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Cosi Fan Tutte - A School for LoversMeet The CastAllison Atteberry (Fiordiligi) is thrilled to be performing with Brooklyn Repertory Opera again, after singing the role of Mrs. Hunter Fortune in "A.F.R.A.I.D." She recently returned from Florida, where she was a member of Sarasota Opera's Apprentice Artists program. Other recent performances include a premiere of the new opera "Golden Ticket" with American Lyric Theater, and OperaWorks' original opera, "Curse on the High C's". In past seasons, Allison sang the title role in "Ariadne auf Naxos" with New York Opera Forum, spent a summer in Rome singing Dorabella in Operafestival di Roma's "Cosi Fan Tutte", and another performing in Brevard Music Center's "West Side Story". She got her degree in vocal performance at Illinois Wesleyan University. (6/9, 6/17, 6/19) Douglas Benton (Guglielmo), a baritone, resides in Philadelphia and performs with small and regional opera companies on the East Coast. Recent roles include Pooh Bah, The Mikado, Washington Savoyards, King Melchior, Amahl and the Night Visitors, Opera Bel Cantanti (Washington, DC), and Count Homonay, Gypsy Baron, Victorian Lyric Opera (Rockville, MD) He is a frequent recitalist, most recentlly contributing to a rarely heard Brahms song cycle, Die schone Magalone, as part of the Trinity Church Wall Street concert series. He studies voice with Roberta Knie. (6/9, 6/17, 6/19) Alyssa Bowlby (Fiordiligi), Called 'fearless' and 'intense' by the Baltimore Sun, soprano Alyssa Bowlby was recently heard singing and being interviewed by Robert Smith on NPR's All Things Considered. Most recently seen as Geraldine in A Hand of Bridge with the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, she also concertizes regularly in the tri-state area with Pacific Opera Company's Emerging Artists Program. She has performed roles including Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte), Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Miss Wordsworth (Albert Herring), Mme. Herz (Der Schauspieldirektor), Rita (Donizetti's Rita), Geraldine (A Hand of Bridge), and Miss Pinkerton (The Old Maid and the Thief). In concert, she has appeared as the soprano soloist in Les Noces, Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Carmina Burana, Messiah, Mozart Requiem, Bach Magnificat, and Mendelssohn's Lobgesang. She will next appear at Carnegie Hall with Pacific Opera, and will later be seen as Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte in August 2007 with Project Opera of Manhattan. She will then appear as Marzelline in Fidelio in November/December 2007 with Empire Opera. (6/2, 6/12, 6/24) Marcella Caprario (Dorabella), most recent operatic performances include Second Lady in The Magic Flute with Hudson Opera Theater and Flora in La Traviata with Eastern Festival Symphony Orchestra. Other roles include Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Hermia in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Mercedes in Carmen and Venus in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld. In concert Ms. Caprario has appeared as a soloist across the country in Bach's Magnificat, Handelâs Messiah and Mozart's Mass in C and Regina Coeli, as well as in numerous contemporary music concerts. Additionally, she has been featured in recital at the Ash Lawn Opera Festival of Virginia and throughout Philadelphia, New Jersey and Kansas City. While earning a Bachelor of Music at Westminster Choir College and a Master of Music at University of Missouri Kansas City, Ms. Caprario received numerous awards for her work in voice, music composition and German. Her next engagement takes her to Italy where she will perform in the Spoleto Festival. (6/2, 6/12, 6/24) Conrad Chu (Assistant Conductor) Conductor and pianist Conrad Chu is happy to make his debut with Brooklyn Repertory Opera. He is a native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, from a Taiwanese American family. He began piano studies at age 8, and by the time he reached high school, he was concertizing regularly with local orchestras in the Lehigh Valley region, including solo appearances with the Allentown Symphony and the Pennsylvania Sinfonia Orchestra. Mr. Chu holds a pre-medical bachelor's degree from Yale University, and earned his master's degree in conducting at Mannes College of Music, as a student of Michael Charry, Samuel Wong and David Hayes. Since 1998, Mr. Chu has served on the faculty of Eugene Lang College, the New School for Liberal Arts, where he is choral director of a 20-member a capella choir and Music Director of the school's community orchestra, the New School Arts Ensemble. He is also in demand as a free-lance conductor of broad experience, having served as Assistant Conductor from 2001-2004 for the Bronx Opera Company, and Music Director of New York's oldest Chinese-American chorus, the Univoice Chorus of New York. In recent seasons, Mr. Chu has been tapped on multiple occasions for select master classes of promising young conductors, working with such distinguished maestros as Kurt Masur, Robert Spano, Leonard Slatkin, and Marin Alsop. He would like to thank the entire cast, orchestra and staff for their warmth, generosity and dazzling talent! (conductor 6/17, piano 6/2, 6/9, 6/12, 6/19, 6/24) Kathleen Gorman (Despina), soprano, graduated with a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of New Orleans summer of 2006. Last season she played Constance Purity in BROs production of Afraid. She recently worked with the New York City Opera Project on their performance of Susannah as Mrs. Gleaton. In May, Kathleen was part of a performance of Nicolas Flagellos The Sisters, playing the role of the youngest sister, Maryanna. This was the second time this wonderful opera has ever been performed. In the summer she will be working in Boston as part of the Crittenden Opera Studio workshop, and in the fall she will begin her graduate studies in Vocal Performance at Stony Brook University under Elaine Bonazzi. Kathleen is grateful for the chance to work with such a wonderful cast and has had a great time in the process. Thank you! (6/9, 6/17, 6/19) Chad Graham (Ferrando), tenor, graduated with a Master of Music Degree in Opera from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While at Madison, Chad performed roles in numerous productions including Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus and Tony in Masterclass to name a few. In addition, Chad appeared with Cedar Rapids Opera's-Young Artist Program as Nanki-Poo in The Mikado and with the Lucerne Music Festival as Pedrillo performing excerpts from Die Entführung aus dem Serail . Chad is very excited to be involved with Brooklyn Repertory Opera's production of Così fan tutte . (6/2, 6/12, 6/24) Hellgate Harmonie (Orchestra) Plays Mozart on a regular basis in both Brooklyn and Queens. Shannon Elizabeth Hunt (Despina) originally from Oakland, CA, is very happy to join BRO in their second production. Last season she played Liza Dulin (Afraid) with BRO. Other opera roles performed include Alexandria (Regina) and Celie (Signor Deluso). Ms. Hunt also enjoys musical theater and recently played Sharon Graham (Master Class. An accomplished recitalist, she won acclaim from Dr. J. J. Penna for her performance of Schoenberg's Das Buch der Haengenden Gaerten and by Mr. Dalton Baldwin for her performance of Wolf's Moerike Lieder and Poulenc's Fiancailles pour rire. Ms. Hunt holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Birmingham-Southern College and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College. (6/2, 6/12, 6/24) Jonathan Ichikawa (Don Alfonso) is pleased to be making his BRO debut. Previous New York experience includes concerts with Light Opera of New York, The Shaw Project, and the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of New York. Jonathan has performed in the Young Artistes program at the International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England each summer since 2004. He founded the Rice Light Opera Society in 2002 while an undergraduate at Rice University, and Brown University Gilbert & Sullivan in 2004 while a grad student at Brown. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in philosophy at Rutgers University. Jonathan studies voice with Kevin Wilson. (6/12, 6/17, 6/19, 6/24) Kathleen Keske (Artistic director) A native of Chicago, Ms. Keske has sung with opera companies and symphony orchestras over wide areas of the United States and abroad. Her operatic appearances have included such leading roles as Bruennhhilde in Siegfried and Goetterdaemerung, Ariadne, Leonore (Fidelio), Sieglinde, Desdemona, Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, and a wide range of other roles in five languages. Kathleen sang Senza Bliss with BRO in their previous production of AFRAID. Ms. Keske now resides in New York City and was a semi-finalist in The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a finalist in the Liederkranz Foundation Competition. Kathleen is very happy to have worked with such a fine and dedicated cast in this production of Cosi. Ilberto Lagana (bass) (Guglielmo) , is very happy to be making his debut with Brooklyn Repertory Opera. Recently he could be heard as Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Ardamore Chamber Opera. Some favorite roles include: Don Giovannni with Opera Company of Astoria; Kecal in the Bartered Bride and Tristram in Martha with Liederkranz Opera Theatre; Zuniga in Carmen and Crespel in Tales of Hoffmann with Hudson Opera; and Ramfis in Aida with One World Symphony. Ilberto is a graduate of the Sarasota and DiCapo apprentice programs. He is originally from the Washington DC area and holds a Bachelors degree in Voice and Computer Science. Upcoming performances include Mephistopheles in Gounod's Faust with dell'Arte Opera Ensemble. He may be contacted at ilbertolagana.com. (6/2, 6/12, 6/24) Jocelyne O'Toole (Dorabella), is currently studying at the Manhattan School of Music. While studying, Ms. O'Toole had an opportunity to participate as a Young Artist with the Connecticut Lyric Opera. At the CT Lyric Opera, she sang Third Lady from the Magic Flute in their OPERAtunites outreach program. Ms. O'Toole also sang Cherubino from Le Nozze di Figaro in their main stage production. Later this summer, Jocelyne will be participating in the Intemezzo Young Artist program where she will be singing Meg Page from Falstaff. (6/9, 6/17, 6/19) Nicholas Probst (Baritone) (Don Alfonso) currently resides in New York City where has sung as a Resident Artist with Dicapo Opera Theatre. At Dicapo, Nicholas has sung in such operas as La Boheme, Susannah, and Carmen. Recently, Nicholas earned a position as Artist-in-Residence at Skidmore College, where he originated the lead role in a new opera, Everlasting Universe, by John Mueter. In New York City, Nicholas has also performed with companies such as Opera Company of Brooklyn and Brooklyn Conservatory of Music. He studies weekly with Scott Rednour of Manhattan School of Music and is currently under contract with the National Chorale, performing regularly at Lincoln Center for the Arts. Nicholas has enjoyed preparing the role of Don Alfonso for this production of Cosi Fan Tutte; he would like to thank Brooklyn Repertory Opera for a wonderful experience. This summer, he will be traveling to Italy to perform the role of Ben in Menotti's The Telephone at the Fidenza International Opera Festival. (6/2, 6/9) Nicholas Tamagna (Ferrando) - a light-lyric tenor and actor, currently resides in New York City. Nicholas' professional credits include singing with Greensboro Opera Company, Manhattan School of Music Opera Theatre, Amor Artis, Westchester Broadway Dinner Theatre, Operafestival di Roma, Brooklyn Oratory Church at St. Boniface, and New York Opera project. He has performed concerts around the United States, in Italy, Austria, and the Czech Republic. Nicholas' roles include Fenton in Verdi's Falstaff, Elder Hayes in Susannah, First Armed Man/First Priest in Die Zauberflöte, Four in Susa's Transformations, Paul in Nicolas Flagello's The Sisters and Chrysodule Babylas in Offenbach's Monsieur Choufleuri requests the pleasure. He is a recent recipient of a master's degree in music from the City University of New York at Hunter College. He attended University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the Manhattan School of Music for his undergraduate work. An excellent pianist, Nicholas leads an alternate career as a cabaret/improvisational pianist around New York City, playing in such clubs as Don't Tell Mamma's and the Cabaret Duplex. This is Nicholas Tamagna's first appearance with Brooklyn Repertory Opera. (6/9, 6/17, 6/19) Stephen Francis Vasta (Music Director/Conductor), makes his official BRO debut with Cosi fan tutte; he previously assisted with musical preparation for A.F.R.A.I.D. He has conducted operas and operettas for various local, regional and university opera companies, including Die Fledermaus and The Merry Widow for Opera Northeast; Il matrimonio segreto at Berkshire Opera; Orpheus in the Underworld at Ball State University (IN); Rinaldo at the University of Arkansas; and, most recently, Trial by Jury at Opera Naples (FL). His extensive and varied musical theatre credits encompass Damn Yankees with Jamie Farr at Cape Playhouse (MA); Oh, Coward! off-Broadway at Irish Rep; Camelot at Alabama Shakespeare Festival; Godspell at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; and the 1992-3 international tour of Peter Pan. Mr. Vasta has appeared as accompanist at Weill Recital Hall and at the Smithsonian Institution, and been continuo harpsichordist for the Bronx Opera, Metro Lyric Opera (NJ) and the North Arkansas Symphony. His record reviews and other articles about music have appeared in print in Opera News, Stereophile, and Time Out/New York, and online at websites including the prestigious MusicWeb International. (conductor 6/2, 6/9, 6/12, 6/19, 6/24, piano 6/17) Brett Wynkoop (Executive Director) - Before starting on the path of computer consulting with Wynn Data Limited, www.wynn.com, he was part of the the New York Renaissance Festival in the early 1980's, ran lights and video at Chippendales & took a turn at screen acting in "The Squeeze", 1987 (Michael Keaton). He was Technical Director for the world premier of A.F.R.A.I.D at the New York Fringe Festival, where he made his musical debut by playing the first note of the opera on computer generated bells. With this production he will be making his percussion debut! He is pleased to be working with such a wonderful group of artists on Cosi Fan Tutte.
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