Meet our June Al Fresco Arias artists
/Our popular outdoor concert series returns June 17 & 18 with an all-star cast.
Emmy Award–winning soprano ADRIENNE DANRICH first thrilled OD patrons in 2015 with This Little Light of Mine, her program chronicling the ground-breaking careers of opera icons Marian Anderson and Leontyne Price. In 2019, she wowed Wilmington audiences again as Sister Rose in Dead Man Walking. She has performed, covered, and workshopped leading roles with Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, Lincoln Center Theater, and appeared in the NBC broadcast of The Sound of Music, Live! Her latest creative endeavor, Music as the Message, is a multi-episode musical initiative produced by The American Opera Project in association with Opera on Tap NYC, for which she serves as executive producer, creator, host, and performer.
Mezzo-soprano MARIE ENGLE makes her OD debut in Al Fresco Arias. An OD 2020 Young Artist, Marie was set to make her company debut as Nutrice in our canceled Festival production of The Coronation of Poppea, and we’re delighted to finally introduce her to patrons. A graduate of Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music and Juilliard, she recently debuted as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Wichita Grand Opera (May 2021) and will appear as a soloist in the Marlboro Music Festival this July and August.
Acclaimed tenor JESUS GARCIA won a Tony in 2003 for his performance as Rodolfo in Baz Lurhmann’s Broadway production of La bohème, and is currently earning raves as Rufus in Desert In, Boston Lyric Opera’s much buzzed about new streaming mini-series. Other notable appearances include Rodolfo in Opera Columbus’ May 2021 production of La bohème”, the title role of Faust with Savonlinna Opera Festival, Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Boston Lyric Opera, and Alfredo in La traviata with Nederlandse Reisopera. Later this season, he’ll join Opera Omaha as Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi.
We’re thrilled to welcome back baritone ERIC MCKEEVER. Praised for his “power and brilliance” (Chicago Tribune) and dynamic stage presence, he last delighted OD audiences as a soloist in Who’s Afraid of Opera? (studio series, 2014). Since the start of the pandemic, Eric has appeared in several innovative productions including Experiments in Opera’s Aqua Net and Funyuns podcast opera, Opera on Tap’s digital version of La Cenerentola (singing the role of Dandini), and the little OPERA theatre of ny’s live-stream of Zemlinsky’s Eine florentinische Tragödie. He recently returned to live, in-person performance starring as Marcello in La bohème with Opera Columbus.
Collaborating with our talented soloists is OD Head of Music Staff AURELIEN EULERT. Hailing from Alsace, France, Aurelien was named Head of Music Staff in 2019, and was instrumental in launching OD’s Young Artist Program. He had previously held the position of Chorus Master and Principal Pianist since 2017. Aurelien has been on the music staff of Charlottesville Opera, Opera Memphis, Opera Roanoke, Palm Beach Opera, Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, USC Thornton Opera, UCLA Alpert School of Music, Pacific Opera Project and the Los Angeles Opera Education department.