Mannes Opera to Present Donizetti's L'ELISIR D'AMORE, Featuring Mannes Orchestra, Today

The New School's College of Performing Arts is pleased to announce that the acclaimed Mannes Opera Young Artists, led by Artistic Director Joseph Colaneri, will give two fully-staged performances of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore with the Mannes Orchestra. Performances will take place December 11 at 7:30 pm and & December 12 at 1:30 pm at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College (524 West 59th Street, New York). Admission is $25, $10 for students/seniors, and can be purchased through ticketcentral.com.

The production will be the first in a series of operas that showcase the breadth of the work of Mannes and the New School College of Performing Arts, under the leadership of "firebrand" (The New York Times) Dean Richard Kessler. Other upcoming operas include Mark Adamo's Little Women (May 2016) and Robert Ashley's Dust (April 2016).

The performances will feature two full casts including Banlingyu Ban, Kidon Choi, Edward Cleary, Matthew Cossack, Jose Cuartas, Fanyong Du, Eunjin Jung, Sara Papini, Tatiana Poletskaya and Pavel Sulyandziga. Mannes faculty member Laura Alley is directing, with set design by Roger Hanna.

Colaneri, Artistic Director of Mannes Opera since 1998, has garnered considerable acclaim for Mannes Opera productions and the performances of student singers and the musicians under his baton. Reviewing various performances, The New York Times has credited him with "[drawing] a fleet and bracing performance from the student orchestra" (Anthony Tommasini) and "[earning] a stellar reputation for the quality of its presentations and the excellence of [Mannes Opera's] student singers" (Steve Smith). Writing for the Times in 2005, Anne Midgette wrote, "People in the opera world often ask: Where are all the good, healthy young voices? Here's an answer: at the Mannes College of Music." She added, "Credit goes to Joseph Colaneri."

Of the upcoming production, Colaneri said, "Gaetano Donizetti's effervescent comedy, L'elisir d'amore, was one of the most performed operas of its time and is the perfect vehicle to showcase the talents of the Mannes Opera's young artists. The work is brilliant to perform and will offer our singers and instrumentalists an opportunity to immerse themselves in the study of bel canto. This seminal vocal and instrumental style forms the basis for vocal technique and operatic style from the early 19th century right up to our own time. Our production will be set in New York's Little Italy of the 1950's, enhancing 19th century musical style with contemporary theatrical aesthetics."

L'elisir d'amore follows Adina, the beautiful but fickle landowner, and Nemorino, the clumsy but lovable young man, through the ups and downs of their love story. The opera deftly combines comic archetypes with a degree of genuine character development rare in works of this type. Its ending is as much a foregone conclusion as it would be in a romantic comedy film today-the joy is in the journey, and Donizetti created one of his most instantly appealing scores for this ride.

The production follows the ribbon-cutting ceremony the New School will hold November 18 for Mannes' new home, a performing arts hub designed by Deborah Berke Partners in Arnhold Hall downtown. The new facilities solidify the pedagogical and programmatic changes already happening, under the leadership of Richard Kessler, to create a unified College of Performing Arts comprising Mannes, The School of Jazz and The School of Drama-all located on campus and in close proximity to the rest of the design, liberal arts and social science university. Mannes celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2016.

About Joseph Colaneri (Conductor, Mannes Opera Artistic Director)

International conductor Joseph Colaneri is recognized as a multifaceted presence on the podium, equally adept with operatic, oratorio and symphonic repertoire. Music Director of the acclaimed Glimmerglass Festival since 2013, Joseph Colaneri has served as a member of the Metropolitan conducting roster since 1998, and was Artistic Director of the West Australian Opera from 2012-2014. Among the distinguished opera companies with which he has guested are Den Norske Opera, Portland Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Orlando Opera, Western Opera Theater, UCLA, and the San Francisco Opera Center. At the Metropolitan Opera, Colaneri has led performances of La Bohème, Luisa Miller, performances of Turandot and Rigolettoin the popular Metropolitan Opera Parks performances, L'Italiana in Algeri, Nabucco at Lincoln Center, Falstaff, Il Trittico, La Fille du Régiment, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Don Pasquale. During the 2009-2010 season he replaced James Levine for the Metropolitan's new Luc Bondy production of Tosca, including the worldwide HD transmission and DVD for EMI. A frequent speaker on opera, Mr. Colaneri leads an annual lecture series for The Metropolitan Opera Club and has served as guest lecturer for the Metropolitan Opera Guild and the Los Angeles Opera League. Mr. Colaneri began his career as a conductor with New York City Opera (NYCO) (1987-1998). He also served as Acting Music Director for NYCO from 1995-1996, and as Music Director of NYCO's touring arm, from 1991-1998. Mr. Colaneri has served as Artistic Director of Opera at Mannes School of Music at The New School in New York City since 1998.

About Laura Alley (Stage Director)

Laura Alley was stage director for the European premiere of The Ghosts of Versailles in Hanover, Germany, and has worked extensively at the New York City Opera directing such diverse works as La Bohème, Attila, La Rondine, and the American premieres of Kinkakuji, The Temple of Golden Pavilion, and The Dreyfus Affair. Among her opera company credits are Syracuse, Kansas City, San Francisco, Austin, Cleveland, Chautauqua, New Orleans, and El Paso, and Connecticut Opera Association. Ms. Alley has taught and directed opera workshop productions at Louisiana State University, the Kansas City Conservatory, Temple University, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Converse College, Rutgers University, New York University, Indiana University, and for Martina Arroyo's "Prelude to Performance" program. She has been stage director for all full-length, fully staged productions of The Mannes Opera since 2005, and of all its "Evenings of Opera Scenes" productions since their inception in 2000.

About Mannes School of Music at The New School

Founded in 1916, Mannes School of Music at The New School seeks to develop citizen artists who engage with the world around them in and through music, in traditional, new, and emergent forms of practice. Our eminent faculty of artists, scholars, and educators of international stature, including active professionals from all areas of the music world foster close, constructive relationships with students and are committed to advancing the creative role of music throughout all aspects of our rapidly changing society.

Notable faculty include Jeremy Denk, multi-award winning and MacArthur Fellow pianist; Dave Douglas, multi-award winning and MacArthur Fellow trumpeter; Cynthia Phelps, principal violist of The New York Philharmonic; David Chan, Concertmaster of The Metropolitian Opera; Joan La Barbara, vocalist and pioneer in contemporary vocal music; William Burden, renowned operatic tenor; David T Little, composer; Missy Mazzoli, composer; Paul Moravec, composer; and many more.