SEASON
30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE REOPENING OF THE DETROIT OPERA HOUSE
55TH ANNIVERSARY OF DETROIT OPERA
BALLETS JAZZ MONTRÉAL / OCT 17
TOSCA / NOV 01-07
THE NUTCRACKER / NOV 28-29
A NIGHT OF INSPIRATION / DEC 19
Season2026-27 Julie Benko Oct. 10, 2026
stePhanie PoPe Nov. 7, 2026
u of M Musical Theatre Seniors
chelsea & Geoff Packard March 20, 2027
ari axelrod May 15, 2027
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Jan. 30, 2027
TABLE OF CONTENTS PHOTO COURTESY OF HELMUT ZIEWERS
04 Board of Directors 04 Board of Trustees 07 A Message from Patty Isacson Sabee 09 A Message from Roberto Kalb P3 Program 11 Thank You to Our Donors 17 Detroit Opera Orchestra 18 Administration and Staff
Naomi André Lisa Applebaum Bettye Arrington-Martin Gene Bowen Ethan Davidson Kevin Dennis Lisa DiChiera Shauna Diggs Enrico DiGirolamo Fern Espino
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AS OF AUGUST 17, 2026 CHAIR
Ethan D. Davidson VICE CHAIR
BOARD OF TRUSTEES AS OF JULY 1, 2026
Lourdes Andaya Naomi André* Lisa Applebaum* Harold Arrington Bettye Arrington-Martin* Barbra Bloch
Paul Ewing
Gene Bowen*
Mary Ann Fontana
Charles Bullock
Bharat Gandhi
Thomas Cohn
Ellen Hill Zeringue
Ethan Davidson*
Julie Hollinshead
Gretchen Davidson
John Ingle
Kevin Dennis*
Patty Isacson Sabee
Cristina DiChiera
Mary Kramer
Lisa DiChiera*
Barbara Kratchman
Shauna Diggs*
Denise Lewis Arthur Liebler
Enrico DiGirolamo* Kathleen DiGirolamo
Don Manvel
Debbie Dingell
Dexter Mason
Mary Doerr
VICE CHAIR
Ali Moiin
Denise J. Lewis
Donald Morelock
Maria Duey*
Mary Kramer
VICE CHAIR
Don Manvel PRESIDENT/CEO
Patty Isacson Sabee
Allan Nachman Ann Nicholson Sara Pozzi Carrie Pryor Paul Ragheb
SECRETARY
Irvin Reid
Gene P. Bowen
Evan Ross
TREASURER
Bharat C. Gandhi
4
Nedda Shayota Terry Shea
Kenneth Eisenberg Fern Espino* Mary Sue Ewing Paul Ewing* Margo Feinberg Robert Feinberg Carl Fontana Mary Ann Fontana* Bharat Gandhi*
Matthew Simoncini
Lynn Gandhi
Richard Sonenklar
Stephanie Germack Kerzic
Lorna Thomas
Mara Ghafari
Jesse Venegas
Yousif Ghafari
Barbara Walkowski
Toby Haberman
Gary Wasserman
Gregory Haynes
Michael Wellman
Ellen Hill Zeringue*
R. Jamison Williams
Julie Hollinshead*
John Ingle*
Waltraud Prechter
Tara Ingle
Carrie Pryor*
Patty Isacson Sabee*
Ted Pryor
Meredith Korneffel
Amy Ragheb
Mary Kramer*
Paul Ragheb*
Barbara Kratchman*
Irvin Reid*
William Kupsky
Pamela Reid
Edward Levy
Evan Ross*
Denise Lewis*
Kelsey Ross
Arthur Liebler*
Anthony Rugiero
Nancy Liebler
Sabrina Rugiero
Marian Loginsky
David Sabee
Stephan Loginsky
Nedda Shayota*
Mary Alice Lomason
Terry Shea*
Don Manvel*
Matthew Simoncini*
Jack Martin
Mona Simoncini
Dexter Mason*
Sheila Sloan
FOUNDING MEMBERS Lynn & Ruth Townsend † Avern & Joyce Cohn † John & Mardell † De Carlo David DiChiera † Karen VanderKloot DiChiera † Aaron & Bernice Gershenson † Donald & Josephine Graves † Roman & Katherine Gribbs † John & Gwendolyn Griffin † Harry & Jennie Jones † Wade & Dores McCree † Harry J. Nederlander † E. Harwood Rydholm † Neil & Phyllis † F. Snow Richard & Beatrice Strichartz †
Benjamin Meeker
Richard Sonenklar*
Ronald Michalak
Mary Anne Stella
Robert & Clara “Tuttie” VanderKloot †
Ali Moiin*
Lorna Thomas*
Sam & Barbara Williams †
Jesse Venegas*
Theodore & Virginia Yntema †
Donald Morelock* Antoinette Morelock
Yesenia Venegas
Allan Nachman*
Amy Voigt
Joy Nachman
Jeff Voigt
Ann Nicholson*
Barbara Walkowski*
Linda Orlans
Gary Wasserman*
Myrna Partrich
Michael Wellman*
Spencer Partrich
Karen Williams
Margaret Pehrson
R. Jamison Williams*
Sara Pozzi*
Jeremy Zeltzer
KEY † Deceased
* Trustee and Director
DE T R OI T OPER A | 5
Sip & Stroll at the DOH Have you ever strolled by the Detroit Opera House and wanted to know what it looks like inside? Join us for a 90-minute “Sip & Stroll” experience at the Detroit Opera House. Tours offer participants the chance to see our beautiful, historic 1922 theater, designed by renowned architect C. Howard Crane, and include the mainstage and backstage areas, plus a visit to the rooftop for spectacular views of downtown Detroit from our SkyDeck (weather permitting). Sip & Stroll tours include a glass of premium red or white wine, bottled water, and snacks. Must be 21 years old with a valid ID.
Visit DetroitOpera.org for available dates and to purchase tickets.
A message from
Patty Isacson Sabee What a distinct pleasure to welcome you to our 2026–27 season celebrating the 55th anniversary of Detroit Opera and the 30th anniversary of the Detroit Opera House! The season opens with the internationally renowned contemporary dance company Ballets Jazz Montréal and continues with a thrilling new look at a classic: Puccini’s Tosca. This staging will represent Detroit Opera’s ninth production of Tosca—the first, in 1972, featured the eminent American soprano Phyllis Curtain in the title role. Other highlights of our 55th-anniversary season include the return of beloved holiday favorite The Nutcracker now with our partners at Grand Rapids Ballet (also celebrating their 55th anniversary) and a brand-new holiday tradition inspired by Detroit’s gospel community. There is so much to enjoy here at Detroit Opera this fall season. David DiChiera founded Detroit Opera in 1971 as Michigan Opera Theatre. The company was created to bring world-class opera to Michigan and to ensure that opera was an integral part of the cultural life of Detroit and the region. With 55 years of dedication and loyalty to that purpose, and with the renovation of the glorious Detroit Opera House leading up to its re-opening in 1996, Detroit Opera now serves hundreds of thousands of people a year at the Detroit Opera House and throughout our region through opera, dance, musical theater, youth education opportunities, and more. Throughout this season, we’ll be spotlighting the many great artists and creatives who have graced our company and our stage over the years. But while you are here in the House we hope you will enjoy the new generation of talent nurtured on our stage—from the extraordinary purity and precision of the Detroit Opera Youth Chorus in Tosca to the 60 young dancers from our community who liven up The Nutcracker, our children are connecting us to a shared vision for what comes next. None of this is possible without you, our audience. If you haven’t already done so, we hope you will join DevOted, Detroit Opera’s new flexible loyalty program, designed to make it easier to plan your experiences here. Thank you for joining us.
Patty Isacson Sabee President & CEO, Detroit Opera DE T R OI T OPER A | 7
S U N / M A R 14 / 2:3 0 P M T H U / M A R 1 8 / 7:3 0 P M S AT / M A R 2 0 / 7:3 0 P M
Tevye’s hopes for his family are tested as love, tradition, and change collide. This enduring story of family, faith, and resilience features unforgettable songs including “Matchmaker,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” and “Sunrise, Sunset.”
S AT / A P R 17 / 7:3 0 P M
Satyagraha transforms Mahatma Gandhi’s formative years in South Africa into a transcendent meditation on truth, resistance, and spiritual force. From the balcony, audiences experience Philip Glass’s sweeping score and the production’s visual architecture as a panoramic dream that reaches beyond the stage.
A message from
Roberto Kalb It’s hard to believe that four years have passed since I became Detroit Opera’s music director. It has been a joy to be part of this city’s musical life, to see downtown Detroit continue to grow, and to welcome audiences into our beautiful, historic opera house. From the beginning, I felt a wonderful rapport with the Detroit Opera Orchestra and Detroit Opera Chorus, and working with these musicians and the singers who join us each season as guest artists remains one of the great joys of my role. Last season, they brought versatility and commitment to music ranging from the distinctly American voices of Kurt Weill and William Grant Still in our double bill, to the intense, unsettling world of Poul Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale. I’m especially excited about the music we’ll share with you this season: the passion and drama of Puccini’s Tosca, the extraordinary sound world of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha, and the warmth and humanity of Fiddler on the Roof. Each asks something different of us as musicians, and each offers a powerful experience for our audiences. One of our goals has also been to create more opportunities for audiences to hear our orchestra beyond opera. Last season, those performances included the sold-out “Symphonic PFunk, Celebrating the Music of Parliament Funkadelic,” a concert with singer-songwriter St. Vincent, and the beloved music of Bugs Bunny cartoons. This season brings collaborations with Grand Rapids Ballet and American Ballet Theatre, a gospel holiday celebration, and much more. I look forward to sharing these occasions with you and celebrating the remarkable musicians we have here in Detroit.
Roberto Kalb Music Director, Detroit Opera DE T R OI T OPER A | 9
RENNIE HARRIS PUREMOVEMENT AMERICAN STREET DANCE THEATER American Street Dancer SAT / JAN 23 / 7:30PM
Rennie Harris Puremovement brings American Street Dancer to the Detroit Opera House with a vibrant celebration of street dance’s profound impact on American culture and the arts. Featuring styles from across the country— including Detroit Jitting, Chicago Footwork, and Philadelphia GQ—this electrifying performance blends movement, music,
DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM SAT / FEB 20 / 7:30PM SUN / FEB 21 / 2:30PM
Dance Theatre of Harlem returns with a powerful vision for ballet in the 21st century, blending treasured classics, neoclassical works, and bold contemporary movement. Rooted in Arthur Mitchell’s belief that ballet belongs to everyone, the company brings elegance, innovation, and empowerment to the Detroit Opera House stage.
AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE SWAN LAKE with the Detroit Opera Orchestra
SAT / MAY 01 / 2:00PM / 7:30PM SUN / MAY 02 / 2:30PM
A timeless tale of love, illusion, and sacrifice, Swan Lake follows Prince Siegfried and Princess Odette as they battle the dark spell of the sorcerer von Rothbart. With Tchaikovsky’s iconic score and breathtaking classical choreography, this beloved ballet moves from moonlit romance to heartbreaking devotion.
LEARN MORE AND PURCHASE TICKETS AT DETROITOPERA.ORG
Thank you to supporters of the
Grand Benefactor Sponors
Honorary Committee
Lisa Applebaum Ethan & Gretchen Davidson
Lisa DiChiera & Cristina DiChiera, Honorary Co-Chairs
Mary Ann & Carl Fontana
Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya
Matthew & Mona Simoncini
Barbra Bloch
R. Jamison & Karen Williams
Wayne Brown & Brenda Kee Coates Creative Consultants
Celebration Sponors Hon. Jack Martin & Dr. Bettye V. Arrington Enrico & Kathleen DiGirolamo Mary Kramer & William H. Volz Arthur Mack Linda Orlans PVS Chemicals Barbara Walkowski Michael Wellman
Lisa DiChiera Cristina DiChiera & Neal Walsh Maria Duey Fern Espino and Tom Short* Bharat & Lynn Gandhi Beverly Hall Burns Ellen Hill Zeringue Julie Hollinshead Patty Isacson Sabee & David Sabee Barbara & Michael* Kratchman Denise J. Lewis
Anniversary Supporters
Arlene & John Lewis
Mr. Anthony F. Earley, Jr. & Mrs. Sarah M. Earley
Marian & Stephan Loginsky
Ralph and Erica Gerson
Don Manvel
Lorron James
Mary C. Mazure
Connie Lewis
Gregory Mazure & Susan Guszynski
Kathleen Ligocki & Frederick Rosenau
Amy McCombs
Mary Alice Lomason
Susanne McMillan
Dr. Stephen A. Munk
Ali Moiin & William Kupsky
Mike Schon
Allan & Joy Nachman
Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.
Ann & James B. Nicholson
Skillman Foundation
Waltraud E. Prechter Ted & Carrie Pryor Nedda Shayota Terry Shea & Dr. Seigo Nakao
*Deceased
Mr. Gary L. Wasserman & Mr. Charles A. Kashner DE T R OI T OPER A | P1
director’s note Tosca is a perfectly constructed political thriller, full of hair-raising suspense, with complex and dazzlingly extreme characters who are involved in betrayals, double crossings, and as twisted a cat-and-mouse game as any John le Carré novel could imagine. The opera has its own rich political consciousness, and, what is more, selfconsciousness. Being a work of art, written and performed by artists about artists, it asks: What is the role of an artist in an authoritarian regime? Can you make art during times of political repression? Should you leave or should you stay? And when does staying and working inside a political reality, the implicit acceptance of the terms, turn into collusion? These questions, unfortunately, became existential for artists all over the world in murderous dictatorships and fascist regimes of the century following Puccini’s own. Dictators who sought to establish their propaganda as the supreme truth, the only solution, understood that the artist’s ability to imagine an “elsewhere,” a utopia, and to fill their work with coded criticism of power, was a threat to their survival. Maybe they also instinctively knew that while artists’ bodies can be incarcerated, beaten, maimed, and killed, their work tends to far outlive the fame of shabby tyrants dressed in a little brief authority. In the confines of a torture prison, the dictator may crush the artist, but once you think in centuries, artists survive dictators. P2
But artists can also suffer from myopia and miss the signs that society has slipped deeper into repression. Tosca, a woman of amazing imagination, spends a whole act believing she is in an entirely different plot—one about jealousy and romantic betrayal, not about a psychopath in power who extorts sexual favors and tortures and kills at will. Indeed, this is also the noose Puccini lays around the audience’s neck in the first act. Charmed by the love story and the sublime music it inspires, we want to forget that we’ve just seen a political prisoner so emaciated and abused that Cavaradossi doesn’t even recognize him as his comrade. It seems that Puccini was supremely aware of his music’s power to transport people, for better or worse. Tosca’s awakening to her political reality, to the obscene horrors that happen “in the other room,” makes for the searing intensity of the second act. (The etymology of “obscene”: that which happens just out of view, off stage; that which cannot be shown directly on a stage.) Her long scene with Scarpia is propelled by Tosca’s extraordinary double nature: she is a creature of the theater, a passionate and exquisite prima donna—and also a deeply devout Christian woman whose religious anchorage is, like Job’s in the Bible, terrifyingly unmoored when she is placed in an impossible moral predicament. Being raped by Scarpia: the steep price for her lover’s life. Why, God, why do you repay me like this? Is there an escape from Scarpia’s basement? It is at the crossroads of this question that our production
opens up a new poetic space for the final act of the opera: one that deals in Tosca’s memories and visions and, in her moment of greatest despair, allows us to journey deeper into her theatrical and her religious imagination. Puccini’s coup—that Tosca believes the execution of her lover is just a piece of theater with fake ammunition and pretend death—creates an extraordinary self-awareness of the opera as an opera, and at the same time enacts the consequences of Tosca’s fundamental myopia, her inability to see the worthlessness of a deal with Scarpia whose word means nothing. Cavaradossi and Tosca never make it out of Rome alive, but just before the end, they imagine their escape with the luminous intensity of two young artists in love: they see themselves free, sailing across the sea, spreading their art, their colors, their music, throughout the world. The irony is: they never will—but the deeper irony is that in this moment, in performing Tosca in the future year of 2025 in present day America, and in every live performance since 1900, they are doing just that—setting against the murderous cynicism of the world’s Scarpias the Utopian belief that art can transform reality. Can it? Certainly we live in a world where, according to this year’s headlines, one can be jailed for reciting a poem, flogged for singing a song, or disappeared for wearing the wrong tattoo. Enjoy the music, Puccini seems to say—but don’t lose the plot, and ignore the signs at your own peril. —Louisa Proske, Glimmerglass Festival, 2025 DE T R OI T OPER A | P 3
STAGING Faith: A Conversation with Louisa Proske E B R IG BY RYAN
HT, PH .D
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Religious references and allusions suffuse the operas of Giacomo Puccini. The third-act funeral procession in his early-career opera Edgar (1888), for instance, includes a somber Requiem aeternam; Minnie, the heroine of La fanciulla del West (1910), reads Psalm 51 to a saloon full of rowdy American miners; and the one-act opera Suor Angelica (1918), which is set in a convent, ends with an otherworldly vision of the Madonna. Perhaps this is unsurprising, given that Puccini came from a lineage of Catholic church musicians in Lucca, Italy that stretched back five generations. By the age of ten, he was singing in the boys’ choir at the Cathedral of San Martino. A few years later, he began serving as substitute organist in churches around Lucca.
Puccini’s operas may or may not reflect his own religious beliefs. They do, however, demonstrate his awareness of the significant role that faith plays in many people’s lives. Operas like Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots, Richard Wagner’s Parsifal, and Giuseppe Verdi’s Nabucco foreground faith, whereas other operas engage with religious themes more subtly. Individual prayer, as many composers have shown, can be rendered dramatically as a character-revealing aria. In the nineteenth century, censorship and convention often shaped how religion was portrayed on stage. In fact, religious ceremonies in operas were more typically represented offstage, or in outdoor settings, because censors were keen to keep the sacred and secular in separate spheres. Tosca broke that convention by staging an interior church ritual, the Te Deum, in Act I. This decision was even more daring given the setting of the opera and the location of its premiere in 1900: Rome, the home of the Catholic Church, where politics and religion are inextricably intertwined. Detroit Opera’s three productions this season—Tosca, Fiddler on the Roof, and Satyagraha—all engage with issues of faith, identity, and politics. This past July, director
Louisa Proske and I discussed how faith and art intersect in Tosca. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. The character of Tosca is often imagined as the ultimate diva, an opera star whose life is devoted to her art. That makes it easy to overlook other key aspects of her character, such as her faith. While there are indications of Tosca’s piety in the opera, there are even more in the French play by Victorien Sardou upon which the opera is based. In the play, for example, audiences learn that Floria Tosca was raised in a convent and only became an opera singer because of a special dispensation from the Pope. How does Tosca’s faith inform her character and how does that shape your conception of the opera? It’s clear that Tosca is a deeply faithful woman. Her character is defined, really, by the two big things in her life—her faith and her being a creature of the theater, an opera singer—and by the tensions that arise between the two. In that time, being a performer was riskier. You were revered but also considered to be at the edge of morality. It’s these tensions that make Tosca so interesting. DE T R OI T OPER A | P5
On some level there’s a kind of flexibility within her faith, because you see her using it as a token in her flirtations with Cavaradossi in the first scene. At first, she refuses to kiss in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary, but then she initiates this erotic exchange. But at the same time, when it comes to the most existential moments in the opera, in the second act, in that moment she turns to God and she seems to have this deep moment of reckoning and heart-wrenching questioning. To me this puts her in the biblical lineage of Job, someone of deep faith who does everything according to the rules, who is stripped of his dignity and of absolutely everything that he loves. It’s not for nothing that Tosca’s aria “Vissi d’arte”—in which she asks, “Perché, perché, Signore; why, Lord, do you repay me like that?”—is one of the emotional climaxes of the opera. At the other end of the spectrum, we have the character of Scarpia, who engages with the rituals of Catholicism as a means to an end, to his pursuit of power. There’s a stark contrast between the private sincerity of Tosca’s “Vissi d’arte” and the public spectacle of Scarpia’s aria at the end of Act I. Critics and commentators have pointed out the way he co-opts, even seems to weaponize the choral Te Deum, a Latin hymn of praise dating back over a millennium. To me, Tosca is fundamentally a political opera. In the first act, I was very interested in how religion could be used as a kind of “opium of the masses.” People come to the church with these ailments, these intense worries, looking for some relief, for a miracle. So the Te Deum P6
becomes a kind of desperate religious procession that speaks to the misery in the population but also shows how spectacle can be used to displace malcontent or political frustration. Scarpia uses religion as a kind of mantle to disguise himself, but in the second act, we see his godlessness, his brutality and sadism. And it’s channeled especially into his hatred for two people: Cavaradossi and Tosca. Why does he hate them so much? I think it has to do with the fact that they’re artists and that they have this power to transcend their historical moment and even critique the moment. Tyrants can imprison artists, torture them, butcher them. But the art, what the artist produces, with some luck it survives the tyrant. Tosca is Puccini’s first verismo opera, which followed his initial successes with Manon Lescaut and La bohème in the 1890s. His interest in realism manifests especially in how he represents religion operatically. To reflect the opera’s setting in Rome, for instance, he tracked down the Te Deum melody as it was practiced in Roman churches, rather than using other Italian variants of the chant. He also visited the Castel Sant’Angelo, where Act III is set, to transcribe the sounds of church bells that announced Matins, a pre-dawn prayer service. As a director, how do you balance this realist impulse with the patent unreality of opera as a genre? Tosca was a remarkable opera for beginning of the 20th century because I think we see the emergence of authoritarianism and police states all over the globe in various shapes and forms. So, I wanted to unlock the
resonance of that without getting too literal. Yes, it’s verismo and there’s this research he conducted, but come on, they’re singing! The cannon shots in the Te Deum are perfectly timed. That doesn’t happen in real life. It’s all completely constructed in Puccini’s amazing theatrical mind, and he achieves some of his greatest effects in this opera. When I developed this production for Glimmerglass Opera last year, I was presented with a visual challenge. The set designer had painted the whole theater red. The prominence of that color reminded me strongly of these wonderful red paintings by Francis Bacon called Triptychs, which are his versions of the crucifixion. They feature these maimed, kind of tortured bodies. I had this idea that we would eventually arrive at a space stripped of almost everything and to just have these three bodies in three spots, three red panels, like in Bacon’s Triptychs. So, Act III became opportunity to break away from a kind of realism and go into a space of memories and imaginings. One of these memories, which appears after the traumatic conclusion of Act II, is of Tosca’s first communion. In this production, the shepherd’s song that opens Act III becomes the song of a choir boy. Puccini’s music is unchanged, but the text is new. As a musicologist, I should note that there’s an interesting historical justification for this—Puccini composed this particular melody and then went in search of words that fit it, rather than working from the libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Where did this new text come from?
I’m delighted to say that the text came from the Glimmerglass conductor, Joseph Colaneri. His family is Italian; he grew up Catholic. The words came from a song he sang in church as a choir boy. Miraculously, the words fit the music perfectly. It feels like a memory. It fits the occasion. Something that is underappreciated in Tosca is that her murder of Scarpia is a big crossing of a threshold. You’re not supposed to kill, even in an extreme situation. There’s an absolute religious injunction against it. And the fact that Tosca does it puts her own faith, her salvation, in question. Is she now out of grace? Is she now a sinner condemned in the eyes of God? It makes sense that these questions take her back to the very root of joining the Catholic faith.
Dr. Ryan Ebright is an associate professor of musicology at Bowling Green State University. His research centers on opera and contemporary music, and his work appears in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Opera News, and various scholarly publications. DE T R OI T OPER A | P7
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M A S A B A N E C E C IL I A R A N G W A N A S H A I N R E H E A R S A L F O R T O S CA. P H O T O B Y D E T R O I T O P E R A / A U S T I N T. R I C H E Y.
SY NOPSIS
synopsis ACT 1 Cesare Angelotti, recently escaped from prison, takes refuge in a church where the painter Mario Cavaradossi is working. Cavaradossi agrees to help Angelotti, but the two are interrupted by Floria Tosca, celebrated opera diva and the painter’s lover. Tortured by jealousy, Tosca picks a fight with the distracted Cavaradossi, but is soon placated by his passionate declarations of love. The two agree to meet later. When Tosca leaves, Cavaradossi and Angelotti plot the fugitive’s next steps. A cannon announces the discovery of the prisoner’s escape. Cavaradossi and Angelotti leave the church together. Chief of Police Scarpia and his agents enter to search for clues. Suspecting that Cavaradossi is in league with Angelotti, Scarpia plans to use Tosca’s jealousy to trap her lover. INTER MISSION ACT 2 Tosca and Cavaradossi are brought to Scarpia’s headquarters and questioned separately. Tosca, unable to bear the sounds of her lover’s torture, reveals Angelotti’s hiding place, and Cavaradossi is sentenced to be executed. She offers to buy his freedom, but Scarpia is not interested in money. When Tosca agrees to Scarpia’s hideous price, he explains that to save Cavaradossi, a sham execution with blank bullets must first take place, after which the two lovers will be free to leave the city. Tosca requests a safe-conduct; once Scarpia completes the document, she pays him with her “kiss.” ACT 3 Cavaradossi awaits his execution. Tosca bursts in with the safeconduct, and the lovers imagine their imminent freedom. Tosca anxiously explains the sham execution, which requires Cavaradossi to act his own death, like in a stage play. Despite her careful direction, the scene does not go as planned. Out of options, Tosca chooses the only available exit. —Courtesy of The Glimmerglass Festival DE T R OI T OPER A | P 9
55 Seasons: Still Curious. Still Daring. Still Detroit. The 26/27 season marks a milestone: celebrating 55 years of unforgettable performances, extraordinary artists, and audiences who have filled venues with curiosity, passion, and applause. For 55 seasons, Detroit Opera has been a place where stories are told boldly, music is experienced deeply, and audiences are invited into something unforgettable. What began as a singular vision has grown into a creative force—shaping culture, challenging convention, and proving that opera and dance are living, essential art forms. Detroit Opera’s 55th season celebrates a legacy of artistic excellence while recommitting to bold ideas, inventive storytelling, and performances that resonate far beyond the stage. It is a celebration of what has endured—and a reaffirmation of our commitment to bold storytelling, musical excellence, and creative risk‑taking. Join us as we mark 55 years not just by looking back—but by imagining what comes next.
Celebrating 30 Years of the Detroit Opera House: A Historic House. A Bold Future. 2026 marks a milestone: three decades of unforgettable performances, extraordinary artists, and appreciative audiences who have filled this house with curiosity, passion, and applause. It is a celebration of what has endured—and a reaffirmation of our commitment to bold storytelling, musical excellence, and creative risk‑taking.
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PROGR AM
C O M POS ER: Giacomo Puccini LIBR E T T O: Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica,
based on Victorien Sardou’s play La Tosca W O RLD PR E M IER E:
Teatro dell’Opera, Rome, Italy, January 14, 1900 PRO DU C T IO N PR E M IER E:
The Glimmerglass Festival, Cooperstown, NY, July 11, 2025
SUN / NOV 1 / @2:30PM PRE-PERFOR M A NCE TALK @1:30PM W ITH LOUISA PR OSK E & R OBER TO K ALB THU / NOV 5 / @7:30PM PRE-PERFOR M A NCE TALK @6:30PM W ITH DE TR OIT OPER A R ESIDENT A R TIST TR AV IS LEON W ILLI A M S, TENOR SAT / NOV 7 / @7:30PM PRE-PERFOR M A NCE TALK @6:30PM W ITH DETROIT OPER A RESIDENT ARTIST M ADISON MONTA MBAULT, SOPR ANO
This production includes simulated gunfire. No photography or video is allowed during the performance. Please silence all phones. This production was originally produced by The Glimmerglass Festival. Scenery and props designed by John Conklin and James Rotondo. Costumes designed by Kaye Voyce. Sound Design by Joel T. Morain originally for The Glimmerglass Festival. RU N T I M E: 2 H RS 4 5 M IN, W/ O N E 20 M IN IN T ER M I SSIO N
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production DIR EC T O R
Louisa Proske S E T D E SIG N ER
A SSI S TA N T LIG H T IN G D E SIG N ER
John Conklin
Eric Norbury
C OS T U M E D E SIG N ER
A SSI S TA N T C OS T U M E D E SIG N ER
Kaye Voyce
Annie Hoeg
LIG H T IN G D E SIG N ER
A SSI S TA N T C O N DU C T O R
Robert Wierzel
Luke Poeppel
S O U N D D E SIG N ER
C H O R US DIR EC T O R
Joel Morain
Katherine Kozak
W IG A N D M A K EU P D E SIG N ER
R EP E T I T EU R
Joanne Middleton Weaver
Nathalie Doucet
F IG H T DIR EC T O R
S TAG E M A N AG ER
Thomas Schall
Nan Luchini
A SS O CI AT E DIR EC T O R
A SSI S TA N T S TAG E M A N AG ER S
Malena Dayen
Maya Liu Hailli Ridsdale
A SS O CI AT E S E T D E SIG N ER
James Rotondo A SSI S TA N T DIR EC T O R
Kathleen Stakenas
Wig and Makeup Crew Erika Broderdorf (Leader), Cedasha Munson, Dayna Winalis, Denitra Gregory, Esther Soto, Jessica Wood, Nicole Pangas, Carol Taylor (Swing), Shea Schoenberg (Swing) P1 2
S U R T I TLE S D E SIG N ER
Kelley Rourke
C A S T / P R O D U C T IO N
cast CONDUCTOR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Roberto Kalb TOSCA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha CAVARADOSSI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nathan Granner SCARPIA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alfred Walker ANGELOTTI. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lawson Anderson SACRISTAN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dale Travis SPOLETTA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . James Kryshak SCIARRONE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dominik Belavy JAILER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aurélien Mangwa ALTAR SERVER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ava Mallett
Detroit Opera debut Detroit Opera Resident Artist Detroit Opera Youth Chorus
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DETROIT OPERA CHORUS Detroit Opera cast and chorus are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists
CHORUS DIRECTOR........................................ Katherine Kozak CHORUS
Brandy Adams Gregory Ashe Alaina Brown Abigail McKay Cherry Dominique Cooper Lily Belle Czartorski Benton DeGroot Delaney Finn Michael Fowler Kurt Frank Richard Jackson, Jr. Cameron Barrett Johnson Matthew Konopacki Hillary LaBonte
Adrian Leskiw David Magumba Leslie Ann Naeve Jessie Neilson Jovan Osborne Paolo Pacheco Kristina Riegle Abagail Solomon Kevin Starnes Terrence Stewart Allison Wamser Elena Zelinko Heidi Bowen Zook
CHILDREN’S CHORUS Detroit Opera Youth Chorus members
Lori Baldemian
Liberty Steege
Leah Dekutoski
Madeline Taylor-Schirmang
Zoey Dobrota
Ivy Thompson
Catie Juip
Abigail Verok
Ava Mallett
Katherine Werner
Yana Riegel
Rosaleigh Wyman
SUPERNUMERARIES
Moe Ayoub, Jake Falls, Carl Fontana, Sandeep Gupta, Phillip Jack, DeVonte King, George Manning, Henchmen / Prisoner / Jesus / Priests / Firing Squad / Judge Elizabeth Forsythe, Pleading Wife / Citizen / Prisoner Atiya Mallett, Young Tosca P14
Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local #5, of the American Federation of Musicians V IOLIN I
BA SS
HORN
Concertmaster
Principal
Acting Principal
Michael Ferri * Yuri Popowycz *
Acting Assistant Concertmaster
Henrik Karapetyan * Molly Hughes* Jenny Wan* Nathaniel Cornell Velda Kelly * David Ormai Ying-Li Pan Karen Donato V IOLIN II
Emelyn Bashour * Principal
Bryan Johnston * Daniel Stachyra* Andrew Wu* Anna Bittar-Weller * Mallory Tabb Beth Kirton* Courtney Lubin V IOL A
John Madison * Principal
Derek Weller * Clark Suttle * Jean Posekany Alex Zajdel
T RU M PE T
Principal
Acting Principal
Juan Riveros * Beth Henson FLU T E
Elijah Leonard * Derek Lockhart T RO M BO N E
Andrea Velasquez*
Principal
Principal
Flute 2 / Piccolo 2
Dennis Carter II Flute 3 / Piccolo 1
OBOE
Mark Doerr* Acting Principal
Xiaodi Liu Geoffrey Johnson English Horn
CL A R IN E T
Chad Burrow
C ELLO
Principal
Benjamin Maxwell* Andrea Yun* Sarina Zhang Sarah Cleveland Sabrina Lackey
Scott Thornburg
Collin Stavinoha*
Acting Principal
Principal
Samuel Sidorowicz Jacob Nowell Tamara Kosinski
HARP
Scott Stefanko * Chloe Thominet * Jacqueline Hanson * James Greer Julianne Zinn Ivana Biliskov *
Natalie Sweasy *
Ryan King J.William King* Bass Clarinet
BA SS OO N
Daniel Fendrick * Sarah Fluker Susan Nelson Contra Bassoon
* Detroit Opera Core Orchestra Members
Members of the violin sections occasionally rotate.
Jordan Dove * Dustin Nguyen* Bryan Pokorney Bass Trombone
CI M BA SS O
David Zerkel Acting Principal
T I M PA NI
Eric Stoss* Principal
PER C USSIO N
John Dorsey* Principal
David Taylor Jason Ihnat O R GA N / C ELE ST E
John Etsell
Acting Principal
BA N DA
Collin Stavinoha* Flute John Madison * Viola Beth Henson Harp
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CHORUS / ORCHESTR A
DETROIT OPERA ORCHESTRA
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R O B E R T O K A L B C O N D U C T I N G T H E D E T R O I T O P E R A O R C H E S T R A. P H O T O B Y D E T R O I T O P E R A / A U S T I N T. R I C H E Y.
Born: Lucca, Italy, December 22, 1858 Died: Brussels, Belgium, November 29, 1924
Giacomo Puccini started the operatic trend toward realism with his popular works, which are among the most frequently performed in opera history. He was born on December 22, 1858, in Lucca, Italy, where since the 1730s his family had been tightly interwoven with the musical life of the city, providing five generations of organists and composers to the Cathedral of San Martino, Lucca’s religious heart. By the age of 14 he had become the church organist and was beginning to write his first musical compositions as well. But Puccini discovered his true calling in 1876, when he and one of his brothers walked nearly 20 miles to the nearby city of Pisa to attend a production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida. The experience planted in Puccini the seeds of what would become a long and lucrative career in opera. His 1893 opera, Manon Lescaut, was the first composed with librettists Guiseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, with whom he later would collaborate on La bohème, Tosca, and Madama Butterfly. Over time, they would become the most widely performed in opera history. The four-act opera La bohème was premiered in Turin on February 1, 1896, to great public (if not critical) acclaim. In January 1900, Tosca premiered in Rome and was also enthusiastically received by the audience, despite fears that its controversial subject matter would draw the public’s ire. Later that year, Puccini attended a production of the David Belasco play Madama Butterfly in New York City and decided that it would be the basis of his next opera. On February 17, 1904, Madama Butterfly premiered at La Scala. Though initially criticized for being too long and too similar to Puccini’s other work, Butterfly was later split up into three shorter acts and became more popular in subsequent performances. On December 10, 1910, The Girl of the Golden West premiered at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, in a production featuring world-renowned tenor Enrico Caruso in the cast. In 1912, Puccini began work on a three-part opera (realistic, tragic, and comedic) titled Il Trittico (Il Tabarro, Gianni Schicchi, and Suor Angelica), premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 1918. In 1920, Puccini set out to write his masterwork, Turandot, which was left incomplete at his death, of throat cancer, on November 29, 1924.
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GIACOMO PUCCINI | C O M POSER
ROBERTO KALB | C ONDUC TOR Mexican-born conductor Roberto Kalb is Music Director of Detroit Opera, where his contract was recently extended through June 2030. In the 2026–27 season, Roberto conducts Louisa Proske’s production of Tosca at Detroit Opera, where he also leads Fiddler on the Roof. He makes his Théâtre des Champs-Élysées debut conducting a concert performance of La rondine with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine, and his Münchner Rundfunkorchester debut in a program comprising Patrick Harlin’s The Wilderness Anthology, George Walker’s Lyric for Strings, and Gabriela Lena Frank’s Conquest Requiem. He also returns to Staatsoper Stuttgart for La traviata and conducts La bohème at Seattle Opera. In the 2025–26 season, Roberto made several important house debuts, conducting La bohème at the Metropolitan Opera, El último sueño de Frida y Diego at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Carmen at Staatsoper Stuttgart in his German debut. Other highlights included his return to The Atlanta Opera for Götterdämmerung, the U.S. premiere of Tobias Picker’s Lili Elbe at Santa Fe Opera, a double bill of William Grant Still’s Highway 1, USA and Kurt Weill’s Down in the Valley at Detroit Opera, and Madame Butterfly at Lyric Opera of Kansas City. On the concert stage, he conducted the Opera Gala for the German AIDS Foundation at Deutsche Oper am Rhein. Previous operatic highlights include West Side Story for his house debut at Houston Grand Opera, Siegfried at The Atlanta Opera, and La traviata and Rinaldo at Detroit Opera. He has also conducted L’elisir d’amore at Santa Fe Opera, Rigoletto at The Atlanta Opera, Yuval Sharon’s production of The Cunning Little Vixen at Detroit Opera, and a double bill of Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci at Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Further engagements have taken him to San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Kentucky Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Maine, Tulsa Opera, and the Compañía Nacional de Ópera at Mexico City’s Palacio de Bellas Artes. In 2019, he concluded his five-season tenure as Resident Conductor and Head of Music at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis with a critically acclaimed production of Rigoletto in collaboration with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. On the concert platform, Roberto has appeared with the Britt Music & Arts Festival, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, Orquesta Sinfónica del Estado de México, Orquesta Sinfónica de Minería, Orquesta Escuela Carlos Chávez, and Orquestra Sinfônica da Universidade de São Paulo. His operatic work has also brought him into collaboration with orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony. In 2021, Roberto was awarded a Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is married to soprano Mané Galoyan. Instagram: @robertokalb P1 8
Louisa Proske has established herself as a versatile, visionary opera and artistic director on two continents. After studying English literature at the University of Cambridge and directing at the Yale School of Drama, she developed a distinctive style that combines musical precision, narrative clarity, and poetic imagery. In the 2026–27 season, Louisa made her Metropolitan Opera directing debut with Verdi’s Macbeth, starring Quinn Kelsey and Lise Davidsen. In the 2025–26 season, Louisa directed Lucia di Lammermoor at the Tyrolean Festival Erl, staged Primero Sueño for the first time in Mexico City, directed Leonard Bernstein’s On the Town at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and staged the world premiere of The Enchanted City at Essen’s Aalto Theatre. Her upcoming projects include her directorial debut at the Metropolitan Opera with Verdi’s Macbeth and her debut at the Opéra national de Paris in September 2026 with Mozart’s Don Giovanni. As co-founder and former co-artistic director of Heartbeat Opera, she shaped an ensemble described by The New York Times as “small and young, but crucial to the future of the genre” and hailed as “pioneers” by The Wall Street Journal. It was there that she worked on such acclaimed productions as Der Freischütz, Don Giovanni, Carmen, Lucia di Lammermoor, Daphnis et Chloé, and Miss Handel. Her recent works include the opening production of Tosca for the 50th anniversary of the Glimmerglass Festival, new productions of Handel’s Serse and Amadigi di Gaula (both opening the Handel Festival in Halle), Rusalka (Theater Regensburg), Rinaldo (Detroit Opera and the Glimmerglass Festival), Chausson’s Le roi Arthus (Bard SummerScape), the world premiere of Primero Sueño (MetLiveArts in New York), and the production of The Mother of Us All—a historic collaboration between the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Philharmonic, and Juilliard Vocal Arts—that was declared the number-one classical music highlight of 2020 by The New York Times. From 2021 to 2024, Louisa was Deputy Artistic Director and Resident Director of the Halle Opera, where she directed, among other works, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Gypsy, Into the Woods, and Rigoletto. In 2018 she was awarded a Princess Grace Award, and in 2024 she was nominated as Director of the Year in the Opernwelt magazine critics’ poll. In the field of acting, she has directed at venues including the Red Bull Theater in New York (Webster’s The White Devil), the Barrington Stage Company (Engagements, Gaslight, This), and the Assembly Theatre in Edinburgh, as well as a European tour of Macbeth. Her production of Jiehae Park’s peerless earned her a Berkshire Theatre Award nomination. Instagram: @louisaproske DE T R OI T OPER A | P1 9
A R T I S T P R O F IL E S
LOUISA PROSKE | DIR EC TOR
MASABANE CECILIA RANGWANASHA
TOSCA
Rising star Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha won the Song Prize at the 2021 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition and was recently awarded the 2024 Herbert von Karajan Prize at the Salzburg Easter Festival. In the 2025–26 season, Masabane made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Liù in Puccini’s Turandot, a role she also sang at the Royal Ballet & Opera. Later, she returned to the RBO to make her role debut as Contessa Almaviva in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and performed the role in concert with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal. On the concert platform, Masabane made her debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, and sang Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder with both the Philharmonia Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with the National Symphony Orchestra Ireland. In previous seasons, Masabane made notable debuts with Washington National Opera and Hamburg State Opera as Liù, a role she also performed with the RBO on tour in Japan. She made her debuts with the LSO and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, performed Verdi’s Requiem with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and returned to the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and The Hallé for Rossini’s Stabat Mater. Masabane received critical acclaim for her performances at Bern Theatre as Mathilde in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell, and in the title role in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride. She made her U.S. debut with Washington’s National Symphony Orchestra in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, a work Masabane reprised with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop. Additional performances include Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2 with Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Mahler’s Das klagende Lied at Bern Theatre, and her Edinburgh Festival debut performing Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Earlier highlights include Élisabeth de Valois in Verdi’s Don Carlos and Elettra in Mozart’s Idomeneo at Bern Theatre, Verdi’s Requiem with the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the First Night of the Proms, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder with Opéra National de Bordeaux, and an appearance at Classic FM Live at the Royal Albert Hall. Masabane is a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist. Instagram: @masabane_cecilia_rangwanasha
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Nathan has recently completed recording two albums for the prestigious Pentatone label, expanding his already rich discography. These releases represent his deep-seated respect for the classical canon, and his enthusiasm for exploring modern opera’s expressive new frontiers. Ombre di luce features a collection of resplendent Classical-epoch arias for tenor, accompanied by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille. The other recording, a new version of Gordon Getty’s Goodbye, Mr. Chips, promises to be a significant addition to Nathan’s discography following the positive critical and public reception of the 2021 film adaptation of the same opera. The 2024–25 season included La bohème with Tacoma Opera and Nathan’s return to Portland Opera as Ullman/Grady in The Shining. Reprising Korey Wise in The Central Park Five and premiering Radamès in Aida, Nathan debuted with Detroit Opera and Dayton Opera, respectively. Last season, Nathan was featured in a new film adaptation of Gordon Getty’s Plump Jack. Instagram: @nathangranner
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A R T I S T P R O F IL E S
NATHAN GRANNER | CAVA R A DOSSI American tenor Nathan Granner is celebrated for his eloquent voice and commanding stage presence, traversing from the lyrical narratives of classical opera to the bold frontiers of contemporary composition. His recent portrayals of Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca with Opera Orlando and Don José in Carmen with Opera Santa Barbara, alongside his profound depiction of Korey Wise in the Pulitzer Prize-winning opera The Central Park Five with Portland Opera, Long Beach Opera, and Detroit Opera, attest to his versatility and commitment to bringing intricate characters to life with emotional authenticity.
ALFRED WALKER | SCA R PI A Lauded by Opera News for his “inky bass-baritone and clear projection ideally suited to the role, capturing... passion with telling grief,” Alfred Walker returns to the Metropolitan Opera in the 2026–27 season for Titurel in Parsifal and Abimélech in Samson et Dalila, sings Scarpia in Tosca with Detroit Opera, and joins Opera Philadelphia for Amonasro in Aida. On the concert stage, he joins both the Baltimore Symphony and Grant Park Music Festival for Verdi’s Requiem, the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover for excerpts from Porgy and Bess, and the Naples Philharmonic for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Last season, he returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Creonte in Medea and to the Metropolitan Opera for Porgy in Porgy and Bess. He also sang Scarpia with Florentine Opera, Nourabad in Les pêcheurs de perles in a return to Palm Beach Opera, and Jochanaan in Salome with Cincinnati Opera. On the concert stage, he joined the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall for Caspar in Der Freischütz, and the Cincinnati Symphony for the Porgy and Bess Suite. Other recent credits include Don Fernando in Fidelio and Vater in Hänsel und Gretel (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Enobarbus in Adams’s Antony and Cleopatra (Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Gran Teatre del Liceu); High Priest of Dagon in Samson et Dalila (New Orleans Opera); the King in Smetena’s Dalibor, the Man in a Helmet in Julietta, and the title role in Saint-Saëns’s Henry VIII (Bard SummerScape); Orest in Elektra (Dallas Opera); and Masetto in Don Giovanni, Frère Laurant in Roméo et Juliette, and Rambaldo in La rondine (Metropolitan Opera). Alfred is an equally versatile concert artist, having sung Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel, and Verdi’s Requiem with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker, Utah Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, and Louisiana Philharmonic, and at the Sun Valley Music Festival. He has joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra for Rossini’s Stabat Mater, and as Porgy in performances conducted by Bramwell Tovey at Tanglewood and in Boston. Other appearances include the Grant Park Music Festival for Shostakovich’s The Execution of Stepan Razin and Elgar’s The Kingdom; the Handel and Haydn Society for Mozart’s Requiem; the American Symphony Orchestra in Alice Tully Hall for Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and Rückert-Lieder; and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cologne Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, and Toronto Symphony for Porgy in concert performances of Porgy and Bess.
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| A NGELOT T I Bass-baritone Lawson Anderson has rapidly emerged as one of the most compelling artists of his generation, praised for his “powerful, darkly hued voice” and “nobility of phrasing and carriage” (Cleveland Classical). A former management consultant with an MBA from Columbia Business School, Lawson made an unconventional journey to the operatic stage, quickly earning international recognition through major competition successes. From 2019 to 2025, Lawson was a principal member of the Semperoper Dresden ensemble. His roles included Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Leporello and Masetto in Don Giovanni, Donner and Wotan in Das Rheingold, the Steuermann in Tristan und Isolde, and Gunther in Götterdämmerung under the baton of Christian Thielemann. Additional appearances included Orest in Elektra, Colline in La bohème, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Angelotti in Tosca, and the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte. In concert, he performed the demanding roles of Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress and Barak in Die Frau ohne Schatten with the Staatskapelle Dresden. A regular guest at the Bayreuth Festival, Lawson has appeared as the Steuermann in Tristan und Isolde under Semyon Bychkov. Recent highlights include his Deutsche Oper Berlin debut as Klingsor in Parsifal, appearances with Opernhaus Zürich in Christian Spuck’s staged production of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem, and role debuts as Alberich in both Götterdämmerung and Das Rheingold. He also made his Munich debut with Nathalie Stutzmann and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in Mozart’s Requiem, and returned to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and Handel’s Messiah.Equally acclaimed for his portrayals of Mozart’s great bass-baritone roles, Lawson has sung the title role in Le nozze di Figaro in more than 70 performances and has appeared as Don Giovanni with the Cleveland Opera. His acclaimed interpretations of Nick Bottom in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Méphistophélès in Gounod’s Faust, Rocco in Fidelio, Wotan in concert at Carnegie Hall, and Schubert’s Winterreise in recital continue to showcase an artist of exceptional range, intelligence, and dramatic power. Instagram: @lawson.anderson
LAWSON ANDERSON
DALE TRAVIS | SACR ISTA N Dale Travis is among the most sought-after bass-baritones in America today. With a repertoire encompassing over 50 roles in a wide variety of styles—from Mozart, Donizetti, and Rossini to Strauss, Puccini, and Wagner—Dale has been a frequent guest artist at the most prestigious opera companies in the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, LA Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, Saito Kinen Festival Matsumoto, Teatro Regio in Torino, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Komische Oper Berlin, and New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv. Engagements this season include returns to Detroit Opera and San Francisco Opera for Tosca. Appearances last season included Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Omaha, and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Opera San Jose. During the 2024–25 season, Dale returned to the San Francisco Opera for the roles of Benoit/Alcindoro in their production of La bohème and joined Palm Beach Opera as Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro. Prior to that, he performed the Marquis de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites for San Francisco Opera and was presented the San Francisco Opera Medal for 34 years of exemplary artistic servitude. Recently, he returned to the Metropolitan Opera for La bohème, to San Francisco Opera as the Sacristan in Tosca, and to Seiji Ozawa Music Academy in Japan as Frank in Die Fledermaus. His work in dramatic and contemporary repertoire is widely praised, with wonderfully detailed portrayals in the works of Britten, Berg, Poulenc, Weill, Stravinsky, and Janáček. Dale can be heard on EMI Classics with the Metropolitan Opera’s Manon Lescaut DVD, the EMI Classics recording of Die Bürgschaft at the Spoleto Festival USA, Albany Records’ recording of Tod Machover’s Resurrection with the Houston Grand Opera, and London Records’ Capriccio with the San Francisco Opera. | SPOLE T TA JAMES KRYSHAK American spieltenor James Kryshak is admired for his extraordinary upper register and magnetic presence as a singing actor. This season, James makes his debut with Detroit Opera as Spoletta in Tosca. He also returns to the Komische Oper Berlin, performing roles in two productions directed by Barrie Kosky—Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd and the Astrologer in The Golden Cockerel. James will also return to the Opéra national de Lorraine as the Governor/Vanderdendur/Ragotski in a new production of Berstein’s Candide, which will tour to Opéra de Reims and the Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg. Last season, James returned to the Semperoper Dresden as Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin, and to the Staatsoper Hamburg in three contrasting roles— Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos, Dr. Caius in Falstaff, and the First Jew in Salome.
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DOMINIK BELAVY | SCI A R RONE Dominik Belavy is an active performer of opera and art song, old and new. Recent highlights include the American premiere of George Benjamin’s Lessons in Love and Violence at the Tanglewood Music Festival, where his performance as Gaveston was praised by The New York Times, multiple appearances on the Bach Vespers series at Holy Trinity Lutheran, and a debut with Beth Morrison Projects at National Sawdust. He has made debuts at Santa Fe Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, L’Opéra Royal de Versailles, London’s Holland Park, and as a young artist at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Dominik is deeply committed to contemporary music, with numerous world and North American premieres to his name, including Nathan Davis’s The Sand Reckoner at Tanglewood’s Festival of Contemporary Music. He originated the role of 89 in Augusta Read Thomas and Leslie Dunton Downer’s Sweet Potato Kicks the Sun with Santa Fe Opera. His operatic appearances include the title role in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at Opera Holland Park, L’Opéra Royal de Versailles, and the Joye! in Aiken Festival, as well as Jim Larkens in Puccini’s La fanciulla del West at Michigan Opera Theatre. He maintains an active presence in early music, having sung Bach’s B Minor Mass on tour with Ton Koopman and Juilliard415, filmed live at Grote Kerk, Den Haag for broadcast on TV-NPO Cultura, and performed at the Boston Early Music Festival and Leipzig Bach Festival. Dominik trained closely with mentor Sanford Sylvan at the Tanglewood Music Center and The Juilliard School, where he earned his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees as a Toulmin Scholar. Instagram: @dominikbelavy
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He made his debut at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden as Pong in Turandot, and reprised the role of the Police Inspector in Barrie Kosky’s production of The Nose at the Komische Oper Berlin. On the concert platform, he joined the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam for performances as Bob Boles in Peter Grimes and the High Priest in Akhnaten. He also appeared as Federico in a new staging of Stiffelio at Theater an der Wien and sang the role of Five in Philip Venables’s We Are The Lucky Ones at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl. Recent highlights include his debuts at the Staatsoper Stuttgart as Dr. Caius and at the Opéra national de Lorraine as the Lottery Agent in Der Silbersee. He also performed a virtuosic array of roles in Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland at the Concertgebouw with the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra. Instagram: @jameskryshak
| JA ILER AURÉLIEN MANGWA Baritone Aurélien Mangwa, a native of Yaoundé, Cameroon, is quickly gaining recognition for the power, richness, and presence of his voice on stage. He made his international debut in Belgium in November 2022 with Brussels Operette Theater as Monsieur de Saint-Aiglefin in Yes! He has recently appeared with Opera Parallèle as Le Père/ Ludovic in La Belle et la Bête. In June 2024, he joined the Opera Festival of Chicago as a Young Artist, performing in the Puccini Forever season-opening concert. There, he also sang the role of the Sergeant in Manon Lescaut and covered Mr. Gobineau in The Medium. His operatic repertoire includes the title role in Don Giovanni, Escamillo and Zuniga in Carmen, and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. He has also appeared as the baritone soloist in Messa di Gloria by Giacomo Puccini and is increasingly in demand as a soloist in sacred repertoire. Aurélien has participated in public master classes with Zachary Gordin. His recent honors include being a finalist and prizewinner with the Seattle Opera Guild in 2025, as well as receiving an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2024. He was also a finalist in the Africa Lyric’s Opera Competition in 2023. He has participated in summer opera training programs in Berlin and Chicago. Aurélien pursued professional opera studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music in the studio of César Ulloa during the 2024–25 academic year. He also studied with Allan Glassman in Chicago, and at the Conservatoire royal de Mons with Thierry Migliorini. Instagram: @aurelien.mangwa | ALTA R SERV ER AVA MALLETT Ava Mallett is in the 9th grade at Walled Lake Western High School and in her fourth year with the Detroit Opera Youth Chorus (DOYC). She has performed in Iolanthe, The Gondoliers (Giuseppe Palmieri), and DOYC’s The Hobbit (Lanthirlind and Thrush, US Thranduil, King of the Wood Elves), Carmina Burana (with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra), The Odyssey, and H.M.S. Pinafore. She also loves to read, travel, play viola, and run track.
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Born in Hartford, Connecticut, on June 22, 1937, Conklin was admired around the world for his career as a highly acclaimed stage designer. His style was conceptual rather than literal, and through its open approach to design possibilities had an enormous influence. He was one of the principal figures in American stage design, both for opera and for theater, and his set and costume designs have been seen in opera houses, theaters, and ballet companies across the world. In the U.S., he designed for the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Kennedy Center, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of St Louis, Glimmerglass Opera, Seattle Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, and Washington National Opera, among others. In Europe, he designed for the English National Opera, London; Royal Opera, Stockholm; Bastille Opera, Paris; and the opera companies of Munich, Amsterdam, and Bologna. He designed the costumes for Robert Wilson’s production of Die Zauberflöte at the Bastille Opera in Paris in 1991. He also designed sets on and off-Broadway as well as for regional theaters, including the American Repertory Theatre, the Goodman Theatre, the Long Wharf Theatre, Hartford Stage, Arena Stage, the Guthrie Theatre, Center Stage in Baltimore, and Actors Theatre of Louisville. Conklin’s credits at the Metropolitan Opera included costumes for Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina, sets and costumes for John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, and sets for Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande. For Glimmerglass Opera, where he served as associate artistic director for eighteen years, he designed sets for Puccini’s La fanciulla del West, Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio, and Tosca, and costumes for Richard Rodney Bennett’s The Mines of Sulphur, among others. For San Francisco Opera, he designed sets for Wagner’s Ring cycle. At Seattle Opera, he designed sets for Prokofiev’s War and Peace, Puccini’s La bohème, and Verdi’s La traviata, and both sets and costumes for Verdi’s Il trovatore, Bellini’s Norma, and Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. Conklin designed extensively on Broadway, receiving a Tony award nomination (1974) for set design of The Au Pair Man. He received the Robert L.B. Tobin Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatrical Design from the Theatre Development Fund (2008). He earned his B.A. and his M.F.A from Yale University. Conklin served as artistic advisor for Boston Lyric Opera, where his work included Lucie de Lammermoor (2005) and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2011). Conklin served on the faculty of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where he taught courses in design for stage and film.
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JOHN CONKLIN (1937-2025)
SE T DE SIGNER
KAYE VOYCE | C OST U M E DE SIGNER Kaye Voyce is a New York City-based designer for theater, opera, dance, and film. Opera work includes the world premiere of The Listeners (Den Norske Opera, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz), The Merry Widow (Wuppertal Oper), the world premiere of Philip Glass’s chamber opera Mud/Drowning, Ellen West (world premiere, Saratoga Opera and Prototype Festival), La fanciulla del West (National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing), Il Turco in Italia (Festival d’Aix en Provence, Opera Dijon, Teatro Regio Torino, Teatr Wielki), Le Roi Arthus, and The Wreckers (Bard Summerscape), many productions for Spoleto Festival USA (L'Ile du Merlin, Luisa Miller, Kepler, Louise, and Amistad), the Glimmerglass Festival (Bluebeard, Philip Glass’s Orphée, The Consul, The Magic Flute), New York City Opera (A Quiet Place) and Opera Theatre of St. Louis (Dialogues of the Carmelites and La traviata). In theater, she has worked on Broadway (including Sea Wall/A Life with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge, True West with Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano, and The Real Thing with Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal). She has worked Off-Broadway (including on Sarah Silverman’s musical The Bedwetter), for theaters across America, and in European venues including the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Festival d’Automne à Paris. Her work with theater artist Richard Maxwell has also been seen at the Greene Naftali Gallery, the Whitney Biennial, the Museum of Contemporary Art Buenos Aires, the Walker Art Center, and the Warhol Museum. Kaye also designed the last two dances choreographed by Trisha Brown: Toss and Rogues. ROBERT WIERZEL | LIGH T ING DE SIGNER Robert Wierzel has worked with artists from diverse disciplines and backgrounds in theater, dance, opera, contemporary music, and museums with companies throughout the country and abroad. Robert has worked on productions with the opera companies of Paris-Garnier (Les Indes Galantes); Tokyo (Opera Chushingura); Toronto; Wexford Ireland, Folk Opera, Sweden; Dutch National; New York City Opera; Glimmerglass Festival (30 seasons); Atlanta; Seattle; Boston Lyric; Minnesota; Philadelphia, San Francisco; Houston; Washington National; Chicago Lyric; Opera Theatre of Chicago; Montreal; Vancouver; Florida Grand; Portland; Colorado; Pittsburgh; Wolf Trap; San Diego; Virginia; Lyric Opera/Kansas City, and Gotham Chamber Opera, among others. Since 1985, Robert has collaborated with choreographer & director Bill T. Jones and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company (several Bessie Awards, along with productions at the Lyon Opera Ballet and Berlin Opera Ballet); and Walking The Line (w/Bill T. Jones) at The Louvre Museum, Paris. His theater work has been seen on and off Broadway, including the play Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar & Grill, P 28
JOANNE MIDDLETON WEAVER W IG A ND M A K EUP DE SIGNER
Born in England, Joanne Middleton Weaver came to the United States in the late 1980s. She began apprenticing with Elsen Associates at what was then Washington Opera, now Washington National Opera. Weaver has since designed at many opera companies throughout the U.S. during her 30-year career: Glimmerglass Opera, Sarasota Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera, to name a few. She has designed for Detroit Opera since 1995. Her credits there include La bohème, The Passenger, Frida, Margaret Garner, Cyrano, Faust, and make-up design for X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.
THOMAS SCHALL | FIGH T DIR EC TOR
Tom Schall is a New York City based fight director who just recently staged fights for his 110th Broadway show. Over the years he has collaborated with artists from Al Pacino and Meryl Streep to Daniel Craig, Denzel Washington, and Hugh Jackman. Tom’s opera work includes Le Nozze di Figaro, Il Trovatore, Samson et Dalila and Tosca (Met Opera), Le Roi Arthus (Bard Summerscape), and Tosca (Glimmerglass Opera). He is a multi-nominee and recipient of New York’s Drama Desk award for outstanding fight choreography. He is delighted to be working again with Louisa Proske here at Detroit Opera.
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P R O D U C T IO N P R O F IL E S
starring Audra McDonald; the musical Fela! (Tony Award nomination) and at the Royal National Theatre of London, UK (directed by Bill T. Jones). Robert has collaborated with the composer Philip Glass (Hydrogen Jukebox, Les Enfants Térribles, which won him an American Theatre Wing Lighting Design Award). Robert has designed the lighting for selected art exhibitions including the Red Grooms installation at Grand Central Station. Robert is currently a creative partner at Spark Design Collaborative and a faculty member of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Department of Design for Stage & Film in New York City.
MALENA DAYEN | A SSOCI AT E DIR EC TOR Malena Dayen is an Argentinian opera stage director and a Princeton Hodder Fellow. Recent engagements include serving on the directing staff at the Metropolitan Opera for Deborah Colker’s productions of Ainadamar and El último sueño de Frida y Diego, and for Andrea Chénier. Last season, Malena directed the world premiere of Derrick Wang’s Fearless for OperaDelaware, a new opera based on the life of Hazel Ying Lee, the trailblazing World War II aviator and member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots. She also reprised El Oratorio Panhíspanico, a multimedia production that blends contemporary classical music with the rich rhythms of Latin America, composed by Alejandro Zuleta for the MACC ensemble. Previous engagements include a concert production of Aida, featuring interactive projections, and the first U.S. production of Menotti’s La Médium in Spanish for Fort Worth Opera; Dialogues des Carmélites at Montclair State University; and Roméo et Juliette, Carmen, and Frida at Opera Naples. She also led an off-off-Broadway lab at Target Margin Theater, co-creating a new opera based on Valerie Solanas’s Up Your Ass. Malena is the co-creator and director of luzAzul, an opera for babies and their caregivers that premiered in New York City and has since been presented at La MaMa Kids and toured internationally to the ŻiguŻajg Festival in Malta and the Atta Festival in Türkiye. Instagram: @malenadayen JAMES ROTONDO
A SSOCI AT E SE T DE SIGNER James Rotondo is a set designer for opera and theater based in Boston, Massachusetts. His designs have been seen from coast to coast across North America, from Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Victoria, BC, Canada. James and his team of collaborators received the 2022 Tobin DirectorDesigner Prize and presented their design at the 2023 Opera America Conference. In 2021, he production designed the opera film The Knock, which was nominated for a Digital Excellence Award. James recently served as the associate designer to John Conklin for the 2025 Glimmerglass Festival season including Sunday in the Park with George, which won the Musical Theatre Award at the 2025 International Opera Awards. Recent designs include Rigoletto (Vancouver Opera), The Little Prince (Pacific Opera Victoria), and Pagliacci (Glimmerglass Festival). Upcoming productions include Orpheus and Eurydice (Pacific Opera Victoria), Cosí (Glimmerglass Festival), and The Ballad of Baby Doe (Opera North). I nstagram: @jamesrotondo_design
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KATHERINE KOZAK | CHORUS DIR EC TOR Chorus director, pianist, and coach Katherine Kozak has enjoyed affiliations with numerous companies throughout the U.S. Her most long-standing relationship is with the Glimmerglass Festival, where she is the current Chorus Director—2026 marked her 15th summer season with the Upstate New York company. Katherine’s work with the chorus can be heard on Château de Versailles Spectacles’ 2021 CD/ DVD release of The Ghosts of Versailles, for which she also performed on celesta and piano. Katherine arrived at Detroit Opera in the fall of 2025 directly from Arizona Opera, where, since 2022, she served as Head of Music, Chorus Director, and Principal Coach of the Marion Roose Pullin Opera Studio. A deft and vivacious chorus director, Katherine notably garnered much acclaim with the Florida Grand Opera Chorus, with whom, up until the pandemic, she prepared approximately 20 productions. Under her direction, the chorus was hailed as “astutely balanced and exuberant,” “[singing] with power and majesty,” “outstanding,” and “vocally flawless.” Katherine has a repertoire of over 90 complete operatic and musical-theater scores and has operated in nearly every music staff role. She has functioned as head coach, rehearsal pianist, recitalist, supertitle caller, recitative accompanist, assistant conductor, and administrator, and this wide range of abilities has brought her to the Dallas Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Colorado, and Central City Opera, among others. Notable conductors she has assisted include Richard Bonynge, Joseph Colaneri, John DeMain, and George Manahan. In addition to her involvement in highly regarded young artist programs, she has helped develop singers at the university level. Appointments have included Associate Coach at The Juilliard School and Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Miami. Katherine holds an MM in vocal coaching and accompanying from the University of Illinois, where she was a student of John Wustman. She has enjoyed collaborating with singers since the young age of 11, when she began accompanying and touring with The Singing Angels, based in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
ALFR ED WALK ER IN R EHE A R S AL FOR TOSCA. PHOTO BY DE T R OI T OPER A / AUS T IN T. R IC HE Y.
Detroit Opera Needs You! Opera and dance have the power to inspire, connect, and transform. At Detroit Opera, philanthropy makes it possible to bring extraordinary performances to our stages, champion exceptional artists, and create meaningful opportunities for people across our region to experience the arts. As a Friend of Detroit Opera, you become part of the community that makes this work possible. Your support helps sustain our artistic and educational programs while inviting you to experience Detroit Opera in new and meaningful ways. Through special events, behind-the-scenes experiences, and opportunities to connect with artists and fellow supporters, you can deepen your relationship with the art and the people who bring it to life. The DiChiera Society offers an even deeper level of engagement for those who make an annual gift of $3,000 or more. Members enjoy exclusive invitations and experiences, along with access to the Frankel Lounge at all opera and dance performances. Join us in celebrating the art we love, strengthening the connections it creates, and ensuring that opera and dance continue to thrive in Detroit for generations to come. V I SI T US AT D E T ROI T O P E R A.O RG/D O N AT E O R GI V E US A C ALL AT 31 3.2 37.3 4 2 6
US E T H E Q R C O D E T O D O N AT E N O W!
Thank you to our donors Contributors to Detroit Opera
Detroit Opera gratefully acknowledges the generous corporate, foundation, government, and individual donors whose gifts were received between July 1, 2025 and September 15, 2026. Their generosity sustains Detroit Opera as a valued cultural resource.
Foundations, Corporate & Government Support
MGM Grand Detroit
$1,000,000+
OPERA America
William Davidson Foundation The Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
$500,000-$999,999 The Ruth F. Rattner and Ann F. and Norman D. Katz Charitable Foundation
$250,000-$499,999 Gilbert Family Foundation
$100,000–$249,999
Oliver Dewey Marcks Foundation The State of Michigan The Mary Thompson Foundation Burton A. Zipser and Sandra D. Zipser Foundation
$5,000–$9,999 C&N Foundation Aaron Copland Fund for Music James and Lynelle Holden Fund Strum Allesee Family Foundation
$1,000–$4,999 The Andromeda Foundation
Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation
Binson Medical Equipment And Supplies
Ford Philanthropy
John A. and Marlene L. Boll Foundation
General Motors
Charities Aid Foundation of America
Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation
Cohn Family Programming Endowment Fund
$50,000–$99,999
Culture Source
Milner Hotels Foundation National Endowment for the Arts
$25,000–$49,999
The Gilmour-Jirgens Fund Josephine Kleiner Foundation Elmira L. Rhein Family Foundation Schwartz Investment Counsel Inc.
Coates Creative Consultants
Seligman Family Foundation
Hudson-Webber Foundation
Somerset Collection Charitable Foundation
Kresge Foundation
University of Michigan
Kurt Weill Foundation for Music
Warsh-Mott Funds
Matilda R. Wilson Fund
$10,000–$24,999
$500–$999 California Community Foundation
DTE Energy Foundation
Marjorie and Maxwell Jospey Foundation
Geoinge Foundation
Tuesday Musicale of Detroit DE T R OI T OPER A | 11
Individual Support
The National Circle
The National Circle is comprised of Detroit Opera’s leading supporters in this pivotal moment for our company. Through their annual support of $25,000 or more, these donors play an essential role in advancing the transformative power of opera and dance, ensuring that Detroit Opera remains a dynamic cultural force in Detroit and beyond. Their unwavering belief in the arts reflects a shared commitment to creativity, community, and meaningful change.
$100,000+
Matthew and Mona Simoncini
Mary Kramer
Ethan and Gretchen Davidson
Jesse and Yesenia Venegas
John J. Janowicz*
Ms. Barbara A. Walkowski
The Hon. Jack and Dr. Bettye Arrington Martin
Ida King*
R. Jamison and Karen Williams
Amy McCombs
Richard Sonenklar and Gregory Haynes
$25,000–$49,999
$50,000–$99,999
Richard* and Joanne Brodie
Richard and Mona Alonzo Family Fund
Enrico and Kathleen DiGirolamo
Denise J. Lewis
Carl and Mary Ann Fontana
Lois Lindgren
Patty Isacson Sabee and David Sabee
Susanne McMillan Ann and James B. Nicholson Dr. Irvin D. Reid and Dr. Pamela Trotman Reid Prof. Michael Wellman
The DiChiera Society
DiChiera Society members are among Detroit Opera’s most committed supporters, investing in the company’s future and its role as a vibrant cultural resource for our city. Their generosity helps ensure that opera and dance continue to inspire, engage, and connect audiences for generations to come.
$10,000–$24,999
Sandra & Doug Bitonti Stewart
Waltraud Prechter
Gene P. Bowen
Wayne Brown & Brenda Kee
Janice Ross
Mr. Thomas Cohn
Beverly Hall Burns
Anthony & Sabrina Rugiero
Community Living Concepts
Albert & Janette Cassar
Leon & Debbe Saperstein
Kevin Dennis & Jeremy Zeltzer
Denton Creighton & Kristine Vikmanis
Mrs. Sandy Schreier
Dr. Raina Ernstoff
Sue Cutler & Jeff Fessler
Mrs. Rosalind B. Sell
Mr. Michael Fisher
Ms. Violet Dalla Vecchia
Ms. Nedda Shayota
Bharat & Lynn Gandhi
Reverend Bill Danaher
Terry Shea & Seigo Nakao
Barbara & Michael* Kratchman
Walter & Lillian Dean
Ann Steglich
Nancy & Bud Liebler
Maria & David Duey
Lorna Thomas, MD
Ms. Mary C. Mazure
Nell Duke & David Ammer
Barbara Van Dusen
Ali Moiin & William Kupsky
Fern Espino & Tom Short*
Ned & Joan Winkelman
Donald & Antoinette Morelock
Andrew Glancy
Ellen Hill Zeringue
William & Wendy Powers
James & Nancy Grosfeld
Dr. & Mrs. Samir M. Ragheb
Toby Haberman
$3,000–$4,999
Evan & Kelsey Ross
Mr. & Mrs. Robert & Christine Hage
Thomas & Gretchen Anderson
Norman Silk & Dale R. Morgan
Barbara Heller
Paul & Lee Blizman
Simmons & Clark Jewelers, Michael & Stacey Simmons
Julie & Peter Hollinshead
Bob & Rosemary Brasie
William Hulsker & Aris Urbanes
Dr. & Mrs. Ronald T. Burkman
Gary L. Wasserman & Charles A. Kashner
John & Arlene Lewis
Stacie Chaiken & Martin Berg
Stephan & Marian Loginsky
Carolyn Demps & Guy Simons
Don Manvel
Marla Donovan
Mrs. Nina Dodge Abrams
Allan & Joy Nachman Philanthropic Fund
Marjory Winkelman Epstein
Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya
Mr. George & Mrs. Jo Elyn Nyman
James & Margo Farber
Dr. Harold M. Arrington
Joshua & Rachel Opperer
Joseph Fontana & Nada Jurisich-Fontana
Gregory & Mary Barkley
Sara A. Pozzi, Ph.D.
Betty Lou Fox
$5,000–$9,999
12
Ms. Laurie R. Frankel
Benjamin Meeker & Meredith Korneffel, MD
Lois & Mark Shaevsky
Dr. Glendon M. Gardner & Leslie Landau
Brian & Lisa Meer
Susan A Smith
Mr. Lawrence Glowczewski
Ms. Evelyn Micheletti
Andrew J Sturgess
Ms. Carole Hardy
Eugene & Lois Miller
Manuel Tancer & Claire Stroker
Christina Hopkins
Van Momon & Pamela L. Berry
Buzz Thomas & Daniel VanderLey
Jody & Tara Ingle
Brian Murphy & Toni Sanchez-Murphy
Stanley Waldon
Roberto Kalb & Mane Galoyan
Geoffrey Nathan
Dr. John Weber & Dr. Dana Zakalik
Mary B. Letts
Margaret Pehrson
Bret & Susanna Williams
Kathleen Ligocki & Frederick Rosenau
Brock & Katherine L. Plumb
Ms. Mary McGough
Rip & Gail Rapson
Friends of Detroit Opera
Every gift helps ensure that opera and dance thrive in our community, and that we share the indescribable experience we feel when the curtain rises. Friends of Detroit Opera are among our most loyal and crucial supports and receive exclusive benefits with annual gifts of $500 or more.
$1,000–$2,999 Constance Jane Allen Ms. Geraldine Atkinson
James Sidney Keller
Katina Zaninovich
Jane Iacobelli
Marc Keshishian & Susanna Szelestey
David Zoll
James J Lutfy Kimberly Johnson
Mr. & Mrs. Gerd H Keuffel
$750–$999
Andy Levin & Mary Freeman
David A. Agius
Geraldine & Jacqueline Keller
Robin & Rod Little
D.L. Anthony, Ph.D.
Ms. Lee Khachaturian
Mrs. Joan Marie MacKay
Frank & Jenny Brzenk
Justin & Joanne Klimko
Ms. Vera C. Magee
Paula Lisa Cole
William & Jean Kroger
Mr. Loreto A. Manzo
Murray & Alice Ehrinpreis
Albert Kurt
Mr. Paul Bringer
Federico Mariona & Clara Sumeghy-Mariona
Dr. Andrew James Stocking
Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth Levin
Marsha Bruhn
Ms. Janet Groening Marsh Patrick & Patricia McKeever
$500–$749
Mrs. Marsha Lynn
Ilse Calcagno Howard & Judith Christie
Mr. Ronald Michalak
Tonino & Sarah Corsetti
Dr. Anne Missavage & Mr. Robert Borcherding
Alexandria Ballard Martin & Marcia Baum Mr. Robert Hunt Berry Mr. Stanislaw Bialoglowski Constance Bodurow Mrs. Marlene L. Boll
Patricia Cosgrove
Antonia Abbey & James Lee Ms. Allison Bach & Mr. Michael Cool Ms. Mary Anne Barczak
Cristina DiChiera & Neal Walsh
Ms. Maryanne Mott
Dr. Beverly A Baroni
Stephen Munk
Lisa DiChiera
Ms. Kanta Bhambhani
Harold Munson & Libby Berger
Margaret c Buttenheim
Mr. Rex L. Dotson & Mr. Max Lepler*
Carol Johnston
Ms. Marjorie Martin Timothy McDonnell Ms. Lynne M. Metty Patricia Mooradian Maury Okun & Tina Topalian Elaine & Bertram Pitt Bernard & Eleanor A. Robertson
Mark & Kyle Peterson
Mr. David Egner
Stephen Calkins & Joan Wadsworth
Daniel M. Sandberg
Katrina Fasulo
Mr. Michael Clyne
Adam D. Rubin, M.D, Lakeshore Professional Voice Center
Burke & Carol Fossee
Professor Alvin* & Mrs. Harriet Saperstein
John & Doreen Cole
Mr. Richard Lee Ruby
Mr. William Fulton
Kingsley & Lurline Sears
David Kupsky
Mr. Rodney Michael Rusk
Carol Gagliardi & David Flesher
Timothy & Kelli Shaheen
Donald Dietz
Vincent & Kathy Scanio
Thomas M. Gervasi
Ms. Brenda Shufelt
Mr. John R. DiLodovico
Anthony Smith & Leland Calloway
Joseph & Lois Gilmore
Mr. Carl R. Smith
Mr. M. Brennan Farrell
Frank & Susan Sonye
Daniel H Ferrier
Dante & Olga Stella
Allan Gilmour & Eric Jirgens
Mrs. Louise Taylor
Gil Glassberg & Sandra Seligman
Ms. Theresa Spear & Mr. Jeff Douma
Barbara Fisher & William Gould Daniel & Susan Fox
Pete Tully
Mr. Nathaniel Good
Gabriel & Martha Stahl
John Gierak & Dona Tracey
Maria Urquidi
Henry Grix & Howard Israel
Ms. Mary Anne Stella
Ms. Anita DeMarco Goor
Salvatore Ventura
Sylvia Gucken
Dr. Jewlee Weah Tweh
Doc Grant
Meredith Weston-Band & Jeffery Band
Ms. Joyce M. Hennessee
Dennis & Jennifer Varian
Fay & Allen Herman
Joseph & Rosalie Vicari
Joseph C Jackson
Ms. Carol Walters
Richard & Involut Jessup
Eileen Weiser & Caldarazzo
Ann Katz
Dr. & Mrs. Herman Gray, MD Philip & Martha Gray Ms. Rosemary Gugino Beth Hoger & Lisa Swem Ms. George-Ann Howell
KEY * Deceased
DE T R OI T OPER A | 1 3
Gifts in Tribute
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to those who have made generous gifts to Detroit Opera in honor or in memory of loved ones. The names of those being honored or remembered are listed in bold below.
IN MEMORY OF Betty Brooks Ethan & Gretchen Davidson Cathy Mousseau R. Jamison & Karen Williams Nicoangelo Corsetti Tonino & Sarah Corsetti Armando Delicato Thomas J. Ronzi Enrico DiGirolamo, Sr. Enrico & Kathleen DiGirolamo Shirley DiGirolamo Enrico & Kathleen DiGirolamo Linda Dresner Robert Cohen Lori Cohn Ethan & Gretchen Davidson Kimberly Dudek Ann Fishman Linda Gold Jennifer Hermelin Julie & Peter Hollinshead Darienne Hudson Patty Isacson Sabee & David Sabee Barbara Kratchman Mark & Debbie Landau Rena & Mark Lewis Alan & Elizabeth May Sean Metrose Sally Orley Rachel Salle Grace Trueman Sharon Zimmerman Grant Eldridge Tracy Barr Drs. Julie B. Finn & Bradley Rowens Herman Frankel Couzens, Lanksy, Fealk, Ellis, Roeder & Lazar P.C. Ethan & Gretchen Davidson Laurie R. Frankel Sherri Ketai Barbara Kratchman Richard & Kathleen Nauer Forrest Wall Seymour Ziegelman
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Ruth Roby Glancy The Glancy Foundation Sophia Kimmons Alexandria Ballard Michael Kratchman Lily Broner Ethan & Gretchen Davidson Enrico & Kathleen DiGirolamo Katrina Fasulo David & Rose Handleman Erica Ward Gerson Gary L. Wasserman & Charles A. Kashner R. Jamison & Karen Williams Mark Lewis Lisa & Tom Pullman Ghebre Mehreteab Ethan & Gretchen Davidson
IN HONOR OF Apartment House 1776 Brenda Shufelt Ethan D. Davidson Reverend Bill Danaher Kevin Dennis & Jeremy Zeltzer Eliot & Elizabeth Bank Enrico DiGirolamo Ethan & Gretchen Davidson John Etsell & Anna Hart Katina Zaninovich Patty Isacson Sabee William Austin Juliano Bitonti Stewart Angela Nelson-Heesch
David Carroll Mulligan Ann Sinicrope
Patty Isacson Sabee & Yuval Sharon Stacie Chaiken & Martin Berg
Ruth Rattner Richard & Eleanore Gabrys
Barbara Kratchman Morris & Rhonda Brown
Karol Ross Susan Stepek
Ali Moiin & William Kupsky William & Elizabeth S. Kupsky
Walter & Blanche Sahijdak Patricia Behrendt Vickie Schmelzer
Yuval Sharon Carolyn Demps & Guy Simons Carl & Mary Ann Fontana Joyce M. Hennessee
William Sandy Julie & Peter Hollinshead Thomas Short Dianne Blocker Janet & Stephen Cheaney Ethan & Gretchen Davidson Mary Kramer Mexicantown Community Development Gordon Okada James Paulk Charlotte Sebastian Linda Short & Roberta Kaiser Curtis Slotkin Kevin Dennis & Jeremy Zeltzer
Every effort has been made to accurately reflect donor, honoree, and memorial names for gifts received between July 1, 2025 and September 15, 2026. Should you find an error or omission please contact Angela Nelson-Heesch at anelsonheesch@detroitopera.org or 313.237.3438.
KEY * Deceased
Avanti Society Members Setting the Stage for Tomorrow
Members of the Avanti Society have chosen to leave a lasting legacy through a planned gift to Detroit Opera. Their thoughtful generosity and commitment to the future help sustain artistic excellence, expand community impact, and ensure that the transformative power of opera and dance continues to inspire audiences for generations to come. We are honored to recognize their extraordinary support. Douglas* & Sarah Allison
Dr. Cindy Hung & Jeremy Crites
Alice* & Paul Tomboulian
Aaron E. Jabbour
Richard & Mona* Alonzo
Eleanor & Alan Israel
Jonathan* & Salome E. Walton
John J. Janowicz
Dr. Lourdes V. Andaya
Ms. Kristin R. Jaramillo
Susan Weidinger
Mr. John Jesser
Mr. & Mrs. Agustin & Nancy* Arbulu
Don Jensen & Leo Dovelle
Mr. Andrew Wise
H. Barbara Johnston
John Jickling
Ms. Richelle Wojtczak
Maxwell & Marjorie Jospey
Mr. & Mrs. Chester* & Emilia Arnold
Mr. Patrick J.* & Mrs. Stephanie Germack Kerzic
Larry* & Mary Lou Zangerle
Ida King
Dr. Leora Bar-Levav
Josephine Kessler
Lee & Floy Barthel
Edward & Barbara Klarman
Brett & Veronica Batterson
Robert & Wally Klein
Mr. Robert Hunt Berry
Erwin & Suzanne Klopfer
Richard & Gwen Bowlby
Myron & Joyce LaBan
Mrs. Doreen Bull
Linda Dresner & Ed Levy, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. Roy E.* & Ilse Calcagno Thomas & Dorothy* Carson Dr. & Mrs. Victor J.* & Katherine Cervenak Father Paul F. Chateau Mary Christner Mr. Gary L. Ciampa Prof. Kenneth Collinson Douglas & Minka Cornelsen Robert Cornette* & Alan Murdock Mr. Thomas J. Delaney Walter & Adel Dissett Ms. Mary J. Doerr Mr. Rex L. Dotson & Mr. Max Lepler*
PLANNED GIFTS REALIZED
Mr. & Mrs. Arthur Krolikowski Mr. Phillip Leon
Mr. Hannan Lis Florence LoPatin
Robert G. Abgarian Serena Ailes Stevens
Helen M. Miller
Stephen Lord Ms. Denise Lutz
Mr. & Mrs. Robert Allesee
Laura & Mitchell Malicki
Mr. & Mrs. J. Addison Bartush
Bruce Miller
Mr. & Mrs. Mandell Berman
Orlando & Dorothy Miller
Margaret & Douglas Borden
Ms. Monica Moffat & Pat McGuire
Charles M. Broh
Stephen & Barbara* Munk
Charlotte Bush Failing
Harold Munson & Libby Berger
Mary C. Caggegi
Mr. Jonathan F. Orser
Gladys L. Caldroney
Ms. Julie A. Owens
Allen B. Christman
Mr. Dale J. Pangonis
Miss Halla F. Claffey
Charles & Mary Parkhill
Ms. Virginia M. Clementi
Mr. Richard M. Raisin
Hon. Avern Cohn & Ms. Lois Pincus
Ms. Deborah Remer
Marianne T. Endicott
Dr. Joshua Rest
David & Jennifer Fischer
James & Marguerite S. Rigby
Herbert & Betty Fisher
Mr. Bryan L. Rives
Barbara Frankel* & Ron Michalak
Ms. Patricia H. Rodzik David & Beverly Rorabacher
Barbara Lucking Freedman Dores & Wade McCree Ms. Jane C. McKee Lucie B. Meininger Ella M. Montroy Mr. Ronald K. Morrison Ruth Mott Elizabeth M. Pecsenye Clarice Odgers Percox Thomas G. Porter
Milena T. Brown
Mrs. Ruth F. Rattner Mitchell Romanowski Ms. Joanne B. Rooney Concetta Ross Giles & Beverly Ross Merle H. Scheibner Drs. Heinz & Alice Platt Schwarz Laura Sias
Robert C. & RoseAnn B. Comstock Mrs. Mary Rita Cuddohy Marjorie E. DeVlieg
Marge Slezak Mrs. Phyllis Funk Snow Edward L. Stahl Dr. Mildred Ponder Stennis Mary Ellen Tappan
Nancy Dewar
Margaret D. Thurber
Dulcie Rosenfeld
James P. Diamond
Albert & Barbara Glover
Professor Alvin* & Mrs. Harriet Saperstein
Mrs. Karen V. DiChiera Charles & Mary Jane Duncan
Robert Green
Ms. Susan Schooner
Mr. Wayne C. Everly
Ernest Gutierrez
Mark & Sally Schwartz
Dr. Evelyn J. Fisher
Stephen & Aline Hagopian
Arlene Shaler
Mrs. Anne E. Ford
Mr. Lawrence W. Hall
Ms. Ellen Sharp
Ms. Pamela R. Francis
Jerome & Margot Halperin
Ms. Edna J Pak Shin
Mrs. Rema Frankel
Heather Hamilton
Harold & June Siebert
Edward P. Frohlich
Charlene Handleman
Mrs. Loretta Skewes
Priscilla A.B. Goodell
Preston* & Mary Happel
Anne Sullivan Smith
Freda K. Goodman
Mr. Kenneth E. Hart
Richard* & Roberta Starkweather
Priscilla R. Greenberg, Ph.D.
Eugene & Donna Hartwig
Ms. Mary Anne Stella
Maliha Hamady
Gerhardt & Rebecca P. Hein
Stanford C. Stoddard
Mary Adelaide Hester
Fay & Allen Herman
Ronald Switzer & Jim McClure
Ms. Patricia Hobar
Derek & Karen* Hodgson
Lillie Tabor
Gordon V. Hoialmen
Andrew & Carol Howell
Peter & Ellen Thurber
Carl. J. Huss
Byron & Marilyn Georgeson
Misses Phyllis & Selma Korn
We express profound thanks to these Avanti Society members whose planned gifts to Detroit Opera have been realized.
Mrs. Helen Ophelia Dove-Jones
Herman* & Sharon Frankel
Josephine Kleiner
Mr. & Mrs. George & Inge Vincent Herman W. Weinreich J. Ernest Wilde Mrs. Ruth Wilkins Helen B. Wittenberg Estate Mr. & Mrs. Walter & Elizabeth Work Mr. Joseph J. Zafarana George & Pearl Zeltzer
KEY * Deceased
DE T R OI T OPER A | 1 5
Detroit Opera Honor Roll Detroit Opera gratefully acknowledges the individuals whose lifetime generosity of $1 million or more has played a transformative role in our history. Their extraordinary philanthropic support helped establish and sustain Michigan Opera Theatre, realize the vision of the Detroit Opera House, and position Detroit Opera for a bold new era of artistic innovation and community impact. The legacy of their generosity continues to be felt throughout our organization and across the region, enriching lives through exceptional opera and dance performances, education initiatives, and meaningful community engagement.
$10,000,000+
$1,000,000+
William Davidson Foundation
Richard and Mona Alonzo Family Fund
Ford Philanthropy
AT&T
The State of Michigan
Bank of America
$5,000,000+
Mandell L. and Madeleine H. Berman Foundation
Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
Mr. & Mrs. John A. and Marlene L. Boll
The Fred and Barbara Erb Family Foundation
Robert C. and RoseAnn B. Comstock*
Compuware Corporation
General Motors
Joanne Danto and Arnold Weingarden
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Ethan and Gretchen Davidson
Kresge Foundation
DTE Energy Foundation
Stellantis
Robert and Margo Feinberg
$2,000,000+ Sarah Allison Lee and Floy Barthel Mr. & Mrs. Herman Frankel Lear Corporation Linda Dresner and Ed Levy, Jr.
Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation Barbara Frankel* and Ron Michalak Gilbert Family Foundation Hudson-Webber Foundation JPMorgan Chase Paul Lavins
Masco Corporation
Edward C and Linda Dresner Levy Foundation
McGregor Fund
National Endowment for the Arts
Mellon Foundation
Matthew and Mona Simoncini
The Skillman Foundation
Richard Sonenklar and Gregory Haynes
R. Jamison and Karen Williams
Sam and Barbara Williams Matilda R. Wilson Fund
KEY * Deceased 16
Every effort has been made to accurately reflect donor names and gift levels. Should you find an error or omission, please contact Angela Nelson-Heesch at anelsonheesch@detroitopera.org or 313.237.3438
Orchestra Detroit Federation of Musicians, Local #5, of the American Federation of Musicians
V IOLIN
BA SS
BA SS OO N
Michael Ferri
Derek Weller
Daniel Fendrick
Yuri Popowycz
Clark Suttle
Open Position
HARP
HORN
Juan Riveros
Colin Bianchi
Concertmaster
Acting Assistant Concertmaster
Emelyn Bashour Principal Second
Anna Bittar-Weller Molly Hughes Bryan Johnston Henrik Karapetyan Velda Kelly Beth Kirton Daniel Stachyra Jenny Wan Andrew Wu
Principal
Principal
FLU T E
Collin Stavinoha Principal
Andrea Velasquez PIC C OLO
Andrea Velasquez OBOE
Principal
Principal
Natalie Sweasy T RU M PE T
David Ammer Principal
Elijah Leonard T RO M BO N E
Jordan Dove Principal
Eli Stefanacci
Dustin Nguyen
John Madison
Mark Doerr
T I M PA NI
Jacqueline Hanson
EN GLI S H H O R N
V IOL A Principal
Scott Stefanko
Principal
Mark Doerr
Chloe Thominet CL A R IN E T C ELLO
Ivana Biliskov Principal
Roi Karni
Eric Stoss Principal
PER C USSIO N
John Dorsey Principal
Principal
J.William King
Benjamin Maxwell Andrea Yun Open Position
BA SS CL A R IN E T
J.William King DE T R OI T OPER A | 17
Administration & Staff LEADERSHIP
FACILITIES
WIGS & MAKEUP
Patty Isacson Sabee, President & CEO
Vanessa Boyd, Facilities Manager
Erika Broderdorf, Wig & Makeup Crew Coordinator
Roberto Kalb, Music Director Juliano Bitonti Stewart, Chief Growth Officer Daniel T. Brinker, General Manager, Detroit Opera House & Parking Center
Juan Benavides, Building Engineer Kevie Crumb, Facilities & Event Technician
FINANCE
STAGE CREW John Kinsora, Head Carpenter Jerome Bowie, Head Electrician
Kimberley Burgess, Accountant
Pat McGee, Head Propertyman
Rita Winters, Accountant
Chris Baker, Head of Sound
Shawn Rieschl Johnson, Chief Programming & Production Officer
FINANCIAL ONE
Pat Tobin, Head Flyman
Jon Teeuwissen, Artistic Advisor for Dance
Ayhan Chaushev, CFO
Kathy Nauer, CFO
Samantha Teter, Chief Marketing Officer
Debbie Folarin, Controller
Ataul Usman, Senior Director of Human Resources
Vaishnavi Aprameya, Accountant
ADMINISTRATION William Austin, Executive Assistant
ARTISTIC DEPARTMENT Nathalie Doucet, Head of Music & Director of Detroit Opera Resident Artist Program Elizabeth Anderson, Artistic Administrator
DANCE Kim Smith, Dance Administrator
DETROIT OPERA YOUTH CHORUS Twannette Nash, Chorus Administrator
Magan Reece, Accountant
HUMAN RESOURCES Denver Harvey, Human Resources Coordinator
Dee Dorsey, Surtitle Operator Mary Ellen Shuffett, Head of Wardrobe IATSE Local #38 Stage Crew IATSE Local #786 Wardrobe
SAFETY AND SECURITY Rock Monroe, Director of Safety & Security Lieutenant Lorraine Monroe
MARKETING/ COMMUNICATIONS
Sergeant Demetrius Newbold
Leah Hill, Director of Marketing
Officer A.M. Hightower
Madelyn Estes, Website Administrator
Officer Michelle Johnson
Allison Graw, Graphic Design Lead Austin Richey, Digital Media Manager & Storyteller
Officer Gary Cabean
Officer Terrence Hunter Officer Khalil Nalis
TICKETING & BOX OFFICE
Arthur White, Director of Community & Audience Engagement
Amy Brown, Director of Ticketing and Booking
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
Stephanie Stoiko, Box Office Manager
Katherine Kozak, Chorus Director & Music Administrator
Evan Carr, System Administrator Christopher Lewis, Box Office Associate
Jane Arvidson Panikkar, Preparatory Chorus Conductor
Molly Hughes, Orchestra Personnel Manager
Maria Cimarelli, Preparatory Chorus Accompanist
Jean Posekany, Orchestra Librarian
Aaron Tyson, Box Office Associate
John Etsell, Staff Pianist
VENUE OPERATIONS
Joseph Jackson, Principal Chorus Accompanist
DEVELOPMENT Chelsea S. Kotula, Director of Institutional Giving Katrina Fasulo, Director, Individual Giving & Donor Engagement Angela Nelson-Heesch, Director, Data Analytics & Operations Valentino Peacock, Manager of Data & Operations Stephani Davis, Development Coordinator
PRODUCTION Elizabeth Anderson, Production Coordinator Kathleen Bennett, Production Finance Administrator Monika Essen, Property Master Kaila Madison, Technical Assistant Brodrick Whittley, Assistant Technical Director
Holly Clement, Senior Manager of Events & Rentals Jennifer George-Consiglio, Manager of Venue Operations Michael Hauser, Curator of History & Architecture Kathie Booth, Volunteer Coordinator
USHERS
Suzanne Hanna, Costume Director
Max Aghili, Christine Berryman, Ellen Bishop, Kathie Booth, Lori Burkhardt, Randall Davis, Erin Doakes, Suzanne Erbes, Pamela Fergusson, Sue Hargrave, Myrna Mazure, Ennis Mcgee, Steven McReynolds, Heddie O’Connor, Bill Ried, Kim Ried, Edna Rubin, Ida Vance, Sheryl Weinan-Yee
EDUCATION Branden Hood, Director of Education
Mary Ellen Shuffett, Fitting Assistant
Alaina Brown, Program Coordinator: Education & Community Programs
Maureen Abele, Paul Moran, Clare Neville, Lupé Vazquez, Stitchers
18
Alexis Means, Director of Operations & Patron Experiences
COSTUMES Michaela Tanksley, Wardrobe Supervisor
Eliza Beutler, Program Administrator
Chris Simpson, Box Office Associate
IN CA SE OF EM ERGENCY Please observe the lighted exit signs located throughout the theater. In the event of an emergency, remain calm and walk, do not run, to the nearest exit. Ushers and security personnel are trained to assist. An emergency medical technician (EMT) is on-site during most events. Contact an usher or staff member if you need medical assistance.
GUEST SERVICES: Vincent Lobby and Broadway Lounge There are a variety of amenities for your comfort and use located in both guest services locations. Wheelchairs, booster seats*, earplugs, assisted listening devices, feminine hygiene products, basic first aid items, and more are complimentary and available for your convenience. Coat check is also available. The Vincent Lobby is located on the Madison Street side of the building and the Broadway Lounge is located on the Broadway Street side of the building. *Limited quantity
PHOTOGR A PH Y, R EC OR DING, A ND C ELL PHONE USE Photography and/or recording during any performance is strictly prohibited. Photographs taken in the lobby areas, before or after a performance, and during intermission are welcome. As a courtesy to all guests, please turn off all electronic devices and refrain from use during the performance.
RESTROOMS Women’s restrooms are located off the Ford Lobby (Broadway Street entrance) and down the stairs, and on third floor (Madison Street entrance). Men’s restrooms are located under the Grand Staircase and on the third floor (Broadway Street side). There are two sets of elevators or stairs available to access all third-floor restrooms. All third-floor restrooms are wheelchair accessible (women’s restroom, press 3R in the elevator). There are single-use unisex wheelchair accessible restrooms on the first floor of the Broadway Street side of the building and the Madison Street side of the building. There is also a wheelchair accessible women’s restroom on the Broadway Street side of the building.
NO SMOKING The Detroit Opera House is a non-smoking facility. This includes e-cigarettes, vapes, and other “smokeless” products.
USHERS Ushers are stationed throughout the building to assist patrons as needed. Please direct questions, concerns, and feedback to them during your visit.
LOST A ND FOUND During the performance, lost and found is located in guest services. Unclaimed items are logged and taken to the Safety and Security office after each performance. To inquire about a misplaced or lost item, please call 313.961.3500. Items left over 30 days will be discarded or donated.
RECORDING IN PROGRESS Entry and presence on the event premises constitute your consent to be photographed, filmed, and/or otherwise recorded, and to the release, publication, exhibition, or reproduction of any and all recorded media for any purpose whatsoever in perpetuity in connection with Detroit Opera and its initiatives. By entering the event premises, you waive and release any claims you may have related to the use of recorded media of you at the event.
Fall & Winter Events 26/27 TOURS
WED / OCT 21 / 6:00PM
26/27 TOURS
THU / OCT 29 / 6:00PM
26/27 OPERA
NOV 01 / NOV 05 / NOV 07
26/27 TOURS
SAT / NOV 14 / 11:00AM & 12:30PM
Sip & Stroll at Detroit Opera Premium Sip & Stroll: Tosca Tosca
Detroit Opera House Highlights Tours DETROIT OPERA HOUSE PRESENTS
SAT / NOV 14 / 8:00PM
26/27 TOURS
WED / NOV 18 / 6:00PM
Step Afrika!
Holiday Sip & Stroll
NOV 28 / NOV 29
DETROIT OPERA HOUSE PRESENTS
The Nutcracker with Grand Rapids Ballet and the Detroit Opera Orchestra 26/27 TOURS
SAT / DEC 12 / 11:00AM & 12:30PM
Detroit Opera House Highlights Tours DETROIT OPERA HOUSE PRESENTS
SAT / DEC 12 / 7:30PM
26/27 DETROIT OPERA YOUTH CHORUS
SUN / DEC 13 / 2:30PM
DETROIT OPERA HOUSE PRESENTS
SUN / DEC 13 / 3:00PM
26/27 TOURS
WED / DEC 16 / 6:00PM
DETROIT OPERA HOUSE PRESENTS
FRI / DEC 18 / 7:30PM
DETROIT OPERA HOUSE PRESENTS
SAT / DEC 19 / 8:00PM
The Holiday Film with the Detroit Opera Orchestra A Winter Fantasy
A Charlie Brown Christmas Live with the Detroit Opera Orchestra Holiday Sip & Stroll Renee Elise Goldsberry’s Christmas
A Night of Inspiration: A Gospel Holiday Celebration with the Detroit Opera Orchestra and special guests Kim Burrell, the Clark Sisters, and Donald Lawrence, conducted by Ray Chew