PROGRAM

 

November 14-15, 2000

 

Program for the debut performance

Il Giocatore

Julia Morgan Theatre

Berkeley California.

 

The Prologue

Against the background of the unification of Europe, the young Giovanni moves from his home near Genoa to Scotland to follow the dream that was spurned by Italian culture: golf.

 

There, he ends up pursuing another love, the beautiful daughter of the owner of the manor, Giselda, who is also deeply in love with him. She believes she is pregnant, and is supposed to find out from the doctor's office that morning whether she is or not. Unfortunately, his father in Italy has just been diagnosed with cancer and has a matter of days to live and has asked to see Giovanni before he dies.

 

The Italian family, according to Giovanni's half brother Mariano, can't send him money to come yet. Mariano says that their father is too ill to speak to Giovanni on the phone. Giovanni, up to his ears in debt, has to hustle in the American style, to get the money to get home quickly. His only friend, Libitina, the hotel maid, has connived to set up a game with an American twosome that likes to bet, and Giselda's father Lloyd.

 

The Betting

 When a foursome bets “three way,” there are three bets, one on the front nine holes, one on the back nine holes, and one on the eighteen holes together. Of course, the winning team uses less strokes. Handicap strokes are subtracted from your actual score. When the parties are tied after nine holes, the bet carries over to the 18 holes. If either party is `down two,” i.e. is two or more strokes behind, that team can double the bet. On the last hole, you can go double or nothing on any of the bets you are losing.

 

The amount of the original bet is multiplied per bet per person. A relatively small amount of money can grow exponentially, especially when properly handled.

Il Giocatore

(in English)

 

Opera by Joyce Whitelaw

Libretto by Eddie Orton

 

CAST

(in order of appearance)

 

Giovanni

Jorge Orlando Gomez

Giselda

Estelle Kruger

Libitina

Heather McFadden

Lloyd

William Earl Clark

Skinny

Todd Donovan

Palmette

Jaco Venter

Mariano

Michel Taddei

Policeman

Michael Besack

PGA Official

Richard Quinn

Orators

Lashawnda King

 

Deanna Traylor

 

 

Harpist

Carolyn Worster

Bagpiper

David Hendry

Pianist

Joyce Whitelaw

 

 

Artistic Director

Andrew G. Rosenbach

Set, Lighting Production

Jeremy Hamm

Assistant Director/Costumes

Sarah Stillpass

Stage Manager

Tonya Foster

Assistant Producer

Judith Rodier

 

Scenery and props constructed by ACME Scenery Company

Audio/Visual settings by Oakland Audio & Visual Service

Super titles are taken from the original libretto.

 

PLACE AND TIME: Scotland, present day

 

The use of cameras and any kind of recording equipment is strictly forbidden.

Please silence your cellular phones.

The performance will last approximately one and one half hours.

 

 

 

Jorge Orlando Gomez (Giovanni)

 

Jorge Gomez, a native of Santiago, received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Pontificia Universidad de Chile and his Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He has appeared most recently as Rodolfo in La Boheme with the Washington Summer Opera. Mr. Gomez has performed with the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Deutsche Opera Berlin, and in a number of Bay Area companies. In addition to his operatic roles, this versatile tenor includes oratorio in his repertoire having performed with the symphony orchestras in Chile, San Francisco, and Santa Barbara.

 

 

Estelle Kruger (Giselda)

 

Soprano Estelle Kruger has a Masters Degree in Opera Performance from the Conservatory of Music, and from the Pretoria Technicon Opera School, South Africa. Ms. Kruger has sung lead in operas by various composers ranging from Mozart to Verdi. For the role of Gilda, she received the Nederburg prize for best opera singer of the year. She has performed in California with the L.A. Opera Guild, West Bay Opera, Oakland Lyric Opera, and Pocket Opera. Ms. Kruger has won a number of awards including the East Bay Opera League Competition and has recently become on one of the regional finalist for the Metropolitan Opera Competition. Her Symphony credits include performances under Eve Queler, Opera Orchestra of New York. Upcoming engagements include Bach's Coffee Cantata with the Classical Philharmonic of Northern California in December 2000 and Gilda in Rigoletto in Spring, 2001.

 

Stanley W. Clark (Lloyd)

 

Mr. Clark received his musical education at DePaul University in Chicago. He has sung tenor roles for the Chicago Light Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, and Gold Coast Opera of Florida. He's recently completed a concert tour of the Northeast and parts of Canada and will be making his debut here in the role of Lloyd. Having recently relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, he continues to perform in concerts.

 

 

Jaco Venter (Palmette)

 

Baritone Jaco Venter recently completed his Masters in Music at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and holds degrees in Acting and Opera from the Pretoria Technicon in his native South Africa. He studied in London with the acclaimed Allistair Dawes and Garreth Hancock. He has performed with Opera companies around the Bay Area such as North Bay Opera, Berkeley Opera, San Francisco Lyric Opera, and Pocket Opera. He has stared in Robert Ward's The Crucible with the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and returned to South Africa in 1999 to perform Ping in Turadot and Guglielmo in Cosi fan Tutte. Future engagements include a Bach B minor Mass with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra under Jeffrey Cahane in December and La Boheme with the San Jose Opera in April.

 

 

Todd Donovan (Skinny)

 

Baritone Todd Donovan performs regularly on both opera and concert stages including San Francisco Symphony, Philharmonic Baroque Orchestra and Opera Guild of Southern California. Mr. Donovan has a wide repertoire of operatic roles including two world premieres: Jean In Aaron Seeman Siegalbaum's Opium: Diary of a Cure and as James Eastin in David Conte's The Dreamers. Recent oratorio engagements include Faure's Requiem and the title role of Mendelssohn's Elijah. Upcoming engagements include Marcello in La Boheme, Maximilian in Bernstein's Candide and as a young artist with the Cincinnati Opera.

 

 

Heather McFadden (Libitina)

 

Heather is making her debut with the Oakland Lyric Opera this season. She holds a Bachelors degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music where performances included Il Barbiere di Siviglia; Die Zauberflote; Cosi fan Tutte and recital work. She took a reprieve from music to pursue a business career and raise a family. Upon her return, she has been seen in musicals such as Guys and Dolls with Woodminster Amphitheater; Gypsy with Contra Costa Civic Theater and They're Playing Our Song with California Academy of the Arts. Most recently, she sang with San Francisco Pocket Opera in Roberto Devereux.

 

 

 

 

Michel Taddei (Mariano)

 

Michel O. Taddei, tenor has performed with the Opera Guild of Southern California, Monterey Opera Association, Bay Shore Lyric Opera, and the Ebenezer Opera Theatre. His operatic roles include Benedict, Beatrice et Benedict, Count Almavia, Barber of Seville, and Tinca in Il Tabarro. Mr. Taddei has studied at the University of California Berkeley, the Julliard School and Columbia College (New York). He also has over 35 recording credits including Decca, EMI, Erato, Nonesuch, Philips and Virgin.

 

 

Michael Besack (Policeman)

 

A former student of Wagnerian tenor Jess Thomas, Mr. Besack has appeared as Wotan in Rheingold, Hunding in Die Walküre and more recently as Mephistopheles in scenes from Faust. He has also been featured as a soloist with various Russian Choral Groups. His concert repertoire includes cycles of Songs by D. Shostakovich, G. Sviridov, M. Moussorgsky and F. Schubert.

 

Richard Quinn (PGQA Official)

 

Making his opera debut, Richard Quinn plays harmonica with the Laura Allan Band live and on her new CD Telegraph. He has also played harmonica with the Reverend Dr.'s Medicine Show for two years. His musical skills have been featured at B.B. King's Club, The House of Blues in Hollywood, and the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.

 

Eddie Orton (Libretto)

 

With Il Giocatore, his first libretto, Mr. Orton successfully combines his writing talent, Italian blood, and entrepreneurial spirit. Having earned a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Mr. Orton put aside his legal aspirations to join the family business. In 1985, he founded Orton Development Inc., a real estate development company, and recently he started an Internet-based company, Centric Media, Inc. Mr. Orton has long been active in the Arts in the San Francisco Bay Area, supporting local theatre and music programs in the Oakland Schools. He has worked with Berkeley Rep and now serves on the board of Cal Performances.

 

Joyce Whitelaw (Opera Composer)

 

In composing the music for her debut operetta Ms. Whitelaw draws her classical education, Scottish, and Italian heritage, and her love of golf. A graduate of The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with a dual degree in Voice and Piano Performance, Ms. Whitelaw is known for her crystal clear lyric soprano voice, light touch on the piano keyboard and an ebullient and loquacious personality. A gifted composer, Ms. Whitelaw has created music for more than thirty songs for jazz cabaret, several plays, a short modern opera and a variety of instrumentals for soundtracks

 

 

Andrew G. Rosenbach (Artistic Director)

 

Il Giocatore represents Mr. Rosenbach's operatic directing debut. With extensive experience as an actor, he has drawn upon theatrical stage direction to inform this production. A resident of the Bay Area, Mr. Rosenbach has been involved with several theatre companies including Chameleon Theatre and Encore Theatre Company. He has also performed in independent films, commercials, and radio.

 

 

 

Jeremy Hamm (Set, Lighting Production)

 

Acclaimed production designer Jeremy Hamm brings the links of Loch Lomond to the opera stage through his evocative set design for Il Giocatore. Mr. Hamm, also a professional architect, has designed noted facilities for the Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Monterey Bay Aquarium Outer Bay Wing, and Bucci's Café in Emeryville. His experience in opera design includes set designs for Madame Butterfly, La Traviat, Die Fledermaus, La Boheme and Marriage of Figaro for the San Francisco Opera Center. His expertise has enhanced artistic organizations around the Bay Area including George Coates Performance Works, the Paul Dresher Ensemble, Berkeley Shakespeare Festival and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

 

Carolyn Worster

 

Carolyn Worster began studying piano at the age of six with composer/pianist Carolyn Bowen Hawley. During her 25 years as a pianist, she performed as a soloist and with chamber ensembles, as well as an accompanist to choirs, soloists, and ballet. She has been studying harp since 1984 with Karen Gottlieb and Alice Chalifoux at the

Salzedo Harp Colony in Camden, Maine. As a harpist, she plays with various orchestras in the Bay Area and freelances for weddings, church services and private functions.

 

 

Sarah Stillpass

 

Sarah Stillpass has been directing theatre in the Bay Area for the past six years. Il Giocatore is her first opera production. Her work with the Chameleon Theatre includes Henry James' Taming of the Shrew, Durang's Baby

with the Bathwater and Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw.

 

Tonya Foster

Tonya Foster is excited to make her stage managing debut with Il Giocatore. She is a professional actor, singer and writer recently featured in San Francisco's Lunchtime Live, a fully improvised comedy and music show.

We would like to thank the following people for all

their kind help and generous support.

Without them, this production would not be possible:

 

 

 

Damon Duree for his artwork and graphics.

 

Oakland Lyric Opera for their support,

 

Ignacio Vitalis and the staff at Gypsy Golf, San Leandro,

 

Bridgette Frederick and the Julia Morgan Theatre,

 

Ben Hill, Amy Orton, Nick Orton, Joey Orton, Nora Orton, Maggie and Min Zhu,

 

Susie Medak, Juli Tolleson and Landis Communications,

 

Cal Stanley, Esma Marconi and the staff at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Oakland,

 

Vicki Elliot, Julie Nachtway, Jay Burkowitz, Mark Lee, Melissa Locke, Tommy Hook, and the employees of

Centric Media, Orton Development and Nova Construction.