Porgy and Bess at Seattle Opera

AUGUST 2019 AUGUST

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4 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season RIGOLETTO

VOLUME 44 ISSUE 1

22 DESTRUCTIVE PARENTS, TOXIC MASCULINITY, Production Essentials AND BAD DECISIONS 10 Production Sponsor By Naomi André 11 The Cast 12 The Story

14 Director’s Conversation

25 DUKING IT OUT 16 Artists

By Glenn Hare 20 Actors

20 Supernumeraries 28 SO MUCH FUN: BIG OPERA PARTY 2019 20 Chorus 21 Orchestra

21 Off Stage Banda 31 MEET OUR SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE Departments

6 From the General Director

8 Board of Directors

9 Service Directory

9 From the President

26 Seattle Opera Staff

27 Staff Chat

30 Programs and Partnerships Sponsors

33 Planned Giving

34 Donor Impact

35 In the Lobby

Seattle Opera 36 Leadership and Producer’s Circles Editor 37 Institutional Donors Glenn Hare 37 In-Kind Partners Graphic Design Trevor Giove 38 Amusements Cover Image 38 Seattle Opera Podcast Philip Newton 39 Upcoming Events

Seattle Opera offers large print and Braille versions of this program. Please see coat check for details.

Seattle Opera acknowledges that McCaw Hall and the Opera Center are located on the ancestral homeland of the Coast Salish people. As Seattle Opera strives to create respectful partnerships throughout the Pacific Northwest, we hope to contribute to collective healing and true reconciliation.

Rigoletto 5 FROM THE GENERAL

DIRECTOR It is with tremendous pleasure that I welcome you to this performance of Rigoletto, my first production as the General Director of Seattle Opera. However, this isn’t my first Seattle Opera experience. That was nearly 25 years ago, and I’ve seen a dozen or more performances here since then, including two Ring cycles. As you can see, I’ve been impressed for a long time!

I’m truly honored to take the helm of this important arts organization, and I’m privileged to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors. From founding General Director Glynn Ross, who launched the company and spearheaded the formation of Opera America nearly 50 years ago; to Speight Jenkins, who

© PHILIP NEWTON built Seattle Opera’s national reputation for excellence and incubated the plan for our new civic home; to Aidan Lang, whose enthusiasm and drive made that plan a reality; I’m fortunate and humbled to be here.

I’m proud to lead a company that is recognized for producing great art and initiating new ideas and conversations about the art it produces. We’ll continue to create spectacular and exciting mainstage works, such as today’s Rigoletto, and we’ll continue to develop new stories that reflect contemporary life, such as this fall’s The Falling and the Rising. And we’ll strive to connect more communities to this art form and welcome new opera lovers to the Opera Center and McCaw Hall.

Rigoletto, one of the most popular titles in the opera canon, dramatically exposes the ethos of power, corruption, crime, and revenge. Stage Director Lindy Hume and the production team of Richard Roberts and Jason Morphett have magnificently reimagined this Verdi masterpiece. It’s an excellent and powerful choice to open the season.

As I begin my deep dive into the company, learning about the internal operations and getting to know all my wonderful colleagues at Seattle Opera, I also plan to meet Seattle’s civic and community leaders. I’m excited to explore the local arts scene and intend to visit many organizations, both large and small. Just as importantly, I’m looking forward to meeting you. Therefore, I invite you to attend our Open House next month at the Opera Center. Mark your calendar for Saturday, September 28. I hope to see you there. Once again, I’m deeply grateful and happy to be here. Thank you for welcoming me to Seattle, Washington State, and the Pacific Northwest.

Christina Scheppelmann

6 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season Let Your Dreams Take Flight

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Untitled-11 1 4/19/19 2:30 PM BOARD OF Wholesale and DIRECTORS Retail Sales 2019/20 Season ¿ Roasting fine coffees since 1993

Chairman Treasurer Representatives to the Board John F. Nesholm Brendan Murphy Gayle Charlesworth, Seattle Opera Guild President Secretary Carissa Castaldo, Seattle Opera Chorus Brian Marks Milkana Brace Evan Bennett, BRAVO! Immediate Past Eric Jacobs, The Seattle Symphony and Opera President Players’ Organization Maryanne Tagney Seattle Opera Foundation Vice Presidents Jeffrey Hanna, Brian Marks, President ex officio Susan MacGregor Jonathan Rosoff Charles B. Cossé Steven C. Phelps Coughlin Martha Sherman James D. Cullen Anne M. Redman James D. Cullen Stephen A. Sprenger Jay Lapin Michael Tobiason Adam J. Fountain Moya Vazquez Moya Vazquez A. Richard Gemperle William T. Bruce E. H. Johnson Weyerhaeuser Brian LaMacchia Advisory Board Connie Bloxom Victoria Ivarsson Louise Miller John M. Bloxom, Jr. Linda Nordstrom Directors Beverly Brazeau Eulalie Schneider Willie C. Aikens Gary Houlahan Norma B. Croco Judy Schuchart Barry Bolding Michael Hyman David R. Davis Virginia B. Wright Toby Bright Tom McQuaid Betty Hedreen One of Seattle’s original Brenda Bruns, M.D. Brendan Murphy Susan Buske Steven C. Phelps Honorary Life Members roaster cafes, Lighthouse Beverly Brazeau Duff Kennedy Stella Choi-Ray Tom Puentes Donald L. Johnson Michael M. Scott has spent more than Janice C. Condit James David Raisbeck Charles B. Cossé Joshua Rodriguez twenty years creating Past Presidents Natalie de Maar Jean Stark Norma B. Croco Sheffield Phelps† a loyal following of Susan Detweiler, M.D. Russell F. Tousley Albert O. Foster† Steven C. Phelps coffee lovers. Lighthouse Carolyn Eagan Judy Tsou Max E. Gellert† Maryanne Tagney Robert Fries James Uhlir roasts consistently great Harold H. Heath† Russell F. Tousley Leslie Giblett Susanne Wakefield, H. Dewayne Kreager† Richard S. Twiss coffee in small batches Paul Goodrich PhD Francis A. LeSourd† William T. Jeffrey Hanna Joan S. Watjen † Weyerhaeuser of the freshest premium Scott Wyatt James M. McDonald Jr. Kennan Howard S. Wright† beans, hand roasted in a Hollingsworth, M.D. Lesley Chapin Stanley N. Minor Wyckoff John F. Nesholm vintage cast-iron roaster Ron Hosogi each day.

† Deceased

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8 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season SEATTLE OPERA FROM THE DIRECTORY Unless otherwise indicated, the following PRESIDENT numbers are in the 206 area code. Seattle Opera Audience Services Phone: 389.7676 Welcome to Seattle Opera’s 56th full season of Outside Seattle: 800.426.1619 exquisite singing and heartfelt drama. The new For TTY Service: 800.833.6388 Group Sales: 676.5588 season has lots to offer, from the glamour and Website: www.seattleopera.org grit of Verdi’s powerful tragedy to the simple joys Seattle Opera Donor Services and heartbreaking sorrows of Puccini’s beloved Phone: 389.7669 romance. In between these two great works are Email: [email protected] productions of a classic fairy tale, a complicated Norcliffe Room reservations: 389.7669 or Russian romance, and a new American opera about [email protected] a jazz icon. Seattle Opera Administrative Offices Phone: 389.7600 We’ve also added a special concert featuring the 363 Mercer Street Seattle, WA 98109-4600 amazing Costa-Jackson sisters—Ginger (last seen Website: www.seattleopera.org

© JONATHAN VANDERWEIT © JONATHAN in Carmen), Marina (last seen in Così fan tutte), and Miriam (making her Seattle Opera debut in Marion Oliver McCaw Hall Location: 321 Mercer Street Cinderella). And that’s not all. We’re proud to present The Falling and the Rising, a Phone: 733.9725 new American chamber opera conceived by the U.S. Army Field Band and Soldiers’ www.mccawhall.com Chorus. Based on interviews with active duty soldiers and veterans, this opera is a Head Usher: 733.9722 Security Office: 733.9735 story of service, sacrifice, and resilience. Restaurant—Prelude: 615.0404 Ticket Donations (day of show): 676.5544 All in all, the 2019/20 season promises to be one of our most ambitious in recent Lost and Found: 684.7200 years, and we look forward to seeing you in McCaw Hall and at the Opera Center Parking: 684.7340 throughout the year. Monorail: 905.2620 Hall Rental: 684.7103 Seattle Center Information: 684.7200 It is my honor to extend a special nod of appreciation to our subscribers and donors here today. Your gifts make our new season possible, and your support creates Amusements: Gifts of Artistic Expression Hours: 5:00 p.m. for evening performances and great opera experiences for our entire community. Thank you for your generosity. 11:30 a.m. for matinee performances; during intermissions What’s more, the Board of Directors and I are delighted to have Christina Phone: 774.4990 Scheppelmann here. Christina began her appointment as our new General Email: [email protected] Director earlier this month. She is Seattle Opera’s fourth leader and comes to us Gift Shop Manager: Kate Farwell Amusements is operated jointly by from Barcelona, Spain, where she served as the Artistic Director of Gran Teatre Seattle Opera and Pacific Northwest Ballet. del Liceu. You’ll have the opportunity to welcome her personally at the free BRAVO! Opera Center Open House on Saturday, September 28. This event will also feature Phone: 389.7676 musical activities and the opportunity to explore how opera is created by visiting Email: [email protected] the rehearsal studios, costume shop, and set fabrication areas. Seattle Opera Guild Email: [email protected] We’re also pleased to welcome all of you in the audience who are here for the first Seattle Opera Guild is an organization time. We’re always thrilled to make new friends. Thank you for joining us, and I independent of Seattle Opera. hope that you’ll return throughout the season for other great performances.

Now, brace yourself for Rigoletto, Verdi’s masterful tale of corruption, ruthlessness, and revenge.

Once more, thank you for supporting Seattle Opera!

Brian Marks President, Seattle Opera Board of Directors

Rigoletto 9 2019/20 SEASON SPONSOR IN MEMORY OF KARYL WINN PRODUCTION SPONSOR KREIELSHEIMER ENDOWMENT FUND

ARTIST SPONSOR RON HOSOGI & MARLA BECK HOSOGI MAESTRO CARLO MONTANARO

Thank you to the caring Seattle Opera donor family— your enduring Annual Fund support fuels this mainstage production and so much more throughout the season.

Photo © Philip Newton

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 8 8/2/19 1:12 PM RIGOLETTO Music by Giuseppe Verdi Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave Based on the play Le roi s’amuse by Victor Hugo

Premiere: Venice, Teatro La Fenice, 1851 Seattle Opera Premiere: 1965 CONDUCTOR LIGHTING DESIGNER Carlo Montanaro Jason Morphett† Performed at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall: STAGE DIRECTOR FIGHT DIRECTOR August 10, 11m, 14, 17, 18m, 23, 24, 25m, 28, Lindy Hume Geoffrey Alm 2019 ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR CHORUSMASTER Evening Performances 7:30 p.m. Daniel Pelzig John Keene Matinees 2:00 p.m. PRODUCTION DESIGNER ENGLISH CAPTIONS Richard Roberts† Jonathan Dean In Italian with English captions

Act I: 1 hour Intermission CAST Acts II and III: 65 minutes (in order of vocal appearance)

DUKE OF MANTUA COUNT MONTERONE Liparit Avetisyan† (Aug. 10, 17, 23, 25, 28) Clayton Brainerd Yongzhao Yu† (Aug. 11, 14, 18, 24) SPARAFUCILE BORSA Ante Jerkunica Bernard Holcomb GILDA COUNTESS CEPRANO Madison Leonard (Aug. 10, 17, 23, 25, 28) Meghan Folkerts† Soraya Mafi (Aug. 11, 14, 18, 24)

RIGOLETTO GIOVANNA Lester Lynch (Aug. 10, 17, 23, 25, 28) Nerys Jones Giuseppe Altomare† (Aug. 11, 14, 18, 24) PAGE COUNT CEPRANO Ivy Zhou† Jonathan Silvia MADDALENA MARULLO Emily Fons Barry Johnson

ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR STAGE MANAGER † Seattle Opera mainstage debut Philip A. Kelsey Yasmine Kiss

Scenery and costumes created by New Zealand MUSICAL PREPARATION Opera. Philip A. Kelsey, David McDade, Jay Rozendaal English captions © Jonathan Dean 2019

Opera presentation and production © Seattle Opera 2019. Copying of any performance by camera, audio, or video recording equipment, and by any other copying device, and any other use of such copying devices during the performances is prohibited.

Rigoletto 11 THE STORY

ACT I INTERMISSION

SCENE 1 ACT 2 At a lavish party hosted by the Duke of Mantua, the insatiable The next morning, the Duke is ranting that Gilda wasn’t there when he womanizer tells his courtier, Borsa, about his obsession with a girl returned to Rigoletto’s house. The courtiers tell him they’ve abducted he has seen in church. He knows where she lives and means to Rigoletto’s “mistress” and brought her to the palace. Guessing that have her—and whichever other women he fancies in the meantime they mean Gilda, he rushes to where the girl is captive. Rigoletto, (aria: “Questa o quella”). He flirts with Countess Ceprano in front of searching for Gilda, confronts the courtiers (aria: “Cortigiani”). He her furious husband. The situation escalates when the court jester, reveals that the girl is his daughter, begging them for compassion. Rigoletto, taunts the Count. Rigoletto flaunts the fact that he enjoys The courtiers remain unmoved. Gilda emerges, distraught from the Duke’s protection. When Marullo arrives at the party with gossip her ordeal. She tries to tell her father what has happened. They are that Rigoletto has a mistress, Count Ceprano and the other courtiers interrupted by Monterone who, on the way to his execution, pardons devise a scheme to strike back at Rigoletto, whom they all despise. the Duke and takes back his curse. In response, Rigoletto swears Monterone’s arrival brings the party to a stop. He is the outraged vengeance on the Duke, both for himself and for Monterone. Gilda father of a young woman the Duke has used and shamed. Rigoletto pleads for her father to have mercy on the Duke. cruelly derides Monterone’s grief. As the Duke coolly orders Monterone’s arrest, the incensed father damns both the Duke and ACT 3 Rigoletto with a curse. In a tavern, the Duke, in disguise, is in high spirits (aria: “La donna è mobile”). Rigoletto forces Gilda to observe him with Maddalena, SCENE 2 Sparafucile’s sister (quartet: “Bella figlia dell’amore”). He tells his Unnerved by the curse, Rigoletto meets the hired killer Sparafucile heartbroken daughter to flee the city and promises to join her the on his way home. The assassin offers the jester his services. Alone, next morning. Rigoletto (recitative: “Pari siamo”) compares himself with the assassin: instead of a knife, he kills with his cruel taunts. Full of self- As a storm begins to rage, Rigoletto and Sparafucile settle on a price loathing, he rails against mankind, nature, his deformity, and his fate— to kill the Duke. Rigoletto tells Sparafucile he will return for the body to be a clown, forced to smile and ridicule people for a living. at midnight. Sparafucile takes the Duke to a room where the Duke waits for Maddalena. She, too, is now infatuated with the Duke, and Rigoletto arrives home to his daughter Gilda, whom he keeps locked begs her brother to spare him. She asks Sparafucile to kill Rigoletto away, hidden from the world. Ignorant of her own background when he returns. and even her father’s name, she asks many questions. Rigoletto demurs, only telling her that she is all he has in the world since the Drawn back to the tavern, Gilda overhears Sparafucile agree to death of her mother. He confines Gilda to the house and orders the murder someone else and substitute that corpse for the Duke’s. housekeeper, Giovanna, to keep a strict watch on her. Gilda rashly decides to sacrifice her own life to save the Duke. She Gilda tells Giovanna that she has fallen for a young man who has knocks on the door and meets her fate. Rigoletto returns for the been following her home from church. Chasing his prey, the Duke Duke’s body. As he prepares to throw the sack containing the corpse turns up at Rigoletto’s house in disguise. He bribes Giovanna, then into the river, he hears the Duke’s voice in the distance. Rigoletto rips seduces Gilda (duet: “È il sol dell’anima”), telling her he is a student open the sack to find Gilda, who dies in his arms. Monterone’s curse named Gualtier Maldè. Hearing footsteps, Giovanna warns him to has been fulfilled. leave. The Duke reluctantly departs. Enraptured, Gilda sighs the name of her first love as she goes to sleep (aria: “Caro nome”).

Marullo, Ceprano, Borsa, and other courtiers arrive to abduct Rigoletto’s “mistress.” When Rigoletto unexpectedly returns, Marullo sells him the story that the courtiers are going to kidnap Countess Ceprano, who lives nearby. They fool Rigoletto into helping them break into his own house, where they capture Gilda. Upon discovering the trick and his daughter’s abduction, Rigoletto remembers Monterone’s curse.

1210 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 10 8/2/19 1:12 PM INTIMAN THEATRE PRESENTS BULRUSHER By Eisa Davis Directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton

Aug 22- Sep 14, 2019

At Jones Playhouse 4045 University Way NE, Seattle

Advance tickets start at $15

Visit the box ofﬁce starting 1hr before curtain to receive your free tickets

INTIMAN.ORG

Untitled-1 1 7/26/19 2:45 PM A CONVERSATION WITH STAGE DIRECTOR LINDY HUME

SO, THIS INTERPRETATION ISN’T ABOUT DONALD TRUMP? It’s not explicitly Trump’s America, or Berlusconi’s Italy, but a modern, highly recognizable version of the dystopian, brutal, corrupt society Victor Hugo and Verdi imagined as the background for the tragedy of Gilda and her father. The court’s treatment of Monterone, the heartbroken father of a girl whose reputation the Duke has publicly ruined, quickly descends from boredom to murder. Tired of the old man ranting, the Duke sentences him to death in a state-sanctioned execution.

WHY DID YOU UPDATE RIGOLETTO? As a feminist and a fan of Verdi’s wonderful observation of human The problem with not updating Rigoletto is that a Renaissance-era behavior, how could I resist bringing these worlds together in an codpiece-cloak-and-hose setting in a fictional court of Mantua lets the imagined scenario where the excesses of obscene wealth, the licentious Duke off the hook for his appalling treatment of women. corruption of high political power, and the moral void of the court Verdi turned a famous philanderer into a rock star by giving him some all vibrate with an undercurrent of fear, violence, misogyny, and of the best music to the most misogynistic lines ever written (Act 1 “it’s criminality? This is the world of Verdi’s Rigoletto, and our own. this girl or that girl, they’re all the same to me …” and in Act 3 “women are unreliable …”). These are two of the most jaunty, charming, WHY DO YOU CHOOSE TO EXPLORE popular tunes in the entire operatic repertoire, with a bravado that’s SEXUAL ASSUALT IN THE THEATER? guaranteed to win the audience over. Even contemporary audiences As we have seen in recent years, particularly through the #MeToo in a post-#MeToo world, who can’t help but gasp at his shameless movement, sexual assault is an issue across society that women audacity and brazenness, adore those arias—which is what makes have been living with for centuries, and increasingly have decided to them so brilliant! confront wholesale. My response is not only from the perspective I created this production for New Zealand Opera in 2012. I found of a feminist woman director, but from that of an average audience inspiration for the spirit of this bad boy Duke of Mantua in Silvio member (opera audiences are mostly women, as you know). For years, Berlusconi, the former Italian Prime Minister, who at that time was I’ve been frustrated that this art form has not called out sexual assault breezing through his “bunga bunga” sex trial with his signature blend and violence, but often celebrated it. For example, Wikipedia says: “the of political incorrectness, immaculate tailoring, and dazzling—if Duke sings of a life of pleasure with as many women as possible,” and cosmetically enhanced—smile. Where better to set the debauched mentions that “he particularly enjoys cuckolding his courtiers.” In the action of Rigoletto than the colorful, charismatic, spectacularly most famous and beloved operas—Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, Carmen, excessive “Berlusconi Court”? Even now that Silvio has retreated from Tosca, Madama Butterfly—the tragic heroine is part of the vernacular. public life his reputation is the stuff of legend. Sopranos must rehearse how to fall, be stabbed, brutalized, and thrown across the room, behaviors they would never accept in real life. In 2019, if opera aspires to be a progressive, future-focused art form with relevance in contemporary society, then it must evolve and be responsive to a changing society. The topic of sexual assault and violence against women in opera is right there in front of us, either to explore, or to ignore.

14Rigoletto Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season11

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 11 8/2/19 1:12 PM , Opera Queensland, 2014 © Stephanie Do Rozario © Stephanie Queensland, 2014 , Opera Rigoletto

HOW WOULD YOU BEST DESCRIBE THE WORLD IS THERE ANYTHING REDEEMABLE ABOUT RIGOLETTO? OF THIS STORY? There is something to admire in Rigoletto’s incisive and furious (if The word that best describes this world would be “heartless.” Victor impotent) raging against the machinery of corrupt power. The men Hugo and Verdi imagined a cold place where those with power own he works for disgust him, yet he is powerless to rebel, and he hates those without. To survive, the powerless must adopt high-risk survival himself for it. Understandably, Rigoletto himself feels that the strategies: the hired assassin Sparafucile and his sister Maddalena only thing that redeems him is his love for his daughter. Returning are in the sex and violence game, while as a servant with a physical from the court to his home with Gilda, he describes himself as a vile deformity, Rigoletto has learned other skills. He’s a fast-talking creature, created so by both man and nature. Yet with Gilda he feels comedian or joker who has cultivated a cruel wit and alliances with himself transformed. His daughter is a shining light in the darkness, men he detests. He stays close to the Duke, whom he amuses in the representing for him the possibility of a better existence, reminding manner of a performing dog. In public he is repulsive yet brilliant, but him of the love he once had with her mother, of a world untouched in private he is saddled with profound misery and self-loathing. His by the filth that surrounds him at court. It is far too great a moral load “deformity” is greater in his own mind than anywhere else. for a teenage girl to carry, of course. The fact that he seeks to protect her is admirable and born of love; but locking his daughter up and his obsessive secrecy are creepy, downright pathological behaviors. His love for his daughter makes him ferocious and fearless. Even though it’s ultimately futile, we can’t help but admire Rigoletto’s David- against-Goliath attempt to take down the Duke himself—hiring a hit man, arranging all the details, even planning his escape. Finally, his love for his daughter is expressed in the most heart-rending final scene imaginable. So yes, Rigoletto is both redeemed and abandoned by love.

Rigoletto12 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season 15

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 12 8/2/19 1:12 PM ARTISTS

GEOFFREY ALM CLAYTON BRAINERD BERNARD HOLCOMB Fight Director (Seattle, WA) Count Monterone Borsa Seattle Opera Bass-Baritone Tenor (Detroit, MI) Debut: War and Peace (Portland, OR) Seattle Opera Debut: (’90) Seattle Opera Debut: Mingo, Porgy and Bess Previously at Seattle King, Aida (’18) (’18) Opera: Carmen (’19); Il Recently: Soloist, Recently: Lechmere, trovatore (’19); The Ring Walker Sinfonia No. 5 Owen Wingrave (Little (’00, ’13) (Seattle Symphony); Opera Theater of NY); Recently: Assassins (ACT Theatre); Romeo Soloist, Schubert Winterreise (Folio Library Tenor, The Central Park Five (Long Beach and Juliet (Seattle Shakespeare Company); Series); Soloist, Wotan’s Farewell (Lake Union Opera); Otello, Otello (Loft Opera NYC) Paint Your Wagon (5th Avenue Theatre) Civic Orchestra) Upcoming: Sportin’ Life, Porgy and Bess Upcoming: Soloist, Schumann Dichterliebe (Harrisburg Symphony); Tenor Soloist, (Governor’s Chamber Music Series); Soloist, An African American Requiem (Oregon GIUSEPPE ALTOMARE Beethoven Symphony No. 9 (Palm Beach Symphony); Soloist, Dancing in the Street: Rigoletto Symphony); Soloist, Missa Solemnis (Missa The Music of Motown (Dallas Symphony Baritone (Molfetta, Solemnis Alliance, Bellingham Music Festival) Orchestra) Italy) Seattle Opera Debut MEGHAN FOLKERTS LINDY HUME Recently: Rigoletto, (Sydney, Australia) Rigoletto (Budapest Countess Ceprano Stage Director Summer Festival); Mezzo-Soprano Seattle Opera Belcore, The Elixir of (Scottsdale, AZ) Debut: Count Ory (’16) Love (Teatro Massimo di Palermo); Iago, Seattle Opera Debut Previously at Seattle Otello (Opera de Bellas Artes Mexico) Recently: Toledo, Opera: The Barber of Upcoming: Germont, La traviata (Fondazione The Falling and the Seville (’17) del Teatro del Maggio Musicale, Komische Rising (Seagle Music Recently: Athalia Oper Berlin); Amonasro, Aida (Theater St. Colony); Domme, Safe (Opera Australia); Gallen) Word (Shreveport Opera); Second Lady, The Carmen (West Australian Opera); Don Magic Flute (Shreveport Opera) Giovanni (Opera Queensland) Upcoming: Lady-in-waiting, Macbeth Upcoming: Cinderella (Seattle Opera); Carmen LIPARIT AVETISYAN (Florentine Opera) (Oper Leipzig); La bohème (Staatsoper Unter Duke of Mantua den Linden) Tenor (Yerevan, Armenia) EMILY FONS Maddalena ANTE JERKUNICA Seattle Opera Debut Sparafucile Recently: Alfredo, Mezzo-Soprano La traviata (Staatsoper (Milwaukee, WI) Bass (Split, Croatia) Berlin, Royal Opera Seattle Opera Debut: Seattle Opera Debut: House, Sydney Opera Laurene Powell Jobs, Sarastro, The Magic House, Semperoper Dresden); Duke of The (R)evolution of Flute (’17) Mantua, Rigoletto (Semperoper Dresden, Steve Jobs (’19) Recently: Sydney Opera House); Nemorino, The Elixir Recently: Poppea, The Count Rodolfo, of Love (Royal Opera House, Semperoper Coronation of Poppea (Opera Theatre of St. La sonnambula and Dresden) Louis); Hansel, Hansel and Gretel (Michigan Pimen, Boris Godunov (Deutsche Oper Berlin); Upcoming: Alfredo, La traviata (Royal Opera Opera Theatre); Cherubino, The Marriage of Tsar Saltan, The Tale of Tsar Saltan (Théâtre House London, Opernhaus Zürich); Nemorino, Figaro (San Diego Opera) Royal de la Monnaie) The Elixir of Love (Glyndebourne Festival, Upcoming: Angelina, Cinderella (Atlanta Upcoming: Timur, Turandot (Gran Teatre Staatsoper Vienna, Royal Opera House Opera); Hansel, Hansel and Gretel (Canadian del Liceu); Sparafucile/Count Monterone, London) Opera Company); Rosina, The Barber of Seville Rigoletto (Bayerische Staatsoper München); (San Diego Opera) Gurnemanz, Parsifal (Opéra National du Rhin Strasbourg)

16 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season BARRY JOHNSON Marullo Baritone (Douglas, AZ) Seattle Opera Debut: Marco, Gianni Schicchi (’90) Previously at Seattle Opera: Baron Douphol, La traviata (’16); Sciarrone, Tosca (’15); Lackey, Ariadne auf Naxos (’15) Recently: Speaker, The Magic Flute (Vashon Opera); Stage Director, The Merry Widow (Tacoma Opera); Il Sagristano, Tosca (Vashon Opera) Upcoming: Baron Douphol, La traviata (Vashon Opera); Il Sagristano, Tosca (Tacoma Opera)

NERYS JONES Giovanna Mezzo-Soprano (Llanfair Caereinion, Wales) Seattle Opera Debut: rossini Inez, Il trovatore (’19) Recently: Second Lady, The Magic Flute (Vashon Opera); Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro (Tacoma Opera); Female Chorus, CINDERELLA The Rape of Lucretia (Tacoma Opera) Upcoming Recitals: (Vancouver BC, Seattle); Soloist, Messiah (Orchestra Seattle and the Seattle Chamber Singers) PHOTO © PHILIP NEWTON PHOTO

OCT. 19–NOV. 1 © PHILIP NEWTON JOHN KEENE Chorusmaster (Lancaster, PA) Seattle Opera Debut: COLORFUL DELIGHTS BY THE DOZEN Chorusmaster, Fidelio Inspired by Charles Dickens and the New Production (’12) cheeky “panto” shows enjoyed in English In Italian with English subtitles. Previously at Seattle music halls, Rigoletto stage director Evenings 7:30 PM Opera: Conductor, Lindy Hume sets Rossini’s sparkling fairy Sundays 2:00 PM As One (’16 ); tale in and around a Victorian emporium. Featuring the Seattle Opera Chorus Chorusmaster, Carmen and members of Seattle (’19 ); Assistant Conductor, Der Ring des With fabulous costumes, elaborate sets, Symphony Orchestra. Nibelungen (’13) and a dash of stage magic, Hume shines Upcoming: Accompanist, Three Singing a light on the gleaming potential for MCCAW HALL Sisters concert; Chorusmaster, Cinderella goodness in a dark world. 206.389.7676 and Eugene Onegin (Seattle Opera); Judge 2019/20 SEASON SPONSOR: IN MEMORY OF KARYL WINN SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/CINDERELLA (Metropolitan Opera National Council PRODUCTION SPONSOR: MARKS FAMILY FOUNDATION Auditions) FAMILY DAY MATINEE SUNDAY, OCT. 27: STUDENT TICKETS JUST $20! Visit seattleopera.org/familyday for details.

Rigoletto 17 ARTISTS CONT.

MADISON LEONARD CARLO MONTANARO RICHARD ROBERTS Gilda Conductor (Cecina, Italy) Production Designer (Melbourne, Australia) Soprano Seattle Opera (Coeur d’Alene, ID) Debut: Don Seattle Opera Debut Seattle Opera Debut: Quichotte (’11) Recently: Parsifal Chrisann Brennan, The Previously at Seattle (Victorian Opera); (R)evolution of Steve Opera: Il trovatore Death of a Salesman Jobs (’19) (’19); Madame (Queensland Theatre); Previously at Seattle Butterfly (’17); Mary Cunning Little Vixen Opera: Frasquita, Carmen (’19) Stuart (’16) (Victorian Opera, State Recently: Juliet, Romeo and Juliet and Ilia, Recently: Rigoletto (L’Opéra de Montréal); Opera of South Australia, Western Australian Idomeneo (Wolf Trap Opera); Morgana, Alcina Madame Butterfly (Polish National Opera); Opera) (Washington National Opera); Susanna, The Werther (Opera Australia, Sydney) Upcoming: Black Cockatoo (Ensemble/ Marriage of Figaro (Inland Northwest Opera) Upcoming: Nabucco (Deutsche Oper Berlin); Sydney Festival) Upcoming: Emmeline, Emmeline (Tulsa La bohème (Staatsoper Hamburg); The Barber Opera); Gilda, Rigoletto (Austin Opera); of Seville (Opéra National de Paris) Pamina, The Magic Flute (North Carolina JONATHAN SILVIA Opera) Count Ceprano JASON MORPHETT Bass-Baritone (Sydney, Australia) Lighting Designer (Kirkland, WA) LESTER LYNCH Seattle Opera Debut Seattle Opera Debut: Rigoletto Recently: Rigoletto, First Villager, Pagliacci Baritone Tosca (New Zealand (’08) (Cleveland, OH) Opera); Coppelia (Royal Previously at Seattle Seattle Opera New Zealand Ballet) Opera: Imperial Debut: Crown, Porgy Upcoming: Turandot, Commissioner, Madame Butterfly (’17); and Bess (’95) Il Viaggio a Reims Second Armored Man, The Magic Flute (’17); Previously at Seattle (Opera Australia) Marquis D’Obigny, La traviata (’17) Opera: Di Luna, Il Recently: Leporello, Don Giovanni and trovatore (’19, ’97); Crown, Porgy and Bess (’18) Zuniga, Carmen (Pacific Northwest Opera); DANIEL PELZIG Recently: Enrico, Lucia di Lammermoor Oroveso, Norma (Skagit Opera) (New York, NY) (English National Opera); Doktor Faust, Associate Director Doktor Faust, (Semperoper Dresden); Shylock, Seattle Opera Debut: The Merchant of Venice (Royal Opera House) Salome (’01) YONGZHAO YU Duke of Mantua Upcoming: Macbeth, Macbeth (Florentine Previously at Seattle Opera); Simon Boccanegra, Simon Boccanegra Opera: The Barber Tenor (Houston, TX) (Washington Concert Opera); Judge Turpin, of Seville (’17); Count Seattle Opera Debut Sweeny Todd (Bergen National Opera) Ory (’16); Iphigénie en Recently: Rodolfo, Tauride (’07) La bohème (Houston Recently: Director, Le Médecin malgré lui Grand Opera); Romeo, SORAYA MAFI (Odyssey Opera); Director, The Mikado Romeo and Juliet Gilda (Kentucky Opera); Choreographer, Romeo and (National Centre for Soprano Juliet (Huntington Theatre) the Performing Arts, Beijing); Don José, (Manchester, UK) Upcoming: Professor of Theatre and Dance Carmen (Seiji Ozawa Music Academy) Seattle Opera Debut: (Boston Conservatory at Berklee); Associate Upcoming: Rodolfo, La bohème (Arizona Flora, The Turn of the Director and Choreographer, Cinderella Opera) Screw (’18) (Seattle Opera); Stage Director, Merrie Recently: Gretel, England (Odyssey Opera) Hansel and Gretel (Grange Park Opera); Cintia, La Divisione del Mondo (Opéra National du Rhin); Tytania, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (English National Opera) Upcoming: Yum-Yum, The Mikado (English National Opera); Susanna, The Marriage of Figaro (Welsh National Opera); Johanna, Sweeney Todd (Opernhaus Zürich)

18 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season IVY ZHOU Page Soprano (Rockville, MD) Seattle Opera Debut Recently: Cinderella, Cinderella in Spain (Seattle Opera School Opera Tour); The Rose, The Little Prince (Opera Theater Oregon); Chloe, Princess Ida (Seattle Gilbert & Sullivan Society) CHOOSE YOUR OWN SUBSCRIPTION Upcoming: Musetta, La bohème (Portland Opera To Go); Phyllis, Iolanthe (Tacoma PICK FOUR or MORE EVENTS Opera) and SAVE

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Rigoletto 19 ARTISTS CONT.

ACTORS

Diane Abbey Tim Maass Julee Felts Ruby Mimosa Skyler Gahley Arlando Smith Yena Han Jamie von Stratton Ben Leiataua Olivia Taguinod

SUPERNUMERARIES

Henry Brown Richard Eidal

CHORUS

Tenors DuWayne Andrews Joshua Carlisle Benjamin Cleveland Joel Cummings Andrew Etherington Jon Farmer James Galbraith Anthony James Tim Janecke German Mendoza Karl Reyes Korland Simmons Stephen Wall Colin Ward Bass/Baritone Ryan Bede Michael Dunlap Craig Garretson Craig Grayson Glenn Guhr Ben Kramer Dierre Lopez Zachary Martin Julian Reisenthel Revere Taylor Call to Consign Watches and Clocks

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20 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season ORCHESTRA

Violin I Clarinet Trombone Brittany Breeden, Concertmaster Emil Khudyev, Principal Keith Winkle, Principal Mae Lin, Asst. Concertmaster Frank Kowalsky Grant Reed Evan Anderson Doug Nierman Jennifer Bai Bassoon Blayne Barnes Seth Krimsky, Principal Percussion Cecilia Poellein Buss Paul Rafanelli Rob Tucker Timothy Garland Clark Story Horn Personnel Manager Jeannie Wells Yablonsky Jeffrey Fair, Principal Scott Wilson Arthur Zadinsky Jenna Breen John Turman Assistant Personnel Manager Violin II Danielle Kuhlmann Keith Higgins Michael Miropolsky, Principal Kathleen Boyer, Asst. Principal Trumpet Rotating members of the string sections are Natasha Bazhanov Alexander White, Principal listed alphabetically. Stephen Bryant Christopher Stingle The Orchestra is composed of members of Linda Cole the Seattle Symphony Orchestra. Xiao-po Fei Trombone Artur Girsky Ko-ichiro Yamamoto, Principal Caitlin Kelley David Lawrence Ritt Stephen Fissel Viola Mara Gearman, Principal Cimbasso Timothy Hale, Asst. Principal John DiCesare, Principal Wesley Dyring Allison Farkas Timpani Sayaka Kokubo James Benoit, Principal Laura Renz Percussion Cello Rob Tucker, Principal Meeka Quan DiLorenzo, Principal Gunnar Folsom Nathan Chan, Asst. Principal Eric Han OFFSTAGE BANDA Roberta Hansen Downey Vivian Gu Flute Charles Jacot Robin Peery, Principal

Bass Piccolo Jordan Anderson, Principal Alicia Suarez Jonathan Burnstein Jennifer Godfrey Oboe Travis Gore, Asst. Principal Ben Hausmann, Principal

Flute Clarinet Jeffrey Barker, Principal Sean Osborn, Principal Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby Jennifer Nelson

Piccolo Contrabassoon Zartouhi Dombourian-Eby Dana Bliss, Principal

Oboe Horn Mary Lynch, Principal Jonathan Karschney, Principal Stefan Farkas Rodger Burnett

English Horn Trumpet Stefan Farkas Gabriel Palmer, Principal

Rigoletto 21 DESTRUCTIVE PARENTS, TOXIC MASCULINITY, & BAD DECISIONS By Naomi André, PhD

Rigoletto is an opera where a lot of things are frequently seen to be either black or white. The Duke’s court is evil and vicious. Gilda is innocent and pure. Rigoletto is an overprotective father. Bad triumphs over good. It's true—this is an opera with a tragic ending where so many things go wrong. Yet this is also a reductive view of the opera that says very little about its essence, the depth of the characters’ humanity, and what keeps drawing us back.

VERDI’S PARENTING PARADIGM Rigoletto begins what many consider to be a trilogy of operas that connect Verdi’s early and middle periods: Rigoletto, 1851; Il trovatore, 1853; and La traviata, 1853. All three operas have prominent parental figures who belong to in-between vocal types (baritones and a mezzo-soprano) and, despite each one’s deep love for their children, end up doing great harm. Rigoletto could be seen to prefigure this character type as the father who contributes so directly to his daughter Gilda’s death. Unwittingly, he helps abduct her and later carries the bagged bundle of her mortally wounded body.

Verdi follows this pattern of harmful parenting in La traviata. Giorgio Germont, Alfredo’s father, is also a baritone who acts foolishly out of love when he pressures his son’s lover Violetta to preserve his family’s honor by leaving Alfredo. And the drama propelling Il trovatore (as witnessed last season at Seattle Opera) centers around Azucena’s horrifying past that involved infanticide and her haunting memories that serve as a type of post-traumatic stress syndrome. A strong mezzo-soprano, Azucena is an unusual character; she loves Manrico as her son, yet inadvertently contributes to his execution in the end.

The trauma of losing a child is a horror that for most of us— mercifully—will remain unimaginable. Yet these operas present situations that press on our most tender frailties as so many of us in the audience understand the simultaneous complexity and vulnerability of parenting. , Opera Queensland, 2014 © Stephanie Do Rozario © Stephanie Queensland, 2014 , Opera Rigoletto

1822 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 18 8/2/19 1:12 PM , Opera Queensland, 2014 © Stephanie Do Rozario © Stephanie Queensland, 2014 , Opera Rigoletto

THE MISBEHAVIOR SURROUNDING GILDA A DAUGHTER TRYING TO FIND HER VOICE Gilda is a difficult character for most women today to understand, Gilda’s decisions start piling up: she has already disobeyed her let alone cheer for. In so many ways, she seems rather pathetic—the father and has returned to the inn. She hears the assassin and his lonely daughter of a father who loves her in such an overprotective sister’s conversation from outside, chooses not to go to Verona, way that she is denied healthy opportunities to grow and mature on and—most momentously—decides to sacrifice herself for the Duke. her own. From the beginning of the opera through the start of the The mounting storm begins in the music with open fifths in the low third act, everyone else makes the decisions that affect her, a typical strings and orchestral effects notated in the score from high flute situation for a women living in a world run by (and for) men. Rigoletto “lightning” jolts to an off-stage chorus humming the howling wind. has ordered her to stay home except in going to church and he has Verdi pulls out all of the stops to write theatrically dramatic music as hired Giovanna to oversee her every move. The Duke, disguised, the mounting tension in the orchestra creates the tempest outside bribes Giovanna to visit Gilda and seduces her. The courtiers (and the and underscores the out of control decisions Gilda recklessly makes. unknowing Rigoletto) abduct Gilda, and the Duke then assaults her She allows her head to follow her heart, probably in response to her when she is taken to the court. limited understanding of the world and lack of any “adult” guidance that would have helped her mature wisely. We can see how her In the beginning of Act 3, we see that Rigoletto has brought his sheltered, naïve existence, the lack of strong maternal influences, daughter to witness the Duke flirting with Maddalena at Sparafucile’s and inexperience could lead to her making such disastrous decisions. inn on the outskirts of town. Rigoletto wants Gilda to see the Duke for the libertine that he is, so that she will renounce him and follow Though Gilda makes several ill-advised choices, her character her father’s instructions to escape to Verona, where they will start a undergoes an evolution from her passive and compliant youth new life. This scene’s famous quartet juxtaposes the Duke’s seduction to finding a voice and making up her mind. Her heroism is faint, of Maddalena inside the tavern with Gilda and Rigoletto outside but it echoes a stance of doing what she believes in: a fiercely loyal looking in. You can’t help but hear the Duke’s seductive melody, love, misguided as it seems. Her actions reach for what she lacks in almost the mating call of a preening tropical bird; but listen for her life—an exciting, impulsive venture that she controls. Though Gilda’s descending appoggiatura sobs punctuated simultaneously by Gilda, her overprotective father Rigoletto, and her unapologetically Maddalena’s sixteenth-note laughing, as well as Rigoletto’s fatherly unfaithful suitor the Duke are all deeply flawed characters, such “I told you so” baritone support. weaknesses reflect what it means to be human. Such humanity is what makes our experiences at the opera so powerful and keeps In a strong contrast, the trio immediately following provides drawing us back for more. everything we need after being suspended in time during the exquisite quartet. The story races ahead in a dynamic scene full of movement and action. After Rigoletto goes away, expecting his Naomi André is Seattle Opera's Scholar in Residence daughter to follow his directions to travel incognito to Verona, Gilda and a Professor at the University of Michigan. Read makes a few decisions—the first we’ve seen her do during the entire more about her appointment on page 31. opera (and what would have been a rebellious act at the time for a young woman!). As a storm is brewing, Maddalena begs her brother Sparafucile to find a way not to murder the Duke—she has grown fond of him. Sparafucile reminds his sister that he is a man of his word and must deliver a body. Nevertheless, they reach a compromise and the assassin will substitute another body for the Duke in the event that anyone else arrives.

Rigoletto 2319

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3- AND 4-OPERA PACKAGES STILL AVAILABLE! Our remarkable season has just begun! Subscribing is the best way to save big and enjoy exclusive benefits including flexible exchanges, a free seating upgrade, costume previews, and more.

CINDERELLA | OCT/NOV 2019 Rossini’s clever take on the classic tale delights and surprises with vocal fireworks and unexpected charms. EUGENE ONEGIN | JANUARY 2020 Nutcracker composer Tchaikovsky’s poignant and sumptuous period romance features lyrical music and opulent production design. CHARLIE PARKER’S YARDBIRD | FEB/MAR 2020 Dreamlike exploration of the “King of the Saxophone,” considered the father of bebop. “A swift-paced opera LEARN MORE AND with a pulsing, jazz-infused score” (NY Times). BUY TICKETS Visit the subscription desk today! In the lobby LA BOHÈME | MAY 2020 pre-show and during intermission. Puccini’s all time classic about passionate young Call 206.389.7676 Parisians who sacrifice everything for art and love Go online at seattleopera.org/subscribe2019 is opera’s quintessential love story. A “magical” (Seattle Times) production guaranteed to touch your heart. 2019/20 SEASON SPONSOR: IN MEMORY OF KARYL WINN

Rigoletto 17

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 17 8/2/19 1:12 PM DUKING IT OUT By Glenn Hare

Verdi’s Duke of Mantua is a rapacious womanizing cad. Performing the role are two tenors making their Seattle Opera debuts. Get to know the rising stars who will thrill you with “La donna è mobile.” You’ll discover they’re nothing like the Duke in real life.

YONGZHAO YU 100-METER DASH: As a high school student in China, Yongzhao was a track and field athlete, competing as a 100-meter sprinter. COACHING CHANGE: A friend persuaded him to try singing. “He told me I had a big voice. I thought voice training would be easier than running. I know the truth now.” MIRACULOUS RECOVERY: A bad cold made him consider withdrawing from his first big competition. News of reaching the final stage energized him. Yongzhao won first prize and got his first professional contract.HOME BASE: Houston, where he lives with his wife and son. THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY: He loves fishing. So far, an eight-pound catfish is his largest catch.SOMEONE NEW: Yongzhao has portrayed Rodolfo in La bohème several times. “I’m looking forward to being someone different—a character that’s not poor. The Duke has power. He’s rich.” HOMESICKNESS: “Being away from my family is hard.” DREAM ROLE: Calaf from Turandot. “Nessun dorma” is the very first aria he heard. “I dream that one day I’ll be Calaf, somewhere.”

LIPARIT AVETISYAN MASTER CHEF: Liparit is a foodie who loves to cook. He likes to experiment with food—to create new tastes. “My family and friends really like how I cook.” SIGNATURE DISH: Baked leg of lamb with quince in spiced white wine. FAMILY GUY: He lives in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, with his expectant wife, two sons, and parents. “My family and friends are my inspirations.” COACHING CHANGE: As a teenager, Liparit also had to choose between singing and sports. He chose to hang up his soccer cleats. SHINING MOMENT: Making his debut at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, singing the role of Alfredo from La traviata. “I was proud to sing on the same stage and in the same production as the great Plácido Domingo.” NOT A FAN OF: Endless flights, lookalike hotels, and changing time zones. DREAMS DO COME TRUE: Liparit’s voice started changing at 14 years old. “I dreamed night and day of being a tenor like my hero Luciano Pavarotti.” COMING TO AMERICA: In addition to this being Liparit’s Seattle Opera debut, this is his American debut, too. “I’m excited to make my US start at Seattle Opera!”

20Rigoletto Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season 25

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 20 8/2/19 1:12 PM SEATTLE OPERA STAFF CHRISTINA SCHEPPELMANN, GENERAL DIRECTOR

Alejandra Valarino Boyer Kristina Murti Jane Repensek Director of Programs Director of Marketing and Chief Financial Officer/ and Partnerships Communications Chief Operations Officer Aren Der Hacopian Doug Provost Nancy Del Villar Vivé Director of Artistic Director of Production Director of Human Resources Administration and Planning Allison Rabbitt Director of Development

ADMINISTRATION Matt Lider SALES AND SERVICES Kate Hartman, Yoko Niendorf PROGRAMS AND Individual Giving Officer Stitchers Dominica Myers Michelle M. Carrasquillo PARTNERSHIPS Stephanie Matsunaga Carrie Steficek Associate Director of Associate Director of Marketing, Rachelle Adams Administration Development Operations Sales and Services Wardrobe Head Coordinator Operations Manager Gregory Schell Christy Kazimour Tosha Mayo Assistant Wardrobe Head Naomi André ARTISTIC Ticket Operations Manager Scholar in Residence Development Coordinator Scott Arend, Doug Decker, Scott Gray, Mary Brazeau Kristin McCarthy T.J. Callahan Artistic Administration Manager Erica McIntyre Audience Services Manager Lesley McDaniel, Charley Trowbridge, Development Operations Manager Keri Young Programs Communications Corrie Yadon Meggie Watson Wardrobe Attendants Coordinator Associate Director of Artistic Catherine Merlo Patron Experience Manager Sr. Individual Giving Officer Courtney Clark Planning Debra McKinney HAIR AND MAKEUP School Programs Manager Jonathan Dean Kim Ositis Group Sales Coordinator Liesl Alice Gatcheco Development Research and Liz Frazer Dramaturg Kat Deininger, Alexander Hawker Hair and Makeup Manager Database Manager Teen Vocal Studio Program Manager Ashlee Naegle Paula Podemski Audience Services Lead Sara Litchfield Ahana Sen Wig Master Company Manager Vanda Braga, Yoojeong Cho, Youth & Family Programs Manager Stewardship and Events Associate Shelly Traverse, Emma Wahl Emmy Ulmer Julia Wing-Krafft Audience Services Representatives Lokela Alexander Minami Titlist Caroline Webb Wig Assistant Stewardship and Events Manager Community Engagement Manager DIRECT SALES Ashlee Naegle MUSIC Britney Schroeder Ed Boyd Lead Principal Hair and John Keene Production Manager, Community FINANCE Direct Sales Manager Makeup Artist Head of Music Staff and Projects Marissa Betz-Zall Calli Dey, Trisha Partida, Julia Wing- Chorusmaster Megan Bailey Stephanie Sintef Associate Director of Finance Direct Sales Assistant Krafft Philip A. Kelsey Tour & Productions Coordinator Randee Byrd Principal Makeup Artists Assistant Conductor Mary Hobbs Miriam Anderson, Courtney-Savali Payroll Manager Jenn Hill, Fiona Krauss, Anne Senior Account Representative Andrews, Jessica Andrews, Andrew David McDade McGowan, Allegra Rege, Patti Wilmot Victoria Campbell Erin Hart, Virginia Jackson, Dorothea R. Coopman, Li-Cheng Hung, Kayla Head of Coach-Accompanists Hair and Makeup Artists Accounts Payable/Receivable Kopta, Gail Sage, Albert Sanders, Johnson, Chelsea LeValley, Debra Jay Rozendaal Associate Toni Zeigler Alaina Clark, Rosetta Greek McKinney, Christine Menschner, Coach-Accompanist/Orchestra Lindsey O’Connor Account Representatives Hair and Makeup Assistant Kathryn Van Meter, Erin Murphy, Librarian Senior Accountant STAGE CREW Rachel Nofziger, Melissa Plagemann, Emily Cabaniss Tasha Smith, Kristen Swenson, Ta Wei Trevor Torres Company Librarian/Archivist and PRODUCTION Charles T. Buck Tsai, James Walters, Lyndee White, Payroll Assistant Music Associate Russell Crosbie Master Stage Carpenter Cassandra Willock Stephen Wall FACILITIES Technical Director Jason Balter, Chris Balducci Teaching Artists Chorus Personnel Coordinator Todd Clark Alicia Moriarty Assistant Master Stage Carpenters Lauren Adams Facilities Manager Assistant Production Director Justin Loyd Principals, stage directors, choristers, Music Intern Mark Nebel Thorn Michaels Head Flyman stage managers, assistant stage Beth Kirchhoff Facilities Coordinator Assistant Lighting Designer Adam Lantz, Matthew Lint, managers, and assistant directors Chorusmaster Emeritus INFORMATION SYSTEMS Chris Reay Robert Millard, Jason Wagoner, employed in this production are Projection Coordinator Bruce Warshaw members of the American Guild of STAGE MANAGEMENT Iain Quigley Assistant Stage Carpenters Musical Artists AFL-CIO. Desktop User Support Technician Yasmine Kiss COSTUMES Jim Nash The musicians are represented by Production Stage Manager Stuart McLeod Susan I. Davis Master Electrician the Seattle Symphony and Opera Catherine Costanzo, Kiera Kreig SQL Developer and Costume Director Players’ Organization, a Chapter of CRM Administrator Martin Cunningham Assistant Stage Managers Heidi Zamora Assistant Master Electrician the International Guild of Symphony, Costume Show Manager Opera, and Ballet Musicians. Amanda Balter Molly Brindley, Chris Dimoff, Production Assistant MARKETING AND Ieva Ohaks Jim Gable Scenery construction and stage crew Costume Rental-Stock Coordinator Assistant Electricians work is performed by employees COMMUNICATIONS represented by I.A.T.S.E., Local #15. Brittany Rall Hannah Tyo Chris Reay DEVELOPMENT Costume and wardrobe work is Associate Director of Marketing Costume Assistant A/V Supervisor Hong Chhuor performed by employees represented Denise Barry Associate Director of Development Arryn Davis Hannah Fenske by I.A.T.S.E., Local #887. Marketing Coordinator Lead Cutter Properties Master Chris Burkett Scenic artists and hair/makeup Miriam Goodman-Miller Individual Giving Officer Gabrielle Nomura Gainor Sandy Burke work is performed by employees Crafts Supervisor Assistant Properties Master Julia Curns-Welch Communications and Public represented by I.A.T.S.E., Local #488. Institutional Giving Officer Engagement Manager Shanna Sincell Pete Olds Cutter Assistant Properties Caitlyn Davis Glenn Hare Stewardship and Events Associate Senior Communications Manager Cynthia Abbott, Kim Dancy Candy Solie Ed Hawkins First Hands Lightboard Operator Marketing Manager/Copywriter Jack Burke Erika Norris Master Sound Technician Web Producer Meg Stoltz Digital Marketing Manager

26 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season STAFF CHAT: CORRIE YADON

WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES? DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE MUSICAL? I strive to do everything in my power to She Loves Me. I love that show! It’s manage a patron’s experience, from the heartwarming and sweet. It has everything moment they purchase tickets, to their trip that I want out of a musical. It’s showy, but to Seattle Center, to everything they do not too showy. I love all the songs, but “Will once they enter McCaw Hall. He Like Me?” is my favorite one. In college, I performed the role of Amalia as part of my HOW MANY PEOPLE WORK IN THE senior recital. If done well, it will sit with FRONT OF HOUSE AT MCCAW HALL? you for a while. I can’t wait to see it at the Lots, upwards of 200. The ushers, ticket Village Theatre. scanners, gift shop personnel, and bartenders are the most visible people. © Philip Newton ARE YOU STILL INVOLVED There’s also staff in the restaurant IN MUSICAL THEATER? and lounge areas and maintenance I am, as much as possible. I was in The professionals throughout the building. In Wizard of Oz last Christmas at Bainbridge You may recognize addition, we have Seattle Opera staff at the Performing Arts. I usually perform in one Corrie Yadon, our Patron concierge table and in the lounges. It takes show a year. many people working together. Experience Manager. HOW MANY HATS DO YOU OWN? Corrie oversees our lobby WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE A lot. I don’t know the number. My current WORKING AT SEATTLE OPERA? favorite is one I bought at TROVE in operations in McCaw I grew up in Bonney Lake and fell in love Ballard. It’s from the late 1950s, has little Hall, making sure that with singing and dancing at an early pink flowers all over and a Fredrick and age. I studied musical theater and arts Nelson tag. things run smoothly. management in Virginia. I lived in New York The front-of-house staff City for seven years, working mostly as WHAT ADVICE DO YOU a nanny and at Trader Joe’s. I auditioned HAVE FOR PATRONS? handles everything from a lot and worked in film production. My Arrive early. Arrive early. Arrive early. reprinting tickets to biggest claim to fame was working on Remember your tickets. Pre-order drinks The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, a film starring for intermission. And make sure that you directing patrons to their Nicolas Cage. My parents still haven’t communicate any special requests well seats to finding lost keys. seen it. in advance of the day you’re joining us at the opera. Look for her near the ARE THERE ANY SIMILARITIES Grand Staircase the next BETWEEN WORKING FOR SEATTLE OPERA AND TRADER JOE’S? time you attend a Seattle Yes, as with most customers- and patron- Opera performance. facing jobs, you want to figure out how to make a guest's request happen without She loves talking about causing another problem. It’s my goal to musical theater and make a patron’s experience the best it can be. vintage hats!

22Rigoletto Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season 27

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 22 8/2/19 1:12 PM © Sunny Martini © Sunny © Sunny Martini © Sunny © Sunny Martini © Sunny

The Big Opera Party on May 10 was a tremendous success! We are grateful for the 330 arts lovers who joined the one-night- only evening of immersive opera experiences. Together, we raised more than $400,000 to support Seattle Opera programs and productions. Held throughout the Opera

Center and among the beautiful Carmen © Philip Newton © Philip Newton set on the McCaw Hall stage, the evening featured dinner, dancing, a live auction of exclusive opera experiences, and a post- dinner bash! SAVE THE DATE! BIG OPERA PARTY Friday, February 28, 2020 Opera Center and McCaw Hall © Sunny Martini © Sunny

2628 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season

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Your support fuels the programs and community partnerships that enrich the lives of opera lovers across the Pacific Northwest!

Gifts toward Programs and Partnerships at Seattle Opera make it possible to connect with classrooms and neighborhood centers all across Washington State, sharing opera with 70,000 people each year outside of our mainstage programming. We are grateful for the following donors who have made a commitment of $1,000 or more between July 1, 2017 and July 2, 2019.

* denotes Youth Program support † denotes In-School Program support ◊ denotes Chamber Opera support

$25,000 AND MORE Clinton Diener and Diane Lasko Dow Constantine and Shirley Carlson Classical KING FM 98.1 Russell Elliott Peach Foundation† Maritto Ko Seattle Opera Foundation *† D.V. and Ida J. McEachern Charitable True-Brown Foundation Trust * The Wallace Foundation ◊ Ann H. Milam Cornelius and Penny Rosse $5,000–$24,999 Trilogy Musical Notes Club Anonymous Anonymous, in honor of Adina Meyer ENDOWED FUND SUPPORT The Boeing Company C. Keith Birkenfeld Memorial Trust Marshall and Jane Brown for Education Costco Wholesale * The Clowes Fund In-School Education Susan MacGregor Coughlin and Programs Endowment John Lauber *◊ Carmen Elizabeth Delo Endowed Fund The Foster Foundation † for Education The late Natalie Gendler William Randolph Hearst Endowed Fund Margaret Haggerty for Educational Outreach at Seattle The Hot Chocolate Fund Opera The Seattle Foundation: Perry Lorenzo Fund for In-School Poncho Legacy Fund Education Seattle Opera Guild Dr. Stanley M. Pier Endowed Fund Union Bank † for In-School Education The Peg and Rick Young Foundation Cecilia Schultz Music Foundation Fund for Educational Scholarships $1,000–$4,999 Gertrude E. Sprenger Education Mr. and Mrs. Willie C. Aikens Endowment Elena Aleksandrova-Perelman ArtsLEAF ArtsWA | Washington State Arts Commission ◊

30 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season NAOMI ANDRÉ APPOINTED SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE

As an example of her commentary, André has noted the similarities between opera and Beyoncé performances. In her analysis for CNN, she found interesting parallels in the pop diva’s Homecoming recordings and live concerts and opera; mainly, “both rely on spectacle, pageantry, and exploding boundaries.” André questioned how opera—an art form developed at the end of the 16th century— can remain relevant today. Showcasing stories that are more diverse is just one idea, she suggested.

Her perspectives aren’t new to Seattle. Last season, she participated in “Breaking Glass: Hyperlinking Opera and Issues,” a forum presented in conjunction with Porgy and Bess that addressed racial representation, casting, and support of storytellers of color. She also served as moderator of “Decolonizing Allure: Women Artists of Color in Conversation,” a Community Conversation that unpacked themes of patriarchy and white-dominated culture in Western art and entertainment. “Decolonizing Allure” was presented in in concert with our mainstage performance of Carmen.

“Opera has always dealt with issues pertaining to what it means to be © Michael Hough human: love, honor, jealousy, revenge, to name just a few,” says André. “A key to the genre’s success is to help current audiences see that Musicologist, writer, and opera lover Naomi André has been appointed opera is relevant to our lives today. Putting care into productions and Seattle Opera’s first-ever Scholar in Residence. She is the author of educational materials that reflect the broader issues goes a long way Black Opera: History, Power, Engagement, which The New York Times to help audiences today.” describes as “A necessary exploration of how race has shaped the opera landscape in the United States and South Africa.” In her role, André has been in high demand, participating most recently André will advise staff and leadership on matters of race and gender in conversations at Long Beach Opera and Cincinnati Opera. In in opera, consult in artistic planning as it relates to representation of addition, she is a Professor at the University of Michigan, where she race and gender, participate in Community Conversations and podcast teaches in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and is the recordings with dramaturg Jonathan Dean, and contribute essays to Associate Director for Faculty in the university’s Residential College. opera programs. A classically trained singer, she earned a BA in music from Barnard College and an MA and PhD in musicology from Harvard University. “Professor André’s research and commentary places this art form in the middle of some of today’s most challenging social issues, “I am honored to have this opportunity to bring my experiences of like racial equity and gender representation,” says Seattle Opera researching and writing about opera history, teaching this genre Director of Programs and Partnerships Alejandra Valarino Boyer. “We to university students, giving numerous pre-concert talks, and are honored to formalize our relationship with her. Naomi’s deep enjoying so many performances in opera houses across the world knowledge of the art form and social perspective will help us broaden to this new connection with Seattle Opera,” she says. “In my work, I our storytelling and create an inclusive space for diverse communities have seen how opera is immensely relevant to a very wide range of at the opera.” people. Seattle Opera is a leader in opening up opera to the current generation. It has done this by having a diverse group of people making important decisions behind the scenes—on the board and in the administrative staff. I am impressed with the support seasoned and newer audiences show Seattle Opera in the Community Conversations. This is a happening place with a dynamic vibe. Yes—I’m very excited to join this team!”

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Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 31 8/2/19 1:12 PM ARTS COMMUNITY

Thanks to our donors for joining ArtsFund at the intersection of arts and community, supporting over 100 cultural organizations each year.

2018 INDIVIDUAL AND FOUNDATION DONORS GOLD CLUB $50K AND UP MARY PIGOTT; PETE AND JULIE ROSE $25,000 - $49,999 CARL AND RENEE BEHNKE; ALLAN E. AND NORA DAVIS; KATHARYN ALVORD GERLICH; PETER HORVITZ; JOHN GRAHAM FOUNDATION; JOSHUA GREEN FOUNDATION; NORCLIFFE FOUNDATION; NORMAN ARCHIBALD CHARITABLE FOUNDATION; MOCCASIN LAKE FOUNDATION; STEPHEN P. AND PAULA R. REYNOLDS; SATTERBERG FOUNDATION; MARY SNAPP AND SPENCER FRAZER; ANONYMOUS (1) CONDUCTOR’S CIRCLE $10,000 - $24,999 JUDI BECK AND TOM A. ALBERG; JIM AND GAYLEE DUNCAN; ELLEN FERGUSON; JON AND MARY SHIRLEY FOUNDATION; GLENN H. KAWASAKI FOUNDATION; DEBBIE KILLINGER; ED KIM AND SUSAN SHIN; THOM AND GWEN KROON; CHARLOTTE LIN AND ROBERT PORTER; SANDY AND CHRIS MCDADE; ALISON AND GLEN MILLIMAN; NEUKOM FAMILY; JUDY PIGOTT; CAROL AND DOUG POWELL; FAYE SARKOWSKY; CARLO AND LALIE SCANDIUZZI; MRS. THEILINE SCHEUMANN; SEQUOIA FOUNDATION; JAMES AND KATHERINE TUNE; LYNN HUBBARD AND DAVID ZAPOLSKY; ANONYMOUS (1) FIRST CHAIR $5,000 - $9,999 CHAP AND EVE ALVORD; BILL AND NANCY BAIN; BEEKS FAMILY LEGACY - FOUNDATION; STEVE BEHNEN AND MARY HORNSBY; MICHAEL AND ANNE BENTLEY; DAVID CORRY; CREELMAN FOUNDATION; BILL AND BECKY CURRY; PETER AND SUSAN DAVIS; KEVIN FOX; WILLIAM FRANKLIN; ROD FUJITA; LYNN AND BRIAN GRANT FAMILY; LENORE HANAUER FOUNDATION; RAY HEACOX AND CYNTHIA HUFFMAN; DAN AND LAURIE IVANOFF; LOEB FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION; DANA AND ROGER LORENZE; BLANCHE AND STEPHEN MAXWELL; DOUGLAS AND JOYCE MCCALLUM; ANTHONY AND ERICA MILES; NESHOLM FAMILY FOUNDATION; HERB AND LUCY PRUZAN; ANN RAMSAY-JENKINS AND THE WILLIAM M. JENKINS FUND; DOYLE AND ALANE SIMONS, GRIDIRON CREEK FOUNDATION; BRAD SMITH AND KATHY SURACE-SMITH; TAGNEY JONES FAMILY FUND’ THE HUGH AND JANE FERGUSON FOUNDATION; TREELINE FOUNDATION; ANN P. WYCKOFF ENCORE $2,500 - $4,999 KIM A. ANDERSON; BOB AND CLODAGH ASH; ANTHONY AND KUMI BARUFFI; JOHN H. BAUER; CARLA AND BRAD BERG; SUSAN BROTMAN; ALAN BRUGGEMAN; SUE AND ARTIE BUERK; LYNN BURGESS; C. KENT AND SANDRA C. CARLSON; CHERYL CLARK AND STEPHAN COONROD; SAYANTANI MUKHERJEE AND MAYUR DESHPANDE; PATRICK AND MARLEEN DINEEN; REBECCA S. ENGRAV AND JOON-HO YU; ROBERT FLEMING; ERIC FREYBERG; RICHARD AND MARILYN HERZBERG; MARI HORITA; DAN AND CONNIE HUNGATE; DAVID JONES AND GRACE LAO; JANET WRIGHT KETCHAM FOUNDATION; CHRIS AND LINDA KOA; KAREN KOON; ALIDA LATHAM; MARIA MACKEY; KAREN AND RICK MCMICHAEL; LIAM LAVERY AND YAZMIN MEHDI; CHARLIE AND ELEANOR NOLAN; DOUGLAS E. & NANCY P. NORBERG; CHUCK NORDHOFF; KATIE O’SULLIVAN; LEIGH AND LOUISE RABEL; FRED RIVERA; STAN AND INGRID SAVAGE; KEITH SCHREIBER AND CLARE KAPITAN; JOHN S. TEUTSCH; RICH WALLIS; WATERBURY PHILANTHROPIC TRUST; GAIL AND BILL WEYERHAEUSER; ANONYMOUS

2018 CORPORATE DONOR LIST $10,000 - $24,999 AMAZON; CENTURYLINK; CLISE PROPERTIES INC.; COLUMBIA BANK; THE COMMERCE BANK OF WASHINGTON*; DAPPER + ASSOCIATES; DAVIS WRIGHT TREMAINE LLP*; THE DORSEY & WHITNEY FOUNDATION*; GMA RESEARCH CORPORATION; K&L GATES*; KEYBANK; KING COUNTY; MITHUN*; NORDSTROM, INC.; POP*; R.D. MERRILL COMPANY; REALNETWORKS FOUNDATION; SEATTLE OFFICE OF ARTS & CULTURAL AFFAIRS; SWEDISH ; U.S. BANK; UNION BANK $5,000 - $9,999 ALASKAN COPPER & BRASS COMPANY AND ALASKAN COPPER WORKS; BNY MELLON WEALTH MANAGEMENT; CAIRNCROSS & HEMPELMANN, P.S.; ERNST & YOUNG LLP; FOSS MARITIME COMPANY; FOX ROTHSCHILD LLP; FREMONT FOUNDRY EVENTS; GENSLER ARCHITECTS; GETTY IMAGES*; HD FOWLER; HYATT REGENCY SEATTLE, A HEDREEN PROJECT; KING 5 TELEVISION; PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL; THE RUINS; SAFECO INSURANCE; SEATTLE BANK *includes employee workplace giving campaigns

$350,000 and up $100,000–$349,999 $75,000–$99,999

HKBAW Hong Kong - Greater China Business Association of Washington ൡϳ࡜೐ʨˀൡੋ๡

$50,000–$74,999 $25,000–$49,999

* Support from Microsoft Corporation, The Boeing Company, Sellen Construction, Starbucks Coffee Company, Perkins Coie, and Stoel Rives LLP includes employee workplace giving campaigns.

The 2020 production of Eugene Onegin is supported by the Estate of Karyl Winn, our 2019/20 season sponsor.

Seattle Opera is honored to express our heartfelt gratitude by recognizing the following legacy donors whose estate gifts since July 2018 are helping to support our ongoing operations. By previously including Seattle Opera in their wills or trusts, these loyal patrons are helping to secure our future. THANK YOU!

Estate of Eileen Birge Estate of DJ Smith-Brooks Estate of I. Sharon Bunnell Estate of Marion G. Stamper Estate of Jean Frankland Estate of Herbert Warrick Estate of Betty Kreager Estate of Karyl Winn To learn how you can support the future Estate of Helen A. Overton of Seattle Opera, email us at [email protected] or visit seattleopera.org/legacy.

Rigoletto 2933

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 29 8/2/19 1:12 PM “I thought the Opera was a great experience because I could see how the music we played was supposed to sound and now I will be able to play the piece better. We also saw and heard the professional Dix © Darren orchestra playing which was really YOUR INVESTMENT GOES BEYOND THE STAGE When you give to Seattle Opera, you’re doing more than creating great productions impressive.” like Rigoletto. You’re also inspiring the next generation of opera enthusiasts. Your gift to our annual fund influences communities here in Seattle and as far as the —Landon Carter, Student, San Juan Islands. THANK YOU FOR MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

Orcas Island High School The Orcas Island High School Band had such a great time watching Il trovatore in January that they made a second trip. The ensemble, along with their director and a few chaperones, returned in May to experience Carmen. Inspired by the first visit, Luke Pietsch organized an opera-themed fundraiser concert that supported the band’s second trip to McCaw Hall as part of his senior project. Pietsch, a trumpeter, conducted the band in a performance of a Carmen medley. He also shared important plot points with the audience.

Learn how you can contribute to Seattle Opera at seattleopera.org/donate.

3430 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 30 8/2/19 1:12 PM IN THE LOBBY Did you know that Verdi created Rigoletto to confront those in power? Since the Italian composer’s dark thriller is now so central to mainstream repertoire, it’s easy to forget its subversive, politically controversial roots. It might seem like Rigoletto, which was written almost 170 years ago, might have nothing to do with society today, but in reality the time and place of this story never mattered to Verdi (he changed the setting multiple times). What never wavered was his desire to tell a universal story about human nature and the abuse of power. Visit the lobby displays to learn more. THREE SINGING Fae Photography © Amy SISTERS sibling revelry

Giuseppe Verdi spent his life pushing political SPECIAL EVENT—ONE NIGHT ONLY! SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2 as well as artistic boundaries. Marina, Ginger, and Miriam Costa-Jackson 7:30 PM take the stage for a memorable evening TICKETS: $50–$75 of music-making with a mixed-genre program featuring opera arias, Broadway MCCAW HALL melodies, popular music, and Neapolitan 206.389.7676 songs (the sisters’ specialty!). The concert SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/SINGINGSISTERS performance will include solos, duets, and trios, blending three distinct voice types as only a family can.

GREAT SEATS STILL AVAILABLE!

Rigoletto 35 YOUR SUPPORT: LIVE ON THE MAINSTAGE!

Express your passion for Seattle Opera by sponsoring a production, artist, event, or program that resonates with you. Get to know the artists and the behind-the- scenes work that bring your favorite opera productions to life!

Customized sponsorship benefits make for a truly unforgettable experience. Contact Donor Services for more information at 206.389.7669 or © BRANDON PATOC [email protected]. Leadership Circle Members Jeff and Martha Sherman (third and fourth from the left) with members of the Seattle Opera and Symphony Players holding the company’s own Wagner tuben. As a part of their investment in Seattle Opera’s mission, this season the Shermans are supporting tenor Frederick Ballentine’s performance in the upcoming production of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird. LEADERSHIP CIRCLE PRODUCER’S CIRCLE Through a multi-year Annual Fund The Producer’s Circle recognizes donors commitment of $100,000 or more, who have made a three-year Annual Fund Seattle Opera’s most visionary supporters commitment of $60,000–$99,999. This help realize an unbounded vision for tier of customized giving brings more Seattle Opera’s future. Leadership possibilities than ever before to ensure Circle membership gives you premium the present and future of your opera recognition, provides personalized access company. Make your pledge today and to your opera company, and allows you to enjoy memorable behind-the-scenes create a lasting impact on the art you love. experiences with Seattle Opera!

We give profound thanks to the following We are so grateful for the following Leadership Circle members (as of July 30, Producer’s Circle members (as of July 30, 2019): 2019):

Anonymous Marshall and Jane Brown Toby Bright and Nancy Ward Christopher and Carolyn Eagan Eric Hawley and Gwen Lowery Dr. Kennan H. Hollingsworth Gary and Parul Houlahan Brendan Murphy Carol Maione and Brian Marks John Sullivan and Paula Stokes John and Laurel Nesholm Sally Anne West James and Sherry Raisbeck Jeff and Martha Sherman Eugene and Jean Stark Maryanne Tagney and David Jones True-Brown Foundation Jay and Susanne Wakefield Gail and William T. Weyerhaeuser Ann P. Wyckoff

36 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season INSTITUTIONAL DONORS Seattle Opera is exceedingly grateful for the following cumulative contributions in support of Seattle Opera at the Center and the Annual Fund. The impact of these organizations keeps opera and the arts thriving in our community.

$1,000,000 AND MORE

Anonymous Bruce R. McCaw Nesholm Family Norcliffe Seattle Opera State of Washington– Tagney Jones Family Fund Family Foundation Foundation Foundation Foundation Building for the Arts at Seattle Foundation

$500,000–$999,999 True-Brown Foundation

$250,000–$499,999 C.E. Stuart The Chisholm John Graham Joshua Green Charitable Trust Foundation Foundation Foundation

$100,000–$249,999

The Foster Grousemont The Hot Peach Sunderland Foundation Foundation Chocolate Fund Foundation Foundation

$50,000–$99,999 D.V. and Ida J. McEachern Charitable Trust

$25,000–$49,999 BNSF Railway Ned and Kayla Pacifica The Peg and Rick Foundation Skinner Arts Law Group Young Foundation Enrichment Fund

$15,000–$24,999 $1,000–$1,499 Cossé International Securities, Inc. • Costco Colymbus Foundation • The Reed McClure Firm • MATCHING GIFTS Aetna • Alaska Airlines • Apple Inc. • AT&T • Bank Wholesale • Heartland • Wagner and More Charles Maxfield and Gloria F. Parrish Foundation of America • Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation • • The Seattle Foundation: Poncho Legacy Fund • BlackRock, Inc. • Boeing Employee Credit Union $10,000–$14,999 Talking Rain The Boeing Company • Janet Wright Ketcham (BECU) • Cambia Health Foundation • Chevron Foundation • Nuckols-Keefe Family Foundation • • Costco Wholesale • Expedia Inc. • ExxonMobil Seattle Opera Guild • Tucker Family Foundation • Frontstream • General Electric • Google, Inc. DONOR ADVISED FUNDS • IBM • Intel Corporation • Johnson & Johnson • Union Bank Ayco Charitable Foundation • BNY Mellon • King County Employee Giving Program • Charitable Gift Fund • The Boston Foundation $5,000–$9,999 Microsoft • Morgan Stanley • Network for Good • • Community Foundation of Utah • The Dallas Badgley Phelps • Creelman Foundation • The Northern Trust • Oracle Corporation • Quaker Hill Foundation • Edward Jones • Fidelity Charitable Dabney Point Fund • M.A.C. Cosmetics • The Foundation • Royal Dutch Shell • City Of Seattle Gift Fund • Fiduciary Charitable Foundation Performing Arts Readiness Project • Wyman Seattle Shares • Starbucks • Texas Instruments • • MyICON Foundation • Inland Northwest Youth Trust The Boeing Company • The Coca-Cola Company Community Foundation • Innovia Foundation • The Polyclinic • T-Mobile USA, Inc. • Thrivent • Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle • $3,000–$4,999 Financial • UnitedHealth Group • Verity Solutions • ArtsWA | Washington State Arts Commission Oklahoma City Community Foundation • Saint • Washington State Combined Fund Drive Davis Wright Tremaine • Fales Foundation Trust • Paul Foundation • Schwab Charitable Fund • Garvey, Schubert, & Barer • Richard B. and Barbara The Saratoga Charitable Foundation • Seattle B. Odlin Foundation • Parker, Smith, & Feek, Inc. • Foundation • TIAA Charitable • U.S. Charitable OFFICIAL IN-KIND PARTNERS Perkins Coie • Ryan, Swanson & Cleveland, PLLC Gift Trust • United Way of King County • Vanguard Charitable $1,500–$2,999 ArtsLEAF • Peter F. Donnelly Merit Fund • Trilogy Musical Notes Club

Rigoletto 37 AMUSEMENTS Gifts of Artistic Expression Located on the Kreielsheimer Promenade SEATTLE Level of McCaw Hall. Open two and a half hours prior to curtain and during intermission. OPERA RIGOLETTO CD Take home the moody music of Verdi’s thrilling masterpiece with this 1999 complete studio recording from Deutsche PODCAST Grammophon. Featuring Plácido Domingo as the Duke, Piero Cappuccilli as Rigoletto, Ileana Cotrubas as Gilda, and Nicolai Can you hear the Ghiaurov as Sparafucile. Carlo Maria Giulini conducts Wiener difference between Staatsopernchor and Wiener Philharmoniker. 2 discs complete recording, includes libretto. $34.95 Rossini, Bellini, and Donizetti? How does COOL SUMMER COLORS jazz (not to mention New! Our classic logo T-shirts are now bebop) become opera? available in lighter, summery colors. Men can chill out in cotton/poly blend short sleeve options, available in clay or grey. Women’s short sleeve scoop neck styles now available in pink and grey. $21.95-$24.95

Learn more about the wild and wonderful SURELY, YOU JEST! world of opera with Seattle Opera Podcasts, a co-production with KING A variety of festive and fancy masks is now on offer. FM hosted by our resident dramaturg (Curse not included.) Prices vary. Jonathan Dean. Short, 15-minute introductions to every opera in our 2019/20 season are now available. LIMITED EDITION RIGOLETTO T-SHIRTS Additional podcasts will be released by Designer Kitty Kough has created this foreboding illustration opening night which explore additional for our new production of Verdi’s dark and brutal melodrama. topics. Check iTunes or your favorite Perched on the handle of an assassin’s dagger, a raven podcast provider and subscribe today! symbolizing Monterone’s inescapable curse appears to squawk the opera’s title and composer’s name. Blue, black, grey, and blood red design on rich heather background. Available in men’s and women’s short sleeve. Prices vary.

SHOP AMUSEMENTS ONLINE AT SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/SHOP

38 Seattle Opera 2019/20 Season

Rigoletto_Program_072919-PrePress-FIXED.indd 32 8/2/19 1:12 PM UPCOMING EVENTS OPERA CENTER OPEN HOUSE SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 FROM 2:00–5:00 PM FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Explore how opera is created. Visit a rehearsal, walk through the costume shop, and hear from our new General Director Christina Scheppelmann. RSVP AT SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/OPENHOUSE CINDERELLA SING-ALONG SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12 AT 2:00 PM OPERA CENTER FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Here is your chance to sing adaptations of Cinderella, from Rossini’s La Cenerentola to the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, and more. This 90-minute community sing-along is open to singers (and non-

© Sunny Martini © Sunny singers) of all abilities. SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/SING-ALONG COMMUNITY CONVERSATION: FEMINIST HALLOWEEN BACKSTAGE PARTY HOSTED BY BRAVO! STORYTELLING IN THE #METOO AGE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26 FRIDAY, AUGUST 23 AT 6:00 PM FESTIVITIES START AFTER THE PERFORMANCE NESHOLM FAMILY LECTURE HALL AT MCCAW HALL Join us for a one-of-a-kind backstage party after Cinderella, FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC complete with food, drinks, dancing, and more. Costumes Recent years have brought an increasing awareness of misogyny and encouraged! Age 21+. sexual abuse in our society, as well as the importance of elevating SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/HALLOWEEN women’s voices. Join two Seattle-based feminist directors as they discuss how the arts can help change a paradigm of gender-based violence. What role do audiences play in changing the culture? What CINDERELLA FAMILY DAY are the limits and opportunities of works of art like Rigoletto, and SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27 AT 2:00 PM how do we engage with them today? MCCAW HALL SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/COMMUNITYCONVERSATIONS For this specially designated performance, students age 18 and under pay only $20 for almost any seat. Family Days also feature special student-oriented activities during intermission. OPERA TALKS WITH JONATHAN DEAN SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/FAMILYDAY SEPTEMBER 17, OCTOBER 15 AT 7:00 PM OPERA CENTER FREE, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC THE FALLING AND THE RISING Deepen your knowledge of opera with our free opera talk series. NOVEMBER 15–24 Each month, join Seattle Opera Dramaturg Jonathan Dean for an OPERA CENTER entertaining look at this unique art form, with topics ranging from The Falling and the Rising is a new American chamber opera that opera’s rich literature and history to behind-the-scenes insights into tells a story of service, sacrifice, and connection inside uncertainty. how we put these grand productions on stage. Based on interviews with active duty soldiers and veterans, the opera SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/OPERATALKS traces the inner journey of a comatose soldier after she has suffered a roadside attack. Tickets on sale now. OPERA TIME AT THE OPERA CENTER SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/RISING SECOND SATURDAY OF EACH MONTH AT 10:30 AM FREE, OPEN TO AGES 7 AND UNDER WITH PARENT/GUARDIAN On the second Saturday of every month, Seattle Opera hosts drop- in sessions of Opera Time at the Opera Center, our early learning program that introduces young ones to opera through interactive songs and stories. These sessions are an exciting and free way to start off the weekend! SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/EARLYLEARNING

Rigoletto 39