rigoletto at the atlanta opera

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Wifredo Lam: Imagining New Worlds is organized by the McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College and curated by Elizabeth T. Goizueta. Imagining New Worlds: Jos Parl and Fahamu Pecou is organized by the High Museum of Art. Additional support provided by Sandra and DanBaldwin, Jiong Yan and Baxter Jones, Elizabeth and Chris Willett, and Morgens West Foundation. Images: Wifredo Lam, Le Sombre Malembo,Dieu du carrefour, 1943, collection of Isaac and Betty Rudman. 2014 Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY/ADAGP, Paris. Photo by Rey Parl. 2014 Parl Studios, LLC. Wifredo Lam photograph by Man Ray. 2014 Man Ray Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY/ADAGP, Paris

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8On February 3rd, we unveiled our lineup for the 2015-16 season. We invite you to Join the Adventure as we embark on both the imaginative journeys of the operas, as well as the new pathways that opera in Atlanta has taken in recent years. The operas we have planned will take you on adventures around the world and into an exotic realm of beauty and heartbreak.

We open our mainstage season at the Cobb Energy Center with a fresh interpretation of Puccinis La bohme, a celebrated journey of romance and camaraderie in the magical French Quarter in Paris. March takes us on a rollicking seafaring voyage to the shores of England with Gilbert and Sullivans adventurous The Pirates of Penzance, a first for The Atlanta Opera. The season draws to a close in the romantic town of Verona with Gounods grand interpretation of Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, an adventure of love that ends in tragedy.

There is a major renaissance going on in the world of opera right now, and its epicenter is the United States. We plan to be a key player in that revolution, and in the evolution of the art form. While Atlanta audiences enthusiastically embrace the classical works that we present in a new, innovative way on the main stage, they have also shown an appetite for both new and experimental works, and new perspectives on less-frequently staged operas. We are proud to launch our Atlanta Opera Discoveries series this spring with our inaugural production of Three Decembers at the Alliance Theatre in May. Next season, Discoveries brings us Schuberts song-cycle Winterreise (Winters Journey), presented in a striking new multimedia production. We will also present the Southeastern premiere of David T. Littles Soldier Songs, a powerful musical event that combines elements of theater, opera, and rock-infused music to explore the perceptions and realities of a soldiers journey from innocence to experience.

Rather than write a lot about the shows, we hope you will come experience them yourself. As Lewis Carroll wrote in Alice in Wonderland: No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time. Were off on a great adventure. Join us.

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General & Artistic Director The Atlanta Opera

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This production of Rigoletto is a co-production between Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Omaha and The Atlanta Opera.

Performed in Italian with English supertitles

Approximate running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission

CAST (iN ORDER Of vOCAl APPEARANCE)

DUKE Of MANTUA Scott Quinn

BORSA Adam Kirkpatrick

COUNTESS CEPRANO Lacy Sauter

RiGOlETTO Todd Thomas

COUNT CEPRANO Cory Neal Schantz

MARUllO Adam Cannedy

MONTERONE Nathan Stark

SPARAfUCilE Morris Robinson

GilDA Nadine Sierra

GiOvANNA Maria McDaniel Willathgamuwa

DUChESS Of MANTUA Allegra Whitney

AN UShER Mitch Gindlesperger

MADDAlENA Krysty Swann

AERiAliST Lacy Rose Elian

MUSiC Giuseppe Verdi

liBRETTO Francesco Maria Piave, based on the play Le roi samuse by Victor Hugo

fiRST PERfORMANCE Teatro La Fenice, Venice, March 11, 1851

MUSiCAl PREPARATiON Sean Kelly

ASSiSTANT STAGE DiRECTOR Jordan Braun

ASSiSTANT ChORUS MASTER Rolando Salazar

ASSSiTANT liGhTiNG DESiGNER Jennifer Rieser

fiGhT COORDiNATOR John Evanden

STAGE MANAGER Jennifer Harber

ASSiSTANT STAGE MANAGERS Greg Boyle & Julie Chin

CONDUCTOR Joseph Rescigno

PRODUCTiON Tomer Zvulun

STAGE DiRECTOR Stephanie Havey

SET DESiGNER John Conklin

COSTUME DESiGNER Vita Tzykun

liGhTiNG DESiGNER Robert Wierzel

WiG & MAKEUP DESiGNER Richard Jarvie

ChORUS MASTER Walter Huff

SUPERTiTlES John Conklin

Rigoletto CREDiTSPRODUCTiON SPONSORS

Marilyn & Don KeoughADDiTiONAl fUNDiNG PROviDED By

Nancy & Jim Bland

Mayors Office ofCultural Affairs

This co-production is made possible in part by generous gifts from Paul & Sandra Montrone, Richard D. Holland, Omaha Steaks, and Donald & Marilyn Keough,

and the National Endowment for the Arts/ArtWorks.

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SYNOPSIS SYNOPSIS

Rigoletto GiUSEPPE vERDi

ACT I

THE DUKE'S PALACE, MANTUA, MID-16TH CENTURY

While at a party at his palace, the Duke of Mantua expresses his desire for an assignation with a young woman he has recently seen at church, but soon afterward he sets his romantic sights on seducing the Countess Ceprano. As the Duke and the Countess leave together, her husband

is mocked and humiliated by Rigoletto, the Duke's jester. Pondering revenge on Rigoletto, Count Ceprano is interested to learn from the nobleman Marullo that Rigoletto keeps a woman in his home. The elderly nobleman Count Monterone interrupts the party to defend the honor of his daughter, who has been ravished by the Duke. Rigoletto mocks Monterone's anger, and the enraged father responds by cursing the Duke and his jester.

Outside the palace later that night, the assassin Sparafucile confronts Rigoletto. Rigoletto sends him away, but compares his own biting tongue to an assassin's sword. When he arrives home, he is greeted by his daughter, Gilda, whom he has kept secluded there since the death of her mother. Rigoletto leaves Gilda in the care of her maid, Giovanna. Soon afterward, the Duke, disguised as a student, sneaks into the house and tells Gilda that he loves her. Gilda, who has noticed the disguised Duke following her home from church, returns his affections, and they bid each other farewell.

Outside, Ceprano and a group of the Duke's courtiers are gathering to abduct Gilda whom they believe to be Rigoletto's mistress in order to gain revenge on the jester. The courtiers blindfold Rigoletto and fool him into letting them into his own house. They depart with Gilda. Rigoletto hears her cries and removes the blindfold, but he is too late to save her, and he is left alone to remember Monterone's curse.

ACT IITHE DUKE'S PALACE

Having discovered that Gilda is missing, the Duke laments losing her. However, he soon learns that she was abducted by

his own courtiers, and he excitedly leaves to see her. Rigoletto enters, searching for Gilda, but he is turned away by the unconcerned courtiers. Gilda enters and tearfully tells her father about her irtation with the Duke and her abduction. As Rigoletto consoles his daughter, he watches as Monterone is led toward his prison cell. Rigoletto swears to Monterone that the Duke's crimes against both of their daughters will be avenged.

ACT IIISPARAFUCILE'S HOUSE, BY THE MINCIO RIVER

Rigoletto brings Gilda to the home of the assassin Sparafucile, whom he has hired to kill the Duke. Gilda is forced to watch from the outside as the Duke, no longer disguised as her lover, seduces Maddalena, the assassin's sister. After

sending Gilda away, Rigoletto fi nalizes his arrangements with Sparafucile; he will return at midnight to accept the body and dispose of it. Against her father's wishes, Gilda returns and listens as Maddalena begs her brother not to kill the Duke. Sparafucile initially refuses, but relents and tells his sister that he will kill whoever arrives at the inn before Rigoletto returns. Gilda decides to allow herself be killed in place of her lover, knocks on the door, and is stabbed by Sparafucile.

Rigoletto returns at midnight, and is presented with a body in a sack. As he leaves, he hears the voice of the Duke singing in the distance. He opens the bag to fi nd the dying body of his daughter. She dies in the arms of her father, who cries that Monterone's curse has been fulfi lled.

The Atlanta Opera's 2000 production of Rigoletto performed at the Fox Theatre.

photo: Jim Fitts

A publicity image from the Atlanta Opera's 1987 production of Rigoletto

performed at the Alliance Theatre. photo: Charles Rafshoon

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This co-production of Rigoletto returns the opera to its original historical context. The dramatic structure of the story is framed by two necessary conditions: the world in which a ruler has absolute power over life and death, and a world in which the curse of a father is to be believed and feared. Verdi was convinced that for the plot to make sense the Duke must be a lecher with power and without conscience. The Duke must absolutely be a libertine; without that there can be no justifi cation for Rigoletto's fear of his daughters leaving, Verdi wrote in a letter to a friend. Moving the production from Paris to a smaller city in Italy, Verdi reinforced the idea of a claustrophobic space where no one can escape the fi ckle will of its ruler. The Duke, although acting without concern or remorse, is never punished, and this lack of poetic justice illuminates the citys distorted moral code.

Our production captures metaphorically that idea of the city of Mantua, a place enclosed by the dark brick wall that illustrates its hidden, unscrupulous, dark side. Chronologically, the plot moves back and forth between the open, public place of the Dukes court to the secret spaces of the city's underworld: Rigolettos house, where he hides away his daughter and the tavern where he plots the Dukes assassination. Likewise, our production uses a divided stage to represent the two opposing realms of Mantuas society, the public world of the Dukes omnipotent decadence and the private, hidden realm of intimate affairs, which nonetheless remains in his powerful, omnipresent grip. Above the dark brick wall, we see the model of a city made of white marble. The model is based on a painting by Piero della Francesca (141592) of an ideal city, a common theme of the Renaissance era. In the

lA MAleDiZioNeBY MAGDA ROMANSKA, PH.D., BOSTON LYRIC OPERA DRAMATURG

PRODuCTION NOTe PRODuCTION NOTepainting everything is spotless, open, and transparent. The model hovers over a dark pit in which the human passions of love, lust, and revenge fuel the workings of the real city. The divided stage also represents the two sides of Rigoletto: the ugly, vicious face he dons at court, and the gentle, loving side he shows to his daughter. The image of Rigolettos two faces, grotesque and tender, follows Verdis intention: To me there is something really fi ne in representing on stage this character outwardly so ugly and ridiculous, inwardly so impassioned and full of love, Verdi wrote about the jester.

The second necessary component of the dramatic structure of Verdis opera is the impact and power of the fathers curse on the Duke and Rigoletto. The curse is thrown by a courtier whose daughter was abducted and seduced by the Duke, with Rigoletto goading him on. When defending his play to the censors, Victor Hugo wrote:

This father whose daughter has been taken from him by the king is mocked and insulted by Triboulet. The father raises his arms and curses Triboulet. The whole play evolves from this. The true subject of the drama is the curse of Monsieur de St-Vallier. Now observe; we are in the second act. On whom has this curse fallen? On Triboulet the kings buffoon? No, on Triboulet the man, who is a father, who has a heart, and a daughter. He has nothing else but his daughter in the whole world.

Verdi follows Hugos concept, making the fathers curse on Rigoletto the central pillar of the story. The original title of Rigoletto was, in fact, The Curse (La Maledizione),

and Verdi believed that the curse is the axis around which the entire dramatic arc of the story revolves. The whole subject lives in that curse, he wrote in a letter to his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave, while the two were writing the opera. When under the threat of the censor, the text of the opera was reworked, a revision that undermined the power of the curse. Verdi penned an impassioned letter to C.D. Marzari, the president of the Teatro la Fenice, who had ordered the rewrites: The old mans curse, so awesome and sublime in the original, here becomes ridiculous because the motive that drives him to curse no longer has the same importance ... without this curse, what purpose, what meaning does the drama have? Being himself a father, and remembering the time he spent with his daughters mother as the only happiness he has ever known, Rigoletto is horrifi ed when another father on whom he has in icted unsurpassed misery has cursed him with all his heart. The curse is a turning point for Rigoletto, a moment in which he begins to unravel. Thus, our set represents Rigolettos breakdown. The erotic Italian-style painting on the wall depicts Venus and Mars, one of the most sumptuous subjects of Western mythology.

In our production, however, the painting is not straightforward; it is broken, fracturedlike Rigoletto himself. In order for the curse to remain the turning point of the story, to assert its impact on poor Rigoletto, it has to live in the world in which it is believable and authentic, and such was the original world of Verdis powerful opera.

REPRINTED COURTESY OF BOSTON LYRIC OPERA

Aubrey Babcock as Maddalena and Morris Robinson as Sparafucile in the Boston Lyric Opera presentation of this co-prodution.

photo: Marina Levitskaya

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STePhANIe hAVeY STAGE DiRECTORATlANTA OPERA DEBUT

Winner of the 2014 Adelaide Bishop award for artistic quality, Stephanie Havey makes directorial debuts this season with the Atlanta Opera, Opera Omaha, The Curtis Institute of Music, Tulsa Opera, Shreveport Opera, and Opera Fayetteville. This summer she will assist on a new production of Salome for the Santa Fe Opera. During the 2013-14 season, Ms. Havey directed Double Exposure for Opera Philadelphia, a new production of Don Giovanni for Opera in the Heights, and was named Winner of the Opera America Director-Designer Showcase for 2013. She also returned for her third season to the directing staff of Central City Opera for its Short Works Series and family matinee of Le nozze di Figaro. During her two seasons as the Resident Artist Stage Director with the Pittsburgh Opera, she received rave reviews for her new production of Il matrimonio segreto and directed numerous productions and a recital series in the Opera Studio. She has also worked on the Artistic or Production Staff at Glimmerglass Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Sarasota Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera North, Nashville Opera, Orlando Opera, Opera New Jersey, and the Lyrique en Mer Festival in Belle Ile France.

JOSePh ReSCIGNO CONDUCTORATlANTA OPERA DEBUT: La traviata, 2012

Joseph Rescigno has conducted for more than 50 companies on four continents. Since 1981, he has served as Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor of the Florentine Opera Company of Milwaukee, where he conducted some of the companys most challenging productions. He also has been Music Director of La Musica Lirica, a summer program for singers in Northern Italy, since 2005, and served as Artistic Director of Metropolitan Orchestra of Greater Montreal, Quebec, for four seasons. In his permanent and guest engagements, Maestro Rescigno traverses the repertoire from new works like Minoru Mikis Jruri and Don Daviss Ro de Sangre (both world premieres under his baton), to rarities like Rossinis 1816 La Gazzetta. He also champions neglected contemporary works like Barbers Vanessa while conducting a broad range of operas from the standard literature. This includes Mozarts seminal pieces; works from Italian composers like Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, and Puccini; romantic French operas of Bizet, Gounod, and Saint-Sans; and works from the German canon, particularly those of Wagner and Richard Strauss. In addition, Maestro Rescigno has conducted masterworks of the choral literature, symphonies, and concertos from baroque to contemporary.

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WAlTeR huff ChORUS MASTERATlANTA OPERA DEBUT: tosca 1988

This season Walter Huff celebrates 25 years as Chorus Master for The Atlanta Opera. Mr. Huff is an Associate Professor and Faculty Director of Opera Choruses at Indiana Universitys Jacobs School of Music. In the past two seasons, he has led choruses in IU Opera Theaters productions of Don Giovanni, The Merry Widow, Akhnaten, the world premiere of The Tale of Lady Thi Kinti, H.M.S. Pinafore, La traviata, The Last Savage, and South Pacific. Mr. Huff studied piano with Sarah Martin, Peter Takacs, and Lillian Freundlich. He has performed with singers throughout Europe and the United States and served as coach with the Peabody Opera Theatre and Washington National Opera. Mr. Huff also has performed in master classes given by renowned singers and pianists such as Sir Peter Pears, Licia Albanese, Eileen Farrell, Dalton Baldwin, Leon Fleisher, and Elly Ameling. He has been musical director for The Atlanta Opera Studio, Georgia State University Opera, and Actors Express, and served as chorus master for Faust and Der Rosenkavalier with San Diego Opera. In 1984, he received Tanglewoods C.D. Jackson Master Award for Excellence, presented by Seiji Ozawa and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Huff was one of four Atlanta artists chosen for the first Loridans Arts Awards, given to artists who have made exceptional contributions to the cultural life of Atlanta.

TODD ThOMAS RiGOlETTOATlANTA OPERA DEBUT

Recognized by opera companies and critics alike as one of the true Verdi baritones gracing stages today, Todd Thomas continues his tenure as one of Americas most sought-after artists. Recently, in the title role of Macbeth, Opera News described his performance as warm and centered in his tone with subtle phrasing that emphasized the introspective, almost poetic quality of the tormented king. At Lyric Opera of Chicagos season-opening performance of Verdis Otello, Mr. Thomas heroically stepped in for an indisposed colleague at the top of the second act, to great acclaim. This season, Mr. Thomas travels to Canada for a return to Opera Lyra Ottawa for Tosca and a company and role debut as Alberich in Das Rheingold with Pacific Opera Victoria. He will also perform a solo recital titled If Music be the Food of Love in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Mr. Thomas returns to Atlanta Opera in one of his signature roles, Rigoletto, to Florida Grand Opera as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and performs a reprisal of Scarpia in performances with the Orlando Philharmonic and Sarasota Opera.

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NADINe SIeRRA GilDAATlANTA OPERA DEBUT

In the coming season, soprano Nadine Sierra makes her Atlanta Opera debut as Gilda in Rigoletto, her Valencia debut as Norina in Don Pasquale, and returns to the San Francisco Opera to sing Musetta in La bohme and the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. In concert, she joins the Cleveland Orchestra and Oregon Symphony for Orff s Carmina Burana. She also gives a George London Foundation recital in New York City. In 2013-14, Ms. Sierra returned to the Boston Lyric Opera and made debuts at the Seattle Opera, Virginia Opera, Israeli Opera, and Teatro di San Carlo, the Glimmerglass Festival, and with the San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas. In recital, she has appeared at venues ranging from Carnegie Hall to the U.S. Supreme Court. Having made her professional debut as a teenager with the Palm Beach Opera, Ms. Sierra received her first national exposure at just 15 years old on NPRs From the Top. After graduating from New Yorks Mannes College of Music, she entered the Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera. The youngest winner to date of both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Marilyn Horne Foundation Vocal Competition, she is also a recipient of both the Richard Tucker Music Foundations Study and Career Grants.

SCOTT QuINN DUKE Of MANTUAATlANTA OPERA DEBUT

Tenor Scott Quinn fills his 2014-15 season with role debuts. He joins the Lyric Opera of Kansas City for Alfredo in La traviata. He returns to Houston Grand Opera as Pirelli in Sweeney Todd and Tamino in outdoor performances of Die Zauberflte, as well as Dallas Opera for Narraboth in Salome. This summer, he sings his first performances of Fernand in La favorite at the Caramoor International Music Festival. Previous performances include Ferrando in Cos fan tutte at Fort Worth Opera, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly for Chautauqua Opera, Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd for Shreveport Opera. While a member of Houston Grand Operas studio program, Mr. Quinn performed in Die Fledermaus, Mr. Erlanson in A Little Night Music, Rodolfo in La bohme, and the Sailor in Tristan und Isolde. He is also a past member of the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera and a former Artist in Residence of Dallas Opera, where his performances included Tybalt in Romo et Juliette, Roderigo in Otello, Lord Cecil in Roberto Devereaux, and Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor.

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The Atlanta Opera

premiered on

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Thank you, Atlanta,

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MORRIS RObINSON SPARAfUCilEATlANTA OPERA DEBUT: aida, 2012

This season Atlanta native Morris Robinson returns to the Houston Grand Opera in both Otello and Die Zauberfl te and to Opera Philadelphia as the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos. A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development, he has appeared frequently at the Metropolitan Opera, Dallas Opera, Washington National Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and the Cincinnati Opera. He has also appeared at the Aix-en-Provence Festival and Opera Australia. His many roles include Sarastro in Die Zauberfl te, Ramfi s in Aida, Zaccaria in Nabuco, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Commendatore in Don Giovanni, The Bonze in Madama Butterfl y, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, and Fasolt in Das Rheingold. Also a prolifi c concert singer, Mr. Robinson has performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Met Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and the So Paulo Symphony Orchestra. In recital he has been presented by Spivey Hall, the Savannah Music Festival, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Mr. Robinsons fi rst album, Going Home, was released by Decca.

KRYSTY SWANN MADDAlENAATlANTA OPERA DEBUT

Mezzo-soprano Krysty Swann makes her debut this season as Amneris in Aida with Bucharest National Opera. In recent seasons she has made several other important debuts, including Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Tanglewood Festival, her debut in Avery Fisher Hall with Verdi's Requiem, a concert debut in South Africa with the acclaimed KZN Philharmonic under the baton of Daniel Boico, and a debut in Milan in concert with Laverdi Orchestra. Ms. Swann has appeared at Carnegie Hall with Opera Orchestra of New York as Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana under the baton of Alberto Veronisi, and in Puccini's Edgar along with Marcello Giordani and conducted by Eve Queler. Her performances at the Metropolitan Opera include productions of Die Walkre and Francesca da Rimini; other recent roles include Suzuki in Madama Butterfl y for New York City Opera and Emilia in The Firebrand of Florence by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, conducted by Ted Sperling at Alice Tully Hall. Ms. Swann performed as a soloist in Handels Messiah with the Rochester Symphony Orchestra and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and appeared for two seasons with Austria's Bregenz Festival.

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ADAM CANNeDY MARUllOATlANTA OPERA DEBUT: carmen, 2012

Baritone Adam Cannedy recently appeared as Marullo in Rigoletto and Morales in Carmen for Opera Omaha. Future engagements include Masetto in Mozarts Don Giovanni for Opera Omaha and First Coast Opera in St. Augustine, Fla. Prior season highlights include his European debut at Wexford Festival Opera in Wexford, Ireland, as The Ballad Singer in Richard Wargos Winners and as an Oompa Loompa in Peter Ashs The Golden Ticket, El Dancairo in Carmen for The Atlanta Opera and Lyric Opera of Virginia, and Rooster Wild Thing in Oliver Knussens Where The Wild Things Are for Tanglewood Music Centers Contemporary Music Festival and the New York City Opera. As an emerging artist, Mr. Cannedy has completed seasons with companies including Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Central City Opera, Opera North, and Lyric Opera of Virginia. A champion of modern music, he has performed the music of composers Carlisle Floyd, William Bolcom, Stephen Paulus, Richard Wargo, Simon Sargon, Peter Ash, Oliver Knussen, Ned Rorem, and Philip Glass. Mr. Cannedy was a 2011 prizewinner at The Birmingham Opera Competition, a finalist in The Dallas Opera Guild Competition, and most recently won the Peoples Choice Award at The American Traditions Competition in Savannah, Ga.

ADAM KIRKPATRICK BORSAATlANTA OPERA DEBUT: the marriage of figaro, 2008

Adam Kirkpatrick returns to sing his seventh role on the stage of The Atlanta Opera, where he was most recently seen as Spoletta in Tosca. Other recent appearances include Marcellus in Hamlet with Opera Birmingham and as the headlining artist in two sold-out, Andrea Bocelli-inspired concerts at the Velvet Note Jazz Club. Additionally, he has performed with Cincinnati Opera, Atlanta Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Tri-Cities Opera (N.Y.), Dayton Opera, Knoxville Symphony, Newton Symphony (Mass.), Tallahassee Symphony, Georgia Symphony, Atlanta Ballet, and the Atlanta Pops Symphony. Kirkpatrick and his band recently released an EP of favorite tenor popera hits to iTunes and all other major online music vendors, titled Poperazzi. Kirkpatrick holds a B.M. and M.M. in voice performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and earned his Doctor of Music degree from Florida State University. Dr. Kirkpatrick is the inventor of the "Sing With The Best" iPhone app and has worked as a university professor of voice for the last 10 years.

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NAThAN STARK MONTERONEATlANTA OPERA DEBUT

Nathan Starks 2014-15 season includes Mustafa in Litaliana in Algeri with Opera San Jos, Sparafucile in Rigoletto in a return to Opera in the Heights, and appearances as a soloist in Verdis Requiem with the Defiant Requiem Foundation and in Beethovens Symphony No. 9 and Choral Fantasy with Canton Symphony Orchestra, and singing in recital at El Camino College. Recent highlights include his debut with the Metropolitan Opera as One-Armed Man in Die Frau ohne Schatten, First Nazarene in Salome with Boston Symphony Orchestra, Sulpice in La fille du regiment with Madison Opera, Beethovens Symphony No. 9 with Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Defiant Requiem at University of New Mexico. Mr. Stark has appeared with the Cincinnati Opera in several roles: Zuniga in Carmen, Sylvano in Cavallis La Calisto, Cardinal Barberini, Pope Urban VIII, Simplicio, and Father Merope in Philip Glass Galileo Galilei, and Sprecher in Die Zauberflte under Bernard Labadie. Other appearances include Nourabad in Les Pcheurs de perles with Virginia Opera, Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera Grand Rapids, and Commendatore in Don Giovanni with Madison Opera, Haydns The Creation with Valdosta Symphony Orchestra, and Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Kentucky Opera.

CORY NeAl SChANTZ COUNT CEPRANOATlANTA OPERA DEBUT: faust, 2014

Immediately following his Atlanta Opera debut as Wagner in Gounods Faust, Mr. Schantz returned to the Atlanta Opera in the role of Fiorello in Rossinis Il Barbiere di Siviglia. In addition to his Atlanta Opera debut, he made his company debut with Rimrock Opera in Billings, Mont., as Giorgio Germont in Verdis La Traviata. Mr. Schantz appeared in Tulsa Operas production of Jake Heggies Dead Man Walking. He has also appeared in principal roles with Wichita Grand Opera, Springfield Regional Opera, Union Avenue Opera, and Winter Opera of St. Louis. A sought-after recitalist and interpreter of oratorio, he has appeared as a soloist in Handels Messiah with the Spartanburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Enid Symphony Orchestra, the Billings Messiah Festival, the Cross Timbers Civic Chorale, and Brazos Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Schantz is on the voice faculty at Reinhardt University in Waleska, Ga.

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lACY SAuTeR COUNTESS CEPRANOATlANTA OPERA DEBUT

Soprano Lacy Sauter recently received her masters degree from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she sang Mimi in La bohme, Violetta in La traviata, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and Juliette in Romo et Juliette. Last summer she made her professional debut as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire with Union Avenue Opera. As a Young Artist at the Florida Grand Opera, Ms. Sauter sang First Lady in Die Zauberflte, Flora in La traviata, and Bianca in La rondine and covered the roles of Pamina in Die Zauberflte, Magda in La rondine, Gilda in Rigoletto and Juliette in Romo et Juliette. Ms. Sauter also spent two summers as an Apprentice Singer with The Santa Fe Opera singing Albina in La donna del Lago and covering Wanda in the Grand Duchess of Gerolstein and Violetta in La traviata. Other company credits include Chautauqua Opera, Utah Festival Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival and Arizona Opera. Ms. Sauter was a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and second-place Winner in the Orpheus Vocal Competition.

MARIA MCDANIel WIllAThGAMuWA GiOvANNAATlANTA OPERA DEBUT: coLd sassy tree, 2008

Mezzo-soprano Maria McDaniel Willathgamuwas recent credits with The Atlanta Opera include solo quintet as Mrs. Sedley in an excerpt from Peter Grimes during Walter Huff s Silver Choral Celebration, Zulma in LItaliana in Algeri, Flora in La Traviata, Second Lady in Die Zauberflte and Myrtis in Cold Sassy Tree. Ms. Willathgamuwa has performed with a number of regional and distinguished orchestras including members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Most recent appearances this season include Mozarts Requiem and Handels Messiah. She has performed frequently with Chautauqua Opera as Adalgisa in Norma, Charlotte in Werther, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana, La Voix in Les Contes dHoffmann, Laura in La Gioconda, Eunice in A Streetcar Named Desire and the Forrester's Wife in The Cunning Little Vixen. She has won several prizes in distinguished vocal competitions including the Met Competition, National Federation of Music Clubs Competition, American Traditions Competition and Irene Dalis Voice Competition. Ms. Willathgamuwa is also an established voice teacher, clinician, music director and life coach for singers through her studio, Atlanta Academy of Vocal Arts.

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lACY SAuTeR COUNTESS CEPRANOATlANTA OPERA DEBUT

Soprano Lacy Sauter recently received her masters degree from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she sang Mimi in La bohme, Violetta in La traviata, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and Juliette in Romo et Juliette. Last summer she made her professional debut as Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire with Union Avenue Opera. As a Young Artist at the Florida Grand Opera, Ms. Sauter sang First Lady in Die Zauberflte, Flora in La traviata, and Bianca in La rondine and covered the roles of Pamina in Die Zauberflte, Magda in La rondine, Gilda in Rigoletto and Juliette in Romo et Juliette. Ms. Sauter also spent two summers as an Apprentice Singer with The Santa Fe Opera singing Albina in La donna del Lago and covering Wanda in the Grand Duchess of Gerolstein and Violetta in La traviata. Other company credits include Chautauqua Opera, Utah Festival Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival and Arizona Opera. Ms. Sauter was a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and second-place Winner in the Orpheus Vocal Competition.

MARIA MCDANIel WIllAThGAMuWA GiOvANNAATlANTA OPERA DEBUT: coLd sassy tree, 2008

Mezzo-soprano Maria McDaniel Willathgamuwas recent credits with The Atlanta Opera include solo quintet as Mrs. Sedley in an excerpt from Peter Grimes during Walter Huff s Silver Choral Celebration, Zulma in LItaliana in Algeri, Flora in La Traviata, Second Lady in Die Zauberflte and Myrtis in Cold Sassy Tree. Ms. Willathgamuwa has performed with a number of regional and distinguished orchestras including members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Most recent appearances this season include Mozarts Requiem and Handels Messiah. She has performed frequently with Chautauqua Opera as Adalgisa in Norma, Charlotte in Werther, Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana, La Voix in Les Contes dHoffmann, Laura in La Gioconda, Eunice in A Streetcar Named Desire and the Forrester's Wife in The Cunning Little Vixen. She has won several prizes in distinguished vocal competitions including the Met Competition, National Federation of Music Clubs Competition, American Traditions Competition and Irene Dalis Voice Competition. Ms. Willathgamuwa is also an established voice teacher, clinician, music director and life coach for singers through her studio, Atlanta Academy of Vocal Arts.

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TOMeR ZVuluN PRODUCTiONGeneral & Artistic Director of The Atlanta Opera, Tomer Zvulun is also one of operas most exciting young stage directors, earning consistent praise for his creative vision, often described as cinematic and fresh. His work has been presented in prestigious opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, the opera companies of Seattle, Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Cincinnati, Buenos Aires, and Wolf Trap, and at leading educational institutions such as The Juilliard School, Indiana University, Boston University, and IVAI in Tel Aviv. In 2013 he directed a critically acclaimed new production of La bohme for Seattle Opera, Don Giovanni for Cincinnati Opera, and a new Lucrezia Borgia in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He then returned to the Metropolitan Opera to direct Carmen and to Wolf Trap Opera for a new Falstaff. In 2014 he directed a new co-production of Rigoletto, which premiered at Boston Lyric Opera and will be remounted in Omaha and Atlanta. In summer 2014, Zvulun created a new Madama Butterfly for Lorin Maazels Castleton Festival, a production that will open the season in his home company of Atlanta. In the 2014-2015 season he will make his European debut with a new production of Silent Night for the Wexford Festival in Ireland and will return to Seattle Opera for a new production of Semele. For the Atlanta Opera, Zvulun directed three productions before his appointment as General & Artistic Director: Der fliegende Hollnder, The Magic Flute, and Lucia di Lammermoor. For the Metropolitan Opera, Zvulun directed revivals of Tosca and Carmen and worked on a number of new productions during his seven years on the directing staff.

JOhN CONKlIN SET DESiGNERJohn Conklin has designed sets on and off-Broadway, at the Kennedy Center, and for opera companies around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Bastille Opera in Paris, the Royal Opera and the opera houses of Munich, Amsterdam, and Bologna, among many others. Locally his work has been seen in Boston Lyric Operas I Puritani (1993), La bohme (1992), Beatrice and Benedict (1992), Lucia de Lammermoor (2005), and A Midsummer Nights Dream (2011), as well as at the American Repertory Theatre and Boston Ballet. Additionally, Conklin works to develop new supplemental performances, lecture series, and community events for BLO that enrich audiences operatic experiences and strengthen the presence of opera in Bostons arts community. He is also on the faculty at New York Universitys Tisch School, where he teaches courses in design for stage and film. Conklin was a recipient of the 2011 NEA Opera Honors.

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TOMeR ZVuluN PRODUCTiONGeneral & Artistic Director of The Atlanta Opera, Tomer Zvulun is also one of operas most exciting young stage directors, earning consistent praise for his creative vision, often described as cinematic and fresh. His work has been presented in prestigious opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, the opera companies of Seattle, Atlanta, Cleveland, Dallas, Cincinnati, Buenos Aires, and Wolf Trap, and at leading educational institutions such as The Juilliard School, Indiana University, Boston University, and IVAI in Tel Aviv. In 2013 he directed a critically acclaimed new production of La bohme for Seattle Opera, Don Giovanni for Cincinnati Opera, and a new Lucrezia Borgia in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He then returned to the Metropolitan Opera to direct Carmen and to Wolf Trap Opera for a new Falstaff. In 2014 he directed a new co-production of Rigoletto, which premiered at Boston Lyric Opera and will be remounted in Omaha and Atlanta. In summer 2014, Zvulun created a new Madama Butterfly for Lorin Maazels Castleton Festival, a production that will open the season in his home company of Atlanta. In the 2014-2015 season he will make his European debut with a new production of Silent Night for the Wexford Festival in Ireland and will return to Seattle Opera for a new production of Semele. For the Atlanta Opera, Zvulun directed three productions before his appointment as General & Artistic Director: Der fliegende Hollnder, The Magic Flute, and Lucia di Lammermoor. For the Metropolitan Opera, Zvulun directed revivals of Tosca and Carmen and worked on a number of new productions during his seven years on the directing staff.

JOhN CONKlIN SET DESiGNERJohn Conklin has designed sets on and off-Broadway, at the Kennedy Center, and for opera companies around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Bastille Opera in Paris, the Royal Opera and the opera houses of Munich, Amsterdam, and Bologna, among many others. Locally his work has been seen in Boston Lyric Operas I Puritani (1993), La bohme (1992), Beatrice and Benedict (1992), Lucia de Lammermoor (2005), and A Midsummer Nights Dream (2011), as well as at the American Repertory Theatre and Boston Ballet. Additionally, Conklin works to develop new supplemental performances, lecture series, and community events for BLO that enrich audiences operatic experiences and strengthen the presence of opera in Bostons arts community. He is also on the faculty at New York Universitys Tisch School, where he teaches courses in design for stage and film. Conklin was a recipient of the 2011 NEA Opera Honors.

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VITA TZYuKuN SET DESiGNERVictoria Vita Tzykun has designed sets and costumes for companies such as Norwegian Opera, The Kennedy Center, Kristiansund Opera (Norway), Boston Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Utah Opera, Gotham Chamber Opera, Juilliard Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Theatro Imeras (Athens), 3LD Art & Media Center, NY Classical Theatre, Cherry Lane Theatre, and 92nd Street Y among others. Her numerous film and TV credits include art direction for Lady Gagas ABC Thanksgiving Special, production design for several features and shorts, and commercials for leading companies such as PBS, DirectTV, Axe, Bulova, Qualcomm, and the U.S. Army. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at the Entertainment Industry Expo in NYC, Habima National Theater in Tel-Aviv, the World Stage Design Exhibition in Toronto, and in Entertainment Design magazine. A native of Odessa, Ukraine, and Tel Aviv, Israel, Tzykun holds an M.F.A. from NYUs Tisch School of the Arts and a B.F.A. from Tel-Aviv University. She lives and works in NYC and is a member of IATSE Local 829.

RObeRT WIeRZel liGhTiNG DESiGNERRobert Wierzel is happy to be returning to The Atlanta Opera. Other credits include productions with the opera companies of Paris-Garnier, Tokyo, Toronto, New York City Opera, Glimmerglass, Seattle, Boston Lyric, Minnesota, San Francisco, Houston, Virginia, Chicago Lyric, Montreal, Vancouver, Portland, Wolf Trap, and San Diego. Dance work includes 27 years with choreographer Bill T. Jones (Bessie Awards) including productions at the Lyon Opera Ballet, Berlin Opera Ballet and Walking the Line at The Louvre Museum, Paris. Broadway credits include Lady Day at Emersons Bar & Grill starring Audra McDonald Fela! (Tony nomination, productions at the National Theatre, London, international and American tours), David Copperfields Broadway debut Dreams and Nightmares. Off-Broadway includes productions with the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre, the Signature Theatre, the Roundabout, Playwrights Horizons. Extensive regional theater work includes productions at Atlantas Alliance Theatre Company, A.C.T. San Francisco, Berkley Rep, Center Stage, Arena Stage, Hartford Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, Westport Country Playhouse, Goodman Theatre, The Guthrie, Mark Taper Forum, Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Old Globe. Wierzel holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama and is an adjunct faculty member at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and the Yale School of Drama.

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Summit Piano Trio Helen Kim, violin; Charae Krueger, cello; Robert Henry, pianoMonday, March 2, 2015Atlanta Chamber PlayersMonday, March 9, 2015KSU Men's Ensemble and Chamber SingersTuesday, March 17, 2015Atlanta Symphony OrchestraFriday, March 20, 2015

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VIOlINS

Peter Ciaschini Concertmaster

Shawn Pagliarini Acting Assistant Concertmaster

Fia Durrett Principal Second Violin

Edward Eanes Acting Assistant Principal Second Violin

Amy Chang

Felix Farrar

Robert Givens

Patti Gouvas

Alison James

Sally Wilson Martin

Lisa Morrison

Lee Nicholson

Debra Schab

Lee Sheehan

Angele Sherwood-Lawless

Mayu Sommovigo

Jessica Stinson

Mimi Tam

Elonia Varfi

Rafael Veytsblum

VIOlA

William Johnston Principal

Elizabeth Derderian-Wood Assistant Principal

Catherine Allain

Allyson Fleck

Julie Rosseter

Karl Schab

Joli Wu

CellO

Charae Krueger Principal

Erin Ellis Assistant Principal

David Hancock

Mary Kenney

Cynthia Sulko

bASS

Lyn DeRamus Principal

Christina Caterino

Emory Clements

fluTe/PICCOlO

James Zellers Principal

Kelly Bryant

ObOe

Dane Philipsen Principal

Ann Lilya

ClARINeT

David Odom Principal

Jeanne Heinze

bASSOON

Michael Muszynski Principal

Debra Grove

hORN

David Bradley Principal

Anna Dodd

Jason Eklund

Edward Ferguson

The ATlANTA OPeRA ORCheSTRA

TRuMPeT

Yvonne Toll Principal

Hollie Lifshey

TROMbONe

Mark McConnell Principal

Edmon Nicholson

Richard Brady

TIMPANI

John Lawless Principal

PeRCuSSION

Michael Cebulski Principal

Jeff Kershner

The ATlANTA OPeRA ChORuS

ChORuS MASTeR

Walter Huff

ASSISTANT ChORuS MASTeR

Rolando Salazar

* String sections are listed in alphabetical order

Musicians employed in this production are represented by the American Federation of Musicians of the United States and Canada.

TENORS

Kyle Barnes

Charles Baugh

John Burnett

William Green

Grant Jones

Marc Porlier

Matthew Talley

Alex Trull

Billy Valentine

Tyrone Webb

John M. Young

ChORuS fOR Rigoletto

BASSES

Jacob Augsten

Christopher Connelly

Mitch Gindlesperger

C. Augustus Godbee

Christopher Hawkins

Alan Higgs

J. Brandon Odom

Bryan Saxon

Jonathan L.B. Spuhler

phot

o: M

arina

Levit

skay

a

40 41

Where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in Odessa (former USSR) which is now Ukraine. A year before the USSR fell apart, my family immigrated to Israel, where I finished school and got a B.F.A. in design for theater at Tel Aviv University. Then I moved to the U.S. to complete my M.F.A. in costume design for stage, and production design for film. It's been a fascinating journey to live in three countries that are so extremely different. I constantly draw from those experiences in my design work.

How did you get into costume design?

My father is a stage and costume designer, a painter, and an art educator. When I was growing up, I spent long hours at his studio that was located at the theater where he worked and I was inspired and fascinated by that world from an early age.

For a while, I wanted to become a fashion designer, but later I realized that I am drawn to storytelling as much as I am drawn to fabrics, colors, and patterns, and what better way to combine those two passions than design costumes for complex characters?

Who is your favorite artist?

There are so many amazing artists in so many different disciplines. ... I think it would be quite impossible for me to single one out. A theater and film designer needs to be very well-rounded in order to be able to design for different stories that take place in different time periods.

Depending on the project, I often find myself drawing inspiration from a wide range of artists: Medieval composers, pre-Raphaelite painters, modern installation artists like Matthew Barney and Ryoji Ikeda, electronic musicians like Bjrk, The Knife, Grimes, DADA poets, symbolists, Russian constructivists, writers like Dostoyevsky, Kurt Vonnegut, and Haruki Murakami, and the list goes on...

During a production, what is a typical day for you?

My day never really consists of working on one production, as I (and designers in general) typically work on multiple projects that are in different phases at any given moment. A typical work day for me ranges from 10-16 hours. For example, today I spent the morning scouting locations for a film I'll be working on in NYC. This afternoon, I was in meetings for a dance piece that will premiere in Germany, for which I will design costumes. This evening, I will be 3D drafting scenic sketches for a rock opera starring Courtney Love.

Q&A: COSTuMe DeSIGNeR, VITA TZYKuN

What kind of preparation went into creating the period costumes for Rigoletto?

A lot of research went into this production because Elizabethan era costumes are some of the most technically complicated in the history of clothing. Most of the costumes were built in Hungary by a costume shop called Jelmez-Art that specializes in period clothing.

Some additional builds were created by an American costume shop called CostumeWorks, located in Boston. Fabrics for the costumes were purchased in Berlin, Budapest, Boston, and New York, so you can say that it was truly an international effort to bring those designs to life.

How does Rigolettos physical transformation factor into the design of his costume?

I always start with character analysis and derive the design from there. Rigoletto is described as a physically crippled man, but the curse cripples him morally, and that makes him deteriorate and deform progressively throughout the course of the night.

Tomer and I employed visual metaphors through costume and movement to show that Rigoletto's inability to carry out his revenge progressively weighs on him physically to such a degree that by the end of the show he can hardly carry himself upright.

His hump grows larger, eventually bursting through the lacing of his doublet, his jester coat no longer fits, forcing him to invent new ways to tie it around his torso, his shoe platform grows in height and weight making it more and more difficult for him to move, dragging his limp foot behind. During the course of the show he

turns from an agile and cynical jester to a helpless and crippled old man.

Do you prefer creating period costumes or doing more conceptual work?

The style of the design is always derived from the story.

I prefer to design for interesting stories and work with inspiring collaborators.

The first question should always be: "What do you want to say with this show?" How you are going to say it is the next step.

When one looks at your designs up close, it is clear that you have incredible attention to detail. Is this an important quality to have in costume design?

Attention to detail is extremely important, as there is simply no excuse for generic design in any discipline. God is in the details.

What was the most interesting or challenging costume you created? What made it so?

Costumes for the production of Falstaff that Tomer and I did at Wolf Trap Opera were probably among the most challenging because I fused Elizabethan and Victorian costume styles together to create a whimsical world that draws from both the time period in which the opera was written and the time period in which the story was set.

What piece of advice would you give to an artist starting out in costume design?

Serve the story first and make sure that every design choice you make propels the story forward. Acquire technical skills with passion so that you can have a more versatile and potent expressive range.

behIND The CuRTAINbehIND The CuRTAIN

42

Backstage at Theatrical Outfi t, Reina Powell prepares for her

24-Hour Opera Project debut in the audience favorite:

Tuesdays with Pictures.photo: Jeff Roff man

OPeRA IN OuR COMMuNITY

Each season The Atlanta Opera happily steps beyond the mainstage to bring opera of the highest caliber to locations throughout the Atlanta metro area. We offer programming and experiences for a wide variety of ages, from the novice to the super fan and everyone in between.

During the 2014-15 season we are honored to return as participants in the Molly Blank Jewish Concert series at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum. On Jan. 15 we performed the music of Gershwin and Bernstein for a sold-out audience; on March 12 we return for a concert of music by Kurt Weill as we share his fascinating life story, which takes him from Berlin to Broadway.

Late January also brought us the fi fth annual 24-Hour Opera Project, performed for a full house at Theatrical Outfi t. Our brave group of four composers and four librettists met for the fi rst time Friday

morning to compose 10-minute operas over the course of 12 hours. The following morning, singers, accompanists, and directors turned those materials into live performances held that night. We were especially honored to feature a hilarious collaboration between several of our singers and the improv masters at Dads Garage.

Our offerings for students of all ages began this year with a special student matinee of Madama Butterfl y at the Cobb Energy Centre on Nov. 13. This one-hour reduction of the opera was performed fully staged, with the set, costumes, cast, chorus and orchestra of the mainstage show. An audience of more than 2,200 students were spellbound by Butter ys story and leapt to their feet to applaud when the show came to its tragic conclusion.

The Studio Tour is our longestrunning education initiative, performed for thousands of school-age children every

COMMuNITY eNGAGeMeNT

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Backstage at Theatrical Outfi t, Reina Powell prepares for her

24-Hour Opera Project debut in the audience favorite:

Tuesdays with Pictures.photo: Jeff Roff man

OPeRA IN OuR COMMuNITY

Each season The Atlanta Opera happily steps beyond the mainstage to bring opera of the highest caliber to locations throughout the Atlanta metro area. We offer programming and experiences for a wide variety of ages, from the novice to the super fan and everyone in between.

During the 2014-15 season we are honored to return as participants in the Molly Blank Jewish Concert series at the William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum. On Jan. 15 we performed the music of Gers

rigoletto at the atlanta opera

Documents

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encore ad page2015 aria

future issues of encore

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viewimagining new worlds

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rehabilitation of voice

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