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Pocket Opera's 2005 Season will open February 27
and run through July 24
with performances in San Francisco at
the Florence Gould Theater in the the Palace of the Legion of Honor,
the Presentation Theatre (formerly the Gershwin Theatre),
the Randall Museum Theater,
the Montgomery Theatre in San Jose,
the Napa Valley Opera House in Napa,
and the Ralston Ballroom, Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont.
All operas will be sung in English with narration by Donald Pippin.
Donald Pippin's English libretti will be available for each of the season's operas.
They may be purchased at performances, or ordered in advance by mail from Pocket Opera.
After growing up in poverty, Anna Glavari has inherited a vast fortune that has made her the richest woman in Europe.
Setting out to see the world and to enjoy her newly acquired wealth,
already known as the merry widow,
she has taken Paris by storm -- a conquest that she does not atttribute entirely
to her charm and beauty.
Here quite by chance, she comes across an old flame -- in fact, the love of her life.
The sudden collapse of their passionate romance has left them both somewhat embittered.
At the outset, they make it clear that “the past is over, the rift beyond repair.
The second chance never comes again.”
But bear in mind, this is Act one, scene one.
During the course of this glorious, waltz strewn operetta,
probably the most beloved of all operettas,
the two learn a good deal more about each other.
Who could guess the outcome?
Debra Lambert, director. With Jane Hammett, Fabienne Wood, Mark Hernandez,
Patrick Leveque, Will Meyer.
Handel’s one and only opera in English tells the comical
yet ultimately moving story of adorable Semele,
who pays dearly for her beauty, her vanity, and her ambition.
Beloved by Jupiter, she is goaded on by jealous Juno to demand her own
destruction by overreaching, by insisting that the god reveal himself to her
in all his Olympian splendor -- a sight too overwhelming for mortal eyes.
She is consumed by celestial fire, but all is not lost.
The phoenix emerges from the flames.
Semele contains some of Handel’s most sublimely beautiful arias,
such as “Where’ere you walk” and “O sleep, why dost thou leave me?”
as well as some of the most charmingly delightful: “Myself I shall adore”
and “Endless pleasure, endless love.”
With Bharati Soman, Lisa Van der Ploeg, Roger McCracken, Brian Thorsett.
Lucrezia Borgia’s life has been steeped in cruelty and violence, where she has been both victim and perpetrator. Born into a nest of scorpians and vipers, she has been subjected to rape and incest, to treachery and betrayal.
She has witnessed, one after another, the murder of those dear to her. From this sordid, turbulent past she has emerged hardened, embittered and reckless, yet blessed by one single precious saving grace -- a son that she bore in secluded secrecy, whom she managed to rescue from the poisonous fangs of his predatory relatives only by secreting him away, by denying his very existence, and concealing his identity even from himself.
And by keeping a watchful though distant eye on him for twenty anxious, lonely years, allowing herself not even the luxury of the briefest encounter.
It is precisely this opportunity that has now drawn her to Venice . . .
Andrew Morgan, director. With Ellen Kerrigan, Elspeth Franks, Katherine Growdon,
Todd Donovan, Brian Thorsett.
Strange things are going on in the land of the all-powerful Queen of the Night. For one thing, there seems to be a dragon on the loose. And heaven help the poor innocent person who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
But this is only the beginning for Prince Tamino. Called to the rescue of the Queen’s beautiful daughter who has been mysteriously abducted, he faces arduous tests to prove that he is worthy of the prize. Assisted by a magic flute, his mission takes unexpected turns and surmounts unimagined perils before reaching its radiant conclusion.
Dianna Shuster, director. With Desiree Earle, Jorge Garza, Erina Newkirk,
Jason Sarton, Sarah Viola, Roger McCracken, Michael Mendelsohn.
Pocket Opera Premiere
The first of Verdi’s three operas inspired by Shakespeare (along with Otello and Falstaff) , it’s all there -- the three witches with their accurate but misleading prophecies, the harrowing murder of King Duncan, Macbeth’s desperate descent into a reign of terror, the disconcerting appearance of Banquo’s ghost at a supper party, Lady Macbeth’s battle with her conscience as she walks in her sleep, Mac-beth’s ultimate confrontation with Macduff, which restores sanity and order to a traumatized nation.
A gripping tale vividly illuminated in Verdi’s magnificent music.
Rick Dougherty, director. With Shouvik Mondle, Marcelle Dronkers, Percy Martinez.
Venice! City of water, city of dreams, the most romantic spot on the face of the earth -- until Offenbach comes along and all hell breaks loose.
The doge is away, supposedly leading his navy into battle. His young, beautiful wife, having found true love at last in the arms of a handsome young page, is in turn at the mercy of the malevolent Malatromba, as black as villain as one would ever hope not to run into. But even he has a softer side:
Though I have been
A rat now and then,
One look of love,
I’d coo like a dove . . .
How will it sort out when her husband returns, no war hero indeed, but a fugitive from the law, prudently disguising himself as a homeless beggar? You may be sure that the outcome is not one that any sane person would predict. Offenbach in top form!
Eileen Morris, director. With Sonia Gariaeff, Sarah Viola, Mark Hernandez,
Michael Mendelsohn, Andrew Morgan, Wayne D. Wong.
* This performance is presented as a pay-what-you-can opportunity for at-door sales on performance day, May 29.
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