Dean’s Message
Dear Friends,
Welcome to our final presentation of the season, Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. This timeless opera brings us back to the roots of theater in the Greek mythological story of Orpheus descending into the Underworld to be reconnected with his beloved Euridice. The music by Gluck is simple in its style and always evocative of the emotion each character feels from moment to moment.
Amy Helms, the director of this program, joins a long history of directing students presenting a final project as part of the Master’s Opera Production degree program. She joins past alumni including Joshua Borths, Corinne Hayes, Grant Preisser, among many others, and we wish her success as she follows in their footsteps into the professional world of opera.
Of course, every student at Florida State is mentored and shaped by our terrific faculty, including our Director of Opera Workshop James Marvel and Director of Opera Dr. Bernard McDonald. Bernard’s dual contributions on this opera as both conductor and chorus master are commendable, as is his mentorship of Guilherme Rodrigues who leads Saturday night’s performance.
Our staff members in the opera area have also made important contributions, including Ken Frederickson’s reconceptualization of Michael Schweikardt’s set, Matt Cooksey stepping in as the Production Stage Manager, Christina Marullo’s costume design, and Julia Matteson Bradley’s leadership in the costume shop. Rounding out the team are Scott Freese as the production’s Projection Designer and Naiomy Perez del Valle, who comes from the School of Theatre program as our Lighting Designer.
Next season features exciting programming, including Massenet’s Cendrillon in the fall and Mozart’s Così fan tutte in the spring. And further on the horizon, we look forward to bringing Houston Grand Opera’s production of Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men to Ruby Diamond Concert Hall in the fall of 2026.
Until we see you again next time, I wish you a wonderful summer and thank you for joining us on this special night.
Sincerely,
M. Todd Queen
Florida State University Opera presents Christoph Willibald Gluck’s
Orfeo ed Euridice
Libretto by Ranieri de’ Calzabigi | Music by Christoph Willibald Gluck
By arrangement with Bärenreiter, publisher and copyright owner.
Conductor ................................................................................................. Bernard McDonald
Stage Director Amy Helms
Scenic Designers ...................................... Ken Frederickson, Michael Scweikardt
Lighting Designer Naiomy Perez del Valle
Projection Designer .......................................................................................... Scott Freese
Costume Designer Christina Marullo
Hair Stylist..................................................................................................... Christina Marullo
Principal Makeup Designer Katherine Anne Ledbetter
Language & Musical Preparation ........Bernard McDonald, Valerie M. Trujillo
Emma Anderson, Guilherme Rodrigues
Production Stage Manager Matt Cooksey
Assistant Conductor ......................................................... Guilherme Leal Rodrigues*
Chorus Master Bernard McDonald
Assistant Stage Manager ................................................ Katherine Anne Ledbetter
* Conducting May 31st performance
Orfeo
Alissa D’Alton
CAST
(in order of appearance)
Amore
Olivia Bahmer
Chorus
Morgan Cerra
Hope Goodman
Carter Houston
Alyssa Jimenez
Logan C. Kenison
Zachary Magner
Cecilia Malley
Jackeline Petichakis
Euridice
Lizzie Robertson
Madison Riley
Kristopher Stam
Samuel Stevenson
Luke West
UNIVERSITY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
Violin I
Jean-Luc Cataquet ‡
Madelyne Garnot
Harshul Mulpuru
Joan Prokopowicz
Bárbara Santiago
Violin II
Francesca Puro*
Tori Joyce
Myra Sexton
Viola
Maya Johnson*
Emelia Ulrich
Jonathan Taylor
Cello
Abbey Fernandez de Castro*
Angelese Pepper
Mitchell George
Bass
Alex Lunday*
Kent Rivera
Flute
Talley Powell*
Jordi Banitt
Oboe
Steven Stamer*
Nic Kanipe
Clarinet
Jariel Santiago*
Ethan Burke
Bassoon
Josie Whiteis*
Susanna Campbell
Horn
Giovanni Pereira*
Thomas Langston
Trumpet
Sharavan Duvvuri*
Vance Garven
Trombone
Carter Wessinger, alto
Kevin Li, tenor
Brent Creekmore, bass
Timpani
Kylan Bigby
Harpsichord & Electronic Keyboard
Emma Anderson
SYNOPSIS
Orfeo and his companions mourn the recent and untimely passing of Euridice. In private, he cries out for her return, but only hears echoes in reply. Though he nearly curses the gods, Amore – the goddess of love – arrives and presents him with an intriguing challenge. If Orfeo can successfully enter the domain of the shades and pacify the furies, he will have an opportunity to be reunited with his wife in the underworld. This bargain comes with more stipulations, as Orfeo cannot look back at Euridice, nor can he tell her about the bargain to which he has agreed. Orfeo agrees to Amore’s terms and gathers his courage for the journey soon to begin.
In the depths of Erebus, Orfeo comes face to face with the fearsome furies. They initially tell him that he is unworthy of entry, but he gains their empathy through his music and demonstration of his own grief and loss. Their hearts have softened, and they open the black gates that lead to Elysium where Euridice is held.
Orfeo makes his way to the abode of heroes in the Elysian fields. He is still not at peace, at least not until he can find his beloved wife Euridice. Orfeo encounters the more gentle spirits of Elysium, and they reunite him with Euridice. The two must now commence on the hardest part of their journey together.
Orfeo and Euridice make their way through the tunnels of the underworld on the way to the surface. Euridice wishes to understand how they were brought together, but Orfeo is desperate to leave the cave behind and honor the bargain. Euridice asks for some acknowledgement and tenderness from Orfeo, but he denies her. She cannot understand her husband’s coldness towards her and tells him that death would be a greater comfort. As Orfeo presses forward, Euridice is driven to madness at his unfeeling behavior, and it seems to Orfeo that she could pass away even before leaving the cave. Orfeo cannot resist her cries for help any longer and turns to find her. But in a moment, she dies. Orfeo loses all hope and wishes to end his own life, when Amore intervenes. She presents Orfeo with a miracle: Euridice is restored to life after the gods recognize his unconscionable suffering.
Though a happy ending is nearly in sight, Amore reveals her true identity as the goddess of the Underworld, having led Orfeo on a quest that was doomed from the start. Euridice is torn from Orfeo yet again, reclaimed by death. Amore summons the Furies, who dismember Orfeo, tearing him apart.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
My two years here at Florida State in the opera directing program have been the answer to a call I hadn’t expected to receive so soon. I’ve fallen in love with directing, and I feel so grounded in my purpose of storytelling and making art in this way. In a similarly serendipitous way, I also felt called to select this opera as my thesis project. In bringing this timeless and universal story to life, I was deeply inspired by the work of the French symbolist painter Odilon Redon in shaping the projection designs. His use of vivid colors and their vibrant saturation capture the magnitude of love and loss present in this piece. The dreamy pre-surrealist essence of his paintings seamlessly illustrates the lush fantasy of finding love and the surreal devastation of losing it. I also wanted to explore the use of fabric as an extension of the body throughout the opera, with it becoming symbolic of thematic ideas and physical entities. I’m very interested in creating opera that is at least somewhat traditional in its aesthetic, but not in its style. I aim to achieve this through highly engaging the physicality of the singing actors to treat opera as theater, in addition to integrating imaginative design elements into the narrative by symbolizing elements of the story in both abstract and literal ways.
Orfeo describes Euridice as the “object of his soul,” but not his soulmate or the love of his life. This small detail speaks volumes, demonstrating how he put her on a pedestal, romanticizing her and their relationship. Orfeo falls in love with the idea of Euridice more than the reality of who she is, projecting everything he believes love to be onto her. Their unravelling under duress and lack of effective communication demonstrate how deadly this can be. His inability to process his emotions through logic and restraint teaches us how the more we try to transcend our grief and overcome it, the more it consumes us. We cannot intellectualize our emotions, we must feel them to fully process them. If you were Orfeo, would you have looked back at Euridice? I think we all would, even if we’d like to believe otherwise. In the age of reason and Enlightenment
in which Gluck composed the opera, if emotions are seen as something to fight and logic is held in the highest esteem, where does that leave Love? Love is the villain and passion is the enemy, because they are out of our control, defying reason.
In reading both the Ovid and Virgil accounts of this myth, among other retellings, I was utterly unconvinced of Gluck and Calzabigi’s happier ending where Euridice is brought back to life and Orfeo is rewarded for his suffering. Why? That’s not what happens in real life. The ending in which Orfeo is dismembered by the savage cult women for his rejection, while gruesome, is a much more accurate portrayal of what lost love and that grief feel like. I’ve decided to combine these ideas and reinterpret them to create an alternative ending where hope is dangled in front of the pair of lovers before being ripped away once again. A quote by Ovid that has become one of my mantras is “Everything changes, nothing is lost.” But can we lose what we never really had? You can’t bring what’s dead back to life. You cannot resurrect love or passion. Happy endings don’t exist. Love is deceptive. Love rips us apart. Love tears us limb from limb. Is love just an illusion?
Thank You
2024-2025
Marty Beech • Ramona D. Bowman • Scott and Suzi Brock
Brian Causseaux and David Young • Malcolm Craig
Richard Dusenbury and Kathi Jaschke • Ruth Godfrey-Sigler
Kirby W. and Margaret-Ray Kemper • Joan Macmillan
Victoria Martinez • Meredith and Elsa L. McKinney • Bob Parker
David and Joanne Rasmussen • Jim and Betty Ann Rodgers
Ken and J.R. Saginario • Karen and Francis C. Skilling
Donna Cay Tharpe • Marjorie Turnbull
Anne van Meter and Howard Kessler
CAST BIOS
Alissa D’Alton, Orfeo
Hometown: Orlando, FL
Degree: Soprano, M.A. Performance (1st year)
Past roles at FSU: Chorus, Die Zauberflöte; Mother, Hänsel und Gretel (outreach tour); Chorus, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Chorus, Príhody lišky Bystroušky; Hänsel, Hänsel und Gretel Other credits: Agathe, Der Freischütz, FSU Opera Scenes Program; Frasquita (concert excerpt), Carmen, FSU University Symphony Orchestra; Soloist, Helletused (Tormis), FSU Chamber Choir
Olivia Bahmer, Amore
Hometown: Tallahassee, FL
Degree: Soprano, B.A. Performance (3rd year)
Past roles at FSU: Chorus, Hänsel und Gretel
Lizzie Robertson, Euridice
Hometown: Marietta, GA
Degree: Soprano, B.A. Performance (3rd year)
Past roles at FSU: Chorus, Příhody lišky Bystroušky; Chorus, Hänsel und Gretel; Papagena, The Magic Flute (Outreach) Other credits: Sandmann, Hänsel und Gretel (scene), FSU Opera Workshop; Ännchen, Der Freischütz (scene), FSU Opera Workshop; Sœur Constance, Dialogues des Carmélites (scene), FSU Opera Workshop
STAFF BIOS
Emma Anderson, Rehearsal Pianist
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Degree: D.M. Collaborative Piano (1st year)
Past work at FSU: Répétiteur, The Rake’s Progress; Répétiteur, Hänsel und Gretel Other credits: Pianist/Coach, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Music on Site; Pianist, Carmen, Seagle Music Festival; Music Director, Monkey and Francine in the City of Tigers, Seagle Music Festival
Matt Cooksey, Production Stage Manager
Hometown: Nashville, TN
Title: Opera Program Manager
Past work at FSU: Stage Director, The Prodigal Child; Production Stage Manager, Candide; Assistant Director, Prince of Players; Production Stage Manager, La traviata; Ottone, L’incoronazione di Poppea; Papageno, The Stolen Princess (Outreach); Masetto, Don Giovanni Other credits: Stage Director, L’elisir d’amore, Florida Grand Opera; Stage Director, La bohème, Florida Grand Opera; Stage Director, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Florida Grand Opera
Amy Helms, Stage Director
Hometown: Cincinnati, OH
Degree: M.M. Opera Production (2nd year)
Past work at FSU: Assistant Director/ASM, The Rake’s Progress; Director, The Magic Flute (Outreach); Assistant Director/ASM, Hänsel und Gretel; Assistant Director, Příhody lišky Bystroušky; Stage Director, Abrazo de Oso (Outreach); Assistant Director, Il barbiere di Siviglia Other credits: Assistant Director, L’elisir d’amore, Opera Neo; Assistant Director, Don Giovanni, Music on Site
Katherine Anne Ledbetter, Assistant Stage Manager
Hometown: High Point, NC
Degree: M.M. Performance (Graduate)
Past roles at FSU: Baba the Turk, The Rake’s Progress; Witch, Hänsel und Gretel; Mrs. Páskova, Příhody lišky Bystroušky; Berta, Il barbiere di Siviglia
Other credits: Marcellina, Le nozze di Figaro, Lyric Opera Studio Weimar; Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni, Lyric Opera Studio Weimar; Maddalena, Linda di Chamounix, A.J. Fletcher Opera
Christina Marullo, Costume Designer
Hometown: Tallahassee, FL
Title: Assistant Shop Manager
Recent work at FSU: Costume Designer, Příhody lišky Bystroušky; Costume Designer, Il barbiere di Siviglia; Costume Designer, Luisa Fernanda/As One; Costume Designer, A Streetcar Named Desire; Costume Designer, Hänsel und Gretel Other credits: Designer, Macbeth, Southeast Missouri State; Designer,
St Nicholas, Dorset Theater Festival; Draper, Glimmerglass Festival (20162019 seasons)
Bernard McDonald, Conductor
Hometown: Dumbarton, Scotland
Title: Director of Opera Activities
Past roles at FSU: Conductor, Il barbiere di Siviglia; Conductor, Hänsel und Gretel Other credits: Conductor, Albert Herring, Opera Orlando; Conductor, The Fantasticks, Opera Orlando; Conductor, Ghosts of Gatsby, Mobile Opera
Naiomy Perez del Valle, Lighting Designer
Hometown: Arecibo, Puerto Rico
Degree: Lighting Designer, MFA (1st year)
FSU Opera debut Other credits: Lighting Designer, Between the Lines, FSU Days of Dance; Assistant Lighting Designer, USITT Mainstage Ballroom; Lighting Designer, USITT Mainstage Ballroom
Guilherme Leal Rodrigues, Assistant Conductor
Hometown: Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
Degree: Ph.D. Music Education (2nd year)
Past roles at FSU: Il barbiere di Siviglia, Assistant Conductor; Příhody lišky Bystroušky, Assistant Conductor; Assistant Conductor, Hänsel und Gretel Other credits: Assistant Conductor, Lyric Music Festival - Italy
Michael Schweikardt, Scenic Designer
Hometown: San Francisco CA
Past work at FSU: Les mamelles de Tirésias, Scenic/Costume Designer; Gianni Schicchi, Scenic/Costume Designer; ll barbiere di Siviglia, Scenic/ Costume Designer; The Mikado, Scenic/Costume Designer; Le comte Ory, Scenic/Costume Designer; Semele, Scenic/Costume Designer; The Pirates of Penzance, Scenic Designer Other credits: Scenic Designer, Bloodsong of Love, Ars Nova; Scenic Designer, Norma, Sarasota Opera; Scenic Designer, The Black Suits, New York Public Theatre
THE OPERA STAFF
Dean, Executive Producer .................................................... M. Todd Queen
Director of Opera Activities ......................................... Bernard McDonald
Stage Director/Director of Opera Workshop .................. James Marvel
Director of Orchestra Activities ................................ Alexander Jiménez
Opera Program Manager ......................................................... Matt Cooksey
Technical Director Ken Frederickson
Assistant Technical Director ........................................ Cameron Hanmer
Library Bowing Assistant Anna Kirkland
Musical Coaching ....................... Bernard McDonald, Valerie M. Trujillo Emma Anderson
Rehearsal Pianist ................................................................... Emma Anderson
Scenic Artists ............................................... Amanda Holton, Liana Rieger
Master Carpenter ............................................................... Cameron Hanmer
Carpenters ........................................................ Scott Freese, Ray Hattaway
Opperman Music Hall Support Staff Ethan Bigelow Cameron Downs, Russell Marsh, Nick Smith
Opperman Crew Wajira Amarakoon, Wesley Bellew
Amelia Cooper, Emma Finnegan, Scott Freese Ray Hattaway, Patrick Mongeon, Malinda Perera Liana Rieger, Daelynn Trotman
Additional Crew ................................... David Bernstein, Kinsley Mitchell Barbara Roberts, Dante Souverain, Dylan Valdes
Costume Shop Manager ....................................... Julia Matteson Bradley
Assistant Shop Manager Christina Marullo
Wardrobe Supervisor ............................................. Julia Matteson Bradley
Wardrobe Crew ............................................................................ Tobi Sponsler
Costume Crafts ........................................................................... Kaylee Sibelle
Stitchers ................................................................... Mary Albul, Samira Agbi, Abigail Jennings, Chanti Max, Tobi Sponsler
Wig & Makeup Crew ......................................... Katherine Anne Ledbetter Christina Marullo
Graphic Designer ........................................................................ Laura Chacon
Marketing Team Megan Mowery, Wendy Smith
Director of Special Programs ................................................... Kim Shively
UNIVERSITY MUSICAL ASSOCIATES
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The University Musical Associates is the community support organization for the FSU College of Music. The primary purposes of the group are to develop audiences for College of Music performances, to assist outstanding students in enriching their musical education and careers, and to support quality education and cultural activities for the Tallahassee community. If you would like information about joining the University Musical Associates, please contact Kim Shively, Director of Special Programs, at kshively@fsu.edu or 850-645-5453.
The Florida State University provides accommodations for persons with disabilities. Please notify the College of Music at 850-644-3424 at least five business days prior to a musical event if accommodation for disability or publication in alternative format is needed.
