Summer of Concerts: Week of August 7

August 11: Wolf Trap Opera - Don Giovanni

Come meet Nicole Lacroix and Matthew Dayton at the WETA Classical tent before the performance!

Mozart’s outrageous libertine, Don Giovanni, is known for being charming, powerful, and amoral. His list of sexual conquests fills a book and he’s eager to add to it. When he forces himself on Donna Anna, he sets off a chain of events that lead to his downfall.



Often considered the greatest opera ever composed, Mozart’s masterpiece combines comedy, drama, and supernatural elements to capture the downfall of a serial womanizer. As relevant today as when it was originally written, this exploration of amorality, power and justice also features some of Mozart’s most thrilling music.

The performance will be three hours long, with one intermission.



ARTISTIC & CAST

Conductor: Stephanie Rhodes Russell

Director and Choreographer: John de los Santos

Scenic Design: Kristen Robinson

Costume Design: Oana Botez

Lighting Design: Anshuman Bhatia

Wig & Makeup Design: Anne Nesmith

Fight & Intimacy Director: Casey Kaleba



Don Giovanni: Cory McGee

Il Commendatore: Eric Lindsey

Donna Anna: Renée Richardson

Don Ottavio: Lunga Eric Hallam

Donna Elvira: Tiffany Townsend

Leporello: Andrew Gilstrap

Masetto: Daniel Rich

Zerlina: Denis Vélez

August 11: Staunton - Handel's Orlando

The 2023 Summer Festival opens with one of Handel's most fantastical Italian operas, Orlando. This new staged production developed by Timothy Nelson features vocal soloists and the SMF Baroque Orchestra. Sung in Italian with English supertitles.



Daniel Moody, Orlando

Peter Walker, Zoroastre

Molly Quinn, Angelica

Sheila Dietrich, Dorinda

Angela Young Smucker, Medoro

Timothy Nelson, stage director

Carsten Schmidt, conductor

August 12: Garth Newel Music Center - Francis Yun, harpsichord

Suite No. 1 in D minor – Gaspard Le Roux (ca. 1660–1707)

Prelude

Allemande “La Vauvert”

Courante

Sarabande Grave

Minuet

Passepied

Courante Luthée

Ordre no. 6 in B-flat Major – François Couperin (1668–1733)

Prélude

Les Moissonneurs

Les Langueurs Tendres

Le Gazoüillement

La Bersan

Les Baricades Mistérieuses

Les Bergeries

La Commére

La Moucheron

Suite No. 2 in F major HWV 427 – George Frederic Handel (1685–1759)

Adagio

Allegro

Adagio

Allegro

Capriccio sopra la lontananza del suo fratello dilettissimo BWV 992 – Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Arioso: Adagio

(Without Tempo Marking)

Adagiosissimo

(Without Tempo Marking)

Allegro poco

Fuga all’imitazione della cornetta di postiglione

Francis Yun, harpsichord

Dinner Menu

• Baked Mussels with Shallots, Parsley, Breadcrumbs, frisée, Pea Shoots, Cream Cheese, Pesto Butter, and Fried Leeks
• Roasted Broccoli and Brussel Sprout Leaves with Black Garlic Miso Aioli, Shiitake Mushrooms, Feta Cheese, Pine Nuts, Dried Garlic and Ginger Chili Vinaigrette
• Pan Fried Beef Tenderloin, Leek Potato Au Gratin, White Balsamic Braised Kale, Carrots, Pearl Onions, Leeks, Turnips Roasted in Truffle Demi Butter, Red Wine Green Peppercorn Reduction
• Coconut Panna Cotta, Cherry Coulis, Kiwi Fig Relish, Peach Ice Cream and Vanilla Oatmeal Lace Cookie

August 12: Staunton - Paris 1922: A Night at the Majestic

A musical homage to the famous night when several modernist giants (including Picasso, Proust, Joyce, Stravinsky, and Diaghilev) rubbed shoulders at the Majestic Hotel in Paris.



Ravel | Pavane pour une infante défunte, arr. for chamber ensemble

Berio | Thema (Ommagio a Joyce), for electronic tape

Barber | Three Joyce Songs, for voice and piano

Satie | Parade

Stravinsky | Petrouchka, arr. for two pianos and percussion (world premiere)

August 12: Staunton - Paris 1907: Proust at the Ritz

In 1907 Marcel Proust organized a concert of works by several of his favorite composers. SMF recreates that exact program with selections from Fauré’s Violin Sonata and Beethoven’s String Quartet Op. 135, arrangements from Wagner’s Meistersinger and Tristan, as well as works by Chopin, Schumann, and Chabrier.



Fauré | Allegro molto, from Violin Sonata Op. 13

Chopin | Prelude in D-flat Major, Op. 28/15, arr. for harp

Schumann | Des Abends, for piano

Wagner | Prelude to Die Meistersinger, for piano quintet

Chabrier | Idylle, for violin and piano

Beethoven | Lento assai, from String Quartet in F Major, Op. 135

Couperin | Les Barricades mysterieuses, arr. for harp

Wagner/Liszt | Liebestod, for solo piano

Fauré | Berceuse, for violin and harp

August 13: Garth Newel Music Center - Jeannette Fang, piano

Virtuoso Alice – David del Tredici (b.1937)

Das Jahr (The Year), H.385  – Fanny Hensel Mendelssohn (1805-1847)

Nachspiel

March

May

June

July

November

December

~Intermission~

Pictures at an Exhibition – Modest Mussorgsky (1839-1881)

Promenade

Gnomus (Gnome)

Promenade

Il vecchio castello (The Old Castle)

Promenade

Tuileries (Children’s Quarrel after Games)

Bydlo (Cattle)

Promenade

Ballet of Unhatched Chicks

Samuel Goldenberg and Schmuyle

Limoges – The Market Place (The Great News)

Catacombae – Catacombs (Roman Tomb)

Cum mortius in Lingua morta (With the Dead in a Dead Language)

The Hut on Fowls’ Legs (Baba Yaga)

The Great Gate of Kiev

Jeannette Fang, piano

Picnic Menu

• Shrimp and Scallop Pasta with Parsley, Garlic, Lemon, and Caper Sauce
• Marinated Summer Vegetable Salad
• Various sides, salads, and desserts

August 13: Staunton - Summer Sounds

Blackfriars Playhouse becomes the stage for a diverse collection of chamber works. The musical creations touch all aspects of expressive potential, from the deeply intellectual Wind Quintet by Anders Hillborg to the laugh-out-loud adaption of Paganini's virtuosic Caprices created by duo violinists Tiksola (Antti Tikkanen and Minna Pensola).



English Madrigals by Wilbye and Weelkes

Hillborg | Six Pieces for Wind Quintet

R. Strauss | String Sextet from Capriccio, Op. 85

Paganini/Tiksola | The Reader’s Digest to the 24 Caprices

August 13: Staunton - La Bella Italia

Italian composers take their moment in the spotlight this afternoon. Familiar works by Rossini and Chopin (whose Barcarolle derives from the traditional genre of gondolier songs) stand side-by-side with an obscure gem by Scelsi and Pergolesi's radiant Stabat Mater.



Banchieri | Three Madrigals

Chopin | Barcarolle Op. 60 for solo piano

Scelsi | Okanagon, for harp, double bass, and percussion

Pergolesi | Stabat Mater, for soprano, alto, and strings

Merula | Ciaccona Op. 12/20 for recorder and violin

Castello | Sonata No. 10 for recorder and continuo

Berio | Opus Number Zoo, for wind quintet and narrators

Rossini | Overture to Il Barbiere di Siviglia