1099 | nelcentro.com

Portland Opera

PRODUCTION STAFF

ARTISTIC ADMINISTR ATION Erika Richter, Music Librarian/Surtitle Coordinator and Operator Anders J. Tobiason, AGMA Delegate Eva Wolff, Chorus Secretary Gary R. Nelson, Michael Hettwer, Orchestra Managers Joel Ayau, Jessica Hall, Mario Antonio Marra, Susan McDaniel, Pianists

COSTUMES Christine A. Richardson, Costume Director Debra Bruneaux, Head Cutter/Draper Paula Buchert, Jane Pivovarnik, Drapers Jeffery Wilson, First Hand Frances Britt, Emmaly Chin, Maryann Sutton, Marcy England, Tevis Hockenbury, Fuchsia Lin, Sue Morgan, Stitchers Janet Cadmus, Costume Crafts Artisan Janet Cadmus, Bonnie Henderson-Winnie, Wardrobe Supervisors WIGS / MAKEUP Sara Beukers, Designer/Supervisor Kay Hoover, Kellen Eason, Asst. Supervisors Leighann Barrie, Lisa Jubera, Foremen Helen Hunt, Lisa Jubera, Anne Sellery, Artists Patricia N. Arnold, Patricia J. Chard, Megan Garcia, Melinda McQueen, Nadine Nakagawa, Vonda Purdy-Meyers, Terry Lodge, Technicians

TECHNICAL Jonathan “Bearclaw” Hart, Technical Director Cindy Felice, Prop Master Ryan Yorty, Production Carpenter Carl Faber, Assistant Lighting Designer Chris Reay, Associate Lighting Design (Faust) Mark James, Production Electrician Ann Moore, Properties Liaison Sean Casey, Em Douglas, Rayn Jacks, Ann Moore, Daniel Wilson, Properties Assistants Jeff Cragun, Warehouse Assistant Gina Fagnani, Pre-Production Electrician

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87 Toi Toi Toi | PORTLAND OPERA

PRODUCTION Jon Wangsgard, Cynthia Hennon Marino, Valerie Wheeler, Stage Managers Valerie Clatworthy, Karen Hill, Whitney Schmerber, Jamie Lynne Simons, Jon Wangsgard, D Westerholm, Assistant Stage Managers Carla E. Jimenez, Production Assistant/ Scheduling Specialist John Armour, Fight Coach Elizabeth Spottswood, Production Coordinator

ANNOUNCING OUR 2018/19 SEASON SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR BEST SEATING

JUL. 6 - AUG. 12, 2018

SEP. 7 - OCT. 14, 2018

NOV. 2 - DEC. 9, 2018

JAN. 4 - FEB. 10, 2019

MAR. 1 - APR. 7, 2019

APR. 26 - JUN. 9, 2019

SUBSCRIBE NOW! 503-635-3901 • LAKEWOOD-CENTER.ORG LAKEWOOD CENTER FOR THE ARTS • 368 S STATE ST. LAKE OSWEGO, OR 97034 /LAKEWOODCENTERFORTHEARTS

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2018 SEASON DEVILS FAUST Thomas McAulay Micah Chermak John San Nicolas R. David Wyllie DANCERS ORFEO Micah Chermak Jillian Foley Peter Franc Katherine Monogue

89 Toi Toi Toi | PORTLAND OPERA

SUPERNUMER ARIES RIGOLETTO Brittany Blumberg Laura Christensen Paul DeLano Ronnie Gillman Katie Hudgins Nancy Jerrick Jan Kem Kristina Kindel Gigi Little Amanada Martin-Tully Jody McCoy Sue Morgan Robert Nove Arielle Otis James Sherman Joyelaine Sherman-Lewis Michelle Talal Uani Tillmon Kay Webster ORFEO Marc Kochanski

Orchestra Musicians represented by the American Federation of Musicians Local 99. Principals, Chorus, Dancers, and Staging Staff represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists.

Admission staff provided by IATSE Local #B20.

Stage crew provided by IATSE Local #28:

For the Keller Auditorium Jim Burbach, Head Carpenter

Marty Rugger, Head Flyman

Scott Bartel, Head Propertyman TBD, Head Electrician

Brandon Hoguet, Head Soundman

For the Newmark Theatre John Rourke, Head Carpenter Danny Cook, Head Flyman Gary Campbell, Head Propertyman Lorin Sly, Head Electrician Duanne Rodakowski, Head Soundman

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

Opera a la Cart (2017), photo by Jonathan Ley

F

or almost 20 years, Portland Opera To Go (or POGO) has brought inclusive arts experiences to schools around the region, inspiring over 230,000 young imaginations in the process.

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I

nspired by Portland’s food cart culture, Opera a la Cart is a mobile music venue, created from a renovated box truck. Built in 2016, Portland Opera piloted this project with Portland State University’s School of Architecture to help transform the way we present opera to our community. It features a fold-out stage where we present classic, beloved selections from opera and musical theater in public venues like farmers markets, street fairs, neighborhood festivals, and other community events, as well as wineries, grocery stores, and city parks.

Through Opera a la Cart, we bring our work directly into the communities we serve, in the places where people gather. We have seen first-hand the inspiring and uplifting effect a live opera performance can have upon an audience, especially those who never thought that opera was “for them.” Our hope is that this project will help break down barriers, whether those are economic, geographic, or personal, to experiencing live opera.

The second year of our Opera a la Cart mobile music venue reached an estimated 50,000 people through 35 performances throughout the summer. We expanded the geographic reach of the program across the Portland metro area, into outer eastside Portland and Multnomah County, as well as surrounding communities like Oregon City, Beaverton, and Hillsboro.

Opera a la Cart PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

POGO presents 50-minute English-language versions of classic operas, including The Magic Flute, Hansel and Gretel, The Elixir of Love, La Bohème, and more. In 2015, Portland Opera created a bilingual English/Spanish version of The Barber of Seville that has since been performed by the youth education programs at other leading American opera companies.

You bring magic to our students, many of whom may never have the chance to experience the opera. Thank you!

—an educator in Mosier, Wasco County Each year, POGO travels more than 5,000 miles throughout Oregon and southwest Washington, reaching between 14,000 and 17,000 K-12 students with more than 60 performances in school gyms, libraries, cafeterias, classrooms, and community centers. The operas are presented in full costumes, with portable sets, by singers adept at connecting with young audiences. We have drawn audiences from five states, including Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, and Nevada.

POGO focuses on schools with economic and geographic barriers to experiencing arts performances, from North Powder to Paisley, Ontario to Brookings. Over 50% of schools visited are in rural areas or identified as Title I. Still others lack consistent arts instructions or must share arts educators across multiple schools.

POGO is accessible and engaging. To integrate and enhance the performances, we provide in-class workshops and a 100+ page teacher’s guide, with creative activities for student audiences and curriculum connections that highlight learning goals.

Portland Opera To Go’s The Magic Flute (2013), photo by David Kindler

5,001 Number of miles traveled by Portland Opera To Go’s The Magic Flute in Fall 2017

14,343 Number of K-12 students who experienced a POGO performance in 2017

454 Number of educators who experienced a POGO performance in 2017

230,000 Number of students who have experienced a POGO performance since it debuted in 1998

53%

Percentage of performances taking place in rural communities in 2017

50 minutes Length of each POGO performance

Operas performed

It was bittersweet seeing your performance this week. You are such a talented yet accessible bunch. The sad part is realizing how lacking our curriculum is with regard to arts education. I have four homeless students in my class, and your production filled a void like no reading or writing or even an art lesson from me ever could. We are living in an art desert, and you gave us something wonderful to drink.

—an educator in Tillamook County

The Magic Flute / Hansel and Gretel The Elixir of Love / La Bohème The Barber of Seville

Bilingual Portland Opera’s bilingual English/Spanish production of The Barber of Seville has gone on to be performed

by Houston Grand Opera and Fort Worth Opera

Pacific Northwest POGO has drawn audiences from Oregon, southern Washington, western Idaho, northern Nevada, and northern California

Counties visited in 2017 Benton (WA) | Clackamas Clark (WA) | Curry | Deschutes Gilliam | Harney | Josephine Lake | Malheur | Marion Multnomah | Wallowa | Wasco Washington | Yamhill

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36%

Percentage of schools visited in 2017 with more than half of their students receiving free or reduced lunch

91

Artist: Renee Fleming

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OPENING NIGHT WITH

RENÉE FLEMING SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2018, 7:30 PM Carlos Kalmar, conductor Renée Fleming, soprano The timeless Renée Fleming returns to transfix us all with her legendary voice and spellbinding artistry.

orsymphony.org | 503-228-1353 YOUR OFFICIAL SOURCE FOR SYMPHONY TICKETS ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

SUBSCRIBE NOW for $20 off your first box.

CODE: OPERA w w w.artslandiabox.com

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

ADMINISTR ATION & OPER ATIONS

Richard Seals, Director of Finance & Administration Maureen Beaudry, Controller Lynne Creary, Disbursements Specialist Tamara Russell, Human Resources Manager Jennifer Warren, HR Specialist Kevin Morris, Facility Manager Susan Allen, Executive Assistant ARTISTIC OPER ATIONS

Clare Burovac, Director of Artistic Operations Alexis Hamilton, Manager of Education & Outreach Erika Richter, Music Librarian & Artistic Operations Specialist Nicholas Fox, Chorus Master & Assistant Conductor Mo McFeely, Opera a la Cart Project Manager EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

Sue Dixon, Director of External Affairs

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Andrea Tichy, Associate Director of Marketing & Audience Development Silja Tobin, Marketing & Communications Manager Garrick Antikajian, Graphic Designer Jen Wechsler, Marketing Coordinator PATRON SERVICES James Bartlett, Patron Services Manager James Dixon, Patron Services Representative Megan Harned, Patron Services Representative Sammuel Murry-Hawkins, Concierge of Patron Services U.S. BANK BROADWAY IN PORTLAND Tracy Wenckus, General Manager Morgan Jones, Group & Corporate Sales Manager Beth Moore Jones, Customer Service Manager Roberta McNary Rosso, Marketing Coordinator Jess Morgan, Group Sales Coordinator Michael Brumage, Customer Service Supervisor Katie Clope, Customer Service Supervisor Jacqueline Harpole, Customer Service Representative Chris Olson, Customer Service Representative Natalee Kiesling, Customer Service Representative

Ten-year-plus employees

PRODUCTION

Laura Hassell, Director of Production Jonathan “Bearclaw” Hart, Technical Director Cindy Felice, Prop Master Carla E. Jimenez, Production Assistant/Scheduling Specialist Jon Wangsgard, Stage Manager Elizabeth Spottswood, Production Coordinator COSTUME SHOP Christine A. Richardson, Costume Director Debra Bruneaux, Cutter/Draper Jeffery Wilson, First Hand/Stitcher

OFFICERS

Kay Abramowitz, President Partner, Miller, Nash, Graham & Dunn, LLP David O’Brien, Past President Sr. VP Information Technology, Standard Insurance Co. Curtis T. Thompson, MD, Vice President President, Curtis T. Thompson & Associates Gregory K. Hinckley, Vice President Past President, Mentor Graphics Corp.

William Sweat, Vice President Owner, Winderlea Vineyard and Winery Connie Gougler, Secretary Director of Marketing, iovation, Inc. Shawn DuBurg, Treasurer Director, Private Wealth Advisor Union Bank MEMBERS

Kregg Arntson Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, PGE & Executive Director, PGE Foundation Nelson D. Atkin II Partner, Barran Liebman, LLP Matthew Baines Retired Attorney & Community Volunteer Robert Ball Principal, Robert Ball Companies Marilyn Crilley Community Volunteer Matthew Essieh President & CEO, EAI Information Systems Robert K. Haley Founder & President, Advanced Wealth Management Matthew Haller Entrepreneur Jamey Hampton Co-founder & Artistic Director, BodyVox Diana Harris Community Volunteer, Retired Executive, Intel Chris Hermann Partner, Stoel Rives, LLP Dolores Leon, MD Retired Anesthesiologist & Community Volunteer William Lockwood Senior Vice President-Investments, Wells Fargo Advisors Carol Mangan Executive Vice President, Commercial Banking, Umpqua Bank Louis McCraw, MD Retired Plastic Surgeon & Community Volunteer Callie Pappas VP & Chief Compliance Officer, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc. Ruth Poindexter Community Volunteer PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

93 Toi Toi Toi | PORTLAND OPERA

DEVELOPMENT Lacey Rowberg, Associate Director of Development Celeste Miller, Corporate & Institutional Giving Officer Angela Glabach-Vu, Donor Relations Manager Avery Lemons, Special Events Manager Brita Enflo, Development Associate

Staff & Board BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PORTLAND OPER A STAFF

Christopher Mattaliano, General Director George Manahan, Music Director

Lunch Brunch Dinner Sightseeing Holiday Specialty

“A COMPANY OF SLICK, SKILLED DANCERS”

94

SEE DANCE

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– THE NEW YORKER

2018-19 SEASON SUBSCRIBE NOW NWDANCEPROJECT.ORG

Portland Spirit Cruises & Events 503-224-3900 / 800-224-3901 PortlandSpirit.com PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

Portland Opera

As of March 8, 2018

95

$10,000 – $24,999

Kay and Roy Abramowitz Deborah A. Coleman Marilyn Crilley and George Rowbottom Pamela and Paul De Boni John S. Ettelson Fund Matthew and Emmanuella Essieh Ann Flowerree Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland Diana Harris and Gary Piercy Drs. Dolores and Fernando Leon Richard and Delight Leonard Eleanor Lieber Auditions Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Elizabeth Lilley Dr. and Mrs. Louis McCraw Joy McNichols William and Mary Lou Mullin David and Valerie O’Brien Loni and Scott Parrish Dr. Charles and Ruth Poindexter William D. Rutherford and Joan Lamb Karen Schneider and Lou Perretta John and Carol Steele Donna Morris and Bill Sweat Jeffrey and Jan Thede Dean and Patricia Werth $5,000 - $9,999

Tremaine and Gail Arkley Matthew R. Baines* The Breunsbach Family George and Barbara Dechet William and Suzanne Dolan Paul and Kristina Elseth

Emilie F. and Don C. Frisbee Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Gwyneth Gamble Booth Connie Gougler Robert and Dorothy Haley Matthew M. Haller Richard and Susan Helzer Andrew and Carol Kay Judith and Martin† KelleyWalter E. Lander and Kit Tong Ng Robert L. Ladehoff Kathleen Lewis Nancy Locke and Donald Harris Bill and Kate Lockwood Marco Lopez Jerome Magill Carole Morse Callie Pappas and John Winner Kay Parr Michael and Alice Powell Wallace and Elizabeth Preble William and Cornelia Stevens N Robert and Barre Stoll Robert Swanson Su Tunney and James DePew David and Carol Turner Peter and Ann van Bever Eduardo Vides, MD and Bruce Guenther Charles R. Watkins Nancy Wendt Anonymous $2,500 - $4,999

Kirby and Amy Allen* Sona Karentz Andrews Kregg Arntson and Theodore Fettig

Brent Barton and Liz Fuller Marianne Buchwalter Edwin Clark Paul and Kathleen Cosgrove* Marilyn and Michael DeBonny Thomas H. Denney Richard and Carol Dickey Richard B. Dobrow, M.D. Sterling Dorman Shawn DuBurg Ray and Yasuko Fields Robert and Dana Fischer Michael J. Gentry Ed Gronke* David and Brette Hampton Betsy and Gregory Hatton Marsh Hieronimus Dr. Robert H. and Barbara Jones Randy and Leslie Labbe Dorothy Lemelson Dr. and Mrs. John Lindgren Carol Mangan Fritz and Peter Fritz The M. and L. Marks Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Christopher Mattaliano Sir James and Lady McDonald Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Nancie S. McGraw Brad and Nancy Miller Susan D. Morgan, VMD Nathan Family Charitable Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Yooy and Joey Nelson John and Ginger Niemeyer Mrs. Elizabeth Noyes

Loren Parks Jane S. Partridge Fred Ramsey Mary and Russell Reid Julie and William Reiersgaard Robert and Marilyn Ridgley Janet Roberts and Edgar Clark Don V. Romanaggi, MD Bob and Barbara Schuppe Sue and Drew Snyder Albert and Victoria Starr Claudia Taylor, M.D. Greg and Cathy Tibbles Susan Winkler and James Winkler Anonymous (2) $1,000 - $2,499

Margaret and Scott Arighi Sidney and Barbara Bass Marc and Maureen Beaudry Alan and Sherry Bennett Mr. and Mrs. Gary Best Alene and Bruce Bikle The Brodeur Family Linda and Marcia Brown Megan Brown Mary and John Calvin Dr. Carlos Castro-Pareja and Lori Dunkin* Carol Dillin Susan C. Dixon Beverly B. Downer Timothy Dunn Bart and Jill Eberwein Lynne Eramo Tom Flookes Michael Alan Fox and Deborah D. Garman* >>> Continued on page 96 PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

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Ellyn Bye and Dream Envision Foundation George and Lee Anne Carter Bill and Karen Early Hampton Family Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Gregory K. and Mary Chomenko Hinckley Joanne M. Lilley Linda McGeady Steven McGeady Laura S. Meier Eric and Janet Parsons Dorothy Piacentini Marcia H. Randall Pat and Trudy Ritz Jordan D. Schnitzer Arlene Schnitzer Dr. Curtis T. Thompson The Estate of David E. Wedge Ben† and Elaine Whiteley Anonymous

Portland Opera’s Baroque Ball Gala (2017), photo by Garrett Downen

$25,000+

<<< Continued from page 95

Portland Opera

Bel Canto Society Members enjoying the intermission lounge at the Newmark Theatre, photo by Megan Petersen

COMMUNITY | Toi Toi Toi

96

Eric and Rebecca Friedenwald-Fishman Jim and Karen Halliday Susan Halton Pamela Henderson Drs. William and Nathalie Johnson Georgina Keller H. Alexander Krob, M.D.* Carol Schnitzer Lewis Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Keith Martin Martha Fletcher McCourt Jo McIntyre Christopher and Michael Mele-Wagner Larry Moiola The Monday Musical Club of Portland Paula and Bert Morgan George and Reba O’Leary Milo and Beverly Ormseth Schwab Charitable Fund Marianne Ott Corinne and Duane Paulson Frank B. Piacentini and Sara Weinstein Art Dodd and Diane Plumridge Harold and Jane Pollin Ben and Lillian Pubols Augustina Ragwitz J. Chris Rasmussen Dell Rhodes Lynne Diane Roe, M.D. John A. and Charlene Rogers Celeste Rose William and Nancy Rosenfeld Steve and Lina Seabold Robyn Shuey William Space and Allen Brady Bob Speltz and Dwight Adkins Randy Squires David Staehely Garry and Ardith Stensland Bill Supak and Linda Kozlowski

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

Rick and Carol Terrell Charitable Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation Dr. Claudine Torfs Tracy Wenckus Cindy Lopez Werth and Roger Werth Fund of The Oregon Community Foundation Zela and Elsa Anonymous (2) $500 - $999

Marylou W. Alberdt Jim and Ruth Alexander Grieg and Clarice Anderson Sam and Rebecca Angelos Mr. and Mrs. Calvin Arnason Charles G. Barany Tom Bard James and Kathryn Bash Kurt Beadell David and Jeanne Beck Peter J. Bilotta and Shannon M. Bromenschenkel William Bloom Phil Bogue Frances Britt Mary Ann and Gilbert Brokaw Matt and Marian Brouns Robert Bucci Greg and Sarah Burpee Donald and Linda Carlton Charles Richard Clarkson Mr. James Cox and Mrs. Brenda Nuckton Tracy Curtis Cecil and Sally Drinkward James Dulcich Randall and Laurie Dunn* Donna Elsasser Kevin and Cinda Embree Stephen and Susan Ford Anne Francis John and Jackie Goldrick Ron Gustafson

Anton Haas Jr. Molly and Howard Harris Richard L. Hay John L. Hedrick Fred and Harriet Hegge Karen R. Henell Paula Holm-Jensen* Maryanne and David Holman Kimberly Howard John Hren and Pam Aneshansley Hren Trond and Catherine Ingvaldsen Arthur and Virginia Kayser Mark and Pam Keller Angela Kilman Tara Kinateder Lucy Kivel Rebecca Langdon Charles and Ursula† LeGuin Michael Lockwood Patricia and Walter Loveland Gerald Marcyk Jerry and Gayle Marger Katherine Martin Heli Roiha and Terry McKelvey Andrew and Heather McStay* Jackie Miller Mike and Susan Mueller Ward and Pamela Nelson Richard and Beverly North George and Reba O’Leary Mr. and Mrs. Peter Pope William Pressly and Carole Douglass John and Debbie Purcell Nancy Pyburn Dr. Robert H. and Anne A. Richardson* Richard & Mary Rosenberg Charitable Foundation Lacey Rowberg Seth Rowe Dr. Therese M. Scott and Earl E. Heberlein Richard Seals Ruth A. Short Steve Slotemaker

Caren Smeltzer and Herman Migliore Michael Smira Eric and Cyndi Strid L. Susan Sullivan Von Summers Hank Swigert and Marlene Koch Julie Tripp Frances and William Tucker Russell Turner and Urszula Iwaniec Julie and Ted Vigeland Wendy Ware and Dan Gleason Sharon L. Weil DJ Wilson Dr. Greg Zarelli and Mr. John Bush* John and Nancy Zernel Anonymous (6) $100 - $499

Christopher Acebo Andrew Ackman* Jack Wussow and Kyle Adams* Joseph Alexander and Janine Clayton Farouk H. Al-Hadi Jutta Allen Kathleen and John Allen Robert Amundson and Sully Taylor Donald Andersen Thomas Anderson and Joan Montague Ruby Apsler Jacque Arellano Annette Arrieta James and Mary Ann Asaph Raymond and Nancy Asbury Ruth Aschkenasy Judith Audley Roberta August Fran Aversa and Tom Johnston* Nancy Babka and Michael Morgan John T. Bagg Arlene Baker Jane Tait Baldwin

Portland Opera Georgia Ronan Crampton John and Barbara Creegan Dr. Richard Crisera Dr. Marvin and Lauri Noell Crocker W. Ron Crosier Tim and Suzanne Cusick Nancy Lee Cutler Paul Dantas Mr. Hoyt Day Mariah de Forest Frederic and Nancy Delbrueck Jan Dellibovi Richard G. Denman Dr. Duane Denney Diane Diamond Arthur and Sandra Diederich Eugene and Florence DiLoreto Allen and Mary Lou Dobbins Mandy Doherty Christopher Domschke Dejan and Vida Dordevich Merrilee Dowty Margaret and Richard Drake Dr. David Dunning Maryann Dutton Sandra and Rodger Dwight Jane Edwards Roger Edwards and Carol La Brie Dr. Maura & Ray Egan Ronnie-Gail Emden and Andrew Wilson James A. Endler Joseph Erceg Michelle Erickson Donald Faw Ellen Feibleman Robin Feidelson Edward and Jeanette Feldhousen Jean Feller* Ron and Kathleen Fial Keiko Amakawa and Dr. Harvey Fishman Patricia France Richard and Vicki Frey Theresa Fritchle Albert Furtwangler Oksana Fusselman Jonathan and Eileen Fussner Morris Galen Lyn Garcia Michael Butts and Lily Gardner-Butts Larry and Marlis Gilman Jennifer Goldsmith Rosalie Goodman Corbett Gordon Barbara and Marvin Gordon-Lickey Martha Graner and William DeBolt Annie Grummel Ken and Mary Lou Guenther Ms. Marsha C. Gulick Paul Gunderson

Colleen and Mark Hageman Patrick G. Hager and Alessandra Capperdoni Mia Hall Miller Eric Hallquist Rosemary Hamerton-Kelly Jo Lynne Hamilton Anne Hanchek Francis Hanchek Irvin Handelman Barbara S. Hansen Mrs. Lisa K. Hansen and Dr. Patrick Lee Amy Harrison* Daniel F. Hauth Michelle Hayhurst J. L. Franny Heald Judith A. Heath Chris and Alicia Heaton Andrea and Ted Heid* Stanley O. Heinemann Mary Roberts and David Helmold Mr. and Mrs. David A. Hendersen Kae and Allan Henderson Evelyne Hendrix Sudee and Clayton Hering Joanne Hermens Jean Herrera James S. Heuer Kira Higgs Mrs. Diane Hill Bill Hoady Carol and Herb Hoefer Mary Holdman and Lawrence Evers Kenneth L. Holford Avon and Fred Holmes Kathryn J. Holt* Robert Holub Sue and Tom Horstmann Rebecca and Zach Howell Carol and Tom Hull Nancy C. Hull & Christine Sproul Angela Hult Romeo Ilie-Nicolof Sara E. Ingle Robina Ingram-Rich and Tim Rich Martha Ireland Dennis Isiguen Joyce Jakubiak and David Parks Bernadette and Jeffrey Janisch Richard and Virginia Janzig Paulette S. Jarvey Richard Jenkins Douglas Jenkins Kathy and Nils Jensen Nancy Jerrick* Carla Jimenez Karen Johnson* Norton Johnson and Ella Opdal Annette Jolin and Richard Uâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Ren Becky and Jarrett Jones Shelley L. Jones

Barbara and Larry Jorgenson Dr. and Mrs. Collin S. Kaeder Robert Kavanaugh and Dale Robards Galen Kawamoto Carole S. Keefer Arthur and Kristine Keil Esther Kelley Douglas & Dena Keszler Mrs. Richard Kieburtz Jeffrey C. King and Jessie K. King Louis and Patricia Kingman Mary and Bruce Kinsch* Frederick Kirchhoff and Ronald Simonis* Dustin Klinger Judy and Fritz Kokesh Malle Kollom Rachel Kopf Norman P. Krasne* Ms. Sophia Kremidas Jean Krosner Louise Kurzet Kathleen Kusudo Damianos Kyriakopoulos Mrs. Stanley A. Landeen Frank Langfitt Dennis Langston Jodi Lapidus Grethe Larson and James Mullins Fred Lauritsen Ellen Leatham Janice Lee-Virnig Judith K. Leppert Joan Levers and David Manhart Jordan and and Anna Lewis* Amy Light Jane and Robert Lightell Michael and Jeanette Lilly Mr. Craig Lindsay Judith Litt Jeffrey W. Littman Carolyn and James Loch* Joyce and Stanley Loeb Carol Long Sharon Loomis-Malin* Ken and Ruth Love Robert E. Lowe Jack and Kathy Lucier Rob and Theresa Lusardi Donna and Joseph MacKenzie* Dale Madson James and Midge Main Bill and Mary Mainwaring Ed and Ruth Maionchi Barbara Manildi Linda Mann Michelle Marcyk Don Mason Drs. Ruth and Joseph Matarazzo Len Mathes Julie Mathews Tom Mathews and Lois Heinlein William F. Mayclin Oscar and Mary Mayer >>> Continued on page 99 PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

97 Toi Toi Toi | COMMUNITY

Lajos Balogh Mr. Manuel Baquero Dr. Jaime Barnard Barbara and David Barnes* Julia and Mark Barnes Mike Barr Tom and Molly Bartlett Karen Barton Bryan and Vicki Beazley Phyllis L. Beemsterboer Richard and Myra Bennett Richard H. Berkey Karen Berkowitz and Robert Rutenberg Aasa Maja Besson Hella Betts Maryka Biaggio and Deb Zita* Alice P. Blatt John H. Block Karen and Bob Blomquist Richard R. Bosch William Boyd and Marna Tisdel Johanna Brenner Ms. Verlea Briggs Gwendolyn Brooker Megan Brown Donna Brune Peggy Bryant Kevin Bunick Karie Burch and Shane Riedman Virginia Burgess Carol J. Burns Kate Bushman Judy Ann Butler Carrie Buttke Mrs. Truddy Cable Elizabeth Caldwell Amy Campbell* Maurine and Paul Canarsky Greg Capen Tom and Susan Carey Angela and Marlan Carlson Geoffrey Carr Kendall Carr Barbara and Robb Cason Dr. and Mrs. Rob Cavasher Ron and Jane Cease Doug Beckman and Joanna Ceciliani Sarah L. Claiborne Ann and Andrew Clark Katharine Coakley Kathryn Coffel Elaine and Arnold Cogan Joseph and Vonnie Condon Joan Conley Ralph and Barbara Cook Courtney Cooper Gretchen Coppedge Dave and Char Corkran Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Councell Barbara Courts* Susan and Tim Cowles Mr. James Cox and Mrs. Brenda Nuckton

As of March 8, 2018

THEARTISTS

Andrea Bocelli, tenor Wallis Giunta, mezzo-soprano Dimitri Ashkenazy, clarinet Zvonimir Hacko, conductor Alexandre Dossin, piano Jennifer Forni, lyric soprano Claudio Cohen, conductor Aleksandar Serdar, piano Chi Yong Yun, piano Jetro de Oliveira, conductor Harry Baechtel, baritone Joel Bluestone, percussion Andra Tyniec, violin Jennifer Nichols, dancer Elena Braslavsky, harpsichord Travis Hatton, conductor Sarah Tiedemann, flute Daniel Buchanan, tenor Deac Guidi, bass Gordon Rencher, percussion o Sarah Tiedemann, flute Brian Tierney, tenor TRIO MARTINU THIRD ANGLE NEW MUSIC OMF ARTISTIC COLLEGIUM PORTLAND CIVIC ORCHESTRA ORPHEUS ACADEMY ORCHESTRA OREGON FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA v

Wallis Giunta

OREGON MUSIC FESTIVAL

Zvonimir Hačko, Artistic Director

June 18-July 14, 2018

www.oregonmusicfest.org Portland

Andrea Bocelli

THERE WILL BE MUSIC/HOMMAGE TO PAUL SACHER Artslandia-May-June-ad.indd 1

4/23/2018 3:30:17 PM

<<< Continued from page 97

Portland Opera Carole Smith Ms. Kathi Snouffer Neil Soiffer and Carolyn Smith Charles and Melissa Sollitt Martha and Les Soltesz Sherry Spencer Alice Spitzer Gabriella Sprenger Charles and Karen Springer John and Carole Steele Donald and Barbara Stephens Kristin Sterling and Lorin Wilkerson Ms. Jessica Stern Mike and Judy Stoner Milan and Jean Stoyanov Kathleen Strohecker George Chung Su L. Susan Sullivan Richard Swart* Kay Sweeney Danielle Tamcsin Michael Tang Brian Teller Jane Thanner and Tim Smith William Thierfelder Frederick and Jean Thompson Susan and Richard Thompson Kim Thompson Jan Elizabeth Thorpe Alex and Courtney Thurber* Misty Tompoles Dr. Matti and Najla Totonchy Jo Ann and Ric Tower Stanley and Marie Townsend Lyle M. Tucker Drs. Gerry and Angela Uba Ingeborg Vaden Allen and Muriel van Veen

Jerry and Thuy Vanderlinde* Peter Vennewitz* Geoff Verderosa Jon Vorderstrasse Carol and Dwight Wallace Carol M. Warren Laura Watkins Julie Wilson Margaret Wiltschko Ted and Sheila Winnowski Dr. and Mrs. David S. Wisdom George Wittemyer Tom and Mariol Wogaman Ruth and Peter Wolff* Marjorie L. Wolford Richard and Leslie Wong Christopher R. Wood Linda M. Wood David Demoss and Geoffrey Wren Jane E. Zahler Diane Zhitlovsky Anonymous (35)

* Sustaining Donors have opted to give through automatic monthly contributions.

† In Memoriam For more information about sustained giving, please contact Angela Glabach-Vu at 503-417-0601 or aglabach@portlandopera.org.

Portland Opera’s Baroque Ball Gala (2017), photo by Megan Petersen

Majorie Powell John and Debbie Purcell Carole Quick Kasia Quillinan Suzanne Rague Sohyon Rahe Michael and Julia Ratoza Julie Rawson Emperor Doug Reckmann III Denise Reed Steve Reinisch Michael Remsing Edith Reynolds Michelle Reynolds Shannon Reynolds Kevin Reynolds Mrs. Charles Rhyne Judith L. Rice M. Burke and Barbie Rice Forrest & Rae Richen Laura Richter Ann and Tom Ridenhour Judge R. William Riggs Lisa Ripps and Michael Hynes Lawrence and Jeanette Roediger Brian Rogers and Cassandra Scholte Mary B. Rose Rosalind M. Roseman Ruth Rosenbaum Stuart and Holly Rosenblum Rosemarie F. Rosenfeld Charles W. Rosenthal Weston Roth and Lisa Shaw Pavel & Alena Rott Mr. and Mrs. Mark Rowlette* Laurens and Judith Ruben Dr. Elizabeth Rudy Marguerite Russell Barry and Penny Russman Elaine C. Ruys Dan Ryan Charles Ryberg Sam Sadler Targol Saedi Jeannie and Leonard Santos Rochelle Satter Steve and Chris Satterlee James and Julianne Sawyer Charles Schneider John Schoon Dick Schouten Art Schwartz and Myrna Glenn Dr. and Mrs. J. D. Schweinfurth Bill Scott and Kate Thompson Edward B. Segel Rebecca Semper Connie Senter Krista and Rick Siler Michael and Norma Slover Caren Smeltzer and Herman Migliore Ashleigh Lauren Smith Cathleen L. Smith* Lindsey Smith

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

99 Toi Toi Toi | COMMUNITY

Dr. & Dr. McClure Maria McCormick Thomas McCourt Carole and William McDonald Kristie McHugh Erjavec Ed and Judith McKenney John and Candace McMunn Carolyn and Jack McMurchie Tim McNichol and Anne Egan Bill McRae Edward and Nancy Meece Mark Meek Charles Meshul and Maureen Ober Marion Meyer Susan Mikota Tom and Pamela Miles Jen Milius and John Eisemann Pamela Gesme Miller and Fred B. Miller Kenneth and Sandra Miller Kay Mitchell John and Shanna Molitor Kathleen Anne Moon Melissa Moore J. Michael Morrison Jean S. Morrison Billie Moser Patricia G. Moss Martha Havens Moyer Richard and Midge Mueller Alfred W. and Susan Mukatis Nancy Murray Samantha Arlene Nash Bee and Quentin Neufeld J. Neuwelt* Shirley and Mike Newcomb Elaine Noonan Mary Jo and Robert Nye Nancy H. Oberschmidt Alison N. O’Brien Leslie Odegard Michael Olds Kris Oliveira Erika and Jack Orchard Olive and John Orr* Gerry Ortiz Patricia O’Shea Barbara K. Padden Pam and Ken Palke Caroline Lewis Palmer Marie L. Passmore John and Jollee Patterson PDX Trivia Carole Peggar Pamela Peterson Alyssa Petroff Rebecca Phillips* Susan and Walter Piepke Matthew Plavcan Marilyn R. Podemski Laura Polich Guy and Sally Pope Richard Poppino and Tina Bull Richard A. Potestio

As of March 8, 2018

2018

oregon bach festival

june 29 - july 14

The Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass July 7

An Evening with Philip Glass July 11

Glass Piano Concerto No. 3 featuring Simone Dinnerstein July 12

OregonBachFestival.org

Donors Tribute In Memory of Greg Parsons Roberta August In Honor of Andrea Tichy Margrit Rose Boswell Lindal Chuck and Patt DeRousie In Honor of Carole Morse’s Birthday Jim & Linda Burch, and Ryan Thorn Barbara Coombs Lee In Honor of Christopher Mattaliano Robert Burovac In Honor of Kay Abramowitz Sue Horn-Caskey and Rick Caskey In Honor of Marie Colasurdo Colasurdo Family In Memory of Maria Conkle Leo Conkle Marilyn Crilley and George Rowbottom In Memory of Herbert Crane Pamela Crane In Honor of Jocelyn Claire Thomas & Sadie Gregg Bart and Jill Eberwein In Honor of Michael Brumage Amy Elliott In Honor of Sue Dixon Jean Inzerillo In Memory of Nancy Glerum Rolf Glerum In Honor of Monte and Peggy Greer Susan Greer In Memory of Tillie Rea Rev. Lawrence R. King In Honor of Zita F. Kondrath Paul Kondrath In Memory of Jenny Ruth Lindner Heidi Lindner In Memory of Ben Whiteley Joanne Lilley Laura Newton In Honor of Henri Champagne William Mahan In Memory of Tami G. Martin John Martin In Memory of Shirley Pari Dallas Daniel Mueller and JoAnn Pari-Mueller In Memory of Gerry Allen Stephen and Leslie Robinson In Memory of Tillie Rea Rev. Lawrence R. King In Memory of Mayer D. Schwartz Janet Schwartz In Memory of Helen Tucker Patricia Tucker In Honor of Diane Bickford Sarah Vallese In Memory of Richard Oliverio Les Vuylsteke In Honor of Gregory K. and Mary Chomenko Hinckley R Bastian and Barbara Wagner Keith and Sharon Barnes In Honor of Donald Sandau Michael and Lisa Wenzlick

METRO Tom Hughes, Metro Council President

CITY OF PORTLAND Ted Wheeler, Mayor

METROPOLITAN EXPOSITIONRECREATION COMMISSION Karis Stoudamire-Phillips, Chair Ray Leary, Vice-Chair Deidra Krys-Rusoff, Secretary-Treasurer John Erickson Damien Hall Dañel Malán Deanna Palm Scott Cruickshank, Visitor Venues General Manager

PORTLAND’5 CENTERS FOR THE ARTS Robyn Williams, CVE, Executive Director Julie Bunker, Director of Operations Joe Durr, Director of Event Services Stephanie Viegas Dias, Director of Ticket Services Heather Wilton, Interim Director of Programming, Booking & Marketing Justin Riedl, pacificwild General Manager

PORTLAND’5 CENTERS FOR THE ARTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Greg Brown Jim Brunberg Gus Castaneda, Chair Elisa Dozono Susan Hartnett Greg Heinze Antonio Lara Gary Maffei Adrienne Nelson Susan Nielsen Brian Sanders Daniel A. Sullivan George Taylor Richard Wattenberg

101 Toi Toi Toi | COMMUNITY

In Memory of Jacqueline Varga Pamela Crane

Portland’5 Centers for the Arts includes the Keller Auditorium, Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, and Antoinette Hatfield Hall, comprising the Newmark Theatre, Dolores Winningstad Theatre, and Brunish Theatre.

All are public facilities owned by the City of Portland and managed by Metro through the Metropolitan Exposition-Recreation Commission.

Each year approximately one million people attend more than 1,000 performances in these facilities.

Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pick a

favorite?

You support the arts. You want to help support the arts community as a whole.

You could research, budget, write 100 checks to as many different groups. . . . . . Or, you can give to Work for Art.

We make it easy. Support 100 local arts & culture groups with just one gift.

Learn more at

workforart.org Work for Art is a program of the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Judy & Louis McCraw, MD Portland Opera Volunteers, Subscribers, Donors, Board Member

D

r. L ouis and Judy Mc Craw, are longtime opera patrons with

a deep commitment to the arts.

Louis grew up in a musical family in Jackson, Mississippi. His mother, a violinist with the local symphony, began taking him and his siblings to opera rehearsals when he was 9 years old. The first opera he ever saw was Verdi’s Il Trovatore. He has loved opera ever since and can name almost each opera he saw at the local opera company, now Mississippi Opera. He spent most of his junior high and high school years attending dress rehearsals, which is a large part of why he loves attending dress rehearsals at Portland Opera today.

Louis moved to Portland in 1973 and has been a subscriber and supporter of Portland Opera since then. He and Judy also met in Portland in 1976. Their first date to the opera was in 1976, when they saw a production of The Consul. Madama Butterfly was the second opera they saw as a couple. Louis and Judy even celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary at the opera—attending the dress rehearsal of the David Lang double bill in July 2017.

Louis introduced Judy to opera when they met 40 years ago and appreciates that he can explain many of the operas to her before seeing them, especially Wagner’s Ring Cycle.

This creative couple’s love for the arts extends beyond opera.

Louis has also served on the boards of the Oregon Symphony, Chamber Music Northwest, and Portland Piano International.

They regularly attend the ballet, symphony, chamber music and piano events. Judy has always had an interest in art. She now does acrylic painting and is an outstanding painter of pet portraits and flowers. They enjoy entertaining at home with their pup, Jasper, and many friends throughout the year.

I have been a continuous subscriber and supporter of Portland Opera since I moved to Portland in 1973. I first joined the Opera board in 1978, my fifth year in Portland. It is a privilege to again be involved with Portland Opera and on the board of directors.

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Louis, a retired plastic surgeon, has also volunteered backstage at Portland Opera as a makeup artist, combining three of his passions: art, faces, and opera. “I was paid in posters,” Louis said.

Many of these posters can be seen throughout the McCraws’s Lake Oswego home today. Louis is currently serving his fifth term on the Portland Opera board of directors. One opera Louis and Judy would love to see performed in Portland: Dvořák’s Rusalka.

Thank you, Louis and Judy, for your sustaining support of Portland Opera!

Dr. Louis and Judy McCraw, photo by Max McDermott, Artslandia PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

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Judy grew up in New Canaan, Connecticut; Scottsdale, Arizona; and Portland, Oregon. She is a former professional model who worked for Nordstrom, Norm Thompson, and Meier & Frank.

Fun fact: Judy’s uncle is Christopher Lloyd, star of the Back to the Future movies and Taxi.

DONOR SPOTL IGHT

CTA Lab proudly supports Portland Opera and the Arts in Oregon.

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Nel Centro

DONOR SPOTL IGHT 1408 SW Sixth Avenue

Portland Opera Premiere Restaurant Partner Owner David Machado and General Manager Michelle Glass talked to us about our longstanding partnership

How long have you been working with Portland Opera?

Nel Centro has been partnering with Portland Opera since we opened in 2009. Owner David Machado has a love and passion for the arts and knew from the start that he wanted to support and promote this community. Portland Opera was our first arts partner and has continued to be our strongest audience base that dines here.

What is your favorite Portland Opera memory or production?

Orphée by Philip Glass.

What are your favorite things to do in Portland?

Eat out at all of the great restaurants!

What’s currently playing on your iPhone/iPod/ Spotify/CD player/radio?

The Hamilton soundtrack and The Cars Pandora station.

What do you want our audiences to know?

The three-way relationship between Portland Opera, Nel Centro, and the guests/audience members is magical. We are so proud of this model that we have created that benefits our entire community. This tight partnership makes us feel as though we are really a part of Portland’s wonderful arts community.

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How did you get involved with the opera?

What is your “opera story?”

We started attending Portland Opera productions in 2009 as guests of the opera and have been regulars ever since.

Describe Portland in 5 words.

Sophisticated, quirky, delicious, artistic, beautiful

FAST BECOMING THE NUMBER ONE CHOICE OF WORLD COMPETITION WINNERS

2014 RUBENSTEIN COMPETITION – TEL AVIV, ISRAEL 2015 CHOPIN COMPETITION – MIAMI, FLORIDA 2016 SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION 2017 SCOTTISH INTERNATIONAL PIANO COMPETITION

P

THE NORTHWEST’S REMIER PIANO STORE

503.775.2480 portlandpianocompany.com

2017â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2018 Portland Opera is proud to collaborate with corporate and community allies to create impactful relationships regionally and nationally. We would like to recognize the generosity, advocacy, and support of the businesses, foundations, and organizations that comprise our list of vibrant sponsors and partners.

Thank you!

Major support is provided by:

Additional support is provided by:

The Boeing Company Burlington Northern Santa Fe Foundation The Carpenter Foundation Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Floweree Foundation Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation The Hearst Foundation Intel Volunteer Grant Program

We would also like to recognize our corporate partners who encourage matching gifts or volunteerism though their employee programs, including:

Bank of America The Boeing Company Chevron Corporation General Mills Hanna Andersson HP IBM Intel KeyBank Microsoft

Nike NW Natural PGE Rockwell Collins Tektronix The Standard US Bank Major in-kind partners include:

200 Market Argyle, the Official Sparkling Wine of Portland Opera Barran Liebman LLP The Benson Hotel The Mark Spencer Hotel Nel Centro Portland Piano Company, the Official Piano Sponsor of Portland Opera Winderlea Vineyard and Winery Additional in-kind support provided by:

Anthropologie & Co. Botanica Floral Design Centerlogic, Inc. Elk Cove Vineyards Et Fille Wines Ponzi Vineyards Portland Wine Storage Remy Wines RingSide Fish House Raven & Rose Utopia Vineyard Wildwood & Company

Please contact giving@portlandopera.org or 503-417-0601 for more information about corporate partnerships.

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The Carol Franc Buck Foundation The Collins Foundation The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation The McGeady Family Foundation Meyer Memorial Trust The National Endowment for the Arts OPERA America | The National Opera Center Oregon Arts Commission The Oregon Community Foundation The Standard The Regional Arts & Culture Council, including support from the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and the Arts Education & Access Fund Work for Art

The Jackson Foundation JEZ Foundation Kerr Pacific Corporation Kinder Morgan Foundation Lamb Family Foundation Multnomah County Cultural Coalition The Monday Musical Club of Portland M&T Bank NW Natural Opus Bank Foundation The Oregonian/Oregon Live!

Pacific Power Foundation PGE Foundation Richard and Mary Rosenberg Charitable Foundation Ritz Family Foundation Rockwell Collins Matching Gift Program Rose E. Tucker Charitable Trust Rutherford Investment Management The Standard Union Bank Union Pacific Foundation U.S. Bank Foundation The Warren Foundation The Wheeler Foundation Wells Fargo Winderlea Vineyard and Winery

Legacy Society LET PASSION BE YOUR LEGACY!

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Call Lacey Rowberg at 503-417-0572 or email at lrowberg@portlandopera.org.

Organization Legal Name: Portland Opera Association, Inc. Mailing Address: 211 SE Caruthers Street, Portland, OR 97214 Tax ID Number: 93-6034321

Portland Opera’s La Bohème (2017), photo by Cory Weaver

To Learn How to Create Your Own Legacy

G

orgeous music that

captivates your soul. Incredible stories that transport you to new worlds of passion and discovery. Opera is truly the most potent of all the art forms. By including Portland Opera in your will or estate plan, you will share your love of opera with generations to come through our breathtaking mainstage productions and wide-ranging education programs.

Richard† & Janet Geary Michael J. Gentry Robert & Dorothy Haley Carol & John Hampton† Jamey Hampton & Ashley Roland Diana Harris & Gary Piercy Arland Hatfield† Orpha H. Hedrick† Bill Hetzelson & Robert Trotman Douglas & Candace Higgins E. Roxie Howlett† Nancy Jerrick Monroe A. & Frances Jubitz† Judy C. Kelley Lora L. & Martin N. Kelley† Randy & Leslie Labbe Mark LaMalfa Violet B. Lang† Ghislaine Le Jeune†

Max† & Suzanne Millis Susan D. Morgan, VMD Mr.† & Mrs. Robert H. Noyes, Jr. David & Valerie O’Brien Mrs. Janice Orloff† Marianne (Gerke) Ott Callie Pappas and John Winner Jane S. Partridge Dorothy & Franklin† Piacentini R. Ronald Roy Bruce Ramseyer Richard A. & Mary W. Raub Herbert & Helen Retzlaff† Claire & George Rives† Catherine & Ottomar† Rudolf Luwayne E. Sammons Lois Schnitzer Harold† & Arlene Schnitzer Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert Schnitzer†

The Portland Opera Legacy Society honors those who have included Portland Opera in their wills or estate plans or who have made a significant gift to the Portland Opera Endowment.

Drs. Dolores & Fernando Leon Kathleen Lewis Joanne M. Lilley Bill and Kate Lockwood Mr.† & Mrs. William W. Lyons Maybelle Clark Macdonald† Lorna MacLeod Anne Catriona MacLeod† Joanne† & Jerome Magill Susan Maltby† Sherrilyn S. Maltby† Drs. Ruth and Joseph Matarazzo Christopher Mattaliano Gail & Bill McCormick Dr. & Mrs. Louis McCraw Sir James & Lady Anne McDonald† Nancie S. McGraw Jackie B. Miller Mrs. Philip H. Miller† Pamela Gesme Miller & Fred B. Miller

Zella C. Schwartzenhauer† David & Karen Sly Grace Spacht† Eric Steinhauser and Gregg Macy Mr. & Mrs. W. T. C. Stevens Diane Syrcle Jeffrey & Jan Thede Peter & Ann van Bever Esther D. Vetterlein† Jean & Howard Vollum† Les Vuylsteke David E. Wedge† William & Patricia Wessinger† Ben† & Elaine Whiteley Virginia Willard & Jack Olson Margaret T. Winch† Susan Yamanaka Jay & Diane Zidell Anonymous (8) As of March 8, 2018 PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

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Kay and Roy Abramowitz Randa Cleaves Abramson and Jonathan Abramson Douglas & Kerry Aden Marylou W. Alberdt Kirby & Amy Allen Margaret & Scott Arighi Tremaine & Gail Arkley Stephen S. Babson† Matthew R. Baines Kaaren Bedi Gilbert T. Benson† Blue Bickford Laura Bieber Peter J. Bilotta & Shannon M. Bromenschenkel Mrs. Robert Bitar† Marianne Buchwalter Diane Burns & Doug Foster Ellen E. Bussing George & Lee Anne Carter Tim & Marianne Chapman Alyce R. Cheatham† Mary A. Clancy† Richard M. & Tracey A. Clark Mrs. Maurie D. Clark† Craig L. Clark† Debi Coleman Mr. James Cox and Mrs. Brenda Nuckton Marilyn Crilley & George Rowbottom Pamela & Paul De Boni Gay Hamilton Dielschneider† William & Suzanne Dolan Bill & Karen Early Edna L. Holmes† Spencer & Jane Ehrman† Ruth P. Elliott† Jeffrey A. & Diane M. Evershed William Finlay† William Michael Foster† Family Don C. Frisbee† William A. & Joyce† Furman Gwyneth Gamble Booth Edith V. Gautschi†

Stop. Take a closer look.

This is what one of the first Platinum LEED certified existing buildings in the U.S. looks like.

Inside you’ll see increased tenant employee satisfaction and productivity. If you look even closer you’ll see an efficient operation that has achieved an incredible reduction in energy, CO2 emissions and water consumption.

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TO LEARN MORE PLEASE VISIT 200MARKET.COM OR CALL 503.279.1700

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3/22/13 12:57 PM

2/27/18 2:34 PM

The Young Patron Society is Portland Opera’s program for young art lovers and theatergoers between the ages of 21-40.

JOIN THE SOCIETY WITH A DONATION OF $100 PER YEAR AND RECEIVE DISCOUNTED TICKETS TO OPERA PERFORMANCES, PLUS INVITES TO GREAT PARTIES.

Abby Alford Nina Amstutz Kevin Beaudry Brittany Blumberg Lindsey Bregante Myers Kate Bushman* Melinda Chandos Courtney Cooper Erin Dawson Megha Desai* and Greg Lockwood Elizabeth Dominguez Christopher Domschke Nicole Forbes Kelsey Gregory Gloria Guinn Amelia Haynes Carrie Juergens* Meagen Kincaid* Katie Kinsley Stephanie and Ryan La Pier Christine E. Lewis* Nicholas Lim* Victoria Meadows Jen Milius and John Eisemann Anne Nguyen and Eli Krueger A.M. LaVey Susa Lynne David Nijhawan Nicole and Thomas Otte Caroline Lewis Palmer Augustina Ragwitz Amiko Hiraiwa Targol Saedi David* and Laura Salerno-Owens Kevin* and Gabrielle Sasse Ashleigh Lauren Smith Danielle Tamcsin Michael Tang Justine Thede* Brandon Triglia Kara Walton Grace Weaver Andrew* and Ann Woodle Rebecca and Jerry Xiong Lindsay Yousey * Denotes members of the Portland Opera Ambassador Board As of March 28, 2018

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Portland Opera’s Baroque Ball Gala (2017), photo by Gia Goodrich

Young Patron Society

YOUNG PATRON SOCIETY MEMBERS

VOLUNTEERS

Interested in volunteering? For information, please visit PortlandOpera.org/volunteer or contact Brita Enflo, Volunteer Coordinator at 503-417-0581 or benflo@portlandopera.org.

Portland Operaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Volunteer Luncheon (2017)

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Portland Opera is endlessly grateful for our volunteers! We had 150 active volunteers these past two seasons, working over 5,000 hours, doing a variety of jobs from selling raffle tickets at our gala, to making coffee and tea for the orchestra, to welcoming our guests and patrons at opera performances and our Open House.

PORTL A NDOPER A .ORG

IN MEMORIAM Longtime Portland Opera volunteer and dear friend Maria Conkle recently passed away on her 85 th birthday, September 30, 2017. She, along with her still active husband, Leo, was an active volunteer for Portland Opera for over 20 years.

RESTAURANT & HOTEL PICKS Downtown Portland

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515 SW Clay St Portland , OR 97201 Ph: 503.308.1637 hotelmodera.com

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19500 SW Mountain Home Rd. Sherwood, OR 97140 ponzivineyards.com

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905 NE 10th Ave. McMinnville, OR 97128 remywines.com

17445 NE Ribbon Ridge Rd Newberg, OR 97132

8 Winderlea Vineyard & Winery

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Portland

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WINE PARTNERS Gaston

1408 SW Sixth Ave Portland, OR 97201 Ph: 503.484.1099

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309 Southwest Broadway Portland, OR 97205 Ph: 503.228.2000

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GENERAL INFORMATION

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Late Seating Policy

Security, Food & Beverage

Late seating is not available for Portland Opera performances, and re-entry during the performance is not permitted. Patrons arriving late or leaving the theater during the performance will be reseated at intermission and are welcome to join us until that time in the viewing lounge.

In order to ensure patron safety, the venue is providing increased security. Bags are subject to search. Oversized bags will not be permitted in the theater. All attendees must have tickets. Outside food and beverages are not permitted inside the theater.

Plan Your Visit

Accessibility & Interpreted Performances

For transit information, dining and lodging options, or general questions, please contact our Opera Concierge: 503-241-1407 concierge@portlandopera.org

The performances on May 6, June 10, July 15, and July 29 will include a live audio description of the visual and physical events onstage for patrons who are blind or have low-vision. Call 503-241-1802 for more information.

If you require wheelchair accessible and/or companion seating, or have any other hearing or vision needs, please let us know when you reserve your tickets so that we can make sure your visit to the theater is an excellent one.

Portland Opera does not typically offer ASL Interpreted performances, as each performance is accompanied by projected text (or surtitles) in English.

Photography & Cell Phone Use The use of cameras, phones, and other recording devices is strictly prohibited during performances. You are welcome to take photos at intermission and share using the hashtag #pdxopera and tagging @portlandopera.

Please note that cast members are subject to change.

Portland Opera productions take place at the Keller Auditorium, the Newmark Theatre, and the Hampton Opera Center.

Continue the Conversation One hour before each performance, join us for an informal and enlightening introduction to the opera you’re about to enjoy.

After each performance, in the front of the orchestra level, General Director Christopher Mattaliano hosts “Back Talk,” a Q&A session with the audience and fresh-from-thedressing-room cast members.

The Hampton Opera Center houses our administrative, production, and rehearsal operations, as well as All Classical and Friends of Chamber Music.

Administrative Offices: 503-241-1407 Patron Services: 503-241-1802 Regular Box Office Hours: Monday–Friday, 9am–5pm On performance days, the Box Office opens at the performance location at noon.

The Hampton Opera Center 211 SE Caruthers St., Portland OR 97214 PortlandOpera.org

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