LA TRAVIATA: BEHIND THE SCENES
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GIUSEPPE VERDI
Fully Staged Opera with Live Orchestra and English Supertitles
VBHS Performing Arts Center, 1707 16th Street, Vero Beach, FL 32960
SOLD OUT
LA TRAVIATA
January 12, 2025 3 pm
THE PLOT
Late 19th Century Paris: Violetta is a high-class courtesan and the most celebrated figure of a glamorous social scene. She loves her life – carefree, attached to no one, her own woman. But Violetta is also seriously ill. Enter Alfredo, a poet who shows Violetta real, unconditional love for the first time. She falls for him and, abandoning her career, the two escape to a country retreat to live in domestic bliss. That is until Alfredo’s father shows up!
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OUR CAST
NOTE: Due to a respiratory illness, Nelson Martínez will no longer portray Giorgio Germont. We wish Nelson a speedy recovery and hope he will return soon to our stage in future productions. We welcome Joseph Canuto Leon in the role and thank him for stepping in at the last minute.
Meryl Dominguez as Violetta Valéry
Matthew White as Alfredo Germont
Joseph Canuto Leon as Giorgio Germont
Pascale Spinney as Flora Bervoix
Charise Courtney as Annina
Anthony (Tony) Capizzi as Gastone de Letorières
Adam Partridge as Barone Douphol
Nicholas Dieux as Marchese d'Obigny
Chancelor Barbaree as Dottore Grenvil
BREVARD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Gregory Buchalter, Music Director & Conductor
Jacob LyteHaven, Rehearsal Pianist
Russell Franks, Artistic Director
Robert Stivanello, Stage Director
THE COMPOSER
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (1813 – 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. Verdi came to dominate the Italian opera scene after the era of Gioachino Rossini, Vincenzo Bellini, and Gaetano Donizetti, whose works significantly influenced him. He wrote La Traviata in 1853, based on La Dame aux camélias, a play by Alexandre Dumas fils. La Traviata was first performed on March 6, 1853, at La Fenice opera house in Venice.
Performance Space
We perform at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center, located at 1707 16th Street, Vero Beach, Florida 32960. The venue seats approximately 1,000 and is handicap-equipped.
Meryl Dominguez
Violetta Valéry
This season, our 2021 First Prize Rising Stars winner Meryl Dominguez makes her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Strauss’ Die Frau Ohne Schatten singing Unborn 2 and covering The Falcon. She recently made her role debut as the title character in Maria Stuarda with Musica Viva Hong Kong and is currently a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio program. A graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts, Music Academy of the West, Santa Fe Opera’s apprentice program, and other elite training institutions, she has performed roles such as Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Violetta (La Traviata), Juliette (Roméo et Juliette), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus) and Adina (L'elisir d'amore). In addition to being the 1st Prize Winner in our Rising Stars Competition in 2022, she was also a National Semi-Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a Sullivan Foundation grantee, and a prize winner with the Gerda Lissner Foundation and in the Giargiari Competition.
Matthew White
Alfredo Germont
Our 2019 First Prize Rising Stars (then called Deborah Voigt/VBO Foundation) winner Matthew White has worked with Vero Beach Opera since 2015, performing in Il Tabarro and several concerts, in addition to being the First Prize Winner of the Deborah Voigt International Vocal Competition. He is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts and has won such awards as the Grand Prize of the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition and Grand Prize in the Mario Lanza Vocal Competition. In recent seasons, he performed Don José in Carmen with Vancouver Opera, Alfredo in La traviata with Houston Grand Opera, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Opéra de Montréal, Duca in Rigoletto with Utah Opera, and Don José in Carmen with Oper im Steinbruch in Austria. On the concert stage, he sang the Shepherd in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex with Houston Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah with Nashville Symphony and the US Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Joseph Canuto Leon
Giorgio Germont
Praised for his “Outstanding Singing” and “Big, bass-y baritone” by The Dallas Morning News, baritone Joseph Canuto Leon is an emerging artist beginning to make strides in the classical voice world. Originally from Des Moines, Joseph has been featured with Florida Grand Opera, The Dallas Opera, Chautauqua Opera Company, Charlottesville Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, American Baroque Opera Company, Painted Sky Opera, Peach State Opera, Opera in the Rock, and Opera on the James. Recent roles for Mr. Canuto Leon include Marcello (La bohéme) with Florida Grand Opera’s Outreach tour, Giorgio Germont (La traviata) with Peach State Opera and Church of the Village, Schaunard (La bohéme) with Florida Grand Opera and Painted Sky Opera, Father (Hansel and Gretel) with Chautauqua Opera Company and Wichita Grand Opera, Il conte d’Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) as a guest artist with TCU Opera and with UNT Opera Theater, Baron Zeta (The Merry Widow) with Charlottesville Opera, Belcore (The Elixir of Love) with The Dallas Opera’s Outreach tour, the title role in Eugene Onegin with Russian Opera Workshop, and both Barone Douphol (La traviata) and Morales (Carmen) with Florida Grand Opera. Joseph is a graduate of the University of North Texas (MM 2017) and Iowa State University (BM 2013) and his professional training came as a member of the Young Artist Programs of Florida Grand Opera (2023-2024), The Dallas Opera (2021-2023), Chautauqua Opera Company (2024), Charlottesville Opera (2022), Opera on the James (2019), and the Russian Opera Workshop at AVA (2020).
Pascale Spinney
Flora Bervoix
Pascale Spinney is a Canadian mezzo-soprano graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Recent show credits include: ROSINA (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Opéra de Montréal), COMPTESSE EBBA SPARRE (La Reine-Garçon, Opéra de Montréal), PINOCCHIO (Pinocchio, St. Petersburg Opera), JANE (February, Opera on the Avalon), CARMEN (Carmen, Glacier Symphony Orchestra), DORABELLA (Così: Men Are Like That), DIDO (Dido and Aeneas, Central City Opera), MADDALENA (Rigoletto, Central City Opera), LA CIESCA (Gianni Schicchi, Tulsa Opera), LEONOR (La favorite, Academy of Vocal Arts), and SOLOIST (My Letter to the World, LyricFest). She also has covered the roles of SALLY and NELLY/HEATHER (The Hours, Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin) and SALLY BOWLES (Cabaret, Atlanta Opera). In her downtime, she enjoys spending time with her husband in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley where they reside.
Charise Courtney
Annina
Charise Courtney began performing on stage at the age of seven. She continued to perform in Musical Theatre and other local venues in her hometown of Vero Beach, Florida until college. After moving to the Northeast and studying music at Western Connecticut State College, she performed in local bands and in off-Broadway productions in Manhattan. Charise is once again a resident in her hometown of Vero Beach and enjoys teaching Elementary School Music, performing Jazz Vespers with the Community Church, singing with The Vero Beach Opera, and performing in other local music venues.
Anthony (Tony) Capizzi
Gastone de Letorières
Anthony Capizzi is a longstanding student of the performing arts, possessing a deep passion for the operatic tradition, as well as contemporary music theatre. As a graduate of the Stetson University School of Music, in addition to being a Martin County native, Anthony has spent his formative years blossoming as an artist within his home state of Florida. His role as Gastone marks his sixth year performing with Vero Beach Opera. Anthony's diverse repertoire includes operatic roles including Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Rodolpho of Puccini’s La Bohème, along with contemporary theatre roles such as Sam Kaplan in Weill’s Street Scene and Robert from Sondheim’s Company. As a dedicated thespian, Anthony has an enthusiasm for all aspects of the theatre, both on and off the stage. While not performing onstage, Anthony has experience working in production assistant, stage technician, and production marketing roles, truly feeling most at-home behind the velvet curtain. Anthony currently resides in Tampa, Florida, where he spends time working with artists in the local community to grow their performing arts scene, as well as continuing his own artistic development, so that he may someday realize his dreams.
Adam Partridge
Barone Douphol
Baritone Adam Partridge is an up-and-coming young vocal artist who is quickly weaving himself into the professional opera scene. He most recently performed the role of Tarquinius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia at Rice University. Other prominent performances include the title roles in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. In 2022, he made his academic principal debut as Ottone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea. Adam recently finished his second Summer as a Studio Artist with Wolf Trap Opera, covering Lt. Audebert in Puts’ Silent Night and Brother in Weill’s Seven Deadly Sins, as well as singing the roles of Benoit and Alcindoro in La Bohème. The previous Summer, he covered Somnus and Cadmus in Handel’s Semele, as well as Masetto in Don Giovanni. In addition to opera, he has been featured as a soloist in several orchestral works. These include Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, Handel’s Messiah, Fauré’s Requiem and Mozart’s Grand Mass in C Minor. A newcomer to the competitive scene, he has already begun to make waves in the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, winning the Los Angeles Districts and securing a special encouragement award at the Los Angeles Regionals in 2024. In 2020, he was named the winner of the Jeannie and Stephen Foster Voice Competition. Additionally, he was the first-place winner of Stetson University’s Giffin Voice Competition. Born and raised in Jacksonville, FL, Mr. Partridge earned his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Stetson University and graduated with his Master of Music in Opera Performance from Rice University. .
Nicholas Dieux
Marchese d'Obigny
Baritone Nicholas Dieux is a fourth-year vocal performance major at Stetson University studying with Dr. Chadley Ballantyne. While at Stetson, Mr. Dieux has sung the roles of Maestro Spinelloccio in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, the Forester in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, Lancelot Du Lac in Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot, and Dr. Falke in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. In July of 2024, he made his international debut as Papageno in Lyric Opera Studio Weimar’s production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Mr. Dieux is a 2024-2025 Opera Orlando/Stetson University Apprentice Artist and will sing in the ensembles of Verdi’s Macbeth and DEFIANT REQUIEM: VERDI AT TEREZÍN during his time with Opera Orlando. A lover of art song, Mr. Dieux received the Stetson Maris Award for his first degree recital The Wanderer, which portrayed the archetype found within German-Romantic literature. Mr. Dieux has also participated in masterclasses with Italian vocal coach and Caruso Award winner Massimo Iannone, Dr. Linda Di Fiori, Damon Nester Ploumnis and others.
Chancelor Barbaree
Dottore Grenvil
Noted for his “beautiful, well-produced, rich sound…” Chancelor Barbaree, baritone, calls Amarillo, TX home. Along with his engagement at Vero Beach Opera, Chancelor’s 2024-2025 season will see him as Manfred Lewin in Jake Heggie’s For a Look or a Touch with Bold City Opera. He will also sing Melchior in a concert version of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors in Alabama as well as holiday performances with Gulfshore Opera. He will perform the titular role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi this spring. This past summer, Chancelor joined Opera NEO in their production of Così fan tutte as Don Alfonso where he was praised for his “suave vocal technique” (San Diego Story), and he was a Gerdine Young Artist with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in the summer of 2023. In past seasons, Chancelor has sung Marco in Gianni Schicchi, Marullo in Rigoletto both with Amarillo Opera. In competition, he was awarded First Prize in the MIOpera competition’s university division in 2023, an encouragement award for the Opera Index competition in 2023, and the Blitzstein award for the Orpheus competition in 2022. He was an alternate finalist in the 2022 Carolyn Bailey & Dominick Argento competition in 2022.
Russell Franks
Artistic Director
Russell has enjoyed an international career both as a singer and director. He has sung over forty major operatic roles and performed in over a thousand concerts. He has appeared as soloist with many orchestral, concert, and choral organizations such as the Bach Society of Greater Miami, Verbier Music Festival, Handel Choral Society of Orlando and the Miami Symphony Orchestra. He has served as set designer and stage director for Vero Beach Opera since 2011. He became Vero Beach Opera Artistic Director in 2022. Russell holds a bachelor’s degree in voice performance and church music from Stetson University and a master’s degree in voice performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He previously served as Director of Opera Theatre at Stetson University for many years.
Gregory Buchalter
Music Director & Conductor
Gregory became Vero Beach Opera's Music Director in 2023. He has been an Assistant Conductor at the MET Opera for many years. In fact, the position of “Maestro di Banda” was created for him there, and he worked extensively with the MET Opera Chorus. At the MET, he prepared several world premieres including John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, Philip Glass’ The Voyage and John Harbison’s The Great Gatsby. He served as Music Director of Opera Fairbanks and Opera Camerata of Washington. Highlights include conducting Salome at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, Die Fledermaus at the Vienna Volksoper, Mozart’s Entführung aus dem Serail at the Spoleto Festival, Cosi fan Tutte with the Mediterranean Opera Festival in Italy, and Eugene Onegin with the New Opera World Festival in Moscow, as well as the American Premieres of Mercadante’s I due Figaro, Von Winter’s Das Labyrinth, and Donizetti’s Olivo e Pasquale in New York, Idomeneo at New England Conservatory, Rigoletto with Opera Orlando, Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire and Tosca for Florida Grand Opera, and he conducted a tour of Madama Butterfly with Opera Lirica d'Europa and with Varna International, where he is Music Director. Most recent performances include Pagliacci with Florida Grand Opera, the Mozart Requiem with the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and the Verdi Requiem, Don Giovanni, Hansel and Gretel and La Cenerentola with Varna International.
Robert Stivanello
Stage Director
Magna cum laude graduate of SUNY Albany, Roberto Stivanello represents a third generation on both sides of his family to be involved in opera. He apprenticed with his late father, Anthony L. Stivanello, from whom he took over the Stivanello Costume Co. of New York, which is celebrating its 98th year of providing scenery and costumes for opera. He is also a principal owner of the famous Sormani scenic studio in Milano, Italy, which has created scenery since 1836. He has taught dramatic movement for the Rosa Ponselle Foundation and served as a judge for the Liederkranz Foundation Scholarship. As a director, designer, and translator he has worked throughout North and South America and Europe. He has directed well over 100 productions of opera; as well as designed almost 500 productions, not including his studio work. He directed a production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia which was broadcast on PBS. He also directed a production of Tosca which was featured on ABC-TV’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings.