Ravinia 2021 - Issue 2

LUKE FONTANA (DOYLE) BETSY WOLFE, vocalist Having established herself as a versatile Broadway performer since earning a Bache- lor of Fine Arts in musical theater from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Betsy Wolfe most recently starred on the Great White Way as Jenna Hunterson in the Tony-nominated musical Waitress . She took over that title role shortly after appearing as Cordelia in the Tony-nominated Broadway revival of Falsettos , which recently aired on PBS. Wolfe has also been widely recognized for her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy Hiatt in the off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years . Her other Broadway credits include creating the role of Ellen in Bullets Over Broadway plus appearances as Rosa Bud in The Mystery of Edwin Drood , Mennonette in Everyday Rapture , and Kath- eryn Brawner in 110 in the Shade . She has also been featured in Encores! New York City Center productions of Merrily We Roll Along as Beth and High Button Shoes as Sara Long- street. Wolfe starred in the La Jolla Playhouse world-premiere production of Up Here , and she also created the role of Mary Ann Sin- gleton in American Conservatory Theater’s production of Tales of the City . She appears on cast recordings for many of these shows, as well as Stage Door Canteen and 35MM , and also in the film adaptation of The Last Five Years . Wolfe most recently starred on screen in the holiday film Estella Scrooge: A Christ- mas Carol with a Twist , and she has also been seen in the indie feature First One In and the CBS series Instinct . Wolfe made her Metro- politan Opera debut in 2013 as Ida in a new adaptation of Die Fledermaus , and she has been a guest soloist with over 55 orchestras across the US and internationally, including the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Sym- phony Orchestra, New York Pops, and the BBC Orchestra, as well as at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. Betsy Wolfe made her Ravinia debut in 2014 and tonight makes her first return to the festival. MATT DOYLE, vocalist As Broadway reopens, Matt Doyle is set to star as Jamie in the anticipated Broadway re- vival of Sondheim’s Company , which takes up the gender-flipped production that opened in London’s West End in 2018. His previous Broadway credits include Hanschen in Spring Awakening , Billy Narracott (and understudy- ing Albert Narracott) in War Horse , Hugo Peabody and the TV Quartet in Bye Bye Bird- ie , and Elder Price in The Book of Mormon . In the national tour of Spring Awakening , he took up the role of Melchior. Off-Broadway, Doyle has appeared as Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd , Georgie in A Clockwork Or- ange , Trey Swieskowski in Brooklynite , and the title role of Jasper in Deadland , which he reprised at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seat- tle. His regional credits also include Tony in West Side Story at Paper Mill Playhouse (New Jersey) and Jordy Jr. in Giant at Dallas Theater Center. On screen, Doyle has a recurring role on Gossip Girl as Jonathan, and he has also appeared on episodes of The Code and Private Romeo . In concert, he has performed at Car- negie Hall with the New York Pops as well as with orchestras across the United States, and his solo show has earned popular acclaim across New York City. He also appears on the studio recording of Bare: A Pop Opera starring as Peter Simonds and has a solo al- bum, Uncontrolled . Matt Doyle is making his Ravinia and Chicago Symphony Orchestra debuts. 7:30 PM WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 2021 ZUKERMAN TRIO PINCHAS ZUKERMAN, violin AMANDA FORSYTH, cello SHAI WOSNER, piano BEETHOVEN Ten Variations on “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu” MOZART Violin Sonata, K. 304 (300c) Allegro Tempo di minuetto Pinchas Zukerman; Shai Wosner FAURÉ Elégie Amanda Forsyth; Shai Wosner BRAHMS Scherzo ( Sonatensatz ) Pinchas Zukerman; Shai Wosner BRAHMS Piano Trio No. 2 Allegro Andante con moto Scherzo: Presto Finale: Allegro giocoso There will be no intermission in this program. Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Program Sponsor Howard L. Gottlieb and Barbara G. Greis . PAVILION LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770–1827) Ten Variations on “Ich bin der Schneider Kakadu” from Müller’s Die Schwestern von Prag in G major, op. 121a Few people today recognize the name Wenzel Müller except through Beethoven’s variations for violin, cello, and piano. This obscuri- ty arises from a simple twist of fate: Müller (1767–1835) specialized in the German Sing- spiel, a compositional form no longer in fashion. Müller composed his first work—a Mass—before reaching his teens. On May 1, 1786, at the age of 18, he became Kapellmeis- ter at the Leopoldstadt (or Kasperle) Theater, a popular comic house directed by Karl von Marinelli. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart knew the Leopoldstadt productions well and bor- rowed some of the tried-and-true formulas for Don Giovanni . He also attended a perfor- mance of Müller’s magical Kaspar der Fagot- tist, oder Die Zauberzither ( Caspar the Bas- soonist, or the Magic Zither ) on June 11, 1791, a work “making such a sensation, but which is shoddy stuff.” Nonetheless, Mozart freely adapted some of the enchanting effects in his two-act Singspiel The Magic Flute , produced three months later at theTheater an der Wien. Müller was one of the dominant figures in Viennese comic music theater at the turn of the 19th century, both as conductor and com- poser. Except for a period as Kapellmeister at the German Opera in Prague (1807–13), RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 39