Opera Company of Philadelphia • October 21, 24, 27, 30, 1994 at the Academy of Music
A co-production with Hawaii Opera Theatre
Scenic and Lighting Design: Boyd Ostroff • Director: Robert B. Driver • Costume Design: Richard St. Clair • Hair and Makeup Design: Tom Watson • Conductor: Maurizio Barbacini
Ferrando: George Hogan • Inez: Randi Marrazzo • Leonora: Elena Filipova • Count DiLuna: Gregg Baker • Manrico: Gegam Grigorian /Fabio Armiliato • Azucena: Elisabetta Fiorillo
“This production of Il Trovatore did justice to a difficult work, and the music-making touched a level not usually attained by the opera company.” – Daniel Webster, “An Uncompromising Version Of ‘Il Trovatore’ From OCP”, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/24/1994
“Il Trovatore is one of four new productions by the Opera Company this season, and, Driver pointed out, “for the first time we’re able to bring four new productions into Philadelphia, three of which we’ll create ourselves.” Last season, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, which Driver directed, was the only all-new venture.
Driver spoke in the Center City production center the company moved into a few weeks ago, after it lost donated warehouse space in New Jersey. The center is in the basement of the old Philadelphia Bulletin Building at 30th and Market Streets, where sets for both Il Trovatore and the second production, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, are being created.
“Did you know Trovatore was the first opera ever presented at the Academy of Music? That was in 1857 – and the reviews then raved about the painted backcloths,” said Driver, as he looked at a floor covered with vast black canvases, to which young artists were applying eerie images and shapes. Eight painted drops and several rotating wooden panels make up Il Trovatore’s efficient set. Its light weight is particularly attractive to the company’s co-producer, the Honolulu Opera Theater, given the cost of air freight, Driver said.” -Lesley Valdes, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 9/11/1994
Design Sketches
Backdrop Designs
Production Photos
Shop Photos (taken during refurbishing on 9/20/2001)
Design and Technical Drawings
Production Staff (1994)
Director of Production: Boyd Ostroff • Asst Production Director: Kathryn Havey • Stage Manager: Kent Loika • First Asst Stage Manager: Rachel Tischler • Stage Management Intern: Elizabeth Oberle • Asst Lighting Designer: John S. Hoey • Asst Scenic Designer/Props Coordinator: Anna Cherry • Lighting Intern: Kara O’Grady • Design/Tech Intern: Kristen Maybach • Scenic Artist Intern: Bethany Kelly
Technical Director: John Callahan • Properties Master: Lou Petrucci, Jr • Master Electrician: Michael Hennessy • Asst Electrician: Mark Petrucci • Flyman: Timothy Callahan
Shop Carpenters: John Callahan, Timothy Callahan, Thomas Bowen, Paul Lodes, Matthew McIntyre, Don Ogle
Scenic Artists: Nancy Miller (Charge), Kim McCoy, Linda Mazur, Kristen Maybach, Beth Piatkowski, Jennifer McDonald, Nick Rye, Chris Rooney
Soft Goods Construction: Shima Orans
Scenery Data
- A co-production of Opera Company of Philadelphia and Hawaii Opera Theater
- Built Aug-Sep, 1994 at the Opera Company of Philadelphia Production Center / Bulletin Building
- Scenery construction budget: $86,000 • Actual cost: $81,377 • Total rental income: $45,000 as of 2001
- Load-in crew: 18 • Run Crew: 18 (carpenters, flymen and props only) • 8 hours required for load-in • 1 truck required for shipping
- Sold to Opera Carolina in 2001
Production History
Opera Company of Philadelphia • October 21, 24, 27, 30, 1994 (premiere) at the Academy of Music • Scenic and Lighting Design: Boyd Ostroff • Director: Robert B. Driver • Costume Design: Richard St. Clair • Hair and Makeup Design: Tom Watson • Conductor: Steven Mercurio
Hawaii Opera Theatre • January 26, 27, 28, 31, 1995 • Scenic Design: Boyd Ostroff • Director: Robert B. Driver • Costume Design: Richard St. Clair • Conductor: Mario Ramos
Chattanooga Opera • October, 1996 • Scenic Design: Boyd Ostroff
Baltimore Opera Company • March 15, 19, 21, 22, 23, 1997 • Scenic Design: Boyd Ostroff
Opera Carolina • October 18,20, 21, 2001 • Scenic Design: Boyd Ostroff
Manitoba Opera • November 22, 25, 28, 2008 • Scenic Design: Boyd Ostroff • Director: Michael Cavanaugh • Lighting Design: Scott Henderson • Costume Design: Malabar, Ltd • Conductor: Tyrone Paterson