From Release:


Rigoletto
The main stage production for the Springfield Regional Opera is Rigoletto by Giuseppi Verdi. SRO will perform the opera in Italian with English supertitles. Rigoletto premiered in 1851, Verdi’s dramatic opera in four acts runs the gamut from jocularity to deep pathos, and contains one of the most famous and recognizable tenor arias of all time. Set at the court of the Duke of Mantua during the Renaissance, the hunch-backed jester Rigoletto is deeply bitter about his own deformity. This bitterness gives an edge to the continual barbs he makes about the party guests of his licentious employer, the Duke; Rigoletto’s only joy in life is his sheltered and innocent daughter Gilda. When the jester finally goes too far, he provokes a fatal curse from his victim, and Gilda pays the ultimate price.


Cast:
The title role of Rigoletto will be played by Richard Todd Payne, a native of Memphis, Tennessee, and an Assistant Professor of Voice at Missouri State University. Dr. Payne has been a guest soloist with the Springfield Symphony. He has previously portrayed the roles of The Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Balthasar in Amahl in the Night Visitors, and Alidoro in Rossini's La Cenerentola with the Springfield Regional Opera. His professional credits include performances with Opera Memphis, Indianapolis Opera, Illinois Opera Theater, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre St. Louis, Chicago Opera Theatre, Champaign-Urbana Symphony, Danville Symphony , Eastern Illinois Symphony, Rockford Symphony, and the Memphis Symphony. He has performed the title roles in Tartuffe, Gianni Schicchi, Rigoletto and The Marriage of Figaro and numerous other roles. He debuted the role of "Daddy King" in the Illionois premier of a dramatic oratorio entitled Make it Plain: The Life of Martin Luther King, Sr. Dr. Payne received his Doctorate and Master's Degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, and holds a Bachelor's degree in Music from Memphis State University.


Local native (Mansfield, Missouri) and internationally renowned tenor, Michael Spyres will be playing Duke of Mantua. Mr. Spyres, who studied at Missouri State, now resides in Vienna, Austria. His engagements over the next two years include Deutsche Oper Berlin (Germany); Dijon Opera (France); Moscow Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra (Russia); St. Margarethen Opera Festival (Austria); De Vlaamse Opera (Belgium); English National Opera (England); Covent Garden (England); and Baden-Baden (Germany) – with Cecilia Bartoli in Rossini’s Otello.




Tara Stafford Frank, soprano, who grew up in Rogersville, plays the role of Gilda (Rigoletto's daughter). She is a graduate of Drury University and received a Master of Voice Performance degree from the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland.


Other supporting roles include Leah Hamilton Jenkins who plays Maddalena, Jon Stinson as Count Monterone, Scott Conner as Sparafucile, Jena Cantrell as Giovanna, Dick McCall as Count Ceprano, Candace Winnie as Countess Ceprano, Sean Spyres as Matteo Borsa, Josh Markley as Marullo, Chris Dietz as A Court Usher and Kelly Osborne as A Page.


Conductor:
Dr. Amy Muchnick will be conducting the Springfield Regional Opera Orchestra. Dr. Muchnick is a Professor of Viola and conductor of the Chamber Orchestra of Missouri State University. She possesses a varied background as violist, conductor and clinician. As a violist, she as appeared throughout the United States and in several European settings as both recitalist and as a member of the Hawthorne String Trio. Born and raised in Connecticut, Dr. Muchnick began her studies at the Hartt School of Music. After joining the Memphis Symphony, she concurrently earned a Master of Music degree in Viola Performance from the University of Memphis. In 1988, she was awarded the prestigious Guarneri String Quartet Fellowship to attend the University of Maryland where she received a Doctoral of Musical Arts degree.


General Director:
The Springfield Regional Opera's General Director is Jane Munson-Berg.


Locations/Dates/Times:
Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts
Friday, October 10, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, October 12, 2008, at 2:00 p.m.


Tickets:
Tickets Range from $20-$50; Student Rush Ticket sales begin 30 minutes prior to each concert and are $10.


Tickets may be purchased by calling the Hall at 836-7678 or by visiting missouristatetix.com


For more information, please call the Springfield Regional Opera office at (417) 863-1960 or visit our website at sropera.com.