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ABA Section of Litigation, 2012 ABA Annual Meeting, August 2-5, 2012 Arias of Law: The Rule of Law

at Work in Opera and the Supreme Court

Arias of Law: The Rule of Law at Work in Opera and the Supreme Court

INTRODUCTION
This Presidential Showcase explores the rule of law from the perspectives of both operatic performance and legal practice. Moderated by Craig C. Martin of Jenner & Block LLP, the panel features virtuosi from both disciplines: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli, Jr.; and General Director of Chicagos Lyric Opera (and trained attorney), Anthony Freud. The panels substantive discussion is centered around arias and excerpts from some of operas greatest works, performed by members of the Lyrics Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, including: In diesen heilgen Hallen, from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts The Magic Flute; I Accept Their Verdict, from Benjamin Brittens Billy Budd; Me Voici, from Charles Gounods Faust; When I Went to the Bar, from Gilbert & Sullivans Iolanthe; Tutti accusan le donne, from Mozarts Cos fan tutte; and Ritorna vincitor!, from Giuseppe Verdis Aida.

LAW AND OPERA


It has sometimes been said that lawyers are like opera singers because they love the sound of their own voices. Whether or not this quip rings true, it might serve as the starting point for reflection on the possibility of a deeper relationship between law and opera. Although at first blush the two perhaps appear to be entirely separate areas of human endeavor, they frequently intersect in interesting and significant ways. It is well known, for example, that many members of the United States Supreme Court have a deep passion for opera. This is true especially of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Along with Justice Scalia, she has made appearances in the Washington National Operas production of Richard Strausss Ariadne auf Naxos. She also appeared with Justices Kennedy and Breyer in the Washington National Operas production of Johann Strausss Die Fledermaus. The late Chief Justice Rehnquist was an avid fan of Gilbert and Sullivan operas. The gold stripes on his robe reportedly were inspired by the Lord Chancellors costume used in a local theater companys summer production of Gilbert and Sullivans Iolanthean opera discussed further below. 1 The Chief Justice also cited lines from Gilbert and Sullivan operas in his opinions and elsewhere.2 That there is a relationship between law and opera is also suggested by the fact that so many notable figures in the world of opera began their careers as lawyers. Famous librettists (W.S. Gilbert himself), singers (Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli), and opera directors (panelist Anthony Freud, General Director of Chicagos Lyric Opera) were trained in and/or practiced law before embarking on their careers in opera. Are these simply random examples of a kind of cross-pollination, or might they point to a more significant relationship between law and opera? If the two disciplines are related, how is their relationship to be understood? What might be learned by examining opera and law in relation to one another? This Presidential Showcase inquires into these and other questions by exploring a principle to which the American Bar Association has long been committedthe rule of lawand the role that it plays in both opera and legal practice. As many legal and political theorists have pointed out, the rule of law is a multifaceted concept and cannot easily be reduced to a single definition.3 At the most basic level, the rule of law is commonly regarded as an alternative to the rule of meni.e., subjection to the arbitrary whims of a particular person or ruler.4 The rule of law also requires, or is intimately bound up with, a range of other important ideals and principles, such as: Prepared by Jason Odeshoo, Jenner & Block LLP, with the assistance of Shelly Finkelstein, Podvey Meanor. 2

Freedom of expression and other basic rights Equality and impartiality An independent judiciary Public accountability and transparency A commitment to democratic deliberation5

As will become clear in what follows, inquiring into the rule of law provides the occasion for reflection on these and other fundamental legal and political values.

I.

THE RULE OF LAW AND THE MAGIC FLUTE

Our discussion begins at what might seem an unusual point of departure: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflte). Indeed, because of its spoken dialogue, The Magic Flute is technically not an opera but a singspiel (song play). Premiering in 1791, the last year of Mozarts life, it was his final opera. When he died two months later, at age thirty-five, the work already had enjoyed considerable success. On his deathbed, Mozart is said to have consulted his watch each night to see how far along the performance had progressed. The Magic Flutes plot is unusual to say the least. In one critics assessment, The Magic Flute is certainly a most puzzling opera[:] it is an adventure story with attributes of fairy tale; exotic, ancient mystery religion; folk tales; and politically biased morality play . . . . [T]he tone alters drastically from lighthearted entertainment to a predominantly serious, high-minded symbolic drama, although interspersed with deft touches of comedy. 6 The opera begins with Three Ladies, attendants of the Queen of the Night, saving the fainting Prince Tamino from a huge serpent. 7 After killing the beast, the Ladies linger to admire the unconscious youth. Deciding to leave together rather than allow one of them the treat of staying to protect him, they exit to inform the Queen of his arrival. The birdcatcher Papageno bounces in and introduces himself, saying he pines for a pretty wife, then boasts to the waking Tamino that he himself slew the serpent. The Ladies return to give Tamino a portrait of the Queens daughter, Pamina, who they say is enslaved by the evil Sarastro, and they padlock Papagenos mouth for lying. Tamino feels himself falling in love. The Queen herself appears in a burst of thunder and laments the loss of her daughter. She charges Tamino with Paminas rescue, ordering the reluctant Papageno to escort the prince. The Ladies hand a magic flute to Tamino and magic silver bells to Papageno to ensure their safety, appointing Three Genii to guide them. Sarastros slave Monastatos pursues and recaptures Pamina, who has tried to escape, but he is frightened away by the feather-covered Papageno, who tells Pamina that Tamino loves her and intends to save her. The two join voices in praise of love. Led by the Genii to a grove with three temples, Tamino is turned away from the first two gates before a Priest emerges from the third to advise him that it is the Queen, not Sarastro, who is evil, and that Pamina is safe. Left alone, Tamino plays his flute, hoping to make his beloved appear. She is nearby, attempting to escape with Papageno, who replies to the flute with his bird pipe. Monostatos appears with his henchmen, but they are rendered helpless by Papagenos magic bells. Before Papageno can spirit Pamina away, Sarastro, entering in ceremony, promises the girl eventual freedom but warns against her proud mother. When Monostatos brings in the captive Tamino, the slave is punished by Sarastro for attempting 3

to molest Pamina. The latter is enchanted by a glimpse of Tamino, who is led into the temple with Papageno. In Act II, Sarastro tells his priests that Tamino is prepared to undergo initiation rites. He calls on the gods to favor both the young prince and Papageno. The Speaker and a Priest swear their two initiates to silence. When the Queens Ladies appear, Tamino is impervious to their dire warnings, but Papageno is easily derailed from his course of virtue. Monostatos, finding Pamina asleep in the garden, tries to steal a kiss but is ordered away by the Queen of the Night, who gives her daughter a dagger with which to murder Sarastro. Monostatos returns when the Queen vanishes, but Pamina is rescued by Sarastro, who knows of the Queens plot but assures Pamina that love is his answer to revenge. Papageno is approached by a flirtatious old lady, who vanishes when asked her name. The Genii bring sustenance and return the magic flute and bells. When Pamina appears, Tamino steadfastly refrains from speaking to her. Misunderstanding his silence, she goes away broken-hearted. The priests inform Tamino that he has only two more trials. Pamina is relieved when Tamino speaks to her but worries about his new ordeals. Sarastro says the lovers will meet again and separates them. Papageno has failed his trials, happily settling for a glass of wine. When he wishes again for a pretty girl, the old lady reappears, turning into a young Papagena when he vows fidelity, but the Speaker returns to spirit her away. The despairing Pamina, contemplating suicide, is saved by the Genii, who lead her to Tamino. At the caverns of fire and water, two Guards proclaim that Tamino must brave the elements. With Pamina at his side, he undergoes trials by water and fire, protected by the magic flute. Sarastro leads the triumphant lovers into the temple. Papageno, too, is talked out of suicide by the Genii, who remind him to use his magic bells to summon Papagena. The two plan their future together. The Queen of the Night, her Three Ladies, and Monostatos attack the temple but are defeated and banished as the throng hails Sarastro, Pamina, and Tamino. *** As can be imagined, The Magic Flute has been interpreted in many different ways. 8 According to one popular reading, which regards the opera as extolling the ideals of the philosophical Enlightenment, Sarastro symbolizes reason and wisdom, while the Queen of the Night represents superstition and ignorance. 9 These values receive beautiful expression in In diesen heilgen Hallen, one of The Magic Flutes great arias. It is sung by Sarastro after he learns that Pamina has been given a dagger and ordered to kill him. Instead of seeking revenge, Sarastro comforts and forgives Pamina. In this respect, the aria can be seen as articulating a notion that lies at the heart of the rule of law: that instead of resorting to personal vendettas or acting on the desire for revenge, judgments should be based on reason and principle. In diesen heilgen Hallen, Mozarts The Magic Flute SARASTRO: In diesen heilgen Hallen 4 SARASTRO: To rule by Hate and Vengeance

Kennt man die Rache nicht. Und ist ein Mensch gefallen, Fhrt Liebe ihn zur Pflicht. Dann wandelt er an Freundes Hand Vergngt und froh ins bessre Land. In diesen heilgen Mauern, Wo Mensch den Menschen liebt, Kann kein Verrter lauern, Weil man dem Feind vergibt. Wen solche Lehren nicht erfreun, Verdienet nicht, ein Mensch zu sein.

Is not our practice here. And if a mans repentant Hes saved by love, not fear. If he is lost, a loving hand Shows him with joy our happy land. Here Peace and Mercy govern, By Love alone we live, Though tyrants rage and threaten We love them and forgive. If man cant learn what love can do, His days on earth are surely few. 10

II.

DUTY AND THE RULE OF LAW: BILLY BUDD

Sarastros aria seems to present a harmonious conception of the rule of law (By Love alone we live / Though tyrants rage and threaten / We love them and forgive). Sometimes, however, a persons feelings and principles conflict with what the law requires. In these cases, fidelity to the rule of law may require individuals to set aside their own values and feelings. This conflict is vividly dramatized in Benjamin Brittens tragic opera Billy Budd (1951). 11 Based on Herman Melvilles novella of the same title, the opera is set aboard a naval vessel, the H.M.S. Indomitable, during the French and English wars of 1797. Billy Budd is a new sailor aboard the ship, and the ships Master-at-Arms, John Claggart, feels threatened by Billys many admirable qualities. Eventually, Claggart falsely accuses Billy of organizing a mutiny. The ships captain, Edwin Fairfax Vere, does not believe Claggarts charges, but he summons Billy to investigate the matter. Billy is so shocked at being wrongfully accused that he is unable to speak. He strikes a blow to Claggarts head and kills him. This is a capital offense, and Billy is ultimately hanged. Melville was inspired to write Billy Budd based on a real-life dilemma faced by his father-in-law, Lemuel Shaw, 12 a judge in Massachusetts during the antebellum period. Shaw once presided over a case involving an escaped slave. Although deeply opposed to slavery, Shaw ordered that the slave be returned to his owner because he was required to do so by the Constitution. I Accept Their Verdict is the aria sung by Captain Vere after Billy Budd has been court-martialed and sentenced to die. Although Vere knows that Billy is a good man and that Claggart was evil, he nevertheless allows the death sentence to stand.

I Accept Their Verdict, Benjamin Brittens Billy Budd VERE: I accept their verdict. Death is the penalty For those who break the laws of earth.

And I who am king of this fragment of earth, Of this floating monarchy, have exacted death. But I have seen the divine judgement of Heaven, Ive seen iniquity overthrown. Cooped in this narrow cabin I have beheld The mystery of goodness And I am afraid. Before what tribunal do I stand if I destroy goodness? The angel of God has struck and the angel must hang Through me. Beauty, handsomeness, goodness, It is for me to destroy you. I, Edward Fairfax Vere, Captain of the Indomitable, Lost with all hands on the infinite sea. (He goes towards the door of Billys stateroom) I am the messenger of death! How can he pardon? How receive me? 13

III.

THE ART OF PERSUASION AND THE RULE OF LAW: FAUST

The art of persuasion is essential to maintaining the rule of law, since a nation governed by the rule of law is ultimately founded on the consent of the governed, not on the naked use of force or coercion. To describe persuasion as an art, however, is to acknowledge that, in addition to appealing to reason and logic, persuasion involves an aesthetic dimension. This is perhaps part of what Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes meant when he said that the meaning of a sentence is to be felt rather than to be proved, generally, and . . . the impression may be strengthened by argument. 14 What might judges and lawyers learn about the art of persuasion from opera? To help focus reflection on this question, we turn to Me Voici, from Charles Gounods opera Faust. Gounods Faust was first performed in Paris in 1859. The story is set in sixteenth-century Germany and begins with an aging Faust sitting at his desk brooding about the meaninglessness of his life. As he contemplates committing suicide by drinking poison, he calls out to Satan. Mephistopheles then appears and succeeds in persuading Faust to sell him his soul. Me Voici, Charles Gounods Faust FAUST: Mais ce Dieu, que peut-il pour moi? Me rendra-t-il l'amour, l'esprance et la foi? Maudites soyez-vous, volupts humaines! Mauadites soient la chanes 6 FAUST: But this God, what will he do for me? Will he return to me youth, love, and faith? Cursed be all of mans vile race! Cursed be the chains that bind him in his place!

Qui me font ramper ici bas! Maudit soit tout ce qui nous leurre, Vain espoir qui passe avec l'heure, Rves d'amour ou de combats! Maudit soit le bonheur, maudites la science, La prire et la foi! Maudite sois-tu, patience! A moi, Satan! moi! MEPHISTOPHELES: Me voici! D'o vient ta surprise! Ne suis-je pas mis ta guise? L'pe au ct, la plume au chapeau, L'escarcelle pleine, un riche manteau Sur l'paule; en somme Un vrai gentilhomme! Eh bien! que me veux-tu, docteur! Parle, voyons! Te fais-je peur? FAUST: Non. MEPHISTOPHELES: Doutes-tu ma puissance? FAUST: Peut-tre! MEPHISTOPHELES: Mets-la donc l'preuve! FAUST: Va-t'en! MEPHISTOPHELES: Fi! c'est l ta reconnaissance! Apprends de moi qu'avec Satan L'on en doit user d'autre sorte, Et qu'il n'tait pas besoin De l'appeler de si loin Pour le mettre ensuite la porte! FAUST: Et que peux-tu pour moi? MEPHISTOPHELES: Tout. Mais dis-moi d'abord Ce que tu veux; est-ce de l'or?

Cursed be visions false deceiving! Cursed the folly of believing! Cursed be dreams of love or hate! Cursed be souls with joy elate. Cursed be science, prayer, and faith. Cursed my fate in life and death! Infernal king, arise!

MEPHISTOPHELES: Here am I! So I surprise you? Satan, Sir, at your service! A sword at my side; on my hat a gay feather; A cloak oer my shoulder; and altogether, Why, gotten up quite in the fashion! But come, Doctor Faust, what is your will? Behold! Speak! Are you afraid of me? FAUST: No. MEPHISTOPHELES: Do you doubt my power? FAUST: Perhaps[!] MEPHISTOPHELES: Prove it, then. FAUST: Begone! MEPHISTOPHELES: Fie! Fie! Is this your politeness! But learn, my friend, that with Satan One should conduct in a different way. Ive entered your door with infinite trouble. Would you kick me out the very same day? FAUST: Then what will you do for me? MEPHISTOPHELES: Anything in the world! All things. But Say first what you would have. Abundance of gold? FAUST: And what can I do with riches? MEPHISTOPHELES: Good. I see where the shoe pinches. You will have glory.

FAUST: Que ferais-je de la richesse? MEPHISTOPHELES: Bien! je vois o le bt te blesse! Tu veux la gloire?

FAUST: Plus encor! MEPHISTOPHELES: La puissance!

FAUST: Still wrong. MEPHISTOPHELES: Power, then.

FAUST: Non! je veux un trsor Qui les contient tous! . . . je veux la jeunesse! A moi les plaisirs, Les jeunes matresses! A moi leurs caresses! A moi leurs dsirs! A moi l'nergie Des instincts puissants, Et la folle orgie Du coeur et des sens! Ardente jenuesse, A moi tes dsirs! A moi ton ivresse! A moi tes plaisirs . . . MEPHISTOPHELES: Fort bien! je puis contenter ton caprice. FAUST: Et que te donnerai-je en retour? MEPHISTOPHELES: Presque rien: Ici, je suis ton service, Mais l-bas tu seras au mien. FAUST: La-bas? MEPHISTOPHELES: La-bas. (Lui presentant un parchemin.) Allons, signe. Eh quoi! ta main tremble? Que faut-il pour te dcider? . . . La jeunesse t'appelle; ose la regarder! . . . (Il fait un geste. Le fond du thtre s'ouvre et laisse voir Marguerite assise devant son rouet et filant.) FAUST: O merveille! MEPHISTOPHELES: Eh bien! que t'en semble?..

FAUST: No. I would have a treasure Which contains all. I wish for youth. Oh! I would have pleasure, And love, and caresses, For youth is the season When joy most impresses. One round of enjoyment, One scene of delight, Should be my employment From day-dawn till night. Oh, I would have pleasure, And love, and caresses; If youth you restore me, My joys Ill renew! MEPHISTOPHELES: Tis wellall thou desirest I can give thee. FAUST: Ah! but what must I give in return? MEPHISTOPHELES: Tis but little: In this world I will be thy slave, But down below thou must be mine. FAUST: Below! MEPHISTOPHELES: Below. (Unfolding a scroll.) Come, write. What! does thy hand tremble? Whence this dire trepidation? Tis youth that now awaits theeBehold! (At a sign from Mephistopheles, the scene opens and discloses Margeurite, spinning.)

FAUST: Oh, wonder! FAUST/MEPHISTOPHELES: Well, how do you like it?

(Prenant le parchemin.) FAUST: Donne! (Il Signe.) MEPHISTOPHELES: Allons donc! (Prenant la coupe reste sur la table.) Et maintenant, Matre, c'est moi qui te convie. A vider cette coupe, o fume en bouillonnant Non plus la mort, non plus le poison; mais la vie! FAUST: (Prenant la coupe et se tournant vers Marguerite.) A toi, fantme adorable et charmant! . . . (Il vide la coupe et se trouve meta-morphose en jeune et elegant seigneur. La vision disparait.)

(Taking parchments.) FAUST: Give me the scroll! (Signs.) MEPHISTOPHELES: Come on then! And now, master, (Taking cup from the table.) I invite thee to empty a cup, In which there is neither poison nor death, But young and vigorous life.

FAUST: (Taking cup and turning toward Marguerite.) O beautiful, adorable vision! I drink to thee! (He drinks the contents of the cup, and is transformed into a young and handsome man. The vision disappears.) MEPHISTOPHELES: Come, then. FAUST: Say, shall I again behold her? MEPHISTOPHELES: Most surely! FAUST: When? MEPHISTOPHELES: This very day! FAUST: Tis well. MEPHISTOPHELES: Then lets away. FAUST/MEPHISTOPHELES: Tis pleasure I covet, Tis beauty I crave; I sigh for its kisses, Its love I demand! With ardor unwonted I long now to burn; I sigh for the rapture Of heart and of sense. 15

MEPHISTOPHELES: Viens! FAUST: Je la reverrai? MEPHISTOPHELES: Sans doute. FAUST: Quand? MEPHISTOPHELES: Aujourd'hui. FAUST: Cest bien! MEPHISTOPHELES: En route! FAUST: A moi les plaisirs, Les jeunes matresses! A moi leurs caresses! A moi leurs dsirs! MEPHISTOPHELES: A toi la jeunesse, A toi ses dsirs, A toi son ivresse, A toi ses plaisirs!A toi ses plaisirs!

IV.

PERFORMANCE, PUBLIC PERCEPTION, AND THE RULE OF LAW: IOLANTHE

It is not merely of some importance, but is of fundamental importance that justice should not only be done, but should manifestly and undoubtedly be seen to be done.16 This venerable maxim underscores the important link between the rule of law and public perception. If, for example, the public perceives judicial decisions as stemming from personal biases or political influence, citizens are likely to lose faith in the legal system, and the rule of law is likely to suffer. This is to acknowledge that, as some legal scholars have put it, the law possesses a performative dimension. For example, Jack Balkin and Sanford Levinson have argued that [l]aw, like music or drama, is best understood as performancethe acting out of texts rather than the texts themselves.17 They explain: Like music and drama, law takes place before an audience to whom the interpreter owes special responsibilities. Legal, musical, and dramatic interpreters must persuade others that the conception of the work put before them is, in some sense, authoritative. And whether or not their performances do persuade, they have effects on the audience . . . . Like other performing arts, legal performance is more than the interpretation of a text by a performer: it involves a triangle of reciprocal influences between the creators of texts, the performers of texts, and the audiences affected by those performances.18 What role do performance and public perception play in actual legal practice? How are the law and the legal profession portrayed to the public in opera and other performing arts? A comedic perspective on these questions is found in the operas of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. As noted previously, Gilbert himself was a barrister before becoming a dramatist,19 and many of his operas satirize the law and the legal profession. 20 Nowhere is this more evident than in Gilbert & Sullivans comic opera Iolanthe; or The Peer and the Peri. Iolanthes plot is every bit as unusual as The Magic Flutes: Iolanthe is a fairy who, twenty-five years earlier, had committed the capital crime under fairy law of marrying a human being. The Queen of the Fairies commuted Iolanthes sentence from death to banishment for life, but only on the condition that Iolanthe leave her husband and never communicate with him again. After twenty-five years, the fairies still miss Iolanthe and beg the Queen to pardon her and allow her to return to fairyland. The Queen ultimately relents. Iolanthe has a son from her marriage, a shepherd named Strephon, who is half fairy, half human. He is in love with Phyllis, a human, who happens to be one of many wards in the Lord Chancellors charge. Strephon has tried to convince the Lord Chancellor to let him marry Phyllis, but the Lord Chancellor refuses. As it happens, the Lord Chancellor is also in love with Phyllisand with many of his other wardsand he wishes to find a way of marrying Phyllis without giving scandal to the Peers.

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Iolanthe complains that the Lord Chancellor is interfering with Strephons life. The Queen intercedes by making Strephon a member of Parliament, and ensuring that every law he proposes is enacted. One of Strephons laws would require each Peer to pass an I.Q. test before admittance to the House of Lords. Later, the Chancellor comes to believe that he has indeed found a loophole that will allow him to marry Phyllis without destorying his reputation. Iolanthe then reveals to the Chancellor that she is his wife of twenty-five years, and that Strephon is their son. The Chancellor realizes that, since his wife is still alive, he cannot marry Phyllis. The Fairy Queen then enters to remind everyone that marriage between humans and fairies is verboten on pain of death. As a result, Strephon cannot marry Phyllis, and Iolanthe must disregard her prior marriage to the Chancellor. The fairies then confess that each of them has broken the law by marrying Peers, at which point the Chancellor crafts a solution, announcing that a simple modification of the law will solve everything: the insertion of a single word will do it. Let it stand that every fairy shall die who doesnt marry a mortal, and there you are, out of your difficulty at once! The Queen quickly marries a sentry to avoid incurring the death penalty. Their marriages now legally sanctioned, the Lords sprout wings and turn into fairies, whereupon everyone flies back to fairyland.21 When I Went to the Bar is sung by the Lord Chancellor in Act I of Iolanthe. When the Lord Chancellor and Strephon are alone, the Lord Chancellor asks Strephon why he has disobeyed an order of the Court of Chancery. Strephon asks the Lord Chancellor: And have you the heart to apply the prosaic rules of evidence to a case which bubbles over with poetical emotion? The Lord Chancellor answers: Distinctly. I have always kept my duty strictly before my eyes, and it is to that fact that I owe my advancement to my present distinguished position. He then goes on to sing When I Went to the Bar. When I Went to the Bar, Gilbert & Sullivans Iolanthe LORD CHANCELLOR: When I went to the Bar as a very young man, (Said I to myselfsaid I), Ill work on a new and original plan, (Said I to myselfsaid I), Ill never assume that a rogue or a thief Is a gentleman worthy implicit belief, Because his attorney has sent me a brief, (Said I to myselfsaid I!). Ere I go into court I will read my brief through (Said I to myselfsaid I). And Ill never take work Im unable to do (Said I to myselfsaid I), My learned profession Ill never disgrace By taking a fee with a grin on my face, When I havent been there to attend to the case (Said I to myselfsaid I!). Ill never throw dust in a jurymans eyes (Said I to myselfsaid I), Or hoodwink a judge who is not over-wise (Said I to myselfsaid I),

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Or assume that the witnesses summoned in force In Exchequer, Queens Bench, Common Pleas, or Divorce, Have perjured themselves as a matter of course (Said I to myselfsaid I!). In other professions in which men engage (Said I to myselfsaid I), The Army, the Navy, the Church, and the Stage (Said I to myselfsaid I), Professional license, if carried too far, Your chance of promotion will certainly mar And I fancy the rule might apply to the Bar (Said I to myselfsaid I!). 22

V.

GENDER EQUALITY AND THE RULE OF LAW: COS FAN TUTTE

As with principles such as freedom of expression, accountability, and transparency, the principle of equality goes hand-in-hand with the rule of law. One persistent impediment to equality and to the rule of law is gender discrimination. Prior to her appointment to the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 1980, Justice Ginsburg litigated several cases before the Supreme Court that were pivotal in establishing constitutional protections against gender discrimination.23 The discriminatory laws challenged in these cases were premised in large part on common gender stereotypes. To bring the issue of gender discrimination into sharper perspective, we consider Tutti accusan le donne, an aria form Mozarts Cos fan tutte. The operas full title is Cos fan tutte ossia La scuola degli amanti (That is how they all do it, or The School for Lovers), which translated more colloquially means Women are all like that. The opera begins with Don Alfonso, a cynical old bachelor, debating the constancy of women with two young officers, Ferrando and Guglielmo, who insist that their sweetheartsthe sisters Dorabella and Fiordiligiare faithful to them. Alfonso bets Ferrando and Guglielmo that if they do everything he asks, he will prove within one day that Dorabella and Fiordiligi are fickle, just like all other women. Ferrando and Guglielmo hatch a plan to test the ladies fidelity by disguising themselves so that each can try to seduce the others lover. Ultimately, both women are seduced and shown to be unfaithful. Tutti accusan le donne is sung by Don Alfonso to console Ferrando and Guglielmo after theyve learned of Dorabellas and Fiordiligis unfaithfulness. Don Alfonso explains that the women shouldnt be held accountable for their actions because all women are flirtatious by nature.

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Tutti accusan le donne, Mozarts Cos fan tutte DON ALFONSO: Tutti accusan le donne, ed io le scuso, se mille volte al d cangiano amore, altri un vizio lo chiama, ed altri un uso, ed a me parnecessit del core. Lamante che si trova al fin deluso, non condanni laltrui, ma il proprio errore: giacch giovani, vecchie, e belle e brutte, ripetete con me: Cos fan tutte! DON ALFONSO: Women cannot be faithful, But I dont mind it, For I can see the principle behind it. You are wrong to upbraid them. You have to take them as they are, As Mother Nature made them. You lovers, dont complain of disillusion. What you need is to reach the wise conclusion: All your ancestors, fathers, and brothers went through it. Since they learned it from Eve: Cos fan tutte! 24

VI.

FREEDOM AND THE RULE OF LAW: AIDA

The relationship between freedom and the rule of law is readily apparent. Indeed, the value of the rule of law consists largely in the fact that it acts as a bulwark against threats to freedom. Freedom is among the major themes at work in Giuseppe Verdis Aida (1871), the opera from which our final performance is taken. The title character is an Ethiopian princess who is captured and forced to be the slave of Amneris, the Egyptian Kings daughter. 25 Radams, a young captain of the Egyptian guard, learns that Ethiopia threatens the Nile valley. He is in love with Aida, and he hopes to be chosen to command the Egyptian army, envisioning a glorious victory so he can free Aida from slavery. The King announces Radamss appointment as commander and leads the assemblage in a battle hymn. Return victorious! cries Amneris, echoed by the people. Radams is led off amid rejoicing, and Aida is left alone. In the temple of Ptah, a Priestess addresses the deity, as Radams is ceremonially clothed in sacred armor. Ramfis consecrates Radamss sword for the campaign. In Act II, Radams has defeated the Ethiopians, and in preparation for his return, Amneris is being groomed by slaves and diverted by dancers. At Aidas approach, she dismisses her other attendants and, to confirm her suspicions, tells Aida that Radams has died in battle, then later reveals that he still lives. Convinced by Aidas reactions that her slave does love Radams, Amneris threatens her and leaves as Aida reiterates her prayer. At a public square in Thebes, a crowd welcomes the returning army, which passes before the King and Amneris. Radams arrives, and Amneris salutes his victory. The captured Ethiopians are led in; among them Aida recognizes her father, Amonasro. He warns her in an aside not to betray his rank, then pleads for his fellow prisoners lives. Ramfis and the priests demand the captives death, but Radams requests

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their freedom as his reward. The King releases all but Amonasro, then presents Radams with Amneriss hand, leaving Aida in despair. Act III, begins on a moonlit bank of the Nile. Ramfis leads Amneris into a temple of Isis for her wedding vigil. Aida comes to wait secretly for Radams. Overcome with nostalgia, she laments her conquered homeland. Amonasro, still determined to save his people, startles her out of her reverie and commands her to trick Radams into revealing the Egyptian armys intended route into Ethiopia. He shames and threatens her until she reluctantly agrees. Amonasro hides as Radams appears, promising to make Aida his bride after his next victory. She suggests they run away together, asking what road they should take to avoid his army. No sooner has he revealed the Egyptians plans than Amonasro emerges from his hiding place and divulges his identity as King of Ethiopia. Leaving the temple, Amneris finds the three and denounces Radams as a traitor. Amonasro lunges at her with a dagger, but Radams shields her and surrenders himself, as Aida and her father escape. In Act IV, Radams is led into the hall of judgment. Amneris offers to save him if he will renounce Aida; he refuses. Enraged, Amneris lets him go to his doom. Listening as the priests demands that he defend himself are met with silence, Amneris feels her pride falling away, and her love for Radams is revealed by her agony in hearing him condemned by the priests, whom she curses. Radams, buried alive in a crypt beneath the temple, turns his last thoughts to Aida, who emerges from the shadows, having entered the vault earlier to share his fate. Radams tries vainly to dislodge the stone that locks them in. Bidding farewell to earth, the lovers greet eternity, as Amneris, in the temple above, prays to Isis for peace. Ritorna vincitor! (Return, victor!) is the aria sung by Aida after Radams is sent off to fight the Ethiopians. Aida is appalled that she too has cheered Radams to victory against the Ethiopians, her own people. She sings of her conflicting emotions and prays for pity. Her emotional enslavement is perhaps as powerful as her physical, bodily enslavement. Ritorna vincitor! from Verdis Aida AIDA: Ritorna vincitor! E dal mio labbro usc lempia parola! Vincitor del padre mio . . . di lui Che impugna larmi per me . . . Per ridonarmi una patria, Una reggia, e il nome illustre Che qui celar m forza! Vincitor demiei fratelli . . .ondio lo vegga, Tinto del sangue amato, Trionfar nel plauso dellEgizie coorti! E dietro il carro, Un Re . . . mio padre . . . di catene avvinto! Linsana parola o Numi sperdete! Al seno dun padre la figlia rendete; struggete, struggete, struggete le squadre dei nostri oppressor! AIDA: May he return a victor! And the impious word came from my lips! Victor over my father . . . over him who bears arms for me . . . in order to restore to me to a country, a palace, and the illustrious name that I am forced to hide here! Victor over my brothers . . . and I will see him, stained with beloved blood, triumphing in the praises of Egypts cohorts. And behind his chariot, a king, my father . . . bound in chains! Oh gods, let the insane words vanish! restore a daughter to her fathers breast. destroy, destroy, destroy the forces of our oppressors!

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Ah! Sventurata! Che dissi? E lamor mio? Dunque scordar possio questo fervido amore che, oppressa e schiava, come raggio di sol . . . qui mi beava? Imprecher la morte a Radams . . . a lui chamo pur tanto! Ah! non fu in terra mai da pi crudeli angoscie un core affranto! I sacri nomi di padre . . . damante, n profferir possio n ricordar . . . Per lun . . . per laltro confusa tremante io piangere vorrei . . . vorrei pregar. Ma la mia prece in bestemmia si muta . . . delitto il pianto a me . . . colpa il sospir . . . in notte cupa la mente perduta . . . e nellansia crudel vorrei morir. Numi, piet de l mio soffrir! Speme non v'ha pel mio dolor . . . Amor fatal, tremendo amor spezzami il cor . . . fammi morir! Numi, piet del mio soffrir, ah! . . . piet, Numi, pieta del mio soffrir . . . Numi, pieta del mio soffrir, piet, piet del mio soffrir!

Ah! Wretched woman! What did I say? And my love? Can I then forget the fervent love which like a sunbeam . . . has delighted me here, oppressed and enslaved though I am? Shall I pray for death to Radams . . . even to him, whom I love so much! Ah! never on earth was there a heart more burdened by cruel sorrows! I may neither mention nor recall the sacred names of father . . . of lover . . . Confused, trembling, I would weep . . . I would pray . . . for the one . . . for the other. But my prayer is turned to blasphemy . . . weeping is a crime for me . . . a sigh, guilt . . . thought is lost in the dark night . . . and I would die in my cruel sorrow. Gods, pity my suffering! Is there no hope for my sorrow . . . fatal love, boundless love, break my heart . . . make me die! Gods, pity my suffering, ah! . . . gods pity my suffering . . . gods, pity my suffering, pity, pity my suffering! 26

CONCLUSION
Justice Sandra Day OConnor liked to say that we must not be tone deaf to the music of the law. In explaining what she meant by this on one occasion, she drew a direct link between opera (and other sources of music) and the rule of law. Quoting a law school classmate, Justice OConnors remarks represent a fitting note on which to conclude: There are lawyers who never hear the laws musicindeed, those who think there is none; those who think the law is just a businessone for which high fees can be charged and collected for the necessary services only a lawyer can provide. But if you understand and hear the laws music, to quote a former law school classmate of mine . . . it is a music with the logic and clarity of Bach, the thunder, sometimes overblown and pompous, of Wagner, the lyric passion of Verdi and Puccini, the genius of Mozart . . . . The words of the music of the law you can hear are words of equality, justice, fairness, consistency, predictability, equity, wrongs

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righted, and the repose of disputes settled without violence, without undue advantage, and without leaving either side with bitter feelings of having been cheated. It is the music sung in the world . . . of childlike innocence in which the lion lies down with the lamb. Perhaps it is not a world that ever was, nor ever will be, but it is a world worth living toward. 27

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
A central aim of this Presidential Showcase has been to explore the relationship between opera and the law (and, more specifically, opera and the rule of law). The following bibliographical essay is offered for those interested in pursuing the topic further. A large part of the scholarly literature regarding opera and the law belongs to the Law and Literature genre. Generally, these articles use operas and other texts to illuminate particular legal themes or issues. See, e.g., Lior Barshack, The Sovereignty of Pleasure: Sexual and Political Freedom in the Operas of Mozart and Da Ponte, 20 LAW & LITERATURE 47 (2008); Jeffrey G. Sherman, Laws Lunacy: W.S. Gilbert and His Deus ex Lege, 83 OR. L. REV. 1035 (2004); Peter Goodrich, Operatic Hermeneutics: Harmony, Euphantasy, and Law in Rossinis Semiramis, 20 CARDOZO L. REV. 1649 (1999); Desmond Manderson, Et Lux Perpetua: Dying Declarations & Mozarts Requiem, 20 CARDOZO L. REV. 1621 (1999). See also Michael L. Richmond, Law, Instrumental Music, and Dance: Reflections of a Common Culture, 27 LEGAL STUD. F. 783 (2003); cf. Daniel F. Tritter, Opera and the Law: Dramma Giocosa, 20 OPERA Q. 7 (2004). Another strand of literature discussing opera and the law focuses on legal issues and doctrines that were in some way rooted in real-life disputes involving operas and/or opera performers. For example, much scholarly attention has been devoted to the contract dispute in the 1850s involving opera star Johanna Wagner. See, e.g., Sarah Swan, A New Tortious Interference with Contractual Relations: Gender and Erotic Triangles in Lumley v. Gye, 35 HARV. J. L. & GENDER 167 (2012); David Howarth, Against Lumley v. Gye, 68 THE MOD. L. REV. 195 (2005); cf. Stephen Waddams, Johanna Wagner and the Rival Opera Houses, 117 LAW Q. REV. 43 (2001); Gabriella Dideriksen & Matthew Ringel, Frederick Gye and The Dreadful Business of Opera Management, 19 19TH-CENTURY MUSIC 3 (1995). Wagner initially had entered into an agreement to perform at Lumleys Her Majestys Theatre. She later reneged, however, after accepting a better offer to perform at Gyes Covent Garden. As a result, Lumley brought suits against both Wagner, Lumley v. Wagner, (1852) 42 Eng. Rep. 687 (Ch.), and Gye, Lumley v. Gye, (1853) 118 Eng. Rep. 749 (Q.B.). The suit against Wagner is notable for its treatment of the question of specific performance. The court affirmed that specific performance was not an appropriate remedy in disputes involving personal services contracts, but nevertheless granted a negative injunction forbidding Wagner from performing at Covent Garden. See also RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF CONTRACTS 367 cmt. c, illus. 3 (1981) (citing Lumley v. Wagner in connection with the concept of specific performance). In Gye, the court extended the doctrine of enticement, which generally had applied to the employment of household servants, in holding that Lumley could maintain a cause of action against Gye for inducing Wagner to breach their original agreement. Somewhat more germane to the theme of this program is the scholarship seeking to underscore the aesthetic dimension of the law. This idea has been developed in a variety of different ways. See, e.g.,

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Pierre Schlag, The Aesthetics of American Law, 115 HARV. L. REV. 1047 (2002); Stewart G. Pollock, The Art of Judging, 71 N.Y.U. L. Rev. 591 (1996). Particularly notable among the early contributions on the subject is Karl Llewellyns, On the Good, the True, the Beautiful, in Law, 9 U. CHI. L. REV. 224 (1942). Llewellyns essay begins with the observation that [b]eauty in things of law has been slighted as if by law. Id. at 227. Interestingly, legal rules, and indeed the rule of law itself, are at the center of his discussion. Llewellyn goes on to say: [I]n regard to the rule of law itself, there remains an esthetic aspect undiscussed . . . . Only the rule which shows its reason on its face has ground to claim maximum chance of continuing effectiveness; so that to satisfy, in this, the lay need of relative accessibility, of friendliness and meaningfulness of the reason, is at the same time to do a functionally more effective job on the side of pure technique. There is thus no need, in widening ones view of what the function of rules of law is, to risk confusion on the marks of beauty. Quite the contrary. For to see the wider function, is to find the road back to that rightest and most beautiful type of legal rule, the singing rule with purpose and with reason dear, whose nature, whose very possibility, the Formal Perpendicular has led our legal thinkers to forgetalmost to deny. Id. at 249-50. The literature most relevant to the theme of this program consists of various attempts to draw parallels between law and opera as disciplines. For example, there is a substantial body of literature discussing questions of statutory interpretation and how these mirror questions of interpretation in the arts. For the most part, these articles have tended to focus on music rather than opera. The locus classicus for this genre is arguably Jerome Franks, Words and Music: Some Remarks on Statutory Interpretation, 47 COLUM. L. REV. 1259 (1947), based on a speech that Judge Frank gave to members of the Columbia Law Review. In the article, Judge Frank suggest[s] a comparison between (1) the interpretation of statutes by judges and (2) the interpretation of musical compositions by musical performers. Id. at 1260. Written in 1940s, the articles observations and insights continue to be echoed in more recent scholarship. See also Ian Gallacher, Conducting the Constitution: Justice Scalia, Textualism, and the Eroica Symphony, 9 VAND. J. ENT. & TECH. L. 301, 303 (2006); Timothy S. Hall, Score as Contract: Private Law and the Historically Informed Performance Movement, 20 CARDOZO L. REV. 1589 (1999); Sanford Levinson & J.M. Balkin, Law, Music, and Other Performing Arts, 139 U. PA. L. REV. 1597 (1991); Richard A. Posner, Bork and Beethoven, 42 STAN. L. REV. 1365 (1990). There has been at least one attempt specifically to examine the relationship between law and opera. See J.M. Balkin & Sanford Levinson, Interpreting Law and Music: Performance Notes on The Banjo Serenader and The Lying Crowd of Jews, 20 CARDOZO L. REV. 1513 (1999). Balkin and Levinson argue that the parallels between law and opera and other performing arts are more instructive than those between law and music. They develop their thesis by looking at the similarities between the problem of performing offensive texts (e.g., operas with offensive lyrics) and the problem of interpreting and enforcing unjust laws. As can be seen, although much has been written about the various ways in which law and opera intersect, much remains yet to be explored.

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As Justice Ginsburg has explained: Visitors to the Court in recent years could hardly miss noticing the Chiefs self-designed robe, copied from the Lord Chancellors costume in a local theater companys summer production of Gilbert and Sullivans Iolanthe. The robe has gleaming gold stripes, as does the robe of the U.K.s Lord Chancellor, but Chief Justice Rehnquists version was less regal, resembling the stripes of a master sergeant more than those of a British Lord. Why did a man not given to sartorial splendor decide on such a costume? In his own words, he did not wish to be upstaged by the women. (Justice OConnor wore several attractive neck pieces, collars from British gowns, and a frilly French foulard; I wear British and French lace foulards too, and sometimes a collar of French Canadian design.)

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Reflections on Arizonas Pace-Setting Justices: William Hubbs Rehnquist and Sandra Day OConnor, 49 Ariz. L. Rev. 1, 4 (2007). 2 See, e.g., Richmond Newspapers, Inc. v. Virginia, 448 U.S. 555, 604 (1980) (Rehnquist, J., dissenting) (criticizing majoritys holding that the First Amendment was violated by the closing of a criminal trial to the public and media). Chief Justice Rehnquist also quoted Gilbert and Sullivan in his books, see WILLIAM H. REHNQUIST, CENTENNIAL CRISIS: THE DISPUTED ELECTION OF 1876, at 220 (2004) (Each of them, like Sir Joseph Porter in the Gilbert and Sullivan opera H.M.S. Pinafore, always voted at his partys call, and no one was the least bit surprised that they did so.), and even in the occasional television interview, see John Q. Barrett, A Rehnquist Ode on the Vinson Court, 11 GREEN BAG 2D 289, 296-97 (2008) (citing the following from Rehnquists appearance on The Charlie Rose Show: Q: What did that whole [impeachment] processand what was it important that you thought you, as chief justice, should accomplish in that process? A: Well, not very much. Theres a line from Gilbert and Sullivans Iolanthe thatlet me see if I can think of it. When Wellington whipped Bonaparte, as any child can tell, the House of Peers throughout the war did nothing in particular and did it very well. And I feel thats about what I did at the impeachment trial. I did nothing in particular and I did it very well.). 3 Richard J. Fallon, Jr., The Rule of Law as a Concept in Constitutional Discourse, 97 COLUM. L. REV. 1, 6 (1997). 4 See, e.g., Hon. Diane P. Wood, The Rule of Law in Times of Stress, 70 U. CHI. L. REV. 455, 456-57 (2003). 5 More elaborate catalogs can be found in Fallon, supra note 3, and Robert S. Summers, Principles of the Rule of Law, 74 NOTRE DAME L. REV. 1691 (1999). 6 Judith A. Eckelmeyer, Structure as Hermeneutic Guide to The Magic Flute, 72 MUSICAL Q. 51, 52-53 (1986). 7 The synopsis is reprinted with the permission of Opera News. 8 See generally Joscelyn Godwin, Layers of Meaning in The Magic Flute, 65 MUSICAL Q. 471 (1979). 9 See, e.g., Christopher Ballantine, Social and Philosophical Outlook in Mozarts Operas, 67 MUSICAL Q. 507, 520-21 (1991); Robert Spaethling, Folklore and Enlightenment in the Libretto of Mozarts Magic Flute, 9 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY STUD. 45 (1975); cf. NICHOLAS TILL, MOZART AND THE ENLIGHTENMENT: TRUTH, VIRTUE AND BEAUTY IN MOZARTS OPERAS (1992). 10 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART, THE MAGIC FLUTE (Libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder, Michael Geliot, trans. 1980). 11 Britten revised the opera in 1960. 12 See generally Steven L. Winter, Melville, Slavery, and the Failure of the Judicial Process, 26 CARDOZO L. REV. 2471 (2005); Richard Weisberg, How Judges Speak: Some Lessons on Adjudication in Billy Budd, Sailor with an Application to Justice Rehnquist, 57 N.Y.U. LAW. REV. 1 (1982). 13 BENJAMIN BRITTEN, BILLY BUDD (Libretto by E.M. Forster & Eric Crozier, 1961). 14 United States v. Johnson, 221 U.S. 488, 496 (1911) (Holmes, J.).

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CHARLES GOUNOD, FAUST: A LYRIC DRAMA IN FIVE ACTS (Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carr, Edwin F. Kalmus ed., 1972). 16 Rex v. Sussex Justices, ex parte McCarthy, 1 K.B. 256, 259 (1924) (Lord Hewart, C.J.). 17 J.M. Balkin & Sanford Levinson, Interpreting Law and Music: Performance Notes on The Banjo Serenader and The Lying Crowd of Jews, 20 CARDOZO L. REV. 1513, 1519 (1999). 18 Id. 19 See, e.g., Jeffrey G. Sherman, Laws Lunacy: W.S. Gilbert and His Deus ex Lege, 83 OR. L. REV. 1035, 1036 (2004). 20 Id. 21 Adapted from the synopsis of the Bristol Gilbert & Sullivan Operatic Society, http://www. afbennett.co.uk/bgsos/Synopsis-Iolanthe.html (last visited July 5, 2012), and Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Iolanthe (last visited July 5, 2012). 22 W.S. GILBERT & ARTHUR SULLIVAN, IOLANTHE; OR THE PEER AND THE PERI (1882). 23 Duren v. Missouri, 439 U.S. 357 (1979); Califano v. Goldfarb, 430 U.S. 199 (1977); Weinberger v. Wiesenfeld, 420 U.S. 636 (1975); Edwards v. Healy, 421 U.S. 772 (1975); Kahn v. Shevin, 416 U.S. 351 (1974); Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973). 24 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART, COS FAN TUTTE: WOMEN ARE LIKE THAT (Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte, Ruth & Thomas Martin trans., 1951). 25 The synopsis of Aida is reprinted with the permission of Opera News. 26 GIUSEPPE VERDI, AIDA (Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, Ellen Bleiler trans., 1962). 27 Sandra Day OConnor, Professionalism: Remarks at The Dedication of the University of Oklahomas Law School Building and Library, 2002, 55 OKLA. L. REV. 197, 200-01 (2002) (brackets omitted). Frederick Steiner is reportedly the classmate to whom Justice OConnor refers. See Frederick K. Steiner, Jr., The Music of the Law, 7 GREEN BAG 2D 167 (2004).

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SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, New York. After receiving her L.L.B. from Columbia Law School, where she graduated at the top of her class, she served as a law clerk to Judge Edmund L. Palmieri of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Justice Ginsburg later went on to play a central role in launching the Womens Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union and argued several cases before the Supreme Court that were instrumental in establishing constitutional protections against gender discrimination. In 1980, she was appointed a Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In 1993, she was nominated as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton, becoming the second woman ever to serve on the Court. Justice Ginsburg has made cameo appearances in the Washington National Operas productions of Richard Strausss Ariadne auf Naxos and Johann Strausss Die Fledermaus. Donald B. Verrilli, Jr. is the forty-sixth Solicitor General of the United States. After graduating from Columbia Law School, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Columbia Law Review, Mr. Verrilli served as a law clerk to Judge J. Skelly Wright of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, and later to Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. of the United States Supreme Court. During his years as a partner at Jenner & Block LLP, he handled numerous cases in the Supreme Court and the courts of appeals, including MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, which established that companies building businesses based on the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted works can be liable for inducing infringement; and Wiggins v. Smith, which established principles governing the right to effective assistance of counsel at capital sentencing. Before becoming Solicitor General, Mr. Verrilli served as Deputy Counsel to President Obama and as an Associate Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice. Anthony Freud is the General Director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He joined the Lyric in 2011, after earning widespread acclaim for his achievements as general director of the Welsh National Opera and later of the Houston Grand Opera. Mr. Freud was born and raised in London by immigrant parents, both of whom were born in Hungary. His father came to the UK as a refugee in 1939 and his mother was a survivor of Auschwitz. He attended his first opera at age four, became a regular operagoer in his teens, and has said that by age fourteen, he knew he wanted to run an opera company. In 2006, Mr. Freud was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to music by Queen Elizabeth II in her 80th Birthday Honours. Before pursuing his passion for opera, Mr. Freud earned a law degree with honors from the University of London Kings College and qualified as an attorney. Craig C. Martin is a partner in the Chicago office of Jenner & Block LLP, where he is Co-Chair of the Firms Litigation Department and a member of its governing committee. A graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the Harvard Law School, Mr. Martins practice spans the courtroom to the boardroom, where he represents major corporations in their most complex matters, domestically and internationally. He is AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale-Hubbells highest peer recognition for ethical standards and legal ability. In 2009, Leading Lawyers Network named Mr. Martin one of the Top 100 Business Lawyers in Illinois, and profiled him in its Leading Lawyers Magazine. In 2011, Mr. Martin received the Judge Learned Hand Human Relations Award from the American Jewish Committee, for his extraordinary professional accomplishments and dedication to philanthropic and civic endeavors. Mr. Martin serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Lyric Opera, is the Chair of the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, and is the Co-Chair of the ABA Section of Litigation 2012 Annual meeting.

THE PATRICK G. AND SHIRLEY W. RYAN OPERA CENTER AT LYRIC OPERA OF CHICAGO The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center was established in 1974 as the professional artistdevelopment program for Lyric Opera of Chicago. Since its inception, the Ryan Opera Center has been recognized as one of the premier programs of its kind in the world. That standing is maintained by providing the finest up-and-coming singers with unparalleled training and experience. Gianna Rolandi is Director of the program. Selected from some 400 singers who audition annually, the Ryan Opera Center Ensemble members are in residence for twelve months. Over the course of the year they receive advanced instruction in numerous aspects of operatic performance, including voice lessons and coachings, language and acting training, and master classes with some of operas most renowned artists. During Lyric Operas mainstage season, Ryan Opera Center members perform and understudy a significant number of principal and supporting roles. This presents an extraordinary opportunity to work with the worlds greatest opera singers, conductors, directors, orchestra, and chorus. They also gain valuable performing experience by participating in recitals and concerts at many Chicago-area venues. A testament to the Ryan Opera Centers caliber and success is the roster of distinguished alumni who perform regularly on the stages of leading international opera houses. It includes Ren Barbera, Harolyn Blackwell, Nicole Cabell, Elizabeth DeShong, Mark S. Doss, Christopher Feigum, Elizabeth Futral, Roger Honeywell, Joseph Kaiser, Maria Kanyova, Quinn Kelsey, Gregory Kunde, Dina Kuznetsova, Gary Lehman, Emily Magee, Susanna Phillips, Matthew Polenzani, Patricia Risley, Christian Van Horn, Amber Wagner, Erin Wall, and Guang Yang. PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES EVAN BOYER Bass Evan Boyer is a third-year Ryan Opera Center member. In 2009, the Louisville, Kentucky native was a national semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He was awarded first place in the 2010 Union League Civic and Arts Foundation competition and has received awards from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation, the Giulio Gari Foundation, and the American Opera Society Competition. Boyers appearances encompass a variety of roles in La sonnambula, Antony and Cleopatra, The Rakes Progress, Don Giovanni, Wozzeck, Tchaikovskys Iolanta, and Golijovs Ainadamar (all at Philadelphias Curtis Institute of Music); Act Four of La bohme (San Francisco Operas Merola program); Weills Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (Tanglewood Music Center); Lincoronazione di Poppea and La traviata (Chautauqua Institution); and Cos fan tutte and Eugene Onegin (Northwestern University). Recent performances include his European debut as Sarastro/The Magic Flute at Garsington Opera, Oreste/Cavallis Giasone (debut) and Cron/Charpentiers Medea, both at Chicago Opera Theater, and his Carnegie Hall debut in Salome with the Cleveland Orchestra. The bass has appeared at Lyric Opera in Macbeth (debut), The Girl of the Golden West, Lohengrin, Carmen student matinees, The Tales of Hoffmann, Boris Godunov, Ariadne auf Naxos, The Magic Flute, and Aida. In 2012-13 he will be seen at Lyric in Simon Boccanegra, La bohme, Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg, and Rigoletto. TRACY CANTIN Soprano Tracy Cantin is a first-year Ryan Opera Center member. A recent graduate of the Artist Diploma program at McGills Schulich School of Music, Cantins repertoire there has included Donna Anna/Don Giovanni, Mim/La bohme, and the Governess/Brittens Turn of the Screw. She previously studied at the University of Alberta (the Mother/Humperdincks Hansel and Gretel) and the University of Western

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Ontario (Donna Anna). The sopranos other operatic credits include Alice Ford/Falstaff (Highlands Opera Studio) and Nella/Gianni Schicchi (Opera NUOVA). On the concert stage Cantin has been heard as a soloist in Strausss Four Last Songs, Beethovens Symphony No. 9, Handels Messiah, Bachs Magnificat, Vivaldis Gloria, and Mahlers Symphony No. 2 (University of Western Ontario Orchestra). Originally from Prince Edward Island, she was awarded the Phyllis and Bernard Shapiro Opera Scholarship (2011), the June Rittmeyer Prize (2010), first place in the Lois Marshall Memorial Competition (2010), and the London Opera Guild Scholarship (2009). Next season Cantin will make her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in Elektra and later appear in Rigoletto. DAVID GOVERTSEN Second-year Ryan Opera Center member David Govertsen, bass-baritone, spent two summers in The Santa Fe Operas apprentice program. While there, he sang King Basilio/Lewis Spratlans Life is a Dream (workshop premiere). He also appeared as a soloist in the Mozart Requiem with the Santa Fe Symphony and joined the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival for a concert of Bach arias and duets. During his tenure at Northwestern University the bass-baritone performed the title role/The Marriage of Figaro, Basilio/The Barber of Seville, and Beaumarchais/The Ghosts of Versailles. In the spring of 2011 he made his Carnegie Hall debut in Otello with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (Riccardo Muti conducting), and last summer he performed with the Grant Park Music Festival. Other recent engagements for the Wheaton, Illinois native include Handels Messiah with the Northwest Indiana Symphony; Haydns Creation, Handels Dettingen Te Deum and Mozarts Requiem with the Elmhurst Symphony; Gianni Schicchi with DuPage Opera Theatre; and a recital at Chicagos Mayne Stage (also broadcast on WFMT). Govertsen appeared in Lyric Opera of Chicagos 2011-12 season as Nikitich/Boris Godunov (debut), the Second Armed Man/The Magic Flute regular performances, and the Speaker/The Magic Flute student matinees. Next season he will appear in Werther and Die Meistersinger von Nrnberg. BERNARD HOLCOMB A second-year Ryan Opera Center member, tenor Bernard Holcomb was a winner of the Michigan District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Prior to arriving in Chicago he appeared with the Pine Mountain Music Festival for two summers (Paolino/The Secret Marriage and Alfredo/La traviata). A former Apprentice Artist and Studio Program member at Sarasota Opera, the tenor has been heard there as A Villager/Pagliacci, Federico/Lamico Fritz, and Ezekiel Cheever/Robert Wards The Crucible. Michigan Opera Theatre roles include Nelson and the Crab Man/Porgy and Bess and Gastone/La traviata. In 2008 the Detroit native participated in an international tour of Porgy and Bess with appearances in Russia, Poland, Greece, Latvia, Estonia, and Germany. Orchestral engagements include the Verdi Requiem with the University of Michigan Symphony Orchestra, and concerts with the New Hampshire Symphony Holiday Pops, Rochester Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Grant Park Orchestra. Holcomb is an alumnus of the Eastman School of Music and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, where his repertoire included leading roles in La bohme, The Bartered Bride, Postcard from Morocco, and Eugene Onegin. During Lyrics 2011-12 season he portrayed Nathanal/The Tales of Hoffmann (debut), the Boyar/Boris Godunov, the Officer/Ariadne auf Naxos, the First Armed Man/The Magic Flute, and the Messenger/Aida. In the upcoming Lyric season, he will appear in Simon Boccanegra, Don Pasquale, and La bohme. CRAIG TERRY Craig Terry, pianist, will soon begin his seventh season as Assistant Conductor at Lyric Opera of Chicago. Previously, he was an Assistant Conductor at The Metropolitan Opera (after joining the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program) and a coach/pianist with the Houston Grand Opera Studio. He has worked with such notable conductors as Harry Bicket, Sir Andrew Davis, Valery Gergiev, James Levine, Kent Nagano, and Robert Spano. As a performer, Terry made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2000 and has appeared at Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has performed alongside such esteemed vocalists as Sir

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Thomas Allen, Stephanie Blythe, Christine Brewer, Danielle De Niese, Kate Lindsey, Susanna Phillips, and Patricia Racette throughout the U.S. and Canada, including the Ravinia Festival and the American Songbook series at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He made his conducting debut at Lyric Opera in student matinee performances of Lelisir damore. Terry studied at Tennessee Technological University, Florida State University, and the Manhattan School of Music.

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