Arts Alive San Antonio

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

When Opera San Antonio (OSA) staged a live, in-person production of “Lucia di Lammermoor” in May, it became the first opera company in Texas to return to live, theater performances in the state. OSA’s general and artistic director, E. Loren Meeker, attributed that auspicious development to the unique venue where the opera was performed, namely, the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts.

“The fact that we were able to go indoors, into our home venue, the Tobin Center, was the thing that catapulted Opera San Antonio into being one of only a handful of opera companies in the country that could do that. There are two phenomenal factors that made that possible – one was that the Tobin Center had made an extraordinary effort to reopen as early as June 2020. They had figured out a successful way to keep the venue open and to slowly increase the size and scope of productions and audience sizes, and do so in a safe way. So, by the time we got to May 2021, OSA had a venue that allowed us to go back into the theater.

“And the second, really crucial thing, was the founding of Community Labs, here in San Antonio. Over most of the course of the last year, Community Labs gave non-profits free COVID-19 testing. COVID testing was incredibly expensive for individuals prior to the starting of Community Labs. They offered testing at six different sites across town, free of charge.”

This allowed the company to test everyone participating in the “Lucia” production, from opera vocalists flying in from other cities, to production crew members and musicians of the San Antonio Symphony. And test results were made available within 24 hours.

“Those two things propelled us to say, ‘We can do this!’” said Meeker.

And now OSA is ready to tackle the 2021-22 season with confidence with two well-known operas, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Verdi’s Rigoletto.

“When the pandemic hit there were three shows that we were in the process of casting, which needed to be either cancelled or postponed at the start of COVID,” explained Meeker. “Two of those were Rigoletto and Don Giovanni. The third was Maria de Buenos Aires. It was important to me that we be able to take the artists who we had already engaged and get those performances back on the books as quickly as possible. We wanted to get the artists back to work, both the local artists we were using and the national and international ones. So, we worked with artists to see when they would be available (after all the changes in everyone’s schedule). Working diligently, we were able to get Rigoletto and Don Giovanni back into the repertoire for 2021-22. We are looking to include Maria in the 2022-23 season.”

The upcoming season will begin with Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni, first performed in Prague in 1787. Based on the legend of Don Juan, the unrepentant serial seducer of women from Seville, Spain, Mozart’s opera is a comedic take on the legendary story, resulting in the “hero’s” demise. “By the end of the piece, he’s literally dragged to hell by the Furies for his actions,” said Meeker. The version presented will be a compact, smaller version of the opera, featuring only eight singers.

Musically, the opera is a delight.

“Mozart and Da Ponte’s (librettist) collaboration gifted us three pillars of the operatic repertoire,” explained OSA’s music director, Francesco Milioto in a statement. “Anytime we produce one of these operas, like Don Giovanni, it is a thrill not only for the audience, but for the performers as well.” He added that Mozart’s music “perfectly creates the characters and guides us through each scenario.” And he praised the great composer’s ensemble parts and his operas’ finales.

OSA artistic adviser, Garnett Bruce, will direct the 90-minure production, featuring Craig Verm as Don Giovanni, and “a fierce trio of women” consisting of Raquel Gonzalez as Donna Anna, Giovanni’s first victim of the day; Karin Wolverton as Donna Elvira, and current OSA apprentice artist Kresley Figueroa as Zerlina. Robert Tweten will conduct the San Antonio Symphony. (Oct. 7 and 9, 2021, Tobin Center)

By next spring OSA is hoping to return to full-length productions, in the grand opera tradition, with choruses and a full cast. Rigoletto is a great choice for that, filled as it is with truly heartbreaking drama, famous arias, and virtuosic singing.

Verdi’s masterpiece tells the story of Rigoletto, the court jester, who has been helping his master, the Duke of Mantua, to take advantage of young women. When his own daughter, Gilda, becomes the duke’s object of interest, Rigoletto is powerless to protect her, and the situation turns to tragedy when Gilda, who has fallen in love with the duke, sacrifices her life to save her lover’s.

The production to be presented here was originally produced for the Atlanta Opera, directed by Tomer Zvulun with sets by John Conklin and costumes by Victoria Tzykun. In San Antonio, it will be re-staged by Meeker – who is an experience stage director – and by Milioto who will conduct the Symphony. Appearing the main roles are James Westman as Rigoletto, Andriana Chuchman as Gilda and Santiago Ballerini as the Duke of Mantua.

“This production will take us back to the splendor of what grand opera truly can be,” noted Meeker, enthusiasm and hope mingling in her voice.

A question about the chorus, elicited another burst of excitement from the artistic director.

“We have a fabulous chorus master, Dottie Randall, whom I have known for years and years from working with opera houses across the U.S. It so happens that she has always called San Antonio home,” said Meeker. “And she has worked with Opera San Antonio over the years to build a group of local artists to be in our chorus in every production. We hold chorus auditions once or twice a year. On our large productions, this gives some 40 local artists the opportunity to work and be on the stage at the Tobin Center. But we also use the auditions to learn more about these people and they often get to do smaller roles in the operas.”

That will be the case with Rigoletto, she pointed out. “That’s a real feather in our cap! We love to combine the extraordinary talent that exists here in San Antonio with the extraordinary talent that we are also bringing from across the U.S.” (May 5 and 7, 2022, Tobin Center)
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To purchase tickets and learn more about the operas go to www.operasa.org
Note: The opening night performance of Don Giovanni, will be followed by a fundraising gala, From Seville to San Antonio, at the Tobin’s Alvarez Theater.For info about the gala contact info@operasa.org