May 17, 2015 3pm
May 20, 2015 7:30pm
May 23, 2015 7:30pm
Huntington Avenue Theatre


SIR JOHN IN LOVE
By Ralph Vaughan Williams
Libretto by the composer, based on Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor
BOSTON PREMIERE

Sir John in Love is a rare delight: a sly, witty, colorful, and articulate depiction of the Bard in English opera. Vaughan Williams’s version of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor follows the exploits of the immortal Sir John Falstaff—lover, con man, charmer, tawdry knight—whose imagination and egocentricity skewer the best and worst in human nature. Add a pair of innocent young lovers, a handful of hapless suitors, plots, counterplots, and some good-natured revenge for a tale of hijinks in the grand tradition of Shakespearean comedy, set against a score rich with Elizabethan lyrics and melodies, including “Sigh no more, ladies,” and the beloved Fantasia on Greensleeves

“If Odyssey’s sweet-tempered production is typical of what the festival has in store, the Brits should take up residence.”

–The Boston Globe

Cast and Creative

Oren Gradus

Oren Gradus
SIR JOHN FALSTAFF

Michael Chioldi

Michael Chioldi
FORD, A CITIZEN OF WINDSOR

Samuel Levine

Samuel Levine
FENTON, A YOUNG GENTLEMAN OF THE COURT AT WINDSOR

Megan Pachecano

Megan Pachecano
ANNE PAGE, PAGE’S DAUGHTER

Courtney Miller

Courtney Miller
MRS. FORD

Mara Bonde

Mara Bonde
MRS. PAGE

Cindy Sadler

Cindy Sadler
MRS. QUICKLY, HOUSEKEEPER TO DR. CAIUS

George Cordes

George Cordes
PAGE, A CITIZEN OF WINDSOR

Matthew DiBattista

Matthew DiBattista
SIR HUGH EVANS, A WELSH PARSON

Jim Demler

James Demler
PISTOL, A SHARPER ATTENDING ON FALSTAFF

Jonathan Cole

Jonathan Cole
NYM, A SHARPER ATTENDING ON FALSTAFF

Stanley Wilson

Stanley Wilson
BARDOLPH, A SHARPER ATTENDING ON FALSTAFF

Jesse Darden

Jesse Darden
SLENDER, A FOOLISH YOUNG GENTLEMAN

Sumner Thompson

Sumner Thompson
DR. CAIUS, A FRENCH PHYSICIAN

Robert Honeysucker

Robert Honeysucker
HOST OF THE GARTER INN

Ethan Bremner

Ethan Bremner
SHALLOW, A COUNTRY JUSTICE

Jacob Scharfman

Jacob Scharfman
RUGBY, DR. CAIUS’S SERVANT

Andy Papas

Andy Papas
PETER SIMPLE, SLENDER’S SERVANT

Ted Palés

Ted Palés
JOHN, FORD’S SERVANT

Barrett Park

Barratt Park
ROBERT, FORD’S SERVANT

Erin Merceruio Nelson

Erin Merceruio Nelson
JENNY PLUCKPEARS, NYM’S SWEETHEART

Sophie Michaux

Sophie Michaux
ALICE SHORTCAKE, BARDOLPH’S SWEETHEART

Coleman Rose

Coleman Rose
ROBIN, FALSTAFF’S PAGE

Melinda Sullivan

Melinda Sullivan
Choreographer

Joshua Major

Joshua Major
STAGE DIRECTOR

Gil Rose
CONDUCTOR

PRODUCTION TEAM

Stephen Dobay…Scenic Designer
Katherine Stebbins…Costume Designer
Dennis Parichy…Lighting Designer
Rachel Padula Shufelt…Hair and Make-up Designer

Media

Photos and video by Kathy Wittman / Ball Square Films.