Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Merola Announces Major Changes in Grand Finale Program

Yesterday afternoon the Merola Opera Program announced some major changes in the Grand Finale program that will conclude the current 60th anniversary season. Normally, this would be a matter of updating the article written in the middle of last month and then getting out the word (through Facebook) that changes had been made. However, the modifications include deletions, additions, and alterations to existing selections. As as result, since the order of the selections has not yet been fixed by Apprentice Stage Director Victoria Crutchfield, this article will simply run through each of these categories of changes.

The following two offerings have been dropped from the program:

Wozzeck  (Berg)
“Soldaten, Soldaten sind schöne Burschen…Komm, mein Bub!”

Les pêcheurs de perles  (Bizet)
“Qu’ai-je vu?...Je frémis, je chancelle”

The additions to the program are as follows:

Un ballo in maschera  (Verdi)
“Il primo Giudice…Volta la terrea fronte”                   
Oscar – Natalie Image
Riccardo – Xingwa Hao
Il primo Giudice – Addison Marlor

Falstaff  (Verdi)
“È sogno…o realtà?”              
Ford – Thomas Glass

Tannhäuser  (Wagner)
“Dich, teure Halle”                 
Elisabeth – Felicia Moore        

Pagliacci  (Leoncavallo)
“Nedda! Silvio! A quest’ora…Decidi il mio destin”                  
Nedda – Alexandra Razskazoff
Silvio – Dimitri Katotakis

Rita  (Donizetti)
“Allegro io son!”                    
Beppe – Andres Acosta

La bohème  (Leoncavallo)
“È destin! Marcello mio, non stare ad aspettarmi”                  
Musette – Alice Chung

In addition, the context for the Handel aria will be established by the recitative duo that precedes it:

Rodelinda  (Handel)
“Massime così indegne…Tirannia gli diede il regno”                
Garibaldo – Christian Pursell   
Unulfo – Edith Grossman

This leaves the selections that have not been changed:

Così fan tutte  (Mozart)
“Rivolgete a lui lo sguardo”                 
Guglielmo – Daniel Noyola

La fille du régiment  (Donizetti)
“Quoi! Vous m’aimez?...De cet aveu si tendre”
Marie – Kendra Berentsen       
Tonio – Anthony Ciaramitaro
                       
The Turn of the Screw  (Britten)
“How beautiful it is”                
Governess – Kelsea Webb        

Mefistofele  (Boito)
“Son lo spirito che nega sempre tutto”
 Mefistofele – Andrew Hiers     

Mignon  (Thomas)                  
“Je suis heureuse…Ah! que ton âme enfin”      
Mignon – Edith Grossman       
Wilhelm – Addison Marlor      
Philine – Jana McIntyre          

Das Land des Lächelns  (Lehár)
“Dein ist mein ganzes Herz”               
Prince Sou-Chong – Xingwa Hao         

Le comte Ory  (Rossini)
“Dans ce lieu solitaire”            
Raimbaud – Cody Quattlebaum
Chorus – tutti Merola men

Cendrillon  (Massenet)
“Enfin, je suis ici”                   
Cendrillon – Ashley Dixon

Lucia di Lammermoor  (Donizetti)
“Ebben? Di tua speranza l’ultimo raggio…Ah! cedi, o più sciagure”     
Lucia – Natalie Image 
Raimondo - David Weigel       

Ariadne auf Naxos  (R. Strauss)
“Sie hält ihn für den Todesgott”                      
Zerbinetta – Jana McIntyre     
Composer – Samantha Hankey

I vespri siciliani  (Verdi)
“Mercè, dilette amiche”                      
Elena – Mathilda Edge
                       
La favorite  (Donizetti)
“Me voici donc près d’elle…Pour tant d’amour”         
Fernand – Addison Marlor       
Don Gaspar – Andres Acosta   
Alphonse XI – Szymon Wach 
Léonor – Ashley Dixon          
                       
Il viaggio a Reims (Rossini)
“Ah! A tal colpo inaspettato” 
Contessa – Kendra Berentsen  
Madama Cortese – Mathilda Edge
Corinna – Samantha Hankey   
Melibea – Ashley Dixon          
Delia – Edith Grossman           
Modestina – Alice Chung        
Conte – Anthony Ciaramitaro
Zefiro – Addison Marlor         
Cavaliere – Andres Acosta      
Barone – Cody Quattlebaum    
Don Alvaro – Christian Pursell           
Lord Sidney – Daniel Noyola  
Don Profondo – David Weigel
Don Prudenzio – Andrew Hiers           
Chorus – tutti Merolini

The Merola Grand Finale will take place in the War Memorial Opera House, located at 301 Van Ness Avenue on the northwest corner of Grove Street. The performance will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 19. Ticket prices will be $50, $40, and $25. Tickets are being sold by the Box Office in the outer lobby of the War Memorial Opera House at 301 Van Ness Avenue, on the northwest corner of Grove Street. The Box Office may also be reached by telephoning 415-864-3330. The Box Office is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday through Friday. Tickets are also available online through a Web page with a chart that shows which prices apply for which sections of the house and allow for the specification of wheelchair availability. There will also be student tickets available for $15, but these must be purchased in person at the Box Office upon presentation of valid identification.

The performance will be followed by a reception, which will probably get under way around 10 p.m. Those who attend will have a chance to meet with the performers in the Green Room on the second floor of the Veterans Building, which is right next to the War Memorial Opera House and occupies the southwest corner of McAllister Street. This will require a separate ticket with a price of $75 per person. Those interested in reception tickets are invited to call the Box Office at the above telephone number.

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