The Merry Widow Program, April 29
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APRIL 29 - MAY 8 CITI PERFORMING ARTS CENTERSM SHUBERT THEATRE ESTHER NELSON, STANFORD CALDERWOOD GENERAL & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR DAVID ANGUS, MUSIC DIRECTOR | JOHN CONKLIN, ARTISTIC ADVISOR Boston Lyric Opera counts on the generous support of patrons like you who stand up and say: I BELIEVE IN BLO Make a gift today to BLO's Annual Fund and keep opera Sandra Piques Eddy performs in Werther. at the forefront of Boston's T. CHARLES ERICKSON cultural landscape. MAKE A GIFT BY JUNE 30TH Learn more at blo.org/give B | BOSTON LYRIC OPERA THE MERRY WIDOW 2016 WELCOME In 1907, The New York Times announced, “Tomorrow night is coming to town a young person who has attracted an enormous amount of attention in foreign parts and who is expected to attract as much here… Great preparations have been made for her and her wiles are expected to be potent.” The arrival was Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow. Since its debut, this masterpiece has enthralled and delighted audiences around the world. And the widow herself, Hanna Glawari, has proved to be a woman of substance for generations. Life at the height of the gilded age, or La Belle Époque, aspired to be merry, lavish, and carefree. However, they were all dancing on the precipice of disaster: the Great War. We recognize it in the irresistible cast of characters who seduce, sway and swoon their way to true love or farewell. And we hear it in the unforgettable melodies of a Polish mazurka, the cancan, and, of course, the indelible “Merry Widow Waltz.” Sandra Piques Eddy and Alex Richardson in “ As we refl ect on our time on this venerable stage, we are Boston Lyric Opera's production of Werther. sincerely thankful to Joe Spaulding and his entire staff at T. CHARLES ERICKSON the Citi Performing Arts Center.SM We raise a toast to our memories here and salute our 18-year partnership.” For BLO, this production marks an important milestone in our history. We stand PROGRAM on the cusp of our 4OTH Anniversary Season, making us the longest-running opera company in Boston. And we bid our own farewell to the Shubert Theatre. CONTENTS As we refl ect on our time on this venerable stage, we are sincerely thankful to Joe Spaulding and his entire staff at the Citi Performing Arts Center.SM We raise a Welcome 1 toast to our memories here and salute our 18-year partnership. We will continue to About BLO 2 produce exceptional art and are immensely proud of the strong opera community that we, together, have built in the heart of Boston over the last four decades— Events Calendar/ nearly half of which were at the Shubert. Board of Directors 3 BLO’s commitment to being Boston’s hometown opera company continues, and A Few Words Regarding we are thrilled to welcome new productions and venue partners for the 4OTH The Merry Widow 4 Anniversary Season, as we blaze our very own tour de Boston and take on the feat 4O Days Of Opera 7 of four extraordinary productions on four iconic stages. Our choices for the 2016/17 Season marry our productions to the venues in which they will be performed BLO's Next Season: and refl ect not only our commitment to the popular works that we bring to the Tales of Two Cities 10 community but also the lesser known works. Cast & Synopsis 12 We look forward to celebrating the Season with you. Thank you for your ongoing Meet the Artists 14 support and for making opera possible. Production Staff & 19 Acknowledgments BLO Staff & Volunteers 20 Esther Nelson Michael J. Puzo Stanford Calderwood General Chair, Board of Directors Donors 25 & Artistic Director ABOUT BOSTON LYRIC OPERA Both locally and beyond, Boston Lyric Opera leads the way in celebrating the art of the voice through innovative programming and community engagement initiatives that redefi ne the opera-going experience. Under the vibrant leadership of Stanford Calderwood BLO’s programming remains faithful to tradition General & Artistic Director Esther Nelson, BLO’s while blazing new ground, building audiences, and productions have been described by the magazine creating new ways to enhance the opera-going Musical America as “part of the national dialogue” experience. Our Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artists because of their role as entry points for new audiences. work to hone their craft, and prepare themselves for The New York Times observed that BLO “clearly other world-leading stages. BLO’s wide-reaching intends [its productions] to catch the interest of education initiatives introduce opera to new audiences operagoers around the country.” across generations. This view is shared by the nearly 25,000 people Through your support and attendance, BLO employs who experience BLO each year through dynamic nearly 350 artists and creative professionals annually— performances, extensive partnerships with leading vocalists, artisans, stagehands, costumers, and scenic cultural organizations, like the Museum of Fine Arts, designers—many of whom are members of our own Boston and Boston Public Library, and programs community. The Company is proud to play a signifi cant throughout our vastly diverse and exuberant community. and meaningful role in Boston’s vibrant arts community. EXPLORE THE PASSION & POWER OF OPERA SIGNATURE SERIES SOUNDS OF THE CITY MAY 4 | 1:00 - 2:30 PM In partnership with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston MFA Boston | Remis Auditorium Part of “The City: 10 Forces that Shaped History” Individual sessions: $28 members | $35 non-members Tickets on sale at MFA.org BOSTON LYRIC OPERA POP-UP AT BOSTON PUBLIC MARKET — AN ARTWEEK EVENT! MAY 5 | 5:30 - 6:30 PM Boston Public Market | 100 Hanover Street Free and open to the public CHUCK CHOI 2 | BOSTON LYRIC OPERA THE MERRY WIDOW 2016 This kind of party only happens once in 4O years. SAVE THE DATE THE OPERA GALA FRI. SEPT. 23 | 2016 Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano sings the title role in BLO’s Carmen, Sept. 23 - Oct. 2, 2016, at [email protected] the Boston Opera House. 617.542.4912 x229 LIZA VOLL PHOTOGRAPHY BOARD OF TRUSTEES & OVERSEERS BOARD OF Linda Cabot Black Rusty Rolland Ann Beha Barbara Goodwin Papesch TRUSTEES Alicia Cooney David W. Scudder Edward Bell Samuel Y. Parkinson Miguel de Bragança Susan R. Shapiro Debra Taylor Blair Susanne Potts CHAIR Alan Dynner David Shukis Richard M. Burnes, Jr. Carl Rosenberg Michael J. Puzo Susan D. Eastman Ray Stata Ellen Cabot Allison K. Ryder VICE-CHAIR Andrew L. Eisenberg, Esq. Wynne W. Szeto Carol Gram Deane Jonathan F. Saxton Wayne Davis Thomas D. Gill, Jr. Christopher Tadgell Nicholas J. DiMauro Wendy Shattuck VICE-CHAIR & Barbara Winter Glauber Lady Juliet Tadgell Jessica Donohue Richard Trant TREASURER Mimi Hewlett Wat Tyler Joseph Glenmullen Sandra A. Urie Frank Wisneski Horace H. Irvine II Catherine E. Grein Mark Volpe Amelia Welt Katzen BOARD OF Amy Hunter Robert Walsh CLERK Maria J. Krokidas OVERSEERS William A. Hunter Lydia Kenton Walsh Susan W. Jacobs Stephen T. Kunian Louise Johnson Peter J. Wender CO-CHAIRS Lois A. Lampson Ellen Kaplan Bertram Zarins STANFORD Willa Bodman Jeff rey Marshall Pamela S. Kunkemueller Tania Zouikin CALDERWOOD L. Joseph LoDato GENERAL & ARTISTIC Abigail B. Mason Russell Lopez Lawrence St. Clair DIRECTOR A. Neil Pappalardo Anita Loscalzo EMERITI Esther Nelson, Ex Offi cio E. Lee Perry James Ackerman M. Lynne Markus Steven P. Akin Irving H. Plotkin Sarah E. Ashby Shari Noe J.P. Barger William Pounds Elizabeth Barker Jane Pisciottoli Papa Sherif A. Nada BOSTON LYRIC OPERA THE MERRY WIDOW 2016 | 3 Models of John Conklin’s set design for The Merry Widow. Right, costume sketch for the characters of Count Danilo, the Wives, and Camille de Rosillon by Gail Astrid Buckley, costume designer. A FEW WORDS REGARDING othing is lost, no matter how antiquated, without rue. My dad, who was Viennese, used to say that the downbeat of a regular waltz was just thud while the downbeat of a Viennese waltz was “regret.” In his Nwonderful book A Nervous Splendor, Frederick Morton talks about a discernible unease at the core of the Viennese Waltz, refl ecting the unease of the culture that produced it. This prick of bittersweet melancholy that pervades the great score of The Merry Widow always made me think of the approaching end of a certain world. That thought led us to set this production much closer to 1914 and the outbreak of the Great War, which was, in eff ect, the actual end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th. The pomp and glamour of courtly balls and waltzes, of an entire civilization, were suddenly eclipsed by trench warfare, by mustard gas, by the loss of a generation of young men. This production is a multi-language attempt to refl ect the principal countries involved in WWI. Cascada is Italian; St. Brioche is one of those Russians with French surnames; Camille and Valencienne are French; and Zeta, Bogdanovitsch, Pritschtisch, Kromow, and Njegus are Pontevedrian (i.e. “Balkan”). Danilo is Pontevedrian too, but with the cosmopolitan, European air of a fi n de siècle Viennese playboy who moves comfortably and with assured ease between various cultures and people. We have given depth and realism to Camille and Valencienne’s story, which too often barely exists in the libretto as a fl imsy excuse for the beautiful music they sing. This way we have two passionate love stories happening at the very moment when, in the famous words of British Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Grey, “the lamps are going out all over Europe.” Hanna—and this is the most notable diff erence from the original libretto—is American, an ex-Ziegfeld girl who married a Balkan multimillionaire upon being regretfully jilted by Danilo, whose ties to the royal family in Pontevedro would have never allowed such a union.