Barbara Landis has enjoyed the genius of the late Gian Carlo Menotti for many years, and with his passing this year felt moved to present some of his signature works in a moving tribute to the much loved composer and maestro of the modern world.  Gian Carlo Menotti began the Spoleto Festival in 1958
with a vision of a Christopher Columbus (Cristival Colon) of
culture.  Francis Menotti told us that his dad loved life and
had a passion for the arts.  Gian Carlo Menotti wanted North American talent to get a chance at appearing on the stage in
Europe and so he formed the Spoleto Festival, which branched into other countries-all with the aim of giving another voice and stage for the arts.  ("1958 gives way to the beginning of the Festival of Two Worlds, an event unique in its conception, spirit and criteria, embracing all aspects of the performing and figurative arts. It is the first festival of its kind in Italy and will remain the only one for many years to come.")

Chamber Opera Chicago
presents
A Brilliant Life, A Brilliant Night!
A Tribute to Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007)

Tickets at www.tix.com or
www.chamberoperachicago.org or call 312-951-7944

Featuring staged highlights from his most celebrated works
Directed by his son, Francis Menotti

Sung in English with Chamber Orchestra
with
Barbara Landis, mezzo-soprano
Christine Steyer, soprano
Franco Martorana, tenor
Anton Belov, baritone
Patrick Blackwell, bass
Victoria Bond, conductor

Saturday, October 13, 2007, 7:30 pm
Oak Park Arts Center
200 N. Oak Park Ave
Oak Park, IL

GENERAL ADMISSION SEATING
 Adults: $25    Seniors (65+) and Students (K-College*):  $20
(I.D. required at door)

Visit www.chamberoperachicago.org for tickets and theater directions.
Group discounts are also available.
If you have questions, please call 312-951-7944 for further information.

About A Tribute to Gian Carlo Menotti…
Spend a magical evening celebrating the life and music of one of the most prolific opera composers and librettists of his time, Gian Carlo Menotti, who passed away in February of 2007.  Best known for his holiday classic Amahl and the Night Visitors, his 25 operas also include The Medium, The Telephone, The Consul, and The Saint of Bleecker Street.  This two-time Pulitzer Prize winner’s simplicity of style and natural musicality, paired with an innate gift for storytelling, make his work both accessible and entertaining. 

Chamber Opera Chicago has been bringing innovative, top-quality opera in English to Chicago audiences for more than twenty years.  Known for highlighting Menotti’s works, the Chicago Tribune has called their shows “Riveting!”  This exciting Menotti showcase will feature director Francis Menotti, son of Gian Carlo and Artistic Director of the famous Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy, and conductor Victoria Bond, a lecturer for the New York Philharmonic and familiar face to Chamber Opera Chicago audiences.  Chamber Opera Chicago's tribute to this legend is sure to captivate you...whether you are new to opera, a long time devotee, or someone who just loves the theatre!

“Menotti…has left an indelible mark on American music.”
- William Mason, Lyric Opera of Chicago

“…human drama and first rate theatre…written from the heart.” 
New York Times

CHAMBER OPERA CHICAGO PRESENTS

A BRILLIANT LIFE, A BRILLIANT NIGHT!

A TRIBUTE TO GIAN CARLO MENOTTI

October 13, 2007

Chicago, IL – Chamber Opera Chicago begins its 2007-08 Season with A Brilliant Life, A Brilliant Night! A Tribute to Gian Carlo Menotti, celebrating one of the most acclaimed and prolific opera composers and librettists of his time.  Gian Carlo Menotti passed away in February of 2007; his son, Francis Menotti, will direct the production, utilizing much of his father’s original staging. October 13 at the Oak Park Arts Center, 200 N. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park.

Best known for his holiday classic Amahl and the Night Visitors, this two-time Pulitzer Prize winner's simplicity of style and natural musicality, paired with an innate gift for storytelling, make his work both accessible and entertaining for both experienced opera-goers and novices.  A Brilliant Life, A Brilliant Night will showcase highlights from eleven of Menotti’s best loved operas including The Telephone, The Medium, The Old Maid and the Thief, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Consul, Amelia Goes to the Ball, The Saint of Bleecker Street, Help, Help, the Globolinks!, Goya, The Last Savage, and Maria Golovin and will be sung in English with a live Chamber Orchestra conducted by Victoria Bond.

“My father hoped that through study and understanding a little more, he might find a sign or some answer as to why we are all here, and why we do what we do,” writes director Francis Menotti.  “Since his death, his music sounds stronger and more complete.  It takes on a new power.  Its magic survives human frailty and as his gift, lives on.  It has an inevitability to it that he always believed was a necessary element in any work of art – a sense that it couldn’t have been any other way.”

 “The genius of Gian Carlo Menotti captured my attention when I was preparing the role of Baba in The Medium at the Spoleto Festival in Italy,” says Chamber Opera Chicago Artistic Director Barbara Landis.  “He had such a remarkable talent for creating characters that were larger than life with his music and text, leaving his audiences amazingly fulfilled.  He uniquely blends music with a riveting theatrical experience, deeply capturing life and drama in opera by creating orchestral scores and musical vocabulary that weave true magic into the experience.  These performances will showcase those same Menotti gifts, as we honor this great artist and man who has allowed his audiences, as the New York Times noted, to experience ‘opera …written from the heart, with a blazing sincerity and passion of human understanding.’”

The cast of A Brilliant Life, A Brilliant Night features more than thirty professional singers, including Anton Belov, Patrick Blackwell, Barbara Landis, Franco Martorana, Christine Steyer. The performance will be conducted by Victoria Bond.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for Seniors (65+) and Students with a valid ID and are available by phone at 312-951-7944 or online at www.chamberoperachicago.org.

All curtain times are at 7:30pm.

A complimentary preview performance, featuring select excepts accompanied by piano, will be performed October 1, at 7:00 pm at the Chicago Cultural Center, Claudia Cassidy Theater (78 E. Washington St. and 77 E. Randolph St., Chicago, IL).  A pre-performance discussion with director Francis Menotti and conductor Victoria Bond, moderated by Richard Covello, will be held at 6:30pm.  No tickets or reservations are required.

Company Bios

FRANCIS MENOTTI (stage director) was born in Philadelphia and studied at the Goodman Theater in Chicago.  He perfected his craft with Lee Strasberg in New York and began his career with the American Shakespeare Festival in New York.  He has interpreted roles ranging from the opera works of Gian Carlo Menotti (and is famous for his portrayal of Toby in The Medium) to the narrator in both Beethoven’s Egmont in the Alice Tully Hall in New York and Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon at the Charleston Festival.  Following in the footsteps of his adoptive father, Gian Carlo, Francis Menotti took over much of the responsibility for the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy and became its Artistic Director in 1999.  The festival has been revitalized thanks to his spectacular artistic choices, and he has also made artistic contributions to more than 52 festivals throughout the United States, Italy and Australia.  In February 2007, he directed a very successful, critically acclaimed production of The Medium with the Monte Carlo Opera.

ANTON BELOV  (featured guest artist - baritone) is quickly earning recognition from audiences and critics alike.  “A performance of great emotional honesty; singing straight from the heart”, exclaimed Opera News.  “A voluminous sound, appealing stage presence and a tone of rich vibrancy that remained consistent at all dynamic levels,” raved the Washington Post.  Mr. Belov is the first-place winner of eight vocal competitions including the George London Competition, Licia Albanese—Puccini Foundation International Competition, and Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Eastern Regional Winner) as well as the second-place winner of Classical Singer Magazine Competition.  Mr. Belov’s recent operatic performances include the title role in Delaware Opera’s production of Don Giovanni, Masetto with Boston Baroque, John Sorel in The Consul (Menotti) with Opera Boston and Chamber Opera of Chicago, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and Ping in Turandot with the New Jersey Opera Theater, Malatesta in Don Pasquale with Opera Providence and Elijah with Worcester Festival Chorus.  His upcoming engagements include the roles of Escamillo with Opera by the Bays and the Cape Cod Opera, and Count di Luna with the Anchorage Opera. 

BARBARA LANDIS (mezzo-soprano) received critical praise for her portrayal of Baba in Gian Carlo Menotti’s opera The Medium with Chamber Opera Chicago in 2005.  She also covered and studied the role of Baba with the composer at the 2002 Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy.  Ms. Landis can be heard on Cedelle Records’ The Medium starring Joyce Castle with Chicago Opera Theater.  In 2003, she sang in recitals at the Spoleto Festival and then in 2004 in Modena, Italy.  She has sung roles with Komische Oper München (Munich Comic Opera) in Germany and while studying at the Britten-Pears School in England, she sang the role of Lucretia (The Rape of Lucretia), which was taped for broadcast by the BBC.  Barbara has also specialized in roles with a Spanish flair.  She has performed the role of Carmen with numerous opera companies including Opera North Theater, American Opera Group, in San Francisco with the Golden Gate Opera and the San Francisco Lyric, and in concert with the National Symphony Orchestra in the Dominican Republic.  Other roles for which she has received critical acclaim include Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and Mad Margaret in Ruddigore with Light Opera Works, Azucena in Il Trovatore with da Corneto Opera in Chicago, and the Secretary in Chamber Opera Chicago’s production of The Consul.  In December 2006, she appeared as Katisha in The Mikado with Light Opera Works.

PATRICK BLACKWELL (bass-baritone) A house singer with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, he made his debut there in 1997 as Burnah in the highly acclaimed world premiere of Anthony Davis’ Amistad.  He has since returned to Lyric as Henry Davis in its premiere of Street Scene, as Cal in Regina and the Duke of Verona in Romeo et Juliette.  He made his New York City Opera debut singing the roles of Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata and Colline in La Bohème.  Among his other notable portrayals are Leporello in Don Giovanni, Zuniga and Morales in Carmen, and Baron Duphol in La Traviata.  He has performed with companies including the New Jersey State Opera, Florentine Opera, Augusta Opera, Western Opera Theatre, and Fort Worth Opera.  Mr. Blackwell made his Carnegie Hall debut as the bass soloist in Earnestine Rogers Robinson’s Crucifixion.  He also has credits in musical theater, cast as Joe in Showboat with Rockwell Productions and with LiveEnt in Vancouver, Canada, where he was an ensemble member and covered that role.  Mr. Blackwell began his career as a young artist with the Santa Fe Opera, Houston Opera Studio, the Merola Opera Program, Opera Music Theatre International with Jerome Hines, and the Aspen Opera Theatre Center.

CHRISTINE STEYER (soprano) was recently awarded the Founders’ Award at the IX Altamura/Caruso International Voice Competition and 1st place in the 2006 National Opera Association Competition.  She has been highly praised for her rich tone, superb artistry and charisma and was featured in the December issue of Classical Singer magazine.  In 2007 she made her Tulsa Opera debut as Frasquita in Carmen and also performed the role of Abigail in The Crucible with Chamber Opera Chicago and Violetta in Bellissima Opera's La Traviata.  Next year she will return to Tulsa Opera to sing Pamina in The Magic Flute.  She has performed roles with Lyric Opera of Chicago in Street Scene, Sweeney Todd, Cunning Little Vixen and Manon Lescaut.

Native Italian FRANCO MARTORANA (tenor) made his operatic debut as Alfredo in Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus with Lincoln Opera and then sang Camille in The Merry Widow and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly.  Shortly after, he sang Pinkerton again in Germany to glowing reviews.  With Lyric Opera of Chicago, Mr. Martorana sang the Messenger in Aida and at the Opera Theatre of Humbach, Germany, the roles of Alfredo in La Traviata
and Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana.  He also recently sang the role of Alfredo in Bellissima Opera's La Traviata and Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly.  Mr. Martorana has made a specialty of the songs of Francesco Paulo Tosti.  The renowned opera coach, Ubaldo Gardini, said that his interpretation of these songs was on a level with Bergonzi and Di Stefano.

CHAMBER OPERA CHICAGO is a professional not-for-profit opera company devoted to presenting operas in English in intimate settings and providing performance opportunities for Chicago-area singers.  The Chamber Opera Chicago Orchestra is distinguished by top orchestral players and first-rate conductors, and has been highly praised by both critics and audience members alike.  With award-winning designers and acclaimed directors from around the world, audiences can expect high quality, innovative productions that bring opera to life.