Giuseppe Verdi’s
Falstaff

Synopsis

ACT I. Sir John Falstaff, the portly rascal of Windsor, sits in the Garter Inn with his “bad companions” Bardolfo and Pistola. When Dr. Caius enters to accuse the three of abusing his home and robbing him, Falstaff dismisses the charges with mock solemnity. He then upbraids his friends for being unable to pay the bill. Seeking to better his fortunes, Falstaff plans to woo wealthy matrons Alice Ford and Meg Page. He produces love letters to both, but his henchmen decide their ethics forbid them to deliver the notes. Falstaff gives them to a page boy instead and lectures his cronies on honor, as he chases them from the inn.
 
In her garden, Alice and her daughter, Nannetta, talk to Meg and Dame Quickly, soon discovering that Falstaff has sent identical letters. Outraged, they resolve to punish him, then withdraw as Ford arrives with Caius, Fenton, Bardolfo and Pistola, all warning him about Falstaff’s designs. Briefly alone, Nannetta and Fenton steal kisses until the women return, plotting to send Quickly to Falstaff to arrange a rendezvous with Alice. Next Nannetta and Fenton are interrupted by Ford, who also plans to visit Falstaff. As the women reappear, all pledge to take the fat knight down a peg or two.
 
ACT II. At the inn, Falstaff accepts Bardolfo and Pistola’s feigned penitence for their mutiny. Soon Quickly curtseys in to assure the knight that both Alice and Meg return his ardor. Arranging a meeting with Alice, Falstaff rewards Quickly with a pittance and then, alone, preens himself. The next visitor is Ford, disguised as “Master Brook” and pretending an unrequited passion for Alice. Employed to break down the lady’s virtue, Falstaff boasts that he already has set up a tryst and steps out to array himself. Ford, unable to believe his ears, vows to avenge his honor. Regaining his composure when Falstaff returns, he leaves arm in arm with the fat knight.
 
In Ford’s house, Quickly tells Alice and Meg about her visit with the knight at the inn. Nannetta does not share in the fun: her father has promised her to Caius. The women reassure her before hiding, except for Alice, who sits strumming a lute as her fat suitor arrives. Recalling his salad days as a slender page, he is cut short when Quickly announces Meg’s imminent approach. Falstaff leaps behind a screen, and Meg sails in to report that Ford is on his way over in a fury. Quickly confirms this, and while Ford and his men search the house, Falstaff takes refuge amid the dirty linen in a laundry basket. Slipping behind a screen, Nannetta and Fenton attract attention with the sound of their kissing. While Meg and Quickly muffle Falstaff’s cries for air, Ford sneaks up on the screen, knocks it over and pauses briefly to berate the lovers as the chase continues upstairs. Alice orders servants to heave the basket into the Thames then leads her husband to the window to see Falstaff dumped into the muddy river.
 
ACT III. At sunset outside the inn, Falstaff bemoans his misadventure while downing a mug of warm wine. His reflections are halted by Quickly, who insists that Alice still loves him and proves it with a note appointing a midnight rendezvous in Windsor Park. Alice, Ford, Meg, Caius and Fenton sneak in as Falstaff enters the inn with Quickly, who tells him the gory tale of the Black Huntsman’s ghost, often seen in Windsor Park at midnight. Alice and the others take up the story, plotting to frighten Falstaff by dressing up as wood sprites.
 
In moonlit Windsor Forest, Fenton sings of love and receives a monk’s costume for the masquerade; Nannetta is queen of the fairies, Meg a nymph and Quickly a witch. Everyone takes off as Falstaff lumbers in, got up as a huntsman and wearing antlers. Scarcely has he greeted Alice than Meg warns of approaching demons. As the knight cowers, Nannetta calls the forest creatures to their revels. They torment Falstaff until he begs for mercy. When the conspirators unmask, Sir John takes it like a sport. Ford betroths Caius to the queen of the fairies (now Bardolfo in disguise) and unwittingly blesses Nannetta and Fenton. Ford too has been duped, but he can forgive as well, and Falstaff leads the company in declaring the world is but a jest.
 
courtesy of Opera News
 

Cast

Falstaff – Peter Castaldi
Ford – Jason Detwiler
Fenton – Ben Bunsold
Dr. Caius – Andrew Peck
Bardolfo – Dirk Robinson
Pistola – Stephan Kirchgraber
Alice – Leslie Mauldin
Nannetta – Elisabeth Ashantiva
Quickly – Cindy Sadler
Meg – Tiffany Calás
 

Creative Team

Director – David Cox
Conductor – Steve Crawford
Set Design – Keith Hazen-Diehm
Chorus Master – Kelly Kaye
 
 
Peter Castaldi, Baritone

Paris-born baritone Peter Castaldi was raised in Milan and finished his education in New York, where he earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence College, majoring in composition.
Mr. Castaldi’s upcoming operatic engagements include New York City Opera’s tour of Tosca andL’elisir d’amore; and a return with American Opera Theater to sing Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera.
In 2008, Castaldi was principal cover for the title role in Verdi’s Falstaff; sang the title role ofFalstaff for Opera Roanoke; sang the baritone solos for Britten’s War Requiem with Princeton Pro Musica and the Westfield Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of David Wroe; and appeared as featured baritone with the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra in an ‘Evening of Opera in Palm Springs,’ under the direction of Michael Recchiuti. He also sang recitals in Aachen and Hamburg with Ulrich Eisenlohr at the piano, featuring Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.
In 2007, Castaldi was a featured soloist with the NYCO Orchestra in an Opera Gala at Symphony Space; appeared in the title role of Verdi’s Macbeth with Opera Roanoke, under the baton of Steven White; and sang Don Carlo in Verdi’s Ernani with American Opera Theater, under the guidance of Michael Recchiuti. In 2006, Castaldi performed the American premiere of Zandonai’s La farsa amorosa (fall 2006) with Teatro Grattacielo; he sang the title role in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (spring 2006) and Germont from Verdi’s La Traviata (fall 2005), both with Roanoke Opera; and Posa from Verdi’s Don Carlo for the New York Repertory Opera Company. In the spring of 2005, Castaldi debuted as Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore with the New Jersey Opera Theater under the baton of Michael Recchiuti, singing along side Alan Glassman, Eugenie Grunewald and Elizabeth Blanke-Biggs. In September of 2004, he sang the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Opera Roanoke. That year, in March and June, he appeared as Aegisthus in Taneyev’s Agamemnon, touring Poland and finishing the tour with an American premiere performance at Carnegie Hall with Peter Tiboris and the Silesian Philharmonic. In November of 2003, Castaldi appeared at Alice Tully Hall with Teatro Grattacielo in Giordano’s La cena delle beffe.
Other operatic engagements have included Germont from Verdi’s La Traviata and Marcello in Puccini’s La bohèmefor Opera Waco and Opera Northeast; Malatesta in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale; and Dr. Falke in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus with Concert Opera Philadelphia; Mercutio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette; as well as the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Opera Brooklyn.
Castaldi began his operatic career singing over 20 roles for operetta and contemporary opera with such organizations as Magic Circle Opera Repertory Ensemble and Ohio Light Opera from 1989 to 1998. Composers whose work he has performed have included Barber, Holst, Offenbach, Weill, Gilbert and Sullivan, Giannini, Wallach and Rorem.
Castaldi’s concert appearances have included baritone soloist in Britten’s War Requiem and Mandelbaum’s Sea Surface Full of Clouds at Queens College with Jim John conducting, as well as over a dozen appearances at Carnegie Hall as baritone soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Fauré’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, the world premiere of John Rutter’s Mass for the Children, Haydn’sTheresien Mass, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, Mozart’s C Minor Mass, and Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem. Castaldi made his concert debut in Europe in 1997 as baritone soloist in the Brahms’ Requiem with Aldo Ceccato at the baton. In 2005 and 2006, Ceccato invited him back with the Orquesta de Malaga to sing Brahms’ Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Castaldi has also appeared with such orchestras as the Opéra Français of New York, Bergen Philharmonic, I Verdiani di Milano, I Pomeriggi Musicali, Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Brewer Chamber Orchestra, AmorArtis, New England Chamber Ensemble and St. Luke’s Chamber Orchestra. Castaldi also tours regularly as baritone soloist for American Bolero Dance Company performing Zarzuela and Spanish song literature with his wife, the Spanish dancer, Gabriela Granados.
Castaldi’s discography includes leading roles for such labels as Newport Classic, Albany, Vox and Koch for which he has garnered outstanding reviews from Opera News, Opera Digest and Fanfare. His recorded repertoire includes Lukas Foss’ The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, Ned Rorem’s A Childhood Miracle, the Kurt Vonnegut/Edgar Grana Requiem as well as a number of Handel operas and oratorios — among them Tolomeo, Faramondo,Alexander Balus, and Deidamia, Rudolph Palmer conducting. Mr. Castaldi is also featured on a compilation titledThe American Singer with such illustrious colleagues as John Aler, Brenda Harris, John Cheek, Julianne Baird.

Jason Detwiler

With over forty roles to his credit, baritone Jason Detwiler is becoming well-known for his magnetic and energizing stage performances. His voice and acting have been described as “emotionally fervid”,”richly expressive” and “commanding”, as he possesses a diverse repertoire ranging from the comedic Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) andGuglielmo (Cosi fan tutte) to the dramatic Germont (La traviata) andEscamillo (Carmen). Among his most widely acclaimed roles are the title roles of Il barbiere di Siviglia and Eugene Onegin, as well asMalatesta (Don Pasquale), Zurga (Les pêcheurs de perles), and John Proctor (The Crucible). His concert credits include: Bach’s St. John’s Passion, Haydn’s Creation, Mozart’s Requiem, Faure’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Dvorak’s Te Deum, Saint-Säens’ Christmas Oratorio, Mollicone’s Beatitude Mass, Ahabin Bernard Herrmann’s Moby Dick and Einhorn’s Voices of Light.

The 2011-12 season was full of reprises and debuts as Mr. Detwiler returned to Opera Coeur d’Alene as Valentin (Faust), to Opera San Jose for his first Tonio in I pagliacci, to Opera Idaho reprising Melchior(Amahl & the Night Visitors), to Stockton Opera for a double bill of I pagliacci (Tonio) and Gianni Schicchi, to Ensemble Parallèle as St. Plan (Four Saints in Three Acts) and Nick Carraway (The Great Gatsby), and to Opera Santa Barbara as Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro). In his first European appearance, Mr. Detwiler sang theAmbassador in Michael Dellaira’s new opera The Secret Agent, co-produced with L’Opéra-théâtre d’Avignon in Avignon, France. He has recently returned to Seattle’s Sunset Club for a gala concert of The King and I and will reappear with Opera Idaho as Curly in Oklahoma.

The current season shows a number of local appearances in his hometown. With a return to the Boise Philharmonic to take part in their first Picnic at the Pops: the music of Gerschwin, Mr. Detwiler then expands his repertoire with his debut as Ford in Opera Idaho’s firstFalstaff. Next winter, also through Opera Idaho, he will collaborate with Laura Edson, a dance choreographer and former dancer with The Trey McIntyre Project, to bring a unique, semi-staged concert of Schubert’s Winterreise in the intimate Egyptian Theater. In the spring, he’ll return to Stockton Opera reprising Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro.

The baritone has performed nationally with San Diego Opera, Virginia Opera, Syracuse Opera, Sacramento Opera, Spokane Opera, Opéra Louisiane, Shreveport Opera, Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, Opera Coeur d’Alene, Rimrock Opera, Sonoma City Opera, West Bay Opera, Trinity Lyric Opera, Vallejo Symphony Orchestra, the American Philharmonic Sonoma County, the Idaho State-Civic Symphony, the Boise Philharmonic, the Boise Master Chorale, the Masterworks Chorale of San Mateo and the Auburn Symphony. From 2002-2006, he was part of Irene Dalis’ Opera San Jose as a Principal Resident Artist. While there, he sang Dandini (La cenerentola), Falke (Die Fledermaus),Papageno, Valentin, Silvio (I pagliacci), Escamillo, Marcello (La bohème), John Proctor, and the title roles of Mozart’s Don Giovanniand Figaro among others. In 2009-2010, Mr. Detwiler became Opera Idaho’s first Artist-in-Residence, singing lead roles, giving concerts, and leading master classes for the Resident Company. Other major roles include: Yeletsky (Pikovaya Dama), Mr. Gobineau (The Medium),Harlekin (Ariadne auf Naxos), Mr. Webb in Ned Rorem’s Our Town,Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), Renato (Un ballo in maschera), the title roles in Verdi’s Macbeth and Vaughan Williams’ Pilgrim’s Progress, and Billy Bigelow (Carousel).

Benjamin Bunsold

Benjamin Bunsold has sung principle roles and concerts throughout the US and abroad with various opera companies and orchestras. Most recently, he made his Los Angeles, CA debut singing the lead male role of Emil Bergson in the World Premiere of Philip Westin’s Marie’s Orchard with Center Stage Opera and returned to LA as a guest soloist in Center Stage Opera’s Operatic Masterpieces Concert. He will return to LA this summer to perform Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia in his 3rd appearance with Center Stage Opera. Other upcoming engagements for 2012 include Fenton in Falstaff for Opera Idaho and the tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem for the New River Valley Symphony Orchestra at Virginia Tech University.

In recent seasons, he has performed Alfred in Die Fledermaus at Opera Delaware, St Petersburg Opera, and Arbor Opera, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte at Shreveport Opera and St Petersburg Opera, and Beppe in I Pagliacci at Opera Columbus, He was also a featured soloist in Opera Columbus’ Summer Concert Series for the past two summers and sang for former President George W. Bush and his family at Van Cliburn’s Christmas Party honoring the former President.

Other previous roles include Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor for Opera Company of North Carolina, Il Duca in Rigoletto and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with Winter Opera St. Louis, Alfredo in La Traviata with Fremont Opera (CA), and Asheville Lyric Opera, George in Rorem’s Our Town for Opera Idaho, Laurie in Little Women for Opera Delaware and Fort Worth Opera, Gastone in La Traviata for Opera Memphis and for Der Groschen Oper in Germany, and Camille in The Merry Widow and Frederick in Pirates of Penzance for Opera New Jersey.

In other recent seasons Mr. Bunsold sang the roles of Fenton in Falstaff at Fort Worth Opera and Nemorino in L’Elisir d’amore and Il Duca in Rigoletto for Opera in the Heights in Houston, TX. In Mark Adamo’s new opera, Lysistrata, he sang Nico in a concert presented by the composer with the Van Cliburn Foundations’ Cliburn at the Modern series in Fort Worth, Texas.

Mr. Bunsold has been accepted to several prestigious resident artist/apprenticeship programs. In 2005/’06, he participated in the Glimmerglass Opera Young American Apprenticeship Program. The previous year he was engaged by the Utah Festival Opera and from 2004 – 2006 he was a Resident Artist with Fort Worth Opera. In 2007/’08, he worked with Sherrill Milnes at VOICExperience in Tampa, Florida and at Opera Tampa.

An active concert soloist, Mr. Bunsold has performed with the Wichita Falls Symphony Orchestra, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia da Camera, the Kalamazoo Orchestra, and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra. He has been a featured soloist in such works as Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation and Lord Nelson Mass, Schubert’s Mass in e flat minor, Vivaldi’s Gloria, the tenor soloist in Carmina Burana at the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra. and numerous recitals and concerts. Mr. Bunsold has received prizes from The Harold Haugh Vocal Competition, the Anna Sosenko Artist Assist Trust, the Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Competition, NATS regional and state vocal competitions, and the Opera Columbus International Vocal Competition.

Benjamin is a native of Marysville, Ohio. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Ohio Wesleyan University and earned a Master of Music degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Andrew Peck

A native Idahoan, Andrew Peck completed a Bachelor of Arts Degree specializing in Voice Performance at Brigham Young University-Idaho. He then moved to Texas to complete a Master’s Degree in Voice Performance at the University of Houston, where he was the recipient of the Hirsch scholarship endowment and the John M. Druary endowment.
In addition to teaching privately for over ten years, Andrew has taught voice at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. He is currently an Adjunct Professor of Voice at Brigham Young University-Idaho. He has performed with Idaho Falls Opera, as a soloist with the Idaho Falls Symphony, The Bach Society, Opera Leggera, as an Associate Chorister with Houston Grand Opera, and as a Festival Artist with Utah Festival Opera. Most recently he appeared as Enoch Snow in Opera Idaho’s production of Carousel in Concert; performed with Opera Idaho’s outreach program, and has been named Artist-in-Residence for the company’s 2011-12 & 2012-13 seasons.

Dirk Robinson

Making his professional singing debut in Europe in 2004, Dirk sang three seasons with the acclaimed CHORUS MUSICUS KÖLN und DAS NEUE ORCHESTER of Cologne, Germany in both concert and opera productions throughout Europe including the Schwetzinger Festspiele, and the World Beethoven Festival/Bilbao. He sang frequently throughout The Netherlands including the Oude Muziek Festival/Utrecht and at Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 2007, Dirk moved to Los Angeles to study voice with operatic tenor Gualtiero Negrini. In 2012 Dirk relocated to Boise, joining Opera Idaho as a Resident Company member and also taking a position as part-time CFO for a great advertising agency. This is Dirk’s third appearance with Opera Idaho. He is looking forward to exploring all that Idaho has to offer outdoors on bike and foot.

Stephan Kirchgraber

Bass Stephan Kirchgraber began his career at the Florida Grand Opera after studies at the University of Illinois, and in Munich, Germany. He made his professional debut with the south Florida company in La Gioconda, and has returned there for principal roles in Macbeth,Norma, Turandot, and the American premiere of the final version of Franchetti’s Cristoforo Colombo.
In recent seasons, Mr. Kirchgraber has sung with Opera de Puerto Rico in productions ofAida and Gianni Schicchi, appeared in concert for Culturarte de Puerto Rico in Andrea Chenierstarring Ben Heppner, a performance which has been released on DVD, and has performed with Opera Tampa in productions ofIl Trovatore, La Boheme, La Fanciulla del West and Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He joined the Todi Music Fest USA for its inaugural North American season as Ramphis in Aida, and returned for Manon Lescaut.
Mr. Kirchgraber has toured frequently with the New York City Opera National Company, visiting over 70 cities throughout the United States as Colline in La Boheme, and in two different productions of La Traviata, once as Baron Douphol, and once as Dr. Grenville.
He created roles in the world premieres of The Woodlanders by Stephen Paulus and Joruri by Minoru Miki for Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Mr. Kirchgraber later traveled to Tokyo for Joruri’s Japanese premiere at the Nissei Theatre, a performance that has been released on videodisc.
Mr. Kirchgraber made his European operatic debut in Die Meistersinger at the Festival dei due Mondi in Spoleto, Italy, and has also appeared at the Opernhaus Zurich as the Nazarener in Salome.
For the Connecticut Opera, Mr. Kirchgraber has appeared in Aida, Il Trovatore,Salome, Die Zauberflöte, Carmen and Il Tabarro. He has sung with the Utah Opera in productions of La Fanciulla del West, Salome, Un Ballo in Mascheraand Otello.
Mr. Kirchgraber has been seen in critically acclaimed performances as all the Villains in Les Contes D’Hoffmann, and Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, with OperaDELAWARE, as Wurm in Luisa Miller for the Sarasota Opera, and in productions of La Fanciulla del West and Street Scene for the Central City Opera.
Mr. Kirchgraber is the 1998 recipient of the Robert M. Lauch Memorial Grant presented by the Wagner Society of New York, under whose auspices he made his New York recital debut in May 1998.
Other North American appearances include performances with the Augusta, Baltimore, New Orleans, Orlando, Palm Beach and Pittsburgh opera companies.

Leslie Mauldin

Leslie Mauldin has performed dynamically and to critical acclaim in many venues, from touring as soprano soloist with the Israeli Philharmonic to a one woman show in Spain, where she attended conservatory. Her work comprises many diverse leading opera and oratorio roles for various companies around the US and abroad, and has garnered rave reviews-
“Ms. Mauldin’s clear soprano and striking physical presence made her seem somehow 4-dimensional to those in the audience; her voice stirred up all manner of feelings – including a nostalgia that hit us right in the solar plexus”
The Idaho Statesman
“Mauldin looks smashing and sings beautifully, and her suicide leap from the parapet of Castel San Angelo was breathtaking.”
Spokesman Review, “Tosca”
“Mauldin combines the vocal tenderness and verve of Verdi’s consumptive courtesan and a youthful beauty with an experienced actress’s ability to make the audience feel Violetta’s great range of emotions…Mauldin sang beautifully!”
Spokane Opera, Violetta, “La Traviata”

“…performed the title role with stunning clarity of voice, and brought fun-loving insouciance to the character.”
– L.A. Times, “The Merry Widow”
Some of the roles Ms. Mauldin has performed include the title role in “Tosca,” “Violetta” (La Traviata), “Musetta” (La Boheme), “Micaela” (Carmen), “Hanna Glavari” (The Merry Widow), “Donna Anna” (Don Giovanni), “Clorinda” (La Cenerentola), “Pamina” and “First Lady” (Magic Flute) to name a few. Her concert/oratorio work as a soprano soloist comprises over a dozen varied works including Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream performed at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, with Claire Bloom narrating, and locally, a guest artist concert with the Idaho Falls Symphony. Ms. Mauldin’s versatile performance repertoire also includes numerous musical and theatre roles including the role of Lilli Vanessi “Kate” (Kiss Me Kate), Sharon Graham (Master Class), Kathie (The Student Prince), Eurydice (Orpheus in the Underworld), Louise (The Sound of Music), Sarah Brown (Guys and Dolls), and a partially staged version of the role of Nellie Forbush (South Pacific.) Locally Ms. Mauldin most recently performed as soprano soloist in Mahler’s 2nd Symphony with the Boise Philharmonic. Upcoming performances include the annual Sun Valley Classical Christmas Concert at the Sun Valley Opera House.
Stage and musical direction credits include Suor Angelica, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, La Boheme, The Mikado, Opera Idaho sings Christmas, and Opera Under the Stars; choreography credits include The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance. A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Mauldin has also worked in film and television, and is a member in good standing of Screen Actor’s Guild. A dedicated advocate for arts and education, she also writes shortened operas for outreach production, teaches for and stage directs a summer outreach camp for teens and adults, and serves on the Meridian, Idaho Arts Commission.

Elisabeth Ashantiva

Soprano Elizabeth Ashantiva has sung many opera roles in the Northwest and Midwest, and has completed her Master of Music in Vocal Performance at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. She is a resident company member of Opera Idaho, and has sung the roles of Frasquita in Carmen, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Peep-Bo in The Mikado. Appearing with the Boise Baroque Orchestra, Ashantiva was featured in J. S. Bach’s Wedding Cantata and Coffee Cantata, Handel’s Judas Maccabaeus, and Bach’s Mass in B Minor. At Indiana University, she sang the title role in Carlyle Floyd’s Susannah and played Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. Her next opera performance will be Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff with Opera Idaho in October 2012.

Cindy Sadler

Heralded for her rich, satiny voice as much as her impeccable characterizations, mezzo-soprano Cindy Sadler is a force to be reckoned with on the operatic scene. Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times called her “wonderful” as Baba the Turk where she “made every phrase count”, and the press raved about her standout performance in which she “surpassed expectations” (NJ Star-Ledger), “made you forget she was a bearded lady … you loved her from the first note” (Philadelphia Inquirer), and “took this role to the bank, to several financial institutions, and then to various jewelers” (PrincetonPacket).
Most recently, Ms. Sadler has received acclaim for her “commanding and dramatic” company debut as The Old Baroness in Sarasota Opera’s Vanessa, with special praise for her “rich, low, penetrating mezzo”. As Gertrude in Romeo & Juliette in her company debut at Florida Grand Opera, she was hailed as “terrific and touching, with a powerful voice”, and for her “rich and distinctive voice” and “charming” acting. As Zita in Gianni Schicchi at the Princeton Festival, she “not only gave us her excellent singing voice but also turned in a comic acting performance worthy of the best of Max Sennett.” (Out in Jersey Magazine). In her performance as Katisha in Syracuse Opera’s production of The Mikado, she “forged the perfect marriage of acting and vocal expression”; and as the Principessa in San Antonio Opera’s Suor Angelica, she “commanded the stage”. Other critically acclaimed recent engagements her company debut as Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro with Kentucky Opera; Gertrude in Romeo et Juliette with San Antonio Opera; company debuts as the Marquise of Berkenfield inLa fille du regiment with Opera Idaho and the Sugar Creek Festival, and covers of Stephanie Blythe as Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera andKatisha in The Mikado at the Lyric Opera of Chicago
Upcoming appearances include return engagements with with Opera Idaho as Dame Quickly in Falstaff, and with Austin Lyric Opera as Martha in Faust, as well as her debut with the San Antonio Symphony as the mezzo soloist in Handel’s Messiah.
Ms. Sadler’s operatic repertoire embraces a wide range of comedic and dramatic roles, including Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress, Dame Quickly in Falstaff , the Marquise of Berkenfiled (La fille du regiment), Mrs. Patrick de Rocher (Dead Man Walking), Amneris (Aida), The Old Prioress (Les dialogues des Carmélites), Augusta Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe), Fricka (Die Walküre), Erda (Das Rheingold and Siegfried), Tituba (The Crucible), and Berta (The Barber of Seville). She has performed in venues such as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Pacific, Sarasota Opera, Opera Boston, Arizona Opera, Syracuse Opera, Indianapolis Opera, the Hollywood Bowl, Austin Lyric Opera, Fort Worth Opera, the Austin Symphony, Central City Opera, and Chamber Opera Chicago.
Ms. Sadler’s professional debut occurred in 1991 concerts at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She went on to win international acclaim for her performances in Arizona Opera’s Ring Cycles in 1996 and 1998, where as the only cast member to sing in all four operas she “knocked ‘em dead” (Kenneth LeFave, Opera News)” with her “opulent mezzo” (Dorothy Stowe, Deseret News) and her dramatic presence: “with Cindy Sadler, a rich-voiced, pungent Earth Goddess, true frisson was achieved” (American Record Guide).
An accomplished concert artist and recitalist, Ms. Sadler counts among her repertoire the Beethoven 9th with the Youngstown Symphony, the Verdi Requiem with the Brazos Valley Symphony and many other venues, Elijah with the Choral Arts Society of Austin, TX, Handel’s Messiah with the Austin, San Antonio, and Laredo Symphonies as well as many other venues, the MozartCoronation Mass with the Laredo Symphony, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis and the Bruckner Mass in F Minor with the Austin Civic Chorus, and the Duruflé and Mozart Requiems and the Elgar Sea Pictures with the St. Edward’s University Orchestra.
Ms. Sadler is a graduate of the University of Texas, where she studied with veteran Metropolitan Opera star Mignon Dunn. She currently studies with Gregory Lamar. She resides in Austin with her husband, Eric, and their two opera-hating Dachshunds, Samson and Dalila.

Tiffany Calás

A Boise native, mezzo-soprano Tiffany Calás received her Bachelor of Music Degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Brigham Young University. She also studied at The Manhattan School of Music, where she was the Assistant Director of the Preparatory Division.
Tiffany is a member of Opera Idaho’s Resident Company and has been a principal artist, as well as a soloist for many of their concerts and season extras. During the past three seasons, she reprised the role of The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Some of her lead roles include Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Mercedes (Carmen), Katisha (The Mikado), a female lead in Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Alisa (Lucia di Lammermoor), Mrs. Gibbs (Our Town), Nettie Fowler (Carousel), Mama McCourt (The Ballad of Baby Doe), and Ado Annie Carnes in last summer’s Oklahoma! in Concert. She has also been in Tosca, The Merry Widow, Nosferatu, and La Traviata. Directing the choruses for Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Bohème, and L’elisir d’amore were highlights with Opera Idaho. Other performances include Le Nozze di Figaro, Romeo et Juliette, Les contes d’Hoffmann, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, the title role in Menotti’s The Medium, and Dido in Dido and Aeneas. Ms. Calás is a frequent concert soloist and has sung several cantatas and oratorios of Bach, Handel, Mozart, Vivaldi and Haydn. She also enjoys Music Theater and has been a lead in numerous productions.
Tiffany is a regular soloist for many local organizations, community events, and her church. She has toured throughout the United States and abroad. An educator, as well, she was the Director of Opera Idaho’s three Children’s Choruses and Outreach Program from 2005 – 2009 and directed and performed in the ’10 and ’11 Outreach tours. Ms. Calás is Co-Founder and Co-Director of MDT Workshop, a music theater program for youth, and is on the Adjunct Voice Faculty at Boise State University. She maintains a private voice studio in Meridian, where she lives with her extremely supportive husband, Luis, and her three handsome boys, Ian, Luke and Gabe. In addition to her musical world, Tiffany began the PharmD program at Idaho State University’s School of Pharmacy this fall.

Victoria Arriero, Soprano

Victoria Arriero is a classically trained coloratura soprano from Weiser, Idaho. She has been training for four years under the tutelage of DeNice Jensen and has performed throughout the Treasure Valley. Victoria loves many genres of music, and her repertoire reflects that devotion. She also loves to learn new and challenging pieces, from English love songs to operettas in many different languages. Her stage roles have included Maria in Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story, Mable in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, and the chorus of Donizetti’s La Fille du Règiment.

Jennifer Burke, Soprano

Jennifer Burke grew up in Columbus, Ohio; Memphis, Tennessee; Upper Wickham, England; and Martha, Kentucky. She studied opera performance and theatre at Capital University (Bexley, Ohio) and Ohio State. She also studied jazz vocals with Steelman’s Jazz Workshop. She has been a student of Dr. Lynn Berg since moving to Boise.
In Ohio, Ms. Burke has performed as a member of the Columbus Symphony Choir, the Mozart Chorale, Actors Summer Theatre, the German Village Reader’s Theatre, and “Baroque and Blue” with Sid Omasta.
Since moving to Boise, she has performed in many (too many to count!) productions with Opera Idaho starting in 1993 and with the Boise Philharmonic Master Chorale, the Four Shillings, and Les Bois Chamber Singers, as a recitalist and at the “Burns Dinners” for the Caledonian Society. Ms. Burke performs as a soloist at Cathedral of the Rockies where she sings with Chancel Choir and also plays flute in the Cathedral Orchestra. Recently, Ms. Burke has been a participant in Opera Idaho’s Art Song Recital Series and the Cathedral of the Rockies Vocal Showcase opening concert of a year-long series titled Musical Genres.
Ms. Burke’s “day job” is that of PACU RN at St. Luke’s in Boise.

Melody English, Soprano

Melody English is in her final year at Boise State University where she studies Vocal Performance under the instruction of Dr. Laura Rushing-Raynes. She actively participates with The BSU Meistersingers and the Opera Theatre program. This will be Melody’s seventh performance with Opera Idaho. She looks forward to Young Artist Programs and auditions to come!

Yvonne McCoy, Soprano

Yvonne McCoy has been smitten by opera since, as a child, she saw her first performance of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors. She feels strongly that there is nothing that beats a live performance, so she has seen live productions of opera at every chance all over the world and was a long-time subscriber to L’Opéra de Montréal, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Washington National Opera.
Ms. McCoy has sung with the Howard University Choir and the National Cathedral Choir. Currently, she sings with the Boise Philharmonic Master Chorale and Opera Idaho’s Resident Company. Last year she returned to her first opera love and sang in Opera Idaho’s production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.

Michiko Miller, Soprano

A soprano, once debuting as Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata, Michiko Miller is a resident of Boise, Idaho, where she lives with her husband and three boys. While a Piano Performance major in Japan, she was struck by the beauty of opera and later added a voice minor to her studies. She was tutored under the late Dr. Kiriyama and received the best Newcomer Award for her performance of Devotion by Richard Strauss. Having been propelled into the world of music, she continued performing throughout Nagasaki, Japan, for 15 years in addition to teaching in the public schools. She has performed songs by Shubert and Schumann and also Japanese songs. She also performs sacred Christian music. Other performances include musicals such as Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music and Les Misérables and the Mozart opera The Marriage of Figaro. After marrying an American and moving to the States, she continued her studies at BSU, graduating magna cum laude in Music Performance under Dr. Del Parkinson. She has also studied voice under Dr. Laura Rushing-Raynes and Dr. Christopher Raynes. She performed in Puccini’s La bohème and Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe. Verdi’s Falstaff is her third opera performance in the USA.

Shauna C. Robinson, Soprano

Ms. Robinson is excited to be participating in her first production with Opera Idaho. During her studies at Vanderbilt University, some of Ms. Robinson’s successes included a principal role as Rose in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene with the Vanderbilt Opera Theatre, the 2009 Blair School of Music concerto competition winner, solo work with the Blair Symphonic Choir, and improvisational acting with the Vanderbilt Opera Theatre workshop. After graduating with her Bachelor of Music Degree, Ms. Robinson taught private voice and piano lessons to students of varying ages and levels with StudioK Music, LLC, and has recently opened her own private studio in the Boise area. Ms. Robinson also enjoys sharing her love of music through teaching orchestra at the Ambrose School.

Krista Nielsen, Mezzo

Krista Nielsen is a recent graduate from Boise State University earning a Bachelor Degree in Music Performance. She was awarded the President’s Music Scholarship Award to further her education. While studying at Boise State, she performed in various productions including Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Boise State Opera Theater’s Night at the Opera, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe. This is her first production with Opera Idaho, and she looks forward to a rewarding musical career.

David Christensen, Tenor

David is an attorney and works for the Public Defender in Canyon County. He has been in the chorus for the following Opera Idaho productions: The Pirates of Penzance, Madama Butterfly, Our Town, Cinderella, Faust, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Elixir of Love.

Gregory McKinnon, Tenor

Greg MacKinnon has been involved in music ever since grade school. He says his first informal training in voice came in 3rd grade after falling in love with Phantom of the Opera and singing along almost every day with a recording his mother gave him. He continued throughout junior high and high school and sang in the audition choirs of Mad Jazz (East Junior High), Simply Jazz, and Encore (Timberline). He joined the Resident Company in 2012 at the prompting of his voice teacher Bonnie Salewski and is excited to be a part of Opera Idaho’s production of Verdi’s Falstaff.

Robert Sandberg, Tenor

Robert Sandberg has performed with Opera Idaho in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, Puccini’s La bohème, and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! He has always loved singing and has trained with Norman DeVol of the San Francisco Opera, Tara Victoria Smith, and Andy Maddox. Mr. Sandberg’s dramatic personality feels at home on the stage, and he’s happy to be performing again with the opera.

Wally Tuck, Tenor

Wally Tuck was asked to try out for Opera Idaho by the Chorus Master Dale Ball following a stage production at Promised Valley Playhouse. He debuted with Opera Idaho in the 1997-1998 productions of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and Bizet’s Carmen. Since then he has sung tenor in several productions, including Gounod’s Faust, Rossini’s La Cenerentola and Il barbiere di Siviglia, Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel and Oklahoma, and Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.

Victor Castillo, Baritone

Victor Castillo is a native of southeast Idaho. He became one of the youngest members of Utah Festival Opera Company (UFOC)’s Young Artist Program in 1997, singing in the chorus of both the grand and light operas after graduating from Preston High School. At Utah State University (USU), Victor was involved with USU Opera, as well as with USU’s Main Stage Theatre, performing roles such as Filch in Three Penny Opera, Toby in The Medium, and the Father/Voice Keeper in the children’s show Bocon. Other shows included The Royal Family, Romeo and Juliet, Hansel and Gretel, A Little Night Music, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Help, Help the Globlinks. During this time, Victor entered the Cache Valley School of Ballet and principled with Cache Valley Civic Ballet (CVCB). Dancing roles included Step Mother in Cinderella, Demetrius in Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Van Helsing in Dracula. After several summer seasons with UFOC, including an amazing 2003 season as a featured artist in Madame Butterfly, and Dorthy Danner’s staging of Fiddler on the Roof. Victor moved to the east coast where he began working as a singer and dancer at Walt Disney World Resorts. He could be found in most of the parades and Disney’s The Lion King show in Animal Kingdom.
Leaving the hot south for the cold of Brunswick, Maine, Victor found a new home working with Maine State Music Theatre both onstage and behind it. He performed the role of himself in Who Killed Chuck Abbot. Leaving Maine to work in Boston, Massachusetts, he continued singing and dancing with the Boston Men’s Chorus, singing the 25th Anniversary Concert with Linda Eder, and as a soloist for the commissioned piece Robert Ward’s A Walt Whitman Oratorio in Boston’s Symphony Hall. He returned to Utah to dance the Role of Drosselmeyer in Nutcracker and Bottom in Midsummer Night’s Dream with CVCB and then reprised the role of Drosselmeyer in Northern Plains Ballet’s Nutcracker in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Victor made his Boise debut with Opera Idaho’s concert version of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific. He has also sung in the chorus for productions of Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and La bohème, and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma. He was also a dandy in the Opera Idaho production of Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe and worked with Knock Em’ Dead Theatre in their production of Bye, Bye Birdie.

Michal Jarolimek, Baritone

Michal Jarolimek grew up in Rupert, Idaho, and holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance and Music Theory from the College of Idaho and an M.A. in Vocal Performance from the University of Arizona. Favorite roles performed include Tevye in Bock, Harnick & Stein’s Fiddler on the Roof, Duke of Plaza Toro in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Gondoliers, and Bridegroom in Stravinsky’s Les Noces. Mr. Jarolimek enjoys ensemble singing and is a member of Boise’s Critical Mass vocal ensemble and Opera Idaho’s Resident Company. Recently, Mr. Jarolimek appeared as Frank in Opera Idaho’s production of Ned Rorem’s Our Town and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel. He currently works at Dunkley Music in Boise as the Music Manager.

Fernando Menéndez, Baritone

Born in Guatemala, Fernando Menéndez began studying voice there as a student of Dr. Angélica Rosa Sepúlveda. After moving to Idaho, his love for the art form led him to continue his training and has studied with Betany Coffland and Jason and Michele Detwiler. Since August 2009, Mr. Menéndez has performed with the Opera Idaho chorus in Gounod’s Faust; Rossini’s La Cenerentola; Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors; Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific and Oklahoma; Rorem’s Our Town; Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and La bohème; Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment; Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance; and Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe.