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EAP full-page template.indd 1 7/17/17 3:08 PM THE BARBER OF SEVILLE VOLUME 42 ISSUE 2 14 ROSINA HEARD ’ROUND THE WORLD Production Essentials By Jessica Murphy Moo 8 Production Sponsor 9 The Cast of The Barber of Seville 10 The Story of The Barber of Seville 11 Artists 16 THE IRRESISTIBLE MUSIC OF YOUTH 13 Chorus By Jonathan Dean 13 Supernumerary 13 Orchestra 21 SEATTLE OPERA’S NEW BUILDING: AN OPEN INVITATION Departments 5 From the General Director 6 Board of Directors 7 Service Directory 7 From the President 18 Seattle Opera Staff 19 Staff Chat 20 Education and Community Engagement Sponsors 22 Individual Donors 30 Institutional Donors 30 In-Kind Sponsors 30 Volunteer Fundraising 31 Encore Society 32 Seattle Opera at the Center 34 Leadership and Producer’s Circles Seattle Opera 36 Amusements Editor Contributing Editors 36 Online at Seattleopera.org Jessica Murphy Moo Mary Brazeau 39 Upcoming Events Graphic Design Jonathan Dean Kelly Hamilton Colglazier Ed Hawkins David McDade Marcella Morrow Cover Image: © Philip Newton Seattle Opera is now offering large-print and Braille versions of this program. Please see coat check for details. The Barber of Seville 3 October 2017 Volume 42, No. 2 MOZART’S Paul Heppner Publisher Susan Peterson COMEDY Design & Production Director Ana Alvira, Robin Kessler, Shaun Swick, Stevie VanBronkhorst ABOUT SEX Production Artists and Graphic Design Mike Hathaway Sales Director così fan tutte Brieanna Bright, Joey Chapman, Ann Manning jan 13-27, 2018 Seattle Area Account Executives Amelia Heppner, Marilyn Kallins, Terri Reed San Francisco/Bay Area Account Executives Carol Yip Sales Coordinator Leah Baltus Editor-in-Chief Andy Fife Publisher Dan Paulus Art Director Gemma Wilson, Jonathan Zwickel Senior Editors Amanda Manitach Visual Arts Editor Barry Johnson Associate Digital Editor Paul Heppner President Mike Hathaway Vice President Genay Genereux Accounting & Office Manager Sara Keats Marketing Manager Seattle Opera Revival LET THE GAMES BEGIN! Ciara Caya In Italian with English subtitles. Love has many faces in Mozart’s Customer Service Representative & Evenings 7:30 PM remarkable masterpiece. Two buddies Administrative Assistant Sundays 2:00 PM don disguises to test the faithfulness of Corporate Office their fiancées. Will the women fall for MCCAW HALL 425 North 85th Street Seattle, WA 98103 their “new” suitors? And if they do, who p 206.443.0445 f 206.443.1246 206.389.7676 [email protected] is really to blame? The ravishing Così SEATTLEOPERA.ORG/COSI 800.308.2898 x105 blends bawdy humor and keen insight www.encoremediagroup.com PRODUCTION SPONSORS: with the sweetest and most passionate Encore Arts Programs is published monthly by Encore Media SEATTLE OPERA FOUNDATION, Group to serve musical and theatrical events in the Puget ANN P. WYCKOFF, ARTSFUND music Mozart ever wrote. Sound and San Franc isco Bay Areas. ©2017 Encore Media PHOTO © PHILIP NEWTON Group. All rights reserved. Reproduction without written consent of Seattle Opera and Encore Media Group is prohibited. 4 Seattle Opera 2017/18 Season FROM THE GENERAL DIRECTOR Humans are creatures of habit. We all find our various routines in life and tend to get put out if something comes along that disturbs those habits. It is surprising how easily an arts organization can fall into a similar pattern! If we find a winning formula, we can be tempted to repeat it from one opera production to the next. But the arts are agents of change, and the impact of the arts—in a continually evolving society—is always changing, too. One of the duties of any arts organization is to ensure that it stays current with those societal changes. When we at Seattle Opera ask “Why do we do the work we © RICK DAHMS do?,” the answer very much has to do with the here and now—specifically Seattle’s here and now. If the arts are a reflection of society, then we must reflect that society in what we present on stage. We learned a great deal from our community discussions before, during, and after our summer performances of Madame Butterfly. And during our recent reprise of An American Dream, we thought a lot about how new stories paired with strong community partnerships can elevate the important work of local groups while also telling a powerful, timely, and new story that offers new roles for people of color. So much of what we learned aligns with our vision for Seattle Opera as a twenty-first- century arts organization. We know we need to serve and reflect our communities, and we know we have work to do in order to achieve that. At first glance The Barber of Seville may not seem to have any connection to today. It’s a comedy built on an ancient social system, after all! But of all the theatrical genres, comedy is perhaps the one most linked to the way we live our daily lives. Comedy highlights and magnifies socially unacceptable behavior and punishes it with laughter (rather than tears). There is a bit more to The Barber of Seville than a mere comic romp. Its characters are defined by their age, and can be divided into two camps—the young and the old—and each has their own distinct attitude to life. As the opera progresses, we see the plans of the old guard being thwarted, and we witness a societal change taking place before our eyes, as that old order gives way to the younger generation. We all bring our specific twenty-first- century experiences to bear on these universal ideas. The Barber of Seville is the first of two co-productions that we are mounting this season, the second being Aida, which will come to you in May. This production of Barber is a trans- Pacific affair, as we work in partnership with both Opera Queensland, who premiered it last year, and New Zealand Opera who will feature it after our run of performances. It also enables us to bring back to Seattle the team who last year brought us such a sparkling production of Count Ory—our conductor Giacomo Sagripanti and director Lindy Hume. And on this occasion, they are partnered by a newcomer to our roster of artists, the production designer Tracy Grant Lord, who has created wonderfully vibrant and witty designs that I am sure will delight you. Barber is a score that epitomizes Rossini’s playful spirit and sheer joie de vivre. It has entranced audiences for more than 200 years, and I hope that our production this evening does the same for you. The Barber of Seville 5 Bischofberger Violins est. 1955 BOARD OF Professional DIRECTORS Repairs 2017/18 Season Appraisals & Sales 1314 E. John St. Seattle, WA Chairman Treasurer Representatives to the Board John F. Nesholm John Starbard 206-324-3119 Gayle Charlesworth, Seattle Opera Guild www.bviolins.combviolinsltd.com President Secretary Gail Neil, Seattle Opera Chorus Brian Marks Milkana Brace Eoin Hudson, BRAVO! Immediate Past Eric Jacobs, The Seattle Symphony and Opera BV 071811 repair 1_12.pdf President Players’ Association Maryanne Tagney Seattle Opera Foundation NEXT STOP: Vice Presidents Jeffrey Hanna, Brian Marks, President ex officio Brenda Bruns, M.D. Jonathan Rosoff NEW Charles B. Cossé Steven C. Phelps Susan MacGregor Matthew Segal James D. Cullen Anne M. Redman Coughlin Martha Sherman YORK! Sandra B. Dunn Michael Tobiason James D. Cullen Stephen A. Sprenger Jay Lapin Moya Vazquez Diana Gale John Sullivan A. Richard Gemperle Moya Vazquez Advisory Board Bruce R. McCaw William T. Connie Bloxom Betty Hedreen Louise Miller Weyerhaeuser John M. Bloxom, Jr. Victoria Ivarsson James David Raisbeck Beverly Brazeau Linda Nordstrom Directors Norma B. Croco Judy Schuchart Willie C. Aikens Jeffrey Hanna David R. Davis Eulalie Schneider † Thomas H. Allen Kennan Jane Davis Virginia B. Wright Discover the Barry Bolding Hollingsworth, M.D. Honorary Life Members opera stars of Toby Bright Ron Hosogi Beverly Brazeau Duff Kennedy tomorrow in Barbara Buchman Gary Houlahan Donald L. Johnson Michael M. Scott Susan Buske Michael Hyman Gregory Chan, M.D. Bruce E. H. Johnson Past Presidents Lesley Chapin Tom McQuaid AUDITIONS AT BENAROYA HALL Norma B. Croco Sheffield Phelps† Robert Comfort Brendan Murphy Albert O. Foster† Steven C. Phelps WASHINGTON NORTHWEST Janice C. Condit Rosemary W. Peterson Max E. Gellert† Maryanne Tagney DISTRICT REGION Charles B. Cossé OCT. 29, 2017 10 AM MAR. 4, 2018 1 PM Steven C. Phelps Harold H. Heath† Russell F. Tousley $30 BENAROYA Natalie de Maar $20 AT THE DOOR Tom Puentes H. Dewayne Kreager† Richard S. Twiss TICKET OFFICE Stuart DePina Jean Stark Francis A. LeSourd† William T. benaroyahall.org Susan Detweiler, M.D. Russell F. Tousley James M. McDonald Jr.† Weyerhaeuser Carolyn Eagan † James Uhlir Stanley N. Minor Howard S. Wright Adam J. Fountain Susanne Wakefield, John F.