Monteverdi's The Coronation of Poppea

HOUSTON GRAND OPERA
www.houstongrandopera.org

David Gockley, General Director

Experience the Sumptuous Beauty of the Italian Baroque When
Houston Grand Opera Stages Monteverdi's

THE CORONATION OF POPPEA

Exquisite New Production featuring Period Instruments, Sets and Costumes!

Houston, Tx - The most glorious jewel of the operatic art form's first century - Monteverdi's THE CORONATION OF POPPEA (1642) returns to Houston Grand Opera after a twenty-five year absence in a sumptuous new production. In this collaboration with Toronto's baroque specialist company Opera Atelier, THE CORONATION OF POPPEA fuses the exquisite music, dance, period costumes and stylized dramatics of 17th century theater into a seamless whole. The first opera ever to be based on actual historical figures, THE CORONATION OF POPPEA tells the story of the glamorous coutesan Poppea who captures the heart of the Roman emperor Nerone (Nero), causing him to renounce his wife and make Poppea his empress.

Canadian mezzo-soprano Meredith Hall portrays Poppea in this classic tale of desire triumphing over virtue. Male soprano Michael Maniaci (winner of the 1999 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers) brings his truly unique voice to the role of Nerone in his HGO debut. Former Houston Grand Opera Studio mezzo-soprano Stephanie Novacek (Jo March in last season's Little Women) sings Nerone's spurned wife Ottavia. Making their HGO debuts are Canadian countertenor Matthew White as Poppea's former lover Ottone, American soprano Peggy Kriha Dye as the noblewoman Drusilla, and Canadian tenor Gerald Isaac in the comic role of Poppea's nurse Arnalta. Houston Grand Opera Studio bass Oren Gradus sings the role of the great philosopher Seneca.

THE CORONATION OF POPPEA is directed and choreographed respectively by Marshall Pynkoski and Jeannette Zingg, Co-Artistic Directors of Opera Atelier, who also produced HGO's highly acclaimed productions of Dido and Aeneas in 1995 and Orfeo in 1999. Gerard Gauci makes his HGO debut as set designer, Dora Rust-D'Eye creates the costumes, and Kevin Fraser designs the lighting for this production. Opera Atelier's David Fallis will conduct members of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra on period instruments, and the Houston Grand Opera Chorus will be prepared by Chorus Master Richard Bado.

THE CORONATION OF POPPEA opens on Friday March 2, 2001 at 8:00pm. Further performances are on March 4m, 6, 8, 10, 11m*, 13, 15, 17 and 18m* at 8pm and 2:30pm. Single tickets are now on sale.
* The matinee performances of March 11 and 18 will feature Houston Grand Opera Studio mezzo-soprano Marie Lenormand in the title role.

The most glorious jewel of the operatic art form's first century MONTEVERDI'S THE CORONATION OF POPPEA (1642) returns to the Houston Grand Opera after a twenty-five year absence in a sumptuous new production. THE CORONATION OF POPPEA is sung in Italian with English surtitles.

ABOUT THE OPERA:

THE CORONATION OF POPPEA, the magnum opus of opera's first great composer Claudio Monteverdi, premiered in Venice in 1642. After a brief revival in 1651, the work lay dormant for over two hundred years until it was rediscovered in the late 19th century. In the last few decades, it has finally taken its rightful place as one of the most important works of all opera literature, comparable with the masterpieces of Mozart and Verdi. With its timeless story of lust and ambition in high places, its vividly drawn characters, and a musical language perfectly depicting the gamut of human emotion, the opera speaks with a relevance that the centuries have not dimmed.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Canadian soprano Meredith Hall (Poppea) dazzles international audiences with her "lustrous sound and fluid legato (San Francisco Chronicle) and her "operatic warmth and intensity" (Toronto Star), particularly in works of the Baroque and classical periods in which she specializes. Her stunning debut in the title role of Handel's Semele last season with the Handel and Haydn Society under Christopher Hogwood was hailed by the Boston Globe as "a bravura musical performance matched by a riveting dramatic one." With Toronto's Opera Atelier she has appeared as Mary Magdalene in Handel's Il Resurrezione, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, and Donna Elvira in that company's millennial tour of Don Giovanni to Japan. Other recent performances include leading roles in Handel's The Choice of Hercules (with San Francisco's Philharmonia Baroque), Messiah (Vancouver Chamber Choir and Les Violons du Roy), Don Giovanni (Ottawa's National Arts Centre), Cavalli's Ercole Amante (Utrecht, Tanglewood and Boston), and Gluck's Orfeo (Cleveland Opera). Her 2001 opera season includes the title role in Handel's Partenope for the Gottingen Festival and Pamina in The Magic Flute for Opera Atelier. Ms. Hall has previously appeared at Houston Grand Opera in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas (1995).

Winner of the 1999 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers, American male soprano Michael Maniaci (Nerone) is making his Houston Grand Opera debut in this production. Other recent debuts for this twenty-four year old artist include Nerone in Wolf Trap Opera's L 'Incoronazione di Poppea and L 'Orfeo with Chicago Opera Theater. An avid exponent of new works as well as early music, Mr. Maniaci has created leading roles in the world premieres of Butterfield's Zurich 1916 and Toovey's The Spurt of Blood for the Banff Centre of the Arts as well as Rand's Belladonna for the Aspen Opera Theater with David Zinman. Additional stage credits include Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream for the Aspen Opera Theater and The Julliard School; Mirtillo in Handel's Il pastor fido and Nireno in Guilio Cesare for Cincinnati Conservatory of Music; and various roles in L 'Enfant et les Sortileges for the Tanglewood Music Festival. Among his concert appearances are the Gala Concerts for the Rosa Ponselle Foundation at Lincoln Center and Washington D.C. as Bronze Medalist of the 1997 Rosa Ponselle International Opera Competition. This summer, Mr. Maniaci will debut at Glimmerglass Opera as Narciso in Handel's Agrippina under Harry Bicket.

Former Houston Grand Opera Studio mezzo-soprano Stephanie Novacek (Ottavia) returns to Houston after singing the title role in alternate-cast performances of HGO's 2000 - 2001 season opening production of Carmen. Last season saw her triumph as Jo March in Mark Adamo's Little Women, a role which she created in the world premiere production of 1998. Other roles at HGO include Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, Messaggiera in Orfeo, and Maria Callas in the world premiere of Michael Daugherty's Jackie O, which was recorded and released on Decca's Argo label. Appearances outside of Houston include Enrichetta in I Puritani for Washington Opera, the Page in Salome for Opera Company of Philadelphia and Cincinnati Opera, Dido and the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas with the Mark Morris Dance Group, and Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress for Wolf Trap Opera.

Young Canadian countertenor Matthew White (Ottone) has achieved a rapidly expanding international career. Within the last few years he has appeared on numerous occasions in Europe, Canada, the United States and New Zealand. Auspicious debuts this season include the opening concert and a recital for the Utrecht Early Music Festival and Bach's St. Matthew Passion for the Nederlands Bachvereniging. He has also sung with Le Concert Spirituel and Le Parlement de Musique in France and made his debut with Poland's Arte dei Suonatori. A frequent collaborator with Canada's prestigious Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Mr. White has appeared with leading orchestras in the United States and Canada. Next season marks his debut with Glyndebourne Opera in the role of Unulfo in Handel's Rodelinda. Mr. White is making his debut with Houston Grand Opera.

American bass Oren Gradus (Seneca) is a second year artist with Houston Grand Opera Studio. This season at HGO he portrayed Zuniga in the season - opening production of Carmen, and he performs Don Alfonso in the alternate-cast performance of Cosi Fan Tutte and El Capitan in Florencia en el Amazonas. Last season, he made his critically acclaimed Houston Grand Opera debut as the King of Egypt in Aida and was also heard as Dr. Lomax in the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Cold Sassy Tree and the High Priest in Nabucco. In the summer of 2000, he returned to Glimmerglass Opera to sing Colline in La Boheme. Mr. Gradus was a member of the Pittsburgh Opera Center where he sang Raimmondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte, and Capellio in Bellini's I Capuleti ed I Montecchi. He has also performed with Israel Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv and San Francisco Opera's Merola Program.

Following performances as Stella in San Francisco Opera's world premiere production of Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, soprano Peggy Kriha Dye (Drusilla) has appeared there as Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Pousette in Manon and Lauretta in the company premiere of Prokofiev's Betrothal in a Monastery. The former Adler Fellow made her San Francisco Opera debut in the summer of 1996 as Musetta in La Boheme. She has also appeared in San Francisco Opera productions of Die Fledermaus, Harvey Milk, Salome, Madame Butterfly, Death in Venice, Le nozze di Figaro and L 'Incoronazione di Poppea. She was most recently praised for her performances of Nannetta in Falstaff with Utah Opera and her reprisal of the role of Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire with the Pittsburgh Symphony. This is her Houston Grand Opera debut.

The multi-faceted career of tenor Gerald Isaac (Arnalta) embraces the worlds of opera, music theater and drama. His performances as Maximillian in Candide at the Stratford Festival led to his debut as Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus. He has subsequently performed Orlovsky and Njegus in The Merry Widow at Ottawa's National Arts Centre, New York City Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, and San Francisco Opera. Mr. Isaac has performed Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Atelier in Tokyo and with Pacific Opera Victoria. Other Opera Atelier appearances include Monostatos in The Magic Flute (also performed with Opera Hamilton) and a trio of roles in performances of Moliere's Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme in Singapore and Toronto. Mr. Isaac starred in the "Live from Lincoln Center" broadcast of New York City Opera's New Moon in the comic lead role of Alexander and created the role of Christoph in the Emmy Award-winning Beethoven Lives Upstairs. Future plans include John Styx in Orphee aux enfers in Lyon. This is Mr. Isaac's HGO debut.

On March 11 and March 18, French mezzo-soprano Marie Lenormand will sing the role of Poppea. Ms. Lenormand joined Houston Grand Opera Studio last season following a summer in the Young American Artist Program at Glimmerglass Opera, where she sang Melanto in Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria and performed in the world premiere of Central Park. She made her HGO debut in last season's world premiere of Carlisle Floyd's Cold Sassy Tree. In the summer of 2000 Ms. Lenormand toured Japan with Opera Atelier singing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and made her Fort Worth Opera debut as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro. In addition to Poppea, her 2000 - 2001 HGO season includes Mercedes in the season-opening production of Carmen, Theobaldo in Don Carlo, and Dorabella in the alternate-cast performance of Cosi Fan Tutte.

The first opera to be based on actual historical figures, THE CORONATION OF POPPEA tells the story of the glamorous courtesan Poppea who captures the heart of the Roman emperor Nerone (Nero), causing him to renounce his wife and make Poppea his empress. Now Showing from March 2nd to March 18th, 2001 at the Wortham Center's Cullen Theater.

Conductor David Fallis is one of Canada's leading interpreters of the operatic repertoire from the Baroque and Classical periods. As Music Director for Toronto's Opera Atelier, he has helped bring that company onto stages around the world, conducting productions of Acis and Galatea, Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, Acteon and Pygmalion, among others. Mr. Fallis conducted the HGO Studio production of Monteverdi's Orfeo in 1999. Recently, he conducted Opera Atelier productions of Handel's La Resurrezione, Dido and Aeneas at the Singapore Festival and Don Giovanni in Japan. He also led his own Toronto Consort in Monteverdi's L 'Incoronazione di Poppea, a work he recently conducted at Wolf Trap. Mr. Fallis will conduct the upcoming Opera Atelier production of The Magic Flute next season in Toronto.

Director Marshall Pynkoski and choreographer Jeannette Zingg are founders and co-artistic directors of Toronto's Opera Atelier. Their fascination with the music, theater and dance of the 17th and 18th centuries began early in their careers when they were able to undertake an in-depth study of Baroque opera, ballet and drama working from original documents housed in archives of the Bibliotheque Nationale and the Paris Opera. Mr. Pynkoski and Ms. Zingg have won numerous awards including the distinction of Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the Government of France and the Toronto Arts Award. For three years, they were principal guest instructors at the Centre de Musique Baroque de Versailles, collaborating with Mark Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre. Their acclaimed production of Dido and Aeneas played in the Royal Theatre of the Chateau de Versailles as well as the BBC Proms and throughout Europe. Mr. Pynkowski and Ms. Zingg have collaborated in several film projects, including the award-winning The Sorceress featuring Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. They have brought their magic to Houston Grand Opera previously in Opera Atelier's productions of Dido and Aeneas (1995) and Orfeo (1999).

Gerard Gauci is well known as a painter, illustrator and set designer for Opera Atelier. The recipient of numerous awards, his illustrations have appeared on book jackets for Canadian, American and European publishers, stamps for Canada Post and in most major Canadian magazines. He is particularly renowned for his posters, designed for such clients as the Canadian Opera Company, National Ballet of Canada, Toronto International Film Festival and Royal Winter Fair. Most recently, Mr. Gauci has established a reputation as a painter, exhibiting regularly at the Leo Kamen Gallery in Toronto. His relationship with Opera Atelier dates from 1985 and includes productions of Monteverdi's Orfeo, Charpentier's Acteon and Lully's Persee. In 1990, Mr. Gauci designed the sets for the Opera Atelier / Rhombus Media film version of Manuel de Falla's Master Peter's Puppet Show. This is his HGO debut.

Dora Rust-D'Eye has been designing costumes for Opera Atelier since the company's inception. Her research and expertise in Baroque-theater costuming has led to period designs of international acclaim. Always working from original sources for her inspiration, she nonetheless does not see herself as reconstructing so much as re-interpreting within a given aesthetic framework. Ms. Rust-D'Eye has previously designed costumes for HGO's productions of Dido and Aeneas (1995) and Orfeo (1999). Her costume for Dido was featured in The Purcell Tercentenary Exhibition in the Theatre Museum of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England.

Kevin Fraser has designed the lighting for over 200 professional theater and opera productions across Canada. He has been resident lighting designer for Toronto's Opera Atelier since 1988, lighting their productions at home in Canada and international tours to Europe, Japan and Singapore. Mr. Fraser works extensively at the Stratford Festival of Canada, lighting several shows there every year since 1989. Previously at Houston Grand Opera, he designed the lighting for Dido and Aeneas (1995) and Orfeo (1999).

All performances of THE CORONATION OF POPPEA are held in the Wortham Center's Cullen Theater, Texas at Smith. THE CORONATION OF POPPEA is sung in Italian 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 THE CORONATION OF POPPEA priced from $38 to $77, are now on sale. 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 www.houstongrandopera.org. Ticket prices include all city surcharges.

Student and senior citizen rush tickets are $25 and $10 (depending on seat location - one ticket per ID) and go on sale 90 minutes before curtain time on the day of performance, subject to availability. 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.

Call HOUSTON GRAND OPERA at 713-546-0200, during business hours for general information.

Since its inception in 1955, Houston Grand Opera has swiftly moved from a small regional organization into one of the largest and most prestigious opera companies in the United States. With David Gockley as its general director, HGO has widened its circles, both in repertoire and in reach. The company has an international 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 one in the United States to win a Tony, two Grammys 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). For its 2000 - 2001 season, Houston Grand Opera's budget exceeds $20 million.