STUDENT NEWS
Nichole Annis sang in the semi-finals for the Ryan Opera Center of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. She is a student of Marilyn Taylor. She will return to Opera Theatre of the Rockies this summer to participate in the Vocal Arts Symposium at Colorado College.
Fletcher Scholar, Erich René Barbera on Sunday, February 24, 2008, was one of five winners in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Funds from the Fletcher Institute made it possible for this young tenor, who was working as a windshield repairman in Colorado when artistic director James Allbritten heard him in an audition, to attend school at UNCSA. This summer he will be a resident artist for the prestigious Merola Program of San Francisco Opera. He is a student of Dr. Marilyn Taylor.
Jodi Burns won second place in the North Carolina NATS competition held on the campus of UNCSA and first place in North Carolina Federated Music Club Competition. She made her professional debut as Ida in Die Fledermaus with Piedmont Opera. This summer she will participate in Piedmont Opera’s Camp at the Children’s Museum in Winston Salem in a production of The Magic Flute, travel to Manteo to perform at the UNCSA’s Summer Performance Festival. Finally, she will travel to Colorado to sing in Opera Theatre of the Rockies’ Vocal Arts Symposium at Colorado College. She is a student of Dr. Marilyn Taylor.
Stephanie Davis won one of four encouragement awards at the NC District Metropolitan Opera National Auditions in January and second place in the Charlotte Opera Guild Competion in February. She will participate in the NC State Arts Council’s cARTS Wheels program in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte presented by Piedmont Opera. Next year she will be a resident artist in Opera Carolina’s Education and Outreach Series. She is a student of Marion Pratnicki.
Chris Ervin sang the role of the Baron in Piedmont Opera’s La traviata and Morales in Bizet’s Carmen with Opera Theatre of the Rockies, conducted by artistic director James Allbritten. He also sang in the NC State Arts Council’s cARTS Wheels program in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte presented by Piedmont Opera. He won third place in the Hefner-Williams Vocal Competition. He is a student of James Allbritten.
Kyle Guglielmo will sing the role of Schaunard in La boheme for La Musica Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy. Recent perfomances include the roles of the Commisario in La traviata, the Page in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Ivan in Die Fledermaus for Piedmont Opera. Kyle also won first place in the North Carolina Federated Music Club Competition. He also received a Semans’ Art Fund Award to study in Italy. He is a student of Marion Pratnicki.
Marvin Kehler participated in the NC State Arts Council’s cARTS Wheels program in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte presented by Piedmont Opera as well as singing the role of Giuseppe in La traviata. He was first place winner in the Hefner-Williams Competition bringing home a prize of $1500.00 He is a student of Marilyn Taylor. His most recent accomplishment though, is that he has become a father. His daughter, Ruth Ann, arrived on February 20. Mother and daughter are doing well.
Tenor Adam Ulrich will be an apprentice artist at Central City Opera this summer. He is a student of Dr. Marilyn Taylor.
KARAGIOZOV TO PERFORM IN EUGENE ONEGIN, COSí, ELIXIR
AND CARMEN
Fletcher Alumn Krassen Karagiozov (MM 03, PAC 04) will be a resident artist for the 2008 - 2009 season at Opera San Jose. He will be singing the title role in Eugene Onegin, Guglielmo in Cosí fan tutte, Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, and Escamillo in Carmen. Krassen is a student of Dr. Marilyn Taylor.
Street Scene Has Interesting
Opening Night
Stormy: Emotions on stage match weather
By Lynn Felder
JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: May 10, 2008
The stormy emotions expressed on stage at the N.C. School of the Arts' DeMille Theatre on Thursday night reflected the stormy weather outside. Both were powerful, memorable and out of the ordinary.
First the opera: Street Scene, with music by Kurt Weill and lyrics by Langston Hughes, is jazzy and bluesy in the manner of Gershwin's Porgy and Bess. Written 12 years after Porgy and Bess, Street Scene is different in setting -- Porgy on Rainbow Row in Charleston, S.C., and Scene in a New York tenement -- but similar in its emotional intensity. A well-cast ensemble of singers from The Fletcher Opera Institute rises to the challenge of expressing that maelstrom of love, longing, jealousy, anger, hope and grief. With her warm soprano, Nichole Annis is outstanding as Anna Maurrant, the neglected wife who longs for a little tenderness. As her daughter, Rose, Jodi Burns is also a standout. Adam Ulrich is elegant and poetic as Rose's suitor Sam Kaplan.
The balance of orchestra to singers was close to perfect Thursday night. James Allbitten is the music director, and Michael Shell is the stage director.
The literal street scene is a slightly dilapidated brownstone apartment building designed by Tzuen Yap and decorated with period-perfect costumes (1947) by Janell Short. The sweaty summer is evoked by clever lighting and staging. The scene is set for the eruption of violent emotions, but there's humor, as well, and a very fun, slightly inebriated swing dance.
Second the weather: About 10 minutes into the second act, the music stopped, the singing stopped and Russell Scott, the house manager, announced that the immediate area was under a tornado watch. The audience filed murmuring, a little pale-faced, into the lobby, which was deemed the safest place, and the orchestra stayed in the pit. There we waited, while a thunderstorm raged, until about midnight when we were advised of a break in the storm and allowed to leave the building, cautiously. We picked our way back to our cars through debris and ankle-deep mud puddles.
Kathi Rainwater, the box-office manager at the Stevens Center, said yesterday that Thursday ticketholders may exchange their tickets for tickets to other performances so long as they are available. The cost of the Thursday tickets will be refunded if a suitable exchange is not possible.
¦ The Fletcher Opera Institute at the N.C. School of the Arts will present Kurt Weill's Street Scene at 8 p.m. today and at 2 p.m. Sunday in De Mille Theatre on campus. Tickets are $12 for general admission, or $10 for seniors and students. For more information, call 336-721-1945.
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/may/10/stormy-emotions-on-stage-match-weather/?entertainment
DEVIL AND KATE PRAISED
February 8, 2008, Raleigh, NC: "It would be safe to say that even for those who count Antonín Dvorák as one of their favorite composers, they’d be surprised to learn that he wrote fourteen operas. The Devil and Kate, first performed in Prague in 1899, was written after his hugely successful — personally and professionally — stay in the United States. It is a fanciful folk tale that is farcical, funny, fantastic and brimming with Dvorák’s characteristic style.
Professional opera companies that need to keep an eye on the bottom line are reluctant to take chances on works that fall out of the core repertory — even when composed by one of the greatest and most accessible composers. Fortunately, there are funded learning institutions that can roll the musical dice and resurrect unjustifiably neglected works.
The North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) is such an institution, and we are all the beneficiaries of their adventurousness. The A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the NCSA first presented The Devil and Kate at the Stevens Center in Winston-Salem then traveled east to Raleigh for two shows at the Fletcher Opera Theater — Progress Energy Center.
It was here, along with a few other hearty souls, where I had the welcome experience of hearing music by a master composer that was completely new to me.
This is a huge and complex production — in some respects even more so than their record breaking run of West Side Story in May, 2007. There are twelve leads, named roles, a chorus of about 35, three major scene changes and a pit orchestra that is the size of many symphony orchestras. Considering the smallish stage, the fact that they had to accommodate this reduction in space from the huge Stevens Center auditorium, this is a minor miracle in itself. Despite the grandiosity of the assembled forces, and the fact that hell and the devil play a central role, this production had a feeling of lightness, wit and ease."
To read more see Devil and Kate Review
OUR TOWN RECEIVES RAVE REVIEWS
The Fletcher Institute was one of the commissioners for Ned Rorem's newest opera based on Thornton Wilder's Play Our Town.
"James Allbritten's sensitive, resilient conducting and Steven LaCosse's clean, confident stage direction are at the core of the production's success. Our Town ultimately succeeds because it passes two important tests: It makes you want to hear it again, and it grabs you by the heart. If you've been scared off by other new operas, this one might change your mind. "
Raleigh News and Observer, February 7, 2007
To read full review click here
"The orchestra was outstanding: twenty-five strings, two each of flutes, clarinets and horns, an oboe, a bassoon, a trumpet and a piano. Maestro James Allbritten worked magic (and worked hard at it), revealing Rorem's playful, wistful, taunting, tragic and complex score. For the opening act and the third act (the funeral scene), he must have crept into the orchestra pit on hands and knees so as not to draw applause, which would have distracted from the mood of the pre-act business, especially the setting up the cemetery before Act III. He did walk on upright for the beginning of the second act to receive well-deserved applause for the musician in the pit."
Classical Voice North Carolina, February 11, 2007
To read the full review click here
RADAMISTO
APPLAUDED FOR INTERESTING REPERTOIRE AND STRONG PERFORMANCES
In May the Fletcher Institute presented a new production of Handel's Radamisto. The Institute, known for its inventive and original programming, has often produced works that make it into the repertoire of other American companies. In 2000, the school produced Haydn's Orlando Paladino, which was produced by Glimmerglass Opera the following summer. Radamisto was just announced as part of the offerings for Summer 2008 in Santa Fe.
"Music lovers can count on intriguing repertoire and solid performances when the A. J. Fletcher Opera Institute stages operas at the NC School of the Arts. Such was the case for the last opera of the current season, Handel's Radamisto, presented in the DeMille Theatre."
Classical Voice of North Carolina, May 23, 2007
To read the full review click here
Jennifer Barsamian (MM 02, PAC 03) has been busy this past year. She sang the role of the Marquise in Donizetti’s La fille du régiment with Opera in the Highlands directed by fellow alum Michael Shell. She spent the summer with Utah Festival Opera Company singing Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, the House Keeper in Man of La Mancha and Ethel Toffelmier in The Music Man. While at the Fletcher Institute she studied with Marion Pratnicki and Dr. Marilyn Taylor.
Krassen Karagiozov (MM 03, PAC 04) appeared as Schaunard in La Bohème with Opera Roanoke and The Opera Company of North Carolina as well as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly for Capitol Opera. He will return to Roanoke in the fall of 2007 to sing the Father in Hansel and Gretel. He closed out the 2006-07 season with a recital at the Bulgarian Embassy in New York and as an apprentice artist with Lake George Opera. He is a student of Marilyn Taylor. Visit www.krassenkaragiozov.com
Cheryse McLeod (PAC 02) 2005-2006 Season Highlights for Cheryse McLeod include a guest artist appearance in the "Evening of Carolina Voices" concert with The Opera Company of North Carolina, an appearance with the Greensboro Oratorio Society as the Mezzo-soprano Soloist in Handel's Messiah, several concerts with Eleganza, and a return to The Opera Company of North Carolina as the Page in Salome. Cheryse McLeod (mezzo-soprano) and Rhiannon Giddens (soprano) perform together as Eleganza. Their unique niche is in the area of vocal duet performance. They perform beautiful duets from a variety of musical genres including opera, art song, musical theatre, spirituals, and jazz. Eleganza's new website is now online at www.EleganzaMusic.net. This fall she will sing the role of Flora in La traviata with Piedmont Opera. While at UNCSA she studied with Marion Pratnicki.
Soprano Emily Newton (MM 03, PAC 04) was the winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions for the New York district. She was also a semi-finalist in the 6th International Moniuszko Competition in Warsaw, Poland. In the past year she has performed the role of Fiordiligi with Bronx Opera and New Jersey Opera Theater as well as oratorio performances with the Bronx Symphony, Rutgers University, Winston Salem Symphony, Asheville Chorale Society and the Riverside Choral Society. While at the Fletcher Institute she studied with Dr. Marilyn Taylor. For up-to-date information please go to www.emilynewton.com.
Sara Pardo (MM 06, PAC 07) had the rare opportunity to create two roles in the 2006/07 year. She created the role of Jane in a workshop performance of Kirke Mechem's Pride and Prejudice as well as the role of Emily in Ned Rorem's Our Town. She was Fiordiligi for Piedmont Opera's Touring Production of Così fan tutte and in the summer of 2007 made her professional debut as Frasquita in Carmen with the Princeton Festival. Sara is a student of Dr. Marilyn Taylor. Visit www.sarapardo.com for more information.
Mezzo-soprano, Dawn Pierce (MM 05, PAC 06), was an apprentice artist at Opera Omaha last summer and in the summer of 2007 will travel to Lake George Opera to perform the lead role in Offenbach's La vie Parisienne along with fellow Fletcher Alumn Krassen Karagiozov. In the spring of 2007 she was part of Piedmont Opera's touring Così fan tutte as well as an engagement with Capitol Opera to perform her first Suzuki in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Next season she will sing roles with Mobile Opera and Pensacola. Opera and To read more about Dawn please visit www.dawnpierce.com. She is a student of Dr. Marilyn Taylor.
Jeff Seppala (MM 07) will be an apprentice artist for Tri-Cities Opera in the coming season. While at the Fletcher Institute he was a student of Marion Pratnicki and Dr. Marilyn Taylor.
Michael Shell (BM 98, MM 01, PAC 02) was the assistant director of the world premiere of The Greater Good or The Passion of Boule de Suif at Glimmerglass Opera last summer and directed the Glimmerglass Young Artists Program Scenes Concert. This summer he will travel to Central City Opera in Colorado where in addition to working with the young artists, will assist soprano Catherine Malifitano on Menotti's The Saint of Bleeker Street. In the spring of 2007 he was at Opera Omaha where he was the assistant director for the world premiere of Anthony Davis' Wakonda's Dream and was the stage director for Opera Tampa's Il trovatore. He also returned to UNCSA to work with the undergraduate opera workshop and to Piedmont Opera to direct a touring production of Mozart's Così fan tutte, part of the state arts touring program cARTwheels. In the fall of 2007 he will return to Virginia Opera to assist on their production of The Pirates of Penzance as well as direct La traviata for Piedmont Opera. In the spring to Opera Omaha to direct Peter Brook's The Tragedy of Carmen and be guest direct for Fletcher Opera Institute's production of Street Scene. While at UNCSA, Michael was the student of James Allbritten. To find out more about Michael, please visit his website www.mshell.carbonmade.com.
Kristen Yarborough (BM 05, MM07) is company manager for Asheville Lyric Opera and will be singing Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and covering Lucia di Lammermoor for Ashville Lyric/Opera Company of North Carolina. She is also am teaching voice at Mars Hill College. While at the Fletcher Institute she was a student of Marion Pratnicki and Marilyn Taylor.
ALLBRITTEN TO CONDUCT OPERA HOUSE PREMIERE
Artistic Director for Fletcher Opera, James Allbritten will conduct Adam Guettel's The Light in the Piazza for Piedmont Opera in the Fall of 2008. This will be the opera house premiere of the poignant tale of a mother and a daughter from Winston Salem on vacation in Italy.
GOLDSMITH RETIRES
Nancy E. Goldsmith (Italian Diction/Supertitles) after over 30 years of teaching has decided to retire to pursue other interests. Her contribution to the operactic community in Winston Salem has been invaluable.
Spirited 'La Boheme' a highlight of festival
June 23, 2998
Opera always stands at the center of the Princeton Festival. Puccini's "La Boheme" is anchoring this year's festival, a celebration of artistic creativity in France at the turn of the 20th century.
Few operas have the youthful energy that courses through Puccini's portrayal of the young lovers and eager artists in "La Boheme."
Adding to the impact of the performance are Steven LaCosse's vital staging and the handsome settings of Allen Charles Klein.
LaCosse, like the set designer, provides an attractive, straightforward staging of Puccini's opera. He fills the stage with lively movement in the second act and plumbs the deep drama in the third when Mimi is reunited with her lover in a scene guaranteed to sear the heart when it is sung and acted with intensity.
--By ROBERT BAXTER
Courier-Post Staff
To read all about Princeton Festival’s Boheme please visit
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