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    ABA Section of Litigation, 2012 ABA Annual Meeting, August 2-5, 2012 Arias of Law: The Rule of Law at Work in Opera and the Supreme Court

    Arias of Law:The Rule of Law at Work in Opera

    and the Supreme Court

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    INTRODUCTION

    This Presidential Showcase explores the rule of law from the perspectives of both operatic performaand legal practice. Moderated by Craig C. Martin of Jenner & Block LLP, the panel featuresvirtuosi from both disciplines: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; U.S. Solicitor General DonaldVerrilli, Jr.; and General Director of Chicagos Lyric Opera (and trained attorney), Anthony Freud. Tpanels substantive discussion is centered around arias and excerpts from some of operas greatest woperformed by members of the Lyrics Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, including: In dieheilgen Hallen, from Wolfgang Amadeus MozartsThe Magic Flute ; I Accept Their Verdict, fromBenjamin Brittens Billy Budd ; Me Voici, from Charles GounodsFaust ; When I Went to the Bar,from Gilbert & Sullivans Iolanthe ; Tutti accusan le donne, from MozartsCos fan tutte ; and Ritornavincitor!, from Giuseppe Verdis Aida .

    LAW AND OPERA

    It has sometimes been said that lawyers are like opera singers because they love the sound of their ovoices. Whether or not this quip rings true, it might serve as the starting point for reflection on

    possibility of a deeper relationship between law and opera. Although at first blush the two perhaps apto be entirely separate areas of human endeavor, they frequently intersect in interesting and significways. It is well known, for example, that many members of the United States Supreme Court have a dpassion for opera. This is true especially of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Along with Justice Scalia,has made appearances in the Washington National Operas production of Richard Strausss Ariadne auf

    Naxos . She also appeared with Justices Kennedy and Breyer in the Washington National Operaproduction of Johann Strausss Die Fledermaus . The late Chief Justice Rehnquist was an avid fan of Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The gold stripes on his robe reportedly were inspired by the LoChancellors costume used in a local theater companys summer production of Gilbert and Sulliva

    Iolanthe an opera discussed further below.1

    The Chief Justice also cited lines from Gilbert and Sullivanoperas in his opinions and elsewhere.2

    That there is a relationship between law and opera is also suggested by the fact that so many notafigures in the world of opera began their careers as lawyers. Famous librettists (W.S. Gilbert himsesingers (Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli), and opera directors (panelist Anthony Freud, General DirectoChicagos Lyric Opera) were trained in and/or practiced law before embarking on their careers in oper

    Are these simply random examples of a kind of cross-pollination, or might they point to a mosignificant relationship between law and opera? If the two disciplines are related, how is threlationship to be understood? What might be learned by examining opera and law in relation to another?

    This Presidential Showcase inquires into these and other questions by exploring a principle to whichAmerican Bar Association has long been committedthe rule of lawand the role that it plays in bopera and legal practice. As many legal and political theorists have pointed out, the rule of law imultifaceted concept and cannot easily be reduced to a single definition.3 At the most basic level, therule of law is commonly regarded as an alternative to the rule of meni.e., subjection to the arbitrwhims of a particular person or ruler.4

    Prepared by Jason Odeshoo, Jenner & Block LLP, with the assistance of Shelly Finkelstein, PodvMeanor.

    The rule of law also requires, or is intimately bound up with, arange of other important ideals and principles, such as:

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    Freedom of expression and other basic rights Equality and impartiality An independent judiciary Public accountability and transparency A commitment to democratic deliberation5

    As will become clear in what follows, inquiring into the rule of law provides the occasion for reflecon these and other fundamental legal and political values.

    I. THE RULE OF LAW AND THE MAGIC FLUTE

    Our discussion begins at what might seem an unusual point of departure: Wolfgang Amadeus MozaThe Magic Flute ( Die Zauberflte ). Indeed, because of its spoken dialogue,The Magic Flute is

    technically not an opera but asingspiel (song play). Premiering in 1791, the last year of Mozarts life, itwas his final opera. When he died two months later, at age thirty-five, the work already had enjoyconsiderable success. On his deathbed, Mozart is said to have consulted his watch each night to see hfar along the performance had progressed.

    The Magic Flute s plot is unusual to say the least. In one critics assessment, The Magic Flute iscertainly a most puzzling opera[:] it is an adventure story with attributes of fairy tale; exotic, ancimystery religion; folk tales; and politically biased morality play . . . . [T]he tone alters drastically frlighthearted entertainment to a predominantly serious, high-minded symbolic drama, althouinterspersed with deft touches of comedy.6

    The opera begins with Three Ladies, attendants of the Queen of the Night, saving the fainting Pri

    Tamino from a huge serpent.

    7

    Sarastros slave Monastatos pursues and recaptures Pamina, who has tried to escape, but he is frighteaway by the feather-covered Papageno, who tells Pamina that Tamino loves her and intends to save h

    The two join voices in praise of love.

    After killing the beast, the Ladies linger to admire the unconscious youthDeciding to leave together rather than allow one of them the treat of staying to protect him, they exiinform the Queen of his arrival. The birdcatcher Papageno bounces in and introduces himself, sayingpines for a pretty wife, then boasts to the waking Tamino that he himself slew the serpent. The Ladreturn to give Tamino a portrait of the Queens daughter, Pamina, who they say is enslaved by the eSarastro, and they padlock Papagenos mouth for lying. Tamino feels himself falling in love. The Quherself appears in a burst of thunder and laments the loss of her daughter. She charges Tamino wPaminas rescue, ordering the reluctant Papageno to escort the prince. The Ladies hand a magic flutTamino and magic silver bells to Papageno to ensure their safety, appointing Three Genii to guide them

    Led by the Genii to a grove with three temples, Tamino is turned away from the first two gates beforPriest emerges from the third to advise him that it is the Queen, not Sarastro, who is evil, and that Pamis safe. Left alone, Tamino plays his flute, hoping to make his beloved appear. She is nearby, attemptto escape with Papageno, who replies to the flute with his bird pipe. Monostatos appears with henchmen, but they are rendered helpless by Papagenos magic bells. Before Papageno can spirit Pamaway, Sarastro, entering in ceremony, promises the girl eventual freedom but warns against her promother. When Monostatos brings in the captive Tamino, the slave is punished by Sarastro for attempt

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    to molest Pamina. The latter is enchanted by a glimpse of Tamino, who is led into the temple wPapageno.

    In Act II, Sarastro tells his priests that Tamino is prepared to undergo initiation rites. He calls on the gto favor both the young prince and Papageno. The Speaker and a Priest swear their two initiates to sileWhen the Queens Ladies appear, Tamino is impervious to their dire warnings, but Papageno is easderailed from his course of virtue.

    Monostatos, finding Pamina asleep in the garden, tries to steal a kiss but is ordered away by the Queethe Night, who gives her daughter a dagger with which to murder Sarastro. Monostatos returns whenQueen vanishes, but Pamina is rescued by Sarastro, who knows of the Queens plot but assures Pamthat love is his answer to revenge.

    Papageno is approached by a flirtatious old lady, who vanishes when asked her name. The Genii brsustenance and return the magic flute and bells. When Pamina appears, Tamino steadfastly refrains frspeaking to her. Misunderstanding his silence, she goes away broken-hearted.

    The priests inform Tamino that he has only two more trials. Pamina is relieved when Tamino speaksher but worries about his new ordeals. Sarastro says the lovers will meet again and separates them.

    Papageno has failed his trials, happily settling for a glass of wine. When he wishes again for a pretty the old lady reappears, turning into a young Papagena when he vows fidelity, but the Speaker returnspirit her away.

    The despairing Pamina, contemplating suicide, is saved by the Genii, who lead her to Tamino. At caverns of fire and water, two Guards proclaim that Tamino must brave the elements. With Pamina atside, he undergoes trials by water and fire, protected by the magic flute. Sarastro leads the triumphlovers into the temple.

    Papageno, too, is talked out of suicide by the Genii, who remind him to use his magic bells to summPapagena. The two plan their future together.

    The Queen of the Night, her Three Ladies, and Monostatos attack the temple but are defeated abanished as the throng hails Sarastro, Pamina, and Tamino.

    * * *

    As can be imagined,The Magic Flute has been interpreted in many different ways.8 According to onepopular reading, which regards the opera as extolling the ideals of the philosophical EnlightenmeSarastro symbolizes reason and wisdom, while the Queen of the Night represents superstition aignorance.9

    These values receive beautiful expression in In diesen heilgen Hallen, one of The MagicFlute s great arias. It is sung by Sarastro after he learns that Pamina has been given a dagger and ordeto kill him. Instead of seeking revenge, Sarastro comforts and forgives Pamina. In this respect, the can be seen as articulating a notion that lies at the heart of the rule of law: that instead of resortingpersonal vendettas or acting on the desire for revenge, judgments should be based on reason and princ

    In diesen heilgen Hallen, Mozarts The Magic Flute

    SARASTRO :In diesen heilgen Hallen

    SARASTRO :To rule by Hate and Vengeance

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    Kennt man die Rache nicht. Is not our practice here.Und ist ein Mensch gefallen, And if a mans repentantFhrt Liebe ihn zur Pflicht. Hes saved by love, not fear.Dann wandelt er an Freundes Hand If he is lost, a loving handVergngt und froh ins bessre Land. Shows him with joy our happy land.

    In diesen heilgen Mauern, Here Peace and Mercy govern,Wo Mensch den Menschen liebt, By Love alone we live,Kann kein Verrter lauern, Though tyrants rage and threatenWeil man dem Feind vergibt. We love them and forgive.Wen solche Lehren nicht erfreun, If man cant learn what love can do,Verdienet nicht, ein Mensch zu sein. His days on earth are surely few.10

    II. DUTY AND THE RULE OF LAW: BILLY BUDD

    Sarastros aria seems to present a harmonious conception of the rule of law ( By Love alone we live / Though tyrants rage and threaten / We love them and forgive ). Sometimes, however, a persons feelingsand principles conflict with what the law requires. In these cases, fidelity to the rule of law may reqindividuals to set aside their own values and feelings.

    This conflict is vividly dramatized in Benjamin Brittens tragic opera Billy Budd (1951).11

    Based onHerman Melvilles novella of the same title, the opera is set aboard a naval vessel, the H.M.S.

    Indomitable , during the French and English wars of 1797. Billy Budd is a new sailor aboard the ship, athe ships Master-at-Arms, John Claggart, feels threatened by Billys many admirable qualitie

    Eventually, Claggart falsely accuses Billy of organizing a mutiny. The ships captain, Edwin FairfVere, does not believe Claggarts charges, but he summons Billy to investigate the matter. Billy isshocked at being wrongfully accused that he is unable to speak. He strikes a blow to Claggarts head kills him. This is a capital offense, and Billy is ultimately hanged.

    Melville was inspired to write Billy Budd based on a real-life dilemma faced by his father-in-law, LemuelShaw,12

    a judge in Massachusetts during the antebellum period. Shaw once presided over a cainvolving an escaped slave. Although deeply opposed to slavery, Shaw ordered that the slave be returto his owner because he was required to do so by the Constitution.

    I Accept Their Verdict is the aria sung by Captain Vere after Billy Budd has been court-martialed asentenced to die. Although Vere knows that Billy is a good man and that Claggart was evil, nevertheless allows the death sentence to stand.

    I Accept Their Verdict, Benjamin Brittens Billy Budd

    VERE:I accept their verdict. Death is the penaltyFor those who break the laws of earth.

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    And I who am king of this fragment of earth,Of this floating monarchy, have exacted death.But I have seen the divine judgement of Heaven,Ive seen iniquity overthrown.Cooped in this narrow cabin I have beheldThe mystery of goodnessAnd I am afraid.

    Before what tribunal do I stand if I destroy goodness?The angel of God has struck and the angel must hangThrough me.Beauty, handsomeness, goodness,It is for me to destroy you.I, Edward Fairfax Vere,Captain of the Indomitable ,Lost with all hands on the infinite sea.

    (He goes towards the door of Billys stateroom)I am the messenger of death!How can he pardon?How receive me?13

    III. THE ART OF PERSUASION AND THE RULE OF LAW: FAUST

    The art of persuasion is essential to maintaining the rule of law, since a nation governed by the rule of is ultimately founded on the consent of the governed, not on the naked use of force or coercion. describe persuasion as an art, however, is to acknowledge that, in addition to appealing to reason logic, persuasion involves an aesthetic dimension. This is perhaps part of what Justice Oliver WenHolmes meant when he said that the meaning of a sentence is to be felt rather than to be provgenerally, and . . . the impression may be strengthened by argument.14

    What might judges and lawyerslearn about the art of persuasion from opera?

    To help focus reflection on this question, we turn to Me Voici, from Charles Gounods operaFaust .GounodsFaust was first performed in Paris in 1859. The story is set in sixteenth-century Germany anbegins with an aging Faust sitting at his desk brooding about the meaninglessness of his life. Ascontemplates committing suicide by drinking poison, he calls out to Satan. Mephistopheles then app

    and succeeds in persuading Faust to sell him his soul.Me Voici, Charles Gounods Faust

    FAUST: Mais ce Dieu, que peut-il pour moi?Me rendra-t-il l'amour, l'esprance et la foi?Maudites soyez-vous, volupts humaines!Mauadites soient la chanes

    FAUST:But this God, what will he do for me?Will he return to me youth, love, and faith?Cursed be all of mans vile race!Cursed be the chains that bind him in his place!

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    Qui me font ramper ici bas!Maudit soit tout ce qui nous leurre,Vain espoir qui passe avec l'heure,Rves d'amour ou de combats!Maudit soit le bonheur, maudites la science,La prire et la foi!Maudite sois-tu, patience!A moi, Satan! moi!

    Cursed be visions false deceiving!Cursed the folly of believing!Cursed be dreams of love or hate!Cursed be souls with joy elate.Cursed be science, prayer, and faith.Cursed my fate in life and death!Infernal king, arise!

    MEPHISTOPHELES: Me voici! D'o vient ta surprise!Ne suis-je pas mis ta guise?L'pe au ct, la plume au chapeau,L'escarcelle pleine, un riche manteauSur l'paule; en sommeUn vrai gentilhomme!Eh bien! que me veux-tu, docteur!

    Parle, voyons! Te fais-je peur?

    MEPHISTOPHELES: Here am I! So I surprise you?Satan, Sir, at your service!A sword at my side; on my hat a gay feather;A cloak oer my shoulder; and altogether,Why, gotten up quite in the fashion!

    But come, Doctor Faust, what is your will?

    Behold! Speak! Are you afraid of me?FAUST : Non.

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Doutes-tu ma puissance?

    FAUST : Peut-tre!

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Mets-la donc l'preuve!

    FAUST : Va-t'en!

    FAUST : No.

    MEPHISTOPHELES: Do you doubt my power?

    FAUST: Perhaps[!]

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Prove it, then.

    FAUST : Begone!

    MEPHISTOPHELES :Fi! c'est l ta reconnaissance!Apprends de moi qu'avec SatanL'on en doit user d'autre sorte,Et qu'il n'tait pas besoinDe l'appeler de si loinPour le mettre ensuite la porte!

    MEPHISTOPHELES :Fie! Fie! Is this your politeness!But learn, my friend, that with SatanOne should conduct in a different way.Ive entered your door with infinite trouble.Would you kick me out the very same day?

    FAUST : Et que peux-tu pour moi?

    MEPHISTOPHELES :Tout. Mais dis-moi d'abordCe que tu veux; est-ce de l'or?

    FAUST : Que ferais-je de la richesse?

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Bien! je vois o le bt teblesse!Tu veux la gloire?

    FAUST : Then what will you do for me?

    MEPHISTOPHELES :Anything in the world! All things. ButSay first what you would have.Abundance of gold?

    FAUST : And what can I do with riches?

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Good. I see where theshoe pinches.You will have glory.

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    FAUST : Plus encor!

    MEPHISTOPHELES : La puissance!

    FAUST : Still wrong.

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Power, then.

    FAUST :Non! je veux un trsorQui les contient tous! . . . je veux la jeunesse!A moi les plaisirs,Les jeunes matresses!A moi leurs caresses!A moi leurs dsirs!A moi l'nergieDes instincts puissants,Et la folle orgieDu coeur et des sens!Ardente jenuesse,

    A moi tes dsirs!A moi ton ivresse!A moi tes plaisirs . . .

    FAUST :No. I would have a treasureWhich contains all. I wish for youth.Oh! I would have pleasure,And love, and caresses,For youth is the seasonWhen joy most impresses.One round of enjoyment,One scene of delight,Should be my employmentFrom day-dawn till night.Oh, I would have pleasure,

    And love, and caresses;If youth you restore me,My joys Ill renew!

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Fort bien! je puis contenterton caprice.

    FAUST : Et que te donnerai-je en retour?

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Presque rien:Ici, je suis ton service,Mais l-bas tu seras au mien.

    FAUST : La-bas?

    MEPHISTOPHELES: Tis wellall thou desirestI can give thee.

    FAUST : Ah! but what must I give in return?

    MEPHISTOPHELES: Tis but little:In this world I will be thy slave,But down below thou must be mine.

    FAUST: Below!

    MEPHISTOPHELES : La-bas.

    ( Lui presentant un parchemin .)

    Allons, signe. Eh quoi! ta main tremble?Que faut-il pour te dcider? . . .La jeunesse t'appelle; ose la regarder! . . .

    ( Il fait un geste. Le fond du thtre s'ouvre et laisse voir Marguerite assise devant son rouet et

    filant .)

    MEPHISTOPHELES: Below.

    (Unfolding a scroll .)

    Come, write. What! does thy hand tremble?Whence this dire trepidation?Tis youth that now awaits theeBehold!

    ( At a sign from Mephistopheles, the scene opensand discloses Margeurite, spinning .)

    FAUST : O merveille!

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Eh bien! que t'en semble?..

    FAUST : Oh, wonder!

    FAUST/MEPHISTOPHELES: Well, how do youlike it?

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    (Prenant le parchemin .)

    FAUST : Donne! ( Il Signe .)

    MEPHISTOPHELES :Allons donc!(Prenant la coupe reste sur la table.)Et maintenant,Matre, c'est moi qui te convie.A vider cette coupe, o fume en bouillonnantNon plus la mort, non plus le poison; mais la vie!

    (Taking parchments .)

    FAUST : Give me the scroll! (Signs .)

    MEPHISTOPHELES:Come on then! And now, master,(Taking cup from the table .)I invite thee to empty a cup,In which there is neither poison nor death,But young and vigorous life.

    FAUST : (Prenant la coupe et se tournant vers Marguerite .)

    A toi, fantme adorable et charmant! . . .

    ( Il vide la coupe et se trouve meta-morphose en jeune et elegant seigneur. La vision disparait .)

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Viens!

    FAUST : Je la reverrai?

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Sans doute.

    FAUST : Quand?

    FAUST : (Taking cup and turning toward Marguerite. )

    O beautiful, adorable vision! I drink to thee!

    ( He drinks the contents of the cup, and istransformed into a young and handsome man. Thevision disappears .)

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Come, then.

    FAUST : Say, shall I again behold her?

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Most surely!

    FAUST : When?

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Aujourd'hui.FAUST : Cest bien!

    MEPHISTOPHELES : En route!

    MEPHISTOPHELES : This very day!FAUST : Tis well.

    MEPHISTOPHELES : Then lets away.

    FAUST:A moi les plaisirs,Les jeunes matresses!A moi leurs caresses!A moi leurs dsirs!

    MEPHISTOPHELES:A toi la jeunesse,A toi ses dsirs,A toi son ivresse,A toi ses plaisirs!A toi ses plaisirs!

    FAUST/MEPHISTOPHELES:Tis pleasure I covet,Tis beauty I crave;I sigh for its kisses,Its love I demand!With ardor unwontedI long now to burn;I sigh for the raptureOf heart and of sense. 15

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    IV. PERFORMANCE, PUBLIC PERCEPTION, AND THE RULE OF LAW: IOLANTHE

    It is not merely of some importance, but is of fundamental importance that justice should not onlydone, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.16

    This venerable maxim underscoresthe important link between the rule of law and public perception. If, for example, the public perce judicial decisions as stemming from personal biases or political influence, citizens are likely to lose fin the legal system, and the rule of law is likely to suffer.

    This is to acknowledge that, as some legal scholars have put it, the law possesses a performativdimension. For example, Jack Balkin and Sanford Levinson have argued that [l]aw, like musicdrama, is best understood as performancethe acting out of texts rather than the texts themselves17

    They explain:

    Like music and drama, law takes place before an audience to whom the

    interpreter owes special responsibilities. Legal, musical, and dramaticinterpreters must persuade others that the conception of the work putbefore them is, in some sense, authoritative. And whether or not theirperformances do persuade, they have effects on the audience . . . . Likeother performing arts, legal performance is more than the interpretationof a text by a performer: it involves a triangle of reciprocal influencesbetween the creators of texts, the performers of texts, and the audiencesaffected by those performances.18

    What role do performance and public perception play in actual legal practice? How are the law andlegal profession portrayed to the public in opera and other performing arts?

    A comedic perspective on these questions is found in the operas of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. noted previously, Gilbert himself was a barrister before becoming a dramatist,19 and many of his operassatirize the law and the legal profession.20

    Nowhere is this more evident than in Gilbert & Sullivanscomic opera Iolanthe; or The Peer and the Peri.

    Iolanthe s plot is every bit as unusual asThe Magic Flute s: Iolanthe is a fairy who, twenty-five yearsearlier, had committed the capital crime under fairy law of marrying a human being. The Queen of Fairies commuted Iolanthes sentence from death to banishment for life, but only on the condition tIolanthe leave her husband and never communicate with him again. After twenty-five years, the faistill miss Iolanthe and beg the Queen to pardon her and allow her to return to fairyland. The Quultimately relents.

    Iolanthe has a son from her marriage, a shepherd named Strephon, who is half fairy, half human. He ilove with Phyllis, a human, who happens to be one of many wards in the Lord Chancellors charStrephon has tried to convince the Lord Chancellor to let him marry Phyllis, but the Lord Chancelrefuses. As it happens, the Lord Chancellor is also in love with Phyllisand with many of his otwardsand he wishes to find a way of marrying Phyllis without giving scandal to the Peers.

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    Iolanthe complains that the Lord Chancellor is interfering with Strephons life. The Queen intercedemaking Strephon a member of Parliament, and ensuring that every law he proposes is enacted. OnStrephons laws would require each Peer to pass an I.Q. test before admittance to the House of Lords.

    Later, the Chancellor comes to believe that he has indeed found a loophole that will allow him to maPhyllis without destorying his reputation. Iolanthe then reveals to the Chancellor that she is his wiftwenty-five years, and that Strephon is their son. The Chancellor realizes that, since his wife is still alhe cannot marry Phyllis. The Fairy Queen then enters to remind everyone that marriage between humand fairies is verboten on pain of death. As a result, Strephon cannot marry Phyllis, and Iolanthe mdisregard her prior marriage to the Chancellor. The fairies then confess that each of them has brokenlaw by marrying Peers, at which point the Chancellor crafts a solution, announcing that a simmodification of the law will solve everything: the insertion of a single word will do it. Let it stand every fairy shall die whodoesnt marry a mortal, and there you are, out of your difficulty at once!

    The Queen quickly marries a sentry to avoid incurring the death penalty. Their marriages now legsanctioned, the Lords sprout wings and turn into fairies, whereupon everyone flies back to fairyland.21

    When I Went to the Bar is sung by the Lord Chancellor in Act I of Iolanthe . When the LordChancellor and Strephon are alone, the Lord Chancellor asks Strephon why he has disobeyed an ordethe Court of Chancery. Strephon asks the Lord Chancellor: And have you the heart to apply the prorules of evidence to a case which bubbles over with poetical emotion? The Lord Chancellor answDistinctly. I have always kept my duty strictly before my eyes, and it is to that fact that I owe advancement to my present distinguished position. He then goes on to sing When I Went to the Bar.

    When I Went to the Bar, Gilbert & Sullivans Iolanthe

    LORD CHANCELLOR :When I went to the Bar as a very young man,(Said I to myselfsaid I),

    Ill work on a new and original plan,(Said I to myselfsaid I),Ill never assume that a rogue or a thief Is a gentleman worthy implicit belief,Because his attorney has sent me a brief,(Said I to myselfsaid I!).

    Ere I go into court I will read my brief through(Said I to myselfsaid I).And Ill never take work Im unable to do(Said I to myselfsaid I),My learned profession Ill never disgraceBy taking a fee with a grin on my face,When I havent been there to attend to the case(Said I to myselfsaid I!).

    Ill never throw dust in a jurymans eyes(Said I to myselfsaid I),Or hoodwink a judge who is not over-wise(Said I to myselfsaid I),

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    Or assume that the witnesses summoned in forceIn Exchequer, Queens Bench, Common Pleas, or Divorce,Have perjured themselves as a matter of course(Said I to myselfsaid I!).

    In other professions in which men engage(Said I to myselfsaid I),The Army, the Navy, the Church, and the Stage(Said I to myselfsaid I),Professional license, if carried too far,Your chance of promotion will certainly marAnd I fancy the rule might apply to the Bar(Said I to myselfsaid I!).22

    V. GENDER EQUALITY AND THE RULE OF LAW: COS FAN TUTTE

    As with principles such as freedom of expression, accountability, and transparency, the principle equality goes hand-in-hand with the rule of law. One persistent impediment to equality and to the rullaw is gender discrimination. Prior to her appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the DCircuit in 1980, Justice Ginsburg litigated several cases before the Supreme Court that were pivotaestablishing constitutional protections against gender discrimination.23

    The discriminatory lawschallenged in these cases were premised in large part on common gender stereotypes.

    To bring the issue of gender discrimination into sharper perspective, we consider Tutti accusan

    donne, an aria form MozartsCos fan tutte. The operas full title is Cos fan tutte ossia La scuola degliamanti (That is how they all do it, or The School for Lovers), which translated more colloquiameans Women are all like that. The opera begins with Don Alfonso, a cynical old bachelor, debatthe constancy of women with two young officers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, who insist that thsweetheartsthe sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligiare faithful to them. Alfonso bets Ferrando Guglielmo that if they do everything he asks, he will prove within one day that Dorabella and Fiordiare fickle, just like all other women. Ferrando and Guglielmo hatch a plan to test the ladies fidelitydisguising themselves so that each can try to seduce the others lover. Ultimately, both women seduced and shown to be unfaithful.

    Tutti accusan le donne is sung by Don Alfonso to console Ferrando and Guglielmo after theylearned of Dorabellas and Fiordiligis unfaithfulness. Don Alfonso explains that the women shouldn

    held accountable for their actions because all women are flirtatious by nature.

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    Tutti accusan le donne, Mozarts Cos fan tutte

    DON ALFONSO:Tutti accusan le donne,ed io le scuso,se mille volte al d cangiano amore,altri un vizio lo chiama,ed altri un uso,ed a me parnecessit del core.Lamante che si trova al fin deluso,non condanni laltrui, ma il proprio errore:giacch giovani, vecchie, e belle ebrutte,ripetete con me:Cos fan tutte!

    DON ALFONSO:Women cannot be faithful,But I dont mind it,For I can see the principle behind it.You are wrong to upbraid them.You have to take them as they are,As Mother Nature made them.You lovers, dont complain of disillusion.What you need is to reach the wise conclusion:All your ancestors, fathers, and brothers wentthrough it.Since they learned it from Eve:Cos fan tutte!24

    VI. FREEDOM AND THE RULE OF LAW: AIDA

    The relationship between freedom and the rule of law is readily apparent. Indeed, the value of the rullaw consists largely in the fact that it acts as a bulwark against threats to freedom.

    Freedom is among the major themes at work in Giuseppe Verdis Aida (1871), the opera from which ourfinal performance is taken. The title character is an Ethiopian princess who is captured and forced tothe slave of Amneris, the Egyptian Kings daughter. 25

    Radams, a young captain of the Egyptian guard,

    learns that Ethiopia threatens the Nile valley. He is in love with Aida, and he hopes to be chosencommand the Egyptian army, envisioning a glorious victory so he can free Aida from slavery. The Kannounces Radamss appointment as commander and leads the assemblage in a battle hymn. Retvictorious! cries Amneris, echoed by the people. Radams is led off amid rejoicing, and Aida is alone.

    In the temple of Ptah, a Priestess addresses the deity, as Radams is ceremonially clothed in sacred armRamfis consecrates Radamss sword for the campaign.

    In Act II, Radams has defeated the Ethiopians, and in preparation for his return, Amneris is begroomed by slaves and diverted by dancers. At Aidas approach, she dismisses her other attendants ato confirm her suspicions, tells Aida that Radams has died in battle, then later reveals that he still livConvinced by Aidas reactions that her slave does love Radams, Amneris threatens her and leavesAida reiterates her prayer.

    At a public square in Thebes, a crowd welcomes the returning army, which passes before the King aAmneris. Radams arrives, and Amneris salutes his victory. The captured Ethiopians are led in; amthem Aida recognizes her father, Amonasro. He warns her in an aside not to betray his rank, then plefor his fellow prisoners lives. Ramfis and the priests demand the captives death, but Radams requ

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    their freedom as his reward. The King releases all but Amonasro, then presents Radams with Amnerhand, leaving Aida in despair.

    Act III, begins on a moonlit bank of the Nile. Ramfis leads Amneris into a temple of Isis for her weddvigil. Aida comes to wait secretly for Radams. Overcome with nostalgia, she laments her conquehomeland. Amonasro, still determined to save his people, startles her out of her reverie and commaher to trick Radams into revealing the Egyptian armys intended route into Ethiopia. He shames athreatens her until she reluctantly agrees. Amonasro hides as Radams appears, promising to make Ahis bride after his next victory. She suggests they run away together, asking what road they should takavoid his army. No sooner has he revealed the Egyptians plans than Amonasro emerges from his hidplace and divulges his identity as King of Ethiopia. Leaving the temple, Amneris finds the three denounces Radams as a traitor. Amonasro lunges at her with a dagger, but Radams shields her asurrenders himself, as Aida and her father escape.

    In Act IV, Radams is led into the hall of judgment. Amneris offers to save him if he will renounce Aihe refuses. Enraged, Amneris lets him go to his doom. Listening as the priests demands that he defhimself are met with silence, Amneris feels her pride falling away, and her love for Radams is revea

    by her agony in hearing him condemned by the priests, whom she curses. Radams, buried alive crypt beneath the temple, turns his last thoughts to Aida, who emerges from the shadows, having entethe vault earlier to share his fate. Radams tries vainly to dislodge the stone that locks them in. Biddfarewell to earth, the lovers greet eternity, as Amneris, in the temple above, prays to Isis for peace.

    Ritorna vincitor! (Return, victor!) is the aria sung by Aida after Radams is sent off to fight Ethiopians. Aida is appalled that she too has cheered Radams to victory against the Ethiopians, her people. She sings of her conflicting emotions and prays for pity. Her emotional enslavement is perhas powerful as her physical, bodily enslavement.

    Ritorna vincitor! from Verdis Aida

    AIDA:Ritorna vincitor! AIDA:May he return a victor!E dal mio labbro usc lempia parola! And the impious word came from my lips!Vincitor del padre mio . . . di lui Victor over my father . . .Che impugna larmi per me . . . over him who bears arms for me . . .Per ridonarmi una patria, in order to restore to me to a country,Una reggia, e il nome illustreChe qui celar m forza!

    a palace, and the illustrious name that I am forced to hidehere!

    Vincitor demiei fratelli . . .ondio lo vegga, Victor over my brothers . . . and I will see him,Tinto del sangue amato, stained with beloved blood,Trionfar nel plauso dellEgizie coorti! triumphing in the praises of Egypts cohorts.

    E dietro il carro, And behind his chariot,Un Re . . . mio padre . . . di catene avvinto! a king, my father . . . bound in chains!Linsana parola o Numi sperdete! Oh gods, let the insane words vanish!Al seno dun padre la figlia rendete; restore a daughter to her fathers breast.

    struggete, struggete, struggete le squadre deinostri oppressor!

    destroy, destroy, destroy the forces of our oppressors!

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    Ah! Sventurata! Che dissi? Ah! Wretched woman! What did I say?E lamor mio? And my love?Dunque scordar possio questo fervido amoreche,

    Can I then forget the fervent love which like a sunbeam. . . has delighted me here,

    oppressa e schiava, oppressed and enslaved though I am?come raggio di sol . . . qui mi beava?Imprecher la morte a Radams . . . Shall I pray for death to Radams . . .a lui chamo pur tanto! even to him, whom I love so much!Ah! non fu in terra mai da pi crudeliangoscie un core affranto!

    Ah! never on earth was there a heart more burdened bycruel sorrows!

    I sacri nomi di padre . . . damante,n profferir possio n ricordar . . .

    I may neither mention nor recall the sacred names of father . . . of lover . . .

    Per lun . . . per laltro confusa tremanteio piangere vorrei . . . vorrei pregar.

    Confused, trembling, I would weep . . . I would pray . . .for the one . . . for the other.

    Ma la mia prece in bestemmia si muta . . . But my prayer is turned to blasphemy . . .delitto il pianto a me . . . colpa il sospir . . .in notte cupa la mente perduta . . .e nellansia crudel vorrei morir.

    weeping is a crime for me . . . a sigh, guilt . . . thought islost in the dark night . . .and I would die in my cruel sorrow.

    Numi, piet de l mio soffrir!Speme non v'ha pel mio dolor . . .Amor fatal, tremendo amorspezzami il cor . . . fammi morir!Numi, piet del mio soffrir, ah! . . . piet,Numi, pieta del mio soffrir . . .Numi, pieta del mio soffrir, piet,piet del mio soffrir!

    Gods, pity my suffering!Is there no hope for my sorrow . . .fatal love, boundless love,break my heart . . . make me die!Gods, pity my suffering, ah! . . .gods pity my suffering . . .gods, pity my suffering, pity,pity my suffering!26

    CONCLUSION

    Justice Sandra Day OConnor liked to say that we must not be tone deaf to the music of the law.explaining what she meant by this on one occasion, she drew a direct link between opera (and otsources of music) and the rule of law. Quoting a law school classmate, Justice OConnors remarepresent a fitting note on which to conclude:

    There are lawyers who never hear the laws musicindeed, those whothink there is none; those who think the law is just a businessone forwhich high fees can be charged and collected for the necessary servicesonly a lawyer can provide. But if you understand and hear the lawsmusic, to quote a former law school classmate of mine . . . it is a musicwith the logic and clarity of Bach, the thunder, sometimes overblown andpompous, of Wagner, the lyric passion of Verdi and Puccini, the geniusof Mozart . . . . The words of the music of the law you can hear are wordsof equality, justice, fairness, consistency, predictability, equity, wrongs

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    righted, and the repose of disputes settled without violence, withoutundue advantage, and without leaving either side with bitter feelings of having been cheated. It is the music sung in the world . . . of childlikeinnocence in which the lion lies down with the lamb. Perhaps it is not aworld that ever was, nor ever will be, but it is a world worth livingtoward.27

    BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY

    A central aim of this Presidential Showcase has been to explore the relationship between opera and law (and, more specifically, opera and therule of law). The following bibliographical essay is offered forthose interested in pursuing the topic further.

    A large part of the scholarly literature regarding opera and the law belongs to the Law and Literatugenre. Generally, these articles use operas and other texts to illuminate particular legal themes or issSee, e.g. , Lior Barshack,The Sovereignty of Pleasure: Sexual and Political Freedom in the Operas of

    Mozart and Da Ponte , 20 LAW & LITERATURE47 (2008); Jeffrey G. Sherman, Laws Lunacy: W.S.Gilbert and His Deus ex Lege, 83 OR. L. REV. 1035 (2004); Peter Goodrich,Operatic Hermeneutics:

    Harmony, Euphantasy, and Law in Rossinis Semiramis, 20 CARDOZOL. REV. 1649 (1999); DesmondManderson, Et Lux Perpetua: Dying Declarations & Mozarts Requiem, 20 CARDOZOL. REV. 1621(1999). See also Michael L. Richmond,Law, Instrumental Music, and Dance: Reflections of a CommonCulture, 27 LEGALSTUD. F. 783 (2003);cf. Daniel F. Tritter,Opera and the Law: Dramma Giocosa , 20 OPERAQ. 7 (2004).

    Another strand of literature discussing opera and the law focuses on legal issues and doctrines that win some way rooted in real-life disputes involving operas and/or opera performers. For example, m

    scholarly attention has been devoted to the contract dispute in the 1850s involving opera star JohanWagner. See, e.g. , Sarah Swan, A New Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations: Gender and Erotic Triangles in Lumley v. Gye, 35 HARV. J. L. & GENDER167 (2012); David Howarth, Against Lumley v. Gye, 68 THEMOD. L. REV. 195 (2005);cf. Stephen Waddams, Johanna Wagner and the RivalOpera Houses , 117 LAW Q. REV. 43 (2001); Gabriella Dideriksen & Matthew Ringel,Frederick Gye and The Dreadful Business of Opera Management , 19 19TH-CENTURYMUSIC3 (1995). Wagner initiallyhad entered into an agreement to perform at Lumleys Her Majestys Theatre. She later reneghowever, after accepting a better offer to perform at Gyes Covent Garden. As a result, Lumley brousuits against both Wagner, Lumley v. Wagner , (1852) 42 Eng. Rep. 687 (Ch.), and Gye, Lumley v. Gye ,(1853) 118 Eng. Rep. 749 (Q.B.). The suit against Wagner is notable for its treatment of the questionspecific performance. The court affirmed that specific performance was not an appropriate remedydisputes involving personal services contracts, but nevertheless granted a negative injunction forbiddWagner from performing at Covent Garden.See also RESTATEMENT(SECOND) OF CONTRACTS 367cmt. c, illus. 3 (1981) (citing Lumley v. Wagner in connection with the concept of specific performance).In Gye , the court extended the doctrine of enticement, which generally had applied to the employmof household servants, in holding that Lumley could maintain a cause of action against Gye for inducWagner to breach their original agreement.

    Somewhat more germane to the theme of this program is the scholarship seeking to underscore aesthetic dimension of the law. This idea has been developed in a variety of different ways.See, e.g. ,

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    Pierre Schlag,The Aesthetics of American Law , 115 HARV. L. REV. 1047 (2002); Stewart G. Pollock,The Art of Judging , 71 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 591 (1996). Particularly notable among the early contributions on thsubject is Karl Llewellyns,On the Good, the True, the Beautiful, in Law , 9 U. CHI. L. REV. 224 (1942).Llewellyns essay begins with the observation that [b]eauty in things of law has been slighted as iflaw. Id. at 227. Interestingly, legal rules, and indeed the rule of law itself, are at the center of hdiscussion. Llewellyn goes on to say:

    [I]n regard to the rule of law itself, there remains an esthetic aspectundiscussed . . . . Only the rule which shows its reason on its face hasground to claim maximum chance of continuing effectiveness; so that tosatisfy, in this, the lay need of relative accessibility, of friendliness andmeaningfulness of the reason, is at the same time to do a functionallymore effective job on the side of pure technique. There is thus no need,in widening ones view of what the function of rules of law is, to riskconfusion on the marks of beauty. Quite the contrary. For to see thewider function, is to find the road back to that rightest and most beautifultype of legal rule, the singing rule with purpose and with reason dear,

    whose nature, whose very possibility, the Formal Perpendicular has ledour legal thinkers to forgetalmost to deny.

    Id. at 249-50.

    The literature most relevant to the theme of this program consists of various attempts to draw paralbetween law and opera as disciplines. For example, there is a substantial body of literature discussquestions of statutory interpretation and how these mirror questions of interpretation in the arts. Formost part, these articles have tended to focus on music rather than opera. Thelocus classicus for thisgenre is arguably Jerome Franks,Words and Music: Some Remarks on Statutory Interpretation , 47 COLUM. L. REV. 1259 (1947), based on a speech that Judge Frank gave to members of the Columbia LaReview. In the article, Judge Franksuggest[s] a comparison between (1) the interpretation of statutes by

    judges and (2) the interpretation of musical compositions by musical performers. Id. at 1260. Written in1940s, the articles observations and insights continue to be echoed in more recent scholarship.See also Ian Gallacher,Conducting the Constitution: Justice Scalia, Textualism, and the Eroica Symphony, 9 VAND. J. ENT. & TECH. L. 301, 303 (2006); Timothy S. Hall,Score as Contract: Private Law and the

    Historically Informed Performance Movement , 20 CARDOZOL. REV. 1589 (1999); Sanford Levinson &J.M. Balkin, Law, Music, and Other Performing Arts , 139 U. PA. L. REV. 1597 (1991); Richard A.Posner, Bork and Beethoven , 42 STAN. L. REV. 1365 (1990).

    There has been at least one attempt specifically to examine the relationship between law and opera.SeeJ.M. Balkin & Sanford Levinson, Interpreting Law and Music: Performance Notes on The BanjoSerenader and The Lying Crowd of Jews , 20 CARDOZOL. REV. 1513 (1999). Balkin and Levinsonargue that the parallels between law and opera and other performing arts are more instructive than th

    between law and music. They develop their thesis by looking at the similarities between the problemperforming offensive texts (e.g., operas with offensive lyrics) and the problem of interpreting aenforcing unjust laws.

    As can be seen, although much has been written about the various ways in which law and opera intersmuch remains yet to be explored.

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    1 As Justice Ginsburg has explained:

    Visitors to the Court in recent years could hardly miss noticing the Chiefs self-designedrobe, copied from the Lord Chancellors costume in a local theater companys summerproduction of Gilbert and Sullivans Iolanthe . The robe has gleaming gold stripes, asdoes the robe of the U.K.s Lord Chancellor, but Chief Justice Rehnquists version wasless regal, resembling the stripes of a master sergeant more than those of a British Lord.Why did a man not given to sartorial splendor decide on such a costume? In his ownwords, he did not wish to be upstaged by the women. (Justice OConnor wore severalattractive neck pieces, collars from British gowns, and a frilly French foulard; I wearBritish and French lace foulards too, and sometimes a collar of French Canadian design.)

    Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Reflections on Arizonas Pace-Setting Justices: William Hubbs Rehnquist and Sandra Day OConnor , 49 Ariz. L. Rev. 1, 4 (2007).2 See, e.g. , Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia , 448 U.S. 555, 604 (1980) (Rehnquist, J., dissenting)(criticizing majoritys holding that the First Amendment was violated by the closing of a criminal triathe public and media). Chief Justice Rehnquist also quoted Gilbert and Sullivan in his books,see WILLIAMH. REHNQUIST, CENTENNIALCRISIS: THE DISPUTEDELECTION OF1876, at 220 (2004) (Eachof them, like Sir Joseph Porter in the Gilbert and Sullivan opera H.M.S. Pinafore , always voted at hispartys call, and no one was the least bit surprised that they did so.), and even in the occasiotelevision interview,see John Q. Barrett, A Rehnquist Ode on the Vinson Court , 11 GREENBAG2D 289,296-97 (2008) (citing the following from Rehnquists appearance onThe Charlie Rose Show : Q: Whatdid that whole [impeachment] processand what was it important that you thought you, as chief justshould accomplish in that process? A: Well, not very much. Theres a line from Gilbert and Sulliva

    Iolanthe thatlet me see if I can think of it. When Wellington whipped Bonaparte, as any child can tethe House of Peers throughout the war did nothing in particular and did it very well. And I feel thaabout what I did at the impeachment trial. I did nothing in particular and I did it very well.).3 Richard J. Fallon, Jr.,The Rule of Law as a Concept in Constitutional Discourse , 97 COLUM. L. REV.1, 6 (1997).4 See, e.g. , Hon. Diane P. Wood,The Rule of Law in Times of Stress , 70 U. CHI. L. REV. 455, 456-57(2003).5 More elaborate catalogs can be found in Fallon,supra note 3, and Robert S. Summers,Principles of the

    Rule of Law , 74 NOTREDAMEL. REV. 1691 (1999).6 Judith A. Eckelmeyer,Structure as Hermeneutic Guide to The Magic Flute, 72 MUSICALQ. 51, 52-53(1986).7 The synopsis is reprinted with the permission of Opera News .8 See generally Joscelyn Godwin, Layers of Meaning in The Magic Flute, 65 MUSICALQ. 471 (1979).9 See, e.g. , Christopher Ballantine,Social and Philosophical Outlook in Mozarts Operas , 67 MUSICALQ. 507, 520-21 (1991); Robert Spaethling,Folklore and Enlightenment in the Libretto of Mozarts MagicFlute, 9 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUD. 45 (1975); cf. NICHOLAS TILL, MOZART AND THEENLIGHTENMENT: TRUTH, VIRTUE ANDBEAUTY INMOZARTS OPERAS(1992).10

    WOLFGANGAMADEUSMOZART, THE MAGIC FLUTE (Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, MichaelGeliot, trans. 1980).11 Britten revised the opera in 1960.12 See generally Steven L. Winter, Melville, Slavery, and the Failure of the Judicial Process , 26 CARDOZOL. REV. 2471 (2005); Richard Weisberg, How Judges Speak: Some Lessons on Adjudication inBilly Budd, Sailorwith an Application to Justice Rehnquist , 57 N.Y.U. LAW. REV. 1 (1982).13 BENJAMINBRITTEN, BILLYBUDD(Libretto by E.M. Forster & Eric Crozier, 1961).14 United States v. Johnson , 221 U.S. 488, 496 (1911) (Holmes, J.).

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    15 CHARLESGOUNOD, FAUST: A LYRIC DRAMA INFIVE ACTS (Libretto by Jules Barbier and MichelCarr, Edwin F. Kalmus ed., 1972).16 Rex v. Sussex Justices, ex parte McCarthy , 1 K.B. 256, 259 (1924) (Lord Hewart, C.J.).17 J.M. Balkin & Sanford Levinson,Interpreting Law and Music: Performance Notes on The BanjoSerenader and The Lying Crowd of Jews, 20 CARDOZOL. REV. 1513, 1519 (1999).18 Id. 19 See, e.g. , Jeffrey G. Sherman, Laws Lunacy: W.S. Gilbert and His Deus ex Lege, 83 OR. L. REV. 1035,1036 (2004).20 Id. 21 Adapted from the synopsis of the Bristol Gilbert & Sullivan Operatic Society, http://wwwafbennett.co.uk/bgsos/Synopsis-Iolanthe.html (last visited July 5, 2012), and Wikipedihttp://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Iolanthe (last visited July 5, 2012).22 W.S. GILBERT& ARTHURSULLIVAN, IOLANTHE; ORTHEPEER AND THEPERI(1882).23 Duren v. Missouri , 439 U.S. 357 (1979);Califano v. Goldfarb , 430 U.S. 199 (1977);Weinberger v.Wiesenfeld , 420 U.S. 636 (1975); Edwards v. Healy , 421 U.S. 772 (1975);Kahn v. Shevin , 416 U.S. 351(1974);Frontiero v. Richardson , 411 U.S. 677 (1973).24WOLFGANGAMADEUSMOZART, COS FAN TUTTE: WOMENARE LIKE THAT (Libretto by Lorenzo daPonte, Ruth & Thomas Martin trans., 1951).25 The synopsis of Aida is reprinted with the permission of Opera News .26 GIUSEPPEVERDI, AIDA(Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, Ellen Bleiler trans., 1962).27Sandra Day OConnor,Professionalism: Remarks at The Dedication of the University of Oklahomas

    Law School Building and Library, 2002 , 55 OKLA. L. REV. 197, 200-01 (2002) (brackets omitted).Frederick Steiner is reportedly the classmate to whom Justice OConnor refers.See Frederick K. Steiner,Jr., The Music of the Law , 7 GREENBAG2D 167 (2004).

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    SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES

    Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York. After receiving her L.L.B. fromColumbia Law School, where she graduated at the top of her class, she served as a law clerk to JudgeEdmund L. Palmieri of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. JusticeGinsburg later went on to play a central role in launching the Womens Rights Project of the AmericanCivil Liberties Union and argued several cases before the Supreme Court that were instrumental inestablishing constitutional protections against gender discrimination. In 1980, she was appointed a Judgeof the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In 1993, she was nominated asan Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton, becoming the second woman ever toserve on the Court. Justice Ginsburg has made cameo appearances in the Washington National Operasproductions of Richard Strausss Ariadne auf Naxos and Johann Strausss Die Fledermaus .

    Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. is the forty-sixth Solicitor General of the United States. After graduating fromColumbia Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review, Mr. Verrilliserved as a law clerk to Judge J. Skelly Wright of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit,and later to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. of the United States Supreme Court. During his years as apartner at Jenner & Block LLP, he handled numerous cases in the Supreme Court and the courts of

    appeals, including MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster , which established that companies building businessesbased on the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works can be liable for inducing infringement; andWiggins v. Smith , which established principles governing the right to effective assistance of counsel atcapital sentencing. Before becoming Solicitor General, Mr. Verrilli served as Deputy Counsel toPresident Obama and as an Associate Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice.

    Anthony Freud is the General Director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He joined the Lyric in 2011, afterearning widespread acclaim for his achievements as general director of the Welsh National Opera andlater of the Houston Grand Opera. Mr. Freud was born and raised in London by immigrant parents, bothof whom were born in Hungary. His father came to the UK as a refugee in 1939 and his mother was asurvivor of Auschwitz. He attended his first opera at age four, became a regular operagoer in his teens,and has said that by age fourteen, he knew he wanted to run an opera company. In 2006, Mr. Freud was

    made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to music by QueenElizabeth II in her 80th Birthday Honours. Before pursuing his passion for opera, Mr. Freud earned a lawdegree with honors from the University of London Kings College and qualified as an attorney.

    Craig C. Martin is a partner in the Chicago office of Jenner & Block LLP, where he is Co-Chair of theFirms Litigation Department and a member of its governing committee. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the Harvard Law School, Mr. Martins practice spans the courtroom to the boardroom,where he represents major corporations in their most complex matters, domestically and internationally.He is AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbells highest peer recognition for ethical standards andlegal ability. In 2009, Leading Lawyers Network named Mr. Martin one of the Top 100 BusinessLawyers in Illinois, and profiled him in its Leading Lawyers Magazine . In 2011, Mr. Martin receivedthe Judge Learned Hand Human Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee, for his

    extraordinary professional accomplishments and dedication to philanthropic and civic endeavors. Mr.Martin serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Lyric Opera, is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, and is the Co-Chair of the ABA Sectionof Litigation 2012 Annual meeting.

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    THE PATRICK G. AND SHIRLEY W. RYAN OPERA CENTERAT LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO

    The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center was established in 1974 as the professional artist-development program for Lyric Opera of Chicago. Since its inception, the Ryan Opera Center has beenrecognized as one of the premier programs of its kind in the world. That standing is maintained byproviding the finest up-and-coming singers with unparalleled training and experience. Gianna Rolandi isDirector of the program.

    Selected from some 400 singers who audition annually, the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble members are inresidence for twelve months. Over the course of the year they receive advanced instruction in numerousaspects of operatic performance, including voice lessons and coachings, language and acting training, andmaster classes with some of operas most renowned artists.

    During Lyric Operas mainstage season, Ryan Opera Center members perform and understudy asignificant number of principal and supporting roles. This presents an extraordinary opportunity to work with the worlds greatest opera singers, conductors, directors, orchestra, and chorus. They also gainvaluable performing experience by participating in recitals and concerts at many Chicago-area venues.

    A testament to the Ryan Opera Centers caliber and success is the roster of distinguished alumni whoperform regularly on the stages of leading international opera houses. It includes Ren Barbera, HarolynBlackwell, Nicole Cabell, Elizabeth DeShong, Mark S. Doss, Christopher Feigum, Elizabeth Futral,Roger Honeywell, Joseph Kaiser, Maria Kanyova, Quinn Kelsey, Gregory Kunde, Dina Kuznetsova,Gary Lehman, Emily Magee, Susanna Phillips, Matthew Polenzani, Patricia Risley, Christian Van Horn,Amber Wagner, Erin Wall, and Guang Yang.

    PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES

    EVAN BOYER Bass Evan Boyer is a third-year Ryan Opera Center member. In 2009, the Louisville, Kentucky native

    was a national semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He was awarded firstplace in the 2010 Union League Civic and Arts Foundation competition and has received awards from theLicia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, the Giulio Gari Foundation, and the American Opera SocietyCompetition. Boyers appearances encompass a variety of roles in La sonnambula, Antony and Cleopatra , The Rakes Progress , Don Giovanni , Wozzeck , Tchaikovskys Iolanta , and Golijovs

    Ainadamar (all at Philadelphias Curtis Institute of Music); Act Four of La bohme ( San FranciscoOperas Merola program); Weills Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Tanglewood Music Center);

    Lincoronazione di Poppea and La traviata (Chautauqua Institution); and Cos fan tutte and EugeneOnegin (Northwestern University). Recent performances include his European debut as Sarastro/ The

    Magic Flute at Garsington Opera, Oreste/Cavallis Giasone (debut) and Cron/Charpentiers Medea , bothat Chicago Opera Theater, and his Carnegie Hall debut in Salome with the Cleveland Orchestra. The basshas appeared at Lyric Opera in Macbeth (debut), The Girl of the Golden West, Lohengrin , Carmen student

    matinees, The Tales of Hoffmann , Boris Godunov , Ariadne auf Naxos , The Magic Flute , and Aida . In2012-13 he will be seen at Lyric in Simon Boccanegra , La bohme , Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg , and

    Rigoletto .

    TRACY CANTINSoprano Tracy Cantin is a first-year Ryan Opera Center member. A recent graduate of the Artist Diplomaprogram at McGills Schulich School of Music, Cantins repertoire there has included Donna Anna/ DonGiovanni , Mim/ La bohme, and the Governess/Brittens Turn of the Screw . She previously studied at theUniversity of Alberta (the Mother/Humperdincks Hansel and Gretel ) and the University of Western

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    Ontario (Donna Anna). The sopranos other operatic credits include Alice Ford/ Falstaff (Highlands OperaStudio) and Nella/ Gianni Schicchi (Opera NUOVA). On the concert stage Cantin has been heard as asoloist in Strausss Four Last Songs , Beethovens Symphony No. 9 , Handels Messiah , Bachs Magnificat ,Vivaldis Gloria , and Mahlers Symphony No. 2 (University of Western Ontario Orchestra). Originallyfrom Prince Edward Island, she was awarded the Phyllis and Bernard Shapiro Opera Scholarship (2011),the June Rittmeyer Prize (2010), first place in the Lois Marshall Memorial Competition (2010), and theLondon Opera Guild Scholarship (2009). Next season Cantin will make her Lyric Opera of Chicago debutin Elektra and later appear in Rigoletto .

    DAVID GOVERTSENSecond-year Ryan Opera Center member David Govertsen, bass-baritone, spent two summers in TheSanta Fe Operas apprentice program. While there, he sang King Basilio/Lewis Spratlans Life is a Dream (workshop premiere). He also appeared as a soloist in the Mozart Requiem with the Santa Fe Symphonyand joined the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival for a concert of Bach arias and duets. During his tenureat Northwestern University the bass-baritone performed the title role/ The Marriage of Figaro , Basilio/ The

    Barber of Seville , and Beaumarchais/ The Ghosts of Versailles . In the spring of 2011 he made his CarnegieHall debut in Otello with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Riccardo Muti conducting), and last summerhe performed with the Grant Park Music Festival. Other recent engagements for the Wheaton, Illinois

    native include Handels Messiah with the Northwest Indiana Symphony; Haydns Creation , Handels Dettingen Te Deum and Mozarts Requiem with the Elmhurst Symphony; Gianni Schicchi with DuPageOpera Theatre; and a recital at Chicagos Mayne Stage (also broadcast on WFMT). Govertsen appeared inLyric Opera of Chicagos 2011-12 season as Nikitich/ Boris Godunov (debut), the Second ArmedMan/ The Magic Flute regular performances, and the Speaker/ The Magic Flute student matinees. Nextseason he will appear in Werther and Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg .

    BERNARD HOLCOMBA second-year Ryan Opera Center member, tenor Bernard Holcomb was a winner of the MichiganDistrict Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Prior to arriving in Chicago he appeared withthe Pine Mountain Music Festival for two summers (Paolino/ The Secret Marriage and Alfredo/ Latraviata ). A former Apprentice Artist and Studio Program member at Sarasota Opera, the tenor has been

    heard there as A Villager/ Pagliacci , Federico/ Lamico Fritz , and Ezekiel Cheever/Robert Wards TheCrucible . Michigan Opera Theatre roles include Nelson and the Crab Man/ Porgy and Bess andGastone/ La traviata . In 2008 the Detroit native participated in an international tour of Porgy and Bess with appearances in Russia, Poland, Greece, Latvia, Estonia, and Germany. Orchestral engagementsinclude the Verdi Requiem with the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and concerts with theNew Hampshire Symphony Holiday Pops, Rochester Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, andGrant Park Orchestra. Holcomb is an alumnus of the Eastman School of Music and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, where his repertoire included leading roles in La bohme , The Bartered Bride ,Postcard from Morocco , and Eugene Onegin . During Lyrics 2011-12 season he portrayed Nathanal/ TheTales of Hoffmann (debut), the Boyar/ Boris Godunov , the Officer/ Ariadne auf Naxos , the First ArmedMan/ The Magic Flute , and the Messenger/ Aida . In the upcoming Lyric season, he will appear in Simon

    Boccanegra , Don Pasquale , and La bohme .

    CRAIG TERRYCraig Terry, pianist, will soon begin his seventh season as Assistant Conductor at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Previously, he was an Assistant Conductor at The Metropolitan Opera (after joining theLindemann Young Artist Development Program) and a coach/pianist with the Houston Grand OperaStudio. He has worked with such notable conductors as Harry Bicket, Sir Andrew Davis, Valery Gergiev,James Levine, Kent Nagano, and Robert Spano. As a performer, Terry made his Carnegie Hall debut in2000 and has appeared at Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center for the PerformingArts, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has performed alongside such esteemed vocalists as Sir

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    Thomas Allen, Stephanie Blythe, Christine Brewer, Danielle De Niese, Kate Lindsey, Susanna Phillips,and Patricia Racette throughout the U.S. and Canada, including the Ravinia Festival and the AmericanSongbook series at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He made his conducting debut at Lyric Opera in studentmatinee performances of Lelisir damore . Terry studied at Tennessee Technological University, FloridaState University, and the Manhattan School of Music.