25 in 2025 Anniversary Festival
June 14–22
A.R.T./New York - Mezzanine Theatre
502 W. 53rd St.La clemenza di Tito
June 18, 20, 22m
Benjamin Spierman, Stage Director
Chris Fecteau and David Štech, Conductor and Music Director
PROGRAM
CAST
La clemenza di Tito is both timeless and timely. One of Mozart’s ‘leanest’ operas (approx. 2hrs 15mins in our production), it was composed rather quickly as a coronation commission. Though it calls upon an existing libretto by Metastasio (already set numerous times by other composers) and assigns colleague Sussmayer to set the recitatives, Tito is the opposite of slap-dash. Virtuouso arias that still tell the character’s truth. Characters exquisitely well-drawn, but with plentiful space for the singer-actor to fully enter in. Concertato moments equal to the bel canto composer greats. Instrumental accompaniments that hew to every line of the poetry. But more importantly, characters with heart, with passion, with every human vulnerability. And a hero who arrives at his own truth only after struggling with everyone else’s lies and betrayal. A lieto fine seems impossible, and yet…
A tremendously committed cast made up of our most cherished alumni was led by Bronx Opera General Director Ben Spierman, and conducted by dell’Arte Artistic Director Chris Fecteau and in one performance by David Stech. Chamber orchestration for septet by Chris Fecteau, once again populated some of NYC’s most dedicated freelance musicians.
| June 18, 20, 22m | covers | |
|---|---|---|
| Tito | Stephen Steffens | Andres Penalver |
| Sesto | Sarah Nelson Craft | Olivia Ericsson |
| Vitellia | Barbee Monk | Heather Bobeck |
| Annio | Valerie Filloux | Victoria Falcone |
| Servilia | Elizaveta Kozlova | Nina Riley |
| Publio | Jason Adamo | Aaron Petrovich |
Voice of Her Heart
June 14
David Štech, Chris Fecteau, and Lara Saldanha, Conductor and Music Director
PROGRAM
CAST
A very special program featured both 2025 roster artists and alumni going back to the very beginnings of the company. The first half of the program centered around FRAUENLIEBE und -LEBEN as set by both Robert Schumann and Carl Loewe, surrounded by songs centering a woman’s 19th and early 20th century life. The journey transcended the traditional ideas of the Chamisso’s poetry, introducing hints of agency, identity and independence. The second half of the program featured repertoire by three NYC female composers near and dear to dell’Arte: Martha Sullivan, Valerie Saalbach, and Ellen Mandel. Martha is represented by a recent three song cycle “Chasing Light”. Andi Chinedu Nwoke, Antonina Ermolenko and Courtenay Budd Caramico, beloved alumni, sang these three modern experiences of women in the world, with Elisa Toro Franky as a dancer counterpart. Ellen Teufel presented Valerie Saalbach’s “Caterina to Camoens” cycle setting poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Clara Lisle will san two heart-warming and heart-wrenching settings of poetry by Seamus Heaney by Ellen Mandel. An entire evening of small treasures that added up to an unforgettable experience.
Featuring: Elizaveta Kozlova, Victoria Falcone, Valerie Filloux, Nina Riley-Hernandez, Jenny Ribeiro, Barbee Monk, Olivia Ericsson, Andrea Chinedo Nwoke, Ellen Teufel, Courtenay Budd Caramico, Antonina Ermolenko, dancer Elisa Toro Franky, and pianists David Stech, Lara Saldanha, and Chris Fecteau, who curated the program.
Voice of Her Heart
Italian Songbook
June 19, June 21
Lara Saldanha, David Štech, and Chris Fecteau, Conductor and Music Director
PROGRAM
The Italienisches Liederbuch (Italian songbook) is a collection of translations of anonymous Italian poems into German by Paul Heyse (1830–1914), first published in 1860. Its rich vein of poetry has seams of love, intrigue, jealousy, musicians and their lovers, lullabyes and laments. Composers, most famous among them Hugo Wolf, were inspired to create wonderful, mostly miniature but hugely characterful songs. Our program augments Wolf’s famous settings with more by Joseph Marx, Hermann Goetz, and Arnold Mendelssohn (son of Felix’s cousin). Singers solo, in pairs, and in a trio weave stories from these songs for our audience to interpret for themselves. Who is the jilted? Is the the father too protective or the daughter too indulgent?
Featuring: Ellen Teufel, Nina Riley-Hernandez, Victoria Falcone, Elizaveta Kozlova, Jason Adamo, Clara Lisle, Andres Penalver, Heather Bobeck, Olivia Ericsson, Stephen Steffens, and pianists Lara Saldanha, David Stech, and Chris Fecteau, who curates the program.
Italian Songbook
Creative Team & Production Staff
Joshua Rose, Lighting DesignerEric Lamp, Costume Designer
Megan Gillis, Production Manager