Sinfonietta Bel Canto to present Sousa’s ‘El Capitan’ operetta in Downers Grove
On May 16-17, join the Sinfonietta Bel Canto in its production of “El Capitan,” John Philip Sousa’s first successful operetta and most successful stage work.
Performances will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 16, and 4 p.m. Sunday, May 17, at St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, 5739 Dunham Road in Downers Grove. There is plenty of free parking and ample intimate seating.
Tickets are $25, $22 for seniors, or $8 for students. Tickets can be purchased through sinfoniettabelcanto.org with PayPal or credit card or at the box office with cash, check, PayPal, or credit card (unless the concert is sold out). Pick up your online purchased tickets at the box office on the day of the performance.
“El Capitan” is an operetta in three acts by John Philip Sousa, with the libretto by Charles Klein and lyrics by Klein and Tom Frost. The march “El Capitan” was extracted from the opera, and is a standard work both for symphonic and wind bands. “El Capitan” was played by the Sousa Band as they led Admiral Dewey’s victory parade in New York in 1899. This march will be used as an overture in Sinfonietta Bel Canto’s production.
Lead singers for “El Capitan” include Bill Ortega (May 16) and Grant Yosenick (May 17) as Don Medigua, Matthew Stephens as Don Cazarro, Craig Fisher as Pozzo, Dana Vetter (May 16) and Dora Rivera (May 17) as Isabel, Kristin Weed (May 16) and Danielle Miller (May 17) as Estrelda, SarahAnn Sutter as Princess, Carlos Esturain as Verrada, and Matthew Alfrey as Scaramba. Chorus members include Gisele Gover, Audrey Tromp, Sora Williams and Sarah Kelder.
The plot of this comic opera revolves around the rivalry between the disposed Viceroy of Peru Don Luiz Cazzaro and Don Errico Medigua, who was sent to replace him. Cazzaro did not take his dismissal lightly and plots with a band of bravos to regain his position by force. Cazzaro hires the famous Spanish mercenary known as “El Capitan.” But Don Medigua has discovered all this treachery, and knowing “El Capitan” to have been killed, concocts a plot to turn the tables of Cazzaro. Medigua disguises himself as “El Capitan” and convinces a band of locals that he is the true “El Capitan.” Still disguised as “El Capitan,” Don Luiz Cazzaro has no idea that Medigua is leading the revolt that he himself had planned. Medigua then leads these hapless rebels against the Spaniards, taking them in circles until they are too tired to fight. The Spaniards eventually win, and Medigua is revealed as the true Viceroy of Peru. The opera is filled with mistaken identities as Estrelda, the daughter of the former viceroy Cazarro, falls in love with the disguised Medigua, who is already married. The opera ends happily, as the love stories are untangled as Medigua explains to his wife the flirtations with Estrelda.
Sinfonietta Bel Canto has a strong and vital history of supporting operatic and vocal performance in the Western Suburban and Chicago area. Dan D’Andrea is the artistic director and Music Director for Sinfonietta Bel Canto.
SBC operas are staged, accompanied by orchestra, with action, props, costumes. This program is partially supported by grants from the Arts of DuPage, the Downers Grove Rotary Fest, the Illinois Arts Council Agency and National Endowment for the Arts.