Music Academy to Present Thomas' Mignon
Two opera performances will be offered at The Lobero
For Immediate Release July 20, 2009
Contact:
Tim Dougherty
805.695.7908
Santa Barbara, CA – The Music Academy of the West will present a fully staged production of Ambroise Thomas' charming French Romantic opera Mignon at the Lobero Theatre on Friday, August 7, and on Sunday, August 9. The August 7 performance will begin at 7:30 pm; the August 9 performance will begin at 2:30 pm. Tickets for both performances cost $68. An open dress rehearsal will take place at The Lobero on Wednesday, August 5, beginning at 7:30 pm. Tickets for that event cost $38.
Composed in 1866 and derived from Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship (1796), Mignon reached its commercial zenith in the early decades of the last century before steadily falling out of favor with opera companies and audiences alike. Nevertheless – or perhaps for that very reason – Thomas' opéra comique gem has lost none of its power to enchant. Both the score and the libretto – the latter by Michel Carré and Jules Barbier – are widely regarded as paragons of grace, elegance, and freshness. "Mignon is an extremely beautiful opera that was once very popular. I am pleased we will give it new life with our wonderful Voice Fellows. Everyone will come out of the performance humming the melodies," said celebrated mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, who has directed the Academy Voice Program since 1997. The opera has special significance for Ms. Horne, who performed the title role early in her career.
Soprano Simone Osborne, who took top honors in the 2008 Marilyn Horne Foundation Vocal Competition, will perform the title role (bios for principal cast members appear below). Conductor George Manahan, making his second consecutive Academy appearance, will be joined by stage director Casey Stangl, who directed previous Academy productions of Il Viaggio a Reims (2006) and La Bohème (2007).
The wide-ranging and versatile Mr. Manahan, who serves as music director of the New York City Opera, is well known for his leadership of productions such as La fanciulla del West, Daphne, Ermione, Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Die tote Stadt. His many television appearances include Live from Lincoln Center telecasts of La Bohème, Lizzie Borden, Tosca, and Madame Butterfly. The latter won a 2007 Emmy Award. New York City Opera also toured Little Women in Japan under his direction. Mr. Manahan has been a frequent guest conductor with numerous symphonies and opera companies, the latter including Glimmerglass Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Opera Australia, and Teatro de Comunale de Bologna. His extensive discography includes a Grammy-nominated recording of Edward Thomas' Desire Under the Elms, with the London Symphony, and two albums of 20th-century concertos for clarinet featuring Richard Stolzmann.
Ms. Stangl is an award-winning director of theater, opera, and film. Most recently she directed the world premiere of Deborah Zoe Laufer's Out of Sterno for Portland Stage, and the world premiere of Susan Johnston's How Cissy Grew at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood. The latter production has been nominated for two LA Weekly Theater Awards, including Best New Play. Completed in January 2008, Ms. Stangl's first short film, CU@Ed's, has been screened at 14 film festivals and received several honors, including an Audience Award at DC Shorts and "Pick of the Fest" at Palm Springs International ShortsFest.
Bay Area stage veteran Jean-François Revon, who designed the sets for the Music Academy's ambitious production of La Bohème two years ago, will serve as scenic designer. Mark Somerfield, who also worked on the Academy's 2007 production of La Bohème and whose current affiliations include State Street Ballet and Opera Santa Barbara, will serve as lighting designer. Anna Bjornsdotter, whose credits include film, music video, and opera productions, will design the costumes.
The 23 Academy Fellows who will perform in the production – chosen from among more than 413 applicants as part of the Academy's Voice Program audition process – represent some of today's finest young singing talent. The 34-member opera orchestra will consist of Music Academy instrumentalists.
The Lobero Theatre is located at 33 East Canon Perdido Street in Santa Barbara. Mignon is the Irene Cummings Endowed Opera at the Music Academy of the West for 2009.
As part of its 62nd Summer Festival, the Music Academy also will present performances by conductor Leonard Slatkin and the Takács Quartet. The Academy is presenting more than 190 events over the course of this year's Summer School and Festival, which began June 22 and concludes on August 15. Additional highlights will include a performance by Canadian Brass and a conducting turn by Nicholas McGegan. Featuring the Academy's exceptionally talented Fellows, together with illustrious guest performers and faculty, the events are being presented at the Academy's scenic Miraflores campus and in venues throughout Santa Barbara.
For information, call 969-8787. Information is also available online at www.musicacademy.org.
Founded in 1947, the Music Academy of the West is among the nation's preeminent summer schools and festivals for gifted young classical musicians. The Academy provides these promising musicians with the opportunity for advanced study and frequent performance under the guidance of internationally renowned faculty artists, guest conductors, and soloists. Admission to the Academy is strictly merit based, and Fellows receive full scholarships (tuition, room, and board). Academy alumni are members of major symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, ensembles, opera companies, and university and conservatory faculties throughout the world. Many enjoy careers as prominent solo artists. Based in Santa Barbara, the Music Academy of the West presents more than 200 public events annually, including performances by faculty, visiting artists, and Fellows; masterclasses; orchestra and chamber music concerts; and fully staged opera. The Music Academy began broadcasting live performances by the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera at Hahn Hall in October 2008. For more information, visit www.musicacademy.org.
###
Biographies for Principal Cast Members
Soprano Simone Osborne (Mignon), 22, born in Vancouver, Canada, is a recent graduate of the opera performance program at the University of British Columbia. Her roles have included Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Mařenka in The Bartered Bride, Nanetta in Falstaff, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Musetta in La Bohème, Atalanta in Xerxes, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, and Emma Jung in the world premiere of The Dream Healer. She sang the role of Laeticia in The Old Maid and the Thief at the Wexford Opera Festival in Ireland this season and will join the Ensemble Studio of the Canadian Opera Company in the fall with a main stage debut as Ilia in Idomeneo. Ms. Osborne received top honors at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition, and the International Czech and Slovak Opera Competition. She attended the Music Academy in 2008.
Tenor Joshua Stewart (Wilhelm), 22, born in New Orleans, is a member of the Curtis Opera Theatre, where he recently performed the roles of Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, and Ruiz Alonso in the Philadelphia premiere of Golijov's Ainadamar. Mr. Stewart is an undergraduate at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he holds the Joseph Cairns Jr. and Ernestine Bacon Memorial Fellowship. His other roles have included the Lyric Tenor in Postcard from Morocco, Prunier in La Rondine, Erice in L'Ormindo, the Mayor in Albert Herring, the First Sailor in Dido and Aeneas, the Tenor in Trouble in Tahiti, and Monostatos and First Armored Guard in Die Zauberflöte. He attended the Music Academy in 2007 and 2008.
Soprano Célia Zambon Wollenberg (Philine), 32, born in Nice, France, is a doctoral student at the University of Oklahoma, where she recently performed the role of Lakmé. Her other roles have included Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Despina in Così fan Tutte, Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Lady Harriet in Martha, and First Wood-Sprite in Rusalka. Ms. Wollenberg is a Benton Schmidt Scholar and a Hoving Graduate Fellow. She was an apprentice for the Cimarron Circuit Opera Company and attended the Music Academy of the West in 2008.
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Feinstein (Frederic), 25, born in Providence, Rhode Island, is a professional studies diploma candidate at Mannes College, where she studies with Ruth Falcon. Her recently performed roles include Nettie Sloan/Aunt Bea in A Wedding, Nicklausse in Tales of Hoffmann, Third Lady in The Magic Flute, Mercedes in Carmen, Rosina in Barber of Seville, and the title role in La Cenerentola. A former finalist in the Bel Canto Foundation annual opera competition, Ms. Feinstein has received encouragement awards from Opera Index and the Metropolitan Opera National Council. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Indiana University at Bloomington and has completed young artist programs with Indianapolis Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. She attended the Music Academy in 2008.
Baritone Gutemberg Amaral (Lothario), 33, born in Brasília, Brazil, received a master's degree from the University of Houston's Moores School of Music and a bachelor's degree from Dulcina de Moraes College in Brasília. At Moores Opera Center his roles included Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Colline in La Bohème, Mustaphá in L'italiana in Algeri, Argante in Rinaldo, Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Lord Sidney in Il viaggio a Reims, Tchèlio in The Love for Three Oranges, Cuno in Der Freischütz, and Dikoy in Katya Kabanovà. He has also appeared as a soloist with the North Houston and Kingwood orchestras in The Messiah, Bach's Magnificat, and Mozart's Requiem and Great Mass in C minor. His most recent appearances include Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte and Simone in Gianni Schicchi. Mr. Amaral attended the Music Academy in 2005 and 2006.
Tenor Tyrone Chambers (Laertes), 24, born in New Orleans, recently earned a master's degree at the University of Oklahoma, where he studied with Bradley Williams. He received his bachelor's degree at Morehouse College, where he graduated magna cum laude. Mr. Chambers was a member and featured soloist in the world-renowned Morehouse College Glee Club, with which he traveled nationally and internationally. He is also a former member of both the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and the Atlanta Opera Chorus. Mr. Chambers received accolades for his performance of Figaro in the Oklahoma University Opera Theatre's 2008 production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia.
Bass-baritone Richard Ollarsaba (Giarno), 22, born in Tempe, Arizona, is a recent graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM). His work with the CIM Opera Theater has included such roles as the Maestro in Prima la musica poi le parole and Sarastro in Die Zauberflote. In a review of the latter production, Cleveland's Plain Dealer hailed Mr. Ollarsaba as a "singer of exceptional ability." Mr. Ollarsaba made his professional operatic debut as Antonio in Opera Cleveland's 2008 production of Le nozze di Figaro. Last November he made his Kansas City Symphony debut as the bass soloist in performances of Handel's Messiah.
