CCM’s 2014-15 Mainstage Series Comes to a Close with Mozart’s Famed Opera ‘Cosi Fan Tutte,’ April 9-12

CCM concludes its 2014–15 Mainstage Series with a true powerhouse: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Così fan tutte. The celebrated opera buffa returns to the Patricia Corbett Theater stage at 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 9, and plays through Sunday, April 12.

Director of Orchestral Studies Mark Gibson conducts and J. Ralph Corbett Distinguished Chair in Opera Robin Guarino directs. Assistant Conductor Yael Front conducts the matinee performance on Sunday, April 12. This production will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.

Guarino is certainly no stranger to Così, as she has successfully directed the opera multiple times for the world-renowned Metropolitan Opera (the Met) in New York City. Notably, her September 2013 engagement with Così also marked the return of beloved conductor James Levine to the Met’s podium for the first time since May 2011. A Cincinnati native, Levine is a former pupil of LaSalle Quartet violinist and CCM Professor Emeritus Walter Levin.

In his review for the New York Times, Anthony Tommasini hailed the Met’s production of Così as the most “vibrant, masterly and natural performance” of the work he had ever heard. Tommasini especially lauded Guarino’s direction, calling it “effortlessly in sync” with Levine’s conducting.

Mozart’s opera, with a libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, follows the well-worn tread of light Classical Era opera. Officers Ferrando and Guglielmo are certain that their fiancées Dorabella and Fiordiligi (respectively) will always be true to them… a belief not shared by Don Alfonso, who, in his certainty that women can never be faithful and trustworthy, makes a wager with the two that he can prove within one day that their fiancées are fickle. To this end, he concocts a scheme with the soldiers: they will pretend to be called off to war, return disguised as “Albanians” and they will each attempt to woo the other’s fiancée.

Confusion, cross-dressing and romantic banter abound as the scheme unfolds, testing Dorabella and Fiordiligi’s resolve as well as Ferrando and Guglielmo’s skills in deception.

With enjoyable music and a lighthearted plot transported to mid-20th century America, Così fan tutte is the perfect way to welcome spring and say a fond farewell to CCM’s Mainstage Season!

The Company

• Ann Toomey as Fiordiligi*
• Jessica Faselt as Fiordiligi^
• Adria Caffaro as Dorabella*
• Eleni Antonia Franck as Dorabella^
• Joseph Lattanzi as Guglielmo*
• Simon Barrad as Guglielmo^
• Alec Carlson as Ferrando*
• Chris Bozeka as Ferrando^
• Grace Kahl as Despina*
• Jasmine Habersham as Despina^
• Derrell Acon as Don Alfonso*
• Tyler Alessi as Don Alfonso^

* – Performs Thursday, April 9 and Saturday, April 11
^ – Performs Friday, April 10 and Sunday, April 12

The Creative Team

• Mark Gibson, conductor
• Robin Guarino, stage director
• Lydia Brown, musical preparation
• Ryan Howell, scenic designer
• Caroline Spitzer, costume designer
• Wes Calkin, lighting designer
• Una Lin, wig & make-up designer
• Kevin Semancik, sound designer
• Sarah Stewart, stage manager
• Maria Fuller, Levi Hammer and Kihwa Kim, rehearsal pianists

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Thursday, April 9
• 8 p.m. Friday, April 10
• 8 p.m. Saturday, April 11
• 2 p.m. Sunday, April 12

Location
Patricia Corbett Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets
Tickets to CCM’s Mainstage production of Così fan tutte are $31-35 adults, $20-24 non-UC students and $18-22 UC students with valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice/cosi-fan-tutte-mainstage.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
_____

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Mainstage Season Production Sponsor: Macy’s

Community Partner: ArtsWave

CCM Alumna Amanda Woodbury Makes Solo Debut with Cincinnati May Festival This Weekend

CCM alumna Amanda Woodbury.

CCM alumna Amanda Woodbury (MM, 2012) will make her Cincinnati May Festival debut as a soloist this Saturday (and will also perform a preconcert recital tonight) and the Cincinnati Enquirer provides a preview in a new Q&A with the soprano.

Earlier this year, Woodbury was named a winner of the 2014 Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions (along with fellow CCM alum Yi Li) and a 2014 Sara Tucker Grant Recipient (along with fellow CCM alum John Holiday).

She reflects on those recent successes and on her time at CCM in the feature, telling the Enquirer’s Janelle Gelfand, “I sang two roles onstage [at CCM], Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Madame Lidoine in Dialogues of the Carmelites. I can’t tell you how much that has helped my career. It helped me to prepare for the next step, and just everything they did opened up doors for me. I’m so glad I went to CCM, because I passed up Juilliard for CCM.”

CCM Alumni Amanda Woodbury and John Holiday Named 2014 Sara Tucker Study Grant Recipients

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We are delighted to report that two CCM alumni – Amanda Woodbury (MM, 2012) and John Holiday (MM, 2012) – have been named 2014 Sara Tucker Grant Recipients by the Richard Tucker Music Foundation!

Soprano Amanda Woodbury, 25, is a member of the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program at LA Opera and was a winner of the recent Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. She made her LA Opera debut as Micäela in Carmen and also appeared as Papagena in The Magic Flute. This summer she will make her debut at the Cincinnati May Festival as a soloist in the Mahler 8th Symphony and will join the Merola Opera at San Francisco Opera to sing Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. She was a second place winner at the McCollum Competition in Houston and received degrees from Indiana University and CCM.

Counter-tenor John Holiday, 29, has been heard recently as Radamisto at the Juilliard School and will debut with Wolf Trap Opera this summer in the title role of Giulio Cesare and be heard this fall as the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas with LA Opera. He will also return to the St. Paul Chamber Festival in concert. Other recent engagements include Bernstein’s “Chichester Psalms” at Carnegie Hall with the Atlanta Symphony, covering Nereno in Giulio Cesare at the Met, and Glass’ Galileo Galilei at Cincinnati and Portland Opera. Holiday was an apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera and holds degrees from SMU and CCM.

CCM Alumni Yi Li and Amanda Woodbury Named Grand Finalist Winners of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2014 National Council Auditions

From left to right, CCM alumni Yi Li and Amanda Woodbury.

CCM alumni Yi Li (AD, ’13) and Amanda Woodbury (MM, ’12) have been named Grand Finals Winners of the Metropolitan Opera’s 2014 National Council Auditions.

A tenor, Li is a member of the Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

Woodbury, a soprano, is in her second year at the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at LA Opera.

Li and Woodbury were among nine singers competing in the Met’s prestigious and highly competitive Grand Finals Concert this past Sunday, March 30. The finalists were accompanied by the Met Orchestra led by Marco Armiliato. You can learn more about all of the 2014 National Council Winners here.

This marks the second consecutive year that CCM trained singers have won the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions: bass-baritone Thomas Richards was named a Grand Finals Winner in 2013.

WQXR, New York’s Classical Music Radio Station, will broadcast performances and interviews with all of this year’s winners at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 1. Learn more by visiting www.wqxr.org/#!/story/video-webcast-metropolitan-opera-national-council-award-winners.

Learn more courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer here.

CCM Student Named Central Region Winner of the Met Opera’s National Council Auditions

CCM student Sofia Selowsky.

We are happy to report that mezzo-soprano Sofia Selowsky is the Central Region Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

A Master of Music candidate studying with CCM Professor of Voice William McGraw, Selowsky will compete in the Semi-Final Auditions on March 23, 2014.

You can learn more about the Met’s 2013-2014 National Council Audition Results here.

Earlier this year, Selowsky won the Italo Tajo Memorial Award during CCM’s 2013 Opera Scholarship Competition.

CCM Senior Lauren Roesner Wins Third Prize at 2013 Lotte Lenya Competition

2013 Lotte Lenya Competition winners (left to right): Lauren Roesner, Alison Arnop, Douglas Carpenter, and Maren Weinberger. Photo: Kurt Weill Foundation for Music.

We are delighted to announce that graduating CCM student Lauren Roesner (BFA Musical Theatre, 2013) has been named a winner of the 2013 Lotte Lenya Competition. The soprano was awarded third prize in the prestigious international theater singing contest during the final round of the competition on Saturday, April 13. Congratulations Lauren!

The Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, which sponsors the competition, distributed a record $61,500 in prizes this year. Roesner received a third prize of $7,500. CCM alumna Heather Phillips, soprano, was also a finalist in the competition and received an award of $1000.

Several other current and former CCM students were awarded special prizes during this year’s competition. Learn more about those awards here.

CCM Winds, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Guitar And More On Display This Weekend!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You will find something for everyone on the CCM stage this weekend!

At 8 p.m. this evening (Friday, April 12), the CCM Wind Orchestra closes out its successful 2012-13 season with a survey of contemporary American composers. The eclectic program will include works by Samuel Barber, Warren Benson and more! Learn more about this performance here.

CCM welcomes acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee to the stage at 8 p.m. this Saturday, April 13, for an encore performance of the program from his recent Carnegie Hall debut. Brownlee will be accompanied by composer, conductor and pianist Damien Sneed for this special performance. Learn more about this performance here.

CCM’s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band will celebrate the impact of adjunct instructor of jazz drums and “living guru of big band drumming” John Von Ohlen with a swinging tribute concert at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 14. Learn more about this performance here.

CCM Presents Guest Artist Lawrence Brownlee in Recital on April 13

Acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee presents a guest artist recital at CCM on Saturday, April 13, 2013. Photography by Derek Blanks.

CCM presents a special recital by tenor Lawrence Brownlee at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 13, in Corbett Auditorium. This performance is presented by the CCM Busse Fund. Tickets are on sale now.

Brownlee will be accompanied by composer, conductor and pianist Damien Sneed, whose spiritual arrangements will be featured on the program. In addition, Brownlee will sing works from the 19th and 20th centuries, including music by composers Giuseppe Verdi and Francis Poulenc. Brownlee recently performed the same program at his Carnegie Hall debut, accompanied by pianist and conductor Martin Katz, with whom he recorded an album of Italian songs under EMI Classics in 2006.

Originally from Youngstown, Ohio, Brownlee has had a quick rise to sought-after status as an operatic tenor. Since graduating from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2001, he has won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and received the Richard Tucker Award and Marian Anderson Award. Brownlee has taken the stage with some of the world’s top opera companies including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Hamburg State Opera and Opéra National de Paris. In addition to his EMI Classics release of Italian songs, he is featured on EMI’s release of Rossini’s Stabat Mater and on the Metropolitan Opera’s Met in HD recording of Rossini’s Armida, both from 2010.

Brownlee’s performing career has taken him back to Ohio before, for performances of Bach’s Magnificat with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in 2002 and of Handel’s Israel in Egypt with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra in 2003. His return for this CCM encore performance of his Carnegie Hall debut program will be an event not to be missed.

CCM Alumnus David Daniels Profiled in April 2013 issue of ‘Opera News’

Photographed by Michal Daniel as Orfeo in the Minnesota Opera production of Orfeo ed Euridice, 2010
© Michal Daniel 2013

CCM alumnus David Daniels (BM, 1990) is profiled in the April issue of Opera News, which is on newsstands now. As previously reported, the acclaimed countertenor is a 2012 Opera News Award-winner.

In the lengthy profile, Opera News editor Adam Wasserman writes, “Daniels has the uncanny ability to bridge the gap and make us believe that the composer’s note barely had time to dry on the page before it came forth from his mouth. It seems to me that the highest compliment one can pay Daniels — now in the third decade of an unprecedented career in opera — is that the music he sings sounds both strikingly contemporary and as though it were written precisely for his voice.”

Read the entire profile here.

Daniels will be singing the title role in the Metropolitan Opera’s new production of Giulio Cesare this month. The production is scheduled to be broadcast as a part of the Met’s “Live in HD” Series on April 27, 2013.

Current and Former CCM Students Win at 2013 Gerda Lissner Foundation Vocal Competition

Congratulations to the following CCM alumni and students who were prize winners in the Gerda Lissner Foundation 2013 International Vocal Competition!

• CCM alumnus and countertenor John Holiday earned first prize in the competition, which came with a $10,000 cash award.
• CCM alumnus Norman Garrett, baritone, earned second prize, with an award of $5,000. This is Garrett’s second consecutive year taking home a prize from the competition.
• Artist Diploma candidate Yi Li, tenor, and CCM alumnus Emmet O’Hanlon, baritone, each received third prize, which came with a $3,000 cash award. This is also Li’s second consecutive year earning a prize at the Lissner Competition.