2018-19 SEASON Celebrating 30 Years

OPENING NIGHT Proving Up NEW YORK PREMIERE

MUSIC BY Missy Mazzoli LIBRETTO BY Royce Vavrek

IN A NEW PRODUCTION BY OPERA OMAHA

Wednesday, September 26, 8 p.m. | Friday, September 28, 8 p.m.

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OVERVIEW SYNOPSIS CREATIVE TEAM CAST PRODUCTION PHOTOS OVERVIEW

Proving Up Wednesday, September 26, 8 p.m. | Friday, September 28, 8 p.m. The performance runs approximately 75 minutes with no intermission. Composer Missy Mazzoli and librettist Royce Vavrek thrilled audiences and critics alike in 2016 with the premiere of their opera Breaking the Waves. This dynamic creative duo reunites for Proving Up, a harrow- ing tale of a family’s pursuit of the American Dream set in post-Civil War Nebraska. Miller’s 30th Anniver- sary Season opens with the New York premiere of this chamber opera that is by turns optimistic, exultant, and menacing.

Major support for Proving Up is provided by Francis Goelet Charitable Lead Trusts and H.F. Lenfest Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation

Introducing Proving Up A CONVERSATION WITH MISSY MAZZOLI AND ROYCE VAVREK Tuesday, September 25, 6:30 p.m. | Lenfest Center for the Arts On the eve of the New York premiere of their newest opera, Proving Up, the dynamic creative duo sits down with Associate Dean and Executive Director Melissa Smey to talk about the project, their creative process, and their inspiration.

Free and open to the public. Registration opens in September. Co-Presented by Columbia University School of the Arts and Miller Theatre

Proving Up SYNOPSIS

Somewhere in the plains of the young U.S. State of Nebraska, 1868 The Zegners – Ma, Pa, and their two young sons Peter and Miles – have moved to Nebraska from the east coast following the Civil War, prompted by the passing of the U.S. Homestead Act, the lure of large parcels of land, and a new prosperous life in the American West. As they face drought, famine, and the loss of their two daughters, they cling to the American dream of “proving up” through land ownership.

PART 1: The family tells of the official requirements needed to obtain the title to the homestead, the most elusive condition being that one’s home must have a glass window. Johannes “Pa” Zegner, being in possession of the only glass window in the region, agrees to share it with his neighbors as a farmer’s act of generosity. Ma tends to Peter, her oldest son who has suffered an unfortunate accident.

PART 2: Pa tells of rumors that an Inspector is on his way to hand out land titles, and convinces Ma to send their youngest Miles on a journey to lend the window out to their neighbors. He hopes to entice the Inspector back to their land so he can finally claim ownership of their homestead.

PART 3: The sisters sing from beyond the grave to reveal that Pa stole the window from the neighboring Yothers’ homestead after the family vanished without a trace. This disappearance is made even stranger since the Yothers had successfully obtained their land’s title weeks earlier.

PART 4: Ma wakes at night to pray for rain and mourn the loss of her daughters. Miles secretly watches her.

PART 5: Miles begins his journey. The route is dangerous and difficult; he encounters a rainstorm that turns into a sudden blizzard. His horse, Nore, is blinded by the snow and throws Miles from her back. Miles passes out from pain and exhaustion.

PART 6: Miles wakes to discover a dirty, disoriented sodbuster sitting next to him. The man holds out a copy of the Home- stead Act and tells Miles that he needs the glass window to obtain his title. Miles hesitates but the man is insistent, and he eventually steals the window. Miles fights back. The man tells Miles that he knows the window doesn’t actually belong to him, that it was stolen by his father. Miles panics as he hears the malicious laughter of his dead sisters.

PART 7: Ma and Pa are overjoyed as they see a figure in the distance, convinced that it is Miles returning home. Their joy turns to horror as they realize their mistake. The dead sisters return to their graves with new company.

Proving Up CREATIVE TEAM

Missy Mazzoli COMPOSER Adam Rigg SCENIC DESIGNER Royce Vavrek LIBRETTIST Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko COSTUME DESIGNER Christopher Rountree CONDUCTOR Pablo Santiago LIGHTING DESIGNER James Darrah PRODUCTION Ronell Oliveri WIG & MAKEUP DESIGNER Nathan Troup DIRECTOR

MISSY MAZZOLI, composer | As an established composer on the contemporary music scene, Missy Mazzoli inhabits an exquisite and mysterious sound-world that melds indie-rock sensibilities with formal training from Louis Andriessen, David Lang, Aaron Jay Kernis, Richard Ayres, and others. Missy Mazzoli’s music has been performed all over the world by the BBC Symphony, Kronos Quartet, JACK Quartet, eighth blackbird, LA Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony, and Opera Philadel- phia, among others. Her music has been featured at numerous festivals including the BBC Proms, Bang on a Can Marathon and Ecstatic Music Festival, the Cabrillo Festival (Santa Cruz), and the Gaudeamus Festival (Amsterdam). Her opera with librettist Royce Vavrek, Breaking the Waves, commissioned by Opera Philadelphia with Beth Morrison Productions was awarded the inaugural Award for Best New Opera by the Music Critics Association of North America and hailed as “among the best twenty-first-century American operas yet produced” by Opera News. Mazzoli is currently on the composition faculty of the Mannes College of Music, a division of the New School, and a co-founder of Luna Composition Lab. An active pianist, Mazzoli performs with Victoire, an “all-star, all-female quintet” (Time Out New York) she founded, which is dedicated exclusively to her own compositions.

Proving Up CREATIVE TEAM CONT.

ROYCE VAVREK, librettist | Royce Vavrek is a Canada-born, Brooklyn-based librettist and lyricist who has been called “an exemplary creator of operatic prose” (The New York Times), and “one of the most cel- ebrated and sought after librettists in the world” (CBC Radio). His opera Angel’s Bone with composer Du Yun was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music. With composer Missy Mazzoli he wrote Song from the Uproar, premiered by Beth Morrison Projects in 2012, and subsequently seen in multiple presen- tations around the country. Their second opera, an adaptation of Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves, premiered at Opera Philadelphia to critical acclaim in September of 2016. The work won the 2017 Mu- sic Critics Association of North America award for Best New Opera and was nominated for Best World Premiere at the 2017 International Opera Awards. Royce is currently collaborating with composer David T. Little to develop an original work for the Metropolitan Opera through the Met/LCT commissioning program. Vavrek is Co-Artistic Director of The Coterie, an opera-theater company founded with Tony-nominee Lauren Worsham. He holds a BFA in Filmmaking and Creative Writing from Concordia University’s Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema in Montreal and an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program at New York University.

CHRISTOPHER ROUNTREE, conductor | Conductor and composer Christopher Rountree stands at the intersection of classical music, new music, performance art, and pop. Rountree is the founder, conductor, and creative director of the path-breaking L.A. chamber orchestra wild Up, which started in 2010 with no funding and no musicians, driven by Rountree’s vision of a world-class ensemble that creates visceral, provocative experiences. Last season, Rountree debuted with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center and with Washington National Opera, and returned to the Los Angeles Philharmon- ic and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He’s conducted a litany of great ensembles and festivals including the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the Prototype Festival, Beth Morrison Projects, the American Composers Orchestra, Bohuslav Martinu Philharmonic, American Youth Symphony, and the Rose City Chamber Orchestra. He’s been tapped to curate events for contemporary art institutions, including the Getty Museum, MCA Denver, and the Hammer Museum, where a long-running wild Up residency brought the group to national prominence.

JAMES DARRAH, production | Working at the convergence of opera, theater, and film, Los Ange- les-based artist James Darrah brings together disparate creators and mediums for community-focused collaborations. He has been recognized as “a gifted young American director” (Chicago Tribune) with an unconventional body of directing, design, and curatorial work that “injects real drama” (The New York Times) into new theater and opera productions, films, events, installations, and music videos. He is the Artistic Director of Opera Omaha’s ONE Festival. His current projects include directing multiple world premiere operas with several leading composers. He will premiere Missy Mazzoli’s VESPERS, a music film featuring Olivia DePrato on solo violin for NPR’s First Watch that will also have its live debut with Jennifer Koh on violin at National Sawdust in Brooklyn. He previously directed the world premiere of Mazzoli and Vavrek’s acclaimed operatic adaptation of Lars Von Trier’s Breaking the Waves. He is a graduate of the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television where he received the George Burns/Gracie Allen Directing Scholarship.

NATHAN TROUP, director | Nathan Troup was recently named Boston Lyric Opera’s Emerging Art- ist-Stage Director for the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. Upcoming highlights include Madama Butterfly for Hubbard Hall Opera Theater, Alcina and Dark Sisters for Boston Conservatory, and The Werther Project for Boston University. Troup joined the faculty of The Boston Conservatory in 2011 and currently serves as Associate Director of Opera Studies. He is artistic director of the Conservatory’s Children’s Opera series and is a faculty advisor for the Conservatory’s music honor society Pi Kappa Lambda. He has spearheaded the department’s partnerships with community cultural organizations including collaborations with Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the French Cultural Center of Boston, and the Boston Children’s Museum. He also serves on the faculty of the Boston University Opera Institute.

Proving Up CREATIVE TEAM CONT.

ADAM RIGG, scenic designer | Adam Rigg is a New York-based set and costume designer. He is a Princess Grace Award winner, a two-time American Theater Wing Henry Hewes Design Award nominee, a Con- necticut Critics Circle Award nominee, and a multiple Ovation Award nominee. He was a recipient of the Donald Oenslager Fellowship in 2012 and the Pierre Cardin Fellowship in 2015. Recent and upcoming designs include productions by Soho Rep, Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group, LA Opera, Signa- ture Theater, The Guthrie, Seattle Rep, New York Theater Workshop, Williamstown Theater Festival, The Foundry Theatre, The Public Theater, Yale Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Westport Country Playhouse, REDCAT, Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, and Manhattan Theatre Club. He received his BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his MFA from the Yale School of Drama.

CHRISI KARVONIDES-DUSHENKO, costume designer | Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko has more than 25 years of experience as a costume designer in theater, film, and television. In 2003, she received an Emmy for her work on NBC’s American Dreams. She was also Emmy-nominated for FX’s American Horror Story and HBO’s Carnivàle and From the Earth to the Moon. She was nominated for four Costume Designers Guild Awards during five seasons of HBO’sBig Love. Her theatrical designs have been featured in productions at the Old Globe Theater, Geffen Playhouse, Seattle Repertory, Guthrie Theater, and the Kennedy Center. Kar- vonides-Dushenko’s designs for opera include Alcina in Karlsruhe, Germany; The Human Voice and Break- ing the Waves for Opera Philadelphia; and Iphigenia for Teatro National San Carlo. Karvonides-Dushenko received her her BFA from Emerson College and her MFA in theater design from Yale School of Drama.

PABLO SANTIAGO, lighting designer | Pablo Santiago is winner of the 2017 Richard Sherwood Award and the 2015 Stage Raw Award, and was nominated for an Ovation Award in 2018 and 2014. His work has been seen at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, the Latino Theater Co., Arena Stage, Paramount Theater, Skirball Center in New York, Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater, Su Teatro, Teatro Brava, Getty Mu- seum, ODC, and Opera Santa Barbara, among others. Recent highlights include The Threepenny Opera at Boston Lyric Opera, Destiny of Desire at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Goodman Theater, War of the Worlds with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and The Industry, Skeleton Crew at Geffen Playhouse, Pélleas et Mélisande with Cincinnati Symphony, Breaking the Waves for Opera Philadelphia and Beth Morrison Projects, Flight for Opera Omaha, and Good Grief and Citizen at the Kirk Douglas Theatre.

RONELL OLIVERI, wig & makeup designer | Ronell Oliveri, prime-time Emmy nominee for her make-up work on Desperate Crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower, is a well-known wig maker who builds and rents custom-made, human hair wigs for both film and stage productions. She is the Wig and Make- up Designer for Opera Colorado. Her training began at Columbia College in Chicago and continued at the Chicago Lyric Opera under previous wigmaster Stanley Dufford and current wigmaster Rick Jarvie. While pursuing a career as a makeup artist in film and television, she was hired at the L.A. Opera by wigmaster Rick Geyer. She subsequently entered into an apprenticeship with Tom Watson, wigmaster of the Metropolitan Opera. After 11 years in the wig and make-up industry, she has become recognized as an accomplished artist, specializing in custom-made human hair wigs.

Proving Up CAST

Michael Slattery MILES ZEGNER John Moore MR. JOHANNES “PA” ZEGNER Talise Trevigne MRS. JOHANNES “MA” ZEGNER Cree Carrico ZEGNER DAUGHTER, LITTLER Abigail Nims ZEGNER DAUGHTER, TALLER Andrew Harris THE SODBUSTER Sam Shapiro PETER ZEGNER

International Contemporary Ensemble

MICHAEL SLATTERY, Miles Zegner | Michael Slattery made his New York Philharmonic debut in No- vember 2013, stepping in at the last minute to sing the Britten Serenade for the Philharmonic’s celebra- tions of Benjamin Britten’s 100th birthday. Other career highlights include the title role in Bernstein’s Candide at Royal Festival Hall in London; The Very Best of Lerner & Loewe with Kelli O’Hara, Paolo Szot, and the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall; J.S. Bach’s B-minor Mass with Iván Fischer and the National Symphony Orchestra; Peter Sellars’ Tristan Project with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Los Angeles Phil- harmonic; and the Monteverdi Vespers of 1610 at the Berlin Staatsoper. Recent projects have included Britten’s Curlew River and Roland Auzet’s Steve V, the world premiere of Steve Jobs digital opera, with Opéra de Lyon; and Gregory Spears’s minimalist opera Paul’s Case for the Prototype Festival in New York.

Proving Up CAST CONT.

JOHN MOORE, Mr. Johannes “Pa” Zegner | John Moore is garnering praise for his energetic performances and burnished baritone in both operatic and concert repertoire. He is a graduate of the Metro- politan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program, and last season he returned to Seattle Opera as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia and had role debuts of Hannah (before) in As One with Des Moines Metro Opera and Johannes “Pa” Zegner in Proving Up with Opera Omaha. He also returned to the Metropolitan Opera to cover Papageno in The Magic Flute and Belcore in L’elisir d’amore. Previously, he was in the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves with Opera Philadelphia, singing the role of Jan, Seattle Opera as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, the Hyogo Performing Arts Center as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, and in concert with The Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center.

TALISE TREVIGNE, Mrs. Johannes “Ma” Zegner | American soprano Talise Trevigne performed last season at Hawaii Opera Theatre in the role of Micaëla in Carmen and recreated the role of Clara in JFK at Opéra de Montréal. She performed the title role of Porgy and Bess at the University of Michigan and the title role of L’incoronazione di Poppea at Cincinnati Opera. Recent highlights include performances at Ken- tucky Opera in the title role of Madama Butterflyand Jake Heggie’s world premiere It’s a Wonderful Life at Houston Grand Opera. Other highlights include the role of Leila in Les Pêcheurs de Perles at North Carolina Opera, and the role of Bess in Porgy and Bess in a new production by Francesca Zambello at Glimmerglass Festival. She was nominated for a 2016 Grammy Award in the category Best Solo Classical CD for her rendition of Christopher Rouse’s Kabir Padavali with the Albany Symphony.

CREE CARRICO, Zegner Daughter, Littler | Praised by Opera News for her “gleaming tone,” soprano Cree Carrico is an emerging singing actress gaining recognition as an interpreter of 20th- and 21st-century works. In recent seasons, she performed the role of Amour in Orphée et Eurydice and Sagredo/Eos in Galileo Galilei with Des Moines Metro Opera, the role of Gilda in Rigoletto with Syracuse Opera, a double bill as Williamson Girl/Soprano in Difficulty of Crossing a Field/Little Match Girl Passion with Portland Opera, the Hamster in the world premiere of Animal Tales! with Garden State Philharmonic, as well as performing as a soloist at the LA in Brooklyn event with Beth Morrison Projects, in addition to others. She received a BM from the Oberlin Conservatory and a MM from Manhattan School of Music. She was a finalist in the Ades Competition, the Lotte Lenya Competition, and the Houston Grand Opera Studio.

ABIGAIL NIMS, Zegner Daughter, Taller | Mezzo-soprano Abigail Nims is renowned as a musician of integrity and versatility for her performances of repertoire spanning from Bach, Handel, and Mozart to Crumb, Ligeti, and premieres of contemporary works. Her recent season solo appearances included Mozart’s Requiem with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, also the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra of Columbus, and the premiere performance of Missy Mazzoli’s newly commissioned opera, Proving Up, with Opera Omaha. Other career highlights include Handel’s Messiah with the Naples Philharmonic and Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Duluth Superior Symphony, and Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park.

Proving Up CAST CONT.

ANDREW HARRIS, The Sodbuster | Andrew Harris’s basso-profundo qualities continue to impress audiences in both Europe and America. Approaching his seventh season with Deutsche Oper Berlin, he continues to add both standard and contemporary roles throughout the bass repertoire. Some recent roles include Fafner (Das Rheingold), Roger Mortimer (Edward II), Titurel (Parsifal), Don Basillio, (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Tom (Un ballo in maschera), Masetto (Don Giovanni), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Marcel (Les Huguenots), and Diégo (Vasco da Gama). Mr. Harris makes his Santa Fe Opera debut in 2018 as Edward Teller in Doctor Atomic. Future roles with Deutsche Oper Berlin include Fasolt (Das Rheingold), Steffano Colonna(Rienzi), Timur (Turandot), and Doktor (Wozzeck). Mr. Harris complet- ed the Young Artist Program with Chicago Opera Theater and Artist Diploma at Roosevelt University.

SAM SHAPIRO, Peter Zegner | Sam Shapiro, from Winston-Salem, NC, began his ballet training at Wake Forest University under the direction of his mother, Brantly Shapiro. At age 11, he entered the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he studied with the entire faculty including Duncan Noble, Nina Danilova, and Gyula Pandi. At age 17, he joined The Royal Ballet’s Upper School, graduating with commendation. Sam danced in the Royal Ballet’s productions of Cinderella, La Fille Mal Gardee, Firebird, La Valse, and Manon. He spent two years in Boston Ballet II and performed with Boston Ballet in many ballets such as Giselle and Romeo and Juliet. After Boston he spent two years with The North Carolina Dance Theater performing classical and contemporary repertoire. He currently teaches dance at Wake Forest University and UNC School of the Arts.

INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY ENSEMBLE | The International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE) is an artist collective that is transforming the way music is created and experienced. As performer, curator, and ed- ucator, ICE explores how new music intersects with communities across the world. The ensemble’s 35 members are featured as soloists, chamber musicians, commissioners, and collaborators with the foremost musical artists of our time. Works by emerging composers have anchored ICE’s programming since its founding in 2001, and the group’s recordings and digital platforms highlight the many voices that weave music’s present. A recipient of the American Music Center’s Trailblazer Award and the Chamber Music America/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, ICE was also named the 2014 Musical America Ensemble of the Year. The group currently serves as artists-in-residence at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts’ Mostly Mozart Festival, and previously led a five-year residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. ICE was featured at the Ojai Music Festival from 2015 to 2017, and at recent festivals abroad such as gmem-CNCM- marseille and Vértice at Cultura UNAM, Mexico City. New initiatives include OpenICE, made possible with lead funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which offers free concerts and related programming wherever ICE performs, and enables a working process with composers to unfold in public settings. DigitICE, a free online library of over 350 streaming videos, catalogues the ensemble’s performances. ICE’s First Page program is a commissioning consortium that fosters close collaborations between performers, composers, and listeners as new music is developed. EntICE, a side-by-side education program, places ICE musicians within youth orchestras as they premiere new commissioned works together.

Proving Up PRODUCTION PHOTOS

Photo credit: Photos by James Matthew Daniel, courtesy of Opera Omaha

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Proving Up