Biographies
Artistic Staff | Cast
Arthur Fagen,Conductor
Conductor Arthur Fagen joined the faculty of the IU Jacobs School of Music in 2008. This marks his debut with IU Opera Theater. From 2002 to 2007, he was the music director of the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra and the Dortmund Opera. Following his successful concerts with the Dortmund Philharmonic at the “Grosse Festspielhaus in Salzburg,” Fagen and the Dortmund Philharmonic were invited to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and the Palais de Beaux Arts in Brussels, as well as on tours in Salzburg, Beijing, and Shanghai.
For the 2008-09 season, Fagen was the principal guest conductor of the Haydn Orchestra in Bolzano, Italy. He has conducted operas at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera, Vienna State Opera, Munich State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Berlin, and New York City Opera, and orchestras that include the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, Munich Radio Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Orchestra della RAI (Torino, Naples, Milano, Roma,), and the Bergen Philharmonic.
He has recorded for BMG, Bayerischer Rundfunk, SFB, and WDR Cologne. He records regularly for Naxos, for whom he has completed the six symphonies of Bohuslav Martinů. Future plans for Fagen include engagements with the Buenos Aires Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Opera de Nice, Hannover State Opera, Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur, Orquesta Filarmonica de Gran Canarias (Las Palmas), Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra (Pamplona), Berliner Symphoniker (for recordings), Orchestra Sinfonica di Sanremo, and the Busoni Festival.
Vincent Liotta, Stage Director
Stage director Vincent Liotta has been both a professional stage director and a dedicated educator for more than 25 years. He is the head of the Opera Stage Directing program at Indiana University, where he teaches stage directing, acting, and operatic literature. His professional projects have been seen on four continents and include Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Seoul, Korea), the eastern European première of Bernstein’s Candide (Romania), and Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (Buenos Aires), as well as La fanciulla del West at the Canadian Opera Company (Toronto), Turandot at the El Paso Opera, and a new production of Die Fledermaus at the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre. In 1993, Liotta co-founded the Utah Festival Opera. His professional productions have covered the entire history of operatic repertory from Cavalli to John Corigliano. Notable works include directing the world premières of Mollicone’s Coyote Tales, a new version of Frank Loesser’s Greenwillow, Edwin Penhorwood’s Too Many Sopranos, and the American première of Dragon of Wantley. In addition, his works for the musical theater include a new libretto for Victor Herbert’s operetta, Naughty Marietta, and Viva Verdi, an original biographical evening about the life and work of Giuseppe Verdi. He has created productions at major American companies, including San Francisco, Houston, and Santa Fe, and has collaborated with Harold Prince on productions of Turandot and Don Giovanni, as well as the world première of Willie Stark.
Cast
Elvira, Mustafa's wife
Soprano Kelly Kruse is a native of LeMars, Iowa, and is in the second year of her master’s at IU, where she studies with Costanza Cuccaro. Kruse received her undergraduate degree from Iowa State University, where she studied with Mary Creswell. She has participated in master classes with Nico Castel and Simon Estes. At Indiana University, she appeared as Princess Nicoletta in The Love for Three Oranges. She has also performed the roles of Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and Rosina in scenes from The Ghosts of Versailles. She has been a soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina burana, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and W. A. Mozart’s C Major “Credo” Mass. She has won three first-place awards in the National Association of Teachers of Singing regional auditions.
Soprano Elizabeth Pearse has appeared frequently on the IU Opera Theater stage: as Smeraldina in 2008’s The Love for Three Oranges, and as an ensemble member (Peter Grimes, La traviata, and others). In addition, Pearse performed the role of Lyncaeus in the Early Music Institute’s American première of Hypermnestra. During her undergraduate and graduate studies at IU, she has been a soloist with a number of groups, including the University Chorale, Women’s Chorus, and with a medieval ensemble for BLEMF’s fringe series. Her interest in new music has led to several engagements with emerging composers, as well as performances with the IU New Music Ensemble, Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, and recent recital of Pierrot lunaire. Pearse studies with Patricia Stiles.
Zulma, Elvira's confidante
Carrie Reading, mezzo-soprano, is an IU Jacobs School of Music doctoral student of Patricia Wise. Past performances include Anne Sexton in Transformations, Stephano in Roméo et Juliette, and Dido in Dido and Aeneas. She also sang supporting roles in The Emperor in Atlantis, Eugene Onegin, and The Ballad of Baby Doe, among others. With Union Avenue Opera, Reading performed Meg in Falstaff and Mercedes in Carmen. She was also an apprentice artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, where she sang Bessy in Mahagonny Songspiel and various scene performances.
Mezzo-soprano Christina Zimmer is a Master of Music student at IU. In 2009, she performed the roles of Hansel in Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel, Florence in Britten’s Albert Herring, and Rosette in Massenet’s Manon. She appeared as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Fla. She was also a finalist in the Palm Beach National Vocal Competition. At IU, Zimmer debuted scenes from P. Q. Phan’s new opera, Lorenzo Di Medici. She studies in the studio of Patricia Stiles.
Mustafa, Bey of Algiers
Bass-baritone Aubrey Allicock’s operatic roles include Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Ping in Turandot, the Old Doctor in Vanessa, King Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, the Unnamed Bass in Too Many Sopranos, Marullo in Rigoletto, and Chelio in The Love for Three Oranges. Allicock has also performed as the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah with members of the Phoenix Symphony Orchestra. He has won many vocal competitions, including Arizona’s National Association of Teachers of Singing Award in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2006, Allicock made his European debut as bass soloist in W. A. Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at Karlskirche in Vienna, Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary. Also in 2006, Allicock performed as the soloist opposite Academy Award-winning actor Louis Gossett Jr. in Dvořák’s A New World Symphony: A Portrait of H. T. Burleigh for Chamber Music Plus of Arizona. Allicock was recently seen in the house debut of the Phoenix Metropolitan Opera as the customs sergeant in Puccini’s La bohème and in the title role of Le nozze di Figaro with Indiana University Opera Theater. Allicock is a current fellow of Indiana University’s Wilfred C. Bain Opera award for the 2009-10 season. Allicock is a master’s student of Andreas Poulimenos.
Joseph Beutel is a second-year master’s student in the IU Jacobs School of Music. In the IU Opera Season of 2008-09, he played the roles of the King in Massenet’s Cendrillon and Herr Reich in Nicolai’s Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor. In the opera workshop, he played the role of Simone in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, working with Carol Vaness. He completed his undergraduate work at Western Michigan University. While there, he was involved in the production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance (2004) as the Sergeant. This past summer, he was a young artist for the Charley Creek Arts Festival, in Wabash, Ind. Last spring, he performed J. S. Bach’s Saint Matthew Passion as bass soloist with the Bloomington Chamber Singers. He earned a Samuel Greco scholarship to participate in the coOPERAtive (2008) program at Westminster Choir College. He has also performed in Europe as a soloist in oratorio works such as Mendelssohn’s Te Deum (2005) and W. A. Mozart’s Mass in C Minor (2006). He earned the Haenicke Scholarship award to study voice in Graz, Austria, at the American Institute of Musical Studies summer program (2005), where he also participated in a series of musical theatre review performances. Beutel is a student of Timothy Noble.
Haly, in the service of the Bey
Daniel Thomas Lentz, a third-year graduate student at the Jacobs School of Music, studies with Patricia Stiles, having studied previously with Dale Moore. He holds a Bachelor of Music from The College of Wooster in Ohio. Lentz recently sang the role of Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro at Bay View Music Festival. While there, he studied with Jeffrey Picon and participated in master classes with Risa Renae Harman and Raymond Feener. At IU, Lentz has sung in many opera choruses, including La bohème, Les contes d’Hoffmann, La Traviata, and Cendrillon, and he has performed Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro and Curio in Giulio Cesare. In the IU Graduate Opera Workshop with Carol Vaness, he sang the role of Betto in Gianni Schicchi. With the IU Chorale and Chamber Orchestra, he sang the role of Böser Geist in Szenen aus Goethe’s Faust. As a recitalist, he has participated in master classes with Roger Vignoles and with Casey Robards. He has performed solos throughout the East Coast, including Fauré’s Requiem, Op. 48, at Trinity Cathedral in Boston, Mass. Lentz has performed with Akron Lyric Opera and appeared as a soloist in Messiah, Elijah, Lord Nelson Mass, Fantasy on Christmas Carols, and several works by J.S. Bach. Currently, he sings in the choir of Trinity Episcopal Church in Bloomington.
Spanish baritone Antonio Santos has performed in Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Brazil, and the United States. As soloist and chamber artist, he has performed with numerous orchestras and ensembles, including Mater Saule (Madrid, Spain), Early Music Academy of Salamanca University (USAL, Spain), Musica Poetica (Holland), Lipzodes, El Fénix de los Ingenios, ¡Sacabuche!, IU Baroque Orchestra (USA), Symphonic Orchestra of Burgos (Spain), and La Stigia, an early music ensemble which he founded in Spain. He has sung as soloist in Purcell´s Dido & Eneas (Eneas), Scarlatti´s USA première of Tigrane (Orcone), J. S. Bach´s Johannes Passion (Bass), and Holzbauer´s Hypermnestra (Delmirus). Handel´s Giulio Cesare (Curio) marked his debut at IU Opera Theater. Santos received degrees in history and musicology from the University of Salamanca (Spain) and in voice from the Professional Conservatory of Music of Salamanca. In 2008, Santos received the Performer Diploma in Voice at the IU Jacobs School of Music in the Early Music Institute, where he is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Voice with Robert Harrison and in Early Music under the direction of tenor Paul Elliott.
Lindoro, an Italian in love with Isabella
From Spanaway, Wash., tenor Anthony Webb is beginning his doctoral work in voice at the Jacobs School of Music. While at IU, he has performed a wide range of roles on the operatic stage, including Luigi in the collegiate première of Bolcom’s A Wedding and, most recently, the role of The Price in Prokofiev’s The Love for Oranges. Other operatic credits include Giuseppe in The Most Happy Fella, Elder Hayes in Susannah, Graf Elemer in Arabella, The Devil in The Devil and Daniel Webster, Monostatos in The Magic Flute, Giles Corey and Ezekiel Cheever in The Crucible, and Pirelli in Sweeney Todd. On the concert stage, Webb has been heard as The Swan in Orff’s Carmina burana, in the Petite Messa Solennelle and Messa di Gloria by Rossini, Messiah by Handel, and The Mass for a New Millenium by Richard Nance, as well as numerous other works. In the summer of 2008, Webb sang the role of The Stranger in the one-act pastiche opera Il Pecheballo by Frances James Child, in the opera’s first performance in nearly 100 years. Upcoming engagments include work with the Owensboro Symphony, performing Carmina burana and Messiah with the Rogue Valley Symphony in Medford, Ore. Webb is a student of Robert Harrison.
Originally from Columbia, Mo., tenor Joshua Whitener holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Indiana University. A Metropolitan Opera National Council Awards district winner and a third-place Mid-South Regional winner, Whitener has served as a young artist with the Glimmerglass Opera, the Central City Opera, and the Des Moines Metro Opera. Most recently, at the 2009 Glimmerglass festival, Whitener covered the role of Don Ramiro in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, where he had the opportunity to sing a cover performance. During the 2008 Central City Opera Summer Festival, Whitener performed the role of Little Bat in Floyd’s Susannah in the company’s family performance. Additional roles Whitener has performed include Alfredo in La Traviata, Camille in The Merry Widow, Kamern in the American première of Sandstrom’s Jeppe, Mike in A View from the Bridge, Dino (Groom) in A Wedding, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’amore, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado, and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Whitener is a student of Costanza Cuccaro.
Isabella
Amanda Russo, mezzo-soprano, is a third-year master’s student at the Jacobs School of Music. Russo has performed the roles of Marcellina in W. A. Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and the title role in Massenet’s Cendrillon with IU Opera Theater. In the summer of 2008, she performed the role of La Padrona in the revival of the one-act pastiche opera Il Pesceballo, a summer collaborative project with the Jacobs School of Music and the IU Folklore and Ethnomusicology department. A native of Pittsburgh, Pa., Russo received her bachelor’s in vocal performance with a minor in German from Carnegie Mellon University. While studying at Carnegie Mellon, she appeared as Nancy in Albert Herring, Ruggiero in Alcina, Cassie in A Chorus Line, and Charlotte in A Little Night Music. She was also a featured soloist in Copland’s In the Beginning and Corigliano’s Fern Hill. Last summer, she performed in Haydn’s Creation as Eve with the Robert Page Festival Singers at the Virginia Arts Festival. Following her performance at the Virginia Arts Festival, Russo covered the role of Petra in A Little Night Music as a studio artist with Central City Opera, where she was the recipient of the Central City Opera Guild’s McGlone Studio Artist Award. Upcoming engagements include performances with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for their Classical Christmas concert. Russo is a student of Patricia Havranek.
Mezzo-soprano Laura Wilde, from Watertown, S.D., is a second-year master’s student at IU, where she studies with Costanza Cuccaro. She most recently appeared with Opera Theater as Prince Charming in Massenet’s Cendrillon, which marked her IU debut. Wilde received her Bachelor of Music from St. Olaf College, where she studied with Janis Hardy and Mark Calkins. While at St. Olaf, she performed the title role in Carmen, Ramiro in La finta giardiniera, and Lady Gertrude/Katisha in An Evening with the Mikado. She also created the role of Sarah in The Binding of Isaac, a BMI award-winning chamber opera by former IU master’s student Matthew Peterson. In 2008, Wilde performed the role of Mrs. Ott in Susannah at the Chautauqua summer voice program. This past summer, she was a young artist at Opera Theatre St. Louis, where she covered the role of Cherubino in The Ghosts of Versailles.
Taddeo, an old Italian
Baritone Daniel Scofield is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music at IU. He was seen in Sylvia McNair’s opera workshop class as Count Almaviva, as well as in a workshop concert performance of Carmen as Escamillo. This fall, he will be performing Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. Last year, Scofield performed Fiorello with Opera Cleveland and was an apprentice artist at Central City, where he covered Count Carl Magnus and performed in scenes as Guglielmo, Count Almaviva, and Curio. He is an Encouragement Award winner at the regional level for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. This production of L’Italiana in Algeri marks his debut with IU Opera Theater. He is a student of Timothy Noble.
Born in Recife, Brazil, baritone Marcelo Ferreira, started his musical studies at age seven at the Music Conservatory of Pernambuco. Since then, he has received many academic awards and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music in Voice and Opera at the IU Jacobs School of Music. He was first-place winner at the Aldo Baldin International Singing Competition, finalist at the 7th Bidu Sayão International Singing Competition, first-place winner in the post-advanced division of the NATS student auditions, received the Cynthia Vernardakis Award at the Orpheus National Music Competition, and was Kentucky State Winner for the NATS Artist Awards competition in 2008. He has been featured as a soloist with many orchestras, performing opera, chamber, symphonic, and sacred works. Ferreira is a student in the studio of Andreas Poulimenos.
