John Hall - Musical Theater and Opera Archive

History

Premiered at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in 1918, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi was part of an evening of three one-act operas )the other two are Il Tabarro and Suor Angelica), called Il Trittico. Without a doubt, the most popular of these operas is Gianni Schicchi, a story of young love triumphing over family greed.

It seems that the relatives of the rich Buoso Donati have assembled, hoping to benefit from his death. Instead, they find that he has left his estate to the church while they get nothing. Rinuccio, the youngest, persuades his greedy elders that the father of his beloved Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi, is the only one who could possibly help them. Objecting to his falling in love with a poor daughter of such a low-class scoundrel without a dowry, the relatives reluctantly allow Rinuccio to bring Schicchi to the house for advice. In one of Puccini’s most famous and beloved artas, “O mio babbino caro.” Lauretta begs her father to help. Schicchi reluctantly forms a plan to masquerade as the dead man and rewrite the will. The relatives happily agree to his plan, and each of them secretly tries to influence Schicchi to leave them the biggest share. Schicchi warns them that they all face amputation of their hands and exile if the plot is discovered. The plot succeeds only too well. Schicchi, posing as Buoso Donati, leaves the bulk of the estate to “my dearest friend, Gianni Schicchi.” the greedy relatives cannot expose him, and now his poor daughter has a dowry and can marry her beloved Rinuccio. Schicchi asks the audience, “Could you imagine a better use for Buoso’s money?” as the curtain closes on the happy lovers.

Gian Carlo Menotti’s thriller The Medium was premiered on Broadway in 1947. the story is of a woman, Madame Flora (Baba), who makes her living by giving séances and fooling her clients into believing she can communicate with dead loved ones. One evening, during a séance, Madame Flora feels a cold hand on her throat. Hysterical and fearing that she has gone too far with the supernatural, she orders her clients out the door and huddles with her daughter Monica and Toby, the young, mute boy who lives with them. Days pass and still Madame Flora is obsessed with the ghostly hand on her throat. She tries to give her clients’ money back, but they refuse to believe that she has been a fraud. Madame Flora begins hearing voices and accuses Toby of trying to trick her. In a drunken rage she orders him out of the house and falls into fitful sleep. When Toby comes back to the apartment for his things, Baba shoots him exclaiming, “I’ve killed the ghost, I’ve killed the ghost.”

Cast

The Medium

Tragedy in Two Acts
Words and Music by Gian Carlo Menotti

Monica, daughter of Madame Flora
Aimee Willis (2/23, 3/3)
Robin Bartunek (2/24, 3/2)

Toby, a mute boy
Joseph S. Lasell (2/23, 3/3)
Scott Lehmkuhl (2/24, 3/2)

Madame Flora (Baba)
Heidi Herzog

Mrs. Gobineau
Holly Johnson (2/23, 3/3)
Stephanie Sharpe (2/24, 3/2)

Mr. Gobineau
In Hwan Choi (2/23, 3/3)
Kenneth Baggott (2/24, 3/2)

Mrs. Nolan
Teri Kraut

Time: Somewhere in
Middle Europe, between wars.

Cast

Gianni Schicchi

Opera in One Act
Libretto by Giovacchino Forzano
Music by Giacomo Puccini

Gianni Schicchi
Jeff Calof

Lauretta, his daughter
Stephanie Sharpe (2/23, 3/3)
Elizabeth Taylor (2/24, 3/2)

The Relatives of Buoso Donati

Zita, Buoso’s cousin
Adelaide Sinclair

Rinuccio, Zita’s nephew
in love with Lauretta
Alexander Kariotis

Gherardo, Buoso’s nephew
Joseph S. Lasell

Nella, his wife
Stacey Frederick (2/23, 3/3)
Teri Kraut (2/24, 3/2)

Gherardino, their son
Kimberly Breault (2/23, 3/3)
Angela Luzano (2/24, 3/2)

Betto, Buoso’s brother-in-law
Christopher Norton (2/23, 3/3)
Scott Lehmkuhl (2/24, 3/2)

Simone, Buoso’s cousin
Andrew Funk (2/23, 3/3)
Mark Dyer (2/24, 3/2)

Marco, his son
Kenneth Baggott

La Ciesca, Marco’s wife
Elizabeth Taylor (2/23, 3/3)
Andrea Gazarian (2/24, 3/2)

Doctor Spinelloccio
In Hwan Choi

Amantio di Nicolao, the Notary
Mark Dyer (2/23, 3/3)
Andrew Funk (2/24, 3/2)

Pinellino
Scott Lehmkuhl (2/23, 3/3)
Christopher Norton (2/24, 3/2)

Guccio
Christopher Salmassy

Time: Florence, 1927

Biographies

John Hall
Producer John Hall is noted for the wide dramatic concept and musical range of his direction. Whether a modern premiere of a Baroque opera, a revival of an American Musical Comedy, or a premiere of a new piece of Music Theater, his productions are praised for their clear dramatic impact and technical polish. For fifteen years he has been showcasing young talent at UCLA and counts amoung his favorite productions last season’s Four Saints in Three Acts by Gertrude Stein and Virgil Thomson, Alessandro Scarlatti’s Gli Equivoci nel Sembiante, Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny by Brecht and Weill and Rodgers and Hart’s The Boys from Syracuse (conducted by the then 16-year-old Lucas Richman). Alumni from his productions have appeared on Broadway and in European, American, and Australian opera companies.

Lucas Richman
UCLA welcomes alumnus Lucas Richman as he returns to the podium in Schoenberg Hall. Since his graduation here, Lucas has studied with Daniel Lewis at USC, and has worked with such conductors as Michael Tilson Thomas, Herbert Blomstedt and Leonard Bernstein. Currently he is in his second season as Assistant Conductor of the Pacific Symphony in Orange County. He has been guest conductor of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Glendale Symphony, the Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra and was Associate Conductor of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra from 1984 to 1987. In 1988 he toured with West Germany’s Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra and at Leonard Bernstein’s invitation conducted that ensemble in London and Moscow.

About the Cast

Baritone Kenneth Baggott sang in last year’s UCLA production of Four Saints in Three Acts. A composition major, he has also performed with the UCLA Madrigal Singers. He will be heard in the Mozart Requiem later this season.

Lyric soprano Robin Bartunek, a sophomore voice major, made her UCLA debut with the University Symphony Orchestra and Opera Workshop last November. She has just won the 1990 Atwater Kent Competition in Voice and studies voice with Tim Mussard.

Kimberly Breault debuted in Four Saints in Three Acts with the UCLA Opera Workshop last season. She recently was in the UCLA Theater Arts production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Me and Juliet.

A student of Tim Mussard and Heinz Blankenburg, Jeff Calof returns to the UCLA Opera Workshop, adding the title role of Gianni Schicchi to his repertory. Previously, Jeff has performed Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte and Sir John Falstaff in Nicolai’s Merry Wives of Windsor here at Schoenberg Hall. Jeff has also appeared as Escamillo in Carmen with the Cal State LA Opera Workshop and will debut this spring with the Los Angeles Guild Opera production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute.

A native of Korea, baritone In Hwan Choi came to UCLA last quarter and sang in an ensemble from Bellini’s Il Pirata. He hopes to enter the Master’s program in voice in the fall.

Bass-baritone Mark Dyer has been seen as Dr. Caius in The Merry Wives of Windsor by Nicolai, as St. Plan in Four Saints in Three Acts by Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein with the UCLA Opera Workshop, and has appeared as soloist with the University Symphony.

Stacey Frederick, a lyric soprano from Los Angeles, appeared in last season’s Four Saints in Three Acts and is a member of the UCLA Madrigal Singers. She has appeared as soloist with the UCLA Symphony and in last quarter’s Festa Italiana. Her next appearance will be as soloist in the Mozart Requiem.

Andrew Funk, a junior voice major, sang in Four Saints in Three Acts last season and will sing the bass solos in the Mozart Requiem later this season at UCLA. Andrew has also sung in the UCLA Concert Choir and Madrigal Singers and is a student of tim Mussard.

A member of the UCLA Concert Choir and Madrigal Singers, soprano Andrea Gazarian makes her UCLA Opera Workshop debut as La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi.

Heidi Herzog, a dramatic mezzo soprano in her senior year at UCLA, has been seen as Mrs. Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor by Otto Nicolai, as the Commerce in the Stein/Thomson Four Saints in Three Acts and in The Goose Girl by Thomas Pasatieri with the Opera Workshop. A student of Tim Mussard, she will sing her senior recital in Spring Quarter.

Soprano Holly Johnson was seen last quarter in Festa Italiana with the University Symphony and Opera Workshop. She studeis with Dorothy Warenskjold and will give her Senior Recital. later this year.

A recent graduate of Mannes School of Music, tenor Alexander Kariotis is a first-year graduate student at UCLA. Specializing in the bel canto repertory, he made his debut last November singing arias and ensembles by Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini with the University Symphony.

Teri Kraut appeared in last season’s Four Saints in Three Acts as St. Sarah. She also appeared with the University Symphony and Opera Workshop in last quarter’s Festa Italiana.

Tenor Joseph S. Lasell was St. Stephen in Four Saints in Three Acts and has appeared as soloist with the University Symphony. He toured Europe last summer with the Paulist Boys Choir and won Honorable Mention in this year’s Atwater Kent Competition.

Angela Luzano made her UCLA Opera Workshop debut in the Stein/Thomson Four Saints in Three Acts. She has sung with the UCLA Concert Choir and Madrigal Singers.

A native of Iowa, Scott Lehmkuhl made his UCLA debut last year in Festa Italiana. Scott has sung with the UCLA Men’s Glee Club and is also a member of th eUCLA Music Theater Workshop. He studies with Heinz Blankenburg.

Christopher Norton, a baritone from Monterey, sang in last season’s Four Saints in Three Acts and was a soloist in Festa Italiana last quarter. Christopher has also appeared with the Batiquitos Summer Opera Festival and at Cal State LA Opera Workshop.

Tenor, Chris Salmassy is a first-year student at UCLA. Majoring in composition, he also studeis voice with Sally Etcheto and sings with the UCLA Music Theater Workshop and Madrigal Singers. This is his debut with the Opera Workshop.

Stephanie Sharpe, a soprano form Riverside, made her workshop debut as St. Settlement in the Stein/Thomson Four Saints in Three Acts. She has also appeared as soloist with the University Symphony.

Since her UCLA Opera Workshop debut as Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, mezzo-soprano Adelaide Sinclair has been soloist with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Central City Opera Company. She is contracted with the New York City Opera and has also appeared at the Hollywood Bowl.

First-year graduate student, Elizabeth Taylor, sang with the Opera Workshop and University Symphony in last quarter’s Festa Italiana. A student of Kari Windingstad, she is the recipient of a Gladys Turk Award in Voice.

Aimee Willis has performed many times with the UCLA Opera Workshop. Among her roles are, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Alice Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor by Nicolai, Angelina in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Trial by Jury, St. Teresa I in Four Saints in Three Acts by Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein and the Queen in Pasatieri’s The Goose Girl. She has performed Rosabella in Frank Loesser’s Most Happy Fella with the UCLA Theater Arts Department and has been soloist with the University Symphony many times. Studying wiht Tim Mussard, she has been a finalist in the Artist of the Future and Southern California Opera Guild competitions. She will appear as Pamina in The Magic Flute by Mozart in the Los Angeles Guild Opera produciton this spring.

The Medium - 1990

History

Cast

Cast

Orchestra

Biographies

Credits

UCLA Opera Workshop

UCLA Voice Faculty

Photographs