RedlandsSymphony

VERDI 1813-1901

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

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VERDI 1813-1901

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

... read more

PUCCINI 1858-1924

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

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BELLINI 1801-1835

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

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MASCAGNI 1863-1945

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

... read more

PUCCINI 1858-1924

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

... read more

PUCCINI 1858-1924

Orchestration

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

... read more

PUCCINI 1858-1924

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

... read more

TCHAIKOVSKY 1840-1893

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

... read more

PUCCINI 1858-1924

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

... read more

VERDI 1813

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

... read more

VERDI 1813-1901

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

... read more

TCHAIKOVSKY 1840-1893

Orchestration

Coming Soon...

Program Notes

At its heart, Opera is an act of seduction. In the seventeenth century court of the Medici, fanciful plots and elaborate staging flaunted wealth and power. Music was the art of temptation. The first operatic composers set the drama in motion and suspended an audience’s disbelief with music. The gap between Orfeo the deity and Orfeo the man, whose joy in love and grief over loss could move us to tears, was bridged with music. In turn, the nineteenth-century Orfeos—Bellini, Tchaikovsky, Verdi, Puccini—bent their musical skills toward making the ordinary fantastic once again. Like all fairy tales, romantic operas speak to familiar themes: love and loss, fidelity to family or nation, the desire for freedom, and the fear of evil. They do so with the introduction of intriguing and ambivalent characters, taking us to exotic locations or sending us deep into our own histories. From overture to ending, whether tragic or triumphant, the score persuades us to allow ourselves to be transported. And so the opera begins: “Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…”

... read more

Maestro Jon Robertson is now in his twenty-sixth season as music director and conductor or the Redlands Symphony Orchestra. The extraordinary quality of this orchestra is attributed to the blend of devotion he has for the musicians and his artistic vision.

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Katrina Phipps began her training in opera and classical music at the College of the Desert under the direction of Robert E. Brown. She completed a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance (2005) at the University of Redlands School of Music under the vocal tutelage of Professor Marco Schindelmann in 2003 and a Master of Music in vocal performance in 2005.

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Christopher Campbell in his debut with the Los Angeles Master Chorale created the role of Guajardo in the world premiere of Rio De Sangre an original score by Don Davis the acclaimed composer for such films as the Matrix. He created the title role in another brand new Opera, Tony Caruso’s Final Broadcast presented for the National Opera Association Convention to critical acclaim. As Ricardo in Un ballo in maschera a review by the San Francisco Classical Voice said that “All were definitely up to the daunting task of singing Verdi … with the best work done by Christopher Campbell, a dramatic tenor with excellent high notes”.

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