ON-DEMAND | 60-day REPLAY
CAROL VANESS
(Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Chicago Lyric Opera, Gran Teatro del Liceo, Salzburger Festspiele)
GEORGE SHIRLEY
(Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Téatro Colón, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera,
Glyndebourne Festival, Santa Fe Opera)
LAURA CLAYCOMB
(Teatro alla Scala, Salzburger Festspiele, Glyndebourne, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Paris Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Bolshoi Theater, Grand Théâtre de Genève, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Proms)
RONNITA MILLER
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
JEREMY BINES
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, Glyndebourne, English National Opera, Royal Opera House)
STEPHANIE WEISS
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Oper Frankfurt, San Diego Opera, Oper Dortmund, Oper Köln, Berlin Philharmonic)
STEPHAN REINEKE
(TACT International Art Management)
REBEKAH ROTA
(Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Landesbühnen Sachsen)
RICHARD GAMMON
(Wolf Trap Opera, Virginia Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre,
Kennedy Center, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis)
SUSANNA STRANDERS
(The Royal Opera House, Garsington Opera, Glyndebourne, Salzburg Festival, New York City Opera)
JULIE WYMA
Opera Programs Berlin, Co-Founder & Executive Director
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, Irrational Entertainment, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera North, Dicapo Opera, Opera By Request, Choriner Opernsommer, Berliner Philharmonie, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Opera Classica Europa, Brandenburgisches Konzertorchester)
ANASTASIA INNISS
Opera Programs Berlin, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
(Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin Wagner Gruppe, Grimeborn, Edinburgh Fringe Festival,
Central Florida Lyric Opera, New London Opera Players,
Brandenburgisches Konzertorchester)
(Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Chicago Lyric Opera, Gran Teatro del Liceo, Salzburger Festspiele)
GEORGE SHIRLEY
(Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Téatro Colón, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera,
Glyndebourne Festival, Santa Fe Opera)
LAURA CLAYCOMB
(Teatro alla Scala, Salzburger Festspiele, Glyndebourne, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Paris Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Bolshoi Theater, Grand Théâtre de Genève, London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Proms)
RONNITA MILLER
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Semperoper Dresden, Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
JEREMY BINES
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, Glyndebourne, English National Opera, Royal Opera House)
STEPHANIE WEISS
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Oper Frankfurt, San Diego Opera, Oper Dortmund, Oper Köln, Berlin Philharmonic)
STEPHAN REINEKE
(TACT International Art Management)
REBEKAH ROTA
(Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Landesbühnen Sachsen)
RICHARD GAMMON
(Wolf Trap Opera, Virginia Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre,
Kennedy Center, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis)
SUSANNA STRANDERS
(The Royal Opera House, Garsington Opera, Glyndebourne, Salzburg Festival, New York City Opera)
JULIE WYMA
Opera Programs Berlin, Co-Founder & Executive Director
(Deutsche Oper Berlin, Irrational Entertainment, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera North, Dicapo Opera, Opera By Request, Choriner Opernsommer, Berliner Philharmonie, University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg, Opera Classica Europa, Brandenburgisches Konzertorchester)
ANASTASIA INNISS
Opera Programs Berlin, Co-Founder & Artistic Director
(Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin Wagner Gruppe, Grimeborn, Edinburgh Fringe Festival,
Central Florida Lyric Opera, New London Opera Players,
Brandenburgisches Konzertorchester)
JULIE WYMA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
ANASTASIA INNISS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
ANASTASIA INNISS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
- 12 engaging & information-packed presentation and Q&A sessions with leading international artists sharing their expertise, knowledge and decades long experience
- sample application materials for the German market*
- sample application materials for the North American market*
- complete guide to recording successful audition videos*
- complete list of German theatres with their classifications*
- complete list of German language schools*
- an array of resources and information*
Watch (and re-watch) all videos on your own time and learn at your own pace.
FIND OUT:
LEARN ABOUT:
... and so much more!
- where you fit in the global market;
- how to build a sound list of audition arias for the German and North American markets;
- how to present a well-balanced audition program and/or competition program;
- how to present a successful live and video audition;
- how to record successful audition videos;
- how to present a polished individualised look in your audition materials as well as professional digital profile;
- how to maintain vocal health throughout your career;
- how to stand out among hundreds of applicants;
- how to approach German managers;
- how to approach German theatres.
LEARN ABOUT:
- The German, European and Global Markets
- The German Theatre System
- Finding German Representation
- Casting within the German Theatre System
- To Fest or to Guest
- The Pros and Cons of Working in a Chorus
... and so much more!
VIDEOS
Building a Career on Both Sides of the Atlantic
with
RONNITA MILLER
The Structure of the German Market & Casting for It
with
REBEKAH ROTA
Building a Long-Term International Career & a Lasting Legacy
with
CAROL VANESS
Finding Representation in the European & North American Markets During (and Post-) COVID
with
STEPHAN REINEKE
The Insider's Perspective on working in a Chorus
with
JEREMY BINES
Jump-Ins & Building a Diverse Career
with
STEPHANIE WEISS
Career Longevity in an Ever-Changing Market
with
GEORGE SHIRLEY
Thoughts from Across the Table: What Director's Look for in a Singer
with
RICHARD GAMMON
The Director's Point of View - What One Looks for in an Audition
with
JENNIFER WILLIAMS
Planning Your Career Trajectory
with
LAURA CLAYCOMB
Conductor's Point of View: What One Looks for in an Audition
with
SUSANNA STRANDERS
Building and Polishing Application Materials & Digital Professional Profile for the Global Market
with
ANASTASIA INNISS
JULIE WYMA
with
RONNITA MILLER
The Structure of the German Market & Casting for It
with
REBEKAH ROTA
Building a Long-Term International Career & a Lasting Legacy
with
CAROL VANESS
Finding Representation in the European & North American Markets During (and Post-) COVID
with
STEPHAN REINEKE
The Insider's Perspective on working in a Chorus
with
JEREMY BINES
Jump-Ins & Building a Diverse Career
with
STEPHANIE WEISS
Career Longevity in an Ever-Changing Market
with
GEORGE SHIRLEY
Thoughts from Across the Table: What Director's Look for in a Singer
with
RICHARD GAMMON
The Director's Point of View - What One Looks for in an Audition
with
JENNIFER WILLIAMS
Planning Your Career Trajectory
with
LAURA CLAYCOMB
Conductor's Point of View: What One Looks for in an Audition
with
SUSANNA STRANDERS
Building and Polishing Application Materials & Digital Professional Profile for the Global Market
with
ANASTASIA INNISS
JULIE WYMA
TUITION
€260.00
- 60-day replay of all session videos
- materials and resources by all faculty members
REGISTRATION
Please note that Opera Programs Berlin does not charge administration fees for any of its programs.
Therefore, all payment transaction fees must be covered on the sender's side.
Opera Programs Berlin does not cover any transaction fees.
Therefore, all payment transaction fees must be covered on the sender's side.
Opera Programs Berlin does not cover any transaction fees.
|
|
|
N26
Julie Wyma IBAN: DE40 1001 1001 2629 3903 16 BIC: NTSBDEB1 Krüllsstr 3 12435 Berlin Deutschland |
FACULTY
GEORGE SHIRLEY
George Shirley (tenor) is in demand nationally and internationally as performer, teacher and lecturer. He has won international acclaim for his performances in the world’s great opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera (New York), Royal Opera (Covent Garden, London), Deutsche Oper (Berlin), Téatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Netherlands Opera (Amsterdam), L’Opéra de Monte Carlo, New York City Opera, Scottish Opera (Glasgow), Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera (Kennedy Center), Michigan Opera Theater, Glyndebourne Festival, and Santa Fe Opera.
He has recorded for RCA, Columbia, Decca, Angel, Vanguard, CRI, and Philips and received a Grammy Award in 1968 for his role (Ferrando) in the RCA recording of Mozart’s Così fan tutte.
In addition to oratorio and concert literature, Mr. Shirley has, in a career that spans 49 years, performed more than 80 operatic roles in major opera houses around the globe with many of the world’s most renowned conductors (Solti, Klemperer, Stravinsky, Ormandy, von Karajan, Colin Davis, Boehm, Ozawa, Haitink, Boult, Leinsdorf, Boulez, DePriest, Krips, Cleva, Dorati, Pritchard, Bernstein, Maazel, and others).
Professor Shirley was the first African-American to be appointed to a high school teaching post in music in Detroit, the first African-American member of the United States Army Chorus in Washington, D.C., and the first African-American tenor and second African-American male to sing leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, where he remained for eleven years.
Mr. Shirley has served on three occasions as a master teacher in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program for Young NATS Teachers. He was also a member of the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School for ten years.
George Shirley (tenor) is in demand nationally and internationally as performer, teacher and lecturer. He has won international acclaim for his performances in the world’s great opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera (New York), Royal Opera (Covent Garden, London), Deutsche Oper (Berlin), Téatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Netherlands Opera (Amsterdam), L’Opéra de Monte Carlo, New York City Opera, Scottish Opera (Glasgow), Chicago Lyric Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera (Kennedy Center), Michigan Opera Theater, Glyndebourne Festival, and Santa Fe Opera.
He has recorded for RCA, Columbia, Decca, Angel, Vanguard, CRI, and Philips and received a Grammy Award in 1968 for his role (Ferrando) in the RCA recording of Mozart’s Così fan tutte.
In addition to oratorio and concert literature, Mr. Shirley has, in a career that spans 49 years, performed more than 80 operatic roles in major opera houses around the globe with many of the world’s most renowned conductors (Solti, Klemperer, Stravinsky, Ormandy, von Karajan, Colin Davis, Boehm, Ozawa, Haitink, Boult, Leinsdorf, Boulez, DePriest, Krips, Cleva, Dorati, Pritchard, Bernstein, Maazel, and others).
Professor Shirley was the first African-American to be appointed to a high school teaching post in music in Detroit, the first African-American member of the United States Army Chorus in Washington, D.C., and the first African-American tenor and second African-American male to sing leading roles with the Metropolitan Opera, where he remained for eleven years.
Mr. Shirley has served on three occasions as a master teacher in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Intern Program for Young NATS Teachers. He was also a member of the faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School for ten years.
CAROL VANESS
Born in San Diego, CA, Carol Vaness launched her professional singing career at the New York City Opera, where she appeared regularly from 1979 to 1983. Since then, she has sung on the world's biggest stages and at premier music festivals, collaborated with today's foremost conductors in operatic and symphonic repertoires, appeared on numerous television broadcasts throughout North America and Europe, and compiled a distinguished catalog of recordings.
Her interpretations of Mozart's dramatic heroines, including Fiordiligi in 'Così fan tutte', Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in 'Don Giovanni', Elettra in 'Idomeneo', and Vitellia in 'La Clemenza di Tito', have been hailed as definitive, and she has become especially identifiable with the role of Floria Tosca. She performed the title role of Puccini's Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in 2004 opposite Pavarotti in the legendary tenor's final operatic performance.
Vaness made her professional debut as Vitellia for the San Francisco Spring Opera and has been acknowledged as the world's leading interpreter of this role. She has appeared as Vitellia at the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera and Gran Teatro del Liceo and at the Salzburg Festival and other leading theaters.
Among her many celebrated television appearances, she has been featured on the Pavarotti Plus and Pavarotti and Friends telecasts from Lincoln Center, as well as the Richard Tucker Gala and In Performance at the White House with members of the New York City Opera.
Born in San Diego, CA, Carol Vaness launched her professional singing career at the New York City Opera, where she appeared regularly from 1979 to 1983. Since then, she has sung on the world's biggest stages and at premier music festivals, collaborated with today's foremost conductors in operatic and symphonic repertoires, appeared on numerous television broadcasts throughout North America and Europe, and compiled a distinguished catalog of recordings.
Her interpretations of Mozart's dramatic heroines, including Fiordiligi in 'Così fan tutte', Donna Anna and Donna Elvira in 'Don Giovanni', Elettra in 'Idomeneo', and Vitellia in 'La Clemenza di Tito', have been hailed as definitive, and she has become especially identifiable with the role of Floria Tosca. She performed the title role of Puccini's Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera in 2004 opposite Pavarotti in the legendary tenor's final operatic performance.
Vaness made her professional debut as Vitellia for the San Francisco Spring Opera and has been acknowledged as the world's leading interpreter of this role. She has appeared as Vitellia at the Metropolitan Opera, Paris Opera, Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera and Gran Teatro del Liceo and at the Salzburg Festival and other leading theaters.
Among her many celebrated television appearances, she has been featured on the Pavarotti Plus and Pavarotti and Friends telecasts from Lincoln Center, as well as the Richard Tucker Gala and In Performance at the White House with members of the New York City Opera.
LAURA CLAYCOMB
Grammy® Award winning soprano Laura Claycomb has firmly established herself as one of the finest operatic coloratura sopranos of her generation, best known for her ethereal high notes, impeccable musicianship, and dramatic stage presence. Ms. Claycomb has appeared repeatedly with the Paris Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Théâtre de la Monnaie, the London Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Le Concert d’Astrée, and the Cleveland Orchestra. Further career highlights range from engagements at the Salzburg Festival and the Lucerne Festival, to the BBC Proms and the title role of Linda di Chamounix at Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
2018 and beyond finds her in Dallas for her first Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, in Paris for Stabat Maters by Scarlatti and Pergolesi with Speranza Scappucci and Il Pomo D’Oro, in Israel for Mozart with Alexander Bernstein and the Israel Camerata, in a recital and masterclass tour in the U.S., and with the Houston Symphony for Carmina Burana.
2016/17 found Laura in Beijing, China as Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in Geneva as Malwina in Marschner’s Der Vampyr, in concerts led by Emmanuelle Haïm with Le Concert D’Astrée at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Disney Hall, as well as in Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 (Kaddish) with Marin Alsop and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican.
2015/16 saw Laura as Tytania with the Bergen National Opera, as Ophélie in a concert version of Hamlet in Moscow, as well as Strauss’ Brentano Lieder with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson-Thomas, the title role in the world premiere of Lori Laitman’s The Scarlet Letter and galas in Israel.
The 2014-2015 season saw her as Amina in La sonnambula at the Bolshoi Theater, concert engagements with the Oregon Symphony and Palermo Opera for Carmina Burana, Mercury Baroque in a performance with David Daniels, as Lucia di Lammermoor with New Orleans Opera, Cunegonde in Candide with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Maestra Speranza Scapucci, likewise in Florence.
In the 2013-2014 season Ms. Claycomb made her Glyndebourne debut as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with music director Vladimir Jurowsky conducting, which was released on DVD/BlueRay. Additionally, she sang her first Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte and Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor with the Bregenz Festival, reprised her Adele in Die Fledermaus at Houston Grand Opera, returned to the Israeli Philharmonic for Carmina Burana and to the San Francisco Symphony for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, debuted the role of the Czarina of Shemakha in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel with Bergen Opera, and returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Swedish Radio Orchestra in Lutoslawski’s Chantefleurs et Chantefables with Lionel Bringuier.
Ms. Claycomb began her career as an Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera, where she performed over a dozen roles including Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Marie in La fille du régiment. She first captured international attention at the age of 24, when she assumed the role of Giulietta in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. She has since sung Giulietta with the Bastille Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchester in Munich. Since her meteoric rise to prominence, Ms. Claycomb has proven herself to be an exceptionally versatile soprano, performing more than 75 roles in dozens of works by composers from Monteverdi to Messiaen.
In recent years, Ms. Claycomb performed her signature roles of Gilda in Rigoletto with Dallas Opera (earning her the Dallas Opera’s Maria Callas Debut Artist Award) and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Houston Grand Opera, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and with Sebastian Weigle at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor with Pittsburgh Opera and in Tel Aviv with Daniel Oren conducting, Romilda in Handel’s Serse with Houston Grand Opera, the heroines in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann in Moscow, and Anne Trulove in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in Lyon, Brussels, and the Opéra National de Paris.
Ms. Claycomb has emerged as a concert repertoire powerhouse, having performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic and Les Arts Florissants, among those already mentioned. She has tackled soloist roles in Orff’s Carmina burana (National Symphony, LA Philharmonic and Danish Radio Symphony with the late Frühbeck de Burgos), Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Faure’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis and oratorio Christus am Ölberge, the latter with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Ms. Claycomb is among today’s foremost Mahler sopranos, having sung solos in the composer’s Symphonies Nos. 2, 4, and 8 with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Maggio Musicale di Firenze, and Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, with Tilson-Thomas, Gergiev, Honeck, Inkinen, and Abbado/Mattheuz. She appeared to great acclaim in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at Carnegie Hall and on a European tour with Michael Tilson Thomas and the SFSO. She has been featured on San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas albums of Mahler’s Symphony Nos. 4and 8, the latter of which was awarded three Grammy® awards in 2009. She also recorded Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra.
High-profile productions starring Ms. Claycomb that led to live recordings include Katharina Thoma’s 2013 Glyndebourne production of Ariadne auf Naxos, Alan Platel and Fabrizio Cassol’s Pitié with Cypres Records, Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Colin Davis as well as with Roger Norrington and the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, and Robert LePage’s production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in Brussels.
Ms. Claycomb’s extensive recording catalog includes numerous albums of bel canto operas and chamber music with Britain’s Opera Rara label such as Handel’s Arcadian Duets with Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert D’Astrée, Ligeti’s Le grand macabre with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the London Sinfonietta, Carmina burana with the London Symphony Orchestra and Richard Hickox (Chandos) as well as Fauré’s Requiem with the San Francisco Boys’ Choir and Ian Robertson.
Ms. Claycomb has collaborated with renowned conductors Pierre Boulez, Patrick Summers, Richard Hickox, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Daniel Oren, Pinchas Steinberg, Paavo Järvi, and Sir Colin Davis and has originated many new productions with high-profile stage directors including Peter Sellars, Julie Taymor, Katharina Thoma, James Robinson, and David Alden. Early in her career, she earned the Silver Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Pegasus Prize at Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Operetta Prize at the Belvedere Competition in Vienna, and first prize in the National Opera Association Competition in the U.S. She has developed a strong interest in the training and nurturing of the next generation of operatic artists and currently serves as consultant for the Bolshoi Young Artist Program, giving master classes there and at the Centre for Operatic Studies in Sulmona, Italy. A native of Texas, Ms. Claycomb resides with her husband and son in Italy.
Grammy® Award winning soprano Laura Claycomb has firmly established herself as one of the finest operatic coloratura sopranos of her generation, best known for her ethereal high notes, impeccable musicianship, and dramatic stage presence. Ms. Claycomb has appeared repeatedly with the Paris Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Théâtre de la Monnaie, the London Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Le Concert d’Astrée, and the Cleveland Orchestra. Further career highlights range from engagements at the Salzburg Festival and the Lucerne Festival, to the BBC Proms and the title role of Linda di Chamounix at Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
2018 and beyond finds her in Dallas for her first Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, in Paris for Stabat Maters by Scarlatti and Pergolesi with Speranza Scappucci and Il Pomo D’Oro, in Israel for Mozart with Alexander Bernstein and the Israel Camerata, in a recital and masterclass tour in the U.S., and with the Houston Symphony for Carmina Burana.
2016/17 found Laura in Beijing, China as Tytania in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in Geneva as Malwina in Marschner’s Der Vampyr, in concerts led by Emmanuelle Haïm with Le Concert D’Astrée at Paris’ Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Disney Hall, as well as in Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 (Kaddish) with Marin Alsop and the London Symphony Orchestra at the Barbican.
2015/16 saw Laura as Tytania with the Bergen National Opera, as Ophélie in a concert version of Hamlet in Moscow, as well as Strauss’ Brentano Lieder with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson-Thomas, the title role in the world premiere of Lori Laitman’s The Scarlet Letter and galas in Israel.
The 2014-2015 season saw her as Amina in La sonnambula at the Bolshoi Theater, concert engagements with the Oregon Symphony and Palermo Opera for Carmina Burana, Mercury Baroque in a performance with David Daniels, as Lucia di Lammermoor with New Orleans Opera, Cunegonde in Candide with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, and in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Maestra Speranza Scapucci, likewise in Florence.
In the 2013-2014 season Ms. Claycomb made her Glyndebourne debut as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with music director Vladimir Jurowsky conducting, which was released on DVD/BlueRay. Additionally, she sang her first Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte and Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor with the Bregenz Festival, reprised her Adele in Die Fledermaus at Houston Grand Opera, returned to the Israeli Philharmonic for Carmina Burana and to the San Francisco Symphony for Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, debuted the role of the Czarina of Shemakha in Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Golden Cockerel with Bergen Opera, and returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Swedish Radio Orchestra in Lutoslawski’s Chantefleurs et Chantefables with Lionel Bringuier.
Ms. Claycomb began her career as an Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera, where she performed over a dozen roles including Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Marie in La fille du régiment. She first captured international attention at the age of 24, when she assumed the role of Giulietta in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. She has since sung Giulietta with the Bastille Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Pittsburgh Opera and the Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchester in Munich. Since her meteoric rise to prominence, Ms. Claycomb has proven herself to be an exceptionally versatile soprano, performing more than 75 roles in dozens of works by composers from Monteverdi to Messiaen.
In recent years, Ms. Claycomb performed her signature roles of Gilda in Rigoletto with Dallas Opera (earning her the Dallas Opera’s Maria Callas Debut Artist Award) and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Houston Grand Opera, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Grand Théâtre de Genève and with Sebastian Weigle at the Berlin Staatsoper Unter den Linden, the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor with Pittsburgh Opera and in Tel Aviv with Daniel Oren conducting, Romilda in Handel’s Serse with Houston Grand Opera, the heroines in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann in Moscow, and Anne Trulove in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in Lyon, Brussels, and the Opéra National de Paris.
Ms. Claycomb has emerged as a concert repertoire powerhouse, having performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic and Les Arts Florissants, among those already mentioned. She has tackled soloist roles in Orff’s Carmina burana (National Symphony, LA Philharmonic and Danish Radio Symphony with the late Frühbeck de Burgos), Brahms’ Deutsches Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Faure’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis and oratorio Christus am Ölberge, the latter with the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. Ms. Claycomb is among today’s foremost Mahler sopranos, having sung solos in the composer’s Symphonies Nos. 2, 4, and 8 with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Maggio Musicale di Firenze, and Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra of Venezuela, with Tilson-Thomas, Gergiev, Honeck, Inkinen, and Abbado/Mattheuz. She appeared to great acclaim in Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at Carnegie Hall and on a European tour with Michael Tilson Thomas and the SFSO. She has been featured on San Francisco Symphony/Michael Tilson Thomas albums of Mahler’s Symphony Nos. 4and 8, the latter of which was awarded three Grammy® awards in 2009. She also recorded Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra.
High-profile productions starring Ms. Claycomb that led to live recordings include Katharina Thoma’s 2013 Glyndebourne production of Ariadne auf Naxos, Alan Platel and Fabrizio Cassol’s Pitié with Cypres Records, Berlioz’s Benvenuto Cellini with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Sir Colin Davis as well as with Roger Norrington and the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, and Robert LePage’s production of Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress in Brussels.
Ms. Claycomb’s extensive recording catalog includes numerous albums of bel canto operas and chamber music with Britain’s Opera Rara label such as Handel’s Arcadian Duets with Emmanuelle Haïm and Le Concert D’Astrée, Ligeti’s Le grand macabre with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the London Sinfonietta, Carmina burana with the London Symphony Orchestra and Richard Hickox (Chandos) as well as Fauré’s Requiem with the San Francisco Boys’ Choir and Ian Robertson.
Ms. Claycomb has collaborated with renowned conductors Pierre Boulez, Patrick Summers, Richard Hickox, Yannick Nezet-Seguin, Daniel Oren, Pinchas Steinberg, Paavo Järvi, and Sir Colin Davis and has originated many new productions with high-profile stage directors including Peter Sellars, Julie Taymor, Katharina Thoma, James Robinson, and David Alden. Early in her career, she earned the Silver Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Pegasus Prize at Spoleto Festival in Italy, the Operetta Prize at the Belvedere Competition in Vienna, and first prize in the National Opera Association Competition in the U.S. She has developed a strong interest in the training and nurturing of the next generation of operatic artists and currently serves as consultant for the Bolshoi Young Artist Program, giving master classes there and at the Centre for Operatic Studies in Sulmona, Italy. A native of Texas, Ms. Claycomb resides with her husband and son in Italy.
RONNITA MILLER
American mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller continues her upward career trajectory in Season 2019-20 in her seventh season as a member of the ensemble at Deutsche Oper Berlin. Performances there this season include Mama Lucia Cavalleria Rusticana, Third Lady Die Zauberflöte, Mary Der fliegende Holländer, Madelon Andrea Chenier and Ulrika Un Ballo in Maschera. The artist travels to Concertgebouw Amsterdam for performances of Die Walküre in the role of Fricka and returns later in the season for performances of Verdi’s Requiem. In the US she joins Chicago Symphony Orchestra to sing Mama Lucia under the baton of Riccardo Muti and returns to Lyric Opera Chicago to continue her portrayal as Erda/First Norn Der Ring des Nibelungen. She ends the season at Cincinnati Opera in her role debut as Amneris Aida. Last season at Deutsche Oper Berlin she sang Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette before returning to Lyric Opera Chicago and her signature role of Erda Siegfried. She gave further performances of Erda Das Rheingold at Teatro Real, Madrid before returning to the Metropolitan Opera to sing First Norn Götterdämmerung, and to Boston Symphony Orchestra where she sang Schwertleite Die Walküre at Tanglewood. In the UK she sang First Norn at the Edinburgh International Festival with Andrew Davis, and at Brighton Festival, Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Recent highlights at Deutsche Oper Berlin include Handmaiden Invisible, Fenena Nabucco and Marcellina Le nozze di Figaro as well as appearing in revival performances of some of the roles that have brought her the admiration of Berlin audiences such as Marthe Schwertle in Faust. Other recent highlights include Erda/First Norn at San Francisco Opera and she joined Semperoper Dresden as Erda under the baton of Christian Thieleman. Guest appearances elsewhere included the role of Armando Le Grand Macabre under the baton of Simon Rattle with both the London Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic, as well as Verdi’s Requiem at Opernhaus Hannover. Miss Miller joined the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper Berlin for the 2013-14 Season and made her house debut with the roles of Grimgerde Die Walküre and First Norn Gotterdämmerung; other roles there since have included Anna Les Troyens, Dryade Ariadne auf Naxos, Bianca The Rape of Lucretia, Alice Lucia di Lammermoor, Filipevna Eugene Onegin, Wowkle LaFanciulla del West, Geneviève Pelléas et Mélisande, Mama Lucia, Marcellina and Maddalena/Giovanna Rigoletto. She made her role debut as Fricka with the Odense Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alexander Vedernikov, Mary Der Fliegende Höllander at Ravinia Festival, a role she previously sang at Los Angeles Opera, and her debut as Mistress Quickly in Los Angeles Opera’s Falstaff. She sang at Cincinnati’s May Festival in Mahler’s Eighth Symphony and in a special anniversary performance of Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses under the baton of James Conlon which was also presented at New York’s Carnegie Hall in a live broadcast performance.
Past successes include role debuts as Tisbe La Cenerentola, Fillippevna Eugene Onegin, Gertrude Roméo et Juliette and Florence Pike Albert Herring at Los Angeles Opera; at Ravinia Festival she sang Third Lady with Chicago Symphony Orchestra and James Conlon; she also appeared as Erda and First Norn in San Francisco Opera’s new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Donald Runnicles, and sang First Norn at the Metropolitan Opera under the baton of Fabio Luisi in the new production by Robert Lepage. A Florida native, Ronnita Miller received her Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and graduated from the prestigious Juilliard Opera School before spending two years in the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program at Los Angeles Opera. She made her company debut as La Badessa Suor Angelica in 2008 before joining the cast of Joachim Freyer’s controversial production of Der Ring des Nibelungen in the roles of Schwertleite and Flosshilde while additionally covering Erda. Other roles in Miss Miller’s repertoire include Azucena Il Trovatore and Eboli Don Carlos, both in preparation.
American mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller continues her upward career trajectory in Season 2019-20 in her seventh season as a member of the ensemble at Deutsche Oper Berlin. Performances there this season include Mama Lucia Cavalleria Rusticana, Third Lady Die Zauberflöte, Mary Der fliegende Holländer, Madelon Andrea Chenier and Ulrika Un Ballo in Maschera. The artist travels to Concertgebouw Amsterdam for performances of Die Walküre in the role of Fricka and returns later in the season for performances of Verdi’s Requiem. In the US she joins Chicago Symphony Orchestra to sing Mama Lucia under the baton of Riccardo Muti and returns to Lyric Opera Chicago to continue her portrayal as Erda/First Norn Der Ring des Nibelungen. She ends the season at Cincinnati Opera in her role debut as Amneris Aida. Last season at Deutsche Oper Berlin she sang Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette before returning to Lyric Opera Chicago and her signature role of Erda Siegfried. She gave further performances of Erda Das Rheingold at Teatro Real, Madrid before returning to the Metropolitan Opera to sing First Norn Götterdämmerung, and to Boston Symphony Orchestra where she sang Schwertleite Die Walküre at Tanglewood. In the UK she sang First Norn at the Edinburgh International Festival with Andrew Davis, and at Brighton Festival, Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the Philharmonia Orchestra. Recent highlights at Deutsche Oper Berlin include Handmaiden Invisible, Fenena Nabucco and Marcellina Le nozze di Figaro as well as appearing in revival performances of some of the roles that have brought her the admiration of Berlin audiences such as Marthe Schwertle in Faust. Other recent highlights include Erda/First Norn at San Francisco Opera and she joined Semperoper Dresden as Erda under the baton of Christian Thieleman. Guest appearances elsewhere included the role of Armando Le Grand Macabre under the baton of Simon Rattle with both the London Symphony Orchestra and the Berlin Philharmonic, as well as Verdi’s Requiem at Opernhaus Hannover. Miss Miller joined the ensemble at the Deutsche Oper Berlin for the 2013-14 Season and made her house debut with the roles of Grimgerde Die Walküre and First Norn Gotterdämmerung; other roles there since have included Anna Les Troyens, Dryade Ariadne auf Naxos, Bianca The Rape of Lucretia, Alice Lucia di Lammermoor, Filipevna Eugene Onegin, Wowkle LaFanciulla del West, Geneviève Pelléas et Mélisande, Mama Lucia, Marcellina and Maddalena/Giovanna Rigoletto. She made her role debut as Fricka with the Odense Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Alexander Vedernikov, Mary Der Fliegende Höllander at Ravinia Festival, a role she previously sang at Los Angeles Opera, and her debut as Mistress Quickly in Los Angeles Opera’s Falstaff. She sang at Cincinnati’s May Festival in Mahler’s Eighth Symphony and in a special anniversary performance of Nathaniel Dett’s The Ordering of Moses under the baton of James Conlon which was also presented at New York’s Carnegie Hall in a live broadcast performance.
Past successes include role debuts as Tisbe La Cenerentola, Fillippevna Eugene Onegin, Gertrude Roméo et Juliette and Florence Pike Albert Herring at Los Angeles Opera; at Ravinia Festival she sang Third Lady with Chicago Symphony Orchestra and James Conlon; she also appeared as Erda and First Norn in San Francisco Opera’s new production of Der Ring des Nibelungen directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by Donald Runnicles, and sang First Norn at the Metropolitan Opera under the baton of Fabio Luisi in the new production by Robert Lepage. A Florida native, Ronnita Miller received her Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and graduated from the prestigious Juilliard Opera School before spending two years in the Domingo-Thornton Young Artist Program at Los Angeles Opera. She made her company debut as La Badessa Suor Angelica in 2008 before joining the cast of Joachim Freyer’s controversial production of Der Ring des Nibelungen in the roles of Schwertleite and Flosshilde while additionally covering Erda. Other roles in Miss Miller’s repertoire include Azucena Il Trovatore and Eboli Don Carlos, both in preparation.
SUSANNA STRANDERS
British pianist, conductor and répétiteur Susanna Stranders is a member of the Music Staff of The Royal Opera. She was a member of The Royal Opera’s Young Artists Programme (2004–6).
Before taking up her current position with The Royal Opera, Stranders was Head of Music and Chorus Master for Garsington Opera, where she conducted the world premiere of Orlando Gough and Richard Stilgoe’s Road Rage. Stranders studied at Exeter University and at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she won many prizes. She continued her studies at the University of Cincinnati and worked as a répétiteur for Cincinnati Opera, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Programme and as a member of Houston Grand Opera Studio. She has worked regularly for The Royal Opera, Opera North, Glyndebourne, Salzburg Festival, New York City Opera, the Philharmonia, and the London, BBC and Taipei symphony orchestras. In recital, she has accompanied singers including René Pape, Bryn Terfel, John Tomlinson, James Gilchrist, Mark Padmore, Christine Rice and Angelika Kirchschlager. She has broadcast (radio and television) for the BBC and Sky Arts, with artists including Angel Blue, Joyce DiDonato and Tamara Wilson.
A passionate educator, Stranders coaches at leading British conservatoires and international summer schools, leads masterclasses around the world and regularly sits on audition and competition panels. She has been official pianist for both the Neue Stimmen and Veronica Dunne international singing competitions.
British pianist, conductor and répétiteur Susanna Stranders is a member of the Music Staff of The Royal Opera. She was a member of The Royal Opera’s Young Artists Programme (2004–6).
Before taking up her current position with The Royal Opera, Stranders was Head of Music and Chorus Master for Garsington Opera, where she conducted the world premiere of Orlando Gough and Richard Stilgoe’s Road Rage. Stranders studied at Exeter University and at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she won many prizes. She continued her studies at the University of Cincinnati and worked as a répétiteur for Cincinnati Opera, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Programme and as a member of Houston Grand Opera Studio. She has worked regularly for The Royal Opera, Opera North, Glyndebourne, Salzburg Festival, New York City Opera, the Philharmonia, and the London, BBC and Taipei symphony orchestras. In recital, she has accompanied singers including René Pape, Bryn Terfel, John Tomlinson, James Gilchrist, Mark Padmore, Christine Rice and Angelika Kirchschlager. She has broadcast (radio and television) for the BBC and Sky Arts, with artists including Angel Blue, Joyce DiDonato and Tamara Wilson.
A passionate educator, Stranders coaches at leading British conservatoires and international summer schools, leads masterclasses around the world and regularly sits on audition and competition panels. She has been official pianist for both the Neue Stimmen and Veronica Dunne international singing competitions.
REBEKAH ROTA
Rebekah Rota is a multi-faceted artist whose career encompasses performing, teaching, directing, and arts administration. Rebekah combines intellectual rigor with emotional connectivity in whatever she does, striving to fill Structure with Heart. After completing her Master’s and Doctorate studies at the University of Michigan, she embarked on the first stage of her professional journey as a performer.
She sang throughout Germany and the United States, bringing life to such great roles as Violetta in La Traviata (Verdi), Mimi in La Bohème (Puccini), Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck), and Margarethe in Faust (Gounod), among others. She was consistently recognized for her ability to combine secure technique, beautiful singing, and moving interpretations. "Natural acting and deeply-felt singing… dreamy, soft high notes…" "Believable and moving… masterful coloratura." "Silvery high notes, sparkling coloratura, powerful in all registers and with great acting ability."
Invitations to teach and coach soon followed. In addition to maintaining a private studio, Rebekah has been invited to give workshops and master classes in the US (University of Michigan, Loyola Marymount University, Utah Valley University) and Germany (German Opera Experience, James Madison University study abroad, Berlin Opera Academy).
Her deep grounding in technique and powerful emotional connectivity support the student’s journey to use the voice as an instrument for communication. "Rebekah is an insightful and intuitive teacher who has the ability to recognize each student’s individual struggles. Not only is she an amazing technician, she believes in connecting your physical and emotional energy to everything you sing, making your experience extremely personal." "Rebekah has one goal as a teacher: to achieve a natural sound for an authentic, honest interpretation that serves the music. Every second of her pedagogical and technical work is focused on this goal – providing both consistency and freedom.”
While still a student at the University of Michigan, Rebekah was selected to receive a specially tailored scholarship in stage direction. Bringing perspective from both “sides” of the stage, Rebekah’s unique vision couples depth of understanding with breadth of emotional connection. She was soon selected to direct various productions at the University (Davidson’s The Fourth Wise Man; Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte) and received internships and assistant stage director positions with such companies as Opera Grand Rapids, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Indianapolis Opera, and the Los Angeles Opera.
After focusing exclusively on her singing career for a number of years, Rebekah returned to stage direction in 2014 with Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Mittelsächsische Theater. The following year, her staging of the mono-opera The Diary of Anne Frank by Grigor Frid at the Mecklenburgischen Landestheater Neustrelitz received national attention. The production was selected for the Polish language premiere of the opera at the International Penderecki Festival in Poland in September 2016 and it was revived in June 2017 in Krakow. She will be directing again this fall at the Landesbuehnen Sachsen; Peter Lund’s children’s opera Der Frosch muss Weg. "That this was all accomplished so unpretentiously, technically brilliantly, musically and dramatically convincingly, is in large part the merit of stage director Rebekah Rota from Canada {sic}. Under her direction, something grand that touches us all, “tua res agitur”, was coaxed out of polyphonic brevity and received resounding applause at the premiere." "This year - Opera Underground and the Polish premiere of the operatic monodrama The Diary of Anne Frank by Grigor Frid, directed by American Rebecca {sic} Rota. Sensitive, delicate, with girlish charm - very movingly designed to touch, not "hammer", something the director wanted to avoid.”
Fall 2017 saw the beginning of yet another professional chapter for Rebekah as she accepted the position of Referentin des Operndirektors at the Landesbuehnen Sachsen in Dresden. Her long experience as a singer, teacher, and director inform her new duties as artistic administrator as she helps to manage daily operations, long-term planning and casting, and strategic planning at the theater. Outreach and Education are also important areas for her and she has initiated several in-school programs to introduce school children to the history and skill of classical singing.
From April 2020, Rebekah will join Staatstheater Karlsruhe as the company's Stellvertretende Operndirektorin (Deputy Head of Opera).
Rebekah Rota is a multi-faceted artist whose career encompasses performing, teaching, directing, and arts administration. Rebekah combines intellectual rigor with emotional connectivity in whatever she does, striving to fill Structure with Heart. After completing her Master’s and Doctorate studies at the University of Michigan, she embarked on the first stage of her professional journey as a performer.
She sang throughout Germany and the United States, bringing life to such great roles as Violetta in La Traviata (Verdi), Mimi in La Bohème (Puccini), Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel (Humperdinck), and Margarethe in Faust (Gounod), among others. She was consistently recognized for her ability to combine secure technique, beautiful singing, and moving interpretations. "Natural acting and deeply-felt singing… dreamy, soft high notes…" "Believable and moving… masterful coloratura." "Silvery high notes, sparkling coloratura, powerful in all registers and with great acting ability."
Invitations to teach and coach soon followed. In addition to maintaining a private studio, Rebekah has been invited to give workshops and master classes in the US (University of Michigan, Loyola Marymount University, Utah Valley University) and Germany (German Opera Experience, James Madison University study abroad, Berlin Opera Academy).
Her deep grounding in technique and powerful emotional connectivity support the student’s journey to use the voice as an instrument for communication. "Rebekah is an insightful and intuitive teacher who has the ability to recognize each student’s individual struggles. Not only is she an amazing technician, she believes in connecting your physical and emotional energy to everything you sing, making your experience extremely personal." "Rebekah has one goal as a teacher: to achieve a natural sound for an authentic, honest interpretation that serves the music. Every second of her pedagogical and technical work is focused on this goal – providing both consistency and freedom.”
While still a student at the University of Michigan, Rebekah was selected to receive a specially tailored scholarship in stage direction. Bringing perspective from both “sides” of the stage, Rebekah’s unique vision couples depth of understanding with breadth of emotional connection. She was soon selected to direct various productions at the University (Davidson’s The Fourth Wise Man; Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte) and received internships and assistant stage director positions with such companies as Opera Grand Rapids, Pine Mountain Music Festival, Indianapolis Opera, and the Los Angeles Opera.
After focusing exclusively on her singing career for a number of years, Rebekah returned to stage direction in 2014 with Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Mittelsächsische Theater. The following year, her staging of the mono-opera The Diary of Anne Frank by Grigor Frid at the Mecklenburgischen Landestheater Neustrelitz received national attention. The production was selected for the Polish language premiere of the opera at the International Penderecki Festival in Poland in September 2016 and it was revived in June 2017 in Krakow. She will be directing again this fall at the Landesbuehnen Sachsen; Peter Lund’s children’s opera Der Frosch muss Weg. "That this was all accomplished so unpretentiously, technically brilliantly, musically and dramatically convincingly, is in large part the merit of stage director Rebekah Rota from Canada {sic}. Under her direction, something grand that touches us all, “tua res agitur”, was coaxed out of polyphonic brevity and received resounding applause at the premiere." "This year - Opera Underground and the Polish premiere of the operatic monodrama The Diary of Anne Frank by Grigor Frid, directed by American Rebecca {sic} Rota. Sensitive, delicate, with girlish charm - very movingly designed to touch, not "hammer", something the director wanted to avoid.”
Fall 2017 saw the beginning of yet another professional chapter for Rebekah as she accepted the position of Referentin des Operndirektors at the Landesbuehnen Sachsen in Dresden. Her long experience as a singer, teacher, and director inform her new duties as artistic administrator as she helps to manage daily operations, long-term planning and casting, and strategic planning at the theater. Outreach and Education are also important areas for her and she has initiated several in-school programs to introduce school children to the history and skill of classical singing.
From April 2020, Rebekah will join Staatstheater Karlsruhe as the company's Stellvertretende Operndirektorin (Deputy Head of Opera).
STEPHANIE WEISS
Stephanie Weiss, mezzo-soprano, was a Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation from Mannes College of Music. As the winner of the American Berlin Opera Foundation Competition, she became a member of Deutsche Oper Berlin as a Stipendiatin, where in her first season, while still a soprano, she sang Frasquita (Carmen), Musetta, Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Gerhilde (Die Walküre), and Schlafittchen in the Berlin premiere of Das Traumfresserchen.
Ms. Weiss continues to be a regular guest at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she has sung Marianne Leitmetzerin (Der Rosenkavalier), Aufseherin (Elektra), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Grimgerde (Die Walküre), Johanna [cover] (Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna), and Venus [cover] (Tannhäuser) in the company’s tour to Beijing. Other appearances include Opera Orchestra of New York under Eve Queler at Carnegie Hall as Rose (Lakmé), Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden as Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro) and Marthe (Faust), at Oper Frankfurt as Musetta, and at Stadttheater Bern, San Diego Opera, Oper Dortmund, and Oper Köln as Marianne Leitmetzerin. She debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic as the Cook in Le Rossignol under the baton of Pierre Boulez. Other notable performances have included Venus (Tannhäuser) with Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, Berta (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) with Opera Las Vegas, and a return to the San Diego Opera as Giannetta (L'elisir d'amore).
Concerts include Wesendonck Lieder with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Symphony No. 4 with the L’viv Philharmonic (Ukraine), and Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana) with Singakademie Potsdam. Recent appearances include Grimgerde (Die Walküre) at Oper Leipzig, Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas) with Opera Company of Middlebury, a return to Deutsche Oper Berlin to sing Zweite Dienerin (Die Ägyptische Helena) and Aufseherin (Elektra), and the title role of Johanna (Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna) by Walter Braunfels at Oper Köln. In the 2017/2018 season, she sang Aksinja in Lady Macbeth of Mzensk at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and returned to Oper Leipzig to sing Grimgerde in Die Walküre.
Along with operatic and orchestral concert repertoire, Ms. Weiss is an avid performer of art song and new music. She has performed recitals in the US, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia, singing the music of award-winning American and German living composers. With her ‘duo au courant’ partner, pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova, she has sung the world premieres of several song cycles, including Jonathan Stark’s “Passageway”, and Daron Hagen’s “Jaik’s Songs” and “A Handful of Days.” In 2019, the duo released their debut CD of the songs of Daron Hagen, titled Sacred and Profane, on the Albany Records label.
In addition to her singing, Ms. Weiss is Assistant Professor of Voice at Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts School of Music. Her research interests include the Zwischenfach voice, as well as transgender singers and related pedagogy. Her experience with transgender singers began with her interest in vocal pedagogy and a transgender student approaching her to ask if she would be willing to work with her. Not knowing much about trans* voices at the time, she took her on and together they explored the voice. Not long after, she began working with another transgender student which led her to learn more about hormonal effects on the voice, especially for trans masculine singers. An advocate for trans* voices, she has been sought out by and worked with several trans* singers of multiple voice types and various styles. Though there are specific issues intrinsic to certain trans* voices that must be addressed, Ms. Weiss finds that it is teaching the whole person and artist to be the most important. Her teaching philosophy is to help any person find their most authentic, free, and beautiful voice and be able use it to express emotion and ideas; she aims to do this for any singer who enters her studio. Continuing to broaden her knowledge of the voice, specifically with relation to trans* singers, she is working towards a certificate in Speech and Hearing: Communication Sciences to complement the degrees she holds from New England Conservatory (B.M. voice), Tufts University (B.S. biology and drama), University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M), Mannes College of Music (Prof. Studies Dipl.), and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (D.M.A.). Previously, she was Assistant Professor of Voice at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a Teaching Fellow with the Metropolitan Opera Education Department, on the faculty of COSI (Centre for Opera Studies in Italy) in Sulmona, Italy, every summer teaches at AIMS in Graz in Austria.
Stephanie Weiss, mezzo-soprano, was a Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation from Mannes College of Music. As the winner of the American Berlin Opera Foundation Competition, she became a member of Deutsche Oper Berlin as a Stipendiatin, where in her first season, while still a soprano, she sang Frasquita (Carmen), Musetta, Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Gerhilde (Die Walküre), and Schlafittchen in the Berlin premiere of Das Traumfresserchen.
Ms. Weiss continues to be a regular guest at Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she has sung Marianne Leitmetzerin (Der Rosenkavalier), Aufseherin (Elektra), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Grimgerde (Die Walküre), Johanna [cover] (Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna), and Venus [cover] (Tannhäuser) in the company’s tour to Beijing. Other appearances include Opera Orchestra of New York under Eve Queler at Carnegie Hall as Rose (Lakmé), Berlin’s Staatsoper Unter den Linden as Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro) and Marthe (Faust), at Oper Frankfurt as Musetta, and at Stadttheater Bern, San Diego Opera, Oper Dortmund, and Oper Köln as Marianne Leitmetzerin. She debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic as the Cook in Le Rossignol under the baton of Pierre Boulez. Other notable performances have included Venus (Tannhäuser) with Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, Berta (Il Barbiere di Siviglia) and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) with Opera Las Vegas, and a return to the San Diego Opera as Giannetta (L'elisir d'amore).
Concerts include Wesendonck Lieder with the Henderson Symphony Orchestra, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Symphony No. 4 with the L’viv Philharmonic (Ukraine), and Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana) with Singakademie Potsdam. Recent appearances include Grimgerde (Die Walküre) at Oper Leipzig, Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas) with Opera Company of Middlebury, a return to Deutsche Oper Berlin to sing Zweite Dienerin (Die Ägyptische Helena) and Aufseherin (Elektra), and the title role of Johanna (Szenen aus dem Leben der Heiligen Johanna) by Walter Braunfels at Oper Köln. In the 2017/2018 season, she sang Aksinja in Lady Macbeth of Mzensk at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and returned to Oper Leipzig to sing Grimgerde in Die Walküre.
Along with operatic and orchestral concert repertoire, Ms. Weiss is an avid performer of art song and new music. She has performed recitals in the US, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Australia, singing the music of award-winning American and German living composers. With her ‘duo au courant’ partner, pianist Christina Wright-Ivanova, she has sung the world premieres of several song cycles, including Jonathan Stark’s “Passageway”, and Daron Hagen’s “Jaik’s Songs” and “A Handful of Days.” In 2019, the duo released their debut CD of the songs of Daron Hagen, titled Sacred and Profane, on the Albany Records label.
In addition to her singing, Ms. Weiss is Assistant Professor of Voice at Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts School of Music. Her research interests include the Zwischenfach voice, as well as transgender singers and related pedagogy. Her experience with transgender singers began with her interest in vocal pedagogy and a transgender student approaching her to ask if she would be willing to work with her. Not knowing much about trans* voices at the time, she took her on and together they explored the voice. Not long after, she began working with another transgender student which led her to learn more about hormonal effects on the voice, especially for trans masculine singers. An advocate for trans* voices, she has been sought out by and worked with several trans* singers of multiple voice types and various styles. Though there are specific issues intrinsic to certain trans* voices that must be addressed, Ms. Weiss finds that it is teaching the whole person and artist to be the most important. Her teaching philosophy is to help any person find their most authentic, free, and beautiful voice and be able use it to express emotion and ideas; she aims to do this for any singer who enters her studio. Continuing to broaden her knowledge of the voice, specifically with relation to trans* singers, she is working towards a certificate in Speech and Hearing: Communication Sciences to complement the degrees she holds from New England Conservatory (B.M. voice), Tufts University (B.S. biology and drama), University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M), Mannes College of Music (Prof. Studies Dipl.), and University of Nevada, Las Vegas (D.M.A.). Previously, she was Assistant Professor of Voice at University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a Teaching Fellow with the Metropolitan Opera Education Department, on the faculty of COSI (Centre for Opera Studies in Italy) in Sulmona, Italy, every summer teaches at AIMS in Graz in Austria.
JEREMY BINES
Jeremy Bines is the Chorus Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Belfast-born and raised in England, he studied music at Cambridge University and trained as a répétiteur at London’s National Opera Studio. He has worked all over Europe as a coach, répétiteur and conductor, and has repeatedly been engaged as a guest member of music staff at the English National Opera and Royal Opera. He was a regular guest coach at the Jette Parker Young Artists’ Programme at Covent Garden for over a decade before moving to Germany. He coached on the Russian première of Billy Budd in St Petersburg.
From 2007 to 2009, he was Chorus Master of the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, and was subsequently the longest-serving Chorus Master in the history of Glyndebourne, where he was engaged until 2017. He worked as a regular assistant conductor to Vladimir Jurowski, both at Glyndebourne and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He conducted La bohème, Hänsel und Gretel and La traviata on the Glyndebourne Tour, and in 2012 jumped in at short notice to conduct a performance of La bohème with the LPO in the Glyndebourne Festival. He returned as a conductor in the Festival to conduct Peter Hall’s legendary production of A midsummer night’s dream in 2016.
His work as a chorus master has been a contributing factor to the success of such award-winning productions as Billy Budd, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Saul and Hamlet in Glyndebourne, and Das Wunder der Heliane and Oceane at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He has been nominated for an International Opera Award twice: for his work with the Glyndebourne Chorus in 2016, and the Chor der Deutschen Oper in 2020.
He once accidentally commissioned David Hockney’s first cupcake design.
Jeremy Bines is the Chorus Director of the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Belfast-born and raised in England, he studied music at Cambridge University and trained as a répétiteur at London’s National Opera Studio. He has worked all over Europe as a coach, répétiteur and conductor, and has repeatedly been engaged as a guest member of music staff at the English National Opera and Royal Opera. He was a regular guest coach at the Jette Parker Young Artists’ Programme at Covent Garden for over a decade before moving to Germany. He coached on the Russian première of Billy Budd in St Petersburg.
From 2007 to 2009, he was Chorus Master of the Royal Danish Opera in Copenhagen, and was subsequently the longest-serving Chorus Master in the history of Glyndebourne, where he was engaged until 2017. He worked as a regular assistant conductor to Vladimir Jurowski, both at Glyndebourne and with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He conducted La bohème, Hänsel und Gretel and La traviata on the Glyndebourne Tour, and in 2012 jumped in at short notice to conduct a performance of La bohème with the LPO in the Glyndebourne Festival. He returned as a conductor in the Festival to conduct Peter Hall’s legendary production of A midsummer night’s dream in 2016.
His work as a chorus master has been a contributing factor to the success of such award-winning productions as Billy Budd, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Saul and Hamlet in Glyndebourne, and Das Wunder der Heliane and Oceane at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He has been nominated for an International Opera Award twice: for his work with the Glyndebourne Chorus in 2016, and the Chor der Deutschen Oper in 2020.
He once accidentally commissioned David Hockney’s first cupcake design.
RICHARD GAMMON
Richard Gammon, a Filipino American stage director, has recently directed the double bill of Gluck’s L’île de Merlin and Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Wolf Trap Opera; Madama Butterfly with Virginia Opera; a double bill of Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost at Michigan Opera Theatre; the American premiere of Scarlatti's Erminia at the Kennedy Center with Opera Lafayette and earlier that season Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda with lutenist Thomas Dunford (named a "Top Ten Performance in 2018" and a "Top Ten Performance in 2017" respectively by Washington Classical Review); Susannah with Charlottesville Opera; Jack Perla’s An American Dream with Virginia Opera’s inaugural contemporary opera series “VAriations”; and Andy Monroe's The Life and Times of Joe Jefferson Benjamin Blow at NYC's Theatre 315 with the National Asian Artists Project. At the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival he directed Much Ado About Nothing after having previously directed a touring production of The Tempest; and for Cleveland Play House's film The CARE Monologue Project Richard directed monologues written by Rajiv Joseph, Lloyd Suh, Karen Zacarias, Tanya Saracho, and Matthew Lopez. He directed the world premiere of Jorge Sosa’s electronic opera The Lake at ArtSounds in Kansas City; Trouble in Tahiti with Paul Watkins at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival; the workshop of J Ashley Miller’s pop opera Echosis with Atemporchestra; and last season was Associate Director for The Grapes of Wrath at Michigan Opera Theatre.
Richard is the Director of Opera Maine's Studio Artist Program and has directed Jack Perla's An American Dream (East Coast premiere), Mohammed Fairouz’s Sumeida’s Song, Jake Heggie's Three Decembers, Trouble in Tahiti, The Medium, and a site-specific production of Gianni Schicchi at SPACE Gallery. He is also the co-founder and director of Art with Arias, a collaborative recital series partnering artists from Opera Maine with the Portland Museum of Art now in its fourth year.
Richard works extensively with Young Artist Programs around the country. For Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' 2016, 2017, and 2018 seasons Richard co-directed Center Stage, a concert of opera scenes featuring the Gerdine Young Artists and Richard Gaddes Festival Artists with the St. Louis Symphony. Spending four years as the Stage Director for the Charlottesville Opera Young Artist Program he directed new productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia, Susannah, La bohème, and Gianni Schicchi. He was a Directing Fellow at Wolf Trap Opera directing the Wolf Trap Opera Studio in An Evening of One Act Operas: Hindemith’s Hin und züruck, Moore’s Gallantry, A Hand of Bridge, Pasatieri’s La Divina, and Heggie’s Again. And he directed a warehouse production of La bohème at Work | Release with the Virginia Opera's Emerging Artist Program. He was a Young Artist Director at Opera North and a Stage Director/Acting Coach in Greve in Chianti, Italy for Bel Canto in Tuscany.
Richard also enjoys working with young artists at leading conservatories and universities. He has recently accepted the position as Director of Opera at the University of Northern Iowa and will direct “The Monteverdi Project” this fall. Other productions include Hindemith’s Sancta Susanna and Rorem’s Three Sisters who are Not Sisters at the Manhattan School of Music; the world premiere of Jorge Sosa’s liturgical drama Tonantzin at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance; Silent Night, La traviata, Sweeney Todd, and Così fan tutte with the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre; Ward's Roman Fever and Hilliard & Boresi's The Filthy Habit at Carnegie Mellon University; and Dido and Aeneas with Morningside College.
Other creative positions include Creative Associate for the world premiere of Dream’d in a dream with Seán Curran Company at BAM Next Wave Festival, an Artist Resident at Hewnoaks Artist Colony (2018) and the Institute for American Art (2017), Resident Assistant Director at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (2016-2018), and an Assistant Director at LA Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Wolf Trap Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Palm Beach Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Virginia Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Charlottesville Opera, Opera North, and Opera Maine working on productions that include the world premieres of Jack Perla’s Shalimar, the Clown, Terrence Blanchard’s Champion, Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 and Rappahannock County, Jorge Martin’s Before Night Falls, and the American premieres of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, and Jacques Ibert’s Persée et Andromède.
Upcoming productions include Philip Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher with the studio artists of Opera Maine and Robert Ward’s The Crucible at the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre.
Richard is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance.
Richard Gammon, a Filipino American stage director, has recently directed the double bill of Gluck’s L’île de Merlin and Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Wolf Trap Opera; Madama Butterfly with Virginia Opera; a double bill of Gianni Schicchi and Michael Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost at Michigan Opera Theatre; the American premiere of Scarlatti's Erminia at the Kennedy Center with Opera Lafayette and earlier that season Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda with lutenist Thomas Dunford (named a "Top Ten Performance in 2018" and a "Top Ten Performance in 2017" respectively by Washington Classical Review); Susannah with Charlottesville Opera; Jack Perla’s An American Dream with Virginia Opera’s inaugural contemporary opera series “VAriations”; and Andy Monroe's The Life and Times of Joe Jefferson Benjamin Blow at NYC's Theatre 315 with the National Asian Artists Project. At the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival he directed Much Ado About Nothing after having previously directed a touring production of The Tempest; and for Cleveland Play House's film The CARE Monologue Project Richard directed monologues written by Rajiv Joseph, Lloyd Suh, Karen Zacarias, Tanya Saracho, and Matthew Lopez. He directed the world premiere of Jorge Sosa’s electronic opera The Lake at ArtSounds in Kansas City; Trouble in Tahiti with Paul Watkins at the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival; the workshop of J Ashley Miller’s pop opera Echosis with Atemporchestra; and last season was Associate Director for The Grapes of Wrath at Michigan Opera Theatre.
Richard is the Director of Opera Maine's Studio Artist Program and has directed Jack Perla's An American Dream (East Coast premiere), Mohammed Fairouz’s Sumeida’s Song, Jake Heggie's Three Decembers, Trouble in Tahiti, The Medium, and a site-specific production of Gianni Schicchi at SPACE Gallery. He is also the co-founder and director of Art with Arias, a collaborative recital series partnering artists from Opera Maine with the Portland Museum of Art now in its fourth year.
Richard works extensively with Young Artist Programs around the country. For Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' 2016, 2017, and 2018 seasons Richard co-directed Center Stage, a concert of opera scenes featuring the Gerdine Young Artists and Richard Gaddes Festival Artists with the St. Louis Symphony. Spending four years as the Stage Director for the Charlottesville Opera Young Artist Program he directed new productions of Il barbiere di Siviglia, Susannah, La bohème, and Gianni Schicchi. He was a Directing Fellow at Wolf Trap Opera directing the Wolf Trap Opera Studio in An Evening of One Act Operas: Hindemith’s Hin und züruck, Moore’s Gallantry, A Hand of Bridge, Pasatieri’s La Divina, and Heggie’s Again. And he directed a warehouse production of La bohème at Work | Release with the Virginia Opera's Emerging Artist Program. He was a Young Artist Director at Opera North and a Stage Director/Acting Coach in Greve in Chianti, Italy for Bel Canto in Tuscany.
Richard also enjoys working with young artists at leading conservatories and universities. He has recently accepted the position as Director of Opera at the University of Northern Iowa and will direct “The Monteverdi Project” this fall. Other productions include Hindemith’s Sancta Susanna and Rorem’s Three Sisters who are Not Sisters at the Manhattan School of Music; the world premiere of Jorge Sosa’s liturgical drama Tonantzin at the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance; Silent Night, La traviata, Sweeney Todd, and Così fan tutte with the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre; Ward's Roman Fever and Hilliard & Boresi's The Filthy Habit at Carnegie Mellon University; and Dido and Aeneas with Morningside College.
Other creative positions include Creative Associate for the world premiere of Dream’d in a dream with Seán Curran Company at BAM Next Wave Festival, an Artist Resident at Hewnoaks Artist Colony (2018) and the Institute for American Art (2017), Resident Assistant Director at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (2016-2018), and an Assistant Director at LA Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Wolf Trap Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Palm Beach Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Virginia Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Charlottesville Opera, Opera North, and Opera Maine working on productions that include the world premieres of Jack Perla’s Shalimar, the Clown, Terrence Blanchard’s Champion, Ricky Ian Gordon’s 27 and Rappahannock County, Jorge Martin’s Before Night Falls, and the American premieres of Unsuk Chin’s Alice in Wonderland, and Jacques Ibert’s Persée et Andromède.
Upcoming productions include Philip Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher with the studio artists of Opera Maine and Robert Ward’s The Crucible at the University of Kentucky Opera Theatre.
Richard is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance.
ANASTASIA INNISS, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Ms. Inniss commenced her vocal training in Bulgaria and continued it at the Longy School of Music at Bard College (Cambridge, Massachusetts) as a recipient of the Janet Irving Scholarship for Vocal Studies. She was a member of the Central Florida Lyric Opera Young Artists Program and was later invited to return as a main stage Resident Artist with the company.
Opera roles include: Woglinde in Das Rheingold (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Elsa in Lohengrin (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Violetta in La Traviata (Central Florida Lyric Opera; New London Opera Players, Fine Arts Chorale & Orchestra) Governess in Turn of the Screw (Opera Seria), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Opera Seria, Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Nedda in Pagliacci (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Micaëla and Frasquita in Carmen, under the directorship of late legendary soprano Licia Albanese (Central Florida Lyric Opera); Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Serpina in La serva padrona (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal, concertante).
Ms. Inniss is a champion of new music. She has premiered works by prominent American and British composers such as Vartan Aghababian, Michael Djupstrom, Victoria Ellis, Heather Gilligan and Eric Sawyer; some of these works were written and dedicated to her. In addition to numerous song cycles and solo concert works with orchestra, she also created the role of Anna von Mildenburg in the new theater piece Geboren Alma Schindler (Berliner Opern Verein); the role of Member of the Chamber in the premiere performance of Eric Sawyer's Our American Cousin (Composers in Red Sneakers); and the title role in the world premiere of Victoria Ellis' opera Darling (One of Us Foundation).
Solo concert engagements include J.S. Bach Jauchzet Gott in alles Landen (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut (Old North Concert Series), Magnificat in D (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa brevis in A (Fine Arts Chorale); Mozart's Requiem (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa Brevis in F (Sommerville Choir), Exultate Jubilate (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Vesperae solennes de confessore (Somerville Choir); Händel's Messiah (College Park Players), L'Allego, il Pensieroso, ed il Moderato (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal); Pergolesi Stabat mater (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal); Schubert Mass in G (Highnam Choir and Orchestra); Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ (College Park Players); Vivaldi Gloria (Old North Concert Series); Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem (Tufts University Orchestra, cover); Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream (Longy Chamber Orchestra); Berg Sieben frühe Lieder (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival); Mahler Rückert-Lieder (Berlin Song Festival); Strauss Vier letzte Lieder (Berlin Song Festival, Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival, Walbrook Music Trust, Galerieforum am Meer); Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasilieras No.5 (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival) among others.
As a concert artist, Ms. Inniss has also given numerous concert and solo recitals in the United States and in Europe.
Ms. Inniss is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Opera Programs Berlin and Dramatic Voices Program Berlin. Previously, she was the Artistic Director of the Berlin Song Festival and an Artistic Consultant for The Opera Stage (now folded into Classical Singer Magazine). She has worked as an educator in higher education as well as in leadership positions in the arts for the last 15 years, both in the United States and in Europe.
Her directing credits include: Purcell's Dido & Aeneas, Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years and scenes from the operatic and musical theatre repertoire. She has served as a casting director and producer for Wagner's Das Rheingold, Wagner's Lohengrin, Strauss' Elektra, Wagner's Die Walküre and Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. She also designed costumes for Purcell's Dido & Aeneas and Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years.
Ms. Inniss is a leader in the classical music industry. She has co-produced and hosted roundtable panel discussions on patterns of discrimination in the classical music industry - Singing While Black In Germany, Race in Opera and Ageism in Opera. In addition, she has spear-headed, co-designed, co-produced and hosted Trans*Voices - a series of masterclasses for transgender and non-binary artists. She often does charity work raising money for such organisations as Save the Children, Berliner Aids-Hilfe, Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler CoronaCare, Black Lives Matter, Chineke! Foundation, Artist Relief Tree.
She currently resides in Berlin, Germany and Lanzarote, Canary Island with her fiancé. In her free time, she enjoys long swims, cooking without recipes, spontaneous travel and pretty much anything to do with the ocean.
Ms. Inniss commenced her vocal training in Bulgaria and continued it at the Longy School of Music at Bard College (Cambridge, Massachusetts) as a recipient of the Janet Irving Scholarship for Vocal Studies. She was a member of the Central Florida Lyric Opera Young Artists Program and was later invited to return as a main stage Resident Artist with the company.
Opera roles include: Woglinde in Das Rheingold (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Elsa in Lohengrin (Berliner Wagner Gruppe); Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos (Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Violetta in La Traviata (Central Florida Lyric Opera; New London Opera Players, Fine Arts Chorale & Orchestra) Governess in Turn of the Screw (Opera Seria), Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Opera Seria, Edinburgh Fringe Festival), Nedda in Pagliacci (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Micaëla and Frasquita in Carmen, under the directorship of late legendary soprano Licia Albanese (Central Florida Lyric Opera); Contessa in Le Nozze di Figaro (Central Florida Lyric Opera), Serpina in La serva padrona (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal, concertante).
Ms. Inniss is a champion of new music. She has premiered works by prominent American and British composers such as Vartan Aghababian, Michael Djupstrom, Victoria Ellis, Heather Gilligan and Eric Sawyer; some of these works were written and dedicated to her. In addition to numerous song cycles and solo concert works with orchestra, she also created the role of Anna von Mildenburg in the new theater piece Geboren Alma Schindler (Berliner Opern Verein); the role of Member of the Chamber in the premiere performance of Eric Sawyer's Our American Cousin (Composers in Red Sneakers); and the title role in the world premiere of Victoria Ellis' opera Darling (One of Us Foundation).
Solo concert engagements include J.S. Bach Jauchzet Gott in alles Landen (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut (Old North Concert Series), Magnificat in D (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa brevis in A (Fine Arts Chorale); Mozart's Requiem (Fine Arts Chorale), Missa Brevis in F (Sommerville Choir), Exultate Jubilate (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal), Vesperae solennes de confessore (Somerville Choir); Händel's Messiah (College Park Players), L'Allego, il Pensieroso, ed il Moderato (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal); Pergolesi Stabat mater (Berliner Philharmonie Kammermusiksaal); Schubert Mass in G (Highnam Choir and Orchestra); Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ (College Park Players); Vivaldi Gloria (Old North Concert Series); Vaughan Williams Dona nobis pacem (Tufts University Orchestra, cover); Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream (Longy Chamber Orchestra); Berg Sieben frühe Lieder (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival); Mahler Rückert-Lieder (Berlin Song Festival); Strauss Vier letzte Lieder (Berlin Song Festival, Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival, Walbrook Music Trust, Galerieforum am Meer); Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasilieras No.5 (Kirchberg Chamber Music Festival) among others.
As a concert artist, Ms. Inniss has also given numerous concert and solo recitals in the United States and in Europe.
Ms. Inniss is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Opera Programs Berlin and Dramatic Voices Program Berlin. Previously, she was the Artistic Director of the Berlin Song Festival and an Artistic Consultant for The Opera Stage (now folded into Classical Singer Magazine). She has worked as an educator in higher education as well as in leadership positions in the arts for the last 15 years, both in the United States and in Europe.
Her directing credits include: Purcell's Dido & Aeneas, Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years and scenes from the operatic and musical theatre repertoire. She has served as a casting director and producer for Wagner's Das Rheingold, Wagner's Lohengrin, Strauss' Elektra, Wagner's Die Walküre and Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. She also designed costumes for Purcell's Dido & Aeneas and Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years.
Ms. Inniss is a leader in the classical music industry. She has co-produced and hosted roundtable panel discussions on patterns of discrimination in the classical music industry - Singing While Black In Germany, Race in Opera and Ageism in Opera. In addition, she has spear-headed, co-designed, co-produced and hosted Trans*Voices - a series of masterclasses for transgender and non-binary artists. She often does charity work raising money for such organisations as Save the Children, Berliner Aids-Hilfe, Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler CoronaCare, Black Lives Matter, Chineke! Foundation, Artist Relief Tree.
She currently resides in Berlin, Germany and Lanzarote, Canary Island with her fiancé. In her free time, she enjoys long swims, cooking without recipes, spontaneous travel and pretty much anything to do with the ocean.
JULIE WYMA
Julie Wyma has been described as a Renaissance Woman of opera, having worked in both Europe and the United States as a singer, director, stage manager, wig/makeup artist, costume designer, producer, and educator.
Julie has produced and directed operas including Wagner’s Lohengrin, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre (Berlin Wagner Gruppe), Wagner’s complete Ring Cycle (Opera By Request, semi-staged) Massenet’s Werther (Irrational Entertainment), Händel’s Semele (Midwest Early Opera Works), Jonathan Stinson’s The Three Bears and Ryan Oldham’s The Emperor’s Madness (University of Missouri-Kansas City), as well as Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years (Voci Inglesi) and numerous opera scenes programs. She has assistant directed Albert Herring and Giulio Cesare at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, La Traviata at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Carmen at Opera North, and she assistant stage managed La Rondine at Indiana University. She has directed opera scenes at Opera North and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In 2019 she produced a staged performance of The AIDS Quilt Songbook: Berlin Edition in Berlin, Germany, which included two new song commissions. In January 2022 she will direct a production of Strauss's Elektra in Berlin (Berlin Elektra Projekt).
As a costume designer Julie worked for Dicapo Opera Theatre in New York for the 2011-2012 Season, which included Tosca, The Consul, Iolanta, The Most Happy Fella, La Cenerentola, Beauty and the Beast, and La Traviata. She also designed costumes for Opera On Tap Berlin’s production of Les contes d’Hoffmann in 2016 and for Literally Alive’s production of A Christmas Carol in New York in 2012. As a student she worked as a costume assistant/stitcher for the University of Arizona on Le nozze di Figaro and The Merry Wives of Windsor, and for Indiana University on Die Zauberflöte, The Nutcracker, and La Rondine. She has worked as a Wig and Makeup Assistant for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, in operas including Giulio Cesare, La Bohème, and John Brown, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in productions including La Bohème, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, and The Man of La Mancha, and for a national tour of Hairspray. As a young artist, she was a set construction assistant at Opera in the Ozarks in 2004.
As an educator, Julie’s passion lies in helping singers make the transition from student to professional, and in guiding talented people to the places where they are needed. She has served as a vocal coach, preparing singers for auditions and talent competitions, as well as an audition panelist and advisor. With organizations such as Opera Programs Berlin, Dramatic Voices Program Berlin, Irrational Entertainment, Midwest Early Opera Works, Voci Inglesi, Berlin Wagner Gruppe and Berliner Opernverein, she has facilitated performance opportunities for singers seeking additional stage experience and the chance to hone their craft in a supportive, professional environment.
As a professional operatic soprano she has performed more than 25 roles, including die Königin der Nacht and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Rosina in I barbiere di Siviglia, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Gilda in Rigoletto, Marie in Die verkaufte Braut, Musetta in La Bohème, Sophie in Werther, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, the Waldvogel in Siegfried, and Norina in Don Pasquale. Of her Norina, the Kansas City Metropolis said: “soprano Julie Wyma sparkled with a self-confident air and a strong, beautiful voice.”
An active concert performer and recitalist, her recent appearances include concerts at the US Consul General in Düsseldorf and the Residence of the US Ambassador to Germany in Berlin; a song recital at the University of Pittsburg at Greensburg; Lovers’ Quarrels, a concert of operatic duets and arias in Concord, New Hampshire and Niemegk, Germany; Three Tenors and a Soprano concerts in Cornish and New London, New Hampshire; and Viva Divas!, a concert of operatic arias, duets, and trios in Cornish, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Arizona and Berlin, Germany.
Julie Wyma has been described as a Renaissance Woman of opera, having worked in both Europe and the United States as a singer, director, stage manager, wig/makeup artist, costume designer, producer, and educator.
Julie has produced and directed operas including Wagner’s Lohengrin, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre (Berlin Wagner Gruppe), Wagner’s complete Ring Cycle (Opera By Request, semi-staged) Massenet’s Werther (Irrational Entertainment), Händel’s Semele (Midwest Early Opera Works), Jonathan Stinson’s The Three Bears and Ryan Oldham’s The Emperor’s Madness (University of Missouri-Kansas City), as well as Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years (Voci Inglesi) and numerous opera scenes programs. She has assistant directed Albert Herring and Giulio Cesare at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, La Traviata at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Carmen at Opera North, and she assistant stage managed La Rondine at Indiana University. She has directed opera scenes at Opera North and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. In 2019 she produced a staged performance of The AIDS Quilt Songbook: Berlin Edition in Berlin, Germany, which included two new song commissions. In January 2022 she will direct a production of Strauss's Elektra in Berlin (Berlin Elektra Projekt).
As a costume designer Julie worked for Dicapo Opera Theatre in New York for the 2011-2012 Season, which included Tosca, The Consul, Iolanta, The Most Happy Fella, La Cenerentola, Beauty and the Beast, and La Traviata. She also designed costumes for Opera On Tap Berlin’s production of Les contes d’Hoffmann in 2016 and for Literally Alive’s production of A Christmas Carol in New York in 2012. As a student she worked as a costume assistant/stitcher for the University of Arizona on Le nozze di Figaro and The Merry Wives of Windsor, and for Indiana University on Die Zauberflöte, The Nutcracker, and La Rondine. She has worked as a Wig and Makeup Assistant for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, in operas including Giulio Cesare, La Bohème, and John Brown, at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in productions including La Bohème, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, and The Man of La Mancha, and for a national tour of Hairspray. As a young artist, she was a set construction assistant at Opera in the Ozarks in 2004.
As an educator, Julie’s passion lies in helping singers make the transition from student to professional, and in guiding talented people to the places where they are needed. She has served as a vocal coach, preparing singers for auditions and talent competitions, as well as an audition panelist and advisor. With organizations such as Opera Programs Berlin, Dramatic Voices Program Berlin, Irrational Entertainment, Midwest Early Opera Works, Voci Inglesi, Berlin Wagner Gruppe and Berliner Opernverein, she has facilitated performance opportunities for singers seeking additional stage experience and the chance to hone their craft in a supportive, professional environment.
As a professional operatic soprano she has performed more than 25 roles, including die Königin der Nacht and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Rosina in I barbiere di Siviglia, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Gilda in Rigoletto, Marie in Die verkaufte Braut, Musetta in La Bohème, Sophie in Werther, Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, the Waldvogel in Siegfried, and Norina in Don Pasquale. Of her Norina, the Kansas City Metropolis said: “soprano Julie Wyma sparkled with a self-confident air and a strong, beautiful voice.”
An active concert performer and recitalist, her recent appearances include concerts at the US Consul General in Düsseldorf and the Residence of the US Ambassador to Germany in Berlin; a song recital at the University of Pittsburg at Greensburg; Lovers’ Quarrels, a concert of operatic duets and arias in Concord, New Hampshire and Niemegk, Germany; Three Tenors and a Soprano concerts in Cornish and New London, New Hampshire; and Viva Divas!, a concert of operatic arias, duets, and trios in Cornish, New Hampshire, Phoenix, Arizona and Berlin, Germany.
STEPHAN REINEKE
Stephan studied law, musicology and cultural administration at the universities in Bayreuth, Mainz, Cologne and Berlin. After early lessons in piano, he became a member of a chorus working with conductors such as Sergiu Celibidache, Sylvain Cambreling and Michael Gielen and orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London and the SWR Symphonieorchester.
He gained valuable experience working in the artistic administration of Komische Oper Berlin, as Assistant to the Director of the Radio Chorus Berlin and as Personal Assistant to the Intendant of Dortmund Opera.
In 2004 he embarked on his career as an Artist Manager for singers and conductors and during the subsequent years worked for different agencies before joining the team of TACT International Art Management in 2012. For many years, he was also Managing President of a non-profit foundation in Berlin supporting young and talented artists.
In addition, Stephan was a member of the jury of the International Singing Competition Debut and the Jerusalem International Opera Competition. He gives lectures at the Berlin Summer University of the Arts and works in audition trainings with students at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, at the Dutch National Opera Academy Amsterdam, and for further vocal academies and programs.
Stephan studied law, musicology and cultural administration at the universities in Bayreuth, Mainz, Cologne and Berlin. After early lessons in piano, he became a member of a chorus working with conductors such as Sergiu Celibidache, Sylvain Cambreling and Michael Gielen and orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London and the SWR Symphonieorchester.
He gained valuable experience working in the artistic administration of Komische Oper Berlin, as Assistant to the Director of the Radio Chorus Berlin and as Personal Assistant to the Intendant of Dortmund Opera.
In 2004 he embarked on his career as an Artist Manager for singers and conductors and during the subsequent years worked for different agencies before joining the team of TACT International Art Management in 2012. For many years, he was also Managing President of a non-profit foundation in Berlin supporting young and talented artists.
In addition, Stephan was a member of the jury of the International Singing Competition Debut and the Jerusalem International Opera Competition. He gives lectures at the Berlin Summer University of the Arts and works in audition trainings with students at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, at the Dutch National Opera Academy Amsterdam, and for further vocal academies and programs.
FEEDBACK FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS
'This program has been absolutely fantastic! Each speaker has imparted such wisdom, and I don't feel the quality of the content was at all compromised by being online.'
Sara LeMesh (USA)
'This program has been just wonderful. The individual session was invaluable and the Q&A sessions were extremely interesting and really well arranged. I can't thank you enough for arranging this program in these difficult times. The frame the schedule has given us and the inspiring talks were extremely motivating and kept me inspired throughout these passed few weeks. A BIG THANK YOU to Opera Programs Berlin.'
Michal Aloni (Israel/Canada)
'First of all, thank you so much for organising this programme! I found it to be extremely informative and comprehensive. The world of opera is crazy as it is and in these times it has been a true gift and a tremendous help to hear professionals speak about it so frankly and openly.
I'm coming away from this course with much more confidence, both in myself and in understanding the job.
Many, many thanks for everything - ALL of it truly appreciated!'
Christina Schönbach (Netherlands/Germany)
'I wanted to thank you in person for such a wonderful experience. You both have been so kind, helpful and wonderful. I learned a lot from the program and it was very essential for me as I am planning to audition in Germany hopefully in the near future. The sessions were informative and very helpful. Thank you again for all your help.'
Sigal Chen (USA)
'Thank you so much for your help and feedback during this program. I really enjoyed the program and thought the talks were quite helpful.'
Alize Rozsnyai (USA | Hungary)
Sara LeMesh (USA)
'This program has been just wonderful. The individual session was invaluable and the Q&A sessions were extremely interesting and really well arranged. I can't thank you enough for arranging this program in these difficult times. The frame the schedule has given us and the inspiring talks were extremely motivating and kept me inspired throughout these passed few weeks. A BIG THANK YOU to Opera Programs Berlin.'
Michal Aloni (Israel/Canada)
'First of all, thank you so much for organising this programme! I found it to be extremely informative and comprehensive. The world of opera is crazy as it is and in these times it has been a true gift and a tremendous help to hear professionals speak about it so frankly and openly.
I'm coming away from this course with much more confidence, both in myself and in understanding the job.
Many, many thanks for everything - ALL of it truly appreciated!'
Christina Schönbach (Netherlands/Germany)
'I wanted to thank you in person for such a wonderful experience. You both have been so kind, helpful and wonderful. I learned a lot from the program and it was very essential for me as I am planning to audition in Germany hopefully in the near future. The sessions were informative and very helpful. Thank you again for all your help.'
Sigal Chen (USA)
'Thank you so much for your help and feedback during this program. I really enjoyed the program and thought the talks were quite helpful.'
Alize Rozsnyai (USA | Hungary)
