Giasone

"Giasone" (Jason) is a Baroque opera composed in 1649 whose plot is loosely based on the story of Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, and the Golden Fleece. The opera contains many comic elements too. Conducted by Stephen Stubbs and Directed by Peter Kazaras.

Friday, February 05, 2010
8:00 PM
Schoenberg Hall
UCLA
Los Angeles, CA United States

West Coast premiere of the 17th century's most popular opera, Giasone, composed by Francisco Cavalli on a libretto by Giacinto Andrea Cicognini, with a new critical edition by Ellen Rosand. Both comical and serious, Giasone is a decidedly unusual take on the Jason and Medea story.

Stephen Stubbs is a lutenist and director and has been a leading figure in the European early music scene for nearly thirty years.

He was born in Seattle and studied harpsichord and composition at the University of Washington where, at the same time, he began to play the lute. He left America after graduation to study the instrument in England and Holland giving his devut concert in London’s Wigmore Hall in 1976. Since 1981 Stubbs has been teaching at the University of the Arts Bremen in Germany where he is currently holding a post as professor. He has performed extensively with his ensembles Tragicomedie and Teatro Lirico, and conducted baroque opera worldwide. He recorded numerous LPs and CDs with famous other Ensembles like Hilliard Ensemble or with Andrew Lawrence-King.

Peter Kazaras is the new Director of Opera at UCLA.

He has been Artistic Director of the Seattle Opera Young Artists Program since 2006, a position he will retain in conjunction with his duties at UCLA. As an operatic tenor, he has performed worldwide, appearing at the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Seattle Opera, New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, San Francisco Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Omaha, Vienna State Opera, L’Opéra National de Paris, L’Opéra de Nice, Grand Théåtre de Genève, New Israeli Opera, Wellington International Festival of the Arts (New Zealand), Canadian Opera Company and others. He has premiered several new works, including Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles (Metropolitan Opera), Bernstein’s A Quiet Place and Tippett’s New Year (Houston Grand Opera) and Picker’s Thérèse Raquin (Dallas Opera, L’Opéra de Montréal, San Diego Opera.) Conductors he has worked with include Leonard Bernstein, James Levine, Daniel Barenboim, James Conlon, John Nelson, Armin Jordan, Asher Fisch and Robert Spano.

Cost: $20, $10 UCLA faculty and staff, $5 for students (with ID)