 |
Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute (BASOTI) |
|
|
|
BASOTI's 2008 Summer SeasonOrlando
Orlando, by George Frideric Handel, was first presented in London in 1733. It had 10 performances before it was pulled from the repertoire because of the difficulty of the role of Orlando, which, at the time was sung by a castrato. The bass role of Zoroastro became the presiding genius of the opera. It was revived in 1922 at Halle and the first British revival in 1959, as well as in Florence in the same year. Since then there have been many performances in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Venice, Paris, Chicago and San Francisco. Orlando makes a special appeal to modern sensibility with its concentration on the psychological states of characters in a fantasy world lending itself to reinterpretation. Orlando is torn between conflicting desires for love and glory. Orlando decides that glory can be obtained in pursuit of love. Orlando falls in love with Angelica who in turn has fallen for Medoro. As Angelica and Medoro embrace they are seen by Dorinda, who also loves Medoro. Angelica gives Dorinda a piece of jewelry, but Dorinda would rather have had something from Medoro. Orlando discovers the jewel to be that which he once gave Angelica. Feeling himself betrayed he threatens to kill himself. Zoroastro then uses his magical powers to whisk Angelica out of Orlando’s reach and taking Orlando up in his arms, flies off with him in his chariot. Upon hearing that Medoro is dead Orlando loses his senses and threatens to kill himself, but Angelica begs him to live on. Medoro, saved by Zoroastro, now implores Orlando to accept the lovers’ betrothal. Orlando, under a statue of Mars, proclaims victory over himself. Dorina agrees to forget her sorrows and all join in praise of love and glory. Le Nozze di Figaro
The popular and greatly-loved opera by Mozart, Le Nozze di Figaro, has maintained its high position among the world’s most often-performed operas. The intricate text by Beaumarchais retains a theme still understandable in our world today. It is the familiar story of infidelity, neglected wife, pursued servant, and angry lover. It tells of young adolescent sexual exploits, in the beloved characters of Cherubino and Barbarina. It reveals the revels of the upper class, using pretty faces to enflame burned-out passion. It is a political statement of the unjust laws against those who serve the rich, and how strong convictions can influence the higher-ups after all, as seen when Figaro together with the Countess deceive the Count and wins back his Susanna. Mozart keeps all melancholy from creeping into this frolicking, humorous and poignant score from which almost everyone nowadays recognizes a tune. DOUBLE BILLDido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell
Carthage, after the Trojan War. Dido, Queen of Carthage, is tormented by her love for the Trojan prince, Aeneas. Her lady-in-waiting, Belinda, persuades her to yield to Aeneas’ pleas and marry him. There is general rejoicing. A Sorceress concocts a plan with her witches to destroy Dido’s court: after she has disrupted the royal hunt with a storm, one of her assistants will appear as Mercury and persuade Aeneas to leave. As Aeneas prepares to sail, the witches rejoice. Fearing that she is being betrayed, Dido is unimpressed by his decision to defy Mercury , and dismisses him. In desolation she prepares for death with her famous lament, "When I am laid in earth". Gianni Schicchi. As early as La bohème in 1896, Puccini had shown a gift for robust comedy, with which he never failed to leaven his most pathetic plots. In Gianni Schicchi this style appears refined and concentrated. Verbal inflection here is as pointed as in Verdi’s Falstaff but the organization remains based on recurrent orchestral motifs, mostly sharp and piquant, are always sure in their theatrical effect. This delightful one-act comic opera is part of a Triligy, including Suor Angelica and Il Tabarro. It will be performed at BASOTI together with Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Before a large four-poster bed, whose curtains conceal the body of Buoso Donati, recently defunct, Donati’s relatives are kneeling in a state of well-simulated grief. The air is filled with their sobs and groans. The old Simone suggests they search for the will. A great commotion ensues in which Rinuccio finds it in an old trunk. He makes Zita, the head of the family, promise that he may marry Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi’s daughter, if they are all made rich by the will. As the family reads the will it reveals that he has given away all of his assets to the monastery. The relatives are very angry. Rinuccio suggests that Gianni Schicchi, a man of dubious reputation, might be able to help. In desperation they finally agree to ask Gianni Schicchi his advice. After the clever Schicchi arrives and analyses the situation, he then dictates a new will to the Notary, who has been called by the family. In the course thereof he designates all of Buoso’s material possessions to himself, including his house. The relatives are livid with anger, but the lovers, Rinuccio and Lauretta, sing of their future together, having received the blessing of Gianni Schicchi.
|
|
© Copyright 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,2007
BASOTI, Inc. All rights reserved.
|
by George Frideric Handel
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Dido and Aeneas. Henry Purcell was the outstanding English composer of the Baroque period. A chorister of the Chapel Royal until 1673, he became organist of Westminster Abbey in 1679, moving to the Chapel Royal three years later. Dido and Aeneas was the first major opera in English, full of dramatic invention and beauty, with a prominent role for the chorus. It was first performed at Josias Priest’s Boarding School for Girls, London, 1689.
Opera Scenes Programs