| Micaele
Sparacino General Director
|
|
Cast and credits, Rigoletto |
Soloists
Antonio Giuliano, tenor, the Duke of Mantua
Jason Stearns, baritone, Rigoletto, his hunchbacked jester
Marje Palmieri, soprano, Gilda, Rigoletto’s daughter
Dennis Stroud, bass, Sparafucile, an hired assassin
Susan Sevier, contralto, Maddalena, his sister
Elaine Dalbo, mezzo-soprano, Giovanna, Gilda’s duenna
Jared Collard, bass-baritone, Count Monterone
Reginald Allen, baritone, Marullo, a nobleman
Jonathan Schultz, tenor, Borsa, a courtier
Matthew Osifchin, baritone, Count Ceprano (Nov. 28)*
Eduardo Castro, bass, Count Ceprano (Dec. 5)*
Elaine Dalbo, mezzo-soprano, Countess Ceprano
Jean-Luc Princivil, counter-tenor, the Countess’s Page
Donato Soranno, tenor, the Court Usher
Maestro Stephen Brown, conductor
Artists'
biographies
Chorus
Cora E. Alter, Chorus Master
Tenors
John Bruno, Tal Carawan,
Donato Soranno, John Turner
Basses
Richard Effler, Ronnie Hardcastle,
Harold March, Ben Robles
Camerata
Carolyn Kessler, Concert Master
Stephen Natrella, Violin II
Larry Laffoon, Viola
Harriet Kaplan, Violincello
Anna Rococzy, Flute
Nancy Genovese, Clarinet
Mary McClain, Oboe
Robin Gelman, Bassoon
Francis Conlon, Piano Concertato
Staff
Micaele Sparacino, General Director
Dr. Stephen Brown, Associate Conductor
Cora E. Alter, Chorus Master
Leeza Wildgen, Principal Coach, Rehearsal Pianist
Kenneth Borden, Archivist, Auditions Coordinator
Steve Behrens, Website and Program Design
Joy Rodman, Box Office
Board of Directors
James Shields, President
Kenneth Borden, Vice President
Concetta Soleiman, Treasurer
Julie Klingenstein, Secretary
Micaele Sparacino, General Director
Acknowledgments
The Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, Board of Trustees
Reverend Kim
Pastor Norman
Sally Long
David Yoder
Lou and Doreen Bake
Mabel Wright
Ruth and Carl Dulaney
Thelma Kouzes
Philip Lem
André Manley
Rebecca Warner
Darryl Winston
The Verdi Institute
Catholic University of America
Michael Cordovana
Remy David
Sons of Italy Lodge 2523
Nancy Hurstu
Pino Cicala
Fieri International
Alyssa Ciccone
Maryland Opera Society
Dr. Gerald F. Muller
Marilyn Cotlow
Dennis Dawson
Patrons and benefactors
Dawn Bennett
John Bruno
Ada Costa
Mary Eguez
Salvatore Esposito
John Falcone
Rita Ferrar
Sam & Barbara Goldberg
Nancy Hurst
Rosario S. Ignacio
Terry & Carol Ireland
Pedro & Nora Jose
Laura Kafka
Andy & Julie Kligenstein
Julie LaFave
Howard Martin
Nicolo Monaco
Noel Nazario
Rebecca Napoco
Jack & Lavelle Olender
Bernard & Suyen Pitsvada
David Sparacino
Danny Sparacino
Matthew Sparacino
Anthony Tringale
Mabel Wright
The Doreen L. Brown Family Charitable Foundation Anonymous
*Corrected dates |
Artists’ biographies |
Jason Stearns
Baritone
as Rigoletto
|
Mr. Stearns has performed to great acclaim as a soloist
with the Washington National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in
New York, among other prominent companies.
He performed the lead baritone role in Opera Bel Canto’s
La Traviata last season and sang in numerous productions
of Maestro Sparacino’s previous company, Opera Camerata of
Washington, including Donizetti’s Maria di Rohan, Lucrezia
Borgia, Poliuto and Marin Faliero, and Cilea’s
Adriana Lecouvreur and Arrieta’s Marina.
Mr. Stearns has sung alongside Placido Domingo in the Washington
National Opera as the King in Massenet’s Le Cid.
He had leading roles in Lucia di Lammermoor, Madama
Butterfly, Otello and Tosca with the Gold Coast Opera,
Mississippi Opera, Cleveland Opera and Di Capo Opera. He has also
had roles in Sly and I Puritani.
Well known to Washington music lovers, Mr. Stearns has been featured
soloist in concert works and oratorios with the National Symphony
Orchestra, the Fairfax Choral Society, Cathedral Choral Society,
Washington Bach Consort and the Reston Chorale, among other companies.
Several appearances in the highly esteemed National Gallery of Art
Concert Series have won enthusiastic praise.
His baritone solos in John Corigliano’s First Symphony with
the National Symphony Orchestra can be heard on a Grammy Award-winning
compact disc. After a highly successful performance as Verdi’s
Macbeth, Mr. Stearns returned to the Boston Concert Opera’s
Chorus Pro Musica as Giorgio Germont in its La Traviata
under conductor Jeffrey Rink. He sang Baron Scarpia in Tosca
with the New Jersey Versimo Opera. |
Marje Palmieri
Soprano
as Gilda
|
Ms. Palmieri has a rare dramatic coloratura
voice of remarkable beauty.
Last season, she excelled in Opera Bel Canto’s three major
productions. As Violetta in Verdi’s La Traviata she
sang with “intelligence and expressive power,” said
Washington Post critic Joseph McLellan. After her performance
at the Kennedy Center in Donizetti’s Maria di Rohan,
conducted by Maestro Sparacino, Judy Gruber wrote in the Post:
“She acted as well as she sang, which was very well indeed.”
Her roles include the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia
di Lammermoor, Cio-Cio-San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly
and the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
Earlier this season she triumphed as Leonora in Verdi’s Il
Trovatore with the Maryland Opera Society, drawing comparisons
with legendary soprano Zinka Milanov.
Ms. Palmieri will return to Opera Bel Canto next season in the
title role of Bellini’s Norma.
|
| Antonio Giuliano
Tenor
as Il Duca di Mantova
|
Sgt. First Class Giuliano, U.S. Army, has performed with the
Army Chorus since 1988. He has represented his country around the
world, performing as a soloist to packed houses and standing ovations.
He has performed for heads of state and served as soloist at funeral
services for President Reagan.
Off-duty, he has thrilled audiences in lead roles with Opera Bel
Canto, serving as principal tenor in its three full-length productions
last season and starring in our benefit gala tribute to Mario Lanza
last spring. He has appeared with nearly every instrumental ensemble
in the Washington region.
SFC Giuliano has sung leading operatic tenor roles, such as Rodolfo
in La Bohème, Alfredo in La Traviata, Manrico
in Il Trovatore, Alfred in Johann Strauss’ Die
Fledermaus and Nemorino in Donizetti’s L’Elisir
d’Amore. In New York he sang in Rossini’s Il
Barbiere di Siviglia with the National Lyric Opera, Lucia
di Lammermoor with the New York Repertory Opera, and Verdi’s
Luisa Miller with Opera Nova.
He has sung tenor solos in the Verdi and Mozart Requiems, Bach
Magnificat, Bach Cantata BWV 140, “Wachet auf, ruft uns die
Stimme,” Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina
Burana, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria and Mozart’s
Mass in C.
He took leave from the Army Chorus to make his operatic debut with
the Romanian National Opera in Bucharest, singing lead tenor roles
in Rigoletto, La Traviata and Lucia di Lammermoor.
The tenor trained in vocal performance and opera at the Loyola
University School of Music in New Orleans.
He will return to Opera Bel Canto in April to sing the extremely
high and demanding role of Elvino in Bellini’s La Sonnambula.
|
Susan Sevier
Contralto
as Maddalena
 |
Ms. Sevier sang in Opera Bel Canto’s La Traviata
and Petite Messe Solennelle last season.
She 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.
A protégé of Maestro Sparacino, she sang with his
previous company, Opera Camerata of Washington, in the Washington
premiere of Rossini’s original scoring of the Petite Messe
Solennelle and Adriana Lecourvreur.
Ms. Sevier appeared 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 as the 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
Die Götterdämmerung at the Shaker Mountain Music
Festival with the Albany Symphony Orchestra in 2002.
Her 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. In July she appeared at the Bucharest Summer Opera Festival
as Olga in Tschaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and as the
Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte. In August she appeared
as Waltraute in Die Götterdämmerung in Munich.
She will return to Opera Bel Canto in April as Teresa in La
Sonnambula and next season in the title role of Rossini’s
Tancredi.
|
Dennis Michael Stroud
Bass
as Sparafucile
|
Mr. Stroud made his operatic debut with the Hines-Lee Opera
Ensemble of Washington, D.C., in 1995, and has sung with several
opera companies in the United States and Germany since then.
He was artist in residence with the Natchez Opera Festival of Mississippi
in 1997 and sang the role of Simone in Gianni Schicchi.
He performed his present role 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. 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.
|
Elaine Dalbo
Mezzo-soprano
as Countess Ceprano and Giovanna
 |
Ms. Dalbo appears for the first time with Opera Bel Canto. Since
moving to the Washington area in 2003, the native of Buffalo, N.Y.,
has appeared in the title role of Iolanthe, as Buttercup
in HMS Pinafore, as Clementina in The Desert Song,
as Ariel in The Tempest and most recently in the Washington
Savoyards’ production of La Perichole.
In her day job, Ms. Dalbo toils as press secretary for a member
of Congress. |
Jared Collard
Baritone
as Monterone
 |
Mr. Collard is blessed with a range of nearly three octaves.
His professional career began in 1970 when he stepped from the chorus
to replace the ailing bass soloist in a concert at Carnegie Hall.
In this country and abroad he has sung in Don Giovanni, Die
Zauberflöte, Carmen, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Cosi Fan Tutte,
La Traviata, Aida, The Telephone, Amahl and the Night Visitors,
Help, Help, the Globbolinks, Macbeth, Bamboo and The Two
Widows.
He has appeared with the Washington Opera as a featured soloist
in Il Guarany, Doña Francesquita, Elektra and The
Ballad of Baby Doe. He has also sung professionally in the
choruses of more than 50 operas and oratorios. |
Reginald Allen
Baritone
as Marullo
 |
Mr. Allen was a soloist in OBC’s production of Rossini’s
Petite Messe Solennelle last season and 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 in Florida
and an artist in residence with Virginia Opera.
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, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor,
Germont in La Traviata and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly.
Mr. Allen is equally at home in opera and oratorio. 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. |
Jonathan Schultz
Tenor
as Borsa
 |
Mr. Schultz is pleased to join Opera Bel Canto for this production.
His earlier roles include Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore
with the Victorian Lyric Opera Company, Lenski in Eugene Onegin
at the Washington Conservatory of Music, Gastone in La Traviata
in the Bethesda Summer Music Festival, Mr. Angel in The Impresario
with the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute, and Leonard Meryll
in The Yeomen of the Guard with the Washington Savoyards.
He has performed numerous excerpts with the Bay Area Summer Opera
Theater Institute in San Francisco, the Crittenden Opera Studio
and the Aria Club of Greater Washington.
Mr. Schultz also has performed extensively as a cantor, singing
High Holy Days services since 1995 for congregations in Virginia,
Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. He was a featured soloist at an
international Passover seder at the Embassy of Austria. Mr. Schultz
studies voice with Stanley Cornett. |
Matthew Osifchin Baritone
as Count Ceprano,
Nov. 28*
|
Mr. Osifchin was born in Doylestown, Pa., where he began studying
voice with Neal Tracey. He went on to complete his bachelor’s
degree at Indiana University, where he performed the roles of Melisso
in Handel’s Alcina and a Señor in Bernstein’s
Candide.
He recently finished graduate work at the University of Maryland,
where he studied with Francois Loup and Dominic Cossa. He performed
the role of Don Alfonso in Cosi Fan Tutte, as well as the
Four Villains in Les Contes d’Hoffmann.
This is Mr. Osifchin’s debut with Opera Bel Canto. |
Eduardo Castro
Bass
as Count Ceprano,
Dec. 5*
 |
Mr. Castro emigrated from his native Peru in 1991 and has completed
coursework at George Mason University and Catholic University of
America, where he performed major roles in fully staged operas.
Mr. Castro has been involved with the Baltimore Opera since 2000
and performed with the Maryland Opera Society, the Catholic University
Opera and the BPC Opera.
His past roles have included Dr. Dulcamara in Donizetti’s
L’Elisir d’Amore, Germont in Verdi’s
La Traviata, Frank in Die Fledermaus by Johann
Strauss, Cappellio in Bellini’s I Capuleti ed i Montecchi,
Schaunard and Colline in Puccini’s La Bohéme,
Alfonso in Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte, Masetto in Mozart’s
Don Giovanni, and Dr. Dulcamara and Ferrando in Il
Trovatore with the Maryland Opera Society. |
Jean-Luc Princivil
Counter-tenor
as the Page
|
Mr. Princivil is a native of Haiti, where he began singing in
the choir of the Holy Trinity Boys School at age seven. He played
violin in the school orchestra and appeared with it as a vocal soloist.
He came to the United States for vocal training and studied voice
at Howard University.
Mr. Princivil has appeared with the Woodley Ensemble and the Washington
Bach Consort. Since 2000 he has sung as a counter-tenor, a specialty
that has made him a favored soloist in Washington-area churches,
such as All Souls Unitarian, the Washington National Cathedral,
the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and St. Patrick’s
Episcopal.
As a recitalist, Jean-Luc promotes Haitian art songs. After a season
in the chorus of Opera Bel Canto, he is making his debut as a soloist
in Rigoletto. |
Donato Soranno
Tenor
as the Court Usher
 |
Mr. Soranno has performed in more than 40 fully staged opera
productions and numerous concerts. He sang Ferrando in Cosi
Fan Tutti, Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, Basilio
and Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro, Spiridione in Il
Campanello, and Marco, Spinelloccio and the Notaro in Gianni
Schicchi. He performed several of the roles in productions
with two opera companies in Italy.
He has appeared with the Washington Concert Opera, Opera Camerata
of Washington, Annapolis Opera, Opera International, Maryland Lyric
Opera, National Lyric Opera, Summer Opera Theater Company of Washington,
Tri-cities Opera, Opera IV and the Washington Civic Opera.
Mr. Soranno is the director and a soloist with the Cantanti Ensemble.
He studies voice with Dr. Harry Dunstan. |
Stephen Brown
Conductor
 |
Mr. Brown has served as assistant conductor and sung roles in
past Opera Bel Canto productions. Rigoletto is his first OBC production
as conductor.
He is a versatile musician whose tenor 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.
|
Cora Alter
Chorus Master
 |
Ms. Alter 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 Cha-dash 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. |
Leeza Wildgen
Principal coach and rehearsal pianist
|
Ms. Wildgen is a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, where she
studied piano at the famed Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory.
Now a Washington-area resident, she works with the Levine School
of Music and the Rome School of Music at Catholic University. She
is also the pianist for Cedar Lane Unitarian Church.
She accompanies the vocal students of Maestro Sparacino in his
studio and is often called upon to coach the students in Russian
diction and vocal repertoire. |
| |
Revised Jan.
6, 2004
*Corrected dates |
|
