LEON WILSON CLARK SERIES

SHEPHERD SCHOOL OPERA

presents

THE BIRTH OF SOMETHING by Anthony Brandt

and

A STEPHEN SONDHEIM REVUE ( Richard Bado, conductor (The Birth of Something) Robert Brewer, music director/pianist (A Sondheim Revue) Debra Dickinson, stage director and choreographer

Wortham Opera Theatre 8:00 p.m. I Wednesday, April 16, 2008

s£1eherd RICE UNIVERSITY Sc~ol ofMusic THE BIRTH OF SOMETHING An opera in one act by Anthony Brandt Libretto by Will Eno Premiere on February 24, 2006 I

CAST Woman: Lindsay Kesselman Man: Mark Whatley Instrumentalists: Sonja Harasim, violin I Stephanie Nussbaum, violin II Pei Ling Lin, viola David Gerstein, cello Craig Hauschildt, percussion

INTERMISSION (15 minutes)

A STEPHEN SONDHEIM REVUE Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim

COMEDY TONIGHT From A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Premiere on May 8, 1962 Company

AGONY From Into the Woods Premiere on December 4, 1986 Book by James Lapine Narrator: Ryan Stickney Cinderella's Prince: Keith Stonum Rapunzel's Prince: Zach Averyt

BARCELONA From Company Premiere on April 26, 1970 Book by George Furth April: Katina Mitchell Robert: Daniel Williamson

PRETTY LADY From Pacific Overtures Premiere on January 11, 1976 Book by John Weidman British Sailors: Keith Stonum, Ross Chitwood, Jamie Geiger Samurai's Daughter: Becky Henry

COLOR AND LIGHT From Sunday in the Park with George Premiere on May 2, 1984 Book by James Levine Dot: Adrianna Bond George: Ross Chitwood GETTING MARRIED TODAY From Company Susan: Grace Field Paul: John Summers Amy: Becky Henry Robert: Keith Stonum Chorus of wedding guests: Zach Averyt, Adrianna Bond, Ross Chitwood, Jamie Geiger, Katina Mitchell, Lauren Snouffer, Ryan Stickney, Daniel Williamson

THE BALLAD OF BOOTH From Assassins Premiere on December 18, 1990 Book by John Weidman Balladeer: Zach Averyt John Wilkes Booth: Jamie Geiger David Herold: John Summers

YOU COULD DRIVE A PERSON CRAZY From Company April: Katina Mitchell Kathy: Lauren Snouffer Marta: Ryan Stickney Robert: Daniel Williamson

The performance is approximately 2 hours with intermission.

ARTISTIC STAFF

Conductor (The Birth of Something) . . Richard Bado Music Direction and Pianist (A Sondheim Revue) Robert Brewer Stage Director and Choreographer Debra Dickinson Lighting Designer . Troy McLaughlin Properties Master . . Alex Stutler Musical Preparation Susan Lorette Dunn, Youn Ju Namkoong

PRODUCTION STAFF

Technical Director . . Troy McLaughlin Stage Manager . . Alex Stutler Surtitle Operator . . Joseph Quigley Followspot Operators . . Maria Failla, Meghan Tarkington Running Crew . . Sarah Larsen

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to Dr. Lewis Brown, Kristi Johnson, Mandy Billings, Fran Schmidt, Kirk Markley, and Debbie Damon and B'Dazzled Boutique. Wedding dress donated by Marry Go Round.

This production is made possible by a generous ) endowment from the late Dr. Leon Wilson Clark. PROGRAM NOTES

The Birth of Something was commissioned and premiered by Da Camera of Houston. I met playwright Will Eno ( a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2005 for Thom Pain: A Play About Nothing) only once; most ofour collaboration was by e-mail. We initially developed a scenario together - a trial in small claims court- but it wasn't until Will abandoned this and worked on his own that Birth was born. Most classical concern highborn characters. Birth's "Man" and "Woman" are clearly more mundane: each character aspires to a life that might be worthy ofopera, only to be reminded by the other how ordinary they are. The two characters' relationship is certainly an unhappy one, but, as the Woman says at the end ofAct III, "It is lonely being alone." The music is replete with operatic quotations, to remind the characters of their shortcomings. Wagner and Wozzeck are particularly prominent: Wagner because he was the first to treat opera more like chamber music, with a limited number of musical motives that are developed and transformed; Wozzeck be­ cause it deals so magnificently with ordinary people, and because Berg links different passages of text by reusing the same music - a technique used a great deal in Birth. Though there are humorous moments in the libretto, the char­ acters never find themselves funny; !felt it intensified the humor if the music doesn't either. It has been a treasurable experience working with Richard Bado, Debra Dickinson, and the student performers. My greatest gratitude goes to every­ one involved in tonight's production, and my thanks as well to Rice composi­ tion graduate Tom Conroy for preparing the piano/vocal score, and to Dean Yekovichfor supporting the performance. The Birth of Something is dedicated to Da Camera's Artistic Director, Sarah Rothenberg. - Note by Anthony Brandt

Finding a suitable second act to complement Anthony Brandt's wonderful and intellectually stimulating work was challenging. We needed something con­ temporary, something humorous yet meaningful, and something that would challenge our students' acting as well as singing capabilities. We turned to Ste­ phen Sondheim, the winner of multiple Grammy and Tony awards, an Academy Award and the Pulitzer Prize, who has been writing for the Broadway stage for fifty years. The complexity of his music, the richness of his characters, the simultane­ ous humor and profundity of his lyrics make Sondheim one of the greatest ar­ tists of the modern musical theater. The demands his works pose to the singing actor are immense. The lyrics are replete with layers of wit and ofsubtext that make their performance a unique reward to both the singer and listener. His characters are unusual in their detail, in their absolute specificity while being at the same time representative of a very recognizable humanity. His music is like a puzzle to be solved, and the solution is a wise and powerful revelation of the human condition and spirit. The objective for our students lies in learning to trust the material and delve into their own interpretative souls, combining not only their singing expertise, but their acting skills, to discover and commu­ nicate its hidden complexities. To quote classically-trained British actor Alan Rickman, who spoke in re­ ference to his role of Judge Turpin in the film version of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd, "The greatness of Sondheim, and I do think he is kissed by it, is that he has the lyrics in his mind, he's got the character in his mind, he's got the music in his mind, and you've got to match all of them. It's a bit like Shakespeare. If you look at a piece of Shakespeare, it tells you how to say it, ifyou obey the punctuation. And breathe. Great writing's done it for you. It's doing the work. Match it." - Note by Debra Dickinson BIOGRAPHIES

A native ofPittsburgh, , RICHARD BADO made his profession­ al conducting debut in 1989 leading 's acclaimed produc­ tion of Show Boat at the newly restored Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Since then, Mr. Bado has conducted at Teatro alla Scala, Opera National de Paris, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, the Aspen Music Festival, the Tulsa Opera, the Florida Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, Wolf Trap Opera, and Houston Ballet, and has conducted the Robert Wilson production of Virgil Thomson's Four Saints in Three Acts at the Edinburgh Festival. He appears regularly in recital with Renee Fleming and has also accompanied Ce­ cilia Bartoli, Frederica van Stade, Denyce Graves, Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, Ramon Vargas, Samuel Ramey, and Nathan Gunn. Mr. Bado, who holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he received the 2000 Alumni Achievement Award, and from West Virginia University, has studied advanced choral conducting with Robert Shaw. Currently, this sea­ son is Mr. Bado's twentieth season as Chorus Master at Houston Grand Opera. In the fall of 2005, Mr. Bado joined the faculty at Rice University's Shepherd School ofMusic as Director ofthe Opera Studies Program. He has been on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School for thirteen summers and has served on the music staffof the , Seattle Opera, Opera Australia, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera. Mr. Bado regularly judges for the Metropolitan Opera National Coun­ cil Auditions and served as Houston Grand Opera's Head ofMusic Stafffor fourteen seasons.

DEBRA DICKINSON, stage director, has directed productions of L'elisir d'amore, Rinaldo, Street Scene, La finta giardiniera, La Calisto, Hansel and Gretel, The Turn of the Screw, Werther, Albert Herring, Cosifan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, and A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Shepherd School of Music. Other opera directing credits include Die Fledermaus at Florida State University, Trouble in Tahiti for the apprentice program ofthe Connecticut Opera, and The Tender Land at the Monteux Opera Festival. Ms. Dickinson was the assistant director of Naughty Marietta and The Pajama Game at the New York City Opera under Beverly Sills. A member ofActor's Equity Associa­ tion, Ms. Dickinson's performing credits include Guenevere in Camelot oppo­ site both Richard Burton and Richard Harris, and Jelly/arum in Cats at Thea­ ter an der Wien in Vienna. Ms. Dickinson teaches the Opera Workshop classes at The Shepherd School of Music.

SHEPHERD SCHOOL VOICE DEPARTMENT AND OPERA DEPARTMENT Stephen King, Professor of Voice and Chair of the Voice Department Richard Bado, Professor of Opera Studies and Director of the Opera Studies Program Robert Brewer, Artist Teacher of Opera Studies Janet de Chambrier, Artist Teacher of Opera Studies Debra Dickinson, Artist Teacher of Opera Studies for Acting and Movement Susan Lorette Dunn, Lecturer in Voice Thomas Jaber, Professor ofMusic, Director of Choral Activities, and Vocal Coach Kathleen Kaun, Professor of Voice Susanne Mentzer, Professor of Voice CAST

ZACH AVERYT, a native of College Station, Texas, is in his final undergraduate year studying with Kathleen Kaun. Recent performances with the Shepherd School Opera include L'elisir d'amore, La finta giardiniera and Street Scene. He made his opera­ tic debut as Kaspar in Gian Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors in 2001. In December, he was heard as the tenor soloist in Handel's Messiah with the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra, which he first performed with the Shepherd School Cham­ ber Orchestra in December 2006.

ADRIANNA BOND, who hails from Madison, Wisconsin, is a second year master's student in vocal performance at Rice University, where she studies with Stephen King. She received her bachelor's degree in musical arts from Vanderbilt University in 2006. Ms. Bond has sung the roles of Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Mrs. Fioren­ tino in Street Scene, and Petra in A Little Night Music. She has participated in mas­ ter classes with Jan Eastridge and Martin Katz. She appeared at the Shepherd School as the First Nursemaid in Street Scene, as Nedda in a scene from Pagliacci and as Bess in a scene from Porgy and Bess for the Shepherd School's recent gala concert "Spirit of the Season."

ROSS CHITWOOD, baritone, is a second-year graduate student, having completed his undergraduate degree at The . Mr. Chitwood was heard in the role of Tamino in The Juilliard Opera Workshop's production of Mozart's Die Zauberflote, where he also appeared as Don Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro. Mr. Chitwood has ap­ peared as Frederic in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Pirates of Penzance and The Duke of Dunstable in Patience. He played Count Belfiore in La finta giardinera and Lippo Fiorentino in Street Scene at the Shepherd School. He is under the instruction of Dr. Stephen King.

GRACE FJELD is a senior vocal performance major and studies under the supervi­ sion ofSusanne Mentzer. She has appeared in several productions in the Shepherd School's opera program, including the roles of Mae Jones in Street Scene and Flora in The Turn ofthe Screw, and in the choruses of L'elisir d'amore, Rinaldo, Hansel and Gretel, and La Calisto.

JAMIE GEIGER, a lyric baritone, is a second-year graduate student at The Shepherd School of Music. Mr. Geiger received his Bachelor of Music degree from Mercer Uni­ versity in Macon, Georgia. Some of his past operatic and musical theater roles in­ clude Frank in Die Fledermaus, Peter in Hansel und Gretel, Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief, Aeneas in , Papageno in Die Zauberflote, Cinde­ rella's Prince in Sondheim's Into the Woods, Percy in The Scarlet Pimpernel, and Nardo in La fin ta giardiniera here at the Shepherd School. Mr. Geiger has attended the Opera in the Ozarks, the AIMS program and the Aspen Music Festival.

A native of Washington, D.C., BECKY HENRY previously appeared at the Shepherd School as Charlene Hildebrand in last spring's production of Street Scene, as a Fury in La Calisto and in the choruses ofL'elisir d'amore, Rinaldo and Hansel and Gretel. This summer she will be attending Brevard Music Festival as a member ofthe Janiec Opera Company. Ms. Henry is a third-year undergraduate student of Kathleen Kaun.

LINDSAY KESSELMAN, a soprano originally from Chicago, is currently completing her Master ofMusic degree in vocal performance from Rice University. While study­ ing at The Shepherd School of Music, she has appeared as Serpetta in Mozart's La finta giardiniera and Greta Fiorentino in Kurt Weill's Street Scene. Her Bachelor of Music degree is from Michigan State University, where she graduated summa cum laude with degrees in music education and vocal performance. There, she performed several leading roles, including Anne Trulove in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress, Claudia in Nine by Maury Yeston, and Despina in Mozart's Cosifan tutte. Ms. Kessel­ man has a great passion for contemporary and early music, and in 2007-08 she per­ formed Luciano Berio's Folksongs for voice and seven instruments with the Shepherd School's 20/21 New Music Ensemble. In the spring of 2008, she enjoyed the profes­ sional engagement of being the soprano soloist with Houston's Camerata Ventapane for their Second Annual Baroque Music Festival in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. soprano KAJ'JNA MJH..,'Hb'LL is from California, where she began her musical fram­ ing with piano. She is now in her senior year at Rice, pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree in voice and a Bachelor ofArts degree in German. She has studied at the Middlebury German School, the Bel Canto Institute, and various Goethe-lnstituts during summers. Previously Ms. Mitchell has participated in Hansel and Gretel, La Calisto, Lafinta giardiniera, Street Scene, and L'elisir d'amore at the Shep­ herd School. This summer she will study at the Middlebury French School and Ann Baltz's Opera Works program. Ms. Mitchell is a student of Kathleen Kaun. LAUREN SNOUFFER is a junior voice student at the Shepherd School. Originally from Austin, Texas, Ms. Snouffer is a student of Dr. Stephen King. At the Shepherd School, she appeared as Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore and has previously partici­ pated in Rinaldo, Street Scene, Hansel and Gretel, and La Calisto. In the Shep­ herd School's recent scenes program, she portrayed Susanna in a scene from Le nozze di Figaro. RYAN STICKNEY, a senior student of Susanne Mentzer, played Diana in a scene I from La Calisto and Cunegonde in a scene from Candide in the Opera Workshop scenes programs and Mrs. Hildebrand in the Shepherd School production of Kurt ~ Weill's Street Scene. Previously, she was seen in campus theaters as Shelley in Lau- rence O'Keefe's Bat Boy and Jack's Mother in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods. Native Houstonian and tenor KEITH STONUM is a fourth-year voice student in Dr. King's studio. He has been seen at Rice University as Podesta in Lafinta giardi- niera, as a Demon in Hansel and Gretel, and in scenes programs as Novice in Billy ' Budd, as Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and as the title role in Candide. This spring he will make his directorial debut, leading the Will Rice Players in their production of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple. JOHN SUMMERS is a senior undergraduate student from Grapevine, Texas. He is a student of Susanne Mentzer and a former student of Dr. Joyce Farwell. He was a Texoma region NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) finalist. Mr. Summers played the role of Podesta in La finta giardiniera and Officer Murphy in last spring's production of Street Scene. He recently portrayed Lennie in a scene from Of Mice and Men. Baritone MARK WHATLEY, a Georgia native, is a doctoral student at The Shepherd School of Music and is a student of Stephen King. He holds degrees in voice from Belmont University and the University of Kentucky. Mr. Whatley has performed with many opera companies, such as Glimmerglass Opera, Opera North, Nashville Opera, Opera Birmingham, Augusta Opera, Chattanooga Opera, Opera Festival di Roma, Opera Company of Brooklyn, Colorado Opera Troupe, and Aspen Opera Theatre. He has been heard in a variety of roles, of which his favorites include Marcello in La boheme, Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo in Cosifan tutte, Harlekin in , Escamilla in Carmen, Be/core in L'elisir d'amore, and Strephon in Iolanthe. Mr. Whatley has performed much of the oratorio repertoire appropriate for his voice type, including Orff's Carmina Burana, Handel's Messiah, Bach's Mat­ thiius-Passion, Haydn's The Creation, Mendelssohn's Elijah, and requiem masses by Brahms, Faure, Durufle, and Mozart. He also enjoys a diverse recital repertoire and has been pleased to perform many concerts and recitals already in his burgeoning career. He has been a winner in numerous competitions, most notably placing first in the Metropolitan Opera Mid-South Regional auditions and appearing as one of nine national finalists in a concert with the Met Orchestra under the direction of Maestro Julius Rudel in 2002. Upcoming performances include singing Fritz in Die tote Stadt with Summer Opera in Washington, D.C., and a song recital here at the Shepherd School on Wednesday, April 23, at 5:45 p.m. in Duncan Recital Hall. A native ofAtlanta , Georgia, DANIEL WILLIAMSON is a student ofSusanne Ment­ zer. Mr. Williamson appeared as Daniel Buchanan in the Shepherd School's produc­ tion ofStreet Scene, as a Demon in Hansel and Gretel, and in the choruses of L'eli­ sir d'amore, Rinaldo, and La finta giardiniera. In 2005, he performed in the chil­ dren's outreach opera The Tiger of Chungshan. He also portrayed Bat Boy in Bat Boy: The Musical at Rice University. Mr. Williamson attended the Brevard Summer Music Institute and Festival and was part of the 2006 and 2007 Janiec Opera Com- pany. There he performed the roles of Camille de Rosillon in Lehar's operetta The Merry Widow as well as Little Bat McLean in 's Susannah.