Albert Herring

chicagooperatheater

Albert Herring

JAN 26-29, 2023

Composer Benjamin Britten Librettist Eric Crozier Conductor Dame Jane Glover DBE Director Stephen Sposito

Cast Design Renderings for Albert Herring 2023, Lady Billows Morning Room

Albert Herring Lady Billows Mr. Upfold, The Mayor Mr. Gedge, The Vicar Miss Wordsworth Florence Pike Superintendent Budd Mrs. Herring Sid Nancy Cis Emmie Harry

MILES MYKKANEN WHITNEY MORRISON JUSTIN BERKOWITZ BILL MCMURRAY TERESA CASTILLO ALISSA ANDERSON WILBUR PAULEY LEAH DEXTER VINCE WALLACE VEENA AKAMA-MAKIA* BOYA WEI CORINNE COSTELL* CASEY LYONS

Covers Cover Albert Herring Cover Lady Billows Cover Mr. Upfold Cover Mr. Gedge Cover Miss Wordsworth Cover Florence Pike Cover Superintendent Budd Cover Mrs. Herring Cover Sid Cover Nancy Cover Cis Cover Emmie Cover Harry

SAM GROSBY JAQUELINE PICCOLINO KARLOS PIÑERO-MERCADO EVAN BRAVOS CORINNE COSTELL* PAULINE TAN* CRAIG LEMONT WALTERS REBECCA SACKS SAMSON MCCRADY REBECCA SACKS BRIANNA MURRY TIANA SORENSON TIANA SORENSON *Denotes COT Young Artist

Production Team

Ensemble photo, Albert Herring 1979

Conductor DAME JANE GLOVER DBE Stage Director STEPHEN SPOSITO Asst. Conductor MICHAEL PECAK Rehearsal Pianist YASUKO OURA Second Rehearsal Pianist/Supertitle Operator JENNIFER ALLOR* Dialect Coach SUSAN GOSDICK Scenic Designer IRENA HADZI-DORDEVIC Costume Designer CAROLYN ROSE SULLIVAN Lighting Designer DAPHNE AGOSIN ORELLANA Wig & Makeup Designer REBECCA A. SCOTT Technical Director THOMAS E. PLUMMER Build Technical Director LOUIE BAXTER Costume Director BRENDA WINSTEAD Lighting Supervisor AARON LICHAMER Props Coordinator BREN COOMBS Asst. Director HANNAH ZIZZA STANFIELD Production Stage Manager RACHEL HENNEBERRY Asst. Stage Manager ADRIENNE BADER Asst. Stage Manager ALYCIA MARTIN *Denotes COT Young Artist

Orchestra

Gershon Silins and Mary Anne Whitesides as Sid and Nancy, Albert Herring 1979

Violin I Violin II Viola Cello Bass Flute/Piccolo/Alto Oboe Clarinet/Bass Basoon French Horn Percussion Harp Piano Contractor

Richard Rebilas and Julia Parks as Sid and Nancy, Albert Herring 1989

ISABELLA LIPPI^ AZUSA TASHIRO CLAUDIA LASEREFF-MIRONOFF MATTHEW AGNEW TIM SHAFFER MARY STOLPER ANNE BACH GENE COLLERD VINCENT DISANTIS GREG FLINT MICHAEL FOLKER LILLIAN LAU YASUKO OURA ROSS BEACRAFT ^ Denotes Concert Master

Board of Directors 22-23 President Secretary Immediate Past President

Peter Ascoli Ron Bauer Paul E. Freeling Michael G. Hanson

Roger Baskes Nancy Dehmlow

Susan J. Irion Allen Heinemann Henry Fogel Directors Stephanie Hart Mary Lunz Houston Maria Lagios James G. McCormick David McNeel Honorary Trustees Joan W. Harris

Administration

Susan Noel Dorothy Osborn Robert E. Shapiro Virgina Tobiason

Gregory O'Leary Gael Neeson

Edlis Neeson General Director ASHLEY MAGNUS Interim General Director HENRY FOGEL Elizabeth Morse & Genius Music Director LIDIYA YANKOVSKAYA Director of Artistic Operations BRITTANY NELSON Artistic Operations Asst.

ANDREW WOLFFKING Director of Production DEBORAH VANDERGRIFT Director of Development MEAGHAN SMALLWOOD Grants Manager BREA WILLIAMS Development Manager & Audience Services Manager ANGELA YU Associate Director of Comm. Programming VERONICA CHAMBERLIN Managing Director KELLEY DORHAUER Marketing Manager EMMELLY VILLAGRAN Marketing Consultant COLLEEN FLANIGAN

A Note from the Conductor Like the three great operas by Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte (Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte), Albert Herring is described on its title page as a comic opera. And like those mighty antecedents, it is indeed bursting with scenes of great hilarity, told with the deft and smiling touch of a master craftsman. But, again like those 18th-century giants, there are enormous underlying strains of profound seriousness too: for here we encounter loss, bereavement, bullying, teasing, even physical aggression (corporal punishment), and a fundamental sense of social inequality, with all the unfairnesses that that brings. It is greatly to Britten’s credit that he told Maupassant’s story with all the rich seams of comedy fabulously preserved, but that at the same time he added the dark undertow of his own preoccupations, thus enriching the experience of both performing and receiving this operatic masterpiece.

And the craft is all the more impressive because it is confined to relatively small forces. Without the huge resources available to Britten for his greatest masterpieces, like Peter Grimes, or the War Requiem, he could still pack a punch. He had already succeeded with this formula of just twelve instrumentalists (with himself, the conductor, also playing the piano recitatives) and no chorus at all, in his opera for Glyndebourne (and Kathleen Ferrier), The Rape of Lucretia, in 1946. So enamoured was he then of the scale of these forces that he repeated it instantly with Herring in 1947, and again in The Turn of the Screw in 1954, and indeed the chamber orchestra for his War Requiem in 1961. There is no sense at all in any of these works being small-scale. Britten’s expertise is so exquisite that in fact the textures feel complete, capable of ferocious fortissimos from the full ensemble, as well as the most intimate colours from one or two instruments. (Listen out, for example, to his miraculous use of the alto flute and the bass clarinet in the second act of Herring.)

It is my supreme pleasure to return to COT to perform this great work. In the Brian Dickie era I conducted ten operas for the company, including my first Turn of the Screw, also here at the Athenaeum Theatre; so for me this really feels like a happy homecoming.

Dame Jane Glover DBE

Conductor Jane Glover is sponsored by Jean Perkins & Leland Hutchinson

Acclaimed British conductor Jane Glover, named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 New Year’s Honours, has been Music of the Baroque’s music director since 2002.

She made her professional debut at the Wexford Festival in 1975, conducting her own edition of Cavalli’s LʼEritrea. She joined Glyndebourne in 1979 and was music director of Glyndebourne Touring Opera from 1981 until 1985. She was artistic director of the London Mozart Players from 1984 to 1991, and has also held principal conductorships of both the Huddersfield and the London Choral Societies.

From 2009 until 2016 she was Director of Opera at the Royal Academy of Music where she is now the Felix Mendelssohn Visiting Professor. She was recently Visiting Professor of Opera at the University of Oxford, her alma mater.

Jane Glover has conducted all the major symphony and chamber orchestras in Britain, as well as orchestras in Europe, the United States, Asia, and Australia. In recent seasons she has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the San Francisco, Houston, St. Louis, Sydney, Cincinnati, and Toronto symphony orchestras, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the Bamberg Symphony. She has worked with the period-instrument orchestras Philharmonia Baroque, and the Handel and Haydn Society. And she has made regular appearances at the BBC Proms.

In demand on the international opera stage, Jane Glover has appeared with numerous companies including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, English National Opera, Glyndebourne, the Berlin Staatsoper, Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, Opera National de Bordeaux, Opera Australia, Chicago Opera Theater, Opera National du Rhin, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Luminato, Teatro Real, Madrid, Royal Danish Opera and Teatro La Fenice. A Mozart specialist, she has conducted all the Mozart operas all over the world regularly since she first performed them at Glyndebourne in the 1980s, and her core operatic

repertoire also includes Monteverdi, Handel, and Britten. Highlights of recent seasons include The Magic Flute with the Metropolitan Opera, Alcina with Washington Opera, L'Elisir d'amore for Houston Grand Opera, Medea for Opera Omaha, Così fan tutte for Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Turn of the Screw, Jephtha and Lucio Silla in Bordeaux, The Rape of Lucretia, A Midsummer Nightʼs Dream, Cosí fan tutte, Figaro and Don Giovanni at the Aspen Music Festival, Gluck’s Armide and Iphigenie en Aulide with Met Young Artists and Juilliard, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Eugene Onegin, The Rake’s Progress, The Marriage of Figaro, L’incoronazione di Poppea, and the world premiere of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ Kommilitonen! at the Royal Academy of Music. In the 2020/2021 season she debuted with Minnesota Opera (Albert Herring) and in the current season returned to the Metropolitan Opera and Houston Grand Opera conducting The Magic Flute. This season she returns to the Houston Grand Opera to conduct Don Giovanni, the Detroit Opera to conduct Xerxes, and Chicago Opera Theater to conduct Albert Herring.

Future and recent-past engagements include her continuing seasons with Music of the Baroque in Chicago, her returns to the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra—both at Severance Hall as well as the Blossom Music Festival, the Houston Symphony, the Orchestra of St Luke’s (at Carnegie Hall) and the London Mozart Players. In the 2019/2020 season she made debuts with the Bremen Philharmonic and the Malaysia Philharmonic. In the 2021/2022 season she made her debut with the Chicago Symphony and Montreal’s Orchestre Mètropolitain. This season she debuts with the St. Louis Symphony, the Fort Worth Symphony, and Teatro del Maggio Musicale in Florence, Italy; and returns to the Houston and San Francisco Symphonies.

Jane Glover’s discography includes a series of Mozart and Haydn symphonies with the London Mozart Players and recordings of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Britten, and Walton with the London Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic, and the BBC Singers. She is the author of the critically acclaimed books Mozart’s Women and Handel in London. She holds a personal professorship at the University of London, is a Fellow of the Royal College of Music, an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music, and the holder of several honorary degrees. In 2020 she was awarded the Royal Philharmonic Society’s Gamechanger Award for her work in breaking new ground for other female conductors.

Stephen Sposito

| Director

Stephen Sposito is a New York City-based director. He most recently served as the associate director for The Book of Mormon, where he oversaw the Broadway, touring, and Australia companies. He previously served as the resident director for the Broadway and touring productions of Wicked. Directing credits include the national and International tours of Shrek the Musical, Pippin at Pittsburgh Playhouse, Crossroads for Regents Seven Seas, Something Rotten at Cape Rep Theatre, The American Theatre Wing Gala, The Obie Awards, NBCUniversal’s upfront at Radio City Music Hall in addition to live events for Target and The Robin Hood Foundation. Associate director credits include the Broadway companies of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof starring Scarlett Johansson, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying starring Daniel Radcliffe, Promises, Promises starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth, Scandalous, and Shrek the Musical. He was the associate director for Carmen at Houston Grand Opera. He is a graduate of The University of Michigan and recipient of the Emerging Artist Award.

Miles Mykkanen

| Albert Herring

A winner of the 2019 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Miles Mykkanen has garnered recognition on the world's concert and operatic stages for his "full-voiced tenor" (The New York Times).

Miles Mykkanen's 2022-23 season features three prominent role debuts: he sings Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer in a return engagement with the Canadian Opera Company; the title role of Albert Herring in his debut at Chicago Opera Theater; and his first Fenton in Falstaff for a company debut at the Staatsoper Hamburg. Other operatic engagements include the tenor’s return to the Metropolitan Opera to cover Tamino in the company’s new production by Simon McBurney of Die Zauberflöte and the title role of Candide with the Opéra de Lausanne. Concert engagements of the season are anchored in Handel’s Messiah with performances at University Musical Society and with the Atlanta and New Jersey symphonies.

Last season the Finnish-American tenor appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in no less than three productions: Boris Godunov; Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; and Ariadne auf Naxos. He made his debuts at the Festival d’Aix en Provence in L’incoronazione di Poppea and at Austin Opera in Fidelio. He joined David Danzmayr and the Oregon Symphony for Messiah and presented a Lieder recital program of Beethoven and Schubert under the auspices of the State University of New York at Buffalo.

The tenor’s vibrant concert schedule has included performances of Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the world premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’ Another Time with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, a New York Philharmonic debut with excerpts from West Side Story, and Handel’s Messiah with the symphonies of Atlanta, Indianapolis, and New Jersey, and the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center.

Miles Mykkanen spent numerous summers at the Marlboro Music Festival where his performances have spanned from art songs of Brahms and Britten to chamber music of Brett Dean with distinguished guest artists Mitsuko Uchida, Malcolm Martineau, Roger Vignoles, and many others.

Whitney Morrison

| Lady Billows

Whitney Morrison is sponsored by Martha A. Hesse Rising star Whitney Morrison has earned praise for her "big, gleaming soprano" (Chicago Classical Review) and "vocally sumptuous" performances (Chicago Tribune). A Chicago native and recent alum of the Ryan Opera Center, Morrison champions the African American aesthetic inclassical music, embracing a style of performance that blends classical singing technique with elements of the gospel singing tradition.

Of her most recent performance in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s virtual concert, “Lawrence Brownlee and Friends: The Next Chapter,” Opera News raved, “Whitney Morrison was simply astonishing in everything she sang…This is a voice we need to hear live.” Morrison received a 2023 Grammy nomination for Boston Modern Orchestra Project’s recording of The life and Times of Malcolm X, in which she sang the role of Louise/Betty.

In 2022, she made her debut with Michigan Opera Theatre in the same role and reprised it with Opera Omaha and Odyssey Opera, before going on to record it. Her 2022-2023 season also includes performances with Lyric Opera of Chicago as Yasmine Miller in their spring production of Proximity, and with Chicago Opera Theater as Lady Billows in their winter production of Albert Herring.

Morrison also appeared as Leonie Baker in the world premiere of Freedom Ride at Chicago Opera Theater, prompting The Wall Street Journal to declare, “One impassioned aria caught my ear: Leonie Baker (soprano Whitney Morrison)” and Classical Voice America to say, “the production’s big surprise was soprano Whitney Morrison, who nearly stole the show.”

Morrison also garnered acclaim for her “richly textured performance and luxurious

Justin Berkowitz

| Mr. Upfold

Known for his "exacting and animating performances", Chicago-based Tenor Justin Berkowitz’ 2022-23 highlights include Haymarket Opera’s L’incornazione di Poppea where he sang the roles of Arnalta and Nutrice and returns to Chicago Opera Theater as Mayor Upfold in Albert Herring and will premiere the roles of Steve Todd and Arnold Murrary in Justine F. Chen's The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing. The spring of 2023 brings him to the Rockford Symphony Orchestra for his noted Tenor Solo in Carmina Burana.

In 2021 Berkowitz appeared with Chicago Opera Theater in Mark Adamo's Becoming Santa Claus and performed several roles in the company’s production of Taking up Serpents and premiered the role of Gil in Matthew Recio's The Puppy Episode. The 2019-2020 season brought debut performances of Carmina Burana with the Champaign-Urbana Symphony Orchestra and Brazos Valley Symphony in Texas, among others. His 2018-19 season featured his international debut in Carmina Burana at the Tyroll Hall in Innsbruck.

These performances were followed by debuts with the Mobile Symphony Orchestra and Chippewa Valley Symphony Orchestra for the same work.

In 2018, Berkowitz made his debut with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra as the tenor soloist for their performances of The Messiah and sang the role of Nantucket Sailor in Chicago Opera Theater's 2019 performances of Jake Heggie's Moby Dick.

In recent season's Berkowitz' operatic performances have included productions with Central City Opera, Haymarket Opera, Opera Naples, Opera on the James, DuPage Opera Theater and St. Petersburg Opera, among others. He has appeared onstage with the Chicago Philharmonic, Apollo Chorus of Chicago, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Medical Symphony, Northwestern Indiana Symphony, Osh-Kosh Symphony, and more. A native of Minneapolis, Berkowitz earned his Bachelor's degree from Lawrence University and Conservatory and received a Master’s degree from The University of Michigan.

Bill McMurry

| Mr. Gedge

With more than forty operatic roles to his credit, baritone Bill McMurray has been described as “a baritone with warm, rich tones and superb stage presence” by the Durham Herald Sun. Such roles include “Figaro” in Il Baribiere di Sivigila, “Count Almaviva” in Le nozze di Figaro and “Escamillo” in Carmen. Walter Marini of the New Buffalo Times is quoted as saying his portrayal of "Marcello" in Puccini’s La Boheme as “a powerful actor who brings great elegance to the role. His singing is as fine as anything being heard in major opera houses today.”

Recent engagements include his debut with Opera San Antonio as “Marullo” in Rigoletto, “Ibn Hakia” in Tchaikovsky’s opera Iolanta, “The Father” in the Midwest premiere of Stefan Weisman’s opera The Scarlet Ibis, both with Chicago Opera Theater, and as the Narrator in The Snowman with the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra.

For the 22-23 season Bill sings the bass solos in Handel’s Messiah with both the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra and the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, “Raphael/Adam” in Haydn’s Creation, as well as the baritone soloist in a Porgy and Bess concert with IPO, the Mozart Requiem with the Chicago Bar Association and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in his debut with South Bend Symphony Orchestra. He will also be returning to Chicago Opera Theater to perform the role of “Mr Gedge, the Vicar” in their production of Albert Herring.

Equally successful on the concert stage, Bill has sung solos in sacred works such as Handel’s Messiah, which he recorded on CD, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and Mendelssohn’s Elijah. He has also been the featured soloist in Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs and the Faure Requiem. He was the baritone soloist in Michael Tippett’s oratorio A Child of Our Time, conducted by Barbara Schubert with the University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Mr McMurray was also a featured soloist in Florence and Rome, Italy with the combined choirs of St John Cantius Church and St Joseph College as a result of an invitation to sing at the Vatican. In 2021 Bill received a Grammy award as a member of the Chicago Symphony Chorus for their work on the recording of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13, Babi Yar.

Teresa Castillo

| Miss Wordsworth

Costa Rican-American Soprano Teresa Castillo, has been hailed by the San Francisco Gate as a “standout, bringing [vocal] power and florid elegance,” and by Opera News for exhibiting “a clean, concentrated sound, and a lovely, intelligent musicianship.” Ms. Castillo’s repertoire includes Juliette (Romeo et Juliette), Madame Mao (Nixon in China), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Tytania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Creusa (Medea in Corinto), La Comtesse Adèle (Le Comte Ory) , Rosina (Barber of Seville), Drusilla (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Maria (West Side Story), Amina (La Sonnambula), Ms. Wordsworth (Albert Herring) among others.

She has sung with Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Knoxville Opera, The Princeton Festival, Opera Theatre St. Louis, Teatro Nuovo, Opera San Jose, White Snake Projects, Virginia Opera, Central City Opera, Merola Opera Program, Opera Lafayette and is making her debut with Chicago Opera Theater this season.

Recent competition prizes include the George London Competition, the Cooper-Bing Competition, Opera Index Competition, The Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition, and the Altamura/Caruso International Voice Competition, The Anita Cerquetti International Competition, Lois Alba Aria Competition, Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has received grants from Career Bridges, The Allied Arts, The Anna Sosenko Trust, and the Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Foundation.

Alissa Anderson

| Florence Pike

Hailed for her “deliciously over the top” and “powerful mezzo” by Opera News, Alissa Anderson wields her comic prowess, striking features, and her “powerful vocalism” to great acclaim. Ms. Anderson achieved a considerable success and was celebrated for being “impeccably prepared” and “splendid in every way” when she stepped in as Florence Pike in Santa Fe Opera’s Albert Herring under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis.

This season, Ms. Anderson makes her debut at Angers-Nantes Opera as Mother Goose in The Rake's Progress, reprises her Marcellina at Austin Opera, joins the Metropolitan Opera as Nurse (cover) for their production of Boris Gudunov, brings her Dame Quickly to Falstaff with Berkshire Opera Festival, Sings Mama in Why I Live at the Post Office with UrbanArias, and sings Erda in Das Rheingold with Opera Santa Barbara. She also joins Heartbeat Opera as alto soloist in their annual Messy Messiah concert. The recent COVID-impacted seasons saw her debut with Opera Philadelphia as Princess Clarissa in The Love for Three Oranges, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd with the Royal Danish Opera, and a cancelled return to Opera Birmingham as Madame de la Haltière in Cendrillon.

Other recent performances for Ms. Anderson include The Witch in Into the Woods with Utah Festival Opera, La tragédie de Carmen with Opera Birmingham and Opera Louisiana, Frugola/La Zia Principessa in Il trittico with Opera Delaware, Tisbe in La Cenerentola with San Diego Opera, La Zia Principessa/Ciesca in Il trittico with the Opera Company of Middlebury. Recent concert engagements have included John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with Concordia University Symphony Orchestra, her European debut as mezzo soloist in the Verdi Requiem with performances throughout Germany and France and her Lincoln Center debut as the mezzo soloist in Mahler's 2nd Symphony.

Ms. Anderson received the Kathryn Tyrell Award in the Shreveport Opera Competition, the Agnes M. Canning Award from Santa Fe Opera, and the Stuart R. Silver Award from Sarasota Opera. She holds her Master of Music from The University of Maryland and her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of North Texas. She is currently a student of Stephen King.

Wilbur Pauley | Superintendent Budd Bass Wilbur Pauley (Superintendent Budd) in Albert Herring.

Previously with COT: Rimsky Rebooted, 2020; Akhnaten, 2000.

History: Carnegie Hall debut, Penderecki Magnificat, 1977; NYCity Opera debut, Rigoletto, 1984; Broadway debut, Merchant of Venice (with Dustin Hoffman), 1989; Met debut, Ghosts of Versailles, 1991.

Recently: Le Grand Macabre, Elbphilharmonie, Hamburg, 2019; Ives with Jeremy Denk, Tanglewood, 2019; Brahms Requiem, Indianapolis, 2020; Sound And Fury, Anna Clyne, Grant Park Festival, 2021; Seven Deadly Sins, Princeton Festival, 2022; Disenchanted, Disney soundtrack (eleventh Disney film), November 2022.

Currently in 22nd season with Lyric Opera of Chicago since 1992 debut.

Graduate of Westminster Choir College; originally from Beaver, PA.

Leah Dexter | Ms. Herring Leah Dexter is sponsored by Ron & Queta Bauer

Leah Dexter, mezzo-soprano, is praised for being a performer of “commanding force, both vocally and dramatically” (Chicago Classical Review). A frequent artist with Chicago Opera Theater, she was also seen, for the 2021-22 season, as Mercedes in Carmen, Ib in Becoming Santa Claus.

Ms. Dexter also joined Michigan Opera Theatre for revival performances of the critically-acclaimed opera Frida, for which she reprised her roles of Dimas’ Mother and Lupe.

Furthermore, she joined Lyric Opera of Chicago for Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, singing the role of Bertha.

Additional upcoming performances include alto soloist, with the DePaul Community Chorus, in a program of African-American classical vocal music, a recital presentation with LYNX of Chicago, the Chicago Symphony Chorus for Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe and Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera and Frida, again as Dimas’ Mother and Lupe, for this summer with El Paso Opera.

A Detroit area native, Leah attended the University of Michigan for her musical degrees and is a past Studio Artist of Sarasota Opera, at which she won the Anne J’ O Donnell Outstanding Artist Award for her work with the company.

Vince Wallace

| Sid

Jimmy/Frank (Little Mahagonny), Clayton Thomas (cover)/ Tommie(Freedom Ride), Queequeg (Moby Dick), Jesus (St. Matthew Passion), Commissioner (La Traviata), Bass Soloist (Handel's Messiah)

Veena Akama-Makia

| Nancy

For her 2022-2023 season, Cameroonian/ UgandanAmerican Mezzo-Soprano Veena Akama-Makia returned for her final season as a Chicago Opera Theater/Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University Professional Diploma Candidate and Young Artist. In the Spring of 2023, she will make her role debut as Nancy in Albert Herring (Britten) and debut the role of Kendra in the world premiere of The Cook-Off (Okpebohlo/Campbell). At COT, Akama-Makia has covered roles in performances of Carmen (Bizet) and Becoming Santa Claus (Adamo). She made her COT debut as Tawny Betty in the world premiere of Quamino’s Map (Wallen/Brevoort) and the role of Tree Spirit in The BeeKeeper (Lu/Rourke) as part of COT’s Vanguard Initiative.

This summer, Ms. Akama-Makia joined San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Opera Program as a Young Artist, where she performed the role of Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte (Mozart) and gained acclaim for her excerpted portrayals of Mother from Blue (Tesori/Thompson) and Alisa from Lucia (Donizetti) in the Merola Grand Finale.

Last summer, she was a Tomita Young Artist with Finger Lakes Opera, where she performed the role of the Cherubino in The Three Little Pigs (Davies) and sang duets and arias in their summer scenes concert. She has recently performed in concerts with Opera On Tap Boston and the NEMPAC Opera Project, notably their concert titled “Juneteenth”: Opera In The Key Of Freedom.

Ms. Akama-Makia has been honored with several awards, most recently being a 2021 Encouragement Award Winner from the 2021 The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition-Illinois District, Semi-Finalist in the 2022 Irene Dalis Vocal Competition, Tier I Semi-Finalist in the James Toland Vocal Competition, a Finalist in the Jesse Kneisel Lieder Competition, a Finalist in the 2020 Mildred Miller Competition, Semi-Finalist in the 2020 Premiere Opera Foundation, and NYIOP International Competition, Semi-Finalist in the 2020 Rochester International Vocal Competition, Semi-Finalist in the 2021 Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition and received 2nd place in the 2022 Musicians Club of Women Vocal Competition.

Boya Wei

| Cis

Praised by Opera News for her “delicate phrasing and pearly tone,” and The New York Times for her "beautifully rounded soprano and exquisite expression,” Chinese soprano Boya Wei has been heard in Chicago in recent seasons at the Chicago Opera Theatre and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Passionate about new and contemporary music, she has joined Lyric Unlimited's productions as Rhoda/Rhoda and the Fossil hunt, and Setsuko/An American Dream, and Littler Daughter/Proving Up. Ms Wei originated the roles of Ilia in chamber opera AfterWARds and Voice of the Orchard in The Beekeeper, and gave the American premiere of The First Fairy in The Witches of Venice.

In performances throughout the United States, her other roles include Frasquita/Carmen, Adina/ L'elisir d’amore, Giulia/La scala di seta, Beatrice/Il Postino, Barbarina and Susanna/Le Nozze di Figaro, Gilda/Rigoletto, Genovieffa/Suor Angelica, Norina/Don Pasquale, Contessa di Folleville/Il Viaggio a Reims, and Lauretta/Gianni Schicchi. Equally fond of concert music, Ms. Wei made her Lincoln Center debut in the David H. Koch Theater singing Liebeslieder Walzer and Neue Liebeslieder.

The soprano has been awarded prizes from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Gerda Lissner Foundation, and was a finalist in the McCammon Biennial Voice Competition. She is an alumna of the Central Conservatory of Music and Mannes College of Music.

Corinne Costell

| Emmie

Corinne Costell is a soprano from Port Jefferson Station, New York currently entering her second year with the Chicago Opera Theater/Chicago College of the Performing Arts at Roosevelt University Professional Diploma and Young Artist Program. Most recently, Corinne premiered the role as Phoebe in The Beekeeper, composed by Wang Lu and libretto by Kelley Rourke with the Chicago Opera Theater in March 2022.

She has covered multiple roles so far with the Chicago Opera Theater, such as Micaëla in their September 2021 production of Carmen, and Yan the elf in Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus in December 2021. Corinne is excited to continue this season as Emmie in Albert Herring as well as cover the role of Miss Wordsworth. She will continue this year with covering Sarah Turing in The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing in March of this year, as well as Ivy in the Vanguard production of The Cook-Off composed by Shawn Okpebholo and written by Mark Campbell.

Casey Lyons

| Harry

Countertenor CASEY LYONS (Harry) is thrilled to be making his Chicago Opera Theater debut!

Hailing from Lake Forest, IL, Lyons has been performing professionally in music theatre since age 11, most notably appearing as Gustave in the first national tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Love Never Dies, sequel to The Phantom of the Opera.

The Hollywood Reporter remarked that Lyons’ “angelic vocals and subdued acting are a marvel” and Chicago Tribune called his performance “fantastic”. While on tour, Casey recorded “The Beauty Underneath” from Love Never Dies for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 70th birthday retrospective album Unmasked.

Casey’s other theatrical credits include the First Spirit in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Die Zauberflöte and Harold Baxter in the world premiere of Hazel: A Musical Maid in America. In addition to performing, Casey is an avid composer. He has written and self-produced two original musicals, Bars of Ivy and Limelight.

Casey is a first-year student at Northwestern University studying under Pamela Hinchman. He is pursuing a dual degree in Voice and Opera Performance & Theatre.

He would like to thank Joachim Schamberger and the Chicago Opera Theater team for this incredible opportunity. He would also like to thank his family, friends, and teachers for their love and support. @caseylyonsactor www.caselyons.me “Blessed be God in all His designs.”

Thank You...

Albert Herring Production Sponsors COT President's Council Partial Support of this provided by The Morse and Genius Reserve Fund This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS Opera is a collaborative effort—from the singers and the orchestra, to the conductors, directors, designers, and crews, to the administrators and volunteers. Chicago Opera Theater’s resilience would not be possible without the support of our donor family. Thank you for being an essential member of our creative community.

We appreciate gifts of all sizes! What follows is a list of our generous donors $50+.

Anonymous (9) Richard Abram & Paul Chandler John Corigliano & Mark Adamo Kate Akos & Harry Jacobs Stephen Alltop Sheila Amend The Amphion Foundation Douglas Anderson Louise Anderson Paul M. Angell Family Foundation Douglas Asbury Lucy & Peter* Ascoli Elizabeth Asmis Chris & John Austin

Avli on the Park‡ Arturo Balderas & Diana Rumney John & Sharon Baldwin Julie & Roger Baskes Robert and Isabelle Bass Foundation, Inc. Sandra Bass Judith Bauer Queta & Ron* Bauer Ross Beacraft Peggy & Ron Beata Dr. C. Bekerman Donna Bennett Charles Berglund

*Board Member ‡In-kind †Deceased List reflects gifts received between 11/1/2021 and 1/19/2023

Thank You...

Roger J. Bialcik Suzanne & William E. Bible Kristen Bigham Mrs. Arthur A. Billings Brian T. Bird Judith & Merrill* Blau Shaun & Andy Block Mrs. Albert Bloom John P. Blosser John & Claudia Boatright Renee Menegaz-Bock & R. Darrell Bock Fred & Phoebe Boelter Sheila Barton Bosron Ann Box Norman Boyer Richard Boyum & Louie Chua James Brandt Drs. Charles & Patricia Brauner David Braverman Evan Bravos Michael Brazier Deborah Brevoort Ella Britton-Gibson Kathryn Brown Ralph & Rona Brown Archibald Bryant Jeffrey D. Callison Robert Calvin Ray Carter Joyce Chelberg Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation Cynthia Cheski & Scott Elliott Jason Cline Margery C. Coen Gene Collerd Howard & Anne Conant

Dale Connelly & Donna Van Eekeren Muniefa Cooper Anne Cunningham Robert & Isabel Curley David Curry & George Kohler+ Chris Davis De Priest Family Foundation, Inc. Nancy Dehmlow Marijane Deters Diane Droste Ingrid & Rich Dubberke Kent Dymak & Theodore Foss Kenneth A. East Barbara & John Eckel Laurence Edwards & Susan Boone Anne Egger Laurie Hammel & Bruce English Erika Erich Christine Eschete Janet Eyler & Edwin Walker Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP‡ Kamille Fajardo Karen & Clinton J. Feil Marilynne Felderman Jan Feldman Megan Fellman & Anthony Rosso Barry S. Finkel Linda Fiore Firestone Family Foundation Colleen Flanigan Geoffrey Flick Nona C. Flores Frances & Henry* Fogel Lance & Marcy Fortnow Eloise C. Foster Robert Fourer David Fox

*Board Member ‡In-kind †Deceased List reflects gifts received between 11/1/2021 and 1/19/2023

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Timothy & Janet Fox Aaron Frame Julius N. Frankel Foundation Sue & Paul* Freehling Raymond Frick Priscilla & Henry Frisch Lloyd A. Fry Foundation Claire Gadbois Earl Gaines Stacy Garrop Stephen & Elizabeth Geer Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust Elizabeth Gentner Sarah Geocaris Eric & Angela Gershenson Gaylord & William Gieseke Nordon S. Gilbert & Benjamin Thomas Dr. Janice Gilden Patrice Michaels & Jim Ginsburg David Gitomer Joseph Glaser Prof. James A. Glazier Ethel & Bill Gofen Alan Gordon Gerald & Dr. Colette Gordon Andrew Gore David Granato Bill & Judy Greffin Dr. Anthony R. & Susan M. Grosch Robert Grundstad Barbara Guenther Mr. & Mrs. Martin A. Halacy John R. Halligan Charitable Fund Joseph Hanc Nancy Randa & Michael Hansen*

Ruth Hansen & Lawrence Plotkin Stephanie Hart* Allen Heinemann* & William Borden Angeline Heisler Stephen Heller Barbara & William Herzog Martha Hesse HMS Media, Inc. ‡ Judith Hoffman John Holland Richard Hoskins Mary Lunz* & James Houston Nikolas Huffman William Hulsker Elizabeth Hurley Amy Hutchison James Huttenhower & Phillip Tommey Capt. Bernardo Iorgulescu, USMC Memorial Fund of DuPage Foundation Robert Irion Susan Irion* & Rob DeLand Judith Jahant Nora Jaskowiak & Matthew Hinerfeld Linda Jenewein William Jentes Ronald B. Johnson Kristin Johnson Cornelius Johnson Brenda Ashley & Gary Johnson Dale Johnson Mrs. Lori Julian Kara Kane & James Sullivan James Karela Sol R. Kaufman Family Foundation

*Board Member ‡In-kind †Deceased List reflects gifts received between 11/1/2021 and 1/19/2023

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Doug Brandt & Kathy Keegan Diana & Neil King Mary Klyasheff Catherine & Douglas Knuth Paul Kobasa Peter Kohn & Judith Sandstrom James K. Genden+ & Alma Koppedraijer Norm Ryan & Brae Korin Axel Kunzmann & Bruce J. Nelson Dr. Carol Kyros-Walker Lawrence Johnson A. Jeanne LaDuke Maria* & Peter Lagios Larry Lapidus Joan & Gary Laser Christopher Leake Moses Lee Lemont Fund Michael Leppen Mr. & Mrs. John G. Levi Michael & Diane Levy Elizabeth Amy Liebman Lawrence Lipking Barbara Lippi Arthur & Dale Lipschultz Chris H. Lonn Michele Lowrie Miles & Brittany Mabry John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Mary Mackay & Edward Wheatley Catherine Madayag Ashley & Brandon Magnus Philip & Ann May Laura G. & James* G. McCormick Marilyn McCoy & Charles Thomas

Jeffrey & Cynthia McCreary William A. McHugh Jessica McJunkins Jean McLaren & John Nitschke Bozena McLees Patricia McMillen David E. McNeel* Martina Mead & Michael Gorey Mellon Foundation Joanne Michalski & Mike Weeda Donna Milanovich David Miller Frank Modruson & Lynne Shigley Robert & Lois Moeller Dave & Lizz Mook The Elizabeth Morse Charitable Trust Amanda & Arthur Moswin Charles H. Mottier Catherine Mouly & Ted Carlson Masahiro Kasai & Bill Myers Sonia Nahmod Jennifer & Steve Nahn National Endowment for the Arts Negaunee Foundation Sylvia Neil & Daniel Fischel John H. Nelson Donald E. Newsom Lee Nickelson Ed & Gayla Nieminen Susan Noel* Daniel Novak Martha Nussbaum William & Penny Obenshain Michael & Margo Oberman Shawn Okpebholo Patricia A. Kenney & Gregory J. O'Leary

*Board Member ‡In-kind †Deceased List reflects gifts received between 11/1/2021 and 1/19/2023

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Irmgard & Keith Olson Sarah & Charles Orlove James Orr Dorothy F. Osborn* & Bud Dobbins Gerald Padbury Dawn Palmer Joan L. Pantsios John Howard Percy Jean Perkins & Leland Hutchinson Nick Petros The Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago Polk Bros. Foundation Frank C. Pond Sandra Popik David Pozorski Marianne Pyster Susan Rabe Pavitra Ramachandran* Shulamit Ran Lotan Matthew Recio Charles & Maureen Reilly Gerald Rizzer Casey Robards Nick Roman Marsha & Robert Rosner Heidi Rothenberg Stephen Roy & Lloyd Kohler Bobbie Rudnick Richard O. Ryan Joan & Frank R. Safford Sage Foundation Sahara Enterprises, Inc. Fund at The Chicago Community Foundation David Saunders

Esther Schechter Paul Scherer Tamara Schiller Russell Lascelles & Janet Schultz Arleen & Frederic Schwartz John N. Schwartz & James A. Mosley Mark & Sally Schwartz Susan H. Schwartz Gerry Sczygiel Barre Seid & Barbara Landis‡ Dejuan Shadd Archietta Shannon Michael Shapiro Susan & Robert* Shapiro Ilene and Michael Shaw Charitable Trust Rita & Jim Sheinin Elizabeth Shepherd John H. Shindler Marcey & Ken Siegel Roberta & Howard A. Siegel Constance Simms-Kincaid Larry Simpson The Siragusa Family Foundation Patricia Skigen Meaghan & Michael Smallwood Louise K. Smith Sarah & Michael David Smith Larry & Marge Sondler Laraine & David Spector Estelle Spector Spectrum Sports Bar & Grill Inc Paul Sprecher Nancy Stainback Grace K. Stanek Dale Starkes & Stacey Kossman Ester Stein

*Board Member ‡In-kind †Deceased List reflects gifts received between 11/1/2021 and 1/19/2023

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Marjorie Stinespring Peter J. Wender Ariana Strahl Drs. Dennis & Anne Wentz James Strait Cathi White Carol Stukey Gerald Wilemski Lorraine Subra Betty Winer Vivien Gross & Dan Tarlock Claudia Winkler Texas Instruments Foundation Kathleen Arthur & Stephen Wood Tazewell Thompson Randi Woodworth Myron & Karen Tiersky Mary & Michael Woolever Virginia Tobiason* Debbie K. Wright Rebecca Tung Tatyana & Boris Yamrom Judith C. Tuszynski Lidiya Yankovskaya & Daniel Frances Vandervoort Schwartz Marisela Varela Dean Yannias David J. Varnerin Michael & Jessica Young Laura Vesecky Miriam L Young Todd & Cari Vieregg Linda & Owen Youngman John Vinci Judith Zeitlin Albert Walavich Rita & Robert Zeitner Dr. Alan J. Ward+ Camille Zientek Louella Ward Cynthia Winter & Nicholas Weingarten GIFTS IN MEMORY/HONOR OF Many donors establish gifts to honor and/or remember a respected mentor or friend. These donations pay tribute to influential members of COT’s family who serve as an inspiration to the rest of the community.

In Honor of Peter Ascoli Roberta and Howard A. Siegel

In Memory of Gwendolyn Britten Jeffrey D. Callison

In Memory of Donna Babonas Steve Landsman

In Memory of John R. Buckley Sarah & Michael David Smith

In Memory of David Lee Bradke Ruth Hansen & Lawrence Plotkin

In Memory of Stefan Edlis Gael Neeson

In Honor of Justin Berkowitz Kate Akos & Harry Jacobs

*Board Member ‡In-kind †Deceased List reflects gifts received between 11/1/2021 and 1/19/2023

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In Honor of Henry Fogel David Chambers Jamey & Melissa Sage Fadim Ray Frick Gaylord & William Gieseke Negaunee Foundation

In Memory of Adeline & John Popik Sandra Popik

In Honor of Jake Heggie & Gene Scheer Rita & Jim Sheinin

In Memory of Hal Schiff Paul Scherer

In Honor of Sue Irion Robert Irion Gaylord & William Gieseke

In Memory of Frank E. Sherman David Granato

In Memory of George N. Kohler David Curry

In Honor of Meaghan Stainback Smallwood Anonymous Stephen Alltop Peggy & Ron Beata Mr. & Mrs. Michael Oberman Daniel Novak Nick Roman

In Honor of Ashley Magnus Donna Milanovich Gaylord & William Gieseke In Memory of Duncan C. McCune Miriam L. Young

In Memory of Carolyn Rizzer Gerald Rizzer

In Honor of Frank Modruson Old National Bancorp

In Honor of Virginia Tobiason Cheryl Berger

In Honor of Megan Monahan Sue & Paul* Freehling

In Honor of Brea Williams Nick Roman

In Memory of John C. Palmer, Jr. Dawn Palmer

In Honor of Dorian Yankovskaya-Schwartz Patricia McMillen

In Memory of Andrew Patner Steve Robinson & Beth Schenker *Board Member ‡In-kind †Deceased List reflects gifts received between 11/1/2021 and 1/19/2023

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In Honor of Lidiya Yankovskaya Mark Adamo & John Corigliano Gaylord & William Gieseke Donna Milanovich Shulamit Ran Lotan Michael Shapiro Peter J. Wender

*Board Member ‡In-kind †Deceased List reflects gifts received between 11/1/2021 and 1/19/2023

Vanguard Wang Lu 2020-2022

Shawn E. Okpebholo 2021-2023

Gillian Rae Perry 2022-2024

Dr. Carlos R. Carrillo 2023-2025

COT identifies promising composers ready to hone the specific skillset required to create quality opera. The program is guided and overseen by Elizabeth Morse and Genius Music Director and Director of the Vanguard Initiative, Lidiya Yankovskaya. Composers also work closely with Composer Advisors Jake Heggie, Kamala Sankaram, and Gene Scheers as well as regularly meeting with top industry leaders and receiving guidance from renowned dramaturgs while writing their 2nd year commission.

Young Artist

Jennifer Allor

Veena Karlos Pauline Tan Corinne AkamaPiñeroCostell Makia Mercado The COT/CCPA Young Artist Program is a specialized opportunity for

developing pianists and singers. It allows developing artists with exceptional career promise and mastery of basic skills to focus on all areas of their artistic growth. The program affords them professional experience, particularly in the development and performance of innovative new work, while also supporting them with voice lessons, vocal coaching, and dramatic training from the illustrious music and performance faculty at CCPA. Participants receive a full-tuition scholarship, as well as a monthly stipend during the performance season, which runs September – April.

The

Of

COMING SOON

Life Death(s) AlanTuring and

MARCH 23-25, 2023

TICKETS ON SALE NOW AT COT.ORG