FULL 52nd Anniversary Gala Concert New York 2022 Regina Opera

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: 52nd Anniversary Gala Concert  
• Composer: various  
• Libretto: various  
• Venue & Opera Company: OLPH Catholic Academy of Brooklyn, New York City, Regina Opera  
• Recorded: May 1, 2022
• Type: Concert Semi-staged
• Singers: Gina Mazzara, Valeriya Chibisova, Galina Ivannikova, Lindell Carter, Daewon Seo, Richard Paratley
• Conductor:   
• Orchestra: Sergey Iorov, Victoria Ulanovskaya, PIANO  
• Stage Director:   
• Costume Designer:   

Information about the Recording

• Published by: Regina Opera  
• Format: DVD
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: nosubs  
• Video Recording from: YouTube     FULL VIDEO
•  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

World Premiere of a scene from El Mestizo, by Nathan Felix

Kendra Kae – La Malinche; Robert Francis Orbach – Hernán Cortés; Valeriya Chibisova and Gina Mazzara – enslaved women. Chorus: Abigail Clyne, Mark Blumberg. Vlad Hontilla – violinist; Georgia Bourderionnet – cellist; Sergey Iorov – pianist; Hannah Nacheman – conductor.

Francine Garber-Cohen, Concert Producer

Estrellita – Ponce
Gina Mazzara – soprano

“Little star in the distant sky, you see my pain and know my suffering. Come down and tell me if she loves me a little, because I cannot live without her love. You are, little star, my beacon of love. You know that I’ll soon die because I can’t live without her.”

Voi lo sapete, o mamma – Cavalleria Rusticana – Mascagni
Galina Ivannikova – mezzo-soprano

Santuzza tells Mamma Lucia her tragic story: Turiddu had been in love with Lola, but he went into the army. By the time he returned, she had married Alfio. Turiddu took up with Santuzza on the rebound, and Santuzza fell in love with him. But Lola was jealous and seduced Turiddu away from her, leaving Santuzza without love and without honor. She begs Mamma Lucia to pray for her while she tries to get Turiddu back.

Or vi dirò – La Bohème – Puccini
Daewon Seo – baritone

Schaunard, a musician, arrives at the Parisian garret where he lives with his three roommates, laden with firewood, cigars, wine, food, and money. The others leap upon the provisions as Schaunard recounts how he came by his good fortune: an English Lord hired him — to play until his parrot died. Schaunard played for three days, until he got the bright idea of poisoning the bird. Seeing that no one is paying attention to him — and that the food is disappearing fast — Schaunard sharply calls the company to order, pointing out that the food should be saved for the dark days. It is Christmas Eve, and they will dine in the Latin Quarter.

Ah Tanya, Tanya – Eugene Onegin – Tchaikovsky
Galina Ivannikova – mezzo-soprano

A group of peasants celebrate the harvest with songs and dances. Tatyana and her sister Olga watch. Tatyana has been reading a romantic novel and is absorbed by the story; Olga wants to join in the celebrations. “Ah, Tanya, you are always away with the fairies… I am happy when I hear singing: ‘Over the bridge, over the wooden planks’… I am not capable of sorrow. I don’t like dreaming in quiet, on the balcony in the middle of the night, sighing from the depth of my soul.”

Sicilienne – Pelléas et Mélisande – Fauré
Richard Paratley – flutist

Tacea la notte placida – Il Trovatore – Verdi
Valeriya Chibisova – soprano, Sergey Iorov – pianist

Leonora reveals to her servant Ines that she heard someone serenading her in the garden. However, when she goes out to see who the troubadour is, she finds that he is a knight in black armor whom she had once crowned as the champion of a tournament. She quickly fell in love with him.

O Mimì, tu più non torni – La Bohème – Puccini
Lindell Carter – tenor, Daewon Seo – baritone

Rodolfo and Marcello, trying to hide their feelings from one another, each pine for the lost joys with their respective former lovers, Mimì and Musetta.

Tico-Tico no Farelo – Abreu
Richard Paratley – flutist

Séguedille and duet – Carmen – Bizet
Galina Ivannikova – mezzo-soprano, Lindell Carter – tenor

Army officer Don José has arrested Carmen for fighting. Carmen flirts with him, hoping he will free her. She sings of a tavern outside Seville, run by Lillias Pastia, where she goes to dance and sing. She’ll meet her lover there, one of the many who admire her.

Scene from El Mestizo – Nathan Felix

La Malinche (Kendra Kae), who was originally sold as a slave to the Spanish but has now been chosen by Cortés (Robert Francis Orbach) to be his interpreter, struggles with the notion that she too is responsible for the conquest of the Aztec Empire. La Malinche pleads with her fellow slaves (Valeriya Chibisova, Gina Mazzara) that her only choice besides death was to help Cortés. But the Aztec slaves mock her as a traitor, as Cortés marches towards Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City) to dethrone Montezuma, the Aztec Emperor. La Malinche realizes the magnitude of her actions as Tenochtitlan falls, but exclaims that falling to the Spanish is their destiny, and that a new mixed ethnicity, Mestizo, will now rule into the future.

Nathan Felix (b. 1981) is a Mexican-American composer known for his immersive operas and experimental films. His music has premiered in Bulgaria, Portugal, Spain, Japan, China, Sweden, Denmark, Mongolia, and the United States, and his music has been featured on the BBC, MTV, NPR, and PBS.

Avant de quitter ces lieux – Faust – Gounod
Daewon Seo – baritone

As Valentin, a soldier, prepares to leave his hometown for war, he prays and entrusts his sister, Marguerite, to God’s protection. He seeks glory and vows to be the bravest as he battles the enemy for his country.

Vesenniye vody (Spring Waters) – Rachmaninoff
Galina Ivannikova – mezzo-soprano

Fields are covered with snow, but the waters are running and waking up the shore. They are announcing that Spring is coming, and the warm days of May will follow.

Che gelida manina – La Bohème – Puccini
Lindell Carter – tenor

What a frozen little hand – let me warm it for you. What’s the use of looking [for Mimì’s key]? We won’t find it in the dark. Luckily it’s a moonlit night. I am a poet. How do I live? I live. In my poverty I squander rhymes and love songs like a lord. When it comes to dreams and visions and castles in the air, I have the soul of a millionaire. From time to time, two thieves steal all the jewels out of my safe, two pretty eyes. They came in with you just now. But the theft doesn’t anger me, for their place has been taken by hope! Now tell me who you are.

Quando m’en vo – La Bohème – Puccini
Gina Mazzara – soprano

On Christmas Eve in a Parisian cafe, Musetta sees her former lover, who is ignoring her. In order to get his attention, she causes a commotion with the waiter and flirts with her current elderly admirer. She exults in her power to attract men.