Biographies
Artistic Staff | Cast
Ronald Zollman,Conductor
Conductor Ronald Zollman was born in Antwerp, Belgium, and began his musical training at the age of four. After attending the courses of the Royal Conservatories of Antwerp and Brussels, he became a pupil of Igor Markevitch and Nadia Boulanger in 1967, in Paris.
Since 1973, his career has expanded rapidly. He has appeared as a guest conductor with the best orchestras on all continents and been the guest of major European festivals, including Edinburgh, Flanders, Warsaw Autumn, Festival Estival in Paris, Gulbenkian in Lisbon, and London Proms.
Zollman not only dedicates himself to the great symphonic works of the traditional repertoire, but he is very active in the field of opera and is particularly noted for his commitment to contemporary music. With a rising reputation as an opera conductor, he has conducted performances at the Belgian National Opera (Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, La bohème, Albert Herring, and A Rake’s Progress). In 1984, he debuted at London’s English National Opera with La traviata, which was soon followed with performances of The Turn of the Screw with The Scottish Opera. For the BBC, he recorded Henze’s Der Prinz von Homburg, and the performances of Don Giovanni that he led at the Banff Summer Festival were considered as the highlight of this major Canadian event.
As far as contemporary music is concerned, Zollman has worked regularly with the London Sinfonietta, and, at Pierre Boulez’s request, he conducted the Ensemble InterContemporain in Paris, for the first of many times in 1982.
From 1989 till 1993, Zollman was musical director of the National Orchestra of Belgium, a position he then held since 1993 with the Philharmonic Orchestra of UNAM in Mexico City. In September 2002, he took the music directorship and principal conductorship of the Northern Israel Symphony, Haifa.
During recent years, Zollman has added several award-winning CDs to his discography, including the soundtrack for Le Maître de Musique—the award-winning motion picture featuring José Van Dam—a nominee for Best Foreign Picture at the Academy Awards in Hollywood. This soundtrack was recognized with a Gold Record.
In July 2001, Zollman premièred with John Casken’s opera God’s Liar at the Almeida Festival (London). Its revival at La Monnaie in October of the same year was equally well received. In March 2003, he conducted the National Orchestra of the Polish Radio for an EBU concert celebrating the 50th anniversary of Prokofiev’s death. He also took part in the Festival “Les Folles Journées” in Nantes, conducting 10 concerts there, all dedicated to Schumann, Mendelssohn, and Liszt. More recently, he enjoyed a very successful debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in Prague. His concerts with this prestigious ensemble have led to immediate reinvitations as their guest conductor. In May 2007, Zollman made his debut with the Orchestre de Paris at Salle Pleyel (Paris), conducting them at the occasion of their tribute concert to the memory of Mstislav Rostropovitch. In the summer of 2008, he shared the musical direction of the Orchestra Academica of the Campos do Jordao Festival (Brazil) with Kurt Masur, and he will soon be the guest of the Tokyo Philharmonic for concerts at the famous Suntory Hall.
Michael Ehrman, Stage Director
Michael Ehrman has been a frequent guest director at Indiana University, where his many productions include Faust, The Ballad of Baby Doe, Roméo et Juliette (2005), Manon, Susannah, and Le nozze di Figaro. Ehrman has won acclaim for his stagings at Houston Grand Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Minnesota Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Atlanta Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Virginia Opera, Connecitcut Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater. He recently was lauded for his 2008 production of Susannah and the 2006 staging of the 50th anniversary The Ballad of Baby Doe at Central City Opera, a company where he has directed 20 productions, including a new Vanessa in 2005 and the world première of Henry Mollicone’s Gabriel’s Daughter in 2003. Other recent works include La bohème for Madison Opera, Falstaff for Indianapolis Opera, Street Scene for the Minnesota Opera, Noye’s Fludde for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Die Zauberflöte and The Mikado for the Colorado Symphony, and The Barber of Seville and The Sound of Music for Tulsa Opera. Ehrman’s staging of the musical Carnival was named on several of Chicago ‘s “Ten Best” lists for 2005.
Ehrman has extensive experience as a teacher and as author/director of many educational opera programs. He was director of opera at Northwestern University, for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and at Roosevelt University/Chicago College of Performing Arts. He has also directed at Yale University, The Hartt School of Music, University of Kentucky, and Shenandoah University. He served on the artistic staffs and was stage director/acting coach for the young artist programs at Central City Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Wolf Trap, Greater Miami Opera, Virginia Opera, Lake George Opera, Utah Opera, The Israeli Vocal Arts Institute, Intermezzo Young Artist Program, the Brevard Music Center, the Berkshire Opera Festival, The Martina Arroyo Foundation, and the New National Theater, Tokyo.
In 2009, Ehrman staged The Medium and Trouble in Tahiti for The New England Conservatory, Albert Herring at University of Colorado, Susannah for Mobile Opera, and La bohème for The Martina Arroyo Foundation. Ehrman’s other recent projects have included the Chicago première of Ronald Perera’s The Yellow Wallpaper and The Sound of Music, Carmen, La bohème, and Camelot at the Brevard Music Center. Future engagements include La bohème at Indianapolis Opera, Don Quichotte for Tulsa Opera, Die Zauberflöte for Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Porgy and Bess for University of Kentucky.
Michael Vernon, Choreographer
Michael Vernon studied at the Royal Ballet School in London with such legendary teachers as Dame Ninette de Valois and Leonide Massine. He performed with the Royal Ballet, the Royal Opera Ballet, and the London Festival Ballet before coming to New York in 1976 to join the Eglevsky Ballet as ballet master and resident choreographer. He was artistic director of the Long Island-based company from 1989 to 1996.
He has choreographed numerous works for ballet companies in the United States and worldwide. Mikhail Baryshnikov commissioned him to choreograph In a Country Garden for American Ballet Theatre (ABT). His solo S’Wonderful was danced by ABT principal Cynthia Harvey in the presence of President and Mrs. Reagan and shown nationwide on CBS television. He also worked as the assistant choreographer on Ken Russell’s movie Valentino, starring Rudolph Nureyev and Leslie Caron.
Vernon has taught at StepsNYC for many years, working with dancers from New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and many other high-profile companies. He is an integral part of the Manhattan Dance Project, which brings NY-style master classes to all regions of the country. He has been involved with the Ballet Program at Chautauqua Institute since 1995, regularly teaches and mentors dancers for Ballet Hawaii in Honolulu, and is the artistic director for Ballet School of Stamford in Connecticut.
Vernon has been company teacher for ABT, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and Alvin Ailey Company and School, as well as guest teacher for The Julliard School.
C. David Higgins, Set and Costume Designer
Born in Bloomington, Ind., and raised not two blocks from campus, Higgins started his theatrical studies at IU intent on becoming an actor/dancer before he discovered his love for scenic design. He studied with the famous C. Mario Cristini and became proficient in the Romantic-Realist style of scenic design and painting. After earning his master’s degree, he joined the staff of Indiana University Opera Theater and has worked there as Master Scenic Artist since the Musical Arts Center opened in 1971. He was appointed to the faculty in 1976 and now serves as chair of the Opera Studies Department and principal designer for Opera Theater, where he designs both scenery and costumes for major new productions. His design credits throughout the United States include the San Antonio Festival, Memphis Opera, Norfolk Opera, Louisville Opera, Detroit Symphony, Canton Ballet, and Sarasota Ballet as well as many other venues. His Indiana University productions have been seen throughout North America as rentals by major regional opera companies. His many international credits include the Icelandic National Theater; Ballet San Juan de Puerto Rico; Korean National Opera; Seoul City Opera; Korean National Ballet; Dorset Opera (England); Teatro la Paz de Belem, Brazil; and the Teatro National de São Paulo, Brazil. He has designed the scenery for the world première of Our Town (Ned Rorem), the American premières of Jeppe (Sandström) and The Devils of Loudun (Penderecki), and the collegiate premières of Nixon in China (Adams) and The Ghosts of Versailles (Corigliano), as well as many other operas and ballets. Known for his Italianate painting style, Opera News magazine has referred to Higgins as one of the finest American scenic artists today.
Julie Duro, Lighting Designer
Julie Duro returns to Indiana University Opera Theater, where she designed the lighting for Il barbiere di Siviglia and Manon in past seasons. She has worked with many opera, dance, and theatre companies throughout the United States. Her work in opera includes designs for the Santa Fe Opera, Opera International in Washington, D.C., Opera Illinois, Dayton Opera, Triangle Opera Theatre, Florida State Opera, Houston’s Ebony Opera Guild, the Connecticut Opera, the Green Mountain Opera Festival, and Opera North. She has worked extensively at the Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Conn., where she designed the lighting for A Word or Two Before You Go, a one-man show written by and starring Christopher Plummer, and The Member of the Wedding directed by Joanne Woodward. Her work in dance encompasses designs for North Carolina Dance Theatre, the Australian Ballet, Southern Ballet Theatre, Dances Patrelle, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and Mark Stuart Dance Theatre. She was the resident lighting designer for the critically acclaimed Ohio Ballet from 1996 to 1999, and she works frequently with Tulsa Ballet, where she designed the lighting for Don Quixote, Cinderella, and The Nutcracker last season, and with Pittsburgh Ballet, where her work can be seen each year in The Nutcracker. In addition, she has designed lighting for Luna Stage, Artpark, Pennsylvania Centre Stage, the Asolo Conservatory in Florida, and the Juilliard School, and she is the resident lighting designer for the yearly Salute to the Presidential Scholars in Washington, D.C., at the Kennedy Center.
Gary Arvin, Vocal Coach
Gary Arvin has served as a vocal coach for Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. He was selected as official accompanist for the International Belvedere Competition in Vienna, the world’s largest operatic singing competition. Arvin has appeared in recital with singers throughout the United States, Austria, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Finland, and Korea. He has also recorded for the ORF (Austria), National Radio of Finland, National Radio of the Czech Republic, Hal Leonard Recordings, and Sung-Eun Records (Korea). Arvin’s recital appearances have included Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Helsinki, Seoul, New York, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara. He is currently associate professor of vocal coaching, repertoire, and diction at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.
Cast
Roméo
Jonathan Matthews is a second-year doctoral student, studying with Timothy Noble. Originally from Salt Lake City, Utah, he received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Utah and completed his Master of Music in Voice at IU. While at IU, he has performed the roles of Leandro in Arlecchino, Luigi in A Wedding, Nathaniel in Les contes d’Hoffmann, the Prince in The Love for Three Oranges, and the Doctor in The Most Happy Fella. Other roles include Don José from Carmen at the Bayview Music Festival, the title role in Les contes d’Hoffmann at Prelude to Performance in NYC, Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, the title role in Idomeneo, and Lippo Fiorentino in Street Scene at the University of Utah, and Don Ottavio from Don Giovanni at the Astoria Music Festival.
Tenor Daniel Shirley, a native of Jackson, Miss., has been featured with IU Opera Theater as Fenton in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Dino in the collegiate première of A Wedding, and Enrico Carouser in Too Many Sopranos, among other roles. Following a 2009 apprenticeship with Santa Fe Opera, during which he covered Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Shirley sang the role of Edgar in the world première recording of Frédéric Chaslin’s Wuthering Heights at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia (Valencia) with the Orquesta de la Comunidad Valenciana and London Symphony Chorus. Other operatic engagements have included Sam in the family performance of Susannah at Central City Opera, Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro with Chautauqua Opera, an educational tour with Opera Memphis, and a Valentine’s Day concert with Mississippi Opera. In addition, he has sung St. Matthew Passion with the Bloomington Chamber Singers, Messiah with the Evansville Philharmonic, Mass in B Minor with the Columbus (IN) Philharmonic, and Elijah with the Lafayette Bach Singers. A student of Patricia Stiles, he is completing coursework for the Doctor of Music.
Juliette
Lacy Sauter, soprano, is a first-year master's student of Costanza Cuccaro. She received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Arizona State University. Growing up in Scottsdale, she was an active performer throughout the Phoenix Metropolitan area, appearing in over 20 productions with 10 different companies. Some of her favorite roles include Mabel (Pirates of Penzance), Yum-Yum (The Mikado), Johanna (Sweeney Todd), Kate (Kiss Me Kate), Anna (The King and I), and Lorraine (42nd Street). This past summer, she was a festival artist at Utah Festival Opera, where she covered the roles of Frasquita (Carmen) and Peep-Bo (The Mikado) and was also featured as a soloist in their Rodgers and Hammerstein Concert. In 2008, Sauter won the Arizona district of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and competed in the Western Regionals in L.A. In the summer of 2008, she was a young artist at Chautauqua Opera, where she played the roles of the Baby Vixen in The Cunning Little Vixen and the 2nd Graduate in Street Scene. Sauter also sang the roles of Antonia (Les contes D'Hoffman) and Blanche (A Streetcar Named Desire) in their opera scenes program. This is her debut with IU Opera Theater.
A native of Tulsa, Okla., soprano Stephanie Washington is a third-year master’s student of Carol Vaness. In 2008, she was in IU’s collegiate première of Bolcom’s A Wedding. She received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she studied with Lorraine Manz. At Oberlin, she performed the roles of Clarina (La cambiale di matrimonio), Giannetta (L’elisir d’amore), and Elizabeth (The Secret Marriage). She was also selected to perform in Oberlin’s Danenberg Honor’s Recital and Oberlin’s Commencement Recital. Washington has participated in the Music Academy of the West, the Charlie Creek Vocal Workshop, Oberlin in Italy, and, this past summer, was an apprentice artist with Central City Opera, where she was a recipient of the E. Atwill Gilman Award. Other honors include Encouragement Awards from the Metropolitan National Council Auditions (2008 and 2009 Indiana District) and the Barbara and David Jacobs Fellowship at Indiana University. Washington has also participated in master classes with Marilyn Horne, Leona Mitchell, John Churchwell, Christopher Larkin, and Matthew Epstein.
Mercutio
A native of Arizona, baritone Matthew Opitz appeared with IU Opera Theater in The Light in the Piazza as a Priest and in The Love for Three Oranges as the devil Farfarello. In the summer of 2008, he sang Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, as well as Marcello in scenes from La bohème in Fidenza, Italy. During his undergraduate program at Northern Arizona University, his roles included Guglielmo in W. A. Mozart’s Così fan tutti, Count Carl-Magnus Malcom in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music, and Dr. Falke in Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. In 2008, Opitz was a district winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council audition in Arizona.In 2007, he was a participant at the Brevard Music Center and sang the roles of James and the Crook in Bernstein’s Candide. He is a second-year master’s student of Timothy Noble.
Omaha, Neb., native John Orduña, baritone, is a Performer Diploma student of Patricia Stiles. While pursuing his master’s at Florida State University under tenor Stanford Olsen, he performed numerous roles, including Leporello (Don Giovanni), Marcello (La bohème), and Poo-Bah (The Mikado). He received his Bachelor of Music from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where his stage credits included the roles of Mercury (Orpheus and the Underworld), Norton (La Cambiale di Matrimonio), Le Geolier (Dialogues des Carmélites), and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte). Orduña has performed with a number of ensembles, singing concert and operatic repertoire that ranges from Handel to Whitacre. He was previously seen at IU Opera Theater as Pantalone (The Love for Three Oranges).
Tybalt
Oliver Henderson is accomplished not only as a comic singer/actor but also in romantic operatic leads. A native of Tennessee, he made his professional debut in H.M.S. Pinafore with the Nashville Opera. Since that debut, he has performed in a variety of roles and venues, notably with the Ohio Light Opera (OLO) in Wooster, Ohio. Highlights of his work with the OLO included the role of Danilo in Franz Lehar’s Merry Widow, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, and the title role in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Grand Duke, which was recordedon Albany Records. Henderson holds music degrees from the Eastman School of Music and Middle Tennessee State University. He is currently a doctoral student of Carol Vaness.
Lyric tenor Richard Monk hails from Cardiff, Wales, and began singing early, joining the children’s chorus of Welsh National Opera (WNO) at the age of 10. He performed with the company throughout his late teens and with the WNO Youth Opera before embarking on full-time study at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. As a soloist, he has sung in opera, oratorio, recitals, galas, and weddings throughout the U.K., North America, Hong Kong, France, Germany, Italy, and Cyprus. Recent engagements include the Oregon Bach Festival, Stuttgart, Bonn, Leverkusen (BachAkademie), Bach's Christmas Oratorio in Cardiff, Haydn's Nelson Mass in London, and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis in Columbus, Ind. Future engagements include a return to Wales, competing at the National Eisteddfod and Der Meistersinger von Nurnberg with WNO, coupled with several oratorio performances. Pursuing a Performer Diploma, Monk studies with Robert Harrison. Future roles at IU include Nemorino and Lensky in Carol Vaness's Opera Workshop. Monk’s studies are supported by an IU Dean of Music Scholarship, The St. David's Society of the State of New York, and the D. Afan Thomas Memorial Award.
Stéphano
Erin Houghton Wells, mezzo-soprano, received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from IU. This summer, Wells was a young artist at the Crested Butte Music Festival, performing the roles of L’Enfant in L’Enfant et les Sortileges and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro. She has appeared with IU Opera Theater as Frau Reich in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor. Other credits at IU include Pitti-Sing in The Mikado and the Sandman in Hansel and Gretel. A frequent recitalist and soloist, Wells has collaborated and performed with composer William Bolcom and Joan Morris in a recital featuring Bolcom’s songs. Last year, Wells performed with Timothy Noble and Sylvia McNair in “A Night at the Opera,” a benefit concert for Middle Way House, and she will appear in the concert again this fall. She was a semi-finalist in the Young Patronesses of Opera Competition, won a scholarship from the National Society of Arts and Letters, earned second lace in the graduate division of the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale competition, and won first place in the undergraduate division the year prior. Wells was a recipient of the IU Music Merit Award and the Music Faculty award. She is a student of Patricia Stiles.
Sarah Stone, mezzo-soprano, received her Master of Music in Voice from the Jacobs School of Music in 2005 and is currently a doctoral student, continuing her studies with Patricia Stiles. This summer, she sang the role of Margaret in the IU Summer Music Festival’s production of The Light in the Piazza. Other roles with IU Opera Theater include Filippyevna in Eugene Onegin, Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette, and Smeraldina in The Love for Three Oranges. She has performed professionally with the Kentucky Opera, Louisville Ballet, and Indiana State University Masterworks Chorale, and has recorded the songs of Indiana-based composer Daniel Powers. An alumna of the Tanglewood Music Center, where she was a recipient of the Cynthia L. Sparks Fellowship, she sang under the baton of Maestro James Levine. Born in England and raised in Brazil, she had a career as a professional soccer player and sports commentator.
Frère Laurent
Bass Andrew Kroes, a native Onalaska, Wis., is currently pursuing his Master of Music at the IU Jacobs School of Music, studying with Paul Kiesgen. He previously studied with Daniel Johnson-Wilmot. Kroes has twice received Encouragement Awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions in the Wisconsin District. He was the winner of the junior and senior men divisions in the Wisconsin NATS auditions. He has twice been a finalist in the Schubert Club Scholarship auditions. During this past summer, he participated in Sherrill Milnes’s V.O.I.C.Experience program. Kroes performed in the IU Opera Theater’s production of Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges as the Cook and the King of Clubs. He also performed in Viterbo University’s productions of W. A. Mozart’s The Impresario as Mr. Bluff and The Magic Flute as Sarastro. He will be seen later this season as Raimondo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor.
Hailing from Beulah, Colo., bass-baritone Cody Medina is a doctoral student of Timothy Noble. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and a Master of Music from the Jacobs School of Music. In April, Medina placed third in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition. Medina has sung with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre and Cleveland Opera Circle, performing the roles of the King of Egypt (Aida) and Il Prefetto (Linda di Chamounix). From 2004 to 2006, he was a guest artist at the Maud Powell Music Festival in the Illinois Valley. Medina made his European début in Rome, Italy, in 1999, singing Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro) and returned to Rome the following year as Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte). He performed in the world premières of Marylyn Monroe, Maud Powell: Queen of the Violinists, and the oratorio Prophecy. While at IU, Medina has sung the roles of Comte des Grieux (Manon), St. Peter (Too Many Sopranos), Olin Blitch (Susannah), Herr Riech (Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor), Achilla (Giulio Cesare), and Snooks (A Wedding). He was also featured as the bass soloist in Verdi’s Requiem. Upcoming performances include the fifth Jew (Salome) with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre.
Gertrude
Laura Boone, mezzo-soprano, is a second-year Master of Music student of Scharmal Schrock. She most recently appeared with IU Opera Theater as Dorothèe in Massenet’s Cendrillon. Boone received her Bachelor of Music from Arizona State University. While at Arizona State, she was seen as Cornelia in Giulio Cesare and a Nun in Dialogues des Carmélites. She has also performed various opera scenes, including Augusta in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Elettra in Idomeneo, and 3rd Lady in Die Zauberflöte. She studied in Florence, Italy, where she performed the roles of Juno in La Calisto and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. In 2005, Boone was named the National Winner of the Music Teacher National Association’s Young Artist Competition as well as winning awards from the National Society of Arts and Letters and numerous NATS competitions. She has participated in master classes with Kevin Murphy, Carol Kirkpatrick, Lorenzo Malfatti, and Dimitra Theodossiou.
Julia Pefanis, mezzo-soprano, is a first-year doctoral student of Scharmal Schrock. She received her Bachelor and Master of Music from IU, with honors, and studied under Alan Bennett, Patricia Havranek, Patricia Stiles, and Scharmal Schrock. With IU Opera Theater, she appeared as Cornelia in Giulio Cesare as well as in La traviata and Cendrillon. She also appeared as La Principessa in Suor Angelica last year with IU Graduate Opera Workshop and in Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch recital, directed by Casey Robards. Later this season, Pefanis will appear as Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor as well as in Elizabeth Avery’s Schubert and Goethe Project. She was the winner in the PAFE Competition and a finalist and scholarship recipient in the GWM Competition. She is currently receiving an IU Music Merit Award and Dean’s Scholarship.
Count Capulet
A native of Laurel, Maryland, baritone Steven Eddy, is a second-year master’s student at IU. His appearances with IU Opera Theater include Count Ceprano in Rigoletto and Dr. Cajus in The Merry Wives of Windsor. This summer, he was a young artist at the Seagle Music Colony, where he performed the roles of Tobias in The Hotel Casablanca and Dr. Pangloss/Voltaire/Martin/Cacambo in Candide. He has also performed with The Crittenden Opera Studio and the IU Summer Opera Workshop. Concert and oratorio credits include Beethoven’s Mass in C Major and J. S. Bach’s Aus der Tiefen rufe ich, Herr, zu dir. In September 2008, he performed the role of Lord Capulet in Don Freund’s Romeo and Juliet: A Shakespearean Music-Drama. In January, he was featured in a song project with Daniela Candillari, performing in Joseph Marx’s Italienisches Liederbuch. Eddy was awarded the Marjorie K. Borkenstein Memorial Award at the 2009 National Society of Arts & Letters Voice Competition and was a finalist in the Howard County Arts Council (MD) Rising Star Competition. In June 2008, he completed his Bachelor of Music Education at IU, where he studied classical saxophone with Otis Murphy. He is currently a student of Robert Harrison.
Joseph Mace is a third-year doctoral student in the studio of Patricia Havranek. Indiana University appearances include roles in A Wedding, She Loves Me, and The Light in the Piazza with IU Opera Theater and as soloist in J. S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Chansonnier in H. K. Gruber’s Frankenstein!!. In 2008, Mace premièred Marcus Shelby’s Jazz Oratorio, Harriet Tubman: Bound for the Promised Land at the San Francisco Jazz Festival and recorded it on the NOIR label. Opera appearances include principle roles in Cendrillon, Gianni Schicchi, Le nozze di Figaro, Idomeneo, La serva padrona, and Monteverdi’s Orfeo. Before beginning doctoral studies, he sang as a chorister with San Francisco Opera, New Orleans Opera, and San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorus. Musical theater appearances include roles in The Last Five Years, Annie Get Your Gun, Phantom, Victor/Victoria, Side by Side by Sondheim, As the World Goes Round, Guys and Dolls, Godspell, and many others. Mace received his Master of Music in Voice from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and holds undergraduate degrees from Tulane University in French/French literature and vocal performance. He is an active member of AGMA.
Gregório
Joseph David Legaspi completed his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music at the Jacobs School of Music. His roles with IU Opera Theater include Luther in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Yamadori in Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, the Innkeeper in Jules Massenet’s Manon, and the Commissioner in Francis Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. In 2008, he created the role of El Blogger in the world première of the videopera ¡Únicamente la Verdad!. Legaspi was one of the featured soloists in the Argento evening in 2005, J. S. Bach’s Actus Tragicus, BWV 106, and Felix Mendelssohn’s Psalm 115 at IU. Legaspi performed in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the Lincoln Center in New York for the Joy in Singing Competition semi-finals. He is finishing his doctoral studies at the IU Jacobs School of Music, studying vocal performance with Robert Harrison.
Jerome Síbulo, baritone, is from the Philippines, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the Ateneo de Manila University. He was recipient of the 2005 Loyola Schools Awards for the Arts, Music category. Síbulo is in his first year of pursuing a Master of Music in Voice at the IU Jacobs School of Music. At IU, he created the role of El Señor del Paso in the world première of Gabriela Ortiz' ¡Unicamente la Verdad!, sang the roles of Al in The Most Happy Fella, Bullfighter in the collegiate première of Golijov's Ainadamar, and participated in the 2008 Celebration of Spirituals concert. For the IU Summer Opera Workshop, he sang scenes from Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, A Little Night Music, La forza del destino, Martha, and Don Pasquale. He has sung in several opera choruses of IU Opera Theater. Síbulo studied with Dale Moore and is currently a student of Alice Hopper.
Benvoglio
James Michael Porter, a native of Little Rock, Ark., is a junior pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Voice. He is in the studio of Scharmal Schrock. Porter has participated in several choral concerts, and he was in the opera chorus for La bohème. This performance marks his debut role with IU Opera Theater.
Daniel Rakita, tenor, is a sophomore pursuing his Bachelor of Music in Voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. This is his début role with IU Opera Theater. He was involved in last year’s performance of The Merry Wives of Windsor as a member of the chorus. He has also appeared as the tenor soloist for Daniel Pinkham’s Requiem with the Symphonic Choir. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.
Duke of Verona
Baritone Curtis Crafton is a native of Idaho. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music, Applied Voice from the College of Idaho and is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Voice from the Jacobs School of Music. While at the College of Idaho, Crafton was the winner of the Intermountain Region NATS competition, winner of the Treasure Valley NATS competition, and selected as baritone soloist in the Idaho Arts Showcase. With College of Idaho Opera Theater, Crafton was seen in the roles of Olin Blitch from Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah, The Unnamed Bass from Edwin Penhorwood’s Too Many Sopranos, and Figaro from W. A. Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. Last season at IU Opera Theater, he performed the role of the Herald in Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon. Crafton is a student of Timothy Noble.
Count Paris
Ayron Hyatt, a first-year master’s student, is a native of Ankeny, Iowa. He received his undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, where he studied with Donald Simonson. Previous roles include Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and Bad Bart in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore. Hyatt has participated in master classes with Richard Boldrey, Simon Estes, and Nico Castel. In 2008, he was awarded the Janet Alcorn Encouragement Award at the Iowa District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. This is Hyatt’s IU Opera Theater debut. He is a student of Timothy Noble.
Hailing from the Great Northwest, baritone Gavin James Hayes is pursuing a Master of Music in Voice. In 2008, Hayes received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Western Washington University (WWU), where he performed Frank in Die Fledermaus, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, and William Jennings Bryan in the WWU faculty cast of The Ballad of Baby Doe. In 2006, Hayes played the title role in Gianni Schicchi for collegiate debut of the opera’s new English libretto by Jack Frymeyer, also with the WWU opera program. Over the past two summers, he has sung with the Seattle Opera Chorus in their productions of Aida and Der Ring des Nibelungen. He has also performed leading operatic and musical theatre roles with Capital Playhouse Theatre in Washington, including The Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods, Riff in West Side Story, Bella Zangler in Crazy for You, Daniel in Once on This Island, and Chauvalin in The Scarlet Pimpernel. Hayes is a member of the American Guild of Musical Artists and the IU Student National Association of Teachers of Singing (SNATS). Last year, he presented scholarly work at the New Voice Educators Symposium sponsored by IU SNATS. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.
