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The 2019-20 season, Andris Nelsons’ sixth as the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Ray and Maria Stata Music Director, marks his fifth anniversary in that position. Named Musical America’s 2018 Artist of the Year, Mr. Nelsons leads fifteen of the BSO’s twenty-six weeks of concerts this season, ranging from repertoire favorites by Beethoven, Dvoˇrák, Gershwin, Grieg, Mozart, Mahler, Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Tchaikovsky to world and American premieres of BSO-commissioned works from Eric Nathan, Betsy Jolas, Arturs Maskats, and HK Gruber. The season also brings the continuation of his complete Shostakovich symphony cycle with the orchestra, and collaborations with an impressive array of guest artists, including a concert performance of Tristan und Isolde, Act III—one of three BSO programs he will also conduct at Carnegie Hall—with Jonas Kaufmann and Emily Magee in the title roles. In addition, February 2020 brings a major tour to Asia in which Maestro Nelsons and the BSO give their first concerts together in Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.
In February 2018, Andris Nelsons became Gewandhauskapellmeister of the Gewandhausorchester (GHO) Leipzig, in which capacity he also brings the BSO and GHO together for a unique multi-dimensional alliance including a BSO/GHO Musician Exchange program and an exchange component within each orchestra’s acclaimed academy for advanced music studies. A major highlight of the BSO/GHO Alliance is a focus on complementary programming, through which the BSO celebrates “Leipzig Week in Boston” and the GHO celebrates “Boston Week in Leipzig,” thereby highlighting each other’s musical traditions through uniquely programmed concerts, chamber music performances, archival exhibits, and lecture series. For this season’s “Leipzig Week in Boston,” under Maestro Nelsons’ leadership in November, the entire Gewandhausorchester Leipzig comes to Symphony Hall for joint concerts with the BSO as well as two concerts of its own.
In summer 2015, following his first season as music director, Andris Nelsons’ contract with the BSO was extended through the 2021-22 season. In November 2017, he and the orchestra toured Japan together for the first time. They have so far made three European tours together: immediately following the 2018 Tanglewood season, when they played concerts in London, Hamburg, Berlin, Leipzig, Vienna, Lucerne, Paris, and Amsterdam; in May 2016, a tour that took them to eight cities in Germany, Austria, and Luxembourg; and, after the 2015 Tanglewood season, a tour that took them to major European capitals and the Lucerne, Salzburg, and Grafenegg festivals.
The fifteenth music director in the history of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Andris Nelsons made his BSO debut at Carnegie Hall in March 2011, his Tanglewood debut in July 2012, and his BSO subscription series debut in January 2013. His recordings with the BSO, all made live in concert at Symphony Hall, include the complete Brahms symphonies on BSO Classics; Grammy-winning recordings on Deutsche Grammophon of Shostakovich’s symphonies 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11 (The Year 1905) as part of a complete Shostakovich symphony cycle for that label; and a recent two-disc set pairing Shostakovich’s symphonies 6 and 7 (Leningrad). This November, a new release on Naxos features Andris Nelsons and the orchestra in the world premieres of BSO-commissioned works by Timo Andres, Eric Nathan, Sean Shepherd, and George Tsontakis. Under an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon, Andris Nelsons is also recording the complete Bruckner symphonies with the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and the complete Beethoven symphonies with the Vienna Philharmonic.
During the 2019-20 season, Andris Nelsons continues his ongoing collaborations with the Vienna Philharmonic. Throughout his career, he has also established regular collaborations with the Berlin Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, and has been a regular guest at the Bayreuth Festival and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Born in Riga in 1978 into a family of musicians, Andris Nelsons began his career as a trumpeter in the Latvian National Opera Orchestra before studying conducting. He was music director of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 2008 to 2015, principal conductor of the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie in Herford, Germany, from 2006 to 2009, and music director of Latvian National Opera from 2003 to 2007.
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Andris Nelsons, conductor
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German baritone Thomas Johannes Mayer first studied history,
German language and literature, music education and philosophy,
before beginning his vocal training at the College of Music in
Cologne with Liselotte Hammes and Kurt Moll.
Following on from initial engagements in Regensburg and
Darmstadt, Thomas J. Mayer enjoyed acclaim at the municipal theatre
in Basel in the title role of Mozart's opera ›DON GIOVANNI‹ and as
Achilles in Othmar Schoeck's ›PENTHESILEA‹ (director: Hans
Neuenfels). Thomas J. Mayer was also greatly praised when he played
Wotan/Wanderer in Wagner's ›THE RING OF THE NIBELUNG‹ at the
Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe and the title role in
Hindemith's ›MATHIS DER MALER‹. In the 2008/09 season he moved to
the Hamburg State Opera, where he played a number of roles
including the four villains (LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN), Mandryka
(ARABELLA), Kaspar (DER FREISCHÜTZ), Jochanaan (SALOME), Wotan (DIE
WALKÜRE), Rigoletto and Scarpia (TOSCA).
Thomas J. Mayer has been a freelance artist since 2010.
His international career began in the 2007/08 season, playing
the title role in Berg's ›WOZZECK‹ (directed by Jürgen Flimm) at
La Scala in Milan, where he was susequently engaged as Posa for the
new production of ›DON CARLOS‹ in December 2008/09.
Since then, Thomas Johannes Mayer has guested at many opera
houses including De Nederlands Opera in Amsterdam, the theatre in
Basel, the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, the Deutsche
Oper Berlin, the State Opera Unter den Linden and Komische Oper in
Berlin, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf, the Aalto
Theater Essen, the Hamburg State Opera, the opera houses in Cologne
and Leipzig, La Scala in Milan, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich,
the Opéra National de Paris, the New National Theatre Tokyo, Palau
de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Theater an der Wien, the
Zurich Opera House and at the Bregenz Music Festival, the Herodus
Atticus festival in Athens, the Bayreuth Festival (2012, 2013,
2014) and the Salzburg Festival (2010 and 2011).
Highlights of his career so far have been his Wotan/Wanderer at
the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (musical direction: Kent
Nagano), Wotan at the State Opera Unter den Linden (musical
direction: Daniel Barenboim), his Wotan at the Deutsche Oper in
Berlin (musical direction: Sir Simon Rattle) his Amfortas (musical
direction: Donald Runnicles), his Wotan/Wanderer at the Opéra
National de Paris (musical direction: Philippe Jordan) and his
Wotan (musical direction: Zubin Mehta) in Valencia.
The 2014/2015 season saw Thomas J. Mayer as Barak in DIE FRAU
OHNE SCHATTEN at the Zurich Opera and the Leipzig Opera and singing
the role of Mandryka in Strauss's ARABELLA in a new presentation at
the Munich Opera Festival and returning as Wotan/Wanderer in a
repeat of Wagner's RING DES NIBELUNGEN at the Bavarian State Opera
in Munich.
2015/2016 brought a guest appearance as Wotan in THE RHINEGOLD
with the Odense Symfoniorkester and an acclaimed role debut as
Moses in Schoenberg's MOSES UND ARON at the Opéra National de
Paris. At Munich's Bavarian State Opera, Thomas J. Mayer was back
as Mandryka in ARABELLA, Wotan/Wanderer in Wagner's RING and as
Telramund in LOHENGRIN. The 2016 Bayreuth Festival welcomed him in
the title role of the Dutchman in Wagner's THE FLYING DUTCHMAN.
2016/2017 sees Thomas J. Mayer back with the Odense
Symfoniorkester in a guest appearance as Wanderer in Wagner's
SIEGFRIED, at the Leipzig Opera as Mandryka in ARABELLA and as
Wotan in DIE WALKÜRE, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as Amfortas in
PARSIFAL and at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie Brüssel as
Sharpless in MADAMA BUTTERFLY. At the Opéra National de Paris, Herr
Mayer will be singing Thoas in Gluck's opera IPHIGÉNIE EN TAURIDE,
the parts of Vautrin/Trompe-la-Mort/Jacques Collin in Luca
Francesconi's TROMPE-LA-MORT and Misgir in Rimsky-Korsakov's
SNEGUROCHKA (The Snow Maiden). In a gala performance at the the
State Theatre of Lower Saxony in Hanover he will play the Dutchman
in DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER. Before Thomas J. Mayer embodies the
Wanderer in SIEGFRIED at the 2017 Bayreuth Festival he will be
making a guest appearance with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as
Wotan in a concert performance of Wagner's RHEINGOLD.
Thomas J. Mayer has worked with famous conductors like Daniel
Barenboim, Daniele Gatti, Philippe Jordan, Zubin Mehta, Kent
Nagano, Andris Nelsons, Sir Simon Rattle, Donald Runnicles, Ulf
Schirmer, Stefan Soltesz, Christian Thielemann and Simone
Young.
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Thomas J Mayer, bass-baritone (Wotan)
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Ms. Blythe has sung in many of the renowned opera houses in the US and Europe including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, and the Opera National de Paris. Her many roles include the title roles in Carmen, Samson et Dalila , Orfeo ed Euridice, La Grande Duchesse, Tancredi, Mignon, and Guilio Cesare; Frugola, Principessa, and Zita in the Il Trittico, Fricka in both Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, Waltraute in Götterdämmerung, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera, Baba the Turk in The Rake's Progress, Ježibaba in Rusalka, Jocasta in Oedipus Rex, Mere Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites; Isabella in L'Italiana in Algeri,, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Ino/Juno in Semele, and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus.
Ms. Blythe has appeared with many of the world's finest orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Orchestra of New York, Minnesota Orchestra, Halle Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and the Ensemble Orchestre de Paris. She has also appeared at the Tangelwood and Ravinia Festival, and at the BBC Proms. The many conductors with whom she has worked include Harry Bicket, James Conlon, Charles Dutoit, Mark Elder, Christoph Eschenbach, James Levine, Nicola Luisotti, Sir Charles Mackerras, John Nelson, Antonio Pappano, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Robert Spano, Patrick Summers, and Michael Tilson Thomas.
A frequent recitalist, Ms. Blythe has been presented in recital with her collaborative partner, Warren Jones, by Zankel Hall, Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series at Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd Street Y, Town Hall, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; the Vocal Arts Society and at the Supreme Court at the invitation of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg in Washington, DC; the Cleveland Art Song Festival, the University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Shriver Hall in Baltimore.
Ms Blythe has also developed a strong relationship with the composer, Alan Smith. She premiered Vignettes: Ellis Island, a song cycle written especially for her, and has since performed it at the Ravinia Festival and with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. It was also featured in a special television program entitled Vignettes: An Evening with Stephanie Blythe and Warren Jones. Ms. Blythe's most recently collaboration with Mr. Smith was Covered Wagon Woman, a piece commissioned for Ms. Blythe's residency with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and recorded with the ensemble on their own label, CMS Studio Recordings.
Ms Blythe recently starred in the Metropolitan Opera's live HD broadcasts of Orfeo ed Euridice and Il Trittico. Her recordings of works by Mahler, Brahms, and Wagner and of arias by Handel and Bach are available on the Virgin Classics label.
This season, Ms. Blythe appears as Fricka in the Metropolitan Opera's new productions of Das Rheingold and Die Walküre and makes her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in Un Ballo in Maschera and The Mikado. She also appears in concert at the Concertgebouw and with the Collegiate Chorale in Carnegie Hall.
Ms. Blythe was named Musical America's Vocalist of the Year for 2009. Her other awards include the 2007 Opera News Award and the 1999 Richard Tucker Award.
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Stephanie Blythe, mezzo-soprano (Fricka)
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After initial training and experience as
an actor, Kim Begley found his true vocation when he joined the
Royal Opera House, Covent Garden as a principal tenor. In six
seasons he sang over thirty roles and has since returned as a
regular guest in productions such as Wozzeck (Drum Major),
Die Walküre (Siegmund), Billy Budd (Captain
Vere) and most recently Król Roger (Edrisi), conducted by
Music Director Antonio Pappano.
In an illustrious career spanning over
three decades, Kim Begley has performed around the world at the
highest level and been a regular guest at The Metropolitan Opera,
Opera National de Paris, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Glyndebourne
Festival and La Scala Milan to name just a few. In 2000, under
the late Giuseppi Sinopoli, Begley made his Bayreuth Festival
debut as Loge (Das Rheingold), a role which subsequently
became his major calling card and for which he remains in high
demand today.
In Kim Begley's earlier career he
excelled in Janáček's operas and sang Laca (Jenufa)
in numerous productions on both sides of the Atlantic, including as
his debut at The Met under Vladimir Jurowski in 2003. He sang
his first performances as Florestan (Fidelio) under Sir
Simon Rattle at the Glyndebourne Festival and his first Peter
Grimes at De Nederlandse Opera with Edo de Waart. Having
always enjoyed a strong relationship with English National Opera,
Kim Begley has sung principal roles there by Britten, Janáček
and Mussorgsky as well as his first portrayal
of Parsifal, which saw him nominated for an
Olivier Award. In 2011/12, Kim returned to the Coliseum in
critically acclaimed performances as Walter in David
Pountney's production of Mieczysław Weinberg's The
Passenger and as Captain Vere in David Alden's new
production of Billy Budd under Edward
Gardner.
Recent seasons have seen the addition of
further new roles to Kim Begley's already extensive repertoire:
Sellem (The Rake's Progress) in Paris
under Jeffrey Tate, Bob Boles (Peter Grimes) in San
Francisco under Michael Tilson Thomas, Aegisth (Elektra)
in Paris under Philippe Jordan, and Fatty (Aufstieg und Fall
der Stadt Mahagonny) for Teatro Municipal de
Santiago. This season Kim creates the role of Polonius in the world
premiere of Brett Dean's Hamlet under Vladimir Jurowski
for Glyndebourne Festival, and returns to the role of
Mephistopheles (Doktor Faustus) at
Semperoper Dresden under Tomas Netopil as well as Aegisth
(Elektra) for his company debut with
Teatro Municipal São Paulo.
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Kim Begley, tenor (Loge)
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David Cangelosi has firmly established
himself as an artist who combines both excellent singing with
winning characterizations. He is highly acclaimed by major opera
companies and symphony orchestras in the U.S. and abroad. In 2004,
Mr. Cangelosi made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Mime
in Das Rheingold, conducted by James Levine, and has
returned in recent seasons with principal roles in Andrea
Chenier, Il Tabarro, and Tales of
Hoffmann. He returned to the Metropolitan Opera in 2014/2015
for performances of Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg.
Other roles at the Metropolitan include Basilio (Marriage of
Figaro), Goro (Madame Butterfly), and Spoletta
(Tosca). He will reprise his signature role of Mime for
Washington National Opera's production of The
Ring in 2015/2016, and continues a performance/recording
project of the same with the Hong Kong Philharmonic in 2015 and
2017. He recently performed his role debut of the 'Witch'
in Hansel and Gretel in the summer of 2015, and
made his company debut with Houston Grand Opera (Tosca/Eugene
Onegin) to open their 2015/2016 season. He will enjoy return
engagements with the Boston Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, and
Dallas Opera in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
Mr. Cangelosi's recent performances include, Mime in Francesca
Zambello's internationally acclaimed "American" Ring
Cycle with San Francisco Opera; Shuisky (Boris
Godunov), Goro (Butterfly), and Montostatos
(Magic Flute) with Dallas Opera and Lyric Opera of
Chicago, respectively; Nick (Fanciulla), Spalanzani
(Hoffman), and Spoletta (Tosca) for the Lyric
Opera Chicago; and 'The Four Servants' (Hoffmann) with the
Santa Fe Opera. In 2012, Mr. Cangelosi made his debut with the
Canadian Opera Company reprising the role of Spoletta
in Tosca; and returned in 2012/2013 for performances
of Die Fledermaus, which he also reprised at
the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2014. Additional recent performances
in 2014/2015 included Salome with the Boston
Symphony Orchestra, and Cunning Little Vixen
with the Cleveland Orchestra. He was also engaged in August 2014 at
the Saito-Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, Japan; and returns to Lyric
Opera of Chicago for Toscain early 2015.
A long-time veteran of Lyric Opera of Chicago, Mr. Cangelosi made
his debut in Salome in 1996. Engagements with
the home company have included his signature role of Mime
(Siegfried 2004) (Ring
Cycle2005), Madame Butterfly, Ariadne
auf Naxos, Die
Zauberflöte, Carmen (Dancairo), Turandot,
and Boris Godunov. Mr. Cangelosi continues this close
association with roles that include Dr. Caius (Falstaff),
Guillot (Manon), Goro (Madame Butterfly), Beppe
(Il Pagliacci), Little Bat (Susannah), Tobias
(Sweeney Todd), and Guillot (Manon). Recent
productions with LOC include Die
Meistersinger, Madame Butterlfy,
and Tosca.
Cangelosi made his debut at the Spoleto Festival (U.S.A.) singing
the roles of the Noctambulist/Pape des Fous
in Louise, and performed as a featured soloist for
their Intermezzi Recital Series. Recent recital/concert
performances include The Montgomery Symphony, Davis Concert Hall
(UAF) with Opera Fairbanks, and the PACC Concert series in Boston.
Other recent performances include Pang with the Lyric Opera of
Chicago and Santa Fe Opera, Valzacchi with the San Francisco Opera,
Dr. Caius with Los Angeles Opera, and Monostatos with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic (Hollywood Bowl) and Santa Fe Opera.
Career highlights include, Il Pagliacci (Beppe)
with Placido Domingo and the Washington Opera (telecast on the PBS
"Live from Kennedy Center" series), his Carnegie Hall debut with
the Cleveland Orchestra as Torquemada in Ravel's L'Heure
Espagnole (under the baton of Pierre Boulez), Monostatos
and Basilio with the Paris Opera (Bastille/Garnier), and Pedrillo
with the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris. Additionally Mr. Cangelosi
recorded the Sword Forging Scene
from Siegfried with Placido Domingo for the CD
"Domingo/Scenes from the Ring" with EMI Classics. In 2000, he
completed the CD/Film project of Tosca and made
his screen debut at the2001 Venice Film Festival.
Other engagements include, Bob Boles (Peter
Grimes), Bardolpho (Falstaff), Don Juan
(Don Quichotte), and Tybalt (Romeo et Juliette)
for the Washington Opera; Sellem (The Rakes Progress) for
San Francisco Opera; Cassio (Otello) with Nashville Opera;
Goro with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, The Magician in
Menotti's The Consul with Berkshire Opera
(available on CD), Jacquino (Fidelio) with the Cincinnati
Symphony, Pang with the Columbus Symphony, Prunier (La
Rondine) with the Boston Lyric Opera, and First Jew
(Salome) with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood
under Seiji Ozawa.
Mr. Cangelosi also serves as the Artistic/Program Director of the
Vann Vocal Institute in Montgomery, Alabama; and actively travels
the country as a recitalist, symphonic guest-artist, competition
adjudicator, and Master Class instructor for aspiring
vocalists.
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David Cangelosi, tenor (Mime)
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The German baritone Jochen
Schmeckenbecher was raised in Hockenheim, and studied with Kurt
Moll at the Musikhochschule Köln. After being a member of the
ensemble at the Theater Hagen and the Komische Oper Berlin he now
is a regular guest of leading opera and concert stages.
The season 2016/17 includes Faninal in a
new production of Rosenkavalier (Andris Nelsons/Robert
Carsen) at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, his role debut as
Dr. Schön in a new production of Lulu (Kent
Nagano/Christoph Marthaler) at the Staatsoper Hamburg and Klingsor
in a new production of Parsifal
(SemyonBychkov/AlvisHermanis) at the Staatsoper Wien, where he also
will perform again as Alberich and Faninal.
Future plans include his return to the
Opera de Lyon, the Oper Frankfurt and the Staatsoper Wien and his
debuts at the Musikverein Wien and the Grafenegg Festival. In 2017
he will make his role debut as Kaspar/Freischütz.
Jochen Schmeckenbecher focuses on the
German repertoire and thus he sing score-parts like Alberich/Ring
des Nibelungen, Amfortas and Klingsor/Parsifal, Kurwenal/Tristan
und Isolde, Musiklehrer/Ariadne auf Naxos, Faninal/Rosenkavalier,
Peter/Hänsel und Gretel, Pizarro/Fidelio and Wozzeck at the state
operas in Berlin, Dresden, Hamburg and Stuttgart, the Opera
National de Paris, the Met New York, the Scala Milano, the Liceu
Barcelona, the Teatro Real Madrid ans the opera companies in Essen,
Frankfurt, Leipzig, Lyon, San Francisco and Turin.
Furthermore he appeared as Kolenaty/Vec
Makropulos in Paris and at the Salzburger Festspiele, Marquis de la
Force/Dialogues des Carmelite sat the Theater an der Wien and the
Staatsoper München and as the Four Villains/Hoffmanns Erzählungen
at the Volksoper Wien.
Concert performances led him as
Spielmann/Königskinder to the Hamburger Symphoniker in the
Laeiszhalle, as Alberich/Ring des Nibelungen to the
Rundfunk-Sinfonie orchester Berlin in the Philharmonie Berlin, as
Orest/Elektra to the Gulbenkian Orchester in Lissabon, as Kurwenal
to the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam,
as Mauregato in Schuberts Alfonso und Estrella to the
Berliner Philharmoniker in the Philharmonie Berlin and as
Zsupan/Zigeunerbaron to the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover.
In concert he sang a.o. Bauer/Gurrelieder
in the Philharmonie de Paris, Jesus/ Johannespassion in the
Auditorio Nacional in Madrid and in Düsseldorf, Lieder aus Des
Knaben Wunderhorn in the Festspielhaus Bregenz, Beethoven's
9th Symphony in Porto, Brahm's Deutsches Requiem in Paris,
Mahler's 8th Symphony in theMeyerson Center in Dallas,
Janacek's Glagolitic Mass in the Royal Festival Hall in
London ans Cerha's Baal-Gesänge in the Konzerthaus
Wien.
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Jochen Schmeckenbecher, baritone (Alberich)
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Morris Robinson is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the
most interesting and sought after basses performing today.
A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist
Development Program, Mr. Robinson made his debut at the
Metropolitan Opera in their production
of Fidelio. He has since appeared
there as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte(both in the
original production and in the children's English version),
Ferrando in Il Trovatore, the
King in Aida, and in roles
in Nabucco, Tannhäuser, and the new
productions of Les Troyens
and Salome. He has also appeared at
the San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera,
Houston Grand Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Pittsburgh Opera,
Opera Philadelphia, Seattle Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Cincinnati
Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Vancouver
Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Australia, and the Aix-en-Provence
Festival. His many roles include Sarastro in Die
Zauberflöte, Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem
Serail, Ramfis in Aida, Zaccaria
in Nabucco, Sparafucile
in Rigoletto, Commendatore in Don
Giovanni, Grand Inquisitor in Don
Carlos, Timur inTurandot, the Bonze
in Madama Butterfly, Padre Guardiano
in La Forza del Destino, Ferrando
in Il Trovatore, and Fasolt
in Das Rheingold.
Also a prolific concert singer, Mr. Robinson has appeared with the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra,
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Houston
Symphony, L'Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal, Ft. Worth Symphony
Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Met Chamber Orchestra, Nashville
Symphony Orchestra, São Paulo Symphony Orchestra, New England
String Ensemble, and at the Ravinia, Mostly Mozart, Tanglewood,
Cincinnati May, Verbier, and Aspen Music Festivals. He also
appeared in Carnegie Hall as part of Jessye
Norman's HONOR! Festival. In recital
he has been presented by Spivey Hall in Atlanta, the Savannah Music
Festival, the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, DC, the
Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and the Metropolitan Museum of
Art in New York City.
Mr. Robinson's first album, Going
Home, was released on the Decca label. He also
appears as Joe in the newly released DVD of the San Francisco Opera
production of Show Boat.
This season, Mr. Robinson returns to the Los Angeles Opera as
Oroveso in Norma and the Dallas Opera
as Joe inShow Boat. He also appears in
concert with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Milwaukee Symphony,
and Baltimore Symphony, and as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra's
2015-2016 Artist in Residence, he appears in several concerts and
recitals throughout the season. And in the fall of 2016, he makes
his debut at the Teatro alla Scala in the title role
of Porgy and Bess conducted by
Nikolaus Harnoncourt
An Atlanta native, Mr. Robinson is a graduate of The Citadel and
received his musical training from the Boston University Opera
Institute.
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Morris Robinson, bass-baritone (Fasolt)
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Hailed by The Guardian as "one of
the great Wagner basses of our time" Ain Anger made his Bayreuth
Festival debut as Fafner in Das Rheingold and Siegfried
under Christian Thielemann before singing Hunding in new
Ring Cycles at Bayerische Staatsoper (Kent Nagano), Wiener
Staatsoper (Franz Welser-Möst) and Oper Frankfurt (Sebastian
Weigle). He made an acclaimed debut at Teatro alla Scala as Daland
(Der fliegende Holländer) under Hartmut Haenchen, sang
Pogner in San Francisco's production of Die Meistersinger von
Nürnberg under Sir Mark Elder and joined Deutsche Oper Berlin
at the BBC Proms in Tannhauser under Donald
Runnicles.
A mainstay of the Wiener Staatsoper
stage since his house debut as Monterone (Rigoletto) in
2004, Ain Anger has now sung more than forty roles there ranging
from Dosifei (Khovanshchina), Koenig Heinrich
(Lohengrin) and Philippe II (Don Carlos) to
Pogner (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg), Zaccaria
(Nabucco) and Fiesco (Simon
Boccanegra).
Ain Anger's current season includes
two anticipated roles debuts: Boris Godunov for Deutsche Oper
Berlin under Kirill Karabits and Hagen in Tim Albery's production
of Götterdämmerung at the Canadian Opera Company under
Music Director, Johannes Debus. Elsewhere in the season, Anger
joins Christian Thielemann as Fafner (Das Rheingold) at
Semperoper Dresden, and Adam Fischer as Hunding (Die
Walküre) at Wiener Staatsoper, both subsequently touring to
Japan.
Recent highlights include a
unanimously praised debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
as Pimen in Richard Jones' new production of Boris Godunov
under Sir Antonio Pappano, and as Cardinal Brogni in Calixto
Bieito's new production of La Juive at Bayerische
Staatsoper, conducted by Bertrand de Billy. At Washington National
Opera, Ain Anger appeared as Daland under Philippe Auguin, and has
appeared in productions of both Tannhauser and
Lohengrin at Deutsche Oper Berlin.
On the concert platform, Ain Anger
has recently performed Mussorgsky's Songs and Dances of
Death with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra (Olari Elts),
Mahler's Symphony No.8 with Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen
Rundfunks (Mariss Jansons), Verdi's Messa da Requiem with Sydney
Symphony Orchestra (David Robertson) and Dallas Symphony Orchestra
(Jaap van Zweden), as well as Beethoven's Symphony No.9 with
Gewandhausorchester Leipzig (Riccardo Chailly).
Trained at Tallin's Academy of
Music, Ain Anger began his career in his native Estonia before
joining the ensembles of Oper Leipzig, Staatsoper Hamburg and
subsequently Wiener Staatsoper.
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Ain Anger, bass (Fafner)
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Born in Sweden, soprano Malin
Christensson studied at the Royal College of
Music.
Highlights in her 2016/17 season include
Fauré's Requiem with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and
Alexandre Bloch, Bach's Mass in B Minor and
Mahler's Symphony no. 2 with the Boston Symphony
Orchestra and Andris Nelsons and
Handel's Messiah with the Orquesta Sinfónica de
Galicia and Paul Goodwin and in staged performances for the
Bergen National
Opera.
Recent engagements have included Susanna in staged performances
of Le nozze di Figaro with the Los Angeles
Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Dudamel and with the Gulbenkain
Orchestra under McCreesh; Zerlina Don
Giovanni for the Houston Grand Opera and at the Helsinki
Festival; Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium with the
Leipzig Gewandhausorchester and Pinnock,
the Matthäus-Passion with the Philadelphia
Orchestra and Nézet-Séguin, Mozart's Mass in C Minor
with the CBSO and Nelsons and Beethoven's Symphony no.
9 with the Swedish Radio Orchestra and
Blomstedt.
Appearances in opera have also included Barbarina Le
nozze di Figaro at the Salzburg Festival and Susanna at the
Aix-en-Provence Festival and in Santiago di Chile;
Sophie Werther at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden;
Miss Wordsworth Albert Herring at the
Glyndebourne Festival; Marzelline Fidelio at the
Beethoven Festival in Warsaw; Flower
Maiden Parsifal at Covent Garden; Drusilla
L'incoronazione di Poppea at the Drottningholms
Slottsteater and Papagena Die Zauberflöte at the
Théâtre du Châtalet, in Montpellier and at the Vienna
Festival.
She has also appeared at the BBC Proms and at the Lucerne and
Daytona Festivals and her recent highlights have included the
London Symphony Orchestra with Harding; the BBC Symphony Orchestra
with Bělohlávek; the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with
Jacobs, Labadie and Leonhardt; the Philharmonia Orchestra with John
Wilson, the Gävle Symfoni Orkester with Søndergård; the Royal
Scottish National Orchestra with Denève and the Scottish Chamber
Orchestra with
Ticciati.
In recital she works regularly with Simon Lepper, Malcolm
Martineau and Roger Vignoles and her appearances include London's
Wigmore Hall, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Tonhalle in Zurich
and the Innsbruck, Cheltenham, Bath Mozart and Oxford Lieder
Festivals.
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Malin Christensson, soprano (Freia)
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Jacqueline Echols, soprano (Woglinde)
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American mezzo-soprano
Catherine Martin has been praised by The Washington
Post for her "gorgeous, warm voice that you want to keep
listening to," and she continues to make an impact in repertoire
ranging from Verdi and Wagner to Strauss and Bellini.
Her 2016-2017 season begins in Taiwan at
the National Taichung Theatre reviving Wellgunde in Das
Rheingoldwith the La Fura dels Baus production team, a debut
with Lyric Opera of Chicago singing Hécube and covering Didon in
Les Troyens, a concert with The Dallas Opera at the Winspear Opera
House, as well as the final installment of
the Ring Cycle at Houston Grand Opera, singing
Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung with La Fura dels
Baus.
The 2015-2016 season included debuts with
Opera Colorado in her signature role of Amneris
in Aïda and a role debut with Florida Grand
Opera as Adalgisa in Norma, a return to Washington
National Opera as Wellgunde in Das
Rheingold and Götterdämmerung and
Grimgerde in Die Walküre.
Engagements for the 2014-2015 season
included her debut with Dayton Opera as Sister Helen Prejean
in Dead Man Walking, Waltraute in Die
Walküre with Houston Grand Opera, a return to Opera Santa
Barbara as Maddalena in Rigoletto, and Genevieve
in Hindemith's The Long Christmas Dinner with
the American Symphony Orchestra at Alice Tully Hall.
Her landmark 2013-2014 season included
two important assignments for Houston Grand Opera: Amneris in its
season-opening production of Aïda, filling in at the
last minute for an indisposed artist, and her role debut as
Wellgunde in Das Rheingold for the company's
first-ever Ring cycle. Adding several key
Strauss roles to her repertoire, she made her role debut
as Der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos at
The Glimmerglass Festival and sang Annina and covered Octavian
in Der Rosenkavalier with the National Symphony
Orchestra at the Kennedy Center. Other performances included Mary
in the world premiere Jeanine Tesori's The Lion, the
Unicorn, and Me with Washington National Opera, Amneris
for her debut with Opera Santa Barbara, leading roles in the double
bill of Musto's Bastianello and
Bolcom's Lucrezia at UrbanArias outside
Washington, D.C., and Schubert's Mirjams
Siegesgesang with the San Antonio Symphony.
Other highlights from 2013 included the
role of Sara Miller in the world premiere of Approaching
Ali with Washington National Opera, performances in the
Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Festival, her debut with the
New Haven Symphony performing Elgar's rarely heard
masterwork The Dream of Gerontius, and her debut with
Vancouver's West Coast Chamber Players singing Alan L. Smith's
Vignettes: Covered Wagon Woman.
An alumna of the Houston Grand Opera
Studio, Catherine spent three seasons from 2009-2012 performing
roles such as Dorabella in Così fan
tutte, Suzuki in Madama
Butterfly, Anna in Maria Stuarda, Flora
in La traviata, Berta inIl barbiere di
Siviglia, and Dryad in Ariadne auf Naxos. She
also had the opportunity to work extensively with conductor Patrick
Summers and to cover artists such as Susan Graham, Joyce DiDonato,
and Michelle DeYoungin roles such as Der Komponist, Sister
Helen, and the title roles
of Xerxes and The Rape of Lucretia. In 2012
she was a member of The Glimmerglass Festival Young Artists
Program, making her role debut as Amneris. In 2011 and 2010 she was
a Filene Young Artist with Wolf Trap Opera, where her roles
included Nicklausse in Les contes d'Hoffmann, Hermia
in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Zaida in Il
turco in Italia, plus multiple recitals with accompanist and
vocal coach Steven Blier.
Winner of the 2011 National Opera
Association Competition, Catherine was a semi-finalist in the 2012
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a finalist in the
2012 George London Competition, a 2nd place winner in the 2013
Jensen Competition, a semi-finalist in the 2013 Hans Belvedere
Competition, and won awards in the Eleanor McCollum Competition at
Houston Grand Opera, The Dallas Opera Guild, Annapolis Opera. She
has received The Richard F Gold Career Grant at both Houston Grand
Opera and Wolf Trap, and the Catherine Filene Shouse Career Grant.
A native of San Antonio, Texas, she holds a master's degree from
the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music and a
bachelor's degree in vocal performance from the University of North
Texas.
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Catherine Martin, mezzo-soprano (Wellgunde)
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Noted for her "commanding and dramatic presence" (Opera
News), mezzo-soprano Renée Tatum opens the 2014-15 season with
a return to the Metropolitan Opera as the Second Lady in Julie
Taymor's production of Die Zauberflöte led by Ádám
Fischer. She also returns to Houston Grand Opera both as
Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte under the baton of Robert
Spano and as Grimgerde in a new production of Die Walküre
conducted by Artistic and Music Director Patrick Summers.
Last season, the California native made her Houston Grand Opera
debut as Wellgunde in Das Rheingold led by Patrick
Summers, and made role debuts as Suzuki in Madama
Butterfly with Chautauqua Opera and as Rosina in Il
baribiere di Siviglia with Opera Las Vegas. Concert
appearances included Salome with Andris Nelsons and the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Mozart's Requiem with Music Director
Daniel Stewart and the Santa Cruz Symphony, and Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony with conductor Daniel Wachs and the Orange County
Philharmonic Society.
A recent alumna of the Lindemann Young Artist Development
Program, Miss Tatum's Metropolitan Opera performances include
The Magic Flute conducted by Jane Glover, Rusalka
led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Die Frau ohne Schatten with
Vladimir Jurowski, Otello under the baton of Semyon
Bychkov, Zandonai's seldom heard Francesca da Rimini
conducted by Marco Armiliato, Fenena in Nabucco with Paolo
Carignani, and Flosshilde in Robert Lepage's landmark production of
Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by Fabio Luisi.
Miss Tatum made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2010-11
season as Inez in Il trovatore conducted by Marco
Armiliato. Highlights of the recent past also have featured
the artist as Háta in Smetana's The Bartered Bride in a
new production by Stephen Wadsworth, led by James Levine, in a
collaboration between the Metropolitan Opera and the Juilliard
School, and in the roles of Flosshilde and Grimgerde in San
Francisco Opera's Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by
Donald Runnicles. Other performances include La Haine in
Gluck's Armide in a co-production between the Metropolitan
Opera and the Juilliard School and the role of Medea in Handel's
Teseo with Chicago Opera Theater. As a member of the
Adler Fellowship program, her San Francisco Opera performances have
included Inez in Il trovatore, Annina in La
traviata, and Emilia in Otello.
She has sung Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte with the
Santa Fe Opera conducted by Lawrence Renes and in a new production
at San Francisco Opera led by Rory Macdonald, Amando in Ligeti's
Le Grand Macabre with the New York Philharmonic conducted
by Alan Gilbert, and The Secretary in Menotti's The Consul
with Chautauqua Opera.
Ms. Tatum is a winner of the 2011 Gerda Lissner Foundation
Competition, a finalist of the 2011 George London Foundation
Competition, 2010 Grand Prize Winner of The Licia Albanese Puccini
Foundation Competition, The Opera Index Competition, The Jensen
Foundation Award from Chautauqua Opera, and two-time recipient of
the Richard F. Gold Career Grant. A Regional Finalist in the
Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Ms. Tatum holds
degrees from The Juilliard School and The Manhattan School of
Music.
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Renée Tatum, mezzo-soprano (Flosshilde)
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Irish mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon is
the youngest ever prize-winner of the Cardiff Singer of the World
Competition and is in demand for repertoire ranging from the
Baroque through to Rossini and Wagner. Her distinguished career has
brought numerous opportunities to collaborate in both opera and
concert with a wide range of conductors such as James Levine, Zubin
Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Sir Antonio Pappano, Sir Mark Elder,
Christophe Rousset, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Alberto Zedda, Fabio Luisi,
Harry Bicket, Ivor Bolton, Christoph Eschenbach, William Christie,
Pinchas Zuckerman, Ingo Metzmacher, Sir Charles Mackerras, and Rene
Jacobs.
Highlights of the 2016/17 season include
Principessa in Puccini Suor Angelica for Opera North, and
Arsace in Handel Partenope at English National Opera. In
concert Bardon can be seen in a performance of Mahler Symphony No.
8 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vladimir Jurowski,
and Mahler Kindertotenlieder with the RTE National
Symphony Orchestra in her native Dublin. She will also perform
Mahler Symphony No. 2 in Florence, with Fabio Luisi.
Last season's highlights included title
role Agrippina at Theater an der Wien, title role in
Porporo Germanico in Germania at the Innsbruck Festival of
Early Music, Mary in John Adams Gospel according to the other
Mary with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Mendelssohn
Elijah with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Mahler
Symphony No.2 with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, and Handel
Messiah with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Le Concert
Spirituel, and RLPO.
Having studied in Dublin with Dr Veronica
Dunne, Bardon's career embraces an impressive diversity of roles:
Erda in the Grammy-award-winning production of Der Ring des
Nibelungen at The Metropolitan Opera (DVD/Deutsche
Grammophon), La Nourrice Ariane et Barbe Bleu for Gran
Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona (DVD/Opus Arte), her highly-acclaimed
interpretation of Azucena Il trovatore at Welsh National
Opera, her creation of the title role in Saariaho's Adriana
Mater for Opera national de Paris, her glowing reviews last
season for Carmen in Los Angeles, conducted by Placido
Domingo - a role she has recorded for Chandos - and her Laurence
Olivier Nomination for Maurya Riders to the Seaat ENO are
all testament to an exceptional
An acclaimed Baroque and bel
canto singer, highlights have included the title roles in
Giulio Cesare at The Liceu Barcelona, Orlando for the
Opéra National de Paris (CD/Erato), Rinaldo for Oper Köln
as well as Cornelia Giulio Cesare for Bayerische
Staatsoper, The Metropolitan Opera, ENO and Glyndebourne Festival
Opera (DVD/Opus Arte). She has sung Rosmira Partenope for
Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teater an der Wien and ENO (Olivier
nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Opera), Andronico
Tamerlano in Los Angeles, Washington DC, Amsterdam and
Madrid; Bradamante Alcina in Drottingholm and Moscow,
Penelope Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria for Maggio Musicale
Florence, Amsterdam, Berlin Staatsoper and Athens; Ruggiero
Alcina for Trieste and Montpellier, Amastras
Xerxes for Montpellier, Dresden and Munich Staatsoper (DVD
Opus Arte), Juno Semelefor ENO and Innsbrook, Ottavia
L'incoronazione di Poppea in Oslo (DVD/EuroArts) and most
recently Zenobia Radamisto for Theater an der Wien and at
Carnegie Hall.
Bel canto highlights include
Tancredi and Arsace Semiramide for La Fenice, Calbo Il
Maometto Secondo for Santa Fe Opera, Smeaton Anna
Bolena for San Francisco Opera, title role La
Cenerentola for La Monnaie, Andromache Ermione
Festival Hall (CD/Opera Rara), Malcolm La donna del Lago
for the Edinburgh International Festival (CD/Opera Rara).
Enjoying an ongoing relationship with the
Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bardon has appeared there in
productions of Guillaume Tell, Mefistofele, Rigoletto, Moise in
Egitto, The Rake's Progress (earning an Olivier nomination)
and most recently in Richard Jones' acclaimed staging of Britten
Gloriana (DVD).
Bardon has extensive concert experience
and has performed with many of the world's leading Orchestras
including The New York Philharmonic, Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia, BBC
Philharmonic, St Louis Symphony Orchestra, Accademia Nazionale di
Santa Cecilia, Les Arts Florissants, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra,
Concerto Koln, Academy of Ancient Music, Les Talens Lirique, The
Halle Orchestra, Le Concert Spirituel, English Chamber Orchestra,
RTE Symphony Orchestra, RTE Concert Orchestra, The English Concert,
Filarmonica della Scala, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra
de RAI, and Orchestra de Paris, in repertoire including the Bach
Passions, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, Verdi
Messa di Requiem, Handel Oratorios, Wagner Wiesendonk
Lieder and the Mahler Symphonies.
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Patricia Bardon, contralto (Erda)
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David Butt Philip, tenor (Froh)
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American bass-baritone Ryan McKinny makes his Boston Symphony
Orchestra debut as Donner in Das Rheingold. Next season,
he will debut at the San Francisco Opera in the world premiere of
John Adams' Girls of the Golden West in a production by
Peter Sellars and will sing his first performances of Mandryka ina
new production of Arabella directed by Uwe Laufenberg at
Staatstheater Wiesbaden. With the San Francisco Symphony, he will
sing Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles with Michael Tilson
Thomas and will return to Santa Fe Opera as J. Robert Oppenheimer
in John Adams' Dr. Atomic.
He made a highly acclaimed Bayreuth Festival debut as Amfortas
in a new production of Parsifal by Uwe Laufenberg, a role
he also sang for his debut at Teatro Colòn in Buenos Aires.
Other recent performances include a return to the Metropolitan
Opera as Biterolf in Tannhäuser under James Levine which
was broadcast around the world in HD and Kurwenal in Trisan und
Isolde at the Detusche Oper Berlin under Donald
Runnicles. He debuted at the Washington National Opera as
Donner and Gunther in Der Ring des Nibelungen and returned
to the Hamburg Opera for his first European performances of Der
fliegende Holländer. Mr. McKinny was the first recipient of
the Birgit Nilsson Prize for singing Wagner at Plácido Domingo's
Operalia Competition held at Teatro alla Scala in Milan and the
Kirsten Flagstad/George London Award from the George London
Foundation. He also represented the United States in the 2007
BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, where he was a
finalist in the Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize. He was a Grand
Finalist in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
and is featured in the film The Audition released by Decca
on DVD.
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Ryan McKinny, baritone (Donner)
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