Wolf Trap Opera Summer 2019

PLAN YOUR WOLF TRAP OPERA SUMMER FOR TICKETS, VISIT WOLFTRAP.ORG/OPERA MON

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STEVEN BLIER: 25TH ANNIVERSARY NOI+F PORGY AND BESS CONCERT

STEVEN BLIER: 25TH ANNIVERSARY

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VOCAL COLORS

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THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

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THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

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THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

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ARIADNE AUF NAXOS

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MASTER CLASS WITH LAWRENCE BROWNLEE

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THE STATE SINGERS

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ARIA JUKEBOX

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STUDIO SPOTLIGHT

STUDIO SPOTLIGHT

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THE BARBER OF SEVILLE

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CONTRIBUTORS LEE ANNE MYSLEWSKI

VICE PRESIDENT, OPERA AND CLASSICAL PROGRAMMING

KIM PENSINGER WITMAN

VICE PRESIDENT, OPERA AND CLASSICAL PROGRAMMING (1997–2019)

JOANN LABRECQUE

VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND MARKETING

ERICK HOFFMAN

DIRECTOR, COMMUNICATIONS

SARA SHAFFER ART DIRECTOR

MORGAN BROPHY

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION, OPERA AND CLASSICAL PROGRAMMING

EMILY HUNT

MANAGER, PUBLICATIONS

ANDY KIEL

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN NOI+F L’HEURE ESPAGNOLE

Vista de Sevilla, Anonymous, 1726

TABLE OF CONTENTS WOLF TRAP OPERA 2019

WOLF TRAP FOUNDATION FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS WELCOME...................................................................................................................... 2 THE BARBER OF SEVILLE........................................................................................ 5 THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN...............................................................11 ARIADNE AUF NAXOS..............................................................................................21 FELLOWS: THE NEXT GENERATION OF OPERA EXPERTS.................... 27 LAWRENCE BROWNLEE 2019 FILENE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE................................................................28 25 YEARS OF ART AND WISDOM WITH STEVEN BLIER..........................31 UNTRAPPED................................................................................................................32 ARIA JUKEBOX..........................................................................................................35 ALUMNI..........................................................................................................................36 FILENE ARTISTS........................................................................................................39 FELLOWS......................................................................................................................43 STUDIO ARTISTS...................................................................................................... 44 GUEST ARTISTS, STAFF, APPRENTICES......................................................... 46 ORCHESTRA & CHORUS....................................................................................... 50 OPERA BEYOND THE BARNS...............................................................................51 WITH APPRECIATION.............................................................................................. 52

SPECIAL THANKS TO DAN AND GAYLE D’ANIELLO, WOLF TRAP 2019 SEASON UNDERWRITERS 1

WELCOME Tragedy and comedy play equally significant roles in the history of great operas. This season, I am thrilled that Wolf Trap Opera has chosen to explore the more comical side of opera at the Filene Center. As an Italian-American, Rossini’s beloved comic masterpiece The Barber of Seville is a particular highlight for me. This genre-defining work of opera buffa by “The Italian Mozart” blends witty comedy and skillfully embellished melodies. With a vibrantly colorful production from Houston Grand Opera, this summer’s performance is sure to entertain all ages.

Wolf Trap Opera’s productions at The Barns will shed light on a few lesser-known opera gems, with a double bill entitled The World Turned Upside Down. Gluck’s light-hearted parody, Merlin’s Island, brings a balance to the program with a taste of opéra comique that offers a playful interpretation of the evening’s theme. Taking a more dramatic turn, Ullmann’s The Emperor of Atlantis rounds out the night with a haunting piece of political satire completed in the ghetto of Terezín. Also at The Barns, Strauss’ divinely comical and deeply enchanting Ariadne auf Naxos combines slapstick comedy and gorgeous music in a competition between “high” and “low” art, an aesthetic ever-present in our own society.

As we look forward to another marvelous summer season, I remain deeply grateful for the continued generosity and devotion of our donors and patrons which enables

DAN D’ANIELLO

Chairman Wolf Trap Foundation Board of Directors

Wolf Trap Opera to maintain its commitment to artistic quality and brilliance. Thank you.

Welcome to Wolf Trap Opera’s 2019 season. This year brought a change to the program’s leadership with the retirement of our longtime Vice President of Opera and Classical Programming, Kim Pensinger Witman. Though it was a distinct privilege to work alongside Kim, I am delighted to welcome in a new era of Wolf Trap Opera leadership with Lee Anne Myslewski at the helm. Many of you know Lee Anne from her tenure as Director of Artistic Administration with Wolf Trap Opera over the past 12 seasons. I can think of no one more qualified to take on this mantle.

While our productions at the Filene Center and at The Barns remain the cornerstones of Wolf Trap Opera, I’m excited this season brings a third year of expansion of partnerships with local organizations through UNTRAPPED. I’m particularly elated that our partnership with the National Orchestral Institute + Festival allows us to produce a semi-staged production of Ravel’s one-act comedy L’heure espagnole.

We will also welcome back Lawrence Brownlee as our 2019 Filene Artist in Residence.

Lawrence is a former Filene Artist (2001) and one of the world’s leading tenors. Since his summer with Wolf Trap Opera, he has appeared on the stages of the most prestigious companies around the world, including The Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, and The Vienna State Opera. This remarkable artist returns not only to mentor our young Filene and Studio Artists, but also to host a free public master class in July, which I encourage everyone to attend.

Each year Wolf Trap Opera celebrates the passion of opera by cultivating the next generation of outstanding young artists. Thanks to support from our patrons, donors, housing hosts, and volunteers, this unbelievably talented group of singers will surely make the 2019 season unforgettable.

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ARVIND MANOCHA President & CEO Wolf Trap Foundation

Most of us run from the manifestation of chaos in our daily lives. We make lists, we declutter our living spaces, and we find systems to make us more efficient. Chaos and disruption are to be avoided at all costs; and so we take the fastest commute to work, adhere to a schedule, and make nice with the grumpy colleague or the overly friendly cashier. Sometimes, though, the very systems that streamline our daily lives provide a structure that keeps us from making real change. Embracing chaos or living through disruption can provide us with new insights, new viewpoints, and a different perspective.

It’s a coincidence, but perhaps by divine intervention, that the theme of chaos is shared by all of the operas this summer. From the slapstick coupling of Almaviva and Rosina in Rossini’s comic masterwork The Barber of Seville, to the time-crunched casts in Ariadne auf Naxos, and the scheduling disaster that fouls Concepcion’s plans in L’heure espagnole, to the most overt take on the theme in the double bill of Merlin’s Island and The Emperor of Atlantis; each asks us to reconsider the world order, the usual way of doing things. The stakes in these pieces seem high, and maintaining the status quo becomes untenable.

This theme is mirrored even in the genesis of this year’s season. This summer, you’ll witness the first entirely co-created Wolf Trap Opera season that my predecessor and

LEE ANNE MYSLEWSKI Vice President Opera and Classical Programming

friend, Kim Pensinger Witman, designed with me before she publicly announced her retirement. After working side-by-side for 12 years, Kim and I developed a close friendship and shared aesthetics and, while the time certainly felt chaotic, neither of us realized its manifestation into the repertoire. But it seems timely, not only on a personal or professional level, but on a macro level that as a society we’re thinking about worlds being turned upside down, norms being questioned, and challenges to the status quo.

As has become the Wolf Trap Opera norm, we delight in the unique talents of the young artists that grace our stages each summer. We will rail against chaos in our summer programming to revel in our strong roster of artists and inspired productions. At the Filene Center, we welcome the National Symphony Orchestra with music director Gianandrea Noseda, who will make his Wolf Trap debut. We also continue our commitment to UNTRAPPED with concerts and performances in partnership with the National Orchestral Institute + Festival and The Phillips Collection.

As you stop by this summer to watch some of opera’s top rising stars share their remarkable talents on stage, I hope you’ll join us in finding insight and new perspectives through this season’s chaotic, yet extraordinary, productions.

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WOLF TRAP FOUNDATION BOARD OF DIRECTORS MRS. MELANIA TRUMP, Honorary Chair MR. DANIEL A. D’ANIELLO, Chairman MR. ARVIND MANOCHA, President and CEO MRS. HILLARY D. BALTIMORE, Vice Chair and Secretary Mr. Raj Ananthanpillai Mr. C.E. Andrews Ms. Patrice K. Brickman Ms. Teresa Carlson Mr. Bruce L. Caswell Mr. Enrico A. Della Corna Ms. Lynn R. Dillon Mrs. Jean Edelman Mr. Vincent L. Ferraro Ms. Virginia McGehee Friend Mrs. Margaret Gupta Mr. Kenneth R. Hayduk Mrs. Janet Hill

Mr. Donald Irwin IV Mr. Richard Jeanneret Mr. Broderick D. Johnson Ms. Lesley A. Kalan The Hon. Dirk Kempthorne Ms. Alka M. Kesavan Mr. John E. King Ms. Anne R. Kline Mr. Matthew Korn Ms. Nancy J. Laben Mr. David H. Langstaff Ms. Jennifer M. Lowe Mr. Mark C. Lowham Dr. Gary D. Mather Mrs. Terri McClements Mr. Ryan A. Miller Ms. Ramona Mockoviak Dr. Mark G. Mykityshyn Mr. Patrick S. Pacious Mr. Charles L. Prow Mr. James C. Reagan Mr. Kevin Robbins

Mr. Dion Rudnicki Mr. Srikant Sastry Mrs. Danielle O. Saunders Ms. Anu Saxena Mr. Fredrick Schaufeld Mr. Julian M. Setian Mr. Robert G. Van Hoecke Mr. John B. Veihmeyer Mr. John B. Wood

OTHER OFFICERS MS. BETH BRUMMEL, Chief Operating Officer MR. STEPHEN D. KAHN, General Counsel

PRESIDENT EMERITUS Mr. Terrence D. Jones

DIRECTOR EMERITUS The Hon. Norman Y. Mineta

FOUNDER Mrs. Jouett Shouse (1896–1994)

FORMER CHAIRS OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS Mr. Edward R. Carr (1969)

Mr. Edward B. Crosland (1980–81)

Mr. K. David Boyer, Jr. (1998–99)

Mr. I. Lee Potter (1970)

The Hon. Robert Keith Gray (1982–83)

Mr. Thomas W. Hoog (2000–01)

Dr. Elizabeth May (1971)

Mr. William F. Bolger (1984–85)

Dr. Edward H. Bersoff (2002–03)

Mr. C.R. Smith (1972)

Dr. John L. McLucas (1986–87)

Mr. John C. Backus, Jr. (2004–05)

The Honorable Melvin R. Laird (1973–74)

Mr. Earle C. Williams (1988–89)

Mr. Walter M. Oliver (2006–07)

The Hon. Najeeb E. Halaby (1990–91)

Mr. J. William Middendorf, II (1975–76)

Mrs. James M. Beggs (1992–93)

Mr. Gerald L. Kohlenberger (2008–09)

Mr. David A. Berenson (1994–95)

Mr. Gary H. Tabach (2010–11)

Mr. Stuart C. Johnson (1996–97)

Mr. John C. Lee IV (2012–13)

Miss Barbara M. Watson (1977) Mr. Douglas R. Smith (1978–79)

WOLF TRAP ASSOCIATES BOARD MRS. PAMELA NORTHAM, Honorary Chair MR. RYAN A. MILLER, Chairman MRS. KAREN CLEVELAND, Vice Chair and Secretary

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Mrs. Jennie Bishof Mr. Enrico C. Cecchi Mr. Jon D. Craver Mr. Steven Day Ms. Christina Gadrinab Mr. Jeffrey R. Houle Mrs. Carolyn E. Howell Mr. Loren B. Hudziak

Mr. George Lowden Mr. Tim Meyers Ms. Katherine Newland Mr. Ian Northrop Ms. Margaret D. Parker Mr. Michael Polmar Mrs. Patricia Reed Mr. Jonathan Shames Ms. S. Whitney Zatzkin

Spanish Woman on Balcony, Georges Clairin

THE OF

BARBER SEVILLE

MUSIC BY GIOACHINO ROSSINI LIBRETTO BY CESARE STERBINI ZEDDA CRITICAL EDITION FRI, AUGUST 9 AT 8:15 PM FILENE CENTER SPECIAL THANKS TO VIRGINIA MCGEHEE FRIEND, PERFORMANCE SPONSOR THE BARBER OF SEVILLE IS A CO-PRODUCTION OF HOUSTON GRAND OPERA ASSOCIATION, CANADIAN OPERA COMPANY, OPÉRA NATIONAL DE BORDEAUX, AND OPERA AUSTRALIA.

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THE STORY ACT I Seville. Count Almaviva, disguised as a poor student named Lindoro, comes to the house of Doctor Bartolo and serenades Rosina, who is Bartolo’s ward. Figaro arrives to the scene and promises to help Almaviva secure Rosina’s hand, and when Rosina appears on the balcony with a note stating her desire to escape, Figaro hatches a plan: Almaviva should gain entry into Bartolo’s house on the pretext of being a soldier billeted there.

Inside, Rosina reflects on “Lindoro’s” enchanting voice and resolves to meet him. Bartolo enters with the music master Don Basilio, who warns him about Almaviva. Wasting no time, Bartolo decides to marry his ward, but Figaro overhears him and informs Rosina, while promising to deliver a message from her to Lindoro. Bartolo suspects that Rosina has written a letter, but Rosina protests her innocence.

Almaviva, now disguised as a soldier, arrives and reveals himself to Rosina as her secret admirer. Bartolo, annoyed at the “soldier’s” drunken behavior, claims exemption from billeting orders and has the police take him into custody. Almaviva reveals his true identity to the Sergeant and is released, much to the surprise of everyone (besides Figaro).

ACT II Almaviva enters the house, this time disguised as Don Alonso, a music teacher substituting for a supposedly sick Basilio. When Bartolo becomes suspicious, “Alonso” gains his trust by telling him that he has intercepted a note from Almaviva to Rosina. He offers to sow doubt in Rosina’s mind by telling her that the note was given to him by another woman, to prove that Lindoro is toying with Rosina on Almaviva’s behalf. Bartolo, now reassured, allows Alonso to stay and fetches Rosina for her lesson. Rosina recognizes Alonso as Lindoro, but Figaro arrives to provide a useful distraction by giving Bartolo a shave. Suddenly, Basilio arrives looking perfectly healthy; Almaviva bribes him to feign illness and rushes him out of the house. Figaro distracts Bartolo while the lovers make their plans to elope, however Bartolo overhears them and flies into a rage.

Learning that Alonso is a fraud, the doctor sends Basilio to fetch a notary so he can marry Rosina that very evening. He then shows Rosina her letter to Lindoro, as proof that he is in league with Almaviva. Heartbroken, Rosina agrees to marry Bartolo and reveals the escape plan. When Figaro and Almaviva arrive via the balcony, she unleashes her anger upon them. Almaviva finally reveals his true identity to Rosina and she is delighted. As they prepare to escape, they realize they are trapped. Basilio enters with the notary, but is bribed and threatened to be witness to the marriage of Rosina and Almaviva. Bartolo finally appears, but is too late to intervene.

Young love has won the day.

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Storm scene from The Barber of Seville, Alexandre-Évariste Fragonard, 1830

CAST IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE Fiorello Count Almaviva Figaro Rosina Bartolo Basilio Berta Officer Servants & Soldiers

Justin Burgess* Christopher Bozeka Johnathan McCullough Taylor Raven Calvin Griffin Patrick Guetti Niru Liu Jeremy Harr Wolf Trap Opera Chorus *Studio Artist

CREATIVE TEAM Conductor Production Stage Director Associate Director, Choreographer Original Scenic & Costume Design Original Lighting Designer Revival Lighting Designer Wig & Makeup Designer Chorusmaster

Lidiya Yankovskaya Joan Font Xevi Dorca Joan Guillén Albert Faura Mark Stanley Anne Nesmith Jeremy Frank

MUSIC & PRODUCTION STAFF Cover Conductor Musical Preparation

Itailian Coach Assistant Director Production Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Supertitle Coordinator

Jeremy Frank Justina Lee Jeremy Frank Robert Bosworth Nicoló Sbuelz KT Shorb Rachel Henneberry Jordan Braun Madeline Levy Joel Ayau

SUNG IN ITALIAN WITH PROJECTED ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS RUNNING TIME: 2 HOURS 45 MINUTES INCLUDING ONE INTERMISSION PRE-PERFORMANCE DISCUSSION ON THE FARMHOUSE LAWN AT 7:15 PM

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 FIRST PERFORMED AT THE TEATRO ARGENTINA IN ROME ON FEBRUARY 20, 1816

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A BARBER OF SEVILLE IN THE OPEN AIR Translated by Stephanie van Reigersberg

One day in the spring, I answered the phone to hear a voice out of the blue telling me a tale and proposing an adventure. That voice from miles away invited me to experience something new. It offered a challenge to remount my (our) version of Gioachino Rossini’s The Barber of Seville in an unconventional space, open and in nature. It was the chance to restage one of Rossini’s well-known opera buffas at Wolf Trap National Park near Washington, D.C. I was thrilled—I’ve always loved surprises, those sudden changes with no advance notice, and creating big events in open spaces.

In my long career as a director, I’ve worked in several outdoor spaces— unique enormous venues like Battery Park in New York, the Navy Pier in Chicago, outside the Sydney Opera House, in London’s Battersea Park, and in Gaudí’s Parc Güell in Barcelona—but usually with shows conceived and created specifically for those big spaces. Never before had I been asked to direct an existing opera in such a large outdoor space. I was drawn to the idea from the outset because it involves a paradigm shift.

An opera from the early 19th century presents very specific and concrete requirements for projecting voices and the sound of the orchestra.

I don’t think Rossini and librettist Cesare Sterbini could have imagined The Barber of Seville would be shown two centuries later to thousands of people watching in a natural outdoor setting.

What was so attractive about this idea was that making this dream come to life requires bringing together two seemingly opposing worlds—the original concept of the lyrical song and today’s tech world. To transform this Renaissance genre into a new audio and visual format, we have to alter what is natural in opera—the orchestra with its nuanced sound as well as the voices of the soloists and the chorus—so the audience can experience it as cleanly as possible. This brings us closer to the language of our present-day musicals, but still working with a mise-en-scène of the Greek comedies and tragedies that are more than 20 centuries old. To solve this, I have chosen to merge the universe of musical theater, with all of its technological advances, with the world of the lyric.

As we bring this opera to Wolf Trap, we will use technology to amplify sound and lights, while also highlighting the original staging with actions, situations, and gestures that reframe the stage—harkening back to children’s puppet theater, as though the singers and actors are wearing masks of the ancient Greek theater or commedia dell’arte works performed in a village square.

Bringing these moments of opera to such a large audience is a great responsibility and a privilege afforded to few, but the outcome is tremendously important. My hope is to succeed in sharing a bit of passion, surprise, fun, poetry, and play all in one unforgettable performance. Bon appetit to this Rossini tasting, where the usual ingredients of music, story, characters, sets, lights, and choreography make for a savory live artistic work.

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Joan Font, director

M. Dazin Court, Rôle de Figaro dans le Barbier de Séville, Charles, 1786

WELCOME TO OUR WORLD JAMES BYRNE Wolf Trap Opera’s 2019 production of The Barber of Seville originated at Houston Grand Opera in 2011. In anticipation of the first performance, Houston Grand Opera spoke with the production’s creative team to learn more about their humorous approach.

Most opera fans develop a passion for the art form because of the beautiful music, dramatic stories, and the wondrous power of the human voice. It is the production, however, that brings all of these elements together for a complete experience in the theater.

There are as many production styles as there are creative teams: the spectrum includes everything from literal, period productions to Regietheater, the German term for “director’s theater” (not to be confused with “Euro-trash”).

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While a singer is charged with interpreting music in a

understand the world in which the opera’s story will be

way that is appropriate to the character and the style

told. He doesn’t like to distract his audiences with excess

of the piece, it is up to the director, designers, and

material purely for the sake of spectacle; everything

choreographers to conceptualize the world they inhabit

onstage is designed holistically to serve a function in

and create a visual representation of it. Sometimes that

the opera, down to the subtlest detail.

may mean reinterpreting operas that have been staged innumerable times—some of which are centuries old.

Or not so subtle, as is the case with the giant hot pink piano in The Barber of Seville—truly operatic in size, but

That has been the case with Rossini’s The Barber of Seville

also functional as a desk in Act I and a gondola during

by Els Comediants—a Barcelona-based creative team

Rosina’s Act II aria. The oversized instrument was a

founded by Joan Font in 1971. Although Els Comediants

playground for the singers, and their ensuing antics

began as a theater group, their creative energy has been

incited the audience to break out into real laughter—not

infused into projects of various scales, ranging from

the muffled variety one typically hears at the opera.

…EVERY DESIGN ELEMENT ON S TA G E M U S T S E R V E A P U R P O S E street festivals to the 1992 Olympic Games. In 2011, Els

This type of functionality is a signature of Guillén’s style,

Comediants charmed audiences with their imaginative

which he attributes to his early study of theater direction.

production of The Barber of Seville for Houston Grand

As every note of music must convey special meaning,

Opera, directed by Font and designed by long-time

every design element on stage must serve a purpose.

collaborator Joan Guillén.

While Guillén’s geometrical aesthetic is in part influenced

Els Comediants made their opera debut in 1999, mounting a new production of The Magic Flute for Barcelona’s Theater Victoria that had been commissioned by Gran Teatre del Liceu. Font explained that his collective was approached to stage opera because of the group’s vivid imagination and their impactful, sentimental, and emotional direction—qualities required of any opera. The

by the paintings of Pablo Picasso, his economical and versatile designs are heavily inspired by the German Bauhaus movement. Describing the early phase of his creative process, Guillén used the metaphor of combining all of his influences and ideas into a juicer and blending them into one cohesive look—getting the creative juices flowing, so to speak.

Barber of Seville exemplifies the group’s uniform, angular

As we cheer rousing orchestral playing and virtuosic

look that creates dreamlike, naive, and even magical

singing led by an impassioned conductor, let us not

worlds. The artistic process is ever evolving, and during

forget the creative team that welcomed us into their

the early rehearsal period of the opera, the team buzzes

world, a realm in which we experience the heightened

around the room like children on a jungle gym. Through

emotions that opera evokes. Such emotions are

this prism of innocence and unbridled imagination, their

crystallized when Almaviva and Rosina are married in

language infuses Rossini’s work with explosive joy and

the finale of The Barber of Seville.

passion from beginning to end.

Excerpted from an article that appeared in Houston

The creative language of Els Comediants is very much

Grand Opera’s magazine Opera Cues, fall 2012. Used with

a product of the entire team, but it is expressed in large

permission of Houston Grand Opera and the author.

part through the designer. Guillén has been a scenic and costume designer for over 40 years, and recently finished his tenure as a professor at the Theater Institute’s School of Dramatic Art in Barcelona. Forget conventional period sets and costumes—Guillén’s designs pop with geometrical, linear, and boldly colorful elements.

The warm-hearted Spaniard with a handlebar moustache describes how he employs clean designs with little ornamentation in order to help the audience immediately

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James Byrne, a Chicago-based arts administrator, currently works in development at The Joffrey Ballet and has previously served in various capacities in marketing and artistic administration at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Music Academy of the West, Houston Grand Opera, and the New York Philharmonic.

The Dance, Hubert Robert

THE

WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN A DOU BLE BILL

MERLIN’S ISLAND MUSIC BY CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK LIBRETTO BY LOUIS ANSEASUME BASED ON LESAGE AND D’ORNEVAL’S VAUDEVILLE COMEDY LE MONDE RENVERSÉ

THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS MUSIC BY VIKTOR ULLMANN LIBRETTO BY PETER KIEN NEW PRODUCTIONS SAT, JUNE 22 AT 7:30 PM WED, JUNE 26 AT 7:30 PM FRI, JUNE 28 AT 7:30 PM SUN, JUNE 30 AT 3:00 PM THE BARNS AT WOLF TRAP SPECIAL THANKS TO ED AND ANDY SMITH, PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

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MERLIN’S ISLAND CAST IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE Pierrot Scapin Argentine Diamantine Hippocratine Merlin Hanif Zerbin Prud’homme

Ben Edquist Daniel Noyola Shannon Jennings Niru Liu Megan Esther Grey Conor McDonald Bradley Bickhardt* Justin Burgess* Wilford Kelly* *Studio Artist

THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS CAST IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE Loudspeaker Harlekin Death Drummer Emperor Overall Soldier Girl with the Bobbed Hair

Daniel Noyola Joshua Blue Anthony Robin Schneider Megan Esther Grey Ben Edquist Victor Cardamone* Shannon Jennings *Studio Artist

CREATIVE TEAM Conductor Director Choreographer Scenic Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Wig & Makeup Designer

Geoffrey McDonald Richard Gammon Elizabeth Coker Julia Noulin-Mérat Jonathan Knipscher Robert H. Grimes Anne Nesmith

MUSIC & PRODUCTION STAFF Cover Conductor Musical Preparation

French Coach Assistant Director Production Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Supertitle Coordinator

Andrew Crooks Andrew Crooks James Maverick Jocelyn Dueck KT Shorb Madeline Levy Savannah Valigura Thomas Morris

PRE-SHOW TALK AT THE BARNS BEGINS ONE HOUR BEFORE CURTAIN TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 2 HOURS 30 MINUTES MERLIN’S ISLAND: 1 HOUR 15 MINUTES INTERMISSION THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS: 55 MINUTES

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Atlantis, Manfred Beck Arnstein, 1990

MERLIN’S ISLAND THE STORY Pierrot and Scapin have been shipwrecked on the desert island of the magician Merlin, where they are happy to discover a table covered with sumptuous dishes! They wish only for the company of charming women to make their lives complete, and they are rewarded by the appearance of Merlin’s nieces Argentine and Diamantine.

As they flirt with the women, Pierrot and Scapin learn that on this island, fickle men are immediately thrown in prison. This is the first inkling that things here are quite different from what they are accustomed to. In this surprising society, wealth is an undesirable quality; therefore, the nieces are particularly charmed to have found indigent suitors.

The men are visited by a series of citizens from this upsidedown world. A philosopher explains that all wisdom is found in laughter, there are no criminals, court cases are decided on the basis of common sense, and all businesses are honest. A member of the judiciary explains that court costs are borne by the lawyers themselves and that lovers never quarrel. A physician tells them that medicine follows the rules of nature, and a knight reports that love on the island always leads to lifelong faithfulness.

Argentine and Diamantine return, anxiously reporting that Pierrot and Scapin have rivals who want to challenge them to a duel for their hands. Fortunately, the laws of Merlin’s Island prohibit violence, so they agree to a roll of dice to determine which men shall win. Pierrot and Scapin lose, but Merlin intervenes, transforming them into men worthy of his nieces, and uniting them in marriage.

SUNG IN FRENCH WITH PROJECTED ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS

BY ARRANGEMENT WITH BOOSEY & HAWKES, INC., PUBLISHER AND COPYRIGHT OWNER WOLF TRAP OPERA PREMIERE FIRST PERFORMED AT THE SCHÖNBRUNN PALACE IN VIENNA ON OCTOBER 3, 1758

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THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS THE STORY The Loudspeaker sets the scene by introducing the characters of the play: Emperor Overall, who has shut himself away in his palace; the Drummer, who is not quite real, like a radio; the Loudspeaker, who is more often heard than seen; a Soldier and the Girl with the Bobbed Hair; Death, a veteran soldier; and Harlekin, who laughs in spite of his tears.

Harlekin describes this world—in which the living no longer laugh, the dying no longer die, and life and death have lost their meaning. Everything is upside-down and nothing follows the rules of society as we know them.

Death laments the current lack of respect for his power. Once upon a time, soldiers dressed in military finery to meet him on the battlefield. Now, the Emperor’s tanks make a mockery of him.

The Drummer delivers a mandate from the Emperor: a declaration of a war to end all wars, with no survivors. Men, women, and children will all carry weapons in this war, and Death will lead the way. But Death is outraged, for it is his job—not the Emperor’s—to take men’s lives. He breaks his sword, declaring himself on strike.

As the Emperor monitors the war from his office, he begins to understand Death’s scheme. People cannot die. He tries to prevent panic, telling his subjects that once they are liberated from the tyranny of Death they will have eternal life.

Two soldiers—one male, one female—oppose one another on the battlefield. They are natural enemies, but when Death cannot separate them, love consumes them.

The Drummer tries in vain to urge them back into battle.

Because of Death’s refusal, there is a total collapse of society as the people rebel against being caught in limbo between life and death. The Emperor is reminded of memories from his childhood, and they give him pause. Death regrets the suffering he has caused, and he is prepared to make peace if the Emperor will agree to be the first to succumb to the new death.

The Emperor agrees, humanity is restored, and Death returns to the suffering people, who sing, “Come, Death, our honored guest. Descend into our hearts. Lift life’s burdens from us, and lead us to rest, our sorrow’s ending.”

SUNG IN GERMAN WITH PROJECTED ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS

BY ARRANGEMENT WITH EUROPEAN AMERICAN MUSIC DISTRIBUTORS COMPANY, SOLE U.S. AND CANADIAN AGENT FOR SCHOTT MUSIC GMBH & CO. KG, MAINZ, GERMANY, PUBLISHER AND COPYRIGHT OWNER WOLF TRAP OPERA PREMIERE FIRST PERFORMED IN AMSTERDAM BY THE NETHERLANDS OPERA ON DECEMBER 16, 1975

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HONORING LIFE AND DEATH THROUGH THE REFLECTION OF ART Nothing is as it seems: the stuff of legends, fairy tales, and nightmares.

Sometimes artists are witness to worlds full of prosperity, riches, and chocolate éclairs—joyful couples, safe and secure with their ample bank accounts, surrounded by springtime beauty, wanting to dance all night.

But equally as often, they are witness to worlds full of fear, chaos, and death—angry dictators, abandoned and lashing out, making declarations of war.

Gluck’s 1758 L’île de Merlin (Merlin’s Island) is a one-act opéra comique and social criticism of contemporary society. Gluck presents two sailors stranded on a desert island. Through several encounters with the native inhabitants, they discover that what is considered standard behavior in their society is quite the opposite on this island. Here fidelity, honesty, and peace are the norm.

Conversely, Ullmann’s one-act opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis, oder Die Todverweigerung (The Emperor of Atlantis, or Death’s Refusal) is a social commentary composed in the Czech ghetto Terezín (Theresienstadt).

Written in 1943, it did not premiere until 1975. When the Nazis read in this opera about an emperor declaring a war where there are to be no survivors, they found the dark parody hitting too close to home. The piece was banned and many involved with its creation were deported to Auschwitz.

In times of plenty, I imagine it may be easy for artists to create. Who censors a reflection of a prosperous society? But I wonder what sort of art expresses a fractured world. What can be created when efforts are made to extinguish voices? When the artist’s hours are occupied not with creation or expression, but with selling their faith and dignity for one more day? For another day that brings them closer to what?

Recently, a friend reminded me that I once said, “I see death in everything. Every piece of art is about death.” Upon reflection, I propose what I really meant is that I see either death or the lack of death in every piece of art. And now, sometimes, I choose to see life.

Tonight we honor life by remembering death.

The World Upside Down.

Richard Gammon, director

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Christoph Willibald Gluck, Joseph Duplessis, 1775

GLUCK AND THE COMIC OPERA DR. THOMAS HAUSCHKA Gluck’s L’île de Merlin explores the social conditions and injustices of its day, holding them up to the mirror of parody and satire: things that are properly ordered in the upside-down world, we are plainly led to believe, are out of joint in the real world. Between 1758 and 1764, Christoph Willibald Gluck created a number of opéras comiques for the Vienna stage that proved equally significant to his artistic career and to the evolution of a genre firmly committed to realism, parody, and social critique. Gluck was the only composer in the German-speaking countries to compete in this genre with his Parisian colleagues, who numbered scarcely half a dozen. Eventually it would become the prototype of German comic opera.

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Opéra comique emerged from the vaudeville comedy of

to be a philosopher who far outshines his narrow-minded

Paris’ suburban theaters, and thus from a largely unwritten

French colleagues. He explains that there are no villains on

and partly improvised genre traditionally performed on

the island: court cases are tried on the basis of common

fairground stages. Originally, it made use of French folk

sense, notaries are honest and upright, and merchants

songs and ditties, generally referred to as airs, ariettes,

are fair dealers. The physician Hippocratine espouses the

or vaudevilles, but in the 1750s, these pieces gradually

teachings of nature, and Chevalier de Catonville reports

gave way to new compositions—airs nouveaux—in which

that love on this island means lifelong fidelity.

dialogues by seasoned librettists were introduced into well-constructed plots. The works that the Italian theater director Count Giacomo Durazzo and French librettist Charles-Simon Favart imported to Vienna had to be adapted to suit local conditions and dialect passages with allusions to Parisian affairs, unknown in Vienna, expunged.

Gluck, having already been involved in the adaption of several opéras comiques, presented his first original work in this genre, La fausse esclave, at the Burg Theater on January 8, 1758. In the same year he created L’île de Merlin ou Le monde renversé, a work conceived on a much broader scale, and the first to include vocal ensemble numbers.

Gluck’s L’île de Merlin is his first opéra comique to open with a musical storm sinfonia, a device that subsequently found many imitators. Gluck later reused the sinfonia as an introduction to his opera Iphigénie en Tauride, an indication that he held it in especially high esteem.

The sinfonia and the likewise bipartite penultimate number heralding Merlin’s arrival (No. 23) are the only purely instrumental items. In the 12 loosely constructed burlesque scenes, situational comedy takes precedence over consistency of plot or delineation of character.

Especially effective is the juxtaposition of mythological figures (Merlin, nymphs), realistic characters (notary,

… A W I D E A R R AY O F M U S I C A L FORMS, RANGING FROM VA U D E V I L L E T I N G E S A N D TRADITIONAL DA CAPO ARIAS TO SHORT ENSEMBLE NUMBERS. L’île de Merlin owes its origins to the vaudeville comedy

philosopher, bon vivant), and figures drawn from the

Le monde renversé. Composed by Jean Gilliers, Le monde

commedia dell’arte (Pierrot, Scapin). In keeping with these

renversé premiered at Paris’ Saint Laurent Fair in 1718.

contrasting character types, Gluck reveals a consummate

Gluck became acquainted with the text in a revised

mastery of a wide array of musical forms, ranging from

French version of 1753 by Louis Anseaume. The

vaudeville tinges and traditional da capo arias to short

libretto was probably recommended to Gluck by Count

ensemble numbers. Following conventions of the day,

Durazzo, or perhaps by Favart, who may have also been

the performance did not end with the concluding chorus

responsible for several changes and the choice of title,

(No. 24); the final stage instruction refers to a concluding

L’île de Merlin ou Le monde renversé. Gluck’s one-act

dance. In all likelihood the ballet music belonging to the

opera, consisting of 24 musical numbers, premiered

L’île de Merlin is preserved in the former Schwarzenberg

at Schönbrunn Palace on October 3, 1758 during the

Archive in Cesky Krumlov, where it bears the title Le

preliminary festivities for the name-day of Emperor Franz I.

monde renversé, containing 11 numbers, and probably

In L’île de Merlin, the spectator is transported to the

stems from Gluck himself.

desert island of the sorcerer Merlin, where Pierrot and Scapin have been shipwrecked. Argentine and Diamantine, both nieces of Merlin, explain to the two survivors that, on this island, unfaithful men are thrown into prison. Gradually the two heroes meet other denizens of this upside-down world. An elegant cavalier turns out

Dr. Thomas Hauschka is a professor of piano at Mozarteum University in Austria, as well as a composer and classical music critic. Affiliations include the International Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg and publishing houses Schott Verlag and Bärenreiter. Hauschka authored the introductory preface to Gluck’s L’île de Merlin.

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Isle of the Dead, Third version, Arnold Böcklin, 1883

THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS, OR DEATH’S REFUSAL PAULA KENNEDY There are few more poignant episodes in the history of cultural endeavor than the story of the intense creative activity which took place at the concentration camp of Terezín (Theresienstadt) from 1941 to 1945. This small garrison town in north Bohemia was selected by the Nazis in 1941 to function as both a transit camp for the “processing” of Jews from Central Europe (many of whom soon resumed their journeys to Auschwitz and the gas chambers), and also as a “model ghetto” to deflect attention from the reality of the Final Solution.

In a (partially successful) attempt to deceive the outside world, the Nazis allowed the Jews of Terezín a measure of self-government and even encouraged them to organize cultural events in the camp.

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When the composer Viktor Ullmann was transported

the composer. Rehearsals were held over the summer of

to Terezín in September of 1942, he found an already

1944; the work was almost ready for performance when

flourishing concert life and plenty of opportunities for

(according to the testimony of some survivors) an SS

putting his talents to good use. Ullmann was soon enlisted

delegation turned up at one of the final rehearsals

by the Freizeitgestaltung (Administration of Leisure

and found the Hitler-likeness of the Emperor too close

Activities) to act as the camp’s official music critic, and

for comfort, and so, Der Kaiser von Atlantis never

the relatively light duties this imposed on him meant

reached the stage in Terezín. The relative freedom

that for perhaps the first time in his life he was able to

enjoyed by Ullmann and his fellow musicians was brutally

concentrate on composing.

terminated—following a cynically stage-managed visit

Even more than the other composers incarcerated in Terezín (of whom Pavel Haas, Hans Krása, and Gideon Klein were the most prominent), Ullmann found that camp life liberated him from the mundane pressures of everyday living and at the same time gave an added urgency to

by the International Committee of the Red Cross on June 23, 1944, the “model ghetto” was deemed to have outlived its usefulness, and on October 16 nearly all the composers and artists in the camp were sent to their deaths in Auschwitz.

his artistic expression. Taking his motto from Goethe

The concert audience in Terezín was an extremely

(“Live within the moment, live in eternity”), in his diary he

sophisticated and musically educated one (not

stressed the imperishability of the human spirit and the

surprisingly, as it consisted mainly of former members of

regenerative role of art within the appalling conditions of

the cultural elites of Prague, Brno, and Vienna), and both

U L L M A N N F O U N D T H AT C A M P L I F E L I B E R AT E D H I M F R O M THE MUNDANE PRESSURES OF E V E R Y D AY L I V I N G A N D AT T H E S A M E T I M E G AV E A N A D D E D URGENCY TO HIS ARTISTIC EXPRESSION. the ghetto, writing, “By no means did we sit weeping on

Kien and Ullmann must have been confident that most of

the banks of the waters of Babylon…our endeavor with

the allusions contained in Der Kaiser von Atlantis would

respect to art was commensurate with our will to live.” In

have found their mark. Although it was never performed

marked contrast with Ullmann’s sporadic output of the

in the conditions for which it was intended, subsequent

previous two decades, during the two years he spent at

performances have shown that this opera’s significance

Terezín he produced a number of major works, including

transcends the narrow confines of the ghetto, and that it

three piano sonatas, a string quartet, song cycles, and the

still has the power to move audiences in our own day. It is

opera Der Kaiser von Atlantis—his masterpiece.

certainly not necessary to grasp all the musical references

The libretto for Der Kaiser von Atlantis (The Emperor of Atlantis) was provided by Peter Kien, a young poet and painter who had come to Terezín in 1941. Kien’s text is a

in order to appreciate the dramatic power of the work, or to be moved by the eloquence of Ullmann’s vocal writing and the richness of his textures.

transparent allegory on the nature of fascism and the low value it places on human life. Ullmann wrote the music in 1943, casting the work in the form of a chamber opera; the scoring (for seven singers and 13 instrumentalists, including parts for banjo and alto saxophone) reveals something of the range of musical talent available to

Paula Kennedy is a writer and editor with a special interest in the music of Central and Eastern Europe.

She provided liner notes for a number of recordings in the critically acclaimed Decca/London Entartete Musik series devoted to composers banned during the Third Reich.

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A NEW

CYCLE

APRIL - MAY 2020 SIR ANDREW DAV I S

CONDUCTOR

DAV I D PO U N T N EY

CHRISTINE GOERKE

DIRECTOR

“Full of entertaining touches and striking imagery.”

B UR K HA R D FR IT Z

– THE NEW YORK TIMES

“Nothing short of a triumph on all fronts.”

– CHICAGO TRIBUNE

ERIC OWENS

S A M U E L YO U N

TA N JA A RI A N E B AU M G A RT N E R

B R A N D O N J OVA N OV I C H

ELISABET STRID

STEPHEN MILLING PHOTO: CORY WEAVER

LYRICOPERA .ORG/RING 312.827.5600

Triumph of Bacchus and Ariadne, Annibale Carracci, 1754

A R I A DNE AUF NAXOS MUSIC BY RICHARD STRAUSS LIBRETTO BY HUGO VON HOFMANNSTHAL A NEW PRODUCTION FRI, JULY 19 AT 7:30 PM SUN, JULY 21 AT 3 PM WED, JULY 24 AT 7:30 PM SAT, JULY 27 AT 7:30 PM THE BARNS AT WOLF TRAP SPECIAL THANKS TO ANNE R. KLINE AND GEOFFREY POHANKA, PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

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THE STORY PROLOGUE Two companies are preparing for their evening performances at the home of the wealthiest man in Vienna, Austria. The evening is scheduled to begin with the opera company’s premiere of a new work on the Greek myth of Ariadne. Afterward, a troupe of comedians is set to offer Fickle Zerbinetta and Her Four Lovers. Fireworks will conclude the festivities at dusk.

When it becomes clear that the pre-performance dinner is lasting too long, it is announced that both shows must be performed simultaneously in order to conclude the entertainment before the fireworks begin.

The idealistic Composer of Ariadne is scandalized at being asked to shorten his opera. At first he refuses to allow any changes to his masterpiece. But when Zerbinetta turns her charms on him, he capitulates.

THE OPERA The simultaneous performances of Ariadne and Fickle Zerbinetta and her Four Lovers begin with the character of Ariadne, who has been abandoned on the island of Naxos by her husband Theseus. She longs for death, seeing it as her only refuge from the grief she feels.

The comedians try in vain to lift Ariadne’s spirits, but she is inconsolable. Zerbinetta addresses her woman-to-woman, insisting that the best way to mend a broken heart is to welcome a new lover.

A stranger is announced, and Ariadne believes that Death has come to her at last. In truth, it is the young god Bacchus, son of Jupiter. He is enthralled by Ariadne, she is awakened from her trance, and they are transformed.

As they succumb to passion, Zerbinetta and the Composer play out their own love story, and the comedienne reminds us that she was right all along.

SUNG IN GERMAN WITH PROJECTED ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS RUNNING TIME: 2 HOURS 30 MINUTES INCLUDING ONE INTERMISSION PRE-SHOW TALK AT THE BARNS BEGINS ONE HOUR BEFORE CURTAIN

BY ARRANGEMENT WITH BOOSEY & HAWKES, INC., PUBLISHER AND COPYRIGHT OWNER FIRST PERFORMED AT THE VIENNA STATE OPERA ON OCTOBER 4, 1916

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May Scheider as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, 1912

CAST IN ORDER OF VOCAL APPEARANCE PROLOGUE Music Master Major-Domo Lackey Officer Composer Tenor Wigmaker Zerbinetta Prima Donna Dancing Master

Joshua Conyers Conor McDonald Jeremy Harr* Bradley Bickhardt* Lindsay Kate Brown Ian Koziara Blake Denson* Alexandra Nowakowski Alexandria Shiner Ian McEuen

OPERA Najade Dryade Echo Ariadne Harlekin Truffaldin Scaramuccio Brighella Bacchus

Meagan Rao* Anastasiia Sidorova* Ashley Marie Robillard* Alexandria Shiner Michael Pandolfo* Ron Dukes* Victor Cardamone* Seiyoung Kim* Ian Koziara *Studio Artist

CREATIVE TEAM Conductor Director Scenic Designer Costume Designer Lighting Designer Wig & Makeup Designer

Emily Senturia Tara Faircloth Laura Fine Hawkes Rooth Varland Robert H. Grimes Anne Nesmith

MUSIC & PRODUCTION STAFF Cover Conductor Musical Preparation

German Coach Assistant Director Production Stage Manager Assistant Stage Manager Supertitle Coordinator

James Maverick Nate Raskin Thomas Morris James Maverick Thomas Lausmann Emily Cuk Jordan Braun Julie Marie Langevin Robert Bosworth

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GODS AND FOOLS Ariadne auf Naxos is both a chaotic, raucous comedy celebrating our most mundane, profane impulses, and a meditative contemplation of humanity’s highest calling—love, and its expression through our greatest art form, music. It is a love letter to Love and “capital-A” Art, recognizing that a true expression of either must encompass both the ethereal and the earthly aspects of humanity.

The piece is composed in two parts: a Prologue, wherein we meet the members of an opera troupe and a group of clowns in their “offstage” personas as they bicker backstage, and the Opera when those same groups are forced to present their quite different entertainments simultaneously. The Opera was conceived in 1912, where we set our scene, as the second half to an evening which included a play and some incidental music. It is full of sublime music, and explores deep philosophical questions. In fact, the libretto was a bit dense even for composer Richard Strauss, who, after an early read, required a bit of explanation from his librettist Hugo von Hoffmannsthal. After receiving his reply, Strauss wrote, “Your letter (explaining the piece) is so beautiful and explains the meaning of the action so wonderfully that a superficial musician like myself could not, of course, have tumbled to it. But isn’t this a little dangerous?…If even I couldn’t see it, just think of the audiences—and the critics!…just think of those asses of spectators, the lot of them, starting with the composer!” For his part, Hofmannsthal insisted that important truths should not be easily uncovered, and that Strauss’ music would provide clarity. However, the Prologue was later added, in part to explain why the comic characters keep interrupting a serious opera production. A straightforward farce, it provides a comic foil and basis for the Opera to come.

Hofmannsthal posits the piece as a contemplation on fidelity, pitting the twin heroines in opposite camps: operatic Ariadne represents the eternally faithful lover, who pines away and seems to choose death in the absence of her paramour, while the comedienne Zerbinetta has a much more practical approach to romance. After bemoaning her fickle attachment to various lovers, she rationalizes, “If God had intended for us (women) to resist men, why would He have made them in so many varieties?” Zerbinetta spends the evening trying to convince Ariadne to move on, to give up on “one true love,” but is nonetheless deeply touched when love finds Ariadne. Both are completely transformed by the power of love (and love’s music)—a possibility open to us all. Whatever its duration, the spiritual Ariadne and the sensual Zerbinetta each experience love as a sublime transformative encounter. In fact, it is Zerbinetta who reminds us, “When a new god comes, we surrender without a word.” Mute incomprehension seems the only rational response.

Ariadne auf Naxos reminds us that transcendence is a possibility for every person. Love will almost certainly make us fools, but it may also make us gods, if only for a moment.

Tara Faircloth, director

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Original harmonium score, Thomas Lausmann, 2019

STRAUSS’ MASTERPIECE THOMAS LAUSMANN Written on the heels of his successful operas Salome, Elektra, and Der Rosenkavalier, Richard Strauss created something entirely different with Ariadne auf Naxos.

Ariadne is set in Vienna, but not tied to a specific period—reality is merged with mythology and juxtaposition is found with symphonic and chamber music. Where does reality start on Ariadne’s island, and where does it end? Our host in Ariadne, the count, never appears but nonetheless very much controls the proceedings. His decision to have the opera seria performed at the same time as the play of the comedy troupe provides us with one of the most entertaining works of opera.

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MERGING REALITY WITH MYTHOLOGY The first part of Ariadne auf Naxos takes the audience through the preparations for a festive performance at the house of a wealthy Viennese count. In this so-called Vorspiel, we witness the interactions of performers, staff, and artistic personnel in preparation for a performance in real time. Interestingly, no one is addressed by their actual name, but rather by their title or function. This is not surprising, since Austria is a country where official titles and formality govern everyday exchanges, even in today’s society. At the Vienna State Opera, we often

The piano is prominent in the scenes of the comedy troupe, most significantly in Zerbinetta’s bravura aria.

The music in those scenes is full of spirit, brilliance, and virtuosity. The harmonium is used not unlike a portative organ in baroque opera and is heard most prominently in Ariadne’s scenes. The celesta is heard in Bacchus’ music and helps to characterize the god. Right at the very end—when Ariadne and Bacchus find each other and Zerbinetta’s prediction is thus fulfilled—all three keyboard instruments play together and celebrate the union in their own musical way.

is always addressed by “Herr Direktor,” and even retired

THE CHANGING NATURE OF LIVE MUSIC

general managers are greeted with “Herr Direktor” when

Strauss was general manager of the Vienna State Opera

encountered. I was often addressed as “Herr Studienleiter”

from 1919 through 1924 and his operas are still frequently

(Mr. Head of Music), while I address our technical director

performed at the company. The second and final version

with “Herr Ingenieur.” Identifying everyone by their title

of Ariadne was first performed in 1916 and has been in the

or function creates the prerequisite formal atmosphere at

company’s repertoire ever since. One of the privileges I

the palatial mansion in Ariadne auf Naxos, and it also puts

had with the Vienna State Opera was the opportunity to

everyone “in their place.”

play performances on the original harmonium and out of

addressed colleagues by their title: our general manager

the original orchestra parts. Those parts have now been

FINDING JUXTAPOSITION IN MUSIC Strauss made his mark as a composer writing operas that require a large orchestra. His scores of Salome and Elektra call for an orchestra that frequently reaches over 100 players. The musical miracle of Ariadne is that Strauss achieves an incredibly rich and colorful orchestral sound with a chamber orchestra of some 30 players. The Ariadne score is actually more an extended symphonic piece of

THE MUSIC IN THOSE SCENES IS FULL OF SPIRIT, BRILLIANCE, AND VIRTUOSITY. chamber music, requiring the players to frequently play

used by colleagues for more than 100 years, with each individual adding in their own notes and remarks.

One would think that with so many factors being equal—the space, the instrument, the music—there would be a “traditional” way of playing handed down from colleague to colleague. However, a harmonium has stops like an organ, and our printed music probably contains every possible registration and variation. Having since performed the opera with several conductors, I soon understood the reason behind this variety in performance practice and realized the need to change the performance settings. If a conductor held the orchestra down dynamically, a specific stop on the harmonium would suddenly sound too loud. A new soprano singing Ariadne would sing the passage with a different vocal color and would necessitate a change as well. Live music requires musicians to react to each other, and the score of Ariadne requires even more sensitivity and creativity from its orchestra players than most other opera scores. Strauss’ Ariadne is a true masterpiece.

alone or in small groups. The passages where all musicians play together create a sound that rivals the power of a large symphony orchestra.

Especially interesting is Strauss’ extended use of keyboard instruments. A grand piano, a harmonium, and a celesta play an important role in this piece—each instrument is assigned to a specific musical and theatrical idea.

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Thomas Lausmann recently left his position as Studienleiter at the Vienna State Opera to assume his new responsibilities as Director of Music Administration at The Metropolitan Opera in August 2019. He was a 1999 Coaching Fellow with WTO, and he returns to Wolf Trap this summer to coach the cast of Ariadne auf Naxos.

FELLOWS: THE NEXT GENERATION OF OPERA EXPERTS Did you know that Wolf Trap Opera has been training the best of the next generation of opera coaches, conductors, and stage directors since 1998? Singers are the most visible aspect of any opera company, but the future of the art form also hinges on the cultivation of the talented creative artists who are found in the rehearsal room and orchestra pit. The following is just a small selection of conductors and directors who have gone on from their Wolf Trap Opera Fellowship to be influential contributors in the industry.

MUSICAL EXPERTISE During their Wolf Trap residencies, Coaching Fellows function as junior members of the professional music staff, and they tackle the many responsibilities that await them as working opera coaches. They play piano for rehearsals, coach the singers on language and style, play keyboard parts in the pit and backstage, occasionally stand in for the conductor, prepare the chorus, and cue the supertitle translations. They also learn about the critical intangible qualities of an opera coach—patience, tact, positivity, stamina, and relentless attention to detail.

Coaching Fellow alumni are playing and conducting professionally at opera companies across the U.S.—including The Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, and Opera Philadelphia—and in cities around the world, including Salzburg and Vienna. They are also hard at work at conservatories and universities, preparing the next generation of From L to R: Emily Senturia, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera; Jeremy Frank, LA Opera; Eric Melear, Vienna State Opera, Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival; Grant Loehnig, Opera Philadelphia, Lyric Opera of Chicago

collaborative pianists.

EXPERT STAGECRAFT While at Wolf Trap, Directing Fellows serve as Assistant Directors on mainstage shows and create and manage independent projects, such as Studio Spotlight Scenes direction and semi-staged performances. They soak up advice and information from WTO’s professional creative teams, and they provide critical dramaturgical instruction for the Studio Artists.

Directing Fellow alumni have gone on to work at The Santa Fe Opera, The Juilliard School, Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Metropolitan Opera, LA Opera, and the Curtis Institute. Their directing work abroad encompasses Austria, Germany, and Switzerland.

From L to R: Richard Gammon, Virginia Opera, Opera Maine; Louisa Muller, The Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Lydia Steier, Salzburg Festival, Komische Opera Berlin; Mo Zhou, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera

KIM WITMAN FUND FOR OPERA COACHING One of the first things that former WTO Vice President Kim Witman did upon taking over the company in 1997 was to establish the Coaching Fellow program. Kim began her career as an opera coach, and recognized the importance of training young collaborative pianists. On the occasion of her retirement from WTO in 2019, the Kim Witman Fund for Opera Coaching was launched. For more information and to make a gift to the fund, please visit wolftrap.org/witman

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Photo by Shervin Lainez, 2015

LAW R ENCE

BROW N LEE Named 2017 “Male Singer of the Year” by both the International Opera Awards and Bachtrack, American tenor Lawrence Brownlee has been hailed by The Guardian as “one of the world’s leading bel canto stars.”

Brownlee captivates audiences and critics around the world, and his voice has been praised by NPR as “an instrument of great beauty and expression…perfectly suited to the early nineteenth century operas of Rossini and Donizetti,” ushering in “a new golden age in high male voices” (The New York Times). Brownlee also serves as Artistic Advisor at Opera Philadelphia, helping the company to expand their repertoire, diversity efforts, and community initiatives.

One of the most in-demand singers around the world, Brownlee has appeared on the stages of the top opera companies, including The Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House–Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, Opéra national de Paris, the Berlin State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, and the festivals of

Brownlee is the fourth of six children and first

Salzburg and Baden Baden. Broadcasts of his operas and

discovered music when he learned to play bass, drums,

concerts—including his 2014 Bastille Day performance

and piano at his family’s church in Youngstown, Ohio.

in Paris, attended by the French President and Prime

He was awarded a master’s degree in music from

Minister—have been enjoyed by millions.

Indiana University and went on to win a Grand Prize

He has also performed with major orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Boston Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and the Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra.

Brownlee’s 2018–2019 season included two role debuts in North American houses, singing Nadir in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers with Houston Grand Opera and Ilo in Rossini’s Zelmira with Washington Concert Opera. He also returned to several international opera houses, performing in La cenerentola at Opéra national de Paris, La sonnambula at Opernhaus Zürich and Deutsche Oper Berlin, and I Puritani at Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège.

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in the 2001 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. Alongside his singing career, Brownlee is an avid salsa dancer and an accomplished photographer, specializing in artist portraits of his on-stage colleagues. A die-hard Pittsburgh Steelers and Ohio State football fan, Brownlee has sung the National Anthem at numerous NFL games. He is a champion for autism awareness through the organization Autism Speaks, and a lifetime member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., a historically black fraternity committed to social action and empowerment.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE LINCOLN AND THERESE FILENE FOUNDATION, 2019 PROGRAM UNDERWRITER

A CHAT WITH “LB”

LAM: You mentioned the importance of a safe

Wolf Trap Opera’s Lee Anne Myslewski (LAM) sat down with

LB: WTO is an intermediate place. We were young

Lawrence Brownlee (LB) to reminisce about his season at Wolf Trap and learn about his passion for giving back.

LAM: As you look back on your season at WTO, what stands out?

LB: If you’re at WTO, you’re talented. That’s a given. But a lot of us had come from university settings where we were spoon-fed and where we had a whole semester to rehearse an opera. At WTO, we were given resources, support, a safe environment, and—perhaps most importantly—professional expectations. For most of us, Wolf Trap was the very first place in our developing careers where that happened. It was a safe environment where we were the primary focus, where we were given an opportunity to be professionals. I was fortunate to start my international career pretty quickly, and when I went to Berlin and La Scala*, I was far more prepared than I ever would have been without Wolf Trap Opera. * WTO was preparing to bring Brownlee back for a second season, but an offer for Il barbiere di Siviglia at La Scala for summer 2002 pre-empted that plan!

environment. Why is that critical?

professionals, but we still needed the right kind of support to do our best work. An artist’s success is a reflection of the people who support them, and everyone at Wolf Trap wanted us to succeed. That kind of environment is even more important today, as the public’s access to young artists is more ubiquitous because of social media.

LAM: Your WTO summer was far busier than most with three operas, two performances with the NSO, and a recital with Steven Blier. You know that there’s a photo of you with a mop on your head on the WTO office wall…

LB: (laughing) It’s a fond memory, playing the role of Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, wearing a mop. And one of the things that made that summer so special was the people onstage with me in that and other productions.

Many of them have become lifelong friends and treasured colleagues.

LAM: There were other important relationships formed at WTO that summer, right?

LB: My housing hosts (Bill and Sheila Woessner) became a second family. When Bill was living, they traveled all over the world to see me perform, and I just spoke to Sheila the day before yesterday. The D.C. area feels like home to me because there are so many people here who’ve known me since the beginning. It all started with Wolf Trap.

LAM: Why did you create time in your busy schedule to come back to WTO? LB: It’s so important to reach back a hand, to pull other artists along. I want to infuse them with vigor, the desire to work hard, and the knowledge that their dreams are attainable. I have a lot of experience to share with them, but I’m close enough to remember what they are going through. Even though I’m not a divo, I’m fortunate that my career gives me credibility, because it gives me a platform to be heard. And the beautiful thing is that I will also come away from the residency encouraged, reinvigorated, and inspired.

PUBLIC MASTER CLASS TUE, JULY 23 AT 7:30 PM CENTER FOR EDUCATION LAWRENCE BROWNLEE WORKS WITH WOLF TRAP OPERA’S YOUNG ARTISTS. FREE, NO RESERVATION REQUIRED

STEVEN BLIER: 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT Steven Blier, pianist and arranger Joseph Li, piano Katherine M. Carter, director Alexandria Shiner, soprano Lindsay Kate Brown, mezzo-soprano Ian Koziara, tenor Johnathan McCullough, baritone

It’s hard for me to single out individual moments from

Alumni Amy Owens, soprano Annie Rosen, mezzo-soprano Frederick Ballentine, tenor Matt Boehler, bass

memories flood in: Sasha Cooke singing John Musto,

SAT, JUNE 1 AT 3 PM SUN, JUNE 2 AT 3 PM THE BARNS AT WOLF TRAP SPECIAL THANKS TO REVADA FOUNDATION, 2019 YOUNG ARTIST SHOWCASE SPONSOR

a quarter-century of concerts. If I mention the glory of playing Kurt Weill for Kate Lindsey, I run the risk of omitting the giddy high spirits of playing Charles Trénet for Annie Rosen. Similarly, Paul Appleby’s seductive Cuban habanera Flor de Yumurí vies with Jen Aylmer’s stylish and supple “Iban al pinar” by Granados. The Nick Phan’s Mascagni, Craig Colclough’s Noël Coward, and Mo Zhou’s startling command of space and mood in Four of a Kind.

Perhaps the biggest buzz of all was my partnership not with a singer, but with a pianist: Joseph Li, who has become like an artistic brother to me. Playing Piazzolla with Joe, I felt myself transform into a Steve I had never known before, complete with cigarette, five-o’clock shadow, and a major testosterone boost. Swinging into Fats Waller’s Ain’t-Cha Glad was a four-minute infusion

In 1994, Peter Russell took a flying risk and hired me to

of laughing gas—pure joy.

do a concert with the Filene Artists. I was flabbergasted

I’m grateful to Peter Russell, Kim Witman, and Lee Anne

and flattered. I knew Wolf Trap Opera was a classy

Myslewski for their constancy and their kindness.

operation, the crème de la crème of summer opera

When it became too difficult for me to navigate the

programs. My fledgling concert organization, the New

stage, we simply moved the concerts onto the floor.

York Festival of Song, was just six years old. Landing a gig

Kim’s graciousness, “Oh, we’ve always wanted to use

with Wolf Trap felt like an arrival—but it wasn’t an arrival,

The Barns space more flexibly!,” transformed a necessity

it was a taking-off point.

into a longed-for experiment. Having given my last seven

In this space, I met some extraordinary singers at the very beginning of their artistic flourishing. I flourished alongside them, as I gradually went from being 15 years their senior to 40 years their senior. The Barns has become my second artistic home, an extramarital escape from the all-consuming day-to-day rigors of NYFOS. I’ve explored repertoire from Sergei Rachmaninoff to

concerts on a three-quarters thrust stage at Wolf Trap, I never want to return to the formality of a face-front recital again. I treasure the proximity to the audience and the ability to add the dimension of movement to a concert. And a huge part of the magic has been Bob Grimes’ lighting, the work of a very gifted man and a superb technician.

Smokey Robinson, made music with some of the dearest

I close with the four sweetest words I know: same time

colleagues I’ve ever known, and been privileged to

next year. Our romance isn’t new, but it is in full flower.

entertain a faithful, enthusiastic audience ready to roll

I already can’t wait to be back, even as I tear into this

into any rep, in any genre.

season’s smorgasbord.

Steven Blier

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The same co-existence of variety with single-minded focus has characterized his work with the young artists of Wolf Trap Opera. Steve has informed the artistry (and rocked the worlds) of multiple generations of WTO singers—138 of them over this quarter-century. He has opened their minds to music they never would have encountered otherwise, and he has crushed their pre-conceived ideas of their limitations.

Mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey says, “From the moment Steven Blier came into my life at Wolf Trap in the summer of 2007, my musical life inexorably changed. In his years on the stage, he’s opened up a whole new way of concertizing while exploring and enlivening the art of the song recital. With his infinite charisma and knowledge, he’s built an unmatchable musical legacy. And it’s through the beauty of his collaboration with singers that we are continually inspired to grow and explore the breadth of our own artistic imaginations.”

25 YEARS OF ART AND WISDOM In the musical world, breadth and depth are often mutually exclusive. But the powerhouse that is Steven Blier defies that assumption and countless others. Wolf

Indeed, The Washington Post’s review of The Sweetest Past (2004) noted that Steve had the artists “offering something highly unusual for musicians at the beginning of their careers: performances whose greatest strength was musical imagination.”

2019 Filene Artist in Residence Lawrence Brownlee remarks, “Steve is not easily impressed. He is a

Trap is truly fortunate to be one of the places that Steve

consummate musician, and he is relentlessly on the path

has called home for over 25 summers.

of bringing out the best in artists. With him, you can’t just

First, the breadth. The selections performed in Wolf Trap Opera’s (WTO) “Blier Recitals” have displayed a relentless and surprising diversity over the 25 years—a total of 843

“coast” on having a pretty voice or a promising career; he is never impressed because he knows you can always do more.”

songs representing the music of over 270 composers.

I shall leave the last word to the late Joseph McLellan, the

Ranging from the Brazilian songs of Haroldo Barbosa to

legendary music critic for The Washington Post for over

the sweet opera arias of Michael Balfe and Amy Beach,

three decades, in his 1998 review of Curtain Up: A Music

from the erudite music of Paul Bowles to the chanson

Theatre Travelogue at The Barns: “For these unexpected

stylings of Jacques Brel, from the American Songbook

treats and many more, the audience and the singers

rarities of “Nacio” Herb Brown to the classically arranged

are indebted to (Steven) Blier, an entrepreneur whose

spirituals of Harry T. Burleigh, from The Beatles to The

curiosity and adventurous, wide-ranging tastes are as

Bobs—the variety is limitless (and that’s just the “B”s…).

notable as his musicianship. At every one of his programs

Then, the depth. Steve knows more about every single song he performs than most of us do about entire areas of

I have attended, I have not only been royally entertained, I have learned.”

our professional expertise. Audiences at The Barns have

I hope you will join us at The Barns on June 1 or 2 for a

been fortunate to enjoy a sliver of that knowledge through

celebration of Steve Blier’s contributions to the flourishing

his recital commentary. Not only does he understand the

artistic life of Wolf Trap Opera!

context and history of each song, its musical essence lives deep inside his bones. His particular fluency with Cuban music has always mystified me!

Kim Pensinger Witman, Vice President, Opera and Classical Programming (1997–2019)

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As we look at the performance opportunities that our singers are likely to encounter as emerging professionals, the variety of those prospects seems to grow each year. Mainstage operatic engagements are supplemented with concerts, semi-staged operas, recitals, and performances throughout the community. While the cornerstones of Wolf Trap Opera’s operations will always be at The Barns and the Filene Center, we also acknowledge the need to provide high-quality projects that lie a little bit off the beaten path to truly prepare our artists for the professional world.

Now in its third year, UNTRAPPED allows Wolf Trap Opera to explore a multitude of performance opportunities, from concert work to intimate recitals to semi-staged operas, at venues in and around the D.C.-metro area. Singers will perform outreach to local seniors, and return to The Phillips Collection for two multi-disciplinary recitals featuring the synthesis of visual art and music.

Our partnership with the National Orchestral Institute + Festival has deepened this year, and includes a concert staging of Ravel’s L’heure espagnole. This delightful piece of French repertoire is too large for us to mount in The Barns, but too slight for the Filene Center—we’re lucky to have a willing partner to present some of the wonderful repertoire that isn’t a natural fit for our home venues.

SPECIAL THANKS TO DAN AND GLORIA LOGAN, 2019 UNTRAPPED SERIES SPONSORS

UNTRAPPED: NATIONAL ORCHESTRAL INSTITUTE + FESTIVAL

PORGY AND BESS: A CONCERT OF SONGS John Morris Russell, conductor Alyson Cambridge, soprano Joshua Conyers, baritone SAT, JUNE 1 AT 8 PM THE CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER THECLARICE.UMD.EDU/EVENTS Since its debut in 1935, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess has captivated audiences with its distinctly American harmonies and poignant story of a man transformed by improbable and unexpected love. In Robert Russell Bennett’s arrangement of Porgy and Bess: A Concert of Songs, we find a piece distilled to its most joyous and poignant moments, its highest highs and lowest lows.

Conductor John Morris Russell leads the combined forces of the National Orchestral Institute and the Heritage Signature Chorale. Current Filene Artist baritone Joshua Conyers is joined by Wolf Trap Opera Alumna Alyson Cambridge (’04).

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L’HEURE ESPAGNOLE MUSIC BY MAURICE RAVEL LIBRETTO BY FRANC-NOHAIN PROGRAM ALSO INCLUDES: BENJAMIN BRITTEN: FOUR SEA INTERLUDES FROM PETER GRIMES RICHARD STRAUSS: SUITE FROM DER ROSENKAVALIER SAT, JUNE 22 AT 8 PM THE CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER THECLARICE.UMD.EDU/EVENTS “Write what you know” is solid, perhaps clichéd advice given to young writers across genres; it comes as little surprise to learn that Maurice Ravel was the son of a Swiss watchmaker. L’heure espagnole, Ravel’s first foray into operatic writing, centers around Torquemada, who just happens to be the most respected watchmaker in town.

In writing this piece, Ravel broke with convention: he patterned the vocal lines after the rhythm of spoken French. Between this new treatment of the text and the truly virtuosic instrumental writing (which taxed the abilities of the opéra comique ensemble), audiences were befuddled, and the piece was not warmly received.

Happily, the quasi-parlando vocals and the expressive instrumental color are two of the very factors that contribute to its success in our modern era: it is delightful!

Torquemada, noted above, is a very busy man. His wife, Concepcion, has found a number of ways to deal with her husband’s absences…most notably (and romantically) in the company of the poet Gonsalve, who is to arrive at any

CAST Concepcion Gonsalve Ramiro Torquemada Don Inigo de Gomez

Taylor Raven Joshua Lovell Joshua Conyers Ian Koziara Calvin Griffin

CREATIVE TEAM Conductor Director Production Designer Lighting Designer

Ward Stare Emily Cuk Charles Murdock Lucas Christopher Brusberg

MUSIC & PRODUCTION STAFF Assistant Conductor Musical Preparation

French Coach Production Stage Manager

Joel Ayau Joel Ayau Grant Loehnig Jocelyn Dueck Julie Marie Langevin

moment. But when strong and handsome Ramiro comes to the shop with a broken watch and decides to wait for Torquemada’s return, things get complicated.

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UNTRAPPED: THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION

VOCAL COLORS The Phillips Collection

THU, JUNE 13 AT 6:30 PM Lindsay Kate Brown, mezzo-soprano Johnathan McCullough, baritone Joseph Li, piano

THU, JULY 11 AT 6:30 PM Shannon Jennings, soprano Megan Esther Grey, mezzo-soprano Joshua Blue, tenor Conor McDonald, baritone Joseph Li, piano

THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION PHILLIPSCOLLECTION.ORG/EVENTS We are thrilled to return to the renovated Music Room at The Phillips Collection for two Vocal Colors recitals.

Orson Welles once said, “The enemy of art is the absence of restriction.” It’s a true gift, being able to work within the narrow parameters of the opera house.

Oftentimes, singers have a lack of autonomy in their careers; they are hired for specific engagements, told when to arrive, what to prepare, even given clothes to wear.

With this project, the artistry is placed squarely back into the hands of the artists. Our sole limiting factor—if it can even be called such—is the beautiful, varied collection at The Phillips. There, our performers select works of visual art, and pair them with vocal pieces that range across genres, languages, and musical eras. The connections between visual and aural artwork can be obvious, comedic, incongruous, cerebral—the pairings are never the same, but the performances are consistently compelling.

WOLF TRAP OPERA PRESENTS

FRI, JULY 26 AT 7:30 PM THE BARNS AT WOLF TRAP

Led by renowned choral conductor Michael McCarthy of The National Cathedral, The State Singers represent a strong love for the American choral tradition as well as the

Wolf Trap Opera has long been an artist-centered

depth and breadth of sound, color, and dynamics that are

program, with strong alumni ties. We are thrilled to be

possible when working with operatic voices.

able to introduce the Washington, D.C. area to The State Singers. Founded by two Wolf Trap alumni, Jeremy Little (’06,’07) and Dustin Lucas (Studio ’09), who have performed with The Metropolitan Opera for over a decade as choristers and in supporting solo roles, The State Singers invite you to experience the evolution of the choral ensemble.

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The group is comprised of male singers from many backgrounds, including members of The Metropolitan Opera Chorus, the military choirs, as well as solo performers who enjoy singing choral music with their opera voice.

Photo Credit: Angelina Namkung

ARIA JUKEBOX THE AUDIENCE GETS TO CHOOSE! SUN, JULY 28 VOTING AND RECEPTION AT 2 PM PERFORMANCE AT 3 PM

Each singer will offer a number of arias to choose

THE BARNS AT WOLF TRAP

challenging selection. The number with the most votes

RUNNING TIME: 2 HOURS INCLUDING ONE INTERMISSION

the singers don’t know what’s coming until it’s

FEATURING THE 2019 FILENE ARTISTS SPECIAL THANKS TO REVADA FOUNDATION, 2019 YOUNG ARTIST SHOWCASE SPONSOR

from; they’ll cajole you into voting for their favorite, or convince you to sabotage another singer with their most is announced from the stage and then performed—even announced! The result is a one-of-a-kind concert encompassing a surprising range of styles and composers, all chosen by YOU!

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ALUMNI WORLDWIDE

Photo Credit: The Metropolitan Opera

MET PRODUCTIONS FEATURE GENERATIONS OF TRAPPERS The Metropolitan Opera’s 2019 Ring Cycle features 2018 Filene Artist in Residence Christine Goerke (’95,’96) as Brünnhilde. She’s joined by seven other WTO alumni: Eric Owens (’94,’95), Jamie Barton (’08), Erin Morley (’07,’08), Ronnita Nicole Miller (’06,’07), Eve Gigliotti (’10,’11), Maya Lahyani (’13,’14), and Daryl Freedman (Studio ’07).

Gianni Schicchi is a true ensemble opera, and it’s a bonus when the cast includes five former Filene Artists over several generations: Stephanie Blythe (’95,’96), MaryAnn McCormick (’95), Jeff Mattsey (’87,’88), Kevin Burdette (’00,’02), Lindsay Ammann (’11), and Christian Zaremba (’15,’16).

EIGHT FOR ARIADNE As Wolf Trap Opera began preparing for Ariadne auf Naxos at The Barns this July, it was wonderful to see that the Cleveland Orchestra’s recent Ariadne cast (under Music Director Franz Welser-Möst) featured eight WTO alumni: Tamara Wilson (’08), Kate Lindsey (’05,’07), Jonas Hacker (’15,’16), Ying Fang (’13), Daryl Freedman (Studio ’07), James Kryshak (’12), Anthony Robin Photo Credit: Roger Mastroianni

Schneider (’17,’19), and Miles Mykkanen (Studio ’13).

WOLF TRAP TEXAS Houston Grand Opera’s production of The Pearl Fishers showcased 2019 Filene Artist in Residence Lawrence Brownlee (’01) as Nadir and Andrea Carroll (’12,’13) as Leïla. The production was directed by E. Loren Meeker (The Touchstone 2017).

Houston Grand Opera’s April Don Giovanni boasted four Trappers: Ryan McKinny (’06,’08), Ailyn Pérez (’06), Photo Credit: Houston Grand Opera

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Benjamin Bliss (’13), and Daniel Noyola (’19).

FILENE ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE ON THE ROAD Eric Owens (Filene Artist In Residence ’14) and Lawrence Brownlee (Filene Artist In Residence ’19) took America by storm this winter in a 12-city national recital tour.

Their duo concert repertoire ranged from traditional

Photo Credit: Steve J. Sherman

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? It’s terrific to see recent alumni nail down a career-defining

spirituals and gospel favorites Photo Credit: Lyric Opera of Chicago

to opera and American popular songs.

opportunity just a few years after leaving Wolf Trap.

Among those with recent and upcoming break-out roles: J’Nai Bridges (’15,’16) – title role in Carmen, San Francisco Opera Craig Colclough (’12,’13) – Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, LA Opera Robert Watson (’14,’15) – title role in Don Carlo, Dallas Opera Madison Leonard (’17,’18) and Yongzhao Yu (’16) – Gilda and the Duke in Rigoletto, Seattle Opera

FESTIVAL OUTLOOK 2019 Traveling to other opera festivals this summer? Be on the lookout for these WTO alumni: Glyndebourne Festival – Elizabeth DeShong (’08), David Portillo (’09,’10), Kate Lindsey (’05,’07), and

WOR LDW I DE I M PACT IN 2018–2019 WTO ALUMNI PERFORMED WITH

194 113

OPER A COMPANIES WORLDWIDE INCLUDING INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES IN

27 C OU N TR I ES IN MAJOR CITIES LIKE

PA R IS, LON DON, M I L A N, V I EN N A , BER LI N, M A DR I D

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Brandon Cedel (’13) The Santa Fe Opera – Corinne Winters (’13), Ben Bliss (’13), Will Liverman (’15,’16), and Richard Trey Smagur (’18) Glimmerglass Festival – Alyson Cambridge (’04), Kenneth Kellogg (’10,’11), Gordon Hawkins (’85,’86), Yelena Dyachek (’18), and Michael Adams (Studio ’14)

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U. S . COMPANIES INCLUDING

LY R IC OPER A OF C H IC AG O SA N FR A NC ISC O OPER A L A OPER A HOUSTON GR A N D OPER A WA SH I NGTON N ATION A L OPER A ALUMNI WERE ON THE ROSTER OF

THE METROPOLITA N OPER A 37

FORMER WTO FELLOW MOVES TO THE MET Former Coaching Fellow Thomas Lausmann (’99) leaves his post at the Vienna State Opera this summer to step into the position of Head of Music Administration at The Metropolitan Opera! But before he does, he’s coming back to Wolf Trap to coach this summer’s young artists in Ariadne auf Naxos.

WOLF TRAP IN EUROPE Wolf Trap Opera alumni converged at various major European opera houses in 2018–2019 as multiple Trappers appeared on the rosters of: Bavarian State Opera (Munich) – 7 alumni including Lawrence Brownlee (’01) and Simon O’Neill (’03)

WTO GRAMMY WINNERS

Dutch National Opera (Amsterdam) – 12 alumni including Eric Owens (’94,’95), J’Nai Bridges (’15,’16) and

Congratulations are in order for Sasha Cooke (’07) on her

Ryan McKinny (’06,’08)

win for Best Opera Recording (The (R)evolution of Steve

Deutche Oper Berlin – 7 alumni including David Portillo

Jobs) and Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (Studio ’17) on his win

(’09,’10) and Heidi Stober (’91,’92)

for Best Classical Compendium (Fuchs: Piano Concerto

Opernhaus Zürich – 9 alumni including Ailyn Pérez (’06)

‘Spiritualist’; Poems Of Life; Glacier; Rush).

and Tamara Wilson (’08)

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JOSHUA BLUE,

tenor

Haywards Heath, United Kingdom Harlekin (The Emperor of Atlantis) Vocal Colors TRAINING: Washington National Opera, The The Santa Fe Opera, The Juilliard School, Music Academy of the West, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Oberlin Conservatory of Music HIGHLIGHTS: Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin, Alfredo in La traviata (Washington National Opera DCYAP), Tisiphone in Hippolyte et Aricie (The Juilliard School), Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos (Austin Opera), Il Podesta in La finta giardiniera (The Juilliard School), Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore (Music Academy of the West), Franz/Block in The Trial (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis)

FILENE ARTISTS The 2019 Filene Artists were the catalyst for this season’s repertoire choices, and they represent the top 3.3% of singers who applied for the 2019 roster. Wolf Trap Opera’s artist-centric approach makes a Filene Artist residency a coveted engagement for the best of the new generation of classical vocal talent. Emerging professionals who have already finished their academic or conservatory study, Filene Artists are already on their way to significant careers.

AN ARTIST’S SUCCESS IS A REFLECTION OF THE PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT THEM, AND EVERYONE AT WOLF TRAP WANTS US TO SUCCEED. –LAWRENCE BROWNLEE

CHRISTOPHER BOZEKA, tenor Akron, OH Count Almaviva (The Barber of Seville) TRAINING: Houston Grand Opera, Merola Opera Program, Castleton Festival, University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music HIGHLIGHTS: Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore (Opera Las Vegas), Evandro in Medea in Corinto (Teatro Nuovo), Pirelli in Sweeney Todd (Atlanta Opera and Glimmerglass Festival), Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi (Merola Opera Program), Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Houston Grand Opera and Opera Columbus), Male Emilia in Prince of Players (Houston Grand Opera), Franz/Block in The Trial (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis)

LINDSAY KATE BROWN, mezzo-soprano

Waterloo, NY Composer (Ariadne auf Naxos) Steven Blier: 25th Anniversary Concert Vocal Colors TRAINING: Houston Grand Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Rice University, Tri-Cities Opera HIGHLIGHTS: Ma Moss in The Tender Land (Des Moines Metro Opera), Cecilia March in Little Women, Cornelia in Giulio Cesare and Zita in Gianni Schicchi (Rice University), La chauve-souris in L’enfant et les sortilèges (Aspen Music Festival), Liriope in Narcissus, Marta in Iolanta and Marthe Schwertlein in Faust (Tri-Cities Opera)

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JOSHUA CONYERS,

CALVIN GRIFFIN,

Bronx, NY

Columbus, OH

Music Master (Ariadne auf Naxos) Ramiro (L’heure espagnole) Porgy, (Porgy and Bess: A Concert of Songs)

Bartolo (The Barber of Seville) Don Inigo de Gomez (L’heure espagnole)

baritone*

TRAINING: Washington National Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Des Moines Metro Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Indiana University HIGHLIGHTS: Germont in La traviata, Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, and British Major in Silent Night (Washington National Opera), Le Roi Marc in Le vin herbé (WTO and Washington Concert Opera), Monterone in Rigoletto and Capulet in Roméo et Juliette (WTO), Sciarrone in Tosca and Yamadori in Madama Butterfly (Palm Beach Opera)

BEN EDQUIST,

baritone*^

TRAINING: Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Arizona Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Aspen Music Festival HIGHLIGHTS: Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Samuel in Un ballo in maschera, Victor in Before Night Falls, Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, and Escamillo in Carmen (Florida Grand Opera), Alidoro in La cenerentola (Opera Orlando), Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Zuniga in Carmen (Arizona Opera), Elviro in Xerxes and Fabrizio in La gazza ladra (Glimmerglass Festival)

PATRICK GUETTI,

Lake Jackson, TX

Highland Park, NJ

Emperor Overall (The Emperor of Atlantis) Pierrot (Merlin’s Island)

Basilio (The Barber of Seville)

TRAINING: Houston Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Rice University

bass*

TRAINING: Lyric Opera of Chicago, Academy of Vocal Arts, The Santa Fe Opera, The Catholic University of America

HIGHLIGHTS: William Dale in Silent Night (Austin Opera), Mayo Buckner in Mayo (Crane Opera Ensemble), Bernardo in West Side Story (Grand Teton Music Festival), Remo in The Skating Rink (Garsington Opera), Manfred in Out of Darkness: Two Remain (Atlanta Opera), Father in The Juniper Tree and William in The Fall of the House of Usher (WTO)

HIGHLIGHTS: Fafner in Siegfried, Mandarin in Turandot, Zuniga in Carmen, Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin and Der Polizeikomissar in Der Rosenkavalier (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Snug in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, José Tripaldi in Ainadamar (Opera Philadelphia), Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Count Pâris in Roméo et Juliette (WTO), Sciarrone in Tosca (Los Angeles Philharmonic), Nachtwächter in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Glyndebourne Festival Opera)

MEGAN ESTHER GREY,

SHANNON JENNINGS,

Cedar Falls, IA

Orlando, FL

Hippocratine (Merlin’s Island) Drummer (The Emperor of Atlantis) Vocal Colors

Argentine (Merlin’s Island) Girl with the Bobbed Hair (The Emperor of Atlantis) Vocal Colors

mezzo-soprano

TRAINING: The Metropolitan Opera, Merola Opera Program, Chautauqua Opera, University of Northern Iowa HIGHLIGHTS: Proserpina in L’Orfeo (Chautauqua Opera), Hansel in Hänsel und Gretel, L’enfant in L’enfant et les sortilèges, Mrs. Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor and Mrs. McLean in Susannah (University of Northern Iowa Opera), Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions 2018 Grand Finalist

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bass-baritone^

soprano^

TRAINING: The Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Merola Opera Program, Virginia Opera, Ash Lawn Opera HIGHLIGHTS: Iseut in Le vin herbé (WTO and Washington Concert Opera), Micaëla in Carmen and Marguerite in Faust (Annapolis Opera), Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, Costanza in Riccardo Primo (Pittsburgh Opera), The Lady Valerie in Cabildo (Central City Opera), Anne Sexton in Transformations (Merola Opera Program), Maddalena in The Journey to Reims (WTO)

IAN KOZIARA,

tenor*^

Chicago, IL Torquemada (L’heure espagnole) Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos) Steven Blier: 25th Anniversary Concert TRAINING: The Metropolitan Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Ravinia Steans Institute, Rice University HIGHLIGHTS: Fritz in Der Ferne Klang (Oper Frankfurt), Tristan in Le vin herbé (WTO and Washington Concert Opera), Derek in Marnie and 4th Sentry in Parsifal (The Metropolitan Opera), Idomeneo in Idomeneo (WTO), Tito in La clemenza di Tito (Aspen Opera Center), Testo in Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (Carnegie Hall)

NIRU LIU,

mezzo-soprano

JOHNATHAN McCULLOUGH,

Figaro (The Barber of Seville) Steven Blier: 25th Anniversary Concert Vocal Colors TRAINING: Curtis Institute of Music, Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Aspen Music Festival HIGHLIGHTS: Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos (Opéra de Lausanne), Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Opera Philadelphia), Marullo in Rigoletto, Brother in The Seven Deadly Sins (Wolf Trap Opera), Gonsalvo Fieschi in Die Gezeichneten (Komische Opera Berlin), Sid in La fanciulla del West (Michigan Opera Theatre), J. Robert Oppenheimer in Doctor Atomic (Curtis Opera Theatre)

CONOR McDONALD,

Guangdong, China

baritone

Diamantine (Merlin’s Island) Berta (The Barber of Seville)

Minneapolis, MN

TRAINING: LA Opera, New England Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Pacific Music Festival HIGHLIGHTS: Mrs. Alexander in Satyagraha (LA Opera), Prince Charming in Cendrillon (New English Conservatory Opera Theater), Thetis in Persée et Andromède, Troisième Sorcière in Bloch’s Macbeth and 3rd Lady in The Magic Flute (Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater), Adalgia in Norma in concert (Pacific Music Festival), Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Xinghai Conservatory of Music Opera Theater)

JOSHUA LOVELL,

tenor

baritone*

Los Angeles, CA

Merlin (Merlin’s Island) Major-Domo (Ariadne auf Naxos) Vocal Colors TRAINING: Glimmerglass Festival, Nashville Opera, Kentucky Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Tanglewood Music Center, University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music HIGHLIGHTS: Captain Corcoran in HMS Pinafore (Anchorage Opera), Ponchel in Silent Night, Snowboy in West Side Story and Ike Skidmore in Oklahoma!

(Glimmerglass Festival), Hercules in Hercules vs. Vampires (Nashville Opera), Yamadori in Madama Butterfly and Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos (Kentucky Opera), Dandini in La cenerentola (Opera Iowa)

IAN McEUEN,

tenor

Victoria, British Columbia

Bethesda, MD

Gonsalve (L’heure espagnole)

Dancing Master (Ariadne auf Naxos)

TRAINING: Lyric Opera of Chicago, Merola Opera Program, Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, Aspen Music Festival, University of Michigan

TRAINING: Glimmerglass Festival, Fort Worth Opera, Seagle Music Colony, University of Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music

HIGHLIGHTS: Dean in Cendrillon, Emperor Altoum in Turandot (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (New Generation Festival), Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Aspen Music Festival), Ferrando in Così fan tutte (Ryan Opera Center), Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi (University of Michigan)

HIGHLIGHTS: Remendado in Carmen (Annapolis Opera), Tobias Ragg in Sweeney Todd (Atlanta Opera), Redwood Son in Florida (UrbanArias), Goro in Madame Butterfly and Eland in Lost in the Stars (Washington National Opera), Pang in Turandot (Virginia Opera), Spoletta in Tosca (Knoxville Opera), Pong in Turandot (Nashville Opera), Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte (Arizona Opera) * returning Filene Artist ^ former Studio Artist

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ALEXANDRA NOWAKOWSKI,

soprano^

Chicago, IL

Auckland, New Zealand

Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos)

Death (The Emperor of Atlantis)

TRAINING: Washington National Opera, Academy of Vocal Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

TRAINING: Houston Grand Opera, Academy of Vocal Arts, The Santa Fe Opera, University of Auckland

HIGHLIGHTS: The Unicorn in The Lion, The Unicorn and Me (Washington National Opera), Gilda in Rigoletto (Verbier Festival), Zerbinetta/Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, Sophie in Werther, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Musetta in La bohème (Academy of Vocal Arts), Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel (Philadelphia Sinfonia)

HIGHLIGHTS: Le Duc Hoël in Le vin herbé (WTO and Washington Concert Opera), Der Wirt in Der Ferne Klang (Oper Frankfurt), Ghost of Hector in Les Troyens (Wiener Staatsoper), Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos (Cleveland Orchestra and The Santa Fe Opera), Grenvil in La Traviata (Houston Grand Opera), Fabrizio in The Touchstone and Sacristan in Tosca (WTO)

DANIEL NOYOLA,

ALEXANDRIA SHINER,

San Luis Potosí, Mexico

Waterford, MI

Scapin (Merlin’s Island) Loudspeaker (The Emperor of Atlantis)

Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos) Steven Blier: 25th Anniversary Concert

TRAINING: Houston Grand Opera, Academy of Vocal Arts, Merola Opera Program, Conservatorio Nacional de Música

TRAINING: Washington National Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, University of Tennessee Knoxville

bass-baritone

HIGHLIGHTS: Colline in La Bohème and Masetto in Don Giovanni (Houston Grand Opera), Fasolt in Das Rheingold, Dr. Grenvil in La traviata, Ferrando in Il trovatore, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Le Bailli in Werther, and Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni (Academy of Vocal Arts), Uberto in La serva padrona and Luka in The Bear (Merola Opera Program), Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore (Sociedad Artistica Sinaloense)

TAYLOR RAVEN, mezzo-soprano* Fayetteville, NC Concepcion (L’heure espagnole) Rosina (The Barber of Seville) TRAINING: LA Opera, Ravinia Steans Institute, Pittsburgh Opera, Merola Opera Program, Central City Opera HIGHLIGHTS: Annio in Le clemenza di Tito, Tebaldo in Don Carlo and Vanderdendur in Candide (LA Opera), Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette (Wolf Trap Opera), Oronte in Riccardo Primo (Pittsburgh Opera), Hannah After in As One (Pittsburgh Opera, Seattle Opera), Angelina in La cenerentola and Ottavia in L’incoronazione di Poppera (Eklund Opera)

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ANTHONY ROBIN SCHNEIDER, bass*

soprano

HIGHLIGHTS: Kayla in Taking Up Serpents, Celestial Voice in Don Carlo, Lilah in Precita Park (Washington National Opera), Alcina in Alcina (Washington National Opera DCYAP), Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Glimmerglass Festival and Washington National Opera), Annina in La traviata (Washington National Opera and Marble City Opera), Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (University of Tennessee Knoxville)

* returning Filene Artist ^ former Studio Artist

JAMES MAVERICK, coaching

Baton Rouge, LA Coach/Pianist (The World Turned Upside Down, Studio Spotlight) Cover Conductor (Ariadne auf Naxos)

FELLOWS Coaching and Directing Fellows are emerging professionals at a point in their careers similar to that of Filene Artists, and they make critical contributions to WTO’s music and directing teams. Former Fellows have gone on to positions at leading opera companies and

TRAINING: Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Merola Opera Program, Tanglewood Music Center, Indiana University, Lawrence University HIGHLIGHTS: Chorusmaster – The Rake’s Progress, La cenerentola (Merola Opera Program), Coaching Faculty – University of Missouri-Kansas City, Coach/Accompanist – La fille du régiment, Peter Grimes (IU Opera Theater)

have developed thriving freelance careers as conductors and directors.

ROBERT BOSWORTH,

THOMAS MORRIS,

Fort Worth, TX

Atlanta, GA

Coach/Pianist (The Barber of Seville, Studio Spotlight) Supertitle Coordinator (Ariadne auf Naxos)

Coach/Pianist (Ariadne auf Naxos, Studio Spotlight) Supertitle Coordinator (The World Turned Upside Down)

TRAINING: Utah Opera, Merola Opera Program, Music Academy of the West, Opera Saratoga, Manhattan School of Music, University of Kentucky

TRAINING: Washington National Opera, Merola Opera Program, Manhattan School of Music, Aspen Summer Music Festival, Indiana University

HIGHLIGHTS: Coach/Pianist – The Little Prince, Moby-Dick (Utah Opera), Candide (Utah Symphony), The Crucible, La clemenza di Tito, Hänsel und Gretel (Chicago Summer Opera), Gianni Schicchi, The Medium (Merola Opera Program), Carmen (Music Academy of the West), Chorus Master – Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Utah Symphony)

HIGHLIGHTS: Coach/Pianist – Tosca, American Opera Initiative (Washington National Opera), Schwabacher Summer Concert, Il re pastore (Merola Opera Program), La traviata (Aspen Opera Center), L’incoronazione di Poppea, Falstaff, Les contes d’Hoffmann (Harrower Summer Opera Workshop)

EMILY CUK,

KT SHORB,

coaching

directing

coaching

directing

Rochester, NY

Wellesley, MA

Director (L’heure espagnole, Studio Spotlight) Assistant Director (Ariadne auf Naxos)

Assistant Director (The World Turned Upside Down, The Barber of Seville) Director (Studio Spotlight)

TRAINING: Eastman School of Music, Bard College

TRAINING: University of Texas at Austin, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, SITI Summer Intensive

HIGHLIGHTS: Director – Acis and Galatea (Pegasus Early Music), The Medium (Nazareth College), Iolanthe (Opera Naples Summer Youth Program), The Polite Abductress (Rochester Fringe Festival), Hin und Zuruck & Riders to the Sea, A Hand of Bridge (Eastman School of Music), The Three Feathers (Eastman Opera Collective), Così fan tutte (Charlottesville Opera Young Artists)

HIGHLIGHTS: Producing Artistic Director and Founder – Generic Ensemble Company (Austin, TX), Director – Gallantry, Assistant Director – Rinaldo (Chicago Summer Opera), Director – 893/ Ya-Ku-Za (The VORTEX, Victory Gardens), Assistant Director – Così fan tutte (Butler Opera Center), Director – Scheherazade, The Mikado: Reclaimed, Robin Hood: An Elegy, (The VORTEX)

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STUDIO ARTISTS The Wolf Trap Opera Studio facilitates the transition from student to professional. Studio Artists understudy principal

BLAKE DENSON,

baritone

Paducah, KY TRAINING: Rice University (M.M. 2020), University of Kentucky (B.M. 2018), Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy (2018) ROLE: Wigmaker (Ariadne auf Naxos) COVERS: Pierrot (Ariadne auf Naxos), Emperor (The Emperor of Atlantis)

roles, perform small roles, and sing in the chorus. They also work with a specially curated group of master teachers to continue their artistic and practical development.

BRADLEY BICKHARDT,

RON DUKES,

tenor

Indianapolis, IN

Columbia, NJ

TRAINING: Indiana University (M.M. 2020), University of Indianapolis (B.S. 2018)

TRAINING: Indiana University (M.M. 2020), Opera Saratoga (2018), Charlottesville Opera (2016), Indiana University (B.M. 2014) ROLES: Officer (Ariadne auf Naxos), Hanif (Merlin’s Island)

bass

ROLE: Truffaldin (Ariadne auf Naxos) COVER: Don Inigo de Gomez (L’heure espagnole)

COVERS: Gonsalve (L’heure espagnole), Harlekin (The Emperor of Atlantis)

JUSTIN BURGESS, baritone

South Lyon, MI TRAINING: University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (M.M. 2020), University of Michigan (B.M. 2018), Opera in the Ozarks (2017–2018), Bel Canto Institute (2016) ROLES: Zerbin (Merlin’s Island), Fiorello (The Barber of Seville)

JEREMY HARR,

bass

Grosse Pointe, MI TRAINING: University of Maryland (M.M. 2020), Opera Saratoga (2018), Oberlin Conservatory (B.M. 2018) ROLE: Lackey (Ariadne auf Naxos) COVERS: Death (The Emperor of Atlantis), Basilio (The Barber of Seville)

COVERS: Figaro (The Barber of Seville), Merlin (Merlin’s Island)

VICTOR CARDAMONE,

WILFORD KELLY,

Pittsburgh, PA

Plantation, FL

TRAINING: University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (M.M. 2020), Ball State University (A.D. 2018), Brevard Music Center Festival & Institute (2017–2018), Youngstown State University (B.M. 2016)

TRAINING: San Francisco Conservatory of Music (M.M. 2020), University of North Florida (B.M. 2018)

tenor

ROLES: Scaramuccio (Ariadne auf Naxos), Soldier (The Emperor of Atlantis) COVER: Almaviva (The Barber of Seville)

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bass-baritone

ROLE: Prudhomme (Merlin’s Island) COVERS: Scapin (Merlin’s Island), Loudspeaker (The Emperor of Atlantis), Bartolo (The Barber of Seville)

THERESA KESSER, mezzo-soprano* Poway, CA

ASHLEY MARIE ROBILLARD, soprano Norton, MA

TRAINING: Yale School of Music (M.M.A. 2020), Indiana University (M.M. 2018), Miami Music Festival (2017), University of Denver (P.C. 2016, B.M. 2015), Opera Steamboat (2016) COVERS: Composer (Ariadne auf Naxos), Hippocratine (Merlin’s Island), Berta (The Barber of Seville)

SEIYOUNG KIM,

tenor

Seoul, Korea

TRAINING: Curtis Institute of Music (M.M. 2020, B.M. 2018), Opera Philadelphia Emerging Artist (2017–2019) ROLE: Echo (Ariadne auf Naxos) COVERS: Argentine (Merlin’s Island), Girl with the Bobbed Hair (The Emperor of Atlantis)

RACHEL SHAUGHNESSY,

soprano*

TRAINING: New England Conservatory (M.M. 2019), The Santa Fe Opera (2018), The Juilliard School (B.M. 2017), Berlin Opera Academy (2017), Houston Grand Opera Young Artists Vocal Academy (2015)

Traverse City, MI

ROLE: Brighella (Ariadne auf Naxos)

COVERS: Diamantine (Merlin’s Island), Ariadne (Ariadne auf Naxos), Berta (The Barber of Seville)

COVERS: Dancing Master (Ariadne auf Naxos), Torquemada (L’heure espagnole)

MICHAEL PANDOLFO, baritone

Fort Worth, TX

TRAINING: Rice University (M.M. 2020), Michigan State University (B.M. 2017), Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy (2017), Songfest at Colburn (2017)

ANASTASIIA SIDOROVA, mezzo-soprano* St. Petersburg, Russia

TRAINING: University of Kentucky (B.M. 2018), Glimmerglass Festival (2018), Brevard Music Center (2017), Seagle Music Colony (2016), YoungArts (2014), Washington National Opera Institute (2013)

TRAINING: Curtis Institute of Music (B.M. 2019), Opera Philadelphia Emerging Artist (2016–2018), Rimsky-Korsakov Musical College (2014)

ROLE: Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos) COVER: Ramiro (L’heure espagnole)

COVER: Drummer (The Emperor of Atlantis)

MEAGAN RAO,

ISABEL SIGNORET,

soprano

ROLE: Dryad (Ariadne auf Naxos)

Auburn, California

mezzo-soprano

TRAINING: San Francisco Conservatory of Music (M.M. 2019), CoOPERAtive Program (2018), San Francisco Conservatory of Music (B.M. 2017), Canadian Vocal Arts Institute (2017)

San Juan, Puerto Rico

ROLE: Naiad (Ariadne auf Naxos) COVER: Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos)

TRAINING: Rice University (M.M. 2020), University of Michigan (B.M. 2018), Aspen Music Festival (2017–2018), Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy (2016), Miami Music Festival (2016) COVERS: Concepcion (L’heure espagnole), Rosina (The Barber of Seville)

* returning Studio Artist

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GUEST ARTISTS STEVEN BLIER

ROBERT H. GRIMES

CHRISTOPHER BRUSBERG

JOAN GUILLÉN

ELIZABETH COKER

LAURA FINE HAWKES

XEVI DORCA

JONATHAN KNIPSCHER

TARA FAIRCLOTH

JOSEPH LI

Director, Pianist and Arranger – 25th Anniversary Concert New York Festival of Song (Artistic Director), The Juilliard School, Steans Institute at Ravinia, San Francisco Opera, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts

Lighting Designer – L’heure espagnole Maryland Opera Studio, New Rep Theater, Imagination Stage, Guerilla Opera, Opera Boston Collaborative

Choreographer – The World Turned Upside Down Co-artistic Director, Seán Curran Company; Assistant Arts Professor, NYU/Tisch Dance; Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Guggenheim Works and Process (NYC) Associate Director, Choreographer – The Barber of Seville Welsh National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Royal Opera House Muscat, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago

Scenic & Costume Designer – The Barber of Seville Gran Teatre del Liceu, Houston Grand Opera, Theatre Royal de la Monnaie, Welsh National Opera, Teatro Real Madrid

Scenic Designer – Ariadne auf Naxos Utah Opera, Arizona Opera, Merola Opera Program (San Francisco Opera), Stages Repertory Theatre (Houston), Binghamton University (SUNY) Theatre Department

Costume Designer – The World Turned Upside Down Des Moines Metropolitan Opera, Opera Delaware, Opera Louisiane, Atlanta Opera, Castleton Festival

Director – Ariadne Auf Naxos Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Ars Lyrica Houston, Des Moines Metropolitan Opera, Central City Opera

Pianist—Steven Blier’s 25th Anniversary Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Minnesota Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Rice University, Baylor University

ALBERT FAURA

CHARLES MURDOCK LUCAS

JOAN FONT

GEOFFREY McDONALD

RICHARD GAMMON

ANNE NESMITH

Original Lighting Designer – The Barber of Seville Teatro de la Zarzuela (Madrid), Finnish National Opera (Helsinki), Houston Grand Opera (Houston)

Director – The Barber of Seville Els Comediants, Festival d’Avignon, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Teatro Real Madrid, Houston Grand Opera

Director – The World Turned Upside Down University of Kentucky Opera Theatre, Opera Maine, Opera Lafayette, Carnegie Mellon University, Virginia Opera

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Lighting Designer – The World Turned Upside Down, Ariadne auf Naxos The Barns at Wolf Trap, Melodrama Theatre, San Antonio Little Theatre, Arena Stage, Folger Shakespeare Theatre, Wolf Trap Recordings (Grammy nomination)

Producation Designer – L’heure espagnole Eastman Opera Theatre, Daejeon Arts Center, CMT San Jose, Cygnet Theatre, Skylight Music Theatre

Conductor – The World Turned Upside Down Opera Philadelphia, Atlanta Opera, Opera Omaha, Chicago Opera Theater, On Site Opera

Wig and Makeup Designer – The World Turned Upside Down, Ariadne auf Naxos, The Barber of Seville Saito Kinen Festival, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Opera Philadelphia, Arena Stage, Ford’s Theatre

JULIA NOULIN-MÉRAT

MARK STANLEY

EMILY SENTURIA

ROOTH VARLAND

Scenic Designer – The World Turned Upside Down Boston Lyric Opera, Minnesota Opera, Guerilla Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Omaha, Opera New Jersey, El Paso Opera

Revival Lighting Designer – The Barber of Seville New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Paris Opera Ballet, Boston Lyric Opera, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

Conductor – Ariadne auf Naxos Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, West Edge Opera, International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival, Pensacola Opera

Costume Designer – Ariadne auf Naxos 7Stages, Blue, Mercury Baroque Ensemble, Kruttarn Teater, Michigan Shakespeare Festival, Opera in the Ozarks

MUSIC STAFF

LIDIYA YANKOVSKAYA

Conductor – The Barber of Seville Refugee Orchestra Project (Founder and Artistic Director), Spoleto, Nashville Symphony, The Metropolitan Opera, Opera Saratoga, Dallas Opera

JOEL AYAU

Cover Conductor Washington National Opera, Opera Memphis, The Washington Chorus, Charlottesville Opera

ANDREW CROOKS

Cover Conductor Lawrence University (Assistant Professor of Music), Komische Oper Berlin, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Metamorphos Ensemble Berlin

PRODUCTION STAFF

JOCELYN DUECK

JORDAN BRAUN

JEREMY FRANK

RACHEL HENNEBERRY

THOMAS LAUSMANN

JULIE MARIE LANGEVIN

French Consultant Carnegie Mellon, The Metropolitan Opera, The Julliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Mannes College, Seattle Opera, Glimmerglass, Tanglewood Chorusmaster, Cover Conductor LA Opera, Seattle Opera, Utah Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Opera Center, The Juilliard School German Consultant The Metropolitan Opera (Director of Music Administration), Vienna State Opera, Vienna Philharmonic, Bayreuth Festival, Komische Opera Berlin

JUSTINA LEE

Vocal Coach University of Maryland, The Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis

JOSEPH LI

Vocal Coach, Music Administrator Houston Grand Opera, Arizona Opera, Minnesota Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Rice University, Baylor University

Production Stage Manager – Ariadne auf Naxos Assistant Stage Manager – The Barber of Seville Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Opera Colorado, The Atlanta Opera, Opera Carolina Production Stage Manager – The Barber of Seville Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Utah Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Pittsburgh Opera Production Stage Manager – L’heure espagnole Assistant Stage Manager – Ariadne auf Naxos Boston Lyric Opera, Des Moines Metropolitan Opera

MADELINE LEVY

Production Stage Manager – The World Turned Upside Down Assistant Stage Manager – The Barber of Seville Seattle Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Opera Colorado

SAVANNAH VALIGURA

Assistant Stage Manager – The World Turned Upside Down Madison Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, University of Wisconsin-Madison

GRANT LOEHNIG

Head of Music Staff Opera Philadelphia, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, The Curtis Institute, Rice University

NATE RASKIN

Vocal Coach The Metropolitan Opera, Chautauqua Institution, Aspen Music Festival

NICOLÒ SBUELZ

Italian Consultant Sarasota Opera, Merola Opera Program, Aspen Music Festival, Accademia del Teatro alla Scala, Opéra de Lyon

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CAREER DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM DEBORAH BIRNBAUM

STUART LOUNGWAY

ELIZABETH BISHOP

TIFFANY SORICELLI

JASON FERRANTE

Full list available at WOLFTRAP.ORG/OPERA

Breath Technique Vocal Technique Vocal Technique

CORY LIPPIELLO Casting Insight

Dance & Movement

Finances & Budgeting

THIS PROGRAM MADE POSSIBLE IN PART THROUGH THE GENEROSITY OF ANNE R. KLINE AND GEOFFREY POHANKA

HOUSING HOSTS We are grateful to the following individuals for hosting our Wolf Trap Opera 2019 artists in their homes.

Mary Aldacushion Cathy Bobzien Jane and Lutz Braum Jerry G. Bridges and Sally Turner Jan Childress Ellen Dykes and Alan McAdam Deb Gandy Ken Hayduk and Victoria Strohmeyer John and Tracie Jaquemin Linda Kauss and Clark Hoyt Ann Jones Grace Jones Tom Lenke Carlos and Maureen Mariño

Liz Megginson Linda and Charlie Moses Ruth and Eugene Overton Dion and Michelle Rudnicki Sandra Saydah Annie Schaffner Karen Sorenson and Peter Gaus Sarah Spicer Judith Stehling and Edgar Ariza-Niño Donna and Edward Stoker Stephanie and Fernando van Reigersberg Paul and Pat Ward Ron and Judy Wilgenbusch Jody and Steve Winter

THE BARNS AT WOLF TRAP 2019 HOUSE RULES • All patrons, regardless of age, must have a ticket.

• Patrons must sit in the seats for which they have tickets.

• Resale of tickets on Wolf Trap Foundation property is strictly prohibited by Wolf Trap Foundation policy.

• Outside food or beverages may not be consumed inside the facility.

• Beverages are permitted inside the theater. Food is not permitted inside the theater.

• The Barns is a smoke-free facility. Smoking, including e-cigarettes, is permitted only in the designated area outside the main entrance.

• The use of recording equipment and cameras (with or

• Late arrivals are normally seated between movements, acts, or numbers at the discretion of management and at the request of the artist(s).

• With the exception of service animals assisting disabled persons, pets are not permitted.

• Patrons may not stand in or block aisles or sightlines at any time during performances.

• Disturbing fellow patrons with loud conversation or inappropriate behavior is not permitted and may result in removal from the performance without a refund.

• All cell phones and electronic devices must be silenced during the performance.

without flash) during performances is prohibited unless

• Firearms are prohibited.

coordinated through management and authorized by

• Violation of The Barns at Wolf Trap House Rules may

the artist(s).

result in removal from the performance without refund and/or prosecution.

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STAFF WOLF TRAP FOUNDATION LEADERSHIP ARVIND MANOCHA President and CEO BETH BRUMMEL Chief Operating Officer SARA BEESLEY Vice President, Program and Production BERNARD BERRY, III Senior Director, Ticket Services CHRISTOPHER J. ECKERT Vice President, Operations GEORGIA GRENA Vice President, Finance ELIZABETH SCHILL HUGHES Senior Director, Human Resources SARA P. JAFFE Vice President, Development SHANNON KELLY Senior Director, Government Affairs AKUA KOUYATE-TATE Vice President, Education JO LABRECQUE Vice President, Communications and Marketing

WOLF TRAP OPERA ARTISTIC & ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF LEE ANNE MYSLEWSKI Vice President MORGAN BROPHY Assistant Director, Artistic Administration RACHEL STANTON Assistant Director, Artistic Operations TEHVON FOWLER-CHAPMAN Coordinator, Company Management ROBERT H. GRIMES Production Manager, The Barns at Wolf Trap TIMOTHY MCCORMICK Assistant Production Manager and Technical Director GARRY SIKORA House Manager GRANT LOEHNIG Head of Music ALEC CASTRO Rehearsal Administrator

TECHNICAL STAFF

APPRENTICES

KAT FAHRENTHOLD Master Electrician

WTO Apprentices are part of Wolf Trap Foundation’s Internship and Apprenticeship program. Having honed their skills through academic training, they now receive hands-on experience in a professional setting as well as mentorship from Wolf Trap Opera staff.

GUS REDMOND Shop Foreman / Master Carpenter KASEY HENDRICKS Props Master CAMILLE PETRILLO Charge Artist CHRISTINA CURTIS Scenic Artist MARY GRANT Carpenter

TREY ALBERG Technical Theater, Carleton College KIRK BALTZELL Stage Management, University of Texas at Austin

ALEX WADE Carpenter

KENLY COX Props, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill

COSTUME STAFF

MEREDITH HART Technical Theater, George Mason University

SUE CHIANG Shop Manager KIMBERLEE BOLTON Draper MADISON BOOTH Design Assistant / First Hand MARY RATHELL Design Assistant / First Hand JENNIFER BAE First Hand AMY VANDER STAAY First Hand KIRSI MYNTTI Stitcher / Wardrobe SAHAR EISENSTEIN-BOND Stitcher / Wardrobe AUBREY MEZZAFERRI Wardrobe

RACHEL KIRBY Wigs and Makeup, Mary Washington University VICTORIA LAM Arts Administration, Ithaca College JAYSON LAWSHEE Technical Theater, Webster University ALYCIA MARTIN Stage Management, Webster University ANDREW MOORE Technical Theater, Wright State University NICHOLAS RAMSAY Communications, Georgia State University TRAVIS AUSTIN SYKES Costumes, Radford University CATALINA ZAMARRIPA Scenic Painting, Maryland College Institute of Art

ORCHESTRA STAFF PHIL SNEDECOR Contractor

MARICA FARABEE Librarian

DESIGN ASSISTANTS

MELISSA SIBERT Assistant Wig & Makeup Designer MARTHA MOUNTAIN Assistant Lighting Designer

IAN GAMMARINO Production Coordinator

49

ORCHESTRA & CHORUS THE WORLD TURNED UPSIDE DOWN First Violin David Salness, concertmaster Laura Miller Xi Chen Paula McCarthy Second Violin Sally McLain, principal Jennifer Himes Doug Dube Viola Jennifer Rende, principal Tiffany Richardson Cello Lori Barnet, principal Kerry VanLaanen

ARIADNE AUF NAXOS Violin David Salness, concertmaster Sally McLain Laura Miller Allison Bailey Paula McCarthy Patty Hurd Violas Jennifer Rende, principal Stephenie Knutsen Kyung Le Blanc Derek Smith Cello Lori Barnet, principal Kerry VanLaanen Todd Thiel Sean Neidlinger

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE First Violin Peter Sirotin, concertmaster Sasha Mikhlin Tim Macek Sarah Sherry Patty Hurd Jennifer Himes Leo Sushansky Paula McCarthy Chaerim Smith Sandy Choi Seconds Violin Laura Miller, principal Doug Dube Xi Chen Christiana Constantinescu Jennifer Rickard Laura Knutson Simon Rundlett Sonya Hayes

Bass Jeff Koczela, principal Flute David Lonkevich, principal Sara Nichols Oboe Fatma Daglar, principal David Garcia Clarinet Annie Ament, principal Alto Saxophone Tim Roberts, principal Bassoon Eric Dircksen, principal Jeff Ward

Horn Evan Geiger, principal Chandra Cervantes Trumpet Kevin Gebo, principal Percussion Bill Richards, principal Danny Villanueva Piano James Maverick Tenor Banjo and Guitar Wiley Porter

Bass Ed Malaga, principal Jeff Koczela Flute David Lonkevich, principal Beverly Crawford Oboe Fatma Daglar, principal David Garcia Clarinets Kathy Mulcahy, principal Jeremy Eig Bassoon Sam Blair, principal Ben Greanya Horn Evan Geiger, principal Chandra Cervantes

Trumpet Phil Snedecor, principal Trombone Bryan Bourne, principal Timpani Bill Richards, principal Percussion Joe Connell Harp Kate Rogers, principal Rebecca Smith Piano Thomas Morris Celesta James Maverick Harmonium Grant Loehnig

Viola Jennifer Rende, principal Cathy Amoury Derek Smith Stephenie Knutsen Tiffany Richardson Kyung LeBlanc Cello Lori Barnet, principal Kerry Van Laanen Todd Thiel Fiona Thompson Erin Snedecor Bass Jeff Koczela, principal Marta Bradley Chris Chlumsky Flute David Lonkevich, principal Beverly Crawford Oboe Fatma Daglar, principal

Clarinet Cathy Mulcahy, principal Dennis Strawley Bassoon Chris Jewel, principal Ben Greanya Horn Geoff Pilkington, principal Chandra Cervantes Trumpets Phil Snedecor, principal Kevin Gebo Trombone Bryan Bourne, principal Timpani Bill Richards, principal Harpsichord Justina Lee Percussion Joe Connell Guitar Candice Mowbray

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE CHORUS Alex Alburqueque, Anthony Ballard, Nathan Buttram, Eduardo Castro, Antonio Chase, Cosmo Clemens, Vincent Davis, Gene Galvin, David Gradin, Jonesik Joo, Benjamin Krumreig, James Shaffran

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Members of AGMA appear through the courtesy

Steinway and Boston are the preferred pianos for

The musicians employed in this production are members of and

of the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.

Wolf Trap performances and education facilities.

represented by D.C. Federation of Musicians, AFM Local 161-710.

OPERA BEYOND THE BARNS

Your Wolf Trap Opera experience can be extended to the comfort of your own home!

STREAMING VIDEO Full productions are available to view at wolftrap.org/streaming: Roméo et Juliette (2018) April – September 2019 The World Turned Upside Down (2019) October 2019 – March 2020

RADIO Wolf Trap Opera can be heard on Classical WETA 90.9 on Saturdays in May 2019 as part of the Opera House series.

CD RELEASES The audio recording of Wolf Trap Opera’s 2017 production of Philip Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher is coming soon! The CD was recorded at The Barns and produced by Blanton Alspaugh—2018 Grammy award-winner for Classical Producer of the Year.

SPECIAL THANKS TO THE LINCOLN AND THERESE FILENE FOUNDATION, PROGRAM SPONSOR

Photo Credit: Scott Suchman

9

Photo: Karli Cadel

July 6 - August 24 Cooperstown, NY Tickets start at $26 www.glimmerglass.org (607) 547-2255

SHOW BOAT

LA TRAVIATA

THE GHOSTS OF VERSAILLES BLUE

Kern/Hammerstein II

Verdi/Piave

Corigliano/Hoffman

july 6 - august 24

july 7 - august 24

july 13 - august 23

Tesori/Thompson

july 14 - august 22

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WITH APPRECIATION Wolf Trap Foundation is deeply grateful to each of the following individuals for supporting the Foundation through 2019 membership gifts, sponsorships, fundraisers, and endowment giving between April 15, 2018 and April 5, 2019. To donate, please contact Wolf Trap Development at 703.255.1927 or visit wolftrap.org/give.

INDIVIDUAL DONORS 2019 SEASON UNDERWRITERS Dan and Gayle D’Aniello

$100,000+ Anonymous Hillary and Tom Baltimore Estates of Robert D. Davis, Jr. and Henry J. Schalizki Dan and Gloria Logan | The Revada Foundation Gary D. and Christina Co Mather David M. Rubenstein Michael Saylor Karen and Fred Schaufeld

$50,000 TO $99,999 Jean and Ric Edelman Virginia McGehee Friend Shashikant and Margaret Gupta Sue J. Henry and Carter G. Phillips Calvin and Janet Hill Robert M. and Joyce A. Johnson John and Susie King Anne R. Kline and Geoffrey Pohanka Jacqueline B. Mars Ed and Andy Smith F. Chapman and Grace Taylor Robert and Lisa Van Hoecke Estate of Ronald V. Villafranco The Webber Family Deborah F. and David A. Winston Suzanne and Glenn Youngkin

$25,000 TO $49,999 Anonymous Raj Ananathanpillai and Radhika Rajagopalan C.E. and Jean Andrews Mark and Jennie Bishof The Scott and Patrice Brickman Family Foundation Bruce L. Caswell and Lauren Deichman Melissa Delgado and Tony Colangelo John and Lynn Dillon Kimberly Engel & Family/The Dennis and Judy Engel Charitable Foundation Don and Angela Irwin The Ithaka Foundation Matt Korn and Cindy Miller Gen. (Ret.) Lester L. and Mina Lyles Stephen and Betsy Mundt Diane and Tim Naughton Estate of Kazuko K. Price Norma and Russ Ramsey The Anthony and Beatrice Welters Family

$15,000 TO $24,999 Craig and Valerie Dykstra James N. Glerum and Diane Morales Glerum Gil and Janice Guarino Broderick Johnson and Michele Norris Governor and Mrs. Dirk Kempthorne Sachiko Kuno Foundation Arvind Manocha and Gideon Malone Ann McPherson McKee, Gift in Remembrance of Burtt & Rebecca Gray McKee and Douglas & Ann McKee Seeley

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Kevin and Kate Robbins Danielle and John Saunders Estate of Susan Sawyer

$10,000 TO $14,999 Madeleine Abel Beth B. Buehlmann Michael and Deborah Chusmir/ The Victor & Gussie Baxt Fund Jeff and Jacqueline Copeland Michele Duell and Richard Duffy Shelly and Jack Hazel Clark Hoyt and Linda Kauss John and Tracie Jacquemin/ The Jacquemin Family Foundation Eric and Heather Kadel Janet and Jerry Kohlenberger Nancy Laben and Jon Feiger Charla and Howard Levine James and Cheryl MacGuidwin Ray and Colleen McDuffie Ramona and John W. Mockoviak Patsy and Howard Norton Laura and Sean O’Keefe Charles and Angela Prow Donna and Jim Reagan Lola C. Reinsch/Dorchester Apartments and Towers on Columbia Pike, Arlington H. Mac and Michele-Anne Riley Jeannette E. Roach and Whitfield A. Russell Dr. James Roth Gerry and Lynn Rubin Kevin L. Rusnak and Donald R. Dechow Jr. Jaime and Andrew Schwartzberg Tori Thomas Ranvir and Adarsh Trehan Gregg Turk Theresa and John B. Wood Greg and Janne Young

$5,000 TO $9,999 Anonymous (17) Duane and Katy Adams Ramon and Marissa Alcala General John R. and Mrs. Kathy Allen Melinda Ampthor Gary and Mary Ann Amstutz Marian and Jay Andre Mrs. Benjamin P. Astley Marvin E. Ausherman Jay and Terry Bachmann Russel and Ann Bantham Richard Bates/The Walt Disney Company Thomas A. Belles and Carla Minosh David M. Borowski and Kerry Cadden Harlan W. and Mary M. Bowers K. David Boyer, Jr. and Family Diane S. Bronfman Beth Brummel and Michael Beresik Shawn and Gail Cali Claudia Callaway and Steven K. Davidson Drew and Therese Caplan Jim and Mary Anne Carlson Marcia and Frank C.+ Carlucci III Brian and Allayne Chappelle

The Chaskin Family Jay W. and Heidi A. Chesky Brian J. Christianson Karen and Jim Cleveland Kenneth W. Coan/Sevila Coan Financial Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC Kathy and Jim Connor Kevin Cooper and Neal Carpenter Jon and Patty Craver Enrico and Linda Della Corna Tami and Jeff Dierman Kristin and Eric Dubelier Diana and Douglas Dykstra Mr. and Mrs. Dean S. Edmonds/ Dean S. Edmonds Foundation Vincent Ferraro and Laura Forte Dr. and Mrs. Gerald W. Fischer Michael P. and Marilyn H. Fitzgerald Bob and Rachel Foster Russell Frey Dennis and Malinda Garris Cathy A. German Bonnie L. Goldschmidt and Michele Shimek Katherine Goudreau and Don Mesecher William and Jacqueline A. Gravell Nancy J. Griffith Marge and Joe Grills Atul Grover and Katherine Grover Marlene and William Haffner Robert H. and Brenda Hawthorne Christine Hosch Loren B. Hudziak Tony Jimenez/MicroTech Ricki and Joel Kanter Richard and Barbara Kaufmann Ashok and Stuti Kaveeshwar Sean M. Kelley Laura, Jess, Mike, and Tim Kennedy Alka and Sudhakar Kesavan Rae Ann and Bill Knopf Jenna and Wyatt Korff Ross and Kaye Kory Gayle and Jonathan Kosarin David F. La Mar and Terri L. Crowl John Laliberte David and Mary Beth Lane John and Cindy Langan Sheri A. Layton Matt Lerner/Frederick Coin Exchange James Lintott and May Liang Gigi and Mike Louden and Dabney Hart Chip and Katie Lowry Clark and Kathleen Manning and Family Tim and Bernadette Manning Philip and Sandy+ Marcum Dana and David Martin Patrick and Sheryl McCurnin Scott and Patricia McMullan Susan and David McMunn Susie and Josh Metz Tim and Sherry Meyers Buzz and Donna Miller Ryan and Krista Miller Dr. Mark and Amy Mykityshyn

CORPORATE, FOUNDATION & GOVERNMENT PARTNERS Wolf Trap Foundation sincerely appreciates each of the following institutions for supporting the Foundation through grants, corporate partnerships, fundraisers, and endowment giving between April 15, 2018 and April 5, 2019.

To donate, please contact Wolf Trap Development at 703.255.1927 or visit Trevor and Jennifer Nelson Reed and Pat Menster Neuman Marcia L. Newbill Boofie and Joe O’Gorman Kerri Palmer Christine and Gregory Parseghian Nora and Glen Petitt Carol S. Popowsky Chris and Rita Raymond Patricia and Craig Reed Dan Remaklus and Wendy Colestock Diana Richman and Jim Abellera Leigh Riley Edgar and Lillian Rios/The R&R Foundation Rick and Faith Roberts Brenda and William Romenius Dion and Michelle Rudnicki Karl and Susan Salnoske Rebecca and William Sanders Jeff and Dawn Sanok Bernadette and Ed Saperstein Srikant K. Sastry and Manjula Pindiprolu Stan and Ruth Seemann John and Darcy Sekas Craig and Christina Sharon Joan Sheppard Jon and Pat Simons Ronald and Deborah Sindler Tina and Albert Small, Jr. Joel K. and Martha L. Smith Linda and Nigel Smyth Peter and Jennie Stathis Kimberly and Gary Stewart Patricia Stonesifer and Michael Kinsley Ashley Stow David L. Straus, Gift in Remembrance of Betty B. Straus Pam and Greg Sullivan Susan B. Sutter Martha and Brad Taishoff, Gift in Memory of Steve Cowan and John Hines Peter and Ann Tanous Paul and Tracy Tartaglione Mark and Jeanette Testoni Ray and Stacey Thal Theresa Thompson Victoria Trumbower The Honorable Hans N. Tuch and Mrs.+ Tuch Katherine Ann and Caroline Morris Van Kirk Lynn and Carl Verboncoeur Rosetta and Martin Virgilio Robert and Janice Vitale Richard and Mary Wall Bruce and Christine Wardinski John and Gina Wasson Sue Irish and Kenn Weir Mary B. White, Esq. Lisa and Eric Wieman June A. Williams Sean and Nancy Willson Bill and Terry Witowsky James Y. S. Yap Jake and Whitney Zatzkin + Deceased

wolftrap.org/give. $250,000+

The Boeing Company Department of the Interior, National Park Service The PNC Foundation

$100,000 TO $249,999

Anonymous Foundation Capital One County of Fairfax, Virginia Lincoln and Therese Filene Foundation iHeartMedia, Inc. National Endowment for the Arts Northrop Grumman Foundation Tickets.com, LLC

$50,000 TO $99,999

Amazon Web Services Booz Allen Hamilton Cox Business Kenneth W. and Janice W. Freeman Family Foundation General Dynamics Grant Thornton LLP Hilton Lockheed Martin Northrop Grumman Telos Corporation Virginia Commission for the Arts The Volgenau Foundation WHITE64

$25,000 TO $49,999

Battelle The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation Choice Hotels International Deloitte Ernst & Young Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation JP Morgan Chase & Co. MAXIMUS Microsoft Corporation National Counseling Group NBC4 OPERA America: Innovation Grants Park Hotels & Resorts PwC LLP SAP NS2 TTR / Sotheby’s International Realty

$10,000 TO $14,999

Alston & Bird American Council of Life Insurers Arthritis & Sports Bender Foundation, Inc. Dorothy G. Bender Foundation, Inc. BlackLynx, Inc. Blue Delta Capital Partners Brown Advisory Capgemini Carahsoft Technology Corp.

Dominion Energy Double Wood Farm The Richard Eaton Foundation ECS | A Segment of ASGN Endera Enterprise Knowledge Evolver, Inc. GEICO Gensler Graduate Management Admission Council Graham Holdings Company Gupta Family Foundation Hogan Lovells Host Hotels & Resorts WHUR - Howard University Radio HHMI - Janelia Research Campus Kearney & Company Leidos L.F. Jennings McKinsey & Company Nauticon Office Solutions Playa Hotels & Resorts Service Distributing, Inc. STG International, Inc. Stratos Solutions Tangible Security Trend Micro, Inc. United Technologies Corporation USAA Vectrus Venable Foundation Washington Workplace WinVirginia

$15,000 TO $24,999

American Airlines Arent Fox LLP The Theodore H. Barth Foundation, Inc. DLA Piper The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company IBM Laird Norton Family Foundation Mars Foundation M&T Bank Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Sierra Nevada Corporation Sport & Health Clubs Starr Hill Brewery Wells Fargo Foundation

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WOLF TRAP FOUNDATION NAMED ENDOWMENT FUNDS Wolf Trap Foundation is deeply thankful to each of the following individuals and organizations for their generous gifts to establish endowed funds of $100,000 or more. The perpetual support provided by these funds is helping to ensure Wolf Trap’s arts and education programs thrive for generations to come. For information, please contact Wolf Trap Development at 703.255.1930 or visit wolftrap.org/endowment.

Mary H. Beggs President’s Fund Bender Foundation, Inc., The Howard and Sondra Bender Family Fund for Education

Philip C. Marcum, The Sandy “Tanta” Marcum Fund for Early Learning Through the Arts Fund for Artistic Excellence in Honor of Audrey M. Mars

Robert M. Coffelt, Jr. in honor of Annetta J. and Robert M. Coffelt, The Coffelt Fund for Wolf Trap Opera and Education

John and Adrienne Mars/Jacqueline Badger Mars/Mars Foundation, Mars Fellowship Fund for Wolf Trap Opera

Cox Communications, The Cox Communications Fund for Education Initiatives in the Performing Arts

Suzann Wilson Matthews, The Suzann Wilson Matthews Internship Fund

Nancy K. Eberhardt, Howard and Dorothy Kahn Education Fund

Ann McKee Fund for Opera Linda B. and Tobia G. Mercuro, The Linda and Tobia Mercuro Fund for Early Learning Through the Arts

The Freed Foundation, The Freed Fund for Early Childhood Education in the Performing Arts The William H. Geiger Family Foundation, The Lee Anne F. Geiger Fund for Early Learning Through the Arts General Dynamics, General Dynamics Fund for Early Learning Through the Arts

The Mullaney Family, The Mullaney Family Fund for Education National Endowment for the Arts National Endowment for the Arts/Packard Foundation, NEA Packard Challenge Fund The Terry Noack Master Teaching Artists in Dance Fund

Shashikant and Margaret Gupta, Gupta Fund for Early Learning Through the Arts

David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Packard Fund

Estate of Carol V. Harford, Carol V. Harford Fund for Wolf Trap Opera in Memory of Catherine Filene Shouse

Catherine Filene Shouse Education Fund

Hearst Foundation, Inc.

Catherine Filene Shouse Foundation, Kay Shouse Great Performance Fund

The Jacquemin Family Foundation, The Jacquemin Family Fund for Master Teaching Artists

Peter and Jennie Stathis, Peter and Jennie Stathis Fund for Early Learning Through the Arts

The Paula A. Jameson Fund for Wolf Trap Opera

Estate of Arthur Tracy, “The Street Singer,” Arthur Tracy Fund for Wolf Trap Opera

Mr. and Mrs. Stuart C. Johnson, Stuart C. and Nancy M. Johnson Fund for Wolf Trap Terre and Polly Jones Endowed Fund for Artistic Initiatives Alan and Carol Kelly, Alan and Carol Kelly Fund for Education

The Trojanger Fund for Wolf Trap Robert and Lisa Van Hoecke, Van Hoecke Family Fund for Technology in Education Earle C. and June A. Williams Fund for Wolf Trap

The King Family Fund for Early Learning Through the Arts

Kim Witman Fund for Opera Coaching

KIM WITMAN FUND FOR OPERA COACHING Wolf Trap Foundation is pleased to recognize gifts of $1,000 or more to the Kim Witman Fund for Opera Coaching.

Established on the occasion of Kim Pensinger Witman’s retirement after 22 years at the helm of Wolf Trap Opera (WTO), this fund will support the long-term growth and success of WTO in its mission to discover and develop today’s finest emerging artists.

Anonymous Dan and Gayle D’Aniello Virginia McGehee Friend Jo and Larry Hodgin Raymond J. and Irene Husson John and Susie King

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Anne R. Kline and Geoffrey Pohanka Dan and Gloria Logan | The Revada Foundation Arvind Manocha and Gideon Malone Ann McPherson McKee Ingrid B. Meyer Larz Pearson and Rick Treviño

Ed and Andy Smith Joseph F. Sobota Theresa Thompson Robert and Lisa Van Hoecke Susan Weinsheimer RADM and Mrs. R. C. Wilgenbusch

CATHERINE FILENE SHOUSE LEGACY CIRCLE Wolf Trap Foundation gratefully acknowledges these individuals who have thoughtfully expressed their commitment to preserving the legacy of Wolf Trap for future generations by remembering the Foundation in their estate plans. For information, please contact Wolf Trap Development at 703.255.1930 or visit wolftrap.org/legacy.

Anonymous (39) Dr. and Mrs. Duane A. Adams Mark and Maris Angolia Jeanne Oates Angulo and Albert W. Angulo+ Jean W. Arnold Jeannie P. Baliles* Nancy A. Bartholomaei Sharon and Gary Batie The Honorable and Mrs.+ James M. Beggs* Ashley Benes David and Joan Berenson* Eleanor K. H. Blayney Thomas W. Bliss and Debra Harkins Bliss Dr.+ and Mrs.+ George P. Bogumill* Barbara A. Boinest Barbara A. and Peter P. Bonora David M. Borowski and Kerry Cadden K. David Boyer, Jr. and Family Mary W. Brady John H. Briggs Mrs. Joel T. Broyhill* Nancy Broyhill Dennis and Julie Bruns Beth B. Buehlmann Edward A. and Karen A. Burka Allyson Butler Mr. and Mrs. John K. Butler Gregory S. Byrnes Marcia and Frank C.+ Carlucci III* James and Karen Chamberlain Denise Chen and Tim Maas Deborah M. and Michael Jay Chusmir Roy Cleland Mark Richard Clem* Mr. and Mrs. Philip M. Collins Suzanne Conrad* Jim and Kaye Cook Stephen T. Cramolini and John R. Feather II David Samuel Daley Robert D. Davis, Jr.+ and Henry J. Schalizki+ Lawrence and Sharon Deibel Laurie Parks DeLand Ronald and Linda DeRamus L. William Derrow John and Lynn Dillon Kristen and Christopher Eckert* Eddie and Rachel Eitches Mary Elizabeth Ewing+ Gary T. Festerman+* Marilyn Hicks Fitzgerald Michael P. Fitzgerald Mark and Lynn Freemantle Daryl and Marcia Friedman* Virginia McGehee Friend Hermione Fthenakis James N. Glerum and Diane Morales Glerum Stephen and Barbara Goetting* Sandra Goshgarian Mark William and Jodie Monger Gray

Robert H. and Linda C. Grimes* John and Dawn Grinstead Barbara Groshans Marcia Hackett Allen Raphael Halper and Kim Kunzig Halper Carol V. Harford+* Mr. and Mrs. Marion Edwyn Harrison* Robert H. and Brenda Hawthorne Holidae H. Hayes Robin Crawford Heller Kaye Ann Hellmich The Honorable Sophocles A.+ and Mrs. Aphrodite S.+ Hero* Jo and Larry Hodgin* William M. Holmes, Jr.* Clark Hoyt and Linda Kauss Alexine Clement Jackson Stuart C. and Nancy M. Johnson* Terrence and Polly Jones* Ms. Terry Lynn Jones* Barbara (Grabon) and Robert Juszczyk Ashok and Stuti Kaveeshwar* Shawn Kelley and Karen Albert Sue Leonard Mr.+ and Mrs. Robert D. G. Lewis Sally D. Liff+ Dr. Diana Locke and Mr. Robert Toense Mr. and Mrs.+ William J. Long Dennis and Pam Lucey Karyl Charna Lynn Philip and Sandy+ Marcum Mr.+ and Mrs. William H. Marumoto* Dr. R. Barbara Mattas* Mr.+ and Mrs. R. Dennis McArver* Ann McPherson McKee* Beth Masters McCormick Robert and Anita+ McKinley Joshua, Benjamin, and Micah Miller* RoseMarie M. Mirabella* Frances Edmonds (Mohr) and Michael D. Mohr* Ward and Barbara Morris Mr. and Mrs. Charles T. Moses III Dr.+ and Mrs. J. Frederic Mushinski Richard and Stella Guerra Nelson* Darrell L. Netherton Dr. Norine E. Noonan* Gerson Nordlinger, Jr.+ Nicholas Nylec II and Sharon J. Nylec Edward and Susan O’Connell Philip and Marjorie Odeen* Beatriz M. Oliveira Stephen D. Parks, Jr. and Amy Domagala-Parks Susan J. and Stephen D. Parks James B. Pearson, Jr.* Dr.+ and Mrs.+ Jed W. Pearson, Jr.* Julia Perry Carol S. Popowsky Dr. Kazuko K. Price+* Jim+ and Rosemary+ Prosser

R. J.+ and Nancy+ Purdy* Charlene and Richard Raphael Don and Paige Rhodes Dr. Robin Rinearson Kevin and Kate Robbins Julie Carter Roberts and The Honorable James Montgomery Roberts* Lisa and Bud+ Roeder Dr. James Roth Kevin L. Rusnak and Donald R. Dechow Jr. Rosanne Russo Bernadette Saperstein Danielle O. and John H. Saunders Alan J. Savada* Susan Sawyer+ David Lawrence Scally Amy E. Schaffer Ruth and Stan Seemann Ronald Segal+ and Beverly Dickerson Keith and Michelle Senglaub Keith+ and Barbara+ Severin* Mary Shedlock and Jim Mizner Wayne+ and Mary Kay+ Shelton* Joan Sheppard Dr. George Siemering and Vickie Watson Siemering Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Silien Mr. and Mrs. Murray Simpson Sandra and Eoin Stafford Robert E. Stovall and Deborah D. Ralston Pam and Greg Sullivan Robert A. Timmins, Jr. Ina and Ed+ Tornberg Rick R. Treviño and W. Larz Pearson The Honorable Hans N. Tuch and Mrs.+ Tuch Lesley D. Turner and Curtis L. Schehr Mr. and Mrs. James M. Underhill Mr. and Mrs.+ J. Robert Vakiener Stephanie and Fernando van Reigersberg Charlie and Terry Walters* Patricia Shea Ward and Paul B. Ward W. Jay and Camille Warren* Donald W. Weber, Sr. Mrs. Robert M. Weidenhammer* Margaret Miller and Richard D. Welch, Jr.* Sue Ann Westlund and James B. Zahrt Earle C.+ and June A. Williams* Miriam C. Flaherty Willis and MG Simon V. L. Willis* William L. Wingert, Jr.* Deborah F. and David A. Winston Donna Wolverton Mr.+ and Mrs.+ Harry E. Wood* Andrew Woodcock and Mary Ewell Cheryl A. Wooden and Dr. Deb Bobbitt Thomas J. Zaug * Charter Member + Deceased

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S U N D AY, DE CE M BER 1 5, 2 0 19 C A PI TA L O N E A R E N A W A S H I N G T O N ,

D . C .

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Photo Credit: Gene Schiavone

CARACALLA DANCE THEATRE ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS JUNE 12

AMERICAN BALLET THEATRE SWAN LAKE JULY 11–13

SPECIAL THANKS TO VIRGINIA MCGEHEE FRIEND, PRODUCTION SPONSOR

SHANGHAI SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA LONG YU, conductor

ALISA WEILERSTEIN, cello

AUGUST 14

JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA WITH WYNTON MARSALIS AUGUST 16

NOSEDA CONDUCTS TCHAIKOVSKY & BEETHOVEN

NATIONAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA GIANANDREA NOSEDA, conductor NING FENG, violin A KAY SHOUSE GREAT PERFORMANCE

JULY 26 SPECIAL THANKS TO DEBORAH F. AND DAVID A. WINSTON, PERFORMANCE SPONSORS

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Wolf Trap Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

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1645 TRAP ROAD / VIENNA, VIRGINIA 22182