Dell'Arte Opera Announces 16th Annual Festival 8/11-26

Hailed for its "compelling and innovative programming (WQXR Radio)," dell'Arte Opera Ensemble today announced its 2018 summer festival dedicated to works by Mozart and Salieri. Starting on August 11, 2018, and running until August 26, the festival features 13 performances of two fully-staged operas, a scenes program, and an intimate recital to be presented in the intimate black-box space of La MaMa Theatre. Currently in its 16th season, dell'Arte has filled the summer lull with fresh productions of well-known classics and rarities, performed by the developmental company's cast of young singers, supported by a fine musical ensemble.

Described as "an oasis of opera for thirsty opera-lovers in the midst of summer's desert (Voce di Meche)," the festival provides opera-goers a rare opportunity to experience "impeccable opera produced with verve (Berkshire Fine Arts)," by some of opera's most exciting emerging artists. This year's festival presents works by two superb 18th Century Viennese composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) and Antonio Salieri (1750-1825). It begins with two fully-staged productions (full orchestra and English subtitles) in Mozart's Don Giovanni (in the version created for the first Vienna production) and the American premiere of Salieri's La Cifra (The Code), followed by two performances of "Vignettes from Vienna" - including Rimsky Korsakov's one-act Russian opera Mozart & Salieri (after Pushkin), the existing fragment of Salieri's attempt at a Così fan tutte, plus extended scenes from Mozart's completed version, Le nozze di Figaro, and Salieri's Falstaff. The festival ends with a matinee recital entitled "Sacred & Profane: Songs and Ephemera of Mozart and Salieri" that highlights Per la ricuperata salute di Ofelia - a recently rediscovered cantata written jointly by Mozart, Salieri, and Cornetti with a libretto by Da Ponte, plus magnificent songs of Mozart, canons of Salieri, and other rarities both ridiculous and sublime.

"History makes no secret of the fact that Mozart and Salieri were professional rivals," explains Chris Fecteau, Artistic Director of dell'Arte. Rumors of a rivalry between the composers has swirled since they first brushed elbows in the 1770s. Salieri, an Italian, was the court composer of Emperor Joseph II and was already known for his operatic achievements when Mozart, who was five years his junior, burst onto the music scene. Gossip that Salieri hated Mozart or even tried to poison him seems to have originated after Mozart's death in 1791. Though Salieri mourned Mozart at his funeral and even later taught Mozart's son, he was soon linked with ugly accusations that he had caused the composer's demise. "Were they opera's greatest rivals, or greatest co-workers?! The dell'Arte Opera Ensemble will share a fascinating examination of both legends by juxtaposing their works."

Founded in 2000, dell'Arte has been mounting productions with the mission of providing rising opera artists with training and performance opportunities necessary to bridge the gap between the conservatory and a fully professional career. As part of an intense educational program, each student may receive up to 50 hours of vocal coaching, language studies, and movement and acting classes-all just to prepare for one role. "When I first arrived in New York," Fecteau recalled, "I quickly realized that there were few small companies that help young singers get debut role opportunities. That's the hardest thing for opera singers. You have to have done a role before you can get cast in it professionally. So we give singers a chance to do that in a repertory company, where they get to perform in both well-known and lesser-known operas. We're trying to create a sense of ongoing continuity over several seasons. We start singers out in smaller roles then they eventually come up to principal parts." Since its inception, over 500 singers have taken part in dell'Arte's programs, with 30% going on to perform regularly in opera houses and concert halls around the world, and more than a dozen performing with the Metropolitan Opera.

Last year's festival garnered rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. Cunning Little Vixen was cited as an "intriguing, well-sung production" by Opera News while Voce di Meche exclaimed "You may leave at the end with tears in your eyes (as we did) but they will be blissfully cathartic...illuminating production." La Calisto "artfully mingled comedy and tender sentiment as the opera's nearly three-hour duration seemed to fly by," (New York Classical Review).

About dell'Arte Opera Ensemble
dell'Arte Opera Ensemble provides emerging opera artists with training and performance opportunities necessary to bridge the gap between the conservatory and a flourishing career. The emphasis is on "learning by doing", backed by the philosophy that superior craft creates great art. Dell'Arte's annual summer repertory festival offers audiences high-quality and meticulously crafted opera presentations featuring rising young vocal artists, designers, directors and conductors. Participants in this singer-development programming receive a unique and carefully structured curriculum in role study, preparing them for a career in an increasingly competitive opera world. Participants in our Opera Leaders Mentorship Program take on leadership roles in our productions (stage direction, stage management, costume and scenic design, conducting and coaching) and receive practical guidance from industry leaders. dellarteopera.org

dell'Arte Opera Ensemble 2018 Festival: Mozart + Salieri

Creative Team & Production Staff:

Chris Fecteau, Artistic Director
Matthew Iacozza*, Scenic Designer
Dante Olivia Smith, Lighting Designer
Claire Townsend, Costume Designer
Madison Lane, Production Manager

Don Giovanni (Amadeus Mozart, 1787)

August 11, 12m, 17, 19m, 23, 25

Owen Horsley*, Stage Director

Chris Fecteau and Chris Whittaker*, Conductors

Don Giovanni: Cole Grissom / Eric Lindsey*

Leporello: Eric Lindsey* / Jonathan Harris

Donna Anna: Jennifer Townshend / Angel Azzarra*

Donna Elvira: Jessica Mirshak* / Stephanie Kim Johnson

Don Ottavio: Morgan Manifacier* / Gabriel Hernandez*

Zerlina: Elyse Kakacek / Sarah Ann Duffy

Masetto: Nobuki Momma / Joshua Miller

Commendatore: Joshua Miller / Hector Mori*

La Cifra (The Code) (Antonio Salieri, 1789) U.S. premiere

August 18, 22, 24, 26m

Brittany Goodwin, Stage Director

Catherine O'Shaughnessy*, Conductor

Milord Gualtier Fideling: Timothy Stoddard

Eurilla: Rachel Barker

Lisotta: Allison Gish

Leandro: Stephen Steffens*

Rusticone: Angky Budiardjono

Mozart + Salieri Scenes
August 20, 21
Whitney George* & Chris Whittaker*, Conductors
Jason Goldberg* & TBA, Stage Directors
Existing fragment of Salieri's Così fan tutte, excerpts from Mozart's Così fan tutte (1789) and Le nozze di Figaro (1786), and Salieri's Falstaff (1799), and one-act opera Mozart & Salieri (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, 1898) libretto by Alexander Pushkin, staged, with piano accompaniment

Sacred + Profane: Songs & Ephemera of Mozart and Salieri (recital)

August 25m

Performed by members of dell'Arte ensemble and cover artists, accompanied by dell'Arte musical staff.

Location
Ellen Stewart Theatre at La MaMa Theatre, 66 East 4th Street, New York, NY, Train: 4/5/6/ to Astor Place, F to 2nd Avenue

Performance Start Times

Evenings at 7:30 p.m. | Matinees at 2:00 p.m. | August 11-26, 2018

Tickets
General $26-$46. Festival Discounts Available. To purchase, visit dellarteopera.org or call 1.800.838.3006. Tickets on sale now.

*dell'Arte debut

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