I am delighted to welcome you to this very special performance of The Mock Marriage by Franz Lehár, performed by UC Santa Barbara Department of Music’s Opera Theatre students, in honor and in memory of the late renowned faculty member Professor Carl Zytowski.

UCSB Library is proud to support this performance in recognition of the Michael and Nan Miller Operetta Archive, an extraordinary collection of operetta and opera materials bequeathed to the Library. It is from this collection that we first learned of The Mock Marriage.

Music knows no boundaries, and the Library passionately supports music education and our students in their life-long pursuit of music. To allow for students, faculty, and the community to benefit from the interdisciplinary possibilities that come with close access to the full collection and library expertise, we have begun laying the groundwork to create a renovated home for the Music Collection inside the main Library.

As one of our highest fundraising priorities, we are actively seeking friends and partners to help us realize this goal. To learn more, I invite you to reach out to the Library Development office at (805) 893-5732 or visit www.library.ucsb.edu/giving.

The Library also hosts events and exhibitions throughout the year, most of which are free and open to the public. If you would like to learn more about our programming, including the current exhibit, Viennese Operetta and the World of Franz Lehár, please visit www.library.ucsb.edu/exhibits or follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Thank you for attending today’s performance and for supporting the UCSB Library and the Department of Music’s Opera Theatre program.

Sincerely,

Kristin Antelman, University Librarian UC Santa Barbara Library

The Mock Marriage (Die Juxheirat) operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár

original German libretto by Julius Bauer English lyrics by Gregg Opelka

English dialogue by Steven Daigle

February 16-17, 2019Lobero Theatre

Santa Barbara, CA

The performance will last approximately two and a half hours, including two intermissions (20 and 10 minutes).

Thomas BrockwillerSelma, Baroness von Wilfort

Captain ArthurMiss Phoebe

Miss EdithMiss Euphrasia

Harold von ReckenburgJuliane von Reckenburg

Philly KapsHuckland, sheriff Colonel Summer

HousekeeperMaid

FootmanChorus (Officers, Guests, Servants)

E. Scott LevinHailey Atwell Thomas Segen Naomi Merer Christy Peterson Julie Davies Tyler Reece Kelly Guerra Byron Mayes Steven B. Thomson Byron Wu Alexandria Jackson Terra Giddens Aldo Alan Navarrete Seryne Aryeh, Megan Ashley, Violet Joy Hansen, Alexandria Jackson, Alexandra Lopez, Lindsay Ray, Soohyun Ryu, Summer Scott, Steven B. Thomson, Byron Wu

ConductorStage DirectorChoreographerScenic Designer

Costume DesignerLighting Designer

ProducerMusic Preparation

Maxim Kuzin Steven Daigle Jennifer Phillips Yuki Izumihara Stacie Logue Theodore Michael Dolas Benjamin Brecher Isabel Bayrakdarian

ORCHESTRA

VIOLIN IKristina TsanovaJennifer WaltonRafael Vazquez GuevaraDanning Lu Claire WuClaire Chung

VIOLIN IISara BashoreAnissa MorrisonCordelia RobertsZhenni (Jennice) XuJackie Chen

VIOLABesnik YzeiriSoha SadeghiYuyu McGeoy

CELLOChenoa Orme-Stone Britta ThomasJoshua KaukNaomi Stoodley

DOUBLE BASSRobert AugustynskiDylan Jones

FLUTEJenna KuMadison Kolkow

OBOEEvan LosoyaYasmine Greiss

CLARINETMin Su KimPierce Mitchel

BASSOONPaul MoriMaya Gorgas

HORNAnthony SinicropeDaoji Yang

TRUMPETDouglass TorresAl Simpkins

TROMBONEPaul WuBruce Wagner

HARPJillian Lopez

PERCUSSIONThomas HakansonTim Bausch

Hair and Makeup DesignerCostume Design Assistant/

Wardrobe HeadStage Manager

Assistant Stage ManagerSet Builder

Technical Director (Lobero Theatre)Rehearsal Pianists

Heather Sterling

Jane Hatfield Lorely DedrickAnthony GarciaZack GuilerTodd JaredMandee Madrid-Sikich, Asher Severini

PRODUCTION STAFF

UC SANTA BARBARA VOICE PROGRAM FACULTYDr. Isabel Bayrakdarian | Associate Professor, SopranoDr. Linda Di Fiore | Professor Adjunct, Mezzo-Soprano

Benjamin Brecher | Professor, Tenor (Voice Program Area Head)Dr. John Ballerino | Continuing Lecturer, Vocal Coach

Dr. Daniel Newman-Lessler | Lecturer, Interim Director of Choral Activities

BIOGRAPHY: Franz LehárFranz Lehár was born in Komárom, Hungary on April 30, 1870, the eldest son of a bandmaster in the Austro-Hungarian army. During his boyhood years, the family moved from post to post, but the atmosphere was always full of music. At the age of fifteen, he was admitted to the Prague Conservatory of Music, where he studied violin and composition and is said to have been advised by no less a figure than Antonín Dvořák to “hang up your fiddle, my boy, and write music!”

After graduating, he joined the army and played for a time in his father’s orchestra. From there, it was a logical step to the podium and, at age twenty, he became the youngest bandmaster in the Austro-Hungarian army. His posting at the empire’s only naval base, in

Pola on the Adriatic, gave him the rare experience of having a 110-piece orchestra at his disposal, with which he was able to perfect his orchestration technique. While there he met his first theatre librettist, the naval officer Felix Falzari. Their collaboration resulted in Lehár’s first opera, Kukuschka, which was performed in Leipzig (1896) and Budapest (1899), though without attracting much interest. The composer, who had resigned rather prematurely from the army hoping that composition would sustain him, had (rather ruefully) to rejoin when the meager flow of royalties from Kukuschka dried up.

A military posting to Vienna finally unlocked doors for Lehár. His composition of the “name waltz” for Princess Metternich’s “Gold and Silver” ball in January 1902 suddenly brought his talent to general notice; the happy publisher to whom Lehár had contracted the waltz found himself overwhelmed with requests for it from all over the world. Lehár finally left military service and took on the post of Kapellmeister at the Theater an der Wien, for which he wrote an operetta Wiener Frauen (Viennese Ladies) for the Christmas 1902 season. Within a month,

and to a libretto of Victor Léon, chief producer at the rival Carltheater, Lehár submitted Der Rastelbinder (The Tinker), which proved a major hit. However, two 1904 operettas,

Der Göttergatte (The Husband God) and Die Juxheirat (The Mock Marriage) did little to advance his reputation. But his fortune was about to take a major leap. On December 30, 1905, Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) premiered at the Theater an der Wien and, after a few anxious weeks, became a veritable forest fire, sweeping through continental Europe, Great Britain, the United States—in fact, to every corner of the world. The Merry Widow has, for well over a century, broken box-office records and delighted audiences wherever it has played. Countless recordings, films, television features, a full-length ballet, an ice-show—no medium yet devised has not featured this “queen of operettas.”

Lehár was now a very rich and successful man. By his later admission: “I stumbled blindly into writing operetta, without any idea of what I was doing, but this helped me to find my own style.” Indeed, he brought to operetta an intensity of feeling and depth of characterization that it had not previously known. Other major successes, The Count of Luxembourg, Gypsy Love, and Eva added still more to his fame and fortune before 1914.

The First World War and the resultant destruction of the Austro-Hungarian world in which Lehár had grown up and matured seemed to inhibit his talent for some time. He passed through a decade-long fallow period until the Vienna production of Frasquita in 1922 brought him for the first time into contact with the young operatic tenor Richard Tauber. The effect on Lehár was electric and, during the period between 1925 and 1934, he wrote six operettas—Paganini (1925), The Czarevitch (1927), Friederike (1928), The Land of Smiles (1929), Beautiful Is The World (1930), and Giuditta (1934)—created especially for Tauber’s voice, each with an endless flow of lyrical songs, duets, and ensembles, and each including a tenor showpiece that became known as a “Tauberlied.” In Giuditta, featuring Tauber and opera star Jarmila Novotna, Lehár’s lifelong dream was realized—the premiere took place at the prestigious Wiener Staatsoper.

In February 1935, Lehár founded his own Vienna publishing house, Glocken Verlag, in order to have the greatest possible control over the performance and availability of his works. He reacquired most of his oeuvre from other publishers to whom he had previously sold various rights and devoted much time to the publication of definitive editions. He died in Bad Ischl, Austria on October 24, 1948.

Adapted from Franz Lehár: Catalogue of Works (Glocken-Verlag Ltd., London)

NOTESFarcical Feminism: mockery or acclaim? By Dr. Kyra Folk-Farber; Head, Music Library (Acting)Typical of early 20th Century operetta, The Mock Marriage comments playfully on a hot political topic without taking a particular stand; specifically, Julius Bauer’s libretto both celebrates and pokes fun at the feminist movement. The female characters and their actions in The Mock Marriage point to a pivotal time for women in the western world. The campaign for women’s suffrage began around the 1830s in both the U.S. and Austria. By 1904, the year that The Mock Marriage premiered in Vienna, feminism had gained serious traction, but the “cult of domesticity”—the belief that to be virtuous, women should be limited to domestic responsibilities at home—was dominant in middle and upper class America. It took women’s critical participation in the workforce during World War One to attain the right to vote in national elections. American women were finally allowed to vote in 1920; Austrian women in 1918.

In The Mock Marriage, the tone of Selma and her female friends’ characters is overtly melodramatic: they hate all men, and want to sabotage the patriarchy. However, it can be argued that the general tone of the operetta celebrates these women as radical political heroes, if comical ones. So, is the work feminist, or anti-feminist? It is the nature of a substantive satirical work to bring the murkiness and ambiguity of trending issues to the viewer’s attention. Despite its humorous tack, The Mock Marriage prompts the viewer to think harder about issues that might have previously seemed crystal clear.

This performance is dedicated to the late Professor Carl Zytowski, who taught both voice and composition in the Department of Music at UC

Santa Barbara from 1951-1995. During his 44 years of teaching at UCSB, he made a lasting impact on the opera and choral programs.

As Founder and Director of the UC Santa Barbara Opera Theatre program, he led over 70 productions and coached hundreds of students,

many of whom went on to have successful careers as performers, educators, and artistic administrators.

DEDICATION

SYNOPSIS

ACT 1 Outside the Newport, Rhode Island mansion of U.S. billionaire Thomas BrockwillerBrockwiller’s daughter Selma, frustrated by her recent marriage to now-deceased Baron Wilfort, decides to never marry again and, with her friends Edith, Phoe-be, and Euphrasia, starts an organization called WHAM! (Women Hate All Men!). Things get complicated when Phoebe and Euphrasia cross paths with the dashing chauffer and speed demon Philly Kaps, who had promised them both marriage in the past. When Philly smoothes out things with Phoebe, Euphrasia gets furious and has him arrested for breach of contract. Meanwhile, Brockwiller would like to see his daughter marry racecar driver Count Harold von Reckenburg, the son of a business associate. Selma will have nothing to do with such an idea. Harold’s sister, Juliane von Reckenburg, who was once engaged to a man who left her for Selma, decides to seek revenge. Under the false name Miss Grant, Juliane joins WHAM! and informs Selma that Harold’s sister has been known to dress up as a man and impersonate her brother. The WHAM! ladies find this highly amusing and very emancipated. Selma decides to receive Harold—believing him to be Juliane. The clueless Brockwiller is delighted that his daughter is meeting the man whom he has selected for her.

ACT 2 Inside Thomas Brockwiller’s mansion, the next dayEuphrasia, with a change of heart, has bribed a policeman and got Philly out of jail. Harold, with his heart set on Selma, is given lessons by Philly on how best to win a lady’s love. Selma’s brother Arthur, meanwhile, has fallen hard for Miss Grant. As part of her game-playing, Selma invites Harold to kiss her in public. Her scheming father, feigning shock at this display, declares that this better be an engagement kiss. Selma, still reveling in the folly of the whole affair, agrees and, with Brockwiller’s friend Sheriff Huckland doing the honors, Harold and Selma become man and wife. At the subsequent party, Juliane appears as Countess von Reckenburg, as Selma, to her great dismay, is informed of the true gender of her husband.

ACT 3A hunting lodge in the hills along the Hudson river, three months laterLove has won out, as WHAM! has been dissolved—Arthur has married Juliane, Edith has wed Brockwiller’s nephew, and Philly and Phoebe are engaged. Selma is still a holdout, but Phoebe reveals that Selma—seeing her brother and Juliane so happy—finally realizes that she loves Harold. But when Harold arrives with annul-ment papers and declares that their “mock marriage” is unworthy of a gentleman, Selma has second thoughts...

MAXIM KUZINCONDUCTORMaxim Kuzin has recently completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting at UCLA. In addition to directing the UCSB Chamber Orchestra, he also serves as Music Director of the symphony orchestra at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA. Before arriving in the US in 2014, Dr. Kuzin held various conducting and teaching positions in his homeland of Ukraine. Dr. Kuzin has worked at the President Orchestra of Ukraine, Krivoy

Rog Music Theater, and guest conducted orchestras in Eastern Europe and in the United States. He has served as Music Director for full stage productions of Donizetti’s Il Campanello, Stravinsky’s Mavra and Renard, Walton’s The Bear, Offenbach’s Monsieur Choufleuri restera chez lui le..., and conducted Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Lehár’s Merry Widow, Offenbach’s La belle Hélène, and Kalman’s Das Veilchen vom Montmartre (Paris in Spring). Dr. Kuzin also conducted the Ukrainian version of Dancing with the Stars.

STEVEN DAIGLESTAGE DIRECTORSteven Daigle, professor of opera and artistic director for Eastman Opera Theatre for the Eastman School of Music and Artistic Director for The Ohio Light Opera, has served as part of the artistic staff for more than 300 lyric theater productions. Daigle’s experience as a stage director encompasses over 180 productions and a wide range of lyric theatre repertoire. Productions include collaborations with legendary Broadway composer

Charles Strouse, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Robert Ward, Carlisle Floyd, and conductors Louis Lane, Robert Spano, and Evan Whallon. The opera theatre program at Eastman has included residency and collaborations with Ricky Ian Gordon, Adam Guettel, Jake Heggie, Gene Scheer, Robert Ward, Carlisle Floyd, and Charles Strouse. Reviews and articles of Daigle’s work have been published in Opera News, Opera London, American Record Guide, Gramophone, Fanfare, Classical Singer, and Opera Now. In the spring of 2015, Daigle was awarded the Eisenhart Award for Excellence in Teaching from the Eastman School of Music.

JENNIFER PHILLIPSCHOREOGRAPHERJennifer Phillips was born in Honolulu, HI where she received her ballet training from Russian-born John Landovsky, of Hawaii State Ballet. At 17 she was chosen as one of ten juniors to represent the US in the 2002 International Ballet Competition. Shortly after competing, she was offered a company position with State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara where she performed leading roles including Clara in the Nutcracker, Cinderella, and Snow White. In 2014 after

performing and traveling across the country for over a decade, she retired as a principal level ballerina to open her own school, Westside Dance.

YUKI IZUMIHARASCENIC DESIGNERYuki Izumihara is a scenic, projection, and production designer based in Los Angeles. As a Scenic and Projection Designer for the Miami Music Festival for the last three years, Ms. Izumihara has worked on productions including The Marriage of Figaro, Dead Man Walking, Cunning Little Vixen, The Tales of Hoffmann, The Crucible, The Magic Flute, and The Turn of the Screw, among others. Her recent engagements also include Don Giovanni at

Jacksonville Symphony, Flight at San Diego State University, Ceiling of Shadows at Hammer Museum, Opera Omaha design for GALA 2018, Eurydice (Arena Stage, Los Angeles), The Magic Flute (Shenandoah Conservatory), The Tragedy of Carmen (San Diego Opera), and Yes, Adam Noorian (Atwater Village Theater). Ms. Izumihara received a BA in Theater Scenic Design and an MFA in Entertainment Design at UCLA, School of Theatre, Film and Television.

STACIE LOGUECOSTUME DESIGNERStacie Logue is very happy to return to UCSB Music Department to design costumes for The Mock Marriage. Ms. Logue has designed costumes for several productions for the Music Department including The Coronation of Poppea, The Tender Land, and Così fan tutte. Ms. Logue works with Opera Santa Barbara. Other companies she has worked for include Central City Opera Festival, the Music Academy of the West, the Rubicon Theatre, the

Geffen Theater, and the Wallis Annenberg Theatre. Ms. Logue is a native to southern California and graduated from CSULA with a BA in Fine Art.

THEODORE MICHAEL DOLASLIGHTING DESIGNERMr. Dolas has been designing scenery and lighting for the theatre for over 40 years. He has received six Independent Theatre Awards, one KMGQ award, and one Denver Drama Critics Award for best scenic design of the season for “The Lonely Planet.” His selected resume contains over 400 produced designs from all over the United States, Canada, and Europe. Mr. Dolas is a member of United Scenic Artists Local #829 New York.

BENJAMIN BRECHERPRODUCEROperatic and concert tenor Benjamin Brecher has gained great acclaim with his many performances on the opera and concert stages. Mr. Brecher has performed over 50 operatic roles with more than 40 orchestras at some of the world’s most prestigious venues specializing in the high-lying lyric tenor repertoire. He has performed 15 roles with The New York City Opera alone. He has 12 recordings including his 2016 recording, Forgotten Liszt,

with pianist Robert Koenig, on MSR Classics which has already received glowing reviews. Recent engagements include performances at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; Don Giovanni, The Cunning Little Vixen, and Manon with Opera Santa Barbara; Lucia di Lammermoor and Lakmé with California Opera; and a live recital broadcast on Radio France. He kept a busy performance schedule in 2018 with performances in Israel, North Carolina, Santa Barbara, and Germany, as well as enjoying his work with Opera Santa Barbara in their 2019 productions of Eugene Onegin and The Crucible. Professor Brecher began teaching at UCSB in 2008, and currently serves as the Head of the Voice Area.

ISABEL BAYRAKDARIANMUSIC PREPARATIONIsabel Bayrakdarian’s performing career was launched in 1997, the year she was a winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the same year she graduated from the University of Toronto cum laude with a biomedical engineering degree. Since then, she has performed in major opera houses across the globe and with many of the world’s finest orchestras. Her versatility is also reflected in being the featured vocalist on the

Grammy Award-winning soundtrack of the blockbuster film The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers, and on the soundtrack of Atom Egoyan’s Ararat. Dr. Bayrakdarian is the winner of many prestigious awards, including four consecutive Juno Awards (Canada’s Grammy equivalent), the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee and the Diamond Jubilee medals, and her most recent CD, Mother of Light, was nominated for a 2017 Juno Award. She is Associate Professor of Voice at UC Santa Barbara.

E. SCOTT LEVINTHOMAS BROCKWILLERBass-baritone E. Scott Levin, described as having a “smooth, buttery voice,” “incredibly sharp timing,” and “a gifted comic actor,” has been making audiences laugh for the past seventeen years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis and Graduate Certificate in Vocal Performance from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Since 2002, Mr. Levin has sung in over 20

productions with Union Avenue Opera in Saint Louis and in over 15 productions with Pacific Opera Project in Los Angeles. He has also sung with several other companies in the Los Angeles area including Opera Santa Barbara, Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Long Beach Opera, Center Stage Opera, and Townsend Opera. In 2015, he made debuts with Los Angeles Opera “Off-Grand” as Babayan (Bartolo) in Figaro 90210! and on the LA Opera mainstage as Dr. Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi, starring Plácido Domingo.

HAILEY ATWELLSELMA, BARONESS VON WILFORTAs a Las Vegas native, Hailey Rose Atwell is thrilled to be in Santa Barbara and perform as Selma in the North American premiere of The Mock Marriage at the Lobero Theatre. She recently graduated from Northern Arizona University with previous roles including Pamina from Die Zauberflöte, Mabel from The Pirates of Penzance, Belinda from Dido and Aeneas, Célie from Signor Deluso, Soprano Lead from Trouble in Tahiti, and Barbarina from

Le Nozze di Figaro. While a part of the NAU Lyric Theater, she was the president of the Student NATS chapter in Northern Arizona as well as the Publicist and Choreographer for the school’s Broadway revue. Her accolades include winning third place in the NATS southwest regional competition and the Edith A. Copley Choral Scholarship for her dedication to choral music. Ms. Atwell is a first-year master’s student at UCSB where she studies with Dr. Linda Di Fiore on a full-tuition scholarship. She hopes to gain experience with choral conducting and teaching voice all while spreading her passion for singing in sunny California.

THOMAS SEGENCAPTAIN ARTHURCurrently based in Los Angeles, CA, tenor Thomas Segen’s recently performed roles include Henry Crawford in Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park and his Seattle Opera debut as Tancredi/Tirsi in The Combat. Highlights this year include performances of the Britten Serenade for Tenor and Horn, Reich’s Three Tales, Handel’s Samson, and workshops for several new operatic works. He holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from UCLA and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from the University of Washington.

NAOMI MERERMISS PHOEBEPraised for her “voice that grew in warmth and consonance” (Daniel Kepl), American soprano Naomi Merer is excited to perform Miss Phoebe in The Mock Marriage. Operatic roles include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Youth in Thomas Cipullo’s After Life, Célie in Thomas Pasatieri’s Signor Deluso (UCSB), Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte (Prague Summer Nights Young Artists

Music Festival), Papagena in Die Zauberflöte (Amalfi Coast Music and Arts Festival), and Madame Herz in The Impresario (Northwestern University). Ms. Merer has also performed several chorus roles with Opera Santa Barbara, including Lolette in La Rondine, a Hen in The Cunning Little Vixen, and Suor Osmina in Suor Angelica. Her accolades include winning second place in the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation competition (2018) and singing in a master class with Renée Fleming at the Lobero Theatre (2016). She is an MM/DMA candidate in Vocal Performance, studying with Dr. Linda Di Fiore at UC Santa Barbara.

CHRISTY PETERSONMISS EDITHChristy Lee Peterson, a lyric soprano, is thrilled to make her debut with the UCSB Opera Theatre program this year. She is currently studying with Dr. Linda Di Fiore and is working towards her MM in Vocal Performance. Ms. Peterson received a BA in Music from Westminster College in her hometown of Salt Lake City, Utah in 2015. Her previous roles include Semele (Semele), Clara (The Light in the Piazza), and Lisette (La Rondine). Ms. Peterson has trained

abroad in Italy, Germany, and Austria. She was a finalist of the California Women’s Chorus Scholarship Competition (2018), as well as a semifinalist in the American Institute of Musical Studies’ Meistersinger Competition in Graz, Austria (2018).

JULIE DAVIESMISS EUPHRASIAJulie Davies, international soprano, is currently called to sing across the globe. Most recently, Ms. Davies performed Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Opéra National de Paris (2015), Marzelline in Fidelio with Rio de Janeiro (2015), and the Junges Mädchen in the co-production of Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron (released on film and televised world-wide in 2015) with Paris Opera and Madrid Opera (2016). In addition, in 2017 Ms. Davies

was one of two singers chosen by the iconic mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne to dedicate her museum, which opened in Bradford, Pennsylvania. In March 2019, Ms. Davies is scheduled to sing Verdi’s Requiem with Southwest Florida Symphony, and to perform the role of Gerhilde in a new production of Wagner’s Die Walküre in Madrid’s Teatro Real in the 2019-20 season. Ms. Davies is a frequent recitalist and has released her first CD of Italian songs by Bellini, Liszt, and Schubert with renowned pianist Charles Spencer (Capriccio label).

TYLER REECEHAROLD VON RECKENBURGTyler Reece, baritone, is in his final year as a doctoral candidate at the University of California, Santa Barbara with Dr. Linda Di Fiore. Mr. Reece earned his bachelor’s degree from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. Operatic engagements include Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, the title role of Pasatieri’s one-act comedy Signor Deluso, Malvolio in the West Coast premiere of Joel Feigin’s setting of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night,

and Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Amalfi Coast Music Festival. Mr. Reece is the winner of numerous awards for his performance of art song. In 2018, he won first place in the five-state Cal-Western Region of NATSAA. In 2015, he was the winner of the Gwendolyn Roberts Young Artist of the Year Competition for the NATS-LA chapter. Mr. Reece sings professionally at Old Mission Santa Barbara and with the Santa Barbara Choral Society.

KELLY GUERRAJULIANE VON RECKENBURGAfter being noted as a “standout” in the Wall Street Journal this summer for her performance as Mrs. Doc in Tanglewood’s production of Bernstein’s A Quiet Place, Kelly Guerra is excited to be the troublemaker Juliane von Reckenburg in The Mock Marriage! In the spring of 2018, Ms. Guerra “created a sensation in the pants role of Cherubino, not only for her superb voice, but also her captivating stage presence” (BravoCalifornia), in the opera

Le Nozze di Figaro at UCSB, directed by soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian and conducted by Opera Santa Barbara’s Kostis Protopapas. Ms. Guerra has been featured at the Lucerne Festival and the Bard Music Festival, and has performed with a variety of prestigious ensembles, including the Albany Symphony, Opera Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Symphony, The Orchestra Now, Contemporaneous, and Opera Parallèle. Ms. Guerra is working on her doctorate in Vocal Performance at the University of California, Santa Barbara and is a student of Dr. Isabel Bayrakdarian.

BYRON MAYESPHILLY KAPSAmerican baritone Byron Mayes is a student at the University of California, Santa Barbara in pursuit of both a Master of Music and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance under the guidance of Dr. Linda Di Fiore. He received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Columbus State University where he studied with Professor Earl Coleman. He is a former member of the Opera Santa Barbara Chrisman Studio Artist program,

where he has performed the roles of Crebillion in Puccini’s La Rondine, Fiorello in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Sam in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, and Dr. Gregg in Douglas Moore’s Gallantry. As a student at UCSB, he has performed the roles of

Petrus in Jeremy Gill’s Letters from Quebec to Providence in the Rain and Figaro in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

STEVEN B. THOMSONHUCKLAND, SHERIFFMr. Thomson comes to UCSB from northern Colorado. He is a first-year PhD student in ethnomusicology and a baritone in the voice studio of Dr. Isabel Bayrakdarian. An active choral singer, he has performed as a member of the Hover State Chamber Choir of Armenia (2017-2018), the Rocky Mountain Chamber Singers (2015-2016), and the Moody Chorale (2009-2014). He is also trained as an organist. The Mock Marriage is Mr. Thomson’s first foray into operetta

performance. Mr. Thomson is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer (The Republic of Armenia 2016-2018) and holds an MA in Humanities from the University of Chicago and a BA in Theology and Music from Moody Bible Institute, Chicago.

BYRON WUCOLONEL SUMMERByron Wu graduated from UCSB with a BA in Music Studies and studied voice with Professor Benjamin Brecher for three years. He performed as Antonio in UCSB’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro last year and this production of The Mock Marriage will be his second performance in a production.

ALEXANDRIA JACKSONHOUSEKEEPERAlexandria Jackson is an undergraduate student currently studying with Dr. Linda Di Fiore as a BM major. Ms. Jackson has participated in the following competitions: National Association for Negro Musicians (regionals), New Century Singers (winner of collegiate section), National Liszt Competition (3rd place), and Mu Phi Epsilon competition (2nd place).

TERRA GIDDENSMAIDTerra Giddens is a third-year student pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance. She has been singing in choirs and competitions since she was 15 years old, and has been in opera productions such as Manon by Massenet at Opera Santa Barbara and Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart at UCSB. She also has taken part in an Italian opera program called Si Parla, Si Canta where she got to

travel around Italy and sing in several concerts as well as Suor Angelica by Puccini. She hopes to continue singing and traveling throughout her life.

ALDO ALAN NAVARRETEFOOTMANAt the age of twenty-one, Mr. Navarrete began his studies in voice with Mark Almy who inspired him to pursue classical voice. Mr. Navarrete recently transferred from Pasadena City College, where he developed his musical talent. While in Pasadena, he was part of the Don Brinegar Singers, a group that performed around the city and with the Pasadena Pops. Mr. Navarrete has played Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini, as well

as Frantz and Spalanzani in The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach. Mr. Navarrete is continuing his musical studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he studies with Professor Benjamin Brecher.

SERYNE ARYEHCHORUSSeryne Aryeh is a first-year Vocal Performance major at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is currently studying classical voice under the direction of Dr. Isabel Bayrakdarian. Ms. Aryeh is thrilled to be performing in the chorus of The Mock Marriage, her first experience in an opera production.

MEGAN ASHLEYCHORUSMegan Ashley is a second-year student at UC Santa Barbara, currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in Voice and a minor in Italian. She is a student of Professor Benjamin Brecher.

VIOLET JOY HANSENCHORUSViolet Joy Hansen is thrilled to be performing in her first opera at UCSB. Ms. Hansen is a freshman, double-majoring in theatre and Vocal Performance. A native of Sacramento, Ms. Hansen has performed in 30 musicals. Some of her favorite roles include Belle in Beauty and the Beast, Rona in The Putnam County 25th Annual Spelling Bee, and Cecily in The Importance of Being Importance. Ms. Hansen is an accomplished dancer and en pointe ballerina.

ALEXANDRA LOPEZCHORUSSoprano Alexandra Lopez is a BM fourth-year student in Vocal Performance, in the studio of Dr. Isabel Bayrakdarian. She has performed in Opera Santa Barbara’s chorus in their production of Bizet’s Carmen and Massenet’s Manon, and has performed in the chorus in UCSB’s production of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro.

LINDSAY RAYCHORUSLindsay Ray is a first-year undergraduate student pursuing a dual degree in Vocal Performance and Theater, with an emphasis in Acting. She is currently receiving classical training from Professor Benjamin Brecher, Area Head of the Voice Program at UCSB. Ms. Ray has had the pleasure of participating in several plays, musicals, and choruses; some of her favorite roles include Madame de la Grande Bouche in Beauty and the Beast, Dolly in One Man,

Two Guvnors, Uzo in Godspell, and Mrs. Paroo in The Music Man. She has been recognized for her success in performance as Best Featured Actress in a Musical (2017) by the National Youth Theatre Association, and Best Supporting Actress in a Musical (2017) at the Villa Awards. Ms. Ray is grateful for the opportunities the University of California, Santa Barbara offers her, and is thrilled to participate in her first operetta.

SOOHYUN RYUCHORUSSoohyun Ryu is a first-year student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is a music major with an emphasis in Vocal Performance, and is currently studying under Dr. Isabel Bayrakdarian. Being a part of the chorus in The Mock Marriage, Ms. Ryu is delighted to participate in her first opera production.

SUMMER SCOTTCHORUSSummer Scott is a first-year student at UC Santa Barbara, currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance under the direction of Professor Benjamin Brecher. This is her first production at UC Santa Barbara, and she looks forward to many more!

The Department of Music wishes to thank the following individuals and groups for their support of this production:

Henry T. Yang, Chancellor

David Marshall, Executive Vice Chancellor

John Majewski, Dean, Division of Humanities and Fine Arts

Kristin Antelman, University Librarian

Alan Grosenheider, Deputy University Librarian

Toni Arellanes-Miller, Development, UC Santa Barbara Library

Tahna Hekhuis, Business Officer, Interdisciplinary Humanities Center

Courtney Richardson, Contracts and Grants Coordinator, Interdisciplinary Humanities Center

Scott Marcus, Chair, Department of Music

Connie Howard, Business Officer, Department of Music

Benjamin Brecher, Professor, Voice Program (Area Head)

Isabel Bayrakdarian, Associate Professor, Voice Program

Linda Di Fiore, Professor Adjunct, Voice Program

John Ballerino, Continuing Lecturer, Voice Program

Daniel Newman-Lessler, Interim Director of Choral Activities, Voice Program

Robert Koenig, Professor, Vice Chair and Performance Program Area Head, Department of Music

Jon Nathan, Continuing Lecturer, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion Program

Paul Bambach, Senior Continuing Lecturer, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion Program

Leslie Gray, Senior Director of Development, Division of Humanities and Fine Arts

Anthony Garcia, Production and Events Manager, Department of Music

Adriane Hill, Marketing and Communications Manager, Department of Music

Eastman School of Music

Opera Santa Barbara

Ensemble Theatre Company

Santa Barbara City College

Department of Theater and Dance, UC Santa Barbara

Special Thanks to Jeanette Casey and the Mills Music Library of the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Seán Gray of

Josef Weinberger, Ltd., London.