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| Event Detail |
Romantic Divas
and Amorous Dons |
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Saturday,
May 9, 8:00 PM
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It’s
spring and love is in the air! Join us for our 36th
Season Finale as dazzling singers present opera’s greatest romantic
moments. Led by Maestro Ron Gretz conducting the Annapolis
Opera Chamber Orchestra in a concert stage production at Maryland Hall.
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Lyric coloratura soprano,
Elisabeth Turchi, is rapidly emerging as an exciting
new artist in the opera world. An audience favorite
in Europe and the United States, Ms. Turchi is hailed
for her passion and artistry in bringing music’s
most beautiful and challenging works to life. Ms.
Turchi most recently performed Gabriel in Haydn’s
Die Schöpfung at the Liszt Academy in Budapest
and St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna under
the direction of two-time Grammy award winner Robert
Page. After returning from Europe, Ms. Turchi performed
as the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Great Mass
in C Minor to standing ovations at the Festival 2008
Celebration Series at the H. Ric Luhrs Performing
Arts Center in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.
The 2008 and 2009 season will feature Ms. Turchi
in selections from Rigoletto and Die Fledermaus for
Annapolis Opera’s final concert of the season,
Romantic Divas and Amorous Dons. She will also be
the featured soprano soloist in Orff’s Carmina
Burana with the Masterworks Chorale in Shepherdstown,
Mozart’s Requiem with Hagerstown Choral Arts,
and The Messiah with the Worcester Chorus in Mechanics
Hall.
Past highlights include her overseas debut in Rome
with the role of Alice in Falstaff, Rosina in Il
Barbiere di Siviglia with the Harrisburg Opera, Cio-Cio
San’s Cousin in Madama Butterfly with the Pittsburgh
Opera, and Madame Silverklang in The Impresario.
Ms. Turchi has also performed with New York City’s
Gotham Chamber Opera in Les Larmes du Couteau, Dido
and Aeneas and Les Malheurs d’Orphée.
Ms. Turchi has also studied in Italy with The International
Institute of Vocal Arts, The International Lyric
Academy of Rome, and The Ezio Pinza Council of American
Singers of Opera. Highlights from these programs
include working with the delightful Giuseppe Taddei
and the late Fedora Barbieré.
Ms. Turchi holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Vocal
Performance from Carnegie Mellon University and her
Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Shenandoah
University. She is featured on the recording of Haydn’s
Die Schöpfung at the Liszt Academy in Budapest
by CMI Records.
“I was impressed not only by the beauty of
her voice, which is ample in size with an extensive
range, but with her musicianship, acting instincts
and command of her craft. She is … a splendid
colleague … I find the entire package very
impressive.”
~ Adelaide Bishop, Stage Director
“[Elisabeth] Turchi’s pleasant soprano
was held in reserve … [then] she unleashed
a cascade of emotional singing.”
~ John Horan Jr., Northern Virginia Daily
“[Turchi’s] soprano is nimble and attractive.
And powerful. Turchi has no trouble filling the theater
with swells of clear, accurate sound.”
~ Zachary Lewis, Patriot News, Harrisburg
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Sara Stewart’s
distinct artistry, presence and rich vocal quality
are leading the young soprano to an important operatic
career. She has performed several roles with the
Baltimore Opera including Kate Pinkerton in Madama
Butterfly, Sister Catherine in Dead Man Walking,
Lauretta in James Harp's adaptation of Puccini's
Gianni Schicchi and Just Jeanette in Too Many Sopranos.
Next, she will appear as the Priestess in Aïda
with the Baltimore Opera, as well as several concert
engagements.
Noted roles in repertoire include Mimì in
La bohème, Nedda in I Pagliacci, Micaëla
in Carmen, Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Fiordiligi
in Così fan tutte, Norina in Don Pasquale,
Juliette in Roméo et Juliette, and Lehar’s
Giuditta (“Meine Lippen sie küssen so
heiss”).
Ms. Stewart received her Graduate Performance Diploma
from the Peabody Conservatory in 2003, under the
tutelage of Stanley Cornett, where she performed
the roles of Micaëla in La Tragédie de
Carmen, the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas and Cathleen
in Vaughn Williams' Riders to the Sea. Additional
recent operatic engagements include Mimì in
La bohème with the A.A.M.S. Opera Ensemble,
Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore with the Young Victorian
Theatre Company, Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro
with the Frederick Camerata, 1st Soprano Soloist
in the Annapolis Opera's production of Vienna Dreams.
On the concert stage, Ms. Stewart has performed
Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with The
Baltimore Sinfonietta, Immortal Italians, and A Celebration
of American Opera concerts with the Baltimore Opera,
Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore with the Annapolis Choral
Society, Mendelssohn’s Wer nur den lieben Gott
läßt Walden with the Prince George Choral
Society, and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with
The Frederick Camerata. She also performed a Solo
Recital in 2007 as part of the St. Cecelia Society
Concert Series.
Ms. Stewart won 2nd place in the Maryland Opera
Society Vocal Competition in 2007 and is a finalist
for the 2008 Altamura Caruso International Vocal
Competition which will be judged in August following
a performance of opera scenes. She currently studies
with Diana Soviero and Stanley Cornett.
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Mezzo Soprano Diane Fox made her international
operatic debut at the Bolshoi Opera opposite the
late Metropolitan Opera legend, Jerome Hines in his
opera, I am the Way. Other cast members of this production
included baritone, Mark Delavan and tenor, Jing Ma
Fan of whom Ms. Fox later sang again with, debuting
her first Eboli in Don Carlo with Mr. Hines’s
Opera Music Theatre International. This past March
22, 2008, Ms. Fox dazzled audiences in Seoul, South
Korea at the Seoul Arts Center in the inaugural performance
of the Korea W Philharmonic Orchestra led by Maestro
Nam Kim in the aria “Acerba volutta” from
Adriana Lecouvreur. In the second half of the concert,
Ms. Fox helped bring down the house with a rousing
Beethoven 9th Symphony. The fall of 2006, Ms. Fox
was honored to sing on the 5-year anniversary of
9/11 for Trinity Church in Manhattan, presenting
spirituals, works of Mahler, Strauss and Dvorak.
First heard on the Trinity Church Noontime Concert
Series in 1994, Diane was honored to return to Trinity
Church on the first anniversary of 9/11 where Ms.
Fox was greeted with a standing ovation for her contribution
of “With Hope and Healing” (9/11/02)
a musical program live telecast on NBC and also a
live web cast, sharing the stage with international
pianist, Ruth Laredo.
Ms. Fox has won accolades from press, public and
colleagues for her extraordinary performances in
widely varied repertoire including Tchaikovsky’s
Maid of Orleans (“A galvanic reading, ready
to take on the most dramatic roles in the repertoire” Newark
Star-Ledger), Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder (“Convincing,
both musically and emotionally,” Marina Alexander,
The Arcadian Chorale), and Jerome Hines’ inspirational
opera, I Am The Way, (“An outstanding voice…a
rare type, a singer-actress,” Hines).
Ms Fox’s varied operatic roles include the
leading ladies of Amneris (Aida), Eboli (Don Carlo),
Azucena (Il Trovatore), Santuzza, (Cavalleria Rusticana),
Giulietta (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Laura (La
Gioconda) Augusta Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe),
Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors) to the zany,
character gals such as Buttercup (HMS Pinafore),
Lady Jane (Patience) the Witch (Hansel und Gretel),
Mama McCourt (The Ballad of Baby Doe) Martha (Faust),
alongside the serious supporting roles of La Cieca
(La Gioconda), Maddalena (Rigoletto), and Mamma Lucia
(Cavalleria Rusticana). Studied roles include Brangaena
(Tristan und Isolde), Fricka (Die Walküre),
Venus (Tannhaüser), Erda (Das Rheingold) and
Ulrica (Un Ballo in Maschera).
Ms. Fox has toured the United States with the New
York City Opera National Company and has also sung
with Sarasota Opera, Cleveland Opera, Ohio Light
Opera, New Jersey State Opera, Opera Music Theatre
International, Dicapo Opera, Ridge Light Opera, State
Repertory Opera of New Jersey, New Jersey Association
of Verismo Opera among others. She has been a guest
artist on WBAI’s Art Breaking and has recorded
works of John Corigliano and Ron Nelson for Golden
Crest. Having a great love for the works of Brahms,
Ms. Fox has also been heard in the Brahms Liebeslieder
Waltzes Op. 52a on WKSU and has sung the Brahms Alto
Rhapsody with great acclaim. Diane Fox’s longtime
relationship and many recital performances with Music
For All Seasons, Inc. (over 100) have been featured
on radio programs both in Russia and the United States
and also include performances with members of the
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. As an undergraduate,
studying in Italy, she had the rare honor of singing
for Pope John Paul II in a private performance in
Fiesole, Italy. Ms. Fox, along with accompanist,
Thomas Osuga, recently were received with a standing
ovation and a chorus of bravas for their work performing
the Wagner Wesendonck Lieder, selections from the
Zigeuner Lieder of Brahms and songs of Kurt Weill
for Manhattan’s historical Trinity Church’s
Concerts at One Series.
June 2006, Ms. Fox dazzled audiences with her portrayal
of Amneris for One World Symphony in New York City.
Recent engagements include performances of the Beethoven
9th, April 2007 with the Greater Newburgh Symphony
Orchestra.
This past May 2008 Diane had a grand time, revisiting
her musical theatre roots, playing Aunt Eller in
Oklahoma with the Natchez Festival of Music. Upcoming
concerts include a Gala Performance with the Korea
W Philharmonic Orchestra under the leadership of
Maestro Nam Kim in Seoul, South Korea, December 2008
and she is greatly looking forward to her debut in
May 2009 with the Annapolis Opera.
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Richard Novak is quickly
establishing a national reputation as a professional
tenor. Novak’s operatic credits include Rodolfo,
Alfredo, Don José, Nemorino, Tamino, Ernesto,
Eisenstein, Lippo, and Romèo. Novak has performed
with Opera Carolina, Chautauqua Opera, Des Moines Metro
Opera, Wichita Grand Opera, The Living Opera, Wichita
Symphony, Chautauqua Symphony, Dallas Chamber Orchestra,
San Antonio Symphony, Prince William Symphony, and
the Monroe Symphony. Training programs include the
Chautauqua Opera Apprentice Artist Program, the Des
Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Program, the Wichita
Grand Opera Resident Artist Program, and the Wesley
Balk Singing/Acting Institute. Mr. Novak was the tenor
soloist in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle
at the prestigious Gilmore International Keyboard Festival
(recorded for NPR) under the baton of Joe Miller. Novak’s
awards include a Chautauqua Opera Apprentice Artist
Award, first place at the 2005 & 2006 Metropolitan
Opera National Council Auditions (Tulsa District),
winner of the University of North Texas Concerto Competition,
and Singer of the Year (Texoma Region NATS). Upcoming
performances include Tamino (The Magic Flute) with
the Prince William Symphony, Christus by Franz Liszt
with the New Dominion Chorale, Hoffmann (Les Contes
D’Hoffmann) with the International Opera Alliance,
an Evening of Opera with the Amadeus Concert Series,
a GMU faculty recital, and a lecture-recital at the
University of North Texas. Novak received his B.M.
and M.M. in Vocal Performance from Stephen F. Austin
State University, and will receive his D.M.A. in Vocal
Performance from the University of North Texas in the
spring of 2009. Novak is an Assistant Professor of
Voice at George Mason University and resides with his
wife and children in Manassas.
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Neil Darling,
tenor, is garnering much attention for his warm lyric
voice and compelling interpretive style. A graduate
of the IU School of Music and Sarasota Opera's young
artist program, where he distinguished himself with
a role in the Polish opera, Halka, Mr. Darling's recent
performances include I Lombardi (Oronte) and La Forza
del Destino (Don Alvaro) with Amici Opera, Die Zauberflöte (Tamino) with the Bethesda Music Festival, and The Hunger Art (Alfons) and The Golden Gate (Ed), both with Center City Opera. His concert work includes recitals with Empire Opera of New York, Concert Operetta Theatre of Philadelphia, and Human Translation in Napa, California. He has participated in numerous competitions and was awarded the Arthur Coppola Scholarship Grant from the Bel Canto Foundation Competition in 2007. Future performances include Empire Opera's premiere of The Great Supper and an engagement with Annapolis Opera. |
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