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FeedBRAVO! Oct 2009
Tears of a Clown: Pagliacci
View the Print Media Version online now to enjoy the complete "Magazine Experience."
Opera Omaha’s opening mainstage production for the 2009-10 season, Pagliacci, is a fast paced, intense and passionate opera.
Sponsored by First National Bank, performances of Pagliacci, at the Orpheum Theater will run October 16 and 18, 2009. The glamorous and talented Kelly Kaduce makes her Opera Omaha debut and sings her first-ever Nedda with critically acclaimed Tonio DiPaolo as her husband, Canio.
About the Opera
Written and composed by Ruggiero Leoncavallo, Pagliacci is an opera inspired by a murder the composer allegedly witnessed as a boy. The story follows the behind-the-scenes lives of an Italian traveling theater troupe. The play-within-a-play unfolds as the lives of the characters begin to reflect the lives of the troupe members. In the troupe’s play, the comic character of Pagliaccio is played by Canio, and Nedda, his wife, plays the role of Colombina. While the character Colombina is having an affair with the character Taddeo, Nedda is actually having an affair with Silvio, who lives in the town. Nedda and Silvio have made plans to run away– however, Canio learns of his wife’s infidelity as the day’s performance is beginning. As the audience of townspeople watch the show, Canio/ Pagliaccio, heartbroken and jealous, murders his wife and her lover.
About the Artists
Kelly Kaduce as Nedda
In 2008-09, Kelly Kaduce sang Desdemona in Otello (Kentucky Opera debut), Violetta in La traviata (Malmö Opera), Countess in Le nozze di Figaro (Florida Grand Opera), and in the title role in Salome (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis). In 2009-10 she sings Mimì in La bohème (Portland Opera), Nedda in Pagliacci (Florida Grand Opera), the title role in Suor Angelica (also with Florida Grand Opera), and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (Michigan Opera Theatre). Recent highlights include Mimí (Opera Pacific debut), Marguerite in Faust (Malmö Opera), title role of Rusalka (Minnesota Opera), Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Boston Lyric Opera), title role in Suor Angelica (Teatro Municipal de Santiago), recitals (Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Bates College), and Princess/Puppet in Tan Dun’s Tea (Santa Fe Opera). World premieres include the title role of Carlson’s Anna Karenina (Florida Grand Opera/Opera Theatre of Saint Louis) and Rosasharn in Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath (Minnesota Opera).
Tonio DiPaolo as Canio
Tonio DiPaolo’s prominent career earns the tenor accolades of praise on stages throughout North America and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Canadian Opera Company, Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington Opera, Seattle Opera and San Francisco Opera. In North America, Mr. Di Paolo most recently earned critical acclaim as Calaf in Turandot with Kentucky Opera and Austin Lyric Opera, Radames in Aida with Opera Carolina and Atlanta Opera, Canio in Pagliacci at the Utah Opera, Cavaradossi in Tosca with Opera Ontario, Duke in Rigoletto at the Arizona Opera, Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West with Austin Lyric Opera, and Alfred in Die Fledermaus with Arizona Opera and Austin Lyric Opera.
Todd Thomas as Tonio
Verdi baritone, Todd Thomas, recently earned critical acclaim in North America with roles in Falstaff with the Seattle Opera and Rigoletto with the Palm Beach Opera and Austin Lyric Opera, as Count di Luna in Il Trovatore with the Manitoba Opera and Indianapolis Opera, Amonasro in Aida with the Nashville Opera and Opera Carolina, and Iago in Otello and Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera with the Des Moines Metro Opera. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Dr. Metivier in War and Peace, his New York City Opera debut as Scarpia in Tosca, and can be heard on the Naxos recording of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors.
Lee Gregory as Silvio
Lee Gregory is a gifted singing actor with a beautiful, warm, and ringing baritone voice. He has a wide and varied repertoire, and is quickly becoming known for his ability to embody his characters. In 2008-09 Lee Gregory sings Maximilian in a semi-staged version of Candide with Toledo Opera, Wilhelm in Corigliano’s Ghosts of Versailles with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and the role of Leporello in Don Giovanni with Eugene Opera. His 2007-08 season included his debut with Opera Pacific as Schaunard in La bohème, and singing the role of Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Opera Naples.
Mark Calvert as Beppe
American tenor Mark Calvert has performed to critical acclaim with numerous European opera companies, including productions with the Stadttheater Gießen, the Schlossfestspiele Heidelberg, the Theater der Stadt Heidelberg, and the Kammeroper Konstanz. Between 2006 and 2009 he was an ensemble member of the Landestheater Linz (Austria), where his repertoire ranged from baroque to contemporary opera. He made his Italian debut with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi in Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins, and more recently, he sang Vašek in The Bartered Bride with the Aargauer Symphonie Orchester in Switzerland.
Leading the Cast
Conductor Richard Buckley • Stage Director Garnett Bruce
Maestro Buckley’s career in North America includes performances with the opera companies of Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, Santa Fe, Seattle, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Toronto, Montréal, and New York City Opera. Abroad, he has enjoyed return engagements at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, L’Opéra National de Paris, Hamburg Staatsoper, National Theatre of Mannheim, Teatro Colon, Royal Danish Opera, Royal Swedish Opera, Göteborg Opera, and De Nederlandse Opera, among many others. Garnett Bruce, Opera Omaha Artistic Adviser and Principal Stage Director, will also direct The Marriage of Figaro for Opera Omaha. Mr. Bruce’s 2009-10 season includes a return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to direct their season opening production of Tosca. Other productions will include Madama Butterfly for Dallas Opera, Carmen for Utah Symphony & Opera, La Bohème for Austin Lyric Opera, and Rigoletto for Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
Extending the Opera Experience
All Access Preview New this season, Opera Omaha will offer All Access Previews of the upcoming mainstage productions in the evenings beginning with a reception and commentary on the production followed by attending the first act “sitzprobe” or seated rehearsal. The reception and preview are held in the Orpheum Theater lobby starting at 6:00 pm, with the rehearsal beginning at 7:00 pm. The All Access Preview for Pagliacci is on Friday, October 9, 2009. Admission is free, with the option to purchase a $9 per person box dinner and beverage. Family Preview/Discount Resident Music Director, J. Gawf gives a family friendly overview of the opera’s storyline and characters. Held in Opera Omaha’s administrative offices at 17th & Farnam, families can park once and then walk over to the Orpheum to catch the live performance. Families can also take advantage of the Family Pack Discount - with the purchase of an adult ticket, receive a free youth ticket (13 years and younger) for the Sunday, October 18, 2009 matinee performances of Pagliacci. Pre-Performance Dining Opera Omaha has announced Pre-Performance Dining at The Omaha Press Club. Park once at the OPPD parking garage and enjoy complimentary shuttle service to and from The Omaha Press Club at 1620 Dodge Street. While there, dine amongst friends, enjoy the view and hear a brief opera preview.
Tickets start at $19 and are available online at operaomaha.org, or by calling Opera Omaha at 402-346-7372. Tickets are also available at the Opera Omaha Box Office at 17th and Farnam Streets and through Ticket Omaha at 402-345-0606 or ticketomaha.com.
