Mark All Hallows as brilliant voices present a cornucopia of arias celebrating opera’s greatest tragic scenes and villainous deeds. Led by Maestro Ron Gretz conducting the Annapolis Opera Chamber Orchestra in a concert stage production at Maryland Hall.
Soprano Colleen
Daly is rapidly emerging as a “dramatically powerful” (The Washington Post) singer in today’s operatic arena. Miss Daly’s wide range of roles includes the title roles in The Academy of Vocal Arts’ productions of La Traviata, Kát’a Kabanová and Manon, the title role in Opera Vivente’s production of Alcina, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, Musetta in La Bohème, Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw and Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the Maryland Opera Studio, Micaëla in La Tragédie de Carmen with Olney Theatre Center for the Arts, Die Königen der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte with Opera New Jersey, the Annapolis Opera and Symphony Orchestra, and the In Series, Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Cunegonde in Candide at the Merle Reskin Theatre in Chicago, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring with Gotham Chamber Opera, and Sole in Giasone with the Aspen Opera Theatre Center. Miss Daly’s “glistening soprano” (The Washington Post) is also becoming well-known to concert and recital audiences, performing as a soloist in such works as the Mozart, Brahms, Fauré, and Rutter Requiem Masses, Händel’s Messiah and Haydn’s Creation, and appearing in concerts with the Washington Concert Opera, the Cathedral Choral Society, the Maryland Philharmonic Orchestra, Annapolis Opera, Opera Lafayette, Concert Operetta Theater of Philadelphia, Ovation Artists, the Washington Arts Club, and the In Series. Miss Daly’s “superb vocalism and gorgeous tone” (The Capitol) have been recognized by numerous foundations and institutions, including the Richard Tucker Foundation, the Palm Beach Opera Guild, the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Annapolis Opera, the Bel Canto Foundation, the Kennett Square Symphony, the Howard County Arts Council, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She has had the opportunity to study with such distinguished performers and conductors as François Loup, Catherine Malfitano, Susanne Mentzer, Ashley Putnam, and Maestros Harry Bickett and Julius Rudel.
Colleen Daly received a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, and a Master of Music degree in Opera Performance at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland. She has been a Festival Artist for Opera New Jersey, a Young Artist at the Oberlin in Italy Scenes Program in Urbania, Italy, and a New Horizon Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School in Aspen, Colorado. Miss Daly is currently a third-year Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She will make her debut at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in November as the soprano soloist for the Master Chorale’s performance of Elijah.
Alexis Cregger, Soprano A native of Winchester, MA, she has been singing since the age of 12. Her endeavors at that age included singing with The Treble Chorus of New England where she performed the roles of First Witch in Dido & Aeneas, and Mrs. Ford in Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. For her senior year in High School, she attended the internationally known and respected Interlochen Arts Academy where she participated in the Opera Workshop program, singing scenes from La Cenerentola and Così fan Tutte. After Interlochen she came to the Eastman School of Music where she performed the role of Bridesmaid in Le Nozze di Figaro.
Since receiving her bachelors from the Eastman School of Music, Alexis has performed extensively in the Philadelphia area, and abroad. Ms. Cregger made her debut at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia to rave reviews as Casilda in The Gondoliers with the Savoy Company in June of 2005. Her roles include Violetta in La Traviata, Gilda in Rigoletto, the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, Musetta & Mimi in La Bohème, Micaëla & Frasquita in Carmen, Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore, Marguerite in Faust, The Queen of the Night and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Fiordiligi in Così fan Tutte, Elsie Maynard in Yeomen of the Guard, Mabel in Pirates of Penzance, Gianetta and Casilda in Gondoliers, and Aline in Sorcerer.
Her concert repertoire includes Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Mahler’s 2nd Symphony (Resurrection), and Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Over the last few years she has sung lead roles with the Helena Symphony, the Savoy Company, the Atlantic Coast Opera Festival, the Lyric Opera Theater of Philadelphia, Concert Operetta Theater, the North Penn Symphony and the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England. Ms. Cregger was a Rocky Mountain Regional Finalist in the 2007 and 2008 Metropolitan National Council Auditions.
Most recently she was seen as Baby Doe in Douglas Moore’s The Ballad of Baby Doe with the Chelsea Opera, and Patience in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience with the Savoy Company. She currently resides in New York and studies with Mark Oswald.
Photo: Devon Cass
Critically acclaimed soprano Lisa Lockhart has thrilled opera and concert audiences across the United States and in Europe.
A lirico spinto with a lush, rich sound and a particular affinity for the heroines of Verdi and Puccini, Ms. Lockhart appeared as the leading heroines of Aïda, Tosca and Gilda in “Three Act Threes”, a performance of the third acts of Aïda, Tosca and Rigoletto with Opera in the Heights in Houston, Texas. Prior to that, Ms. Lockhart sang the title role of Aïda at Palm Beach Opera (FL) for their Family Opera Series. Other roles include Pocahontas’ Mother in the world premiere of the opera Pocahontas with the Virginia Arts Festival, Leonora in Il Trovatore with Opera in the Heights, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus with ConcertOPERA Philadelphia in PA and with the Landon Symphonette in Bethesda, MD, the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Opera Company of Brooklyn, the International Opera Festival in Rome, Italy and the Opera in the Chapel Series at Mount Vernon in Washington D.C., Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with the Landon Symphonette, and Tigrana in Puccini’s Edgar with DiCapo Opera Theatre in New York. Formerly a lyric coloratura, the soprano’s most notable role in that fach was the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute with the Washington Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D. C., under the baton of the late conductor and comedian Victor Borge.
Ms. Lockhart has traveled the world, singing in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess; most recently as Serena in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia, Warsaw, Poland, Riga, Latvia and Kuressaare, Estonia with Living Arts, Inc. She has previously appeared as Bess and Serena in Toronto, Lisbon, Portugal and the U.S. with Living Arts, Inc., and as Serena in Edmonton, Canada, Madrid, Spain, Hannover and Frankfurt, Germany and Bologna, Italy with New York Harlem Productions.
Ms. Lockhart is the 2006 2nd place winner of the National Opera Association Vocal Competition, and has previously been a top-five winner in both the Paul Robeson and Annapolis Opera Vocal Competitions. She has sung at the White House and the French and German embassies, and has appeared on concerts sponsored by Fieri International, the Urban Philharmonic Society, Pacific Opera, the Natchez Opera Festival and many others. Lisa is happy to return to Annapolis Opera, having previously appeared on our “Opera in the Park” and “Pasta, Puccini, Bravissimo!” concerts.
Ms. Lockhart is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory of Music and is a
long-time student of Dr. Elizabeth Kirkpatrick Vrenios.
Baritone Daniel Lickteig is garnering praise throughout American opera houses for his powerful, soaring voice. He has appeared with Cleveland Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Iowa, Utah Festival Opera Company, Natchez Opera, Opera Theater of Philadelphia, and the Intermountain Opera Company. He has worked with conductors including Timothy Myers, Robert Lyall, Alfred Calabrese, Imre Paolo, Lucy Arner, Giampaolo Brachali, David Briskin, Dr. Robert Larson, Dr. David Blackburn, John Douglas and Alan Harler. Highlights of his large operatic repertoire include Mozart's Don Giovanni, Rossini's Figaro, Verdi's Rigoletto, Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca and Marcello in La Bohème, Alfio in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, Tonio in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci. His concert repertoire includes works by Bach, Fauré, Bruckner, Orff, and Bernstein. In 2009, Mr. Lickteig will make his debut with Opera Delaware as Frank in Die Fledermaus.
Michael
Gallant (tenor) was recently named
the first place winner of the Washington DC Vocal
Arts Society Discovery Series, through which he
made his Kennedy Center recital debut. This concert
was recorded and broadcast live via the internet.
An active opera singer, he “displayed ample evidence
of his sterling vocal gifts.” in the role of Count
Almaviva in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia with
Annapolis Opera. Mr. Gallant has also performed
Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Don Ramiro
in La Cenerentola, Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff,
and Laurie in Mark Adamo’s Little Women. He has
sung with companies throughout the country, and
was an apprentice artists with both Central City
Opera and the Ohio Light Opera Company. He recently
made his New York City debut in a concert of arias
at the New York Public Library Donnell Center.
Mr. Gallant has won numerous awards including first place at the Harold Haugh Competition, the coveted Shoshana Foundation Apprentice Award, first place at the Friends of Opera Scholarship Competition, and a full tuition award from the University of Michigan. He was also selected as a finalist for the prestigious Ryan Opera Center for American Artists of the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
In addition, Mr. Gallant is a sought after oratorio soloist and recording artist. He has performed the St. John and St. Matthew Passion Evangelist roles, Bach’s Magnificat, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Creation, as well as numerous Bach cantatas with organizations such as the Detroit Chamber Players, the University Musical Society, Washington Summer Sings, and the Baltimore Master Chorale. An advocate of works by living composers, his discography includes recordings of The Golem and Gimpel the Fool for Sony Records Project, Easter Joy for Equilibrium, and most recently a new recording of sacred arias for the Hal Leonard Corporation.
Mr. Gallant holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in vocal performance from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Randall Reid-Smith, Martin Katz, and Theodore Morrison. He also attended the Eastman School of Music under scholarship.
Mr. Gallant’s future performances include appearances as the tenor soloist for Saint-Saens’s Christmas Oratorio with the New Dominion Chorale under the direction of Thomas Beveridge in December of 2008, and tenor soloist for Berlioz’s Te Deum with the Cathedral Choral Society under the baton of Riley Lewis in the spring of 2009, as well as a recital at the Chesapeake Arts Center.
Ben
Wager (bass) is a fourth year Resident
Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia
where he has recently sung the title role in Mendelssohn’s
Elijah, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte and Padre
Guardiano in La forza del destino. In February
2008, Mr. Wager sang Monterone in Rigoletto with
Opera New Jersey, followed by Masetto in Don Giovanni
at Chicago Opera Theatre, under the baton of Jane
Glover, in April 2008.
Mr. Wager spent the summer of 2008 as a member of the prestigious Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, where he sang the role of Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni. During the 2008-2009 season, he will sing Enrico in Anna Bolena, Il Vescovo in La fiamma, and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Academy of Vocal Arts, and will join Minnesota Opera to sing the bass roles in the North American premiere of Jonathan Dove's Adventures of Pinocchio.
In June 2009, Mr. Wager will sing Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia at Opera Company of Philadelphia, in a cast also featuring Nathan Gunn, William Burden, and Tamara Mumford.
In 2007, Mr. Wager bowed as Der Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte with Opera New Jersey and Kaspar in Der Freischütz with AVA Opera Theatre. The 2006 season found Mr. Wager performing at AVA Opera Theatre as Gremin and Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Sparafucile and Monterone in Rigoletto. Mr. Wager enjoys a strong relationship with Opera Delaware, where he has sung Monterone in Rigoletto, Spinelloccio and Il Notaro in Gianni Schicchi, Un Mandarino in Turandot and Second Armored Man in Die Zauberflöte.
In concert, Mr. Wager has performed Handel’s Messiah with Tindley Temple UMC, as well as Rossini’s Stabat Mater and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor at the Academy of Vocal Arts.
Ben Wager studies with world-renowned voice teacher Bill Schuman.
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Soprano Colleen
Daly is rapidly emerging as a “dramatically powerful” (The Washington Post) singer in today’s operatic arena. Miss Daly’s wide range of roles includes the title roles in The Academy of Vocal Arts’ productions of La Traviata, Kát’a Kabanová and Manon, the title role in Opera Vivente’s production of Alcina, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, Musetta in La Bohème, Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw and Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the Maryland Opera Studio, Micaëla in La Tragédie de Carmen with Olney Theatre Center for the Arts, Die Königen der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte with Opera New Jersey, the Annapolis Opera and Symphony Orchestra, and the In Series, Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Cunegonde in Candide at the Merle Reskin Theatre in Chicago, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring with Gotham Chamber Opera, and Sole in Giasone with the Aspen Opera Theatre Center. Miss Daly’s “glistening soprano” (The Washington Post) is also becoming well-known to concert and recital audiences, performing as a soloist in such works as the Mozart, Brahms, Fauré, and Rutter Requiem Masses, Händel’s Messiah and Haydn’s Creation, and appearing in concerts with the Washington Concert Opera, the Cathedral Choral Society, the Maryland Philharmonic Orchestra, Annapolis Opera, Opera Lafayette, Concert Operetta Theater of Philadelphia, Ovation Artists, the Washington Arts Club, and the In Series. Miss Daly’s “superb vocalism and gorgeous tone” (The Capitol) have been recognized by numerous foundations and institutions, including the Richard Tucker Foundation, the Palm Beach Opera Guild, the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, Annapolis Opera, the Bel Canto Foundation, the Kennett Square Symphony, the Howard County Arts Council, and the National Association of Teachers of Singing. She has had the opportunity to study with such distinguished performers and conductors as François Loup, Catherine Malfitano, Susanne Mentzer, Ashley Putnam, and Maestros Harry Bickett and Julius Rudel.
Alexis Cregger, Soprano A native of Winchester, MA, she has been singing since the age of 12. Her endeavors at that age included singing with The Treble Chorus of New England where she performed the roles of First Witch in Dido & Aeneas, and Mrs. Ford in Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor. For her senior year in High School, she attended the internationally known and respected Interlochen Arts Academy where she participated in the Opera Workshop program, singing scenes from La Cenerentola and Così fan Tutte. After Interlochen she came to the Eastman School of Music where she performed the role of Bridesmaid in Le Nozze di Figaro.
Baritone Daniel Lickteig is garnering praise throughout American opera houses for his powerful, soaring voice. He has appeared with Cleveland Opera, Asheville Lyric Opera, Sarasota Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Iowa, Utah Festival Opera Company, Natchez Opera, Opera Theater of Philadelphia, and the Intermountain Opera Company. He has worked with conductors including Timothy Myers, Robert Lyall, Alfred Calabrese, Imre Paolo, Lucy Arner, Giampaolo Brachali, David Briskin, Dr. Robert Larson, Dr. David Blackburn, John Douglas and Alan Harler. Highlights of his large operatic repertoire include Mozart's Don Giovanni, Rossini's Figaro, Verdi's Rigoletto, Scarpia in Puccini's Tosca and Marcello in La Bohème, Alfio in Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana, Tonio in Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci. His concert repertoire includes works by Bach, Fauré, Bruckner, Orff, and Bernstein. In 2009, Mr. Lickteig will make his debut with Opera Delaware as Frank in Die Fledermaus.
Michael
Gallant (tenor) was recently named
the first place winner of the Washington DC Vocal
Arts Society Discovery Series, through which he
made his Kennedy Center recital debut. This concert
was recorded and broadcast live via the internet.
An active opera singer, he “displayed ample evidence
of his sterling vocal gifts.” in the role of Count
Almaviva in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia with
Annapolis Opera. Mr. Gallant has also performed
Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Don Ramiro
in La Cenerentola, Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff,
and Laurie in Mark Adamo’s Little Women. He has
sung with companies throughout the country, and
was an apprentice artists with both Central City
Opera and the Ohio Light Opera Company. He recently
made his New York City debut in a concert of arias
at the New York Public Library Donnell Center.
Ben
Wager (bass) is a fourth year Resident
Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia
where he has recently sung the title role in Mendelssohn’s
Elijah, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte and Padre
Guardiano in La forza del destino. In February
2008, Mr. Wager sang Monterone in Rigoletto with
Opera New Jersey, followed by Masetto in Don Giovanni
at Chicago Opera Theatre, under the baton of Jane
Glover, in April 2008.