FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Joan Berkman, 314-799-1204
facewatchers@swbell.net
WINTER OPERA ST. LOUIS TO PRESENT THE WORK OF THREE MASTERS
New Season Features Operas by Gilbert & Sullivan, Mozart and Verdi
Winter Opera St. Louis announced that its ninth season will begin October 30th and includes three
traditional and entertaining operas: Gilbert and Sullivan’s Yeomen of the Guard, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte,
and Verdi’s classic Il Trovatore. All performances take place at the Skip Viragh Center for Performing
Arts at Chaminade College Preparatory School, 425 South Lindbergh Boulevard. Both season and
individual performance tickets for all of Winter Opera’s productions and special events are available
online at www.winteroperastl.org or by calling 314-865-0038.
“Winter Opera St. Louis continues to grow, both in terms of our artistic reputation and our ability to
engage audiences of all ages,” said Gina Galati, general director. “The performances planned for our ninth
season are a wonderful blend of comedy, intrigue and drama, with incredible music and appealing
characters. We are specially thrilled to welcome back tenor Jorge Pita Carreras, who starred in last
season’s production of L’Amico Fritz, as well as mezzo-soprano Amy Maude Helfer and local tenor Clark
Sturdevant, both widely acclaimed performers who will kick off our season in Yeomen of the Guard. We
are excited to bring this level of talent to the St. Louis opera scene.”
Yeomen of the Guard
Winter Opera’s season will begin on Friday October 30 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, November 1 at 3 p.m.
with an English language performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Yeomen of the Guard, sponsored by
Mary Sale.
“Yeomen of the Guard is the best musical score of all the Gilbert and Sullivan works,” declared
Galati. “It is not done very often, so this is a chance for our patrons to experience a truly charming
operetta.”
First performed in 1888, this opera might be considered a serious comedy, in that it concludes with
broken-hearted main character despite a libretto filled with humor and punny one-liners. The plot
involves a foiled execution and more than one budding romance squashed. Colonel Fairfax, a man of
science, is confined in the Tower of London under sentence of death, accused of sorcery. Young Phoebe
is in love with him from afar, but she has bigger problems fending off the advances of the head jailer,
Wilfred. Her father, a sergeant in the Yeoman of the Guard, also admires the prisoner for his past exploits
as a soldier, and plots to help him escape. Unaware of this help, and determined not to let his estate fall
into the hands of his scheming cousin, Fairfax arranges a jailhouse marriage to Elsie, a strolling singer. A
series of convoluted plot twists ensue, resulting in Fairfax’s reprieve, Elsie discovering real love in her
marriage to him, and poor Phoebe consigned to marry the repugnant Wilfred.
Yeomen of the Guard features mezzo-soprano Amy Maude Helfer as Phoebe, baritone Gary Moss as
Wilfred, and tenor Clark Sturdevant as the imprisoned Colonel Fairfax. Ms. Helfer has been acclaimed for
her physicality and comedic timing, appearing with the Dayton Opera, Boston Lyric Opera-Opera New
England and Opera Manhattan. Mr. Moss was a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National
Council Auditions in 2003, and has sung roles with opera companies around the country such as
Michigan Opera Theater, Toledo Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Washington East Opera, The Ohio Light Opera,
and Skylight Opera Theatre. Mr. Sturdevant is returning for his fourth season at Winter Opera St. Louis.
He has performed roles for Dayton Opera, Kentucky Opera, OperaSeabrook, Capital Heights Opera,
Union Avenue Opera, Katydid Productions, Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, Pacific Opera Project, The
Ohio Light Opera, Opera for the Young, and Natchez Festival of Music.
John Stevens, whose credits include the Santa Fe, Minnesota and Houston Gran d Operas, will serve
as stage manager.
Cosi Fan Tutte
On January 22 and 24, 2015, Winter Opera will perform Cosi Fan Tutte by Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart. It will be sung in Italian with English supertitles.
The opera buffa was first presented in 1790 and finally made its debut in the U.S. in 1922. The
storyline involves two military officers who make a bet with an old philosopher that their fiancées will be
eternally faithful. The three engage in a plot to test the women, faking the officers’ call to war, only to
return in disguise to see if each can woo the other’s love. The women resist through much of the two acts,
only to succumb to the persistent seductions, discovering the ruse too late in the final act. All is then
forgiven, because “cosi fan tutte” (“That’s the way women are”).
Winter Opera’s own Gina Galati and Sarah Nordin will perform as the pursued young women, while
Daniel Gerdes and Christopher Holmes will present in the roles of the scheming officers. Nichola Guisti
will conduct the orchestra.
“We had so much success last season with our production of The Marriage of Figaro that we wanted
to produce another Mozart opera this season,” noted Galati. “Cosi is great for all audiences, with beautiful
ensembles, arias, comedy and great characters in this opera.”
Il Trovatore
The finale of Winter Opera’s ninth season will be Giuseppe Verdi’s Il Trovatore on March 4 and 6,
2015. The production is sponsored by Nancy Pillsbury Shirley and is sung in Italian with English
supertitles.
“Il Trovatore completes our three-year plan to produce the amazing works of Verdi,” noted Galati.
“We began this trilogy with Falstaff, then presented Otello last season, and will conclude with Il
Trovatore for our final Verdi opera. The composition is filled with extreme drama and incredible music. It
will pack a punch to the audience and we are excited to bring this opera to our patrons.”
Il Trovatore premiered in 1853 and has been described as “"a high flown, sprawling melodrama
flamboyantly defiant of the Aristotelian unities, packed with all manner of fantastic and bizarre incident.”
The story involved a running conflict between the Count Luna and a troubadour, Manrico, who contest
over the love of a noble woman, Leonora. Azucena, a gypsy, befriends Manrico, but Luna accuses her of
murder and orders her execution. Attempting to free Azucena, Manrico himself is arrested and sentenced
to die, causing Lenora to commit suicide rather than marry Luna.
Famed tenor Jorge Pita Carreras, who performed with Winter Opera last season in Mascagni’s
L’Amico Fritz, will sing the role of Manrico. Fritz Baritone Neil Nelson is cast as Luna, with soprano
Maria Kanyova as Leonora and mezzo-soprano Ellen Putnet-Moore as Azucena. The orchestra will be
conducted by Darwin Aquino.
Holidays on the Hill
Once again, Winter Opera artists will present Holidays on the Hill, a fun-filled holiday dinner and
concert at Dominic’s Restaurant, 5101 Wilson Avenue. These popular events feature performances by
Gina Galati and other opera singers along with a special four-course wine dinner. The events take place
on Tuesday, December 8 and Wednesday, December 9. Reservations are required at 3314-865-0038.
About Winter Opera St. Louis
Winter Opera St. Louis is a non-profit organization whose mission is to provide St. Louis with worldclass operatic performances during the winter months. The Opera’s productions feature nationally and
internationally known artists, performing classic operas in their original languages, with English subtitles.
Winter Opera St. Louis also highlights local performers and strengthens the local artist community yearround through community outreach programs and workshops. For more information, go to
www.winteroperastl.org.
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