W. A. MOZART

October 23 & 25, 2020East Grand Rapids High School Performing Arts Center

October 24, 2020Exclusive Broadcast | Fifth Third Ballpark

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Opera Grand Rapids and the David and Carol Van Andel Family Foundation Proudly Present

COSI FAN TUTTEComposed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

OCTOBER 23, 2020 | 6:30 PMOCTOBER 25, 2020 | 2:00 PMEast Grand Rapids High School Performing Arts CenterEast Grand Rapids, MI

OCTOBER 24, 2020 | 6:30 PM EXCLUSIVE BROADCASTFifth Third BallparkGrand Rapids, MI

We kindly request that no cameras or other recording devices be used during tonight’s performance. Any form of video or audio recording, including the use of cell phones, during this performance is strictly prohibited. Contents of this program, including repertoire and casting, is specified as correct at the time of publication, but is subject to change without notice and/or refunds.

Conductor.......................................................Maestro James MeenaStage Director ...................................................................Eve SummerAssistant Conductor ..........................................Austin McWilliamsLighting & Projection Designer .................Michael BaumgartenCostume Coordinator .................................................. Erica MonroeCostume Assistants ....................Mary Herbach & Dana RoeslerDresser ........................................................................ Aynsley DouglasWig & Makeup Designer .......................................... Martha RuskaiWig & Makeup Assistant ..................................................Mark BoleyRehearsal Pianist ....................................................Brendan VincentTechnical Directors .......... Keith Oberfeld & John A C DespresProperties Coordinator ..............................................Sarah WatsonSupertitles Operator .................................................... Samuel Macy Production Stage Manager ..................................... Dustin Z WestAssistant Stage Manager .......................................Michael Medina

CAST in order of vocal appearanceFerrando .................................................................... Johnathon White Guglielmo .....................................................................Michael ColmanDon Alfonso ....................................................................Steven CondyFiordiligi ......................................................................Katherine WhyteDorabella .......................................................................Christine AmonDespina .................................................................................Corie Auger

Scenic Elements Courtesy of Opera Carolina. Costumes designed by Glenn Avery Breed. Costumes provided by Wardrobe Witchery. Make Up and Wigs designed by Martha Ruskai. Projected supertitles by James Meena. Special thanks to Aria Show Technology & KBO Group.

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SYNOPSIS COSI FAN TUTTEMusic by W.A. Mozart (1756-1791) Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte (1749-1838) First performance: Burgtheater, Vienna. January 26, 1790

Act I Two young military officers, Ferrando and Gulglielmo boast to Don Alfonso that their fiancées, Dorabella and Fiordiligi, are irreproachable in their steadfastness and virtue. The cynical bachelor Alfonso says that he is ready to wager that, given the right circumstances, both girls will forget their promises, and take new lovers. The two young men confidently accept the bet and agree to follow Alfonso’s instructions for the next twenty-four hours. Meanwhile, Dorabella and Fiordiligi gaze at the portraits of their lovers and pour out their heartfelt emotions. Alfonso enters, announcing that the two officers are coming to say ‘goodbye’, because they have suddenly been called to war. This is a ruse invented by Alfonso to test the girl’s fidelity. The girls and Don Alfonso bid the soldiers a fond farewell. The maid Despina tries to console Fiordiligi and Dorabella. Dorabella laments her great despair in the great aria Smanie implacabili (Unending Longing). Despina tells them not to expect their sweethearts to be faithful—“Fidelity in a man—in a soldier,” she tells them, “is just sentimental drivel.” The sisters leave, and Don Alfonso asks Despina to help him in his ruse. She agrees, for a price, to introduce two new suitors to Fiordiligi and Dorabella. They are in fact Ferrando and Gulgielmo in disguise. The reaction of the sisters is to immediately throw them out, and in the aria Come Scoglio (Like a Rock), Fiordiligi says her fidelity is unwaivering. With this stern reception, Ferrando and Guglielmo think they have won and demand payment from Alfonso, who reminds them the day is not over and he who laughs last, laughs best. As the sisters lament the loss of their finacees, the boys, still in disguise, enter with Alfonso. Gulgielmo and Ferrando say they will take poison if the girls do not pay attention to them—and so they drink and fall to the ground. Despina runs off to supposedly get a doctor and the girls, now left alone with their new suitors, are moved by their desperate attempt at suicide for love. Despina enters, disguised as the doctor, and cures the boys who immediately resume their declarations of love as the Act I curtain falls.

Act II Dorabella and Fiordiligi are persuaded by Despina to meet their new suitors that evening. In the delightful aria Una donna a quindici anni (What Every Girl Fifteen or Older Needs to Know), Despina gives them a little lesson—it is a woman’s job to manage men, using all their charms to be the queen of their kingdom. That evening, Don Alfonso and Despina arrange that the suitors be paired off—Guglielmo with his friend’s fiancée Dorabella and Ferrando with Fiordilgi. Dorabella begins to encourage Guglielmo while Fiordiligi remains steadfast. When the boys compare notes, Ferrando despairs that his Dorabella could be so fickle, while Guglielmo rejoices that his Fiordiligi has remained constant. Fiordilgi declares that she is going off to join her fiancée. Dressed as a soldier, she is about to leave when Ferrando, still in disguise, enters. His arguments this time are successful, and she falls into his arms. It is not Guglielmo’s turn to despair which he does in this great aria in which he excoriates all women. Don Alfonso claims victory. All that’s left is to prepare for the wedding. The wedding banquet is prepared, and the farce reaches its climax. The two couples— Guglielmo and Dorabella, Ferrando and Fiordiligi sign wedding contracts before a notary, who is really Despina in disguise. Just then, military drums are head announcing the return of the army. The boys quickly hide, change back to their original clothes and return as themselves. Don Alfonso hands over the wedding contracts to the young men, who refuse to listen to their sweetheart’s protests. The boys draw their swords, rush off to pursue their fake rivals, and re-enter with half of their disguises on. The farce is revealed to the sisters. Don Alfonso calms the girls down and the couples—but which ones?—are united.

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Flute Edward Clifford

OboeGabriel Renteria-Elyea

ClarinetLisa RaschiatoreDavid Yandl

BassoonKerrissa Silverthorne HornCorbin WagnerNicole Vanden Bosch Violin 1Christina FongHaijin ChoiCaroline FreihoferJoo Yun H. Preece

Violin 2Paty KatesMark PortoleseSusan Mora

ViolaLeanne KingArturo ZiraldoAndrew Pool

CelloJeremy CrosmerStefan KochCrispin Campbell

BassGerald TorresJoy Roland

ORCHESTRA

WIG & MAKE UP Wig & Makeup DesignerMartha Ruskair

Wig & Makeup AssistantMark Boley

COSTUMES Costume Coordinator Erica Monroe

Costume AssistantsMary HerbachDana Roesler

DresserAynsley Douglas

STAGE MANAGEMENT Technical Directors Keith OberfeldJohn A C Despres

Lighting and Projection DesignerMichael Baumgarten

Supertitles OperatorSamuel Macy

EAST GRAND RAPIDS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Technical DirectorTrent Wadsworth

PRODUCTION TEAM

TRUSTEES PresidentChristopher L. Edgar

Immediate Past PresidentDiane St. Claire

Vice PresidentDr. Peter Hahn

SecretaryLaina Mills

TreasurerJohn T. Jones

Kyle Van AndelEarle “Win” S. IrwinDr. Penny Wilton Tom BandykJim CoxNyal DeemsAaron DotyRobert EvettJoan GilletteMadelaine C. LaneDr. Sarah MastersonJim O’ConnorDr. Gil PadulaDr. Gregory SanialDr. Alexander Stoffan

ADVISORY COUNCIL Dan GaydouArend (Don) LubbersMargaret MaloneWendy StockCarol Van AndelPat Waring

STAFF

Executive DirectorEmilee Syrewicze

Artistic DirectorMaestro James Meena

Assistant Conductor/Director of Music EducationAustin McWilliams

Operations DirectorSarah Watson

Box Office & Development ManagerAlexandra Galla

OGR LEADERSHIP & STAFF

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Maestro James Meena, Conductor

James Meena consistently earns critical acclaim for his artistic vision and dynamic presence on the podium in concert, opera and ballet. Mo. Meena serves as Artistic Director for Opera Carolina (Charlotte) and Artistic Director for Opera Grand Rapids.

Recent engagements include acclaimed performances of

Tosca at the Luglio Festivale Trapani in Sicilia, a double-bill of Rachmaninoff’s rarely-performed Aleko paired with Pagliacci as well as La fanciulla del West, both with the restored New York City Opera; Le nozze di Figaro for Teatro Sociale Rovigo Italy, La fanciulla del West for five prestigious Italian theaters: Teatro del Giglio, Lucca Italy, Teatro Verdi in Pisa, Teatro Alighieri di Ravenna, Teatro Pavarotti di Modena and Teatro Goldoni di Livorno, plus Rigoletto, The Magic Flute, Carmen and Yvgeny Onegin with Opera Carolina, Toledo Opera, and Opera Grand Rapids, plus a Gala concert with Renee Fleming and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra; Porgy & Bess with Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre in Budapest for their Summer Festival, and La bohème with the prestigious Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago, La bohème with Opéra de Montréal, Masterworks Concerts with Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and Il barbiere di Siviglia, La fanciulla del West, and La traviata with Opera Carolina. Next season, Mo. Meena makes his debut with the Shanghai Opera.

A guest conductor, Maestro Meena has lead performances in opera houses throughout North America, including Madama Butterfly, Pagliacci/Gianni Schicchi, Le nozze di Figaro, and La traviata for L’Opera de Montreal; Michigan Opera Theatre for Die Zauberflöte; Edmonton Opera for Falstaff, Otello, Macbeth and Yvgeny Onegin; and Manitoba Opera, where he conducted the première of Transit of Venus by the Canadian team of composer Victor Davies and librettist Maureen Hunter, recorded for national broadcast on the CBC. His Opera Carolina performances of Faust, Eugene Onegin, and Il trovatore are captured on recording for NPR World of Opera.

With extensive experience in opera, ballet, and symphonic music, Maestro Meena held principal and resident conducting posts with the Cleveland Ballet, Toledo Symphony, and Toledo Opera in addition to guest conducting appearances that include a nationally televised Thanksgiving concert for the Korean Broadcasting System Symphony; performances of Stravinsky’s tour de force La Sacre du printemps with the National Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan; concerts with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra in the new Cairo Opera House; and symphony concerts with the orchestra of the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, the Orchestra della Toscana in Italy.

Mo. Meena was has been engaged as guest conductor with orchestras and opera companies in the United States, Italy, Taipei, Korea, Canada and Mexico including the Mexico City Philharmonic, the Washington Opera, Opera Pacific, Portland Opera and the Utah Opera. On opera stages, he has conducted legendary singers including Renée Fleming, Denyce Graves, James McCracken, Mignon Dunn, Marilyn Horne, Jerome Hines, Diana Soviero, Jerry Hadley, Mark Delavan and Marcello Giordani.

From Voix des Arts of Mo. Meena’s most recent performances of Turandot: “Under the baton of James Meena the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra delivered an awe-inspiring performance of the score. Maestro Meena’s conducting was notable for the manner in which, like the great past interpreters of the operas of Richard Strauss, he coaxed sounds from the orchestra that compellingly fulfilled the lush late-Romantic promise of the melodic lines while also always sounding like an opera composed in 1924. The influence of Debussy has almost never been more discernible than in Maestro Meena’s handling of the score. His work in Charlotte has been consistently perceptive, but he found in Turandot—a score by which many conductors have been defeated—an ideal outlet for the controlled ecstasy of which he is a master.”

Since 2001, Mo. Meena has presented six regional premières in Charlotte, including Cold Sassy Tree and Susannah by Carlisle Floyd, the company’s first productions of Der Rosenkavalier, Nabucco, Macbeth, and Les pêcheurs des perles, and the regional premiere of Richard Danielpour’s new American opera, Margaret Garner, starring Denyce Graves in April 2006. Mo. Meena is the lead producer for Douglas Tappin’s new work I Dream, created for the 50th commemoration of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

James Meena is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory of Music. His principal conducting teachers include Thomas Mihalak (New Jersey Symphony), Robert Page (Cleveland Orchestra), Rudolph Fellner (Pittsburgh Opera), and Boris Halip (Bolshoi Ballet), with whom he also studied violin.

Mr. Meena has served as Assistant Conductor to Andre Previn, Gunther Schuller, Michael Tilson Thomas, Anton Guadagno, and Anton Coppola. For several seasons, he was Associate Conductor of the Pittsburgh Opera, where he made his operatic début conducting Die Zauberflöte. He made his professional débutwith the Pittsburgh Symphony conducting Haydn’s monumental oratorio The Creation. Mo. Meena was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by his undergraduate alma mater in 1997 for his commitment to visionary excellence and growth of cultural institutions.

BIOGRAPHIES

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Eve Summer, Director

Hailed “a rising star of stage directing [whose] approach to directing refreshes hope for the future of opera,” Eve Summer is a director, producer, and choreographer. She has been described as having “a gift for translating classic symbolism into familiar detail with just enough flippancy to bring out the fun of the opera without skewing the emotional equation.”

In the 2018-19 season Ms. Summer directs The Little Prince at Tulsa Opera, The Pearl Fishers at Opera Tampa, The Tales of Hoffmann at Opera Orlando, Aida at Boheme Opera New Jersey, The Magic Flute at Opera in Williamsburg, and serves as Staging Advisor at the Boston Symphony Orchestra for a concert performance of Suor Angelica at Symphony Hall starring Kristine Opolais.

Selected directing credits include Trouble in Tahiti at the Glimmerglass Festival, Così fan tutte at Connecticut Lyric Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor at Boheme Opera New Jersey and Commonwealth Opera, Xerxes at Connecticut Early Music Festival, Carmen at MetroWest Opera, The Magic Flute for University of Hartford, L’elisir d’amore for Opera del West, the world premiere of Larry Bell’s opera Holy Ghosts at the Berklee Performance Center, Suor Angelica for Boston Opera Collaborative, and Le nozze di Figaro for dell’Arte Opera Ensemble and Kaliope Opera.

Ms. Summer’s work has been called “eye-poppingly contemporary,” “a riveting, glorious production from beginning to end,” and “can only be described as brilliant.” Critics raved that her production of Xerxes was “a delight, and a testament to Summer’s gift for banishing stodginess from an art form too often seen as fossilized and elitist.” Her style is naturalistic and modern and rooted in the visceral truthfulness of stage plays where she started her directing career. Her theater productions have included The Merry Wives of Windsor, Extremities, A Midsummer night’s Dream, The Woolgatherer, ‘Art,’ Two Gentlemen of Verona and her own play Neighbors, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Thomas Berger.

A former professional ballet dancer and choreographer, Ms. Summer’s choreography credits include a commission to choreograph a new ballet, Jeanne’s Fantasy, by composer Mark Warhol for the premiere with Contrapose Dance and Fort Point Theatre Channel, Elektra at Des Moines Metro Opera, Falstaff at Opera Colorado, and Don Giovanni for Boston Opera Collaborative. She recently collaborated with renowned choreographer Karole Armitage on the critically acclaimed American premiere of Philip Glass’ Opera-Ballet The Witches of Venice at Opera Saratoga. Ms. Summer’s notable assisting engagements also include Francesca Zambello on the world premiere of Ben Moore’s Robin Hood at The

Glimmerglass Festival, Julia Pevzner on her widely acclaimed production of Shostakovich’s The Nose at Opera Boston, and Tim Albery on Janáček’s Katya Kabaonova at Boston Lyric Opera.

Austin McWilliams, Assistant Conductor

Austin McWilliams, conductor and countertenor, strives to present compelling, intriguing music that is directly relevant to the communities in which it is performed. He is an Adjunct Professor at Western Michigan University, where he conducts the university operas and assists the choral division. Austin is the Co-Artistic Director of the Ad Astra Music Festival, a

classical music festival in Russell, Kansas, known for its innovative and unique programming. In 2019 at Ad Astra, Austin conducted the outdoor premiere of Missy Mazzoli’s new opera Proving Up, and he will conduct the world premiere of Anna Pidgorna’s opera about the life of Trudy Furney in 2021. He is a faculty member at Missouri Scholars Academy, an annual, month-long governor’s school for gifted high school juniors. In 2019, Austin earned a Master of Music degree in choral conducting at WMU under Kimberly Dunn Adams. There he designed a recital on HIV/AIDS awareness in collaboration with several community organizations. Austin graduated in 2017 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Science in computer engineering with highest honors. He hails from the illustrious micropolitan hub of Poplar Bluff, Missouri, where he received his formative training from Rachael Bonk.

Johnathan White, Ferrando

Tenor, Johnathan Stanford White began his Operatic studies at the College of Charleston in 2004 while working on his BA in Vocal Performance. As a celebrated young artist, Johnathan performed in many leading Operatic roles with the College of Charleston Opera/ Musical Theatre productions and was both a State and Regional Winner in several competitions.

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BIOGRAPHIES

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BIOGRAPHIESIn 2011, he was selected to sing at the Jussi Bjorling Centennial Celebration at Gustavus College at the Jussi Bjorling Concert Hall. Since moving to Charlotte and joining Opera Carolina as a Resident Company Member in 2013, Johnathan has become a staple in the classical music scene. After making his Opera Carolina debut in Turandot as the Emperor in 2015, Johnathan has performed numerous Comprimario roles in productions with Opera Carolina, Toledo Opera, and Opera Grand Rapids: Carmen (2019), I Dream (2018), Le Nozze di Figaro (2018), Rigoletto (2018), Cyrano de Bergerac (2017), Fanciulla del West (2017), Cosi fan Tutte (2016), La Canterina (2016), Fidelio (2015) , Lucia di Lammermoor (2015), and Turandot (2015). Apart from his Operatic pursuits, Johnathan is also an accomplished Symphonic soloist performing: The Messiah (CSO), Saint Saens Christmas Oratorio (CSO), and The Seven Last Words of Christ (CSO). He was selected as the tenor soloist for the Andrew Lloyd Webber Requiem with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra (2018). He most recently performed the operatic roles of Remendado (Carmen, Toledo/Opera Carolina), Jerry (Nemorino) in The Magic Potion (adapted from The Elixir of Love, Opera Carolina) and as Triquet in Eugine Onegin (Opera Carolina).

He is currently slated to perform as the Chief of Police in Opera Carolina’s I Dream, and Pang in Opera Grand Rapid’s Turandot.

Michael Colman, Guglielmo

Michael Colman, recently hailed by Opera News for “fielding a fine, dark bass-baritone,” has performed with many premier regional opera companies throughout the country.

Michael made his professional debut singing the Imperial Commissioner (Madama Butterfly) as an Apprentice Artist with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and went

on to perform roles including Basilio (Il barbiere di Seviglia) with Chautauqua Opera and Virginia Opera, The Commentator (Scalia/Ginsburg) with Opera Carolina and Opera Grand Rapids, Schaunard (La bohème) with Indianapolis Opera, Sergeant of Police (The Pirates of Penzance) with Dayton Opera, Ceprano (Rigoletto) with Toledo Opera, Dottore Grenvil (La Traviata) with Opera on the James and Indiana University, Leporello (Don Giovanni) with Janiec Opera Company, and Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) with the University of Kansas. An avid concert singer, Michael has performed as the Bass Soloist (Messiah) with the Dayton Philharmonic, the Bass Soloist (Mozart Requiem) with The Virginia Consort, and recently sang in recital with Warren Jones at the Manchester Music Festival. Upcoming engagements include King of Egypt (Aida) with Toledo Opera, and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) with Opera Grand Rapids. Michael is currently a student at Indiana University studying with Professor Peter Volpe.

Steven Condy, Don Alfonso

Steven Condy enjoys a career filled with notoriety and acclaim for his creative portrayals of the great “buffo” roles and is admired not only for his robust and nuanced voice, but also for his natural acting ability.

The Washington Times enthused that he has “the comic timing of John Candy and a voice that remains

flexible, rich and true through every intricacy,” and Anthony Tomassini of the New York Times offered that he would “vote the prize for the most naturally clear diction of the cast to the hardy baritone Steven Condy.” Most recently, Mr. Condy performed as a soloist in concert with Opera Delaware and MidAtlantic Symphony, performed the role of Ko-Ko in The Mikado with Opera Grand Rapids, as well as the role of Inspector Lestrade in Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant with American Lyric Theater. Upcoming, Mr. Condy joins Opera Grand Rapids for their presentation of Cosi Fan Tutte in the role of Don Alfonso and returns to Opera Delaware to sing Scarpia in Tosca.

In recent seasons, Mr. Condy performed the role of Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Boston Lyric Opera and Manitoba Opera and performed as a soloist in concert with Opera Delaware and Mid-Atlantic Symphony. He also returned to the Metropolitan Opera for their production of Gianni Schicchi after his successful appearance there for their production of La bohème.

Renowned for his interpretation of Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, the Boston Music Intelligencer raved of his “most delightfully surprising and truly brilliant performance…the agility of his voice, not only in negotiating the vocal roller-coasters, but also in creating comically nuanced coloring, combined with his clumsily agile physicality and an edgy-but-not-threatening delivery of the role as a whole, stole the show. Based on his performance, the opera might well be re-titled Don Bartolo.” He performed the role at Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Toledo Opera, Portland Opera, Madison Opera, Opera Memphis, Virginia Opera, Sarasota Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, and Lyric Opera Baltimore among many others. Most recently, he performed the role in his house début at Opera Carolina.

The title role in Verdi’s Falstaff is another signature role in Mr. Condy’s repertoire, which he performed at companies such as Utah Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera San José, and most recently, Opera Delaware. Of his Falstaff, Opera News hailed: “Dominating the proceedings was Steven Condy’s hilariously larger-than-life yet totally believable and sympathetic Sir John. Condy never let his skillful embodiment of the fat knight’s physical and behavioral grotesqueries affect the inherent beauty

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BIOGRAPHIESof his singing; his warm, manly tone, fine legato and ready mezza voce reminded one just how squarely within the bel canto tradition the role of Falstaff lies.” He is also in demand as Don Magnifico in La cenerentola, a role he performed at Madison Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Delaware Utah Opera, Memphis Opera, Florentine Opera, Lyric Opera Kansas City, and Austin Lyric Opera.

Other notable engagements from his extensive career include: Sacristan in a new production of Tosca with the Houston Grand Opera; Betto in Gianni Schicchi in a new production with Los Angeles Opera directed by Woody Allen, followed by his European opera début in the same production with the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi; the title role in Don Pasquale with Opera New Jersey, Utah Opera, Calgary Opera, Opera on the James, Opera Naples, and Edmonton Opera; Benoit/Alcindoro in La bohème with Dallas Opera and Opera Company of Philadelphia; Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with Chautauqua Opera, Washington National Opera, Arizona Opera, and Lyric Opera of Guatemala among others; Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow with Washington National Opera; Sulpice in La fille du régiment with the San Francisco Opera and Opera Lyra Ottawa; Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Arizona Opera and Hawaii Opera Theater; Tevye, the lead role of Fiddler on the Roof with Shreveport Opera; and Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance with Arizona Opera.

As a concert artist, Condy graces stages throughout the country earning critical acclaim. From his recent appearance as a soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Lincoln Symphony, The Lincoln Journal Star wrote: “Baritone Steven Condy… began the poem that inspired the Ninth, his powerful voice booming through the hall.” He later performed the bass solo again with Asheville Symphony. Additional highlights of concert appearances include Handel’s Messiah with the Columbus Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, Masterworks Chorus at Carnegie Hall, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, and La Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain; the role of Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro with the Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Tate; Belshazzar’s Feast and Gordon Getty’s Plump Jack with New Mexico Symphony Orchestra; and gala concerts with the Indianapolis Symphony and the Orquesta Sinfónica Sinaloa de las Artes in Mazatlán, Mexico.

Mr. Condy earned accolades and awards from some of the industry’s most prestigious organizations including: The Luciano Pavarotti International Voice competition, The Sullivan Foundation, The Richard Tucker Music Foundation competition, Pope Foundation competition, MacAllister Award competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, and the Mario Lanza Institute Scholarship competition. Mr. Condy holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Hartford and a Master of Music degree from Yale University’s School of Music. He is also the Artistic Director of the Cairn University Opera Theater in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.

Katherine Whyte, Fiordiligi

Katherine Whyte has performed on opera and concert stages across her native Canada, the United States and Europe. Opera Today has hailed her for her “keen artistic sensibility” while the San Francisco Classical Voice has praised her “her glamorous, vibrato-rich voice”

Last season included Beethoven’s Ninth with the

Louisiana Symphony, joining Opera Hong Kong as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, and returning to the Metropolitan Opera for productions of Suor Angelica and Don Giovanni. The 2019-2020 season will see her return to the Metropolitan Opera to cover Despina in Così fan tutte and her debut with Intermountain Opera Bozeman as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro.

The 2017-2018 season saw Ms. Whyte’s return to the Metropolitan Opera for Parsifal as well as appearing in concert with the Mountain View International Festival of Song and the Orquesta Sinfonica Mineria for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Additionally, she appeared with both Charlottesville Opera and the Norwalk Symphony as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. The 2016-2017 season included her return to the Metropolitan Opera for productions of Jenufa and Rigoletto, a debut with the Edmonton Symphony for Handel’s Messiah, Fauré’s Requiem with Manhattan Concert Productions at Carnegie Hall, and her debut with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra in China. The 2015-2016 season saw her debut with the Dallas Opera as Pousette in Manon, a return to the Metropolitan Opera Company for their production of Rigoletto, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Saratoga, and concerts with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of China’s National Opera at the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival.

Following her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2007 in Strauss’ Die ägyptische Helena, she has returned to the company for productions of Iolanta, Rigoletto, Jenufa, The Gambler, The Enchanted Island, Two Boys, and Parsifal. Her other recent operatic appearances include the title role of Iphigénie en Tauride and Iris in Semele with Canadian Opera Company, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with the Princeton Festival, her Vancouver Opera debut as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Gilda in Rigoletto with English National Opera, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Virginia Opera and Opera Hamilton, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Michigan Opera Theatre, Euridice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Atlanta Opera, and Iphis in Handel’s Jephta with Opéra National de Bordeaux.

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Ms. Whyte’s appearances on the concert stage include Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, Mozart’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah with the Houston Symphony, Neilsen’s Symphony No. 3 with the San Francisco Symphony, Carmina burana and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the National Chorale, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Mass in C-minor with the Vancouver Symphony, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Colorado Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with the National Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional, Mozart’s Requiem with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and Handel’s Messiah with the New Choral Society. The winner of the 2007 Alice Tully Recital Competition, Ms. Whyte made her Carnegie Hall debut in Solo recital at Weill Hall in 2008.

Christine Amon, Dorabella

Grand Rapids native Christine Amon is a versatile mezzo- soprano excelling in opera, musical theater, and art song.

In recent seasons she has appeared with Toledo Opera and Opera Grand Rapids for The Magic Flute and made her company debut with Opera Carolina in Carmen. Other recent engagements include Vanessa (Erika) with Toledo

Opera, Carousel (Carrie) with Union Avenue Opera, Hansel and Gretel (Hansel) with Opera Memphis and Opera Louisiane, and The Pirates of Penzance (Edith) with Nashville Opera. Ms. Amon also created the role of Mich in Mich and the Moon in the premiere of The Ghosts of Crosstown at Opera Memphis. In 2018 she was a finalist in the international Lotte Lenya Competition hosted by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music.

Corie Auger, Despina

Praised for her bright, expressive voice, up and coming mezzo- soprano Corie Auger delights in bringing a large variety of characters to life on the operatic stage.

Corie has previously appeared with Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theater, Toledo Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Main Street Opera, Cedar Rapids Opera, and New Moon Opera.

Favorite roles include Nicklausse/Muse (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), and Zerlina (Don Giovanni). In addition to her operatic work, Corie appears as a recitalist and concert soloist. She has appeared as a soloist with Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and Kalamazoo Philharmonic. Corie was also featured on The Living Music Resource’s The BEAT with composer William Bolcom and his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris.

Michael Baumgarten, Lighting and Projection Designer

Mr. Baumgarten returns to Opera Grand Rapids for a fifth season, having designed lighting and video for more than 350 operas at regional and international companies, including Opera Carolina, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Lyra Ottawa, Manitoba Opera, Arizona Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Lyric Opera Kansas City, Palm Beach Opera and

Opera Columbus during his more than 30-year career. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama and member of United Scenic Artists- Local 829, Mr. Baumgarten has been the director of production and resident lighting/video designer for Opera Carolina in Charlotte since 2005 and for Chautauqua Opera since 1999. Also, he was the lighting designer/production manager at Amherst College for 17 years.

Martha Ruskai, Wig & Makeup Designer

Martha Ruskai earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and an M.F.A. in Theatre Design from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. Ms. Ruskai conceived and developed the wig and makeup program at UNCSA and served as its director from its inception through 2006. Ms. Ruskai began her career working with such

legendary singers as Jerome Hines, John Alexander and Dame Joan Sutherland. During her 25 year career she has designed more than 200 productions at over 25 companies encompassing every area of the performing arts. Career highlights include building Bryn Terfel’s wig for his U.S. debut and designing Der Rosenkavalier with Helen Donath and Delores Zeigler. Ms. Ruskai’s professional credits as a makeup artist, wig maker, and designer include Piedmont Opera Theater, Opera Carolina, Opera Grand Rapids, Santa Fe, Cincinnati,

BIOGRAPHIES

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Pittsburgh, Toledo, Nashville, Atlanta, and National Operas; Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, New York Concert Baroque/Concert Royal; Atlanta Ballet; and North Carolina Dance Theatre.

In addition to fashion runway work, Ms. Ruskai has styled print and TV ads for Miller Light Beer, Girbaud Clothing, IBM, and Neese’s Sausage. Film work includes historic re-enactment films for Planter’s Peanuts and the John Dickenson plantation. She has also built and styled properties wigs for the motion picture Sleeping with the Enemy, as well as building and styling wigs for several made-for-TV productions including Tecumseh!. In addition, she maintains an active guest lecturer schedule having given master classes at Duke University, Wake Forest University, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, Indiana University, Colorado College, Brenau College, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Georgia State University, and the Cleveland institute of Music.

Brendan Vincent, Pianist

Brendan Vincent completed his studies in Stellenbosch, South Africa, where he was active as concert soloist as well as conductor of opera and musicals. Since moving to Michigan he has worked with the Grand Rapids Symphony, Opera Grand Rapids, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids Ballet Company, in addition to Civic, Circle, and Actor’s theaters.

As conductor and piano soloist he has performed with orchestras in Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America in addition to instruction from renowned artists and pedagogues including Charles du Toit, Jorma Panula, Harold Farbermann, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Alexei Lubimov, Alicia de Larrocha, André Watts, and Konstantin Scherbakov. As violinist he has performed under the baton of Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Victor Yampolsky, Wolfram Christ, and Gérhard Korsten.

As arranger and orchestrator he has contributed to cinematic soundtracks, operas, musicals, ballet, cabaret, and is part of the creative team bringing The Walking Dead and Agents of SHIELD to TV.

He is thrilled to be joining Opera Grand Rapids for this production.

BIOGRAPHIES

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ABOUT THE COMPOSERMozart was born on January 27, 1756 in the Austrian city of Salzburg, where his father Leopold was a moderately successful musician. It was obvious very early on that the boy was a musical genius: he began composing at age six and wrote his first opera at twelve. Young Wolfgang was a keyboard and violin virtuoso and had an uncanny knack for improvisation.

After several years touring Europe, Mozart settled into an unrewarding position at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. The death of his mother in 1779 kept him from pursuing commissions elsewhere. In 1781, his early opera seria triumph Idomeneo was well-received in Munich, and Mozart finally left Salzburg for Vienna, where he would spend the rest of his life. In 1782 he married Constanze Weber, and the couple lived modestly on an income from teaching and concerts.

Between the years 1786 and 1789, Mozart, the thirty-year old genius from the then provincial town of Salzburg, would create three of the most memorable and beloved of all operas with his gifted librettist, Lorenzo da Ponte. These operas, The Marriage of Figaro in 1786, Don Giovanni in 1787, and Così fan tutte in 1789 are often referred to as Mozart’s ‘Da Ponte’ operas, for the librettos created by the Jewish Italian immigrant who became the favorite author of Austrian emperor Joseph II, are literary masterpieces in and of themselves.

1788 was a terrible year for Mozart. He had little work, his wife was sick, and he barely made enough to keep hearth and home. He planned a series of subscription concerts for which he would write his final three symphonies—unquestionably his greatest symphonies, numbers 39, 40 and 41 – but the subscription series was cancelled due to poor sales.

The emperor had just returned from the Russian-Turkish war, in which the Austrians fought alongside the Russians, and he was ready to close the Italian opera in Vienna because it was losing too much

money. But he was convinced by Da Ponte to keep it open, and as a result of the tremendous success of a revival of The Marriage of Figaro in Vienna that year, the emperor commissioned Mozart to write a new opera in collaboration with Da Ponte.

The story of Così may have been suggested by the emperor himself and was supposed to have been based on actual events in Tireste. The intriguing tale of fickle young lovers was the subject of a great deal of gossip among good Austrian society. Mozart’s rival Antonio Salieri tried his hand at setting the story to music, but never completed the project.

Mozart wrote the music for Così in a dazzling blaze of speed, taking just the month of December 1789 to finish the opera. By the end of January 1790, the opera premiered to rapturous applause—its run of performances was cut short only because the emperor passed away shortly after the premiere. Of Mozart’s 22 operas, Così is number 20—to be followed by La Clemenza di Tito, which was only a modest success, and The Magic Flute, which is considered by many to be among his greatest works. During the 19th and early 20th century Così was considered to be risqué, and it fell out of favor with audiences. Since World War II, however, it has regained its rightful place among the most beloved of operas.

More than four hundred of Mozart’s compositions survive, in almost every form and style. His catalogue includes 41 symphonies, 27 piano concerti, 25 string quartets, 17 operas, countless other instrumental and vocal music, and the great, unfinished Requiem Mass (it was completed by his pupil Süssmayr). The most famous of his operas are Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio, 1782), Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro, 1786), Don Giovanni (1787), Così fan tutte (1790) and Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute, 1791). He died in Vienna on December 5, 1791, at the age of 35.

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ABOUT THE COMPOSER

PROGRAM NOTES COSI FAN TUTTECosì fan tutte—”all women do so”—commission by Mozart’s sometime patron, Emperor Joseph II, opened at Vienna’s Burgtheater in January 1790 but played only five performances before the theater shut down, as did all theaters due to the emperor’s sudden death.

Said to be based on an actual incident that had Vienna gossips abuzz, Lorenzo da Ponte’s implausible plot presents two young officers, so certain of their fiancées’ constancy they are willing to bet their cynical friend the women were impervious to temptation. To prove his point, the friend has them fake departure for war, when in fact they will reappear disguised to court each other’s fiancée. To aid his case, the old cynic has secured the sisters’ maid to help with the new seductions. In short order the sisters succumb, but when the couples’ proposed weddings are about to take place the original lovers reappear to confront their inconstant fiancées. At this point directors have taken various approaches to a solution, so we will have to wait to see how this plays out.

Così was Mozart’s third and final collaboration with da Ponte, who provided librettos for Figaro (1786) and Don Giovanni (1787). Soon after Così’s opening da Ponte fled Vienna—he was always into one sexual scrape or another—winding up eventually in New York where he spent the rest of his long life as Columbia University’s first professor of Italian. For Mozart, the story was sadder: he died the following winter, at the height of his creative powers, just shy of his 36th birthday.

The typical product of 18th century Enlightenment thinking, Così fan tutte parodies thoughtless, romantic love. And not surprisingly, its satire was rejected both by 19th-century romantics and moralists, who objected to making fun of innocent womanhood, fidelity and true love, about which they held almost holy views. Typical of this thinking, both Beethoven and Wagner found Così wanting, though the prudish Beethoven loved its music. He just could not accept that his idol Mozart would consider such a libretto. But for Wagner the music was “inferior” Mozart, and with characteristic bad judgment he concluded, “it was not possible [for Mozart] to invent music for Così like that of Figaro! How shamefully it desecrated Music.”

Thus, throughout the 19th century Così was fair game for libretto sanitizers, which led to such curiosities as setting Shakespeare’s Love’s Labor’s Lost and The Tempest to its music. But the worst of it must be these startlingly-titled librettos for Così’s music: The Girl’s Revenge, The Chinese Laborer, Flight from the Convent, and The Guerrillas! Mercifully, only the titles survive.

Modern praise for Così was late in coming and required our rejection of Victorian prudishness. With that came an appreciation of da Ponte’s libretto, playfully questioning romantic absolutes. If we can resist a knee-jerk rejection to the biting satire which appears to chasten only the women, we will see their would-be mates portrayed as equally fickle. This will also help us see the opera’s deeper meaning: the ambiguity of human nature, tested in love and faithfulness and found wanting,

Along the way, the libretto sparkles with satire and playful parody. Da Ponte was always able to find—as we see in his Figaro and Don Giovanni librettos—the comic in the ideal, wisdom in the trivial. In Così we see this through the unlikely story of four idealized lovers put on trial by their reality instructors, Don Alfonso and Despina. However, the failing lovers go beyond opera buffa stereotypes, revealing an essential humanity as they are brought back to earth.

Add to all this Così’s glorious music, which also reflects the Enlightenment world. Mozart’s musical genius captures the lovers’ genuine and simulated emotions, the sublime within the ridiculous. And he depicts that all in the same scene, often within the same musical passage. This is especially so in scenes where the lovers are together, as in their first-act parting quintets: “Sento, o Dio” (Courage fails me) and “Di scrivermi ogni giorno” (You’ll write every day) where the music focuses Così’s central theme by simultaneously parodying romantic love while it captures its iridescence. Such passages abound, leading us to smile at the lovers’ excesses as we are swept along by Mozart’s exquisite music.

In the end, the music shines in creating four lovers who mature through their “trials.” Their pairing at the end has been played both ways: 1) they remain faithful to their original mates, or 2) they discover their true loves, better suited to their real personalities. But most of all they discover their true selves: Fiordiligi, dignified but not quite “faithful like a boulder”; Ferrando, the poet-dreamer; Dorabella, a creature of instinct, yielding to nature; and Guglielmo, the realist.

Being swept up for an evening in the world of Così fan tutte, with music presenting real and feigned emotions, high jinxes, and parodies should satisfy any opera lover. Who needs more? Well, perhaps it would be worth the effort to take note of that final line of the concluding ensemble: “Fortunato l’uom che prende ogni cosa” (Happy is he who understands everything).

Gilbert R. Davis, PhD Professor of English, Emeritus Grand Valley State University

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SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR SEASON SPONSOR

The generous support of our Season Sponsor, the David and Carol Van Andel Family Foundation, helps to bring live opera to West Michigan.

In addition to providing crucial financial support, Dave and Carol have been generous with their time and energy, continuing the Van Andel Family’s philanthropic legacy.

From the Opera Grand Rapids family, we thank you for your continued support of this celebrated art form and of this community.

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Opera Grand Rapids appreciates the support of our production, event, and program sponsors for the 2019-20 performance season. For more information about becoming a sponsor, please contact Alexandra Galla, Development Manager, at 616.451.2741.

SEASON SPONSOR & BETTY VAN ANDEL SCHOLARSHIP SPONSOR

SEASON SYMPHONY SPONSOR SUPERTITLE SPONSOR

PRODUCTION SPONSORS

Anonymous

SPONSORS

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COLLEGIATE CONSORTIUM

ADDITIONAL SPONSORS

THIRD TIER SPONSORS

Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation

MOZART SOCIETY SPONSOR

SPONSORS

Jury Foundation

MEDIA SPONSORS

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EDUCATION SPONSORS

Karl and Jean Vander Laan

COLLEGIATE VOCAL COMPETITION SPONSORS

Hung and Elsie Liang Fund for Music

Night With The Opera Sponsors

Mary Ann Keeler J.C. and Tammy Huizenga

The Secchia Family Charitable Trust

Karl and Jean Vander Laan

John HuntingDunn & Laug Wealth

Management at Morgan Stanley

Sebastian Foundation

The Secchia Family Charitable Trust

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Opera Grand Rapids gratefully acknowledges the following donors for their Annual Fund gifts made towards the 2020-21 Performance Season. Gifts made to the Annual Fund support the Opera’s overall programming and performances. The list below acknowledges gifts made through October 15, 2020.

Director’s Circle ($10,000+)J.C. and Tammy HuizengaWin and Kyle IrwinMary Ann KeelerPeter and Joan SecchiaEllen and Daniel Vander Mey

Platinum Circle ($5,000+)Anonymous Charles* and Stella A.* Royce TrustDavid and Lorrie VanderArkKarl and Jean VanderLaan

Silver Circle ($2,500+)Anonymous Gillett Family Foundation Ellen ArlinskyChristopher and Linda EdgarRobert and Deborah EvettJohn HuntingJohn T. Jones and Nicholas J. VanderLaanGregory Sanial and Eva HabetinovaMarilyn Titche

Mozart Society ($1,000+)Anonymous William AdamsArienne Associates Patrick and Leslie BallardRobert Beasecker and Erika KingGilbert and Patricia DavisRobert Diamond and Sheila KinneyAaron and Eileen DotyPeter HahnStephen HoyleBea IdemaSidney and Cate JansmaWallson and Rebecca KnackAndrew KrellMadelaine LaneErik and Rachel LaugBenjamin and Sarah Masterson

James and Mary MeenaHank and Liesel MeijerMike and Laina MillsTill PetersRotary Club of Grand Rapids Jennifer SherrillGeorge and Joan SnyderAlexander StoffanEmilee SyrewiczeWilliam and Pat WaringW. Frederick and Wendy Wooden

Benefactor ($750+)John and Janet BoylesTim and Chia-Ping LiangJune MarshallGil PadulaAlwyn and Christine Rougier-ChapmanDennis and Carroll Velie

Super Patron ($500+) Peggy BarberMargaret P. BloemersJames and Cathy BradyCommunity Foundation of the Holland/Zeeland AreaPhillip and Julie CrollNyal DeemsJames and Karen DeVriesDaniel DeWitt and Lisa DeFerrariWilliam and Cecile FehsenfeldTwink FreyBrittany GibsonThomas and Sally GleasonElizabeth and John GoedeGeorge and Barbara GordonPaul Howland and Amna SieboldTerri IrwinDouglas and Patricia KleinBirgit Klohs and Gregory NorthrupJohn and Kate McGarryPhillip and Amelia MitchellPfizer Foundation

Brian and Kristen QuistSteven and Kathryn RatliffSuzanne SchaeferDale and Mary SchriemerBrent and Diane SlayJeanne Wretschko

Patrons ($200+) Ada Conservatory of Music Martin and Marjorie AmonDavid ArmbrechtJoseph Campbell and Jen SmallTyrell and Courtney CookTraci Courter-QuillanRon and Jessie DalmanScott DaunheimerJohn DixMichael and Suzanne DohertyNancy DouglasSteven Eriksson and Karen WolfBarbara FiskMartin FreemanNathan and Angela FreierClarice B. GeelsGonzalo and Gelsy GuerreroLucas Hardy and Jessica McLeanJan HeerspinkMarilyn HeissMichael Janisse and Nancy NortierTodd and Anne KlippNancy KnaussMichael and Michele KopinskiMary KretschmanKristan KroutBlake and Mary KruegerSuzanne MakarewiczThomas and Charlotte MohlerJulian NewmanThe Leonard & Eileen Newman Designation FundIvan and Linda NordstrandLauren NudnickNuWave Technology Partners Robert and Teresa Prevette

ANNUAL FUND

DONORS

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Roland Prevost and Brian NederveldMilton and Barbara RohwerMargaret RyanTimothy and Cynthia SchadFrederick Jay Schoettley and Gail DeYoungHoward and Marilyn SlenkW. Dale and Mary Jo SmithRichard StienAlan and Sharon SuppSweet Express Rob and Jules TerryLinda Campbell ThompsonDr. Luis Tomatis* Tomatis*Guenter TuschMichael and Susan ValcqJames and Kathy Jo VanderLaanDamir VidinlicShane and Amy VoracBarry Wickman and Kristan ClarkDavid and Wendy WohnsRamona WrightGloria Yff

Contributors ($100+) David AbbottRosemary AndersonMary BolandPaul and Susan BoscarinoJames W. and Judy BottsRichard and Kathleen BucknamGregory Carnevale and Diane MahonSandra CarpenterJo Ellyn Clarey and Robert FranciosiBarry and Roberta CleggMichael and Kathryn CoffeyJay and Kathryn CragwallRobert DeanAnne Drummond and Jim WarrenMaurice and Sara FettyMary and Bill FordRobert FrassanitoDavid G. FreyDavid x FreyDouglas GabertArlen-Dean and Lasandra GaddyJoan GillettBarbara F. GilmoreAndrew Goode and Angela EickTerri GreeningJerrold Gretzinger and Meg StaleyNeil and Terry Harvey

Joanne and Gwen HibbardColin IrwinMichelle Jefferies and Tony KroesStacy JonesKatherine KaneNorman KellerEarl and Cornelia KennedyLee KitsonTodd Knibbe and Chhaya AgrawalMary Esther Lee and Lee PerrySusan MarschallHenry MatthewsRichard and Noel McGarrityJudith L. MeyerJudith OberholtzerDure OrwigJulie OtterbeinThomas E. Pascoe and Jean SteinGabriel PeñaKathleen PonitzBob ShairBill and Juanita SharpeDeborah ShoremountEllen and Kenneth SiuThompson and Linda SouthwellJan and Bruce StineChris VandenBerg and Elizabeth NeubigLinda VanDenBrinkMatthew and Paula VicariRoger and Bonnie WallRick and Jacquelyn WatsonBonnie WilsonCharles and Julie WisseSusan O. Wold

Friends ($1-$99+) Tom and Suellen BandykJoan BennettCharles and Rebecca BocskeyBill and Sharon BrandnerRobert BrooksRichard and Carolyn BullingtonKarley BurkeTodd and Susan CarlsonJanet CarterMichelle and Kenneth DalyLarry and Sandy De HaanEd DeJong and Diane Van WesepJoann DerbyDon FitzsimonsDianne Garone

Hannah GreggsJanet and Thomas GrumbineFrances W. HallAlan and Judith HudsonJohn IrwinRobert and Paulette IsraelsMary KarmesLeRoy and Susan KatzMarjorie Lane KelleyAbby KleinMarylin LeprichHarold LewisFrans Van LiereLois LoetzJoan LuptonCharles and Sharon MarksWendy and Omar MartySusan McCarthyPatti McConnellEllen C. McGowanMary J. Michell and Steven HeldtLarry and Teresa MulliganLaura MuresanErin OvermeyerSean PattersonLuis and Cornelia PepoyChristopher Ratnasamy and Monica ChristopherSharon ReisingerAbraham and Anne RossiMark and Sadie RuckerCarol B. SagarRobert SheardyShelly SmalliganSteven SmithH. David Soet and Ann Sullivan SoetFrances K. StotzRuth StubbsDennis J. ThavenetCarolyn Van AllenLinda VanderbaanGeorge O. WaltersBarbara WepmanLois WilliamsMartha C. YaringtonEllen Zahed

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Opera Grand Rapids extends its sincerest thanks to the following individuals for their dedicated commitment to supporting the Opera through a Planned Gift.

ESTATE GIFTS

DONORS

Donald* and Ellen ArlinskyPaul and Susan BowersRichard and Carolyn BullingtonRobert Byrens and Jerrod NickelsGilbert and Patricia Davis

Susan Freihofer*Joan GillettMargaret IdemaLeonard and Eileen NewmanGil Padula, MD Family Trust

Mr. and Mrs. Alwyn Rougier-ChapmanWendy StockDavid and Lorrie Vander Ark

ENDOWMENT CONTRIBUTORS

Opera Grand Rapids is grateful to the generous donors who have contributed to our Endowment. This fund was developed to secure funds for the Opera’s future.

AnonymousGilbert and Patricia DavidPamela FranklinSusan S. Freihofer*Elizabeth M. Gillett

Joan F. GillettJan HeerspinkWin and Kyle IrwinArend and Nancy LubbersBudge and Marilyn Sherwood

Wilma StraightDaniel L. TinkhamJohn D. Tully

Membersof

FINRA andSIPC

Charlevoix Dr., Grand Rapids(616) 942-7680 • (800) 253-4131www.centennialsec.com

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TRIBUTE GIFTS

Opera Grand Rapids gratefully recognizes the following patrons who have contributed gifts in honor of family, friends, and special occasions between October 10, 2019 and October 15, 2020. We are honored to share in the legacy and impact these individuals have made.

In Memory of Harry Gubbins Suzanne Schaefer In Memory of John Tully Barbara Rohwer Martha Yarington Norm Keller Frances K Stotz Marjorie Lane Kelly Larry and Sandy De Haan J.A. Cragwall Wallson and Rebecca Knack Tom Bandyk Marilyn Leprich Mary Ford Jan and Bruce Stine Mary Kretchman David Frey Neil Harvey Earle and Kyle Irwin Alwyn and Christine Rougier-Chapman Robert Frassanito

In Honor of Emilee Syrewicze Tom Bandyk In Memory of Armand LaSorsa Susan McCarthy In Memory of Robert Wepman Barbara Wepman In Memory of Patricia Troske Steven Hoyle In Honor of Robert and Deb Evett LeRoy and Susan Katz In Memory of Robert Law June Marschall

In Honor of Nancy Douglas Ellen C. McGowen Carol B. Sagar Joann Derby Earle and Kyle Irwin Anne Sullivan and David Soet

In Honor of Diane St. Claire and Tom Northway Twink Frey In Honor of Joan Gillette Barry and Roberta Clegg In Memory of Jane Gaebe Patrick and Leslie Ballard

Thank you to the following individuals, businesses, and organizations for volunteering and/or donating goods, services or time to make this performance possible.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Pre-Performance TalksFriends of the Opera

Set TransportationSweet Express

Printing SupportHolland Litho

EventsRowster CoffeeThe Cheese Lady

* deceased

Opera Grand Rapids makes every effort to include accurate information for each person who has supported our mission throughout the year. Please contact Alexandra Galla at 616-451-2741 or agalla@operagr.org if you feel an error has been made.

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Michael D. Loughman PresidentRoland M. Prevost Vice PresidentMolly Porter SecretaryJoanie Snyder Treasurer

Dirk Bakhuzen †Suellen * & Tom * Bandyk †Kate Baxter *David BellamyAnne Berquist ∆William & Elizabeth Bjork ◊Jane BodenmillerJudy BottsFlorence Bouwman †Susan B. BowersJohn & Janet Boyles †Jim & Cathy BradyMuriel Burger ∆Robert Byrens &

Jerrod NickelsCelebration Cinema ◊Marti ChildsHarriet Christensen ∆Cloe DanfordGilbert R. Davis †Robert & Lois DeBoerJacquelyn DeRegnaucourt ◊Dan DeWitt & Lisa DeFarrariNancy & Michael DodgeKaren Douglas *Nancy Douglas †Bill & Anita Eerdmans †Joanne Emmons †Jean EnrightSteve Eriksson & Karen WolfAnette & Javier EstradaPaul & Bridget FarrBill & Cecile FehsenfeldClint & Carolyn FeredayBarbara FiskDr. John Frey * ◊Charles GallmeyerMary Ellen Gase

Clarice Geels * ◊Joan F. Gillett †Robert GoodrichTom & Marcia HaasWorth Hages †Fran & Joe HallTom C HammondClaudia Hardy †Cassandra HayesJan Heerspink * †Janet C. HeindrichsMarilyn E. Heiss †Robert * & Elizabeth HeysJerene Hofman-Bodkins ∆Linda HoisingtonKate Houseman * &

Craig WassenaarPaul Howland †John Hunting †Dr. Gary & Patricia Hurt ◊Dr. F. Alan HutchinsonDr. John Iacobucci ◊Margaret P. Idema ◊Win & Kyle* Irwin †Lori Jacobs †Sidney J. Jr & Cate Jansma ◊Gayla Jewell †Shaula JohnstonDrs. Courtney & Ora JonesMarcia Kapolka ◊Suzanne M. KarsenJuliana Kartsimas ∆Earl & Cornelia KennedyBirgit M. KlohsBeverly KloosterWallson KnackNancy C. Knauss * †Joe KozakiewiczTony Kroes † &

Shellie JeffriesMary KroonSusan & Jerry Kruyf †Mary Esther LeeMark Lewis * &

Christine Wassenaar †Lois Loetz ∆Michael D. Loughman * †

Arend & Nancy LubbersJoan LuptonRobert Lyall ∆Marilyn Macklin †James MaiohoJune L. Marshall †Chet MaternowskiKenneth MathesonEdith McCargar ◊Kate & John McGarryKarsten Melcher &

Susanne JacobsVirginia NeisRobert & Lois NordlingIrene Nowak †Judy Oberholtzer †Julie OtterbeinThomas Pascoe & Jean SteinToni PerrineNancy Wallace Peters ◊Till & Bernice PetersGlen Peterson Ph.D.Sarah & Erich PetersonStuart PoltrockLois R PoppenMolly Porter *Ruth PostRoland M. Prevost * †Midge RegesPeter P. & Patricia RenucciSuzanne Richards †Richard Roane &

Leandro RoblesAshley Roberts ∆Milt & Barbara RohwerAlwyn & Christine

Rougier-ChapmanChuck & Stella Royce ∆Margaret RyanCassandra Sandros * Dale Schriemer †Foley Schuler ∆John Schuster-Craig ∆Juanita SharpeJean Silbar & Dan VooheesGeorge Snyder †Joanie Snyder * †

Diane St.ClaireMichael & Barbara StapletonRichard Stien ∆JoAnn C. Stevenson & Marshall W. GrateWendy StockKaren H. StokesLee Strodtman †Mary Ellen SullivanJudge Paul Sullivan Paul & Marie TenElshofPatricia & Peter TigchelaarBetsey Tinkham

Marilyn Titche ◊Cheryl & John TullyPeter TurnerGuenther Tusch * †Lorrie * & Dave *

VanderArk Karl & Jean VanderLaanMark & Denise VanderLaanMargery VanderPloeg †Sandra VanderZichtIda M. VanDunk †Elaine VanKley †Phil & Kathleen Vogelsang

Tom & Miriam WalshArlene WarnersMark & Wendy WassinkSarah Watson ∆Karen L WebsterDavid & Anne-Lise *

Whitescarver †Susan WoldRev. Fred WoodenDarla Wortley ∆ Marti YaringtonGloria Yff †Ellen Zahed †Betty Zylstra & David Baak

* FOTO board member† Benefactor∆ Honorary member◊ Lifetime member

F ind Yourself Among

Friends

FOTO is committed to increasing awareness, understanding, and enjoyment of opera. Please join us!For more information, please contact Michael Loughman at 616.656.3212.

For more information, please contact John T. Jones at info@fotogr.org

FOTO is committed to increasing awareness, understanding, and enjoyment of opera. Please join us!

FOTO BOARD

Officers Peggy Barber, PresidentJohn T. Jones, Past PresidentNicholas J. VanderLaan, Vice PresidentJohn T. Jones, SecretaryDonald Markham, Treasurer

Board Members Suellen Bandyk Tom BandykRobert Byrens Dr. John T. Frey Clarice Geels Jan Heerspink Kyle Irwin Nancy KnaussDonald Markham Barbara Osburn Joanie Snyder Guenter Tusch Dave VanderArk Lorrie VanderArk

FOTO MEMBERS

Lifetime Members William Bjork Celebration Cinema Carlos S. Guayara Jacquelyn DeRegnaucourt Dr. John T. Frey Clarice Geels Stephen Hoyle Dr. Gary Hurt Dr. John Iacobucci Margaret P. Idema Sidney J. Jr. & Cate Jansma Marcia Kapolka Marilyn TitcheDr. Luis Tomatis

Honorary Harriet ChristensenJoan F. GillettLois LoetzRobert LyallJune L. MarshallStella RoyceFoley SchulerJohn Schuster-CraigRichard Stien

Benefactors Suellen BandykTom BandykGil DavisNancy DouglasCarol ErichsonWallace ErichsonFran HallCassandra HayesJan HeerspinkPaul HowlandNancy KnaussAndrew KnellMichael Saliba LoughmanJoan LuptonMarilyn MacklinThomas E. PascoeGlen PetersonRoland PrevostEllie SarafisSusan K. SchalonGeorge SnyderJoanie SnyderPeter TurnerGuenter TuschDave VanderArkLorrie VanderArk

FamilyJerry & Barb BakkerJim & Judy BootsJohn & Janet BoylesJim & Cathy BradyRobert Byrens & Jerrod NickelsGregory Carnevale & Diane MahonLisa DeFarrari & Dan DeWittState Senator Joanne & John EmmonsBill & Cecile FehsenfeldJohn HuntingWin & Kyle IrwinJohn T Jones & Nicholas VanderLaanEarl & Nella KennedyBirgit KlohsWallson & Rebecca KnackTony Kroes & Shellie JeffriesArend & Nancy LubbersJohn & Kate McGarryAlwyn & Christine Rougier-ChapmanEllie SarafisDale & Mary Witte SchriemerPeter Secchia FamilyDave & Lynn SetsmaJoAnn Stevenson FamilyRich Thrusch & Dorothy MunsonCheryl & John TullyKarl & Jean VanderLaanJim & Kathy Jo VanderLaanCraig Wassenaar & Kate HousemanRev Fred & Wendy Wooden

IndividualJoanne ArnoysPeggy BarberKate BaxterFlorence BoumanMartha BundraCloe Ann Danford Lois DeBoerNancy DeBoerChristopher EdgarSusan ForbesCharles GallmeyerPhyllis GendlerBob GoodrichClaudia Hardy

Janet HeindrichsLynn KhadijaMichael KopinskiMary KroonEwa LackaSusan Ford MarschallWendy MartyPhilip MitchellBarbara OsburnJulie OtterbeinToni PerrineDonald PotterPatricia RenucciMargaret RyanDr. Emilana L. SanDiegoJuanita SharpeJean SilbarWendy StockSandra VanderZicht Arlene WarnersKaren WilliamsGloria YffEllen Zahed

Opera Grand Rapids StaffAlexandra GallaAustin McWilliamsMaestro James MeenaEmilee SyrewiczeSarah Watson

Michael D. Loughman PresidentRoland M. Prevost Vice PresidentMolly Porter SecretaryJoanie Snyder Treasurer

Dirk Bakhuzen †Suellen * & Tom * Bandyk †Kate Baxter *David BellamyAnne Berquist ∆William & Elizabeth Bjork ◊Jane BodenmillerJudy BottsFlorence Bouwman †Susan B. BowersJohn & Janet Boyles †Jim & Cathy BradyMuriel Burger ∆Robert Byrens &

Jerrod NickelsCelebration Cinema ◊Marti ChildsHarriet Christensen ∆Cloe DanfordGilbert R. Davis †Robert & Lois DeBoerJacquelyn DeRegnaucourt ◊Dan DeWitt & Lisa DeFarrariNancy & Michael DodgeKaren Douglas *Nancy Douglas †Bill & Anita Eerdmans †Joanne Emmons †Jean EnrightSteve Eriksson & Karen WolfAnette & Javier EstradaPaul & Bridget FarrBill & Cecile FehsenfeldClint & Carolyn FeredayBarbara FiskDr. John Frey * ◊Charles GallmeyerMary Ellen Gase

Clarice Geels * ◊Joan F. Gillett †Robert GoodrichTom & Marcia HaasWorth Hages †Fran & Joe HallTom C HammondClaudia Hardy †Cassandra HayesJan Heerspink * †Janet C. HeindrichsMarilyn E. Heiss †Robert * & Elizabeth HeysJerene Hofman-Bodkins ∆Linda HoisingtonKate Houseman * &

Craig WassenaarPaul Howland †John Hunting †Dr. Gary & Patricia Hurt ◊Dr. F. Alan HutchinsonDr. John Iacobucci ◊Margaret P. Idema ◊Win & Kyle* Irwin †Lori Jacobs †Sidney J. Jr & Cate Jansma ◊Gayla Jewell †Shaula JohnstonDrs. Courtney & Ora JonesMarcia Kapolka ◊Suzanne M. KarsenJuliana Kartsimas ∆Earl & Cornelia KennedyBirgit M. KlohsBeverly KloosterWallson KnackNancy C. Knauss * †Joe KozakiewiczTony Kroes † &

Shellie JeffriesMary KroonSusan & Jerry Kruyf †Mary Esther LeeMark Lewis * &

Christine Wassenaar †Lois Loetz ∆Michael D. Loughman * †

Arend & Nancy LubbersJoan LuptonRobert Lyall ∆Marilyn Macklin †James MaiohoJune L. Marshall †Chet MaternowskiKenneth MathesonEdith McCargar ◊Kate & John McGarryKarsten Melcher &

Susanne JacobsVirginia NeisRobert & Lois NordlingIrene Nowak †Judy Oberholtzer †Julie OtterbeinThomas Pascoe & Jean SteinToni PerrineNancy Wallace Peters ◊Till & Bernice PetersGlen Peterson Ph.D.Sarah & Erich PetersonStuart PoltrockLois R PoppenMolly Porter *Ruth PostRoland M. Prevost * †Midge RegesPeter P. & Patricia RenucciSuzanne Richards †Richard Roane &

Leandro RoblesAshley Roberts ∆Milt & Barbara RohwerAlwyn & Christine

Rougier-ChapmanChuck & Stella Royce ∆Margaret RyanCassandra Sandros * Dale Schriemer †Foley Schuler ∆John Schuster-Craig ∆Juanita SharpeJean Silbar & Dan VooheesGeorge Snyder †Joanie Snyder * †

Diane St.ClaireMichael & Barbara StapletonRichard Stien ∆JoAnn C. Stevenson & Marshall W. GrateWendy StockKaren H. StokesLee Strodtman †Mary Ellen SullivanJudge Paul Sullivan Paul & Marie TenElshofPatricia & Peter TigchelaarBetsey Tinkham

Marilyn Titche ◊Cheryl & John TullyPeter TurnerGuenther Tusch * †Lorrie * & Dave *

VanderArk Karl & Jean VanderLaanMark & Denise VanderLaanMargery VanderPloeg †Sandra VanderZichtIda M. VanDunk †Elaine VanKley †Phil & Kathleen Vogelsang

Tom & Miriam WalshArlene WarnersMark & Wendy WassinkSarah Watson ∆Karen L WebsterDavid & Anne-Lise *

Whitescarver †Susan WoldRev. Fred WoodenDarla Wortley ∆ Marti YaringtonGloria Yff †Ellen Zahed †Betty Zylstra & David Baak

* FOTO board member† Benefactor∆ Honorary member◊ Lifetime member

F ind Yourself Among

Friends

FOTO is committed to increasing awareness, understanding, and enjoyment of opera. Please join us!For more information, please contact Michael Loughman at 616.656.3212.

Michael D. Loughman PresidentRoland M. Prevost Vice PresidentMolly Porter SecretaryJoanie Snyder Treasurer

Dirk Bakhuzen †Suellen * & Tom * Bandyk †Kate Baxter *David BellamyAnne Berquist ∆William & Elizabeth Bjork ◊Jane BodenmillerJudy BottsFlorence Bouwman †Susan B. BowersJohn & Janet Boyles †Jim & Cathy BradyMuriel Burger ∆Robert Byrens &

Jerrod NickelsCelebration Cinema ◊Marti ChildsHarriet Christensen ∆Cloe DanfordGilbert R. Davis †Robert & Lois DeBoerJacquelyn DeRegnaucourt ◊Dan DeWitt & Lisa DeFarrariNancy & Michael DodgeKaren Douglas *Nancy Douglas †Bill & Anita Eerdmans †Joanne Emmons †Jean EnrightSteve Eriksson & Karen WolfAnette & Javier EstradaPaul & Bridget FarrBill & Cecile FehsenfeldClint & Carolyn FeredayBarbara FiskDr. John Frey * ◊Charles GallmeyerMary Ellen Gase

Clarice Geels * ◊Joan F. Gillett †Robert GoodrichTom & Marcia HaasWorth Hages †Fran & Joe HallTom C HammondClaudia Hardy †Cassandra HayesJan Heerspink * †Janet C. HeindrichsMarilyn E. Heiss †Robert * & Elizabeth HeysJerene Hofman-Bodkins ∆Linda HoisingtonKate Houseman * &

Craig WassenaarPaul Howland †John Hunting †Dr. Gary & Patricia Hurt ◊Dr. F. Alan HutchinsonDr. John Iacobucci ◊Margaret P. Idema ◊Win & Kyle* Irwin †Lori Jacobs †Sidney J. Jr & Cate Jansma ◊Gayla Jewell †Shaula JohnstonDrs. Courtney & Ora JonesMarcia Kapolka ◊Suzanne M. KarsenJuliana Kartsimas ∆Earl & Cornelia KennedyBirgit M. KlohsBeverly KloosterWallson KnackNancy C. Knauss * †Joe KozakiewiczTony Kroes † &

Shellie JeffriesMary KroonSusan & Jerry Kruyf †Mary Esther LeeMark Lewis * &

Christine Wassenaar †Lois Loetz ∆Michael D. Loughman * †

Arend & Nancy LubbersJoan LuptonRobert Lyall ∆Marilyn Macklin †James MaiohoJune L. Marshall †Chet MaternowskiKenneth MathesonEdith McCargar ◊Kate & John McGarryKarsten Melcher &

Susanne JacobsVirginia NeisRobert & Lois NordlingIrene Nowak †Judy Oberholtzer †Julie OtterbeinThomas Pascoe & Jean SteinToni PerrineNancy Wallace Peters ◊Till & Bernice PetersGlen Peterson Ph.D.Sarah & Erich PetersonStuart PoltrockLois R PoppenMolly Porter *Ruth PostRoland M. Prevost * †Midge RegesPeter P. & Patricia RenucciSuzanne Richards †Richard Roane &

Leandro RoblesAshley Roberts ∆Milt & Barbara RohwerAlwyn & Christine

Rougier-ChapmanChuck & Stella Royce ∆Margaret RyanCassandra Sandros * Dale Schriemer †Foley Schuler ∆John Schuster-Craig ∆Juanita SharpeJean Silbar & Dan VooheesGeorge Snyder †Joanie Snyder * †

Diane St.ClaireMichael & Barbara StapletonRichard Stien ∆JoAnn C. Stevenson & Marshall W. GrateWendy StockKaren H. StokesLee Strodtman †Mary Ellen SullivanJudge Paul Sullivan Paul & Marie TenElshofPatricia & Peter TigchelaarBetsey Tinkham

Marilyn Titche ◊Cheryl & John TullyPeter TurnerGuenther Tusch * †Lorrie * & Dave *

VanderArk Karl & Jean VanderLaanMark & Denise VanderLaanMargery VanderPloeg †Sandra VanderZichtIda M. VanDunk †Elaine VanKley †Phil & Kathleen Vogelsang

Tom & Miriam WalshArlene WarnersMark & Wendy WassinkSarah Watson ∆Karen L WebsterDavid & Anne-Lise *

Whitescarver †Susan WoldRev. Fred WoodenDarla Wortley ∆ Marti YaringtonGloria Yff †Ellen Zahed †Betty Zylstra & David Baak

* FOTO board member† Benefactor∆ Honorary member◊ Lifetime member

F ind Yourself Among

Friends

FOTO is committed to increasing awareness, understanding, and enjoyment of opera. Please join us!For more information, please contact Michael Loughman at 616.656.3212.

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