Boston Symphony Orchestra Concert Programs, Season 109, 1989-1990
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A GALA OPERATIC EVENING MlRELLA FRENI, soprano and Peter Dvorsky, tenor Members of the J3 Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Fiore Presented by the BOSTON OPERA ASSOCIATION Sunday, February 11, 1990, at 8 p.m. Symphony Hall, Boston m ® The Boston Opera Association Mrs. Russell J. Rowell, President Vice-Presidents V.J Hon. Charles Francis Mahoney Anthony D. Ostrom James D. St. Clair David C. Crockett Hon. Lawrence T. Perera Chairman, Board of Overseers Chairman, Board of Directors Robert L. Culver Robert L. Klivans Treasurer Secretary Bruce R. Bengston Michael J. Puzo Assistant Treasurer Assistant Secretary Board of Directors Mrs. Frank G. Allen Dr. Melvin D. Field Dr. Daniel H. Perlman Mr. John T. Bennett, Jr. Mr. Eugene M. Freedman Mr. William S. Reardon Mrs. John M. Bleakie Mr. Martin Gantshar Mr. John Ryan Mrs. Mary Louise Cabot Mr. Gerard A. Glass Mrs. George Lee Sargent Mr. Robert Cahners Mr. Milton L. Glass Mrs. Jacquelyn Scheinbart Mr. William I. Cowin Miss Sally Hurlbut Mr. Robert H. Scott Dean Phyllis Curtin Mrs. Myra Kraft Dr. Lawrence T. Shields Miss Catharine-Mary Donovan Mrs. J. Peter Lyons Mr. Johannes Spanjaard Mr. George Ellison Mr. Donald M. Manzelli Mr. Charles A. Steward Mrs. Harris Fahnestock Mrs. Nancy Rice Morss Mrs. Lucius Thayer Board of Overseers Mr. Frank G. Allen, Jr. Mrs. Henry S. Hall, Jr. Mrs. Barbara C. Riley Mr. Robert B.M. Barton Mrs. Henry M. Halvorson Miss Ann Sargent Mrs. Ralph Bradley Mr. Robert Hilliard Mrs. Frederic W. Schwartz Mr. Max Canter Mrs. Robert Douglas Hunter Mrs. Theodore C. Sturtevant Mr. Ron Delia Chiesa Mrs. Frank J. Kenney Mr. John Larkin Thompson Mrs. Polly F. Davidson Mr. Mark A. Langan Mrs. Byron G. Tosi Mr. Alfred L. Donovan Mr. Richard S. Milstein Mr. A. Raymond Tye Mrs. Melvin D. Field Mr. Denis Paiste Mr. John H. White Mr. Hirsh Freed Mr. Bertram B. Parker Ms. Doris Yaffe The Boston Opera Association Continues the Tradition The Boston Opera Association has enjoyed a reputation for fiscal stability and artistic excellence for more than 100 years, since the Metropolitan Opera presented its first per- formance (Faust) outside of New York — in Boston. The Met in Boston, under the auspices of the Boston Opera Association, continued until the 1986 season, when the Metropolitan Opera decided to forego its National Tour. Over the years, the B.O.A. Met season has brought the most distinguished artists of the operatic world to this city for the pleasure of Bostonians: Caruso, Flagstad, Pinza, Mil- anov, Sills, Price, Corelli, Nilsson, Caballe, Pavarotti, and conductors Mahler, Toscanini, Leinsdorf, Monteux, Bernstein, and many more. During the last four years, the Boston Opera Association has sponsored a variety of important educational and artistic programs and special concerts, including Dame Joan Sutherland in Concert, the Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy and Bess, and the New England premieres of award-winning films starring Placido Domingo: La traviata, Carmen, and Otello. In addition, the B.O.A. inaugurated a program entitled "An Evening With ..." These very popular dinner programs at the Ritz-Carlton have featured Ms. Beverly Sills and, most recently, Mrs. Kitty Carlisle Hart. In the fall of 1988, the Boston Opera Association began its Young Artists Award Pro- gram with a gala benefit sponsored by Hermes of Paris to help establish this important award. The first B.O.A. recipient, Mr. Haijing Fu, a baritone, won the Metropolitan Opera New England Regional Auditions and went on to win the finals at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Mr. Fu recently performed a leading role in Luisa Miller in Philadelphia with Luciano Pavarotti, and in November 1989 he appeared in Symphony Hall with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. On the second anniversary of the opening of Hermes' Boston store, another benefit evening was held to continue the support of this career award for young singers. Chrys Fisher, President, Hermes of Paris, Inc., presented a major gift to the Association as an expression of Hermes' continuing support of this career award for promising young singers. Some 300 guests attended the anniversary party in celebration of Hermes' presence in Boston. Another B.O.A. opportunity to help the careers of budding professionals was the Young Artists Recital. In the spring of 1989, B.O.A. presented two exciting artists from the Met- ropolitan Opera Young Artists Development Program, soprano Margaret Jane Wray and baritone Mordechai Kaston, both making their Boston debuts. Ms. Wray later won the Richard Tucker Prize and Mr. Kaston made his Metropolitan Opera debut. In addition to encouraging young professionals, the Boston Opera Association is commit- ted to developing the audiences of tomorrow. Educational outreach programs have been part of the Association's activities for some time. However, two years ago the B.O.A. established a highly- acclaimed program, "Opera-tunity" which this year will reach more than 2,500 students. The unique features of this cultural collaboration between the B.O.A. and schools include the following: * Students in selected classes undergo seven weeks of opera instruction twice weekly for 45 minutes. *In-school programs combine on-site instruction, workshops, and in-school perform- ances conducted by professional artists from the New York City Opera, with the classroom teacher rather than an outside person as the primary instructor. *The instructional pattern follows a unit sequence. There are two on-site performances that prepare the students for their out-of- school performance of a fully- staged opera, Hansel and Gretel, with live orchestra, costumes, lighting, etc. * Study materials emphasize acquisition of basic skills and content related to the art of opera. Participating schools include the following in Boston: Boston Latin, Technical High School, Quincy, Ohrenburger, Curley, Greenwood, Winship, Eliot, Agassiz, Hamilton, O'Donnell, Blackstone, Hernandez, Wilson, and Mather; and suburban schools including J.F.K. Middle School and Wilson Middle School in Natick, Waltham High School, and the Chestnut Hill School. This evening's Opera Gala at Symphony Hall, which is not on any BSO series, is made possible solely by the underwriting of the Boston Opera Association and through the sup- port of Dynatech, Merrill Lynch, Tiffany's, Neiman Marcus, the Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers, the Pioneer Group, Sherin and Lodgen, Guild, Monrad, and Oates, and loyal friends of the Association to whom we are deeply grateful. This unique collaboration of two of Boston's oldest cultural institutions will contribute much to the musical enrichment of both opera and symphony audiences throughout New England. It is hoped that this joint venture will result in traditional opera programs for the enjoyment of New England opera audiences and continue the tradition of artistic excellence. Benefactors, Sponsors and Patrons for the Boston Opera Association Opera Gala at Symphony Mrs. Weston W. Adams Dr. Richard W. Dwight Mrs. John Alden Dynatech Corporation* Mrs. Frank G. Allen Mr. and Mrs. Walter Elcock Frank G. Allen, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. George Ellison Mrs. and Mrs. Rae D. Anderson Mrs. Harris Fahnestock Mr. and Mrs. David B. Arnold, Jr. Tony Faunce Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Barrows Dr. and Mrs. Melvin D. Field* Robert B.M. Barton Martin Gantshar Christine Bassett Milton and Renee Glass Dr. and Mrs. Karl Benedict Guild, Monrad and Oates John T. Bennett, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Frederick W. Haffenreffer Dr. and Mrs. Leo L. Beranek* Mr. and Mrs. John Haffenreffer Sandy and Elizabeth Bjorkman William E. Haible Boston Park Plaza Hotel and Towers* Mrs. Henry S. Hall, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. John M. Bradley* Mr. and Mrs. R. Douglas Hall III Mrs. Mary Louise Cabot Mrs. Henry M. Halvorson Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Cahners Hermes of Paris Mr. and Mrs. Stanford Calderwood Mr. and Mrs. Roger M. Hewlett Edward C. Carman Mr. and Mrs. A.S. Hochberg Mr. and Mrs. C. Thomas Clagett, Jr. Emily C. Hood Mr. and Mrs. James F. Clearyt Wayne W. Horvath* Andrew Cohen Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Hubbard Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ernest Cooper III Mrs. Charmienne Hughes Mr. and Mrs. David C. Crockett Mr. and Mrs. Robert Douglas Hunter Mr. and Mrs. William R. Cuming Sally D. Hurlbut Mr. and Mrs. Lewis S. Dabney Mr. and Mrs. Raymond D. Ivaska Cherilyn E. Davidson E. Morton Jennings, Jr. Mrs. Polly F. Davidson Mr. and Mrs. Bela T. Kalman Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Davis II Mr. and Mrs. George I. Kaplan Mr. and Mrs. Michael H. Davis Susan B. Kaplan Dr. Simon P. Devine Arnold Katz Mr. and Mrs. Eugene B. Doggett Mr. and Mrs. George H. Kidder Phyllis Dohanian Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Kingsley Catharine-Mary Donovan Joan and Robert Klivans Peggy7 Dray Mr. and Mrs. Carl Koch * Benefactor tSponsor Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kraft Roger and Nina Saunders* Joyce Kulhawik Mrs. Jacqueline Scheinbart Mr. and Mrs. R. Willis Leith, Jr. Mr. and Mrs. Rocco Schelzi Mr. and Mrs. Gary D. Levey Robert H. Scott Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Lezotte Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Scully Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Lockwood Mr. and Mrs. Francis P. Sears Mr. and Mrs. J. Peter Lyons Ramses and Jocelyn Sedky Michael Lytton Drs. John and Elizabeth Serrage Hon. Charles Francis Mahoney* Mr. and Mrs. George C. Seybolt Mr. and Mrs. Donald M. Manzelli Sherin and Lodgen Mrs. Barbara M. Marshall Rosalie A. Simeone Rika Mazaki Howard and Harriet Simpson Merrill Lynch* Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Franklin Smith Mr. and Mrs. August R. Meyer Dr. Mary Frances Hayward Smith* Les J. Miller Mr. and Mrs. Charles A. Steward* Mr. and Mrs. Wells Morss Ruth Elsa Stickney Neiman Marcus Elizabeth B. Storer Old Town Trolleys Mr. and Mrs. Arthur I. Strang Miss Mary-Catherine O'Neill Hiddie Suhara Hon.