Cosi fan tutte rehearsals started yesterday and the artists are all smiles after their first sing through. Singers often refer to the first day of rehearsal as “the first day of school” which is even more appropriate when we’re doing Cosi! For those who don’t know, the full title is “Così fan tutte ossia La scuola degli amanti” which means “All women are like that or The School for Lovers” - too appropriate, right?
Meet the Artists: Opening Night at The Grand
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On Saturday, September 10, OperaDelaware and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra will join The Grand Opera House in an opening night celebration featuring Tony Award-winning Broadway star Brian Stokes Mitchell. Learn more about "Stokes" (as he prefers to be called) and the fabulous OD artists sharing the stage for this one-night-only event!
Brian Stokes Mitchell
Dubbed “the last leading man” by The New York Times, Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a career that spans more than 40 years in Broadway, television, film, recordings and concert appearances with the country’s finest conductors and orchestras.
Mr. Mitchell received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards for his star turn in Kiss Me, Kate. He also gave Tony-nominated performances in Man of La Mancha, August Wilson’s King Hedley II, and Ragtime. Other notable Broadway shows include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jelly’s Last Jam, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and most recently in Shuffle Along. His off-Broadway credits include Do Re Mi, Carnival, Kismet and The Bandwagon at City Center Encores and Much Ado About Nothing at the Delacorte Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park. Regional credits include Sweeney Todd at the Sondheim Celebration at The Kennedy Center with Christine Baranski and The Light in the Piazza at the Los Angeles Opera with Renee Fleming. Stokes was four days from opening LOVE/LIFE at City Center Encores when all of Broadway, and most of the country, shut down due to the pandemic. However, that didn’t stop him from performing. Even while recovering from COVID in March of 2020, he received unexpected acclaim and attention for singing “The Impossible Dream” from his apartment window every night for a number of weeks during the pandemic, in honor of essential workers.
OPERADELAWARE GUEST ARTISTS
Soprano Vanessa Becerra
Peruvian- and Mexican-American soprano Vanessa Becerra is a recent graduate of LA Opera’s prestigious Young Artist Program praised for her “bold and bright” singing (Opera News), “full, beautifully focused” instrument (The Wall Street Journal), and “charismatic and eloquent” presence (San Francisco Chronicle).
In the 2022-23 season, Vanessa debuts the roles of Marie in La fille du régiment (Minnesota Opera), Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Opera Omaha), Carolina in El matrimonio secreto (Florida Grand Opera), Despina in Così fan tutte (Opera Theater of St. Louis), and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette (Boston Lyric Opera) for which she received praise from the Boston Globe for her “clarity, luster, and charisma”. She revisits La mujer in El Milagro del Recuerdo (Houston Grand Opera) and this summer joins Madison Opera and Madison Symphony Orchestra for their annual Opera in the Park celebration. OD patrons will remember Vanessa’s stunning performance as Sophie in Werther (2017).
Tenor William Davenport
William Davenport has received attention for his strong yet lyric tenor and Italianate style. The Baltimore Sun raves, “William Davenport has the makings of a significant tenor. There’s an immediately expressive and appealing quality in the timbre, one with quite an Italianate tint…” Upon his role debut of the Duca in Rigoletto with the Italian Opera Festival of Orange County, Italian News reported, “The biggest ovation, however, was for William Davenport. The young tenor demonstrated a huge vocal ability.” His other leading roles include Edgardo with the Baltimore Concert Opera, the title role in Les Contes Hoffman, Alfredo in La traviata, Riccardo in Oberto and Un Ballo in Maschera at the Academy of Vocal Arts.
His other recent engagements include Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Valencia, OperaDelaware, Baltimore Concert Opera, Orlando Philharmonic, Rodolfo in La bohème with Opera Naples under the baton of Ramón Tebar, Ernesto in Don Pasquale with Opera Naples, Roberto Devereux at Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova, Arnold in Guglielmo Tell with the Southern Illinois Music Festival, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia alongside Mariella Devia with the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia Valencia, and Alfredo at the Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova. Having just sung his first Lenski in Eugene Onegin, Mr Davenport looks forward to upcoming Opera Galas with OperaDelaware, Opera Southwest, and the Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra. He will also be revisiting two of his favorite roles as Rodolfo in La bohème, and as Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with Charleston Opera Theater.
Mezzo-Soprano Marie Engle
Marie Engle is an American lyric mezzo-soprano based in New York. Her operatic roles include Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Wichita Grand Opera), Ramiro in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera (Juilliard Opera), Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Chautauqua Institute), and Mercédès in Bizet’s Carmen (Chautauqua Institute). She will make her debut as Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte in 2022. Marie studied at the Chautauqua Institution during the summers of 2018 and 2019 and was a Young Artist at OperaDelaware in 2020.
Marie is an active recitalist and chamber musician and spent the summers of 2021 and 2022 at the Marlboro Music Festival and School. She performed Hindemith’s Des Todes Tod, Loeffler’s 4 poèmes op. 5, Libby Larsen’s Sifting Through the Ruins, Schumann’s Spanisches Liederspiel, Reger’s 5 Duette op. 14, Brahms’ Drei Quartetten op. 64 and various informal concerts on the Potash Hill campus. In 2019, Marie joined Matthew Polenzani and Julius Drake in their Carnegie Hall recital performance of Janáček’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared and later that year made her orchestral debut of Mahler’s “Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen” with the Chautauqua Festival Symphony Orchestra. Marie has won awards from the Gerda Lissner and Grand Stage Song Competitions and has performed on WQXR’s Midday Masterpieces. She made her Pierrot Lunaire debut at Juilliard’s Chamberfest in 2018.
Baritone Eric McKeever
American operatic baritone Eric McKeever has won consistent praise for his voice of “power and brilliance” (Chicago Tribune) and “considerable flexibility and a communicative presence enhanced by expressive, crystalline diction.” (Opera News)
2021-2022 brought about several exciting projects including joining Indianapolis Opera in the title role of Don Giovanni, a role and house debut as Papa-Daddy in the World Premiere of Why I Live at the P.O. with Urban Arias, as well as covering Monforte in New Amsterdam Opera’s I Vespri Sicilani. He returned to Salt Marsh Opera for their “Opera in the Park” and joins OperaDelaware as an Artist-in-Residence performing Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. In the spring of 2022, he joined the roster of On Site Opera covering the title role in Gianni Schicchi and made his debut with Teatro Grattacielo as the Banditore (Tebaldo cover) in Zandonai’s rarely-performed Giulietta e Romeo. He returns to Opera Columbus as Henry “Box” Brown in a new production of Vanqui by Leslie Savoy Burrs and makes his Opera on the James debut in their summer park concert.
INTRODUCING KERRIANN OTAñO, OD'S VP OF ENGAGEMENT
/Hello, Delaware! My name is Kerriann Otaño, and I'm over the moon to join OperaDelaware and this fabulous team as the Vice President of Engagement. I'd like to tell you a bit about me, my career, and what makes me most excited about living and creating opera in America's first state. I'll be keeping the ODBLOG up to date throughout the season with exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes features, and fresh content twice a month. I can't wait to see you at the opera!
Kerriann Otaño, Vice President of Engagement
I was born and raised on Long Island, NY, with my two incredible parents and my equally incredible (although occasionally irritating) younger brothers. My parents raised me on a steady diet of The Jackson Five, David Bowie, Twisted Sister, Sam Cooke, Joni Mitchell, and enough musical theater to fill an early 2000’s iPod nano. This eclectic mix taught me how impactful, moving, fun, and cathartic music could be in any genre. Thanks to a beloved voice teacher, I was first introduced to opera in 9th grade. Seeing Carmen and Madama Butterfly in high school opened a new world to me. Like many people new to the opera, I initially felt intimidated. It wasn’t long after the downbeat that I realized opera was bold, LOUD, thrilling, and powerful! Whether telling stories written hundreds of years ago or written in the 21st century, opera reveals a rawness and range of human emotion that is too grand for words alone. I was overwhelmed, I was inspired, but most of all… I was hooked.
After high school, I lived in Milan, Italy, for a year thanks to the Rotary Club foreign exchange program. I attended the Conservatorio Guiseppe Verdi, learned to speak Italian, saw over a dozen performances at La Scala, and ate my body weight in pasta (worth it). That experience further cemented my love for opera and collaboration. I returned to the states and received my bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Indiana University and my master’s degree in vocal performance from Mannes the New School for Music in New York City.
In the decade that followed, I am humbled and grateful to say that I got to perform at many of the opera houses on my professional bucket list. I sang Senta in The Flying Dutchman and Leonora in Il Trovatore with Opera San Jose, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and The Witch in Hansel and Gretel with Washington National Opera, Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia with Wolf Trap Opera, and many more. I covered Walkuries and Norns in The Ring Cycle at both the Metropolitan Opera and Washington National Opera. I recorded Bernstein’s Songfest with the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic and Wolf Trap Opera for Naxos Records. I met my incredibly talented (and handsome) husband through opera. I shared stages with my very best friends because of opera. It sounds like bragging (it’s a little bit of bragging), but opera literally opened the world to me and I’m incredibly grateful.
I love opera. But even more than that, I love opera singers and I ADORE audiences. I transitioned into arts administration in 2019 and moved into my first full-time position in 2020. Advocating for opera singers so that they can create art with authenticity, nuance, and courage is at the heart of my life’s work. Finding ways to communicate effectively with audiences so they feel welcomed and wanted in the opera house is a core mission of mine. In joining OperaDelaware, I’m beyond excited to discover new ways to engage with our existing audience and artists and to welcome new folks to this wholly unique experience. Opera is thrilling, bold, fearless (shameless plug for OperaDelaware’s upcoming workshop presentation of Derrick Wang’s new music drama, Fearless, coming this spring), and most importantly, opera is for everyone.
We can’t wait to see you at the opera!
MEET THE CAST OF THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO: BARITONES, BASS-BARITONE & TENOR
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Get to know the extraordinary artists playing Figaro and friends, including two returning favorites and two singers making their company debuts.
Baritone EFRAÍN SOLÍS as Figaro
HOMETOWN: Santa Ana, CA
RECENT ENGAGEMENTS: Golaud in “Pelléas et Mélisande” (Opera Southwest); Charlie in “Three Decembers” (Virginia Opera), and Aeneas in “Dido and Aeneas” (Opera San Jose); OD patrons will remember Efraín from Opera Uncorked: Cabernets & Cabalettas (2018).
CRITICAL ACCLAIM: A former Adler Fellow and a 2013 Grand Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Efraín is hailed by critics for his “theatrical charisma and musical bravado” (San Francisco Chronicle) and “honey-hued baritone” (Opera News). Opera Today raves: “But the biggest star of the evening (and it was a stiff competition) was California baritone Efrain Solis… This young singer exuded the charm, pent-up fun and exuberant singing that will make him a… star.”
OFFSTAGE: “If I'm not in rehearsals, you can most likely find me at the nearest rock climbing gym. It’s my favorite new hobby that I can't seem to get enough of.”
Baritone SEAN ANDERSON as Count Almaviva
HOMETOWN: Seneca, SC
RECENT ENGAGEMENTS: An OD fan favorite, Sean starred in the title role of our 2018 production of "Gianni Schicchi" and appeared as Dandini in "La cenerentola" (2017), and Ford in "Falstaff" (2016). Other recent appearances include Harry Haskel in “Finding Wright” (Dayton Opera) and Germano in “The Silken Ladder” (Opera Sarasota).
CRITICAL ACCLAIM: “As the foxy title character, Anderson employs every trick in any baritone’s book — musical or comic — with ease and delight… This is a demanding role in many ways, including a bag of vocal tricks, and watching Anderson romp through the evening with seeming ease was one of the night’s great treats.” (Broad Street Review on “Gianni Schicchi”)
FUN FACT: Opera is the Anderson family business! “When I was around 8 years old, I saw my dad [singer Alfred Anderson] do a performance of ‘Man of La Mancha’. That was when I really first really understood what he did for a living, and I’ve been hooked ever since.”
Bass-baritone TIMOTHY MADDEN as Bartolo (OD debut)
HOMETOWN: Kosciusko, MS
RECENT ENGAGEMENTS: Masetto in “Don Giovanni” (Fargo-Moorhead Opera), Smudge in “Forever Plaid” (Musical Theater Heritage), and Nick Bottom in “A Midsummer Night's Dream” (Hawaii Performing Arts Festival)
CRITICAL ACCLAIM: Lauded by the Chicago Stage Standard as "endlessly fun, full-voiced, totally physicalized," Timothy has been especially praised for his work in comedic roles. Of his performance in ‘A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream’, Big Island Music raved: “Timothy Madden as Bottom is manic, and maniacally funny... His impressive physical comedy skills performed while singing in a rich bass/baritone made him an audience favorite."
OFFSTAGE: For his recent birthday, Timothy celebrated with a six-hour game of Dungeons and Dragons complete with costumes, props, and Dolly Parton tunes played on his ukulele.
Tenor PETER JOSHUA BURROUGHS as Don Basilio/Don Curzio (OD debut)
HOMETOWN: Williston, Vermont
RECENT ENGAGEMENTS: Nathaniel/Spalanzani in “Les Contes d'Hoffmann” (Opera Tampa), Benoît/Parpignol/Alcindoro in “La Boheme In the Heights” (IN Series), and Spoletta in “Tosca” (Northern Lights Music Festival)
CRITICAL ACCLAIM: Praised for his commanding voice and impeccable comedic timing, Peter has performed with Washington National Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Baltimore Symphony, Opera Tampa, and St. Petersburg Opera. DC Theatre Scene raves: "[Burroughs is] terrific… his comic abilities were well matched with good singing form."
OFFSTAGE: Watch out, Carmen! We hear Peter plays a mean castanet.
MEET THE CAST OF THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO: SOPRANOS & MEZZO-SOPRANOS
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Get to know the fabulous sopranos & mezzo-sopranos of The Marriage of Figaro, including a Metropolitan Opera star and two singers making their company debuts.
THE SOPRANOS
ROBIN STEITZ as Susanna
HOMETOWN: Washington, DC
ROLE CALL: A 2020 OD Young Artist and winner of the Buffalo/Toronto District 2019 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Robin is quickly establishing herself as one of opera’s most exciting stars. After her OD debut was postponed in 2020 (she was slated to appear in the canceled Festival productions of The Coronation of Poppea and The Tales of Hoffmann), she returned in 2021 to wow audiences as a soloist in Shakespeare in Song and in 2022 as a featured artist in our Sunday Spotlight recital series. Her other recent engagements include Giulia in La scala di seta with Opera Southwest, Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Finger Lakes Opera, and Cricket in The Cricket Recovers with Tanglewood Music Center.
FUN FACT: “Before pursuing a professional career in voice, I had a couple different careers including high school calculus teacher and professional jumper/horse rider and trainer!”
TONI MARIE PALMERTREE as Countess Almaviva
HOMETOWN: Fleetwood, PA
ROLE CALL: OD audiences will remember Toni Marie from her stunning performances in last spring’s Al Fresco Arias. A former Adler Fellow, she’s currently covering the role of Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly with The Metropolitan Opera, and next season she’ll cover the title role of the company’s much-anticipated production of Medea. Toni Marie’s other recent engagements include Liu in Turandot with San Francisco Opera and the title role in Luisa Miller with Lyric Opera of Chicago. Of her Luisa, the Chicago Daily Herald raved: “Palmertree sang with stunning clarity, her voice practically shimmering in its upper range, yet with formidable power even below middle C. Her range of emotional delivery was equally broad, capable of playing both the lion and the lamb.”
OFFSTAGE: “I love to roller skate and decorate cakes, although I've never tried to do both at the same time.”
HANNAH VON RIESEN as Barbarina (OD debut)
HOMETOWN: Storm Lake, IA
ROLE CALL: Praised for her “bright, clear sound and alluring stage presence” (Opera News), Hannah’s recent engagements include Clorinde in Cendrillon with Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with International School of the Voice, and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Des Moines Metro Opera (Apprentice Scenes Program).
FUN FACT: Hannah has been featured on PBS for her creative music lessons for children about world music and opera. She also has an impressive collection of world instruments and teaches ukulele classes.
THE MEZZO-SOPRANOS
CLAUDIA CHAPA as Marcellina
HOMETOWN: Laredo, TX
ROLE CALL: Celebrated for her “earthy, distinctive mezzo” (Opera News) and “arresting stage presence” (The Austin Chronicle), Claudia is an in-demand performer and concert curator specializing in Hispanic/Latinx programming. OD audiences will remember Claudia from her mesmerizing performances as a soloist in Opera Uncorked: Verdi, Verismo & Vino (2019) and Zita in Gianni Schicchi and Buoso's Ghost (2018). Other recent engagements include performer/co-curator of Entre Amigos with Fort Worth Opera, Josefina in El Milagro del Recuerdo with Arizona Opera, and Filipyevna in Eugene Onegin with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Earlier this season, she was named the inaugural curator of Hispanic and Latinx programming for Austin Opera.
OFFSTAGE: Claudia is proud to collaborate with Austin Classical Guitar on the Lullaby Project, which pairs artists with pregnant women and new parents to create and perform personal lullabies to help strengthen the bond between parent and child, support maternal health, and aid childhood development.
LAUREN COOK as Cherubino (OD debut)
HOMETOWN: Philadelphia, PA
ROLE CALL: Hailed for her commanding stage presence and “full bodied" and "nuanced" voice (Indie Opera and Boston Musical Intelligencer), Lauren recently earned raves as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro with Virginia Opera. Her other recent appearances include Antonia in Man of La Mancha and Camacho in Don Quichotte at Camacho’s Wedding with Opera Saratoga, and Hannah After in As One with Painted Sky Opera. Next season, she’ll take on the role of the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos with Arizona Opera.
OFFSTAGE: “I have been on several solo cross-country road trips, I'm a big fan of hiking, and I love to read.”