BEHIND THE CURTAIN FALL 2010

Gotham Chamber Opera is the nation’s foremost com- IL MONDO DELLA LUNA pany dedicated to producing rarely-performed chamber Best “off-Broadway” opera production 2010 Parterre Box – May 20, 2010 operas from the Baroque era to the present. Our mission is to pres- GREETINGS ent innovative, fully-staged FROM OUR productions of the highest El gato quality in intimate venues. PRESIDENT At the Summer 2005 Lincoln Center Festival, Gotham’s production of Respighi’s La bella con botas NEAL GOREN ARTISTIC DIRECTOR dormente nel bosco (Sleeping Beauty) From October 1 to 10, Gotham Chamber Opera delightfully animated the composer’s lush and Tectonic Theater Project will join forces to harmonies with the magical puppetry present the United States premiere of Xavier DAVID BENNETT MANAGING DIRECTOR of Basil Twist. Those of you who fondly Montsalvatge’s El gato con botas (Puss in Boots). remember this spectacle will be especially As a presentation of the New Victory Theater at 209 West 42nd St., our production will be BOARD OF DIRECTORS excited by our Fall 2010 production: Xavier Montsalvatge’s El gato con botas (Puss in directed by Moisés Kaufman (Broadway’s 33 Variations, The Laramie Project, I Am My Own KAREN LERNER Boots). For this fairy-tale set by another mid- PRESIDENT EMERITUS twentieth century composer, we will again Wife), and will feature feature bunraku puppetry, employ puppets –this time under the direction designed and executed by London’s renowned Blind Summit Theatre Company. Blind Summit is TED TRUSSELL PORTER of Moisés Kaufman. Undoubtedly the same PRESIDENT magic will ensue. best known to New York City audiences for their Both the Respighi and the Montsalvatge work in the Metropolitan Opera’s recent produc- tion of Madama Butterfly. The production’s sets DOMNA C. STANTON are typical for us: Gotham Chamber Opera will be designed by Andromache Chalfant, with VICE PRESIDENT specializes in ambitious productions of costumes by Clint Ramos. often un-heralded repertory. Witness our DONALD N. GELLERT recent presentation of Haydn’s Il mondo Born in Girona, Spain, Xavier Montsalvatge SECRETARY & TREASURER della luna (The World on the Moon) at the (1912-2002) is one of the most renowned Hayden Planetarium under the direction of ROBERT BAREUTHER Diane Paulus: here too, Gotham challenged BEATRICE BROADWATER all preconceptions of what, where, and how opera can be performed. The result was BROOKE HAYWARD DUCHIN pure magic.

MICHELLE EDELMAN Chalfant Andromache by Model Set None of these productions would be possible ANDREA K. FALLEK without your loyal and generous support. Gotham PAUL L. KING truly is a puppet animated by your helpful hidden hands. With this newsletter we want LOUIS MIANO to keep you posted on the company’s plans JOHN L. MOORE I I I – and to inspire you to continue to “pull the strings”. WILLIAM OLIVER CHRISTIE ULRICH Thank you for your support!

ROBERT TURNER Ted Trussell Porter composers of Spain’s so-called “lost gener- Gotham Chamber Opera, we would be most ation,” existing between the composers of grateful for your support now. the Republic and the current generation of You can make a contribution on our website Spanish composers. Of his three operas, El at http://www.gothamchamberopera.com/ gato con botas (1946), Una voce in off (1962) support.html or by using the mail-in form on the and Babel 46 (1967), El gato con botas is the back of this newsletter. We look forward to most famous, based on the familiar Perrault seeing you at El gato con botas in October! fairy tale. The opening night gala performance and Sincerely, reception for El gato con botas will take place on October 1 at 7:00 pm. As in the past, the David Bennett performance will be immediately followed by a Executive Director festive reception at a nearby location. Tickets are $500 ($400 tax deductible), $1,000 ($850 NOTES FROM tax-deductible), and $2,500 ($2,200 tax-deduct- OUR ARTISTIC ible) and will be available in July on our website DIRECTOR or by calling 212-868-4460. In the summer of 2005, Gotham Chamber Additional performances are October 2, Opera presented Respighi’s La bella dormente 7, 8, and 9 at 7 pm; October 2 and 9 at 2 pm; nel bosco (Sleeping Beauty) at Lincoln Center and October 3 and 10 at 12 pm and 5 pm. Festival and Spoleto Prices range from $9–$25 for Members, and Festival USA. The $14–$38 for Non-Members. production was a great success with the general public NOTES FROM as well as with crit- THE EXECUTIVE ics due to its mag- DIRECTOR ical score and the As most of you know, we’ve just concluded magic of its pup- what was perhaps our most ambitious production, petry. I immediate- Haydn’s Il mondo della luna, which played to ly sought anoth- sold-out houses at the Hayden Planetarium er work that might and garnered immense critical acclaim. But provide the same what you may not know is that our budget has sense of wonderment to our audiences. But doubled in size since 2005. Yet we’ve been such a work was not so easy to locate. able to balance the budget, even in the midst Eventually I remembered that, many years of the current economic difficulties, through ago, I had played the accompaniment to some the tremendous support of our loyal fans like piquant songs entitled Cinco canciónes negras you. Because of your generosity, we approach by the Catalan composer Xavier Montsalvatge. our tenth anniversary in 2011—2012 in strong Somewhere in my memory bank I recalled financial and artistic health. that Montsalvatge had also written a fairy With that good news in mind, we’re happy tale opera of some sort. After a bit of research I to report that this year we return to a two-pro- u n earthed El gato con botas (Puss in Boots), duction season. From October 1—October 10, and it proved to be a real find. The extrovert score Photo by Stephanie Berger we will bring you the United States premiere exudes joy at every turn. Like the Respighi, El of Montsalvatge’s delightful opera El gato con gato con botas features a simple, shining surface Theatre Summit Blind © Sketches Puppetry – gato El botas (Puss in Boots). Presented at the beautiful that belies great musical complexity, resulting 500-seat New Victory Theater, our production will in an opera that can please children, sophis- alternate performances in Spanish and English, ticated musicians, and everyone in between. and at a running time of 70 minutes, it is guar- To elicit and enhance those qualities, I turned anteed be a treat for audiences of all ages. to the acclaimed director Moisés Kaufman (33 Variations and I Am My Own Wife on Broadway) In February, we will bring you our second and the internationally renowned Blind Summit production, the United States professional stage Puppet Theater (the Met’s Madama Buttefly). premiere of Cavalli’s recently discovered Together, they are creating what I feel will be baroque masterpiece Eligabalo. We will have another (sometimes literally) magical evening much information about this exciting production of opera. and next seasons’ tenth anniversary celebration to share with you in our fall newsletter. I am particularly pleased to offer El gato con botas on the heels of Haydn’s Il mon- For those of you who have recently supported our do della luna, which we presented in January work with a donation, we offer our sincere thanks. at the Hayden Planetarium of the American If you haven’t recently made a contribution to 2 Museum of Natural History. That production, with its celestial light show and la- he was eight. dance, he established himself as one of his ser technology, represented a level of His Tectonic Theater Project, established country’s outstanding young composers, modern stagecraft that would be hard in 1991, is dedicated to exploring the unique with more than twenty ballets to his credit. to top. With El gato con botas we don’t language and forms of theater as they differ In 1942 he began a second career as a mu- try; in fact, we are aiming in the oppo- from film or television, and he is eager to sic critic and, twenty years later, a third as site direction. Puppetry is a low-tech bring the innovative, experimental approach a teacher at the Conservatory. In all of these art form that derives its power from the developed by that company to the world of pursuits Montsalvatge was influential in encour- simplest means, and much of our plea- opera and, in particular, to Montsalvatge’s aging Catalan music to move away from its sure derives from watching beautiful charming version of a classic fable. He is Germanic traditions and to absorb the hand-made objects manipulated by real especially pleased to be collaborating with innovations of Stravinsky and the composers people. Classical music is also a cel- Gotham Chamber Opera and a third company comprising France’s Les Six. His delight in ebration of the low-tech, featuring much also noted for its adventurous offerings, Blind the world of children and the folk music of the same ingredients: hand-made objects Summit Theater, renowned for its puppetry, who his native Catalonia can perhaps best be en- manipulated by real people. And sing- contributed significantly to the success of the joyed in his opera El gato con botas, which ing is perhaps the lowest-tech of all, in- Metropolitan Opera’s recent new production of received its premiere in 1948 in Barcelona’s volving nothing man-made whatsoever. It Madama Butterfly. Gran Teatre del Liceu. He was also fascinat- requires only two things: the singer and ed by West Indian music and its Spanish Mr. Kaufman looks forward to exploring the the listener. origins, which are evident in such popular power and appeal which the fable of Puss and works as his song cycle Canciónes negras That’s where you come in-literally. the Boots has exerted over the centuries in from the 1940s. Please help us bring more magic to various forms, languages, and cultures. This life when we combine two low-tech art operatic version, with its colorful, arresting arias, Montsalvatge’s later work included film forms into one high-octane experience ensembles, and dances, will be performed scores, concertos for the violin and piano, with El gato con botas this fall. in both its original Spanish and in an ex- and in 1962 an opera set to an Italian text. cellent English translation, and it will delight and Drawn to the great European nationalist com- posers, but always attracted by the vanguard, Neal Goren enthrall adults and children equally. In choosing casts who will perform in both languages, Mr. Montsalvatge adopted an eclectic posture ABOUT Kaufman hoped to find performers who matched which enabled him to write scores that were OUR STAGE the work’s challenging vocal requirements with acclaimed for their individuality, maturity, and acting skills that could encompass both dramatic high quality. He died in his beloved Barcelona DIRECTOR and comedic opportunities, and he feels that he in 2002 at the age of 90. MOISÉS KAUFMAN the founder and and conductor Neal Goren have discovered artistic director of the New York-based ideal exponents for these demanding roles. In ADDITIONAL Tectonic Theater Project and the writ- addition, Blind Summit’s puppets will both flesh LISTENING FROM er/direc- out the array of animals who make up this unusual tor of G ross cast and also occasionally mirror the action of the OUR ARTISTIC Indecency: principle characters. DIRECTOR T h e T h r e e For Mr. Kaufman, El gato con botas, For those interested in exploring more of T r i a l s o f which vividly demonstrates how wit and Montsalvatge’s output, I would begin with Oscar Wilde, imagination can enable us to overcome great his most famous work, the Cinco canciónes The Laramie loss and personal difficulties, promises to be negras for mezzo soprano and piano. There Proje ct, and an entrancing and moving time in the theater is a terrific recording, readily available, by 33 Variations for all members of the family, as well as an Joyce DiDonato and Julian Drake on their among many introduction to a neglected and irresistible recording entitled Pasión!. Teresa Berganza o t h e r a c - and Felix Labilla also made a fine recording

© Joan Marcus addition to the operatic repertory. claimed pro- of the songs for DGG in 1975, though it will ductions, will be directing his first opera ABOUT take perseverance to locate a copy. when he joins Gotham Chamber Opera THE COMPOSER El gato con botas is Montsalvatge’s for its fall 2010 American premiere pre- XAVIER MONTSALVATGE, the distinguished second best-known work. Conductor Antoni sentation of Xavier Montsalvatge’s El gato Spanish composer, critic, and teacher, was Ros-Marbá leads a somewhat uneven cast con botas. He brings to this exciting new born in 1912 in Catalonia, a region whose and the excellent Orquestra Sinfònica del venture a passion for theater and music history and cultural heritage were central to Gran Teatre del Liceu in a 2006 recording reaching back to his boyhood in Caracas, his work throughout his long life. Soon that fully captures the spirit of the work. The Venezuela, where he was born and af ter moving to Barcelona, at the age of nine, same conductor and orchestra recorded raised. As a youth, he was introduced he began to study the violin and eventually Montsalvatge’s second opera, Una voce in to the work of some of the world’s lead- attended the Barcelona Conservatory, where an off, in 1962. Composed to an Italian libret- ing and most innovative theater direc- early composition was awarded the school’s to, the opera sounds post-Puccinian –think tors at a prestigious drama festival held most coveted prize. Menotti with a Spanish twist– and merits annually in Caracas. He also received an early in- performance. Montasalvatge’s third and fi- From the beginning Montsalvatge was troduction to the pleasures of opera at a nal opera, Babel-1948, has not been record- particularly conscious of rhythm and the role Metropolitan Opera performance of ed, so far as I can tell. Carmen during a visit to New York when of music in the theater. Inevitably drawn to Montsalvatge wrote some lovely piano The singers for Il mondo have been music, most notably Sonatine pour Yvette flying high since our performances. (whose last movement incorporates Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star), eloquently recorded by HAYDN UPDATE ON OUR the late Alicia de Larrocha. De Larrocha AT THE HAYDEN also recorded his very French-sounding an out-of-this-world hit HAYDN CAST Concierto breve. I am also partial to In January, Gotham Chamber Opera, in Elegía a Maurice Ravel, the second of the HANAN ALATTAR an extraordinary collaboration with the Tres divertimentos, and to Divagación. recently appeared in re- American Museum of Natural History, Some may find his suite El arca de Noe cital in Sarasota and in presented five sold-out performances of (Noah’s Ark) interesting as well. the American Symphony Haydn’s Il mondo della luna (The World Orchestra’s presentation Montasalvatge was a master of orchestral on the Moon). Here’s what the critics had of Schumann’s Scenes coloration. His Sinfonía Mediterranea is to say: celebrated, but I find the three-movement from Goethe’s Faust in Laberinto even more appealing. “Consider it must-see opera. Trimmed to Avery Fisher Hall. This summer she 100 minutes sans intermission, the intimate returns to English National Opera as Montsalvatge embraced many styles setting, which utilizes a 180-degree dome Leïla in Les pêcheurs de perles, and next over the course of his long career (even and gorgeous light projections, fuses opera season she makes her debut with Seattle 12-tone composition), but I find none of and stargazing in a night to remember.” Opera as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. his works more appealing than El gato –Fern Siegel, The Huffington Post, January 21, 2010 con botas. In that work he brought the ALBINA SHAGIMUTOVA full force of wit, charm, humor, and “A delightful sound and light show, flew to Moscow to sing craftsmanship to bear. with projections both astronomical and Queen of the Night at fantastical exploding on the spherical the Bolshoi Opera, then Neal Goren ceiling overhead.” –Mike Silverman, Associated returned to New York for Press, January 20, 2010 her Metropolitan Opera debut in the same role “Haydn’s music is not just witty but also in April. In between, she made her debut elaborate, rich and tender, qualities Mr. Goren WE’D LIKE with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in captured in his conducting.” –Anthony TO HEAR FROM YOU Tommasini, The New York Times, January 20, 2010 Rossini’s Stabat Mater.

What do you most “Director Diane Paulus, who helmed the NICHOLAS COPPOLO enjoy about hit revival of Hair, takes her cue from the sang the role of Emilio Gotham Chamber Opera? hallucinogenic potion given to Buonafede, in Handel’s Par tenope evoking the fake moonscape as a ‘60s dis- at New York City Opera Please let us know at: co complete with glittery mimes, lumi- in April and Icarus in the nescent costumes and trippy projec- world premiere of Daron [email protected] tions on the planetarium dome.” –James H a g e n’s A m e l i a w i t h Your responses will help us plan future Jorden, New York Post, January 20, 2010 Seattle Opera in May. seasons. We will report your responses You can read more of the rave reviews here: in our autumn newsletter. In the fall, http://www.gothamchamberopera.org/ TIMOTHY KUHN news_ilmondo.html. performs the role of Marcello in La bohème w i t h A t l a n t a O p e r a followed by Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Virginia Opera.

MARCO NISTICÒ flew directly from our production to Sarasota Opera to sing Giacomo in Verdi’s G i o v a n n a d ’A r c o , f o l l o w e d b y Dulcamara in L’e l i s i r d’amore with Toledo Opera. Next fall he returns to New York City Opera to sing Dulcamara, which is rapidly becoming one of his signature roles.

4 Il Mondo – pictured: Marco Nisticò © Richard Termine where opera gets intimate

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