Opera Idaho begins its 2009/10 main stage season with Charles Gounod’s Faust, sung in French with English titles. Conducted by Boise Philharmonic Music Director Robert Franz in his Opera Idaho debut, Faust will be performed Friday, Oct. 30, 7:30 pm, and Sunday, Nov. 1, 2:30 pm, at the 998-seat Auditorium at South Junior High School, Boise’s newest, state-of-the-art performing arts venue. Doug Copsey, who directed Faust the last time it was performed by Opera Idaho (1978) will return to opera direction to direct. Tenor Matt Morgan will perform the title role, Jacqueline Quirk will star as Marguerite, with Charles Robert Austin as Mephistopheles, and Boise husband-wife singers Michele and Jason Detwiler will take the roles of Siebel and Valentin, respectively. Idaho Dance Theatre will collaborate in the staging. To inaugurate and encourage attendance at its season series of Sunday matinees, Opera Idaho will sell all tickets to the Nov. 1 performance at one low price of $34.

Synopsis

ACT I. Alone in his study, the aged Dr. Faust despairs that his lifelong search for a solution to the riddle of life has been in vain. Twice he raises a goblet of poison to his lips but falters when the songs of young men and women outside his window re-awaken the unfulfilled passions and desires of his youth. Cursing life and human passion, the envious philosopher calls on Satan for help. The Devil appears, and Faust tells him of his longing for youth and pleasure; Méphistophélès replies that these desires can be realized if he will forfeit his soul. Faust hesitates until the Devil conjures up a vision of a lovely maiden, Marguerite. A magic potion transforms Faust into a handsome youth, and he leaves with Méphistophélès in search of Marguerite (Duet: “A moi les plaisirs”).

ACT II.Soldiers and townspeople gather for a fair. A young officer, Valentin, holding a medallion from his sister Marguerite, asks his friend, the young boy Siébel, to protect the girl in his absence and then bids a touching farewell (“Avant de quitter ces lieux”). Wagner, a student, starts the revels with a lively song but is interrupted by Méphistophélès, who delivers an impudent hymn in praise of greed and gold (“Le veau d’or”). The Devil refuses a drink from Wagner and amazes the crowd by causing new wine to flow from an old keg. When he makes a brazen toast to Marguerite, Valentin draws his sword, but it shatters; the other soldiers, recognizing Satan, hold their swords like crosses before Méphistophélès (Chorus: “De l’enfer”), who cowers before them. As the crowd begins a waltz, Faust speaks to Marguerite. She demurely refuses to let him escort her home; Méphistophélès returns to lead the merrymakers in their dance.

ACT III. Siébel briefly visits Marguerite’s garden to leave her a bouquet of flowers (“Faites-lui mes aveux”). The romantic youth is followed by Faust and Méphistophélès, who goes in search of a gift to outshine Siébel’s; left alone, Faust hails Marguerite’s simple home (“Salut! demeure”). The Devil returns with a box of jewels, which he places near Siébel’s flowers. When Marguerite arrives, she sits by her spinning wheel to sing a ballad about the King of Thule (“Il était un roi de Thulé”), distractedly interrupting the verses with reflections on the stranger she has met. Discovering the flowers and box, the girl exclaims in delight as she adorns herself with jewels. (“Ah! je ris”). Méphistophélès detours a nosy middle-aged neighbor, Marthe, by flirting with her, so that Faust may complete his seduction. As Méphistophélès invokes a night full of stars, Marguerite confesses her love (Duet: “Il se fait tard!”), but nevertheless begs Faust to leave. The Devil mocks Faust’s failure, and points to Marguerite, who has reappeared at her window. As she ecstatically expresses her love for Faust, they meet and embrace. She yields to his embraces, as Méphistophélès’ taunting laughter is heard in the garden.

ACT IV. Marguerite seeks refuge in church, only to be pursued by Méphistophélès, who curses her and torments her with threats of damnation. She collapses.

In the town square, Valentin and his comrades return from war, singing the glory of those slain in battle (Soldier’s Chorus: “Gloire immortelle”). The soldier questions Siébel about Marguerite but receives only evasive replies; puzzled, he enters his house. Faust, remorseful at having abandoned Marguerite, arrives with Méphistophélès, who serenades the girl with a lewd ballad (“Vous qui faites l’endormie”). Valentin, stepping forth to defend his sister’s honor, fights a duel with Faust. At a crucial moment, Méphistophélès interferes and Faust inadvertently kills Valentin. As the Devil drags Faust away, Marguerite kneels by her fatally wounded brother, who curses her with his last breath. She rises slowly and giggling madly to herself, moves through the crowd of villagers.

ACT V.ephistopheles gives Faust a tour of his domain.  Arriving at the prison where Marguerite lies asleep, condemned to death for the murder of her illegitimate child,  Faust and Méphistophélès enter, bent on spiriting her away. As the Devil keeps watch, Faust wakens Marguerite; at first the distracted girl is overjoyed to see her lover, but instead of fleeing with him she tarries to recall their first days of happiness. When Méphistophélès emerges from the shadows urging haste, Marguerite calls on the angels to save her (Trio: “Anges purs, anges radieux”), then dies. Méphistophélès pronounces her condemned, but as he hurries Faust away, a choir of angels proclaims her salvation.

– courtesy of Opera News

Cast & Gallery

Having the distinction of making debuts at three of the four theaters at New York’s Lincoln Center, tenor Matt Morgan (Faust) is rapidly establishing himself as a tenor to watch. His New York debut came as Don Gomez in Weber’s Die drei Pintos with Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra. The very same season, his New York City Opera debut occurred in the world premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories. Following these successes, Mr. Morgan debuted with the National Chorale at Avery Fisher Hall as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah.

He has performed at New York City Opera for three consecutive seasons to great audience and critical acclaim in a variety of repertoire ranging from Rameau’s Platee to works of the 20th century. Most recently he appeared in a new production of The Pirates of Penzance where he was as an “endearing and loveable” Frederick “with the right hero looks and a wonderful tenor voice”. Among his many appearances at Lincoln Center, his other New York successes include his remarkable portrayal of Britten’s anti-hero in Gotham Chamber Opera’s production of Albert Herring.

Outside of New York City, Mr. Morgan has appeared with Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Colorado, Fort Worth Opera, Portland Opera, New Orleans Opera, Dayton Opera, Toledo Opera, and many others in a variety of repertoire. His performances have included Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Tamino in Die Zauberflote, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Romeo in Romeo et Juliette, as well as many works of modern opera and musical theater. He appeared recently with Fort Worth Opera as Curly opposite Anthony Dean Griffey in Of Mice and Men and as Tony in West Side Story with New Orleans Opera.

His busy concert schedule has taken him to sing with some of the country’s leading symphony orchestras and concert organizations, including the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, the National Chorale, and the Bard Music Festival in a variety of repertoire ranging from the works of Handel to music of the 20th century.

During the 2008/09 season, Mr. Morgan made debuts at Opera Colorado as Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Greenwich Music Festival as Der Soldat in Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis, and Sacramento Opera as Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance. After successes as Laurie in Little Women, he returned to Dayton Opera as Camille in The Merry Widow. In the 2009/10 season and beyond Mr. Morgan will return to New York City Opera for Chabrier’s L’etoile, as well as create the role of Hamlet in Herschel Garfein’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, debut with the Dayton Philharmonic in Handel’s Messiah and New Years Eve concerts, and embark on an extensive Summer ’10 Concert Tour.

Equally at home on television as he is on the stage, Mr. Morgan is currently featured on two PBS television specials. Matt Morgan in Concert, which has been awarded two international television Accolade Awards; and Opera Louisiane, alongside operatic superstars Susan Graham and Paul Groves. Mr. Morgan tours North America regularly, most recently playing to crowds of tens of thousands at the two largest Italian festivals in North America- (Milwaukee Festa Italiana and the Upper Ohio Valley Italian Festival). As a recording artist his DVD’s and CD’s are distributed internationally. Mr. Morgan is an alumnus of the Pittsburgh Opera Center, National Opera Company, and Louisiana State University. He is based in New York City and continues his studies with Bill Schuman.

Soprano Jacqueline Quirk (Marguerite) is making her mark in the realms of operatic performance throughout the world as one of opera’s outstanding stars. She most recently made her Carnegie Hall Debut as a finalist in the International Verismo Opera Competition. Ms. Quirk is recognized for roles that reveal a captivating full lyrico-spinto soprano with an acclaimed versatile range. She is celebrated as a leading interpreter for her roles as Mimi (La bohème) and Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly). Ms. Quirk makes her Opera Idaho debut in Faust.

Most recently, in 2008, Jacqueline Quirk was selected as the only American finalist in the International Madama Butterfly Competition in Nagasaki, Japan. She also recently debuted with the Canton Symphony as Cio-Cio San in a full production of Madama Butterfly and returned from Italy after singing in the Silver Bay Music Festival in Bolzano as a Resident Artist singing concerts of Puccini and American music. Upcoming Engagements include a return to Hawaii Opera as Ortlinde (Die Walküre) and three debuts: Miceala (Carmen) with Opera Jacksonville, another Mimi with Miami Lyric Opera, and Nedda (I Pagliacci) at the Players Club in Gramercy Park, NYC on the Bechstein Concert Series.

Ms. Quirk is broadening her range into Verdi soprano roles such as Leonora and Desdemona. The soprano also has a passion for American Opera, and was privileged to make her debut at the Kennedy Center (DC) with Patti LuPone and conductor, Steven Mercurio in the opera Regina. Highlighting her career are performances with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Washington National Opera, La Monnaie (BE), Asheville Lyric Opera, Annapolis Opera, Opera Florham and Vero Beach Opera. Ms. Quirk performed Nella/Suor Dolicia (Il Trittico) with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Cio-Cio San with Asheville Lyric Opera and the Mansfield Symphony, as well as a return to Asheville Lyric Opera as Violetta (La Traviata) and an illustrious Mimi with Saint Petersburg Opera.  In 2007/08 engagements included a Key West tour as Mimi with Jacksonville Lyric Opera and Mrs. Anderson (A Little Night Music) with Hawaii Opera.

Also active as a concert artist, Ms. Quirk has been a featured soloist with symphonies in Honolulu, Tanglewood, Pittsburgh, Mansfield, Jacksonville, Bangkok, and with Washington National, Choral Arts Society (DC), and the Little Orchestra Society (NY).  She was a finalist in the International Classical Singer Competition (NY), the Violetta DuPont Vocal Competition, Paul Robeson Competition, Di Capo Opera Competition and The Singer of the Year Competition (Shreveport Opera). She holds a B.F.A in Vocal Performance form Carnegie Mellon University and her M. A. from New York University. Ms. Quirk was a member of the Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio with Hawaii Opera Theatre, as well as the Apprentice Programs of Tanglewood Opera Festival, and in Europe with Opera Plus and La Monnaie (BE).

“Possessor of a strikingly beautiful voice” and “completely commanding on stage” are two of the powerful phrases used by critics and writers to describe the voice and stage talents of bass-baritone Charles Robert Austin (Méphistophélès). Mr. Austin’s operatic successes are extensive, most notable including King Mark in Tristan und Isolde; Duke Bluebeard in Duke Bluebeard’s Castle; Rocco in Fidelio; Viet Pogner and Hermann Ortel in Die Meistersinger; Méphistophélès in Faust; Leporello in Don Giovanni; Daland in Der Fliegende Hollander Scarpia in Tosca; Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor; Klingsor in Parsifal; King Henry the Fowler in Lohengrin; Wotan in Die Walkure; Hunding in Die Walküre; Phillip II in Don Carlos; Friar Laurent in Romeo et Juliette; and Warden George Benton in Dead Man Walking. He has performed for such companies as LA Opera, Virginia Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Madison Opera, Opera Pacific, Michigan Opera Theatre, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Cleveland Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera, Omaha Opera, Spoleto Festival and Teatro de la Opera, San Juan. He created the role of King Hrothgar the premiere production of Grendel for LA Opera in 2006. Faust marks Mr. Austin’s Opera Idaho debut.

Mr. Austin’s recent concert performances include Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast; Mozart’s Requiem; Bach’s Mass in B Minor; Bartok’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle; Handel’s Messiah; Wagner gala evenings; Berlioz Romeo et Juliette; Verdi’s Requiem; Mozart’s Great Mass in C; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Missa Solemnis. These performances have taken him to such great orchestras as the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Symphony, and the New York Chamber Orchestra.

Mr. Austin can be heard on several recordings, including the benchmark recording of Menotti’s The Consul as the Secret Police Agent (Chandos); The Execution of Stepan Razin with the Seattle Symphony/Schwarz for Naxos; as Praise-God Tweke in Merry Mount by Hanson, also for Naxos; The Eternal Road (Weill) with the Berlin Radio Symphony for Milken Archives; in Haydn’s opera La Fedelta Premiata as the High Priest Melibeo (Arabesque); and as The Jailer in Tosca (Muti/Philadelphia Orchestra/Phillips Classics).

With over thirty lead roles to his credit, Jason Detwiler (Valentin) is becoming well-known for his magnetic and energizing performances on the opera stage. His voice and acting have been described as “emotionally fervid”, “richly expressive” and “commanding”, with a diverse repertoire ranging from the comedic Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) and Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte) to the dramatic Germont (La Traviata) and Escamillo (Carmen). Among his most widely acclaimed roles are Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Zurga (Les Pechêurs de Perles), and John Proctor (The Crucible). His concert credits include: Bach’s St. John’s Passion, Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Saint-Säens’ Christmas Oratorio, Einhorn’s Voices of Light, and Faure’s Requiem.

As Opera Idaho’s first Artist-in-Residence this season, the baritone will also perform the role of Dandini (La Cenerentola), which he also will perform at Opera Coeur d’Alene. In addition he will debut two new characters with Opera Idaho: Melchior (Amahl and the Night Visitors) and Mr. Webb (Our Town). In addition, he returns to the Boise Philharmonic as a Soloist in Bernstein’s Candide Suite.

A student of heldentenor, Claude Heater, Mr. Detwiler has performed with San Diego Opera, Virginia Opera, Syracuse Opera, Sacramento Opera, Shreveport Opera, Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, Opera Coeur d’Alene, Rimrock Opera, Opera Idaho, West Bay Opera, and Trinity Lyric Opera. From 2002-2006, the young baritone was part of Irene Dalis’ Opera San Jose as a Principal Resident Artist. While there, he sang Dandini (La Cenerentola), Falke (Die Fledermaus), Papageno, Valentin, Silvio (I pagliacci), Escamillo, Marcello (La Bohème), John Proctor, and the title roles of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Figaro among others. Other major roles include: Eugene Onegin, Mr. Gobineau (The Medium), Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos), Yeletsky (Pikovaya Dama), and the title role in Vaughan Williams’ Pilgrim’s Progress.

Since 2000, Michele Detwiler (Siebel) has sung nearly two dozen roles with regional companies on the West Coast, favoring Mahler, Strauss, Bel Canto and French repertoire. Critics have described her instrument as “amber-voiced”, “a velvety mezzo soprano voice with excellent range”, with performances being cited as “riveting” and holding “center stage commandingly”.

Her 2009-2010 season finds her debuting with Opera Idaho as Siebel in Faust and Tisbe in La Cenerentola, and returning to the Boise Philharmonic as a soloist in Bernstein’s Candide Suite. From 2001-2007, she was a Principal Artist and Guest Artist with Opera San Jose, where she sang in eighteen productions ranging from lyric to dramatic repertoire. While there she garnered much praise for her portrayal of Elizabeth Proctor (The Crucible), and took on the roles of Carmen, Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Rosina (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), the title role of La Cenerentola, Dorabella (Cosí fan tutte), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Stephano (Romeo et Juliette), Siebel (Faust), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), and Flora (La Traviata) among others. In addition, the young mezzo has sung with Sacramento Opera, West Bay Opera, Trinity Lyric Opera, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Mission City Opera, Apollo Sierra Opera, the Boise Philharmonic, Auburn Symphony, and Symphony Silicon Valley. Her concert credits include soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Saint-Säens’ Christmas Oratorio, Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer, Herzogenberg’s Die Geburt Christi, and Einhorn’s Voices of Light.

Lyric baritone Timothy Stoddard (Wagner) is a native of Idaho. He is a graduate of Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) and the Lionel Hampton School of Music of the University of Idaho. Mr. Stoddard’s eclectic interests in the vocal world have led him to a wide variety of roles and venues, equally at home on the recital stage as the opera theater. Recent roles include the Sergeant in The Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert and Sullivan), Ben in The Telephone (Menotti), Hymen in The Fairy Queen (Purcell), and Captain William Clark in the West Coast premiere of Michael Ching’s Corps of Discovery. On the concert stage, Mr. Stoddard has been featured as soloist for Duruflé’s Requiem and Haydn’s Harmoniemesse. His continuing passion for the recital stage has allowed him to interpret many landmark works, such as Schumann’s Liederkreis (op. 39) and Bach’s Peasant’s Cantata. He was recently featured in a program of music by Benjamin Britten with faculty of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University as well as being engaged by the Saugatuck Chamber Music Festival.

Mezzo-soprano Judith Marlett, in her fourteenth year as an Associate Professor of Voice and Choral Music at Northwest Nazarene University, has appeared in many recitals and concerts as a professional soloist and has performed numerous roles in opera, including Rosina in the world premiere performance of Thomas Pasatieri’s Signor Deluso; La Principessa, Suor Angelica; Suzuki, Madama Butterfly; and Ruth, Pirates of Penzance.

Dr. Marlett has performed in oratorio, including Messiah, Bach’s B Minor Mass, and the Mozart and Rutter Requiems. She has also performed in Broadway shows, including West Side Story, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Oklahoma. She made her producing/directing debut in 1999 with NNU’s production of Fiddler on the Roof. Marlett is primarily a recitalist, for example her recent “Seasons of a Woman’s Life,” an evening of poetry and music featuring Frauenliebe und Leben, which she produced and sang.