CCM’s Opera d’arte Series Presents Tragic Tale ‘Maria Stuarda,’ March 11-13

‘Maria Stuarda’ crown illustration by DAAP student Marcus McDowell.

CCM’s acclaimed Opera d’arte series returns this week with a new production of Gaetano Donizetti’s tragic Maria Stuarda, which runs March 11-13 in the Cohen Family Studio Theater. The opera, which showcases the talent of CCM’s undergraduate performers, features music direction by Associate Professor of Ensembles and Conducting Brett Scott and stage direction by Assistant Professor of Voice Amy Johnson. Admission to this production is free, but reservations are required through the CCM Box Office.

In this dramatic adaptation of Friedrich Schiller’s play Maria Stuart, Donizetti and librettist Giuseppe Bardari tell a fictional tale of the rivalry between Queen Elizabeth of England and Mary, Queen of Scots. Seeking refuge in England after her kingdom is overthrown, Mary finds herself imprisoned by her calculating cousin, Queen Elizabeth, who fears Mary’s claims to the English throne. Jealous beyond reason, Elizabeth fears the foreign queen has stolen the heart of her beloved Roberto, Earl of Leicester.

Fighting for her life, Mary implores Roberto for an audience with Elizabeth to plead her innocence. Blinded by her insecurities, Elizabeth is only further enraged by Roberto’s advocacy on Mary’s behalf. In a tragic conclusion, Elizabeth is tasked with granting or denying mercy for the defenseless Mary.

“The Department of Voice Performance has an exceptional talent pool this year,” says director Amy Johnson. “This opera was chosen to suit our students’ needs and our pedagogical goals. The production will teach our cast about bel canto style and performance practice.”

Professor of Voice Kenneth Shaw serves as producer for this opera and has guided the Opera d’arte Series for many years. He is particularly excited about the program’s collaboration with UC’s College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning (DAAP) and Professor Brian Schumacher, as well as with CCM’s Department of Theatre Design and Production. “Our student-designed set reflects our collaborators’ expertise and standard of excellence,” he says.

“Maria Stuarda is by far the most advanced project we’ve tackled to date,” says Shaw, “and it is a testament to the quality of our students that we are able to produce this opera and even double cast it with undergraduate singers.”

CCM is proud to present this classic tale of a fight for love, life and country.

Principal Cast for March 11 and 13

• Sarah Vautour as Maria Stuarda
• Elizabeth Gorrie as Elizabeth I
• Stephanie Rampton as Anne Kennedy
• John Humphrey as the Earl of Leicester*
• Daniel Illig as Lord Cecil
• Bernard Khalil as Talbot

Principal Cast for March 12

• Madeline Jentsch as Maria Stuarda
• Page Michels as Elizabeth I
• Brianna Bragg as Anne Kennedy
• TJ Capobianco as the Earl of Leicester*
• Olusola Fadiran as Lord Cecil
• Tyler Resto as Talbot

Chorus

• Christina Bilz
• Sophie Blatt
• Dara Brown
• Desiree Dawson
• Clayton Edwards
• Rebecca Finkelshteyn
• Charlotte Green
• Grant Jackson
• Mackenzie Jacquemin
• Vidita Kannikeswaran
• Shannon Keegan
• Jake Kolesar
• Sam Krausz
• Hayley Maloney
• Maria Miller
• Gregory Miller
• Holly Reckers
• Jared Slothower
• Elena Villalon

* denotes masters student

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Friday, March 11
• 8 p.m. Saturday, March 12
• 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13

Location
Cohen Family Studio Theater, CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Admission
Admission is free, but reservations are required. Please contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

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.

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

Community Partner: ArtsWave

 

CCM Slideshows: Don Carlos

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CCM’s 2013-14 Concert Series opened in grand fashion this past Sunday with the American premiere of the uncut 1867 Paris Opera version of Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlos.

In her review for ConcertoNet: The Classical Music Network, Mary Ellyn Hutton called the performance “an amazing accomplishment” and remarked that “the voices were uniformly outstanding.”

In his review for Seen and Heard International, Rafael de Acha observed, “The CCM orchestra and choruses do top-notch work in this challenging and lengthy assignment, playing passionately and when needed providing grounding accompaniment for the singers.”

Our Concert Series continues this week with an “Anniversary” themed performance by the CCM Wind Orchestra on Friday, Sept. 27, and a CCM Jazz tribute to the Rolling Stones on Sunday, Sept. 29.

For a complete calendar of events or to view CCM’s 2013-14 season brochure, visit ccm.uc.edu.

UC’s College Conservatory of Music – Define Your Inspiration

CCM’s Concert Series Opens With Verdi’s ‘Don Carlos,’ Wind Orchestra’s ‘Anniversaries’ Concert and a CCM Jazz Tribute to the Rolling Stones!

The CCM Philharmonia. Photography by Dottie Stover.

This Sunday, Sept. 22, is not only the first day of fall… it’s also the official beginning of CCM’s 2013-14 Concert Series!

CCM’s Orchestras, Choral Ensembles and special guests join forces to usher in the season in grand style with an epic concert production of Verdi’s Don Carlos on Sept. 22. Learn more about the two-part concert production of Don Carlos here.

Next Friday, Sept. 27, the Wind Orchestra celebrates the centenary of Morton Gould’s birth, the bicentenary of Richard Wagner’s birth and several other “musical milestone” anniversaries in a stylistically diverse concert performance. Learn more about “Anniversaries” here.

Finally, on Sunday, Sept. 29, CCM’s Jazz Ensembles celebrate 50 years of “the world’s greatest rock and roll band” with a jazz tribute to the Rolling Stones, featuring dynamic new arrangements by guest artist Matt Harris. Learn more about “Satisfaction – The Music of the Rolling Stones.” here.

Single tickets and flex ticket packages are on sale now. Contact the Box Office at 556-4183 or order your tickets online here.

CCM Opens Its 2013-14 Concert Season in Grand Fashion with Verdi’s ‘Don Carlos’

Photography by Dottie Stover.

CCM opens its 2013-14 Concert Series with a unique two-part concert production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Don Carlos on Sunday, Sept. 22. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of Verdi’s birth (Oct. 10, 1813), all five acts and every single note composed for the 1867 Paris Opera premiere of this epic work will be performed in the acoustically fine Corbett Auditorium. This production will be sung in French. Single tickets and flex concert packages are on sale now.

Pared down to its pure, operatic essence, CCM Director of Orchestral Studies Mark Gibson promises that this concert performance of Don Carlos will be anything but modest. “This is the single largest project that I have attempted at CCM,” Gibson explains. In the grandest fashion, he has united a tremendous force of players including the CCM Philharmonia and Concert Orchestras, CCM’s Chamber Choir and Chorale, and UC Men’s and Women’s Choruses. These ensembles will be joined by faculty, student, alumni and guest artist soloists singing the opera’s leading roles, including Helen Lyons, Barbara Honn, Stacey Rishoi, Leah DeGruyl, Marco Panuccio, Tom Baresel and Gustav Andreassen. Working with CCM graduate student and stage director Omer Ben-Seadia, Gibson hopes to create a dynamic concert staging of Don Carlos, as well.

Beyond simply commemorating Verdi’s bicentennial, Gibson hopes to provide an opportunity for students to perform this epic work. “It’s Verdi’s most ambitious work, the one he wanted to be heard above all,” says Gibson, who will conduct both concerts. “There’s no other work of Verdi’s that passes through so much profound emotion or that gives us such a range, from pageantry to despair.”

The two-part concert performance of Don Carlos begins at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22. The first concert will end with Act III, scene iii. Opera-goers will have a two-hour dinner break between performances to visit the various eateries on and around campus, including the restaurants in the newly renovated U-Square complex on Calhoun Street. Acts III through V of Don Carlos will resume at 7 p.m.

UC Men’s and Women’s Choruses and Cabaret Singers Present Their Fall Concert on Nov. 7

The University of Cincinnati Men’s and Women’s Choruses and Cabaret Singers, comprised of students from all 13 of UC’s colleges, present their annual Fall Concert at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 7 in UC’s Corbett Auditorium.

The concert program includes Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, Op. 80, excerpts from Haydn’s Seasons as well as works by Felix Mendelssohn, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Reinis Sejans, David Morrow, Umberto Giadorno and others. Olga Artemova, Michael Fuchs and Steven Berlanga conduct. The concert will also feature a guest performance by the Anderson High School Mixed Chorus under the direction of Sandra Thornton.