BEL CANTO Newsletter of the Manatee Opera Guild November 2020 Sarasota Opera Concerts President’s Message Join Sarasota Opera for favorite opera selections with I hope you are all doing well. Dave piano accompaniment by Jesse Martins and George and I continue to “hang in there.” We Hemcher, featuring principal artists from past do enjoy each other’s company, but do seasons. Tickets are available by clicking here or by wish that we could see you all and calling the box office at 941-366-8450, ext. 1 experience life as it used to be, especially in regard to Manatee Opera ◦ Sopranos Hanna Brammer, Anna Mandina Guild and Sarasota Opera. Like you, we miss seeing and Caitlin Crabill and having fun with our friends and MOG family. ◦ Tenors Andrew Surrena and Samuel Schlievert Sarasota is having an opening this month — a concert ◦ Baritone Alexander Boyd featuring some of our favorite Principal Artists. There is ◦ Bass Young Bok Kim a summary of all that SOA is doing to protect the health of attendees in this newsletter. For those still November 13, 2020 $25 - $45 • unconvinced, the concert will be live-streamed so that 7:30PM Live at Sarasota Opera you can enjoy it at home. • November 13, 2020 $25 - $45 7:30PM Live at Sarasota Opera - Internet Thank you to Elizabeth Aversa for an article on Politics streaming $10 and Opera. As we continue to struggle in many areas of life, it’s instructive to learn about prior stuggles as • November 15, 2020 $25 - $45 1:30PM Live at Sarasota Opera inspirations for operas. • November 17, 2020 $35 The other big news at SOA is the hiring of Marco 5:30PM Sarasota Opera at the Marie Selby Nisticò as Artistic Administrator, taking the essential job Botanical Gardens that was performed so graciously and competently by • November 19, 2020 $35 Greg Trupiano. We know Mr. Nisticò from his work 5:30PM Sarasota Opera at the Gardens at performing on the stage in many roles, and Syble Historic Spanish Point DiGirolamo has interviewed him for a column in this newsletter. High Definition Films Please jot me a line to let me know what you’ve been • November 22, 2020 , doing during this unusual and unwelcome hiatus from 1:30PM Arabella - Opera Film normal, everyday life. I would like to use this medium for us all to stay in touch. Imagine that you are at a • December 6, 2020 , MOG meeting. What would you like other MOG 1:30PM Macbeth - Opera Film members to know about your situation and activities. • December 20, 2020 , 1:30PM The Nutcracker - Ballet Film Still fervently hoping for a safe and effective vaccine Tickets are $20, and can be purchased using the links and treatment… Jeanne above. Sarasota Opera Health and Safety Measures Tributes Face masks required for all audience members at My gift to MOG is given on the the Opera House and at our outdoor concerts. occasion of my 100th Birthday. Please wear a mask at all times while inside the From Dorothy Mae Erikson Opera House complex, and throughout the performance. Our love and very best wishes to Print your tickets at home or receive a ticket on Dottie Erikson for her cheerful your mobile device. Self-scanning as you enter the attitude, amazing energy and theater will limit your contact with our ushers and many years of service to our Guild. staff. CONGRATULATIONS!!!! From the Board and members The box office in the lobby will be closed to limit of MOG crowding. If needed, the main box office in the Pavilion building, under the green awning will be open. Please do not come to the Opera House if you are feeling ill. Temperature checks will be required Getting to Know Marco Nisticò before you enter the Sarasota Opera House. Syble DiGirolamo Anyone who is running a fever (100.3° F or higher) will not be permitted to enter and your tickets will be HEADLINE: October 13, 2020 — Sarasota, FL refunded. “Executive Director Richard Russell and Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi announced that Marco Nisticò will All seats will be reserved to accommodate become the new Artistic Administrator of Sarasota distanced seating for performances at the Opera Opera beginning December 1, 2020. Mr. Nisticò will fill House, including our HD at The Opera House the position held by the recently deceased Greg movies series. Seating has been spaced so that there Trupiano, who had worked for Sarasota Opera since is one row in between groups and no fewer than 1987.” three seats on either side. To ensure social distancing, you must use your reserved seat and may It’s time for our Guild to get to know Marco Nistico as not switch seats without the assistance of the house he joins the Sarasota Opera family. manager. O u r G u i l d m e m b e r s Opera Club and McCorkle Lounge will be closed a l r e a d y k n o w M a r c o until further notice. Nisticò well as a singer. He has become increasingly Concessions and drinking fountains will be closed more beloved by Sarasota for the HD at the Opera House Movies as well as for audiences since he first the November concerts. As a result, you will be joined the company in allowed to bring your own bottled water in the 2008 as a principal artist theater. s i n g i n g t h e r o l e o f Social distancing rules will be observed at the Francesco Foscari in I due opera house with modifications to lines approaching Foscari. S i n c e t h e n the restrooms and elevators as well as the entrance S a r a s o t a n s h a v e h a d to the theater. opportunities to see him as Figaro and as Dr. Bartolo Sanitizing stations have been installed in the in The Barber of Seville, as theater and we have optimized the air conditioning Rodrigue in Don Carlos, as system to provide better air flow and filtration. Germont in La Traviata, as Giacomo in Giovanna d’Arco, as Sharpless in Madame Butterfly, in the title role of Rigoletto, as Tonio in Pagliacci, as Amonosaro in 2). Cats. Marco and his wife Marina both love their two Aida, as Malatesta in Don Pasquale, as Manfredo in The cats that share their apartment home. They want to find Love of Three Kings, as Count Gil in Susanna’s Secret, an apartment or condo in Sarasota as they appreciate and as Gaspar in Rita. Most recently in Sarasota we saw downtown living. BTW they chose to move from Italy his work as stage director of Donizetti’s The Elixir of to live in New York because of Marina’s career as a Love. dance critic. We are accustomed to seeing reviews of his work such 3). Cooking. Marco does a lot of home cooking. as “One of the finest moments on opening night were Sometimes just for himself, as he has frequently provided by Sarasota’s Verdi stalwart, Marco Nisticò, as travelled alone for work. He says that cooking sparks Giacomo. The Italian baritone brought a gravitas, joy. And fresh vegetables are a special delight. unforced eloquence and refined vocalism to his solos, 3). Italian and French Wines. Marco studied wines and with especially touching expression to Giacomo's wine tasting for a few years (some of which he lived in regret at unjustly accusing his daughter, in “Amai, ma Paris). He has a certification as a wine taster. He always un solo istante.” And “Nisticò has had quite an appreciates a good glass of wine. impressive career as a singer. Italian born baritone Marco Nisticò’s impressive combination of beautiful 4). Sunsets on Sarasota beaches. He has been lucky tone, exquisite artistry, and superior stagecraft has enough in some seasons to be assigned housing across delighted audiences throughout North America, South from Lido beach and has often enjoyed a walk on the America, and Europe.” beach at sunset. When I interviewed Marco this week, I explained that I 5). Cortez Fishing Village. One of the first things that wanted to provide a special “inside-our-Sarasota- Marco and Marina like to do when returning to Sarasota Opera-Family” conversation with him that let our Guild is to go to Star Fish Company at Cortez for a fresh members get to know him as a person. Here are some seafood dinner. He says that his friends tease him of the things Marco appreciates and that bring him joy about the many photos of pelicans at Cortez that he in life. shares with them anew on each visit. 1). Opera & Singing. Marco feels that he is really lucky 6). Helping young singers. to have a life with music. He has been able to have a Mr. Nisticò has served as a successful career, actually getting paid to do something teacher, lecturer, coach, and he loves and is passionate about. His specialty is Italian mentor to many singers. Opera. When Marco was asked by OPERAWIRE if he Since the beginning of the felt that a singer had an advantage in how they pandemic, he has been interpret the music and the text if they are singing in offering free classes online their native language, he answered that he believes to colleagues left jobless at that native speakers can be directly connected to the home. He tells us that some text, and can have the same connection that the of his favorite moments in composer had with the text, Sarasota have been on stage with the Apprentice and can easier understand Artists.