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An Evening of Opera Scenes

Thomas Weber, Program Coordinator; Jeffrey Brody, Music Director and Pianist
July 20, 2010 at 7:30pm - Christ Episcopal Church, Needham

  • Prenderò quel brunettino – Così fan tutte – Mozart
    Emily Jaworski, Stephanie Mann
    After being goaded on by their maid, Despina, the sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella choose which of the exotic lovers (really their boyfriends in disguise) that they want to pursue.

  • Prendi: L'anel ti dono – La Sonnambula – Bellini
    Elaine Crane, Sean O'Donnell
    Elvino proposes to Amina with his mother's ring, and gives her violets, whose purity and beauty remind him of her. Their hearts are now joined.

  • Fu la sorte dell' armi – Aïda – Verdi
    Mauri Tetreault, Christine Petkus
    Princess Amneris is in love with the war hero Radames, but he is in love with Aïda, a slave. In this scene Amneris tricks Aïda into declaring her love for Radames by telling the Ethiopian slave that Radames has died in battle.

  • Wanting You – The New Moon – Romberg
    Julia Jaffe, Colman Reaboi
    Having run away from France in the wake of the French Revolution, Robert and his comrades are on board the vessel, 'The New Moon', headed back to Paris. As fate would have it, the ship sinks and they are marooned on the Isle of the Pines, where the passengers create a new Republic. Marianne, Robert's love interest, disapproves of Robert's actions and the relationship grows cold, although they miss each other terribly.

  • Act III, Scene I – Pelléas et Mélisande – Debussy
    Margaret Felice, Teddy Crecelius
    As Mélisande reaches from her tower window to her brother-in-law Pelléas, her long hair cascades over him. He ties it to a branch, upsetting Mélisande.

  • S'io non moro – Idomeneo – Mozart
    Lori Brannen Chang, Jacque Wilson
    Act 3 of Idomeneo finds Ilia in the Palace garden asking the gentle breeze to carry her love to Idamante. Idamante, who is preparing to go slay the sea monster, arrives and catches her so off-guard that she finally admits her love for him.

  • Orfanella il tetto umile… – Simon Boccanegra – Verdi
    Martha Warren, Tom Weber
    Amelia tells the Doge, Simon, of her childhood, showing him a portrait of her mother. Simon recognizes the girl, his daughter, who had been kidnapped from him. Together, they express their joy at having been reunited.

Intermission

  • Au fond du temple saint - Les pêcheurs de perles – Bizet
    Patrick Massey, Jonathan Nussman
    Nadir and Zurga, two old friends and followers of the "goddess" Leila, meet each other after a long separation. Much time has passed, and each is unsure of the other's dedication to their cult. Their affection for each other wins out, though, and they sing of their unity until death.

  • Crudel! Perchè finora – Le nozze di Figaro – Mozart
    Susan Craft, Miles Rind
    Susanna, servant to the Count and Countess Almaviva, pretends to accede to the Count's demands for a private rendezvous, but privately asks "you who understand love" to forgive this deception.

  • Signorina, in tanta fretta…– Don Pasquale – Donizetti
    Sara Smith, Tom Weber
    Through repeated mocking, Norina goads her new husband into insisting on a divorce. That's just what she wants, having earlier tricked the hapless oldster into signing everything over to her!

  • Belle nuit – Les contes d'Hoffmann – Offenbach
    Mauri Tetrault, Christine Petkus
    Nicklausse and the glamorous courtesan Giulietta are floating in a gondola on the Grand Canal in Venice. The two sing a gentle barcarolle, one of the opera's most famous melody.

  • Soave sia il vento – Così fan tutte – Mozart
    Stephanie Mann, Jacque Wilson, Miles Rind
    The two sisters, Fiordiligi and Dorabella have been duped by the older Don Alfonso into thinking that their fiancés have been called to their regiments. The three of them sing the trio to wish the "soldiers" a safe journey.

  • Sì pel ciel – Otello – Verdi
    Edgar Brutyan, Gary Thies
    Iago hatches a plan to prey upon Otello's jealousy. As predicted, Otello rages when Iago confides that he overheard the sleeping Cassio murmuring his love for Desdemona. Iago tells more lies, and then helpfully offers to assist Otello in avenging his dishonor. Both men loudly swear, "Yes upon heaven (Sì pel ciel)" to witness their terrible vengeance.

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Last updated on July 19, 2010 --> by Marion Leeds Carroll
(longwood at leedscarroll.com)