The Devil and Daniel Webster

Devil Daniel Webster The

and

Douglas Moore

2016-2017

Mobile Opera’s 71st Season

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DepArtment of mUsic The University of South Alabama Department of Music, through its innovative curriculum, empowers professional musicians, music educators, and those who wish to enrich their lives through the arts. The Department serves the needs of the University to promote general education and to provide a vital cultural link to the great state of Alabama and to the Gulf Coast region. Its excellent facilities and faculty, promotionoftechnology,anddedicationtolife-longlearningprovideawidespectrumofexperiencesforboththestudentandthecommunity.

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Contact Information

University of South Alabama, Department of Music • Laidlaw Performing Arts Center, Room 1072 5751 USA Drive South, Mobile, AL 36688 • (251) 460-6136 • E-mail: usamusic@southalabama.edu www.southalabama.edu/music • Facebook: facebook.com/southalabamamusic • Twitter: twitter.com/usouthalmusic

MOBILE OPERA IN THE SCHOO OPERA SCHOOL TOUR

VOCE

Voices of Children Everywhere is an after-school choral program that is offered to 1st - 5th graders in participating schools. VOCE provides age- appropriate instruction in choral singing, music theory and performance in a fun environment.

Cast of Pagliacci with High School Students

This season’s Opera School Tour, The Tortoise and the Hare is an operatic version of the childhood story based on Aesop’s fable with music from the operas of Gioachino Rossini and designed for K-5 schools. With themes of persistence, courage, and acceptance, this tale teaches that possessing talent does not bring success unless that talent is applied with determination.

Mobile Opera presents this fun and colorful mini-drama to schools as part of the Resident Artist function of the Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Developing Artist Program.

STUDENT PREVIEW

Middle and High School students have the opportunity to experience Opera first-hand by attending a final dress rehearsal. For many of our children, live performance and Opera is not something to which they have been exposed. In conjunction with the Student Preview, a Mobile Opera Teaching Artist visits the participating students prior to the performance to tell them the story of the Opera and to discuss their role as an audience member.

Jack and the Beanstalk School Tour, 2015

OLS AND IN THE COMMUNITY AFTERNOON OF STARS In partnership with the Mobile Public Library, these Sunday afternoon informal performances followed by a reception give you the opportunity to meet and hear the artists prior to the mainstage performances.

LIBRETTO BOOK CLUB

Who says Opera is only about the singing? Join Mobile Opera’s Book Club and read the “Opera Book Choice” for the upcoming performance.

Then join the Libretto chat over coffee for a lively and informative discussion. This presentation is cosponsored by the Mobile Public Library and admission is free.

OPERA INSIGHTS

Each Spring The Puccini Lecture series will explore the musical, historical and social significance of this musical genius and his major works. Hosted

by General Director, Scott Wright, and Education Director, Stacey Driskell, the lectures delve into different aspects of Puccini’s life and influence as well as the literary and historical elements he drew upon in creating his operas. This presentation is cosponsored by the Mobile Public Library.

NIGHT OF SONG

Mobile Opera’s monthly cabaret of opera and musical theatre, is held on the 2nd Monday of each month. Enjoy fine cuisine and your beverage of choice with entertainment from some of Mobile’s favorite singing artists. For locations please visit www.mobileopera.org.

Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Developing Artist Program

Young Artist Program

Elizabeth Bemis Soprano

Evan Mazur, Mezzo

University of South Alabama

University of South Alabama Susan B. Gardberg Scholar

David Meredith, Tenor

University of South Alabama Mobile Opera Workshop Scholar

The Young Artist Program is a scholarship program for students selected from area colleges and universities. These students participate in main stage productions, education and outreach programs and act as musical ambassadors for Mobile Opera. Young Artists work with internationally recognized soloists, directors, designers and conductors.

The Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser

Scholarship Competition

Saturday, January 14, 2017 1:00pm The Larkins Music Center Mobile, Alabama

Resident Artist Program Ezekial Andrew Baritone

Gabrielle Richardson Soprano

Resident Artists, selected from across the U.S., are professional singers of exceptional artistry at the beginning of their careers. In programs performed throughout the community, they introduce the classical voice and the performing arts, helping to develop an interest and awareness of opera that creates future singers, audiences, and patrons.

Upcoming Productions

Winter Gala Concert Selections of some the most popular moments from the world’s great operas, showcasing the Mobile Opera Chorus.

February 3 and 5, 2017 The Steeple on St. Francis 251 St. Francis Street

Suor Angelica

Sister Angelica seeks redemption from poor choices. Enjoy an intensely dramatic opera with a miraculous ending. This opera will inspire you.

March 24 and 26, 2017 The Temple Downtown 351 St. Francis Street

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S

uor Angelica will be Mobile Opera’s fifth production of a ten-year project to produce and interpret the entire canon of Giacomo Puccini’s works, some of the most beloved and well-known operas in the entire repertoire. Four are one-act operas and these will be combined to join the eight full length operas in a decade dedicated to the study and illumination of these musical and theatrical treasures.

In addition to Puccini’s operatic works, Mobile Opera is engaging in an intensive study of the man and his tremendous impact on the world of performing arts. On the calendar are: social events to bring the community together for food, fun and fellowship; a scholarly approach to the literature and times that shaped Puccini; educational and interesting opportunities for all ages to learn more about the timeless contributions made by his music; and other events to enhance, through the arts and humanities, our understanding of this composer and the monumental works that changed the face of opera.

The twelve operas are: Le Villi, 1884 • Edgar, 1889 • Manon Lescaut, 1893 • La Bohème, 1896 • Tosca, 1900 • Madama Butterfly, 1904 • La fanciulla del West, 1910 • La Rondine, 1917 • Il trittico: Il tabarro, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, 1918 • Turandot, (left unfinished 1924) These operas, because of Puccini’s mastery of line and color in both aria and orchestration, comprise some of the most beautiful music in existence. The musical dialogue among his operatic characters is unique and the flow and sweep of his scores is a continuum that includes, rather than isolates, arias of profound beauty.

There is and ever will be only one Giacomo Puccini. Mobile Opera is excited and proud to honor the works of this distinctive and distinguished composer. In the process we expect to learn more about him, his music and the living truths in that music which resonate so strongly with generations of appreciative audiences. We invite you to join us as we continue the journey of discovery in The Puccini Project.

2017 Puccini Project Events Seven Days of Opera January 8-14, 2017 Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Scholarship Competition January 14, 2017 Puccini Promenade: Sunday Afternoon Tea March 5, 2017 Libretto Book Club March 9, 2017 Afternoon of Stars March 12, 2017 Night of Song: An Evening with Puccini March 13, 2017 Opera Insights: Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi March 15, 2017

Suor Angelica March 24 and 26, 2017

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A pillar of the community since 1895, The Steeple has been reborn in 2016 as a multi-purpose venue available to the community for celebrations of all types. From galas, to business meetings, to weddings and more, Mobile was “Born to Celebrate� and The Steeple is here for you to do just that! Additionally, beginning in November of 2016, The Steeple is cultivating a one-of-a-kind music experience in downtown Mobile, bringing world-renowned artists to its stage.

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Vanderbilt Room- Capacity 8-10, rich colors and beautiful furniture, round table to accommodate 8 people, rentals start at $75/hour. Ideal for small business meetings, trunk shows, or small, private events.

MOBILE OPERA STAFF

W

FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR D. Scott Wright

elcome and thank you for attending The Devil and Daniel Webster, another first for Mobile Opera. This opera is as American as they come.

American composer, Douglas Moore, published the opera in 1939, based on a short story written

by American, Stephen Vincent Benet, in 1936. The text is full of allusions to characters from America’s founding and trials in becoming a nation. Daniel Webster, twice a Congressman, twice a Senator, twice Secretary of State, looms large in American history as a staunch defender of American unity. In this opera, “the jury from hell” is not a phrase but a reality with historic villains such as the notorious pirate, Blackbeard Teach; Metacomet of “King Phillip’s War” that ravaged New England; Walter Butler, the perpetrator of the Cherry Valley Massacre; Thomas Morton who plagued the Puritans with his hedonistic ways; Simon Girty, “The White Savage”; John Smeet, the first Boston strangler; all presided over by the one unrepentant judge of the Salem witch trials, John Hathorne. When Webster argues that “no American citizen may be forced into the service of a foreign prince”, the devil notes his presence “when Scott Wright (top right) in Mobile Opera’s Rigoletto, 1987 the first wrong was done to the first Indian… when the first slaver put out for the Congo…” and “though I don’t like to boast of it, my name is older in the country than yours.” It is a great American tale set in the 1840s with a great American moral that is still timely: in spite of our mistakes and past wrongs, Americans can rise from the worst to the best of humanity when we understand the value of freedom for all.

MOBILE OPERA STAFF Stacey B. Driskell, Associate Director, Education & Outreach

O

pera is one of the most enjoyable professions I can imagine. That is not to say that there are not days when I think putting out oil well fires would be less stressful. But, overall, I love the opportunity to make art happen and to see its effect on the people with whom I come in contact.

Opera is the ultimate performance expression of the human condition, of what we feel, fear and care deeply about. Storytelling is a part of all of our lives, and there is nothing that beats opera as a way of telling stories that need telling - stories that help us to understand what and who we are.

Combining so many art forms in one makes opera the most expensive and intensively detailed of the performing arts. It also creates a full experience with unparalleled power to move us to exhilarating heights and depths.

Stacey Driskell with Tommy Rowell in Mobile Opera’s La Traviata, 2007

Opera can cross barriers, unite us, make us feel the same emotions, turn strangers into a community. One of the finest aspects of my association with Mobile Opera has been the community that has embraced me; a community of wonderful people whose interest in the performing arts has brought them together from all walks of life. So many of my friends and close associations have come to me as a result of my involvement both on and off of the opera stage.

We at Mobile Opera want everyone to feel welcome to come and try it and see why Mobile Opera is “more than music�.

MOBILE OPERA STAFF Ian Weaver, Ticketing Services Manager

W

elcome back to the Temple Downtown! A lot can happen in a year. A clown killed his lover, a shyster, Schicchi, swindled an entire family out of their inheritance (for a good cause, of course!), and Scott and Stacey managed to keep (most of) their sanity despite working alongside me! I would like to thank all of you, our patrons, for giving us sold out performances during our first year in the new venue. No matter where the opera takes place, as long as you are there to support us, we can call it home.

Last year being my first year on the production side of things gave me several opportunities to meet all of you and fully grasp what Mobile Opera is. I still cannot define it, as it is something that you just have to experience for yourself. Music appeals to all of us. Music allows us to give shape to our inner feelings without having to attach it to the stigma of something tangible. Of course, sometimes, bringing music to life through objects and ideas creates something even more empowering.

I think operatic music incorporates both of these beautiful worlds.

Learn to live in the music and love the silence. My favorite part of a great performance is that half-second of silence before the applause. It is overwhelming at first, but because of its indivisibility, music affects both the heart and the mind simultaneously and I am one of the lucky few that gets to experience this on a professional basis. Thank you for being here, old patrons and new.

Your support means everything to us here at Mobile Opera. To the cast and crew, Scott, Stacey and Ian at the Summer Soiree “in bocca al lupo!�

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

O

n behalf of the board of directors of Mobile Opera, welcome to our first production of the 2016-2017 season. As we celebrate our 71st season, with Mobile Opera’s first production of The Devil and Daniel Webster, I believe that this performance will again demonstrate our continuing commitment to professional operatic productions of the highest quality.

There are so many incredible contributions of time, talent and effort that make this performance possible. The members of our magnificent opera chorus donate their time and talents to the company and the Mobile Opera Costume Guild creates beautiful costumes for many diverse characters. Mobile Opera volunteers provide housing, transportation and backstage hospitality for our artists. It takes a village to raise an opera.

We struggle to hold down our ticket costs and be good stewards of what is contributed to the cause. Your financial support of these efforts is absolutely essential to our continued success.

While the memory of this performance is fresh, please consider being a part of Mobile Opera’s family by making your tax deductible donation today.

Executive Board R. Terry Hartley, President Douglas Whitmore, Vice-President Melissa Safin, Treasurer Leslie Suffich, Secretary Sheryl Bates, Immediate Past President Directors Lynda Carroll, PhD Sorina S. Christian Finn Cox Bruce Earnest Martin Flechsenhar Joe Gerard* Duane A. Graham* Jean Harper Ann Hearin Brigitte Kemnade Michael O. Landers Heather Cook Lawton Laureen Lynn* Charmein Moser Danny K. Patterson

Wade B. Perry, Jr.* John Strope Celia Wallace Darrel Williams Jane Williamson Michael Zoghby

J. B. Horst* Earl G. Jackson* F. Michael Johnson* L. Keville Larson* John N. Leach* Christopher L. Lee* William C. Regan, Jr.* Honorary Directors James T. Robson* Anne Bryant Stephen V. Russell* Beverly Corte* Ronald Snider* Spencer C. Frost, III * Lewis Wilder David Gardberg* Katherine Willson* J. Russsell Goodloe, DMD * Forrest C. Wilson Theodore Greenspan* *Past President John Hafner* Jimmie Hatcher*

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Devil Daniel Webster The

and

Music by Douglas Moore Book by Stephen Vincent Benet First performance by the American Lyric Theatre at the Martin Beck Theatre, New York, May 18-26, 1939.

Conductor: Paul Mauffray* Stage Director: Paul Houghtaling Costumes: Mobile Opera Costume Guild Lighting Design: John Bridges for ShowBiz Lighting Properties Master: Albert “Ski” Lopuhovsky Rehearsal Pianist: Eric Andries Chorus Master: Laura Moore Hair and Makeup: Lisa Davis Production Stage Manager: James Boykin DANIEL WEBSTER.......................................................Timothy Lafontaine MR. SCRATCH.......................................................................Thomas Rowell JABEZ STONE, a New Hampshire farmer..............................James Wright* MARY STONE, his wife............................................................Mollie Adams A FIDDLER.................................................................................Tom Morley* JUSTICE HATHORNE..........................................................William Watts* CLERK/VOICE OF MISER STEVENS.............................Nicholas Szoeke* WALTER BUTLER.........................................................................Paul Wolf* BLACKBEARD TEACH.....................................................Howard McPhail SIMON GIRTY......................................................................Dawson Sellers* KING PHILIP..............................................................................Jason Knapp MEN AND WOMEN OF CROSS CORNERS, NEW HAMPSHIRE and MEMBERS OF THE JURY.............................Mobile Opera Chorus * Mobile Opera Debut By arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner.

SYNOPSIS

T

he Devil and Daniel Webster is set in New Hampshire, in the 1840s. It begins with a country festival - the neighbors of Cross Corners celebrating the marriage of Jabez and Mary Stone. The Stones were always poor, but Jabez has prospered amazingly and they are talking of running him for governor.

Left alone with Mary, Jabez tells how he came to make his hideous bargain. They appeal to Daniel Webster who promises to help them. But the devil - Mr. Scratch - is an excellent lawyer too.

When Webster demands a trial for his client, Scratch summons from the Pit a jury of famous American traitors and renegades Everything goes well at first - Daniel and a hanging judge who presided Webster, the great New England at the Salem witch-trials. It is a hero, appears as a guest, and is given jury of damned souls, and Webster a real New Hampshire welcome. seems about to lose, not only the But there is another guest, too, case, but his own soul’s salvation, and an unexpected one - a Boston when by his powers of oratory, he lawyer named Scratch, who carries finally turns the tables on Scratch a black lost soul, in the form of a and rescues Jabez. The neighbors moth, flies out of the collecting box, rush in to drive the Devil out of panic ensues. The neighbors realize New Hampshire, and the case ends that Jabez Stone has sold his soul to with pie for breakfast, as it should. the devil, denounce him, and flee.

- Stephen Vincent Benet

ARTIST PROFILES

MOLLIE ADAMS, Mary Stone

Mollie Adams is a young soprano gaining a reputation for her “animated stage presence and vivacious and strong soprano voice.” Cultivating a wide-ranging career of singing Opera, oratorio, art song, and chamber music, Ms. Adams has most recently been on the stage with Magnolia Chamber Orchestra, presenting early music works of Handel, Vivaldi, and Bach. Equally at home on the mainstage, she has performed the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Katisha in The Mikado (Mobile Opera) and has premiered the role of Ms. Dara in Dan Shore’s opera, An Embarrassing Position. Ms. Adams holds Performance degrees from Huntingdon College and New England Conservatory of Music.

including The Crucible, The Merry Widow, Tosca, Don Pasquale and La Fanciulla del West. He has a wide range of musical experience in several genres. Over the past few years, he has been the rehearsal pianist for several opera companies, including Des Moines, Amarillo, Omaha, Hidden Valley Ensemble, Shreveport, Mobile, Syracuse, Indianapolis, and the Ashlawn Music Festival. In addition, he is an avid jazz pianist who has worked with Princess Cruise Line as piano player for the showband. He was also the keyboardist/arranger for a local salsa music group that was featured at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. A native of Baton Rouge, he holds degrees from LSU in piano performance and has studied abroad in France and Austria.

PAUL HOUGHTALING, Stage Director

ERIC ANDRIES, Rehearsal Accompanist

Eric Andries, rehearsal accompanist, is pleased to be returning to Mobile Opera where he has accompanied several productions previously,

Bass-baritone and stage director Paul Houghtaling returns to Mobile Opera having appeared previously as stage director and Maximillian in Candide. Additional directing credits include Anchorage Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera, Opera on the James, Natchez Opera, Alaska Dance Theatre, Abilene Philharmonic, and the Tuscaloosa Symphony.

He has performed a wide variety of repertoire throughout the United States including solo appearances at Carnegie Hall (St. Cecilia Chorus under David Randolph), Lincoln Center (“Meet the Artists” and Lincoln Center Festival with the New York Philharmonic), and the Kennedy Center (Waverly Consort), and with the Boston Lyric, Central City, Des Moines, Knoxville, Nashville, Santa Fe,

ARTIST PROFILES Saratoga, and Tacoma Operas, among others.

For his 2012 production of Die Zauberflöte for Hubbard Hall Opera Theatre, the Schenectady, NY Daily Gazette reported “The Magic Flute is a hit. Houghtaling’s creative and imaginative directing came as no surprise. For those who remember him from his 2005 Opera Saratoga performance in The Mikado know that he can make the smallest moment rife with laughter.”

Opera and Opera Ginasio di Portugal and Steno in Opera Orchestra on New York’s Marino Faliero. He is thrilled to be returning to Mobile Opera to perform Daniel Webster in its production of The Devil and Daniel Webster.

PAUL MAUFFRAY, Conductor TIMOTHY LAFONTAINE, Daniel Webster

American baritone, Timothy Lafontaine, recent performances include Alberich in Götterdämmerung with Union Avenue Opera, Candy in Of Mice and Men with the Phonecia Festival of the Voice, Don Magnifico in Opera at Florham’s La Cenerentola, and Dr. Bartolo in Syracuse Opera’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro. Dr. Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia is a frequent favorite role for Mr. Lafontaine with performances in past productions which include Asheville Lyric Opera, Festival Opera de Saint Eustache in Quebec, Lyrique-enmer Festival, Belle Isle, France Naples Opera, the Helena Symphony, Harrisburg Opera and Producao Exmovere Festival of Lisbon.

Additional roles include the title role in Don Pasquale for Mobile Opera and Tony in Di Capo Opera Theater’s The Most Happy Fella, Ping in Puccini’s Turandot for Mobile Opera and Fresno Grand Opera, Rucker Lattimore in Cold Sassy Tree with Amarillo Opera, Gianni Schicchi for Skylight Opera Theater, Rigoletto for Harrisburg

Paul Mauffray began his career as assistant conductor on Janacek operas at the Prague National Theatre, with the Czech Philharmonic, at the Salzburg Festival, and in Vienna. In the past year he conducted a live recording of the recently discovered “Burlesque Opera Tabasco”; conducted a studio recording of excerpts from the opera The Scarlet Letter by Fredric Kroll; and made his Russian debut at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg conducting performances of Dvorak’s Rusalka. Last month, Paul conducted the Mozart Requiem as a benefit for Baton Rouge Symphony chorus and orchestra members effected by the recent floods.

ARTIST PROFILES first time he’ll appear on stage–typecast as a fiddler! Tom’s career as a professional fiddler and violinist spans more than thirty years and multiple genres, from Celtic, bluegrass and classical, to swing, Americana and country honky tonk, earning him a gold album during his Nashville years. Mobile area audiences probably know him best from his Irish fiddling with Celtic/World music band, Mithril, and as a long-time member of Mobile Symphony.

He also travels the country teaching fiddle workshops and camps and has published several well-regarded fiddle method books.

LAURA MOORE, Chorus Master

Laura Moore is Director of Choral Activities at the University of South Alabama. She received her doctorate in Choral Conducting from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a Master’s degree in Piano Performance from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting from UNC Greensboro, and the BA from Davidson College. Dr. Moore is active in church music and musical theater, and enjoys coaching singers and accompanying vocalists and instrumentalists.

She has served as clinician and adjudicator in North Carolina, Mississippi, and Alabama.

As part of the Alabama Ambassadors of Music tour to Europe in 2009 and 2011, Dr. Moore conducted choral concerts in England, France, Switzerland, Austria, and Germany.

TOM MORLEY, A Fiddler

Tom has been a musical contributor to over fifty Mobile Opera productions since 1993 as a pit orchestra violinist. But this is the

THOMAS ROWELL, Mr. Scratch

Tenor, Thomas Rowell, began his affiliation with Mobile Opera as Chorus Master for the 2004 production of The Mikado. Since then, he has appeared in more than twenty five productions with the company, including roles in The Crucible, La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, Tosca, Turandot, La Fanciulla del West, KoKo in The Mikado, Goro in Madama Butterfly, Schmidt in Werther, Edmondo, the Dancing Master, and the Lamplighter in Manon Lescaut, Beppe in Pagliacci and most recently as Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi. This Spring he will appear as Goro in First Coast Opera’s production of Madama Butterfly and as Father Grenville in Pensacola Opera’s production of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, and stage direct Offenbach’s La Vie Parisienne at the University of South Alabama. Rowell also appears regularly with musical arts organizations along the Gulf Coast, including Mobile Symphony, Northwest Florida Symphony, Pensacola Opera, Choral Society of Pensacola,

ARTIST PROFILES Mobile Pops, and Baldwin Pops, and is also the conductor of Bella Voce, Mobile’s premier women’s chorus. He is the Area Coordinator for Vocal Studies and the Director of Opera Theatre at the University of South Alabama.

Grade, and the glory of the handmade papermache crown of feathers his mother so finely crafted. The experience set his course for a life on stage in high school, college, and, for the last 30 years, on the community theater stage in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Favorite roles have included Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (JJP), C S Lewis in Shadowlands (MTG), Stanley in Smoke on the Mountain (MTG), Norman in On Golden Pond (JJP), Salieri in Amadeus (JJP), Malvolio in Twelfth Night (Shakespeare in the Park) and Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (JJP). He is delighted to make his debut with the Mobile Opera.

NICHOLAS SZOEKE, Clerk and Miser Stevens

Tenor, Nicholas Szoeke, a recent graduate of the University of Alabama has performed Sam Kaplan in Street Scene, Henrik Egerman in A Little Night Music and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with the UA Opera Theatre, and was also heard as Sid El Kar in The Desert Song with the Birmingham Music Club. He has been a young artist with Opera Saratoga in New York, Ash Lawn Opera in Virginia, and the Druid City Opera Workshop in Alabama. Nick is thrilled to perform the roles of Miser Stevens and the Clerk in his debut with Mobile Opera.

WILLIAMWATTS,JudgeHathorne William Watts remembers his first role as the Hawaiian King Kamehameha in the 6th

JAMES WRIGHT, Jabez Stone

Described by critics as “tremendous,” “entertaining” and “talented,” baritone, James Wright, is a favorite among audiences for his charismatic presence and warm tone.

Recent operatic roles include Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Malatesta in Don Pasquale and Richard White in the world premiere of Alice Ryley by Michael Ching with Sherrill Milnes, and the Savannah Voice Festival. Other roles include the Sacristan in Puccini’s Tosca, Rev. Gruffydd in Roger Ames’ How Green was My Valley, The Pilot in Portman’s The Little Prince, Papageno in The Magic Flute, John Sorel in The Consul, Valentin in Gounod's Faust, and Schaunard in La Bohéme. He has made appearances with Nickel City Opera, Amarillo Opera, the Savannah Voice Festival, Sarasota Opera, El Paso Opera, Rochester Lyric Opera and the Natchez Festival of Music.

ARTIST PROFILES

JASON KNAPP King Phillip

HOWARD McPHAIL DAWSON SELLERS PAUL WOLF

Blackbeard Teach Simon Girty

Walter Butler

MOBILE OPERA CHORUS

Ken Austin

Joyce Barber

Elizabeth Bemis Brandon Caten Joshua Elmore

QuintenFavorite Monica Ganoe Evan Mazur

David Meredith Lydia Moore

Joseph O’Shea Nathan Shadix Julio Turrens

Audra Weaver MeganZuhowski

MOBILE OPERA CHORUS MASTER Dr. Laura Moore

SUPERNUMERARY Ben Harper

THE MOBILE OPERA ORCHESTRA

IN COOPERATION WITH MOBILE SYMPHONY Violin

Enen Yu, Concert Master Molly Hollingsworth Gosia Leska Bret Heim

Matthew Watts, principal Jim Lichtenberger

Guo-Sheng Huang, principal Jose Sunderland

Bass

Taylor Hollyer

Trumpet

Oboe and English Horn

Trombone

Andra Bohnet

Patricia Malone

Viola

Cello

Flute

Peter Wood

Keith Bohnet

Percussion

Clarinet

Richard Jernigan Bassoon Kimberly Woolly

Matt Greenwood

Stage Technician Ben Harper

Horn

Judy Bartels Sykes

M O BI LE SYM PH O NY O RCH ESTR A THE

Ultimate 2016-2017

SEASON

featuring the best of history’s greatest composers

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Mobile Opera is grateful to the following Ann Marie Crawford Aria Lopuhovsky Barbara Flowers Ben Harper Billy Dunn Charmein Moser Chickasaw Civic Theatre Clinton Doolittle Dauphine Shoeteria David Doolittle Eddie Hawkins Electronics Supply Elizabeth Schmahl Fairhope Supply CO. Ginna and Cliff Inge Graham Driskell Hartley Bros. Manufacturing Alexa Kiss JoAnn McKnight Karen Smith Kevin Lee, Lagniappe Ladies of Sigma Alpha Iota Lawrence Specker, AL.com

Cast Party Provided By

Margaret Martin Mary Parker Antiques Mike Payne, Gwin’s Printing Rebecca Lake Robert Lord Zimlich Sally McKenna Show Biz Lighting Designs The Steeple on St. Francis Suzi Onderdonk The Temple Downtown Theatre 98 Thomas Rowell Zelda Peach

Artist Housing and Transportation André Chiang Joann and Bob Maceluch Sally & David Peasall Wanda & Glenn Sigler Sarah & Scott Wright

CONTRIBUTORS • Corporate and Foundations Impressario Level

$20,000 and above The Laura Lee Patillo Norquist Charitable Foundation

Maestro Circle

$10,000-$19,999 Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama City of Mobile The Daniel Foundation Metcalfe Charitable Trust Mobile County/Mobile Arts Council Sybil H. Smith Foundation

Prima Donna Circle

Sponsor Level

$2,500-$4,999 C.D. Helen & Jeff Glaze Foundation Mobile Gas Shell Oil Company Foundation University of South Alabama

Patron Level

$1,000-$2,499 Mike and Patsy Dow Foundation IBM International Foundation Red or White Wine Turner Supply Company United Way

$5,000-$9,999 Alabama State Council on the Arts Corporate Supporter Gifts under $600 Alabama Power Company Anonymous Anonymous The Community Foundation of . Lawrence and Lawrence The Schumann Music Club South Alabama The Crampton Trust J.L. Bedsole Foundation SSI Group, Inc.

CONTRIBUTORS • Individuals Maestro Circle

$10,000 and above Scott and Sarah Wright

Donizetti Level

$2,500-$4,999 Anonymous Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Bates Ms. Laureen Lynn Mr. and Mrs. Wade B. Perry Mr. James T. Robson Dr. and Mrs. David G. Walsh Mr. Larry Wooley

$300-$599 Dr. and Mrs. Steven Alsip Anonymous Mr. Richard F. Beirne, IV. Dr. Joseph Busta, Jr. Drs. Marion and Lynda Carroll Mrs. Fran Danley Mr. and Mrs. Lowell Friedman Dr. and Mrs. Byron Green Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Grill Mr. Michael O. Landers Mr. and Mrs. Robert Maceluch Mr. and Mrs. David Pearsall Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Pitsios Ms. Melissa Safin Mr. Clayton Ryan Dr. and Mrs. Julio Turrens Ms. Celia Wallace Mr. Doug Whitmore Mr. and Mrs. Forrest Wilson Mr. and Mrs. Michael Zoghby

Puccini Level

Rossini Level

Prima Donna Circle

$5,000-$9,999 Ms. Ann Hearin Mrs. Ivey Williamson Dr. and Mrs. James K.V. Willson

Wagner Level

$1,250-$2,499 Mr. and Mrs. Dan Benton Mr and Mrs. Duane A. Graham Dr. and Mrs. Joerg Kemnade

Verdi Level

$600-$1,249 Anonymous Mr. J. Gregg Buckalew Dr. Lanier Cauley Mr. and Mrs. Finn Cox Mr. Jimmie J. Duet Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Earnest Mr. and Mrs. Spencer C. Frost, III Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Moser Dr. Allen Perkins Dr. and Mrs. Chris Salter Mr. and Mrs. Len Turner

$150-$299 Dr. Julia H. Box Mr. and Mrs. Michael Box Ms. Liz Campbell Mr. and Mrs. Tim Corrigan Stacey and Brian Driskell Dr. and Mrs. Jim Glasser Mr. and Mrs. Marion F. Hartley Mr. and Mrs. Marcus Kennedy Dr. John Kessinger Mr. Terry Mannion Mr and Mrs. Mike Patton Mrs. and Mrs. Albert Reed Mr. and Mrs. Richard Rothenberg Mr. Douglas Sinchak Mr. John R. Wilson, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. James E. Wright

CONTRIBUTORS • Individuals Mozart Level

$100-$149 Mrs. and Mrs. Ray Adams Anonymous Mrs. Frank DeBellis Mrs. Charles G. Drake Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ellis Mr. Lorenzo Franklin Ms. Jean Harper Mr. and Mrs. Charles Hayes Mr. Ralph G. Holberg, III Mr. and Mrs. Brian Naylor Mr. and Mrs. John Day Peake, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John Ruggiero Mr. and Mrs. Steve Russell Dr. and Mrs. Cort B. Schlichting Ms. Laura Anne Shaver Ms. Leslie D. Suffich Mr. and Mrs. William J. Sufich Mr. Ian Weaver Mr. Gran Wilson

In Kind Gifts

AL.com - Press Register Alabama Coast Magazine Alabama Public Radio Clinton Doolittle David Doolittle Dogwood Productions Kangal and Associates Lagniappe Mobile Arts Council Mobile Bay Monthly Mobile Public Library RSVP Volunteers Sally McKenna Smith, Dukes, & Buckalew The Steeple on St. Francis University of Mobile University of South Alabama Wintzell’s Oyster House 92 ZEW

HONORARY AND MEMORIAL GIFTS In Honor of Laureen Lynn

Mr. and Mrs. George K. Chandler

In Honor of Scott & Sarah Wright Ms. Linda Bass

In Memory of Cara Lynn Early

In Memory of Danielle Juzan Ms. Stacey Driskell Mrs. Ivey Williamson Mr. and Mrs. Scott Wright

In Memory of Nicholas Holmes

Ray and Martha Adams

Ms. Stacey Driskell Mrs. Ivey Williamson

In Memory of Scott Chandler

In Memory of Terry Barkins

Mrs. Ivey Williamson

In Memory of Rose Eileen Dooley Mr. Ian Weaver

Mr. Larry Wooley

TOP 10 REASONS TO BE A SEASON SUBSCRIBER 10.

It impresses your neighbors to be a part of the 12th oldest opera company in the nation.

9.

Information about the performances, singers, events, and happenings comes to you as a member of the opera family. You are included!

8.

You don’t have to set reminders, stand in line, or make multiple calls. You are done with one.

7.

It makes it possible to plan the finest quality productions possible.

6. It makes the staff

and the many people who offer their time and talents feel appreciated and supported.

5.

Discounted tickets. A ticket to each show would cost you $115 dollars separately. A season ticket is just $80 – big savings!

4.

You get to pick your seats as much as four months before single ticket purchasers!

3. You get to keep seats that you like as well as first choice of available seating.

2. Being in the same seats from year to year gives you a feeling of you look forward to seeing the nice people around you.

community as

1. A single ticket gets you in to see the show. A season ticket is an investment in Mobile Opera that helps to ensure continued success!

If you bought single tickets, we will make you an upgrade deal: Call Ian at (251) 432-6772 before November 1 and we will credit the amount of your single ticket purchase toward a season ticket. Be part of the family.

Mobile Opera is a member of Opera America.

This program has been made possible in part by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Mobile, the Mobile County Commission, Mobile Arts Council.

Mobile Opera Media Sponsors

MOBILE OPERA HISTORY

M

obile Opera, located on the Gulf Coast of Alabama, is one of the oldest performing arts organizations in the United States, as well as the oldest in the State of Alabama, having been founded in 1945. Its founder, Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser, a concert artist from Czechoslovakia, directed the first two performances in April 1946. As its General Director, Mrs. Tenser continued to lead the company until her death in 1971.

Katherine Willson became the company’s Production Coordinator and General Manager and oversaw the growth of the company through the next twenty-five years.

During the company’s 1995/1996 season, she became the first female President of the Board, celebrating Mobile Opera’s 50th Anniversary Season and her own thirtyfive year involvement with the company. Under Pelham “Pat” Pearce, Mobile Opera maintained its productions’ quality and its innovative programs dedicated to education and community outreach. The development of Mobile Opera as a nationally recognized company continued with the ten-year supervision of Jerome Shannon as General Director. Shannon was succeeded by Earl Jackson who retired in 2011. The company currently operates under the direction of General Director Scott Wright.

In July 2002, Mobile Opera relocated its offices to the Josephine Larkins Music Center, a newly renovated rehearsal and administrative facility located in the designated downtown arts district, which the company shares with the Mobile Symphony. This collaboration between two of the city’s most important performing arts organizations has been instrumental in the revitalization of the downtown area.

With a 2,400-square-foot rehearsal hall, seven private music studios, conference room, catering kitchen, patron ticketing services, landscaped courtyard and administrative offices, the Larkins Music Center is a significant cultural and community asset.

Mobile Opera continues to encourage young American operatic talent.

Artists such Christine Weidinger, Michael Devlin, Susan Quittmeyer, Anthony Laciura, Gran Wilson, Barry McCauley, Stella Zambalis, Linda Zoghby, Amy Johnson, Philip Webb, Andy Anderson, Hal France, and Sylvia McNair are veterans of the Mobile Opera stage who have made appearances with major opera companies and festivals across North America and Europe.

Under General Director, Scott Wright, Mobile Opera continues its commitment to quality productions and education. In addition to main-stage productions, programs of opera excerpts are presented in schools community venues Mobile Opera’s La Traviata, 1966 and throughout the region, establishing the company’s long-standing commitment to arts education in the schools and communities of Alabama and the Gulf Coast. Education and Community Outreach, under the direction of Stacey Driskell, produced “Pigaro’s Diner” beginning in 2009. This award-winning program on child nutrition has been seen by more than 50,000 Alabama school children.

Mobile Opera lives by its motto: More than Expected. More than Imagined. More than Music!

Mobile Opera is excited to announce the 7 Days of Opera, January 8-14, 2017. We want to celebrate all things opera throughout the week by introducing opera into the everyday routines of local residents – at markets, restaurants, street corners, wine bars and more! We will present Opera Moments of your favorite opera music, opera dress up and fun for children, opera trivia and more!! Plan now to celebrate the 7 Days of Opera with Mobile Opera and spread the word!!

For a schedule of events, please visit mobileopera.org or check the Mobile Opera Facebook page.

DATA CAPTURE CONSULTANTS, INC. Merchant Credit Card Processing Specialists

James M. Compton jcompton@datacapture.cc (800) 476-5022 (251) 432-6601 A Registered ISO/MSP of Wells Fargo Bank N.A.

Kangal & associates An Office TechnOlOgy cOnsulTing firm Mobile’s premier IT consulting and outsourcing company for professional organizations 60 North Royal Street Mobile, Alabama 36602 (251) 694-0045 www.kangal.com

Mobile Opera continues its new tradition of costume excellence by the Mobile Opera Costume Guild. These multi-talented stitchers have expertise in a variety of skills that are put to use in creating costumes for Mobile Opera’s productions.

Costumes for this production of The Devil and Daniel Webster were created with the assistance of Marsha LeBoeuf, Costume Director of Washington National Opera, serving as consultant to the MOCG. If you have fabrics and sewing notions that you no longer need, MOCG welcomes your donations - - call Mobile Opera at 251-432-6772 and we will arrange to pick up your items.

Mobile Opera Costume Guild Members: Chair: Sarah Wright Susan Ames Nancy Goodman Michele Hill Michelle Patton Viola Thornton Angie Wilkie

Your ARTFORM in printed goods.

Since 1929, Artcraft Press is producing high quality, award winning, service to the Gulf Coast Region. We produce printed goods from simple business stationery to full color brochures, booklets and business forms. We also offer short run, quick turn-around color digital printing.

Call today for more information on how we can help you with your printed needs.

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Mobile, AL 36607 Email: todd@artcraftpressmobile.com

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