LEON WILSON CLARK OPERA SERIES SHEPHERD SCHOOL OPERA and the SHEPHERD SCHOOL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA present Georg Friedrich Händel Richard Bado, conductor Edward Berkeley, stage director Wortham Opera Theatre March 15 and 19, 2013 at 7:30 p.m. March 17, 2013 at 2:00 p.m. Ariodante Music by Georg Friedrich Händel (1685 – 1759) Libretto based on a work by Antonio Salvi (1664 – 1724) Edited for the Hallische Händel Edition by Donald Burrows CAST (in order of vocal appearance) Ginevra, daughter of the King . Julia Dawson Dalinda, court lady of Ginevra . Rebecca Sørensen Polinesso, Duke of Albany . Calvin Griffin Ariodante, the vassal of the King . Allegra De Vita King of Scotland . Nicholas Brownlee Odoardo, favorite of the King . Frederick Ballentine Lurcanio, Ariodante’s brother . Rafael Moras CHORUS Abigail Dock Yekaterina Gruzglina Rachel Sigman Joseph Eletto Stephanie Jordan Katherine Smith Cory Gross Teresa Procter Samuel Waters SHEPHERD SCHOOL CHAMBER ORCHESTRA Larry Rachleff, Music Director Continuo Violin II Cello Bassoon Richard Bado, Meghan Nenniger, Rebecca Landell, Thomas Morrison harpsichord principal principal Horn Chauncey Aceret Joseph Li, Jacqueline Kitzmiller John Turman Scott McCreary harpsichord Rachel Shepard Emily Nagel Rebecca Landell, Ioana Ionita Double Bass cello Janny Joo David Connor Trumpet (onstage) Violin I Viola David Sedgwick Flute Sarah Arnold, Aaron Conitz, Aaron Perdue Orchestra Manager concertmaster principal Patrick Tsuji and Librarian Geoffrey Herd Daniel Wang Kaaren Fleisher Emily Nebel Yvonne Smith Oboe Rebecca Reale Wosool Cho Wei Wang Rieho Yu (March 17 & 19) Michelle Pan Leah Kovach (March 15) The performance is two hours and fifty minutes in length, including two intermissions. ARTISTIC STAFF Conductor . Richard Bado Stage Director . Edward Berkeley Set Designer . Laura Fine Hawkes Lighting Designer . Kirk Markley Wig and Makeup Designer . Philip Plowman Fight Director . Leraldo Anzaldua Costumes supplied by Malabar Limited, Toronto Costume Supervisor . Barbara Dolney Musical Preparation . Joseph Li, Grant Loehnig, and Rachel Chao Italian Diction Coach . Corradina Caporello Surtitles . Cynthia Johnson and Shane Gasbarra PRODUCTION STAFF Interim Technical Director . Thomas Boyd Stage Manager . Susan Li Master Electrician . Chris Lee Surtitle Operator . Kelley Kimball Assistant Stage Managers . Arielle Carrara, Bridget Casey, Evan Kardon Followspot Operators . Cristina Curzon and Abigail Lindig Shepherd School Production Staff . Mandy Billings (Manager) Francis Schmidt and Brian Figat SHEPHERD SCHOOL OPERA DEPARTMENT AND VOICE DEPARTMENT Richard Bado, Professor of Opera Studies and Director of the Opera Studies Program Stephen King, Professor of Voice and Chair of the Voice Department Jeffrey Bean, Dramatic Instructor Edward Berkeley, Stage Director, Ariodante Thomas Boyd, Interim Technical Director Corradina Caporello, Italian Diction Coach, Ariodante Rachel Chao, Staff Pianist Pat Diamond, Stage Director, Advanced Opera Studies Class Scenes Program Debra Dickinson, Artist Teacher of Opera Studies for Acting and Movement Barbara Dolney, Costume Supervisor Sara Draper, Movement Instructor Mary Duncan, Dramatic Coach Susan Lorette Dunn, Artist Teacher of Voice Thomas Jaber, Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities and Vocal Coach Kathleen Kaun, Professor of Voice Cindy Knight, Stage Manager Kathryn LaBouff, English Diction Coach, Volpone Thomas Lausmann, German Diction Master Class Instructor Joseph Li, Artist Teacher of Opera Studies Susan Li, Stage Manager Grant Loehnig, Artist Teacher of Opera Studies Karen Reeves, Opera Program Administrator Panos Sotiriades, Tax Preparation Instructor Patrick Summers, Händel Ornamentation Master Class Instructor Diane Zola, Audition Techniques Master Class ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Used by arrangement with European American Music Distributors LLC, sole U.S. and Canadian agent for Bärenreiter, publisher and copyright owner. The synopsis and the surtitle translation used in this production are owned by Houston Grand Opera, Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director and Perryn Leech, Managing Director. Mr. Roger W. Bollinger (in memory of Rita C. Handly Bollinger ’38) The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Mr. Richard Evans and Ms. Gloria Portela The Humphreys Foundation SYNOPSIS SETTING: Scotland, in the times of Chivalry Ariodante, a foreign knight in search of adventure, has fallen in love with Ginevra, only child of the King of Scotland, and she with him. Polinesso, Duke of Albany, is ambitious for the throne and was courting Ginevra before Ariodante’s arrival. ACT I Ginevra talks to her lady-in-waiting Dalinda about her love for Ariodante and rejects Polinesso’s advances. When Dalinda, who is infatuated with Polinesso, tells him he can no longer hope for Ginevra, he resolves to use Dalinda’s blind devotion to further his ambition. Ariodante and Ginevra pledge their love, and the King announces to the court that he intends to bless the marriage and acknowledge Ariodante as his heir. Polinesso promises Dalinda that he will try to love her now that he has lost Ginevra, and they make an assignation for that night; he persuades her to help him by dressing and behaving like Ginevra when she comes to meet him. Dalinda dismisses the love of Lurcanio, Ariodante’s brother. The court celebrates the forthcoming marriage. ACT II Polinesso pretends to Ariodante that he has an assignation with Ginevra, and Ariodante watches, horrified, as a woman whom he believes to be Ginevra takes Polinesso into her apartments. Lurcanio, who has observed everything, stops his brother from committing suicide and advises him instead to seek revenge. Ariodante leaves in despair. Dalinda declares her love for Polinesso, who is delighted with the success of his treachery. The King has summoned the Council to establish Ariodante as his successor. All are stunned to hear that Ariodante has drowned himself; Ginevra faints at the news. Lurcanio demands satisfaction for the murder of his brother, saying that he was driven to kill himself by Ginevra’s shameless behaviour. The King rejects his daughter as unchaste, and her senses slip into a turmoil of grief. ACT III The news of Ariodante’s suicide was premature, however, and he has survived to rescue Dalinda from assassins set upon her by Polinesso. She now reveals how the Duke deceived her as well as Ariodante and they return to court to avenge Ginevra. Polinesso offers to fight Lurcanio on Ginevra’s behalf. She bids her father a tender farewell but refuses to accept Polinesso as her champion; however, the King insists. Lurcanio defeats Polinesso, who is carried off, mortally wounded. A mysterious knight then appears as a second defender of Ginevra, and all are amazed that it is Ariodante. The confessions of Dalinda and Polinesso bring the truth to light, and the King orders Ginevra’s immediate release. Lurcanio renews his entreaties to Dalinda. Ginevra is joyfully reunited with her love, and the court celebrates the triumph of love and virtue. BIOGRAPHIES A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, RICHARD BADO (conductor) made his professional conducting debut in 1989 leading Houston Grand Opera’s acclaimed production of Show Boat at the newly restored Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Since then, Mr. Bado has conducted at Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, the Aspen Music Festival, the Tulsa Opera, the Russian National Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, the Mon- treal Symphony, Wolf Trap Opera, Houston Ballet, and has conducted the Robert Wilson production of Virgil Thomson’s Four Saints in Three Acts at the Edinburgh Festival. This season Mr. Bado appears in concert with Renée Fleming, Susan Graham and Frederica von Stade. He has also accompanied Cecilia Bartoli, Denyce Graves, Marcello Giordani, Ramon Vargas, Samuel Ramey and Nathan Gunn. Mr. Bado, who holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he received the 2000 Alumni Achievement Award and West Virginia University, has studied advanced choral conducting with Robert Shaw. This season marks Mr. Bado’s 25th anniversary season as Chorus Master for the Houston Grand Opera. Mr. Bado is the Director of the Opera Studies Program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He has appeared on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. He has been on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School, the International Vocal School in Moscow, and has served on the music staff of the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, the Bol- shoi Opera Young Artist Program, Opera Australia, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera and Wolf Trap Opera. Mr. Bado regularly judges for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and served as Houston Grand Opera’s Head of Music Staff for 14 seasons. EDWARD BERKELEY (Stage Director) is Director of the Aspen Opera Theater Center, on the faculty of The Juilliard School (as Director of Undergraduate Opera Studies) and teaches Shakespeare at Circle in the Square Theater School. He is artistic director of New York’s Willow Cabin Theater Company where he directed the Tony Award and Drama Desk-nominated Wilder, Wilder, Wilder and productions for which he received numerous awards. Mr. Berkeley’s New York Shakespeare Festival productions include Pericles and best revival winner The Tempest. He has directed the New York premieres of plays by Tennes- see Williams, Derek Walcott and Israel Horovitz. He directed Beatrice and Benedict at the New York Philharmonic and John Adams’s El Niño with