Sasha Cooke, Mezzo-Soprano / Kirill Kuzmin, PianoJANUARY 8, 2021

Available on demand through February 7, 2021

Who’s Who SASHA COOKE (UNITED STATES)MEZZO-SOPRANO

Two-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke has been called a “luminous standout” (The New

York Times) and “equal parts poise, radiance, and elegant directness” (Opera News). With HGO, she previously performed in Verdi’s Requiem (2017) and as Magnolia Hawks in Show Boat (2013). Cooke has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux, and Gran Teatre del Liceu, among others, and with over 70 symphony orchestras worldwide. Cooke’s scheduled engagements for the 2020–21 season include performing Sylvie in the world premiere of Joby Talbot’s and Gene Scheer’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly at Dallas Opera; Hansel in Hansel and Gretel at the Metropolitan Opera (canceled); Offred in Poul Ruder’s The Handmaid’s Tale at San Francisco Opera (canceled); and concerts including Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Orchestre National de France, Michael Tilson Thomas’s Rilke Songs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (canceled), and Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Minnesota Orchestra (canceled). As a dedicated recitalist, Cooke was presented by Young Concert Artists in her widely acclaimed New York and Washington debuts at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and the Kennedy Center. She has also appeared in recital at Alice Tully Hall, The Wigmore Hall, the Kennedy Center and the 92nd St Y. Her many recent recordings include Sasha Cooke LIVE, a collection of her performances from the Music@Menlo chamber music festival released on the festival’s label. A graduate of Rice University and The Juilliard School, Cooke has given masterclasses throughout the United States and Canada.

KIRILL KUZMIN (RUSSIA)PIANO

HGO Studio alumnus Kirill Kuzmin is currently principal coach at HGO and a music staff member at The Glimmerglass Festival. In the 2019–20 season, Kuzmin served on HGO’s

music staff for productions of Saul and Aida. Previous HGO credits include Eugene Onegin (also as diction coach), Le nozze di Figaro, Faust, Giulio Cesare (also as continuo player), and West Side Story, as well as two of Wagner’s monumental Ring cycle operas, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung. He also served as principal coach for HGO’s world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek’s The House Without a Christmas Tree and was involved in the world premiere of David Hanlon and Stephanie Fleischmann’s After the Storm. In the summer of 2020, he had been engaged to serve as principal coach for the production of Die Feen at the Glimmerglass Festival, but it was canceled due to COVID-19.

Credits Ben Doyle Video Director Molly Dill Producing Director Daniel James Video Producer Michael James Clark Lighting Designer Kristen Burke Stage Manager Jeremy Johnson English Subtitles Dotti Staker Hair & Makeup

Program Giovanna d’Arco

Frauenliebe und -leben Seit ich ihn gesehen Er, der Herrlichste von allen Ich kann’s nicht fassen, nicht glauben Du Ring an meinem Finger Helft mir, ihr Schwestern Süsser Freund, du blickest An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust Nun hast du mir den ersten Schmerz getan

Self-Portrait with Dishevelled Hair *

That Night *

Dear Colleagues *

* World Premiere

Gioacchino Rossini (1792–1868)

Robert Schumann

(1810–1856)

Missy Mazzoli (b.1980) /

Royce Vavrek (b.1983 )

Hilary Purrington (b.1990) /

Mark Campbell (b.1953)

Rene Orth (b.1985) /

Colleen Murphy (b.1954)

Produced in association with Austin Opera

Video Production

Streaming Partner

The entire staff of HGO contributed to the success of this production. For a full listing of the company’s staff, please visit HGO.org/about-us/people.

Performing artists, stage directors, and choreographers are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, the union for opera professionals in the United States.

Stage crew personnel provided by IATSE, Local #51.

Wardrobe personnel provided by Theatrical Wardrobe Union, Local #896.