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Cabaret Singer
Extraordinaire
"Highly recommended" OPJ
The Chicago Opera Theater has a hit with their production
of Handel's "Aggrapina" playing at the Atheneum Theater on Southport.
The Atheneum is small and intimate, sort of the Wrigley Field of Opera
houses. Now that the Lyric Opera of Chicago has its season closed
and you can no longer fly your plane from Miegs Field to La Scala, the
Chicago Opera Theater and the Florentine in Milwaukee are divine treats.
The Atheneum is so intimate you will feel as though you are a supernumerary
in the production and like all supernumeraries (the average pay is some
$15.00 per production)
Now on to the show. The production is fun, it is glamorous, light hearted, imaginative sets and lighting, and overflowing talent from the stage to the orchestra pit. Emmanuelle Haïm as conductor, is a house favorite and the singers in the production are not only super model beautiful but gifted vocalists with theatrical qualities of timing and demure. The humorous quality brought to the stage of irony is
executed
The Moe Howard Three stooges haircut helps keep the androgynous
There are roles for contralto, male soprano, male
contralto, soprano coloratura (the Queen ) and heavy bass (the King).
Something for
The theatrics are some of the best to be found on any
stage and the
Tell your friends and buy
your tickets as soon as you can for
www.chicagooperatheater.org All performances are at the Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood. 2936 N. Southport Chicago, IL 60657 (773) 935-6860 Chicago, IL – Chicago Opera Theater presents George Frideric Handel’s 18th century masterpiece Agrippina beginning April 30th. Largely overlooked in the opera repertoire for many years, Handel operas have seen a resurgence in the last decade as companies and audience interest alike are piqued by their emotional intensity and inventive style. Written relatively early in Handel's career and largely the work that established his international reputation, Agrippina is a fictional story set in ancient Rome that touches on familiar events from both ancient and contemporary history. The comedy follows the struggle for power that ensues when word reaches Rome that the emperor Claudius has died at sea, and his wife Agrippina ruthlessly works to install Nero, her son from a previous marriage, as emperor. But her plot goes awry when Claudius unexpectedly returns. The three-act opera was first performed to grand audience acclaim at the Teatro San Giovanni Gristostomo in Venice, Italy on December 26, 1709. Chicago Opera Theater is proud to bring together a dynamic artistic team headed by rising French conductor Emmanuelle Haïm, in her US conducting debut, a former member of Les Arts Florissants and one of the most in-demand young interpreters of the baroque repertoire, and versatile director/playwright/actor Lillian Groag. Although female pairings are a rarity in opera, both women have achieved critical acclaim for their work in a particularly male-dominated field. Haïm, an early music specialist, has become a musical force to watch following the unprecedented acclaim she received for the Glyndebourne Touring Opera production of Handel's Rodelinda that she directed in 2001. In January, she led famed British tenor Ian Bostridge in six sold-out performances of Monteverdi's Orfeo for the Barbican in London. Ms. Haïm originally gained acclaim as a harpsichordist of choice for Sir Simon Rattle, Claudio Abbado, and William Christie, among others. In 2000, she founded her own ensemble, Le Concert d'Astrée in Paris. In this production of Agrippina, Haïm will be leading an orchestra armed with period instruments, enabling them to stay true to Handel’s gripping score. Director Groag’s eclectic resume highlights acting credits including Broadway, Off-Broadway, Mark Taper Forum, and regional theatres throughout the country. She has directed at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Old Globe Theatre, New York City Opera, Berkeley Repertory, Seattle Repertory, Glimmerglass Opera, the Virginia Opera, and Opera San Jose. The production features the creative talents of three nationally known designers. Set designer Michael Ganio has displayed his talents on the stages of the Cleveland Playhouse, Denver Center and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Costume designer Tracy Dorman has dressed actors for the Virginia Opera, Glimmerglass Opera and New York City Opera, while lighting designer Robert Wierzel has lit the stages of Actors Theatre of Louisville, Guthrie Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, American Repertory Theatre, as well as Chicago Opera Theater’s own Acis and Galatea (2001). The orchestra features another exciting French musician, Stéphanie-Marie Degand, as concertmaster. Her stunning talents have graced the stages of Alice Tully Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and the Théâtre du Châtelet, and have been under the batons of Haïm and Christophe Rousset. The production brings together a formidable international cast and includes three COT debuts. Debuting in the title role of Agrippina is Italian Soprano Monica Colonna, who was heard in the role of Adina in L'elisir d'amore opposite Luciano Pavarotti at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples and played Donna Anna in the Peter Brook production of Mozart's Don Giovanni conducted by Claudio Abbado at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. The Swedish Mezzo-Soprano Kristina Hammarström (debuting as Nerone) has performed in such opera houses as the Bastille Opera in Paris, Kammeroper in Vienna and the opera houses of Dusseldorf, Strasbourg and Dublin. Canadian Soprano Jane Archibald (Poppea), also in her COT debut, also debuted last season with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir and has one a number of vocalist awards in her home country. Audiences will remember Bass-Baritones Ricardo Herrera (Pallante) from COT’s Semele (2002), and Derrick Parker (Claudio), from COT’s Acis and Galatea and The Rape of Lucretia (2002). Bass-Baritone Brandon Mayberry also joins the cast in the role of Lesbo. A graduate of DePaul University, he is currently pursuing a performer’s diploma at Indiana University. Connected with the resurgence of interest in Handel operas, is the rise of the countertenor, which is the modern equivalent of the castrato. In Handel’s era, castrati were very much like modern rock stars, adored by the public. In modern performance, these roles are sung by countertenors, and we are proud to feature Stephen Wallace and Pascal Bertin in the roles of Narciso and Ottone. Wallace, most recently seen at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, has appeared with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Flanders, at Glyndebourne Festival Opera and the Dublin Lyric Opera. Bertin has performed with conductors such as Jordi Savall, Christophe Rousset, Marc Minkowski and John Eliot Gardiner as an opera and oratorio interpreter.
:Chicago Opera Theater (COT) is a mid-sized arts organization dedicated to producing high quality opera in Chicago and around the country. Since its inception in 1974, COT has staged 82 operas, given 30 Chicago professional premieres, and reached an audience of thousands through its main-stage performances at the Athenaeum Theatre, regional tours, outreach programs, and telecasts. Chicago Opera Theater’s mission is to provide first class productions of small to middle scale opera repertoire in the Chicago area, to develop young artists, and to educate, expand and diversify its audience. Under the dynamic leadership of General Director Brian Dickie, COT is currently preparing for its move to a new performance home in 2004 at the Music and Dance Theater Chicago, currently under construction in Millenium Park. For more information, visit our website at www.chicagooperatheater.org. Agrippina MUSIC BY GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL
ARTISTIC: CAST:TICKETS: Tickets range in price from $35 - $75. Students receive a 50%
discount.
April 30 7:30 p.m.
BOX OFFICE INFORMATION: To buy tickets or for more information, contact the Chicago Opera Theater Box Office, M-F 9am – 5pm. Phone: 312.704.8414
Or call Ticketmaster at 312.902.1500.
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