THE HOUSTON GRAND OPERA
www.houstongrandopera.org
David Gockley, General Director

PRESENTS

TCHAIKOVSKY'S TALE OF LOVE AND BETRAYAL IN

EUGENE ONEGIN

ACCLAIMED BARITONE BO SKOVHUS RETURNS TO HOUSTON

HOUSTON, TX--Houston Grand Opera opens the winter season with Peter Ilytch Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, set in the beauty of 19th century Russia. This story, adapted from Aleksander Pushkin's poem, tells the tale of a jaded young aristocrat, Eugene Onegin, sung by Danish baritone Bo Skovhus (Don Giovanni, 1999; Billy Budd, 1998), who is adored by the beautiful but shy Tatyana, Bulgarian soprano Zvetelina Vassileva (Prince Igor, 2001). Onegin spurns Tatyana, and then flirts with her sister Olga, mezzo-soprano Stephanie Novacek (Rigoletto, 2001 and Little Women, 2000). Onegin's advances provoke Lensky, American tenor Raymond Very (Katya Kabanova, 2000), Olga's fiancee and Onegin's friend. A tragic duel between the two men forces Onegin to leave St. Petersburg. He returns years later and discovers his feelings for Tatyana have changed, but it is too late. Tatyana, now married to Prince Gremin, Houston Grand Opera Studio bass Oren Gradus, (Carmen, 2000) decides to remain true to her husband and sends Onegin away, her heart breaking.

Rounding out the cast are mezzo-soprano Katherine Ciesinski (Katya Kabanova, 2000) performing the role of Larina, and tenor Joseph Evans (Cold Sassy Tree, 2000) as Triquet. American conductor Robert Spano returns to Houston to lead the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus. Chorus preparation is by Richard Bado. This production was originally created for the Cologne Opera by the visionary German director Willy Decker and will be realized in Houston by Sabine Hartmannshenn. Sets are by Wolfgang Gussmann, costumes by Martin Rupprecht, lighting by Hans Toelstede, and choreography by Athol Farmer. Eugene Onegin opens Friday, January 25, 2002 at 7:30 p.m. Further performances are on January 27m, 30, February 2, 5, and 8, 2002. Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m.

About the artists:

Bo Skovhus

Bo Skovhus (Eugene Onegin)

Mr. Skovhus made his Houston Grand Opera debut in 1998 in the title role of Billy Budd. He also sung the role of Don Giovanni at HGO during the 1999-2000 season. The Danish baritone claims Vienna as his musical home, making his operatic debut there in 1988 as Don Giovanni at the Vienna Volksoper; he performs there frequently, as well as the Vienna State Opera, the Musikverein, and the Konzerthaus. In April 1997, he was presented with the title of Kammersanger after a performance of Don Giovanni at the Vienna Volksoper. Mr. Skovhus devotes a great deal of time to song recitals and is considered one of today's foremost interpreters of lieder. He has appeared in recital at the Schubertiade Feldkirch, Wigmore Hall, La Scala, and in the concert halls of major cities the world over. His operatic repertoire includes parts such as Don Giovanni, Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, Wolfram in Tannhauser, Oliver in Capriccio, Barber in Die Schweigsame Frau, Wozzeck, Hamlet, Eugene Onegin, Yeletsky in Pique Dame, Danilo in Die Lustige Witwe and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus.

Zvetelina Vassileva

Zvetelina Vassileva (Tatyana)

Bulgarian soprano Zvetelina Vassileva is poised to make her entry into the international spotlight. Specializing in portrayals of Verdi heroines, Ms. Vassileva's unique repertoire also includes works by Russian composers such as Borodin, Fibich, Glinka, Smetana, and Tchaikovsky. This season, in addition to her re-engagement with the Houston Grand Opera in Eugene Onegin, Ms. Vassileva will perform the role of Mimi in La Boheme with the Deutsche Staatsoper in Berlin. She also sings Leonora in new productions of Il Trovatore in Santander and Seville, Spain. During the 2000-01 season, Ms. Vassileva made a stunning Metropolitan Opera debut as Violetta in La Traviata, and made her Houston Grand Opera debut as Yaroslavna in Prince Igor in a new production directed by Francesca Zambello. Previously, Ms. Vassileva made her debut at the Michigan Opera Theatre in Eugene Onegin.

Raymond Very (Lensky)

American tenor Raymond Very, a former HGO Studio artist, created the roles of Simsonson and Prince Myagkaya in the world premiere of Tod Machover's Resurrection (1999) at HGO. He began the 2001-2002 season singing the role of Alfredo in La Traviata with the Portland Opera. He made his debut in Matteo in Richard Strauss's Arabella at the Metropolitan Opera - a role that he has also sung with Houston Grand Opera and at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Following his performance in HGO's Eugene Onegin, Mr. Very will return to Munich for additional performances of Arabella. Highlights of the 2000 / 2001 season included two new roles for Mr. Very, debuted with Houston Grand Opera: Don Jose in Carmen and Boris in Katya Kabanova. His performance as Lensky with the San Francisco Opera was nothing short of splended (San Francisco Chronicle).

Oren Gradus (Prince Gremin)
A third-year artist with the Houston Grand Opera Studio, bass Oren Gradus is the 2000 - 2001 winner of the MacAllister Vocal Competition. This season at HGO he sang Sparafucile in the alternate cast of Rigoletto, and will perform the role of Old Hebrew in Samson and Delilah. Previous roles at HGO include Capitan in Florencia en al Amazonas, Don Alfonso in the alternate cast of Cosi fan tutte, Seneca in The Coronation of Poppea, and Zuniga in Carmen. For Wolf Trap Opera he sang Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream and the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro. A member of Glimmerglass Opera's Young American Artist Program for two summers, Mr. Gradus sang Pistola in Falstaff, Ulysses S. Grant in The Mother of Us All and Colline in La Boheme. Mr. Gradus was also a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the recipient of a Sullivan Foundation Career Grant.

Stephanie Novacek (Olga)

A former Houston Grand Opera Studio artist, American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Novacek recently appeared as Maddalena in Rigoletto with HGO, and as Jo March on WNET/PBS=92s Great Performances national broadcast of Little Women. She created the role for the opera's 1998 world premiere while an artist with the Houston Grand Opera Studio and she reprised it in HGO's triumphant remounting (2000) for the television broadcast and KOCH/Ondine CD recording. Ms. Novacek returned to Houston last season to sing Ottavia in The Coronation of Poppea and the title role in alternate cast performances of HGO's season-opening production of Carmen. Other appearances include Enrichetta in I Puritani for Washington Opera, the Page in Salome for Opera Company of Philadelphia and Cincinnati Opera, and Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress for Wolf Trap Opera. Ms. Novacek represented the United States in the 2001 Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

Katherine Ciesinski (Larina)

The New York Times has called American mezzo-soprano Katherine Ciesinski "a singer of rare communicative presence. She sang the role of Cecilia March for Houston Grand Opera's 2000 remounting of Little Women, broadcast on WNET / PBS's Great Performances. She reprised the role with Central City Opera and Opera Pacific, and is scheduled to sing it for Opera Omaha. Also for Houston Grand Opera, she created the role of Sophia Ivanovna in the world premiere of Tod Machover's Resurrection and sang Kabanicha in Katya Kabanova. Other major credits include Judith in Bluebeard's Castle, and Nicklausse in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, both at the Metropolitan Opera; Cassandre in Les Troyens at Covent Garden; Adalgisa in Norma with Scottish Opera; Laura in La Gioconda, Waltraute in Gotterdammerung, and Dulcine in Don Quichotte with San Francisco Opera; Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, and Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with Dallas Opera.

Joseph Evans (Triquet)

American tenor Joseph Evans recently appeared as a leading tenor at La Scala, Austria's Bregenz Festival, Ireland's Wexford Festival, the English National Opera, the New Israeli Opera, and the Welsh National Opera, in addition to performances in France at the Opera de Nantes, Toulouse, Orleans, and Nancy, at La Fenice in Venice, and the Grand Theatre de Geneve in Switzerland. In the United States, he has sung leading tenor roles during eight seasons with the New York City Opera, as well as guest appearances with major American opera companies including Houston Grand Opera, San Diego, Seattle, Pittsburgh, Washington, Palm Beach, Boston and Cleveland. Mr. Evans has recorded on Sony Classics, CBS Masterworks, Cybellia, and Gasparp labels, with the recent release of a CD recording of the vocal works of American composer Samuel Adler.

Robert Spano (Conductor)

As music director of both the Brooklyn Philharmonic and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Maestro Spano is recognized internationally as one of America's outstanding conductors of both symphonic and operatic repertoire. He has conducted nearly every major North American orchestra, including the symphonies of Boston, San Francisco, Houston, and Toronto, the orchestras of Cleveland and Minnesota, Washington's National Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the opera companies of Chicago, Houston (where he conducted Billy Budd, 1997 -98), and Santa Fe. Appearances abroad include the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala (Milan), the Frankfurt Radio Sinfonie Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic (Tokyo), the Tonhalle Orchester (Zurich), the Royal Opera at Covet Garden and the Welsh National Opera. Maestro Spano has been featured on CBS Late Night with David Letterman, CBS Sunday Morning, A&E Breakfast with the Arts, and the PBS's series City Arts.

Willy Decker (Production)

Since 1976, Mr. Decker has worked as a stage director at countless international opera houses. He began his working relationship with the Dresden State Opera (Semperoper) in 1992 with a production of Der Freischutz, followed by Don Giovanni in 1993, Bernd Alois Zimmermann's Die Soldaten in 1995 and Aribert Reimann's Lear in 1999. He also directed a new Ring cycle there this season. Mr. Decker was also the original production director of HGO's 1993 The Barber of Seville, in which Cecilia Bartoli made her American debut. He was nominated producer of the year for the 1993-94 season by the critics of Opernwelt magazine and has been awarded many other such accolades for his work, together with his stage and costume designer Wolfgang Gussmann.

Sabine Hartmannshenn (Director)

German-born Ms. Hartmannshenn earned undergraduate degrees in Musicology, German Literature, and Philosophy at Cologne University. After earning her master's degree, she worked as stage manager and as assistant to the director at the Opera of Cologne. She has worked with Willy Decker on numerous occasions, and has worked with directors John Dew, Michael Hampe, Harry Kupfer and Kurt Horres. She has worked on Le Nozze di Figaro at the Teatro Colon in Bogota, Columbia and has worked at the Theatre De La Monnaie in Brussels, among other projects.

Wolfgang Gussmann (Designer)

Since 1979, Mr. Gussmann has been working as a free-lance stage and costume designer. He has worked in Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Berlin, Dresden, Amsterdam, Geneva, and Paris opera houses, among others. Since 1985, he has been working closely with stage director Willy Decker on productions such as La finta giardineria, Der fliegende Hollander, Billy Budd, Eugene Onegin and Il Trittico in Cologne. Further Decker-Gussmann productions have included Capriccio at the Maggio Musicale in Florence, Cosi fan tutte and the premiere of Antonio Bibalos' opera Macbeth in Oslo. Forthcoming projects include Der Ring des Nibelungen in Dresden, Der Zwerg / Eine Florentinische Tragodie in Berlin, Don Carlos and Der Rosenkavalier in Amsterdam, Die tote Stadt at the Salzburg Festival and the Vienna State Opera.

Athol Farmer (choreographer)

Mr. Farmer was born in New Zealand and was a member of the Royal New Zealand Ballet from 1969 through 1972. From 1974 through 1995, he was a soloist in the Tanz-Forum Cologne. Mr. Farmer also participated in guest engagements in Paris, Brussels, and Barcelona.

All performances of Eugene Onegin are held in the Wortham Center's Brown Theater, Texas at Smith. Eugene Onegin is sung in Russian with English surtitles - English translations projected over the stage. The Southwestern Bell Pre-Curtain Lecture Series takes place thirty minutes before each performance. Guest speakers present a twenty-minute informal lecture on the sixth floor of the Grand Foyer. These lectures, free and open to all ticket holders, are intended to enhance the audience's enjoyment by preparing them for the production they are about to attend. The Wortham Theater Center features easy wheelchair access to both theaters, with a choice of seating locations and ticket prices. An infrared listening system, generously underwritten by Pennzoil-Quaker State Company, is available and free of charge at all performances. Please call HGO Subscriptions at (713) 546-0246 or 1 (800) 346-4462 for details. Descriptive services for persons with vision loss are available with 48-hour advance reservations. Please call HGO Education and Outreach at (713) 546-0708 for details.

Single tickets for Eugene Onegin, priced from $18 to $225, are now on sale. Tickets are available by telephone at (713) 227-ARTS, out of town at 1 (800) 828-ARTS, on the website at http://www.houstongrandopera.org, or in person at the Wortham Ticket Center located in the lobby of the Wortham Theater Center. Ticket prices include all city surcharges. Student and senior citizen rush tickets are $10 and $25 (depending on seat location; one ticket per ID) and go on sale at 9:00 a.m. the day of performance or at noon for Sunday performances, subject to availability. Tickets are sold until curtain but must be purc
hased in person. To check availability, please call (713) 227-ARTS or 1 (800) 828-ARTS the day of the performance or call Friday for weekend performances. Call Houston Grand Opera at (713) 546-0200, during business hours, for general information.

Eugene Onegin is a production from Oper der Stadt Koln.

Since its inception in 1955, Houston Grand Opera has swiftly moved from a small regional organization into an internationally renowned opera company. With David Gockley as its general director, HGO has widened its circles, both in repertoire and in reach. The company has a reputation for commissioning and producing new works (25 world premieres and six American premieres since 1973) as well as a reputation for reaching out to new audiences. HGO has toured extensively, including trips to Japan, Italy, Egypt and France, and the company is the only opera company to have won a Tony, two Grammies and two Emmy awards. HGO has an eye on the future of opera too, launching not only the acclaimed Houston Grand Opera Studio (a program designed to train young singers for major careers) but also the Community Connections Initiative (a multi-pronged program aimed at educating and developing new audiences). Houston Grand Opera's 2001-2002 budget exceeds $21 million.

 

Performance Summary:

All performances of Houston Grand Opera's production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin are held in the Wortham Center's Brown Theater, Texas at Smith, Houston, TX. Sung in German with English surtitles.

Performance Dates:

Friday, January 25, 2002 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, January 27, 2002 at 2:00 p.m.

Wednesday, January 30, 2002 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, February 2, 2002 at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, February 5, 2002 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, February 8, 2002 at 7:30 p.m.

Ticket Information: Single tickets for Eugene Onegin are priced from $18 to $225 (inclusive of all city surcharges) are now on sale. Single tickets are available by telephone at (713) 227-ARTS, out-of-town at 1 (800) 828-ARTS, in person at the Wortham Ticket Center located in the lobby of the Wortham Theater Center, or on the website at http://www.houstongrandopera.org. Call (713) 546-0200 during regular business hours for general information. Student and senior citizen rush tickets are $10 and $25 (depending on seat location one ticket per ID) and go on sale at 9:00 a.m. the day of performance or at 12 noon for Sunday performances, subject to availability. Tickets are sold until curtain but must be purchased in person. To check availability, please call (713) 227-ARTS or 1 (800) 828-ARTS the day of the performance. For weekend performances, call the Friday before the performance to check availability. Disabled access: (713) 546-0246 or 1-800-346-4462; TDD: (713) 546-0246 or 1 (800) 346-4462; Descriptive Services: (713) 546-0230.