The Cast of 
Il Trittico 
(Triptych)

Please see a listing of the Artistic and Technical Staff under About.

Il Tabarro:

Gianni Schicchi:

Suor Angelica:

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Hailed by Opera News for her “deliciously over the top” and “powerful mezzo” Alissa Anderson wields her comic prowess, striking features, and powerful vocalism to great acclaim. Alissa recently sang Maddalena in Rigoletto with Opera in the Heights, Mother Goose in The Rake’s Progress with Utah Opera, John Adams’ Grand Pianola Music with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with Concordia University Symphony Orchestra, and La Zia Principessa/Zita in Suor Angelica/Gianni Schicchi with Opera Santa Barbara. Additional operatic highlights include Cleo in The Most Happy Fella, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Emilia in Otello and Lampito in Lysistrata. In the 2016-2017 season Alissa makes debuts with San Diego Opera as Tisbe in La Cenerentola and North Carolina Opera as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, and joins Opera Southwest for their New Year’s Eve concert. Upcoming: Alissa sings the title role of La tragédie de Carmen with Opera Birmingham.

Website: alissaandersoncontralto.com

A rising young artist, bass Jeffrey Beruan possesses a sonorous voice and dramatic intensity. His 2016-17 schedule includes two roles debuts: Tutor in Le Comte Ory with LoftOpera and Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette with GLOW, as well as reprises of the Prison Warden in Dead Man Walking with Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Bonze with Austin Opera. Recent operatic highlights include Sarastro in The Magic Flute and Zuniga in Carmen with Lyric Opera of Kansas City; King in Aïda, Don Fernando in Fidelio,and Ferrando in Il trovatore for Sarasota Opera; Reverend Baines in Elmer Gantry and Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Florentine Opera; and the Prison Warden in Dead Man Walking and Polyphemus in Acis and Galatea for Madison Opera. The 2017-18 brings his role debut as Gesler in Guillaume Tell and a return to Florentine Opera for The Magic Flute.

Website: ada-artists.com/bass-jeffrey-beruan

Greek soprano Eleni Calenos is capturing critics’ and audiences’ admiration for the clarity, warmth and beauty of her lyric voice and her dignified characterizations. Most recently Ms. Calenos returned to Odyssey Opera as L’Infante in Massenet’s Le Cid and to Palm Beach Opera as Micäela in Carmen, made her Madison Opera debut as Mimi in La bohème, and role debuts of Desdemona in Otello with the Phoenicia Music Festival and the title role in Tosca with Loft Opera. In concert she sang Verdi’s Requiem with the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra and Queens College, and joined the Sheboygan Symphony Orchestra for Respighi’s Lauda per la Nativita del Signore. The 2016-17 season also includes her return to Shreveport Opera as Mimi in La bohème, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Queens College Choral Society, Tosca with Opera Idaho, and a return to Opera Company of Middlebury for her role debut of Giorgetta in Il tabarro.

Website: elenicalenos.com

Tenor Joshua Collier was hailed as “a great Italian tenor on the make” by Classical Scene in his June 2016 role debut as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette, and lauded by the classical Voice of North Carolina for his “exceptionally pleasing tone, and excellent command of [his] high range.” He is equally comfortable with new music, opera, operetta, musical theater, and oratorio. This winter, Mr. Collier was an advanced studio artist with Sarasota Opera (FL) where he performed in Madama Butterfly and The Dialogues of the Carmelites. He will appear as the role of Ibarra in Opera Brittenica’s (Boston) production of the Filipino opera, Noli Me Tangere in June, and in August will perform his role debut of Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème with Vermont Lyric Theatre. Mr. Collier is proud to be represented by Berger Artist Management. Full details of his performance schedule, as well as links to past performances may be found at bergerartists.com/joshuacollier.

Website: JRCTenor.com

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Jessica Allen performed as part of a twelve-person cast in the Vermont opera A Fleeting Animal by Erik Nielsen in September 2015. Performances with the Opera Company of Middlebury include three Puccini operas: La Bohème (2008), La Rondine (2011), and now Il Trittico.

Clara Cavitt moved to Vermont in 1979. She sings with Maple Jam (a cappella jazz) and The Vermont Choral Union. Clara sang in the chorus of the Green Mountain Opera Festival productions of Carmen (2011) and La Bohème (2012). She has also sung with the VSO Chorus, Burlington Choral Society, and Oriana Singers.

Based in Vermont, Victoria Drew is a lyric soprano with a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance from UVM and a Master’s in Opera Performance from the Longy School of Music. She teaches singing privately and for St. Michael’s College, and plays the accordion, piano, and trumpet professionally. When not performing with companies throughout Vermont, you can find Victoria running BNI Vermont as its Executive Director.

Mezzo-Soprano Mahalya Gogerly-Moragoda returns to OCM after playing the third spirit in The Magic Flute last October. Mahalya is a rising senior at the University of Vermont studying Microbiology and Molecular Genetics with hopes of attending medical school. She studies under Sarah Cullins and has been involved with the Vermont Youth Orchestra Chorus and the UVM Jazz Vocal Ensemble.

Canadian mezzo Erin Grainger has appeared as soloist with the Burlington Chamber Orchestra, Middlebury Bach Festival, and Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. Roles include Ruth (Pirates of Penzance), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), and Marcellina (Figaro), among others. She holds a Master’s degree from McGill University and has performed as a chorister with Opéra de Montréal.

David (DJ) Tetreault is celebrating his sophomore season with OCM after making his debut in the chorus of last season’s Macbeth. He studied voice at Saint Michael’s College and is currently working on his MFA in Composition at Vermont College of Fine Arts. 

Cathy Walsh has appeared with OCM and other Vermont companies in roles including Charlotte (A Little Night Music), Velma (Chicago), and many others. She is delighted by the chance to join this sisterhood of artists in Suor Angelica. Cathy is on the OCM Board of Directors, a hospice volunteer, and a newly minted Grammie, her favorite role yet.

Background of Verdi’s Macbeth

Written in 1846-47, toward the end of Verdi’s ‘galley years’ (three years before the 1850 breakthrough of Rigoletto, Trovatore, and Traviata), Verdi had just come off a six-month period of rest ordered by his doctor, most likely due to mental exhaustion from his frenetic life of writing one opera after another. He had always been a lover of Shakespeare; remember that he also wrote Otello and Falstaff and had long had plans to write a King Lear which he never finished. He wrote his own prose libretto which was then set in verse by his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave. Piave’s libretto, although poetic in Italian, cannot quite come up the Shakespeare’s magisterial poetry. Further, Verdi and Piave expertly trimmed the play to make it a workable length for a sung drama. Its première in 1847, only one month after Verdi finished it, was a huge success and it made its way around the world in only a few months. The US première was in New York in 1850.

Cast of Characters

Macbeth, Baritone, General of King Duncan’s army 
Lady Macbeth, Soprano 
Banco (Banquo), Bass, General of King Duncan’s army 
Macduff, Tenor, Lord of Fife 
Lady-in-waiting, Mezzo-Soprano 
Malcolm, Tenor, King Duncan’s son 
Doctor, Bass
Apparitions, 2 sopranos and 1 bass

Synopsis

Act I

Scene one – A forest  Returning home from battle Macbeth and Banquo come upon a coven of witches that makes three unsettling predictions: they promise Macbeth shall become Thane of Cawdor, and then he shall be king; to Banquo they foretell that kings shall number among his descendants. The witches vanish, leaving the bewildered Macbeth and Banquo to consider what they’ve witnessed. Messengers inform them of the treasonous Thane of Cawdor’s recent execution – Macbeth has been named his successor. Already dark thoughts of ambition begin to cloud his judgment.

Scene two – A hall in the castle  Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband detailing his unusual experiences and the swift fulfillment of the first prophesy. She draws the conclusion that their next step must be to usurp the throne. A servant informs his mistress that King Duncan plans to spend the night as their guest.

Late into the night, the Macbeths hash out their deadly scheme. After his wife gives the signal that all have retired to bed, Macbeth murders the sleeping Duncan. His remorse is pronounced, but Lady Macbeth holds strong, returning to the scene of the crime and planting the bloodstained dagger among the king’s sleeping bodyguards to implicate them. As dawn breaks Macduff and Banquo discover the king has been assassinated.e one – A forest  Returning home from battle Macbeth and Banquo come upon a coven of witches that makes three unsettling predictions: they promise Macbeth shall become Thane of Cawdor, and then he shall be king; to Banquo they foretell that kings shall number among his descendants. The witches vanish, leaving the bewildered Macbeth and Banquo to consider what they’ve witnessed. Messengers inform them of the treasonous Thane of Cawdor’s recent execution – Macbeth has been named his successor. Already dark thoughts of ambition begin to cloud his judgment.

Act II

Scene one – A room in the castle  Duncan’s son, Malcolm, has fled Scotland. As a result he is now suspected of the regicide. Macbeth, now crowned king, is still unsettled by the witches’ third prediction – that Banquo’s children shall one day rule. He and his wife agree that more blood must flow.

Scene two – The castle park.  Assassins descend on Banquo and his young son, Fleance. Banquo is killed, but Fleance manages to escape.

Scene three – A magnificent banquet hall  A celebration is held in Macbeth’s honor, and Lady Macbeth leads the toast. An assassin quietly confirms that Banquo has been killed, but Fleance remains at large. To his guests, Macbeth notes Banquo’s absence and makes the noble gesture to seat himself at his place. He is visibly horrified to find Banquo’s ghost already seated there. The guests are shocked by the strange behavior, and Lady Macbeth demands he control himself. To divert everyone’s attention she strikes up the drinking song again, but the ghost returns, and Macbeth loses his composure. Macduff grows suspicious.

Act III

A dark cave  Regrouped for the sabbath, the witches prepare an unearthly brew. Specters and demons dance as Hecate, goddess of the night and of sorcery, materializes. Macbeth returns in search of more answers. The powers of darkness yield an apparition warning him to beware Macduff. The second spirit, a child, advises him not to fear any man born of a woman. A final apparition assures him not to worry until Birnam Wood moves against him. Macbeth is reassured but insists on knowing the fate of Banquo’s son. The witches refuse to answer, but Banquo’s progeny is displayed in a parade of specters, followed by the reappearance of Banquo’s ghost. The witches and spirits vanish as Macbeth faints.

Macbeth confides the strange happenings to his wife. Recognizing Macduff as the most serious threat, they agree Lady Macduff and her children must die.

Background and synopsis written by J. Scott Morrison, OCM Board member.

The Music

Our own resident music expert, J. Scott Morrison, has compiled a list of his favorite recordings and videos of Mozart’s The Magic Flute. We hope you enjoy them.

Audio CD

The Magic Flute conducted by Georg Solti, Vienna State Opera, with Sumi Jo, Ruth Ziesak, Kurt Moll.

The Magic Flute conducted by Sir Colin Davis, Dresden Staatskapelle, with Luciana Serra, Margaret Price, Peter Schreier, Kurt Moll.

DVD

The Magic Flute,Colin Davis conducting, with Simon Keenlyside, Dorothea Roschmann, Diana Damrau – this is easily my favorite DVD of the opera. Keenlyside is the funniest Papageno I’ve ever seen, and Diana Damrau’s Queen of the Night sets a new standard for the part.

 On YouTube

Queen of the Night’s aria Der Hölle Rache, sung by Diana Damrau.

Pamina’s aria, Ach, ich fuhl’s, sung by Dorothea Roschmann (no subtitles).

Papageno’s aria, Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen, sung by Simon Keenlyside.

Sarastro’s aria, In diesen Heil’gen, sung by René Pape.

Tamino’s aria, Dies Bildnis (in which he falls in love with a picture of Pamina), sung by Jonas Kaufmann (no subtitles).