BIOGRAPHIES OF THE CAST AND ARTISTIC TEAM
ARTISTIC STAFF
 Randall Behr, Artistic Director.
Please Note: The School of Music mourns the sudden loss of Maestro Behr, who died suddenly on September 8th. Mr. Behr will remain as artistic director of the production and all four performances will be dedicated to the memory of his life. For more information, Click here.
Randall Behr led 24 productions as resident conductor of the Los Angeles Opera, including Salome, Elektra,Die Frau ohne Schatte, Nixon in China, Don Giovanni, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Where the Wild Things Are,Higglety Pigglety Pop!, Tosca,Madama Butterfly, Orfeo ed Euridice, Oklahoma!, Otello, Die Zauberflöte, Così fan tutte, Rigoletto, Carmen, and La bohème. During this period, he was also chorus master and head of music staff for the company. Prior to his Los Angeles appointment, Behr served as music director of the Long Beach Opera, where he conducted the American professional stage premiere of Strauss’s original 1912 version of Ariadne on Naxos, The Ballad of Baby Doe, The Marriage of Figaro, and a benefit concert for the company featuring Marilyn Horne.
His international roster of performances included concerts and operatic appearances at the Vienna Staatsoper, Hamburg Staatsoper, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, Orchestre Nacional de Lyon, the Las Palmas Festival, the Orquestra de Valencia, the Ópera de Valencia, the Ópera de Bilbao, Herodus Atticus Theater in Athens, and the Canadian Opera Company. He also appeared as pianist in recital with Maria Ewing at London’s Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Florence’s Teatro Comunale, the Chatelet in Paris, the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Opéra de Lyon, and the Hong Kong Festival.
Behr conducted at numerous companies throughout the United States, including San Francisco Opera, the Chicago Lyric Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Spoleto USA, Central City Opera, Wolf Trap, Opera Memphis, and Utah Opera. Maestro Behr led the American Ballet Theater Orchestra (1981–82 season) and conducted Peter Brook’s Tony Award-winning La tragédie de Carmen on Broadway.
Deeply interested in the training of young singers, Behr served as resident conductor of Marilyn Horne’s Music Academy of the West, where he conducted productions of Rossini’s Il viaggio aReims, Die Zauberflöte, Handel’s Rodelinda, Ariadne auf Naxos, Don Pasquale, Britten’s Albert Herring, Le nozze di Figaro, and Nino Rota’s Il cappello di paglia di Firenze. As music director of the Department of Vocal Arts and of the Juilliard Opera Center at The Juilliard School, he made his debut in Corsaro’s 1994 production of Rutland Boughton’s The Immortal Hour and subsequently conducted the Opera Center’s productions of Prokofiev’s L’amour des trois oranges, Henze’s Elegy for Young Lovers, Gianni Schicchi, Offenbach’s Monsieur Choufleri, the Corsaro/Sendak production of Hänsel und Gretel (telecast as part of PBS’s “Live from Lincoln Center” series), The Magic Flute, Il cappello di paglia diFirenze, Gluck’s Armide, Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, and the American premiere of Kurt Weill’s Der Kuhhandel. He previously conducted Il turco in Italia and Dialogues des Carmélites for IU Opera Theater.
 Andrew Altenbach, Conductor
Andrew Altenbach has excelled as a pianist, accompanist, as well a conductor of opera and symphonic literature. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, he studied piano with Francisco Silva and became interested in conducting while in high school. Mr. Altenbach received Bachelor and Masters degrees from Northwestern University where he studied conducting with Victor Yampolsky and piano with Alan Chow. Presently, Mr. Altenbach is doing doctoral work at Indiana University where he studies conducting with David Effron and piano with Karen Shaw. He has extensive experience as an opera coach and is a graduate assistant with the Indiana University Opera Program. This past summer he served on the vocal/conducting faculty for the Music Academy of the West, Marilyn Horne’s vocal training company in Santa Barbara, California. Mr. Altenbach music directed a production of Cendrillon at the Milwaukee Opera Theatre in 2004 and will return there in 2006 to conduct Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Last year, Mr. Altenbach guest conducted at the National Opera Association Convention in New York City, and was also the Conducting Fellow at the prestigious Chautauqua Institution. In addition, he served as principal guest conductor for the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra for the 2004-2005 season. He has worked in fur ther conducting and coaching positions with the North Shore Chamber Orchestra, Evanston Symphony, Brevard Music Center, International Institute of Vocal Arts, and the College Light Opera Company. Mr. Altenbach has served as an assistant conductor to David Effron, Randall Behr, Uriel Segal, Timothy Muffitt, and Victor Yampolsky.
 Vincent Liotta, Stage Director.
Vincent Liotta has been both a professional stage director and a dedicated educator for more than 15 years. He is the head of the Opera Stage Directing program at Indiana University where he teaches stage directing, acting, and operatic literature. Past professional projects include La fanciulia 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 with 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, Don Giovanni, and the world première of Willie Stark.
 Robert O’Hearn, Set Designer.
Robert O’Hearn earned his bachelor’s degree from Indiana University in 1943. He has been a scenic and costume designer for the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Vienna Volksoper, Hamburg Staatsoper, New York City Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Ballet West. He served as professor for the Studio and Forum of Stage Design in New York from 1968 to 1988. Professor O’Hearn has also given guest lectures and classes at Carnegie Mellon, Brandeis, and Penn State University.
Mona Tobin Houston, Diction & Text Coach.
Though Mona Houston recently retired from Indiana University, she continues to be in demand as a diction and text coach for opera chorus and soloists. During her university career, she taught courses in Phonetics and Pronunciation, Advanced Translation, French for Singers, Seventeenth-Century French Theater, and Seventeenth-Century French Poetry. In 1989, she received the Lilly Endowment Open Faculty Fellowship to study the rehearsal process in professional theaters in Baltimore, Washington, D.C.,and Paris. Singers, directors, and conductors seek out Houston not only because of her academic experience, but also because her musical training and excellent ear make her uniquely able to apply the pronunciation of the language to its musical context.
THE CAST
Don Alfonso, a cynic
 Bass-baritone Alan Dunbar is currently working on his master’s in voice and studies with Costanza Cuccaro. Dunbar did his undergraduate study in music theory and composition at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. He debuted with the IU Opera Theater last fall as Alcindoro in La bohème and appeared as Louis in William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge. He has appeared in other roles including Pangloss/Voltaire in Berstein’s Candide, Prince Gremin in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin with Opera Twin Cities, and he created the role of the Abbot in the new opera Sicut Erat by New England composer Brian Griffeath-Loeb. For the past seven years Dunbar has been singing throughout North America and Europe with the internationally acclaimed male chamber vocal ensemble Cantus.
 A native of New York, bass-baritone Kevin Murphy earned his Bachelor of Music from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam. While at Crane, Murphy performed many roles, including Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Poo-Bah in The Mikado, and Czolgosz in Assassins. He is currently in his third year as a graduate student at Indiana University, where he has appeared as Sciarrone in Tosca, Colline in La bohème, and Alfieri in A View from the Bridge. Kevin recently performed the title role of Sweeney Todd for the Janiac Opera Company in Brevard, NC. He currently studies with Costanza Cuccaro.
Ferrando, an officer in the Imperial Army
 Jordan Bluth, tenor, is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance. Previously at IU, he has been seen as Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden and the Old Miner/President Chester Arthur in The Ballad of Baby Doe. In the summer of 2004, he performed as a young artist with the Utah Festival Opera Company where he covered the role of Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden and played the role of Angus “the kilt” MacGuffie in the highly-acclaimed production of Brigadoon. This summer, he travelled to Glimmerglass Opera to cover the role of Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte and performed the role of Strolling Player in Britten’s Death in Venice. Jordan is the two-time winner of the Berta Autenrieth Most Promising Singer Award at the Arizona chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He is from Gilbert, AZ, and he currently studies with Dale Moore.
 Brian Stucki, tenor, is a native of Olympia, WA. He has most recently performed the roles of Don Narciso in The Turk in Italy and Belmonte in The Abduction from the Seraglio for IU Opera’s 2003-04 season, as well as Alfredo in La traviata with Washington East Opera. Stucki receives vocal training from Costanza Cuccaro. Other roles include Ernesto in Don Pasquale, an upcoming Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and more recently, Rodolfo in L’Opera Piccola Chicago’s production of La bohème. As an oratorio soloist, Stucki has sung with the IU Chamber Orchestra and Choirs’ performance of Die Schopfung, the Utah Bach Choir, and the Utah Symphony. He is also an accomplished cellist, having released a CD recording of Rachmaninoff works on the Tantara label.
Guglielmo, an officer in the Imperial Army
 Chris Carducci recently appeared at Carnegie Hall, where he presented selections from Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch for The Marilyn Horne Foundation’s THE SONG CONTINUES…2005. Acclaimed as a recitalist, Carducci, equally at home as a recitalist and on the opera stage, has performed with IU Opera Theater as Prosdocimo in The Turk in Italy, Mozart’s Count Almaviva and Guglielmo as well as the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, and Sid in Albert Herring. Earlier this year, he created the role of Pontius Pilate in Pilatus, a new opera by Robert Samels.A two-time winner of the Dr. Marjorie Conrad Peatee Art Song Competition, he has worked with the Toledo Opera as a resident artist, Carmel Bach Festival, Michigan Opera Works, and the Perrysburg Symphony. The Monroe, MI, native began his vocal studies with Virginia Starr and Andreas Poulimenos at Bowling Green State University, where he earned the degree of Bachelor of Music in education with a choral emphasis. Currently in the master’s program at Indiana University, Carducci is a student of Timothy Noble.
 Benjamin Czarnota has appeared in the roles of Njegus in The Merry Widow and Schaunard in La bohème, a role he also sang with Wichita Grand Opera last year. Other roles include performances of the Count in Le nozze di Figaro at Brevard Music Center and Death in Gustav Holst's Savitri. He appeared as Anton Chekhov in Dominic Argento's A Few Words about Chekhov in a semi-staged production of Argento works directed by Håkan Hagegård. He spent this past summer as an apprentice artist with Des Moines Metro Opera. Czarnota is a doctoral student in Constanza Cuccaro's studio.
Dorabella, Fiordiligi's sister, in love with Ferrando
 Kathryn Leemhuis, mezzo-soprano, is a graduate student in the studio of Costanza Cuccaro. Her past operatic roles include Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Dritte Magd in Strauss’ Elektra at Severance Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra; Hermia in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Tanglewood Music Center; Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, and Nancy in Britten’s Albert Herring at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Recently, Leemhuis was a regional winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. This summer, she was a young artist in the 2005 Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Gerdine Young Artist Program.
 Mezzo-soprano Ann Sauder is a senior Vocal Performance major from Peoria, IL, pursuing her bachelor’s degree under the instruction of Patricia Stiles. On the Indiana University stage, she has been seen as Praskovia/Do-do in the fall 2003 production of The Merry Widow and has appeared in the choruses of IU Opera Theater’s productions of Abduction from the Seraglio, Falstaff, and Peter Grimes. Sauder plans to continue her studies at IU in the fall, pursuing a master’s degree in voice.
Fiordiligi, Dorabella's sister, in love with Guglielmo
 Carol Dusdieker, soprano, is originally from North Liberty, IA. Dusdieker is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music in Voice under the tutelage of Costanza Cuccaro. At IU, she has performed the roles of Musetta in Puccini’s La bohème, Alice Ford in Verdi's Falstaff, and Antonia in Offenbach's Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Last April, Dusdieker received the Presser Music Award. She has performed with the Cedar Rapids Opera Theater, the Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Artist program, and the Blimmerglass Opera as one of their Young American Apprentice Artist. Other major roles performed by her include the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Piramo in Johann Hasse’s Piramo e Thisbe, and Esmeralda in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride. Dusdieker received her master’s degree from Indiana University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Iowa.
 Vera Savage (Fiordiligi) is in her third year at IU and plans to complete her Master's degree in the Spring. Miss Savage was seen as Pamina in last season's production of Mozart'sThe Magic Flute, and during the 2003 season performed the role of Anna Glawari in Lehar's The Merry Widow. Prior to her studies at Indiana University, Vera received her BM from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, where she was seen in many roles, including the title role in Handel's Alcina, Rosalinda in Strauss' Die Fledermaus, Female Chorus in Britten's The Rape of Lucretia, and Marenka in Smetana's The Bartered Bride. Vera has spent two summers at the Chauauqua Institute, where she was seen as Helena in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the title role in Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tiresias. Vera is a student of Costanza Cuccaro.
Despina, their maid
 A native of Indiana, Georgina Joshi received her Bachelor of Music from the Royal College of Music, London, where she studied with Eiddwen Harrhy. Most recently, Joshi has sung for the gala opera night at the Beamaris Festival with the Welsh Chamber Orchestra conducted by Anthony Hose, she also performed the role of the first Harlot in Handel’s Solomon conducted by William Jon Gray for the Bloomington Early Music Festival. Joshi is currently pursuing her Master of Music in Voice at Indiana University, where she studies with Alan Bennett. Her first role at IU was Clorinda in Cenerenta.
 Angela Mannino , Despina: A native of New Orleans, past roles include Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Despina in Cosi Fan Tutte, Adele in Die Fledermaus and Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore. At IU, she has performed the roles of Blonde in IU Opera Theater’s production of The Abduction from the Seraglio and Musetta in La Boheme. This past summer she performed the role of Fido in Paul Bunyan with the Central City Opera. Angela is a student of Costanza Cuccaro.
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