Or the Finch Opera
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HOUSTON GRAND OPERA PRESENTS Vinkensportor The Finch Opera A Chamber Opera Music by David T. Little Libretto by Royce Vavrek Sung in English with English Titles 7:30 P.M. CT | OCTOBER 23, 2020 Available on demand through November 22 Vinkensport or The Finch Opera “Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera is a bitter-sweet comedy in one act, which explores obsession, desire, and the need to win, through the frame of an obscure Flemish folk sport, ‘finch-sitting.’” —Composer David T. Little Background Vinkensport, or The Finch Opera, a one-act comic opera by Farinelli’s Trainer reveals to the audience that Farinelli actually David T. Little and Royce Vavrek, premiered in 2010 at the Bard died years ago: she competes with a CD player in her box so College Conservatory of Music. Vinkensport, or “finch-sitting,” pits that she always wins. This time, however, the win goes to Hans contestants—called “chaffinches”—against one another to see who Sachs’s Trainer. Atticus Finch’s Trainer ends the opera with a has the most melodious bird. When a bird makes a proper call (a beautifully poignant aria, promising to let his finch fly free—right “susk-e-wiet”), its owner receives a tally mark. The competitor with before Elton John’s Trainer returns for a final bit of drunken the most points wins. The sport can be traced back to as early as misbehavior. the 1500s. Fun Fact The Story The Flemish people still compete at vinkensport, as they have Six chaffinches introduce the sport of finch-sitting. Hans Sachs’s done for centuries. Allegations of cheating are common and Trainer, we learn, is high on cocaine. St. Francis’s Trainer and include testosterone use. There was a real-life instance of a Atticus Finch’s Trainer live next door to one another: she (the competitor installing a CD player in his box—he aroused suspicion former) is enamored with him (the latter), though she is married after his finch sang 725 susk-e-wiets in three matches in a row. to a man named Wulf who unabashedly cheats on her. Atticus Finch’s Trainer is thoroughly annoyed by his neighbor, however, and can’t wait to install blinds in his windows to retain his privacy. We learn that Prince Gabriel III’s Trainer died, so his son has taken over as chaffinch for the bird—even though he seems to hate both the sport and his father. Elton John’s Trainer is an alco- holic and nymphomaniac who habitually cheats on her husband. Vinkensport or The Finch Opera Cast Credits Holy St. Francis’s Trainer Alicia Gianni ‡ Molly Dill Producing Director Prince Gabriel III of Belgium’s Trainer’s Son Kelly Markgraf * Daniel James Producer Farinelli’s Trainer Elena Villalón † Tonya McKinny Producer Hans Sachs’s Trainer Ricardo Garcia *† David T. Little Producer Sir Elton John’s Trainer Nicole Heaston ‡ Royce Vavrek Producer Atticus Finch’s Trainer Ryan McKinny ‡ Dale Edwards Producer Butler Richard Bado ‡ Ben Doyle Director of Photography & Editing * Houston Grand Opera debut Kristen Burke Production Manager † Houston Grand Opera Studio artist Jeremy Johnson English Subtitles ‡ Former Houston Grand Opera Studio artist Dotti Staker Hair & Makeup Clair Hummel Costume Realizer Creative Team The entire staff of HGO contributed to the success of this production. For a full listing of the company’s staff, please Conductor Timothy Myers visit HGO.org/about-us/people. Co-Directors E. Loren Meeker and Ryan McKinny ‡ Performing artists, stage directors, and choreographers Musical Preparation Peter Pasztor ‡ and are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, Alex Munger, Dr. Saúl and the union for opera professionals in the United States. Ursula Balagura and Trey Yates Fellow † Orchestral musicians are represented by the Houston Stage Managers Annie Wheeler and Professional Musicians Association, Local #65-699, Brian August American Federation of Musicians. † Houston Grand Opera Studio artist Wardrobe personnel provided by Theatrical Wardrobe ‡ Former Houston Grand Opera Studio artist Union, Local #896. Video Production Streaming Partner Audio Production Produced in association with Ryan Edwards and Austin Opera and Keep the Shannon Smith Music Going Productions By arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, publisher and copyright owner. Vinkensport or The Finch Opera HGO Orchestra Patrick Summers CLARINET Artistic and Music Director Sean Krissman*, Principal Margaret Alkek Williams Chair Eric Chi† VIOLIN BASSOON Denise Tarrant*, Concertmaster Amanda Swain†, Principal Chloe Kim†, Assistant Concertmaster Michael Allard† Natalie Gaynor†, Principal, Second Violin Carrie Kauk†, Assistant Principal Second Violin FRENCH HORN Hae-a Lee-Barnes† Sarah Cranston†, Principal Miriam Belyatsky† Kimberly Penrod Minson†, Second Horn Anabel Detrick† Spencer Park† Rasa Kalesnykaite† Chavdar Parashkevov† TRUMPET Mary Reed*, Acting Principal Second Violin Tetsuya Lawson†, Principal Erica Robinson† Randal Adams† Linda Sanders† Oleg Sulyga† TROMBONE Sylvia VerMeulen† Thomas Hulten†, Principal Melissa Williams† Mark Holley† VIOLA BASS TROMBONE Eliseo Rene Salazar*, Principal Vacant Lorento Golofeev†, Assistant Principal Gayle Garcia-Shepard† TUBA Erika Lawson† Mark Barton†, Principal Suzanne LeFevre† Dawson White† HARP Joan Eidman†, Principal CELLO Barrett Sills*, Principal TIMPANI Erika Johnson†, Assistant Principal Alison Chang†, Principal Ariana Nelson† Wendy Smith-Butler† PERCUSSION Steven Wiggs† Richard Brown†, Principal DOUBLE BASS PIANO Dennis Whittaker†, Principal Peter Pasztor Erik Gronfor*, Acting Principal Carla Clark† ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER Richard Brown FLUTE Vacant, Principal Henry Williford*, Acting Principal * = Core Member OBOE † = Core Member on leave for this production Elizabeth Priestly Siffert†, Principal Mayu Isom† Vinkensport or The Finch Opera Who’s Who DAVID T. LITTLE both for Beth Morrison Projects and Trinity Wall Street; and a tour (United States) of the world premiere ballet Crypto, created with choreographer COMPOSER Guillaume Côté and composer Mikael Karlsson. Vavrek is co-ar- tistic director of The Coterie, an opera-theater company founded David T. Little is “one of the most imaginative with Tony-nominated soprano Lauren Worsham, and is an alum of young composers” on the scene (The New Concordia University (Montreal), NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Yorker), with “a knack for overturning musical Writing Program, and American Lyric Theater’s Composer/Librettist conventions” (The New York Times). His operas Dog Days, JFK, and Development Program. Vinkensport (librettos by Royce Vavrek), and Soldier Songs have been widely acclaimed, “prov[ing] beyond any doubt that opera has both a relevant present and a bright future” (The New York TIMOTHY MYERS Times). Little’s music has been presented by the LA Philharmonic, (United States) Carnegie Hall, LA Opera, Park Avenue Armory, Lincoln Center CONDUCTOR Festival, Kennedy Center, Holland Festival, Opera de Montréal, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Little is currently composing a new Internationally acclaimed for his eloquence, monodrama for Grammy Award–winning tenor Karim Sulayman and energy and command on the podium, Timothy Alarm Will Sound, based on Garth Greenwell’s celebrated novel What Myers is driven by a wide breadth of reper- Belongs to You, as well as a new solo cello work for virtuoso Matt toire and projects. Myers has a long relationship with HGO, where he Haimovitz; he is also developing a new work commissioned by the has most recently conducted West Side Story (2018), and the world Metropolitan Opera / Lincoln Center Theater new work program. He premieres of O Columbia (2015) and A Coffin in Egypt (2014). He is published by Boosey & Hawkes. opened his 2019–20 season to rave reviews at Ireland’s Wexford Festival, conducting a new production of Massenet’s Don Quichotte. Artistic Advisor to Austin Opera since 2018, Myers recently also ROYCE VAVREK assumed the title of the Sarah and Ernest Butler Principal Conductor (Canada) and in spring of 2021 will lead two concerts and a production of LIBRETTIST Tosca. Other upcoming engagements include debuts at Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Theatre of St Louis, and returns to the North Carolina Royce Vavrek is a librettist and lyricist whose Symphony and Atlanta Opera. Highlights of Myers’s 2018–19 season opera Angel’s Bone with composer Du Yun included his debut with Santa Fe Opera conducting Bizet’s The Pearl was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music. Fishers, the world premiere of The Fix (Joel Puckett/Eric Simonson) He made his HGO debut in 2015 with HGOco’s world premiere of for his debut at Minnesota Opera, and Silent Night (Kevin Puts/ O Columbia (composer Gregory Spears), followed by HGO world Mark Campbell) for his debut at Austin Opera. A protégé of Lorin premiere The House Without a Christmas Tree in 2017 (composer Maazel, Myers was the first associate conductor of the Castleton Ricky Ian Gordon). He is known for his diverse collaborations with Festival, where he led multiple symphonic and opera performances composers David T. Little (Dog Days, Am I Born, JFK, Vinkensport); over his tenure. His concert work has led him to work with orchestras Ricky Ian Gordon (27); Missy Mazzoli (Song from the Uproar, internationally, including the American, Jerusalem, Beijing NCPA, Breaking the Waves, Proving Up); Joshua Schmidt (Midwestern North Carolina, Portland (ME), Toledo, and Chautauqua Symphonies, Gothic); Paola Prestini (The Hubble Cantata, Silent Light); Matt Marks as well as the Malaysian, Johannesburg, and Brooklyn Philharmonic (A Song for Wade [This is Not That Song], Strip Mall); Ellen Reid Orchestras. In 2017, Myers concluded his tenure as the Artistic (Knoxville: Summer of 2015); and Luna Pearl Woolf (Jacqueline). and Music Director of North Carolina Opera where his repertoire Upcoming projects include The Listeners for the Norwegian National highlights included Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Act II of Tristan und Opera and Opera Philadelphia and Lincoln in the Bardo for The Isolde and Act I of Die Walküre, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Metropolitan Opera, both with Missy Mazzoli; Melancholia for the Dvorak’s Rusalka; most recently, he returned to conduct Act III of Royal Swedish Opera, So We Will Vanish for Anne Sofie von Otter Wagner’s Siegfried in November 2019.