Juilliard Opera Center presents Rossini's Le Comte Ory on Wednesday, November 14 and Friday, November 16 at 8 PM and Sunday, November 18 at 2 PM in The Peter Jay Sharp Theater
Production directed by Sam Helfrich with conductor Asher Fisch leading the Juilliard Orchestra
The Juilliard Opera Center presents Rossini’s comic opera, Le Comte Ory, on Wednesday, November 14 and Friday, November 16 at 8 PM and Sunday afternoon, November 18 at 2 PM in Juilliard’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater at 155 West 65th Street. Sam Helfrich directs, with conductor Asher Fisch leading the Juilliard Orchestra. Cast members include Alek Shrader (Count Ory), Marc Webster (Ory’s tutor), Julie Boulianne (Isolier), Paul La Rosa (Raimbaud), Brenda Rae (Adèle), Renée Tatum (Ragonde), and Jessica Klein (Alice), with set design by John Conklin, costumes by Olivera Gajick, and lighting by Japhy Weideman.
Rossini set his story in rural France at the time of the Crusades. Le Comte Ory is based on the story of a real-life villainous count who attempts to seduce a countess as she awaits the return of her brother from the last crusade.
Due to ongoing construction, The Peter Jay Sharp Theater has a temporary entrance door at 155 West 65th Street. Tickets to Juilliard Opera Center productions are $20 and are available from the Juilliard Box Office, as well as CenterCharge (212) 721-6500. Half-price student and senior citizen tickets are available with a valid ID at the Juilliard Box Office. TDF vouchers are accepted. For more information, call the Juilliard Box Office at (212) 769-7406 or visit www.juilliard.edu.
Director Sam Helfrich directs opera and theater in New York and regionally. He made his Lincoln Center debut in 2003 with a fully-staged production of Rain by composer Richard Owen, at Alice Tully Hall. Recent opera productions include The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at Opera Boston, Don Giovanni with Boston Baroque Orchestra, West Side Story at Ash Lawn Opera Festival, The Abduction from the Seraglio at Opera Omaha, Il barbiere di Siviglia at Kentucky Opera, Agrippina with Boston Baroque Orchestra (2005 Boston Globe “Best Production of the Year”), L’Elisir d’amore at the Berkshire Opera, La voix humaine at Glimmerglass Opera, The Turn of the Screw at Pittsburgh Opera, and others. This summer he directed a new production of Philip Glass’ Orphée at Glimmerglass Opera, and he will be directing Semele, a collaboration between Opera Boston and Boston Baroque in February 2008, and Aida at Opera Omaha in April 2008. Mr. Helfrich holds an MFA in theater arts from Columbia University’s School of the Arts and a BA in Russian language and literature, also from Columbia University.
Conductor Asher Fisch has been music director of the Israeli Opera since 1995. He is a frequent guest conductor throughout Europe and the United States, and has been a regular guest at the Vienna Staatsoper, conducting works that include Wagner’s Parsifal; Beethoven’s Fidelio; Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin; Puccini’s Tosca and Madama Butterfly; and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, and Le nozze di Figaro. He has conducted repertoire ranging from Mozart to Berg in leading European opera houses such as those in Berlin, Paris, Munich, Dresden, Hamburg, Leipzig, and Prague, as well as the Royal Opera House and Convent Garden. Since making his United States debut with the Los Angeles Opera in 1995, he has conducted The Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, and Houston Grand Opera. Mr. Fisch has also conducted the orchestras of Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, Minnesota, Montreal, Seattle, Houston, St. Louis, Atlanta, Toronto, and Washington, D.C. He has appeared regularly with the Munich Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Orchestre National De France, NHK Tokyo, and Dresden Staatskapelle.
Canadian mezzo soprano Julie Boulianne (Isolier) is a first year member of the Juilliard Opera Center where she studies with Edith Bers. A graduate of McGill University, her operatic roles include Nicklausse (Les contes d’Hoffmann), Stefano (Roméo et Juliette) and Mercedes (Carmen) at the Opéra de Québec, Annio (La clemenza di Tito) at the Opéra de Montréal. Zerlina (Don Giovanni) at the Opéra d’Avignon, L’Enfant (Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte) at the Théâtre de Reims. She has appeared in concert with various orchestras, including the Orchestra Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and Les Violons du Roy. She will sing the role of Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia) at the Opéra de Montréal in early 2008.
Soprano Jessica Klein (Alice) from Chicago is a member of the Juilliard Opera Center. As an undergraduate at DePaul University, she performed the title role in The Coronation of Poppea, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, and Frasquita in Carmen. She was also invited by Richard Pearlman to work with the coaches of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In 2005, she was a semi-finalist in the Houston Grand Opera competition, and she was the first place winner of the Bel Canto Competition in Chicago. She attended the Chautauqua Institution in 2004 and 2006. She holds a master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music. In 2007, she made her Avery Fisher Hall debut singing the soprano solos of the Verdi Requiem. She studies with Marlena Malas at Juilliard.
Paul LaRosa (Raimbaud), a native of Union, New Jersey, is a member of the Juilliard Opera Center. He sang the role of Dandini in Rossini’s La Cenerentola with the San Francisco Merola Opera Program this past summer. He has performed at the Chautauqua Institute of Music, Weston Opera Theater, and New Opera Company. In 2006 and 2007, he performed with Steve Blier in two concerts for New York Festival of Song. Mr. LaRosa also performed with the Chateauville Foundation in Virginia, where he sang the role of Junius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia under Lorin Maazel. He studies at Juilliard with Marlena Malas.
Brenda Rae (Adèle), soprano, is in her first year of the Juilliard Opera Center, studying with Edith Bers. She completed her master’s degree at Juilliard in May 2006 and during her time in the program she performed the roles of Mary Shrike in the world premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s Miss Lonelyhearts, Diana in Cavalli’s La Calisto, and Konstanze in a concert version of Mozart’s Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail. She also recently participated in Central City Opera’s Young Artist Program, where she performed the title role in a youth performance of The Ballad of Baby Doe, Valletto in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Isabel/Madeline in The Face on the Barroom Floor. She was the winner of the first prize in the student division of the Bel Canto Foundation Competition.
Tenor Alek Shrader (Count Ory) is a first-year member of the Juilliard Opera Center and studies with Dr. Robert White. He has performed as Almaviva in Rossini’s Barber of Seville with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Ramiro in La Cenerentola with the Merola Opera Program, and other roles at the Oberlin Conservatory. He has attended the Music Academy of the West under the tutelage of Marilyn Horne. Last spring, Mr. Shrader was named one of the winners in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and also received a Sarah Tucker Grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation.
Mezzo soprano Renée Tatum (Ragonde) is a member of the Juilliard Opera Center, where she studies with Cynthia Hoffman. She is the recipient of the 2007 Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Award, and a winner of the 2007 Giulio Gari Foundation Competition. Ms. Tatum returned to the Chautauqua Opera this past summer, where she sang Mercedes in Carmen. She was a regional finalist in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Ms. Tatum received her master of music and professional studies diploma from the Manhattan School of Music.
Bass Marc Webster (the Count’s tutor) is in his second season with the Juilliard Opera Center, where he studies with Dr. Robert White. He performed the role of Don Alfonso with the Florida Grand Opera Studio and the role of Pistola in Falstaff with the Seattle Opera Studio. He will be performing with the New York Festival of Song on January 16, 2008 at Juilliard. Mr. Webster attended the San Francisco Opera Center’s Merola Opera Program in 2006 and performed extensively with the Wolf Trap Opera Company this past summer where he made his debut as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. He received his bachelor of music degree from Ithaca College and his master of music degree from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Carol Webber.
About the Juilliard Opera Center:
The Juilliard Opera Center is comprised of singers enrolled in the Artist Diploma program in Opera Studies. The advanced singers of the Juilliard Opera Center perform in two fully-staged opera productions on the main stage of Juilliard’s Peter Jay Sharp Theater. Emphasis is placed on training for opera careers. Juilliard singers participate in recital, song, oratorio, chamber music and orchestral concerts, and special projects proposed by students and faculty. This tuition-free program is for pre-professional singers and provides a bridge between conservatory training and the professional world.
LE COMTE ORY
Music by Rossini
Libretto by Eugène Scribe and
Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson
Sam Helfrich, Director
Juilliard Orchestra
Asher Fisch, Conductor
Singers from the Juilliard Opera Center:
Count Ory: Alek Shrader
Count Ory’s tutor: Marc Webster
Isolier: Julie Boulianne
Raimbaud: Paul LaRosa
Adèle: Brenda Rae
Ragonde: Renée Tatum
Alice: Jessica Klein
Musical Preparation and Diction: Denise Massé
Chorus Master/Assistant Conductor: Michael Baitzer
Associate Coaches: Donna Gill, Ho-Jeong Jeong,
Michael Baitzer
Stage Manager: Laine Goerner
Set Designer: John Conklin
Costume Designer: Olivera Gajick
Lighting Designer: Japhy Weideman
Supertitle Operator: Celeste Montemanaro
Supertitles: Reed Woodhouse