Merola Opera Program

Schwabacher Summer Concert 2017

WHEN:Sunday, JuLy 9, 20172:30 PM

VENUEBing ConCert HaLL

Photo: Kristen Loken

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PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Please be considerate of others and turn off all phones, pagers, and watch alarms. Photography and recording of any kind are not permitted. thank you.

Program(Each excerpt’s cast listed by order of appearance)

Giacomo Puccini: Le Villi (1884) “La tregenda” orchestra

Douglas Moore: The Ballad of Baby Doe (1956) act 1, Scenes 2 and 3 “What a lovely evening…Willow where we met together…

Warm as the autumn light…Now where do you suppose thathe can be?...I send these lacy nothings.”

Baby doe—Kendra Berentsen Horace tabor—dimitri Katotakis augusta tabor—alice Chung Kate—Mathilda edge Meg—Felicia Moore Samantha—alexandra razskazoff townspeople—Mathilda edge,

Felicia Moore, alexandra razskazoff, andres acosta,thomas glass

Gaetano Donizetti: Lucrezia Borgia (1833) from act 1 “Tranquillo ei posa…Com’è bello…Ciel! Che vegg’io?...Di

pescatore ignobile.”

Lucrezia—alexandra razskazoff gubetta—thomas glass duke—dimitri Katotakis rustighello—Xingwa Hao gennaro—andres acosta

Carl Maria von Weber: Der Freischütz (1821) from act 2 “Wie nahte mir der Schlummer…Leise, leise, fromme Weise…

Wie? Was? Entsetzen!”

agathe—Felicia Moore Max—Xingwa Hao Ännchen—Kendra Berentsen

INTERMISSION

Jules Massenet: Thaïs (1894) from act 2 “Ah, je suis seule…Dis-moi que je suis belle…Étranger, te

voilà.”

thaïs—Mathilda edge athanaël—thomas glass nicias—andres acosta

Pietro Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana (1890) “Tu qui, Santuzza…Fior di giaggiolo…

Ah, lo vedi, che hai tu detto.”

turiddu—Xingwa Hao Santuzza—alice Chung Lola—alexandra razskazoff

Kurt Weill: Street Scene (1947) act 1, Scene 7 (“ice Cream Sextet”) “First time I come to da America…”

Lippo—andres acosta Mrs. Jones—alexandra razskazoff Mrs. Fiorentino—Kendra Berentsen Mrs. olsen—alice Chung Henry—Xingwa Hao Mr. Jones—thomas glass Mr. olsen—dimitri Katotakis

anne Manson, conductor david Lefkowich, director

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The Ballad of Baby Doe—Act 1, Scenes 2 and 3in 1880s Leadville, Colorado, Horace andaugusta tabor return home from theopening of the new opera house. Horace,a silver baron and lieutenant governor,has paid for the opera house, butaugusta complains that he won’t give upthe rough ways he had as a miner. abeautiful, young woman passes by andasks for directions to the nearby hotel.

While augusta retires for the evening,Horace seizes the chance to go outsideand smoke a cigar. He overhears twoladies talking about the young womanwho asked for directions and learns hername is Baby doe and that she has ahusband in Central City. as the ladiesmove off, Baby doe begins singing “theWillow Song” from the hotel, catchingHorace’s attention. He breaks intoapplause when the song finishes,startling Baby doe. Horace replies to herwith “Warm as the autumn Light,” butwhen augusta calls from the house, hehurries inside. tidying up Horace’s studyseveral months later, augusta finds a boxwith a beautiful pair of gloves and a loveletter. at first, she thinks they are a giftfor her, but then she realizes the packageis addressed to Baby doe. When Horacereturns home, his heartbroken wifeconfronts him over the affair. Her griefgives way to rage. at the end of thequarrel, Horace says he never meant tohurt her.

Lucrezia Borgia—from Act 1 (Prologue)in 16th-century Venice, a group of youngnoblemen celebrate on the terrace of thePalazzo grimani overlooking thegiudecca Canal. the next day they planto visit don alfonso, duke of Ferrara, andhis wife, the notorious Lucrezia Borgia.orsini recounts how he and gennaro meta mysterious old man in the forest who

warned them to beware of Lucrezia andher entire family. unimpressed by thestory, gennaro wanders over to a nearbybench and falls asleep. after the othersgo back inside the Palazzo, a maskedwoman arrives on a gondola. She looksdown at the sleeping gennaro, reachesfor his hand, and gently kisses it.gennaro wakes, struck by love for thebeautiful woman bending over him. Hetells her he is an orphan, raised by agroup of fishermen, but dearly loves themother he never met. gennaro’s friendsreturn to the terrace and recognize thewoman as Lucrezia Borgia. Before thehorrified gennaro, they recount themembers of their families she has killed.

Der Freischütz—from Act 2in a village in Bohemia at the end of thethirty years War, agathe, the daughter ofthe head forester, and her young cousin,Ännchen, wait at home for news of theshooting contest in which agathe’sbeloved, Max, is taking part. agathe’sfather has promised her hand to Max ifhe can win the contest. Max is a brilliantmarksman but lately has had a string ofbad luck. agathe is troubled by her recentvisit to a hermit, who warned her ofdanger and gave her a gift of white roses.Her worry increases when a painting ofone of her ancestors falls from the walland injures her. another bad omen?despite her fears, agathe sings of her lovefor Max. Max arrives and confesses hewas not the victor that day, but he isexcited he has shot an eagle that wascircling out of range. He has also killed adeer, which he needs to fetch from Wolf’sglen. the girls warn him against thedangers of Wolf’s glen, though they donot know the truth of Max’s visit to theglen—he has sold his soul in exchange formagic bullets to be cast in Wolf’s glen atmidnight. despite agathe’s and Ännchen’sentreaties, Max departs.

Thaïs—from Act 2in egypt in the days of the Byzantineempire, the courtesan thaïs studies herreflection in the mirror and muses on whatwill happen to her when her beauty fades.When athanaël, a monk, enters the room,she warns him not to love her. athanaëltells her he offers a different kind of lovethat brings eternal life. thaïs is caught byhis message until the voice of niciasoutside reminds her of her past. athanaëltells her he will wait for her outside throughthe night. thaïs agonizes over the choicebetween her life of luxury and athanaël’spromise of redemption and rejects both.

Cavalleria rusticanaon easter Sunday in a village in southernitaly at the turn of the 20th century,Santuzza begs her former lover turidduto return to her. turiddu tries to shake heroff. Santuzza accuses him of having anaffair with Lola, the girl to whom he wasonce engaged. Lola married anotherman while turiddu was away with thearmy, but Santuzza says she has seenturiddu near Lola’s house. turidduaccuses Santuzza of spying on him. Lolaenters, on her way to church, and asksSantuzza if she is going to mass.Santuzza says church is for those whohave not sinned. turiddu starts to followLola into the church. Santuzza begs himto stay, and Lola, mockingly, does thesame. When Lola goes into the church,Santuzza again pleads with turiddu notto abandon her. turiddu rejects her andfollows Lola. Santuzza curses him.

Street Scene—Act 1, Scene 7 on a hot summer night in the 1930s,immigrants gather in front of a tenementon new york’s Lower east Side. LippoFiorentino comes home from work withice cream cones for everyone, and thegroup sings an ode to this deliciousescape from the heat.

Synopses

ANDRES ACOSTA tenor

KENDRA BERENTSENSoPrano

ALICE CHUNG MeZZo-SoPrano

MATHILDA EDGE SoPrano

THOMAS GLASS Baritone

XINGWA HAO tenor

DIMITRI KATOTAKIS Baritone

FELICIA MOORE SoPrano

ALEXANDRARAZSKAZOFF

SoPrano

ANNE MANSONConduCtor

DAVID LEFKOWICHdireCtor

Artists

Photo by Kristen Loken

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ANDRES ACOSTA tenor

Hometown: Miami, FloridaMerola Roles: Schwabacher SummerConcert—gennaro (Lucrezia Borgia),nicias (Thaïs), Lippo (Street Scene)Schools and Young Artist Programs:Florida State university, Brevard MusicCenter, indiana universityTeachers: david okerlund, Carol VanessMajor Roles: arcadio (Florencia en elAmazonas), alfred (Die Fledermaus),Ferrando (Così fan tutte), don ottavio (DonGiovanni), Sam Kaplan (Street Scene)

KENDRA BERENTSENSoPrano

Hometown: Portland, oregonMerola Roles: Schwabacher SummerConcert—Baby doe (The Ballad of BabyDoe), Ännchen (Der Freischütz), Mrs.Fiorentino (Street Scene)Schools and Young Artist Programs:eastman School of Music, internationalVocal arts institute Blacksburg,international Vocal arts instituteMontreal Teachers: diana Soviero, deborahBirnbaum, Valery ryvkin, yelena Kurdina,Chuck Hudson, rita ShaneMajor Roles: Juliette (Roméo et Juliette),Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), adele (DieFledermaus), Zerlina (Don Giovanni),Carolina (Il matrimonio segreto), Mme.Herz and Mlle. Silberklang (DerSchauspieldirektor), Frasquita (Carmen),Flora (The Turn of the Screw)

ALICE CHUNG MeZZo-SoPrano

Hometown: Loma Linda, CaliforniaMerola Roles: Schwabacher SummerConcert—augusta tabor (The Ballad ofBaby Doe), Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana),Mrs. olsen (Street Scene)Schools and Young Artist Programs: Lyricopera of Kansas City apprenticeProgram; university of Missouri-KansasCity; university of California, SantaBarbara; Central City opera;Chautauqua opera; operaWorks Teachers: Vinson Cole, Linda di FioreMajor Roles: La Zia Principessa (SuorAngelica), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), MamaMcCourt (The Ballad of Baby Doe), Mrs.grose (The Turn of the Screw), third Lady(Die Zauberflöte), Cecilia March (LittleWomen), Mariana (Luisa Fernanda)

MATHILDA EDGE SoPrano

Hometown: Chandlerville, illinoisMerola Role: Schwabacher SummerConcert—thaïs (Thaïs)Schools and Young Artist Programs:indiana university, illinois College Teachers: Brian Horne, abbie Furmansky,Costanza Cuccaro, addiegramelspacher, Sandra BoumanMajor Roles: Cio-Cio-San (MadamaButterfly), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), FirstLady (Die Zauberflöte), Sandman (Hanseland Gretel), romilda (Xerxes), the Milliner(Der Rosenkavalier)

THOMAS GLASS Baritone

Hometown: edina, MinnesotaMerola Roles: Schwabacher SummerConcert—gubetta (Lucrezia Borgia),athanaël (Thaïs), Mr. Jones (Street Scene)Schools and Young Artist Programs:Minnesota opera resident artistProgram, Wolf trap opera Studio artistProgram, rice university, university of St.thomasTeachers: Stephen King, alan BryanMajor Roles: Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia),Schaunard (La bohème), Capulet (Roméoet Juliette), Peter (Hansel and Gretel), Bill (A Hand of Bridge)

XINGWA HAO tenor

Hometown: Zhan Jiang City, guangdong, ChinaMerola Roles: Schwabacher SummerConcert—rustighello (Lucrezia Borgia),Max (Der Freischütz), turiddu (Cavalleriarusticana), Henry (Street Scene)Schools and Young Artist Programs: theCentral Conservatory of Music, Beijing,China; royal academy of Music, London,englandTeachers: Hao Jun, Zhong Zhen Fa,glenville Hargreves, Wang XianLin, PengKangliangMajor Roles: alfredo (La traviata), tito (Laclemenza di Tito), rinuccio (GianniSchicchi), Pane (La Calisto), rodolfo (Labohème), Pong (Turandot), Canio(Pagliacci)

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Biographies

DIMITRI KATOTAKIS Baritone

Hometown: toronto, ontario, CanadaMerola Roles: Schwabacher SummerConcert—Horace tabor (The Ballad ofBaby Doe), duke (Lucrezia Borgia), Mr.olsen (Street Scene)Schools and Young Artist Programs:university of toronto, Mcgill university,the Juilliard School Teachers: Sanford Sylvan, Steven Blier,don tarnawski, darryl edwards Major Roles: guglielmo (Così fan tutte), ilConte (Le nozze di Figaro), Steward (Flight),Kaiser overall (Der Kaiser von Atlantis),gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi), ramiro(L’heure espagnole), escamillo (Carmen),demetrius (A Midsummer Night’s Dream),Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), Harlekin (Ariadneauf Naxos)

FELICIA MOORE SoPrano

Hometown: Princeton, new JerseyMerola Role: Schwabacher SummerConcert—agathe (Der Freischütz)Schools and Young Artist Programs: theJuilliard School; Mannes College, thenew School for Music; Westminster ChoirCollege; Portland opera resident artistProgram; des Moines Metro operaapprentice artist Program; operatheatre of Saint Louis gerdine youngartist Program; ravinia Festival’s SteansMusic institute Teachers: edith Wiens, StephenWadsworth, Mary Birnbaum, ruth Falcon,Joseph ColaneriMajor Roles: Kát’a Kabanová (Kát’aKabanová), First Lady (Die Zauberflöte),Harriet Mosher (Emmeline), Suor angelica(Suor Angelica), nella (Gianni Schicchi),Madama Cortese (Il viaggio a Reims),Female Chorus (The Rape of Lucretia)

ALEXANDRA RAZSKAZOFF SoPrano

Hometown: new Brighton, MinnesotaMerola Roles: Schwabacher SummerConcert—Lucrezia (Lucrezia Borgia), Lola(Cavalleria rusticana), Mrs. Jones (StreetScene) Schools and Young Artist Programs: theJuilliard School, Peabody Conservatory,Minnesota opera resident artistProgram, Santa Fe opera apprenticeProgram, Music academy of the West Teachers: Stanley Cornett, robert C.White Jr. Major Roles: Britomarte (L’arbore diDiana), Wellgunde (Das Rheingold), FirstLady (Die Zauberflöte), Contessa almaviva(Le nozze di Figaro), Suor angelica (SuorAngelica), Blanche de la Force (Dialoguesdes Carmélites), donna elvira (DonGiovanni), abigail Williams (The Crucible),L’écureuil (L’enfant et les sortilèges)

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Photo by Kristen Loken

ANNE MANSONConduCtor

Conductor anne Manson has served asmusic director of the Manitoba Chamberorchestra since 2008 and recentlyrenewed her contract through 2020.Manson’s strong commitment tocontemporary music has led to numerouscommissions and recordings with theMCo. among them are Philip glass’Symphony no. 3 and Piano Concerto andTroubadour and the Nightingale—nominated for the Juno and WesternCanada Music award—with sopranoisabel Bayrakdarian. as a guestconductor, she has performed with theLos angeles Philharmonic, Houston and

indianapolis Symphonies, residentieorchestra of the Hague, St. Paul Chamberorchestra, London Philharmonic, royalScottish national orchestra, BournemouthSinfonietta, Swedish Chamber orchestra,orquesta de extremadura, and BBCProms, and she has guest conductedregularly with many orchestras in Spain.

DAVID LEFKOWICHdireCtor

david Lefkowich is an accomplishedstage director and choreographer andhas enjoyed success with differentcompanies, including the Metropolitan

opera, teatro alla Scala, new york Cityopera, San Francisco opera, Floridagrand opera, Minnesota opera, andglimmerglass opera. directing creditsare numerous and include Don Giovanni,Idomeneo, Le nozze di Figaro, and L’histoiredu soldat (ravinia Music Festival with theChicago Symphony orchestra); Salome(Minnesota opera); Le portrait de Manon(glimmerglass opera); and Il trovatore(new orleans opera, Fort Worth opera).Lefkowich is currently the artistic directorof the Mill City Summer opera inMinneapolis, where he directed thecompany’s inaugural production ofPagliacci and followed with The Barber ofSeville, Tosca, The Daughter of the Regiment,and Sweeney Todd.

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About Merola Opera ProgramMerola opera Program is an independent, nonprofit organization

that operates in collaboration with the San Francisco opera.

Founded in 1957 and named for the San Francisco opera’s founder,

gaetano Merola, the program is recognized as one of the most

prestigious operatic training programs in the world. the Merola

opera Program annually receives more than 800 applications for

approximately 29 positions. throughout the summer, the Merola

artists participate in master classes and private coaching sessions

with opera’s most accomplished singers and performers.

Participants, including singers, apprentice coaches, and an

apprentice stage director, also receive

training in operatic repertory, foreign

languages, diction, acting, and stage

movement. the Merola artists appear in

public performances throughout the

summer. the Merola opera Program

Summer Festival includes two staged

operas, a scenes program, and a concert.

For more information, visit www.merola.org.