Carmen Program - Chicago Opera Theater

CARMEN

OPERA LIVES HERE.

CARMEN

Music by Georges Bizet Libretto by Henri Meilhac & Ludovic Halevy

Cast Jamie Barton

Carmen

Stephanie Blythe as Blythely Oratonio

Don José

Michael Sumuel

Escamillo

Kimberly E. Jones

Micaëla

Brandon Cedel

Zuñiga

Evan Bravos

El Dancaïro

Lunga Eric Hallam

El Remendado

Rachel Blaustein

Frasquita

Leah Dexter

Mercédès/Cover Carmen

Pauline Tan*

Cover Don José

Keanon Kyles*

Cover Escamillo

Corinne Costell*

Cover Micaëla

Henry Pleas

Cover El Dancaïro

Cameo Humes

Cover El Remendado

Alex Soare

Cover Zuniga

Boya Wei

Cover Frasquita

Veena Akama-Makia*

Cover Mercédès *Denotes current COT Young Artist

Artistic Team Lidiya Yankovskaya

Conductor

Joachim Schamberger

Director

Production Team Dylan Evans

Assistant Director & Choreographer

Anya Plotkin

Production Stage Manager

Adrienne Bader

Assistant Stage Manager

Alycia Martin

Assistant Stage Manager

David Lee Bradke

Lighting Director

Brenda Winstead

Wardrobe Supervisor

Mitchell Ransdell

Props Master

Katherine Coyl

Fight Director

Music Team Michael Pecak

Assistant Conductor

Bénédicte Jourdois

Répétiteur/Diction Coach

Jennifer Allor

Second Répétiteur/Supertitles Operator

COT Administration Ashley Magnus

Edlis Neeson General Director

Lidiya Yankovskaya

Staley Music Director

Brittany Nelson

Associate Director of Artistic Operations

Rachel Henneberry

Director of Production

Joseph Staffa

Technical Director

Megan Monahan

Director of Development

Angela Yu

Development Manager

Kelley Dorhauer

Managing Director

Scott Gryder

Associate Director of Operations and Patron Services

Adam Lord

Box Office Associate

Veronica Chamberlain

Associate Director Community Programming

Stacy Coyne Wright

Interim Director of Marketing

Public Relations by Verismo Communications

Orchestra Violin I

Viola

Flute

Trumpet

Pasquale Laurino

Ann Marie Brink

Mary Stolper

Ross Beacraft

Paul Zafer

Karl Davies

Scott Metlicka

Christian Anderson

Jeri-Lou Zike

Vannia Phillips

Wendy Benner

Mark Djordjevic

Oboe

Trombone

Tom Yang

Ben Weber

Grace Hong

Reed Capshaw

Heather Boehm

Ai Melby

Joseph Claude

Adam Moen

Azusa Tashiro

Bruno Vaz da Silva

John Xia

Oana Tatu

Mark Agnor

Darren Castellanos Clarinet Gene Collerd

Harp

Dan Won

Lillian Lau

Sara Sitzer

Bassoon

Timpani Bobby Everson

Carol Dylan

Cello

Gwen Evans

Jacob Hannegan

Jennifer Leckie

Jean Hatmaker

Vincent DiSantis

Violin II

Kerena Moeller

Karl Rzasa

Elizabeth Huffman

Richard Yeo

Eric Pidluski

Wei Lui Denton

French Horn

George Blanchet

Sally Stephenson

Margaret Daly

Greg Flint

Brandon Podjasek

Kamen Vatchev

Elizabeth Start

Steven Replogle

Maria Arrua Victoria Moreira

Bass

Emelinda Escobar

Tim Shaffer

Andrea Tolzman

John Floeter

Steve Winkler

Jason Niehoff

Caroline Slack

Christian Dillingham Tracy Dullea

Percussion

Sharon Jones

Orchestra Contractor

Daniel O'Connell

Ross Beacraft

INTRODUCTION from the General Director

Welcome to COT’s 2021/2022 Season – we are so thrilled to be returning to live audiences this year.

While we continued to produce opera throughout the pandemic, streamed digitally here in Chicago and around the world, we have truly missed the exchange between audience and artistry that happens together in the theater.

I cannot conceive of a better way to celebrate this return to the theater than with a new take on Bizet’s Carmen, featuring a powerhouse cast that are truly breaking traditional boundaries while performing at the absolute highest level.

This production is a total triumph of the human voice and spirit.

As I always say, opera is a ‘team sport’, and we could not make any of this happen without the generous support of our audiences and donors. We are so grateful to all of you for being here tonight! I personally would like to thank COT’s board and administrative staff, for continuing to adjust in the face of unprecedented challenges and make incredible accomplishments. Both of these groups are so galvanized behind the mission of moving the artform forward, creating opera for our community, and supporting artists; it is humbling and inspiring to be a part of it.

After tonight’s spectacular performance, we hope you’ll subscribe and join us for the rest of this exciting 2021/2022 season; featuring a Chicago premiere by a well-known composer in American opera, a highly anticipated world premiere of historical relevance that resonates today, and additional workshops, events, and development of new work at the forefront of opera.

See you at the opera!

-Ashley Magnus

opera: a living art form Carmen is a work without a truly definitive performance version—a quality that has both fed its continued success and perpetuated problematic interpretative choices.

The score was reshaped by Bizet and his contemporaries many times, leading to great flexibility in performance—including different versions of musical numbers, the choice of dialogue versus recitatives, and easy opportunities to make cuts without losing the core of the plotline.

Carmen’s success largely stems from this exceptional flexibility. Throughout the 20th century, the opera has had a history of being adapted to different cultures, traditions, voice types, and performance styles. Carmen was revolutionary in its portrayals and continues to be relevant today—we see real people on the stage interacting in believable ways, but leaving room for any number of cultural contexts. Bizet writes in a way that allows delivery of the text to shine, further providing singer-actors opportunity to shape the piece for their particular place and time. Even the vocal writing enables performances by different voice types--the role of Carmen has been sung by every type of singer imaginable, from contraltos to Maria Callas. Don José’s high, often intimate and transparent writing may have been intended for a somewhat lighter French tenor, but has regularly been sung by powerful Spinto voices that compliment the hugeness of contemporary operatic halls, loudness of modern orchestras, and 20th-century associations of certain voice types with particular characters.

The nature of the piece has allowed for many interpretations, but oddly some of the least interesting, and least score-informed tropes—like the well-known “Carmen red dress” and all that it represents, or fortissimo, bravado delivery of Don José’s haunting aria—have hung on. In reality, the score needs none of the pomp to tell a great story. Carmen’s greatest strength lies in the music’s inherent storytelling—every chord, every key change, every tiny orchestral interjection clearly portrays the action and its emotional import.

It is time to strip away the artificially-created archetypes and present Carmen on its own terms— with music, words, and performers who speak for themselves. Let us follow the idealistic, independent young woman, allowing this great work shine authentically, while embracing its ability to be fully relevant nearly 150 years after its premiere.

- Lidiya Yankovskaya

ABOUT THE CAST Jamie Barton Critically acclaimed by virtually every major outlet covering classical music, American mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton is increasingly recognized for how she uses her powerful instrument offstage – lifting up women, queer people, and other marginalized communities. In recognition of this activism and her iconic performance at the Last Night of the Proms, she was named 2020 Personality of the Year at the BBC Music Magazine Awards.

Ms. Barton is also the winner of the Beverly Sills Artist Award, Richard Tucker Award, International Opera Awards Readers’ Award, and both Main and Song Prizes at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

Her 2007 win at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions launched a major international career that includes leading roles at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Houston Grand Opera, and the Met. Ms. Barton has appeared with Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax at Tanglewood, and in recital across the U.S. and U.K., including engagements at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, and the Kennedy Center. Her solo albums include All Who Wander, which received the 2018 BBC Music Magazine Vocal Award, and Unexpected Shadows, just released with composer Jake Heggie.

Stephanie Blythe A renowned opera singer, recitalist, and cabaret artist, mezzosoprano Stephanie Blythe is one of the most highly respected and critically acclaimed artists of her generation.

Her repertoire ranges from Handel to Wagner, German lieder to contemporary American art song, and classic American songbook to rock and roll. Ms. Blythe has performed on many of the world’s great operatic stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Paris National Opera, and San Francisco, Chicago Lyric and Seattle Operas.

In concert, she has appeared with many of the world’s finest orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Ensemble Orchestre de Paris, and the Concertgerbouworkest.

Michael Sumuel American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel has been lauded for his “luminous tone and theatrical presence” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “vocals [that] are smooth and ingratiating” (Daily Camera). This season, he makes his debut as Jesus in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with Los Angeles Opera, in a semi-staged production conducted by James Conlon with choreography by the Hamburg Ballet.

He also sings the title role in Le nozze di Figaro in a return to Seattle Opera, Escamillo in Carmen for his debut with Santa Fe Opera, the King in a new version of Massenet’s Cinderella with the Metropolitan Opera, and Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera San Antonio. In concert, he joins the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Mozart’s Mass in C minor, led by Zubin Mehta, and sings a concert of arias to open the season at Dallas Opera.

Mr. Sumuel is a past winner of a Richard Tucker Career Grant as well as the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition, and was a Grand Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. A Texas native, he is an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, and the Filene Young Artist program at Wolf Trap Opera.

Kimberly Jones Soprano Kimberly Eileen Jones attended Westminster Choir College. She is an alum of the Ryan Opera Center with Lyric Opera of Chicago . While in the Opera center, she performed as Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Laetitia in Old Maid and the thief!

Her mainstage roles included Xenia in Boris Godunov and Margru in the World premiere of Anthony Davis’ Amistad, which was recorded live for New World Records. She performed at Ravinia in Strauss’ Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme.

She performed concerts at the Chatelet in Paris. After the Opera center she portrayed Clara in Houston Grand Opera’s production of Porgy and Bess, where they performed internationally at the Bastille in Paris, La Scala in Milan and at the Bunkamura in Tokyo, Japan, as well as Osaka and Nagoya. Her concerts include Knoxville Summer of 1915 with the Orchestra della Toscana (with Lyric’s then Artistic Director, Bruno Bartoletti) as well as the Richmond Symphony. Her Messiahs as the soprano soloist with David Lockington were a standout for her, as well as Mahler’s 2nd symphony and Christmas pops concerts with Madison Symphony. She debuted as the soloist in the Britten War Requiem with South Bend Symphony.

She also enjoys singing frequent Mozart Requiems, Vivaldi Gloria, Porgy and Bess concerts with Kurt Muspratt in Indiana, Beethoven Mass in C. Making her debut with the Singapore Chinese Symphony was a thrill for her, singing spirituals and Porgy and Bess duets. She was the title role with Chicago Opera Theater’s Fairy Queen, the Foreign Woman in the Consul, Dora in Stewart Copeland’s rock opera The Invention of Morel.

With Haymarket opera she participated in the title role in Acis and Galatea, Angelica in Handel’s Orlando, and was also Tibrino in Handel’s Orontea. Future concerts include her first Beethoven 9, more Messiahs, and more Mozart Requiems.

Brandon Cedel American Bass-baritone Brandon Cedel is a recent graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, and was an ensemble member of Oper Frankfurt from 2016-2019.

Highlights in Brandon’s 2021/22 season include the title role in a new production of Handel’s Hercules at the Staatstheater Karlsruhe, the title role in Le nozze di Figaro for the Glyndebourne Festival and the role of Dan Brown in the world premiere of Kevin Puts’ new opera The Hours with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Recent engagements have included Masetto/Don Giovanni for the Metropolitan Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Leporello/Don Giovanni and Argante/Rinaldo for the Glyndebourne Festival; Collatinus/The Rape of Lucretia for the Boston Lyric Opera; the title role in Le nozze di Figaro for Opera Philadelphia and the Stuttgart Staatsoper and Colline/La bohème and Basilio/Il barbiere di Siviglia for the Canadian Opera Company.

His many roles for Oper Frankfurt include Masetto, Sprecher/Die Zauberflöte, Lieutenant Ratcliffe/Billy Budd, Argante/Ariodante, Xerxes/Cesare, Angelotti/Tosca, Brander/La damnation de Faust, and Achior in Mozart’s La Betulia Liberata.

Evan Bravos Greek-American Baritone Evan Bravos, marked as a “young talent to watch” by the Chicago Tribune, has received critical acclaim for his “lovely lyric baritone” (Opera News) in artful interpretations of opera, oratorio and art song repertoire.

Mr. Bravos’ 2021-22 season includes Handel’s Messiah with Santa Fe Symphony and the role of Hannah Before in Laura Kaminsky’s As One with Opera Santa Barbara. Bravos’ 201920 season included a company debut as Cascada in The Merry Widow with New Philharmonic Opera and the role of Manfred Lewin in the Chicago premiere of Jake Heggie’s Two Remain with Chicago Fringe Opera.

He also “sang winningly” (Opera News) as Clay in the world premiere of Matthew Recio and Royce Vavrek’s online opera The Puppy Episode with Chicago Opera Theater, and created the role of Claudius in the world premiere and recording of Joseph Summer’s Hamlet in a collaboration between the State Opera Ruse, Parma Recordings and Boston’s Shakespeare Concert Series. Of Bravos’ recent performance in Higdon’s Cold Mountain at the Music Academy of the West, Voice Magazine raved, “Baritone Evan Bravos’ performance in the lead role of Inman indicated his career is already moving forward and little wonder; he commands a powerful, rich voice and his acting chops are first-class.”

Lunga Eric Hallam A second-year tenor with Lyric Opera’s Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, Lunga Eric Hallam is from Khayelitsha, South Africa. There, he founded a nonprofit organization called Phenomenal Opera Voices the same year he enrolled at the University of Cape Town College of Music, where he received his diploma and postgraduate (with honors) degrees in music training.

Recent engagements as a Young Artist at Cape Town Opera include Tebaldo/I capuleti e i montecchi, Edgardo/Lucia di Lammermoor, and Roberto/Maria Stuarda, as well as Ramiro/La Cenerentola at Cape Town Conservatory. He was featured as part of the 2017 Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe. Hallam competed as a semifinalist in the 2019 Neue Stimmen International Singing Competition and the 2019 Voice of South Africa International Singing Competition. Chicago appearances include the Harris Theater’s Beyond the Aria series alongside Joyce DiDonato. In Lyric’s 2020/21 virtual programming, Hallam was featured in Lawrence Brownlee and Friends: The Next Chapter, Creating The Factotum, Sole e Amore, Magical Music Around the World, and Rising Stars in Concert. For the 2021/22 season, he performs in Sunday in the Park with Lyric’s Rising Stars and as Adult Nathan/Fire Shut Up in My Bones.

Rachel Blaustein Praised for her “brilliant lyric soprano”, Rachel Blaustein is quickly gaining recognition for her riveting stage presence and innate musicality.

On the heels of an exciting debut as Tatyana in Eugene Onegin with Opera NEO, Ms. Blaustein is poised as a bright, up-andcoming artist, with a moving sensibility to drama and text. In early 2021, she joins the roster of Chicago Opera Theater for two productions, firstly appearing as the Queer Kid in the Midwest premiere of Kamala Sankaram’s Taking up Serpents and subsequently performing in Daniel Catan’s La hija de Rappaccini.

Ms. Blaustein also makes her Santa Fe Opera debut in summer 2021 as Autonoe in the world premiere of John Corigliano’s The Lord of Cries and her Tulsa Opera debut as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. She also will workshop the role of Micòl in Ricky Ian Gordon’s new opera The Garden of the Finzi-Continis for New York City Opera.

Recent engagements of note include Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Opera Santa Barbara, covers of Eurydice in Orphée et Eurydice and Maria Celeste in Galileo Galilei with Des Moines Metro Opera, and Kenzie in the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Lyric Unlimited touring production of Earth to Kenzie.

Leah Dexter American mezzo-soprano, Leah Dexter, is pleased to be returning to Chicago Opera Theater for the 2021-22 season for several productions. In addition to covering Carmen and performing Mercedes this fall, she will also be seen in the role of Ib for Becoming Santa Claus and as Mistress Paddington in the world premiere of Quamino’s Map. Leah will also be reprising her roles of Dimas’ Mother and Lupe Marin in Michigan Opera Theater’s critically acclaimed production of Frida. Recent engagements have included her debut with Chicago Sinfonietta as the alto soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Gloria in Chicago Opera Theater’s premiere production of Freedom Ride, T-Rex/Cavewoman with Lyric Opera Chicago’s Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt, the role of Auntie (cover) in Scarlet Ibis with Chicago Opera Theater, soloist for the Hearing in Color concert series, alto soloist in Tippett’s A Child of Our Time, with the University of Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and South Shore Opera of Chicago’s 10th Anniversary Gala concert.

For the 2020-21 season, Ms. Dexter joined the LYNX Project as a recital soloist and for an anthology recording project released in fall of 2021, and returned to Chicago Opera Theater for two, critically-acclaimed premiere productions: The Transformation of Jane Doe as the Night Maid and Taking Up Serpents as Nelda, for which her performance was lauded as “…fluid, natural, bright, and her acting flawless” (Hyde Park Herald).

Ms. Dexter is a Detroit area native who studied violin and cello for many years and holds a Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the University of Michigan.

Lidiya Yankovskaya Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya is a fiercely committed advocate for Russian masterpieces, operatic rarities, and contemporary works on the leading edge of classical music.

As Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, Ms. Yankovskaya has led the Chicago premieres of Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick, Rachmaninov’s Aleko, Joby Talbot’s Everest, Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, and the world premiere of Dan Shore’s Freedom Ride.

In the 2021/22 season, Ms. Yankovskaya makes a trio of Texan debuts, leading performances of Carmen at Houston Grand Opera, a tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg at Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and a concert of Gershwin and Dawson at Fort Worth Symphony. Elsewhere, she makes her Minnesota Opera debut with Voices United, leads a program of Brahms and Wagner at Elgin Symphony, and makes her Pasadena Symphony debut conducting works by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Gabriela Lena Frank. At Chicago Opera Theater, she’ll conduct the Chicago premiere of Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus in addition to this concert version of Carmen.

Ms. Yankovskaya has recently conducted Don Giovanni at Seattle Opera, Pia de’ Tolomei at Spoleto Festival USA, Il barbiere di Siviglia at Wolf Trap Opera, Ellen West at New York’s Prototype Festival, and the world premiere of Taking Up Serpents at Washington National Opera. On the concert stage, she has been recently engaged with Chicago Philharmonic, Rhode Island Philharmonic, and the symphony orchestras of Mobile and Oviedo, Spain.

An alumna of the Dallas Opera’s Hart Institute for Women Conductors and the Taki Alsop Conducting Fellowship, Ms. Yankovskaya has also served as assistant conductor to Lorin Maazel, assisted Vladimir Jurowski via a London Philharmonic fellowship, and was featured in the Bruno Walter National Conductor Preview. She is a two-time recipient of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award.

Joachim Schamberger Joachim Schamberger works internationally as a Stage Director and Video Designer. His productions have appeared in the United States, Germany, Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Norway, Israel, Japan and China. In addition to directing and designing, he serves as Director of Opera at Northwestern University and is frequently invited to teach at music festivals and conservatories throughout the world. Mr. Schamberger is a graduate of the Musikhochschule in Würzburg, the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera, and studied digital film production and 3-D animation at the New York Film Academy.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS *Denotes Executive Committee Members

Honorary Trustees Joan W. Harris

Gregory O’Leary

Gael Neeson

Officers Susan J. Irion

President

Allen Heinemann

Secretary

Henry Fogel

Directors Peter Ascoli

James G. McCormick

Roger S. Baskes

David McNeel

Ron Bauer

Susan Noel

Merrill Blau

Dorothy F. Osborn

Nancy Dehmlow

Robert E. Shapiro

Paul E. Freehling

Dan Tarlock

Maria Lagios

Virginia Tobiason

Mary Lunz Houston

Immediate Past President

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. Never has that been more true than in the past year. 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.

Support the future of opera as a living art form!

Go online at cot.org/give or contact Director of Development Megan Monahan at mmonahan@cot.org or 312-874-7454.

Leadership Support Special thanks to our Leadership Circle, comprised of passionate philanthropists who want to ensure the future of opera is here in Chicago.

$100,000+

$50,000 - $99,999

$25,000 - $49,999

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Anonymous Lucy & Peter* Ascoli Nancy Dehmlow* Patricia A. Kenney & Gregory J. O’Leary Orli & Bill Staley Stefan T. Edlis & H. Gael Neeson Foundation

Julie & Roger* Baskes Elizabeth Morse Genius Charitable Trust Julius N. Frankel Foundation Elizabeth Amy Liebman Lloyd A. Fry Foundation Paul M. Angell Family Foundation Polk Bros. Foundation Virginia Tobiason*

Queta and Ron* Bauer Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation John R. Halligan Charitable Fund Robert & Isabelle Bass Foundation, Inc. Sage Foundation Barre Seid & Barbara Landis‡ The Siragusa Family Foundation US Small Business Association

Producers Circle Members of our Producers Circle are crucial to the growth and vitality of COT. Producer’s Circle members can direct their support to sponsor a specific production, underwrite exciting special projects, or support our comprehensive education programming in CPS schools.

$10,000 - $24,999

$5,000 - $9,999

Sue & Paul* Freehling Vivien Gross & Dan Tarlock* Allen Heinemann* & William Borden Mary Lunz* & James Houston Illinois Arts Council Agency Masahiro Kasai & Bill Myers Laura G. & James* G. McCormick National Endowment for the Arts Dorothy F. Osborn* & Bud Dobbins Jean Perkins & Leland Hutchinson Virginia Townsend†

Judith & Merrill* Blau Howard Conant Frances & Henry* Fogel Colette & Gerald Gordon Martha Hesse Susan Irion* & Rob DeLand Lemont Fund Patricia McMillen David E. McNeel* Sylvia Neil & Daniel Fischel OPERA America Dawn & John Palmer Susan & Robert* Shapiro Penelope Steiner

*Denotes member, Board of Directors *Board Member ‡In-kind †Deceased List reflects gifts received between 7/1/2020 and 9/14/2021

Opera Benefactors Opera Benefactors are comprised of generous opera enthusiasts, and donors of at least $1,000 enjoy VIP benefits such as intermission receptions, dress rehearsal access, and invitations to exclusive events

$1,000 - $4,999 Sheila Amend The Amphion Foundation Anonymous (4) Kathleen Arthur & Stephen Wood Carlos Bekerman Ellen Benjamin & Frederick Bates Suzanne & William E. Bible John Bierbusse Helaine Billings Richard Boyum & Louie Chua Alfredo & Pamella Capitanini‡ Joyce Chelberg Dale Connelly & Donna Van Eekeren Robert & Isabel Curley Marijane Deters Ingrid & Rich Dubberke Kent Dymak & Theodore Foss Anne Egger Erika Erich Megan Fellman & Anthony Rosso Geoffrey Flick Shawn Flood‡ Timothy & Janet Fox

Priscilla & Henry Frisch Stephen & Elizabeth Geer James K. Genden and Alma Koppedraijer Gaylord & William Gieseke Ethel & Bill Gofen Donald L. Hoffman Beatriz & Jorge Iorgulescu The Jana Foundation, Inc. William Jentes Ronald B. Johnson Lori Julian Diana & Neil King A. Jeanne LaDuke Maria* & Peter Lagios Moses Lee Edward Mack Ashley & Brandon Magnus Margaret S. & Philip D. Block Jr. Family Foundation Marilyn McCoy & Charles Thomas Patrice Michaels & Jim Ginsburg Joanne Michalski & Mike Weeda Charles H. Mottier

Catherine Mouly & LeRoy Carlson, Jr. John H. Nelson Gayla & Edward Nieminen Susan Noel* Irmgard & Keith Olson Marsha & Robert Rosner Christopher Rundell‡ Richard O. Ryan Sahara Enterprises, Inc. Fund at The Chicago Community Foundation Edward Schiele Joan & James Shapiro Lynne Shigley & Frank Modruson Louise K. Smith Laraine & David Spector Marjorie Stinespring David J. Varnerin Laura Vesecky Todd & Cari Vieregg Albert Walavich Anne and Dennis Wentz Household Elizabeth Yntema Linda & Owen Youngman

President’s Council members Joanne Michalski & Mike Weeda

COT supporters Jorge Iorgulescu, Beatriz Iorgulescu, and William Myers with Edlis Neeson General Director Ashley Magnus

*Denotes member, Board of Directors *Board Member ‡In-kind †Deceased List reflects gifts received between 7/1/2020 and 9/14/2021

Friends of COT Friends of COT receive invitations to donor events, all dress rehearsals, and an invitation to the donor room for one production each season.

$500 - $999 Sharon & Charles T. Angell Anonymous Brenda Ashley & Gary Johnson John & Sharon Baldwin Sandra Bass Rolinda Bloom John Blosser Joan & Jeffrey Blumenthal John Boatright Ralph & Rona Brown Christiane Carlsson Walter Cibulskis Margery C. Coen Lisa DeAngelis

Janet Eyler & Edwin Walker Jan Feldman Firestone Family Foundation Lance Fortnow Eloise Foster Patricia & Thomas L. Gahlon Robert Galatzerlevy Scott Gryder & Nick Sula‡ Ruth Hansen & Lawrence Plotkin Barbara & William Herzog Gary Huff Gilbert Johns Mary Klyasheff Axel Kunzmann and Bruce J. Nelson Catherine & Douglas Knuth

Paul Kobasa Robert Marks† Carole McMahon David Miller Robert & Lois Moeller Joan & Frank R. Safford David Saunders Susan H. Schwartz Dorothie & Surenda Shah Sheila Barton Bosron Elizabeth Shepherd Marcey & Ken Siegel Joanne Silver Grace K. Stanek Myron & Karen Tiersky Peter Wender Jennifer Woodard

List reflects gifts received between 7/1/2020 and 9/14/2021

Encore Society Chicago Opera Theater’s Encore Society is an inspiring group of forward thinking opera lovers who want to support the future of bold opera in Chicago. These commitments are integral to COT, helping us continue to present exciting premieres and unique productions to the community for years to come.

Patrons who have made a designation of any size through bequests, insurance policies, IRAs, or any other legacy-giving asset provision are eligible to become members of COT’s Encore Society.

Members enjoy VIP Donor Room Access and special invitations to donor events.

If you have made such arrangements, please let us know by contacting Director of Development Megan Monahan at mm@cot.org or 312-874-7454.

Encore Society Members Anonymous (3) Lucy & Peter* Ascoli Julie & Roger* Baskes Carlotte & Alan Bath Joan & Jeffrey Blumenthal David Boyce Janet Eyler & Edwin Walker Megan Fellman & Anthony Rosso Frances & Henry* Fogel James K. Genden & Alma Koppedraijer Karen & Martin A. Halacy

Allen Heinemann* & William Borden Susan Irion* & Rob DeLand Ruth Kane Patricia A. Kenney & Gregory J. O’Leary Maria* & Peter Lagios Elizabeth Amy Liebman Mary Lunz* & James Houston Kevin McGirr Joanne Michalski & Mike Weeda

*Denotes member, Board of Directors ‡In-kind †Deceased

John H. Nelson Gayla & Edward Nieminen Dorothy F. Osborn* & Bud Dobbins Katharine Roller Louise K. Smith Virginia Tobiason* Suzanne L. Wagner Albert Walavich Claude Weil

President’s Council The Chicago Opera Theater President’s Council was founded by former Board President Gregory J. O’Leary. President’s Council members play an integral role in the future of the company as advocates and supporters. Membership is open to donors contributing at least $1,500 annually, and members enjoy special behind the scenes access on a sponsored production, as well as exclusive events and optional board committee service. In the 21/22 season, the President’s Council will sponsor Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus.

Interested in joining President’s Council? From behind-the-scenes information on our productions, to access to the artists behind the work, members are invited to experience opera from an exclusive and up-close vantage. Contact Director of Development Megan Monahan at mm@cot.org or 312-8747454.

President’s Council Members Anonymous (3) Kathleen Arthur & Stephen Wood Ellen Benjamin & Frederick Bates John Bierbusse Joan & Jeffrey Blumenthal Richard Boyum & Louie Chua Joyce Chelberg Howard Conant Dale Connelly & Donna Van Eekeren Marijane Deters Bud Dobbins Kent Dymak & Theodore Foss Anne Egger Janet Eyler & Edwin Walker

Megan Fellman & Anthony Rosso Stephen & Elizabeth Geer James K. Genden & Alma Koppedraijer Ethel & Bill Gofen Judy & William Goldberg Colette & Gerald Gordon Martha Hesse Donald L. Hoffman Masahiro Kasai & Bill Myers Patricia A. Kenney & Gregory J. O’Leary Moses Lee Mary Lunz* & James Houston Ashley & Brandon Magnus Kevin McGirr Patricia McMillen

President’s Council & Board of Directors enjoy a preview performance by Robert Sims from this season’s Freedom Ride by Dan Shore.

*Denotes member, Board of Directors ‡In-kind †Deceased

Joanne Michalski & Mike Weeda Charles H. Mottier Catherine Mouly & LeRoy Carlson, Jr. John H. Nelson Gayla & Edward Nieminen Dawn & John Palmer Erika Erich Marsha & Robert Rosner Richard O. Ryan Lynne Shigley & Frank Modruson Louise K. Smith David J. Varnerin Albert Walavich Linda & Owen Youngman

Launched in the Spring of 2018, the Vanguard Initiative is COT’s three-pronged approach to the development of new opera. COT Music Director Lidiya Yankovskaya leads the Initiative as the Vanguard Artistic Director.

Vanguard Emerging Opera Composer Program COT identifies promising composers ready to hone the specific skillset required to create quality opera. Composers become an integral part of the company for a period of two years of paid residency activities, including mentorship from COT staff, industry leaders, and Vanguard Composer Mentor Jake Heggie. The program culminates in a full-length opera commission in collaboration with an established librettist.

Inside the process COT opens up opportunities for Chicago audiences to become part of the development of new work, in dialogue with the creators themselves. This occurs through regular development workshops and related auxiliary events.

Commissioning and Developing New Mainstage Opera COT invests time and talent in brandnew pieces, including commissions, at various stages of the creative process, both internally and through partnerships with other leading developers of new work.

Current Vanguard Composers In our 20/21 season, our Vanguard Composer alumna Stacy Garrop premiered The Transformation of Jane Doe, written with librettist Jerre Dye, on our digital mainstage. Stacy was joined by fellow alumnus Matthew Recio and current Vanguard Composers Wang Lu and Shawn Okpebholo for a series of Vanguard Micro-Jams commissioned for our Young Artists. In the spring, Matthew premiered his opera The Puppy Episode, written with librettist Royce Vavrek, on our digital mainstage.

Learn more and apply at www.chicagooperatheater.org/vanguard

THE COT YOUNG ARTIST & PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN OPERA PROGRAM

in conjunction with Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts 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.

At COT, Young Artists engage in the artistic process of the company for the duration of the two-year program.

Learn more and apply at www.chicagooperatheater.org/yap