PROGRAM: Bravo 1996 April Gala concert for the opening of the Detroit Opera House

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

THE WHITE

HOUSE

WASH INGTON

January 17, 1996

Warm greetings to everyone celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Michigan Opera Theatre and the opening of the Detroit Opera House.

The performing arts have long been a vibrant part of our cultural life, thril ling and inspiring audiences across the country. They entertain and educate us, opening o ur minds and awakening our senses to the beauty and complexity of human experience. With their variety of perspectives, the performing arts bring communities together , enabling us to gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and our society.

The Detroit Opera House promises to add its own rich contributions to A~erica's artistic heritage. Offering the best of opera, dance, and musical theatre, the Michigan Opera Theatre and the Detroit Opera House are strengthening the spirit of community in the city o f Det r oit , bringing diverse audiences together in a common appreciation of the arts.

Both MOT and this wonderful new opera house will prove to be an enduring source of pride for the pe op le of Michigan and for our entire nation.

As you celebrate this impressive milestone, I applaud you for your long-standing commitment to excellence , and I send best wishes for a bright new future of artistic accomplishment.

I ,I

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STATE OF MI C HIG AN OFFI CE O F THE G O VERNOR

LANSING JOHN ENGLER GOVERNOR

April 20, 1996

Dear Friends: As Governor of the State of Michigan, it is my pleasure to congratulate the Michigan Opera Theatre on the long-awaited opening of the Detroit Opera House.

This is certainly an event worth celebrating!

Since its inception in 1971, the Michigan Opera Theatre has become one of the nation's 10 largest opera companies. I applaud its efforts to make opera accessible to people throughout the state of Michigan and to revitalize Detroit's historical theatre district. This, the year of its 25th anniversary and the opening of the Detroit Opera House, promises to be the Michigan Opera Theater's most successful yet.

Again, I am pleased to congratulate the Michigan Opera Theatre on the opening of the Detroit Opera House. Please accept my best wishes for continued success.

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DENNIS W. ARCHER, MAYOR CITY OF DETROIT EXECUTIVE OFFICE

April 20, 1996

Michigan Opera Theatre Lothrop Landing 104 Lothrop Detroit, MI 48202

DEAR M.O.T. ADMINISTRATION & STAFF: On behalf of the City of Detroit and all its citizens, congratulations to the Michigan Opera Theatre as you celebrate the grand opening gala of the beautiful new Detroit Opera House. This wonderful addition to our City's cultural treasures is a most exciting part of Detroit's rejuvenation.

I would like to express gratitude to the many arts supporters of the metropolitan area whose generous contributions have made both this event and the new Opera House possible.

This new part of the second-largest working theatre district in the country assures that Detroit will stay in the forefront of urban areas in terms of our cultural offeri ngs.

I'm looking forward to my first "official" visit to the Detroit Opera House in the very near future.

Sincerely,

Dennis W. Archer Mayor DWAlAHAlkc

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DIRECTORS & TRUSTEES BOARD OF DIRECTORS 1995-1996 Mr. Robert E. Dewar, Chairman Dr. David DiChiera, President Mr. Cameron B. Duncan, Treasurer Mr. C. Thomas Toppin, Secretary

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Mrs. Robert Allesee Mrs. David Aronow ' Mrs. Donald C. Austin Mr. ]. Addison Bartush Mr. Philip E. Benton,Jr. Mr. Richard A. Brodie Mrs. William C. Brooks Mrs. Frederick Clark Mr. Jeff Connelly Mrs. Peter Cooper Julia Donovan Darlow Mr. Lawren~e N. David Mr.Ronald Dobbins Mrs. Charles M. Endicott Mr. Herman Frankel Mrs. Lawrence Garberding Mr. John C. Griffin Mr. Kenneth E. Hart Mr. EugeneHartwig Mrs. Verne Istock Mr. Leonard C. Jaques Mrs. William E. Johnston Mrs. Charles Kessler Mrs. Robert Klein Mr. Gerald A. Knechtel Richard W. Kulis D.D.S. Mr. David Baker Lewis Mr. A. C. Liebler Mr. Harry A. Lomason Mr. Alphonse Lucarelli Mr. jules L. Pallone Mrs. Irving Rose Mr. Louis R. Ross Mrs. David Ruwart Mr. Alan E. Schwartz Mrs. Roger E Sherman Mr. S. Kinnie Smith,Jr. Mr. Frank Stella Mrs. George Strumbos Mr. Robert C. VanderKloot Mr. Gary Wasserman Mr. Richard C. Webb Mrs. R. Alexander Wrigley Mr. Morton Zieve

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 1995-1996 Mr. Robert E. Dewar, Chairman Dr. &: Mrs. Roger M. Ajluni Mr. Roger Ajluni,Jr.

Mr. &: Mrs. Robert A. Allesee Dr. Lourdes V Andaya Mr. &: Mrs. Thomas Angott Mr. &: Mrs. Robert L. Anthony Dr. &: Mrs. Agustin Arbulu Mr. &: Mrs. David Aronow Mrs. Donald Atwood Dr. &: Mrs. Donald Austin The Honorable &: Mrs. Edward Avadenka Mrs. james Merriam Barnes Mr. &: Mrs.]. Addison Bartush Mr. &: Mrs. Mark Alan Baun Mr. &: Mrs. W. Victor Benjamin Mr. &: Mrs. Philip E. Benton,Jr. Mr. &: Mrs. Douglas Borden Mr. &: Mrs. Donald]. Bortz Mr. &: Mrs. Richard A. Brodie Mr. &: Mrs. William C. Brooks Mr. &: Mrs. Clarence G. Catallo Mr. &: Mrs. Frederick Clark Ms. Virginia Clementi The Honorable &: Mrs. Avern L. Cohn Mr. Thomas Cohn Mr. &: Mrs. jeff Connelly Mr. &: Mrs. Michael]. Connolly Mr. &: Mrs. Peter Cooper Mr. &: Mrs. Richard Cregar Mr. &: Mrs. Ronald Cutler julia Donovan Darlow &:john Corbett O'Meara Mr. &: Mrs. Lawrence N. David Mr. &: Mrs. john W. Day Mr. &: Mrs. David Denn Mr. &: Mrs. Robert N. Derderian Mr. &: Mrs. Robert E. Dewar Dr. David DiChiera Karen VanderKloot DiChiera Mr. &: Mrs. Ronald Dobbins Mr. &: Mrs. Cameron B. Duncan Lady jane Easton Mrs. Charles M. Endicott Mrs. Hilda Ettenheimer Mr. &: Mrs. Paul E. Ewing Mr. Stephen Ewing Mr. &: Mrs. Alfred ]. Fisher,jr.

Mr. &: Mrs. Alfred]. Fisher, III Mr. &: Mrs. Charles 1. Fisher, 1II Mr. &: Mrs. Louis P. Fontana Mr. &: Mrs. Nathan Forbes Mr. &: Mrs. Herman Frankel Mr. &: Mrs. Marvin A. Frenkel Mrs. Roy Fruehauf Mr. &: Mrs. Lawrence Garberding Dr. &: Mrs. Robert Gerisch Mr. &: Mrs. Frank Germack,Jr. Mrs. Aaron H. Gershenson Mr. &: Mrs. Yousif Ghafari Mr. &: Mrs. Andy Giancamilli Mr. &: Mrs. Vito P. Gioia Mr. &: Mrs. Dennis Gormley Mr. &: Mrs. Alan L. Gornick Mr. &: Mrs. H. james Gram

Mrs. Katherine Gribbs Mr. &: Mrs. john C. Griffin Mrs. Berj H. Haidostian Mrs. Robert M. Hamady Mr. David Handleman Mr. &: Mrs. Preston Happel Dr. &: Mrs. joseph Harris Mr. &: Mrs. Kenneth E. Hart Mr. &: Mrs. Eugene Hartwig Mr. &: Mrs. E. Jan Hartmann Mr. &: Mrs. David B. Hermelin Mr. &: Mrs. Keith Honhart The Honorable &: Mrs. Joseph Impastato Mr. &: Mrs. Verne Istock Mrs. Davidjacknow Mr. &: Mrs. Leonardjaques Miss H. Barbarajohnston Mrs. William E. johnston Mr. &: Mrs. Maxwelljospey Mr. &: Mrs. Mitchell I. Kafarski Mr. &: Mrs. john Kaplan Mr. &: Mrs. Daniel Karnowsky Dr. &: Mrs. Charles Kessler Mr. &: Mrs. Eugene L. Klein Mr. &: Mrs. Robert Klein Mr. &: Mrs. Gerald A. Knechtel Mr. &: Mrs. Semon E. Knudsen Mr. &: Mrs. William Ku Mr. &: Mrs. Richard P. Kughn Dr. &: Mrs. Richard W. Kulis Mr. &: Mrs. Ronald C. Lamparter Dr. &: Mrs. Robert Levine Mr. &: Mrs. David B. Lewis Mrs. Leonard 1. Lewis Mrs. Walton A. Lewis Dr. &: Mrs. Kim K. Lie Mr. &: Mrs. A. C. Liebler Mr. &: Mrs. Robert Lisak Mr. &: Mrs. Harry A. Lomason Mr. &: Mrs. james H. LoPrete Mr. &: Mrs. Alphonse S. Lucarelli Mrs. j essie B. Mann Mr. &: Mrs. Frank S. Marra The Honorable jack Martin &: Dr. Bettye Arrington-Martin Mr. &: Mrs. William 1. McCormick Mrs. Wade H. McCree,Jr. Mr. &: Mrs. Eugene Miller Mr. &: Mrs. Theodore Monolidis Mr. &: Mrs. E. Clarence Mularoni Mr. &: Mrs. Eddie Munson Mrs. Reva Muss Mr. &: Mrs. E. Michael Mutchler Mr. &: Mrs. jules L. Pallone Mr. &: Mrs. james Pamel Dr. Robert E. L. Perkins Mr. &: Mrs. Brock E. Plumb Mrs. Ralph Polk Mrs. David Pollack Mr. &: Mrs. John Rakolta Mr. &: Mrs. Eugene Robelli Mr. &: Mrs. Hans Rogind

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Mr. &: Mrs. Irving Rose Mr. &: Mrs. Louis Ross Mr. &: Mrs. David Ruwart Mr. &: Mrs. William Sandy Dr. &: Mrs. Norman Schakne Mr. &: Mrs. Fred Schneidewind Mr. &: Mrs. Arthur Schultz Mr. &: Mrs. Alan E. Schwartz Mr. &: Mrs. Donald Schwendeman Mr. &: Mrs. Frank Shaler Mr. &: Mrs. Roger E Sherman Mr. &: Mrs. Richard Sloan Mr. &: Mrs. S. Kinnie Smith,Jr. Ms. Phyllis D. Snow Mr. Richard Sonenklar Mr. &: Mrs. Richard Starkweather Ms. Mary Anne Stella Mr. Frank D. Stella Mrs. Mark Stevens Mr. &: Mrs. George Strumbos Mr. &: Mrs. C. Thomas Toppin Mr. &: Mrs. Lynn A. Townsend Mr. &: Mrs. james]. Trebilcott Mr. &: Mrs. Robert C. VanderKloot Mr. &: Mrs. George C. Vincent Mr. &: Mrs. Gary Wasserman Mr. &: Mrs. Kenneth Way Mr. &: Mrs. Richard D. Webb Mr. &: Mrs. Gary L. White Mr. &: Mrs. R. jamison Williams Dr. &: Mrs. Sam B. Williams Mr. &: Mrs. Eric A. Wiltshire Mr. &: Mrs. Donald Worsley Mr. &: Mrs. R. Alexander Wrigley The Honorable Joan E. Young &: Mr. Thomas L. Schellenberg Mr. &: Mrs. Ted Zegouras Mr. &: Mrs. Morton Zieve Mrs. Paul Zuckerman Ms. Lucia Zurkowski Mr. Roy Zurkowski

FOUNDING MEMBERS Mr. and Mrs. Lynn A. Townsend Founding Chairmen Mr. &: Mrs. Avern L. Cohn Mr. &: Mrs. John DeCarlo Dr. &: Mrs. David DiChiera Mr. &: Mrs. Aaron H. Gershenson Mr. &: Mrs. Donald C. Graves Honorable &: Mrs. Roman S. Gribbs Mr. &: Mrs. john C. Griffin Mr. &: Mrs. Harry L. jones Honorable &: Mrs. Wade McCree,jr.

Mr. Harry ]. Nederlander Mr. E. Harwood Rydholm Mr. &: Mrs. Neil Snow Mr. &: Mrs. Richard Strichartz Mr. &: Mrs. Robert C. VanderKloot Mr. &: Mrs. Sam B. Williams Mr. &: Mrs. Theodore O. Yntema

DEDICATION If I had time to practice the piano, there is a beautiful piece by Schumannliszt called "Dedication" which I would have liked to play in an effort to express the depth of my feelings of gratitude to all who made the Detroit Opera House a reality. We are often overwhelmed by the power of opera because music reaches far beyond words in touching special feelings within us which we can all share. Yet I am compelled on this occasion to struggle with my inadequacies in using words to at least give some expression of thanks to so many who have walked with me on this journey which began so many years ago. While I have been relentless in pursuing a quest, it has been the devotion and support provided along the way which has sustained me and made our achievements possible.

First and foremost has been Karen VanderKloot DiChiera, for 25 years my companion and forever my most faithful friend , critic and counselor. Her contribution to shaping the first decade of activities at the Music Hall and her impact on having MOT touch the lives of thousands of children and adults throughout the state is incalculable.

Since our humble beginnings I have had the good fortune of finding creative, capable and committed managerial staff, from Robert Heuer, our first Managing Director, and presently General Director of the Florida Grand Opera, to John leberg, our present Managing Director of MOT, and Kimberly Johnson, the indefatigable Managing Director of the Opera House Project - they and their staffs have shouldered and solved what often appeared to be insurmountable hurdles in achieving our goals.

In our American society, the cultural institutions which we cherish have never been accepted as public responsibilities as in their European antecedents, but have depended on the willingness of community leaders to help nurture and support their development. Thus, the evolution of Michigan Opera Theatre found refuge under the dedicated leadership of Ruth and lynn Townsend who brought together a group of founding members to provide financial support and loving care for a fragile and young enterprise. It was lynn whose considerable influence as Chairman of the Board of the Chrysler Corporation opened the doors in the community to - pay attention to what he affectionately called "David's Project".

He oversaw the transition from Overture to Opera as a touring program of scenes to the establishment of an opera company and the saving of Music Hall as its first home.

Bob and Nancy Dewar joined the Board in 1973, having been introduced by Bob and Tuttie VanderKloot who were a constant source of new friends for the opera . . like Ruth and lynn, Bob and Nancy truly loved opera. Bob even talked Nancy'S parents into allowing him to take Nancy to Chicago unchaperoned to see the opera. When in 1980 lynn felt that it was time to step down, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Robert Dewar was the logical successor.

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His love of opera, together with his stature in the community as Chairman of the Board of Kmart, and his community-wide esteem as a man of integrity and commitment made him the natural choice. How lucky we ;were that Bob was in the wings ready to take up the mantle and , how lucky I have been - blessed by the continuity of his leadership and unswerving loyalty to the vision of an opera company with no parameters to its potential as a cultural force. For the past fifteen years Robert Dewar has provided the stability and affection for MOT which has allowed this institution to realize its potential. The dream of an opera house was encouraged

by Bob and by a Board of Directors and Trustees who have always functioned as a loving family devoted to an art form and to the community. The strategic planning, the willingness to take risks, and , ultimately the commitment to a project that many believed was impractical and foolish and impossible. All of us working to achieve this dream were given courage and strength of steadfastness by our community leader a~d volunteer par excellence Robert Dewar.

How can one ever begin to thank, let alone name, the many, many individuals who have over the years been a part of making Michigan Opera Theatre and the Opera House a reality. From special and supportive friends like Morry Cohen, who helped launch our ballet initiative, to corporate leaders like Phil Benton, who provided extraordinary leadership in our capital campaign, to devoted directors and trustees who have served tirelessly and selflessly, to the thousands of volunteers, donors and subscribers - all have provided the foundation for our efforts.

And last but not least, those wonderful artists who over 25 seasons have given us so many unforg~table moments of greatness, enriching our lives with the wonder of their art. My heartfelt thanks to Luciano Pavarotti and all of the incomparable gala artists who so generously returned to make the inauguration and celebration an unforgettable moment in time for all of us.

David DiChiera General Director Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

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1971-1972 JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT IA RONDINE THE PERFECT FOOL

TIm HISTORY OF

1972-73

MICHIGAN OPERA TlmATRE

cosi FAN TUTTE TOSCA THE TELEPHONE THE MEDIUM

An Overview of 25 Years

1973~'1974

by Timothy Paul Lentz

RIGOLETTO MADAME BUTTERFLY THE MERRY WIDOW

1974-1975 IA TRAVIATA BORIS GODUNOV THE ELIXIR OF LOVE DIE FLEDERMAUS

1975-1976 PORGY AND BESS IA BOHEME LUCIA DI IAMMERMOOR THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

1976-1977 WASHINGTON SQUARE (WORLD PREMIERE) MADAME BUTTERFLY NAUGHTY MARIETTA THE ~GIC FLUTE

1977-1978 REGINA CARMEN , THE STUDENT PRINCE FAUST AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS

1978-1979 THE PEARL FISHERS SHOWBOAT IA TRAVIATA I PAGLIACCI THE EMPEROR JONES MADAME BUTTERFLY

1979 THE MOST HAPPY FELIA IL TROVATORE IABOHEME JOAN OF ARC

1980 DIE FLEDERMAUS OF MICE AND MEN DON GIOVANNI RIGOLETTO FIDELIO (WITH D50) THE PEARL FISHERS (MATRIX MIDLAND FESTIVAL)

1981-1982 TOSCA CARMEN ANOUSH (AMERICAN PREMIERE) THE MIKADO PORGY AND BESS

1982-1983 THE HAUNTED CASTLE (AMERICAN PREMIERE) LUCIA DI IAMMERMOOR TREEMONISHA THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO THE SOUND OF MUSIC

1983-1984 IA TRAVIATA FAUST A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC ANNABOLENA

"MOT has become the focal point of a cultural renaissance in Detroit." That quote from the nationally prominent New York Daily News remarkably appeared just a few short years after the establishment of Michigan Opera Theatre (MOT). It was almost inconceivable to all but a handful of people in the 60s and early 70s that Detroit could or would support, financially as well as emotionally, its own opera company. Yet Michigan Opera Theatre quickly gained a reputation as one of the nation's fastest-growing and most innovative regional opera companies and, more recently, as one of the country's premier producers of opera and musical theater.

This spring as the company simultaneously celebrates two major milestones, its Silver Anniversary and the opening of its permanent home here in the Detroit Opera House, there is cause to reflect upon and recognize the people committed to a goal and the events that have brought us to this exciting and tremendously fulfilling moment in the life of MOT. What was once a dream has indeed become a reality; an .internationally recognized opera company residing in a world class theater as its permanent home and base of activity.

In order to trace the very beginnings of MOT, a brief look back at the Detroit Grand Opera Association (DGOA) is in order. In 1943, the DGOA came forth with a proposal to bring the Philadelphia La Scala Opera Company to Detroit. After eight seasons the DGOA changed course and brought in the New York City Opera. By the end of the 1957 season the DGOA, faced with declining attendance, decided that they had to go out and get the best, the prestigious Metropolitan Opera tour. Led by the legendary Frank Donovan with the support of Mrs. Anne McDonald Ford, the DGOA presented the first of many years of Met tours beginning in May 1959.

As Chairman of the DGOA Volunteer Committee, Mrs. Ford built a strong organization which included an Education Committee, chaired by the late Jennie Jones. The Education Committee's purpose was to develop the interest of colleges and school systems and to find the mechanism to distribute lower priced tickets, while generally promoting the Met tour. As part of this effort, in 1961 Jones created Overture to Opera (OTO) to perform excerpts from the upcoming Met tour repertory throughout Metropolitan Detroit.

THE OVERTURE TO OPERA YEARS In 1963, Dr. David DiChiera, a professor in the Music Department at Oakland University, was asked to take charge of Overture to Opera. DiChiera had arrived as an assistant professor at Oakland in 1962, fresh out of the University of California Los Angeles Music School. He caught the attention of Virginia Yntema, who was DGOA General Chairman, following Mrs. Ford and Lenore Romney in that post. It was Yntema who suggested DiChiera for director of Overture. He had been especially effective as a member of the panels (part of the Overture program) which discussed the operas after the performances of the excerpts. His expertise, combined with a winning personality and enthusiastic demeanor in these discussions had carved him quite a reputation. He was named Producer-Director for the 1963 season, Overture to Opera III. In its nine seasons, Overture to Opera laid the groundwork, secured the financial support and gained the respectability which allowed for the founding of what was to become Michigan Opera Theatre.

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1984-1985

DiChiera had an impressive resume. He had previously taught at UCLA where he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with highest honors, a Master's degree in Composition and a Doctorate in Musicology. He received a Fulbright Award in 1958 for further study in Italy. At the time he was commissioned by the U.S. Information Service to compose a piano sonata for the Naples Festival of Contemporary Italian and American Music, which was broadcast nationally and highly praised by the Italian press. DiChiera was selected for membership in the National Association for American Composers and Conductors in 1959. He was given international recognition in the field of musicology for his research in 18th century opera when he was invited in 1961 to New York to participate in the Eighth International Congress of Musicology. He certainly had the right credentials.

DiChiera's first three seasons with OTO were, as planned, programs of scenes from the operas to be performed by the Met on its annual Detroit season. Typically DiChiera would introduce the opera to the audience and fill them in on relevant opera and music history. It was very much like what Leonard Bernstein was so good at, and popular for, when he addressed the audience in his famous Young People's Concerts. ' DiChiera was very well received by the audiences and the OTO seasons became very popular.

DiChiera had come to Oakland University because it was new and he saw a wonderful opportunity to create programs. During the middle 60s, besides directing Overture to Opera, he played a role in starting the University's major cultural programs, the Meadow Brook Festival and Theatre, but it was the building of an opera company that was to hold his primary interest. The DGOA had always thought of the Overture program as its educational arm and a promotional vehicle for the Met tour. However DiChiera saw it as a chance to develop something local that belonged to the city. In a 1982 article in the Ann Arbor News, he reflected: "Detroit was the fifth largest city in the nation and the only city without an opera company. I couldn't accept that fact; I knew the constituency for it was here. " He was committed to the idea that the future of opera in America was the continued growth of regional opera.

In 1967, he expanded the original format of Overture to Opera. OTO had grown and for the first time included a complete work, the Michigan premiere of Cherubini's one act opera The Portuguese Inn. Collins George of the Detroit Free Press expressed the public's growing enthusiasm for the 1967 Overture program: "The verve, the spirit with which everything is presented, the way the company can capture and project a dramatic movement; in general, the high level of competence of the performances make them worthwhile ... the real lesson of the Overture company is that there is a place in Detroit for an operatic stock company... thanks must be expressed to Dr. DiChiera for this awakening to awareness of opera of such a large segment of the population."

OTO produced its first full length opera in 1970, Rossini's The Barber of Seville, starring Maria Ewing making her professional debut, and directed by and featuring Italo Tajo, world renowned bass and star of the Met and La Scala. The season also included performances at the Detroit Institute of Arts with a full orchestra. Overture to Opera was becoming a full fledged opera company, one in search of a home.

Under the community leadership of Lynn and Ruth Townsend, Overture's founding members served as the company's first Board of Directors. Lynn Townsend, then Chairman of Chrysler Corporation, remained as Chairman of the Board of Overture to Opera and MOT until 1980 when he passed the baton to Robert Dewar, Chairman of Kmart Corporation, who remains Chairman to this day.

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

THE MERRY WIDOW THE MAGIC FLUTE SWEENY TODD AIDA

1985-1986 GIANNI SCHICCI I PAGLIACCI MARTHA WEST SIDE STORY TURANDOT

1986-1987 ORPHEUS IN THE UNDERWORLD MADAME BUTTERFLY MY FAIR LADY TOSCA THE BARBER OF SEVILLE PORGY AND BESS

1987-1988 FALSTAFF MAN OF LA MANCHA KISMET IL TROVATORE DIE FLEDERMAUS LA BOHEME LUCIANO PAVOROTTI IN CONCERT

1988-1989 THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE FOLLIES THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE ORLANDO IN CONCERT NORMA THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO CARMEN

1989-1990 LES MISERABLES (FISHER THEATRE) HANSEL AND GRETEL SWAN LAKE LA TRAVIATA ROMEO ET JULIETTE DON GIOVANNI

1990-1991 RIGOLETTO SHOWBOAT COPPELIA (Cl.EVELAND BALl.ET) ARIADNE AUF NAXOS THE MAGIC FLUTE MADAME BUTTERFLY

1991-1992 LUCIANO PAVAROTTI IN CONCERT CANDIDE THE MIKADO KING ROGER (MIDWEST AMERICAN PREMIERE) SAMSON AND DELILAH LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR

1992-1993 SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM THE MUSIC MAN LA BOHEME AIDA THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

1993-1994 THE BARBER OF SEVILLE THE MERRY WIDOW TURANDOT CINDERELLA FAUST

1994-1995 MADAME BUTTERFLY THE DAUGHTER OF THE REGIMENT DON GIOVANNI SWANLAKE TOSCA

THE MUSIC HALL YEARS In 1971 , Overture to Opera ended its ten nomadic years with its first of fifteen seasons in the Music Hall- Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Puccini's La Rondine. In 1972 Overture was accepted into OPERA America (the national service organization for opera companies) , and presented yet another eclectic mainstage season of works by Mozart, Menotti and Puccini, and continued its extensive education and outreach activities.

This was also the year of the creation of the Opera in Residence program in which Michigan communities were able to host the Overture Company in their town for a week of opera experience. The week would include classes, workshops and a full production featuring members of the community and MOT professionals. The outreach and education aspect of the organization, under the inspired and dedicated leadership of nationally recognized composer and educator Karen VanderKloot DiChiera, was to continue to be a key factor in the building and solidifying of an audience for this regional opera company. The Community Programs Department over the years has made an invaluable contribution to the character and the strength of the company, while garnering national recognition for its varied and unique programming [see sidebar J. With the 1973-74 season, the company officially changed its name to Michigan Opera Theatre, in accordance with its mandate to serve the entire state, and to demonstrate its equal emphasis on producing works from the operatic repertory as well as classic American musical theater, an innovative concept for the time. All productions were performed in English opening up the world of opera to a whole new segment of the population.

There was indeed a larger cultural picture, however. Though the opera company had finally found a comfortable home in Music Hall, the building's future was by no means secure. To save it from the wrecking ball, a group of citizens came together, bought the theater, and established the not-for-profit Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, with DiChiera as executive director. He ran MOT from offices on one floor of the Music Hall and the Performing Arts Center from separate offices on a different floor. Wearing two hats for the first of many times agreed with DiChiera as well as both organizations; in May 1976, at MOT's world premiere of Pasatieri's Washington Square, the foremost entertainment journal Variety stated, "The flourishing of Michigan Opera Theatre and Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts are due to the efforts of a great many interested people but no one doubts that the prime mover in what is happening in Detroit is 39-year old David DiChiera. Because of DiChiera, Detroiters now have a spread of theater, music, dance, opera, pop and ethnic entertainment. DiChiera is doing what, three years ago, was thought impossible - he is bringing Detroiters back downtown at night, in droves, and he is garnering a portfolio of excellent reviews. " DiChiera and MOT were at the center of what was, for the first time in many years, a growing interest and excitement in downtown activities. The revitalization that began in the Music Hall was the catalyst for what was to become one of the largest theater districts in the country, begun and now capped, with the completion of the Detroit Opera House, by the efforts of Michigan Opera Theatre.

The Music Hall years were filled with artistic successes, for which MOT quickly established a reputation as an innovative and exciting new company. MOT was thrust into the national limelight when it commissioned and produced the world premiere of Thomas Pasatieri's Washington Square, starring Catherine Malfitano. An article in Time magazine in 1976 stated, "Nothing testifies to the growing up of a regional American opera company quite like a world premiere." The Christian Science Monitor dubbed MOT "Detroit's Showcase". Variety declared, "This premiere is a first for Michigan Opera Theatre and a milestone for Detroit and Michigan. " And Opera News praised MOT as "a triumph of regional opera."

Other highlights of the company's mainstage Music Hall performances include: the professional operatic debut of Kathleen Battle; the revival, telecast and ensuing Broadway run of The Most Happy Fella; the directorial debut of actor Sal Mineo with The Medium , in which he also played Toby; the telecast of Copland's The Tender Land with the composer himself at the podium; American opera debut of Cleo Laine in The Merry Widow; and Catherine Malfitano's first La Traviata. MOT was one of the first company's to present major premieres of nationalistic operas reflecting the2010, makeup of the community it serves: the Polish opera The Haunted Castle and Copyright Michigan Opera Theatre

the Armenian opera Anoush. Further national recognition came from mounting important revivals of such American works as Gershwin's Porgy and Bess , Blitzstein's Regina,joplin's Treemonisha and Gruenberg's The Emperor Jones . In fact, fully 25% of the company's mainstage productions were devoted to opera and musical theater works by American composers.

In 1979 DiChiera was named "Michiganian of the Year" by the Detroit News and was elected President of OPERA America, a post he held for four years.

InJanuary 1985, DiChiera had been named General Director of Opera Pacific in California's Orange County, which held its first performance season that year on the stage of one of the most impressive facilities in the country, the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Now, as General Director of the two companies and Artistic Director of Dayton Opera (a position he held from 1981-1991) , he could essentially collaborate with himself, sharing the combined artistic resources and leveraging the financial resources of all three institutions for considerable savings and higher quality productions. This unique tri-company framework that DiChiera headed is regarded as a positive and innovative formula for the future of opera production.

Also in 1985, the DGOA announced that after that May, it would no longer bring the Met to Detroit. The tour had fallen on hard times both artistically and financially. Equally important, the growth of regional companies in host cities like Detroit and Cleveland had made the tour redundant. Once the Metropolitan Opera Tours came to an end, MOT was ready to fill the void.

In 1983 after extensive strategic planning, and in anticipation of the imminent demise of the Metropolitan Opera tour, MOT announced its decision to broaden the scope of the company by producing large scale grand opera at the Masonic Temple Theatre , along with the offerings at the Music Hall. The intention was that MOT would begin to take over the Met's role. In the spring of 1984 following the Met's spring tour, MOT produced its first grand opera in the Masonic Temple, Anna Bolena, featuring a cast of international stars including Dame Joan Sutherland and then unknown Ben Heppner, conducted by Maestro Richard Bonynge, and featuring' the Midwest premiere of English Surtitles. In the spring of 1985 and 1986, MOT returned to the Masonic for Aida starring Leona Mitchell in her first outing in the title role, followed by Bulgarian soprano Ghena Dimitrova in Puccini's Turandot. These productions marked the beginning of a new era for MOT.

THE FISHER/MASONIC YEARS MOT celebrated its 15th Anniversary Season in 1985 by moving to the Fisher Theatre for its fall presentations. The administrative offices also moved to the New Center Area. The decision to leave the Music Hall was a difficult one, but ultimately it was a natural evolution conSidering the momentous growth and impressive goals laid out for the company by DiChiera and the Board of Directors.

The vastly different stages of the Fisher Theatre (primarily a Broadway style house seating 2,100) and the 4,000 seat Masonic Temple, home to the Met tours for so many years (where MOT performed in the fall and spring, respectively) allowed the company to express its rich diversity and depth of character, resulting in a great many artistic and ultimately financial successes.

In 1985-86, MOT mounted the first American opera production of West Side Story , which enjoyed an extended run. In the 1986-87 season, MOT increased its mainstage offering to six productions, mounted its first full grand opera season at the Masonic Temple and earned its rank as one of the top ten opera companies in the u.s. based on operating budget.

During the 1987-88 season, with the budget topping $5 million and subscribers numbering over 9,000, MOT launched its biggest season ever, highlighted by the historic Detroit concert debut of Luciano Pavarotti at a sold out Joe Louis Arena. The 1988-89 season featured Douglas Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe presented for the first time in 28 years in Detroit, and the Detroit premiere of Sondheim's Follies, starring Juliet Prowse, Edie Adams and Nancy Dussault. The season opened with MOT's 500th public performance and concluded as the sixth consecutive "in the black", financially sound season.

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

In 1989-90, MOT commissioned a new production of Norma from English artist john Pascoe for Dame joan Sutherland's final performances of the role. The production garnered the company its first NPR broadcast. That same season, MOT added classical ballet to its programming mix with a production of Swan Lake starring one of the world's greatest interpreters of the role, Cynthia Gregory. MOT audiences for mainstage and outreach programs combined exceeded 230,000.

In 1990-91 , the 20 year old MOT mounted an acclaimed revival of Show Boat, produced its first-ever Richard Strauss opera, Ariadne1aufNaxos , starring Alessandra Marc, and unveiled a new production designed and directed by john Pascoe of Don Giovanni , which was, like Norma, shared by Opera Pacific and Dayton Opera and made possible by Ford Motor Company. In 1991-92, MOT once again presented Luciano Pavarotti injoe Louis Arena, and mounted Karol Szymanowski's rarely performed Polish opera King Roger.

Highlights of the past five seasons include soprano Ruth Ann Swenson's acclaimed debut in Romeo etJuliette followed by Lucia di Lammermoor, and a co-production with Opera Pacific and Portland Opera of Samson and Delilah designed by Beni Montresor.

Tosca, starring Russian soprano Maria Guleghina in May 1995, brought the Masonic!Fisher years to a dramatic close.

THE SEARCH FOR A NEW HOME While the move to the Fisher and Masonic achieved a temporary solution to the company's need for greater technical resources, seating capacity and audience amenities, the strategic planning process begun

by DiChiera and the Board in the mid-1980s made it clear that the future of the opera company as a permanent resource for the city and state would necessitate a more lasting solution; the opera company had to find or create, and control, a world-class facility to accommodate all of its activities.

In the late 80s, the company seriously considered renovating the State Theatre next to the newly renovated Fox Theatre, though the arrangement was not considered ideal because the facility was not for sale, only rent. While in the midst of these discussions, the Grand Circus Theatre became available for purchase. DiChiera considered the magnificent structure ideal for its "opera house" style interior and the possibilities for building a new stagehouse. He brought in facilities experts to substantiate its structural soundness, acoustical excellence and technical capabilities when updated. The Board secured the first parcel in the Grand Circus Theatre block as the company's future performance site.

In 1990, Philip E. Bentonjr., then President ofFord Motor Company, agreed to chair the Opera House Capital Campaign.

Under his leadership MOT ran a successful campaign to name the private grand tier boxes, enabling the company to acquire the remaining parcels of the Grand Circus Theatre block by 1994. In the fall of 1991 during a press conference in the Opera House prior to his return concert engagement in Detroit, Luciano Pavarotti made the startling promise to return to open the Opera House, bringing the buUding project to the attention of the public at large.

In 1992, Kim johnson, former executive director of the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts, was named Managing Director of the Detroit Opera House, to oversee the restoration and rennovation of the opera house project. In spring 1993, the wrecking ball came down on the Roberts Fur Building on the Grand Circus Theatre block, making way for the enormous task of building a new 75,000 square foot stage house. With the $1.25 million Kresge Challenge grant, the acquisition of the last of the eight parcels in the Grand Circus Theatre block and the 1994 Opera Ball inside the unrestored auditorium before a crowd of many who had never before seen the interior, the project gaiI1ed incredible momentum. Construction began in earnest on the stage house that same summer.

The next chapter of MOT's illustrious history is yet to be written, but with the grand opening of the new Detroit Opera House on April 21 , the stage is set for an exciting new era for Michigan Opera Theatre. The impossible dream has become a joyous reality.

Timothy Paul Lentz is a Doctoral Candidate in Theatre at Wayne State University writing his dissertation on Michigan Opera Theatre.

He is also vocal music director and theatre coordinator at Adams School Opera in Rochester Hills, and long-time Treasurer of the Michigan Copyright 2010, High Michigan Theatre School Vocal Music Association.

STATE-WIDE EDUCATION AND OUTREACH Michigan Opera Theatre has garnered national recognition for its twenty-five years of presenting grand opera, operetta, chestnuts from the Broadway repertory and classical ballet. However, equally significant in regional and national acclaim is the company's extensive community outreach program as developed by its founder and director, Karen VanderKloot DiChiera.

Adhering to the company's early philosophy, Michigan Opera Theatre's Community Programs Department provides year-round professional programs that are both entertaining and educational, presented in almost any type of setting, and geared towards all segments of the community population.

The Department does not restrict itself to exclusively children's opera or opera programming. Rather, their diverse and unique repertory ranges from one-act operas for young audiences and their families, and musical revues of Broadway or operetta for adults to musical satires on the ill-effects of smoking and substance abuse, and operas based on Michigan's Indian literature, as well as musical revues that compares the roots of early opera to African music and its relationship to the pop music of today.

Additionally, the Community Programs Department offers a wide variety of educational and instructional workshops in improvisation, the art of singing, careers in the arts and programs for the developmentally and physically disabled.

Karen VanderKloot DiChiera embodies the philosophy and goal of her department, "to foster future creators, performers, consumers and supporters of the arts of any age." A nationally recognized composer and educator, she has studied with masters in several artistic mediums: composition with the renowned Ross Lee Finney; dance with Martha Graham, Jose Limon and Harriet Berg; an'd visual art with Glen Michaels. She has been recognized for her outstanding contribution to the field of Education with a Governors' Arts Award from Concerried Citizens for the Arts in Michigan, and received a special tribute from the Legislature of the State of Michigan. She served on the Touring Arts Granting Panel for the National Endowment for the -Arts in Washington D.C., and has served on the Boards of such diverse organizations as Michigan Youth Arts Festival, Very , . Special Arts, Michigan and Very Special Arts, South Eastern Michigan (which she also founded), Kresge Hearing Research Institute, Preservation Wayne, Macomb County Physical Therapy Association, Optometric Institute and Clinic of Detroit and National Opera for Youth Foundation.

Outstanding achievements and programming highlights of the Departments varied offerings over the past 25 years include: • Create-an-Opera programs with children from Ludington Middle School, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, summer camps for Orchards Children's Services, Flint Institute of Music, among others.

• Black Outreach Program established with the help of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

• Faust, 1983, is the first MOT main stage production to be interpreted in American Sign Language, funded by Opera America.

• In 1984, United Nations recognizes MOT for programs for the disabled, including Tapes for the Blind. NEA provides grant to begin Careers in the Arts, a half hour interview program with professionals in the arts, aired weekly on WDTR radio for four years.

• VanderKloot DiChiera establishes Southeastern Michigan chapter of Very SpeCial Arts, for persons of all disabilities.

• DiChiera composes Nanabush, the Great Lakes Indian Hero for tour honoring State sesquicentennial.

• In 1992 a new Education and Outreach committee of the MOT Board of Directors is established, Marianne Endicott, Chairperson.

• Commissioned eight new one-act operas from such important American composers as Seymour Barab, James Hartway and Robert Xavier-Rodriguez.

• "Time Out for Opera" television series created for Bloomfield Community Television is finalist in the International Hometown Video Festival in Arts Programming.

This year, a partnership between MOT, the Detroit Public Library, Your Heritage House Museum and Center for Creative Studies has been accepted for funding by the Arts Education Funders Collaborative, a partnership among major foundations and corporate funders. The grant is for integrating Arts into the core curriculum of the Detroit Public Schools. The Department also performs beyond Michigan's borders into Wi~consin, Indiana and West Virginia.

MOT salutes Karen VanderKloot DiChiera, the staff and artists of the Department of Community Programs for their successful efforts to spread the joy of opera and arts education throughout the entire State of Michigan.

- Rebecca Happel Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

25 YEARS OF OPERATIC HISTORY

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) Few general directors in the country can lay claim, as can Michigan Opera Theatre's David DiChiera, to founding an opera company and remaining at its helm for a quarter century. The claim is all the more impressive when one considers the heights to which the company has risen during this one person's tenure -- one of the nation's foremost operatic institutions.

As we share with you some of the many highlights in the extraordinary career of Detroit's own opera impresario, esteemed colleagues and artists whose contributions to the distinct character and renown of the company express their own heartfelt appreciation for and to the person who has lead MOT to its finest hour.

"(David), you are a wondeiful person and I enjoyed working with you. Loads of love. " - Roberta Peters "There would be no Detroit Opera House without David DiChiera ...

Congratulations and gratitude to David, Michigan Opera Theatre, his entire staff, the City of Detroit and to all who cared and contributed to this noble cause. " - Ara Berberian "Michigan Opera Theatre is fortunate indeed to have the skilled and loving hand of David DiChiera not only bringing opera at its best to music loving audiences, but also for providing a magnificent new home in which it can thrive. " -Giorgio Tozzi "Congratulations on your 25th anniversary! It seems incredible that 20 years have passed since MOT premiered my opera Washington Square. Your beautiful production and Catherine Malfitano~ brilliant portrayal remain etched in my memory forever. " - Thomas Pasatieri

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

WITH DETROIT'S OWN IMPRESARIO 0e4t't!!!!~~---

"I heartily congratulate you for 25 wondeiful years of opera with Michigan Opera Theatre and the opening of the Detroit Opera House.

I am so very proud to have been a part of this magnificent tradition."

- Leona Mitchell

"It is with great joy that I join in celebration of this momentous occasion in the life of Michigan Opera Theatre. For almost twenty years I have been honored to be one of the artists who have been understood, encouraged, and supported by this company and by its leader, David DiChiera - truly a man with a vision. I look forward to the future .

- Ron Raines

"Congratulations on the 25th anniversary of Michigan Opera Theatre.

I enjoyed singing Turandot with you. All best wishes for the future."

- Ghena Dimitrova

"Congratulations to David DiChiera, Michigan Opera Theatre and the City of Detroit on the opening of the new Opera House.

And thanks for doing so many of my shows. " - Stephen Sondheim

"David, Detroit owes you a debt of gratitude. Unlike many impresarios in other locales, you have always provided a platform for worthy local talent to try its wings in company productions;for this I thank you .. .jor bringing Detroit back to Broadway in a big way that, hopefully will spearhead the rejuvenation of the heart of this great metropolis, I offer you my profound thanks and congratulations.

When David asked me to sing the role of Herod in Richard Strauss' Salome, my wife said, 'Well, you've finally made it to Broadway)'" - George Shirley

"(David), the renovation1Jf the Detroit Opera House is a tribute to you and to those you have influenced and encouraged. Congratulations to you on a job well done and may you continue on your path to success. " - David Hanthorn General Director, Florentine Opera Company "It is with deep admiration and friendship that I congratulate you on the 25th anniversary of your leadership of Michigan Opera Theatre ... May this building continue to be a monument and home to the arts that we so dearly cherish and that you have so brilliantly kept alive and flourishing for the past twenty-five years. "

-John DeMain Copyright 2010, Michigan - 15 - Opera Theatre

"Congratulations to you, David, on your 25 years as General Director of Michigan Opera Theatre. It is fitting that your anniversary year should also be that in which the Detroit Opera House opens its doors a project that meant so much to you and will remain an asset to the City of Detroit, as well as providing a home for the Opera Company. " - DameJoan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge

"How wondeiful that you could celebrate twenty-five years as General Director of Michigan Opera Theatre with the grand opening of a new home for your company. What a monumental achievement!

Please accept my best wishes for a smash opening. " - David Gockley, General Director, Houston Grand Opera

"You have been a fantastic champion for opera in North America, David, with the commitment, dedication and talent to make the difference.

Generations of opera audiences will reap the rewards of your hard work, and that is something to cherish. It's hard to believe that you are the same man who was a student with me at UCLA." - Lotfi Mansouri, General Director, San Francisco Opera

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

"Many heartfelt congratulations on your 25 years at Michigan Opera Theatre. I think it is particularly splendid you are able to celebrate this event with the grand opening of your opera house, making Michigan Opera Theatre even more of a cornerstone to the cultural life of Detroit. " - Peter Hemmings, General Director, Los Angeles Music Center Opera

"(David), my congratulations to you for this special anniversary...

I am especially thoughtful and thrilled that it was you who gave me the

opportunity to conduct in the United States for the first time.

You presented me the key to open a new chapter in my musical life."

- Klaus Donath

"Dearest David, Congratulations on your SILVERJUBILEE!!!

May we all salute a grand man of the operatic world. Besides taking care of the "situated" artists, you have been a pioneer in constant search of new talent - many of which have become renowned artists in the world today.

Furthermore, you have also found time to compose the most luscious songs -four of which Klaus Donath, my husband, and I have had the honor of performing .. .I am particularly thrilled to sing my first U.S. Puccini at the grand opening. We SA~VTE you, dearest David, and send a special greeting to you proclaimed through your name: Dynamic Attentive Visionary Intelligent Distinguished

Devoted Director I rresistable Charming Handsome Innovative Enthusiastic Radiant All of the above -and more!"

- Helen Donath

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

ADMINISTRATION & STAFF JOHN LEBERG

DAVID DiCHIERA

KIM JOHNSON

Interim Managing Director

General Director

Managing Director, Detroit Opera House

Karen VanderKloot DiChiera Director oj Community Programs

Steve Haviaras Director oj Marketing

Mary Parkhill Director oj Development

ADMINISTRATION Allan Grasso Administrative Assistant to the General Director Kimberley Burgess Receptionist/Secretary Mary Lou Finucan Administrative Assistant COMMUNITY PROGRAMS Dolores Tobis Office and Marketing Manager

Jerome Magid MOT Photographer Mark Mancinelli MOTIDOH Photographer

Wardrobe Attendants Local #786, IAISE

TICKET OFFICE Kimberly Mogielski Ticket Services Manager

MAKE-UP &1 HAIR Elsen Associates

Kimberly Gray Ticket Services Assistant

Cindy Ludwig Kimberly Coates Make-up and Hair Designers

DEVELOPMENT Rose Angelucci Linda DeMers Jane Hsing-Hui Fu Stephani Miller Development Associates

Toni Wittenhagen Ticket Services

FINANCE/COMPUTER SERVICES William 1. Schulz; Controller Sharon Subjeck Accountant Mary E. Pihajlich Systems Manager MARKETINGIPUBLlC RELATIONS Marci Schramm Assistant Director of Marketing Kathleen McNeill Public Relations Coordinator Shelly Gillett-Behrens Marketing Associate

Jane Coe Seasonal

PRODUCTION ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION Dee Dorsey Production Coordinator

Patricia Keresztes Ensemble Coordinator Mira Stefaniuk Crew Coordinator MUSIC DEPARTMENT Dr. David DiChiera Music Director

Monica Lee Jackson Artist Services Coordinator

Suzanne Acton Assistant Music Director, Chorus Master Diane Bredesen Orchestra Personnel Manager

Jordeen Ivanov-Ericson Ballet Mistress

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James Fairbanks* Am~ Hutchison+ An rew Chown++ Assistant Directors Nancy Krolikowski Transportation Coordinator Pat Lewellen Audition Volunteer COSTUMES Ulla Hettinger Costume Supervisor

Sandl Prekratic Mem ership Manager

Alice Moss Wardrobe Mistress

Dolores Tobis Group Sales

Suzanne Hanna Ballet Supervisor

David W Osborne Director oj Production

Laura R. Wyss Manager oj Public Relations

Debra Acuna Susan Hamilton Patricia Keresztes Genevieve Palczynski Stitchers

Anne-Marie Esperti Ticket Services

Jane Westley Development Administrative Assistant

William E. Schoettle ChieJ Financial OJJicer

Jeanette Pawlaczyk Public Relations Volunteer

Mark Vondrak Associate Director

Roberta Starkweather Volunteer Coordin(ltor

Mitchell Krieger Director oj Artistic Resources

Steven Gathman++ Lawrence Picard* David Wilson** Repetiteurs

Dave Muczinski Production Assistant TECHNICAL STAFF Eric Graves Technical Director Rita Girardi Property Master Kendall Smith Lighting Coordinator John Kinsora Head Carpenter Robert S. Mesinar Head Electrician John C. Johnson Head Property Man Maja White Technical Assistant Elizabeth Shapiro Assistant Lighting Designer Dianne Lord Surtitle Operator Stagehands Local #38, IATSE *La Boheme **Romeo and Juliet +La Traviata ++Salome

DETROIT OPERA HOUSE

Dianne Lord Rehearsal Accompanist

Brett Batterson Facility Manager

STAGE MANAGEMENT John Kennelly Production Stage Manager

Lary Christiansen Project Business Manager

Brett Finley* Garnett BrucN Stage Managers Dee Dorsey* ++ Laura Lee Everett+ Nicolai S. Jussila+ Michael H. McCormack** Melinda Lane Teter* ++ Assistant Stage Managers

Monica Wyatt Construction Manager John Hinchman Restoration Supervisor Calvin Williams Facility Maintenance

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

Photographers: Jerome Magid Photography Inc. (MOT); Mark]. Mancinelli, MJM Photography (DOH/MOT); Manning Brothers Photography Inc.; Cathleen Martin; B. H. Simms; Benyas - Kaufman Photographers; Dirk Bakker; Ron Scher!; Tom McKenney; Theatre Historical Society - Terry Helgesen Collection;Jerry Dempnock; George McCann; Prasad and Valerie; Lee A. Ekstrom; KenPaul Group; Jack Liang

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

Alex Trotman Chairman o! the Board

Ford Motor Company Tile American Road PO. 80x 1899 Oearborn. Michigan 48121-1899

April 21, 1996

Dear Opera Patron: Ford Motor Company is very proud to be the exclusive sponsor of the Michigan Opera Theatre's Inaugural Gala Concert at the newly renovated Detroit Opera House. This beautifully restored theater \\111 be a showcase for world-acclaimed operatic and dance productions It is a wonderful enhancement to Detroit's gro\\ring theater district.

Ford has been a strong supporter of the MOT throughout its 25-year history. We view our support as an investment in the future of Detroit We believe the opera house will enrich our community and further Detroit's renaissance. Ford is proud to be a part of the process.

I am particularly pleased that LucianoPavarotti and a host of other internationally acclaimed opera stars \\rill join us for this gala event It is only fitting that the world's best operatic performers help us launch this world class facility.

Enjoy the show!

Sincerely,

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

TIm DETROIT OPERA HOUSE OPENING GALA CoNCERT April 21, 1996 ----~~~.~de~~-----

FEATURING

Luciano Pavarotti jan Grissom Alessandra Marc Mary Mills Irina Mishura Elizabeth Parcells Kathleen Segar jeffrey Wells

Gregg Baker Iito Beltran Helen Donath jane Eaglen Pablo Elvira Kallen Esperian Marc~llo Giordani

SPECIAL HONORARY GUEST Dame Joan Sutherland Principal Conductor - Steven Mercurio Guest Conductor -john DeMain Guest Conductor - Leone Magiera Master of Ceremonies - Roddy McDowall Master of Ceremonies - Ron Raines The Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra The Michigan Opera Theatre Chorus The Michigan Opera Theatre Chorus Alumni The Rackham Symphony Choir Chorus Master - Suzanne Acton Lighting Design - Kendall Smith Stage Manager -John Kennelly

.,.

Made possible by ~~Yi'~.

Special Thanks To University Productions, University of Michigan School of Music Detroit Symphony Orchestra Hall Metropolitan Opera Music Library The Detroit Athletic Club Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

Pianos Provided by Evola Music Centers, Main Office, Bloomfield Hills

DETROIT OPERA HOUSE The Twenty First of April,

Fanfare for the Detroit Opera House .............................................. William Bolcom World Premiere

The Brass of the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra; conducted by Steven Mercurio

Largo al factotum (The Bawer of Seville) ................................... Gioacchino Rossini Pablo Elvira; conducted by Steven Mercurio La ci darem la mano (Don Giovanni) ............................. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Jeffrey Wells, Jan Grissom; conducted by John DeMain Doll Song (The Tales of Hoffmann) ..............................................Jacques Offenbach Elizabeth Parcells, The Michigan Opera Theatre Chorus; conducted by John DeMain Dove sono (The Marriage of Figaro) ............................... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Helen Donath; conducted by John DeMain

o don fatale (Don Carlo) .................................................................. Giuseppe Verdi Irina Mishura; conducted by Steven Mercurio

La donna e mobile (Rigoletto) .......................................................... Giuseppe Verdi Tito Beltran; conducted by Steven Mercurio _Quartet (Rigoletto) ............................................................................ Giuseppe Verdi Mary Mills, Kathleen Segar, Marcello Giordani, Pablo Elvira; conducted by Steven Mercurio In questa reggia (Turandot} ............................................................ Giacomo Puccini Alessandra Marc, The Michigan Opera Theatre Chorus, The Rachham Symphony Choir; conducted by Steven Mercurio Hymn to the Sun (Iris) .................................................................... Pietro Mascagni The Michigan Opera Theatre Chorus and Orchestra, The Rachham Symphony Choir; conducted by Steven Mercurio Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

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OPENING GALA CoNCERT Nineteen Hundred Ninety Six

- INTBRMISSION -

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Triumphal March (Aida) ...................................................................Giuseppe Verdi The Michigan Opera Theatre Chorus and Orchestra, The Rackham Symphony Choir; conducted by John DeMain

Toreador song (Carmen) .....................................................................Georges Bizet Gregg Baker, Mary Mills, Kathleen Segar, Irina MishuYa, Th~ Michigan Opera Theatre Chorus and Orchestra; conducted by John DeMain

Loving you less than life What my lips have kissed ................................................................ David DiChiera World premiere of orchestrations by Steven Mercurio

Helen Donath; conducted by Steven Mercurio

Asile hereditaire (William Tell) ..................................................Gioacchino Rossini Marcello Giordani; The Michigan Opera Theatre Chorus; conducted by Steven Mercurio

Liebestod (Tristan und Isolde) ......................................................... Richard Wagner Jane Eaglen; conducted by Steven Mercurio

Pace, pace, mio Dio (La Forza del Destino) ...................................... Giuseppe Verdi -

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Kallen Esperian; conducted by Steven Mercurio

Lamento di Federico (L'Arlesiana) ..................................................... Franceso Cilea E lucevan Ie stelle (Tosca) ..............................................................Giacomo Puccini Luciano Pavarotti; conducted by Leone Magiera

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre ~ 23 ~

ABoUT THE GALA --~!!!!!!!!~.~ I

Fanfare'Jor the Detroit Opera House by William Bokom William Bolcom is one of America's most acclaimed composers.

His works have received the Pulitzer Prize, the Koussevitzky Foundation Award and the Mark Blitzstein Award among others, and have been performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the St. Louis Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic and many more. His opera Me Teague premiered at the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1992, and he has been commissioned by the same company to compose an opera based on Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge.

Since 1973 he has been Professor of Composition at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

Largo al factotum (The Barber of Seville) Gioacchino Rossini Rossini's oper~, based on the delightful play by Beaumarchais, and populated with immortal characters, is the epitome of operatic comedy. Figaro, the Barber of Seville himself, sings in his opening aria "Largo al factotum della citta" of his busy and profitable life as barber, surgeon, messenger and matchmaker.

La ci darem la mano (Don Giovanni) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The title character of Mozart's Don Giovanni is known to everyone as the greatest lover of all time. Among those he woos is the lovely peasant girl Zerlina who resists for a while, but who is soon overwhelmed by Don Giovanni's seductive skills.

Doll Song (The Tales of Hoffmann) Jacques Offenbach Offenbach, the master of Parisian comic opera, wrote one serious work, The Tales of Hoffmann, which weaves together three fantastic stories of the magical and quixotic author, E.T.A. Hoffmann. In the first act Hoffmann has faIlen in love with the beautiful Olympia who is actually the robotic creation of the mad genius Spalanzani.

Olympia's doll song is sung to entertain the guests at a ball, and she amazes all, especially the amorous Hoffmann.

o don fatale (Don Carlo) Giuseppe Verdi One of Verdi's late masterpieces, Don Carlo plumbs the passions and politics of the royal Spanish court of the sixteenth century and especially the tangled desires of the family. King Philip's wife Elisabetta and his son Don Carlo are in love. Princess Eboli, jealous of Don Carlo's love for the Queen, has accused Elisabetta of betraying her husband. In her aria "0 don fatale" Eboli is overcome by remorse at her betrayal of the two people she loves most; and then realizes that she might still find a way to save Carlo from the King's vengeance.

La donna e mobile Quartet (Rigoletto) Giuseppe Verdi Verdi found unparalleled melodic inspiration in the story of Rigoletto, court jester to the profligate Duke of Mantua. In the third act, the Duke sings ironically of the fickleness of women in his aria "La donna e mobile." Later, Verdi brings four characters together in the musical miracle of the Quartet: the Duke is wooing the strumpet Maddalena; while Rigoletto and his daughter Gilda, who had been betrayed and abandoned by the Duke, observe the seduction in rage and horror.

In questa reggia CTurandotl Giacomo Puccini Puccini's final masterpiece tells of the legendary princess who insists that her suitors wager their lives on their ability to answer her three enigmatic riddles. ~'In questa reggia" is Turandot's ritual retelling of the tale of her ancestress Lou-Ling, raped and murdered centuries before, whose death has inspired Turandot's hatred and contempt for all men.

Hymn to the Sun (Iris) Pietro Mascagni Mascagni, best known for his Cavalleria Rustieana, composed sixteen other operas. Adventurously, Mascagni moved into other musical realms; Iris, which premiered six years before Puccini's Madama Butteif/y, is also the story of a young Japanese girl.

Throughout the opera, the Sun is a mystical image representing life, warmth, beauty, love, and ultimately transfiguration. The opera begins with a magnificent orchestral and choral prelude, celebrating the dawn, and the splendor it brings to the earth and those who live upon it.

Dove sono (The Marriage of Figaro) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The deliciously intricate plot of Mozart's masterpiece The Marriage of Figaro turns on the Countess Almaviva's efforts to regain the lost love of her husband, who lusts after her maid Susanna. The Countess' magnificent third-act aria "Dove sono" asks longingly where the wonderful days of sweetness and pleasure that began her marriage have gone; and the aria finishes with the Countess' resolution to do Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre whatever will be necessary to win her husband once again.

- PROGRAM Noms Triumphal March (Aida) Giuseppe Verdi The timeless conflict between patriotism and love is at the core of Verdi's best-known masterpiece. In the second act, the Egyptian general Radames has led a successful expedition against Ethiopia, and the populace acclaims him and his army as the victors return to Memphis, the capital city, with their booty and their ·captives. " Toreador Song (Carmen) Georges Bizet Bizet'sopera has given !wo icons to the world: the sensuous seductress Carmen and Escamillo, the dashing and adored bullfight~r. In his aria the Toreador describes the thrilling events of his contest with the bull, and his pleasure at the beautiful eyes that are watching; he knows love is waiting ,for him.

Loving you less than life What my lips have kissed (Four Sonnets bv Edna St. Vincent Millay) David DiChiera Dr. David DiChiera holds degrees from UCLA in composition and musicology; he was a Fulbright Scholar and has published many articles on eighteenth-century opera in leading encyclopedias. His Four Sonnets by Edna St. Vincent Millay have been performed in Europe and North America, including both the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center. This performance marks the world premiere of the orchestrated versions of the second and fourth songs by Steven Mercurio.

Asile hereditaire (William Tell) Gioacchino Rossini Rossini's final operatic work tells of the thirteenth-century revolt of the Swiss people against their Austrian rulers.

One patriot, Arnoldo, has lost his father to the whims of the Austrian tyrant Gessler. In his fourth-act aria "0 muto asil di pianto," he laments his empty home, where he calls in vain for his father; then, learning that his ally William Tell has been imprisoned by the Austrians, swears to liberate his friend and take vengeance on his father's murderers.

Liebestod (Tristan und Isolde) Richard Wagner Richard Wagner explored the mystical power of love and death in his magnificent opera, which also made musical advances beyond anything that had ever been heard before, and which influenced the course of music ever since. The conclusion of the opera, the "Liebestod" or "Love-death," soars to supreme heights as Isolde praises her dead lover before joining him in death.

Pace, pace, mio Dio (La Forza del Destino) Giuseppe Verdi La Forza del Destino is the story of the tragic love of the half-breed Alvaro for Leonora, the daughter of a nobleman, set against the violent background of the Spanish and Italian wars of the eighteenth century. In the final act, Leonora, who has hidden herself in a cave adjacent to a monastery, is hoping to live out her life in quiet suffering after the many tragedies she has suffered. In her great aria, she prays for peace, cursing the bread that prolongs her miserable life; then, hearing the approach of voices, she hurls a malediction on anyone who dares to profane her solitude.

Lamento di Federico (rArlesiana) Franceso Cilea Caruso created the role of Federico, son of a widowed farmer, who is in love with a girl from Arles (hence the opera's title).

A drover named Metifio brings letters proving that the girl has been his mistress. After learning of the letters, Federico signs his famous Lament, expressing his pain, and hoping for peace which he will find by the opera's end in suicide.

E lucevan Ie stelle (Tasca) Giacomo Puccini Rome in the year 1800, the time of the Napoleonic wars, is the scene for Tasca, which tells of the singer Tosca, lustfully pursued by the evil chief of police, Baron Scarpia, and the death and tragedies that follow. In the third act, Mario Cavaradossi, the lover of Tosca, has been condemned for aiding the escape of a political prisoner; and he sings, waiting for death, of his despair at losing Tosca.

Program notes by Mitchell Krieger

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

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TuB DETROIT

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- ARClfITBCTURAL DBSION C. Howard Crane Detroit, MI Capitol Theatre -January 12, 1922 The Albert Kahn Collaborative, Inc. Detroit, MI Eric]. Hill, Managing Director Beth A. Yorke, Project Manager Fredrick Meyers, Field Services

JPRA ArchitectslPeterhansrea Design Farmington Hills, MI James P. Ryan, President Frederic McCoy, Project Architect SWS Engineering MechanicaVElectrical Engineers Robert Stellwagon, Principal Wolfgang Weber, Principal

Jaffe, Holden, Scarborough Acoustics, Inc. Acoustical Consultant Chris Jaffe, Principal Steven Haas, Acoustical Consultant

Jules FisherlJoshua Dachs Associates Inc. Theater Planning & Design Consultants Joseph Mobilia, Principal

ArchDeCon RestorationIFabrication John Hinchman, Principal Monica Wyatt, Principal

EhlertlBryant, Inc. Structural Engineers George Ehlert, Principal

Seebohm, Ltd. Historic Paint Consultant Steven Seebohm, Principal

Boyce Nemec Designs Supertitle Design _ Andr,ew Smith, Principal

Ford & Earl Design General Director's Lounge John L. Bodag, Principal

Davis: Martin Group Graphics Design Skip Davis, Principal

Production Arts Lighting Stage Lighting System Design Steven Terry, Principal

- CONTRACTORS Walbridge Aldinger - Construction Manager Douglas R. Kopel, Project Manager Michael Thompson, Project Superintendent Bill Boone, Superintendent, Susan Moylan, Superintendent Edward Micich, Project Coordinator Commercial Interior Systems Plaster Restoration Patricia Rojas-Ferguson, President Jack Ferguson, Consultant Jim Ferguson, Project Manager Chris Richardson, Plaster Superintendent Jim Berger, Scaffolding Superintendent

EtkinlBarthel, AJoint Venture Elevator Tower & Site Contractor lee Barthel, President Barthel James]. Cole,]r., Exec. VP, A.J. Etkin Earl Baxtresser, Project Foreman Duane Perry, Project Foreman Edgewood Electrical, Inc. Brian Kiley, President Chuck Baker, Project Foreman A. M. Eugenio Painting Decorative Painting Greg Eugenio, Project Manager Broad, Vogt & Conant Structural Steel Aronne Goldkett. Project Mgr.

Progressive Mechanical John A. Cherwak, President Douglas Anderson, Project Foreman Bruce Harrison, Project Foreman

Great Lakes Mechanical George Perpich, President Dennis Walker, Project Foreman AirTec Corporation Doors & Hardware Douglas Hawkins, Project Manager Country Roads, Inc. Seat Restoration David O'Connor, Project Mgr.

Baro Contracting, Inc. Masonry Dan Tollis, Project Manager

Grunwell-Cashero Exterior Restoration John Stapleton, Project Mgr.

Best Group Demolition Eric Saunders, Project Manager

S.A. Comunale Company Fire Protection Len Friedman. Project Mgr.

A World of Glass, Glass Restoration ].c. Goss Awnings GrilTin Marble Restoration Action Reaction Co., Surtitle System Adamo Wrecking, Demolition H&L Restoration, Inc. Hess Glass Audio Services, Inc. Benz Glass, Window Replacement Indoor Air Professionals Paul Malmandier, Metalsmith Boston Tile & Terrazzo Company Commercial Woodworking, Wood Restoration Michigan PreCast Concrete Michigan Environmental Controls Conso Products Company, Trimmings Midwest Mica, Art Glass DeBaker & Sons, Stagehouse Exterior Milliken Compa~, Seat & Grand Drape Fabric Design Tex Fabrics Detroit Door & Hardware Motor City Electti!:Nelson-Mill, Carpentry & Millwork Detroit Elevator Company New Metals Crafts, Chandelier Restoration Disenos Ornamental Iron Overhead Door Co. DuPont Interior Textiles Fab-Tech, Decorative Ostrander Co. CopyrightJohn 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre Planet Neon, Detroit Opera House Sign Foster Flooring, Stage Floor Quality Flooring, CarpetIFlooring Installation GalalPaco, Pit Lift Fabricator Raven Iron Works Great Lakes Exteriors

SECOA, Inc. Stage Rigging Michael Murphy, Project Mgr.

Recognition Express, Seat tags Ross Structural Steel Royal Roofing Albert F. Runnels Studio, Stage equipment Safway Steel Products Shaw Carpets, Stage house carpet Shelby Williams, Seating Stage Lighting South Standard Sisposal Services Tobins Lake studio, Grand Drape TomCat, Inc Total Building Services Vieira Company, Rehearsal room fioor Wenger Inc. Westland Fire Extinguisher Wood Smiths, Inc. Zack Co.

OPERA HOUSE )ecC'e!!!!~---

- IN SPBCIAL RECOGNITION David Denn, Barris, Denn, Sott &: Driker Lee Barthel, Barthel Contracting Co. Audra Bartley Lincoln Cavalieri City of Detroit Robert Millard, City of Detroit Downtown Development Authority Michael G. Sarafa, City of Detroit Mayor's Office Zelman Colbert Richard D. Geyer, Deloitte &: Douche Consulting Group Timothy K. Meek; Deloitte &- Touche Consulting Group Lester Thompson, Deloitte &: Touche Howard Mills, Deloitte &: Touche yvilliam j . Clemens, Detroit Edison David Feehan, Detroit Renaissance julia Donovan-Darlow Curt DiChiera Monica]. Labe, Dickinson, Wright, Moon, VanDusen &: Freeman Robert W Powell, Dickenson, Wright, Moon, VanDusen &: Freeman Thomas V Yates, Dickinson, Wright, Moon, VanDusen &: Freeman Kendy Ball Kutchek, DuPont Automotive C. Roland EugeniO joshua Every Wayne Doran, Ford Motor Land Services Corp. joseph F. Derkowski, Ford Motor Land Services Corp.

Ronald]. Gagnon, Ford Motor Land Services Corp. ].M. Hager, Ford Motor Land Services Corp.

Norman Skruch, Eord Motor Land Services Corp.

Gary L. Nielsen, Ford Motor Company jeannine McFadden, Ford Communications Network William R. johns, Great Lakes Exteriors Eric Gallup, Griffin Marble Restoration

jim Walsh, Guardian Industries Corp.

Carl Strakey, Gaurdian Industries Corp.

Tim McGee, IATSE 38 Ken Dolberry, IATSE 140 Don Martin, IATSE 329 Michael Hauser, La-Z-Boy Charles E. Fisher, Lear Corporation Steve S. Hurite, Lear Corporation Michael Layne, Marx Layne jeffrey Schultz, Marx Layne Anne M. Mervenne, Governor's S.E. Michigan Office jeff Coleman, Milliken Carpets Ron Holland, Milliken Company Zeno Windley, Morris Associates Inc. representing Milliken Stephen Facione, Olympia Arenas Alan Vella, Olympia Arenas Mark Corey, Olympia Arenas Dean Cardillo, Olympia Arenas john Carlin, Plunkett &: Cooney Preservation Wayne Laszlo Regos, Photographer Roseanne Duncan, Roseanne Designs Michael Graham, Runnel Studios jeffrey M. Schuman Ray Shepardson George Smith George Platz, Spalding, DeDecker &: Associates Frank D. Stella, F.D. Stella Products Theater Historical Society Larry Tokarski, Wayne County Executive's Office C. Thomas Toppin R. Terry Walker Richard Webb Sonya Winner

.... and to the hundreds of friends and supporters over the past four years who have: Offered an encouraging word Answered our questions Opened a door Got us a better price Laughed with us, Dreamed with us, Prayed for us

Thank you2010, ... Thank you... Thank youTheatre ...

Copyright Michigan Opera

LUCIANO PAVAKOITI Tenor

.,

;t) With his many appearances not only on the greatest international opera and concert stages, but also on television, in movies and in arena concerts, Luciano Pavarotti's impact on the world of music has been enormous, broadening the horizons of classical music and bringing untold numbers of new fans to his art.

His thrilling tenor voice and unique personality have reached and touched countless audiences throughout the world, and he has become the personification of opera on television and recordings in our time. His recordings, each and every one, are best sellers, his frequent television appearances on Live from Lincoln Center and Live from the Met as well as on documentaries and talk shows, all have added to his musical renown, and combined with his other interests including painting, tennis and horsemanship, among others, have made his name a household word.

During his career, he has collaborated with the greatest conductors beginning with Tullio Serafin who conducted some of his first performances in Rigoletto in Palermo and continuing with Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Abbado, Carlo Maria Giulini, Sir Georg Solti, Carlos Kleiber, Leonard Bernstein, Lorin Maazel, Seiji Ozawa, Eugene Ormandy, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti and James Levine in opera and in concert. He has appeared on the worlds greatest opera stages, New York's Metropolitan Opera, Vienna's Staatsoper, Milan's La Scala, Londons Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Paris Opera and the opera houses of San Francisco, Chicago, Rome and Florence, among others.

His colkagues have included the most glorious stars of opera, Dame Joan Sutherland, Mirella Freni, Leontyne Price, Montserrat Caballe, Kiri Te Kanawa, Magda Olivero, Leonie Rysanek, Shirley Verrett, Fiorenza Cossotto, Sherrill Milnes, Robert Merrill, Piero Cappuccilli and others.

Since his first fo~al recital on February 1, 1973, in Liberty, Missouri, and at every appearance since, he has created what one critic called 'PavarottiPandemonium" with his direct and appealing nature, his amazing voice and his larger-than-life persona. His tours have taken him all over the European and American continents, to the Far East and Australia, the Middle East and most recently for a recital debut in Moscow. In recent years, his appearances have drawn sold-out audiences in arena concerts including New York's Madison Square Garden, London's Wembley Stadium, the Olympic Stadium in Berlin, the Hollywood Bowl, the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona and the Roman Amphitheater in Orange, France. He has made several appearances with the Metropolitan Opera in their concerts in New York's Central Park, always drawing huge crowds to these outdoor events. In July of 1991, Mr. Pavarotti sang an open air concert in London's Hyde Park in the presence of Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and a crowd of some 150,000 which was televised live throughout Europe and in the United States. This was the first concert in the park's history featuring a classical singer and drew a record attendance to London's great park. In June of 1993, Mr. Pavarotti presented a concert in New York's Central Park where a crowd of 500,000 gathered on the Great Lawn, and millions more watched the televised program on the PBS network and in Europe. Mr. Pavarotti has appeared in special 'Three Tenors" concerts with his colleagues Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo and conductor Zubin Mehta, first at the Baths of Caracalla in Rome in 1990, and later at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in 1994, both concerts performed on the eve of the World Cup finals. The DeccaILondon recording of the Rome concert has achieved legendary sales for a classical album and is also available in video form. Warner/Atlantic has released the 1994 concert in video and on CD, and it has proved to be an equal success. The CD has received two Grammy nominations including Album of the Year.

Born in Modena, Italy, Luciano Pavarotti first sang in that city's chorus with his father who was a member of the local opera houses chorus and a fervent lover of opera and the tenor voice. On a journey to Wales, the chorus won first prize in an international choral competition, and this experience fired his musicatambitions. He had trained to become a teacher, but then decided to pursue a musical career, to his father's great joy.

He first studied with Arrigo Pola and then with Campogalliani, often traveling to his studio with his fellow student and friend Mirella Freni. In 1961, he won the Concorso Internazionale. The prize offered was a carefully prepared performance of an opera under the highest standards, and he made his operatic debut as Rodolfo in La Boheme in Reggio Emilia on April 29th of that year. He made an immediate impression on the Italian operatic scene and was engaged to sing in theatres throughout his country. In 1961, he made his first appearance outside Italy, in La Traviata in Belgrade with Virginia Zeani. 1963 was an important year for the young tenor as he again joined Miss Zeani in Lucia di Lammermoor in Amsterdam. Appearances followed in Vienna and Zurich, and in September, he substituted for an ailing Giuseppe di Stefano as Rodolfo at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, conquering the London audiences with, his performances. He made his first television appearances at that time, and at the end of the year sang for the first time in Spain, Poland, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. In 1964, he appeared at the famed Glyndebourne Festival, singing Idamante in Mozart's Idommeo.

Luciano Pavarotti made his American debut in February of 1965 in Miami in Lucia di Lammermoor with Joan Sutherland, beginning what would become an historic partnership, as he joined the renowned Australian soprano in her six-week tour of Australia singing with her in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide. But just before his departure, he made his debut at Milans La Scala, singing Rodolfo to the Mimi of Mirella Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

Freni under the direction of Herbert von Karajan. The following season, he returned to La Scala to sing in Rigoletto, La Boheme, the Verdi Requiem conducted by Karajan, and in a new production of Bellinis I Capuletti ed I Montecchi , a production which was taken to Montreal's World's Fair in 1967. In November of that year, he made his debut with the San Francisco Opera in La Boheme, again with Freni, beginning a close and warm relationship with the Bay City which saw his first stage appearances in several of his most operas including Luisa Miller, Un Ballo in Maschera , Aida, La Gioconda, La Favorita and Turandot.

In 1968, again with Mirella Freni as Mimi, he made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Rodolfo, returning in 1970 for Lucia with Renata Scotto and Roberta Peters, La Traviata with Joan Sutherland and again in his signature role, Rodolfo. On February 17,1972, the house erupted in a frenzied ovation at the conclusion of his aria including nine High CS in a revival of Donizetti's La Fille du Regiment with Joan Sutherland, and the Pavarotti phenomenon was bom. He has also appeared at the Met in Rigoletto again with Joan Sutherland, Un Ballo in Maschera, I'Elisir d'Amore, La Favorita, Tosca, as the Italian tenor in Der Rosenkavalier, II Trovatore, Emani, Aida, and an historic revival of Bellini's I Puritani sharing the stage with Dame Joan, Sherrill Milnes and James Morris, and in the theatre's first production of Idomeneo , singing the title role in a production by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. In the 1990-91 season, the Metropolitan mounted a new production of Un Ballo in Maschera for Mr. Pavarotti. In the .1991-92 season, he starred with Kathleen Battle in a new Elisir d'Amore. In February of 1992 he performed a concert performance of I Pagliacci with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra, a performance taped for release on Philips Records. In the 1992-93 season, he sang his first performances of Verdi's Don Carlo to open the season at La Scala under the direction of Riccardo Muti. Mr. Pavarotti celebrated his 25th Anniversary Season with the Metropolitan Opera in 1993-94, appearing in their Opening Night Gala Performance in which he sang the first act of Verdi's Otello on stage for the first time. He also starred in their first staging of Verdis I Lombardi, an opera the Met also presented, in concert form, in their visit to Frankfurt. On the Met's Opening Night of the 1994-95 season, he again sang a role for the first time on stage, this ti~e his first Canio in I Pagliacci. On February 1, 1996 Mr. Pavarotti starred with Mirella Freni in the Centennial Anniversary performance of La Boheme given in Turin, the city of the operas world premiere, a performance televised live throughout Europe.

Luciano Pavarotti sang Rodolfo in the first live telecast form the Met in March of 1977, and he has appeared in many "live from the Met" telecasts since then, the latest being I Lombardi in March of 1994 and the Opening Night performance of the 1994-95 season, Pagliacci in 'December. .Many of these performances are available on video cassette. He has also appeared in televised performances from San Francisco and from the Opera Company of Philadelphia. In addition, his performance in Aida from La Scala was seen in Europe, and China saw his La Boheme on the occasion of his journey there.

Luciano Pavarotti organized with the Opera Company of Philadelphia an ongoing international competition for young singers, appearing with the winners in performance. The first competition culminated in performances of La Boheme and I'Elisir d'Amore in 1982, and the second competition with La Boheme and Un Ballo in Maschera in 1986, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of his career. To celebrate, he brought the winners of that competition to Italy for gala performances of La Boheme in Modena and in Genoa which resulted in his historic visit to China for performances of the opera with the young singers in Beijing. At the conservatory in Beijing, he conducted Master Classes with Chinese students. To conclude the visit, he sang a concert in the Great Hall of People before an audience of 10,000, the first concert ever held there. A film "Distant Harmony" was made chronicling his journey The third competition brought forth performances of rElisir d'Amore and Un Ballo in Maschera in 1989, the first being performed in that city's Cathedral of St. Peter when damage to the Academy of Music made the theatre suddenly unavailable on the day of the performance. He has also worked extenSively with young singers conducting Master Classes, including a series at New York's Juilliard School which was also seen on the PBS Television network.

Long associated with LondonlDecca Records, Luciano Pavarottis recordings are constant best sellers. He has recorded almost all of his stage roles including La Boheme with his fellow Modenese Mirella Freni, under the baton of Herbert von Karajan, and the bel canto operas of Bellini and Donizetti with DameJoafi Sutherland under the direction of Richard Bonynge. Operas he has recorded but not performed include William Tell , Mefistofele , rAmico Fritz, Norma, Manon Lescaut and Cavalleria Rusticana. He has recorded the Verdi Requiem twice with Sir Georg Solti and with Riccardo Muti, and also the Rossini Stabat Mater. His solo albums include collections of arias and recital programs, including a live concert form Carnegie Hall, collections of Neapolitan and Italian songs and his Christmas Season album 0 Holy Night which has achieved platinum status, selling over one million copies. London Records has released the live recording Carreras, Domingo and Pavarotti in Concert which was made at their historic concert at Romes Baths of Caracalla and which has become an historic world-wide best selling album. A second Three Tenors live recording was released on the Atlantic label. DG has issued I'Elisir d'Amore with Kathleen Battle as Adina, and also La Traviata with Cheryl Studer as Violetta, both Metropolitan Opera recor~ings conducted by James Levine. A live recording of Don Carlo from La Scala conducted by Riccardo Muti was released on AngeVEMI. In April of 1991, Luciano Pavarotti sang his first performances ofVerdis Otello in concert with Sir Georg Solti conducting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus both in Chicago and in New York's Carnegie Hall.

With a cast including Dame Kiri te Kanawa and Leo Nucci, a live recording was released by London Records. The most recent London Records release with Mr. Pavarotti is Verdi's II Trovatore with Antonella Banaudi, Shirley Verrett and Leo Nucci, conducted by Zubin Mehta.

Copyright 2010, Michigan - 29- Opera Theatre

ABOUT TIm ARTISTS GREGG BAKER

OHNDEMAIN

Baritone (Tennessee)

Conductor (Ohio)

MOT Credits Crown, Porgy and Bess 1987 Crown, Porgy and Bess 1982

MOT Credits Conductor, La Boheme 1988, Porgy and Bess 1987, Orpheus in the Underworld 1986, Of Mice and Men 1980

1996 Inaugural Gala Salome, Canadian Opera Company; Don Giovanni, Tulsa Opera; Samson et Dalila, Metropolitan Opera; Aida, Arena di Verona; 11 Trovatore, Salome, Metropolitan Opera, Glydebourne Festival, Covent Garden; Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Hollywood Bowl; Carmen, Opera Pacific

1996 Inaugural Gala Music Director of Houston Grand Opera, 1979·94; Music Director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and Madison Opera; Attila, Opera de Nice; Tasca , Falstaff, Australia; Aida, Tosca, Cannen, Opera Pacific; Mefistofele, Washington Opera; The Tales of Hoffmann , A Midsummer Nightl Dream, Turandot , Porgy and Bess, Houston Grand Opera; Grammy Award winner for Porgy and Bess recording in 1978

HELEN DONATH Soprano (Texas)

MOT Debut 1996 Inaugural Gala

1996 Inaugural Gala

Macbeth , La Boheme, Toulouse Opera; Rigoletto, Monte Carlo Opera; La Rondine, Ludwigshafen Festival; Der Rosenhavalier, La Boheme, San Francisco Opera, Covent Garden; Rigoletto, La Princesse du Trebizonde, Lucia di Lammermoor

Le Nozze di Figaro, Fedelio, Der Rosenhavalier, Metropolitan Opera; Turandot, Covent Garden; Der Freishlitz, Berlin Opera; Der Rosenhavalier, Washington Opera; Le Nozze de Figaro, Turn of the Screw, Florida Grand Opera; Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg, Seattle Opera; Le Nozze de Figaro, Opera Pacific; Turandot, Carmen, Cologne Opera; Die Zauberflote, Hannover Opera; Tannhiiuser, Autstin Lyric Opera; The Marriage of Figaro, Opera Pacific; over 100 recordings

EAGLEN

1996 Inaugural Gala

Composer of Fanfare for the Detroit Opera House, commissioned by MOT for Inaugural Gala

1996 Inaugural Gala Don Giovanni, Metropolitan Opera; The Ring Cyele, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Die Walkure, La Scala, Opera Pacific; Un Ballo in Maschera, Opera de Paris Bastille; Die Walkure, Don Giovanni, Vienna State Opera; Ariadne auf Noxos, 11 Trovatore, Maria Stuarda, Die Meistersinger, Tosca, Don Giovanni, Cavalleria Rusticana, English National Opera; No rma, Die Walkure, La Boheme, Cosi fan tutte, Scottish Opera; Gurrelieder, Oslo Philharmonic; Norma (recording), Ravenna Festival; Mahler's Symphony No. 8, Edinburgh Festival; No rma, Seattle Opera; Tosca, Cleveland Orchestra; Verdi's Requiem, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; featured on soundtrack for film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility

Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1988, 12 New Etudes for Piano; Winner of 1993 Koussevitzky Foundation • Award, Lyric Concerto for Flute and Orchestra; Winner of 1976 Koussevitzky Foundation Award, First Piano Quartet; Winner of the 1966 Marc Blitzstein Award from the Academy of Arts and Letters, Dynamite Tonite; Mc Teague, premiered in 1992 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; 1will Breathe a Mountain, premiered at Carnegie Hall; A Whitman Triptych, premiered at the San Francisco Opera, 1995; commissions from orchestras of Philadelphia, St. Louis, Seattle, St. Paul, Saarbrucken, Vienna (Philharmonic), New York, Baltimore, Washington, Pacific Symphony, Boston; commissions from Carnegie Hall, Aspen Music Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera; other compositions include Concerto In Dfor VlOhn and Orchestra, Open House, Songs oj Innocence and of Experience, Fantasia Concertante, Broken Glass; Professor of Music at the University Copyright of Michigan since2010, 1973. Michigan Opera Theatre

ABOUT TIm ARTISTS ----~~~·~'e~~-----

GRISSOM

PABLO ELVIRA Baritone (Puerto Rico)

MOT Credits Figaro, The Barber of Seville 1993 Figaro, The Barber of Seville 1987

MOT Credits Musetta, La Boheme 1990 1996 Inaugural Gala

1996 Inaugural Gala

Un Ballo in Maschera, Metropolitan Opera; FalstaJJ, CElisir d'amore, La Boheme, Der Rosenkavalier, Die Zauberflbte , Houston Grand Opera; Hansel and Gretel, Dallas Opera; Tales oj HoJJmann , Don Pasquale, Washington Opera; La Boheme, The Pearl Fishers , Opera Pacific; La Boheme, Cleveland Opera; La Boheme, Opera Pacific

Th e Barber oj Seville, La Boheme, I Pagliacci, Rigoletto, Lucia di Lammermoor, Metropolitan Opera; Rigoletto, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Un Ballo in Maschera, San Francisco Opera; Tasca, Madama Butterfly, Opera de Puerto Rico, Mexico City; Don Carlo, Puerto Rico; Manon Lescaut, Bayerische Staatsoper; Macbeth , Antwerp Opera; Madama Butterfly, Pittsburgh Opera; La Traviata, New York City Opera; CElisir d'Amore, the New Orleans Opera; Otello, Greater Buffalo Opera; The Barber oj Seville, Opera Pacific

LEONE MAGIERA

ESPERIAN

Conductor (Italy)

MOT Debut

MOT Credits Luciano Pavarotti Concerts at Joe Louis Arena, 1988, 1991

1996 Inaugural Gala La Boheme, Luisa Miller, II Trovatore, Metropolitan Opera; Simon Boccanegra, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Luisa Miller, I Vespri Siciliani, StiJJelio , La Scala; Amldo, Covent Garden; Otello, Simon Boccanegra, Paris, Bastille; Otello, Opera Pacific; Luisa Miller, Bilbao; winner of 1985 Luciano PavarottiJOpera Company of Philadelphia International Voice Competition; La Boheme, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Genoa Opera in Beijing; "Pavarotti Plus" concert at Royal Albert Hall, 1995 (recorded for future CD and video release) ; II Trovatore, Opera Memphis; Verdi's Requiem, orchestras of Bordeaux, Detroit and Atlanta

1996 Inaugural Gala Conducting engagements include Philharmonia Orchestra of London, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera, Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Barcelona's Gran Teatro del Liceu, the Bilbao Festival, the Verona Philharmonic, Opera Company of Philadelphia; Guest Conductor with Opera Company of Bonn; conducting repertoire includes Aida, Riga/etta, /I TrovalOre, La Traviata, Simon Boccanegra, La Boheme, Tasca, Madama Butterfly, Manon Lescaut; recordings with Luciano Pavarotti, Mirella Freni, Raina Kabaivanska, Lucia Valentini-Terrani and Ruggero Raimondi

MARCELLO GIORDANI

ALES SANDRA MARC

Tenor (Italy)

Soprano (Germany)

MOT Debut

MOT Credits Ariadne, Ariadne aufNaxos 1991

1996 Inaugural Gala La Boheme, Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera , La Scala; CElisir d'Amore, Metropolitan Opera; La Traviata, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Bilbao Festival, San Francisco Opera, Hamburg, Munich, Philadelphia; Madama Butterfly, Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera Company; The Pearl Fishers, Romeo et Juliette, Opera Pacific; Live Jrom Lincoln Center with Luciano Pavarotti

1996 Inaugural Gala Aida, Metropolitan Opera, Staatsoper Berlin, Vienna State Opera; Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Bonn Opera, Rome Opera; Ariadne auJ Naxos, Vienna State Opera, Cologne Opera, Hamburg State Opera, Staatsoper Berlin; Elektra, Staatsoper Berlin; Turandot, Hamburg State Opera, Covent Garden; Norma, Montpellier, France; Die Walkure, Zurich Opera, Cleveland Symphony, Verdi's Requiem, Saito Kinen Festival, Japan; Four Last Songs, Mahler's Fourth Symphony, Seattle Symphony; Elektra, Knoxville Summer oj 1915, Verdi's Requiem (recording) , Chicago Symphony; Lyrisclte Symphonic, La Scala; La eene delle BeJJe, Wexford Festival

Copyright 2010, Michigan - 31 - Opera Theatre

ABOUT TIm ARTISTS ----~~~.~'e~~-----

RODDY MCDOWALL

IRINA MISHURA

ActorlPhotographer (England)

Mezzo Soprano (Russia)

MOT Debut

MOT Credits Suzuki, Madame Butterfly 1994

1996 Inaugural Gala Master of Ceremonies

1996 Inaugural Gala Madame ButterJly, Canllell, Opera Pacific; Ca nllen, Brussels; 11 Trovatore, Un Ballo in Maschera , DOll Car/o , No rma, Ul Forza del Deslino, The Marriage oj Figaro, The Barber oj Seville, Cavalleria Ruslicalla, Werther, Boris Godunov, Faust , Moldavian State Opera; The SIlOW Maiden (recording), Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Aida, Sacramento Opera; Faust, Toledo Opera

Film credits include How Green Was My Valley, Lassie COllle Home, The White Cliffs of Dover, My Friend Flicka, Planet of the Apes and three of its sequels, The Poseidon Adventure, Cleopatra, The Legend of Hell House, Evil Under the SUIl, Lard Lave a Duck, Dead of Winter, Overboard, Fright Night; stage credits include Misalliance, No Time for Sergeallls, Compulsion, Camelot, Charley's Aulll, Otherwise Engaged, The Tempest, Harvey, Dial Mfor Murder; winner ofTony award for The Fighting Cock; photography credits include Life, Laok, Vogue, Architectural Digest, Harper's Bazaar, Good Housekeeping, Ladies Home Journal ; Double Exposure, four volumes of published photography

STEVEN MERCURIO Conductor (New York)

MOT Credits Queen of the Night, The Magic Flute 1991

MOT Credits Conductor, Tosca 1995 1996 Inaugural Gala Music Director of the Spoleto Festival, Italy; I Puritani, Venice; Birthday oJthelJifanta, Rome Opera; Ul Travialil, Bonn Staatsoper, Amelia al Bal/o, Ullillse, Monte Carlo Opera; Rusalha, n,eSaint oJBleeeker Street, Ul Gozza Ladra, The Maniage oj Figaro, Rigoletto, Ul Travialil, Turandat, Canllen, Eugene Ouegin, Caval/eria Rusticana, 1Pagliocci, Tasca, Romeo et Juliette, Opera Company of Philadelphia; Goya, II Trittico, Wozzech, Berlioz Requiem, Corigliano:' SympilOny No.1, The Nose, Spoleto Festival, Italy; n,e Saint oj Bleecker Street, Ul Cerentola, Turandot, The Washington Opera; Vanessa, DaUas Opera; Un Ballo in Masehera, Pittsburgh Opera; Ul Boheme, Ul Traviata, Olello, Opera Pacific; Viaggio a Meims, Wolf Trap Opera

1996 Inaugural Gala Metropolitan Opera Council National Final Auditions Winner 1977; Bad Hersfeld Opera Award, 1988; Zaiae, Ariadne auf Naxos, Maria Stuarda, Boston Lyric Opera; Don Pasquale, Don Giovanni, Tales of Hoffmann , Staadstheater Wiesbaden; Wieller BIIII, Theater des Westens; The Impresario, Boston Symphony Orchestra; Tales of Hoffmann , Frankfurt Opera; Die Fledermaus, Theater Basel; repertoire includes The Daughter of the Regiment, Lucia di Lammermoor, Abduction from the Seraglio , The Magic Flute, Der Rosenkavalier, Rigolello; appearances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Stiidtische Blihnen Augsburg, Salsburg International Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, Berliner Barock Orchester

MARY MILLS

RON RAINES

Soprano (Texas)

Actor/Singer (Florida)

MOT Credits 1994 New Year's Eve Gala Danilo, The Merry Widow 1993 Side by Side by Sondheim 1993 Gaylord Ravenal, Showboat 1990 Ben Stone, Follies 1988 Danilo, The Merry Widow 1984

MOT Debut 1996 Inaugural Gala Arabella, Metropolitan Opera; The Dangerous liaisons, San Francisco Opera; Rigoletto, Florida Opera Association; Carmen , The Cunning Little Vixen , The Washington Opera; Louise, La Boheme, Grand Theatre de Geneve; Zampa , Wexford Festival; Fedora, Bregenz Festival; La Boheme, De Vlaamse Opera of Antwerp

1996 Inaugural Gala Master of Ceremonies "Alan Spaulding" on CBS's G ~lidillg Light; Showboat, Broadway, Opera Pacific, SI. Louis Muny Opera, Dallas Summer Musicals; Carousel, Syracuse Opera, Nashville Opera Association, Cleveland Opera, Portland Opera; The Gypsy Princess, Th e Merry Widow, Opera Pacific; Desert Song, The Unsinhable Molly Brown, National Tour; The Merry Widow, Theatre Under the Stars; Can Can, Japan Tour; The Merry Widow, Duchess oj Gerolsteill, New York City Opera

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

ABOUT TuB ARTISTS KATHLEEN SEGAR Mezzo Soprano (Michigan)

MOT Credits Dryad, Ariadne 1991; Third Lady, The Magic Flute 1991; Maddalena, Rigoletto 1990; Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro 1989; Suzuki, Madama Butterfly 1986; Smeton, Anna Bolena 1984; Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro 1983;]adwiga, The Haunted Castle 1982; Mercedes, Carmen 1981 1996 Inaugural Gala Die Walkiire, Metropolitan Opera; Th e Marriage of Figaro, Der Rosenkavalier, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, La Cenerentola, Ariadne auf Naxos, Washington Opera; Eugene Onegin, Cavalleria Rusticana, Opera Company of Philadelphia; Partita in Baroque Style, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Midsummer Nights Dream, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; Cosi fan tutte, Toledo Opera; Norma, Dayton Opera; Verdi's Requiem, Handel's Messiah, Mahler's Second Symphony, Toledo Symphony; appearances with Springfield Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, soloist with the Lyric Chamber Ensemble of Detroit

MOT Credits Norma, Norma 1989 Anna Bolena, Anna Bolena 1984 I996 Inaugural Gala Metropolitan Opera, 25 seasons; Dido and Aeneas, Australian Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor, Covent Garden;Julius Caesar, Hamburg Opera; La Sonnambula, San Francisco Opera; Hamlet, Anna Bolena, Canadian Opera Company; Anna Bolena, "Live from Lincoln Center"; I Masnadieri, Adriana Lecouvrier, San Diego Opera; La Traviata, Philadelphia Lyric Opera; The Merry Widow, Alcina, Dallas Opera; The Marriage of Figaro, Glydebourne Festival; Norma, Opera Pacific, New York City Opera; The Daughter of the Regiment, Pittsburgh Opera; discography includes complete operas by Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Meyerbeer, Gounod, Massenet, Offenbach, Delibes, Verdi, Puccini, Handel's Messiah, Verdi's Requiem, Beethoven's Ni nth Symphony, An na Bolena, I Puritani, Nonna; received title Dame Commander of the British Empire in 1979; made a Commandeur de I'Ordre National du Merite in 1989

WELLS MOT Credits Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni 1995 Zbigniew, The Haunted Castle 1982 1996 Inaugural Gala Metropolitan Opera, II Trovatore, La Boheme, Lucia di Lammermoor, Turandot , Don Carlo , Aida; Russian and Ludmilla, William Tell, Errnione, San Francisco Opera; Opera de Nice, Semiramide , Les Troyens , William Tell, Pique Dame; New York City Opera, Norma, Lucia di Lammermoor; Washington Opera, Don Giovanni , Rigoletto, La Belle Helene, II Trovatore, La Sonnambula; Canadian Opera Company, Cleveland Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor; Baltimore Opera, Turandot; Washington Opera, The Barber of Seville; Mexico City, Seattle Opera, Anna Bolena; Glyndeboune Festival, Th e Rakes Progress; Grammy award winning recording of Antony and Cleopatra; Faust, Opera Pacific

Copyright 2010, Michigan - 33- Opera Theatre

"

OPERA GALA CHORUS It ORCHESTRA >~<

CHORUS M.O. I CHORUS & ALUMNI Suzanne Acton, Chorus Master

SOPRANO Deborah Balcom Janice Simons Ball Victoria Bigelow Hattie Black Cecilia BohorquezCourtois Diane Aron-Calhoun Michaella Patches Dionne Amy Dolan Vanessa Ferriole Rachelle GillettBehrens Monique Grotloh Dana Lentini Cynthia Merritt Jeanine Head Miller Jennifer L. Oliver Jan R. Phillips Patricia Pierobon Amy Lynn Rice Carrie Scherer Judith Szefi Grace Ward

ALTO Stephanie Amelio Kristen Bryant Betsy Evans Louise A. Fisher Yvonne M. Friday Rosalin Contrera Guastella Jillian Hemann Rita Jury Kala Kumar Beth Wingert Nelson Peggy O'Shaughnessey Melissa Marie Petro Mary Anne Pilette Jolante Rode Barbara]. Smith Leslie Smith

TENOR Christopher A. Bauder Fred Buchalter

Betty Streberger SOPRANOS Linda VanBuren Beatrice Bikali Miriam G. Weber Hattie Black Kristen Blount TENORS Helen Brandt Robert S. Ball Lyn Burns Fred Buchalter Mary Ann Carroll Nate Clements Lori Cleland John Dickson Margaret Cowan Eddie L. Dunn Peg Eidson Donald Gay Brande Everett Jeffrey Krueger Edith Faires Robert W Ligaj Margaret Ann Harber James Mackey Moore Carrie Hartz Janet Oakes Stina Hokenson Bonnie Perkins Linda Irwin Susan Koch BASS Cheryl Ann Krul Glen H. Battjes Mary Kay Lawless Julius A. Becker Cathy Dawn Martin James Bumford Mindy Monacelli Horatius Dorval Kimerica Ottogalli BASS Bill Gray Toni Pantano Daniel Aggas U. William Hutchings Christine N. Pelot Kevin Lee Branshaw Michael Khoury Janet Perkins K. Wayne Brooks Ray Litt Virginia Person Tilis Butler Jr. Homer Matthews Patricia Pierobon Christohpher Garvey Anthony Ruda Elizabeth Pugh Leonard-James Johnson Brenda Redding John Saetta Ray Litt Jim Satterwhite Ruth Seranian Anthony Lynch Gene Scott Janice Simon-Ball Frank E. Pitts Kenneth R. Shepherd Trisha Rae Smithson David Ploof Robert Louis Stevens Ruth Zaromp Roderick Reese M. Joseph Wooten John Schmidt William B. Yeats ALTOS Robert Schram Eugene Zweig Kathleen Burroughs Kenneth R. Shepherd Kristen Bryant Paul G. Silver Lois Davenport Robert Louis Stevens Lori Downey Dean Unick Constance Ann Dunlap ORCHESTRA Alvis-Wayne Louise A. Fisher VIOLIN I James R. Wells Susan Fox *Charlotte Merkerson Eugene Zweig Fran Friedman Concertmaster Gloria Hutchings -Ihe American Guild OJ *Randolph Margitza Christine Jarnick Musical Artists is the oJJicial Kala Kumar *Theodore Schwartz union oj the Michigan Opera *Velda Kelly Geri Lacey Theatre vocal performers. *Kathleen Brauer Virginia M. Mazurek Charles Roth Pat Minnick Kathryn Stepulla Donna Mirabito RACKHAM Elizabeth Rowin SYMPHONY CHOIR Nancy Nelson James Kujawski Luanne M. Offer Suzanne Acton, Tim Edwards Deborah Roberson Music Director Cheryl Zetterholm Mary Lu Robertson Donald Kukier, Kathy Ferris Marion Schulman Assistant Director Emily J. Sherwood Karen L. Spence

Patrick Jay Clampitt Michael Hammonds Larry D. Hooks Clarence E. Jones Thomas]. Kabala Jeffrey Krueger Robert W Ligaj Kim Millard James Mackey Moore Robert L. Morency Anthony Noto Michael S. Parr David Podulka Joseph A. Pokorski David Reilly William Steiner Stephen Stewart Jim Talpos Eric Watterworth Ernest D. Willoughby . Timothy Wolf

VIOLIN II

BASSOON

*Victoria Haltom Principal *Brooke Hoplamazian *Anna Weller *Angelina Carcone Marla Smith Mark Mutter Constance Markwick Ruth Whetstone Lorraine Perlman Julia Kurtyka

*Kirkland D, Ferris Principal Scott Armstrong Jeff Lyman

VIOLA

TRUMPET

*Jessica Nance PrinCipal *Barbara Zmich John Madison Kathleen Grimes Janine Bradbury Nicole Divali Nancy Buck Christine Swanson

*Brian Rood Principal *Gordon Simmons Charles Daval Carolyn Bybee Mark Flagg Chris Hart Charles Larkins

VIOLONCELLO *Nadine Deleury Principal *Diane Bredesen *Minka Christoff Sarah Cleveland Robert Reed Robert Clemens Solen Dikener

HORN *Susan Mutter Principal *Carrie Banfield Al Taplin Steve Mumford

TROMBONE *Maury Okun Principal *Greg Near Paul Eachus

TUBA Fritz Kaenzig

TIMPANI

CONTRABASS

*Gregory White Principal

*Derek Weller Principal *Peter Guild Greg Powell Brad Pfeil

*John F Dorsey Principal David Taylor

flUTE

HARP

*Pamela Hill Principal Helen Near *Laura Larson

PERCUSSION

*Patricia Terry-Ross Principal Diane Bredesen Personnel Manager

OBOE *Rebecca Hammond Principal Robin Johnson *Ann Augustin

CLARINET *Brian Bowman Principal *Jane Carl Steve Millen

* =Member, Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra.

Detroit Federation oj Musicians, Local #5, American Federation oj Musicians.

A speCial thanks to the Michigan Opera Theatre Chorus and Alumni and the Rackham Symphony ~hoir for their contribution to the Inaugural Gala.

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

- 34-

DETROIT OPERA HOUSE CAPITOL CAMPAIGN CoNTKIBUTOKS ----~~~D~·e~~----SIGNAL BENEFACTOR $2,000,000

The Kresge Foundation

GRAND BENEFACTORS $1,000,000

Chrysler Corporation Fund Ford Motor Company General Motors Corporation The Skillman Foundation

MAlOR BENEFACTOR $500,000

The John S. & James L. Knight Foundation

LEADERSHIP CIRCLE $250,000 TO $499,999

Ameritech Mr. & Mrs. Philip E. Benton, Jr. Mr. Maurice Cohen Dayton Hudson Foundation on behalf of Hudson's Detroit Edison Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Dewar Mr. & Mrs. Herman A. Frankel Ghafari Associates, Inc. Hudson-Webber Foundation Kmart Corporation Lear Seating Corporation McGregor Fund NBD Bank Ralph & Winifred E. Polk Charitable Annuity Trust Mr. & Mrs. George Strumbos __ TRW Foundation Mr. & Mrs. R. Jamison Williams, Sr.

BENEFACTORS $100,000 - $249,999

Mr. & Mrs. Eugene Applebaum ANR Pipeline Company Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Michigan Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Brodie Comerica Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Frankel Mr. & Mrs. David B. Hermelin Mr. & Mrs. Leonard C. Jaques

Mr. & Mrs. John Boll Mr. Thomas Cohn Complete Business Solutions Consumers Power Foundation Julia Donovan Darlow & John C. O'Meara Deloitte & Touche DeRoy Testamentary Foundation GOLD CIRCLE Mr. & Mrs. Cameron B. Duncan $50,000 - $99,999 Mrs. Charles M. Endicott Mr. & Mrs. Robert A. Allesee Ernst and Young Allied-Signal Foundation, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Paul E. Ewing Mr. & Mrs. David Aronow Mrs. Aaron H. Gershenson Dr. & Mrs. Donald C. Austin Mr. & Mrs. E. Jan Hartmann Honorable & Mrs. Avern L. Cohn Honorable & Mrs. Joseph Mr. & Mrs. Marvin I. Danto Impastato The Detroit News/Gannett Mr. & Mrs. Verne G. Istock Foundation Kaufman Memorial Trust Dickinson, Wright, Moon, Mr. & Mrs. Robert Klein VanDusen & Freeman Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Knechtel Mr. & Mrs. Alfred]. Fisher,]r.

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald C. Lamparter Mr. & Mrs. Max M. Fisher Mr. & Mrs. Robert Liggett Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Frankel Honorable Jack Martin & Mr. & Mrs. Alan L. Gornick Dr. Bettye Arrington-Martin Mr. & Mrs. John C. Griffin Matilda R. Wilson Fund Mr. & Mrs. Preston B. Happel Mr. & Mrs. William 1.

Hartman & Tyner McCormick, Jr. Neiman Marcus Mr. & Mrs. Robert 1. O'Connell Mr. & Mrs. Donald E. Peterson Dr. & Mrs. Moon]. Pak Mr. & Mrs. Harold A. Poling Mr. & Mrs. Hughes L. Potiker Mr. & Mrs. David Pollack Mr. & Mrs. Richard Rogel Mr. & Mrs. Irving Rose Diane & Morton Scholnick Mr. & Mrs. Alan E. Schwartz Mr. Joseph Schwartz Mr. & Mrs. Donald E. Mr. & Mrs. S. Kinnie Smith, Jr. Schwendemann Mrs. Mark C. Stevens Mrs. Rosemary Skupny Mr. & Mrs. Art VanElslander Mr. Richard A. Sonenklar The Samuel L. Westerman Thyssen American Steel GrouJ Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Lynn A. Townsen Mr. & Mrs. C. Thomas Toppin Mr. & Mrs. George C. Vincent Consuelo S. & Henry E. Wenger Dr. & Mrs. Sam B. Williams Henry Penn Wenger Mr. & Mrs. Gary L. White TRUSTEE CIRCLE Mr. & Mrs. R. Jamison Williams,Jr. Diane W & Charles L. Wilson,Jr. $25,000 - $49,999 Mr. & Mrs. Donald Worsley Anonymous Dr. & Mrs. Clyde Wu Anonymous Mrs. Paul Zuckerman Dr. Lourdes V Andaya Mr & Mrs. Gebron Anton Dr. & Mrs. Agustin Arbulu SILVER CIRCLE Dr. & Mrs. Robyn Arrington, Sr. $15,000 - $24,999 Dr. & Mrs. John V Balian Mr. & Mrs. Donald]. Bortz,]r.

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Mr. &. Mrs. Kenneth E. Hart Howell Industries, Inc. Mrs. DavidJacknow JPRAlPeterhansrea Architects Mr. AlbertJadach Mrs. William E. Johnston Honorable Mitchell I. Kafarski &'': Zofia Drozdowska, M.D. with sons Erik M. Kafarski and Konrad C. Kafarski Mr. &. Mrs. Stephen D. Kasle and Family Mr. &. Mrs. Thomas G. Kirby Mr. &. Mrs. E.R. Milner Mr. Michael W Pease Dr. Robert E. L. Perkins Plunkett &: Cooney, Pc. Mr. &. Mrs. David P Ruwart Mr. Richard A. Sanders Dr. &. Mrs. Norman R. Schakne Mr. &. Mrs. Gregory ]. Schwartz Mr. &. Mrs. Richard Sloan Mr. &. Mrs. Roger-B. Smith Mr. &. Mrs. Richard D. Starkweather Mr. i\ndrew Teitel - Dr. &. Mrs. L. Murray Thomas Mr. &. Mrs. Robert G. Vallee, Sr. Mr. &. Mrs. Steven I. Victor Mr. &: Mrs. Alvin Wasserman

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Dr. &: Mrs. David Stone $500 - $749 Mrs. !talo Tajo Arvin North American Miss Mary Ellen Tappan Automotive The Buffalo News Dr. Reuvan Bar-Levav Mr. George Thorpe Mr. &: Mrs. Donald M. D. Mr. Warren B. Brown Thurber Mr. &: Mrs. John H. Burdakin Mr. William Turnbull Ms. Kathleen Charla Dr. &: Mrs. Samuel C. Ursu Mrs. Mary Rita Cuddohy Mr. Steve Veresh Defiance Corporation Dr. &: Mrs. Ignatios Mr. &: Mrs. Harry M. Dreffs Voudoukis, MD Mr. &: Mrs. Arnold B. Wallace Mr. &: Mrs. Paul Dufault Mr. &: Mrs. William B. Warner Edward C. Levy Company Dr. &: Mrs. Edwin S. English Mr. James Waterbury Mr. Eddie N. Fakhoury Dr. Samuel P. Weiner Mr. HermanCopyright Weinreich2010, Michigan Mr. PaulOpera Ferguson Theatre

Ferguson Electric Company Mr. &: Mrs. Ernest Goodman Mr. Don Hinckfoot Mr. David C. Hocker Mr. &: Mrs. Franklin E. Hull Mr. Eric &: Roy Hult ]. S. Alberici Construction Co. , Inc. Mr. &: Mrs. Zoltan].Janosi Mr. William Jeanes Ms. Susan L. Kelly Mr. Arthur Kirsh Mr. Daniel Korte Lamb Technicon Corporation Mr. &: Mrs. Norman LePage Dr. &: Mrs. Morris]. Lipnik Mr. John Lowry Mr. &: Mrs. Joseph Maniscalco Mr. &: Mrs. E. Alan Moorhouse Mr. &: Mrs. Adolph]. Neeme Ms. Kathy O'Connor Ms. Athena Pappas Ms. Margot Parker Robert Bosch Corporation Mr. &: Mrs. Michael Schwartz Ms. Elsa Shartsis Mr. &: Mrs. Laurence Schiff Mr. &: Mrs. Jack Solomon Trienere Steinburg Mr. John Stimac Ms. Anita Terry Mr. Joseph Turek Dr. &: Mrs. Ronald L. Vander Molen Mr. Thomas Wade Mr. Lawrence Williams Mrs. Antoinette Work Mr. &: Mrs. Henry Yakima Mr. Giulano Zuccato

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Mr. &. Mrs. James G. Hartrick Dr. &: Mrs. George Hedayat Mr. &: Mrs. Eugene Heffelfinger Ms. Anne H. Helfman Mr. Bruce A. Herbert Mr. &: Mrs. Luther K. Hertler Mrs. Marilyn Hogan Mr. Micheal Holz Mr. &: Mrs. Alan Israel Mr. &: Mrs. Stephen Kaplan Mrs. Eugene S. Karpus Mr. &: Mrs. Seymour Kavesky Lenore &: Robert Kendell Dr. &: Mrs. Gary Keoleian Ms. Klair H. Kissel Ms. Lisa Kochnowski Miss Phyllis Korn Miss Selma Korn Mrs. Harold R. Kostoff Mr. &: Mrs. Arthur J. Krolikowski -Mr. &: Mrs. Marc Lakin Mrs. Laura Larson Mr. &. Mrs. Robert E. lazzerin, Jr. Ms. Linda Learned Mr. &. Mrs. John Lowe Dr. Magnus Wilson Ms. Barbara Ann Maher Mr. Charles S. Mason Mr. Matthew J. Mason Mr. &. Mrs. Richard McBrien Mr. John McMullin Mr. Tullio Meconi Ms. Ann Marie Mervenne Ms. Anita L. Miller

Ms. Jeanine Head Miller Ms. Stephani Lynn Miller Mrs. Earl A. Mossner Mr. Joseph Muglia Ms. Barbara Naruta Mr. Robert A. Nitschke Mr. &. Mrs. Richard C. Oswant Dr. &. Mrs. Gregory A. Pawlaczyk Mrs. Jeanette V Pawlaczyk Ms. Kathryn A. Penix Mr. &: Mrs. David W Porter Jennifer Raybourn and Robert Sergent Ms. Margaret Rees Mr. &: Mrs. Christopher Richardson Ms. Beverly Roberts Drs. Albert and Rhoda Rosenthal Dr. &. Mrs. A. William Scafer Mr. &. Mrs. Claus F. Schaefer Mr. &. Mrs. Russell Schulz Ms. Ellen Sharp Sharon &: Peter Silveri Mrs. Loretta Skewes Mr. Tom Smith Mr. Daniel Snower Mr. &: Mrs. Robert Sparvero Mrs. John Spencer Dr. &. Mrs. Sheldon Stern Dr. Anjanette M. Stoltz Ms. Beverly Stone Dr. Barbara C. Tilley Mr. Gary Trenchard Mr. &: Mrs. R.5. Trotter Mr. &: Mrs. Marvin G. Webb Mr. Ted Wedepohl Mrs. David Weikal Mr. Howard K. Weiner Mr. &: Mrs. Paul S. Wemhoff Mr. David Woodard Mrs. Rose M. Wiggle Ms. Hildegard Wintergerst Mr. &: Mrs. Richard Wittrup Mrs. Teruko Yamasaki Mr. &: Mrs. John E. Young, Jr. Ms. Patricia Young Mr. &. Mrs. Chris J. Yuhn

We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the 625 donors who inscribed bricks and made contributions to the general restoration of the Detroit Opera House.

We would like to express our deep and heartfelt appreciation to the many Board members and volunteers who played a major role in the fundraising effort for the Detroit Opera House campaign.

LEADERSHIP PHASE Mr. &. Mrs. Philip E. Benton, Jr.

Chairpersons Mr. &: Mrs. Robert T. O'Connell

Vice Chairpersons Mr. &. Mrs. Robert E. Dewar

. Leadership Gifts Mr. &. Mrs. Donald C. Austin

Individual Gifts Mr. &: Mrs. William P. Vititoe

Corporate Gifts

PUBLIC PHASE CORPORATE CAMPAIGN Mr. Louis R. Ross

Honorary Chairman Mr. Harry A. Lomason

Chairman Mr. Paul A. Boudreau Mr. William C. Brooks Ms. Nancy Brownrigg Mr. lawrence N. David Mr. Cameron B. Duncan Mr. Joseph Fantauzzo Mr. Kenneth E. Hart Ms. Susan Kelly Mr. Alphonse Lucarelli Mr. Brock E. Plumb Mr. John Ponzio Mr. Bernard Quinlan Mr. S. Kinnie Smith Samual C. Ursu, DDS,JD, MBA Mr. Richard C. Webb

SEAT CAMPAIGAN Mrs. Gloria Clark Mrs. Shelly Cooper Mrs. Roseanne Duncan Mrs. Judy Istock Mrs. Wally Klein Mrs. Susan Ruwart Mrs. Judie Sherman

We also extend our gratitude to the many members of the Michigan Opera Theatre Volunteer Association who generously donated their time to lead the membership tours through the Opera House last November. It was very cold and very difficult, but they performed with infectious enthusiasm and genuine commitment.

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

We regret that we could. not list any donations made after 3/31/96. All contributors made after this date will be acknowledged in future program book listings.

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MOVIES, MUSIC & MONSTER MAYHEM ON A CAPITOL STAGE A history of entertainment in one of Detroit's grandest old theatres

by Mary Jane Doerr

Seated on a folding chair in his parent's Model T, Robert VanderKloot got his first glimpse of the Capitol Theatre in 1922.

Awestruck by the theater's immensity, VanderKloot remembers soprano Estelle Carey's opening songs but not the "throbbing love tale," The Lotus Eater. Retired Army colonelJohn Batchelder, then seven, doesn't remember the movie either, just the 3,000 piece crystal chandelier.

Fifty years later in the late 1970s, VanderKloot was awestruck again when he took his son-in-law, Michigan Opera Theatre's general director Dr. David DiChiera, to the theater. Their dream, for MOT to own a house, comes from motion picture magnet John Kunsky's vision when he built the palatial movie palace "to present my own home city with a palace of amusement of which it could be justly proud. " (Detroit News, Jan. 8, 1922) Then, people scoffed at Kunsky's manager George Trendle as being "in need of having someone look after him" for building a theater "up there on Grand Circus Park. " Hardly crazy, Kunsky planned to compete with . Detroit's 150 movie palaces by marketing his "Show Palace of Michigan" with his own scheme of "product differentiation. " An independent without access to the top movies, he showed adventure films and featured live stage shows.

"It was the best theater," said Art Clay of Dearborn. "If you had a dime you went to the Rex, if you had a quarter you went to the Lincoln Square, but if you had 75 cents you could go to the Capitol. They had a big stage there."

Whether Carey was a hot talent by MOT standards when she opened January 12, 1922 to 4500 people (including Mayor James Couzens) on that "big" stage, she, the Capitol Quartette, the Capitol Girls, the Capitol Wonder Orchestra, and the local talent stole the show until the Michigan Theatre opened in 1926.

Screen stars like George Beban 0-22-22) , Irene Castle (2-26-22), Fatty Arbuckle (8-5-23) , Louise Lovely (6-15-24) "interpolated" scenes from their films. Other entertainers were Paul Whiteman, Louis Armstrong, Guy Lombardo, W C. Fields, Duke Ellington, Victor Herbert and Will Rogers.

Under Viennese violinist, Eduard Werner, the 40 piece house orchestra played "Sunday Noonday" concerts featuring pieces like Molly on the Shore, My Mammy Knows and Tchaikovsky's "Adagio Lamentoso" from Tchaikovsky's Symphony Pathetique.

Deluxe houses like the Capitol got orchestra scores with each silent film for the house orchestra. For the films, usually the orchestra would begin the program by accompanying the show. The organist would join in and the orchestra would then break, leaving the organist playing solo. Interestingly, the first organist Donald Miller had charge of the organ couplers requiring second organist Lou Betterly to hand change his stops while performing these solos.

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

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In 1925, a Wurlitzer 4/20, the first Publix-I organ in the country replaced the Hillgreen Lane organ. One of only a few Wurlitzers to be tonally adjusted to a theater, the hall's perfectly placed pipe chambers and superb acoustics made the sound fabulous and the organ the favorite organ in Detroit. (It is now in California's Oakland Paramount Theater.)

That year, Kunsky became part of the Publix Theatre chain and began booking vaudeville (Publix Unit Shows) into the Capitol, show:s like Revue Exotique, Neapolitan Nights , and Bag 0 ' Tricks . The performances were an eclectic mix of anomalies such as hoofers, trapeze speCialists, French Canadian poetry, Spanish dancers, vacuum cleaners that wheezed pop tunes, and "marvelous" news reels, like the eruption of Mt. Etna. Tenor saxophonist Del Delbridge, from Palmer Park, was master of the popular ceremonies.

Union president Werner had "ghost" clauses written into contracts, requiring theaters to pay orchestra rates if they hired the organist. By 1929, those clauses and the stock market crash took care of the orchestra and the "talkies" took care of the organists. Betterly sold shoes, Miller went to Dearborn Inn, and Werner entered the Detroit College of Law. In the windfall, Kunsky sold his 22 theater interest to Publix for $4.5 million, a nice return on his Capitol.

Publix changed the name to Paramount advertiSing shows like "Hear Him Talk " Buddy Rogers in Varsity with an extra Vitaphone Talking Playlet, but times were hard. George Trendle took over in 1934, changing the name to the Broadway Capitol and reopening with Marlene Dietrich in The Scarlet Empress. United Detroit Theaters assumed management.

Opera also played a role in the early history of the theater when the San Carlo Opera Company under Fortune Gallo brought tw~ weeks of opera beginning in 1933 and appeared there intermittantly over the next decade. The performance of Faust in the 33 seasons featured the sensational debut of the young Detroit soprano Emma Lazaroff Schaver who would go on to have an impressive career in music performing in concerts throughout the world.

World War II brought thousands of people downtown to work three factory shifts. Located near the Grand Circus Park "east meets west" streetcar intersection, the "all night" Broadway Capitol pulled crowds of 5 to 15,000 daily, remembers George McCann, Chief of Service at the Michigan Theatre.

With war bonds "issued while you wait," actual film footage ran of battles such as the "Battle of Iwo-Jima. " Weekend stage shows, hardly the glitzy affairs of the 20s, were often replaced by shorts and trailers. "Day and Date" marketing booked films with the Riviera and Cinderella.

Kunsky purchased WXYZ when he sold the Capitol. In the 1940s, with Dick Osgood as master of ceremonies, the station broadcast weekly shows "Radio Schoolhouse of the Air" from the theater.

Undermarketed or overlooked, The Broadway Capitol never achieved the stature of the Fox or the Michigan theaters where the splashy premieres and the hit films were shown.

The Broadway Capitol got the "B" raters.

"By the time I saw the theater, they were down to "Z" rated films ," said Richard Clay about the re-runs, second runs, and double features interspersed with occasional stars like Gale Storm and Sal Mineo.

Midnight "shriek" previews of monster films like Revenge of the Creature and Cult of the Cobra were shown in 3-D in 1955.

Daring patrons were photographed with the "creature" in the lobby. Green gelatin covered the exits for effect, but it only gave a . brighter green light to audiences' suburban flight.

Copyright 2010, Michigan ~ 40 ~ Opera Theatre

\

Under Richard Sklucki's management, $100,000 was spent to update this "old lady" with a face lift in the form of a V-type marquee and name change to Grand Circus Theater. December 23 , 1960, it reopened with The World of Suzi Wong, attempting to compete with the shoebox cineplexes.

The shoe did not fit the old lady of the silver screen, and the "terror treats" (I'll Drink Your Blood And Eat Your Skin, Corpse Grinder, Empire of the Ants, Kung-Fu "knock outs") were as out of place as the concession stands in the marbled lobbies, concessions that failed to solve the theater's identity crisis.

Premieres like Petey Wheatstraw and Isaac Hayes' Black Moses of Soul brought limited patronage.

At Last At Last, A Naked Rider, and Jailbait Babysitter became the last picture show October 28, 1978. That day, manager Lovell Pertner looked sadly at 30 customers in the 3200-seat theater. o. B. O'Bryan, manager in the 40s and 50s, remorsed, "That old house has had some pretty glorious moments." This was not one of them . . Headlines read "Grand old theater takes last bow," but the show was not over. Gerald Tobin bought the "grand ole opulent theater" for an alternative rock series "Grand Circus Live."

Amy Yokin, now group sales director at the Fisher TheatrelMasonic Temple, was the box office manager, considering herself Detroit's queen of punk rock, presiding over ticket sales to mainstream headliners like Ray Charles and Roy Orbison and punk alternatives.

Beatlemania, Plasmatics, R.E.M. , English Beat, and future "celebs" Cindi Lauper, U2, and B-52s on their first national tours.

Again the balcony swayed, rattled and rolled like it did for the mighty Wurlitzer. "This place is made for rock and roll" light headed fans exclaimed about the architecturally suspended balcony. Grace Jones became the final act, and nearly "Grace under fire" when a small blaze closed the theater in November 1985.

When it opened in 1922, the Capitol was America's fifth largest movie palace. After decades of bad films on subjects that make good opera, the Capitol reopens as the Detroit Opera House with a newly constructed stagehouse that ranks it with the top five or six opera houses nationally. The Capitol's restoration to its original splendor returns this entertainment palace to a four star rating.

The vision is revitalized. The dream is realized.

Mary Jane Doerr is an area freelance writer, specializing in musical theatre and opera.

Michael Hauser, of Preservation Wayne, proVided the research for this article.

Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre

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C. HOWARD CRANE A TRUE DETROIT GEM

by Lisa DiChiera

C. Howard Crane was born in Hartford, Connecticut in 1885. The son of a butcher, he turned to the field of architecture at an early age, and at seventeen, he obtained work as a draftsman in downtown Hartford. By the end of 1904, the nineteen year old Crane moved to Detroit, relying on self-taught experience to further a career in architecture. According to his granddaughter Kitty Gushee, Crane was lured to Detroit as the rapidly growing city acted as a "magnet" for her grandfather's energetic ambitions.

In the following years, Crane worked in several prominent architectural offices, absorbing the influence of the best Detroit architects of the day. In 1904, Crane, after lying about his age, was hired

by Albert Kahn where he stayed for one year. By 1905, he was hired as chief draftsman at Smith, Hinchman and Grylls (then known as Field, Hinchman and Smith). In 1907 he moved to the office of Gustave A. Mueller and by 1909 opened his own practice.

Once independently established, Crane immediately started receiving commissions for theaters known as nickelodeons (stores converted t6 movie viewing venues with an admission price of 5 cents) . First among them was the Majestic Theatre, a small nickelodeon, which Crane designed within a building constructed in 1883, at 1449 Woodward Avenue. While he also was commissioned to design offices, residences and store fronts, soon Crane became known for his specialization in theater design.

C. Howard Crane's early concentration in theater design was as incidental as the fast progression of the movie industry itself.

Indeed, Crane's designs for theaters developed in size and elaborateness as the motion picture industry itself grew. Out of nickelodeons came vaudeville houses, and the Columbia Theatre on Monroe Street, built in 1911, was Crane's first. According to theater historian Andrew Craid Morricon, it seated 1006 patrons and was Detroit's first large moving picture and vaudeville theater, accommodating a full orchestra to accompany the picture and the first to contain a theater pipe organ. Crane designed The Columbia, as well as several nickelodeons for John H. Kunsky who soon rose to become the city's premier theater owner and movie exhibitor. On the road to success he took C. Howard Crane, who would design the majority of Kunsky's extravagant motion picture and vaudeville houses.

Within the next 10 years, Crane designed theaters anywhere in size from 530 to 1500 seats and spread his clientele to several other cities in the Great lakes region. In Detroit, his commissions continued for Kunsky and many other exhibitors. They included the 1914-built Regent and Palace Theatres, both inspired by a mixture of eighteenth century Neoclassicism and the 1915 Majestic Theatre (today housing the Majestic Cafe) , built on Woodward Avenue. By 1919, Crane was given his first commission to design a legitimate theater, in this case a concert hall for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Today, the restored Orchestra hall remains the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's permanent home. Soon after its completion, he was commissioned to design the Music Box Theatre at 45th and Broadway in New York City and the Harris and Selwyn Theatres in Chicago, all for theater producer Sam H. Harris and in New York Harris' partner Irving Berlin.

These commssions brought Crane national recognition, but during the same time he remained busy designing motion picture houses of grand scale for his home town of Detroit. In Detroit, Crane's most faithful and ardent client continued to be John Kunsky, who from the early nickelodeon days on Monroe street determined Crane would be his principal architect. By 1920, Kunsky already was monopolozing the business of film exhibition in Detroit, and close at his side was C. Howard Crane, helping to build his large collection of resplendent theaters.

Grand Circus Park, a semicircular area divided by Woodward Avenue, and from which several other main streets radiate, became the city's fashionable shopping district after the turn of the century. It was the logical area for John Kunsky to build and eventually was nick-named "Kunsky Circle" as it became surrounded by his great showplaces. The first of Kunsky's Grand Circus Park theaters deSigned by Crane were the Adams and the Madison, both built in 1917. With a seating capacity of 1806, the Madison had an Copyright 2010, Michigan - 42 - Opera Theatre

auditorium that looked similar to Orchestra Hall. With this theater, Crane's grand style of movie palaces "had almost arrived."

It was the Capitol Theatre, however, that truly allowed Crane to make his mark as one of the nation's great movie palace architects.

When the Capitol Theatre opened on January 12,1922, it was the largest of Crane's Detroit theaters at that time, seating 4,250 people.

Situated between Broadway and Madison Avenue, the Broadway side was the facade which was characterized by three classically treated divisions with engaged Corinthian columns. Retail spaces occupied the central, largest bay and the west bay had an entrance into a small lobby Containing elevators to the upper story offices. One entered the theater at the facade's east bay, which was designated by the Capitol marquee. Upon entering the theater, the patron first found himself in a small outer lobby containing the ticket booths.

Featured was a vaulted ceiling with back- lighted stained glass panels, but the most impressive architectural treatment of this space was a groin vaulted and marble columned entry leading to a set of stairs to the second mezzanine and then to the balcony. Those p~trons with tickets for the main floor of the mezzanine tier boxes had the added privilege of walking through the lobby into a three story foyer containing a grand staircase and two mezzanine bridges, all of which were highlighted by balustrades of wrought iron, painted gold with alternating coral and turquoise ellipses. The foyer curved around the rear of the auditorium and the back wall featured three archways rising the full three stories. These were framed by engaged Corinthian columns, ornate plaster work accented in gold, turquoise and coral, and painted panels containing repeating motifs of cupids, garlands, birds and cameos. In the Capitol, Crane successfully created lobby spaces to beguile the patron to the point of fantasy, even before he entered the auditorium.

In contrast to his previous theaters for motion pictures, such as the Majestic, seating 1,651 people and designed according to a "bleacher" type plan, the theaters Crane designed around Grand Circus Park adapted a new sense of special grandeur. All were designed upon variations of the traditional legitimate theater plan, which incorporates multiple levels. While this change was not necessary fpr theaters such as the Adams, which with 1,770 seats was not much larger than the Majestic, and the Madison, the change was-appropriate for a theate.r as large as the Capitol. To accommodate 3,367 people, Crane included two mezzanine levels and a balcony. The first mezzanine, he explained, was treated "... as a tier of special boxes, obtaining a more exclusive and private seating section, which is very desirable. " These boxes continue under the balcony for the whole width of the house.

While Crane did incorporate detached boxes in most of his other designs, he came to prefer the horseshoe-shaped mezzanine of individually. articulated boxes under the balcony and sweeping around the perimeter of the hall. Previous to the Capitol, Crane had created this same arrangement of box seating for the 2,000 seat Orchestra hall, built in 1919. In that case, six additional projecting mezzanine boxes continued around to each of the side walls of the auditorium, stepping downward toward the proscenium. In the Capitol, the mezzanine level of boxes ended at the side walls, allowing space for a large archway, containing the organ grilles above ground level exit doors.

While Crane noted the desirability of the special seating offered to those in the mezzanine boxes, he did not want to neglect patrons in the balcony. In order for them to feel intimately a part of the auditorium, the extention of the front of the theater toward the balcony was incorporated. Additionally, Crane developed aesthetically pleasing approaches to the balcony, so as to keep the patron from feeling that he would be separated from or inferior to the rest of the audience, as had been the case in nineteenth century theaters.

Crane stated, "One very interesting point developed in this theater is the run of the stairways. Those, for instance, at the second mezzanine level are deSigned with elliptical terminals, lobbies and other interesting points which give the impression that the uppermost seats in the balcony are in no way diffucult to reach."

The Capitol Theatre exhibits_a mixture of classical elements drawn from various sources. For the auditorium ceiling, Crane chose a system of unorthodox coffering, which formed unusual geometric patterns that were arranged within the ceiling's vaulted curves and incorporated octagonal lighting coves. The high vaulting of the ceiling, made entirely of plaster, was purely a decorative effect and not structural in any way. The process of suspending the plaster ceiling was an art in itself, which required metal lath to be hung with suspension rods from the roof trusses and then the final application of plaster over the metal lath. In the end, not only was an awe inspiring ceiling achieved, but plenty of convenient attic space was left between the ceiling and the roof.

The Capitol Theatre in Detroit was truly a turning point in Crane's career. In 1923 it was the largest theater he had planned to date, and in architectural design, it foreshadowed the shape and appearance of Crane's future movie palaces, the State Theatre (1925) and the Fox Theatre (1928) , both restored and well known to Detroiters today. But for the three years previous to the construction of the State Theatre, the Capitol Theatre remained the most prominent movie house in the Kunsky chain and in all of Downtown Detroit.

With its current restoration and reopening as the Detroit Opera House, it has regained its former glory and will remain one of the city's greatest attractions.

Copyright 2010, Michigan - 43- Opera Theatre

CoMMUNITY PROGRAMS AND TIm NEw DETROIT OPERA HOUSE

by Karen VanderKloot DiChiera, Director of Community Programs

The Department of Community Programs is a division of Michigan Opera Theatre which is devoted to arts programs for all members of our community from pre-schoolers to senior citizens in every corner of our state and neighboring states. During the years of dreaming about our own opera house ...and then planning our own opera house, people have been curious as to how a permanent facility would affect our department. Many people assumed that since we tour so much, and teach educational programs in schools so frequently, that having a home wouldn't make much difference to us.

Actually, the opposite is true. The anticipation of a permanent home has encouraged us to think creatively in new directions. Through the years, the Department has developed a solid reputation in many different areas. One is Create-An-Opera, which is offered to learners of all ages. This course allows students to experiment in writing, composition, choreography and art, while creating original works. Launched in the Birmingham School District in 1976, the twenty-year old program has always been taught at an educational institutfon. With our own faCility, we will have the ability to offer the program ourselves without having to be part of a school curriculum. Speaking of "courses," we will be able to offer a number of sessions on a variety of arts-related topics. We will base our offerings on the requests of the community.

Of course, we will continue the ground-breaking work that our Department began in working with Sight and hearing impaired individuals. In fact, we want the Detroit Opera House to accommodate persons with any disability. Having control of our own environment will facilitate this endeavor.

The Detroit Opera House will have rehearsal space for Community Programs. Up until now, we have been like impoverished nomads, constantly imploring local churches and educational organizations for space to rehearse and "mount" our shows. Now our tour productions will be smoothly prepared in one location, with our own piano and storage

When we tour the state, we present our popular "Broadway Revue", which is re-written each year. We perform delightful and educational productions for children such as The Night Harry Stopped Smoking, a mini Hansel And Gretel, Aesops Fables and All About Our Voices to name a few. Never before, have we had the ability to offer these programs to the general public.

Through the years, Community Programs has developed a national reputation for writing and commissioning new works or re-writing standard works to tour. All of the premiers of these works have taken place on the road. Now, we can present them first in the black box (rehearsal space) - our premiers will be in the Detroit Opera House.

The new Detroit Opera House will open many new doors and offer many new adventures. The Detroit Opera House will be a catalyst for even more awards and honors in our Department's tradition, thus serving and enhancing the lives of our state's citizens. Indeed, this unique window of opportunity will serve to stimulate our involvement with the community, which is part of our Department's name - Community Programs.

Copyright 2010, Michigan ~ 44 ~ Opera Theatre

VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATION

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This quarter century of activity has only been possible through the efforts of many dedicated individuals contributing their time and resources in support of Michigan Opera Theatre's mission. Their dedicated support through a variety of activities has encompassed many individuals and corporations participating on the Board of Directors, operating the Opera Boutique, providing hospitality to visiting artists, and hosting a cavalcade of social and fund raising events. The Board of Directors of Michigan Opera Theatre recognizes the impact volunteer participation and leadership has on the development of the Company's growth as we move into the Detroit Opera House.

OPERA LEAGUE OF DETROIT

USHERS

EDUCATION

Maria Lucarelli

Peggy Smith

Ana Rea

OFFICE VOLUNTEERS

OUTREACH

FRIENDS OF THE BALLET Marlene Habitz , Fran Kaczmarek

Jeanette Pawlaczyk

BOUTIQUE Terry Shea

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS Todd Walker

Wallace Peace

NEWSLETTER Barbara Naruta

SUPERNUMERARIES Jim Walsh

MEMBERSHIP BOOK Sharon Wallace Snyder

M.O. T. MOVERS Nancy Krolikowski

OPERA HOUSE AMBASSADORS Patty Fox

PRESIDENT Gloria Clark

SECRETARY Nancy Moore

TREASURER PUBLICITY

William Warner

Betty Bright

TRIBVTE£Vicki Kulis

O.G.I. REPRESENTATIVE Sharon Gioia

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HISTORIAN NOMINATING Lorraine Schultz Sharon Gioia Jacque Mularoni Terry Shea

Queenie Sarkisian

MEMBER AT LARGE Marge Slezak

The $25 annual membership in the Volunteer Association helps to support ongoing activities and programs of Michigan Opera Theatre and is fully tax-deductible as a contribution to a 50l(c)3 organization.

Please contact Roberta Starkweather, MOTVA Coordinator, at (313)874-7850 or write to 104 Lothrop, Detroit, MI 48202 for more information.

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Copyright 2010, Michigan Opera Theatre