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

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.

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.