Daughter of the Regiment Performance Page Hero

ON STAGE

The Daughter of the Regiment

Lobero Theatre | Friday, May 2 at 7:30PM & Sunday, May 4 at 2:30PM

Genre: Romantic Comedy
Running time: 2 hours and 30 mins
Language: French with English supertitles
Venue: Lobero Theatre

A girl raised on the battlefield by a rowdy French Regiment falls in love with an enemy peasant boy, in the ultimate bel canto romantic comedy full of melodies and vocal fireworks. Starring Jana McIntyre as Marie, and directed by Pacific Opera Project’s irrepressible Josh Shaw. Tenor Chris Mosz sings the famous aria with the 9 High “C”s in his Opera Santa Barbara debut. Also making their debuts, contralto Emily Geller portrays the Marquise of Berkenfield, and bass Mattia Venni sings the role of the sergeant Sulpice. Kostis Protopapas conducts the Opera Santa Barbara Orchestra and Chorus.

Tickets

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Location

Lobero Theatre
33 E Canon Perdido St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Cast & Credits

DIRECTION

Director:
Josh Shaw

Conductor:
Kostis Protopapas

ARTISTS

Marie:
Jana McIntyre

Tonio:
Chris Mosz

Marquise:
Emily Geller

Sulpice:
Mattia Venni

direction

Stage Director

Named as one of Musical America’s Top 30 Innovators in Classical Music, Josh Shaw is the Founding Artistic Director and CEO of Pacific Opera Project (POP), which has been described as "L.A.'s most exciting new opera company." Over the past twelve seasons, Shaw has directed over 50 productions at POP, including The Rake’s Progress, Ariadne auf Naxos, La Calisto, Tosca: A Moving Production; and La Boheme: AKA “The Hipsters”. A frequent librettist for English updates, his Star Trek inspired Abduction from the Seraglio and Nintendo inspired Magic Flute AKA #SuperFlute have gained national attention and have been produced at multiple companies, shattering attendance records.

Since turning his attention to directing in 2011, Shaw has directed over 100 productions at companies including Opera Santa Barbara, New Orleans Opera, Opera Orlando, Festival Opera, Gulfshore Opera, Intermountain Opera, Salt Marsh Opera, Opera Neo, and Opera in the Heights. His Barber of Seville at Opera Santa Barbara was described as "riotously funny" and "thoroughly amusing from overture to final bow." His work as a director has been described as "brave and unflinching," "ingenious," "relentlessly and adorably rambunctious," and "with enough good comic ideas for at least three productions." As a producer, Shaw has been praised for his "supreme savvy" and "high level of production quality" with "the power to enthrall and captivate audiences."

Recent projects include a new English adaptation of Die Fledermaus at Gulfshore Opera, a ground-breaking production of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta starring “The Blind Soprano” Cristina Jones, and the US Premiere of Vivaldi's Ercole su'l Termodonte. One of the busiest directors during Covid, Shaw directed more than a dozen productions during the pandemic including US staged premieres of Gluck’s La Corona and Il Parnaso Confuso, a drive-in Don Pasquale for Opera Santa Barbara, and an updated Cosi– “Covid fan tutte” set in 2020. Other recent projects include productions of Don Giovanni, La Gazzetta (Rossini), La Traviata, Guillaume Tell, The Mikado, and Tabasco: A Burlesque Opera, a newly rediscovered operetta by G. W. Chadwick, last performed in 1894, which was described as "delightful, packed with humor, and a feast for all the senses" by The New Orleans Advocate. In addition to directing the production, Shaw also wrote a new book and additional lyrics for the project that celebrated the McIlhenney Company’s 150th anniversary.

Beyond the rewrite of Tabasco, Shaw has written several English version libretti including a Wild West setting of Die Lustige Witwe, a contemporary setting of Die Schauspieldirektor, a production of Die Zauberflöte set in the world of 1990s video games, Covid fan tutte, a Star Trek inspired Abduction from the Seraglio, a 1930s Hollywood Fledermaus, and a groundbreaking production of Madama Butterfly sung in Japanese and English, a co-production of POP and Opera in Heights (Houston).

This season, Shaw directs Into the Woods for Intermountain Opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Don Giovanni at Gulfshore Opera, La Rondine at The Southern Illinois Music Festival, The Pirates of Penzance at POP, Falstaff at Salt Marsh Opera, and Tosca at Opera Orlando.

Conductor

Kostis Protopapas was named General Director of Opera Santa Barbara in December 2017, after two-and-a-half seasons as Artistic Director. During his time as Artistic Director and principal conductor, Kostis brought a unified vision to OSB’s musical and production values, strengthening the orchestra and chorus, engaging some of the country’s most promising young directors and singers, building a high-performing production team, and increasing focus on contemporary American opera. As General Director Kostis assembled Team OSB, a group of enthusiastic overachievers with a passion for innovation and the desire to strengthen the company’s bond with the community, who consistently exceed patrons’ expectations for programs, experiences and communications. Performance highlights from Kostis’ tenure include grand opera classics like Madama Butterfly, Manon, and Eugene Onegin as well as contemporary works like Daniel Catan’s Il Postino, the mariachi opera Cruzar la cara de la luna, and Laura Kaminsky’s As One. In the fall of 2022 the Santa Barbara Independent wrote: “From contemporary work to obscurities from the early 19th century, from staple repertoire to surprise elements, OSB continues to raise the bar on what an opera company can and should be, even in Santa Barbara.”

Between March 2020 and June 2021, under Kostis’ leadership Opera Santa Barbara remained active and fully staffed. It was the first performing arts organization in Santa Barbara to offer streaming programming, and one of only two opera companies in California to present three live operas in the 2020-21 season. Additionally, Opera Santa Barbara became an advocacy leader for the reopening of the performing arts, and funded live performances by local musicians through “Operation Eurydice”. For his work during the pandemic, Kostis was listed among the Santa Barbara Independent’s 2021 Local Heroes.

Before coming to Santa Barbara Kostis was the Artistic Director of Tulsa Opera since 2008. He previously was an Assistant Conductor with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera and Santa Fe Opera. At the Lyric Opera of Chicago, he also served as Assistant Chorus Master under Donald Palumbo for two seasons.

Born in Athens, Greece, Kostis Protopapas studied Archaeology and History of Art at the University of Athens before coming to the United States in 1993, on an Onassis Foundation scholarship, to study piano at The Boston Conservatory and conducting at Boston University. He became an American citizen in 2011. He loves living in Santa Barbara, sits on the Board of the Santa Barbara University Club, and enjoys sailing on the Santa Barbara Channel.

artists

Marie

…Jana McIntyre continues to forge a path for herself with her “dancer’s grace, mercurial wit, and vibrant soprano tone” (Opera News), “with movie star looks and the poise to match, she has everything it takes to make it to the top.” (Opera Wire).

She begins the 23/24 season with a return to Opera Santa Barbara for La Divina: The Art of Maria Callas. Additional season engagements include debuts with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra for Carmina Burana and the Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra for their Rodgers and Hammerstein Celebration. She also returns to Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, debuting Adele in their new production of Die Fledermaus and joins the roster of San Francisco Opera for their productions of Innocence (Kaija Saariaho) and Die Zauberflöte.

Last season saw Jana step into the role of Giulia from Rossini’s comic one-act La scala di seta with Opera Santa Barbara and Cinderella with Tulsa Opera for their new production of Sondheim’s Into the Woods. She debuted Carmina Burana with the Santa Barbara Symphony and the Seattle Symphony. Additional concerts included her Carnegie Hall debut with the American Symphony Orchestra in Richard Strauss’ rarely heard Daphne (Title Role) conducted by Music Director Leon Botstein.

Her 2021-2022 season included Jana’s first title role debuts as Semele in Semele in with Opera Santa Barbara as well as Aminta for a new production of Die Schweigsame Frau with Bard SummerScape Festival. Workshop and concerts of recently written music rounded out the season. With the Rally Cat in New York City, she created the role of Marianne in recording and workshop of Aferidan Stephens and Marella Martin Koch’s Elinor and Marianne based on the Jane Austen novel Sense and Sensibility. She also performed in chamber concert with Jerod Impichchaachaaha Tate and Tulsa’s Signature Symphony.

Ms. McIntyre was able to perform through the pandemic singing Norina in Don Pasquale for her hometown debut with Opera Santa Barbara as well as joining the rosters of Palm Beach Opera (Die Zauberflöte) and Tulsa Opera (Rigoletto). She was scheduled to make company debuts with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Canadian Opera Company among other notable returns to theaters which have been postponed/canceled due to the pandemic.

She was recently named a George London Foundation top prize winner as well as a Metropolitan Opera National Council grand finalist. She performed Ännchen in Heart Beat Opera’s new production of Der Freischütz and joined Santa Fe Opera for their workshop of the completed version of M. Butterfly in New York City and for whom she was to return as Sister 1 in Mark Adamo and John Corgliano’s newly commissioned Lord of Cries which was canceled in March of 2020. She also debuted with the Sacramento Philharmonic singing from Così fan tutte and Le nozze di Figaro as Despina and Susanna in their “Mozart Favorites” Concert.

During the 2018-2019 season, Ms. McIntyre reprised the role of The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute with Toledo Opera as well as with Opera Grand Rapids. She also made company debuts with Arizona Opera (Le Nozze di Figaro), Santa Fe Opera (Jenůfa), and with Tulsa Opera singing Zerlina in Don Giovanni as well as Water in Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince for which women held both posts of director and conductor. Additionally, she covered La Fée in Laurent Pelly’s iconic production of Cendrillon at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

In the 2017-2018 season Miss McIntyre performed with the San Francisco Symphony as Pamina and Die Königin der Nacht in selections from Die Zauberflöte at Stern Grove. She also presented the Wolf Italienisches Liederbuch and Strauss’ Brentano Lieder in concerts under the auspices of the San Francisco Opera Center. In New York City, she made her role debut as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with City Lyric Opera and she finished the season as an apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera covering Najade in Tim Albery’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos.

Some career highlights include critical acclaim for her portrayal of Andromède in the American premiere of Ibert’s Persée et Andromède which made the New York Times “Best Classical Music of 2016;” her professional debut as the Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice alongside Anthony Roth Costanzo and Kiera Duffy in an installment of “Orphic Moments” with Brooklyn’s National Sawdust Theater under the baton of Matthew Aucoin; as well as performing in the west coast premiere of Jonathan Scheffer’s Blood on the Dining Room Floor (Rose 1) at age 19.

Additional operatic roles include the “saucy and domineering” (San Francisco Classical Voice) Serpina, in La serva padrona with Merola Opera Program where she also covered Despina (Così fan tutte) and Clorinda (La Cenerentola), Miss Wordsworth (Albert Herring), Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte), La Fée (Cendrillon), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Leïla (Les pêcheurs de perles) Drusilla (L’incoronazione di Poppea), and Señora Grazia in the world premiere workshop of Roger Bourland’s The Dove and the Nightingale. In the Clark Library of Los Angeles, Ms. McIntyre sang as a soprano soloist in James Darrah’s staging of Handel’s L’Allegro, il penseroso, ed il moderato under the musical preparation and direction of Maestro Stephen Stubbs.

Equally at home in concert and recital repertoire as she is on the opera stage, Jana most recently sang the soprano solo in Mozart’s Requiem with Signature Symphony in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 2016 she joined Maestro George Manahan to perform Joaquin Rodrigo’s Cuatro Madrigales Amatorios in concert with the Manhattan Chamber Sinfonia and also sang Mater Gloriosa in Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Manhattan Oratorio Society at St. John the Divine Cathedral. She later performed and recorded Mahler 8 as a part of David Briggs’ organ transcription which was released by Albany Records in 2016.

Miss McIntyre won first prize in the Alan M. and Joan Taub Ades Competition which gave her the opportunity to travel to Buenos Aires to sing a series of concerts at various venues including El Salon Dorado at the Teatro Colón. She is an award winner from the Jensen Foundation, Giulio Gari Foundation, George London Foundation, Art Song Preservation Society, Metropolitan National Council, among others. She is a Richard F. Gold grant recipient from the Shoshana Foundation, and the winner of the Eisenberg-Fried Concerto Competition at Manhattan School of Music.

Jana has been an apprentice with Tulsa Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the Merola Opera Program. She did her academic work at the University of California, Los Angeles in Psychology (B.A.) and Music (B.A.). She received her Masters in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music.

Tonio

Chris Mosz is a native Tulsan. However, his father was born in Budapest, and his mother was a coloratura soprano. Chris grew up listening to music from all over the world in his home. Music and singing are deeply rooted in his European heritage.

Chris found his voice as a boy soprano with the Tulsa Boy Singers. In 2005, Carol Crawford recruited boys from Tulsa Boy Singers for Tulsa Opera’s production of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. The following year, Chris was the understudy to the Little Prince in The Little Prince. In 2007, Chris sang the role of Shepherd Boy in Tulsa Opera’s Tosca. The Tulsa Youth Opera training program and Kostis Protopapas continued to foster Chris’s growth as a budding opera singer.

While at Oklahoma City University, Chris had many leading roles such as George Gibbs in Our Town, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and Le petit vieillard in L'enfant et les sortilèges. During the summers, he furthered his education and training by attending young artist programs and performing roles like Sam Kaplan in Street Scene, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, and Fenton in Falstaff. He made his professional role debut with Tulsa Opera as The Young Collector in A Streetcar Named Desire at the start of 2016.

In 2016, Chris was the recipient of a district Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Then in 2017, Chris attended Seagle Music Colony where he starred as Horatio in the piano world premiere of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Herschel Garfein.

The following summer Chris was a part of Central City Opera's 2018 season. He starred as Damon in Handel's Acis and Galatea directed by Ken Cazan. Chris was also a part of the rest of the season, as well as a scenes program. He was also the recipient of the 2018 Iris Henwood Richards Memorial Award.

In 2019 Chris spent time in his hometown working with Tulsa Opera. He was a part of Don Giovanni, and helped with the Tulsa Youth Opera to usher in a new wave of singers. During the summer he returned to Central City Opera as an apprentice artist. Chris covered the roles of Squeak and the Novice in Billy Budd, he also joined the ensemble of Madama Butterfly. He then moved to London to study at the Royal College of Music. The pandemic brought him back to America where he became a Filstrup Young artist with Tulsa Opera for their 20/21 season. He played the role of Matteo Borsa in Rigoletto in the first live opera in America with Tulsa Opera.

In he his final year at the Royal College of Music in London he covered the The Witch in Hansel und Gretel, and played the role of Bill in Flight by Jonathan Dove. In April of 2022 he played the role of Ernesto in Don Pasquale as a part of Hurn Court Opera's 2022 season. Chris recently graduated from the Royal College of Music with First Class Honours. He then joined Wexford Festival Opera for their 2022 season as Dudo in Armida, and Tito in The Masters. He returned to Wexford this past fall to play the role of Tonio in La fille du régiment."

Soon he will be heading to Colorado to perform Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance with Central City Opera. In the meanwhile he has auditions in New York at the start of the New Year.

Marquise of Berkenfield

Lauded for her "lower extension that has to be heard to be believed," Emily Geller is a contralto based in New York City. A uniquely versatile artist, she has established herself as a performer to watch in opera, new music, and oratorio.

Her recent performances include Mistress Quickly in Falstaff and Zita in Gianni Schicchi with Salt Marsh Opera, Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance with Pacific Opera Project, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Teatro Lirico d’Europa (US Tour). In addition to opera, last season Ms. Geller appeared in numerous concerts, including Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody and Elgar’s The Music Makers with Cappella Cantorum, Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody with the Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City, Handel’s Messiah with Taconic Opera, and a concert at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses House with the Rose Parade. This season’s engagements include a return to Pacific Opera Project as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, the Alto Soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with Taconic Opera, and her role and house debut as the Marquise of Berkenfield in La Fille du Régiment with Opera Company of Middlebury. Her exciting 2025 season includes Ježibaba in Rusalka (TBA), the Marquise of Berkenfield in La fille du régiment (TBA), and Mrs. Cripps in HMS Pinafore (TBA).

Ms. Geller’s 2021-2022 season featured a non-traditional casting as Germont in La traviata with MassOpera at the historic Eustis Estate, and “Gather Together: A Taste for the Season” with Tri-Cities Opera, and Elder Constance in Matthew Aucoin’s Second Nature with Opera Fayetteville. She returned to Newport Classical to Benoit/Alcindoro in La bohème, continuing the exciting casting theme.

Ms. Geller’s 2020-2021 season, canceled due to Covid-19, included Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music with Tri-Cities Opera, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with NJ Association of Verismo Opera, and Florence Pike in Albert Herring with Penn Square Opera.

In the 2019-2020 season, Ms. Geller garnered rave reviews for creating the role of Sylvia, an image-obsessed Hollywood mother, in the world premiere of Chunky in Heat with Experiments in Opera and Contemporaneous as a part of New York Opera Festival. Opera News singled her out for the "layers of complexity" she brought to her character. She also toured the East Coast as Flora (La traviata) with Teatro Lirico d'Europa, including collaborations with Opera New Hampshire and Palmetto Opera. Ms. Geller was also featured as the alto soloist in Handel's Messiah with the MidAtlantic Symphony Orchestra in The Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove, NJ. Additional concert work included “Meeting of the Masters” with the Westchester Oratorio Society presenting works of Bach and Mozart, and “Songs of a Traveler” solo recital at The Long Island Children’s Museum presented by Chamber Players International.

Recent notable concert soloist work includes Mozart’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium, Duruflé’s Requiem, Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, and Handel’s Messiah at companies across the United States.

Ms. Geller performed at Tri-Cities Opera, Opera on the James, St. Petersburg Opera, Opera North, and Natchez Festival of Music. As an audience favorite, Ms. Geller returned to Opera North several times, performing Ma Moss (The Tender Land), Mrs. Jones (Street Scene), Hattie (Kiss Me, Kate), and Oreste (La belle Hélène). After covering Marthe (Faust) at St. Petersburg Opera, she was invited back as a Principal Artist, appearing as Alma Hix and covering Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn (The Music Man). As a two-year Resident Artist with Tri-Cities Opera, she performed Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Mercédès (Carmen), Lola (Cavalleria rusticana), and Ines (Il trovatore).

Sulpice