The Atlanta Opera ARIA: The Italian Girl in Algiers

Gioachino Rossini’s

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Dear Fellow Opera Lovers, This exhilaratingly entertaining production of Rossini’s comedy The Italian Girl in Algiers concludes a truly gratifying season for The Atlanta Opera. This year’s productions of Carmen and La traviata were not only artistically successful, but were new milestones in terms of ticket sales and the number of patrons who attended the performances. Thank you for your continued support and patronage.

As you know, this has been a year of transition in which The Atlanta Opera is now poised to enter into a new, exciting era under the leadership of a dynamic, visionary new general director.

Our new leader will take the helm in time for the opening of our enthralling 2013-2014 season featuring Puccini’s Tosca, Gounod’s Faust and Rossini’s beloved favorite, The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia). We hope you will join us next season by renewing your subscription or becoming a season ticket holder of The Atlanta Opera. During this past season our mainstage productions have been complemented by ongoing community engagement activities that have sought to entertain and educate children as well as adults. It is our 8

Our fiscal year closes June 30 with an annual fund goal of $720,000. Your support is critical in helping us reach that goal. As mentioned, we have had stellar ticket sales this season, but ticket sales account for less than 35 percent of the total cost of presenting the opera productions you have come to enjoy. Please take a moment to support us in our efforts to bring worldclass opera to Atlanta. Your participation as a subscriber, donor or volunteer is vital to our continued success. If you have not given, please consider making a pledge or contribution to our annual fundraising campaign. The Atlanta Opera would not exist without you. Our staff is available in the lobby to assist you and answer any questions you may have. Alternatively, you may donate online at atlantaopera.org.

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Experience the

Lies, lust and corruption turn a tale of love into a struggle for survival in Puccini’s Tosca. Amid the bloodshed of revolutionary Rome, the diva Tosca battles the treacherous police chief Scarpia for the life of her lover, Cavaradossi. Set to Puccini’s intensely passionate music, this gripping melodrama is quintessential opera!

Sung in Italian with Projected English Translations

October 5, 8, 11, 13, 2013

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In Gounod’s operatic retelling of the famous legend, an elderly scholar sells his soul to the devil Méphistophélès for a chance to seduce the beautiful Marguerite. Faust’s diabolical struggle between good and evil must surely end in tragedy. Or does it?

Sung in French with Projected English Translations

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The wily barber Figaro aids Count Almaviva in wooing the radiant maiden, Rosina. With hilarious antics, romance unfurls right under the nose of Dr. Bartolo, intent on marrying Rosina himself. Rossini’s delightful comedy The Barber of Seville has elicited peals of laughter from opera lovers for generations!

Sung in Italian with Projected English Translations

April 26, 29, May 2, 4, 2014

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2012-2013 Season SPonsors Opening Night Performance Sponsor The Coca-Cola Company Production Sponsors The Estate of Barbara D. Stewart Arthur FagEn The Carl & Sally Gable Music Director Carl & Sally Gable Helena Binder Stage Director Jane S. Willson Artist Sponsors Isabella Sandra Piques Eddy Mr. & Mrs. J. Barry Schrenk Lindoro Michele Angelini Rhys & Carolyn Wilson MustafÀ Burak Bilgili Mr. Mario Concha Taddeo Bruno Praticò Mr. James D. Powell & Mr. Mitchell Czeh

photo: Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera

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The Italian Girl in AlGiers The Italian Girl in Algiers (L’italiana in Algeri) MUSIC Gioachino Rossini LIBRETTO Angelo Anelli The Carl & Sally Gable Music Director Arthur Fagen STAGE DIRECTOR Helena Binder First Performance Venice, Teatro San Benedetto, May 22, 1813 Atlanta Opera Premiere Sung in Italian with English supertitles Approximate running time: 2 hours, 30 minutes, including one intermission CAST Isabella Sandra Piques Eddy Lindoro Michele Angelini Mustafà Burak Bilgili Taddeo Bruno Praticò Elvira Ashley Emerson Zulma Maria McDaniel Haly Frederick Jackson Scenery designer Robert Innes Hopkins Costume designer David C. Woolard Lighting designer Ken Yunker Sets & Costumes provided by The Santa Fe Opera Wig & Makeup designer Richard Jarvie Chorus prepared by Walter Huff Musical preparation / harpsichord continuo Played by Stefano Sarzani Production Stage Manager Shawn Rieschl Johnson English Captions by Jonathan Dean English captions for L’italiana in Algeri owned by Seattle Opera, ©2006 Supertitles operator Ellen Chamberlain Pianos provided by England Pianos 11

Synopsis

photo: Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera

ACT I In Algiers, at the seaside palace of the bey Mustafà, his wife, Elvira, complains that her husband no longer loves her.

Her attendants reply there is nothing she can do when Mustafà himself bursts in.

Asserting he will not let women get the better of him, he sends Elvira away when she complains. Mustafà says he has tired of his wife and will give her to Lindoro, a young Italian at the court, to marry. Then he orders Haly, a captain in his service, to provide an Italian woman for himself — someone more interesting than the girls in his harem, all of whom bore him. Lindoro longs for his own sweetheart, Isabella, whom he lost when pirates captured him. Mustafà tells him he can have Elvira, insisting she possesses every virtue that Lindoro, in his attempt to escape Mustafà’s connubial trap, has listed.

Elsewhere along the shore, a plane crash is spotted in the distance, and Haly’s pirates move in to capture the passengers.

Isabella, one of the captives, laments the cruelty of a fate that has interrupted her 12

quest for her lost fiancé, Lindoro. Though in danger, she is confident of her skill in taming men. The pirates seize Taddeo, an aging admirer of Isabella’s, and attempt to sell him into slavery, but he claims he is Isabella’s uncle and cannot leave her.

When the Turks learn that both captives are Italian, they rejoice in having found the new star for their leader’s harem.

Taddeo is aghast at the aplomb with which Isabella takes this news, but after a quarrel about his jealousy, they decide they had better face their predicament together.

Elvira’s slave, Zulma, tries to reconcile Lindoro and her mistress to the fact that Mustafà has ordered them to marry.

Mustafà promises Lindoro he may return to Italy — if he will take Elvira. Seeing no other way, Lindoro accepts, making it clear he might not marry Elvira until after they reach Italy. Elvira, however, loves her husband and sees no advantage in aiding Lindoro’s escape. When Haly announces the capture of an Italian woman, Mustafà gloats in anticipation of conquest, then

Synopsis leaves to meet her. Lindoro tries to tell Elvira she has no choice but to leave her heartless husband.

In the main hall of his palace, hailed by eunuchs as “the scourge of women,” Mustafà welcomes Isabella with ceremony. Aside, she remarks that he looks ridiculous and feels certain that she will be able to deal with him; he, on the other hand, finds her enchanting. As she seemingly throws herself on his mercy, the jealous Taddeo starts to make a scene and is saved only when she declares that he is her “uncle.”

Elvira and Lindoro, about to leave for Italy, come to say goodbye to the bey, and Lindoro and Isabella are stunned to recognize each other. To prevent Lindoro’s departure, Isabella insists that Mustafà cannot banish his wife, adding that Lindoro must stay as her own personal servant.

Between the frustration of Mustafà’s plans and the happy but confused excitement of the lovers, everyone’s head reels. original costume sketch: David C. Woolard

ACT II Elvira and various members of the court are discussing how easily the Italian woman has cowed Mustafà, giving Elvira hope of regaining his love. When Mustafà enters, however, it is to declare he will visit Isabella in her room. She comes out of her room, upset because Lindoro apparently broke faith with her by agreeing to escape with Elvira.

Lindoro appears and reassures her of his loyalty. Promising a scheme for their freedom, Isabella leaves him to his rapturous feelings. After he, too, leaves, Mustafà reappears, followed by attendants with the terrified Taddeo, who is to be honored as the bey’s Kaimakan, or personal bodyguard, in exchange for helping secure Isabella’s affections. Dressed in Turkish garb, he sees no choice but to accept the compulsory honor.

In her apartment, Isabella dons Turkish clothes herself and prepares for Mustafà’s visit, telling Elvira 13

Synopsis that the way to keep her husband is to be more assertive. As she completes her toilette, Isabella, knowing she is overheard by Mustafà in the background, sings a half-mocking invocation to Venus to help conquer her victim. To make him impatient, she keeps him waiting, as her “servant” Lindoro acts as go-between.

At length, she presents herself to the bey, who introduces Taddeo as his Kaimakan.

Mustafà sneezes — a signal for Taddeo to leave — but Taddeo stays, and Isabella invites Elvira to stay, to Mustafà’s displeasure. When Isabella insists that he treat his wife

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gently, Mustafà bursts out in annoyance, while the others wonder what to make of his fulminations.

Elsewhere in the palace, Haly predicts that his master is no match for an Italian woman. As Lindoro and Taddeo plan their escape, Taddeo says he is Isabella’s true love.

Lindoro is amused but realizes he needs Taddeo’s help in dealing with Mustafà, who enters, still furious. Lindoro, says Isabella actually cares very much for the bey and wants him to prove his worthiness by entering the Italian order of Pappataci.

Believing this to be an honor, Mustafà asks what he has to do. Simple, says Lindoro: Eat, drink, and sleep all you like, oblivious to anything around you. Aside, Haly and Zulma wonder what Isabella is up to.

In her apartment, Isabella readies a feast of initiation for the bey, exhorting her fellow Italians to be confident. Mustafà arrives, and Lindoro reminds him of the initiation procedure. After he is pronounced a Pappataci, food is brought in, and he is tested by Isabella and Lindoro, who pretend to make love while Taddeo reminds Mustafà to ignore them. The lovers prepare to escape with other Italian captives, but Taddeo realizes that he, too, is being tricked, and tries to rally Mustafà, who persists in keeping his vow of paying no attention.

When Mustafà finally responds, the Italians have the situation under control and bid a courteous farewell. Mustafà, his lesson learned, takes Elvira back, and everyone sings the praises of the resourceful Italian woman. n - Courtesy Stanford University

original costume sketch: David C. Woolard

Program Notes

photo: Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera

Into THE ITALIAN GIRL’S Background

By David Sander Gioachino Rossini worked well under pressure. That his staple of the repertory, Il barbiere di Siviglia, was composed in 21 days is common knowledge, but that’s not the only masterpiece he wrote in a hurry.

In 1813, Rossini was in Venice for the local premiere of his opera, La pietra del paragone, to be followed by a new work

by Carlo Coccia. When Coccia’s La donna selvaggio failed to materialize and Pietra experienced a slump in ticket sales, the Teatro San Benedetto had to scramble.

Though Rossini was making a name for himself in opera seria (as evidenced by the successful premiere of Tancredi in February), the Venetians enjoyed his comic side — all five of his one-act farse had been written for that city, known for its crucial role in the development of staged comedy during the previous century. In a panic, Rossini turned to text by Angelo Anelli, which had recently been set by composer Luigi Mosca in 1808 as L’italiana in Algeri

(The Italian Girl in Algiers). Of course, this was hardly uncommon — Rossini and his colleagues, always in a pinch, frequently restaged the same source material and libretti (Barbiere is one famous example, first adapted by Giovanni Paisiello).

There were modifications, however, including the elimination of several numbers. Lindoro loses an aria just before the Act I finale, “Bella, da voi lontano,” only to gain one in Act II (“Oh come il cor di giubilo”), which replaces a duet for the two lovers, “Senza il caro suo tesoro,” that is curiously absent (a feature of Barbiere as well, said to be indicative of Rossini’s dramaturgy, though one could argue that the Act II trio, “Ah, quel colpo inaspettato,” is an impassioned moment a due, albeit with Figaro still in the room). Taddeo is stripped of his Act I aria, “Manco mal, son vivo ancora,” that precedes (and draws attention from) Isabella’s grand entrance 15

Program Notes number, “Cruda sorte,” during which the newly strengthened prima donna catalogs her enviable power over men to additional text not in Mosca. This is later proven by her Act II cavatina, “Per lui che adoro,” as she knowingly declares her beauty while her three admirers lustfully observe from a distance. This piece also was tacked on as a showpiece for Rossini’s favored soprano (prior to Isabella Colbran), the formidable Maria Marcolini, who 12 years his senior, was rumored to be his lover and perhaps the inspiration for the Italian Girl’s indomitable spirit. And evidence exists that Rossini may not have written all the music himself, again quite typical for the frenzied business of producing opera in those days. Certainly he had help with the recitatives and probably jobbed out Haly’s Act II aria di sorbetto, “La femmine d’Italia,” [eliminated from this production] as no one would be paying attention to the stage at the critical moment of the evening when street venders would be selling frozen ices inside the theater. Further alterations in Vicenzia and Milan yielded an alternate Act II aria for Lindoro (“Concedi, amor pietoso,” employed for these performances), a new Act I aria for Isabella (“Cimentando i venti e l’onde”) and reorchestration of “Per lui che adoro” (also heard in these performances — apparently the cellist at Milan’s Teatro Re was not up to the challenge of the complicated obbligato accompaniment, which had to be assigned to the flute). In Naples (foreshadowing Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera debacle), the touchy censors required the Act II rondò “Pensa alla patria” (“Think of your country”) be substituted with “Sullo stil de’ 16

viaggiatori” as any context of a unified Italy in those days was suspect. Similarly fearful Italian cities would simply change the text of the original aria to “Pensa alla sposa” (“Think of your wife”).

Musically, a comparison between Mosca and Rossini is marked. Separated by only five years, the former is stuck in a Classical rut, moving ponderously along with little change in tempi or variation in forms.

Rossini, on the other hand, was intimately familiar with the theatrical expectations of his audience from his childhood — his mother was a singer (and an interpreter of Mosca) — and his innovative score leaps off the page with verve, highly ornamented at every turn and propelled forward by the soon-to-be trademark “Rossini” crescendo (though credited with this device featuring a melody repeated with increasing volume and instrumentation, examples can be found in the earlier works of Mosca and Pietro Generali, among others). L’italiana in Algeri was a hit from the start and soon eclipsed Coccia's belated premiere of Donna, relegating it to the mere obligatory three performances). Rossini would later remark: “… [the Venetians] have shown themselves to be crazier than me!”

Though the words to this second Italiana adhere closely to the first, the text modifications are somewhat of a mystery — they could have been the hand of resident librettist (and frequent Rossini collaborator) Gaetano Rossi, or from a distance, that of Anelli himself, who held a similar position in Milan. The sources of the story are just as enigmatic. Anelli was somewhat of a Classicist, providing

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Program Notes text for an earlier generation of composers that included Giovanni Simone Mayr, Niccolò Piccinni and Stefano Pavesi. He was likely familiar with the far more serious legend of Roxelane, a beautiful slave of the 16th-century Turkish despot Suleiman the Great. A native of Rohatyn, then part of Poland, she was captured by Crimean Tartars and eventually found her way into Suleiman’s harem. She convinced the sultan to send his wife and first-born son to rule one of the provinces, where the boy was later strangled by a man named Mustapha.

In another daring move, she became Suleiman’s new wife, bearing five children including the next Turkish leader, Selim.

Another, less brutal theory is based on more current events — a young, aristocratic Milanese woman, Antonietta Frapolli, had been abducted by Algerian pirates in 1805 and placed in the seraglio of Mustaphaibn-Ibrahim. Her return several years later became a newsworthy occurrence.

Like other lighthearted works of the day (most notably Barbiere), one can also see signs of the tried-and-true Italian commedia dell’arte. Taddeo, the amorous fool whose love remains unrequited, is ultimately derived from the stock character Pulcinella (often portrayed as a hunchback, he is operatically evidenced in a much later opera, Pagliacci (1892)

by Ruggero Leoncavallo). Lindoro (a proper commedia name also used as the pseudonym of Almaviva in Barbiere) is the noble young lover paired with his inamorata Isabella (Rosina in Barbiere), who shares some of the smart ways and impertinence with the female servantcharacter Columbina (Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro). And Mustafà bears a striking resemblance to the typically grotesque, ridiculous older man in vain pursuit of a young, pert and unattainable woman (Bartolo in both Beaumarchais-derived works). To be sure, the femme fatale Isabella has been described as a female Don Giovanni, another product of the Italian comedy — it’s hardly an accident that the rejected and dejected woman of the opera bears the name “Elvira.”

Ultimately, L’italiana in Algeri is a product of the era’s thirst for rescue opera and Turkish settings. Much like the Orient was for later 19th-century composers, the Ottoman Empire was the exotic locale for 18th- and early 19th-century artists.

Previously, Europeans had some bad blood for the “infidels,” stemming from the Crusades and resulting in the expulsion of the Moors from Spain and Italy. Falling under Turkish control, much of the

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photo: Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera

Program Notes Barbary coast, which includes Morocco and Algeria, was controlled by pirates of the Mediterranean, wreaking havoc upon European seafarers [it should be noted Isabella is traditionally shipwrecked (rather than the ingenious airplane used in this production) on the shores of Algiers before being captured by Haly and his bandits]. Consolidating power in the Middle East and Northern Africa, the Ottomans took their revenge on Eastern and Central Europe, besieging Vienna more than once with one campaign led by the aforementioned Suleiman in 1529 and another close call in 1683. By the time of Mozart-era Joseph II, the tables turned once more as he and Russian empress Catherine the Great encroached upon the Turks in 1788, then Napoleon would take his turn, invading Egypt and Syria a decade later.

Coupled with translations of The Arabian Nights and Pétis de la Croix’s Turkish and Persia Tales, the colorful, seemingly indulgent culture quite foreign to Europeans, became a frequent subject of interest, particularly with its incorporation of magic into the stories and the loose sexuality associated with the seraglio.

French painters swarmed to the south — Eugène Delacroix journeyed to Tangier in 1832, a watershed moment in his development of color theory, and Horace Vernet [whose then-mistress and model Olympe Pélissier (as portrayed in the artist’s Judith and Holofernes) would become Rossini’s second wife] made several trips to Africa’s northern coast and the Middle East. Artists had the myopic view that Arab customs and behavior hadn’t changed for

thousands of years, and therefore, used what they observed to portray biblical scenes as well as vibrant contemporary subjects. Due to cultural beliefs, finding models to pose often presented a problem and gaining access to a harem proved equally challenging. Many of these artisttravelers later painted from memory.

There are scores of examples of turquerie in the musical world as well. Venice, the birthplace of public opera in the 17th century, was a relic of Byzantium and considered the gateway to the Orient.

The “civilized” Europeans were frequently juxtaposed with the “barbaric” Arabian people. Reinhard Keiser wrote a Mumumeth II in 1696 following exploits of the famed Turkish despot (a subject later treated

by Rossini) and the composers Vivaldi, Scarlatti, Handel, Hasse, Jommelli, Paer and Mayr all have Middle Eastern-themed works. François Rebel and François Francoeur’s Scanderberg (1735) involves Albania’s struggle for independence from Turkish rule. André-Modeste Grétry’s international success, Zémire et Azor (1771; the familiar tale of “Beauty and the Beast,” also set by a number of composers including Louis Spohr in 1819), is set in Persia and his La caravane du Caire (1783) takes place in Egypt. Charles-Simon Favart, father of France’s opéra comique wrote Soliman II ou les trois sultanes in 1761, spawning various interpretations of the fair Roxelane, including a movement in Franz Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 63. Haydn also used a drama by Venetian playwright Carlo Goldoni for his Lo speziale, which involves a dual wedding ceremony in 19

Program Notes Turkish disguise (à la Mozart’s Così fan tutte) as well as modeling his harem farce L’incontro improvviso (like Abduction and Italiana, the opera also features a “rescue”) after Christoph Willibald Gluck’s La rencontre imprévue. Goldoni also wrote L’impresario di Smira (1775), which details a rich Turk who establishes an Italian opera company that is later ruined by the conceit of his singers.

Harem operas became de rigueur, in particular, narratives with the captured heroine’s virtue in imminent peril and immodest titles. The Sultan, or A Peep Into the Seraglio (1775) by Englishman Isaac Bickerstaffe demonstrates the public’s titillation with such things. Four Rossini operas have Occidental themes (Italiana, Il turco in Italia, Maometto II, Semiramide) and others employ Muslim characters and disguises. Turco (1814), in fact, was a resetting of a text previously set by the Viennese composer Franz Joseph Seydelmann in 1788 and Mozart student Franz Xaver Süssmayr in 1794 to text by La clemenza di Tito librettist Caterino Mazzolà.

Hoping for a repeat of Italiana, the Milanese audience did not find Rossini’s new opera to be the mere inversion they were expecting]. The partitura for Italiana even calls for batterie turque — colorful Jainissary percussion that features cymbals, triangle, bells and drums — an Ottoman military tattoo used to keep the soldiers in step. The marching band also was used to psychologically terrorize the enemy. The vogue for all things Turkish also brings to mind examples in the oeuvre of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — The Abduction From 20

the Seraglio, Thamos, King in Agyten, Zaïde and L’oca del Cairo — written in the wake of Ottoman conflict. Even The Magic Flute has Egyptian overtones (and includes the stock character of the haremkeeper Monostatos). Interest in the Muslim world continued beyond Rossini, as seen in Giacomo Meyerbeer’s Semiramide riconosciuta (1819), L’esule di Granata (1821) and Il crociato in Egitto (1824); Gaetano Donizetti’s Zoraide in Granata (1822) and Alahor in Granata (1826); Vincenzo Bellini’s Zaira (1829) and Giuseppe Verdi’s Il corsaro (1848), to name a few. It should be noted, though the Orient offered ample circumstance for visual stimulation with respect to scenery and costumes, composers made little aural attempt to re-create authentic Middle Eastern music; rather their interpretation of it through a Westerner’s eyes is what we hear today.

Rescue opera was a vogue that originally developed in pre-revolutionary France, and the genre’s most familiar exponent is Ludwig von Beethoven’s Fidelio, based on a French source, Léonore, ou l’amor conjugal (1798), previously set by Pierre Gaveaux.

Grétry also excelled in this dramatic medium. His Richard Coeur-de-lion takes place following the Crusades (English King Richard III has been captured by the French), and in “Beauty and the Beast,” Zémire saves Azor from perpetual ugliness.

Among the more famous of the countless French examples include Luigi Cherubini’s Lodoïska (1791) and Les deux journées (1800) and Henri-Montan Berton’s Les rigueurs du cloître (1790). One can see

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Program Notes elements of rescue opera in a number of German and Italian works, including The Magic Flute and Rossini’s Barbiere.

Statistics show that in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, one in seven operas produced in Germany was of this nature.

The plottings are generally quite simple, but what’s intriguing, as we move from the misogynist attitudes of the Enlightenment toward the more egalitarian beliefs of the French Revolution, is the percentage of determined, bold and attractive females who save the day.

More commonly based on serious subjects, rescue opera of the comic sort can border on silliness, and Rossini employs all of his signature tricks to incite laughter, including patter aria, signature crescendos, nonsensical noise-making (in the cacophony of the Act I finale, one

hears “din-din,” “bombom,” cra-cra” and “tac-tac” in reference to the sounds of a bell, a cannon, a bird and a hammer the protagonists hear inside their heads) and the absurd order of the Pappataci, an expression that conjures memories of Mozart’s silly, dimwitted family, the Papageni. An Italian word meaning “to guzzle and be silent,” the term may have evolved from Anelli’s Freemasonistic leanings (silence being one of secretive society’s virtues), but it also sums up the opera quite neatly, if not being somewhat chauvinist — an organization that favors sedentary men eating, drinking and sleeping while women do all the work.

Isabella merely shrugs it off as we learn her fatalistic mantra early in the opera (echoing a 20th-century chanteuse): “Sarà quel che sarà …” – what will be, will be. n - Courtesy The Minnesota Opera

Side Note: “Rossini Fever” in a Changing Europe Gioachino Rossini was born Feb. 29, 1792, in Pesaro, a small port on the east coast of Italy that was then a part of the Papal States. During his youth, Rossini witnessed the turmoil of a changing Europe — the French Revolution was in progress, King Louis XVI was sent to the guillotine and Napoleon Bonaparte commanded the French army in Italy. The little town of Pesaro was governed by changing foreign powers. While his musician parents were away performing, the little boy Rossini was left in the care of his grandmother.

Because he had a fine treble voice, his parents considered surgery for him to preserve it into manhood as a castrato. Instead, Rossini began academic and musical training in Bologna, and by 18, made his professional debut as an opera composer.

Within three years, Rossini designated himself a maestro di cartello, a composer whose name alone guarantees an audience. During 1813, he oversaw the staging of Il Signor Bruschino, Tancredi and L'italiana in Algeri in Venice, plus Aureliano in Palmira in Milan.

The first of Rossini's operas to hold a firm place in the repertory, L'italiana was based on the popular legend of Roxelane, slave girl of Suleiman the Magnificent, and appealed to the prevailing taste for things Oriental. With successive triumphs Il barbiere di Siviglia and La Cenerentola, “Rossini fever” took the continent by storm. By the time he visited Paris, Vienna and London, he was probably the most famous man of the age.

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Meet the Cast Arthur Fagen Conductor

Atlanta Opera Debut: La Traviata, 2005 Arthur Fagen is in great demand as a conductor of symphony and opera both in Europe and the United States. He is a regular guest at the most prestigious opera houses, concert halls and music festivals at home and abroad, and his career has been marked by a string of notable appearances including The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Staatsoper Berlin, Munich State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and New York City Opera. From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Fagen was invited regularly as guest conductor at the Vienna State Opera. On the concert podium, Mr. Fagen has appeared with internationally known orchestras including the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, Munich Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, RAI Orchestras of Turin, Naples, Milan and Rome. A former assistant of Christoph von Dohnányi (Frankfurt Opera) and James Levine (Metropolitan Opera), he has served as principal conductor in Kassel and Brunswick, chief conductor of the Flanders Opera of Antwerp and Ghent, music director of the Queens Symphony Orchestra and as a member of the conducting staff of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. From 2002 to 2007, he was the music director of the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra and Opera; in 2008, he was appointed a professor at Indiana University in Bloomington and, in 2010, The Atlanta Opera appointed Mr. Fagen as music director. Born in New York, he studied with Laszlo Halasz, Max Rudolf (Curtis Institute) and Hans Swarowsky. Mr. Fagen has an opera repertory of more than 75 works and has recorded for Naxos and BMG. The Naxos recording of Martinu˚’s works was awarded an Editor’s Choice in the March 2010 issue of Gramophone Magazine. n

Helena Binder Director Atlanta Opera Debut

A theater professional for more than 30 years, Helena Binder was an actor and director of plays and musicals before focusing her career on opera. She has earned praise for her direction of Ermione, Il ritorno d’Ulisse and Madama Butterfly at New York City Opera, and for her productions of Minnesota Opera’s L’italiana in Algeri and The Tales of Hoffmann. Her Barber of Seville for The Dallas Opera was named one of the Top 10 Classical Performances of 2006 by the Dallas Morning News. She has directed Fidelio and Rodelinda for Portland Opera, Fidelio for Pittsburgh Opera, Madama Butterfly for Opera Toledo, L’italiana in Algeri, La bohéme and Madama Butterfly for Opera Saratoga, La bohéme, Madama Butterfly and The Magic Flute for Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, La traviata and Hansel and Gretel for Opera Roanoke, and has 24

The 2013 Atlanta Opera Ball

October 26, 2013 St. Regis – Atlanta

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For more information, contact Allison DeNiro 404-591-2928 or adeniro@atlantaopera.org

Meet the Cast staged plays for the New York State Theatre Institute, Leatherstocking Theatre, Lake George Dinner Theatre, Union College and Home Made Theater, among others.

Most recently Ms. Binder directed The Mighty Casey for Opera Saratoga, La Cenerentola for Opera North and The Marriage Contract, Opera for the Cure and Brundibar for Opera Omaha. A choreographer as well, Ms. Binder created dances for Frank Corsaro’s Die Tote Stadt at New York City Opera, Queen of Spades, Luisa Miller and Le nozze di Figaro for the Dallas Opera, and Bluebeard and La Calisto for Glimmerglass Opera, where she also went on for an ailing countertenor.

A committed arts educator, Ms. Binder has taught acting at Union College and the Opera Institute of Boston University’s School of Music, and founded The Acting School, a studio for children and adults in Schenectady, N.Y. She teaches acting at the New England Conservatory and is a visiting teacher in improvisation at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College. n

Sandra Piques Eddy Isabella Atlanta Opera Debut: The Marriage of Figaro, 2008

In the Metropolitan Opera’s 2013-14 season, Sandra Piques Eddy sings Fiona in the American premiere of Nico Muhly’s Two Boys. Past highlights with that company include Mercédès in Carmen (also broadcast in HD), Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Lola in Cavalleria rusticana and Zulma in L’italiana in Algeri. In 2012-13, she returns to Boston Lyric Opera as Dorabella in Così fan tutte, to Portland Opera as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and to Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra as soloist in Messiah. Recent highlights include Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Lyric Opera of Kansas City); the title role in Carmen (Opera North, UK); Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri (Boston Midsummer Opera, Vancouver Opera and Arizona Opera); Zerlina (Opera Omaha); Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel (Portland Opera); Carmen in La tragédie de Carmen, Béatrice in Béatrice et Bénédict and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Chicago Opera Theater); title role in La Cenerentola (Spoleto Festival USA); Charmian in Antony and Cleopatra and Dorabella in Così fan tutte (New York City Opera and Pittsburgh Opera); Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Glimmerglass Opera); Cherubino (Canadian Opera Company and Los Angeles Opera); Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Austin Lyric Opera); and Idamante in Idomeneo, and Juno and Ino in Semele (Florentine Opera). Other career highlights include Don Ramiro in La finta giardiniera with New York City Opera and Meg in Little Women with Glimmerglass Opera. n 26

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Meet the Cast Michele Angelini Lindoro Atlanta Opera Debut

The young tenor Michele Angelini has already debuted in Rome, Florence, Bologna, Dusseldorf, Savonlinna, Brussels, Bilbao, Colorado, Austin, Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Oslo in roles such as Lindoro, Ferrando, Ramiro, Don Ottavio, Almaviva, Fenton and Liebenskoff. In 2011-12, he debuted in Florence as Liebenskoff in Viaggio a Reims, the title role in Mozart’s Il sogno di Scipione with Gotham Chamber Opera, the Bard Festival as Nagis in Chabrier’s Le roi malgre lui and Rossini’s Mosé in Egitto at Carnegie Hall with the Collegiate Chorale. His 2012-13 engagements include Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri in New Orleans, a return to The Metropolitan Opera for The Barber of Seville (cover), his first Sonnambula at the Florida Grand Opera, and a debut at the Royal Theatre of Stockholm as Almaviva. Future engagements include Don Ottavio with Royal Swedish Opera and his Covent Garden debut in the same role. In concert last season Mr. Angelini performed Handel’s Messiah with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Rinaldo Alessandrini, and Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with the New York Choral Society. In 2009-10, he joined The Metropolitan Opera to cover Rinaldo in a new production of Rossini’s Armida and Juan Diego Flórez as Tonio in La fille du régiment. He then made his debut with Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Il turco in Italia, and Mozart’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall with the New York Choral Society. n

BURAK BILGILI Mustafà Atlanta Opera Debut

Turkish bass Burak Bilgili has performed in many of the world’s leading opera houses including Teatro alla Scala, The Metropolitan Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Geneva, Florence, Palermo, Cagliari, Avignon, Seattle, Miami, Toronto and Detroit. Highlights of 2011-12 included debuts with the Washington National Opera in Nabucco and the National Symphony Orchestra for Dvorˇák’s Stabat Mater. Last summer he performed the world premiere of the opera La Fenice at the Savonlinna Festival. Future engagements include Beijing National Centre for the Performing Arts in The Tales of Hoffmann, The Dallas Opera as Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Cincinnati Opera as Leporello in Don Giovanni, Edmonton Opera as Ramfis in Aida, his debut at the Caramoor Festival as Procida in I vespri siciliani, Nabucco with the Auckland Symphony and Lakmé in Montreal. Most recently, Mr. Bilgili debuted at the San Francisco Opera as Ferrando in Il trovatore, in Geneva as Leporello, at Michigan Opera Theatre as Zaccaria in Nabucco and Leporello in Don Giovanni, and in Montreal as Fiesco in Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra. Concert engagements in 2010-11 included Janácˇek’s Glagolitic Mass with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Dvorˇák’s Stabat 28

Photo Michel Gibert. Special Thanks: Auditori Teulada Moraira, TASCHEN, www.stephane-ducatteau.com.

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Meet the Cast Mater with the National Symphony Orchestra. Other recent engagements include the role of Don Basilio in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Bayerische Staatsoper and Seattle Opera, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte in Avignon, Giorgio in I puritani in Cagliari, Hunding in Die Walküre for the Colorado Symphony, and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor for Vancouver Opera. n

Bruno Praticò Taddeo Atlanta Opera Debut

Born in Aosta, Italy, bass-baritone Bruno Praticò has established an extraordinary international career, performing regularly on prestigious concert stages and in opera houses, including The Metropolitan Opera, the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro, Rossini Festival in Wildbad, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Teatro Real in Madrid, New National Theatre in Tokyo, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Teatro Regio in Parma, Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, Florida Grand Opera and Houston Grand Opera. He has collaborated with renowned conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Bruno Campanella, Riccardo Chailly, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Daniele Gatti, Donato Renzetti, Carlo Rizzi and Alberto Zedda. His recent engagements include Il marito disperato and Il maestro di cappella in Naples, Il viaggio a Reims in Florence, Le nozze di Figaro in Bologna and Il barbiere di Siviglia in Tokyo. Among his future plans are La Cenerentola in Sao Paulo, Il marito disperato in Hong Kong, Il barbiere di Siviglia in Santiago, Chile, and Don Pasquale in Glasgow. As a Rossini specialist, Mr. Praticò was granted the Rossini d’oro prize in 1998 for his achievements at the Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro. Mr. Praticò has recorded for EMI, Opera Rara, Nuova Era and BMG. n

Ashley Emerson Elvira Atlanta Opera Debut: The Golden Ticket, 2012

Fast-rising soprano Ashley Emerson has been described as a “vocal and dramatic delight.” She is quickly establishing herself as a versatile artist with a wide range of repertoire from bel canto to contemporary. In the summer of 2012, Ms. Emerson triumphed for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in the title role of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, where she was praised for “singing impeccably” (Financial Times). In the 2012-13 season Ms. Emerson returned to the Metropolitan Opera, where she was heard in productions of Le nozze di Figaro and Le comte Ory. A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development 30

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Meet the Cast Program, Ms. Emerson has sung in productions of Le nozze di Figaro (company debut), Il trittico, Die Zauberflöte, and Hänsel und Gretel. She has been heard around the world in "The Met: Live! in HD" series in new productions of Macbeth, La rondine and The Enchanted Island. In summer 2009, she was featured in the Metropolitan Opera’s Summer Recital Series.

In the 2011-12 season, Ms. Emerson made her Atlanta Opera debut as Violet Beauregard in The Golden Ticket, conducted by the composer Peter Ash, followed by her debut with Pittsburgh Opera as Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail. She finished the season in her company and role debut as Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Opera North (USA).

Recent performances include Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment for PORTopera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where she previously was a Gerdine Young Artist; Flora in The Turn of the Screw in her debut with Los Angeles Opera, under the baton of James Conlon; her role debut as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Grand Rapids; and her debut with Seattle Opera as Young Amelia in the world premiere of Amelia. n

Maria McDaniel Zulma Atlanta Opera Debut: Cold Sassy Tree, 2008

As the 2011 Grand Prize Winner in Women’s Voice of the National Federation of Music Clubs, mezzo-soprano Maria McDaniel has been delighting audiences with her captivating performances on the recital, operatic and concert stage. Recent credits include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Gainesville Symphony Orchestra; Bach’s Magnificat with Cobb Symphony Orchestra; a Gala Concert with the Savannah Philharmonic; Love Letters, a debut recital featuring the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes with North Carolina Opera; and I SING BEIJING, a pioneering new musical exchange program in China. Atlanta Opera appearances have included Flora in La traviata, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte and Myrtis in Cold Sassy Tree. Additional operatic engagements have included Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri with the Ludwig Symphony Orchestra; Meg in Little Women with Peachtree Modern Opera; Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief with Harrower Summer Opera; and Prima Sorella in Suor Angelica with La Musica Lirica in Italia. She has performed frequently with Chautauqua Opera in such roles as Adalgisa (cover) in Norma, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria rusticana, La Voix in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Laura in La gioconda, Eunice in A Streetcar Named Desire, Foster’s Wife in The Cunning Little Vixen and Mrs. Hildebrand (cover) in Street Scene. Ms. McDaniel also is noted for her portrayals of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Charlotte in Werther, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, Dame Marthe in Faust and Meg Paige in Falstaff. n 32

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Meet the Cast Frederick Jackson Haly Atlanta Opera Debut: Porgy and bess, 2011

Georgia native Frederick Jackson recently made his debut in the title role of Porgy with PAB Theatre Inc.’s touring production of Porgy and Bess to wide acclaim in which the Hartford Courant wrote “Frederick Jackson makes for a strongly sung and passionate Porgy.” Upcoming performances include Schaunard in La bohème with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Opera Southwest and Silvano in Un ballo in maschera with Opera Tampa. Mr. Jackson made his New York City Opera debut in spring 2009 singing the role of Dessaline in a concert production of Troubled Island, portrayed Nelson Mandela in No Easy Walk to Freedom in excerpts performed on the 10th anniversary of the VOX showcase, and recently returned for performances of Treemonisha.

In addition, he was brought in as a guest artist to perform the role of Giove in La Calisto at the Hamburgische Staatsoper. n

Walter Huff Chorus Master Atlanta Opera Debut: Tosca, 1988

Walter Huff has been chorus master for The Atlanta Opera for 24 years.

Along with his duties atThe Atlanta Opera, Mr. Huff was recently appointed to the choral faculty at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, serving as adjunct associate professor and faculty director of opera choruses. Mr. Huff studied piano with Sarah Martin, Peter Takacs and Lillian Freundlich. He has performed with singers throughout Europe and the United States and served as coach with the Peabody Opera Theatre and Washington National Opera. Mr. Huff also has performed in master classes given by renowned singers and pianists such as Sir Peter Pears, Licia Albanese, Eileen Farrell, Dalton Baldwin, Leon Fleisher and Elly Ameling. In 1984, he received Tanglewood’s C.D. Jackson Master Award for Excellence, presented by Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He has been musical director for The Atlanta Opera Studio, Georgia State University Opera and Actor’s Express. Mr. Huff was one of four artists chosen for the first Loridans Arts Awards, given to Atlanta artists who have made exceptional contributions to the arts life of the city. In 2008, The Atlanta Opera Chorus under Mr. Huff ’s direction sang critically acclaimed performances of Porgy and Bess at Opéra-Comique in Paris and on tour in Granada, Normandy and Luxembourg. Mr. Huff also has served as chorus master for Faust and Der Rosenkavalier with San Diego Opera. n 34

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Meet the Cast Ken Yunker Lighting Designer Atlanta Opera Debut: Amahl & the Night Visitors, 1992

An Atlantan since 1989, Yunker is the resident lighting designer for Sarasota Opera Association and Opera New Jersey/Princeton, a principal designer for the Tony Award-winning Alliance Theatre, and a regular at The Atlanta Opera since the early 1990s. Mr. Yunker has designed 50 productions for The Atlanta Opera, including Der fliegende Holl채nder, the Basil Twist Hansel & Gretel, Turandot, Aida, Faust, Der Rosenkavalier, Porgy and Bess and Fidelio. National credits include work with the Utah Shakespeare Festival, Bermuda Arts Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Utah Symphony and Opera, Tulsa Opera, Fort Worth Opera, San Antonio Opera, Augusta Opera, Florida State Opera and Arizona Opera. Atlanta credits include work with Georgia Shakespeare, Theatre in the Square, True Colors, Theatrical Outfit, Georgia Ensemble, Atlanta Lyric, Ballethnic Dance Company, Rotaru Ballet, Six Flags Over Georgia, Brenau University, Clayton State University and Emory University. Mr. Yunker has received Atlanta's Suzi Bass Award for Avenue X, and nominations for Into the Woods, August: Osage County, Rejoice and The Persians. He also has received an Atlanta Abby award nomination for artist of the year, a Creative Loafing award for best of Atlanta, and was recognized at Theatre in the Square's Jenny Awards for best lighting for seven productions. n

photo: Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera

36

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Behind the Curtain

Helena Binder, Stage Director

From the Director

by Helena Binder I recently attended a lecture titled “Silents Are Golden” about the era of silent film, presented by an expert in the movies of the first two decades of the 20th century. Along with baseball, silent films were perhaps the most popular form of entertainment at the time, as opera buffa was a hundred years earlier when Gioachino Rossini’s L’italiana in Algieri premiered in Venice in 1813.

In discovering and listening to this comic opera, I was reminded of the silent film era and another popular Italian, Rudolf Valentino, who portrayed an arrogant bey in The Sheik and Son of the Sheik. Those stories involve capture, unrequited love and betrayal as well as some ridiculous 38

antics, so it seemed a logical parallel to Angelo Anelli’s story of an Italian girl captured by an arrogant bey, and the clever way she teaches him a lesson, rescuing her own true love in the bargain.

So imagine if you will, our own silent film stars (Garbo? Theda Bara?) singing the story of The Italian Girl in Algiers in the early 1920s. It’s even possible to imagine that the music Rossini wrote for the antics in the Anelli libretto might have accompanied a silent picture of the period.

Like the greatest silent film creators, Rossini strove to enchant and entertain through music and gesture. That is what we strive to do at these performances, with ageless music and storytelling, as popular today as in their own centuries. n

Behind the Curtain ordinary is repurposed into exaggerated articles of clothing. This really makes the set come to life in another dimension. opera: What are some interesting aspects to the designs that are different than “traditional” opera costume design?

Sew What?

Joanna Schmink is the costume designer and coordinator for The Atlanta Opera.

She has hundreds of costume designs for opera, ballet and theater to her credit, including work for regional companies such as the Alabama Shakespeare, the Alliance Theatre, Memphis Ballet, Augusta Opera and Georgia Shakespeare. Her costume design work has been seen in most of Atlanta’s theaters including the Aurora, Theatrical Outfit, Actor’s Express, 7 Stages, the Center for Puppetry Arts and Horizon Theatre.

Ms. Schmink sat down with The Atlanta Opera to discuss the original costume designs by David C. Woolard for The Italian Girl in Algiers.

The Atlanta OperA: What is the most interesting costume featured in The Italian Girl in Algiers? Why? Joanna Schmink: I think the Pappataci costumes for the chorus are my favorite because they are very whimsical and imaginative in their look. They’re actually created from found set objects, much like moving scenery. With these costumes, the

JS: Compared to this season’s other operas (Carmen and La traviata), which had more traditional design aspects (think ballgowns and darker colors with heavier fabrics), the costume palette for The Italian Girl in Algiers is very neutral with pops of rich jewel tones (teal, orange, red, purple).

There is also a nice amount of pattern and texture. The costume design for The Italian Girl in Algiers is set in the 1930s and incorporates a mix of traditional country clothing of Algiers (Mediterranean) with the European fashion of the ’30s. Also, the costume design has Isabella, our leading lady, as an aviatrix. This look establishes her as a confident strong leading character before she ever sings a note. It’s fun to see that, later, Isabella wears a Jean Harlow-esque old Hollywood glam gown — perfect for her to use her charm and beauty to outwit the bey of Algiers and save Lindoro. Her costumes really add to her character and help tell the story. opera: Looking forward to next season, which opera are you most excited to see the costumes for — Tosca, Faust or The Barber of Seville?

JS: It is great to have a totally periodbased season for 2013-14. I am most looking forward to The Barber of Seville because it has been more than a few years since we have seen this period on our stage (late 18th century). I will enjoy both Tosca and Faust because I love the larger shows that show off our wonderful chorus. n 39

Behind the Curtain

photo: Heidi Kurpiela for Observer Media Group

50 Operas and Counting

By Faith Dawson Opera is full of villains and victims, and occasionally a phantom, but the one unsung hero you’ll find at every performance is the lighting designer.

A savvy theatergoer may appreciate strategic lighting, but it’s easy to miss the subtle changes in time, weather and mood that lighting can convey.

40

says. “The production of the light, the emotion of the light. Texture, patterns, color. Then you have to translate it into all this technology and hardware and lighting instruments and angles and positions.

Since 1990, award-winning lighting designer Ken Yunker has been an unsung hero, bringing art to life for Atlanta opera, theater and ballet audiences. The Italian Girl in Algiers marks his 50th Atlanta Opera production.

“If the lighting designer does his job right, that image re-emerges on the other side of the technology to what the audience sees onstage.” Yunker recently spoke from Sarasota, Fla., where he is resident lighting designer at Sarasota Opera. This is his seventh season with that company.

“What I find most interesting about designing lighting is you see this threedimensional image in your mind —what the scene will look like,” Yunker

“The job is far more complicated than just making sure everyone in the audience can see everyone onstage. It’s a delicate relationship with more give than get:

Behind the Curtain considering the original production and how it was staged, the plot, the angles of the sets, the colors and textures of the costumes. Oh, and any special requirements, like a raging storm or a starry sky.”

And lest you think that the history of the operas — Gioachino Rossini wrote The Italian Girl in Algiers, for instance, exactly 200 years ago — means companies of the past already solved the big artistic dilemmas, well, let’s shed some light on that. Stuff breaks. Stuff goes wrong.

Stuff gets replaced at the last minute.

One company’s innovative staging might be far too daring for another company.

And timing is always tight. So every production is its own little puzzle, waiting to be solved.

But of course the performers are the most important part of the lighting setup. “It’s all about the people up there,” Yunkers says. “Everything should evolve around them. If they don’t look good, they don’t sound good, they don’t feel good and the audience disengages from that. It’s a primary mission of mine to make sure the focus is always correct for the moment.”

that Yunker offers not only technical proficiency when lighting s a set, but he brings passion to the job as well.

“He’s very good about creating an environment,” she adds. “Working with Ken is very nice because he takes the time [to bring an emotional connection to the scene]. “[He’ll say,] ‘If you can add a little this or that, a little cream around the neckline, it can help flash light up on the face.’”

Yunker traces his fascination with light to his childhood, growing up in a nondescript town that, in his memory, only came alive during the Christmas holidays. The festive light displays made such an impression on the him that he began to pursue professional stagecraft, earning his first paychecks with road shows that came through town while he was still in high school.

Asked whether lighting designers sacrifice their artistic vision for the big picture, Yunker says relationships are often built on trust, especially when scheduling is tight. So a stage director might allow him free reign, knowing he’s going to deliver a beautifully lit stage.

He studied lighting design in graduate school and was tapped early on for a university production of Hänsel und Gretel. Today his credits include more than 80 operas and 20 opera companies, as well as Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre. Yunker has realized that audiences have come to expect good lighting rather than not noticing it’s there. “Audiences know very well now that lighting is a design element of the show. The audience loves to enjoy that just as much as they love to see great costumes and great scenery,” he says.

Joanna Schmink, Atlanta Opera’s costume designer/coordinator, has known Yunker since the early 1990s. She says

The Atlanta Opera premiere of The Italian Girl in Algiers also marks Yunker’s first design of the opera. n 41

The Atlanta Opera Chorus Chorus Master Walter Huff Chorus Kyle Barnes

Fenner Eaddy

Mitchell Jones

Joshua Bartolotti

C. Augustus Godbee

J. Brandon Odom

Charles Baugh

William Green

Marc Porlier

John Burnett

Christopher Hawkins

Jason Royal

Darian Clonts

Zachary Heath

Bryan Saxon

Gabriel Couret

Grant Jones

Jonathan C.B. Spuhler

Supernumeraries Jerry Hunter David Silverstein Steve Tracewell Spiro Winsett

SCENE La traviata: onstage dinner

42 photos: Jeff Roffman

The Atlanta Opera Orchestra Violin Peter Ciaschini Concertmaster

Cello Charae Krueger Principal

Trumpet Yvonne Toll Principal

Edward Eanes Assistant Concertmaster (Acting)

Erin Ellis Assistant Principal

Hollie Lifshey

David Hancock

Timpani John Lawless Principal

Adelaide Federici Principal Second Violin (Acting) Felix Farrar Assistant Principal Second Violin (Acting) Fia Mancini Durrett Georgia Ekonomou Robert Givens Patti Gouvas Alison James Michele Mariage-Volz

Mary Kenney Cynthia Sulko Bass Lyn DeRamus Principal Christina Caterino Emory Clements Flute James Zellers Principal

Lisa Morrison

Kelly Bryant

Lee Nicholson Patrick Ryan

Oboe Dane Philipsen Principal

Angèle Sherwood-Lawless

Diana Dunn

Shawn Pagliarini

Mimi Tam Elonja Varfi Rafael Veytsblum

Percussion Michael Cebulski Principal Jeff Kershner Personnel Manager Mark McConnell *String sections are listed in alphabetical order

Clarinet David Odom Principal John Warren

Viola William Johnston Principal Elizabeth Derderian-Wood Assistant Principal

Bassoon Mike Muszynski Principal

Julie Rosseter

Horn David Bradley Principal

Karl Schab

Jason Eklund

Sherrod Mitchell

Joli Wu

43

Community EngagemenT

The 2012 High School Opera Institute showcase performance. This year’s showcase will be held June 9th at Morningside Presbyterian Church and will feature high school students from all over metro Atlanta. (Photo: Tim Wilkerson)

Opera ... in your community The Atlanta Opera has been committed to producing operas of the highest caliber for audiences throughout metro Atlanta for more than 33 years.

Today our commitment to introducing and educating audiences about the art form remains an integral part of our organizational mission. Through interactive performances and creative programs, we provide many opportunities for experienced patrons and new audiences to explore and experience opera.

While The Italian Girl in Algiers marks the end of our mainstage season, we have many more exciting events to look forward to in the coming months.

The 2012-13 Atlanta Opera High School Opera Institute will conclude in a showcase performance on Sunday, June 9. Our High School Opera Institute students have been working hard all year in coachings and classes, learning about what it takes to pursue a career in music. The students 44

have attended diction and dramatic coachings as well as a vocal health seminar presented by the Emory Voice Center.

This showcase performance will display the work of these extremely talented high school sophomores, juniors and seniors, as they perform a variety of arias and small ensemble scenes. This performance will take place at Morningside Presbyterian Church at 4 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Following the success of our Atlanta Opera Studio Tour production of Stone Soup, we are pleased to announce our 2013-14 Studio Tour, Knightly News.

This lively, entertaining opera provides an exciting introduction to the art form for young audiences, and we look forward to touring Georgia schools and communities during the 2013-14 school year.

Bookings are being placed. Visit atlantaopera.org for information on bringing this opera to your school or community.

Community Engagement Debuting in January 2014, The Atlanta Opera will present an opera for middleand high-school students in metro Atlanta. En Mis Palabras is the story of a young woman coming of age and the struggle she faces as she is torn between her family’s Mexican culture and American society. We look forward to sharing this powerful story about finding your own voice with teens and families next year.

For more information on our community and education programs, visit atlantaopera.org or contact Emmalee Iden Hackshaw, director of community engagement, at 404-881-8883, or email education@atlantaopera.org. n

Stone Soup entertains and educates young students at King’s Ridge Christian School. (Photos: Tanya Lamkin for King’s Ridge Christian School)

SCENE Girl Scout Day at The Atlanta Opera

46 photos: The Atlanta Opera

The Atlanta Opera Volunteers The Atlanta Opera acknowledges and is grateful for the volunteers whose donations of time and effort help to set the stage for the opera performances you experience. Are you interested in working behind the scenes? Call Allison DeNiro at 404-591-2928 or visit the “Support Us� section at atlantaopera.org to learn more about becoming a volunteer.

Denise Anderson Kimberly Anderson Alishia Austin Joan Baskin Sanford Baskin Stacy Berry Ernie Braunschweig Allison Brown Charley Burney Paul Burnore Jessica Callaham Eydie Castro Richard Cherry Noreen Conort Beth Cooper Jean Cornn Kimberly Daniels Lorie Davis Chris Deutschler Kevin Dew Richard Dodder Brad Dorfman Janay Douglas Chandrea Dungy Rabiah Elisa

Lance Elliott Katia Evans Anna Filardi Pete Fujimoto Anne Marie Gary Maxi George Aaron Gilliam Elizabeth Goldstein Elliott Goldstein Sylvia Halleck Suzanne Hayes Lauren Hayes Anne Hayes Betty Ann Hedden Jennifer Hendricks Frances Holland David Huffman Cardine R. Johnson Kathy Johnson Jocelyn Johnson Nicolas Johnson Corey Johnson W.C. Jones Jamey Jones Amanda Kautzer

photo courtesy Nazmiyal Collection, New York (nazmiyalantiquerugs.com)

Paula Kocher Anie Kogutkiewict Patty Kramer-Lake Alison Kratzert Helen Kraus Steve Kraus Virginia Lam Ryan Lee Jesse Leonard Peg Lowman James Lowman Diana Lulushi Meigan Manis Mary Ruth McDonald Rachael McDonald Lorrain Mills Joseph Mills Ciara Montalbo Fatimah Mustafaa JC Name Natalie Lynch Robert Nemo Vernon Norris Marianela Noya Kim Ong

Sonia Oxman Priya Patel Polly Pater Glenda Pearson Matthew Pinnow Victor Prince Tandi Reddick Nancy Reed Marie Reid Zabrina Rios Catherine Roberson Diana Robinson Suzanna Saiah Cherylene Sands John Sands Martha Schallern Catherine Schatz Joyce Schechter Carol Schmied Gail Shattah Amanda Shearrow Tatiana Shiferson Dan Shumate Verna Slade Alisha Smith

Sheena Spencer Margaret A. Stephen Eleanor & Jim Strain Beth Suryan Sandy Taffel Linda Taylor Carol Thurman Donald Thurman Suzanne Touchstone Ruth Vaught Tricia Vogelgesang Mark Vogelgesang Alice Wade Alana Walker Dorman Wallace Hilary Wayne Harold Whitney Branalyn Williams Laura Chris Wright Yilan Xiang Barbara Zellner

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Society for Artistic Excellence Membership in the Atlanta Opera’s Society for Artistic Excellence represents a minimum pledge of $20,000 over a three-year period. These vital gifts help The Atlanta Opera improve its capacity both artistically and financially while building on a tradition of world-class opera in the Atlanta area. Below is a list of patrons who currently have threeyear gift commitments.

All donors below are listed both here in the ARIA and online at atlantaopera.org.

For more information, contact Bert Huffman at bhuffman@atlantaopera.org.

New Production Patron $300,000+ Dr. & Mrs. James W. Bland Jr. Jane S. Willson Revival Production Patron $150,000+ Mr. & Mrs. Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Director Patron $75,000+ Martha Thompson Dinos Mr. & Mrs. Harmon B. Miller III Jerry & Dulcy Rosenberg Bob & Cappa Woodward

Artist Patron $45,000+ The Laura & Montague Boyd Foundation The John & Rosemary Brown Family Foundation Dr. Alexander Gross & Mrs. Joanne Chesler Gross Mr. & Mrs. William J. Hayes III Candy & Greg Johnson Mr. William F. Snyder & Mr. Louis A. Peneguy* Mr. & Mrs. J. Barry Schrenk Rhys & Carolyn Wilson The Mary & Charlie Yates Family Fund Charlie & Dorothy Yates Family Fund

Conductor Patron $20,000+ Shepard & Boyce Ansley Mr. & Mrs. Jim Balloun Bryan & Johanna Barnes Mr. & Mrs. Andy Berg Mr. Mario Concha Heike & Dieter Elsner Mr. William Hajjar John L. Hammaker Mr. & Mrs. John Michael Hancock Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Keough Mr. John O. King Mr. & Mrs. George W. Levert Mr. & Mrs. C. David Moody, Jr. Clara M. & John S. O’Shea Mr. & Mrs. Michael Paulhus Mr. William E. Pennington Edward W. Phares Mr. James D. Powell Baker & Debby Smith Mr. & Mrs. William E. Tucker Thomas R. Williams Family Additional Multi-Year Gifts $15,000+ Cathy & Mark Adams Mr. & Mrs. Timothy E. Sheehan $10,000+ Tom & Sandy Teepen *deceased

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photo courtesy Nazmiyal Collection, New York (nazmiyalantiquerugs.com)

Copelands_Opera0313_Copelands_Opera0313 3/13/13 4:18 PM Page 1

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• Restaurant • Bar • Cheesecake Bakery

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to 3 PM

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Annual Fund The following names represent gifts from individuals, family foundations, The Atlanta Opera Board of Directors, staff, chorus and orchestra. We express our most sincere thanks and appreciation to every donor. The ongoing support you provide allows The Atlanta Opera to continue building on a tradition of excellence, and makes possible quality productions just like you are experiencing now! For a full list of donors, visit us online at atlantaopera.org.

Listed on the following pages are friends who contributed $100 or more to The Atlanta Opera between July 1, 2012 and March 12, 2013.

DIAMOND $100,000+ Dr. & Mrs. James W. Bland, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Donald Keough Mr. & Mrs. Carl W. Knobloch, Jr. Jane S. Willson

Platinum (continued) Ms. Rebecca Y. Frazer & Jon Buttrey Mr. Mario Concha Heike & Dieter Elsner Carl & Sally Gable Peg Simms Gary Mr. William Hajjar $25,000+ John L. Hammaker Mr. & Mrs. John L. Connolly Mr. & Mrs. John Michael Hancock Martha Thompson Dinos Mr. Bert W. Huffman Mrs. Olga Casteleiro de Goizueta Mr. John O. King Mr. & Mrs. Harmon B. Miller III Mr. & Mrs. George W. Levert Jerry & Dulcy Rosenberg Mary Ruth McDonald Bob & Cappa Woodward Peggy & Jack McDowell Mr. & Mrs. C. David Moody, Jr. PLATINUM Clara & John S. O’Shea $10,000+ Polly N. Pater The Laura & Montague Boyd Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Michael Paulhus The John & Rosemary Brown Mr. William E. Pennington Family Foundation Edward W. Phares Dr. Alexander Gross Mr. James D. Powell & Mrs. Joanne Chesler Gross John & Barbara Ross Mr. & Mrs. William J. Hayes III Mr. Charles Sharbaugh Candy & Greg Johnson Mr. & Mrs. Timothy E. Sheehan Mr. William F. Snyder & Mr. Louis A. Peneguy* Baker & Debby Smith Mr. & Mrs. J. Barry Schrenk Triska Drake & G. Kimbrough Taylor Rhys & Carolyn Wilson Mr. & Mrs. William E. Tucker The Mary & Charlie Yates Family Fund Thomas R. Williams Family Charlie & Dorothy Yates Family Fund $2,500+ $5,000+ Dr. Florence C. Barnett Cathy & Mark Adams Jean & Jerry Cooper Shepard & Boyce Ansley Sally & Larry Davis Mr. & Mrs. Jim Balloun Col. & Mrs. Edgar W. Duskin Bryan & Johanna Barnes Mr. & Mrs. Robert G. Edge Mr. & Mrs. Andy Berg Dr. Mary M. Finn

50

Mr. & Mrs. Harry L. Gilham Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Hardin Katie Hutchison Mr. & Mrs. Wayne James Mrs. Joseph W. Jones James M. Kane & Andrea Braslavsky Kane Dr. & Mrs. James Lowman Sally & Allen McDaniel Robert & Suzanne Minarcine Mr. & Mrs. William A. Parker, Jr. Mr. James L. Rhoden Milton J. Sams Johannah Smith Yee-Wan & John Stevens Mr. & Mrs. George B. Taylor, Jr. Tom & Sandy Teepen Ms. Bunny Winter & Mr. Michael Doyle GOLD $1,000+ Mr. Keith E. Adams Mr. & Mrs. C. Duncan Beard Michael L. & Valerie W. Benoit Allison Krebs Bensch & Torsten Bensch Mr. & Mrs. Paul Blackney Dr. J. Bricker Burns Mr. Hugh Cheek Dr.* & Mrs. William C. Collins Dr. John W. Cooledge Dr. & Mrs. F. Thomas Daly Jr. Mr. Robert S. Devins John L. Hammaker Harald Hansen Donna & Richard Hiller Mr. L. D. Holland

Annual Fund Gold (continued) Ann P. Howington Lou & Tom Jewell Mr. Alfred D. Kennedy & Dr. Bill Kenny Mr. & Mrs. Peter G. Kessenich, Sr. Mrs. Treville Lawrence Jeanie & Albert Marx Dan D. Maslia Mr. William McDaniel Mr. & Mrs. John L. O’Neal Dr. & Mrs. Donald A. Paul Lucy S. Perry Mrs. Betsy Pittman Mr. Nicholas Shreiber Dr. & Mrs. Patton P. Smith Dr. Nicholas Valerio III Alan & Marcia Watt Rae & George Weimer Larry & Beverly Willson Mrs. Wadleigh C. Winship Mr. Allen Yee $500+ Mr. & Mrs. C. S. Akers, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Walter Bailey Mr. Joe E. Bates Ms. Tiffany Bloomer Dr. Harold Brody Barbara S. Bruner, M.D. Mr. Robert Bunker Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Curry Mr. & Mrs. Mark Eden Mr. & Mrs. John C. Ethridge, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. John Gam Mr. & Mrs. George Gundersen Mr. Michael D. Hastings Mr. & Mrs. James Horgan Dr. Sidney T. Kellon Ms. Eleanor Kinsey Ms. Salli LeVan Mr. & Mrs. J. David Lifsey Richard Lodise & Valerie Jagiella Dr. Carlos E. Lopez Donna & Trevor Lumb Stanley & Elaine Mager Dr. Robert & Judge Stephanie Manis

52

Gold (continued) Shelley McGehee Mr. & Mrs. Peter J. Morelli II Mortimer Family The Reverend Neal P. Ponder, Jr. Lynn & Kent Regenstein R.J. & D.G. Riffey, Jr. Mary K. Roarabaugh Mr. Dustin B. Schneider Mr. Fred B. Smith Judge & Mrs. Mike Stoddard Jim & Eleanor Strain Mr. Eric Taylor Mr. Richard Thio Dr. & Mrs. James O. Wells, Jr. Mrs. Frank Wilson, Jr. Dr. & Mrs. David Wingert Mr. Jerry Woodward $350+ Anonymous Dr. Robert J. & Mrs. Lynne S. Alpern Mr. & Mrs. Robert O. Banker Mr. & Mrs. Raymond H. Chenault Mr. Michael Clutter Dr. G. Eichholz Mrs. Alicia P. Felder Judge Adele P. Grubbs Jim & Virginia Hale Owen Halpern Pearlann & Jerry Horowitz Ms. Annette Janowitz Ms. Jo. Elliott Jones Mr. & Mrs. Fred R. Keith Lucy R. & Gary Lee, Jr. Livvy Kazer Lipson Ms. Sharon Mills Mr. & Mrs. Richard P. Nicholas III Ms. Marianela E. Noya Mr. Edward R. Nudd Jr. Mr. D. V. Pompilio & The Honorable S. L. Ingram Ms. Barbara Rivenbark Mr. Hervey S. Ross Dr. Susan Y. Stevens Carolyn & Robert Swain

Gold (continued) Mr. & Mrs. Charles D. Tuller William Wilkinson & Robert K. Bellinger Dr. & Mrs. Sam Williams SILVER $100+ Anonymous Judith & Aaron Alembik Mr. William F. Amideo Dr. & Mrs. Charles Arp Mrs. Elizabeth Bair Mr. Brian D. Beem Ms. Lauren Benevich Mr. & Mrs. Carl Bhame Mr. Richard Brownlee Mr. & Mrs. T. Richard Bryant Mrs. Karen Bunn Ms. Catherine Burns Drs. Brenda & Craig Caldwell Mr. & Mrs. Peter M. Candler Dr. & Mrs. W. Jerry Capps Mr. Christopher Carolan Dr. & Mrs. William H. Chew Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Hal Clarke Mr. & Mrs. Alva Cobb Lynn Cochran Mr. & Mrs. Newt Collinson Ms. Sally Combs Mr. & Mrs. F. Dean Copeland Mr. & Mrs. David Courtney The Sutton Family Mr. Jere Dodd Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Draluck Ms. Paula L. Ellis Ms. DeeAnn E. Evans Dr. Jeffrey Farmer Ms. Martha Fineman P. Wesley Foster, Jr. Mr. Craig Fowler Mr. & Mrs. Michael E. Friedman Ms. Maryanne F. Gaunt Col. & Mrs. Donald M. Gilner Ms. Mary Jane Avans Mr. Kevin Greiner

Annual Fund Silver (continued) Ms. Anne L. Grossman Ms. Louise S. Gunn Dr. & Mrs. John B. Haberlen Ms. Marilyn M. Hall Ms. Anne Hammond Ms. Mary Joe Hanes Dr. & Mrs. Eugene Harley Ms. Gail Hayden & Ms. Kathleen Pickens Carolyn & Lem Hewes Ms. Gale Hill Mr. & Mrs. William Hinson Mr. & Mrs. Douglas M. Holly, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas C. Howard Jim & Mary Long Howard Dr. Karen Kuehn Howell Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Jackson Mary O. Jensen Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Johnston Ms. Betty G. Karp Ms. Emily E. Katt Dr. Gail M. Kendall Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Keough Jane & Bob Kibler Ms. Donna J. Kilgore Mrs. Clay Kirk Mrs. Jo W. Koch Judge & Mrs. John Langford Mrs. Emma Lankford Ms. Debra Leslie Sophie Li Mr. Sidney E. Linton Mrs. Eileen F. Little Vaneesa & Allan Little Mr. Albert Loebe

Silver (continued) Mr. Richard Lyon Mr. & Mrs. Carol Lyttle Olivia T. Martin Adair & Joe Massey Mrs. T. Harvey Mathis, Jr. Katherine B. Maxwell & Michael J. Maxwell Mrs. Margaret McCamy Mr. Robert Mills Mr. Bill Moody Ms. Tuwanna Y. Morris Barbara & Mark Murovitz Ms. Sarah Murray Mr. & Mrs. Stephen L. Naman Mr. Carl W. Nichols Ms. Carol Niemi The Honorable & Mrs. George A. Novak Charlotte Nunnally Mrs. Lee Offen Mr. John Owens Rita Owens Mr. Joseph M. Pabst Thomas Parrott Larry Pearson Mr. William E. Pennington Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin S. Persons, Sr. Ms. Maria M. Pflugbeil Mrs. Elizabeth Pritchett Mr. & Mrs. Robert Ratonyi Mr. Mel Rechtman Mrs. David A. Reinach Mr. Jean-Paul Richard

Silver (continued) Richard Worrell General Agency, LLC. Hugh Richardson, Jr. Mr. John B. Rofrano Mr. & Mrs. John Philip Rogers Mr. James Rollins Danny & Queenie Ross Mr. & Mrs. Robert P. Scaglione Mr. & Mrs. John A. Schwartz Mr. & Mrs. David M. Scoular Dr. Kathy Shands Mrs. Helga Siegel Tom Slick Mr. & Mrs. Charles Slick Dr. & Mrs. Carter Smith, Jr. Dr. & Mrs. Stanley J. Smits Gail & Barry Spurlock Mr. & Mrs. James Summers SunTrust Matching Gifts Program Dr. & Mrs. Michael Szikman Leigh & Jay Telotte Mrs. Franklin W. Thomas Mr. Stephen H. Thompson & Mr. Drew Mote Dr. & Mrs. James H. Venable Marylee Vetrano Mr. Jorge F. Vilanova Mr. & Mrs. Lewis Watford David C. Watts, M.D. Mrs. Mary S. Wright

Special Thanks Special thanks to the following individuals who donated their time as supernumeraries in the Atlanta Opera’s 2012-2013 Season.

Kim Christopher Rashuan Cormier Michael Edwards Jerry Hunter

John O. King Roque Marinho Samuel McAleese Michael Mitchell

Bryan Roy Sean Savage David Silverstein Walker Thomas

Steve Tracewell Spiro Winsett

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Corporate Partners $100,000 The Coca-Cola Company

$50,000+ AT&T Delta Air Lines, Inc.

$10,000+ Affordable Equity Partners, Inc. Flight Options Lanier Parking Solutions

$2,500+ Anonymous $1,000+ Atlanta Opera Guild

$5,000+ Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company

Community Partners Foundations $50,000+ Atlanta Music Festival Association Sara Giles Moore Foundation The Zeist Foundation

Fraser-Parker Foundation Ann & Gordon Getty Foundation The Home Depot Foundation JBS Foundation Nordson Corporation Foundation Norfolk Southern Foundation $25,000+ OPERA America The Kendeda Fund J. Marshall & Lucile G. Powell Foundation Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. $2,500+ $20,000+ Mary Brown Fund of Atlanta Jim Cox, Jr. Charitable Trust Hills Family Foundation $10,000+ Publix Super Markets Charities Georgia Pacific Foundation Frances Wood Wilson Foundation Abraham J. & Phyllis Katz Foundation Wells Fargo Philanthropic Giving Program $1,000+ Bright Wings Foundation $5,000+ Herbert & Marian Haley Foundation The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Lois & Lucy Lampkin Foundation Camp-Younts Foundation Ray M. & Mary Elizabeth Lee Foundation John & Mary Franklin Foundation

54

photo: Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera

Government Funding $20,000+ City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs Georgia Council for the Arts Gifts In Kind Batdorf & Bronson Coffee Roasters Joel Crowe - Wallace Graphics John Davis - John Davis Florist of Savannah England Pianos - Official Piano Sponsor of The Atlanta Opera Eli Flint - Flight Options Lanier Parking Solutions National Distributing, Inc. Jeff Roffman Photography Tim Wilkerson Photography

Tributes & Memorials In Memory of Dr. Joseph Barnett Dr. Florence C. Barnett & Family Ms. Ann Bailey Fred D. Bentley Sr. & Family Fred D. Bentley Jr. & Family R. Randall Bentley Sr. & Family Emory Johns Creek Hospital Maria Jurado Kennesaw State University Foundation GA Neurosurgical Society Dr. Anthony Musarra Mr. & Mrs. W. A. Separk Dr. & Mrs. Edgar Vaughan Dr. & Mrs. Allison F. Williams In Memory of John Cox Rae & George Weimer In Memory of Margaret Bowden Reese Ellis Dr. & Mrs. James H. Dew Jr. In Honor of Bernadette Faber Enid & Jerry Draluck In Memory of Richard Felner Mrs. Anna Beth Felner In Memory of Dick Gallo Mr. Alfred D. Kennedy & Dr. Bill Kenny In Honor of Chorus Master Huff & The Atlanta Opera Chorus Jane S. Willson In Memory of Rachel Lehmann Jim & Eleanor Strain In Honor of Polly Pater Mr. Brian D. Beem Mr. & Mrs. Charles Slick Mr. Tom Slick In Memory of Louis Peneguy Mr. William E. Pennington

photo courtesy Nazmiyal Collection, New York (nazmiyalantiquerugs.com)

In Memory of Hazel Roy Butler The Hazel Roy Trust In Honor of Sharon Silvermintz Ms. Elizabeth F. Meeker In Memory of Dr. Kingsley Weatherly Mr. & Mrs. Gerald Baxter Nancy & Jim Bland Mr. & Mrs. Peter M. Candler Dr. & Mrs. William H. Chew Lynn Cochran Mr. & Mrs. R. Park Ellis P. Wesley Foster, Jr. Ms. Beatrice Garner Joan Gill Carolyn & Lem Hewes Jim & Mary Long Howard Katie Hutchison Mrs. Clay Kirk Mrs. T. Harvey Mathis, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. Merritt Jr. Anne Groves Morris Mrs. Elizabeth Pritchett Dr. & Mrs. Newton Quantz, Jr. Richard Worrell General Agency, LLC. Hugh Richardson, Jr. Elizabeth & Dick Rubenoff Dr. Kathy Shands The Sunshine Committee Willou & Bill Smith Dr. & Mrs. Carter Smith, Jr. Ms. Susan Soper Margo & Buddy Stack The Sutton Family Mr. & Mrs. Charles D. Tuller Mel & Hootie Zaher In Memory of Marya Gabrielle Williams Ms. Marilon Jone P. Williams In Honor of Charlie Yates, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Mark Eden

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Encore Circle The Atlanta Opera established The Encore Circle to recognize donors who have designated the Opera as a beneficiary in their estate plan. Gifts from these individuals ensure our progress for generations to come.

Anonymous Mr. & Mrs. Shepard B. Ansley Mr. & Mrs. Wallace F. Beard Mr. Montague L. Boyd Ms. Mary D. Bray Mr. Robert Colgin Martha Thompson Dinos Arnold & Sylvia Eaves Ms. Dorothy E. Edwards Mr. & Mrs. Dieter Elsner Carl & Sally Gable Rebecca & Sidney Guberman Ms. Judy Hanenkrat Mr. Hilson Hudson

photo: Ken Howard for Santa Fe Opera

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Mrs. Joseph B. Hutchison Mr. Alfred D. Kennedy Ms. Corina M. LaFrossia Mr. Louis L. Lawson Mr. & Mrs. John G. Malcolm Mr. Robert Lee Mays Mr. & Mrs. Allen P. McDaniel Mr. & Mrs. Jack C. McDowell Mr. & Mrs. Craig N. Miller Miss Helen D. Moffitt Mr. J. Robert Morring Mr. & Mrs. Bertil D. Nordin Clara M. & John S. O’Shea Mrs. Polly Pater

Mr. William E. Pennington Bruce A. Roth Mr. & Mrs. Paul Sanger Kevin J. Saunders Mr. D. Jack Sawyer, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Thomas H. Teepen Mr. Richard F. Tigner William E. Torres, M.D. Dr. & Mrs. Harold Whitney Ms. Bunny Winter & Mr. Michael Doyle Mr. & Mrs. Charles R. Yates, Sr. Mr. Charles R. Yates, Jr. & Mrs. Mary Yates

i einspireinspa e ducateeducaitn sustainsust er powereMpow e encee xcellenic ty nitycoMMun te tecollaborag ageencoura e

re.

Your legacy. Our futu

. It is a great city d in Atlanta my whole life live e hav and ed rais n, I was bor tricts, great educational s, thriving commercial dis with many beautiful home city. However, rants. I love living in this tau res erb sup and ns tio institu One area of the arts a would not be complete. without the fine arts, Atlant The beautiful inspired me is the Opera. and ted tiva cap ays alw has that to forget my troubles hralling stories allow me music, intricate sets and ent mersed in beauty. and spend a few hours im e it, but because I know era not only because I lov Op a ant Atl e Th t por sup I asure to Atlantans for e of the city and bring ple it will strengthen the cultur ure generations, I have s wonderful art alive for fut years to come. To keep thi my IRA. one of the beneficiaries of made The Atlanta Opera era. You can leave future of The Atlanta Op the ure sec p hel to y eas y It is ver IRA to be given to the l, or designate a portion of a gift bequest in your wil if you are 70½ or you prefer to give today, and If g. sin pas r you on up Opera to pay income taxes on $100,000 without having older, you can give up to your donation. , please use your will NEED The Atlanta Opera we t tha do, I as l fee you If or IRA to make a gift.

Sincerely,

yd Montague “Cosmo” L. Bo er mb Me Atlanta Opera Board 57

Board of Directors Officers Mrs. Shepard B. Ansley Chair Emeritus William E. Tucker Chair Tucker, Midis & Owen, LLC Mr. Gregory F. Johnson Immediate Past Chair Republic National Distributing Company, Inc. Mr. John L. Hammaker Vice Chair Mr. Charles R. Yates, Jr. Vice Chair Mr. Rhys T. Wilson Treasurer Nelson, Mullins, Riley & Scarborough, LLP Mr. Michael Keough Secretary DMK International

Members Ms. Cathy Callaway Adams, Federal Home Loan Bank Mr. Bryan H. Barnes, Deloitte & Touche, LLP Mr. Andy Berg, Homrich Berg Mrs. James W. Bland, Jr. Mr. Montague L. Boyd, III, UBS Financial Mrs. Rosemary Kopel Brown Ms. Sharon J. Byers, The Coca-Cola Company Mrs. John W. Calhoun, III The Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler, Cathedral of St. Philip Mr. Mario Concha, Concha Consulting, LLC Ms. Martha Thompson Dinos Mr. Robert G. Edge, Alston & Bird Mr. Dieter Elsner, Roedl Langford de Kock, LLP Mr. Eli Flint, Flight Options Mrs. Joanne Chesler Gross Mr. William Hajjar, JWT Mr. John Michael Hancock Mr. William J. Hayes, Bain & Company, Inc. Mr. Douglas R. Hooker, Atlanta Regional Commission Ms. Mary B. James Mr. John O. King, Breitland, LLC

58

Mrs. Carl Knobloch Mr. George Levert, Kinetic Ventures, LLC Mr. Richard McPhail, The Home Depot, Inc. Mr. Harmon B. Miller, III, MillerZell, Inc. Mr. James B. Miller, Fidelity Bank Mr. David Moody, C. D. Moody Construction Mr. Michael Paulhus, King & Spalding Mr. William E. Pennington Mr. James D. Powell, KPMG, LLP Mr. Herbert J. Rosenberg III, National Distributing Company, Inc. Mr. Bruce A. Roth, Roth & Associates, Inc. Mr. J. Barry Schrenk, Taggarts’ Driving School Mr. Stewart A. Searle, Strategic Thought Partners Mr. Sachin Shailendra, S G Contracting Mr. Charles Sharbaugh, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP Mr. Timothy E. Sheehan, Mellon Private Wealth Management Mr. Baker A. Smith, BDO Consulting Corp. Advisors, LLC Mr. G. Kimbrough Taylor, Jr., Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton Mr. Timothy J. Walsh, Lanier Parking Solutions Mr. Thomas R. Williams Jane S. Willson, Sunnyland Farms, Inc. Mr. Robert G. Woodward, King & Spalding

Honorary Members Ms. Dorothy E. Edwards Mr. Carl I. Gable Mr. John S. Gillfillan Mrs. Holcombe T. Green, Jr., WestPoint Stevens Mr. Carter Joseph, Empire Distributors Mrs. Jack C. McDowell Mr. Sam Olens, State of Georgia Mr. Mark K. Taylor, HT Group, LLC Mrs. John C. Wilson Ms. Bunny Winter

photo courtesy Nazmiyal Collection, New York (nazmiyalantiquerugs.com)

NEWS FLASH AN OPERATIC, MIXED-UP, FAIRY TALE NEWSCAST COMING TO A SCHOOL NEAR YOU...

For details, visit atlantaopera.org or email education@atlantaopera.org

SCENE Studio Tour: Stone Soup

59 Photos: Kira-Marie Photography for The Galloway School / Tanya Lamkin for King’s Ridge Christian School

Staff Artistic & Production Arthur Fagen Carl & Sally Gable Music Director & Conductor Elecia Crowley Artistic Administrator Walter Huff Chorus Master Michael Benedict Production Manager Shawn Rieschl Johnson Company/Stage Manager Eric Mitchko Artistic Consultant

Community Engagement Emmalee Iden Hackshaw Director of Community Engagement Shannon Delatorre Intern Katy Gardner Intern

Development Bert Wesley Huffman MPA CFRE Director of Development Rae Weimer Associate Director of Development Kristin Boggs Major Gifts Officer Greg Carraway Foundation & Grants Manager Rebecca Bowden Annual Fund Manager Allison DeNiro Events Manager & Volunteer Coordinator

Finance & Administration Mike Hurdle Director of Finance Ashley Gilleland Accounting Manager Stephanie Cantillo Administrative Manager

Marketing & Communications Cristina Vรกsconez Herrera Director of Marketing & Communications Lindsay Smith Marketing Manager Emily Genetelli Communications Manager Matt Burkhalter Creative Services Manager Alan Strange Ticketing Services Manager Renee Smiley Ticketing & Group Sales AssociatE

Costume Shop

Wig & Makeup Staff

Joanna Schmink Costume Designer/Coordinator Patricia McMahon Costume Shop Manager Ken McNeil COSTUME SUPERVISOR Brett Parker First Hand Mary Cruz Torres Stitcher Bridgette K. L. Mont Stitcher

Katrina Suhre Design Assistant Christina Whitaker Moore Tracy Salazar Melanie Steele Tiffany Davis Selena Miller Richard Cherry Christian Ellesmere

Seasonal Staff John Beaulieu Technical Director/Master Carpenter Patricia Tuckwiller Production Electrician Steve Dubay Production Electrician Pamela Hickey Properties Master Gregory Boyle Assistant Stage Manager Jamie Hahn Assistant Stage ManageR

60

Join us for the Atlanta Opera’s 2013 spring garden party

La

Belle

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Soiree

Entertainment by select members of The Atlanta Opera Chorus Hors d’oeuvres, desserts, and cocktails Food prepared by Chef Joe Truex from Watershed on Peachtree For tickets, please contact Allison Deniro at 404-591-2928 or adeniro@atlantaopera.org

Take your opera experience to the mainstage with...

• Admission to the exclusive Intermezzo Lounge • Shop Opera discount • Complimentary drink vouchers ...and many more benefits!

For more information about MyOpera, please visit the information table in the lobby!

House Policies Concessions Concession stands are located in the center of the lobbies on all three levels. Food and beverage items are prohibited inside the theatre. 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 a $6 charge per car. Valet service is available for $10. Please be sure to allow enough time for travel to the theatre and parking as there is no late seating.

ATM There is one Bank of North Georgia ATM located in the grand lobby.

Coat Check Coat check is available at the concierge desk.

Emergency Information 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 & 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.

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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, first-served basis, or you may call the House Manager ahead of time to reserve one 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.

Cobb Energy Centre Rules & Requests • All patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket in order to be admitted to the performance. Please be aware that not all performances are suitable for children • Infants will not be admitted to adult programs. Parents will be asked to remove children who create a disturbance • There is no late seating allowed. Closedcircuit monitors are provided in the lobby as a courtesy to latecomers • Please turn off all cell phones prior to the beginning of each performance • Please limit conversation during the performance •C ameras (including use of cell phone camera) and audio & 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

For an accounting firm that has earned a reputation for business sense and people sense, you want Warren Averett + GH&I. Audiences have been singing our praises for over 30 years.

Warren Averett + GH&I and The Atlanta Opera.

Experience matters.

For a close-up view, visit warrenaverett.com, or call 770-396-1100.

All for one.

That’s how we see cancer treatment at WellStar. Our multidisciplinary approach harnesses the capabilities of an entire healthcare system to treat each individual patient.

Community-based oncologists and cancer surgeons. Hundreds of the state’s top physicians. A network of experts, from nurses to registered dietitians. All working together to treat and beat cancer.

WellStar was the first to bring CyberKnife to Georgia. Our STAT Cancer Clinic sets a new standard for accelerated treatment. And our Pancreatic Pathway Team focuses on the treatment of this complex cancer.

No wonder our Cancer Network continues to grow.

When it comes to fighting cancer, we believe in teamwork. To learn more about the WellStar Cancer Network, call 770-956-STAR or visit wellstar.org.

We believe you are stronger than cancer.

The vision of WellStar Health System is to deliver world-class healthcare through our hospitals, physicians and services.

Our not-for-profit health system includes WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center (anchored by WellStar Kennestone Hospital), WellStar Cobb, Douglas, Paulding and Windy Hill hospitals; WellStar Medical Group; Health Parks; Urgent Care Centers, Health Place; Homecare; Hospice; Atherton Place; Paulding Nursing Center; and WellStar Foundation.