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 Aram
Barsamian,
baritone (Cavaliere Belfiore)
Bulgarian-born baritone Aram Barsamian is
making his Lyric Opera of Los Angeles debut as
Belfiore. Upon receiving his Master of Music degree
from USC, he launched his opera career as Schaunard
in La boheme at Sacramento Opera. Since
then he has performed more roles at Sacramento
Opera than any other artist in the company's history.
After singing the role of Dandini in La Cenerentola
with the Merola Opera Program, he was immediately
contracted to make his San Francisco Opera debut
in Britten's Death in Venice. The following
year he made his Opera Santa Barbara debut as
Malatesta in Don Pasquale. His first
appearance at Pacific Repertory Opera was as Belcore
in L'elisir d'amore; since then he has
returned to PRO as Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte
and the Sacristan in Tosca. Nevada Opera
audiences have seen him as Pish-Tush in The
Mikado, a role he has also performed with
Eugene Opera; and Schaunard in La boheme.
In January 2007, he will be Andre in Massenet's
Therese in a concert performance in New
York. Mr. Barsamian is a regular performer with
Orange County Opera, an organization dedicated
to bringing opera to elementary schools.
An active concert artist, Mr. Barsamian has sung
numerous performances of Bach cantatas, the Requiems
by Brahms, Faure and Durufle, Handel's Messiah
and Judas Maccabaeus, among many others, with
organizations such as the Ventura Chamber Music
Festival, the Pacific Chorale and the Corona-del-Mar
Baroque Festival. Two of his recent performances,
of Bach's Mass in B-minor and Holst's
Hymn to the Manas, at the Orange County
Performing Arts Center, were broadcast on K-Mozart.
In addition to being a performer, Mr. Barsamian
has also been on the faculty of La Sierra University,
Orange Coast College and Pasadena City College.
At La Sierra University he conducted and directed
the productions of two operas by Jules Massenet,
Cendrillon and Thais.
Mr. Barsamian is a two-time district winner of
the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions.
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 Amber
Erwin, mezzo-soprano (Giulietta di
Kelbar)
As a California native, Amber Erwin is a graduate
from the University of Southern California Thornton
School of Music where she earned her Masters in
Music in Vocal Arts Performance. She was very active
in the opera program at USC and performed the roles
of Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Hansel
in Hansel and Gretel, La Ciesca in Gianni
Schicchi, Third Lady in The Magic Flute,
Susanna Walcott in The Crucible, as well
as the title role of Carmen in the opera
scenes program. Miss Erwin did her undergraduate
work at San Diego State University where she earned
a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and was
involved with the San Diego Opera Chorus. She is
currently singing with the Los Angeles Opera Chorus
and studies in the vocal studio of Dr. Joel Ewing.
Miss Erwin will be singing the role of Giulietta
in Lyric Opera of Los Angeles’ production
of Un Giorno di Regno, and this fall she
will be the alto soloist in Center Stage Opera’s
production of the Mozart Requiem. |
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Arthur
Freeman, stage director
Arthur has studied and performed oera both in the
U.S. and Europe. Coming to opera singing, and directing
in particular, has been a long and interesting journey
from the days of financial studies at Rutgers, New
Jersey. After having performed about 25 principal
(bass-baritone) roles over the years, roles ranging
from the comedic (Dr. Bartolo, Barber of Seville)
to the serious (Scarpia, Tosca), Mr. Freeman
takes his experience on the stage to his new experience
behind the scenes. Un Giorno di Regno is his third
opera to direct for Lyric Opera of Los Angeles.
The first was performed in the Spring of 2005 -
Donizetti's one-act comedy Rita; and the
second was LOLAs Spring 2006 production of Auber's
Manon Lescaut. Arthur looks forward to
the promise of directing as the new leg on his theatrical
journey. |
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 William
Goldin, bass (il Barone di Kelbar) |
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 Matthew
King, tenor (Edoardo di Sanval) |
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Virginia
Landis, producer
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 Patrick
Layton, tenor (Edoardo di Sanval)
After a five year hiatus, Patrick returned to music
just two years ago. His first engagement took him
to Spain in June of 2005, where he competed in Placido
Domingo’s World Voice Competition, Operalia.
Since then Mr. Layton has been a finalist in Portland
Opera’s Eleanor Lieber Awards as well as the
Palm Beach Opera Voice Competition. Most recently
Patrick was awarded third prize at the Heinz Rehfuss
Singing Actor Awards at Orlando Opera. Patrick is
currently a member of the chorus at Opera Pacific,
having been involved in Productions of Aida,
Italian Girl in Algiers, and Tosca.
Future engagements will include Porgy and Bess,
Don Giovanni, Carmen, and L’elisir
D’amore. He has performed the role of
Nemorino in Orange County Opera’s outreach
production of Elixir of Love, and will
be singing the role of Rudolfo in the company’s
upcoming production of Barber of Seville. |
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 Joyce
May-Tobin, soprano (La Marchesa del
Poggio)
Soprano Joyce May-Tobin is a graduate from the University
of Southern California receiving both Master and
Bachelor degrees in Vocal Arts. She was the recipient
of the USC Opera Award, the Dorothy Kirsten Endowed
Opera Scholarship, the Dean’s Music Scholarship
and is also a member of the national music honor
society, Pi Kappa Lambda. Her major opera roles
include Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Nella
in Gianni Schicchi, First Lady in The
Magic Flute, Mary Warren in The Crucible,
Serpina in La Serva Padrona and the cover
for Agrippina in Agrippina. Partial roles
include Donna Anna from Don Giovanni, Poppea
from L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Violetta
from La Traviata, Roselinde from Die
Fledermaus, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro,
and Marietta from Die Tode Stadt. Joyce
studied vocally at the Academie d’Ete de Nice,
in France, as well as in Scotland at the Oxenfoord
International School for Singers and Accompanists,
at the Abingdon School for Solo Singers in England,
and in Lucca, Italy to train at the Accademia Italiana
di Canto. She also participated in the International
Vocal Institute in Hvar, Croatia and at the Bel
Canto Institute/Italian Immersion program in New
York. Joyce is a professional singer with the Crystal
Cathedral Choir and she takes great pleasure in
performing at schools across Southern California
with the educational opera outreach troupe, NachtMusik. |
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 Cale
Olson, baritone (il Signor la Rocca)
Cale Olson, baritone of Palmer, Alaska, earned his
Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at Pacific
Lutheran University, where he performed in The
Magic Flute, Into the Woods, and as
Jabez Stone in The Devil and Daniel Webster,
while studying voice with Wayne Bloomingdale. At
PLU he was the recipient of the E.H. & J.M.
Baker Music Scholarship, as well as the prestigious
Mary Baker Russell Music Scholarship, awarded to
only one vocalist each year. In 2001, Cale toured
with The Sound of America European Concert Tour
through six countries as a vocal finalist, and in
2004 he returned to Europe to study music for a
semester in Vienna. He is now in his second year
as a Masters of Music candidate in Vocal Arts at
the University of Southern California, studying
voice with Peter Lightfoot, and is very active in
the opera program there, under the direction of
Brent McMunn and Ken Cazan. This last summer he
participated in the Bay View Music Festival, where
he performed the roles
of Fred Graham/Petruchio in Kiss Me, Kate,
and Baron Daphoul in La Traviata. Cale
currently resides in Los Angeles, and is the baritone
soloist for the St. Philip the Apostle Church in
Pasadena. |
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 Roberto
Perlas-Gomez, baritone (Cavaliere Belfiore)
Filipino-born baritone, Roberto Gomez, has performed
with Opera San Jose as Figaro in Il barbiere
di Siviglia, the baritone lead of Drosselmeire
in the world premeire of Tale of the Nutcracker,
Escamillo in Carmen, and as the elder Germont
in La Traviata. He has also performed the
role of Germont at the Mendocino Festival. Upon
his return to Los Angeles, Mr. Gomez performed with
Los Angeles Opera in the role of Lorek in Fedora
with Placido Domingo and Benoit/Alcindoro in the
company's student matinees of La Boheme.
He has also performed Don Giovanni for
the Pasadena Lyric Opera to great critical acclaim.
Mr. Gomez has performed regularly with San Diego
Opera appearing in Turandot and Carmen,
as well as Tosca, Rusalka, Madama
Butterfly and The Barber of Seville.
He was a member of SDO's outreach ensemble and toured
as the company's Artist-in-Residence through four
seasons. Among Mr. Gomez' many appearences in Southern
California are Germanno in La scala di seta
and Allazim in Zaide at the Summer Nights
at the Ford Festival, Scarpia in Tosca
for the L.A. Music Theater Company, Figaro and Count
Almaviva in two recent productions of The Marriage
of Figaro, and Silvio in Pagliacci
at the Redlands Bowl. He has sung the role of Frank
in Sacramento Opera's Die Fledermaus, and
has portrayed Marcello in La Boheme with
the Shanghai Opera. In December of 1995 Mr. Gomez
was in Manila to create the title role of Rizal
in a world premiere celebrating the centennial of
the Philippine national hero. |
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 Adrien
Roberts, soprano (Giulietta di Kelbar)
Adrien Roberts is a native of Danville, California.
She earned her Master of Music degree from Manhattan
School of Music and her Bachelor of Music degree
in Vocal Performance from Chapman University. Adrien
has performed the roles of Pamina and Papagena in
Die Zauberflöte, Adele in Die
Fledermaus, and Barbarina in Le nozze di
Figaro and Pepita in the world premiere of
The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Adrien has
participated in OperaWorks and The California Music
Festival. Two months after receiving her Masters
degree, Adrien was in a car accident that injured
her larynx. Almost three years later and after much
physical therapy, she is ready to get back in the
ring. In April, Adrien sang in the chorus of Manon
Lescaut with LOLA. In July and August, Adrien
sang Eva in the quintet from Die Meistersinger
with Venice Opera and in the choruses of Hansel
and Gretel with El Dorado Opera and La
traviata with Redlands Festival Opera. In December,
Adrien will be singing the role of Pamina with Opera
Nova in Santa Monica. With the love and encouragement
from family and friends, Adrien is performing her
first full operatic role since the car accident. |
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 Robert
Sage, music director
Rober Sage was born in New Jersey, beginning his
piano studies at age seven in Washington, D.C.
with Neil Tilkens. His later studies were with
Eleanor Slorf, Perry Beach of La Sierra University,
Lillian Steuber of U.S.C. (where he received his
D.M.A. in Piano Perfrmance) and Richard Jeandin
and Harry Datyner of the Geneva Conservatory.
He has been Professor of Music at Azusa Pacific
University for over twenty years, where he also
teaches courses in Piano pedagogy and Music History.
He
has concertized throughout the United States and
Europe, and been semi-finalist in such international
piano competitions as the Bachauer, the Busoni
and the Pozzoli. He also serves as Director of
Music both for St. John's Episcopal Church in
La Verne and the Lyric Opera of Los Angeles. He
appears regularly as orchestral soloist, recitalist,
collaborative pianist and conductor. He has played
the non-European premiere of a sonata by Felix
Mendelssohn, and the first American performance
west of the Mississippi of Debussy's piano concerto
(entitled Fantasie). |
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 Laura
Sage-Ruiz, executive producer
Ms. Sage-Ruiz is the Founder, Artistic Director,
and Executive Producer for the Lyric Opera of Los
Angeles. As a singer, Laura is gaining wide recognition
for her "crystal clear" voice and has
sung principal roles in a number of productions
including the title roles of Auber's Manon Lescaut,
and Donizetti's Rita. She has also sung
both La Fée and Cendrillon (on alternating
evenings) in Cendrillon by Pauline Viardot,
the heroine Malwina in the West Coast premiere of
Heinrich Marschner's Der Vampyr, Adina
in Donizetti's l'Elisir d'Amore, Mabel
in Pirates of Penzance, Miss Silverpeal
in Mozart's The Impresario, the Spirit
in Dido & Aeneas by Purcell, Lucy in
Menotti's The Telephone and the Dew Fairy
in Hansel & Gretel by Humperdink. Laura
has also sung the title role in Estrella,
a children's opera written by Gabriel Reoyo-Pazos
for The Guild Opera. Ms. Sage-Ruiz will be appearing
at the end of this month as Zerlina in Don Giovanni
with El Dorado Opera. |
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 Rebecca
Sjöwall, soprano (La Marchesa
del Poggio / Assistant Director)
Soprano Rebecca Sjöwall was recently selected
as the First Place and Edward Jones Award Winner
in the Carlsbad to Karlovy Vary 2006 Vocal Competition,
as a Finalist in the 2006 Burbank Philharmonic
Orchestra Young Artist Competition and as a Society
of Singers Vocal Scholarship Recipient. In July,
she made her European debut in the role of Pamina
in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte with
the New Operafestival di Roma in Rome, Italy.
Her operatic roles include Marguerite in Auber's
Manon Lescaut with Lyric Opera of Los
Angeles, performed at the historic Los Angeles
Theatre, and Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel
and Gretel with Opera by the Bay in Massachusetts.
Equally at home on the concert stage, Rebecca
has appeared in numerous recitals in Japan, Italy
and the United States and has performed as the
Soprano Soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria.
Rebecca Sjöwall began to study voice while
pursuing her B.A. in Political Science at Luther
College. During her final year, she made her first
appearance on the operatic stage as Rosalinde
in Strauss' Die Fledermaus. She has been
a participant in New England Conservatory’s
SCE Opera Studio and has studied acting with Bronia
Wheeler and Marcus Stern at Harvard University.
This fall, she will begin pursuit of her Master
of Music degree in Vocal Performance at UCLA.
Originally from Wisconsin, Rebecca currently resides
in Los Angeles with her husband, composer and
flautist Marcus Sjöwall. |
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 Bruce
Wright, baritone (il Signor la Rocca)
As the Treasurer, baritone Bruce Wright makes his
debut in a principal role on the operatic stage
at the surprising age of 51. Trained originally
at Oberlin Conservatory, he sang only for private
audiences until last Spring, when he was invited
by librettist and director Peter Wing Healey to
take part in the world premiere of Healey's opera
The Tree, with music by Linda Dowdell.
That performance provided the occasion for rediscovering
a brilliant and powerful voice under the tutelage
of renowned teacher and coach Joann C. Zajac. |
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