Opera at USC 2018-2019 Program Book

Flair, Beauty, Joy 2018–2019 Season

University of South Carolina School of Music

Photo by Jonathan Sharpe

A Message from the Director On behalf of all of us working with Opera at USC, thank you for coming to the show. We’re happy to be back in Drayton Hall after a hiatus last spring. Maybe you caught what we did at the Koger Center…a little thing to celebrate Leonard Bernstein’s 100 birthday. The School of Music singers, instrumentalists, the USC Dance Company along with folks from across the Midlands came together to present a fully staged version of MASS: A Theatre Piece for Singers, Players and Dancers. In case you missed it, MASS was voted the 2018 Free Times Best of Columbia Theatre production. We’re awfully proud of the work the students did in MASS and hope the memory of working together to share MASS will stay with them a long time.

But, as the old theatre saying goes, you’re only as good as your next project. We’re delighted to share four unique operas with you this season. Be sure to check out the program notes provided by members of our terrific faculty. I’m fairly confident that none of the operas this season have ever been performed in South Carolina and happy that you will get a front row seat to the American premiere of Armida by Judith Weir, the Lanny and Sidney Palmer One Act Series, in the School of Music Recital Hall April 12 and 14, 2019.

Despite the stop and start nature of the 2018 fall semester, our students have been hard at work, honing their skills to share with you the magic of opera. The energy and excitement these young people bring to rehearsal is contagious and I hope you can feel it in the audience right now. It is a great privilege to watch these young singers as they tell stories with music.

In addition to their skills on stage, students participating with Opera at USC gain hands on experience with marketing, publicity, stage managing, fund raising, costumes, make-up, set construction and every other detail that comprises this evening of entertainment. Opera at USC students perform in front of scenery they have helped build and paint. They bring it into the theatre and tear it down at end of the run. And it is magical to watch not only their final product, but also the process.

Every year the price tag gets higher. Long-time patrons of Opera at USC might recognize a costume or prop from past productions. We recycle and reuse! Your ticket price covers only a small portion of the cost of Opera but your attendance is priceless. Being part of the shared experience between performers and audience is a present to us all. We ask that you consider supporting Opera at USC financially as well. I’ll keep saying it – every dollar donated goes directly to support the students, through graduate scholarship support and all the things you see on the stage. And keep coming to see the shows – so you can say you knew these singers when! We hope you will enjoy the show and tell your friends about it.

Ellen Douglas Schlaefer, Director of Opera Studies 2

Opera at USC

OPERA AT USC

2018–2019 SEASON The USC School of

Music has established a national reputation for artistic and scholarly excellence. An acclaimed faculty teach more than 500 undergraduate and graduate music majors, including students specializing in virtually every orchestra and band instrument, voice, piano, organ and guitar.

We prepare musicians for professional careers and leadership in music teaching, performance, composition, research and related fields with more than 20 degree programs.

Contents 2 Message from the Director 4 Season Cast and Crew 8 Cendrillon 12 Amelia al ballo 16 The Cunning Little Vixen 19 Armida

813 Assembly Street Columbia, SC 29208 (803) 777-4280 www.sc.edu/music

20 Design Team and Crew

Opera/Choral Office (803) 777-5369

29 Opera at USC Donors

Dr. Tayloe Harding, Dean, School of Music Ellen Douglas Schlaefer, Director of Opera Studies

21 Bios

30 Upcoming Vocal Events 31 Opera at USC Past Productions Your donations help defray costs of Opera at USC’s programming.

All donations are tax deductible. Please make checks payable to SCHOOL OF MUSIC/Opera at USC or contact Polly Laffitte at 803-777-4337 for additional information.

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Madeline Beitel mezzo-soprano

Avery Dabe bassoon

Cassie Hanson clarinet

Jackson Boatwright clarinet

Alexis Doktor costume designer

Christina Grace Harding soprano

Diana Bodie soprano

Neil Casey conductor

Anthony James Chu baritone

Sally Cummings soprano

Shannon Dolinar mezzo-soprano

Sarah Floyd soprano

Juliana Galletti soprano

Joe Gardner

Catherine Howland soprano

HyunJung Im rehearsal pianist

Evy Johnson soprano

Chloe Madison Johnston soprano

Lynn Kompass vocal coach

Mary Louise Layton soprano

James Lewis baritone

Pai Liu cello

Jean Lomasto costume designer

Christopher Lopez Moore tenor

Anna Belle Lusk soprano

Kalen Mattocks tenor

Caroline Miller soprano

Craig Philip Price bass-baritone

Taeyoung Seon tenor

Melissa Starkweather soprano

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Opera at USC

Manoli Stavrinakis baritone

Madie Willard soprano

Hannah Thompson soprano

Jerryana Williams-Bibiloni mezzo-soprano

Lauren Tomme soprano

Todd J. Turner tenor

Tori Woodcock soprano

Julia Woodward soprano

Diamond Tyler soprano

Amos Warren III tenor

Not pictured: Michael LaRoche, Lisa Smith, Joseph Garner, Kristopher Irmiter, John Dooley, Julie Duro, Danny Harrington

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Cendrillon Pauline Viardot Orchestrated byby Charles Effler

Directed by Ellen Douglas Schlaefer Scenery by Danny Harrington Lighting by Julie Duro Costumes by Alexis Doktor Supertitles by Macie Eighmey Orchestra Parts Provided Scena Music Publishing

Cast

Cendrillon AnnaBelle Lusk

Armelinde Madeline Beitel Maguelonne Julia Woodward La FĂŠe Evy Johnson/ Diamond Tyler La Baron de Pictordu Todd J. Turner Le Prince Charmant Taeyung Seon Le Comte Barigoule Amos Warren III

Ensemble: Anthony James Chu Shannon Dolinar Robert Dooley Evy Johnson Mary Louise Layton Jake Lewis Kalen Mattocks Christopher Lopez Moore Craig Philip Price Manoli Stavrinakis Diamond Tyler Jerryana Williams-Bibiloni Tori Woodcock

Orchestra

Neil Casey, conductor Violin I Tess Hartis, concertmaster Drew Preston Vira Adams Violin II Zoe Screwvala Jesse Kaiser Buddy Fiorillo Viola Calvin Green Jordan Stuckey Cello Pai Liu Rose DaGraca Bass TBD Flute Miguel Hijar M2, V1 Josh Stine M1 Oboe Shelby McMehan M, V

Bassoon Avery Dabe M, V Clarinet Cassandra Hanson M2, V1

Jackson Boatwright M1, V2

Horn Harrison Thornton M2, V

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Graeme Rosner M1

Trumpet Kaleb Hayes M1 Joshua Cooper M2 Trombone Brian Yonn M Timpani Joe Jones M, V Percussion Zack Truesdale M, V M-Menotti V-Viradot

Opera at USC Michelle Ferdinande Pauline Viardot García (1821-1910) was born in Paris, France to a Spanish family of renowned performers and teachers of singing. Her father, Manuel Garcia, taught as well as performed operatically. Her younger brother, Manuel Garcia, followed the path of his father as a pedagogue. Viardot’s mother, Maria Joaquina Sitches, and sister, Maria Malibran, were also well-known opera singers of the time. While studying voice with her parents, the young Pauline entered the piano studio of Franz Liszt, who would greatly influence her compositional output. After the tragic death of her older sister when she was 15, Pauline made

her concert debut in Brussels as the “three-octave mezzo,” singing and accompanying her own compositions. These songs were later joined by 5 operas, 4 choral works, over 100 art songs, and about 15 instrumental works.

In 1840, she married theatre director Louis Viardot and had four children who also grew up to become musicians. She also studied the Russian language with poet and rumored lover Ivan Turgenev, who would later pen librettos for several of her operas until his death in 1883. Viardot wrote both the libretto and score for her final two operas, including her last, Cendrillon (1904).

Cendrillon Synopsis Scene 1: Cendrillon (Cinderella) lives with her stepfather, the ne’er do well Baron du Pictordu and stepsisters Magnelonne and Armelinde. As she goes about her daily chores, she sings of a prince unable to find a suitable wife. A beggar comes to door, in search of food (and money!)

Briefly left alone, the beggar reveals he is actually the prince, in search of a wife who will love him for himself, not for his title or money.

Cendrillon returns, followed by her sisters, who insist the beggar leave the house. The sisters chide Cendrillon for singing but she, in turn, reminds them of all the work she does for them. They are interrupted by another knock. The Prince has returned, this time disguised as his valet, Count Barigoule, to invite the household to a grand festival at the palace. All except Cendrillon, that is.

Baron du Pictordu rebuffs Cendrillon when she calls him “Papa.” Alone, he recounts his time as a greengrocer, a swindler and his time in jail. But life has a funny way and now he is a widower, a Baron… “Vive la France!” The sisters, ready for the ball, tease Cendrillon about not attending. She replies, saying all she wants is to be loved by her family. When

they are gone, Cendrillon dissolves into tears.

La Fée (The Fairy Godmother) arrives and assures Cendrillon she is going to the ball. A pumpkin is turned into a carriage, mice into horses and lizards into footmen. Reminding the girl that she must return by midnight, La Fée drapes a magical cloak (that will become a beautiful gown) over her shoulders and they head to the ball.

Scene 2: Count Barigoule is now disguised as the Prince. As he finishes singing how excited he is to be Prince for a day, the Pictordu family arrives. Barigoule whisks the family away to see his “treasures,” but the real Prince remains, captivated by the stranger who has entered. The crowd is struck by her beauty as the Prince realizes it is the poor girl he saw when disguised and Cendrillon recognizes the charming beggar. After a little dancing, the crowd exits for refreshment. The Prince and Cendrillon are alone to reflect on their instant love. As they kiss, the clock begins to chime midnight. Cendrillon remembers her promise and flees, leaving a slipper behind.

Scene 3: Baron Pictordu recalls the evening’s festivities and wonders why Barigoule (whom he still thinks is the Prince) seems so familiar to him. Barigoule arrives and the mystery 9

University of South Carolina School of Music is solved – they were in love with the same woman long ago. The Count reveals that the Prince is searching the kingdom for the beautiful and mysterious woman who fled the ball, but left behind her slipper. The Prince arrives and the sisters struggle to

make the shoe fit. But of course, it doesn’t.

Finally, Cendrillon tries on the slipper. It fits, the Prince proposes, du Pictordu and his daughters ask for forgiveness and La Fée arrives to wish the couple enduring happiness.

And they live happily ever after.

Cendrillon Notes Born into a prominent musical family of the nineteenth century, Pauline García Viardot (1821-1910) was highly regarded as an opera singer and actress during her lifetime. Her father Manuel García, Sr. was a prominent tenor, her brother Manuel García, Jr. was one of the finest vocal pedagogues of his generation, and her sister Maria Malibran was a highly acclaimed interpreter of Rossini roles until her untimely death at the age of 28. Throughout her long career, Viardot interacted with some of the most important artistic figures of the time, including Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Charles Gounod, George Sand, and the Russian poet Ivan Turgenev. Although she had the potential to become an important concert pianist (Liszt and Chopin were admirers of her talent), her family guided her towards a career in singing. As a mezzo-soprano, she was hailed for her dramatic interpretations and artistry. After a twenty-four-year career singing in Europe and Russia, Viardot retired from the stage to focus on teaching and composition.

Like many other female composers of the nineteenth century, Viardot did not have lofty ambitions as a composer. Much like her contemporaries Clara Schumann and Fanny Mendelssohn, Viardot focused on composing works for the salon or home – in her case, art songs and salon operas which were designed as vehicles for her students.

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Indeed, in the nineteenth century, the composition of songs was more socially acceptable for female composers since they were commonly performed in the home at this time, rather than on the concert stage. Songs were frequently sung for a small gathering of friends invited into someone’s home for an afternoon or evening of musical enjoyment. For Viardot, these events happened on Thursday evenings for a larger crowd and on Sunday afternoons for a smaller gathering of her closest friends.

Given the intimacy of the setting, her salon operas were usually performed with piano accompaniment rather than with orchestra.

Written in 1904, Cendrillon was the last of five salon operas which she composed.

Although the presence of dialogue in the opera and its light, comic tone easily invites the listener in, Cendrillon proves to be a well-crafted work of an experienced and highly-skilled composer. While Viardot’s Cendrillon avoids the presence of elaborate large-scale ensemble numbers and lengthy chorus parts, the chamber opera exudes a charm and elegance in its simplicity and penchant for beautiful melodies. At the heart of the opera is an exquisite love duet sung by Cinderella and Prince Charming, which enchants with its subtle use of harmony and perfect proportions.

Dr. Lynn Kompass

Opera at USC

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Amelia al ballo by Gian Carlo Menotti Directed by Ellen Douglas Schlaefer Scenery by Danny Harrington Lighting by Julie Duro Costumes by Alexis Doktor Supertitles By Mary Louise Layton By arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, Sole Agent in the U.S., Canada and Mexico for Casa Ricordi/Universal Music Publishing Ricordi S.R.L., publisher and copyright owner.

Cast

Orchestra

Amelia’s friend Madeline Beitel

Violin I Tess Hartis, concertmaster Drew Preston Vira Adams

Amelia Chloe Madison Johnston / Melissa Starkweather

Amelia’s Husband John Dooley Amelia’s Lover Christopher Lopez Moore Chief of Police Craig Philip Price

Neil Casey, conductor

Violin II Zoe Screwvala Jesse Kaiser Buddy Fiorillo Viola Calvin Green Jordan Stuckey

The Cook Mary Louise Layton

Cello Pai Liu Rose DaGraca

The Maid Julia Woodward

Bass TBD

Ensemble: Anthony James Chu Shannon Dolinar Robert Dooley Evy Johnson Mary Layton Jake Lewis Anna Belle Lusk Kalen Mattocks Christopher Lopez Moore Manoli Stavrinakis Jerryana Williams-Bibiloni Tori Woodcock Julia Woodward 12

Flute Miguel Hijar M2, V1 Josh Stine M1 Oboe Shelby McMehan M, V Bassoon Avery Dabe M, V Clarinet Cassandra Hanson M2, V1

Jackson Boatwright M1, V2

Horn Harrison Thornton M2, V

Graeme Rosner M1

Trumpet Kaleb Hayes M1 Joshua Cooper M2 Trombone Brian Yonn M Timpani Joe Jones M, V Percussion Zack Truesdale M, V M-Menotti V-Viradot

Opera at USC Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2005) was born in Cadegliano, Italy. He began composing under the tutelage of his mother at the age of 7, completing his first opera, The Death of Pierrot, by the age of 11. He began his classical training in Milan at the Verdi Conservatory, finishing at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia under Rosario Scalero after immigrating to the United States. Before settling into the genre of opera, Menotti composed several ballets, a suite of piano pieces for children, songs, and even libretti for other composers, namely Samuel Barber, his partner. Menotti always

used his own text for most of his operatic compositions, beginning with English and later translating into Italian; one of the exceptions of this is Amelia al Ballo (1936). Many of his compositions are widely performed, especially the Christmas classic Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951). Menotti and his operas have received numerous accolades, including the Pulitzer Prize (The Consul, 1950) and the 1984 Kennedy Center Honor for lifetime achievement in the arts.

He also founded both the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy and the Spoleto USA Festival in Charleston, South Carolina.

Amelia al ballo Synopsis In her apartment in Milan, Amelia and her friend are excitedly preparing for the grand ball. Suddenly, Amelia’s husband bursts in, demanding to know who Amelia’s lover is.

She agrees to tell him but only if he will still accompany her to the ball. He agrees and she reveals her lover as the man who lives upstairs. The husband dashes out the door to shoot him.

Amelia bemoans her tragic predicament: she is going to miss the most fabulous ball of the season. Resigned to a night in, she goes to the balcony to warn her lover of her husband’s wrath and he climbs down a rope to escape into her arms. He urges her to flee with him but is devastated when she refuses. Instead she insists he take her to the ball instead

of her husband. He agrees and hides in an alcove as she finishes preparing to go. Her husband bursts back in and sees the rope, knowing the lover is hidden somewhere in the room. He finds the lover’s hiding place and attempts to kill him but the pistol won’t fire. The three are embroiled in a passionate musical argument over the legal and moral entanglement they are in and Amelia, impatient, breaks a vase over her husband’s head to end the debate. Shouting for help the chorus and Chief of Police show up to help her. Amelia explains that she was preparing for the ball when a burglar broke in and hit her husband with the vase. The lover is taken to jail and the gallant Chief of Police invites Amelia to ball on his arm.

Source: Opera America

Amelia al ballo Notes Amelia al ballo (1937) Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti was convinced his first mature opera, composed at age 23, was going to be a flop. Menotti had just graduated from the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and was spending the summer visiting friends in Vienna when he began the libretto for the one-act opera buffa Amelia al ballo. But opera wasn’t “fashionable” in some circles at

the time; in fact, Menotti’s teacher at Curtis was downright contemptuous of the genre.

Menotti lamented, “Well, I’ll just write this one opera and then I’ll start composing all my symphonies, masses, and motets.” Fortunately for Menotti, and us, things didn’t work out that way; Amelia al ballo became his first major success.

Though he was only 23 when he began drafting Amelia, Menotti was no stranger 13

University of South Carolina School of Music to opera composition. He had already written two before entering the Milan Conservatory at the age of 13. After his studies in Italy, Menotti enrolled in the Curtis Institute in 1928. It was there he developed a close relationship with the American composer and fellow student Samuel Barber. Amelia is an opera buffa, or Italian comic opera, in the 18th-century Neapolitan tradition of entertainments that reflected daily life and everyday characters, both serious and comic. By the nineteenth century, Rossini and Donizetti achieved a standard form and distribution of characters: a prima donna soprano, a light, amorous tenor, a lyric baritone, and a basso buffo for comedic effect. With set numbers akin to those in the opera buffa tradition — duettino, romanza, etc.—connected by recitatives, the continuous music in Amelia is more reminiscent of the late works of Verdi and Puccini than its 18th and 19th century opera buffa forbearers.

The first half of the twentieth century was dominated by modernism, futurism, and the serialism and atonality of the Second Viennese School with the prominence of composers like Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Edgar Varèse, and Igor Stravinsky.

Menotti represents a group of composers like Aaron Copland, Benjamin Britten, Edward Elgar, and Samuel Barber, among others, who eschewed these developments in favor of more tonal, accessible styles which English opera composer Benjamin Britten personally described as “listenableto.” Amelia certainly fits this description.

Menotti’s opera, in keeping with its light libretto, features sparkling and memorable melodies, skillful chamber orchestration, and conservative tonal language with only the slightest hints at dissonance — a far cry from other European works written in the 1930s.

Menotti drew inspiration for Amelia from the Baroness von Montechivsky, a socialite he met while on summer vacation with 14

Barber in Vienna after graduating from Curtis. The aged aristocrat would lie in bed eating cheese, caviar, and champagne while regaling her new young friends with salacious stories and anecdotes from her social life during the twilight of the Hapsburg empire. In the opera, Amelia (soprano) is dressing for a ball when her husband (baritone) storms in, having found a love letter addressed to her from another man. The husband storms out of the room, after which Amelia’s lover (tenor) enters through a window and they sing a duet. The husband returns and, during the ensuing argument and hilarity, Amelia becomes ever more impatient at not going to the ball and breaks a vase over her husband’s head. Blaming the injury on her lover when the police arrive, both her potential dates for the ball, her husband and her lover, go to the hospital and to jail, respectively. With her social priorities in order, Amelia finally gets her wish: the chief of police (bass) takes her to the ball.

A joyful chorus of the gathered crowd closes the opera. While Menotti wrote the one-act opera in Italian originally, it was translated into English by George Meade and premiered as Amelia Goes to the Ball in Philadelphia in 1937, with the Italian version staged in San Remo the following year. Eventually staged at the Metropolitan Opera, Amelia’s success soon led to a commission from NBC for an opera composed specifically for radio, what would eventually become Menotti’s one-act “grand” opera The Old Maid and the Thief (1939).

Above all, Menotti’s compositional style placed the human voice at its center.

He wrote in 1964 that “there is a certain indolence towards the use of the voice today, a tendency to treat the voice instrumentally, as if composers feared that its texture is too expressive, too human.”

Menotti’s style is human and accessible but that didn’t mean he was unaware of modernist compositional techniques. For

Opera at USC instance, he often employed the 12-tone techniques to parody contemporary civilization (and indirectly the avant-garde composer). More often his harmonies were tonal and simple, with light orchestration.

Even his metrical irregularities could not escape a naturalness that was easily grasped by the performer and listener.

Lest we think Menotti is “taking the easy way out” during a time of intense and

often radical musical growing pains, we must remember he invented the genres of opera for radio and television and aspired to compose opera for film. Fusing music and theater with new media in the early 20th century, perhaps Menotti’s most important contribution was creating new audiences for a 400-year-old elite theatrical entertainment.

Dr. Sarah Williams

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The Adventures Of Vixen Sharp Ears; The Cunning Little Vixen Opera in three acts by Leoš Janáček

Directed by Ellen Douglas Schlaefer Scenery by Joe Gardner Lighting by Julie Duro Costumes by Jean Lomasto Reduced version by Jonathan Dove / English translation by Norman Tucker Used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors Company, U.S. and Canadian agent for Universal Edition Vienna, publisher and copyright owner.

Cast Forester Kris Irmiter

Mrs. Páskova Sarah Floyd

The Vixen Juliana Galletti / Lauren Tomme

Pepik Evy Johnson

The Fox Hannah Thompson

Rooster Catherine Howland

Forester’s Wife/Woodpecker Mary Louise Layton

Lapák the dog Caroline Miller

Schoolmaster/Mosquito Christopher Lopez Moore

Owl Christina Grace Harding / Julia Woodard

Bystrouska’s child Madie Willard

Chocholka the Hen Tori Woodcock

Cricket child TBA

Pásek Kalen Mattocks

Frantik Diana Bodie

Badger Jake Lewis

Frog child TBA

Harašta / Priest Craig Philip Price

Grasshopper child TBA

Ensemble: Anthony James Chu Shannon Dolinar Robert Dooley

Jay Sally Cummings Midge child TBA 16

Opera at USC Leoš Janáček (1854-1928) was born in Moravia to a poverty-stricken organist and teacher who ignored his son’s musical talents. One of fourteen children, Leoš was eventually allowed to study at the Prague, Leipzig, and Vienna conservatories to cultivate his musical skill. At the start of his career, he founded a college of organists at Brno in 1881. He then directed the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra until 1888, while collecting folk songs with František Bartoš and publishing a music journal, Hudební Listy. After this period, he

returned to composition, developing a nationalist style using inflections of speech and using the scales of Moravian folk music. The opera Jenůfa (1904) established this style, bringing Janáček worldwide recognition. In his later years, he was a professor of composition at Prague Conservatory.

His works include several operas, orchestral suites, choral compositions, piano sonatas, and chamber music. Janáček also published several writings on music theory, counterpoint, rhythm, chord progressions, and harmony.

The Cunning Little Vixen Synopsis Act 1 On a sunny summer day the forest is abuzz with insects and animals of all kinds. The Forester is leaning against a tree taking a nap when the curious young Vixen chases a frog right into the lap of the sleeping Forester, who upon waking up forcibly takes the Vixen home to serve as a pet to his children. After an orchestral interlude which indicates the passage of time we see the Vixen, now grown up into a young adult tied up in the forester’s yard alongside Lapak the dog.

Frustrated by this life of confinement, the Vixen tries to lead a revolt amongst the other animals.

When this mission goes awry, Vixen chews through her rope, attacks the Cock and kills some of the other chickens. As the Forester rushes to find out what all the commotion is, Vixen jumps over the fence and returns to freedom of the nearby forest.

Act 2 The Priest, the Forester, and the Schoolmaster are at a bar drinking, playing cards, and talking about a shared infatuation with the gypsy girl Terynka.

The drunken Schoolmaster stumbles away from the inn and mistakes a sunflower for a girlfriend.

Everyone becomes startled when the Forester, also on his way home, spots the Vixen and fires his gun, sending her running. Later, the Vixen hears rustling nearby her burrow. As it turns out, the rustling is that of a handsome male fox. The

two soon fall in love and retire to the burrow. An unexpected pregnancy and a forest full of gossipy creatures necessitates their marriage, resulting in a rambunctious dance which ends the act.

Act 3 The poacher Harasta has set out to see Terynka, who he is now engaged to be married. As he and the Forester are walking they come across a dead rabbit, which he presumes to be one of Vixen’s victims. He and the Forester set a fox trap. As the Vixen and her mate play with their cubs they discover the trap. They mock the Forester and Harasta for their incompetence. When Harasta returns, Vixen seeks to outwit him by feigning an injury. As he reaches for his gun Vixen flees to the forest, but gets carried away in her defiance and is shot and killed. At Harasta’s wedding, the Forester sees the Vixen’s fur, which Harasta gave to Terynka as a wedding gift. He flees to the forest to reflect. He returns to the place where he met the Vixen and sits beside the same tree mourning the loss of the Vixen and reflecting on his growing age. As his grief grows, a frog unexpectedly jumps in his lap, the grandson of the frog that woke him in the beginning of the opera. This reminds him of the inevitable circle of life, and brings him great peace.

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The Cunning Little Vixen Notes Leoš Janáček’s opera The Cunning Little Vixen received its first performance on November 6, 1924 at the National Theater in Brno, the historic capital of Moravia in the newly independent nation of Czechoslovakia. Janáček fashioned the libretto for the opera himself from a novel, Liška Bystrouška [Little Vixen Sharp Ears] by Rudolf Těsnohlídek, published as a serial in the Brno newspaper Lidové noviny.

Těsnohlídek’s novel itself was an adaptation of sorts, designed to provide a narrative thread to a series of illustration made by Stanislav Lolek. Thanks to the reputation brought about by the international success of his 1904 opera Jenůfa, Janáček’s opera traveled to Prague in the following year and to Germany in 1927. By the mid-twentieth century, The Cunning Little Vixen was part of the relatively small repertory of twentieth-century operas with enduring popularity.

Although composed well into the twentieth century, Janáček’s opera that presents an idyllic image of a Moravian countryside filled with forest creatures and villagers may seem like a throwback to the nineteenth century. Indeed, the appearance of The Cunning Little Vixen on the European operatic stage coincided with the premières of important works that challenged and expanded the norms of the genre. These included Alban Berg’s expressionist masterpiece Wozzeck (Berlin, 1925), Giacomo Puccini’s final (incomplete) opera Turandot (Milan, 1926), and Ernst Krenek’s jazz-inspired Jonny spielt auf (Leipzig, 1927). Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, filled with scenes depicting moon-lit nights in the forest and afternoons in the sun-drenched meadows, does not impart the suffocating sense of doom that characterizes the works of his contemporaries. Yet there is something strikingly modern and refreshing about the frank and candid way in which the composer depicts the sexual nature of the Act II love duet between the young Vixen and the Fox and the detached and unsentimental way in which he stages the Vixen’s death in Act III. Disturbing too is the proximity between the worlds that the humans and the animals inhabit. The casting directions given by the 18

composer instructs some singers to take on animal and human roles, as if to suggest a somewhat unnerving blurring of the boundaries that separate the two groups. In these and other moments, we realize that The Cunning Little Vixen is too a product of its time.

But perhaps the opera, performed for the first time when Janáček was 70, may also reflect the composer’s personal understanding about the passage of time. In the opera, both animal and human characters find themselves in fond recollections of their past experiences. This starts already in Act I when the young Vixen, tied up in the yard of the Forester’s house, dreams of a time from her innocent childhood.

In the middle portion of Act II that takes place in the village tavern, the Forester teases the Schoolmaster about his old girlfriend.

The Schoolmaster fires back at the Forester reminding him of the Vixen who escaped from captivity. Later that evening, the Priest, who was also at the tavern, is seen thinking about a young woman from an earlier time in his life.

This motif of recollection culminates in the final scene of Act III when the Forester, now in his advanced age, remembers how he and his wife picked mushrooms on the day after their wedding feast. He then falls into a gentle slumber and dreams of the little Vixen. When he reaches out, he catches the Frog instead, who reminds him of his first encounter with the Vixen. The day the Forester caught the Vixen, a Frog has landed on his face. The Frog speaks to the Forester, and, in a surprising bit of magical realism, the Forester understands his words.

The Frog explains that he is the grandson of the frog that had jumped on his face years ago.

Janáček reintroduces music he had presented earlier in Act I, gently nudging us the audience to trace our own memory of having heard and seen a similar episode earlier in the evening.

This moment of reflection seems to bring to the Forester a certain measure of clarity and peace. Four years after the première of the opera, the music from this scene was performed at Janáček’s own funeral.

Dr. Kunio Hara (no relation to the poacher Harašta)

Opera at USC

The Lanny and Sidney Palmer One-Act Series Armida

by Judith Weir North American Premiere By arrangement with G. Schirmer, INC. publisher and copyright owner

Armida Synopsis Set in a warzone which evokes the memories of recent conflicts, Armida is a contemporary love story that follows the passionate development of the relationship between two conflicted characters. Armida, a highpowered television journalist finds herself facing a crisis of conscience serving as a war reporter in her own occupied country. She finds the acquaintance of a soldier, Rinaldo, who is also struggling with his own conflict between love of peace and his sense of duty as a soldier. When Armida and Rinaldo fall in love, she whisks him away in her news helicopter. His fellow soldiers attempt to recover him, but he has lost his appetite for war. In the end, love prevails setting both characters on dramatically different paths together. Rinaldo and his fellow soldiers give up their fighting and instead work to grow flowers and vegetables in the desert, while Armida’s employer Metropolis News gives up reporting of wars instead choosing to specialize in gardening shows.

Judith Weir (1954–) was born into a Scottish family, but grew up near London, England.

She began her musical training as an oboe

player with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain while studying composition with John Tavener. She continued her training at Cambridge University with Robin Holloway before spending a summer at Tanglewood with Gunther Schuller. Weir then decided to teach in England before moving to positions at Scotland’s Glasgow University and RSAMD. While teaching, she began to compose opera, drawing on sources from medieval history as well as the traditional stories and music of Scotland. She has worked as resident composer with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers, and under commission with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, and London Sinfonietta. Weir has received many honors for her compositions, including the Critics’ Circle, South Bank Show, Elise L. Stoeger and Ivor Novello awards, The Lincoln Center’s Stoeger Prize, CBE, The Queen’s Medal for Music, and The Master of The Queen’s Music. She has received honorary doctorates from Aberdeen, Glasgow, Queen’s University, Belfast, and King’s College. Judith Weir now resides in London, England.

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University of South Carolina School of Music

Creative Team and Crew

Special Thanks

Vocal Coach and Musical Preparation: Lynn Kompass Movement: Mimi Worrell Accompanist: Hyun Jung Im Stage Manager: Tyler Eighmey Assistant Stage Managers: Juliana Galletti, Amos Warren Production Manager/Technical Director: Michael LaRoche Set Design: Danny Harrington (Cendrillon, Amelia al Ballo) Set Design: Joseph T. Gardner (The Cunning Little Vixen) Lighting Design: Julie Duro (Cendrillon, Amelia al Ballo, The Cunning Little Vixen) Lighting Design: Michael LaRoche (Armida) Costume Design: Alexis Doktor (Cendrillon, Amelia al Ballo, Armida) Costume Design: Jean Lamosto (The Cunning Little Vixen) Costume Crew: Jessica Bornick, Timothy Boyd Candace Hibbard Lillie, Beth Walker Wigs and Hair: Brenda Lord House Managers: Jordan Harper, Hannah Thompson Supertitle Operator: Macie Eighmey Graduate Assistants: Juliana Galletti, AnnaBelle Lusk, Craig Price, Todd Turner PR Posse: Catherine Howland, AnnaBelle Lusk, Taylor Zentz Opera at USC Photography: S. Andrews Photography Photography Assistant: Kalena Carstetter Scenic Artist: Jamie Harrington Master Electrician: Barry Sparks Master Carpenter: Danny Harrington Carpenters: Abraham Hardy, Barry Sparks, David Stancik, Bill Thomas, Amos Warren Board Operator: Barry Sparks Stage Crew: Abraham Hardy, David Stancik Recording Engineer/AV Wizard: Jeff Francis Front of House Volunteers: Caroline Earp, Laveta Gibson, Lisa and Doug Smith Playbill Design: Ellen Woodoff

Faculty & Staff of the USC School of Music: Tayloe Harding, Dean Caroline Earp Laveta Gibson Traci Hair Mary Peak Lisa Smith Ellen Woodoff Margee Zeigler Andy Mills and the USC Theatre Town Theater Columbia Music Festival & John Whitehead Chocolate Nirvana East Bay Deli The Gourmet Shop The Hair Goddess Dennis and Linda Hiltner Beth Walker S. Andrews Photography Roman Robroek Coal Powered Productions The Geritol Swingers, always Brenda Lord-McGrew Mary Keenan Maxine Monroe The Copy Shop Mike Gibson Kevin Bush Dr. Kunio Hara Dr. Sarah Williams Dr. Lynn Kompass FBN Productions

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Opera at USC

Bios MADELINE BEITEL (Armelinde, Cendrillon), from Charlotte, NC, is a mezzo-soprano and graduate of the University of South Carolina.

While at USC, Madeline studied with Dr. Tina Stallard, and was an Opera at USC Graduate Assistant. Madeline earned her Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from East Carolina University where she studied under Dr. Jami Rhodes. Madeline’s previous credits include as Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Lizzie Borden in Jack Beeson’s Lizzie Borden, in Daphnis et Chloe, and most recently as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. In the summer of 2017 she sang leading roles in two Puccini operas as a featured singer in the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Italy, and this summer, performed as a featured singer for Musiktheater Bavaria in Oberaudorf, Germany. She is currently a student of Victoria Livengood.

DIANA BODIE (Frantik, The Cunning Little Vixen) from Brevard, NC, is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance. She is a student of Rachel Calloway and sings with USC University Chorus. Diana is a member of Opera at USC’s PR Posse. She studied at the Brevard Music Center in the summers of 2016 and 2017.

NEIL CASEY (Conductor) is the assistant director of orchestras at the University of South Carolina, as well as the Music Director of the South Carolina Philharmonic Youth Orchestras.

At USC, he teaches conducting, violin, chamber music, conducts Opera at USC and the USC Campus Orchestra, an ensemble that he created. Previously, Mr. Casey was the assistant conductor of the Augusta (Ga.) Symphony, Conductor of the Armstrong Atlantic Youth Orchestra (Savannah, Ga.), and a faculty member at the Conductors Institute in Columbia and the Opera Master Classes in Charleston, South Carolina as part of Piccolo Spoleto.

An active guest conductor, Maestro Casey has appeared with the former Savannah Symphony, Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Oregon Symphony, Indianapolis Symphony, Knoxville

Symphony, Spokane Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Savannah Sinfonietta, South Carolina Philharmonic, Greater Anderson Music and Arts Consortium Chamber Orchestra, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, Newberry Festival Orchestra, Karelian Philharmonic Orchestra (Petrazovodsk, Russia), Greater Spartanburg Philharmonic, Charleston Symphony, and several national and international tours with the Hollywood Concert Orchestra. For the past few years, Neil has been the conductor for the Columbia Festival Orchestra’s Nutcracker Ballets as well.

Passionate for opera, Neil has appeared with the Augusta Opera and conducted Claflin University’s Celebration of Black Pioneers in the field of opera featuring renowned soprano, Leona Mitchell. In his post as conductor of Opera at USC, Maestro Casey has led performances of over 20 different productions. In January of 2002, he was appointed to the position of Assistant Conductor of the American Music Theatre for a television production of Robert Ward’s Roman Fever. Mr. Casey is also the conductor on several cd’s featuring operas by Robert Bradshaw with the Palmetto Camerata on the Beauport Press Label. During the 2011-2012 season, Maestro Casey made his debut with the Western Plain’s Opera for productions of Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.

Committed to education, this year marks Neil’s fourth season as Music Director/Conductor of the South Carolina Philharmonic Youth Orchestras. Neil earned both his BM in music education and violin performance, and his MM in orchestral conducting from the University of South Carolina, where he was the recipient of the 1997 Van Doren Award (awarded to the Most Outstanding Graduating Senior/Music Ed Track).

ANTHONY JAMES CHU (Ensemble, Amelia al ballo, Cendrillon, and The Cunning Little Vixen) from Columbia, SC, is a freshman pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education.

He is a student of Janet Hopkins and a member of the USC University Chorus. He has performed 21

University of South Carolina School of Music in annual Gospel and Christmas shows, as well as for the West Virginia Governor’s Inauguration Ball all at the Greenbrier Resort.

SALLY CUMMINGS (Jay, The Cunning Little Vixen), from Raleigh, NC, is a sophomore pursing a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance. She is a student of Dr. Serena Hill-LaRoche and a member of USC University Chorus.

ALEXIS DOKTOR (Costume Designer, Amelia al ballo, Cendrillon, and Armida) originally from New York City, holds a degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. While in school she had the pleasure of working under such designers as Oscar de la Renta and Vera Wang. While passionate about fashion design, her career as a professional ballet dancer is what led her into costume design.

She also works for the Columbia City Ballet, as well as local theater companies. Ms. Doktor has designed shows for Opera at USC for the last seven years, including last season’s production of Bernstein’s MASS. SHANNON DOLINAR (Ensemble, Amelia al ballo, Cendrillon, and The Cunning Little Vixen), from Simpsonville, SC, is a senior pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music with Voice Certificate. She is a student of Rachel Calloway.

She has appeared with Opera at USC as Clarina in Rossini’s Il matrimonio di Cambiale.

Previously she was seen as a member of the chorus for productions of Die Zauberflöte and Le Nozze di Figaro at the Estates Theater in Prague, Czech Republic with the Prague Summer Nights Music Festival.

JOHN DOOLEY (Amelia’s Husband, Amelia al ballo) Baritone John Dooley has been praised by the The Wall Street Journal as “a warm, supple baritone.” He is an outstanding crossover singer whose opera talent equals his flair for musical theater.

Highly acclaimed for his work in 20th and 21st century opera, John has appeared in a number of world premieres, including Lysander in Michael Ching’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream: opera 22

acapella with Opera Memphis/Playhouse on the Square (recorded on Albany Records), Johnny in Todd Goodman’s Night of the Living Dead with Microscopic Opera; Ashmodeus in the American premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Tobias and the Angel with Opera Vivente; Noisy/ Straw/Donkey in the touring premiere of Keith Jameson’s Petunia with FBN Productions; Buck George in Richard Maltz’s Bambino as a guest artist with Opera at USC. On the concert stage Mr. Dooley joined the New York Philharmonic for the Emmy Nominated, Live from Lincoln Center production of Carousel and has appeared with Utah Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, Jacksonville Symphony, The Columbia Orchestra, Bay-Atlantic Symphony, Pittsburgh Concert Chorale, Alexandria Symphony, Erie Chamber Orchestra and Wilmington Choral Society.

Other career highlights include performances with Portland Opera, Opera San Antonio, Pittsburgh Opera, Odyssey Opera, Amarillo Opera, Opera Roanoke, Opera Delaware, First Coast Opera, Opera Theater of Connecticut, Ash Lawn Opera Festival, Tulsa Opera, Quisisana Resort, Theater at Monmouth, Pittsburgh CLO & Arizona Broadway Theater.

John resides in the greater Southport area of NC where he is a real estate professional as part of The Dooley Group at Discover NC Homes. He and his wife Shannon are proud parents of their 4-year old daughter Renee and two Russian Blue cats.

ROBERT M. DOOLEY (Ensemble, Amelia al ballo, Cendrillon, and The Cunning Little Vixen), from Lexington, SC, is a community member and a member of the Midlands Men’s Chorus.

He is a student of Jacob Will. He previously appeared with Opera at USC as a Street Singer in Bernstein’s MASS. He was recently seen in The Restoration’s Constance with Trustus Theater.

JULIE DURO (Lighting Designer, The Cunning Little Vixen) Julie Duro’s work in opera includes designs for the Santa Fe Opera, the Connecticut

Opera at USC Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera International, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Illinois, Dayton Opera, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Florida State Opera, and the Green Mountain Opera Festival. She has worked extensively at the Westport County Playhouse where she designed the lighting for The Member of the Wedding directed by Joanne Woodward.

She has also worked with the Paper Mill Playhouse, Walnut Street Theatre and Riverside Theatre. Her work in dance encompasses designs for North Carolina Dance Theatre, the Australian Ballet, Southern Ballet Theatre, Dances Patrelle, and Mark Stuart Dance Theatre. She was the resident lighting designer for the critically acclaimed Ohio Ballet from 1996 to 1999. She also works frequently with Tulsa Ballet and with Pittsburgh Ballet, where her designs can be seen each year in their productions of The Nutcracker.

TYLER EIGHMEY (Stage Manager) from Syracuse, New York, is a recent graduate of the University of South Carolina with a Master of Music in Opera Theatre, with a concentration in directing. Tyler served as assistant director for Opera at USC’s productions of Sunday in the Park with George, Later the Same Evening, and La Finta Giardiniera. His directing credits include The Impresario, La Cambiale di matrimonio, and Le 66. Previous performance credits include The Most Happy Fella (Doctor & Jake), and Bernstein’s MASS (Street Singer). Upcoming engagements include directing The Tsar’s Bride with Bel Cantanti Opera in May of 2019.

SARAH FLOYD (Mrs. Páskova, The Cunning Little Vixen), from Hartsville, SC, is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance. She is a student of Dr. Donald Gray and a member of the Graduate Vocal Ensemble. She has previously been seen as Griolet in Offenbach’s La Fille Du Tambour Major with the Franco-American Vocal Academy, and as Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Joanna in Sweeney Todd at Coker College.

JULIANA GALLETTI (Vixen, The Cunning Little Vixen; Graduate Assistant), from Orlando, FL, is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance. She is a

student of Dr. Serena Hill-LaRoche, an Opera at USC graduate assistant and a member of the Graduate Vocal Ensemble. Previous credits include Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the European Music Academy in the Czech Republic, as well as First Lady in Die Zauberflöte and Sister Genevieve in Suor Angelica with the University of North Florida.

JOE GARDNER (Set Designer, The Cunning Little Vixen) Over 70 professional scenic design credits, including Charlotte Rep: The Elephant Man, The Foreigner, Falsettos, Angels in America (Millenium Approaches and Perestroika), The Tempest, Picasso at the Lapine Agile, The Glass Menagerie; CPCC Summer Theatre: Spamalot, Annie Get Your Gun, Chess, Oklahoma, Showboat; Charlotte Summer Theatre: Beauty and the Beast; NC Shakespeare Festival: Tartuffe; Burning Coal Theatre: Hair. Joe has recently retired from teaching at Davidson College, where he designed and directed regularly for the Theatre Department.

CHRISTINA GRACE HARDING (Owl, The Cunning Little Vixen), from Columbia, SC, is a freshman pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Voice Performance and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She is a student of Dr. Tina Stallard and a member of the USC Concert Choir. She previously appeared with Opera at USC as a Street Singer in Bernstein’s MASS. Other roles include Sarah Brown in Guys and Dolls and Nurse Kelly in Harvey at Spring Valley High School.

DANNY HARRINGTON (Set Designer, Amelia al ballo & Cendrillon) resides in Columbia with his beautiful wife, son James, daughter Molly and two awesome puppies. Danny received his BA from Methodist College in Fayetteville, NC, where he majored in Theatre with an emphasis in production. He later went to UNC-Greensboro where he earned 15 graduate hours in Scenography. He left Greensboro to pursue career opportunities and found himself working on national tours as well as building and designing for Equity Houses and Regional Theatres. Finally, he found a home with Town Theatre. Some of his favorite designs have been 23

University of South Carolina School of Music Proof, Peter Pan, Miss Saigon and The 39 Steps.

CATHERINE HOWLAND (Rooster, The Cunning Little Vixen) from Central, SC, is a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance. She is a student of Dr. Dan Cole and a member of the USC Concert Choir.

Catherine is the 2018/19 chair of the Opera at USC PR Posse, a student led organization promoting all things Opera at USC. HYUN JUNG IM (Rehearsal Pianist) from Seoul, South Korea, is a third-year doctoral candidate pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance. Aside from her own solo recitals as a pianist, she has had many experiences of collaboration with voice, opera, instruments, and modern compositions in both Korea and the United States. Previous credits with Opera at USC include accompanist for Sunday in the Park with George, Later The Same Evening, Bon Appétit!, The Impresario, La Finta Giardiniera, Bernstein MASS, Le 66, and La cambiale di matrimonio.

KRIS IRMITER (Forester, The Cunning Little Vixen) A Grammy Nominated artist who has performed in all 50 states and throughout Canada, Bass-Baritone Kristopher Irmiter is one of the most sought-after low voices in the U.S. He has appeared with San Francisco Opera, Opera de Montreal, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Baltimore Opera, Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Arizona Opera, and Florida Grand Opera among many others.

Among his notable portrayals are Scarpia with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Escamillo with San Francisco Opera, Mephistopheles with Utah Opera, Athanael in Thais with Florida Grand Opera, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with Portland Opera, the title role in Der Fliegende Hollander with Arizona Opera, the Four Villains in Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Opera Lyra, Kurwenal with Florentine Opera, Alidoro with Austin Lyric Opera, and appearances in the lead role of Rucker Lattimore in Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree with Atlanta Opera, Utah Opera, Opera Omaha and Lyric Opera of Kansas City.

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Mr. Irmiter’s 2017/2018 perfomances included Florida Grand Opera as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and company debuts with North Carolina Opera (Stobroad/Blind Man in Cold Mountain) and Opera Theater of Saint Louis (Horace Giddens in Regina) opposite Susan Graham.

Mr. Irmiter made his Houston Grand Opera and Canadian Opera debut with Opera Ontario as Olin Blitch in Susannah. Under the baton of Richard Bonynge he made his Opera Pacific debut as Sulpice in The Daughter of the Regiment. A frequent guest artist with Florentine Opera, his debut there as Schaunard in La Boheme was quickly followed with returns as Matheiu in Andrea Chenier, James Vain in the American Premiere of The Picture Of Dorian Gray, and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly.

Additionally, he has appeared as Oscar Hubbard - Regina with Florida Grand Opera, as Papageno - Die Zauberflote with Baltimore Opera, with Portland Opera as the Secret Police Agent - The Consul, Lodovico in Otello with Atlanta Opera and Escamillo in Carmen with The New Jersey Opera Festival. Early in his career Mr. Irmiter appeared several times with Opera Memphis performing the title role in Gianni Schicchi and the same character in the world premiere of Michael Ching’s sequel, Buoso’s Ghost. He also performed the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro and Leporello in Don Giovanni with this company.

Leporello was the role of his Hawaii Opera debut, his debut at Baltimore Opera was as Zuniga in Carmen and his Atlanta debut was in Madama Butterfly.

Mr. Irmiter’s orchestral engagements have included appearances with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Mississippi Symphony, New Bedford Symphony, Chattanooga Symphony and the Asheville Symphony. He was a two-time Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and winner of the Leonardo da Vince award in San Francisco.

In addition to his accomplished performing credits Mr. Irmiter has a strong and growing reputation as a teacher and mentor to young

Opera at USC singers. He developed the pilot young artist program for The Green Mountain Opera Festival in Vermont and served as the director of that program in its inaugural year. He has presented master classes for the Utah Opera Young Artist Program, the University of Texas, the University of Memphis, Queens University, Portland State University and the University of South Carolina. In his years on faculty with Winthrop University and Catawba College, Mr. Irmiter taught voice and opera workshop and has maintained a private studio for more than 20 years. In 2010 he volunteered to design and oversee the establishment of the Opera Carolina Academy and subsequently served as Academy Director for three years. Mr. Irmiter and his wife reside in the upstate area of South Carolina and are avid fans of the FBS 2016 National Champion Clemson Tigers. We welcome him to Gamecock Country.

EVY JOHNSON (Pepik, The Cunning Little Vixen), from Firesteel, SD, is a second-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Opera Theater. She studies with Rachel Calloway and is a member of the Graduate Vocal Ensemble. Evy has appeared in other Opera at USC productions playing Serpetta in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, and as a Street Singer in Bernstein’s MASS. Previous roles include Mabel in South Dakota State University’s production of Pirates of Penzance, and Cathy in The Last Five Years with the Mitchell Area Community Theater in Mitchell, SD. CHLOE MADISON JOHNSTON (Amelia, Amelia al ballo), from Clover, SC, is a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice.

She is a student of Dr. Tina Stallard and is a member of the USC Concert Choir. She previously appeared with Opera at USC in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera. This past summer she was seen as an ensemble member and featured dancer in productions of Fidelio, HMS Pinafore, and In The Heights with GLOW Lyric Theater in Greenville, SC. LYNN KOMPASS (Musical Preparation and Vocal Coach) has worked as a coach/répétiteur at the Festival de Musique de St-Barthelemy,

Chicago Opera Theater, Aspen Opera Theater, Opera Brasil, and the Varna International Opera Academy in Bulgaria. She has also performed as a collaborative pianist in venues across the country including Weill Recital Hall, the Nicholas Roerich Museum, the Strings in the Mountain Festival in Colorado, Harold Washington Library in Chicago, and the North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. For five summers she was engaged as a pianist for the Steans Vocal Institute in residence at the Ravinia Music Festival. In addition, she has performed and taught master classes in China, South Korea, Thailand, Northeastern Brazil and Europe. She has been on faculty at the University of South Carolina since 2002 and holds graduate degrees from the University of Michigan.

MICHAEL LAROCHE (Production Manager/ Technical Director) A Wilmington, Delaware native, baritone Michael LaRoche has sung in many locales along the east coast as well as internationally. He currently serves as the technical director for Opera at USC. A graduate of the University of Delaware, East Carolina University, and the University of South Carolina, he holds the BM, MM, and DMA degrees in voice performance. Recent engagements include the roles of Herr Frank in Die Fledermaus, Pandolfe in Cendrillon, Fred/Ghost of Christmas Present in Scrooge, Giuseppe in The Light in the Piazza, Editor Webb in Our Town, Coppelius and Lindorf in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Pooh-Bah in The Mikado, Trinculo in The Tempest, Ben in The Telephone, The Vicar in Albert Herring, The Count in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia. In 2002 Dr. LaRoche made his international debut with the Regional Choir of Guadeloupe and the Cuban National Symphony under the baton of Tido Dejan during a 6 concert tour of the French Territorial Island of Guadeloupe. Previously, Dr. LaRoche has created several roles with Opera Delaware, including Out of the Rain and Billy and Zelda. Equally at home on the recital and oratorio stages, he has recently performed Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de Dominica, Moravec’s Songs of Love and War, Howell’s Sir Patrick Spens, Dubois’s Seven Last Words of Christ, Haydn’s The Seasons, Fauré’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Vaughan 25

University of South Carolina School of Music Williams’s Five Mystical Songs, and given recitals in Augusta, Greenville, Columbia, and Hartsville.

MARY LOUISE LAYTON (Cook, Amelia al ballo; Forester’s Wife, The Cunning Little Vixen), from Richlands, NC, is a second-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Opera Theater. She studies with Rachel Calloway and is a Choral Scholar at Washington Street United Methodist Church. She previously appeared with Opera at USC as Fanny in Rossini’s Il matrimonio di Cambiale and as a Street Singer in Bernstein’s MASS. JAMES LEWIS (Ensemble, Amelia al ballo, Cendrillon; Badger, The Cunning Little Vixen), from Florence, SC, is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance.

He is a student of Jacob Will and a member of the USC University Chorus and Shandon United Methodist Church Choir.

JEAN GONZALEZ LOMASTO (Costume Designer, The Cunning Little Vixen) recently designed costumes for the musical, Memphis, at Trustus Theatre. Prior to that she designed Driving Miss Daisy at the Colony Theatre in Burbank, CA, starring Donna Mills. Jean has a BA in Theatre, University of South Carolina and an MFA Costume Design, University of Virginia. She toured internationally with Alvin Ailey as wardrobe supervisor; she was wardrobe supervisor at Julliard School; buyer and special projects construction at Karinska’s, Grace’s, Parson-Meares and other costume shops in NYC. She was assistant to Lyn Carroll under Santo Loquasto on several Woody Allen films. Jean’s design credits include: Dudley William’s final solo (Ailey) NYC City Center, Aramazd’s productions of Picasso’s Women, and Aunt Dan and Lemon in North Hollywood; Marie Antoinette, Peter and the Starcatcher, Appropriate and Boy at Trustus. Opera at USC credits include Sunday in the Park with George and Later the Same Evening.

BRENDA LORD-MCGREW (Hair Coordinator) has been a hair stylist for 44 years. Her hair designs have been published in national and international magazines. She also has been an educator for Redken, a hair cosmetic company 26

for 14 years and works as a stylist at Park Salon and Spa in downtown Columbia. Brenda has been associated with Opera at USC for 9 years.

ANNA BELLE LUSK (Cendrillon, Cendrillon; Ensemble, Amelia al ballo; Graduate Assistant), from Charlotte, NC, is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Opera Theater. She is a student of Dr. Tina Stallard. Previous roles with Opera at USC include Serpetta in La Finta Giardiniera and Berstein’s MASS. Other credits include Christine in Phantom of the Opera and Monica in The Medium at Central Piedmont Community College. She has also studied at the San Miguel Institute of Bel Canto and Bel Canto in Tuscany.

KALEN MATTOCKS (Ensemble, Amelia al ballo, Cendrillon; Pásek, The Cunning Little Vixen), from Columbia, SC, is a sophomore pursuing Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education with a certificate in Vocal Performance. He is a student of Janet Hopkins and a member of Carolina Alive.

CAROLINE MILLER (Lapák the dog, The Cunning Little Vixen), from Hickory, NC, is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance. She is a student of Dr. Serena Hill-LaRoche and a member of the Graduate Vocal Ensemble.

Previous credits include Queen of the Fairies in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, Commere in Stein and Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts, and the ensemble in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, all with ECU Opera Theater.

CHRISTOPHER LOPEZ MOORE (Amelia’s Lover, Amelia al ballo), from Edgefield, SC, is a second-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Opera Theater. He is a student of Dr. Donald Gray and is a member of the USC Concert Choir and the Graduate Vocal Ensemble. Christopher has appeared in other Opera at USC productions playing Frantz in Offenbach’s Le 66 and as a Street Singer Bernstein’s MASS.

Opera at USC CRAIG PHILP PRICE (Chief of Police, Amelia al ballo; Harašta/Priest The Cunning Little Vixen; Graduate Assistant), from Gilbert, SC, is a second-year graduate student pursuing a Doctor of Music Arts degree in Voice Performance. He is a student of Jacob Will and is a member of the Eastminster Presbyterian Church Choir. Craig has appeared in other Opera at USC productions playing Slook in Rossini’s Il matrimonio di Cambiale and as a Street Singer in Bernstein’s MASS. Past roles include Il Surintendant in Massenet’s Cendrillon and Marquis D’Obigny in La Traviata (Central City Opera), as well as Bonze in Madama Butterfly (Kentucky Opera).

TAEYOUNG SEON (Le Prince Charmant, Cendrillon), from Philadelphia, PA, is a first-year graduate student purusing a Doctor of Music Arts degree in Voice performance. He is a student of Dr. Donald Gray and a member of the USC Concert Choir. Previous credits include singing Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Catholic University of America.

BARRY SPARKS (Lighting Designer, Amelia al ballo & Cendrillon), a native of Gaffney, SC. and a graduate of USC, has worked in the theatre industry for 40 years. He has been associated with Opera at USC in varying capacities since 1989, primarily as lighting designer. He was lighting designer/technical director for the Columbia City Ballet for 24 years and has served as lighting designer for Workshop Theatre since 1994, as well as for numerous performing arts groups throughout South Carolina and beyond.

MELISSA STARKWEATHER (Amelia, Amelia al ballo), from Tulsa, OK, is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Opera Theater. She is a student of Dr. Tina Stallard. Previous credits include Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus and Gertrude in Hansel and Gretel with Belmont University Opera.

MANOLI STAVRINAKIS (Ensemble, Amelia al ballo, Cendrillon, and The Cunning Little Vixen), from Charleston, SC, is a freshman pursuing a degree in International Business. He is a student of Thomas Brunson and a member of the USC Concert Choir.

HANNAH THOMPSON (Fox, The Cunning Little Vixen) from Greensboro, NC, is a second-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance. She studies with Dr. Tina Stallard and is a member of the Graduate Vocal Ensemble. Hannah previously appeared with Opera at USC as a Street Singer in Bernstein’s MASS. This past summer Hannah performed the role of Clizia in Handel’s Teseo with the Miami Summer Music Festival.

LAUREN TOMME (Vixen, The Cunning Little Vixen) from Orlando, FL, is a second-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Opera Theater. She studies with Dr. Peter Barton and is a member of the Shandon United Methodist Church Choir. Lauren has appeared in other Opera at USC productions playing Grittly in Offenbach’s Le 66 and as a Street Singer in Bernstein’s MASS. TODD J. “TJ” TURNER (Le Baron, Cendrillon; Graduate Assistant) from Boiling Springs, SC, is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance.

He studies with Jacob Will and is a member of the Graduate Vocal Ensemble and the Shandon United Methodist Church Choir. Previous roles include William Barfée in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Edna Turnblad in Hairspray with Furman University Pauper Players, as well as Sir Joseph in HMS Pinafore with Furman Lyric Theater. He also performed in the chorus for “My Love Letter to Broadway” starring Kristin Chenoweth at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway.

DIAMOND Y. TYLER (La Fée, Cendrillon), from Orangeburg, SC, is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance. She is a student of Dr. Serena HillLaRoche and a member of the Graduate Vocal Ensemble.

AMOS WARREN III (Le Comte Barigoule, Cendrillon), from Beverly Hills, MI, is a 2018 graduate of USC with a Master of Music in Opera Theater. He is a student of Jacob Will and a choral scholar and handbell player at Washington Street United Methodist Church.

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University of South Carolina School of Music He has previously been seen in Opera at USC productions as Eduardo Milfort in Il matrimonio di Cambiale, Il Podestà in La Finta Giardiniera, Mr. Angel in The Impresario, Sheldon Segal in Later the Same Evening, and as a Street Singer in Berstein’s MASS. He has been an Emerging Artist with Opera Grand Rapids and is currently the booking representative for FBN Productions, Inc. Opera for Kids.

MADIE WILLARD (Bystrouska’s child, The Cunning Little Vixen), from Lexington, SC, is a freshman pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance. She is a student of Dr. Serena Hill-LaRoche and a member of the USC University Chorus. Previous credits include The White Witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe at Ben Lippen School.

JERRYANA WILLIAMS-BIBILONI (Ensemble, Amelia al ballo & Cendrillon), from Columbia, SC, is a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance. She is a student of Rachel Calloway and a member of the USC Concert Choir. She recently appeared in West Side Story at Town Theatre.

TORI WOODCOCK (Ensemble, Amelia al ballo & Cendrillon; Chocholka, the Hen, The Cunning Little Vixen), from Fort Myers, FL, is a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Opera Theater. She is a student of Jacob Will. Previous credits include Bastienne in Bastien und Bastienne with the Toihause Theatre in Salzburg, Austria; Giannetta in L’Elisir d’Amore in Verona, Italy; Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with Gulfshore Opera; Cobweb in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Opera Naples; and Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief and Suor Genevieve in Suor Angelica both in Fort Myers, FL. JULIA WOODWARD (Maguelonne, Cendrillon; The Maid, Amelia al ballo; Owl, The Cunning Little Vixen) from Charleston, SC, is a secondyear graduate student pursuing a Master of Music degree in Voice Performance. She studies with Dr. Peter Barton and is a member of the Shandon United Methodist Church Choir. Julia previously appeared with Opera at USC as a 28

Street Singer in Bernstein’s MASS. Other roles include Zerlina in Don Giovanni with the FrancoAmerican Vocal Academy in 2016. This past summer Julia worked as a Festival Intern with Central City Opera in Colorado.

MIMI WORRELL (Movement) began her dance training in Columbia, South Carolina, under dance legend, Ann Brodie. She has studied under the tutelage of such dance luminaries as Leon Daniellian, Valentina Peryaslavic and Patricia Wilde and the School of American Ballet, the official school of New York City Ballet.

She was a principal and soloist with the Columbia City Ballet, and the University of South Carolina Dance Company. She began her professional dance career with South Carolina Ballet Theatre/Ballet Michigan, and has toured extensively throughout the United States. She has served as consultant and adjudicator for the dance program for Artistic, Gifted and Talented in Richland County School District One. She was selected for the Approved Artist and Teacher roster for the South Carolina Arts Commission and has taught and consulted throughout the state under this program. Her original collaboration of children’s ballets with the Columbia Community Concert Band established a definitive direction for the youth division of Carolina Ballet, focusing heavily on a total education program for youth ballet. Dancers trained under her direction are performing in companies throughout the world. She is the curriculum coordinator and Director of Faculty for the Ballet’s Center for Dance Education.

She has taught on faculty at Columbia College and has been Ballet Mistress for Columbia City Ballet.

She is taking the Carolina Ballet Center for Dance Education toward a new level of recognition with certification for teacher training through the American Ballet Theatre’s internationally recognized and acclaimed curriculum program.

Opera at USC

Opera at USC extends a special thank you to our generous contributors for the academic year 2018-2019 Anonymous in memory of Randy Toler Ahmed

Evan McCormack**

Patricio D. Aravena **

Carol Kay McGinnis

Dr. Stephanie A. Beinlich** in memory of Dr. Barry Sharrock Dr. Ann Palmer Benson & Dr. David A. Bankston Elizabeth Tolar Briggs Phillip Bush and Dr. Lynn Kompass

in memory of Dr. Barry Sharrock Dr. Sun-Joo Oh Melanie Rae Piercy** Bianca Raso** Ellen Douglas Schlaefer in memory of Dr. and Mrs. Edward M. Schlaefer, Jr.

John Callison**

Edwin A. Self

Mr. Neil Casey**

Brittany Stone**

Prof. Mary Laury Christie and

David Carl Toulson**

Mr. David B. Vaughan

Dr. Joshua Ryan Wentz**

Rebecca Krynski Cox**

Kristyn D. Winch**

Joshua E. Day**

Mrs. Margaret Demarest-Winch and

Caroline M. Earp Harriott H. Faucette Gerald D. Floyd Catherine Forbes and Pitsch Karrer **

Mr. William Allen Winch Ellen Y. Woodoff and Thomas G. Miller in memory of Harry Woodoff J. Copeland Woodruff**

Mr. and Mrs. Michael O. Gibson Dr. and Mrs. Dick Goodwin

List current as of 10-15-2018

Dr. and Mrs. Donald Gray

** Opera at USC Alumni

The Harding Family Linda and Dennis Hiltner

Opera at USC participates in the matching

Mary and Billy Keenan

gifts programs of the Aetna Foundation,

Mr. and Mrs. George S. King, Jr.

Bank of America and Ernst Young

Patricia Lampton

Foundation.

The LaRoche Family** Janis & Damone Leaphart The Estate of Mr. and Mrs. Stanley V. Lewis

Your donations help defray costs of Opera at USC’s programming. All donations are tax deductible. Please make checks payable to SCHOOL OF MUSIC/Opera at USC or contact Polly Laffitte at (803) 777-4337 for additional information.

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University of South Carolina School of Music

Upcoming Vocal Events at USC NOVEMBER

FEBRUARY

November 2, 7:30 (Drayton Hall) Opera at USC: Amelia al Ballo and Cendrillon

February 2, 7:30 (Recital Hall) Honors Voice Recital

November 3, 7:30 (Drayton Hall) Opera at USC: Amelia al Ballo and Cendrillon November 4, 3:00 (Drayton Hall) Opera at USC: Amelia al Ballo and Cendrillon

February 7, 7:30 USC Concert Choir February 19, 7:30 (TBA) Men’s and Women’s Chorus February 22, 7:30 (Drayton Hall) Opera at USC: The Cunning Little Vixen

November 14, 7:30 (Recital Hall) Carolina Alive Jazz

February 23, 7:30 (Drayton Hall) Opera at USC: The Cunning Little Vixen

November 27, 7:30 (Koger) Symphonic Winds Concert featuring Dr. Tina Stallard

February 24, 3:00 (Drayton Hall) Opera at USC: The Cunning Little Vixen

November 29, 7:30 (Recital Hall) Men’s and Women’s Chorus DECEMBER December 2, 3:00 (Recital Hall) Freeman Sunday Concert featuring Rachel Calloway December 4, 7:30 (Koger) USC Symphony presents Poulenc’s Gloria December 7, 7:30 (Shandon UMC) USC Concert Choir Concert December 7, 4:30 (Recital Hall) Duo Cortona Presents Composers from Gabriela Frank Society December 9, 7:00 (First Presbyterian Church) USC Concert Choir Concert

February 26, 7:30 (TBA) University Chorus Concert APRIL April 12, 7:30 (Recital Hall) Opera at USC Lanny and Sidney Palmer One Act Series: Armida April 14, 3:00 (Recital Hall) Opera at USC Lanny and Sidney Palmer One Act Series: Armida April 16, 7:30 (TBA) Men’s and Women’s Chorus April 17, 7:30 (Recital Hall) Carolina Alive Jazz April 28, 7:30 (TBA) University Chorus Concert

[Get all the details at sc.edu/music] For additional Recitals and Events: sc.edu/music/events 30

Opera at USC

Opera at USC Past Productions 2000/2001

Don Giovanni Gazzaniga Bastien und Basteinne Mozart L’Elisir d’amore Donizetti

2001/2002

Albert Herring Britten Gianni Schicchi/Suor Angelica Puccini

2002/2003

Rape of Lucretia Britten The Consul Menotti

2003/2004

Don Pasquale Donizetti La Bohème Puccini

2004/2005

Trial by Jury Sullivan Monsieur Choufleuri Offenbach Merry Wives of Windsor Nicholai Luisa Fernanda (abridged) Torroba

2005/2006

L’Italiana in Algeri Rossini A Little Night Music Sondheim Evening of One Acts: Bastien & Basteinne Mozart A Hand of Bridge Barber The Face on the Barroom Floor Mollicone

2006/2007

Acis and Galatea Handel Postcard from Morocco Argento Evening of One Acts: Dr. Miracle Bizet L’enfant Prodigue Debussy

2007/2008

Amahl and the Night Visitors Menotti Gianni Schicchi Puccini The Three Penny Opera Weill The Magic Flute Mozart

2008/2009

Les Contes d’Hoffmann Offenbach Our Town Rorem

2009/2010

The Light in the Piazza Guettel Le Nozze di Figaro Mozart Evening of One Acts: Riders to the Sea Vaughan Williams Il Ciarlatano Carissimi

2010/2011

Miss Havisham’s Wedding Night Argento Mr. Scrooge S. Douglas

Cendrillon Massenet Evening of One Acts: La Dolorosa (Abridged) Serrano Goyescas Granados

2011/2012

The Medium Menotti The Old Maid and the Thief Menotti Martha Flotow Evening of One Acts: Pepito Offenbach Rita Donizetti Brundibar Krasa

2012/2013

Don Giovanni Mozart Das Barbecü Luigis/Warrender The Tender Land Copland Bambino Maltz

2013/2014

Candide Bernstein L’Elisir d’amore Donizetti The Second Hurricane Copland Evening of One Acts: Hélène Saint-Saëns Daphnis et Chloé Offenbach

2014/2015

Hänsel und Gretel Humperdinck Cosi fan Tutte Mozart Evening of One Acts: Firebird Motel Conte At the Boar’s Head Holtz

2015/2016

La Périchole Offenbach Il barbiere di Siviglia Rossini Evening of One Acts: Speed Dating Tonight Ching

2016/2017

Sunday in the Park With George Sondheim Later the Same Evening Musto Evening of One Acts: The Impresario Mozart Bon Appétit! Hoiby

2017/2018

La Finta Giardiniera Mozart MASS Bernstein Evening of One Acts: Le 66 Offenbach La Cambiale di Matrimonio Rossini

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The Carolina Opera Experience

Summer Opera Camp for 5th through 10th graders July 8–12, 2019

Props, make-up, costumes, scenery, and musical preparation!

Campers get hands-on experience in the art of opera, and the week ends with a public performance. Kids have fun and make new friends while working with professionals and experiencing the excitement of participating in the performing arts!

Cost: $185.

For more information, call 803-777-5369 or email lsmith@mozart.sc.edu.