Yujung Bae, soprano, is currently in the doctoral program at The Hartt School, and received her Master’s degree from MSM. She has been participating in several summer programs such IIVA, NY summer opera scene and NY opera forum. She has been in several recitals, including three solo recitals, and in many different opera scenes and workshops. She loves Mozart and has worked on baroque operas with Kenneth Cooper.  This summer, she will play the Second Lady in The Magic Flute with The Martina Arroyo Foundation, and Zebrinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with NY summer opera scene.  

Ellis Bareuther was a member of the Childrens’ Chorus of the Met Opera for 5 years, and is a student at The Allen-Stevenson School. He has performed for the Gotham Chamber Opera's production of Rossini's Il Signor Bruschino, and most recently as Ruth in Allen-Stevenson's production of the Pirates of Penzeance. Ellis also enjoys playing the Cello.

Karoline Barnett is currently a senior violin performance major at Mason Gross School of the Arts, and until now, has experienced many operas primarily from the pit. Though not from New Jersey, she now lives in New Brunswick, and studies voice as a mezzo soprano under Dr. Sandra Kungle. She sings with the Rutgers Kirkpatrick Choir; she has sung the Verdi Requiem and Carmina Burana with them in Lincoln Center, and was a soloist in their performance of Haydn’s Heiligmesse. Karoline’s love of Mozart and knowledge of German prove to make Die Zauberflöte an enjoyable first opera for her as a vocalist.

Fleur Barron received her MM from Manhattan School of Music in 2008. Recent performances include Hansel, Orlofsky and Isabella with the Martina Arroyo Foundation; Concepcion in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole, Rosine in Pasatieri’s and Pitti-Sing in The Mikado with EnCanta Opera; the title role in Handel’s Orlando (BASOTI); and Olga Olsen in Weill’s Street Scene (MSM Opera Studio). Upcoming performances include Dorabella with the Savannah Symphony Orchestra in January 2011 and a recital in London. Fleur is in the studio of Cynthia Hoffmann.

Sarah Beckham, a soprano from Amarillo, Texas was a studio artist with Sarasota Opera where she sang Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel) and covered Nedda (I Pagliacci) and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte). Beckham had her professional debut at Amarillo Opera as Fiordiligi (Cosi fan Tutte).  At Lake George Opera, she sang Eleanor in the premiere of Vehar’s Opera Eleanor Roosevelt.  Beckham is a graduate of the Boston University Opera Institute where she sang Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Musetta (La Boheme), and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte).  Sarah sang Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Prelude to a Performance in 2008.  www.SarahBeckham.com

Steven Derek Brown, basso cantante, possesses a naturally dark lyric tone and an insatiable curiosity about music and the human condition. Since 2006 he has been seen in NJCU’s productions of The Magic Flute (Sarastro), Candide (Pangloss/Voltaire), Amahl & the Night Visitors (Balthazar), La Bohème (Colline), La Traviata (Grenvil), Gianni Schicchi (Simone), and The Mikado (Mikado). In addition to his singing credits, Mr. Brown is a published poet and librettist, having recently prepared a modern rendition of the dialogue for The Magic Flute. Born in Ottawa, Canada, Steven Derek Brown has spent the past ten years in New Jersey and New York.

Kelli Butler, coloratura soprano, has won prizes in many competitions including the Jenny Lind competition, Connecticut Opera Guild, and the Altamura/Caruso International Competition. She has sung with various opera companies such as New Rochelle Opera, Purchase Opera, and the Altamura Opera Festival. Her roles include Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), both the title role and Valencienne in The Merry Widow, Adele (Die Fledermaus), and Mlle. Silberklang (The Impresario). Ms Butler studies with Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Shirley Love.

Cristina Castro is from San Antonio, TX and attends Trinity University. Through Trinity University, she performed the role of Adele in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus in May 2009, and she is the 2009 winner of the Rosalind Phillips competition. She was the soprano soloist in the Rutter Requiem in 2009 and understudy for Mozart’s Requiem soprano solo in 2008.  Cristina has also performed with the San Antonio Chamber Choir and the San Antonio Opera Chorus. Cristina has traveled abroad to Salzburg, Austria for a summer and Florence, Italy for a semester.  Aside from singing, Cristina has enjoyed dancing, ballet and salsa in particular.

Brandi Diggs is a native of Atlanta, GA. She holds a M.M. from the A. J. Fletcher School of Music at East Carolina University and a B.M. from Spelman College. Miss Diggs has performed the roles of Donna Anna from Don Giovanni and Frasquita from Carmen. This summer she will star in the premier of Dream Lovers by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor at the National Association of Negro Musicians. She studies with Dr. Louise Toppin.

Trinidadian Soprano Natalia Dopwell is a student of Hilda Harris at Manhattan School of Music. She was Most Outstanding Performer of Trinidad Music Festival 2004, a finalist at Harlem Opera Theater Competition 2009 and placed third in 2009 Accadia Competition at Carnegie Hall. Roles include Eurilla, Dido and scenes of Kostanza, Fiordiligi, Micaela, Sophie, Antonia & Poppea. Solo performances include Strings Song & Steel (Trinidad), Holders Season (Barbados), A Night at the Opera (Grenada),andWestbeth Music Festival (NYC).

Baritone John-Andrew Fernandez has recently performed excerpts from Die tote Stadt with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Silvio in I Pagliacci for Knoxville Opera, Figaro (cover) and Fiorello in Il Barbiere di Siviglia for Bel Canto at Caramoor, Mercuzio in Romeo e Giulietta (premier) for International Opera Theater at the Teatro Avvalloranti, Italy, and the song cycle Siete canciones populares españolas for the Delaware Chamber Music Festival.  He loves to cook and is an avid Martial Artist.

Rafael Garcia has been singing since the age of 18. He made his operatic debut in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro in the role of Dr. Bartolo with the Brooklyn Music School. He has performed Dandini in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, and Cadmus in Handel’s Semele, with the Columbia University Opera Ensemble. He debuted with Opera Amato as Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata and went on to sing Amonasro in Verdi’s Aïda and the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Rafael is thrilled to be performing in this season with the Martina Arroyo Foundation’s Prelude to Performance program.

A first-generation Mexican-American, Gabriel Gargari is becoming one of America’s most sought-after character tenors. His mentor & teacher is Anthony Laciura, MET sensation for 27 years & HBO star on “Boardwalk Empire”. Gabriel debuted with New Rochelle Opera in June singing Pang in Turandot. He debuted the role of Goro in Phoenix Opera’s production of Madama Butterfly in February and returns to Phoenix in Dec. to revive Monostatos. Gabriel is producing and starring in The Dress Rehearsal, a classical cabaret piece for Tenor, Piano and Actor.  NY debut is 11/11/2010 at Merkin Concert Hall.  (gabrielgargari.com)

Jerett Gieseler is a winner of the 2009 Liederkranz Vocal Competition, Wagner Division; the 2009 Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, Wagner Division; the 2007 Chester Ludgin Memorial Verdi Baritone Competition; and two grants from the Wagner Society of New York. During the 2009/10 season, Gieseler portrays Scarpia with Annapolis Opera, Macbeth and Don Carlo in Forza with Taconic Opera, the world premiere of Unfinished Sermons, soloist in Belshazzar’s Feast with the Handel Society of Dartmouth and Wotan with the Liederkranz Opera. More info at www.jerettgieseler.com

Ryan Speedo Green received his MM in Voice Performance at Florida State University. He received his BM from The Hartt School of Music in Hartford, CT. Recently, he performed as Don Basilio in Rossini's Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Florida State Opera. Some of his prior opera performance engagements include Bottom in Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Publio in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, and Jupiter in Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld. Beginning in the Fall, Mr. Green will be a young artist with Opera Colorado for the 2010-11 season. He will also be singing Colline in La Bohème and Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola for Opera Colorado’s 2010-11 season.

Angela Gribble recently completed her Master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music. This year, she covered the role of Despina (Così fan tutte) with Pocket Opera of New York, and was seen singing the role of Young Clara in scenes from Victoria Bond’s new opera Clara Schumann. She has performed roles including Adele (Die Fledermaus), Dorinda (Orlando) and Giannetta (L’Elisir D’Amore). Other performance experience includes Cuenegonde (Candide), Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) and Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel). Ms. Gribble has participated in summer music festivals including The Opera Theater and Music Festival of Lucca, OperaWorks, and Prelude to Performance.

Jonathan Hare, baritone, has received his BM from the Manhattan School of Music. He has performed various roles  such as  Marcello (La Boheme) with the Martha Cardona Foundation, the Baron (La Traviata)with the New Rochelle Opera, Figaro (The Barber of Seville), Belcore (L'Elisir D'Amore), Dr. Flake (Die Fledermaus), Morales, Carmen, and Masetto (Don Giovanni) with Opera Company of Brooklyn.  He was also a part of the Dell' Arte Opera Ensemble where he performed the roles of Starveling in A Midsummer Nights Dream.

Keiko Kai, mezzo-soprano, made her operatic debut by singing the role of Third spirit in The Magic Flute. She has performed with NY Lyric Opera, Pocket Opera of NY, Camerata Baroque, Amato Opera, and Little Opera Theater of NY, and is currently a resident artist with Opera Company of Brooklyn. She has appeared as Mrs. Nolan (The Medium), Dorabella (Cosi fan Tutte), Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Zita (Gianni Schicchi). She received Master of Music and Professional Studies Diploma from Mannes College, the New School for Music. Future engagements include Alisa (Lucia) with Dell’arte Opera, Susanna Walcott (Crucible) with Empire Opera.

From his roots at the Met. under Elena Doria, through study at the San Francisco Conservatory and the Royal Conservatory of the Netherlands, Micah Kessel has performed internationally as a soloist ever since. He has been in private study or masterclasses with Jose van Dam, Nathan Gunn and Carol Vaness.  In 2011 he will perform Zurga in The Pearl Fishers, and anticipates an album release of his compositions and a theatre commission.

Soprano Yeonjung Ellie Kim from Seoul, South Korea, has completed her Master’s degree at Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Joan Patenaude-Yarnell. She performed as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte during her undergraduate study at Sookmyung Women’s University.  She has performed the role of Lucy in Menotti’s Telephone during the 2005 Summer Opera Festival season at the Korea National Theater and Opera Gala concert in KBS Hall as a member of the Kim Ja-kyung opera company. She will also be performing with the dell’Arte Opera Ensemble this summer, singing Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro.

Tenor Chung Gu Kim, born in Korea, recently made his principal operatic debut by singing the role of Dorvil in La Scala di Seta at Montclair State University. He received his bachelor’s degree at Hanyang University, where he received a merit scholarship for the top honor students. He performed in opera scenes as Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, and Rodolfo in La Boheme. Studying under MET artist Anthony Laciura and Dr. Stephen Oosting, he is a graduate student at MSU and is the current recipient of the John J. Cali Shool of Music Program Award.

A member of the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus since 2005, Bennett Kosma sings in 6 languages and has performed in 14 Met productions to date. He was featured in the Met Opera’s very first HD transmission  in movie theaters, as the First Spirit in Mozart’s Magic Flute, directed by Julie Taymor.  Bennett’s other Live-in-HD/PBS/DVD credits include Hansel and Gretel, La Damnation de Faust, and Carmen. Bennet was also the boy soprano soloist in Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms in 2009, and sings in his school’s jazz choir. He thanks his opera coach and mentor, Elena Doria.

Brad Lassiter received his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. His recent performances include covering The Count in Le nozze di Figaro with Chelsea Opera, John Brooke in Mark Adamo’s Little Women with the Intermezzo Foundation in Belgium, and the title role in Gianni Schicchi and Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors.

With a timbre likened to that of Jussi Bjorling, Tenor Choong Lee has exhibited versatility and growth in several performances at Prelude to Performance, including such roles as Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera, and Alfred in Die Fledermaus. Opera News noted that he has “real humor on stage.” Upon awarding him the Teresa Stratas Special Award at the Lotte Lenya Compeition, the soprano praised his superb vocal quality as a “gift from God.” In April, he was tenor soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, and in May he was invited to the Natchez Festival of Music.

Scott Lindroth holds a BM in Voice and Music Education from the University of Michiganand a Masters in Voice from Manhattan School of Music. Recently, he has sung Charlemagne in Il Tassilone, Marco in Gianni Schicchi, Ceprano in Rigoletto, Wagner in Faust and Edgardo in Il Caso Mortara. In competition, he took Second Place in the Opera Theater of Connecticut's Voice Competition. As a soloist, he has recently performed Mozart’s Requiem and Carmina Buran.
www.ScottLindroth.com

Rene Martinez is currently a student at New Jersey City University studying under Anthony Laciura. A veteran of the stage, Rene has performed at NJPAC as well as NYC Venues.  His recent performances include his first Opera debut in The Magic Flute as Monostatos, in  Godspell as Judas and in Candide as Maxamillion. 

Laura Alley enjoys a distinguished career in opera direction. She has a current repertoire of over fifty operas, which she has directed throughout the United States. Highlights include the European premiere of Ghosts of Versailles in Germany, and the American premieres of Kinkakuji and The Dreyfus Affair for NYCO. Among the opera companies for which she has directed are Syracuse, Kansas City, San Francisco, Austin, Cleveland, El Paso, Chautauqua, Connecticut, and New Orleans. Miss Alley has taught and directed opera workshop productions at LSU, Temple, Rutgers, NYU, and is currently on the faculty of Mannes College of Music.

Elena Araoz has directed on the international, Off-Broadway and regional levels.  Her operetta War Music toured around the country.  As a member of the 2009 Glimmerglass Opera directing staff, she choreographed Steven Blier’s “Latin Lovers” concert.  She directed the semi-staged Falstaff starring Sir Thomas Allen with Maestro Robert Spano for the Brooklyn Philharmonic at BAM.  She regularly serves as Associate or Assistant Director to Sir Jonathan Miller: his Broadway King Lear and his operas at Lincoln Center, Seattle Opera, BAM, Glimmerglass Opera and upcoming at Vancouver Opera. www.elenaaraoz.com

Brian Barnett is delighted to be returning to Prelude to Performance after his prior work on La Bohème, Die Fledermaus, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Un Ballo in Maschera. He has previously lit The Play of Daniel, a medieval opera at The Cloisters; Prudence, World Premier Connecticut Repertory Theatre; Crazy for You, Maine State Music Theatre; Babes in Arms, Seven Angels Theatre; Dying City, The Barrow Group Theatre; The Meaning of Life…, NYC Premier; Orange, NYC Premier; Albany Berkshire Ballet’s Nutcracker Tour, 2006-Present. He also frequently works as Associate Lighting Designer to Jeff Davis in Regional Opera including; Palm Beach Opera; Mannes Opera, NYC; Indianapolis Opera; Michigan Opera;  Manhattan School of Music; Berkshire Opera. Examples of Brian’s work can be seen on his website, www.bwbstudio.org.

Charles Caine, costume designer, brings his talents and experience to our program for our sixth season. He started his illustrious career at the Metropolitan Opera, as resident costume designer for 16 seasons, and since then has designed for many other opera companies, including Canadian Opera, Montreal Opera, San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, Chicago Lyric, Washington Opera, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, Miami, and NYCO. His designs have appeared in the acclaimed PBS-TV production of Luisa Miller starring Domingo, Milnes and Scotto. Aside from design projects he now adds lectures to his schedule, recalling the glories from the Golden Days backstage at the Met.

Elena Doria  received her degree at Juilliard before winning a Fulbright scholarship to study in Italy where she made her debut in La Traviata. Returning to the US, she sang with the Met Opera chorus for 20 years and then served as Artistic Director at the Met for an additional twenty years, leading the Met’s Children’s Chorus.  Ms. Doria has also been a long-time trainer of the children’s chorus for Covent Garden and in 2004 coached Met Children’s Chorus alumna, Emmy Rossum, for her starring role in the movie, The Phantom of the Opera. Ms. Doria retired from the Met in January 2009 and continues teaching.

Nicholas Fox began studying piano and composition at the age of 12.  He was a much-in-demand vocal coach and accompanist in the Southern California area. Since graduation from Mannes, he has remained an extremely in-demand accompanist, coach, teacher, and conductor in the New York area. He has led several fully staged operatic productions.  He has been music director and conductor of Opera at Rutgers Church. In May 2007 he assisted Maestro Yves Abel, principal guest conductor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, in a series of performances of Rameau’s ‘Castor et Pollux’ with Mr. Abel’s L’Opera Francais de New York. He led the Mannes Chorus and Orchestra in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem at the church of St. Paul and St. Andrew in Manhattan.  He was appointed Assistant Chorus Master at NYCOpera in September, 2009.

Ian Paul Guzzone is an MFA Scenic Design candidate at Temple University, Philadelphia, PA. Ian was formerly the resident Props Master at Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, MA. Recent credits include: Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare and Company, set design); Rent (Temple University, assistant set design), and Thirst: A Spell For Christabel (First Light Theatre Group NYC, props master).  Ian is very excited to be participating in is first project with The Martina Arroyo Foundation.

As the original Gus/Growltiger in Broadway’s Cats, Stephen Mo Hanan received a Tony nomination and subsequently published his rehearsal journal, A Cat’s Diary. He was co-author and star of Jolson & Company, at the York Theatre, off-Broadway’s Century Center, and Miami’s Coconut Grove Playhouse. He has sung Gustavo in Ballo in Maschera at the Amato Opera and is author of Scarpia’s Kiss, a novel of opera’s world. He has just returned from portraying the Major-General in The Pirates of Penzance, a production in Yiddish by Montréal’s Segal Centre for the Arts. His blog posts are archived at huffingtonpost.com.

Laura Hirschberg (Stage Manager, The Magic Flute) is delighted to be a part of this production. Past stage management experiences include Magic & Mayhem (WorkShop Theater), Henry V at Harvard University), Are You There, Zeus? It's Me, Electra with Looking Glass Theatre, Bleeker Street Theater, Abby & June (The Tank), and Orestes 2.0 (BoCoCa Festival). Laura is a graduate of Harvard University.

Steven Horak, has been on the Makeup Department Staff of the Metropolitan Opera for fourteen seasons following twelve seasons as a wigmaker and makeup artist at the San Francisco Opera.  Prior to joining the MET, his many years as a journeyman included seasons as Wig and Makeup Designer for Michigan Opera Theatre, Chicago Opera Theatre, the Lake George Opera Festival, and as a wig and makeup artist for the opera companies of Philadelphia, Miami, and St. Louis.  He is currently also principal wig designer and constructor for Studio E.I.S., a Brooklyn-based company which furnishes realistic human figures to museums across North America. These include the new Education Center at the Mount Vernon Estate in Virginia which features forensically age-regressed figures of George Washington.

Molly Johnson is Associate Professor of Voice and Director of Opera and Music Theatre at The University of Texas at Tyler. Performing credits include roles with Opera East Texas, Baton Rouge Opera, Asheville (NC) Lyric Opera, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Music Theatre of Wichita and Nebraska Theatre Caravan in addition to frequent concert, recital, and oratorio appearances. Directing credits include Rodger & Hammerstein’s Cinderella, The Old Maid and the Thief, Hänsel und Gretel, Howland & Dickstein’s Little Women, and Godspell. Together, she and her husband maintain an active private voice studio and have released two recordings of sacred solo and duet music. She holds the BM degree from Oklahoma City University and the MM and DMA degrees from Louisiana State University.

Born in South Korea, pianist Hee-Kyung Juhn lived her teen-age years in South America, and made her orchestral debut at age 16 playing the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto with the Orquesta Sinfonica de la Ciudad de Asuncion. After coming to the U.S., Juhn attended the Juilliard School, Indiana University, and participated in music festivals such as Tanglewood, Aspen, among others. She recorded J. S. Bach's Goldberg Variations on MSR Classics (available at www.amazon.com), and has performed as soloist, chamber musician, and accompanist in various venues. Currently, she is the Director of Keyboard Studies at Henderson State University in Arkansas.

Joan Krueger was named “2004 Coach of the Year” by Classical Singer magazine.  She has accompanied  Cecilia Bartoli, Sumi Jo, and Vinson Cole at New York’s Mostly Mozart Festival, was seen with Carol Vaness on A&E’s Breakfast With The Arts, has performed collaborative recitals in Avery Fisher Hall, The Met Museum of Art, The United Nations, and many other venues across the U.S.  She was an Assistant Conductor for the Sarasota Opera, Music Director for NYU’s Opera Workshop, and a coach for IntermezzoOpera Festival.  Currently, she is on the faculty of SUNY Purchase and the Westchester Summer Vocal Institute.  She is the pianist for the Jensen and the Chester Ludgin Verdi Baritone competitions and was a judge for the Classical Singer vocal competition.  She maintains an active coaching studio in NY.  

Matthew Lata made his professional debut with Otello for the Florida Grand Opera. Dozens of invitations followed, including Carmen in Baltimore, Turandot in Los Angeles and Don Giovanni at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He received international recognition for Hugo Weisgall's Six Characters in Search of an Author at the Chicago Lyric's Center for American Artists. Recent productions also include Der Rosenkavalier for the Portland Opera, Aida for the Lyric Opera of Chicago, La Fille du Regiment for the NYCOpera, Der Flegender Hollander in Alaska and Don Giovanni in New Orleans. His JFK Center debut in Washington was with Don Giovanni and the World Premiere of Anton Coppola's Sacco and Vanzetti for Opera Tampa. He is currently Professor of Music and Resident Stage Director at Florida State University.

Brad Lemons has served as Fight Director on Random Violence at the Brooklyn Lyceum, productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream for Circle in the Square Theatre School and REV Theatre Co., Witch of Edmonton also for REV Theatre Co., as well as a series of student films at the New York Film Academy, working in tandem with emerging young film directors. He was Assistant to B.H. Barry on Broadway's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. His work as a fight performer has been seen in Carmen and Otello at the Metropolitan Opera and on All My Children at ABC. He has taught for Circle in the Square, the New York Film Academy, Showtix: Behind the Scenes Broadway and Southern Connecticut State University. He is resident fight director for REV Theatre Co. www.thefightguys.com

Robert Lyall was named General/Artistic Director of New Orleans Opera in 1998 and has been the Artistic Director of Michigan’s Opera Grand Rapids since 1989. He was General Director of the Knoxville Opera and the Mississippi Opera, served as Principal Guest Conductor of the Istanbul State Opera in Turkey, and was the Music Director of the Victoria and  Oak Ridge Symphony Orchestras.  He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1998, has guest conducted recently with the Arena of Verona (Italy) and made his Russian debut with the Rostov State Theatre  in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Rostov-na-Danau.

Mark Rucker (Administrative Director) first sang Renato in Un ballo in maschera with Luciano Pavarotti. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Amonasro in Aida and returned as Don Carlo in La forza del destino, Rigoletto and Tonio in I Pagliacci. His Italian debut was Rigoletto in Bologna and returned to Italia for such roles as Macbeth and Nabucco. Recent appearances have included Stankar in Stiffelio at Wiener Staatsoper, Macbeth and Rigoletto for Opera Liege, Nabucco for the Savonlinna and Bregenz Festivals and Amonasro for Arena di Verona. He has sung major dramatic baritone roles throughout North America. His Carnegie Hall debut was Don Carlo in La forza del destino, Antonioin Linda di Chamonix at the Concertgebow and Rigoletto in Tel Aviv with the Israel Philharmonic.Future engagements include the title role in his first Der Fliegende Holländer in Belgium. www.markrucker.com

Amire Solomon was awarded this year’s prestigious Jeannette K. Watson while attending Long Island University . The three-year Fellowship program offers paid summer internships, mentoring, and enhanced educational opportunities to NYC undergraduates who demonstrate exceptional promise, outstanding leadership skills and commitment to the common good. He is planning to major in both English and accounting. He has worked with the MTA Arts for Transit-Music Under New York program where he traveled to various locations to monitor the program’s musicians. A bass player, his interest in music is both professional and personal. He has also acted as a docent for the NY Transit Museum. His most noted achievements, however, have come on the track and field team. He won the triple jump event at the NEC Indoor Championships.

Sergio Stefani was born in Bologna, Italy and grew up in Rome, where he studied Liberal Arts at Liceo “Pilo Albertelli” and Law at the University of Rome, before coming to the United States. About twenty years ago, he devised a unique approach for teaching his native language - the opportunity of learning at one’s own pace - a teaching program that must be the student’s learning program - individual lessons to cover grammar or special individual needs - conversation classes to hone one’s skills - diction and role interpretation to opera singers. Sergio has enjoyed being a supernumerary at the Metropolitan Opera and he is proud to have had, among his students, some members of that company.

Anne Troy (Executive Director) has for two years assisted Elena Doria in recruiting and coordinating the children’s and adult choruses, including opening a partnership with LaGuardia HS for the Performing Arts. Anne is currently Executive Director of the Martina Arroyo Foundation with a background that includes Development Director for the Mayor’s Office of New York and the Marilyn Horne Foundation, as well as extensive experience in both advertising and social services.  Her daughter, Zoe Soumkine, was with the Metropolitan Opera Children’s Chorus for 9 years and in her second year with the Martina Arroyo Prelude chorus.

Maestro Willie Anthony Waters (Music Director) Maestro Willie Anthony Waters is formerly General and Artistic Director of Connecticut Opera. He conducted numerous noteworthy productions for the company, including the Arena production of Aïda in 1991, Otello, Porgy and Bess and Salome. He has been a guest conductor for numerous American and European opera companies and symphony orchestras, including several in South Africa. In 2002, Maestro Waters debuted at New York City Opera, and in 2008, he made his debut at the Deutsche Oper, Berlin. In 2005, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Hartford. This season he conducted Die Fledermaus for Opera Hamilton (Ontario) and University of Connecticut Opera Theater, Il trovatore for Opera Naples, and Carmen for Florida Grand Opera.

Jen Joyce Davis (Photographer) “I grew up a military kid, we were always moving around. My Dad "the great explorer" as I like to call him gave me my first camera when I was 9, and I began my own explorations through a viewfinder. Now 33, and living in NYC, a hobby in youth has now turned into a profession as an adult. To capture and moment of time in a single frame, and to successfully convey what I was seeing and feeling at the time is my biggest challenge. Photographing the Opera brings me these challenges every second. I love being able to get close and into the singers world as they perform, I am shadow in the darkness of a theater, feeling the rage of gentlemen dueling over a lady love, the sadness of lost love, the joy of a union, the evil of a hated tyrant, and the humor of a jester. The moments are never ending.”