BEL CANTO

Newsletter of the Manatee Guild December 2020

Sarasota Opera Winter Season 2021 Announced!

Sarasota Opera has announced its Winter Season Il Signor Bruschino by , libretto by 2021, and tickets will go on sale on January 4. This Giuseppe Maria Foppa year these fully-staged will be available either live or at home through streaming. These operas will This lighthearted operatic comedy opens with one of give us the opportunity to explore little known gems. Rossini’s most innovative and playful overtures. Anxious young lovers navigate their way through meddling Healh and safety guidelines will stay in place, and parents, an arranged marriage, and a case of mistaken they are listed later in this newsletter. identity, with sparkling arias and ensembles soaring Here are the offerings that we can look forward to: towards happily ever after. April 9, 13,16, 21 at 7:30 Winter Season 2021 April 18, 24 at 1:30 The Happy Deception. by Gioachino Rossini, libretto Livestream: April 9 at 7:30 by Giuseppe Maria Foppa A duchess disappears and then washes up on a Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell, libretto by Nahum beach in a small mining town. A kind miner takes her Tate in and cares for her, until ten years later when her In this Baroque treasure based on the Aenead of Virgil, grieving husband and his entourage pay a visit. Dido the Queen of Carthage falls in love with the Trojan Abduction, menace, passion, and comedy all swirl warrior Aeneas, yet scheming sorcery and fateful spells towards a happy conclusion. doom their great passion. Hear the abandoned and February 12, 17, 23, and 25 at 7:30 heartbroken queen conclude the epic tale with one of February 14, 20 at 1:30 opera’s most memorable laments. Livestream: February 12 at 7:30 April 11, 25 at 1:30 Maid to Mistress, by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, April 15,17,20, 22 at 7:30 with libretto by Gennaro Federico. Livestream: April 11 at 1:30

A wealthy older bachelor grows impatient with his saucy young maid and resolves to find a wife to care Live in HD for him properly. The maid has other ideas and December 20, 2020 , schemes to get the promotion she desires — bride 1:30PM The Nutcracker - Ballet Film and mistress of the home. Tickets are $20, and can be purchased now using this February 19, 24, March 2 at 7:30 link. February 21, 27 at 1:30 Livestream, February 19 at 7:30 Sarasota Opera Health and Safety Measures President’s Message

Face masks required for all audience members at Holiday wishes to all our Manatee the Opera House and at our outdoor concerts. Opera Guild friends! May your Please wear a mask at all times while inside the holidays be bright and happy. Opera House complex, and throughout the performance. We have had 2 pieces of good news Print your tickets at home or receive a ticket on since my last message: an effective your mobile device. Self-scanning as you enter the vaccine is on the way, and Sarasota Opera will be theater will limit your contact with our ushers and presenting a Winter Season 2021. Dave and I join you staff. in hoping for a return to our pre-pandemic lives, and I long to see you all again. Thank you to everyone who The box office in the lobby will be closed to limit has kept the faith with the Manatee Opera Guild. The crowding. If needed, the main box office in the Board has agreed to give $5,000 to SOA, and an Pavilion building, under the green awning will be open. additional $1,000 to Sarasota Youth Opera. This donation was made possible by your membership Please do not come to the Opera House if you are dues, and by the generous Deane Allyn bequest. feeling ill. Temperature checks will be required before you enter the . Next year, when we’re all vaccinated, and ready to Anyone who is running a fever (100.3° F or higher) resume activities, we will all work to resume our will not be permitted to enter and your tickets will be wonderful meetings and to present a variety of refunded. enjoyable fundraisers and bring our donations back to All seats will be reserved to accommodate their usual levels. In the meantime, stay masked, stay distanced seating for performances at the Opera physically distanced ( I don’t like the phrase “socially House, including our HD at The Opera House distanced”) and keep your hands clean. We don’t want movies series. Seating has been spaced so that there to lose any members to the virus. You are all too dear. is one row in between groups and no fewer than Thank you to Elizabeth Aversa for bringing us a column three seats on either side. To ensure social on parties in opera with many links to performances distancing, you must use your reserved seat and may not switch seats without the assistance of the house that will lift our spirits this holiday season. manager. And thank you to Syble DiGirolamo who has Opera Club and McCorkle Lounge will be closed interviewed Maestro Jesse Martins and Maestro until further notice. George Hemcher of the Youth Opera. You’ll enjoy learning their backgrounds and how they have Concessions and drinking fountains will be closed managed to keep the Youth Opera members engaged, for the HD at the Opera House Movies as well as for the November concerts. As a result, you will be learning and growing during this most difficult time. allowed to bring your own bottled water in the theater. Tributes Social distancing rules will be observed at the opera house with modifications to lines approaching Our gift to MOG is to celebrate our 59th wedding the restrooms and elevators as well as the entrance Anniversary on Dec18th - still livin' and lovin'... to the theater. Sheila and Joe Varady

Sanitizing stations have been installed in the In fond memory of Mary Jane DeGenaro who artfully theater and we have optimized the air conditioning presented in our Prelude Series. system to provide better air flow and filtration. from all MOG members Your Virtual Holiday Opera Party for 2020 by Elizabeth Aversa Verdi’s Macbeth features a toast as Macbeth receives Back in the days when we could gather with friends guests at a banquet. The social event is fraught with beyond our own households we held, and attended, drama – the ghost of Banquo distracts Macbeth, but many opera parties. With friends in Washington, DC, a when the spirit disappears an effort is made to get group met at the Foggy Bottom apartment of one things back to normal. This 1976 performance of “Si couple, enjoyed a cocktail or two, and walked together colmi Il calice” at features American mezzo to the opera at Kennedy Center. Another group held soprano Shirley Verrett and Italian Piero “watch parties” with elaborate multi-course dinners, Cappuccilli. Watch here. served at intermissions and after the last applause, as we came together to watch the occasional televised, A Masked Ball live performances from the Met. And for a significant Verdi’s A Masked Ball involves, in the end, just that - a birthday celebration for my husband we gathered 35 masked ball. But in this 1859 opera, the party does not friends in our living room to enjoy live music performed end well, as the final scene reveals. Performed at the by singers and pianists from the university’s opera Bergen Performing Arts Center in Bergen County, New theatre. In our lives, opera and parties naturally go Jersey, here is an excerpt from the conclusion of A together! Masked Ball. As the 2020 winter holidays approach, though, few of Before Verdi, (1756-1791) us will gather with others outside our “COVID-19-safe composed some 22 operas, many of which remain in pods.” However, we can make some merriment, lift our the world’s repertoire today. is a sagging spirits, and celebrate opera in the safety of our frequently performed favorite. homes. Set aside an hour, line up some snacks and a Don Giovanni holiday beverage, and sit down to delight in seeing opulent settings, happy revelers, elegant costumes, Mozart’s Don Giovanni which premiered in 1787 and in hearing great music. Enjoy your own private includes a party scene at the end of Act 1. party with a half dozen operas plus one brief article to House production of 1992 featured read. as Don Giovanni; Leporello is sung by (1813-1901) takes the “triple crown” ; Carol Vaness is Donna Anna and where lavish parties embedded in great operas are Donna Elvira is sung by Patricia Schuman. Additional concerned. La Traviata (premiered 1853), Macbeth cast included Don Ottavio sung by Hans Peter (premiered 1847), and A Masked Ball (first performed Blochwitz; Masetto by ; and Marta 1859) provide drama, drama, and more drama at Marquez is Zerlina. This is the act 1 finale. Click here. beautiful social affairs. The next two works, considered to be , La Traviata incorporate memorable parties. [Although not clearly defined, the differences between and opera Mention parties, drinking, and opera and “Libiamo, ne’ seem to be that (1) operetta is a lighter version of lieti calici” from Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata is likely to opera; (2) operettas have more frivolous story lines and be the first to come to mind. Juan Diego Flórez and (3) operettas have spoken dialogue while opera has Diana Damrau sing the brindisi in a 2018 Metropolitan recitative instead – spoken words set to music. An Opera production conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. operetta is like a hybrid of a musical and an opera. Beautiful costumes, a lavish setting, and familiar music Operettas are often shorter and less complex than will lift spirits just as if we had been invited to Violetta’s traditional operas and they are sometimes sung in party. Click here. English. Of course, there are notable exceptions to A more contemporary interpretation of La Traviata can everything said here, and thus we include the next two be viewed at here. This (2015) titles, regardless of how they are classified.] production features Sonya Yoncheva and Michael Fabiano along with modern costuming and a set that consists of red couches and a giant analog clock. Only the music is delightfully predictable! though we can’t get together at meetings this year. First of all, Maestro’s Jesse and George wanted me to Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) say “Hello to all of you” and to let you know that they includes several party scenes. In the first, identity look forward to returning to Guild meetings for live confusion is involved along with fancy costumes, performances. Maestro Jesse says that “As wonderful comedy, and engaging music. Watch and listen here. as it is that we have on-line capabilities during this The excerpt is from the Wiener Staatsoper, and features pandemic, it just is not as satisfying as in-person Bernd Weikl (Gabriel van Eisenstein); interactions and performances that bring Opera out (Rosalinde); Erich Kunz (Frank) ; Josef Hopserwieser into the community”. (Alfred); and as Adele, Edita Gruberova. Die Fledermaus also features one of the most raucous As you know, Maestro Jesse and Maestro George are parties in all of opera, with singing, dancing, disguises, primarily responsible for the Sarasota Youth Opera and even some gymnastic tumbling. program. And they have successfully kept that program going this year for our Youth Opera Watch the engaging Metropolitan Opera ensemble participants. performance of 2013. The “Champagne polka” (aka “All I want is more champagne”) will entertain viewers W h e n t h e C o v i d with wild costuming, delightful dancing, and, of course, P a n d e m i c c l o s e d the singing. This excerpt from Act II features Jane Sarasota Opera to Archibald (Adele), Anthony Roth Costanzo (Orlofsky), audiences on March and (Eisenstein). 13, 2020, the Sarasota Youth Opera still had two months to go in its One cannot overlook the several parties in Franz annual April to May Lehár’s operetta The Merry Widow (1905). The story season. Maestro Jesse takes us from one social event to another as efforts - Martins (Music Director) including love and marriage - are made to keep a rich and Maestro George Hemcher (Youth Opera widow and her money in Pontevedro. In this video, Coordinator) immediately began transitioning the YO Beverly Sills sings “Hannah’s Entrance,” in a 1977 program and it 80+ students to continue in a virtual production. A sense of the merriment in the operetta format. It worked, and the YO students successfully also comes through in this 2014-2015 trailer for the completed their season. Well, to be specific, some Met’s “Live in HD” presentation with Renée Fleming as things worked fairly easily and others clearly proved to Hannah. Lehár is the most contemporary of the be much more difficult in the digital environment. For composers on our list of operas with parties. example, getting all the chorus members to anticipate In closing, the columnist wishes you a happy holiday and stay on the beat of the music to work on a choral season, and one that is safe but fun nonetheless. Enjoy number on-line was quite a challenge. At season end, the party and enjoy the music! Maestros Jesse and George conducted a survey of kids and parents to find out what worked for them, and then “revisioned” the Summer Camp to emphasize and focus on the parts that worked. Forty-three kids (about Getting to Know Sarasota Opera’s 2/3 of typical summer camp participants) participated in the Summer Program instructed by Maestro Jesse, Maestro Jesse Martins and Maestro Maestro George and Martha Collins. Classes were George Hemcher by Syble DiGirolamo broken into three smaller groups and the groups were rotated among the instructors/topics. We at the Manatee Opera Guild know Maestro Jesse Martins and Maestro George Hemcher because they The programs included not only the regular chorus have attended our Guild meetings to accompany work, but also Music 101, acting classes to develop singers who perform for us. I recently interviewed them skills participants can use no matter where their careers for this newsletter just so we can keep in touch even take them, and conversations with professionals from various jobs in the playing. Both also expressed excitement about being o p e r a i n d u s t r y . able to perform at the two beautiful outdoor venues at P a r t i c i p a n t s w e r e Selby Gardens. I hope some of you got to attend one i n t r o d u c e d t o of these performances. They were delightful concerts languages, received of our favorite Opera arias. There was a vibrancy and musical instruction, excitement in the air with both the singers and the voice instruction, and audience at being able to attend a live event again. stage training. (See The masks and social distancing generated a lot of photos of the Zoom smiles and waves rather than the normal social s e t u p w i t h t h e conversations, still it felt almost normal. Then I asked instructors - note some Maestro Jesse again, in addition to Opera??? And students on the screens). Maestro Jesse responded that cooking is a continuous spark of joy in his life. He specializes in sumptuous As is typical for the Youth desserts, but really, any new recipe makes for a very Opera, all who were enjoyable time for him in the kitchen. Maestro George interested in the program commented that he was always willing to volunteer as w e r e a c c e p t e d , a sampler for any new recipe. regardless of their talent o r f i n a n c i a l Maestro George talked about the Opera Mobile and considerations. One third the Outreach performances that Sarasota Opera had of participants typically done around Sarasota. He mentioned one in r e c e i v e s c h o l a r s h i p particular at the Police Station where the audience was assistance, however the very enthusiastic. He also liked the excitement he saw Youth Opera Program had in residents coming into courtyards outside the condo an increase in these scholarship requests this year as complexes. If you haven’t seen a photo of the Opera families faced pandemic related stresses on their Mobile, think of a truck pulling a trailer with an household incomes. MOG’s Deane Allyn award funded electronic keyboard and speakers, and some of our several of these scholarships. favorite singers like Alexander Boyd and Hannah Brammer singing from the ground in front of the Following the Summer Camp, the YO program was trailer. I agreed with Maestro George, as I was also again fine-tuned for on-line instruction, and the fall excited about the Opera Mobile. Then I asked him semester was offered on-line. Maestro Jesse again, in addition to Opera? And Maestro George emphasized that the Youth Opera music staff provided responded that being outside in nature sparked joy in more free individual coaching sessions to all students, his life. He really enjoys long bike rides and has so they could work on their singing skills, music explored many trails in and around Sarasota/ reading, and chorus repertory. New Ear training Bradenton over the past few months. If any of you sessions helped students to further master their music have a favorite trail to explore, please let him know. reading skills and feel more confident singing. He Maestro George is always looking for new adventures. promised to demonstrate “ear-training” for MOG in the He concluded the interview by telling me just how future. Maestros Jesse and George are now working to grateful he felt to have a staff job at Sarasota Opera create a Winter Season opportunity for a Youth Opera during this pandemic. He talked about all his performance. colleagues who are contracted for specific seasons/ events/performances around the country and who are Next, I asked what besides Opera had kept them busy out of work and really can see no work in sight. A lot during the pandemic. are looking for other kinds of work. He is saddened by this, as we at MOG are saddened. Maestro Jesse talked about the Live at Sarasota Opera concerts on stage in November where he and I responded that we appreciated their work to Maestro George had alternated first in accompanying “revision” our Youth Opera program and to provide it a singer and then in turning pages while the other was on-line throughout 2020. And I noted that being able to do that was due to the generosity of our Sarasota/ Kate a n d Bradenton donors and their love for Opera and their M o z a r t ' s D e r willingness and eagerness to continue support during Shauspieldirektor. the Covid pandemic. Mr. Hemcher has also collaborated There are quick biographies for both Maestro Jesse with Pocket Opera and Maestro George. of New York, Regina Opera in Brooklyn, Jesse Martins Light Opera of New Music Director York, eVoco Voice Maestro Jesse Martins Collective Mixed holds a Master of Arts in a n d W o m e n ' s Collaborative Piano from Ensemble, Voci da Camera, Oyster Bay Music Festival, Mansfield University of and Floating Opera New York. P e n n s y l v a n i a , a n d a As a tenor, George has sung Dr. Blind in Die Bachelor of Music in Piano Fledermaus, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Spärlich in Performance from the Nicolai’s Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Fiorello, Universidade Federal do the Officer, Ambrosius in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and El Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil). Remendado in Carmen. Since joining Sarasota George has played piano on many occasions for Opera in 2011 Maestro Distinguished Concerts International New York at Martins has served as Youth Opera Chorus Master for . George was the Music Director at mainstage productions and Youth Opera productions. Venture Opera in Donizetti's at the In addition he has been the understudy conductor for OPERA America Recital Hall and at the Kay Meek several main-stage Operas and has conducted Center in Vancouver, Canada. Previously George was Britten’s The Little Sweep (2013, 2018, 2019), Dean the Music Director of the Opera Scenes program at B u r r y ’ s T h e H o b b i t ( 2 0 1 4 ) , H a n s Hofstra University. Krása’s Brundibár (2015), Burry’s The Secret World of Og ( 2 0 1 6 , U . S . P re m i e re ) , a n d R a c h e l J . Sarasota Opera Guild Holds Virtual Peters’ Rootabaga Country (2017, World Premiere). During the 2018-2019 season Maestro Martins Fundraiser made his professional debut with the company Please help our sister guild help Sarasota Opera by conducting Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Before joining participating in their fundraiser for modern times. Sarasota Opera, Maestro Jesse was the Assistant While we can't hold our annual Poinsettia Luncheon, Music Director and Program Manager for Opera our dedication to Sarasota Opera is now more Factory Theater (Auckland, New Zealand), a training important than ever. All gifts are totally tax deductible. center for young singers. While attending Mansfield Donors will receive a link to an exclusive concert with University, Mr. Martins was a coach for Mozart’s The the extraordinary tenor RAFAEL DAVILA which they Marriage of Figaro, accompanied the Concert Choir in can view at their leisure. Please send checks, made the Eisteddfod competition in (UK), and payable to Sarasota Opera Guild, to Meryl Gale, 1617 performed at the Finger Lakes Chamber Music Festival Keeley Lane, Sarasota, FL 34232. (NY).

George Hemcher Youth Opera Coordinator Maestro George Hemcher, a native of Frazer, PA, has been with Sarasota Opera since June 2017. At Delaware Valley Opera, he worked on Verdi’s , Mozart’s Die Entführung Aus Am Serail, and was the Music Director for ’s Kiss Me