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 marked his eleventh and final season as artistic director and principal conductor of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina, during which time the board of the Brevard Music Center established a Principal Artistic Director/ Principal Conductor Chair in his honor. Effron was also honored with the title of Conductor Laureate.
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 Foundation 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.
TITO CAPOBIANCO, Stage Director
Tito Capobianco is acclaimed for his ingenious and versatile treatment of repertory classics, from Baroque to Romantic, verismo, and contemporary operatic repertoire. Capobianco has staged over 250 productions in Europe, Australia, and the American continent for major opera houses such as Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris, and Barcelona, along with the festivals of Spoleto, Caramoor, Las Palmas, Buenos Aires, and Mexico City. His staging of American and world premières, plus numerous new productions which have been hailed as landmarks in opera history, have had a strong influence in the development of opera in the United States, beginning with the inauguration of the Lincoln and Kennedy Centers. His productions continue to form part of the repertoire of these centers after more than 25 years. During the 1960s, his collaboration with soprano Beverly Sills became legendary and led to the first opera production televised from Lincoln Center with Le coq d’or.
Throughout his career, Capobianco has demonstrated his commitment to the educational needs of young artists. In 1968, he founded and became general director of the Opera Center at the Juilliard School of Music in New York. He created the Opera Department at the College of Performing Arts in Philadelphia in 1972, the San Diego Opera Center in 1977, and the Pittsburgh Opera Center in 1986. The latter evolved into the Pittsburgh Opera Center at Duquesne in 1990. In the late 1970s, he established the world’s first Verdi Festival in San Diego, California. In recognition of his creative work in Italian and French opera and culture, he has been awarded the equivalent of the title of “Sir” by the Italian and French governments, as well as numerous honorary degrees for his extensive community involvement.
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 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.
WILLIAM GRAY, Chorus Master
Chorus Master William Jon Gray teaches graduate-level conducting, choral literature, and score study.
He served for three seasons as associate conductor of the Carmel Bach Festival in California, where he prepared and performed major choral/orchestral works in collaboration with Bruno Weil. He served as interim conductor of the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir, preparing the Choir for performances with Raymond Leppard and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. As artistic director of the Bach Chorale Singers, Gray has received high praise for his performances of major choral/orchestral works. The Bach Chorale Singers' 1998 commercially released CD recording In Praise of the Organ:Latin Choral and Organ Music of Zoltán Kodály under Gray's direction received national attention and critical acclaim in the American Record Guide and the American Organist.
Gray served as artistic director of the Masterworks Chorus and Orchestra of Washington, D.C. from 1986 to 1993. He has been assistant conductor of the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston, and has appeared as guest conductor with the National Chamber Orchestra, the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra, and the Handel and Haydn Society.
Gray studied at Indiana University, the Juilliard School, the New England Conservatory, and Boston University, and has studied conducting with Robert Porco, Thomas Dunn, and Richard Pittman. Gray worked and performed frequently with Robert Shaw, and has appeared as a member of the Robert Shaw Festival Singers in recordings and concerts in France, and in concerts at Carnegie Hall.
SCOTT PARRY, Assistant Director
A. Scott Parry, assistant stage director, has garnered critical praise for his work in both opera and musical theatre throughout the country.
He is currently a stage director on staff at New York City Opera but has continuing associations with the Santa Fe Opera, Dallas Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and Pensacola Opera, to name a few.
He has served on the School of Music faculty at Indiana University in Bloomington and headed the Musical Theatre faculty at Mesa Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. Parry most recently directed a new production of La traviata for Chautauqua Opera. Upcoming productions include Il barbiere di Siviglia for Opera Pacific, La cenerentola for Florida Grand Opera, Sweeney Todd for Amherst College, and L’elisir d’amore for New York City Opera’s 2009 Japan Tour. As a librettist, Parry has completed an English adaptation of Beaumarchais’ La mère coupable, which is currently being set to music.
CAST BIOGRAPHIES
Violetta Valery
Joanna Ruszała graduated from the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland, where she studied with H. Januszewska and received a Master of Music, later becoming a member of the voice faculty. Ruszała’s awards include the VIII International Ada Sari Competition of Vocal Art in Nowy Sącz (Poland), where she won the Second Prize and a Special Prize for Outstanding Soprano. She was also a laureate of Polish Vocal Competitions in Duszniki Zdrój and in Katowice, where she received a Special Prize from the artistic director of Silesian Philharmonics. Ruszała has given recitals and opera performances in Italy, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Bulgaria, where she made her operatic debut as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto, which was held in Varna State Opera. Among her roles are W. A. Mozart’s Der Schauspiel Direktor and concert versions of Verdi’s La traviata, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’Amore and Don Pasquale, Delibes’ Lakme, Gounod’s Faust, and Moniuszko’s Flis. In the fall of 2006, she sang the role of Donna Anna in IU’s Don Giovanni and in 2007, the role of Mimi in La bohème. In addition, Ruszała has performed oratorios and masses with the National Orchestra of Polish Radio and with many other Polish Philharmonics. She completed her Performer Diploma studying with Teresa Kubiak and is currently continuing her studies with Carol Vaness.
Soprano Jung Nan Yoon was born in South Korea and received her Bachelor of Arts at Korea National University. Her operatic 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” in 2007, the Granprix in the Um Jung Haeng Voice Competition, first prize in the Nan pa Music Competition, and first prize in the Ho nam Art Competition. At IU, Yoon has performed the title role of Madama Butterfly and Mimi in La bohème. She is in the second year of her Performer Diploma and studies with Costanza Cuccaro.
Baron Douphol, Violetta’s benefactor
Bass-baritone Nathan Brown has performed many roles with IU Opera including Count Ceprano in Rigoletto, Lieutenant Breedley in the collegiate première of William Bolcom’s A Wedding, and Hermann in Les contes d’Hoffmann. Brown recently made his debut with Indianapolis Opera as Sciarrone in their production of Puccini’s Tosca. Brown has won many competitions and has observed or attended master classes with Dawn Upshaw, Ian Bostridge, Martin Katz, and Barbara Honn. In his second year of the master’s program, he studies with Timothy Noble.
Adam Ewing, baritone, is a student of Marietta Simpson, pursuing a Master of Music. Ewing is a native of Hiawatha, KS, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in vocal music education from Northwest Missouri State University. Previous opera roles with the Jacobs School of Music include Elder McLean in Susannah and Schlemil/Spalanzani in Les contes d’Hoffmann. In addition, he premièred the role of Lord Capulet in Act III of Romeo and Juliet, a new musical-drama by Don Freund. Ewing has sung the roles of Colas (Bastien und Bastienne), Mike (Blue Monday), David (A Hand of Bridge), and the Wolf/Woodsman (Little Red Riding Hood), as well as Ko-Ko in a concert setting of The Mikado with the Nodaway Chorale. He has also been featured in several composition recitals at Indiana University, as well as the 2008 Celebrations of Spirituals concert. Ewing is a current member of S-NATS and an alumnus of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a national men’s music fraternity.
Flora Bervoix, friend of Violetta
Soprano Suna Avci is from Darien, IL, and is in the second year of her master’s degree at Indiana University. On campus, she has performed the role of Nuria in the collegiate première of Golijov's Ainadamar and participated in the Liz Upchurch lieder master class series. Recent professional engagements include Josephine in H. M. S. Pinafore (Richmond Symphony Orchestra) and the soprano solos of Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass (Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra/Apollo Chorus) and J. S. Bach's B Minor Mass (Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra). In 2007, Avci received her undergraduate degree at Northwestern University, where she was seen as Madame Lidoine (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Lucy Brown (Threepenny Opera), and Cunegonde (Candide), as well as performing as a soloist in nearly a dozen orchestral works. She has premièred the electronic, chamber, and orchestral works of several young composers both at Northwestern and Indiana Universities, and has been the recipient of awards from the Bel Canto Foundation, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and the American Friends of Austria. Avci has studied with teachers Mary Ann Hart (Indiana), Theresa Brancaccio (Northwestern), and Ingrid Mueller, as well as coaches Alan Darling, Sherrill Milnes, and Stephen Alltop. She currently studies with Costanza Cuccaro.
A native of Dallas, TX, mezzo-soprano Kendall Zini-Jones is a second-year master's student studying under Carol Vaness. Last season she appeared with IU Opera Theater as Candace in the collegiate première of William Bolcom's A Wedding and as Stella in Les contes d'Hoffmann. Zini-Jones completed her Bachelor of Music at Louisiana State University, where she was seen as La Maestra delle Novizie in Suor Angelica and Sister St. Charles in Dialouges of the Carmelites. She has been featured in several concerts and operas around Europe in countries such as Italy, Austria, and France. Most recently she was seen in Lucca, Italy, as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and Caterina in L'Amico Fritz for Cincinatti College-Conservatory of Music's Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca.
Marquese d’Obigny, Flora’s benefactor
Ye Chen began to study singing at Hangzhou Normal University in 1993. After graduating in 1995, he attended the Shanghai Conservatory, where he studied under Chen Minzhuang. In 2006, Chen finished a diploma from Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover. He also performed as a guest soloist at Stattstheater Kassel. In 2008, he studied with Andreas Poulimenos at the Jacobs School of Music. Since the beginning of fall 2008, he has studied with Carol Vaness.
Jesse Malgieri, a senior, is a native of Rochester, NY. Malgieri has won the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Young Artist Vocal Competition and has appeared as a soloist at the Rockefeller Center for the Arts and the Chautauqua Institution. While at the Jacobs School of Music, Malgieri has appeared as a soloist with the University Chorale, Motet Choir, and the Symphonic Choir as the bass soloist in Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht. Malgieri has twice participated in the Charley Creek Vocal Workshop directed by Timothy Noble and was selected to participate in a German Lieder master class with Liz Upchurch at the Jacobs School this spring. Malgieri has appeared with IU Opera Theater as Zio Bonzo in Madama Butterfly, Monterone in Rigoletto, Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, and Keller in She Loves Me. Malgieri is a student of Timothy Noble.
Alfredo Germont
Tenor Joshua Whitener is a doctoral student at the Indiana Jacobs School of Music. Roles performed while at IU include Camille in The Merry Widow, Josh in the North American premiére of Sandström's Jeppe, Mike in Bolcolm's A View from the Bridge, Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado, and Dino Corelli (groom) in the collegiate première of Bolcolm's A Wedding. Other roles include Little Bat in Susannah, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, and Edwin in Trial by Jury. Professionally, Whitener has performed with the Missouri Symphony, the Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Central City Opera. Whitener is a student of Costanza Cuccaro.
Jason Wickson, tenor, is a native of Detroit, MI. He earned his Bachelor of Music from Oakland University, where he performed Gonzalve in L’heure Espagnol (Ravel) and Enrico Carouser in Too Many Sopranos (Penhorwood). Recent engagements have been with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (Mozart’s Requiem), Detroit Concert Choir (Carmina burana), 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 Detroit Symphony Orchestra. During the summer of 2008, Wickson was an apprentice with Santa Fe Opera, where he covered the role of Bardolfo in Falstaff (Verdi). During his studies at Indiana University, Wickson has performed the roles of Goro in Madama Butterfly (Puccini), Elder Gleaton in Susannah (Floyd), Rodolfo in La bohème (Puccini), and was the tenor soloist in the Verdi Requiem. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.
Giorgio Germont, his father
While attending the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Scott Harrison Hogsed sang Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, and Count Almaviva in Le nozze Di Figaro. He began his professional training with the San Francisco Opera Merola program singing the title role in Don Giovanni for the Western Opera Theater National Tour and covering Guglielmo for the Merola production of Cosi fan tutte. During his five seasons at New York City Opera as a company baritone, he was responsible for singing the roles of Dancairo and Morales in Carmen, Fritz in Die tote Stadt, Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Antonio in Il viaggio a Reims, Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and many more. On the concert stage, Hogsed has appeared under the baton of Robert Spano with the Brooklyn Philharmonic in the title role of Sibelius’ Kullervo, Messiah soloist with Orchestra Atlanta, and the baritone solos in J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor and St. John Passion with The Atlanta Bach Choir and the Choral Guild of Atlanta. Hogsed received two Richard F. Gold Career Grants and two Tanglewood Voice Fellowships, and his Equity credits include a tour with the Theater of the Star’s production of Camelot as Lancelot opposite Robert Goulet’s Arthur, and Curly in Oklahoma! with the Broadway Series of Charlotte, starring Rue McClanahan as Aunt Eller.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Jin Uk Lee graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Voice from KyungPook National University South Korea, where he performed the role of Schaunard in La bohème with faculty members in KyungPook National University. During the last three years, he performed with Park In Soo, the most well-known artist and vocalist in Korea, in the Korea national opera company, which travelled to several cities in South Korea. He has performed several oratorio solos in Korea, including the baritone solo in Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s The Creation. Lee earned first prize in vocal music at a national artistic contest and the second prize in a music contest held by Yungnam University. A Performer Diploma student, Lee studies with Andreas Poulimenos.
Gastone de Letorieres, a friend of Violetta and Alfredo
Nikhil Nakval
Having studied voice in his homeland of Sri Lanka for several years, Asitha Tennekoon is currently a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Voice in the studio of Brian Horne. He is a Licentiate of the Trinity College of Music London in Voice and Piano and a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music London in Piano. In 2000, he won first place in the vocal category of the All Island Concerto Competition, organized by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, and has performed with the orchestra on several occasions. In the U.S. in March 2008, he won first place at the NATS Regional Auditions in the Great Lakes Region for Fourth Year College Men and was awarded the Jessye Norman Award of Promise. This is his operatic debut.
Dottore Grenville, a friend of Violetta
Quinto Ott is majoring in Musical Theatre and Costume and Fashion Design through the Individualized Major Program. He studies voice with Ray Fellman in the Theatre Department and is looking forward to completing his final year here. At IU, Ott appeared in the world première of The Day Boy and the Night Girl (Cook/Ensemble), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Lycus), Seussical the Musical (General Schmitz), Pal Joey (Louis), Roméo et Juliette (Le Duc), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Ambrogio), Carmen (Chorus), Dialogues des Carmélites (Chorus), and The Nutcracker (Mother Ginger). At the Tyrolean Opera Program, he performed in Don Giovanni (Leporello), and at the Waldron Arts Center, he appeared in Threepenny Opera (Tiger Brown). He is from Tucson, AZ.
Miroslaw Witkowski, bass, from Nowy Sacz, Poland, received his master's from Music Academy in Łódz, Poland. Witkowski has been a prize winner in numerous competitions, including the National Vocal Song Competition (Cracow, Poland), the Antonin Dvořák Vocal competition, the International Vocal Competition (Romania), 41st Annual National Society of Arts and Letters Voice Competition in Bloomington, the Marcella Sembrich Vocal Competition, sponsored by the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York, where he will return in 2009 to perform a solo recital. He also received the prestigious Young Poland award and scholarship from the Polish Culture Minister for the most promising young Polish artists under the patronage of the president of Poland and the Palm Beach Opera Guild Encouragement Award. Before coming to study at IU, he has sung the bass roles in J. S. Bach's Mass in B Minor and W. A. Mozart's Sollenes de Confessore, in Aix-en Provence Opera Festival in France, and as Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Ariodate in Handel's Xerxes in The Grand Theatre in Łódz. At IU, his roles include the Commendatore (Don Giovanni), Colline (La Bohème), the Bonze (Madama Butterfly), and Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro). In 2003, he was young artist with the Oper-Oder-Spree Festiwal in Beeskow Germany. Witkowski has also completed two seasons as a resident young artist with the Cincinnati Opera Theatre, singing Wagner (Faust) and the Imperial Commissioner (Madama Butterfly). In 2000, he won The Chance of Success, the Polish equivalent of American Idol.Witkowski is currently completing post-graduate studies in the studio of Andreas Poulimenos, after graduating from the IU Jacobs School of Music with the Performer Diploma while studying with Timothy Noble.
Annina, Violetta’s maid
Jessica Feigenbaum, soprano, is currently in the second year of her master’s degree. She is a former student of Paul Kiesgen and currently studies with Carol Vaness. This is Feigenbaum’s ninth production with IU Opera Theater. As an undergraduate at IU, she was a recipient of the Music Merit award and is currently the recipient of a Dean’s Scholarship. Feigenbaum performed several recitals at the Palais Corbelli in Vienna, Austria, in 2007, and has also been a soloist at IU’s “Celebration of Spirituals” concert in 2008. This semester, Feigenbaum will also perform the roles of Donna Elvira, Norina, and Rosette in the graduate opera workshop with Carol Vaness.
Originally from River Falls, WI, mezzo-soprano Carrie Knudsen Hendrickson holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI. While there, she was involved in many productions, including the role of Prince Orlofsky in Die Fladermaus. Hendrickson has also performed as an alto soloist for the J. S. Bach Magnificat, Handel’s Messiah, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. A six-time finalist at the Wisconsin NATS competition, she has placed four times, including first in the Junior Women and Continuing Senior Women Divisions. La traviata marks her IU Opera Theater debut. She is a master’s student studying with Paul Kiesgen.
DAVID EFFRON, Conductor
TITO CAPOBIANCO, Stage Director
C. DAVID HIGGINS, Designer
WILLIAM GRAY, Chorus Master
Joanna Ruszała graduated from the Academy of Music in Katowice, Poland, where she studied with H. Januszewska and received a Master of Music, later becoming a member of the voice faculty. Ruszała’s awards include the VIII International Ada Sari Competition of Vocal Art in Nowy Sącz (Poland), where she won the Second Prize and a Special Prize for Outstanding Soprano. She was also a laureate of Polish Vocal Competitions in Duszniki Zdrój and in Katowice, where she received a Special Prize from the artistic director of Silesian Philharmonics. Ruszała has given recitals and opera performances in Italy, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Bulgaria, where she made her operatic debut as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto, which was held in Varna State Opera. Among her roles are W. A. Mozart’s Der Schauspiel Direktor and concert versions of Verdi’s La traviata, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’Amore and Don Pasquale, Delibes’ Lakme, Gounod’s Faust, and Moniuszko’s Flis. In the fall of 2006, she sang the role of Donna Anna in IU’s Don Giovanni and in 2007, the role of Mimi in La bohème. In addition, Ruszała has performed oratorios and masses with the National Orchestra of Polish Radio and with many other Polish Philharmonics. She completed her Performer Diploma studying with Teresa Kubiak and is currently continuing her studies with Carol Vaness.
Soprano Jung Nan Yoon was born in South Korea and received her Bachelor of Arts at Korea National University. Her operatic 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” in 2007, the Granprix in the Um Jung Haeng Voice Competition, first prize in the Nan pa Music Competition, and first prize in the Ho nam Art Competition. At IU, Yoon has performed the title role of Madama Butterfly and Mimi in La bohème. She is in the second year of her Performer Diploma and studies with Costanza Cuccaro. 
Bass-baritone Nathan Brown has performed many roles with IU Opera including Count Ceprano in Rigoletto, Lieutenant Breedley in the collegiate première of William Bolcom’s A Wedding, and Hermann in Les contes d’Hoffmann. Brown recently made his debut with Indianapolis Opera as Sciarrone in their production of Puccini’s Tosca. Brown has won many competitions and has observed or attended master classes with Dawn Upshaw, Ian Bostridge, Martin Katz, and Barbara Honn. In his second year of the master’s program, he studies with Timothy Noble.
Adam Ewing, baritone, is a student of Marietta Simpson, pursuing a Master of Music. Ewing is a native of Hiawatha, KS, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in vocal music education from Northwest Missouri State University. Previous opera roles with the Jacobs School of Music include Elder McLean in Susannah and Schlemil/Spalanzani in Les contes d’Hoffmann. In addition, he premièred the role of Lord Capulet in Act III of Romeo and Juliet, a new musical-drama by Don Freund. Ewing has sung the roles of Colas (Bastien und Bastienne), Mike (Blue Monday), David (A Hand of Bridge), and the Wolf/Woodsman (Little Red Riding Hood), as well as Ko-Ko in a concert setting of The Mikado with the Nodaway Chorale. He has also been featured in several composition recitals at Indiana University, as well as the 2008 Celebrations of Spirituals concert. Ewing is a current member of S-NATS and an alumnus of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a national men’s music fraternity.
Soprano Suna Avci is from Darien, IL, and is in the second year of her master’s degree at Indiana University. On campus, she has performed the role of Nuria in the collegiate première of Golijov's Ainadamar and participated in the Liz Upchurch lieder master class series. Recent professional engagements include Josephine in H. M. S. Pinafore (Richmond Symphony Orchestra) and the soprano solos of Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass (Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra/Apollo Chorus) and J. S. Bach's B Minor Mass (Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra). In 2007, Avci received her undergraduate degree at Northwestern University, where she was seen as Madame Lidoine (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Lucy Brown (Threepenny Opera), and Cunegonde (Candide), as well as performing as a soloist in nearly a dozen orchestral works. She has premièred the electronic, chamber, and orchestral works of several young composers both at Northwestern and Indiana Universities, and has been the recipient of awards from the Bel Canto Foundation, the National Association of Teachers of Singing, and the American Friends of Austria. Avci has studied with teachers Mary Ann Hart (Indiana), Theresa Brancaccio (Northwestern), and Ingrid Mueller, as well as coaches Alan Darling, Sherrill Milnes, and Stephen Alltop. She currently studies with Costanza Cuccaro.
A native of Dallas, TX, mezzo-soprano Kendall Zini-Jones is a second-year master's student studying under Carol Vaness. Last season she appeared with IU Opera Theater as Candace in the collegiate première of William Bolcom's A Wedding and as Stella in Les contes d'Hoffmann. Zini-Jones completed her Bachelor of Music at Louisiana State University, where she was seen as La Maestra delle Novizie in Suor Angelica and Sister St. Charles in Dialouges of the Carmelites. She has been featured in several concerts and operas around Europe in countries such as Italy, Austria, and France. Most recently she was seen in Lucca, Italy, as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and Caterina in L'Amico Fritz for Cincinatti College-Conservatory of Music's Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca. 
Ye Chen began to study singing at Hangzhou Normal University in 1993. After graduating in 1995, he attended the Shanghai Conservatory, where he studied under Chen Minzhuang. In 2006, Chen finished a diploma from Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover. He also performed as a guest soloist at Stattstheater Kassel. In 2008, he studied with Andreas Poulimenos at the Jacobs School of Music. Since the beginning of fall 2008, he has studied with Carol Vaness.
Jesse Malgieri, a senior, is a native of Rochester, NY. Malgieri has won the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s Young Artist Vocal Competition and has appeared as a soloist at the Rockefeller Center for the Arts and the Chautauqua Institution. While at the Jacobs School of Music, Malgieri has appeared as a soloist with the University Chorale, Motet Choir, and the Symphonic Choir as the bass soloist in Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht. Malgieri has twice participated in the Charley Creek Vocal Workshop directed by Timothy Noble and was selected to participate in a German Lieder master class with Liz Upchurch at the Jacobs School this spring. Malgieri has appeared with IU Opera Theater as Zio Bonzo in Madama Butterfly, Monterone in Rigoletto, Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, and Keller in She Loves Me. Malgieri is a student of Timothy Noble. 
Tenor Joshua Whitener is a doctoral student at the Indiana Jacobs School of Music. Roles performed while at IU include Camille in The Merry Widow, Josh in the North American premiére of Sandström's Jeppe, Mike in Bolcolm's A View from the Bridge, Lysander in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado, and Dino Corelli (groom) in the collegiate première of Bolcolm's A Wedding. Other roles include Little Bat in Susannah, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, and Edwin in Trial by Jury. Professionally, Whitener has performed with the Missouri Symphony, the Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Central City Opera. Whitener is a student of Costanza Cuccaro.
Jason Wickson, tenor, is a native of Detroit, MI. He earned his Bachelor of Music from Oakland University, where he performed Gonzalve in L’heure Espagnol (Ravel) and Enrico Carouser in Too Many Sopranos (Penhorwood). Recent engagements have been with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (Mozart’s Requiem), Detroit Concert Choir (Carmina burana), 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 Detroit Symphony Orchestra. During the summer of 2008, Wickson was an apprentice with Santa Fe Opera, where he covered the role of Bardolfo in Falstaff (Verdi). During his studies at Indiana University, Wickson has performed the roles of Goro in Madama Butterfly (Puccini), Elder Gleaton in Susannah (Floyd), Rodolfo in La bohème (Puccini), and was the tenor soloist in the Verdi Requiem. He is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.
While attending the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Scott Harrison Hogsed sang Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, and Count Almaviva in Le nozze Di Figaro. He began his professional training with the San Francisco Opera Merola program singing the title role in Don Giovanni for the Western Opera Theater National Tour and covering Guglielmo for the Merola production of Cosi fan tutte. During his five seasons at New York City Opera as a company baritone, he was responsible for singing the roles of Dancairo and Morales in Carmen, Fritz in Die tote Stadt, Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Antonio in Il viaggio a Reims, Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and many more. On the concert stage, Hogsed has appeared under the baton of Robert Spano with the Brooklyn Philharmonic in the title role of Sibelius’ Kullervo, Messiah soloist with Orchestra Atlanta, and the baritone solos in J. S. Bach’s Mass in B Minor and St. John Passion with The Atlanta Bach Choir and the Choral Guild of Atlanta. Hogsed received two Richard F. Gold Career Grants and two Tanglewood Voice Fellowships, and his Equity credits include a tour with the Theater of the Star’s production of Camelot as Lancelot opposite Robert Goulet’s Arthur, and Curly in Oklahoma! with the Broadway Series of Charlotte, starring Rue McClanahan as Aunt Eller.
Born in Seoul, South Korea, Jin Uk Lee graduated with a Bachelor of Music in Voice from KyungPook National University South Korea, where he performed the role of Schaunard in La bohème with faculty members in KyungPook National University. During the last three years, he performed with Park In Soo, the most well-known artist and vocalist in Korea, in the Korea national opera company, which travelled to several cities in South Korea. He has performed several oratorio solos in Korea, including the baritone solo in Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s The Creation. Lee earned first prize in vocal music at a national artistic contest and the second prize in a music contest held by Yungnam University. A Performer Diploma student, Lee studies with Andreas Poulimenos.
Having studied voice in his homeland of Sri Lanka for several years, Asitha Tennekoon is currently a sophomore pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Voice in the studio of Brian Horne. He is a Licentiate of the Trinity College of Music London in Voice and Piano and a Licentiate of the Royal Schools of Music London in Piano. In 2000, he won first place in the vocal category of the All Island Concerto Competition, organized by the Symphony Orchestra of Sri Lanka, and has performed with the orchestra on several occasions. In the U.S. in March 2008, he won first place at the NATS Regional Auditions in the Great Lakes Region for Fourth Year College Men and was awarded the Jessye Norman Award of Promise. This is his operatic debut. 
Quinto Ott is majoring in Musical Theatre and Costume and Fashion Design through the Individualized Major Program. He studies voice with Ray Fellman in the Theatre Department and is looking forward to completing his final year here. At IU, Ott appeared in the world première of The Day Boy and the Night Girl (Cook/Ensemble), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (Lycus), Seussical the Musical (General Schmitz), Pal Joey (Louis), Roméo et Juliette (Le Duc), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Ambrogio), Carmen (Chorus), Dialogues des Carmélites (Chorus), and The Nutcracker (Mother Ginger). At the Tyrolean Opera Program, he performed in Don Giovanni (Leporello), and at the Waldron Arts Center, he appeared in Threepenny Opera (Tiger Brown). He is from Tucson, AZ.
Miroslaw Witkowski, bass, from Nowy Sacz, Poland, received his master's from Music Academy in Łódz, Poland. Witkowski has been a prize winner in numerous competitions, including the National Vocal Song Competition (Cracow, Poland), the Antonin Dvořák Vocal competition, the International Vocal Competition (Romania), 41st Annual National Society of Arts and Letters Voice Competition in Bloomington, the Marcella Sembrich Vocal Competition, sponsored by the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York, where he will return in 2009 to perform a solo recital. He also received the prestigious Young Poland award and scholarship from the Polish Culture Minister for the most promising young Polish artists under the patronage of the president of Poland and the Palm Beach Opera Guild Encouragement Award. Before coming to study at IU, he has sung the bass roles in J. S. Bach's Mass in B Minor and W. A. Mozart's Sollenes de Confessore, in Aix-en Provence Opera Festival in France, and as Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Ariodate in Handel's Xerxes in The Grand Theatre in Łódz. At IU, his roles include the Commendatore (Don Giovanni), Colline (La Bohème), the Bonze (Madama Butterfly), and Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro). In 2003, he was young artist with the Oper-Oder-Spree Festiwal in Beeskow Germany. Witkowski has also completed two seasons as a resident young artist with the Cincinnati Opera Theatre, singing Wagner (Faust) and the Imperial Commissioner (Madama Butterfly). In 2000, he won The Chance of Success, the Polish equivalent of American Idol.
Jessica Feigenbaum, soprano, is currently in the second year of her master’s degree. She is a former student of Paul Kiesgen and currently studies with Carol Vaness. This is Feigenbaum’s ninth production with IU Opera Theater. As an undergraduate at IU, she was a recipient of the Music Merit award and is currently the recipient of a Dean’s Scholarship. Feigenbaum performed several recitals at the Palais Corbelli in Vienna, Austria, in 2007, and has also been a soloist at IU’s “Celebration of Spirituals” concert in 2008. This semester, Feigenbaum will also perform the roles of Donna Elvira, Norina, and Rosette in the graduate opera workshop with Carol Vaness. 
Originally from River Falls, WI, mezzo-soprano Carrie Knudsen Hendrickson holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI. While there, she was involved in many productions, including the role of Prince Orlofsky in Die Fladermaus. Hendrickson has also performed as an alto soloist for the J. S. Bach Magnificat, Handel’s Messiah, and Vivaldi’s Gloria. A six-time finalist at the Wisconsin NATS competition, she has placed four times, including first in the Junior Women and Continuing Senior Women Divisions. La traviata marks her IU Opera Theater debut. She is a master’s student studying with Paul Kiesgen.