ARTISTIC STAFF BIOGRAPHIES (See Cast Biographies below)
Currently principal guest conductor of the Louisiana Philharmonic and a regular guest conductor at the opera houses in Frankfurt and Dresden, Klauspeter Seibel has been a major figure on the musical stages of both Europe and the United States. With an emphasis on late romantic and American repertoire, he conducts a vast number of contemporary works in addition to the standard eighteenth- and nineteenth-century operatic and orchestral literature. Previous music directorships include the Nuremberg Symphony, Freiburg Opera and Philharmonic, Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, Kiel Opera and Philharmonic and the Louisiana Philharmonic.
In North America,Seibel’s active guest conducting schedule includes the Charlotte Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Grand Rapids Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Omaha Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Utah Symphony, and the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, as well as the Chautauqua and Texas festivals. In Europe, he has appeared with the orchestras of Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Bratislava, Copenhagen, Dublin, and Reykjavik, among others.
In addition to his permanent opera positions, Klauspeter Seibel has guest conducted the Deutsche Oper and Deutsche Staatsoper unter den Linden in Berlin, the Hamburg Opera, Vienna State Opera, Zurich Opera, New Orleans Opera, Opera Colorado, and the Utah Opera. On tour with the Hamburg Opera, he conducted highly acclaimed performances of Romeo andJuliet in Israel and of Wozzeck and Samson and Dalilah in Moscow.
Seibel has recorded for Deutsche Grammophon, RBM, Colosseum, and CPO. Recordings include Wings of Song, with James Galway and the London Symphony Orchestra, for Deutsche Grammophon, the world premiére recording of Der Ring des Polykrates (an opera by Erich Wolfgang Korngold), for CPO, and the first recording of orchestral works by Franz Lehár, for CPO.
Born in Offenbach, Germany, Klauspeter Seibel studied piano, composition, conducting, flute, and horn in Nuremberg and Munich. He made his conducting debut at the age of 21 at Munich's Theater am Gärtnerplatz. He has been a recipient of the City of Munich Richard Strauss Award and a prizewinner at both the Malko Competition in Copenhagen and the Mitropoulos Competition in New York.
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 fanciullia 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. In 2005, he directed William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge and, in 2006, the world première of Ned Rorem’s Our Town.
Set and Costume 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 Theatre, 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. O’Hearn has also given guest lectures and classes at Carnegie Mellon, Brandeis, and Penn State University.
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Adelaide (mezzo-soprano)
Sarah Mabary, mezzo-soprano, is a Master of Music candidate in voice. Upcoming engagements for Mabary include a performance of Pierrot Lunaire at Oklahoma State University and Third Lady in The Magic Flute with Opera South. Her operatic performances at Indiana University include creating the role of Mrs. Gibbs in the world premiere performance of Ned Rorem’s Our Town, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore and Third Lady in The Magic Flute. Performances Mabary has given in the south Mississippi area include the role of La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, as well as presenting a solo recital as a guest artist at the St. Phillips Episcopal Church Concert Series. With the Hattiesburg Civic Chorus and Concert Association, she performed Carlotta in The Phantom, and at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), she appeared as Peep-Bo in The Mikado. Other roles in her repertoire which, Mabary studied under the direction of Martina Arroyo, are Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri and Dame Quickly in Falstaff. Oratorios she has performed include J. S. Bach’s Mass No. 1 in F Major and Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, W. A. Mozart’s Requiem, and Purcell’s Come, Come Ye Sons of Art. In 2004, Mabary represented IU in recital performances at the Midwest Composer’s Symposium at the University of Michigan. Her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and Bachelor of Arts in German were completed at USM in Hattiesburg, MS, her hometown. She is a student of Patricia Havranek.
Mezzo-soprano Patricia Thompson is currently completing a Doctor of Music in Voice Performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she also completed a Master of Music in Voice. She is a student of Patricia Stiles. On the IU Opera stage Thompson has performed as Hata in The Bartered Bride, Cornelia in Julius Caesar, Fillipyevna in Eugene Onegin, Dame Quickly in Falstaff, and Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia. She has also been heard as a soloist on the concert stage, recently in Stravinsky’s Les Noces, Handel’s Messiah, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She sang the mezzo-soprano solo in the Duruflé Requiem with both the Lafayette (IN) Bach Chorale and Vocalessence of Minnesota. Thompson is a member of the Carmel (CA) Bach Festival Chorale, the Meridian Vocal Consort of Indianapolis, and has recently performed the St. Matthew Passion, under Maestro Kent Nagano, with the California Festival Chorale in São Paulo and Rio, Brazil. She has been a member of the Dale Warland Singers and the Ensemble Singers of the Plymouth Music Series, where she was heard frequently on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. Thompson earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice from St. Olaf College and was a member of the St. Olaf Choir.
Zdenka (soprano)
Rachel E. Copeland, soprano, is currently a doctoral student at Indiana University, where she studies with Timothy Noble. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music Education in Choral Conducting from Baylor University, where she also received her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance with Honors in 2004. Copeland has appeared with the IU Opera Theater as Peep-Bo in The Mikado and performs frequently with Indianapolis Opera Young Artist and outreach programs in performances ranging from Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro to the soprano soloist in Carmina burana. This past fall, she appeared as a soloist with the Bloomington Youth Symphony Orchestra, as Nanetta in Falstaff, and has previously appeared in opera scenes as Ännchen (Der Freischütz), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Marzelline (Fidelio), Blonchen (Die Entfuhrung aus dem Seralio), and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), among many others. While at Baylor and IU, Copeland was selected to perform in various master classes with such noted artists as Dalton Baldwin, Carol Vaness, and Dawn Upshaw. She has also appeared extensively as a concert soloist in Texas and Oklahoma, most notably as the soprano soloist in W. A. Mozart’s and Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She will cover the role of Nanetta in Indianapolis Opera’s production of Verdi’s Falstaff in May and will make her professional operatic debut as Musetta in La bohéme with DuPage Opera Theater in July, shortly followed by performing the role of Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance at Louisiana Lyric Opera in August.
A native of Locust Grove, GA, soprano Alexis Lundy is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree in voice at the IU Jacobs School of Music. Lundy’s previous IU Opera Theater stage credits include Micaëla in Carmen and Pamina in The Magic Flute. Other roles include Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Angelina in Trial by Jury, Edith in Pirates of Penzance, and Emily Brontë in the chamber opera How Clear She Shines! Oratorio credits include Handel’s Messiah with First United Methodist Church in Rome, GA, the Mozart Requiem with the Shorter College Chorale at Spivey Hall, and Haydn’s Salve Regina with the IU Motet Choir. Lundy was recently named a winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council district auditions. She has also received first-place awards with the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition at state and regional levels. Lundy was the winner of the first annual William Knight Performers’ Competition. She was the 2002 second-place finalist in the Music Teachers National Association National Young Artist Voice Competition. In the summer of 2005, Lundy was a studio artist with Central City Opera. She graduated cum laude with honors in music from Shorter College in Rome, GA, where she received bachelor degrees in voice performance and music education. She is currently an associate instructor of voice at Indiana University and a student of Dale Moore.
Matteo (tenor)
Tenor Joshua Lindsay is a doctoral student at the IU Jacobs School of Music. This is his debut with IU Opera Theater. As resident artist with the Nevada Opera, Lindsay performed the roles of Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Dr. Blind (Die Fledermaus), and Edwin(Trial by Jury). He sang Don José (Carmen) for Capital Opera and at the Manhattan School of Music. With the Utah State University Opera, he performed the roles of Kaspar (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), and Timothy (Help! Help! The Globolinks!) He also sang for three seasons in the young artists program of the Utah Festival Opera. As a soloist with the Reno Philharmonic, he sang Carmina burana and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Besides performing, he also has taught voice lessons and was the opera director at the University of Nevada. He taught middle school and high school band and orchestra. Lindsay received a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from Utah State University. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.
Christopher Sponseller, native of San Jose, CA, is a 26-year old tenor and doctoral student at Indiana University. He received his Master of Music from Indiana University in 2005 and his Bachelor of Music from the University of the Pacific in 2002. He and his wife currently reside in Bloomington, IN, while he completes his doctoral work. Sponseller is an avid performer and was last seen as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, performed at IU last April. He has also appeared in many IU operatic productions, including Lenski in Eugene Onegin, Bob Boles in Peter Grimes, Bardolfo in Falstaff, and Dapertutto in The Tales of Hoffmann. In 2005, Sponseller attended a summer long Italian language program in Genoa, Italy. He is also an associate instructor at IU, where he teaches studio voice. He is a student of Robert Harrison.
Arabella (soprano)
A native of Sylvania, OH, soprano Elizabeth Baldwin is a Master of Music in voice, studying with Timothy Noble and coaching with Gary Arvin. Baldwin holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH, where she studied voice with Myra D. Merritt. She previously appeared on the Indiana University Opera Theater stage as Cousin Hebe in the summer production of H.M.S. Pinafore and, most recently, as Mrs. Webb in the world premiéreof Ned Rorem’s Our Town. Other stage credits include Mrs. Peachum in The ThreePenny Opera, Fidalma in Il Matrimonio Segreto, Miss Todd in The Old Maid and The Thief, Ruth in Pirates of Penzance, Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Morgan Le Fay in Camelot, and Madame de L’Haltiere in Cendrillon. Baldwin has also had extensive experience performing soprano solos in major oratorios/concert works with several symphony orchestras. She was a guest soprano soloist at the Paroisse de la Cathédrale in Monaco for their New Year’s Day Royal Mass Celebration. This past summer, she participated in the Charley Creek Vocal Workshop and was a studio artist for the Chautauqua Opera Young Artist Program, where she performed the roles of La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi and Lay Sister in Suor Angelica, as well as covering various roles and receiving the 2006 Studio Artist Award. She was a recent winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Tri-State Region, 40 th Annual Rose Palmai-Tenser Mobile Opera Competition, Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition, 36 th Annual Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, Dr. Marjorie Conrad Peatee Art Song Competition, Akron Tuesday Musicale Scholarship Competition, and Irma M. Cooper Opera Columbus Scholarship Competition. Baldwin was also a semi-finalist this year for the Minnesota Opera Young Artist Program and the Houston Grand Opera Studio.
Carol Dusdieker, soprano, originates from North Liberty, IA. Dusdieker is pursuing her Doctor of Music in Voice at Indiana University under the tutelage of Costanza Cuccaro. With the IU Opera Theater, she has performed the roles with of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Musetta in La bohème, Alice Ford in Falstaff, and Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann. In the summer of 2006, Dusdieker was an apprentice artist with Opera Cleveland. She covered the role of Costanze in Abduction from the Seraglio and sang the title role in the world première of Randall Eng's Florida. In the summer of 2005, Dusdieker made her debut with Glimmerglass Opera as one of their Young American Apprentice Artists. She covered the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and sang the role of Danish Lady in Death in Venice. In January 2006, she revisited the role of Alice Ford with the Cedar Rapids Opera. During the summer of 2004, Dusdieker participated in the Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Artist program, where she covered Clorinda in La Cenerentola and performed opera scenes from Britten’s Gloriana, Previn’s A Streetcar named Desire, and Verdi’s La traviata. Other roles performed include Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Lola in Gallantry: a Soap Opera, Piramo in Piramo e Thisbe, and Esmeralda in The Bartered Bride. This summer, she will be a resident artist with Cincinnati Opera, where she will perform the role of High Priestess in Aida and cover Pat Nixon in Nixon in China. Dusdieker is a winner of the Indiana University Travel Grant and the Presser Music Award. She is also an Emerging Artist Winner in the Quad Cities Opera Competition, Graduate Voice Winner in the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale, and Don Felton Award in the National Society of Art and Letters. She received her master's degree from Indiana University and her bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa.
Count Elemer (tenor)
Eric McCluskey has appeared throughout the United States, singing with New York City Opera’s National Company, San Francisco Opera’s Western Opera Theater, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Spoletto Festival, Sarasota Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Connecticut Opera, Opera Omaha, Kentucky Opera, Banff Festival, Saint Louis Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony, and Paris Opera Ballet. He is a recipient of the William Matheus Sullivan Award and the Richard Gaddes Award from Opera Theater of Saint Louis. He has also been heard on board the M.S. Vistafjord and the M.S. Sagafjord as part of their Opera at Sea program. He is a native of southern Illinois and a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s Degree in Music. His most recent performances include last years world premiére of Ned Rorem’s Our Town and John Pielmeier’s and Matty Selman’s Slow Dance with a Hot Pickup. McCluskey is a doctoral student and studies with Timothy Noble.
Anthony Webb is in his first year of study for his Master of Music in Voice at IU. He completed his Bachelor of Music Education degree at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, where he studied with a former member of the IU voice faculty, Marcia Baldwin. Operatic roles for this tenor from Spanaway, WA, include the Devil in The Devil and Daniel Webster, Monostatos in The Magic Flute, and Pirelli in Sweeney Todd. On the concert stage, Webb has been heard as a tenor soloist in Rossini’s Messa di Gloria (in Pesaro, Italy, as a part of the Oberlin in Italy program), Handel’s Messiah, W. A. Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore and two works of Haydn: Mass in Time of War and the Lord Nelson Mass. Webb was also the tenor soloist in Richard Nance’s Mass for a New Millennium in its premiére at Pacific Lutheran University. He is student of Robert Harrison.
Count Waldner (baritone)
Jeremiah Johnson is a second-year master’s student at Indiana University, where he studies with Dale Moore. Johnson made his debut with IU Opera Theater in November as Peter (Hansel and Gretel). He received his bachelor’s degree in 2005 from Texas Tech University, where his roles included Papageno (The Magic Flute) and Baron Douphol (La traviata), and Sgt. Quigly in the world premiére of Belinni'sWar. For four years, Johnson performed as a Young Artist with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, where, most recently, he covered the role of Sharpless (Madama Butterfly).
Wayne Hu has appeared in over 20 professional opera, musical theatre, and Shakespeare productions since he first discovered the stage a few short years ago. He has performed with companies throughout the country, in various genres, including New York City Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Tri-State Actors Theatre, and Phoenix Productions at the Count Basie Theater, amongst others. Recent mainstage engagements include Lun Tha (The King & I) with Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Sciarrone (Tosca) with Hudson Opera Theatre, and cover for Anthony Hope (Sweeney Todd) with The Princeton Festival. He was a part of Opera North’s Young Artist Program in 2004, where he was seen as Gregorio (Roméo et Juliette) and Starveling (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and a resident opera artist at Pine Mountain Music Festival in 2006, where he sang The Speaker (The Magic Flute). Wayne has a Bachelor of Music in Education from The College of New Jersey, where he performed the roles of Horace Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe), Fred/Petrucchio (Kiss Me, Kate), Bob (The Old Maid and The Thief), and The Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance). He is in the first-semester of the Master of Music program at IU and is in the studio of Tim Noble.
Mandryka (baritone)
Robert Brandt, baritone, is in his third-year of doctoral studies at IU with Costanza Cuccaro. He has performed with IU Opera Theater as Alfieri in A View from the Bridge, Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Pooh-Bah in The Mikado. Previous undergraduate and graduate degrees in voice were awarded by Brigham Young University (BYU). While at BYU, he performed leading roles in many productions, including Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Orgon in Kirke Mechem’s Tartuffe, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, and Escamillo in Carmen. He was named BYU Singer of the Year in 2003. Brandt was a 2003 apprentice artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera, where he covered the role of John Proctor in Robert Ward’s The Crucible.
Baritone Scott Skiba will soon complete coursework for the doctorate of music in vocal performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studies with Timothy Noble. His IU Opera Theater performance credits include Baron Zeta (The Merry Widow), Horace Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe), Captain Balstrode (Peter Grimes), Onégin (Eugene Onégin), Marco (A View from the Bridge), and Escamillo (Carmen). The Pittsburgh native has performed with the Bloomington Music Works, DuPage Opera Theater, Oberlin Opera Theater, Olney Theater Center, Opera Western Reserve and the Pittsburgh Opera, where his performance credits include the title roles in Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Escamillo (Carmen), Giorgio Germont (La Traviata), Tarquinius (The Rape of Lucretia), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), King Melchior (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Michele (Il Tabarro), and Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress). His oratorio and concert performances include soloist in the St. John Passion, Israel in Egypt, Messiah, In Terra Pax, Christmas Oratorio, and featured soloist with the Akron Symphony, Oberlin Black River Singers, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Choral Arts Society, Columbus Symphony, and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Skiba began his vocal training with Greg Biddle and earned both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in voice performance and Opera Theater from Oberlin Conservatory with Daune Mahy. Skiba’s upcoming engagements include Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Indianapolis Opera Outreach, guest baritone soloist in Carmina burana at the Indiana State University in April, and The Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance) with Louisiana Lyric Opera in August.
Count Dominik (baritone)
Christopher Johnson is a native of Billings, MT, and recently received his Bachleor of Arts in Music from Montana State University-Bozeman. While at MSU, he was a winner of the 2004 Concerto/Aria Competition and received the Senior Award for outstanding performer. He has also received honorable mention awards at the 2004 District Metropolitan Opera Auditions, as well as the 2005 Coeur d'Alene Symphony Young Artist Competition. Recently, Johnson was featured as the baritone soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Billings Symphony. His operatic roles have included the Sergeant in Manon Lescaut and Samuel in Pirates of Penzance, both with Intermountain Opera, Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief with Rimrock Opera, Polyphemus in Acis and Galtea with MSU Opera Theater and Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with Oberlin in Italy. In May, he will sing the role of the Speaker in The Magic Flute with Intermountain Opera. Johnson is a first-year master,s student in the studio of Timothy Noble.
This is baritone Sean McCarther's debut with Indiana University Opera. McCarther comes to IU from Baylor University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music and studied with Jack Coldiron. While at Baylor, Sean was very active with the Baylor University Opera Theatre, performing the roles of Marco in Gianni Schicchi and Der Sprecher and Der erster Priester in Die Zauberflöte. He also was extremely active with Waco Lyric opera and appeared in their performances of La bohème, La traviata, and Amahl and the Night Visitors. In the summer of 2004, while enrolled in an intensive German language course at the University of Freiburg, Germany, McCarther was fortunate to study with Hörst Günter of the Leipzig opera. Sean and his wife, Alicia, moved to Bloomington in August when he began the Master of Music in Voice program at IU. He is a student of Robert Harrison.
Count Lamoral (baritone)
Carl DuPont, bass-baritone, is a first-year master’s student under the instruction of Constanza Cuccaro. Originally from Daytona Beach, FL, he completed undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music, where he was also awarded the Performers’ Certificate upon completion. While in Rochester, DuPont was a frequent recitalist under the auspices of the William Warfield Foundation and soloist with various orchestral ensembles. In addition to bass solos by J. S. Bach, Handel, and Schubert, his final appearance was as Méphistophélès in Schumann’s Faust with the Eastman Symphony. With the Eastman Opera Theatre, he sang lead roles in Sweeney Todd, Charles Strouse’s East and West, and, finally, Pandolfe in Cendrillon. The special affinity he has for early music, begun as a member and soloist of the Collegium Musicum under Paul O’dette, will continue with the role of Plutone in Monteverdi’s Orfeo in the Bloomington Early Music Festival.
Texas native Chaz Nailor is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree in voice performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. His artistic versatility has allowed him to portray roles in operatic genres ranging from Baroque to 20 th Century. In addition, Nailor has been featured in principal roles of the musical theater genre, including Mr. Bumble of Oliver and Uncle Vince of The Token, which had its world premiére in the fall of 2005. With over a decade of operatic stage experience, he has worked with The University of Texas Opera Theater, Lyric Opera San Antonio, and most recently, Indiana University Opera Theater. His roles range from Argante of Handel’s Rinaldo to Belcore of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, extending to Junius of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. Nailor’s most recent performance was his role of Count Paris in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. He has performed, with equal adeptness, for the concert stage as Baritone soloist in Handel’s Messiah, W. A. Mozart’s Requiem, J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Beethoven’s Mass in C Minor, Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G Minor and Faure’s Requiem. Chaz is under the tutelage of Prof. Andreas Poulimenos, and he is sponsored as a recipient of the T.I.S. Tichenor Foundation Scholarship through the Society of the Friends of Music.
Fiakermilli (soprano)
Robin Federici, soprano, is currently a candidate for a Performer Diploma. Fiakermilli marks her first role with IU Opera Theater. Federici completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the IU Jacobs School of Music in May 2006. During that time, she was selected to sing in guest master classes for Dawn Upshaw, Roger Vignoles, Carol Vaness, and Virginia Zeani. In the summer of 2005, she attended the Florence Voice Seminar, where she studied voice and Italian in Florence, Italy. Federici is a recipient of the J. Davis Graduate Merit Award. She has studied with Alice Hopper for four years and is currently a student of Carol Vaness.
Elizabeth Koontz, soprano, returns to the Opera Theater. Currently pursuing her Master of Music, she studies with Carol Vaness. She graduated with her Bachelor of Music in voice from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in May 2006, under the tutelage of Patricia Stiles. She has earned numerous competitive awards and scholarships, and, most recently, Koontz won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the Southern Ohio District. Her previous IU Opera Theater productions include Pousette in Manon by Massenet, Tytania in A Midsummer Night's Dream by Britten, and a nun of the convent in Les Dialogues des Carmélites by Poulenc. Other roles include Anne Trulove in The Rake's Progress by Igor Stravinsky at Bel Canto Northwest Vocal Institute. This summer, she will be singing with Central City Opera.
Fortune Teller (mezzo-soprano)
Mezzo-soprano Lisa Miller is a native of Vincennes, IN, and is pursing a Doctor of Music degree in voice. This is her IU Opera Theater debut. She has performed in numerous concerts and recitals in southwestern Indiana. Most recently, she performed in scenes from The Old Maid and the Thief, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and West Side Story during Patricia Stiles’ Summer Opera Workshop. She is also an adjunct instructor of music at Vincennes University. She is a student of Patricia Stiles.
Christia Starnes, from Nashville, TN, is pursuing a Master of Music in voice. A student of Timothy Noble, her recent accomplishments include being a winner of both the NSAL Bloomington Chapter Competition, as well as the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale in 2006. Starnes was selected to paritcipate in Nashville Opera's Young Artist Program, where she performed the role of the Mother in Hansel and Gretel. She has also performed the role of Rosalinda in Belmont University Opera Theater's production of Die Fledermaus. This is her first appearance with IU Opera Theater.
Currently principal guest conductor of the Louisiana Philharmonic and a regular guest conductor at the opera houses in Frankfurt and Dresden, Klauspeter Seibel has been a major figure on the musical stages of both Europe and the United States. With an emphasis on late romantic and American repertoire, he conducts a vast number of contemporary works in addition to the standard eighteenth- and nineteenth-century operatic and orchestral literature. Previous music directorships include the Nuremberg Symphony, Freiburg Opera and Philharmonic, Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestra, Kiel Opera and Philharmonic and the Louisiana Philharmonic.
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 fanciullia 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. In 2005, he directed William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge and, in 2006, the world première of Ned Rorem’s Our Town. 
Set and Costume 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 Theatre, 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. O’Hearn has also given guest lectures and classes at Carnegie Mellon, Brandeis, and Penn State University. 
Sarah Mabary, mezzo-soprano, is a Master of Music candidate in voice. Upcoming engagements for Mabary include a performance of Pierrot Lunaire at Oklahoma State University and Third Lady in The Magic Flute with Opera South. Her operatic performances at Indiana University include creating the role of Mrs. Gibbs in the world premiere performance of Ned Rorem’s Our Town, Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore and Third Lady in The Magic Flute. Performances Mabary has given in the south Mississippi area include the role of La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, as well as presenting a solo recital as a guest artist at the St. Phillips Episcopal Church Concert Series. With the Hattiesburg Civic Chorus and Concert Association, she performed Carlotta in The Phantom, and at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), she appeared as Peep-Bo in The Mikado. Other roles in her repertoire which, Mabary studied under the direction of Martina Arroyo, are Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri and Dame Quickly in Falstaff. Oratorios she has performed include J. S. Bach’s Mass No. 1 in F Major and Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, W. A. Mozart’s Requiem, and Purcell’s Come, Come Ye Sons of Art. In 2004, Mabary represented IU in recital performances at the Midwest Composer’s Symposium at the University of Michigan. Her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and Bachelor of Arts in German were completed at USM in Hattiesburg, MS, her hometown. She is a student of Patricia Havranek. 
Mezzo-soprano Patricia Thompson is currently completing a Doctor of Music in Voice Performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she also completed a Master of Music in Voice. She is a student of Patricia Stiles. On the IU Opera stage Thompson has performed as Hata in The Bartered Bride, Cornelia in Julius Caesar, Fillipyevna in Eugene Onegin, Dame Quickly in Falstaff, and Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia. She has also been heard as a soloist on the concert stage, recently in Stravinsky’s Les Noces, Handel’s Messiah, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She sang the mezzo-soprano solo in the Duruflé Requiem with both the Lafayette (IN) Bach Chorale and Vocalessence of Minnesota. Thompson is a member of the Carmel (CA) Bach Festival Chorale, the Meridian Vocal Consort of Indianapolis, and has recently performed the St. Matthew Passion, under Maestro Kent Nagano, with the California Festival Chorale in São Paulo and Rio, Brazil. She has been a member of the Dale Warland Singers and the Ensemble Singers of the Plymouth Music Series, where she was heard frequently on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor. Thompson earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice from St. Olaf College and was a member of the St. Olaf Choir. 
Rachel E. Copeland, soprano, is currently a doctoral student at Indiana University, where she studies with Timothy Noble. She graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music Education in Choral Conducting from Baylor University, where she also received her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance with Honors in 2004. Copeland has appeared with the IU Opera Theater as Peep-Bo in The Mikado and performs frequently with Indianapolis Opera Young Artist and outreach programs in performances ranging from Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro to the soprano soloist in Carmina burana. This past fall, she appeared as a soloist with the Bloomington Youth Symphony Orchestra, as Nanetta in Falstaff, and has previously appeared in opera scenes as Ännchen (Der Freischütz), Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Marzelline (Fidelio), Blonchen (Die Entfuhrung aus dem Seralio), and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), among many others. While at Baylor and IU, Copeland was selected to perform in various master classes with such noted artists as Dalton Baldwin, Carol Vaness, and Dawn Upshaw. She has also appeared extensively as a concert soloist in Texas and Oklahoma, most notably as the soprano soloist in W. A. Mozart’s and Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She will cover the role of Nanetta in Indianapolis Opera’s production of Verdi’s Falstaff in May and will make her professional operatic debut as Musetta in La bohéme with DuPage Opera Theater in July, shortly followed by performing the role of Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance at Louisiana Lyric Opera in August. 
A native of Locust Grove, GA, soprano Alexis Lundy is currently pursuing her Master of Music degree in voice at the IU Jacobs School of Music. Lundy’s previous IU Opera Theater stage credits include Micaëla in Carmen and Pamina in The Magic Flute. Other roles include Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Angelina in Trial by Jury, Edith in Pirates of Penzance, and Emily Brontë in the chamber opera How Clear She Shines! Oratorio credits include Handel’s Messiah with First United Methodist Church in Rome, GA, the Mozart Requiem with the Shorter College Chorale at Spivey Hall, and Haydn’s Salve Regina with the IU Motet Choir. Lundy was recently named a winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council district auditions. She has also received first-place awards with the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition at state and regional levels. Lundy was the winner of the first annual William Knight Performers’ Competition. She was the 2002 second-place finalist in the Music Teachers National Association National Young Artist Voice Competition. In the summer of 2005, Lundy was a studio artist with Central City Opera. She graduated cum laude with honors in music from Shorter College in Rome, GA, where she received bachelor degrees in voice performance and music education. She is currently an associate instructor of voice at Indiana University and a student of Dale Moore. 
Tenor Joshua Lindsay is a doctoral student at the IU Jacobs School of Music. This is his debut with IU Opera Theater. As resident artist with the Nevada Opera, Lindsay performed the roles of Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Dr. Blind (Die Fledermaus), and Edwin(Trial by Jury). He sang Don José (Carmen) for Capital Opera and at the Manhattan School of Music. With the Utah State University Opera, he performed the roles of Kaspar (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), and Timothy (Help! Help! The Globolinks!) He also sang for three seasons in the young artists program of the Utah Festival Opera. As a soloist with the Reno Philharmonic, he sang Carmina burana and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Besides performing, he also has taught voice lessons and was the opera director at the University of Nevada. He taught middle school and high school band and orchestra. Lindsay received a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from Utah State University. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos. 
Christopher Sponseller, native of San Jose, CA, is a 26-year old tenor and doctoral student at Indiana University. He received his Master of Music from Indiana University in 2005 and his Bachelor of Music from the University of the Pacific in 2002. He and his wife currently reside in Bloomington, IN, while he completes his doctoral work. Sponseller is an avid performer and was last seen as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, performed at IU last April. He has also appeared in many IU operatic productions, including Lenski in Eugene Onegin, Bob Boles in Peter Grimes, Bardolfo in Falstaff, and Dapertutto in The Tales of Hoffmann. In 2005, Sponseller attended a summer long Italian language program in Genoa, Italy. He is also an associate instructor at IU, where he teaches studio voice. He is a student of Robert Harrison. 
A native of Sylvania, OH, soprano Elizabeth Baldwin is a Master of Music in voice, studying with Timothy Noble and coaching with Gary Arvin. Baldwin holds a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH, where she studied voice with Myra D. Merritt. She previously appeared on the Indiana University Opera Theater stage as Cousin Hebe in the summer production of H.M.S. Pinafore and, most recently, as Mrs. Webb in the world premiéreof Ned Rorem’s Our Town. Other stage credits include Mrs. Peachum in The ThreePenny Opera, Fidalma in Il Matrimonio Segreto, Miss Todd in The Old Maid and The Thief, Ruth in Pirates of Penzance, Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Morgan Le Fay in Camelot, and Madame de L’Haltiere in Cendrillon. Baldwin has also had extensive experience performing soprano solos in major oratorios/concert works with several symphony orchestras. She was a guest soprano soloist at the Paroisse de la Cathédrale in Monaco for their New Year’s Day Royal Mass Celebration. This past summer, she participated in the Charley Creek Vocal Workshop and was a studio artist for the Chautauqua Opera Young Artist Program, where she performed the roles of La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi and Lay Sister in Suor Angelica, as well as covering various roles and receiving the 2006 Studio Artist Award. She was a recent winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Tri-State Region, 40 th Annual Rose Palmai-Tenser Mobile Opera Competition, Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition, 36 th Annual Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, Dr. Marjorie Conrad Peatee Art Song Competition, Akron Tuesday Musicale Scholarship Competition, and Irma M. Cooper Opera Columbus Scholarship Competition. Baldwin was also a semi-finalist this year for the Minnesota Opera Young Artist Program and the Houston Grand Opera Studio. 
Carol Dusdieker, soprano, originates from North Liberty, IA. Dusdieker is pursuing her Doctor of Music in Voice at Indiana University under the tutelage of Costanza Cuccaro. With the IU Opera Theater, she has performed the roles with of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Musetta in La bohème, Alice Ford in Falstaff, and Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann. In the summer of 2006, Dusdieker was an apprentice artist with Opera Cleveland. She covered the role of Costanze in Abduction from the Seraglio and sang the title role in the world première of Randall Eng's Florida. In the summer of 2005, Dusdieker made her debut with Glimmerglass Opera as one of their Young American Apprentice Artists. She covered the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and sang the role of Danish Lady in Death in Venice. In January 2006, she revisited the role of Alice Ford with the Cedar Rapids Opera. During the summer of 2004, Dusdieker participated in the Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Artist program, where she covered Clorinda in La Cenerentola and performed opera scenes from Britten’s Gloriana, Previn’s A Streetcar named Desire, and Verdi’s La traviata. Other roles performed include Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, Lola in Gallantry: a Soap Opera, Piramo in Piramo e Thisbe, and Esmeralda in The Bartered Bride. This summer, she will be a resident artist with Cincinnati Opera, where she will perform the role of High Priestess in Aida and cover Pat Nixon in Nixon in China. Dusdieker is a winner of the Indiana University Travel Grant and the Presser Music Award. She is also an Emerging Artist Winner in the Quad Cities Opera Competition, Graduate Voice Winner in the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale, and Don Felton Award in the National Society of Art and Letters. She received her master's degree from Indiana University and her bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa. 
Eric McCluskey has appeared throughout the United States, singing with New York City Opera’s National Company, San Francisco Opera’s Western Opera Theater, Opera Theater of Saint Louis, Spoletto Festival, Sarasota Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Connecticut Opera, Opera Omaha, Kentucky Opera, Banff Festival, Saint Louis Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony, and Paris Opera Ballet. He is a recipient of the William Matheus Sullivan Award and the Richard Gaddes Award from Opera Theater of Saint Louis. He has also been heard on board the M.S. Vistafjord and the M.S. Sagafjord as part of their Opera at Sea program. He is a native of southern Illinois and a graduate of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s Degree in Music. His most recent performances include last years world premiére of Ned Rorem’s Our Town and John Pielmeier’s and Matty Selman’s Slow Dance with a Hot Pickup. McCluskey is a doctoral student and studies with Timothy Noble. 
Anthony Webb is in his first year of study for his Master of Music in Voice at IU. He completed his Bachelor of Music Education degree at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA, where he studied with a former member of the IU voice faculty, Marcia Baldwin. Operatic roles for this tenor from Spanaway, WA, include the Devil in The Devil and Daniel Webster, Monostatos in The Magic Flute, and Pirelli in Sweeney Todd. On the concert stage, Webb has been heard as a tenor soloist in Rossini’s Messa di Gloria (in Pesaro, Italy, as a part of the Oberlin in Italy program), Handel’s Messiah, W. A. Mozart’s Vesperae Solennes de Confessore and two works of Haydn: Mass in Time of War and the Lord Nelson Mass. Webb was also the tenor soloist in Richard Nance’s Mass for a New Millennium in its premiére at Pacific Lutheran University. He is student of Robert Harrison. 
Jeremiah Johnson is a second-year master’s student at Indiana University, where he studies with Dale Moore. Johnson made his debut with IU Opera Theater in November as Peter (Hansel and Gretel). He received his bachelor’s degree in 2005 from Texas Tech University, where his roles included Papageno (The Magic Flute) and Baron Douphol (La traviata), and Sgt. Quigly in the world premiére of Belinni'sWar. For four years, Johnson performed as a Young Artist with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, where, most recently, he covered the role of Sharpless (Madama Butterfly). 
Wayne Hu has appeared in over 20 professional opera, musical theatre, and Shakespeare productions since he first discovered the stage a few short years ago. He has performed with companies throughout the country, in various genres, including New York City Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Tri-State Actors Theatre, and Phoenix Productions at the Count Basie Theater, amongst others. Recent mainstage engagements include Lun Tha (The King & I) with Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Sciarrone (Tosca) with Hudson Opera Theatre, and cover for Anthony Hope (Sweeney Todd) with The Princeton Festival. He was a part of Opera North’s Young Artist Program in 2004, where he was seen as Gregorio (Roméo et Juliette) and Starveling (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and a resident opera artist at Pine Mountain Music Festival in 2006, where he sang The Speaker (The Magic Flute). Wayne has a Bachelor of Music in Education from The College of New Jersey, where he performed the roles of Horace Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe), Fred/Petrucchio (Kiss Me, Kate), Bob (The Old Maid and The Thief), and The Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance). He is in the first-semester of the Master of Music program at IU and is in the studio of Tim Noble. 
Robert Brandt, baritone, is in his third-year of doctoral studies at IU with Costanza Cuccaro. He has performed with IU Opera Theater as Alfieri in A View from the Bridge, Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Pooh-Bah in The Mikado. Previous undergraduate and graduate degrees in voice were awarded by Brigham Young University (BYU). While at BYU, he performed leading roles in many productions, including Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Orgon in Kirke Mechem’s Tartuffe, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, and Escamillo in Carmen. He was named BYU Singer of the Year in 2003. Brandt was a 2003 apprentice artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera, where he covered the role of John Proctor in Robert Ward’s The Crucible. 
Baritone Scott Skiba will soon complete coursework for the doctorate of music in vocal performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he studies with Timothy Noble. His IU Opera Theater performance credits include Baron Zeta (The Merry Widow), Horace Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe), Captain Balstrode (Peter Grimes), Onégin (Eugene Onégin), Marco (A View from the Bridge), and Escamillo (Carmen). The Pittsburgh native has performed with the Bloomington Music Works, DuPage Opera Theater, Oberlin Opera Theater, Olney Theater Center, Opera Western Reserve and the Pittsburgh Opera, where his performance credits include the title roles in Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Escamillo (Carmen), Giorgio Germont (La Traviata), Tarquinius (The Rape of Lucretia), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), King Melchior (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Michele (Il Tabarro), and Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress). His oratorio and concert performances include soloist in the St. John Passion, Israel in Egypt, Messiah, In Terra Pax, Christmas Oratorio, and featured soloist with the Akron Symphony, Oberlin Black River Singers, Bloomington Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Choral Arts Society, Columbus Symphony, and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Skiba began his vocal training with Greg Biddle and earned both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in voice performance and Opera Theater from Oberlin Conservatory with Daune Mahy. Skiba’s upcoming engagements include Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Indianapolis Opera Outreach, guest baritone soloist in Carmina burana at the Indiana State University in April, and The Pirate King (The Pirates of Penzance) with Louisiana Lyric Opera in August. 
Christopher Johnson is a native of Billings, MT, and recently received his Bachleor of Arts in Music from Montana State University-Bozeman. While at MSU, he was a winner of the 2004 Concerto/Aria Competition and received the Senior Award for outstanding performer. He has also received honorable mention awards at the 2004 District Metropolitan Opera Auditions, as well as the 2005 Coeur d'Alene Symphony Young Artist Competition. Recently, Johnson was featured as the baritone soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Billings Symphony. His operatic roles have included the Sergeant in Manon Lescaut and Samuel in Pirates of Penzance, both with Intermountain Opera, Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief with Rimrock Opera, Polyphemus in Acis and Galtea with MSU Opera Theater and Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with Oberlin in Italy. In May, he will sing the role of the Speaker in The Magic Flute with Intermountain Opera. Johnson is a first-year master,s student in the studio of Timothy Noble. 
This is baritone Sean McCarther's debut with Indiana University Opera. McCarther comes to IU from Baylor University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music and studied with Jack Coldiron. While at Baylor, Sean was very active with the Baylor University Opera Theatre, performing the roles of Marco in Gianni Schicchi and Der Sprecher and Der erster Priester in Die Zauberflöte. He also was extremely active with Waco Lyric opera and appeared in their performances of La bohème, La traviata, and Amahl and the Night Visitors. In the summer of 2004, while enrolled in an intensive German language course at the University of Freiburg, Germany, McCarther was fortunate to study with Hörst Günter of the Leipzig opera. Sean and his wife, Alicia, moved to Bloomington in August when he began the Master of Music in Voice program at IU. He is a student of Robert Harrison. 
Carl DuPont, bass-baritone, is a first-year master’s student under the instruction of Constanza Cuccaro. Originally from Daytona Beach, FL, he completed undergraduate studies at the Eastman School of Music, where he was also awarded the Performers’ Certificate upon completion. While in Rochester, DuPont was a frequent recitalist under the auspices of the William Warfield Foundation and soloist with various orchestral ensembles. In addition to bass solos by J. S. Bach, Handel, and Schubert, his final appearance was as Méphistophélès in Schumann’s Faust with the Eastman Symphony. With the Eastman Opera Theatre, he sang lead roles in Sweeney Todd, Charles Strouse’s East and West, and, finally, Pandolfe in Cendrillon. The special affinity he has for early music, begun as a member and soloist of the Collegium Musicum under Paul O’dette, will continue with the role of Plutone in Monteverdi’s Orfeo in the Bloomington Early Music Festival. 
Texas native Chaz Nailor is currently pursuing a Doctor of Music degree in voice performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. His artistic versatility has allowed him to portray roles in operatic genres ranging from Baroque to 20 th Century. In addition, Nailor has been featured in principal roles of the musical theater genre, including Mr. Bumble of Oliver and Uncle Vince of The Token, which had its world premiére in the fall of 2005. With over a decade of operatic stage experience, he has worked with The University of Texas Opera Theater, Lyric Opera San Antonio, and most recently, Indiana University Opera Theater. His roles range from Argante of Handel’s Rinaldo to Belcore of Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore, extending to Junius of Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. Nailor’s most recent performance was his role of Count Paris in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. He has performed, with equal adeptness, for the concert stage as Baritone soloist in Handel’s Messiah, W. A. Mozart’s Requiem, J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Beethoven’s Mass in C Minor, Vaughan Williams’ Mass in G Minor and Faure’s Requiem. Chaz is under the tutelage of Prof. Andreas Poulimenos, and he is sponsored as a recipient of the T.I.S. Tichenor Foundation Scholarship through the Society of the Friends of Music. 
Robin Federici, soprano, is currently a candidate for a Performer Diploma. Fiakermilli marks her first role with IU Opera Theater. Federici completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the IU Jacobs School of Music in May 2006. During that time, she was selected to sing in guest master classes for Dawn Upshaw, Roger Vignoles, Carol Vaness, and Virginia Zeani. In the summer of 2005, she attended the Florence Voice Seminar, where she studied voice and Italian in Florence, Italy. Federici is a recipient of the J. Davis Graduate Merit Award. She has studied with Alice Hopper for four years and is currently a student of Carol Vaness. 
Elizabeth Koontz, soprano, returns to the Opera Theater. Currently pursuing her Master of Music, she studies with Carol Vaness. She graduated with her Bachelor of Music in voice from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in May 2006, under the tutelage of Patricia Stiles. She has earned numerous competitive awards and scholarships, and, most recently, Koontz won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the Southern Ohio District. Her previous IU Opera Theater productions include Pousette in Manon by Massenet, Tytania in A Midsummer Night's Dream by Britten, and a nun of the convent in Les Dialogues des Carmélites by Poulenc. Other roles include Anne Trulove in The Rake's Progress by Igor Stravinsky at Bel Canto Northwest Vocal Institute. This summer, she will be singing with Central City Opera. 
Mezzo-soprano Lisa Miller is a native of Vincennes, IN, and is pursing a Doctor of Music degree in voice. This is her IU Opera Theater debut. She has performed in numerous concerts and recitals in southwestern Indiana. Most recently, she performed in scenes from The Old Maid and the Thief, The Merry Wives of Windsor, and West Side Story during Patricia Stiles’ Summer Opera Workshop. She is also an adjunct instructor of music at Vincennes University. She is a student of Patricia Stiles. 
Christia Starnes, from Nashville, TN, is pursuing a Master of Music in voice. A student of Timothy Noble, her recent accomplishments include being a winner of both the NSAL Bloomington Chapter Competition, as well as the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale in 2006. Starnes was selected to paritcipate in Nashville Opera's Young Artist Program, where she performed the role of the Mother in Hansel and Gretel. She has also performed the role of Rosalinda in Belmont University Opera Theater's production of Die Fledermaus. This is her first appearance with IU Opera Theater. 