2008-09 Opera Season announced

DETROIT, Michigan, March 17, 2008...Michigan Opera Theatre announced details today of its 2008-09 opera season. Drawing from the dramatic and tragic nature of the five operas, the season is appropriately dubbed “Casualties of Love.”

Michigan Opera Theatre’s 2008 Fall Opera Season, made possible by Ford Motor Company, begins with the return of Margaret Garner, October 18-25, 2008, a groundbreaking opera that made history in its world premiere at the Detroit Opera House in 2005. The exciting return is followed by Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, November 15-23, an operatic favorite and standard of the opera repertoire. Michigan Opera Theatre’s 2009 Spring Opera Season, sponsored by Cadillac, begins with Donizetti’s comedic and charming The Elixir of Love, March 28-April 5, 2009; continues April 18-26 with Ruggero Leoncavallo’s tragic I Pagliacci (The Clowns), which the company has not staged in over 20 years; and concludes with Bizet’s passionate and mesmerizing Carmen, May 9-17.

“Our 2008-09 opera season is a season of opera standards and new favorites with themes that surround the ultimate price paid for love,” says Michigan Opera Theatre General Director Dr. David DiChiera. “We are very pleased to bring back Denyce Graves as Margaret Garner in 2008, following the highly successful world premiere of Margaret Garner in 2005. The continuation of our season highlights opera classics like Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, a new production of Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love and Bizet’s Carmen, while bringing a critically-acclaimed expanded version of I Pagliacci, an opera we have not presented in over 20 years.”

Richard Danielpour and Toni Morrison’s Margaret Garner
October 18-25, 2008
Made Possible by Ford Motor Company
Performed in English with English Surtitles

Margaret Garner made its debut at the Detroit Opera House in May 2005, and has since been performed to wide acclaim in New York, Philadelphia and Cincinnati. Now returning with the stellar cast that created the roles, Margaret Garner returns October 18-25, 2008, and will once again move Detroit audiences with powerful operatic performances.

Margaret Garner is an American opera inspired by one of the most significant and controversial fugitive slave stories in pre-Civil War America. The opera features the highly acclaimed creative team of Grammy-Award winning composer Richard Danielpour and librettist Toni Morrison, celebrated novelist and winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize for Literature.

The opera is inspired by the true story of an enslaved family’s quest for freedom. Fleeing Richwood, Kentucky's Maplewood Farm in 1856 to Cincinnati, Ohio, Margaret Garner made the horrific decision to sacrifice her own children when facing recapture, rather than see them returned to the bonds of slavery. Because she was subject to the terms of the federal Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and was also liable for murder by the state of Ohio, Margaret Garner’s trial became the longest fugitive slave case of the era. There was intense national debate about whether she should be tried for murder or destruction of property—a debate that directly addressed crucial issues in constitutional law and posed key questions at the core of the rift in the Union.

To date, the cast of Margaret Garner features the return of many artists to the Detroit Opera House stage. Internationally renowned mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves returns to alternate in the title role with Tracie Luck, who won much acclaim for creating the role in the New York City Opera production. Dynamic American baritone Gregg Baker also returns to reprise the role of Robert Garner, and baritone James Westman returns to MOT for the first time since 2003 to sing the role of Edward Gaines. Dramatic soprano Angela Simpson, who sang the role of Cilla at the 2005 world premiere, returns to alternate in the role with exciting young soprano Mary Elizabeth Williams. The production team of director Kenny Leon, whose recently acclaimed Broadway production of “A Raisin in the Sun” premiered on television, and conductor Stefan Lano also revisit the opera to re-create the intensely powerful music and staging that has been praised internationally following the world premiere. As in the 2005 premiere, the 2008 presentation features detailed sets by Marjorie Bradley Kellogg and fantastic period costumes by Paul Tazewell. Following the performances in October, the Michigan Opera Theatre production of Margaret Garner will make its way to Chicago, for five performances at the Auditorium Theatre.

Puccini’s Madame Butterfly
November 15-23, 2008
Made possible by Ford Motor Company
Performed in Italian with English surtitles

One of the most popular and dearly loved operas in the repertory, Madame Butterfly is a passionate and beautiful opera classic wrought with tragedy and dashed hopes. Performed in three acts, Giacomo Puccini’s masterpiece will be sung in Italian with English surtitle translations projected above the stage.

Set in the city of Nagasaki, Madame Butterfly is a 15-year-old Japanese geisha who falls in love with and marries an American soldier, Lieutenant B. F. Pinkerton, for whom she has renounced her family and faith. Soon, Pinkerton’s tour of duty in Japan is over, and he returns to the United States. Time goes by, Butterfly has delivered their baby, and still Butterfly still believes Pinkerton will come back for her. Finally, Pinkerton arrives in Japan with his new American wife, and Mrs. Pinkerton pleads with Butterfly to leave the child with the Americans. In a tragic ending, Butterfly relinquishes the child but leaves the lieutenant and the audience with a beautiful aria of lost innocence, pain, sadness and farewell.

The music of Madame Butterfly contains many very famous arias that are some of the most performed in the repertoire. Some of the most noted arias include “Vogliatemi bene” (Love me), “Un bel di vedremo” (One fine day we shall see), and “Tu, tu piccolo Iddio” (You, O beloved idol!).

Madame Butterfly artists include two artists making their Michigan Opera Theatre debut. American tenor James Valenti, singing the role of Pinkerton (15, 19, 22) is debuting with MOT following his highly-acclaimed performance in Madame Butterfly with the San Francisco Opera in 2007. Taiwanese-American tenor Joseph Hu makes his debut as Goro, in what has become one of his signature roles.

Returning artists to MOT for this production include the return of David Pomeroy, alternating in the role of Pinkerton (16m, 21, 23m), who is making his debut this season as Ruggiero in La Rondine. Albanian soprano Ermonela Jaho returns to MOT to make her role debut of Madame Butterfly (15, 19, 22) after her MOT debut as Mimi in La Bohéme in 2005. Italian maestro Edoardo Müller also returns to MOT to conduct Madame Butterfly after his debut conducting Aida in Concert, featuring Luciano Pavarotti. Directing the production is Italian stage director and MOT regular Mario Corradi.

Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love March 28-April 5, 2009
Sponsored by Cadillac
Performed in Italian with English surtitles

Not seen on the Michigan Opera Theatre stage since 1998, Donizetti’s wonderfully charming comedy returns to MOT in a new co-production that includes a love-sick boy, a witty and flighty girl, a boastful sergeant, an inexhaustible salesman of quack medicine and a stream of lively, beautiful melodies.

The Elixir of Love is a charming comedy of sacrifice and the pursuit of true love. Nemorino, a peasant, is madly in love with Adina, a beautiful landowner, but Adina is engaged to the self-absorbed sergeant Belcore. When Dulcamara, the traveling salesman, passes into town, Nemorino purchases a bottle of love elixir, convinced it will make Adina fall in love with him. Unbeknownst to Nemorino, Dulcamara has actually given him a bottle of wine. The love elixir is not successful in winning Adina, so Nemorino joins the military and uses his signing bonus to purchase even more elixir. When Adina discovers the sacrifice Nemorino has made for her, she falls in love with him and breaks off her engagement with sergeant Belcore.

In composing The Elixir of Love, Donizetti displayed his flair for tuneful melodies and for molding his music into humorous characterizations. His lyrical aria “Una furtive lagrima” has long been a favorite of many famous tenors, including the great Enrico Caruso, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Rolando Villazon.

The cast of The Elixir of Love includes several returning MOT favorites, including Ailyn Perez, who made her debut in the fall 2007 production of The Marriage of Figaro, alternating in the role of Adina with Amanda Squitieri, who is making her MOT debut. Baritone Dalibor Jenis also returns to sing the role of Belcore, after making his highly-acclaimed Michigan Opera Theatre debut in the 2006 production of The Barber of Seville. Internationally renowned Turkish bass Burak Bilgili sings the role of Dulcamara as he returns to MOT for the first time since his performance in 2004 of Sparafucile in Rigoletto. Conductor Stephen Lord who made his debut in the 2004 production of The Magic Flute also returns to MOT to conduct the Michigan Opera Theatre orchestra.

Several exciting young artists will be making their Michigan Opera Theatre debut in The Elixir of Love, including up-and-coming tenors alternating in the role of Nemorino: Stephen Costello, who recently performed the role of Christian in Cyrano at the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and John Nuzzo, who, after great success on the international opera scene is continuing to build his profile with American opera companies with performances at the Metropolitan Opera and Pittsburgh Opera. Stage director James Robinson, who is regarded as one of America’s most inventive and sough-after directors, will make his MOT debut directing The Elixir of Love. Costumes for this new production are designed by Tony-Award winning costume designer Martin Pakledinaz.

Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci
April 18-26, 2009
Sponsored by Cadillac
Performed in Italian with English surtitles

Ruggero Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci (The Clowns) was an instant success following its premiere in 1892, and it remains one of the most performed operas in the repertoire today. Not performed on the Michigan Opera Theatre stage since 1985, I Pagliacci’s title role of the tragic clown Canio is a touchstone for many tenors, including Luciano Pavarotti, Enrico Caruso and Placido Domingo.

I Pagliacci’s timeless and tragic plot surrounds themes of infidelity, jealousy, tragedy, and parallels between on-stage and off-stage drama. Traditionally performed with another opera, I Pagliacci will be performed as a standalone work in a new, extended production. Acclaimed stage director and Michigan Opera Theatre regular Bernard Uzan, who helped create the new production, will be directing the new production in Detroit. Uzan conceptualized the creation of the critically acclaimed new production which extends the work to include a dream sequence featuring music from Leoncavallo’s opera Zazá.

The plot of I Pagliacci is a classic story about a small theater troupe and the parallel plot going on on-stage and off. Nedda, who is married to the head of the troupe, Canio, is cheating on her husband with Silvio, another troupe member. When Canio discovers that Nedda has been unfaithful, he is enraged, but does not discover with whom before he has to perform in a play onstage that is ironically similar to the plot of their relationship in real life. Canio discovers during the performance that Nedda has been unfaithful to him with Silvio - and blurring the line between acting and reality – Canio murders first Nedda, then Silvio while on stage in a fit of jealous rage.

Performed in two acts with a prologue, I Pagliacci contains one of opera’s most famous arias, made popular by Enrico Caruso, “Recitar! Vesti la giubba” meaning literally, “To perform! . . . Put on the costume.”

The lead role of I Pagliacci will be sung by tenor Antonello Palombi, whose “claim to fame” occurred in a performance of Aida at La Scala when Roberto Alagna was booed off the stage, and Palombi stepped in his place without a costume. Palombi made his Michigan Opera Theatre debut in 2005 in Aida, which was praised by opera critics and fans alike. The role of Nedda will be performed by Kelly Kaduce, who made her MOT debut in 2005 as Caroline Gaines in Margaret Garner. Michigan Opera Theatre returning conductor Steven Mercurio will direct the Michigan Opera Theatre orchestra.

Bizet’s Carmen
May 5-17, 2009
Sponsored by Cadillac
Performed in French with English surtitles

The spring 2009 opera season concludes with Bizet’s sizzling story of the fiery gypsy girl Carmen. From the “Habanera” to the “Toreador Song,” the stirring musical score remains one of the most vibrant and frequently performed in all opera repertory. Carmen will be performed in French with English surtitle translations projected above the stage.

Set in Seville, Spain, Carmen is a beautiful gypsy with a fiery temper whose beauty makes men irresistibly attracted to her. When an inexperienced soldier, corporal Don Jose comes along, he immediately falls in love with Carmen and their relationship leads to a tumultuous and disastrous turn of events. After the rejection of his former love, mutiny against his superior and a turn to a life of crime, he ultimately, out of jealousy, murders Carmen.

The cast of Carmen includes the Michigan Opera Theatre return of mezzo-soprano Kate Aldrich as Carmen, the role she performed with Michigan Opera Theatre in 2001 to great acclaim. Having won audiences and critics all over the world for her portrayal of the title role, Kate Aldrich brings her dramatic, sexy and fierce portrayal of Carmen to the Detroit Opera House stage May 9, 13 and 16, 2008. Tenor William Joyner will make his Michigan Opera Theatre debut as the spellbound Don Jose. Returning to Michigan Opera Theatre for the first time since she made her company debut as Bess in the 2006 production of Porgy and Bess, Janinah Burnett sings the role of Micaela, the estranged fiancé of Don Jose, one of Carmen’s victims. Celebrated conductor Christian Badea returns to Michigan Opera Theatre to conduct Carmen, his first return to Michigan Opera Theatre since his debut with the company in 1999.

Subscriptions
As always, subscriptions are offered first to renewing subscribers. Renewal packets will be mailed the first week of April, 2008. For the first time ever, subscribers may renew subscriptions online at www.MichiganOpera.org. New subscription sales will begin the week of April 22. Subscribers enjoy the benefits of priority seating, limited free ticket exchanges and advanced purchase opportunities for some non-subscription events. 2008-09 season ticket subscriptions will be available through Michigan Opera Theatre’s real-time online ticketing at www.MichiganOpera.org, as well as through the ticket office. Michigan Opera Theatre will again offer special package discounts for “first-timers,” as well a distance discount for new subscribers traveling more than 80 miles to attend performances. The popular “family series” discount will also continue through the 2008-09 season. All subscription information may be obtained by calling the Michigan Opera Theatre ticket office at (313) 237-SING (7464).

Single Tickets
Single tickets for Michigan Opera Theatre’s 2008-09 opera season will become available in August 2008. Single ticket prices remain unchanged from last season, ranging from $28 to $120 for all opera productions. Single tickets will be available in person at the Detroit Opera House ticket office (1526 Broadway, Detroit, MI 48226), by phone at (313) 237-SING (7464) and through Michigan Opera Theatre’s real-time online ticketing at www.MichiganOpera.org. Single tickets will also be available through all TicketMaster outlets, by phone at (248) 645-6666 or online at www.TicketMaster.com . For group sales please contact Jenise Collins at (313) 237-3409.

Michigan Opera Theatre, a non-profit organization, is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and provides programs and services without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, or handicap. Michigan Opera Theatre is supported by private donations, foundation and corporate grants, the State of Michigan through the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal Agency.

Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 19, 2008 at 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, October 24, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 16, 2008 at 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, November 21, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 23, 2008 at 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 3, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 5, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 24, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 25, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 26, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 9, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 15, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 2:30 p.m.

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