Acis, Galatea & Polyphemus

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest composers of all time— writing enduring masterpieces in all musical genres of his time: operas, oratorios, concertos, and chamber music. He is well loved for such works as The Messiah, Water Music, The Royal Fireworks, and The Concerti Grossi, and also composed 42 operas

There has been a huge resurgence of Handel operas during the past 40 years – operas such as Giulio Cesare, Rinaldo, Semele, Rodelinda, Alcina, Agrippina, Tamerlano, Acis and Galatea, Partenope, Ariodante, Orlando, and Xeres are now produced regularly by major opera companies throughout the world.

Almost all his operas have been commercially recorded (some several times over) and are available on DVD.

Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC – AD 17), known in English as Ovid was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a younger contemporary of Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature. The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists.

Although Ovid enjoyed enormous popularity during his lifetime, the emperor Augustus exiled him to Tomis, the capital of the newly-organised province of Moesia, on the Black Sea, where he remained for the last nine or ten years of his life. Ovid himself attributed his banishment to a “poem and a mistake”, but his reluctance to disclose specifics has resulted in much speculation among scholars.

Ovid is most famous for The Metamorphoses, a continuous mythological narrative in fifteen books written in dactylic hexameters. He is also known for works in elegiac couplets such as Ars Amatoria (“The Art of Love”) and Fasti. His poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and greatly influenced Western art and literature. The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology today.

Katherine Whyte has delighted audiences and critics alike on opera and concert stages across her native Canada, the United States and Europe. Opera Today has praised her “keen artistic sensibility” while the San Francisco Classical Voice singled out “her glamorous, vibrato-rich voice”. Following her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2007 in Strauss’ Die Ägyptische Helena, she has returned to the company for productions of Iolanta, Rigoletto, Jenufa, The Gambler, The Enchanted Island, Two Boys, Parsifal, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, and Suor Angelica.

Recent and upcoming engagements for Ms. Whyte include her celebrated Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Intermountain Opera Bozeman; her debut with Syracuse’s Symphoria performing Poulenc’s Gloria; a return to New Choral Society as soprano soloist in Carmina Burana; a solo recital at Gordon College, her debut with Heartbeat Opera as Agathe in Der Freischütz; and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with Opera Grand Rapids.

The 2018-19 season for Ms. Whyte included Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Louisiana Symphony, joining Opera Hong Kong as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Adina in L’elisir d’amore with Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, and returning to The Metropolitan Opera for their production of Suor Angelica. The 2017-2018 season saw her back at The Metropolitan Opera for Parsifal as well as appearing in concert with the Mountain View International Festival of Song and the Orquesta Sinfonica Mineria for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Additionally, she appeared with both Charlottesville Opera and the Norwalk Symphony as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. The 2016-2017 season included her return to The Metropolitan Opera for productions of Jenufa and Rigoletto, a debut with the Edmonton Symphony for Handel’s Messiah, Fauré’s Requiem with Manhattan Concert Productions at Carnegie Hall, and her debut with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra in China. The 2015-2016 season saw her debut with the Dallas Opera as Pousette in Manon, a return to the Metropolitan Opera for their production of Rigoletto, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Saratoga, and concerts with the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of China’s National Opera at the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival.

Other notable operatic appearances include the title role of Iphigénie en Tauride and Iris in Semele with Canadian Opera Company, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with the Princeton Festival, her Vancouver Opera debut as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Gilda in Rigoletto with English National Opera, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Virginia Opera and Opera Hamilton, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Michigan Opera Theatre, Euridice in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Atlanta Opera, and Iphis in Handel’s Jephta with Opéra National de Bordeaux.

Ms. Whyte’s appearances on the concert stage include Beethoven’s Mass in C Major, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, Mozart’s Requiem, and Handel’s Messiah with the Houston Symphony, Neilsen’s Symphony No. 3 with the San Francisco Symphony, Carmina burana and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the National Chorale, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Mass in C-minor with the Vancouver Symphony, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Colorado Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with the National Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional, Mozart’s Requiem with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra,
and Handel’s Messiah with the New Choral Society. The winner of the 2007 Alice Tully Recital Competition, Ms. Whyte made her Carnegie Hall debut in Solo recital at Weill Hall in 2008.

Hannah Penn, a mezzo-soprano, enjoys a diverse career as a performer of opera, oratorio, and recital literature. Frequently praised for her musicality and the timbre of her voice, Ms. Penn has recently been called “…a major talent”, and “…an intelligent and wonderfully musical singer” by Portland’s Willamette Week, and was praised for having “…intriguing colors at both ends of her range” by The Oregonian. She has sung more than twenty operatic roles with Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Portland Opera, Tacoma Opera, Opera Bend, Eugene Opera, Opera Coeur D’Alene, and many other companies.

As a past member of Portland Opera’s studio artist program, Ms. Penn sang the roles of Diana (LA CALISTO), Thisbe (LA CENERENTOLA), Mercedes (CARMEN), Flora (LA TRAVIATA), and Nancy (ALBERT HERRING). She also sang her first CARMEN with Portland Opera, which garnered critical acclaim and resulted in a chance to reprise the role following season with the Teatro National Sucre in Quito, Ecuador. Ms. Penn has since returned to Portland Opera many times as a guest artist, most notably as “Hannah After” in AS ONE, Julie in SHOW BOAT, and L’enfant in Ravel’s L’ENFANT ET LES SORTILEGES.

A strong proponent of new works, Ms. Penn has performed in the American premiere tours of John Adam’s EL NINO and Sven-David Sandstrom’s HIGH MASS, and has been involved in the American premiers of several operas, including Anthony Davis’ WAKONDA’S DREAM, Richard Rodney Bennett’s THE MINES OF SUPLHUR, and David Carlson’s ANNA KARENINA.

Ms. Penn also enjoys a full concert schedule, having been featured with orchestras around the country, including many appearances with the Oregon Symphony, the Portland Baroque Orchestra, the Sunriver Music Festival, the Florida Philharmonic, and the Seattle Baroque.

A dedicated and passionate teacher, Ms. Penn maintains a large private studio, in addition to positions on faculty at Portland State University, Linfield University, and Aquilon Music Festival. She has been Portland Opera’s regular pre-show lecturer for the past six years. Ms. Penn received her doctorate of musical arts from New England Conservatory last fall, after rediscovering the manuscript parts and reconstructing the full score for a lost American opera, SHANEWIS, by Charles Wakefield Cadman. The semi-biographical piece tells the life story of Cadman’s friend and colleague, Native American operatic mezzo-soprano Tsianina Redfeather.
This season’s engagements include two concerts with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, concerts, and recording projects with Portland’s medieval music group In Mulieribus, concerts with the Salem Festival Chorale and Salem Winds, and a series of Bach cantatas in Leipzig, Berlin, and Prague, with the Leipzig Bach Festival. Next season, Ms. Penn will perform Peter Maxwell Davies’ one-woman show, MISS DONNITHORNE’S MAGGOT with Third Angle.

Douglas Williams, bass baritone, was born in Farmington, Connecticut. He trained in voice at the New England Conservatory, Yale School of Music, and Tanglewood Music Center. His repertoire spans many centuries: This season he has premiered a new work by Matthew Barnson with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and will appear in the debut recording of Henry Demarest’s Circé with the Boston Early Music Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with some of the great orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Houston Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and St. Louis Symphony. In opera he distinguished himself in the roles of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Nick Shadow, with conductors Edo de Waart and Barbara Hannigan. Always up for a challenge on stage, Douglas has created new opera productions with the choreographers Mark Morris and Sasha Waltz for Lincoln Center and the Dutch National Opera. His characterization of Pluto in Jonathan Dove’s The Other Euridice last season was called “one of Houston’s most riveting operatic portrayals in recent years” (Texas Classical Review). Douglas is also a writer and a performer. He lives in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts.

The wide-ranging and versatile George Manahan has had an esteemed career embracing everything from opera to the concert stage, the traditional to the contemporary. In addition, he continues his commitment to working with young musicians as Director of Orchestral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music as well as guest conductor at the Curtis Institute of Music and Merola Opera Program.

Mr. Manahan is the 2012 winner of the Ditson Conductor’s Award, established in 1945 by the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University. It is the oldest award honoring conductors for their support of American music. Previous recipients include James Levine, Christopher Keene, Leopold Stowkowsky, Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, and Alan Gilbert. He also served as Music Director of New York City Opera, Portland Opera, and American Composers’ Orchestra.

Mr. Manahan was honored by the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP) for his “career-long advocacy for American composers and the music of our time [that] has enriched and enabled Concert Music both at home and abroad.” His recent Carnegie Hall performance of Samuel Barber’s Antony and Cleopatra was hailed by audiences and critics alike, “What a difference it makes to hear the piece performed by an opera conductor who palpably believes in it,” said the New York Times, “the fervent and sensitive performance that Mr. Manahan presided over made the best case for this opera that I have encountered.”

Mr. Manahan’s guest appearances include the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, as well as the symphonies of Atlanta, San Francisco, Hollywood Bowl, and New Jersey, where he served as acting Music Director for four seasons. He is a regular guest with the Music Academy of the West and the Aspen Music Festival, and has also appeared with the Opera Companies of San Francisco, Philadelphia, Seattle, Chicago, Santa Fe, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Opera National du Paris, Teatro de Communale de Bologna, the Bergen Festival (Norway), and the Casals Festival (Puerto Rico).

His many appearances on television include productions of La bohème, Lizzie Borden, and Tosca on PBS. Live from Lincoln Center’s telecast of New York City Opera’s production of Madame Butterfly under his direction won a 2007 Emmy Award. Mr. Manahan’s wide-ranging recording activities include the premiere recording of Steve Reich’s Tehillim for ECM; recordings of Edward Thomas’s Desire Under the Elms, which was nominated for a Grammy; Joe Jackson’s Will Power; and Tobias Picker’s Emmeline. His enthusiasm for contemporary music continues today; he has conducted numerous world premieres, including Tobias Picker’s Dolores Claiborne, Charles Wuorinen’s Haroun and the Sea of Stories, David Lang’s Modern Painters, Hans Werner Henze’s The English Cat, and Terence Blanchard’s Champion. As Music Director of the Richmond Symphony (VA) for twelve years, he was honored four times by the American Society of Composers and Publishers (ASCAP) for his commitment to new music.

He received his formal musical training at the Manhattan School of Music, studying conducting with Anton Coppola and George Schick, and was appointed to the faculty of the school upon his graduation, at which time The Juilliard School awarded him a fellowship as Assistant Conductor with the American Opera Center. Mr. Manahan was chosen as the Exxon Arts Endowment Conductor of the New Jersey Symphony and he made his opera debut with the Santa Fe Opera, conducting the American premiere of Arnold Schoenberg’s Von Heute Auf Morgen.

Known both for his bold and inventive productions and for his acute musical instincts, Chas Rader-Shieber has established himself as one of the most innovative opera directors of his generation. Reviewing his staging of Janáček’s THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN, Toronto’s Classical 96.3 FM praised Mr. Rader-Shieber’s “daring and visionary approach to staging” and declared him “a force to be reckoned with in the opera world.” Mr. Rader-Shieber’s repertoire encompasses a broad range of works from Monteverdi to Benjamin Britten, but he has made a particular specialty of Baroque opera.

In the 2021-2022 season, Mr. Rader-Shieber continues his close collaboration as Resident Stage Director with the Curtis Institute of Music, workshopping a new piece, 24, and directing a new production of DANGEROUS LIAISONS. He also returns to Des Moines Metro Opera for a new production of Britten’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM. Future seasons will include a new production with Opera Colorado.

Chas Rader-Shieber’s engagements during the COVID-19 impacted 2020-2021 season included co-directing a film, MERCY, with Alek Shrader, based on Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito and created for Curtis Institute of Music. He also directed a new production of Rameau’s PLATÉE at Des Moines Metro Opera, and a reprisal of his acclaimed production of ORFEO ED EURIDICE at The Dallas Opera was unfortunately canceled.

Mr. Rader-Shieber’s original engagements during the COVID-19 shortened 2019-2020 season included directing a production of SHINING BROW at Arizona Opera (completed), Vivaldi’s BAJAZET at Portland Opera (cancelled) and a return to Curtis Institute of Music to direct their productions of IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA (completed) and LA CLEMENZA DI TITO (postponed). During the summer of 2020, he planned a return to Des Moines Metro Opera for their production of PLATÉE by Rameau (postponed).

Mr. Rader-Shieber’s 2016-2017 season included a debut with Pittsburgh Opera for LA TRAVIATA and a return to Des Moines Metro Opera for Gluck’s ORFEO. Previously, he continued his association with the Curtis Insitute of Music, directing CAPRICCIO. On the international stage, Mr. Rader-Shieber directed FAUST with the Macau Festival, and made a return to Pinchgut Opera in Australia for their production of L’AMANT JALOUX.

During the 2014-2015 season, Mr. Rader-Shieber debuted with Boston Lyric Opera for a new production of LA TRAVIATA, Des Moines Metro Opera for DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AS DEM SERAIL, and Indiana University directing Alcina. He also returned to Portland Opera for DIE FLEDERMAUS, and also Curtis Institute of Music for ARIADNE AUF NAXOS.

During the 2013-2014 season, he returned to Sydney, Australia with Pinchgut Opera for GIASONE (Cavalli), and revived his acclaimed production of Orlando for HOBART BAROQUE, which was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Direction of an Opera in Australia. He also debuted with Utah Opera for DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL, and joined Wolf Trap Opera for GIULIO CESARE.

Mr. Rader-Shieber began the 2012-2013 season with DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he has directed over 26 operas. Other notable recent productions with Curtis include: Henze’s ELEGY FOR YOUNG LOVERS, and Idomeneo and Rossini’s IL VIAGGIO A REIMS. The 2012-2013 season also found Mr. Rader-Shieber debuting with Portland Opera directing Handel’s RINALDO.

Of his production of Handel’s ORLANDO at the New York City Opera in 2004, The New York Times stated that Rader-Shieber had given audiences a production “at once contemporary, fanciful and true to the original.” In addition to ORLANDO, Mr. Rader-Shieber’s work at the New York City Operahas included a critically acclaimed production of Handel’s FLAVIO in 2003. The 2011-12 season included a debut with the Staatstheater Darmstadt for Léhar’s DIE LUSTIGE WITWE. In the 2010-2011 season, Mr. Rader-Shieber’s engagements included LA CLEMENZA DI TITO for Vancouver Opera, as well as DON GIOVANNI with Music Academy of the West.

Mr. Rader-Shieber opened the 2009–2010 season directing his production of DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL with San Francsico Opera and followed by a revival of his TAMERLANO for Los Angeles Opera. He concluded the season directing ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA for the Curtis Institute of Music and Handel’s TOLOMEO for Glimmerglass Opera.

In the 2008–2009 season, Mr. Rader-Shieber made his debut in Australia presenting Charpentier’s DAVID ET JONATHAS for Pinchgut Opera. He presented a new production DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and directed IL VIAGGIO A REIMS at Curtis. He finished the season with a new production of IL RE PASTORE for Opera Theatre of St. Louis and directed his production of DON GIOVANNI for Santa Fe Opera. 

During the 2007–2008 season, Mr. Rader-Shieber directed UNA COSA RARA for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Handel’s TAMERLANO at Washington National Opera, Bolcom’s A WEDDING for Music Academy of the West, as well as direction and production of AINDAMAR by Osvaldo Golijov with Curtis Opera Theater.

In 2006-2007, Mr. Rader-Shieber brought his DON GIOVANNI to Opera Pacific and also made his return to New York City Opera directing Rossini’s LA DONNA DEL LAGO, which he also directed at Minnesota Opera. Rounding out his season were engagements to direct L’ORMINDO at Pittsburgh Opera, THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN at Houston Grand Opera, and Bellini’s I PURITANI at Opera Theater of St. Louis.

Among his many other Handel credits, he directed lavish and modern stagings of SEMELE for the Arizona Opera and the Skylight Opera Theatre, ALCINA at the Curtis Institute of Music, GIULIO CESARE at the Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Edmonton Operas, and TAMERLANO at the Spoleto Festival USA. He has also directed other Baroque operas, including Monteverdi’s L’INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA for Pittsburgh Opera Center and the Curtis Institute, and Purcell’s DIDO AND AENEAS at the Curtis Institute.

Mr. Rader-Shieber has also become well known for his interpretations of Mozart operas. Among others, he has directed DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, DON GIOVANNI and COSI FAN TUTTE at companies including Opera Pacific, Opera de Montreal, Santa Fe Opera, and the Juilliard Opera Center. The Toronto Globe and Mail said of his LA CLEMENZA DI TITO: “Rader-Shieber is a talent to watch, given his brilliant, economical illumination of Metastasio’s text, which focused on character revelation like a psychological thriller.”

Mr. Rader-Shieber’s work also includes repertoire ranging from Tchaikovsky’s EUGENE ONEGIN at the Skylight Opera Theatre, to Donizetti’s DON PASQUALE at Music Academy of the West, and the operas of Britten, Giancarlo Menotti, and Ned Rorem at the Curtis Institute of Music. Mr. Rader-Shieber has served as Artistic Director of the Skylight Opera Theatre, and on the faculty of The Juilliard School and the Music Academy of the West.

Alyssa Jewell is a Portland based artist and recent Boston University MFA graduate who dances between the worlds of live performance design and video installation. She has had the pleasure of working as a scenic designer for Patterns of Wind (Boothe Theatre) directed by Ty Defoe & Kate Freer, Rx Machina (Boston Playwrights Theatre) directed by Blair Cadden, Exit The King (BU Studio One) directed by Clay Hopper, Once: The Musical (Boothe Theatre) directed by Shamus McCarty, and Motion. (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao) in collaboration with MIT Media Lab. Alyssa strives to continue her work as a designer exploring the intersections of music, theatre and multimedia, and their impact on sparking conversation and building community.

Sydney Dufka Forchielli is a visual storyteller and costume designer. She is interested in exploring the motivation of characters through the details in the clothing. Her work is rooted in research, and finding the silhouettes and shapes through sketching. Sydney believes art is a universal form of communication that is vital to humanity.

Sydney is also an accomplished craftsman and spends much of her spare time behind the sewing machine building her fashion designs. In addition to her own work Sydney is an Associate Designer with LDC Design Associates in NYC.

Educated in Chicago and based in Portland Oregon and New York City. Sydney holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Costume Design from The Theatre School at DePaul University

Originally from Portland, Solomon has created original works in drama, opera, dance, and music across the U.S., Canada, Dominican Republic, Germany, Greece, Italy, Russia, and Slovenia. Highlights include Otello (Festspielhaus Baden Baden, Germany); Il Trovatore (Teatro Comunale di Bologna and Teatro Regio di Parma, Italy); Oedipus (Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, Greece; Ancient Theatre of Pompeii, Teatro Olimpico di Vicenza, and Teatro Mercadante di Napoli, Italy) all with Robert Wilson; Macbeth (directed by John Doyle at Classic Stage Company, NYC); The Shape of Things (created by Carrie Mae Weems at the Park Avenue Armory, NYC); Duat (Soho Rep, NYC); and Men on Boats (World Premiere: Playwrights Horizons/Clubbed Thumb, NYC).

Solomon’s work in dance, dance/theatre and avant-garde music includes original full-length pieces with Alethea Adsitt, Jennifer Archibald, Jonah Bokaer, Christine Bonansea, Joshua Beamish/MOVE, Maria Chavez, Ximena Garnica/Leimay, Lane Gifford, Invisible Anatomy, LoudHound Movement, Martha Graham Dance Company, Ofelia Loret de Mola, Patrick Lovejoy, Belinda McGuire, Stefanie Nelson, Patricia Noworol, The Nerve Tank (as resident designer), Jennifer Harrison Newman, Jen Shyu, Waxfactory, and four major works as associate set designer with Bill T. Jones.

Solomon was the associate lighting designer on the Broadway production of Jitney and its national tour, which earned lighting designer Jane Cox a tony nomination. Other associate credits include two seasons at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy (with AJ Weissbard); the Holland Festival in Amsterdam (for Tyler Micoleau); and at Minnesota Opera (with Steve TenEyck) among many others.

With students, Solomon served as a guest artist with Bard, Barnard, Connecticut College, City College, Columbia, DeSales, East Stroudsburg, Fordham, NYU/Tisch, The New School, Princeton, University of the Arts, University of Rochester, Quinnipiac, Willamette, and Yale. He is Assistant Professor of Scenic/Lighting Design at Portland State University.

He holds a BFA from Ithaca College and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama, where he was a Stanley R. McCandless Fellow and a George Harrison Senie Scholar.

Sara has designed wigs and makeup for theatre, opera and dance companies all over the country including Portland Opera, Oregon Ballet Theater, Opera San Jose, Indianapolis Opera , Orlando Opera , New Orleans Opera , Tulsa Opera, Ft. Worth Opera, Chautauqua Opera, The Wildwood Festival, The Western Opera Theatre Tour, TheatreWorks, Marin Theatre Company, The Willows Theatre Company, San Jose Stage Company, Diablo Light Opera Company, and the Aurora Theatre. She has also worked for the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, Mark Morris Dance Group, Spoletto Festival USA and on several films and television shows including Metal Lords, Wild, Grimm, Shrill, and Leverage.