THE ATLANTA OPERA DONOR APPRECIATION PRODUCTION
La bohème Giacomo Puccini composer Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa librettists January 20, 23, 26, 28, 2024 Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre
Our audience is your audience. Advertise with Encore and reach a targeted group of performing arts lovers.
encore Printed exclusively by Communicorp
E N C O R E AT L A N TA .C O M P U B L I S H E R
Brantley Manderson brantley@encoreatlanta.com
SENIOR ACCOUNT DIRECTOR CHARLOTTE
Hila Johnson hila@encorecharlotte.com
E D I TO R
I N
C H I E F
Robert Viagas robert@encoreatlanta.com
G R A P H I C
D E S I G N E R
Tamara Hooks tamara@encoreatlanta.com
D I G I TA L
M E D I A
D I R E C TO R
Jennifer Nelson jennifer@encoreatlanta.com
ENCORE ATLANTA is published monthly by B2 MEDIA, LLC. P.O. Box 1377 | Columbus, Georgia 31902 Phone 678-837-4004 Copyright © 2024 Encore Atlanta. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part is strictly prohibited. Encore Atlanta is a registered publication of B2 Media, LLC. The publisher shall not be liable for failure to publish an ad, for typographical errors, or errors in publication. Publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertising for any reason and to alter advertising copy or graphics deemed unacceptable for publication.
CO N TAC T Hila Johnson 305-978-2922 hila@encorecharlotte.com
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
As one of the region’s largest Marketing Solutions Providers, Communicorp handles everything from print to digital to emerging technologies like clickable print or eCommerce storefronts. We guide clients through the maze of new marketing technologies and methodologies with a unique approach that always looks beyond yesterday’s solutions. Based in Columbus, GA, Communicorp is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aflac. To learn more about our award-winning solutions, visit Communicorp.com.
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
encoreatlanta.com
L A
B O H È M E
W E LCO M E Letter From Tomer Zvulun, Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director . . . . . .
7
S P O N S O R S & C R E D I T S Sponsors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Credits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8 9
F E AT U R E S Synopsis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Production Note. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
P age 20
Written by Fred Cohn
Director’s Note. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Written by Tomer Zvulun
B E H I N D T H E C U R TA I N Atlanta Opera News .. . . . . . . . . . 20 Cast & Creative. . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 The Glynn Studio Artists. . . . . . . . 34 The Atlanta Opera Chorus. . . . . . . 36 The Atlanta Opera Orchestra. . . . . 37 C O M M U N I T Y & S U P P O R T Community Engagement. . . . . . . . 38 Director’s Circle. . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Annual Giving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Corporate Partners & Barbara D. Stewart Legacy Society. . . 42 Foundations & Government & Tributes & Memorials .. . . . . . . . . . 43 L E A D E R S H I P Executive Committee /Board of Directors /Advisory Council. . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Staff. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
P age 38
|5
welcome
|7
As I start my second decade in a city that has become a beloved home for me and my family, it heartens me to share with you that, 45 years after it was founded, this thriving, major international city is finally getting the major international opera company that it deserves. We have just announced that the Atlanta Opera joins, for the first time, the top ten opera companies in America. So, what does it mean for us? First, that Atlanta Opera is now, for the first time, in the same league with companies in top cities of America: Seattle, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. Second, this new status will attract top talent to The Atlanta Opera. While, we have been able to bring some of the greatest artists of our time to Atlanta, now more than ever, we will have the opportunity to deepen our commitment to excellence on all levels: the best productions, singers, conductors, and designers will be part of our standard. With this achievement comes great expectations for us to deliver and we are ready to do so. We are announcing a spectacular season next year, that focuses on heroes. Heroes of all types and their journeys. We will bring you spectacular productions of The Magic Flute, Macbeth, Semele, and the most adventurous part of the RING cycle- our new production of Siegfried in collaboration with the Center of Puppetry Arts. This is a season for you, for your families, for those who want to escape from our sometimes-harsh reality into a world of fantasy and fairy tales. If that is not enough, our Discoveries series takes us on the most ambitious journey we have had so far: an immersive La bohème cycle. We will be sharing with you three different productions based on the story of La bohème, that takes place in three different centuries and their struggle with three different pandemics: Tuberculosis, AIDS, and COVID-19. This journey starts today with this production of our original 19 th century La bohème. This fall, we will return to Pullman Yards, the location of our sensational, sold-out production of Cabaret, where we will continue the La bohème cycle with RENT (set in the 20 th century) and a new version of La bohème (taking place in 2020). We are excited about this journey. You have been an incredible part of it. The fun (and the hard work) is just starting. Buckle your seat belts, and sit back and enjoy the ride.
Tomer Zvulun Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director
8 | sponsors 2023-24 SEASON
Official Beverage of The Atlanta Opera
VETERANS TICKET PROGRAM
THIS PRODUCTION OF PUCCINI’S LA BOHÈME IS SPONSORED BY Katherine Scott
THE 2023-24 DISCOVERIES SERIES The Molly Blank Fund of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT FROM The Livingston Foundation
THE ATLANTA OPERA IS GRATEFUL FOR PUBLIC SUPPORT FROM
This program is supported in part by the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs and by the National Endowment for the Arts. This program is also supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. GCA also receives support from its partner agency—the National Endowment for the Arts. Funding for this program is provided by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners.
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
credits
|9
LA BOHÈME An Opera in Four Acts COMPOSER Giacomo Puccini LIBRETTISTS Luigi Illica & Giuseppe Giacosa BASED ON Scenes de la vie de Bohème by Henry Murger FIRST PERFORMANCE February 1, 1896 at Teatro Regio, Turin, Italy CONDUCTOR Jonathan Brandani PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Tomer Zvulun STAGING DIRECTOR Gregory Luis Boyle SCENIC & PROJECTION DESIGNER Erhard Rom COSTUME DESIGNER Martin Pakledinaz LIGHTING DESIGNER Robert Wierzel WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER Melanie Steele CHORUSMASTER Rolando Salazar STAGE MANAGER Jen Shaw FILMED MEDIA Felipe Barral & Amanda Sachtleben CAST (IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE) RODOLFO Long Long PARPIGNOL Kameron Lopreore* MARCELLO Zachary Nelson MUSETTA Madison Leonard COLLINE Christian Simmons CUSTOM-HOUSE OFFICER Jason Zacher* SCHAUNARD Jongwon Han SARGEANT Jacob Lay BENOIT/ALCINDORO Philip Cokorinos CHILD Hensley Peters MIMÌ Gabriella Reyes PRUNE MAN Cameron King SUPERNUMERARIES Catherine Campbell, Jerry Hunter, Amanda Kraft, Keith Kraft, Anthony Madore, David van Mersbergen, Heike Miskawi, David Silverstein, Angelo Villardi, & Spiro Winsett STILT WALKERS Matt Baum & Tony Schott ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR Clinton Smith ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Nora Winsler* ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER Eric Norbury MUSICAL PREPARATION Elena Kholodova ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS Caitlin Denney-Turner & Aletha Saunders ENGLISH CAPTIONS BY Jonathan Dean PROJECTED TITLES OPERATED BY Brendan Callahan-Fitzgerald Performed in Italian with English supertitles. Approximate running time: 2 hours, 45 minutes - 25-minute intermission after Act 2; 20-minute intermission after Act 3 English captions for La bohème owned by Jonathan Dean, ©2021 This production of La bohème is owned by The Dallas Opera. Costumes executed by Seattle Opera Costume Shop. The purchase of equipment for The Atlanta Opera is supported by a gift from Eva & Robert Ratonyi. *Member of The Atlanta Opera Glynn Studio. Sponsored in name this season by a gift from Beth & Gary Glynn, The Glynn Studio Artists also receive significant support from the Donald & Marilyn Keough Foundation, John & Yee-Wan Stevens, and Jerry & Dulcy Rosenberg.
Synopsis ADAPTED FROM
The Metropolitan Opera
Mimì visits Rodolfo in his apartment to get a light for her candle that has gone out.
JEFF ROFFMAN / THE ATLANTA OPERA ARCHIVES
10 | synopsis
ACT I Paris, Christmas eve in the 1890s. In their Latin Quarter garret, home to a quartet of optimistic bohemians, the near-destitute artist Marcello and poet Rodolfo try to keep warm by feeding the stove with pages from Rodolfo’s latest drama. They are soon joined by their roommates—Colline, a philosopher, and Schaunard, a musician, who brings food, fuel, and funds he has collected from an eccentric neighbor. While they celebrate their unexpected fortune, the landlord, Benoit, comes to collect the rent. After making the older man drunk, they push him out—rather roughly. As his friends depart to celebrate at the Café Momus, Rodolfo explains that he has an article to write. There is another knock at the door—the visitor is Mimì, a pretty neighbor, whose candle has gone out. As she enters, she suddenly feels faint. Rodolfo gives her a sip of wine, then helps her to the door and lights her candle. Mimì lost her key when she fainted, and as the two search, both candles are blown out. Rodolfo finds the key and slips it into his pocket. In the moonlight, he takes Mimì’s hand and tells her about his dreams in the beautiful aria “Che gelida manina” (“Your tiny hand is frozen”). She recounts
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
encoreatlanta.com
| 11
her life alone in a lofty garret, embroidering flowers and waiting for the spring in the celebrated aria, “Mi chiamano Mimi” (“They call me Mimi”). Rodolfo’s friends are heard outside, calling him to join them. He responds that he is not alone and will be along shortly. Now quite in love, Mimì and Rodolfo leave, arm in arm, for the café.
JEFF ROFFMAN / THE ATLANTA OPERA ARCHIVES
ACT II Amid the shouts of Christmas Eve vendors near the Café Momus, Rodolfo buys Mimì a bonnet and introduces her to his friends. Joining the festive mood, they all sit at the outdoor cafe and order supper. The toy vendor Parpignol passes by, besieged by children. Marcello’s former sweetheart, Musetta, makes a noisy entrance on the arm of the elderly but wealthy Alcindoro, who, in truth, bores her to tears. The ensuing tumult reaches its peak when, trying to gain Marcello’s attention, she loudly sings the praises of her own popularity in “Quando m’en va’ soletta per la vie.” Sending Alcindoro off on a pretext, she finally falls into Marcello’s welcoming arms.
On a cold winter’s night, Rodolfo and Mimi are getting back together while Marcello and Musetta are breaking up.
encoreatlanta.com
Soldiers march by the café, and as the bohemians fall in behind. The returning Alcindoro, despite losing the girl, is presented with the check. ACT III It’s a frigid February morning at dawn on the snowy outskirts of Paris, and a customs official admits workers to the city. Guests are heard drinking and singing within a tavern. Cold and ill, Mimì arrives, searching there for Marcello, who now lives with Musetta. When the painter appears, she tells him of her distress over Rodolfo’s incessant jealousy. She says she believes it is best that they part. Rodolfo, who has been asleep in the tavern, comes outside. Mimì hides nearby, though Marcello thinks she has left. Rodolfo tells his friend that he wants to separate from Mimì, blaming her flirtatiousness. Pressed for the real reason, he breaks down, saying that her coughing can only grow worse in the poverty they share. Marcello runs back into the tavern upon hearing Musetta’s flirtatious laughter as, overcome with emotion, Mimì comes forward. She says goodbye to her lover in the touching aria “Addio, senza rancor.” (“Goodbye, without bitterness”). While Mimì and Rodolfo recall past happiness, Marcello returns with Musetta, quarreling about her flirting with a customer. In one of the greatest quartets of opera, they hurl insults at each other and part, while the loving couple, Mimì and Rodolfo, decide to remain together until spring. ACT IV Months later in the garret, Rodolfo and Marcello, now separated from their girlfriends, reflect on their loneliness. Colline and Schaunard again manage to get funds for a meager meal. To lighten their spirits the four stage a dance, which turns into a mock duel. At the height of the hilarity Musetta bursts in with news that Mimì is outside, too weak to come upstairs. As Rodolfo runs to her aid, Musetta relates how Mimì begged to be taken to Rodolfo to die. She is made as comfortable as possible, while Musetta asks Marcello to sell her earrings for medicine and Colline goes off to pawn his overcoat. Left alone, Mimì and Rodolfo recall their meeting and their first happy days, but she is seized with violent coughing. When the others return, Musetta gives Mimì a muff to warm her hands and prays for her life. Mimì slowly drifts into unconsciousness. Schaunard realizes that she is dead, and Rodolfo is left desperate.
| 13
14 | productionnote
A Troubled Gestation The creators of La bohème and the obstacles they encountered WRITTEN BY
CHARLES RAFSHOON / THE ATLANTA OPERA ARCHIVES
Fred Cohn
Wayne Turnage as Rodolfo and Teresa Hopkin as Mimì from The Atlanta Opera’s first ever production of La bohème in 1987— performed at The Alliance Theatre.
A world without La bohème is all but unthinkable. Giacomo Puccini’s opera had its premiere in 1896, and it has dominated the operatic repertory ever since. With its indelible melodies and its surefire theatrical punch, Boheme is one of those works that seem to that seems to have ways existed, with its creators plucking it, fully formed, from the ether. In fact, nothing can be further from the truth. The road between Bohème’s inception and its completion was a long and bumpy one. When Puccini completed Manon Lescaut, he and his publisher Giulio Ricordi started looking for potential sources for his next opera. One property they hit upon was Henri Murger’s Scènes de la vie de bohème: a collection of interconnected short stories portraying the lives of impecunious young Parisians. Its mixture of youthful high spirits and romantic sentiment, along with its hints of tragedy, was a strong draw for Puccini: in fact, Murger’s work echoed many of the elements, Parisian setting and all, that the composer had explored in Manon Lescaut.
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
encoreatlanta.com
The project hit a snag almost immediately after its inception, when Puccini met Ruggero Leoncavallo, composer of Pagliacci, at a cafe. The two men were friendly rivals, both members of the so-called Giovane scuolo (“young school”) of Italian composers; Leoncavallo had even worked on a draft of Manon Lescaut’s libretto. But the relationship between them took a frosty turn when Puccini mentioned his Bohème plans, since it turned out that Leoncavallo was himself writing an opera based on the same source. It is unclear which project originated first. It is possible that both composers arrived at the same idea independently; it could also be that the inveterately competitive Puccini, getting wind of his confrère’s plans, had set out to best him. In any event, the contretemps soon became public, generating much ink in Milan’s newspapers. Eventually the composers decided that they would both forge ahead. “The public will decide for themselves,” Puccini wrote. Manon Lescaut’s February 1893 premiere was an unabashed triumph. But its very success proved to be an impediment to Bohème’s progress. Companies everywhere now wanted to produce the sensational new opera, and Puccini, riding high on his new fame, spent much of the following year and a half supervising productions throughout Italy, as well as in Hamburg, Budapest and London. (Some commentators have wondered whether his presence in these cities was always strictly necessary, or whether he was simply reveling in his newfound status while enjoying junkets underwritten by his publisher Ricordi.) Amidst all of the bustling activity, the composer found little time to sit down and work on his new project. It was a frustrating situation for Bohème’s librettists, Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, as we can glean from their letters to Ricordi. “[Puccini] finds it pleasant to make work for others, in order to avoid working himself,” Illica grumbled. Both were themselves respected literary figures, but the composer highhandedly treated them as underlings. At one point Giacosa threatened to resign not only from Bohème, but from libretto-writing entirely. (He did not follow through, going on to contribute to Puccini’s Tosca and Madama Butterfly.) Ricordi addressed the various imbroglios with ironic dispassion, placating his librettists and referring to Puccini behind his back as “the Doge.” In late 1893, when
| 15
16 | encoreatlanta.com work on Bohème was well underway, the composer hinted he might want to pull out of the project entirely. This capricious maneuver threatened to wipe out months of work on the librettists’ part; moreover, in the wake of the Leoncavallo controversy, it would have been a public-relations disaster of major proportions. The publisher was displeased, but definitely not panicked, as can be surmised from a letter to Illica: You know very well how Puccini was carried away, how he absolutely wanted the subject ... And now— pardon the expression—he messes his pants at the first difficulties ... I, however, hope that it’s only one of the usual hesitations common to composers—and very common to Puccini!—and that it will soon pass. As we now well know, the composer and his two collaborators managed to forge forward. But an indication of their struggle can be seen in the writing of Bohème’s “missing act.” The opera as we know it has a notable gap between the end of Act III, when Mimì and Rodolfo pledge to stay together until spring, and the beginning of Act IV, when we hear that Mimì has become the mistress of a Viscount. Giacosa and Illica in fact wrote an entire intermediary act, set in a courtyard outside Musetta’s flat, in which Mimì meets her aristocratic protector. Puccini never set the “Courtyard Act” to music. The resulting lacuna in the plot line means that audiences have had to use their imaginations to bridge the gap between Acts III and IV. But this seeming miscalculation reveals Puccini’s conception of La bohème as a whole: less as a coherent series of events than as a progression of states of feeling. He wanted to move swiftly past quotidian plot developments toward the heart of the drama: Mimì’s death scene, taking up the second half of Act IV. This is the moment that the whole of Bohème has prepared us for; in context, no matter how disjointed the storyline is, the emotional logic of the opera’s end remains utterly convincing. La bohème had its premiere in 1896 at Turin’s Teatro Regio, with the young Arturo Toscanini as its conductor. Considering the work’s unassailable current status, it is surprising to learn that initially it received a mixed reception. One critic wrote that it made “no great impression on the soul of its audience,” and that for Puccini it marked “a brief detour in the road of art.” In fact, Leoncavallo’s version, which bowed in 1898, was at first the more acclaimed of the two Bohèmes.
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
encoreatlanta.com
J.D. SCOTT / THE ATLANTA OPERA ARCHIVES
Puccini may have lost the initial battle, but in the ensuing years, he decisively won the war. Leoncavallo’s Bohème was soon relegated to the status of an operatic footnote, while Puccini’s quickly became a cornerstone of the international repertory. A look at the Metropolitan Opera’s annals gives a sense of its enduring popularity: since its 1900 premiere there, it has been mounted nearly 1400 times making it by far the most-performed work in that company’s history. Puccini knew what he needed when he countered his librettists’ wishes. His theatrical instincts allowed him to create as powerful an emotional narrative as exists in opera.
| 17
The Atlanta Opera’s 1999 production of La bohème at The Fox Theatre with Kenneth Shaw as Colline, Eduardo Villa as Rodolfo, Thomas Hammons as Benoit, and Jeff Morrissey as Schaunard.
18 | director’snote
Director’s Note WRITTEN BY
JEFF ROFFMAN / THE ATLANTA OPERA ARCHIVES
Tomer Zvulun
Zvulun directing The Atlanta Opera’s 2015 production of La bohème.
La bohème is one of the most frequently performed operas in history. Since its premiere in 1896, productions have been mounted by opera companies all over the world for enthusiastic audiences and full houses. Why is La bohème so popular? Scènes de la vie de bohème, Henry Murger’s novel that inspired the opera, caught the spirit of Bohemian life in a series of accidental episodes from the life of our Parisian heroes. The result was an easy read of elegant style and nature, but there was no indication whatsoever that this entertaining, yet somewhat negligible book would be adopted into such an enormously successful opera. Is it the music? The glorious musical score is one of the strongest elements of this opera. An Italian composer of great skill and inspiration, Giacomo Puccini was a master of creating brilliant and lush melodies, while simultaneously manipulating them in a subtle, most economical way. It seems at times that Puccini’s pen has direct access to our tear glands. The melodies overflow with emotion; however,
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
encoreatlanta.com
they are never over-emphatic. Puccini writes his lines with disarming honesty and deep human perception. To me the most important reason for La bohème’s staggering popularity is the direct and instant connection that it makes with each member of the audience through both the story and the music. La bohème is an opera for those who are in love, or those who remember what it is like to be in love—which means it is an opera for almost everybody. Every production of La bohème invites each of us to relive our own love stories through Mimì and Rodolfo. Puccini brilliantly captures the frustrations and sensibilities of young lovers, which in turn builds a spiritual connection between the audience members in Turin at the 1896 premiere and audience members today in Atlanta at our 2023 performances. The production that you will see was moved from the 1830s—the period when Murger wrote his book and when the opera was originally set—into the 1890s, when Puccini wrote the opera. The end of the 19th century in Paris was not only a time of great political and social turmoil, but also a time of astonishing technological advancement. Among many other revolutionary technologies, the discovery of photography and the birth of cinema changed society, and our production is inspired by this exciting and groundbreaking time. The sets and projections are inspired by early photographers working in Paris in that time. I encourage you to look into the work of Cartier-Bresson and Brassai as they captured the pre-war magic of the “City of Lights.” With this production, we launch an ambitious journey: The Boheme Project. A three-production exploration of the story of La bohème returns us to Pullman Yards next season for an immersive experience as we present two Broadway events based on Puccini’s original opera: Rent and a new version of La Bohème. A smash hit on Broadway that has toured many times, Rent mirrors the story of La bohème with friends and lovers struggling to cope with AIDS in the 20th century. Our creative modern take on our second production of La bohème, to be presented next fall, finds the characters dealing with COVID-19 in our own time. Exploring this great love story across three different centuries and three pandemics is an exciting and original journey. I hope you will join us in the adventure.
| 19
20 | theatlantaopera
“ The Atlanta Opera has arrived.” — Musical America Dec 2023
“Top 10” Opera Companies in the U.S. The 2024-25 45th Anniversary season launches The Atlanta Opera into the ranks of the Top 10 opera companies in the U.S. Leading the field with companies including Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Santa Fe, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Atlanta Opera begins a new era. Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun was selected to lead The Atlanta Opera in 2013 and he immediately went to work innovating and celebrating the art of opera in our city. “We’ve created new ways of thinking about opera and supporting the next generation of creatives, artists, and audiences through our programs,” says Rhys Wilson, chairman of the Board of Directors for The Atlanta Opera citing 10 years of steady growth of the company. “Joining the list of the top 10 companies in the U.S. is an important moment for Atlanta, and it is especially meaningful because it represents the spirit of the company,” says Tomer Zvulun. “A group of people that refuses to be defeated by obstacles and that converts them into proverbial springboards. The growth of the opera is linked to the response of the company to the immense challenges we have all experienced in the world these past few years: the Corona Virus, the Racial tensions, the economic uncertainties. TAO never stopped. Our priority remains the same … we create the best work possible for our community.”
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
cast&creative
| 23
Jonathan Brandani is Artistic Director of Calgary Opera (Canada) since 2021, Brandani served as associate conductor of the Minnesota Opera (2014-2019) and as principal guest conductor of Daego Opera House (South Korea, 2017-2020). In addition, he maintains and active conducting schedule with upcoming engagements at Opera Theatre of St. Louis (The Barber of Seville), Calgary Opera (The Marriage of Figaro, Das Rheingold), with Orchestra Filarmonica Toscanini and with Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg. Recent engagements include opera productions and concert appearances at the Teatro Nuovo (Crispino e la JONATHAN BRANDANI Comare), Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria (with the Wiener Symphoniker and the Symphonieorchester Voralberg), CONDUCTOR Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (Italy), Göteborg ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Opera (Sweden), Calgary Opera (with Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra), the Danish Royal Opera House Copenhagen (with soprano Angela Gheorghiu), Staatestheater Meiningen (with Meininger Hofkapelle). Since its establishment, he has collaborated with Teatro Nuovo, a Belcanto festival on period instruments based in New York, where he conducted Mayr’s Medea in Corinto and where he will return in 2023. In 2018 he made his debut at Wexford Festival Opera (Ireland) conducting Mercadante’s Il Bravo (whose score he had previously restored and co-edited). His interpretation of this hidden Bel Canto gem was awarded as Best Opera Production by the Irish Times; the production is now available on demand on ARTE. After earning his degree in piano, Brandani graduated in conducting with full marks and honor at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna; he also earned a Master of Arts in Orchestra Conducting from Yale University. He is an alumnus of the Merola Opera Program of San Francisco Opera.
General and Artistic Director of The Atlanta Opera since 2013, Israeli born Tomer Zvulun is also one of opera’s most exciting stage directors, earning consistent praise for his creative vision, often described as cinematic and fresh. His work has been presented by prestigious opera houses around the world, including The Metropolitan Opera, the opera companies of Israel, Buenos Aires, Wexford, Glimmerglass, Houston, Washington National Opera, Seattle, Detroit, San Diego, Minnesota, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, and Wolf Trap, as well as leading educational institutes and universities TOMER ZVULUN such as The Juilliard School, Indiana University, Boston University, and IVAI in Tel Aviv. Since becoming General PRODUCTION DIRECTOR and Artistic Director in Atlanta a decade ago, he has ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT increased the operations of the company from three to THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, six productions per season, while stabilizing the financials. 2009 Some of his noted achievements include launching the successful Discoveries series, creating the first young artist program, tripling the company’s annual fundraising, creating a film studio, and building a theatre in a circus tent where performances were conducted safely during the pandemic. His work has attracted international attention by earning numerous awards and prizes including nomination of The Atlanta Opera for the International Opera Awards in London and the selection of his production Silent Night as both the Irish Times and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s production of the year. His focus on innovation led to an invitation to deliver a TED Talk as well as a case study being taught at Harvard Business School.
24 | cast&creative Born in Santiago, Chile, and adopted at birth, Gregory Boyle is grateful to have lived and traveled all around the United States to pursue his passion for opera and happily calls Philadelphia his home. Boyle has recently directed Don Pasquale for Inland Northwest Opera in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho, and revival directed Michael Shell’s The Barber of Seville at Austin Opera. Additionally, he has directed a concert version of Tosca for Opera Philadelphia’s outdoor series at The Mann Center in Philadelphia. He has also produced a new production of La Favorite at The Academy of Vocal GREGORY LUIS BOYLE Arts in Philadelphia and a new production of Mignon, which STAGING DIRECTOR was postponed indefinitely. Most recently, he worked at The Atlanta Opera and The Dallas Opera assisting on Tomer ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Zvulun’s new production of Das Rheingold. Boyle assisted THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, 2016 on Stephan Barlow’s The Barber of Seville production at Santa Fe Opera. He has also worked with the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists at Central City Opera as a director, giving young students the opportunity to explore and develop new roles in opera through a scenes program. Highlights from that summer include Die Fledermaus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Elixir of Love, Dialogues of the Carmelite, and A Little Night Music. Boyle has also worked with young professionals at programs including at The Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, The Santa Fe Opera, and the Herndon Foundation of Emerging Artists of Virginia Opera. Previously, Boyle has held associate and assistant director engagements at companies including Opera Philadelphia, the Santa Fe Opera, The Dallas Opera, Central City Opera, and Virginia Opera among others Erhard Rom (Set & Projection Designer from Seattle, Washington) has designed settings for more than 200 productions around the globe. Most recently, he participated in the team that created the Tomer Zvulun production of Das Rheingold (2023). In 2015, he was named as a finalist in the designer of the year category for the International Opera Awards in London. His designs have frequently been featured in the Prague Quadrennial International Design exhibition. He has collaborated with many of the world’s leading directors, working for major companies ERHARD ROM including: San Francisco Opera (The Marriage of Figaro, SCENIC & PROJECTION Susannah, Lucia di Lammermoor, Nixon in China), Seattle DESIGNER Opera (Semele, Eugene Onegin, La bohéme), Washington National Opera (Don Giovanni, Samson and Delilah, Silent ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, Night), Wexford Festival (Silent Night), Houston Grand 2011 Opera (Rigoletto), Vancouver Opera (Dead Man Walking, Otello), Glimmerglass Festival (A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck, Later the Same Evening, Silent Night), Opera Theatre of St. Louis (Faust, Jane Eyre, Carmen), Minnesota Opera (The Shining, Dead Man Walking, Rusalka, Romeo and Juliet), and Utah Opera (Moby Dick). Other companies include Boston Lyric Opera, Opéra de Montréal, Atlanta Opera, and Wolf Trap, among many others. His 2014 design of the European premiere of Silent Night for the Wexford Festival received two accolades from the 2015 Irish Times Theatre Awards including “audience choice” and “best opera production of 2014.”
©2021 The Coca-Cola Company.
26 | cast&creative
MARTIN PAKLEDINAZ COSTUME DESIGNER ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT
Martin Pakledinaz, costume designer, was nominated ten times for a Tony Award for his costume designs for Broadway shows from Kiss Me, Kate and Gypsy to The Pajama Game and Anything Goes. Before his death in 2012, he designed for San Francisco Ballet, the Mark Morris Dance Group, the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Radio City Music Hall among others. His design for the costumes of La bohéme have become beloved for their vivid representation of the characters and the era. As a designer, Pakledinaz was one of the most prolific creatives of his generation and was awarded two Tony Awards, and the Drama Desk, Obie, and Lucille Lortel awards before being posthumously inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Robert Wierzel has worked in opera, theater, dance, museums, and contemporary music. Opera credits include production with the opera companies of Paris Garnier, Tokyo, Toronto, Bergen, Norway, Glimmerglass Festival, Seattle, Boston Lyric, Minnesota, San Francisco, Houston, Virginia, Chicago Lyric, Opera Theatre of Chicago, Montreal, Vancouver, Portland, Wolf Trap, NYCO, and San Diego. Wierzel’s work with dance includes the Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company. Broadway credits include Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill starring Audra McDonald, ROBERT WIERZEL Fela! (Tony Award nomination), and David Copperfield’s LIGHTING DESIGNER Broadway debut, Dreams and Nightmares. Off-Broadway credits include productions with the NYSF/Public Theatre, ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT The Signature Theatre, Roundabout Theatre Company, LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR, 2011 and Playwrights Horizons. Wierzel’s extensive regional theater work includes productions with the Alliance Theater (Atlanta), Goodman Theatre (Chicago), A.C.T. San Francisco, Arena Stage (Washington, D.C.), Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, The Guthrie, Mark Taper Forum, Actors Theatre Louisville, and The Old Globe. He is adjunct faculty at N.Y.U.’s Tisch School and is a Creative Partner at Spark Design.
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
encoreatlanta.com
MELANIE STEELE WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER
| 27
Melanie Steele lives in Atlanta where she works with The Atlanta Opera, Fox Theatre, The Alliance Theatre, Atlanta Ballet, as well as working in film and television. Steele recently toured with the national Broadway tour of The Lion King. She has designed wigs and makeup for The Santa Fe Opera, Austin Opera, Central City Opera, Spoleto Festival USA, Baltimore Opera, Kentucky Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Bard SummerScape, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Opera Pacific, Opera North Carolina, and Saratoga Springs Opera. Some of Steele’s work can be seen in Opera News, Makeup Artist Magazine, Seventeen, Time, Newsweek, Glamour, Voyage Atlanta, IMDB, and Texas Monthly Magazine.
ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT THE GOLDEN TICKET, 2011
Clinton Smith recently conducted the world premiere of Frankenstein with The Arizona Opera and will make his Indianapolis Opera debut conducting Charlie Parker’s Yardbird. He also joins Georgia State University’s vocal coaching staff this academic year. He regularly appears with the Dayton Opera and has been part of The Atlanta Opera’s conducting staff for several years. Recent engagements have put him on the podium leading productions of Opera Orlando, Opera Las Vegas, Florentine Opera, and serving on the conducting staff CLINTON SMITH of the Santa Fe Opera. His 2020-21 season included conducting Atlanta Opera’s Big Tent Series productions ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR of The Kaiser of Atlantis and The Threepenny Opera, and ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT a virtual recital for Opera Orlando. He has served on the CHARLIE PARKER’S music staff of Juilliard Opera, Minnesota Opera, Atlanta YARDBIRD, 2018 Opera, Portland Opera, Kentucky Opera, Ash Lawn Opera, and Skylark Operas and has included the preparation of over sixty operas in German, Italian, French, English, Czech, Russian, and Mandarin. On equal footing in the orchestral world, Mr. Smith recently concluded a collective nine years as music and artistic director of both Orchestra Seattle/Seattle Chamber Singers and the St. Cloud Symphony, conducting over 60 orchestral, oratorio, chamber, pops, educational, and holiday concert performances. Previous positions include assignments for the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Glimmerglass Opera, Western Ontario University’s Canadian Operatic Arts Academy, the National University of Taiwan, the Franco-American Vocal Academy in France, the Austrian-American Mozart Academy in Salzburg, and the University of Michigan Life Sciences Orchestra. Born in Texas, Mr. Smith holds degrees in orchestral conducting from the University of Michigan and piano performance from the University of Texas at Austin.
28 | cast&creative Nora Winsler is a versatile and accomplished director who has made significant contributions to numerous productions across the United States. For the past two years, Winsler held the position of Resident Assistant Director at Virginia Opera. After touring seven productions with the company and directing their 2022 outreach show, Jack and The Beanstalk, Winsler returns to Virginia Opera to direct Il Barbiere di Siviglia this fall. Tapped as an assistant director by leading directors, Winsler has worked with Tara Faircloth, Kevin Newbury, Joachim Schamberger, NORA WINSLER and Mary Birnbaum. Most recently, Winsler’s work has GLYNN STUDIO ARTIST been seen at Des Moines Metro Opera where she was the ASSISTANT DIRECTOR assistant director on Carmen and directed several scenes for the Apprentice Artist Scenes Concerts. In 2022, she ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT contributed to the success of two productions at the THE SHINING, 2023 Glimmerglass Festival working with Francessca Zambello and Brenna Corner (Tenor Overboard) and Kimille Howard (The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson). Previous directing credits include All is Calm and Extraordinary Women at Opera North and Hänsel und Gretel at Luray Opera in 2017. She was honored with the Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize for Choreography by Opera America in 2022. During her time at James Madison University, she received an Undergraduate Research Grant for her project titled “Best Practices in Interdisciplinary Arts Collaboration… and Tea” in 2017.
Philip Cokorinos, bass, has been hailed by New York Times for his “apoplectic intensity” and by Opera News for his “first-rate singing.” Cokorinos was winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1985 and went on to sing his début during the Met’s 1987-1988 season. Since then, he appeared in more than 400 performances of 40 operas at The Met, including “Live from The Met” telecasts of Don Giovanni; the world première of The Ghosts of Versailles; and The Met’s premières of Sly, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Gambler, and Shostakovich’s verismo expressionist opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, to name a PHILIP COKORINOS few. He appeared many times in their productions of the standard repertoire, including Tosca, La bohème, La fanciulla BENOIT/ALCINDORO del West, La traviata, Adriana Lecouvreur, La rondine, Die ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Macbeth, Manon, Don Carlo, Tosca, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Gianni Schicchi, Manon Lescaut, and Le nozze di Figaro, under the baton of Maestro James Levine. The Metropolitan Opera Live in HD broadcasts have included Manon, La fanciulla del West, The Nose, Werther, Manon Lescaut, Le nozze di Figaro, La bohème, and Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk. Cokorinos’s tenure at the Metropolitan Opera continues this season with engagements such as Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, La bohème, and Tosca. Cokorinos will also perform Tosca at the Los Angeles Opera in the role of Sacristan, and Benoit/Alcindoro in La bohème at the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, in addition to joining San Diego Opera’s long-awaited Gianni Schicchi as Simone. Last season, Cokorinos’s engagements at the Metropolitan Opera comprised La bohème, Le nozze di Figaro, Elektra, and Ariadne auf Naxos, whilst also assisting the opera house in the workshop for a new opera. He returned to the Los Angeles Opera for Tannhauser and Il Trovatore in the role of Bitterolf.
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
encoreatlanta.com
| 29
Jongwon Han, bass-baritone, is hailed for his “sweet, silky baritone” and “charming and witty” stage presence, Korean native Han is making a name for himself as one of the top young artists on the rise; he is the winner of the Third Prize at the 2022 Operalia World Opera Competition and was named one of OperaWire’s Top Ten Rising Starts of 2022. He pursues his second season as a Merola young artist at the San Francisco Opera and will appear throughout their season. Last season, Han made his debut at Dayton Opera in Handel’s Messiah and Palm Beach Opera in Madama Butterfly (Bonzo). In the summer JONGWON HAN of 2022, Han joined the Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist. He made his professional debut at the Vernazza SCHAUNARD Opera Festival (Cinque Terre, Italy) and has been featured ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT in concerts in Osaka, Japan, Seoul, South Korea, and New York City. His operatic roles include the title roles in Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro, and in Don Giovanni (Masetto), La bohème (Schaunard), and La traviata (Barone Douphol). Jongwon Han was a Grand Finalist in the 2021 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, receiving the Pamela Craven Award. In 2022, he was the first prize winner of the Vero Beach Opera Rising Stars, third place & audience choice award winner in the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition. In 2021, he was the recipient of the Stephen De Maio Memorial Award from the Gerda Lissner Foundation. Han received his Bachelor of Music Degree from Seoul National University, his master’s degree at the Mannes School of Music, and studied at The Juilliard School in the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies program. Madison Leonard, soprano, has been praised for her “silvery, ethereal-sounding Sophie” by Opera magazine and “lovely vocal delicacy” in The Telegraph. She returns to Garsington Opera in the 2023-24 season as Giulietta di Kelbar (Un giorno di regno), and to Utah Opera as Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), as well as returns to Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance) with Opera San Antonio. She sings G.F. Handel’s Messiah (Fort Worth Symphony) and Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem (Florida Orchestra). Last season, she returned to Gilda (Rigoletto) and Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) at the Dallas Opera and Central City Opera, MADISON LEONARD respectively. She debuted Leïla in Les pêcheurs des perles (Austin Opera), Marie in La fille du régiment (Utah Opera), MUSETTA and Despina in Così fan tutte (Palm Beach Opera) and ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT returned to the Florida Orchestra for Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. Leonard made an acclaimed role and company debut as Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) with Garsington Opera and maintains a close relationship with Seattle Opera at which she has sung Gilda (Rigoletto), Chrisann Brennan (The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs), Adina ( L’elisir d’amore), and Frasquita (Carmen). Her performance of Gilda in Rigoletto with Austin Opera was named one of the Top Ten Joys in Dance and Classical Music by the Austin Chronicle. She has also sung Chrisann Brennan in Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Austin Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City) and first joined Utah Opera as Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance). She also joined the Sacramento Philharmonic as Lucia di Lammermoor. Other recent performances include Morgana (Alcina), High Priestess (Aida), and with Washington National Opera she sang the Rose (The Little Prince); Ilia (Idomeneo) and Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) at Wolf Trap Opera; and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) and Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at Inland Northwest Opera.
30 | cast&creative Long Long, tenor, is engaged internationally and in the 2023-24 season made his stage debuts with Santa Fe Opera Festival (Rodolfo in La bohème), at the Semperoper Dresden, Opéra National de Montpellier, and returning to Staatsoper Hamburg and Dallas Opera (Romeo in Romeo et Juliette), Semperoper Dresden (Tamino in The Magic Flute), Prague National Opera (The Duke in Rigoletto), and NCPA Beijing (Gérald in Lakmé). Future engagements include a debut at the Canadian Opera Company and a return to Bregenzer Festspiele and Hamburg Opera. Past seasons highlights include house debut as Tamino (The Magic Flute) LONG LONG at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, and previously at Komische Oper Berlin and at Staatsoper RODOLFO Hannover; as Rodolfo (La bohème) with Glyndebourne ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Festival, as The Duke (Rigoletto) with Bregenzer Festspiele, Prague National Theatre and Staatstheater Hannover; stage debuts as Alfredo (La traviata) with Ópera Nacional de Chile and Teatre Principal de Palma, and Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) and Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) with the Israeli Opera. Long Long was the winner of the renowned Neue Stimmen singing competition (2019), and the first prize in the International Music Competition Harbin (China). He was awarded the Giovani Voci Verdiane prize as the winner of the Verdi competition in Busseto (2017). After training at the Georg Solti Accademia in Italy, Long Long was a member of the Bavarian State Opera studio until the end of the 2018-19 season. He completed his studies at the Music Academy in Shanghai and the University Opera Research Institute in Beijing. Kameron Lopreore, tenor, returns to The Atlanta Opera as a Glynn Studio artist for the 2023-24 season. He opened the year performing in The Shining (Bill Watson/Lloyd the Bartender), as the Tenor Soloist in Shapiro’s Frankenstein: The Movie Opera, and in the company’s production of Verdi’s Rigoletto (Mattea Borsa). Later this season, Lopreore will be seen in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lysander). Recently, he was awarded a position with the Santa Fe Opera’s prestigious young artist program. Additionally, he sang The Magic Flute (Tamino) and in the world premiere of Songbird (Panatellas) at the Glimmerglass Festival. KAMERON LOPREORE He performed in Bizet’s Carmen (Le Remendado) and GLYNN STUDIO ARTIST in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore (Nemorino) with Pensacola Opera. In November of 2019, Lopreore travelled with The PARPIGNOL Glimmerglass Festival to perform the role of the Marquis in ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT the culmination of Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles at the THE SHINING, 2023 Château de Versailles in France. He is a prominently featured artist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra where he regularly performs major works such as Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Christmas and Easter Oratorios, and Rossini’s Stabat Mater. He has enjoyed a two year resident artist position with Shreveport Opera where he performed roles such as Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and Motel the tailor in Fiddler on the Roof. He holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in voice from Loyola University New Orleans and he is the recipient of the first Italian American Scholarship Award as well as two Metropolitan Opera National Council district winner awards. In the summer of 2017, he performed in Chautauqua Opera’s studio artist program. Some more of his recent performances have included Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman (E.T.A. Hoffman), Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (Romeo), Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi (Rinuccio), and in the title role of Bernstein’s Candide.
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
encoreatlanta.com
| 31
Zachary Nelson, baritone, was featured on the Atlanta Opera stage in his role debut of Alberich (Das Rheingold) last season. His 2023-24 season features a mix of role debuts and returning to Palm Beach Opera as the Four Villains in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann. Other appearances include the Florentine Opera as Dulcamara (L’elisir d’amore) and Arizona Opera as Leporello (Don Giovanni). In concert he joins the Utah Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Act 3 of Berg’s Wozzeck, and appears with the Sag Harbor Song Festival in recital. During the summer of 2024 he ZACHARY NELSON debuts the role of Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier) with Santa Fe Opera, his 11th opera with the company. Further MARCELLO ahead, he returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago.Last ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT season, he returned to the role of Leporello (Don DAS RHEINGOLD, 2023 Giovanni) with North Carolina Opera, joined the Lubbock Symphony as Sharpless (role debut) in Madama Butterfly, and returned to Santa Fe Opera, singing Golaud (Pelléas et Mélisande). Highlights of recent seasons include Marcello (La bohème) with New Orleans Opera and the Jacksonville Symphony, Escamillo (Carmen) and Ping (Turandot) with Palm Beach Opera, the title role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street with Des Moines Metro Opera, and Doug (Everest) with Chicago Opera Theater. Other notable US appearances include Arizona Opera, San Francisco Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Opera Orchestra of New York. A regular performer with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Nelson has been featured at the Lyric as a soloist in their widely attended annual Millennium Park concert, followed by performances in La bohème, Turandot, and Das Rheingold. Gabriella Reyes, soprano, was chosen as one of WQXR’s ‘20 for 20’ Artists to Watch as one of the most exciting artists in music today. A former member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera, Reyes returned to the Met in the 2023-24 season to perform the roles of Rosalba (Florencia en el Amazonas) and Liù (Turandot). She also makes her role debut as Nedda (Pagliacci) with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Concert work includes a return to the role of Marzelline (Fidelio) with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, both in LA, and on tour in Europe with stops including at the Palau in GABRIELLA REYES Barcelona, the Philharmonie de Paris, and to the Barbican in London. The 2022-23 season saw Reyes make several MIMÌ acclaimed debuts including with the Glyndebourne Festival ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT and the Washington National Opera as Mimì (La bohème), Semperoper Dresden as Musetta (La bohème), and at Detroit Opera as Margarita Xirgu (Ainadamar). Highlights of previous seasons include multiple appearances at the Metropolitan Opera, and as Cio-Cio San (Seven Deaths of Maria Callas) at Opéra national de Paris, as Rosalba (Florencia en los Amazonas) at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Musetta (La bohème) at the Santa Fe Opera. In concert, Reyes appears frequently with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel, alongside appearances as a soloist with the New York Choral Society, the Jacksonville Symphony, and with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Named a 2019 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist by the Metropolitan Opera, Gabrielle Reyes was also a recipient of a Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation in 2018, and a grand finalist in the 2017 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She is a graduate of the Boston Conservatory.
encoreatlanta.com
| 33
Christian Simmons, bass-baritone, was a winner of the Opera Foundation’s 37th Annual Scholarship Competition and will join Deutsche Oper Berlin for the 2023-24 season. A 2023 Apprentice Singer with Santa Fe Opera, Simmons performed Apollo (Orfeo). In his final season as a member of the Cafritz Young Artists of the Washington National Opera, Simmons will cover Il trovatore (Ferrando) and La bohème (Colline), and will be on stage in Blue (Policeman), the American Opera Initiative, and the young artist performance of La bohème (Colline). Since Simmons’ debut season with the Washington National Opera, he CHRISTIAN SIMMONS was seen in the documentary film and studio recording of Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue; and COLLINE as Zuniga in their young artist production of Carmen. ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Christian Simmons was a featured soloist with Gianandrea Noseda and the National Symphony Orchestra, performing the bass soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and concert aria “Per questa bella mano” at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall. During the summer he performed with Barnard College in Southern Crossings (January) and Annapolis Opera in La bohème (Colline). Performance highlights include Le nozze di Figaro (Figaro), Aida (King), Rigoletto (Sparafucile), L’incoronazione di Poppea (Seneca), Roméo et Juliette (Duke), La finta giardiniera (Nardo), The Wiz (Lion), and The Devil and Daniel Webster (Jabez Stone). Simmons has also been featured as the bass soloist in such works as G.F. Handel’s Messiah, J.S. Bach’s Magnificat, Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem, Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem, and Franz Schubert’s Mass in G Major.
Bass-Baritone Jason Zacher is a native of New Jersey and is quickly gaining attention on a national level as a rising new talent and versatile performer. For the 2022-23 season, Zacher joined the acclaimed Barbara and Halsey Sandford Studio Artist Program at Kentucky Opera. While in Kentucky, Zacher was featured in roles such as Colline (La bohème), Alidoro (La Cenerentola), and Henry (The Gift of the Magi). In the summer of 2023, he joined The Glimmerglass Festival where he covered the roles of Pangloss/Voltaire in Candide, as well as Argante in Rinaldo. In the summer of 2022, Zacher returned to Des Moines Metro Opera, singing the role of JASON ZACHER Jimmy in the Midwest premiere of American Apollo (Geter/ GLYNN STUDIO ARTIST Palmer), as well as covering Bottom and Theseus in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Zacher was recently named CUSTOM-HOUSE OFFICER a NY District Winner for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Competition. In addition, he has earned top accolades from RIGOLETTO, 2023 the Jensen Foundation, Annapolis Opera, James Toland Vocal Arts, Rochester Oratorio Society, Opera Birmingham, National Opera Association, among others. Equally at home on the concert stage, Zacher has performed as the bass soloist in Mozart’s Requiem alongside The Masterwork Chorus. Other notable credits include bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Hercules at the Crossroads (BWV213), Mendelssohn’s St. Paul, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel. Zacher holds degrees from both the University of Houston (M.M. Vocal Performance) and Montclair State University (B.M. Music Education).
34 | cast&creative Glynn Studio Artists Joining The Atlanta Opera are singers Aubrey Odle, Amanda Sheriff, and Jason Zacher. Kameron Lopreore was selected for a second season as a Studio Artist continuing from the 2022-23 season. Joining the vocalists will be stage director Nora Winsler. Each of the Studio Artists is an early career professional with significant training and stage experience, some with lead performances and major concert appearances on their resumé. The program builds on The Atlanta Opera’s commitment to provide opportunities for performers at all stages in their careers. Throughout the season, these artists will have the opportunity to work with established performers and coaches
to improve their skills in all aspects of their field. Master Vocal Teacher Laura Brooks Rice has been part of the Studio Artist program since 2021 and is an acclaimed performer and voice teacher and acting coach. An experienced group of coaches and clinicians are engaged in the training and support of the Glynn Studio Artists. The Atlanta Opera is grateful for the support of the young artist program from Beth and Gary Glynn. Significant support is also provided by the Donald and Marilyn Keough Foundation, John and Yee-Wan Stevens, and Jerry and Dulcy Rosenberg.
KAMERON LOPREORE tenor
AUBREY ODLE mezzo-soprano
NORA WINSLER stage director
JASON ZACHER bass-baritone
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
AMANDA SHERIFF soprano
encoreatlanta.com
| 35
TOGETHER, LET’S MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF OUR NATION’S HEROES The Home Depot Foundation is proud to partner with The Atlanta Opera to honor our U.S. military, veterans and their families.
© 2020 Homer TLC, Inc. All rights reserved.
HomeDepotFoundation.org
36 | theatlantaoperachorus CHORUS MASTER Rolando Salazar SOPRANO
TENOR
Gabrielle Bennett Stefayne Dunn Charissa Fonbah Keli Jackson Nicole Lewis Julia Metry Emily Nelson Tiffany Uzoije Erika Wuerzner
Alexander Adkins Adriel Baralt Jimenez Matthew Boatwright Michael Jones Cameron King Eric Mask Ethan Michel Jose Montanez Tyrone Webb
MEZZO-SOPRANO
BASS
Lar’Kara Betha Madison Chambers Isabella Chaney Melissa Godbee Valerie Hamm Blair Lipham Allison Nance Liuba Shrivastava Laurie Tossing Jessica Wax
Maxwell Clements Christopher S. Connelly Andrew Kapsar Jacob Lay Stephen McCool Jacob Thatch McDonald Michael O’Hearn Stuart Schleuse Ivan Segovia Charlie Wentz
CHILDREN’S CHORUS
Phoebe Rose Claeys Champion Conner Eloise Fleck Emilia Fortson Liam Freund Gretta Godbee Willa Godbee Harmony Kraft Giovanna McClenning
Violet Montague Melineh Muradian Adrienne Ocfemia Hensley Peters Maria Ramirez Garcia Anika Singh Ava Trojanowski Lina Ye
CHILDREN’S CHORUS WRANGLER Alexandra Svirshch
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
theatlantaoperaorchestra
VIOLIN
CELLO
FRENCH HORN
Peter Ciaschini The Loraine P. Williams Orchestra Concertmaster Chair
Charae Krueger Principal
David Bradley Principal
Mary Kenney Acting Assistant Principal
Jason Eklund
Helen Kim Assistant Concertmaster
David Hancock
Mackenzie Newell†
Fia Durrett Prinicipal Second Violin
Barney Culver†
Cynthia Sulko
| 37
Eric Hawkins†
TRUMPET
Grace Sommer†
Yvonne Toll-Schneider Principal
BASS
Alexander Freund
Edward Eanes
Daniel Tancredi Principal
Ryan Moser†
Felix Farrar
Emory Clements
Sally Gardner-Wilson
Samuel Dugo*
Robert Givens
William P. Mann Principal
Maurice Belle†
Patti Gouvas
Donald Strand
Rob Henson†
Ed Nicholson†
FLUTE
BASS TROMBONE
Virginia Respess-Fairchild
James Zellers Principal
Richard Brady
Patrick Ryan
Kelly Bryant
Angèle Sherwood-Lawless* Rafael Veytsblum
Erica Pertle† Piccolo
Holly Bryan†
OBOE
Mary Matthews Burndrett† Kevin Chaney†
Christina Gavin Principal
Chelsea Cline†
Lara Seville-Dahl†
Jeff Kershner†
Nina Fronjian†
Alexandra Shatalova Prior† English Horn
HARP
Jessica Stinson Acting Assistant Principal Second Violin
Lisa Morrison Shawn Pagliarini
Mayu Sommovigo† VIOLA William Johnston Principal Catherine Allain Assistant Principal
CLARINET David Odom Principal
TIMPANI John Lawless Principal PERCUSSION Michael Cebulski Karen Hunt†
Susan Brady* PERSONNEL MANAGER James Zellers
Justin Stanley† BASS CLARINET
Ryan Gregory
John Warren
Julie Rosseter
BASSOON
Karl Schab
Carlos Clark Principal
Joli Wu
TROMBONE
Debra Grove
Musicians employed in this production are represented by the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada. *Core Musician On Leave †Non-Core Musician
38 | communityengagement
Celebrate New Works at The 96-Hour Opera Festival WRITTEN BY
RAFTERMEN
Michelle Winters & Jessica Kiger
The winning team of librettist Selda Sahin and composer Dave Ragland work with singers on the winning piece, Steele Roots, at the 2023 competition.
Now in its third season, the 96-Hour Opera Festival celebrates the artistry of emerging creative talents and offers a path into the art of opera. Launched as the 96-Hour Opera Project, this year the Festival expands from the original competition to include developmental workshops and incubator premieres of operas by past competition winners. The competition remains the heart of the Festival, bringing historically underrecognized composers and librettists together to write ten-minute operas. Completing their works before arriving in Atlanta, the creative teams have 96 hours to rehearse and develop their operas with guidance from specialists in the field from June 14 through 17, 2024. On Monday, June 17, 2024, a public showcase will present the ten-minute operas at the Ray Charles Performing Arts Center at Morehouse College, and a winning team is selected by a distinguished group of judges. The Atlanta Opera presents the Antinori Grand Prize to the winning team — a $10,000 award and an Atlanta Opera commission for a new work to be produced and performed in an upcoming season.
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
encoreatlanta.com
| 39
The 96-Hour Festival also features presentations of the works in development by previous competition winners. Tickets and a full schedule of public opportunities to view these world premieres will be released in March 2024. Designed for composers and librettists from historically underrecognized communities, the 96-Hour Opera Competition is open to those who self-identify as part of a demographic that has been under-presented in the creative pantheon of opera. The Atlanta Opera provides singing talent, and a pianist as collaborators to bring the new works to life. Story partners based in Atlanta will assist The Atlanta Opera in providing a compelling story theme, which will be presented to the selected teams. The story prompts form the basis of the plot lines of the submitted works.
RAFTERMEN
More information is available at www.atlantaopera.org/ competition.
During the competition, different teams compete with newly composed, ten-minute operas, for the judges choice and audience favorite.
40 | giving&support We are grateful for the following donors’ generous support. This list reflects gifts and annual pledges to unrestricted operating expenses, special projects, and/or endowment made between Jul 1, 2022 and Nov 15, 2023. Director’s Circle $200,000+ Harold Brody & Donald Smith† John & Rosemary Brown† Dr. Frank A. Critz & Dr. Ann Critz† Beth & Gary Glynn Mr. Howard W. Hunter - Gramma Fisher Foundation† *Mr. & Mrs. Carl W. Knobloch, Jr.† Jerry & Dulcy Rosenberg† Katherine Scott *Mrs. Lessie B. Smithgall
$100,000+ *Sylvia Halleck, MD Mr. James B. Miller, Jr.†
Patron’s Circle $15,000+ Mr. & Mrs. James Anderson Julie & *Jim Balloun† Mr. David Boatwright† Dr. Donald J. & Janet Filip† *Ms. Anne Marie Gary Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Hardin The Hilbert Law Firm Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Keough Slumgullion Charitable Fund† Stephanie & Gregor Morela† Sandra & Peter Morelli† Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Nicholas III† Christine & Mark St.Clare† Larry & Beverly Willson† The Mary & Charlie Yates Family Fund
Gold $10,000+ Elizabeth & Jeremy Adler† Mrs. *Phillip E. Alvelda† John & Wendy Anzalone† Dr. & Mrs. Asad Bashey Mr. & Mrs. C. Duncan Beard Mr. & Mrs. Dante Bellizzi Natalie & Matthew Bernstein Anonymous Mr. Frank H. Butterfield† Mr. Richard H. Delay & Dr. Francine D. Dykes† Mr. Tomer Zvulun & Mrs. Susanna Eiland Dieter Elsner† Ms. Ariana B. Fass Deborah & Paul Harkins Roya & Bahman Irvani *Mary & *Wayne James Dr. & Mrs. David Kavtaradze Mr. & Mrs. Michael E. Paulhus† Norm & Shannon Prestage Mr. Milton J. Sams† Thomas R. Saylor Charles T. & Donna Sharbaugh† Mr. & Mrs. Timothy E. Sheehan Triska Drake & G. Kimbrough Taylor† Wadleigh C. Winship Charitable Fund
Silver $5,000+ Mr. & *Mrs. Shepard B. Ansley Dr. R. Dwain Blackston Drs. Eda Hochgelerent & Bruce Cassidy†
John & Yee-Wan Stevens† Rhys & Carolyn Wilson†
$50,000+ Cathy & Mark Adams† The Antinori Foundation† Mr. & Mrs. Paul Blackney† Laura & Cosmo Boyd Connolly Family Foundation The Gable Foundation, Inc† Mr. John L. Hammaker Alfredo & Beau Martin† Mary Ruth McDonald Mr. William F. Snyder† Ms. Bunny Winter & Mr. Michael Doyle† Mr. & Mrs. Kate Cook John W. Cooledge† Mr. & Mrs. Ron L. Cundy Dr. Jeannette Guarner & Dr. Carlos del Rio Mr. & Mrs. Robert G. Edge Mr. & Mrs. Reade Fahs Sally & Hank Fielding† Ms. Rebecca Y. Frazer & Mr. Jon Buttrey Mr. Ethan Garonzik Kevin Greiner & Robyn Roberts Judge Adele P. Grubbs Gena & Joey Gyengo Ms. Lynn Hanna Dr. Thomas High Mr. L. D. Holland† Billy Huger Gail G. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Gert Kampfer Ms. Anne Morgan & Mr. James Kelley Ms. Elizabeth Klump Mrs. Dale Levert & Mr. George W. Levert Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Long Dan D. Maslia & Mimi Shetzen Maslia Belinda & Gino Massafra Robert & Creel McCormack Erica McVicker Clara M. & John S. O’Shea† Mr. & Mrs. Steve Paro Lib & Neal Quirk Lynn & Kent Regenstein Mr. James L. Rhoden Morton & Angela Sherzer Baker & Debby Smith† Lynne & Steven Steindel George & Amy Taylor† Mr. & Mrs. William E. Tucker Dr. & Mrs. Nicholas Valerio III† Benny & Roxanne Varzi Thurman Williams Bob & Cappa Woodward Charitable Fund
Bronze $2,500+ Scott & Betsy Akers Mr. James L. Anderson Ms. Casey Armanino Atlanta Neurology Catherine A. Binns
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
$25,000+ Bryan & Johanna Barnes† Mr. Robert P. Dean & Mr. Robert Epstein† Dr. & Mrs. Alexander Gross† Mr. John Haupert & Mr. Bryan Brooks† Talia & John Murphy Victoria & Howard Palefsky† *Mr. William E. Pennington Ms. Janine Brown & Mr. Alex J. Simmons, Jr. Judith & Mark Taylor Carol B. & Ramon Tomé† Mr. & Mrs. Earl Blair Mr. Jonathan Blalock Ms. Donna Burchfield Ms. Mary Calhoun Mr. & Mrs. Charles Cohn T. Dennis Connally Jean & Jerry Cooper Danica & Milton Dilligard Mr. Mark du Mas Drs. Morgan & Susan Horton Eiland Dr. & Mrs. Todd D. Ellis Mr. Thomas Emch Mark & Mary Eppert Mr. & Mrs. Lance Fortnow Mr. Michael D. Golden & Dr. Juliet Asher Dr. Thomas N. Guffin, Jr. Mr. Brian Henry Donna & *Richard Hiller Douglas Hooker & Patrise Perkins Hooker Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey R. Hoopes Mr. & Mrs. David C. Huffman Mr. Christopher Kell Mr. Alfred D. Kennedy & Dr. Bill Kenny Mr. & Mrs. Larry Kurlander Ms. Brenda O. Lambert Ms. Constance B. Lewis Linda L. Lively & James E. Hugh III Dr. & Mrs. Ellis L. Malone Samantha & William Markle John S. Metz Philip & Caroline Moïse Mrs. Agnes Nelson Lucy S. Perry Mr. Joshua Peyton Mrs. Betsy Pittman Margaret & Bob Reiser Jeanne Roberson Mr. & Mrs. J. Barry Schrenk Beverly & Milton Shlapak Mr. & Mrs. E. Kendrick Smith Mr. & Mrs. Richard Sproul Gail & Barry Spurlock Dr. Jane T. St. Clair & Mr. James E. Sustman Mr. Tarek Takieddini Mr. Johnny Thigpen & Mr. Clay Martin
encoreatlanta.com
Cynthia Widner Wall Mr. Mark Westfall Thomas R. Williams Family
Friend’s Circle Investor $1,000+ Ms. Hope M. Barrett Christine M. Beard Mr. Walter Carter Bland Mrs. Jane Blount Dr. & Mrs. Jerry Blumenthal Raphael Bostic Mr. Sean Bowen Ms. Martha S. Brewer Mrs. Carol J. Clark Mr. N. Jerold Cohen & Ms. Andrea Strickland Ms Lillianette Cook & Ms. Carol Uhl John & Linda Cooke Jeremy & Audrey Critz John & Melissa Critz Mr. & Mrs. Edward S. Croft III Dr. & Mrs. F. Thomas Daly Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Harold T. Daniel Jr. Mr. James M. Datka & Ms. Nora P. DePalma Jim & Carol Dew Mr. Trey Duskin & Ms. Noelle Albano Anonymous Mrs. Anne J. Ederington Micah Fortson & Georgia Jarman Dr. Richard Goodjoin James C. Goodwyne & Christopher S. Connelly Helen C. Griffith Ms. Louise S. Gunn Felicia & Isaiah Hale George L. Hickman III Richard & Linda Hubert Cliff Jolliff & Elaine Gerke Mrs. Cecile M. Jones Mrs. Peter G. Kessenich Wadih & Ali Khayat Ms. Carla Knobloch Tim & Angela Leveridge Jennifer & Chad Mann Dr. & Mrs. Steven Marlowe Mrs. Erin Martin Mr. Stedman C. Mays Jr. & Mr. Charles Bjorklund Barbara & Mark Murovitz Denis Ng & Mary Jane Panzeri Ng Carol S. Niemi Kathie & Charles Palmer Mr. Darryl-Christopher Payne† Dr. & Mrs. Donald Reitzes R.J. & D.G. Riffey, Jr. Sidney & Phyllis Rodbell Ms. Hazel Sanger Adhishesh Sood Mr. & Mrs. Robert Stansfield Ms. Virginia S. Taylor Mr. Michael Tushman & Mrs. Marjorie Williams Eldred Veira Ms. Betsy K. Wash Alan & Marcia Watt Rae & George Weimer Dr. & Mrs. James O. Wells, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Mark Westfall Ms. Kathy J. White *Dr. & Mrs. R. Craig Woodward Dr. & Mrs. Hamilton Williams
| 41
Supporter $500+
Contributor $250+
Judith M. Alembik Dr. Catherine Allard Martha Allday Dr. Raymond Allen Paula Stephan Amis Mr. John Baker Mr. & Mrs. Robert O. Banker Mrs. Marilee F. Betor Mr. Matt Blackburn Jill Blair & Fay Twersky Stanford M. Brown Craig & Brenda Caldwell Mr. Pete Ciaschini Dr. Lawrence M. Cohen Mrs. Jan W. Collins Julianna M. Critz Ann & Jim Curry Maureen & Michael Dailey Mr. Joseph V. Dawsey & Mr. Frank D. Kubanek Ms. Ellen J. Evans Dr. & Mrs. Richard D. Franco Dr. & Mrs. David J. Frolich Mr. Glen Galbaugh Col. & Mrs. Donald M. Gilner John Greer Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Grodzicki Mr. & Mrs. Sam Hagan Debra M. Hulsey Ms. Lynne Elliott Jones Mr. J. Carter Joseph Keith Kellum Joan & Arnold Kurth Mr. Scott Lampert Mr. Sidney E. Linton Livvy Kazer Lipson Allan & Vaneesa Little Dr. Jo Marie Lyons Jeanie & Albert Marx Mr. Michael Mayes Mr. M. Reynolds McClatchey Jr. Mr. Bernard McGuinness Mr. M Sean Molley & Ms. Heidi C. Pritchett Ciaran Morris Mr. Marvin Moss Terri & Stephen Nagler Mr. Allan & Mrs. Twinkle Nelson Dr. & Mrs. Lawrence S. Phillips Mr. Lawrence F. Pinson *Sharon & Jim Radford Mr. Stephen L. Rann & Ms. Dytre Fentress Mr. & Mrs. James W. Robbins Sandra & Ronald Rousseau Dr. & Mrs. William M. Scaljon Mr. Fred B. Smith Mr. Paul Snyder Sharon Daniels Sullivan Kay Summers Carolyn & Robert Swain Stephen Swicegood Dr. & Mrs. Michael Szikman Mr. Stephen H. Thompson & Mr. Drew Mote Ms. Juliana T. Vincenzino Ms. Brenda D. Jennings Kelly Weekes Ed Willard & J. R. Attaway Kiki Wilson
Christine Allen Mr. Paul Anderson, Jr. Stephan & Laura Anderson Atlanta Opera Orchestra Players Assoc. Mr. & Mrs. David S. Baker Claire & Bryan Benedict Mr. Edward S. Berkoff Dr. Stephen R. Brandt James & Nancy Bross Beau F. Brummett Dr. & Mrs. Harold L. Chapman, Jr. Mr. David D’Ambrosio Carol Comstock & Jim Davis Mr. & Mrs. John Drucker Mr. & Mrs. David R. Dye Teresa Elbel Allison Fichter & Phillip O’Brien Judy & Stan Fineman Mary Anne & Bruce Gaunt Ms. Pat Godbee Drs. Nancy & Robert Griner Admiral Jamael & Mrs. Rashidah Hester Mr. & Mrs. Douglas M. Holly, Jr. Ms. Jan W. Hughen Mr. Rolf Ingenleuf Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Johnston Matthew Katzmark Mr. & Mrs. *David Keller John & JoAnn Keller Dorothy Yates Kirkley Mr. Roy Locklear III Mr. Simon Miller Mrs. George E. Missbach Jr. Berthe & Shapour Mobasser The Honorable & Mrs. George A. Novak Rita Omark Mr. John Owens Mrs. Polly N. Pater Mr. & Mrs. John Payan The Reverend Neal P. Ponder, Jr. Virginia Rolfes Ms. Regina Schuber Mr. Karin Schwerd Dr. & Mrs. William E. Silver Andrew J. Singletary, Jr. Clayton & Holly Sparrow Elizabeth Morgan Spiegel Steve & Christine Strong Dr. David E. Sutherland II & Mrs. Sarah F. Yates Sutherland Mr. & Mrs. Frederick C. Taylor Ms. Nancy A. Thomas Ms. Mary Thorpe-Mease Mr. & Ms. Wolfgang Tiedtke Ms. Jone Williams & Ms. Barbara Robb
†extraordinary donors who have committed to continue their annual giving for three years or more *deceased
42 | giving&support CORPORATE PARTNERS $100,000+
$10,000+
The Coca-Cola Company The Home Depot Foundation
Accenture LLP The Capital Group Companies Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta The Hilbert Law Firm Homrich-Berg, Inc. - Buckhead KPMG LLP National Distributing Co., Inc.
$50,000+ Gas South Truist UPS
Price Waterhouse Coopers Troutman Pepper Warner Bros. Discovery WestRock Company
$5,000+ EY KaneTreadwell Law LLC
Official Beverage of The Atlanta Opera
BARBARA D. STEWART LEGACY SOCIETY The Atlanta Opera established the Barbara D. Stewart Legacy Society to recognize donors who have designated The Opera as a beneficiary in their estate plan. In honor of Barbara D. Stewart’s many contributions to The Atlanta Opera, our planned giving division, the Encore Society, has been renamed the Barbara D. Stewart Legacy Society. Cathy Callaway Adams & Mark Adams Anonymous (5) Mr. & *Mrs. Shepard B. Ansley Mrs. Wallace F. Beard The Bickers Charitable Trust Mr. Jonathan Blalock *Jim & *Nancy Bland Mr. Montague L. Boyd, IV Mr. Robert Colgin *Martha Thompson Dinos The Roy & Janet Dorsey Foundation Mr. Richard H. Delay & Dr. Francine D. Dykes Arnold & Sylvia Eaves * Ms. Dorothy E. Edwards *Heike & Dieter Elsner Ms. Melodi Ford Carl & Sally Gable *Ms. Anne Marie Gary Mr. & Mrs. Sidney W. Guberman Ms. Judy Hanenkrat *Sylvia Halleck, MD Caroline Hardin Richard & Fern Hartnig The Hilbert Family Trust Eda L. Hochgelerent, M.D. & Bruce A. Cassidy, M.D. Mr. L. Don Holland Mr. Hilson Hudson *Mrs. Joseph B. Hutchison
Gail G. Johnson Mr. J. Carter Joseph *Mrs. Alfred D. Kennedy, Sr. *Mrs. Isabelle W. Kennedy *Donald & *Marilyn Keough Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Keough Ms. Corina M. LaFrossia Mr. & Mrs. John G. Malcolm Mr. Robert L. Mays Mr. & Mrs. Allen P. McDaniel *Peggy Weber McDowell & *Jack McDowell Mr. & Mrs. Craig N. Miller *Miss Helen D. Moffitt Mr. J. Robert Morring Clara M. & John S. O’Shea Mrs. Polly N. Pater Mr. James Paulk *Mr. William Pennington *Mr. Bruce Roth Ms. Hazel Sanger Mr. D. Jack Sawyer, Jr. Anita & J. Barry Schrenk Katherine Scott Elizabeth N. Shapiro *Mrs. Lessie B. Smithgall Elizabeth Morgan Spiegel Christine & Mark St.Clare *Ms. Barbara D. Stewart *Mrs. Eleanor H. Strain Mr. Tarek Takieddini Sandra & *Tom Teepen
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
Dr. & Mrs. Harold Whitney *Mrs. Jane S. Willson Rhys & Carolyn Wilson Ms. Bunny Winter & Mr. Michael Doyle Mr. Charles R. Yates, Jr. & Mrs. Mary Mitchell Yates *Mr. & *Mrs. Charels R. Yates, Sr. Mr. Tomer Zvulun & Mrs. Susanna Eiland
*deceased
encoreatlanta.com
| 43
FOUNDATIONS & GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOUNDATIONS $500,000+ Lettie Pate Evans Foundation
$225,000+ The Molly Blank Fund of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Mr. Howard W. Hunter Gramma Fisher Foundation† Donald & Marilyn Keough Foundation
$100,000+ The Coca-Cola Foundation†
$50,000+ Anonymous Atlanta Music Festival Association Fund of Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta The Gable Foundation The Halle Foundation Knobloch Family Foundation†
Livingston Foundation† Mary & EP Rogers Foundation, Inc. The Sara Giles Moore Foundation The Rich Foundation, Inc. Truist Trusteed Foundations: Florence C. & Harry L. English Memorial Fund The Zeist Foundation, Inc.
$20,000+ Connolly Family Foundation The Jim Cox, Jr. Foundation The Roy & Janet Dorsey Foundation J. Marshall & Lucile G. Powell Charitable Trust The Ray M. & Mary Elizabeth Lee Foundation
$10,000+
$5,000+ Camp-Younts Foundation
$1,000+ Atlanta Woman’s Club The Hills Family Foundation, Mr. & Mrs. Thomas D. Hills, Trustees The Mary Brown Fund of Atlanta, Georgia The Opera Guild for Atlanta Frances Wood Wilson Foundation, Inc.
GOVERNMENT City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs Fulton County Arts & Culture Georgia Council for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts
The George M. Brown Trust Fund The Hertz Family Foundation, Inc. JBS Foundation
TRIBUTES & MEMORIALS In Honor of Mr. Jonathan Blalock Mr. John Thompson, II Mr. William F. Snyder Connor Howard George & Rae Weimer
In Memory of Dr. James T. Lowman The Family of Frank A. Thorpe Ms. Mary Thorpe-Mease Mr. Stephen Koger John & Yee-Wan Stevens
In Honor of Dr. Hal Brody & Mr. Don Smith Jonathan Blalock
In Honor of Mary Ruth McDonald Jonathan Blalock George & Rae Weimer
In Memory of Maria Callas Jesus Olivas Sierra
In Memory of Peggy McDowell Mr. J. Carter Joseph
In Honor of Brother George Councill Barbara Bonner
In Memory of Ann Chamlee Payne Darryl-Christopher Payne
In Honor of Ann & Frank Critz Brenda O’Neal Lambert George & Rae Weimer In Honor of Robert Dean & Robert Epstein Jonathan Blalock In Memory of Col. & Mrs. Edgar W. Duskin Noelle Albano & Trey Duskin In Honor of Mr. Robert G. Edge Mrs. Eleanor Crosby In Memory of Harriet Harris Carlquist Harris Freya Harris Karen Rajczi In Memory of Mr. Chip Johnston & Mr. Frank Monger Mr. Johnny Thigpen & Mr. James Martin
In Memory of William Pennington Jonathan Blalock In Memory of Marietta Pompilio Dan Pompilio & Lark Ingram In Honor of Talia & John Murphy Neal Quirk In Memory of the Honorable George A. Novak Jana M. Novak In Honor of Howard & Victoria Palefsky Mr. & Mrs. Kate Cook Donna Burchfield & Penn Nicholson In Honor of Jerome & Dulcy Rosenberg Mr. & Mrs. Jay Davis In Honor of Katherine Scott Jonathan Blalock
In Honor of William F. Snyder Jonathan Blalock In Memory of Margaret Williams Thurman Williams In Memory of Marya Gabrielle Williams Jone Williams & Barbara Robb In Honor of Charlie & Mary Yates Mr. Joshua Peyton Dr. David E. Sutherland II & Mrs. Sarah F. Yates Sutherland Dorothy Yates Kirkley In Honor of Mr. Tomer Zvulun & Ms. Susanna Eiland Mr. Michael D. Golden & Dr. Juliet Asher Connor Howard Ms. Elizabeth Klump Emily Knobloch Mr. & Mrs. Larry Kurlander Mary Ruth McDonald Katherine Scott John & Yee-Wan Stevens Mr. & Mrs. William E. Tucker George & Rae Weimer In Memory of Henry Zvulun Mary Jane Burkhalter Mr. Michael D. Golden & Dr. Juliet Asher Katherine Scott Ms. Elizabeth Klump *deceased
44 | leadership EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Board Chair Mr. Rhys T. Wilson
Facilities Task Force Chair Mr. Howard Palefsky
Vice-Chair Mr. John L. Hammaker
Investment Committee Co-Chair Mr. Frank Butterfield
Vice-Chair | Development Committee Co-Chair Mr. Charles R. Yates, Jr.
Investment Committee Co-Chair Mrs. Sandra S. Morelli
Secretary Mr. John Haupert
Nominating & Board Engagement Committee Chair Mr. Kevin Greiner
Treasurer | Finance Committee Chair Ms. Bunny Winter
Strategic Planning Committee Chair Mrs. Christine St.Clare
Audit Chair Mr. Bryan H. Barnes
At-Large Member, Immediate Past Chair Mrs. Cathy Callaway Adams
Community Engagement Committee Chair Mr. Alex Simmons, Jr.
At-Large Member Mr. Howard W. Hunter
Development Committee Co-Chair Mrs. Talia Murphy
Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director, ex-officio member Mr. Tomer Zvulun
Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee Chair Mrs. Stephanie Morela
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEMBERS Mrs. Cathy Callaway Adams Mrs. Elizabeth Adler Ms. Susan M. Anderson Mr. Bryan H. Barnes Mr. Dante Bellizzi Mr. Montague L. Boyd, IV Dr. Harold J. Brody Mrs. Rosemary Kopel Brown Mr. Frank H. Butterfield Mr. Mario Concha Dr. Frank A. Critz Mr. Robert Dean Dr. Todd Ellis Mr. Dieter Elsner Dr. Donald J. Filip Mr. Kevin Greiner Mrs. Joanne Chesler Gross
Mr. Jamael Hester Mr. Howard W. Hunter Mr. Andrew R. Long Mr. Alfredo Martin Mr. James B. Miller, Jr. Mrs. Stephanie Morela Mrs. Sandra S. Morelli Mrs. Talia Murphy Mr. Howard Palefsky Mr. Michael E. Paulhus Dr. Carlos del Rio Mr. Herbert J. Rosenberg Mr. Thomas Saylor Mr. Alex Simmons, Jr. Mrs. Christine St.Clare Mr. William E. Tucker Mr. Tomer Zvulun, ex-officio
HONORARY MEMBERS Mr. Mr. Ronald Antinori The Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler Mr. Robert G. Edge Mr. Carl I. Gable, Jr. Mrs. Nancy Hall Green Mr. Gregory F. Johnson Mr. Carter Joseph Mr. Alfred Kennedy, Jr. Mr. Michael Keough Mrs. Emily C. Knobloch Mr. George Levert Mr. J. Barry Schrenk Mr. Timothy E. Sheehan Mr. G. Kimbrough Taylor, Jr. Mr. Mark K. Taylor Mr. Thomas R. Williams Mr. Robert G. Woodward
ADVISORY COUNCIL Mr. Andrew J.M. Binns Mr. Kenny L. Blank Mrs. Inge Bledel Ms. Mary Calhoun Ms. Sally Bland Fielding
Mr. Roger Fleming Mr. Lance Fortnow Mrs. Beth W. Glynn Dr. Thomas N. Guffin, Jr. Mr. Douglas Hooker
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
Mrs. Erin Quinn Martin Mr. Robert G. Pennington Mr. Paul Snyder
staff
| 45
EXECUTIVE
FINANCE
Carl W. Knobloch, Jr.
Chief Financial Officer. . . . . . . . . . . . . Toula Argentis Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inga V. Murro Staff Accountant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Camelia Johnson Staff Accountant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Tubbs, Jr. Bookkeeper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ruth Strickland Accountant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ben Imbert
General & Artistic Director. . . . . . . . Tomer Zvulun Managing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Micah Fortson Executive Assistant & Board Liason �������� Misty Reid Special Projects Manager. . . . . . . . . . Nancy Kritikos
ARTISTIC / MUSIC Carl & Sally Gable Music Director ������� Arthur Fagen Director of Artistic Administration. . . Meredith Wallace Artistic Associate. . . . . . . . . . . Annie Penner Gilstrap Chorus & Orchestra Manager ����������������� Chris Bragg Orchestra Librarian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Phil Parsons
PRODUCTION Director of Production. . . . . . . . . . . Robert Reynolds Assoc. Director of Production ���� Meggie Roseborough Production Manager ����������������������������������� Amy Smith Production Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . Megan Bennett Production Finance Coordinator. . Robbin Anderson Assistant Stage Manager. . . . . Caitlin Denney-Turner Assistant Stage Manager ����������������� Aletha Saunders Lighting Supervisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matthew Peddie Props Supervisor & Artisan. . . . . . . . . Paige Steffens
COSTUME Costume Director . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Burch Gordon Shop Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . Cristine Reynolds Show Coordinator . . . . . . . . Paula Peasley-Ninestein Master Draper / Tailor
. . . . . . . . . Mary Cruz Torres
First Hand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gibron Shepperd Lead Stitcher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fiona Leonard Stitcher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Allison Hines
ADMINISTRATION Chief Administrative Officer ���������������Kathy J. White Director of Human Resources ���� Kenneth R. Timmons
MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS, & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Director of Sales & Marketing . . . . . Rebecca Brown Creative Services Manager. . . . . . . . Matt Burkhalter Marketing Project Manager . . . . . . . . . . . Emily Crisp Sales & Marketing Manager . . . . . . Ashley May King Senior Manager, Ticketing Services ���Renee Smiley Ticketing Services Coordinator ��������Chauncey Sims
COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC RELATIONS Director of Communications & Public Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . Michelle Winters
THE ATLANTA OPERA FILM STUDIO Director of The Atlanta Opera Film Studio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Felipe Barral Film Associate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Amanda Sachtleben Short-Form Video Editor ������������������� Brittany Fontis
GLYNN STUDIO Master Teacher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Laura Brooks Rice Studio Artists. . . . Kameron Lopreore, Aubrey Odle, Amanda Sheriff, Nora Winsler, Jason Zacher
Wardrobe Supervisor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Chipman
LA BOHÈME LIVESTREAM
Costume Storage Move Coordinator �������Jenn Rogers
Director ������������������������������������������������������ Felipe Barral Executive Producers. . . Tomer Zvulun, Felipe Barral Director of Photography ������������������������ Felipe Barral Producer �������������������������������������������������� Felipe Barral, Amanda Sachtleben, Mallory Ivy Camera Operator ���������������������� Amanda Sachtleben Gioconda Barral-Secchi, Christina Massad, Valeriia Luhovska, Michelle Hamilton, Darvensky Louis, Adam New Sound Capture & Live Mixing ����������� Tim Whitehead Sound Monitor ����������������������������������Preston Goodson Switcher . . . . . . . Felipe Barral, Amanda Sachtleben Livestream Operator . . Gerald Griffith, Felipe Barral Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Matt Burkhalter Pre-show Content Video Editor �����Amanda Sachtleben, Brittney Fontus, Felipe Barral Editor. . . . . . . . Amanda Sachtleben, Brittney Fontus Pre-show Podcast Audio Editor. . . . Preston Goodson TAO Film Studio Sonic ID ���������������������� Felipe Barral
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & EDUCATION Director of Community Engagement & Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jessica Kiger Education Manager �������������������������������� Amy Williams Community Engagement & Education Coordinator. . . . . . . Jonesia Williams
DEVELOPMENT Development Managing Director ����Jessica Langlois Director of Development —Individual Giving . . . . . . . . . . . . Jonathan Blalock Associate Director of Development Operations . . . . . . . . . Katy Gardner Institutional Giving Manager ���������������� Marisol Deus Annual Giving & Events Coordinator ��������Gloria Lin Development Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . Aaron Walker Development Operations Coordinator ���Diana Brewster Stagehands employed in this production are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees—Local 927
The Wardrobe Department employed in this production is represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees—Local 859
The Make-up Artists & Hair Stylists employed in this production are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees—Local 798
46 | housepolicies CONCESSIONS Concession stands are located in the center of the lobbies on all three levels. Food and beverage items are prohibited inside the theater. Thank you for your cooperation. RESTROOMS Restrooms are located on house right and house left of all three lobbies. Family restrooms are also located on house right of all three lobbies. Mobility-impaired patrons may use any of our restrooms. PREPAID PARKING On the performance page on the Cobb Energy Centre website there is a link to purchase parking in advance. Day of parking is available for $15 (credit or debit card only). There are 1,000 on-site parking spaces; 700 in a four-level deck and 300 more in a surface lot.
LOST & FOUND Items are turned into the Synovus Box Office on the day of a performance. To inquire about a lost item, please call Public Safety at 770-916-2911. SMOKING Smoking is prohibited inside the building. SPECIAL ASSISTANCE Persons requiring access assistance are asked to contact the Ticketmaster at 800-982-2787 for advance arrangements. Audio clarification devices are available to our hearing impaired guests at no charge. This is on a firstcome, first-served basis and are available at the main desk in the lobby. Wheelchairs are available upon request. All items require a form of identification to be held until the item is returned.
EMERGENCY INFO In the event of an emergency, please locate the nearest usher who will direct you to the appropriate exit. ELEVATORS Elevators are located on each side of the lobbies on all levels.
atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera
COBB ENERGY CENTRE RULES & REQUESTS • All patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket in order to be admitted to the performance. Please be aware that not all performances are suitable for children. • Infants will not be admitted to adult programs. Parents will be asked to remove children who create a disturbance. • There is no late seating allowed. Closed-circuit monitors are provided in the lobby as a courtesy to latecomers. • Please turn off all cellphones prior to the beginning of each performance. • Please limit conversation during the performance. • C ameras (including use of cellphone camera) and audio and video recording devices are strictly prohibited at all times. • Leaving while the show is in progress is discourteous and we ask that you refrain from doing so. • Please unwrap all candies and cough drops before the performance.