Download Idomeneo - Curtis Institute of Music

CURTIS OPERA THEATRE
presents
Idomeneo
Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto by Giovanni Battista Varesco
after Antoine Danchet’s Idomenée
George Manahan, conductor
Chas Rader-Shieber, stage director
David Zinn, scenic director
Jacob A. Climer, costume designer
Mark Barton, lighting designer
Tiziana Descano, harpsichord
Thursday, May 5, 2011, at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 6, 2011, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 7, 2011, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 8, 2011, at 2:30 p.m.
Prince Music Theater
Idomeneo will run two hours and fifty-five minutes,
including two fifteen-minute intermissions.
Projected titles provided by arrangement with Bayshore Opera Translations.
Translation by Lindley L. Becker.
Photographic and recording equipment may not be used in Prince Music Theater.
CAST
MAY 5 AND 7
MAY 6 AND 8
Idomeneo
Adam Frandsen
Joshua Stewart
Idamante
Ilia
J’nai Bridges
Sarah Shafer
Jazimina MacNeil
Alize Rozsnyai
Elettra
Arbace
Allison Sanders
Diego Silva
Kirsten MacKinnon
Diego Silva
High Priest of Neptune
Joshua Stewart
Adam Frandsen
Voice of Neptune
Chorus (all performances)
Joseph Barron
Joseph Barron
Julian Arsenault, Anna Davidson, Meredith LaBouff,
Johnathan Ryan McCullough, Jarrett Ott, Sean Michael Plumb,
Kevin Ray, Shir Rozzen, Thomas Shivone, Ashley Thouret
SYNOPSES
Act I
The Trojan Princess Ilia is torn between her love for Idamante—the son of Idomeneo of Crete,
her father’s captor—and loyalty to her vanquished homeland. Idamante expresses his love for
Ilia, but she rejects him, reminding him of the enmity between their fathers. As a gesture of good
will, Idamante frees the Trojan prisoners, to the alarm of another princess, Elettra, who is also in
love with him.
Meanwhile, Idomeneo is returning to Crete in the midst of a storm at sea. He prays to Neptune
for safe passage, vowing to kill the first man he sees on shore to appease the god of the sea. When
he does land safely, Idamante—who thought his father had perished—is overjoyed to see him.
Idomeneo abruptly brushes Idamante aside in an attempt to avoid fulfilling his vow to Neptune at
the cost of his own son’s life.
Act II
Still trying to evade the consequences of his vow, Idomeneo decides to send Idamante abroad as
an escort for Elettra on her return to her native Greece. Ilia indicates to Idomeneo that she loves
his son. He, in turn, dreads that her desire will lead to the death of not only Idamante, but Ilia
and himself as well, from broken hearts.
Idamante and Elettra start their voyage amid formal farewells and wishes for a calm journey.
But they immediately encounter a violent storm and then a sea monster. Clearly, the gods are
angry. Idomeneo, believing that his people are being punished because he has broken his vow to
Neptune, sings of his blame for the catastrophe.
Act III
The High Priest of Neptune implores the king to fulfill the vow he has made. Idomeneo finally
admits that the victim to be sacrificed is his son. Meanwhile, Idamante has slain the sea monster,
but returns to accept his fate. A great sacrificial scene assembles, and the grief-stricken Ilia rushes
in to take Idamante’s place. The High Priest declares the triumph of love, and spares Idamante
on the condition that Idomeneo abdicate in favor of his son, who is to wed Ilia. All are joyful,
except the spurned Elettra.
PROGRAM NOTES
Idomeneo may be the earliest of Mozart’s operas that is in the standard repertoire, but it is actually
somewhere in the middle of the chronology of the composer’s works for the theatre. He was
twenty-four years old when it premiered in Munich in 1781, but twelve dramatic text-settings
(which we can loosely call a body of opera) precede it. His first such composition, a sacred
singspiel for three sopranos and two tenors, was heard in Salzburg in 1767 when the
preadolescent genius was not yet sporting whiskers.
But the truth is, very little of what Mozart wrote in his childhood and early teens has much
lasting value outside of the context of his full, glorious career. Nearly everything we hear by
Mozart these days was composed in the last fifteen years of his life. Without that colossal
contribution, he would have been a footnote in the annals of music history, an amazing child
prodigy who was trotted around Europe by his ambitious father.
In that sense, Idomeneo stands as an important gateway to Mozart’s mature creative life. It is his
first opera of greatness, filled with a confident, uniquely boldness of expression of the kind that
still amazes us when we listen to The Marriage of Figaro. Above all, it solidified his matchless ability
to shape characters with music in indelible ways, making his dramas as timeless as Shakespeare.
Idomeneo was commissioned by Karl Theodor, Elector of Bavaria. Mozart was thrilled at his
first opportunity to write an opera on a large scale and threw himself into the task with great joy
and vigor. Unlike the uniquely simpatico pairing of Mozart and Lorenzo da Ponte that later
produced the great triumvirate of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte, the librettist for Idomeneo,
Giovanni Battista Varesco, was not an equal partner for Mozart’s incisive dramatic intuition. The
composer obsessed over every syllable. Fortunately the much less fastidious and less gifted
Varesco was relatively compliant and allowed major changes to accommodate Mozart’s vision.
At least Varesco gave Mozart a large and varied cast to work with. Perhaps this was the spark
that lit the composer’s seemingly fathomless imagination, even though the plot, based on the
Greek Iphigenia myth, was rather staid. It is utterly transformed by the music. The opera gives us
an array of flesh-and-blood figures rendered with a vividness unprecedented in the art form, and
probably surpassed only by the subsequent masterworks of Mozart himself. His intent was clear
in a letter to his father Leopold: “remember that the voice must be terrifying, that it must
penetrate, and that the audience must believe in it completely.”
There is another element in the creation of Idomeneo that is significant to Mozart’s
development. His patron Theodor gave him a fine, large group of instrumentalists to work
with—the celebrated Mannheim Orchestra. Mozart responded like a kid in a candy store. From
the exuberant overture to the final notes, we hear the supreme mastery of polyphonic
construction, the exquisite blending of timbres, and the uncanny sense for the dramatic impact
of every single note. And so Idomeneo is a superb opera, but more: It is the veritable calling card
for the composer who could do everything, at the outset of one of the great blazes of individual
Copyright © 2011 Peter Burwasser
creativity in history.
BIOGRAPHIES
George Manahan, conductor
George Manahan is in his fourteenth season
as music director of New York City Opera.
Wide-ranging and versatile, he has an
esteemed career embracing everything from
opera to the concert stage, the traditional to
the contemporary. He has distinguished
himself as one of the foremost conductors of
our time and is especially known in the opera
world for his musical guidance of diverse
productions such as La fanciulla del West,
Daphne, Ermione, Dialogues of the Carmelites,
Cendrillon, and Die tote Stadt.
Mr. Manahan’s 2009 Carnegie Hall
performance of Samuel Barber’s Antony and
Cleopatra was hailed by audiences and critics
alike. In 2010 he conducted a fully staged
production of the same work with the Curtis
Opera Theatre in celebration of the Barber
centenary. Also in 2010 Mr. Manahan was
appointed as music director of the New Yorkbased American Composers Orchestra.
His guest appearances include the
symphonies of Atlanta, San Francisco,
Milwaukee, Indianapolis, Charlotte, and New
Jersey, where he served as acting music
director for four seasons, as well as the
National Symphony, Juilliard and Manhattan
schools of music, Warsaw Philharmonic,
Music Academy of the West, and Aspen
Music Festival. He is a regular guest with
Santa Fe, Portland, and Glimmerglass opera
companies and was principal conductor of
the Minnesota Opera.
Chas Rader-Shieber, stage director
Chas Rader-Shieber has staged over twentyfive operas for the Curtis Opera Theatre
since 1991, most recently La Tragédie de
Carmen and Antony and Cleopatra. Other recent
work includes Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito for
Vancouver Opera, Handel’s Tolomeo
(American stage premiere) for Glimmerglass
Opera, Don Giovanni for Music Academy of
the West, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail for
Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco
Opera.
In addition to the operas of Handel and
Mozart, Mr. Rader-Shieber has directed
works of Cavalli, Purcell, Gluck, and Rossini.
His work has been with the opera companies
of Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh,
Santa Fe, Spoleto USA, and St. Louis,
among others.
Mr. Rader-Shieber joined the Curtis
faculty in 2009.
David Zinn, set designer
David Zinn’s designs for the Curtis Opera
Theatre include scenery for Antony and
Cleopatra, Wozzeck, and Ainadamar, among
others, and set and costumes for Miss Julie.
His Broadway credits include costumes for In
the Next Room, Xanadu, and A Tale of Two Cities,
while for opera he has designed sets and
costumes for Lyric Opera of Chicago;
Arizona, New York City, Glimmerglass,
Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Santa Fe, and
Washington National operas; and others. Mr.
Zinn’s regional theater work includes set
and/or costume designs for American
Repertory Theatre; Centerstage; Guthrie,
Yale Repertory, and Seattle Repertory
theaters; and La Jolla Playhouse. OffBroadway he has designed sets and/or
costumes for Manhattan Theater Club,
Signature Theatre Company, Second Stage,
Atlantic Theater Company, Target Margin,
and Salt Theater. Mr. Zinn received a 2008
Obie Award for sustained excellence in
costume and set design.
Jacob A. Climer, costume designer
In addition to his designs for the Curtis
Opera Theatre’s Antony and Cleopatra in 2010,
Jacob A. Climer has also created designs for
the Barrington Stage Company and the
Shakespeare Festival of Dallas (resident
costume designer). Further design credits
include: Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film
Institute, The New School, Bard College,
and Asolo Repertory Theatre. Mr. Climer
has created production design for Hove (The
Wind), a short film starring Olympia
Dukakis; Shangri La (Queens Theater in the
Park); Johnny Applef%#ker (The Ohio
Theatre); and Bloody Mary (recognition for
excellence in costume design for off–off
Broadway). Recent associate and assistant
design credits for Broadway productions
include Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, Good
People, In the Next Room (or the Vibrator Play), and
A Tale of Two Cities. Mr. Climer received a
B.F.A. from University of Evansville and an
M.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University.
Mark Barton, lighting director
Mark Barton’s designs include Curtis Opera
Theatre productions of Wozzeck, Ainadamar,
Albert Herring, L’Ormindo, The Magic Flute,
Postcard from Morocco, and La Voix humaine, as
well as Off-Broadway productions Notes from
Underground, Gatz, Circle Mirror Transformation,
The Shipment, The Sound & the Fury (April 7th,
1928), and Paradise Park. Among the many
New York City companies he has worked
with are Elevator Repair Service, Young Jean
Lee’s Theater Company, Playwrights
Horizons, Theatre for a New Audience,
NYTW, Target Margin, Signature Theater,
Salt Theater, P.S. 122, New Georges,
Clubbed Thumb, HERE Arts Center, Epic
Theater Center, and Edge Theater
Company. Mr. Barton’s regional work
includes productions for Yale Repertory
Theatre, Perseverance Theatre, REDCAT,
Berkeley Rep, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Woolly
Mammoth, A.R.T., Lookingglass Theatre,
Syracuse Stage, Asolo Rep, Southern Rep,
and Hangar Theatre.
Tiziana Descano, harpsichord
Native Italian Tiziana Descano lived in
Caracas, Venezuela, where she studied piano
with Russian professor Igor Lavrov and was
an active recitalist and teacher. She coached
experimental workshops, performed in opera
productions, and played cello in orchestras.
She has traveled to Spain for the Reina Sofia
Summer Festival, where she performed in
several recitals; to Siena, Italy, where she
studied with Michele Campanella; to Sofia,
Bulgaria, where she participated in the Stefan
Popov’s Violoncellists Festival; and to
Vancouver, Canada, accompanying the
Youth Schola Cantorum at a World
Choirs Competition.
While working on her master’s in opera
coaching at Temple University, Ms. Descano
studied with Lambert Orkis, John Douglas,
and Alexander Fiorillo. In 2003 she was the
intern pianist for the Lake George Opera
Festival. She has worked for Temple
University, Opera Columbus, and, as head of
the coaching staff, the Atlantic Coast Opera
Festival. Ms. Descano performs with Amici
Opera, Center City Opera Theater, and the
New Jersey Opera Festival. Recently, she
began work as a coach and accompanist for
the Academy of Vocal Arts and the Curtis
Institute of Music.
Julian Arsenault (Chorus), from Lafayette,
Calif., is a baritone studying in the opera
program with Marlena Kleinman Malas.
Credits include: The Cunning Little Vixen
(Chorus), Il Signor Bruschino (Filiberto), Les
Mamelles de Tirésias (Director), and La Tragédie
de Carmen (Escamillo) for the Curtis Opera
Theatre; and roles for Open Opera, Opera
UCLA, Tanglewood Music Center, and the
Chautauqua Institution.
Joseph Barron (Voice of Neptune), from
Pittsburgh, is a bass-baritone studying in the
opera program with W. Stephen Smith,
adjunct faculty. Credits include: Il Signor
Bruschino (Gaudenzio), Les Mamelles de Tirésias
(Chorus), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Bartolo), Antony
and Cleopatra (Enobarbus, Soothsayer), La
sonnambula (Rodolfo), The Rake’s Progress
(Trulove), Il viaggio a Reims (Don Prudenzio),
Wozzeck (Handwerksbursch 1), Impressions of
Pelléas (Arkel), and Don Giovanni (The
Commendatore) for the Curtis Opera
Theatre; and roles for Opera Company of
Philadelphia, Glimmerglass Opera, Santa Fe
Opera, Oberlin Conservatory of Music,
Oberlin in Italy, Opera Theatre of Saint
Louis, and Opera North. He is a 2011
winner of the Metropolitan Opera National
Council Auditions.
J’nai Bridges (Idamante—May 5 and 7),
from Lakewood, Wash., is a mezzo-soprano
studying in the opera program with Patricia
McCaffrey, adjunct faculty. Credits include:
The Cunning Little Vixen (Hen, Chorus), Il Signor
Bruschino (Chorus), Les Mamelles de Tirésias
(Newspaperwoman), La Tragédie de Carmen (title
role), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Chorus), Antony and
Cleopatra (Iras), La sonnambula (Teresa), and The
Rake’s Progress (Baba the Turk) for the Curtis
Opera Theatre; roles for the Manhattan
School of Music and Opera North; and
performances with the New Jersey Symphony
Orchestra, Master Chorale of South Florida,
New Triad for Collaborative Arts, and
Chorale Le Chateau. She won the vocal
division of the 2011 Philadelphia Orchestra
Albert M. Greenfield Student Competition.
Anna Davidson (Chorus), from Los
Angeles, is a soprano studying in the opera
program with Marlena Kleinman Malas.
Credits include: The Cunning Little Vixen
(Rooster, Jay), Il Signor Bruschino (Sofia), Les
Mamelles de Tirésias (Thérèse, Son), Il barbiere di
Siviglia (Rosina), Antony and Cleopatra (Chorus),
La sonnambula (Lisa), and The Rake’s Progress
(Chorus) for the Curtis Opera Theatre; and
roles for the Chautauqua Institution, Juilliard
School, International Vocal Arts Institute,
and University of Miami Frost School of
Music at Salzburg.
Adam Frandsen (Idomeneo—May 5 and 7;
High Priest of Neptune—May 6 and 8), from
Copenhagen, Denmark, is a tenor studying in
the opera program with Marlena Kleinman
Malas. Credits include: The Cunning Little
Vixen (Pasek, Chorus), Les Mamelles de Tirésias
(Chorus), and La Tragédie de Carmen (Don José)
for the Curtis Opera Theatre; roles for Opera
Hedeland, Moores Opera Center, International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel;
opera scenes for Yale School of Music and
Aspen Music Festival and School; and concert
performances of Handel’s Messiah, SaintSaëns’s Christmas Oratorio, Dubois’s Seven
Last Words of Christ, and Schubert’s Die
Schöne Müllerin.
Meredith LaBouff (Chorus) is a soprano
from Tenafly, N.J., studying in the voice
program with Marlena Kleinman Malas.
Credits include: The Cunning Little Vixen
(Pasek’s Wife, Hen, Chorus), Il Signor Bruschino
(Marianna), Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Woman),
Il barbiere di Siviglia (Berta), Antony and Cleopatra
(Chorus), La sonnambula (Chorus), and The
Rake’s Progress (Chorus) for the Curtis Opera
Theatre; soloist with the Juilliard School’s
Pre-College Orchestra; and roles for the
Chautauqua Institution, Boston University
Tanglewood Institute, Académie
Internationale d’Eté de Nice, and Dolora
Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices.
Kirsten MacKinnon (Elettra—May 6 and
8), from Burnaby, British Columbia, is a
soprano studying in the voice program with
Edith Bers, adjunct faculty. Credits include:
The Cunning Little Vixen (Fox), Il Signor Bruschino
(Chorus), Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Chorus), La
Tragédie de Carmen (Micaela), Antony and
Cleopatra (Octavia), La sonnambula (Lisa), The
Rake’s Progress (Chorus), Il viaggio a Reims
(Maddalena), Wozzeck (Chorus), The Medium
(Mrs. Gobineau), and Don Giovanni (Chorus)
for the Curtis Opera Theatre; roles for
Opera Company of Philadelphia and
Vancouver Opera; and concert soloist in
Vancouver and Spoleto, Italy.
Signor Bruschino (Filiberto), and Les Mamelles de
Tirésias (Husband) for the Curtis Opera
Theatre; roles for Oberlin In Italy and the
Chautauqua Institution; soloist with the West
Chester University Symphony Orchestra and
Atlantic Symphony Chamber Players in
Boston; and performances of Handel’s
Messiah and Orff ’s Carmina Burana.
Jazimina MacNeil (Idamante—May 6 and
Sean Michael Plumb (Chorus), from Los
8), from Lincoln, Mass., is a mezzo-soprano
studying in the opera program with Marlena
Kleinman Malas. Credits include: The
Cunning Little Vixen (Dog), Il Signor Bruschino
(Chorus), Les Mamelles de Tirésias
(Newspaperwoman), La Tragédie de Carmen
(title role), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Chorus), Antony
and Cleopatra (Charmian), La sonnambula
(Teresa), and The Rake’s Progress (Baba the
Turk) for the Curtis Opera Theatre; roles for
the Manhattan School of Music and Aspen
Opera Theater Center; performances at
Marlboro Music and at SongFest in Malibu,
Calif.; and, as a soloist, Mozart’s Requiem
with the Westminster Williamson Voices.
Angeles, is a baritone studying in the voice
program with W. Stephen Smith, adjunct
faculty. Credits include: The Cunning Little
Vixen (Grasshopper, Chorus), Il Signor
Bruschino (Commisario), Les Mamelles de
Tirésias (Chorus), and La Tragédie de Carmen
(Lillas Pastia) for the Curtis Opera Theatre;
performances at the Aspen Music Festival
and School, Kennedy Center in Washington,
D.C., and Baryshnikov Arts Center in New
York City; on NPR’s From the Top; and, as a
soloist, with the Los Angeles Opera
Orchestra at the GRAMMY Week 2010
Salute to Plácido Domingo.
Kevin Ray (Chorus), from Cornwall, N.Y., is
Johnathan Ryan McCullough (Chorus),
from Sherman Oaks, Calif., is a baritone
studying in the voice program with Joan
Patenaude-Yarnell. Credits include: The
Cunning Little Vixen (Cricket, Chorus), Il Signor
Bruschino (Chorus), Les Mamelles de Tirésias
(Gendarme), and La Tragédie de Carmen
(García) for the Curtis Opera Theatre; roles
for Center Stage Opera, Los Angeles Opera,
and Opera Camp, presented by LA Opera;
opera scenes at SongFest and Pacific Opera
Institute; and, as a soloist, appearances at the
Hawaii Performing Arts and Bear Valley
Music festivals.
a tenor studying in the opera program with
Patricia McCaffrey, adjunct faculty. Credits
include: The Cunning Little Vixen (Mosquito,
Schoolmaster, Chorus), La Tragédie de Carmen
(Don José), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro), Antony
and Cleopatra (Agrippa), La sonnambula
(Chorus), The Rake’s Progress (Chorus), Il viaggio
a Reims (Don Alvaro), Wozzeck (Chorus),
Impressions of Pelléas (Golaud), and Don
Giovanni (Masetto) for the Curtis Opera
Theatre; and roles for the Merola Opera
Program at San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe
Opera, Music Academy of the West, Oberlin
Opera Theater, Oberlin in Italy, and the
Rossini Opera Festival.
Jarrett Ott (Chorus), from Pen Argyl, Pa., is
a baritone studying in the opera program
with Marlena Kleinman Malas. Credits
include: The Cunning Little Vixen (Harasta), Il
Alize Rozsnyai (Ilia—May 6 and 8), from
San Diego, is a soprano studying in the voice
program with Patricia McCaffrey, adjunct
faculty. Credits include: The Cunning Little Vixen
(Lead Hen, Chorus), Les Mamelles de Tirésias
(Thérèse, Son), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Chorus),
Antony and Cleopatra (Chorus), La sonnambula
(Lisa), and The Rake’s Progress (Chorus) for the
Curtis Opera Theatre; roles for the Indiana
University Early Music Institute and Aspen
Music Festival and School; and, as a soloist,
with the Brentwood-Westwood Symphony
Orchestra, Cabrillo Chamber Orchestra, San
Diego Youth Symphony, Rancho Bernardo
High School Orchestra, and University of
San Diego Orchestra.
Shir Rozzen (Chorus), from Karmey-Yosef,
Israel, is a mezzo-soprano studying in the
voice program with Joan Patenaude-Yarnell.
Credits include: The Cunning Little Vixen
(Forester’s Wife, Owl), Il Signor Bruschino
(Marianna), Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Chorus),
Il barbiere di Siviglia (Berta), Antony and Cleopatra
(Chorus), La sonnambula (Chorus), The Rake’s
Progress (Mother Goose), Il viaggio a Reims
(Delia), Wozzeck (Chorus), The Medium (Mrs.
Nolan), and Don Giovanni (Chorus) for the
Curtis Opera Theatre; and roles for the
Washington National Opera’s Institute for
Young Singers, Juilliard School’s Pre-College
Division, Mannes Preparatory Division, and
Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts.
Allison Sanders (Elettra—May 5 and 7),
from Memphis, is a soprano studying in the
opera program with Marlena Kleinman
Malas. She graduated from the voice
program with a Bachelor of Music degree in
2009. Credits include: The Cunning Little Vixen
(Fox), Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Chorus), Antony
and Cleopatra (Cleopatra), La sonnambula
(Chorus), The Rake’s Progress (Chorus), Il viaggio
a Reims (La Marchesa Melibea), Wozzeck
(Chorus), and Impressions of Pelléas (Geneviève)
for the Curtis Opera Theatre; roles for the
Opera Company of Philadelphia,
Chautauqua Institution, Centro Studi Lirica
in Italy, University of Memphis, and Opera
Memphis’s summer opera program; and a
concert at the National Civil Rights
Museum’s Freedom Award Public Forum.
Sarah Shafer (Ilia—May 5 and 7), from
State College, Pa., is a soprano studying in
the opera program with Joan PatenaudeYarnell. She graduated from the voice
program with a Bachelor of Music degree in
2010. Credits include: The Cunning Little Vixen
(Woodpecker, Hen, Chorus), Il Signor Bruschino
(Sofia), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina), Antony and
Cleopatra (Chorus), La sonnambula (Chorus),
The Rake’s Progress (Chorus), Il viaggio a Reims
(Modestina), Wozzeck (Chorus), Impressions of
Pelléas (Mélisande), and Don Giovanni (Chorus)
for the Curtis Opera Theatre; performances
for Marlboro Music, SongFest, and the Vocal
Arts Symposium at Colorado College; an
appearance on NPR’s From the Top; and, as a
soloist, concerts with the Master Chorale of
South Florida, Richmond Symphony, and
State College Choral Society.
Thomas Shivone (Chorus), from Fort
Worth, Tex., is a bass-baritone studying in
the voice program with Joan PatenaudeYarnell. Credits include: The Cunning Little
Vixen (Badger, Parson, Chorus), Il Signor
Bruschino (Bruschino senior), Les Mamelles de
Tirésias (Presto, Bearded Man), La Tragédie de
Carmen (Zuniga), Antony and Cleopatra (Alexas),
La sonnambula (Rodolfo), The Rake’s Progress
(Keeper of the Madhouse), Wozzeck (Chorus),
The Medium (Toby), and Don Giovanni
(Masetto) for the Curtis Opera Theatre; roles
for Opera Company of Philadelphia, Music
Academy of the West, SongFest, and Centro
Studi Lirica in Italy; and, as a soloist,
Handel’s Messiah with the Master Chorale
of South Florida and Fauré’s Requiem
with the Junior Youth Orchestra of Greater
Fort Worth.
Diego Silva (Arbace), from Mexico City, is a
tenor studying in the voice program with
Marlena Kleinman Malas. Credits include:
The Cunning Little Vixen (Chorus), Il Signor
Bruschino (Florville, Bruschino junior), Les
Mamelles de Tirésias (Lacouf, Journalist), Il
barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva), Antony and
Cleopatra (Eros), La sonnambula (Elvino), The
Rake’s Progress (Sellem), Il viaggio a Reims
(Cavaliere Belfiore), Wozzeck (Der Narr), and
Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio) for the Curtis
Opera Theatre; roles for the International
Vocal Arts Institute in Montreal and
International Opera Summer Program in
Saltillo, Mexico; and, as soloist, concerts with
the Bellas Artes Orchestra, Acapulco
Philharmonic, and Coyoacán, Minería, and
Aguascalientes symphony orchestras.
Joshua Stewart (High Priest of Neptune—
May 5 and 7; Idomeneo—May 6 and 8),
from New Orleans, is a tenor studying in the
opera program with Fred Carama, adjunct
faculty. He graduated from the voice
program with a Bachelor of Music degree in
2009. Credits include: Il Signor Bruschino
(Chorus), Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Husband), Il
barbiere di Siviglia (Almaviva), Antony and
Cleopatra (Caesar, Messenger), La sonnambula
(Chorus), The Rake’s Progress (Tom Rakewell),
Il viaggio a Reims (Conte di Libenskof), Wozzeck
(Hauptmann), and Don Giovanni (Don
Ottavio) for the Curtis Opera Theatre; soloist
with the Master Chorale of South Florida
and Westminster Williamson Voices; and
roles for Music Academy of the West, Centro
Studi Lirica in Italy, Intermezzo Young Artist
Development Program, and New Orleans
Center for Creative Arts.
Ashley Thouret (Chorus), from Toronto, is
a soprano studying in the opera program
with Marlena Kleinman Malas. She
graduated from the voice program with a
Bachelor of Music degree in 2009. Credits
include: Il Signor Bruschino (Chorus), Les
Mamelles de Tirésias (Chorus), La Tragédie de
Carmen (Micaela), Antony and Cleopatra
(Chorus), La sonnambula (Chorus), The Rake’s
Progress (Anne Trulove), Il viaggio a Reims
(Servant), Wozzeck (Chorus), Impressions of
Pelléas (Mélisande), and Don Giovanni (Zerlina)
for the Curtis Opera Theatre; roles for the
Chautauqua Institution; and concerts and
recitals with several orchestras and
organizations in the Toronto and
Philadelphia areas.
Mikael Eliasen, artistic director of
the Curtis Opera Theatre, The Hirsig
Family Head-of-Department Chair in
Vocal Studies
Danish-born coach and accompanist
Mr. Eliasen received his early training in
Copenhagen, Montreal, and Vienna. He has
collaborated with numerous singers in recital
worldwide, including Robert Merrill, Tom
Krause, John Shirley-Quirk, Elly Ameling,
Edith Mathis, Florence Quivar, Mira Zakai,
Sarah Walker, Joan Patenaude-Yarnell, and
Curtis alumni Theodor Uppman, Michael
Schade, and Rinat Shaham. He has
recorded for Albany Records, CBC,
Hilversum Radio, Polish State Radio, Kol
Israel, Irish Radio and Television, London
Records, MHS, and Supraphon. He has a
long association with the young-artist
programs at the Royal Danish Opera and the
Opera Studio of Amsterdam. In the United
States, he works regularly at the Lyric Opera
of Chicago, LA Opera, Houston Grand
Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Santa Fe Opera,
and the Metropolitan Opera. Mr. Eliasen was
music director of the San Francisco Opera
Center from 1994 to 1996 and artistic
director of the European Center for Opera
and Vocal Art in Belgium from 1984 to
1994. For twenty years he has taught at
Chautauqua’s Voice Program during
the summers.
Ralph Batman, managing director
of Vocal Studies and the Curtis
Opera Theatre
Ralph Batman joined the Curtis Institute of
Music in 1988, after serving as stage manager
and production manager for the Opera
Company of Philadelphia, spending five
years as production stage manager with the
Philadelphia Drama Guild, and working as
stage manager and company manager for the
Pennsylvania Ballet. He began his career as
stage manager and designer, and eventually
producer, for a chain of Equity dinner
theaters in the Midwest.
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Production Credits
Assistant Conductor — Francesco Lecce-Chong
Assistant Director — Stephanie Derrick
Musical Preparation — Danielle Orlando, principal opera coach;
Donald St. Pierre, Tiziana Descano
Rehearsal Pianists — Donald St. Pierre, Tiziana Descano, Rebecca P. Mordo
Italian Diction — Corradina Caporello
Stage Manager — Wesley Reid
Assistant Stage Manager — Asaki Kuruma
Hair and Makeup — Giacomina Pluma
Resident Wardrobe Supervisor — Rita Squitiere
Projected Title Operator — Rebecca P. Mordo
Scenery Construction and Installation — Proof Productions, Inc.