Puccini's Tosca | Program Notes

SOUNDINGS 2014/15 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 1

MASTERWORKS • 2014/15PUCCINI’S TOSCACOLORADO SYMPHONY ANDREW LITTON, conductor TAKESHA MESHÉ KIZART, Tosca CARL TANNER, Cavaradossi STEPHEN POWELL, Scarpia GABRIEL PREISSER, Angelotti/ Jailer JAMES HELD, Sacristan MICHAEL HOFFMAN, Spoletta LUKE WILLIAMS, Sciarrone TANNER SPREEUW, Shepherd BoyCOLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS; DUAIN WOLFE, directorCOLORADO CHILDREN’S CHORALE; DEBORAH DESANTIS, artistic directorROBERT NEU, stage director

Friday, February 13, 2015 at 7:30 pmSaturday, February 14, 2015 at 7:30 pmSunday, February 15, 2015 at 1:00 pmBoettcher Concert Hall

PUCCINI Tosca

Act I The church of Sant’ Andrea della Valle

— INTERMISSION —

Act II That evening Scarpia’s apartment in the Farnese Palace

— INTERMISSION —

Act III Dawn the following morning The rampart of the Castel Sant’Angelo

Custom Allen Digital Computer Organ provided by MervineMusic, LLC

This weekend of concerTs is graTefully dedicaTed To harvey and Maureen soloMon

friday’s concerT is graTefully dedicaTed To BrownsTein hyaTT farBer schreck, llP

saTurday’s concerT is graTefully dedicaTed To alan and Judy wigod in loving MeMory of lisa gayle wigod

PROGRAM 2 SOUNDINGS 2014/15 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG

ANDREW LITTON, conductorAndrew Litton currently serves as Music Director of the Colorado Symphony, Norway’s Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York City Ballet, Artistic Director of the Minnesota Orchestra’s Sommerfest and Conductor Laureate of Britain’s Bournemouth Symphony. He was also Music Director of the Dallas Symphony from 1994-2006. He guest conducts the world’s leading orchestras and has a discography of over 120 recordings with awards including America’s Grammy®, France’s Diapason d’Or, and many British and other honours. Litton has also conducted many of the world’s finest opera companies, such as the Metropolitan

Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Australian Opera. Besides his Grammy®-winning Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with Bryn Terfel and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, he also recorded the complete symphonies by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, a Dallas Mahler cycle, and many Gershwin recordings, as both conductor and pianist. For Hyperion Andrew Litton’s recordings include piano concertos by Rachmaninov, Liszt and Grieg with Stephen Hough; by Shostakovich, Shchedrin and Brahms with Marc-André Hamelin; and by Alnæs and Sinding with Piers Lane; Prokofiev’s Cello Concerto and Symphony-Concerto with Alban Gerhardt; Viola Concertos by Bartók and Rózsa with Lawrence Power; the complete symphonies by Charles Ives and orchestral works by Joseph Schwantner. Andrew Litton received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Juilliard in piano and conducting. He is an accomplished pianist, and often conducts from the keyboard and enjoys performing chamber music with his orchestra colleagues.

For further information, please visit www.andrewlitton.com

TAKESHA MESHÉ KIZART, ToscaTakesha Meshé Kizart is “blasting star quality all over the stage with her stunning voice and sensational good looks” (Opera News). Star of the feature film The Verdian Voice, and laureate of numerous international competitions, she is rapidly being hailed as the next great Verdian Voice of her generation. The New York Times describes her singing as “powerful, lustrous, silky, caramel-hued, wielding impressive ease and elegant control” and critics worldwide are praising her visually- and vocally-compelling performances as seen with the Metropolitan Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Orchestra of New York, Philadelphia Orchestra, Fort Worth

Symphony, Caramoor International Music Festival, and Aspen Music Festival, throughout Europe in Berlin, Frankfurt, Köln, Stuttgart, Bremen, Baden-Baden, Slovenia, Latvia, Montpellier, Cannes, Monaco, and Opera North-UK, in Tokyo, and throughout Australia. “Her exotic and voluptuous soprano and megawatt presence automatically draws the eye (New York Post) as the starring heroines of Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La bohème, Le Villi, Manon Lescaut, Boito’s Mefistofele, La forza del destino, Un ballo in maschera,Il Trovatore, I due Foscari, La traviata, Otello, Macbeth, Maria di Rohan, and Norma, to Bluebeard’s Castle, Barber’s Vanessa, Gnecchi’s Cassandra, Respighi’s Marie Victoire, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, the Verdi Requiem, and Wagner’s Liebestod. Additional appearances include ABC’s Good Morning America, PBS, and NPR Performance Today. Judging by her current ascent, this young and dazzlingly talented vocal artist is destined for greatness on the lyric stage and beyond.

Upcoming Recording Release: Five Songs of Laurence Hope (by Henry Thacker “H.T.” Burleigh)www.TakeshaMesheKizart.com

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CARL TANNER, Cavaradossi “From his demanding opening aria, “Celeste Aida,” Tanner left no doubt about his prowess, singing with a firm, generously sized voice and producing clarion top notes.” (The New York Times) American tenor Carl Tanner begins Season 2014-15 in the title role Otello, a role he previously sang at the Semperoper Dresden, in his return to Pittsburgh Opera. He appears at the Metropolitan Opera of New York for revival performances of Radames in Aida, and returns later in the season for Canio in I Pagliacci and Tiriddu in Cavalleria Rusticana. He returns to the UK’s Grange Park Opera to appear in their new production of Samson et Dalilah in the

title role. Recent successes include Radames in Aida at Pittsburg Opera, a role he previously sang at the Metropolitan Opera of New York, Staatsoper Hamburg, Bayerische Staatsoper Munich, Edmonton Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden and with the Minnesota Orchestra. He appeared at Washington National Opera where he made his debut in the role of Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick, at Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Liege as Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West and at Deutsche Oper Berlin Cavaradossi in Tosca, a role he previously sang at the New National Theatre in Tokyo, Greek National Opera and in his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. He opened the Metropolitan Opera’s Aida and joined the Bolshoi Theatre as Calaf in Turandot, a signature role he sung at Gran Theatre del Liceu Barcelona, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Hamburg, in both Florence and Tokyo with Zubin Mehta, and before an audience of 100,000 at the Metropolitan Opera’s Opera in the Park in Central Park. Future engagements include Luigi in Il Tabarro at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and Radames at Opera Colorado.

STEPHEN POWELL, ScarpiaStephen Powell’s 2014-15 season includes return engagements to Cleveland Orchestra to reprise Carmina Burana, to Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, to Cincinnati Opera as Count di Luna in Il trovatore, to Chicago’s Music of the Baroque for Mozart’s Requiem, to Virginia Opera as the title role in Sweeney Todd, and to Caramoor Festival as Alphonse in La favorita. He also debuts with San Antonio Symphony in Mozart’s Requiem. In 2013-14 he returned to Los Angeles Opera as Enrico in Lucia di Lammmermoor, to San Diego Opera as Tonio in I Pagliacci, to Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Britten’s War

Requiem (also at Carnegie Hall), to St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, and to Nashville Symphony Orchestra in Brahms’ Requiem. Also in 2013-14 he made his role debut as Falstaff in his debut with Virginia Opera, and sang Germont in La traviata with Michigan Opera Theatre. In summer of 2014 he returned to Caramoor Festival as Rigoletto, to Minnesota Orchestra as soloist in Carmina Burana, and debuted with Boston Symphony Orchestra (at Tanglewood) as Amonasro in Aida. Recent highlights include Simon Boccanegra in Warsaw, Carmina Burana with Cleveland Orchestra, Peer Gynt in Leipzig, Rigoletto with Lyric Opera Baltimore, Messiah with Philadelphia Orchestra, Belshazzar’s Feast with Houston Symphony, and Iago in a fully-staged production of Otello with Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra. In summer 2013 he made his debut with the Caramoor Festival as Rodrigue in Don Carlos.

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GABRIEL PREISSER, Angelotti/ JailerPraised for his “matinee idol charm and charisma,” “a beautiful, luscious baritone,” and “a compelling, commanding stage presence” by publications such as Opera News, the Star Tribune, and the Houston Chronicle, Gabriel Preisser received rave reviews for his performance of Lt. Gordon in the world-première of Kevin Putz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Silent Night with Minnesota Opera. He then took his portrayal of Lt. Gordon to Opera Philadelphia and Cincinnati Opera. Engagements this season include Billy Bigelow in Carousel with Minnesota Orchestra, Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen with Lyric Opera of the North, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with

St. Petersburg Opera, Farmer Bean in Tobias Picker’s Mr. Fantastic Fox with Opera San Antonio and Odyssey Opera, Sciarraone in Tosca with Orlando Philharmonic, and Angelotti/Jailor in Tosca with Colorado Symphony. Highlights of recent seasons include Falke in Die Fledermaus with Minnesota Orchestra, Silvio in Pagliacci with Opera Naples, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with St. Petersburg Opera, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Shreveport Opera, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti with Florida Opera Theatre, Carmina Burana with the Gulf Coast Symphony, Händel’s Messiah with the Orlando Messiah Society, and a double bill as Le Mari in Poulenc’s Les mamelles de Tirésias and Bobby in Weill’s Mahagonny-Songspiel with Opera Parallèle. Preisser has garnered a reputation for his dynamic interpretations of several new works including the title role in Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry; Tom Joad in Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath; Riolobo in Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas; and John Brooke in Adamo’s Little Women.

JAMES HELD, SacristanJames Held is a second-year MM Vocal Performance student at the University of Colorado Boulder studying under Patrick Mason. He received his BM in Vocal Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he studied under baritone Paul Rowe. His CU-Boulder credits include The Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance, The Father (Peter) in Hänsel und Gretel and Alcindoro in La Bohème. This March he will sing the role of Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and he will be assistant directing L’incoronazione di Poppea to be performed in April. Other performing credits include Creonte in Cherubini’s Medea, (UW-Madison, 2012),

Leporello in Don Giovanni and Flynt/Gremio in Kiss Me, Kate (Seagle Music Colony, 2012), Sid in Albert Herring and Dick McGann in Street Scene (SMC 2013). Held has now premiered two operas; he was Hendrik Christian Andersen/Hammond in The Master (CU NOW, 2014) and The British Guy in Wired for Love (Madison New Muse, 2011). He was featured in two live-broadcast Faculty Tuesday Recitals at CU-Boulder, first with Erika Eckert, Professor of Viola, then with Margaret McDonald, Professor of Collaborative Piano. Held is a member of CU-Boulder’s opera outreach group, the Opera Theatre Singers, who will be doing their annual gala in February followed by outreach and concerts in Aspen. He is also the Opera TA at CU-Boulder. Held will be presenting a half recital of songs by American composers at CU-Boulder in April.

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MICHAEL HOFFMAN, SpolettaMichael Hoffman, a native born Minnesotan, recently began his Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Colorado at Boulder following the completion of his Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Minnesota. During his time at Minnesota, Michael was a Pond Voice Scholar studying the intimacies of German Lieder, which led him to the Franz Schubert Institute in Austria for two summers to further study his performance and interpretations of the art form. In Fall 2014, he was awarded the Viola Vestal Coulter Foundation Voice Scholarship in honor of Harold A. Norblom at the University of

Colorado- Boulder, which allows him to intensively, and intimately study his passions in vocal repertoire. This Spring, Hoffman will perform the role of Ferrando in CU- Boulder’s production of Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. His previous engagements include work shopping Robert Aldridge’s new opera Sister Carrie as Dreuet and George Jr. with the Florentine Opera Company. Hoffman looks forward to his work with the Colorado Symphony in the production of Puccini’s Tosca and is enthusiastic about the growing opportunities that Colorado has to offer.

LUKE WILLIAMS, SciarroneLuke Williams, bass-baritone, is currently in pursuit of his Doctorate in vocal performance and pedagogy through the University of Colorado in Boulder where he studies under Patrick Mason. During his studies, Williams has been seen as the Sergeant in Pirates of Penzance, Pistola in Falstaff, and Father Trulove in The Rake’s Progress with CU Opera Theater. Williams received his Masters degree at Indiana University in 2012 where he performed the roles of Marco in A View from the Bridge, Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring, and Theodorus VanGogh in the world premiere of Vincent. Other notable roles include Lucas in The Student Prince with the

Utah Festival Opera, Gugliemo in Cosí fan Tutte, Falstaff in The Merry Wives of Windsor, and Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro. Professionally, he has performed as a soloist with the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, Utah Festival Orchestra, Boulder Chamber Orchestra, and the Delaware Valley Chorale.

TANNER SPREEUW, Shepherd BoyTanner Spreeuw has been a member of the Colorado Children’s Chorale for three years. Having progressed quickly through the training choirs, he is now a member of the Regional Tour Choir, which recently spent two weeks in the Vail Valley singing for the World Ski Cup Championships. Tanner, a sixth grader, is a vocal major at the Denver School of the Arts. In addition to singing and dancing, he enjoys playing hockey and soccer.

BRYANNA MELONI, stage manager

DANIEL MULLENS, rehearsal pianist



DUAIN WOLFE, director, Colorado Symphony Chorus Recently awarded two Grammys® for Best Choral Performance and Best Classical Recording, Duain Wolfe is founder and director of the Colorado Symphony Chorus and music director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus. This year marks Wolfe’s 31st season with the Colorado Symphony Chorus. The Chorus has been featured at the Aspen Music Festival for over two decades. Wolfe, who is in his 21st season with the Chicago Symphony Chorus has collaborated with Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti, and the late Sir George Solti on numerous recordings including Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, which won the 1998 Grammy® for Best

Opera Recording. Wolfe’s extensive musical accomplishments have resulted in numerous awards, including an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the University of Denver, the Bonfils Stanton Award in the Arts and Humanities, the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in an Artistic Discipline and the Michael Korn Award for the Development of the Professional Choral Art. Wolfe is also founder of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, from which he retired in 1999 after 25 years; the Chorale celebrated its 40th anniversary last season. For 20 years, Wolfe also worked with the Central City Opera Festival as chorus director and conductor, founding and directing the company’s young artist residence program, as well as its education and outreach programs. Wolfe’s additional accomplishments include directing and preparing choruses for Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, the Bravo!Vail Festival, the Berkshire Choral Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Grand Teton Music Festival. He has worked with Pinchas Zuckerman as Chorus Director for the Canadian National Arts Centre Orchestra for the past 13 years.

COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS The 2014-2015 Colorado Symphony concert season marks the 31st season for the Colorado Symphony Chorus. Founded in 1984 by Duain Wolfe at the request of Gaetano Delogu, the Music Director of the Denver Symphony, the chorus has grown over the past three decades into a nationally respected ensemble. This outstanding chorus of volunteers joins the Colorado Symphony for numerous performances each season. The repertoire of the Chorus has been wide and diverse. Performing with all past/present Music Directors as well as countless guest conductors, highlights include Bernstein’s Mass with Marin Alsop, Kanchelli’s Styx with Jeffrey Kahane, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with Duain Wolfe, and Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, and Hough’s Missa Mirabilis with Andrew Litton. In addition, the Chorus has performed at noted music festivals in the Rocky Mountain region, including the Colorado Music Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival, where it performed with the New York, Philadelphia, and Dallas Orchestras. For over two decades, the Chorus has been featured at the Aspen Music Festival, performing such diverse repertoire as Mahler’s monumental Eighth Symphony, Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher, Britten’sPeter Grimes, Berlioz’ Requiem, and Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, with conductors Lawrence Foster, James Levine, Murray Sidlin, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, and Robert Spano. The Colorado Symphony Chorus has appeared at select public and special events, and has collaborated with many renowned Colorado arts ensembles, including the Colorado Children’s Chorale, Central City Opera, Opera Colorado, and the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. The chorus sang at the 1991 opening gala for the Temple Hoyne Buell Theatre, provided choral support for international opera stars José Carreras and Andrea Bocelli, participated in the 1993 visit to Denver of Pope John Paul II. The chorus has performed the works of a number of Colorado composers, including Samuel Lancaster and John Kuzma, and has had works written especially for it by CSO composers-in-residence Jon Deak and Libby Larsen. The CSO



Chorus is featured on an upcoming Hyperion release of Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem and Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis, conducted by Andrew Litton. In July 2009, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the chorus, Duain Wolfe led the chorus on a concert tour of Europe, presenting Verdi’s Requiem in Budapest, Vienna, Litomysl and Prague. Chorus members come from all over the Denver metro area. For an audition appointment, call 303.308.2483.

Soprano IBrown, JamieCampbell, Lindsay R.Causey, DeneldaChoi, LeEtta H.Colbert, GretchenDaniels, Kaylin E.Dirksen, SarahDukeshier, LauraEmerich, Kate A.Gile, Jenifer D.Gill, Lori C.Graber, SusanHarpel, JenniferHedrick, ElizabethHinkley, Lynnae C.Hupp, Angela M.Jensen, ErikaJoy, Shelley E.Kirschner, Mary E.Kushnir, MarinaLook, CathyMaupin, AnneMoraskie, Wendy L.Porter, Barbara A.Ropa, Lori A.Ross, Kelly G.Saddler, Nancy C.Sladovnik, Roberta A.Solich, Stephanie A.Sowell, KellyStegink, Nicole J.Tate, JudyTravis, Stacey L.Wood, Linda K.

Soprano IIBlum, JudeBowen, Alex S.Brauchli, Margot L.Christus, AthanasiaCoberly, Ruth A.Cote, Kerry H.Dakkouri, ClaudiaEberl, LaceyGross, Esther J.

Kraft, Lisa D.Nova, Ilene L.Nyholm, Christine M.O’Nan, Jeannette R.Rae, Donneve S.Rattray, RebeccaRider, Shirley J.Snyer, Lynne M.Von Roedern, Susan K.Walker, Marcia L.Weinstein, Sherry L.Wells. KirstenWoodrow, SandyYoung, Cara

Alto IAdams, Priscilla P.Boothe, Kay A.Brady, Lois F.Branam, Emily M.Brown, KimberlyBuesing, AmyCarlisle, AllisonConrad, Jayne M.Costain, Jane A.Daniel, Sheri L.Dunkin, Aubri K.Franz, Kirsten D.Gayley, Sharon R.Groom, Gabriella D.Guittar, PatHolst, Melissa J.Hoopes, Kaia M.Horle, Carol E.Kolstad, AnnieKraft, DeannaMcWaters, SusanMeromy, LeahPassoth, GinnyTannenbaum, ClairThayer, Mary B.Virtue, PatWise, SaraWood, Heather

Alto IICox, Martha E.Deck, Barbara R.Dominguez, JoyceEslick, Carol A.Golden, DanielaHoskins, HansiJackson, Brandy H.Janasko, Ellen D.Kibler, JaniceLondon, Carole A.Maltzahn, JoannaMarchbank, Barbara J.Mendicello, Beverly DMillar, Kelly T.Nittoli, Leslie M.Scooros, Pamela R.Trierweiler, Ginny

Tenor IDougan, DustinDukeshier, BrianGewecke, Joel C.Gordon, Jr., FrankGuittar, Jr., ForrestHassell, ChristopherHodel, David K.Moraskie, Richard A.Muesing, Garvis J.Nicholas, Timothy W.O’Donnell, WilliamReiley, William G.Snook, DavidVan Milligan, John P.Waller, RyanZimmerman, Kenneth A.

Tenor IIBabcock, Gary E.Bradley, MacDavies, Dusty R.Dixon, Stephen C.Fuehrer, Roger A.Gale, John H.Kolm, Kenneth E.Martin, Taylor S.

Mason, Brandt J.Milligan, Tom A.Ruth, Ronald L.Sims, Jerry E.Struthers, David R.Wolf, Jeffrey P.Wyatt, Daniel L.

Bass IAdams, John G.Branam, Travis D.Carlton, Grant H.Cowen, GeorgeDrickey, Robert E.Eickhoff, BenjaminGray, MatthewHesse, Douglas D.Hume, DonaldJirak, Thomas J.Mehta, Nalin J.Parce, Frank Y.Quarles, KennethRutkowski, Trevor B.Williams, Benjamin MWood, Brian W.

Bass IIFletcher, Jonathan S.Friedlander, BobGibbons, DanIsraelson, Eric W.Jackson, Terry L.Kent, Roy A.Kraft, Mike A.Millar, Jr., Robert F.Moncrieff, KennethMorrison, Greg A.Nelson, ChuckNuccio, Eugene J.Phillips, John R.Skillings, Russell R.Swanson, Wil W.Virtue, Tom G.

Duain Wolfe, Chorus Founder and Director; Mary Louise Burke, Associate Chorus DirectorTravis Branam, Assistant Chorus Director; Taylor Martin, Intern ConductorEric Israelson, Chorus Manager; Barbara Porter, Assistant Chorus ManagerLaurie Kahler, Principal Accompanist



DEBORAH DeSANTIS, artistic director, Colorado Children’s ChoraleDeborah DeSantis has been instrumental in the growth and success of the Colorado Children’s Chorale since 1983. She regularly conducts performances throughout metropolitan Denver and has led numerous tours, nationally and internationally. Her passion for artistic excellence and music education has been a driving force in the development of the Chorale’s School Partnership program, which she established in 1994. In addition to designing and directing community performance residencies for the Chorale, she frequently serves as guest clinician and conductor for school and community children’s choral programs throughout the nation.

DeSantis has conducted seminars and workshops for Chorus America, the American Choral Director’s Association, Colorado Music Educators Association, the Choristers’ Guild and the Suzuki Institute. She has served as co-chair of Chorus America’s Children/Youth Choir Constituency.

COLORADO CHILDREN’S CHORALEFor more than forty years the Colorado Children’s Chorale has brought its artistry and charm to audiences throughout the world. With a diverse repertoire ranging from fully staged opera and musical theater to standard choral compositions in classical, folk and popular traditions, the Chorale performs with an innovative stage presentation and a unique theatrical spirit. In recognition of its artistic excellence, the Chorale was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and the prestigious El Pomar Award for Excellence in Arts and Humanities. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Deborah DeSantis and Executive Director Diane Newcom, the Colorado Children’s Chorale annually trains 500 members between the ages of 7 and 14 from all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds representing more than 180 schools in the Denver metro area and beyond. Since its founding in 1974, the Chorale has sung countless performances with some of the world’s finest performing arts organizations, performed for numerous dignitaries, and appeared in several television and radio broadcasts. The Performance Program includes a series of self-produced concerts, numerous performances with other Colorado arts organizations and touring around the world. The Chorale presents annual performances of Christmas with the Children’s Chorale and Spring with the Children’s Chorale at Boettcher Concert Hall in the Denver Performing Arts Complex, A Classical Afternoon at Montview Presbyterian Church and Performing Small Miracles at Colorado Heights Theater. Spring Fling Sing! is presented in venues across the metro area. This season also includes the Colorado Symphony Chorus Gala, A Colorado Christmas, and Tosca with The Colorado Symphony, and Midsummer Night’s Dream with Colorado Ballet. Tour Choir will spend two weeks in the Vail Valley singing the National Anthem from the country of the gold medal winner each evening during World Ski Championships and in April they will present a series of concerts across northern Europe.

Deborah DeSantis, Artistic Director and Conductor Mary Louise Burke, Associate Director and Conductor

Kelton AyarsStefan BardossasMaeMae ChenIsabella ConklinDavid Downs

Kassidy HalbeisenCody HermanGrace HustedKalleiopye KleinJohn Lim

Trey MaysAsia MondragonBen MyersCharlie ProkopCarlye Raabe

Jack RaineyJaxon Riley-CombsKieran StrohfusNatalie VacantiMorgan Ward


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MASTERWORKS BIOGRAPHIESROBERT NEU, stage director

Robert Neu has directed over sixty productions of operas, musicals and plays throughout the country and is a frequent collaborator with Andrew Litton in semi-staged productions of operas and operettas. Neu’s recent productions include Bernstein’s Mass, Carmen, Peer Gynt, La Traviata, and Die Fledermaus for the Minnesota Orchestra; Hansel and Gretel with both the Minnesota Orchestra and Colorado Symphony; Don Pasquale, Carmen and The Face on the Barroom Floor for Lyric Opera of the North; Art and Death of a Salesman for Bloomington Civic Theater; and On the Town, The Fantasticks

and Candide for Skylark Opera. Upcoming productions include Carousel for Minnesota Orchestra, and Putting It Together for Skylark Opera. Neu teaches masterclasses in audition techniques for the University of Minnesota’s opera department, and he is a Resident Director at Lyric Arts Theater. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

GIACOMO PUCCINI (1858-1924): Tosca, Opera in Three ActsGiacomo Puccini was born on December 22, 1858 in Lucca, fifty miles west of Florence, and died on November 29, 1924 in Brussels. Tosca was composed in 1896-1899 and premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on January 14, 1900, conducted by Leopoldo Mugnone. The score calls for piccolo, three flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, harp and strings. Last performed by the Colorado Symphony May 9-10 1977, with Brian Priestman conducting.

Victorien Sardou (1831-1908) worked his way to the top of the Parisian theatrical world with some seventy plays that ranged from risqué farces to elaborate historical pageants. Puccini’s biographer Mosco Carner wrote that Sardou’s works were characterized by “an extremely well-thought-out plot, basically naturalistic, which unfolds with almost mathematical logic, stunning coups de théâtre, and a dialogue flexible, well-turned and often razor-sharp.... Yet there was in them no profundity of thought and feeling, no spiritual, moral or social ‘message,’ no poetry. Action dwarfs character.” Sardou won his greatest success with several serious dramas rooted in history: Cléopâtre, Théodora (the sixth-century Queen of Byzantium), Madame Sans-Gêne (based on the wife of one of Napoleon’s generals). La Tosca, set against the background of Napoleon’s invasion of Italy in 1800, was written in 1887 for the famed actress Sarah Bernhardt and premiered in Paris in November of that year. The play was a sensation, and Bernhardt toured it internationally several times during the following years (though she always insisted in performing it in the original French, even in America).

Ferdinando Fontana, the librettist of Puccini’s early operas Le Villi (1884) and Edgar, suggested Sardou’s play to the composer as a possible operatic subject just as they were finishing preparations for the premiere of Edgar, given at Milan’s La Scala on April 21, 1889. Puccini was at first enthusiastic about the idea, and he asked his publisher, Giulio Ricordi, to secure the rights to the play, but nothing came of the project at that time: Sardou was reluctant to assign his drama to a young composer unknown outside Italy and Puccini was having second thoughts about the plot’s realism and violence. Puccini instead immersed himself in the romanticism and tender sentiments of Manon Lescaut (1893) and La Bohème (1896) during the next seven years, but Ricordi did not give up on Tosca, obtaining the rights for the play from Sardou and assigning Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, the librettists for Manon Lescaut and La Bohème, to devise an

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MASTERWORKS PROGRAM NOTESoperatic version of the text. Puccini’s interest in Tosca was rekindled when he saw Bernhardt perform the play in Florence in October 1895, and then redoubled when he learned that the 81-year-old Giuseppe Verdi had heard a reading of the draft libretto at Sardou’s home in Paris and said he would set it himself, if he still had the strength. By the time that La Bohème had been premiered, on February 1, 1896 at the Teatro Regio in Turin, he had agreed to compose Tosca.

Puccini, always deliberate and meticulous in his work and then busy overseeing the Milan, Paris and London premieres of La Bohème, did not begin sketching the score until the summer of 1896. During the following months, he visited Sardou in Paris, badgered his librettists for changes in the text, consulted a priest about the liturgical procession that closes Act I, and journeyed to Rome to hear firsthand the city’s bells that figure in the opening of Act III. In September 1899, after three years of careful composition, thorough revision and final polishing, Puccini sent his finished score for Tosca to Ricordi. The premiere was given at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on January 14, 1900. Though they praised the score’s lyrical moments and Puccini’s skill as an orchestrator, the press reviews were largely unfavorable, questioning the suitability of the drama — with its two suicides, two murders, torture scene and attempted on-stage rape — for operatic presentation. The first-night audience, unnerved by a bomb scare that stopped the performance only minutes after the curtain went up, reacted tentatively. Tosca’s sensational drama and the powerful score that it inspired from Puccini made their mark quickly thereafter, however, and within a year the opera had been staged in Milan, Turin, London, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Constantinople, Madrid, Lisbon and New York. It has remained a staple of the international repertory, one of the most popular, and most controversial, operas ever written.

The opera is set in Rome.

ACT IMidday. Interior of the church of Sant’ Andrea della Valle. A gated chapel on one side. An unfinished painting of Mary Magdalene rests on an easel.

Cesare Angelotti, a nobleman imprisoned in Rome’s Castel Sant’Angelo for his part in a failed republican uprising in Naples against the established royalist authorities, has escaped. He takes refuge in the church of Sant’ Andrea della Valle, where his sister, the Marchesa Attavanti, has hidden a key to the family’s private chapel. Angelotti admits himself to the chapel as the Sacristan enters, muttering about his duties and reciting a prayer. The painter Mario Cavaradossi arrives to resume work on his depiction of Mary Magdalene, and explains to the Sacristan that he has based her likeness on the face of the lovely woman who has come frequently to pray near the Attavanti chapel. Cavaradossi muses that the image reminds him of his lover, the opera singer Floria Tosca (Recondita armonia — “Mysterious harmony”). The Sacristan leaves. Angelotti emerges from his hiding place and pleads for help from his friend Cavaradossi, who shares his republican sympathies. Angelotti hurries back to the chapel when they are interrupted by the arrival of Tosca, who has come to arrange a meeting with the painter after her performance that evening before the Queen of Naples at the Farnese Palace. They sing of their love until Tosca recognizes the face of the Marchesa Attavanti in Cavaradossi’s Mary Magdalene. She accuses him of infidelity, but he convinces her of his faithfulness and she leaves mollified. Cavaradossi rushes to Angelotti, whom he tells to put on the woman’s disguise that the Marchessa has left in the chapel and go immediately to his villa, where he can hide himself in a secret recess in a well on the grounds. A distant cannon shot announces that his escape has been discovered, and they run off together.

The Sacristan arrives with a report (later proven false) that royalist forces have defeated Napoleon’s republican troops at Marengo. A special Te Deum will be sung immediately at Sant’ Andrea, and the choristers and congregation hurriedly assemble. Their preparations are abruptly broken off by the arrival of Baron Scarpia, the treacherous chief of Rome’s police, who has come


MASTERWORKS PROGRAM NOTESsearching for Angelotti with his agent Spoletta. They enter the Attavanti chapel, and Scarpia emerges with the Marchesa’s fan, mistakenly left behind by Angelotti. Tosca returns, looking for Cavaradossi. Scarpia, enflamed with lust for Tosca and set on destroying Cavaradossi both for his republicanism and his love of the singer, incites her jealousy by showing her the Marchesa’s fan and suggesting that the painter has left for a tryst. Tosca turns to the painting, declares that the Marchesa will not have her Mario that day, and runs off to surprise the guilty pair. Scarpia orders his officers to follow her, and then joins the brilliant Te Deum that closes Act I, but as an aside vows to satisfy his lust for the singer: “Tosca, you make me forget God!”

ACT IIThat evening. Scarpia’s apartment in the Farnese Palace. He is dining alone.

Scarpia wonders if Tosca has led his spies to Angelotti and Cavaradossi, and vows that they will swing from the gallows when they are captured. He asks the jailer, Sciarrone, to learn if Tosca has arrived yet at the palace for her performance before the Queen of Naples, and sends him to summon her to him as soon as she finishes singing. The sound of a gavotte is heard from the floor below as the Queen’s guests await Tosca. Spoletta brings word that Angelotti could not be found at Cavaradossi’s villa, but that they arrested the painter for his mocking behavior. Cavaradossi is brought in and interrogated by Scarpia as Tosca’s cantata is heard through the open window. He denies any knowledge of Angelotti. Tosca rushes in, and Cavaradossi warns her not to reveal anything about the fugitive. Cavaradossi is led into an adjoining chamber, where Scarpia has ordered that he be tortured until he talks. Scarpia, alone with Tosca, questions her about Angelotti. She refuses at first to reveal any information, but Cavaradossi’s mounting cries of pain cause her to relent and she divulges Angelotti’s hiding place.

Cavaradossi is brought in as Scarpia dispatches Spoletta to arrest Angelotti. Tosca tries to comfort him, but she is interrupted by Sciarrone, who brings news that the earlier reports were wrong, and that the royalists have been defeated at Marengo by Napoleon. “Victory!” exclaims Cavaradossi, and he is dragged back to the torture chamber. “Quanto?” asks Tosca: how much for his life? Not money, Scarpia replies. Tosca herself must submit to his desires. “Vissi d’arte, vissi d’amore,” Tosca laments: “I lived for art, I lived for love. Why Lord do you repay me thus?” She assents. Spoletta brings news that Angelotti has killed himself before he could be captured. Scarpia assures Tosca that Cavaradossi will be freed, but he says that first a mock execution of the painter must be staged the next morning. He issues the order to Spoletta — but secretly countermands it — and then draws up a safe-conduct for Tosca and Cavaradossi. Tosca, believing that she has rescued Cavaradossi, grabs a knife from the dinner table and plunges it fatally into Scarpia’s breast. She places lighted candles on both sides of his head, removes a crucifix from the wall, lays it upon his chest and leaves silently, closing the door behind her.

ACT IIIDawn the following morning. The rampart of the Castel Sant’Angelo. The Vatican can be seen in the background.

A shepherd sings in the distance. Cavaradossi is led in by a jailer. He tries to write a farewell letter to Tosca, but is overwhelmed by memories of her (E lucevan le stelle — “And the stars were shining”). Tosca is brought in by Spoletta, tells Cavaradossi of the plan, and shows him Scarpia’s safe-conduct — when the execution squad fires, she says, he must fall as if shot, then wait until the soldiers leave so that they can escape together from Rome. The execution is staged but not with blank bullets, and Cavaradossi is slain. Tosca is stunned at Scarpia’s final treachery. The police, having discovered Scarpia’s murder, come to arrest Tosca, but she hurls herself to her death from the Castel’s balcony.

©2015 Dr. Richard E. Rodda

Puccini's Tosca | Program Notes

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