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Arizona Opera presents Verdi's AidaDecember 18, 1998 Arizona Opera's January production will bring Verdi's monumental opera to the stage and will feature the Phoenix Symphony and Ballet Arizona. The production of Aida is sponsored by Bank of America with major underwriting support given by the Flinn Foundation. Tucson: TCC Music Hall
January 15 & 16, 1999 at 7:30 pm Phoenix:
Symphony Hall
January 21, 22, 23, 1999 at 7:30 pm About the Production TeamConductorThe monumental Verdi production will be placed in the hands of Maestro Willie Anthony Waters. The Music Director of Connecticut Opera and regular guest conductor of North American and European opera companies, Maestro Waters has conducted for the Australian Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Cologne (Germany) Opera, San Diego Opera, San Francisco Opera and Florida Grand Opera. During the past two years, Maestro Waters conducted a production of Porgy and Bess in Cape Town, South Africa, Lucia di Lammermoor with Orlando Opera and San Diego Opera, and Die Fliegender Hollander with Opera Carolina and Florida Grand Opera. Working with Bernard Uzan at L'Opera de Montreal, Maestro Waters conducted Aida and Tosca. In addition to his appearance at Arizona Opera, he will return to South Africa for Porgy and Bess in Pretoria, Orlando Opera for Falstaff, and Connecticut Opera for Otello and Porgy and Bess. Stage Director & Set DesignerBernard Uzan has been the General Director and Artistic Director of L'Opera de Montreal since 1988. During his tenure, he has directed numerous productions for other opera companies including Calgary Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Pacific, San Diego Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Seattle Opera. His most notable staging includes Roméo et Juliette, La Traviata, Madama Butterfly, Tosca, Ariadne auf Naxos, Faust and Les Contes d'Hoffman. Current projects include new productions of Faust for Montreal, Seattle, Portland, and Florida Grand Opera, and Massenet's Manon for Michigan Opera, Montreal Opera and Florida Grand Opera, Don Carlo in Montreal and Metz, France, and revivals of his production of Andrea Chénier for the Opera de Monte Carlo, Baltimore Opera, and Opera Company of Philadelphia. A native of France, Mr. Uzan is a graduate of the University of Paris, with Ph.D.s in Literature and Theatrical Studies and in Philosophy. Distinguished Lighting Designer Donald Edmund Thomas joins the production team of Aida, which also marks his first engagement with Arizona Opera. A graduate of Yale University Drama School, Mr. Thomas serves as Principal Designer for the Florentine Opera of Milwaukee and the Baltimore Opera Company. Recent designs include Der Fliegende Hollander for The Florentine Opera, Faust for Opera Columbus, La Bohème & Die Tote Stadt for Washington Summer Opera. He has been commissioned for the following upcoming productions, Carmen for L'Opera de Montreal, La Gioconda for Florida Grand Opera, Eugene Onegin and Andrea Chénier for Baltimore Opera and Die Zauberflöte, for The Florentine Opera. About the ArtistsAidaSharing the role of Aida is Priscilla Baskerville and Leslie Morgan. Priscilla Baskerville, a versatile dramatic soprano, has an ever expanding repertoire that reaches from Wagner to Puccini. She has appeared with leading opera houses in North America including the Metropolitan Opera, where she has performed the title roles in Aida and Porgy and Bess, and Musetta in La Bohème. Among Miss Baskerville's engagements this season are stage performances of Porgy and Bess at the Rome Opera and at the Cologne Opera, as well as Bess in concert versions with the Knoxville Symphony and the Phoenix Symphony, Leonora in Il Trovatore with Nevada Opera, and soloist in a series of orchestral recitals in Argentina. Last season, Miss Baskerville was seen as Aida in Tulsa and Minnesota and participated in the world premiere of Anthony Davis' Amistad at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Leslie Morgan returns after a successful engagement in Arizona Opera's production of Tosca where her performance was hailed as "electrifying" and "simply breathtaking." Ms. Morgan, highly regarded for her many portrayals of Tosca, brought this role to the Florentine Opera in the 1995-96 Season with Sherrill Milnes singing Scarpia. Other appearances of Tosca include the operas of Cleveland, Central City and Baton Rouge and Chattanooga. Ms. Morgan has been heard at Opera/Columbus, Cleveland Opera and Cedar Rapid Symphony as Leonore in Fidelio. Ms. Morgan has appeared as Sieglinde in Opera Pacific and three times with Arizona Opera: first in the single opera, then in the complete 1996 and 1998 Ring Cycles. Other international credits include a series of performances in Urbino, Italy and Eisenstadt, Austria and the Czech Republic. RadamesPerforming the role of Radames is Tonio di Paolo and Peter Riberi. A frequent performer on the stages of the United States, Tonio di Paolo has appeared last season with Austin Lyric Opera in Cavalleria Rusticana and Andrea Chénier, Minnesota Opera in Tosca, Nevada Opera in Un Ballo in Maschera, and Calgary Opera in the title role of Faust. His 1998/1999 engagements include Calaf in Turandot for Utah Opera, Cavaradossi in Tosca for Austin Lyric Opera, the title role in Faust for New Orleans Opera, and a pops concert with the Erie Philharmonic. Engaged for two Arizona Opera productions, Peter Riberi will perform in Aida and as Chénier in Andrea Chénier. Recently he made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Raffaele in a new production of Verdi's Stiffelio which was nationally televised on "Live from Lincoln Center," as well as being aired on a Saturday afternoon radio broadcast along with his Houston Grand Opera debut as Don José in Carmen. Other recent engagements include performances as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Alfred in Die Fledermaus with Nashville Opera, and as Don José in Peter Brook's Tragedy of Carmen with Santa Fe Stage Company. He also sang his first performances as Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana with Kentucky Opera. AmnerisDividing her time between Canada and Germany, mezzo-soprano Sandra Graham has established a world-wide reputation and is in demand on the opera stages and concert platforms of Germany, Canada, the United States, Holland, and China. She has received rave reviews for Dalila, Charlotte, Hansel, Dorabella, Suzuki, and Orlofsky in performances with the Canadian Opera Company, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Manitoba Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Toronto's Opera in Concert, and the opera companies of Calgary, Winnipeg, and Vancouver. Making her Arizona Opera debut is Anne-Marie Owens. Since joining the English National Opera in 1985, Ms. Owens has appeared in numerous roles including Charlotte, Rosina, Magdalena, Suzuki, Bianca/The Rape of Lucretia, Genevieve/Pelleas and Melisande and Preziosilla/La forza del destino. Engagements followed with Glyndbourne Festival Opera (Arnalta in L'Incoronazione di Poppea), Scottish Opera (Suzuki and Metella/La Vie Parisienne), Opera North and Scottish Opera as Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, and Ulrich for Welsh National Opera. Recent appearances include the Bastille Opera as Annina (Der Rosenkavalier), Santa Fe Opera's premiere of Emmeline and a recent debut in the role of Herodias, Pilgrim's Progress and Elizabetta and Andrea Chénier with Royal Opera, Covent Garden. AmonasroTheodore Lambrinos, leading American baritone, has performed with the Metropolitan Opera and other companies throughout the United States and internationally. His repertoire of fifty major operatic roles includes MacBeth, Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, Scarpia in Tosca, Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana, Tonio in Pagliacci, Jack Rance in Fancuilla del West and the four villains in The Tales of Hoffman. Mr. Lambrinos last appeared with Arizona Opera as Germont in La Traviata. One of the most respected baritones on the operatic stage today, Allan Monk, is noted for his in depth interpretation of a wide variety of roles in both the standard and contemporary repertoire. His career, which spans over 30 years, has led him to notable opera houses that include San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Canadian Opera Company, L'Opera de Montreal, and Portland Opera. Engaged for two Arizona Opera productions, Mr. Monk will perform in Aida and as Gerard in Andrea Chénier. RamfisJay Baylon will appear in the role of Ramfis. Acclaimed for both concert and operatic performances, Mr. Baylon will also perform in Washington Opera's production of Giordano's Fedora with Plácido Domingo and Mirella Freni. Rounding out the cast is Benjamin Sorenson who will sing the role of the King.
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