Brooklyn­ 30 LaFayette Avenue Communications Department Academy Brooklyn NY 11217- 1486 Sandy Sawotka of Telephone: 718.636.4111 Melissa Cusick Music Fax: 718 .857.2021 Fateema Jones Tamara Mccaw Kila Packett ' 718.63 6.4129 [email protected] News Release BAM Announces 2002 Opera Season, Featuring Complete Cycle of Monteverdi's Three Operas- II Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria, L'incoronazione di Poppea, and Or/eo­ Performed by French, Dutch, and American Companies Les Arts Florissants returns to BAM with U.S. premiere of acclaimed Aix-en-Provence production of II Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria, conducted by William Christie and directed by Adrian Noble Dutch National Opera, joined by Les Talens Lyriques in its U.S. debut, performs U.S. production premiere of L 'incoronazione di Poppea, conducted by Christophe Rousset and directed by Pierre _Audi Chicago Opera Theater makes its New York debut with Orfeo, conducted by Jane Glover and directed by Diane Paulus The Monteverdi cycle has been made possible by The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation with additional leadership grants from BAM Opera Honorary Chairman Alberto Vilar and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Brooklyn, November 19, 2001 (updated December I 0)- As part of its 2002 Spring Season , Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) presents all three of Claudio Monte verdi ' s extant operas in dramatically different interpretations by companies from France , The Netherlands , and the United States . A contemporary of William Shakespeare , Monteverdi (1567- 1643) was a pioneer in the then-new art form of opera . His body of dramatic or semi-dramatic work included 21 pieces , of which three complete operas remain. This rare presentation of the complete Monteverdi opera cycle begins with world-renowned conductor William Christie and his Paris-ba sed Baroque music ensemble Les Arts Florissants in the U.S . premiere of the highly praised 2000 Aix-en-Provence Festival production of fl Ritorno d 'Ulisse in Patria , directed by Royal Shakespeare Company N Arti stic Director Adrian Noble. Next , harpsichordist and Baroque music expert Christophe Rousset leads the Dutch National Opera (DNO) ,joined by Les Talens Lyriques in its U.S. debut , in the U.S. production premiere of L 'incoronazione di Popp ea, directed by DNO Art istic Director Pierre Audi . 0 The cycle concludes with Monteverdi 's first opera , Orfeo, which will be performed by Chicago Opera Theater in its New York debut , with respected musicologist and conductor Jane Glover and 0 members of the Newberry Consort , directed by off-Broadway theater director Diane Paulus. Leadership grants from The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation , BAM Opera Honorary Chairman Alberto N Vilar , and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation have made this historic event possible. SpringSeaso n more ... Monteverdi cycle, 2 "BAM consistently provides innovative, high quality opera experiences for New Yorkers ," said Norman L. Peck, president of The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation and BAM Endowment Trust board member. "We are delighted to provide the support that allows them to present this unprecedented Monteverdi cycle in April. " The Monteverdi cycle is part of BAM 's 2002 Spring Season , sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc. Six performances of II Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria will take place in the BAM Harvey Theater (651 Fulton Street)­ April 7 at 3pm and April 8, 11, 13, and 14 at 7:30pm ; April 10 at 8pm (Spring Season gala performance)-with tickets priced at $35, 80, 120 (gala tickets range from $250- 5000 and are available by calling 718 .636.4182). Three performances of L'incoronazione di Poppea will take place in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Avenue)-April 16 and 19 at 7pm and April 21 at 2pm-with tickets priced at $30, 65, and 95. Four performances of Orfeo will take place in the BAM Harvey Theater - April 22, 24, 26, and 27 at 7:30pm­ with tickets priced at $30, 55, and 80. Opera subscription tickets-priced at $76, 160, and 236- are available now by calling BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100 . Single tickets will go on sale Februa ry 4 via BAM Ticket Services , 718.636.4100; Ticketmaster , 212 .307.4100 ; or BAM 's web site, www.bam.org. II Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria U.S. premiere Les Arts Florissants and the Aix-en-Provence European Academy of Music A production of the Aix-en-Provence Festival Conducted by William Christie Directed by Adrian Noble Scenery and costume design by Anthony Ward Lighting design by Jean Kalman Choreography by Sue Lefton Co-produced with Bordeaux Opera , the Lausanne Opera , the Opera Comique of Paris, and the Caen Theatre BAM Harvey Theater Apr 7 at 3pm ; Apr 8, 11, 13 & 14 at 7:30pm; Apr 10 at 8pm (Spring Season gala performance) Performed in Italian with English surtitles Tickets : $35, 80 & 120 (gala tickets , $250-5000) Leadership support for BAM French programs is provided by The Florence Gould Foundation. The hit of France's 2000 Aix-en-Provence Festival , this production of fl Ritorno d 'Ulisse in Patria (1641) was declared "an unequivocal triumph .. ravishingly beautiful ," by The Sunday Times (U.K.) , which went on to say that, "[conductor William] Christie achieves something approaching Monteverdian nirvana. " Royal Shakespeare Compan y (RSC) Artistic Director Adrian Noble uses a simple , evocative staging to tell Homer 's well-known story of Ulysses ' return to Ithaca after a long absence , and of his wife , Penelope 's, constanc y. The stage is framed by two walls on either side of a blue backdrop , representing sea and sky, and is covered in sand . The only furnishings consist of Grecian pottery and pillows . Christie conducts his renowned ensembl e Les Arts Florissants on period instruments , drawing a "limitless variety of colour and suggestive weight from his seemingl y austere band, j ust fourteen-strong ," according to The Financial Times (U .K.). The young cast is led by Croatian tenor Kresimir Spicer (Ulisse) and Yugoslavian mezzo-soprano Marijana Mijanovic (Penelope) in their U .S. debuts. Les Arts Florissants , founded by William Christie in Paris two decades ago, takes its name from a three­ centur y-old work by Marc-Antoine Charpentier. Les Arts Florissants is internationally renowned for its crystalline renditions and reconstructions of operas and scores by largely French , Italian , and English seventeenth and eighteenth-century Baroque composers , such as Lully , Monteverdi , and Purcell. Since 1989, Christie and Les Arts Florissants have performed five operas and six concerts at BAM, including Atys (l 989 and 1992), Medee (1994) , Orlando (1996) , Hippoly te et Aricie (1997) , and Theodora (2000) , as well as concerts in 1991, 1993, 1995 , 1996, 1997, and 1999 . more ... Monteverdi cycle, 3 WilliamChristie (born 1944 in Buffalo, New York) studied piano, harpsichord, and organ. After graduating from Harvard and Yale , he settled in France in 1971. Since founding Les Arts Florissants in 1979, he has contributed immensely to the burgeoning interest in music of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and has won citations for musical excellence. He has collaborated with renowned stage directors and choreographers on numerous productions, and regularly guest conducts orchestras and lectures on early music. He was the first American to become a professor at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris (1982), was awarded the French Legion d'Honneur in 1993, and is now a French citizen. Director Adrian Noblejoined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1980 as an assistant director, becoming an associate director almost immediately. His first production for the RSC was Ostrovsky 's The Forest, which transferred first to the Warehouse and then to the Aldwych and was named best revival in the 1981 Drama Awards. In 1988 he was appointed artistic director of the RSC 's Stratford season and in 1989 went on to be artistic director of the RSC London season. In 1989, Noble left the RSC to pursue an independent career and directed The Art of Success at the Manhattan Theatre Club and Chekhov 's Three Sisters at the Gate Theatre (Dublin) and Royal Court Theatre . ln 1991, Noble returned to the RSC as overall artistic director, and has since directed highl y successful productions of Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, The Thebans, The Winter's Tale (BAM , 1994), Hamlet, Travesties, Macbeth, King Lear, Travesties, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet , The Cherry Orchard, Little Eyolj; Cymbeline (BAM, 1998), Twelfth Night, The Tempest, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Family Reunion (BAM, 2000), and The Secret Garden. His film of A Midsummer Night 's Dream was released in 1996. Outside of his work with the RSC , Noble has directed Don Giovanni for Kent Opera , The Duchess of Malji in a circus tent in Paris , The Faerie Queen for the Peter Hall Company at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and a Japanese production of Twelfth Night. L 'incoronazione di Poppea U.S. premiere Dutch National Opera and Les Talens Lyriques Conducted by Christophe Rousset Directed by Pierre Audi Set design by Michael Simo n Costume design by Emi Wada Lighting design by Jean Kalman BAM Howard Gilman Opera House Apr I 6 & 19 at 7pm ; Apr 21 at 2pm Performed in Italian with English surtitles Tickets: $30, 65 & 95 This program is generously supported by the Netherlands Culture Fund L 'incoronazione di Poppea (1642) was Monteverdi's last opera , and many consider it his crowning achievement. Based on historical events, Poppea fuses an allegory of love with the politically charged world of the Roman Empire under Nerone (Nero). The music mirrors the mercurial emotio ns of the emperor and the ambition of Nerone 's adored mistress, Poppea, as she plots to replace the Empress Ottavia and avoids attempts on her life by her rejected lover , Ottone.