2018/19 Season

The Barber of Seville

Music by Gioacchino Rossini
Libretto by Cesare Sterbini
Sung in Italian with English surtitles

Sparkling and savvy, Rosina is determined to marry the man she loves—but how will she escape the clutches of her horrid guardian? With the help of Figaro, the cunning barber extraordinaire, of course! Schemes and delight abound as one of the greatest, wittiest, and zaniest operas returns to Boston in an enchanting new production directed by Rosetta Cucchi.

Creative Team

Conductor David Angus
Sponsored by Linda Cabot Black
Stage Director Rosetta Cucchi
Sponsored by Dr. Robert Walsh & Lydia Kenton Walsh
Set Designer Julia Noulin-MĂ©rat
Costume Designer Gianluca Falaschi*
Lighting Designer D.M. Wood
Wig and Makeup Designer Jason Allen
Surtitle Designer Kelley Rourke
Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra Annie Rabbat Concertmaster
Boston Lyric Opera Chorus Brett Hodgdon‡ Chorus Master
Rehearsal Coach/Accompanist Brett Hodgdon‡
Assistant Stage Director Melanie Bacaling†
Stage Manager Erin Joy Swank*

*Boston Lyric Opera Debut
† Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin
Emerging Artist
‡ Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin
Emerging Artist Alumnus
**Principal Artist-In-Residence

CAST in order of appearance

Fiorello Vincent Turregano‡
Count Almaviva Jesus Garcia
Sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. Michael Puzo
Figaro Matthew Worth
Sponsored by Gerard & Sherryl Cohen
Rosina Daniela Mack*
Sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. E. Lee Perry
Dr. Bartolo Steven Condy
Berta Michelle Trainor‡
Don Basilio David Crawford
An Officer Jesse Darden‡**
Sponsored by Katie & Paul Buttenwieser

Schoenberg in Hollywood

An Opera by Tod Machover
Music by Tod Machover
Libretto by Simon Robson
Based on a Scenario by Braham Murray
Commissioned by Boston Lyric Opera

The brilliant composer Arnold Schoenberg fled the darkness and despair of Hitler’s Europe and found himself in 1930s Hollywood—a bold, new world of golden sunshine and camera-ready beauty. Can he find a way to reconcile reflection with action, and tradition with revolution? What is the meaning of art in the wake of atrocity?

In this World Premiere from BLO’s New Works Initiative, internationally acclaimed composer Tod Machover, based in Boston, along with librettist Simon Robson, explores a great artist’s personal struggle, finding humor, heroism, and—ultimately—hope.
Arnold Schoenberg’s remarkable life intersected with some of the most traumatic and violent human atrocities of the 20th century—born a Jew in Vienna, he converted to the Lutheran faith as a young adult, served in World War I, faced the rise of the Nazi party in Germany, and re-converted to Judaism just before he and his family fled to the United States as refugees.

Schoenberg in Hollywood dramatizes many of these moments in his life, as the character of Schoenberg strives to find artistic meaning in the wake of brutality and personal loss—an aspiration that all of us, as artists and audience members, share.

CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor David Angus
Stage Director Karole Armitage*
Original Production Concept Braham Murray (1943-2018)
Set Designer Simon Higlett*
Costume Designer Nancy Leary
Lighting Designer Pablo Santiago
Media & Projection Designer Peter Torpey*
Sound Designer Ben Bloomberg*
Surtitle Designer Satrina Massey
Wig and Makeup Designer Jason Allen
Chamber Ensemble from The Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra Annie Rabbat Concertmaster
Rehearsal Coach/Accompanist
Brett Hodgdon‡
Nathan Salazar†*
Assistant Stage Director Kirsten Z. Cairns
Stage Manager Mike Janney*

*Boston Lyric Opera Debut
† Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin
Emerging Artist
‡ Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin
Emerging Artist Alumnus
**Principal Artist-in-Residence

CAST in order of vocal appearance

A Boy Jesse Darden‡**
Sponsored by Katie & Paul Buttenwieser
A Girl Sara Womble‡
Sponsored by Mimi Hewlett
Schoenberg Omar Ebrahim*
Sponsored by Willa & Taylor Bodman

THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA

Music by Benjamin Britten
Libretto by Ronald Duncan
After the play by André Obey
A New BLO Production
Sung in English with English surtitles

A devastating act of violence, and one woman’s decision to speak the truth—the story of Lucretia ignited a nation and has entranced artists like Shakespeare, Botticelli and more for centuries. Through Britten’s searing and intimate score, experience a legend of lust, power, and politics that resonates powerfully from ancient times to ours.

CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor David Angus
Sponsored by Linda Cabot Black
Stage Director Sarna Lapine*
Sponsored by Maria Krokidas & Bruce Bullen
Set Designer Mikiko Suzuki Macadams*
Costume Designer Robert Perdziola*
Lighting & Projection Designer Joey Moro*
Dramaturg John Conklin
Intimacy/Movement Director Yury Yanowsky
Wig and Makeup Designer Jason Allen
Surtitle Designer Satrina Massey

Chamber Ensemble From The Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra Annie Rabbat Concertmaster
Rehearsal Coach/Accompanist Brendon Shapiro†
Sponsored by Susan A. Babson Opera Fund for Emerging Artists
Assistant Stage Director Kirsten Z. Cairns
Assistant Stage Director & Company Intimacy Advocate Melanie Bacaling†
Stage Manager Whitney Mcanally*

*Boston Lyric Opera Debut
† Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin
Emerging Artist
‡ Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin
Emerging Artist Alumnus
**Principal Artist-in-Residence

CAST in order of vocal appearance

Male Chorus Jesse Darden‡**
Sponsored by Gerard & Sherryl Cohen
Female Chorus Antonia Tamer‡
Sponsored by William & Helen Pounds
Collatinus Brandon Cedel
Junius David Mcferrin‡
Tarquinius Duncan Rock
Sponsored by Wayne Davis & Ann Merrifield
Lucretia Kelley O’connor
Sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. E. Lee Perry
Bianca Margaret Lattimore
Sponsored by Susan W. Jacobs
Lucia Sara Womble‡

THE HANDMAID’S TALE

Music by Poul Ruders
Libretto by Paul Bentley
Based on the novel by Margaret Atwood
Sung in English with English surtitles

Bear witness to the story of Offred: one woman of many stripped of her name, identity, and personhood by a cruel and oppressive government regime. Offred desperately preserves her story, a simple act of defiance and resistance as dangerous as it is riveting. Margaret Atwood’s extraordinary, important novel—set in Boston and Cambridge—becomes one of BLO’s largest-ever productions, directed by theater icon Anne Bogart with a hypnotic, evocative score that bends the tenets of traditional opera and leaves audiences breathless.

First performances of a new edition by composer Poul Ruders, commissioned by Boston Lyric Opera

CREATIVE TEAM

Conductor David Angus
Stage Director Anne Bogart*
Movement Director Shura Baryshnikov*
Set & Costume Designer James Schuette
Lighting Designer Brian Scott*
Sound Designer J Jumbelic
Video Designer Adam J. Thompson*
Wig & Makeup Designer Tom Watson
Boston Lyric Opera Orchestra Annie Rabbat Concertmaster
Boston Lyric Opera Chorus Brett Hodgdon‡ Chorus Master
Rehearsal Coach/Accompanist Nathan Salazar†
Assistant Stage Director Mikhaela Mahony*
Stage Manager Cynthia Hennon Marino

*Boston Lyric Opera Debut
† Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin
Emerging Artist
‡ Boston Lyric Opera Jane and Steven Akin
Emerging Artist Alumnus
**Principal Artist-in-Residence

CAST in order of vocal appearance

Offred Jennifer Johnson Cano
Sponsored by Ms. Roann Costin
Aunt Lydia Caroline Worra
Sponsored by Abigail B. Mason
Janine – Ofwarren Kathryn Skemp Moran
Moira Chelsea Basler‡
Sponsored by Miguel and Suki De Bragança
Serena Joy Maria Zifchak*
Sponsored by Alicia Cooney & Stephen Quigley
Tv Presenter James Ricardo Milord*
The Double (Offred in the Time Before) Felicia Gavilanes‡
Sponsored by Wendy Shattuck & Sam Plimpton
Luke Jesse Darden‡**
Sponsored by Gerard & Sherryl Cohen
Rita Lynn Torgove
Ofglen Michelle Trainor‡
Sponsored by Janet & Irv Plotkin
Offred’s Mother Dana Beth Miller
Sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. Timothy & Jessica Donohue
The Doctor Matthew Dibattista
Sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. E. Lee Perry
Nick Omar Najmi‡
Sponsored by Dr. Joseph & Mrs. Anita Loscalzo
The Commander David Cushing‡
Sponsored by Allison K. Ryder & David B. Jones
New Ofglen Vera Savage‡
Offred & Luke’s Daughter
Samanta Williston*
Beatrice Eddy*
Handmaids, Aunts, Guards, Etc.
Chelsea Baccay
Jessica Johnson Brock†
Sponsored by Mr. Edward J. Leary
Jorgeandrés Camargo
Fred Furnari
Heather Gallagher‡
Kirsten Hart
Taylor Horner
Jaime Korkos
Chris Maher
Michael Miller
Brianna J. Robinson†
Vanessa Schukis
Emma Sorenson‡