Sarasota Opera stars perform live on WSMR

   Classical music station WSMR (89.1 and 103.9 FM) has been doing some really wonderful live broadcasts featuring the stars of local operas, and two more are coming up next week.
   At 11 a.m. Tuesday, March 10, Maestro Victor DeRenzi and principal artists from Sarasota Opera will present excerpts from the current production of Puccini’s "Tosca."
   On Thursday, DeRenzi returns with cast members from "The Marriage of Figaro."

A scene from Sarasota Opera's "Tosca"

   Host Russell Gant will interview DeRenzi and the Sarasota Opera artists as they present well known arias and duets from the two productions.
   Selections from "Tosca" include Cavaradossi’s famous Act III aria “E lucevan le stelle” and Tosca’s Act II aria “Vissi d’arte,” which you'll recognize even if you're not an opera fan.
   Thursday's selections include Figaro’s Act I aria “Non più andrai” and the famous Act II duet “Sull’aria,” sung by the Countess Almaviva and Susanna.
   "Tosca" runs through March 28 and "The Marriage of Figaro" through March 27 at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave,, Sarasota, Call 941-328-1300 or go to sarasotaopera.org..

Sarasota Opera to perform live on WSMR Thursday

   If you're thinking about seeing the upcoming Sarasota Opera production of "Don Carlos" but you're just not sure, you can get a free sample Thursday morning (Feb. 26).
   At 11 a.m., Maestro Victor DeRenzi, the Sarasota Opera's artistic director, will be in the studios of classical music station WSMR (89.1 FM) with cast members from "Don Carlos."

A scene from "Don Carlos"
(Photo by Rod Millington)

They'll chat with host Russell Gant and perform live selections from the opera.
  Selections will include such famous arias as Eboli’s “O Don Fatal” and Élisabeth’s "A Toi qui sus le néant." Artists who will sing on-air include Jonathan Burton (Don Carlos), Michelle Johnson (Élisabeth de Valois), Mary Phillips (Eboli) and Marco Nisticò (Rodrigue). They'll be accompanied on piano by John Spencer IV.
   "Don Carlos" is Giusseppi Verdi's powerful drama, set in Renaissance Spain at the time of the Inquisition, about the ill-fated attraction between Don Carlos and Élisabeth, the wife of his father, King Philip of Spain. It's considered one of opera’s masterpieces.
   The live production of "Don Carlos" opens March 7 and continues in rotation with other operas in the Sarasota Opera Winter Festival through March 24. Tickets prices range from $19 to $130. Call : 941-328-1300 or go to sarasotaopera.org. 

Opera Tampa scores with season-opener 'Rigoletto'

   The winter opera season is in full bloom, and in case Sarasota Opera's current productions of 'Tosca" and "The Marriage of Figaro" aren't enough to satisfy your cravings, Opera Tampa is offering a terrific production of "Rigoletto."
   The Verdi classic kicks off the 20th anniversary season for the company, which performs at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.
   The cast for this production is stunning. On opening night, the most thrilling moments came from soprano Claire Coolen as Gilda, who wielded a gorgeous voice with impressive control and a powerful stage presence, and tenor David Guzman as the Duke of Mantua.  Guzman's rendering of the opera's most famous piece, "La Donna e Mobile," was simpy beautiful, and his duets with Coolen were highlights of the evening.

Guzman as the Duke. Photo by Will Staples

    Sarasota soprano Johanna Fincher was also impressive in a smaller role as  Countess Ceprano. (Fincher will be performing closer to home this spring, in concert with Gloria Musicae in April and the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota in May.)
   All the design work, especially the  evocative and textured lighting by Chad Jung, is a treat to look at.
   The only downside is that Opera Tampa is only presenting this lovely production twice. The remaining performance is at 2 p.m. Sunday, February 15. Tickets are $49.50-$99.50 plus service charge. If you love grand opera it's well worth the price and the drive. Call 813-229-7827 or go to strazcenter.org.

 

Sarasota Opera offers a powerful "Pagliacci"

   “Pagliacci” has a reputation as a short opera. In fact,  it’s usually presented with another opera on the same program.
    The current Sarasota Opera production presents “Pagliacci” by itself. It’s a thoroughly satisfying experience; the addition of another piece wouldn’t make the evening any more worthwhile.
    “Pagliacci" itself is compact rather than short – its action and its moods move swiftly, and it ends at the moment of its dramatic climax. In terms of length, this production, including intermission, runs about the same as a typical movie or play.

   The Sarasota Opera production is gorgeously designed and movingly acted and sung.

  "Pagliacci" photo  by Rod Millington

   The program opens with two short pieces performed by the Sarasota Orchestra. It’s a perfect appetizer for the feast ahead. The orchestra performs two intermezzi by Pietro Mascagni. He’s the composer of “Cavallera Rusticana,” the short opera most often paired with “Pagliacci.”
    Both the pieces, which aren’t often played outside of the context of their own operas, are poignantly lovely, and the Sarasota Orchestra, conducted by the opera’s artistic director Victor DeRenzi, performs them impeccably.
    After a prologue, sung in front of the curtain, the audience gets it first look at David P. Gordon’s set. It’s very pretty, complex and functional -- a stage on which the play-within-the opera is performed, an open space where the play’s audience gathers, and landscape features where the story of romance and betrayal plays out, all in one set.
    There are no weak links in the large cast – which includes members of the Sarasota Youth Opera as part of the chorus – but standouts include MIchael Robert Hendrick as Canio (who becomes Pagliaccio in the play) and Marco Nistico as Tonio, the hunchback.

   That story has to do with a traveling theater troupe that arrives in an Italian village to perform a comedy about a clown (Pagliaccio). Just before the show, Tonio finds out that Canio’s wife Nedda is betraying him with a local man.
    The devastated Canio realizes he must go on stage and portray a clown. But during the play parallels Canio’s life, sending him into a murderous rage. The audience only gradually realizes that they are no longer watching a play. The anguished Canio sings the legendary closing line, “The comedy is finished” – as the curtain closes. Stephanie Sundine’s direction is remarkably fluid, especially given the size of the cast and he complexity of the single set. Howard Tsvi Kaplan’s costumes are beautifully colorful.

   The story is terse and powerful, the music is melodic and familiar (Canio’s at the end of act one is as famous as any piece of opera music ever written), and this production serves the music and the story in a wonderful way. It’s a great season-opened for the Sarasota Opera.
    It runs though Nov. 15 at the Sarasota Opera, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. Curtain is at  8 p.m. 11 and 13 and 1:30 p.m. Nov. 15. Tickets run $19-$125. Call 941-366-8450 or go to sarasotaopera.org.

Sarasota Opera hosts screening of 'Mefistofele'

   The Sarasota Opera season is still seven weeks away, but you don't have to wait that long to get your opera fix.

   This season the opera is featuring a film series called "HD at the Opera House" that features great opera performances from around there world.
   Coming up this week is the San Francisco Opera production of Arrigo Boito's "Mefitstofele." before the screening is a 15-minute discussion. 

   Screenings are set for 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept, 11 and 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept, 14. Tickets are $20 and $25. (Season subscribers get a discount.) 

   Next up in the series is the Opera de Paris's staging of Giacomo Puccini's "The Girl of the Golden West" at 7:30 Oct. 2 and 1:30 p.m. Oct. 5.
   The Sarasota Opera's 2014 fall season gets going Oct. 31 with Ruggero Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci."

   For information and tickets, call 941-328-1300 or go to sarasotaopera.org.

WSMR broadcasts live from Sarasota Music Festival

   You can experience the Sarasota Music Festival tonight without leaving your home.

Russell Gant

   Radio station Classical WSMR (89.1 or 103.9 on the dial, depending on where you live ) will broadcast this evening's concert live from the Sarasota Opera House. It starts at 8 p.m.
   Russell Gant, the classical music director of WUSF Public Media (of which WSMR is a part) will be on stage interviewing performers during the Friday Festival Concert.
   The concert's called “Love,” and the program explores the various facets of love, with music by Glinka ("Trio Pathetique"), Richard Strauss ("Sextet from Capriccio") and Brahms ("Horn Trio in E-flat Major).
   This year marks the 50th anniversary of both WUSF and the Sarasota Music Festival.
  If you're not near a radio this evening, you can listen to the concert at wsmr.org.
  And if you prefer to attend the concert in person, tickets are $25, $32 and $40. The Sarasota Opera House is at 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. For more information, go to sarasotaorchestra.org/festival. Read my feature story on the festival in Sunday's A&E section in the Bradenton Herald.

Sarasota's Gloria Musicae announces 2014-15 concert season

    Gloria Musicae, the Sarasota-based professional choral group, has announced the concert schedule for its 36th season. 
   The 2014-15 season gets underway Nov. 23 with a concert at the Sarasota Opera House titled “In Thanksgiving.” The concert’s centerpiece will be George Frideric Handel’s “Foundling Hospital Anthem,” a composition written to benefit a hospital that served London’s impoverished women and children. 
  The concert will also feature music by Vivaldi, Ola Gjeilo, Arvo Part and Glenn Burleigh.

Joseph Holt

   The second concert of the season is “Old and New” (April 12 at First United Methodist Church in Sarasota). It  will feature “Sunrise Mass” by the contemporary Norwegian composer Ola Gjeilo and Puccini's “Messa di Gloria.” 
   Gloria Musicae will celebrate Independence Day with a tribute to American composers in “An American Tapestry,” on July 4, 2015, at First United Methodist Church.
   The Gloria Musicae singers will also partner with the Artist Series Concerts of Sarasota in a number of concerts next season, including a December holiday concerts, an Edvard Grieg Festival in January and a Gilbert and Sullivan revue in May of next year. All those concerts will take place at the Historic Asolo Theater in Sarasota.
    For more information about Gloria Musicae, visit www.gloriamusicae.org.

Sarasota Opera tickets on sale Aug. 1

   Single tickets for the Sarasota Opera's 2013-14 season go on sale Aug. 1.
   The season opens Nov. 1 with Johann Strauss Jr.’s operetta "Die Fledermaus." It will be sung in English with a translation by Marcie Stapp. Benjamin Britten's "The Little Sweep" follows, opening  Nov. 9.
   The Winter Opera festival opens Feb. 8 with a new production of Giuseppe Verdi’s "Il trovatore."
   "The Barber of Seville" by Gioachino Rossini opens Feb. 15, followed by Richard Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman"  March 1 Jerusalem by Giuseppe Verdi. Verdi's  Jerusalem opens March 8.
   In addition, Sarasota Opera will present four concerts designed to highlight great songs, arias and scenes beyond this season’s repertoire.
   On Nov. 12, singers from "Die Fledermaus" will present the "Operetta Concert,"  featuring some of operetta’s most popular melodies.

Sarasota Opera artistic director Victor DeRenzi

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/05/19/4531204/sarasota-opera-announces-new-season.html#storylink=cpy

   On March 5, Sarasota Opera will explore the past and present of American opera at the "American Opera Concert," performed by Sarasota Opera’s Apprentice and Studio Artists.
   March 18 brings the annual "Artists Choice Concert." Principal and studio artists will perform their choice of the best of opera and Broadway.
   Bringing the 2014 winter season to a close will be "The Verdi Concert" on March 23.
   For now, tickets will for now be available online only, at www.sarasotaopera.org. For information. call 941-366-8450, ext. 1

Dick Hyman plays at Sarasota Opera House

Al Hirschfeld's caricature of Hyman

   Piano legend Dick Hyman and his trio will join with the Gloria Musicae Singers for a concert of familiar movie music that Hyman arranged by Hyman for several Woody Allen films, "Moonstruck" and others. Hyman will also premiere a new work called "Bottle It Up," which he composed specifically for Gloria Musicae, a professional Sarasota-based vocal ensemble.
   The concert's set for 7 p.m. April 7 at the Sarasota Opera House, 61 N. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. Tickets are $35 for the concert and $75 for the concert and a post-performance cocktail reception in the Opera Club with Hyman and the other performers. Call 941-360-7399.

WEEKEND: ArtSlam on Bradenton Riverwalk, Gloriana at Joyland, Ribfest in St. Pete

Bradenton Riverwalk continues to be the area's top destination spot.

After relocating to the newly renovated park from downtown, the long-running Taste of Manatee reported its best year ever last weekend.

The third annual ArtSlam, formerly held on Old Main Street, is ready for similar success Saturday.

The Realize Bradenton event will again bring together professional artists, students, faculty and the public for a celebration of collaborative creativity.

Read more.

• Popular country act Gloriana to play Joyland in Bradenton following postponement in July

• Buddy Guy, Heart, Montgomery Gentry bring the noise to Ribfest in St. Petersburg

• 'Little Nemo in Wonderland' to have world premiere at Sarasota Opera 

And more in Weekend

• Also, don't forget about the fabulous Suncoast Food & Wine Fest. The 11th annual bash sponsored by the Lakewood Ranch Rotary Club will be 1-4 p.m. Nov. 10 at the Sarasota Polo grounds

Sarasota Opera opens fall season with return of Verdi's 'Rigoletto'

Maestro Victor DeRenzi, who recently celebrated his 30th anniversary as artistic director of Sarasota Opera, has brought back a favorite story and performer to kick off the fall season.

Giuseppe Verdi's "Rigoletto," based on Victor Hugo's play "Le Roi s'Amuse," was the first opera performed in the newly renovated Sarasota Opera House when it reopened in 2008. "Rigoletto" returns to the same stately venue Friday and will run through Nov. 12.

Italian born baritone Marco Nisticò, a Sarasota favorite since 2008 when he debuted as Figaro in "Il Barbiere di Siviglia," and who was most recently seen as the Consul Sharpless in last fall's "Madama Butterfly," will make his role debut as the titular court jester.

Sarasota audiences will also know Nisticò, who lives near DeRenzi in Manhattan, from his performances in four other Verdi operas: Giacomo in "Giovanna d'Arco" (Winter 2010), Giorgio Germont in "La Traviata" (Fall 2009), Rodrigue in "Don Carlos" (Winter 2009) and Francisco Foscari in "I due Foscari" (Winter 2008).

"Maestro DeRenzi has given wonderful roles throughout the years," Nisticò said while in between rehearsals in Sarasota.

"My first Verdi role was here and it was an incredible experience."

Read more.

Sarasota Opera's 2012-13 season features world premiere of 'Little Nemo in Slumberland'

The Sarasota Opera announced today that its fall season will include the world premiere of Daron Hagen and J.D. McClathcy’s "Little Nemo in Slumberland."

The 2013 Winter Festival will feature the Sarasota Opera premiere Giacomo Puccini’s "Turandot," Giuseppe Verdi’s "A King for a Day (Un giorno di regno)" and Carlisle Floyd’s "Of Mice and Men."

This year's fall Sarasota Opera Season opens with Verdi’s "Rigoletto," which is based on Victor Hugo’s play “Le Roi s’Amuse.” It was the opera chosen to be the first performed in the opera house when it re-opened in 2008.  "Rigoletto" will open on Oct. 26 and run through Nov. 12.


"Little Nemo in Slumberland" will be a co-production with the University of Kentucky Opera Theater, implementing the new theater technology, SCRIBE (Self-Contained Rapidly Integratable Background Environment). This technology has been successfully used in productions at the University of Kentucky Opera Theater and The Atlanta Opera. There will be two performances on Nov. 10 and 11.

The 2013 Sarasota Opera Winter Festival will open with the Sarasota Opera premiere of Puccini’s "Turandot," which features some of the composers most famous music including the tenor aria “Nessum Dorma (None shall sleep)."


Following "Turandot" will be Georges Bizet’s "The Pearl Fishers (Les Pêcheurs de perles)," last seen in Sarasota in 2003.

Sarasota Opera will present the world premiere of a new critical edition (transcribed directly from Verdi’s manuscript) of Verdi’s second opera "A King for a Day." Verdi’s first comic opera (his only other comedy was his final opera "Falstaff"), "A King for a Day" is based on the play "Le faux Stanislas" by Alexandre Vincent Pineu-Duval. It will be the 29th installment in the company’s continuing Verdi Cycle.

The Sarasota Opera will present Floyd’s "Of Mice and Men" as a continuation of its American Classics Series. Premiered in 1969 at Seattle Opera, Floyd adapted the opera from the novella by John Steinbeck and wrote both the music and libretto himself. As was done with the first two American Classics Series Operas, the 2011 production of "The Crucible" and the 2012 production of "Vanessa," Sarasota Opera will design a series of education events around this production "Of Mice and Men."

The four productions will run in rotation from February 9 through March 24, 2013.

Subscriptions and single tickets are on sale by calling 941-328-1300 or visiting www.sarasotaopera.org.

—Photo: Little Nemo as drawn by Winsor McCay.

Sarasota Opera announces 2011-12 productions

Sarasota Opera 2007 production of Madama Butterfly/Photo by Deb Hesser

Freshly released info on Sarasota Opera's 2011-2012 productions:

Vixens and Victims at the center of five-opera season
Vixens and Victims, what would opera be without them? Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly), Carmen, Lucia, Desdemona (Otello), and Vanessa — they’re all part of the lineup for the 2011-2012 season at Sarasota Opera, a season packed with beautiful music, excitement, lust, desire, love, and tragedy.

The season will begin in the fall with Puccini’s classic tale of tragic love, Madama Butterfly, on October 28. A favorite of Sarasota audiences, it was last performed here in 2007. The Winter Festival returns for its 53rd year, with four works including two Sarasota Opera premieres. The 2012 festival will begin with Bizet’s lusty Carmen. Donizetti’s tragic Lucia di Lammermoor will be the second work of the season. The company’s acclaimed Verdi Cycle will continue with Otello. Finally, Sarasota Opera will present the second offering of its new American Classics initiative with a production of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa. The Winter Opera Festival will conclude March 25 with a special gala concert celebrating Victor DeRenzi’s thirtieth anniversary at Sarasota Opera.



American Classics: Vanessa
This is the second year of Sarasota Opera’s departure from its traditional repertoire ranging from Mozart to Puccini to Verdi. With the company’s Verdi Cycle coming to a close in 2013, the American Classics series was begun in 2011. “Looking forward, we think this is a good time to for us to move ahead in other directions,” Maestro Derenzi said. Adding that “We remain committed to finishing the cycle and having Verdi’s works remain a part of our repertoire.”
Composed by Samuel Barber in 1956-57, Vanessa was first performed at the Metropolitan Opera on January 15, 1958. The premiere was lauded by the New York Times and Barber was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his work. This will be the first time Sarasota Opera has performed Vanessa, which opens March 10 and will have six performances through March 24.

Maestro DeRenzi’s 30th Anniversary Concert
To celebrate the thirty-year anniversary of Maestro DeRenzi, this gala concert will take a look back and a look forward as Maestro conducts his favorite selections.
Opera Lovers Weekends
Sarasota Opera’s famous Opera Lovers Weekends, which are popular with tourists and allow audience members to see all the Winter Festival selections in three days, continue with three full weekends of opera in repertory. The final Opera Lovers Weekend will include the Gala Concert celebrating Maestro DeRenzi’s 30th anniversary with Sarasota Opera. Opera Lovers Weekends for 2012 will be March 9-11, 16-18, and 23-25.
Subscriptions will go on sale March 8 by calling (941) 328-1300 or visiting the Sarasota Opera Box Office. Single tickets will go on sale August 1 online (www.sarasotaopera.org) and September 1 at the Box Office.

2011 Fall Opera Season

Madama Butterfly
Opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini.  Libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giocosa.
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Performances (6): October 28, 30m, November 2, 5m, 9m, 15
Evening performances at 8 p.m., matinees at 1:30 p.m.

Carmen
Opera in four acts by Georges Bizet.  Libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy.
Sung in French with English supertitles
Performances (11): February 11, 14, 19m, 22, 24, March 4m, 8, 11, 16, 20m, 24
Evening performances at 7:30 p.m.(except for opening night on February 11)
Opening Night February 11 at 4 p.m.
Matinees at 1:30 p.m.

Sarasota Opera 2002 production of Lucia di Lammermoor/Photo by Deb Hesser

Lucia di Lammermoor
Opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti.  Libretto by Salvadore Cammarano.
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Performances (9): February 18, 21, 23, 26m, March 2, 7, 9m, 17m, 23
Evening performances at 8 p.m., matinees at 1:30 p.m.

Otello
Opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi.  Libretto by Arrigo Boito.
Sung in Italian with English supertitles
Verdi Cycle
Sarasota Opera Premiere
Performances (7): March 3, 6, 11m, 14, 17, 22, 25m
Evening performances at 8 p.m., matinees at 1:30 p.m.

Vanessa
Opera in three acts by Samuel Barber.  Libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti.
Sung in English with English supertitles
American Classics
Sarasota Opera Premiere
Performances (6): March 10, 13, 15, 18m, 21, 24m
Evening performances at 8 p.m., matinees at 1:30 p.m.
Maestro DeRenzi’s Thirtieth Anniversary Concert
March 25 at 7 p.m.

Sarasota Opera recently opened "The Crucible."

Information: (941) 328-1300 or online at www.sarasotaopera.org.