A Midsummer Night's Dream 2021
Out of this wood do not desire to go.
Mismatched lovers, a group of actors, fairies and their King and Queen are in the forest. Paths cross, so do lovers, and in the end, all’s well that ends well.
Netia Jones leads the Santa Fe Opera premiere of this beloved work. With an eye toward the original Shakespeare and leaning upon traditional “stage magic,” this is a production not to be missed!
Synopsis
Act I
At twilight, Fairies prepare to deck the Athenian woods with dew. The nimble Puck announces their King Oberon and Queen Tytania, who have strained the bonds of Nature herself with a custody battle over a little changeling pageboy whose mother served the Queen. Tytania refuses to share the King’s bed until he should return the child.
Oberon sends Puck to fetch the juice of a rare flower, which, when dropped upon Tytania’s eyes, will make her fall in love with the first creature she sees. Thus he’ll be revenged, holding her affections captive until she deliver up the pageboy.
Hermia and Lysander flee to the woods from her father’s order that she marry Demetrius. Soon after comes Demetrius fleeing Helena’s pursuit. Oberon enters and overhears, and bids Puck drop the magic flower-juice on Demetrius’ eyes to make him reciprocate Helena’s affection, restoring the symmetry of the pair of pairs, while he himself will take the rest for Tytania.
Six craftsmen meet to rehearse a play which they hope to perform for the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens to Queen Hippolyta of the Amazons. After some discussion, Peter Quince, the leader, casts Nick Bottom as the lover Pyramus and Francis Flute as his lady Thisbe.
Puck, finding Lysander and Hermia asleep, mistakes Lysander for Demetrius and sprinkles the juice over his eyes. Demetrius arrives with Helena at his heels; he abandons her near the sleeping pair. Helena rouses Lysander, who is instantly smitten. He proclaims his love and she, believing he mocks her, runs off in a rage. He follows, leaving Hermia to awaken alone from a terrible dream.
The Fairies sing their Queen to sleep, and Oberon drops the magic juice upon her eyes.
Act II
The craftsmen, gathered in the woods for rehearsal, consider some revisions to their script. Puck overhears and decides to have some fun by turning Bottom’s head into that of an ass. The transformation puts Bottom’s terrified colleagues to flight. Left alone, he sings to cheer himself … and Tytania, waking to his strains, is smitten on the spot. Her fairies fly to attend him, and he falls asleep in her arms.
Oberon and Puck enter, comparing notes. Seeing Hermia and Demetrius stagger in — she accusing him of having killed Lysander — they realize Puck has enchanted the wrong Athenian. Demetrius stops to rest, and Oberon bestows an antidote on him whilst Puck flies to find the others.
No sooner does Helena enter with Lysander on her heels than Demetrius awakes, ready to adore her. Smothered by the praises of both men, who roundly reject the arriving Hermia, Helena reaches the peak of exasperation, accusing Hermia of goading the fellows to such a cruel joke. The quartet quarrels furiously: and Oberon, equally furious with Puck, orders him to administer the antidote to Lysander. Puck leads the lovers through the woods by imitating their voices, until they all fall into a dazed sleep; then sweetly applies the solution.
Act III
The Fairy Queen awakens, shocked to find an ass in her bed. Oberon, who is ready to restore the page to his wife, orders Puck to restore Bottom to full humanity. The King and Queen dance with the fairies and plan to bless the wedding of Duke Theseus the following night.
The four lovers awaken to a beyond-hoped-for proper pairing. The five craftsmen, bereft of Bottom, despair of performing for the Duke’s nuptials, until Bottom appears, sane and whole, with the beyond-hoped-for news that they’ll go on stage after all.
Duke Theseus and Queen Hippolyta prepare for their wedding and receive the quartet of lovers at the palace. The Play of Pyramus and Thisby is performed — as is a triple wedding.
At the last stroke of “the iron tongue of midnight,”
the rustics bow and go their way,
while dewy Fairies sweetly stray
throughout the palace; and those just wed
make their respective ways to bed.
Artists
Erin Morley
Soprano
Tytania
Erin Morley
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
SFO Debut:
Queen of the Night, The Magic Flute, 2010 (July 3 – August 10)
Past Seasons:
Tytania, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Adelina Vocedoro-Gambalunghi, The Impresario, 2014
The Nightingale, Le Rossignol, 2014
Roxana, King Roger, 2012
Susan Graham and Friends Gala Concert, 2012
Iestyn Davies
Countertenor
Oberon
Iestyn Davies
Teresa Perrotta
Soprano
Helena
Teresa Perrotta
Hometown: Orlando, FL
SFO Debut:
Alice, Falstaff, 2022 (August 16 & 25)
Past Seasons:
Carmen, 2022
Helena, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
The Lord of Cries, 2021
Eugene Onegin, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2021, 2022
Adanya Dunn
Mezzo-Soprano
Hermia
Adanya Dunn
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Past Seasons:
Hermia, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
The Lord of Cries, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2021
Duke Kim
Tenor
Lysander
Duke Kim
Hometown: Seoul, Republic of Korea
2025 Season:
Duke, Rigoletto
Past Seasons:
Lysander, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
The Lord of Cries, 2021
A Street Vendor, La bohème, 2019
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2019, 2021
Michael J. Hawk
Baritone
Demetrius
Michael J. Hawk
Hometown: Fredonia, NY
Past Seasons:
Demetrius, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
The Lord of Cries, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2018, 2021
Reed Luplau
Actor & Choreographer
Puck
Reed Luplau
Hometown: Perth, Western Australia
SFO Debut:
Bosie, Oscar, 2013
Past Seasons:
Puck, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Nicholas Brownlee
Bass-baritone
Bottom
Nicholas Brownlee
Hometown: Mobile, AL
SFO Debut:
First Soldier, Salome, 2015
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2014, 2015
Past Seasons:
Dutchman, The Flying Dutchman, 2023
Kurwenal, Tristan und Isolde, 2022
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 2021
Bottom, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Brenton Ryan
Tenor
Flute
Brenton Ryan
Hometown: Sedalia, MO
2025 Season:
Peter Quint/Prologue, The Turn of the Screw
SFO Debut:
Dancing Master, Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018
Past Seasons:
CM, The Righteous, 2024
Don Basilio, The Marriage of Figaro, 2021
Flute, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Matthew Grills
Tenor
Snout
Matthew Grills
Hometown: Sandy Hook, CT
SFO Debut:
Snout, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Patrick Carfizzi
Bass-Baritone
Starveling
Patrick Carfizzi
Hometown: Newburgh, NY
SFO Debut:
Antonio, The Marriage of Figaro, 2000
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 1997, 1998 & 1999
Past Seasons:
Don Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro, 2021
Starveling, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Taddeo, The Italian Girl in Algiers, 2018
Belcore, The Elixir of Love, 2009
Anniversary Arias Gala Concert, 2006
Masetto, Don Giovanni, 2004
The Chancellor, A Dream Play, 1998
Flora’s servant, La traviata, 1997
Kevin Burdette
Bass
Quince
Kevin Burdette
Hometown: Knoxville, TN
2025 Season:
Benoît/Alcindoro, La bohème
SFO Debut:
Mr. Scattergood, The Last Savage, 2011
Past Seasons:
Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville, 2022
Manuel Toulon/Judge, M. Butterfly, 2022
Correspondence, Lord of Cries, 2021
Quince, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Voltaire/Pangloss/Cacambo/Martin, Candide, 2018
Major-domo, Ariadne auf Naxos, 2018
Frosch, Die Fledermaus, 2017
General Polkan, The Golden Cockerel, 2017
Sulpice Pingot, Daughter of the Regiment, 2015
Stobrod Thewes/A Blind Man, Cold Mountain, 2015
Otto van der Puff, The Impresario, 2014
Chamberlain, Le Rossignol, 2014
General Boum, The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 2013
Justice Wills/Colonel Isaacson, Oscar, 2013
William Meinert
Bass
Snug
William Meinert
Hometown: Herndon, VA
Past Seasons:
Snug, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
The Lord of Cries, 2021
Eugene Onegin, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2019, 2021
Lindsay Kate Brown
Mezzo-Soprano
Hippolyta
Lindsay Kate Brown
Hometown: Waterloo, NY
Past Seasons:
Hippolyta, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro, (August 24 & 27, 2021)
Eugene Onegin, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2021
Cory McGee
Bass
Theseus
Cory McGee
Hometown: Stafford, VA
Past Seasons:
Theseus, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
The Marriage of Figaro, 2021
Eugene Onegin, 2021
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 2019, 2021
Harry Bicket
Conductor
Harry Bicket
Hometown: Liverpool, England
Endowed by Wyncote Foundation, as recommended by Frederick R. Haas & Rafael Gomez
2025 Season:
The Marriage of Figaro
SFO Debut:
Agrippina, 2004
Past Seasons:
Don Giovanni, 2024
Pelléas et Mélisande, 2023
Orfeo, 2023
Carmen, 2022
The Marriage of Figaro, 2021
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Così fan tutte, 2019
Candide, 2018
Alcina, 2017
Roméo et Juliette, 2016
La finta giardiniera, 2015
Fidelio, 2014
Radamisto, 2008
Platée, 2007
Netia Jones
Director, Scenic, Costume & Projection Designer
Netia Jones
Hometown: London, England
SFO Debut:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Past Seasons:
Pelléas et Mélisande, 2023
D. M. Wood
Lighting Designer
D. M. Wood
Hometown: New Haven, CT
SFO Debut:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Past Seasons:
Pelléas et Mélisande, 2023
Susanne Sheston
Chorus Master
Susanne Sheston
Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT
2025 Season
SFO Debut:
2008 Season
Past Seasons:
2024 Season
2023 Season
2022 Season
2021 Season
2019 Season
2018 Season
2017 Season
2016 Season
2015 Season
2014 Season
2013 Season
2012 Season
2011 Season
2010 Season
2009 Season
Melanie Bacaling
Assistant Director
Melanie Bacaling
Hometown: Chicago, IL
SFO Debut:
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2021
Production Photography
Video
A Midsummer Night's Dream 2021
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