Category: Opera

Curtis Announces Expansion of Conducting Program, Providing Unparalleled Training for Emerging Conductors

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Yannick Nézet-Séguin to Oversee Expanded Program as Head of Conducting

Acclaimed Conductor James Ross (’89) Appointed as Director of Orchestral Studies

Press Contacts:
Patricia K. Johnson | patricia.johnson@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3190
Ryan Scott Lathan | ryan.lathan@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3145

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PHILADELPHIA, PA—April 17, 2024—The Curtis Institute of Music is thrilled to announce that it will expand the scope of the school’s conducting program, creating a training program designed to provide the most promising young conductors with one-of-a-kind conducting mentorship in opera and symphonic repertoire. Renowned conducting pedagogue James Ross (’89), who has helped guide Curtis students in the art of orchestral playing and conducting for the last two school years, will join the faculty as Director of Orchestral Studies, starting in the 2024–25 school year.

As part of this appointment, celebrated conductor and current Curtis faculty member Yannick Nézet-Séguin will become the school’s Head of Conducting. Mr. Nézet-Séguin will oversee the full range of the school’s newly expanded conducting program and work individually with the conducting fellows in operatic and symphonic repertoire. Curtis’s enhanced conducting program will include a thoughtful emphasis on the art of operatic conducting, as well as orchestral—a rarity among conservatory conducting programs—and is patterned on Mr. Nézet-Séguin’s own singular career as music and artistic director of The Philadelphia Orchestra and music director of the Metropolitan Opera. Curtis’s program aspires to develop conductors with a similar dexterity in both areas, and provide them with the skills, experience, and confidence to build rich and varied careers.

In addition to receiving coaching specifically geared to opera conducting from Mr. Nézet-Séguin, Curtis’s conducting fellows will gain crucial experience in working with the school’s acclaimed voice and opera department under the guidance of Miloš Repický, the Hirsig Family Chair in Vocal Studies and principal opera coach.

“The expansion of Curtis’s conducting program is exciting for the future of leadership in our field,” says Mr. Nézet-Séguin. “The idea that Curtis will help create conductors who are equally at home in the worlds of both operatic and orchestral conducting—as I am—is unique in this country. These two worlds, so different in format, are woven together by the common acts of singing, shaping, and reacting,” he continues.

Curtis also will increase the number of conducting fellows from two to three, and lengthen the duration of the program from two to three years. All of these changes will be in place at the start of the 2024–25 academic year—Curtis’s recently-announced centennial, when the school celebrates 100 years of training the most exceptional musicians.

“Curtis is continually looking for ways to provide our students with the skills and experience to be at the forefront of classical music for years to come.” Says Roberto Díaz, president and CEO of Curtis. “By reimagining what conducting training looks like, we hope to inspire and empower our artists to shape not only their careers, but our art form,” he continues.

“Curtis has been a vital influence in my life since 1987 when I first entered the conducting program fresh from an active career as a horn player. It has been a lifelong source of friendships, colleagues, decent upbeats, and essential thinking behind good music-making,” says Mr. Ross. “What a joy for me now to return to this special world at Rittenhouse Square and to be asked to shape a next generation of inventive musicians in tandem with Yannick Nézet-Séguin as we explore this art form we love, what it means to our world today and tomorrow, and how we can make music truly come alive for everyone,” he continues.

Mr. Ross is well known for his expertise in orchestral training: he is the founding orchestra director of the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, where he oversees all artistic and educational activities during the orchestra’s annual summer residency and served as professor at the University of Maryland from 2001 to 2017. For the last two academic years, Mr. Ross has been helping the Curtis orchestra establish strong roots together and encouraging their artistry to grow and flourish.  For three weeks this past September, Mr. Ross worked with Curtis’s students developing trust in their own ability to learn music quickly and meaningfully—skills they will rely on their entire careers. In ample demand as a conductor in his own right, Mr. Ross will maintain his position as music director of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra.

For the last century, Curtis’s conducting graduates—which include Teddy Abrams (’08), Leonard Bernstein (’41), Alan Gilbert (’92), Miguel Harth-Bedoya (’91), Sarah Hicks (’99), Sarah Ioannides (’98), Paavo Järvi (’88), Vinay Parameswaran (’13), Robert Spano (’85), Michael Stern (’86), Kensho Watanabe (’13), and Barbara Yahr (’86)—have changed the classical music landscape. With this expanded conducting program, Curtis hopes to empower its graduates to further shape the direction of the orchestral and opera fields.

Curtis Institute of Music is grateful to Rita and the late Gustave Hauser, whose visionary generosity first established the Rita E. and Gustave M. Hauser Chair in Conducting Studies, which supports appearances by Curtis Symphony Orchestra guest conductors each year. Rita Hauser’s commitment to the future of conducting then established the Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellowships in 2013, held by Curtis’s conducting fellows. An investment from Mrs. Hauser in 2024 is underwriting the Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellowship program expansion, which begins in the 2024–25 academic year.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin is music and artistic director of The Philadelphia Orchestra, music director of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain, and in September 2018, began his tenure as music director of the Metropolitan Opera. Widely recognized for his musicianship, dedication, and charisma, Mr. Nézet-Séguin has established himself as a musical leader of the highest caliber and one of the most exciting talents of his generation. His highly collaborative style, deeply rooted musical curiosity, boundless enthusiasm, and fresh approach to programming have been heralded by audiences and critics alike.

Mr. Nézet-Séguin has appeared with most of the world’s leading orchestras. He enjoys close collaborations with the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra of Europe. He is honorary conductor of the Rotterdam Philharmonic after serving as its music director from 2008 to 2018; and was principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic from 2008 to 2014. He has appeared repeatedly at the BBC Proms and many European and North American festivals, among them Edinburgh, Grafenegg, Lanaudière, Lucerne, Mostly Mozart, Salzburg, Saratoga, and Vail. He has conducted annually at the Metropolitan Opera since 2009, and has led productions at Teatro alla Scala in Milan; the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London; Netherlands Opera; and the Vienna State Opera. He records for Deutsche Grammophon.

A native of Montreal, Mr. Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at the Conservatoire de music du Québec. He continued his studies with renowned conductor Carlo Maria Giulini, and also studied choral conducting with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College. His honors include Musical America’s Artist of the Year (2016), the Royal Philharmonic Society Award, Canada’s National Arts Centre Award, and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres du Québec. He holds honorary doctorates from multiple institutions, including the University of Québec in Montreal, Westminster Choir College, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Curtis Institute of Music, where he has served on the faculty as mentor conductor since 2013.

James Ross is a native of Boston, an improviser, a horn-blower, a dogged questioner of concert rituals, a man who likes to move, a phrase-shaper, and a firm believer in the humanizing impact of classical music on the lives of those it touches. Fueled by these traits, Mr. Ross is in his sixth season as music director of the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra. He has led the National Youth Orchestra of the USA as orchestra director since its founding in 2013 and taught conducting at the Juilliard School since 2011 and at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 2022. He served as professor and director of orchestral activities at the University of Maryland for 16 years and was also music director of the Orquesta Simfònica del Vallès in Barcelona, Spain. Mr. Ross’s principal conducting teachers were Kurt Masur, Otto-Werner Mueller, Seiji Ozawa, and Leonard Bernstein. He was artistic director of the National Orchestral Institute (NOI) at the University of Maryland from 2002 to 2012 where his leadership helped served as an impetus for change in the orchestral landscape of our country.

Mr. Ross is internationally recognized for his work advancing the future of orchestras through cross-genre collaborations especially with choreographer and MacArthur Fellow Liz Lerman, polymath designer-director Doug Fitch, and video artist Tim McLoraine. In 2019, he led inaugural courses of the Cuban American Youth Orchestra and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra’s RCO Young. He wakes up every day imagining a creative re-boot for classical music. He loves art that is new no matter when it was written. He loves concerts that tell an inner story. And he loves helping conductors and orchestras find their own singular communal voices.

About the Curtis Institute of Music
At Curtis, the world’s most talented young musicians develop into exceptional artists, creators, and innovators. With a tuition-free foundation, Curtis is a unique environment for teaching and learning. A small school by design, students realize their artistic potential through intensive, individualized study with the most renowned, sought-after faculty. Animated by a learn-by-doing philosophy, Curtis students share their music with audiences through more than 100 performances each year, including solo and chamber recitals, orchestral concerts, and opera—all free or at an affordable cost—offering audiences unique opportunities to participate in pivotal moments in these young musicians’ careers. Curtis students experience a close connection to the greatest artists and organizations in classical music, and innovative initiatives that integrate new technologies and encourage entrepreneurship—all within a historic campus in the heart of culturally rich Philadelphia. In this diverse, collaborative community, Curtis’s extraordinary artists challenge, support, and inspire one another—continuing an unparalleled 100-year legacy of musicians who have led, and will lead, classical music into a thriving, equitable, and multidimensional future. Learn more at Curtis.edu.

Photo of Micah Gleason, Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow, by David DeBalko. Photo of Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra by David DeBalko. Photo of Benoit Gauthier, Rita E. Hauser Conducting Fellow, by Margo Reed. Portrait of James Ross by P.J. Barbour. Archival photo of Leonard Bernstein (’41) conducting the Curtis Symphony Orchestra celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Curtis Institute of Music by Neil Benson.

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Meet the Student: Q&A with Bass Morgan-Andrew King

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Māori bass Morgan-Andrew King, from Waikato, New Zealand, stars as the Parson, Badger, and Harašta in Curtis Opera Theatre’s innovative new production of Leoš Janáček’s operatic masterpiece, The Cunning Little Vixen, May 3 and 5 at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. He entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2023 and studies in the opera program with Jack Li Vigni. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Mr. King is the Margaret Aull Wynne and Milly E. Wynne Fellow.

 

 

What inspired you to pursue a career in classical music and opera?
My singing journey is rooted in my indigenous Māori culture and history in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Singing has been a constant part of my life, especially within the traditional customs, protocols, and events of Māori culture. These cultural and daily practices have led me to grasp hold of my own cultural values and stories, enabling me to share these stories with the next generation. These experiences led me to opera, where I could not only use my voice to communicate stories of a country’s history and stories but also share my own Māori history and stories. I felt confidence in other Māori opera singers, such as Inia Te Wiata and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, to pursue this path, and so I hope to inspire the next generation of Māori singers to pursue this pathway so that they may use their voice to share their own, and the people’s stories.

Tell us about the characters you play in the opera. What have been the most rewarding and/or challenging aspects of learning these roles and Janáček’s opera?
In Janàček’s opera, I play the characters Badger, Parson, and Harašta. The Badger is shown as ‘greedy,’ with him acting against the Vixen. However, nature has its karma on the Badger, with the Vixen then kicking out the Badger and living in his home. The Parson remembers the struggle of being good and passionate as he recounts his youth to the Vixen. He expresses to us that despite his hardships and life, one must ‘always remember to be a good person.’ Harašta, on the other hand, sings inspired folk tunes from Czech culture. Although robust, he is the one to take the life of the Vixen. Within this act, Harašta shows the audience how precious life is by how suddenly it can end. Overall, through Janáček’s opera, I was able to explore the idea of how precious life is and how one can live to be good.

Watch a clip of Mr. King performing the role of Jay in the world premiere of composer Marco A. Jimenez and librettist John de los Santos’ opera A Manic Proposal with the Mostly Modern Opera Orchestra at the Arthur Zankel Music Center at Skidmore College on June 18, 2023. 

How did you hear about Curtis, and what excites you the most about continuing your vocal studies here?
Being at Curtis has allowed me to explore my own voice and to hone my technical and musical skills needed to pursue a career in opera. I was honored to meet Giacchino Li Vigni, a well-renowned bel canto teacher who sits on the vocal faculty at Curtis. With his expertise, the vocal faculty, and the resources from Curtis, I was able to gain a position in the Frankfurt Opera Studio. I am very excited to start this position after the academic year as I become one of the first Māori graduates from Curtis.

Photo credits: Headshot of Morgan-Andrew King courtesy of the artist. Performance image of Mr. King courtesy of the Otago Daily Times; Gerard O’Brien. Curtis Opera Theatre’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias (L-R): Kylie Kreucher, Nathan Schludecker (Le Directeur), Hongrui Ren (Monsieur Lacouf), Morgan-Andrew King (Monsieur Presto), Gabiel Feldt, and Evan Gray (Le Gendarme); Ashley E. Smith/Wide Eyed Studios.

Curtis Opera Theatre Presents Leoš Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, May 2–5

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Press Contacts:
Patricia K. Johnson | patricia.johnson@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3190
Ryan Scott Lathan | ryan.lathan@curtis.edu | (215) 717-3145

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PHILADELPHIA, PA—April 11, 2024—The 2023–24 Curtis Opera Theatre series concludes with one of the most vivid and colorful operatic works of the 20th century, Leoš Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater on May 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m. and May 4 and 5 at 3:00 p.m. Widely acclaimed director and playwright John Matsumoto Giampietro, associate director of the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory and a member of the Curtis Opera Theatre’s dramatic faculty, leads a cast of rising young opera stars accompanied by members of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Curtis alumnus Vinay Parameswaran (Conducting ’13).

This innovative new production, featuring a collaboration with the talented young singers of the Philadelphia Boys and Girls Choirs, places the opera in a world of magical realism, in a fusion between the forest and a contemporary rehearsal studio. Led by a plucky heroine, Janáček’s poetic parable celebrates the eternal cycle of life and death as it spins a comical yet bittersweet tale of Vixen Sharp Ears. Captured by a forest gamekeeper, the mischievous young fox cub grows up to become a strong, independent vixen, escaping into the wild, where she encounters a world full of possibilities. Janáček’s stirring adaptation of the beloved serialized novella Liška Bystrouška by Czech writer and poet Rudolf Těsnohlídek features a lushly orchestrated, folk-infused score bursting with boundless invention and an imaginative array of dazzling colors, as it depicts the cycle of life, the vitality of youth and love and the truth of nature.

“It’s such a privilege to be working on this masterpiece of 20th-century opera, almost exactly 100 years after its premiere in Brno,” says director John Matsumoto Giampietro. “This opera explores the profound connection we have with Nature [and] how humans, the animal world, and our environment are all woven together into the fabric of existence. It highlights the similar journeys we all take from birth to death. This opera is both heart-building and heartbreaking. It touches on the deep experiences of life, love, and loss.

“Our production takes a special approach to highlight these elements of the piece. We are exploring the themes of the opera through the ideas of Spaces, Memory, and Return. Our relationship with Spaces is a shared one. Nature isn’t ‘outside.’ Our ‘inner’ lives are not separate or removed from Nature. This is reflected in our set, our playing area: a fused, shared place where the interior co-exists with the forest.

“We are exploring the idea of Return as coming back to a place of renewal and change as nature does through seasons and generations. And finally, Memory, a form of Return. Our production frames the action as a memory play. The story of the Vixen and all the opera’s characters, human and animal, all connect to individual or shared memories of life, loss, and renewal.”

Internationally recognized for his energetic presence, imaginative programming, and compelling musicianship, Vinay Parameswaran is one of the most exciting and versatile young conductors on the podium today. Last seen by Philadelphia audiences conducting Curtis Opera Theatre’s 2013 production of Gaetano Donizetti’s bel canto comedy, The Elixir of Love (L’elisir d’amore), Mr. Parameswaran returns to the podium and his alma mater to conduct members of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra and the remarkable cast of this striking new production performed in Czech with English supertitles.

Curtis Opera Theatre’s The Cunning Little Vixen features an elegant set by Barrymore Award-winning theater and opera set designer Alexis Distler, with atmospheric lighting design by Kate Ashton, heightening the drama of the libretto, evoking the wonder of the forest, and capturing the emotional core of the piece. Award-winning visual artist and costume designer Ashley Soliman and hair and makeup designer Brittany Rappise bring to life the playful energy of these unforgettable creature characters through color and silhouette. Together with visionary director John Matsumoto Giampietro, the creative team enhances the beauty and poignancy of Janáček’s classic and explores the connection between the human and animal worlds and the life force behind nature that carries us all.

TICKETS
Single tickets for The Cunning Little Vixen start at $19 and can be purchased at the Ensemble Arts Philly Box Office, EnsembleArtsPhilly.org, or (215) 893-1999.

2024–25 Season
Subscriptions for Curtis Institute of Music 2024–25 season, Great to Groundbreaking, celebrating the school’s 100th anniversary, are now on sale. The flexible Choose Your Own subscription option offers 25% off ticket prices when purchasing tickets to two or more performances. For the 2024–25 season, Curtis is also offering a Season Pass, with access to all events in 2024–25 for one flat rate of $279. Each Season Pass is valid for one best-available ticket to each paid season performance. To order a subscription, visit Curtis.edu/100, call (215) 893-7902, or email tickets@curtis.edu.

Curtis Opera Theatre’s bold and visionary 2024–25 series launches with the East Coast premiere of The Comet / Poppea by George Lewis and Claudio Monteverdi on November 1 and 2 at 7 p.m. and November 3 at 2 p.m. at Philadelphia’s historic 23rd Street Armory. The series continues with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s comic masterpiece, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), on February 27 and 28 at 7 p.m. and March 1 and 2 at 2 p.m. at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. The series concludes with Leonard Bernstein’s outrageous, philosophical operetta Candide on April 11 at 7 p.m. and April 13 at 2 p.m. at the Forrest Theatre.

Single tickets for the 2024–25 season start at $24 and will be available on May 7.

Curtis Opera Theatre
Through imaginative productions and extraordinary musicianship, the promising young artists of Curtis Opera Theatre work alongside renowned conductors, directors, and designers to present audiences with fresh and passionate performances from across the operatic repertoire. With the visionary leadership of Eric Owens and Miloš Repický, Curtis’s voice and opera students are cast regularly throughout the season, providing a unique level of performance experience to draw upon throughout their careers with top opera companies across the United States and Europe, including La Scala, Covent Garden, the Vienna Staatsoper, Houston Grand Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera.

About the Curtis Institute of Music
At Curtis, the world’s most talented young musicians develop into exceptional artists, creators, and innovators. With a tuition-free foundation, Curtis is a unique environment for teaching and learning. A small school by design, students realize their artistic potential through intensive, individualized study with the most renowned, sought-after faculty. Animated by a learn-by-doing philosophy, Curtis students share their music with audiences through more than 100 performances each year, including solo and chamber recitals, orchestral concerts, and opera—all free or at an affordable cost—offering audiences unique opportunities to participate in pivotal moments in these young musicians’ careers. Curtis students experience a close connection to the greatest artists and organizations in classical music, and innovative initiatives that integrate new technologies and encourage entrepreneurship—all within an historic campus in the heart of culturally rich Philadelphia. In this diverse, collaborative community, Curtis’s extraordinary artists challenge, support, and inspire one another—continuing an unparalleled 100-year legacy of musicians who have led, and will lead, classical music into a thriving, equitable, and multidimensional future. Learn more at Curtis.edu.

 

CURTIS OPERA THEATRE: THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN
Music and libretto by Leoš Janáček
Based on the serialized novella Liška Bystrouška by Rudolf Těsnohlídek
Featuring members of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra

May 2, 2024 | Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
May 3, 2024 | Friday at 7:30 p.m.
May 4, 2024 | Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
May 5, 2024 | Sunday at 3:00 p.m.
Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center, 300 S. Broad Street

Click HERE for more information.

Vinay Parameswaran (’13), conductor
John Matsumoto Giampietro, stage director
Alexis Distler, scenic designer
Kate Ashton, lighting designer
Ashley Soliman, costume designer
Brittany Rappise, hair and makeup designer

CAST 

May 2, 4 May 3, 5
Vixen Sharp Ears Sarah Fleiss Juliette Tacchino
Fox Gold Stripe Emily Damasco Kylie Kreucher
Forester Evan Gray Nathan Schludecker
Forester’s Wife/Owl Katie Trigg Katie Trigg
Parson/Badger Robert Frazier Morgan-Andrew King
Schoolmaster/Mosquito Landry Allen Jackson Allen
Harašta Morgan-Andrew King Robert Frazier
Lapák Kate Li Kate Li
Chocholka (Hen) Judy Zhuo Judy Zhuo
Rooster/Jay Shikta Mukherjee Shikta Mukherjee
Woodpecker Dalia Medovnikov Dalia Medovnikov
Pepík Juliet Rand Juliet Rand
Frantík Maya Mor Mitrani Maya Mor Mitrani
Pásek Yulin Yan Yulin Yan
Paní Pasková Shikta Mukherjee Shikta Mukherjee

 

Members of the Philadelphia Boys and Girls Choirs will perform the roles of Cricket, Grasshopper, Young Frog, and Young Vixen.

Chorus: Full Cast, Sam Higgins, Emilie Kealani, Hongrui Ren, Judah Taylor, and Erik Tofte

Children’s Chorus: The Philadelphia Boys and Girls Choir

Fully staged production with members of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, sung in Czech with English supertitles by Paula Kennedy.

Lead underwriters for The Cunning Little Vixen include Linda E. Johnson and Bruce Ratner, John H. McFadden and Lisa D. Kabnick, and Mark and Robin Rubenstein.

The Curtis Opera Theatre is generously supported by the Ernestine Bacon Cairns Trust, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, and the Wyncote Foundation.

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Interview with Vinay Parameswaran (’13) Conductor of “The Cunning Little Vixen”

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Internationally recognized for his energetic presence, imaginative programming, and compelling musicianship, Vinay Parameswaran (’13) is one of the most exciting and versatile young conductors on the podium today. Last seen by Philadelphia audiences conducting Curtis Opera Theatre’s 2013 production of Gaetano Donizetti’s bel canto comedy, The Elixir of Love (L’elisir d’amore), Mr. Parameswaran returns to the podium and his alma mater this spring to conduct Leoš Janáček’s 20th-century operatic masterpiece, The Cunning Little Vixen.

 

 

What do you believe are the most striking aspects of Janáček’s score, and are there any particular moments throughout that really resonate with you?
I’ve had kind of a long incubation period with this piece for over ten years now. I was a conducting student in 2011, just trying to survive and make sure I didn’t mess up. I think this was the big task for me at the time, and I knew I loved it back then. I felt so lucky that my first project when I joined the Cleveland Orchestra was Janáček’s Vixen. They had done it there a few years prior, and they brought the production back and took it on tour to Europe. Miloš [Repický] was part of that project. It was great to reconnect with him as well. Franz Welser-Möst in Cleveland loves Janáček and is really close to the Czech repertoire. So, watching him shape the piece was a great learning experience for me. I feel very blessed that I could [conduct] it twice this spring. I mean, who gets to do that?

For Janáček, I think it’s very personal. He was 70 when he wrote it. He had a love interest who was much younger than him, and it was not reciprocated. There are elements of his life that come through in this particular opera—the way that the gamekeeper talks about the vixen like a jilted lover; it’s like he’s in love with her. There’s one character, the schoolmaster, who has a big aria in act two, and he’s addressing a woman we never see in the opera named Terynka, but I feel like Janáček is that schoolmaster.

I remember when I listened to this for the first time in 2010 and 2011; I don’t think I knew any other Janáček pieces. I don’t know if I had heard his Sinfonietta or Glagolitic Mass back then, like I know them now. I was really taken by how different it was from anything else I’d listened to. Janáček’s score has an incredibly unique language for the orchestra in terms of Czech composers, and what I love about Czech music is that there’s always this kind of underlying sadness or melancholy. Even when music is “happy,” there’s something underneath that’s pulling at your heart, and you certainly get that in his unique language in this piece. It was really my first foray into this composer’s world, and what a great introduction to his music. It is one of the masterpieces of the early 20th century.

For someone who hasn’t seen this opera before, what do you hope they will glean from the experience?
Vixen often gets misconstrued as only being about animals in the forest. It’s about humanity. It’s how we interact with each other and with nature. What I love about the way John [Matsumoto Giampietro] is approaching it is this whole idea of return and remembering, a beautiful circle of life, and how nature recreates itself every year. For all the human characters, it’s how they reflect on things in the past and how that shapes them.

It’s a piece that has so many relatable aspects to our lives because it’s about our relationship with nature and our relationship with other people in this world. Every year, especially where I live in Wisconsin now, we really get the four seasons, and every spring, there’s kind of this rebirth of the world, and the opera’s about that whole cycle and how nature returns. That’s what makes it such a relatable piece—the way [Janáček] does it through the point of view of these animals, but also these humans, who are very miserable. Towards the end of act three, the gamekeeper shows some empathy and care for his drinking buddy. That’s a poignant moment in the score through this whole journey as they get older and remember when they were young.

Half of act one is just the orchestra alone. There’s very little singing, but it’s some of the most beautiful music that Janáček wrote, and I think his score is very accessible. He really saves some of the best parts for when the orchestra’s playing by itself, but I think that each of the characters is so unique, so special. This piece comes from essentially a comic strip. There are moments of real comedy in this piece, and it’s juxtaposed with the most heartbreaking story at the same time.

What excites you most about returning to your alma mater to conduct?

This is the place where I discovered [The Cunning Little Vixen]. We had our sing-through yesterday, and I told them it was II-J in this very room, where I got to experience it for the first time. We haven’t started the orchestra rehearsals yet, but I can’t wait to get working with them. Three of my students that I had when I was directing the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra are now here at Curtis, and I’ll get to see them again soon. I like how much the cast is embracing this piece, and you can tell how much their love of it is growing day by day. I think it’s going to be the same for the orchestra.

Curtis is such a special place and community. I was in awe of the people I went to school with. I just couldn’t believe that I went to school with people like Ben Beilman (Violin ’12) and the Dover Quartet. I was in the last [Otto-Werner] Mueller studio. Just to be a part of that history. There are lessons I remember from him every day in my career. I’m still in touch with all my dear friends from my time as classmates, and I see them professionally all the time. Having been back for a few days and working with the singers, I realize that it’s not just the talent but also the spirit and the excitement to dive back in. All those things make it such a fulfilling musical process and journey for me.

Watch Maestro Parameswaran conduct the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra in a performance of Benjamin Britten’s Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia.

Can you share any fond memories of your studies here at Curtis?
I didn’t go to music school for my undergrad. I went to Brown and it was definitely a culture shock coming here from a liberal arts university to a tiny school with 160 students. To be honest, I thought I wasn’t going to fit in and make friends because it was so different, but I made some of my best friends in the world here. And obviously, working with Mueller. I really miss him. He was such an incredible teacher. What I’ve always appreciated the most about him was his humility in terms of respect for the composer. I thought his approach was just very human. I always respected that.

Some of my favorite moments were getting together with friends when we had a free hour and reading sonatas or reading lieder for fun because we loved the music. I also met my wife, Sara Huebner (Trumpet ’13), who’s now a veterinarian, at Curtis. I never thought I would marry someone I studied with. It was a really special four years, and when I left Curtis, I got my first job. So, I’m grateful for the experiences and great training in terms of podium time. I felt like what I learned here really served me well in my first ten years out of the profession.

Recently, when I was at CCM [conducting The Cunning Little Vixen], Ayane Kozasa (Viola ’12, String Quartet ’16), who’s one of my best friends and was my classmate, she’s now at CCM [Ms. Kozasa was appointed to the CCM faculty in 2022] and joined Kronos [Quartet]. I just saw her in San Francisco. Every time I see folks at an orchestra somewhere or we’re just passing through a city doing our different things, it’s so special to reconnect with them. All of these people are doing amazing things in the field.

Visit Vinay Parameswaran’s official website and read his full biography HERE.

Interview with Mr. Parameswaran by Ryan Scott Lathan.

 

CURTIS OPERA THEATRE: THE CUNNING LITTLE VIXEN

May 2, 2024 | Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
May 3, 2024 | Friday at 7:30 p.m.
May 4, 2024 | Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
May 5, 2024 | Sunday at 3:00 p.m.

Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center, Broad and Spruce Streets, Philadelphia

Click HERE for more information.

Photo Credits: 1, 2, 5.) Photos of Vinay Parameswaran; Roger Mastroianni. 3.) Gerhard Flekatsch. 4.) Gus Chan. 6.) The 2013 class photo; Mr. Parameswaran is in the first row on the far left. Image courtesy of the Curtis Archives.

Meet the Student: Q&A with Soprano Kylie Kreucher

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Soprano Kylie Kreucher, from Novi, Michigan, stars as Fox Gold Stripe in Curtis Opera Theatre’s exciting production of Leoš Janáček’s operatic masterpiece, The Cunning Little Vixen, May 3 and 5 at the Perelman Theater, Kimmel Center. She entered the Curtis Institute of Music in 2023 and studies in the opera program with Julia Faulkner. All students at Curtis receive merit-based, full-tuition scholarships, and Ms. Kreucher is the Florence R. Laden Memorial Fellow.

 

 

What was that pivotal moment when you knew you wanted to sing opera and pursue a career in classical music?
In my freshman year of high school, I auditioned for my first musical, The Sound of Music, and I was cast as Sister Berthe. I will never forget when I stepped out on stage, and my heart was beating wildly. I had never been more nervous in my life, but I felt an electricity in the air; I felt the magic of live theater, and I fell in love with that feeling of excitement and the fulfillment of storytelling. I knew from there that I wanted to dedicate my life to performance.

In my junior year of high school, I watched the Met HD recording of Carmen, and it completely transformed my view of opera. I had little education on opera growing up and am guilty of thinking it was the stereotype of women and men with breastplates and horns singing high notes. Seeing Elīna Garanča play a multifaceted, complex, and powerful female character like Carmen completely opened my eyes to the world of opera, and from there, I could not stop watching Met HD recordings and falling more and more in love with the art form.

Tell us about Fox Gold Stripe. What have you enjoyed the most about learning this role and Janáček’s opera and embodying the character?
Fox Gold Stripe is very endearing and has been a lot of fun for me to embody. This is my first “pants role,” and it has been very exciting for me to navigate how to portray this different energy. The fox is old-fashioned and polite but is also open-minded and a forward thinker. He cares about protecting the Vixen and is impressed by her independent nature at the same time. He is polite in his approach yet confident in his pursuit; he knows a good thing when he sees it and does not want to let the Vixen get away. I have a love for Czech music as I feel it oozes emotion. This opera, in particular, is a special gem as it reflects the traditions of Czech opera while also embodying the musical trends of the 20th century. 

Watch a clip of Ms. Kreucher performing “Try Me, Good King” by composer Libby Larsen with pianist Sujin Choi at the Music Academy of the West in 2023. 

How did you first learn about Curtis, and what has been your favorite moment on the stage or in the classroom since you arrived?
I first learned about Curtis from my former voice teacher, Martha Sheil, who I began working with my junior year of high school. She is a Curtis alum and would tell me of her amazing experiences at the school. It quickly became my dream to attend Curtis. This next school year, I will be a student at Curtis for the 100th anniversary, and Martha was a student here for the 50th anniversary, so it is a very special full-circle moment. My favorite moment on the stage since I have arrived has been singing Marianne in Der Rosenkavalier under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin in the Spectacular Strauss concert with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra this past fall.

Visit Kylie Kreucher’s official website HERE.

Photos of Ms. Kreucher by Nichole MCH Photography.