RESIDENT ARTIST SERIES - Helen Huang Soprano - Portland Opera
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RESIDENT
ARTIST
SERIES
Soprano
Helen Huang
Nicholas Fox, piano
Tuesday, February 19, 2019
Whitsell Auditorium
Portland Art MuseumThank you to our sponsors!
The Portland Opera Resident Artists are grateful for the
generous support of:
Burns Family Fund of the
Oregon Community Foundation
George & Lee Anne Carter
Drs. Dolores & Fernando Leon
Eleanor Lieber Auditions Fund of the
Oregon Community Foundation
Portland Opera Resident Artist Storage Fund
Monday Musical Club of Portland
Marilyn Crilley & George Rowbottom
Portland Opera also wishes to thank the following
organizations for their generous support:
It is with the help of these individuals and groups that the
young artists are able to practice their craft and make
contacts that will further their careers.
For more information about supporting our Resident Artists, please send
an email to giving@portlandopera.org.La sol, fa, mi, re, do Barbara Strozzi
Two Poems of Agueda Pizarro Joseph Schwantner
Shadowinnower
Black Anemones
Trois morceaux pour piano Lili Boulanger
D’un vieux jardin
D’un jardin clair
Cortège
Nicholas Fox, piano
Selected Suleika songs
Lied der Suleika, op. 25, no. 9 Robert Schumann
Suleika, op. 34, no. 4 Felix Mendelssohn
Als ich auf dem Euphrat schiffte Hugo Wolf
Suleika I, D. 720 Franz Schubert
(Intermission)
Il pleut Kaija Saariaho
Sophie Baird-Daniel, harp
Fiançailles pour rire Francis Poulenc
La Dame d’André
Dans l’herbe
Il vole
Mon cadavre est doux comme un gant
Violon
Fleurs
Selected Chinese songs
(Northeast Lullaby) Folk
(I Live at the Source Zhu Qing
of the Yangzi River)
Please hold your applause until the end of each set.Barbara Strozzi (1619 - 1677)
Barbara Strozzi was a unique figure in the seventeenth century and was said to
be “the most prolific composer – man or woman – of printed secular vocal music
in Venice in the middle of the [17th] century.” She was born in Venice to a
servant, but was then adopted by the poet and librettist Giulio Strozzi and
treated as his own daughter. However, many speculate that she was Giulio’s
illegitimate daughter. He encouraged her musical talent, created an academy in
which Barbara’s performances could be displayed publicly, and arranged for her
to study composition with Cavalli and others. It is suspected that she may have
been a courtesan, although she may also have been the victim of envious
slander.
She published eight books of her compositions during her lifetime, an
accomplishment that was rare among her female contemporaries. Her
compositions contain only secular vocal music, with the exception of one
volume of sacred songs.
The song La sol, fa, mi, re, do refers to a woman who sings and, by implication,
has sex purely for money. This is particularly interesting because it challenges
the listener to think about Strozzi’s own status as a woman, a singer, a
composer, and possibly a courtesan.
La sol, fa, mi, re, do The sol, fa, mi, re, do
text by Giovanni Battista Maiorani translation by Pamela Dellal
La mia donna per che canta My lady, since she sings,
non vuol dir né sì, né no does not wish to say yes or no;
ma parlar sempre si vanta but continually boasts of speaking
con la sol fa mi re do. with “la sol fa mi re do.”
S’io le chieggo ch’al mio cor If I ask her if she plans
voglia dar mercede un dì to grant mercy to my heart one day
pria che spiri nel dolor before I expire from grief,
mi risponde don fa mi. she answers “don fa mi” [give me a
gift].
Mai non canta s’io non conto She never sings without my paying up
né la voce trova il tuon; nor is in good voice;
né a sonar lo stile ha pronto nor is ready to pluck her strings
se non sente d’oro il suon. if she does not hear the sound of gold.
Insegnando ogn’hor mi va She instructs me continually
che s’a due cantar vorrò that if I wish to sing duets with her
acciò ch’ella venga al fa before she arrives at “fa” [the deed]
intonar conviemmi il do. I’d better give her “do” [a gift].Di strascini ognora ornato She wishes to show off her lovely feet
vuol mirarsi il vago piè; in elegant dance steps;
ed in canto figurato and in ornamented song
sempre intona il mi fa re. always intones “mi fa re” [do it for me].
Per mostrar quant’ ella sa Thus to show what she knows
passeggiando fa così, she goes about (sings passage-work)
suol tenersi con do la like this: she usually sustains “con do la”
ed andare in do re mi. [to comfort her]
and moves “in do re mi” [cover me with
gold].
Io credeva ch’il suo canto I believed that her song
fosse fatto per mi sol, was made for “mi sol” [me alone],
ma suol vendersi all’incanto but she sells them at auction
a colui che spender vuol, to the highest bidder;
tanto che tra noi dirò so that among us we say
ch’ognun canta quel che sa: that everyone sings what he knows:
io de’ Gonzi il mi sol do I, the fool, sing “mi sol do” [my wages],
lei de’ Cucchi il re mi fa. she, cuckolding, sings “re mi fa” [makes
me the king].Joseph Schwantner (b. 1943)
Joseph Schwantner is among the most successful and respected living
composers in the United States. He has won prestigious awards such as the
Pulitzer Prize and Charles Ives Prize. His style is coloristic and eclectic,
drawing on such diverse elements as French impressionism, African
drumming, serialism, and minimalism.
Two Poems of Aguedo Pizarro was the third of five works composed for the
American soprano Lucy Shelton. The texts are taken from a bilingual
collection of poems titled Sombraventadora/Shadowinnower by the
Colombian American poet Aguedo Pizarro, who founded “Encuentros de
Poetas Colombianas” (The Congress of Colombian Women Poets). Even
though the two original poems were written in Spanish, the work uses an
English translation by a friend of the poet, Barbara Stoller Miller. The two
songs are drastically different. “Shadowinnower” is aggressive, dramatic,
and harmonically dense. It consists of many small contrasting sections.
“Black Anemones,” on the other hand, is melodic and lyrical, creating a
tender and nostalgic atmosphere.
Two Poems of Aguedo Pizzaro
text by Agueda Pizarro
translation by Barbara Stoler Miller
Shadowinnower
Naked,
fierce to the waist
where the grass flows,
strong sowing,
I comb my hair with sun teeth
in solitude,
the earth’s day.
A rolling fog,
my damp hair
is tangled,
cradled
in my death.
The battle of arms
armed with combs against sleep
tumbles in seeds,
light
falling on my belly.While the dark dries at my fire feet my female mane, loosened, awakes, a crown in flames for the shadowinnower. Black Anemones Mother, you watch me sleep and your life is a large tapestry of all the colors of all the most ancient murmurs, knot after twin knot, root after root of story. You don’t know how fearful your beauty is while I sleep. Your hair is the moon of a sea sung in silence. You walk with silver lions and wait to estrange me deep in the rug covered with sorrow embroidered by you in a fierce symmetry binding with thread of Persian silk the pinetrees and the griffins. You call me blind, you touch my eyes with black anemones. I am a spider that keeps spinning from the spool in my womb, weaving through eyes the dew of flames on the web.
Lili Boulanger (1893 - 1918)
Lili Boulanger was the first woman to win the Prix de Rome composition
prize, for her cantata Faust et Hélène. She was also the younger sister of
the famous composition teacher, Nadia Boulanger. Lili was a child prodigy,
whose talent was discovered at age two by Gabriel Fauré, who was a family
friend. Despite her tremendous talent, her life and work were troubled with
illness. She contracted bronchial pneumonia, which weakened her immune
system for the rest of her life. Her premature death at 24 was a result of
intestinal cancer.
Trois morceaux pour piano
by Lili Boulanger (1893-1918)
D’un vieux jardin, “An Old Garden”
D’un jardin clair, “A Bright Garden”
Cortège, “Procession”
Nicholas Fox, piano
Lili Boulanger, d. 1918
https://www.loc.gov/item/2004665569Selected Suleika Songs
The famous poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe met Marianne von Willemer
(née Jung) in 1814, when she was just 30 years old and about to marry the 54-
year-old Johann Jakob von Willemer. Like Goethe’s character Mignon from
Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre, she came from an uncertain background and was
rescued by Johann Jakob von Willemer from a theatrical troupe. She was
educated in his house with his own children and became his third wife in 1814.
Goethe was immediately attracted to Marianne when they met. Though they
never saw each other again after August of 1815, the two poets corresponded
until Goethe’s death in 1832, using the pseudonyms “Suleika” and “Hatem.”
Goethe’s West-östlicher Divan drew inspiration in part from her Suleika poems
where he included her poems under his own name. She only revealed the truth
of the beautiful literary love affair a few years before her death in 1860.
This program includes four Suleika poems as set by four different composers:
three Suleika poems that are certainly by Marianne von Willemer, and one that
is possibly hers, although her authorship has never been definitively proven.
Lied der Suleika
by Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856)
Lied der Suleika Song of Suleika
text by Marianne von Willemer translation by Richard Stokes
Wie mit innigstem Behagen, With what heartfelt contentment
Lied, empfind’ ich deinen Sinn, O song, do I sense your meaning!
Liebevoll du scheinst zu sagen, Lovingly you seem to say:
Dass ich ihm zur Seite bin; That I am at his side;
Dass er ewig mein gedenket, That he ever thinks of me,
Seiner Liebe Seligkeit And ever bestows his love’s rapture
Immerdar der Fernen schenket, On her who, far away,
Die ein Leben ihm geweiht. Dedicates her life to him.
Ja, mein Herz, es ist der Spiegel, For my heart, dear friend, is the mirror,
Freund, worin du dich erblickt, Wherein you have seen yourself;
Diese Brust, wo deine Siegel And this the breast where your seal is
Kuss auf Kuss hereingedrückt. imprinted
Kiss upon kiss.
Süßes Dichten, lautre’ Wahrheit, Your sweet verses, their unsullied truth
Fesselt mich in Sympathie! Chain me in sympathy;
Rein verkörpert Liebesklarheit Love’s pure embodied radiance
Im Gewand der Poesie! In the garb of poetry!Suleika
by Felix Mendelssohn (1809 - 1847)
Suleika Suleika
text by Marianne von Willemer translation by Richard Stokes
Ach, um deine feuchten Schwingen, Ah, West Wind, how I envy you
West, wie sehr ich dich beneide: Your moist pinions:
Denn du kannst ihm Kunde bringen For you can bring him word
Was ich in der Trennung leide! Of what I suffer away from him!
Die Bewegung deiner Flügel The movement of your wings
Weckt im Busen stilles Sehnen; Wakes silent longing in my heart;
Blumen, Augen, Wald und Hügel Flowers, eyes, woods and hills,
Stehn bei deinem Hauch in Tränen. Dissolve in tears where you blow.
Doch dein mildes sanftes Wehen Yet your mild, gentle breeze
Kühlt die wunden Augenlider; Cools my sore eyelids;
Ach, für Leid müsst’ ich vergehen, Ah, I’d surely die of grief,
Hofft’ ich nicht zu sehn ihn wieder. Did I not hope to see him again.
Eile denn zu meinem Lieben, Hurry, then, to my beloved,
Spreche sanft zu seinem Herzen; Whisper softly to his heart;
Doch vermeid’ ihn zu betrüben Take care, though, not to sadden him,
Und verbirg ihm meine Schmerzen. And hide from him my anguish.
Sag ihm, aber sag’s bescheiden: Tell him, but tell him humbly:
Seine Liebe sei mein Leben, That his love is my life,
Freudiges Gefühl von beiden That his presence here will fill me
Wird mir seine Nähe geben. With happiness in both.
Als ich auf dem Euphrat schiffte
by Hugo Wolf (1860 - 1903)
Als ich auf dem Euphrat schiffte As I was sailing on the Euphrates
text by J.W. von Goethe translation by Eric Sams
Als ich auf dem Euphrat schiffte, As I was sailing on the Euphrates,
Streifte sich der goldne Ring Finger ab, The golden ring slipped
In Wasserklüfte, From my finger into watery chasms,
Den ich jüngst von dir empfing. The ring I’d recently received from you.Also träumt ich. So I dreamed. Dawn flashed
Morgenröte blitzt’ ins Auge durch den Into my eyes through the trees.
Baum. Say, O poet, say, O prophet!
Sag Poete, sag Prophete! What is the meaning of this dream?
Was bedeutet dieser Traum?
Suleika I
by Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828)
Suleika I Suleika I
text by Marianne von Willemer translation by Richard Wigmore
Was bedeutet die Bewegung? What does this stirring portend?
Bringt der Ost mir frohe Kunde? Is the east wind bringing me joyful
Seiner Schwingen frische Regung tidings?
kühlt des Herzens tiefe Wunde. The refreshing motion of its wings
Cools the heart’s deep wound.
Kosend spielt er mit dem Staube, It plays caressingly with the dust,
jagt ihn auf in leichten Wölkchen, throwing it up in light clouds,
treibt zur sichern Rebenlaube and drives the happy swarm of insects
der Insekten frohes Völkchen. to the safety of the vine-leaves.
Lindert sanft der Sonne Glühen, It gently tempers the burning heat of
kühlt auch mir die heißen Wangen, the sun,
küsst die Reben noch im Fliehen, and cools my hot cheeks;
die auf Feld und Hügel prangen. even as it flies it kisses the vines
that adorn the fields and hillsides.
Und mir bringt sein leises Flüstern And its soft whispering brings me
von dem Freunde tausend Grüße; a thousand greetings from my beloved;
eh’ noch diese Hügel düstern, before these hills grow dark
grüßen mich wohl tausend Küsse. I shall be greeted by a thousand kisses.
Und so kannst du weiterziehen! Now you may pass on,
diene Freunden und Betrübten. and serve the happy and the sad;
dort wo hohe Mauern glühen, there, where high walls glow,
dort find’ ich bald den Vielgeliebten. I shall soon find my dearly beloved.
Ach, die wahre Herzenskunde, Ah, the true message of the heart,
liebeshauch, erfrischtes Leben the breath of love, renewed life
wird mir nur aus seinem Munde, will come to me only from his lips,
kann mir nur sein Athem geben. can be given to me only by his breath.Kaija Saariaho (b.1952) Kaija Saariaho is a groundbreaking Finnish composer based out of Paris, France. She is known for combining live music and electronics in her ethereal compositions. When her opera L’Amour de loin was performed on December 1, 2016, at the Metropolitan Opera, it marked the first opera by a female composer to be staged by the company since 1903, and the second opera by a female composer ever to be presented at the Metropolitan Opera. This setting of Apollinaire’s famed poem “Il pleut,” from Calligrammes, was the result of a commission from the Finnish publisher Jasemusiikki, on the occasion of the publisher’s tenth anniversary celebration. Il pleut It rains text by Guillaume Apollinaire translation by Korin Kormick Il pleut des voix de femmes comme It is raining the voices of women si elles étaient mortes même dans as if they were dead even in le souvenir memory c’est vous aussi qu’il pleut it is you also that it rains, merveilleuses rencontres de ma vie marvelous meetings of my life, ô gouttelettes oh little drops et ces nuages cabrés se prennent à and these reared-up clouds take hennir tout un univers de villes themselves to neighing an entire auriculaires universe of auricular cities écoute s’il pleut tandis que le regret listen if it rains while regret and et le dédain pleurent une ancienne disdain cry an ancient music musique listen to the falling of the bonds that écoute tomber les liens qui te restrain you from top to bottom retiennent en haut et en bas
Francis Poulenc (1899 - 1963)
Fiançailles pour rire is Francis Poulenc’s most famous song cycle for the female
voice. It was the result of his attempt to find and set texts that he felt were “truly
feminine.” This quest became that much easier when the text was that of his
dear friend, the poet Louise de Vilmorin. During the early years of World War II,
his beloved “Loulou” had moved to Hungary to live with her husband Count
Pálffy in his castle. Poulenc decided to compose this cycle to have an excuse to
be reminded of her. These pieces are modest and elegant, nostalgic and
reflective. The overall emotional atmosphere is bittersweet.
Fiançailles pour rire Whimsical Betrothals
text by Louise de Vilmorin translation by Richard Stokes
La Dame d’André Andre’s Woman Friend
André́ ne connaît pas la dame Andre does not know the woman
qu’il prend aujourd’hui par la main. whom he took by the hand today.
A-t-elle un cœur à lendemains, Has she a heart for the tomorrows,
et pour le soir at eIle une âme? and for the evening has she a soul?
Au retour d’un bal campagnard On returning from a country ball
s’en allait-elle en robe vague did she go in her flowing dress
chercher dans les meules la bague to seek in the hay stacks the ring
des fiançailles du hasard? for the random betrothal?
A-t-elle eu peur, la nuit venue, Was she afraid, when night fell,
guettée par les ombres d’hier, haunted by the ghosts of the past,
dans son jardin, lorsque l’hiver in her garden, when winter
entrait par la grand avenue? entered by the wide avenue?
Il l’a aimée pour sa couleur, He loved her for her color,
pour sa bonne humeur de Dimanche. for her Sunday good humor.
Pâlira-t-elle aux feuilles blanches Will she fade on the white leaves
de son album des temps meilleurs? of his album of better days?Dans l’herbe In the Grass
Je ne peux plus rien dire I can say nothing more
ni rien faire pour lui. nor do anything for him.
Il est mort de sa belle He died for his beautiful one
il est mort de sa mort belle he died a beautiful death
dehors outside
sous l’arbre de la Loi under the tree of the Law
en plein silence in deep silence
en plein paysage in open countryside
dans l’herbe. in the grass.
Il est mort inaperçu He died unnoticed
en criant son passage crying out in his passing
en appelant en m’appelant. calling calling me.
Mais comme j’étais loin de lui But as I was far from him
et que sa voix ne portait plus and because his voice no longer carried
il est mort seul dans les bois he died alone in the woods
sous son arbre d’enfance. beneath the tree of his childhood.
Et je ne peux plus rien dire And I can say nothing more
ni rien faire pour lui. nor do anything for him.
Il vole He flies
En allant se coucher le soleil As the sun is setting
se reflète au vernis de ma table it is reflected in the polished surface
c’est le fromage rond de la fable of my table
au bec de mes ciseaux de vermeil. it is the round cheese of the fable
in the beak of my silver scissors.
Mais où est le corbeau? Il vole. But where is the crow? It flies.
Je voudrais coudre mais un aimant I should like to sew but a magnet
attire à lui toutes mes aiguilles. attracts all my needles.
Sur la place les joueurs de quilles On the square the skittle players
de belle en belle passent le temps. pass the time with game after game.
Mais où est mon amant? Il vole. But where is my lover? He flies.
C’est un voleur que j’ai pour amant, I have a thief for a lover,
le corbeau vole et mon amant vole, the crow flies and my lover steals,
Voleur de cœur manque à sa parole the thief of my heart breaks his word
et voleur de fromage est absent. and the thief of the cheese is not here.
Mais où est le bonheur? Il vole. But where is happiness? It flies.Je pleure sous le saule pleureur I weep under the weeping willow Je mêle mes larmes à ses feuilles. I mingle my tears with its leaves. Je pleure car je veux qu’on me veuille I weep because I want to be desired et je ne plais pas a mon voleur. and I am not pleasing to my thief. Mais où donc est l’amour? Il vole. But where then is love? It flies. Trouvez la rime à ma déraison Find the rhyme for my lack of reason et par les routes du paysage and by the roads of the countryside ramenez-moi mon amant volage bring me back my flighty lover qui prend les cœurs et perd ma who takes hearts and drives me mad. raison. Je veux que mon voleur me vole. I wish that my thief would steal me. Mon cadavre est doux comme un My corpse is as limp as a glove gant Mon cadavre est doux comme un gant My corpse is as limp as a glove doux comme un gant de peau glacée limp as a glove of glacé kid et mes prunelles effaces and my two hidden pupils font de mes yeux des cailloux blancs. make two white pebbles of my eyes. Deux cailloux blancs dans mon visage Two white pebbles in my face dans le silence deux muets two mutes in the silence ombrés encore d’un secret still shadowed by a secret et lourd du poids mort des images. and heavy with the burden of things seen. Mes doigts tant de fois égarés My fingers so often straying sont joints en attitude sainte are joined in a saintly pose appuyés au creux de mes plaintes resting on the hollow of my groans au nœud de mon cœur arrêté́. at the center of my arrested heart. Et mes deux pieds sont les And my two feet are the mountains montagnes the last two hills I saw les deux derniers monts que j’ai vus at the moment when I lost a la minute où j’ai perdu the race that the years win. la course que les années gagnent. Mon souvenir est ressemblant, I still resemble myself enfants emportez-le bien vite, children bear away the memory quickly, allez, allez ma vie est dite. go, go, my life is done. mon cadavre est doux comme un My corpse is as limp as a glove. gant.
Violon Violin Couple amoureux aux accents Enamored couple with the misprized méconnus accents le violon et son joueur me plaisent. the violin and its player please me. Ah! j’aime ces gémissements tendus Ah! I love these wailings long drawn out sur la corde des malaises. on the cord of uneasiness. Aux accords sur les cordes des In chords on the cords of the hanged pendus at the hour when the Laws are silent a l’heure où les Lois se taisent the heart, formed like a strawberry, le cœur en forme de fraise, offers itself to love like an unknown fruit. s’offre à l’amour comme un fruit inconnu. Fleurs Flowers Fleurs promises, fleurs tenues dans Promised flowers, flowers held in your tes bras, arms, fleurs sorties des parenthèses d’un flowers sprung from the parenthesis of a pas, step, qui t’apportait ces fleurs l’hiver who brought you these flowers in winter saupoudrées du sable des mers? powdered with the sand of the seas? Sable de tes baisers, fleurs des Sand of your kisses, flowers of faded amours fanées loves les beaux yeux sont de cendre et the beautiful eyes are ashes and in the dans la cheminée fireplace un cœur enrubanné de plaintes a heart beribboned with sighs brûle avec ses images saintes. burns with its treasured pictures.
Selected Chinese Songs
(Northeast Lullaby) is a folk tune from the Dongbei area in North East
China. This tune was collected by Deng Jianchun in a small town in Liaoning
Province.
(I live at the source of the Yangzi River) is one of the most iconic
pieces of the Chinese Art Song repertoire. It was composed in 1929 by Zhu
Qing. The poetry and music depict the yearning and love of a woman separated
from her lover by a great distance. At the same time, we hear in the music the
eternal flow of the Yangzi River itself.
Northeast Lullaby
text by Anonymous translation by Helen Zhibing Huang
The moon is shining, the wind is quiet,
The tree leaves cover up the windows,
Crickets sing softly,
Just like the sound of strings plucking.
The soft plucking, the beautiful tune,
The cradle rocks slowly,
Mom’s little babe, close your eyes,
Fall deeply into your dreams.
The bell tower rings,
The night is dark, and all is quiet.
Little babe, grow up fast,
So you can make your mark on the world.
The moon is shining, the wind is quiet,
The cradle rocks slowly,
Mom’s little babe, deeply asleep,
Smiles gently.I Live at the Source of the Yangzi River
text by Li Zhiyi translation by Helen Zhibing Huang
I live at the source of the Yangzi River.
You live at the tail of the Yangzi River.
Every day I think of you, but I don’t see you.
We drink the same Yangzi water.
When will the river stop running?
When will this torture end?
All I want is for you to think of me too,
So I won’t love in vain.About our Artists Helen Zhibing Huang is a Chinese-born soprano returning to Portland Opera for her seond year as a Resident Artist in the roles of Annina in Verdi’s La Traviata and Serpetta in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera. She will also create the role of Singa Loh in the world premiere of Jorge Sosa’s I Am a Dreamer Who No Longer Dreams, a new opera about US immigrants produced by White Snake Projects. Past operatic credits include Baby Doe in The Ballad of Baby Doe as a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera, La fée in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina, Carolina in Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto, and Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. An advocate of new music, she has participated in the workshopping of many modern operas including Paola Prestini’s Gilgamesh, Julian Wachner’s REV. 23, and Mary Bichner’s Memoirs of Antonia. Concert credits include Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Creation, Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Symphony No. 4, and Earl Kim’s Where Grief Slumbers. Miss Huang holds a Graduate Diploma from the New England Conservatory and is a graduate of soprano Dawn Upshaw’s Bard Vocal Arts Program, and she graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a B.M. in Vocal Performance and the University of Rochester with a B.A. in Economics. In her spare time, Miss Huang enjoys cooking traditional Chinese dishes, traveling, and making new friends. Conductor/Pianist Nicholas Fox was born in Los Angeles. While still a high school student, he performed at the Cal State University Northridge New Music Festival, playing his own compositions. He gave numerous recitals at community colleges and universities in the Los Angeles area, and was a three time gold medalist in the Southern California J.S. Bach festival. From 2003 until 2006, he was an orchestral conducting major in the Mannes College of Music, studying with David Hayes. In May 2007, he assisted Maestro Yves Abel, principal guest conductor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, in a series of performances of Rameau’s Castor et Pollux with Mr. Abel’s L’Opera Francais de New York. Mr. Fox led the Mannes Chorus and Orchestra in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem at the church of St. Paul and St. Andrew in Manhattan. Mr. Fox was appointed Assistant Chorus Master at New York City Opera in September 2009 (and in 2011 as Chorus Master), where he helped prepare productions of Hugo Weisgall’s Esther, Don Giovanni, Chabrier’s L’Étoile, Madama Butterfly, L’Elisir d’Amore, and the NY premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s A Quiet Place. He also served on the music staff of Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance as assistant conductor and chorus master. He joined Portland Opera as Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master in the 2013-14 season, and made his Portland Opera conducting debut in L’Elisir d’Amore in 2015.
We hope to see you at the next
Portland Opera Resident Artist Recital!
The next recital of the season will feature
Thomas Cilluffo, tenor
Tuesday, April 9th at 7:00pm
Whitsell Auditorium
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