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Minnesota Opera's The Italian Girl in Algiers Program
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Transcript of Minnesota Opera's The Italian Girl in Algiers Program
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Contents
The Minnesota Opera
President & CEO Kevin SmithArtistic Director Dale Johnson
Chair, Board of Directors Jane M. Confer
The Minnesota Opera, 620 North First Street Minneapolis, MN 55401 (612) 333-2700
www.mnopera.org
The Minnesota Opera is a member of OPERA America.
The Minnesota Opera Programis published by
Corporate Administrator/Publisher Todd HydeAssoc. Publisher/Director of Production Marsha Kitchel
Account Executives Liesl Hyde, Amy NewtonCreative Designer Stacy Harwood
Graphic Designers Sue Sentyrz Klapmeier, Robert Ochsner
This activity is made possible in part by a grant provided by the Minnesota State ArtsBoard through an appropriation by the Minnesota State Legislature. This project is
supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
November 2007
Large-print and Braille programs are available at the Patron Services Office
The Minnesota Opera Staff and Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Notes from the Leadership . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7The Italian Girl in Algiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Background Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10Synopsis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Gioachino Rossini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The Artists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16The Minnesota Opera Chorus and Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182007-2008 Gala . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Education at the Opera. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22Out at The Opera Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Young Professionals Group Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262007-2008 Season . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Opera at the Ordway Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29The Minnesota Opera Annual Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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MINNESOTA OPERA Staff
MINNESOTA OPERA Volunteers
Welcome to today’s production of The Italian
Girl in Algiers. For more than four decades, TheMinnesota Opera has enriched the cultural lifeof our community by producing outstanding andinnovative operas that inspire and entertain.
U.S. Bank is honored to sponsor the 2007 –2008 season. We are proud of our 20+ yearrelationship with The Minnesota Opera and thespectacular Ordway Center in St. Paul.
At U.S. Bank, we support great dreams, great art and great arts organizations. They enrich thecommunity with vibrancy, creativity and excellence. As the sixth largest bank in Americatoday, U.S. Bank is the only major bank headquartered in Minnesota, and we’re deeplycommitted to giving back to this community.
Thank you for coming and enjoy the performance!
Rod Boren, Senior Vice President, Personal Trust Regional Manager, U.S. Bank Private Client Group Jose Peris, Senior Vice President, Private Banking Regional Manager, U.S. Bank Private Client Group
President & CEO Kevin SmithArtistic Director Dale Johnson
ArtisticArtistic Administrator . . . .Roxanne Stou∂er CruzArtist Relations and
Planning Director . . . . . . Floyd AndersonDramaturg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David SanderPrincipal Conductor-in-Residence
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Robert WoodAssociate Conductor-in-Residence
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew AltenbachResident Artists . . . . . . . . . .Kyle Albertson,
Alison Bates, John David Boehr,Andrea Coleman, Christin-Marie Hill,
Christopher Job, Bryan Lemke,Jamison Livsey, Bill Murray,
Christian ReinertRAP Faculty . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Nancy Boler,
Carlotta Dradi-Bower, Barbara Kierig, Doug Schulz-Carlson
Master Coach . . . . . . . . .Mary Jo GothmannRAP Guest Clinicians . . . . . .Mary Dibbern,
David Neely
EducationCommunity Education Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jamie AndrewsTeaching Artist . . . . . . . . . .Vicki FingalsonProject Opera Music Director . . . Dale KruseProject Opera Accompanist . . .Kathy Kraulik
ProductionProduction Director. . . . . . . Kevin RamachProduction Stage Manager . . . . Alex FarinoAssistant Stage Managers . . . .Casey Martin,
Angie SpencerProduction Admin Asst. . Katherine Cattrysse
CostumesCostume Shop Manager . . . .Erica M. BurdsAssistant Costume Shop Manager . .Beth SandersDrapers . . . . . . . . .Chris Bur, Yancey Thrift,
Angela Yarbrough Costume Technicians . . . .Helen Ammann,
Jennifer Dawson, Mary Farrell, Rose Ryan, Lindsey Strange
Wig/Makeup Assistants . .Emily Rosenmeier,Ashley Ryan, Nina Stewart
SceneryTechnical Director . . . . . Mike McQuistonAsst. Technical Director. . . Marc D. JohnsonProperties Master . . Stanley Dean HawthorneProperties Assistant . . . . . . . . . Mike LongLighting Coordinator . . . Marc D. JohnsonProduction Carpenter . . . . . . . . . JC AmelScene Shop Foreman . . . . . . . . . . Rod AirdMaster Carpenter . . . . . . . . . .Steven RovieCarpenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eric Veldey
AdministrationFinance Director . . . . . . . . . . . . Je∂ CoutureOperations/Systems
Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . Steve MittelholtzHR/Accounting Manager . . . . Jennifer ThillExecutive Assistant . . . . . . . Theresa MurrayFinance Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Libby JonesIT Applications Specialist . . . . . .Jessica Wright
Institutional AdvancementVice President of Institutional
Advancement . . . . . . . . . . .Patrick DewaneInstitutional Advancement
Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kelly Clemens
DevelopmentAnnual Fund Director . . . . . . .Dawn LovenGrants Manager . . . . . . . . . . .Beth ComeauxDonor Events and
Gala Manager . . . . . . . . . . .Emily SkoblikIndividual Gifts Manager . . . . . .Morgan WalshGala Interns . . . . .Inga Hakanson, Mary Huot
Marketing/CommunicationsMarketing and Communications
Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lani WillisMarketing Operations
Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Marsha WalkerAudience Development Associate . . Jamie NiemanTicket O∑ce Manager . . . Katherine CastilleTicketing and Communications Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert SchmidtTicket O∑ce Assistants . . . .Kendra Ramthun,
Kristen Bond, Alexandrea KouameMarketing Intern . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sara Schweid
The following volunteers contribute their time and talent in support of key activities of The Minnesota Opera. If youwould like to learn more about volunteering for The Minnesota Opera, please contact Jamie Nieman by phone at612-342-9550 or via email at [email protected].
Catherine AhernAnn AlbertsonGerald BensonJim BrownbackJerry CassidyDiane ChoihJoann CierniakSusan CoggerCaroline CoopersmithBeverly DaileyDenis DaileyJeanette DaunJudith DuncanSally EconomonChristopher FosterHazel FrancoisLi-Jun FuJane FullerJoan Gacki
Christine A. GarnerMary E. HagenMerle J. HansonAnne HesselrothHeather HuberKaren JohnsonNancy JohnsonSteve JohnsonJeannie JohnstonKristen JohnstonRobin KeckDawn KlassenEleanore KolarLucinda LamontShirley LarsonMathilda LienJerry LillquistJoyce LillquistMargery Martin
Joan MasuckYasuko MatsumotoMary McDiarmidBeth McGuireVerne MelbergJeanette MiddletonBarbara MooreDoug MyhraPam NielsenCandyce OsterkampDan PanshinPat PanshinMegan PelkaBill PhillipsSydney PhillipsJulia PorterCarol PurvisKathleen RileyEnrique Rotstein
John SauerLynette SaucierMichael SilhavyWendy SilhavyAngie SolomonWendi SottNaomi St. GregoryKaren St. JohnHarry SwepstonDave TerwilligerEmily ThompsonDoris UngerStacey VonderhearCarolyn WahteraSandy WalkerMary WeitzBarbara Willis
123 Ottawa Ave N • Minneapolis MN 55422www.breckschool.org
Please Join Us for These2007-08 Admissions Events
Meet the New Head of SchoolSaturday, November 3, 20079:00-11:30 AM
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For more information, call Jim Jamesat 763-381-8202
Welcome totoday’s perform-ance – we’re gladyou are here!
The MinnesotaOpera has hadsome recent
successes I’d like to share with you.We finished the 2006–2007 season inthe black – an especially gratifyingaccomplishment given our expansionto five operas in the season. Last June,we completed the $20 million Operaat the Ordway Initiative. This seasonwe are experiencing record growth inour subscription base. And on October10, we launched the Arts Partnership,a new non-profit organization com-prising the Opera, The Saint PaulChamber Orchestra, Schubert Cluband Ordway Center for the Arts.
The Arts Partnership represents theinterests of the four organizations attheir point of intersection – Ordway
Center itself. Over the years, balanc-ing the scheduling needs of OrdwayCenter and its main users has beenchallenging. This can be considered a problem of success, as there is morequality programming for the community than there is time in the schedule at Ordway! The ArtsPartnership has not only resolved thischallenge but has also created a modelin which Ordway Center can realizeits full potential. Each organizationfeels it has benefited far beyond anycompromises that were made toachieve this success, but the commu-nity will be the real winner, as we arejust beginning to discover how thisbeloved cultural asset – and its part-ners – can flourish as a result of thisunprecedented collaboration.
Thank you for being here, and enjoythe show.
Kevin Smith, President and CEO
Welcome to TheMinnesota Opera’scompany premiereof The Italian Girlin Algiers!
Rossini’s master-piece is one of the
most riotous comedies in all of opera,and its heroine, Isabella, is a signaturerole of Vivica Genaux. MinnesotaOpera regulars will surely rememberher brilliant performances in our Bel Canto operas Cinderella,Semiramide, The Capulets and theMontagues and Lucrezia Borgia. TenorKenneth Tarver makes his MinnesotaOpera debut as Lindoro. Bass WojtekGierlach debuts as Mustafà and baritone Andrew Wilkowske (The Magic Flute, Nixon in China, The Grapes of Wrath, The Marriage ofFigaro) returns as Taddeo. HelenBinder, who directed last year’sacclaimed production of The Tales ofHoffmann, directs, and The Minnesota
Opera’s principal Conductor-in-Residence Robert Wood conducts.
Producing treasured works from thefertile Bel Canto period is a uniquespecialty of The Minnesota Opera. The Bel Canto – or “beautiful singing”– period (approx. 1810–1850) had aprofound effect on the art form, and italso guides this company’s artisticvision – both to produce an operafrom that body of work each seasonand to maintain a focus on the voicethat informs every aspect of opera production, from design to casting.This year’s offering, The Italian Girl in Algiers, is the perfect representationof that commitment.
I hope you enjoy this colorful andimaginative production!
Dale Johnson, Artistic Director
NOTES FROM THE Leadership
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BOARD OF DirectorsFROM THE Artistic Director
FROM THE President
OfficersJane M. Confer, Chair
Chip Emery, Vice ChairDebra Paterson, SecretaryDenver Gilliand, Treasurer
Kevin Smith, President & CEO
Directors
EmeritiKaren BachmanBurton Cohen
Julia W. DaytonThomas R. McBurney
Mary W. Vaughan
Honorary DirectorsDominick Argento
Philip BrunelleElizabeth CloseDolly Fiterman
Charles C. FullmerNorton M. Hintz
Liz KochirasPatricia H. Sheppard
Legal CounselJames A. Rubenstein, Moss & Barnett
Martha Goldberg AronsonWendy BennettCharles E. BergJ. A. Blanchard IIIShari BoehnenSusan S. BorenKathleen CallahanNicky B. CarpenterRichard P. CarrollRachelle D. ChaseMary A. DearingSara DonaldsonSteve FoxSharon HawkinsRuth S. Huss
Philip IsaacsonLucy Rosenberry JonesB. John LindahlDiana E. MurphyBrian E. PalmerJodi D. PetersonMary Ingebrand PohladStephanie J. PremElizabeth RedleafConnie RemeleStephanie SimonPeter W. SipkinsMitchell StoverVirginia StringerH. Bernt von Ohlen
Northern Trust B
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Imagine the world without music and dance, or literature and art. Life isincomplete without ways to express ourselves, and to discover who we areand what we can be. That’s why Northern Trust proudly supports the arts inits many diverse forms.
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THE ARTS ALLOW US TO DISCOVER WHO WE CAN BE
Tom Smith, President & CEO – Minnesota • 612-336-70201600 IDS Center • Minneapolis
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The appearances of Kenneth Tarver, winner; Alison Bates and Andrew Wilkowske, regional finalists; and Kyle Albertson and
John David Boehr, district finalists of the Metropolitan Opera National CouncilAuditions, are made possible through a Minnesota Opera Endowment Fund
established for Artist Enhancement by Barbara White Bemis.
The appearances of Kyle Albertson, Alison Bates, John David Boehr, Andrea Coleman and Christian Reinert are made possible by the Virginia L. Stringer
Endowment Fund for The Minnesota Opera Resident Artist Program.
Performances of The Italian Girl in Algiers are being taped for delayed broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio, KSJN 99.5 in the Twin Cities.
Fortepiano courtesy of Jane Lanctot
The Minnesota Opera season is sponsored by FAF Advisors and U.S. Bank.
The appearances of the 2007–2008 season conductorsare underwritten by SpencerStuart.
Opera Insights is sponsored by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
Camerata Dinners sponsored by Lowry Hill PrivateWealth Management.
The Italian Girl in Algiers is sponsored by
Music by Gioachino RossiniLibretto by Angelo Anelli
World premiere at the Teatro San Benedetto, VeniceMay 22, 1813
November 10, 13, 15, 17 and 18, 2007Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
Sung in Italian with English translations
Conductor ..............................................Robert WoodStage Director ........................................Helena BinderSet Designer ................................Robert Innes HopkinsCostume Designer ..................................David WoolardLighting Designer ..................................Marcus DilliardWig Master and Makeup ..............Tom Watson & AssociatesChorus Preparation ............................Andrew AltenbachProduction Stage Manager ....................Alexander FarinoEnglish Captions ..............................Christopher Bergen
THE CASTIsabella, an Italian lady......................Vivica GenauxLindoro, a young Italian slave..........Kenneth TarverMustafà, Bey of Algiers ..............Wojtek GierlachTaddeo, companion of
Isabella ......................Andrew WilkowskeHaly, captain of the
Algerian corsairs..........Kyle AlbertsonElvira, wife of Mustafà........Alison BatesZulma, slave and confidante
of Elvira ................Andrea Coleman
Algerian corsairs, Italian slaves, pappataci
Production originally designed forand created by The Santa Fe Opera.
G ioachino Rossini workedwell under pressure. Thathis staple of the repertory, Il
barbiere di Siviglia, wascomposed in 21 days iscommon knowledge, butthat’s not the onlymasterpiece he wrote in ahurry. In 1813, Rossini wasin Venice for the localpremiere of his opera,
La pietra del paragone, to befollowed by a new work by
Carlo Coccia. When Coccia’sLa donna selvaggia failed tomaterialize and Pietraexperienced a slump in ticket
sales, the Teatro San Benedettohad to scramble. Though Rossiniwas making a name for himself in
BACKGROUND Notesby David Sander
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opera seria (as evidenced by the successful premiere ofTancredi in February), the Venetians enjoyed his comicside – all five of his one-act farse had been written forthat city, known for its crucial role in the developmentof staged comedy during the previous century. In apanic, Rossini turned to text by Angelo Anelli, whichhad recently been set by composer Luigi Mosca in 1808as L’italiana in Algeri (The Italian Girl in Algiers). Ofcourse, this was hardly uncommon – Rossini and hiscolleagues, always in a pinch, frequently restaged thesame source material and libretti (Barbiere is one famousexample, first adapted by Giovanni Paisiello).
There were modifications,however, including theelimination of several numbers.Lindoro loses an aria just beforethe Act I finale, “Bella, da voilontano,” only to gain one inAct II (“Oh come il cor digiubilo”), which replaces a duetfor the two lovers, “Senza il carosuo tesoro,” that is curiouslyabsent (a feature of Barbiere aswell, said to be indicative ofRossini’s dramaturgy, thoughone could argue that the Act IItrio, “Ah, quel colpoinaspettato,” is an impassionedmoment a due, albeit withFigaro still in the room).Taddeo is stripped of his Act Iaria, “Manco mal, son vivoancora,” that precedes (anddraws attention from) Isabella’sgrand entrance number, “Crudasorte,” during which the newlystrengthened prima donnacatalogues her enviable power over men to additional textnot in Mosca. This is later proven by her Act II cavatina,“Per lui che adoro,” as she knowingly declares her beautywhile her three admirers lustfully observe from a distance.This piece was also tacked on as a showpiece for Rossini’sfavored soprano (prior to Isabella Colbran), the formidableMarietta Marcolini, who 12 years his senior, was rumoredto be his lover and perhaps the inspiration for the ItalianGirl’s indomitable spirit. And evidence exists that Rossinimay not have written all the music himself, again quitetypical for the frenzied business of producing opera inthose days. Certainly he had help with the recitatives andprobably jobbed out Haly’s Act II aria di sorbetto, “Lafemmine d’Italia,” as no one would be paying attention tothe stage at the critical moment of the evening whenstreet venders would be selling frozen ices inside thetheater. Further alterations in Vicenzia and Milan yieldedan alternate Act II aria for Lindoro (“Concedi, amorpietoso”), a new Act I aria for Isabella (“Cimentando iventi e l’onde”) and reorchestration of “Per lui che adoro”
(apparently the cellist at Milan’s Teatro Re was not up tothe challenge of the complicated obbligato accompaniment,which had to be assigned to the flute). In Naples(foreshadowing Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera debacle), thetouchy censors required the Act II rondò “Pensa alla patria, e intrepido il tuo dover adempi” (“Think of your country,and fearlessly do your duty”) be substituted with “Sullo stilde’ viaggiatori” (“In the guise of simple travelers”) as anycontext of a unified Italy in those days was suspect. Similarlyfearful Italian cities would simply change the text of theoriginal aria to “Pensa alla sposa” (“Think of your wife”).
Musically, the difference between Mosca and Rossini ismarked. Separated by only fiveyears, the former is stuck in aClassical rut, movingponderously along with littlechange in tempi or variation informs. Rossini, on the otherhand, was intimately familiarwith the theatrical expectationsof his audience from hischildhood – his mother was asinger (and an interpreter ofMosca) – and his innovative scoreleaps off the page with verve,highly ornamented at every turnand propelled forward by thesoon-to-be trademark “Rossini”crescendo (though credited withthis device featuring a melodyrepeated with increasing volumeand instrumentation, examplescan be found in the earlier worksof Mosca and Pietro Generali,among others). L’italiana inAlgeri was a hit from the startand soon eclipsed Coccia’s belated
premiere of Donna, relegating it to the mere obligatory threeperformances. Rossini would later remark: “… [theVenetians] have shown themselves to be crazier than me!”
Though the words to this second Italiana adhere closelyto the first, the text modifications are also somewhat of amystery – they could have been the hand of residentlibrettist (and frequent Rossini collaborator) GaetanoRossi, or from a distance, that of Anelli himself, who helda similar position in Milan. The sources of the story arejust as enigmatic. Anelli was somewhat of a Classicist,providing text for an earlier generation of composers thatincluded Giovanni Simone Mayr, Niccolò Piccinni andStefano Pavesi. He was likely familiar with the far moreserious legend of Roxelane, a beautiful slave of the 16th-century Turkish autocrat Suleiman the Great. A native ofRohatyn, then part of Poland, she was captured by CrimeanTartars and eventually found her way into Suleiman’sharem. She convinced the sultan to send his wife and first-born son to rule one of the provinces, where the boy waslater strangled by a man named Mustapha. In another �
BACKGROUND NOTES CONTINUED ON PAGE 12
BACKGROUND Notes
Photo courtesy of The Santa Fe Opera (photographer: Ken Howard)
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BACKGROUND Notes
daring move, she became Suleiman’s new wife, bearing fivechildren including the next Turkish leader, Selim. Another,less brutal theory is based on more current events – ayoung, aristocratic Milanese woman, Antonietta Frapollihad been abducted by Algerian pirates in 1805 and placedin the seraglio of Mustapha-ibn-Ibrahim. Her return severalyears later became a newsworthy occurrence.
Like other light-hearted works of the day (most notablyBarbiere), one can also see signs of the tried-and-truecommedia dell’arte, thetraditional Italiancomedy that employsstock characters andimprovised situations.Taddeo, the amorousbuffoon whose loveremains unrequited, isultimately derived fromthe stock characterPulcinella (oftenportrayed as ahunchback or otherwisedeformed, he isoperatically evidencedin a much later opera,Pagliacci (1892) byRuggero Leoncavallo).Lindoro (a propercommedia name also usedas the pseudonym ofAlmaviva in Barbiere) isthe noble young loverpaired with hisinnamorata Isabella(Rosina in Barbiere),who shares some of hersmart ways and impertinence with the female servant-character Columbina (Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro). AndMustafà bears a striking resemblance to the typicallygrotesque, ridiculous older man in vain pursuit of a young,pert and unattainable woman (Bartolo in bothBeaumarchais-derived works). To be sure, the femme fataleIsabella has been described as a female Don Giovanni,another product of the Italian comedy – it’s hardly anaccident that the rejected and demoralized woman of theopera bears the name “Elvira.”
Ultimately, L’italiana in Algeri is a product of the era’sthirst for rescue opera and Turkish settings. Much like theOrient was for later 19th-century composers, the OttomanEmpire was the exotic locale for 18th- and early 19th-century artists. Previously, Europeans had some bad bloodfor the “infidels,” stemming from the Crusades andresulting in the expulsion of the Moors from Spain andItaly. Falling under Turkish control, much of the Barbary
coast, which includes Morocco and Algeria, was controlledby pirates of the Mediterranean, wreaking havoc uponEuropean seafarers [it should be noted Isabella istraditionally shipwrecked (rather than the ingeniousairplane arrival used in this production) on the shores ofAlgiers before being captured by Haly and his bandits].Consolidating power in the Middle East and NorthernAfrica, the Ottomans took their revenge on Eastern andCentral Europe, besieging Vienna more than once with
one campaign led bythe aforementionedSuleiman in 1529 andanother close calloccurred in 1683. Bythe time of Mozart-eraJoseph II, the tablesturned once more as heand Russian empressCatherine the Greatencroached upon theTurks in 1788, thenNapoleon would takehis turn, invadingEgypt and Syria adecade later.
Coupled withtranslations of TheArabian Nights andFrançois Pétis de laCroix’s Turkish andPersian Tales, thecolorful, seeminglyindulgent culture quiteforeign to Europeans,became a frequentsubject of interest,
particularly with the incorporation of magic into itsfantastic stories and the loose sexuality associated with theseraglio. French painters swarmed to the south – EugèneDelacroix journeyed to Tangier in 1832, a watershedmoment in his development of color theory, and HoraceVernet [whose then-mistress and model Olympe Pélissier(as portrayed in the artist’s Judith and Holofernes) wouldbecome Rossini’s second wife] made several trips toAfrica’s northern coast and the Middle East. Artists hadthe myopic view that Arab customs and behavior hadn’tchanged for thousands of years, and therefore, used whatthey observed to portray Biblical scenes as well as vibrantcontemporary subjects. Due to cultural beliefs, findingmodels to pose often presented a problem and gainingaccess to a harem proved equally challenging. Many ofthese artist-travelers were forced to paint from memory.
There are scores of examples of turquerie in themusical world as well. Venice, the birthplace of public
BACKGROUND NOTES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11
View of Tangier from the Seashore by Eugène Delacroix (1856–58)Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Bequest of Mrs. Erasmus C. Lindley in memory of her father James J. Hill
BACKGROUND NOTES CONTINUED ON PAGE 18
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BACKGROUND Notes
opera in the 17th
century, was a relic ofByzantium and considered the
gateway to the Orient. The “civilized” Europeans werefrequently juxtaposed with the “barbaric” Arabianpeople. Reinhard Keiser wrote Mumumeth II in 1696following exploits of the famed Turkish despot (asubject later treated by Rossini) and the composersVivaldi, Scarlatti, Handel, Hasse, Jommelli, Paër andMayr all have Middle Eastern-themed works in theirrepertoires. François Rebel and François Francoeur’sScanderberg (1735) involves Albania’s struggle forindependence from Ottoman rule. André-ModesteGrétry’s international success, Zémire et Azor (1771; thefamiliar tale of “Beauty and the Beast,” also set by anumber of composers including Louis Spohr in 1819), isset in Persia and his La caravane du Caire (1783) takesplace in Egypt. Charles-Simon Favart, father of France’sopéra comique wrote Soliman II ou les trois sultanes in 1761,spawning various interpretations of the fair Roxelaneincluding a movement in Franz Joseph Haydn’sSymphony No. 63. Haydn also used a drama by Venetianplaywright Carlo Goldoni for his Lo speziale thatinvolves a dual wedding ceremony in Turkish disguise(à la Mozart’s Così fan tutte) as well as modeling hisharem farce L’incontro improvviso (like Abduction andItaliana, the opera also features a foreign “rescue”) afterChristoph Willibald Gluck’s La rencontre imprévue.Goldoni also wrote L’impresario di Smira (1775), whichdetails a rich Turk who establishes an Italian operacompany that is later ruined by the conceit of his singers.
Harem operas became de rigueur, in particular narrativeswith the captured heroine’s virtue in imminent peril andimmodest “titles,” such as The Sultan, or A Peep into theSeraglio (1775) by Englishman Isaac Bickerstaffe,demonstrates the public’s titillation with such things.Four Rossini operas have Occidental themes (Italiana, Ilturco in Italia, Maometto II, Semiramide), and others employMuslim characters and disguises [Turco (1814), in fact wasa resetting of a text previously set by the Viennesecomposer Franz Joseph Seydelmann in 1788 and Mozart-student Franz Xaver Süssmayr in 1794 to text by Laclemenza di Tito librettist Caterino Mazzolà – hoping for arepeat of Italiana, the Milanese audience did not findRossini’s new opera to be the mere inversion they wereexpecting]. The partitura for Italiana even calls for batterieturque – colorful Jainissary percussion that features
cymbals, triangle,bells and drums – an
Ottoman military tattoo used tokeep the soldiers in step. The marching band was
also utilized to psychologically terrorize the enemy. Thevogue for all things Turkish also brings to mind examples inthe œuvre of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – The Abductionfrom the Seraglio, Thamos, König in Ägyten, Zaïde and L’oca delCairo – written in the wake of Ottoman conflict. Even TheMagic Flute has Egyptian overtones (and includes the stockcharacter of the harem-keeper Monostatos). Interest in theMuslim world continued beyond Rossini, as seen inGiacomo Meyerbeer’s Semiramide riconosciuta (1819), L’esule diGranata (1821) and Il crociato in Egitto (1824); GaetanoDonizetti’s Zoraide in Granata (1822) and Alahor in Granata(1826); Vincenzo Bellini’s Zaira (1829) and GiuseppeVerdi’s Il corsaro (1848), to name a few. It should be noted,though the Orient offered ample circumstance for visualstimulation with respect to scenery and costumes, composersmade little aural attempt to recreate authentic MiddleEastern music; rather their interpretation of it through aWesterner’s eyes is what we hear today.
Rescue opera was a vogue that originally developed inpre-revolutionary France, and the genre’s most familiarexponent is Ludwig von Beethoven’s Fidelio, based on aFrench source, Léonore, ou l’amor conjugal (1798),previously set by Pierre Gaveaux. Grétry also excelled inthis dramatic medium. His Richard Cœur-de-lion takesplace following the Crusades (English King Richard IIIhas been captured by the French), and in “Beauty and theBeast,” Zémire saves Azor from perpetual ugliness. Amongthe more famous of the countless French examples includeLuigi Cherubini’s Lodoïska (1791) and Les deux journées(1800) and Henri-Montan Berton’s Les rigueurs du cloître(1790). One can see elements of rescue opera in a number ofGerman and Italian works, including The Magic Flute andeven Rossini’s Barbiere. Statistics reveal that in the late 18th
and early 19th centuries, one in every seven operas producedin Germany was of this nature. The plottings are generallyquite simple, but what’s intriguing, as we move from themisogynist attitudes of the Enlightenment toward the moreegalitarian beliefs of French Revolution, is the percentage ofdetermined, bold and attractive females who save the day.
More commonly based on serious subjects, rescue operaof the comic sort can border on silliness, and Rossiniemploys all of his signature tricks-of-the-trade to incitelaughter, including patter aria, signature crescendos, �
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ACT I
Elvira confides in Zulma that shefears her husband, the Bey of Algiers,no longer loves her. Zulma tries toconsole her mistress, but to littleavail as the grumbling Mustafà soonenters, professing his displeasure. Thedocile harem girls are no longer ofinterest, nor is his detestable wife. AnItalian lady is what he wants, onewho is smart and confident.
Meanwhile, the Bey’s favorite slave,Lindoro, languishes. Far from hisnative soil and his Italian lover, hefinds captivity in Algiers unbearable.Lindoro soon learns from his masterthat the Bey intends to pass off Elvirato him. In spite of Mustafà’sflattering portrayal of his soon-to-be-ex, Lindoro hardly relishes theprospect of the impending marriage.
In hot pursuit of her paramourLindoro, Isabella finds herselfmarooned among the corsairs, who areall very aware of the Bey’s interest insecuring an Italian wife. In order tosave her traveling companion frometernal servitude, she claims Taddeo isher uncle and both are taken intocustody. Isabella is irked by Taddeo’samorous intentions toward her, and theirritable pair exchange harmless barbsas they await their uncertain fate.
Meanwhile, Zulma tries to ease the tension between an equallyunenthusiastic bridegroom and bride.To grease the deal, Mustafà offers alittle money and safe passage back toItaly for Lindoro and Elvira, thusridding himself of his annoying wifeforever. Lindoro plans to detach
himself as well, assuring Elvira therewill be plenty of men in Italy whowill find her desirable.
No sooner has Lindoro left the roomthan does the Italian girl arrive.Mustafà is thrilled by her appearance.Isabella is hardly pleased with hislooks and realizes the unpleasantnessof the task before her. When Taddeotries to push his way to her side, he isdetained and sentenced to death.Lindoro and Isabella share a momentof quiet recognition. Isabella thenremarks how she couldn’t possiblymarry a man who handles his wife asshamefully as Mustafà has treatedElvira. She also demands that the Beycede his slave, Lindoro, to her.
– INTERMISSION –
ACT II
Zulma, Elvira, Haly and others areamused by Isabella’s brash behaviorwhen dealing with the Bey, butMustafà has a plan to win her favor.Meanwhile, Isabella is momentarilyangered by Lindoro’s apparentwillingness to marry Elvira, but hereassures her of his love. Isabella willdesign their escape.
In an effort to court favor with theItalian beauty, Mustafà appoints her“uncle” Kaimakan, a Muslimprotector. Taddeo hesitates, and thenaccepts the honor rather than facedeath by impalement.
Isabella agrees to take coffee withthe Bey, but is surprised when Elvirarefuses to join them – in Italy, thewives exercise more control over their
husbands. Mustafà, Lindoro andTaddeo observe from a distance asIsabella, knowing of their presence,prepares herself for the visit. Shepretends to be flattered by Taddeo’shonored promotion, while Mustafàtries to clear the room with a pre-arranged signal – a sneeze – so thatthey can be alone. But Taddeo refusesto leave, vexing Mustafà who isfurther agitated when Isabella invitesElvira to join them.
Taddeo confesses to Lindoro that heis the one Isabella truly loves, butLindoro falsely assures him that heraffections are reserved for the Bey.The Italian Girl intends to throw agrand banquet, and as a token of heraffection, appoints Mustafà to theOrder of the Pappataci, a position ofmerit. His cares need only be to eat,drink, sleep and stay silent whileattended by beautiful women.
Zulma and Haly suspect it is all ahoax, but believe Mustafà needs to betaught a lesson. Isabella rallies theItalians, who will pose as thefictitious Pappataci. She is confidentthe ruse will lead them back to theirhomeland. Mustafà is successfullyinitiated into the “clan” and becomesabsorbed into the ritual of self-indulgence, allowing Isabella andLindoro an opportunity to escape.Taddeo tries to raise the alarm, butMustafà is helpless, for all of hiscorsairs are dead-drunk. He returnsto Elvira, learning a valuable lesson –clever and independent women arenot for him.
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Synopsis
Photo courtesy of The Santa Fe Opera (photographer: Ken Howard)
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GIOACHINO Rossinib Pesaro, February 29, 1792; d Passy, November 13, 1868
T he most prominent Italiancomposer of the first half of the19th century, Gioachino Rossini
transformed the form and content ofItalian opera. Though best known forhis comic works – and for music thatis sensuous, brilliant and rhythmicallyvital – Rossini’s contribution to stageworks of mixed genres is equallyimportant, making him Verdi’s most significant forerunner.
Born into the closely knitcommunity of Pesaro, Italy, at a time of war and political upheaval in Europe, Rossini was brought up by parents who were both workingmusicians. His father, a horn playerand teacher at Bologna’s prestigiousAccademia Filarmonica, was also anardent and outspoken Republican who was imprisoned briefly by theAustrians. Rossini’s mother, despiteher lack of musical training, was areasonably successful soprano. Rossinientered Bologna’s Liceo Musicale atthe precocious age of 14 and begancomposing as early as 1802–03.Shortly after finishing his studies, heobtained a commission for a one-actfarce, La cambiale di matrimonio, for theVenetian Teatro San Moisè. Furthercommissions from Venice yieldedmore successes, and by the time La pietra del paragone had premiered in 1812, the 20-year-old Rossini, nowa maestro di cartello, was without adoubt the leading composer in Italy.
Rossini seemed equally confident in both serious and comic veins.Tancredi was a major landmark inopera seria and L’italiana in Algeri wasthe same for opera buffa – both werecomposed in 1813. In 1815 he hadthe good fortune to be secured byDomenico Barbaja, impresario for theNeapolitan theaters, and significantlydeveloped his style and techniqueover the next seven years. One of theTeatro San Carlo’s assets was IsabellaColbran, a soprano who specialized inopera seria; as a result Rossini wrotemany works specifically for her voice.She was to become his mistress andlater his first wife.
Rossini’s contract with theNeapolitan theaters allowed him toaccept commissions elsewhere on theItalian peninsula, but by 1822, thecomposer showed signs of his patiencewearing thin; during the contractperiod he had written a total of 19operas. The composer later quipped,“If he had been able to do so, Barbajawould have put me in charge of thekitchen as well.”
Rossini was released from hisNeapolitan contract that year. TheViennese tour that followed provedenormously successful for thecomposer, whose works were nowfamiliar all over Europe. Returning toItaly, Rossini signed another contractwith La Fenice in Venice for whatwould become one of his greatest andgrandest opera serias, Semiramide.
With Italy and Austria conquered,Rossini turned his attention to Franceand England. A contract was signedin London, but it appears no operawas ever produced. In Paris Rossiniaccepted the directorship of theThéâtre Italien for two years(1824–26) and oversaw theremounting and revisions of anumber of his works. For the �
Gioachino RossiniPhoto credit: Scala/Art Resource, NY
ROSSINI CONTINUED ON PAGE 24
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THE Artists For more biographical information about these artists,visit our website at www.mnopera.org
Marcus DilliardLighting Designer
Minnesota Opera DebutTurandot, 1995
RecentlyLe nozze di Figaro, Minn. Opera; Private Lives, Guthrie
Figaro; Don Juan Giovanni, Theatre de la Jeune LuneUpcoming
The Sound of Music, Ordway Center for the Performing ArtsThird, Guthrie Theater
John Brown (world premiere), Lyric Opera of Kansas CityAwards
2005 Ivey Award; 2006 and 1998 McKnight Fellowships
Kyle AlbertsonHaly
Minnesota Opera Resident ArtistRecently
A Masked Ball; Le nozze di Figaro; Lakmé; Les contesd’Hoffmann; La donna del lago, The Minnesota Opera
Il matrimonio segreto, Merola Opera ProgramNixon in China; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Le nozze di Figaro; Finding Yolanda, Chicago Opera Theater
Carmen; Giasone; The Cunning Little Vixen; Rigoletto, Aspen Opera Theater Center
UpcomingRomeo and Juliet, The Minnesota Opera
Vivica GenauxIsabellaMinnesota Opera DebutLa Cenerentola, 1998RecentlyBajazet, Teatro Malibran; Ariodante, Paris; London; MadridUpcomingLa Cenerentola, Grand Théâtre de GenèveOrfeo ed Euridice, Orchestre National de ToulouseBajazet, Crakow; Paris; MadridBianca e Falliero, Washington Concert OperaI Capuleti e i Montecchi, Pittsburgh OperaIl barbiere di Siviglia, Metropolitan Opera-in-the-Parks
Wojtek GierlachMustafà
Minnesota Opera DebutTurandot, Festival de Ópera de Tenerife (Santa Cruz)
Die Zauberflöte, Palacio de la Ópera de CoruñaL’italiana in Algeri, Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (Lisbon)Don Giovanni, Warsaw Chamber Orchestra (Japanese tour)Mosè in Egitto, Belcanto Fest. Wildbad; Semiramide, Pisa
UpcomingLodoïska (Cherubini), Beethoven Festival (Warsaw)
Lucia di Lammermoor, Warsaw Grand TheaterDon Giovanni, Teatro de la Maestranza (Seville)
Il viaggio a Reims, Grand Théâtre de Reims
Andrea ColemanZulma
Minnesota Opera Resident ArtistRecently
Le nozze di Figaro; Lakmé; Contes d’Hoffmann, Minn. OperaGlimmerglass Opera Young American Artist
Così fan tutte; Little Women; Cendrillon; The Turn of theScrew; The Magic Flute, New England Conservatory
The Gondoliers, Harvard-Radcliffe G & S PlayersThe Magic Flute; The Mikado; The Pirates of Penzance,
University of KansasUpcoming
The Fortunes of King Croesus; Rusalka, Minnesota Opera
Robert WoodConductor
Minnesota Opera DebutLa donna del lago, 2006
RecentlyThe Nutcracker, San Francisco Ballet
The Magic Flute; Le Comte Ory, Wolf Trap Opera Co.L’italiana in Algeri; La traviata, San Francisco Opera
Tosca; Faust; Manon; Carmen; Elisir; others, Opera San JoséUpcoming
L’italiana in Algeri, Vancouver Opera; Rusalka, Minn. OperaLa Cenerentola, Opera Festival of New Jersey
The Love for Three Oranges, Indiana University
Robert Innes HopkinsSet DesignerMinnesota Opera DebutPassion, 2004RecentlyDie Soldaten, Ruhr TriennaleBetrothal in a Monastery, GlyndebourneCavalleria rusticana; Pagliacci, Deutsche Oper BerlinThe Flying Dutchman, Opernhaus ZurichRigoletto; The Flying Dutchman, Welsh National OperaThe Cunning Little Vixen, Bregenz Fest.; San Fran. OperaL’elisir d’amore, Welsh National Opera; Opera NorthWozzeck; Peter Grimes, Santa Fe Opera
David WoolardCostume DesignerMinnesota Opera DebutAida, 1998RecentlyMadame Butterfly, The Minnesota OperaMadame Mao, Santa Fe OperaThe Farnsworth Invention; Ring Of Fire; All Shook Up;
The Smell of the Kill; Bells Are Ringing; The Rocky Horror Show; Voices in the Dark; Marlene; The Who’s Tommy; Wait Until Dark, Broadway
Bare; Barbra’s Wedding; California Dream’n; The Carpetbagger’s Children; The Donkey Show; Jeffrey; others, Off-Broadway
Helena BinderStage DirectorMinnesota Opera DebutLes contes d’Hoffmann, 2006RecentlyIl barbiere di Siviglia, Dallas Opera; Fidelio, Pittsburgh OperaMadama Butterfly; Die tote Stadt; Ermione; Il ritorno
d’Ulisse, N.Y. City Opera; Madama Butterfly, Toledo OperaLa traviata; Hänsel und Gretel, Opera RoanokeLa bohème; L’italiana in Algeri, Lake George OperaMadama Butterfly; The Magic Flute, Chattanooga OperaUpcomingRodelina; Fidelio, Portland Opera
Alison BatesElviraMinnesota Opera Resident ArtistRecentlyGianni Schicchi; The Gondoliers; Tosca, Chautauqua OperaLakmé; Les contes d’Hoffmann; La donna del lago; Don
Giovanni; The Elephant Man, The Minnesota OperaA View from the Bridge; Abduction from the Seraglio; Little
Women; Giulio Cesare, Indiana University Opera TheaterSymphony No. 2; Israel in Egypt, Columbus Indiana Phil.Gianni Schicchi, MasterWorks Festival (Young Artist)UpcomingRomeo and Juliet; Rusalka, The Minnesota Opera
Andrew WilkowskeTaddeo
Minnesota Opera DebutTransatlantic, 1998
RecentlyDona Nobis Pacem; Requiem da Camera, Asheville Choral Society
Richard Tucker Gala, Avery Fisher HallMadame Butterfly; Tosca, Los Angeles Opera
The Bells (Rachmaninoff), Buffalo PhilharmonicLe nozze di Figaro; The Grapes of Wrath; others, Minn. Opera
UpcomingDie Zauberflöte, Eugene Opera
La traviata, Skylight Opera Theatre
Kenneth TarverLindoroMinnesota Opera DebutRecentlyAdelaide di Borgogna; Il re pastore, Mozart Fest. (La Coruña)Don Giovanni, Brussels; ParisLa donna del lago, Edinburgh FestivalCosì fan tutte, Teatro San Carlo (Naples)La Cenerentola; others, Metropolitan OperaUpcomingIl turco in Italia, Teatro Verdi (Trieste)Il barbiere di Siviglia, Sächsische Staastsoper (Dresden)Belshazzar, Staatsoper unter den Linden (Berlin); Aix Fest.
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THE MINNESOTA OPERA Chorus
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THE MINNESOTA OPERA Orchestra
Alex BarnettRory BehrensJohn David BoehrBen CrickenbergerSteven DahlbergPeter FrenzBrandon GlosserSteve Hennigs
Benjamin HillsEric MahutgaEric MellumJon OlsonChristian ReinertDaniel SeguraColyn TveteKevin Werner
SupernumerariesDaniel GreggJoseph JohnsonAndrew NorthropBen Tallen
Violin I Kristen Christensen
concertmasterJulia PersitzDavid MickensJudy Thon-JonesAngela HansonAndrea EenConor O’Brien
Violin II Laurie PetruconisElizabeth Decker Stephan R. OrsakMelinda Marshall Margaret HumphreyLydia Miller
Viola Vivi EricksonLaurel Browne Susan JandaJames Bartsch
CelloJohn EadieThomas AustinSally DorerKarl Knapp
BassJohn Michael Smith Constance Martin
Flute Michele Frisch
(double piccolo)
PiccoloAmy Morris
OboeMarilyn Ford Tina Brazelton James
ClarinetSandra Powers Nina Olsen
BassoonCoreen Nordling
HornCharles Kavalovski Charles Hodgson
TrumpetJohn G. KoopmannChristopher Volpe
PercussionMatthew BarberSteve Kimball
ContinuoJameson Livsey
Personnel ManagerSteve Lund
nonsensical (and unprecedented) noise making (in the cacophony of the Act Ifinale one hears “din-din,” “bom-bom,” cra-cra” and “tac-tac” in reference to thesounds of a bell, a cannon, a bird and a hammer the protagonists hear inside theirheads) and the absurd order of the Pappataci, an expression that conjures memoriesof Mozart’s inane, dimwitted family, the Papageni. An Italian word meaning “toguzzle and be silent,” the term may have evolved from Anelli’s Freemasonisticleanings (silence being one of secretive society’s virtues), but it also sums up theopera quite neatly, if not being somewhat chauvinist – an organization that favors
sedentary men eating, drinking and sleeping whilewomen do all the work. Isabella merely
shrugs it off as we learn her fatalisticmantra early in the opera (echoed by
a 20th-century chanteuse):“Sarà quel che sarà …” –
whatever will be, will be. �
BACKGROUND NOTES CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13
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