Seattle Opera's Young Artists Present DON GIOVANNI, 4/1-9

Seattle Opera's 2010/11 Young Artists Program returns to Bellevue's Theatre at Meydenbauer Center in April with Mozart's Don Giovanni. Featuring eight Seattle Opera Young Artists and one Guest Artist, this fully staged production is directed by Young Artists Program Artistic Director Peter Kazaras and conducted by the program's music director, Brian Garman. Don Giovanni runs for four performances: April 1, 3, 7, and 9, 2011. Sets and lights are designed by Donald Eastman and Connie Yun respectively, who recently collaborated on Seattle Opera's premiere of Don Quichotte. Working with Seattle Opera for the first time is Costume Designer Candace Frank, who trained at the University of Washington and has previously worked with several Seattle-area theaters.

Unforgettable characters, true-to-life emotions, and dazzling arias and ensembles make Don Giovanni the perfect showcase for Seattle Opera's up-and-coming singers. Described by many as the perfect opera, Don Giovanni blends comedy and drama to tell the tale of a womanizing nobleman who pays the ultimate price for his misdeeds. Says Kazaras: "Our production, which sets the action in and around the world of a small café-cinema in southern Europe, explores Don Giovanni's transformation into an iconic, mythic figure."

 

This production follows Mozart's revision of the score, which was first performed in Vienna six months after the Prague premiere. The Vienna version features the seldom-performed duet, "Per queste tue manine," sung by Zerlina and Leporello. (Mozart cut the aria "Il mio tesoro" for the Vienna performances and added "Dalla sua pace" and "Mi tradì.")

 

Baritone David Krohn is Don Giovanni on opening night and April 9, while Daniel Scofield takes on the role on April 3 and 7. Also double-cast is the role of Don Ottavio, which will be handled by tenor Andrew Stenson on April 1 and 9, and by Eric Neuville on April 3 and 7. Both tenors made their mainstage debuts in last fall's production of Lucia di Lammermoor, Stenson as Arturo and Neuville as Normanno. Don Giovanni also features soprano Marcy Stonikas as Donna Anna, soprano Amanda Opuszynski as Donna Elvira, bass Erik Anstine as Leporello, and bass-baritone Adrian Rosas as both the Commendatore and Masetto (roles that were also performed by the same artist in Mozart's day). Rosas and Scofield made their mainstage debuts in Seattle Opera's Barber of Seville, Rosas as the Sergeant and Scofield as Fiorello. Stonikas, Neuville, and Anstine will all appear in Seattle Opera's production of The Magic Flute in May. Joining this talented group of Young Artists is Guest Artist Jacqueline Bezek, who plays Zerlina.

 

More than 600 singers applied for the 2010/11 season of Seattle Opera's prestigious Young Artists Program. The program is geared toward singers who have recently completed their college training and are embarking on professional singing careers. Former Young Artists have gone on to perform on Seattle Opera's mainstage and at companies around the world. The intimate nature of the 400-seat Theatre at Meydenbauer Center allows audiences to experience this opera-and its exciting young cast-in a way not possible in conventional opera houses.

 

Tickets for Don Giovanni are $50 for adults and $20 for students, and can be purchased online at seattleopera.org/yapgiovanni, by calling the box office at 206.389.7676 or 800.426.1619, or by mobile phone at mobile.seattleopera.org. For more information about the Young Artists Program visit seattleopera.org/yap.

 

 

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