SMPAC-Florentine

1South Milwaukee PAC

2011-2012 South Milwaukee Performing Arts Series

The Florentine Opera StudioAmerica’s Songbook

Friday, March 23, 20127:30 pm

South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center

Box Office: 414-766-5049

2011-2012 Season Sponsors Official Caterer of the SMPAC

The South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center 2011-2012 Season was supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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program

Altar Call Hymn, from Elmer Gantry* (2007), AldridgeThe Ensemble

*Elmer Gantry: Winner of 2 Classical Grammys Robert Aldridge and Herschel Garfein’s Elmer Gantry, recorded on March

19 & 21, 2010, at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts.

At the River (1864), Robert Lowry, arr. Ives (1922)Kristen DiNinno

Memories: a) Very Pleasant (b) Rather Sad (1922), IvesDan Richardson

Down in the River to Pray (c.1860), traditional, arr. StewartThe Ensemble

Simple Gifts (Shaker tune), arr. Copland (1950)Schuller/Richardson

At the River, arr. Copland (1950)The Ensemble

Three scenes from Susannah (1955), by Carlisle FloydAct I, ii: Ain’t it a pretty night

Erica SchullerAct I, v: It’s about the way people is made

Matt Richardson & SchullerAct II, iii: That’s mighty pretty singin’

Dan Richardson & Schuller

We are women, Candide (1956), BernsteinSchuller/ DiNinno

Here I Stand, The Rake’s Progress (1951), StravinskyMatt Richardson

Isn’t It Romantic, Love Me Tonight (1932), Rodgers & HartThe Ensemble

If ever I would leave you, Camelot (1960), Lerner & LoeweDan Richardson

Star Dust (1927), lyrics: Mitchell Parish, music: Hoagy Carmichael

Stormy Weather (1933), lyrics: Ted Koehler, music Harold Arlen

Cloudburst (1957), Hendricks, Kirkland/Harris


about florentine opera studio

The Florentine Opera Studio provides season-long, comprehensive artist-in-residence employment for talented singers beginning their professional careers, while serving the mainstage, education and outreach goals of the Florentine Opera Company. From autumn 2011 through May 2012, the Florentine Opera Studio allows promising singers experience and training to facilitate their professional growth in the opera art form.

Each season, four singers (soprano, mezzo, tenor, baritone/bass) participate in the Studio Program. As a key component of the experience, these Studio Artists have the opportunity to sing supporting and comprimario roles during the opera season. Additionally, artists perform for education and community outreach initiatives and the Florentine’s in-school touring opera program, serving over 13,000 students in K4-5th grade each school year. Studio Artists also have the opportunity to gain continuing training and career advice through master classes and coachings with visiting artists and master teachers.

biographies

Erica Schuller (soprano), a Milwaukee native, received her Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of

Music and holds degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music. Erica has been a frequent soloist with the San Francisco Bach Choir, performing in works including Bach’s Johannes Passion, Jesu meine Freude and Aus der Tiefe. She made her second appearance with the Boston Early Music Festival in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea in (2009), and was commended for her “skill and grace” by the Boston Globe. She can also be heard on the Festival’s Grammy-nominated recording of Lully’s opera, Psyche (2007). Erica’s soprano soloist role in the MSO’s production of Handel’s Messiah was praised, “Her wonderful singing both expressed and prompted joy,” by Third Coast Digest. She garnered critical acclaim for her 2010-2011 performances with the Florentine Opera as Elvira in Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri – for her “grace and strength” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and “shimmering soprano sound” by the Shepherd Express. Erica has returned for her second season as a

Studio Artist with the Florentine Opera during the 2011-2012 Season. She will perform the role of Mrs. Gleaton in Floyd’s Susannah in March. Prior operatic credits include Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo, Pamina in Mozart’s Magic Flute, Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Amor in Cavalli’s L’Egisto, Noémie in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Lazuli in Chabrier’s L’Étoile, Euridice in Rossi’s L’Orfeo, and Axinia in Boris Goudenow by Johann Mattheson.

Kristen DiNinno (mezzo-soprano) was most recently a Gerdine Young Artist with The Opera Theater of Saint Louis where she covered

the three roles of Swiss Grandmother, Austrian Woman and British Dancing Girl in John Adam’s The Death of Klinghoffer. She was a Young Artist at The Shreveport Opera Company, where she performed in Don Giovanni as Zerlina, The Fantasticks as The Mute, Man of La Mancha as The Moorish Girl Dancer and covered The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Ms. DiNinno received Third Prize in the Mary Jacobs Smith Singer of the Year Competition in 2010. While obtaining her Masters Degree at The Manhattan School of Music in New York City, Ms.


DiNinno was involved in a new contemporary chamber opera through American Opera Projects called Love/Hate by Jack Perla where she debuted the role of Laura. She performed the role of The Girl in Manhattan School of Music’s Griffelkin by Lukas Foss. The New York Times praised her performance saying, “Kristen DiNinno, as the girl who has a humanizing effect on Griffelkin, contributes a directness and simplicity that makes her persuasively childlike.” Kristen is excited to be singing the role of Suzy in La Rondine this summer with Des Moines Metro Opera.

Matthew Richardson (tenor) was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in Dubuque, Iowa. He trained at the Eastman School of

Music where he performed several roles including Charles Guiteau in Assassins, the Teapot in L’enfant et les sortilèges and Tapioca in L’ètoile. During the summers of 2006 and 2007, Matthew performed 12 supporting and lead roles with the College Light Opera Company including Cacambo in Candide, Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance and Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore. After spending some time abroad, Matthew moved to Milwaukee to continue his vocal studies. He has spent the past two years singing with various local ensembles including the Florentine Opera Chorus, teaching private voice lessons, and working as a ballroom instructor at East Towne Ballrooms. The 2011-2012 season is Mr. Richardson’s second as a member of the Florentine Opera Studio Artist Program. He was recently seen on the Florentine stage as Señor Marcos in the world premiere of Río de Sangre, as Shepherd/Sailor in a double-bill of Blow’s Venus & Adonis and Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas, and as Pong in the recent sold out performances of Turandot.

Iowa-native, Dan Richardson, (bass-baritone) is pleased to join the Florentine Opera as a member of the 2011-2012 Florentine

Opera Studio. This past spring, Richardson made his mainstage debut with Opera Omaha as Prince Yamadori and the Imperial Commissioner in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Other recent roles include Méphistophélès in Faust with Opera Lousiane, Antonio and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with the Des Moines Metro Opera, and Angelotti in Tosca with the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre. He has also performed with the Sarasota Opera, Chamber Opera Chicago and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he performed the role of Don Bartolo for their “Opera in the Neighborhoods” production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. He has also performed scene work as John Claggart in Billy Budd, Giorgio in I Puritani, Tom in Un ballo in maschera, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Colline in La bohème, Talbot in Maria Stuarda, Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger, Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia and Antony in Antony and Cleopatra, among others. Mr. Richardson is an alumnus of Simpson College, where he studied with Dr. Maria DiPalma and Dr. Robert Larsen. Dan was recently seen on the Florentine stage as the Mandarin/Father in the recent sold out performances of Turandot.

William Florescu became the General Director of Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera Company in May of 2005. During his tenure, he has overseen the expansion of the Company’s repertoire, producing works including the Florentine’s first Bellini opera (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), first Baroque opera (Handel’s Semele), the Midwest premiere and recording on the Naxos label of Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry (3 time Grammy nominated for the 2012

BIOGRAPHIES (cont.)


BIOGRAPHIES (cont.)

awards) and a world premiere of Don Davis’s Río de Sangre (October 2010). The Florentine production of Rio was also released commercially on the Albany Records label. He has also directed main stage operas including The Barber of Seville, The Magic Flute, Rigoletto, a double bill of Blow’s Venus and Adonis and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas as well as touring education operas by nationally renowned arts education John Davies, including Little Red’s Most Unusual Day, The Three Little Pigs, Pinocchio (which was televised by Milwaukee Public Television in April of 2009), Jack and the Beanstalk and, most recently, The Billy Goats Gruff. In October of 2008, Mr. Florescu oversaw the creation of the Florentine Opera Studio, a nine-month program for young professional singers, which is in its fourth year for the Florentine’s 2011-2012 season.

From 1999 until early 2005, he was the General Director of Lake George Opera (now Opera Saratoga) in Saratoga Springs, New York. Previously, he served as General Director of the Columbus Light Opera. While in Ohio, he was also Associate Dean and Director of Opera/Musical Theatre at the Capital University Conservatory of Music, and served a season as Assistant Artistic Director for Iowa’s Dorian Opera Theatre.

Opera audiences around the country have seen his work as a stage director, most recently for Augusta Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Nashville Opera, Opera Columbus and Opera Birmingham. On the operatic stage, he has appeared in leading and supporting roles with Opera Columbus, Columbus Light Opera, Iowa’s Dorian Opera, Toledo Opera, National Opera Company and the Whitewater Opera, among others. On the concert stage, he has sung with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Mansfield Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, the Indianapolis Summer

Pops and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

He has recently presented master classes for Westminster Choir College, Peabody Institute, Capital University, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Lake George Opera. He is also a frequent judge of vocal competitions, most recently for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, The Eastman School of Music, The Montreal International Czech and Slovak Voice Competition, and Fort Worth Opera’s McCammon Vocal Competition.

Mr. Florescu has served on the Opera Review Panel for the National Endowment for the Arts, and has served as an onsite reporter for the Endowment. He serves on the Strategic Planning Committee as well as the New Works Forum for Opera America.

During the 2011-2012 season, he will judge the Metropolitan Opera Auditions in various US cities, present Master classes for the Classical Singer Convention for the University of Wisconsin Green Bay, judge the McCammon Vocal Competition for Fort Worth Opera, and direct Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah for the Florentine Opera. In addition, he is producing, with Opera America, a singer Training Workshop in Milwaukee in March 2012.

Mr. Florescu is currently working on a book about auditioning in opera for young singers, and maintains an active blog, The Opera Audition. He received his training at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the Trinity College of Music in London, England, Miami University and the Ohio State University.


SMPAC STAFF

2011-12 SOUTH MILWAUKEE PERFORMING ARTS COUNCIL

Chad Piechocki ................................................................................................................... DirectorRebecca Ohm .................................................................................................Marketing DirectorAlex Clark ...........................................................................................................Technical DirectorBrianna Cullen ............................................................................................................SMHS Intern

Pat DerHovsepian ............................................................................................................President Trisha St. Lawrence Urbaniak .............................................................................Vice President Michelle M. Haslam .........................................................................................................Secretary Janet Garcia ....................................................................................................................... Treasurer

Dal Drummer Karla Nimphius Harris

David Kieck

Heidi Lofy Ed Magnuson

Carla Uphill

School Board for School District of South Milwaukee

Dr. Rita Olson.........................................................................................................SuperintendentPatricia Bordak .................................................................................................................. PresidentTherese Travia ..........................................................................................................Vice PresidentDavid Maass ...............................................................................................................................ClerkJohn Haslam .......................................................................................................................Treasurer

Carol DufekKathleen MolusJoseph Weirich

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THANK YOU

The South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center thanks Jon Poor and the Wisconsin Arts Board for their support of this performance, as well as Emerald City Catering for being the Official Caterer of the SMPAC.

We thank the community for its support and for building this magnificent facility. It is our goal to provide you with quality arts programming that leaves you waiting for more.

ABOUT THE SOUTH MILWAUKEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Mission: to enrich the community by providing creative, innovative and diverse performing arts and life-long learning experiences, as well as a professionally managed facility for community and regional organizations.

Vision: to be a performing arts center that delivers outstanding and diverse performance events and services to the students, district, community and greater South Shore area.

Did you Know?The South Milwaukee Performing Arts Council is the nonprofit board that supports the SMPAC through fundraising efforts and programming decisions. The Council aims to create a diverse base of financial support for the SMPAC. These funds help support the overall operating budget, artists’ fees and production costs of the annual Performing Arts Series.

Ticket sales alone account for only 46% of overall operating expenses for the season. Even if we sold-out every show, we still would not be able to cover 100% of our costs - as is the case with most performing arts venues.

There are three key aspects of the annual revenue that the Council supports: Annual Campaign, Sponsorships/Grants and the annual Mystery Dinner Theatre Fundraiser. Additional support like this is critical to our ongoing success and future growth as it allows us to help bring in world-class events like Cirque Le Masque, amazing artists like Alpin Hong and once-in-a-lifetime educational opportunities for our students.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Chad Piechocki, Director of the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center at

[email protected] or at 414-766-5048.

Thank you for your support of the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center!Enjoy the show!


2011-2012 ANNUAL CAMPAIGN DONORS

Muse • $2,500 & UpAnonymous

Visionary • $1,000 - $2,499

Tom & Geri BittersTom & Janet Cook – In

Memory of Eunice Hahn

Shirley PritzlaffStan & Trisha Urbaniak

In the Spotlight • $500 - $999Jack & Pat DerHovsepianThomas & Anne

FrederickThomas & Janet GarciaMr. Wesley HellenIn Memory of Gerald

JaworskiGil & Laurie LlanasRichard & Kay LussierNorthwestern Mutual

Foundation*Bob & Bunny Scudder

Center Stage • $250 - $499Chris & Michelle HaslamRosemary A. HurstRachel M. SorceWisconsin Energy

Foundation*Joan & Arjuna Yelanjian

In the Wings • $100 - $249Anonymous (2)Janet L. BehlingMarc & Mary GearMatt & Carole GlaskeChester & Lorraine

GrobschmidtRick & Barb GrobschmidtVirginia D. GrossmanThe Harley-Davidson

Foundation, Inc.*John E. HaslamMarvin & Sharon HippPatrice Kitzek Wessel

ElacquaVincent & Lois KoehlerRosemary & Bruce LarkinFritz & Connie Mahsem

Mary & Tom MeszarosPatricia M. PomahacSouth Milwaukee

McDonald’sSunrise ClothiersRichard G. ThinnesCarla UphillWende WarrenThe Windhover

Foundation*Ralph P. WindlerErnest & Katherine

Wunsch

Advocate - $50 - $99Anonymous (3)Elizabeth AlmonKen & Gerda BourgeoisEvelyn “Irish” DeanDorothy HallJerry & Judy KromrajJanet MierendorfKen & Mary NeitzelChris & Marilyn RoslandPeter & Barbara

TerranovaJim TothMary Ann Wilkes

*Donation made via matching gift program.

If there is an error with your gift acknowledgement, please accept our sincere apologies. We ask that you inform us of this error so we may correct it as soon as possible.

(patrons donated between July 1, 2011 and March 1, 2012)


SOUTH MILWAUKEE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER POLICIES

At the request of the artists, the taking of photographs or the use of recording devices during the performance is strictly prohibited.

All sales for the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Series are final. Refunds will be given only when an event is cancelled and not rescheduled. South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center reserves the right to substitute comparable attractions or to change the dates of programs when compelled to do so by circumstances beyond our control. No refunds will be made in such cases. Performances are subject to change without notice.

If you are unable to attend a performance, the donation of your ticket(s) to South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center would be appreciated to enable resale. This is particularly appreciated for sold out events, when waiting patrons could fill vacant seats. Your contribution will be acknowledged for tax deduction purposes.

Latecomer Policy: Performances start promptly at the time stated on your ticket. If you arrive late and the performance has already begun, SMPAC ushers will seat you where it will be least disruptive to the audience and performers. You may take your reserved seats after intermission if there is one.

Services for patrons with disabilities: South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center is accessible to persons with disabilities. Please notify the Box Office when you are purchasing tickets if special arrangements are required.

Handicap Accessible seating is available. The theatre allows for nine seats to be removed for persons remaining in their wheelchairs, as well as eight seats with arm rest removed for those transferring from a wheelchair or walker to a theatre seat. Seeing Eye Dogs are allowed in the theatre.

Assisted Listening Devices are available for patrons who are Hard of Hearing. Large-print programs are available upon request. Audio Description and American Sign Language Interpreted performances are also available upon request and where applicable. At least two weeks notice is required to provide these services. If you have questions please call 414-766-5049.

Cell phones/electronic devices: Out of respect for the artists and fellow audience members, please turn off all electronic devices before the performances. These devices cause interference with our wireless microphones. If you need to use these devices, please exit the theatre before doing so.

Bad weather policy: South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center does not cancel or reschedule performances due to inclement weather, nor can we offer refunds.

Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the grounds of the School District of South Milwaukee.

Box Office hours are 10-4 pm, Monday-Friday, and one hour prior to performances. The Box Office phone number is 414-766-5049. Group Seating: If you would like to sit with friends, please submit your ticket orders together.

South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center901 15th Avenue

South Milwaukee, WI 53172414-766-5049

www.southmilwaukeepac.org


Mark your calendars for these other exciting events in the 2011-2012 South Milwaukee Performing Arts Series.

STUDENTS’ CHOICEThe Improvised Shakespeare Company

Friday, April 27, 2012 7:30 pmBased on one audience suggestion The Improvised Shakespeare Company creates

a fully improvised play in Elizabethan style. Each of the players has brushed up on his “thee’s” and “thou’s” to bring you an evening of off-the-cuff comedy using the language and themes of William Shakespeare. Any hour could be filled with power struggles, star-crossed lovers, sword-play, rhyming couplets and all that

we’ve come to expect from the pen of the Great Bard.

PEOPLE’S CHOICERuthie Foster

Friday, May 11, 2012 7:30 pmThrough her albums and gigs that have taken her from choir lofts to folk bistros

and onto stage in Europe and Australia, Foster has raised the multiple flags of American music. There’s Southern blues in her groove, rock in her rhythm, a blend of gospel redemption, country poetry and jazz elegance in her singing. “It didn’t

matter to me what genre it was,” she remembers. “I just took it all in as great music – music that moved me.”

2011-2012 PERFORMING ARTS SERIES

Poor Design is proud to support

Experienced Creativity

Jon Poor is Poor DesignDesign for Print and the Internetwww.poordesign.com • 414-403-0389


April 5 – 29, 2012255 S. Water St.www.nextact.orgBox Office 414-278-0765

Sponsored by Skip and Ildy Poliner

SMPAC-Florentine

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