THE JUILLIARD OPERA SEASON CONCLUDES WITH MOZART’S LE NOZZE DI FIGARO
Featuring Juilliard Singers and the Juilliard Orchestra
Conducted by Gary Thor Wedow and Directed by Stephen Wadsworth
Performances on Friday, April 24, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 2 p.m.; and
Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 7:30 p.m., in Juilliard’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater
NEW YORK –– The Juilliard Opera season concludes with a production of W.A. Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 (The Marriage of Figaro), an opera buffa in four acts, conducted by Gary Thor Wedow, directed by Stephen Wadsworth and choreographed by Daniel Pelzig. Scenic design is by Charlie Corcoran; costume design is by Camille Assaf; lighting design is by David Lander; and wig and make-up design is by Tom Watson. The libretto is by Lorenzo da Ponte, after a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou Le Marriage de Figaro (1784). The first performance took place on May 1, 1786 at the Burgtheater in Vienna with Mozart conducting.
Performances take place on Friday, April 24, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, April 26, 2015 at 2 p.m.; and Tuesday, April 28, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. in Juilliard’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater.
Tickets for Juilliard Opera’s production of Le nozze di Figaro are $30, available online at events.juilliard.edu or at the Juilliard Box Office. Free tickets are available for Juilliard students; non-Juilliard students with valid ID may purchase tickets for $15 at the Juilliard Box Office.
With Le nozze di Figaro (2015), Stephen Wadsworth will complete his Mozart-da Ponte trilogy, having previously directed Don Giovanni (2012) and Così fan tutte (2013) at Juilliard. He also has directed Falstaff, Ariodante, and The Bartered Bride at the school. Gary Thor Wedow conducted Don Giovanni in 2012, as well as Mozart’s La finta giardiniera in 2007 at Juilliard.
The cast features Juilliard singers: Thesele Kemane as Figaro; Ying Fang as Susanna; Ӧnay Köse as Bartolo; Samantha Hankey as Marcellina; Virginie Verrez as Cherubino; Takaoki Onishi as Count Almaviva; Miles Mykannen as Don Basilo; Alexandra Razskazoff as Rosina, Countess Almaviva; Tyler Zimmerman as Antonio; Aaron Mor as Don Curzio; and Liv Redpath as Barbarina.
Meet the Artists
Gary Thor Wedow (Conductor)
Conductor Gary Thor Wedow has conducted at the Seattle Opera: Semele, Giulio Cesare, La voix humaine, Suor Angelica, Orphée, Iphigénie en Tauride, and Die Zauberflöte; at New York City Opera: Carmen, Patience, Orpheus (Telemann), Don Giovanni, Le nozze di Figaro, and Xerxes. Mr. Wedow has also conducted at the New York Philharmonic, Wolf Trap Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Canadian Opera Company, Utah Opera, and Saratoga Opera. He has been on faculty at Julliard since 1994 and there has conducted L’incoronazione di Poppea, La finta giardiniera, Ariodante, and Don Giovanni, and the St. Matthew Passion with Juilliard415. His long association with director Stephen Wadsworth has included productions of Don Giovanni, Xerxes, Ariodante, and Iphigénie en Tauride. Mr. Wedow studied with piano virtuoso Jorge Bolet.
Stephen Wadsworth (Director)
Stephen Wadsworth is the James S. Marcus Faculty Fellow and the director of the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies program at Juilliard. He is head of dramatic studies in the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. He has directed opera at the Met, La Scala, Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, Netherlands Opera, Edinburgh Festival, San Francisco Opera, and many others, and plays on and off Broadway, in London’s West End, and in U.S. regional theater. He wrote A Quiet Place with Leonard Bernstein and is the author of Marivaux: Three Plays and the forthcoming Moliere/Wadsworth: Don Juan (published by Smith and Kraus). He recently translated and directed the first two Beaumarchais Figaro plays—Le Barbier de Séville and Le mariage de Figaro.
Ying Fang (Susanna)
Soprano Ying Fang, from Ningbo, China, is an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies student at Juilliard and also a member of the Met Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Mme. Podtochina’s Daughter in Shostakovich’s The Nose, and returned this season as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro and the Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel. She has sung Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare and the Countess di Folleville in Il viaggio a Reims with Wolf Trap Opera, the title role of Handel’s Il Trionfo del tempo e del disinganno with Juilliard415, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Fanny in Rossini’s La Cambiale di Matrimonio at Juilliard. She holds a Master of Music degree from Juilliard, and studies with Edith Bers. She is holds a Jerome L. Greene Fellowship.
Samantha Hankey (Marcellina)
Mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey, from Marshfield, Massachusetts, is pursuing her Bachelor of Music degree at Juilliard, studying with Edith Wiens. This season, she sang the role of Miss Todd in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief at Juilliard, and covered Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. This summer she will return to the Aspen Music Festival and School to sing Dorabella in Così fan tutte, where she appeared last season as Mercédès in Carmen. Also last season, Ms. Hankey was a guest performer in the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, and covered the roles of Zenobia in Handel’s Radamisto and Le Prince Charmant in Massenet’s Cendrillon at Juilliard. She holds an Alice Tully Scholarship and a Constance Goulandris Scholarship.
Thesele Kemane (Figaro)
Bass-baritone Thesele Kemane, a native of South Africa, is an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies student at Juilliard, studying with Edith Wiens. Mr. Kemane participated in the young artist program at the Glimmerglass Festival and attended the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia where he attended master classes with Renata Scotto. His operatic roles include Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen, Don Prudenzio in Il viaggio a Reims, Procolo in Viva la mamma, Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress, the title role in Don Giovanni, Lindorf in The Tales of Hoffmann, and Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Mr. Kemane has previously studied with Kamal Khan and Virginia Davids. He is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship.
Ӧnay Köse (Bartolo)
Bass Önay Köse, a native of Turkey, is a Master of Music graduate and current Artist Diploma in Opera Studies student at Juilliard, studying with Robert C. White Jr. Mr. Köse studied voice with Eralp Kiyici, Nicola Giuselev, Bonaldo Giaiotti, and Neil Shicoff, and coached with Fügen Yigitgil. He participated in master classes with Edda Moser, Gerd Uecker, Siegfried Jerusalem, Herman Keckeis, Tom Krause, Ruggero Raimondi, Dennis O’Neill, Daniela Dessì, Luciana Serra, and Sir Richard Bonynge at the Georg Solti Accademia. His Juilliard appearances include Pantalone (Le donne curiose), Priest /Badger (The Cunning Little Vixen), and Prince Gremin (Eugene Onegin). This season, he performs The Cappadocian in Salome at Opera San Antonio, and the bass solo in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the New York Youth Symphony at Carnegie Hall. He holds the Ahmet Ertegun Scholarship and is also supported by the Hardesty and Beverley Peck Johnson Fund.
Aaron Mor (Don Curzio)
Tenor Aaron Mor, from Great Neck, New York is an undergraduate student at Juilliard, where he studies with Marlena Malas. This season at Juilliard, he performed the role of Bill in A Hand of Bridge. Previously at Juilliard, Mr. Mor appeared as Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, and as an ensemble member in Così fan tutte and Don Giovanni. At the Chautauqua Institution, Mr. Mor appeared as the Innkeeper in Der Rosenkavalier and as an ensemble member in L’elisir d’amore. While attending Great Neck South High School, Mr. Mor performed the title roles in Les contes d’Hoffman and Gianni Schicchi. In 2011, Mr. Mor performed as part of an ensemble in the Lincoln Center Chamber Music Young Musicians Concert at Avery Fisher Hall. He holds the Dr. and Mrs. Gottfried Karl Duschak Scholarship and the Florence Page Kimball Scholarship.
Miles Mykkanen (Don Basilio)
Tenor Miles Mykkanen received his bachelor’s degree and continues his graduate studies at Juilliard with Cynthia Hoffmann. Mr. Mykkanen has appeared with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Wolf Trap Opera Company, the Franz-Schubert-Institut, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Caramoor Music Center, New World Symphony, and at Carnegie Hall. His opera credits include Eugene Onegin, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Le nozze di Figaro, La traviata, La finta giardiniera, Le donne curiose, and the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s Crossing. He appeared on the PBS Great Performances special of Renée Fleming’s American Voices festival at the Kennedy Center. He was awarded the Joseph W. Polisi Prize at Juilliard’s 2013 commencement ceremony for exemplifying the values of the “artist as citizen.” He holds the Toulmin Foundation Scholarship and the Janet Southwick Norwood Scholarship.
Takaoki Onishi (Count Almaviva)
Takaoki Onishi, a native of Japan, is an Artist Diploma student at Juilliard, studying with Robert C. White Jr. He has won top prize in the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, and both the Opera Index and Licia Albanese-Puccini Vocal Competitions (first prizes). At Juilliard, he has appeared in Don Giovanni, St. Matthew Passion, and in the title role of Eugene Onegin. Mr. Onishi created a leading role in The Memory Stone with Houston Grand Opera and covered Ford in Falstaff at the Saito Kinen Festival, conducted by Fabio Luisi. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in Vaughan Williams’s Hodie with the Cecilia Chorus and returns to sing Carmina Burana with the Oratorio Society of New York. Next season, he joins the Ryan Center of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He holds the Rita Greenland Scholarship in Voice, the Ruth Katzman Scholarship, and also is supported by the Hardesty and Beverley Peck Johnson Fund.
Alexandra Razskazoff (Rosina, Countess Almaviva)
Soprano Alexandra Razskazoff, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a Master of Music student at Juilliard, studying with Robert C. White Jr. Ms. Razskazoff received her B.M. from the Peabody Conservatory. While in Baltimore, Ms. Razskazoff performed at the Modell Performing Arts Center at the Lyric where she portrayed Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) under Leonardo Vordoni and Blanche de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites) under Steven White. In 2013, Ms. Razskazoff participated in the Music Academy of the West, where she played the First Lady (Die Zauberflöte). Ms. Razskazoff will be an apprentice singer at the Santa Fe Opera this summer. She holds the Toulmin Foundation Scholarship.
Liv Redpath (Barbarina)
Soprano Liv Redpath, from Edina, Minnesota, is a Master of Music candidate at Juilliard, studying with Edith Bers. In 2014, Ms. Redpath earned a degree in English from Harvard University. Her favorite roles include Cunégonde in Candide, Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the title role in Lakmé, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, and La Fée in Cendrillon. This season she made her Alice Tully Hall debut with William Christie in La resurrezione, her Carnegie Hall debut in Poulenc’s Gloria, and performed the role of Diane in Iphigénie en Aulide. Ms. Redpath has spent summers with Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists’ Vocal Academy and Wolf Trap Opera Company. She will join the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2015 as a Gerdine Young Artist, covering Lisette in La Rondine. She is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship.
Virginie Verrez (Cherubino)
French mezzo-soprano Virginie Verrez studies at Juilliard with Edith Wiens. At Juilliard her roles have included Clytemnestre in Iphigénie en Aulide, Zenobia in Radamisto, and Junon in Actéon. In 2014, Ms. Verrez made her Carnegie Hall debut in Bruckner’s Te Deum, sang the roles of Lola in Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana with Avignon Opera and Mercedes in Bizet’s Carmen with Wolf Trap Opera, and performed as a soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with The Philadelphia Orchestra. Ms. Verrez has given recitals in New York City and Dallas, was a first prize-winner of the Opera Index and Gerda Lissner Foundation Competitions. She is also a winner of the 2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Ms. Verrez is a proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship.
Tyler Zimmerman (Antonio)
Bass-baritone Tyler Zimmerman, from Abington, Pennsylvania, is a master’s degree student at Juilliard, where he studies with Marlena Malas. As an undergraduate at Juilliard, Mr. Zimmerman performed the roles of Ottavio (Le donne curiose), Zaretsky (Eugene Onegin), and Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro). He has attended Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices and the Chautauqua Music Festival, where he appeared as the Police Commissioner (Der Rosenkavalier), Le Bailli (Werther), Rambaldo (La Rondine), and covered Leporello (Don Giovanni). Mr. Zimmerman makes his debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra this May as Sciarrone in Tosca alongside Patricia Racette, James Valenti, and Eric Owens, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. Mr. Zimmerman holds the Risë Stevens Scholarship, the Marion and Robert Merrill Voice Scholarship, and the James C. Caple Scholarship.
About the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at Juilliard
Brian Zeger, Artistic Director
One of America’s most prestigious programs for educating singers, The Juilliard School’s Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts offers young artists programs tailored to their talents and needs. From bachelor and master of music degrees to advanced Artist Diploma programs in voice and opera studies, Juilliard provides frequent performance opportunities, featuring singers in its own recital halls, on Lincoln Center’s stages, and around New York City. Juilliard Opera has presented numerous premieres of new operas as well as works from the standard repertoire.
Juilliard graduates may be heard in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world; diverse alumni artists include well-known performers such as Leontyne Price, Renée Fleming, Simon Estes, Tatiana Troyanos, Shirley Verrett, and Risë Stevens. Recent alumni include Isabel Leonard, Susanna Phillips, Paul Appleby, and Sasha Cooke.
Pianist Brian Zeger has built a distinguished international performance career in addition to appearing as artistic administrator, educator, and radio broadcaster. In a career spanning more than two decades, Mr. Zeger has enjoyed collaborations with many of the world’s top artists and enjoys an active career as a chamber musician. Currently he is artistic director of the Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School and the executive director of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.
Conductor Gary Thor Wedow
PROGRAM LISTING:
Le nozze di Figaro
Music by W.A. Mozart
Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte
Friday, April 24, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 26, 2015, 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
Juilliard’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater
Gary Thor Wedow, Conductor
Stephen Wadsworth, Director
Daniel Pelzig, Choreography
Charlie Corcoran, Scenic Design
Camille Assaf, Costume Design
David Lander, Lighting Design
Tom Watson, Wig and Make-up Design
With Juilliard Singers and the Juilliard Orchestra
The cast, in order of vocal appearance:
Figaro: Thesele Kemane
Susanna: Ying Fang
Bartolo: Ӧnay Köse
Marcellina: Samantha Hankey
Cherubino: Virginie Verrez
Count Almaviva: Takaoki Onishi
Don Basilio: Miles Mykkanen
Rosina, Countess of Almaviva: Alexandra Razskazoff
Antonio: Tyler Zimmerman
Don Curzio: Aaron Mor
Barbarina: Liv Redpath
Tickets for Juilliard Opera’s production of Le nozze di Figaro are $30 and available at events.juilliard.edu or at the Juilliard Box Office. Free tickets are available for Juilliard students; non-Juilliard students with valid ID may purchase tickets for $15 at the Juilliard Box Office. For further information, call (212) 769-7406.
Performance Time: Approximately 3 ½ hours with one intermission.
