Ravinia 2026 Issue 1

MARTINTHEATRE 7:00 PM THURSDAY, JULY 16 , 2026 1:00 PM SATURDAY, JULY 18 , 2026 CHICAGO SYMPHONYORCHESTRA JAMES CONLON, conductor KATHRYN LEWEK, Konstanze SARAH DUFRESNE, Blonde † MILES MYKKANEN, Belmonte BRENTON RYAN, Pedrillo † JEFFERSONMAYS, Pasha Selim, Narrator † MORRIS ROBINSON, Osmin CHICAGO SYMPHONYCHORUS DONALD PALUMBO, director HARRY SILVERSTEIN, stage director MADELEINE SLETTEDAHL, harpsichord / voice coach ADRIENNE BADER, stage manager KATRINA BACHUS, asst. stage manager MOZART Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail ( e Abduction from the Seraglio ) Overture Act One Act Two – – Act Two Act ree Sung in German with English supertitles and English narration Supertitles by Cori Ellison † Ravinia debut Ravinia expresses its appreciation for the generous support of Premier Sponsor The Negaunee Foundation as well as The Seraglio Consortium . e Seraglio Consortium comprises Judy & Merrill Blau, Ms. Barbara G. Greis, and Pamela B. & Russ M. Strobel. WOLFGANGAMADEUSMOZART(1756–1791) Die Entführung aus dem Serail , . Scored for two utes and piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets and two basset horns, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, military drum, triangle, cymbals, bass drum, and strings Mozart grew increasingly frustrated with Salz- burg’s provincialism, his professional standing as a court musician (roughly analogous to a cook or valet), and the sti ing treatment of his employer, Hieronymous Colloredo, the Arch- bishop of Salzburg. At rst distancing himself from the archbishop and, later, rashly demand- ing dismissal from court, Mozart sought fortune and artistic recognition in Vienna. In the spring of , the archbishop assembled a small entou- rage—Mozart included—that arrived in the im- perial city on March . In addition to visiting his ailing father, Colloredo showcased his musi- cians and, by association, his own re ned artis- tic tastes in a string of concerts for the nobility. While Mozart received some supplemental compensation for these performances (despite his claims otherwise), the archbishop did not allow the young Konzertmeister to present his own bene t concerts. is restriction utterly, and somewhat irrationally, embittered Mozart, who itemized the lost potential earnings in a letter to his father, Leopold Mozart, on April : “[ e archbishop] is a great hindrance to me here, for he has done me out at least a hundred ducats, which I could certainly have made by giving a concert in the theater.” Writing four days later to Leopold, Mozart ad- mitted his readiness to leave the archbishop’s service. Finally, on May , the aggravated mu- sician reported to his father: “My patience has been so long tried that at last I am no longer so unfortunate as to be in Salzburg service. Today is a happy day for me.” Mozart detailed the con- icts leading to his resignation and the good- will of “old Madame [Caecilia] Weber”—the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by Joseph Lange (1782–83) RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 77