Le Rossignol 1962
Based on a tale by Hans Christian Andersen…
…a nasty Chinese Emperor is reduced to tears and made kind by a small grey bird.
(presented as a triple-bill with Mavra and Renard)
Synopsis
Scene I
By the seaside, a fisherman sits waiting to hear the Nightingale who delights him every night with her song. The Emperor’s cook arrives, with courtiers of the Emperor of China, in search of the Nightingale. When she appears, they offer her a formal invitation to sing for the Emperor at court. Although she will miss her forest, the Nightingale obeys the Emperor’s request, going off to the palace in a procession headed by the cook.
Scene II
The palace of the Emperor is ablaze with lanterns decorated with little flowers. The cook, now Chief-High-Cook, describes to the court the little bird whose singing makes everyone weep. The Emperor arrives, announced by the Chamberlain, and the Nightingale begins to sing. So charmed is the monarch that he offers the bird the Order of the Golden Slipper, but the Nightingale sings only to give pleasure, and refuses the honor. Just then, three envoys from Japan offer the Emperor a mechanical nightingale and as the mechanical song begins, the real nightingale flies away. Insulted that she has flown away, the Emperor banishes her forever.
Scene III
Sometime later, the Emperor is gravely ill. Death sits at the foot of the bed holding the imperial crown and sceptre, and ghosts of the Emperor’s good and bad deeds surround him. The Emperor calls for music and the banished Nightingale answers the call. Even Death is conquered by the loveliness of the song, and when the courtiers arrive, instead of finding the Emperor dead, they find him risen from his bed. As the lyric tale ends, the fisherman bids that all acknowledge, in the song of the Nightingale, the voice of heaven.
Artists
Jeanette Scovotti
Soprano
The Nightingale
Jeanette Scovotti
Hometown: New York, NY
SFO Debut:
Gianetta, The Gondoliers, 1960
Past Seasons:
Queen of the Night, The Magic Flute, 1969
Nightingale, Le Rossignol, 1969
Gilda, Rigoletto, 1966
Lucia, Lucia di Lammermoor, 1965
Gilda, Rigoletto, 1964 (August 26 – 29)
Nightingale, Le Rossignol, 1962
Clorinda, Cinderella, 1960
Lauretta, Gianni Schicchi, 1960
Donald Gramm
Bass-baritone
Emperor of China
Donald Gramm
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
SFO Debut:
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 1960
Past Seasons:
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 1976 (July 16 – 23, August 18-24)
Spencer Coyle, Owen Wingrave, 1973
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 1973 (July 21 – August 11)
Leporello, Don Giovanni, 1972
General Boum, Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 1972
Golaud, Pelléas et Mélisande, 1972
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 1971 (July 30 – August 7)
General Boum, Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 1971
Philip II, Don Carlo, 1971
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 1970
Enrico, Anna Bolena, 1970
Nick Shadow, The Rake’s Progress, 1970
Papageno, The Magic Flute, 1969 (August 16 – 22)
Gabriel, Die Jakobsleiter, 1968
Papageno, The Magic Flute, 1968 (July 5 – 10)
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 1967
The Doctor, Wozzeck, 1966
Nick Shadow, The Rake’s Progress, 1966
Leporello, Don Giovanni, 1966
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 1965
Bartolo, The Barber of Seville, 1965
Tartaglia, The Stag King, 1965
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 1964
Dr. Schon, Lulu, 1964
Dr. Spinelloccio, Gianni Schicci, 1964
Peneios, Daphne, 1964
Dr. Schon, Lulu, 1963
Emperor of China, Le Rossignol, 1963
Leporello, Don Giovanni, 1963
Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte, 1962
Emperor of China, Le Rossignol, 1962
Tiresias, Oedipus Rex, 1962
Second Bass, Renard, 1962
Tiresias, Oedipus Rex, 1961
Figaro, The Marriage of Figaro, 1961
John McCollum
Tenor
The Fisherman
John McCollum
Hometown: Coalinga, CA
SFO Debut:
Ferrando, Così fan tutte, 1962
Past Seasons:
Alfredo, La traviata, 1962
Fisherman, Le Rossignol, 1962
Second Tenor, Renard, 1962
Maria di Gerlando
Soprano
The Cook
Maria di Gerlando
Hometown: Luzerne County, PA
SFO Debut:
Birdie, Regina, 1959
Past Seasons:
Tosca, Tosca, 1966 (August 13 – 25)
Italian Soprano, Capriccio, 1966
Violetta, La traviata, 1962
Cook, Le Rossignol, 1962
Violetta, La traviata, 1960
Nella, Gianni Schicchi, 1960
Countess Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro, 1960
Therman Bailey
Bass
The Chamberlain
Therman Bailey
Hometown: Detroit, MI
SFO Debut:
Messenger, Oedipus Rex, 1960
Past Seasons:
Dr. Grenvil, La traviata, 1962
Chamberlain, Le Rossignol, 1962
Messenger, Oedipus Rex, 1962
Trulove, The Rake’s Progress, 1962
First Nazarene, Salome, 1962
Colline, La bohėme, 1961
Messenger, Oedipus Rex, 1961
Albert/ Footman, The Ballad of Baby Doe, 1961
Keeper of the Madhouse, The Rake’s Progress, 1960
John West
Tenor
The Bonze
John West
Hometown: Dayton, OH
SFO Debut:
Count of Monterone, Rigoletto, 1964
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 1962
Past Seasons:
Colline, La bohème, 1967
Gold Merchant, Cardillac, 1967
Antonio, The Marriage of Figaro, 1967
First Soldier, Salome, 1967
Angelotti, Tosca, 1966 (August 13 – 25)
Sparafucile, Rigoletto, 1966 (August 6 – 12)
First Apprentice, Wozzeck, 1966
Betto, Gianni Schicchi, 1964
Colline, La bohème, 1964
Schigolch, Lulu, 1964
Antonio, The Marriage of Figaro, 1964
Herald II, Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1962
Marquis d’Obigny, La traviata, 1962
Bonze, Le Rossignol, 1962
Second Soldier/Fifth Jew, Salome, 1962
Angelotti, Tosca, 1962
Gerald Landon
Tenor
First Japanese Envoy
Gerald Landon
Hometown: Portales, NM
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 1962
Past Seasons:
First Jew, Salome, 1962
Gastone, La traviata, 1962
The Clerk, Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1962
First Japanese Envoy, Le Rossignol, 1962
Ron Bottcher
Bass
Second Japanese Envoy
Ron Bottcher
Hometown: Sandpoint, OH
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 1961, 1962
Past Seasons:
Second Japanese Envoy, Le Rossignol, 1962
Head Waiter, News of the Day, 1961
Schaunard, La bohėme, 1961
Leopold, Der Rosenkavalier, 1961
Thomas Page
Tenor
Third Japanese Envoy
Thomas Page
Hometown: Salem, IL
Santa Fe Opera Apprentice: 1962
Past Seasons:
Third Jew, Salome, 1962
Priest/ Herald I, Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1962
Third Japanese Envoy, Le Rossignol, 1962
Elaine Bonazzi
Mezzo-soprano
Death
Elaine Bonazzi
SFO Debut:
Mrs. Linton, Wuthering Heights, 1958
Past Seasons:
Mrs. Peachum, The Beggar’s Opera, 1992
Herodias, Salome, 1976
Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro, 1976 (August 12 – 18)
Old Woman, Yerma, 1971
Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro, 1971
Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 1971
Herodias, Salome, 1967
Baba the Turk, The Rake’s Progress, 1966
Countess Geschwitz, Lulu, 1964
La Chatte\ La tasse Chinoise\ La Libellule, L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1964
Zita, Gianni Schicci, 1964
Carmen, Carmen, 1964 (July 18 – 25)
Countess Geschwitz, Lulu, 1963
La Chatte\ La tasse Chinoise\ La Libellule, L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1963
Death, Le Rossignol, 1963
St. Catherine, Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1963
Herodias, Salome, 1962
Baba the Turk, The Rake’s Progress, 1962
Mother, Mavra, 1962
Death, Le Rossignol, 1962
Baba the Turk, The Rake’s Progress, 1960
Marcellina, The Marriage of Figaro, 1960
Duchess of Plaza-Toro, The Gondoliers, 1960
Zita, Gianni Schicci, 1960
Thisbe, Cinderella, 1960
Regina Giddens, Regina, 1959
Prince Orlofsky, Die Fledermaus, 1959
Smeaton, Anna Bolena, 1959
Thisbe, Cinderella, 1958
Igor Stravinsky
Conductor
Igor Stravinsky
Hometown: Lomonosov, Saint Petersburg, Russia
SFO Debut:
Oedipus Rex, 1960
Past Seasons:
Le Rossignol, 1962
Oedipus Rex, 1961
Perséphone, 1961
Bliss Hebert
Director
Bliss Hebert
Hometown: Faust, NY
SFO Debut:
The Rake’s Progress, 1957
Past Seasons:
L’incoronazione di Poppea, 1986
Orpheus in the Underworld, 1985
The Tempest, 1985
Violanta, 1984
A Florentine Tragedy, 1984
Orpheus in the Underworld, 1983
Mignon, 1982
The Rake’s Progress, 1981
Erwartung, 1980
Von Heute auf Morgen, 1980
Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 1979
Salome, 1979
Salome, 1978
Pelléas and Mélisande, 1977
The Marriage of Figaro, 1976
Salome, 1976
Carmen, 1975
La vida breve, 1975
L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1975
Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 1974
The Magic Flute, 1974
Le Rossignol, 1973
L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1973
The Marriage of Figaro, 1973
The Merry Widow, 1973
Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 1972
Pelléas and Mélisande, 1972
Grand Duchess of Gerolstein, 1971
The Magic Flute, 1971
The Marriage of Figaro, 1971
Le Rossignol, 1970
The Marriage of Figaro, 1970
The Rake’s Progress, 1970
Le Rossignol, 1969
The Magic Flute, 1969
The Magic Flute, 1968
Boulevard Solitude, 1967
Don Giovanni, 1966
The Rake’s Progress, 1966
The Stag King, 1965
L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1964
Rigoletto, 1964
Le Rossignol, 1963
Le Rossignol, 1962
The Rake’s Progress, 1962
The Rake’s Progress, 1960
Tosca, 1960
Abduction from the Seraglio, 1959
Regina, 1959
Falstaff, 1958
Henry Heymann
Designer
Scenery & Costumes
Henry Heymann
SFO Debut:
The Barber of Seville, 1959 (Scenic Designer)
Past Seasons:
Salome, 1967 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Marriage of Figaro, 1967 (Costume Designer)
Don Giovanni, 1966 (Costume Designer)
Rigoletto, 1966 (Costume Designer)
La traviata, 1965 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Marriage of Figaro, 1965 (Costume Designer)
La bohème, 1964 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Daphne, 1964 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Gianni Schicchi, 1964 (Costume Designer)
L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1964 (Scenic Designer)
Carmen, 1964 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Marriage of Figaro, 1964 (Costume Designer)
Rigoletto, 1964 (Costume Designer)
L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1963 (Scenic Designer)
Le Rossignol, 1963 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1963 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Don Giovanni, 1963 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Die Fledermaus, 1963 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Rake’s Progress, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Tosca, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Perséphone, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Oedipus Rex, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Renard, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Mavra, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Le Rossignol, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
La traviata, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Salome, 1962 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
News of the Day, 1961 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Marriage of Figaro, 1961 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
La bohème, 1961 (Scenic Designer)
Carmen, 1961 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Perséphone, 1961 (Scenic Designer)
Oedipus Rex, 1961 (Scenic Designer)
The Marriage of Figaro, 1960 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Tosca, 1960 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Rake’s Progress, 1960 (Scenic Designer)
Oedipus Rex, 1960 (Scenic Designer)
Gianni Schicchi, 1960 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Cinderella, 1960 (Scenic Designer)
La traviata, 1960 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
The Gondoliers, 1960 (Scenic & Costume Designer)
Regina, 1959 (Scenic Designer)
Louise Guthman
Lighting Designer
Louise Guthman
Hometown: Ohio
SFO Debut:
Salome, 1962
Past Seasons:
Così fan tutte, 1962
La traviata, 1962
Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1962
Mavra, 1962
Le Rossignol, 1962
Renard, 1962
Oedipus Rex, 962
Perséphone, 1962
Tosca, 1962
John Moriarty
Chorus Master
John Moriarty
Hometown: Fall River, MA
SFO Debut:
Director, Salome, 1962
Past Seasons:
Conductor, The Rake’s Progress, 1970
Director/ Chorus Master, La traviata, 1965
Chorus Master, The Barber of Seville, 1965
Chorus Master, Madame Butterfly, 1965
Chorus Master, Lucia di Lammermoor, 1965
Chorus Master, Arabella, 1965
Chorus Master, The Stag King, 1965
Director/ Chorus Master, The Nose, 1965
Chorus Master, The Marriage of Figaro, 1965
Chorus Master, Rigoletto, 1964
Chorus Master, The Marriage of Figaro, 1964
Director/ Chorus Master, Gianni Schicchi, 1964
Director/ Chorus Master, Carmen, 1964
Chorus Master, L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1964
Chorus Master, Daphne, 1964
Chorus Master, La bohėme, 1964
Chorus Master, Die Fledermaus, 1963
Chorus Master, Don Giovanni, 1963
Chorus Master, Madame Butterfly, 1963
Director/ Chorus Master, Der Rosenkavalier, 1963
Chorus Master, Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1963
Chorus Master, L’enfant et les sortilèges, 1963
Chorus Master, Le Rossignol, 1963
Chorus Master, Così fan tutte, 1962
Chorus Master, La traviata, 1962
Chorus Master, Joan of Arc at the Stake, 1962
Chorus Master, Le Rossignol, 1962
Chorus Master, Oedipus Rex, 1962
Chorus Master, Perséphone, 1962
Chorus Master, Tosca, 1962
Le Rossignol 1962
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