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 Roméo et Juliette
by Charles Gounod
Libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré
Premiered: Théâtre-Lyrique, Paris, April 1867
October 21, 22, 28, 29, 8:00 p.m.
With Opera Insights at 7:00 p.m.
Conductor: David Effron
Stage Director: Micheal Ehrman
Designer: New Production by C. David Higgins
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| BIOGRAPHIES OF THE CAST AND ARTISTIC TEAM |
| ARTISTIC STAFF |
 David Effron, Conductor
Originally from Cincinnati, OH, distinguished symphony and opera conductor David Effron grew up in a musical family. His father was concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony for 28 years, and his mother was the pianist for that orchestra.
After earning Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees in piano at the University of Michigan and Indiana University, Effron received a Fulbright grant for study in Germany and began his professional career as an assistant to general music director Wolfgang Sawallisch at the Cologne Opera. Returning to the United States in 1964, he joined the conducting staff of the New York City Opera, a position he held for 18 years.
In his early career as a pianist, he accompanied such artists as George London, Placido Domingo, and Sherrill Milnes in recital and collaborated with soprano Benita Valente as her accompanist for a decade.
As a prominent educator, Effron taught at the Curtis Institute of Music from 1970-1977. As the head of the orchestral program at the Eastman School of Music from 1977-1998, he trained hundreds of instrumentalists now in professional orchestras world wide. His conducting students presently hold positions ranging from the assistant conductor of the Philadelphia orchestra to music director positions in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, and South America. Since 1998, he has served as professor of conducting at the Indiana University School of Music, where he was appointed chairman of the Conducting Department in the fall of 2005.
A highly sought after guest conductor with a repertoire of all the standard sympyhonic works, as well as 105 operas, Effron’s forty-year career has included appearances with major symphony orchestras and opera companies in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, and the Far East. This coming summer will mark his tenth season as artistic director and principal conductor of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina.
In 1984, Effron was the conductor for the Grammy award-winning recording of Copland’s Lincoln Portrait. His discography also includes a 1987 Pantheon recording with Benita Valente, which won the German Critics Prize. Effron joined forces with flutist James Galway for a RCA recording of John Corigliano’s Pied Piper Fantasy, winning a top prize from Ovation Magazine.
In 2003, Effron received the Musicians of the Year Award from the National Federation of Music Clubs. In recognition and acknowledgement of his pedagogical contributions, he was honored in the spring of 2004 with the unveiling of a portrait to be displayed at the University of Rochester’s prestigious Eastman School of Music.
In the spring of 2006, Effron will be awarded an honorary doctorate from North Carolina State University. |
 Michael Ehrman, Stage Director
Michael Ehrman has staged opera productions for companies including Houston Grand Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Atlanta Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater. Recent productions include Vanessa for Central City Opera, Noye’s Fludde for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, The Sound of Music and The Barber of Seville for Tulsa Opera, The Crucible and Roméo et Juliette for Indianapolis Opera, and The Tales of Hoffmann for Connecticut Opera. He directed Street Scene for Minnesota Opera, The Ballad of Baby Doe for Utah Opera and Indianapolis Opera, Carmen for Virginia Opera, and The Magic Flute for Wolf Trap. He staged the American Opera Series in Central City from 1996-1999, including the fortieth anniversary Ballad of Baby Doe (recorded by Newport Classics), Susannah , Robert Ward’s The Crucible, and Street Scene. Other works in his repertoire include La bohème, La traviata, Pagliacci, Macbeth, Così fan tutte, Le Nozze Di Figaro, Faust, Falstaff. Rigoletto, Madama Butterfly, Albert Herring, The Turn of the Screw, Eugene Onegin, Tosca, and The Postman Always Rings Twice.
Ehrman has extensive experience as a teacher and as author/director of many educational opera programs. He was director of opera for the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and at Northwestern University, and has also directed at Yale University, 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, and the New National Theater, Tokyo.
In 2003, at Central City Opera he directed the world premiere of Henry Mollicone’s Gabriel’s Daughter and will stage the Fiftieth Anniversary production of The Ballad f Baby Doe in 2006.
In September 2002, he joined the faculty of Roosevelt University/Chicago College of Performing Arts in Chicago, where he is associate professor of music and director of opera. This spring he will direct the Chicago premiere of Ronald Perera’s The Yellow Wallpaper. For Indiana University, he has previously directed Faust and The Ballad of Baby Doe. |
 C. David Higginst, Set Designer.
C. David Higgins has been designing scenery since 1972 when he began working at the Indiana University School of Music as a master scenic artist. Now a faculty member, he teaches set design and has been designing opera and ballet scenery and costumes across the globe for theaters in the United States, England, Italy, Iceland, and Korea. With over 150 productions to his credit, he has been described as one of America’s finest scenic painters by Opera News magazine and is best known for his detailed, Italianate painting style. |
 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 |
| Juliette |
 Anna Steenerson, a native of South Carolina, is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Voice at Indiana University. Steenerson is a second-time state winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition in South Carolina. She has also received many first place awards with the National Association of Teachers and Singing. Steenerson sang with the Indianapolis Symphony this past June as the First Fairy in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She has been a member of the Brevard Janiec Opera Company. With IU Opera Theater, she has performed the title role in Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe, Blanche in Poulenc’s Dialogue des Carmélites, and Josephine in Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. Recently, Steenerson portrayed Emily in the workshop of Ned Rorem’s world premiere opera Our Town, based on Thorton Wilder’s play. Other roles include Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Laetitia in The Old Maid and the Thief. She is a student of Costanza Cuccaro. |
 A native of Houston,TX, Betsy Uschkrat received her Bachelor of Music degree with membership in the Honors College from the University of Houston Moores School of Music in 2005, where she studied with Joseph Evans. Most recently, Uschkrat has performed the roles of Euridice in Orpheus in the Underworld, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Mrs. Honeychurch in A Room with a View, a production that was directed by the librettist, Buck Ross, and will be released on DVD in 2006. A contestant in the 2005 Miss Texas Scholarship Pageant, a preliminary to Miss America, she placed sixth overall as Miss Houston, performing Adele's Laughing Aria for over 2 million television viewers. She has been honored as a featured soloist for several National Award Events, including awards presented to Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Houston Mayor Bill White, Tom Brokaw, and the families of Bob Hope and Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Uschkrat is currently pursuing her Master of Voice at Indiana University, where she studies with Costanza Cuccaro. This will be her debut with Indiana University Opera Theater |
| Roméo |
 John Sumners, tenor, is a native of Indianapolis. He has recently performed with Central City Opera as Detlef in The Student Prince, Conchenille in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and covering the title role in Massenet’s Jongleur de Notre Dame. Past operatic roles include Edgardo in Knoxville Opera’s Lucia di Lammermoor, as well as Nemorino in Elixir of Love, Lysander in Midsummer Night’s Dream, Camille in Merry Widow, and Sabastiani in Ohio Light Opera’s production of Strauss’s The Merry War. He returned to Central City Opera this past summer to perform Sam Sharkey in Britten’s Paul Bunyan and to cover Pinkerton in Catherine Malfitano’s directorial debut of Madama Butterfly.
John holds a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from Millikin University and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Tennessee. He is currently pursuing a Performer Diploma at Indiana University under the tutelage of Timothy Noble.
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 Tenor Brian Arreola is working on his Master of Voice and studies with Brian Horne. Arreola did his undergraduate studies at St. Olaf College, where he studied cello and voice. As co-founder and co-artistic director of the professional touring ensemble Cantus he has spent the last seven years concertizing and directing workshops/clinics at schools and universities throughout the United States. On the opera stage, he has sung for Opera Twin Cities and Ex Machina Opera. Recent roles include Tamino in The Magic Flute and Jenik in scenes from The Bartered Bride. |
| Mercutio |
 Kory Bickel, baritone, is currently a first-year doctoral candidate at IU, where he is a student of Costanza Cuccaro. Most recently, Mr. Bickel appeared as Dandini in Rossini’s opera La Cenerentola. While at IU, he has also performed the roles of Masetto in Don Giovanni, Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, and Prosdocimo, the poet, in Il Turco in Italia. In February of this year, Bickel was named a third-place winner of the Midwest Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, after being named a winner of the Kansas District. This summer, Bickel was a Gerdine Young Artist at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where he performed the roles of Paris in Roméo et Juliette and the City Crier in Gloriana. While at Saint Louis, he also covered the roles of Mercutio and Grégorio in Romeo et Juliette. In the summer of 2004, Bickel was an Apprentice Artist at the Des Moines Metro Opera. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he was named the national winner of the 2002 Music Teacher’s National Association Collegiate Voice Competition, a title that led to his New York solo debut at Weill Recital Hall in March 2003. Beginning in December, Bickel will be a studio artist with the Utah Symphony and Opera. |
 Baritone Michael Weyandt is a first-year master's student from Plymouth, MN, and studies with Dale Moore. This is his debut with IU Opera Theater. Weyandt received his BM in Voice and Composition from the Oberlin Conservatory in May 2005, where he performed the roles of Sid in Albert Herring, Peter in Hänsel und Gretel, Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, and Micha in The Bartered Bride with the Oberlin Opera Theater. He performed as an Apprentice Artist at the Des Moines Metro Opera this past summer. In January 2005, he made his New York City debut in Merkin Hall as the soloist in a staged performance of Peter Maxwell Davies' Eight Songs for a Mad King with the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble. Later that spring, he sang numerous outreach performances with the Lyric Opera of Cleveland. |
| Frere Laurent |
 Bass-baritone Young Ju Lee, a native Korean, is in the master’s program in Voice. Some of his roles have included the title role in The Turk in Italy, Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, Pistola in Falstaff, and Marquis in La traviata with IU Opera Theater. He worked with University Orchestra under the baton of Imre Palló. Lee was offered a position as Apprentice Artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera for the summer of 2003. He earned his bachelor degree in Mathematics. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from Yonsei University at Seoul, Korea. Lee is a student of Andreas Poulimenos. |
 A former student of Giorgio Tozzi, John Paul Huckle, bass, is a native of Pittsburgh, PA and is currently pursuing a Master of Voice from Indiana University, having completed his Performer Diploma of Voice this past May. He has performed various roles at IU including Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Pistola in Verdi’s Falstaff, and Olin Britt in The Music Man. Huckle has attended the Brevard Music Program and performed under the baton of Maestro David Effron in Don Giovanni and Falstaff. Last year, Huckle had the opportunity to participate in Martina Arroyo’s role preparation class and prepared the role of John Claggart in Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd. The past two summers, he attended Opera North’s Young Artist program in Lebanon, NH, and has performed the roles of Theseus in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Friar Jean in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliet, Sciarrone and the Jailer in Puccini’s Tosca, Superintendent Budd in Britten’s Albert Herring, and covered the role of Don Alhambra in Gilbert and Sullivan’s the Gondoliers. Mr. Huckle is currently studying with Robert Harrison. |
| Stephano |
 Carrie Reading, mezzo-soprano, is a Performer Diploma student, studying under Patricia Havranek. She has three previous degrees from Indiana University: a BM in Voice, a BA in Mathematics, and a MM in Voice. She has been in three previous operas at IU: as Emily in The Ballad of Baby Doe, Sylviane /Frou-Frou in The Merry Widow, and Madame Larina in Eugine Onegin. She recently performed the role of Meg in Falstaff for Union Avenue Opera Theater, Saint Louis. Reading is this year’s recipient of the Wilfred Bain Opera Scholarship. |
 Heng Xia completed her BM at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing, China, her home city, where she received numerous awards and won several contests. She sang the role of Cherubino in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro with the Beijing National Opera Theater. She received her Master of Music degree from Baylor University, where she was a graduate assistant. There she sang the roles of Dorabella in Così fan tutte and the Old Prioress in Dialogues of the Carmélites. She sang with the Waco Lyric Opera's Outreach program. Heng was a Finalist in the Vera Scammon SOS International competition in 2004 and placed fifth in the Vervier International Opera Competition in Belgium. She completed her Performer Diploma at IU in August 2005 and last spring performed the role of Mother Jean in Dialogues of the Carmélites with IU Opera Theater. She is a first-year doctoral student at IU studying with Patricia Stiles. |
| Gertrude |
 Mezzo-soprano Sarah Stone was born in London, England, and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, where she was a professional soccer player from 1994 to 1998. She received her bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University and is currently in her last semester of studies toward a master’s degree in Voice at Indiana University. Her roles inlcude Katisha in The Mikado, Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, Effie in The Ballad of Baby Doe, and Filippyevna in Eugene Onegin in IU Opera Theater’s 2004-2005 season. This summer, she was a vocal fellow with the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Center where she had the opportunity to perform under the baton of Maestro James Levine. She is a student of Patricia Stiles. |
 In December 2005, mezzo-soprano Jessica Vanderhoof will graduate with a Performer Diploma in Voice from the Indiana University School of Music. While at Indiana University, she has performed Mama McCourt in The Ballad of Baby Doe and the Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte. Vanderhoof’s bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance was earned from the University of Miami School of Music and her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance was earned with a full scholarship from Boston University. Vanderhoof is also a graduate of the unique German Program for Singers at Middlebury College. 2005 marked her professional debut with the Cincinnati Opera, singing the roles of Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Giovanna in Rigoletto, under the baton of Maestro Edoardo Müller. She has been an apprentice at the Brevard Music Center singing Dame Quickly in Falstaff and the mezzo solo in Verdi’s Messa di Requiem, under the baton of Maestro David Effron and a Young Artist with the Cincinnati Opera. She studies with Patricia Stiles. |
| Tybalt |
 Ulises Du Bon is a senior from Miami, FL. He is studying Vocal Performance with Patricia Stiles. Ulises last performed as the First Priest in The Magic Flute last spring with IU Opera Theater. |
 The role of Tybalt marks Daniel Shirley’s debut with Indiana University Opera Theater. A native of Jackson, MS., the tenor graduated in 2004 from Vanderbilt University, where he received the Delene Laubenheim McClure Memorial Award for excellence in opera performance. His operatic and theatrical credits include The Lover in Amelia Goes to the Ball, Michael Wells in Two Rooms, John Hinckley Jr. in Assassins, and Master Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi. He spent the summer of 2004 studying at the Opera Theatre & Music Festival of Lucca, Italy. A first-year master’s student, he is in the studio of Patricia Stiles. |
| Count Capulet
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 Baritone David Swain was raised in the city of Round Rock, TX. Mr. Swain graduated in May 2003 from Texas Tech University with a bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance. There he studied with Gerald Dolter. He is currently pursuing a master's degree from Indiana University, where he is a graduate assistant. He currently studies under Timothy Noble. His theatrical engagements have included Maesetto in Don Giovanni, El Gallo in The Fantasticks, The Sergeant of Police in The Pirates of Penzance, Cesare Angelotti in Tosca, Colline in La bohème, and, recently, Alidoro in La Cenerentola. |
| Gregorio |
 Bass-baritone Benjamin Gelfand is a first-year doctoral student, having completed his Masters at IU last year. He has been seen in IU Opera Theater as Dr. Grenvil in La traviata, Don Geronio in The Turk in Italy, The Sacristan in Tosca, and Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola. He received a Bachelor in Voice from the Ohio State University, where he was seen as Simone in Gianni Schicchi and Gideon in Little Women. He is a student of Giorgio Tozzi. |
| Benvolio |
 Jeffrey Gwaltney, a native of Central Florida, is a Senior Voice Performance major studying with Alice Hopper. He earned an Associate of Science Degree in Recording Arts from the Full Sail Program in Winter Park, FL, and an Associate of Liberal Arts Degree from Central Florida Community College, where he was the recipient of a Drama Scholarship. While there he performed the role of the S.S. Officer in the American premiere of the play Rosenstrasse, Thurio in Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and Tevia in Fiddler on the Roof. At IU he has performed the role of the Jailor in Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites, and has sung in the choruses of Tosca, Eugene Onegin, A View from the Bridge, and Die Zauberflote. |
| Duke of Verona |
 Jong Hun Cha, a native of Korea, received his Performer Diploma at IU and is working toward a master’s degree in Voice. He received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Korean National University of Arts at Seoul, South Korea. He earned 1st grad of Jeon-Buk Music Competition from Korea. While at IU, he has appeared as M. Javelinot in Les Dialogue des Carmélites. Cha studies with Giorgio Tozzi. |
 Quinto Ott is a sophomore in Vocal Performance and Theatre from Tucson AZ. He is studying Voice with Timothy Noble. Quinto makes his Indiana University Opera Theater début as the Duke of Verona. Last year, he participated in the chorus of Dialogues des Carmélites by Francis Poulenc. Quinto was seen as Louis in the Indiana University Theatre Department’s production of Pal Joey. He also played the roll of Tiger Brown in Bertolt Brecht’s The Threepenny Opera at the John Waldron Arts Center. He looks forward to more performance opportunities here in Bloomington. |
| Count Paris |
 Texas native Chaz Nailor is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree in Voice. His recent performances include the role of The Officer of Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmélites with IU Opera Theater and the role of Uncle Vince, as a guest artist, in the world premiere of Stinson's The Token with Bloomington HS South. Chaz is a recipient of the T.I.S. Tichenor Foundation Scholarship through the Society of the Friends of Music and is under the tutelage of Andreas Poulimenos. |
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