Delicatessen Recital

7:30PM, Thursday, June 5, 2025
Artifacts Events

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

Frank DeVincentis, President
Dr. Gregory Sarlo, Treasurer
Dr. Hamid Akbari
Stephanie Bryan Kangas
Oliver Camacho
Michele Corlett
Carl Lawrenz
Dr. Venetia Stifler

Key Donors to the Opera Festival of Chicago

Anonymous (6)
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
Mary Houston
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

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

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Upcoming Events

Pagliacci

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

7:30PM, Friday, June 27, 2025
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
9501 Skokie Blvd,
Skokie, IL 60077
Pagliacci

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

2:00PM, Sunday, June 29, 2025
North Shore Center for the Performing Arts
9501 Skokie Blvd,
Skokie, IL 60077