based on “Le nozze di Figaro”
music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte and Caitlin Vincent
Sunday, May 16, 2010
3pm
First English Lutheran Church
3807 N. Charles Street
Free Admission
What happens when opera meets its maker? Find out in this lively concert adaptation of Mozart's beloved opera, Le nozze di Figaro, performed by past and present Peabody vocalists. The production will be sung in Italian and accompanied by piano and string quartet, under the baton of Maestra JoAnn Kulesza.
JoAnn Kulesza
conductor
JoAnn Kulesza is currently the Music Director of Opera Programs at the Peabody Conservatory. Ms. Kulesza began her career at the Hochschule Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, as coach/accompanist in opera and Lied. Professionally, she has served as rehearsal accompanist, chorus master, and assistant conductor for: Washington National Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Baltimore Opera Young Artist Program, Chicago Symphony Chorus, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Compania Lirica Nacional (Costa Rica), and the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists. Since adding conducting to the hats she wears, Ms. Kulesza has many productions and several world premieres to her credit, including: Clara (Convery), The Alien Corn (Benjamin), The Yellow Wallpaper (Reid); she has also worked with Maestro Loren Maazel as his assistant and regularly conducts for Opera Vivente. She will conduct Opera Omaha’s production of Così fan tutte, with colleague Garnett Bruce directing, in 2012. Ms. Kulesza is much in demand as a clinician and educator and has conducted master classes and guest residencies at various institutions around the country.
She is a member of the faculty of the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival and feeds her love of choral music as the conductor of the Arundel Vocal Arts Society. Ms. Kulesza is a recipient of the JHU Alumni Association's Excellence in Teaching Award.
Michael Sheppard
pianist
Already a rising star of his generation of artists, Michael Sheppard is a pianist of dazzling virtuosity and penetrating musicianship. Trained at the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, he studied with the great Leon Fleisher and Ann Schein. As one of two 2003 Classical Fellows of the American Pianists Association he toured Southern Asia and the Middle East in collaboration with the Cultural Programs Division of the United States Department of State. Throughout the tour he played concerti with national orchestras, was guest soloist with resident chamber music groups, played public solo recitals as well as private recitals for the diplomatic community, gave masterclasses at higher institutes of music and conducted informal presentations in secondary schools and universities. Upon his return he made his Kennedy Center debut. Since then he has made his debuts with orchestras in the Midwest, Southeast, Southwest and Pacific Northwest in addition to solo recitals, radio-broadcasts, and masterclasses throughout the nation and Europe, including several Weill (Carnegie) Hall recitals.
Sheppard has received critical acclaim as a grand interpreter of transcriptions of operatic tunes as well as American musical theatre in addition to the traditional piano repertory. Deeply committed to new music, he has worked closely with composers Nicholas Maw, Michael Hersch, Robert Sirota and John Corigliano. Sheppard is a composer in his own right and often programs his original compositions. In addition to being a Classical Fellow of the American Pianists Association, Sheppard has also been a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center and the La Gesse Foundation and a prizewinner in the National Federation of Music Clubs National Competition. His recently-released album of contemporary American music for the Harmonia Mundi label has been getting rave reviews. A native of Philadelphia, he resides in Baltimore.
Cast
Countess Almaviva
Lydia Beasley, soprano, graduated from Shenandoah Conservatory in May 2006 with a vocal performance certificate. The following summer she attended Operafestival di Roma, where she was featured as the soprano soloist of Vivaldi's Gloria under the direction of Francesco Carotenuto. In 2007, Ms. Beasley maintained a studio of sixteen students at Southern Virginia University, as well as a choral directing position at Belmont Baptist Church in Charlottesville, Virginia. During this time, she performed the roles of Adele in Die Fledermaus and Peep-bo in The Mikado in local productions. Ms. Beasley began her graduate studies at The Peabody Institute in the fall of 2007, where she performed as Les Bergère and La Chouette in Peabody's production of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortileges. In the spring of 2008 she portrayed Dana Perino in Bush: The Last 100 Days, an original one-act opera written by Peabody composer Chris Whittaker. The following fall she was seen on Peabody’s stage as Cathleen in Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Riders to the Sea. Ms. Beasley received the Annie Wentz Prize in voice upon graduation from Peabody this spring. Most recently she performed in Steamboat Springs, Colorado as Lucy in Menotti’s The Telephone with the Emerald City Opera Artist Institute. Ms. Beasley has studied with Charlotte Aiosa, Beverly Hay, Sandra McClain, and Pamela Beasley and is currently in the studio of Stanley Cornett.
Lydia Beasley
Jason Buckwalter
Count Almaviva
Baritone Jason Buckwalter is a frequent performer in the Baltimore and Annapolis area having recently graduated from the Peabody Conservatory with a Master of Music and Graduate Performance Diploma. At Peabody, Mr. Buckwalter studied with renowned baritone William Sharp. Mr. Buckwalter’s versatility encompasses opera roles, oratorio, song, and musical theater, and his dramatic character portrayals have been praised for being “etched with theatrical fire” (Baltimore Sun). Some of Mr. Buckwalter's opera roles include Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with the Loudoun Lyric Opera, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte at the Peabody Conservatory, and the Boatswain in HMS Pinafore with the Young Victorian Theatre Company. Musical theater roles include Lewis in Pippin with the Annapolis Chorale, Mr. Lindquist in the Peabody Opera Theatre’s production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music and Frank in Hammerstein’s and Kern’s Showboat with the Annapolis Chorale. Upcoming performances include Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte in January and Beniot and Alcindoro in La Bohème in April, both with the Chesapeake Concert Opera. Mr. Buckwalter is a member of the Washington National Opera Chorus and sings as part of the outreach program for the Lyric Opera House Association in Baltimore.
Annie Gill
Marcellina (Countess Almaviva cover)
Soprano Annie Gill just returned from a very successful summer of singing with Opera in the Ozarks in Eureka Springs, Arkansas. While in Eureka Springs, she sang two leading operatic roles and was awarded the National Vocal Scholarship from the National Federation of Music Clubs, the Best Overall Performer award, and a Best Colleague award. Ms. Gill’s operatic and musical theater roles include Manon (Manon), Lady Billows (Albert Herring), Mimi and Musetta (La Bohème) Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Donna Anna and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), Phyllis (Iolanthe), Edith (The Pirates of Penzance), Pitti-Sing (The Mikado), Noémie (Cendrillon), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Amy March (Little Women), 1st Lady (The Magic Flute), 3rd Woman (The Artist), Mrs. Grose (The Turn of the Screw), Diana (Orpheus in the Underworld), Rapunzel (Into the Woods), and The Sandman (Hansel and Gretel). Ms. Gill has sung with Opera in the Ozarks, Washington Savoyards, Light Opera Company of Southern Maryland, Emerald City Opera Artist Institute, Intermezzo Young Artist Program, Operafestival di Roma, the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute, Center Stage Opera, and the Brevard Summer Music Festival. Ms. Gill has received a BM from Indiana University, an MM from Boston University, and a Performance Diploma from The Peabody Conservatory, all in Vocal Performance. Ms. Gill will sing the role of Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Mosaic Concert Series in May 2010.
Cherubino
Mezzo-soprano Lauren Maxwell holds her M.M. from Peabody Conservatory, where she studied with Stanley Cornett. Originally from Aiken, South Carolina, Lauren graduated Summa Cum Laude from Converse College and the studio of Dr. Beverly Hay. Upon arriving at Peabody in 2007, Ms. Maxwell appeared as La Tasse and covered L'Enfant in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortileges, and in 2008, she created the role of Hiereia in the premiere of Koré by Bryan Reis and sang Lapak the Dog in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen. In 2009, Ms. Maxwell appeared at Theatre Project in Baltimore, MD singing the role of Frau Bauer in Peabody Chamber Opera’s production of Dora by Melissa Shiflett. With Converse Opera Theatre, Ms. Maxwell performed the roles of Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and The Witch in Hansel and Gretel. She has also been involved in numerous opera scene programs, including performances from The Mikado and Le Nozze di Figaro. Ms. Maxwell is a 2003 graduate of the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities, where she received the President's Award for Artistic Distinction. Other performance highlights include singing Dorabella in Cosí fan tutte for the Spartanburg Repertory Company and Barbarina in Operafestival di Roma’s production of Le nozze di Figaro in 2005.
Lauren Maxwell
Barbarina
A soprano from Washington D.C., Stephanie Miller recently graduated with her Masters from Peabody Conservatory. In 2007 she graduated cum laude from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. While in Ohio, she was an avid performer, receiving performance awards for both her Junior and Senior Recitals. Ms. Miller also had the opportunity to sing Mozart's Requiem as the Soprano Soloist with the Knox County Symphony Orchestra in 2006. Since moving to Baltimore, Ms. Miller has performed in several Peabody Opera Workshop performances. After receiving her Master's she decided to continue her studies at Peabody and pursue a Graduate Performance Diploma. Ms. Miller will be making her mainstage opera debut this coming February in Peabody Opera Theater's production of Conrad Susa's Transformations.
Stephanie Miller
Lorenzo da Ponte
James Parks, baritone, is a native of Frederick, MD. In 2004 he became a founding member of a youth acting troupe named Actors Anonymous that successfully performed from the Maryland Ensemble Theater for three years. During his studies at the Peabody Institute, Mr. Parks has appeared in performances of Les Contes D’Hoffman, Die Zauberflöte, L’histoire du soldat, and Ring Dang Doo, as well as the Father in Peabody Opera Outreach’s production of Hansel and Gretel and Guglielmo in Peabody Opera Theater’s production of Cosi fan tutte. He has won the Shepherd College Vocal Competition, The Maryland Distinguished Scholar: Vocal Performance Award, and received an honorable mention from the Sue Goets Ross Memorial Competition. Mr. Parks is the founder and director of Peabody’s theatrical Improv workshop which has been a success for the past two years.
James Parks
Dr. Bartolo
William Schaller is a Bass/Baritone currently pursuing a Graduate Performance Diploma at the Peabody Institute. He recently performed the roles of Gasparo in Donizetti’s Rita and The Baron in La Traviata with the Peabody Opera Theater, and will return in March as Frank in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. He currently studies with William Sharp at Peabody.
William Schaller
Susanna
A native of Seattle, soprano Caitlin Vincent has been praised for her bell-like tone and pristine coloratura. She has received first place awards from the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the Performing Arts Festival of the Eastside (PAFE), as well as scholarships from the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society and the Lake Washington Singers, and second place in the Frost School of Music in Salzburg Recital Competition. Ms. Vincent was also the recipient of Peabody Career Development Grants in 2008 and 2009 and Peabody’s prestigious George Woodhead Prize for Voice. Past opera roles include Sister Constance (The Dialogues of the Carmelites), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), L'écureuil (L'enfant et les Sortilèges), 1st Witch (Dido and Aeneas), Dew Fairy/Sandman (Hansel and Gretel), Amour (Amour piqué par une abeille), and Rose Maybud (Ruddigore). Equally adept at oratorio repertoire, Ms. Vincent has performed Bach's “Coffee Cantata,” excerpts from Handel’s motet “Silete Vente,” and the soprano solos for Vivaldi's Magnificat and Bach's Cantata No. 96. As a stage director, Ms. Vincent directed Le Nozze di Figaro for the 15th anniversary of the Dunster House Opera Society and Marriage by Lanternlight for the Peabody Opera Theatre, as well as serving as assistant director under Garnett Bruce for the world-premiere of The Yellow Wallpaper at the Baltimore Theatre Project. Ms. Vincent currently studies with Ah Hong at the Peabody Institute. Upcoming performances include Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro with Mosaic Concert Series, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas with Opera AACC, and Mozart’s “Exsultate, jubilate” with the Evergreen Philharmonic.
Caitlin Vincent
Antonio
Baritone, Jeffrey Williams is originally from Bangor, Pennsylvania. Mr. Williams has a B.A. in Music magna cum laude from Muhlenberg College and a M.M. in Voice Performance from the Peabody Conservatory. He studied abroad at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, and spent the last two summers at Middlebury College’s German School and German for Singers Program. He has received the George Castelle Memorial Award in Voice, the Baltimore Music Club Prize in Performance, a Peabody Career Development Grant, the Werner Neuse Scholarship, the Max Kade Scholarship, and the Lillian and Anthony Fiddler Memorial Award in Music. Most recently, Mr. Williams has appeared as Tiger Brown in Die Dreigroschenoper, Marchese d’Obigny in La Traviata, Badger/Priest in The Cunning Little Vixen, and the Armchair/Tree in L’enfant et les sortileges. AGMA and AFTRA affiliated, he performs frequently with the Baltimore Opera Chorus, Washington National Opera Chorus, and Baltimore Choral Arts Society. Mr. Williams currently studies with Dr. Steven Rainbolt.
Jeffrey Williams
Figaro
Baritone Nathan Wyatt is currently completing his fourth year of undergraduate studies at Peabody. A native of North Carolina, Mr. Wyatt began studying music with the North Carolina Boys Choir and is a former member of the Durham Choral Society. In 2007 and 2008, he received second and first place honors in the classical vocal division of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. At Peabody, Mr. Wyatt has performed the role of the Forester in Janacek’s The Adventures of Sharp-Ears the Vixen with the Peabody Opera Theatre, as well as Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni) and Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) in undergraduate scenes. In the summers of 2008 and 2009, Mr. Wyatt was a featured vocalist at the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, performing scenes from Cosi fan tutte, La Traviata, and The Tender Land. Recent oratorio performances include Simon in Haydn’s Seasons with the Maryland Choral Society and the bass soloist in Haydn’s “Mass in the Time of War” at the University of Chapel Hill. Upcoming performances include Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte with the Peabody Opera Theater and Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Mosaic Concert Series. Mr. Wyatt is currently in the voice studio of Steven Rainbolt.
Nathan Wyatt
Stephen Campbell
Arizona-born tenor, Stephen Campbell, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in vocal performance from the University of Colorado. Initially, Mr. Campbell went to CU in 2005 to pursue of a degree in trumpet performance, but it didn’t take long for him to realize that his passions and talents lay in singing. Since switching, Mr. Campbell had the great pleasure of studying with Professor Julie Simson, performing numerous sacred works in the community, and singing in the university’s productions of Die Fledermaus and La Boheme. Recently, Stephen enjoyed his solo opera debut with a pair of title roles in Bernstein’s Candide and Britten’s Albert Herring. Mr. Campbell is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in vocal performance at the Peabody Institute, studying with Dr. Stanley Cornett.
Jessica Abel
Susanna/Barbarina (cover)
Jessica Abel is a young American soprano who is committed to artistry and nuance in the music she performs. Most recently, she performed the title role in a contemporary American opera Dora with the Peabody Chamber Opera, and gave a recital “Early Works of Contemporary Masters” at the Peabody Conservatory. In 2008, Ms. Abel received the Phyllis Bryn-Julson Prize for Commitment To and Performance of 20th and 21st Century Vocal Literature, following several performances of contemporary works, including the commission and premiere of the song cycle Six Significant Landscapes, by emerging American composer Evan Rogers. Recently, Ms. Abel appeared as Papagena in the Peabody Opera production of Die Zauberflöte and performed Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire with Ars Nova Dallas at the Dallas Festival of Modern Music, where she was hailed by the Fort Worth Examiner as “perfect throughout her delivery as Pierrot…executing the Sprechstimme technique with intimate aplomb.” Upcoming, Ms. Abel will perform several works with chamber ensemble Vivre Musicale in March and June of 2010, including the world premiere of The Amber Hand for soprano and string quartet by Zachary Wadsworth. She has also been invited to cover the role of Despina in Cosí fan tutte with Chesapeake Concert Opera and the roles of Susanna and Barbarina in The Figaro Project production in May. Ms. Abel holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the Peabody Conservatory of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the Florida State University College of Music. She currently studies with Marianna Busching and Phyllis Bryn-Julson.
Cherubino/Marcellina (cover)
Soprano, Marisa del Campo, a native of Long Island, New York, is currently in her last year at the Peabody Conservatory studying voice with Phyllis Bryn-Julson and Marianna Busching. Marisa has performed numerous recitals of arias, art songs, and musical theater material, and has also done a number of cabaret-style performances with singer, Michael Gray and musical director, John Cook. In 2006 Marisa was cast in her first opera: the world premier of The Furies at Catholic University. Other opera credits include Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte and Die Zauberflöte where she played the third spirit in Peabody Opera Theater’s production. Marisa was also found singing at The Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Vietri Sul Mare, Italy where she performed in Die Zauberflöte at the Serici Theater of the Royal Belvedere Palace - San Leucio (Caserta) as well as singing in numerous concerts. Recently Marisa discovered a love for directing as well. She was chosen to direct an abridged version of La Calisto by Cavalli for The Peabody Opera Workshop. Since then she has co-directed (as well as performed in) the musical, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and was the drama director at CW Post University’s Summer Day Camp. This summer Marisa was found singing on Entertainment Cruise Lines, Spirit of Baltimore.
Marisa del Campo
Don Basilio
