LEOŠ JANÁCEK 22 June - 1 July 2017 Arts Centre Melbourne, Playhouse
Welcome
Welcome to our production of Cunning Little Vixen. This work is from Janácek’s final years. He wrote it in 1924, preceding The Makropulos Affair (1926) and his final work From the House of the Dead (1927). Janácek’s late style is unique, an unlikely synthesis of Moravian folk elements, rhythmic complexity and fluidity, hypnotic repetition and an individual take on the harmonic heritage of the 19th and early 20th century: it’s spiky, sometimes unfriendly to performers, but its gestures stay in the memory – they are like nothing else in the operatic canon. To guide this work, we extend the warmest welcome to both Stuart Maunder AM and Roger Kirk AM, both long standing members of VO’s extended family. It is a particular pleasure to introduce the young and very talented Jack Symonds, Artistic Director of Sydney Chamber Opera, with whom we are collaborating on a number of projects.
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Each year, Victorian Opera continues to build its reputation for breaking boundaries and exciting collaborations. The second half of our 2017 season continues in this spirit, with productions including our co-production with Malthouse Theatre of Tom Waits’ Black Rider, Copland’s Youth Opera The Second Hurricane as well as the world premiere of Gordon Kerry’s opera The Snow Queen for Wodonga. From the entire Victorian Opera family, thank you for joining us at the theatre for Cunning Little Vixen; a profound meditation on youth, growing old and the inexorable march of time – delivered without a trace of sentimentality but with humour, pathos and great life-affirming strength of mind. RICHARD MILLS AM Artistic Director, Victorian Opera
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Conductor's Message Jack Symonds
In Cunning Little Vixen, Janácek, in his 60s, took his still rapidly developing compositional style to new extremes of expression. Vestiges of the conventions (both musical and dramatic) of pre20th century operas are expunged and replaced with a language as flexible, direct and passionate as it is original. Most fascinating is Janácek's unique approach to rhythm: Vixen presents a veritable labyrinth of patterns and speeds which when taken literally (as has certainly not been the case in this work's performance history), create a multilayered sense of time quite in advance of anything written before it. Often, the musical relationships between miniaturised sections are completely irrational and constructed sheerly out of instinct.
Jonathan Dove’s 1998 chamber orchestration reveals to us both the economy and the virtuosity of Janácek’s conception. By reducing a large opera orchestra to mostly single players, Dove exposes the sinuous meshing of lines that drive the cycles of life without omitting a single note. To force unchecked Romanticism on this piece renders it almost incoherent musically (more damaging still in its even more astringent and idiosyncratic successors, Vec Makropulos and From the House of the Dead), yet the lyrical generosity of Vixen is unceasing and deeply touching. The extraordinary sound-images, such as the poignant loneliness of the humans in the final inn scene, and the eternally reawakening forest at the conclusion are made possible by a compositional language that boldly rethinks the syntax of every musical parameter, yet still remains profoundly engaging and moving for a large audience. JACK SYMONDS Conductor
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Director's Message Stuart Maunder AM
On the surface, Cunning Little Vixen is simple enough: a musical biography of a fox based on a comic strip filled with furry familiars. It could be seen as little more than an opera for children – it’s based on a comic strip and everything – but it’s impossible to dismiss. It contains some of the most moving music ever written, vivifying life’s most profound and eternal truths. Modestly described by the composer as a “merry thing with a sad end”, Vixen is a thing of wonder. The story unfolds as a series of seemingly illogical scenes that have little to no care for constraints of time, location or the appropriate order of seasons. Despite its episodic nature, one theme pervades: the cycle of life.
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We witness two such cycles. That of an audacious vixen, and that of a Forester, a man on the wrong side of middle age, who over the course of the piece becomes accepting, wise and benevolent. All logic tells us the Forester cannot understand the little frog at the end of the piece, chirruping about the fact that his grandfather told him about the Forester, but the extraordinary music prompted by this tiny moment illuminates the instinctive bond that exists between man and nature - a bond that in these days of climate change debate we ignore at our peril. Of course, from a production perspective, profoundly human as the themes are, we still need to figure out how to present ‘Nature’ on the stage. Ours is man-made. Human fashions and accessories are repurposed to create the host of vibrantly coloured animal characters. Similarly, manufactured materials are reinvented to create the natural world; Wood is bleached of its colour, processed if you like, steel tortured into trees, cotton woven into flat surfaces, those surfaces brought to brilliant seasonal colour by light. The animal world is as brightly coloured as a David Attenborough documentary - seemingly unnatural yet totally real. The human world on the other hand is monochromatic, thereby holding a magnifying glass to its vivid parallel world that is full of surprises and life for life’s sake.
‘Nature’ is a big place and we are here for a short visit only. Its profound, gauche, simple splendour will always be here.
Cunning Little Vixen was Janácek’s personal valentine to the human condition in all its inexplicable, maddening, fierce and beautiful inconsistency. The unexpected majesty, grandeur and emotion of the final sixty seconds of Vixen says it all. The essence of life is a mystery: we can’t fathom it, we can’t harness it, we can’t quantify what it is…but we all instinctively feel the unifying power of the indefinable force, much like music. Musicologists across the centuries have been able to explain the elements of music and how they might be organised, but they are unable to find an explanation for the soul-deep effect of this natural, mysterious, mighty and magical force. All the analysis in the world can’t tell us why, but with a fist pounding the heart we can all say: 'It gets you right here'. The end of Cunning Little Vixen has ‘got me right there’ from the first time I saw the piece as an 18-year-old student. Now, as an almost 60-year-old, that ‘there’ is still being ‘got’. STUART MAUNDER AM Director
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Production Cunning Little Vixen
22 June - 1 July 2017 Arts Centre Melbourne Playhouse
Chorus Pásek Paul Biencourt Mrs. Pásková/Lapák Lynlee Williams
Composer & Librettist Leoš Janácek
Tyrenka/Hen Danielle Calder Cockerel
Running time is approximately 90 minutes
Alexandra Ioan
plus one 20 minute interval
Chocholka Cristina Russo
Creative Team
Hen/Jay Diana Simpson
Conductor Jack Symonds
Hen Michelle McCarthy
Director Stuart Maunder AM
Hen/Woodpecker Belinda Paterson
Set Designer Richard Roberts
Hen Kerrie Bolton
Costume Designer Roger Kirk AM
Chorus Paul Hughes
Lighting Designer Trudy Dalgleish
Chorus Michael Lapiña
Production Manager Eduard Inglés
Chorus Kiran Rajasingam
Stage Manager Marina Milankovic Deputy Stage Manager Elise Stewart Assistant Stage Manager Katharine Timms Principal Repetiteur Phillipa Safey Repetiteur Jacob Abela Chorus Preparation Phoebe Briggs
Children's Chorus Cricket/Pepík/Fox Cub Sophia Wasley Frog/Frantík/Fox Cub Lisha Ooi Bee/Fox Cub Maia Hanrahan Bee/Fox Cub Harmony Lee Caterpillar/Fox Cub Maggie Orr
Cast
Dragonfly/Fox Cub Eliza O’Connor
Vixen Celeste Lazarenko
Grasshopper/Fox Cub Hayley Edwards
Fox Antoinette Halloran
Snail/Fox Cub Emilie Washington
Forester Barry Ryan OAM
Young Vixen Ruby Ditton
Forester's Wife/Owl Dimity Shepherd Schoolmaster/Mosquito Brenton Spiteri Harašta Samuel Dundas Badger/Parson Jeremy Kleeman
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Acknowledgements Jim Atkins, Soundsolo, Show Works, Resolution X, Baaclight. Surtitles prepared by Jack Symonds.
Orchestra Victoria 1st Violin Kristian Winther* 2nd Violin Susannah Ng* Viola Susanna Low* Cello Josephine Vains* Bass Dennis Vaughan Flute Rebecca Johnson *
Trombone Bob Collins* Percussion Evan Pritchard* Harp Julie Raines* Keyboard/Celeste/Accordion(synth) Phillipa Safey** * = Guest Musician ** = VO Music Staff
Oboe Stephanie Dixon * Clarinet Lawrence Dobell* Bassoon Matthew Angus* Horns Anton Schroeder* Raphael Salgado* Trumpet Tristram Williams*
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© Roger Kirk AM
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Synopsis Cunning Little Vixen
ACT I The forest. How Vixen was caught. The Badger dozes in the afternoon sun. The Dragonfly dances. The Forester pauses for a nap on his way home. While he sleeps, the Cricket and the Caterpillar give a concert. A young Vixen is exploring the forest for the first time. The Forester wakes, and seizes the innocent cub.
The Vixen follows the Schoolmaster and the Parson as they stumble home. The Schoolmaster mistakes her for Terynka, and is inspired to the make the single most passionate outburst of his life. The Forester persistently hunts the Vixen through the forest. The Vixen finds a mate, and is soon obliged to marry.
The yard of the Forester’s cottage. The Vixen grows up in the Forester’s home.
ACT III
The Vixen endures the Dog’s sexual advances, and defends herself vigorously against the taunts of the Forester’s children. She is tied up.
The poacher Harašta is going to visit Terynka, whom he is to marry. He finds a dead hare - one of the Vixen’s victims. The Forester warns him against poaching, and sets a trap for the Vixen.
The Vixen dreams of her sexual awakening and liberation. Outraged by the economic and sexual slavery of the Hens, she becomes a feminist. But the Hens’ conservatism is too much for her, and she systematically kills them all before escaping. ACT II The forest. Vixen finds a home. The Vixen returns to the forest, and cruelly evicts the Badger from his comfortable home. The Forester, full of drink, taunts the Schoolmaster about his hopeless passion for Terynka, a gypsy girl. But the Forester too is plagued by the memory of the Vixen he could not tame.
The forest. The death of Vixen.
The Vixen and the Fox play with their cubs. They find the trap, and ridicule the Forester’s incompetence. Harašta returns to pocket the Hare. The Vixen at first outwits him, but is eventually shot. The Schoolmaster bitterly regrets his lost opportunity – Terynka is to marry today. The Forester embraces his growing age, and happily sets out for a quiet nap in the forest. The forest. Inspired by the beauty of nature, the Forester recalls his youth, his imagination ablaze. He sleeps and dreams of the Vixen. A Frog reminds him of the inevitable cycle of nature and existence. 11
Biographies Cunning Little Vixen
JACK SYMONDS Conductor
STUART MAUNDER AM Director
RICHARD ROBERTS Set Designer
Jack Symonds is a composer, conductor and pianist, and Artistic Director of Sydney Chamber Opera. He has conducted the Australian premieres of major stage works by Dusapin, Kurtág, Benjamin, Romitelli, Kancheli and Britten and world premieres of operas by Gyger, Smetanin and Finsterer. His music has been played by Australian Chamber Orchestra, JACK Quartet, Composers Ensemble, Australia Piano Quartet, Streeton Trio and Timo-Veikko Valve among others, and he has written three stage works for Sydney Chamber Opera, including Notes from Underground. He studied composition at the Royal College of Music, London under Kenneth Hesketh, and gained the university medal from the Sydney Conservatorium.
Stuart made his Victorian Opera debut with Sunday in the Park with George in 2013, returning for Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd. Stuart is currently General Director of New Zealand Opera where his productions include Tosca, The Mikado and Sweeney Todd. For the last thirty years he has been directing musical theatre and opera. He was Artistic Administrator of Opera Australia from 1999 - 2003 and Executive Producer 2004 -2008 where he directed A Little Night Music, My Fair Lady, Tales of Hoffmann, Manon, Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore, Trial by Jury, Gypsy Princess, Don Pasquale, Iolanthe and Romèo et Juliette.
Richard’s designs include: Rigoletto, Don Pasquale, The Magic Flute, die Fledermaus (Opera Australia); Nixon in China, The Magic Flute, Baroque Triple Bill, The Marriage of Figaro; The Coronation of Poppea, Don Giovanni (Victorian Opera); Rigoletto (NZO); Ruddigore (OperaQ). Dance: Requiem, Molto Vivace, Raymonda (The Australian Ballet); La Sylphide (WA Ballet); La Fille Mal Gardee (WA Ballet/ Queensland Ballet). Theatre: The Season (SF/MF); Fiddler on the Roof (TML); Noises Off, Much Ado About Nothing, Tartuffe (QT); Last Man Standing, Solomon and Marion, Next to Normal, The Gift, Frost/Nixon, Macbeth, Dreams in an Empty City, (MTC); True West, Australia Day, Riflemind (STC).
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ROGER KIRK AM Costume Designer
TRUDY DALGLEISH Lighting Designer
CELESTE LAZARENKO Vixen
Roger Kirk AM is a Tony Award-winning set and costume designer for theatre, film and television. He has designed costumes for productions such as The Boy From Oz with Hugh Jackman, The King and I and King Kong. Roger was the costume designer for the film Jesus Christ Superstar, and has worked extensively on set and costume design for Opera Australia. Other credits include Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Whistle Down The Wind, Silver Rose and Le Corsaire for Munich Opera House. His Broadway credits include The King & I (Tony Award), Jesus Christ Superstar, and 42nd Street (Tony Nomination). Roger most recently staged his production of 42nd Street on the West End.
Trudy Dalgleish is one of Australia’s most sought after lighting designers. She has won 5 prestigious awards: 2 Helpmann, 2 Green Room, and an Entech, for best lighting designs and outstanding contribution to musical theatre. In 2016 Trudy’s lighting designs included Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks for Ensemble Theatre, Georgy Girl for Georgy Girl Productions, Funny Girl for The Production Company and also associate lighting designer for The Sound of Music for Gordon Frost. This year includes associate lighting designer The Bodyguard for Gordon Frost, and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical for Michael Cassel and lighting designer Melba for Hayes Theatre.
Celeste Lazarenko is a graduate of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. She has worked extensively with English National Opera, English Touring Opera, Opera North, Angers Nantes, Opéra de Bauge, Opéra de Dijon and Opéra de Rennes. A frequent soloist in Australia, Celeste has performed with Opera Australia’s Tour in the roles of Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Pamina / Second Lady (The Magic Flute) and Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Pinchgut Opera and the Sydney, Melbourne and Queensland Symphony Orchestras. Later this year, she will perform Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia with Sydney Chamber Opera. 13
Biographies Cunning Little Vixen
ANTOINETTE HALLORAN Fox
BARRY RYAN OAM Forester
DIMITY SHEPHERD Forester's Wife/Owl
In 2015/2016 Antoinette Halloran sang Fata Morgana in The Love for Three Oranges for Opera Australia, Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd for Victorian Opera and New Zealand Opera (Helpmann Award nomination) and appeared as soloist with the Sydney and Adelaide Symphony Orchestras. 2017 engagements include Tosca for West Australian Opera, associate artist for José Carreras’ National Tour and concerts with the Melbourne, West Australian and Christchurch Symphony Orchestras. Leading appearances for Opera Australia include the title role in Madama Butterfly, Mimi (La bohème), Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire (Green Room Award), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) and Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus).
Barry Ryan OAM graduated with honours from the Sydney Conservatorium. Awards include: Shell Aria, New York Metropolitan Auditions, Marten Bequest, Vienna State Opera Award and Green Room Award. In 2013, he received an Order of Australia for his services to classical music. Barry has performed with Royal Opera Covent Garden, La Scala, Opera Comique, Opera Bastille, Deutsche Oper, Komische Oper and as a principal artist with Cologne Opera from 1988-1992. Repertoire includes: Nixon in China, Of Mice and Men, Madama Butterfly, Götterdämmerung, La Bohème, Il Trovatore, Billy Budd and I Pagliacci. World premieres include: Cloudstreet, The Riders and Bliss.
Victorian Opera credits include her Green Room Award-winning performance as Cherubino in Marriage Of Figaro, Orphee et Eurydice, Through The Looking Glass, Xerxes, Julius Caesar, La traviata, her Helpmann Award-nominated Lucy in Threepenny Opera, Midnight Son, Banquet of Secrets, The Princess and the Pea, Sweeney Todd, The Riders, Nixon In China and Sunday In The Park With George. She has sung Cherubino for Opera Australia, Rosina in Barber Of Seville and Carmen for Oz Opera, major roles for Opera Queensland, Chamber Made Opera and the title role in The Ghost Wife at the Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney festivals and London’s BITE02 festivals.
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BRENTON SPITERI Schoolmaster/Mosquito
SAMUEL DUNDAS Harašta
JEREMY KLEEMAN Parson/Badger
A graduate of the University of Melbourne, Brenton was the 2012 Herald Sun Aria winner. Performance highlights nationally include Tamino, The Magic Flute (State Opera South Australia); Clotarco, Armida (Pinchgut Opera); Almaviva, The Barber of Seville (Melbourne Opera); Britten’s Les Illluminations (Sydney Symphony Orchestra); as well as creating the role of Ashley Crowther in Fly Away Peter and singing the lead in Notes from Underground, both for Sydney Chamber Opera. For two seasons, Brenton was a young artist at Opéra Lyon, singing roles in L’incoronazione di Poppea and Le Roi Carotte, at venues including the Royal Opera House of Versailles.
Samuel Dundas is a graduate of the Melba Conservatorium of Music and his performance experience encompasses opera, musical theatre and concerts. After making his operatic debut with Opera Queensland in 2005, Samuel went on to become a member of Victorian Opera’s Artist Development program and Opera Australia's Moffatt Oxenbould Young Artist program and subsequently became a principal artist with Opera Australia. He has sung in concert, including with the Adelaide, Melbourne, Tasmanian and West Australian Symphony Orchestras, Australian Youth Orchestra and Auckland Philharmonia. Samuel won the 2013 Lady Fairfax New York Scholarship and in 2014 was the recipient of the inaugural Dame Heather Begg Award.
Jeremy Kleeman is a graduate of Victorian Opera and Melbourne Conservatorium of Music’s Master of Music (Opera Performance), and was on the Joseph Sambrook Scholarship from 2014-2015 with Melba Opera Trust. Important career highlights include Magus in Voyage to the Moon national tour (Musica Viva/Victorian Opera) — Helpmann and Green Room nominations, Toby Raven in Cloudstreet (State Opera of South Australia), Figaro in Marriage of Figaro (Opera Australia Tour), the St. Matthew and John Passions (Melbourne Bach Choir), Teobaldo in Faramondo (Brisbane Baroque), and with Victorian Opera, Stuart Maunder’s Sondheim Trilogy and the title role in The Magic Pudding. 15
Meet the Chorus Cunning Little Vixen If you could be any animal, which would you choose? ADULT CHORUS PAUL BIENCOURT Pásek A wolf, because I’d like to be free to run through the forest and howl at the moon. For VO, I performed Flinck/Torquinius and the other supporting tenor roles in Through the Looking Glass. LYNLEE WILLIAMS Mrs. Pásková/Lapák A black panther because they’re strong, fast, majestic, mysterious and gorgeous. For VO, I most recently performed in La Sonnambula. DANIELLE CALDER Tyrenka/Hen An orca would be brilliant! I was a Developing Artist for VO way back when, singing roles such as Giannetta in Elixir and Governess in Turn of the Screw. ALEXANDRA IOAN Cockerel A bird. Maybe not a cockerel though, but a bird that can fly freely. I last appeared in VO’s regional tour as Rosemary Sprig in The Pied Piper and the Dressmaker in Cinderella. CRISTINA RUSSO Chocholka What do you mean by ‘choose’? I am a chicken. Recent roles for VO include the Ugly Stepsister Noémie in Cinderella, and Beatrice Brittle and the Cat in The Pied Piper.
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DIANA SIMPSON Hen/Jay A dolphin, swimming in the ocean and frolicking in the surf. I love how they are so social and fun-loving. For VO, I most recently sang in the chorus for La Sonnambula. MICHELLE MCCARTHY Hen A dolphin, because they are smart but don't take themselves too seriously. My debut with VO was as the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. BELINDA PATERSON Hen/Woodpecker A lorikeet – they're intelligent, beautiful and spend time hanging around in trees shouting at each other. I sang in VO’s inaugural gala concert and Così fan Tutte in 2006. (I'm wearing my Così shoes for my hen costume in Vixen!) KERRIE BOLTON Hen A cat. They can get away with almost anything! Independent and fluffy, but have claws when needed. My debut with VO was the inaugural gala concert in 2006. PAUL HUGHES Chorus A jaguar. As a kid, my job was to clean my mother’s 1965 Mark II Jaguar every week. I was fascinated with the way the car actually resembled a cat on its haunches. I appeared as Seneca in Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea.
MICHAEL LAPINA Chorus A dolphin, as they’re always smiling, and so free-spirited. I sang the role of Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor.
ELIZA O'CONNOR Dragonfly/Fox Cub A butterfly, because having wings would be very cool. In 2016, I appeared in VO’s Four Saints in Three Acts.
KIRAN RAJASINGAM Chorus A Labrador. They’re loyal, joyful and man’s best friend. For VO, I was The King in Massenet’s Cinderella.
HAYLEY EDWARDS Grasshopper/Fox Cub Anything that can fly! I could watch the world from above. I was in VO’s youth opera, Four Saints in Three Acts.
CHILDREN'S CHORUS
EMILIE WASHINGTON Snail/Fox Cub A seal. They are so beautiful, fast and fierce. I’m making my VO debut in Cunning Little Vixen!
SOPHIA WASLEY Cricket/Pepík/Fox Cub A dolphin, because they bring so much joy to people! I played a saint in VO’s youth opera, Four Saints in Three Acts. LISHA OOI Frog/Frantík/Fox Cub An eagle, so I could fly anywhere and always avoid traffic! Last year, I appeared in VO’s Four Saints in Three Acts.
RUBY DITTON Young Vixen A snow leopard, because they’re fluffy! This is my first performance with VO.
MAIA HANRAHAN Bee/Fox Cub A fennec fox, because they’re sly and smart. I’m making my VO debut in Cunning Little Vixen! HARMONY LEE Bee/Fox Cub An orangutan. I would like to emulate the carefree way they swing through life. I sang in VO's Four Saints in Three Acts. MAGGIE ORR Caterpillar/Fox Cub A lion. They’re majestic and fluffy. I was in VO’s youth opera, Four Saints in Three Acts. © Roger Kirk AM
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Š Zan Wimberley
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The Sleeping Beauty (2017)
Staff Victorian Opera
Conductor Emeritus Richard Gill AO Victorian Opera Board Chairman Jane Hemstritch Roger Box, Vivienne Corcoran, Jane Harvey, Siobhan Lenihan, Selina Lightfoot, Stephen McIntyre, Grant Powell, Penny Stragalinos, Francis Ebury, Earl of Wilton (Board Observer), Megan Waller (Board Observer) Executive Artistic Director Dr Richard Mills AM Managing Director Andrew Snell Executive Producer & Artistic Associate Libby Hill Artistic, Engagement & Production Head of Music Phoebe Briggs Repetiteur Phillipa Safey Company Manager Kate Stephens Assistant Company Manager Candice MacAllister Education Officer Deborah Vanderwerp Production Manager Eduard InglĂŠs Technical & Operations Coordinator Peter Darby Production Coordinator Luke Hales Costume Supervisor Joanne Paterson VOYCE Angus Grant Finance & Administration Finance & HR Manager John Orr Finance Assistant Claire Voumard
Marketing Marketing, Media & Sales Manager Henri Marron Marketing & Communications Coordinator Alexia Jordan Media & Communications Executive Scott Whinfield CRM & Ticketing Executive Nichole O'Duffy Development Development Manager Louise O'Loughlin Individual Giving Manager Pooja Dutt Development Executive Meredith Dellar Events Coordinator/Office Administration Sharni Morter, Alexandra Reade 2017 Season Staff Head Mechanist Mark Bradford Head of Wigs Trent Whitmore Surtitle Operator Tim Mallis Wardrobe Staff David Anderson, Emily Circles, Justine Coultham, Isobel Hutton, Lyn Molloy, Mandy Nichols, Madeleine Somers, John Van Gastel, Narelle Wilson, Nina Wilson Costume Props Adrienne Chisholm Wigs/Make-up Isaac Hanlon, Christine Miller, Brett Morley, Cheryl Williams Developing Artists Design Candice MacAllister Direction Alastair Clark Opera Performance Shakira Dugan, Michelle McCarthy, Cleo Lee-McGowan, Stephen Marsh Photography Charlie Kinross Programme Design Sharni Morter
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