In collaboration with the Santa Fe Opera, The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra proudly presents A Night at the Opera again this season at the beautiful Lensic Performing Arts Center! Under the baton of Maestro Guillermo Figueroa, this spectacular performance is back by popular demand, and features operatic favorites sung by members of the Santa Fe Opera’s 2022 Apprentice Singers!
The Santa Fe Opera’s prestigious Apprentice Program for Singers is internationally recognized as one of the finest programs of its type. Each year, approximately 40 apprentice singers are chosen from a competitive applicant pool.
CONCERT LENGTH: APPROXIMATELY 1.5 HOURS | NO PREVIEW TALK.
The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra
Guillermo Figueroa, Principal Conductor
Santa Fe Opera 2022 Apprentice Singers
Amber Norelai, Soprano
Kathleen Felty, Mezzo-Soprano
Andrew Turner, Tenor
Darren Drone, Baritone
PROGRAM
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART
The Marriage of Figaro
Overture
“Cinque…dieci…venti”
Amber Norelai, Soprano
Darren Drone, Baritone
GIOACHINO ROSSINI
“Ecco, ridente” from The Barber of Seville
Andrew Turner, Tenor
RICHARD STRAUSS
Ariadne auf Naxos
“Sie hält ihn für den Todesgott”
Amber Norelai, Soprano
Kathleen Felty, Mezzo-Soprano
“Sein wir wieder gut”
Kathleen Felty, Mezzo-Soprano
PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY
“Kuda, kuda” from Eugene Onegin
Andrew Turner, Tenor
GIUSEPPE VERDI
Brindisi from La Traviata
Amber Norelai, Soprano
Kathleen Felty, Mezzo-Soprano
Andrew Turner, Tenor
Darren Drone, Baritone
Intermission
HECTOR BERLIOZ
Overture to Beatrice and Benedict
Je vais le voir
Amber Norelai, Soprano
GEORGES BIZET
Votre Toast from Carmen
Darren Drone, Baritone
GIUSEPPE VERDI
“Bella figlia dell’amore” from Rigoletto
Amber Norelai, Soprano
Kathleen Felty, Mezzo-Soprano
Andrew Turner, Tenor
Darren Drone, Baritone
FRANZ LEHAR
Vilja Lied from The Merry Widow
Amber Norelai, Soprano
Kathleen Felty, Mezzo-Soprano
Andrew Turner, Tenor
Darren Drone, Baritone
Guillermo Figueroa, Principal Conductor
One of the most versatile and respected musical artists of his generation—renowned as conductor, violinist, violist and concertmaster—Guillermo Figueroa is the Principal Conductor of The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. He also serves as the Music Director of the Music in the Mountains Festival in Colorado and Music Director of the Lynn Philharmonia in Florida, and he is the founder of the highly acclaimed Figueroa Music and Arts Project in Albuquerque. He was the Music Director of...
Amber Norelai, Soprano
The young coloratura soprano with dual citizenship to both the USA and Venezuela is quickly establishing herself as a rising star on the operatic stage. Amber Norelai has performed in numerous concerts in the United States, Germany and Austria. She recently performed the soprano solo in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony at Vienna’s prestigious Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic and the soprano solo of Pergolesi's Stabat Mater at the Schlosstheater in Vienna. In the summer of 2022...
Kathleen Felty, Mezzo-soprano
Praised for her “powerful, rich, nuanced” voice and “emotionally moving” performances, Kathleen Felty is a recent alumna of the Lyric Opera of Chicago's Ryan Opera Center. Felty received attention from the Chicago Tribune for her “clarion tone” and “compelling acting” in her mainstage debut as Laura in Verdi’s Luisa Miller in 2019. She went on to perform alongside Sondra Radvanovsky in Lyric’s production of The Three Queens, which was released as an album in 2022. In Lyric Opera of...
Andrew Turner, Tenor
Andrew Turner finished his 2021-2022 Season with Pittsburgh Opera as a Resident Artist. His roles included First Priest/ First Armored Man in The Magic Flute, The Beloved/Horus in The Rose Elf, Policeman/Ambrose Raines in the world premiere of In a Grove, Remendado in Carmen and Policeman/Buddy #1 in Blue. This Summer, he will be joining The Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist, singing the role of Agent 2 in M. Butterfly and covering the role of Bardolfo in Falstaff.
Darren Drone, Baritone
Described as having “a gorgeously warm tone and deep resonance” (Opera News), Baritone Darren Drone is quickly making a name for himself in the opera world as an exciting up and comer. During the 2021-2022 season, Mr. Drone joins the Metropolitan Opera roster as a featured soloist in Porgy & Bess, as well as joining Washington National Opera covering Mtchll in the world premiere of Carlos Simon and Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s it all falls down and Florentine Opera as Schaunard in La bohème.
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Program Notes
In many respects, The Marriage of Figaro marked the high point of Mozart’s success during his lifetime. On a visit to Prague the following year to conduct the opera, Mozart reported that “Here nothing is talked of but Figaro, nothing played but Figaro, nothing whistled or sung but Figaro…