Take a deeper look into the life and legacy of Gaetano Donizetti.
Join us for a conversation between Francesco Milioto,Chicago Opera Theater's conductor; Amy Hutchison, director of COT's upcoming Donizetti Double Bill: Il Pigmalione and Rita; and Jesse Rosenberg, of Northwestern University's Bienen School of Music.
Singers Javier Abréu, Angela Mortellaro, and Keith Phares, joined by members of COT Young Artists, will perform a selection of works from Donizetti’s robust catalog, following his compositional journey from first opera, Il Pigmalione, to one of his last, Rita.
Download a PDF flyer for this event to post and distribute, and explore related Newberry materials with our Collection Quick Guide on Donizetti and Opera.
Featured Performers
Francesco Milioto, a rising star in the younger generation of conductors, is forging a unique career as a versatile interpreter of both the operatic and orchestral repertoire. Praised for his energy and integrity on the podium, the Chicago Tribune has said, “Milioto presided with Bernsteinesque bravura.”
Amy Hutchison has championed new American opera throughout her career. Her recent production of Missy Mazzoli’s Song from the Uproar: The Lives and Deaths of Isabelle Eberhardt for Chicago Fringe Opera was hailed as “imaginative” and “striking . . . contemporary music theater.” She has directed William Bolcom’s View from the Bridge for Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Washington National Opera, and Portland Opera. Her collaboration with Ricky Ian Gordon and Stacey Tappan, Once I Was: Songs by Ricky Ian Gordon, was staged at the Chicago Cultural Center and recorded on the Blue Griffin label.
Jesse Rosenberg is a specialist in 19th- and 20th-century Italian opera, with articles published on Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, and Verdi and papers read at national and international conferences on opera and film music history. His research interests include musical aesthetics and the convergence of music with fields such as literature, poetry, and theology.
Puerto Rican tenor Javier Abréu sets himself apart with his energetic performances and commanding stage presence. Praised by Opera News as a “consistently lyric high tenor,” Abreu has wowed audiences all over the world in the baroque, bel canto, and contemporary repertoire.
Soprano Angela Mortellaro possesses a captivating stage presence and consistently delivers in a wide range of characters and vocal demands. She has sung leading roles in Lucia di Lammermoor, Roméo et Juliette, Thaïs, La Traviata, L’elisir d’amore, and has created roles in new operas including Charlie Parker’s Yardbird Silent Night and The Manchurian Candidate.
Opera News hails Keith Phares “as an authentic contemporary-American-opera divo” with “an impressive gallery of finely-drawn character portraits.” His 2017-2018 engagements include Roderick and Hiram in Getty’s Usher House and Canterville Ghost with Los Angeles Opera, Ford in Falstaff with Opera Omaha and Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Maine. Next season he will sing Kynaston in Floyd’s Prince of Players with Florentine Opera.
Cosponsored with Chicago Opera Theater.
Your generosity is vital in keeping the library's programs, exhibitions, and reading rooms free and accessible to everyone. Make a donation today.
Excuse our dust!!!
Beginning January 2018 the Newberry is undertaking renovation of much of the ground floor. Ruggles Hall will not be affected, but please check this link frequently for the latest conditions - which exterior doors are open or closed, where to find an accessible entrance, which restrooms are available, etc.