Cinderella | Portland Opera

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“Inside Cinderella”
Video interviews with Stage Director, Conductor, and Cinderella herself . . .
Choose the link to the left.

She’s sweet. She’s tender. She’s gracious beyond belief.

Cinderella will steal your heart. And you won’t mind one bit.

Love knows no class boundaries in this delightful romp. Forced into servitude by her jealous step-sisters, Cinderella falls in love with . . . well, you know the story. In the end, she finds it totally bewildering. There she is. At the Royal Ball. And on her Prince’s arm! But does she banish her cruel family? Ah, she’s far too nice for that, and besides, it’s a fairy tale and everyone gets to live happily ever after.

Music to make you smile! Dazzling vocal fireworks. Voices soaring into astonishing ensembles. All at a spirited, sparkling pace that adds a quicksilver magic to this favorite tale.

Sung in Italian with projected English translations.

Cinderella	Angela Niederloh (pictured above)
The Prince	Michael Colvin
Dandini	Morgan Smith
Don Magnifico	Steven Condy
Alidoro	Derrick Parker

Conductor	Christopher Larkin
Stage Director	Christopher Mattaliano
Set Designer	Polly Robbins

ALL-NEW PORTLAND OPERA PRODUCTION!!

ACT I. Late eighteenth or early nineteenth century. In the run-down mansion of Don Magnifico, whose two daughters, Clorinda and Tisbe, try on finery while Cinderella (Cenerentola), his stepdaughter, who serves as the family maid, sings a forlorn ditty about a king who found a wife among the common folk. When a beggar appears, the stepsisters want to send him away, but Cinderella offers him bread and coffee. Just then, several courtiers arrive to announce that Prince Ramiro will soon pay a visit: he is looking for the most beautiful girl in the land to be his bride. Magnifico, awakened by the commotion, comes to investigate. When he learns of the prince's visit, he exhorts the girls to save the family fortunes by capturing the young man's fancy. Prince Ramiro, disguised as his own valet, arrives alone. Cinderella is startled by the handsome stranger, and each admires the other. Asked who she is, Cinderella gives a flustered explanation about her mother's death and her own servile position, then excuses herself to respond to her stepsisters' call. When Magnifico enters, Ramiro says the prince will be along shortly. Magnifico fetches Clorinda and Tisbe, and they greet Dandini—the prince's valet—disguised as the prince himself. The sisters fawn over Dandini, who invites them to a ball. Don Magnifico also prepares to leave, arguing with Cinderella, who does not want to be left behind. Ramiro notes how badly Cinderella is treated. His tutor, Alidoro, reads from a census list and asks for the third daughter of the household. Magnifico denies she is still alive. Once Dandini has left with Magnifico, Alidoro tells Cinderella she is to accompany him to the ball. Casting off his rags, he identifies himself as a member of the court and assures the girl that heaven will reward her purity of heart.

Dandini, still posing as the prince, escorts the two sisters into the royal country house and offers Magnifico a tour of the wine cellar. Dandini reports to the prince with his negative opinion of the two sisters. This confuses Ramiro, who has heard Alidoro speak well of one of Magnifico's daughters. Clorinda and Tisbe rejoin Dandini; when he offers Ramiro as an escort for one of them, they turn their noses up at a mere groom. Alidoro announces the arrival of an unknown, veiled lady. Ramiro recognizes something in her voice. When she lifts her veil, he and Dandini, as well as the sisters, sense something familiar about her appearance. Their confusion is shared by Magnifico, who notices the newcomer's resemblance to Cinderella.

ACT II. In a drawing room of the palace, Magnifico is hailed as the prince's new wine counselor. He stews over this new threat to his daughters' eligibility. He leaves with the girls, whereupon Ramiro wanders in, smitten with the newly arrived guest because of her resemblance to the girl he met that morning. He conceals himself as Dandini arrives with the magnificently attired Cinderella, courting her. She politely declines, saying she is in love with someone else—his groom. At this, the delighted Ramiro steps forth. To test his sincerity, she gives him one of a pair of matching bracelets, saying that if he really cares for her, he will find her. After she leaves, Ramiro calls his men together so that the search can begin.

Once again the prince's valet, Dandini, faces Magnifico, who still believes he is the prince and insists he decide which daughter to marry. Dandini confesses he is a valet. When Magnifico turns indignant, Dandini orders him out of the palace.

At Magnifico's house, Magnifico and the sisters return, all in a vile mood. Dandini appears at the door, saying the prince's carriage has overturned outside. Cinderella, bringing a chair for the prince, realizes he is Ramiro. He in turn recognizes her bracelet. Angered by ’family's unkindness to Cinderella, Ramiro threatens them, but Cinderella asks him to show mercy. Her family still against her, Cinderella leaves with the prince.

In the throne room of Ramiro's palace, Magnifico curries favor with the newly created princess, but she asks only to be acknowledged at last as his daughter. Secure in her happiness, she asks the prince to forgive Magnifico and the two stepsisters.

by John W. Freeman -- courtesy of Opera News

Cinderella—Mixing Pathos with Humor

“Fool! Before Carnival is done, everyone will be in love with [Cinderella], before a year is up it will be sung from Lilibeo to Dora, and in two years it will please in France and astound the English. Impresarios will fight over it and, even more, so will prima donnas.”

--Rossini to his librettist, Ferretti, after Cinderella’s inauspicious opening.

For such a celebrated composer, Gioachino Rossini certainly had his share of fiascos. Still, it is the rare opera of Rossini’s that remains derided after opening night. After Barber of Seville, Rossini fled the theater and the next night, the mobs sought him out to congratulate him. Cinderella had a similarly dismal opening night reception. It had been created in little over three weeks and the singers and orchestra were ill-prepared. But once sufficiently rehearsed, the opera took its place as one of the most popular and often performed of the nineteenth century.

When Rossini wrote Cinderella, he was already a master of the opera buffa style. But Cinderella was written at a time when he was beginning to abandon the comic world of opera buffa and concentrate more fully on opera seria. Cinderella is a transitional piece being neither a buffa nor a seria, but an emerging trend in Italian opera of the time, opera semi-seria. What characterizes it is the leading lady and her leading man, who are not comic characters, but sentimental ones. Cinderella’s journey from servant girl to princess is captured in her music itself, from her simple folk song at the opening to her grand aria of forgiveness at the end. Of Rossini’s comedies, Cinderella is by far the most tender and heartfelt. There is much in the music that is brilliant in fine Rossini tradition—splashy ensembles, rollicking patter, and virtuosic arias—but there is also a pathos, sweetness and humanity that is sometimes missing from his broader comedies.

Every culture has a Cinderella story. The one most familiar to us was first published by the Frenchman Charles Perrault in his 1697 collection, Tales of Mother Goose. This version of the story is full of magic. Rossini and his librettist, Jacapo Ferretti, downplay magic, basing much of the action on a French opera libretto by Charles-Guillaume Etienne entitled Cendrillon (not to be confused with Massenet’s later opera of the same title). Rossini and Ferretti both took short cuts with Cinderella. Rossini had originally been contracted to write an opera based on a naughty French comedy for a theater in Rome, but ran into so many sanctions from Church censors, that he scrapped the whole project on December 23rd and asked Ferretti to provide a libretto. The two worked at a breakneck pace to make their January 25th opening night. Fortunately, Rossini was not above stealing from himself, as he had on numerous occasions. The overture is from his opera La Gazzetta, written for Naples and far too racy to make it past Roman censors, so Roman audiences would not have heard it. Rossini also employed the aid of skilled church musician Luca Agolini, who was responsible for a chorus at the top of Act II and two arias, one for Alidoro (later Rossini wrote another, which is often substituted) and for Clorinda, one of the stepsisters, which is often cut, since it was an aria del sorbetto, performed to afford the audience time to step out and buy an ice cream. Some of the recitatives were also hired out by Rossini, but the rest of the opera is his and his alone, written in a remarkably short amount of time, making the loveliness of the music even more noteworthy.

The premiere was a fiasco, although not nearly as rowdy or disastrous a one as The Barber of Seville. And Rossini’s prediction was right. Within 10 years it had been performed in the major opera houses of Europe, as well as New York City, and in 1844, 27 years after its premiere, it became the first opera ever performed in Australia. Like most of Rossini’s work, it all but disappeared after his death in the flood of Romantic and verismo works popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but as Rossini was revived by such champions as Marilyn Horne, his operas came gloriously back to the stage in all of their vital, splendid glory.

--Alexis Hamilton

About the Composer: Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868)

“Give me a laundry list, and I’ll set it to music.”
--Gioachino Rossini

Rossini critics might snicker at Rossini’s comment, for many have accused him of being trivial, mistaking popularity for artistic inadequacy. But after 39 operas, ten of which are masterworks, Rossini’s operatic importance cannot be overstated. His innovations created a whole new vocabulary for opera, paving the way for Verdi, Meyerbeer and Wagner.

Born to musician parents, Rossini was steeped in operatic and symphonic music.
At 14, he was accepted into the Accademia Filarmonica, where he proved an apt pupil, despite his apparent inability and lack of interest in counterpoint.

Academia seems to have cramped Rossini’s style, however, and he wrote little. After he left his studies, his composition increased. The Teatro San Moisè in Venice commissioned him to write a farsa. The San Moisè was a savvy, well-managed opera company, perfect for the fledgling composer to perfect his craft. Farse were low budget, chorus-less, 80-minute operas. In total, Rossini wrote four farse for San Moisè and developed an effective structure which translated beautifully in the first acts of his subsequent full-length comedies.

Of his operas in this early period, Tancredi stands out as the watershed. An opera seria first performed in 1813, Tancredi contains not only some of Rossini’s loveliest music but also some true innovations. Rossini’s opera buffa, L’Italiana in Algeri, exemplifies the composer’s inventiveness. For the first time he combined elements of opera seria and opera buffa, and some critics accused Rossini of blending these elements willy-nilly without regard to effect. An unbiased hearing proves this to be untrue.

The year 1816 marked a new phase in Rossini’s career. The Neapolitans had been inured to the Rossini-mania sweeping Italy and Europe, but Domenico Barbaia, artistic director of the San Carlos in Naples, sought to capitalize on Rossini’s novelty. Rossini churned out 18 operas in 7 years for Barbaia. Compare that to Puccini who wrote 11 operas in his entire 42 year career, or Verdi who wrote 29 operas over 54 years.

Rossini then traveled to Vienna and married soprano Isabella Colbran. When he returned to Bologna to finish work on Semiramide, his Italian career was ending. Offers for lucrative positions poured in from all over Europe and he accepted the offer from Theatre Italien in Paris. His first opera for Theatre Italien was Il Viaggio a Reims, written for the coronation of Charles X. Because it was an occasional piece, Rossini later re-used much of it in Le Comte Ory, a brilliant opéra comique which far surpassed the usual vocal demands of that genre.

Rossini’s final opera Guillaume Tell is a grand summation of a tremendous career. Guillaume Tell is so masterful that even Richard Wagner felt compelled to compliment Rossini on his admirable marriage of music and drama. Rossini reportedly quipped, “Dear me, I was writing the music of the future and didn’t know it.”

It seems, however, that Rossini tired of opera after Guillaume Tell. He returned to Bologna and retired from operatic life. He had written 39 operas in 19 years. After so many contributions to opera, he had certainly earned a rich retirement, and he spent his last years as a gourmand, a raconteur, a voice teacher and a marvelous cook

Angela Niederloh - Dorabella

Mezzo-soprano

Angela Niederloh - Dorabella

Mezzo-soprano

Previously at Portland Opera:
The Journey To Reims, 2004; The Magic Flute, 2007; Cinderella, 2007; La Calisto, 2009

Acclaimed by The New York Times as “an exciting coloratura mezzo-soprano,” Angela Niederloh is in demand by opera, concert and recital presenters across the United States. A compelling stage presence, Miss Niederloh has garnered praise for her performances in a wide range of repertoire. Miss Niederloh’s recent engagements include the title role in Cinderella with Portland Opera, and Falstaff with Bryn Terfel, as the saucy Meg Page with Houston Grand Opera. Other roles with Portland Opera include Third Lady in The Magic Flute and Melibea in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Rheims. During her tenure as a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Miss Niederloh appeared as Giovanna in Rigoletto, Filipevna in Eugene Onegin, Poklizeèka in The Makropolis Case, Olga in The Merry Widow, Rosette in Manon, Flora in La Traviata with René Flemming, directed by Frank Corsaro and conducted by Patrick Summers, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte and Karolka in a David Alden’s production of Jenùfa.

Miss Niederloh made her professional operatic debut as Berta in Il Barbiere di Sivilgia with Chautauqua Opera where she also covered the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos. Following her engagements with Chautauqua Opera she was invited to join the San Francisco Opera Merola Program where she performed Zita in Gianni Schicchi with maestro Joseph Coloneri and Dorabella in John Copley’s production of Cosi fan Tutte. Summers 2003 and 2004 took Ms. Niederloh to Wolftrap Opera. There she portrayed Annio in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito, Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore and Ms. Slender in Salieri’s Falstaff.

An accomplished musician, Angela Niederloh’s ability to interpret new works has led her to the Aspen Music Festival where she performed in the North American premiere of H.K. Gruber’s Gloria, directed by Edward Berkeley. Miss Niederloh reprieved her portrayal of Berta in Il Barbiere di Sivilgia with Opera Southwest where she also sang her first Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, a role she later performed with Houston’s critically acclaimed Orchestra X, conducted by James Lowe, assistant conductor of the Houston Grand Opera. Other regional performances include the Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors with Opera Omaha and Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra. Equally comfortable on the concert stage, Miss Niederloh made her Oregon Symphony debut in an exciting performance of Bernstein’s Mass and Mahler’s Second Symphony under the baton of Murry Sidlin. She has also graced audiences with her lush interpretations of the baroque repertoire with the Portland Baroque Orchestra in their annual portrayal of Handel’s Messiah. Commemorating the late Robert Shaw, Angela Niederloh received a special invitation to perform the difficult solo role in Aaron Copland’s In the Beginning with the acclaimed Choral Cross Ties. Reviewing her performance, The Oregonian critic David Stabler wrote “mezzo-soprano Angela Niederloh is the real thing. We’ll be hearing from her for years to come!” Additional concert engagements include solo performances of Messiah and Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Oregon Choral Arts Ensemble under the direction of Roger Doyle.

Miss Niederloh is in high demand for her dramatic and fresh interpretations of art song repertoire. She has performed at the 1999 Chautauqua Institution in “Art Songs at the Athenaeum” where she gave a memorable performance of Robert Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben as well as Aaron Copland’s Emily Dickenson Songs. That same year, Miss Niederloh was invited to perform a solo recital with the Portland Opera Guild Young Artist Recital Series. In 2002 Miss Niederloh was chosen to participate in recital with composer Jake Heggie premiering several of his new works. She has also been featured in recital with Steven Blier in programs entitled “Songs from the Opera Composers” and “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.

Angela Niederloh holds her Bachelor of Arts in Music Degree from Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. Her attendance at Portland State University was supported by the Laurel’s Scholarship. A frequent participant in some of the nation’s most prestigious competitions, Angela Niederloh was launched into the national spotlight as a Finalist in the 2000 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions where she performed with the Met Orchestra under the direction of Paul Nadler. February of 2004, Ms. Niederloh was awarded first place and audience favorite at the Eleanor Lieber Awards. In 2000 she placed 2nd in the MacAllister Awards Competition. As a member of the Chautauqua Opera Studio Artist Program she received the Studio Artist Award and an invitation to return the following season as an Apprentice Artist. Immediately following these exciting successes Miss Niederloh was selected as a Finalist in the 2001 Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition and in 2002 she placed 2nd in Dallas Opera Guild Competition while being selected as a finalist in the MacAllister Awards Competition.

Michael Colvin - The Prince

Tenor

Hailed as "a perfect model of the 'bel canto' style of singing" (Sun Newspapers) and praised as having "one of the most beautiful young lyric tenor instruments around" (Opera News).

Michael Colvin - The Prince

Tenor

Hailed as "a perfect model of the 'bel canto' style of singing" (Sun Newspapers) and praised as having "one of the most beautiful young lyric tenor instruments around" (Opera News), Irish-Canadian tenor Michael Colvin has achieved international recognition with acclaimed performances throughout Canada, the United States and in Europe.

Michael Colvin’s 2006-07 season features an exciting mix of debuts and important return engagements including Roderigo in Rossini’s LA DONNA DEL LAGO for Garsington Opera (UK), Ferrando in COSI FAN TUTTE to open the Canadian Opera Company’s new Four Seasons Centre for the Perfoming Arts and Count Almaviva in Opera Lyra Ottawa’s THE BARBER OF SEVILLE. Concert highlights this season include a return to San Francisco for Bach’s CHRISTMAS ORATORIO with Nicholas McGegan and his Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Beethoven's SYMPHONY No.9 and Mozart’s REQUIEM with Peter Oundjian and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, ELIJAH with the Ulster Orchestra in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Mahler’s DAS LIED VON DER ERDE for the National Ballet of Canada and Arvo Pärt’s PASSIO with the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Future highlights include Portland Opera’s LA CENERENTOLA, Beethoven’s SYMPHONY No.9 with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Elgar’s DREAM OF GERONTIUS with the Elora Festival and Verdi’s REQUIEM with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Opera highlights from past seasons include DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL (Belmonte) for Chicago Opera Theater, Canadian Opera Company's RODELINDA conducted by Harry Bicket, his role debut as Argirio opposite Ewa Podles in the Canadian Opera Company’s TANCREDI, OEDIPUS REX (Shepherd) for the Edinburgh International Festival, Portland Opera's IL VIAGGIO A REIMS (Belfiore), L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI with Opera Festival of New Jersey, THE MAGIC FLUTE (Tamino) for Manitoba Opera, DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL (Belmonte) for Vancouver Opera and Arizona Opera’s THE MIKADO. Additional highlights include the COC’s L'ITALIANA IN ALGERI, IL VIAGGIO A REIMS, DON GIOVANNI and THE BARBER OF SEVILLE, Chicago Opera Theater's RAPE OF LUCRETIA and SEMELE and his U.S. debut as Almaviva in Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s THE BARBER OF SEVILLE. Other credits include a big-screen debut as Don Ottavio in the internationally acclaimed film DON GIOVANNI UNMASKED alongside baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky and recordings on the NAXOS, CBC and Warner Music labels.

An avid concert and recital artist, Michael Colvin’s recent orchestral appearances include Mozart’s REQUIEM for Chicago’s Grant Park Festival and Colorado’s Vail Valley Music Festival, Handel’s MESSIAH with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Glover), Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (McGegan) and National Arts Centre Orchestra (Pinnock), Schubert’s MASS IN A-FLAT with Helmut Rilling and Festival Vancouver, Beethoven’s SYMPHONY No.9 with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (Tovey), l’Orchestre symphonique de Quebec (Talmi), Elora Festival and Festival de Lanuadière and Haydn's DIE SCHÖPFUNG and Verdi’s REQUIEM for the Elora Festival of the Arts. Additional highlights include Britten's SERENADE FOR TENOR, HORN AND STRINGS with Richard Bradshaw and the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, Dvorak's STABAT MATER with Andrey Boreyko and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Vaughan Williams’ ON WENLOCK EDGE; all broadcast nationally on CBC Radio. Recital highlights include Brahms’ LIEBESLIEDER WALZER for CBC Radio, Schubert's DIE SCHÖNE MÜLLERIN at Toronto's Glenn Gould Studio as well as regular appearances with Toronto’s Aldeburgh Connection and Off Centre Music Salon.

Born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, and raised in Toronto, Canada, Michael Colvin began his musical studies at St. Michael's Choir School in Toronto and returned to music after attaining his Bachelor of Science in Immunology from the University of Toronto. A graduate of the U. of T. Opera Division, Mr. Colvin has also trained with the Canadian Opera Company's Ensemble Studio, the Britten-Pears School in Aldeburgh, England and Canada’s Banff Centre for the Arts. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, most notably the Canadian Opera Foundation Award, the Canadian Opera Volunteer Committee's Distinguished Graduate Award and a Chalmers Performing Arts Award. Michael Colvin makes his home in Toronto with his wife Mary Bella and their two sons Andrew and Benjamin.

Morgan Smith - Dandini

Baritone

Morgan Smith - Dandini

Baritone

Since making his professional debut in 2001, baritone Morgan Smith has performed with numerous opera companies, symphonies, and musical organizations across North America, reaching an audience of over 500,00 people. Originally from White Plains, NY, Morgan received his training from Columbia College and the Mannes College of Music in New York City. He made his operatic debut with Seattle Opera, singing the role of Donald in Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd. Morgan has since performed numerous times with the company, appearing as Prince Yamadori in Puccini's Madama Butterfly, Peter Niles in Mourning Becomes Electra, Morales in Carmen, and Sonora in La Fanciulla del West. The young baritone has also performed with the San Francisco Opera, Portland Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Sarasota Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Florentine Opera, El Paso Opera, the Pine Mountain Music Festival, Sun Valley Center for the Performing Arts, and the Bellingham Music Festival. Roles performed include Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Papageno, Marcello, Don Alvaro (Il Viaggio a Reims), Slook (La Cambiale di Matrimonio),Top (The Tenderland), Belcore, Guglielmo, and Don Giovanni, to name a few. The Bellingham Herald had the following to say about his performance as Don Giovanni: "Morgan Smith of the Seattle Opera gave an electrifying performance as Don Giovanni, radiating saturnine power, dark magnetism and cruel charm. His ample, cognac-smooth voice has just enough snarl to give it bite. This young singer already inhabits the role the way James Bond fills a tux.".
Morgan has had the opportunity to appear with several orchestras around the U.S., including the National Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Portland Symphony, Seattle Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Yakima Symphony, and North Arkansas Symphony. He also makes regular appearances with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, with whom he recently performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
Smith is also gaining a reputation for his interpretation of modern orchestral and operatic repertoire. Credits include covering Gerald Finley as Robert Oppenheimer, in the world Premiere of John Adams' Dr. Atomic at San Francisco Opera, the world premiere of a work by Richard Cumming with the Hartford Symphony, entitled, Aspects of Hippolytus, and the title role in the Tony Kushner/Maurice Sendak adaptation of Hans Krasa's children's opera, Brundibar, with Seattle's Music of Remembrance (Gerard Schwarz, conductor -recording scheduled for release 12/06 -Naxos). In addition, Smith will perform 2 world premiere works by eminent American opera composers in the spring of 2007: a song cycle illuminating the struggle and suffering of homosexuals during the Holocaust by Jake Heggie , entitled For a Look or a touch (commissioned by Music of Remembrance), and the role of Ted Steinert in Frau Margot by Thomas Pasetieri (commissioned by Fort Worth Opera, with original libretto by Frank Corsaro).
Additional future engagements include Escamillo with Tacoma Opera, Dandini with Portland Opera, and three more roles with Seattle Opera, beginning with Don Giovanni this January.
Smith lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife Lori, their newborn son, Sebastian, and dog, Bailey. He is also a frequent performer of the national anthem for the Mariners and the Seahawks. Aside from singing, Morgan enjoys playing soccer and appears with several teams in Seattle when he's in town. Morgan can also sometimes be seen bouncing around the streets of Seattle with Bailey, in a beat-up, red Ford pick-up in hot pursuit of supplies for various carpentry and VW restoration projects.

Steven Condy - Bartolo

Baritone

Steven Condy - Bartolo

Baritone

Previously at Portland Opera:
The Barber of Seville, 2004; Cinderella, 2007

Baritone Steven Condy, who has built his reputation on his portrayals of the great “buffo” roles, is admired not only for his robust and nuanced voice, but also for his natural acting ability. The Washington Times enthused that he has “the comic timing of John Candy and a voice that remains flexible, rich and true through every intricacy,” and Anthony Tomassini of The New York Times offered that he would “vote the prize for the most naturally clear diction of the cast to the hardy baritone Steven Condy.”

Mr. Condy begins the 2009-2010 season as Sacristan in a new production of Tosca with the Houston Grand Opera, and then joins both Opera Birmingham and Portland Opera as Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia. During the previous season he portrayed Betto in Gianni Schicchi in a new production with the Los Angeles Opera directed by Woody Allen, and his European opera debut in the same production with the Spoleto Festival of Two Worlds, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola with Austin Lyric Opera, Benoit/Alcindoro in La Bohème with the Dallas Opera, and the title role in Don Pasquale with Utah Opera. The baritone continued to thrill audiences in one of his signature roles, Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, marking his 65th career performance of the role, and his debut performances with the Virginia Opera this season were no different: “Steven Condy as Dr. Bartolo stole the show and delivered a solid vocal performance. His acting was outstanding. He is an artist willing to go the extra mile for the character and it shows.” (OperaOnline)

During the 2007 – 2008 season, Mr. Condy sang Magnifico in La Cenerentola with the Portland Opera, Utah Opera and Memphis Opera, Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Birmingham, and Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Toledo Opera. Concert performances included Belshazzar's Feast with the New Mexico Symphony and a holiday program with the Indianapolis Symphony.

In the 2006 – 2007 season, Mr. Condy sang Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with the Chautauqua Opera and with Opera Pacific, a performance which led the Los Angeles Times to proclaim that he “made an entrance to be envied driving a chopped-down '56 Ford Fairlane, reveled in the vocal and dramatic possibilities of the quack doctor Dulcamara. His buffo barcarole with Adina, 'Io son ricco, et tu sei bella' (I'm rich, and you're beautiful) was just one of his delightful moments. He's another singer to watch.” In addition, he sang the title role of Falstaff with the Indianapolis Opera, the Father in L’Enfant prodigue and Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors both with the Naples Opera, and the title role of The Mikado with the Intermountain Opera. On the concert stage he returned to Carnegie Hall for Handel’s Messiah with the Masterworks Chorus, performed in scenes from Gordon Getty’s Plump Jack with the Albuquerque Symphony and the Orquesta Sinfonica Sinaloa de las Artes in Mazatlan, Mexico, and took part in a Gala performance in Montreal.

In recent seasons Mr. Condy appeared with the Washington National Opera as Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow as part of a program entitled “Trilogy: Domingo and Guests in Three Acts,” and as Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore, a role he also sang with The Berkshire Opera. For his debut with Opera Pacific he portrayed Taddeo in L’italiana in Algeri, and for his debut with Opera Theater of St. Louis he was seen as Monterone in Rigoletto and Sir Robert Cecil in Gloriana. He appeared in the title roles in Verdi’s Falstaff and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with New Jersey Opera Theater, sang Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with the Arizona Opera, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola with the Florentine Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and the title role in Gianni Schicchi with both Opera Delaware and the OK Mozart International Festival in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Other engagements of note have included Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’amore with Arizona Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera and the Pine Mountain Music Festival, Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with San Francisco Opera, Portland Opera, Madison Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Indianapolis Opera and Opera Memphis, and the title role in Falstaff with Madison Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Kentucky Opera, and as an understudy with the San Francisco Opera. He has sung the title role in Don Pasquale with Connecticut Grand Opera, Calgary Opera and Edmonton Opera, Sulpice in Le fille du régiment with the San Francisco Opera and Opera Lyra Ottawa, and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Arizona Opera and Hawaii Opera Theater. Other engagements included his performance as Leporello in Don Giovanni with Indianapolis Opera, Scarpia in Tosca with Chautauqua Opera, and Benoit and Alcindoro in La bohème with the Dallas Opera and the Opera Company of Philadelphia.

Highlights of concert appearances include Handel’s Messiah and Robert Kapilow’s Elijah’s Angel with the Columbus Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, and performances in the role of Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro with the Minnesota Orchestra, conducted by Jeffrey Tate. He made his European debut with the Orquesta del Principado de Asturias in Oviedo, Spain in Handel’s Messiah and made his Carnegie Hall debut with the Masterworks Chorus

Steven Condy was the 1992 winner of the Fourth Luciano Pavarotti International Voice competition, and a recipient of a grant from the Sullivan Foundation. He received a Career Grant in the 1994 Richard Tucker Music Foundation competition, and first prize in the 1994 Pope Foundation competition. In 1993, he won third prize in the MacAllister Award competition, and was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions. Other honors include a 1991 Robert M. Jacobson Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation, and third prize in the 1991 Mario Lanza Institute Scholarship competition.

Mr. Condy received his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from the University of Hartford and attended the Yale University School of Music for voice and opera performance, where he earned his Master of Music degree in 1990. He is also Director of Opera Workshop and Adjunct Voice Faculty at Philadelphia Biblical University in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and teaches voice at Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania.

www.steven.condymassie.com

Derrick Parker - Alidoro

Baritone

Hailed by Opera News for his “vividly flavored vocalism” and “tall and commanding” presence.

Derrick Parker - Alidoro

Baritone

Hailed by Opera News for his “vividly flavored vocalism” and “tall and commanding” presence, Derrick Parker debuts with both the San Francisco Symphony and Houston Symphony singing Messiah in the 2006-07 season. He also returns to Virginia Opera as Claudio in Agrippina and Pensacola Opera for Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro as well as sings his first performances of the High Priest in Samson et Dalila with Orlando Opera. In addition, he sings his first performances of Crown in Porgy & Bess in South Africa and Sweden and repeats the role with the Duluth Superior Symphony. On the concert stage he joins the Santa Cruz Symphony for performances of Tippett’s A Child of Our Time.

In the 2005-06 season, he sang his first performances of Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia in a return to Utah Symphony & Opera and also returned to Lyric Opera of Kansas City for Zuniga in Carmen (a role he also sang with Pensacola Opera) and Opera Birmingham for Leporello in Don Giovanni. He also sang Colline in La Bohème with Fort Worth Opera, Figaro with Chautauqua Opera, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Granite State Opera, and the Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte with Madison Opera. His performances on the concert stage include Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 13 Evansville Philharmonic and Messiah with the Sioux City Symphony.

Mr. Parker marked his European operatic debut with performances of Mel in Anthony McDonald’s The Knot Garden at the Scottish Opera. His other recent performances include Colline with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and Shreveport Opera; Masetto in Don Giovanni with Houston Grand Opera, New Orleans Opera, and student performances with Dallas Opera; and Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia with Chicago Opera Theatre. Other performances to his credit are the title role in Don Giovanni and Figaro with Spokane Opera; Pizarro in Fidelio with Virginia Opera; Sam in Un ballo in maschera with Palm Beach Opera, Leporello with Wolf Trap Opera, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and the Preacher in Treemonisha with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Monterone in Rigoletto with Berkshire Opera.

A sought-after interpreter of the Baroque repertoire, Mr. Parker has also joined Chicago Opera Theater for Lucifer in performances of La Resurrezione conducted by Jane Glover, Claudio in Agrippina with Emanuelle Haim, and Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea directed by Mark Lamos. Following his Glimmerglass Opera debut as Antinoo in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, he was re-engaged by the company for Claudio in Agrippina in performances conducted by Harry Bicket. His first performances of Achilla in Giulio Cesare were with Utah Symphony & Opera in a production directed by James Robinson. He has also sung Caronte in Orfeo with Houston Grand Opera and Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Wolf Trap Opera. In baroque concert repertoire, he recently joined Jane Glover for performances of Messiah at SUNY Purchase and has also sung the work with the Sioux City Symphony. He also joined Emannuelle Haim and Le Concert d’Astrée as a soloist in performances of Bach’s Magnificat and Handel’s Dixit Dominus touring France and Spain.

Also on the concert stage, he has previously sung A Child of Our Time with the Santa Rosa Symphony and Jeffrey Kahane. He has joined both the Dallas Symphony and Pacific Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, the Rochester Philharmonic for Bach’s Magnificat and a concert of Gilbert & Sullivan highlights, Poland’s Sinfonia Cracovia for Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess Suite, and both the National Symphony Orchestra and Houston Symphony for concerts of opera favorites.

Derrick Parker is the recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshanna Foundation as well as a Sullivan Foundation Award. Among his other awards are prizes from the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation and Liederkrantz Foundation. He is a former member of the prestigious Houston Grand Opera Studio Program as well as Glimmerglass Opera’s Young American Artist program, Wolf Trap Opera’ Filene Young Artist Program, and the programs of the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Chautauqua Opera. He holds a Master of Music from Eastman School of Music where he sang Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, his first performances of Collatinus, and Voltaire and Pangloss in Candide and earned his Bachelor of Music from Florida State University.

Christopher Larkin - Conductor

Christopher Larkin is one of the foremost conductors of opera in North America today. As Music Director of the New York City Opera National Company, he led national tours of Madama Butterfly and Il Barbiere di Siviglia.

Christopher Larkin - Conductor

Christopher Larkin is one of the foremost conductors of opera in North America today. He has appeared as a guest conductor with Santa Fe Opera (La Traviata), Washington Opera (Samson et Dalila, I Puritani), New York City Opera (Don Giovanni, La Boheme) and Houston Grand Opera (Tosca, Romeo et Juliette, Le Nozze di Figaro), Portland Opera (Il Viaggio a Reims and Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Opera Pacific and Fort Worth Opera (Little Women), Boston Lyric Opera (East Coast premiere of Todd Machover's Resurrection), Nashville Opera (La Boheme) and Lake George Opera (L'Italiana in Algeri).

This season, Mr. Larkin made his debut at the Wexford Festival conducting Floyd's Susannah, and returned to the Fort Worth Opera for Dialogues of the Carmelites, the Utah Opera for Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Opera Carolina for La Cenerentola. This summer, he will conduct Il Viaggio a Reims for the Music Academy of the West.

As Music Director of the New York City Opera National Company, he led national tours of Madama Butterfly and Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Prior to coming to New York, he held the position of Associate Conductor with Houston Grand Opera. While in Houston, he led the world premieres of Little Women and Michael Daugherty's Jackie O with the Houston Opera Studio, and also conducted the highly acclaimed multi-media productions of Carmen, Madama Butterfly, and I Pagliacci.

Maestro Larkin has worked as an Assistant Conductor and vocal coach with several major opera companies in North America, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Vancouver Opera, and the Canadian Opera Company.

Christopher Mattaliano

Host

Portland Opera's General Director

Christopher Mattaliano’s recent revival of Hugo Weisgall’s Esther at New York City Opera received high praise from The New York Times’ critic Anthony Tommasini.

Christopher Mattaliano

Host

Portland Opera's General Director

Christopher Mattaliano’s recent revival of Hugo Weisgall’s Esther at New York City Opera received high praise from The New York Times’ critic Anthony Tommasini.

Christopher Mattaliano was named Portland Opera’s fifth General Director in July 2003. In this capacity, he is responsible for all artistic, financial, and administrative aspects of the company.

Previous to this appointment, Mr. Mattaliano was the Artistic Director of the Pine Mountain Music Festival, in addition to his very successful career as a stage director.

He brings to the company an intense artistic vision honed from his extensive stage directing experience. Prior to taking the helm at Portland Opera, Mr. Mattaliano achieved considerable regional success, directing five acclaimed Portland Opera productions—Manon (1991), Eugene Onegin (1992), Pagliacci/Carmina Burana (1997 and 2000), Candide (2002), and Il Trovatore (2002). In 2004, his direction of Rossini's The Journey to Reims opened his first artistic season in Portland to both popular and critical acclaim. Since then he has directed The Rape of Lucretia (2005), Verdi's Macbeth (2006), The Magic Flute (2007), Cinderella (2007), Albert Herring (2008), Rigoletto (2009), The Barber of Seville (2010), Pagliacci/Carmina Burana (2010), and L’Heure Espagnole/L’Enfant et les Sortileges (2011).

Mr. Mattaliano has directed North American productions for the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, L’Opera de Montreal, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Minnesota Opera, Dallas Opera, Central City Opera, among many others. His work has also been enjoyed internationally at L’Opera de Nice and the Norwegian National Opera.

He has directed world premieres of Hugo Weisgall’s Esther for the New York City Opera, jazz composer Fred Ho’s Journey Beyond the West for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Peter Westergaard’s The Tempest for the Opera Festival of New Jersey, and the American premiere of Fleischman’s Rothschild’s Violin at the Juilliard Opera Center.

His passion for stage direction has extended well beyond the stages of those many companies. He has taught at the Juilliard School, the Metropolitan Opera Young Artist Development Program, Manhattan School of Music, Yale University, Mannes College of Music, and the New National Theater of Japan. In 1996 his essay on auditioning (“The Dreaded Audition”) was published by OPERA America.

Mr. Mattaliano received his BA in Theater Arts from Montclair State University with additional training at the Trent Park School of Performing Arts in London, England. In 1998 he received the L. Howard Fox Visiting Alumni Award from his alma mater as well as a National Opera Institute Stage Direction Grant.

Since joining the company, his presence is in considerable demand on the national level, leading the keynote panel at the 2004 OPERA America conference in Pittsburgh and being named to the National Endowment for the Arts’ opera review panel. He was recently elected to serve on OPERA America’s Board of Directors.

Polly Robbins - Set Designer

Robbins returns to the Portland Opera, where she previously designed the projection images for the main stage production Dialogue of the Carmelites (2001), and designed scenery for several productions for the Portland Opera’s educational programming including Hansel and Gretel (2005), La Boheme (2004), Cinderalla (2001), and The Night Harry Stopped Smoking (1999) (in cooperation with the American Lung Association) (verify). Regionally, Robbins has designed at Willamette University (The Good Person of Sichuan, 2001), San Francisco’s Merola Program (The Merry Wives of Windsor, 2002), Utah Shakespearean Festival (Revel’s Company Green Show and Feaste, 1998, 1999). Robins has worked on countless other productions in design and production for the Oregon Ballet Theatre, the Northwest Children’s Theatre, University of Wisconsin- La Crosse, the Santa Fe Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, University of Texas – Austin, The Guthrie (Minneapolis), and the Minneapolis Children’s Theatre, to name a few. Robbins has applied her scenic design skills in the field of animation at the former Will Vinton Studios (now Laika) on the animated television programs Gary and Mike (2000-2001), and The PJs (1998-1999), in addition to numerous animated commercials at Will Vinton Studios and at Bent Image Labs. After three years of specialized training in horticulture, Robbins founded her business, Robbins DesignWorks, in 2006, featuring landscape design and storefront design for the Portland Metro area.