Baltimore Symphony Orchestra to Open Season with All-Star CANDIDE, 6/11

Baltimore, Md. (March 23, 2015) - For the conclusion of the 2014-2015 season, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) and Music Director Marin Alsop lead the BSO premiere of Leonard Bernstein's comedic operetta Candide on June 11 at the Music Center at Strathmore, and June 12 through June 14 at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. The BSO announced today that the semi-staged production of Candide will be directed by Garnett Bruce and features an all-star cast including Peter Sagal, the host of NPR's weekly current events quiz show "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me," and Judy Kaye, Tony Award-winning star of The Phantom of the Opera. Rounding out the cast are Keith Jameson, Lauren Snouffer, Joshua Hopkins, Mark Diamond, Marie Lenormand, Stephanie Sadownik, Curtis Bannister, Patrick Cook, Andrew McLaughlin, Melissa Wimbish and Lewis Shaw.

Leonard Bernstein always wanted to write "the Great American Opera," and he came closest with Candide (1956), which he called "a comic operetta." Based on Voltaire's satirical novel of 1759, it chronicles the misadventures of Candide, a naive, pure-hearted youth, and his tough-minded sweetheart, Cunégonde. Although Candide has been taught by his tutor, Dr. Pangloss, that "All is for the best in this best of all possible worlds," throughout the story he is assailed by legions of man-made and natural disasters that test this theory. Candide includes such highlights as "Glitter and be Gay," and "Make Our Garden Grow."

COMPLETE PROGRAM DETAILS

Bernstein's Candide

Thursday, June 11, 2015 at 8 p.m. - The Music Center at Strathmore
Saturday, June 12, 2015 at 8 p.m. - Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (JMSH)
Saturday, June 13, 2015 at 8 p.m. - (JMSH)
Saturday, June 14, 2015 at 3 p.m. - (JMSH)

Marin Alsop, conductor
Garnett Bruce, director
Baltimore Choral Arts Society
Tom Hall, music director

Cast:

Peter Sagal (Narrator)
Keith Jameson (Candide)
Lauren Snouffer (Cunégonde)
Judy Kaye (The Old Lady)
Joshua Hopkins (Dr. Pangloss)
Mark Diamond (Maximillian/Judge)
Marie Lenormand (Paquette)
Stephanie Sadownik (Baroness/Sheep)
Curtis Bannister (Baron/Inquisitor/Don Isaachar/Cacambo/Ragotski)
Patrick Cook (Judge/Prefect/Governor/Vandendur)
Andrew McLaughlin (Judge/Captain/Crook)
Melissa Wimbish (Sheep)
Lewis Shaw (Heresy Agent/Archbishop/Slave Driver)

Tickets start at $45 and are available through the BSO Ticket Office, 410.783.8000 or BSOmusic.org.

Marin Alsop, conductor

Marin Alsop is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene, a music director of vision and distinction who passionately believes that "music has the power to change lives." She is recognized across the world for her innovative approach to programming and for her deep commitment to education and to the development of audiences of all ages.

Marin Alsop made history with her appointment as the 12th music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO). With her inaugural concerts in September 2007, she became the first woman to head a major American orchestra. She also holds the title of conductor emeritus at the Bournemouth Symphony in the United Kingdom, where she served as the principal conductor from 2002-2008.

Her success as the BSO's music director has garnered national and international attention for her innovative programming and artistry. Additionally, her success was recognized in 2013, when her tenure was extended to the 2020-2021 season. Alsop took up the post of chief conductor of the São Paulo Symphony Orchestra in 2012, where she steers the orchestra in its artistic and creative programming, recording ventures and its education and outreach activities.

In the summer of 2013, Maestra Alsop served her 22nd season as music director of the acclaimed Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in California. Musical America, which named Maestra Alsop the 2009 Conductor of the Year, has said, "[Marin Alsop] connects to the public as few conductors today can."

Garnett Bruce, director

Stage director Garnett Bruce has a rich body of work which includes opera companies across the country including the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera and Houston Grand Opera, and his European opera debut staging Turandot for the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples. He was the Artistic Adviser and Principal Stage Director for Opera Omaha from 2008-2011 where he led a cycle of the Mozart Da Ponte operas.

Beginning in 2004 he led three productions as a guest artist at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University receiving a continuing faculty appointment in 2006 leading productions including La Traviata, The Rake's Progress and this season, The Abduction from the Seraglio. He has had a long association with Aspen Music Festival and School since 1993 and the opera directing faculty since 1997.

This season he directed Madama Butterfly for the Utah Symphony & Opera where he will return next season for Aida. He returns to the Lyric Opera of Kansas City (where he inaugurated their new opera house with Turandot in 2011) to direct Tosca. He also returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for revivals of Tannhauser and Porgy & Bess.

(Garnett Bruce is replacing Kevin Newbury)

Baltimore Choral Arts Society

The Baltimore Choral Arts Society, now in its 49th season, is one of Maryland's premier cultural institutions. The Sym­phonic Chorus, Full Chorus, Orchestra and Chamber Chorus perform through­out the mid-Atlantic region, as well as in Washington, D.C., New York and Europe. For the past 18 years, WMAR Tele­vision has featured the Baltimore Cho­ral Arts Society in an hour-long special, "Christmas with Choral Arts," which won an Emmy Award in 2006. Music Director Tom Hall and the chorus were also featured in a PBS documentary called "Jews and Christians: A Journey of Faith," broadcast nationwide and on National Public Radio in 2001.

Peter Sagal, narrator
Prior to becoming host of the hit public radio quiz show "Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me" in 1998, Peter Sagal had a varied career including stints as a playwright, screenwriter, stage director, actor, extra in a Michael Jackson video, travel writer, essayist, ghostwriter and staff writer for a motorcycle magazine. In its 17 years on the air, Wait Wait has become the most popular weekly show in public radio, with an audience of more than five million listeners. With the show, Peter has traveled all over the country, performing in venues such as Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Tanglewood, the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles, Carnegie Hall, and Baltimore's Meyerhoff Hall as well as the Music Center at Strathmore. The show won the prestigious Peabody Award for Excellence in Broadcasting in 2008. In 2007, Peter published his first book, The Book of Vice: Naughty Things and How to Do Them, a series of essays about bad behavior. In 2013, he hosted Constitution USA with Peter Sagal, a four-part documentary on PBS. He's also a columnist for Runner's World.

Judy Kaye (The Old Lady)

Judy Kaye recently appeared on Broadway as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. She also appeared on Broadway in Nice Work If You Can Get It for which she won Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards. She won her first Tony for The Phantom of the Opera. Other highlights of her career include Souvenir (Tony nomination, Theatre LA Ovation Award as Best Actress), Mamma Mia (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), Ragtime (Theatre LA Ovation Award) and On the Twentieth Century (Theatre World Award, Drama Desk nomination). Ms. Kaye has also been Mrs. Lovett in a number of productions of Sweeney Todd including the most recent Broadway production and National Tour and in London with the original Sweeney, Len Cariou. Others include Annie Get Your Gun, Gypsy, Follies, and Tales of the City. Dramatic credits include productions of Souvenir in 10 cities around the country, Lost In Yonkers at the Old Globe in San Diego and Arizona Theatre Company in Tucson and Phoenix. Other roles include Maggie in The Man Who Came to Dinner, Penny in You Can't Take It With You, Shirley Valentine, and Kitty Dean in The Royal Family. Opera credits include Labohème, Orpheus in the Underworld and The Beggars Opera all for Santa Fe Opera and Brigadoon, Candide and The Pajama Game for New York City Opera.

Joshua Hopkins (Dr. Pangloss)

Chosen by Opera News as one of 25 artists poised to break out and become a major force in the coming decade, Canadian baritone Joshua Hopkins has been hailed as "...an outstanding young baritone with a virile, vigorous yet velvety sound and an immediately evident dramatic authority." In the 2014-2015 season, Mr. Hopkins makes his Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Tadeusz in The Passenger conducted by Sir Andrew Davis. Mr. Hopkins' season also includes the title role of Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Canadian Opera Company and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with the Dallas Opera. He brings his renowned portrayal of Count Almaviva to the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon under the baton of Paul McCreesh. Also in concert, he joins Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as Dr. Pangloss in Bernstein's Candideand can be heard in Lieder recital programs with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago and under the auspices of the Canadian Opera Company.

Keith Jameson (Candide)

Keith Jameson, tenor, a native of South Carolina, recently appeared as Bardolfo in Robert Carsen's new production of Falstaff at the Metropolitan Opera, conducted by James Levine, and seen "Live from The Met in HD" movie theaters around the world. He also sang the Novice in Britten's Billy Budd at the Metropolitan Opera, and Osman in Handel's Almira with NYC's operamission in the North American premiere staging of the entire opera at the historic Gershwin Hotel. He performed Sancho Panza in Man of La Mancha with Greenwood Community Theatre in his hometown of Greenwood, S.C. in June 2012. He sang Grandpa Joe in The Golden Ticket with Atlanta Opera, which was released on CD in 2012. During the 2011-2012 season, he was the tenor soloist in Haydn's The Creation with Boston Baroque and as Nicolas in Britten's Saint Nicolaswith the Greenville Chorale in S.C., and just made his debut with Arizona Opera as Goro in Madama Butterfly. During the 2010-2011 season, he was heard as the Simpleton in Boris Godunov with Dallas Opera, Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls with the Greenwood Community Theatre and as Triquet in Eugene Onegin with Los Angeles Opera. Last summer he debuted with the New York Philharmonic as the Mosquito and Schoolmaster in the critically acclaimed production of The Cunning Little Vixen.

Marie Lenormand (Paquette)

Praised for her performances on the operatic and concert stage masterful mezzo-soprano, Marie Lenormand most recently joined the Saito-Kinen Festival in Japan as the White Cat and Squirrel in L'enfant, Opera de Massy as Meg in Falstaff, New Orleans Opera as Le Prince in Cendrillon, Palazzetto Bru Zane for Le Saphir, Theatre Imperial de Compiegne as Carmen, and Les Violons du Roy for concerts in Quebec. Additional highlights include Cendrillon with Grand Theatre Grande Salle and Grand Theatre Massenet, Roméo et Juliette with Opera de Tours and Opera D'Avignon, La Périchole with New York City Opera, and an appearance with New York Festival of Song. The 2014-2015 season features her as Ottone in Boston Baroque's Agrippina, Marguerite in Le pré aux clercs with the Opéra-Comique, Berlioz's Les Nuits d'été with Festival de Laon, France, Témire/ Amour in Leclair's Scylla et Glaucus, with Les Nouveaux Caractères, and an appearance with Orchestre National d'Ile de France.

Lauren Snouffer (Cunégonde)

American soprano Lauren Snouffer is a recent graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio and winner of a 2013 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation and a Richard F. Gold Career Grant bestowed by Houston Grand Opera. The 2014-2015 season celebrates Ms. Snouffer's debuts with Parnassus Arts Productions as Arasse in Hasse's Siroe at the Opéra Royal de Versailles, and with the Atlanta Opera as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. On the concert stage, Ms. Snouffer debuts with the Portland Baroque Orchestra in Handel's Messiah conducted by John Butt, and joins Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra at Severance Hall and Lincoln Center for concert performances of Strauss' Daphne. Other appearances of the season include Fauré's Requiem and a New Year's concert with the Florida Orchestra.

Mark Diamond (Maximillian/Judge)

A graduate of the Studio of Houston Grand Opera, baritone Mark Diamond's performances during the 2014-2015 season include his debuts with the French opera theaters of Limoges, Caen and Reims, as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. During the 2013-2014 season, he returned as a guest artist to Houston Grand Opera, for the role of Count Carlo-Magnus in A Little Night Music and his assignments in the HGO Studio during the 2012-2013 season included Marcello in La bohème and the Steersman in Tristan und Isolde, as well as covers of Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Taddeo (L'italiana in Algeri), and Gaylord Ravenal (Showboat). He returned to Aspen Music Festival, where he previously sang Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, in summer 2013, as Swallow in a semi-staged performance of Peter Grimes, conducted by Robert Spano.

Stephanie Sadownik (Baroness/Sheep)

American mezzo-soprano Stephanie Sadownik is a charismatic, versatile performer who is known for her complex characterizations and comedic flair. The 2014-2015 season began with Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti with Sin City Opera. Her debut with the company as Madame Flora in their 2013 production of The Medium was lauded for highly expressive eyes and "magnificent contralto" (LVReview Journal). 2013 bore another debut with Pacific Opera Project as a "hilarious and charismatic" Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro. In the summer of 2013 she returned to the Aspen Music Festival and won praise for her "commandingly serious" La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica and her "realistic comic relief" as Arnalta in L'incoronazione di Poppea (Aspen Times). Past summers in Aspen have earned critical acclaim for Ms. Sadownik, like her "magnetic" Mrs. Lovett with "pin-point comedic timing" in 2012's Sweeney Todd as well as her "entertaining Samira {in 2010's Ghosts of Versailles} which drew laugh after laugh, all the while singing strongly" (Aspen Times). Selected operatic roles include: Mrs. Grouse; Turn of the Screw, Kate Julian; Owen Wingrave, Olga; Eugene Onegin, Hermia and Hippolyta; A Midsummer Night's Dream, Amastre; Xerxes, Berta; Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Gertrude; Romeo et Juliette, Sorceress; Dido & Aeneas. Ms. Sadownik is a devotee of art song and cabaret. She is an alumna of Indiana University Jacob's School of Music and a graduate of the Maryland Opera Studio.

Patrick Cook (Judge/Prefect/Governor/Vandendur)
Described by the Washington Post as "imposing and promising," tenor Patrick Cook is earning praise for his performances across the country in venues including The Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall. Recent operatic roles include Don Jose, Bacchus, Luigi, Idomeneo and Don Ottavio with companies throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Cook appears regularly as a recitalist, chamber musician and concert soloist performing with the U.S. Naval Academy Glee Club, Annapolis Symphony Orchestra, The Washington Chorus and the D.C. Wagner Society. Cook debuted at Carnegie Hall in Scenes from Dog Days by David T. Little as part of Osvaldo Golijov and Dawn Upshaw's Composing Song Workshop. In 2011, Cook performed for President Obama's Town Hall meeting in College Park, Md. He is a 2011 and 2010 D.C. District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He can be heard on the American Symphony Orchestra's recording of Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots as Bois-Rosé and Premiere Moine. A past participant of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio and a graduate of the Baltimore School for the Arts, Cook holds advanced degrees from the University of Maryland, Bard Conservatory and The Juilliard School. Cook sings in the Washington National Opera Chorus and serves on the faculty of Northern Virginia Community College.

Andrew McLaughlin (Judge/Captain/Crook)
American baritone Andrew McLaughlin is increasingly praised for his artful interpretations of the opera, oratorio, and art song repertoire. Andrew hails from Washington, D.C., where he has performed with Washington National Opera as Brian Young in An American Soldier (2014), Rex in An American Man (2014), the Doganiere in La boheme(2014) and the Spanish Sailor in Moby Dick (2014). As a champion of new works, Andrew has performed roles in the premieres of Robert Patterson and Mark Campbells' The Whole Truth (Urban Arias, 2015), Janice Hamer's Lost Childhood (National Philharmonic Orchestra, 2013), Claude Debussy/Robert Orledge's La Saulaie (University of Maryland Repertory Orchestra, 2013), and Frank Proto's Shadowboxer (Maryland Opera Studio, 2011). Upcoming engagements this year include solo performances in Faure's Requiem and Bach's Johannes Passion with the National Philharmonic Orchestra at Strathmore, as the Judge/Captain/Crook in Bernstein's Candide with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and as Schaunard in Puccini's La Bohème with Virginia Opera. Andrew received his undergraduate degree from West Chester University of Pennsylvania and holds a master's degree from the University of Maryland where he was a member of the Maryland Opera Studio.

Melissa Wimbish (Sheep)
Praised by The New York Times for her "stylish singing" and by The Boulder Daily Camera as "simply incredible...the highlight of the entire evening," soprano Melissa Wimbish is quickly garnering recognition for her artistry, technical prowess, and captivating stage presence. During the 2013-2014 season, Ms. Wimbish performed the role of the History Teacher in the highly anticipated NYC premiere of Paul's Case by composer Gregory Spears and directed by Kevin Newbury. With Opera AACC, she debuted the role of Micaëla in George Bizet's Carmen followed by another debut with American Modern Ensemble in Robert Paterson's Ghost Theater. Alongside pianist and composer Tom Cipullo, she appeared in recitals presented by Urban Arias at Atlas Performing Arts Center in Washington, D.C. A winner of the Vocal Arts Society Discovery Recital Series, Ms. Wimbish made her Kennedy Center recital debut in 2011. She was honored as a finalist in the 2013 International Liszt-Garrison competition and awarded Best Interpretation of American Song. In 2014, she was the grand prize winner of the NATS Artist Award and the Franco-American Vocal Academy Prize for excellence in the interpretation of French repertoire. Other awards include the Denver Philharmonic Concerto Competition and the Kennett Square Symphony Competition.