Music by Franz Lehár
​Libretto by Viktor Léon and Leo Stein
Raphael Schluesselberg, conductor
Stephen Fiol, director
Rebecca Nettl-Fiol, choreographer

Director's Note
"When, in December of 2013, I was asked to direct this production I was pleased to return to an operetta I have directed and performed many times, but when Nathan Gunn said we would be singing in German and creating our own original English translation of the dialogue I was excited.  Creating original
elements encourages new approaches and sparks creativity.  Alek Schrader, a colleague of Nathan’s who performed this operetta with Nathan at the NYC Met this winter, was willing to provide a translation from the original German text. When Alek and I visited by phone I suggested that we would add local and national references to the text for humor, as is often done in European and North American productions.

I began writing to local friends and colleagues asking them to suggest city, state and national issues that might be alluded to in the text that would resonate with our Champaign-Urbana audiences.  Given Illinois’ and the United States’ rich history of contentious politics and policies as well as our midwestern location, there was no shortage of ideas sent our way.

But Alek was unable to find the original German dialogue.  An urgent search ensued. Over four months we contacted the Metropolitan Opera Library, Educational Music Services and opera companies across the United States as well as music colleagues in universities and libraries. Finally Ron and Barbara Hedlund introduced us to David Aronson, a friend of theirs, who has sung for the Vienna Volksoper for 30 years.  The Volksoper provided a copy of the original German script and it reached Alek in time for him to have a translation to us by late summer.

The editing began.  Important to this effort were Ellen Denham, assistant director of this production, Ron Hedlund, Bruno Nettl, Peter Braunfeld, and Nicholas Temperley, who all graciously agreed to read the script and offer suggestions. Although this production aims to return us to a Paris of 1905, we hope you will enjoy the “inside jokes” that suggest our present time and place and allow us to smile at the world that was and the world we know."
- Stephen Fiol

Cast
Hanna - Elizabeth Hoard, Amanda Kasem
Danilo - Edward Brennan, Anson Woodin
Valencienne - Marla Moore, Lara Semetko
Baron Zeta - Adrian Sanchez 
Camille - Aaron Godwin, Cornelius Johnson
Cascada - Chris Anderson
St. Brioche - Aaron Godwin, Cornelius Johnson
Njegus - Bennett Kosma, Thomas Welsh-Huggins
Olga - Emily Alcorn, Rosemary Hamington
Praskowia - Amber Farish, Devin Short
Sylviane - Eleanora Benedict, Ruth Kenney
Kromow - Xiaoyi Zha
Bogdanovich - David Catalano
Pritschitch - Dan Metz
Jou Jou - Claire Swale
Dodo - Ellen Bialek
Margot - Alexandra Hutton
Lolo - Ali Lidbury
Frou Frou - Katherine Long
Coo Clo - Lauren Brooks
Feature Dancers - Alek Tecza, Katja Lindholm
Chorus - Katherine Bokenkamp, Gabriella Ciametti, Alicia Hurtado, Lyle Jackson, Philip Meadows, Dick Schacht, Richard Schonberg, Dennis Sims

Production Team
​Chorus Master - Michael Tilley
Scenic and Media Designer - Moon Jung Kim
Costume Designer - Jess Gersz
Lighting Designer - Aaron Lichamer
Sound Designer - Tyler Knowles
Properties Master - Jose Diaz
Libretto Translation - Alek Shrader
Hair and Makeup Coordinators - Ellen Danforth, Aimee Beach
Musical Preparation - Timothy Accurso, Michael Bagby, Filippo Ciabatti
Stage Manager - Matt Grevan
Technical Director - Jason Huerta
Supertitles - Dennis Helmrich
Photography - Darell Hoemann