Yale Opera presents Tchaikovsky's "Iolanta"

Iolanta Yale Opera presents Tchaikovsky’s

may 3–4, 2013 Sprague Hall · Fri & Sat, 8 pm

Michael Gieleta stage director

Timothy Shaindlin musical director

Robert Blocker, Dean

Doris Yarick-Cross artistic director

Iolanta Yale Opera presents may 3–4, 2013

morse recital hall in sprague memorial hall Friday & Saturday at 8 pm michael gieleta stage director timothy shaindlin musical director william b. warfel lighting designer

kristen ferguson projection designer melissa erdman properties designer

Robert Blocker, Dean

EVENING ONE

rebecca welles costume designer

iolanta

Music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893) Libretto by Modest Tchaikovsky Performed in Russian with projected English translations.

Timothy Shaindlin, piano

Cast, in order of vocal appearance Marta Iolanta’s Nursemaid

Iolanta blind daughter of King René

Laura

vivien shotwell, mezzo-soprano fri kelly hill, mezzo-soprano sat catherine affleck mcphail, soprano fri jenna siladie, soprano sat aleksandra romano, mezzo-soprano

Iolanta’s friend

Brigitta Iolanta’s friend

Bertrand

claudia rosenthal, soprano fri alison king, soprano sat nathan milholin, baritone

castle doorkeeper & Marta’s husband

Alméric

nikhil navkal,tenor

armor-bearer to King René

Ibn-Hakia

stephen daniel, baritone

a Moorish physician

King René King of Provence

Robert

david leigh, bass fri alexander hahn, bass-baritone sat brian vu, baritone

Duke of Burgundy

Vaudémont

galeano salas, tenor

a Burgundian knight

Supernumeraries

les miller, gabe petegorsky

synopsis

iolanta

how much he would give to end his engagement to Iolanta.

A remote estate in the Provencal mountains, late fifteenth century.

Robert and Vaudémont spot Iolanta asleep in the garden; Vaudémont is immediately drawn to her beauty, yet Robert, fearing bewitchment, abandons the dumbstruck Vaudémont and goes to convoke his men to rescue.

Pyotr Ilych Tchaikovsky

Iolanta, the blind daughter of King René of Provence, has been kept enclosed on the King’s estate, unaware of her affliction or of her royal status. Her entourage has been instructed not to speak of the outside world or of vision; a sign at the entrance to the garden forewarns that capital punishment awaits those who trespass on the estate.

Despite this intricate scheme, coming-of-age Iolanta feels that some truths are being hidden from her; she expresses the anxiety to her nurse Marta and to her maids. Their responses remain ambiguous and evasive.

Marta’s husband Bertrand receives the king’s envoy Alméric, and reveals that Iolanta as a child was betrothed to Duke Robert of Burgundy, who so far is unaware of her predicament.

In his last attempt to cure his child, King René summons the famous Moorish physician Ibn-Hakia. Upon examination, Ibn-Hakia assesses he can only restore Iolanta’s vision if she becomes aware of her condition, strongly desires recuperation, and has her spirit healed as well as her body. The king is reluctant to risk ruining Iolanta’s happiness if the cure is unsuccessful, and, disillusioned, he dismisses the physician.

Meanwhile, Duke Robert of Burgundy is en route to King René’s court to fulfill his marital duties. However, he is in love with another woman, Matilde. He confides in his travelling companion, Count Vaudémont,

Iolanta, awoken by the commotion, welcomes Vaudémont to the garden. He is the first stranger that she has ever met, and Vaudémont begins to realize Iolanta’s impediment. He talks to her of light and vision, concepts which are new and incomprehensible to Iolanta. Their mutual attraction is evident.

The couple is discovered by the royal entourage. The king realizes to his horror that Iolanta has become aware of her blindness. Yet now he can fulfill Ibn-Hakia’s conditions. Holding Vaudémont accountable for ignoring the death warrant at the garden entrance, he condemns him to death unless Iolanta’s sight is restored. Iolanta’s desire to save Vaudémont is so strong that the Moorish physician can begin his procedure.

Once alone with Vaudémont, the king makes it clear that upon her recovery Iolanta cannot be with Vaudémont, as she is still obligated to marry Robert.

At this point Robert returns to the garden to save Vaudémont. Seeing the king, he confesses his feelings for Matilde, leaving his fate in the king’s hands. René grants Robert freedom to marry Matilde and allows Vaudémont to marry Iolanta. Iolanta returns to the garden to observe the wonders of the world for the first time…

profiles

michael gieleta

timothy shaindlin

Michael Gieleta directs theater and opera internationally. He trained at Oxford University and assisted at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne, Royal Shakespeare Company, and in the West End.

A native of New York City, Timothy Shaindlin joined the Yale School of Music faculty in 2008. After studies at The Juilliard School and Indiana University, he worked for the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, San Diego Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera. He has also coached for Glimmerglass Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Hawaii Opera Theatre. In Europe, he worked for Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu and played master classes for Tito Gobbi. He has played classes and coachings for such artists as Joan Sutherland, Birgit Nilsson, Beverly Sills, Marilyn Horne, Natalie Dessay, Ben Heppner, Luciano Pavarotti, Eleanor Steber, Samuel Ramey, Régine Crespin, Thomas Hampson, Frederica von Stade, and Carlo Bergonzi.

stage director

In theater, Michael is recognized for directing challenging works by leading playwrights including Peter Nichols (Finborough and Brits Off Broadway), Tom Stoppard (Old Red Lion and Chichester), Nilo Cruz (Finborough), Martin Sherman (West End), Noël Coward (Bard Summerscape), Peter Shaffer (Maltz Jupiter), and Glyn Maxwell (Theatre 503). He directs regularly across Continental Europe, where his production of Slobodzianek’s Our Class opened the Rome Theatre Festival in 2012.

His role often extends to that of a translator and a dramatug. As the Artistic Director of the Cherub Company London, he has enjoyed much success in producing shows and launching border-crossing cultural exchanges.

His opera credits include Maria and The Kiss at Wexford, The Magic Flute at Chicago Opera Theater, and Manon for Cape Town Opera. The coming seasons will see his work presented at Santa Fe Opera, St. Louis Opera Theater, Houston Grand Opera, Gdansk Opera, and Wexford Festival Opera.

Michael has a long association with the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and he dedicates his spare time to the nurturing of emerging artists in theater and opera.

musical direction and accompaniment

Mr. Shaindlin’s work on the podium includes conducting engagements with the Wolf Trap Opera Festival, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Chicago Light Opera Works, and Eugene Opera. He has assisted such renowned conductors as Christoph Eschenbach, Sir Andrew Davis, Daniel Barenboim, Valery Gergiev, Richard Bonynge, Bruno Bartoletti, Donato Renzetti, Louis Langrée, Edoardo Müller, Yves Abel, Daniele Gatti, Antonio Pappano, and Paul Gemignani.

william b. warfel

rebecca welles

William B. Warfel has done lighting design and production management for over 30 Yale Opera productions since 1978. He was Co-chair of Design and Professor of Lighting at the Yale School of Drama from 1967 to 1993 and is currently in private practice as a lighting designer and theater consultant in Hamden, CT. A graduate of both Yale College and the School of Drama, Mr. Warfel taught at Dartmouth College and Long Island University and worked in the lighting profession in New York City prior to returning to the New Haven area. He has lectured and taught in Finland, China, Egypt, Iceland and Sweden and has worked on consulting projects in Scotland, Nigeria, and Ecuador. Mr. Warfel is a founding member of the International Association of Lighting Designers.

Rebecca Welles received her MFA in Design from the Yale School of Drama. Her recent costume design credits include: Marie Christine, Columbia University; Noah and Sam and RIP; both productions of A Broken Umbrella Theatre’s The Library Project; and Manuscripts Don’t Burn, Terra Firma Theatre Group. While a student at Yale, she designed the clothes for Eurydice (2010) and Blacktop Sky (2011) as well as for The Dwight Edgewood Project (2011). This is her first time working with Yale Opera.

lighting designer

melissa erdman properties designer

Melissa Erdman has worked on over 25 theatrical productions in three time zones including the Pulitzer Prize winning Water By the Spoonful. She’s currently art directing for film and pursuing an MFA on scenic design in the fall. For more information visit www.MEtheMAKER.com

costume designer

kristen ferguson projections designer

Kristen Ferguson is currently a first year projection designer at the Yale School of Drama. She assisted in the projection design for Stone in His Pockets and Dear Elizabeth this year at the Yale Repertory Theatre. She has also displayed installation pieces at the Yale University Art Gallery. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011 with a BFA in Studio Art.

yale opera production staff michael gieleta Stage Director

erika niemi Manager

william b. warfel Lighting Designer

jim clark Production Stage Manager & Coordinator

rebecca wells Costume Designer

kristen ferguson Projection Designer

mark modzelewski Assistant Stage Manager doug harry Master Electrician

nicholas hussong Projection Operator

kevin semagin Lighting Board Operator

melissa erdman Properties Master & Designer kelly hill galeano salas jenna siladie Student Assistants

ashley rabon Wardrobe Assistant jill brunelle Surtitle Operator

yale school of music concert programs & box office Krista Johnson Carol Jackson Julie Blindauer communications Dana Astmann Monica Ong Reed Austin Kase

recording studio Eugene Kimball operations Tara Deming Christopher Melillo piano curators Brian Daley William Harold

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special thanks Yale School of Drama Long Wharf Theatre Southern Connecticut State University Bill Burgwinkle Bill Dickerson Douglas Dickson Wendall K. Harrington Emily Olin John Roach Roberta Senatore Constance Sherak John Carver Sullivan

Chamber Music Competition Winners May 7 | 8 pm | Tue | Sprague Hall Oneppo Chamber Music Series Steven Stucky: Sonate en forme de preludes for oboe, horn, and harpsichord; Poulenc: Sextet in C major for winds and piano; Schubert: Fantasia in C major, D. 934 for violin and piano; Bartók: Sonata for two pianos and percussion. Tickets $10–$15 | Students $5

Guitar Chamber Music May 8 | 8 pm | Wed | Sprague Hall | Free Benjamin Verdery, director. Chamber music with guitar by Leo Brouwer, Napoléon Coste, Manuel de Falla, Jindrich Feld, and Benjamin Verdery.

YSM Commencement Concert May 19 |4 pm | Sun | Sprague Hall | Free

box office 470 College Street New Haven, CT 06511 203 432-4158 concerts@yale.edu

Featuring outstanding performers from the Class of 2013.

music.yale.edu

Robert Blocker, Dean