George Cleve Conducts THE MAGIC FLUTE, Beginning Tonight at Opera San Jose

Opera San José concludes its 31st season with Mozart's The Magic Flute.

A young prince's quest leads to love. Lost in a faraway land, the prince is enlisted by The Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter from the hands of a supposedly evil sorcerer. With the aid of a magic flute the prince sets out on a fantastic adventure filled with danger and surprising twists, culminating in one final test at a mystical temple.

The Magic Flute will be sung in German with English supertitles; dialog will be spoken in English. George Cleve will conduct, with stage direction by Brad Dalton. Six performances are scheduled from tonight, April 18 through May 3 at the California Theatre, 345 South First Street in downtown San José. Tickets are now on sale at the Opera San José Box Office, online at operasj.org or by phone at (408) 437-4450. Performances are supported, in part, by a grant from the San José Office of Cultural Affairs.

George Cleve returns to Opera San José to conduct The Magic Flute. Mr. Cleve conducted last season's Don Giovanni and the company premiere of Mozart's Idomeneo in 2011, as well as prior Opera San José productions of Carmen and the double bill Cavelleria rusticana and Pagliacci. He has received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of Santa Clara, the Gold Medal of Honor of the Republic of Austria, and the Silver Medal of the City of Vienna for his part in founding the Midsummer Mozart Festival. A world-renowned interpreter of the works of Mozart, Mr. Cleve has also conducted a wide range of operas by other composers, including Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, Verdi's Don Carlo, La traviata, and Rigoletto, Puccini's La bohème and Madama Butterfly, Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex.

Brad Dalton returns for a second time this season to direct The Magic Flute, having also directed Rigoletto in September 2014. Mr. Dalton is known for his critically acclaimed Opera San José productions of Madama Butterfly, Il trovatore, Idomeneo, Faust, and the 2010 West Coast premiere of David Carlson's Anna Karenina. He has directed productions for opera companies throughout the United States and abroad, including San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Washington Opera and the State Opera of South Australia.

Resident soprano Isabella Ivy sings the role of Queen of the Night. Ms. Ivy recently portrayed Lilia Herriton in Opera San José's world premiere of Where Angels Fear to Tread. She made her debut for the company as Gilda (Rigoletto), followed by Elvira (The Italian Girl in Algiers). Ms. Ivy has repeatedly been a featured artist with the AIMS Festival Orchestra in Graz. She has also premiered several works at the University of Nevada for both established and emerging composers, most notably Madame White Snake, the 2011 Pulitzer prize-winning opera by Zhou Long.

Soprano Hai Ji Chang makes her Opera San José debut in the role of Pamina. Ms. Chang is a member of the Doningo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program and has sung both the First Lady in The Magic Flute with the LA Opera and Pamina in The Magic Flute with the Saint Louis Symphony. Last year marked Ms. Chang's debut appearance with the Metropolitan Opera as Liù in Turandot. She recently performed Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Aspen Opera Theater and Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice with the New England Conservatory of Music. Additional engagements for Ms. Chang include Zerlina in LA Opera's production of Don Giovanni and Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia under the baton James Conlon.

Resident tenor Kirk Dougherty sings the role of Tamino. Mr. Dougherty, a member of the resident company, made his Opera San José debut as the Duke in Rigoletto and recently sang Philip Herriton in the world premiere of Where Angels Fear to Tread in February 2015. Recent engagements for Mr. Dougherty include Manrico (Il trovatore) with Sarasota Opera and Baltimore Concert Opera, Pollione (Norma), at St. Petersburg Opera, Arturo (Lucia di Lammermoor) for Anchorage Opera, and Eremite (Sakuntala) for Teatro Grattacielo in New York City.

Baritone Matthew Hanscom sings the role of Papageno. Mr. Hanscom made his company debut recently as Rigoletto, followed with Taddeo (The Italian Girl in Algiers) and Gino Carella (Where Angels Fear to Tread). Mr. Hanscom performed six seasons at Sarasota Opera, appearing as Comte de Toulouse in Verdi's Jérusalem and Schaunard in Puccini's La bohème, Slim in Carlisle Floyd's Of Mice and Men, and Ping in Puccini's Turandot.

Resident bass Silas Elash sings the role of Sarastro. Mr. Elash recently appeared as the Cabman in Where Angels Fear to Tread as well as Sparafucile in Opera San José's production of Rigoletto. He has sung more than 25 roles with Opera San José, including appearances last season as the Commissioner (Madama Butterfly) and the Commendatore (Don Giovanni). Mr. Elash was winner of the "Wagner Society Award" in the 2010 Irene Dalis Vocal Competition.

Soprano Elizabeth Baldwin also makes her Opera San José debut as First Lady. Ms. Baldwin's recent engagements include a debut with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra singing the title role in Puccini's Tosca and with the Toledo Opera in the "Ladies In Red" Opera Gala Concert. In the 2012-13 season, Ms. Baldwin debuted with the Kentucky Opera (in collaboration with the Owensboro Symphony) singing the title role in Tosca and debuted at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center as Viclinda in Verdi's I Lombardi with The Opera Orchestra of New York under Eve Queler.

Chloe Smart, who returned this season as an associate member of the resident company, will perform the role of Second Lady. Ms. Smart recently performed the roles of Padrona (Where Angels Fear to Tread) and Countess Ceprano (Rigoletto). Smart made her Opera San José debut in the 2013-14 season as the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel. She has previously been seen in the Opera San José chorus for Don Giovanni, Madama Butterfly, Falstaff, La traviata as well as Il trovatore.

Second year resident mezzo-soprano Lisa Chavez performs the role of Third Lady. Ms. Chavez made her company debut last season as Meg Page (Falstaff). Other roles performed by Chavez for the company include Harriet Harriton (Where Angels Fear to Tread), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Maddalena (Rigoletto) and Isabella (The Italian Girl in Algiers). Awards received by Ms. Chavez include First Place and Audience Favorite in the Irma M. Cooper Competition (2013), and Third Prize Winner in the 2014 Irene Dalis Vocal Competition.

Tenor David Margulis makes his company debut, appearing as Monastatos. Recent performances for Mr. Margulis include the Young Servant (Elektra) at Des Moines Metro Opera, and Gastone (La traviata) and Ernesto (Don Pasquale) at the Marion Roose Pullin Opera Studio of Arizona Opera. In the summer of 2014, Mr. Margulis made his mainstage debut at The Santa Fe Opera in The Impresario/ Le Rossignol double-bill and will follow that with a return to the mainstage at Arizona Opera as Tamino (The Magic Flute) in 2015

Soprano Jenny Litster, who recently appeared as the Opera Singer in Where Angels Fear to Tread, sings Papagena. At the Utah Opera Ms. Litster took the stage as Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore, Countess Ceprano in Rigoletto, Erste Dame in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, and last April debuted the Queen of the Night (Magic Flute) with Opera San Luis Obispo.

Christopher Filipowicz appears as The Speaker. Mr. Filipowicz made his company debut during the 2014-15 season, appearing as Spiridone in Where Angels Fear to Tread. Mr. Filipowicz was seen in San Francisco as The Man with the Cornet Case in the San Francisco Conservatory of Music's production of Dominic Argento's Postcard from Morocco, a co-production with Portland Opera directed by Kevin Newbury.

Opera San José's production of The Magic Flute includes set designs by Ryan McGettigan, lighting design by David Lee Cuthbert, Alyssa Oania will serve as Costume Coordinator and wig and makeup designs are by Vicky Martinez.

DETAILS:

The Magic Flute

Spoken in English, Sung in German with English Supertitles

Cast: April 18, 19, 23, 26 - May 1, 3

Queen of the Night Isabella Ivy•

Pamina Hai Ji Chang

Tamino Kirk Dougherty•

Papageno Matthew Hanscom•

Sarastro Silas Elash•

First Lady Elizabeth Baldwin

Second Lady Chloe Smart•

Third Lady Lisa Chavez•

Monastatos David Margulis

Papagena Jennie Litster

The Speaker Christopher Filipowicz

• Resident Company

About Opera San José - Opera San José, performing at the beautiful California Theatre in downtown San José, is a professional, regional opera company that is unique in the United States. Maintaining a resident company of principal artists, Opera San José specializes in showcasing the finest young professional singers in the nation. In addition to mainstage performances, Opera San José maintains extensive educational programs in schools and in the community at large, and offers preview lectures and Introduction to Opera talks for all mainstage productions.

Photo by Eric Wolfinger; Wing Headpiece by Arturo Rios.

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