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CORE FACULTY
CAROLINE DOWDLE
OPERA RESIDENCY DIRECTOR, MUSIC DIRECTOR for WAGNER'S DAS RHEINGOLD & LIEDER RESIDENCY COACH Caroline Dowdle was born in South Africa and studied music at the University of Cape Town, where she was taught by the eminent chamber musician Lamar Crowson. There she qualified with a Masters in Music before moving to England to study at the Royal Northern College of Music as a solo pianist, under Renna Kellaway. She was awarded a fellowship in accompaniment at the college, a post which she held for 2 years, before moving to London to begin her career as a freelance pianist. For many years she was a staff pianist at the Britten Pears School in Aldeburgh, where she worked alongside many of the most eminent singers and instrumentalists of their generation, and studied many of the Britten operas. Since then she has performed widely in Britain and in Europe, giving recitals with singers and instrumentalists at the South Bank and Wigmore Hall, London, in Paris for Radio France, in Vienna and in Moscow. Since the summer of 2008 she has run the Opera Academy at the Verbier International Music Festival. She has also performed in the Festival itself. Recently she has appeared in numerous recitals with the esteemed baritone, Sir Thomas Allen. She has worked for Opera de Rouen in 2009 and 2011 as “chef de chant” and as pianist in performances of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw and Albert Herring, both in Rouen and at the Theatre Comique, in Paris. She works regularly as a coach with the singers on the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, and was appointed as a professor to the faculty of the Royal College of Music in 2015. She is the Musical Director of both the Samling Academy for young singers in the North-east of England, and the Academy of French Song and Opera, a course run in France each summer. In 2016 Caroline worked as a vocal coach in Beijing with students from the Central Conservatoire there, and was also appointed as a regular guest. 
PROF. BYRON KNUTSON,
CONDUCTOR & COACH for WAGNER'S DAS RHEINGOLD Byron Knutson studied piano, conducting, composition and acting in his hometown of Winnipeg, Canada, and in the United States. After completing the Artist Diploma in Opera Coaching at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, he was appointed Visiting Professor of Song Interpretation at Albion College in Michigan. In 1999, Mr. Knutson moved to Germany, where until 2010 he worked in the opera houses in Kiel, Halle and Augsburg, conducting operatic repertoire from baroque to contemporary, including operetta, musicals and ballet. In 2010, Mr. Knutson took over the musical direction of the young artist program at the Komische Oper Berlin. While at the KOB, Mr. Knutson conducted works by Handel, Mozart, Weill, Ginastera and a critically acclaimed production of Phlip Glass’ Les enfants terribles directed by Felix Seiler. Mr. Knutson’s has worked with conductors such as Paolo Arrivabeni (Bellini’s La Straniera; Theater an der Wien), Friedemann Layer (Der Rosenkavalier) Johannes Kalitzke (World Premiere, Olga Neuwirth’s American Lulu), Patrick Lange (Rigoletto), Carl St. Clair (Aribert Reimann’s Lear), Sebastian Lang-Lessing (Der Rosenkavalier, National Center for the Performing Arts, Beijing), Christian Curnyn (Castor et Pollux), Lü Jia (Tannhäuser, Beijing). Mr. Knutson has also prepared the casts of Reimann’s Lear and Die Gespenstersonate for productions at Theater an der Wien and in Tokyo. Mr. Knutson frequently gives Masterclasses in North America, Europe and China. In 2015 Mr. Knutson was appointed Professor of Operatic Studies at the Hanns Eisler Conservatory in Berlin. He is also currently music director of the Berliner Wagner Gruppe. 
BONNIE WAGNER,
LIEDER RESIDENCY CO-DIRECTOR & COACH Bonnie Wagner has been a solo korrepetitorin at the Komische Oper Berlin since 2012, where she enjoys working on a diverse and award-winning repertoire under the direction of Barrie Kosky. She has toured internationally with the Komische Oper’s cult hit Die Zauberflöte (2012), as well as played 20th century pillars such as Zimmermann’s Die Soldaten and Schönberg’s Moses und Aron. The Komische Oper has also afforded her experience in baroque style, with the opportunity to play harpsichord under the direction of Christian Curnyn on Rameau’s Castor et Pollux. Ever eager to play art song, she has performed in the Berlin Art Song Festival where she is also Artistic Advisor, and has made recital appearances in Berlin with Kiez Oper and other projects. Before moving to Berlin, Bonnie worked as a vocal coach and chamber musician in Philadelphia. For seven years, she was a vocal coach at the Curtis Institute of Music. She also cultivated a relationship with Opera Philadelphia, playing for the chorus and then regularly as Rehearsal Accompanist/Assistant Conductor under Corrado Rovaris. A favorite job in Philly was her work with the Philadelphia Orchestra’s Sound All Around program, concocting programs for small children with musicians from the orchestra and professional story-teller Charlotte Blake Alston. At every opportunity, Bonnie performed in art song recitals with Philadelphia artists such as Randall Scarlata and Elizabeth Weigle. She founded a chamber music festival in Philly in the summer of 2005 called Center City Chamber Recitals. Other work experiences in Philadelphia included teaching an art song class at Westminster Choir College, coaching and playing student recitals at West Chester University, teaching piano at Settlement Music School, and accompanying the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus under Joseph Buches for three years, where she played every conceivable kind of repertoire, including “It’s Raining Men”. Bonnie holds a Master of Music in Accompanying and Chamber Music from the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Martin Katz. Her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance is from the same institution, where she studied with Logan Skelton, Katherine Collier, Anton Nel, and Louis Nagel. She spent summer of 2008 studying German Lieder with Helmut Deutsch in Munich. In the summer, Bonnie has worked at festivals including Brancaleoni International Music Festival in Piobbico, Italy, Chautauqua, NY, and Belle-Île-en-Mer in France. She also spent summers as a student at Tanglewood, Brevard, and Music Academy of the West. |
JONATHAN WARE,
LIEDER RESIDENCY CO-DIRECTOR & COACH
Texas-born pianist Jonathan Ware trained at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, at New York’s Juilliard School, and at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin.
He has won major awards, included the first prize of the 2014 lied competition of the Internationale Hugo-Wolf-Akademie in Stuttgart with baritone Ludwig Mittelhammer, as well as the accompanist prize at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and Das Lied Competition. Concerts have taken him to Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, the Ravinia Festival, and the Berliner Festspiele, among others. For several years he has been accompanist for the Festival Akademie Lied of Heidelberger Frühling, as well as the coordinator of the Piano Academy at the Verbier Festival. He made his German Debut in 2012 at the Rheingau Musik Festival with Benjamin Appl. His musical partners have included artists such as Dame Felicity Lott, Christiane Oelze, Golda Schultz, Robin Tritschler, Elsa Dreisig, Ludwig Mittelhammer and the Vogler Quartett. Jonathan teachers at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ Berlin and is a faculty member of the Barenboim-Said Akademie.
LIEDER RESIDENCY CO-DIRECTOR & COACH
Texas-born pianist Jonathan Ware trained at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, at New York’s Juilliard School, and at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin.
He has won major awards, included the first prize of the 2014 lied competition of the Internationale Hugo-Wolf-Akademie in Stuttgart with baritone Ludwig Mittelhammer, as well as the accompanist prize at the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and Das Lied Competition. Concerts have taken him to Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, the Ravinia Festival, and the Berliner Festspiele, among others. For several years he has been accompanist for the Festival Akademie Lied of Heidelberger Frühling, as well as the coordinator of the Piano Academy at the Verbier Festival. He made his German Debut in 2012 at the Rheingau Musik Festival with Benjamin Appl. His musical partners have included artists such as Dame Felicity Lott, Christiane Oelze, Golda Schultz, Robin Tritschler, Elsa Dreisig, Ludwig Mittelhammer and the Vogler Quartett. Jonathan teachers at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ Berlin and is a faculty member of the Barenboim-Said Akademie.
ANNE SCHWANEWILMS,
LIEDER RESIDENCY COACH &
OPERA RESIDENCY MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Anne Schwanewilms is recognised as one of the leading interpreters of the works of Richard Strauss. Her extensive repertoire covers roles such as Arabella, Ariadne („Ariadne auf Naxos“), Chrysothemis („Elektra“), Feldmarschallin („Der Rosenkavalier“), Empress („Die Frau ohne Schatten, Danae („Die Liebe der Danae“), Elsa („Lohengrin“), Elisabeth („Tannhäuser“), Desdemona („Otello“), Marie („Wozzeck“) and Madame Lidoine („Dialogues des Carmélites“). She has appeared at many of the major opera houses of the world including Munich, Dresden, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Vienna, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, New York and Tokyo. At the Semperoper Dresden, Anne Schwanewilms enjoyed a great success as Arabella and Chrysothemis under the musical direction of Christian Thielemann, roles which she reprised at the Vienna National Opera under the baton of Ulf Schirmer and Franz Welser-Möst. Anne Schwanewilms is a regular at the Bayreuth and the Salzburg Festivals, where her performances as Carlotta in „Die Gezeichneten“ by Franz Schreker and as the Empress in Richard Strauss’ „Die Frau ohne Schatten“ were particularly significant. Engagements in 2017 included Marschallin („Der Rosenkavalier“) in Munich, Elisabeth („Tannhäuser“) at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and Eva in the new production of „Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg“ at the Bayreuth Festival in 2017.
Anne Schwanewilms appears regularly with conductors such as Christian Thielemann, Zubin Metha, Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst, Kent Nagano, Stefan Soltesz, Vladimir Jurowski, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Simone Young, Christoph Eschenbach and Riccardo Chailly. Her prolific concert career takes her to the foremost halls of Europe and she appears regularly with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre National de France.
One of the leading exponents of Lied, Anne Schwanewilms has appeared in recital at the Wigmore Hall London, at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, at the Lincoln Center New York and at the Edinburgh Festival. She is a member of the jury of the international Louis Spohr- Competition and leads masterclasses. A British music critic described her as a ‘veritable sound painter’. Accompanied by Malcolm Martineau, Charles Spencer and Roger Vignoles, Anne Schwanewilms has set artistic standards with her interpretations of songs by Schumann, Wolff, Wagner, Liszt, Mahler, Strauss and Schönberg. Music critics praise her unfailing sense of the subtlest details of phrasing, lustre and suppleness of voice and great technical expertise. „Recitals are my staging“, Anne Schwanewilms said once in an interview. „Here I can create something from the beginning with very simple means – the voice and the piano.“
Anne Schwanewilms has a comprehensive discography. Her opera recordings include DVDs of „Die Gezeichneten“ (Salzburg Festival, Kent Nagano, DSO, 2005), „Die Frau ohne Schatten“ (Salzburg Festival, Christian Thielemenn, Vienna Philharmonic), „Der Rosenkavalier“ (Fabio Luisi, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, 2007) and „Dialogues des Carmélites“ (Simone Young, Hamburg State Opera, 2008). In addition, she has presented a Richard Strauss CD („Vier letzte Lieder“ and excerpts from „Der Rosenkavalier“, „Capriccio“ and „Arabella“, Markus Stenz, Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra), a Richard Wagner CD with „Tristan and Isolde“, „Tannhäuser“ and the „Wesendonck-Lieder“ (Cornelius Meister, RSO Vienna) as well as several recital discs including works by Liszt, Mahler, Schumann, Wolff, and Schönberg. In May 2016 her CD „Schöne Welt...“ with Lieder by Schubert, Schreker and Korngold has been released.
A recipient of many awards, she was „Singer of the year“ in 2002. In 2014 she received a GRAMMY Award nomination for her CD recording of Richard Strauss’ „Elektra“ with Christian Thielemann. Her recording of „Wozzeck“ with Hans Graf and the Houston Symphony Orchestra received the ECHO Klassik Award 2017 and the GRAMMY Award 2018 in the category „best opera recording“
LIEDER RESIDENCY COACH &
OPERA RESIDENCY MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Anne Schwanewilms is recognised as one of the leading interpreters of the works of Richard Strauss. Her extensive repertoire covers roles such as Arabella, Ariadne („Ariadne auf Naxos“), Chrysothemis („Elektra“), Feldmarschallin („Der Rosenkavalier“), Empress („Die Frau ohne Schatten, Danae („Die Liebe der Danae“), Elsa („Lohengrin“), Elisabeth („Tannhäuser“), Desdemona („Otello“), Marie („Wozzeck“) and Madame Lidoine („Dialogues des Carmélites“). She has appeared at many of the major opera houses of the world including Munich, Dresden, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Vienna, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, New York and Tokyo. At the Semperoper Dresden, Anne Schwanewilms enjoyed a great success as Arabella and Chrysothemis under the musical direction of Christian Thielemann, roles which she reprised at the Vienna National Opera under the baton of Ulf Schirmer and Franz Welser-Möst. Anne Schwanewilms is a regular at the Bayreuth and the Salzburg Festivals, where her performances as Carlotta in „Die Gezeichneten“ by Franz Schreker and as the Empress in Richard Strauss’ „Die Frau ohne Schatten“ were particularly significant. Engagements in 2017 included Marschallin („Der Rosenkavalier“) in Munich, Elisabeth („Tannhäuser“) at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and Eva in the new production of „Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg“ at the Bayreuth Festival in 2017.
Anne Schwanewilms appears regularly with conductors such as Christian Thielemann, Zubin Metha, Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, Franz Welser-Möst, Kent Nagano, Stefan Soltesz, Vladimir Jurowski, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Simone Young, Christoph Eschenbach and Riccardo Chailly. Her prolific concert career takes her to the foremost halls of Europe and she appears regularly with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the London Symphony Orchestra, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestre National de France.
One of the leading exponents of Lied, Anne Schwanewilms has appeared in recital at the Wigmore Hall London, at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, at the Lincoln Center New York and at the Edinburgh Festival. She is a member of the jury of the international Louis Spohr- Competition and leads masterclasses. A British music critic described her as a ‘veritable sound painter’. Accompanied by Malcolm Martineau, Charles Spencer and Roger Vignoles, Anne Schwanewilms has set artistic standards with her interpretations of songs by Schumann, Wolff, Wagner, Liszt, Mahler, Strauss and Schönberg. Music critics praise her unfailing sense of the subtlest details of phrasing, lustre and suppleness of voice and great technical expertise. „Recitals are my staging“, Anne Schwanewilms said once in an interview. „Here I can create something from the beginning with very simple means – the voice and the piano.“
Anne Schwanewilms has a comprehensive discography. Her opera recordings include DVDs of „Die Gezeichneten“ (Salzburg Festival, Kent Nagano, DSO, 2005), „Die Frau ohne Schatten“ (Salzburg Festival, Christian Thielemenn, Vienna Philharmonic), „Der Rosenkavalier“ (Fabio Luisi, Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, 2007) and „Dialogues des Carmélites“ (Simone Young, Hamburg State Opera, 2008). In addition, she has presented a Richard Strauss CD („Vier letzte Lieder“ and excerpts from „Der Rosenkavalier“, „Capriccio“ and „Arabella“, Markus Stenz, Cologne Gürzenich Orchestra), a Richard Wagner CD with „Tristan and Isolde“, „Tannhäuser“ and the „Wesendonck-Lieder“ (Cornelius Meister, RSO Vienna) as well as several recital discs including works by Liszt, Mahler, Schumann, Wolff, and Schönberg. In May 2016 her CD „Schöne Welt...“ with Lieder by Schubert, Schreker and Korngold has been released.
A recipient of many awards, she was „Singer of the year“ in 2002. In 2014 she received a GRAMMY Award nomination for her CD recording of Richard Strauss’ „Elektra“ with Christian Thielemann. Her recording of „Wozzeck“ with Hans Graf and the Houston Symphony Orchestra received the ECHO Klassik Award 2017 and the GRAMMY Award 2018 in the category „best opera recording“
ERIC SCHNEIDER,
LIEDER RESIDENCY COACH & MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Originally from the Bergisches Land near Cologne, Eric Schneider studied piano and mathematics. At the age of twenty-two he passed his piano solo concert examination in Cologne with distinction. Following his first competition prizes and piano recital performances he resolved to pursue studies in the Lieder genre under Hartmut Höll. His career received highly influential input from such pianists as Paul Badura-Skoda and Alfred Brendel as well as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. In the 1990s he studied orchestral conducting under Rolf Reuter in Berlin. Eric Schneider’s performances as a Lieder accompanist have proved musical sensations all over the world, taking him to the Tearo alla Scala in Milan, Carnegie Hall in New York and Tokyo Opera City among other venues. He has been a regular guest at illustrious festivals including the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, the Salzburg Festival and the Tanglewood Summer Music Festival. Numerous highly praised recordings document his exceptional standing as a Lieder accompanist with such partners as Christiane Oelze, Hans Peter Blochwitz and Matthias Goerne. Discs released to date include Franz Schubert’s Winterreise, Apparition (a recording featuring works by Henry Purcell and George Crumb), both with Christine Schäfer, Wanderers Nachtlied, Schubert Lieder in a recording again with Matthias Goerne and, most recently, Behind the Lines - a collection of songs of war with soprano Anna Prohaska. Eric Schneider has now made a return to solo piano literature and recently gave impressive recitals at the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, the Kissinger Sommer Festival and the Klavierfestival Ruhr. His most recent solo CD features works by Leoš Janáček, Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann. Currently he teaches the Lieder repertoire at the Universität der Künste in Berlin.
LIEDER RESIDENCY COACH & MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Originally from the Bergisches Land near Cologne, Eric Schneider studied piano and mathematics. At the age of twenty-two he passed his piano solo concert examination in Cologne with distinction. Following his first competition prizes and piano recital performances he resolved to pursue studies in the Lieder genre under Hartmut Höll. His career received highly influential input from such pianists as Paul Badura-Skoda and Alfred Brendel as well as Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. In the 1990s he studied orchestral conducting under Rolf Reuter in Berlin. Eric Schneider’s performances as a Lieder accompanist have proved musical sensations all over the world, taking him to the Tearo alla Scala in Milan, Carnegie Hall in New York and Tokyo Opera City among other venues. He has been a regular guest at illustrious festivals including the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, the Salzburg Festival and the Tanglewood Summer Music Festival. Numerous highly praised recordings document his exceptional standing as a Lieder accompanist with such partners as Christiane Oelze, Hans Peter Blochwitz and Matthias Goerne. Discs released to date include Franz Schubert’s Winterreise, Apparition (a recording featuring works by Henry Purcell and George Crumb), both with Christine Schäfer, Wanderers Nachtlied, Schubert Lieder in a recording again with Matthias Goerne and, most recently, Behind the Lines - a collection of songs of war with soprano Anna Prohaska. Eric Schneider has now made a return to solo piano literature and recently gave impressive recitals at the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden, the Kissinger Sommer Festival and the Klavierfestival Ruhr. His most recent solo CD features works by Leoš Janáček, Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann. Currently he teaches the Lieder repertoire at the Universität der Künste in Berlin.
BRIAN MOLL
LIEDER RESIDENCY COACH
Brian Moll is Chair of the Piano and Collaborative Piano departments at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he teaches classes in chamber music, vocal repertory and diction. He is also on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he is instructor or repertoire courses and a coach for the opera department. As a keyboardist he has worked with Emmanuel Music, Boston Baroque, and the Handel & Haydn Chorus and Orchestra and has also served as Assistant Conductor for productions by Boston Lyric Opera, Opera North and Boston Midsummer Opera. He has appeared in the ‘Strings in the Mountains Festival” in Colorado, and at the New Hampshire Music Festival and has been on the summer faculty of the Lied Austria Program in Graz.
A magna cum laude graduate of Hamilton College, Moll earned further degrees from the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria and the University of Michigan School of Music, where he studied with Martin Katz. While in Vienna, he earned diplomas with distinction in piano and organ and also taught as a Fulbright teaching assistant. He has given recitals as a pianist and organist in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Bulgaria, France, and throughout the United States, and has appeared with singers Barbara Kilduff, Barbara Quintiliani, Sheri Greenawald, Wolfgang Brendel, Sir Thomas Allen, Kevin Deas, Yeghishe Manucharyan, and Kelly Kaduce. Moll has appeared in such prestigious halls as Vienna’s Mozartsaal, the Haydnsaal at the Esterhazy Castle in Eisenstadt, Austria, Tokyo’s Lilia Hall, and Boston’s Jordan Hall.
Brian Moll is the Whiting Fellowship Recipient (Harvard University).
LIEDER RESIDENCY COACH
Brian Moll is Chair of the Piano and Collaborative Piano departments at the Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he teaches classes in chamber music, vocal repertory and diction. He is also on the faculty of the Boston Conservatory and the New England Conservatory of Music, where he is instructor or repertoire courses and a coach for the opera department. As a keyboardist he has worked with Emmanuel Music, Boston Baroque, and the Handel & Haydn Chorus and Orchestra and has also served as Assistant Conductor for productions by Boston Lyric Opera, Opera North and Boston Midsummer Opera. He has appeared in the ‘Strings in the Mountains Festival” in Colorado, and at the New Hampshire Music Festival and has been on the summer faculty of the Lied Austria Program in Graz.
A magna cum laude graduate of Hamilton College, Moll earned further degrees from the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna, Austria and the University of Michigan School of Music, where he studied with Martin Katz. While in Vienna, he earned diplomas with distinction in piano and organ and also taught as a Fulbright teaching assistant. He has given recitals as a pianist and organist in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Bulgaria, France, and throughout the United States, and has appeared with singers Barbara Kilduff, Barbara Quintiliani, Sheri Greenawald, Wolfgang Brendel, Sir Thomas Allen, Kevin Deas, Yeghishe Manucharyan, and Kelly Kaduce. Moll has appeared in such prestigious halls as Vienna’s Mozartsaal, the Haydnsaal at the Esterhazy Castle in Eisenstadt, Austria, Tokyo’s Lilia Hall, and Boston’s Jordan Hall.
Brian Moll is the Whiting Fellowship Recipient (Harvard University).
MARY KELLY,
DIRECTOR for WAGNER'S DAS RHEINGOLD & DRAMA COACH
Mary is an actor and a playwright. She graduated from The Gaiety School of Acting, Dublin, in 2002. Five of her plays have been produced, two of which are published - Unravelling the Ribbon (Nick Hern Books, London) and Two for a Girl (The Stinging Fly Press, Dublin). Unravelling The Ribbon toured Ireland in 2008, and had its U.S. premiere in 2010 with Tennessee Women’s Theater Project.
Mary’s theatre work includes; Christine Linde in A Doll’s House (Alan Stanford, Second Age Th. Co. Ireland), Lydia, in All My Sons (Robin Lefevre, The Gate Theatre). The Little Mermaid World Tour (Big-Telly Th. Co.) TV and film include Parked with Colm Meaney (Ripple world Pictures), Fran (Setanta and TV3) and The Clinic and Fair City (RTE). Radio includes The Hit List with Brendan Gleeson, written and directed by John Boorman, and Mayday, written and directed by Veronica Coburn.
Mary has been based in Berlin for eight years, in which time she has been commissioned and written “The Scarlet Web” for Big-Telly Theatre Company (Northern Ireland for Irish and British Tour) and has performed regularly at English Theatre Berlin- including Full Irish, Inkblot Berlin, and in English Theatre’s original production of Isaac’s Eye and its subsequent remounts. She played multiple characters in BERT's (Berlin English Repertory Theatre Company) A Christmas Carol and has done three remounts of Two for a Girl as a one woman show at English Theatre Berlin, Frankfurt International Theatre and as part of CRAW Irish Arts Fest Berlin. Mary has worked with Opera Programs Berlin as an acting couch and is co-founder of M&M Creative – which helps companies and individuals develop creative expression.
DIRECTOR for WAGNER'S DAS RHEINGOLD & DRAMA COACH
Mary is an actor and a playwright. She graduated from The Gaiety School of Acting, Dublin, in 2002. Five of her plays have been produced, two of which are published - Unravelling the Ribbon (Nick Hern Books, London) and Two for a Girl (The Stinging Fly Press, Dublin). Unravelling The Ribbon toured Ireland in 2008, and had its U.S. premiere in 2010 with Tennessee Women’s Theater Project.
Mary’s theatre work includes; Christine Linde in A Doll’s House (Alan Stanford, Second Age Th. Co. Ireland), Lydia, in All My Sons (Robin Lefevre, The Gate Theatre). The Little Mermaid World Tour (Big-Telly Th. Co.) TV and film include Parked with Colm Meaney (Ripple world Pictures), Fran (Setanta and TV3) and The Clinic and Fair City (RTE). Radio includes The Hit List with Brendan Gleeson, written and directed by John Boorman, and Mayday, written and directed by Veronica Coburn.
Mary has been based in Berlin for eight years, in which time she has been commissioned and written “The Scarlet Web” for Big-Telly Theatre Company (Northern Ireland for Irish and British Tour) and has performed regularly at English Theatre Berlin- including Full Irish, Inkblot Berlin, and in English Theatre’s original production of Isaac’s Eye and its subsequent remounts. She played multiple characters in BERT's (Berlin English Repertory Theatre Company) A Christmas Carol and has done three remounts of Two for a Girl as a one woman show at English Theatre Berlin, Frankfurt International Theatre and as part of CRAW Irish Arts Fest Berlin. Mary has worked with Opera Programs Berlin as an acting couch and is co-founder of M&M Creative – which helps companies and individuals develop creative expression.
STEPHANIE WEISS,
OPERA RESIDENCY MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Stephanie Weiss, mezzo-soprano, was a Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation from Mannes College of Music. As the winner of the American Berlin Opera Foundation Competition, she became a member of Deutsche Oper Berlin as a Stipendiatin, where in her first season, while still a soprano, she sang Frasquita (Carmen), Musetta, Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Gerhilde (Die Walküre), and Schlafittchen in the Berlin premiere of Das Traumfresserchen.
Ms. Weiss continues to be a regular guest at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she has sung Marianne Leitmetzerin (Der Rosenkavalier), Aufseherin (Elektra), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Grimgerde (Die Walküre), Johanna [cover] (Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna), and Venus [cover] (Tannhäuser) in the company’s tour to Beijing. Other appearances include Opera Orchestra of New York under Eve Queler at Carnegie Hall as Rose (Lakmé), Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden as Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro) and Marthe (Faust), at Oper Frankfurt as Musetta, and at Stadttheater Bern, San Diego Opera, Oper Dortmund, and Oper Köln as Marianne Leitmetzerin. She debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic as the Cook in Le Rossignol under the baton of Pierre Boulez. Other notable performances have included Venus (Tannhäuser) with Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, Berta (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) with Opera Las Vegas, and a return to the San Diego Opera as Giannetta (L´elisir d´amore). Concerts include Wesendonck Lieder with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Symphony No. 4 with the L’viv Philharmonic (Ukraine), and Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana) with Singakademie Potsdam. Recent appearances include Grimgerde (Die Walküre) at Oper Leipzig, Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas) with Opera Company of Middlebury, a return to Deutsche Oper Berlin to sing Zweite Dienerin (Die Ägyptische Helena) and Aufseherin (Elektra), and the title role of Johanna (Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna) by Walter Braunfels at Oper Köln. In the 2017/2018 season, she sang Aksinja in Lady Macbeth of Mzensk at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and returned to Oper Leipzig to sing Grimgerde in Die Walküre.
Along with operatic and orchestral concert repertoire, Ms. Weiss is an avid performer of art song and new music. She has performed recitals in the US, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia, singing the music of award-winning American and German living composers. With pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova, she has sung the world premieres of several song cycles, including Jonathan Stark’s “Passageway”, and Daron Hagen’s “Jaik’s Songs”. In 2018, the duo will release their debut CD of the songs of Daron Hagen.
In addition to her singing, Ms. Weiss is Assistant Professor of Voice at Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts School of Music. She holds degrees from New England Conservatory (B.M. voice), Tufts University (B.S. biology and drama), University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M), Mannes College of Music (Prof. Studies Dipl.), and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (D.M.A.). Previously, she was Assistant Professor of Voice at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a Teaching Fellow with the Metropolitan Opera Education Department, and serves on the faculties of COSI (Centre for Opera Studies in Italy) in Sulmona, Italy and AIMS in Graz.
OPERA RESIDENCY MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Stephanie Weiss, mezzo-soprano, was a Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation from Mannes College of Music. As the winner of the American Berlin Opera Foundation Competition, she became a member of Deutsche Oper Berlin as a Stipendiatin, where in her first season, while still a soprano, she sang Frasquita (Carmen), Musetta, Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Gerhilde (Die Walküre), and Schlafittchen in the Berlin premiere of Das Traumfresserchen.
Ms. Weiss continues to be a regular guest at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she has sung Marianne Leitmetzerin (Der Rosenkavalier), Aufseherin (Elektra), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Grimgerde (Die Walküre), Johanna [cover] (Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna), and Venus [cover] (Tannhäuser) in the company’s tour to Beijing. Other appearances include Opera Orchestra of New York under Eve Queler at Carnegie Hall as Rose (Lakmé), Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden as Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro) and Marthe (Faust), at Oper Frankfurt as Musetta, and at Stadttheater Bern, San Diego Opera, Oper Dortmund, and Oper Köln as Marianne Leitmetzerin. She debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic as the Cook in Le Rossignol under the baton of Pierre Boulez. Other notable performances have included Venus (Tannhäuser) with Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, Berta (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) with Opera Las Vegas, and a return to the San Diego Opera as Giannetta (L´elisir d´amore). Concerts include Wesendonck Lieder with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Symphony No. 4 with the L’viv Philharmonic (Ukraine), and Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana) with Singakademie Potsdam. Recent appearances include Grimgerde (Die Walküre) at Oper Leipzig, Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas) with Opera Company of Middlebury, a return to Deutsche Oper Berlin to sing Zweite Dienerin (Die Ägyptische Helena) and Aufseherin (Elektra), and the title role of Johanna (Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna) by Walter Braunfels at Oper Köln. In the 2017/2018 season, she sang Aksinja in Lady Macbeth of Mzensk at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and returned to Oper Leipzig to sing Grimgerde in Die Walküre.
Along with operatic and orchestral concert repertoire, Ms. Weiss is an avid performer of art song and new music. She has performed recitals in the US, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia, singing the music of award-winning American and German living composers. With pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova, she has sung the world premieres of several song cycles, including Jonathan Stark’s “Passageway”, and Daron Hagen’s “Jaik’s Songs”. In 2018, the duo will release their debut CD of the songs of Daron Hagen.
In addition to her singing, Ms. Weiss is Assistant Professor of Voice at Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts School of Music. She holds degrees from New England Conservatory (B.M. voice), Tufts University (B.S. biology and drama), University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M), Mannes College of Music (Prof. Studies Dipl.), and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (D.M.A.). Previously, she was Assistant Professor of Voice at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a Teaching Fellow with the Metropolitan Opera Education Department, and serves on the faculties of COSI (Centre for Opera Studies in Italy) in Sulmona, Italy and AIMS in Graz.
GIDON SAKS,
OPERA RESIDENCY MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Gidon Saks is in demand internationally for his highly acclaimed interpretations of many bass-baritone roles. Over the span of his successful career to date, his signature roles have included Bluebeard, Nick Shadow The Rake’s Progress, Claggart Billy Budd, Kaspar Der Freischütz, and Hagen Götterdämmerung.In the 2017/18 season, Saks will make his role debut as Richard III in Robert Carsen’s production of Battistelli’s Richard III for La Fenice. He will also return to the role of John Claggart in Britten Billy Budd in David Alden’s production at the Bolshoi Opera, as well as in Daniel Špinar’s production for the National Theatre of Prague.
Last season Saks sang the Villains in Offenbach Les contes d’Hoffman for the Royal Danish Opera, Claggart in Britten Billy Budd at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and for the Bolshoi Opera; he also reprised the role of Bottom in Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in Beijing, and the title role in Bartok Duke Bluebeard’s Castle with Concerto Budapest and András Keller, opposite Petra Lang as Judith.
Saks’s “fierce, emotionally ripe performances” (Financial Times) in the title role of Bluebeard’s Castle were recently seen at Komische Oper Berlin under the direction of Calixto Bieito, in Mariusz Trelinski’s production at Teatr Wielki, at the Concertgebouw under Peter Eötvös, at the Festival de Opera de Coruña, and in the production by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser for Angers Nantes Opera. As Nick Shadow The Rake’s Progress he has performed at Opéra National de Paris, Staatsoper Berlin, and Edinburgh International Festival. Last season Saks sang his first Bottom in Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Bergen National Opera, Gyges in Zemlinsky Der König Kandaules at Opera Vlaanderen in a new production by Andrij Zholdak under Dmitri Jurowski, and King of France in Calixto Bieito’s new production of Aribert Reimann Lear under Fabio Luisi for the Opéra National de Paris. Previously for the Opéra National de Paris, Saks has sung John Claggart in Britten Billy Budd, a role he also recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, which won a Grammy Award for the Best Opera Performance.
Equally in demand on the concert platform, Saks has performed Creon Oedipus Rex and Hermit Der Freischütz with the London Symphony Orchestra (both recorded for LSO Live); King Marke Tristan und Isolde at Festival de Opera de Coruña; König Heinrich Lohengrin with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with some of the most distinguished conductors of our time including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Valery Gergiev, Donald Runnicles, Sir Neville Marriner, Daniel Harding, Sir Andrew Davies and the late Sir Colin Davis.
Other operatic highlights include Fasolt Das Rheingold and Hagen Götterdämmerung for La Fenice (which won an Abbiati Award); Gaspard Le Freyschutz for Opéra Comique and the BBC Proms; Villains Les contes d’ Hoffmann and The Pilgrim’s Progress at Covent Garden, Scarpia Tosca at Bregenz Festival; Kaspar Die Freischütz and Don Pizarro Fidelio for Staatsoper Berlin; Enrico Anna Bolena for Oper Köln; Boito’s Mefistofele for De Nederlandse Opera; Don Pizzaro for Canadian Opera Company, Seneca L’incoronazione di Poppea for La Monnaie, Filippo Don Carlo in Geneva and Palermo; Fafner Siegfried, Hunding Die Walküre, Daland and Musiklehrer Ariadne auf Naxos for Washington National Opera. Saks has also created several roles including George Moscone in Stewart Wallace Harvey Milk directed by Christopher Alden (Houston, New York City and San Francisco). Earlier in his career he performed numerous major roles for English National Opera, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera. While with the Canadian Opera Company Saks as an ensemble member he sang Rochefort Anna Bolena with Dame Joan Sutherland, Wurm Luisa Miller, Bluebeard and Boris Godunov.
He can also be heard in earlier recordings include Abbot Curlew River(Philips) with, the Gravedigger in Weill Silbersee (BMG), the title role in Handel Herculesunder Minkowski (Deutsche Grammophon) and Saul with Rene Jacobs, which won a Gramophone Award.
Saks was born in Israel and brought up in South Africa. He trained at the Royal Northern College of Music, University of Toronto and subsequently Zurich Opera Studio. He was a visiting Professor of Voice at the Conservatoire of Ghent in Belgium. Offstage he is a dedicated director/designer and teacher.
OPERA RESIDENCY MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Gidon Saks is in demand internationally for his highly acclaimed interpretations of many bass-baritone roles. Over the span of his successful career to date, his signature roles have included Bluebeard, Nick Shadow The Rake’s Progress, Claggart Billy Budd, Kaspar Der Freischütz, and Hagen Götterdämmerung.In the 2017/18 season, Saks will make his role debut as Richard III in Robert Carsen’s production of Battistelli’s Richard III for La Fenice. He will also return to the role of John Claggart in Britten Billy Budd in David Alden’s production at the Bolshoi Opera, as well as in Daniel Špinar’s production for the National Theatre of Prague.
Last season Saks sang the Villains in Offenbach Les contes d’Hoffman for the Royal Danish Opera, Claggart in Britten Billy Budd at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and for the Bolshoi Opera; he also reprised the role of Bottom in Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in Beijing, and the title role in Bartok Duke Bluebeard’s Castle with Concerto Budapest and András Keller, opposite Petra Lang as Judith.
Saks’s “fierce, emotionally ripe performances” (Financial Times) in the title role of Bluebeard’s Castle were recently seen at Komische Oper Berlin under the direction of Calixto Bieito, in Mariusz Trelinski’s production at Teatr Wielki, at the Concertgebouw under Peter Eötvös, at the Festival de Opera de Coruña, and in the production by Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser for Angers Nantes Opera. As Nick Shadow The Rake’s Progress he has performed at Opéra National de Paris, Staatsoper Berlin, and Edinburgh International Festival. Last season Saks sang his first Bottom in Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Bergen National Opera, Gyges in Zemlinsky Der König Kandaules at Opera Vlaanderen in a new production by Andrij Zholdak under Dmitri Jurowski, and King of France in Calixto Bieito’s new production of Aribert Reimann Lear under Fabio Luisi for the Opéra National de Paris. Previously for the Opéra National de Paris, Saks has sung John Claggart in Britten Billy Budd, a role he also recorded with the London Symphony Orchestra, which won a Grammy Award for the Best Opera Performance.
Equally in demand on the concert platform, Saks has performed Creon Oedipus Rex and Hermit Der Freischütz with the London Symphony Orchestra (both recorded for LSO Live); King Marke Tristan und Isolde at Festival de Opera de Coruña; König Heinrich Lohengrin with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with some of the most distinguished conductors of our time including Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Valery Gergiev, Donald Runnicles, Sir Neville Marriner, Daniel Harding, Sir Andrew Davies and the late Sir Colin Davis.
Other operatic highlights include Fasolt Das Rheingold and Hagen Götterdämmerung for La Fenice (which won an Abbiati Award); Gaspard Le Freyschutz for Opéra Comique and the BBC Proms; Villains Les contes d’ Hoffmann and The Pilgrim’s Progress at Covent Garden, Scarpia Tosca at Bregenz Festival; Kaspar Die Freischütz and Don Pizarro Fidelio for Staatsoper Berlin; Enrico Anna Bolena for Oper Köln; Boito’s Mefistofele for De Nederlandse Opera; Don Pizzaro for Canadian Opera Company, Seneca L’incoronazione di Poppea for La Monnaie, Filippo Don Carlo in Geneva and Palermo; Fafner Siegfried, Hunding Die Walküre, Daland and Musiklehrer Ariadne auf Naxos for Washington National Opera. Saks has also created several roles including George Moscone in Stewart Wallace Harvey Milk directed by Christopher Alden (Houston, New York City and San Francisco). Earlier in his career he performed numerous major roles for English National Opera, Scottish Opera and Welsh National Opera. While with the Canadian Opera Company Saks as an ensemble member he sang Rochefort Anna Bolena with Dame Joan Sutherland, Wurm Luisa Miller, Bluebeard and Boris Godunov.
He can also be heard in earlier recordings include Abbot Curlew River(Philips) with, the Gravedigger in Weill Silbersee (BMG), the title role in Handel Herculesunder Minkowski (Deutsche Grammophon) and Saul with Rene Jacobs, which won a Gramophone Award.
Saks was born in Israel and brought up in South Africa. He trained at the Royal Northern College of Music, University of Toronto and subsequently Zurich Opera Studio. He was a visiting Professor of Voice at the Conservatoire of Ghent in Belgium. Offstage he is a dedicated director/designer and teacher.
CAROL MASTRODOMENICO,
VOICE & MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Carol Mastrodomenico maintains an active schedule as a guest soloist with choruses, orchestras and other ensembles. She excels in the interpretation of oratorio, and has appeared recently in Poulenc’s Gloria, Beethoven’s Mass in C and Ninth Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Requiem, Mahler’s Second Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Fauré’s Requiem.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is an accomplished recitalist, and has recently performed programs ranging from premieres of contemporary music to cabaret programs involving interaction with the audience. She recently toured England with her production of John Morrison’s Jane Austin’s History of England singing the role of Emce. She premiered John McDonald’s Put this in your Pipe and Speech Made by Music with the Essex Chamber Players, and premiered Ellen Bender’s Five Emily Dickinson Songs during New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Festival. Other noted composers she has worked with include Robert DiDomenica and David Leisner. Ms. Mastrodomenico has a great love for Spanish Repertoire, and enjoys programing Spanish and particularly Argentinian songs to introduce the repertoire to her recital audiences.
A champion of vocal chamber music, she has worked with noted musicians premiering new works at contemporary festivals sponsored by BMOP and composer groups at Tufts University and Longy School of Music of Bard College. She has been invited to perform at the Tanglewood Music Center, Jordan Hall, Faneuil Hall, the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival, the Boston Vocal Artists Series, the 1794 Meeting House concert Series in New Salem, and the Music at Noon Concert Series at the Swedenborg Chapel.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is the stage director of both the Tufts University Opera Ensemble and the Longy School of Music of Bard College’s Opera Theater at Longy. Recent productions she has directed include Le Nozze di Figaro, Der Zwerg, L’amico Fritz, Gianni Schicchi, Three Sisters who are not Sisters, Three Penny Opera, Dido and Aeneas, Old Maid and the Thief, Amelia Goes to the Ball, Riders to the Sea, Gallantry, The Telephone and Doctor Miracle. Ms. Mastrodomenico is a passionate advocate for newly composed works. With the Tufts Opera Ensemble, she commissioned and directed the world premieres of Knave of Hearts by Vartan Aghababian in 2013 and No Onions, nor Garlic by Thomas Stumpf in 2014. With the Longy Opera Workshop, she commissioned and directed the world premiere of Jane Austen’s History of England by John Morrison in 2014. It is her hope to commission a new opera work every year.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is just as passionate about vocal pedagogy and teaching voice. She has participated in panel discussions by the Boston NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Chapter on the different elements of "Teaching Men to Sing", and was invited by the Western Massachusetts NATS chapter to give a solo presentation on Teaching Men. Her master classes at the Classical Singer Convention, Regional NATS workshops and area Colleges are widely attended. At her invitation, renowned pedagogue Ken Bozeman spoke in the Boston area about the Pedagogical Applications of Vocal Acoustics for teaching voice. She developed and annually taught a vocal curriculum for string performers at the Heifetz International Summer Institute in Staunton, Virginia, US.
Ms. Mastrodomenico’s students can be heard singing throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. They have been accepted into graduate and undergraduate programs at Julliard, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Miami, Frost School of Music, Michigan State University, University of Maryland at College Park, Ithaca College, Guild Hall and The Royal Academy of Music in London. Her singers regularly attend young artist programs at Houston Grand Opera Outreach Program, Central City, Berlin Song Festival, Edinburgh Music Festival and Halifax Opera Festival.
Ms. Mastrodomenico received her Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy at New England Conservatory of Music. She is on the voice faculties of Longy School of Music of Bard College and Tufts University.
VOICE & MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Carol Mastrodomenico maintains an active schedule as a guest soloist with choruses, orchestras and other ensembles. She excels in the interpretation of oratorio, and has appeared recently in Poulenc’s Gloria, Beethoven’s Mass in C and Ninth Symphony, Brahms’ Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Requiem, Mahler’s Second Symphony, Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42, Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Fauré’s Requiem.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is an accomplished recitalist, and has recently performed programs ranging from premieres of contemporary music to cabaret programs involving interaction with the audience. She recently toured England with her production of John Morrison’s Jane Austin’s History of England singing the role of Emce. She premiered John McDonald’s Put this in your Pipe and Speech Made by Music with the Essex Chamber Players, and premiered Ellen Bender’s Five Emily Dickinson Songs during New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Festival. Other noted composers she has worked with include Robert DiDomenica and David Leisner. Ms. Mastrodomenico has a great love for Spanish Repertoire, and enjoys programing Spanish and particularly Argentinian songs to introduce the repertoire to her recital audiences.
A champion of vocal chamber music, she has worked with noted musicians premiering new works at contemporary festivals sponsored by BMOP and composer groups at Tufts University and Longy School of Music of Bard College. She has been invited to perform at the Tanglewood Music Center, Jordan Hall, Faneuil Hall, the Warebrook Contemporary Music Festival, the Boston Vocal Artists Series, the 1794 Meeting House concert Series in New Salem, and the Music at Noon Concert Series at the Swedenborg Chapel.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is the stage director of both the Tufts University Opera Ensemble and the Longy School of Music of Bard College’s Opera Theater at Longy. Recent productions she has directed include Le Nozze di Figaro, Der Zwerg, L’amico Fritz, Gianni Schicchi, Three Sisters who are not Sisters, Three Penny Opera, Dido and Aeneas, Old Maid and the Thief, Amelia Goes to the Ball, Riders to the Sea, Gallantry, The Telephone and Doctor Miracle. Ms. Mastrodomenico is a passionate advocate for newly composed works. With the Tufts Opera Ensemble, she commissioned and directed the world premieres of Knave of Hearts by Vartan Aghababian in 2013 and No Onions, nor Garlic by Thomas Stumpf in 2014. With the Longy Opera Workshop, she commissioned and directed the world premiere of Jane Austen’s History of England by John Morrison in 2014. It is her hope to commission a new opera work every year.
Ms. Mastrodomenico is just as passionate about vocal pedagogy and teaching voice. She has participated in panel discussions by the Boston NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) Chapter on the different elements of "Teaching Men to Sing", and was invited by the Western Massachusetts NATS chapter to give a solo presentation on Teaching Men. Her master classes at the Classical Singer Convention, Regional NATS workshops and area Colleges are widely attended. At her invitation, renowned pedagogue Ken Bozeman spoke in the Boston area about the Pedagogical Applications of Vocal Acoustics for teaching voice. She developed and annually taught a vocal curriculum for string performers at the Heifetz International Summer Institute in Staunton, Virginia, US.
Ms. Mastrodomenico’s students can be heard singing throughout the United States, Europe, and South America. They have been accepted into graduate and undergraduate programs at Julliard, Manhattan School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music, University of Colorado at Boulder, University of Texas at Austin, University of North Texas, Cleveland Institute of Music, University of Miami, Frost School of Music, Michigan State University, University of Maryland at College Park, Ithaca College, Guild Hall and The Royal Academy of Music in London. Her singers regularly attend young artist programs at Houston Grand Opera Outreach Program, Central City, Berlin Song Festival, Edinburgh Music Festival and Halifax Opera Festival.
Ms. Mastrodomenico received her Master of Music degrees in Vocal Performance and Vocal Pedagogy at New England Conservatory of Music. She is on the voice faculties of Longy School of Music of Bard College and Tufts University.
ANASTASIA NIKOLOV,
VOICE FACULTY,
PROGRAM CO-FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Dramatic soprano Anastasia Nikolov started her musical training at the age of 5, studying piano, drama and dance at the Bulgarian National Theater. She commenced her vocal training in Bulgaria and continued it at the Longy School of Music (Cambridge, Massachusetts) as a recipient of the Janet Irving Scholarship for Vocal Studies. During the 2003-2004 season Ms. Nikolov completed an apprenticeship with Central Florida Lyric Opera and was invited to return as a Resident Artist with the company.
Opera roles include: Helmwige in Die Walküre (Berlin Wagner Gruppe); Woglinde in Das Rheingold (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Elsa in Lohengrin (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Violetta in La Traviata (Central Florida Lyric Opera; New London Opera Players) Governess in Turn of the Screw (Opera Seria), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Opera Seria), Nedda in Pagliacci (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Micaëla and Frasquita in Carmen, under the directorship of late legendary soprano Licia Albanese (Central Florida Lyric Opera); Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Serpina in La serva padrona (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal, concertante), Member of the Chamber in a premiere performance of Eric Sawyer's Our American Cousin (Composers in Red Sneakers), Darling in the world premiere of Victoria Ellis' opera Darling (One of Us Foundation).
Solo concert engagements include J.S. Bach Jauchzet Gott in alles Landen (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut (Old North Concert Series), Magnificat in D (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa brevis in A (Fine Arts Chorale); Mozart's Requiem (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa Brevis in F (Sommerville Choir), Exultate Jubilate (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Vesperae solennes de confessore (Somerville Choir); Händel's Messiah (College Park Players), L'Allego, il Pensieroso, ed il Moderato (Berlin Classic Players, Berliner Philharmonie); Pergolesi Stabat mater (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal); Schubert Mass in G (Hingham Choir and Orchestra); Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ (College Park Players); Vivaldi Gloria (Old North Concert Series); Vaughan Williams Dona novis pacem (Tufts University Orchestra, cover); Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream (Longy Chamber Orchestra); Berg Sieben frühe Lieder (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival); Mahler Rückert-Lieder (Berlin Song Festival); Strauss Vier letzte Lieder (Berlin Song Festival, Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival, Walbrook Music Trust, Galerieforum am Meer); Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasilieras No.5 (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival) among others. As a concert artist, Ms. Nikolov has given numerous art song recitals in the United States and in Europe. She has premiered works by prominent American and British composers such as Vartan Aghababian, Michael Djupstrom, Victoria Ellis, Heather Gilligan and Eric Sawyer; some of these works were written and dedicated to her.
Ms. Nikolov is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Berlin Song Festival, she has taught voice and vocal pedagogy in both North America and Europe.
VOICE FACULTY,
PROGRAM CO-FOUNDER & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Dramatic soprano Anastasia Nikolov started her musical training at the age of 5, studying piano, drama and dance at the Bulgarian National Theater. She commenced her vocal training in Bulgaria and continued it at the Longy School of Music (Cambridge, Massachusetts) as a recipient of the Janet Irving Scholarship for Vocal Studies. During the 2003-2004 season Ms. Nikolov completed an apprenticeship with Central Florida Lyric Opera and was invited to return as a Resident Artist with the company.
Opera roles include: Helmwige in Die Walküre (Berlin Wagner Gruppe); Woglinde in Das Rheingold (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Elsa in Lohengrin (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Violetta in La Traviata (Central Florida Lyric Opera; New London Opera Players) Governess in Turn of the Screw (Opera Seria), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Opera Seria), Nedda in Pagliacci (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Micaëla and Frasquita in Carmen, under the directorship of late legendary soprano Licia Albanese (Central Florida Lyric Opera); Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Serpina in La serva padrona (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal, concertante), Member of the Chamber in a premiere performance of Eric Sawyer's Our American Cousin (Composers in Red Sneakers), Darling in the world premiere of Victoria Ellis' opera Darling (One of Us Foundation).
Solo concert engagements include J.S. Bach Jauchzet Gott in alles Landen (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut (Old North Concert Series), Magnificat in D (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa brevis in A (Fine Arts Chorale); Mozart's Requiem (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa Brevis in F (Sommerville Choir), Exultate Jubilate (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Vesperae solennes de confessore (Somerville Choir); Händel's Messiah (College Park Players), L'Allego, il Pensieroso, ed il Moderato (Berlin Classic Players, Berliner Philharmonie); Pergolesi Stabat mater (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal); Schubert Mass in G (Hingham Choir and Orchestra); Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ (College Park Players); Vivaldi Gloria (Old North Concert Series); Vaughan Williams Dona novis pacem (Tufts University Orchestra, cover); Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream (Longy Chamber Orchestra); Berg Sieben frühe Lieder (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival); Mahler Rückert-Lieder (Berlin Song Festival); Strauss Vier letzte Lieder (Berlin Song Festival, Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival, Walbrook Music Trust, Galerieforum am Meer); Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasilieras No.5 (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival) among others. As a concert artist, Ms. Nikolov has given numerous art song recitals in the United States and in Europe. She has premiered works by prominent American and British composers such as Vartan Aghababian, Michael Djupstrom, Victoria Ellis, Heather Gilligan and Eric Sawyer; some of these works were written and dedicated to her.
Ms. Nikolov is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of the Berlin Song Festival, she has taught voice and vocal pedagogy in both North America and Europe.
WORKSHOPS & MASTERCLASSES FACULTY
STEPHAN REINEKE,
AGENT, TACT INTERNATIONAL
MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Stephan studied law, musicology and cultural management at the universities in Bayreuth, Mainz, Cologne and Berlin. After early lessons in piano, he became a member of a chorus working with conductors such as Sergiu Celibidache, Sylvain Cambreling and Michael Gielen and orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic and the SWR Symphony Orchestra. He gained valuable experience in the artistic administration of Komische Oper Berlin, as assistant to the Director of the Rundfunkchor Berlin and as personal assistant to the Intendant of Dortmund Opera. In addition, he was also Managing President of a non-profit foundation in Berlin supporting young and talented artists. Stephan was a member of the jury of the European Singing Competition Debut and gives lectures at the Berlin Summer University of the Arts. He joined TACT in 2012.
http://www.tact4art.com/
AGENT, TACT INTERNATIONAL
MASTERCLASS FACULTY
Stephan studied law, musicology and cultural management at the universities in Bayreuth, Mainz, Cologne and Berlin. After early lessons in piano, he became a member of a chorus working with conductors such as Sergiu Celibidache, Sylvain Cambreling and Michael Gielen and orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic and the SWR Symphony Orchestra. He gained valuable experience in the artistic administration of Komische Oper Berlin, as assistant to the Director of the Rundfunkchor Berlin and as personal assistant to the Intendant of Dortmund Opera. In addition, he was also Managing President of a non-profit foundation in Berlin supporting young and talented artists. Stephan was a member of the jury of the European Singing Competition Debut and gives lectures at the Berlin Summer University of the Arts. He joined TACT in 2012.
http://www.tact4art.com/
ANNE SORBARA,
STYLING & BRANDING COACH,
PHOTOGRAPHER
Anne Sorbara is a trained Makeup Artist and Foto-designer from Toronto, Canada. Having trained in both the United Kingdom at The Makeup School and through private lessons in Germany, Anne is skilled in using makeup to illuminate clients’ natural beauty and as a photographer, has a modern eye and flair for capturing her clients' personalities. Anne is also a working operatic coloratura soprano, and her knowledge of the industry gives her keen insight into your needs for portraits and promotional material.
Anne started out at Mac Cosmetics, where she fell in love with the motto ‘All Ages. All Races. All Sexes.” Here, she was able to hone her practical skills and develop her creative intuition with a wide range of clientele. From there she took her talents to the freelance world. Anne is in demand as a Makeup Artist and has worked in a variety of capacities, including backstage at Fashion shows for L’Oreal Paris, for the red carpets of the Deutscher Filmpreis and the Berlinale, at events such as The Glasgow Vintage Festival, Glow: The Beauty Convention, NYX Professional Makeup Halloween Party, and makeup events by Dior, L’Oreal Paris, and Charlotte Tilburry. Her creativity and performance-background lends itself well to Theatre makeup and Anne has worked on Don’t Forget To Go Home, an original piece by Kolektiva Balkana, Die Räuber for the Hanns Eisler HfM, Les contes d’Hoffmann with Opera on Tap Berlin, and Carmen with Opera Incognita München..
The convergence of Anne’s makeup skills, her ease in understanding individual needs and knack for capturing the personality of her clients is her business ‘Lumessence’ founded in Janaury 2017. Anne offers portrait photography and makeup packages, as well as private makeup lessons and masterclasses. She recently gave a Masterclass in ‘Makeup for the Stage’ at Die Etage, school for the Performing and Fine Arts. Anne’s warm personality leads to fun photoshoots that put the client at ease, and her attention to detail results in vibrant portraits. It is her pleasure to continue developing her craft with each new person.
STYLING & BRANDING COACH,
PHOTOGRAPHER
Anne Sorbara is a trained Makeup Artist and Foto-designer from Toronto, Canada. Having trained in both the United Kingdom at The Makeup School and through private lessons in Germany, Anne is skilled in using makeup to illuminate clients’ natural beauty and as a photographer, has a modern eye and flair for capturing her clients' personalities. Anne is also a working operatic coloratura soprano, and her knowledge of the industry gives her keen insight into your needs for portraits and promotional material.
Anne started out at Mac Cosmetics, where she fell in love with the motto ‘All Ages. All Races. All Sexes.” Here, she was able to hone her practical skills and develop her creative intuition with a wide range of clientele. From there she took her talents to the freelance world. Anne is in demand as a Makeup Artist and has worked in a variety of capacities, including backstage at Fashion shows for L’Oreal Paris, for the red carpets of the Deutscher Filmpreis and the Berlinale, at events such as The Glasgow Vintage Festival, Glow: The Beauty Convention, NYX Professional Makeup Halloween Party, and makeup events by Dior, L’Oreal Paris, and Charlotte Tilburry. Her creativity and performance-background lends itself well to Theatre makeup and Anne has worked on Don’t Forget To Go Home, an original piece by Kolektiva Balkana, Die Räuber for the Hanns Eisler HfM, Les contes d’Hoffmann with Opera on Tap Berlin, and Carmen with Opera Incognita München..
The convergence of Anne’s makeup skills, her ease in understanding individual needs and knack for capturing the personality of her clients is her business ‘Lumessence’ founded in Janaury 2017. Anne offers portrait photography and makeup packages, as well as private makeup lessons and masterclasses. She recently gave a Masterclass in ‘Makeup for the Stage’ at Die Etage, school for the Performing and Fine Arts. Anne’s warm personality leads to fun photoshoots that put the client at ease, and her attention to detail results in vibrant portraits. It is her pleasure to continue developing her craft with each new person.
EXECUTIVE TEAM
JULIE WYMA,
CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Julie Wyma has been described as a Renaissance Woman of opera, having worked in both Europe and the United States as a singer, director, stage manager, wig/makeup artist, costume designer, producer, and educator.
As a soprano she has appeared in more than 20 roles, including die Königin der Nacht and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Gilda in Rigoletto, Marie in Die Verkaufte Braut, Musetta in La Bohème, Sophie in Werther, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, and Norina in Don Pasquale. Of her Norina, the Kansas City Metropolis said: “soprano Julie Wyma sparkled with a self-confident air and a strong, beautiful voice.”
Recent performances have included the roles of Marie in Die verkaufte Braut, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto with the Brandenburgisches Konzertorchester Eberswalde at Kloster Chorin, Germany; Musetta in La Bohème and Belinda in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with Puccini's Toaster in Berlin; the Soprano solos in Mozart's Requiem, Händel’s Messiah, and Fauré's Requiem, all in Berlin; a concert of music by the American expatriate author and composer Paul Bowles in Magdeburg and Berlin, Germany with tenor Laurent Martin; Lovers’ Quarrels, a concert of operatic duets and arias with her husband, Peter Furlong, in Concord, New Hampshire and Niemegk, Germany; Three Tenors and a Soprano concerts in Cornish and New London, New Hampshire; and Viva Divas!, a concert of operatic arias, duets, and trios in Cornish, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Arizona and Berlin, Germany. She recently produced a concert of The AIDS Quilt Songbook as a benefit concert for the Berliner Aids-Hilfe e.V.
Ms. Wyma has produced and directed operas including Wagner’s Lohengrin, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre (Berlin Wagner Gruppe), Massenet’s Werther (Irrational Entertainment), Händel’s Semele (Midwest Early Opera Works), Jonathan Stinson’s The Three Bears and Ryan Oldham’s The Emperor’s Madness (University of Missouri-Kansas City), as well as Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years (Voci Inglesi) and numerous opera scenes programs. She has assistant directed Albert Herring and Giulio Cesare at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, La Traviata at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Carmen at Opera North, and she assistant stage managed La Rondine at Indiana University.
As a costume designer Ms. Wyma worked for Dicapo Opera Theatre in New York for the 2011-2012 Season, which included Tosca, The Consul, Iolanta, The Most Happy Fella, La Cenerentola, Beauty and the Beast, and La Traviata. She has also worked as a bridal alterations specialist in Bloomington, Indiana and New York City. As a student she worked as a costume assistant/stitcher for the University of Arizona on Le nozze di Figaro and The Merry Wives of Windsor, and for Indiana University on Die Zauberflöte, The Nutcracker, and La Rondine. Ms. Wyma has worked as a Wig and Makeup Assistant for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, in operas including Giulio Cesare, La Bohème, and John Brown, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in productions including La Bohème, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, and The Man of La Mancha, and for a national tour of Hairspray. As a young artist, she was a set construction assistant at Opera in the Ozarks in 2004.
As an educator, Ms. Wyma’s passion lies in helping singers make the transition from student to professional, and in guiding talented people to the places where they are needed. She has served as a vocal coach, preparing singers for auditions and talent competitions, as well as an audition panelist and advisor. With organizations such as Irrational Entertainment, Midwest Early Opera Works, Voci Inglesi, Berlin Wagner Gruppe and Berliner Opernverein, she has facilitated performance opportunities for singers seeking additional stage experience and the chance to hone their craft in a supportive, professional environment.
CO-FOUNDER & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Julie Wyma has been described as a Renaissance Woman of opera, having worked in both Europe and the United States as a singer, director, stage manager, wig/makeup artist, costume designer, producer, and educator.
As a soprano she has appeared in more than 20 roles, including die Königin der Nacht and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Gilda in Rigoletto, Marie in Die Verkaufte Braut, Musetta in La Bohème, Sophie in Werther, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, and Norina in Don Pasquale. Of her Norina, the Kansas City Metropolis said: “soprano Julie Wyma sparkled with a self-confident air and a strong, beautiful voice.”
Recent performances have included the roles of Marie in Die verkaufte Braut, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto with the Brandenburgisches Konzertorchester Eberswalde at Kloster Chorin, Germany; Musetta in La Bohème and Belinda in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with Puccini's Toaster in Berlin; the Soprano solos in Mozart's Requiem, Händel’s Messiah, and Fauré's Requiem, all in Berlin; a concert of music by the American expatriate author and composer Paul Bowles in Magdeburg and Berlin, Germany with tenor Laurent Martin; Lovers’ Quarrels, a concert of operatic duets and arias with her husband, Peter Furlong, in Concord, New Hampshire and Niemegk, Germany; Three Tenors and a Soprano concerts in Cornish and New London, New Hampshire; and Viva Divas!, a concert of operatic arias, duets, and trios in Cornish, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Arizona and Berlin, Germany. She recently produced a concert of The AIDS Quilt Songbook as a benefit concert for the Berliner Aids-Hilfe e.V.
Ms. Wyma has produced and directed operas including Wagner’s Lohengrin, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre (Berlin Wagner Gruppe), Massenet’s Werther (Irrational Entertainment), Händel’s Semele (Midwest Early Opera Works), Jonathan Stinson’s The Three Bears and Ryan Oldham’s The Emperor’s Madness (University of Missouri-Kansas City), as well as Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years (Voci Inglesi) and numerous opera scenes programs. She has assistant directed Albert Herring and Giulio Cesare at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, La Traviata at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Carmen at Opera North, and she assistant stage managed La Rondine at Indiana University.
As a costume designer Ms. Wyma worked for Dicapo Opera Theatre in New York for the 2011-2012 Season, which included Tosca, The Consul, Iolanta, The Most Happy Fella, La Cenerentola, Beauty and the Beast, and La Traviata. She has also worked as a bridal alterations specialist in Bloomington, Indiana and New York City. As a student she worked as a costume assistant/stitcher for the University of Arizona on Le nozze di Figaro and The Merry Wives of Windsor, and for Indiana University on Die Zauberflöte, The Nutcracker, and La Rondine. Ms. Wyma has worked as a Wig and Makeup Assistant for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, in operas including Giulio Cesare, La Bohème, and John Brown, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in productions including La Bohème, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, and The Man of La Mancha, and for a national tour of Hairspray. As a young artist, she was a set construction assistant at Opera in the Ozarks in 2004.
As an educator, Ms. Wyma’s passion lies in helping singers make the transition from student to professional, and in guiding talented people to the places where they are needed. She has served as a vocal coach, preparing singers for auditions and talent competitions, as well as an audition panelist and advisor. With organizations such as Irrational Entertainment, Midwest Early Opera Works, Voci Inglesi, Berlin Wagner Gruppe and Berliner Opernverein, she has facilitated performance opportunities for singers seeking additional stage experience and the chance to hone their craft in a supportive, professional environment.