Gianni Schicchi / Pagliacci Song from the Uproar

Gianni
Schicchi / Pagliacci
GIACOMO PUCCINI /
RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO
September 12 – October 3, 2015
Production made possible by generous gifts from The Milan Panic Family, Joyce and
Aubrey Chernick, Barbara Augusta Teichert, and Eva and Marc Stern.
Special support from Nancy and Barry Sanders.
Generous corporate sponsorship by Rolex.
Song from the Uproar
MISSY MAZZOLI / ROYCE VAVREK
October 8 – 11, 2015, at REDCAT
Presentation made possible by a generous grant from
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Additional support provided by donors to LA Opera’s Contemporary Opera Initiative.
Dracula: The Music and Film
PHILIP GLASS
October 29-31, 2015, at the Theatre at Ace Hotel
Moby-Dick
JAKE HEGGIE / GENE SCHEER
October 31 – November 28, 2015
Production made possible in part by a generous gift from
Ann and Gordon Getty.
Special underwriting support from Marie H. Song.
Norma
VINCENZO BELLINI
November 21 – December 13, 2015
Production made possible by generous funding from The Seaver Endowment, Tarasenka
Pankiv Fund (Tara Colburn), and the Opera League of Los Angeles.
Erwin Schrott in Concert
December 12, 2015
The Magic Flute
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
February 13 – March 6, 2016
Production made possible by generous funding from The Carol and Warner Henry
Production Fund for Mozart Operas.
Support for James Conlon’s conducting provided by James and Ellen Strauss.
The Festival Play of Daniel
March 4-5, 2016, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
Production made possible with generous underwriting support from
the Dan Murphy Foundation.
Madame Butterfly
GIACOMO PUCCINI
March 12 – April 3, 2016
Plácido Domingo & Renée Fleming in Concert,
Conducted by James Conlon
March 18, 2016
Great Opera Choruses
April 10, 2016, at the Valley Performing Arts Center
Special support for Great Opera Choruses is made possible by
Los Angeles County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl.
Original program created with support from
former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.
La Bohème
GIACOMO PUCCINI
May 14 – June 12, 2016
Production made possible by generous gifts from Malsi Doyle and Michael Forman,
Margaret and Christopher Forman, and the Pacific Theatres Foundation
Additional generous support provided by The Alfred and Claude Mann Fund,
in honor of Plácido Domingo
Anatomy Theater
DAVID LANG / MARK DION
June 16 – 19, 2016, at REDCAT
Presentation made possible by a generous grant from
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Additional support provided by donors to LA Opera’s Contemporary Opera Initiative.
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 33
DONOR RECOGNITION
25th Anniversary Angels
LA Opera wishes to recognize and thank those who made extraordinary leadership commitments in honor of the company’s 25th
Anniversary Season. Following the tradition established by previous Angel campaigns (listed on page 46), the support of the 25th
Anniversary Angels ensures LA Opera’s continued artistic excellence and prominence in the worldwide cultural community.
Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco
The Seaver Family
Marc and Eva Stern Foundation
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
Colburn Foundation
County of Los Angeles
Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation
Carol and Warner Henry
Alfred and Claude Mann
Flora L. Thornton
Marilyn Ziering
Mr. Harold Alden and Dr. Geraldine Alden
The Annenberg Foundation
Ambassador Frank and Kathy Baxter
The Blue Ribbon
Alex Bouzari
Robert Day
Dunard Fund USA
Malsi Doyle and Michael Forman
Brindell Roberts Gottlieb
The Green Foundation
Bernard and Lenore Greenberg, in honor of Leonard Green
LGHG Foundation
Rosemary and Milton Okun
The Milan Panic Family
Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer
Lloyd E. Rigler - Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation
Ronus Foundation
Eugene and Marilyn Stein
Christopher V. Walker
Lenore and Richard Wayne
Ziering Family Foundation
Selim K. Zilkha and Mary Hayley / Selim K. Zilkha Foundation
The 30th Anniversary Angels will be announced later this season.
34 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
PROGRAM
PLÁCIDO DOMINGO, ELI AND EDYTHE BROAD GENERAL DIRECTOR
JAMES CONLON, RICHARD SEAVER MUSIC DIRECTOR
CHRISTOPHER KOELSCH, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
PRESENTS
Moby-Dick
Music by Jake Heggie
Libretto by Gene Scheer
CREATIVE TEAM
CONDUCTOR
CAST (in order of vocal appearance)
PRODUCTION NOTES
James Conlon
QUEEQUEG, a harpooner
Musa Ngqungwana*
The running time is approximately
three hours, including one intermission.
DIRECTED BY
GREENHORN, a new crew member
Joshua Guerrero‡
This production includes live flame.
FLASK, third mate
Matthew O’Neill
Robert Brill*
STARBUCK, first mate
Morgan Smith
Projected English titles courtesy of
San Francisco Opera.
COSTUME DESIGNER
STUBB, second mate
Malcolm MacKenzie
PIP, Ahab’s cabin boy
Jacqueline Echols*
CAPTAIN AHAB, commander of the Pequod
Jay Hunter Morris
TASHTEGO, a harpooner
Sal Malaki
DAGGOO, a harpooner
Babatunde Akimboboye*
A NANTUCKET SAILOR Todd Strange
A SPANISH SAILOR James Martin Schaefer
CAPTAIN GARDINER, commander of the Rachel
Nicholas Brownlee†
Leonard Foglia*
SET DESIGNER
Jane Greenwood
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Gavan Swift,
based on an original design
by Donald Holder
PROJECTION DESIGNER
Elaine J. McCarthy
CHORUS DIRECTOR
Grant Gershon
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
AND CHOREOGRAPHER
Keturah Stickann*
FIGHT DIRECTOR
Ed Douglas
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
Crystal Manich
SUPPORT
ASSOCIATE PROJECTION
DESIGNER
Production made possible in part by a generous gift from
Shawn Boyle
Ann and Gordon Getty
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Special underwriting support from
Erik Friedman
STAGE MANAGER
Lyla Forlani
Marie H. Song
Pre-performance talks by James
Conlon. Pre-performance talks are
generously sponsored by the Flora L.
Thornton Foundation and the Opera
League of Los Angeles.
By arrangement with Bent Pen Music.
Sole Agent: Bill Holab Music.
Commissioned by The Dallas Opera.
Production co-owned by The Dallas
Opera, State Opera of South
Australia, Calgary Opera, San Diego
Opera and San Francisco Opera.
Sets and props by The Dallas Opera.
Additional costumes constructed by
the LA Opera Costume Shop. Wigs
constructed by the LA Opera Wig
and Make-Up Department.
* LA Opera debut
†Member of the
Domingo-Colburn-Stein
Young Artist Program
‡Alumnus of the
Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young
Artist Program
ARTISTS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
FIRST ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
AND PROMPTER
Laurie Rogers
MUSICAL PREPARATION
Jeremy Frank
Audrey Saint-Gil
Peter Walsh†
Please refrain from talking during the performance, and turn off all cell phones, electronic devices and watch alarms. If you are using an
assistive hearing device, or are attending with someone who is, please make sure that it is set to an appropriate level to avoid distracting
audio feedback. Latecomers will be seated at the discretion of the house management. Members of the audience who leave during the
performance will not be shown back into the theater until the next intermission. The use of cameras and recording equipment is strictly
prohibited. Your use of a ticket acknowledges your willingness to appear in photographs taken in public areas of the Music Center and
releases the Center and its lessees and others from liability resulting from use of such photographs. Any microphones onstage are used
for recording or broadcast purposes only; onstage voices are not amplified.
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 35
SYNOPSIS
ACT ONE
Day Two: Three months later
works on the ship. He decides to
Day One: The whaling ship Pequod has
After three months at sea without a
befriend Queequeg.
been at sea for one week
single whale hunt, Stubb jokes with cabin
Starbuck returns to Ahab’s cabin,
Below deck, while most of the crew sleeps,
boy Pip about the sharks circling the
where he finds the captain asleep. He
the harpooner Queequeg prays. This wakes
ship. The song ignites a dance for the full
picks up the gun with which Ahab had
Greenhorn, a loner and a newcomer to
crew, but rising racial tensions take
threatened him and contemplates what
whaling. Dawn breaks and the call is
over and a dangerous fight erupts.
he should do—if he were to pull the
made for “All hands!” While the
When Greenhorn suddenly sights
trigger, he might survive to see his wife
crew members raise the ship’s
a pod of whales, Starbuck is at
and child again. When Ahab cries out in
sails, the officers Starbuck,
last able to persuade Ahab
his sleep, Starbuck replaces the gun and
Stubb and Flask talk about
to let the men hunt. The
leaves the cabin.
Captain Ahab, who has
three whaleboats are
remained in his cabin, unseen,
lowered. Queequeg in
ACT TWO
since the ship left Nantucket.
Starbuck’s boat and
Day Three: One year later
The crew sings of whales,
Tashtego in Stubb’s both
An enormous storm is approaching, but
wealth and home. Suddenly,
harpoon
whales,
but
Stubb, Flask and the crew sing a jolly work
HERMAN MELVILLE
(1819-1891)
Captain Ahab appears. He
Flask’s boat is capsized
song. From the mastheads, Greenhorn and
tells them of Moby-Dick, a
and
Pip
is
lost
at
sea.
Queequeg talk of traveling together to
Largely forgotten in his
white whale that took off
On board the Pequod,
Queequeg’s native island. Greenhorn
lifetime, the author of Mobyone of his legs. He then nails
an enormous whale is
wants to learn his friend’s language and
Dick was recognized in the
a gold doubloon to the mast
being butchered and the
write down their adventures. Suddenly,
early 20th century as one of oil rendered in the burning
and promises it to the man
Queequeg collapses. The crew lowers him
America’s greatest writers. tryworks. Flask tells Ahab
who first sights Moby-Dick.
down and Ahab announces he will take the
This, he explains, is the real
that the search for Pip is
masthead watch himself.
reason they have sailed—to
under way, but Ahab
Below deck, Queequeg tells Greenhorn
search the globe to find and destroy this
thinks only of finding Moby-Dick. The crew
that he is dying. He asks that a coffin
one whale. His rousing call of “Death to
imagines Pip lost and struggling
be made for him. Pip enters from the
Moby-Dick!” excites everyone but the first
in the heart of the sea.
shadows and sings a lament,
mate, Starbuck. To no avail, he confronts
After learning that many
joined by Greenhorn.
Ahab about what he sees as a futile and
of the oil barrels are leaking,
The massive storm now
blasphemous mission.
Starbuck goes below to tell
surrounds the Pequod. As
Starbuck instructs Greenhorn about
Ahab that they must find
Ahab sings defiantly to the
the dangers of whaling. When Starbuck
a port for repairs. Ahab is
heavens, bolts of lightning
reflects that he might never again see
unmoved by Starbuck’s
engulf the ship. The masts
his wife and son, he is overcome with
report, for he is concerned
glow with St. Elmo’s fire.
emotion. He orders Queequeg to
only with the white whale.
Ahab demands that the
THE WHALESHIP ESSEX
complete the lesson. Stubb sights a pod
When Starbuck refuses to
men hold their posts,
In 1820, the ship was
of whales, but Ahab will not allow the
leave, Ahab grabs a gun
promising them that the
attacked by a sperm whale. white flame is a sign from
eager crew to hunt since they have not
and orders him to his knees.
yet found Moby-Dick. Starbuck orders
From afar, Greenhorn
heaven, guiding them to
Only eight of the 20-man
the crew to sail on and sends Greenhorn
shouts that Pip has been
the white whale. The crew
crew survived, a tragedy
up to the lookout on the masthead,
found. Ahab orders
is inspired once again by
that inspired Moby-Dick.
joined by Queequeg.
Starbuck out of the cabin.
the captain, much to
As the sun begins to set, Ahab looks
On deck, the crew
Starbuck’s distress.
over the wake of the ship and mourns that
listens as Greenhorn describes how
his obsession deprives him of any
Queequeg rescued Pip. As the men
Day Four: The next morning
enjoyment of beauty; all is anguish to him.
return to work, Greenhorn pleads with
The ship has made it through the storm.
At the masthead, Queequeg and Greenhorn
Starbuck to get help for Pip after his
A voice calls out from a distant ship, the
look over the world, while Starbuck, on
ordeal. But the first mate ignores him.
Rachel. Its commander, Captain Gardiner,
deck, bemoans Ahab’s madness.
Greenhorn observes how life really
is searching for his 12-year-old son, lost
In fond memory of Tara Colburn, supertitles are underwritten by Dunard Fund USA.
36 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
ADDITIONAL EXPLORATION
in the storm. He pleads with Ahab to
help him search, but Ahab refuses. Pip,
who has gone mad, shouts to Gardiner
of the Pequod’s own lost boy. Pip cuts
himself and gets blood on Ahab’s
clothes. Ahab orders his ship to sail on,
leaving Gardiner behind. Ahab
contemplates the heartless God who
devastates so many lives. He baptizes
his spear with Pip’s blood.
Below deck, Greenhorn sees
Queequeg’s newly-made coffin and
contemplates the madness that seems
to surround him.
On deck, Ahab and Starbuck gaze
over the horizon. Ahab describes his 40
years at sea and all that he has left
behind. And why? He cannot say. But
he sees in Starbuck’s eye a human soul,
and it touches him deeply. Starbuck
seizes the moment and urges his
captain to change course, so that they
might return to the wives and sons who
wait for them in Nantucket.
Just has Ahab appears to relent, he
sights Moby-Dick on the horizon. Great
excitement ensues and the crew
declares its loyalty to their captain. After
ordering Starbuck to stay on board,
Ahab takes his place in the first mate’s
whaleboat. The three whaleboats are
lowered. During the chase, Moby-Dick
destroys Flask’s and Stubb’s whaleboats
in succession, drowning their crews. The
whale then rams the Pequod; it sinks,
killing all aboard. It then attacks Ahab’s
boat, and all but the captain jump or fall
off. Finally alone with the white whale,
Ahab cries out and stabs at Moby-Dick
with his spear before being dragged
down into the sea.
Epilogue: Many days later
Barely alive, Greenhorn floats on
Queequeg’s coffin, softly singing his lost
friend’s prayer. From the Rachel, Captain
Gardiner calls from afar, thinking he has
at last found his missing son. Instead, he
learns that Ahab and all the crew of the
Pequod have drowned, except for this
one survivor.
Dive in Deeper
Two editions of Moby-Dick offer a wonderful way to (re)encounter
Herman Melville’s classic; the University of California Press reprint of
the Arion edition features the acclaimed boxwood engraving illustrations by Barry Moser, and the Modern Library edition includes the
famous illustrations made by Rockwell Kent for a deluxe 1930 edition.
Some other works of interest:
Heggie and Scheer’s Moby-Dick: A Grand
Opera for the 21st Century by Robert K.
Wallace (University of North Texas Press):
includes Scheer’s entire libretto, interviews
with the creators, and lavish illustrations of
the production.
I n the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of
the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel
Philbrick (Viking): a detailed history of
the real-life story that was one of
Melville’s main inspirations for MobyDick. A film based on Philbrick’s book
and directed by Ron Howard is
scheduled for release in December.
Philbrick is also the author of the refreshingly insightful and accessible Why Read
Moby-Dick? (Penguin).
A book admired by Melville, Two Years
before the Mast by Richard Henry Dana,
Jr., is an iconic memoir from 1840 of the
early 19th-century American sailor’s life.
The Dream of the Great American Novel by
Lawrence Buell (Belknap): a fascinating
and controversial contemporary assessment of that elusive literary concept.
The 1956 film directed by John Huston
(who cowrote the screenplay with none
other than Rad Bradbury) and starring
Gregory Peck as Captain Ahab.
One of Rockwell Kent’s 280 illustrations
created for a 1930 edition of Moby-Dick.
San Francisco Opera’s production of
Moby-Dick from 2012, which was
broadcast on PBS, is available on DVD
and BlueRay.
Jake Heggie’s enormously successful
debut opera Dead Man Walking has been
recorded with a cast featuring Joyce
DiDonato, Philip Cutlip and Frederica von
Stade (Virgin Classics).
Three Decembers (CD recording on
Albany Records): another Heggie and
Scheer collaboration, based on an original play by Terrence McNally about a
famous actress who becomes estranged
from her children.
—Thomas May
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 37
COMPOSER/LIBRETTIST
Gene Scheer
COMPOSER
LIBRETTIST
From: San Francisco.
LA Opera: debut.
Career highlights: Jake Heggie
is the composer of the operas
Moby-Dick, Dead Man Walking,
Great Scott, Three Decembers,
To Hell and Back, The End of
the Affair, Out of Darkness and
the choral opera, The Radio
Hour. He has also composed
more than 250 art songs, as
well as chamber, choral and
orchestral works, including his
recent Ahab Symphony (2013). The operas—most created with
the distinguished writers Terrence McNally and Gene Scheer—
have been produced extensively on five continents. Moby-Dick
was telecast throughout the United States in 2013 on PBS as
part of the 40th season of Great Performances and released on
DVD (EuroArts). Dead Man Walking has received more than 40
productions worldwide and has been recorded twice (Atlantic
Records and Virgin Classics).
A Guggenheim Fellow, Mr. Heggie has served as a mentor
for the Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative,
and is a frequent guest artist at universities, conservatories and
festivals throughout the United States and Canada.
His most recent compositions include The Work at Hand:
Symphonic Songs for mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and cellist
Anne Martindale Williams, co-commissioned by the Pittsburgh
Symphony Orchestra and Carnegie Hall; the song cycle Iconic
Legacies: First Ladies at the Smithsonian for mezzo-soprano Susan
Graham, premiered by Vocal Arts DC; a new orchestration of the
song cycle Camille Claudel: Into the First for mezzo-soprano Sasha
Cooke and the Berkeley Symphony; and Stop this Day and Night
with Me, an a cappella work for the King’s Singers. His latest
opera, Great Scott, with a libretto by Mr. McNally, received its
premiere on October 30 at the Dallas Opera and will be presented
at San Diego Opera in May 2016. His next opera, based on It’s a
Wonderful Life, with a libretto by Mr. Scheer, is set to premiere at
Houston Grand Opera in 2016. Mr. Heggie lives in San Francisco
with his husband, Curt Branom. (JakeHeggie.com).
From: New York City.
LA Opera: debut.
Career highlights: Gene Scheer’s
work is noted for its scope and
versatility. With the composer
Jake Heggie, he has collaborated
on many projects, including
the critically acclaimed 2010
Dallas Opera world premiere,
Moby-Dick, starring Ben
Heppner as Captain Ahab; Three
Decembers (Houston Grand
Opera), which starred Frederica
von Stade; and the lyric drama To Hell and Back (Philharmonia
Baroque Orchestra), which featured Patti LuPone. Other works by
Scheer and Heggie include Camille Claudel: Into the Fire, a song
cycle premiered by Joyce di Donato and the Alexander String
Quartet. He worked as librettist with Tobias Picker on An American
Tragedy, which premiered at the Metropolitan Opera in 2005. Their
first opera, Thérèse Raquin, written for the Dallas Opera in 2001,
was cited by Opera News as one of the ten best recordings of
2002. Other collaborations include the lyrics for “It Never Goes
Away,” featured in the work Congo Square by Wynton Marsalis.
With composer Steven Stucky, he wrote the oratorio August 4,
1964,for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, which was nominated for
a Grammy and performed at Carnegie Hall. At the Dallas Opera
earlier this year, he collaborated with Joby Talbot on the opera
Everest, based on interviews from survivors of the 1996 Everest
expedition. His most recent work, Cold Mountain, with the composer Jennifer Higdon, premiered this summer at the Santa Fe
Opera. It will open on the east coast in early 2016 at the Academy
of Music in Philadelphia. He is currently working with Jake Heggie
on an operatic adaptation of It’s a Wonderful Life for the Houston
Grand Opera, set to open in December 2016. A composer in his
own right, he has written a number of songs for singers such as
Renée Fleming, Sylvia McNair, Stephanie Blythe, Jennifer Larmore,
Denyce Graves and Nathan Gunn. The documentary filmmaker
Ken Burns prominently featured his song “American Anthem” (as
sung by Norah Jones) in his Emmy Award-winning World War II
documentary for PBS entitled The War. (GeneScheer.com)
STAY CONNECTED!
facebook.com/LAOpera
38 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
instagram.com/LAOpera
PHOTO BY TONY RYAN
Jake Heggie
#LAOMoby-Dick
twitter.com/LAOpera
#LAO30
youtube.com/LAOpera
ARTISTS
James Conlon
Leonard Foglia
CONDUCTOR
DIRECTOR
From: New York.
LA Opera: debut conducting
La Traviata (2006); 47 different
operas and over 280 total performances to date. This season,
he will also conduct Norma, The
Magic Flute and Madame
Butterfly. He has been Richard
Seaver Music Director since 2006.
Career highlights: He has led
virtually every major North
American and European orchestra, and over 270 performances
at the Metropolitan Opera. He has been music director of the
Cincinnati May Festival since 1979. Next season, he will become
principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of the
RAI in Torino. He previously was music director of the Ravinia
Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony (2005-2015),
principal conductor of the Paris National Opera (1995-2004),
general music director of the City of Cologne (1989-2002) and
music director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic (1983-91). He has
two Grammy Awards and was awarded France’s Légion
d’Honneur. (JamesConlon.com)
From: Boston, Massachusetts.
LA Opera: debut.
Career highlights: He directed
the world premieres of three
operas by Jake Heggie: MobyDick (Dallas Opera; PBS’s Great
Performances), Three Decembers
(Houston Grand Opera) and The
End of the Affair (HGO). His production of Dead Man Walking has
been seen nationwide. He is
librettist of Jose Pepe Martinez’s
mariachi operas Cruzar la Cara de
la Luna (Houston, Paris, Chicago, San Diego, Phoenix, Tucson) and
El Pasado Nunca Se Termina (Chicago, San Diego, Houston) and of
Ricky Ian Gordon’s A Coffin in Egypt (Houston, Philadelphia,
Chicago, L.A.). This year he directed the world premieres of Cold
Mountain in Santa Fe and Everest in Dallas. He directed the original
Broadway productions of Master Class, Thurgood (HBO) and The
People in the Picture and revivals of Wait until Dark and On Golden
Pond. He directed Anna Deavere Smith’s Let Me Down Easy (PBS’
Great Performances). His production of The Gin Game staring Cicely
Tyson and James Earl Jones is currently running on Broadway.
Robert Brill
Jane Greenwood
SCENERY DESIGNER
COSTUME DESIGNER
From: San Francisco.
LA Opera: debut.
Career highlights: Mr. Brill
designed the world premiere of
Moby-Dick for Dallas Opera, as
well as its subsequent productions in Australia, Canada, San
Diego, San Francisco and
Washington DC. His other
designs for opera include Faust
for the Metropolitan Opera and
English National Opera, Doubt for
Minnesota Opera, and the world
premieres of Cold Mountain for Santa Fe Opera and The
Manchurian Candidate for the Minnesota Opera. His designs for
Broadway include Cabaret, Jesus Christ Superstar, Assassins (Tony
nomination), Guys and Dolls (Tony nomination), A Streetcar Named
Desire, Design for Living and Buried Child. Other projects include
Sinatra at Radio City Music Hall, On the Record for Disney
Theatrical, American in Paris for Boston Ballet, A Clockwork Orange
for Steppenwolf, Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992
for the Mark Taper Forum and McCarter Theatre, and The Laramie
Project for BAM and other theaters throughout the U.S.
From: Liverpool, England.
LA Opera: Nabucco (2002, debut).
Career highlights: In 2014, Jane
Greenwood was honored with
the Special Tony Award for
Lifetime Achievement in the
Theater. She has designed for
theater, opera, dance and film,
including over 125 productions
for Broadway since Ballad of the
Sad Café in 1963. She has earned
18 Tony Award nominations, for
You Can’t Take it With You, Act
One, Waiting for Godot, Heartbreak House, Who’s Afraid of
Virginia Woolf?, Morning’s at Seven, A Delicate Balance, The
Heiress, Passion, She Loves Me, The Sisters of Rosensweig, Two
Shakespearean Actors, Our Town, Medea, Hay Fever, Les Blancs,
More Stately Mansions and Tartuffe. Awards for costume design
include the Lucille Award for Sylvia (1996) and Old Money
(2001); the Henry Hewes Award for Our Leading Lady (2007); as
well as the Helen Hayes Award, the Irene Sharaff Award and the
Lilly Award, and she is also in the Theatre Hall of Fame. She has
been a professor at Yale School of Drama since 1976.
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 39
ARTISTS
Gavan Swift
Elaine J. McCarthy
LIGHTING
PROJECTIONS
From: Sydney, Australia.
LA Opera: debut.
Career highlights: Gavan Swift
has designed lighting for productions of Moby-Dick at State
Opera of South Australia (2011),
San Diego Opera (2012), San
Francisco Opera (2012) and
Washington National Opera
(2014). A graduate of Australia’s
National Institute of Dramatic
Art, he has designed South
Pacific, Lakmé, Carmen and La
Bohème for Opera Australia. Other credits include Anything
Goes, Sugar (Some Like It Hot), Music Man, Hair, Mack & Mabel
and Mame for The Production Company; Footloose for the
Gordon Frost Organisation; Loot and Marriage Blanc for the
Sydney Theatre Company; Piaf and The Aunt’s Story for
Melbourne Theatre Company; The Ham Funeral, Three Sisters,
Entertaining Mr. Sloane, King Lear and Hamlet for the State
Theatre Company of South Australia; and Saturday Night Fever
in Australia, New Zealand, parts of Asia and on London’s West
End. (GavanSwift.com)
From: Arlington, Massachusetts.
LA Opera: debut.
Career highlights: She maintains
an international career spanning
20 years and nearly every area
of live performance. Her opera
credits include Tristan und Isolde
with the Dallas Opera, Mazeppa
with the Metropolitan Opera,
Dead Man Walking with New
York City Opera, War and Peace
with the Metropolitan Opera and
Kirov Opera, Tosca with Opera
Festival of New Jersey, and Tan Dun and Peter Sellars’s The
Peony Pavilion at the Vienna Festival. Additional career highlights
include the Broadway productions of Wicked, Spamalot,
Assassins, Man of La Mancha, Into the Woods, Thurgood, and
Judgment at Nuremberg, as well as the Off-Broadway productions of Frequency Hopping (set and projections), Distracted (set
and projections), Fran’s Bed, Speaking in Tongues, The Stendhal
Syndrome, and The Thing About Men. Her credits also include Tan
Dun’s The Gate with the NHK Symphony and Don Byron’s Tunes
and ‘Toons at Brooklyn Academy of Music
Grant Gershon
Keturah Stickann
CHORUS DIRECTOR
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AND CHOREOGRAPHER
From: Alhambra.
LA Opera: Resident Conductor
since 2012, he made his LAO
conducting debut with La
Traviata in 2009, followed by
the world premiere of Il Postino
in 2010. He has conducted
nine productions to date,
including, most recently, Gianni
Schicchi (2015) and Florencia
en el Amazonas (2014) and
Carmen (2013).
Career highlights: La Traviata,
Carmen and Madame Butterfly at Wolf Trap Opera with the
National Symphony Orchestra, John Adams’ The Gospel
According to the Other Mary at the Ravinia Festival, Vivaldi’s
Griselda at the Santa Fe Opera, many appearances with the
LA Philharmonic. He is artistic director of the Los Angeles
Master Chorale, where he is now in his 15th season. He has led
world premieres by John Adams, Steve Reich and Esa-Pekka
Salonen, among others. His discography includes multiple CDs
with the Master Chorale on Nonesuch and Decca Records, as
well as the DVD of Il Postino on Sony Classical.
From: Columbia, Missouri.
LA Opera: debut.
Career highlights: She began
the current season directing
Macbeth at Kentucky Opera. She
most recently directed Il
Trovatore at Knoxville Opera, La
Clemenza di Tito for Houston’s
Opera in the Heights, and
Madame Butterfly for Opera
Colorado. Other directing and
choreographic credits
include Don Quichotte (San
Diego), Rigoletto (Memphis, San Diego, Dallas), The Tales of
Hoffman and Manon (Knoxville), Madama Butterfly (Santa
Barbara), The Pearl Fishers (Sarasota Opera), Peter Grimes (San
Diego), Orfeo (Atlanta, Arizona Opera) and Hansel and
Gretel (Portland Opera). A frequent collaborator with director
Leonard Foglia, she was his choreographer and movement
director for the world premiere of Moby-Dick in Dallas in 2010,
and traveled with the production to the Calgary Opera, State
Opera of South Australia, San Diego Opera, San Francisco Opera
and Washington National Opera. (KeturahStickann.com)
40 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
ARTISTS
Ed Douglas
Jay Hunter Morris
FIGHT DIRECTOR
CAPTAIN AHAB
From: Jacksonville, Florida.
LA Opera: Otello (debut, 1989);
has choreographed the stage
combat for 21 productions to
date, including, most recently,
The Ghosts of Versailles (2015),
Billy Budd (2014), Carmen (2013)
and The Two Foscari (2012).
Career highlights: Film credits
include Wild Bill, Oblivion and
Wild Magic. He is longtime
faculty member in the theater
department of Glendale
Community College, where he has directed numerous
productions, and a full-time faculty member teaching acting
and stage combat for the California State Summer School for
the Arts. He has also taught movement and stage combat at
the California Institute of the Arts, LA City College and LA
High School of the Arts and has served as fight choreographer
for productions at the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles,
UCLA, USC, Cal State LA and the Pilgrimage Theatre. He holds
an MFA in acting from the California Institute of the Arts.
From: Paris, Texas.
LA Opera: Unferth in Grendel
(2006, debut), Marky in The Fly
(2010), Erik in The Flying
Dutchman (2013). In 1994 he
sang the role of Tony in Terrence
McNally’s Master Class at the
Mark Taper Forum.
Career highlights: He previously
performed Ahab in Adelaide,
San Diego and San Francisco
(Great Performances, DVD). This
season, he performs Teague in
Jennifer Higdon’s Cold Mountain in Philadelphia, the title role in
Siegfried in Houston, Tristan in Warsaw and Sao Paolo, and he
returns to Glimmerglass Opera as Judge Danforth in The Crucible.
In 2011, he made his role debut as Siegfried in San Francisco, and
went on to perform that role in the complete new Ring cycle at
the Metropolitan Opera in 2012 and 2013. The production was
broadcast live to cinemas worldwide and won the Grammy for
Best Opera Recording. He returns to the Met in 2017 as Erik In
The Flying Dutchman. In 2013 his book Diary of a Redneck Opera
Zinger was published by Opera Lively. (JayHunterMorris.com)
Joshua Guerrero
Morgan Smith
GREENHORN
TENOR
From: Los Angeles.
LA Opera: Normanno in Lucia di
Lammermoor (2014, debut);
Steve in A Streetcar Named
Desire (2014); Count Almaviva in
The Ghosts of Versailles (2015).
He is an alumnus of the
Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young
Artist Program (2012-15).
Career highlights: A 2014
Operalia winner, he will make his
European operatic debut this
season as Gabriele Adorno
in Simon Boccanegra at Opéra National de Bordeaux, followed by
Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore with the Teatro de la Maestranza in
Seville. Most recently, he was a soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony
No. 9, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, with both the LA
Philharmonic and Simón Bolívar Orchestra of Venezuela. Earlier
this year, he performed at a gala honoring Plácido Domingo at
the Salzburg Festival, returned to the Aspen Music Festival for his
role debut as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette, and performed
Verdi’s Requiem with the Santa Fe Symphony. He made his role
debut as Rodolfo in La Bohème with Gustavo Dudamel in Caracas.
STARBUCK
TENOR
BARITONE
From: Seattle, Washington.
LA Opera: Moralès in Carmen
(2008, debut).
Career highlights: Morgan created the role of Starbuck at
the 2010 Dallas Opera world
premiere of Moby-Dick, reprising
the role in San Diego and San
Francisco. He began the current
season with Sharpless in Madama
Butterfly at Opéra de Montréal,
followed by the title role in
scenes from Don Giovanni with
the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. Later this season, he will
perform the Count in The Marriage of Figaro with Seattle Opera
and the title role of Don Giovanni with Arizona Opera; he will make
his debut singing the Four Villains in The Tales of Hoffmann with
Madison Opera. Recent appearances include the world premiere of
Jack Perla’s An American Dream with Seattle Opera, Don Giovanni
at Austin Lyric Opera, Escamillo in Carmen in Vancouver and
Pittsburgh, Marcello in La Bohème in San Diego, and several roles—
including Marcello, Papageno in The Magic Flute and Figaro in The
Barber of Seville—with Oper Leipzig. (MorganSmithBaritone.com)
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 41
ARTISTS
Musa Ngqungwana
QUEEQUEG
Jacqueline Echols
BASS-BARITONE
PIP
SOPRANO
From: Port Elizabeth,
South Africa.
LA Opera: debut.
Career highlights: He began
the 2014/15 season as Colline
in La Bohème with Washington
National Opera, followed by
Zuniga in Carmen with
the Norwegian National Opera,
Friedhold in Strauss’ rarely performed Guntram with
Washington Concert Opera, and
Doctor Dulcamara in L’Elisir
d’Amore with Florentine Opera in Milwaukee. He also performed
recitals in Grahamstown, South Africa. Later this season, he will
perform Zuniga in Carmen with Palm Beach Opera and Gottardo
in Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra with Glimmerglass Opera. He has also
performed the High Priest in Nabucco with Opera Philadelphia,
Ping in Turandot with Verona’s Teatro Filarmonico and the Priest
in The Cunning Little Vixen with ArtsCape Theater. A 2013 winner
of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, he is a
graduate of the University of Cape Town and the Academy of
Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. (MusaNgqungwana.com)
From: Detroit, Michigan.
LA Opera: debut.
Career highlights: Ms. Echols is
an alumna of the DomingoCafritz Young Artist Program at
Washington National Opera.
Earlier this season, she returned
there as a guest artist to perform
Micaëla in Carmen, with appearances later this season as
Woglinde and the Forest Bird in
the Ring cycle. Her most recent
appearances also include Pamina
in The Magic Flute, Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos and Giulietta in
Verdi’s King for a Day with the Glimmerglass Opera; Violetta in La
Traviata and Musetta in La Bohème with North Carolina Opera,
and several roles including Clara in Porgy and Bess with Cincinnati
Opera. Her many Washington National Opera performances have
also included Clorinda in La Cenerentola and the First Lady in The
Magic Flute. She has also sung the role of Micaëla in Carmen with
Eugene Opera. She has appeared with New York Harlem
Productions as both Clara and Bess in Porgy and Bess and was
featured in the 2010 documentary Porgy and Me.
Malcolm MacKenzie
Matthew O’Neill
STUBB
BARITONE
From: Davis.
LA Opera: debut as the First Man
in Pagliacci (1996); 22 productions and over 145 performances
to date including, most recently,
Cascada in The Merry Widow
(2007) and Sharpless in Madame
Butterfly (2006).
Career highlights: Earlier this
year, he performed Germont in La
Traviata with Virginia Opera and
Schaunard in La Bohème with
San Diego Opera. Recent appearances include a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Dancaïre
in Carmen; the title role in Simon Boccanegra with Kentucky
Opera; Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore with San Diego Opera; Iago
in Otello with Nashville Opera; Count di Luna in Il Trovatore with
Arizona Opera; Alfio and Tonio in Cav/Pag with Arizona Opera; and
Jack Rance in The Girl of the Golden West with Nashville
Opera. Later this season, he will perform Enrico in Lucia di
Lammermoor with Eugene Opera, then create the role of Roger
Chillingworth for the world premiere of Lori Laitman’s The Scarlet
Letter at Opera Colorado. (MalcolmMacKenzie.org)
42 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
FLASK
TENOR
From: Evansville, Indiana.
LA Opera: Tinca in Il Tabarro
(2008, debut); Albazar in The
Turk in Italy (2011); Squeak in Billy
Budd (2014); Jonah in the world
premiere of Jack Perla’s Jonah
and the Whale at the Cathedral
of Our Lady of the Angels (2014).
Career highlights: Matthew
O’Neill created the role of Flask
in the 2010 world premiere of
Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick at the
Dallas Opera, and reprised the
role for subsequent productions with both San Francisco Opera
and San Diego Opera in 2012. A former Adler Fellow with San
Francisco Opera, he has appeared with that company in
numerous productions since his 2006 debut as Borsa in Rigoletto,
with appearances including Goro in Madama Butterfly, Melot in
Tristan und Isolde, Missail in Boris Godunov and Count HaukŠendorf in The Makropulos Case. His international appearances
include Heinrich der Schreiber in Tannhäuser at the Opéra
National de Bordeaux, and his debut at the Saito Kinen Festival
as the Fourth Jew in Salome.
ARTISTIC PERSONNEL
Nicholas Brownlee
CAPTAIN GARDINER
LA OPERA ORCHESTRA
BASS-BARITONE
From: Mobile, Alabama.
LA Opera: Several roles in The
Ghosts of Versailles (2015, debut),
Lycos in Hercules vs Vampires
(2015). A member of the
Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young
Artist Program, he will return as
the Speaker in The Magic Flute,
the Bonze in Madame Butterfly
and Colline in La Bohème.
Career highlights: A 2015 winner
of the Metropolitan Opera
National Council Auditions, he
began the season with his Atlanta Opera debut as Colline in La
Bohème. He has appeared with Santa Fe Opera as Don Fernando
in Fidelio and the First Soldier in Salome. He made his LA
Philharmonic debut under Gustavo Dudamel in Beethoven’s
Choral Fantasy and also debuted with the BBC Symphony
Orchestra in Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, co-produced with
the LA Philharmonic. In April, he per­formed Don Basilio in
Giovanni Paisiello’s The Barber of Seville, with the USC Thornton
School of Music Orchestra under the baton of James Conlon.
LA OPERA CHORUS
FIRST VIOLIN
OBOE
Roberto Cani
Leslie Reed
STUART CANIN CONCERTMASTER
PRINCIPAL
Jessica Guideri
Sarah Beck
Jennifer Johnson, English horn
ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER
Lisa Sutton
ASSISTANT CONCERTMASTER
Margaret Wooten
Olivia Tsui
Tamsen Beseke
James Stark
Tina Chang Qu
Armen Anassian
Loránd Lokuszta
Movses Pogossian
Radu Pieptea
SECOND VIOLIN
Ana Landauer
Marisa Sorajja
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Sal Malaki**
Mark David Miller**
Nicholas Preston
George Sterne**
Todd Strange
BASS
Babatunde Akinboboye
Mark Beasom**
Reid Bruton*
Hyung Ju Cheon
Michael Daniels
Gregory Geiger*
Michael Geiger*
Abdiel Gonzalez
Robert Hovencamp*
Mark Kelley*
*Has appeared in 50 or more productions
David Kress*
Steven Pence
James Martin Schaefer
Tim Smith**
Arthur Wand*
**Has appeared in 100 or more productions
Donald Foster
Stephen Piazza, bass clarinet
BASSOON
William May
PRINCIPAL
William Wood
Judith Farmer, contrabassoon
HORN
Steven Becknell
VIOLA
TRUMPET
Yi Zhou
Ryan Darke
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Jon Lee Keenan
John Kimberling*
Charles Lane*
Joseph Lopez
Francis Lucaric**
PRINCIPAL
Florence Titmus
Leslie Katz
Michele Kikuchi
Cynthia Moussas
Jayme Miller
Grace Oh
Elizabeth Hedman
Andrew Picken
Stephen Arel**
Omar Crook
Adam Faruqi
James Guthrie
Steven Harms
Stuart Clark
PRINCIPAL
PRINCIPAL
TENOR
CLARINET
Karie Prescott
Shawn Mann
Dmitri Bovaird
Kate Vincent
Stefan Smith
PRINCIPAL
Daniel Kelley
Jenny Kim
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
James Atkinson
PRINCIPAL
David Washburn
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Andy Ulyate
TROMBONE
William Booth
PRINCIPAL
CELLO
John Walz
Alvin Veeh
Terry Cravens
PRINCIPAL
Dane Little
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Xiao-Dan Zheng
Kim Scholes
Nadine Hall
Trevor Handy
HARP
JoAnn Turovsky
PRINCIPAL
TIMPANI
Gregory Goodall
BASS
CLIMBERS/ACROBATS
Richard Bulda
Cesar Cipriano
Daxton Edwards
C. Derrick Jones
Nate Mitchell
(climbing captain)
David Young
Mesganaw Tilaye
Ben Weaver
SUPERNUMERARIES
PRINCIPAL
PERCUSSION
Ann Atkinson
Theresa Dimond
ASSOCIATE PRINCIPAL
Frances Liu Wu
Don Ferrone
Tim Eckert
FLUTE
Heather Clark
Michael Bnice Smith
Pancho Cardeña
Marquez Linder
Theodore Mark Martinez
Dwayne Stevenson
Lee Waddell
De’Qorrie Whitman
PRINCIPAL
PRINCIPAL
Angela Wiegand
Sarah Weisz, piccolo
PRINCIPAL
Timm Boatman
John Wakefield
Stuart Canin Concertmaster
Chair made possible by a
deeply appreciated gift from
Dunard Fund USA.
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 43
PRODUCTION STAFF
ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER
Azra King-Abadi
ASSOCIATE CHORUS MASTER
Jeremy Frank
PERSONNEL FLYING
Branam Enterprises
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS
Barbara Donner
Whitney McAnally
Michael Vitale
SUPERTITLE PREPARATION / CUER
WARDROBE
Lee Smilek
Charlyn Trenier
WARDROBE ASSISTANTS
Pamela Bullock
Shelley Graves-Jimenez
Mary Lehman
Kathleen Melcher
Jana Morimoto
SEASONAL DRESSERS
Ignazio Terrasi
Darren K. Jinks
Heather Bair
Maria De La Mora
CUTTER/DRAPERS
Florencia Carrizo
Ademir Serrano
Pamela Walt
ASSOCIATE WIGMASTER
Brandi Strona
Renee Horner
Nicole Rodrigues
SENIOR WIG & MAKE-UP ARTISTS
Linda Cardenas
LEAD STYLIST
STAGE CREW
ASSISTANT CUTTER/DRAPERS
Randy Hozian
J. Christina Huh
SECOND HANDS
VICE PRESIDENT OF GUEST SERVICES
VARI*LITE AUTOMATED
LIGHTING PROVIDED BY
THE DOMINGO-COLBURN-STEIN
YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM
WIGMASTER
CREW FOREMAN
COSTUME SHOP
Carolyn Van Brunt
Vari-Lite Inc.
Raquel Bianchini
Special thanks to Dr. Anthony Morovati and
the Morovati Wellness Center.
HEAD USHERS
WIGS AND MAKE-UP
Linda Zoolalian
MUSICAL ASSISTANT TO JAMES CONLON
Robert Devis
Demetra Willis
Harold E. Conroy
OPERA CARPENTER
Thomas Laurence Conroy
Identifying and encouraging talented young artists with
enormous potential is essential to the future of opera. Since
the company’s inception, LA Opera has been committed to
nurturing a resident ensemble of young singers who would
benefit from long-term professional development. The
Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program, which builds
on the success of the company’s earlier, highly respected
Resident Artist Program, has the goal of developing the
talents of exceptionally gifted young artists to become
performers of potentially international stature, whose first
loyalty would be to LA Opera.
The Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program is
generously underwritten by the Colburn Foundation and
Eugene and Marilyn Stein. Special support for young artist
stipends is graciously provided by The Lenore and Richard
Wayne Young Artist Fellowship. The program was created
with funding from the Flora L. Thornton Foundation.
ASSISTANT OPERA CARPENTER
Blanca Miranda
Hortencia Santos
Loren Schaller
Anna Wong
SEAMSTERS
Laina Babb
HEAD OF TAILORING
Wing Cheung
CHIEF TAILOR
Rafael Avila
Manuel Medina
Rene Santos
Steve Williams
OPERA ELECTRICIAN
Stan Williams
OPERA ASSISTANT ELECTRICIAN
Allen Tate
OPERA PROPERTY MASTER
Sheldon Ross
ASSISTANT OPERA PROPERTY MASTER
Todd Reynolds
OPERA AUDIO ENGINEER
CRAFTSPERSON
Misty Ayres
Jeannique Prospere
SENIOR PRODUCTION SUPERVISORS
Kaitlyn Aylward
Stefanie Cytron
COSTUME ASSISTANTS
Manuel Garcia
WAREHOUSE MANAGER
Learon Inbar
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT – BUYER
Gloria Guerrero
Frederick Ballentine
TENOR
Vanessa Becerra
SOPRANO
Lacey Jo Benter
MEZZO-SOPRANO
Nicholas Brownlee
BASS-BARITONE
Summer Hassan
SOPRANO
TAILORS
Emily Smith
2015/16 PARTICIPANTS
DOROTHY CHANDLER PAVILION
HOUSE STAFF
Timothy L. Conroy
MASTER CARPENTER
Gary Earl
HOUSE HEAD ELECTRICIAN
Paul Jarski
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Abigail Levis
MEZZO-SOPRANO
Rafael Moras
TENOR
So Young Park
SOPRANO
James Draper
MASTER OF PROPERTIES
Jeff Des Enfants
MASTER AUDIO
Jim Payne
HOUSE MANAGER
Brenton Ryan
TENOR
Peter Walsh
ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR
Kihun Yoon
BARITONE
PRODUCTION ASSISTANT – STOCK
Special thanks to the staff of the Music Center. Directors, singers, choreographers, stage managers, ensemble members and assistant directors in this production are represented by the American Guild
of Musical Artists. Orchestra musicians are represented by the American Federation of Musicians, Local 47. The following employees are represented by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage
Employees, Moving Picture Machine Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada, AFL-CIO, CLC,: Stage Crew, Local 33; Treasurers and Ticket Sellers, Local 857; Wardrobe
Crew, Local 768 ; Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists, Local 706. Interns in the Technical Department are students at California Institute of the Arts (Valencia, California). All editorial materials copyright
Los Angeles Opera, 2015. The opinions expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of Los Angeles Opera. Recorded welcome announcements voiced by Jamieson K. Price.
44 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
LA OPERA
Plácido Domingo
ELI AND EDYTHE BROAD
GENERAL DIRECTOR
James Conlon
RICHARD SEAVER MUSIC DIRECTOR
Christopher Koelsch
PRESIDENT AND
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
John P. Nuckols
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT
Faith Raiguel
VICE PRESIDENT, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Diane Rhodes Bergman, APR
VICE PRESIDENT, MARKETING AND
COMMUNICATIONS
Melissa Ficociello
Damon Schindler
RESIDENT LEAD SCENIC ARTISTS
Chris Carey
TECHNICAL PAYROLL OFFICER
Katelan Braymer
Matthew J. Miles
Matthew Dorado
MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER
MARKETING COORDINATOR
Vanessa Wheeler
Maclaine Fiori
RESEARCH MANAGER
MARKETING ASSISTANT
Michael Chavez
Rashi Saxena
INDIVIDUAL GIVING ASSISTANT
DATA ANALYST
LIGHTING ASSISTANT
Matthew Baye
WALLY RUSSELL LIGHTING INTERN
COSTUMES
Jennifer Green
COSTUME DIRECTOR
Gregory White
INSTITUTIONAL GIVING
INSTITUTIONAL GIVING OFFICER /
GRANT WRITER
Nicole Michela
INSTITUTIONAL GIVING COORDINATOR
Tess Weinberg
INSTITUTIONAL GIVING ASSISTANT
COSTUME DEPARTMENT MANAGER
Sarah Al-Atrakchi
John Bishop
SPECIAL EVENTS
SENIOR DIRECTOR, FINANCE
SENIOR CUTTER / DRAPER
Emily Wainacht
Stacy C. Brightman, Ph.D.
Hallie Dufresne
SPECIAL EVENTS MANAGER
SENIOR DIRECTOR, EDUCATION &
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
MASTER CRAFTSPERSON
Lana Rosen
SPECIAL EVENTS ADMINISTRATOR
Grant Gershon
Melinda Brown
STOCK AND RENTAL COORDINATOR
RESIDENT CONDUCTOR
Rupert Hemmings
SENIOR DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION
Gerrie Maloof
SENIOR DIRECTOR, LABOR RELATIONS
AND HUMAN RESOURCES
Patricia McLeod
John Musselman
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Neal Anderson
MAINTENANCE ASSISTANT
Janine Allen
HEAD OF WARDROBE
Joshua Winograde
PRODUCTION
SENIOR DIRECTOR, ARTISTIC PLANNING
Lyla Forlani
ARTISTIC ADMINISTRATION
Susan Lang
ARTIST SERVICES MANAGER
Jacob H. Shideler
MANAGER, ARTISTIC OPERATIONS
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
MUSIC LIBRARIAN
Brady Steel
HEAD COACH, DOMINGO-THORNTON
YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM
Nadine Bedrossian
HUMAN RESOURCES /
PRODUCTION ADMINISTRATOR
TECHNICAL DEPARTMENT
Jeff Kleeman
Gretchen Meyerhoefer
MANAGER OF CHORUS, DANCERS
AND SUPERNUMERARIES
DESIGN MANAGER
Margie Schnibbe
TECHNICAL PRODUCTION COORDINATOR
Alisa Lapidus
PRODUCTION MEDIA MANAGER
Lisa Coto
PROPERTIES COORDINATOR
Jennifer Babcock
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION &
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
EDUCATION MANAGER
Tony Roman
TECHNICAL MANAGER, EDUCATION &
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Matthew Schroeder
EDUCATION & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
COORDINATOR
Carmen Recker
SPECIAL PROJECTS MANAGER
Erin Alford
DEVELOPMENT
Marlinda Menashe
RESEARCH AND ADMINISTRATIVE
ASSISTANT
Kamila Harris
COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE
Alexandra Vergun
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR
IRECTOR OF BOARD RELATIONS AND
D
SPECIAL EVENTS
Eli Villanueva
Janneke Straub
Caleb Frager
DIRECTOR, LEADERSHIP GIFTS
Howard Moss
RESIDENT STAGE DIRECTOR
EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT ASSISTANT
SENIOR PLANNED GIVING OFFICER
DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS ANALYST
Robin Green
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
ANNUAL FUND
Josh Harrold
ANNUAL FUND MANAGER
Theresa Condito
ANNUAL FUND ASSISTANT
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Carolina Angulo
Denice Behdad
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT
Courtney Rizzo
ACCOUNTING AND BUDGET ANALYST
Lisa Robertsen
ACCOUNTING CLERK
PAYROLL CLERK
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Richard Comito
DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Michael Masuda
NETWORK MANAGER
Janelle Cabrera Torres
DATABASE SUPPORT TECHNICIAN
Tommy Mam
BOX OFFICE
Nicole Debbini
ADMINISTRATION
PAYROLL ADMINISTRATOR
Mariana Silva
REHEARSAL ADMINISTRATOR
Jill Michnick
Nino Sanikidze
Rebecca Roman
Nicki Harper
William Gorin
MUSICAL ASSISTANT TO JAMES CONLON
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE MANAGER
BUSINESS APPLICATIONS TECHNICIAN
DIRECTOR, INSTITUTIONAL GIVING AND
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Ignazio Terrasi
Jeannie Jones
TECHNICAL COORDINATOR, EDUCATION &
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL MANAGER
PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO JAMES CONLON
CONTROLLER
PRODUCTION AND TECHNICAL MANAGER
Michelle Magaldi
MUSIC ADMINISTRATION
Mark Fabulich
Carl Ries
Christian Arter
EDUCATION & COMMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT
Nathan Rifenburg
SENIOR DIRECTOR, DEVELOPMENT
FINANCE
Erica Blumenson-Cook
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Fran Rizzi
SENIOR MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER
Peter W. Indall
MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER
Meredith Martin-Almy
MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER
BOX OFFICE TREASURER
Shane K. Morton
FIRST ASSISTANT TREASURER
Dale Bridges Johannsen
Michael Meyer
Shawnet Sweets
Andrew Tomasulo
Marlow Wyatt
SECOND ASSISTANT TREASURERS
Susan Wong
Bruce Hall
THIRD ASSISTANT TREASURERS
Jennifer Harper
Robert Harrington
Joseph Howells
Brenda Roman
Joseph Selway
TICKET SELLERS
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONS
Mark Lyons
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF
COMMUNICATIONS, PUBLICATIONS
Karen Bacellar
CONTENT SPECIALIST
Amisha Patankar
SOCIAL MEDIA SPECIALIST
INDIVIDUAL GIVING
Janey K. Campbell
Tom Bucher
SALES AND MARKETING
Eric Bornemann
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
Keith J. Rainville
BRAND MANAGER
Luz Rodriguez
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
COORDINATOR
CONSULTANTS
BLT Communications
AD DESIGN
Stephen King
HEAD OF VOCAL INSTRUCTION
DOMINGO-COLBURN-STEIN
YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM
Matchbox Studio
GRAPHIC DESIGN
Craig T. Mathew
PHOTOGRAPHY
Gary W. Murphy
PUBLIC RELATIONS / MEDIA
Studio Fuse
GRAPHIC DESIGN
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 45
DONOR RECOGNITION
20th Anniversary Angels
MARC STERN, CHAIR
LA Opera wishes to honor those individuals who have made an extraordinary leadership commitment to the Company. Building upon the
remarkable foundation created by the Founding and Domingo’s Angels, the outstanding support of the 20th Anniversary Angels has helped
ensure an artistically vibrant and financially secure future for LA Opera. Please see page 34 for a listing of the 25th Anniversary Angels.
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
Carol and Warner Henry
Marc and Eva Stern Foundation
Colburn Foundation
Alfred and Claude Mann
Flora L. Thornton
County of Los Angeles
Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco
Marilyn Ziering
Richard Seaver and Sara Jayne Kimm
Mr. Harold Alden and Dr. Geraldine Alden
Brindell Roberts Gottlieb
Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer
The Annenberg Foundation
The Green Foundation
Tarasenka Pankiv Fund (Tara Colburn)
Ambassador Frank and Kathy Baxter
Bernard and Lenore Greenberg,
in honor of Leonard Green
Barbara Augusta Teichert
Lauren B. Leichtman and Arthur E. Levine
Family Foundation
Christopher V. Walker
Yuki and Alex Bouzari
Nancy Daly
Edgar Foster Daniels
Kelly and Robert Day
LGHG Foundation
Leslie and John Dorman
Beatrix F. Padway, in honor of
Nathaniel W. Finston
Malsi Doyle and Michael Forman
Mr. and Mrs. Milan Panic
Domingo’s Angels
The Joop van den Ende Foundation
Lenore and Richard Wayne
Ziering Family Foundation
Selim K. Zilkha and Mary Hayley /
Selim K. Zilkha Foundation
MARC STERN, CHAIR
MARY HAYLEY, CO-CHAIR
WARNER HENRY, CO-CHAIR
Domingo’s Angels are individuals who made a leadership commitment to fulfilling the artistic initiatives of the Domingo Seasons, 2001-2005.
Their remarkable generosity provided a new threshold from which the artistic professionals associated with LA Opera created and produced
opera that thrilled and inspired Los Angeles audiences and the world. For a history of the Domingo’s Angels, please see page 10.
Robert V. Adams and Barbara Abercrombie
The Green Foundation
Richard Seaver and Sara Jayne Kimm
Ambassador Frank and Kathy Baxter
Lenore and Bernard Greenberg
Marc and Eva Stern Foundation
Colburn Foundation
Carol and Warner Henry
The Skirball Foundation
Kelly and Robert Day
Walter Lantz Foundation /
Edward A. Landry, Trustee
Flora L. Thornton Foundation
Marta and Plácido Domingo
Leslie and John Dorman
Rosemary and Milton Okun
Selim K. Zilkha and Mary Hayley /
Selim K. Zilkha Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Milan Panic
Founding Angels
WARNER HENRY, CHAIR
LA Opera is grateful for the vision, boldness and extraordinary generosity of the Founding Angels, whose commitment to the Company in its
early years helped ensure the future of opera in Los Angeles.
Mr. and Mrs. Roy L. Ash
Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation
The Skirball Foundation
Dorothy Collins Brown
The Emese and Leonard Green Foundation
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard H. Straus
Mr. Richard D. Colburn
Carol and Warner Henry
Flora L. Thornton Foundation
The Edgar Foster Daniels Foundation
Opera League of Los Angeles
Forman Family Foundation
Richard Seaver
46 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
DONOR RECOGNITION
Artistic Excellence Circle LA Opera is pleased to recognize the Artistic Excellence Circle, a dedicated group of individuals whose annual support ensures that its
productions continue to feature today’s leading singers, conductors, directors and designers—all of the elements that make each season
memorable. To learn more about the Artistic Excellence Circle, please call John Nuckols at 213.972.7256.
PREMIER DIAMOND PATRON
($500,000 & ABOVE)
Annenberg Foundation
The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation
Colburn Foundation
County of Los Angeles
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors /
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl
Robert Day
Malsi Doyle and Michael Forman
Margaret and Christopher Forman
Dunard Fund USA
Gemini Industries, Inc.
Ann and Gordon Getty Foundation
Brindell Roberts Gottlieb
Lenore and Bernard Greenberg
Lee and David Hayutin Estate
DIAMOND PATRON
($250,000 & ABOVE)
Mr. Harold Alden and Dr. Geraldine Alden
Marvin Antonowsky Estate
The Blue Ribbon
Joyce and Aubrey Chernick
The Fund for the Performing Arts
Max H. Gluck Foundation
The Green Foundation
Joyce and Joelle Grinker Estate
PLATINUM PATRON
Raymond Lieberman Trust
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
The Opera League of Los Angeles
The Milan Panic Family
Ceil and Michael E. Pulitzer
Herbert Simon Family Foundation
Ms. Barbara Augusta Teichert
($150,000 & ABOVE)
Margaret and David Barry
Ana and Robert Cook
Mark Houston Dalzell
Allen B. Freitag Trust
Alexander Furlotti
Peter and Diane Gray
The Norman and Sadie Lee Foundation
PLATINUM PATRON
Carol and Warner Henry
Alfred and Claude Mann
Sebastian Paul and Marybelle Musco
Music Center Foundation
Rosemary and Milton Okun
Pacific Theatres
The Tarasenka Pankiv Fund (Tara Colburn)
Lloyd E. Rigler – Lawrence E. Deutsch Foundation
Ronus Foundation
The Richard Seaver Trust for the Opera
Eugene and Marilyn Stein
Marc and Eva Stern Foundation
Marilyn Ziering
Selim K. Zilkha and Mary Hayley / Selim K. Zilkha Foundation
LGHG Foundation
Dan Murphy Foundation
The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation
Rolex
Laura and Carlton Seaver
Watt Family
($100,000 & ABOVE)
Alex Bouzari
The Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation
Leslie and John Dorman
Hispanics for Los Angeles Opera
The Eleanor Hutchinson Parker Foundation
Linda and Alvaro Pascotto
Michele and Dudley Rauch / The Rauch Family Foundation
Rx for Reading
Barry and Nancy Sanders
Marie H. Song
James and Ellen Strauss
Alyce and Warren Williamson
Ann Ziff
PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE 47
DONOR RECOGNITION
THE OPERA COUNCIL
Chaired by Paul and Catherine Tosetti
The dedicated support of the Opera Council enables LA Opera to achieve its artistic goals. This program offers exclusive privileges and behind-the-scenes
opportunities to those individuals, foundations and corporations who make annual gifts of $25,000 or more. For information, please call 213.972.3160.
GRAND GOLD PATRON
($75,000 & ABOVE)
Adele Haggarty Binder
Los Angeles County Arts Commission
Nanette and Keith Leonard
National Endowment for the Arts
GRAND GOLD PATRON
Wells Fargo
($50,000 & ABOVE)
Mr. James Asperger and Ms. Christine Adams
Mr. and Mrs. David K. Ingalls
Mr. and Mrs. Fred C. Sands
Mr. Haig S. Bagerdjian
Dr. and Mrs. Harold Karpman
Yoriko Saneyoshi
Ambassador Frank and Kathy Baxter
Richard Kendall and Lisa See
Pamela and E. Randol Schoenberg
Beatrice and Paul F. Bennett
Travis and Thomas Kranz
Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Seidel
Stanley Black
Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Kuppenheimer
Chester James Semel
Paul and Marie-France Bloch Fund
at The Miami Foundation
Edward and Madeleine Landry
Susan R. and L. Dennis Shapiro
Drs. Carol and David Cass
Walter Lantz Foundation /
Edward A. Landry, Trustee
Eric L. Small / Flora L. Thornton Foundation
In memory of Nancy M. Daly for her
extraordinary legacy of support
Lauren B. Leichtman and Arthur E. Levine
Family Foundation
Mrs. Leonard Straus
Mari L. Danihel
Susan Lord and Scott Richard Lord
Michael and Jane Eisner
City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs
Geoff Emery
Catherine Marcus
Judge Judith O. Hollinger
Mr. and Mrs. Carlos Mollura, Sr.
Dr. Louise Horvitz and Carrie Fishman
OPERA America’s Getty Audience
Building Program
Mr. and Mrs. John F. Hotchkis
GOLD PATRON
William and Helen Smollen
Jacob and Sandra Terner
Paul and Catherine Tosetti
Christopher V. Walker
Richard Wayne
Ellen and Arnold Zetcher
($25,000 & ABOVE)
Anonymous (3)
Lawrence A. Kern
Courtney Reum
Maria Altmann, in memory of Fritz Altmann
Mrs. Trudy Lampert
Wendy and Ken Ruby
Shallom and Jilla Berkman
Drs. Anu and Ali Leemann
The SahanDaywi Foundation
David Bohnett
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors /
Don Knabe
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph A. Saunders
Renee and Meyer Luskin
The David and Linda Shaheen Foundation
The Otis Booth Foundation
Maynard and Linda Brittan
Drs. Maryam and Iman H. Brivanlou
Janet and Nicholas Ciriello
Edward E. and Alicia Garcia Clark
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Hardin Coulombe
Dwight Stuart Youth Fund
Mr. Robert Finnerty and Mr. Richard Cullen
Mrs. Charles I. Gold
Good Works Foundation
Em Green
In memory of Morris A. Hazan
Linda Joyce Hodge
Tim Johnson and Jean Cunningham
Mr. and Mrs. Richard B. Jones
48 PERFORMANCES MAGAZINE
CulturArte de Puerto Rico and Bertita and
Guillermo L. Martinez
Diane Hickingbotham McNabb
Merrill Lynch
Mr. and Mrs. Peter O’Malley
Mr. and Mrs. Ted Orden
Dr. Leslie A. Pam and Dr. Ann Christie Petersen /
Esper A. Petersen Founda
Diane and David Paul
Linda Pierce
The Louis and Harold Price Foundation
Mrs. Rita Coveney Pudenz
Penny and Harold B. Ray
Ariane and Lionel Sauvage
Natalie K. and Marvin S. Shapiro
Dr. Vina Spiehler
Terry and Dennis Stanfill
Carol and James Sterling
Avo Tavitian
The Rose Hills Foundation
Brigitta B. Troy
US Bank
Donna Wagner
Sheila and Wally Weisman
Zev Yaroslavsky
Esther and Abe Zarem
Susan Zolla, in memory of Edward M. Zolla