San Francisco War Memorial 1983 Otello Page 1 of 3 Opera Assn. Opera House
The revival of this production has been made possible by a much-appreciated grant from Bernard and Barbro Osher Otello (in Italian)
Opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi Libretto by Arrigo Boito Based on the play by William Shakespeare
Conductor CAST Marek Janowski Montano Jacob Will Production Cassio Ryland Davies Jean-Pierre Ponnelle Iago Silvano Carroli Stage director Roderigo Walter MacNeil Grischa Asagaroff Otello Placido Domingo (9/9) Designer Richard Cassilly (9/12,15) Jean-Pierre Ponnelle Carlo Cossutta (9/18,23,27;10/1) Lighting Designer Desdemona Margaret Price Thomas J. Munn Emilia Leslie Richards Chorus Director A herald John McAllister Richard Bradshaw Lodovico Eric Halfvarson Musical Preparation Susanna Lemberskaya James Johnson *Role debut †U.S. opera debut Prompter PLACE AND TIME: Late 15th century; a seaport on Cyprus Susan Webb Assistant Stage Director Robin Thompson Stage Manager Jerry Sherk
Friday, September 9 1983, at 10:30 PM Act I -- Outside Otello's castle by the sea Monday, September 12 1983, at 8:00 PM Act II -- A hall and terrace of the castle Thursday, September 15 1983, at 7:30 PM Act III -- The great hall of the castle Sunday, September 18 1983, at 2:00 PM Act IV -- Desdemona's bedchamber Friday, September 23 1983, at 8:00 PM Tuesday, September 27 1983, at 8:00 PM Saturday, October 1 1983, at 8:00 PM San Francisco War Memorial 1983 Otello Page 2 of 3 Opera Assn. Opera House
Sponsors:
Notes: The Opening Night performance was scheduled for a 7 p.m. start. After the evening's Otello, Carlo Cossutta, developed laryngitis in the morning of September 9th, Placido Domingo flew in on a private plane from New York, and the performance started around 10:30 p.m.
Several years later, Mr. McEwen selected a number of operas from various seasons for broadcasts, including the opening night Otello, which aired on September 19, 1987 -- locally on KKHI; also on WFMT Chicago.
Opening Night flowers by Ah Sam.
Baldwin organ provided courtesy of Baldwin Piano & Organ Center, Santa Clara, California
San Francisco Boys Chorus William Ballard, Director Mark Bemesderfer Max Berest Mark Colety Justin Dudley Richard Espinoza Sebastian Frey Matthew Hurwitz Jacques Hymans Anthony Impang-Lozada Justin Jed Jordan King David Koenig Lucan Maciel Kenneth Ohashi Jonathan Olmsted David Owen Jeffrey Paul Nicholas Safrit Bernard Savant John Paul Savant Alastair Wilson Samuel Yan
San Francisco Girls Chorus Elizabeth Appling, Director Lisa Bielawa Belynda Biller Kenya Briggs Christine Campbell Rebecca Coolidge Sharon D'Cunha Megan Dey Sarah Emdy Erica Fitschen Leah Fitschen Shauna Finny Elke Glendenning Katherine Iosif Jessica Israels Rachel Lopez Cialin Mills Sarah Norris Elizabeth Richards Katy Schumacher Jennifer Vlahos
SUPERNUMERARIES Renée DeJarnatt Susan Holzkamp Nina Izotoff Candace Kahn Holly Morrison Donna Shanklin
Andrew Alder San Francisco War Memorial 1983 Otello Page 3 of 3 Opera Assn. Opera House
Mark Backer Sky Bamford Steve Bauman Roy Castellini David Clover Don Correira Tom Curran Rick Emmons Jay Esser Peter Felleman Mickey Frettoloso Matt Garadis Peter Garadis Tommy Garadis Philip Gibson Ward Greunke Joe Hay Mark Huelsmann Steve Jacobs John R. Janonis Julius Karoblis Lawrence Millner Michael Pitkin Simon Pyne Paul Ricks Tom Simrock Rick Skarolid Jonathan Spieler Robert Wendell Bruce Woodward