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Music by Giuseppe
Verdi
First
performed in Paris, 1866 in French in Five Acts
Later produced in Milan, 1883 in Italian in Four Acts
April 30th, 2010 - 7:30pm
May 1st, 2010 - 7:30pm
Directions to Theater
Click here for a Plot Summary
DON CARLO is possibly the most intense, deep, nuanced, rich, and masterful work of the “mature” Giuseppe Verdi, an extensive and monumental showcase of everything Verdi. It is also the Verdi opera that exists in the most number of versions. The version of this “Grand Opera” is the 1884 Four Acts version that Verdi reduced and changed into Italian from the original 1867 Five Acts version in French.
The story is based on conflicts in the life of Carlos, Prince of Asturias, after his betrothed Elisabeth of Valois was married instead to his father Philip II of Spain as part of the peace treaty ending the Italian War of 1551-1559 between the Houses of Habsburg and Valois.
Cast
Filippo, King of Spain Jonathan SilviaDon Carlo, Infante of Spain Stuart Lutzenhiser
Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa Glenn Guhr
The Grand Inquisitor Michael Drumheller
Elisabeth of Valois Janeanne Houston
Princess Eboli Beth Madsen Bradford
A monk Benjamin Harris
Tebaldo, page to Elisabeth Lucy Webber
A Voice from Heaven Kim Giordano
The Count of Lerma Lance Zielinski
Jonathan Silvia
Jonathan Silvia debuted on Seattle Opera’s mainstage in 2009, as Marchese d’Obigny in Traviata. He has been a regular member in the Seattle Opera Chorus for three years. Other opera credits include the title role in Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro with Kitsap Opera, Baron Douphol and Dottore Grenvil in Verdi’s Traviata with Skagit Opera and Lyric Opera Northwest, Sam in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti with Tacoma Opera, and Benoit/Alcindoro in Bohème with Vashon Opera’s inaugural season. His Bellevue Opera performances include Luther/Crespel in Offenbach’s Tales of Hoffmann, Alidoro in Rossini’s Cenerentola and Colline in Puccini’s Bohème.
Stuart Lutzenhiser
Stuart Lutzenhiser, tenor, hails from Seattle and is a frequent soloist arts organizations around the Northwest. He has appeared with Tacoma Opera, North Bay Opera, the renowned Pocket Opera of San Francisco, Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Vancouver Opera and as far as Maracaibo, Venezuela. A regular with local symphonies and choral groups, he has performed with the Yakima Symphony, Thalia Philharmonic, Milwaukee Symphony, Whatcom Symphony, Bremerton Symphony and can be heard on the Seattle Pro Musica recording of the Rachmaninov Vespers. Mr. Lutzenhiser holds a Masters Degree from Indiana University where he was also awarded a Performer's Certificate as an outstanding recitalist. An advocate of contemporary, he has performed the world premieres of Corigliano's Of Rage and Remembrance and McGary's St. Mark's Passion. In addition to his skills as a singer, Stuart is also the General Director of Bellevue Opera.
Glenn Guhr
Equally at home in everything from Shakespeare to Sondheim and Monteverdi to Verdi, baritone Glenn Guhr has always prided himself on his versatility. He has appeared in operas, operettas, musicals, plays, and film with such companies as the Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle Opera, Seattle Early Music Guild, Tacoma Opera, The St. Louis Shakespeare Company, Theatre Factory St. Louis, and the History Channel. In the first four months of 2010, Mr. Guhr has or will appear in five different stage productions with Seattle Opera, the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program, Black Box Opera Theatre, and Bellevue Opera, as well as singing in several concerts and recitals. Don Carlo marks Mr. Guhr’s fifth show with Bellevue Opera: Rigoletto (title role), La Bohème (Marcello), La Traviata (Germont), Die Fledermaus (Falke), and The Magic Flute (director).
Michael DrumhellerMichael Drumheller is originally from Richland, Washington. A favorite baritone in the Pacific Northwest classical music scene, he has been a soloist with Seattle Symphony, Orchestra Seattle, Music of Remembrance, Seattle Opera Previews, Boston Lyric Opera, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Philharmonic, Longwood Opera, and many other organizations. As a recitalist, he is especially interested in Russian art song and opera, and recently gave a recital of Russian repertoire at the Icicle Creek Music Festival in Leavenworth. He has performed under the batons of renowned conductors such as Gerard Schwarz, Leonard Slatkin, and Robert Spano. Mr. Drumheller holds a Master of Music degree from Boston University, where he was a student of the singer and teacher Phyllis Curtin. He is an alumnus of the Tanglewood Music Center and holds BS and MS degrees from MIT. His diverse musical background includes playing tympani in symphony orchestras and drumming and singing for his own original rock band. Mr. Drumheller has been a featured performer in many productions of the late, distinguished Northwest conductor Hans Wolf. He regularly volunteers as a soloist for Northwest Chorale, which raises money for the Northwest Harvest Food Bank.
Janeanne HoustonAmerican soprano Janeanne Houston is a
versatile performer, and one of the Northwest region’s busiest
artists. Her extensive repertoire spans the Baroque era to the
present. On the opera stage, she has sung the roles of Konstanze in
Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Susanna and the
Countessa Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Violetta in
La Traviata, Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites
and Micaela in Carmen. This year she adds the role of
Elisabetta in Don Carlo. On the concert stage, she has
performed symphonies of Mahler, Rachmaninov, Beethoven, orchestrated
songs of Richard Strauss, and Stravinsky’s Les Noces.
She has sung most of the major choral works, and has frequently sung
performances of Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in C-Minor,
Carmina Burana, and Brahms’ Ein Deutches Requiem to
name a few. Her interest in recital work and contemporary
music led to recordings of many world premieres by American
composers, and to a Naxos release of a symphonic work for soprano by
Beth Madsen Bradford's roles include Carmen (Carmen), The Witch (Hänsel und Gretel), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Mrs. Peachum (The Beggar’s Opera), Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro), The Old Lady (Candide), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Berta (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Little Buttercup (H.M.S. Pinafore), Ruth (Pirates of Penzance) and Dame Hannah (Ruddigore). Concert credits include Verdi’s Requiem, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, Mozart's Requiem, Bach’s Magnificat and St. John Passion, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, and Handel's Messiah. Beth has appeared with Portland Opera, Oregon Symphony, Aspen Opera Theater, Juneau Symphony, Opera Theater Oregon, Tacoma Opera, Skagit Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera, among others. Originally from Mt. Vernon, Washington, she now resides in Portland with her husband, Tyler, and their son, Nathaniel.
Benjamin Harris
Baritone Benjamin Harris has been seen all across the pacific northwest on both opera and concert stages. Most recently he appeared with N.O.I.S.E as Ben in Menotti's The Telephone. Future engagements include Miller in Luisa Miller with Puget Sound Opera and Germont pere in La Traviata with Rogue Opera. Benjamin has been seen frequently with Tacoma Opera where his credit include Biscroma in Viva la Mamma, Baron Douphol in La Traviata, Marullo in Rigoletto, Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro, The Bonze and Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, and the Jailor in Tosca. Other opera roles include the Cold Genius in King Arthur with Seattle Academy of Baroque Opera, Grandpa Moss in the Tender Land with Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Giorgio Germont in La Traviata with Oberlin in Italy, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti with Prague Music Festival, Sarastro in Die Zauberflote with Bayview Music Festival, and Angelotti in Tosca and Marullo in Rigoletto with Ardamore Chamber Orchestra. While pursuing his music degree at Pacific Lutheran University Benjamin was seen performing Caronte in L'Orfeo, Betto in Gianni Schicchi, Papageno in Die Zauberflote, the Sergeant of Police in Pirates of Penzance, and was heard in concert with PLU Symphony Orchestra in Orff's Carmina Burana, and Verdi's Requiem. Other concert work includes Handel's Messiah, and Orff Carmina Burana with Rogue Valley Symphony. Benjamin is currently a resident of Poulsbo Washington and is continuing his studies with Jane Eaglen.
Lucy WebberLucy Weber makes her Bellevue Opera debut with these performances. Lucy’s most recent roles include Siebel in Tacoma Opera’s production of Faust. Lucy is a former Tacoma Opera young artist. Lucy is a University of Washington graduate where she performed the roles of Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Anna I in the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Wife in Passatieri’s The Women. Lucy has performed with the Ohio Light Opera and has studied at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.
Kim GiordanoKnown for her versatility and interpretation, soprano Kimberly Giordano is equally in demand for opera and concert performances. She has appeared in the northwest with Seattle Opera, Tacoma Opera and Bellevue Opera in many roles including The Confidante in Elektra (Seattle Opera debut), Marguerite in Faust and Micaela in Carmen. She made her Carnegie Hall debut as the soloist for Vaughan Williams' Dona nobis pacem with the New England Symphonic Ensemble. Her contemporary roles include Kelly in the west coast premiere of John Duffy's Black Water at Off-Center Opera (with libretto by Joyce Carol Oates) and Rosalba in Catan's Florencia en al Amazonas for the Seattle Opera Guild. Ms. Giordano holds a Master of Music in Voice from the University of Washington and a BFA in Music Theatre from Illinois Wesleyan University, with additional training at the Aspen Opera Theater Center and Lyric Opera Cleveland.
Lance Zielinski
Lance is honored to be in his 4th performance with Bellevue Opera. Previous roles with the company include chorus in The Magic Flute, Andrés in Carmen, and Spoletta in Tosca. Lance has also performed various roles with other theater and opera companies in the area, including Seattle Opera (chorus/Götterdammerung), Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society(chorus/Mikado), Seattle Musical Theater(Mr. Brockelhurst\Jane Eyre, Lewis Morris\1776), Microsoft Theater Troupe (Mr. Mushnik\Little Shop of Horrors), and Manestage Theatre (Chester Drawers\Beauty and the Beast). Lance would like to thank his wife Kelli for her continued love and support as he chases his dreams, Paul Linness for his excellent vocal instruction, and the Lutzenhiser family for opening doors to so many opportunities.