The UNCG School of Music has been recognized for years as one of the elite
music institutions in the United States. Fully accredited by the National
Association of Schools of Music since 1938, the School offers the only
comprehensive music program from undergraduate through doctoral study in
both performance and music education in North Carolina. From a total
population of approximately 12,700 university students, the UNCG School of
Music serves over 575 music majors with a full-time faculty and staff of sixty. As
such, the UNCG School of Music ranks among the largest Schools of Music in
the South.
The UNCG School of Music now occupies a new 26 million dollar music building
which is among the finest music facilities in the nation. In fact, the new music
building is the largest academic building on the UNCG Campus. A large music
library with state-of-the-art playback, study and research facilities houses all
music reference materials. Greatly expanded classroom, studio, practice room,
and rehearsal hall spaces are key components of the new structure. Two new
recital halls, a large computer lab, a psychoacoustics lab, electronic music labs,
and recording studio space are additional features of the new facility. In addition,
an enclosed multi-level parking deck adjoins the new music building to serve
students, faculty and concert patrons.
Living in the artistically thriving Greensboro—Winston-Salem—High Point “Triad”
area, students enjoy regular opportunities to attend and perform in concerts
sponsored by such organizations as the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, the
Greensboro Opera Company, and the Eastern Music Festival. In addition,
UNCG students interact first-hand with some of the world’s major artists who
frequently schedule informal discussions, open rehearsals, and master classes at
UNCG.
Costs of attending public universities in North Carolina, both for in-state and out-of-
state students, represent a truly exceptional value in higher education.
For information regarding music as a major or minor field of study, please write:
Dr. John J. Deal, Dean
UNCG School of Music
P.O. Box 26167
Greensboro, North Carolina 27402-6167
(336) 334-5789
On the Web: www.uncg.edu/mus/
Elliott University February 6-9, 2003 Center Auditorium
The Universi ty of North Carolina at Greensboro Opera
Theatre
presents:
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Opera Theatre presents
THE PIRATES of PENZANCE
Words by
W. S. Gilbert
Music by
Sir Arthur Sullivan
World Premiere (in New York): December 31, 1879
First London production: April 3, 1880
________________________________________
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Major-General Stanley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Robert A. Wells
The Pirate King . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aaron Phillips
Samuel, His Lieutenant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Josh Alexander
Frederic, The Pirate Apprentice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ryan Deal
Sergeant of Police . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sidney Outlaw
Mabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Roche+
L. Erin Cates*
Edith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jessica E. Tarter+
Amanda McLaughlin*
Wards of Major-General Stanley
Kate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crystal M. Stroupe+
Ariya Sawadivong*
Isabel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sandra Cotton+
Allison Ring*
Ruth, Pirate Maid-of-all-work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vanessa K. Nickens
+Performing on February 6 & 8 *Performing on February 7 & 9
Ensemble of Pirates, Police, Major-General Stanley’s Wards and Children
Allison Bailey Douglas Christian Matt Lawing Richard Waters
Meredith Covington Chris Critcher Matt Lovett James Wiley
Elena DeAngelis Jeff Danielson Michael Lindsay Harlan Zachery
Yajaira Morales Adrian Dellinger Adrian Lipscomb
Meghann Vaughn Nathan Dellinger Steven Martin Children:
Andre Graham Marc Foster Chris Nickens Jonathan Holley
Frank Beaty Troy Robertson Ruben Rush Joshua Holley
John Bennett Matthew Hayden Chris Swaim Emery Kiefer
Jack Callaham Brian Hege Eric Taylor Chloe Lindeman
Kevin Carswell Jonathan Kuuskoski Michael Van Patter Phillip Wells
Orchestration by arrangement with G. Schirmer, publisher and copyright owner.
PRODUCTION STAFF
Stage Director/Conductor/Choreographer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Holley
Assistant Musical Director/Repetiteur . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carmine Mann
Chorus Master . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Richard Waters
Production Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eric Tysinger
Lighting Consultant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Liebchen
Costumes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eastern Costume Company
Set Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . David Holley
Set Construction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Greensboro Scene Shop
under the management of Triad Stage
Stage Crew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Steven Carrasco
John Christian
Aaron Hammersley
JeMarl Kearney
Matthew Stein
SPECIAL THANKS
Dr. William Carroll Stephanie Cordick
Richard Waters Troy Robertson
William Parrish Greensboro Opera Company
Kathleen McGirty Jan Hullihan
Jeff Gillis Zach Stevenson
Tad Feekes Marlaina Seay
Jerry Kidd Juanita Dunlap
Ericka Stringer WFMY – Channel 2
Tiffany Aumann Carla Copeland-Burns
Michael Van Patter Heather Hamilton
Linda Alexander Rosemary Plybon
Charlie’s Coffee Shop
(be sure to visit during intermission!)
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Opera Theatre
presents
Otto Nicolai’s
The Merry Wives of Windsor
April 3 and 4, 7:30 pm · April 6, 2:00 pm
Aycock Auditorium
Jessica E. Tarter (Edith) is a Senior Music Education major originally from Ripon, CA. Ms.
Tarter won first place in the 2002 NC NATS auditions, and she appeared last Fall as the
soprano soloist for György Orban’s Missa Nona. She is a member of the UNCG Women’s
Choir and has performed in the ensembles of UNCG Opera Theatre’s productions of The
Magic Flute and Cavalleria Rusticana. In addition to these credits, Ms. Tarter has appeared
as a soloist with Ralph Carmichael & his big band in CA.
Richard Waters (Chorus Master) is in his second year of the DMA program in Choral
Conducting at UNCG, where he directs the Men's Glee Club and teaches class voice. He
has previously served as Conductor/Music Director of The Sound of Music and Chorus
Master for The Magic Flute. In addition, he is Assistant Conductor of the Choral Society of
Greensboro. Prior to coming to UNCG, Mr. Waters spent four years as a high school and
middle school choral director, and was Assistant Conductor of Cantate, The Children's
Choir of Central Virginia. He received his MM in Choral Conducting from the Hartt School
of Music and the BM in Music Education from James Madison University.
Robert Wells (Major-General Stanley), in his first year as Assistant Professor of Voice at
UNCG, previously taught on the faculties of SUNY-Fredonia (as Co-Chair of the Voice
Faculty) and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (in the Preparatory
Division). Mr. Wells’ operatic performance credits include leading roles in Le Nozze di
Figaro , The Telephone, Albert Herring, La Serva Padrona, and Così fan tutte. A regular
baritone soloist for the Chautauqua Ballet Company, he has appeared with the Buffalo
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic, the Ars Nova Orchestra, Grand
Rapids Symphony, and the Western New York Chamber Orchestra in works such as
Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Mozart’s C-minor Mass, Handel’s
Messiah and Judas Maccabaeus, and the St. John Passion and Christmas Oratorio of J. S.
Bach, under such conductors as Joel Revzen, Maximiano Valdes, Arie Lipsky, and Karl
Hochreiter. A frequent recitalist and collaborative artist, Mr. Wells’ recent performance of
Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch was rebroadcast as part of the Music of the
Heartlands broadcast concert series. An active choral conductor, Mr. Wells has directed
the Chautauqua Women’s Chorus, is the former Director of the SUNY-Fredonia College
Choir, and was the Director of the Jamestown Choral Society with whom he led
performances of Mozart’s Coronation Mass, the Lobgesang of Mendelsshon, Vaughan
Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, Haydn’s Paukenmesse, and Britten’s Ceremony of Carols.
ORCHESTRA
David Holley, Conductor/Musical Director
Carmine Mann, Assistant Musical Director/Musical Preparation
Violin I Flute
Jane York Emily Orr
Violin II Oboe
Amanda Judd Anna Lampidis
Eve Hubbard**
Viola Clarinet
Alvoy Bryan Luc Jackman
Violoncello Percussion
Meaghan Skogen Jeff Calissi
Bass Piano
Charles Gambetta Carmine Mann
**February 9 only
ARGUMENT
Act I
A rocky seashore on the coast of Cornwall
When Frederic was yet a little boy, his nurse (Ruth) was told to apprentice him to
become a pilot. She heard the word incorrectly and apprenticed him to a band of
pirates, remaining with them as a maid-of-all-work. Although Frederic loathed the
trade to which he had thus been bound, he dutifully served. As the curtain rises,
his indentures are almost up, and he is preparing to leave the band and devote
himself to the extermination of piracy.
He urges the pirates to join him in embracing a more lawful calling, but they
refuse. Ruth, however, wishes to become his wife. Having seen but few women,
he does not know whether she is really as pretty as she says she is, but he finally
consents to take her.
Just then a group of girls, all the wards of Major-General Stanley, happen upon
the scene. Frederic sees their beauty—and Ruth’s plainness—and renounces
her. Of these girls, Mabel takes a particular interest in Frederic, and he in her.
The other girls are seized by the pirates and threatened with immediate marriage.
When the Major-General arrives, he can dissuade the pirates only by a ruse: he
tells them that he is an orphan, and so works upon their sympathies that they let
him and his wards go free.
Intermission
Act II
A ruined chapel by moonlight
During the ensuing days and nights, however, this lie troubles the Major-
General’s conscience: he sits brooding over it at night in a Gothic ruin. He is
consoled by his wards’ sympathy and Frederic’s plan of immediately leading a
band of police against the pirates.
Meanwhile the Pirate King and Ruth appear and beckon to Frederic: they have
discovered that his indentures were to run until his twenty-first birthday, and—as
he was born on February 29—he has really had as yet only five birthdays.
Obeying the dictates of his strong sense of duty, he immediately rejoins the
pirates. He tells them of the deception that has been practiced upon them, and
they seize and bind the Major-General.
However, the police come to the rescue and charge the pirates to yield, “in
Queen Victoria’s name,” and they do. Ruth explains, however that these men
who appear to be lawless pirates are really all “noblemen who have gone wrong,”
and they are pardoned and permitted to marry the Major-General’s wards.
ARTISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES
Josh Alexander (Samuel), baritone, is a member of the UNCG Chorale and is a Junior
Vocal Performance major from Chapel Hill. Josh performed the roles of Balthazar in
UNCG's Amahl and the Night Visitors (2000 and 2002), Vulcan in Orpheus in the
Underworld, and he was a member of the ensemble for Greensboro Opera Company’s
production of Un Ballo in Maschera. Other performing credits include Hero in A Funny
Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, King Herod in Jesus Christ Superstar , and
Jesus in Godspell . On the UNCG campus, Josh serves as captain of the Spartan
Orientation Staff, and is actively involved in Wesley-Luther Campus Ministries.
L. Erin Cates (Mabel), soprano, is a Master’s student in Vocal Performance. Originally
from Raleigh, Erin earned her B.A. in Music from Furman University, where she appeared
as Yum-Yum in The Mikado. UNCG credits include Papagena in The Magic Flute, Mrs.
Darling in Peter Pan, The Fairy Princess and Jack’s Mother in Jack and the Beanstalk, and
singing in the ensemble of Cavalleria Rusticana. Highlights from her musical theater
repertoire include Marian in The Music Man, the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing
Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Sarah in Guys and Dolls .
Sandra Cotton (Isabel) is a first year Master’s student of Vocal Performance from
Stockton, CA. Ms. Cotton received her Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from
Northern Arizona University and her Master’s in German studies at Duke University, where
she is currently a Ph.D. candidate in German literature. She appeared as Mrs. Splinters in
The Tenderland, Annina in La Traviata, Ida in Die Fledermaus, and Amy in Company at
Northern Arizona University.
Ryan Deal (Frederic) is a Vocal Performance major from Statesville. He has won first
place honors in North Carolina and Mid-Atlantic Regional NATS auditions in the classical
and musical theatre division for the past three years. Ryan appeared as Neptune in UNCG
Opera Theatre’s production of Orpheus and the Underworld and in the ensemble of Un
Ballo in Maschera with the Greensboro Opera Company. Last summer Ryan performed in
Children of Eden with the North Carolina Theatre.
Carmine Mann (Assistant Musical Director/Repetiteur) is in her first year as a Master's
student in Accompanying, studying with Dr. Andrew Harley. She graduated from Meredith
College in Raleigh, where she earned her BM in piano. Carmine serves as Assistant
Musical Director for this production of Pirates; she was responsible for preparing all of the
principal singers, as well as accompanying all subsequent rehearsals.
Amanda McLaughlin (Edith) from Lincoln, Maine, is a first year Master’s student of Vocal
Performance and Vocal Pedagogy. Amanda earned her B.A. in Vocal Performance and
Pedagogy from Plymouth State College in New Hampshire. Her performance credits
include the title role in Kiss Me Kate, Countess Charlotte in A Little Night Music, Dana in
Quilters, and the principal role in Godspell. Amanda currently studies voice with Dr. Carla
Lefevre.
Vanessa K. Nickens (Ruth) was born in Berlin, Germany and is currently pursuing her
Master’s degree in Vocal Performance at UNCG. Ms. Nickens received her Bachelor’s
degree in Music and Psychology from Mary Baldwin College, where she performed the
roles of Queen of the Fairies in Iolanthe and Mrs. Bellomy in The Fantasticks. Ms. Nickens
has also appeared in the ensembles of Greensboro Opera Company’s production of La
Bohème and UNCG Opera Theatre’s production of The Magic Flute.
Sidney Outlaw (Sergeant of Police), a native of Brevard, is a bass-baritone who has
performed many roles on the UNCG stage, including Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Melchior
in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Eduardo in Roman Fever, and Mercury in Orpheus in the
Underworld. A Junior Vocal Performance major who has won the North Carolina NATS
competition for three consecutive years, Sidney has appeared in the ensembles of Barber
of Seville and Otello with the Greensboro Opera Company, and last November sang the
role of the Customs Official in that company's La Bohème. Mr. Outlaw was a member of
the Brevard Music Center Chorus in 2000 and 2002 for their productions of Aida and the
Verdi Requiem, respectively, is a member of the Spiritual Renaissance Singers of
Greensboro, and is the bass section leader for Providence Baptist Church Sanctuary Choir.
Aaron Phillips (Pirate King) is a Music Education major originally from Baltimore, MD, and
sings in both in the UNCG Men’s Glee Club and the UNCG Chorale. His performance
credits include Commander Squish in The New Hopeville Comics , Steve Edwards in Babes
in Arms , Snoopy in You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Mr. Wizard in Mr. Wizard and the
Magic Weather Man, the Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance, and the ensemble of UNCG
Opera Theatre’s production of The Magic Flute.
Allison Ring (Isabel) is no stranger to the UNCG stage, as she has appeared in the
ensembles of Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Magic Flute, Cavalleria Rusticana, and
Orpheus and the Underworld. A Junior Vocal Performance major from Sayville, N.Y.,
Allison made her Greensboro Opera Company debut last fall in the ensemble of La
Bohème. In addition to singing, she enjoys golfing and reading.
Sarah Roche (Mabel) is a Sophomore Vocal Performance major originally from
Bloomsbury, NJ. Ms. Roche has performed in UNCG’s productions of Amahl and the Night
Visitors and Cavalleria Rusticana. She appeared as Lady Larkin in Once Upon a Mattress
at Bernards High School, as well as Maria in West Side Story, and General Cartwright in
Guys and Dolls with the Phillipsbury Summer Youth Theatre. In addition to performing,
Sarah devotes time to charity work with “Big Brothers, Big Sisters” and other children’s
foundations.
Ariya L. Sawadivong (Kate) from Asheville, NC, is pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in
Vocal Performance at UNCG, where she is a member of the UNCG Chamber Singers and
Women’s Choir. She has appeared as the soprano soloist for Handel’s Messiah and with
the Asheville Symphony in Rutter’s Requiem. She has performed in the ensembles of La
Bohème, Otello and Die Fledermaus with the Greensboro Opera Company and Amahl and
the Night Visitors, Cavalleria Rusticana, The Magic Flute, and Orpheus in the Underworld
with the UNCG Opera Theatre. A Junior, Ms. Sawadivong has won 2nd place in the NC
NATS auditions the past two years.
Crystal Malulani Stroupe (Kate), a Senior Vocal Performance major, is a Reynolds Merit
Scholar, Cooper Music Scholar, and a Presser Scholar at UNCG. Ms. Stroupe appeared
last Fall in the ensemble of La Bohème with the Greensboro Opera Company, and
Cavalleria Rusticana, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and as a Violin Student/Can-Can
Dancer in Orpheus in the Underworld with the UNCG Opera Theatre. Crystal performed
the soprano solos in Haydn’s The Creation with the Choral Society of Greensboro on its
recent European tour, and won first and second place in the NC NATS auditions in 2002
and 2000, respectively.
