PRESENTS:

January 16 (Thursday 19:00)

Gioachino Rossini

Il barbiere di Siviglia

Comic opera in two acts based on the Pierre Beaumarchais comedy

Epiphany Festival at Novaya Opera

Kate Lindsey (USA) as Rosina
Bruno Praticò (Italy) as Bartolo
Conductor Felix Korobov

Stage Director Elijah Moshinsky
Set and Costume Designer Anne Tilby
Lighting Designer Sergey Skornetsky
Choirmaster Yulia Senyukova
Figaro Igor Golovatenko
Rosina Kate Lindsey
Count Almaviva Georgy Faradzhev
Basilio Vladimir Kudashev
Doctor Bartolo Bruno Praticò
Berta Svetlana Skripkina (debut)
Fiorello Alexander Popov
Officer Alexander Popov
Recommended for 6+

Biographies of cast members:

Kate Lindsey, Mezzo-soprano
A native of Richmond, Virginia, Kate. Lindsey holds a Bachelor of Music Degree with Distinction from Indiana University and is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

Ms. Lindsey has already appeared in many of the world’s prestigious opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Glyndebourne Opera Festival, the Aix-en-Provence, Festival, Lille Opera, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, and the Bayerische Staatsoper. Her repertoire includes Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Idamante in Idomeneo, Sesto in La clemenza di Tito, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Hansel in Hansel und Gretel, Kompanist in Ariadne auf Naxos and Nicklausse/The Muse in Les contes d’Hoffmann. She also created the title role in the premiere of Daron Hagen’s Amelia at the Seattle Opera.

An accomplished concert singer, Ms. Lindsey sang the premiere performances of a new commission by John Harbison with James Levine and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She has also appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Met Chamber Orchestra (in Carnegie Hall), Cercle de l’Harmonie in Europe, and at the Tanglewood and Mostly Mozart festivals. She has worked with many of the world’s most distinguished conductors including Harry Bicket, James Conlon, Emmanuelle Haim, Thomas Henglebrock, Vladimir Jurowski James Levine, Lorin Maazel, David Robertson, Jeremie Rohrer, and Franz Welser-Möst In recital, she has been presented by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Rockefeller University in New York City.

Ms. Lindsey recently starred in the Metropolitan Opera’s HD broadcast of its new production of Les contes d’Hoffmann. She was also featured in its broadcasts of La clemenza di Tito and The Magic Flute (which was subsequently released on DVD).

Her many awards include a prestigious 2011 grant from the Festival Musique et Vin au Clos Vougeot the 2007 Richard F. Gold Career Grant, the 2007 George London Award in memory of Lloyd Rigler, the 2007 Lincoln Center Martin E. Segal Award, and a 2006 Sullivan Foundation Grant.

Roles performed at the Novaya Opera

Bruno Praticò, Bass-baritone
Born in Aosta, after studying with baritone Giuseppe Valdengo Bruno Praticò attended the specialisation courses of Teatro alla Scala and of Rodolfo Celletti.He has established an extraordinary international career, performing regularly on the prestigious concert stages and opera houses, including New York MET Opera, London ROH Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala di Milano, Opéra National de Paris, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Rossini Opera Festival of Pesaro, Rossini Festival in Wildbad, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, Teatro Real in Madrid, New National Theatre of Tokyo, Opéra de Montecarlo, Teatro La Fenice in Venezia, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Teatro di San Carlo in Napoli, Teatro Regio in Parma, Losa Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, Florida Grand Opera of Miami, Houston Grand Opera.

He collaborated with such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Bruno Campanella, Riccardo Chailly, Gianluigi Gelmetti, Daniele Gatti, Donato Renzetti, Carlo Rizzi and Alberto Zedda.

Since 1993 Bruno Praticò has been a regular guest at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. In 1998, in the occasion of his interpretation of the role of Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, he was awarded the “Rossini d’Oro Prize”. In 1999 he returned to Pesaro for Il viaggio a Reims, La Cenerentola, La Gazzetta, L’equivoco stravagante, Le comte Ory and more recently for Torvaldo e Dorliska.

The role of Bartolo in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia has become one of his signature parts. He performed Bartolo several times in her career in such venues as Teatro dell’Opera in Roma, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Baltimore Opera Company, Arena di Verona, Opéra de Montecarlo, Opéra National de Paris, Teatro Massimo “V. Bellini” in Catania, Teatro dell’Opera in Roma, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro Real in Madrid. Other successful performances include his peformances of Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola at the Opéra National de Paris and at Bayerische Staatsoper, of Geronimo in /Il matrimonio segreto at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées de Paris and in Montecarlo and the role of Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore at the Teatro La Fenice di Venezia and a the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

During the 2012/13 season he gained a great success performing Il barbiere di Siviglia at New National Theatre of Tokyo, at Teatro Municipal de Santiago de Chile and at National Center for the Performance Arts in Beijing, Il Maestro di Cappella at Opéra de Nancy, La Cenerentola at Palm Beach Opera and L’italiana in Algeri at Atlanta Opera.

Recent seasons has brought him to perform Il viaggio a Reims at Teatro alla Scala and at the Monnaie di Bruxelles, Il signor Bruschino at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Covent Garden in London, at the Metropolitan in New York, at the Los Angeles Opera, at the Florida Grand Opera of Miami, at the Teatro Regio di Parma, at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and at the Teatro São Carlos in Lisbon, Così fan tutte in Lisbon, La cenerentola at the Bayerische Staatsoper di Monaco, at the Salle Pleyel de Paris, at the Festival Rossini in Wildbad, at the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow and at the Kungliga Teater in Stockolm, La forza del destino at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, La finta semplice at the Theater an der Wien, Don Pasquale (title role) at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, La fille du régiment (Sulpice) at the Houston Grand Opera and at the San Francisco Opera, Pulcinella at the Teatro Filarmonico di Verona, Divorzio all’Italiana by Giorgio Battistelli at the Opéra de Nancy, L’elisir d’amore at the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Il turco in Italia, La gazza ladra and Il Signor Bruschino at the Rossini Festival in Wildbad and Le nozze di Figaro all’Opéra de Nancy.

His extensive discography includes Il barbiere di Siviglia (Bartolo) for EMI, L’elisir d’amore (Dulcamara) for Erato, Il signor Bruschino and La cambiale di matrimonio for Claves, Lakmè, Don Quichotte and Leoncavallo’s La bohème for Nuova Era, L’italiana in Algeri for Bongiovanni, Donizetti’s La romanziera e l’uomo nero for Opera Rara, L’italiana in Algeri for the BMG label and La Cenerentola under the baton of Alberto Zedda.

Roles performed at the Novaya Opera: Doctor Bartolo in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia

Felix Korobov, Chief Conductor of the Theatre in 2004–2006. Felix Korobov graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory (cello in 1996; opera and symphony conducting in 2002). He completed post-graduate studies at the Conservatory, specializing in string quartet (1998).In different years, he worked as leader of the cello group in the Yekaterinburg Maly Opera Theatre, the State Academic Symphony Choir of Russia directed by V. Poliansky, 1st leader assistant of the cello group in the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia (GASO).

As a cellist, Korobov regularly works with the Tchaikovsky State Quartet, the Anima-Piano-Quartet and the Russian Baroque Soloists.

Since 1999, Korobov has worked in the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre in Moscow, conducting Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmila, Verdi’s Ernani, Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Gounod’s Faust, Puccini’s Tosca. He is the music director and conductor of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Verdi’s La Traviata, and of two ballets: Prokofiev’s Cinderella, and Seagull (choreography by Neumayer, to music by Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky and Glennie). He was appointed the chief conductor of the theatre in 2004.

In 2000 – 2002, he worked as the chief conductor’s assistant in GASO, where he prepared concert programs featuring Placido Domingo, Montserrat Caballé, and Mstislav Rostropovich.

Felix Korobov joined the Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow in 2003. He worked as the chief conductor between 2004 and 2006. In the Novaya Opera, he prepared a symphony program for a concert featuring Yuri Temirkanov and Natalia Gutman, for a concert dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dmitry Shostakovich. He conducted concerts featuring Eliso Virsaladze (piano) and Jose Cura (tenor), “Cinemaphonia” (dedicated to the 60th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War). Felix Korobov was the music director and conductor of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Tsar’s Bride and Bellini’s Norma. He conducted the performances “O Mozart! Mozart…”, Romances by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, Tribute to Evgeny Kolobov and Opera@Jazz.

Felix Korobov has recorded more than 20 СDs. As a cellist and a conductor, he has participated in many domestic and international festivals. In 2002, he won an award of the International Contest of Chamber Ensembles (Druskininkai, Lithuania).

Felix Korobov is an Honoured Artist of Russia.

Productions

Discography

Igor Golovatenko, baritone, studied at the Moscow Academy of Choral Art with Professor Dmitry Vdovin.

Since his debut in the 2006 Russian premiere of Delius’ Eine Messe des Lebens with the Russian National Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Vladimir Spivakov, he has been quickly making a name for himself on both the concert and operatic stage.

Igor Golovatenko has been a soloist with the Novaya Opera since 2007 and a guest soloist at the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow since 2010, where his roles have included Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Germont in La traviata (at the Bolshoi premiered in 2012, directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Laurent Campellone), Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia (directed by Elijah Moshinsky), Olivier in Capriccio, Robert in Iolanta and the title role of Eugene Onegin.

In 2012 he made his debut at the Opera national de Paris as Lopakhin in a production of Philippe Fenelon’s La Cerisaie conducted by Tito Ceccherini and directed by Georges Lavaudant, having already sung the role to critical acclaim in the world premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre. He also debuted at the Teatro Massimo of Palermo as Shchelkalov and Rangoni in Boris Godunov (with Ferruccio Furlanetto as Boris and directed by Hugo De Ana), and at the San Carlo Theatre of Naples as Monfort in Les vepres siciliennes directed by Gianluigi Gelmetti.

Equally at ease on the concert platform, Golovatenko has appeared with the Yaroslavl Symphony Orchestra in performances of Rachmaninov’s The Bells conducted by Murad Annamamedov, and with the Russian National Orchestra of Grieg’s Peer Gynt conducted by Mikhail Pletnev. He also appeared with the Goettingen Symphony Orchestra in concert performances of La traviata conducted by Christoph-Mathias Mueller and, most recently, with the Russian National Orchestra and Moscow State Chamber Choir in concert performances of Eugene Onegin conducted by Mikhail Pletnev at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. In addition, Igor Golovatenko regularly performs at the Russian National Orchestra Festival.

Highlights of the 2012/13 season include Renato in Un ballo in maschera at the Teatro Sociale di Rovigo, Opera Giocosa di Savona and Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo, Seid in Il corsaro at the Teatro Verdi Trieste, Rigoletto at the Opera Giocosa di Savona directed by Rolando Panerai, Il trovatore (Conte di Luna) and Aida (Amonasro) at the Novaya Opera, Moscow, Carlo Gustavo J. Foroni’s Christina regina di Svezia at the Wexford Opera Festival and also Don Carlo at the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow directed by Adrian Noble and conducted by Vassily Sinaisky.

The singer also debuted at Bayerische Staatsoper as Shchelkalov in Boris Godunov conducted by Kent Nagano and directed by Calixto Bieito (2013).

Awards and Honours:

• First prize winner of the St Petersburg Three Centuries of Classical Romance international piano-vocal duets competition (2008)
• Second prize winner in Dresden’s International vocal competition, the Competizione dell’Opera (2011)

Roles performed at the Novaya Opera

Discography

Georgy Faradzhev, tenor, graduated from the Sveshnikov Choral College with a degree in choral conducting and from the Gnessins Academy of Music with a degree in singing. In 2000–2001, he was a trainee at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre and in the International Opera Workshop in Zurich (Switzerland, 2001–2003). The singer performed in the Avant-Scene Opera in Switzerland. He has toured a lot in Russia and abroad. Georgy Faradzhev joined the Novaya Opera in 2008.

Awards and Honours

• 2013 Moscow City Literature and Arts Prize

Roles performed at the Novaya Opera

Discography