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Fifty Years of Madison Opera: La Boheme, 1963 (Part 2)

The Wisconsin winter is conducive to reflection, and so it feels right that we continue our series on Madison Opera history today. It perhaps is especially appropriate because it was in December 1962 that plans were busily coming together for Madison Opera’s first fully staged, full length performance of an opera.

Last we left off, the Johnsons had arrived in Madison, the Opera Workshop had been born, and the new ensemble debuted with “A Night in Vienna.” The reviews were encouraging, and a May 28, 1962 profile in The Milwaukee Journal was titled “Opera Sounds New Note in Madison: Roland Johnsons lead renaissance.” The piece opened by stating “The birth–and apparently successful debut–of the Madison Civic Opera Workshop surprised no one more than Mrs. Roland Johnson.” The writer goes on to note that though Arline Johnson had determined to retire temporarily from music after leaving Alabama, the enthusiasm of local singers to venture into operatic repertoire upon her arrival in 1961 made her continuing involvement inevitable. After “A Night in Vienna,” plans had already been laid for a full production of La boheme the next year:

“Next May we plan to do a full length ‘La Boheme,'” [Roland] Johnson said, “and we think we have enough local singers to do a good job. It is terribly familiar and we will do it in English, so it should be a good bridge for reaching the audience for musicals.”

Puccini came knocking sooner than expected. On November 8, 1962, Viola A. Ward wrote to her friends and peers in the community that Madison had determined to launch its own Civic Opera Group, which was to present a fully staged production of La Boheme. She stated that it was imperative to form a supporting guild to sponsor the event: “This is not a money making event as such. If the enthusiastic support of an opera guild can achieve sell-out performances, the project will support itself financially.” She invited guests over for desserts and coffee on November 15th, and it is safe to conclude that on that evening opera in Madison started to look like a sustainable venture, as a Guild was formed with the purposes of:

  1. Personal promotion for this project.
  2. To inspire a group of patrons and guarantors.
  3. To co-ordinate and handle ticket sales and publicity campaign.
  4. Public schools as liason (as the youth are our future public).

The local papers were abuzz. Sets were being built with the cooperation of the Madison Theater Guild. Over 75 local singers, as well as the Madison Symphony Orchestra, were set to perform. And despite the fact that no auditorium in Madison had a pit for the orchestra, a suitable situation was arranged at Madison East High School. The Capital Times wrote in December that “The atmosphere for the initial presentation will be colorful and intimate as though it were being done in France.” The Wisconsin State Journal published an editorial with the headline, “Don’t Miss City’s New Opera.” Tickets for $3, $2, $1.50, and $1 were sold in advance at Manchester’s, Ward-Brodt, Forbes Meagher, Victor, and Monona Grove Music House. A dress rehearsal was broadcast on local radio station WHA the Sunday prior to the premiere, featuring intermission interviews with Roland and Arline Johnson.

Performances of La Boheme took place on January 11 and 12, 1963, at 8:30 PM, with an additional “Matinee for Young People” at 2 PM on January 12. The production was cast as follows:

By all accounts, La Boheme was a huge success. In The Wisconsin State Journal society pages, Louise C. Marston wrote:

It came off with professional finesse before a loyal but critical audience which enjoyed every second of it – and showed it by enthusiastic clapping and a few sophisticated “Bravos” at the right moments. The audience, which filled the rather hard seats of East High School’s auditorium to overflowing, managed to look quite “dressy” despite jillions of boots and galoshes, sensibly donned in view of the night’s heavy snowfall.

Carmen Elsner’s review in The Wisconsin State Journal was equally enthusiastic:

Madison’s fledgling Civic Opera tried its wings Friday night, and its first flight was a delightful one into musical fancy…The music and action had its desired effect – one wanted to cry. But shouted “Bravo” instead. The whole performance, using all home talent and sung in English, was a valiant effort and a good one…But it was Roland Johnson, director of the orchestra, and Mrs. Johnson who masterminded the whole production, and have given this city a budding opera troupe.

And like that, the Opera Workshop of 1961 and 1962 became the Madison Civic Opera, a true company with the goodwill of the city of Madison behind it. Enjoy these photos of the first La Boheme in Madison:

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Keely Futterer

Rosina, The Barber of Seville

Hometown: Dover, AR
Madison Opera Debut: Léontine, The Anonymous Lover (2024)

Recently: Anna Sørenson, Silent Night (Wolf Trap Opera); Musetta, La Bohème; Armida, Rinaldo; Charlene, Service Provider; Jazz Trio, Trouble in Tahiti (Minnesota Opera);
Armida, Rinaldo; Vanderdendur, Candide; Angostura, Tenor Overboard (Glimmerglass Festival);
Rodelinda, Rodelinda (Hudson Hall); Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte (Opera Memphis);

Upcoming: Marcellina, Leonora (Chicago Opera Theater);
Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte (Virginia Opera); Verdi Requiem (Erie Philharmonic)


Weston Hurt

Baritone, Opera in the Park

Hometown: Spring, TX
Madison Opera Debut: Germont, La Traviata (2019)

Recently: Sharpless, Madama Butterfly (Houston Grand Opera, New Orleans Opera);
Britten's War Requiem (Opera Roanoke); Scarpia, Tosca (Arizona Opera);
Germont, La Traviata (Lyric Opera of Kansas City); Nabucco, Nabucco (Seattle Opera)

Upcoming: Rigoletto, Rigoletto (English National Opera)

Joshua Sanders

Tenor, Opera in the Park

Hometown: Plain, WI
Madison Opera Debut: Giuseppe, La Traviata (2011)
Also at MO: Tobias Ragg, Sweeney Todd; Inmate, Dead Man Walking; Ensemble, Acis and Galatea

Recently: Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville; Romeo, Romeo and Juliet (Opera San José);
Tamino, The Magic Flute (Nashville Opera); Sam Clay, The Amazing Adventures of
Kavalier & Clay
workshop (Metropolitan Opera)

Upcoming:  Victorin, Die tote Stadt (Boston Symphony Orchestra)

Sachie Ueshima, wearing black in front of a stone staircase.
Sachie Ueshima

Zerlina, Don Giovanni

Hometown: Wakayama City, Japan
Madison Opera Debut
Former Madison Opera Studio Artist

Recently: Cio-Cio-San, Madama Butterfly (Virginia Opera); Violetta, La Traviata;
Krystyna Zywulska, Two Remain (UW-Madison)

Upcoming: Cio-Cio-San, Madama Butterfly (Kentucky Opera)


David Walton

Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville

Hometown: Twin Cities, MN
Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2017
Also at MO: Belmonte, The Abduction from the Seraglio

Recently: Ferrando, Così fan tutte (Princeton Festival); Ramiro, La Cenerentola (Toledo Opera);
Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville (North Carolina Opera);
Frederic, The Pirates of Penzance (Opera San Antonio); Filippo, Deceit Outwitted (Sarasota Opera)

Upcoming: Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville (Minnesota Opera); Candide, Candide (South Florida Symphony);
Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni (Livermore Valley Opera)

Emily Fons

Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2012
Also at MO: Opera in the Park 2024; Rosina, The Barber of Seville (2015)

Recently: Nicklausse, The Tales of Hoffmann (Palm Beach Opera);
Rosina, The Barber of Seville (Cincinnati Opera, Santa Fe Opera);
Woman, Ghosts (San Diego Opera); Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro (Canadian Opera Company);
Hansel, Hansel and Gretel (New Orleans Opera)

Upcoming: Princess Irene, Tamerlano (Haymarket Opera)


Kanopy Dance

María de Buenos Aires

Hometown: Madison, WI
Madison Opera Debut: Acis & Galatea (2013)
Recently at MO: Florencia en el Amazonas; Trouble in Tahiti / The Seven Deadly Sins


Lisa Thurrell

Choreographer, María de Buenos Aires

Hometown: Madison, WI
Madison Opera Debut: Florencia en el Amazonas (2018)
Recently at MO: The Anonymous Lover, Trouble in Tahiti / The Seven Deadly Sins
Co-Artistic Director of Kanopy Dance

Recently: Director and Choreographer, Winter Fantasia: Reimagined; Polaris + Revelations;
The Next Generation;
Confluence: A Prelude; Graham: In Her Voice; Shades of Light (Kanopy Dance);
Choreographer, Bluebeard's Castle (Des Moines Metro Opera)

Upcoming: Director and Choreographer, Inner Passages (Kanopy Dance);
Choreographer, The Cunning Little Vixen (Des Moines Metro Opera)


Kirstin Chávez

El Duende, María de Buenos Aires

Hometown: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / Albuquerque, NM
Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2006

Recently: Glenda, We Shall Not Be Moved (Pittsburgh Opera); Verdi's Requiem (Pensacola Symphony);
Carlotta de Obragón, Zorro (Fort Worth Opera); Suzuki, Madama Butterfly (Dallas Opera);
Mozart's Requiem (Paducah Symphony); Carmen, Carmen (St. Barth's Music Festival)

Upcoming: Carmen, Carmen (Kentucky Symphony Orchestra); Carmen, Carmen Inside Out (the film)


Ryan Nash

Sergeant, The Barber of Seville

Hometown: Longmeadow, MA
Madison Opera Debut
Madison Opera Studio Artist

Recently: Gherardo, Gianni Schicchi (American Gothic Performing Arts Festival); Frederic, The Pirates of Penzance (Madison Savoyards);
Mercurio, La Calisto; Gastone, La Traviata; Albert Herring, Albert Herring (UW Madison Opera);
Rinuccio, Gianni Schicchi (La Musica Lirica USA); Alfred, Die Fledermaus; Monostatos, The Magic Flute (UMass Opera)

Upcoming: Tamino, The Magic Flute (Opera for the Young)


John DeMain

Conductor: Opera in the Park, The Barber of Seville, Don Giovanni

Hometown: Youngstown, OH
Madison Opera Debut: The Magic Flute (1995)
Recently at MO: Candide, Tosca, Trouble in Tahiti / The Seven Deadly Sins, Salome


Rebecca Herman

Stage Director, The Barber of Seville

Hometown: Austin, TX
Madison Opera Debut

Recently: Carmen (Austin Opera); Don Giovanni (Opera Colorado, Cincinnati Opera);
Un Cuento de Luces y Sonmbras
(LOLA); La Bohème (Glimmerglass Opera);
The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Utah Opera, Calgary Opera)

Upcoming: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Washington National Opera); New Opera Workshop, We Might be Struck by Lighting (LOLA)


Fenlon Lamb

Stage Director, Don Giovanni

Hometown: Princeton, NJ
Madison Opera Debut:
La Traviata (2019)
Recently at MO: Lucia di Lammermoor

Recently: La Fanciulla del West (Central City Opera); The Elixir of Love, Così fan tutte (Palm Beach Opera);
The Marriage of Figaro
(Portland Opera); Carmen (Opera Santa Barbara);
Charlie Parker's Yardbird (Dayton Opera); La Bohème (New Orleans Opera); Mozart and Salieri (Opera San Jose)


Kamna Gupta

Conductor, María de Buenos Aires

Hometown: St. Genis-de-Puilly, France
Madison Opera Debut

Recently: The Pearl Fishers (Vancouver Opera); In Our Daughter's Eyes (LA Opera / BMP);
Number Our Days (Perelman Performing Arts Center); Glory Denied (Cleveland Institute of Music);
Rocking Horse Winner (Tapestry Opera); The Rip Van Winkles (Glimmerglass Festival)

Upcoming: Ruinous Gods (Spoleto Festival USA)


Frances Rabalais

Stage Director, María de Buenos Aires

Hometown: New Orleans, LA
Madison Opera Debut: Tosca (2023)

Recently: Macbeth (Resonance Works); Hansel and Gretel (Opera Birmingham);
The Magic Flute (North Carolina Opera); The Barber of Seville (Pensacola Opera)


Charles Eaton

Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni

Hometown: Storrs, CT
Madison Opera Debut: Moralès, Carmen (2017)
Recently at MO: Count Malcolm, A Little Night Music

Recently: Ponchel, Silent Night; Brother, The Seven Deadly Sins (Wolf Trap Opera); Schaunard, La Bohème;
Sam, Trouble in Tahiti; Masetto, Don Giovanni; Argante, Rinaldo (Minnesota Opera);
Fedorov, The Christmas Spider (Opéra Louisiane, Marble City Opera);
English Ambassador, The Ghosts of Versailles (Royal Opera Versailles);
Marcello, La Bohème (Imperial Symphony Orchestra)

Upcoming: Mercutio, Romeo & Juliet (Minnesota Opera);
Silvio, Pagliacci (Pensacola Opera)


Jeremiah Sanders

Leporello, Don Giovanni

Hometown: Marian, IN
Madison Opera Debut

Recently: Marcello, La Bohème; Beau, Service Provider; Jazz Trio, Trouble in Tahiti;
Hortensius, The Daughter of the Regiment; Mago, Rinaldo;
Abilenes's Father / Bryce's Father, Edward Tulane (Minnesota Opera);
Colline, La Bohème (Lyric Opera of the North); Lackey, Ariadne auf Naxos (Lakes Area Music Festival);
Charlie, Three Decembers (South Bend Lyric Opera); The Villains, The Tales of Hoffmann (Union Avenue Opera)


Ashraf Sewailam

The Commendatore, Don Giovanni

Hometown: Cairo, Egypt / San Francisco, CA
Madison Opera Debut:
Captain, Florencia en el Amazonas (2018)

Recently: Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville (Des Moines Metro Opera, Seattle Opera);
Dr. Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro (New Orleans Opera); Sparafucile, Rigoletto (Opera San Jose);
Giove, La Calisto (Opera Memphis)

Upcoming: Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville (Lyric Opera of Kansas City);
Dulcamara, The Elixir of Love (New Orleans Opera)


Andrew Stenson

Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni

Hometown: Rochester, MN
Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2021

Recently: Pong, Turandot (Metropolitan Opera); Bill, Flight; The Steersman, The Flying Dutchman (Dallas Opera);
Pang, Turandot (Houston Grand Opera); Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni (Seattle Opera);
Nemorino, The Elixir of Love (Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Florentine Opera);
Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville (Opera Colorado, Garsington Opera);
Nikolaus Sprink, Silent Night; Tamino, The Magic Flute (Utah Opera);
Fadinard, The Italian Straw Hat (Minnesota Opera); Danny Chen, An American Soldier (Opera Theatre of St. Louis)

Headshot of Hailey Cohen
Hailey Cohen

Berta, The Barber of Seville

Hometown: Edgemont, NY
Madison Opera Debut: Dorothée, The Anonymous Lover (2024)
Also with MO: Paquette, Candide
Madison Opera Studio Artist

Recently: Zita, Gianni Schicchi (Finger Lakes Opera); Hattie, American Gothical (Cedar Rapids Opera);
Sally, The Boy Who Wanted to be a Robot; K., Would You Eat Me? (Thompson Street Opera)


Lifan Deng

Fiorello, The Barber of Seville
Masetto, Don Giovanni

Hometown: Shenzhen, China
Madison Opera Debut
Madison Opera Studio Artist

Recently: Voce 2, Il Nostro Posto nel Mondo (Thompson Street Opera Company);
The Police Agent / Mr. Kofner, The Consul (Third Eye Ensemble);
Don Alfonso, Così fan tutte; Kaiser Overall, Der Kaiser von Atlantis (Northwestern Opera Theater);
Old Adam Goodheart, Ruddigore; Carpenter's Mate, H.M.S. Pinafore (The Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company);
Olin Brett, The Music Man (Metropolis Performing Arts Centre)

Upcoming: Papageno, The Magic Flute (Opera for the Young)


Laureano Quant

El Payador, María de Buenos Aires

Hometown: Barranquilla, Colombia
Madison Opera Debut

Recently: Schaunard, La Bohème (Wolf Trap Opera); Foreman, Jenufa; Dancaïre, Carmen;
Count of Lerma, Don Carlo (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Escamillo, Le tragedie de Carmen;
Guglielmo, Così fan tutte (The Opera Next Door); Betto, Gianni Schicchi (Ópera de Colombia);
Demetrius, A Midsummer Night's Dream; Captain / Ragotsky, Candide (Orquestra Filarmónica de Bogotà)

Upcoming: Belcore, The Elixir of Love (New Orleans Opera);
Bill, Aufsteig und Fall der Stadt Mahgonny (Staatsoper Stuttgart)


Kelly Guerra

María, María de Buenos Aires

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Madison Opera Debut

Recently: María, María de Buenos Aires (Kentucky Opera); Lupita, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna;
Carlotta de Obragón, Zorro (Opera Santa Barbara); Renata, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (West Edge Opera);
Rosina, The Barber of Seville (Princeton Festival); Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Scalia/Ginsburg (Chautauqua Opera);
Luisa Fernanda, Luisa Fernanda (Opera Hispánica, Opera Williamsburg)

Upcoming: Una Niña, Ainadamar (Metropolitan Opera); Jo, Little Women (Fort Worth Opera);
Isabella, L'Italiana in Algeri (Opera in the Heights); Mrs. Fox, Fantastic Mr. Fox (Opera Omaha)


Alex Taylor

Don Basilio, The Barber of Seville

Hometown: Beloit, WI
Madison Opera Debut: Mother, The Seven Deadly Sins (2023)

Recently: Green Shirt Guy, Mel Rides the Bus Alone (Pittsburgh Opera);
Sarastro, The Magic Flute; Dr. Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro (Carnegie Mellon University)


Levi Hernandez

Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville

Hometown: El Paso, TX
Madison Opera Debut: Papageno, The Magic Flute (2006)
Recent at MO: Alvaro, Florencia en el Amazonas; Opera in the Park 2018

Recently: Diego Rivera, El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego (Opera Omaha);
Tonio, Pagliacci (Hawaii Opera Theatre); Dandini, La Cenerentola (Boston Lyric Opera);
Peter, Hansel and Gretel (Opera San Antonio); Lescaut, Manon Lescaut (North Carolina Opera)

Upcoming: Lescaut, Manon Lescaut (Washington National Opera); Benoit/Alcindoro, La Bohème (Lyric Opera of Chicago);
Alvaro, Florencia en el Amazonas (North Carolina Opera)


Benjamin Taylor

Figaro, The Barber of Seville

Hometown: Waldorf, MD
Madison Opera Debut:
Silvio, Pagliacci (2018)

Recently: Bello, La Fanciulla del West (Bayerische Staatsoper); Moralès, Carmen (Metropolitan Opera);
Guglielmo, Così fan tutte (Princeton Symphony); Jan Nyman, Breaking the Waves (Detroit Opera);
Silvio, Pagliacci (Austin Opera)

Upcoming: Marcello, La Bohème (Arizona Opera); Jake, Porgy and Bess (Washington National Opera);
Schaunard, La Bohème (Charleston Opera Theater)


Katerina Burton

Donna Anna, Don Giovanni

Hometown: Ocean City, MD
Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2024

Recently: Mimì, La Bohème; Verna/Young Lovely/Evelyn, Fire Shut Up in My Bones (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); JFK: The Last Speech
(National Symphony Orchestra); Britten’s War Requiem (Strathmore Music Center);
Russian Chamber Art Society; Postclassical Ensemble Concert (The Kennedy Center); Girlfriend 2, Blue;
Micaëla, Carmen (Washington National Opera); Alice Ford, Falstaff (Aspen Music Festival);