The Phoenix
The Operatic Adventures of Lorenzo Da Ponte on Two Continents in Two Acts
6th April 2019
Houston Grand Opera, USA
This world premiére of an opera based on the life of Lorenzo Da Ponte, opened at the Brown Theatre at the Wortham Centre, the home of Houston Gerand Opera, on 26 April 2019. The Phoenix ran in repertoire with Kasper Holten's production of Mozart and Da Ponte's Don Giovanni until the 10 May.
The Phoenix
| Music by | Tarik O'Regan |
| Libretto by | John Caird |
Creative Team & Staff
| Conductor / Fortepiano Continuo | Patrick Summers |
| Director | John Caird |
| Set and Costume Designer | David Farley |
| Lighting Designer | Michael James Clark |
| Choreographer/Movement Director | Tim Claydon |
| Chorus Master | Richard Bado |
| Children's Chorus Director | Karen Reeves |
| Cello Continuo | Barret Sills |
| Italian Coach | Nicolò Sbuelz |
| Musical Preparation | Geoffrey Loff / Peter Pasztor / Blair Salter |
| Stage Manager | Annie Wheeler |
| Assistant Director | Katrina Bachus |
| Supertitles by | Jeremy Johnson |
| Latin Text | Alastair Harden |
| Italian Text | Jonathan Brandani / Gabriele Colferai |
| Orchestrations | Tarik O'Regan / Anthony Weeden |
| Dramaturg | Jeremy Johnson |
| Commissioning Consultant | Ann Owens |
| HGO Manging Director | Perryn Leech |
| Supertitles called by Meredith Morse | |
Cast
| Lorenzo Da Ponte | Thomas Hampson |
| Enzo / Young Da Ponte | Luca Pisaroni |
| Patrick Kelly / Bishop of Ceneda / Giacomo Casanova / Emperor Joseph II / 'Opera' Taylor / Clement Clark Moore | Chad Shelton |
| Maria Malibran / Wolfgang Mozart / Nancy Da Ponte | Rihab Chaieb |
| Giulietta / Anzoletta / Mary Grahl / Brigida Banti | Lauren Snouffer |
| Faustina / Angela Tiepolo / Annetta / Matilda Grahl / Anna Morichelli | Elizabeth Sutphen |
| Emanuele Conigliano | Gabriel Magallón |
| Baruch Conigliano | Stephen Hill |
| Anania Conigliano | Ethan Gonzalez |
Chorus
| Chorus Master | Richard Bado |
| Chorus | Geordie Alexander / Dennis Arrowsmith / Stephen Ash / Megan Berti / G. Leslie Biffle / Christopher Childress / Patrick Contreras / Callie Jo Denbigh / Justin Dukle / Ashly Evans / Frankie Hickman / Julie Hoeltzel / Jon Janacek / Joe Key / Kirsten Lutz Koerner / Wesley Landry / Katie Loff / Alejandro Magallón / Keenen Manceaux / Kathleen Manley / Heath Martin / Katherine McDaniel / Jason Milam / Christino Perez / Ardeen Pierre / Nicholas Rathgeb / Gabrielle Reed / Kendall Reimer / Hannah Roberts / Christina Scanlan / Valerie Serice / Kade I. Smith / Kaitlyn Stavinoha / Elizabeth Vickers / John Weinel / Jennifer Wright |
Children's Chorus
| Director | Karen Reeves |
| Children's Chorus | Alina Garcia / Ethan Gonzalez / Stephen Hill / Gabriel Magallón Sruthi Panja |
Supernumeraries
| Supernumeraries | Conner Borne / Dominique Champion / Jeffrey Dorman / Brian Mitchell / Gabriel Regojo / Aaron Ruiz |
Orchestra
| Violin / Concertmaster | Denise Tarrant |
| Violin / Assistant Concertmaster | Jonathan Godfrey |
| Violin / Acting Assistant Concertmaster | Rosa Kalesnykaite |
| Principal Second Violin | Natalie Gaynor |
| Assistant Principal Second Violin | Carrie Kauk |
| Violin | Hae-a Lee-Barnes / Miriam Belyatsky / Anabel Detrick / Chavdar Parashkevov / Mary Reed / Erica Robinson / Linda Sanders / Oleg Sulyga / Sylvia VerMeulen / Melissa Williams |
| Principal Viola | Eliseo Rene Salazar |
| Assistant Principal Viola | Lorento Golofeev |
| Viola | Erika C. Lawson / Suzanne LeFevre / Gayle Garcia-Shepard / Dawson White |
| Principal Cello | Barrett Sills |
| Assistant Principal Cello | Erika Johnson |
| Cello | Wendy Smith-Butler / Ariana Nelson / Steven Wiggs |
| Principal Double Bass | Dennis Whittaker |
| Assistant Principal Double Bass | Erik Gronfor |
| Double Bass | Carla Clark |
| Principal Flute | Seth Morris |
| Acting Principal Flute | Susan Kang |
| Flute | Christina Medawar / Henry Williford |
| Principal Oboe | Elizabeth Priestly Siffert |
| Oboe | Claire Kostic |
| Principal Clarinet | Sean Krissman |
| Clarinet | Eric Chi |
| Principal Bassoon | Amanda Swain |
| Bassoon | Michael Allard |
| Principal French Horn | Sarah Cranston |
| French Horn | Kimberly Penrod Minson / Spencer Park |
| Acting Principal Trumpet | Charles Geyer |
| Trumpet | Randal Adams |
| Principal Trombone | Thomas Hultén |
| Trombone | Mark Holley / Kyle Gordon / Ben Osborne |
| Principal Tuba | Mark Barton |
| Principal Harp | Joan Eidman |
| Harp | Laurie Meister |
| Principal Timpani | Nancy Nelson |
| Principal Percussion | Richard Brown |
| Percussion | Christina Carroll / Craig Hauschildt / Karen Slotter |
| Piano / Celesta | Wesley Ducote |
| Orchestra Personnel Manager | Richard Brown |