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Plácido Domingo Announces LA Opera's 2009/10 Season (LOS ANGELES, CA) January 15, 2009 - Plácido Domingo, LA Opera's Eli and Edythe Broad General Director, announced the details of the Company's 2009/10 Season today. Mr. Domingo and his team have prepared an artistically diverse and adventurous season that features eight operas, including four Company premieres and one U.S. premiere. Six productions will be conducted by James Conlon, the Company's Richard Seaver Music Director. Season highlights include new productions of Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, the final two installments of Wagner's four-part Der Ring des Nibelungen. These two works will enter the Company's repertory individually, returning as the season concludes with three complete Ring cycles, the first ever to be presented in Los Angeles, celebrated with the citywide Ring Festival LA. The season will feature the Company premiere of George Frideric Handel's Tamerlano, starring Plácido Domingo, and the U.S. premiere of Franz Schreker's The Stigmatized (Die Gezeichneten) as part of the Company's Recovered Voices project, which highlights the works of composers affected by the Holocaust. This will be the first time that an opera by Schreker will be staged in the Western Hemisphere. In addition, the season features appearances by several of the most celebrated singers of our time, including tenors Rolando Villazón and Juan Diego Flórez, soprano Anja Kampe, baritone Nathan Gunn and bass Ruggero Raimondi, as well as recitals by two of America's greatest vocalists: baritone Thomas Hampson and soprano Renée Fleming. In addition, Mr. Domingo announced that Classical KUSC FM 91.5 will once again broadcast LA Opera on Air, a series of radio broadcasts from the Company's current 2008/09 Season recorded live in performance. The radio broadcasts, which will be distributed nationally by the WFMT Radio Network and internationally via XM Satellite Radio, are scheduled to begin airing on Classical KUSC FM 91.5 in mid-May of 2009, after the final Metropolitan Opera broadcast of the spring, and will be hosted by Duff Murphy. This endeavor continues to be made possible by a generous major grant from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, spearheaded by the efforts of Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. The 2009/10 Season will open on September 12, 2009, with the regular season continuing through April 25, 2010, and concluding with three full cycles of the Ring following from May 29, 2010, through June 26, 2010. During this time, LA Opera will present eight operas and two recitals for a total of 50 performances. Productions include a season-opening revival of Gaetano Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore (The Elixir of Love) that features tenor Rolando Villazón as Nemorino and bass Ruggero Raimondi in his Company debut; new productions of Richard Wagner's Siegfried and Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods) directed and designed by Achim Freyer; the Company premiere of George Frideric Handel's Tamerlano starring tenor Plácido Domingo and countertenor Bejun Mehta; Giaochino Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) featuring a double cast that includes baritones Nathan Gunn and Lucas Meachem, tenors Juan Diego Florez and Dmitry Korchak, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and soprano Sarah Coburn; and the U.S. premiere of Franz Schreker's The Stigmatized (Die Gezeichneten) starring tenor Robert Brubaker and soprano Anja Kampe. The season will conclude with three presentations of Wagner's complete Ring cycle (Der Ring des Nibelungen). James Conlon, LA Opera's Richard Seaver Music Director, will conduct all but two productions, with William Lacey conducting Tamerlano and Michele Mariotti conducting Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Grant Gershon will be the Associate Conductor / Chorus Master throughout the season. "Even during this challenging era, we have managed to create an artistically satisfying season of which all of us at LA Opera should be proud," said Plácido Domingo. "Our season will include well-known masterpieces as well as rarely heard operas by Handel and Schreker. We are also looking forward to the final two installments - Siegfried and Götterdämmerung - of Wagner's monumental four-opera Ring cycle, with three complete Ring cycles to follow at the conclusion of the season. I am especially proud to present many of the greatest talents from the international operatic scene on our stage. I am thankful to our generous supporters, including our wonderful Board of Directors, the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County and Board Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky in particular, who have made it possible for us to continue to present world-class productions during these difficult economic times." "Next season's productions of the second half of Wagner's Ring, followed by the first complete Ring cycles in our city, coupled with the county-wide Ring Festival LA, comprise a landmark in the artistic history of Los Angeles," said James Conlon. "When I came to LA Opera in 2006, I had hopes that Los Angeles would become a hub of Wagnerian activity, and I am proud that we are well on our way. This is a significant moment for me personally also, as this is the first Ring cycle I will have conducted in the United States. I am equally gratified to present Franz Schreker's The Stigmatized (Die Gezeichneten). Schreker's 13 operas were immensely successful between 1910 and 1930, with productions mounted in dozens of European cities. However, to this day, not a single Schreker opera has been staged in the Western Hemisphere. I am proud that LA Opera will host this American premiere. The Stigmatized is part of our ongoing Recovered Voices project, in which we present significant early 20th-Century operas that disappeared from the stage during the Nazi era in Europe. I am deeply appreciative for the continuing, enthusiastic support from LA Opera's leadership for this important and artistically rewarding project." "This season is a testament to Plácido Domingo's artistic vision and to the unwavering support and guidance of our incredible Board of Directors," said Chairman and CEO Marc I. Stern. "We are only too aware of the challenges that we face in these troubled times, but we are unwavering in our commitment to present opera of the highest possible caliber to our audiences, and I am pleased that Los Angeles will continue to be the home of world-class performances." LA Opera's 2009/10 Season will open on Saturday, September 12, 2009, with a revival of Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore (The Elixir of Love) (seven performances: September 12 through 30, 2009) conducted by James Conlon. The cast will include tenor Rolando Villazón as Nemorino, soprano Nino Machaidze in her U.S. debut as Adina, baritone Nathan Gunn as Sergeant Belcore and bass Ruggero Raimondi as Doctor Dulcamara. The charming production was originally created by director Stephen Lawless for LA Opera in 1996 and revived in 1999, and has proven popular elsewhere as well, with acclaimed performances in Washington, Geneva, Madrid and Houston. James Conlon conducts Siegfried (five performances: September 26 through October 17, 2009), the third installment of the Company's new Ring cycle, directed and designed by Achim Freyer. Tenor John Treleaven will perform the title role, with soprano Linda Watson as Brünnhilde, bass Vitalij Kowaljow as the Wanderer (Wotan), tenor Graham Clark as Mime, bass Eric Halfvarson as Fafner, baritone Oleg Bryjak as Alberich, mezzo-soprano Jill Grove as Erda and soprano Stacey Tappan as the Woodbird. LA Opera commemorates the 250th anniversary of the death of George Frideric Handel with the Company premiere of Tamerlano (five performances: November 21 through December 1, 2009). Tenor Plácido Domingo returns to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion stage for his 21st role at LA Opera, as the Sultan Bajazet opposite countertenor Bejun Mehta in the title role. The cast also includes soprano Sarah Coburn (Asteria) and mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon (Andronico). Conductor William Lacey will lead an orchestra that will include such period instrumentation as two harpsichords, two theorbos and baroque guitar. The highly acclaimed production originated at Washington National Opera, where it was seen in 2008. Earlier that same year, when Plácido Domingo made his role debut as Bajazet at the Teatro Real in Madrid, it became the 126th role of his career. A perennial favorite, Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia (The Barber of Seville) (ten performances: November 29 through December 19, 2009) returns to the LA Opera stage in a delightful Emilio Sagi production from the Teatro Real in Madrid. Baritones Nathan Gunn and Lucas Meachem share the role of the wily Figaro, with tenors Juan Diego Flórez and Dmitry Korchak as Count Almaviva, and mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and soprano Sarah Coburn alternating in the role of Rosina. Michele Mariotti will conduct. The conclusion of Wagner's four-part Ring cycle, Götterdämmerung (five performances: April 3 through 25, 2010), is conducted by James Conlon in another new production directed and designed by Achim Freyer. Soprano Linda Watson and tenor John Treleaven return as Brünnhilde and Siegfried, respectively, with bass Eric Halfvarson as Hagen, baritone Gordon Hawkins as Alberich, mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung as Waltraute, bass-baritone Alan Held as Gunther and soprano Jennifer Wilson as Gutrune. James Conlon conducts the U.S. premiere of The Stigmatized (Die Gezeichneten) by Franz Schreker (four performances: April 10 through 24, 2010). The Stigmatized is part of the Company's celebrated multi-year Recovered Voices project, devoted to reviving the works of composers who were suppressed by the Third Reich. This will be the first Schreker opera to be staged in any manner in the Western Hemisphere. The cast includes tenor Robert Brubaker, soprano Anja Kampe and baritones Martin Gantner and James Johnson. The work will be staged by Olivier Tambosi, who directed LA Opera's 2007 production of Jenufa. From May 29 through June 26, 2010, LA Opera will present three full presentations of Wagner's four-part Der Ring des Nibelungen, the first time that the complete Ring cycle will be seen in Los Angeles. LA Opera is partnering with more than 50 of the city's premiere cultural and educational organizations to present Ring Festival LA (April 15 through June 30, 2010) a citywide celebration of Wagner and the Ring that will include a wide variety of special exhibitions, performances, symposia and special events. The season will also feature recitals by two of the greatest artists of our time. Baritone Thomas Hampson, who last appeared with LA Opera as Marcello in La Bohème in 1987, will make his long awaited return with a recital on October 3, 2009. On December 12, 2009, soprano Renée Fleming will return for her third recital presented by LA Opera and her first appearance here since opening the 2006/07 season in La Traviata. LA Opera's acclaimed education and community outreach programs for the 2009/10 Season include In-School Operas performed by professionals and students together, free student matinee performances of Il Barbiere di Siviglia on the main-stage and special performances of Who Wants to Be an Opera Singer? in the Grand Hall and on tour in venues throughout Southern California. Other highlights include "Opera Tales" productions, touring to numerous public libraries throughout the county, as well the expansion of regular Library Project offerings, accredited In-Service Teacher Trainings, Opera Camp, Voices for Tolerance choral training and other community education programs and partnerships. A complete listing of education and community programs will be available in the spring. The complete 2009/10 Season schedule is attached. Subscriptions for the 2009/10 Season are available by phone and by mail and range in price from $100 to $1,425. Subscribers can receive up to 35% off of the price of single ticket prices. For further information, please visit LA Opera's website at www.laopera.com or call Audience Services at (213) 972-8001. All performances will take place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Music Center, 135 North Grand Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90012. For disability access, call (213) 972-0777 or e-mail wehelpyou@laopera.com.
All programs, artists and dates are subject to change.
Rolex is the Official Timepiece of LA Opera. ###
2009/10 SEASON: CASTING AND CALENDAR
* denotes LA Opera debut artist
L'ELISIR D'AMORE (THE ELIXIR OF LOVE) Revival - LA Opera Production
SEVEN PERFORMANCES James Conlon conducts the season-opening revival of L'Elisir d'Amore, starring fast-rising Georgian soprano Nino Machaidze in her U.S. debut as Adina, baritone Nathan Gunn as Sergeant Belcore and the great Italian bass Ruggero Raimondi in his Company debut as Dr. Dulcamara. The simple farm worker Nemorino sets out to win the heart of the wealthy landowner Adina - all with a little help from Dr. Dulcamara's miraculous "elixir of love." With sparkling gaiety and genuine warmth, Donizetti's bel canto masterpiece beautifully counterpoises tragic and comic elements to create an opera of both heartfelt poignancy and unfettered joy.
SIEGFRIED Company Premiere - New Production
FIVE PERFORMANCES LA Opera continues its extraordinary new production of Wagner's monumental Ring cycle, directed and designed by the internationally celebrated artist Achim Freyer, with the presentation of the final two operas in the cycle during the 2009/10 season. Freyer previously staged two exceptional productions for LA Opera, La Damnation de Faust and Bach's Mass in B Minor, and his work has been hailed as vividly theatrical, exhilaratingly irreverent and meticulously prepared. Siegfried grows up in isolation, unaware that he is descended from the gods and destined to become the greatest of all heroes. In this most enchanting of all Wagner operas, Siegfried slays the dragon Fafner and claims the beast's enormous hoard, including a magical ring. Siegfried awakens and woos the sleeping Brünnhilde, who becomes our hero's bride in a soaring, triumphant duet.
THOMAS HAMPSON IN RECITAL Baritone Thomas Hampson is one of the most recognized, popular and sought-after singers before the public today. In a career now in its third decade, his versatility, imagination and vocal charisma have set new standards on the operatic stages and concert halls the world over. Brought up in Spokane, Washington, he has devoted his life to music, performing in opera, operetta, musical, oratorio and recital, as well as in the fields of recording, research and pedagogy. A particular passion of Thomas Hampson is the world of song as the diary of every culture. His over 25 recordings of songs in various languages have garnered him virtually all the major recording prizes available.
TAMERLANO Company Premiere - Production from Washington National Opera
FIVE PERFORMANCES Handel's rarely-performed work, starring Plácido Domingo, recounts the tale of the Turkish sultan, Bajazet, who has been defeated and taken prisoner by Tamerlano, the Tartar emperor. Bajazet would rather die than remain captive; only his great love for his daughter Asteria prevents him from taking his own life. Tamerlano, however, is in love with his prisoner's daughter, who accepts his marriage proposal in order to take revenge by murdering him on their wedding night. The riveting tale of enslavement, love, infidelity and suicide unfolds with tragic grandeur in a theatrically vital modern-dress interpretation by director Chas Rader-Shieber, and conducted by William Lacey.
IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA (THE BARBER OF SEVILLE) Production from Teatro Real (Madrid)
TEN PERFORMANCES A critically praised production from Madrid's Teatro Real brings the immortal Figaro once again to the LA Opera stage. Emilio Sagi's inventive staging moves from a crisp black-and-white opening to a sparklingly colorful finale in a delightful production that emphasizes the opera's riotous comedy. Rossini's bel canto fireworks are performed by a marvelous double cast of performers, led by Nathan Gunn and Lucas Meachem as Figaro, Juan Diego Flórez and Dmitry Korchak as Count Almaviva, Joyce DiDonato and Sarah Coburn as Rosina and Bruno Praticò and Philip Cokorinos as Doctor Bartolo.
RENÉE FLEMING IN RECITAL As "the people's diva," renowned soprano Renée Fleming continues to charm audiences throughout the world with her superb vocal intelligence, exquisite musical grace, and voice of "liquid gold." Her artistry has taken her to the world's capitals and great opera houses, captivating audiences everywhere she goes. Ms. Fleming last appeared with LA Opera in 2006 as Violetta in the season-opening production of La Traviata, after two previous recital appearances presented by the Company in 2002 and 2005.
GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG (THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS) Company Premiere - New Production
FIVE PERFORMANCES Wagner's epic Ring cycle comes to its explosive finale with Götterdämmerung. Siegfried and Brünnhilde fall victim to the treachery of the cursed ring and the machinations of the evil Hagen. When Siegfried is murdered, Brünnhilde sacrifices herself to be reunited with him in death. With the ring returned to its source in the Rhine, the reign of the gods comes to an end and the natural order of the world is restored.
DIE GEZEICHNETEN (THE STIGMATIZED) U.S. Premiere - New Production
FOUR PERFORMANCES With the celebrated multi-year Recovered Voices project, LA Opera has played a leading role in bringing to light several little known or nearly forgotten works by composers who struggled to make their voices heard under the Third Reich. LA Opera now presents the U.S. premiere of Franz Schreker's The Stigmatized (Die Gezeichneten), the first time that an opera by Schreker will be staged in the Western Hemisphere. Born in 1878 to a Jewish father and a Catholic mother, the Austrian composer Franz Schreker met with "overnight" success after the 1912 premiere of his second opera Der ferne Klang (The Distant Sound). His fourth opera, Die Gezeichneten, which followed in 1918, moved him to the front ranks of contemporary opera composers. A central figure in the remarkable flowering of opera in early 20th-Century Austria that included Zemlinsky, Berg, and Korngold, he succumbed to a stroke in March 1934 after being hounded by the Nazis and forced out of his position as director of the Berlin Hochschule, the most prestigious academic musical position in Germany. All of his music was banned by the Nazis after his death. In The Stigmatized, the misshapen Alviano (tenor Robert Brubaker) has created an idyllic island of great beauty as an escape from his tortured existence. A beautiful painter, Carlotta (soprano Anja Kampe), mistakes her pity toward him for love; she then turns to a handsome rival, the debauched Tamare (baritone Martin Gantner), with disastrous results.
DER RING DES NIBELUNGEN (THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG) L.A. Premiere of Complete Cycle
CYCLE 1:
CYCLE 2:
CYCLE 3:
Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen is a monumental
experience that tells a unified story, drawn from Norse mythology, over
the course of four complete operas: Das Rheingold, Die
Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. The plot
concerns an epic struggle to win control of a magic ring that gives its
bearer the power to rule the world. Created by the evil dwarf Alberich,
the ring is successively possessed by Wotan, the king of the gods, then by
the dragon Fafner, and eventually by Wotan's grandson, Siegfried.
Ultimately, the ring comes into the possession of Siegfried's widow
Brünnhilde, who returns the ring to its source, thus ending the reign of
the gods. One of the most influential theatrical works ever created, it is
the culmination of Wagner's unique musical style and the embodiment of his
concept of Gesamtkunstwerk or "complete work of art." LA Opera's
Richard Seaver Music Director, James Conlon, who has conducted the Ring to
acclaim in Europe, will lead his first Ring in America.
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