Teatro Grattacielo
2 Riverside Drive
2C
New York, NY
10023
212-595-7127

Season 2004: La Cena Delle Beffe

About the Opera    Synopsis    About the Artists

TEATRO GRATTACIELO
presents
Umberto Giordano's
La Cena Delle Beffe

opera in concert
ONE PERFORMANCE ONLY

Monday Evening, November 20, 2004 at 8:00 pm

ALICE TULLY HALL, LINCOLN CENTER

Starring
Lando Bartolini
Patryk Wroblewski
Michele Capalbo
Tracy Rhodus
Maria Zifchak
Lawrence Long
John Pickle
John Easterlin
Matthew Lau
Peter Castaldi
Kimiko Hata
Daniel (Ihn-Kyu) Lee
Luis Emilio Cabrera

The Teatro Grattacielo Orchestra
Conducted by
Maestro Alfredo Silipigni

About the Artists

Maestro Alfredo Silipigni has been the principal conductor and Artistic Director of the New Jersey State Opera since the company’s founding 39 years ago.  He has also appeared with orchestras around the world including the Vienna State Opera, English National Opera, the Liceu in Barcelona, and ''Opéra de Montréal.  His many verismo revivals and recordings of Adriana Lecouvreur and Zazà have earned him the reputation as a leading exponent of the verismo style.

 Tenor Lando Bartolini's distinguished career has taken him to every major international opera house including La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, and the Opéra in Paris.   His repertoire extends to over thirty leading tenor roles with a particular specialty being Calaf, a role he has sung more than any other tenor in history.  We are honored to welcome this great artist back after his resounding success in last year's Guglielmo Ratcliff.

 Baritone Patryk Wroblewski has been a Grand Prize Winner in the Rosa Ponselle International Voice Competition, a winner in the Luciano Pavarotti International Competition and has sung leading roles throughout Europe and North America including the Chicago Lyric, Dallas, Florida Grand, New York City Opera, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Santa Fe, Dublin, and Bavarian State Opera.  His recording of Argento's Casanova's Homecoming has just been issued by Newport Classics.

 Soprano Michele Capalbo continues her conquest of the operatic world with her dramatic and stunning vocalism.  This past summer she sang the Forza Leonora in Parma and last April made her New York City Opera debut as Tosca.  Other performances have included Violetta with Austin Lyric Opera, La Dame Blanche with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Aïda with Toulouse, Strasbourg, Dayton, and for Houston Grand Opera's new production in 2005/6.

 Soprano Tracy Rhodus, a native of Houston, has sung the Queen of the Night, Musetta, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, Helena in Midsummer Night's Dream, Marion in The Music Man, and Nellie in South Pacific.  At Tanglewood she sang Fire, Princess and Nightingale in L'enfant et les Sortilèges under Robert Spano.  A particular specialty is contemporary music and her premières include the music of  Vache Sharafyjan, Robert Avalon, and Art Gottschalk.

 Mezzo-soprano Maria Zifchak has been heard in a wide variety of rôles both at the Metropolitan Opera, where she has been on the roster since the 1999-2000 season, and around the world including the Teatro Colon de Bogotá, New York City Opera, and the Salzburg Festival.  At the Met her roles have included Mercédès, Flora, Suzuki, and the Adjutant in War and Peace. Future engagements include Dorabella for both Arizona and Seattle Operas.

 Bass-baritone Lawrence Long's operatic performances encompass both the dramatic roles of Raimondo, Colline and Monterone as well as the comedic roles of Leporello and the Dons:  Magnifico, Pasquale, Bartolo and Alphonso.  This fall he made his New York City Opera debut in Charles Wuorinen's Haroun and the Sea of Stories and also appeared as the Baron in La Traviata.  Other engagements include Sarasota, Opera Delaware, Cleveland, and Opera Illinois.

 Tenor John Pickle's beautiful lyric voice has been heard in both opera and operetta with the New York City Opera National Company, Toledo Opera, Shreveport Opera, Ohio Light Opera, and the National Opera Company in roles ranging from Rodolfo and Gérald to Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, Karl Franz in The Student Prince and Sam Kaplan in Street Scene.  His many operetta recordings are available on both the Newport Classic and Albany Records labels.

 Character tenor John Easterlin made his debut last season with the Metropolitan Opera as the Fourth Jew in Salome.  He has sung with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Spoleto Festival USA, Utah Opera, New York City Opera, Seattle and Dallas, as Don Curzio, Edmondo, the Tanzmeister, Jaquino, Pang, and Pedrillo among his extensive repertoire.  Upcoming engagements include the Major-Domo at the Met, Dr. Blind in Philadelphia, and Triquet withTulsa Opera.

 Baritone Peter Castaldi recently sang the roles of Rigoletto and Germont with Opera Brooklyn and Lyric Opera of Waco and was the baritone soloist for Ned Rorem’s 80th Birthday Concert at Merkin Hall.  He has appeared with the St. Cecilia Society, St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic, I Pomeriggi Musicali, and l'Opéra Français of New York. Recordings are available on Vox, Newport Classics, and the Albany labels.

 Soprano Kimiko Hata, in her New York début, received her training at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.  Her operatic engagements have included appearances at the Natchez Opera Festival where she covered the roles of Micaëla and Mimi.  She also sang the role of Fiordiligi in Mielparque Hall and with Opera d'Arte in Tokyo.  In concert she has appeared as the soprano soloist in the Verdi Requiem on tour with the Bulgarian Opera Company.

 Baritone Daniel (Ihn-Kyu) Lee recently graduated from the Juilliard School's Professional Studies Program where he was on full scholarship and received his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from the Korean National University.  Last year, as a member of the Opera Orchestra of New York’s Young Artist Program, he sang Seid in Il Corsaro and Barnaba in La Gioconda.  He won both the Caruso and Puccini Foundation International Competitions.

 Lyric tenor Luis Emilio Cabrera studied at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and at the Boston Conservatory of Music.  He has sung Borsa, Tamino, Tosca and Don Ottavio with The Little Opera Company of New Jersey, Gastone with Opera at Florham, and Don Luis with The Cosmopolitan Symphony Orchestra.  He has also appeared with The American Chamber Opera Company, The Paper Mill Playhouse, and Horizon Concerts.