Puccini’s
La bohème
Friday, February 17, 7:30pm
Sunday, February 19, 2:30pm
The Egyptian Theatre
to purchase tickets to La bohème.
Previews, led by Executive Director Mark Junkert, will precede all performances of this opera one hour before curtain; these previews will be given at The Egyptian Theatre. No registration is required.
Synopsis
The story is set in Paris in the period around 1830. It essentially focuses on the love between the seamstress called Mimì and the poet Rodolfo. They almost immediately fall in love with each other, but Rodolfo later wants to leave Mimì because of her flirtatious behavior. However, Mimì also happens to be mortally ill, and Rodolfo also feels guilt, since their life together likely had worsened her health even further. They reunite for a brief moment at the end before Mimì dies.
Act 1: In the four bohemians’ garret
Marcello is painting while Rodolfo gazes out of the window. In order to keep warm, they burn the manuscript of Rodolfo’s drama. Colline, the philosopher, enters shivering and disgruntled at not having been able to pawn some books. Schaunard, the musician of the group, arrives with food, firewood, wine, cigars, and money, and he explains the source of his riches, a job with an eccentric English gentleman. The others hardly listen to his tale as they fall ravenously upon the food. Schaunard interrupts them by whisking the meal away and declaring that they will all celebrate his good fortune by dining at Cafe Momus instead.
While they drink, Benoît, the landlord, arrives to collect the rent. They flatter him and ply him with wine. In his drunkenness, he recites his amorous adventures, but when he also declares he is married, they thrust him from the room —without the rent payment— in comic moral indignation. The rent money is divided for their carousal in the Quartier Latin.
The other Bohemians go out, but Rodolfo remains alone for a moment in order to finish an article he is writing, promising to join his friends soon. There is a knock at the door, and Mimì, a seamstress who lives in another room in the building, enters. Her candle has blown out, and she has no matches; she asks Rodolfo to light it. She thanks him, but returns a few seconds later, saying she has lost her key. Both candles are extinguished; the pair stumble in the dark. Rodolfo, eager to spend time with Mimì, finds the key and pockets it, feigning innocence. In two arias (Rodolfo’s Che gelida manina – “What a cold little hand” and Mimì’s Sì, mi chiamano Mimì – “Yes, they call me Mimì”), they tell each other about their different backgrounds. Impatiently, the waiting friends call Rodolfo, but, while he suggests remaining at home with Mimì, she decides to accompany him. As they leave, they sing of their newfound love (duet, Rodolfo and Mimì: O soave fanciulla – “Oh gentle maiden”).
Act 2: Quartier Latin
A great crowd, along with children, has gathered with street sellers announcing their wares (chorus: Aranci, datteri! Caldi i marroni! – “Oranges, dates! Hot chestnuts!”). The friends appear, flushed with gaiety; Rodolfo buys Mimì a bonnet from a vendor. Parisians gossip with friends and bargain with the vendors; the children of the streets clamor to see the wares of Parpignol, the toy seller. The friends enter the Cafe Momus.
As the men and Mimì dine at the cafe, Musetta, formerly Marcello’s sweetheart, arrives with her rich (and aging) government minister admirer, Alcindoro, to whom she speaks as she might to a lapdog. It is clear she has tired of him. To the delight of the Parisians and the embarrassment of her patron, she sings a risqué song (Musetta’s waltz:Quando me’n vo’ – “When I go along”), hoping to reclaim Marcello’s attention. Soon Marcello is burning with jealousy. To be rid of Alcindoro for a bit, Musetta pretends to be suffering from a tight shoe and sends him with it to the shoemaker to be fixed. During the melee that follows, Musetta and Marcello fall into each other’s arms and reconcile.
The friends are presented with the bill and to their consternation find that Schaunard’s money is not enough to pay it. The sly Musetta has the entire bill charged to Alcindoro. The sound of approaching soldiers is heard, and, picking up Musetta, Marcello and Colline carry her out on their shoulders amid the applause of the spectators. When all have gone, Alcindoro arrives with the repaired shoe seeking Musetta. The waiter hands him the bill, and, horror-stricken at the charge, Alcindoro sinks into a chair.
Act 3: At the toll gate
Peddlers pass through the barriers and enter the city. Amongst them is Mimì, coughing violently. She tries to find Marcello, who lives in a little tavern nearby where he paints signs for the innkeeper. She tells him of her hard life with Rodolfo, who has abandoned her that night (O buon Marcello, aiuto! – “Oh, good Marcello, help me!”). Marcello tells her that Rodolfo is asleep inside, but he wakes up and comes out looking for Marcello. Mimì hides and overhears Rodolfo first telling Marcello that he left Mimì because of her coquettishness, but finally confessing that he fears she is slowly being consumed by a deadly illness (most likely tuberculosis, known by the catchall name “consumption” in the nineteenth century). Rodolfo, in his poverty, can do little to help Mimì and hopes that his pretended unkindness will inspire her to seek another, wealthier suitor (Marcello, finalmente – “Marcello, finally”). Out of kindness towards Mimì, Marcello tries to silence him, but she has already heard all. Her coughing reveals her presence, and Rodolfo and Mimì sing of their lost love. They make plans to separate amicably (Mimì: Donde lieta uscì– “From here she happily left”), but their love for one another is too strong. As a compromise, they agree to remain together until the spring, when the world is coming to life again and no one feels truly alone. Meanwhile, Marcello has joined Musetta, and the couple quarrel fiercely: an antithetical counterpoint to the other pair’s reconciliation (quartet: Mimì, Rodolfo, Musetta, Marcello: Addio dolce svegliare alla mattina! – “Goodbye, sweet awakening in the morning!”).
Act 4: Back in the garret
Marcello and Rodolfo are seemingly at work, though they are primarily bemoaning the loss of their respective loves (duet: O Mimì, tu più non torni– “O Mimì, will you not return?”). Schaunard and Colline arrive with a very frugal dinner and all parody eating a plentiful banquet, dance together, and sing. Musetta arrives with news: Mimì, who took up with a wealthy viscount after leaving Rodolfo in the spring, has left her patron. Musetta has found her wandering the streets, severely weakened by her illness, and has brought her back to the garret. Mimì, haggard and pale, is assisted into a chair. Musetta and Marcello leave to sell Musetta’s earrings in order to buy medicine, and Colline leaves to pawn his overcoat (Vecchia zimarra – “Old coat”). Schaunard, urged by Colline, quietly departs to give Mimì and Rodolfo time together. Left alone, they recall their past happiness (duet, Mimì and Rodolfo: Sono andati? – “Have they gone?”). They relive their first meeting —the candles, the lost key— and, to Mimì’s delight, Rodolfo presents her with the pink bonnet he bought her, which he has kept as a souvenir of their love. The others return, with a gift of a muff to warm Mimì’s hands and some medicine. They tell Rodolfo that a doctor has been summoned, but Mimì lapses into unconsciousness. As Musetta prays, Mimì dies. Schaunard discovers Mimì lifeless. Rodolfo cries Mimì’s name in anguish, and weeps helplessly.
Cast
Rodolfo – Rolando Sanz
Mimì – Eleni Calenos
Marcello – Christopher Clayton
Musetta – Leslie Mauldin
Schaunard – Austin Kness
Colline – Justin Hopkins
Benoît – Brett Hamilton
Alcindoro – Brian Trunk
Parpignol – Andrew Peck
A customs Sergeant – Michal Jarolimek
Creative Team
Director – Daniel Helfgot
Conductor – Steve Crawford
Chorus Master – Kelly Kaye
Accompanist – Dallas K. Heaton
Chorus
Sopranos
Jennifer Burke
Merri Carr
Darcee Cuillard
Michiko Miller
Rachael Montoya
Kristine Nunes
Stephanie Santos
Mezzos
Crystal Christensen
Tiffany Hernandez
Sharon Hubler
Vicke Lee
Coralee Sharp
Tenors
Tim Judy
Robert Sandberg
Basses
Willis Carr
Victor Castillo
Michal Jarolimek
Fernando Menéndez
Adrian San Miguel
Bob Wallace
Rolando Sanz [Rodolfo], Tenor
Rolando Sanz is quickly gaining recognition for his “sensitive” and “luminous” portrayals of the romantic, lyric tenor repertoire. While he specializes in such standard roles as Rodolfo, Tamino, Nemorino, Alfredo, Pinkerton and the Duca di Mantua, Rolando has also debuted many opera premieres including: Peter Doyle in Miss Lonelyhearts and covering Stiva in Anna Karenina. Most recently, he made his Carnegie Hall debut singing the role of Kostik in the world premiere of Prokofiev’s lost opera Dalëkie Morja (Distant Seas) for which Opera News reported “Rolando Sanz unfurled a warm, strong, highly promising tenor as would-be ocean explorer Kostik.”
In the 2008-2009 season, Rolando debuted with Palm Beach Opera as Rodolfo in La bohème and Flavio in Norma, as well as covering Duca di Mantua in Rigoletto. Recent engagements include debuts with Syracuse Opera as Ottavio in Don Giovanni and Baltimore Concert Opera in A Flight of Verdi as well as a debut at The Music Center at Strathmore performing the Tenor Soloist in Les Noces. Upcoming engagements include debuts with Baltimore Opera, Annapolis Opera and Opera Costa Rica. Mr. Sanz will also return to Carnegie Hall to debut a world premiere song cycle by renowned composer Ezra Laderman and former US poet-laureate Robert Pinsky.
The 2007-2008 season included a debut with Opera Idaho as Nemorino in L’elisir d’Amore and a return to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to sing Nathaniel in The Tales of Hoffmann under Stephen Lord as well as to cover Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly. He was also a finalist for the Ryan Opera Center at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Other previous engagements include Alfredo in La traviata, conducted by Julius Rudel and L’Aumônier in Dialogues des Carmélites under the baton of James Conlon with the Aspen Music Festival. In 2005, Rolando was a resident artist at the Music Academy of the West under the tutelage of Marilyn Horne and Warren Jones. He also made his hometown of Washington, DC debut as Le Prince Charmant in Summer Opera Theatre Company’s production of Massenet’s Cendrillon.
Mr. Sanz has also distinguished himself as a gifted concert performer and recitalist. He recently sang his first Beethoven Ninth Symphony with the American Youth Symphony in Los Angeles and Handel’s Messiah with the New Jersey Philharmonic. Rolando was also featured as tenor soloist in Stravinsky’s Les Noces with the Yale Camerata as well as at the Aspen Music Fesitval under the baton of Michael Stern. He made his Yale Philharmonia debut as the winner of the Woolsey Hall Concerto Competition, performing Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings. Additional soloist engagements include the Mozart C-minor Mass and Requiem, Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio, Randall Thompson’s Nativity according to St. Luke, Honegger’s Le Roi David and Handel Ode to St. Cecilia, as well as the Washington, DC premiere of the Donizetti Requiem.
Rolando has been a prize winner in numerous international competitions including the Florida Grand Opera/Young Patronesses of the Opera Voice Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Aspen Music Festival Vocal Concerto Competition, and the XIII International Voice Competition in Trujillo, Peru. Most recently, he was awarded First Place at the Florida Suncoast Opera Guild Competition, the Grand Prize as well as the Conductor Award and the Audience Choice Award at the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition, and First Prize at the Marie E. Crump Vocal Competition. He has appeared as a resident artist with the Songfest program, collaborating with such esteemed artists as Martin Katz, Graham Johnson and composer John Harbison. Mr. Sanz also served as assistant conductor for Long Beach Opera’s production of Die Schweigsame Frau under Andreas Mitisek.
Rolando is a graduate of the Yale University School of Music.
Eleni Calenos [Mimì], Soprano
In her young career, Greek soprano Eleni Calenos is capturing critics and audiences’ admiration for the clarity, warmth and beauty of her lyric voice, and her dignified characterizations. Of her 2008 role debut as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, the Houston Press said, “The phenomenon was the Cio-Cio-San of Greek soprano Eleni Calenos, whose nuanced characterization was a true wonder to hear. She sailed through her dramatic arias as if buoyed by the stirring music.”
Additional engagements from the past few seasons include Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly (Mississippi Opera & Opera Idaho), Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Valencienne in The Merry Widow (Utah Festival Opera), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Shreveport Opera), Fiordiligi in Così Fan Tutte (Barbados Music Festival), Giorgetta in Puccini’s Il Tabarro (Harrisburg Opera Association), Liù in Turandot (Boston Concert Opera and Chorus Pro Musica), Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro (Opera in the Heights in Houston, OSH Opera in NY, and a cover at the 2010 Glimmerglass Festival as a member of the Young American Artists Program), Medora in Verdi’s Il Corsaro (Hellenic Music Foundation, NY), as well as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (Martina Arroyo Foundation). Of her performance, The New York Times said, “Eleni Calenos sang with a strong, clear soprano and was persuasive as a suffering yet haughty Donna Elvira.” Other performed roles in her repertoire include Mimi in La Bohème, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and the title role of Suor Angelica.
Upcoming engagements include the roles Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly with Shreveport Opera, the title role in Handel’s oratorio Theodora with the Hudson Valley Singers and the New York Metamorphoses Orchestra, and Hanna Glawari in Die lustige Witwe which Eleni will perform this summer with Zomeropera in Belgium. Next season she will be performing Countess Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with Tulsa Opera and Austin Lyric Opera.
As a concert soloist, Eleni has performed the soprano solo in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Queens College, NY), as well as in Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder (Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, MA). Eleni has also sung the soprano solo in Verdi’s Requiem (Penn State University – Masterworks Chorale in Cambridge, MA – Boston Symphony Hall with the Boston University Symphony – Colden Theater, NY with the Queens College Symphony), and recently participated in the Meyerbeer Retrospective concert with Mo Eve Queler (Opera Orchestra of New York). In 2006 she made a recording of George Tsontakis’ Mirologhia, which was released on the KOCH International Classics label with the Albany Symphony Orchestra. In the spring 2009, Ms. Calenos appeared as the principal soloist with Greek composer A. Paraskevas at Weil Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.
Eleni won the Gerda Lissner Foundation award (2010), and the “Judges Award” from the Connecticut Opera Guild Competition (2009). She also won the Audience Favorite award at the Irma Cooper Competition in Columbus, Ohio (2008), the Schyler Foundation “Career Bridges” Award (2006-2008), and was a finalist at the Renata Tebaldi International Vocal Competition in San Marino (2009).
Christopher Clayton [Marcello], Baritone
Baritone Christopher Clayton is quickly establishing himself as a rising talent on the operatic stage. He has appeared with companies such as Utah Opera, Portland Opera, Sacramento Opera, Chautauqua Opera, the Skylight Opera and Stockton Opera.
Christopher is a versatile singer praised for his “golden baritone” and “dynamic” stage presence. He has had success in musical styles varying from the title role in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria to Puccini’s Sharpless in Madama Butterfly to Mr. Gedge in Britten’s Albert Herring. He has appeared in Madama Butterfly with Utah Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and the Stockton Opera; in La Boheme with Sacramento Opera and the Skylight Opera; in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Albert Herring, Carmen, Die Zauberflöte, and Faust with the Portland Opera; and in Gianni Schicchi with Chautauqua Opera. He has covered Escamillo in Carmen, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Gianni Schicchi, the Count in The Marriage of Figaro, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and the Doctor in Vanessa.
An early love of classical music and a fascination with German Lieder led to Christopher’s desire to become a professional singer. That interest continues, and he enjoys being an active recitalist and concert singer. Most recently he has appeared as a soloist in Bernstein’s “Mass” and in Handel’s Messiah with the Utah Symphony, and as the soloist in Cimarosa’s Il maestro di cappella with the Walla Walla Symphony.
Christopher was a Portland Opera Studio Artist and will be returning to Portland Opera in 2010 for Trouble in Tahiti. He was a young artist with the Chautauqua Opera in both the apprentice and studio programs and received a Professional Studies Certificate and master’s degree from Manhattan School of Music. At Manhattan School he studied with Maitland Peters and worked closely with Warren Jones and Dona Vaughn. Prior to his studies in New York, he received bachelor’s degrees in vocal performance and mechanical engineering from the University of Utah. He has received prizes and grants from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the Violetta Pollara DuPont Vocal Competition, the Marian Anderson Vocal Competition, the Irene Dalis Vocal Competition, the Chautauqua Opera Guild and the Oratorio Society of New York.
Leslie Mauldin [Musetta], Soprano
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. She is thrilled to be working at home with Opera Idaho in this repeat performance of one of her favorite Puccini women – Musetta.
Leslie’s work comprises many diverse leading opera and oratorio roles for various companies around the US and abroad, and has garnered rave reviews- “Mauldin looks smashing and sings beautifully, and her suicide leap from the parapet of Castel San Angelo was breathtaking.” (Spokesman Review, Tosca), “…performed the title role with stunning clarity of voice, and brought fun-loving insouciance to the character.” (L.A. Times, The Merry Widow), “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)
Some of the roles Leslie has performed include the title role in Tosca, Violetta (La Traviata), Musetta (La Bohème), 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 a recent guest artist concert for the Idaho Falls Symphony. Leslie’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 Leslie most recently performed as soprano soloist in Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor and Bach Cantata no. 140 with Boise Baroque Orchestra, and at the Sun Valley Opera House for their annual Classical Christmas Concert. Upcoming Boise performances include the soprano solo role in Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 with the Boise Philharmonic in the final performance of their celebrated 50th season in May.
Stage and musical direction credits include Suor Angelica, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, La Bohème, and The Mikado. A native of Los Angeles, Leslie has also worked in film and television, and is a member in good standing of Screen Actor’s Guild. As a dedicated advocate for arts and education, she also writes shortened operas for outreach production, teaches masterclasses and stage directs a summer outreach camp for teens and adults, and is a recent appointee to the Meridian, Idaho Arts Commission.
Austin Kness [Schaunard], Baritone
In 2009 and 2010 Austin participated in San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Adler Fellowship program. His main stage work comprised 13 roles in 11 productions: Strojnìk (Več Makropulos) Vicomte de Valvert/Le Cuisinier/L’Officier Espagnol (Cyrano de Bergerac), Prince Yamadori (Madama Butterfly), Brühlmann and Albert (cover)(Werther), Wagner (Faust), Bello (Fanciulla) as well as the lead role of Rick Rescorla in the workshop of (The Heart of a Soldier, SFO World Premiere). In 2009 he performed the roles of Marco (Gianni Schicchi), Second Nazarene (Salome), A Herald (Otello), Sciarrone (Tosca) and Marquis d’Obigny (La Traviata) all with SFO. An alumnus of the Merola Opera Program, he performed the title role in Merola’s 2008 production of Don Giovanni.
Outside of main stage duties, as an Adler Fellow, Austin was asked to sing in several fully staged one act opera projects in which he sang the roles of Death (Savitri by Gustav Holst), Ramiro (L’heure Espagnole by Maurice Ravel) Frank/Buff (Impresario by Mozart), and baritone in the Jazz Trio (Trouble in Tahiti) among several others. Additionally, Austin was asked to sing in 2 workshops of SFO commissioned works as Starbuck (Moby Dick) and Rick Rescorla (Heart of a Soldier).
In 2010, in addition to his Adler contracts, Austin was invited to sing Albert (Werther) in at the International Vocal Arts Academy in Tel Aviv, Israel where he was awarded the IVAI’s Silverman Prize Scholarship. A tribute to his versatility, later that same year he performed as a featured soloist and dancer with the San Fracisco LINES Ballet in Lyon, France as part of their annual international tour.
On the opera stage in 2011 Austin will be seen as the Commisioner, Policeman, and cover of the title role in Phillip Glass’ Orphée with Ensemble Paralèlle (San Francisco), Don Apostolo Gazella (Lucrezia Borgia, San Francisco Opera) with Renée Fleming, Dancairo in SFO’s Carmen for Families, and Danilo in A Merry Widow with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre, as well as covering the lead role of Rick Rescorla (being sung by Thomas Hampson) in the SFO world premiere of The Heart of a Soldier.
Austin’s recent successes on the concert stage include Missa Solemnis (Cantare Chorale, 2011), Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy (San Francisco Symphony, 2009), Carmina Burana (Vallejo Symphony, 2009), and Ein Deutsches Requiem (Bloomington Chamber Singers, 2008).
Among the numerous recitals, concerts, and galas Austin has sung in the past three years, highlights include performances as the baritone soloist in Steven Blier’s presentation of Amores Nuevos, a night of Spanish songs and arias (2011), a presentation of the complete Spanisches Liederbuch by Hugo Wolf with soprano, Susannah Biller and pianist, Allen Perriello (2010), and a private recital for the infamously exclusive Bohemian Club (2009). Kness will also make his professional solo recital debut with the Eden Performing Arts Concert Series in Hayward, CA in 2011.
Justin Hopkins [Colline], Bass Baritone
American bass-baritone Justin Hopkins burst onto the international opera scene in 2010, performing the combined roles of Il Servo, Il Medico and Heraldo Macbeth with Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels in a production that was awarded “Production of the Year” by Opernwelt. In the same season Justin performed the roles of Colline La bohème with the Verbier Festival Academy and Cappadocian Salomé under the direction of Valery Gergiev with the Verbier Festival Orchestra in Switzerland. During the 2010-2011 season performed Frère Laurent Roméo et Juliette with Opera Company of Philadelphia as well as in Philip Glass’ Hydrogen Jukebox with Fort Worth Opera. Highly sought after as a performer of modern works, the 2011-2012 season will include a performance for OPERA America and recording of Conrad Cummings’ The Golden Gate, and the world premier of Anthony Davis’ opera Lear on the Second Floor with the Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University. He will also perform the role of Sarastro Die Zauberflöte with the Santa Fe Concert Association and participate with the American Opera Projects’ Composers & the Voice Series residency program in Brooklyn, New York. Justin was a semi-finalist in the Competizione dell’ Opera at The Bolshoi Theater in Moscow as well as a finalist in the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition.
He has performed in the Young Artist programs with Sarasota Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera and was awarded the Sarasota Opera Guild Encouragement Award in 2007. With Des Moines Metro Opera he performed Cal in Marc Blitzstein’s Regina, Jimmy Mahagonny Songspiel, and covered the roles of Zuniga Carmen; Sam Un ballo in maschera and Lodovico Otello. Justin also performed the roles of Don Alfonso Così fan tutte and Il Re d’Egitto Aida as an Artist in Residence with Pensacola Opera. He has also performed Balthazar Amahl and the Night Visitors with Fort Worth Opera and Il Registrario Madama Butterfly with Opera Company of Philadelphia.
Justin is also sought after as a soloist, and in 2009 he was requested to sing as the featured soloist for His Holiness the Dalai Lama during his visit to San Francisco. He has performed as a soloist with Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, United Europe Chamber Orchestra (Milano, Italy), Southeast Symphony Orchestra, and the Ocean City Pops. His concert repertoire includes Bach’s Cantata 147, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Handel’s Israel In Egypt, Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on Christmas Carols and Rossini’s Stabat Mater.
Justin received a Bachelor of Music from Loyola University New Orleans and on Loyola’s opera stage he performed the roles of Sarastro Die Zauberflöte, Nilakantha Lakmé and Frère Laurent Roméo et Juliette . In 2004 he performed the Commissionaire La traviata with New Orleans Opera. Upon completion at Loyola, he went on to further study of Italian and vocal performance in Milano, Italy at the Scuola Musicale di Milano.
A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Justin began singing at the age of eight with the Philadelphia Boys Choir and Men’s Chorale. With the group in 1993, he performed Britten War Requiem with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the direction of Wolfang Sawallisch. In 1994 he performed on the opera stage for the very first time as a boy chorister in Tosca with Opera Company of Philadelphia.
Brett Hamilton [Benoît], Baritone
Brett Hamilton received his theater training at the University of Arizona at Tucson and the University of California at Los Angeles where he won the Gladys-Turk Foundation Fellowship in Opera. He was part of the original group selected for the American Opera Center at the Juilliard School of Music at Lincoln Center, New York City (directed by Tito Capobianco). He performed with the Texas Opera Theater of the Houston Grand Opera before joining the Houston Grand Opera in La Perichole. In New York City he undertook acting studies with Kenneth McMillan and Herbert Berghof at the HB Studios, and scene studies with Frank Corsaro, stage director of the New York City Opera and Director of the Actor’s Studio in New York.
His opera appearances include engagements with the New York City Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Diego Opera, Hollywood Bowl, and the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera. He has performed leading roles in traditional and modern productions both in the USA and in Europe, including voice-overs for Paramount Pictures (Paint Your Wagon, with the Roger Wagner Master Chorale), commercials (Texaco), regional dinner theaters (Chateau de Ville, The Most Happy Fella, Boston, Massachusetts, Corral Theater-in-the-Round, Tucson, Arizona) and Off-Broadway in New York City (Madam Bovary, role of Charles Bovary).
In Europe he was engaged for the Hamburg production of Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera (Firmin), and for the Opera de Monte Carlo, Monaco – world premiere of Lowell Liebermann’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (Basil the Painter). For the Frankfurt Opera he created the principal role of Bam in Samuel Beckett’s What, Where? by composer Heinz Holliger, and for the Janacek Opera, Brno, Czech Republic he sang the title role in Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman.
Brett is currently full professor with the University of Maryland, European Division, but he also offers private and group coaching in voice and acting to those who are preparing for careers in musical theater and opera. Although both he and his wife, the soprano Sue Patchell, are originally from ranch life in Montana (just 30 miles apart), they met one another for the first time on stage in Europe during a Wagnerian opera! Both feel especially at home in the Northwest and they are looking forward to a complete return to this area. For now, he shares his time between Meridian, Idaho and Wiesbaden, Germany, but as his family has already moved to Meridian, he intends to make his full transition back to Idaho soon. Bret recently appeared in Opera Idaho’s production of South Pacific in Concert as Emile de Becque.
Brian Trunk [Alcindoro], Baritone
Brian Trunk made his operatic debut as Boatswain in HMS Pinnafore for Tacoma Musical Playhouse. He’s been a member of the Tacoma Opera Chorus ever since and has appeared in Tosca, L’Elisir d’Amore, La bohème, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Le Comte Ory, Faust, The Daughter of the Regiment and Pagliacci. He also appeared inthe chorus for L’Elisir d’Amore with Oberlin in Itali. He has also sung with choral Tacoma Symphony Chorus and Northwest Repertory Singers. His most resent operatic roles include the Sergeant in La bohème and Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Tacoma Opera. He will appear as Benoit/Alcindoro, in Tacoma Opera’s upcoming production of La bohème.
Brian has worked under the direction of Barry Johnson, Christopher Nardine, Brenda Nuckton, Elise Sandell and Benjamin Smith; and under the skillful batons of Benton Hess, Sara Jobin, Bernard Kwiram & Karolyn Kuan.
Andrew Peck [Parpignol], Tenor
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 season.
Michal Jarolimek, Bass
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 The Page in Opera Idaho’s production of Menotti’s Amahl & the Night Visitors; Frank in Ned Rorem’s Our Town and Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel. He currently works at Dunkley Music in Boise as the Music Manager.
Daniel Helfgot, Director
Daniel Helfgot’s credits include over 200 productions of over 100 operas, operettas and zarzuelas from the Baroque to the contemporary, including several world premieres. His international credits include shows in Argentina (both at the Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires and the Teatro Argentino, La Plata), Austria, Canada, Costa Rica (Opera Nacional), Finland, Germany, Mexico (Opera Nacional), and Sweden. In the US he has directed for such companies as Baltimore; Rimrock (Billings), Festival (California), Chattanooga, Eugene, Knoxville, Memphis, Orlando, Pennsylvania Festival, Sacramento, Spring Opera and Western Opera Theater of San Francisco, Utah Opera, Utah Festival Opera, and Virginia Opera. His most recent endeavors include directing Puccini’s La Fille du Régiment for Opera Idaho; Rodriguez’sSuor Isabella and Sirota’s Clever Mistress for the SJSU Opera Theater; and Don Giovanni and The Merry Widow for Utah Festival Opera. Daniel also scripted, directed and performed Long live life – music from Theresienstadt for the Retrodome in San José, CA; and performed the role of El Duende in Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires with the Milwaukee Opera Theater and the Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra.
From 1982 to 2000 Daniel was the Resident Director and Director of Production for Opera San José where he created 60 productions defining the company’s artistic output, established all its production departments and led the design process for the renovation of its performing venues, the Montgomery and the California Theaters of San José. He was also Producer and Director for the Pennsylvania Opera Theater in Pittsburgh, PA. In Argentina, he was Production Director and Artistic Coordinator for the Opera, Ballet and Symphony seasons at the Teatro Argentino and directed the Project for the Design and Development of the Center for Performing Arts in La Plata, where he also founded the Teatro Musical de Cámara and the Festival Musical de Noviembre, and was Resident Assistant Director and Rehearsals Coordinator for the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. His directorial work also includes tango and cabaret shows.
Daniel produced several opera radio programs and directed opera broadcasts of his own operatic productions for television in Argentina and an award winning production for PBS in the US. As a journalist, also in Argentina, he was the editor of the Sunday’s edition of the daily El Día where he wrote extensively about music and the arts and also founded and directed the by-monthly Ritmo, a magazine dedicated to the performing arts and architecture. Daniel translates opera libretti from Italian, Spanish, German and French for English and Spanish supertitles and writes operatic dialogue versions for the English, Spanish and German repertoire. He is also the author of the libretto for the opera The Tale of the Nutcracker with music by Craig Bohmler premiered in 1999. He has received the Opera Director of the Year 2009 award from the Classical Singer Magazine, an award from the Arts Council Silicon Valley and has been honored with the Koret Israel Prize.
Daniel is the author of The Third Line: The Opera Performer as Interpreter, a definitive book on the training of singers, originally published by Schirmer Books followed by a revised edition titled The Third Line: The Singer as Interpreter, a book widely used by individuals, universities and conservatories. His teaching experience includes a guest professorship at the Musikhochschule of the Vienna University, Austria and the leadership of the Vocal and Vocal Accompanying Programs at the Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara, California. He is constantly in demand throughout US campuses, with guest appearances at the National Academy of the Arts in Taipei, Taiwan; the Instituto Superior de Arte, Teatro Colón, Argentina; the Academy of Music in Åland, Finland, etc. Currently, he teaches Opera Styles and Interpretation at San José State University, California where he also directs the Opera Theater productions.
Daniel maintains an active private coaching studio in San José, CA.
Steven Crawford, Conductor
Maestro Steven Crawford, whose final season with the Metropolitan Opera included two performances of La bohème (of which one was his Sirius radio broadcast debut), is one of today’s most versatile opera conductors and vocal coaches. He has recently become involved as conductor and principal coach of the Land of Enchantment Opera Institute, continuing years of commitment to the training of talented young singers.
In recent seasons, he was chosen to conduct the world premiere of HONOR, a requiem for orchestra, chorus and soloists composed by Christian McLeer, and the professional premiere of Glory Denied by Tom Cipullo for the Remarkable Theatre Brigade. La bohème for the Inwood Shakespeare Festival, Otello for Kentucky Opera, and Turandot for Dayton Opera all followed in quick succession. Since leaving the Met, Steven has conducted performances of Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance (for whom his earlier performances of Don Giovanni were noted by the New York Times as “lively, taut, and polished”), Don Giovanni for Dayton Opera, Otello with Vero Beach Opera, and The Medium/Pagliacci for Syracuse Opera. On a different note, Maestro Crawford was recently awarded the honor of Vocal Coach of the Year by Classical Singer magazine.
He recently conducted Kirke Meecham’s Tartuffe in Portland (OR) and earlier La Cenerentola with the Cincinnati Opera, where he had been called “the find of the evening” for stepping in on twelve hours notice to conduct Il Barbiere di Siviglia, simultaneously accompanying the recitatives on the fortepiano. He returns to Idaho to conduct La bohème, after a very successful production of Madama Butterfly in 2011 with Opera Idaho.
After working as Music Director of the Illinois Opera Theatre, Steven was engaged as resident conductor of the Florida Grand Opera for five years. During that time, he conducted fifteen different productions, working with such great artists as Sherill Milnes, Carol Neblett, Justino Diaz, and Barbara Daniels. He has also conducted productions for Chautauqua Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, Nevada Opera and Opera Northeast. Upon his arrival in New York City, he was immediately engaged by the Metropolitan Opera Guild as Music Director for their production of a newly commissioned opera for young people.
Dallas K. Heaton, Accompanist
Collaborative pianist/vocal coach Dallas K Heaton is an avid recitalist with a special interest in early music, opera, and art song. He recently received an Artist Diploma in Opera Coaching from CCM, and has also received degrees from Arizona State University (MM-collaborative piano) and BYU-Idaho (BMA-piano). A Utah native, Dallas currently resides in Cache Valley where he just finished his third season with the Utah Festival Opera Company. In addition to his activities in music, Dallas is also passionate about linguistics, literature, math, art and computers, and enjoys a relaxing evening at home with his wife, children, dog, and some Oreos.
Kelly Kaye, Chorus Master
Kelly Kaye (Chorus Master) holds Bachelor and Master degrees in Piano Performance/accompanying (Arizona State University, 1985) but has been singing both as a soloist and in choirs since she was very young. After graduation from ASU, she was awarded a scholarship to the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria to study opera coaching.
Currently Kelly teaches and directs choirs at South Junior High. She is also a member of the Boise Philharmonic Master Chorale. Previously, she had a long and eclectic musical career in Arizona, Vienna, Austria and Seattle, Washington; working as accompanist, vocal coach, music theater director, recitalist, chorus member with Seattle Opera, cabaret performer, piano teacher, voice teacher and guest soloist with numerous groups and venues. She has been a member of choral organizations from her very early years and began private voice studies at age 14.
Jennifer Burke, Soprano
Jennifer Burke grew up in London, England; Memphis, Tennessee; and Columbus, Ohio; with summers spent on her grandparents’ farm in Kentucky. She studied opera performance and theatre at Capital University 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.
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. In Boise, she has performed in multiple productions with Opera Idaho starting in 1993; and with the Boise Philharmonic Master Chorale, the Four Shillings, and Les Bois Chamber Singers. She has also performed numerous solo recitals and, as an invited soloist, at the Robert Burns’ Birthday Dinners. 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. In addition, she is Vice President of the Les Bois Recorder Society. Her most recent role with Opera Idaho was that of the Duchess in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment.
Ms. Burke’s day job is that of Recovery Room RN at St Luke’s in Boise. She has 30 years experience in ICU and PACU.
Merri Carr, Soprano
Merri Carr has performed in numerous Opera Idaho productions since 1994. She made her Opera Idaho mainstage debut in 1999 as Papagena in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. Subsequent roles followed, including Gretel in Hansel and Gretel and Lucy in The Telephone for Opera Idaho’s Education Outreach Program, reaching thousands of children in and around the Treasure Valley. She has sung with the Boise Philharmonic Master Chorale since 1991 and was a featured soloist in 2009’s performance of Mendelssohn’s Magnificat.
Ms. Carr has appeared as a featured soloist at numerous fundraisers in the Boise area for such organizations as Idaho Dance Theatre, Opera Idaho, and The Idaho Botanical Garden. She was honored to sing the national anthem for former-Vice President Dick Cheney’s visit to Boise. She particularly loves to sing jazz and western swing, mainly because of the influence of her musician parents. Ms. Carr is currently the pianist for a local church and also teaches piano and vocal performance for ArtsWest School for the Performing & Visual Arts in Eagle.
Darcee Cuillard, Soprano
Darcee Cuillard has been singing for as long as she can remember. As a third grader, she experienced her first choral experience taking what she learned home and teaching her then five-year-old sister harmonies. Now she feels privileged to have the same sister as her vocal coach! Her education also includes studying voice at Boise State University.
Ms. Cuillard has played in several musical theater productions in California and Idaho, including lead roles in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance and Lionel Bart’s Oliver. She has been involved with community chorales as a member and as a soloist, including solos in Handel’s Messiah. She has performed in full community recitals in California and Idaho. She has also performed with Opera Idaho in Opera Idaho Sings Christmas, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, and assisted in previewing Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe. La Fille du Régiment is her first full opera participation, and she states that she is hooked.
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. Puccini’s La bohème is her third opera performance.
Rachael DeAnne Montoya, Soprano
Ms. Montoya recently graduated magna cum laude from Boise State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance and in Music Education. She performed the role of Cinderella in the eponymous musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein’s with Boise State’s Music and Theatre Departments in the Morrison Center last spring. You might have seen her in the role of Belinda in Boise State Music Department’s production of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and in other shows like Pippin, The 25th Annual Putnam Spelling Bee, and The Gondoliers.
Ms. Montoya has performed in Boise State’s Meistersingers for three years and was President of the group in 2009-2010. She is currently the Vice President of the SNATS Boise (National Association of Teacher of Singing, Student Chapter). She has received the Julia Bauer Holland Memorial Scholarship, the Idaho Governor’s Cup Scholarship, the Boise Choristers Scholarship, the Whitney Women’s Choral Scholarship, and the Magic Valley Rotary Club Scholarship. Ms. Montoya has won the Boise State Concerto Aria contest and performed with Boise State’s Orchestra in the Special Events Center.
Ms. Montoya has performed with Opera Idaho’s Resident Company for three years in Rorem’s Our Town and Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. She performed the roles of Queen of the Night and Papagena with Opera Idaho’s touring Mini-Magic Flute to local schools to introduce opera to all ages! She has performed for Opera Idaho’s Puccini Martini Blast, Touring Gardens Shows, and other performances all around the valley.
After teaching private piano lessons for over four years, Ms. Montoya plans to continue private lessons, to continue her career in professional performing, and to attend graduate school this fall for Vocal Performance with an emphasis in Opera.
Kristine Nunes, Soprano
Kristine Nunes received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance and in Music Education from Boise State University. While at BSU, she performed the role of Belinda in the production of Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and was also featured as a soloist with the Boise State Symphony Orchestra in their performance of Beethoven’s Fantasy in C minor. She also had the pleasure of being featured as a soloist with the Boise State Symphonic Winds in their performance of Angels in the Architecture with composer and conductor Frank Ticheli.
Being a member of Opera Idaho’s Resident Company since 2008, Kristine has performed in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and Gounod’s Faust.
Ms. Nunes is currently teaching elementary music and choir, as well as teaching private voice lessons. Continuing with performing and vocal study, she also plans to attend graduate school.
Stephanie Santos, Soprano
Born and raised in Southern California, Stephanie Santos has been studying classical voice for 22 years. She has attended The College of Southern Idaho and is continuing at Boise State University to finish her Bachelor of Music with an emphasis in Vocal Performance. Her credits include being the soprano soloist for works such as Handel’s Messiah, Schubert’s Mass in G, the roles of Darlene Love in Leader of the Pack, Crystal the Doo-wop Girl in Little Shop of Horrors, and Hot Box Girl and understudy for Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls.
Tiffany Hernandez, Mezzo
Tiffany Hernandez recently graduated from Boise State University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance and in Music Education. Since joining Opera Idaho’s resident company she has had the opportunity to play Liat in their 2010 summer production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific and sing in the chorus of Ned Rorem’s Our Town. While attending Boise State, she has also performed in The Gondoliers, The Sound of Music, and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Last year she played her first leading role as Portia in their spring production of the musical Cinderella. Ms. Hernandez hopes to attend graduate school very soon in pursuit of a Masters Degree in Vocal Performance as her first step toward becoming a professional opera singer.
Sharon Hubler, Mezzo
Sharon Hubler continues her vocal studies with Dr. Lynn Berg. She has served on the boards of several arts organizations, including Boise Philharmonic, Ballet Idaho, Opera Idaho, and Idaho Commission on the Arts.
In her work experience, she became the Executive Director of the Idaho Foundation for Parks and Lands in 1976, retiring in 2010 during which the Idaho Shakespeare Festival was establishing its new theatre. What a wonderful nexus for parks, scenery, environment, and the arts! Since 1987 she has worked as a volunteer Secretary of the Foundation for Ada/Canyon Trail Systems, which is working full speed to bridge the gap and get all the way from Lucky Peak Dam to Eagle Road.
Vicke Lee, Mezzo
Vicke Lee has performed with Opera Idaho since 1994, when she sang in Madama Butterfly. It was her first opportunity to perform Puccini’s exquisite music. She has been hooked on the art form ever since. Since then, she has performed in Puccini’s Tosca and La Bohème, Verdi’s La Traviata, Bizet’s Carmen, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale and L’elisir d’amore, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Lehár’s The Merry Widow, Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, and Gounod’s Faust, to name a few. Ms. Lee also sings with the Boise Philharmonic Master Chorale.
Tim Judy, Tenor
Tim Judy originally hails from Nebraska. His first exposure to opera was at age 12 when he was cast as Amahl in the Menotti opera Amahl and the Night Visitors. After attending Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, he married and continued to sing in choirs while raising a family. His interest in opera was rekindled a few years ago when he enrolled in an opera workshop and performed in scene selections from Mozart’s Don Giovanni and The Marriage of Figaro, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, and Bizet’s Carmen. Since joining Opera Idaho’s Resident Company, Mr. Judy has sung in the chorus for a number of productions and in the role of Jigger in last year’s production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel.
Robert Sandberg, Tenor
Robert Sandberg performed with Opera Idaho last season in Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment and in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance. He has always loved singing and has trained with Norman DeVol of the San Francisco Opera and with Tara Victoria Smith of Opera Idaho.
Mr. Sandberg’s dramatic personality feels at home on the stage, and he looks forward to more performances with the opera.
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, Mr. Castillo 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, Mr. Castillo 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, Mr. Castillo 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 Oratorioin 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. Mr. Castillo made his Boise debut with Opera Idaho’s concert version of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific and Madama Butterfly and worked with Knock Em’ Dead theatre in their production of Bye, Bye Birdie.
Willis Carr, Baritone
Mr. Carr has sung with Opera Idaho as a chorus member since 2000 and with the Boise Philharmonic Master Chorale and the Boise Baroque Orchestra Chorus since 1998. Stage roles include Dr. Grenville in Verdi’s La Traviata, Bogdanovitch in Lehár’s The Merry Widow and Captain of the Guard in a previous production of Puccini’s La Bohème. Has also performed with numerous small vocal groups and solo works for churches, including his own, and other entities locally. Mr. Carr also enjoys playing guitar and singing Irish and cowboy ballads.
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 he is currently a student of Jason and Michele Detwiler. Since August 2009, Mr. Menendez has performed with the Opera Idaho chorus and has appeared in Gounod’s Faust, Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Menotti’s Amahl and The Night Visitors, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s South Pacific, Rorem’s Our Town, Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, and Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance.
Adrian San Miguel, Baritone
Originally from Texas, Adrian San Miguel graduated from Baylor University with both Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Music. He has been performed with Opera Idaho in the Barber of Seville, Opera Under the Stars, Faust, 2009′s Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Our Town as a Resident Company member. He has also performed with Fort Worth Opera in Don Pasquale, Romeo et Juliette, Barber of Seville, & Norma, Waco Lyric Opera in Barber of Seville, and Baylor Opera in Così fan tutte, Marriage of Figaro, Gianni Schicchi, and The Magic Flute. He has also attended the Vocal Institute of Salado and the Bösendorfer International Piano & Voice Academy in Vienna, Austria. He is a student of Dr. John Van Cura and currently works for the College of Western Idaho. In addition to performing with Opera Idaho, Adrian is a Scholar member of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in downtown Boise and teaches privately.
Bob Wallace, Baritone
In his youth, Bob Wallace played jazz, folk, country, and rock guitar, saxophone, and upright bass. He began singing in middle age, his first gig being with the Boise Philharmonic Master Chorale during its 1988-89 season. This is Mr. Wallace’s third production of La Bohème with the Opera Idaho Resident Company. He has also sung in the choruses of Puccini’s Carmen and Tosca; Rodger’s & Hammerstein’s South Pacific; Mozart’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Don Giovanni; the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas H.M.S. Pinafore, Pirates of Penzance, and Trial by Jury, and the contemporary opera, Ned Rorem’s Our Town.
Singing and performing compliment Mr. Wallace’s law practice, most of which 35 years have been and remain in the courtroom.
La bohème Online Course
Opera Idaho is teaming once again with Opera America to offer an online course, free of charge, to individuals interested in heightening their experience for Opera Idaho’s performances of Puccini’s La bohème. This opportunity is designed as a service for opera lovers and those who wish to learn more about the art form to explore the many dimensions of opera – literature, music, visual arts – as well as the behind-the-scenes artistry that makes magic happen on the operatic stage.
How it works – This four-week course is done completely online. Opera America will begin sending you audio clips, photos and other information so you can begin your studies. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn at your own pace since everything is done online and no classroom time is required. The four-week course is structured so you can progress at your desired pace and if you choose to follow each week as designed, then the course will conclude just in time for Opera Idaho’s production of La bohème.
This four-week course falls (roughly) into two segments. The first half deals primarily with the social and cultural climate that surrounded and influenced the work. The second half will be a sort of musical guide, focusing more on the work itself. The course includes recorded conversations with singers, producers, directors and designers about their unique perspectives on Puccini’s masterpiece.
To Register – Send an e-mail with your name and the e-mail address where you would like to receive the course information to fernando@operaidaho.org.
Sponsored by:
