New Century Chamber Orchestra with San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows presents Donizetti's Rita and other works
2014-02-12
First Congregational Church
2345 Channing Way, Berkeley, CA
8:00 PM, Wednesday, February 12, 2014

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Strauss (arr. Clarice Assad): Dance of the Seven Veils from Salome – although this work was announced as part of the program (and listed as such on Clarice Assad's website as well), it was omitted from today's program without explanation for the change.

[8:06 PM lights down, announcements]

1. [8:07 PM] Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945) (arr. Clarice Assad): Intermezzo from Cavalleria Rusticana (1890)
   [work ends 8:11 PM; pause a minute or two]

1. [8:12 PM] Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901): Third Movement, Prestissimo, from String Quartet in E minor (1873)
   [work ends 8:16 PM; pause a minute or two]

1. [8:17 PM] Jules Massenet (1842-1912) (arr. Clarice Assad): Meditation from Thaïs, (1894) featuring Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg: violin.
   [work ends 8:24 PM; pause a minute or two]

1. [8:25 PM] Johann Strauss, Jr. (1825-1899) (arr. Mats Lidström): Overture to Die Fledermaus (1874)
   [set ends 8:34 PM]

[8:50 PM last minute practice, setting the scene, waiting; 8:53 PM DH leads concert tuning; 8:55 PM video; 8:56 PM go!]

Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (1797-1848): Rita, ou Le mari battu (Rita, or The Beaten Husband) (1841)
Rescored and edited for NCCO by Peter Grunberg
Sung in Italian, with supertitles and recitative in English.

Score and Libretto (in Italian)

(No tracks or tunes identified in the program)

1. [8:58 PM] ?
2. [9:03 PM] ?
3. [9:05 PM] ?
4. [9:13 PM] ?
5. [9:18 PM] ?
6. [9:23 PM] ?
7. [9:30 PM] ?
8. [9:38 PM] ?
9. [9:m PM] ?
10. [9:m PM] ?
    [set ends 9:58 PM; no encore]

New Century Chamber Orchestra

• Hrabba Atladottir: first violin;
• Susan Babini: cello, Principal;
• Robin Bonnell: cello;
• Jenny Douglass: viola;
• Michael Graham: cello;
• Candace Guirao: second violin, Principal;
• Dawn Harms: Associate Concertmaster, first violin;
• Anna Kruger: viola, Principal;
• Anthony Manzo: contrabass, Principal;
• Michelle Maruyama: second violin;
• Robin Mayforth: second violin;
• Isaac Melamed: cello;
• Emily Onderdonk: viola;
• Anna Presler: second violin;
• Deborah Tien Price: second violin;
• Cassandra Lynne Richburg: viola;
• Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg: music director, violin;
• Karen Shinozaki Sor: first violin;
• Iris Stone: first violin.

• Eric Achen: horn;
• Michelle Caimotto: flute;
• Bennie Cottone: oboe;
• Amy Duxbury: bassoon;
• Jose Gonzalez-Granero: clarinet;
• Galen Lemmon: percussion;
• Alicia Telford: horn, Principal;

• Maria Valdes as Rita, landlady of the tavern: soprano vox;
• Thomas Glenn as Beppe, her husband: tenor vox;
• Efraín Solís as Gasparo, her former husband: baritone vox;

• Eugene Brancoveanu: director, script, production design.

While the first set tonight seemed a little more light-weight than usual (because it consisted mostly of excerpts? I dunno. Just my ill-expressed opinion!), the second set was quite satisfying. It seemed strange to me that the group was set up in the back half of the stage – taking over the chorus area rather than playing at the front like usual, but it was an interesting change – it really accentuated the hall ambience, tilting the balance in a richer, more lush direction than usual. And when the stage hands began setting up the scenery for the opera during set break it became apparent why the orchestra was set in the back!

As performed tonight, Donizetti's Rita is an over-the-top farce about domineering mates in a love triangle of sorts. I'd try to explain, but really, it's easier to send you off to the program notes. Suffice it to say that like most operas, the plot is merely a thin framework upon which the composer and librettist hang the rest of their work. I thought it a little odd that the program lacked any synopsis or libretto text, but the use of translated supertitles (during the arias) English (for most of the recitative passages), and a healthy dose of comic burlesque from the cast made the story action clear enough. I was surprised that the cast was costumed in modern clothes, with more or less modern scene decorations as well; I suppose I expected things a bit more evocative of the 19th century source material. Nonetheless, these are petty gripes. The cast did a marvelous job with both singing and acting, and I'd be happy to see a similar work surface on next year's calendar.

Program Notes

Promo article by Sean Martinfield

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