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Handel's Xerxes

Presented by Houston Grand Opera at Wortham Theater Center - Brown Theater

April 30-May 14, 2010

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HGO closes its 2009-2010 season with Nicholas Hytner's extraordinary Laurence Olivier Award-winning production of Handel’s Xerxes. Praised by The Guardian as “London's most successful Handel opera staging ever” and as “a revelation” by the London Times, this production features a star-studded cast of the world’s most accomplished Handelians.

Susan Graham, dubbed “America’s favorite mezzo” by Gramophone Magazine sings the tyrannical and flamboyant Xerxes. "Susan Graham has for the better part of a decade impressed audiences with her creamy singing and chiseled characterizations..." wrote The New York Times.

Laura Claycomb, who mesmerized audiences as Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (2009), sings the role of his love interest Romilda. The London Financial Times called Ms. Claycomb “superb professional, infinitely artful of voice and broad of gesture: an American diva to the core, with a showbiz knack for grabbing her audience's complicitous approval,” and Opera Magazine hailed her “rounded, sweet, almost angelic soprano.”

David Daniels, whom the Chicago Tribune acclaims as “today’s hottest countertenor” and a “bedrock of impeccable musicality,” appears as Xerxes’s brother Arsamenes, who is also in love with Romilda. Powerhouse Italian contralto Sonia Prina makes her HGO debut as Amastre and HGO studio alumna Heidi Stober, last seen at HGO as Blonde in Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio (2007), returns to sing Atalanta. Philip Cutlip, who sang the role of Donald in Britten’s Billy Budd (2008), is Ariodates and HGO Studio Artist Adam Cioffari sings the role of Elviro.

William Lacey returns to Houston to conduct Xerxes, which he has previously led for Cologne Opera. Director Michael Walling revives Hytner’s original staging.

Xerxes opens on Friday, April 30, 2010 at 7:30 p.m. in the Brown Theater at the Wortham Theater Center. Additional performances continue through May 14, 2010 with curtain time at 7:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. for Sunday matinees. Xerxes will be performed in Italian with English supertitles.

About the Artists:
William Lacey—Conductor
London native William Lacey’s previous engagements at HGO include Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea and Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio. He has also conducted at many of the other leading North American opera companies, including San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, New York City Opera, Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, Santa Fe Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera. His most recent U.S. appearance was Handel's Tamerlano with Plácido Domingo in Los Angeles. Recent operatic projects in Europe include Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman and Verdi’s Nabucco at the Netherlands Reisopera; Beethoven’s Fidelio, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Mozart’s Idomeneo for Birmingham Opera Company; Dallapiccola’s Il Prigioniero and Falla’s La vida breve at the Greek National Opera; Chabrier’s Le roi malgré lui in Paris; and repertoire performances in Graz, Braunschweig and Leipzig. He has conducted orchestral concerts throughout Western Europe. Mr. Lacey’s future engagements include his debuts at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Norwegian National Opera, and the Royal Swedish Opera, as well as a return to Washington National Opera for Gluck's Iphigénie en Tauride, featuring Patricia Racette and Plácido Domingo.

Michael Walling—Revival Director
Director Michael Walling makes his Houston Grand Opera debut with Handel’s Xerxes this spring. He has led revival performances of Nicholas Hytner’s acclaimed production at English National Opera. Walling’s other opera credits include Adams’s Nixon in China at Greek National Opera and Puccini’s La bohème and Wagner’s Die Walküre at English National Opera.

Nicholas Hytner—Original Director
Nicholas Hytner directed the 1989 production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare at HGO—a production that was also seen at Paris Opera and the Ambronay Festival in France. Winner of two Laurence Olivier Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, the London Critics Circle Award, a Drama Desk Award and a Tony Award, he has established himself internationally as a leading director of theater, opera and feature films. His numerous opera productions have been seen at major opera houses and festivals around the world. Notable credits include the Mozart operas Così fan tutte and La clemenza di Tito for the Glyndebourne Festival, The Magic Flute at English National Opera, Don Giovanni at Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and Le Nozze di Figaro at the Teatro Regio in Turin, Geneva Opera and Strasburg Opera. His production of Verdi’s Don Carlos has been seen at Royal Opera, Covent Garden and Norwegian National Opera, and will be presented this fall by the Metropolitan Opera. Mr. Hytner has served as associate director of the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England, where he directed Shakespeare's As You Like It, Marlowe’s Edward II, Schiller’s Don Carlos, Wycherley’s The Country Wife and Robin Glendinning’s Mumbo Jumbo. His film The Madness of King George received the Alexandra Korda BAFTA for Best British Film and the Evening Standard’s Best Film Award. It was also nominated for the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme D'Or. Mr. Hytner was named Director of London’s Royal National Theatre in 2003.

David Fielding—Set and Costume Designer
David Fielding’s designs for Xerxes garnered critical acclaim upon the production’s premiere at English National Opera and during subsequent revivals at ENO, Lyric Opera of Chicago, New York City Opera, and San Francisco Opera. Mr. Fielding has designed an extensive repertory of operatic productions for major opera houses in the U.S., Europe and Asia. In addition to the 1989 production of Handel’s Giulio Cesare at HGO, he designed the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Richard Strauss’s Die Ägyptische Helena by Richard Strauss and Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Weill’s Street Scene. Other notable credits include Handel’s Julius Caesar at Paris Opera and the Ambronay Festival in France; Wagner’s Ring cycle at the New National Theatre in Tokyo; Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra at Greek National Opera; Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust at the Cottbus State Theater; Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito for the Glyndebourne Festival; Verdi’s Otello for the Monschau Festival and Wagner’s Tannhäuser at the U.K.’s Opera North. He has also designed productions of Richard Strauss’s Intermezzo and Arabella, Prokofiev’s The Gambler and The Enchantress, Massenet’s Thaïs, and Cavalli’s Eliogabalo. Grange Park Opera in the U.K. will present his production of Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges this summer.

Paul Pyant—Lighting Designer
British native Paul Pyant has designed lighting for ten productions at Houston Grand Opera since 1989, including last season’s productions of Verdi’s Rigoletto and Brief Encounter by André Previn. Other Houston Grand Opera credits include Verdi’s Don Carlo as well as Wagner’s Tannhäuser and Der Fliegende Holländer. He is a graduate and associate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has enjoyed long associations with the Glyndebourne Festival; English National Opera; Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Royal National Theatre; English National Ballet; and Northern Ballet Theatre. He collaborated with director John Caird on A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, Sweden. His other theater credits include productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Donmar Warehouse, and the West End Theatre. Broadway productions have included Peter Hall’s production of Orpheus Descending by Tennessee Williams, which earned him a Tony Award nomination in the category of best lighting, and most recently Sophocles’s Electra by director David Leveaux.

Priscilla Nathan Murphy—Choreographer
Priscilla Nathan Murphy has choreographed and danced in numerous productions at Houston Grand Opera since 1994, and has led movement classes for the artists of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. She is movement director for concurrent HGO production of The Queen of Spades this spring. Ms. Murphy currently serves as principal of the Lower School at Houston Ballet – Ben Stevenson Academy, where she is also the principal modern [dance] instructor. She has taught creative movement, classical ballet and modern dance in the school’s pre-professional and professional divisions since 1985. She has choreographed more than forty pieces for companies and festivals including the Houston Ballet II, Hubbard Street II and Houston Metropolitan Dance Company. She has also commisioned works for Texas Contemporary Dance Festival, Sandra Organ Dance Company, Chrysalis Repertory Dance Company, New Dance Group, Pink Ribbons, DiverseWorks, Houston Dance Coalition, Houston International Festival, Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth, International Quilters Festival with Houston Community College and other local companies and groups. A native of Singapore, Ms. Nathan Murphy has enjoyed an active career as a dancer, appearing on the stages of major dance and opera companies in the U.S. and Singapore.

Richard Bado—Chorus Master
Richard Bado has been Houston Grand Opera’s chorus master since 1988. He made his professional conducting debut in 1989 leading Houston Grand Opera’s acclaimed production of Show Boat at the newly restored Cairo Opera House in Egypt. Since then, Mr. Bado has conducted at Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, the Aspen Music Festival, the Tulsa Opera, the Russian National Orchestra, the Florida Philharmonic, the Montreal Symphony, Wolf Trap Opera, Houston Ballet, and the Edinburgh Festival. Mr. Bado performs recitals with Renée Fleming and has also accompanied Cecilia Bartoli, Frederica von Stade, Denyce Graves, Susan Graham, Marcello Giordani, Ramón Vargas, Samuel Ramey and Nathan Gunn. Mr. Bado, holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music, where he received the 2000 Alumni Achievement Award and West Virginia University, and has studied advanced choral conducting with Robert Shaw. This season marks Mr. Bado’s fifth year as director of the Opera Studies Program at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He has been on the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School for sixteen summers and has served on the music staff of the Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Australia, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera and Wolf Trap Opera. Mr. Bado regularly judges for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and served as Houston Grand Opera’s Head of Music Staff for fourteen seasons.

Susan Graham—Xerxes
Susan Graham made her HGO debut in 2002 in the title role of Handel’s Ariodante, a role she reprised to great acclaim in San Francisco in 2008. The mezzo-soprano’s numerous Houston Grand Opera credits include Poppea in Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea and Idamante in Mozart’s Idomeneo. She will appear here next season as the Composer in Richard Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos. The Texas native was given the title Commandeur dans l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government. A Grammy award–winning recording artist, she was named “America’s Favorite Mezzo” by Gramophone magazine. Her complete opera recordings range from Handel’s Alcina and Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride to Barber’s Vanessa and Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. Her recent engagements include Octavian in R. Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier at the Metropolitan Opera, Marguérite in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust at Lyric Opera of Chicago and a tour of California with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra as Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. She has collaborated with such renowned conductors as James Levine, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Zubin Mehta, Robert Spano, Christopher Hogwood, Antonio Pappano, William Christie and Kent Nagano among others. Next season she will appear at the Metropolitan Opera in the title role of Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride—a role she has performed to great acclaim at that
company and in London, Chicago and San Francisco.

David Daniels—Arsamene
Countertenor David Daniels was last heard at HGO as Nerone in The Coronation of Poppea, alongside Laura Claycomb. Earlier this season he appeared as Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice at Atlanta Opera, a role he will sing next season at the Metropolitan Opera under the direction of choreographer Mark Morris. Highlights of recent seasons include Bartarido in Handel’s Rodelinda at San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera; the title role of Monteverdi’s Orfeo at Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Met and Royal Opera, Covent Garden; the title role of Handel’s Orlando at Bavarian State Opera in Munich, and Didymus in Handel’s Theodora at the Glyndebourne Festival, directed by Peter Sellars and available on DVD from Kultur. He performed opposite tenor Plácido Domingo in the title role of Handel’s Tamerlano at Washington National Opera, a role he also sang at Bavarian State Opera in Munich. Other notable Handelian roles include the title role of Giulio Cesare at the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Glyndebourne Festival; Arsace in Partenope at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien and at Lyric Opera of Chicago; the title role of Radamisto with the Santa Fe Opera and David in Saul with Bavarian State Opera. He sang Ottone in Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea opposite mezzo-soprano Susan Graham at Los Angeles Opera. Upcoming engagements include Oberon in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Lichas in Handel’s Hercules at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Laura Claycomb—Rodelinda
Soprano Laura Claycomb garnered critical acclaim as Tytania in the Neil Armfield production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at HGO in 2009. She has also appeared here in the Donizetti roles of Marie in The Daughter of the Regiment and the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, and as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto and Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare. The Texas native made her debut at Teatro alla Scala in 1998 singing the title role in Donizetti’s Linda di Chamounix and at the Salzburg Festival in 1997 as Amanda in Ligeti’s Le grand macabre. Other notable credits include Countess Adèle in Rossini’s Le comte Ory in Lausanne, Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodante in Paris and Munich, Cunegonde in Bernstein’s Candide with Opera Pacific, Konstanze in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail at both Berlin State Opera and Flemish Opera and Olympia in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann and the title role of Handel’s Semele at Flemish Opera. She has recently appeared as Gilda at the Teatro Municipale Giuseppe Verdi in Salerno, Italy, a roles she will sing next season at the Dallas Opera. Next season she will also appear as Zerbinetta in HGO’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss.

Sonia Prina—Amastre
Italian contralto Sonia Prina makes her Houston Grand Opera debut in this production. Recent career highlights include the title role of Handel’s Orlando with Opera Australia in Sydney, Clarice in Rossini’s La pietra di Paragone at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, the title role of Handel’s Rinaldo at La Scala, Bradamante in Handel’s Alcina and Cornelia in the same composer’s Giulio Cesare at Bavarian State Opera in Munich; and the title role of Mozart’s Ascanio in Alba at the Salzburg Festival. Her extensive credits in leading Handel roles include the title role of Orlando in Ravenna, Italy; the title role of Lucio Silla in Rome; Bradamante in Alcina with Paris Opera at the Palais Garnier; Polinesso in Ariodante at San Francisco Opera and the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Bertarido in Handel’s Rodelinda at London’s Barbican Centre and at the Vienna Konzerthaus. She recently sang the title role of Vivaldi’s Orlando Furioso at Frankfurt Opera. In demand at major opera houses around the world, Ms. Prina has worked with such conductors as Christopher Hogwood, William Christie, Fabio Biondi, Alan Curtis and Emanuele Haïm, in addition to HGO Music Director Patrick Summers. Ms. Prina holds degrees in both trumpet and voice from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan. Her upcoming engagements include Vivaldi’s Ottone in villa at London’s Barbican Centre and at the Innsbruck Early Music Festival in Austria.

Philip Cutlip—Ariodate
Philip Cutlip made his Houston Grand Opera debut in 2008 as Donald in Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd. Next season he appears as Joseph De Rocher in the HGO premiere of Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally. Sought internationally for his performance of Handel roles, he has sung Garibaldo in Rodelinda at the Dallas Opera, Nicandro in Atalanta at the International Handel Festival in Göttingen, Achilles in Giulio Cesare at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and Zoroastro in Orlando with the Moscow Philharmonic. The baritone’s recent engagements include Zurga in Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles at Minnesota Opera, the title role of Philip Glass’s Orphée at Portland Opera, Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Jacksonville Opera Theatre, Tarquinius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia with Toledo Opera, and Valentin in Gounod’s Faust with Washington Concert Opera in the District of Columbia. Other notable credits include Count Almaviva in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro with Utah Festival Opera, Zurga at Opera Columbus, Marcello in La bohème at Seattle Opera and Matthieux in Giordano’s Andrea Chenier at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. He has sung Dunois in The Maid of Orleans at San Francisco Opera, Rodrigo in Verdi’s Don Carlo at Hawaii Opera Theatre, Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Austin Lyric Opera and Arizona Opera, Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos at Seattle Opera, and Papageno in The Magic Flute at New York City Opera and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Upcoming engagements include Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and Papageno at Seattle Opera.

Heidi Stober—Atalanta
Houston Grand Opera Studio Alumna Heidi Stober was heard here most recently as Blondchen in Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio. The soprano’s other HGO credits include Drusilla in Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea, Xenia in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, and Norina in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale. She also appeared as the Rose in Portman’s The Little Prince and created the role of La China in Catán’s Salsipuedes. Ms. Stober made her European debut at Deutsche Oper Berlin last season as Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute and has since performed with that company as Oscar in Verdi’s A Masked Ball, Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaff, Susanna in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and as a Shepherd in Wagner’s Tannhäuser, both in Berlin and on tour in China. Other notable engagements include Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina at New York City Opera, Tigrane in Handel’s Radamisto and La Folie/Thalie in Rameau’s Platée at the Santa Fe Opera, Leila in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers at Opera Colorado, and Aminta in Mozart’s Il re Pastore at Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Stober is a past winner of the Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers and received a grant from the Sullivan Foundation in 2008. Upcoming engagements include Morgana in Handel’s Alcina with the Teatro Municipal in Santiago, Chile and Sophie in Massenet’s Werther and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro at San Francisco Opera.

Adam Cioffari —Elviro
Marjorie A. Evans Fellow
Second-year Houston Grand Opera Studio Artist Adam Cioffari sang the role of a Noble in Lohengrin last fall and appears this winter as the Jailer in Puccini’s Tosca. The bas-baritone also appeared at HGO during the 2008/09 season as Snug in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Count Ceprano in Rigoletto, and Stanley in the world premiere of Brief Encounter by André Previn. He holds bachelor and master of music degrees, both in voice performance, from Indiana University, where his credits include Monterone in Rigoletto. He participated in the 2008 Merola Opera Program where he sang Masetto in Don Giovanni. Last summer he made his debut with Aspen Opera Theater as Colline in Puccini’s La bohème. He was a finalist in HGO’s 2008 Eleanor McCollum Competition for Young Singers. Performance Summary:

All performances of Houston Grand Opera’s production of Handel’s Xerxes are held in the Wortham Center’s Brown Theater, Texas Avenue at Smith Street, Houston, TX.

Performance Dates:
Friday, April 30, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 02, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 08, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, May 14, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.

• All performances will take place at the Wortham Theater Center, 501 Texas Avenue, Houston, Texas 77002. The Wortham Theater Center features wheelchair access to both theaters, with a choice of seating locations and ticket prices. An infrared listening system, underwritten by Shell Lubricants, is available and free of charge at all performances. Disabled access and TDD: 713-228-OPERA (6737) or 1-800-62-OPERA (800-626-7372); Descriptive Services: 713-546-0230.

• Opera Insights Lectures take place forty-five minutes before each performance. Guest speakers present a twentyminute informal lecture in the orchestra level of the Brown Theater. These lectures, free and open to all ticket holders, are intended to enhance the audience’s enjoyment by preparing them for the production they are about to attend.

Sung in Italian with English Supertitles.

Pictured above: poster design by Pattima Singhalaka.
Pictured below:  Photo by Clive Barda courtesy of English National Opera.