A Season of Firsts / Bel Canto at Caramoor 2016 Preview

Bel Canto at Caramoor 2016 Summer Tickets go on sale January 27

Caramoor Members’ pre-sale begins January 13* Caramoor.org / 914.232.1252

*Become a Member and gain access to pre-sale tickets and much more! Visit caramoor.org/membership

A Season of F RSTS Elza van den Heever / photo by Roberto Giostra

July 7 / Thursday / 7:00pm Bel Canto Young Artists The Intimate Rossini: Ensembles & Choruses Gioachino Rossini retired from opera in 1829, but decades later his creativity erupted in a dizzying array of chamber works he called “sins of old age.” These miniatures, by turns deliciously lyrical, hauntingly spiritual, and raucously funny, serve as a showcase for Caramoor’s Bel Canto Young Artists led by Derrick Goff, and as a perfect amuse-bouche for those planning to hear Aureliano on July 16.

An all-audience Afterglow Reception will follow the performance.

July 21 / Thursday / 7:00pm Bel Canto Young Artists Beethoven in Song Beethoven may have composed only one complete opera, but his contribution to the great tradition of German Lieder was fundamental. Led by Rachelle Jonck, the Young Artists present a program of beloved gems and little-known masterworks from his extensive catalogue of works for piano and voice. Join us on July 21 to warm up your ears for the Fidelio peformance that follows on the 31st.

Did we just rediscover a masterpiece?

A message from the Director of Opera

R

ossini’s Aureliano in Palmira was the highlight of the 1813–14 opera season in Milan; Beethoven’s Fidelio debuted in the same season in Vienna. The first was forgotten for over a century; the second was quickly revered as the unique masterpiece it is. We are bringing them together again at Caramoor for 21st-century operagoers to review history’s verdict.

It is a season of firsts for us: The first performance anywhere in America for Aureliano; our first guest appearance by Pablo Heras-Casado, principal conductor of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s; our first German opera (though before our Bel Canto program was established, Caramoor did give Fidelio’s predecessor, Leonore, in 1989), and Festival debuts for several notable singers, in particular tenor Andrew Owens and soprano Elza van den Heever in the title roles of the two operas.

The first performance anywhere in America for Aureliano in Palmira There is also a “first” in the background for me, since I edited Aureliano for the complete edition by the Italian publisher Ricordi. None of us knew quite what to expect; the history books depict it as an obscure flop among among Rossini’s 39 operas. But the maze of manuscripts led to a startling discovery: all productions since the La Scala premiere were based, unknowingly, on a much-diminished version of the score. By the time Aureliano won first place for “Best Rediscovered Work” at this year’s International Opera Awards in London, we were no longer surprised: this is a fully-developed work by Rossini at the height of his youthful powers, unique in the Romantic color it brings to the old opera seria

style, thrilling in its broad use of orchestra and chorus. It fell by the wayside through unfortunate circumstances surrounding the premiere; today it is ready to be welcomed to the Rossini canon.

It is fascinating to hear them [Rossini & Beethoven] in the juxtaposition that their own audiences experienced Fidelio as a companion opera may seem surprising, but after all it dates from the same year, and many traveling operagoers heard both works when they were new (Milan was under Austrian rule at the time). Beethoven knew some Rossini and Rossini knew some Beethoven. Today, when we know them both to be as distinct as two great composers can and must be, it is fascinating to hear them in the juxtaposition that their own audiences experienced. And Fidelio seemed to me the perfect choice for welcoming Pablo Heras-Casado to the Bel Canto podium. Beethoven has been a specialty of the Orchestra of St. Luke’s throughout its life, and the rapport with its new principal conductor in his symphonies has been electrifying.

With wonderful new singers joining returning Caramoor artists like Georgia Jarman, Tamara Mumford and Paul Groves, and with an exciting new class of Bel Canto Young Artists ready to shine in the Thursday concerts and the pre-opera events, this promises to be as exciting a season as Bel Canto has ever presented. I expect discoveries at every performance; please join us for the journey!

—Will Crutchfield, Director of Opera at Caramoor

caramoor.org / 914.232.1252

Aureliano / Andrew Owens, tenor

July 16 / Saturday Aureliano in Palmira

by Gioachino Rossini Orchestra of St. Luke’s Will Crutchfield, conductor

Zenobia / Georgia Jarman, soprano

Pre-Opera Events

Arsace / Tamara Mumford, mezzo-soprano

4:00pm / Bel canto a due Led by Lucy Yates, Caramoor’s Bel Canto Apprentices explore the vast repertory of Italian duets from the Baroque era to the age of Puccini.

Did you know?

Tenor Andrew Owens was a participant in Caramoor’s Terrence W. Schwab Vocal Rising Stars mentoring program in 2011.

3:00pm / Detective Story Daniele Carnini, editorial director of the Rossini Foundation, and Aureliano editor Will Crutchfield discuss how they spent a year deducing what Rossini’s lost original manuscript must have said.

5:00pm / The Last Castrato Giovanni Battista Velluti (1780-1861), the last castrato superstar in opera and the original Arscae in Aureliano, was reduced to a caricature by historians. But his musical style was enormously influential on the work of Rossini and beyond. Will Crutchfield leads Caramoor’s Bel Canto Young Artists in a survey.

7:00pm / Introductions Daniele Carnini introduces the American premiere of Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira.

8:00pm / Showtime Intermission Reception and Post-Performance Cast Party for All Membership Levels

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts is a Registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Your Membership support is tax deductible as permitted by law. Thank you for your support.

To learn more, visit caramoor.org/membership.

All artists, programs, membership events, and prices are subject to change without notice.

caramoor.org / 914.232.1252

July 31 / Sunday Fidelio

by Ludwig van Beethoven Orchestra of St. Luke’s Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor Pablo Heras-Casado, conductor

Florestan / Paul Groves, tenor

Leonore / Elza van den Heever, soprano

Marzelline / Georgia Jarman, soprano

Rocco / Jaquino / Kristinn Sigmundsson, Andrew Owens, bass tenor

Pre-Opera Events 1:00pm / Life with Leonore Joined by Will Crutchfield, soprano Deborah Polaski discusses a memorable role she inhabited on the world’s great stages beginning in 1979.

1:30pm / Beethoven’s Wrestling Match with Opera While Rossini was turning out three operas a year, Beethoven struggled for over a decade to bring just one to the stage. The Bel Canto Young Artists with Timothy Cheung traverse the path from Leonore (1805) to Fidelio (1814), opening a window onto the composer’s development and his love-hate relationship with the genre.

2:00pm / Bel Canto in Milan and Vienna, 1814 Fidelio and Aureliano seem worlds apart, but they premiered in the same season, in two cities linked by Austrian rule and by a shared love of Bel Canto singing. The Bel Canto Young Artists and Apprentices offer a capsule view of the other music their audiences were enjoying.

3:00pm / Introductions Will Crutchfield introduces Fidelio.

4:00pm / Showtime

Don Pizarro / Alfred Walker, bass-baritone

Intermission Reception for All Membership Levels

For information, tickets, and to view the full summer schedule, visit caramoor.org.

It’s easy to get here. Catch the Caramoor Coach to and from Manhattan (single-ride and round-trip available), take the train (Metro-North Katonah Station, Harlem Line), or take a scenic drive and enjoy free parking.

Transportation from New York City to Katonah

Photos by Gabe Palacio

Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts 149 Girdle Ridge Road, Katonah, NY 10536