Teatro Nuovo (New York)

Last updated

Teatro Nuovo is an American opera company and training institution specializing in the repertory and performance practice of bel canto opera. It was founded in 2017 by Will Crutchfield, who is currently its general and artistic director.

Contents

History

Teatro Nuovo was founded in 2017 to continue the work of Bel Canto at Caramoor after Crutchfield and the Caramoor Summer Music Festival (where he was director of opera from 1997 to 2017) parted ways following his desire to expand the scope and offerings of the program. [1]

Inaugural season

Teatro Nuovo presented its inaugural Bel Canto Festival in the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College in July and August 2018, performing Rossini's Tancredi , Mayr's Medea in Corinto , and a second version of Tancredi featuring the eight alternative pieces Rossini composed after the premiere, which the company called Tancredi rifatto [redone]. Like its predecessor, the program is accompanied by a multi-week training program for young singers, with a cohort of resident artists and studio artists led by a faculty that includes Crutchfield, Rachelle Jonck, Marguerite Krull, and Marco Nisticò. In its first season, several of the leading roles were sung by program members, joining guest soloists Jennifer Rowley, a Bel Canto at Caramoor alumna, Tamara Mumford, Amanda Woodbury, and Santiago Ballerini.

In contrast to the Caramoor seasons, which were accompanied by the festival's resident Orchestra of St. Luke's, Teatro Nuovo formed a new 48-member orchestra playing on period instruments, seated according to the layout used at the Teatro di San Carlo of Naples in 1816, and revived the historical practice of performing without a conductor. Instead, leadership was divided between the concertmaster (Jakob Lehmann) and keyboard player (Crutchfield for Tancredi, Jonathan Brandani for Medea). This procedure has the effect of making the orchestra "a participating and listening ensemble, rather than an instrument to be played upon by a conductor". [2]

Second season

Teatro Nuovo expanded its offerings in its second season: Vincenzo Bellini's La straniera , Rossini's La gazza ladra , and a concert pairing Rossini's Stabat Mater with Gaetano Donizetti's Symphony in E minor. Performances in the second season again took place at the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College, but also within New York City at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall [3] and the Church of the Heavenly Rest. The critically acclaimed period-instrument orchestra returned for the second season. [4] During the summer of 2019, Jakob Lehmann was named associate artistic director.

2020 season

For 2020, Teatro Nuovo announced revivals of Rossini's Maometto secondo and Il vero omaggio along with the modern premiere of Donizetti's Miserere in G minor in its original Viennese version of 1843. Upon the nationwide shutdown of live performances due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Teatro Nuovo announced that its planned 2020 season would be carried over to the 2021 festival. On September 15, 2020, Teatro Nuovo released the first-ever complete recording of Nicola Vaccai’s Practical Method of Italian Singing, led by Will Crutchfield and featuring 22 singers including Santiago Ballerini, Lawrence Brownlee, Teresa Castillo, Junhan Choi, Georgia Jarman, Alisa Jordheim, Hannah Ludwig, Christine Lyons, Megan Marino, Dorian McCall, Madison Marie McIntosh, Angela Meade, Tamara Mumford, Lisette Oropesa, Daniel Mobbs, Jennifer Rowley, Nicholas Simpson, Michael Spyres, Derrek Stark, Alina Tamborini, Hans Tashjian, and Meigui Zhang. [5]

Critical reception

Critical reaction to the new venture emphasized the orchestral innovations. The critic of The Wall Street Journal wrote that "the effect was transformative", [6] and the Financial Times headlined its review, "this is how it should be done". [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leyla Gencer</span> Turkish-Polish operatic soprano

Leyla Gencer was a Turkish operatic soprano.

<i>Tancredi</i> Opera by Gioachino Rossini

Tancredi is a melodramma eroico in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi, based on Voltaire's play Tancrède (1760). The opera made its first appearance at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice on 6 February 1813, less than a month after the premiere of his previous opera Il signor Bruschino. The overture, borrowed from La pietra del paragone, is a popular example of Rossini's characteristic style and is regularly performed in concert and recorded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicola Vaccai</span> Italian composer and singing teacher

Nicola Vaccai was an Italian composer, particularly of operas, and a singing teacher.

The Caramoor Summer Music Festival is a music festival founded in 1945 that is held on the 90-acre (360,000 m2) estate of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, which includes a Mediterranean-style stucco villa and is located about 50 miles (80 km) north of New York City in Katonah, New York.

Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don White, Opera Rara's recordings are internationally distributed by Warner Classics. In September 2019, Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi succeeded Sir Mark Elder as artistic director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roberto Abbado</span> Italian conductor

Roberto Abbado is an Italian opera and symphonic music conductor. Currently he is an Artistic Partner of The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra. In 2015 he has been appointed music director of Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Spain. From 2018 he's Music Director of the Festival Verdi in Parma. Previously he held the position of Chief Conductor of Münchner Rundfunkorchester.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramón Vargas</span> Mexican operatic tenor (born 1960)

Ramón Vargas is a Mexican operatic tenor. Since his debut in the early '90s, he has developed to become one of the most acclaimed tenors of the 21st century. Known for his most expressive and agile lyric tenor voice, he is especially successful in the bel canto repertoire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mariella Devia</span> Italian operatic soprano (born 1948)

Mariella Devia is an Italian operatic soprano. After beginning her career as a lyric coloratura soprano, in the finale part of it she also enjoyed considerable success with some of the most dramatic roles in the bel canto repertoire.

<i>Otto mesi in due ore</i> Opera by Gaetano Donizetti

Otto mesi in due ore ossia Gli esiliati in Siberia is an opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni.

<i>Adina</i> (opera) Opera by Gioachino Rossini

Adina is an operatic farsa in one act by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Marchese Gherardo Bevilacqua-Aldobrandini. The opera develops the popular theme of the "abduction from the seraglio". The première took place on 22 June 1826 at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon.

<i>Ciro in Babilonia</i> 1812 opera by Gioachino Rossini

Ciro in Babilonia, ossia La caduta di Baldassare is an azione sacra in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Francesco Aventi. It was first performed at the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara during Lent, 1812. The exact date of the premiere is unknown but is believed to be 14 March. During Lent it was the custom for Italian opera houses either to close or to stage works on themes from the Bible. Ciro in Babilonia is one of two Lenten operas by Rossini and is based on the Biblical story of the overthrow of the Babylonian king Belshazzar by the Persian ruler Cyrus the Great.

Will Crutchfield is an American conductor, musicologist, and vocal coach. He is the founding Artistic and General Director of Teatro Nuovo, a company that presented its inaugural season in the summer of 2018 at Lincoln Center's Frederick P. Rose Hall as the successor to the twenty years of opera at the Caramoor International Music Festival led by Crutchfield. He also has been a frequent guest conductor at the Polish National Opera and has led opera performances at the Canadian Opera Company, Washington National Opera, and Minnesota Opera. From 1999 through 2005, he served as Music Director of the Opera de Colombia in Bogotá. He was recently named one of Musical America's 2017 "Movers and Shapers," the publication's list of the top 30 industry professionals of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lawrence Brownlee</span> American opera singer

Lawrence Brownlee is an American operatic tenor particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire. Describing his voice, Speight Jenkins, general director of the Seattle Opera, said: "There are other singers that sing this repertory very well, but I don't think anyone else has quite as beautiful a sound and as rounded a tone," and praise his "incredible top notes", adding about his high F (F5) in "Credeasi, misera": "With him it's not a scream, it's a beautiful sound." Mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato adds: "He is always in service of the music. His natural instrument is just incredibly beautiful. The word 'honey' comes to mind. He also has technical prowess and agility."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lisette Oropesa</span> American operatic soprano (born 1983)

Lisette Oropesa is an American operatic soprano of Cuban ancestry. Her repertoire includes works from Gluck, Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Wagner, Verdi, Bizet, Massenet, Bellini and Puccini. With her lyric coloratura soprano voice, she has performed roles in her native Spanish and English, as well as German, French and Italian. She is particularly noted in the roles of Susanna, Gilda, Konstanze, Lucia and Manon.

Raúl Giménez is an Argentine operatic tenor, particularly associated with the Italian bel canto vocal style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angela Meade</span> American opera singer

Angela Meade is an American operatic soprano.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica Pratt (soprano)</span> Australian coloratura soprano

Jessica Pratt is an English-born Australian operatic coloratura soprano. Trained in Italy, Pratt is most recognised for her portrayal of Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, which she has performed over 100 times worldwide.

Michael Spyres is an American operatic baritenor. He is particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire, especially the works of Rossini, and heroic roles in French grand opera.

Enea Scala is an Italian operatic tenor in the belcanto field, known internationally as a performer of Rossini's roles such as Rinaldo in Armida, Argirio in Tancredi, Pirro in Hermione, Idreno in Semiramide and Otello. He has appeared at major opera houses and festivals, and has made recordings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alasdair Kent</span>

Alasdair Kent is an Australian operatic tenor, principally known for his interpretations of the Italian bel canto of Rossini, and Mozart. In 2016, Richard Bonynge presented him with the Joan Sutherland & Richard Bonynge Foundation Bel Canto Award. After studies in the US and his European debut with the Rossini Opera Festival in 2017, his international career has seen debuts in major roles in many of the world's leading opera houses and concert venues, including the Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro Real Madrid, Bayerische Staatsoper, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Opernhaus Zürich and the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence.

References

  1. ↑ Woolfe, Zachary (7 July 2017). "At Caramoor, an Operatic Milestone that's Both Farewell and Beginning". The New York Times . Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "Teatro Nuovo Young Artist Program Overview" . Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  3. ↑ "Review: A Bel Canto Boot Camp Teaches Spirit and Polish" by Zachary Woolfe, The New York Times , July 15, 2019
  4. ↑ "Will Crutchfield's Teatro Nuovo announces its second season".
  5. ↑ "Lisette Oropesa, Lawrence Brownlee & Angela Meade Lead Bel Canto in Thirty Minutes" by Francisco Salazar, OperaWire, August 28, 2020
  6. ↑ Waleson, Heidi (31 July 2018). "'The Dawn of Romantic Opera' Review: Subtle, Playful Performances". The Wall Street Journal . Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  7. ↑ Loomis, George (30 July 2018). "Medea in Corinto, Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, New York—this is how it should be done". Financial Times .
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.