Summer 2008 Main Stage Performance

Thursday & Saturday
July 24 and 26, 2008, 7:30 PM

Tickets on Sale Now!

Israel Gursky - Conductor

Israel Gursky has held the position of assistant conductor with the Washington National Opera since 2001, and has also been principal coach and chorus master at Wolf Trap Opera for seven seasons. Recent performances include a critically acclaimed Don Giovanni with the Washington National Opera, Werther at the University of Maryland, Transformations at Manhattan School of Music as well as a tour of China and Singapore, conducting the Shanghai Opera Orchestra.

Upcoming performances in 2008 include The Fly (World premiere - Theatre du Chatelet, Paris, and Los Angeles Opera) Romeo et Juliette (PORT Opera) and Lurcezia Borgia (Washington National Opera) . A frequent recital collaborator, he has performed with many singers including Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Bejun Mehta, Kate Aldrich, Laquita Mitchell, Paul Sperry and Eric Cutler in venues that include Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Weill Recital Hall and the 92nd St. Y. He has appeared on French television, A&E channel’s “Breakfast with the Arts” and on numerous radio broadcasts.

A native of Tel Aviv, Israel, he graduated from Manhattan School of Music and earned his doctorate at Stony Brook University. He is a recent winner of a conducting award from the George Solti Foundation. He resides in New York City, and currently serves on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music.

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Dona D. Vaughn - Stage Director

Dona D. Vaughn has served as PORTopera's Artistic Director for six years, and prior to that was the company's Resident Stage Director. She also is Artistic Director of the Manhattan School of Music Opera Program, and for the past ten years has been stage director/acting coach for The Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

A graduate of Brevard College (currently serves on the board of trustees), she received her BA in music from Wesleyan (Outstanding Alumni Award) and the MA in theater directing from Hunter College. She studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen, and dance with Martha Graham. She began her career as a performer in the original Broadway productions of Company, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Seesaw. She was assistant to producer Kermit Bloomgarden for the Broadway productions of Equus and Hot L Baltimore, and Associate Producer for Pavel Kohout’s Poor Murderer and ABC Television’s All My Children. She has been a dramaturge for the O’Neill Conference on Opera and Musical Theater, HB Playwright’s Unit, and the University of Kansas New Play Season. She was Assistant Director for Tennessee Williams’s Red Devil Battery Sign starring Anthony Quinn and Claire Bloom, and subsequently directed that play and the public premiere of William's Spring Storm for New York's Ensemble Studio Theater.

Additional directing credits include New York City Opera, Wolf Trap, Michigan Opera Theater, Berkshire Opera, Dayton Opera, Syracuse Opera, Lincoln Center, New York Repertory Company, Kennedy Center, Minerva Productions, Peterloon Festival, Heritage Theater (Calgary, Canada), DiVivreVoix (Vivonne, France), Florida Arts Festival, and many colleges and universities across the country. She directed the premieres of Roberto Hazon’s L’Agenzia Matrimoniale, Francis Thorne’s Mario and the Magician, Ray Luc’s Droane’s Wooden Image and The Bullfrog, New York premieres of Milton Granger’s Talk Opera and The Proposal, off-Broadway production of Murphy Guyer’s World of Mirth, and the European premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s The Flower and the Hawk.

She often serves as an adjudicator for vocal competitions across the country including The Metropolitan Opera National Council, Denver Lyric Opera Competition, The Richard Tucker Foundation, and Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition.

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Gaston Rivero - Roméo

Uruguay-born tenor Gaston Rivero, finalist and prizewinner at the 2007 Montserrat Caballé International Singing Contest, has been described as “a true Italianate tenor” with a “beautiful, arresting voice” (Jay Nordlinger, New York Sun). This season, Mr. Rivero was seen as Roméo in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Carolina and will reprise the role in the summer with PortOpera in Portland, Maine. Mr. Rivero also made his Palm Beach Opera debut as Alfredo in La traviata, replacing a colleague at the last moment. Also this season, he will participate in Knoxville Opera’s ‘Three Tenors Concert’ as well as concerts of operatic arias and duets with soprano Nicole Cabell in Rheingau, Germany and a Weill Hall recital with Maestra Eve Queler under the auspices of Opera Orchestra of New York. Next season, Mr. Rivero will sing Don José in Carmen with Opéra de Lausanne on tour in Japan, Rodolfo in La bohème at Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, and a Puccini concert also at the Teatro Colon.

Mr. Rivero recently performed Don José in Carmen with Knoxville Opera and was featured in a gala for the Richard Tucker Music Foundation singing excerpts from Rigoletto, I lombardi, and La bohème that was simulcast from Valetta, Malta to the United States. Other operatic engagements in the 2006-2007 season included Alfredo in La traviata with Lyric Opera of San Antonio, El Paso Opera, and Wichita Grand Opera and B.F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at the Staatstheater Nürnberg.

Mr. Rivero’s professional opera debut came in 2004 with Opera Orchestra of New York in Ponchielli’s La Gioconda conducted by Maestro Eve Queler. Also with Opera Orchestra of New York, he was heard as the Gondolier and Doge in Rossini’s Otello, Flaminio in L’amore dei Tre Re, Hadji in Lakmé, and Trin in La fanciulla del West. In 2003, Mr. Rivero made his Broadway debut in Baz Luhrmann’s production of La bohème.

In the 2002-2003 season, Mr. Rivero made his Carnegie Hall debut in recital, performing works by Puccini, Tosti, and Ginastera. In the years since, he has appeared at Carnegie Hall more than 20 times. Mr. Rivero was a Grand Finalist in Plácido Domingo’s OPERALIA competition 2006, The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Vocal Competition 2005, as well as first place in the Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation in 2006. Other notable awards include the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Competition, Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, and the Caruso International Voice Competition.

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Jennifer Black - Juliette

American lyric soprano Jennifer Black completed the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in 2008. In the program, she was involved in the MET productions of Ariadne auf Naxos, Carmen, Idomeneo, Don Carlo, Le Nozze di Figaro, Manon Lescaut and a new production of Suor Angelica under the baton of Maestro James Levine.

Ms. Black made her Santa Fe Opera debut as Micäela in Carmen during the 2006 summer season, and returned for her role debut as Mimi in La Bohème summer 2007. The Santa Fe New-Mexican said, “Jennifer Black was a revelation as Mimi. Her soprano was gleaming and glorious, with wonderful nuances of light and shade and complete dynamic control. She showed the little seamstress’s shyness, archness and saucy ardor perfectly, and her arias were meltingly sung. Her sad Act III duet with Corey McKern...was one of the best I’ve ever heard.”

Ms. Black made her debut with New York City Opera as Musetta in La Bohème in April 2006 and returned as Micäela in Carmen October of 2007. The New York Times said, “Jennifer Black was fetching in a properly unassuming way as Micaëla.”

Upcoming, she returns to the MET to perform Lisa in La Sonnambula and Mlle. Jouvenot in Adriana Lecouvreur, and cover Chloe in Queen of Spades, Bianca in La Rondine and Servilla in La clemenza di Tito. She will make her Los Angeles Opera debut as Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica as part of a new production of Il Trittico, and make her debut at Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse in 2 roles: Musetta in La Bohème and 5th Magd in Elektra. In addition, she will make her role debut as Juliette in Romeo et Juliette with PORTopera, reprise the role of Mimi in La Bohème with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, and perform in a concert at Carnegie Hall with harpist Grace Gloutier.

A native of Houston, Texas, Ms. Black was most recently awarded a 2008 Opera Index Award, a 2007 George London/Leonie Rysanek Award and received second place in the 2007 Loren L. Zachary Society Competition. A 2000 Metropolitan Opera National Council Awards finalist and a recipient of a 2005 Sullivan Grant, she was also a finalist in the Dallas Opera Guild Competition, Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition, the Connecticut Opera Guild and the MacAllister Awards.

In concert, Ms. Black has performed as a guest artist with The New Choral Society, The Artist Series of Sarasota, Texas State University, Texas Lutheran University, Milan’s Orchestra Giuseppe Verdi, as well as solo recitals in New York City’s Goethe Institute and Bruno Walter Theater.

A graduate of the Yale School of Music, Ms. Black performed the title roles of Kat’a Kabanova and Suor Angelica, as well as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte. She has performed with the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program as Nella in Gianni Schicchi, Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica and Musetta.

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Lauren McNeese - Stéphano

Mezzo-soprano Lauren McNeese is rapidly gaining attention charming audiences and critics alike having a voice described as “creamy” and “with bright shimmer like ripples in clear water.”

Engagements for the 2007-2008 season include Ms. McNeese’s return to Los Angeles Opera for performances as Karolka in Jenufa, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Grethe in Der Zerbrochene Krug, and as the Zweite Zofe in Der Zwerg. She will be making her company debut with San Francisco Opera as Wellgunde in Das Rheingold and return to Maine as Stephano in PORTOpera’s production of Romeo and Juliette.

Engagements for 2008 and beyond include performances with Los Angeles Opera as La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi conducted by James Conlon and directed by Woody Allen, the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte and Wellgunde in Das Rheingold both conducted by James Conlon. She will be making her Philadelphia Opera debut as L’enfant in L’enfant et les sortilèges and as La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi conducted by Corrado Rovaris and directed by Robert B. Driver. In the 2009-2010 season Ms. McNeese looks forward to being apart of the Los Angeles Ring Cycle under the baton of James Conlon as Wellgunde in Das Rheingold and Götterdämmerung.

The 2006-2007 season held many exciting performances for Ms. McNeese as she made her Los Angeles Opera Debut as Tebaldo in Don Carlo conducted by James Conlon and appeared as Javotte in Manon conducted by Placido Domingo. She made her Toronto Symphony Debut as the mezzo soloist in Mozart’s C Minor Mass conducted by Helmuth Rilling and she returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago as Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis and directed by John Cox. Ms. McNeese also made her Michigan Opera Theater debut as Stephano in Romeo and Juliette, returned to Minnesota opera for Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro and spent the summer performing in PORTOpera’s production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia as Rosina.

The 2005-2006 season opened with Ms. McNeese singing Mercedes along side Denyce Graves in Carmen at Lyric Opera of Chicago and also singing Angelina in the dress rehearsal of La Cenerentola, sharing the stage with Juan Diego Florez. Ms. McNeese also made her debut at the Minnesota Opera singing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni.

Ms. McNeese is a graduate of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center of Lyric Opera of Chicago. While at Lyric Opera of Chicago she performed in a variety of productions in such roles as Cherubino, Siebel, the 2nd Lady, Wellgunde, Rossweisse, Lapak the dog, Flora, Edith and Myrtale.

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Michael Mayes - Mercutio

With a strong voice and even stronger sense of drama, baritone Michael Mayes is making waves in the opera world for his command of the stage and attractive masculine presence. Originally from Conroe, Texas, Michael has performed with several opera companies across the United States including Madison Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Skylight Opera, Opera Theatre Highland Park, Central City Opera, Union Avenue Opera Theatre, and Ft. Worth Opera. Most recently he was seen in the title role in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Duluth Festival Opera, as Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte with Opera on the James, and as Ping in Turandot with Michigan Opera Theater. In an extension of his involvement with the development of Margaret Garner, a new opera by Richard Danielpour, Mr. Mayes appeared as the Fisherman and covered Edward Gaines in the world premiere at Michigan Opera Theatre and Cincinnati Opera. In a subsequent performance at The Opera Company of Philadelphia he performed the role of Edward Gaines opposite Mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, which he also performed at Opera Carolina with Ms. Graves to critical acclaim. Engagements for 2007-2008 include Dandini in La cenerentola with Connecticut Opera, Lancelot in Camelot with Augusta Opera, Top in The Tender Land with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Marcello in La boheme with Opera on the James, and the Father in Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production of Hansel und Gretel. Additional upcoming engagements include the title role in Don Giovanni with Connecticut Opera, Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette with PORTOpera, Marcello in La boheme with Skylight Opera Theater,and Morales in Carmen and Motorcycle Cop in Dead Man Walking with Ft. Worth Opera.

A graduate of the University of North Texas, his operatic roles include Wagner in Faust, Sciarrone in Tosca, and Marullo in Rigoletto, Silvio in I Pagliacci, Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette, Dandini in La cenerentola, The Librettist in Viva La Mamma, Lord Capulet in Romeo et Juliette, John Proctor in The Crucible, both Slook and Tobia Mill in La Cambiale di Matrimonio, Escamillo in Carmen, and Malatesta in Don Pasquale. As a participant in the highly prestigious young artist program at The Santa Fe Opera Michael covered the role of Claudio in Tim Albery’s production of Betrice et Benedict and performed scenes of Rossini’s William Tell.

Mr. Mayes has appeared internationally in conjunction with La Fenice in Castel-Franco Veneto, Italy. Mr. Mayes’ honors include 3rd place winner at the Metropolitan Nat’l Council Auditions in Chicago, the Entergy Young Texas Artist Competition Vocalist Award, John Alexander Award, the John Moriarty Award, and an advanced division winner at the Anton Guadagno Vocal Competition.

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Jeffrey Wells - Count Capulet

Jeffrey Wells' musical roots started in musical theater, with his singing many of the great Broadway hits such as Camelot, Man of La Mancha, as well as several of Cole Porter's hits such as Anything Goes. He has also graced the stage of many symphonies across the country, singing pop concerts. However, in his late 20's, he was persuaded to enter the world of opera.

On Opening Night of the 1988/89 Metropolitan Opera season, American bass-baritone Jeffrey Wells made his debut as Ferrando in Il Trovatore as part of a star-studded cast: Eva Marton, Fiorenza Cossotto, Luciano Pavarotti and Sherill Milnes with James Levine conducting. Since this auspicious debut, he has sung over 350 performances at the Met in roles such as Colline in La Boheme, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Timur in Turandot, Escamillo in Carmen, The King in Aida, and Capulet in Roméo et Juliette. In The Met's first-ever production of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, he created the part of Theseus, an assignment he repeated at The Met in the 2001/2002 season.

Jeffrey Wells has appeared with every major opera company in the United States. He is a particular favorite at San Francisco Opera and at Washington Opera. In his debut season with The New York City Opera, he appeared as Oroveso in Norma and as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. After initial appearances as Colline in La Boheme he returned to Houston Grand Opera in one of his most admired roles, Claggart in Billy Budd.

Mr. Wells first attracted international attention during the 1986/87 season with a great success as Assur in Rossini's Semiramide at Opéra de Nice. He has since sung throughout Europe and Canada as well as in Mexico and Japan. His first appearance in Paris was as Baldasare in La Favorite for the opening of the 1992 season at Opéra Comique. His second was his debut at Opéra de Paris Bastille as Capellio in I Capuleti e i Montecchi. He enjoyed particular success in his British debut at the prestigious Glyndebourne Festival in a favorite role, Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress. In Mexico City he was Henry VIII in Donizetti's Anna Bolena. Mr. Wells' other successful projects include his first performances of Méphistophélés in a staged Berlioz La Damnation de Faust at Brooklyn Academy of Music and at Avery Fisher Hall and his initial performances of Wotan in Das Rheingold at San Francisco Opera. His repertoire now includes 80 roles in six languages.

Mr. Wells has recorded Baldasare in La Favorite on the French Elf label in the original French version, Mendelssohn's Die Erste Walpurgisnacht on the Telarc label with Christoph von Dohnanyi and the Cleveland Orchestra as well as the title role in Barber's Antony and Cleopatra for New World Records. He can be seen in four "Live from the Met" telecasts, available on videocassette, Il Trovatore, Un Ballo in Maschera and I Lombardi, all three in the company of Luciano Pavarotti and Carmen with Placido Domingo.

Jeffrey Wells made his Carnegie Hall debut with The Collegiate Chorale as bass soloist in Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle. He has appeared on the concert stage in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the Verdi Requiem, Haydn's Creation, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and, with Christoph von Dohnanyi and the Cleveland Orchestra, he performed Mendelssohn's Die Erste Walpurgisnacht.

In the recent past, Mr. Wells performed one of his favorite roles to rave reviews, Olin Blitch in Carlisle Floyd's Susannah at Washington Opera; he has played the part in eleven different productions. He sang Escamillo for Opera Pacific and appeared as Claggart with Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, Canadian Opera and New Israeli Opera. He made his Santa Fe Opera debut as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. Mr. Wells also had a successful engagement with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, in the opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi as well as the opera Rigoletto with the San Diego Opera. Most recently, he sang the role of Gessler in Guillaume Tell with Paris Opera Bastille and the role of Daniel Webster in Mother Of Us All with the San Francisco Opera. In his sixteenth season (2003-2004) with the Met, Mr. Wells performed in the Russian opera Boris Godunov. Recent engagements included singing the title role of Don Giovanni with the Cleveland Opera, the role of Mephistopheles in Faust with the Michigan Opera Theater, as well as one of the leading bass roles in Verdi's Luisa Miller with the Dallas Opera. Future engagements include the role of Sparafucile in Rigoletto with the Pittsburgh Opera, bass soloist in the Verdi Requiem with Southwest Florida Symphony, Fafner in Das Rheingold with the Washington National Opera, as well as Frank Murrant in Street Scene with Opera Theatre of St. Louis.

Mr. Wells completed a hugely successful run of Jenufa with the Washington National Opera and performed in War and Peace, Carmen, and Un Ballo in Maschera at the Metropolitan Opera during the 2007-08 season. He will return to the Metropolitan Opera for the 2008-09 season.

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John McVeigh - Tybalt

Acclaimed for his “fresh-toned and touching portrayal” by Opera News and lauded by the New Orleans Times-Picayune for his “rich lyrical tenor, fabulous top notes, and striking good looks,” John McVeigh returns to the role of Will Tweedy in Cold Sassy Tree, of which he is the sole interpreter, with Atlanta Opera in the 2007-08 season and joins Cincinnati Opera for Arthur in Lucie de Lammermoor and PORT Opera for Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette. Also this season, he returns to the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra for Bach’s Mass in B minor and the Brooklyn Philharmonic for Stravinsky’s Pulcinella. He sings further performances of Handel’s L’allegro with the Mark Morris Dance Company and Seattle Symphony in addition to singing Hadyn’s Harmoniesse with Handel & Haydn Society, Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Honolulu Symphony, Orff’s Carmina Burana with Utah Symphony, Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge with the Arizona Music Festival, and a concert of arias in a return to the Portland Symphony. His engagements in coming seasons include a return to the Théâtre du Châtelet for performances of the Monteverdi Vespers and Utah Opera for the Bernstein Mass as well as performances of Messiah with the Nashville Symphony and San Diego Symphony.

In the 2006-07 season, the tenor sang Azor in Zemire et Azor with Arizona Opera and returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Pang in Turandot. He also joined the Phoenix Symphony for performances of Messiah and Bach’s Cantata No. 151, Portland Symphony for an all-Bernstein Detroit Symphony for Orff’s Carmina Burnana, and sang repeat performances of Phillip Glass’ Symphony No. 5 in with the Gewandhaus Orchester in Leipzig.

Frequently performing works of the classical and baroque repertoire, Mr. McVeigh has sung Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Glimmerglass Opera and Austin Lyric Opera, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with New York City Opera and Houston Grand Opera’ Ferrando in Così fan tutte in a return to Austin Lyric Opera, and Arbace in Idomeneo with Santa Fe Opera. In addition, he joined Christophe Rousset and Les Talen Lyriques for Ozia in Mozart’s rarely performed Betulia Liberata and has sung Marzio in Mitridate, Rè di ponto at Grenada’s Festival Internacional de Música y Danza.

Following his European debut as Teseo in Traetta’s Ippolito ed Aricia with Opéra de Montepellier, the tenor returned to the company for Adrastro in Antigona by the same composer and sang subsequent performances of the work at the Théâtre du Châtelet. He has sung Emilio in Partenope at the Göttingen Handel Festpiele with Nicolas McGeegan and both Glimmerglass Opera and New York City Opera with Harry Bicket. Also with Glimmerglass Opera, the tenor sang the title role in Acis and Galatea and repeated performances of the opera under the auspices of the Detroit Oratorio Society. He has sung Lurcanio in Ariodante at Gran Teatre del Liceu with Harry Bicket conducting, New York City Opera with Jane Glover, Houston Grand Opera with Christopher Hogwood, and de Vlaamse Opera; and joined the Mark Morris Dance Group for performances of Rameu’s Platée and Handel’s L’allegro at the Ravinia Festival.

John McVeigh has become renowned for his performances of the Novice in Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd, having sung the role in his debuts with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Washington National Opera, Genoa’s Teatro Carlo Felice, as well as in a return to Houston Grand Opera. He has sung Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in his debut at the Teatro Real, Central City Opera, and Utah Opera as well as Johnny Inkslinger in Paul Bunyan, also with Central City Opera and Hot Biscuit Slim in the same opera in performances at New York City Opera that were broadcast on Live from Lincoln Center on PBS.

He joined the Metropolitan Opera for Little Bat in the company’s first production of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah conducted by James Conlon. He created the role of Will Tweedy in the world premiere of Cold Sassy Tree at Houston Grand Opera, a recording of which is available on he Albany label. He repeated his performances of the role with Austin Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Omaha, San Diego Opera, and Opera Carolina. In addition, he sang the world premiere of the composer’s Soul of Heaven for tenor and piano.

Mr. McVeigh ‘s other recent performances include performances at the Metropolitan Opera as Bardolfo in Falstaff, Austin Lyric Opera for the title role in Candide, Central City Opera for the tile role in Romberg’s The Student Prince, de Vlaamse Opera for Bill in Jonathan Dove’s Flight, San Diego Opera for Anatol in Vanessa, Santa Fe Opera for Fenton in Falstaff, New York City Opera for Feeny in The Mines of Suphur, as well as his Ravinia Festival debut as Henrick in A Little Night Music alongside Patti LuPone. An alumnus of the prestigious Houston Grand Opera Studio, his numerous other performances with that company include Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette and St. Stephen in Four Saints in Three Acts which he also sang at the Edinburgh Festival. He is also featured on the world premiere of Michael Daughtery’s Jackie O, available on the Argo recording label.

An accomplished presence on the concert stage, the tenor has sung Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Minnesota Orchestra and Houston Symphony with Harry Bicket; Mozart’s Requiem with the Colorado Symphony and Marin Alsop; and performances of the Messiah with the symphonies of Phoenix, Milwaukee, Austin, Minnesota Orchestra, at Carnegie Hall with the Masterworks Chorus, and at the Washington National Cathedral with the Cathedral Choral Society. He has joined the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra for programs of Bach cantatas and Handel arias, Mozart’s Mass in C minor, and Handel’s Israel in Egypt. In addition, he has sung Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 5 with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, and the Danish National Radio Orchestra under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies

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Jordan Bisch - Frére Laurent

Jordan Bisch is a native of Vancouver, Washington. He joined the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program during the 2005–06 season, making his Metropolitan Opera debut in May 2006 as the Second Knight in Parsifal. This season, as a guest performer, Mr. Bisch performed Sarastro in Juilliard Opera Theater’s production of The Magic Flute. In the summer of 2006, he made his European debut in Verbier, Switzerland singing Paolo in Simon Boccanegra under the baton of Maestro James Levine. Last season he returned to the Met stage as a Trojan in Idomeneo, conducted by Maestro Levine. Mr. Bisch is a Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Finals winner, a recipient of a 2005 Sara Tucker Study Grant and 2006 Richard Tucker Career Grant.

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Sara Sturdivant - Gertrude

Sara Sturdivant is a mezzo-soprano working her way towards a promising career as a singer. A Standish, Maine native, Sara holds both a Bachelors Degree and Masters Degree in voice performance from the University of Southern Maine. Most recently she acquired a Professional Studies Diploma in voice from the Mannes College of Music in New York City. Sara has also been a young artist with the Mannes Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and PORT Opera.

Her performance credits include: alto soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C Major with Oratorio Chorale (2008), ‘Mere Jeanne’ in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites with the Mannes Opera (2008), featured soloist in Respighi’s Il Tramonto with the Orion String Quartet (2007), ‘Kaetchen’ in Werther with Chautauqua Opera (2007), '2nd Bridesmaid' in Le Nozze di Figaro with Mannes Opera (2007), chorus/Donna Elvira's maid in Don Giovanni with PORT Opera (2006), 'Lavina' in The Goose of Cairo with Maine’s Emerging Artists (2006), ‘Marcellina' in Le Nozze di Figaro with BASOTI (2005), and ‘3rd Lady’ in The Magic Flute with the University of Southern Maine (2005).

Sara is currently a teaching artist in New York City with the Metropolitan Opera Guild, where she teaches 1st, 3rd, 6th, and 8th grades in the Urban Voices and Speak, Play, Sing! programs.

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Malcolm Smith - The Duke

One of America’s leading basses, Malcolm Smith has appeared with the world’s major operatic and symphonic organizations. He has performed with such renowned companies as the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg Opera Munich Opera Vienna State Opera, and the Paris Opera Bastille, among many others. He has been heard in concert repertoire with such leading orchestras as the Chicago Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and the Baltimore, Montreal, and National Symphonies.

In 1996, the honorary title of “Kammersaenger” was bestowed on Mr. Smith by the Opera in Düsseldorf, where he had been Principal Bass since 1971. Their production of Boris Godunov was staged for Mr. Smith, which he has since sung throughout Western Europe. He was King Henry in Lohengrin, a role he has also performed at Dresden’s Semperoper and at La Scala. He has performed countless operas with Düsseldorf, such as Tannhauser, Das Rheingold, Rosenkavalier, Siegfried, Lohengrin, Der Freischuetz, Barbiere, Parsifal, and Aida. Mr. Smith presented the role of Inquisitor in Düsseldorf Opera’s new production of Verdi’s Don Carlos, which was followed by King Mark in Wagner’s Tristan, Daland in Wagner’s Der fliegende Hollaender, Pimen in Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte.

Most recently, Mr. Smith performed Verdi Requiem with the Springfield Symphony (MA) and Helena Symphony (MT), the role of Duc de Verone in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette at the Spoleto Festival USA and Oroveso in Norma with Mercury Opera. In the summer of 2008, Malcolm sings Horace Giddens in Regina with Long Leaf Opera, Duc de Verone in Romeo et Juliette with PORTopera. Next season, he will return to Düsseldorf Opera repeating the role of Inquisitor in Don Carlos.

In the previous seasons Mr. Smith performed Beethoven’s Symphony #9 with Portland Symphony, Berlioz’ Romeo and Juliet with Midland Symphony, the roles of Philip and the Inquisitor in Don Carlo at the Schwerin Festival in Germany.Other performances include Britten’s Noyes Fludde with Grand Rapids Opera and Arkel in Debussy’s Pelleas et Melisande with the Cincinnati Opera He sang in Britten’s Peter Grimes with Barcelona’s Gran Teatro del Liceu and the Teatro Real Madrid and in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette with Hawaii Opera. Mr. Smith appeared in Beethoven’s Fidelio with Maazel and the Pittsburgh Symphony at Carnegie Hall and at the Bregenz Festival. In Brussels in the Teatro de la Monnaie’s production of Peter Grimes, With Teatro Regio di Turino, Italy. Mr. Smith presented Strauss’ Arabella and Der Rosenkavalier, Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman, Rossini’s Barber of Seville, and Das Rheingold.

Mr. Smith recorded Liszt’s Grande Messe and Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex with the French Radio Orchestra in Paris. He appeared in the World Premiere of Penderecki’s The Black Mask at the Salzburg Festival. He sang Fafner in Das Rheingold with Solti and Chicago Symphony both in Chicago and in New York. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 he performed with Fort Wayne Philharmonic, Bach’s St. John Passion with Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, and Mozart’s Requiem with the San Antonio Symphony.

Malcolm Smith made his European debut at the Spoleto Festival in Tristan und Isolde and his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1975 in La Gioconda. He toured Japan with the Metropolitan Opera and appeared in the world premiere of Robert Ward’s Abelard and Heloise at the Charlotte Opera. Malcolm Smith made his New York City Opera debut in Prokofiev’s Flaming Angel, which he also performed at the Opera Bastille in Paris. Subsequent performances and recordings of Handel’s Samson and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 firmly established him on the American scene as an artist fluent in both opera and oratorio repertoire.

A native New Yorker, Mr. Smith holds degrees from the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music and Columbia University, has studied at Indiana University, and is currently listed in Who’s Who in America

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