Opera Innovators Series: Master Class with Brenda Rae, Soprano

Sunday / April 12, 2026 / 3:00 p.m. (EDT)

Boston Lyric Opera + Community Studios

15 Channel Center St

Boston

02210

United States

(View Map)

Admission

FREE

Watch

With dazzling coloratura and an unflinching dramatic commitment to the eclectic roles she brings to life, Brenda Rae continues to triumph on the world’s leading stages. This season is no exception and brings important new challenges at Teatro Real and Palau de la Musica, where she sings the role of Petra in the world premiere of Francisco Coll’s setting of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People. Meanwhile at the Grand Theâtre de Genève, she embraces the surreal world of Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels, making its Swiss premiere. Back home in the United States, Brenda Rae returns to her bel canto roots as Rossini’s Madame Cortese (Il viaggio a Reims) for Opera Philadelphia and as Donizetti’s high-flying, eponymous Marie (La fille du regiment) for Boston Lyric Opera. Recent European highlights include Brenda Rae’s long-awaited return to Oper Frankfurt as Lulu in Nadja Loschky’s new production conducted by Thomas Guggeis, as well as Aminta in Jan Philipp Gloger’s new production of Die schweigsame Frau for Staatsoper Unter den Linden under Christian Thielemann.

Brenda Rae is presented as part of Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s Opera Innovators Series in partnership with the Boston Lyric Opera.

Program Information

Repertoire

MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937): “Arrière! Je réchauffe les bons” (The Fire Aria) from L’Enfant et les sortilèges

Abby Kate Boeschen, soprano*
Brett Hodgdon, piano

IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882–1971): “No word from Tom” from The Rake’s Progress

Laura Santamaria, soprano^^#
Brett Hodgdon, piano

GIUSEPPE VERDI (1813–1901): “Caro nome” from Rigoletto

Elizabeth Marlow, soprano*
Brett Hodgdon, piano

CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK (1714–1787): “L’espoir renaît dans mon âme” from Orphée et Eurydice (1774)

Morgan Mastrangelo, tenor^#
Brett Hodgdon, piano

JULES MASSENET (1842–1912): “Je suis encore tout étourdie” from Manon

Alternate: Brenna McFarland, soprano*
Brett Hodgdon, piano

* Boston Conservatory at Berklee student
^ Boston Conservatory at Berklee alum
^# Boston Lyric Opera Steven and Jane Akin Emerging Artist

Welcome

It is my great joy to welcome you to a new season of opera at Boston Conservatory at Berklee—one defined by daring artistry, powerful storytelling, and the boundless imagination of our community.

Since its founding in 1867, Boston Conservatory has stood at the forefront of artistic progress. It was among the first conservatories in America to admit women and people of color, the first to establish an opera training program, and the first to offer a degree in musical theater. That same spirit of inclusion and innovation continues to shape every note we sing, every story we tell, and every artist we nurture. In the Vocal Arts Department—home to the nation’s oldest and most forward-looking opera training program—students, faculty, and guest artists come together to explore opera not as a museum art, but as a living, breathing language of our time. Across twelve graduate and undergraduate degree paths in performance, pedagogy, and choral artistry, our students honor centuries of tradition while fearlessly charting the future of formal conventions.

That dual commitment—to heritage and to innovation—animates our 2025–2026 mainstage season. We begin with Marc Adamo’s Little Women, whose lyrical intimacy and emotional depth bring new dimension to Alcott’s timeless tale. In February, we enter the shimmering, symbolist world of Debussy’s Impressions de Pelléas et Mélisande, a distilled vision of love and mystery rendered in exquisite color and restraint. And in April, we present the East Coast and collegiate premiere of Time to Act by Laura Kaminsky and Crystal Manich—a bold new work that confronts grief, resilience, and the urgency of social change. After its Boston performances, Time to Act will travel to National Sawdust in Brooklyn to record the work for commercial release—placing our students on a national stage and affirming Boston Conservatory’s leadership in contemporary opera. Our Opera Innovators Series—a partnership with Boston Lyric Opera—deepens this mission, welcoming visionaries such as Riccardo Frizza, Karen Slack, Brenda Rae, and Anne Bogart.

If you find yourself moved by what you hear tonight and wish to be part of our journey, I warmly invite you to reach out—either to our offices or to me personally. We would be delighted to connect with you, to share our vision, and to explore how your partnership can help us continue shaping the future of vocal artistry.

Thank you for your presence, your applause, and your belief in what we do.

Dr. Isai Jess Muñoz
Chair, Vocal Arts Department
Boston Conservatory at Berklee

Texts and Translations

MAURICE RAVEL (1875–1937): “Arrière! Je réchauffe les bons” (The Fire Aria) from L’Enfant et les sortilèges
Libretto by Colette

Arrière!
Back!

Je réchauffe les bons,
I warm the good,

je réchauffe les bons, mais je brûle les méchants.
I warm the good, but I burn the wicked.

Petit barbare imprudent,
You reckless little barbarian,

tu as insulté à tous les Dieux bienveillants
you have insulted all the benevolent Gods

qui tendaient entre le malheur
who stretched the fragile barrier between misfortune

et toi la fragile barrière!
and you!

Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!

Tu as brandi le tisonnier, renversé la bouilloire,
You have brandished the poker, knocked over the kettle,

éparpillé les allumettes, gare!
scattered the matches, watch out!

Gare au Feu dansant!
Watch out for the dancing Fire!

Tu fondrais comme un flocon sur sa langue écarlate!
You would melt like a snowflake on its scarlet tongue!

Ah! Gare! Je réchauffe les bons!
Ah! Watch out! I warm the good!

Gare! Je brûle les méchants! Gare!
Watch out! I burn the wicked! Watch out!

Gare! Ah! Gare à toi!
Watch out! Ah! Watch out for you!

IGOR STRAVINSKY (1882–1971): “No word from Tom” from The Rake’s Progress
Libretto by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman
No word from Tom.
Has love no voice?
Can love not keep a May-time vow in cities?
Fades it as the rose cut for a rich display?
Forgot!
But no! To weep is not enough.
He needs my help.
Love hears, love knows,
Love answers him
across the silent miles and goes.

Quietly, night, oh! find him and caress.
And may thou quiet find his heart,
although it be unkind. Nor may its beat confess,
although I weep, it knows of loneliness.
Guide me, oh moon, chastely
when I depart.
And warmly be the same
he watches without grief or shame.
It can not be thou art a colder moon
upon a colder heart.

My father!
Can I desert him and his devotion
for a love who has deserted me?
No.
My father has strength of purpose,
while Tom is weak and needs
the comfort of a helping hand.
Oh God, protect dear Tom,
support my father and
strengthen my resolve.

I go to him.
Love can not falter, can not desert.
Though it be shunned, or be forgotten,
though it be hurt, if love be love,
it will not alter.
Should I see my love in need,
it shall not matter what he may be.

GIUSEPPI VERDI: “Caro nome che il mio cor” from Rigoletto
Libretto by Francesco Maria Piave

Gualtier Maldè... nome di lui sì amato,
Walter Maldè… name of the man I love,

Ti scolpisci nel core innamorato!
be thou engraved upon my lovesick heart!

Caro nome che il mio cor
Beloved name, the first to move

Festi primo palpitar,
the pulse of love within my heart,

Le delizie dell'amor
of the delights of love,

Mi dei sempre rammentar!
thou shalt remind me ever!

Col pensier il mio desir
In my thoughts, my desire

A te sempre volerà,
will ever fly to thee,

E fin l'ultimo mio sospir,
and my last breath of life

Caro nome, tuo sarà.
shall be, beloved name, of thee.

CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK: “L’espoir renaît dans mon âme” from Orphée et Eurydice (1774)
Libretto by Pierre-Louis Moline

L’espoir renaît dans mon âme
Hope stirs in my soul

pour l’objet qui m’enflamme.
for the object of my passion.

L’Amour accroît ma flamme
Love increases my ardour,

je vais revoir ses appas.
I will again see her charms.

L’enfer en vain nous sépare
In vain does Hades separate us

Les monstres du tartare ne m’épouvantent pas
Tartarus’ monsters do not frighten me

L’Amour accroît ma flamme.
Love increases my ardor.

je vais revoir ses appas.
I will again see her charms.

L’espoir renaît…
Hope stirs…

JULES MASSENET: “Je suis encor tout étourdie” from Manon
Libretto by Philippe Gille and Henri Meilhac

Je suis encor tout étourdie,
I'm still completely dizzy,

je suis encor tout engourdie!
I feel numb all over!

Ah! mon cousin ! Excusez-moi!
Cousin, forgive me!

Excusez un moment d'émoi!
Excuse an emotional moment!

Je suis encor tout étourdie!
I'm still totally dizzy!

Pardonnez à mon bavardage,
Please forgive my chattering,

j'en suis à mon premier voyage!
this is the first trip I've ever taken!

Le coche s'éloignait à peine,
The coach had scarcely started to move

que j'admirais de tous mes yeux,
when I opened my eyes wide, watching

les hameaux, les grands bois, la plaine,
the little villages, the forest, the plain,

les voyageurs jeunes et vieux.
the passengers, both young and old.

Ah! mon cousin, excusez-moi,
Cousin, forgive me,

c'est mon premier voyage!
it's the first time I've travelled!

Je regardais fuir, curieuse,
Attentively, I saw the trees rush by,

les arbres frissonnant au vent!
trembling in the wind.

Et j'oubliais toute joyeuse,
And overwhelmed with delight

que je partais pour le couvent!
I was forgetting that I was leaving for the convent!

Devant tant de choses nouvelles,
Faced with so many new things,

ne riez pas, si je vous dis
don't laugh when I tell you

que je croyais avoir des ailes
that I thought I had wings

et m'envoler en paradis!
and was flying to paradise!

Oui, mon cousin!
Yes, cousin!

Puis, j'eus un moment de tristesse,
Then, I felt a moment of sadness,

je pleurais, je ne sais pourquoi.
I cried, I don't know what about.

L'instant d'après, je le confesse,
Then the very next minute, I confess

je riais, ah, ah, ah,
I was laughing, ha, ha, ha,

Je riais, mais sans savoir pourquoi!
I was laughing, but without knowing why!

Ah, mon cousin, excusez-moi,
Cousin, excuse me,

ah, mon cousin, pardon!
cousin, forgive me!

About the Artists

With dazzling coloratura and an unflinching dramatic commitment to the eclectic roles she brings to life, Brenda Rae continues to triumph on the world’s leading stages. This season is no exception and brings important new challenges at Teatro Real and Palau de la Musica, where she sings the role of Petra in the world premiere of Francisco Coll’s setting of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People. Meanwhile at the Grand Theâtre de Genève, she embraces the surreal world of Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels, making its Swiss premiere. Back home in the United States, Brenda Rae returns to her bel canto roots as Rossini’s Madame Cortese (Il viaggio a Reims) for Opera Philadelphia and as Donizetti’s high-flying, eponymous Marie (La fille du regiment) for Boston Lyric Opera.

Recent European highlights include Brenda Rae’s long-awaited return to Oper Frankfurt as Lulu in Nadja Loschky’s new production conducted by Thomas Guggeis, as well as Aminta in Jan Philipp Gloger’s new production of Die schweigsame Frau for Staatsoper Unter den Linden under Christian Thielemann.

Concert Services Staff

Assistant Director, Concert Services – Luis Herrera
Coordinator, Concert Services – Matthew Carey
Concert Production Manager – Kendall Floyd
Performance Technology Technicians – Sara Pagiaro, Goran Daskalov

Boston Conservatory thanks audience members for viewing this program information online. This paperless program saved 300 sheets of paper, 31 gallons of water, and 27 pounds of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.