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CELEBRATION �Puccini’s

�Golden WEST

adapted byLee Holdridge & Richard Sparks

GIRLPLÁCIDO DOMINGO General Director

KENT NAGANO Music Director

Educator’s workbook

Major funding for LA Opera’s The Prospector has been provided by:

National Endowment for the Arts

The Recording Industries’ Music Performance Fund

LA Opera’s Education and Community Programs are made possible by generous grants from the following:

The Opera League of Los Angeles

The Hearst Foundation Endowment

The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation

The Flora L. Thornton Foundation

Bank of America Foundation

Hispanics for Los Angeles Opera

Los Angeles County Arts Commission

Lenore and Richard Wayne

The Weingart Foundation

The Capital Group Companies

City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs

The Good Works Foundation

The Dan Murphy Foundation

Esper A. Petersen Foundation

The Rose Hills Foundation

Dwight Stuart Youth Foundation

Wells Fargo Bank

Employees Community Fund of Boeing California

Citigroup Foundation

Joseph B. Gould Foundation

LLWW Foundation

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe’s Arts Education Partnership Program

The B.C. McCabe Foundation

Metropolitan Associates

The Milken Family Foundation

The Moss Foundation

The Kenneth T. & Eileen L. Norris Foundation

Pasadena Showcase House for the Arts

John and Beverly Stauffer Foundation in memory of Mary Ann Frankenhoff

The Sterling Foundation

Union Bank of California Foundation

Bank of the West

Andrew and Avery Barth

California Arts Council

The Boeing Company

Dorothy Collins Brown Charitable Foundation

Ms. Leslie Einstein

H. Leslie and Elaine S. Hoffman Foundation

The Maurer Family Foundation

Peter Norton Family Foundation

The Roth Family Foundation

Former Los Angeles County Supervisor Edmund Edelman

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel

The Nesbitt Foundation

The Opera Buffs Inc.

The Opera would also like to extend a very special thank you to Milton Okun, Chair of the OperaBoard’s Education Committee, for his tireless service to the Education and Community Programs.

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LA Opera began producing opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion of the Music Centerof Los Angeles County in 1986. The Company performs eight operas a year, as well asseveral operas for students, such as Figaro’s American Adventure,which tour Los Angeles area schools.

About ninety people work at the Company all year round,planning new operas, raising money to produce the operas,selling tickets, working on lighting, costumes and scenicdesigns, managing the finances, and creating programs for children. More people are added when an opera is being produced. People are hired to sing and play in the orchestra,make the costumes, work backstage, and direct the operas.

Some of the famous artists who have worked at LA Operainclude General Director Plácido Domingo and Music DirectorKent Nagano; singers Samuel Ramey, Frederica von Stade,Bryn Terfel, Rolando Villazón, Anna Netrebko and DenyceGraves; directors Sir Peter Hall, Franco Zeffirelli, WilliamFriedkin and Robert Wilson; and designers David Hockney,Maurice Sendak, and Gottfried Helnwein.

For more information about LA Opera’s extensive Educationand Community Programs which reach over 100,000 peopleper year, please call (213) 972-7219.

Die Frau ohne Schatten - 2003 The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Pagliacci - 2005

Plácido Domingo

Kent Nagano

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What is Opera?

Opera is a play, but instead of speaking the lines, the performers sing them. It is accompanied by a group ofinstruments, called an orchestra, and can include dancers and a group of singers who sing together, called achorus. However, opera with its lavish spectacle, high drama and visual and aural treasures is much more. No other art form contains such diverse elements – singing, acting, lighting, design, orchestra, movement anddance – into such a seamless whole. It engages our minds, captures our hearts and releases our imaginations.

When we think of operatic voices, we think of voices that are big and powerful. Opera singers, unlike popularmusic singers, do not use microphones. Their voices are trained to fill a large hall, and it takes many years ofhard work to become a successful opera singer.

There are three types of female and three types of malevoices. The range is every note that a singer can sing.The highest voices are sopranos (women) and tenors(men). The middle-ranged voices are mezzo-sopranos(women) and baritones (men). The lowest voices are contraltos (women) and basses (men.).

This performance draws upon one of Puccini’s greatest operas, The Girl of the Golden West.

OPERA RULESWe want you and your students to have a fantastic time at the opera program. To make that possible, students need to be comfortable and to understand their jobs as audience members. Please go over the following “Opera Rules” with your class before attending the program.

Students’ job as audience members:

• MAKE YOUR SCHOOL PROUD by being an excellent audiencemember – please be quiet and listen carefully. Remember you are seeing a live performance not watching television or a movie. Theperformers can see and hear you (as can other audience members).

• LAUGH IF IT IS FUNNY

• CRY IF IT IS SAD

• CLAP AT THE END of the performance to show how much youliked it. If you really enjoyed it, you can shout “BRAVO” – whichmeans “great job!”

• HAVE FUN!!!

For our teachers and parents:Please no photography or videotaping during the performance.It’s against the union rules and is hazardous to the performers!Please turn off all phones and beepers.

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OPERA TERMSAria A solo song that a character uses to express feelings or comment on the action.

Baritone Middle range male voice. Often used for characters who act as as best friends, fathers, villains and sometimes heroes.

Bravo Italian word for “great job.”

Chorus A group of singers usually divided into sections of sopranos, altos (generally similar to the mezzo-soprano range), tenors, and basses.

Coloratura Elaborate notes and trills sung in quick succession which are used to decorate a phrase and give emphasis to the emotion.

Composer The individual who writes the music of an opera.

Conductor The individual who rehearses the ensembles and leads the orchestra and singers in the performances.

Costume Designer The person who creates the clothes which singers wear on stage.

Director The individual who is in charge of how the singers move on stage. S/he directs the emotions and reactions to the singing.

Duet Two people singing together.

Libretto The text of an opera. Literally, “a little book.”

Librettist The writer of an opera’s text.

Mezzo-Soprano Middle range female voice. Sometimes sings the role of a young boy, also known as a “trouser role.”

Orchestra The group of musicians who accompany the singers.

Overture An introduction to the opera played by the orchestra.

Quartet Four people singing together.

Recitative Sung speech which moves the action along by providing information.

Set The furnishings and backgrounds which set the environment for the opera/play.

Soprano Highest female voice. Often the heroine of the opera.

Stage Manager The person in charge of everything backstage and on stage during the opera performance.

Tempo The rate of speed that the music is played.

Tenor Highest male voice. Usually the hero of the opera.

Trio Three people singing together.

Synopsis � The Prospector

The Prospector is a one-act opera commissioned by LA Opera and inspired by the opera, The Girl of the Golden

West (La Fanciulla del West). The Prospector is really a story within a story. As the opera opens, a lonely Gold Rush

prospector is making his way across the desert toward the California gold fields. He has

stopped to make himself a pot of coffee, his faithful mule tethered nearby.

The stars of the night sky twinkle and sparkle but the prospector becomes

nervous - everything suddenly seems too quiet! Suddenly

a pack of coyotes seem to appear from behind every

rock. The prospector begs them not to hurt him but,

as they explain, it’s been a week since their last meal

and both the prospector, and his mule in particular,

look mighty tasty. Desperate to save himself, the

prospector offers to take the coyotes to Minnie’s

saloon, known far and wide for his excellent food

and the kindness and beauty of its proprietress.

The coyotes scoff at the prospector’s invitation, “Oh, like they let coyotes in a saloon.” The prospector sees his

opportunity and quickly explains that all sorts of people go to Minnie’s, including the very handsome and dash-

ing outlaw, Ramerrez. It turns out that the coyotes have heard the story before and join the prospector in

retelling the tale. They begin to tell the story of beautiful and virtuous Minnie and her beloved Ramerrez,

Sheriff Jack Rance, and all the miners that Minnie cared for and taught.

One day, a mysterious man enters Minnie’s establishment. He calls himself Johnson and Minnie falls almost

immediately in love with him. Her happiness is destroyed though when the Sheriff reveals that Johnson is really

the outlaw Ramerrez. Ramerrez swears that he loves Minnie and will no longer rob anyone. Minnie tries to

save Ramerrez by challenging the Sheriff to a game of poker but the posse catches Ramerrez. Ramerrez’s life

is threatened when Minnie arrives and demands that they release him. She demands that true justice be

done…that they release and forgive Ramerrez in the manner that she has always cared for and

forgiven the miners their faults and shortcomings. The

miners suddenly understand that their actions have been

unjust and they offer their hands to Ramerrez and Minnie

in the spirit of brotherhood. The coyotes are clearly moved by this tale of

love and forgiveness as Minnie and Ramerrez depart into the sunset together.

Inspired by the prospector’s story, the coyotes quickly decide to let him go to find his gold, just as the miners

had let Minnie and Ramerrez go in peace to find their own happiness. The opera ends with the prospector

walking away in the moonlight to find his treasure even as the coyotes contemplate the real treasures of love

and forgiveness.

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Major themes in The Prospector

Family

The Prospector features several families—groups of people (or animals) who have a caring commitment to one

another: the pack of coyotes is one kind of family. They sing about how they think humans are crazy animals

who fight one another (which makes no sense). The miners sing about their homesickness and loneliness for

the families they left back east. Even so, it becomes rapidly apparent that they have formed another family with

Minnie acting as their mother and sister. Through their love for one another, Ramerrez and Minnie are becom-

ing a new family themselves, even as the miners become “brothers.” At the opera’s conclusion, there is even the

hint that animal and human, coyote and miner, have a newfound understanding of the land, sky and stories that

bind all beings together.

The California Gold Rush

Many would say that opera is the most sophisticated art form, drawing together the elements of narrative,

visual, musical, mechanical, social, economic and political arts and crafts. In The Girl of the Golden West and

The Prospector, the power of opera is employed to convey a uniquely American story: the California Gold Rush.

In the process, an era is celebrated and largely revisioned. It is useful to consider the “truthfulness” of the

opera’s depiction of history (the play premiered in 1905 and the opera in 1910) and those elements we might

now dispute.

Multicultural Understanding

The regular customers of Minnie’s are terribly suspicious of any stranger and ready to expect the worst. The

opera features two happy endings in which both the miners and the coyotes overcome their first prejudices.

Forgiveness

Everyone is worthy of forgiveness and everyone has been at fault, at one time or another. Through forgiveness,

wrongs are erased and a new peaceful balance is achieved.

Storytelling

Countless books, plays and poems feature heroes who save themselves and others through the device of a story.

In some ways, The Prospector owes as much to 1001 Arabian Nights and Man of La Mancha as it does The Girl of the

Golden West.

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The Prospector, Puccini’s The Girl of the Golden West and

Belasco’s play that inspired Puccini, are all stories that

are based on what must have been real life accounts of

life in a mining camp in and around 1849. The Gold

Rush, an exciting and colorful period of California his-

tory, proves to be a perfect backdrop for the intrigue

and drama of opera. Let’s look at the connections

between history and significant elements of the opera.

MINER’S JUSTICE

When gold was discovered by James Marshall at

Coloma in January 1848, California had no law except

military law and the remains of Mexican laws. While

technically the new mines should have been governed

by Mexican laws in regard to mineral wealth and min-

ing, very few Americans knew anything about that sys-

tem of government and frankly could care less.

Prior to the influx of miners in ’49, the early days

of mining were very different. James Carson, who

mined on Carson Creek in August 1848 wrote,

Honesty was the ruling passion amongst the miners

of ’48. Old debts were paid; bags of gold dust were care-

lessly left lying in their homes; mining tools, though

scarce, were left in their places of work for days at a time

and not one theft or robbery was committed.

Once word of gold and easy wealth began to spread,

there was a tremendous rush of people to California

(about 100,000) from all corners of the globe, creating

a stress on existing resources. California, new to state-

hood, and Congress, too consumed with issues of slav-

ery to provide even a territorial form of government

for California, left a need for the law to take a form of

self-government.

Miners soon found themselves involved in all sorts

of controversies over the size and locations of claims,

so they had to establish rules to create some sense of

order. Each locality began to make its own mining laws

and elected a sheriff to oversee each area. Sheriff

Rance, a central character in The Prospector, is an exam-

ple of the typical legal authority or “arm of the law”

that was common during the Gold Rush. The days of

honesty were over! Only one year after his initial

report, James Carson had a different take on the con-

ditions in 1849.

This honesty was not to be found in the crowds that daily

thickened around us in forty-nine. Hordes of pickpockets,

robbers, thieves, and swindlers were mixed with men who

had come with honest intentions… Murder, thefts and

robberies soon became the order of the day.

When there was a need for a jury, the miners were

called together without much legal formality. When a

decision was made, there was no appeal. Since there

were no jails or prisons in the early camps, the punish-

ment was immediate and drastic. In The Prospector,

Sheriff Rance’s posse of miners catches Ramerrez

and brings him to face Rance and his type of Gold

Rush justice.

Connections to the Gold Rush

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WOMEN IN THE GOLD RUSH

It is clear that times were not easy during the Gold

Rush, especially for women, though the rough and

ready atmosphere of the frontier and the Gold Rush

did provide a unique sort of opportunity. The class

society of the east coast was gone, creating more free-

dom for women to create a market for their skills.

Since there were not many women in the mining

camps and towns, those that had domestic skills were

in great demand and they could charge top dollar for

their services.

Minnie, the saloon keeper in The Prospector, is the

type of strong and enterprising woman who could

endure and profit from the life of the Gold Rush. She

is capable and nurturing and is the glue that holds the

mining community together.

Most accounts of women in the Gold Rush

are from surviving letters, diaries, newspapers, and

reminiscences. The following is an account by Luzena

Stanley Wilson, who seems a lot like the character

of Minnie.

I determined to set up a rival hotel. So I bought two

boards from a precious pile belonging to a man who was

building the second wooden house in town. With my own

hands I chopped stakes, drove them into the ground, and

set up my table. I bought provisions at a neighboring

store, and when my husband came back at night he found,

mid the weird light of the pine torches, twenty miners eat-

ing at my table. Each man as he rose put a dollar in my

hand and said I might count him as a permanent cus-

tomer. I called my hotel ‘El Dorado’. From the first day

it was well patronized, and I shortly after took my hus-

band into partnership.

CULTURE CLASH

The Gold Rush was like a petri dish for racial friction

and hatred. People of disparate cultures lived and

worked in close proximity. American, French,

Mexican, Chilean, American Indian, Chinese, African

American, Italian, German, and a myriad of other cul-

tures mingled and haggled for diminishing resources.

The American miners were especially intolerant of all

other nationalities as they considered the land theirs by

right and any foreigner as an invader of that right. This

resentment was fairly universal but was especially bit-

ter toward the Mexicans and Chileans and to a lesser

degree the French.

Ramerrez, the Mexican bandit from The Prospector,

seems to be a victim of prejudice. The miners are espe-

cially suspicious of “Johnson” when he appears in

Minnie’s bar, most likely because of his looks, though

it was common for miners to be suspicious of any new

character in their midst. It may be that the character of

Ramerrez was based on the real, larger than life char-

acter of Joaquin Murieta. The notorious Murieta was

certainly the most famous bandit of his time and even

was the inspiration of the character of Zorro.

A positive effect of this clash of cultures has left

a lasting imprint on the culture of California and is in

an area that may surprise you – cooking. The mix of

cultures in the mining camps found one positive and

creative outlet in the fusion of different cuisines. Food,

being not only a necessity of life, was also a means of

socialization and cultural identification and people

experimented with different ingredients, spices, and

recipes from various cultures. To this day, California is

known for its cuisine of mixing elements from various

cultural traditions.

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People at the Opera HouseStudents, color the picture and answer the questions below.

Who are we?

1. I am the person who creates theclothes singers wear on stage._______________________

2. We write the words and the music of an opera._________________________ and____________________________

3. I am in charge of everything backstage and on stage during an opera performance.__________________________

4. We are the group of singers whoperform and sing as a single body.__________________________

5. I work the spotlight.__________________________

6. I am in charge of how the singersand other actors move on stage._________________________

7. We are the instrumental ensembleof an opera that can play alone aswell as accompany the singers._________________________

8. I rehearse the ensembles and lead the orchestra and singers in the performance._________________________

9. We work together to design how the stage will look._____________________ and__________________________

10. We are the main characters on stage. ________________________________________

11. I help create the set.________________________________________________

12. We work around the stage hanging lights, working curtains and back drops, etc._________________________

Lighting Operator

ConductorDirector

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Principal Singers

Stage Manager

Scenic Artist

The Orchestra

Stage Hand

The Chorus

Costume DesignerSet Designer &

Lighting Designer

Librettist &Composer

1. Costume Designer

2. Librettist & Composer

3. Stage Manager

4. The Chorus

5. Lighting Operator

6. The Director

7. The Orchestra

8. The Conductor

9. Set Designer & Lighting Designer

10. Principal Singers

11. The Scenic Artist

12. Stage Hands

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Synopsis �The Girl � Golden West

ACT IIn the barroom of the Polka Inn, miners gathered for a game of faro share their homesickness. When Ashby of

the Wells Fargo agency enters, talk turns to the notorious bandit, Ramerrez, who is believed to be in the area.

A scuffle breaks out when the sheriff, Jack Rance, boasts that Minnie, “The Girl” who runs the inn, will be his

wife, but Minnie’s entrance breaks it up. News of a stranger takes the miners outside to investigate, and Rance,

who tells Minnie he loves her, is rejected. The miners bring in the stranger, who says he is Johnson from

Sacramento. He and Minnie recognize each other, having met once on the Monterey trail, and Johnson per-

suades Minnie to dance with him. Yet another stranger is brought in, Castro, who is a member of Ramerrez’s

band but who throws the miners off the scent by offering to betray his leader. When Rance and the others

form a posse, Castro whispers to Johnson that the rest of the band is waiting outside the camp for a signal.

The miners leave, and Minnie and Johnson continue their chat; she tells him that the miners leave their gold

in her care, and that she would defend it with her life. Johnson accepts her invitation to come to her cabin later

that evening.

ACT II

In Minnie’s cabin an Indian couple, Wowkle and Billy Jackrabbit, discuss marriage, a step Minnie has been

urging, since they already have a child. Minnie arrives with news of a guest for dinner. Soon after, Johnson

enters and begins to court her. Minnie eventually yields, admitting that she has loved him from the start. When

a blizzard comes up, she gives her bed to Johnson, and rolls herself up in a bearskin before the fire. Suddenly

shouts are heard outside. Minnie orders Johnson to hide, then opens the door to Rance, Nick, Ashby and

Sonora, who have come to make sure she is safe. They tell her that Johnson is actually Ramerrez. Minnie does

not believe it until they show her a photograph of Johnson, which they got from the bandit’s girlfriend. She

sends the men away and confronts Johnson, who confesses and tries to explain. But Minnie cannot forgive him,

and he leaves, prepared to die. He is shot, whereupon Minnie drags him back into the cabin and hides him.

But Rance discovers the wounded man and is about to take him in when Minnie, knowing the sheriff to be a

gambler, offers to play a game of poker with him, her life and Johnson’s to be the stake. They play, while

Johnson lies unconscious; Rance is dealt a better hand of cards, but Minnie cheats and wins the game.

ACT III

On the edge of the great California forest in early dawn, Rance, Ashby and Nick are waiting. They discuss

Johnson, whom Minnie has nursed back to health in her cabin. Shouts are heard. After a long chase Ashby’s

men capture Johnson, and he is brought in, bound and wounded. The men prepare to hang him. Johnson, who

has faced them defiantly, asks only one favor, that they not tell Minnie how he died. Suddenly Minnie dashes

in, places herself in front of her lover, and appeals to the men, who finally relent and restore Johnson to her.

The two take farewell of the miners and of California and go off together to start a new life.

Re-printed from Los Angeles Opera’s June 1991 program book.

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Puccini � BELASCO

Origins of The Girl � Golden West

The playwright of The Girl of the Golden West, David Belasco, was born in San Francisco, California, on July 25,

1853 after his parents came from London in the gold rush. Belasco grew up in both San Francisco and Victoria,

British Columbia.

In 1885, Belasco had his first big hit as playwright, director, and independent manager. The Heart of Maryland,

his Civil War melodrama became a runaway success in New York, London, and in a tour across the U.S.

In the early 1900s, Belasco refurbished several theaters in New York into world class performance venues.

In 1905, Belasco wrote the hit play, The Girl of the Golden West, upon which Giacomo Puccini based his opera,

La Fanciulla del West in 1910.

Giacomo Puccini’s opera, The Girl of the Golden West (La Fanciulla del West), received its successful premiere in

New York on December 10, 1910. By that time, the composer had already written several important works

including Manon Lescaut, La Bohème, Tosca and Madama Butterfly.

In direct opposition to certain critics’ rather lukewarm reviews, the New York public raved rapturously over

Puccini’s new American Wild West opera; this kind of artistic affirmation could scarcely have been better

timed. One can only guess what exactly appealed to the 1910 audiences, but to today’s ears it is clear that

The Girl of the Golden West represents both a logical continuation of Puccini’s musical/dramatic thought and a

significant turning point in the composer’s artistic growth.

Like so many other Puccini operas, the storyline of The Girl of the Golden West focuses on the plight a strong

female protagonist. But unlike the composer’s previous works, this opera succeeds in creating a mature musical

language which strongly anticipates the chromatic and orchestral innovations of later works such as Turandot

(1924). Already we hear a proliferation of augmented chords, resolved in endless creative ways. And, as in

Turandot, the orchestra plays an integral role in immediately setting the dramatic pace of the action. From

the very first measures of the score, we are drawn into a creative soundscape which captures the imagination

of the listener.

In a letter by Puccini to Giulio Ricordi, he writes, “The Girl promises to become a second Bohème, but more

vigorous, more daring, and on an altogether larger scale. I have in mind a magnificent scenario, a clearing in

the great California forest, with some colossal trees. But we shall need eight or ten horses on the stage.”

Interesting Fact: David Belasco actually gave the famous actress, Mary Pickford, her stage name. Her real

name, Gladys Marie Smith, wasn’t fit for the stage, according to Belasco. Gladys didn’t suit her and Marie

was too common, so he changed it to “Mary.” Pickford was her mother’s maiden name.

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1603 1620 1707

Opera Time-Line

1445 15071611

1640 167316071573

1400-1600 1643-1715

Gutenberg inventsprinting frommovable type.

Leonardo Da Vinci completes his Mona Lisa

1564

William Shakespeare is born.

First recorded performance ofShakespeare’s final play, The Tempest

The Pilgrims settle atPlymouth.

Queen Elizabeth I of England dies

Louis XIV, The SunKing, reigns as King of France. His royalcourt generously promoted writers, architects and musicians including Molière, Jean-Baptiste Lully, Jean de La Fontaine,and Charles Le Brun.The

Renaissance Era

Earliest recorded meeting of the Florentine Camerata.They were a group of intellectuals seeking torevive the Greek dramaticstyle and is most famous for the formation of opera.

Jean-Baptiste Lullyestablishes tragédielyrique, the earliestform of French opera.

First recorded use of footlights inEnglish theater.

1629

Lope de Vegawrites the earliestknown Zarzuelalibretto.

1500 1600 1700

Calderón de la Barca writes the libretto and Juan Hildago composes thethe music for the ZarzuelaNi amor se libra de Amor.

Claudio Monteverdi,the first great composer of opera,has his first opera,Orfeo, produced.

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1900 2000

1776 1789 1790 1812 1831 1905 1929 1949 1964 1992

200019871956

19351900

1896

1875

185318051781

18831874

18511816

1876 190018791804 1817 1848

1861-65

1914-18

1870-1950

1939-45 1964-1973

The sewing machine is invented

The Declaration of Independence

is signed

French Revolutionbegins

U.S. and Britain at war, the War of 1812

Gas Lighting is firstused in theaters

World War I

World War II

The North AtlanticTreaty Organization(NATO) is formed.

Segregation is abolished in the U.S.

Vietnam War

“Black Tuesday” StockMarket Crash, begin-ning of the GreatDepression

U.S. and Russiasign a treaty

ending the Cold War.

The telephone is invented

The electriclight bulb is invented.

Nat Turner’sSlave Revolt The Wright

Brothers flytheir first

biplane glider.

American Civil War

Russian Revolution begins

Gold is found at Sutter’s Millmarking thebeginning of the CaliforniaGold Rush.

Lewis and Clark expedition to thePacific Coast begins

Beethoven’s onlyopera, Fidelio,is first performed.

First performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto

First performance of Verdi’s La traviata

First performance of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus

The ParisOpera House,Palais Garnier,is inaugurated.

First performanceof Bizet’sCarmen

MetropolitanOpera Houseopens in New York

Puccini writes La bohème

Gershwin’sPorgy and Besspremieres inNew York

The Golden Age of Zarzuela inSpain and LatinAmerica

First performance of Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe

First performance

of Adams’ Nixon in China

First performance of Heggie’s

Dead Man Walking

First perform-ance of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville

At the age of 25,Mozart’s first big success, Idomeneo,is performed.

17911724

Handel’s opera,Giulio Cesare,is first performed.

1800

Scotland is joined to Englandand Wales forming a new kingdom, Great Britain

Giuseppe Verdi

American playwright,David Belasco’s Madame Butterfly premieres in New York.

1903Puccini, inspired byBelasco’s play, writesMadama Butterfly

First performance of Mozart’s The Magic Flute

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CEDRIC BERRY Sheriff RanceBass-Baritone Cecric Berry received his music diploma from Interlochen Arts Academy and both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degreesfrom the University of Southern California. Cedric gained his first professional experiences with LA Opera singing roles in a number ofoperas including The Barber of Seville, La Bohème, Samson et Dalila, Faust, La Rondine and Billy Budd. He has also appeared with The PacificSymphony, The Arizona Symphony, The Bakersfield Symphony, The Fresno Philharmonic, The Santa Fe Symphony and sang selectionsfrom Copland’s Old American Songs in Community Concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. More recent engagements includesinging a concert in tribute to Paul Robeson for the Banlieurs Bleues festival in Paris, France, singing the role of Zuniga in his debut withThe New West Symphony, and appearing as a guest artist with the LA Master Chorale and the Luckman Jazz orchestra at the DisneyHall. In addition he has been the recipient of several awards including first place in the 1998 Metropolitan Opera Western RegionCompetition.

HEATHER CALVETE Minnie Soprano Heather Calvete has been very involved with LA Opera’s outreach efforts for the last four years as performing and teachingartist. She has performed elsewhere in roles including Nedda in I Pagliacci, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Gilda in Rigoletto, Adina in L’Elisird’Amore, Mimi in La Bohème, Alice in Falstaff, Rosario in Goyescas, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, the Governess in Turn of the Screw, LadyBillows in Albert Herring, Lady with a Cake Box in Postcard from Morocco, Quica in Luis Alonso and the title character in Pauline Viardot’sCendrillion. Ms. Calvete has appeared with Opera San Jose, Lyric Opera Los Angeles, Repertory Opera Company, the JarvisConservatory, among others. Ms. Calvete earned first place in the Orange County District Metropolitan Opera National CouncilAuditions and has competed as a finalist in the West Coast Region. Ms. Calvete holds a Master of Music in Vocal Arts from theUniversity of Southern California, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Educationfrom California State University, Fullerton.

JAMIE CHAMBERLIN Coyote Greek-American soprano Jamie Chamberlin made a stunning professional debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic singing the sopranosolo in the world premiere of Esa Pekka Salonen’s Wing on Wing at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in 2004. In 2005, she sang several per-formances as the Priestess in LA Opera’s Aida where she made her solo debut earlier in the season as a Cretan Woman in Idomeneo withPlácido Domingo. Ms. Chamberlin holds a Master of Music in Voice from UCLA where she performed roles such as Lady Billows inAlbert Herring, Concepcion in L’heure Espagnole, Anita in West Side Story, and Lucy in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. In March 2006, Ms. Chamberlin will sing Milhaud’s Quatre Chansons de Ronsard with the Pasadena Symphony. Ms. Chamberlin is thrilled to join LA Opera’s outreach program after four seasons as a chorister and solo artist with the company.

MICHAL DAWSON CONNOR Coyote Bass-baritone Michal Dawson Connor has had an extensive career on the musical stage in North America and Europe, performing inproductions of Showboat on Broadway, as well as national tours of Ragtime and Jesus Christ Superstar. In addition to performances of Porgy and Bess in Berlin, Mr. Connor has concertized throughout Germany, championing American and British art-songs, and appearingon the North German Radio Showcase. One of Mr. Connor’s favorite hobbies is gardening, and he recently starred on the Emmy nomi-nated program Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for ABC, where his talents as a landscape designer were fully utilized. In addition to beingan actor and singer, Mr. Connor is a published author of The Slave Letters, and the composer and director of a musical drama for youngaudiences based on his book, depicting the compelling story of African slaves and their journey to freedom. Mr. Connor is a graduate ofL’Ecole Hindemith, in Vevey, Switzerland, and also Carnegie-Mellon University in Pennsylvania.

GREGORIO GONZÁLEZ CoyoteMr. González performed in over a dozen productions for LA Opera as a baritone and has also sung leading and supporting rolesthroughout the US, in Europe and Mexico. After a recent switch to tenor, Mr. González has attracted the attention of houses such as theLyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv where he sang this summer and has beeninvited to return and cover Tamino in 2006. Mr. González created the roles of Count Obolenski and Avdeev in LA Opera’s world pre-miere of Nicholas and Alexandra with Plácido Domingo, and also performed in Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Giovanni, II Barbiere di Siviglia,La Fanciulla del West, Madama Butterfly, Falstaff and Le Nozze di Figaro. In his last season as a baritone, Mr. González sang Schaunard in La Bohème, Gregorio in Roméo et Juliette, and Dancairo in Carmen. Mr. González has been distinguished in many competitions includingPlácido Domingo’s Operalia World Singer Competition and The Metropolitan Opera Council National Semi-Final Auditions.

company

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KEVIN HAFENSTEIN ProspectorTenor Kevin Hafenstein received a full scholarship from the Ezio Pinza Council for American Singers of Opera in Oderzo, Italy wherehe worked with Maestro Arena, Enza Ferrari and Claudia Pinza. His recent awards include finalist in the Western Region MetropolitanOpera Council Auditions, winner of the Pasadena Opera Guild Competition, and Showcase Artist of the Year by the Southern CaliforniaOpera Buffs. Roles Mr. Hafenstein has performed include Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and Benedict in the Southern California OperaGuild’s production of Berlioz’s Beatrice and Benedict. He created the title role of Hodges the Elephant for the world premiere of LosAngeles Opera’s In-School Opera tour of Friday Night at Hodges Café by Michael Silversher, based on the popular children’s book by Tim Egan. He also created the title role of the Prospector for the world premiere of the Company’s In-School Opera tour of The Prospector by Lee Holdridge and Richard Sparks, based on Puccini’s opera, The Girl of the Golden West.

DANIEL FALTUS music directorDaniel Faltus, has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Radio City Music Hall and Lincoln Center. He hasconcertized in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and has conducted musicals in the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Faltus is currently theMusic Director for LA Opera’s in-school-opera program as well as the library project and community concerts series. He has performedin Mexico with soprano Julia Migenes and he recently played an all-Brahms program as part of Los Angeles County Museum of Art’sSunday’s at Four series, heard on KUSC. He has also directed and coached performance at the Hollywood Bowl for the Los AngelesPhilharmonic. Also an actor, Mr. Faltus played opposite Oscar-winner Faye Dunaway in the National tour of the Tony-winning playMaster Class. He was recently featured in the award-winning film, Don: Plain & Tall. Television appearances include Encore! Encore!, Alias,Monk, It’s All Relative, and the role of Chives, the English butler on the Emmy-nominated series Even Stevens.

RAY FRISBY percussionRay Frisby came to Los Angeles in 1990 from Boston where he graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music. He is currentlyvery active both as a studio musician and as a live performer. Among his many feature film soundtrack credits are Batman and Robin,Volcano, City Slickers II and Alien 3. He has toured the US with the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Combined Shows, Japanwith Ron Stein’s Hollywood Superstars, and Europe with his own jazz fusion group. Locally, he has performed with a wide variety ofensembles and artists such as Johnny Mathis, Joan Rivers, Keely Smith, the Santa Monica Symphony, the Long Beach Symphony per-cussion quartet, the Antelope Valley Master Chorale, the Paulist Boy Choristers and the Civic Light Opera of the South Bay Cities. Most recently Mr. Frisby performed all summer in “The Calico Country Jubilee” at Knott’s Berry Farm and has been playing frequentlywith the swing music ensembles of Mora’s Modern Rhythmists. He is currently principal percussionist with the Los Angeles SymphonicWinds and has been staff percussionist with LA Opera’s Education and Community Programs since 2001.

SAL MALAKI Johnson/RamerrezTenor Sal Malaki joined LA Opera and LA Master Chorale in 1995. He has participated in the education outreach programs for bothcompanies that reach to thousands of students in Southern California schools. Performances include recitals at Carnegie Hall, MerkinConcert Hall in New York, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Royce Hall, the Macomb Center for the Arts in Detroit, Morristown Museum inNew Jersey, St. John University in Minnesota, the Civic Center in Walnut Creek, and at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in Manila.With the LA Master Chorale, he was a soloist in the world premiere of Jeremy Soule’s L’extase, Bach’s Christmas Cantata Part I, Nielsen’sHymnus Amoris, with Paul Salamunovich in his farewell concert. Opera roles include Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème; Tamino in Mozart’sThe Magic Flute, Sandugo in Feliciano’s La Loba Negra and Ibarra in De Leon’s Noli Me Tangere. Mr. Malaki is a graduate of the Universityof the Philippines with Bachelor of Music degrees in flute and voice.

ELI VILLANUEVA stage directorEli Villanueva has earned outstanding credentials as a performer, and is quickly becoming a respected name not only as a publishedcomposer but also as a stage director. Mr. Villanueva has appeared internationally in leading baritone roles including Figaro in TheBarber of Seville, Marcello and Schaunard in La Bohème, and Falke in Die Fledermaus with such noted companies as the San FranciscoOpera Center, LA Opera, and for the Cultural Arts Festival in Cortona, Italy. Presently, Mr. Villanueva is resident stage director for LA Opera’s acclaimed In-School Opera Program. He has also appeared in various LA Opera community productions, most recentlysinging the role of Gino in The Magic Dream. As Resident Stage Director for OperaWorks, a nationally recognized opera training pro-gram, he teaches stage techniques and co-creates new works. He also has appeared as guest stage director for universities throughoutSouthern California. Mr. Villanueva’s compositions are praised for their appeal to audiences and performers alike. Music ranging from solo vocal to choral works to popular Handbell songs, can be found through publishing companies like Fred Bock Music andLaurendale Associates.

MONICA BUTLER costume designerMonica Butler is a Production Supervisor for the LA Opera Costume Shop where she has coordinated the costumes for Pagliacci, Der Rosenkavalier, La Bohème, Madama Butterfly and many others. Previous projects for the Education and Community ProgramsDepartment include Brundibar and The Magic Dream. She received her M.F.A in Costume Design from the California Institute of the Arts.She has worked for the Santa Fe Opera, the Guthrie Theatre and numerous other small regional theaters.

MELISSA FICOCIELLO additional sets designerMelissa Ficociello is a freelance designer based here in Los Angeles. She also enjoys working as a scenic artist for the mainstage LAOpera productions, and assisting in the Opera’s technical department. She served as props master for Great Lakes Theater Festivalbefore obtaining her graduate degree from California Institute of the Arts. Her teaching experience includes design classes for theUpward Bound program. Set design credits include Susan Yankowitz’s A Knife in the Heart at the Sledgehammer Theatre, Dear Charlotte,a new work based on Bronte sisters, and Carmen at Cleveland Opera.

Original In-School Opera set design by Dena D’Angelo.

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creators � The Prospector

LEE HOLDRIDGE � RICHARD SPARKS

Lee Holdridge, composer, was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and raised in Costa Rica. At fifteen, he moved to Boston to finish highschool and study composition with Henry Lasker. In 1962, Holdridge moved to New York to continue his music studies and begin hisprofessional career as a composer. While in New York, he wrote chamber works, rock pieces, songs, theater music and backgroundscores for short films. Holdridge’s successes in New York came to the attention of Neil Diamond who brought Holdridge to Los Angelesto write arrangements for Diamond’s forthcoming albums. A string of gold and platinum hits followed, which led to Diamond andHoldridge collaborating on the film score for Jonathan Livingston Seagull.

Since that time, Holdridge has scored numerous film and T.V. hits including films such as Splash, Big Business, Mr. Mom, Micki & Maude,16 Days Of Glory, The Other Side Of The Mountain Part II, Mustang Country, The Beastmaster, Jeremy, Cannes Festival award winner Sylvester, A Tigers’ Tale and El Pueblo Del Sol. T.V. shows include Moonlighting, Beauty and the Beast, the complete eight hour remake of East Of Eden,The Tenth Man, Dreamer Of Oz, Hallmark Hall of Fame’s One Against The Wind and The Story Lady. Mr. Holdridge also scored the epic film Old Gringo and Pastime, winner of the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Director Award at the Houston FilmFestival. More recently, Mr. Holdridge scored the motion pictures The Secret Of Nimh 2 and Twilight Of The Golds, the Oscar winning documentary feature The Long Way Home, the NBC Mini - Series Atomic Train, ABCs’ Into Thin Air, Turner Pictures’ Two For Texas, The Tuskegee Airmen for HBO Films and working with Brian May and Stevie Wonder, the songs for the motion picture The Adventures OfPinocchio. Current projects are a new opera as well as supervising the current, ongoing recording of the opera Journey to Córdoba, the cable film By Dawn’s Early Light for Showtime and the new feature documentary Warner Brothers’ Into The Arms Of Strangers: Stories OfThe Kindertransport.

In addition to his film career, Mr. Holdridge has had an extensive repertoire of concert works performed and recorded including hisrecently premiered Jefferson Tribute, his Concerto # 2 For Violin And Orchestra, his suite from the opera Lazarus And His Beloved, the orches-tral suite Scenes Of Summer as well as the Concerto For Viola And Chamber Orchestra, the Concertino For Violoncello And Strings, the Serenade ForOboe and Strings, the Fantasy Sonata For Cello and Piano, the Elegy For Strings and Harp, and Sonnet for soprano and orchestra.

Mr. Holdridge has also worked with many major recording artists having written, arranged and conducted for Plácido Domingo, BarbraStreisand, Brian May of Queen, Stevie Wonder, Neil Diamond, John Denver, Al Jarreau, Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross, Natalie Cole andmany others.

Mr. Holdridge has received numerous awards and nominations during his career. Among his awards he has received five Emmys, onefor the background score for the pilot film for Beauty And The Beast, one for the song, The First Time I Loved Forever from Beauty And TheBeast, one for the background score for the National Geographic’s The Explorers, one for the background score for ABC World Of Discovery- Beautiful Killers and one for the Bud Greenspan film Atlanta’s Olympic Glory. He received both Emmy and Grammy nominations for histitle song for Moonlighting, which he co-wrote with Al Jarreau and he also received the prestigious Circle Of Friends Of Music award, givenin Italy in 1972 for his Ballet Fantasy for Strings and Harp.

Richard Sparks, librettist, is the author of numerous plays, television programs and libretti. His plays include: It Happened In Venice forWelsh National Theatre; The Artful Widow for the Greenwich Theatre, London - both free adaptations of 18th Century Italian Goldonicomedies. On The Box for Welsh National Theatre; Hegel And Bagel for Edinburgh Festival, Bush Theatre London and Richmond OrangeTree Theatre, London; Bue Dot Disease for Edinburgh Festival, Lyric Theatre Hammersmith, London; A Nice Pair for Edinburgh Festival,Bush Theatre, London; The Human Error for Chichester Festival Theatre; The Crimson Lizard for Latchmere Theatre, London, tour ofNew Zealand; West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds; Rowan Atkinson & Company for Hampstead Theatre, and other Rowan “Mr. Bean”Atkinson shows in London and his UK tours. With composer Lee Holdridge, he has written the libretto: Journey to Córdoba (LA Opera,1994-6; CD in production with additional tracks of Richard’s lyrics sung by Plácido Domingo in Spanish translation). Other librettiinclude: Lyric: Il Colosso (also with Brian May of ‘Queen’) - a puppet opera in the New Line film The Adventures of Pinocchio starringMartin Landau (1996); Lyrics: The Secret of Nimh 2 (MGM Animation 1998) - five songs (Dom de Luise, Eric Idle, Ralph Macchio,Meshach Taylor, Harvey Korman, Peter Straus, et al); Libretto: The Golden Land - A Cantata For California - Specially commissioned for the Fourth of July 2000 concert of the California Symphony (Conductor Barry Jekowski); Lyric: One More Year, music by JorgeCalandrelli, sung by Plácido Domingo and Vanessa Williams, Christmas In Vienna. CD Our Favorite Things. Concert broadcast worldwide December 2001. Over 60 hours of broadcast television in the UK include the following series: Cambriantics (HTV Wales);The Famous Five (Portman Productions/ITV); the 26-part half-hour film series The Flying Kiwi, shot entirely on location in New Zealand(Portman Productions/ITV).

Richard was brought to Los Angeles in 1991 by Columbia Pictures Television, to work in partnership with Blake Hunter and MartyCohan, creators of ABC’s long-running hit Who’s The Boss?

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Suggested Reading,

Listening � Surfing

readingBrook, Stephen Opera: a Penguin anthology. Penguin Books, New York, 1996.

Cross, Milton The Complete Stories of the Great Operas. Doubleday, 1952.

Ewen, David Opera: Its Story Told Through the Lives and Works of Its Foremost Composers.Watts, 1973.

Kobbe, Gustave The Complete Opera Book. Putnam’s Sons, 1935.

Pogue, David and Scott Speck Opera for Dummies. Hungry Minds, Inc., 1997 (CD included)

Plotkin, Fred Opera 101. Hyperion, 1994.

Rosenberg, Jane Sing Me a Story. Thames and Hudson, 1989.

Siberell, Anne Bravo! Brava! A Night at the Opera: Behind the Scenes with Composers, Cast and Crew.Oxford University Press Childrens’ Books, 2001.

Simon and Schuster The Book of Opera. Simon and Schuster, 1977.

Walsh, Michael Who’s Afraid of Opera? Fireside, 1977

ListeningThe Ultimate Opera Collection, Parts 1 and 2. Erato CD, Warner Classics UK, 1992.

Mad About Opera. Deutsche Grammophon CD, 1992.

Best of Opera, (Vol. 1-8). Naxos CD, 1990-1999

To locate opera videos, we suggest you call Video Opera House at 1-800-99-OPERA.

websitesLA Opera: www.LAOpera.com

Metropolitan Opera Guild Learning Center: www.operaed.org/learning center

Operabase: www.operabase.com

Opera America: www.operaamerica.org

Opera Phile: www.operaphile.com

Opera Stuff: www.operastuff.com

Letter to performers

Write a letter to the performers. Try to use the words in the word bank below. What did you like most?

What did the music sound like? Did the singers use props or costumes to help tell the story?

Who was your favorite performer?

On a separate piece of paper, or at the bottom of this page, draw your favorite part of the performance.

Give the letter and the drawing to your teacher to send back to us.

Acting

Aria

Baritone

Chorus

Composer

Duet

Soprano

Tenor ��