Seduced by Opera!

J. Scott Brumit, Program Coordinator; Nick Gerson, Master of Ceremonies;
Jeffrey Brody, Music Director and Pianist
July 26, 2015 at 7:30pm
Christ Episcopal Church, Needham, MA

Quando m'en vo - La bohème - Puccini
Musetta sees her former lover, Marcelo, at a cafe while she is dining with her new lover. Since Marcelo is ignoring her she does everything she can to attract his attention and convince him he is still in love with her.
- Carla Maniscalco-Giovinco

Mon coeur s'ouvre - Samson et Dalila - Saint-Saëns
In an attempt to distract Samson from the rebellion he is leading, Dalila attempts to seduce him. She begs him to respond to her caresses and tells Samson that she will surrender herself entirely to him if he wants her.
- Giliana Norkunas

Sull aria - Le nozze di Figaro - Mozart
The Countess dictates a letter to her maid, Susanna - a secret invitation (from Susanna) to meet at a romantic rendez-vous in the forest pines, addressed to the countess' husband in a plot to expose his infidelity.
- Alexandra Cedolin/Sara Michale Smith

Quanto è bella - L'elisir d'amore - Donizetti
The simple peasant lad Nemorino is in love with Adina, a wealthy girl of the village. In this first scene of the opera, as peasant workers sit about enjoying a rest from their labors, Nemorino stands aside contrasting Adina’s charm and intelligence with his own lack of wit and character.
- Stanley Wilson

Chi il bel sogno - La rondine - Puccini
In a chic Parisian Salon, Magda, a stylish and sophisticated courtesan, is hosting a party. One of the guests, a composer, writes a song about 'Doretta', a young woman who seeks out 'true love'...but he doesn't know how to finish the song! Magda takes up the challenge, changing his words so that the song ends by a young student kissing Doretta and awakening passion in her.
- Stephanie Mann

Ich ging zu ihm - Das Wunder der Heliane - Korngold
At her trial for treason and adultery Heliane tells her story: She went to comfort a stranger in his cell on the night before he was condemned to die. Responding to his entreaties for a last taste of beauty, she revealed to him her hair, then her feet, and finally her naked body. He begged her to give herself to him, but she swears she refused and instead went to pray for him in the nearby chapel... he was handsome, but anything further was nothing more than in her thoughts ... if that makes her guilty then go ahead and kill her.
- Karen Amlaw

INTERMISSION

Tacea la notte - Il trovatore - Verdi
Leonora thought at first that a troubador was singing nightly outside her window, but closer inspection showed it was the champion Black Knight who won her heart. Seduced by his ardor, she refuses to bow to her servant Ines's worried pleas to forget him and proclaims she would rather die than give him up.
- Evelyn Griffin

Bella nuit - Les contes d'Hoffmann - Offenbach
Considered to be the most famous barcarolle ever written, and known as "one of the world's most popular melodies," the young Nicklause and Giulietta sing a seductive duet about the beauty of the night and of love.
- Alexandra Cedolin/Giliana Norkunas

Quel guardo, il cavaliere - Don Pasquale - Donizetti
The young widow Norina is reading a romance novel. But, even if she might look innocent, she doesn't need a book to tell her how to seduce a man -- Norina knows all the tricks.
- Sara Michale Smith

Bella siccome - Don Pasquale - Donizettiz
Don Pasquale, a man of a "certain age," decides to wed. His physician, who has not agreed with this decision but has been pretending to help in the bridal search, decides to pawn off his own sister onto Pasquale. In this aria he lavishly describes the woman's virtue and beauty.
- Thaddeus Bell

In quelle trine morbide - Manon Lescaut - Puccini
Manon describes the luxury of her surroundings in the home of Geronte, but admits there is a chill in the grand house, because she still dreams of the passion she felt for her former lover, Des Grieux.
- Margret Felice

Fra gli amplessi in pochi istante - Così fan tutte - Mozart
Fiordiligi continues her fight to remain faithful to Guglielmo despite the flatteries of the Albanians, and especially a disguised Ferrando (her sister's fiancé). She decides to dress as a boy and go off to find the men and bring them back home. She is interrupted, however, by Ferrando who declares his love and passion for her, finally melting her resolve.
- Stephanie Mann/Stanley Wilson

Lamento di Federico - L'arlesiana - Cilea
Federico has run away from home after finding out that his beloved girl from Arles has betrayed him with the stable boy. He is found by Baldassarre and L'Innocente but the former leaves to tend the flocks and the latter falls asleep. As L'Innocente falls asleep, he mentions a line from a story told earlier about a goat. This comment sets off Federico and he despairs over his lost love.
- Adam Russell