ARTISTIC STAFF BIOGRAPHIES (See Cast Biographies below)
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, respectively, 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 to 1977. As the head of the orchestral program at the Eastman School of Music from 1977 to 1998, he trained hundreds of instrumentalists who are now in professional orchestras worldwide. 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 Jacobs 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 symphonic works, as well as 105 operas, Effron’s 40-year career has included appearances with major symphony orchestras and opera companies in the United States, Canada, Europe, Mexico, and the Far East. The summer of 2007 will mark his eleventh 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. He joined forces with flutist James Galway for an 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 was awarded an honorary doctorate from North Carolina State University.
NICHOLAS MUNI, Stage Director
Former artistic director of the Tulsa Opera and Cincinnati Opera, Nicholas Muni is enjoying his first year as a full-time faculty member of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). Recent directing projects include Faust for the Vancouver, Portland and Canadian Opera companies, Show Boat at Stadttheater Bern, the world première of La Conquista for National Theater of Prague, Macbeth at Canadian Opera Company; Tosca at Theater Erfurt; and a double bill of Le Pauvre Matelot and Une Education Manquee at CCM. Upcoming projects include Werther at CCM, Pelléas et Mélisande at Canadian Opera Company, and Fidelio at Portland Opera.
C. DAVID HIGGINS, Designer
C. David Higgins has been designing scenery since 1972, when he began working at the Indiana University Jacobs 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 Coach
Mona Tobin Houston, French Diction Coach, who recently retired from Indiana University, 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, DC, and Paris. Singers, directors, and conductors seek Houston not only for 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.
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Goro, a marriage broker (tenor)
Carmund White (Tenor) will make his Indianapolis Opera debut this May in Falstaff. His other operatic roles include Simon Stimson in the world première of Our Town, Tom Snout in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dr. Caius in Falstaff, El Remendado in Carmen, Njegus in The Merry Widow, The Grand Consul in From the Towers of the Moon, and Bartley in Riders to the Sea, with the LongLeaf Opera Company. This summer, White will travel to South Africa with the African Tempest Project to perform the role of Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Other theater roles include Sam Semela in Master Harold … and the boys and William in Lobby Hero. White is currently a doctoral student studying with Timothy Noble. He received a Master of Music degree from the Jacobs School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. White has been a soloist at the Kennedy Center and has sung with the Berkshire Choral Festival, where he serves on the faculty. He is the associate instructor and vocal coach for the African American Choral Ensemble.
Jason Wickson (Tenor) has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Recent engagements have been with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (Mozart’s Requiem), Detroit Concert Choir (Carmina burana), Michigan Opera Theatre, and the Amadeus Opern Ensemble of Salzburg, Austria, where he performed the roles of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Contino Belfiore in La Finta Giardiniera. In addition, Wickson recently performed in the world première oratorio The Passion of St. John by David Briggs in Detroit, MI, and was a featured soloist with the world famous Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Wickson is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Voice at IU Jacobs School of Music, where he studies with Andreas Poulimenos.
Lt. B. F. Pinkerton, U.S.N.(tenor)
A frequent performer in concert and opera, Marcos Aguiar (Tenor) has appeared as a soloist with the State of São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, The Municipal Theater of São Paulo, The Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, and the Louisiana Philharmonic, among others. As one of the winners of the 6 th Aldo Baldin Vocal Competition in Florianópolis, Brazil, he debuted as Don José in Bizet’s Carmen in 2003. In 2004, he sang the roles of Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Don José in Bizet’s Carmen at The Municipal Theater of São Paulo. In the same year, he sang the role of Don José at the State of Pará’s Opera Festival and was also the Doppione of Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Municipal Theater of São Paulo. In 2005, he made his debut at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro singing the role of Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth, and, in 2006, he performed again the role of Don José with IU Opera Theater. Aguiar received his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Santa Marcelina College in São Paulo and has a master’s in voice from Loyola University in New Orleans. He is a doctoral student working with Carol Vaness.
Tenor Adam Diegel, a native of Memphis, TN, was a national finalist in the 2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He made his European debut singing the title role in Candide with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano in Milan, Italy. This season he debuted with Tulsa Opera as Baobab/Hunter in Portman’s The Little Prince and with Virginia Opera as Elder Hayes in Susannah . Later this season, Diegel will debut with Ft. Worth Opera in the world première of Thomas Pasatieri’s Frau Margot . For Ft. Worth, he will also cover the role of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly . His recital work includes a joint recital with soprano Kallen Esperian, with whom he had previously performed in a benefit concert for Opera Memphis. Musical theater performances include the role of Prince Charming in Sondheim’s Into the Woods, for which he won the Ostrander Theatre Award. D iegel attended graduate school at Yale University, where he sang the role of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi. While at Yale, he performed scenes from Lucia di Lammermoor and Roméo et Juliette. He previously attended the University of Memphis (TN) where he studied philosophy and sang scenes from La bohème and Lucia di Lammermoor with the U of M opera department. Additionally, he sang La bohème arias and duets with the University Orchestra as a result of winning the Concerto Competition. As a student, he joined the ensemble of Opera Memphis, performing with them in La traviata, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Turandot, and Carmen. Mr. Diegel makes his IU Opera Theater debut as a guest artist.
Suzuki, Cio-Cio San’s servant (mezzo-soprano)
Abigail Peters, mezzo-soprano, is currently pursuing her Master of Music in Voice at the IU Jacobs School of Music. Peters made her debut with IU Opera Theater in the fall production of Manon as Rosette. She has also appeared at IU as a soloist with the Chamber Orchestra, singing the Milosz Songs by John Harbison. She received her bachelor's degree in 2005 from Oberlin Conservatory, where her roles included Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Juno in Orpheus in the Underworld, and Nancy in Albert Herring. She is a student of Dale Moore.
Heng Xia, mezzo-soprano, completed her Bachelor of Music 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 W. A. Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro with the Beijing National Opera Theater. She received her Master of Music degree from Baylor University. There, she sang the roles of Dorabella in Così fan tutte and the First Prioress in Dialogues of the Carmélites . She also 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 Verviers International Opera Competition in Belgium. She completed her Performer Diploma at IU. Her operatic roles with IU Opera Theater include the role of Stephano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and the role of Mother Jean in Dialogues of the Carmélites . In November of 2006, Heng was the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Indiana Columbus Philharmonic. She is a doctoral student at IU studying with Patricia Stiles.
Sharpless, United States Consulat Nagasaki (baritone)
Kenneth J. Pereira, baritone, is a graduate student in the IU Jacobs School of Music, where he is pursuing a Master of Music in Voice. His performance as Sharpless marks his debut with IU Opera Theater. Prior to his studies at IU, Pereira was heard frequently in opera, oratorio, recital, and musical theater performances throughout northern California and the Bay area. He graduated magna cum laude from California State University, Stanislaus, where he completed a Bachelor of Music in voice. This past fall, he performed the baritone solos in the Duruflé Requiem and the Charpentier Te Deum with the Lafayette Bach Chorale (IN) and various scenes with the Indiana University Graduate Opera Workshop. Pereira was also a member of the ensemble in ExArt’s production of Piazzola’s tango operita Maria de Buenos Aires. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.
Baritone Brad Raymond is a master’s student who completed his undergraduate degree at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, studying with Barbara Hill-Moore. Over the past year, Raymond has performed in several master classes, including those of Carol Vaness, Dawn Upshaw, and Roger Vignoles. His awards include first place in the National Opera Association National Competition and winner of the National Association for the Teachers of Singing Regional Competition. He has performed the roles of Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, and Dancairo and De Bretigny in the Jacobs School of Music productions of Carmen and Manon. Raymond is a student of Costanza Cuccaro.
Cio-Cio San, (Madama Butterfly) (soprano)
Soprano, Jung Nan Yoon, was born in South Korea and received her Bachelor of Arts at Korea National University. Her opera debut was at the Seoul Art Center Opera Theater as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. She has also performed the roles of La contessa in Le nozze di Figaro at Seoul Art Center and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at Opera Gala. Yoon has been a soloist in Handel’s Messiah and has won numerous awards, including the Bain Scholarship Competition in 2007, The National Society of Arts and Letters “Donald Felton Memorial Award” (2007), the Granprix in the Um Jung Haeng Voice Competition, first prize in Nan pa Music Competition, and first prize in Ho nam Art Competition. Yoon is in the first year of her Performer Diploma at IU Jacobs School of Music and studies with Costanza Cuccaro.
Jing Zhang, soprano, received her bachelor’s degree from the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing and her Performer Diploma in Voice from IU Jacobs School of Music. Zhang was the winner of the 2005 Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions. She won the “Award for Excellent Singing” at the China Central Television Young Artists Competition in Beijing and was a semi-finalist in the Third International Opera Competition in Shizuoka, Japan. She debuted as Tebaldi in the première of Don Carlos at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in 2001, under the baton of John Nelson. Her U.S. debut was in the role of Mimi in La bohème. She was also Micäela in the IU Opera Theater production of Carmen. Zhang has been awarded scholarships from and participated in the Gala Concerts of the International Vocal Art Institute’s programs in New York, Puerto Rico, Japan, and China. She was the recipient of an Associate Instructor Award and is the recipient of Illo scholarship at IU. She won the Bain Scholarship for 2006-07 and represented Jacobs School of Music in the show case at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC last year. This summer, Zhang will be participating in the Des Moines Metropolitan Opera Apprentice Program and willcover the role Micäela in Carmen. She is currently enrolled as a Master of Music student at IU Jacobs School of Music and studies with Costanza Cuccaro.
The Imperial Commissioner (bass-baritone)
Adam Cioffari, bass-baritone, received his Bachelor of Music in Voice at IU in December 2006 and is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Voice. Previous roles at IU Opera Theater have included Masetto in Don Giovanni, Orson in Too Many Sopranos, Snug the Joiner in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the 2nd Armored Man in The Magic Flute. As a member of the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center in 2005 and 2006, he performed the roles of Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore, and Count Ceprano in Rigoletto. In October of 2006, he received an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions in Bloomington. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.
Official Registrar
Justin Moore
The Bonze, (a Buddist Priest, Cio-Cio San’s uncle) (bass)
Bass Jesse Malgieri is a native of Rochester, NY. In March of 2005, he won the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Young Artist Vocal Competition. He has appeared as a soloist at the Rockefeller Center for the Arts and the Chautauqua Institution, singing the title role in scenes from Sweeney Todd. Malgieri attended the New York State Summer School of the Arts and was a member of New York State’s All-State Choir in 2005. In March of 2005, he was selected to sing the national anthem for the McDonald’s All-Star Basketball game. This past summer, Malgieri was a participant, along with other singers from the United States and Canada, in the Charley Creek Vocal Workshop, an intense program of aria and song study. While at the Jacobs School of Music, Malgieri has appeared as a soloist with the Motet Choir, directed by Adam Burnette, the University Chorale, directed by William Jon Gray, and, most recently, the Symphonic Choir, directed by Vasiliki Tsouva. Madama Butterfly marks his operatic debut. Malgieri is a student of Timothy Noble.
Miroslaw Witkowski, bass, is a Barbara and David Jacobs Fellowship Scholar from Nowy Sacz, Poland. He received his master’s degree from Music Academy in Łódz, Poland. Witkowski has won numerous awards and competitions throughout Europe, including the International Festival of Young Laureates of Music Competitions in Katowice. Recently, he won the top voice award in the 2007 National Arts and Letters Voice Competition. He has sung the bass roles in J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor and W. A. Mozart’s Sollenes de Confessore. His previous opera credits include participation in Schubert’s Conspirator and Eugene Onegin, as well as singing the roles of Don Basilio in Barbiere di Siviglia and Ariodate in Handel’s Xerxes. He debuted with IU Opera Theater in 2006 as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni . This summer, he will be singing Wagner is Gounod’s Faust with The Cincinnati Opera Summer Festival. Witkowski is a student of Timothy Noble.
Prince Yamadori, a rich suitor (baritone)
Jong Hun Cha, a native of Korea, received his Performer Diploma at IU and is working toward a Master of Music in Voice. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul, South Korea. He earned first place in the Jeon-Buk Music Competition of Korea. While at IU, he has appeared as M. Javelinot in Dialogues des Carmélites, the Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette and Masetto in Don Giovanni. Cha studies with Andreas Poulimenos. He is a former student of Giorgio Tozzi.
Joseph David Legaspi, a native of the Philippines, received his Diploma in Creative and Performing Musical Arts from the University of the Philippines College of Music, studying with Cecilia Valeña. While pursuing his undergraduate studies, he won prizes in several national vocal competitions, such as the 1999 National Competition for Young Artists and the Y’s Men Classical Singer of the Year. Legaspi was last seen as the Innkeeper in Jules Massenet’s Manon. He played the role of the Commissioner in Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogues des Carmélites” for th IU Opera. He was one of the featured soloists in the Argento evening at Indiana University, in February 2005. He was the baritone soloist in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Actus Tragicus BWV 106 and the premiere of Kirill Dyachkov’s Canticles of Love, Despair and Hope at Indiana University in October 2006. With the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, he played the role of Bogdanowitch in Lehar’s Merry Widow and Franz in The Sound of Music. Legaspi recently performed in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the Lincoln Center in New York for the Joy in Singing Competition semi-finals. He is currently a graduate student at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying vocal performance with Robert Harrison.
Sorrow (the child of Butterfly and Pinkerton)
Alexa Minton
Kate Pinkerton, Pinkerton’s American wife (soprano)
Elizabeth Ashantiva, soprano, performs opera, oratorio, art song, and musical theater. She has sung many opera roles in the Northwest, most recently Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at the Crested Butte Music Festival in Colorado. From 2002 to 2006, she was a resident company member of Opera Idaho, singing the roles of Frasquita in Carmen, Susanna and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, and Peep-Bo in The Mikado. Appearing with Boise Baroque Orchestra, Ashantiva was featured in last season’s Coffee Cantata by J. S. Bach and Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus. She has been a first-place winner in the Idaho NATS competition and a finalist in the Sun Valley Opera Competition. Presently pursuing a Master of Music in Voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, she is studying with Dale Moore.
Angela Brower, mezzo-soprano, is in her first year of study pursuing a Master of Music in Voice at IU. Before coming to IU, Brower graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Voice from Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. This is her debut with IU Opera Theater. Other roles have included 2 nd Lady in Die Zauberflöte, and Kate in Oklahoma!. She has also performed in various opera scenes as Aminta (Il re pastore), 3 rd Lady (Die Zauberflöte), and Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), as well as Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), which she performed in Florence, Italy through Wichita State University. Oratorio credits include Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Vivaldi’s Gloria in D Major with the IU Motet Choir, as well as Haydn’s Harmoniemesse with the IU ProArte Choir. She has been a frequent winner at NATS competitions and is a member of the honors music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon. Brower is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.
Libretto
Giuseppe Giacosa and Luigi Illica, based on the David Belasco play
DAVID EFFRON, Conductor 
NICHOLAS MUNI, Stage Director
C. DAVID HIGGINS, Designer 
MONA TOBIN HOUSTON, Diction Coach
Carmund White (Tenor) will make his Indianapolis Opera debut this May in Falstaff. His other operatic roles include Simon Stimson in the world première of Our Town, Tom Snout in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Dr. Caius in Falstaff, El Remendado in Carmen, Njegus in The Merry Widow, The Grand Consul in From the Towers of the Moon, and Bartley in Riders to the Sea, with the LongLeaf Opera Company. This summer, White will travel to South Africa with the African Tempest Project to perform the role of Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. Other theater roles include Sam Semela in Master Harold … and the boys and William in Lobby Hero. White is currently a doctoral student studying with Timothy Noble. He received a Master of Music degree from the Jacobs School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. White has been a soloist at the Kennedy Center and has sung with the Berkshire Choral Festival, where he serves on the faculty. He is the associate instructor and vocal coach for the African American Choral Ensemble. 
Jason Wickson (Tenor) has performed throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe. Recent engagements have been with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (Mozart’s Requiem), Detroit Concert Choir (Carmina burana), Michigan Opera Theatre, and the Amadeus Opern Ensemble of Salzburg, Austria, where he performed the roles of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Contino Belfiore in La Finta Giardiniera. In addition, Wickson recently performed in the world première oratorio The Passion of St. John by David Briggs in Detroit, MI, and was a featured soloist with the world famous Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Wickson is currently pursuing his Master of Music in Voice at IU Jacobs School of Music, where he studies with Andreas Poulimenos. 
A frequent performer in concert and opera, Marcos Aguiar (Tenor) has appeared as a soloist with the State of São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, The Municipal Theater of São Paulo, The Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro, and the Louisiana Philharmonic, among others. As one of the winners of the 6 th Aldo Baldin Vocal Competition in Florianópolis, Brazil, he debuted as Don José in Bizet’s Carmen in 2003. In 2004, he sang the roles of Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Don José in Bizet’s Carmen at The Municipal Theater of São Paulo. In the same year, he sang the role of Don José at the State of Pará’s Opera Festival and was also the Doppione of Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin at the Municipal Theater of São Paulo. In 2005, he made his debut at the Municipal Theater in Rio de Janeiro singing the role of Macduff in Verdi’s Macbeth, and, in 2006, he performed again the role of Don José with IU Opera Theater. Aguiar received his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Santa Marcelina College in São Paulo and has a master’s in voice from Loyola University in New Orleans. He is a doctoral student working with Carol Vaness. 
Tenor Adam Diegel, a native of Memphis, TN, was a national finalist in the 2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He made his European debut singing the title role in Candide with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano in Milan, Italy. This season he debuted with Tulsa Opera as Baobab/Hunter in Portman’s The Little Prince and with Virginia Opera as Elder Hayes in Susannah . Later this season, Diegel will debut with Ft. Worth Opera in the world première of Thomas Pasatieri’s Frau Margot . For Ft. Worth, he will also cover the role of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly . His recital work includes a joint recital with soprano Kallen Esperian, with whom he had previously performed in a benefit concert for Opera Memphis. Musical theater performances include the role of Prince Charming in Sondheim’s Into the Woods, for which he won the Ostrander Theatre Award. D iegel attended graduate school at Yale University, where he sang the role of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi. While at Yale, he performed scenes from Lucia di Lammermoor and Roméo et Juliette. He previously attended the University of Memphis (TN) where he studied philosophy and sang scenes from La bohème and Lucia di Lammermoor with the U of M opera department. Additionally, he sang La bohème arias and duets with the University Orchestra as a result of winning the Concerto Competition. As a student, he joined the ensemble of Opera Memphis, performing with them in La traviata, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Turandot, and Carmen. Mr. Diegel makes his IU Opera Theater debut as a guest artist.
Abigail Peters, mezzo-soprano, is currently pursuing her Master of Music in Voice at the IU Jacobs School of Music. Peters made her debut with IU Opera Theater in the fall production of Manon as Rosette. She has also appeared at IU as a soloist with the Chamber Orchestra, singing the Milosz Songs by John Harbison. She received her bachelor's degree in 2005 from Oberlin Conservatory, where her roles included Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Juno in Orpheus in the Underworld, and Nancy in Albert Herring. She is a student of Dale Moore. 
Heng Xia, mezzo-soprano, completed her Bachelor of Music 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 W. A. Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro with the Beijing National Opera Theater. She received her Master of Music degree from Baylor University. There, she sang the roles of Dorabella in Così fan tutte and the First Prioress in Dialogues of the Carmélites . She also 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 Verviers International Opera Competition in Belgium. She completed her Performer Diploma at IU. Her operatic roles with IU Opera Theater include the role of Stephano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and the role of Mother Jean in Dialogues of the Carmélites . In November of 2006, Heng was the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Indiana Columbus Philharmonic. She is a doctoral student at IU studying with Patricia Stiles. 
Kenneth J. Pereira, baritone, is a graduate student in the IU Jacobs School of Music, where he is pursuing a Master of Music in Voice. His performance as Sharpless marks his debut with IU Opera Theater. Prior to his studies at IU, Pereira was heard frequently in opera, oratorio, recital, and musical theater performances throughout northern California and the Bay area. He graduated magna cum laude from California State University, Stanislaus, where he completed a Bachelor of Music in voice. This past fall, he performed the baritone solos in the Duruflé Requiem and the Charpentier Te Deum with the Lafayette Bach Chorale (IN) and various scenes with the Indiana University Graduate Opera Workshop. Pereira was also a member of the ensemble in ExArt’s production of Piazzola’s tango operita Maria de Buenos Aires. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos. 
Baritone Brad Raymond is a master’s student who completed his undergraduate degree at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, studying with Barbara Hill-Moore. Over the past year, Raymond has performed in several master classes, including those of Carol Vaness, Dawn Upshaw, and Roger Vignoles. His awards include first place in the National Opera Association National Competition and winner of the National Association for the Teachers of Singing Regional Competition. He has performed the roles of Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, and Dancairo and De Bretigny in the Jacobs School of Music productions of Carmen and Manon. Raymond is a student of Costanza Cuccaro. 
Soprano, Jung Nan Yoon, was born in South Korea and received her Bachelor of Arts at Korea National University. Her opera debut was at the Seoul Art Center Opera Theater as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. She has also performed the roles of La contessa in Le nozze di Figaro at Seoul Art Center and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at Opera Gala. Yoon has been a soloist in Handel’s Messiah and has won numerous awards, including the Bain Scholarship Competition in 2007, The National Society of Arts and Letters “Donald Felton Memorial Award” (2007), the Granprix in the Um Jung Haeng Voice Competition, first prize in Nan pa Music Competition, and first prize in Ho nam Art Competition. Yoon is in the first year of her Performer Diploma at IU Jacobs School of Music and studies with Costanza Cuccaro. 
Jing Zhang, soprano, received her bachelor’s degree from the China Conservatory of Music in Beijing and her Performer Diploma in Voice from IU Jacobs School of Music. Zhang was the winner of the 2005 Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions. She won the “Award for Excellent Singing” at the China Central Television Young Artists Competition in Beijing and was a semi-finalist in the Third International Opera Competition in Shizuoka, Japan. She debuted as Tebaldi in the première of Don Carlos at the Shanghai Grand Theatre in 2001, under the baton of John Nelson. Her U.S. debut was in the role of Mimi in La bohème. She was also Micäela in the IU Opera Theater production of Carmen. Zhang has been awarded scholarships from and participated in the Gala Concerts of the International Vocal Art Institute’s programs in New York, Puerto Rico, Japan, and China. She was the recipient of an Associate Instructor Award and is the recipient of Illo scholarship at IU. She won the Bain Scholarship for 2006-07 and represented Jacobs School of Music in the show case at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC last year. This summer, Zhang will be participating in the Des Moines Metropolitan Opera Apprentice Program and willcover the role Micäela in Carmen. She is currently enrolled as a Master of Music student at IU Jacobs School of Music and studies with Costanza Cuccaro. 
Adam Cioffari, bass-baritone, received his Bachelor of Music in Voice at IU in December 2006 and is currently pursuing a Master of Music in Voice. Previous roles at IU Opera Theater have included Masetto in Don Giovanni, Orson in Too Many Sopranos, Snug the Joiner in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the 2nd Armored Man in The Magic Flute. As a member of the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center in 2005 and 2006, he performed the roles of Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music, Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore, and Count Ceprano in Rigoletto. In October of 2006, he received an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions in Bloomington. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos. 
Bass Jesse Malgieri is a native of Rochester, NY. In March of 2005, he won the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Young Artist Vocal Competition. He has appeared as a soloist at the Rockefeller Center for the Arts and the Chautauqua Institution, singing the title role in scenes from Sweeney Todd. Malgieri attended the New York State Summer School of the Arts and was a member of New York State’s All-State Choir in 2005. In March of 2005, he was selected to sing the national anthem for the McDonald’s All-Star Basketball game. This past summer, Malgieri was a participant, along with other singers from the United States and Canada, in the Charley Creek Vocal Workshop, an intense program of aria and song study. While at the Jacobs School of Music, Malgieri has appeared as a soloist with the Motet Choir, directed by Adam Burnette, the University Chorale, directed by William Jon Gray, and, most recently, the Symphonic Choir, directed by Vasiliki Tsouva. Madama Butterfly marks his operatic debut. Malgieri is a student of Timothy Noble. 
Miroslaw Witkowski, bass, is a Barbara and David Jacobs Fellowship Scholar from Nowy Sacz, Poland. He received his master’s degree from Music Academy in Łódz, Poland. Witkowski has won numerous awards and competitions throughout Europe, including the International Festival of Young Laureates of Music Competitions in Katowice. Recently, he won the top voice award in the 2007 National Arts and Letters Voice Competition. He has sung the bass roles in J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor and W. A. Mozart’s Sollenes de Confessore. His previous opera credits include participation in Schubert’s Conspirator and Eugene Onegin, as well as singing the roles of Don Basilio in Barbiere di Siviglia and Ariodate in Handel’s Xerxes. He debuted with IU Opera Theater in 2006 as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni . This summer, he will be singing Wagner is Gounod’s Faust with The Cincinnati Opera Summer Festival. Witkowski is a student of Timothy Noble. 
Jong Hun Cha, a native of Korea, received his Performer Diploma at IU and is working toward a Master of Music in Voice. He received his Bachelor of Music from the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul, South Korea. He earned first place in the Jeon-Buk Music Competition of Korea. While at IU, he has appeared as M. Javelinot in Dialogues des Carmélites, the Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette and Masetto in Don Giovanni. Cha studies with Andreas Poulimenos. He is a former student of Giorgio Tozzi. 
Joseph David Legaspi, a native of the Philippines, received his Diploma in Creative and Performing Musical Arts from the University of the Philippines College of Music, studying with Cecilia Valeña. While pursuing his undergraduate studies, he won prizes in several national vocal competitions, such as the 1999 National Competition for Young Artists and the Y’s Men Classical Singer of the Year. Legaspi was last seen as the Innkeeper in Jules Massenet’s Manon. He played the role of the Commissioner in Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogues des Carmélites” for th IU Opera. He was one of the featured soloists in the Argento evening at Indiana University, in February 2005. He was the baritone soloist in Johann Sebastian Bach’s Actus Tragicus BWV 106 and the premiere of Kirill Dyachkov’s Canticles of Love, Despair and Hope at Indiana University in October 2006. With the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, he played the role of Bogdanowitch in Lehar’s Merry Widow and Franz in The Sound of Music. Legaspi recently performed in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the Lincoln Center in New York for the Joy in Singing Competition semi-finals. He is currently a graduate student at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying vocal performance with Robert Harrison. 
Elizabeth Ashantiva, soprano, performs opera, oratorio, art song, and musical theater. She has sung many opera roles in the Northwest, most recently Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni at the Crested Butte Music Festival in Colorado. From 2002 to 2006, she was a resident company member of Opera Idaho, singing the roles of Frasquita in Carmen, Susanna and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, and Peep-Bo in The Mikado. Appearing with Boise Baroque Orchestra, Ashantiva was featured in last season’s Coffee Cantata by J. S. Bach and Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus. She has been a first-place winner in the Idaho NATS competition and a finalist in the Sun Valley Opera Competition. Presently pursuing a Master of Music in Voice at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, she is studying with Dale Moore. 
Angela Brower, mezzo-soprano, is in her first year of study pursuing a Master of Music in Voice at IU. Before coming to IU, Brower graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in Voice from Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ. This is her debut with IU Opera Theater. Other roles have included 2 nd Lady in Die Zauberflöte, and Kate in Oklahoma!. She has also performed in various opera scenes as Aminta (Il re pastore), 3 rd Lady (Die Zauberflöte), and Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), as well as Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), which she performed in Florence, Italy through Wichita State University. Oratorio credits include Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Vivaldi’s Gloria in D Major with the IU Motet Choir, as well as Haydn’s Harmoniemesse with the IU ProArte Choir. She has been a frequent winner at NATS competitions and is a member of the honors music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon. Brower is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.
