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Marcella Caprario (Hansel) made her BRO debut last year as Dorabella. Her other roles include Second Lady, Flora, Prince Orlofsky, Mercedes, Mother Marie and Venus (Orpheus in the Underworld). In concert, Ms. Caprario has appeared as soloist with the Grammy-nominated Kansas City Chorale, Spoleto Festival Chorus, Bucks County Choral Society and Lauda Chamber Singers. She has also performed in numerous contemporary music concerts and has been featured in recital at the Ash Lawn Opera Festival of Virginia and throughout Philadelphia, New Jersey and Kansas City.

Ms. Caprario holds a BM summa cum laude in voice from Westminster Choir College and MM in voice from University of Missouri â Kansas City. She currently resides in New York City where she is researching the music of the Jewish communities of Italy and hopes to continue this research in Italy next year. Her next engagement will take her to Nevada to perform the role of Miss Turnbottom in Temperance Tantrums, a historically based comedic show that combines song, dance and improvisation.

Tamara Cashour (Witch) makes her official BRO stage debut as the cackling Witch in H&G. Tamara was also a member of the final cast of BRO's A.F.R.A.I.D., in the role of Fanny Fern. Other NYC credits include: 1st Lady--Opera Company of Brooklyn; Lady Macbeth (aria) in concert with Riverside Opera Company of Staten Island, Ortlinda with Opera Drammatica, and Ortrud with Operesque Classical Concerts. Tamara is also a composer, pianist and avid singer-interpreter of contemporary music. In another witch-outing, Tamara won first place in the 2007 "For Women Only" Composers competition, sponsored by the NY Treble Singers, with her choral-theatre setting of the witches' text from Shakespeare's MACBETH. For more Hurlyburly or HocusPocus, see Tam's website at www.tamaracashour.com. Big thanks to: Kathleen, Brett, Roger and Conrad and all of the cast for making this a superb production !

Conrad Chu (Conductor & Chorus Master) Conductor and pianist Conrad Chu returns to lead his third production with Brooklyn Repertory Opera, having conducted last year's acclaimed stagings of Cosi fan Tutte and Fidelio. 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!

Mary Jane Dingledy (Sandman) a resident of Park Slope for the past 22 years made her operatic debut with B.R.O. as Rachel Stitcher in A.F.R.A.I.D. A retired attorney for the City of New York, Mary Jane has spent many years pursuing her singing talents, primarily as soprano soloist for the choir at St. John's Episcopal Church of Park Slope, where she performed many solos such as 'The Virgin Slumber Song.' Also, she sang in duets including 'Recordare' from the Verdi Requiem. In the summer 2005 she was invited to perform in concert in Germany for the churches at Neunkirchen and Dilsberg singing the Bach cantatas 'Jesu bleibet meine Freude (Jesu Joy)' and 'Dir, Dir Jehova will ich singen,' and the English Elizabethan songs, 'The Lowest Trees Have Tops' and 'Now What is Love,' accompanied by the organ. Mary Jane studies voice in Manhattan, and is a graduate of Empire State College and SUNY Buffalo Law School.

Elizabeth Eiel (Gretel) an Iowa native, received her Master of Music Degree at Manhattan School of Music and her Bachelor in Music at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music in Appleton WI. She made her B.R.O. debut with the very difficult role of Fanny Fern in A.F.R.A.I.D. Ms. Eiel has performed Suor Angelica with American Singers Opera Project, Chelsea Opera, and Garden State Opera. At the Bay View Music Festival in Bay View, MI Ms. Eiel played Lady Billows in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring. Ms. Eiel has sung scenes with One World Symphony in New York City performing the roles of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Nannette in Falstaff. With Opera Company of Brooklyn Ms. Eiel sang Clara in Pasatieri's Signor Deluso. She sang the role of Anna Gomez in Mennott's The Consul with Bronx Opera. To a full house Ms. Eiel made her Town Hall debut with One World Symphony singing Maria in West Side Story Suite #1. Ms. Eiel lives in Manhattan where she studies with Hilda Harris.

Marnie Golden (Dew Fairy) received her Bachelor's of Music degree from Queens University, in Charlotte, NC, where she played the part of Laeticia in "The Old Maid and the Thief", and Lina Darling in the musical, "Nine."

After college, she briefly returned home to IL, and sang in the chorus of "Suor Angelica" with Opera Illinois, and "La Traviata" with the Sugar Creek Festival Opera. In May of 2007, she decided to "Bite the Bullet", and move to New York City. There, she found a home with the Brooklyn Rep. Opera, and has sung in the chorus with their productions of "Fidelio" and "Cavalleria Rusticana." She's excited to be returning to BRO this summer, as the Dew Fairy.

Stefanie Izzo (Dew Fairy) is a Long Island native soprano who has appeared in operatic and musical theater productions throughout the NY metro area. She made her debut with BRO last fall in the chorus of Fidelio. Other recent credits include: The Magic Flute (Pamina), HMS Pinafore (Josephine), Ravel's L'Enfant et les Sortileges (La Princesse), Dido and Aeneas (Belinda), and Sweeney Todd (Johanna). She has appeared in numerous concerts and recitals as well. An avid Italian enthusiast, Stefanie spent two summers studying Italian opera at the Florence Voice Seminar, and was chosen as the first-ever recipient of the National Italian American Foundation's Andrea Bocelli Music Scholarship. She will be next performing with the dell'Arte Opera Ensemble in a summer reading of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. Stefanie holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from New York University.

Eric Jorgenson (Peter) , is pleased to be returning to Brooklyn Repertory Opera. His previous B. R. O. engagement was as Don Pizarro in Fidelio. His opera roles include the Count, Guglielmo, Don Alfonso, and Don Giovanni of Mozart, and Amonasro, Germont, Paolo, and Di Luna from the Verdi repertoire. Other roles performed include the four villains in Les Contes d'Hoffman, Onegin in Eugene Onegin, and Mendelssohn's Elijah. His repertoire includes roles and songs from six languages including Russian and Czech. Eric has performed internationally in Prague and with the E. Slovak State Theatre, Karlovy Vary and Zlin Philharmonics, and in the US with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Hudson Opera, Riverside Opera and other regional companies in the northeast and midwest. Eric is also a conductor and cellist.

Kathleen Keske (Gertrude & 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 has made previous appearances with BRO in the roles of Senza Bliss in AFRAID and Leonore in Fidelio. 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 be working with such a fine and dedicated cast in this production of Hansel and Gretel.

"Three gave outstanding performances... Soprano Kathleen Keske eased her way into a remarkable rendition of the title role (Fidelio). She and Ward received numerous bravos for their efforts."

Anchorage Daily News

Francis Liska, Tenor (The Witch) Started his career in musical theater at 15 years old as Artful Dodger in OLIVER! After graduating from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC on Scholorship, he went on to study voice for his new love; opera. Moving to California, he performed in many of the Gilbert & Sullivan operettas in the comedy lead roles. La Scala Mezzo-Soprano, Gloria Lane was his voice teacher in Los Angeles. When he returned to New York, he continued his studies with noted voice teacher, Sam Sakarian. Among the roles he has performed are; Siegmund, Lohengrin, both Siegfrieds, Calaf, Roland (Esclarmonde),Radames, and most recently, both Floristan & Turiddu with BRO. He has been tenor soloist in the oratorios THE MESSIAH, ELIJAH, and ST PAULUS. He has sung with Fullerton Civic Opera and Glendale Opera in California. Trintity Church Concert Series, West Side Opera, Magic Circle Opera, La Serenata, Music Friends of Westchester, St Ceclia Chamber Consort as well as being tenor soloist for several churches in New York. He is very happy to be returning to BRO with such an excellent group of artists.

Roger Malouf (Conductor) is an Assistant Conductor with the Metropolitan Opera, where he has worked on productions led by James Levine, Valery Gergiev, Julius Rudel, Marco Armiliato, and Sir Andrew Davis, among others. He is Music Director of the Mannes College of Music Extension Division Opera Workshop, and has served on the staff of New York City Opera and as an accompanist for the Juilliard School. Music Director and Conductor of the West Side Opera, which has presented opera in concert for the past nineteen years, he has conducted staged productions for the Natchez Opera Festival and the Little Opera Theatre of New York. For the concert series at Trinity Church on Wall Street, he has conducted performances of Mozart's Zaide, Rossini's Il Signor Bruschino, J. Strauss' Die Fledermaus, and Massenet's Don Quichotte. As a vocal coach and pianist, Mr Malouf has taught at the Bel Canto Institute in Italy, the International Vocal Institute in Croatia, the American Institute for Musical Studies in Austria, Portland State University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. He has had the pleasure of accompanying master classes given by Anna Moffo, Martina Arroyo, Sherrill Milnes, Martial Singher, and Gerard Souzay.

Jocelyne O'Toole (Hansel) is delighted to return to Brooklyn Repertory Opera. Ms. O'Toole recently graduated from the masters program at the Manhattan School of Music. At the Manhattan School, she covered the role of First Statue in Grifflikin by Lucas Foss. During her graduate studies, she was a young artist with the Center City Opera Theater in Philadelphia, as well as the Connecticut Lyric Opera. With the Connecticut Lyric Opera, she sang Cherubino from Le Nozze di Figaro in their main stage production. In their Opera Outreach program. Jocelyne sang Third Lady from The Magic Flute. Ms. O'Toole would like to thank her loving family and friends for their constant support.

Susanna Raymond (Gertrude) has sung Wagner, Verdi, Haydn and Mozart with European and American orchestras. In the Czech Republic and Ukraine, she sang Isolde's Liebestod and Brunnhilde's Immolation Scene with several European orchestras. Wagner performances in the United States include Ortlinde in Die Walkure with the Albany Symphony and the Wesendonk Lieder with the Auburn, Alabama Community Orchestra, as well as Senta in Die Fliegende Hollander and Brunnhilde in Die Walkure, both with the West Side Opera. She has also performed Senza Bliss in A.F.R.A.I.D. with the Brooklyn Repertory Opera and Mrs. Gleaton in Susannah with the Bronx Opera.

Pamela Scanlon (Gretel) is originally from California and has performed on both coasts in roles such as Adele in Die Fledermaus, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Zaide in Mozart's Zaide, both Silberklang and Goldentrill in Impresario, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, and the Forest Bird in Siegfried. Organizations she has performed with include the West Side Opera, Trinity Church concert series, Singing Actor's Atelier and the Pacific West Coast Opera. With the Educational Opera Association in Los Angeles, Pamela has sung over 200 performances. She has also performed several of the Gilbert and Sullivan heroines and done backup for films. Pamela gladly returns to BRO after previously performing with them as Belle in AFRAID and Marzelline in Fidelio.

Mary Silverstein (Dance Mistress) started dancing at the age of 5 at the Washington School of Ballet. She joined the Washington Ballet company in 1997 and danced for 4 years as a company member performing such roles as, Little Mouse, Big Mouse, Soldier and Candy Cane in productions of "The Nutcracker". She continued her dance education at Virginia Commonwealth University Majoring in Vocal Performance and minoring in Dance and Choreography. In 2004 Mary participated in the Opera festival Di Roma in Rome, Italy, and danced the role of the flame dancer in the production of Mozart's "The Magic Flute". After graduation Mary was hired by Virginia Commonwealth University as the choreographer for the opera department, choreographing numerous dance scenes for many opera productions. As well as choreographing, Mary has enjoyed teaching ballet and ballroom dance in Virginia as well as NYC at such schools as, The Rigby's Jig Studio and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Ms. Silverstein has a very pretty soprano voice and has been a member of of the B.R.O. chorus for Fidelio, and Cavalleria Rusticana.

Deborah Stone (Sandman) a native New-Yorker, has been a dancer, singer, actress, choreographer, dance teacher and aerobics instructor on both Coasts. Performance experience includes: the lead role of Ellen Creed in the Snarks, Ltd.'s production of the play "Ladies in Retirement", "La Cages aux Folles" (LA cast), "The Most Happy Fella" (choreographer, San Francisco), Gilbert and Sullivan's "Patience" in NYC (Lady Saphir), ensemble work with the Chelsea Opera, the Rockland Opera, Empire Opera, and Beethoven's 9th Symphony at Carnegie Hall under the baton of Maestro Vincent La Selva. A previous ensemble member with Brooklyn Repertory Opera, she is delighted to be making her debut as one of their soloists in the role of Sandman in their current production of Hansel and Gretel.

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. He is pleased to be working with such a wonderful group of artists on Hansel & Gretel

Matthew Yohn, (Peter) with a national performing career that began at age ten and with twenty years of technical stage experience, enjoys a lifelong dedication to music and stagecraft. Mr. Yohn’s performance breadth includes a growing opera repertory, musical theater, classical theater and concert works which he has performed throughout the United States, and in France, Germany and the Czech Republic. His operatic credits include Donner (Das Rheingold), Leporello (Don Giovanni), Schaunard (La Boheme), Publio (La clemenza di Tito), Polyphemus (Acis and Galatea), Sprecher and geharnischter Mann (Die Zauberflote), Cesare Angelotti (Tosca), Lorenzo (I Capuleti ed i Montecchi), Marquis de la Force (Dialogues of the Carmelites), Samuel (Un ballo in maschera) and notable excerpts from Baron Ochs von Lerchenau (Der Rosenkavalier), Hollander (Der Fliegende Hollander), Mephistopheles (Faust) and Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro). He completed a Master of Music degree at the Mannes College of Music in New York City.