|
Performers
La
Bohème
Opera
in Four Acts by Giacomo Puccini
Libretto
by G.Giacosa and L.Illica
(sung
in Italian)
Saturday,
June 5, 2010, 4:30PM
&
Saturday,
June 12, 2010, 8:30PM
Peter
Norton Symphony Space
Leonard
Nimoy Thalia
John
Yaffé, Music Director
Conductor:
Steven Crawford
Pianist/Assistant
Conductor/AIR Cover Coach: Doug Han
(June 5)
Pianist:
Noby Ishida (June 12)
Assistant
Conductor/AIR Cover Coach: Tony Bellomy
Cast
(in order of appearance)
Marcello
Gideon Dabi*/Gideon Dabi**
Rodolfo
Alok Kumar*/Lazaro Calderon**
Colline
Nathan Resika*/Nathan Resika**
Schaunard
Justin
Birdsong*/Justin Birdsong**
Benoit
Raymond Uy*/Grant Mech**
Mimi
Jin-won Park*/Sei Hee Lee**
Alcindoro
Grant
Mech*/Grant Mech**
Musetta
Sarah Joy Miller*/Elizabeth
Heuermann**
*
June 5
/ ** June 12
Cover
Singers
Marcello
Marcos Solá***
Rodolfo
Jameson
James*,
Jameson James**
Mimi
Paige Cutrona*, Antonina
Ermolenko**
Musetta
Raquel Suarez*, Samantha Jeffreys**
*
June 5
/ ** June 12
 Steven
Crawford
CONDUCTOR
Maestro
Steven Crawford, whose final
season with the Metropolitan Opera
included two performances of La
Bohème of which one was his Sirius
radio broadcast debut, is one of
today’s most
versatile
opera
conductors. Shortly following
those performances, he was chosen to
conduct the world premiere of Honor,
a requiem for orchestra, chorus and
soloists composed by Christian McLeer in
honor of those who have died in service
to our country. Recently, he
conducted the professional premiere of Glory
Denied by Tom Cipullo for the
Remarkable Theatre Brigade, La
Bohème for the Inwood Shakespeare
Festival, Otello
for Kentucky Opera, and Turandot
for Dayton Opera. In the year
since he left the Met, Maestro Crawford
has conducted performances of Les
Contes d’Hoffmann for his second
season with Martina Arroyo’s Prelude
to Performance (for whom his
performances of Don
Giovanni last summer were noted by
the New York Times as “lively, taut,
and polished”), Don
Giovanni for Dayton Opera, Otello
with Vero Beach Opera, and The
Medium/ Pagliacci for Syracuse
Opera. On a different note,
Maestro Crawford was recently awarded
the honor of Vocal Coach of the Year by
Classical Singer magazine.
While
still a member of the conducting staff
at the Met, his most recent projects
included Faust,
the world premiere of An
American Tragedy, and the critically
acclaimed revival of Cyrano. He
recently conducted Kirke Meecham’s Tartuffe
in Portland Oregon, and earlier La
Cenerentola with the Cincinnati
Opera, where he had been called
"the find of the evening" for
stepping in on twelve hours notice to
conduct Il
Barbiere di Siviglia, simultaneously
accompanying the recitatives on the
fortepiano.
After
working as Music Director of the
Illinois Opera Theatre, Maestro Crawford
was engaged as resident conductor of the
Florida Grand Opera for five years.
During that time, he conducted fifteen
different productions, working with such
great artists as Sherill Milnes, Carol
Neblett, Justino Diaz, and Barbara
Daniels. Maestro Crawford has also
conducted productions for Chautauqua
Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, Nevada Opera
and Opera Northeast. Upon his
arrival in New York City , he was
immediately engaged by the Metropolitan
Opera Guild as Music Director for their
production of a newly commissioned opera
for young people.
An
excellent symphonic conductor and
proponent of contemporary music, Maestro
Crawford was engaged by the New York
Philharmonic as cover conductor for
Maestro Kurt Masur for the American
premiere of Minoru Miki's Symphony for
Two Worlds. During the '98 season,
he made his New York City conducting
debut in the NYC City premiere of A
Chekov Trilogy by Richard Wargo. Before
leaving South Florida, he was asked to
conduct the New World Symphony in the Concerto
for Saxophone by Don Martino and
returned the following year as guest
soloist for the world premiere of John
Nelson's Fantasies
and Flourishes, an interactive
concerto for disklavier and orchestra.
Maestro
Crawford continues to have an active
career in accompanying when his
conducting schedule permits. He
has in the past accompanied Justino Diaz
and Pablo Elvira in Puerto Rico, Aprile
Millo in Sao Paolo, Richard Cowan on
Belle Île en Mer, and Ortrun Wenkel and
Håkan Hagegåard in Miami.
Doug
Han
PIANIST
/ ASSISTANT CONDUCTOR / AIR COVER COACH
Asian-American
pianist Doug Han enjoys an active career as an operatic coach on the music
staffs of opera companies throughout the
country. Last season, he made his
Montreal Symphony Orchestra debut at the
invitation of Maestro Kent Nagano, on
the music staff for the MSO's initial
Festival Bel Canto (a groundbreaking
collaboration between the MSO and Rome's
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia).
This season, he makes his Opera Omaha
debut coaching La Bohème and returns to the MSO's Festival Bel Canto. In recent
seasons, he has also debuted with Mobile
Opera, Rimrock Opera, Festival Opera,
and Berkeley Opera, as well as occupying
a coaching residency at Opera Africa
during their 2007 winter season. He has
also placed as a finalist for the Jette
Parker Young Artists Programme at
London's Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden. His performances as a collaborative
keyboardist include a Davies Symphony
Hall (San Francisco) debut in performances of Messiah
& New York debut at Merkin Concert
Hall.
Noby
Ishida
PIANIST
Assistant
conductor with the International Opera
Academy, Noby
Ishida has served on the faculties
of Bennington College, Temple
University, CUNY and the New School.
He has been music
director/conductor for Opera Northeast
and the Belleayre Festival Opera. Mr. Ishida was assistant conductor and pianist for Remarkable
Theater Brigade’s production of Tom
Cipullo’s opera, Glory Denied and artistic director of Satori Opera, He has been
producing operas in concert, giving
young singers opportunities to perform
with professionals in venues throughout
New York City.
As accompanist, Mr. Ishida has
performed in numerous halls in New York
City including Merkin Concert Hall,
Carnegie Hall, the Bechstein Center,
Steinway Hall, and Alice Tully Hall at
Lincoln Center.
He is a vocal coach for many
artists who perform with the
Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera,
Houston Grand Opera, and San Francisco
Opera, among others.
Tony
Bellomy
ASSISTANT
CONDUCTOR / AIR COVER COACH
Tony
Bellomy,
a native of Illinois, has been working
with singers and as a pianist for more
than a decade and has performance
degrees in both piano performance and
vocal accompanying. At home with choral
groups, individual singers and ballet
companies alike, Mr. Bellomy has coached
and played for the Florentine Opera
Company and the Skylight Opera Theatre,
both of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as
the Little Opera Theatre of New York,
New Jersey Verrismo Opera, dell’Arte
Opera Ensemble and Encompass New Opera
Theatre of New York. He has also played
as an adjunct for American Ballet
Theatre and as company pianist for four
years with the Milwaukee Ballet Company.
From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Bellomy joined the faculty of the Black Hills Summer Institute of the
Arts in Spearfish, South Dakota, with
soprano Johanna Meier and tenor and
conductor, John Stewart. His recital
programs there were praised as both
inventive and exceedingly well planned
for the young singer.
THE
CAST
(in alphabetical order)
JUSTIN
BIRDSONG
(Schaunard)
This
season, Justin Birdsong sang Papageno in Die Zauberflöte at Symphony Space, followed by Marullo in Rigoletto at
Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, both with
New York Lyric Opera Theatre.
He has appeared in Madama
Butterfly, Il
Barbiere di Siviglia, La Bohème,
and Le
Nozze di Figaro with Athena
Grand Opera; Fidelio and Der
Fliegende Holländer with
Atlanta Opera; Carmen and
the American premiere of Rautavaara's House
of the Sun with Opera in the
Ozarks. Concert repertoire includes
Stravinsky's Les Noces, Haydn's Creation,
Fauré and Mozart Requiem, and
Brahms' Vier
Ernste Gesänge. He holds degrees in
Voice and Theatre from the University of
Georgia and currently studies with
Gerald.
 LAZARO
CALDERON
(Rodolfo)
Puerto
Rico native, Lazaro Calderon’s roles include the Duke (Rigoletto), Des Grieux (Manon)
both with NYLOT, Rodolfo (La
Bohème) with the Ischia, Italy
Opera Festival, as well as Don Ottavio (Don
Giovanni), and Alfred (Die
Fledermaus) with the University of
Memphis. Calderon covered the role
of Ruggiero in La Rondine with Sarasota Opera. Notable conductors include
Victor DeRenzi, Enrique Patron de Rueda
and Steven Crawford, also worked with
directors Tito Capobianco, Anthony
Laciura and Michael Scarola. Calderon
won the prize for Best Italian Aria at
the Puerto Rico District Metropolitan
Opera National Council Auditions.
Calderon holds a MM in Opera Performance
from the University of Memphis.
GIDEON
DABI
(Marcello)
Gideon Dabi,
baritone, makes his debut with New York
Lyric Opera Theatre as Marcello.
He was heard at Symphony Hall as a
soloist with Keith Lockhart and the Boston
Pops, as Papageno in BU Opera's The
Magic Flute, and as the title
character in Michael Nyman's The
Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat.
He appeared as Marcello in La
Bohème, Reinaldo Arenas in the
premiere of Jorge Martín’s Before Night Falls (Act
II), and the Man with the Shoe
Sample Kit (Postcard from Morocco) with BU Opera. Gideon has sung
with several companies in New York/New
Jersey such as Opera New York, Manhattan
School of Music Opera, New Jersey
Concert Opera, Opera at Florham, and
Rutgers Opera Company, as well as Ash
Lawn Opera singing such roles as
Falke (Die
Fledermaus), Zuniga (Carmen),
and Ceprano (Rigoletto).
He was a featured soloist on the Grammy
Award-winning Anthology of
Jewish-American Composers.
 ELIZABETH
HEUERMANN
(Musetta)
Soprano
Elizabeth Heuermann is a graduate
of Indiana University School of Music.
She has performed the Title Role
in Manon,
Juliette in Romeo
et Juliette, Pamina in The
Magic Flute, Norina in Don
Pasquale, and Contessa Almaviva in Le
Nozze di Figaro, Musetta in La
Bohème, and Gretel in Hansel
and Gretel. Venues include: Carnegie Hall, Symphony Space in New York
City, Austin Lyric Opera, Opera
Illinois, Milwaukee Opera, Bach Society
of St. Paul with the St. Paul Orchestra,
Dell’Arte Opera of NYC, St. Martin’s
Chamber Players, AIMS Festival in
Austria as well as the New York Lyric
Opera Theatre.
Sacred works include St.
John’s Passion, Messiah, & Mass of the
Children.
A semi-finalist winner in the
Meistersinger Competition in Austria,
she was the recipient of a scholarship
at the University of Siena in Italy. She studies with Arthur Levy in NYC. Upcoming: Gilda in Rigoletto
, New York Lyric Opera Theatre
ALOK
KUMAR
(Rodolfo)
Since
his 2009 vocal transition from baritone
to tenor, Alok
Kumar has been a prize winner in the
Gerda Lissner International Vocal
Competition, the New Hampshire Lakes
Region Opera Competition, and was a
finalist in the Liederkranz Vocal
Competition.
Recent engagements have included
Don José in La
Tragédie de Carmen in Long
Island, and Tenor Soloist in
Schumann’s Requiem
with the Arlington-Belmont Chorale and
Philharmonic.
He will be reprising Rodolfo with
the Crested Butte Music Festival later
this summer.
Mr. Kumar coupled his transition
with a law degree from Suffolk
University Law School in Boston,
Massachusetts.
SEI
HEE LEE
(Mimi)
Soprano
Sei
Hee Lee received her Master of Music
degree and PSD from Mannes College of
Music. Currently, she is continuing her
study in DMA at UIUC, where she is
the recipient of the full
scholarship and Howard A. Stotler
Graduate Voice Fellowship. Ms. Lee was
the 1st prize and Grand Winner at
the Bel Canto Foundation, and 1st prize
Winner of the New York Lyric Opera
Theatre’s 2010 Vocal Competition.
She has performed operas such as Die
Fledermaus, La
Sonnambula, La Traviata, I Puritani, Idomeneo
, Romeo et Juliette and Le Nozze
di Figaro. She made her professional
debut, in Puccini’s Suor
Angelica with Empire Opera in New
York. Recently, she made her
international debut in Tokyo.
GRANT
MECH
(Benoit/Alcindoro)
Grant Mech
holds a B.M. degree in music education
and a M.M. degree in voice performance
and pedagogy from Westminster Choir
College, where he studied voice with
Margaret Cusack.
A 2008 participant in Opera New
Jersey’s Studio Artist Program, Grant
has appeared in numerous operatic roles,
including Publio in La
Clemenza di Tito with the
dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Mr. Gobineau
in Empire Opera’s production of The
Medium, and Marquis D’Obiny in La
Traviata with New Rochelle Opera.
During the 2008-09 season, he
performed a series of recitals with
soprano Diana Petras and pianist Akiko
Hosaki entitled “An Evening of
American Song.”
During the summer of 2009, Grant
appeared in concerts with the Franco
American Vocal Academy and sang
Agamemnon in Offenbach’s La Belle Hélène with Opéra du Périgord in France.
A January 2010 recital with
pianist Matei Varga included works by
George Enescu, Isabelle Aboulker, and
the premier of “Fern Hill” by
Michael Schmidt.
SARAH
JOY MILLER
(Musetta)
Sarah
Joy Miller
counts among her performances the role
of Mimi in Baz Luhrmann’s Broadway La
Bohème.
The Los Angeles native has appeared as
Fiordiligi, Faust’s Marguerite,
and in the title roles of Lucia di
Lammermoor, as
well as Micaëla in
Carmen. She has been
heard with the Hong Kong Opera, Radio
Classica (Italy), Gilda’s Club New
York, the Chicagoland Pops Orchestra and
Bel Air Presbyterian Church, in such
works as Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Poulenc’s
Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, Carconi’s
Gloria, Orff’s Carmina
Burana, and
the New York Lyric Opera Theatre.
Ms. Miller has been awarded prizes from
the New York Metropolitan Opera Council
Auditions, the Licia Albanese
Foundation, and the Los Angeles Artist
of the Future competition.
JIN-WON
PARK
(Mimi)
Jin-Won Park,
soprano, her study of opera began at The
University Mozarteum in Salzburg,
Austria where she earned a Bachelor of
Music in voice, a Master of Music in
opera as well as post graduate. She was
awarded the Austrian Government’s
Minister of Culture music scholarship
and graduated from Mozarteum with
Honors.
Ms. Park has also won the
Audience Choice Award at New York Lyric
Opera Theatre’s 2010 Vocal Competition
in New York City, the United States, a
prize at International Mozart
Competition and a 4th prize
at the Ferruccio Tagliavini
International Competition in Austria.
Also, she has performed various concerts
in the United States, Austria, Germany,
Korea and China.
NATHAN
RESIKA
(Colline)
Nathan Resika
has performed all over the world. In
August , Nathan will make his Operanorth
(NH) debut as Il Commendatore and
Leporello in Don Giovanni. His recent appearances include Leporello
in Don Giovanni with the UCC
concert series in Montclair, NJ; Colline
in La Bohème and
the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro with
Houston’s Opera in the Heights, as
well as Don Alfonso In Cosi Fan Tutte
with Underworld Productions at Symphony
Space (2009). He has performed at a
number of prestigious music festivals
including the 2008 Caramoor Opera
Festival as the Marchese di
Calatrava in La Forza del Destino.
Mr. Resika has performed several roles
with the Center for Contemporary Opera.
They include: Senator Heflin in Clarence
and Anita by Ben Yarmolinsky, the
diabolical Sir Danvers Carew in Barry
O’Neal’s Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,
and The Man in J D MCClatchy and
Francis Thorne’s Mario and the
Magician. He is also an
accomplished classical guitarist,
performing at Caramoor Opera Festival.
RAYMOND
UY
(Benoit)
A
distinguished vocalist and teacher, Raymond
Uy has recently been seen performing
roles with the Delaware Valley
Opera, Garden State Opera, New York
Lyric Opera Theatre and the Lyric Opera
of Los Angeles, as well as in ensembles
for the Opera Festival of New Jersey. In
addition, he has sung in many
collaborative performances between the
choirs of Westminster, and orchestras
that include the New York Philharmonic,
Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New
Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Uy holds
a Master of Music degree from the
Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelor
of Music degree from Westminster Choir
College.
Top
Carmen
Opera
in Four Acts by Georges Bizet
Text
by H. Meilhac and L. Halevy
(sung
in French)
Saturday,
June 5, 2010, 8:30 PM
&
Saturday,
June 12, 2010, 4:30PM
Peter
Norton Symphony Space
Leonard
Nimoy Thalia
John
Yaffé, Music Director
Conductor:
David Rosenmeyer
Pianist:
Pei-wen Chen
Assistant
Conductor/AIR Cover Coach: Doug Han
Assistant
Conductor/AIR Cover Coach: Tony Bellomy
Cast
(in order of appearance)
Micaëla
Melinda Whittington*/Alexandra
Smith**
Moralès
Jesse Cromer*/Jesse Cromer**
Don
José
Victor Khodadad*/Kevin
Courtemanche**
Carmen
Crystal Phillipi*/Mary Bowen**
Zuniga
Jesse Cromer*/Jesse Cromer**
Frasquita
Dene’ Bradford*/Brooke Schooley**
Mercédès
Antonia Szilagi*/Kirsten Kane**
Escamillo
Donghyun Park*/Vladimir Lokshin**
Dancaïro
Zander Ebin*/Zander Ebin**
Remendado
Raymond Uy*/Raymond Uy**
*
June 5
/ ** June 12
Cover
Singers
Micaëla
Rachel Arky*, Elizabeth
Heuermann*,
Shanna Spiro**,
Melynda
Davis**
Moralès
Justin Birdsong*/Justin
Birdsong**
Don
José
Jameson James*, Juan Carlos**
Carmen
Nora Graham-Smith*, Margaret
O’Connell**
Frasquita
Jane Hoffman*, Paige Cutrona**Kristen
Jensen**
Mercédès
Kirsten Kane*, Melissa Chan**,
Melinda Learnard**
Escamillo
Marcos Sola**
Dancaïro
Justin Birdsong*/Justin
Birdsong**
Remendado
Kevin Peters*/Kevin Peters**
*
June 5
/ ** June 12
David
Rosenmeyer
CONDUCTOR
Maestro
David
Rosenmeyer made his Carnegie Hall
debut conducting the Oratorio Society of
New York in Stravinsky’s Mass
in April 2007. He is also the Associate
Conductor of this society. He returned
to Carnegie Hall again with OSNY in 2008
and in March 2010 and was their
conductor in a tour to Hungary in the
summer of 2007. In October 2009 he lead
the Bellas Artes Opera Company of México
in a staged gala as part of the
Cervantino International Festival in
Guanajuato. This season, Maestro
Rosenmeyer conducted Rossini’s Barber
of Seville with Bleecker Street
Opera and Handel’s Serse
with Pocket Opera New York. Born in
Argentina, David Rosenmeyer began his
studies in Israel, where he spent much
of his childhood. In 1996, 2002 and
2005, Mr. Rosenmeyer conducted the
Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of
Argentina and appeared as a guest
conductor with orchestras in Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Israel, Hungary and México.
In May of 2002, he was music
director and pianist for the world
premiere of "The Sandman," an
opera by Thomas Cabaniss directed by
David Herskovits in a production by
Target Margin Theater. He subsequently
worked with this experimental theater
group as composer, adviser and music
director. From 2003-2009 was the Music
Director of Columbia University’s Bach
Society.
A Master’s graduate of Mannes
College of Music in Conducting and
Theory, he was given the Felix Salzer
award to an achievement in music theory.
Maestro Rosenmeyer is part of the
faculty of the International Vocal Arts
Institute with which he conducts and
coaches young singers in their workshops
in Tel-Aviv, Puerto Rico and Montreal.
Recent engagements include a concert in
the JCC of Manhattan in a concert called
‘Searching for Kristtalnacht’ and a
gala with the Orchestra of the Teatro
Colón in Buenos Aires.
 Pei-wen
Chen
PIANIST
Born
in Taipei, Taiwan, Pei-wen Chen graduated from the National Academy of Art with highest
honors and performed Beethoven's Piano
Concerto No.4 in 1990. In 1992, Ms. Chen
entered the Mannes College of Music in
New York and studied with Madame N.
Svetlanova. In 1994, she performed
Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on the theme of
Paganini with the Mannes Orchestra
conducted by Maestro M. Charry. Shortly
after graduating from Mannes with a
special piano award, Ms. Chen made her
debut at the Weill Recital Hall of the
Carnegie Hall in 1995. Ms. Chen has been
performing solo and chamber music
works throughout many places in
countries like U.S.A., France,
Germany, Italy, Austria, etc. Ms. Chen
performs often in the
"Alexander Paley Chamber Music
Festival" in Richmond, Virginia
(U.S.A.) and as well in Moulin d'Ande in
France. December 2001, Ms.Chen made her
Paris debut in Salle O. Messiaen in
France.
Doug
Han
ASSISTANT
CONDUCTOR
Asian-American
pianist Douglas
Han enjoys an active career as an
operatic coach on the music staffs of
opera companies throughout the country.
Last season, he made his Montreal
Symphony Orchestra debut at the
invitation of Maestro Kent Nagano, on
the music staff for the MSO's initial
Festival Bel Canto (a groundbreaking
collaboration between the MSO and Rome's
Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia).
This season, he makes his Opera Omaha
debut coaching La
Bohème and returns to the MSO's
Festival Bel Canto. In recent seasons,
he has also debuted with Mobile Opera,
Rimrock Opera, Festival Opera, and
Berkeley Opera, as well as occupying a
coaching residency at Opera
Africa
during their 2007 winter season. He has
also placed as a finalist for the Jette
Parker Young Artists Programme at
London's Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden. His performances as a collaborative
keyboardist include Davies Symphony
Hall.
Tony
Bellomy
ASSISTANT
CONDUCTOR
Tony Bellomy,
a native of Illinois, has been working
with singers and as a pianist for more
than a decade and has performance
degrees in both piano performance and
vocal accompanying. At home with choral
groups, individual singers and ballet
companies alike, Mr. Bellomy has coached
and played for the Florentine Opera
Company and the Skylight Opera Theatre,
both of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as well as
the Little Opera Theatre of New York,
New Jersey Verismo Opera, Dell’Arte
Opera Ensemble and Encompass New Opera
Theatre of New York. He has also played
as an adjunct for American Ballet
Theatre and as company pianist for four
years with the Milwaukee Ballet Company.
From
2002 to 2006, Mr. Bellomy joined
the faculty of the Black Hills Summer
Institute of the Arts in Spearfish,
South Dakota, with soprano Johanna Meier
and tenor and conductor, John Stewart.
THE
CAST
(in alphabetical order)
MARY
BOWEN
(Carmen)
Mezzo-soprano,
Mary
Bowen, made her recent debut with
Opera Ireland as Dorabella in Mozart’s
Così
fan tutte in Dublin and Limerick,
Ireland and performed the role of Donna
Elvira in Opera de Zapopan’s Don
Giovanni by Mozart (Guadalajara,
Mexico). Ms. Bowen has performed
principal roles with New York City Opera
including the Second Lady in The Magic Flute by Mozart, Soeur Mathilde in Poulenc’s The
Dialogues of the Carmelites, and
Flora in Verdi’s La
Traviata. Other operatic credits
include: Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Prince Orlofsky in J. Strauss’s Die
Fledermaus, Marchese
Melibea in Rossini’s Il
Viaggio à Reims, L’Enfant in L’Enfant
et les Sortilèges, Composer
in Ariadne
auf Naxos with opera companies such
as the Santa Fe Opera and Opera
Southwest (NM), Dayton Opera and Sorg
Opera (OH), Des Moines Metro Opera (IA),
and Aspen Opera Theatre (CO).
A.DENE’
BRADFORD
(Frasquita)
Mrs. A. Dene' Bradford has performed the role of Suor Genovieffa in Suor
Angelica with the Opera Company of
Brooklyn Studio.
She was also an Artist- in-
Residence with the New York Lyric Opera,
2009. Other roles include; Susanna in
Mozart’s
Le Nozze di Figaro, Papagena
& First Lady in Mozart’s
Die Zauberflöte, Musetta in
Puccini’s
La Bohème, & Laetitia in
Menotti’s
The Old Maid and the Thief. Mrs.
Bradford became the 1st place winner of
the Leontyne Price Emerging Young Artist
Vocal Competition, 2nd place winner of
the National Association of Teachers
& Singers (NATS) Dallas-Ft Worth
Competition, & Semi-Finalist of the
University of Texas at Arlington
Concerto Competition. Ms. Bradford holds
a BM in Vocal Performance from the
University of Texas at Arlington &
Certificate of Performance from
Accademia dell’
Arte
in Italy.
KEVIN
COURTEMANCHE
(Don
Jose)
Tenor
Kevin
Courtemanche created the role of the
Brigadier General in Philip Glass' Appomattox
at
San Francisco Opera and Uncle Farnam in
Joel Andrew Weiss’ The Offshore
Pirate at Christopher Street Opera.
In New York and throughout the world, he
has sung such roles as Hoffmann,
Verdi’s Otello, Gounod’s Faust,
Radamès, Calaf, Cavaradossi,
Canio, Turiddu, Don José, Pinkerton,
Macduff, Tamino, the
Chevalier in Dialogues of the
Carmelites, Pluto in Orpheus in
the Underworld, the Mother in
The Seven Deadly Sins, The Witch
in Hansel
and Gretel, Alfred in Die
Fledermaus, Rinuccio in Gianni
Schicchi and Rodolfo in La bohème. Future engagements include the Duke in Rigoletto with Bleecker Street Opera and the Messenger in The
Great Supper, Roberto in Le
villi, and Judge Danforth in Robert
Ward’s The
Crucible, all with Empire Opera.
JESSE
CROMER
(Moralès/Zuniga)
Oregonian
baritone, Jesse Cromer, began his singing career in musical theatre,
performing many roles around the Salem
area.
A graduate of the Manhattan
School of Music, Jesse has portrayed
roles such as Lockit in the Beggar’s
Opera, Dick McGann in Street
Scene, and Cadmus in Semele,
Scenes include Figaro in Le
Nozze di Figaro, Demetrius in
Britten’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, and
Sir Tristan Mickleford in Martha.
Equally at home with concert
repertoire, Mr. Cromer has been the
baritone soloist for the Messiah
with the Nubian Society, Fauré Requiem
with the Oregon Bach Festival, and
Puccini’s Gloria with the Westchester Choral society.
This past January, he performed
the role of Papageno in New York Lyric
Opera Theatre’s Die
Zauberflöte.
ZANDER
EBIN
(Dancaïro)
Zander Ebin
has appeared as Dzidzi in Moniuszko’s
Hrabina with OperaOggiNY, Monostatos in
Die Zauberflöte with New York Lyric
Opera Theater, the Sailor in Dido and
Aeneas with The New York Collective for
the Performing Arts, Fernando in
Granados’s Goyescas with Brown Opera
Productions and Frederic in Pirates of
Penzance with Brown University Gilbert
and Sullivan. At Brown University he
received the Faculty Premium for Musical
Excellence in 2007 and the David Laurent
Prize for excellence in a singer in
2006. He is currently working on his
Master of Music in Vocal Performance at
Manhattan School of Music.
KIRSTEN
KANE
(Mercédès)
Mezzo-soprano
Kirsten Kane sings in the choruses of the NY Philharmonic, the
American Symphony Orchestra, and the
Little Orchestra Society. A member of
the National Chorale and the NY Choral
Artists, she has sung as a chorister
under the batons of Leon Botstein, Will
Crutchfield, Mariss Jansons, Louis Langrée
and Lorin Maazel, and appeared with the
Mostly Mozart Festival and the Royal
Concertgebouw. Ms. Kane’s solo
repertoire has included Charlotte (Werther),
Rosina, Meg (Falstaff),
Idamante, Cherubino, Romeo, Dorabella,
Siebel, Hansel, La Badessa (Suor
Angelica), and Giovanna (Rigoletto),
as well as Haydn's Schöpfungsmesse
(New York Cantata Singers), Beethoven's Missa
Solemnis (Choral Symphony Society),
and Handel's Messiah (Ensemble Sepia Orchestra). Ms. Kane has also presented a
recital of French song in association
with the Jewish Museum's exhibit of
Sarah Bernhardt.
VICTOR
KHODADAD
(Don
Jose)
Victor
Khodadad
received his Master of Fine Arts in
Acting from San Francisco’s American
Conservatory Theater in 1996 and his
Graduate Professional Diploma in Vocal
Performance from The Hartt School in
2005. Regionally, he has sung with
Mississippi Opera, Amarillo Opera, Opera
Theater of Connecticut, Connecticut
Lyric Opera, Opera Santa Barbara,
Commonwealth Opera, Philadelphia Concert
Opera, Hot Springs Music Festival and
Natchez Opera Festival in roles such as
Sesto, Tamino, Don Ottavio, Ferrando,
The Male Chorus, Alfred, Eisenstein, Gérald,
Roméo, Lenksy, Alfredo, The
Duke,
Rodolfo, Cavaradossi, Don José, and
Turiddu. As time permits, he studies
with legendary tenor Nicolai Gedda in
Switzerland.
VLADIMIR
LOKSHIN
(Escamillo)
Vladimir
Lokshin, baritone, was born in the City
of Baku in the former
Soviet Union. He holds a Master
of Arts Degree in Voice from the Baku
Academy of Music. As the first year
student at the Music Academy, he made
his professional debut as Valentine in
Gounod’s Faust
at the Baku State Opera Theater, where
he has since gained extensive experience
as a soloist. Mr. Lokshin has sung with
the” Bolshoy Theater” and in over
twenty Opera Houses in the former Soviet
Union. He has participated in operatic
music festivals and in the Opera and
Ballet Theaters of Minsk, Tbilisi,
Tashkent, and Ashgabat. Among his awards
are diplomas and the honorary title of
the Best Opera Singer from the
Soviet Ministry of Culture , a
diploma from Soviet Republic of Belarus,
and the title of the Honored Artist of
Azerbaidjan Republic.
 DONGHYUN
PARK (Escamillo)
From
Seoul, Korea, baritone Donghyun Park made his Carnegie Hall debut as Bretigny in
Massenet’s Manon with New York Lyric Opera Theater in 2009. His recent New York
performance
includes Don
Giovanni with Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble. He also performed a
principle role in the premiere of
Italian composer Bruno Rigacci’s Opera
Dodici personage in cerca di voce in
Chiari, Italy last summer, and appeared
as Gregorio in Romeo
et Juliette by Gounod in 2009 also
with New York Lyric Opera. In March, he
performed Monterone in Rigoletto
with the Beecker Street Opera as well
Escamillo this past May in Carmen
with the New York Lyric Opera
Theatre at Symphony Space.
CRYSTAL
PHILIPPI
(Carmen)
Crystal
Philippi brings to the stage the soul
and charm of her home town, New
Orleans. She has appeared in
numerous operatic roles, including:
Charlotte in Werther,
Mallika in Lakmé,
Hermia
in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream, Prince
Orlofsky in Die
Fledermaus Zita in Gianni
Schicchi, and Mere
Jeanne in Dialogues des Carmelites.
She has also performed many scenes from
Der
Rosenkavalier, La
Cenerentola, Mignon,
I Capuletti e I Montecchi, Calisto,
Le Nozze di Figaro, Rigoletto,
and Vanessa.
Ms. Philippi has studied under
Denise Ozden, Dr. Jessica Molin, and
Cesar Ulloa, one of the most sought
after voice
teachers both in the states and
abroad. Other coaches and directors she
has had the privilege of working with
include Louis G. Burkot, Ron Luchsinger,
Corey Jameson, Rick Harrell, David
Garner, Kathryn Cathcart, Elizabeth
Hastings, Brian
Asawa (internationally acclaimed
counter-tenor), Sir
Willard White.
BROOKE
SCHOOLEY
(Frasquita)
Brooke Schooley
debuted as Susanna (The Marriage of
Figaro) in September 2009 with The
Light Opera Company of Salisbury, where
she was noted for “her florid runs,
wonderful acting and great diction.”
In January 2010, she appeared as the
Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte)
with New York Lyric Opera, where she
recently covered the role of Gilda (Rigoletto). Upcoming
performances include the role of
Miss L’Amour in the premier of
Waundell Saavedra’s The Great
Supper with Empire Opera and Mabel
in Pirates of Penzance with the
Light Opera Company of Salisbury. She
will also cover the role of Abigail (The
Crucible) with Empire Opera.
ALEXANDRA
SMITH
(Micaëla)
Originally
from Louisville, Kentucky, soprano Alexandra
Smith is a graduate of the Manhattan
School of Music where she received her
Masters in Music. In 2006 and 2008 she
attended the Opera Theatre and Music
Festival of Lucca in the Studio program
and Solisti program. As a Lorenzo
Malfatti scholar, she sang concerts as
Contessa in Le
Nozze di Figaro and Magda in La
Rondine. Other roles
include Zerlina (Don
Giovanni), Soprano (The
Fairy Queen), Adele (Die
Fledermaus). Role studies
include Susanna and Juliet (Gounod)
with MAF. She was a finalist for
the Giulio Gari Competition 2010.
ANTONIA
GARZA SZILAGI (Mercédès)
A
native New Yorker, Antonia Garza Szilagi was featured in the Times Picayune New Orleans, “Vibrant even voice, flair for
comedy” and the Cape
Cod Times, “Exquisite operatic
voice” Cape
Cod Times, for the critically
acclaimed performances. Radio
Broadcasts include:
WQXR, NPR
(soloist with Musica DA Camera). Performances include: Off-Broadway:
Stoop
Bubbie(original cast & cast
album) Regional: Fiddler(Tzeitl),
West Side Story (Rosalia),
Fiorello (Mrs. Pomerantz)and
The Godfathers Messhugener Wedding,
LOOM ,
DiCapo Opera, NY Renaissance
Festival Opera.
Operatic Roles include, The
Sorceress Dido
and Aenes, Berta The
Barber of Seville, Mother
Amahl
Soloist New Orleans Jazz
Festival.
She is married to Artist Karl
Szilagi and has three children.
Upcoming: Abuela in EnMis Palabras, Colorado Springs Opera
RAYMOND
UY
(Remendado)
A
distinguished vocalist and teacher, Raymond
Uy has recently been seen performing
roles with the Delaware Valley
Opera, Garden State Opera, New York
Lyric Opera and the Lyric Opera of Los
Angeles, as well as in ensembles for the
Opera Festival of New Jersey. In
addition, he has sung in many
collaborative performances between the
choirs of Westminster, and orchestras
that include the New York Philharmonic,
Philadelphia Orchestra, and the New
Jersey Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Uy holds
a Master of Music degree from the
Eastman School of Music, and a Bachelor
of Music degree from Westminster Choir
College.
MELINDA
WHITTINGTON
(Micaëla)
Melinda
Whittington’s voice has been described
as “outstanding,” “even, smooth,
and powerful” and “strongly
supported across its range from
pianissimo to her angriest forte.…”
She is making her debut with the New
York Lyric Opera Theatre with this
performance.
This summer, Melinda is engaged
to play Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with
Brevard’s Janiec Opera Company.
Her recent roles include Marie in The
Bartered Bride, Lola in Cavalleria
Rusticana, Peep-Bo in The Mikado,
The Beggar Woman in Sweeney Todd,
Mollie Sinclair in The Sojourner
and Mollie Sinclair, and Mrs. Mister
in The Cradle Will Rock. Melinda
lives in Charlotte, NC where she also
runs a voice studio.
Top
Past
Performances
Carmen
Opera
in Four Acts by Georges Bizet
Text
by H. Meilhac and L. Halevy
(sung
in French)
Saturday,
June 5, 2010, 8:30 PM
&
Saturday,
June 12, 2010, 4:30PM
Peter
Norton Symphony Space
Leonard
Nimoy Thalia
John
Yaffé, Music Director
Conductor:
David Rosenmeyer
Pianist:
Pei-wen Chen
Assistant
Conductor/AIR Cover Coach: Doug Han
Assistant
Conductor/AIR Cover Coach: Tony Bellomy
Cast
(in order of appearance)
Micaëla
Melinda Whittington*/Alexandra Smith**
Moralès
Jesse Cromer*/Jesse Cromer**
Don
José
Victor Khodadad*/Kevin Courtemanche**
Carmen
Crystal Phillipi*/Mary Bowen**
Zuniga
Jesse Cromer*/Jesse Cromer**
Frasquita
Dene’ Bradford*/Brooke Schooley**
Mercédès
Antonia Szilagi*/Kirsten Kane**
Escamillo
Donghyun Park*/Vladimir Lokshin**
Dancaïro
Zander Ebin*/Zander Ebin**
Remendado
Raymond Uy*/Raymond Uy**
*
June 5 / ** June 12
Cover
Singers
Micaëla
Rachel Arky*, Elizabeth Heuermann*,
Shanna Spiro**,
Melynda Davis**
Moralès
Justin Birdsong*/Justin Birdsong**
Don
José Jameson James*, Juan
Franco**
Carmen
Nora Graham-Smith*, Margaret
O’Connell**
Frasquita
Jane Hoffman*, Paige Cutrona**Kristen
Jensen**
Mercédès
Kirsten Kane*, Melissa Chan**, Melinda
Learnard**
Escamillo
Marcos Sola**
Dancaïro
Justin Birdsong*/Justin Birdsong**
Remendado
Kevin Peters*/Kevin Peters**
*
June 5 / ** June 12
Rigoletto
Opera
in Three Acts by Giuseppe Verdi
Text
by Francesco Maria Piave
(sung
in Italian)
Saturday
Evening, February 27, 8:30 PM
Peter
Norton Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy
Thalia
Saturday
Evening, March 6, 8:30 PM
Weill
Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
John
Yaffé, NYLOT Music Director
Guest
Conductor: Steven Crawford
Pianist:
Tony Bellomy
Musical
Preparation: Tony Bellomy, Pei-wen Chen,
Steven Crawford
Cast
(in order of appearance)
The
Duke Glenn Seven Allen*/Lazaro
Calderon**
Borsa
Jameson James*/Raymond Uy**
Countess
Ceprano Shanna Spiro*/Suzanne Stone**
Marullo
Justin Birdsong*/Justin Birdsong**
Rigoletto
Richard Cassell*/Andrew Cummings**
Count
Ceprano Stephan Ortiz*/Stephan Ortiz**
Monterone
Donghyun Park*/David Kelleher-Flight**
Sparafucile
Matthew Anchel*/Matthew Anchel**
Gilda
Valentina Fleer*/Valentina Fleer**
Giovanna
Rebecca Comerford*/Rebecca Comerford**
The
Page Lauren Haber*/Lauren Haber**
Maddalena
Sarah Lee*/Ayse Oskan**
*
February 27 / ** March 6
Cover
Singers
The
Duke Jameson James*, Jonathan Winell**
Countess
Ceprano Lauren Haber*, Lauren Haber**
Marullo
Stephan Ortiz*, Stephan Ortiz**
Count
Ceprano Donghyun Park*, Donghyun Park**
Gilda
Brooke Schooley*, Yuri Kwak**, Amy
Irvine**
Maddalena
Rebecca Comerford*, Keiko Kai**
*
February 27 / ** March 6
Die
Zauberflöte
(The
Magic Flute)
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(sung
in German, with dialogue in English)
Saturday
Evenings, January 16, 23 and 30, 2010,
8:30 p.m.
Peter
Norton Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy
Thalia
John
Yaffé, Music Director
Conductor:
John Yaffé
Pianist:
Pei-wen Chen
Musical
Preparation:
Tony Bellomy, Pei-wen Chen, John Yaffé
Cast
(in order of appearance)
Tamino
Tomohisa Kawano*/Rogelio
Peñaverde**/Jonathan Winell***
1st
Lady
Seung Hee Lee*/Sun A Yeo**/Kristin
Jensen***
2nd
Lady
Seon Gyu Park*/Kelley
Brandt**/Suzanne Stone***
3rd
Lady
Anna Yelizarova*/Keiko
Kai**/Annie Pennies***
Papageno
Jesse Cromer*/Nicholas Probst**/Justin
Birdsong***
Queen
of the Night
Elizabeth Treat*/Brooke Schooley**/Elizabeth
Turchi***
Monostatos
Raymond Uy*/David
Kelleher-Flight**/Alexander Ebin***
Pamina
Jennifer Sgroe*/Solveig
Olsen**/Yuri Park***
1st
Spirit
Raquel Suarez*/Jane
Hoffman**/Tara Bobiak***
2nd
Spirit
Elizabeth Kelsay*/Lisa
Flanagan**/Lisa Flanagan***
3rd
Spirit
Meghan Scheibal*/Meghan Scheibal**/Meghan
Scheibal***
Speaker
John Wahl*/Justin Birdsong**/John
Wahl***
1st
Priest
Tytus Abrahamson*/Tytus
Abrahamson**/Alex Weaver***
Sarastro
Matthew Anchel*/David Mimran**/David
Mimran***
2nd
Priest
John Wahl*/Justin Birdsong**/John
Wahl***
1st
Armored Man
Tytus Abrahamson*/Tytus
Abrahamson**/Alex Weaver***
2nd
Armored Man
John Wahl*/Justin Birdsong**/John
Wahl***
Old
Lady
Jacqueline King*/Elisa
Singer**/Catherine Webber***
Papagena
Jacqueline King*/Elisa
Singer**/Catherine Webber***
*
January 16
/ ** January 23 /
*** January 30
Home
for the Holidays Concert
Saturday,
December 5, 2009
Symphony
Space
Leonard
NimoyThalis
New
York City
Music
Director John
Yaffé
Guest
Conductor/Pianist Elizabeth Hastings
Performers
(In
alphabetical order)
Glenn
Allen
Kelly
Curtin
Lorraine
Helvick
Elizabeth
Heuermann
Juliana
Janes-Yaffe
Iris
Karlin
Donghyun
Park
Kevin
Peters
Brooke
Schooley
Gregory
Spock
Suzanne
Stone
Jules
Massenet’s
Manon
Libretto
by Henri Meilhac and Philippe Gille
(sung
in French)
Saturday,
November 7, 2007
Weill
Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall
Friday,
November 13, 2009
Peter
Norton Symphony Space, Leonard Nimoy
Thalia
Music
Director John
Yaffé
Conductor:
John
Yaffé
Pianist:
Pei-wen Chen
Narrator:
Kate Kearney-Patch
Musical
Preparation:
Pei-wen, Douglas Han, Bob Wilson
Cast
Manon
Elizabeth
Heuermann* Chloe Moore**
Des
Grieux
Lazaro Calderon***
Lescaut Nicholas Probst***
Count
des Grieux
Michael Callas***
Poussette Kelly Curtin*
Nina Berman**
Javotte Nina Riley*
Adriana Lee**
Rosette
Elizabeth
Shoup* Natalie Megules**
Guillot
Leslie
Tay* Mete Tasin**
Bretigny
Donghyun Park* Boris
Bogdanovic**
Innkeeper
Luis
Gonzalez* Stephan Ortiz**
Guards Kevin Peters, Mete Tasin, Luis
Gonzale, Stephan Ortiz
Sergeant Mete Tasin*
Kevin Peters**
Maid Lisa Flanigan***
*November
7
**Novmber 13
***Both performances
Gounod’s
Roméo
et Juliette
Weill
Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall
March
28, 2009
and
Christ
and St. Stephen’s Church
April
3, 2009
Music
Director/Conductor John
Yaffé
Pianist
SeHwan Park
Narrator
Gloria Hodes
Musical
Preparation Tony Bellomy, Se Hwan Park
Performers
Carnegie
Hall Weill Hall
Christ and
St. Stephen’s Church
Romeo
Christian Sebek
* Glenn Seven
Allen**
Juliet
Elizabeth Heuermann*
Mariane Lemieux**
Mercutio
Murat Cem Orhan*
Marcos Sola**
Friar
Lawrence
Zack Rabin***
Stephano
Erika Person*
Daniela Acosta**
Gertrude
Sarah Lee*
Lorraine
Helvick**
Capulet
Michael
Callas***
Tybalt
Mete Tasin *
Joo Young Kim**
Benvolio
Gregory
Spock* Daniel Jones**
Paris
Michael
Keith Smith* Robert Maril**
Gregorio
Boris
Bogdanovic*
Donghyun Park**
Duke
of Verona
Daniel Spoitta***
*March
28 performance **April 3 performance
***Both performances
Top
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