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Home › News & Events › Events › UA Opera Theater: “La hija de Rappaccini” by Daniel Catán

UA Opera Theater: “La hija de Rappaccini” by Daniel Catán

UA Hosted Events, Vocal Saturday November 10, 2018 - 7:30p.m. to 9:30p.m.Sunday November 11, 2018 - 7:30p.m. to 9:30p.m.

Venue: UA Environment and Natural Resources, ENR2, 1064 East Lowell Street

UA Opera Theater: “La hija de Rappaccini” by Daniel Catán
Saturday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENRN) at the University of Arizona
1064 E Lowell St, Tucson, AZ 85719
Northeast corner of Park and 6th St.

Free Admission. Seating is on a first come basis. Ticket vouchers will be handed out at ENR2 at 5:00 p.m. the day of the performance.

Panels

Attendees are invited to attend panel discussions at 5:30 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. at ENR2 on the day of the performances. “La hija de Rappaccini” will be the inspiration for a series of humanities panels, to challenge attendees’ perceptions around the ethical, moral, political and social issues posed within this story. Partner organizations include University of Arizona, local and regional groups which include; Biosphere 2, The Confluence Center, Global Initiatives, Spanish Department, History Department, Classics Department; The Tucson Desert Museum, Tucson Botanical Gardens, and UNAM.

Cast Talk-Back

There will be a post-performance talk-back after each show.

The University of Arizona Opera Theater presents “La hija de Rappaccini” by Daniel Catán on Saturday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m. in the Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2). There will be a post-performance talk-back after each performance. The opera will be sung in Spanish with supertitles.

Playing with Poison: The Beautiful and the Deadly

The dangerously gifted Dr. Rappaccini dares to tamper with the laws of nature and science. His experiments take place in a sequestered garden filled with toxic flowers of fatal beauty. The caretaker of his poisonous garden is his beautiful daughter, Beatriz, who was raised on the same deadly plants that she tends. The brilliant young woman is full of promise, but is lonely and trapped in a garden that holds her prisoner. When a young student falls in love with her, Beatriz discovers that that she must make a terrible decision. This opera invites audiences to embark on a journey of impossible love and deadly secrets.

The Production

Director, Cynthia Stokes, has envisioned a remarkable world where the garden of Dr. Rappaccini has come to life. In this production, the flora and fauna of his mysterious garden are pulsating with life and animated by theatrical projections to create an atmosphere where the audience is absorbed into the magic of this world. Designers Sally Day and Chris Allen use repurposed materials including: bubble wrap and single use plastic bags to create an evocative design with an environmental message. The operatic installation will be the centerpiece for a larger conversation in the Tucson area during a week-end festival of panels. Participants will be invited to examine and challenge ethical, moral, political, popular culture and social issues posed by the opera. The festival is entitled: Experimentacion Amor y Veneno: Love and Poison in a Borderland Opera Festival.

The Experimentacion Amor y Veneno Festival will present a multi-faceted live public opera experience as the axis of a community dialogue. The conversation presented during the festival will explore contemporary issues such as women’s studies, the ethics of genetic engineering, border studies, Mexican history, and the intersection of architecture and art. These discussions will be led by experts from the University of Arizona and greater Tucson area.

The location of this production is the courtyard of the Environment and Natural Resources Building (ENR2), which is a plant-enhanced architectural space that beautifully mirrors the story and world of Dr. Rappaccini and his enticing garden made entirely of poisonous plants. The production will transform the six-story public space into a world of Magical Realism.

–Cynthia Stokes

Cast

Dr. Baglioni: Crystal Kachevas

Dr. Rappaccini: Octavio Moreno

Giovanni: Paul Nicosia

Isabela: Kaitlin Bertenshaw

Beatriz Rappaccini: Emily Garcia

Flowers:

Nannette Avendano Frannie Barrows Kristen Lucas Bridget Marlow Diana Peralta Sarah Redlhammer Rebeckah Resare Ashley Sova Juliette Young

Cynthia Stokes, stage director

Stage and opera director Cynthia Stokes has devoted her professional career to creating provocative and thrilling productions across America. Her work has been praised for, “clear story-telling, theatrical sensibility and as having existential depths and evoking mythical resonance,” by the Philadelphia Inquirer; and, “funny and moving…as was the fatal confluence of illusion and reality…” by the San Francisco Chronicle.

Ms. Stokes is the artistic director of San Diego City Opera, which is dedicated to encouraging San Diegans to see their community in new positive ways by presenting opera in site-specific locations throughout the city. City Opera’s first production, “Queen of Carthage,” a contemporary retelling of “Dido and Aeneas” was part of La Jolla Playhouse’s Without Walls Festival. Music critic Jim Chute said,” they got to the beating, beautiful, timeless heart of Purcell’s 1688 masterpiece. Their 45-minute reduction of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” was an inspiration. She staged Dominic Argento’s song cycle “The Andrée Expedition” with three singers in an abandoned factory. Music critic Pam Kragen said, “ Stokes ends the engrossing piece with a surprising and moving theatrical flourish that features a soulful and stylish reunion of the dead and dying. Opera is at its best when it’s visceral, and City Opera’s imaginative conception of the tragic, true story of the Andrée Expedition has proven to be a natural.”

Other directing credits include: Michigan Opera Theatre, Mainly Mozart, The Vermont Opera Project, Rhymes with Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, San Diego Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Cincinnati Opera, Piedmont Opera, San Antonio Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera San Jose and The Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Deeply committed to encouraging the next generation of artists and audiences, Ms. Stokes started La Jolla Playhouse’s Summer Conservatory and San Diego Opera’s Summer Opera Training Program. She is currently on faculty at The Taos Opera Institute and is the Amelia T. Reiman Endowed Chair for Opera Theater at The University of Arizona. She earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in directing from The University of California at San Diego.

Sound Design:
Matt Marcus
Accompanist:
Minjun Dong
Cover Accompanist: 
Tadeo Villaseñor
Stage Manager:
Kathy Acosta
Orchestra:
Michael Dauphinais and Minjun Dong, piano
Xiaodi Xu, harp
Morris Palter, timpani
Michael Pratt and Jacob Ransom, percussion

 

CONTACT: (520) 621-1655
TICKETS: Free admission

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I don't listen to enough percussion music, this was amazing!

Mesmerizing performance! Congratulations to UARIZONA Percussion and Morris Palter!

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River Town Duo features Philip Alejo (double bass) and Claire Happel Ashe (harp). Bassist Philip Alejo currently teaches at University of Arizona in Tucson (Associate Professor of Music, Double Bass).

Online Streaming:

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About River Town Duo
Founded in 2012, River Town Duo has presented dozens of recitals at venues including the University of Arizona, University of Illinois, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Mackinac Island Music Festival, University of Notre Dame, and the University of Wisconsin, among others. River Town Duo has also performed recitals as invited artists at the International Society of Bassists Convention and the American Harp Society Summer Institute. Although there are only a handful of double bass and harp duos in the world, over 20 composers have written works for this instrumentation. River Town Duo is committed to commissioning new works from influential composers and adding to the growing repertoire of pieces for double bass and harp. River Town Duo comprises double bassist Philip Alejo and harpist Claire Happel Ashe.

Philip Alejo is the Associate Professor of Music, Double Bass at the University of Arizona and Artist Faculty at the Bay View Music Festival. Previously he served as Associate Principal Bass of the Quad City Symphony and Visiting Professor of Bass at the University of Michigan. A former member of the Chicago Civic Orchestra, Philip has additionally performed with the Tucson Symphony, Arizona Opera, Ensemble Dal Niente, Flint Symphony, and Ann Arbor Symphony. His numerous music festivals and residencies include Spoleto Festival USA, Lucerne Festival, Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival, Mackinac Island Music Festival, Oaxaca Instrumenta, Aldeburgh Festival, Tucson Winter Chamber Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival, and Aspen Music Festival. Philip teaches at the Arizona ASTA Bass Jams and the Richard Davis Bass Conference at the University of Wisconsin. He was recently named Guest Professor at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music and MusAid Teaching Artist at El Sistema, El Salvador. Philip holds degrees from Oberlin College (BA, BM), Yale University (MM), and the University of Michigan (DMA), where his principal teachers included Diana Gannett, Donald Palma, Peter Dominguez, and Thomas Sperl.

Claire Happel Ashe is a versatile performer known for integrating diverse aspects of movement and music. As a harpist, she has appeared with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of the Dominican Republic, and the Newberry Consort among many other ensembles. She regularly collaborates in chamber music performances with oboist Karisa Werdon (Immer Neu), and guitarist James Moore and mandolin player Jeremy Harting (Noble Fowl Trio). An advocate of new music, she has performed with contemporary ensembles such as the Chicago Composers Orchestra, International Ensemble Modern Academy, and the Pulitzer Series of St. Louis, and commissioned new works with grants from the Urbana Public Arts Program, City of Chicago Cultural Affairs, American Harp Society, and the Illinois Arts Council. In the summers, she has performed at the Midwest Harp Festival, American Harp Society Conferences and Institutes in Chicago, Logan (UT), and Tacoma (WA), and presented at the World Harp Congress in Dublin and Alexander Technique Congress in Chicago. In addition to performances on the modern pedal harp, Claire has performed on the Baroque triple harp since 2016 mentored by artists such as Cheryl Ann Fulton, Charlotte Mattax Moersch, and Christa Patton at the Madison Early Music Festival and Queens College Early Opera Workshop. She holds degrees in music performance from Yale University and the University of Illinois, where she also received a BFA in Dance, and was a 2007-08 Fulbright Scholar in Prague. She has served on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College, Illinois Summer Youth Music, and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and as a teaching assistant at Yale University, the University of Illinois, and the Music in the Mountains Festival. She currently teaches harp, Alexander Technique, and movement at the Music Institute of Chicago, Valparaiso University, Olivet Nazarene University, and the James Hart Harp Program in the Homewood Public Schools.
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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

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Tune in on Friday nights at 7:00 p.m. for livestream performances


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Registration is now open for UArizona Virtual Clarinet Day! Mark your calendars for Jan. 17, 2021 and join us for this free event! ... See MoreSee Less

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The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

1 week ago

The University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music

Congratulations to DMA candidate Erik Peregrine!

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Congratulations, Erik! We are so proud of you!!

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Tucson Bass Jam
Virtual Event (Zoom)
Sunday, January 17, 2021
1:00-5:00 p.m.
Free Admission

The Tucson Bass Jam is an ASTA and University of Arizona sponsored virtual clinic on Zoom for beginning, intermediate, and advanced double bass students, music educators, and community bass players of any age from Southern Arizona.

Faculty Director:
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Guest Artists:
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Juan J. García Jiménez, National Autonomous University of Mexico, CEPROMUSIC

Registration and Fees:
Tucson Bass Jam will be free of charge in 2021.

Registration: Participants should contact Philip Alejo (palejo@email.arizona.edu) to register. A Zoom link and entry code will be sent to every registered participant prior to the event. Registration on the day of the event will be possible, but not recommended. Any high school student interested in playing their regional excerpts for Isaac Trapkus should also contact Philip Alejo.

Schedule of Events:
Sunday, January 17, 2021
1:00-5:00 p.m.

1:00 - 1:15 p.m.
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1:20 - 2:00 p.m. Warm-ups with Philip Alejo (beginner/intermediate) and Juan García (advanced)

2:00 - 2:50 p.m.
New and experimental music with Juan García

3:00 - 3:55 p.m.
Masterclass on regional excerpts with Isaac Trapkus

4:00 - 5:00 p.m.
Masterclass for UA students with Isaac Trapkus

Guest Artist Biographies

Bassist Isaac Trapkus joined the New York Philharmonic in November 2016. Before joining the Philharmonic he was a member of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and, before that, principal double bass of the New Haven Symphony while he was studying with Leigh Mesh, associate principal bass of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

Mr. Trapkus is a product of Iowa’s public school music program and began his bass studies with Linda Gannett of Davenport, Iowa. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Diana Gannett, and a master’s degree from The Juilliard School, where he studied with former New York Philharmonic Principal Bass Eugene Levinson. At Michigan, Isaac Trapkus became the first bassist in 30 years to win the school’s concerto competition, for which he performed Tubin’s Bass Concerto. He also won Juilliard’s bass concerto competition, performing Vanhal’s Bass Concerto. During his study he performed with the New York String Orchestra Seminar and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in Germany. Mr. Trapkus volunteers as a designer and administrator with IMSLP, the online sheet music library.

Juan J. García Jiménez is a musician specializing in contemporary music and improvisation, who lives and works in Mexico City. Since 2012, he is a member of the ensemble at the Center for Experimentation and Production of Contemporary Music (CEPROMUSIC) and since 2018 is part of the faculty at the Music School of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and the School of Art of Yucatán (ESAY). He has collaborated with orchestras and chamber ensembles internationally and has also developed a career in improvised and experimental music, collaborating since 2001 with iconic characters in the development of contemporary music. His practice stems from studies and practices within the musical tradition combined with a broad foray into new music, prominently in sonic explorations and experimentations. He has also developed innovative teaching techniques that have led him to mix traditional and experimental musical ideas and practices within the classroom.

García studied double bass at the University of Houston under the tutelage of Dennis Whittaker and earned a master's degree at Arizona State University under Catalin Rotaru in 2008. Since then he has fully devoted himself to teaching, performing, and disseminating new music, premiering hundreds of works by composers from around the world with the CEPROMUSIC Ensemble, Liminar Ensemble, and the Low Frequency Trio. Important performances include concerts at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival (UK), The Darmstadt Summer Festival (Germany), No Idea Festival (Austin), the Tate Modern (UK), and the Rothko Chapel (Houston).
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