George Antheil’s sparkling opera Venus in Africa (1954), with a libretto by Michael Dyne, is an exotic romance set in a hotel in North Africa amidst black market intrigue and lovers’ quarrels. Self-styled enfant terrible of modern music, Antheil was born in Trenton, New Jersey in 1900 and became an integral part of the avant-garden salon set in Paris during the 1920s, where he was known for his dissonant pieces glorifying the age of the machine. This outlandish American composer, whose works are only now beginning to receive widespread recognition, was considered an innovator in weaving jazz and popular music into his opera scores.
STAFF
Set Design Charles Townsend Wittreich, Jr.
Costume Design Marianne Powell-Parker
Lighting Design Stephen Petrilli
Puppetry and Exotic Dance Soliton
Musical Direction by John Yaffé
Rehearsal Accompanists Pei Wen Chen & Noby Ishida
Musical Preparation Christopher Fecteau, Jennifer S. Peterson
Puppet by Chris Burney
Stage Manager Francys Olivia Burch
Electrician Michael Anthony
Set Constructed by David Duwell
Lighting Crew Ted Bannigan, Ann-Marie Brady, Danielle Maul
Graphics Cabot
Public Relations Suzanne L. Ford
Photography Elaine Criscione
Movement Coach Fran Kirmser
CAST
Yvonne (Elizabeth Keusch)
Charles (Christopher Schumann)
Venus (Ann Hoyt)
Peddler (David W. Jackson)
Innkeeper (Michael Reder)
Dancers (Ayla Yavin, Melissa Ngirailemesang)
Magician/Puppetmaster (Danny Katz)
Café Patron (Michael Anthony)
ORCHESTRA
Flute/Piccolo (Michael Laderman)
Oboe (Joan Dawidziak)
Clarinet (David Gresham)
Bassoon (Monica Ellis)
French Horn (Tim McCarthy)
Trumpet (Steve Bohall)
Trombone (Mike Seltzer)
Timpani (David Cox)
Percussion (Gregory Beyer)
Piano/Harpischord (Pei Wen Chen, Noby Ishida)
Violin I (Patrisa Tommasini, Evija Ozolins)
Violin II (Sageun Han, Andrea Oey)
Viola (Georg Whetstone, Brian Lang)
Cello (Chagit Glaser, Peri Mauer)
Bass (Laurence Goldman, Miles Cowan)
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Greg Trupiano for Casting Service
Chris Burney & Second Stage
Alan Buchman and the Salon Theatre
Julia Chu, Esq., Prudential Securities
John Creech, Production and Design, Richard Johnson, Chairman of Theater Dept., Rob Monaco, Carole Caprio, Anne Keebough, Suffolk County Community College, It’s A Jungle Out There Gift Shop
This production was made possible in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the arts (a state agency), the Cornelius N. Bliss Memorial Fund, the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Edith Meiser Foundation, the Nancy Quinn Fund through ART/NY, Judith Randal Foundation, Spector Family Foundation, the Virgil Thomson Foundation, Times Mirror and Prudential Securities Matching Gifts Program, and our generous patrons.
A special thanks to the 92nd StreetY School of Music
Mark Riggleman, Director
Venus In Africa presented by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc. agents in the United States for Weintraub Music Company, publisher and copyright owner.
