Opera Lafayette LIVE...
Dear Friends and Patrons, We did it! We successfully performed Philidor’s Le Maréchal ferrant (The Blacksmith) live in early October during the pandemic. The Blacksmith made its “updated to the early American West” debut outdoors, integrating familiar folk songs and community musicians into a rural residency in southwestern Colorado. We presented three live performances each for 150 audience members socially distanced by bales of hay. The entire ensemble – performing artists, backstage personnel, and staff – quarantined and created a bubble, which allowed all of us to rehearse and perform safely. Director Nick Olcott even staged the production remotely. It was a remarkable experience for all involved, and we look forward to sharing this project with you in multiple ways. In addition to adapting our plans for The Blacksmith, we have created several online series which we hope you will enjoy. Our Sunday Serenades present recitals with some of the wonderful artists who would otherwise have been performing with us live this season. Our Salon Series is a learning program which explores the kinds of music and musicianship which make Opera Lafayette unique. We continue with our Opera starts with Oh! for families and introduce Village Green gatherings in which we discuss topics of special interest to our field. Our 2020/2021 online season began in November, with a recital introducing tenor Jack Swanson to Opera Lafayette audiences; a three-part series entitled A Musical and Historical Journey through Opéra Comique hosted by Julia Doe, Columbia University professor and author; and an online stream of The Blacksmith as performed in southwestern Colorado. To close the season, Opera Lafayette hopes to present both The Blacksmith and Bonsoir Voisin, an urbane romantic comedy about 19th-century apartment life, in the spring as conditions allow. In other words, we will present either live performances in theaters and/or filmed versions brought to you online. We are excited and proud to be able to share Opera Lafayette’s work with you in these new ways, even as we look forward to being in the theater with you as soon as possible. We hope these programs will brighten your year, and we thank you for your interest and support. With warm wishes,
Ryan Brown Artistic Director Cover: Cast of The Blacksmith (© Paul Boyer, Durango, CO) | This page: Ryan Brown (© Tina Buchman)
Jonathan Woody
June Huang
Thomas Dunford
Todd Williams
YOU
Ammiel Bushakevitz and Laetitia Grimaldi
Stephanie Houtzeel
Caitlin Hulcup
Reginald Mobley
...and ONLINE Ammiel Bushakevitz and Laetitia Grimaldi (© Laetitia Grimaldi); Stephanie Houtzeel (© Russell Hirshorn); and Caitlin Hulcup (© Robert Catto)
Sunday Serenades: Recitals from Around the World Join us for three Sunday Serenades – a series of recitals featuring celebrated artists and including repertoire from 17th-century France, Italy, and England. Each recital will be offered on demand with an opening performance at 2:00 p.m. (EST) on the last Sunday in January, February, and March of 2021. The opening festivities will conclude with a gathering in a virtual green room for live interaction between artists and audiences.
CAITLIN HULCUP, THOMAS DUNFORD, AND FRIENDS
Opening: Sunday, January 31, 2021, 2:00 p.m. (EST) On Demand: February 1 – 14, 2021 This program brings together two acclaimed artists familiar to Opera Lafayette: mezzo-soprano Caitlin Hulcup, last heard in the title role of Handel’s Radamisto; and lutenist Thomas Dunford, who most recently was the music director of the company’s 25th anniversary season’s opening performances of John Blow’s Venus and Adonis. These artists will be joined by colleagues in a program devoted to Henry Purcell.
JONATHAN WOODY, REGINALD MOBLEY, AND FRIENDS
Opening: Sunday, February 28, 2021, 2:00 p.m. (EST) On Demand: March 1 – 14, 2021 This program, entitled From Lamentation to Liberation, has been created by bass-baritone Jonathan Woody, last heard with Opera Lafayette in Blow’s Venus and Adonis. It features the company’s first performance of a 21st-century work: Nigra Sum Sed Formosa: A Fantasia on Microaggressions. Composed by Woody with text compiled by countertenor Reginald Mobley, this new work combines a contemporary topic with the aesthetics of an early motet, which the program complements with solos, duets, and ensembles from the 17th-century Italian Caitlin Hulcup (© Robert Catto); Thomas Dunford (© Julien Benham)
repertoire. Performers include Woody and Mobley, along with sopranos Yulia van Doren and Michele Kennedy, tenor Aaron Sheehan, organist Dongsok Shin, and viola da gambist Patricia Neely.
LAETITIA GRIMALDI, STEPHANIE HOUTZEEL, AND FRIENDS
Opening: Sunday, March 28, 2021, 2:00 p.m. (EST) On Demand: March 29 – April 10, 2021 This final serenade reunites soprano Laetitia Grimaldi and mezzo-soprano Stephanie Houtzeel, who respectively performed the roles of Proserpina and Titano in Opera Lafayette’s modern premiere of Jommelli’s Cerere Placata. Recorded in the Great Hall of the Konzerthaus Berlin, this program will showcase the French Baroque and its influence on Romanticism in France. Flutist Charles Brink, a principal player of the Opera Lafayette Orchestra, will make a guest appearance, and pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz will both perform and produce this recital.
$15/recital or a package for $40/all three recitals
The Village Green On occasion we will gather in a virtual village green to address world events and their impact on the arts. Expert panelists and our audiences will converse on such topics as art in the time of COVID and how racial justice issues affect our field. These events are free and will be announced via email. Laetitia Grimaldi (© Laetitia Grimaldi)
Salon Series: Deepening Our Knowledge Our Salon Series is an opportunity for our audience to gather with an inspiring host to learn more about various subjects unique to Opera Lafayette’s vision and to enjoy conversation with the host and with each other. The first of the Salon Series began in November 2020 with Columbia University’s Julia Doe’s sessions on A Musical and Historical Journey through Opéra Comique. The next three series follow every other month. The Salon sessions will be held on Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. (EST). Each series offers three or four sessions. You may attend individual sessions though we encourage participation in each complete series.
OVERTURES
Hosted by Principal Players of Opera Lafayette’s Acclaimed Orchestra Thursdays, January 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. (EST)
Before Opera Lafayette there was The Violins of Lafayette, a chamber ensemble of strings dedicated to exploring 17th- and 18th-century French musical culture. Over a quarter-century later, The Opera Lafayette Orchestra remains the musical foundation of the company. At each session you will meet principal players who will share their favorite overtures, introduce you to their period instruments, and explain the roles they play in bringing Opera Lafayette's repertoire to life. Artists will include Andrew Appel (harpsichord), Charles Brink (flute), John Feeney (bass), June Huang (violin), Anna Marsh (bassoon), Loretta O'Sullivan (cello), Margaret Owens (oboe), Christof Richter (violin), Nina Stern (clarinet), John Theissen (trumpet), and Todd Williams (horn). Ryan Brown with Orchestra (© 2011 Louis Forget)
OPERA AND DANCE
Hosted by Seán Curran, artistic director of The Seán Curran Company and Chairperson of NYU’s Tisch School of Dance with guests Anuradha Nehru, founder and artistic director of Kalanidhi Dance, and Catherine Turocy, founder and artistic director of The New York Baroque Dance Company Thursdays, March 4, 11, 18, and 25, 2021, 5:30 p.m. Dance was an intrinsic element of French baroque opera and has been an essential component to Opera Lafayette's performances. This series will engage with the artistic leadership of three frequent Opera Lafayette partners: Kalanidhi Dance, The New York Modern Baroque Dance Company, and The Seán Curran Company. Each session will reveal the unique dance style of the company and share insights into the collaboration of projects such as Lully's Acis et Galatée, Handel’s Radamisto, and Geminiani's La forêt enchantée. The series will culminate with Ryan Brown hosting a discussion with all three artistic directors discussing the making of Rameau's Les Fêtes de l'Hymen et de l'Amour, ou Les Dieux d'Égypte, which featured all three dance companies.
FROM SCORE TO MODERN PREMIERE
Hosted by Ryan Brown with Charles Brink, Will Crutchfield, and Nizam Kettaneh Thursdays, May 6, 13, and 20, 2021, 5:30 p.m. EST In its 25-year history, Opera Lafayette has built a reputation for returning to the stage operatic works lost to the passage of time. Over the course of the series, Charles Brink will talk about the creation process of his new edition of Jommelli’s Cerere Placata and conducting its modern world premiere for Opera Lafayette in 2018. Musicologist and conductor Will Crutchfield will share his research and composition reimagining Florestan’s lost aria in Beethoven’s Leonore, which Opera Lafayette commissioned and premiered in 2020. You will also learn about the 15-year artistic partnership of Brown and Nizam Kettaneh, musicologist, artistic advisor, and patron. Their dynamic collaboration has resulted in multiple modern premieres and recordings. Each session will shed light on the fascinating process of re-discovering historical works and giving them modern premieres.
Each session $10/session, $25 for a complete 3-session series, $30 for a complete 4-session series.
Opera Performances: Live... Tickets will be available after dates and locations are determined based on safety guidelines for artists and audiences.
LE MARÉCHAL FERRANT (THE BLACKSMITH)
François-André Danican Philidor, composer François-Antoine Quétant, librettist English translation by Nick Olcott Adaptation by Nick Olcott and Ryan Brown This modern premiere of The Blacksmith (1761) marks the first time Opera Lafayette translates an 18thcentury French opéra comique to be sung and spoken in English. Recapturing the humor and immediacy of the original, the company has adapted the story to the late 19th-century American West. Opéra comique originally integrated French vaudeville songs, allowing for audience sing-alongs. Ryan Brown has woven American folk songs from the Alan Lomax Collection, popular during the turn of the 19th century in America, into this adaptation. This production bridges country and city, celebrates rural themes, and invites audience participation by joining in to sing familiar folk songs like “The Old Grey Mare,” “I Ride an Old Paint,” and “Red River Valley.” Nick Olcott, Stage Direction Marsha LeBoeuf, Costume Design Lisa Schlenker, Scenic Design Lisa Mion, Assistant Stage Direction, Props Design Keri Thibodeau, Lighting Design
BONSOIR VOISIN
Ferdinand Poise, composer Léon Lévy and Arthur du Beauplan, librettists Bonsoir Voisin (1853) is a one-act opéra comique, known in France as “un lever de rideau” – a curtain raiser. A young man-about-town comes home to his apartment, disappointed that his overtures have once again been rebuffed by the woman with whom he is in love – The Blacksmith and Bonsoir Voisin Oil Paintings (© Amy Severson)
despite having never seen her face. He rapidly realizes that he has a new neighbor. She has recently moved in to dodge the unrequited flirtations of a secret admirer. This charming opera finds the couple falling in love thanks to a shared door between apartments, his desire for an omelette, and her need of help in putting together her furniture. The day ends with each in their own apartment with anticipation. Bonsoir voisin! (Good evening, neighbor!) Nick Olcott, Stage Direction Patricia Forelle, Costume Design Lisa Mion, Prop Design
Dominique Côté, Charlot Magali Simard-Galdés, Louisette Jeffery Watson, Pianist
...and Online LE MARÉCHAL FERRANT (THE BLACKSMITH) Our 2020/2021 season opened with live performances of The Blacksmith in early October in Mancos, Colorado, which was set and filmed on a ranch in front of an historic barn and blacksmith shop. The production features the return of Dominique Côté, Pascale Beaudin, and Sarah Shafer, and introduces tenors Arnold Livingston Geis and Frank Kelley, and baritone Joshua Conyers. Philidor’s music is arranged for a western band featuring violinist Brown, guitarist Adam Gardino, and bassist Doug Balliett. Local musicians on harmonica, violin, guitar, and banjo join in several of the interpolated American folk songs. "This unique staging and musical treatment got cleverly restyled for the Plains, circa 1900....The audience whooped with delight at the show's bravura finale.” – Opera News "A pleasant evening’s entertainment for the whole family." – OperaGene
Available On Demand $20/device, plus $3 fee Sarah Shafer and Arnold Livingston Geis in The Blacksmith (© Paul Boyer, Durango, CO)
Opera starts with Oh! Online OPERA STARTS WITH OH! ONLINE
Emma Jaster, teaching artist, and Ersian François, Opera Lafayette’s Artist Service and Community Engagement Manager Wednesdays, 1:00 p.m. (EST) and 4:00 p.m. (EST) Called “The best Zoom there is!” by The Washington Post, Opera starts with Oh! Online is a series of livestreamed, educational lessons created by Opera Lafayette to introduce young audiences to the magic of opera! Led by international director, choreographer, and teaching artist Emma Jaster, each session highlights an element of opera like singing, dancing, instruments, or design. Sessions are woven together with a monthly focus on a specific opera story. Opera starts with Oh! Online is perfect for families with children pre-k through elementary ages. After the live sessions each week, you are encouraged to "play on" with activities on- and off-thescreen to keep the children in your life singing, dancing, and creating!
Ersian François (© Opera Lafayette); Children dancing (© Opera Lafayette); Emma Jaster (courtesy of Emma Jaster and Galerie Beaucoup)
Order Access to Opera Lafayette’s Online 2020/2021 Season — Each ticket is per household or device — Serenade Series - Recitals
Individual
Caitlin Hulcup and Thomas Dunford (1/31/2021)
$15
Jonathan Woody, Reginald Mobley, and Friends (2/28/2021)
$15
Laetitia Grimaldi, Stephanie Houtzeel, and Friends (3/28/2021)
$15 $40
Buy All Three Recitals, and Save! Each Session
Salon Series - Virtual Learning
Series
Complete All Salon Series Series
Overtures (January 7, 14, 21, and 28, 2021)
$10
$30
Opera and Dance (March 4, 11, 18, and 25, 2021)
$10
$30
From Score to Modern Premiere (May 6, 13, and 20, 2021)
$10
$25
Buy All Three Series, and Save!
$75
Two Ways to Order: 1. Online @ OperaLafayette.org/overview 2. Phone @ (202) 546-9322, ext. 607; or (212) 634-9388, ext. 607 All on demand videos will be available for purchase online the day following the opening performance.
Every Friday Opera Lafayette emails a musical excerpt to our email subscribers. By knowing we are all listening to the same piece of music, we hope to cultivate a feeling of togetherness during this time of separation. Subscribe to this free service at OperaLafayette.org/newsletter if you don’t already receive our Friday Musical Moment.
Recent Opera Lafayette Highlights 2020 marks an important artistic year for Opera Lafayette. Despite the pandemic, we were able to perform Beethoven’s Leonore – the company’s largest production to date; and present live performances of Philidor’s The Blacksmith, Opera Lafayette’s first adaptation in English and first rural community residency. Both projects were recorded. The Blacksmith is available on demand now, and the Naxos label will release the Leonore DVD in January in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Ludwig van Beethoven.
Opera Lafayette is currently in its third year of a program funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies, which has built our capacity through general operating support and arts management training for the Board and staff. Thanks to the extended support of Bloomberg Philanthropies, we are currently in the midst of a strategic planning process, led by Michael M. Kaiser, international arts leader with a history of tremendous success at the helm of such performing arts organizations as The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Royal Opera House, American Ballet Theatre, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Foundation. At present he is the Chairman of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland. Nathalie Paulin in Beethoven’s Leonore (© 2020 Louis Forget)
Kaiser is guiding Opera Lafayette through the challenges that we, and every arts institution, are facing since the emergence of COVID-19. He is also facilitating a rigorous process that looks to Opera Lafayette’s future vision of becoming the nation’s premier early opera company while remaining rooted in two home cities: New York, and Washington, DC. Using email and Village Green discussions (see page 9), we will update our patrons throughout the season on the updated mission, our goals for programming, governance and philanthropic leadership, operational capacity, and on our engagement as a civic partner in DC and NYC and our active participation in the national arts dialogue. Among Opera Lafayette’s philanthropic leaders are David Frederick and Sophia Lynn, who have offered us a challenge, matching up to $100,000 for three years. New money is matched dollar for dollar. Contributions from new patrons and gifts from lapsed donors count towards the match, as do any increased portion of donations from existing patrons. Thanks to Opera Lafayette’s generous donors, we fully met the challenge during the 2019/2020 season, and we are well on our way to reaching the goal of $100,000 in new money for both this and next seasons. We recognize that everyone has been impacted by this unprecedented moment in history and hope you will kindly consider contributing to Opera Lafayette’s 26th season, and perhaps make a pledge for our 2021/2022 season as well. Together we can nourish the souls of our communities and ensure that Opera Lafayette remains an important part of the performing arts landscape for years to come.
Frank Kelley and Dominique Côté in The Blacksmith (© Paul Boyer, Durango, CO)
Recordings Opera Lafayette has been in partnership with the Naxos label for 15 years. During this time, Naxos has released 14 commercial recordings (12 CDs and 2 DVDs) of Opera Lafayette modern premiere productions. A third DVD of our recent performances of Beethoven’s Leonore will be released in January. During the 2018/2019 season, as an outgrowth of Opera starts with Oh!, Opera Lafayette began publishing illustrated retellings of opera stories. Beautifully illustrated by DC-based artist Amy Severson, the stories are told with families in mind by Kelley Rourke, NY-based writer, librettist, translator, and dramaturg. The book concludes with questions for reflection and discussion that point to issues of contemporary relevance. This media library supports Opera Lafayette’s commitment to introducing early opera to new audiences. Visit OperaLafayette.org/recordings to purchases these items.
ILLUSTRATED RETELLINGS Leonore (2020) Ludwig van Beethoven, composer Joseph Sonnleithner, librettist Same story as Beethoven’s Fidelio and Gaveaux’s Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal Radamisto (2019) George Frideric Handel, composer Nicola Francesco Haym, librettist Based on L’amor tirrannico by Domenico Lalli and after L’amour tyrannique by Georges de Scudery La Susanna (2019) Alessandro Stradella, composer Giovanni Battista Giardini, librettist Based on Susanna and The Elders from The Book of Daniel
DVDs Leonore (2020) Ludwig van Beethoven, composer Joseph Sonnleithner, librettist Cover: Louis Forget Les Fêtes de l’Hymen et de l’Amour, ou Les Dieux d’Égypte (2019) Jean-Philippe Rameau, composer Louis de Cahusac, librettists Cover: Louis Forget Léonore, ou L’Amour conjugal (2018) Pierre Gaveaux, composer Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, librettist Also available on Blu-ray Cover: Pierre-Etienne Bergeron
CDs L’épreuve villageoise (2016) André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, composer Pierre Desforges, librettist Cover: Louis Forget Les Femmes Vengées (2015) François-André Danican Philidor, composer Michel-Jean Sedaine, librettist Cover: Louis Forget Lalla Roukh (2014) Félicien David, composer Michel Carré and Hippolyte Lucas, librettists Cover: Louis Forget Le Roi et le fermier (2013) Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, composer Michel-Jean Sedaine, librettist Cover: Restored 1780 set designs for Le Roi et le fermier Photo by J.M. Manaï Le Magnifique (2012) André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, composer Michel-Jean Sedaine, librettist Cover: The Composer AndréErnest-Modeste Grétry by Jean-Baptiste Stouf (1724-1826) Purchase, Josephine Bay Paul and C. Michael Paul Foundation Inc. Gift and Charles Ulrick and Josephine Bay Foundation Inc. Gift, 1969 (69.77) Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art Sancho Pança (2011) François-André Danican Philidor, composer Antoine-Alexandre-Henri Poinsinet, librettist Cover: Louis Forget
Le Déserteur (2010) Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, composer Michel-Jean Sedaine, librettist Cover: The Deserter Pardoned by George Moreland (1763-1804) (The Holburne Museum of Art, Bath, UK / The Bridgeman Art Library) Zélindor, roi des Sylphes (2009) François Rebel and François Francœur, composers Text by François-Augustin Paradis de Moncrif Cover: Louis Forget The Tragedy of Armide (2008) Jean-Baptiste Lully, composer Philippe Quinault, librettist Rinaldo and Armida by Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641) (Louvre, Paris, France, Lauros / Giraudon / The Bridgeman Art Library) Rameau Operatic Arias (2007) Featuring Jean-Paul Fouchécourt Cover: Carol Rosegg Oedipe à Colone (2006) Antonio Sacchini Cover: Oedipus and Antigone by Johann-Peter Krafft (1780-1856) (The Art Archive / Musée du Louvre Paris / Dagli Orti) Orphée et Euridice (2005) Christoph Willibald Gluck Cover: Orpheus Leading Eurydice from the Underworld, 1861 by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot (1796-1875) (Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, USA / Bridgeman Art Library)
Opera Lafayette 921 Pennsylvania Avenue SE Washington, DC 20003 DC 202.546.9332 NY: 212. 634.9388 OperaLafayette@OperaLafayette.org OperaLafayette.org
An audience for The Blacksmith in Mancos, CO (© Paul Boyer, Durango, CO)