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Press Releases
Teatro Regio Torino to Launch First-Ever North American Tour with Debut Performance at Harris Theater
CHICAGO (April 17, 2014) The Harris Theater for Music and Dance today confirmed that a major event of the 2014-2015 Harris Theater Presents season will be the North American debut performance of the Turin, Italy-based Teatro Regio Torino orchestra and chorus, under the leadership of Music Director and Conductor Gianandrea Noseda. Teatro Regio Torino will open its first-ever North American tour at the Harris Theater on Wednesday, December 3, 2014 at 7PM with a historic, one-night-only concert performance of Gioachino Rossini’s opera William Tell. Teatro Regio Torino’s four-stop tour—with performances in Chicago, Ann Arbor, Toronto, and New York’s Carnegie Hall—also marks the first time an Italian opera house will tour an opera in concert form in North America. The December 3 production will feature soprano Angela Meade as Matilde, tenor John Osborn as Arnoldo, and baritone Fabio Capitanucci in the title role of Guglielmo Tell. Century old high jewelry house Buccellati, which recently opened a boutique on Oak Street, will be one of the sponsors for the debut performance at the Harris Theater. North American tour sponsors include Eataly, Lavazza and Del Cambio, a legendary Torino restaurant. Special events are being planned around this historic performance.
The most recent Chicago production of William Tell happened more than 25 years ago, performed by the Lithuanian Opera in 1986, according to local arts historian and administrator Richard Covello. Covello added, “Such a rare opera has been heard in Chicago in four different languages: French, Italian, German, and Lithuanian.” Rossini’s last and most famous work—familiar to many for its distinct overture—chronicles the story of a 15th century Swiss folk hero named William Tell, known for his legendary expertise with a cross bow. One day, while walking with his son in the village square, Tell publicly refuses to comply with a town decree, forcing passerby to bow their hats in reverence to the city magistrate. His refusal is a punishable offense. The magistrate, intrigued by Tell’s fabled marksmanship, devises a cruel punishment: Tell and his son will be spared execution only on the condition that Tell successfully shoot an apple off his son’s head. Tell subsequently finds himself on a journey of narrow escapes and epic adventures.
“It’s remarkable that, with more than 250 years of history and a growing international reputation, the Teatro Regio Torino has yet to perform here in North America,” said Michael Tiknis, the Harris Theater’s President and Managing Director. “We are so proud to present this exceptional organization in its momentous North American debut performance. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Chicago audiences to witness history in the making.”
Established in 1740 and newly inaugurated in 1973, Teatro Regio Torino has solidified its reputation as one of Italy’s most prosperous and recognizable opera houses, along with the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and Teatro La Fenice in Venice. Noseda, Conductor Laureate at the BBC Philharmonic and Chief Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, was appointed Music Director of the Teatro Regio Torino in 2007 and continues to receive international praise for his artistic and administrative leadership. Under Noseda, Teatro Regio Torino makes annual visits to Paris and has recently traveled to Austria, China, Japan, Spain, and Germany.
Tickets for Teatro Regio Torino: William Tell are $55–$95, now available at HarrisTheaterChicago.org or by calling the Harris Theater Box Office at 312.334.7777.
About Teatro Regio Torino The new Teatro Regio was inaugurated on April 10, 1973 with I Vespri Siciliani by Giuseppe Verdi, with the first and only stage direction of Maria Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano.
I Vespri Siciliani was again chosen in 2011 to inaugurate the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, in the presence of President Giorgio Napolitano. The new production, with the stage direction by Davide Livermore and Gianandrea Noseda conducting, was classified by Musical America as one of the Top 10 Musical Events of 2011.
From an artistic point of view, the Teatro Regio today combines a traditional opera repertoire—like the production of La bohème with Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni that commemorated the world premiere, a performance followed live on television by more than four million viewers—with innovative opera theater, making use of such prestigious names in direction as Robert Carsen, Hugo de Ana, Zhang Yimou, Damiano Michieletto, Jonathan Miller, Laurent Pelly, Stefano Poda, Luca Ronconi, and Graham Vick; and on occasion involving great names in cinema, like William Friedkin, Andrej Konchalowskij, Ermanno Olmi, Jean Reno, Ettore Scola, and Andrej Tarkowskij. It has also become a point of reference for world-famous conductors as well as raising stars of the podium such as Roberto Abbado, Semyon Bychkov, Bruno Campanella, Valery Gergiev, Nicola Luisotti, Evelino Pidò, Daniele Rustioni, Yutaka Sado, Pinchas Steinberg and Jeffrey Tate.
In 2007, Noseda was appointed Music Director of the Teatro Regio Torino. Along with his involvement on the podium as one of the most exciting conductors of his generation, Noseda is responsible for the guidelines of the artistic programming of the Teatro.
With a staff of 380 people and an annual budget of around 40 million euros, the Teatro constitutes one of the most important opera houses in Italy. This is demonstrated by the many co-productions with major European institutions and its record audiences of more than 14,000 subscribers each year and more than 250,000 tickets sold, among the largest figure of the Italian opera houses.
About Gianandrea Noseda Gianandrea Noseda is among the most sought-after conductors of our time. He has propelled the Teatro Regio Torino into the ranks of the leading opera houses in the world since becoming its Music Director in 2007. His leadership has transformed the Teatro Regio Torino into a global theatre and artistic ambassador for Italy during a challenging period for the country. Noseda regularly conducts many of the leading international orchestras and is also Chief Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic, Victor De Sabata Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and Conductor Laureate of the BBC Philharmonic. He was the first foreign principal guest conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre from 1997–2007.
In addition to conducting numerous productions in Torino each season, Noseda’s work with the Orchestra and Chorus has altered the international profile of the Teatro Regio Torino and resulted in recording projects and international tours and residencies in Asia (Japan and China) and Europe, including annual residencies at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris and company debuts at the Dresden Music Festival and at the Wiener Konzerthaus in 2013. In December 2014 he brings the orchestra and chorus of the Teatro Regio Torino to North America for its continental debut with four concert performances of William Tell in Chicago, Ann Arbor, Toronto, and Carnegie Hall in New York. This will be preceded by the company’s debut at the Edinburgh Festival with William Tell. Many of the productions he has led at the Teatro Regio Torino have been released on DVD such as Verdi’s I vespri siciliani and Don Carlo, Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, and Massenet’s Thaïs directed by Stefano Poda, which BBC Music Magazine recently recognized as one of the top 20 opera productions of the last 20 years. In 2013, to mark Verdi’s 200th birthday, he and his orchestra and chorus made two highly acclaimed solo aria recordings for Deutsche Grammophon with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon.
As guest conductor, Noseda regularly conducts the most celebrated orchestras in the world, such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestra in the U.S., the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Wiener Symphoniker in Europe and the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan. Recent engagements included Noseda’s debut at Vienna State Opera and at the Musikverein in Vienna. His relationship with the LSO continued in summer 2013 when he made his debut at the Aix-en-Provence Festival with a new production of Rigoletto staged by Robert Carsen. At Teatro alla Scala he continued his personal homage to Verdi conducting a successful production of Aida in autumn 2013.
Noseda’s privileged relationship with the Metropolitan Opera dates back to 2002. He has conducted five Verdi operas and garnered considerable attention this season with a new production of Prince Igor directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov and a revival of Andrea Chénier. The first part of 2014 not only included the two productions at the Met but guest conducting weeks with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony as well as a critically acclaimed seven-city tour with the Israel Philharmonic. An exclusive Chandos artist since 2002, Noseda’s discography includes over 35 recordings featuring among others Prokofiev, Karlowicz, Dvorak, Smetana, Shostakovich, Liszt’s Symphonic works, Rachmaninoff (the operas and the symphonies), Mahler and Bartok. He recently began to champion both known and lesser-known Italian composers of the 20th century such as Alfredo Casella, Luigi Dallapiccola, Alfredo Petrassi, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari through the project Musica Italiana, unanimously acclaimed by critics all over the world. Born in Milan, Noseda is one of the highest profile Italian cultural figures and is a leading cultural ambassador for Italy, advocating for the need to find new avenues to invest in opera and culture. He is very involved with the next generation of musicians and regularly conducts youth orchestras such as the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, the Orchestra of the Guildhall School and the European Union Youth Orchestra. He is also Artistic Director of the Stresa Festival, one of Italy’s legendary music festivals. He holds the Honor of “Cavaliere Ufficiale al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.”
For more information: gianandreanoseda.com About Angela Meade
Soprano Angela Meade is the winner of the 2012 Beverly Sills Artist Award from the Metropolitan Opera and the 2011 Richard Tucker Award. Since her professional debut in 2008, she has quickly become recognized as one of the outstanding vocalists of her generation. The New Yorker has stated, “Meade is astounding… She has exceptional dynamic control, able to move from floating pianissimos to sudden dramatic swells. The coloratura effects–rapid runs, trills, delicate turns, and so on–are handled with uncommon ease. She is a very musical singer, naturally and intelligently riding the phrase.” She has performed all over the world including debuts at the Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and the Cincinnati Opera.
About John Osborn American tenor John Osborn has gained international acclaim in performances with leading theaters around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Berlin State Opera, L’Opéra National de Paris, San Francisco Opera, Zurich Opera, Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels, Grand Theatre de Geneve and at the Salzburg Festival. He has sung the role of Arnoldo in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell with the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Netherlands Opera, and the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, which was recorded live with conductor Antonio Pappano, released on EMI in 2012.
About Fabio Capitanucci Italian baritone Fabio Capitanucci, renowned for his "robust, warm voice and impressive Italianate lyricism" (The New York Times), has performed at many of the leading opera houses in the world, including the Teatro alla Scala, where he debuted Marcello in La Bohème, Cavalier Belfiore in Un giorno di regno, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Lescaut in Manon by Massenet, and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. In addition to La Scala, he has performed at The Metropolitan Opera, the Florida Grand Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper, and the Rossini Opera Festival.
••• All programs, prices, and dates are subject to change •••
Harris Theater for Music and Dance The Harris Theater’s mission is to partner with an array of Chicago’s emerging and midsize performing arts organizations to help them build infrastructure and achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability. Now in its 10th season, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance was the first multi-use performing arts venue to be built in the Chicago downtown area since 1929. Today the Theater continues to host the most diverse offerings of any venue in Chicago, featuring the city’s world-renowned music and dance institutions and the Harris Theater Presents series of acclaimed national and international artists and ensembles.
The Harris Theater is proud to have the support of The Northern Trust Company as its 2013-2014 season sponsor. United Airlines is the Official Airline of the Harris Theater. Hyatt Regency Chicago is the Harris at 10 Hotel Sponsor. The Harris Theater is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. All performances are performed on The Elizabeth Morse Genius Stage. The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges the Irving Harris Foundation for its leadership support of the Presenting Fund, established in 2006 to bring artists and ensembles of the highest caliber to Chicago in order to complement the works of the Theater’s resident companies and to build audiences.
To learn more about the Harris Theater, please visit HarrisTheaterChicago.org. Call the Box Office at 312.334.7777 to request a brochure or additional information.
The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago’s state-of-the art 1,525-seat performance venue, can also be found on Facebook and Twitter. •••
The most recent Chicago production of William Tell happened more than 25 years ago, performed by the Lithuanian Opera in 1986, according to local arts historian and administrator Richard Covello. Covello added, “Such a rare opera has been heard in Chicago in four different languages: French, Italian, German, and Lithuanian.” Rossini’s last and most famous work—familiar to many for its distinct overture—chronicles the story of a 15th century Swiss folk hero named William Tell, known for his legendary expertise with a cross bow. One day, while walking with his son in the village square, Tell publicly refuses to comply with a town decree, forcing passerby to bow their hats in reverence to the city magistrate. His refusal is a punishable offense. The magistrate, intrigued by Tell’s fabled marksmanship, devises a cruel punishment: Tell and his son will be spared execution only on the condition that Tell successfully shoot an apple off his son’s head. Tell subsequently finds himself on a journey of narrow escapes and epic adventures.
“It’s remarkable that, with more than 250 years of history and a growing international reputation, the Teatro Regio Torino has yet to perform here in North America,” said Michael Tiknis, the Harris Theater’s President and Managing Director. “We are so proud to present this exceptional organization in its momentous North American debut performance. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Chicago audiences to witness history in the making.”
Established in 1740 and newly inaugurated in 1973, Teatro Regio Torino has solidified its reputation as one of Italy’s most prosperous and recognizable opera houses, along with the Teatro alla Scala in Milan and Teatro La Fenice in Venice. Noseda, Conductor Laureate at the BBC Philharmonic and Chief Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, was appointed Music Director of the Teatro Regio Torino in 2007 and continues to receive international praise for his artistic and administrative leadership. Under Noseda, Teatro Regio Torino makes annual visits to Paris and has recently traveled to Austria, China, Japan, Spain, and Germany.
Tickets for Teatro Regio Torino: William Tell are $55–$95, now available at HarrisTheaterChicago.org or by calling the Harris Theater Box Office at 312.334.7777.
About Teatro Regio Torino The new Teatro Regio was inaugurated on April 10, 1973 with I Vespri Siciliani by Giuseppe Verdi, with the first and only stage direction of Maria Callas and Giuseppe Di Stefano.
I Vespri Siciliani was again chosen in 2011 to inaugurate the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the Unification of Italy, in the presence of President Giorgio Napolitano. The new production, with the stage direction by Davide Livermore and Gianandrea Noseda conducting, was classified by Musical America as one of the Top 10 Musical Events of 2011.
From an artistic point of view, the Teatro Regio today combines a traditional opera repertoire—like the production of La bohème with Luciano Pavarotti and Mirella Freni that commemorated the world premiere, a performance followed live on television by more than four million viewers—with innovative opera theater, making use of such prestigious names in direction as Robert Carsen, Hugo de Ana, Zhang Yimou, Damiano Michieletto, Jonathan Miller, Laurent Pelly, Stefano Poda, Luca Ronconi, and Graham Vick; and on occasion involving great names in cinema, like William Friedkin, Andrej Konchalowskij, Ermanno Olmi, Jean Reno, Ettore Scola, and Andrej Tarkowskij. It has also become a point of reference for world-famous conductors as well as raising stars of the podium such as Roberto Abbado, Semyon Bychkov, Bruno Campanella, Valery Gergiev, Nicola Luisotti, Evelino Pidò, Daniele Rustioni, Yutaka Sado, Pinchas Steinberg and Jeffrey Tate.
In 2007, Noseda was appointed Music Director of the Teatro Regio Torino. Along with his involvement on the podium as one of the most exciting conductors of his generation, Noseda is responsible for the guidelines of the artistic programming of the Teatro.
With a staff of 380 people and an annual budget of around 40 million euros, the Teatro constitutes one of the most important opera houses in Italy. This is demonstrated by the many co-productions with major European institutions and its record audiences of more than 14,000 subscribers each year and more than 250,000 tickets sold, among the largest figure of the Italian opera houses.
About Gianandrea Noseda Gianandrea Noseda is among the most sought-after conductors of our time. He has propelled the Teatro Regio Torino into the ranks of the leading opera houses in the world since becoming its Music Director in 2007. His leadership has transformed the Teatro Regio Torino into a global theatre and artistic ambassador for Italy during a challenging period for the country. Noseda regularly conducts many of the leading international orchestras and is also Chief Guest Conductor of the Israel Philharmonic, Victor De Sabata Guest Conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and Conductor Laureate of the BBC Philharmonic. He was the first foreign principal guest conductor of the Mariinsky Theatre from 1997–2007.
In addition to conducting numerous productions in Torino each season, Noseda’s work with the Orchestra and Chorus has altered the international profile of the Teatro Regio Torino and resulted in recording projects and international tours and residencies in Asia (Japan and China) and Europe, including annual residencies at the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris and company debuts at the Dresden Music Festival and at the Wiener Konzerthaus in 2013. In December 2014 he brings the orchestra and chorus of the Teatro Regio Torino to North America for its continental debut with four concert performances of William Tell in Chicago, Ann Arbor, Toronto, and Carnegie Hall in New York. This will be preceded by the company’s debut at the Edinburgh Festival with William Tell. Many of the productions he has led at the Teatro Regio Torino have been released on DVD such as Verdi’s I vespri siciliani and Don Carlo, Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov directed by Andrei Konchalovsky, and Massenet’s Thaïs directed by Stefano Poda, which BBC Music Magazine recently recognized as one of the top 20 opera productions of the last 20 years. In 2013, to mark Verdi’s 200th birthday, he and his orchestra and chorus made two highly acclaimed solo aria recordings for Deutsche Grammophon with Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon.
As guest conductor, Noseda regularly conducts the most celebrated orchestras in the world, such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Cleveland Orchestra in the U.S., the London Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Wiener Symphoniker in Europe and the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Japan. Recent engagements included Noseda’s debut at Vienna State Opera and at the Musikverein in Vienna. His relationship with the LSO continued in summer 2013 when he made his debut at the Aix-en-Provence Festival with a new production of Rigoletto staged by Robert Carsen. At Teatro alla Scala he continued his personal homage to Verdi conducting a successful production of Aida in autumn 2013.
Noseda’s privileged relationship with the Metropolitan Opera dates back to 2002. He has conducted five Verdi operas and garnered considerable attention this season with a new production of Prince Igor directed by Dmitri Tcherniakov and a revival of Andrea Chénier. The first part of 2014 not only included the two productions at the Met but guest conducting weeks with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Pittsburgh Symphony as well as a critically acclaimed seven-city tour with the Israel Philharmonic. An exclusive Chandos artist since 2002, Noseda’s discography includes over 35 recordings featuring among others Prokofiev, Karlowicz, Dvorak, Smetana, Shostakovich, Liszt’s Symphonic works, Rachmaninoff (the operas and the symphonies), Mahler and Bartok. He recently began to champion both known and lesser-known Italian composers of the 20th century such as Alfredo Casella, Luigi Dallapiccola, Alfredo Petrassi, Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari through the project Musica Italiana, unanimously acclaimed by critics all over the world. Born in Milan, Noseda is one of the highest profile Italian cultural figures and is a leading cultural ambassador for Italy, advocating for the need to find new avenues to invest in opera and culture. He is very involved with the next generation of musicians and regularly conducts youth orchestras such as the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, the Orchestra of the Guildhall School and the European Union Youth Orchestra. He is also Artistic Director of the Stresa Festival, one of Italy’s legendary music festivals. He holds the Honor of “Cavaliere Ufficiale al Merito della Repubblica Italiana.”
For more information: gianandreanoseda.com About Angela Meade
Soprano Angela Meade is the winner of the 2012 Beverly Sills Artist Award from the Metropolitan Opera and the 2011 Richard Tucker Award. Since her professional debut in 2008, she has quickly become recognized as one of the outstanding vocalists of her generation. The New Yorker has stated, “Meade is astounding… She has exceptional dynamic control, able to move from floating pianissimos to sudden dramatic swells. The coloratura effects–rapid runs, trills, delicate turns, and so on–are handled with uncommon ease. She is a very musical singer, naturally and intelligently riding the phrase.” She has performed all over the world including debuts at the Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and the Cincinnati Opera.
About John Osborn American tenor John Osborn has gained international acclaim in performances with leading theaters around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Berlin State Opera, L’Opéra National de Paris, San Francisco Opera, Zurich Opera, Theatre de la Monnaie, Brussels, Grand Theatre de Geneve and at the Salzburg Festival. He has sung the role of Arnoldo in Rossini’s Guillaume Tell with the Royal Albert Hall in London, the Netherlands Opera, and the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, which was recorded live with conductor Antonio Pappano, released on EMI in 2012.
About Fabio Capitanucci Italian baritone Fabio Capitanucci, renowned for his "robust, warm voice and impressive Italianate lyricism" (The New York Times), has performed at many of the leading opera houses in the world, including the Teatro alla Scala, where he debuted Marcello in La Bohème, Cavalier Belfiore in Un giorno di regno, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Lescaut in Manon by Massenet, and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. In addition to La Scala, he has performed at The Metropolitan Opera, the Florida Grand Opera, the Bayerische Staatsoper, and the Rossini Opera Festival.
••• All programs, prices, and dates are subject to change •••
Harris Theater for Music and Dance The Harris Theater’s mission is to partner with an array of Chicago’s emerging and midsize performing arts organizations to help them build infrastructure and achieve artistic growth and long-term organizational sustainability. Now in its 10th season, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance was the first multi-use performing arts venue to be built in the Chicago downtown area since 1929. Today the Theater continues to host the most diverse offerings of any venue in Chicago, featuring the city’s world-renowned music and dance institutions and the Harris Theater Presents series of acclaimed national and international artists and ensembles.
The Harris Theater is proud to have the support of The Northern Trust Company as its 2013-2014 season sponsor. United Airlines is the Official Airline of the Harris Theater. Hyatt Regency Chicago is the Harris at 10 Hotel Sponsor. The Harris Theater is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. All performances are performed on The Elizabeth Morse Genius Stage. The Harris Theater gratefully acknowledges the Irving Harris Foundation for its leadership support of the Presenting Fund, established in 2006 to bring artists and ensembles of the highest caliber to Chicago in order to complement the works of the Theater’s resident companies and to build audiences.
To learn more about the Harris Theater, please visit HarrisTheaterChicago.org. Call the Box Office at 312.334.7777 to request a brochure or additional information.
The Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Chicago’s state-of-the art 1,525-seat performance venue, can also be found on Facebook and Twitter. •••
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