Micaele Sparacino General Director and Conductor

Cast biographies, Petite Messe Solennelle

Her roles include the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly and the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. She has performed in opera and concert at the Kennedy Center, Strathmore Hall and other important theaters in the region.

Abigail B. Endicott

Variety is the joy of Ms. Endicott's musical life. She is twice winner of American Women Composers Song Contest, as composer and performer, with pianist Michael Terence. She appears frequently in oratorio, opera, sacred music, lieder, musical comedy and cabaret.

Ms. Endicott was "a strong vocal and theatrical presence" as "Annina" in Opera Bel Canto's La Traviata in
November 2003, according to Washington Post critic Joseph McLellan..

She has performed the operatic roles Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Vitelia in Mozart's La Clemenza Di Tito and the soprano leads in Barber’s A Hand Of Bridge and Hindemith’s Hin Und Zuruch and selections from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Strauss's Die Fledermaus and Bizet's Carmen.

Ms. Endicott has performed in Europe and South America as well as around the United States. Ms. Endicott has sung jazz at Don’t Tell Mama's in New York, sung and danced in 40 performances of Interact Theatre Company’s Iolanthe by Gilbert & Sullivan and recorded her original “River Songs” on CD. She has also tap danced in musical comedies as a sheep and a pig, performed for the Ambassador of Finland and other diplomats, and written and sung the anthem heard at International Canoe Federation championship races.

She has had engagements in the Washington area at the Kennedy Center and the Lincoln, Folger and Lansburgh theaters and sung with Opera Camerata of Washington, the Maytime Light Opera Company, Opera, Encore! and Hesperus.

Ms. Endicott began performing at age 11. She first studied voice with the Metropolitan Opera's Ellen Repp and with Adrienne Auerswald at Smith College, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music. She has studied with the Richard Crittenden Opera Workshops, Alma Thomas, John Bullock and Michael Warren and now studies with Ryan Edwards. She teaches voice at the National Cathedral schools.

She is wife of political author/speaker William T. Endicott and mother of Sam Endicott, who is himself a musician.

Jennifer Hosmer

Ms. Hosmer has sung such roles as the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro and Tatiana in Eugene Onegin. Since moving to the Washington area in 1998, she has performed with Eldebrooke Opera Company, the Potomac Valley Opera Company and the
Washington Conservatory of Music with famed
mezzo-soprano Renata Babak.

By day she works as a director of activities for Sacred Heart Home in Hyattsville, where she sings to the
residents every day.

Ms. Hosmer earned her bachelor's degree in vocal performance from Kent State University under the
direction of James Mismas.

She is thrilled to now making her debut with Opera Bel Canto Washington!

Ms. Sevier, who sang in Opera Bel Canto's La Traviata last fall, made her New York City debut as Fricka and Erda in the West Side Opera Company production of Wagner's Das Rheingold. She premiered with New York's DiCapo Opera Theater as Suzuki in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. In May, she made her debut at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore as Rossweisse in a performance of Act III of Die Walkure, featuring James Morris as Wotan.

She sang in the Washington premiere of Rossini's original scoring of the Petite Messe Solennelle conducted by Maestro Sparacino for Opera Camerata of Washington and received good reviews for her performances in the company's series Masters of the Bel Canto. She also performed in the company's production of Adriana Lecourvreur.

Ms. Sevier appeared last summer at the Ashlawn Summer Festival as the Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte and Bloody Mary in South Pacific. She debuted “Remembering Him,” a song cycle for contralto and viola composed for her by Mark Adamo.

In 2002, she made her Baltimore operatic debut with the Peabody Opera as Maurya in Ralph Vaughn-Williams's Riders to the Sea and Third Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. She was seen in Peabody’s production of Britten’s Albert Herring.

Other recent roles include Zita in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and La Zia Principessa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, as well as Flosshilde in Wagner’s Götterdämmerung at the Shaker Mountain Music Festival with the Albany Symphony Orchestra in 2002.

European appearances include Litanie, K.195, with the Mozarteum Orchestra in Salzburg, Austria; an all-Bellini recital hosted by the Rubini Society's Stage International de Bel Canto in Crouttes, France; an all-Rossini recital hosted by the Rubini Society at the Festival de L'Orne, Planches, France; and concerts in Munich, Germany.

Ms. Sevier is a student in the Graduate Performance Diploma program at the Peabody Institute, in the studio of Marianna Busching.

Cora E. Alter
Assistant Conductor

Ms. Alter, contralto, has been a professional musician for more than 40 years. As a performer, she has appeared with the Washington Opera, the professional chorus of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Opera Camerata of Washington, the Shir Chadash Chorale and other groups. She also has been a church and synagogue soloist.

Ms. Alter has played cello in various orchestras and has conducted choral and orchestral groups. She was Chorus Master for the Shir Chadash Chorale and for Opera Camerata of Washington, and has been Musical Director for productions by Montgomery Playhouse and Rockville Musical Theater.

She has produced and sung at the Kennedy Center and performed with the Washington Opera at the White House during the administration of President Kennedy, likely the only time there has been a staged opera production there.

Ms. Alter began her formal music training at the Dalcroze School of Music, continuing at the High School of Music & Art, both in New York City. She earned a bachelor's degree in music education at Queens College, City University of New York, and has done graduate study in voice at the Douglas College of Music, Rutgers University, and the Chicago Conservatory of Music, Roosevelt University, and has studied with several private teachers.

A strong advocate of musical experiences for children, Ms. Alter for many years was a music specialist and then director for the Arts Day Program of the Roundhouse Theater, Montgomery County, Md.. This program provides creative arts experiences for children of elementary school age.

She also teaches classes about opera and operetta for the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Frederick Community College.

Marian Roberson

Ms. Roberson appeared as soloist and section leader under the direction of Maestro Sparacino in Opera Camerata of Washington productions of the Petite Messe as well as Opera Goes to Hell, Iolanta, Marino Faliero, Lucrezia Borgia and Maria di Rohan.

In New York she appeared with the Stuyvesant Opera as Flora in La Traviata and with the Bronx Opera as Agatha in Der Freischutz. In Washington, the mezzo-soprano frequently appears as concert and oratorio soloist in a number of churches.

She has given recitals at the German Embassy here, at Lincoln Center and the Cooper Union in New York and at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado. She is a member of the Cantoris of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church.

Ms. Roberson attended Wellesley College and received a bachelor of music degree from Southern Methodist University. She attended the Opera Theater of the Juilliard School of Music and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. At SMU she studied voice with the late Metropolitan Opera baritone Mack Harrell and continued vocal studies with Olga Ryss, Lois Darling and Michael Paul.

U.S. Army Sgt. First Class Giuliano has performed in opera, concerts and recitals throughout the United States and Europe.

A member of the Army Chorus since 1988, he regards himself a musical ambassador of the American combat soldier, who seeks to instill pride in the troops and promote patriotism and a vision of peace and freedom.

Mr. Giuliano has sung lead tenor roles such as Alfredo in Opera Bel Canto’s production of La Traviata last fall, Rodolfo in La Bohème, Il Duca di Mantova in Rigoletto, Alfredo in La Traviata, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Alfred in Die Fledermaus and Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore. In New York he has sung Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the National Lyric Opera, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with the New York Repertory Opera and Rodolfo in Verdi’s Luisa Miller with Opera Nova.

In 1995 Mr. Giuliano sang the lead tenor role in the European operatic premiere of La Contessa Dei Vampiri by American composer David Clenny and under the musical direction of Maestro Stephen Simon, founder of the Washington Chamber Symphony.

On the concert stage, Mr. Giuliano has performed recitals at Carnegie Hall, in Atlanta, in Sale, Mass. and elsewhere. In the Washington area he has appeared with the Fairfax Symphony, the Arlington Symphony, the McLean Symphony, the McLean Orchestra, the National Gallery of Arts Orchestra and the Alexandria Symphony.

In 1999, CBS Evening News featured Sgt. 1st Class Giuliano in a feature story about an opera singer in the Army.

He sang the national anthem for the rededication of the National Archives display of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence and has also performed the national anthem for Washington Redskins games and the U.S. Open tennis championships

SFC Giuliano has sung private recitals for the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, guests of state including Moroccan King Mohammed VI, and a USO gathering including Hollywood legends such as Bob Hope, Mickey Rooney, Kirk and Michael Douglas and Steven Spielberg.

In 2001-02, he performed a Mario Lanza concert tour in Florida and Virginia and has sung recitals of Italian arias and love songs on many occasions.

Mr. Giuliano takes private voice lessons with Dr. Donald G. Wiggins in New York City. He resides in the Washington area with his lovely wife Isabella and their German Shepherd dogs Nino and Gucci.

Mr. Giuliano studied in the College of Music at PJC in Pensacola, Fla., and the School of Music at Loyola University in New Orleans.

[A more complete biography of Mr. Giuliano]

Mr. Brown is a versatile musician. As a tenor, his roles include Monastatos in Die Zauberflöte and Goro in Madama Butterfly.

A member of the piano faculty at George Washington University, he has coached and accompanied singers in the Washington area for years. For three summers he has served as coach for the Washington Opera’s Institute for Young Singers. He has appeared as a soloist with the McLean Symphony, Washington Pro Musica and the Orchestra of the New Opera Festival di Roma.

Mr. Brown as served as accompanist and assistant conductor for many musical companies in the region, including the Eldbrooke Opera, the Richard Crittenden Opera Studio, Opera Camerata of Washington and the Capital City Opera.

John Samuel Garofolo

Mr. Garofolo, a native Washingtonian, is equally at home singing oratorio and light opera repertoire. His oratorio repertoire includes Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Mass in Time of War, the Mozart Requiem, the Verdi Requiem, Schubert’s Mass in G, the Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio and an extensive repertoire of missa brevi.

In opera, he has performed King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Vasek in The Bartered Bride and Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus. He has performed with Maestro Sparacino in productions of Opera Camerata of Washington and Opera Bel Canto, the Vienna Light Opera Company and the Friday Morning Music Club. He is a frequent soloist at several Washington area churches and is a regular soloist at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Washington.

He studied with the great tenor Franco Corelli at the Bel Canto Italia School of Opera in Florence, Italy, and with Maestro Aldo Moroni of the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aries. He currently studies with Elizabeth Daniels.

Reginald Allen
Principal

Mr. Allen is equally at home in opera and oratorio. His roles include Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Valentin in Faust, Guglielmo in Così Fan Tutte, Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, Crown in Porgy and Bess, Silvio in I Pagliacci and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Germont in La Traviata and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly.

He has performed with many of regional opera companies including Washington Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Baltimore Opera, Teatro Lirico, West Chester Opera, Annapolis Opera and Virginia Opera. He has been an apprentice artist with the Sarasota Opera, Florida and an artist in residence with Virginia Opera.

A frequent guest on the concert stage, he has sung with the Washington Chamber Symphony, the Washington Philharmonic, the Arundel Vocal Arts and the Library of Congress. He has also been a guest soloist for the Florida Association to Preserve the African American Spiritual.

Mr. Petryk returns to Opera Bel Canto after performing the title role in the world premiere of Agamemnon in 2003. A Washington Post critic said he gave “a fine characterization with a rich and powerfully expressive voice.” He appeared in the title role of Gianni Schicchi at the New York Shaker Mountain Music Festival and principal roles such as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, both Germont and Baron Douphol in La Traviata, the Wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, the title role in The Mikado, Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief, Ike in Sweet Betsy from Pike and Don Alfonso in Cosí Fan Tutti.

Mr. Petryk also performed in such varied operatic roles as Gunther in Götterdämmerung and Dappertutto in Les Contes d’Hoffman. He appeared with Catholic University’s Summer Opera Theater Company in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Pagliacci and Gianni Schicchi.

Mr. Petryk trained at Seattle Pacific University and the University of Washington. He completed his doctorate in vocal performance at Catholic University this year and the Das Deutsche Lied Programme of the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria.

Mr. Petryk received the Vincent P. Walter Memorial Scholarship in Voice in 2002 and was runner-up in the Friedrich Schorr Memorial International Performance Prize in Voice in 1998.

He produced and performed in live stage productions that toured the country and overseas. Mr. Petryk has also performed with the Intermountain Opera Association, University of Washington, Meydenbauer Center for the Performing Arts, Centre Le Phenix in Switzerland, J. Allan Productions, Flathead Festival of the Arts, Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts and the Archdiocese of Trani-Barleta-Bisceglie in Italy.

Dennis Michael Stroud

Since making his operatic debut with the Hines-Lee Opera Ensemble of Washington, D.C., in 1995, Mr. Stroud has sung with several opera companies in the United States and Germany.

In 1997, he was appointed artist in residence with the Natchez Opera Festival of Mississippi, where he performed the role of Simone in Gianni Schicchi. He performed the roles of Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the Munich Komische Oper at Humbach, Germany.

Upon his return to this country, Mr. Stroud joined the American Opera Group of Chicago and sang Masetto in Don Giovanni. He has appeared on numerous programs in the Washington Area and at George Mason University.

During his two years in Frankfurt, Germany, he continued his language studies and vocal studies with Herr Wolfgang Grimm, conductor of the Frankfurt International Chorus.

Mr. Stroud is a lawyer in private practice in the Washington area.

John Wickelgren
Piano concertato

Dr. Wickelgren teaches in the music faculties of Frederick Community College and Mount Saint Mary’s College in Maryland. He will perform several recitals with voice faculty from the schools in central Maryland and southern Pennsylvania in the spring of 2004. Dr. Wickelgren also plans to make his first compact disc recording this year.

He has played the piano professionally for 20 years. Described as a pianist who “ wonderfully…mingled the sound of gentle breezes with the clamor of racing horses,” he regularly appears in solo and chamber concerts in Colorado, Maryland and Washington, D.C.

He has served as collaborative pianist in summer festivals including Bowdoin and Interlochen. As a resident artist of the La Gesse Foundation in 1997, he presented an all-Schubert concert in honor of the composer’s bicentenary at the Chateau de la Gesse near Toulouse, France.

A native of Colorado, Dr. Wickelgren received his master’s and doctoral degrees in piano performance from the Peabody Conservatory, where he studied with Yoheved Kaplinsky, Dominique Weber and Zitta Zohar. During a two-year tenure as assistant coach to Peabody Opera, he was music director for its 1995 production of Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine.

At Oberlin College, where he received his undergraduate degrees in English and piano performance, he was a finalist in the annual Conservatory Concerto Competition. Dr. Wickelgren has also medalled in the Kawai America Piano Competition and the Russell Wonderlic Competition in Baltimore.

Michael Cordovana
Piano di ripieno

Dr. Cordovana is professor of music and head of the vocal department at Catholic University. He is chief coach for the Shaker Mountain Opera Festival in the Berkshires and artistic director of the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Vietri Sul Mare, Italy.

He was assistant conductor for the Providence Opera Theater and the Washington Opera, for which he did the musical preparation for Die Walküre, conducted by Antal Dorati and staged by George London.

From 1974, until his retirement in 1996, Maestro Cordovana was assistant conductor and chief coach for the Dallas Opera Company. In 1989 he was responsible for the musical preparation of the world premiere of Dominick Argento’s The Aspern Papers, starring Frederica Von Stade, Elizabeth Söderström and Richard Stillwell, broadcast in the PBS series Great Performances. He also did the musical preparation for the Dallas performance of Mr. Argento’s Dream of Valentino.

Dr. Cordovana has worked with and performed in concert with John Aler, Renata Scotto, Grace Bumbry, Ruth Welting, Jon Vickers, Matteo Manuguerra, Dame Joan Sutherland, Myra Merritt, Carmen Balthrop, Linda Mabbs and Sesto Bruscantini, among many others. He has assisted such noted conductors as Nicola Rescigno, Richard Bonynge, Christian Badea, Daniel Oren, Wolfgang Rennert, and Reynald Giovanetti. He has received numerous grants for study in Germany, Austria and Italy, and has performed extensively in Europe and the United States.

Dr. Cordovana holds a doctorate from the Catholic University of America and has studied at the Peabody Conservatory, the Aspen School of Music and the British Institute in Florence, Italy. He studied opera with Luigi Ricci in Rome and Vasco Naldini in Milan.

Dr. Catravas holds bachelor's degrees in piano performance from both the Catholic University of America (1988) and the University of Maryland (1990). He received his D.M.A. from Eastman in 1992 and a degree in vocal accompaniment from Catholic University in 1998.

As a young pianist he was a winner of the Baldwin Competition and received the Conductor’s Choice Award in the J. S. Bach International Competition, junior division.

Dr. Catravas is currently the rehearsal pianist for Catholic University's Summer Theater Opera Company.

He spends a great deal of his time coaching, rehearsing, and playing in recital with many of the Washington area’s most distinguished vocal artists.