FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE NEW METCALF FELLOWSHIP ANNOUNCED AT THE ROSSINI FACTORY Center for Italian Opera Studies

Taps Hannah McGinty (Chicago, IL April 12, 2012) The Center for Italian Opera Studies (also known as CIAO) at the University of Chicago announces its inaugural Metcalf Fellow for the 2012-2013 academic year: Hannah McGinty, currently a third-year music major in the College. Ms. McGinty, who has a background as a classically-trained singer and plans to pursue musicology in graduate school, came to the attention of CIAO director Philip Gossett when she was his student in an opera history class. In January, Gossett recommended that she be hired as a digital resource assistant, where her duties included scanning autograph manuscripts and 19th-century printed scores by Gioachino Rossini and preparing them for work by CIAOs international team of editors. We have been so pleased with Hannahs work that we decided to give her editorial responsibilities, says Gossett. It is a rare opportunity for an undergraduate to take part on one of the greatest works of scholarship in the field of opera studies. CIAOs mission is to produce critical editions of the works of Gioachino Rossini in collaboration with Brenreiter-Verlag in Germany. The work involves examining as many of the original sources of an opera as still exist, such as the composers manuscript, orchestral and vocal parts to early performances, and librettos (the poetry set to music). Im asking Hannah to work with Claudio Vellutini, our fourth-year doctoral student, on Rossinis first opera, La cambiale di matrimonio. They will be checking all of our sources against our editors first draft. This is painstaking work that requires not only fanatical attention to detail, but also the musical and textual understanding to evaluate the evidence and help make strategic choices, continues Gossett. We hope to have this opera ready to go to Brenreiter for publication sometime next year. CIAO plans to offer a Metcalf Fellowship each year if a qualified applicant can be found. Learn more about CIAO at http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/ciao/. The Jeff Metcalf Fellows Program offers summer and academic year, paid internships to undergraduate students at the University of Chicago. These internships provide students with the opportunity to gain substantive work experience at organizations throughout the U.S. and abroad. Positions are available in a wide variety of fields including arts and culture, business, government and public policy, research and education, and social change. The Metcalf Program began in 1997 with 8 interns. In 2012, marking the 15th anniversary of the program, over 500 Metcalf interns will be placed in organizations across the USA and internationally. For more information, see https://caps.uchicago.edu/undergrads/internships/metcalf/. Contact and photos: The Center for Italian Opera Studies/Centro Italo-Americano for Opera at The University of Chicago Beth Parker, Coordinator parkeropera@uchicago.edu 773-702-9148 ###