Opera In The Park
PROGRAM
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| National Anthem | San Francisco Opera Orchestra |
| BERNSTEIN: Candide | |
| Overture | San Francisco Opera Orchestra |
Bernstein’s zesty overture for his tuneful and witty 1956 musical, Candide, introduces major tunes from the show and displays all the musical brilliance that has made this work a staple of the American repertoire, more often seen on the opera stage than in musical theater. |
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| BERNSTEIN: West Side Story | |
| Maria | Alek Shrader |
When Tony first meets Maria at the dance at the school gym, love at first sight inspires him to heights of rhapsody as he basks in the sound of her name. |
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| GOUNOD: Roméo et Juliette | |
| Je veux vivre | Mei Gui Zhang |
At a party celebrating her sixteenth birthday, Juliet, who is betrothed to Paris, sings a breathless waltz song, excitedly exclaiming that she wants to revel in the exhilaration of youth before surrendering to the joys and pains of love. |
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| MASSENET: Don Quichotte | |
| Riez, allez | Jongwon Han |
The eccentric knight Don Quixote proposed to his beloved Dulcinea, and at first she couldn’t help but laugh, but seeing his sincerity she treated him tenderly. As her party guests mock the foolish old man, his long-suffering squire Sancho Panza comes indignantly to his defense. |
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| MEYERBEER: Les Huguenots | |
| Nobles seigneurs | Irene Roberts |
The pageboy Urbain (a “trouser role” meant to be sung by a mezzo-soprano) is sent to greet an assembly of lords while secretly relaying a message to the Huguenot (Protestant) nobleman Raoul. Relishing his moment, the youth playfully teases the aristocratic gathering, saying he was sent by an unnamed highborn lady who has finally chosen a lover. |
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| DONIZETTI: Lucrezia Borgia | |
| Era desso il figlio mio | Toni Marie Palmertree |
To avenge an insult to the Borgia family name, Lucrezia has poisoned a group of young men drinking at a riotous party. But she is shocked to learn that Gennaro is among them, who, as only she knows, is actually her son. In her anguished aria of remorse Lucrezia laments that all hope has now vanished, and she awaits heaven’s wrath. |
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| VERDI: Don Carlo | |
| Ella giammai m’amò | John Relyea |
The aging King Philip II of Spain sadly recalls the look on his young wife’s face the day she first met him and saw how old he was. He admits to himself that she has never loved him. Beset by rebellions, Philip longs to find release from the world’s strife in the peaceful sleep of the tomb. |
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| CILEA: Adriana Lecouvreur | |
| Acerba voluttà | Judit Kutasi |
The Princess de Bouillon anxiously awaits Maurizio’s arrival for their secret tryst. She complains of the agony of her impatience and worries that he will not come. She calls on the Eastern Star to guide him to her. |
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| VERDI: Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) | |
| Teco io sto | Lianna Haroutounian and Michael Fabiano |
King Gustavus of Sweden is secretly in love with Amelia, the wife of his most trusted friend and confidant. Learning that their affection is mutual, he seeks her out for a clandestine rendezvous. Acknowledging their illicit love for the first time, the two share a rapturous moment of joy amidst the realization that it cannot last. |
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INTERMISSION |
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| VERDI: Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) | |
| Eri tu | Amartuvshin Enkhbat |
Renato is enraged to learn that his wife Amelia has fallen in love with his best friend, King Gustavus, but he realizes that she is not the one to blame. He denounces Gustavus for betraying their friendship by defiling Amelia’s honor, and he laments his lost happiness. |
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| MOZART: Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) | |
| Bei Männern | Olivia Smith and Samuel Kidd |
The Princess Pamina, who is loved by Prince Tamino, has assured the kind-hearted bird catcher Papageno that he, too, will find a mate someday. Pamina and Papageno sing of the sublime bliss of loving couples, whose linked hearts “strive to join the gods above.” |
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| MOZART: Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) | |
| March of the Priests | San Francisco Opera Orchestra |
This solemn march accompanies the priests of Isis and Osiris, headed by Sarastro, as they assemble to consider whether Prince Tamino should be permitted to undergo the trials leading to enlightenment and proving him worthy of admission into their sacred fellowship. |
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| RICHARD STRAUSS: Ariadne auf Naxos | |
| Sein wir wieder gut | Irene Roberts |
Immediately before the performance of his opera begins, the enthusiastic young composer (another “trouser role”) declares his fervent belief in the great power of music, calling it the holiest of the arts. |
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| BIZET: Carmen | |
| La fleur que vous m’avez jetée (Flower Song) | Thomas Kinch |
The soldier Don José was sent to prison for letting Carmen escape rather than arresting her. Now released, he passionately sings to her of his love, and explains that the flower she had thrown to him sustained his spirits while in jail. |
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| PUCCINI: La Bohème | |
| Quando m’en vo’ | Arianna Rodriguez |
Hoping to make her former boyfriend Marcello jealous, Musetta teases him, saying she loves all the admiring glances she gets from men. She knows they are mentally undressing her, and it makes her happy! |
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| RACHMANINOV: Aleko | |
| Aleko’s Cavatina | Aleksey Bogdanov |
Aleko, bored with his upper-class life, has run off with a band of Romani and fallen in love with Zemfira, but she has now tired of him. In his soulful aria, Aleko remembers Zemfira’s tender passion and bitterly laments losing her love. |
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| BIZET: Carmen | |
| Seguidilla | Nikola Printz Thomas Kinch |
Carmen seduces the lovestruck soldier Don José as she sings alluringly of the tavern outside Seville run by her friend Lillas Pastia, where she hopes to entertain her new lover. |
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| VERDI: Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) | |
| Forse la soglia... Ma se m´è forza perderti | Michael Fabiano |
Gustavus, the King of Sweden, reluctantly renounces his hopeless love for Amelia, the wife of his close friend Renato. He decides to send Amelia and Renato back to their homeland in an effort to preserve her honor, but he knows that his heart can never forget her. |
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| CILEA: Adriana Lecouvreur | |
| E sia! Non risponde | Lianna Haroutounian and Judit Kutasi |
Adriana loves Maurizio, who has just ended his affair with the Princess de Bouillon. He asks Adriana to aid the escape of an unnamed woman hiding nearby—actually the Princess, who fears discovery by her husband. Adriana tells the woman to flee, but the two soon realize they are romantic rivals, and a blazing quarrel erupts, full of supercharged emotion. |
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TOTAL MUSIC: 86 minutes plus speeches, applause and intermission) |
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