University of Kentucky Opera Theatre presents

THE MAGIC FLUTE

Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Libretto and dialogue by Emanuel Schikaneder, 1791. Translation and adaptation by Gayle Shay, 2021. Additional dialogue and further adaptation by Cynthia Lawrence, 2022.

Executive Producer
EVERETT MCCORVEY

Director
CYNTHIA LAWRENCE-CALKINS

Conductor
JOHN NARDOLILLO

Costumes Designed by Leslie Bernstein. Costumes for The Magic Flute were realized at the Arizona Opera Costume Shop and are owned by Arizona Opera.

I am so happy to welcome you back to the Lexington Opera House for this magnificent production of The Magic Flute. I am also very delighted to be able to welcome our guest director, Cynthia Lawrence, who is an Endowed Chair in the vocal area at the University of Kentucky. Professor Lawrence holds the distinction of being the American soprano who performed more with Luciano Pavarotti than any other singer in the world. Professor Lawrence is in her 14th year as part of our faculty and has directed several productions for us during that time. The Magic Flute is such a wonderful opera for our students, as there are so many exciting roles to serve our growing stable of young artists. As you know, we double cast our operas to give our singers as many opportunities as possible and this opera has been a great one for our students. We are delighted to announce our spring production, which will be the Stars of Tomorrow Opera Gala. We are happy to be partnering once again with Kentucky Educational Television (KET) to produce a gala that will be televised nationwide. You may remember the success of the 25th anniversary production of It’s a Grand Night for Singing that was filmed by KET and which won two regional Emmy awards. We are looking forward to recreating the magic with an all-out salute to the great hits of opera featuring our stars of tomorrow in a gala like none other! KET will film all three performances of the gala and then create a show that will be aired nationwide.

There are many opportunities to experience events related to opera! Mark your calendars for Friday, October 21st for the return of Encore! Encore! is our big fundraiser sponsored by OperaLex. We have an exciting gala evening planned, including a sampling of great wines, listening to great music, and dancing! The evening will take place at the newly redesigned Campbell House ballroom. Don’t forget to wear your dancing shoes! Our evening will conclude with dancing and music will be provided by Miles Osland and his Little Big Band. It’s an evening that you will not want to miss!

This fall if you would like to take a trip to Louisville, I will be conducting Maria de Buenos Aires with Kentucky Opera on November 11th and 13th at the Brown Theatre. We are excited to share that Celebration of Song returns this year to the Kentucky Horse Park on December 11th. And of course, we have It’s a Grand Night for Singing in June 2023. All tickets are on sale now. 

You’ve heard me say this many times, but it’s very true; we cannot do it without you! We have so many of our young students who are doing so well around the world and, in many cases, it is due to the support that you have provided for us to be able to present operas like the one you will witness this weekend. Please continue to support us and our efforts to remain a top tier opera program in the country. If you would like to consider a sustaining gift to UK Opera Theatre please contact me (mccorvey@uky.edu) or Lisa Blackadar (lisa.blackadar@uky.edu). We hope you enjoy the show!

Sincerely,
Everett McCorvey, Director of UK Opera Theatre

OperaLex is a non-profit, community-based volunteer organization that exists to support the wonderful students of the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre Program, led by the world renowned Dr. Everett McCorvey.

I am honored to serve alongside our twenty-seven dedicated board members and carry on a more than twenty-year tradition of community support for opera theatre and vocal arts education.

Last year was a great year for OperaLex. We are grateful for the leadership or W. Harry Clarke, immediate past president, for bringing a new vision and infrastructure to OperaLex.

We are thrilled with the community response to our new OperaLex Membership Program and we thank you! If you have not yet joined, please visit our new website, www.operalex.org and select a membership level, from $25 for students and seniors to any amount that fits your budget.

Your contribution directly supports productions like The Magic Flute and the wildly popular annual Grand Night for Singing. The benefits of OperaLex membership will help enrich your appreciation for the vocal arts.

We also invite you to follow us on social media to stay abreast of all the exciting things that are happening. Please share our posts with your networks.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/operalex859
Instagram: www.instagram.com/operalex859/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/operalex-b32393246/

I want to mention two more great ways to support Opera Lex this fall:

Purchase a ticket to win a flight of five bottles of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon. Go to our website for details.

Join us Friday, October 21 at the beautifully renovated Campbell House for our annual gala, Encore!. This special evening will feature the beneficiaries of our work, the UK Opera Theatre students and faculty. They will perform a lively program of popular songs and opera favorites accompanied by members of the UK Symphony Orchestra, while you enjoy dinner in the company of fellow music lovers.  A silent auction and dancing to the Miles Osland band are also part of the fun.

Learn more about these and other great ways to become involved on our website, www.operalex.org. Thank you for attending The Magic Flute and for being a patron of the arts in Central Kentucky. We couldn’t do this without you.

Bonnie Mays, President, OperaLex

The Magic Flute is the first live opera I ever saw, at the age of 10, so this opera has been in my life for a very long time. When I was a child I didn’t quite understand all of the symbolism or the references that exist within the story of The Magic Flute. Over the years, I have performed the roles of First Lady, Second Lady, and Pamina many times, and through that study I have come to realize that this story is timeless in the way it takes all its characters - the protagonists, antagonists, and bystanders through the journey of finding kindness, and truth, learning what is right and wrong.  

When I began this project and was asked to direct, I was thrilled. The production team and the singers who have been assembled are amazing. As I began my research, I found some images that I wanted to use in the set and the design. I recently took a trip to Yellowstone and saw with my own eyes landscapes that are timeless and grand, just like The Magic Flute. This work is timeless and grand so I wanted to include some of these ideas in the design of the set. In the script for The Magic Flute, it is said that you are to use all of the theatre’s mechanical possibilities, including trap doors, flying sets, fog, water, disappearing people; every option to create a new world for the singers and audiences. While we don’t have trap doors, we have some scenic tricks up our sleeves. I know the singers have been very curious to see this new design and I am excited to reveal the world we have created to them and to you all.  

But how do we bring and old time story forward into the present? There have been some discussions about changing of text; however this is no easy task, especially when singing in German as one has to be true to what is written in the score. We have worked to gently rework the concepts and the ideas as we translate it for the audience, especially as it pertains to how characters are portrayed and received. The Queen of the Night and Sarastro; instead of pitting them against one another as evil against good, man against woman, night against day, what I want to do is help her be human and vulnerable; highlighting her internal discovery that all of her decisions are not motivated completely with compassion or kindness and we see her find the truth and forgiveness. I leave it up to the characters and the singers who are playing these roles to show us whether or not they decide. Pamina and Tamino are also very complex characters; they are truly human. After all, why would Pamina suddenly decide that she is going to kill herself because the man she just met won’t talk to her? This always seemed a bit ridiculous to me, but when the actresses who are singing Pamina dig deep in their soul, there is an honesty and a genuine sense of loss that will carry them through this beautiful aria “Ach ich fühl’s”. Tamino is a prince; strong and regal, but he too learns to think, he learns to choose, and he learns to consider all of his options. The role of Papageno is one that showcases the element of humanity. He represents what we all want; food, comfort, a place to live, a person to love, and safety. He goes through the largest journey in the show I believe where he is challenged, frustrated, terrified and until he finds his center, and the love of his life, when he meets Papagena in their charming duet.  

The singers are amazing. I have been very pleased with their development, the collegiality, the smiles, the humor. We have two amazing casts of talented, young singers, so when you fall in love with them today, you can return tomorrow to journey with a new group of artists! Please relax into your seat; join us on our adventure to kindness, knowledge, and truth. 

Cynthia Lawrence-Calkins, Director

QUEEN OF THE NIGHT
Erica Gabriel (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Sydney Carbo (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

TAMINO
Houston Tyrrell (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Wagner Pástor (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

PAMINA
Jessica Bayne (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Katie Copeland (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

FIRST LADY
Erin Hannon (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Grace Platt (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

SECOND LADY
Katie Ivie (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Alyssa Bunnell (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

THIRD LADY
Emily Wrede (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Courtney Porter (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

PAPAGENO
Aaron Eaves (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Harrison Hancock (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

PAPAGENA
Sierra Kidd (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Hailey Wells (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

MONOSTATOS
Robert Samuel Powless (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Broderick Beighle (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

SARASTRO
Chris Burchett (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Sergio Enciso (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

FIRST SPIRIT
Briana Johnson (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Maeve Hoppen (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

SECOND SPIRIT
Alex Thibault (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Natalie Monell (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

THIRD SPIRIT
Lilly Meekin (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Anazha Santiago (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

THE SPEAKER/PRIEST
Mason O'Brien (Friday night & Saturday matinee)
Clement Baloyi (Saturday night & Sunday matinee)

TWO PRIESTS 
Andrew Tran
Austin Morgan

TWO MEN IN ARMOR 
Phillip Webb
Nathaniel Thompson

FIRST SERVANT
Trey Darnell

SECOND SERVANT
Cameron Howard

THIRD SERVANT
Clinton Garrison

CHORUS 
Grace Ashley
Clement Baloyi
Mya Barber
Broderick Beighle
John Brown
Dylon Crain
Trey Darnell
Riley Droppleman
Elijah Garrett
Clinton Garrison
Leonardo Goulding
Maeve Hoppen
Cameron Howard
Briana Johnson
Emily Keaton
Sierra Kidd
Lilly Meekin
Natalie Monell
Austin Morgan
Mason O'Brien
Elyse Pilcher
Samuel Powless
Jazmin Salaberrios
Andrea Salazar
Anazha Santiago
Thomas Swerczek
Alex Thibault
Nathaniel Thompson
Andrew Tran
Phillip Webb
Hailey Wells

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
John Nardolillo, Music Director and Conductor

Violin I
Madison Jones, Jan Karon Concertmaster
Reisa Fukuda
Stanley Kuo
Marvelous Igwe
Andrew Lin

Violin II
JeeHee Kang*
Jurang Kim
Nathan Jones
Nicholas Castelluzzo 

Viola
Guanliang Zong*
Darryl Manley
Liz Scoma
Mary Meyers

Cello
Ian Wasserman*
Pono Santos
Alvaro Munoz
Jackson Arnold

Bass
Eva Reyes-Smith*
Tala Glass

Flute
Lauren Wiedemer*
Shannon James 

Oboe
Camilla Yoder*
Bethany Trotta 

Clarinet
John Azpuru*
Braylee Parry 

Bassoon
Alexis Cerise*
Ben Wesley

Horn
Briana Childers*
Ben Humphries

Trumpet
Victor Yuen*
Robbie Collins

Trombone
Tyler Greer*
Eli Lane
Juan Saldivar

Timpani
Emi Jones*

Celeste
Tedrin Blair Lindsay*

* Principal

Producer
EVERETT MCCORVEY

Stage Director
CYNTHIA LAWRENCE-CALKINS

Production Stage Manager
MEGH JENNINGS-POSNER

Assistant Stage Managers
MADELINE BAVELY, MARILYN HOSEY

Technical Production Manager
AARON BOWLING

Lighting Designer
TANYA HARPER

Assistant Lighting Designer
DANNY BOWLING

Set Designer
ROBERT PICKERING

Scenic Lead
TROY KLEFFMAN

Master Carpenter
JOHN HINES

Carpenter
ED VANOY

Scenic Charge
ROBERT PICKERING

Scenic Artists
REBECCA SHORT, RILEY GRUENTHAL
TATUM HAZELTON, BROOKE DEATHERAGE

Master Loader
SCOTT SHERMAN

Costumes for Magic Flute were realized at the Arizona Opera Costume Shop and are owned by Arizona Opera

Costume Designer
LESLIE BERNSTEIN

Arizona Opera Costume Representative
KATHLEEN TROTT

Costume Director
TRACY BARBER-WARD

Costume Coordinator
IVORY BESSE

Costume Cutter/Draper
NATALIE MAYNARD

Costume Stock Specialist
ANDREA RICHARDSON

Wigs and Make-up Designer 
CONOR DONNELLY

Props Master
ESTHER NEEL

Conductor
JOHN NARDOLILLO

Assistant Conductors
MERIH OZDEN, SEAN RADERMACHER

Vocal Coach
TEDRIN BLAIR LINDSAY

Assistant Vocal Coach
NAN MCSWAIN

Chorus Director
CATHERINE CLARKE NARDOLILLO

Supertitles Creation
MARK CALKINS

Supertitles Operator
JEFFREY TODD

Opera House Technical Coordinator
MATT BLEDSOE

Stagehands, Spot Operators, Light Board Operator, Sound Board Operator, Fly Rail Operator – IATSE Local 346

Synopsis from Opera North, Leeds, UK
https://www.operanorth.co.uk/

ACT I

ACT II

The Opera House Fund is a not-for-profit community service founded in 1974 to assist Lexington Center Corporation in the funding of the design, construction and restoration of the 1886 Lexington Opera House.

The Opera House Fund assists in capital improvements at the theatre, subsidizes local arts organizations for Opera House related expenses and supports Broadway Live and Variety Live programming.