Welcome to our production of Don Giovanni! Don Giovanni is one of the masterpieces in the operatic canon; in its 237-year history it has continued to be one of the great staples of the operatic repertory. Since I have been at UK, this is our third time telling this story, and I am incredibly excited about this year’s cast. Mozart originally titled the opera Il Dissoluto Punito, Ossia Il Don Giovanni, which means The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni. Maybe, we should go back to the original name of Il Dissoluto Punito!
Don Giovanni is the centuries old story of Don Juan and is one of Mozart’s great opera buffas, which literally means comic operas. This story has comedy and drama. In this day and age, it takes on an even greater meaning when we are talking more openly about sexual and predatory abuse. While in today’s world it may not be as comical has Mozart portrayed it in Don Giovanni, it is a great mixture of comedy and tragedy. In the opera, the Don meets his fate and goes to hell.
We hope that you enjoy not only the beautiful singing but also the craft which Mozart engaged to write this opera. Beautiful duets, quartets, sextets, in which every character is able to express their own thoughts using the musical technique of ensemble singing. Don Giovanni contains some of the most exciting ensemble singing in all of opera.
We can’t thank you enough for your support of UK Opera Theatre and the work that you do to help us provide such exciting opportunities for our students. It is because of your support that we can present operas at Lexington Opera House and highlight some of our great stars of tomorrow. Speaking of stars of tomorrow, last spring our concert, Stars of Tomorrow Opera Gala which was filmed and co-produced by KET, has been a huge hit, playing on PBS stations in over 25 states and has been seen in over 89 million households. This is a testament to the talent that we are blessed to have has part of our university. If you haven’t seen it yet, please look it up on KET, your local PBS affiliate.
Thank you for your support and please enjoy the opera.
Everett McCorvey
University of Kentucky Opera Theatre Producer
FRIDAY NIGHT / SATURDAY MATINEE
DON GIOVANNI
Chris Burchett
LEPORELLO
Brandon Whitish
DONNA ANNA
Grace Platt
DONNA ELVIRA
Lydia Rufin
DON OTTAVIO
Dylon Crain
ZERLINA
Alexandra Thibault
MASETTO
Max Taylor
IL COMMENDATORE
Sergio Enciso
SATURDAY NIGHT / SUNDAY MATINEE
DON GIOVANNI
Harrison Hancock
LEPORELLO
Jeffrey Todd
DONNA ANNA
Fairynne Rogers
DONNA ELVIRA
Emily Wilder
DON OTTAVIO
Robert Samuel Powless
ZERLINA
Sierra Kidd
MASETTO
Clinton Garrison
IL COMMENDATORE
Sergio Enciso
CHORUS
Dejah Watts, Samantha Goette, Tess Sergent, Natalie Monell, Zetong Xu, Brianna Santiago-Kane, Emily Hayes, Bre Frye, Calia Burdette, Maria Esch, Jaime Chaudoin, Emily Wrede, Audrianna Hughes, Grace Wong, Aubrey Young, Courtlin Crabtee, Andrew Tran, Adam Zoolilian, William Cordier, William Middleton III, John Brown, Will Jones
MANDOLIN
Nicoletta Moss
John Nardolillo
Music Director and Conductor
VIOLIN I
Reisa Fukuda
Stanley Kuo
Shuqi Wang
Luise Wendroth
Michell Lynch
VIOLIN II
Saelim Henderson
Nathan Jones
Justyn Douthit
Ezra Anderson
Izabella Martinez
VIOLA
YuQing Shi
Guanliang Zong
Maia Smith
Ben Wells
CELLO
Ian Wasserman
Kaimipono Santos
Jackson Arnold
Nathan Johnson
BASS
Eva Reyes-Smith
Elliott King
FLUTE
Shannon James
Sahil Egbert
OBOE
Camilla Yoder
Mia Quintana
CLARINET
Joseph Dennis
Matthew Goodrich
BASSOON
Ben Wesley
Kyla Stevens
HORN
Ben Humphries
Caleb Zimmer
TRUMPET
Victor Yuen
Kaleb Cruz
TROMBONE
Daniel Cupp
John Koenig
Keaton Fuller
TIMPANI
Aaron Creech
PRODUCING DIRECTOR / CONDUCTOR
Dr. Everett McCorvey
STAGING DIRECTOR
Stephen Wrentmore
CONDUCTOR
John Nardolillo
ASSISTANT CONDUCTORS
Nicoletta Moss, Merih Ozden, Ringel Sat
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Aaron Bowling
PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER
Megh Jennings-Posner
ASSISTANT STAGE MANAGERS
Tristen Boyer, Kennedy Moore, Anazha Monique Santiago
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
Aaron Bowling
SCENIC DESIGNER
Stephen Wrentmore
HEAD SCENIC
Aaron Bowling
SCENIC PAINTER
Esther Neel
LIGHTING DESIGNER
Tanya Harper
ASSISTANT LIGHTING DESIGNER
Daniel Bowling
COSTUME DESIGNER
Melissa Gilbert
CHOREOGRAPHER
Danielle Dunmire
FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHER
Meredith Crutcher
CHORUS MASTER
Catherine Clarke Nardolillo
VOCAL COACHES
Tedrin Blair Lindsay, Nan McSwain, Robert Bosworth
PROPSMASTER
Aaron Bowling
PROPS ASSISTANT
Esther Neel
INTIMACY COORDINATOR
Meredith Crutcher
SUPERTITLES CREATOR
Mark Calkins
SUPERTITLES OPERATOR
Kayla Wilson
COSTUME DIRECTOR
Tracy Barber
COSTUME STOCK SPECIALIST
Andrea Richardson
COSTUME CUTTER/DRAPER
Natalie Maynard
OPERA HOUSE TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
James Worth
OPERA HOUSE HEAD CARPENTER
Joe Harris
OPERA HOUSE MASTER ELECTRICIAN
Chris Ruby
OPERA HOUSE HEAD FLYMAN
Adam Cook
OPERA HOUSE WARDROBE CREW CHIEF
Jessica Coker
OPERA HOUSE PROPS
Sandra Tyrie
OPERA HOUSE HEAD AUDIO
Paul Manning
OPERA HOUSE RUN CREW
IATSE Local 346
UK Opera Theatre extends thanks to our community partners.
Custom Creations Inc.
Jim Jennings
Schuyler Robinson
University of Kentucky Department of Theatre and Dance
Zak Stribling
Kate Fields
Graham Posner
SORA Aerial Arts
