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Yale doris yarick cross Artistic Director
november 1–2, 2014 Morse Recital Hall
Robert Blocker, Dean
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Yale Opera presents
saturday: La Clemenza di Tito, Hamlet, Suor Angelica, Antony and Cleopatra, La Rondine, sunday: Le nozze di Figaro, Aleko, Roméo et Juliette, Les Contes d’Hoffmann
Morse Recital Hall in Sprague Memorial Hall
november 1 & 2, 2014 sat 7:30 pm| sun 2:00 pm
douglas dickson · timothy shaindlin music preparation and direction marc verzatt stage director john carver sullivan costume designer doug harry lighting designer wendall k. harrington projection design supervisor Projections designed by students of the Yale School of Drama Projection Design program Surtitles written by Marc Verzatt
Saturday, November 1
La Clemenza di Tito Excerpt from Act I Music by W.A. Mozart
Performed in Italian with projected English translation Musical direction by Douglas Dickson Projection design by Rasean Davonte Johnson Joshua Anderson, clarinet
cast (in order of vocal appearance) Annio Servilia Tito Vitellia Sesto
kathleen reveille, mezzo-soprano meechot marrero, soprano jorge prego, tenor jinxiang yu, soprano evanna chiew, mezzo-soprano
The emperor, Tito, has been prevented from marrying a foreign princess by the will of the people and senate of Rome. He chooses Servilia, the sister of his best friend and captain of the guard, Sesto. Unfortunately, Servilia is in love with Annio, Sesto’s friend, while Sesto is in love with Vitellia. She, however, believes she is entitled to the throne as Tito’s consort, and has demanded Sesto assassinate the emperor and set fire to the Capitoline.
Saturday, November 1
Hamlet Excerpt from Act III Music by Ambroise Thomas
Performed in French with English translation Musical direction by Timothy Shaindlin Projection design by Izmir Ickbal
cast (in order of vocal appearance) Queen Gertrude Hamlet Ghost
leah hawkins, mezzo-soprano samuel hinkle, baritone andy berry, bass
The Prince of Denmark has returned to Castle Elsinore for his father’s funeral, discovering that his mother has, in haste, married his father’s brother. Hamlet’s father’s ghost tells Hamlet that he was murdered by his own brother. Hamlet confronts his mother about her involvement in this criminal act.
Saturday, November 1
Suor Angelica Excerpt Music by Giacomo Puccini
Performed in Italian with English translation Musical direction by Douglas Dickson Projection design by Joey Moro
cast (in order of vocal appearance) Badessa Suor Angelica Principessa
leah hawkins, mezzo-soprano nicole percifield, soprano kathleen reveille, mezzo-soprano
In the cloister of a nunnery, the sisters wonder who Angelica is, and why she is among them, as she has always remained apart and concentrates on her medicinal gardening. The abbess announces that a visitor has come for Angelica, and the nuns withdraw. Her aunt, a princess, arrives, not for a visit, but for business purposes. It is then that we discover Angelica’s secret.
intermission
Saturday, November 1
Antony and Cleopatra Excerpt from Acts II and III Music by Samuel Barber
Performed in English with projected English text Musical direction by Timothy Shaindlin Projection design by Ni Wen
cast (in order of vocal appearance) Antony Cleopatra Thidias Charmian Iras Enobarbus Eros Alexas Soldiers
brad walker, bass-baritone emily workman, soprano ting li, tenor leah hawkins, mezzo-soprano kathleen reveille, mezzo-soprano zhiguang hong, bass-baritone brian vu, baritone andy berry, bass jorge prego, halim shon, samuel hinkle
The Roman warrior and political leader, Mark Antony, has been passionately involved with the Egyptian queen, Cleopatra. The emperor, Caesar Augustus, resentful of her power and hold over Antony, has sent his navy to attack the Egyptian fleet, led by Antony. Cleopatra has turned her fleet back to guard the harbor, which Antony mistakes for her abandoning him. His navy defeated, he longs for death with honor.
Saturday, November 1
La Rondine Act III Music by Giacomo Puccini
Performed in Italian with English translation Musical direction by Douglas Dickson Projection design by Elizabeth Mak
cast (in order of vocal appearance) Magda Ruggero Lisette Prunier
jinxiang yu, soprano halim shon, tenor meechot marrero, soprano jorge prego, tenor
We can almost think that the characters of Magda and Prunier are the Bohème characters of Musetta and Rodolfo in later years. Magda is very comfortably under the protection of Rambaldo, and Prunier is a very fashionable and successful Parisian poet. Magda, however, has always longed for a genuine love affair. Prunier is secretly having an affair with Magda’s maid, Lisette. Magda, wearing one of Lisette’s dresses, meets Ruggero at a dance hall, and they fall in love. They are now living in a hotel in Monte Carlo, where they are joined by Prunier and Lisette, who have been having an adventure of their own.
Sunday, November 2
Le nozze di Figaro Act II Music by W.A. Mozart
Performed in Italian with projected English translation Musical direction by Douglas Dickson Projection design by Rasean Davonte Johnson
cast (in order of vocal appearance) Countess Susanna Figaro Cherubino Count Almaviva Antonio Marcellina Basilio Bartolo
nicole percifeld, soprano meechot marrero, soprano brad walker, bass-baritone evanna chiew, mezzo-soprano samuel hinkle, baritone zhiguang hong, bass-baritone kathleen reveille, mezzo-soprano halim shon, tenor andy berry, bass
Figaro, the barber of Seville, has left his shop and is working for count and Countess Almaviva at their manor house. He learns from Susanna, his brideto-be, that the Count has designs on her. Figaro concocts a plot in which the pageboy Cherubino will dress up as the countess and meet the count in the darkness of the grounds at night and embarrass him for his philandering. But the elderly Marcellina has been encouraged by Doctor Bartolo to collect a debt Figaro owes her, or he’ll be forced by law to marry her instead.
Sunday, November 2
Aleko Excerpt Music by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Performed in Russian with English translation Musical direction by Timothy Shaindlin Projection design by Andrew Griffin NoĂŤl Wan, harp
cast (in order of vocal appearance) Young Gypsy Zemfira Aleko
ting li, tenor emily workman, soprano zhiguang hong, bass-baritone
In the gypsy camp at night, Zemfira and a young gypsy lad have been secretly meeting whenever her husband, Aleko, is not around. They plan to run off together at dawn. Zemfira sings a very open song about a young lover and an old husband. Aleko longs for the days when she loved him in return. Zemfira and the gypsy are about to run off together when Aleko intercepts them.
intermission
Sunday, November 2
Roméo et Juliette Excerpt from Act IV Music by Charles Gounod
Performed in French with English translation Musical direction by Timothy Shaindlin Projection design by Ni Wen
cast (in order of vocal appearance) Juliette Roméo Gertrude Capulet Friar Laurence
jinxiang yu, soprano ting li, tenor leah hawkins, mezzo-soprano brad walker, bass-baritone andy berry, bass
The star-crossed lovers have been secretly married by Friar Laurence. Roméo had tried to prevent Juliette’s cousin Tybalt from fighting with his friend, Mercutio, but Tybalt has killed him and Roméo kills Tybalt in revenge. Romeo is banished from Verona. He and Juliette have spent the night together, but Roméo is forced to leave at dawn. Lord Capulet tells his daughter that it was Tybalt’s wish that she marry Count Paris. Friar Lawrence has a solution to free Juliette from this destiny.
Sunday, November 2
Les Contes d’Hoffmann Excerpt from Act II Music by Jacques Offenbach
Performed in French with English translation Musical direction by Timothy Shaindlin Projection design by Elizabeth Mak
cast (in order of vocal appearance) Nicklaus Giulietta Hoffmann Schlémil Pitichinaccio Dapertutto Chorus
evanna chiew, mezzo-soprano leah hawkins, mezzo-soprano halim shon, tenor zhiguang hong, bass-baritone ting li, tenor brian vu, baritone meechot marrero, nicole percifeld, emily workman, jinxiang yu, kathleen reveille, jorge prego, samuel hinkle, andy berry, brad walker
Hoffmann’s tale of his many loves concerns a courtesan, Giulietta. He swears to his companion and confidante, Nicklaus, that he has no emotional ties to Giulietta. Giulietta, however, is in the power of the mysterious Captain Dapertutto, who has already bribed Giulietta to steal the shadow of her former lover, Schlémil, and who now asks her to obtain Hoffmann’s reflection for him.
Biographies
Marc Verzatt stage director Stage director Mr. Verzatt maintains an active career directing opera, operetta, and musical theater throughout the United States, South America, and Europe. He began his theatrical career as a dancer with the Metropolitan Opera after studying drama at Rutgers University and ballet with New Jersey’s Garden State Ballet. After several seasons as a soloist with the MET Ballet, he left to continue his education in production as a stage manager with the Cincinnati Opera and Pittsburgh Opera companies. He made his professional directing debut with a production of Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann with Opera Columbus. He has since directed productions with the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and the opera companies of Fort Worth, Lake George, Madison, Arizona, Toledo, Atlanta, Kansas City, Baltimore, Idaho, and Mississippi. The summer of 2014 was spent with Nickel Opera with Tosca, and Madama Butterfly to close Cincinnati Opera’s season. February 2015 will bring him to Opera Naples in Florida for Cosi Fan Tutte and in April, New York City exciting early music group Tenet has him staging an evening of Renaissance trios for women, called Musica Segreta. He’ll be at the Napa Music Festival in June, and August he joins Aprile Millo and international conductor Daniel Beckwith in Tuscany to teach acting in a new young singers’ program. He joined the faculty of the Yale School of Music in the opera program, where he directs the Acting and Movement workshops. He has directed several Yale Opera productions, including Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (in which he appeared in the role of Puck) for Orchestra
Verdi in Milan, as well as the program’s mainstage productions, including a new production of I Capuleti e i Montecchi in February 2013. In 2005 he was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera for a speaking role in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos. In 2006 he was named Outstanding Stage Director of the Year by Classical Singer magazine. He is also an amateur competitive ballroom dancer, and trains at the Fred Astaire Studios in Manhattan. John Carver Sullivan costume designer John Carver Sullivan returns to Yale Opera, where he has designed costumes for I Capuleti e i Montecchi, the 2010 and 2011 opera scenes productions, La Tragédie de Carmen and Le Rossignol. His long association with Colin Graham and Opera Theatre of St. Louis has included designs for world premiere productions of The Woodlanders, The Village Singer, and The Postman Always Rings Twice, among many others. He has also designed the Broadway productions of Moose Murders, off-Broadway productions at the York Theatre of The Musical of Musicals – The Musical, Little By Little, and The Jello is Always Red, and multiple productions for the Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. His theatrical work includes productions for Goodspeed Opera, the Alley Theatre, Berkeley Rep, and the Folger Library Theatre. Mr. Sullivan currently serves as the Chair of the Theatre Department at Southern Connecticut State University. Doug Harry lighting designer Doug Harry hails from the UK and trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama way back in the crazy eighties! He has traveled the world as a Lighting Designer for Theatre, Opera
Biographies
and Corporate Events. Currently he splits his time between Production Management and design and is currently the Production Manager for the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. He is very happy to be designing for the Yale Opera program. Douglas Dickson musical direction and accompaniment Douglas Dickson received his B.A. degree from Princeton University and his M.M.A. from the Yale School of Music. On various occasions the Washington Post has called him an “intelligent, sensitive” pianist with “super technique,” a “skillful pianist,” and has praised him for his “finely integrated oneness” he achieves as an accompanist. Mr. Dickson has performed in the US, Europe, Asia, and South America in venues ranging from Japan’s Expo Hall to the Cincinnati Coliseum. While still in college, he was the accompanist for the American Boychoir. As part of Duodecaphonia, a prize-winning piano duo, he performed at the Kennedy Center and elsewhere. Mr. Dickson has been music director for productions at Quinnipiac University, the Yale School of Drama, Opera Theater of Connecticut, and Connecticut Experimental Theater. He was music director and conductor for Yale Opera’s production of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and he conducted a concert featuring Yale Opera with the Orchestra Verdi in Milan. He has taught at Quinnipiac University since 1993, and joined the Yale faculty in 1998. He made his Carnegie debut in an all Ives concert at Weill Recital Hall. For Naxos, he recorded more than eighty Charles Ives songs.
Timothy Shaindlin musical direction and accompaniment 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, Regine Crespin, Thomas Hampson, Frederica von Stade and Carlo Bergonzi. 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. Next spring, he will conduct Sweeney Todd for Hawaii Opera theatre. Wendall K. Harrington projection design supervisor Wendall K. Harrington’s career has embraced diverse disciplines including projection design for theatre, publishing, and video production. Broadway designs include: Driving Miss Daisy, Grey Gardens, They’re Playing Our Song, The Elephant Man, My One and Only, The Heidi
Biographies
Chronicles, The Will Rogers Follies, Having Our Say, Company, Racing Demon, Ragtime, John Leguizamo’s Freak, The Capeman, Putting it Together, and The Who’s Tommy. Off Broadway work includes: Angels in America, Hapgood, A Christmas Carol at the Paramount; Merrily We Roll Along (three times!) and the ill-fated Whistle Down the Wind. Opera design: Julie Taymor’s The Magic Flute in Florence, Italy; A View from the Bridge at Chicago Lyric and the Met, Die Gezeichneten at LA Opera, The Photographer at BAM, Transatlantic, Grapes of Wrath, Rusalka, and Wuthering Heights for Minnesota Opera. Ms. Harrington is the recipient of the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the American Theatre Wing Award, the TCI Award for Technical Achievement and the Obie Award for Sustained Excellence of Projections. Ms. Harrington has been lecturing on Projection Design for the Yale School of Drama since the early ‘90s.
Student Profiles
Andy Berry bass B.S. Yale University; Young Artist Programs: dell’Arte Opera Ensemble Evanna Chiew mezzo-soprano B.M. University of British Columbia; Young Artist Programs: Opera NUOVA, Toronto Summer Music Academy Leah Hawkins mezzo-soprano B.A. Morgan State University; Young Artist Programs: Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy, Martina Arroyo’s Foundation Prelude to Performance, Central City Opera Samuel Hinkle baritone B.M. Mannes College of Music; Young Artist Programs: Siena Music Festival
Jorge Prego tenor B.M. Vigo Conservatory (Spain); A.D. Yale University; M.M. Hartt School of Music; Artist Diploma Roosevelt University; Young Artist Programs: Santa Fe Opera, Chicago Opera Theater Kathleen Reveille mezzo-soprano B.M. Mercyhurst University; Young Artist Programs: New York Summer Opera Scenes Halim Shon tenor B.M. Seoul National University, M.M. Peabody Institute of Music Brian Vu baritone B.A. UCLA, M.M. Yale University; Young Artist Programs: Chautauqua Institution Voice Program, Wolf Trap Opera, Music Academy of the West
Zhiguang Hong bass-baritone B.M. China Conservatory of Music, M.M. Mannes College of Music; Young Artist Programs: International Vocal Arts Institute, Dicapo Opera Theater
Brad Walker bass-baritone B.M. Michigan State University; M.M. Kansas University; Young Artist Programs: Chautauqua Opera
Ting Li tenor B.M. Shanghai Conservatory of Music
Emily Workman soprano B.M. Brigham Young University
Meechot Marrero soprano B.M. Conservatorio de Música de Puerto Rico; Young Artist Programs: International Vocal Arts Institute, Savannah Voice Festival, VOICExperience
Jinxiang Yu soprano B.M. CUNY Queens College, Performance Certificate American Musical and Dramatic Academy
Nicole Percifield soprano B.M. New England Conservatory, M.M. Manhattan School of Music; Young Artist Programs: Minnesota Opera
Yale Opera Production Staff
marc verzatt Stage Director
erika niemi Manager
john carver sullivan Costume Designer
jeromy hunt Production Stage Manager & Coordinator
doug harry Lighting Designer
kristianna ibsen Assistant Stage Manager
davonte johnson Projection Programmer and Operator oliver larry Properties Master and Designer
tim plummer Master Electrician catherine mason Wardrobe Assistant
evanna chiew brian vu brad walker Student Assistants
jill brunelle Surtitle Operator
Special Thanks
Richard Cross John Roach Yale School of Drama Long Wharf Theatre Southern Connecticut State University Wendall K. Harrington and her production design students Bill Warfel
Yale Opera 2014-15 Season Suor Angelica november 20 St. Mary’s Church | Thu | 7:30 pm Yale Opera and the New Haven Symphony join forces to produce Puccini’s heart-wrenching opera Suor Angelica. Tickets on sale at www.newhavensymphony.org or 203-865-0831, ext. 10.
Liederabend An Evening of Russian Song december 6 Morse Recital Hall | Sat | 7:30 pm Emily Olin, musical director Free Admission
Master Class with Alan Held december 17 Morse Recital Hall | Wed | 7 pm The renowned bass-baritone from the Metropolitan Opera works with students in the Yale Opera program Free Admission
The Marriage of Figaro february 13-15 Shubert Theatre | Fri & Sat 8 pm | Sun 2 pm Yale Opera announces a new production of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, conducted by Dominique Trottein and directed by Ted Huffman. Tickets $19-50. Tickets on sale at www.shubert.com or 203-562-5666
Yale Opera presents
The Marriage of Figaro february 13–15, 2015
Tickets on sale now! shubert.com • 203 562-5666
Upcoming Events
Hopkinson Smith, lute
Wendy Sharp, violin
november 4 15 Hillhouse Ave. | Tuesday | 5:30 pm Yale Collection of Musical Instruments Music by J.S. Bach Tickets $25 • Seniors $20 • Students $10
november 9 Morse Recital Hall | Sunday | 4 pm Faculty Artist Series Music by Telemann, Grieg, Stravinsky, Clara Schumann, and Paul Moravec With Joel Wizansky, piano Free Admission
Lunchtime Chamber Music november 6 Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 12:30 pm Chamber music for a variety of ensembles. Free Admission
Peter Oundjian, guest conductor november 7 Woolsey Hall | Friday | 7:30 pm Yale Philharmonia Gershwin: An American in Paris Hindemith: Symphonic Metamorphosis Elgar: Introduction and Allegro Barber: Symphony No. 1 Tickets start at $10 • Students $5 $3 surcharge for purchases at the door
Janna Baty, soprano november 11 Morse Recital Hall | Tuesday | 7:30 pm Faculty Artist Series Music by Villa-Lobos, Schoenberg, Ravel, and more Free Admission
Boris Berman, piano november 12 Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 7:30 pm Horowitz Piano Series Music of Beethoven, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev Tickets start at $13 • Students $7
Concert Programs & Box Office: Krista Johnson, Donna Yoo Communications: Dana Astmann, Monica Ong Reed, Austin Kase Operations: Tara Deming, Chris Melillo Piano Curators: Brian Daley, William Harold Recording Studio: Eugene Kimball WSHU 91.1fm is the media sponsor of the Yale Opera at the Yale School of Music. P.O. Box 208246, New Haven, CT · 203 432-4158
music.yale.edu
Robert Blocker, Dean