Contact: Edward Wilensky Phone: 619.232.7636 x248 Edward.Wilensky@sdopera.com Afterhours: 619.889.6769 Donizetti s Delightful Comedy The Elixir of Love Opens February 15, 2014 Company debuts by soprano Tatiana Lisnic as Adina and tenor Giuseppe Filianoti as Nemorino Conductor Karen Kamensek makes house debut Bass John Del Carlo returns as Dr. Dulcamara San Diego, CA San Diego Opera s 2014 season continues with Gaetano Donizetti s delightful comedy The Elixir of Love which opens Saturday, February 15, 2014 for four performances only. From the composer of last season s The Daughter of the Regiment, this perfect example of opera buffa overflows with melody and famous arias including the heartbreaking Una furtiva lagrima, a favorite of tenors. The Company is pleased to welcome Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti who makes his house debut as Nemorino. Joining him in another Company debut is Moldovan soprano Tatiana Lisnic as his love interest, the fickle Adina. Returning to round out the cast is bass John Del Carlo, last seen in the title role of Don Pasquale in 2012, as the charlatan Dr. Dulcamara. Baritone Malcolm MacKenzie, seen last season as the Second Knight/Second Tempter in Murder in the Cathedral, returns as army Sergeant Belcore who also has eyes for Adina. Soprano Stephanie Weiss, last seen as Marianne in 2011 s Der Rosenkavalier, returns as Gianetta. Conductor Karen Kamensek, music director for Staatsoper Hanover, makes her much anticipated Company debut on the podium, and stage director Stephen Lawless returns to stage the action. The sets and costumes are designed by Johan Engels. The lighting designer is Joan Sullivan Genthe. This production of The Elixir of Love is owned by the Los Angeles Opera. These performances will be the third time The Elixir of Love has been performed by San Diego Opera with other performances happening in 1996 and 1987. Is it truly a magic elixir or just a bottle of cheap Bordeaux? Nemorino desperately wants to marry the wealthy Adina, who seems out of his league. When she attracts a handsome Sergeant as her suitor, he turns in desperation to the charlatan Dr. Dulcamara who claims to have an elixir of love. Nemorino spends all his money on the elixir and has to enlist to get cash for more. When 1
Dr. Dulcamara tells the village girls that Nemorino is suddenly rich they all chase after him, so Nemorino knows the potion works. But it takes more than an elixir to win Adina s heart. Filled with tender love songs and fun duets, The Elixir of Love is a perfect example of opera buffa and a marvelous night of theatre. Performed in Italian with English translations above the stage. The Elixir of Love will have a live radio broadcast on Saturday, February 15, 2014 at 7PM on KPBS radio, 89.5 FM (97.7 FM Calexico) and online at www.kpbs.org Pre-production photos can be found online at: sandiegoopera.smugmug.com/other/2014-pre- Production-Artwork/ The Cast Giuseppe Filianoti, Nemorino San Diego Opera debut. Recent engagements for Italian tenor Giuseppe Filianoti include the title role in The Tales of Hoffmann at Bayerische Staatsoper, the title role in La clemenza di Tito at Teatro Verdi Trieste, The Duke in Rigoletto and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Ruggero in La rondine and Tito at the Metropolitan Opera, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with the Teatro alla Scala and at Moscow s Bolshoi Theater, the Verdi Requiem with Opéra national du Rhin, Don Ottavio at Berlin s Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the title role of Don Carlo in Lima, Rodolfo in La bohème and the title role of Faust at Hamburgische Staatsoper, Des Grieux in Manon with Paris Opera Bastille, and Macduff in Macbeth at the Salzburg Festival. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Edgardo in 2005 and has returned often to sing Nemorino, The Duke, and Hoffmann. Other performances include Edgardo at San Francisco Opera, Nemorino at Los Angeles Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the title role of Werther with Washington Concert Opera. Filianoti enjoys frequent engagements at many of the world s leading opera houses, including the Vienna Staatsoper, the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Opéra National de Paris, and both the Deutsche Oper and the Staatsoper Berlin, among many others. Many of the tenor s performances have appeared on CD and DVD. Tatiana Lisnic, Adina San Diego Opera and North American debut. Moldovan soprano Tatiana Lisnic s notable engagements include Marguerite in Faust and Rodelinda in Flavius Bertaridus for Hamburgische Staatsoper, Micaëla in Carmen for Opéra de Toulon and Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, Violetta in La traviata in Operei Naţionale Române Cluj-Napoca, Adina for the New National Theatre Tokyo, Paris Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, and Angers-Nantes Opera, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni for the houses Bergamo and Lucca, Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro for Oper Frankfurt where she also performed Violetta, Leïla in The Pearl Fishers, the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor and Mimì in La bohème. Other engagements include Marguerite in Mallorca, Lucia at Opéra national du Rhin, Giulietta in I Capuleti e i Montecchi in Essen, Nannetta in Falstaff and Susanna at Vienna Staatsoper. John Del Carlo, Dr. Dulcamara American bass-baritone John Del Carlo made his San Diego Opera debut as Pantalone in The Love for Three Oranges in 1978 and returned for the Commissioner in Madama Butterfly in 1978, Silvio in Pagliacci in 1979, Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love in 1987, Sulpice in The Daughter of the Regiment in 1990, Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow in 1992, Mustafa in The Italian Girl in Algiers in 1997, Bartolo in The Barber of Seville in 1998, Frank in Die Fledermaus in 2005, Swallow in Peter Grimes in 2009, and the title role of Don Pasquale in 2012. He has enjoyed an important relationship with the Metropolitan Opera since his debut in 1993 as Kothner in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, returning twice for the title role of Don Pasquale, twice as Swallow, 2
Quince in A Midsummer Night s Dream, Mathieu in Andrea Chénier Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro and The Barber of Seville, and Alfieri in A View from the Bridge, among others. With San Francisco Opera, his numerous appearances include the title role of Falstaff, Alidoro in Cinderella and General Boom in La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein, among others. Recent engagements include Fritz Kother in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with Cincinnati Opera, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte at the Ravinia Festival, Bartolo for San Francisco Opera, Alfieri in A View from the Bridge at Teatro dell' Opera di Roma, and Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro for Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Other houses with which he has appeared include Lyric Opera of Chicago, Seattle Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, the Royal Opera, Covent Garden and Opernhaus Zürich. Stephanie Weiss, Giannetta San Diego-raised American soprano Stephanie Weiss made her Company debut as Marianne in 2011 s Der Rosenkavalier. She enjoys a long association with Deutsche Oper Berlin where she has performed such varied roles as Marianne, Frasquita in Carmen, Musetta in La bohème, The First Lady and The Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Schlafittchen in Das Traumfresserchen, The Overseer in Elektra, The Landlady in Der Traumgorge, The Second Servant in Die Ägyptische Helena and Grimgerde and Gerhilde in Die Walküre, among others. Other notable performances include The First Lady at Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Musetta at Oper Frankfurt, The Novice in Suor Angelica with Deutsche Oper Berlin, Rose in Lakmé with the Opera Orchestra of New York and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with Académie Lyrique de Vendôme. Malcolm MacKenzie, Belcore American baritone Malcolm MacKenzie first performed with San Diego Opera as Marullo in Rigoletto in 2002, returned in 2005 as Escamillo in Carmen, in 2008 as Zurga in The Pearl Fishers, in 2009 as Marullo in Rigoletto and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, in 2010 as Schaunard in La bohème, in 2011 as Gregorio in Romeo and Juliet, in2012 as Captain Gardiner in Moby-Dick and was heard last season as Hortensio in The Daughter of the Regiment and the Second Tempter/Second Knight in Murder in the Cathedral. Recent engagements include his Metropolitan Opera debut as Dancaïre in Carmen, returning as Marullo, Count di Luna in Il trovatore for Arizona Opera, Germont in La traviata and Marcello in La bohème for Opera Santa Barbara, Germont for Glimmerglass Opera, Count di Luna in Il trovatore for Fort Worth Opera, Alfio/Tonio in Cavalleria rusticana/pagliacci with Arizona Opera and Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West with Nashville Opera. He was a finalist in Plácido Domingo s Operalia competition, and a winner of the Metropolitan Opera Western Regional Auditions. MacKenzie began his professional career in 1994 as Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos at Glimmerglass Opera and has since performed with Washington National Opera, Madison Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Los Angeles Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Sacramento Opera and Opera Pacific. His roles include Donald in Billy Budd, Masetto and the title role of Don Giovanni, Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Marcello and Schaunard in La bohème, Albert in Werther and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. He has also appeared with the San Diego Symphony, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Mozart Orchestra, Pacific Chorale and Savannah Symphony. Karen Kamensek, Conductor San Diego Opera debut. American conductor Karen Kamensek has been the music director of Staatsoper Hannover since 2011 where she recently conducted Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il Tabarro, Così fan tutte, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre and Ariadne auf Naxos. She cooperates closely with Philip Glass whose work Orphée she performed as the world premiere with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra in New York. She also conducted Glass world premiere of Les Enfants Terribles at the Spoleto Festival in the USA, and his composition 3
for Büchner s play Wozzeck performed at the New York Shakespeare Festival. As a guest, she conducted at the Opera Australia in Melbourne for Cavalleria rusticana/pagliacci, the Deutsche Oper Berlin for La bohème, the Komische Oper Berlin for La bohème and Der Vogelhändler, the Opéra National de Bordeaux for Idomeneo, the Dortmund Opera for La bohème, the Frankfurt Opera for The Turn of the Screw, Roméo et Juliette, Death in Venice, and La traviata, the Staatsoper Hannover for the ballet The Firebird, Pictures of an Exhibition, Carmen, and The Daughter of the Regiment, the Hamburgische Staatsoper for The Elixir of Love, Madama Butterfly, A Masked Ball, and Otello, the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen for Pelléas et Mélisande, the Staatstheater Stuttgart for La bohème, the Volksoper Wien for Herzogin von Chicago, the State Opera in Prague for La bohème, the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater for Il trovatore and at the Opéra National de Bordeaux for Jenufa as well as at WDR Festival in Duisburg for Glass Civil Wars. She regularly performs concerts with the Hamburger Philharmoniker, Staatsorchester Hannover, Basel Sinfonietta, Bruckner Orchestra Linz, Duisburger Philharmoniker, Philharmonisches Orchester Freiburg, Staatsorchester Braunschweig, Vlaams Radio Orchester Brussels, Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle, Klagenfurter Symphonieorchester, Slovenien Philharmonic Orchestra Ljubljana, Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuala Lumpur, Monterey Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonie Maribor, the Orchestra of the MDR, Radio Symphonie Orchester Wien as well as Odense Symphony Orchestra. Stephen Lawless, Director British stage director Stephen Lawless made his Company debut in 2007 directing Il trovatore. Lawless was Director of Production for the Glyndebourne Touring Opera from 1986 to 1991, where his work included Britten s Death in Venice which was recorded by the BBC for television and video release. He made his debut with the Kirov Opera in Leningrad with Boris Godunov which became the first ever live telecast of an opera from the Soviet Union to the United Kingdom. In recent seasons, Lawless has directed The Elixir of Love, a co-production for Los Angeles Opera and Grand Théâtre de Genève, La clemenza di Tito for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, The Marriage of Figaro and La bohème for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Falstaff for Los Angeles Opera, Don Giovanni for the Metropolitan Opera, Il trovatore and Maria Stuarda for the Canadian Opera Company and Capriccio for New York City Opera, Il trovatore at Houston Grand Opera, Anna Bolena at Washington National Opera, The Marriage of Figaro at Portland Opera, Faust at Santa Fe Opera, and Anna Bolena at The Dallas Opera. Other engagements have been with the Staatstheater Nürnberg, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Berlin Staatsoper, and the Hong Kong and New Zealand Festivals. Johan Engels, Set and Costume Designer San Diego Opera debut. South African designer Johan Engels recent designs include The Magic Flute for the Bregenzer Festspiele, A Midsummer Night s Dream for Opera North, Lulu for Welsh National Opera, Parsifal for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Thaïs for Finnish National Opera, Don Carlos for Houston Grand Opera and Canadian Opera Company, The Passenger for English National Opera and Israeli Opera, and The Elixir of Love and Otello for Los Angeles Opera. He studied at the University of Pretoria, then moved to England in 1980. Other notable productions include Khovanschina for Welsh National Opera, Maskarade for the Bregenzer Festpiele and Royal Opera, Covent Garden. His designs for Electra, first performed at the Chichester Festival Theatre, went into London s Donmar Theatre and then to Broadway. Joan Sullivan Genthe, Lighting Designer American lighting designer Joan Sullivan Genthe made her Company debut in 2003 for Otello and returned in 2005 for Die Fldermaus and in 2007 for Il trovatore. She has designed for 4
lighting for companies including San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, New York City Opera, Seattle Opera, The Dallas Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Portland Opera, Cleveland Opera, Tulsa Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Minnesota Opera and Washington National Opera where she was resident lighting designer for 23 seasons. In Europe, her work has been seen in Spain, Switzerland, and Sweden. She also lights for theatre and ballet. About the Sponsors The 2014 International Season Sponsors are Conrad Prebys and Debbie Turner. The 2014 Season Production Sponsor is The Erna and Andrew Viterbi Fund for Artistic Excellence. These performances of The Elixir of Love are made possible by Producers Circle Sponsors Teresa and Merle Fischlowitz, Pam and Marty Wygod and Rusti Bartell Weiss. Performance Schedule Saturday February 15, 2014 7 PM Tuesday February 18, 2014 7 PM Friday February 21, 2014 7 PM Sunday February 23, 2014 2 PM Get Connected For The Elixir of Love Stars in the Salon Meet the singers, conductor and director of The Elixir of Love in this informal panel discussion on Thursday, February 6, 2014 at 5:30 PM in the Beverly Sills Salon, Civic Theatre. Free. Pre-Opera Lectures These 30-minute informative lectures take place in the Civic Theatre one hour prior to every performance and offer wonderful insights into the production audience members are about to see. These lectures are free to all ticket holders. San Diego Opera Spotlight Produced by San Diego Opera and UCSD-TV, the award-winning San Diego Opera Spotlight program gives viewers a unique and entertaining look behind-the-scenes of each of San Diego Opera s four mainstage productions. Viewers will see how the singers, directors, conductor and crew work together to create each opera, get a sneak peek at rehearsal footage and hear exclusive interviews with the stars. San Diego Opera Spotlight repeats daily throughout the run of the production. For a complete listing of schedules and where to view it, visit: http://www.sdopera.com/company/education/spotlight San Diego OperaTalk! with Nicolas Reveles Join Dr. Nicolas Reveles, San Diego Opera's Geisel Director of Education, for these fascinating, half-hour overviews of our four productions. He'll take you on an intriguing journey though the story, music and history of each opera. You'll pick up rich insight into the structure and composition of the music, along with recommendations of the best recordings. It's a wonderful prelude to your opera experience and a great way to pick up some tidbits to impress your friends at intermission! For a complete listing of schedules and where to view it, visit: http://www.sdopera.com/company/education/operatalk San Diego Opera Video Podcast Series 5
In order to help audiences better appreciate the operas in our 2014 International Season, the Education and Outreach Department has developed a series of introductory podcasts hosted by Dr. Nicolas Reveles. These 15 to 20-minute conversations can be enjoyed by opera fans as well as those who are new to the art form. Informal yet informative, this is a great way to prepare for our season. http://www.sdopera.com/company/education/podcasts. These videos are also available on our YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/sandiegoopera San Diego Opera on Twitter Get frequent updates about San Diego Opera and opera in general by following us on Twitter. Follow tweets from backstage during a performance and learn about special offers and contests before anyone else by following us @SDOpera. San Diego Opera on Facebook San Diego Opera s Facebook page offers a place for fellow opera fans to discuss performances, opera news, connect with other fans and get up-to-date information on upcoming events. Look for San Diego Opera at http://www.facebook.com/ San Diego Opera Blog: Aria Serious Aria Serious is San Diego Opera's official blog. It focuses on the serious and not-so-serious world of opera with behind-the-scenes looks at our productions, artist interviews and industry as well as pop-culture news. Come and join in the conversation at: http://ariaserious.blogspot.com/ San Diego Opera on YouTube Now viewers can watch a large portion of San Diego Opera s programming at their convenience on YouTube. OperaTalk!, Stars in the Salon, Opera Spotlight, our video podcast series and much more can be found on the San Diego Opera channel at: http://www.youtube.com/sandiegoopera Purchasing Tickets Single tickets for all operas are on sale Monday, September 30, 2013. Single ticket prices, through December 31, start at $35 and can be purchased by calling (619) 533-7000 or online at www.sdopera.com. Subscriptions range from $105 - $1,120 and can be purchased by calling (619) 533-7000 or online at www.sdopera.com. Tuesday Night Senior Discounts are also available for a full series four-opera subscription. Proof of age is required. Call (619) 533-7000 or online at www.sdopera.com for more information. The 2014 International Season Pagliacci Ruggero Leoncavallo January 25, 28, 31 and February 2 (mat), 2014 The Elixir of Love Gaetano Donizetti February 15, 18, 21 and 23 (mat), 2014 A Masked Ball Giuseppe Verdi March 8, 11, 14 and 16 (mat), 2014 Verdi Requiem Giuseppe Verdi March 20, 2014 Don Quixote Jules Massenet April 5, 8, 11 and 13 (mat), 2014 General Information A widely respected member of the international opera community, San Diego Opera brings the world s finest artists to San Diego. Founded in 1965, and led for the last 30 years by General Director, Artistic Director and CEO Ian D. Campbell, San Diego Opera produces performances of the highest artistic quality while remaining financially stable. www.sdopera.com 6