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Thank you!!!
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Produced in collaboration with Aperi Animam
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June 9-12, 2022
Calvary Presbyterian Church
​935 W Wisconsin Ave, 53233
Music by Claudio Monteverdi   |   Libretto by Alessandro Striggio
English Translation by Danny Brylow and Joseph Krohlow
Read Cast, Orchestra, and Creative Team Bios here!
In 1607, Claudio Monteverdi, then working for the Duke of Mantua, presented the first truly great surviving opera, L’Orfeo.  415 years later, Milwaukee Opera Theatre and Aperi Animam are joining forces to share an original English translation of this masterwork.  Spoiler alert: This one has a happy ending.
Sponsored by Jan Serr and John Shannon
A Barefoot Opera in Denim on Wooden Floorboards
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~Russ Bickerstaff, The Small Stage
Gorgeous Music Brings "L'Orfeo" to Life
​
~Gwen Rice, GwendolynRice.com
Aperi Animam's voices brings Gen Z, millennial passion to 'L'Orfeo' and Renaissance Music
~Jim Higgins, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Milwaukee Opera Theatre Visits 'The Source' with 'L'Orfeo'
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~David Luhrssen, Shepherd Express
Performances Dates & Times
Thursday, June 9 - 7:30 PM
Friday, June 10 - 7:30 PM
Saturday, June 11 - 7:30 PM
Sunday, June 12 - 2:00 PM
Cast
La Musica: Elizabeth Blood
High Priest: Austin Bare
Orfeo: Jackie Willis
Euridice: Kaisa Herrmann
The Messenger: Jennifer Jakubowski
Speranza: Brett Sweeney
Caronte: Jack Rutter
Proserpina: Xylia-Sophia Conn
​Pluto: David Guzmán
Apollo: Nicole McCarty​
Creative Team
Stage Director: Danny Brylow
Music Director: Jackie Willis
Early Music Advisor: Dr. William Hudson
Costume Designer: Demian Glas
Lighting Designer: Jim Padovano
Lighting/Projection Assistance: Mike Van Dreser
Stage Manager: Sarah Acker
General Factotum: Amy Kaczmarowski
Chorus
Austin Bare, Xylia-Sophia Conn, Danielle Gedemer, David Guzmán, Deme Hellwig, Jennifer Jakubowski,
Jack Rutter, Katelynn Rutter, Amelia Spierer, Brett Sweeney, Lee Stovall, Coltyn VonDeylen
Orchestra
Harpsichord: Fumi Nishikiori-Nakayama
Viola da Gamba: Charlie Rasmussen
Theorbo: Danur Kvilhaug
Violin: Heidi Barker
Sackbut: Adam Dillon
Recorder/Cornetto: Chris Armijo
Tickets on Sale Now!
Order Online!
General/Adult: $32
Student/Artist: $20
L'Orfeo will be presented in English with projected English titles.
The performance will run approximately two hours, plus one fifteen minute intermission.
Parking: Free street parking is available near the church.
Safety:  In alignment with local and national guidance from the Milwaukee Health Department and the CDC,
​we will not be requiring proof of vaccination or a negative test result for attendance. 
Mask wearing in the venue will be required for all audience members.
Just Added: Two Pre-Show Talks!
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"Contextualizing Orfeo"
Friday, June 10 - 6:30 PM

Dr. William Hudson - who served as Early Music Advisor to L'Orfeo - presents the first of two
free pre-show lectures, one hour prior to the
​Friday performance.


Dr. Hudson's talk will focus on L'Orfeo's status as one of the earliest operas and how it differs stylistically from the operas which followed in its footsteps.
"The Art of Operatic Translation"
Sunday, June 12 - 1:00 PM

And one hour prior to the closing performance,
L'Orfeo Stage Director and MOT Company Manager
Danny Brylow will discuss the joys and pitfalls of creating a new English singing translation of Monteverdi and Striggio's masterpiece.
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Join us for one or both of these FREE Pre-Show Talks!
L'Orfeo Artwork: Andrea Klohn

It's the final installment of The Aria Project!

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This month, dazzling mezzo-soprano Colleen Brooks sings
"Non…vous n’avez jamais" from Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots.
Directed by Catie O'Donnell
From Colleen...
My COVID pandemic experience was ... awful, beautiful, terrifying, and magical. I had made the decision to cut back from full time to part time work just prior to the onset of the pandemic as I realized that I wanted to spend more time with my family, and wow did the universe grant that wish in spades! ha!  It wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but for every moment that Larry and I were missing our friends, cleaning up yet another potty training disaster, or screaming at the top of our lungs for the kids to stop yelling at each other (that makes sense, right?) there was always an equal, 
matching moment of crying in a parking lot exchanging Xmas gifts with family because I had actually forgotten how much I had missed them, building forts and hiking through snowy forests, and having exciting scavenger hunts for suffixes during evening story time. ha!

The scene you are about to view includes the sentiments expressed above and specifically focuses on the unshakable desire for adult interaction that results when one is constantly surrounded by a storm of kid craziness. Through sheer will power, I often blindly committed myself to telling Larry a story, when I knew that it was, in fact, impossible that he would actually be able to follow it. Likewise, the loving kindness that Larry exerted in pretending that he had actually listened and followed the story was equally heroic. 
​
My most sincere thanks to pianist Kayoko Miyazawa, production assistant Moira Shaughnessy, MOT's very own Catie, Danny, and Jill Anna, and my courageous family who let me rope them into this project in exchange for Skittles and a trip to Bounce MKE. Vocal ornamentation was lovingly stolen from the incredible Marilyn Horne. 

Congratulations on surviving whatever the COVID pandemic forced you to face, and we hope you enjoy!

Love,
​Colleen
Explore a translation for "Non...vous n'avez jamais" here!
And in case you missed it, check out the
​previous installments of The Aria Project here!

Help bring this season to life!
Donate Now!
Can’t wait to see you inside, outside and online!

Our season was supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board
with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
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Our Mission

We are Milwaukee’s micro-brewery for opera, proudly producing small batches of high quality, local lyric theatre.
​​We tell stories through music...unconventionally.
Milwaukee Opera Theatre is a registered 501(c)(3) organization.
Mailing Address:
Milwaukee Opera Theatre
PO Box 182 
​
Elm Grove, WI 53122
Jill Anna Ponasik
Producing Artistic Director 
Daniel J. Brylow
Company Manager
​dbrylow@gmail.com
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