MEDIA CONTACT: Judy Moore at (847) 491-4819 or jkm229@northwestern.edu

October 21, 2002

Opera Season Opens in November

EVANSTON, Ill. --- The Northwestern University School of Music’s 2003-04 Opera and Vocal Master Class Season (Nov. 14-May 22) will feature a series of operas by composers Gustav Holst, Giuseppe Verdi and Mark Adamo plus two master class workshops conducted by influential American vocalists.

All of the events will be held at various locations on the Evanston campus, as noted below.

The four operas -- composed throughout the last 110 years and depicting subjects from adultery in 13th century France or death in ancient India to sisterly love in Civil War-era New England -- will be directed by Noel Koran, Northwestern’s director of opera, or as noted below, and conducted by music faculty member Frederick Ockwell or opera coach Richard Boldrey.

A series subscription to the three opera performances is $43 for the general public, $38 for senior citizens or Northwestern faculty and staff, and $16.50 for full-time students. Prices for single opera tickets and master classes are listed below.

The fall opera season will open with two fully staged one-act operas by Holst, which will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov 14 and Saturday, Nov 15, at Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place. Directed by undergraduate opera techniques instructor Rachael Gates, the opera “Savitri” was influenced by epic theatre and the ancient Hindu text “The Mahabharata.” It tells the story of a heroic woman who uses her wit and intellect to save her husband’s life. Holst’s final opera, “The Wandering Scholar” is a lusty frolic about a poor scholar in 13th century France who foils the romantic escapades of a cunning priest and an unfaithful housewife. Noel Koran, Northwestern’s director of opera, will direct this performance. Both operas will be performed in English. Single tickets range in price from $5.50 to $12.

Verdi’s opera “Falstaff” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 through Saturday, Feb. 28 and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 23, at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson Street. “Falstaff” was Verdi’s final gift to the stage and his only comic opera. It fulfilled his ambition of setting Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor” to music. It tells the story of the larcenous Sir John Falstaff as he plots to rob two gentlemen of their purses and their wives, setting off a hilarious chain of events as lies and deceit quickly unravel. The performance will be directed by Noel Koran and performed in Italian with English supertitles. Single tickets are priced from $5.50 to $22.

Louisa May Alcott’s classic novel will be presented in an entirely new way -- through the eyes and ears of composer Mark Adamo -- at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 21 and Saturday, May 22, at Cahn Auditorium. Set in New England in the midst of the Civil War, the classic tale of the four March sisters and their lessons on familial love will be brought to life during this upcoming performance directed by Noel Koran. Since its 1998 premiere, the opera “Little Women” has been widely produced and broadcast nationwide, and hailed by critics as “a joy in every way.” Performances will be in English with English supertitles. Single ticket prices range from $5.50 to $20.

Two vocal master classes will be held on a Tuesday evening in Lutkin Hall, 700 University Place. Single tickets for each of the master class workshops range in price from $3.50 to $6.50.

Julianne Baird, professor of music at Rutgers University and an acclaimed soprano, will present the first master class of the season at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10. Baird has been hailed as “one of the most extraordinary voices in the service of early music that this generation has produced,” and specializes in baroque opera and oratorio. Baird has more than 100 recordings to her credit, and has appeared as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra and other orchestras.

On May 4, Julius Rudel, one of America’s most celebrated conductors and opera administrators, will present the final master class for the 2003-04 season. Rudel served as music director of the New York City Opera and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and was the first music director of Washington’s Kennedy Center. He has worked with the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Berlin’s Deutsche Oper, and his many recordings include a Grammy Award-winner and seven Grammy nominations.

To order a 2003-04 opera subscription series or single tickets to any opera or master class by phone, call (847) 467-4000.