Juliet Martone of Plainsboro is only 10 years old but this month she will appear in her fourth opera. She has been seen in “Eugene Onegin” at McCarter Theater produced by the now-defunct Opera Festival of New Jersey, and in New Jersey Opera Theater’s premiere season last year in “Don Giovanni” and “Ba-Ta-Clan.” This year she will be seen in “The Marriage of Figaro.” ##M:[more]##
A rising fifth grade student at Millstone School, Martone plays violin in the school’s chamber orchestra and studies violin with Philip Pugh. She also studies piano with Joyce DeAngelo of Plainsboro. Her dance studies include being in the Junior Ballet Intensive this summer at Princeton Dance Theater in Plainsboro where she enters the beginner pointe class this fall. She recently completed her second year with Green Apple Theater at the Peddie School. Juliet is a former member of the Princeton Girlchoir.
Her parents, Bob and Valerie, met as undergraduates at SUNY Albany. Co-authors of two books about Renaissance literature, they have more book projects on the back burner.
Bob, a neurobiologist and biochemist with Wyeth Research in Monmouth Junction, is also a supernumerary in “The Marriage of Figaro.” He was also seen in last year’s “Don Giovanni” and “Ba-Ta-Clan.”
Valerie, a substitute teacher with the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district, is studying for her certificate in elementary education. She has a master’s degree from Columbia University in medieval renaissance studies and worked in publishing and free lance writing in the past.
Both Juliet and Bob were invited to work with NJOT the past two years by Mike Paluszek, the captain of the supernumeries. Since their rehearsals had only just started, they were not yet sure which scenes they would be seen in. According to Paluszek, Bob will be in most of the scenes in Figaro and Juliet makes her first appearance at the end of Act I.
“I love the stage and appreciate good music,” says Juliet. “I want to be a director and by doing opera, acting, and dance, I am learning good directing advice that I can use in the future.”
In the Chorus:
1995 WW-P Alumna
Stephanie Thomas of West Windsor is in the chorus in Figaro and will be on stage in Acts I and III. Born and raised in West Windsor, she graduated from West Windsor-Plainsboro High School, Class of 1995. A graduate from MIT with both bachelor and master degrees, she is an aerospace engineer with Princeton Satellite Systems.
In high school she played oboe in band, marching band, and orchestra. It was not until her senior year of college that she began singing. A member of Westminster Conservatory chorus and chamber choir, she studies voice with Scott Altman, artistic director of NJOT, and was in the chorus of Il Travatore in May.
She is married to Matt Halpin, also Class of 1995. They met in middle school and began dating in high school — where he played saxophone and French horn. He graduated from Boston University and is an Internet consultant.
As president of the MIT Club of Princeton, she created an alumni event around the opera and close to 30 people will be attending the August 20 performance. Thomas may be seen tossing petals out of a basket during the wedding scenes.
“As a chorus member I have sung music from operas and my favorites include Mozart and Rossini, but it is fun to hear and sing the music in a staged performance,” Thomas says.
The Marriage of Figaro by W.A. Mozart is performed in Italian with English surtitles. Conducted by Michael Recchiuti and directed by David Gabarkewitz. Performances at the Berlind Theater at McCarter are Friday, August 12, 7:30 p.m.; Tuesday, August 16, 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, August 20, 8 p.m. $35 and $45. Visit www.njot.org or call 609-258-2787.
Beaumarchais Symposium. All-day symposium presented by a theater historian, a social historian, and a musicologist. Register. $55. Nassau Club, Princeton. Saturday, August 13, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Beaumarchais Plus. Staged rarities from Paisiello, Milhaud, and Corigliano performed by Summer Institute Singers with piano accompaniment. $25 and $35. Berlind Theater. Saturday and Sunday, August 13 and 14, 8 p.m.
Il Barbiere di Siviglia. The Barber of Seville by G. Rossi introduces the character of Figaro in a comedy full of disguise, plots, and lovers. Italian with English surtitles. $35 and $45. Berlind Theater. Sunday, August 14, 2 p.m.; Wednesday, August 17, 7:30 p.m.; and Thursday, August 18, 8 p.m.
Cherubin. Cherubino by J. Massenet is a comedy exploring the affairs of Cherubino, the amorous page in Le nozze di Figaro. In French with English surtitles. $35 and $45. Berlind Theater. Thursday, August 18, 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, August 21, 2 p.m.
