— About The Creators —
Tony Boutté: "Twenty-Four is a project that I've had in mind for over seven years, but only recently have I had the time and support to develop it. It's a plot-driven 2-act opera/pastiche based on (and including) all of the iconic 24 Italian songs and Arias, with original scenario and English dialogue. It is scored for six characters, offering flexible casting. It features an original scenario with English dialogue, as well as orchestration for string ensemble with harpsichord. Chas Rader-Shieber was added to the creative team over a year ago, and has been an invaluable resource for developing scenario, dialogue and staging options."
Tony Boutté
Tenor and Professor of Music
(Sam Houston State University)
Tony Boutté was described in a recent issue of Opera News as “possessed of a radiant, communicative tenor.” A native of Louisiana, Boutté made his operatic debut as Orfeo in Stephen Wadsworth’s groundbreaking Monteverdi Cycle with Skylight Opera. He has performed nationally and abroad, including New York, London, Paris, and Los Angeles, and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2006 singing Handel’s Messiah. He has performed and recorded numerous premieres, including John Eaton’s Benjamin Button, Cuomo’s Arjuna’s Dilemma (BAM Next Wave 2008), Michael Gordon’s Chaos, Bang on a Can’s Carbon Copy Building, and In the Penal Colony by Philip Glass. His festival appearances include Salzburg, Aspen, Bard, Schleswig-Holstein, Settembre, Aldeburgh, and Versailles. Boutté’s extensive recording catalog includes works by Lully, Handel, and Bach, as well as multiple world premiere recordings. Recent releases include Fauré songs (Edition Peters Sounds) and music of Boismortier (Centaur) with Arcanum Ensemble. Tony recently recorded Douglas Cuomo’s monodrama Savage Winter, heard at MATCH last season, also performed to critical acclaim at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s 2018 Next Wave Festival. Tony serves on the faculty of Sam Houston State University (TX) and is artistic director of New American Voices, an initiative created to champion new American works for voice through the collaboration of singer and composer. For more information, visit www.tonyboutte.com.
Chas Rader-Shieber
Resident Stage Director
(Curtis Institute of Music)
Chas Rader-Shieber has directed over 30 productions for the Curtis Opera Theatre. His recent work outside of Philadelphia includes new productions of Rusalka for Des Moines Metro Opera; La finta giardiniera for Portland Opera; Artaserse for Pinchgut Opera in Sydney, Australia; and Shining Brow for Arizona Opera. His work has been seen at the opera companies of Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Santa Fe, Houston, Glimmerglass, St. Louis, Boston, Philadelphia, Minnesota, and Vancouver; Staatstheater Darmstadt; the New York City Opera; Washington National Opera; and the Spoleto Festival, among others. Having made a specialty of 17th- and 18th-century operas, Mr. Rader-Shieber has directed Mozart’s Idomeneo, La clemenza di Tito, Die Zauberflöte, Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Il re pastore, and Così fan tutte; Handel’s Giulio Cesare, Semele, Ariodante, Acis and Galatea, Imeneo, Alcina, Xerxes, Partenope, Rinaldo, Tolomeo, and Flavio; and works of Cavalli, Charpentier, Gluck, Monteverdi, and Purcell. Recently, he directed an acclaimed production of Rameau’s Platée for Des Moines Metro Opera. Mr. Rader-Shieber joined the Curtis faculty in 2009.