LEON WILSON CLARK OPERA SERIES

SHEPHERD SCHOOL OPERA I and the ~ SHEPHERD SCHOOL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA I present ( L'ELISIR D 'AMORE

An opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti Libretto by Felice Romani

( Richard Bado, conductor Thomas Hong, conductor Debra Dickinson, stage director

Wortham Opera Theatre 7:30 p.m. March 19, 20, 22 and 24, 2008

sfkieherd RICE UNIVERSITY Sc~ I ofMusic CAST (in order of vocal appearance)

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 19 SATURDAY, MARCH 22 Giannetta, a peasant girl . Bethany Solheim Nemorino, a young peasant . . Aaron Blake Adina, a wealthy farm owner Amanda Grooms Be/core, a sergeant . . Samuel Schultz Dulcamara, an itinerant quack doctor . Michael Sumuel Tomaso. . Thomas Siders Priest . . Thomas Siders CHORUS Soldiers: Ross Chitwood, Jamie Geiger, Keith Stonum Peasants: Zach Averyt, Adrianna Bond, Laura Botkin, Shelley Cantrick, Grace Field, Rebecca Henderson, Becky Henry, David Keck, Sarah Larsen, Julie Marx, Katina Mitchell, Joseph Quigley, Ryan Stickney, John Summers, Daniel Williamson

CAST (in order of vocal appearance)

THURSDAY, MARCH 20 MONDAY, MARCH 24 Giannetta, a peasant girl . Lauren Snouffer Nemorino, a young peasant . . Aaron Blake Adina, a wealthy farm owner. . Meghan Tarkington Be/core, a sergeant . Joseph Quigley Dulcamara, an itinerant quack doctor . DavidKeck Tomaso. . Thomas Siders Priest . . Thomas Siders CHORUS Soldiers: Ross Chitwood, Jamie Geiger, Keith Stonum Peasants: Zach Averyt, Laura Botkin, Adrianna Bond, Shelley Cantrick, Grace Field, Rebecca Henderson, Becky Henry, Sarah Larsen, Julie Marx, Katina Mitchell, Samuel Schultz, Ryan Stickney, John Summers, Michael Sumuel, Daniel Williamson

Members of the SHEPHERD SCHOOL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Larry Rachleff, music director

Violin I Viola (cont.) Piccolo Trumpet Eva Liebhaber, Adam Matthes Henrik Heide Kevin Lynch concertmaster Julia Immel Brian Hess Amanda Chamberlain Emily Grossruck Oboe Harp Eric Siu Jayne Drummond Cello Sadie Turner David Huntsman Kristin Kall Gabriel Beistline, Andrew Meyer Timpani principal Clarinet Glen McDaniel Gregory Tsalikis Emily Hu Cayce Vega Violin II Evan Leslie Benjamin Mitchell Percussion Christina Wilke, Casey Cangelosi Double Bass Bassoon principal Adam Wolfe Martin Dimitrov Edward Merritt, Miles Maner Brittany Henry principal Briana Lehman Fortepiano Julia Frantz Katherine Munagian Youn Ju Namkoong Horn Viola Flute Pamela Harris Orchestra Manager Lauren Magnus, Hilary Abigana Katharine Caliendo and Librarian principal Henrik Heide Kaaren Fleisher L'ELISIR D'AMORE

An opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848). Libretto by Felice Romani. Based on the play Le Philtre by Eugene Scribe. Premiere on May 12, 1832.

ACT! A town square near Adina's estate in an Italian village, in the 1830s, around noon.

INTERMISSION (15 minutes)

ACT II Later in the afternoon of the same day.

The performance is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission.

ARTISTIC STAFF

Conductors . . Richard Bado (March 19, 20 and 22) Thomas Hong (March24) Stage Director . Debra Dickinson Set Designer . Kirk Markley Lighting Designer . . David Gipson Costumes supplied by Malabar Limited, Toronto. Wig and Makeup Designer . . Meghann Mason Properties Master . Alex Stutler Musical Preparation Robert Brewer, Youn Ju Namkoong Surtitles . . Patricia Houk

PRODUCTION STAFF

Technical Director . . Troy McLaughlin Stage Manager . . Alex Stutler Surtitle Operator . Lindsay Kesselman Followspot Operators Sarah Brauer, Maria Failla Running Crew . . Abbey Curzon, Jennifer Johnson, Erika Rodden Surtitles supplied by Houston Grand Opera.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This production is made possible by a generous endowment from the late Dr. Leon Wilson Clark, and in part by financial support from The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts and The Humphreys Foundation. V Special thanks to Kristi Johnson, Mandy Billings, Fran Schmidt, Backstage Presents, Jodi Bobrovsky, and Stages Repertory Theatre. SYNOPSIS

It is summertime in a small village in Tuscany, and the farm workers em­ ployed by the wealthy and beautiful landowner, Adina, are taking a short break to cool offfrom the hot midday sun. Nemorino, a shy young peasant, secretly admires Adina and bemoans his inability to express his feelings to her. She reads aloud from a story about Tristan and Isolde, and how, thanks to the help ofa magical elixir, they fell in love with each other forevermore. The swaggering Sergeant Be/core, newly garrisoned in the village, enters with his soldiers, and immediately proposes marriage to Adina. She flirtatiously puts him off Alone together at last, Nemorino awkwardly tries to confess his love to Adina, but she laughingly tells him that she is much too capricious to fall in love with him. She advises him to tend to his rich dying uncle in the hope ofgaining a good inheri­ tance, but Nemorino is not interested in financial gain. He steadfastly refuses to give up hope of winning Adina. A traveling peddler of "miraculous" potions, Dr. Dulcamara, arrives in town and enthralls the peasants with his claim to magically cure any problem. Nemo­ rino asks if he has any of the elixir of love used by Tristan and Isolde, and Dul­ camara, quick to make a sale, produces a bottle ofordinary Bordeaux and sells it to Nemorino for all his money, guaranteeing that every girl will fall in love with him within twenty-four hours of his drinking the miraculous potion. Nemorino eagerly drinks the elixir, and, believing that it is only a matter of time before Adi­ na falls in love with him, proceeds to ignore her. Adina is piqued by this seeming change of heart, and, to get revenge on Nemorino, she agrees to marry Sergeant Be/core. When orders arrive for Be/core to leave town tomorrow, he suggests that the wedding be pushed up to today, and Adina agrees to marry him immedi­ ately. Nemorino despairs that the elixir won't have time to work, and he pleads with Adina not to marry Be/core so quickly, but instead she invites all the peas­ ants to come celebrate the wedding feast, turning a deaf ear to Nemorino's pleas. Act Two begins with the feast, and Adina's laments that her revenge will not be complete, as Nemorino is not there to witness her wedding. Dr. Dulcamara steals the spotlight by performing some entertainment, enlisting the aid of the bride-to-be. When the priest arrives to perform the wedding ceremony, Adina and Be/core take him into the house. Nemorino enters, very distraught about Adina's imminent marriage to Be/core, and begs Dr. Dulcamarafor more of the elixir, so that it will more speedily make Adina fall in love with him. Unfortunately, Nemorino has no more money, and Dulcamara tells him to come back when he has some. Be/core advises Nemorino to enlist as a soldier; he will get more mo­ ney than he needs. Nemorino decides that even though he could die in combat, it would be worth it to have Adina love him for one moment, and he signs the en­ listment contract. He runs off to get more elixir. Adina's friend, Giannetta, gossips to the village girls that Nemorino's rich uncle has died, leaving him a considerable fortune. Nemorino, unaware of this development, assumes that the huge quantities of elixir he has consumed are the reason for the girls' unexpected interest in him. Adina and Dulcamara notice Nemorino's sudden popularity, and Dulcamara assumes that his placebo potion may indeed possess magical powers. He offers some to Adina, who has learned of the noble sacrifice Nemorino has made to win her affection. Finally moved by the extent of Nemorino's love for her, she refuses the elixir, saying that she knows an even better way to win back his heart. Nemorino saw a tear in Adina's eye when he was surrounded by the other girls; he is convinced that she loves him, but he waits for her to prove it. She does so by buying back his enlistment contract from Be/core, begging forgive­ ness for the cruel way in which she treated Nemorino, and confessing her love. Be/core enters to see his fiancee in the arms of his rival, so he quickly turns his amorous attentions elsewhere. Dulcamara congratulates the happy couple and credits his magical elixir for their happiness. As he leaves town, the peasants sing Dulcamara's praises and clamor for his miraculous elixir of love. DIRECTOR'S NOTES

Gaetano Donizetti was one ofopera's most prolific composers, creating approx­ imately 70 operas (the exact number depends on whether one counts revisions) dur­ ing his reign as the leading composer of be] canto operas. He is still remembered for both his dramatic and comic masterpieces; Lucia di Lammermoor is number 13 on Opera America's ranking of the most performed operas in North America, while L'elisir d'amore is number 20. L'elisir is not particularly memorable for its plot, which is based on a French play by Scribe, and was in turn based on an Ital­ ian play closely linked with its commedia dell'arte roots. Magical elixirs, the stock commedia characters of the fast-talking fl Dottore and the swaggering fl Capitano (comically reduced to the rank of Sergeant in L'elisir) and the wild coincidence of Nemorino's sudden.financial windfall were common enough in the theatrical liter­ ature of the period. What sets L'elisir d'amore apart and accounts for its continu­ ing popularity over the years is the beauty of its music, which gives real heart to the two leading characters. Shy, awkward Nemorino is engaging and comic in his inability to express his ardor, but the brilliance of his arias elevates his steadfast and sincere love for Adina to something much more heroic than we are used to see­ ing in comedy. When Adina discovers that she has the emotional depth to respond to Nemorino's passion, she is transformed into a character with the capacity to love. The gloriousness of her realization and her confession of love transcend the prerequisite happy ending necessary to comedy. Though we know that the uniting of these two lovers is inevitable from the beginning of the opera, Adina's spirited nature and Nemorino's unaffected honesty are so beautifully revealed through Donizetti's music that they have become some of the most memorable characters in the pantheon ofcomic opera.

BIOGRAPHIES

A native ofPittsburgh, Pennsylvania, RICHARD BADO made his professional conducting debut in 1989 leading Houston Grand Opera's acclaimed production of Show Boat at the newly restored Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Since then, Mr. Bado has conducted at Teatro al/a Scala, Opera National de Paris, Houston Grand Opera, Opera, the Aspen Music Festival, the Tulsa Opera, the Florida Phil­ harmonic, 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 , Frederica von 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 season 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 Shep­ herd School ofMusic as Director of the Opera Studies Program. He has been on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and Schoo/for thirteen summers and has served on the music staff ofthe , Seattle Opera, Opera Austra­ lia, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera. Mr. Bado regularly judges for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and served as Houston Grand Opera's Head ofMusic Stafffor fourteen seasons. THOMAS HONG, born in Incheon, Korea, immigrated with his family to the United States in 1978. He earned a Master's degree in choral conducting at Temple University and an artist diploma in orchestral conducting from The Curtis Institute of Music, where he was the recipient of the Leopold Stokowski Fellowship and the Whitaker Fund for Opera. Mr. Hong is currently the assistant conductor of Orches­ tre National de France, where he recently concluded a European tour with Maestro Kurt Masur and violinist Joshua Bell. Previous appointments include assistant con­ ductor of The Curtis Opera Theatre and the First Korean Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia, where he served as organist and choir director for many years. Pro­ fessional orchestras that Mr. Hong has conducted include Orchestre National de France, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, lutos­ lawski Philharmonic, Spokane Symphony, and Orchestra Society of Philadelphia, where he is a frequent guest conductor. In September 2008, he will begin as assistant conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony, where he will conduct all the educational per­ formances as well as acting as cover conductor for the subscription concerts. Mr. Hong has conducted many operatic and vocal works in the past including: Copland's Suite from his opera The Tender Land, Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde ( arranged by Schoenberg), and a concert production of Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress. In December, he will be returning to his native country for the first time to conduct the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra with a program ofvarious operatic arias and sympho­ nic works. Mr. Hong is a student ofLarry Rachleff at The Shepherd School of Music. DEBRA DICKINSON, stage director, has directed productions of Rinaldo, Street Scene, La finta giardiniera, La Calisto, Hansel and Gretel, The Turn of the Screw, , Albert Herring, Cosifan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, and A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Shepherd School ofMusic. Other opera directing credits in­ clude Die Fledermaus at Florida State University, Trouble in Tahiti for the apprent­ ice program of the Connecticut Opera, and The Tender Land at the Monteux Opera Festival. Ms. Dickinson was the assistant director ofNaughty Marietta and The Pa­ jama Game at the under Beverly Sills. A member ofActor's Equity Association, Ms. Dickinson's performing credits include Guenevere in Came­ lot opposite both Richard Burton and Richard Harris, and Jellylorum in Cats at Thea­ ter an der Wien in . Ms. Dickinson teaches the Opera Workshop classes at The Shepherd School of Music. KIRK MARKLEY, set designer, has designed over JOO local productions. Recent scenic designs include Rinaldo, Street Scene, La finta giardiniera, La Calisto, Han­ sel and Gretel, The Turn of the Screw, Werther, Albert Herring, and Cosifan tutte at The Shepherd School of Music; I Am My Own Wife, American Brat, Searching for Eden, Silence, Late: A Cowboy Song, and Orange Flower Water at Stages Repertory; and Hide Town, Speeding Motorcycle, Full Circle, Night Just Before the Forests, and Jerry's World at Infernal Bridegroom Productions. Lighting design credits include Searching for Eden, Late: A Cowboy Song, and Bright Ideas at Stages; Urinetown, the Musical, and Wondergirl at Main Street Theatre; Hide Town , Microscope Main­ tenance and Repair, Full Circle, and Night Just Before the Forests at Infernal Bride­ groom Productions. Visit www. KirkMarkleyDesign. com for a complete curriculum vitae. Mr. Markley is Associate Artistic Director at Stages Repertory Theatre. DAVID GIPSON, lighting designer, has been designing for over twenty years and is a company member with Infernal Bridegroom Productions in Houston, Teatro Vista Theatre Company in Chicago, and is a Resident Artist at Unity Theatre in Brenham, Texas . Houston credits include The Spitfire Grill, Orange Flower Water, Dirty Story, Always ... Patsy Cline, and Recent Tragic Events at Stages Repertory Theatre, and Arms and the Man, The Glass Menagerie, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged at the Unity Theatre.

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 RICE CAST

AARON BLAKE (Nemorino 3/ 19, 3/20, 3/22, 3/24), a native of Southern Cali­ fornia, received his bachelor's degree from The Juilliard School of Music. He is currently pursuing a master's degree at The Shepherd School of Music. A student of Stephen King, he has won many competitions, including First Prize in The Flor­ ida Grand Opera Competition, First Prize in the Verdi Concerto Competition of the Aspen Music Festival, and most recently was a finalist in the Chicago Lyric Opera Ryan Opera Center auditions, as well as a finalist in The Metropolitan Op­ era National Council Auditions in the Southwest Region. Mr. Blake has portrayed such characters as Tamino in Die Zauberjlote at the Juilliard School, Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor, El Remendado in Carmen, Goro in Madama Butterfly at the Aspen Music Festival, Ernesto in The Santa Fe Opera's spring tour of Do­ nizetti's Don Pasquale, Contino Belfiore in La finta giardiniera and Sam Kaplan in Street Scene at the Shepherd School. In May of 2007, Mr. Blake made his Ken­ nedy Center debut in the Terrace Theater. This summer Mr. Blake will be a studio artist with Chautauqua Opera. St. Louis native AMANDA GROOMS (Adina 3/19, 3/22) is a first-year graduate student. She recently performed the roles of Micaela in Carmen and Violetta in La traviata with the Aspen Music Festival under the baton ofJulius Rudel. She has also performed with Opera Theatre Saint Louis, Opera Birmingham, Sara­ sota Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theatre, and Opera Vivente. Ms. Grooms has also distinguished herselfas a concert performer and recitalist making appearances in Salzburg, Vienna , Milan, Milwaukee, Chicago, and St. Louis. Her recent awards include the 2006 Encouragement Prize from the Sullivan Foundation, Top Prize Scholarship from the Arleen Auger Memorial Fund, second place in the Midwest Regional Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and a scholarship from the Mu Phi Epsilon Fraternity. This past fall at the Shepherd School she performed the role ofArminda in Handel's Rinaldo. She is a student ofDr. Stephen King. DAVID KECK (Dulcamara 3/20, 3/24), a native of Vermont, began his vocal study as a boy soprano in Britten's Noyes Fludde, and has since explored many fields of vocal performance, from musical theater and opera to song recital and contemporary vocal performance art. This spring, Mr. Keck made his debut with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in La Traviata and Sarasota Opera in Madama But­ terfly while an apprentice in both programs. He has also recently been seen as Nerbulone in the North American premiere of Cavalli 's Eliogabalo, as Superinten­ dent Budd in Albert Herring with the Aspen Opera Theatre Center, and Sarastro in Die Zauberjlote at The Juilliard School. Past roles have included Ercole in Cavalli's Giasone, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, The Pirate King in , and Somnus in Semele. Mr. Keck received his Bachelor ofArts de­ gree at Columbia College in English and Comparative Literature, and followed this with diploma studies at The Juilliard School. JOSEPH QUIGLEY (Be/core 3/20, 3/24), a New Orleans native, is thrilled to be performing in the South once more. He has been seen with DePaul Opera The­ ater in Chicago in such roles as Mozart's Count Almaviva, Danilo in The Merry Widow, and Lidia in Cavalli 's L'Egisto. Last summer marked his fourth consecu­ tive summer as a member of the Aspen Music Festival. There he performed the Vicar in Albert Herring, the Baron in La Traviata, and El Dancairo in Carmen. He recently played Argante at the Shepherd School in Handel's Rinaldo, and Count Almaviva in a scene from Le nozze di Figaro. Mr. Quigley currently studies with Dr. Stephen King. LAUREN SNOUFFER (Giannetta 3/20, 3/24), soprano, is a junior voice student at the Shepherd School. Originally from Austin, Texas, Ms. Snoujfer is a student ofDr. Stephen King. At the Shepherd School, she has previously participated in Rinaldo, Street Scene, Hansel and Gretel, and La Calisto. In our recent scenes program, she appeared as Susanna in a scene from Le nozze di Figaro. V Baritone SAMUEL SCHULTZ (Be/core 3/19, 3/22) is a voice performance major at The Shepherd School of Music and a student of Stephen King. He has performed such roles as Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosifan tutte, Pooh-Bah in Gil- ) bert and Sullivan's The Mikado, Tarquinius in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, · Bob in Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief, and Mr. Bluffin Mozart's The Im­ presario. In the Shepherd School's recent scenes program, he played Demetrius in a scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream and Papageno in a scene from Die Zauber/Wte. His solo concert repertoire includes performances ofHandel's Mes- siah, Faure's , Saint-Saens' Christmas Oratorio, and Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carols. Mr. Schultz has received top honors in numerous competitions, most recently placing fifth in the junior division of the 38th annual Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition. Mr. Schultz hails from Wisconsin. THOMAS SIDERS (Tomaso, Priest 3/19, 3/20, 3/22, 3/24) is currently pursu- A ing a Master of Music degree in trumpet performance at The Shepherd School of / j Music, where he studies with Marie Speziale. An active freelance trumpet player, Mr. Siders has played with many groups in the central and southeast Texas areas, including the Austin City Brass Ensemble, Brazos Valley Symphony, and Houston's Theatre Under the Stars. Additionally, Mr. Siders will be a fellow at the Tangle- wood Music Center this summer. Soprano BETHANY SOLHEIM (Giannetta 3/ I9, 3/22) is a native of Ottawa, Canada. She received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Toronto, where she was a two-time provincial finalist for the Canadian Kiwanis Festival as well as a trophy winner in a showcase featuring the works of Canadian composers. A student of Stephen King, she is currently pursuing a master's degree at The Shep­ herd School ofMusic . Ms. Solheim has portrayed such characters as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro at the Mestske Divadlo in the Czech Republic, Sandrina in Lafinta giardiniera and Anna Maurrant in Street Scene, both with the Shepherd School. MICHAEL SUMUEL (Dulcamara 3/ I9, 3/22), a first-year master's student at the Shepherd School, is originally from Odessa, Texas. Mr. Sumuel completed his undergraduate studies at Columbus State University in May 2007. He performed his first role in June 2007 as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro. Last fall he portrayed the Christian Magician in Rinaldo at the Shepherd School, and in December, Mr. Sumuel will be the bass soloist for Handel's Messiah in Columbus, Georgia. He recently performed a scene as Leporello from Don Giovanni in Opera Workshop scenes program. Mr. Sumuel studies voice with Susanne Mentzer.

MEGHAN TARKINGTON ( Adina 3/20, 3/24) is a senior studying with Kathleen Kaun. She appeared as Jennie Hildebrandt in last year's Street Scene, as well as performing in the chorus ofHans el and Gretel and as one of the Furies in La Calisto. In previous scenes programs, she played Luisa in a scene from The Fantasticks and Laurie in a scene from The Tender Land.

UPCOMING OPERA EVENT

April 16 Shepherd School Opera presents The Birth of Something by faculty composer Anthony Brandt, and a Stephen Sondheim revue. Wortham Opera Theatre at the Shepherd School. 8:00 p.m. Admission (general seating): $12; students and senior citizens $10. For tickets call 713-348-8000.