Opera in Three Acts Libretto by Arturo Colautti

Directed by Malena Dayen Conducted by Israel Gursky

Filmed at Target Margin Theater, Brooklyn NY Sung in Italian with English subtitles Umberto Giordano’s FEDORA Libretto by Arturo Colautti

Performed at the Target Margin Theater, Brooklyn NY Streaming on November 10th, 2020

FEDORA LORIS Michelle Johnson Jeremy Brauner

DE SIRIEX OLGA Marcello Guzzo Maria Brea

DESIRÈ DIMITRI Samuel White Eugenia Forteza

GRECH LOREK Rubin Casas Michael Gracco

CIRILLO ROUVEL Brian Montgomery Jordan Weatherston Pitts

BOROV A PEASANT BOY Rick Agster Kinneret Ely

SERGIO NICOLA Pavel Suliandziga William Desbiens

FISARMONICA Ezio Pelliteri Fedora Crew and Creative Team

Artistic Director Stefanos Koroneos

Director Malena Dayen

Conductor Israel Gursky

Lighting Designer Jon DeGaetano

Assistant to Lighting Designer Matthew Deinhart

Projections Sangmin Chae

Cameramen Global Vision

Editing Global Vision

Assistant Conductor Nicole Russell

Assistant to Artistic Director Danika Fernandez

Graphic Designer and Social Media Assistant Darissa Townes

Assistant to Artistic Director Nicole Russell

Marketing Assistant Cindy Cai

Fundraising Assistant Ashleigh Ayres

Social Media Intern Isabella Brutch I Camerati

Our sincere thanks to our foundation, corporate and individual donors who have helped Teatro Grattacielo accomplish its mission this year. Your generosity had made this production possible.

The Horace W.Goldsmith Foundation

The Geoffrey C. Hughes Foundation

The Pizzimenti Cultural Foundation

Louis Tallarini

Katherine Maxwell

The Dubose And Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund Friends Of Teatro Grattacielo

We especially thank the following individual donors for their generous, continuing support of Teatro Grattacielo and its mission of reviving opera masterpieces and helping emerging young artists advance their careers.

John Metcalfe

John Mucci

Ms. Lori Minasian

Milton Kimura

Robert C. Wilcox

Peter Bloch

Bob Scrofani

Joseph Neustadter

Angelique Burzynski

David And Jaqueline Morton

Albert And June Cardinali About the Cast Michelle Johnson (Fedora)

Soprano Michelle Johnson, a Grand Prize Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions where she was described as “a clear audience favorite” (New York Times), has been lavished with praise… “Her voice is velvety and pliant – a dulcet dream.” Recent engagements include, a return to Chicago Opera Theater as Zemfira in Aleko, solo performances with Madison Symphony Orchestra, Waterbury Symphony and Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra. In 2020-2021, Ms. Johnson makes her Teatro Gratticielo, Allentown Symphony, Florentine Opera, Opera on the James and Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia debuts.

Jeremy Brauner (Loris)

A finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council competition, north east region 2019, and a 2020 winner of an Encouragement Grant from the Wagner Society of New York, Jeremy Brauner is often described as having a brassy rich, powerful and liquid flowing tenor. He earned a BFA in musical theatre from Montclair State University where he had his first experience with opera. He began his opera career as a baritone. In 2016 he made his tenor debut as Alfredo (La traviata) with Dell’Arte Opera Ensemblé. He has since performed such roles as Mario Cavaradossi (Tosca), Ricardo (Un ballo in maschera), Calaf (Turandot). Most recently Jeremy performed the role of B.F. Pinkerton (Madama butterfly) with Ceder Rapids Opera Theatre.

Marcello Guzzo (De Siriex)

Hailed as “strong and charming” by The New York Times and “majestic“ by The Boston Globe, Marcelo Guzzo is considered one of the most prominent singers of his generation. Mr. Guzzo launched the 2019/20 season with his debut as Macbeth at Opera North, following his notable debut at Hong Kong Opera as Don Giovanni, a role he will perform again at The Kursaal in San Sebastián, Spain in February 2020. Mr. Guzzo has also performed in concert with Andrea Bocelli, conducted by Plácido Domingo, and appeared on tour throughout the U.S.A. in the Lincoln Center Theater’s Tony Award winning production of South Pacific, in the leading role of Emile De Becque. Maria Brea (Olga)

Maria Brea, soprano, is a native of Caracas, Venezuela and she just won 6th prize in the Vinas competition and a Special Zarzuela prize for the best Zarzuela singer and was one of only six winners who sang in the orchestra concert for the winners at Teatro Liceu de Barcelona. Maria was awarded as Best Musical Actress by HOLA 2020 in the production of El Barbero de Sevilla with New Camerata Opera in the role of Elena. In April 2020 Maria Brea was to make her debut as Frasquita in Carmen at Rose Theater at Lincoln Center with MasterVoices. Ms. Brea made her Opera Tampa debut singing the title role in Maestro Anton Coppola’s Lady Swanwhite, a world premiere.

Samuel White (Desiré)

Tenor Samuel White most recently performed the role of Matthew Gurney in an updated version of Tobias Picker’s Emmeline at Manhattan School of Music in April 2019. He performed the role of Eisenstein in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus at The Lyric Opera Studio Weimar in Weimar, Germany during January 2019. In Summer 2018 at Aspen Opera Center, Mr. White sang in the contemporary opera scenes program which including scenes from Ned Rorem’s Our Town, and Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. Other performance credits include Die Zauberflöte (Tamino), Dido and Aeneas (Aeneas), La Rondine (Ruggero), Sweeney Todd (Pirelli), and Into the Woods (Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf).

Eugenia Forteza (Dimitri)

French-Argentinean Mezzo-Soprano Eugenia Forteza has been praised for her “earthy vocal presence” (Opera Wire), “powerful voice” (Atuvu.ca) and “wonderful legato lines and impressive breath control” (Voce di Meche). Eugenia was a Finalist and Opera Role Prize Winner at the 2017 Concorso Internazionaledi Canto Katia Ricciarelli in Cerisano, Italy. Recent highlights include covering the title roles in Maria de Buenos Aires and L’Incoronazione di Poppea with Bare Opera and performing Eufemia in Leoncavallo’s La Bohème at the Festival d’Art Vocal in Montréal, Canada. Eugenia is the founder of the popular blog 360° of Opera. She is represented by Spotlight Artists Management. For more information please visit www.eugeniaforteza.com. Rubin Casas (Grech)

This season, the Pasadena, Texas native sang Haydn’s Mariazeller Masse for Mid America Productions at Carnegie Hall and Scarpia in Tosca with the Opera Company of Middlebury, where he previously sang Banco in Macbeth. He returned to the Metropolitan Opera to cover The Bonze inMadame Butterfly. He will sing the Beethoven Ninth Symphony with the Idaho Falls Symphony and Oroveso in Norma in Hong Kong. Casas “provided rumbling bravura” as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni at Cedar Rapids Opera Theater. Casas has sung with Tacoma Opera, Shreveport Opera, Virginia Opera, Spokane Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Opera Las Vegas, New York City Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. He is an alumnus of Yale University.

Michael Gracco (Lorek)

Considered to be a “sonorous baritone of impressive lyricism” (Opera News), Michael Gracco graduated from the Manhattan School of Music in 2017 with his BM in voice. He was a finalist in the Metropolitan National Council auditions, Eastern division (2015, 2016) and received the De Lacamera award (2013) in the Connecticut division. In the 2017-2018 season with Tulsa Opera, he understudied the role of Valentin and performed the role of Wagner, understudied Ping and performed Mandarin in Turandot. In the 2018-2019 season, Michael performed The Businessman in The Little Prince and Masetto in Don Giovanni with Tulsa Opera and sang Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with City Lyric Opera. In the 2020 season, Michael understudied Vincenzo Gellner and performed Gregorio in Sarasota Opera’s productions of La Wally and Romeo and Juliet.

Brian Montgomery (Cirillo)

Brian Montgomery has performed to critical acclaim with important opera companies throughout the world, having sung over 60 leading roles. He took part in several word premieres, including The Ghosts of Versailles (Corigliano), The Voyage (Glass), Dreamkeepers (Carlson), among others and many 20th Century works. Brian speaks 5 Western languages and some Mandarin Chinese. He has sung at the Metropolitan Opera and 15 years in major opera houses. For the past few seasons, Mr. Montgomery was been appearing in leading baritone roles on the stages in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, where he resided for a decade and was sought after as a teacher and educator. Brian returned to The Metropolitan Opera during the 2014-15 season for Carmen. Jordan Weatherston Pitts (Rouvel)

Jordan made his principal artist debut to critical acclaim as the drag queen Renata in Iain Bell and Mark Campbell’s world premiere of Stonewall with New York City Opera and continues an active performance schedule of romantic and lyric repertoire. His most recent roles include the cover of Romeo in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette with the Hawaii Opera Theatre, a cover of The Magician (Nika Magadoff) in Menotti’s The Consul with Opera Saratoga, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Achille in La Belle Helene, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Alfredo in La Traviata, Younger Thompson (Cover) in Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied, Goro in Madama Buterfly, and Malcolm in Verdi’s Macbeth. In 2018 Jordan was both a Studio Artist with Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program as well as an Orvis Studio Artist with the Hawaii Opera Theatre.

Rick Agster (Borov)

Rick Agster (Boroff and Gretsch cover), bass, provides “excellent comic relief” and a “warm basso voice and persona.” Rick most recently appeared as Simone in Gianni Schicchi with Regina Opera; as Benoit/ Alcindoro in La Boheme with MidAtlantic Opera; and premiered the role of Police Chief Bimson in the new opera The Silk City with Garden State Opera. Notable roles include Zuniga in Carmen, Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Doctor Grenvil in La Traviata, Antonio and Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro and Bogdonowitsch in The Merry Widow. For up-to-date information, visit www.RickAgster.com.

Kinneret Ely (A Peasant Boy)

Kinneret Ely covered Anna in Catalani’s Loreley and Fata Azzurra in Respighi’s La Bella Dormente nel Bosco in Teatro Grattacielo’s 25th Anniversary Concert in September 2019. She sang Violetta in La Traviata in July 2018 at the Jerusalem International Opera Masterclass, and at their gala concert under Maestro Tiberiu Soare. She competed in the Bolshoi Young Artists Opera Program Auditions in 2019, and the Montserrat Caballé International Competition in Zaragoza in 2014. She studied Italian at the Società Dante Alighieri in Siena, French at the Alliance Française in Paris, German at the Goethe Institut in Berlin, and Russian at the Derzhavin Institute in St. Petersburg. Pavel Suliandziga (Sergio)

Tenor Pavel Suliandziga enjoyed great acclaim as an established perfor- mance tenor despite his young age. Pavel Suliandziga is a master’s grad- uate of the Russian Academy of Music in 2015, he studied with Arthur Levy and just completed his professional studies diploma at the Mannes College of Music. Mr. Pavel Suliandziga is the recipient of many awards in voice competitions. He was the fist-place winner in 2013 and 2014 with AADGT in New York, performing in Carnegie Hall; third-prize winner in the Bella Voce competition in Moscow; third-prize winner in the Talents of the World International Competition; the Finalist of Li- cia-Albenese competition and Giulio Gari competition. He has been par- ticipated in many operas as core roles, such as Lensky (Eugene Onegin), Tamino (The Magic Flute), Ferrando (Cosi Fan Tutte), Nemorino (L’elisir D’amore), Count Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Anatol (Vanessa), Tybalt (Romeo et Juliette), Peter Quint (The Turn of The Screw). William Desbiens (Nicola)

William Desbiens is a baritone from Québec City, Canada. Desbiens is a Senior at The Mannes School of Music here in New York City. He has performed the following roles: Il Conte di Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Dandini (Cenerentola), Marquis de LaForce (Dialogues des Carmélites), Silvio (Pagliacci). Desbiens was last seen performing Papageno in a condensed version of “The Magic Flute” with The Little Orchestra Society. Desbiens is a student of Professor Arthur Levy.

Ezio Pelliteri (Fisarmonica)

Pancrazio “Ezio” Pellitteri was born in Taormina, Italy. He holds a Master’s Degree in Piano from the Conservatory of “Santa Cecilia” in Rome and a Master’s Degree in Chamber Music from the Conservatory “L. Cherubini” in Florence. He has been awarded First Prize in national and international piano competitions. He has also recorded for Vatican Radio. Mr. Pellitteri has performed for renowned festivals and music halls in Italy and the United States as a soloist, with ensembles as well as orchestras, both as a pianist and as an accordionist. About the Crew and Creative Team Malena Dayen (Director)

Malena Dayen is an Argentinian opera singer and stage director based in New York City. Malena directed and starred in a production of Piazzolla’s “Maria de Buenos Aires” and “Don Giovanni” using interactive projections and live feed video with Bare Opera in New York City. Last May she directed and co-created “Exercises on The Presence of Odradek”, a new experimental operatic work performed live online that combined dance and opera with interactive technology. Malena holds a Master of Fine Arts of CUNY Brooklyn College in the Performance and Interactive Media Arts program (PIMA) and a MM and a PSD from the Mannes College of Music The New School.

Israel Gursky (Conductor)

Born in Tel-Aviv, conductor Israel Gursky trained in his native city and at Stony Brook University and Manhattan School of Music. in 2007, he made his professional conducting debut at the Washington National Opera with Don Giovanni. He has conducted for Los Angeles Opera, Teatro de Bellas Artes, Opera Maine, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Birmingham, Yale School of Music and Manhattan School of music. From 2014 until 2017 he was Kapellmeister of Theater Regensburg and from 2017 until 2019 he was Kapellmeister of Theater Bremen. He has frequently conducted concerts with Plácido Domingo through- out the world and has worked closely with the Operalia Competition. Since 2012 he has been music director of Teatro Grattacielo.

Jon Degaetano (Lighting Designer)

Jon DeGaetano is a scenographer and artist focused on building environments that encourage genuine human interaction. His work is focused in design, performance, and collaborative making. Most recent work includes EXHAUSTED creator (The Tank), Love’s Labour’s Lost, set and lighting (Atlantic Stage 2/NYU), Will They Play Golf on Mars, designer collaborator with Janine Conningham (Dixon Place), Lacy Rose and her Starling Quartet, designer (HERE Arts). MFA Brooklyn College. jondegaetano.com Matthew Deinhart (Assistant Lighting Designer)

Matthew Deinhart is New York based multidisciplinary designer who is currently pursuing his MFA at Brooklyn College. Recent design credits include the scenic design for The Lesser Magoo (Brooklyn College) and Sweat (Brooklyn College), the lighting design for La Folie (Premiere - Brooklyn College), Dark Star of Harlem (La Mama), The Sandwich Program (Premiere - The Public), and Tongue Depressor (Premiere -The Public), and the projection design for This is a Cave (Premiere – Brooklyn College) and ANIMUS ANIMA//ANIMA ANIMUS (Premiere - The Public). Matthew is 2015 a graduate of Queens College with degrees in philosophy and theatre, and has been working as a freelance designer since 2014.

Sangmin Chae (Projections)

Sangmin Chae (Video Design) is a media artist with extensive knowledge designing and building video systems for media and performance. He is a graduate of Seoul Institute of the Arts where he studied broadcasting and he is currently an MFA candidate at the Performance and Interactive Media Arts program at CUNY Brooklyn College. Sangmin is an Associated Artist in CultureHub and worked on several CultureHub productions including Hi-fi Wi-fi Sci-fi. In collaboration with the CultureHub team Sangmin did the video design and installed the video system for Italy’s Motus and lamama Theatre production of Panorama as part of the Public’s Under The Radar Festival at La MaMa in New York City.

Nicole Russell (Assistant Conductor, Assistant to Artistic Director)

Nicole Russell is a composer, pianist, and vocalist born and raised in Austin, Texas. Her work includes art songs, choral music, chamber music, band music, and electro-acoustic music. Her work was featured on the Calliope’s Call “Sounds of Unity” program and the 2019 Women in Music Festival on the campus of the Mississippi University for Women. Nicole completed her bachelor’s degree in Music Composition at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She currently lives in Brooklyn, NY and is pursuing her master’s in Music Theory and Composition at New York University. Danika Fernandez (Assistant to Artistic Director)

Award-winning, Filipino-American spinto soprano Danika Fernandez has performed roles including Laetitia in Menotti’s Old Maid and the Thief and Sandrina in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera. She debuted as a soloist with Oakland Civic Orchestra and Mill Valley Philharmonic. She is a recipient of an Encouragement Award at the 2018 San Francisco District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Beyond western music, Danika is passionate about bringing awareness of Philippine vocal music through performance and academia. Danika is finishing her Master’s of Music at Mannes, The New School under Beth Roberts, and is coached by Cristina Stanescu and Marc Verzatt.

Darissa Townes (Graphic Designer and Social Media Assistant)

I’m an intern looking to learn everything about entertainment. I tend to form a lot of ideas when I go out. I keep at least a notebook, a sketchbook and two pens in my purse at all times because you never know when a good idea might strike. And if the restaurant has those paper placemats, it’s over. When I’m not creating, I’m listening to EDM and playing video games (Pokemon is my favorite series).

Cindy Cai (Marketing Assistant)

Cindy (Xinzi) Cai is from China. She has been playing the flute since she was 11 years old. She chose to study Music in college and is the first flutist in the wind band. She is interested in music education. This internship is an excellent way to learn more, and she also worked in a primary school for four months. After graduation, she was a course consultant and event planning leader in an Arts Center. But to face the competition of career, she decided to come to America to pursue a masters program in Arts Administration. During this time she got some experience, like volunteering in the theatre and two internships, a fashion company and Teatro Grattacielo. She is excited to be a part of Teatro Grattacielo. Ashleigh Ayres (Fundraising Assistant)

Ashleigh Ayres is a graduate of The College of New Jersey where she earned a baccalaureate in Music Education with a concentration in voice. She is currently completing her graduate degree in Arts Administration at Kutztown University. With a background in education, Ashleigh has taught music in classrooms for the past five years. She is thrilled and so grateful to be working as an Assistant Artistic Administrator with Teatro Grattacielo as she transitions out of the classroom and into her new role as an arts administrator!

Isabella Brutch (Social Media Intern)

Isabella Brutch is in her second year of studying entertainment management at the University of Central Florida. As a kid, she always found her music and art classes more fun and enjoyable compared to the other classes she had to take in school. As she grew up, her interest in the creative industries also grew. It has been an amazing opportunity for her to be an arts administration intern for Teatro Grattacielo. She hopes to gain more experience in the business or hospitality aspects of the arts and entertainment industries. Synopsis

Act One

Setting: A winter night, 1881. The salon of Vladimiro Andrejevich in St. Petersburg.

Princess Fedora is waiting for her fiancé Vladimiro, whom she is to marry that day when a police officer and De Siriex suddenly appear carrying him in gravely in. The police officer, Inspector Gretch, questions the servants while Fedora learns that Vladimiro was found wounded in a pavillion. The pavillion had been rented by an old woman who delivered a letter to Vladimiro earlier in the day. But that letter is nowhere to be found. Fedora swears to avenge Vladimiro’s death. Suspicions turn to Loris Ipanov, a friend of the nihilists (anarchists) and whose apartment is near the place of the shooting.

Act Two

Setting: Paris

Fedora follows Loris Ipanov to Paris to avenge Vladimiro. She holds a reception in her home, which Loris attends. Loris declares his love to Fedora; but, she appears to reject him and reveals her intentions to return to Russia. Having been exiled, Loris cannot return with her. Desperate, Loris admits that he killed Vladimiro. Enraged Fedora convince him to return after the reception to tell her the entire story. In the meantime, she writes a letter to Vladimiro’s father, the Russian Imperial Chief of Police, accusing Loris of the murder. Loris returns later and explains that he had caught Vladimiro having an affair with his wife. He claims shooing him in self-defense since it was Vladimiro who fired the first shot. Fedora realizes that he was defending his honor and that Vladimiro was a cad. She convinces Loris to remain with her that night.

Act Three

Setting: A villa in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland.

Loris and Fedora are happily in love. De Siriex arrives and informs Fedora that the brother of Loris had been arrested as a result of her letter. He dies in prison and, after hearing of his death, his mother died of heartbreak. Stunned, Fedora realizes that she is the cause of their deaths. Loris receives letters from Russia with news of his brother and mother. The letter stats that a woman in Paris had apparently reported him. Fedora, in tears, confesses her guilt and begs his forgiveness. He curses her while Fedora ingests poison hidden in her Byzantine cross. She dies in his arms. Soprano Gemma Bellincioni, First Fedora Board of Directors

Enzo Pizzimenti

President of the Board

Duane Printz

Chairwoman

John David Metcalfe

John Mucci

Ippolito Leotta

Louis Tallarini

Katherine Maxwell

Marco Mastracci

Eny Di Iorio

Advisory Board

Lando Bartolini

Lawrence Holdridge

Carlo Todeschi

Angelique Burzynski The People

Stefanos Koroneos

General and Artistic Director

Israel Gyrsky

Music Director

Davide Mamone

Press Office-Editorials

Francesco Pensabene

Marketing and Web Design

Ashleigh Ayres

Assistant Artistic Administrator