W.S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan’s
The Pirates of Penzance
Friday, October 7, 7:30pm
Sunday, October 9, 2:30pm
The Egyptian Theatre
Previews, led by Executive Director Mark Junkert, will precede all performances of this opera one hour before curtain; these previews will be given at The Egyptian Theatre. No registration is required.
{info from the Ohio Light Opera web site}
Synopsis
Act I: On the coast of Cornwall, at the time of Queen Victoria’s reign, Frederic, a young man with a strong sense of duty, celebrates, amidst the pirates, the completion of his twenty-first year and the apparent end of his apprenticeship (“Pour, oh pour the pirate sherry”). The pirates’ maid of all work, Ruth, appears and reveals that, as Frederic’s nursemaid long ago (“When Frederic was a little lad”), she had made a mistake “through being hard of hearing”: she had misheard Frederic’s father’s instructions and apprenticed him to a pirate, instead of to a ship’s pilot.
Frederic has never seen any woman other than Ruth, and he believes her to be beautiful. The pirates know better and suggest that Frederic take Ruth with him when he returns to civilization. Frederic announces that, although it pains him to do so, such is his sense of duty that, once free from his apprenticeship, he will be forced to devote himself to their extermination. He points out that they are not very successful pirates, since, being orphans themselves; they allow their prey to go free if they too are orphans. Frederic notes that word of this has got about, so captured ships’ companies routinely claim to be orphans. Frederic invites the pirates to give up piracy and go with him, so that he need not destroy them, but the Pirate King notes that, compared with respectability, piracy is comparatively honest (“Oh! better far to live and die”). The pirates depart, leaving Frederic and Ruth. Frederic sees a group of beautiful young girls approaching the pirate lair, and realizes that Ruth lied to him about her appearance (“Oh false one! You have deceived me!”). Sending Ruth away, Frederic hides before the girls arrive.
The girls burst exuberantly upon the secluded spot (“Climbing over rocky mountain”). Frederic reveals himself (“Stop, ladies, pray!”) and appeals to them to help him reform (“Oh! is there not one maiden breast?”). One of them, Mabel, responds to his plea, and chides her sisters for their lack of charity (“Oh sisters deaf to pity’s name for shame!”). She sings to him (“Poor wand’ring one”), and Frederic and Mabel quickly fall in love. The other girls contemplate whether to eavesdrop or to leave the new couple alone (“What ought we to do?”), and eventually decide to “talk about the weather,” although they steal a glance or two at the affectionate couple (“How beautifully blue the sky”).
Frederic warns the girls of the pirates nearby (“Stay, we must not lose our senses”), but before they can flee, the pirates arrive and capture all the girls, intending to marry them (“Here’s a first rate opportunity”). Mabel warns the pirates that the girls’ father is a Major-General (“Hold, monsters!”), who soon arrives and introduces himself (“I am the very model of a modern Major-General”). He appeals to the pirates not to take his daughters, leaving him to face his old age alone. Having heard of the famous Pirates of Penzance, he pretends that he is an orphan to elicit their sympathy (“Oh, men of dark and dismal fate”). The soft-hearted pirates are sympathetic and release the girls (“Hail, Poetry!”), making Major-General Stanley and his daughters honorary members of their band (“Pray observe the magnanimity”).
Act II: The Major-General sits in a ruined chapel on his estate, surrounded by his daughters. His conscience is tortured by the lie that he told the pirates, and the girls attempt to console him (“Oh dry the glist’ning tear”). The Sergeant of Police and his corps arrive to announce their readiness to go forth to arrest the pirates (“When the foeman bares his steel”). The girls loudly express their admiration of the police for facing likely slaughter at the hands of fierce and merciless foes. The police are unnerved by this, and remain around (to the Major-General’s frustration) but finally leave.
Left alone, Frederic, who is to lead the group, pauses to reflect on his opportunity to atone for a life of piracy (“Now for the pirate’s lair”), at which point he encounters Ruth and the Pirate King. It has occurred to them that his apprenticeship was worded so as to bind him to them until his twenty-first birthday– and, because that birthday happens to be on 29 February (in a leap year), it means that technically only five birthdays have passed (“When you had left our pirate fold”), and he will not reach his twenty-first birthday until he is in his eighties. Frederic is convinced by this logic that he must rejoin the pirates, and thus he sees it as his duty to inform the Pirate King of the Major-General’s deception. The outraged outlaw declares that their “revenge will be swift and terrible” (“Away, away, my heart’s on fire”).
Frederic meets Mabel (“All is prepared”), and she pleads with him to stay (“Stay Frederic, stay”), but he explains that he must fulfill his duty to the pirates until his 21st birthday in 1940. He promises to return then and claim her. They agree to be faithful to each other until then, though to Mabel “It seems so long” (“Oh here is love and here is truth”), and Frederic departs. Mabel steels herself (“No, I’ll be brave”) and tells the police that they must go alone to face the pirates. They muse that an outlaw might be just like any other man, and it is a shame to deprive him of “that liberty which is so dear to all” (“When a felon’s not engaged in his employment”). The police hide on hearing the approach of the pirates (“A rollicking band of pirates we”), who have stolen onto the grounds, meaning to avenge themselves for the Major-General’s lie (“With cat-like tread”).
The police and the pirates prepare for the fight (“Hush, hush! not a word”). Just then, the Major-General appears, sleepless with guilt, and the pirates also hide, while General Stanley listens to the soothing sighing of the breeze (“Sighing softly to the river”). The girls come looking for him (“Now what is this and what is that”). The pirates leap to the attack, and the police rush to the defense; but the police are easily defeated, and the Pirate King urges the captured Major-General to prepare for death. The Sergeant plays his trump card, demanding that the pirates yield “in Queen Victoria’s name”; the pirates, overcome with loyalty to their Queen, do so. Ruth appears and reveals that the orphan pirates are in fact “all noblemen who have gone wrong”. The Major-General is impressed by this and all is forgiven. Frederic and Mabel are reunited, and the Major-General is happy to marry his daughters to the noble pirates after all.
Cast
Pirate King – Matthew Hayward
Mabel – Sarah Asmar
Frederic – Ross Hauck
Major-General – Michael Wanko
Ruth – Michael Mendelsohn
Sergeant – Timothy Stoddard
Samuel – Scott Noland
Edith – Amanda Gardner-Porter
Kate – Genevieve Baglio
Creative Team
Director – Lynn Allison
Conductor – Timm Rolek
Set Design – Jennifer Wilhelmi
Chorus Master – Kelly Kaye
Costumes – Eugene Opera
Chorus
Sopranos
Debbie Baerlocher
Alaina Bredy
Melody English
Rachael Montoya
Katie Morell
Holly Salewski
Mezzos
Crystal Christensen
Tessa Anne Huber
Tenors
David Christensen
Kyle Christensen
Tim Judy
Robert Sandberg
Wally Tuck
Basses
Michal Jarolimek
Fernando Menéndez
Bob Wallace
Matthew Hayward
American lyric baritone, Matthew Hayward [Pirate King], has rapidly established himself as one of the most versatile artists of his generation. He is the winner of the 2009 Grand Concours de Chant-Gerard Souzay Tribute and made his European Debut in concert at the Salle Cortot and US Embassy in Paris in November 2009. He was also honored with a 2009 Encouragement Award from the Gerda Lissner Foundation.
Over the past two seasons, Matthew’s engagements have included creating the role of Marquis de Brisaille in the World Premiere of David DiChiera’s Cyrano at the Michigan Opera Theatre, Gregorio in Roméo et Juliette with Baltimore Opera, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with Washington East Opera, Schaunard in La Bohème with the Princeton Festival and Syracuse Opera, Marcello in La Bohème with Skagit Opera, Dancaïre in Carmen at Opera New Jersey, Schubert’s Mass in G with City Music Cleveland, and Le Bret in Michigan Opera Theatre’s student performance of Cyrano.
Also in 2011, he performs the Black Cat and Grandfather Clock in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges and Ramiro in L’heure espagnole at the Portland Opera, and Ko-Ko in The Mikado at the Syracuse Opera. He will also sing the World Premiere of Libby Larsen’s The Moabit Sonnets with the Linfield Chamber Orchestra and Schumann’s Dichterliebe in recital at Oregon State University.
Matthew has enjoyed a close association with the Aspen Music Festival and has sung recitals there featuring the works of Duparc, Schubert and Weill, performances of Ravel’s Chansons Madécasses, Schumann’s Spanisches Liederspiel and a Leonard Bernstein Gala with Broadway star Judy Kaye. Recently in concert, he was personally invited by Maestro Julius Rudel to debut with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and the Virginia Arts Festival, where he sang an all Kurt Weill Gala with soprano Angelina Réaux. Matthew’s other concert repertoire includes Handel’s Messiah, Brahms’ Requiem, Mozart’s Missa Brevis, Beethoven’s Organ Solo Mass, Fauré’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s St. Paul, Mahler’s Wayfarer Songs and Orff’s Carmina Burana.
Matthew was a finalist in the 2007 Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition. He has performed under such distinguished conductors as Julius Rudel, Mark Flint, Richard Tang Yuk, Douglas Kinney Frost, Joseph Rescigno, Steven White, Dean Williamson, William Vendice, David Zinman and Keith Lockhart. A Seattle native, Matthew completed his Bachelor and Master of Music studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
Sarah Asmar
Exciting young soprano Sarah Asmar [Mabel] has been hailed for “her crystalline soprano” by the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, while The Daily Record says, “she is headed for the leading opera houses.” Sarah’s 2011-2012 engagements include her Opera Idaho debut as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, as well as another appearance with Maestro William Boughton and the New Haven Symphony in December. Audiences in Sarasota will see Sarah as Frasquita in Carmen. While in Sarasota, she will also cover the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor. In July 2011, she made her debut with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra as a soprano soloist in Mendelssohn’s Symphony #2 (Lobgesang).
In 2010-2011, Sarah returned to Sarasota Opera where she sang Zerlina in Don Giovanni and covered both Musetta in La bohème and Giselda in I Lombardi. Of her Zerlina, The Palm Beach Arts Paper said her performance was “wonderful,” while going on to say, “she struck the right attitude, never letting the Don overwhelm her, and winning back Masetto’s love in a very fine Batti, batti. Her cajoling was a joy to watch.” In addition, she appeared as soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the New Haven Symphony for a second year.
She began the 2009-2010 season as Miss Rose in Lakmé with Connecticut Concert Opera before appearing with the New Haven Symphony as soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah. She continued on to join Sarasota Opera’s Studio Artist Program where she sang the role of Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte and covered Gretel in Hansel and Gretel. In the spring of 2010, Sarah covered Lucia in Commonwealth Opera’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor. In the winter of 2009, she was seen as Pamina in The Magic Flute with Boston Lyric Opera for Young Audiences. On the concert stage, she appeared as the soprano soloist in both J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion with The Cathedral of St. Joseph’s Schola Cantorum and Mendelssohn’s Symphony #2 with The Farmington Valley Chorale and Orchestra. In July, she joined Opera Providence for their Opera in the Park concert entitled, “Lucky in Love?”, and was the winner of Connecticut Concert Opera’s inaugural “American Opera Idol” Concert.
During the 2007-2008 season, Sarah appeared as Emily Webb in the Upper Midwest premiere of Ned Rorem’s Our Town with Skylark Opera, where her portayal “was the emotional heart of the production, conveying the innocence and the strength of the character.” (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) She then went on to sing the roles of Pamina and Papagena in Die Zauberflöte with Opera North.
In past seasons, Sarah has appeared with Boston Lyric Opera as Crobyle in Massenet’s Thaïs and with Skylark Opera as the soprano soloist in their Skylarks in the Snow gala. She spent the summers of 2005 through 2007 with the Ohio Light Opera where she was seen as Adele in Die Fledermaus, Ottilie in White Horse Inn, Marie Antoinette in the world premiere of Robert Ward’s A Friend of Napoleon, Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Geraldine in The Firefly, Jane Bennet in the world premiere of Pride and Prejudice, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, and Kathie in The Student Prince. In addition, she can be heard on OLO’s recording of The Firefly. Sarah is honored to have collaborated with friend and composer Richard Wargo on From the Bards of Ireland (a program of his Irish inspired music).
Originally from West Simsbury, Connecticut, Sarah began her musical studies as a violinist. She attended Boston University where she received her Bachelor’s Degree in violin performance in 2001. She returned to Boston University to study vocal performance in 2002 (MM 2004). While attending BU, Sarah performed the role of Norina with the Boston University Opera Institute. Her other solo appearances in Boston include Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with the Boston Orpheus Ensemble, The Messiah Part 1 with The Boston University Symphony Orchestra and Mozart’s Requiem with the Newburyport Choral Society. In 2005, she appeared as Coryphée in Opera Boston’s production of Alceste.
Sarah was a New England Regional Finalist in the 2008 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In 2006, she was awarded First Prize and the Roger Wertenberger Audience Choice Award in The Harold Haugh Light Opera Vocal Competition.
Ross Hauck
Lyric tenor Ross Hauck [Frederic] is a resident of Issaquah, Washington, where he lives with his wife, Laura, and 3 yr. old twin boys, Daniel and Benjamin. He returns to Opera Idaho, having performed Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia in 2005.
Last season Ross performed the title role in William Kentridge’s production of Il ritorno di Ulisse in Patria with Stephen Stubbs and Pacific Operaworks both in Seattle and San Francisco. He also made his debut with the Boston Early Music Festival in L’incoronazione di Poppea and sang the role of Tamino in Atlanta Ballet’s Magic Flute. Other recent roles include The Little Mahagonny with the Seattle Symphony, Nemorino in Elisir d’Amore with the Bar Harbor Music Festival, Nero in L’incoronazione di Poppea with the Seattle Early Music Guild, and Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Tacoma Opera, a role he has also sung at Sacramento Opera, Opera Idaho, and the Aspen Music Festival. He was also heard as Tamino in The Magic Flute with the Intermountain Opera, and as Belmonte in Entfuhrung aus dem Serail with Tacoma Opera. In 2007, Ross made a debut recording on the Naxos Label, singing the lead role in Brundibar, conducted by Gerard Schwarz and members of the Seattle Symphony. Other highlights of opera work include originating and recording the role of Bonario in the world premiere opera Volpone by American composer John Musto, commissioned by Wolf Trap Opera Company, where he also sang the title role in the North American Premiere of Rameau’s Dardanus, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, and Lippo Fiorentino in Street Scene. He has also collaborated with American composer Libby Larsen singing the title role in her opera Dreaming Blue.
As a concert artist, Ross has performed with numerous orchestras and choral societies across the country, including the National Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Chicago Symphony as a member of the Steans Institute, and the Tanglewood Symphony. A frequent performer of early and sacred music, his recent engagements include Handel’s Messiah with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, Seattle Baroque, Dallas Bach Society, Helena Symphony, Bellevue Philharmonic; Elijah with Seattle Pro Musica; and the evangelist in Bach’s St. John’s Passion with Choral Arts Northwest. Other guest solo appearances have been with the Bartlesville Symphony, the Lawrence Symphony and White Heron Chorale, the Icicle Creek Music Festival, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Seattle Choral Company, Choral Arts Northwest, the Seattle Baroque, and the Seattle Symphony. His regional work also includes concerts with the Bartlesville Symphony and Choral Society, Orchestra Seattle, the Portland Chamber Orchestra, the Walla Walla Symphony, the Cascade Music Festival, the Northwest Sinfonietta, Music of Remembrance, and numerous choral societies and orchestras in the Northwest.
A distinguished alumnus of DePauw University (B.M.), and Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (M.M. and Artist Diploma), Ross is also a cellist and pianist, a voice teacher on faculty at Seattle University, and co-founder of the Sacred Music Foundation. He is an artist-in-residence at the First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue.
Michael Wanko
American bass-baritone Michael Wanko [Major General Stanley] has the unique ability to perform within the dramatic repertoire in addition to the major buffo and comedic roles in bel canto works. He also has an affinity to the works of Gilbert & Sullivan and began his 2010-2011 season with Michigan Opera Theatre as Ko-Ko in The Mikado. He performed the same role at Opera Idaho in 2006, the same season he performed at The Utah Symphony and Opera as the Major-General.
Two seasons ago Michael returned to Utah Opera to perform the title role in Gianni Schicchi and with New Orleans Opera the role of the Sacristan in Tosca, a role he performed on the concert stage the season before in a debut with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Lorin Maazel. Also during the 2008-2009 season he performed the role of the Major-General with Kentucky Opera, Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with Opera Grand Rapids and Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro with Utah Opera.
Michael Mendelsohn
Michael P. Mendelsohn is a well-known character tenor in the San Francisco Bay Area. Michael has performed with Opera San Jose, Festival Opera, Opera Idaho and many other companies. Recent roles include Goro in Madama Butterfly, Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin, Arturo and Nomanno in Lucia di Lammermoor. Other roles include Sellem in The Rake’s Progress, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, and Spoletta in Tosca.
Other recent operatic engagements include the roles of Monostatos in The Magic Flute and Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw (both at West Bay Opera), The Devil in The Soldiers’ Tale and Pedrillo in Abduction from the Seraglio (with Pocket Opera of San Francisco), and Spalanzani in Tales of Hoffmann, and Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro (with Livermore Valley Opera). He has also performed Dr. Caius in Falstaff, Roderigo in Otello, Tinca in Il Tabarro, Mime in Das Rhinegold and the title roles in Bernstein’s Candide and Offenbach’s Bluebeard.
Michael’s solo oratorio repertoire include performances of Monteverdi’s Vespers, Mozart’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solonelle, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Bach’s Magnificat, Haydn’s Creation, Nelson-Messe and Missa Solemnis in B Flat (“Harmoniemesse”) and with the San Francisco Symphony & Chorus, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and Respighi’s Laud to the Nativity.
In addition to his singing career, Michael is a voice-over artist, working mainly for the educational toy company Leapfrog Enterprises. Included proudly among his awards and distinctions, Michael is also a Gong Show Winner.
Timothy Stoddard
Timothy Stoddard [Sergeant], lyric baritone, 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. Timothy’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. For Opera Idaho he interpreted the role of Wagner in Faust, Il Commissario in Madama Butterfly and Hortensius in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment. 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 has been 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.
Scott Noland
A native of Boise, SCOTT NOLAND [Samuel] received a vocal performance degree from Boise State University where he performed the roles of the Sailor in Dido and Aneas, Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro and Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore. Scott’s roles with Opera Idaho include Lt. Joseph Cable, USMC in South Pacific in concert, the Officer in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Monostatos in The Magic Flute, Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus and Goro in Madama Butterfly. His oratorio works include the tenor solos in Handel’s Messiah with the Boise Philharmonic, Bach’s Magnificat, Herzogenberg’s Die Geburt Christi and Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G Minor. Mr. Noland’s other roles include Roger in Grease, Enock Snow in Carousel, Little Bat in Susannah and The Balladeer in Sondheim’s Assassins.
Amanda Gardner-Porter
Acclaimed soloist Amanda Gardner-Porter [Edith] has been lauded as having a “powerful mezzo-soprano voice, with richness, agility, and great range” (Classical Voice of North Carolina). Her operatic repertoire includes Stephano (Romeo et Juliette); Hansel (Hansel and Gretel); Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro); Mercedes (Carmen); Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus); the Third Lady and Papagena (Die Zauberflöte); Proserpina and La Musica (L’ Orfeo); Hermia (A Midsummers Night’s Dream). In addition, her performance as Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas was hailed as “emotionally moving and musically thrilling” (CVNC.org).
As an oratorio soloist, Amanda has been featured as the alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria; Beethoven’s Fantasy in C Minor; Bach’s Cantatas BWV 11, 80, and 213; Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai and Missa in tempore belli; Mozart’s Vespers solemnes de confessore and Requiem; Durufle’s Requiem; and Honegger’s King David.
An advocate of modern music, Amanda has sung and premiered works for both internationally known and up-and-coming composers in venues such as the World Harp Congress in Geneva, Switzerland, and the 2003 Midwest Composers Symposium in Oberlin, Ohio. Amanda earned her MM in voice performance from the IU Jacobs School of Music.
Genevieve Baglio
Lauded for her “warm, rich mezzo voice and well-timed comic charm”, mezzo-soprano Genevieve Baglio [Kate] is making her debut with Opera Idaho. A native of the Pacific Northwest, Genevieve received her bachelors in vocal performance at Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA and is an active performer in the Washington/Oregon region. She went on to study at the Boston Conservatory of Music, and received her MM in vocal performance from Western Washington University. Recently, her performances have included Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music, The Witch in Into the Woods, and the one woman opera Bon Appétit! for which she was advised directly by composer Lee Hoiby. Her recent and upcoming concert engagements include solos in Mozart’s Requiem with the Consort Columbia, Bach’s Magnificat with the Whitman Chamber Singers, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Idaho-Washington Chorale, and Bach’s Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit in concert with Katherine Goeldner.
Lynn Allison
Lynn Allison [Director] is delighted to be once again delving into the wonderful world of Gilbert and Sullivan with Opera Idaho, after her last venture in 2005 with The Mikado. Other theater collaborations involving Opera Idaho include the role of Maria Callas in Master Class, a project Lynn helped to produce in conjunction with Opera Idaho and Boise State University’s Music Department; and a literary and musical evening Lynn wrote and directed for Opera Idaho and The Cabin, featuring excerpts from the Ann Patchett novel Bel Canto together with arias associated with the book. Lynn has directed several play readings for Boise Contemporary Theater and Idaho Shakespeare Festival. She also directed Season’s Greetings at College of Idaho, It’s a Wonderful Life: a Live Radio Play at Company of Fools in Hailey, ‘ART’ at The Boise Art Museum, and she produced and performed the one-woman play Shirley Valentine, setting it in the homes of two Garden City artists, and moving audiences between acts. She enjoys the challenge of creating theatre, and the satisfaction of performing. Recent credits with ISF and its sister companies, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, and Great Lakes Theater (Cleveland) include: Maria—Twelfth Night, Titania/Hippolyta—A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Meredith—Bat Boy: The Musical, Lady Markby—An Ideal Husband, Princess Puffer—The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Adriana—Comedy of Error, Paulina—The Seagull, Jack’s Mother—Into the Woods, Countess Rosillion—All’s Well that Ends Well, Ann Putnam and Sarah Good—The Crucible, Mistress Overdone—Measure for Measure, Aunt Abby—Arsenic and Old Lace, Lady Britomart—Major Barbara, Effy—The Spitfire Grill, Mistress Page—The Merry Wives of Windsor and Clara—Hay Fever. With Boise Contemporary Theater Lynn has most recently been seen as: The Tooth Fairy—God’s Ear, and Florence Foster Jenkins—Souvenir. Boise Contemporary Theater will also premiere Lynn’s first play, Off The Record, in the spring of 2012.
Timm Rolek
Timm Rolek served as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor for Sacramento Opera from 1998 to 2011 where he led performances of repertoire ranging from Handel to Bernstein. His audiences trusted both his repertoire selections and his ability to balance and present casts that offer the best of what is available in up and coming artists. Rolek was also involved with other education and outreach programs during his tenure with Sacramento Opera, working with the Sacramento, Napa, and Modesto Youth Symphonies, the California State University Sacramento Opera, and has led master classes at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
In addition to his duties with Sacramento Opera, Maestro Rolek has been a guest conductor with a number of notable companies including Nevada Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Skylight Opera Theatre, Rimrock Opera, Opera Delaware and Chautauqua Opera. In addition, he held a staff position with the Minnesota Opera and was a part of the conducting staff at the Metropolitan Opera.
Maestro Rolek also served as the Artistic Director and Principle Conductor for the Lake Tahoe Music Festival from 2003-2010, where he founded the Orchestra Academy in 2010.
The 2011-12 season has Maestro Rolek debuting with Opera Idaho with The Pirates of Penzance and returning to Sacramento Opera to lead Rigoletto. During the summer of 2008 his conducting duties included collaborating with the Reno Philharmonic. From 1995 until 2005 Maestro Rolek was the Music Director of the Grand Forks Symphony ND. He returned in 2009 for a Baroque program celebrating their 100th anniversary, as well as a guest appearance in 2010. He formerly served as Music Director of the Heartland Symphony (1993-1998) and has been a guest conductor with a number of other symphony orchestras as well.
Rolek’s repertoire is wide-ranging for both the opera stage and for symphony orchestras. His recordings include Jerre Tanner’sThe Kona Coffee Cantata with the Prague Chamber Orchestra, and Joseph Fennimore’s Eventide (both on the Albany/Troy label). He conducted the American premiere of Ernst Krenek’s Das Geheime Koenigreich and has participated in the Pierre Boulez/IRCAM composers and conductors workshop at Carnegie Hall. Twin Cities Public Television KTCA-2 featured him on their two-time Emmy Award-winning program Arts on 2. In conjunction with Northern Lights Public Radio, he produced a nine-part radio-program called Music In Our Century. He has served on a Lila Wallace/Reader’s Digest grant panel, Singer Workshop panel for Opera America, has been a frequent judge for competitions including the National Council Auditions for the Metropolitan Opera.
After studying composition at the University of Minnesota, Maestro Rolek studied conducting with Herbert Blomstedt, Sir Neville Marriner, Klaus Tennstedt, and James Levine. An avid water sports enthusiast, Rolek has participated in both the Alcatraz Swim across San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Cup sailboat race from San Francisco to Hawaii. Rolek’s first novel, Deceptive Cadence, is due to be released in 2012.
Melody English, SopranoMelody English is a student at Boise State University where she studies Vocal Performance under the instruction of Dr. Laura Rushing-Raynes. She actively participates with The BSU Meistersingers and the Opera Theatre program where she has performed as Laurie in Copland’s The Tender Land and the Spirit in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. In the last few seasons, Ms. English has performed in choruses including Star Wars: Live in Concert; Opera Idaho’s South Pacific by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti, and La Fille du Régiment by Gaetano Donizetti; the Boise Philharmonic’s John Williams Concert; and the Boise Baroque Orchestra’s production of Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell.
Rachel Montoya, SopranoRachael Montoya is a senior Coloratura Soprano at Boise State University and will be graduating with a BM in Vocal Performance as well as a BM in Music Education. Rachael has played piano and sung for over 15 years and has recently performed the role of Cinderella in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella this past March with Boise State’s Music and Theatre Departments in the Morrison Center. You might have seen her in Boise State Music Department’s production of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas as Belinda last fall. She has performed in Opera Idaho’s resident company for 2 years. She recently toured the Queen of the Night and Papagena arias (understudy) with Opera Idaho’s touring Mini Magic Flute show to local schools to introduce opera to all ages!
Rachael has performed in Boise State’s Meistersingers for 3 years and was President in 2009-2010. She is currently the Vice President of the SNATS Boise (National Association of Teacher of Singing, Student Chapter). She has received the Julia Bauer Holland Memorial Scholarship, the Mr. and Mrs. Wilber Elliott Vocal Scholarship, the Idaho Governor’s Cup Scholarship, the Boise Choristers Scholarship, the Whitney Women’s Choral Scholarship, the Keith Stein Blue Thunder March Band Scholarship, The Martha Reese Vocal Scholarship, the Munson Music Education Scholarship, and the Magic Valley Rotary Club Scholarship.
Rachael has a 4.0 in Music Education and plans to graduate in Fall 2011 with Magna Cum Laude status. She recently won the Boise State Concerto Aria contest with Donizetti’s O luce di quest’ anima and performed with Boise State’s Orchestra in the Special Events Center.
Rachael has been teaching private piano lessons for 4 years and plans to continue private lessons while continuing her career in professional performing. Rachael plans to attend graduate school in Fall 2012 for Vocal Performance with an emphasis in Opera.
Katie Morell, Soprano
As a recent graduate of the College of Idaho’s Vocal Performance program, Katie Morell has been involved in a wide array of productions and performances within the Treasure Valley musical community including such roles as Louisa in The Fantasticks, as Judy Haynes in White Christmas, and as Belinda in Dido & Aeneas. Katie also sings with the Katie Morell Jazz Combo throughout the Treasure Valley. In 2011, she sang in Opera Idaho’s production of Carousel by Rodgers & Hammerstein.
Her passion for sharing the delights of music with others wouldn’t have been possible without the love and support of her family.
Holly Salewski, Soprano
Holly Salewski is an Idaho native and has a long-time association with Opera Idaho. She initially began with the Opera Idaho Children’s Chorus under the direction of Linda Berg and has been a part of the Resident Company since 2005. Past performances include operas such as Bizet’s Carmen, Puccini’s La bohème, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Gounod’s Faust, and Bernstein’s Candide. She also sang in Opera Idaho’s 2011 production of Carousel by Rodgers & Hammerstein. Ms. Salewski holds a BBA in Management and Marketing from Evangel University in Springfield, Missouri, and currently works in the non-profit sector both in professional and advisory positions.
Tessa Huber, Mezzo Soprano
Tessa Huber became a member of Opera Idaho’s Resident Company in the spring of 2010 at the age of 13. She was a member of the chorus for Opera Idaho’s production of Our Town by Ned Rorem in 2010 and in the chorus for Starlight Theatre’s 2010 I’ll Be Home for Christmas. This past year, she performed in multiple choirs, including the award winning Cantus Youth Choirs. She has also performed solos for community events. In the summer of 2011, Ms. Huber was excited to be a part of the chorus for Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel and to work with such an amazing, talented cast.
Robert Sandberg, TenorRobert Sandberg made his Opera Idaho debut this past spring as a peasant and soldier in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment. He has always loved singing and has trained with Norman DeVol of the San Francisco Opera. He is honored to be studying voice currently with Tara Victoria Smith.
Mr. Sandberg’s dramatic personality feels at home on the stage, and he is delighted to lend his voice to the topsy-turvy world of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance.
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Wally Tuck, TenorWally Tuck was asked to try out for Opera Idaho by the Chorus Master Dale Ball following a stage production at Promised Valley Playhouse. He debuted with Opera Idaho in the 1997-1998 productions of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Bizet’s Carmen. Since then he has sung tenor in several productions, including Gounod’s Faust, Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Il barbiere di Siviglia, Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel, and many others.
Kyle Christensen, Bass
A lifelong lover of music, Kyle Neil Christensen began studying music in middle school by joining the choir and taking piano lessons. At the age of 14, he began studying the guitar and occasionally writes his own songs. Throughout high school, Mr. Christensen participated in both a cappella and jazz choirs. During this time, he fell in love with a variety of genres including classic rock, folk, jazz, and classical music. After graduating, he went on to study music for a year at Brigham Young University-Idaho and has recently transferred to Boise State University to continue pursuing a degree in vocal performance and where he performed the role of Lord Tolloller in Iolanthe. Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel was his first production with Opera Idaho. Mr. Christensen hopes one day to have his own vocal studio.
Michal Jarolimek, Bass
Michal Jarolimek grew up in Rupert, Idaho, and holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance and Music Theory from the College of Idaho and an M.A. in Vocal Performance from the University of Arizona. Favorite roles performed include Tevye in Bock, Harnick & Stein’s Fiddler on the Roof, Duke of Plaza Toro in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers, and Bridegroom in Stravinsky’s Les Noces. Mr. Jarolimek enjoys ensemble singing and is a member of Boise’s Critical Mass vocal ensemble and Opera Idaho’s Resident Company. Recently, Mr. Jarolimek appeared as Frank in Opera Idaho’s production of Ned Rorem’s Our Town and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel. He currently works at Dunkley Music in Boise as the Music Manager.
Fernando Menéndez, BassBorn in Guatemala, Fernando Menéndez began studying voice there as a student of Dr. Angélica Rosa Sepúlveda. After moving to Idaho, his love for the art form led him to continue his training and is currently a student of Jason and Michele Detwiler. Since August 2009, Mr. Menéndez has performed with the Opera Idaho chorus in Gounod’s Faust, Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, Rorem’s Our Town, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, and Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment.
Bob Wallace, BassIn his youth, Bob Wallace played jazz, folk, country/rock guitar, saxophone, and upright bass. Singing began in middle age with his first gig in the 1988-89 season of the Boise Master Chorale. During the 1990’s, Opera Idaho recruited chorus members from the B.M.C., putting Mr. Wallace in the right place at the right time. He was delighted to experience the important role stage choruses have in many complex, emotionally-rich performances. Through opera, he rediscovered his childhood love of the Broadway musical and met its antecedents bel canto and beyond. Singing and performing compliment Mr. Wallace’s law practice, most of whose 35 years have been and remain in the courtroom.
Modified Major General’s Lyrics
I am the very model of a modem major general,
I’ve information vegetable, animal and mineral,
I know the names of all the states in order alphabetical
And whether they vote red or blue or simply a-political:
I’m very well acquainted, too, with matters matrimonial
and wish Prince Will and Catherine a life most patrimonial
Then I can hum the Billboard hits from every recent pop era
Ooh! Tricky! [Orchestra riff of Phantom of the Opera theme] Aah yes!
And whistle all the melodies from Phantom of the Opera.
All: and whistle etc…
I know the US Senator and all the rabble-rousers
Who preach the joys of chastity, till caught without their trousers!
In short in matters vegetable, animal and mineral
I am the very model of a modern major general.
All: in short etc…
I am the expert Statesman of the news in Boise Idaho
From the Party of the Tea to swimming up the stream where salmon flow
I know Boehner, Dieter, Butch and naturally Obama
And learned they have in common lots of “B’s” and public drama
I know the Egyptian Temple in the land of the Potatoe
And all those G&S shows including the Mikado;
I know the inner secrets of the Kennedys of Camelot
Ah? Camelot? [galloping sounds with coconut shells] I’ve got it!!!
And whistle all the tunes from that infernal nonsense Spamalot
All: and whistle etc…
I’ve memorized the football plays, Coach Pete has nothing on me there,
The Broncos, I-U Vandals, Steelheads, Stampede all extraordinaire.
In short in matters vegetable, animal and mineral
I am the very model of a modem major general.
All: in short etc…
I’ve read the books on strategy and know it all in theory,
I’ve played all the war games and believe me they are dreary;
On military matters though you know I am the Potentate
To educate, motivate, officiate and lose some weight
When I have learnt what progress has been made in modem gunnery,
When I know more of tactics than a novice in a nunnery (Bless you!)
In short when I’ve a smattering of elemental strategy
Hm… [taking his horse again] I’ve got it!
You’ll say a better major general has never sat-a-gee… It means ride a Horse!
All: You’lI say etc…
*For my military knowledge though I’m plucky and adventury
Has only been brought down to the beginning of the century
But still in matters vegetable, animal and mineral,
I am the very model of a modem major general.
All: But still etc….
After the applause dies down, the Major General walks down stage to the maestro and says “Prestissimo Ma Non Troppo, s’il vous plait, Maestro.” And then takes only the last refrain as fast as possible.
