Delicatessen Recital
Introduction: Clara Orban
Clara Orban is Professor Emerita of Italian and French at DePaul University. She is a certified sommelier, teaches courses and has published books on wine (a wine appreciation book and the guide to Illinois wines). Her books and articles also include studies of surrealism, futurism, AIDS literature and the Marquis de Sade, Hungarian cinema, and a novel. She has been a member of the Chicago Delegation of the Accademia Italiana della Cucina for more than a decade.
Leo Radosavljevic, Accompanist
Già la mensa è preparata from Don Giovanni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Don Giovanni – Jonathan Wilson
Leporello – Kevin Wheatle
Donna Elvira – Angela De Venuto
Di tanti palpiti from Tancredi
Gioachino Rossini
Tancredi – Lauryn Nelson
Sei polli, Sei scellini from Falstaff
Giuseppe Verdi
Falstaff – Jonathan Wilson
Pistola – Chiemerie Obianom
Bardolfo – Dominic Martin Reyes
Laggiù nel Soledad from La Fanciulla del West
Giacomo Puccini
Minnie – Angela DeVenuto
Il vecchiotto cerca moglie from Barbiere di Siviglia
Gioachino Rossini
Berta – Lauren Ingebrigtsen
Viva il vino spumeggiante from Cavalleria Rusticana
Pietro Mascagni
Turridu – Eric Wassenaar
Lola – Katarina Dubbs
Coro – Tutti
Udite, udite, o rustici from L’elisir d’amore
Gaetano Donizetti
Dulcamara – Chiemerie Obianom
Si colmi il calice Brindisi from Macbeth
Giuseppe Verdi
Lady Macbeth – Lauren Ingebrigtsen
Coro – Tutti
Intermission
Una furtiva lagrima from L’elisir d’amore
Gaetano Donizetti
Nemorino – Jerek Fernandez
Fin ch’han dal vino from Don Giovanni
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Don Giovanni – Daniel Uglunts
Bevo al tuo fresco sorriso from La Rondine
Giacomo Puccini
Ruggero – Ryan Daly
Magda – Angela DeVenuto
Prunier – Jerek Fernandez
Lisette – Jennifer Parr
Coro -Tutti
A vucchella
Paolo Tosti
Eric Wassenaar
Ice Cream Sextet from Street Scene
Kurt Weill
Lippo Fiorentino – Aldo Alan
Greta Fiorentino – Greer Arcomona
Mrs. Olsen – Samantha McGonigal
Mr. Olsen – Kevin Wheatle
George Jones – Chiemerie Obianom
Henry Davis – Daniel Uglunts
Sventurata mi credea aria di sorbetto from La Cenerentola
Gioachino Rossini
Clorinda – Lauren Ingebrigtsen
Libiamo ne lieti calici from La Traviata
Giuseppe Verdi
Alfredo 1 – Ryan Daly
Violetta 1 – Leah Rockweit
Alfredo 2 – Eric Wassenaar
Violetta 2 – Margaret Meierhenry
Coro – Tutti
Cast
OFC Staff
General Director | Sasha Gerritson
Music Director | Emanuele Andrizzi
Artistic Director/ YAP Co-Director | Franco Pomponi
YAP Co-Director | Maria Kanyova
Director of Operations | Karen Cullen
Production Manager | Darren Brown
Lighting Designer | Michael Goebel
Board of Directors
Dr. Gregory Sarlo, Treasurer
Dr. Hamid Akbari
Stephanie Bryan Kangas
Michele Corlett
Carl Lawrenz
Dr. Venetia Stifler
Key Donors to the Opera Festival of Chicago
Hamid & Azar Akbari
Mike & Karen Atwood
Dr. Darren Brenner
Jim & Ester Bryan
Stephanie Bryan Kangas
Oliver Camacho
Michele Corlett
Frank DeVincentis
Adriana Fiori
Raymond Frick
Barbara Horan
Jeff & Stacy Janiak
Eugene Jarvis & Sasha Gerritson
Carl Lawrenz
James McCormick
Sensei Jeff Kohn
Laura Pils
Dr. Gregory Sarlo
John and Leigh Sasser
Venetia Stifler & Michael Hugos
Drs. David & Connie Wojtowicz
General Director’s Note
What a pleasure it has been to work with this fine group of singers, orchestra members, designers, staff and crew on the rarely seen opera L’amore dei tre rei. Having not been performed in Chicago in over 70 years, it is a rare treat for all who come to know it. First premiered at La Scala in April 1913, Montemezzi’s lush and complex score brings the tragic tale to life in a way that evokes a great depth of emotion. The orchestra frequently reveals the subtext of the interactions between the characters, and there are many moments of symbolism from the time he was composing it. Fiora herself represents Italy. “The Love of Three Kings” is sometimes a confusing title, as we only see Manfredo and Avito in competition for Fiora’s love. But Montemezzi believed that King Archibaldo was not only suspicious of Fiora but also desired her himself. In an interview in 1941, Montemezzi stated: “When the old king catches Fiora on the terrace after her night with Avito and questions her, she denies everything. He lays hands on her and demands, ‘Perchè tremi, se dici il vero?’ (‘Why do you tremble, if you are telling the truth?’), to which she answers boldly, ‘Ed anche voi tremate … e non mentite’ (You’re trembling, too … and you’re not lying’). In short, Archibaldo has a repressed, gnawing love for his daughter-in-law, and she knows it.” Jane Phillips (Opera News) wrote about L’amore saying: “It is intense tragedy, worthy of any stage in the world, and as such it takes its place in tragedy’s highest ranks. It is the best, not only of opera, but of drama and poetry, not only for today but for people in all time. Every scene conveys a lifetime of experience; and further than that it is not possible to go.” With its continued mission of bringing rarely performed Italian masterpieces to the stage, Opera Festival of Chicago has once again done just that. We hope you enjoy today’s performance and will join us again this festival season for our upcoming concerts and our second mainstage full production, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.
Mille grazie! Sasha
Mission Statement
To present world-class standard productions of Italian opera masterpieces in Chicago that rarely grace the stage in the United States. In doing so we aspire to: generate an inquisitive operatic appetite within Chicago audiences; make our work – and its cultural context – accessible to a wide audience; provide a stimulating and inspirational environment of Italian opera for artists and audiences alike; provide a vital opportunity for young artists entering the profession to uphold the high integrity and demands of Italian opera with artists and musicians who are established professionals; and to highlight and celebrate the immense talent that has originated from the Chicagoland area.
Opera Festival of Chicago’s Young Artist Program is in partnership with the opera programs at DePaul University and Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University.
Supported By
Donate
Thanks to our supporters, the Opera Festival of Chicago plays a vital role in Chicago’s rich and diverse cultural landscape. We are one of only a few companies in the world dedicated to producing and presenting rarely performed Italian opera masterworks. By doing so, we make these operas, and their cultural context, accessible to a wide audience and provide a stimulating and inspirational environment for artists and audiences alike. Your tax-deductible financial contribution enables our artists to bring the music to life!
When you make a gift to the Opera Festival of Chicago, you help us:
- Foster the presentation of Italian opera masterworks that are almost never performed in the United States
- Remove barriers to live opera by keeping performances accessible to all audiences
- Develop the next generation of opera talent through a comprehensive side-by-side young artist training program
- Showcase to an international audience the immense talent that has originated from the Chicagoland area
Bring leading opera artists to Chicago stages
Upcoming Events
Opera Festival of Chicago highlights their rising stars of the Young Artists Program with a special event dedicated to food in opera.
Cast: Festival Young Artists
See the 2025 Opera Festival of Chicago's leading artists in concert at the Jarvis Opera Hall.
Cast: Festival company members including Angela DeVenuto, Jerek Fernandez, David Greene, Maria Kanyova, Joseph Lodato, Leo Radosavljevich, Franco Pomponi and more!
The season concludes with one of the pillars of Italian opera and one of the most passionate dramas of all times, Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo.
Cast: Michelle Allie Drever | Jonathan Burton | Franco Pomponi | Jerek Fernández | Jonathan Wilson
The season concludes with one of the pillars of Italian opera and one of the most passionate dramas of all times, Pagliacci by Ruggero Leoncavallo.
Cast: Michelle Allie Drever | Jonathan Burton | Franco Pomponi | Jerek Fernández | Jonathan Wilson