ENCORE ATLANTA :: THE ATLANTA OPERA :: PORGY AND BESS by Encore Magazine

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PORGY AND BESS

George Gershwin, DuBose & Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin

Mar 7, 8, 10, 13, 15, 2020 Cobb Energy Centre

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welcome

Most opera companies cherish the gems of the repertoire—Madama Butterfly, Carmen, La traviata, La bohème—but there are always operas that, for one reason or another, occupy a special place in a company’s memory. Porgy and Bess is one of those shows for The Atlanta Opera. This is the third time we’ve done the show in the last fifteen years, and it’s always a profound experience both for The Atlanta Opera family and for the community. We first did Porgy in 2005 and tapped into one of our city’s greatest musical assets: its abundance of homegrown, extraordinarily gifted choral singers. (As you’ll see, the Porgy chorus is central to the opera; these singers carry a heavy musical load while embodying the spirit of a close-knit community.) Thanks to their artistry, that 2005 Porgy chorus virtually stole the show, and got people talking about us—all the way in Europe. In 2008, when the historic Parisian opera company OpéraComique staged Porgy and Bess, they imported The Atlanta Opera Chorus to sing that hefty part. While overseas, the Chorus then went on to sing Porgy in Normandy, Spain, and Luxembourg. Porgy was revived in Atlanta in 2011. And now in 2020, it seems the stars are aligned with us once again: This time, we welcome another one of our city’s great musical assets—the Atlanta-based international opera star Morris Robinson—to sing the role of Porgy. In 2016, he and Kristin Lewis co-starred in this remarkable American opera at one of the most storied houses in all the world: Teatro alla Scala in Milan. We’re thrilled to present Morris on his home turf for three performances. He shares the role with the acclaimed South African bass-baritone Musa Ngqungwana. Aside from all these wonderful associations, Porgy and Bess is a marvelous theatrical experience, composed by one of America’s greatest songwriting duos, George and Ira Gershwin. A slice of life from early 20th-century Charleston, Porgy and Bess presents a world we recognize here in Atlanta: the heat, the religion, the struggles, and that southern pace, all reimagined in a marvelous co-production of Seattle Opera and The Glimmerglass Festival. Working in the field of opera is always a pleasure, but never more so than when you’re surrounded by good friends, exceptional talent, and a one-of-a-kind community. I hope you enjoy this production of Porgy and Bess. Please come again, and bring your friends.

Tomer Zvulun Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director

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Major support for The Atlanta Opera is provided by the Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs. 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.

THE ATLANTA OPERA DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE Cathy & Mark Adams Mr. & Mrs. Ronald R. Antinori Nancy & *Jim Bland Laura & Montague Boyd Dr. Harold Brody & Mr. Donald Smith Ms. Janine Brown & Mr. Alex J. Simmons, Jr. John & Rosemary Brown Mr. & Mrs. John L. Connolly Ann & Frank Critz *Martha Thompson Dinos Triska Drake & G. Kimbrough Taylor Carl & Sally Gable Dr. & Mrs. Alexander Gross John L. Hammaker

Howard Hunter, Gramma Fisher Foundation Donald & Marilyn Keough Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Keough *Mr. & Mrs. Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. James B. Miller, Jr. Mary Ruth McDonald Victoria & Howard Palefsky Mr. William Pennington Jerry & Dulcy Rosenberg Mr. William F. Snyder Judith & Mark Taylor Brian & Marie Ward Rhys T. & Carolyn Wilson The Mary & Charlie Yates Family Fund *deceased

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credits

MUSIC George Gershwin LIBRETTO DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin FIRST PERFORMANCE September 30, 1935, Colonial Theatre, Boston, Massachusetts CONDUCTOR David Charles Abell PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Francesca Zambello STAGE DIRECTOR Garnett Bruce SCENIC DESIGNER Peter Davison COSTUME DESIGNER Paul Tazewell LIGHTING DESIGNER Mark McCullough WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER J. Jared Janas CHOREOGRAPHER Eric Sean Fogel ASSOCIATE CONDUCTOR / CHORUS MASTER Rolando Salazar ASSOCIATE SCENIC DESIGNER James F. Rotando III ASSOCIATE WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER Anthony Lauro ASSOCIATE CHOREOGRAPHER Eboni Adams FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER Michelle Ladd Williams SUPERTITLES Kelley Rourke CAST (IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE) CLARA Jacqueline Echols MINGO Martin Bakari SPORTIN’ LIFE Jermaine Smith JAKE Reginald Smith, Jr. SERENA Indra Thomas ROBBINS Larry D. Hylton JIM Phillip Bullock PETER Timothy Miller LILY Kimberly Milton MARIA La’Shelle Allen PORGY (MARCH 7, 8, & 10) Morris Robinson PORGY (MARCH 13 & 15) Musa Ngqungwana

CROWN Donovan Singletary BESS Kristin Lewis DETECTIVE Mark Kincaid UNDERTAKER Jarrod Lee ANNIE Tiffany Uzoijie NELSON Ernest Jackson STRAWBERRY WOMAN Jouelle Roberson* CRABMAN Demetrius Sampson CORONER Michael Patten

MUSICAL PREPARATION Seann Alderking, Álvaro Corral Matute* ASSISTANT DIRECTOR Ellen Jackson† PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER Jill Krynicki ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS Marisa Brink, Kristin Kelley, Renée Varnas PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Raine Hess Scenery designed by Peter J. Davison. The scenery was originally created for The Glimmerglass Festival and Seattle Opera. Costume Designer: Paul Tazewell. Costumes constructed by: Washington National Opera Costume Studio. Projected titles design by Kelley Rourke originally for The Glimmerglass Festival. Performed in English with English supertitles. Approximate running time: three hours including one 25 minute intermission. *member of The Atlanta Opera Studio †The Jerry & Dulcy Rosenberg Young Artist Stage Director, given in honor of Tomer Zvulun **alumnus of The Atlanta Opera Studio

TIM WILKERSON

8 | synopsis

Laquita Mitchell as Bess and Michael Redding as Porgy in the Atlanta Opera’s 2011 production of Porgy and Bess at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre.

ACT I — Scene 1: Catfish Row, a summer evening

An evening in Catfish Row, an AfricanAmerican tenement on Charleston’s waterfront, in the 1930s. Jasbo Brown entertains the community with his piano playing (“Jasbo Brown Blues”). Clara, a young mother, sings a lullaby to her baby (“Summertime”) as the workingmen prepare for a game of craps. Among the players are Sportin’ Life, Jake, Mingo, Jim, and Robbins, who enters the game despite the protestations of his wife, Serena (“Roll Them Bones”). Jake breaks away briefly, takes the baby from his wife Clara, and sings his own lullaby, “A Woman Is a Sometime Thing.” Porgy, a disabled beggar, enters on his goat cart to organize the game. As the game begins in earnest, Crown, a strong and brutal stevedore, storms in with his woman, Bess. He buys cheap whiskey and some of Sportin’ Life’s “happy dust.” Drunk and agitated, Crown gets into an argument with Robbins; a brawl ensues, and Crown kills Robbins with a cotton hook. Crown runs, telling Bess to fend for herself until he returns after the heat has died down. Sportin’ Life gives her a dose of happy dust and invites her to join him in New York but she refuses, and he takes off. Fearing the police, the residents of Catfish Row quickly retreat to their homes. Bess, left alone, frantically knocks on doors, seeking shelter. Finally, Porgy opens his door to her, and Bess tentatively enters. Meanwhile, in the courtyard, Serena collapses over the body of her husband.

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10 | synopsis Scene 2: Serena’s Room, the following night Robbins’ body is laid out with a saucer on his chest. Serena sits disconsolately as neighbors, including Porgy and Bess, come in to comfort her and to contribute money for the burial (“Gone, Gone, Gone”). Porgy leads an impassioned plea to fill the saucer with donations (“Overflow”). A white detective enters and coldly tells Serena that she must bury her husband the next day, or his body will be given to medical students, for dissection. He suddenly accuses Peter of Robbins’s murder. The old man protests his innocence, blurting out that Crown did it; the detective moves on to Porgy but gets no information out of him, and Peter is hauled off as a “material witness.” Serena laments her loss (“My Man’s Gone Now”). The undertaker enters. The saucer holds only fifteen dollars of the needed twenty-five, but he agrees to bury Robbins as long as Serena promises to pay him back. Bess, who has been sitting in silence slightly apart from the rest of those gathered, suddenly begins singing a gospel song. The neighbors join in, welcoming her into the community (“Leaving For the Promised Land”). Act II — Scene 1: Catfish Row, a month later, in the morning Jake and the other fishermen prepare for work (“It Takes A Long Pull To Get There”). Clara begs Jake not to go during hurricane season, but he insists; they desperately need the money. Porgy, content in his new life with Bess, emerges from his home with a new outlook on life (“I Got Plenty of Nothing”). Sportin’ Life saunters over to Maria’s table; she upbraids him for peddling dope around her shop (“I Hates Your Struttin’ Style”). A fraudulent lawyer, Frazier, arrives and sells Porgy a divorce for Bess, even though it turns out that she had not been married to Crown. Archdale, a white lawyer, enters and informs Porgy that Peter will soon be released. A buzzard flies over Catfish Row – a bad omen – and Porgy demands that it leave him and his newfound happiness (“The Buzzard Song”). As the rest of Catfish Row prepares for the church picnic on nearby Kittiwah Island, Sportin’ Life again offers to take Bess to New York with him; she refuses. He attempts to give her some happy dust, but Porgy forcefully orders him to leave Bess alone. Sportin’ Life leaves, and Porgy

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and Bess declare their love for each other (“Bess, You Is My Woman Now”). The neighbors, in high spirits, set off for the picnic (“Oh, I Can’t Sit Down”). Maria invites Bess to join them, but Bess demurs; Porgy’s disability prevents him from boarding the boat. Porgy persuades her to go along and have a good time, and he proudly waves her off as the boat departs (“I Got Plenty of Nothing” Reprise). Scene 2: Kittiwah Island, that evening Everyone is enjoying the picnic as it winds to a close (“I Ain’t Got No Shame”). Sportin’ Life entertains the crowd with his cynical views on the Bible (“It Ain’t Necessarily So”), but Serena chastises them for their blasphemy (“Shame On All You Sinners!”). The neighbors gather their belongings and head towards the boat. Bess lags behind, and suddenly Crown emerges from the bushes. He reminds her that Porgy is “temporary” and laughs off her claims of living decently. Bess pleads with him to let her go (“Oh, What You Want With Bess?”) but Crown refuses. He grabs her, preventing her from boarding the boat, and forcefully kisses her. As the boat whistle sounds again, Bess surrenders, unable to resist. Scene 3: Catfish Row, a week later, just before dawn A week later, Jake leaves to go fishing with his crew, one of whom observes that a storm may be coming in. Peter, still unsure of his crime, returns from prison. Meanwhile, Bess lies in Porgy’s room, delirious with fever. Serena prays to remove Bess’s affliction (“Oh, Doctor Jesus”), and promises Porgy that Bess will be well by five o’clock. The day passes, and street vendors hawk their wares (“Vendors’ Trio”). As the clock chimes five, Bess recovers from her fever. Porgy knows Bess was with Crown but he doesn’t mind. Bess admits she has promised to return to Crown, and though she wants to stay in Catfish Row, she fears she’s too weak to resist him. Declaring her love for Porgy, she begs him to protect her; Porgy promises she’ll never be afraid again (“I Loves You, Porgy”). As the winds begin to blow, Clara watches the water, fearful for Jake. The sky darkens and the hurricane bell clangs. People hurry inside and Clara collapses, calling her husband’s name.

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12 | synopsis Scene 4: Serena’s Room, dawn of the next day The residents of Catfish Row gather in Serena’s room for shelter from the hurricane. They drown out the sound of the storm with prayers and hymns (“Oh, Doctor Jesus”), but Sportin’ Life mocks their assumption that the storm is a signal of Judgment Day. Clara desperately sings to her baby (“Summertime” Reprise). A knock is heard at the door, and many believe it to be Death (“Oh There’s Somebody Knocking At the Door”). Crown enters dramatically, having swum from Kittiwah Island, seeking Bess. The townspeople try to drown out his blaspheming with prayer, but he taunts them with a vulgar song (“A Red-Headed Woman”). Suddenly Clara screams, falling back from the window. Bess rushes over and peers out; Jake’s boat is upside down in the river. Clara thrusts her baby at Bess and rushes out. Bess pleads for someone to join Clara, but no one moves. Finally Crown, looking at the frightened faces around him, taunts the men for their cowardice. He opens the door, shouts at Bess that he will return, and plunges into the storm. The others return to their prayers. Act III — Scene 1: Catfish Row, the next night The storm has passed, and the residents of Catfish Row mourn the loss of Clara, Jake, and Crown (“Clara, Clara, Don’t You Be Downhearted”). Sportin’ Life hints to Maria that Crown has somehow survived. Bess, now caring for Clara’s baby, tenderly sings to him (“Summertime”). As night falls on Catfish Row, Crown stealthily enters and makes his way to Porgy’s room. Porgy confronts Crown, and a fight ensues. Ultimately, Porgy prevails, killing Crown. Porgy cries out, “Bess… You’ve got a man now. You’ve got Porgy!” Scene 2: Catfish Row, the next afternoon The police and the coroner arrive, seeking information about Crown’s murder. Serena and her friends deny any knowledge of the crime, so the detective orders Porgy to come and identify the body. Bess is distraught, and Sportin’ Life hints that Porgy will either spend years in jail or die by hanging. Offering her more happy dust, Sportin’ Life again invites Bess to join him up north (“There’s A Boat That’s Leaving Soon For New York”).

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He thrusts another packet of dope at her, but she refuses it and runs inside. Tossing it into her room, he slowly starts off. Suddenly, the door of Porgy’s room flies open, and Bess comes out, high on happy dust. Arm in arm, Bess and Sportin’ Life swagger out through the gate. Scene 3: Catfish Row, a week later

The Atlanta Opera’s 2005 production of Porgy and Bess at the Atlanta Civic Center. J.D. SCOTT

On a beautiful morning, Porgy is released from jail, where he has been arrested for contempt of court for refusing to look at Crown’s body. He is in high spirits and has brought presents for everyone, including a beautiful red dress for Bess. He doesn’t understand why everyone seems so uneasy at his return. Seeing Clara’s baby with Serena, he realizes something is wrong (“Oh Bess, Oh Where’s my Bess?”). Maria and Serena tell him Bess has run off to New York with Sportin’ Life. Porgy calls for his goat cart, and resolves to leave Catfish Row to find her. He prays for strength, and begins his long journey (“Oh, Lord, I’m On My Way”).

14 | productionnote

The Great American Opera WRITTEN BY

PHOTOS BY

Noel Morris

Philip Groshong

For decades after its premiere, the great American opera Porgy and Bess fueled a great American controversy. Initially, people didn’t know what to make of this hybrid between opera and popular music. “You give someone something delicious to eat and they complain because they have no name for it,” lamented the original director. Of course, that wasn’t its only challenge. In 1935, at the height of Jim Crow, George Gershwin issued an opera starring an all-black cast. At the outset, Gershwin prohibited the use of blackface, insisting producers hire black performers only (a stipulation enforced to this day by the Gershwin estate). This was a challenge for many opera companies in the 1930s because, at the time, many opera houses were still segregated. The show is based on the story Porgy by Dubose Heyward, a native of Charleston, South Carolina. Heyward lived a stone’s throw from Cabbage Row, the tenement buildings populated by Gullah people, which became the fictional community “Catfish Row” in his 1925 novella. Although he was descended from wealthy planters, young Heyward and his immediate family struggled to make ends meet. He dropped out of school at fourteen to take a job collecting burial money for an insurance company in the neighboring Gullah-Geechee community. He knew the community well, and spoke

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the Gullah language. In fact, his mother, Jane Heyward, had been a writer and amateur historian who collected Gullah folktales, and even performed them in the Gullah language. After the success of Porgy, Heyward’s wife, Dorothy, co-authored the 1927 stage adaptation, which fed into the opera’s libretto. The “famous ending of the Opera,” writes Atlanta native operatic bass Morris Robinson (Porgy) “sounds (to me) very much like benediction at just about EVERY Black Church I’ve ever visited in the Low Country of South Carolina. This “back clap” was foreign to me when I arrived in Charleston in 1987, but I soon became very familiar with it as I loved the syncopation and liveliness of the rhythmic pulse.” This “back clap,” as Robinson calls it, characterizes the polyrhythmic music heard by George Gershwin when he traveled to South Carolina in 1934. Gershwin had gone there to do background work on Porgy, and spent a summer on Folly Island, taking day-trips to hear music, get to know locals, and observe prayer meetings, of which music was an integral part. Gershwin was bowled over. “George caught my arm and held me,” Heyward recalled. “Listening to it with him, and noticing his excitement, I began to catch its extraordinary quality.” Heyward went on to describe different voices piling on top of one another, singing different prayers on different tunes until they “formed a clearly defined rhythmic pattern.” This music finds its way into the storm scene in Porgy and Bess. Another early witness was poet, author, singer, dancer, and activist Maya Angelou, who played a small role in a touring company that performed the opera Porgy and Bess across Europe in 1952. “I was very grateful to be with Porgy and Bess,” Angelou wrote, “and to know that when Martha Flowers sang the “Strawberry Song,” that whatever the Gershwin’s had learned they had taken that directly out of the mouths of people in the South. This was exactly what was sung.”

16 | productionnote George Gershwin and his brother Ira, the show’s lyricist, were the sons of Russian Jewish immigrants. They grew up around Manhattan’s Lower East Side, a multicultural hotbed of music and theater. George became an early enthusiast of jazz, and made many treks to the jazz clubs of Harlem. He expressed an interest in Porgy as early as 1926, and announced his collaboration with Heyward in October of 1933. The show premiered in 1935 at the Alvin Ailey Theater on Broadway in New York City and was soon seen by audiences around the world. However, it would be another fifty years before “the great American opera” found its way to the stage of America’s largest opera house. The Metropolitan Opera in New York first staged Porgy and Bess in 1985. After an absence of three decades, the Met brought the show back to open their 2019-2020 season; additional performances have been added to the Met’s current season in order to

PHILIP GROSHONG

accommodate popular demand.

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18 | cast&creative For conductor David Charles Abell, classical music, opera, film music, and musical theater all contribute to a diverse career, unified by a serious yet theatrical approach. He has conducted the London Symphony, BBC Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Wiener Symphoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de Lyon, Prague Philharmonia, Atlanta and Cincinnati Symphonies, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony, West Australian Symphony, Philly Pops and Boston Pops. He has worked with artists as diverse as Sir Bryn Terfel, DAVID CHARLES ABELL Diana Damrau and Dame Judi Dench, among many others. David maintains a thriving opera career, appearing CONDUCTOR regularly with Cincinnati Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT City and guesting with several other companies. He recently made his Opera Philadelphia debut conducting the Barrie Kosky production of Die Zauberflöte. He has conducted Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night to great acclaim at three US companies, as well as two European productions of Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate in his own critical edition of the score. Following his successful English National Opera debut with Sweeney Todd in 2015, he returned with Carousel in 2017 to rave reviews. He recently made his Opernhaus Zürich debut conducting Sweeney Todd with Bryn Terfel and Angelika Kirchschlager. Future plans include his Volksoper Wien debut with Carousel, Porgy and Bess in Cincinnati, La bohème at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and concerts with the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine and the Philly POPS (where he was recently appointed Principal Guest Conductor). An internationally recognized director of opera and theater, Francesca Zambello has staged productions at major theaters and opera houses in Europe and the United States. Collaborating with outstanding artists and designers she takes a special interest in producing theater and opera for wider audiences. She has been the General Director of The Glimmerglass Festival since 2010, and the Artistic Director of The Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center since 2012. She also served as the Artistic Advisor to the San Francisco Opera from 2005-2011, and FRANCESCA ZAMBELLO as the Artistic Director of the Skylight Theater from 19871992. In her current roles at the Kennedy Center and The PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Glimmerglass Festival, she is responsible for producing ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT 12 productions annually. She was awarded the Chevalier WEST SIDE STORY, 2018 des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. She recently developed and directed the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’ Heart of a Soldier for the San Francisco Opera. Other projects include the first international production of Carmen to ever be presented at the National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing; the world premiere of An American Tragedy, Cyrano, and Les Troyens for the Metropolitan Opera; Carmen and Don Giovanni at the Royal Opera House; Boris Godunov, War and Peace, Billy Budd, and William Tell at the Paris Opera; and The Ring for the San Francisco Opera. She has also served as a guest professor at Yale University and The Juilliard School and lives in New York and London.

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Garnett Bruce’s body of work includes directing at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, and his European opera debut staging Turandot for the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. From 2008 to 2011 he was the artistic adviser and principal stage director for Opera Omaha, where he led a cycle of the Mozart-Da Ponte operas. He began directing for the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University in 2004, receiving a faculty appointment in 2006. He has been on staff at the Aspen Music Festival and School since 1993 and the faculty since GARNETT BRUCE 1997. Born in Washington, D.C., Bruce was a choirboy at Washington National Cathedral and holds degrees in STAGE DIRECTOR English and drama from Tufts University. After internships ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT with Hal Prince and Leonard Bernstein in the early ‘90s, he joined the staffs of The Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, The Dallas Opera, and Opera Colorado. His award-winning production of La Cenerentola for Kansas City has traveled to Austin, Orlando, and Madison. Known especially for his large-scale work of the standard repertoire, he has created stagings of Turandot, Carmen, Tosca, Aida, Pagliacci, and La bohème that have been seen coast to coast. In 2019, he became Co-Artistic Advisor with Loren Meeker of Opera San Antonio.

Opera: Le nozze di Figaro (Vienna); Die Gezeichneten, Falstaff, and Die Schweigsame Frau (Zurich); Capriccio (Berlin and Torino); Der Rosenkavalier, Carmen, and Mary Stuart (ENO); Anna Bolena (Bayerische Staatsoper); Katya Kabanova (New Zealand); Mitridate Re Di Ponto (Salzburg); Manon Lescaut (Australia); The Rake’s Progress, Le nozze di Figaro, and Cyrano de Bergerac (Metropolitan Opera); The Queen of Spades (Royal Opera House); Guillaume Tell (Opera Bastille); Fidelio, Walküre, Porgy and Bess, Salome, Forza Del Destino (Washington); PETER DAVISON La bohème (Royal Albert Hall); La Rondine (La Fenice); Cyrano de Bergerac (La Scala); Porgy and Bess (Chicago SCENIC DESIGNER and San Francisco); Carmen, Les Contes d’Hoffman ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT (Beijing); Heart of a Soldier (San Francisco Opera); La TURANDOT, 2019 traviata (Bolshoi Theatre); Two Women (San Francisco, Cagliari, Sardinia); Carmen (Salzburg); Porgy and Bess (Glimmerglass). Theater: The White Devil, Don Carlos, and The Duchess of Malfi (RSC); Bed, Le Cid, Copenhagen, Democracy, Afterlife (National Theatre); Medea, Hamlet, Deuce, Copenhagen, Democracy, Is He Dead?, and Blithe Spirit (Broadway). Saint Joan (West End London). Musicals: Boy From Oz (Sydney), Jesus Christ Superstar (UK/USA tour, Broadway), Show Boat (Royal Albert Hall), Rebecca (Vienna, St Gallen and Stuttgart), Marie Antoinette (Bremen), Spiral (China), Show Boat (Lyric Opera Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera and Dallas), Der Besuch der Alten Dame (Austria), Butterfly Princess (China), Artus, Don Camillo and Peppone, Matterhorn (St. Gallen), West Side Story (Houston). He won Best Designer at the 1994 Martini/TMA award for Medea and Saint Joan.

20 | cast&creative Paul Tazewell has been designing costumes for Broadway and regional theater, film and television, dance, and opera productions for over twenty-five years. Starting his Broadway career with the groundbreaking musical, ‘Bring in Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk directed by George C. Wolfe, he followed that with work on the original Broadway productions of the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning Hamilton, In the Heights, The Color Purple, Doctor Zhivago, Memphis, Caroline, or Change, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, Russel Simmons’ Def Poetry Jam, PAUL TAZEWELL Lombardi, and Magic/Bird. Revival work includes Side Show, A Streetcar Named Desire, Jesus Christ Superstar, COSTUME DESIGNER Guys and Dolls, A Raisin in the Sun, and On the Town. In ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT the United States and across the world, Paul has designed for such renown companies as The Metropolitan Opera, The Bolshoi Ballet, The English National Opera, Théâtre du Châtelet, The Public Theater, The National Theater, The Kennedy Center, The Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, and many more. He has received many recognitions for his work. In the same year, 2016, he received both a Tony Award®, for Hamilton, and the Emmy Award® for The Wiz! Live on NBC. Other notable honors include two Lucille Lortel Awards, four Helen Hayes Awards, a Princess Grace Foundation Fellowship, and The Princess Grace Statue Award®. Paul holds an MFA from New York University and a BFA from North Carolina School of the Arts. He has been privileged to instruct students as a guest artist at New York University and North Carolina School of the Arts. From 2003 to 2006, he held a faculty position at Carnegie Mellon University. He lives in New York City.

J. JARED JANAS WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, 2018

With The Atlanta Opera: The Flying Dutchman. Former wig, hair, and makeup designer at The Glimmerglass Festival and Bard SummerScape. Broadway: Sing Street, Jagged Little Pill, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, Gettin’ the Band Back Together, Bandstand, Indecent, Sunset Boulevard, The Visit, The Real Thing, Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, Motown, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, All About Me, Next to Normal. Off-Broadway/Regional: Sing Street (NYTW), Spring Awakening (TUTS), Scotland, PA and Toni Stone (Roundabout), Wives (Playwrights), Nantucket Sleigh Ride (Lincoln Center), BLKS and Alice by Heart (MCC), and Yours Unfaithfully (Mint Theatre, Drama Desk nomination). Television: “Madam Secretary,” “Six by Sondheim,” “Gotham,” “Mozart in the Jungle,” and “Inside Amy Schumer.”

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Mark has lit productions for the Vienna Staatsoper (Macbeth); Bolshoi Theatre (La traviata); the Metropolitan Opera (Le nozze di Figaro); the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing (The Tales of Hoffmann); La Scala (Cyrano de Bergerac); Madrid’s Teatro Real (Luisa Miller); Strasbourg’s Opéra National du Rhin (The Beggar’s Opera); The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (The Queen of Spades); Opera North (Eugene Onegin) as well as numerous productions with Boston Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, MARK MCCULLOUGH Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, The Dallas Opera, Glimmerglass, Canadian Opera Company, LIGHTING DESIGNER New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, and San Francisco ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Opera, including the Ring Cycle directed by Francesca WEST SIDE STORY, 2018 Zambello. Among his successes in theater have been the Broadway productions of Outside Mullingar; Jesus Christ Superstar (revival); After Ms. Julie, and The American Plan. International theater credits include Whistle Down the Wind (Aldwych Theatre, London); Der Besuch Der Alten Dame (Ronacher Theatre, Vienna); Artus (St. Gallen, Switzerland); and Rebecca (St. Gallen, Switzerland and the Palladium Theatre, Stuttgart); the UK tour of Jesus Christ Superstar. Future engagements include Norma at the Ópera Nacional de Chile; La traviata with Washington National Opera.

Originally from Charleston, South Carolina and inspired by The Spoleto Festival, Eric became passionate about classical music and dance at an early age. After graduating from the College of Charleston in Theatre, Eric furthered his studies at the Alvin Ailey and Martha Graham Dance Schools on scholarship in New York City. He was a member of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet for four years as a concert dancer. He also was a member of Ben Munisteri Dance Projects for fourteen years performing at Lincoln Center, BAM, The Joyce Theatre ERIC SEAN FOGEL and Dance Theatre Workshop. Other companies include NY City Opera, NY Philharmonic, LA Opera, Chicago CHOREOGRAPHER Lyric Opera, Washington National Opera, Mark Dendy, ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT and Donald Byrd / The Group. Eric also performed in the WEST SIDE STORY, 2018 National Tours of Evita!, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and three productions of West Side Story: European Tour, La Scala Opera, and an International Tour. Throughout his career Eric has been fortunate to assist and learn from many choreographers and directors while being an associate on Broadway, national tours, and encores at City Center. This led to the debut of his own choreography in 2007. Eric continues to study in both classical and modern forms of dance and music, while working to create new visuals in story telling on new productions and world premieres. His choreography has now been featured on television, theatre, and in opera houses around the world.

22 | cast&creative

EBONI ADAMS ASSOCIATE CHOREOGRAPHER

Eboni considers herself an action figure — she keeps it moving. She is originally from Austin, Texas. After receiving a BFA in dance she went on to have a fruitful career as a professional dancer. From Cirque du Soliel to the L.A. Opera, she has worked with many greats in the industry. The highlight of her career was dancing for Celine Dion’s, A New Day... at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. When she is not dancing, she is acting, writing, directing, and producing. She calls it, “getting her Debbie Allen on.” She has appeared in Gangster Squad, Montecito Heights, and General Hospital. She dreams of playing alongside side one of her favorites, Viola Davis.

ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT

Michelle Ladd has been working as a professional action director, choreographer, and performer of stunts, staged combat, dance, and acting for over 20 years. Although a native of the Southeast, she honed her stage fight skills in Britain at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and built her career in Los Angeles. She is a recognized Fight Director with the Society of American Fight Directors and the International Order of the Sword and the Pen. She has worked throughout North America, the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, and Asia. Her credits span theater, film, MICHELLE LADD WILLIAMS and motion capture and include Motion Capture Stunt Coordinator for Thor; Motion Capture Fight Director for FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER Pirates of the Caribbean – At World’s End; Motion Capture ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Combat Choreographer for The Lord of the Rings – Return THE FLYING DUTCHMAN, of the King and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; 2017 performer with Barneville/Carteret Viking Fest – Freiki Klan Denmark; fight instruction and demonstration of Parnü Vöitlus Estonia; and featured guest for Korea’s Theatre Magazine. Michelle has staged fights at such venues as Drury Lane and North Park Opera. She and her husband own RE:Action Stunts and Broad-Motion Entertainment while raising their three young stunt boys.

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24 | cast&creative Morris Robinson is considered one the most interesting and sought after basses performing today. He regularly appears at the Metropolitan Opera, where he is a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Program. He debuted there in a production of Fidelio and has since appeared as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, the King in Aida, and in roles in Nabucco, Tannhäuser, and the new productions of Les Troyens and Salome. He has also appeared at the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Seattle Opera, MORRIS ROBINSON Los Angeles Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Teatro alla Scala, Volksoper PORGY Wien, Opera Australia, and the Aix-en-Provence Festival. His (MARCH 7, 8, & 10) many roles include the title role in Porgy and Bess, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Serail, Ramfis in Aida, Zaccaria in Nabucco, Sparafucile in AIDA, 2010 Rigoletto, Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, Timur in Turandot, the Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Padre Guardiano in La Forza del Destino, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, and Fasolt in Das Rheingold. This season, he returns to the Metropolitan Opera for The Magic Flute, makes his role debut as Phillip II in Don Carlo and sings Sarastro at the Dallas Opera, and returns to the Cincinnati Opera for Aida. He also makes his debut with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in performances of the Mahler Symphony No. 8 with its music director, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, and sings the same piece with the Atlanta Symphony. This season, South African bass-baritone Musa Ngqungwana sings the title role in Porgy and Bess at Washington National Opera, Grange Park Opera, and Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, and also appears in Don Giovanni (Leporello) with Pittsburgh Opera, Aida (The King) with Houston Grand Opera, the Wanderer in Wagner’s Siegfried with North Carolina Opera, and Simon Boccanegra (Paolo Albiani) with Washington Concert Opera. Recent engagements include the title role in The Glimmerglass Festival’s production of Porgy and Bess; Lescaut in Manon Lescaut with Dallas Opera, MUSA NGQUNGWANA King Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors with On Site Opera; and the role of Queequeg in Moby Dick with PORGY Los Angeles Opera, Dallas Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and (MARCH 13 & 15) Utah Opera; in addition to debuts as Amonasro in Aida with English National Opera; Angelotti in Tosca with the ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Canadian Opera Company; Gottardo in La gazza ladra with The Glimmerglass Festival; with Philadelphia Opera, the Norwegian National Opera, and Palm Beach Opera as Zuniga in Carmen. Musa’s concert work has included featured performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra, Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as at the U.S. Naval Academy and at the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa. In 2013, Musa was the Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He graduated with honors in performance (First Class) from the University of Cape Town and is also a graduate of the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. He is the author of Odyssey of an African Opera Singer, a memoir published in South Africa by Penguin Random House. www.musangqungwana.com.

atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera

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Kristin Lewis is native of Little Rock, Arkansas. She is a two-time National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, winner of the 2004 “Concorso Internazionale di Musica Gian Battista Viotti” and of Opera Prize and the Audience Award of “Concorso Internazionale di Canto Debutto A Merano“, of the 2005 “Internationalen Gesangswettbewerb “Ferruccio Tagliavini” and in 2006 finalist of the “XLVI Concours International de Chant de la Ville de Toulouse.” She recently sang Aida in Milan at Teatro alla Scala but also at State Opera Berlin, Wiener KRISTIN LEWIS Staatsoper, Liege and Metropolitan Opera in New York, always with a big success with the audience. She also sang BESS Andrea Chenier with the Opera Orchestra of New York, ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Don Carlo in Florence, Verdi Requiem in Paris, Un Ballo In Maschera in Orange and Vienna, Turandot in Torre del Lago Festival, Pagliacci in Copenhagen, La bohème and Il trovatore in Venice, I due Foscari in Piacenza, La bohème in Munich, la cena delle beffe in Milan. She made her Bayerische Staatsoper debut during the 2008-09 season singing the title role of Verdi’s Aida under the baton of Mo. Daniele Gatti. Other illustrious debuts of Verdi’s Aida took place at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and at the Arena di Verona with Mo. Daniel Oren conducting, as well as Teatro Verdi di Padova under the baton of Mo. Omer Meir Wellber. Followed her debut in Teatro La Fenice in Venice as Soprano Soloist in Britten’s War Requiem with Mo. Bruno Bartoletti conducting and her debut with the role Micaela in Carmen at the Opera of Bilbao.

Bass-baritone Donovan Singletary has been praised by Opera News for his “bright baritone.” Mr. Singletary returns to the Metropolitan Opera in the 2019-20 season in the role of Jake in the production of Porgy and Bess. He will also sing the role of Colline in Fort Worth Opera’s La bohème. Last season Mr. Singletary sang Jake in Porgy and Bess in the productions performed by Dutch National Opera and English National Opera in addition to singing Crown in Porgy and Bess with Grange Opera in London. Highlights of the 2017-18 season includes DONOVAN SINGLETARY performances of Philip Glass’ Passages with the Pacific Symphony at Carnegie Hall and the role of Figaro in CROWN Minnesota Opera’s Le Nozze di Figaro. During the 2016ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT 17 season, he performed as Leporello in Don Giovanni with Nashville Opera and made his debut with Teatro alla Scala as Jake in Porgy and Bess under the baton of Alan Gilbert. Recent seasons are highlighted by performances with The Metropolitan Opera in their productions of Julius Cesare, Un Ballo in Maschera, Macbeth, Salome, Don Carlo, Pelleas and Melisande, Tosca, La bohème, The Enchanted Island, The Tales of Hoffman, and The Bartered Bride, as well as performances with Seattle Opera of Zuniga in Carmen, Monterone in Rigoletto, and Jake in Porgy and Bess.

26 | cast&creative Jermaine Smith is closely associated with the role of Sportin’ Life. He’s performed the role at Sydney Opera House in Australia, The Glimmerglass Festival, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Italy, Seattle Opera and Tanglewood Music Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He performed at the Hollywood Bowl’s premiere performance of Porgy and Bess in concert, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production, as well as for Cape Town Opera’s guest engagement at their newly opened opera house in Oslo, Norway. He has also performed the role in Japan, JERMAINE SMITH Germany, Sweden, Austria, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sicily, The Grand Canary Islands and in the US at Union SPORTIN’ LIFE Ave Opera, Opera Pacific, and in Francesca Zambello’s ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT production at both Washington National Opera and Los Angeles Opera. He has brought his portrayal to Paris’s Opéra-Comique, the Théâtre de Caen, the Granada Festival, the Opera de Luxembourg, and the Santa Fe Symphony. His other operatic repertoire includes the title role in Joshua’s Boots (world premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, revival at Kansas City Lyric Opera), Henry Davis in Street Scene and Zodzetrick in Treemonisha (both with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis). He has made numerous appearances with the St. Louis Symphony. Smith is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory of Music and University of Missouri, St. Louis.

Baritone Reginald Smith, Jr. has been lauded as a “passionate performer”(New York Times) with an “electric, hall-filling” (The Baltimore Sun), and“thrillingly dramatic” (Opera News) voice that is “one of the most exciting baritone sounds to come along in years” (Opera News). Reginald, a native of Atlanta, is a Grand Finals winner of the 2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and a graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. Reginald Smith, Jr.’s 2019-20 season opens with his much-anticipated debut at the Metropolitan Opera as REGINALD SMITH, JR. Jim in Porgy and Bess, followed by Amonasro in Aida with Houston Grand Opera and Cincinnati Opera. His orchestral JAKE appearances include Christmas Pops Concerts with the ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Oregon Symphony. Future engagements include stage debuts with Lyric Opera of Chicago and Santa Fe Opera. Last season, he appeared as Jake in Porgy and Bess with Cincinnati Opera, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Opera Memphis, Amonasro in Aida with Opera Idaho, and returned to the rosters of Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco Opera. His orchestral engagements included the baritone solo in Carmina Burana for his return to the Houston Symphony and the bass solo in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at New Jersey Symphony, West Virginia Symphony, and Symphoria.

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Lyric soprano Jacqueline Echols has been praised for her “dynamic range and vocal acrobatics” (Classical Voice) in theaters across the United States. Echols begins her 2019-20 season with two debuts at The Metropolitan Opera: first as Poussette in Massenet’s Manon, followed by Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème. Echols will also sing the role of Clara in Porgy and Bess with the Washington National Opera. In the 2018-19 season Echols returned to the Kennedy Center in the title role of Verdi’s La traviata for a new production by Washington National Opera, JACQUELINE ECHOLS directed by Francesca Zambello. She reprised the role later in the season in her debut with Palm Beach Opera. CLARA Following her debut with the Ann Arbor Symphony ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Orchestra for their 2017 season opening gala concert, she returned to the orchestra for her first performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in April. Also on the concert stage, she made her debut with the Memphis Symphony for performances of Messiah. A frequent performer of both standard and contemporary repertoire, Echols debuted the role of Helen in the world premiere performances of The Summer King at the Pittsburgh Opera in 2017, and reprised the role in her hometown of Detroit with Michigan Opera Theater in 2018. She has performed the role of Pip in Heggie’s Moby Dick with the Los Angeles, Dallas, and Pittsburgh Operas, as well as the role of Sister Helen in the composer’s Dead Man Walking with Washington National Opera.

Indra Thomas has established herself as an artist of incredible sensitivity, poise, and virtuosity. She has performed at many of the world class opera houses and venues, such as the Metropolitan Opera and the Vienna State Opera; she has performed at prominent venues here in the US, France, Germany, Spain and England, including the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall with her most recent appearance with Cincinnati Opera as Serena in their production of Porgy and Bess. Among numerous top orchestras with which she has appeared are the New INDRA THOMAS York Philharmonic, the London Symphony and Leipzig’s Gewandhaus Orchestra – as well as leading orchestras in SERENA Paris, Spain, Brazil, The Netherlands, Japan, Finland, South ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Korea, Malaysia, Abu Dhabi, Boston, Cleveland and Detroit. AIDA, 2003 She has graced several famous music festivals such as the Bregenz Festspiele in Bregenz, Austria, Chorégies d’Orange in France and the Proms Summer Festival in London. In constant demand, her performances are consistently distinguished by the striking vocal beauty and deep emotional impact of her singing as well as her smoldering intensity as a singing actress. A minister’s daughter whose mother was a nurse and a gifted, amateur singer, sShe was born and raised in Atlanta. She is The Visiting Voice Instructor and Director of Opera at her alma mater, Shorter University, and is a graduate of the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.

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30 | cast&creative La’Shelle Allen, contralto, is a native of Baltimore, Maryland where she began her journey in music at the Baltimore School for the Arts. After graduation, she relocated to New York City to pursue her studies and was hired as mezzo soloist for the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble. This began her professional career performing nationally and internationally for more than 25 years. Highlights of her work include appearances at St. Peter’s Basilica, Grand Théâtre de Genève and North Sea Jazz Festival de Vienne. Her operatic experience has afforded her the LA’SHELLE ALLEN opportunity to perform with the Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Danish Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago, Houston Grand MARIA Opera, Cincinnati Opera, University of Kentucky Opera ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Theater, Bluegrass Opera, Teatro Colon, Bogota, Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari and Israeli Opera, Tel-Aviv. She works not only as a cassical vocalist but also as composer, arranger, producer, actress, and recording and voiceover artist. She is the creator of Spirituals In Motion, a unique concert experience and educational outreach program honoring and building on the music and history of the American Negro Spiritual. She will be joining the Virginia Arts Festival this summer for the John Duffy Institute’s double-bill production of Nkeiru Okoye’s Bre’r Rabbit and Rachel Peters’ Companionship. She will also reprise her role as Maria in Porgy and Bess this fall at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

Praised by Opera News as a “vocally charismatic” performer with a “golden tenor,” he has recently joined Atlanta Opera and Arizona Opera for Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, Seattle Opera for Eugene Onegin and Porgy and Bess, Cincinnati Opera for La traviata and Le nozze di Figaro, Syracuse Opera for Così fan tutte, Portland Opera for Philip Glass’ In the Penal Colony and a David Lang double bill, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for Abyssinian Mass, Fort Worth Opera for Porgy and Bess, and On Site Opera for Ricky Ian MARTIN BAKARI Gordon’s Morning Star and Michi Wiancko’s Murasaki’s Moon. Upcoming engagements include Carmina Burana MINGO at Carnegie Hall, Charlie Parker’s Yardbird at Pittsburgh ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Opera, Die Fledermaus at Fort Worth Opera, a solo recital CHARLIE PARKER’S at NYC’s Neue Galerie museum, and Porgy and Bess YARDBIRD, 2018 at Lyric Opera of Kansas City. A 2018 George London Competition award winner, Mr. Bakari’s recording of Grigory Smirnov’s Dowson Songs (Naxos Records) was featured by Opera News as a “Critic’s Choice” album. He is an alumnus of the Juilliard School, Boston University, and the Tanglewood Music Center.

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Larry D. Hylton is a graduate of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C., he recieved the Artist’s Diploma in vocal music, drama and movement. A native of Martinsville, Virginia, he has appeared with The Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Lyon, Opera de Montreal, Washington National Opera, The Edinburgh International Festival, and Arcadia Productions-Shanghai. Known for his artistic versatility, he has been featured at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He has also been a guest soloist at The Potter’s House of LARRY D. HYLTON Dallas with Pastor T.D. Jakes. Other credits include Carmen Jones under the baton of Placido Domingo, Sweeney ROBBINS Todd, Debbie Allen’s Soul Possessed, and Black Nativity. ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Larry debuted the role of Prince in Ricky Ian Gordon’s PORGY AND BESS, 2005 Morning Star produced by Cincinnati Opera. His current season includes performances with The New York Harlem Singers, Cincinnati Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, and The Baltimore Symphony. He is a former member of the world-renowned Moses Hogan Singers and is currently a member of the American Spiritual Ensemble. From 2013 to 2018 he had the pleasure of performing with the Metropolitan Opera Extra Chorus.

A native of Augusta, GA, tenor Timothy Miller is an active performer with both national and international credits. Operatic roles include First Armored Man in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Street in Davis’ X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, Un Messaggero in Verdi’s Aida, Parpignol in Puccini’s La bohème, Comrade Alexander Ossipon in Curtis Bryant’s The Secret Agent (World Premiere). He performed the role of Crab Man in critically acclaimed performances of Porgy and Bess at the Opéra-Comique in Paris and on tour in Luxembourg, Granada, and Normandy. TIMOTHY MILLER Concert repertoire includes tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat, Beethoven’s Symphony No. PETER 9, Mozart’s Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Lobgesang, and Adolphus Hailstork’s I will lift up mine AIDA, 2010 eyes. Additional concert repertoire includes excerpts from Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier performed with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Perhaps most widely recognized for his stirring renditions of “God Bless America” during the seventh inning stretch of Atlanta Braves home games, he has extended his exposure well beyond the concert stage. Featured artist promos for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, and featured artist profiles for The Atlantan Magazine, Georgia EMC Magazine, and My Vinings-Smyrna Magazine round out a growing list of memorable career highlights. In addition to a busy performance schedule, he is also an Assistant Professor of Voice and Music at Morehouse College and serves on the board of the Meridian Herald.

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34 | cast&creative Praised by Opera News for his “appealingly suave baritone,” Phillip K. Bullock, a native of Washington DC, has been featured in operas, recitals and concerts throughout the United States. Recently, Phillip has performed the role of Jake, in Porgy and Bess, at the Sächsische Staatsoper in Dresden, Germany, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Mexico, and covered the same role in The Royal Danish Opera’s new production, in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was seen in concert performances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins with PHILLIP BULLOCK National Music Festival Orchestra, in addition to being featured in Cincinnati Opera’s annual concert, Opera Goes JIM to Church. He has appeared in performances of Il barbiere ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT di Siviglia (Figaro), La Fanciulla del West (Jake Wallace), The Brahms Masterwork, Ein Deutsches Requiem, Don Carlos (Rodrique), Gounod’s Faust (Valentin), The Magic Flute (Papageno), L’Elisir d’Amore (Belcore), and Mark Adamo’s Little Women (John Brooks). Phillip has both work-shopped and premiered several leading roles in new commissioned works with arts organizations from around the country. Most notably, he appeared as Ike ‘Flight’ Harris in Bounce: The Basketball Opera with Ardea Arts, and The God of Love in a new production with the Wet Ink Ensemble called Romance of the Rose. In past seasons, he has worked with Kentucky Opera, The Martina Arroyo Foundation, Sarasota Opera, and St. Petersburg Opera as a resident artist.

Jarrod Lee, bass baritone, hails from Alabama and presently resides in Maryland. He has received rave reviews from Opera News and The Washington Post. This season he made a Metropolitan Opera debut as one of the featured soloists in Porgy and Bess. Roles include: Undertaker in Porgy and Bess with Washington National Opera, Angelotti in Tosca with Annapolis Opera, Le Bailli in Werther with Opera Delaware. He has also performed in community outreach works commissioned by Washington National Opera called In the Smoke of the Sting and Just JARROD LEE out the Window by Tom Minter. He has been a finalist in the Annapolis Opera, the Harlem Opera Theater Vocal UNDERTAKER Competitions and a semifinalist in Austria’s Meistersinger. ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT In new works, he premiered the role Levi in the AfroFuturistic opera ballet called Cloud Nebula by Scott Patterson with Afro House Baltimore, and Joe Louis in Shadowboxer by Frank Proto with the Maryland Opera Studio. He has also participated in American Voices at the Kennedy Center, curated by Renée Fleming, and he had the honor of performing for President Barack Obama as a featured soloist with the historic Metropolitan A.M.E Church. JarrodLee.com | @Jarrodleebassbaritone.

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Noted as “tonally and technically impressive,” soprano Tiffany Uzoije has studied and performed major roles with Opera Memphis and Nashville Opera and was featured in a recording of Porgy and Bess with the Nashville Symphony for the Decca label under Maestro John Mauceri. In 2018, she was a semi-finalist for the Lois Alba Aria Competition. Most recently, she performed with The Atlanta Opera in productions of Dead Man Walking, Eugene Onegin, and La traviata. She studied opera performance at Belmont University and Peabody Conservatory. TIFFANY UZOIJE ANNIE ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT

Ernest Jackson, tenor and native Philadelphian, made his mainstage debut in 2005 as Mingo in Porgy and Bess. A regular with ConcertOPERA, Philadelphia saw him in Carmen as Dancairo, Lorenzo in Fra Diavolo and Sailor in Dido and Aeneas. In 2011, he debuted with Akron Symphony Orchestra in Porgy and Bess, about which the Akron Beacon Journal gave “special mention to Ernest Jackson (Jim) with his beautiful tenor solo lines.” In 2012, he sang Villager 1 in I Pagliacci with Opera Delaware and Roderigo in Otello with Atlantic Coast Opera Festival. In ERNEST JACKSON 2014 he essayed the role of German Sentry in Silent Night by Kevin Puts with Cincinnati Opera and the same year, NELSON he performed with American Opera Projects in the role ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT of William Grant Still in Okoye’s Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom. Additionally that year he debuted with Lyric Opera of Chicago in the role of Nelson in Porgy and Bess. In 2017 he sang the role of Dr. Caius with Bronx Opera in Vaughn Williams’ Sir John in Love and also performed Tenor Slave/Tenor Soloist in The Difficulty in Crossing A Field/The Little Match Girl Passion by David Lang with Portland Opera. The following year he made his mainstage principal debut at Seattle Opera as Nelson in Porgy and Malcolm in Verdi’s Macbeth with Empire Opera. In the 2019 season he performed the role of Mingo with both Fort Worth Opera and Cincinnati Opera. His upcoming credits for 2020 includes Nelson (debut) in Porgy and Bess with Washington National Opera.

36 | cast&creative

DEMETRIUS SAMPSON CRABMAN ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT

Tenor, Demetrious Sampson is making his debut with the Atlanta Opera he is a sophomore vocal performance major at the Georgia State School of Music where he has performed the role of Vanderdender in Candide and Reverend Pollard in The Village Singer. He will sing the role of Sam in Susannah in April with the GSU Opera Theater. He would like to thank his past teachers Theressa HammSmith and Sarah Benjamin for instilling in him his love and passion for correct vocal technique and health. He would also like to thank his current voice professor, Kathryn Hartgrove for the work they have done together. He also would like to extend his thanks to the Georgia State School of Music Director, Dr. Nick Demos, and Dean of the College of the Arts, Wade Weast.

Jouelle Roberson hails from Washington, D.C. She began her musical studies at the Duke Ellington School for the Arts. Following graduation, she was accepted into the vocal studies program at Morgan State University where she graduated with both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in vocal performance studying with Marquita Lister. On the operatic stage, she has performed the role of Marenka in Bedrich Smetana’s The Bartered Bride with the Bethesda Summer Music Festival. Following her successful performances as Marenka, she was invited by JOUELLE ROBERSON the AAMS Opera to perform the role of the Countess (excerpts) from Le nozze di Figaro in Ischia, Italy. With STUDIO ARTIST Opera at Morgan, she has performed in several scenes and STRAWBERRY WOMAN fully staged productions, including the 2018 production of Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadows by Steven M. Allen ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT where she portrayed the title role of Alice Ruth Moore. FRIDA, 2019 More recently, by request of the composer, she repeated her portrayal of Alice Ruth Moore in an Opera Showcase presented by CAAPA. She has advanced to the semifinals of the 2019 Annapolis Opera vocal competition, and she is the 2018 winner of the Emerging Young Artist Regional competition presented by the National Association of Negro Business Women and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. She is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota Music Fraternity.

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Kimberly Milton is a native of Lakeland, Florida and graduate of Harrison School of the Arts and Florida Southern College. She studied with Dr. Dorea Cook as a vocal performance major at Valdosta State University. She lives and studies in Berlin, Germany with American Baritone Anooshah Golesorkhi. She was recognized as a prize winner at the International Summer Academy University Mozarteum Salzburg and Audience Favorite in the Meistersinger Competition at American Institute of Musical Studies. She placed first in the Valdosta State KIMBERLY MILTON University Concerto Competition, the John Alexander National Vocal Competition of the Mississippi Opera, LILY Coeur d’Alene Symphony Young Artist Competition, and ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Vocal Competition of the Mobile Opera. Kimberly has performed operatic roles such as Carmen and Savitri in the operas of the same name, Ma Moss in The Tender Land, Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief, Kate in Pirates of Penzance, Salud in La Vida Breve, and Dido in Dido and Aeneas. She has performed in the Polk Theatre Cabaret productions: The Music of Johnny Cash, British Invasion, and Elvis Returns.

MARK KINCAID

Mark Kincaid has been working in the American Theatre for over 40 years. His work has been seen on the stages of The Alliance Theatre, Georgia Shakespeare, North Carolina Shakespeare, Theatrical Outfit, Actor’s Express, Horizon Theatre, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, The Hippodrome State Theatre, People’s Light and Theatre, The McCarter Theatre, and The Old Globe Theatre, among others. He has twice toured the nation with John Houseman’s The Acting Company. He is married to the gifted actress, Tess Malis Kincaid and is the proud father of Barbara Rose Kincaid.

DETECTIVE ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT Hometown: Chapel Hill, NC Recent credits: Coroner, Porgy and Bess, Seattle Opera, 2018; Thoma Putnam, The Crucible, A Contemporary Theatre, 2017; Levison/Westmoreland, All The Way/The Great Society, Seattle Repertory Theatre, 2014-15 Film: “Prefontaine,” “Georgia,” “Highway” Television: “The Commish,” “Grimm,” “Leverage”

MICHAEL PATTEN CORONER ATLANTA OPERA DEBUT

38 | theatlantaoperachorus CHORUS MASTER Rolando Salazar CHORUS MEMBERS SOPRANO Stefayne Dunn Kelly Goodson Kayla Harriott Alicia Jayourba Jouelle Roberson* Shala Whitehead Tiffany Uzoije Minka Wiltz

TENOR Martin Bakari Jackson Ernest Larry Hylton Rick Mallory Timothy Miller Timothy D. Parrott Demetrious Sampson Tyrone Webb

ALTO Kimberly Blue Ebony Collier Yasmin Edwards Chamblee Graham Valerie Hamm Shanta Johnson Kimberly Milton Amber Tittle

BASS John Alston Phillip Bullock Antoine Griggs Jarrod Lee Timothy Marshall Jahi Mims LeRell Ross Wendel Stephens

*member of The Atlanta Opera Studio

KARLI CADEL

SUPERNUMERARIES Jerry Hunter, Brandall Jones, Kristin Kelley, Malik Lerow, K.C. Martin, Kristian Rodriquez, Nicholas Smith CHILD SUPERNUMERARIES Andrew Bodrick, Prina Connor, Maclen Jackson, Marlei Jackson, Morgan Miller, Chase Olivers ACTOR CASTING CONSULTANT Clifton Guterman

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theatlantaoperaorchestra

VIOLIN

CELLO

HORN

Peter Ciaschini The Loraine P. Williams Orchestra Concertmaster Chair

Charae Kreuger Principal

David Bradley Principal

Hilary Glen Asst. Principal

Jason Eklund

Helen Kim* Asst. Concertmaster

David Hancock Mary Kenney Cynthia Sulko

Virginia Respess-Fairchild Acting Asst. Concertmaster Fia Durrett* Principal Second Lisa Morrison Acting Principal Second Adelaide Federici* Asst. Principal Second Patrick Ryan Acting Asst. Principal Second Edward Eanes* Felix Farrar Robert Givens Patti Gouvas Shawn Pagliarini Anastasia Petrunina Angèle Sherwood-Lawless Jessica Stinson Rafael Veytsblum Serena Scibelli† Katie Gardner† Sally Gardner-Wilson† Alison James† Jeanne Johnson† Kathryn Koch† Mayu Sommovigo† Elonia Varfi† VIOLA

BASS Lyn DeRamus Principal Emory Clements Christina Ottaviano* Adam Bernstein† Robert Henson† FLUTE James Zellers Principal

TRUMPET Yvonne Toll Principal Hollie Lifshey Paul Poovey† TROMBONE Mark McConnell Principal Richard Brady Bass Trombone TUBA Donald Strand Principal

OBOE

TIMPANI

Diana Dunn Principal

John Lawless Principal

Christina Gavin

PERCUSSION

CLARINET

Mike Cebulski Principal

John Warren Jeanne Heinze† Luke Weathington† ALTO SAXOPHONE Jan Baker† Luke Weathington†

William Johnston Principal

TENOR SAXOPHONE

Elizabeth DerderianWood* Asst. Principal

BASS CLARINET

Ryan Gregory Acting Asst. Principal

BASSOON

Julie Rosseter Karl Schab* Joli Wu* Josiah Coe† Robert Rieve† Meghan Yost†

Eric Hawkins†

Kelly Bryant

David Odom Principal

John Warren

Ivy Ringel* Principal Debra Grove Acting Principal

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Karen Hunt† Jeff Kershner† HARP Susan Brady* Principal BANJO Bill Hatcher† PIANO Seann Alderking† PERSONNEL MANAGER Mark McConnell *core musician on leave † non-core musician Musicians employed in this production are represented by the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.

40 | chorusspotlight THE ATLANTA OPERA: How long have you been a member of The Atlanta Opera Chorus? VALERIE HAMM: I’ve performed with the chorus for sixteen seasons. TAO: Where did you grow up, and who or what influenced you to start singing? HAMM: I’m a native of Detroit. Early on, I discovered an aptitude for and an interest in singing. At four years old,

VALERIE HAMM, ALTO

I sang my first church solo, “If I Have Wounded Any Souls Today.” Later, I had an excellent elementary school music teacher, Ms. Juanita Anderson, who really got me hooked. TAO: What is your favorite memory as a chorus member? HAMM: My favorite memories as a chorister are those from the 2008 Porgy and Bess tour to France, Spain, and Luxembourg. Opening at the Opéra-Comique in Paris was awe-inspiring. I found the outdoor concert at the Alhambra in Granada equally thrilling. TAO: What is your favorite part (in the music or story) of Porgy and Bess? HAMM: I enjoy the hurricane scene in Serena’s room; the music here is so richly varied. The scene begins and ends with the powerful unmetered prayers—six singers praying six different prayers supported by the ensemble. This is followed by spirituals “Oh The Sun Going To Rise” and ”Somebody Knockin’,” interspersed within the principal singers’ music. When the villain, Crown, enters, Gershwin gives him the irreverently jazzy “Redheaded Woman.” All the various moods are knit together so seamlessly.

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TAO: What should audiences listen for in this opera? HAMM: I think it’s fun (and useful) if, as the opera progresses, audience members note Gershwin’s use of leitmotifs, recurring themes which identify specific characters or ideas. Also, they should listen for the sumptuous choral sound of my talented colleagues. TAO: Is there an ultimate role or opera you haven’t had a chance to sing? HAMM: I would love the opportunity to sing the role of The Mother in Amal And the Night Visitors. It’s such a sweet story, and she has lovely music! TAO: What do you do when you’re not singing around town or with The Atlanta Opera Chorus? HAMM: For my “day gig,” I’m a supervisor in the Cashiering Services department at Georgia State University. I’m also learning French with Duolingo online (planning a study trip to France soon!), and I’m trying to become keyboard proficient! TAO: Any advice for young singers just starting out? HAMM: Find someone you trust to guide and advise you. Listen to and watch performances of great singers. I’d recommend Renée Fleming’s memoir, “The Inner Voice,” an interesting and insightful read. Finally, respect and take care of your body. TAO: Tell us about the experience of singing Porgy and Bess on tour in Paris in 2008. HAMM: I found it very inspiring to experience the history of the Opéra-Comique, where Carmen debuted back in the 19th century. Catfish Row in that production was unlike any I’ve ever been on. We played on an extremely minimal set which was enhanced by large video screens and handheld cameras. South African director Robyn Orlin’s interpretation very unusual and exciting. Audiences were thrilled, and, in turn, so were we!

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42 | giving&support ANNUAL GIVING We are grateful for the following donors’ generous support. This list reflects gifts and pledges to unrestricted operating expenses, special projects, and/or endowment made between Jan. 1, 2019, through Dec. 31, 2019.

DIRECTOR’S CIRCLE $1,000,000+

GOLD $10,000+

BRONZE $2,500+

John & Rosemary Brown Donald & Marilyn Keough Foundation

Elizabeth & Jeremy Adler Anonymous Julia & Jim Balloun Dr. & Mrs. Asad Bashey Mr. & Mrs. C. Duncan Beard Mr. Mario Concha *Heike & Dieter Elsner John L. Hammaker James M. Kane & Andrea Braslavsky Kane Mr. & Mrs. Michael E. Paulhus Mr. Charles Sharbaugh Mr. & Mrs. Timothy E. Sheehan Christine & Mark St.Clare The Mary & Charlie Yates Family Fund Mr. Tomer Zvulun & Mrs. Susanna Eiland

Mr. & *Mrs. Shepard B. Ansley Mr. & Mrs. Paul Blackney Mrs. Enrique E. Bledel Mr. & Mrs. Raymond H. Chenault Dr. John W. Cooledge Mr. Richard H. Delay & Dr. Francine D. Dykes Col. & Mrs. Edgar W. Duskin Drs. Morgan & Susan Horton Eiland Rita Evans Dr. & Mrs. Donald J. Filip Ms. Rebecca Y. Frazer & Mr. Jon Buttrey Judge Adele P. Grubbs Dr. Thomas N. Guffin, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Hardin Mr. & Mrs. Thomas D. Hills Eda Hochgelerent MD & Bruce Cassidy MD Linda L. Lively & James E. Hugh III Candy & Greg Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Gert Kampfer Ms. Salli LeVan Belinda & Gino Massafra Mr. & Mrs. Allen P. McDaniel Peggy Weber McDowell & Jack McDowell Shelley McGehee Mrs. Polly N. Pater Mr. James D. Powell Lynn & Kent Regenstein Mr. James L. Rhoden Mr. & Mrs. J. Barry Schrenk Morton & Angela Sherzer Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas Shreiber Johannah Smith Peter J. Stelling & Jody C. Weatherly Mrs. Hugh Tarbutton Mr. & Mrs. George B. Taylor, Jr.

$200,000+ Dr. Harold Brody & Mr. Donald Smith Ann & Frank Critz The Gable Foundation Mr. Howard W. Hunter, Gramma Fisher Foundation *Mr. & Mrs. Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Mr. James B. Miller, Jr. Jerry & Dulcy Rosenberg

$100,000+ Anonymous The Karina Miller Trust

$50,000+ Mr. & Mrs. Ronald R. Antinori Laura & Montague Boyd Triska Drake & G. Kimbrough Taylor Dr. & Mrs. Alexander Gross Rhys T. & Carolyn Wilson

$25,000+ Cathy & Mark Adams Nancy & *Jim Bland Mr. & Mrs. John L. Connolly Mary Ruth McDonald Victoria & Howard Palefsky Mr. William Pennington Mr. William F. Snyder Judith & Mark Taylor Brian & Marie Ward

PATRON’S CIRCLE $15,000+ Mr. David Boatwright Ms. Janine Brown & Mr. Alex J. Simmons, Jr. Mr. Robert P. Dean & Mr. Robert Epstein Carl & Sally Gable Mrs. Beth W. Glynn Mr. Alfred D. Kennedy & Dr. Bill Kenny Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Keough Sandra & Peter Morelli Katherine Scott Ms. Bunny Winter & Mr. Michael Doyle

SILVER $5,000+ Mrs. Phillip E. Alvelda Anonymous Bryan & Johanna Barnes Dr. Florence C. Barnett Dr. R. Dwain Blackston Jean & Jerry Cooper Ms. Suzanne Mott Dansby Mr. & Mrs. Robert G. Edge Mr. Arthur Fagen Ms. Ariana B. Fass Mr. James Flanagan Mr. & Mrs. Lance Fortnow Mr. Ethan Garonzik Mr. L. D. Holland Mrs. Gail G. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Michael A. Klump Mr. & Mrs. Andrew Long Dr. & Mrs. James Lowman Mimi & Dan Maslia Mr. Conrad Mora Clara M. & John S. O’Shea Mr. & Mrs. Robert Ratonyi Kevin Greiner & Robyn Roberts Drs. Aileen & Richard Robinson John & Barbara Ross Baker & Debby Smith John & Yee-Wan Stevens Mr. Tarek Takieddini Dr. & Mrs. Nicholas Valerio III Mr. & Mrs. Bill Vance Larry & Beverly Willson Mrs. Wadleigh C. Winship Bob & Cappa Woodward Charitable Fund

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FRIEND’S CIRCLE INVESTOR $1,000+ Ms. Teresa Bailey Ms. Hope M. Barrett Stanford M. Brown Chris Casey & Douglas Weiss Mr. & Mrs. Edward S. Croft III Mrs. Overton A. Currie Maureen & Michael Dailey Amy & James Davis Jim & Carol Dew Mr. Thomas Emch

Proud supporter of

44 | giving&support Dr. Mary M. Finn Mr. Micah Fortson R. Derril Gay, Ph.D. Mr. Michael Golden & Dr. Juliet Asher Mr. Richard Goodjoin Mrs. John W. Grant III Mrs. Helen C. Griffith Mr. George Hickman, III Mr. & Mrs. Harry C. Howard *Mr. & Mrs. W. Barrett Howell, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. David C. Huffman Mrs. Cecile M. Jones Mr. & Mrs. Gedas Kutka Mrs. Treville Lawrence Dr. Carlos E. Lopez Dr. & Mrs. Steven Marlowe Mr. & Mrs. Lee Mathis Mr. Stedman C. Mays , Jr. & Mr. Charles Bjorklund James & Kathleen Meucci Barbara & Mark Murovitz Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Nicholas III John & Marilyn O’Neal Household The Opera Guild for Atlanta George Paulik Lucy S. Perry Dr. & Mrs. Lawrence S. Phillips Mr. Lawrence F. Pinson Mrs. Betsy Pittman The Reverend Neal P. Ponder, Jr. Dr. Michael F. Pratt & Nancy Peterman Richard Restagno R.J. & D.G. Riffey, Jr. Milton J. Sams Mr. & Mrs. S. Albert Sherrod Mr. Fred B. Smith Gail & Barry Spurlock Dr. Jane T. St. Clair & Mr. James E. Sustman Lynne & Steven Steindel Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth G. Taylor Mr. Stephen H. Thompson & Mr. Drew Mote Ms. Betsy K. Wash Dr. & Mrs. James O. Wells, Jr. *Dr. & Mrs. R. Craig Woodward

SUPPORTER $500+ Paula Stephan Amis Anonymous Mr. & Mrs. Robert O. Banker Colonel & Mrs. John V. Barson, D.O. Natalie & Matthew Bernstein Mrs. Marilee F. Betor Cynthia & Albert Blackwelder Dr. & Mrs. Jerry Blumenthal Ms. Mary D. Bray Ms. Martha S. Brewer Mr. & Mrs. George Cemore Dr. & Mrs. Harold L. Chapman, Jr. Mr. Lawrence M. Cohen Mr. N. Jerold Cohen & Ms. Andrea Strickland Mr. & Mrs. Charles Cohn

Mrs. Jan W. Collins Mr. T. Dennis Connally Ms Lillianette Cook & Ms. Carol Uhl John & Linda Cooke Mrs. Carol J. Clark Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Curry Mr. James M. Datka & Ms. Nora P. DePalma Mr. Mark du Mas Mr. & Mrs. Robert F. Engeman Sr. Dr. & Mrs. David J. Frolich Ms. Louise S. Gunn Mr. Joseph Gyengo Jim & Virginia Hale Ms. Marilyn M. Hall Mr. & Mrs. Douglas Hantula Mr. Ronald L. Harris & Mrs. Jacqueline Pownall Dean & Vivian Haulton Donna & Richard Hiller James E. Honkisz & Catherine A. Binns Richard & Linda Hubert Cliff Jolliff & Elaine Gerke Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Grodzicki Mrs. Peter G. Kessenich Ms. Eleanor Kinsey Joan & Arnold Kurth Chris & Jill Le Juliette & Andrew Lebor Livvy Kazer Lipson Allan & Veneesa Little Richard Lodise & Valerie Jagiella Dr. Robert & Judge Stephanie Manis Samantha & William Markle Mr. Thomas L. McCook Mrs. Thespi P. Mortimer Terri & Stephen Nagler John & Agnes Nelson Mr. Denis Ng The Honorable & Mrs. George A. Novak Mr. & Mrs. Steve Paro Mr. Darryl-Christopher Payne Mr. Stephen L. Rann & Ms. Dytre Fentress Sandra & Ronald Rousseau Mr. Alan J. Savada Dr. & Mrs. William M. Scaljon Mr. & Mrs. Milton W. Shlapak Mr. Paul Snyder Mr. & Mrs. Robert Stansfield Judge Mike & Mrs. Jane Stoddard Steve & Christine Strong Dr. & Mrs. William H. Stuart Kay & Alex Summers Dr. & Mrs. Michael Szikman Ms. Virginia S. Taylor Alan & Marcia Watt Kiki Wilson Jerrie S. Woodward Sherrilyn & Donn Wright Dr. & Mrs. Ben Zinn

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CONTRIBUTOR $250+ Dr. Raymond Allen Mr. & Mrs. David S. Baker Drs. Tatiana & Igor Bidikov Mr. Matt Blackburn Mr. Jonathan Blalock Mr. & Mrs. George Boulineau Paul Brenner James & Nancy Bross Dr. Christine Bruno Mark & Peg Bumgardner Lori & David Chastain Mr. & Mrs. Don S. Coatworth Mr. Michael Colbruno Mr. & Mrs. Newt Collinson Carol Comstock & Jim Davis Mr. David D’Ambrosio Dr. & Mrs. Albert De Chicchis Ms. Barbara B. Dowd Denis & Sandra DuBois Ms. Martha Fineman Ms. Mary Anne F. Gaunt Col. & Mrs. Donald M. Gilner Dr. & Mrs. Martin Goldstein James C. Goodwyne & Christopher S. Connelly Mr. John Greer Mr. & Mrs. Sam Hagan Pearlann & Jerry Horowitz Ms. Jan W. Hughen Mr. Scott Ingram Robert & Barbara Jackson Ms. Brenda D. Jennings Mr. Richard P. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Edward Katze Mr. & Mrs. Fred R. Keith John & JoAnn Keller Dr. Rose Mary Kolpatzki Mrs. Dale Levert & Mr. George W. Levert Mrs. Jeanine Lewis Stanley & Elaine Mager Mr. & Mrs. David N. Minkin Mr. & Mrs. M. Sean Molley Mr. Frank M. Monger Ms. Mollie W. Neal Ms. Carol Niemi Mr. John Owens Mr. Joseph M. Pabst Mr. & Mrs. William A. Parker, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Henry C. Parrish III Mr. & Mrs. John Payan Mr. & Mrs. John H. Petrey George & Libba Pickett Dan Pompilio & Lark Ingram Mr. Robert Quish *Sharon & Jim Radford Mrs. Karin Radosta Ms. Lisa Richardson Weslyn A. Samson Ms. Regina Schuber Dr. & Mrs. Steve M. Shindell Mr. Robert Sidewater Dr. & Mrs. Stanley J. Smits Mr. John Stephenson Dr. Susan Y. Stevens

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.

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46 | giving&support Fred & Linda Stewart Mr. & Mrs. Frederick A. Stuart Sarah & David Sutherland Carolyn & Robert Swain Mr. & Mrs. Charles D. Tuller Dr. & Mrs. James H. Venable Mrs. Linda P. Vinal Ms. Parsla A. Welch Jone Williams Mr. & Mrs. Kennedy Williams , Jr. Ms. Ann D. Winters Mr. & Mrs. John Zellner

$100+ Judith M. Alembik Dr. Catherine Allard Mr. Mostafa Ammar Anonymous (3) Ms. Janice Arsan Atlanta Opera Orchestra Players Association Mr. & Mrs. Randall T. Bailey Mrs. Elizabeth Bair Kelly Baker Fink Mr. Brian D. Beem Carol J. Belay Claire & Bryan Benedict Daniel & Bethann Berger Ms. Jane Beylouny Nancy Bivins Mr. & Mrs. Michael Blackwood Ms. Barbara Blankenbeker Dr. & Mrs. Donald Block Dr. Daniel S. Blumenthal & Dr. Marjorie Speers Ms. Martha Bobo Ms. Dianne Brannen Mr. Richard Brownlee Kevin Burdette Ms. Anne Burnett Drs. Brenda & Craig Caldwell Michael J. & Debra M. Caldwell William A. Campbell Dr. & Mrs. W. Jerry Capps Mr. Rik Carlson Ms. Kathleen Casses Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Ciecorka Dr. Earle D. Clowney Ms. Sally Combs Mr. Bruce W. & Mrs. Kate Cotterman Mrs. Eleanor Crosby Ms. Ann Cummings Mr. Daniel Dammann & Dr. Michael Zinsmeister Mr. & Mrs. Harold T. Daniel Jr. Su & Gordon Danniels Mr. Philip D. Dawson Mr. & Mrs. David R. Dye Mr. & Mrs. Robert R. Eckardt Janice & Charles M. Edwards III Mrs. Teresa Elbel Ms. Paula L. Ellis Grazyna Eubanks Mrs. Arnoldo Fiedotin Judy & Stan Fineman Ms. Lora Fitzgerald Ms. Mozelle Funderburk

Mr. Glen Galbaugh Mr. & Ms. Alan H. Garber Mr. James Gary Dan & Harriet Gill Marie Graham A. J. Earley & W. L. Green Ms. Anne L. Grossman & Dr. Leonard Berger Ms. Donna Hall Dr. & Mrs. Bannester L. Harbin Ms. Freya Harris Dr. Thomas High Cathy & Mark Hill Ms. Sharon E. Hill Mr. Joseph Ho Mrs. Sally Horntvedt Mr. David Hubble Guy & Joyce Hutchison Mr. Rolf Ingenleuf Dr. Denise Jamieson & Dr. Tracee Treadwell Mrs. & Mr. Dorothea Jeffrey Ms. Susan Johnston & Mrs. Shannon Motley Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Johnston Ms. Beth Jones Mr. John M. Jones Ms. Lynne Elliott Jones Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Juchelka Jane & Bob Kibler Donna Jane Kilgore Helen & Steven Kraus Ms. Sandra L. Kroll Mrs. Emma Lankford Mr. & Mrs. Roy M. Lantz Michelle M.S. Lee Lucy R. & Gary Lee, Jr. Sophie Li David & Kathy Linden Donna & Trevor Lumb Mr. & Mrs. William J. MacKenna Dr. Chalam Mahadevan Mr. & Mrs. William J. Majoros Ms. Deborah A. Marlowe Alfred M. Martin Ms. Nancy Martin Adair & Joe Massey Katherine B. Maxwell & Michael J. Maxwell Patricia & Laughlin McDonald Ms. Robin McDonald Peggy Weber McDowell & Jack McDowell Dr. Rene McEldowney Mrs. Gwendolyn Michel Cindy & Edward Miller Mr. Simon Miller Ms. Judith R. Millner Berthe & Shapour Mobasser Ms. Sally B. Molloy & Mr. John Iacovelli Mr. Albert M. Morrison Ms. Camilia Mouton David Turnage & Alice Nelson Mr. & Mrs. David Norris Ms. Debra Nuyan Ms. & Mr. Sandra S. Owens Rev. Louisa T. Parsons

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Edward & Marjorie Patterson Ms. Mary Percy Mr. Robert & Mrs. Pam Peterman Ms. Sophia B. Peterman Calvin Pleasants & Vasily Goncharov Miss Phoebe Pomeroy Virginia Puckett Ms. Catherine Rakestraw Ms. Jean Robertson George Rodrigue Harriet Ruskin Dr. & Mrs. Joseph M. Scanlan Crista & Glenn D. Schaab Mr. Redd Schoening Mr. Donald Schreiber & Ms. Barbara Seal Ms. Gretchen Schulz Mr. Karin Schwerd Mr. Andrew J. Sebor Mr. & Mrs. Charles M. Shaffer Jr. Ms. Silke Shilling Mrs. Sara L. Shlesinger Mr. Joshua Shubin Mr. Christopher Smirl Elizabeth Morgan Spiegel Roberta H. Stevens Mr. Raymond A. Strikas Ms. Jennifer C. Su Mr. John Sumrall Ms. Katharine Suttell Barbara & Jon Swann Mr. & Mrs. John Tanzola Mr. & Mrs. Frederick C. Taylor Mr. & Ms. Wolfgang Tiedtke Ms. Nancy A. Thomas Ms. Laura P. Wagner Mr. & Mrs. A. E. Westmoreland, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Robert P. White Ms. Beth Williamson Dr. & Mrs. David Wingert Mrs. Mary S. Wright *deceased

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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. Anonymous (3) Cathy Callaway Adams & Mark Adams Mr. & *Mrs. Shepard B. Ansley Mrs. Wallace F. Beard The Bickers Charitable Trust Mr. Jonathan Blalock Mr. Montague L. Boyd, IV Ms. Mary D. Bray Mr. Robert Colgin *Martha Thompson Dinos The Roy & Janet Dorsey Foundation Arnold & Sylvia Eaves Ms. Dorothy E. Edwards *Heike & Dieter Elsner Ms. Melodi Ford Carl & Sally Gable Ms. Anne Marie Gary Peg Simms Gary Mr. & Mrs. Sidney W. Guberman Ms. Judy Hanenkrat

The Hilbert Family Trust Mr. Hilson Hudson *Mrs. Joseph B. Hutchison Mr. J. Carter Joseph Mr. Alfred D. Kennedy Mrs. Alfred D. Kennedy, Sr Mrs. Isabelle W. Kennedy Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Keough Ms. Corina M. LaFrossia Dr. Jill Mabley 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 E. Pennington

Mr. Bruce Roth Ms. Hazel Sanger Mr. D. Jack Sawyer, Jr. Anita & J. Barry Schrenk Elizabeth Morgan Spiegel Christine & Mark St.Clare *Ms. Barbara D. Stewart Dr. Jane T. St. Clair & Mr. James E. Sustman Mr. Tarek Takieddini Mr. & Mrs. Thomas H. Teepen Dr. & Mrs. Harold Whitney *Mrs. Jane S. Willson Rhys T. Wilson Ms. Bunny Winter & Mr. Michael Doyle Mr. Charles R. Yates, Jr. & Mrs. Mary Mitchell Yates *Mr. & *Mrs. Charles R. Yates, Sr. *deceased

TRIBUTES & MEMORIALS In memory of Dr. Joseph C. & Ruth P. Barnett Dr. Florence C. Barnett

In honor of Mr. John L. Hammaker Mr. & Mrs. Mark Adams

In memory of Mrs. Barbara Bastin Avondale Estates Woman’s Club

In memory of Mrs. Harriet H. Harris Ms. Freya Harris In memory of Mr. Kenneth Bryan Horton Dr. & Mrs. Morgan Eiland

In honor of Mr. Jonathan Blalock Mr. Michael Colbruno In honor of Mr. John Brown Mr. & Mrs. David S. Baker In honor of Mr. Emory Clements *Mr. & Mrs. W. Barrett Howell, Jr. In honor of Mr. Robert P. Dean Mr. & Mrs. Mark Adams In honor of Mr. Robert G. Edge Mrs. Eleanor Crosby In honor of Mr. Lance Fortnow Mrs. Annie Fortnow In honor of Mr. Carl Gable Mr. Barry Berlin Mr. & Mrs. Mark Taylor In memory of Mr. Thomas Gregory Ms. Virginia Puckett Ms. Patricia Stone Mr. & Mrs. John Zellner

In honor of Mr. Gregory F. Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Mark Adams In honor of Mr. Alfred D. Kennedy Mr. & Mrs. Mark Adams In honor of Mr. James B. Miller, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. James Edenfield In honor of Mrs. Victoria & Mr. Howard Palefsky Ms. Elizabeth Morgan Spiegel Mr. & Mrs. Mark Taylor In honor of Mr. & Mrs. Michael E. Paulhus Mr. & Mrs. Mark Adams In memory of Mrs. Mary C. Rodrigue Mrs. Marcella Jimenez Mrs. Dororthy McDaniel Mr. George Rodrigue Mrs. Jennifer Su

In honor of Mr. G. Kimbrough Taylor, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Montague Boyd Mr. & Mrs. Bill Vance In honor of Mr. & Mrs. William E. Tucker Mr. & Mrs. Mark Adams In honor of Mrs. Rae Weimer Anonymous Mr. William A. Markle Mr. & Mrs. Allen P. McDaniel Mrs. Mary Ruth McDonald Mrs. & Mr. Peggy McDowell The Reverend Neal P. Ponder, Jr. Dr. & Mrs. John Stevens Mr. Tomer Zvulun & Mrs. Susanna Eiland In honor of Rhys & Carolyn Wilson Mr. & Mrs. Mark Adams In honor of Mr. Charles R. Yates, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Mark Adams Mr. & Mrs. Larry C. Keister Mr. Robert Quish Ms. Sarah Sutherland In honor of Mr. Tomer Zvulun & Mrs. Susanna Eiland Mr. & Mrs. Mark Adams Mr. John Greer

48 | giving&support CORPORATE PARTNERS $100,000+

$10,000+

$2,500+

The Coca-Cola Company Ameris Bank The Home Depot Foundation

Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation CIBC Gas South PricewaterhouseCoopers SAP Success Factors TriMont Real Estate Advisors, Inc. The Hilbert Law Firm, LLC WarnerMedia

UBS Financial Services Inc. Wallace Graphics WhatBox Innovation Partners

$50,000+ Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta

$1,000+ National Distributing Co., Inc.

FOUNDATIONS & GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOUNDATIONS $225,000+ Livingston Foundation, Inc. Molly Blank Fund of The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

$50,000+ Atlanta Music Festival Fund of The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta The Sara Giles Moore Foundation The Zeist Foundation, Inc.

$20,000+ The Jim Cox, Jr. Foundation Roy and Janet Dorsey Foundation J. Marshall and Lucile G. Powell Charitable Trust

$10,000+ George M. Brown Trust Fund JBS Foundation The Ray M. & Mary Elizabeth Lee Foundation, Inc. Norfolk Southern Foundation Wells Fargo Foundation

GOVERNMENT FUNDING $20,000+ City of Atlanta Mayorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office of Cultural Affairs National Endowment for the Arts

$5,000+

10,000+

Camp-Younts Foundation Nordson Corporation Foundation Frances Wood Wilson Foundation, Inc.

Georgia Council for the Arts

$1,000+ Mary Brown Fund of Atlanta, Georgia Hills Family Foundation Kiwanis Foundation of Atlanta Charles Loridans Foundation, Inc.

atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera

staff

EXECUTIVE Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director Tomer Zvulun Managing Director Micah Fortson Executive Assistant Chamberlynn Shelton ARTISTIC Carl & Sally Gable Music Director Arthur Fagen Director of Artistic Administration Lauren Bailey Associate Conductor / Chorus Master Rolando Salazar Artistic Services & Studio Manager Wade Thomas Artistic Coordinator & Orchestra Librarian Katie Ude Orchestra Personnel Manager Mark McConnell PRODUCTION Director of Production Kevin G. Mynatt Production Manager Meggie Roseborough Associate Technical Director Joshua Jansen Assistant Stage Manager Marisa Brink Assistant Stage Manager Renée Varnas Lighting Supervisor Marcella Barbeau Properties Artisan Christopher Moneymaker COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & EDUCATION Director of Community Engagement & Education Jessica Kiger Education Coordinator Alexandria Sweatt COSTUME Costume Director Joanna Schmink Assistant Costume Shop Manager / Wardrobe Supervisor Lauren Allmeyer Work Room Manager Kelly Isaac First Hand L. Elizabeth Payne

| 49

Stitcher Hauzia Conyers Stitcher Brandon T. Thompson Stitcher Brianna Wiegand Wig & Makeup Manager Frandresha “Brie” Hall FINANCE & ADMINISTRATION Director of Finance Kathy J. White Controller Inga V. Murro Human Resources & Facilities Manager Kenneth R. Timmons Bookkeeper Ruth Strickland DEVELOPMENT Chief Advancement Officer Paul Harkins Individual Giving Officer Jonathan Blalock Institutional Giving Officer Camille Cordak Database Manager Steven Bras Development Operations & Individual Giving Coordinator Elizabeth Root Events & Volunteer Manager Sandy Feliciano MARKETING & AUDIENCE DEVELOPMENT Chief of Marketing & Audience Development Ashley Mirakian Associate Director of Marketing Rebecca Danis Marketing Manager Laura Lucas Senior Manager, Ticketing Services Renee Smiley Creative Services Manager Matt Burkhalter

JIM FITTS

50 | inmemoriam

Tomer Zvulun, General & Artistic Director of The Atlanta Opera, and Mot Dinos.

Once described as a petite powerhouse, Martha “Mot” Thompson Dinos shared her passion and commitment to making good things happen at The Atlanta Opera for over 35 years. As an active board member, she always shared her ideas for strengthening one of the many art forms that she dearly loved, so that future generations can derive as much joy from music as she did. Mot’s mother shared her love of opera with their family when she was young and sparked an interest in singing. This love grew as Mot and her two sisters sang as a trio at community events.

As an aspiring singer, she had hopes of becoming an opera singer. As often happens, our passions lead us in new directions, and she changed her college major to science, which she described as “easier” and earned degrees in zoology and chemistry. Mot’s generosity has benefited many institutions in addition to The Atlanta Opera: her beloved University of Georgia, the Georgia Museum of Art, Kennesaw State University, and Project Open Hand. Opera, education, and relieving hunger are some of the causes that touched her heart. She once said, “It’s everyone’s responsibility to keep good things going. There are so many bad things going on out there. We need to help the good things along.” Mot had a twinkle in her eye and a quick wit, and her ambitions for The Atlanta Opera were always very high. She will always be an important part of our history and we will miss her dearly.

atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera

leadership

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS OFFICERS Chair Mr. Rhys T. Wilson Immediate Past Chair Ms. Cathy Callaway Adams Vice Chair Mr. John L. Hammaker Vice Chair Mr. Charles “Charlie” R. Yates Treasurer Ms. Bunny Winter Secretary Mr. Michael E. Paulhus MEMBERS Mrs. Elizabeth Adler Mr. Bryan H. Barnes Mr. Dante Bellizzi Mr. Montague L. Boyd, IV Dr. Harold J. Brody Mrs. Rosemary Kopel Brown Mr. Frank H. Butterfield Ms. Mary Calhoun

Mr. Mario Concha Dr. Frank A. Critz Mr. Robert Dean *Ms. Martha Thompson Dinos Mr. Dieter Elsner Dr. Donald J. Filip Mr. Kevin Greiner Mrs. Joanne Chesler Gross Mr. Howard W. Hunter Mrs. Tiffany Kent Mr. Andrew R. Long Mr. James B. Miller, Jr. Mrs. Stephanie Morela Mrs. Sandra S. Morelli Mr. Howard Palefsky Mr. William E. Pennington Mr. Herbert J. Rosenberg Mr. Charles Sharbaugh Mr. Alex Simmons, Jr. Mr. William F. Snyder Mrs. Christine St.Clare Mr. G. Kimbrough Taylor, Jr. Mr. William E. Tucker Mrs. Marie Ward Mr. Tomer Zvulun, ex-officio

HONORARY MEMBERS Mrs. Nancy Carter Bland 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 Mrs. Peggy Weber McDowell Mr. Bruce A. Roth Mr. J. Barry Schrenk Mr. Timothy E. Sheehan Mr. Mark K. Taylor Mr. Thomas R. Williams Mr. Robert G. Woodward *deceased

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Board Chair Mr. Rhys T. Wilson

Audit Chair Mr. Bryan H. Barnes

At-Large Member Mrs. Christine St.Clare

Vice-Chair Mr. John L. Hammaker

Community Engagement Chair Mr. Alex Simmons, Jr.

At-Large Member Mrs. Sandra S. Morelli

Vice-Chair; Development Co-Chair; Nominating & Board Engagement Co-Chair Mr. Charles “Charlie” R. Yates, Jr.

Investment Chair & Development Co-Chair Mr. G. Kimbrough Taylor, Jr.

Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. General & Artistic Director, ex-officio member Mr. Tomer Zvulun

Secretary Mr. Michael E. Paulhus

Nominating & Board Engagement Co-Chair Ms. Cathy Callaway Adams

Treasurer Ms. Bunny Winter

At-Large Member Mr. Howard W. Hunter

ADVISORY COUNCIL Mr. Ronald R. Antinori Mr. Andrew J.M. Binns Mr. Kenny L. Blank

Mrs. Inge Bledel Ms. Sally Bland Fielding Mrs. Beth W. Glynn

ARTISTIC ADVISORY COUNCIL Ms. Jamie Barton Mr. Kevin Burdette

Mr. Michael Mayes Mr. Morris Robinson

Dr. Thomas N. Guffin, Jr. Mrs. Erin Quinn Martin Mr. Paul Snyder

52 | 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. PARKING There are 1,000 parking spaces available at $10 per car. Valet service is available for $15. Please be sure to allow enough time for travel to the theater and parking as there is no late seating. ATM There is one Synovus ATM located in the grand lobby. COAT CHECK Coat check is available at the concierge desk. 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. LOST AND FOUND Lost and Found items are turned into the concierge desk on the day of a performance. To inquire about a lost item, please call the House Manager at 770-916-2828. SMOKING Smoking is prohibited inside the building. SPECIAL ASSISTANCE Persons requiring access assistance are asked to contact the box office at 770-916-2850 for advance arrangements. Audio-clarification devices are available to our hearing-impaired guests at no charge. This is on a first-come, firstserved basis, or you may call the House Manager ahead of time to reserve one at 770-916-2828. A limited number of booster seats are also available. All items require a form of identification to be held until the item is returned.

atlantaopera.org | @theatlantaopera

COBB ENERGY CENTRE RULES AND 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. • Cameras (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.

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