Press Releases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
INDIVIDUAL TICKETS ON SALE NOW TO
CHICAGO OPERA THEATER’S 2008 SPRING SEASON!
CHICAGO, IL (February 6, 2008)—Tickets to all three new productions of Chicago Opera Theater’s (COT) 2008 Spring Season are on sale now at ChicagoOperaTheater.org or by phone at 312.704.8414. The season opens on April 30th with Mozart’s Don Giovanni, again reuniting the critically lauded pair of conductor Jane Glover and director Diane Paulus. Next is the Midwest premiere of John Adams’ A Flowering Tree with Adams conducting the first two performances. Closing the 2008 Spring Season is Orlando, a Handel masterpiece led by the early music legend Raymond Leppard.
Don Giovanni marks the completion of Mozart/da Ponte operas from the team of Jane Glover and Diane Paulus after their acclaimed COT productions of Così fan tutte (2002) and Le nozze di Figaro (2005). Paulus, set designer Riccardo Hernandez, costume designer David Woolard, and lighting designer Aaron Black set this classic opera in the contemporary world of an exclusive and decadent club owned by Don Giovanni.
Making his American debut as Don Giovanni is Iain Paterson, one of Europe’s leading young bass-baritones. The cast also includes Matt Boehler (Leporello), Michael Colvin (Don Ottavio), Rhoslyn Jones (Donna Anna), Kevin Langan (Commendatore), Isabel Leonard (Zerlina), Krisztina Szabó (Donna Elvira), and Benjamin Wager (Masetto).
John Adams conducts the first two performances of his new opera A Flowering Tree and Joana Carneiro conducts the last three. Carneiro is the Assistant Conductor at the Los Angeles Philharmonic working closely with Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Based on a southern Indian folk tale, A Flowering Tree is about a beautiful but poor girl who falls in love with a handsome prince—and has the magical gift of transforming herself into a flowering tree. The story was translated by A.K. Ramanujan, a University of Chicago scholar of South Asian language and culture. John Adams and Peter Sellars used Ramanujan’s translation of this story along with other Indian poetry as the basis for their libretto.
A Flowering Tree will be the centerpiece of Chicago Opera Theater’s citywide festival of all things Indian: India Blooms in Chicago. The festival includes dance, lectures, poetry readings, neighborhood tours and film.
The production is directed by Nicola Raab, who staged 2007’s Béatrice et Bénédict, and choreographed by Renato Zanella, the former director of the Vienna State Opera Ballet. The design team comprises production designer George Souglides, lighting designer Aaron Black, and sound designer Mark Grey.
The cast is led by soprano Natasha Jouhl as Kumudha and tenor Noah Stewart as the Prince. Baritone Sanford Sylvan, who sings the role of the Storyteller, originated the role of Chou En-Lai in John Adams' Nixon In China. The cast also includes twenty-four choristers and nine dancers.
The final production of COT’s 2008 Spring Season is George Frideric Handel’s Orlando, bringing together an exceptional duo: Renowned British conductor Raymond Leppard, who led the greatly acclaimed COT productions Dido and Aeneas and Il Viaggio a Reims, and young Australian director Justin Way who wowed audiences in 2006 with COT’s The Abduction from the Seraglio. Way is joined again by the design team of Andrew Hays and Kimm Kovac, along with lighting designer Aaron Black.
The action takes place in a 1940s “film noir” setting that includes the usual femme fatales, mysterious investigators, and morally questionable heroes. The cast stars Tim Mead as Orlando who recently sang the title role in Giulio Cesare for Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The remaining cast includes Andriana Chuchman (Dorinda), Kate Mangiameli (Angelica), Oliver Neal Medina (Zoroastro), and David Trudgen (Medoro).
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Chicago Opera Theater performs at The Harris Theater for Music and Dance in Millennium Park--205 East Randolph Drive.
Season Subscriptions for the 2008 Spring Season range from $90-$345 which include a ticket to all three operas. Individual tickets to each show are now on sale and range from $35-$120 (prices subject to change). COT also offers a 50% discounted student rate in most sections. Tickets may be purchased online at ChicagoOperaTheater.org and by phone at 312.704.8414. Tickets may also be purchased at the HarrisTheaterChicago.org.
Chicago Opera Theater gratefully acknowledges our 2008 Spring Sponsors:
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
American Airlines, Official Airline of Chicago Opera Theater
City Arts Grants, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs
The Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Production Sponsor of Don Giovanni
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Lead Production Sponsor of A Flowering Tree
The Boeing Company, Lead Corporate Sponsor of A Flowering Tree
Chicago Community Trust, Production Sponsor of A Flowering Tree
Mr. and Mrs. William D. Staley, Production Sponsor of A Flowering Tree
The Mazza Foundation, Production Sponsor of A Flowering Tree
National Endowment for the Arts and The Lange Burke Fund, Additional Support of A Flowering Tree
Christel DeHaan Family Foundation, In honor of the children of Christel House International, Production Sponsor of Orlando
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A Flowering Tree: By arrangement with Hendon Music, Inc., a Boosey & Hawkes company, publisher and copyright owner.
2008 SPRING SEASON CAST
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
DON GIOVANNI
April 30, May 3, 6, 9 at 7:30pm, May 11 at 3:00pm
| Conductor: | Jane Glover |
| Director: | Diane Paulus |
| Set Designer: | Riccardo Hernandez |
| Costume Designer: | David Woolard |
| Lighting Designer: | Aaron Black |
| Don Giovanni: | Iain Paterson |
| Leporello: | Matt Boehler |
| Don Ottavio: | Michael Colvin |
| Donna Anna: | Rhoslyn Jones |
| Commendatore: | Kevin Langan |
| Zerlina: | Isabel Leonard |
| Donna Elvira: | Krisztina Szabó |
| Masetto: | Benjamin Wager |
A FLOWERING TREE
May 14, 17, 20, 23 at 7:30pm, May 25 at 3:00pm
| Conductor: | John Adams (May 14, 17)/ Joana Carneiro (May 20, 23, 25) |
| Director: | Nicola Raab |
| Choreographer: | Renato Zanella |
| Production Designer: | George Souglides |
| Lighting Designer: | Aaron Black |
| Sound Designer: | Mark Grey |
| Kumudha: | Natasha Jouhl |
| Prince: | Noah Stewart |
| Storyteller: | Sanford Sylvan |
George Frideric Handel
ORLANDO
May 28, 31, June 3, 6 at 7:30pm, June 8 at 3:00pm
| Conductor: | Raymond Leppard |
| Director: | Justin Way |
| Production Designers: | Andrew Hays, Kimm Kovac |
| Lighting Designer: | Aaron Black |
| Orlando: | Tim Mead |
| Dorinda: | Andriana Churchman |
| Angelica: | Kate Mangiameli |
| Medoro: | David Trudgen |
| Zoroastro: | Oliver Neal Medina |
