The Princeton Festival Guild Hosts Annual Artists' Roundtable at Princeton Public Library

Princeton Symphony Orchestra’s Princeton Festival Guild will host its annual Artists’ Roundtable on Tuesday, June 4, at 7pm in the Princeton Public Library’s Community Room. The Guild invites anyone curious about what goes into putting on an opera to this round table discussion centered on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s brilliant opera buffa Così fan tutte. Moderated by Guild member and Princeton Symphony Orchestra Trustee Marcia Bossart, panelists will discuss the upcoming production of Mozart's opera, preparing for a role, and the joys and challenges of being in the opera business.

Così fan tutte is a comic masterpiece and a popular work in the opera repertoire. Its plot follows two pairs of affianced lovers, Fiordiligi and Guglielmo, and Dorabella and Ferrando, as their love and fidelity are put to the test through a casual bet with the odds in favor of one sly Don Alfonso, aided by the meddling ladies’ maid, Despina.

The panel includes Maestro Rossen Milanov, PSO Executive Director Marc Uys, Stage Director James Marvel, and Così fan tutte cast members.

Edward T. Cone Music Director Rossen Milanov has established himself as a conductor with considerable national and international presence. In addition to leading the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and the Princeton Festival, Mr. Milanov is the music director of the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, and chief conductor of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra in Ljubljana. Noted for his versatility, he is a welcomed presence in the worlds of opera and ballet. He has collaborated with Komische Oper Berlin (Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtzensk), Opera Oviedo with the Spanish premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Mazzepa and Bartok’s Bluebeard’s Castle (awarded best Spanish production for 2015), and Opera Columbus (Verdi’s La Traviata). He has been seen at New York City Ballet and collaborated with some of the best-known choreographers of our time such as Mats Ek, Benjamin Millepied, and most recently Alexei Ratmansky in the critically acclaimed revival of Swan Lake in Zurich with Zurich Ballet and in Paris with La Scala Ballet.

PSO Executive Director Marc Uys has led the dedicated administrative team of the Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) since 2015. His initiatives and strategic approach have more than doubled the size of the PSO’s season and expanded the scope of the orchestra’s activities to include important new partnerships with American Repertory Ballet and McCarter Theatre Center. During the pandemic, he has not only ensured the continuous running of the organization and delivery of its mission with a full complement of staff, but formed a partnership with the Youth Orchestra of Central Jersey, and, over the course of 2021, led the groundbreaking merger with the Princeton Festival. Prior to his current position, Marc enjoyed a 15-year international career as a violinist and production manager.

Internationally acclaimed Stage Director James Marvel was born and raised in New Orleans and made his Lincoln Center debut in 2008 for the Juilliard Opera Center. Since his professional directing debut in 1996, James has directed over 150 productions and was named Classical Singer Magazine’s “2008 – Stage Director of the Year.” Career highlights include groundbreaking new productions for the Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, Opera Carolina, Opera Boston, Opera Santa Barbara, San Antonio Opera, Kentucky Opera, Virginia Opera, Sacramento Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program among them. International credits include a new production of Carmen for Opera Africa and Die Zauberflote for the Seoul International Opera as well as work in Canada, Scotland, England, Poland, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. James is thrilled to return to Princeton. His maternal forbearers were all born in Princeton, and his parents met and married in Princeton before moving to New Orleans.

The Princeton Festival Guild is dedicated to introducing young and old alike to the joy and inspiration of great performances. The Guild supports the Festival’s many educational and community engagement programs designed to excite, inform, inspire, and invite discovery and engagement. Guild members play a critical role in the overall success of the Festival by supporting Festival events, organizing fund raisers, and providing hospitality.

The June 4 Artists’ Roundtable is free and open to the public. For more information, call 609-497-0020 or visit princetonsymphony.org/festival.

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