Cosi fan tutte  -- women are Fickle

Poster Design by Melanie Fabrizius -- Graphic Designer Billings Gazette


 

Photo:  LARRY MAYER/Gazette Staff
Performers in the current Rimrock Opera "Cosi" sing for students in Amy Logan's chorus class at Skyview High School Wednesday afternoon. The opera singers are, from left, Curt Olds, Dennis Rupp and Adam Flowers. Performances are March 23 and 24 at the Alberta Bair Theater.

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Synopsis

The Cast for Così fan tutte (Women are Fickle)

Conductor (Directs the music of the opera)
Timm Rolek, Artistic Director of Sacramento Opera, CA

Director/Producer (Directs the action on the stage)
Douglas Nagel of Billings, MT

Fiordiligi (Soprano), Ladies of Ferrara and sisters living in Napoli
Lisa Lombardy of Billings, MT

Dorabella (Soprano),
Diedra Walker of Lander, WY

Guglielmo (Baritone), Officer, in love with Fiordiligi
Curt Olds, formerly of Montana, living in New York City

Ferrando (Tenor), Officer, in love with Dorabella
Adam Flowers of San Francisco, CA

Despina (Soprano), Chambermaid of the ladies
Amy Logan of Billings, MT

Don Alfonso (Bass), an old Philosopher
Dennis Rupp of Burbank, CA

 

Local performers joining international vocalists has become a mainstay of Rimrock Opera stagings

Homegrown talents thrive in Rimrock Opera Company

JACI WEBB Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Thursday, March 15, 2007 11:00 pm
In the second act of the Rimrock Opera Company's production of "Cosi fan tutte," a Butte native and a Lander, Wyo., veterinarian's assistant, croon the loveliest of Mozart duets.

It's a treat for opera fans because it's one of the sweetest moments in the opera and these two fine vocalists nailed every note in a rehearsal earlier this week. But what makes the scene even more amazing is something we've all come to expect from the ROC - its knack for showcasing international vocalists as well as local performers. And, in some instances, they are one in the same.

Baritone Curt Olds, who grew up in Butte, is playing Guglielmo, one of the leading roles in the Italian opera "Cosi fan tutte," which roughly translates to "Women are Fickle." He is one of the rare vocalists who successfully performs in both opera and stage musicals. He has toured with the New York City Opera and performed on Broadway in "Riverdance" during his career. Yet every time he prepares for a role, he said it's different because of the vocalists he is paired with.

"No matter what your experience level is, you have to find a balance," Olds said.
A bus-load of friends, family and opera fans will travel from Butte to see Olds perform next week at the Alberta Bair Theater.

"This is a good opera to see because Mozart achieves perfection in writing," Olds said.
Soprano Diedra Walker makes her stage debut as a leading lady in her role as Dorabella, the woman Guglielmo falls for in the second act. The two of them have some stage chemistry despite the fact that they met just days ago when they started full-cast rehearsals at West Park Plaza.

Walker, who works as a veterinary assistant in Lander, Wyo., has studied under her famous opera-singing father, John Walker. After being a guest soloist in last spring's ROC production of "Die Fledermaus," Walker landed a role in "The Night Harry Stopped Smoking," performing in more than 90 shows of the touring school production.

The entire cast has been rehearsing their music on their own - some, like Billings native Lisa Lombardy for 10 months - to prepare for this production. It's up to artistic director Douglas Nagel and music director and conductor Timm Rolek to find vocalists who not only fit the physical description of their roles, but who will sound good together.
Rolek, who has been involved in two previous ROC operas, said the duet shows the two are perfect together for their roles. And, he said, the music, specifically their duet, is some of the most beautiful ever written by Mozart.

"And the comedy in the music is just infectious," said Rolek, who is artistic director of the Sacramento Opera.

Nagel starts looking for vocalists sometimes years before they actually perform with the ROC. And, many times, as in the case of bass Dennis Rupp, who plays Don Alfonso, once they perform with the ROC in Billings, they keep coming back.

Rupp has performed in several ROC operas, including the world premiere of "Nosferatu."
"They asked me to come for 'Nosferatu,' now they can't get rid of me," Rupp said.
Tenor Adam Flowers is making his debut with the ROC as Ferrando, a role he performed six years ago with Opera San Jose. He said the role is challenging because of its high tenor notes, but once he's in it, it makes all the extra effort worthwhile.

Soprano Amy Logan, who teaches choir at Skyview High School and directs Rimrock Opera Chorus for Kids, plays the role of Despina, a cunning maid in "Cosi fan tutte." Logan first got involved with ROC in 2002, when she played clarinet in the orchestra, and is now making her main stage debut as a lead vocalist with ROC.
The camaraderie of the cast is half the fun of being in a big production, performers say.

"It's amazing coming together as a cast," Lombardy said. "We've all been working on our parts for so long, but separately. It's fun to see how it all comes together."


  
 JAMES WOODCOCK/Gazette Staff
Performers in the upcoming Rimrock Opera production of Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte" include Dennis Rupp, who plays Don Alfonso, flanked by Lisa Lomardi as Fiordiligi, left, and Diedra Walker as Dorabella.




JAMES WOODCOCK/Gazette Staff
Amy Logan, Adam Flowers, and Curt Olds look over music with music director and conductor Timm Rolek. Rimrock Opera Company will present "Cosi fan tutte” on Friday, March 23, and Sunday, March 25, at the Alberta Bair Theater.


About the opera

“Cosi fan tutte,’’ which translates to “Women are Fickle,’’ was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and first performed Jan. 26, 1790, in Vienna. Sung in Italian, it will have English super titles above the stage when it is performed by the Rimrock Opera Company.

“Cosi” tells the story of an elderly cynic, Don Alfonso, who discusses women with two young officers Ferrando and Guglielmo. The two young men insist that their sweethearts are virtuous and they agree to accept Alfonso’s wager that he can prove the ladies fickle if they do what he says for the next 24 hours.

The two sisters Fiordiligi and Dorabella revel in their love for the young officers, showing lockets with their pictures. But, as part of the scheme, Alfonso comes in with bad news ?the men have been called to their regiment.

Meanwhile, the maid Despina offers the sisters advice about forgetting old lovers with the help of new ones. The sisters reject her advice and Dorabella becomes outraged. But it isn’t long before the two officers, disguised as Albanians, arrive to woo the sisters, according to Alfonso’s instructions. After a mock poisoning, the sisters’ hearts start to open to the strangers.

Dennis Rupp, who plays Alfonso in the production, said highlights of the show include Lisa Lombardy’s aria as Fiordiligi.

“It’s a tour de force,’’ Rupp said.

Other highlights include a duet between Dorabella, portrayed by Diedra Walker, and Guglielmo, portrayed by Curt Olds, in the second act, according to music director/conductor Timm Rolek.

“To me, the duet is some of the most beautiful music ever written,’’ Rolek said.

Laughter, music lift 'Cosi fan tutte'

JACI WEBB Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Saturday, March 24, 2007 11:00 pm
We don't usually associate opera with belly laughs, but that unique dichotomy of silliness and beautiful music makes Rimrock Opera Company's production of "Cosi fan tutte" soar.

Billings soprano Lisa Lombardy, playing the role of Fiordiligi, is a marvel. The challenging vocal range of the part, paired with the need to ham it up as the target of a madcap prank, could have soured the performance of a lesser artist. But for Lombardy, who most recently played Musetta in a Helena production of "La boheme," it was a career highlight.

Billings Skyview vocal teacher Amy Logan was so much fun to watch Friday night as the cunning maid Despina that you almost forgot she had such an evil bent. She and her friend, Alfonso, played by opera stalwart Dennis Rupp, connive to lure Fiordiligi and her sister, Dorabella, played by Wyoming vocalist Diedra Walker, away from their lovers.

Logan's character dons the goofiest of disguises to carry out their plot, from an Albert Einstein lookalike doctor who treats patients with a huge magnet to a bumbling notary with a sideways mustache. Logan eases effortlessly among all three characters, showing off her fine soprano voice. Walker shows a penchant for character roles in her outstanding debut as main stage lead.

"Cosi fan tutte," one of Mozart's most popular operas, challenges the premise that women are fickle. Two men, convinced their lovers are faithful, take on a bet with Alfonso to prove their ladies are true. So, disguised as Albanians, they set out to woo each other's lady. They shouldn't have tried so hard.

Butte native Curt Olds plays one of the young men, Guglielmo, and Adam Flowers plays the other, Ferrando. Flowers' expressive face brought down the house just by raising an eyebrow, and his vocal range was incredible. Olds filled his role with cheeky charm and warm vocals. The two wore garish turbans with horns sticking out the front and huge handlebar mustaches.

Sung in Italian with English titles projected above the stage, the work was sprinkled with odd witticisms like this one from Guglielma, "Our mustaches could be called the triumph of manhood. Love's plume." One of the show's musical highlights had the two men trading jibes in a staccato duet in Act I.

A 28-piece symphonic orchestra, directed by Timm Rolek, was vital to the production, which was under the artistic direction of Billings native Doug Nagel.
Just more than 800 people took in the performance Friday night. Among them were first-time opera viewers Lisa Huertas and her son, Alec, who came to see Logan, Alec's former teacher.

"The harmonies were just fabulous and they were soaring on those notes," Huertas said.

Alec added, "I thought it was a blast!"

Lombardy keeps value of life's gifts close to heart

JACI WEBB Of The Gazette Staff | Posted: Thursday, November 9, 2006 11:00 pm
Lisa Lombardy said she had a few false starts in her life.
A surprising revelation from a vocalist and violinist with such poise and grace that she's admired by many. Lombardy grew up in Billings, singing with her two sisters, Barbara and Sonja. When she graduated from Billings Senior High in 1971, she enrolled at Eastern Montana College to study theater and music with hopes of teaching and performing on the side.

But she quit school, turned off by the prospect of teaching, and eventually she earned a nursing degree at Montana State University. There were years when she didn't pick up her violin and didn't sing on a stage when she was starting her nursing career in Billings.

Now, she's doing it all - teaching voice; singing soprano in Saturday night's Billings Symphony Orchestra and Chorale concert; playing violin in the BSO when she's not singing; and preparing for a leading role in the upcoming opera "Cosi fan Tutte."
Lombardy is comfortable with Mozart's "Requiem," having performed it in 1991 with the Billings Symphony Orchestra and Chorale. She prepared to sing it with the Bozeman Symphony in 1987, but was involved in a traffic accident the day before the performance and was forced to cancel.

"I didn't have my seatbelt on and the impact of the accident pushed me into the windshield. At the time, I was more worried about not being able to sing 'The Requiem,' than I was concerned about becoming a quadriplegic," Lombardy said.

Lombardy made a full recovery and was lucky to get a second chance at performing "The Requiem." Now she's ready to sing it again and hopes the audience will be drawn to the poignancy of the work.

"It is the last thing Mozart wrote and he didn't live to finish it," Lombardy said. "There is just so much in it; we all have to face our own mortality. It draws out our emotions. I hope the audience can get the depth of what is going on in the music."

While she practiced the piece, Lombardy said she kept in mind that she will be performing it with three other vocalists and must "be sensitive to how they'll be doing it." The vocalists will rehearse for the first time together today and Lombardy said it's essential that each vocalist is fully prepared.

Lombardy first auditioned to perform violin with the BSO in the 1970s when George Perkins was at the helm and later auditioned with Uri Barnea. She now plays violin under the direction of Anne Harrigan in an orchestra that she said has evolved since the 1970s.

"We have such a rich culture for the arts here. We have so many things going on and the level of talent has risen."

And one of her most promising students, Chris Johnson, is finding his own way in the world of performing arts. For a woman who thought she never wanted to teach, Lombardy said she finds great satisfaction in seeing Johnson grow as a vocalist.
""It's so interesting how life flushes its way out," Lombardy said.

  JAMES WOODCOCK/Gazette Staff
Costume designer Jill Port details one of her creations in advance of Rimrock Opera's production of Mozart's "Cosi fan tutte," which hits the ABT boards for performances Friday and Sunday.

 

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