Yale Opera Doris Yarick-Cross, Artistic Director
Magic Flute Mozart’s
the
Question truth. Find love. Be human.
February 16–18 shubert theatre
Robert Blocker, Dean
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welcome from the Dean Dear Friends, It is with great excitement that I welcome you to Yale Opera’s new production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Recent Yale School of Drama alumnus Dustin Wills has boldly reimagined Mozart’s beloved opera in a way that affirms the transcendent timelessness of the work. We are thrilled to be contributing to the vitality of the art form and to be returning to New Haven’s historic Shubert Theatre. With the excellent leadership of Artistic Director Doris Yarick-Cross, Yale Opera continues to develop the opera stars of tomorrow. Many of our alumni are appearing with such renowned opera companies as the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Royal Opera, and the Vienna State Opera. Last year’s Yale Opera season featured a program of opera scenes and an evening of Russian song, as well as a breathtaking production of Mozart’s Così fan tutte at the Shubert Theatre and a memorable double bill of Walton’s The Bear and Milhaud’s Le pauvre matelot in Morse Recital Hall. This year began auspiciously with a program of scenes from celebrated and contemporary works and will continue in May with performances of Humperdinck’s classic, Hansel and Gretel. Each day, we celebrate the extraordinary gifts that the Yale Opera students share with our audiences, and we are grateful to our distinguished faculty for preparing them for remarkable careers. We are privileged to introduce you to these emerging artists and appreciate your continued enthusiasm and support. robert blocker The Lucy and Henry Moses Dean of Music
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welcome from the Artistic Director Dear Friends, Welcome once again to Yale Opera’s mainstage production at New Haven’s historic and beautiful Shubert Theatre. It is our great pleasure to offer you a fresh look at Mozart’s classic Singspiel, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). With an updated setting and innovative concept, we know you will fall in love with this enchanting score all over again while seeing this show with fresh eyes. We are delighted to welcome guest conductor Israel Gursky. With his expertise and youthful energy, he inspires brilliant performances from our cast and orchestra. After last year’s imaginative double bill production of The Bear and Le pauvre matelot, Dustin Wills returns as the stage director for this production. He brings with him an all-Yale School of Drama design team whose collaboration has yielded this remarkable production. It is through the support of our audiences and patrons that we are able to continue to bring professional-level productions to the Shubert Theatre. We thank you for joining us and hope you enjoy the performance. doris yarick-cross Artistic Director, Yale Opera
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Yale School of Music · Robert Blocker, Dean Yale Opera · Doris Yarick-Cross, Artistic Director
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder Performed in German with projected English surtitles
conductor stage director scenic designer projection designer lighting designer wig & makeup designer musical preparation
Israel Gursky Dustin Wills Kate Noll Shawn Boyle Solomon Weisbard Melissa Sibert (for Elsen Associates, Inc.) Douglas Dickson Timothy Shaindlin production stage manager Stephanie Canada chorus master Jill Brunelle New Production There will be one 15-minute intermission following Act I. The approximate running time of the performance is three hours.
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cast in order of vocal appearance tamino
Luis Aguilar Regalado f, su Fidel Angel Romero sa
first lady second lady
Lauren McQuistin Sarah Saturnino f, su Rachel Weishoff sa Alexandra Urquiola
third lady papageno
Bryan Murray f, su Zachary Johnson sa
the queen of the night
Leah Brzyski f, su Kathryn Bowden* sa
monostatos
Ricky Feng Nan
pamina
Sylvia D’Eramo f, su Anush Avetisyan sa
first spirit second spirit third spirit
Natalie Andrews* Christine Manalo* Serena Valentin*
sprecher
Andres Benavides Cascante f, su Matthew Cossack sa
sarastro
Stephen Clark f, su Brady Muth sa
first priest
Fidel Angel Romero f, su Luis Aguilar Regalado sa
second armored man
Brady Muth f, su Stephen Clark sa
papagena
Jin-Xiang Yu*†
f = Friday sa = Saturday su = Sunday * Guest Artist † YSM alumna
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yale philharmonia
violin i Kate Arndt Jessy Kim Gregory Lewis Emily Switzer Nuri Lim Dongsoo Cha Ye Jin Yoon violin ii Ariel Horowitz Matthew Woodard Dhyani Heath Lauren Bennett Kyung Ah Oh Yintong Liu viola Marta Lambert Abby Elder Thomas Duboski Marlea Simpson
cello Valentina Crnjak Samuel Walter Anita Balazs Bo Bae Lee bass Eric Timperman Amy Nickler flute Jungah Yoon Maria Luisk oboe Elliot Lichtenberg Leonardo Ziporyn clarinet Michael Moy Richard Adger
bassoon Patrick Broder Kristy Tucker horn Stephen Newberry Steven Harmon trumpet Oscar Mason Eric Rizzo trombone Grant Futch William Wortley Daniel Vaitkus timpani Shiqi Zhong celeste Vanessa Haynes
principal conductor Peter Oundjian manager Jeffrey M. Mistri assistant manager/ Samuel Bobinski librarian
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chorus
Victor Altshul Olivia Burdo Madison Chueka* Michael Dolan Gerry Holmes Michael Lo Piano
Jared Michaud Augie Miller Josie Minto Stephanie Polonio Meena Rajesh
Zohra Rawling Rebecca Rubright Bob Scrofani Lalitha Shivaswamy Bill Sorensen * spirit understudy
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the magic flute Synopsis
Act I Awaking in an unknown place, Tamino is pursued by a monster, but the Three Ladies enter and save him. Although jealousy ensues, they agree to inform the Queen of the Night about Tamino. Papageno hesitantly befriends Tamino while claiming credit for strangling the monster. Upon hearing Papageno’s lie, the Ladies teach him an important lesson. They then present a portrait of the Queen’s captive daughter, Pamina, to Tamino, who immediately falls in love with her image. The grieving Queen comes and charges Tamino with rescuing Pamina. The Three Ladies give a magic flute to Tamino and silver bells to Papageno to keep them safe, and appoint Three Spirits to guide them. The captive Pamina is being guarded by Monostatos who lusts after her. Papageno enters and informs Pamina that Tamino loves her and is coming to save her but laments that he has no one to love. The Three Spirits encourage Tamino to face Pamina’s captor, Sarastro. The Sprecher mysteriously suggests to Tamino that not all is what it seems and implores Tamino to more deeply consider his reality. Tamino learns that Pamina is safe and plays his flute. Monostatos and his cohorts chase Papageno and Pamina, but malfunction at the sound of Papageno’s bells. Pamina and Tamino catch their first glimpses of each other, but then Sarastro announces that all must be prepared for the trials of fire and water.
Act II Sarastro explains to his priests that Tamino will endure a series of trials to prove his worth. While Tamino and Papageno are sworn to silence and tempted by the Ladies, Tamino succeeds, but Papageno fails. The Queen arrives in a flash of thunder and demands that Pamina kill Sarastro. However, Sarastro then patiently calms Pamina. Papageno again breaks the oath to chat with a mysterious old lady. Sarastro grants the desolate Pamina a brief visit with Tamino before Tamino must continue in the trials. Papageno awakes alone and afraid when the old lady returns. Out of desperation, Papageno hesitantly promises to love her forever. She reveals herself as a young woman, Papagena, but then is taken from him. The Three Spirits stop the heartbroken Pamina from committing suicide and lead her to Tamino. She joins him in the trials, and they are protected by the playing of the magic flute. Papageno is preparing to kill himself, but when Papagena returns, they joyfully plan their life together. The Queen of the Night and her cohorts attempt to destroy everything Sarastro has built, but they are thwarted by Sarastro himself. He joins Pamina and Tamino in extolling the human triumphs of love and virtue.
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artistic & production team
Conductor Born in Tel Aviv and trained in the United States, conductor Israel Gursky moved to Germany in 2014 to become Kapellmeister at Theater Regensburg, where he conducted numerous operas including Madama Butterfly, Rigoletto, Die Zauberflöte, Così fan tutte, Hans Heiling, Martha, Iphigénie en Tauride, Saul, and Orpheus in der Unterwelt. This fall he became Kapellmeister at Theater Bremen, where his assignments include productions of Hänsel und Gretel, Die Zauberflöte, and Lucia di Lammermoor. A frequent collaborator with Plácido Domingo, since 2009 he has conducted many concerts with Mr. Domingo and with winners of his Operalia Competition throughout the world. He made his professional conducting debut at the Washington National Opera in 2007 with a critically acclaimed Don Giovanni, followed by Tosca, Don Pasquale, Falstaff, and Così fan tutte. As a guest conductor he has appeared with the Los Angeles Opera (Le nozze di Figaro, The Fly), Teatro de Bellas Artes (Catán's Il Postino), Wolf Trap Opera (Les contes d'Hoffmann), Opera Maine (La Bohème, Hänsel und Gretel, Romèo et Juliette), Opera Birmingham (Faust, Madama Butterfly, Die Zauberflöte), and Manhattan School of Music (Così fan tutte). As music director of New York City's Teatro Grattacielo he has led performances of Montemezzi's Il grillo del focolare, Gnecchi's Cassandra, Montemezzi's La Nave, Alfano's Sakuntala, Giordano's Siberia, and the company's 20 th anniversary gala. He is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, Stony Brook University, and the Rubin Academy of Music. Stage Dustin Wills is a New York City-based theater director originally from Director Texas. Recent projects include The Bear and Le pauvre matelot with Yale Opera; Frontières Sans Frontières by Phillip Howze at the Bushwick Starr; Orange Julius by Basil Kreimendahl with Rattlestick Playwrights Theater and PAGE 73; a new musical with Kate Tarker and Dan Schlosberg called AWFUL EVENT!; and ongoing work on a trio of short Lorca plays translated into a three-part evening including The Shoemaker's Prodigious Wife — a play with music, Once Five Years Pass — a musical, and The Love of Don Perlimplin for Belisa in the Garden - an opera. Dustin has worked with The Foundry Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Ars Nova, Bushwick Starr, Williamstown Theatre
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Festival, Berkeley Rep, Echo Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, Lark Play Development Center, Paper Chairs, and Salvage Vanguard Theatre; created large-scale community puppet projects with Creative Action; and devised new work for The English Theatre of Rome and Teatro L'Arciliuto in Rome, Italy. He is a two-time recipient of the Princess Grace Award for Theater, a Drama League and Boris Sagal directing fellow, former artistic director of the Yale Summer Cabaret, and for a couple of years gave rogue tours of the Vatican. He earned a master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of Drama. Projection Shawn Boyle is delighted to be returning to the Yale School of Music, Designer having designed projections for A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2016. He holds a bachelor of fine arts degree from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and a master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of Drama and is a member of United Scenic Artists, local USA 829, Projection and Lighting. He is currently on the faculty at the Yale School of Drama. Additional credits include Ugly Lies the Bone (Alliance Theater); peerless and Elevada (Yale Repertory Theatre); Bird Fire Fly and THUNDERBODIES (Yale School of Drama); Pierrot Lunaire (Yale Cabaret); La Bôite à Joujoux and Spiegel im Spiegel (Yale School of Music); The Nutcracker (Grand Rapids Ballet); The Witches of Eastwick (Ogunquit Playhouse); City of Angels (Goodspeed Musicals); Lover’s Tale, The Who’s Tommy, K2, and Red Remembers (Berkshire Theatre Group); and Singin’ in the Rain and My Mother’s Lesbian Jewish Wiccan Wedding (Merry-Go-Round Playhouse). Lighting Solomon Weisbard is an Oregon-born and Brooklyn-based lighting Designer designer for all types of performance. His opera credits include work for the Yale Baroque Opera Project, Princeton Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, and Manhattan School of Music. He was a finalist for the Opera America Director Designer Showcase in 2014. His New York theater credits include Duat (Soho Rep); Men on Boats (Playwrights Horizons/Clubbed Thumb); The Soldier’s Tale (Yale School of Music/ Yale School of Drama, featuring Michael Cerveris, at Carnegie Hall); Christina Anderson’s Hollow Roots (Public/Under the Radar); and The Film Society (Keen/Theatre Row). His regional theater credits Arden, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Magic, Portland Playhouse, Quintessence, Westport Country Playhouse, and Yale Repertory Theatre. In dance,
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artistic & production team (continued) dance/theater and avant-garde music, Weisbard has worked on pieces with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Joshua Beamish/MOVE, Maria Chavez, LoudHound Movement, Belinda McGuire, Jennifer Archibald, Ximena Garnica/Leimay, Lane Gifford, Invisible Anatomy, Stefanie Nelson, Patricia Noworol, The Nerve Tank (as resident designer), and Waxfactory, and has worked on four major works as associate set designer with Bill T. Jones. As an educator and guest artist, Solomon has taught and worked with students at Bard, Barnard, Connecticut College, City College, Columbia, DeSales, East Stroudsburg, Fordham, NYU/Tisch, Princeton, the University of Rochester (where he was visiting adjunct faculty), and Yale University. He earned his master of fine arts degree from the Yale School of Drama and is a member of United Scenic Artists, local USA 829.
Scenic Kate Noll is a New York-based scenic designer. Recent opera credits Designer include Agrippina (The Juilliard School); Carmen (Heartbeat Opera); Così fan tutte (Loft Opera); and Xerse (Yale Baroque Opera). Recent theater credits include Orange Julius (Rattlestick); Gaslight (Barrington Stage); peerless (Martin Theater Company); I and You (Theater Squared); Stones in his Pockets (Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center); Utility (The Amoralists); In A Tilted Place (IRT Theater); Gordy Crashes (Ricochet Collective); Kristina (August Strindberg Rep); This Lingering Life (HERE Arts Center); The Fatal Eggs (Fractured Atlas); Ermynturde & Esmeralda (Ars Nova); Gloria, A Pig Tail (NY Phil Biennial); Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Yale Repertory Theatre & Berkeley Rep); Cloud 9 (Yale School of Drama); and more than 14 productions at the Yale Cabaret. Upcoming operas include L’Egisto with Yale Baroque Opera; Pulcinella, Full Moon in March, and Svadba at Bard College; Don Giovanni with Heartbeat Opera; and La Bohème and Arabella with the Pittsburgh Festival Opera. Costume Rebecca Welles YSD ’12 has been designing for Yale Opera since 2013. Designer Credits include the fall 2017 Yale Opera Scenes, Le pauvre matelot, The Bear, Don Quichotte, La Cenerentola, Le nozze di Figaro, Gianni Schicci, Riders to the Sea, Bon Appétit!, and Iolanta. Rebecca is also an adjunct professor of performing arts at Eastern Connecticut State University, the costume shop manager for the Aspen Summer Music Festival’s Aspen Opera Center, and the resident costume designer for ACES Educational Center for the Arts. Other recent Connecticut design
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credits include Million Dollar Quartet and Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Story at Ivoryton Playhouse. Musical Douglas Dickson earned his bachelor of arts degree from Princeton Preparation University and his master of musical arts degree from the Yale School of Music. On various occasions, The Washington Post has called him an “intelligent, sensitive” pianist with “super technique” and a “skillful pianist” and has praised him for the “finely integrated oneness” he achieves as an accompanist. Mr. Dickson has performed in the United States, 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 has performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and elsewhere. Mr. Dickson has been the music director for productions at Quinnipiac University, the Yale School of Drama, Opera Theater of Connecticut, and Connecticut Experimental Theater. He was the music director and conductor for Yale Opera’s production of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and he conducted a concert featuring the Yale Opera with Orchestra Verdi in Milan. He has taught at Quinnipiac University since 1993 and joined the Yale faculty in 1998. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in an all-Ives concert at Weill Recital Hall. For Naxos, he has recorded more than 80 Charles Ives songs. Musical A native of New York City, Timothy Shaindlin joined the Yale School Preparation of Music faculty in 2008. After studies at The Juilliard School and Indiana University, he worked for the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, San Diego Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and Pittsburgh Opera. He has also coached for the 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 also 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, Carlo Bergonzi, Sherrill Milnes, Thomas Hampson, and Frederica von Stade.
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artistic & production team (continued) Mr. Shaindlin’s work on the podium includes conducting engagements with the Wolf Trap Opera, 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. Mr. Shaindlin has chorus-mastered 40 operas at the Pittsburgh Opera and was the director of the Children’s Chorus at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Wig & Melissa Sibert designs for Elsen Associates Inc., wig and makeup Makeup designers for various companies, theaters, and institutions including Designer the Washington National Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera New Jersey, Opera Omaha, Des Moines Metro Opera, Syracuse Opera, Sarasota Opera, Yale Opera, Carnegie Mellon University, Manhattan School of Music, Shakespeare Theatre Company, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and McCarter Theatre, as well as international festivals including Edinburgh, Jerusalem, and Spoleto (United States, Italy, and Australia). Production Stephanie Canada is a multidisciplinary stage manager who has Stage worked across the United States and Europe. Most recently she Manager completed work on the Cleveland Orchestra’s production of The Cunning Little Vixen, which was performed in both Cleveland, Ohio and Vienna, Austria. Next, she will be working with Opera Orlando’s production of Rossini’s La Cenerentola. Her home base is in Orlando, Florida, working with the Blue Man Group in Universal’s City Walk.
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principal artist bios Luis Aguilar Regalado tenor • Tamino, First Priest
Hometown Torreon, Mexico Education b.m. University of Hartford’s Hartt School Yale Opera Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Father Grenville in Dead Man Walking*,
Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia*, Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos*, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore* Recently Spoletta in Tosca (Opera Connecticut), Conte Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Opera de Nuevo Leon), Tenor II in Renard (Orchestra New England) Upcoming Candide in Candide (Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra) Anush Avetisyan soprano • Pamina Hometown Yerevan, Armenia Education b.a. University of California, Los Angeles
a.d. Academy of Vocal Arts Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni*, Cendrillon in Cendrillon*, Thaïs in Thaïs*, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin* Recently Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte (Mediterraneo Opera Studio), Kate Pinkerton and Cio-Cio San (cover) in Madama Butterfly (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Rosasharn (cover) in The Grapes of Wrath (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Soprano Soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Waterbury Symphony Orchestra) Upcoming Gretel in Hansel and Gretel (Yale Opera)
Yale Opera
Leah Brzyski soprano • The Queen of the Night Rochester Hills, MI b.m. Michigan State University Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos*, Fee in Cendrillon* Despina in Così fan tutte and Atalanta in Xerxes (Michigan State University Opera) Upcoming Dew Fairy and Sandman in Hansel and Gretel (Yale Opera)
Hometown Education Yale Opera Recently
* scenes productions
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principal artist bios (continued)
Andres Benavides Cascante baritone • Sprecher San Jose, Costa Rica b.a. Loyola University Marcello in La Bohème*, Pandolfe in Cendrillon* Gianni Schicchi in Gianni Schicchi (Loyola Opera), Falstaff in Falstaff (Harrower Opera) Upcoming Father in Hansel and Gretel (Yale Opera), 2018 Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera
Hometown Education Yale Opera Recently
Stephen Clark baritone • Don Alfonso Hometown Tulsa, OK Education b.a. Northeastern State University
m.m. Oklahoma City University Yale Opera Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Luka in The Bear, Father-in-Law in Le
pauvre matelot, Colline in La Bohème*, Haushofmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos*, Don Alfonso in Lucrezia Borgia*, Méphistophélès in Faust* Recently Azarias in The Burning Fiery Furnace (Central City Opera), Bass in Renard (Orchestra New England), Angelotti in Tosca (Central City Opera), A Denver Politician in The Ballad of Baby Doe (Central City Opera), Schaunard in La Bohème (Tulsa Opera) Upcoming Bass Soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Yale Philharmonia) Matthew Cossack baritone • Sprecher Hometown Brooklyn, NY Education b.m. SUNY Purchase
m.m. Mannes College Yale Opera Joseph De Rocher in Dead Man Walking*, Musiklehrer in Ariadne auf
Naxos* Recently Old Doctor in Vanessa, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, and John Brooke in
Little Women (Mannes Opera), Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (SUNY Purchase Opera) Upcoming Father in Hansel and Gretel (Yale Opera), Maximillian in Candide (Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra) Sylvia D’Eramo soprano • Pamina Education b.m. SUNY Purchase Yale Opera Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Mimi in La Bohème, Gretel in Hansel und
Gretel*, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni*, Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore
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Recently Abigail Williams in The Crucible (SUNY Purchase Opera/Albany
Records), Countess in Le nozze di Figaro (SUNY Purchase Opera), Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (SUNY Purchase Opera), Gertrude and Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel (SUNY Purchase Opera) Upcoming Soprano Soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, Soprano Soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Yale Philharmonia), Gretel in Hansel and Gretel (Yale Opera), 2018 Apprentice with Santa Fe Opera Zachary Johnson baritone • Papageno Hometown Hudson, MA Education b.m. New England Conservatory
m.m. Yale School of Music Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Snug in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sancho in Don Quichotte, Don Giovanni and Masetto in Don Giovanni*, Father in Hansel and Gretel*, Njegus in The Merry Widow*, Bertrand in Rodelinda* Recently Prince Yamadori and Imperial Commissary in Madama Butterly (Opera Theater of Connecticut), Baritone in Renard (Orchestra New England), Sid in Albert Herring, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Famigliari in L’incoronzatione di Poppea (New England Conservatory) Upcoming Pangloss in Candide (Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra), Silvio in I Pagliacci (Opera Theater of Connecticut), 2018 Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera
Yale Opera
Lauren McQuistin soprano • First Lady Hometown Stranraer, Scotland Education b.m. Royal Conservatoire of Scotland
m.m. Indiana University Lucrezia Borgia in Lucrezia Borgia*, Prima Donna in Ariadne auf Naxos*, Alto Soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Waterbury Symphony Orchestra) Recently Soprano Soloist in Handel’s Messiah (Hartford Chorale), Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (COSI, Sulmona, Italy), Florencia Grimaldi in Florencia en el Amazonas (IU Opera Threater) Upcoming Soprano Soloist in Strauss’s Four Last Songs (Yale Symphony Orchestra), Mother in Hansel and Gretel (Yale Opera), Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera
Yale Opera
* scenes productions
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principal artist bios (continued) Bryan Murray baritone • Papageno
Hometown West Babylon, NY Education b.a. Stony Brook University
m.m. SUNY Purchase Smirnov in The Bear, Schaunard in La Bohème*, Onegin in Eugene Onegin*, Athaniel in Thaïs* Recently John Proctor in The Crucible (Purchase Opera/Albany Records), Baritone Soloist in Handel’s Messiah (New Haven Symphony Orchestra)
Yale Opera
Brady Muth bass-baritone • Sarastro, Armored Man Hometown Colorado Springs, CO Education b.m. University of Northern Colorado Yale Opera Leporello in Don Giovanni*, Warden in Dead Man Walking*, Benoit in
La Bohème, Gubetta in Lucrezia Borgia* Upcoming Tales of Hoffmann (Opera North)
Ricky Feng Nan tenor • Monostatos Hometown Guangzhou, China Education b.a. SUNY Binghamton
m.m. Northwestern University Yale Opera Prince Charming in Cendrillon*, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni*, Liverotto in Lucrezia Borgia* Recently 2017 Central City Opera Studio Artist, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi (Miami Music Festival), Martin in The Tender Land (Northwestern Opera Theatre)
Hometown Education Yale Opera Recently Upcoming
Fidel Angel Romero tenor • Tamino, First Priest Stafford, TX b.a. Houston Baptist University Rodolfo in La Bohème*, Vitellozzo in Lucrezia Borgia*, Tenor in Ariadne auf Naxos* Tamino in The Magic Flute, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore (Houston Baptist University) Tenor Soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Yale Philharmonia), Governor/Vanderdendur/Ragotski in Candide (Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra)
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Sarah Saturnino mezzo-soprano • Second Lady Hometown Grass Valley, CA Education b.a. University of California, Los Angeles Yale Opera Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking*,
Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos*, Mother in Hansel and Gretel*, Bertarido in Rodelinda* Recently Alto Soloist in Handel’s Messiah (Wintergreen Performing Arts Festival), 2017 Fellow at Bel Canto in Tuscany Upcoming Alto Soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Yale Philharmonia), Old Lady in Candide (Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra), Mother in Hansel and Gretel (Yale Opera), 2018 Studio Artist with Chautauqua Opera Alexandra Urquiola mezzo-soprano • Third Lady Hometown Bergenfield, NJ Education b.m. Northwestern University Yale Opera Popova in The Bear, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel*, Siebel in Faust*,
Unulfo in Rodelinda* Upcoming Hansel in Hansel and Gretel (Yale Opera), Paquette in Candide (Eastern
Connecticut Symphony Orchestra), Mother Goose in The Rake’s Progress (Merola Opera) Rachel Weishoff mezzo-soprano • Second Lady Staten Island, NY B.M. & M.M. SUNY Purchase Orsini in Lucrezia Borgia* Erika in Vanessa (Mannes Opera), Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible (Purchase Opera/Albany Records),Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (SUNY Purchase Opera) Upcoming Hansel in Hansel and Gretel (Yale Opera)
Hometown Education Yale Opera Recently
* scenes productions
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guest artist bios
The Queen Soprano Kathryn Bowden is making her mark in the fiendish role of of the Night the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, for which she has become in high demand. In October 2017, Ms. Bowden made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the Queen in the company’s Germanlanguage mainstage production and covered the role during the Met’s English-language family performances later in the season. The role of the Queen served as Ms. Bowden’s 2015 San Francisco Opera debut vehicle and as her entry onto the Metropolitan Opera roster as cover for the 2016 family performances of The Magic Flute. She also made her 2017 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra debut performing the Queen’s famous “Der Hölle Rache” in the concert program Heroes and Villains. In 2018, Ms. Bowden makes her debut with Houston’s Opera in the Heights as Cunegonde in Candide. Additional roles include Drusilla in L’incoronazione di Poppea, the Coloratura in Postcard from Morocco, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, and Greta Fiorentino in Street Scene. Ms. Bowden is an alumna of San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Opera Program, where she performed the roles of Mrs. Gobineau in The Medium and Nella in Gianni Schicchi, as well as excerpts from the role of Amina in La sonnambula. She has also participated in the voice program at the Chautauqua Music Festival. Ms. Bowden was a district winner at the 2014 and 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Florida and the winner of the 2013 Jenny Lind Competition for Sopranos. She earned her performer’s certificate and her bachelor of music degree in vocal performance from the University of Connecticut and is currently master of music degree candidate at Florida State University. Papagena Soprano Jin-Xiang Yu (Papagena) is a 2016 alumna of the Yale Opera program at the Yale School of Music, where her roles included Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Bystrouška in a scene from Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen. Following her recent appearance as Elle in Poulenc’s La voix humaine, she was praised by the New York Classical Review for her “beautiful sense of phrasing and formidable French diction,” and The New York Times hailed her “compelling performance that traced the shifting moods vividly.” For her role in Jack Perla’s An American Dream at Opera Maine, the Portland Press Herald praised “her bright, clear timbre and admirable vocal flexibility to create a moving portrayal of Setsuko.”
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In recent years, she has been a soloist with the Yonkers Philharmonic under Tong Chen and with the Yale Philharmonia under Peter Oundjian. She has sung O Holy Night at St. Patrick’s Cathedral and appears on the Naxos recording Songs of Peace and Praise. This year, she will be performing with the American Songbook Orchestra, the Yale Concert Band, and the American Festival of Microtonal Music, among other appearances. She is a recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Arts Award and has been a semifinalist at the Young Concert Artist Competition and the first-place winner in the Art Song Division of the Lyra New York International Vocal Competition. First Spirit Natalie Andrews is from Salem, Connecticut, and is a junior music education major at Western Connecticut State University, where she studies voice with Dr. Margaret Astrup. Her WCSU Opera credits include Fiametta in The Gondoliers; Lo Lo in The Merry Widow; and Dancer in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Regional theater performance credits include Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray; Gertrude McFuzz in Seussical; and Wendy Jo in Footloose. She is also a two-time winner of the James Furman Honors Performance Competition at WCSU. Second Christine Manalo makes her Yale Opera debut this season. As a Spirit third-year music education student at Western Connecticut State University, she studies privately in Laura Mashburn’s studio as a soprano. She recently placed first in the Lower College Division of a New England National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competition. Past stage credits include Fiametta in The Gondoliers. In addition to performing on stage, she is the accompanist for the Western Connecticut State University Concert Chorale and is an active church organist and pit pianist. Christine is a native of Watertown, Connecticut. Third Spirit Serena Valentin is a sophomore music education major at Western Connecticut State University and studies voice in the studio of Dr. Margaret Astrup. Her opera experience consists of an opera class at school, which recently put on a production of The Gondoliers, and is planning a summer production of Hansel and Gretel. Serena aspires to teach music, go to graduate school, and perform as much as possible.
20 • YALE OPERA
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yale opera donors Become a patron of Yale Opera! Help support the comprehensive education of opera’s rising stars. Patrons enjoy benefits such as complimentary tickets and invitations to special events. Please email Erika Niemi Heltzel at erika.niemi@yale.edu, call the Concert Office at 203 432-4158, or make a gift online at music.yale.edu/opera-giving. Sponsor Bob Alpern and Pat Preisig Laura and Victor Altshul Dean Robert and Serena Blocker Carole and Arthur Broadus Bill Butler and Barbara Endres Anne and Guido Calabresi Doris and Richard Cross Melanie Ginter Richard and Jane Levin Drs. Kitt Falk Petersen and Gerald I. Shulman Lorraine D. Siggins Benefactor Dr. and Mrs. David Astrachan Damon and Patricia Smith Stephanie Spangler and Robert Shulman
List as of February 5, 2018
Patron Burton Alter and June Anderson Elisabeth and Frank Bohlen Rita Brieger Jeffrey and Linda Chaffkin Joseph and Phyllis Crowley Bob and Priscilla Dannies Joy and Brin Ford Susan Forster and Bill Riley Toddie and Chris Getman Fred Gorelick and Cheryl MacLachlan Mary J. Greer Rosamond Hamlin Erica and Raimund Herzog Alan and Joan Kliger Elias N. Kulukundis Richard Lalli and Michael Rigsby James and Hannah Leckman Curly and Sandy Lieber Stephanie and Joseph Lim Maurice Mahoney and Blanche Katz Marie-Ange Masters Dr. and Mrs. Timothy Niemi Peter Salovey and Marta Moret Leslie and Robert Sherwin Terri Stangl and Moshe Gai David and Lisa Totman Gail and Michael Yaffe
THE MAGIC FLUTE • 21
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yale opera production staff Erika Niemi Heltzel Stephanie Canada Emma Clarkson Carol Koumbaros Cailey Harwood-Smith Ian McClain Chris Bell Brittany Bland Carolina Oritz Jake Ryan Lozano David Yi Jill Brunelle Sylvia D'Eramo Zachary Johnson Sam Linden Scenery built by Upstate Scenic
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yale school of music staff Krista Johnson Kate Gonzales Michael Zuber-Zander Mackenzie Dilbeck David Brensilver Katie Kelley Tara Deming Christopher Melillo Matthew LeFevre Travis Wurges
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Manager Production Manager Assistant Stage Manager Assistant Costume Designer Properties Master Projection Engineer & Operator Production Engineer Original Publicity Artwork Assistant Lighting Designer Movement Consultant Associate Chorus Master Surtitle Operator Student Assistant Student Assistant Intern
Manager of Concert Programs Concert Office Coordinator Assistant Concert Office Coordinator Director of Communications Communications Officer Design Manager Operations Manager Operations Assistant Manager Recording Engineer Video Producer
special thanks Carole Broadus Richard Cross Molly Gambardella Wendall K. Harrington Doug Harry Robert Heltzel Ryan Jacobsen Art Lavis Tom McAlistair Chris Murrah Doug Schreck
Mike Skinner Lalitha Shivaswamy Theresa Stark Kyle Swann Don Titus Matt Welander Southern Connecticut State University Yale School of Drama Yale School of Management 4 Wall Entertainment
22 • YALE OPERA
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up next Hansel and Gretel May 4 & 5 · Morse Recital Hall Fri & Sat, 7:30 pm Yale Opera presents a production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, featuring stage direction by John Giampietro and music direction by Timothy Shaindlin and Douglas Dickson. Tickets $10–$20 • Students $5 For tickets, call 203 432-4158, visit music-tickets.yale.edu, or visit the box office in Sprague Hall.
Yale Opera Student Recitals Free Admission
rachel weishoff, mezzo-soprano Wednesday, February 28, 7:30 pm, Morse Recital Hall sylvia d'eramo, soprano Sunday, March 4, 7:30 pm, Morse Recital Hall matthew cossack, baritone Monday, March 5, 4:30 pm, Morse Recital Hall lauren mcquistin, soprano Monday, March 5, 7:30 pm, Morse Recital Hall anush avetisyan, soprano Saturday, April 7, 7:30 pm, Morse Recital Hall zachary johnson, baritone Sunday, April 15, 4:30 pm, Morse Recital Hall ricky feng nan, tenor Sunday, April 22, 4:30 pm, Morse Recital Hall luis aguilar regalado, tenor Sunday, April 22, 7:30 pm, Morse Recital Hall
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yale school of music events Philharmonia in Sprague february 23 Yale Philharmonia Conducting fellow David Yi leads the Yale Philharmonia in a program that includes Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat major, Op. 19, with Szymon Nehring ’19AD; Wieniawski’s Légende, Op. 17, and Ravel’s Tzigane, M. 76, with violinist Sirena Huang ’19AD; and Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C major, Op. 61. Morse Recital Hall | Friday | 7:30 pm Tickets start at $10 • Yale Faculty/Staff $8 • Students $5 Chien-Kim-Watkins Trio february 27 Oneppo Chamber Music Series Pianist Gloria Chien, violinist Soovin Kim, and cellist Paul Watkins, each of whom enjoys a distinguished career in other contexts, come together in a new trio to perform Beethoven’s Piano Trio in E-flat major, Op. 70, No. 2; Pierre Jalbert’s Piano Trio No. 2 (2014); and Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 2 in C major, Op. 87. Morse Recital Hall | Tuesday | 7:30 pm Tickets start at $26 • Students $13 Harp vs. Harp: Edmar Castaneda & Grégoire Maret march 2 Ellington Jazz Series A concert showcasing the musical range and imagination of harpist Edmar Castaneda and harmonicist Grégoire Maret. Morse Recital Hall | Friday | 7:30 pm Tickets start at $20 • Students $10 Robert Blocker, piano march 7 Horowitz Piano Series Faculty pianist and School of Music Dean Robert Blocker is joined by piano faculty colleagues and members of the Yale Philharmonia for an all-Mozart program. Morse Recital Hall | Wednesday | 7:30 pm Tickets start at $13 • Students $7
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