AVA Opera Blog

Singing for a nation...

I love getting emails from AVA alums, and baritone Octavio Moreno has great news to share with everyone.

He wrote to me a few weeks ago to say that he will be representing Mexico in the Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, 2009. This is probably one of the largest international competitions, and from the tone of Octavio’s note, is a huge thrill for both him and his country.

Since September 2008, Octavio has been a Studio Artist with the Houston Grand Opera and is happy to be a little closer to home, since most of his family is in Hermosillo, Mexico. If you saw any of the wonderful productions at AVA which included Octavio, there’s a good chance you saw his wife Ariadna Hernández in many of the non-singing parts.

Here’s sending best wishes to Octavio in the competition!

Come one, come all...

It might be cold and snowy in Philadelphia, but the AVAresident artists and alums are out there singing in the tri-state area. Here are a few events, if you’re near that you might like to attend…

Friday, February 6 in Philadelphia and Sunday, February 8 in Rosemont
Britone Markus Beam is back in the area performing with Orchestra 2001 in the world premiere of a new opera. Sherlock Holmes lives again in Arthur Conan Doyle's A Scandal in Bohemia; music by Thomas Whitman, libretto by Nathalie Anderson. The same team that created the hugely successful, The Black Swan in 1988. Tickets can be purchased through Ticket Philadelphia.

Saturday, February 7 in New Hope, PA
Puttin’ on the Ritz for Peggy!
Bucks County Opera Association is throwing a gala in memory of their friend and great AVA supporter, Peggy Hoffman Adams, who passed away this past November.
Buffet dinner, silent auction and musical selections by
Michelle Johnson, Taylor Stayton and Steven LaBrie under the direction of Jose Melendez
$100 per person, see link for contact information.

Saturday, February 7 in Haverford, and Sunday February 8 in Philadelphia
Lyric Fest, the brainchild of AVA alumna Suzanne DuPlantis,
is a one of a kind performing group that puts the genre of song into creative programs.
This presentation is called Music in the White House, and will include AVA singers
Takesha Meshé Kizart, John Packard, and Suzanne Duplantis
General Admission is $20/$15

Sunday, February 8 in Hammonton, NJ
A wine dinner with opera music is good BUT a wine dinner with AVA singers is fantastic!
Tomasello Winery presents opera dinners under the direction of AVA accompanist Michele Scanlon. The dinner will feature Jan Cornelius, Joyce El-Khoury, Michael Fabiano and Christopher Bolduc
Please contact the winery for more information

Sunday, February 8 in Cherry Hill, NJ
If food is not your bag, and you’re looking for great music, try the
Cherry Hill Ensemble Series at Croft Farm
This 3 pm concert will feature Colleen Daly, Olivia Vote, Taylor Stayton, and Steven LaBrie
under the direction of Luke Housner
General admission is $15/$12 for Seniors

And then there were three...

Everyone calls it just the Met Competition and we at AVA are happy to say that three resident artists will be going on to the semi-finals in February of the National Council Audition Awards. I have blogged this competition many times, especially two years ago when both Angela Meade and Michael Fabiano were finalists, but now we have three new singers who are all planning on taking the top spot.

It seems like the ladies year with sopranos Jessica Rose Cambio, Jan Cornelius and Jessica Julin all making it to the semi-finals beginning on February 12 in New York City. AVA did have other winners in their regions and districts and we’re just as proud of Cody Austin, Alex Lawrence, Nina Yoshida Nelsen, and Corinne Winters. The date of the semi-finals is February 15, and the National Council Grand  Finals Concert at the Metropolitan Opera house will be February 22 at 3 pm.

This is the second time in two years that AVA has had three singers in the semi-finals. Angela Meade, Michael Fabiano and Christopher Bolduc, all students of Bill Schuman were the three.

The three who are moving on have no time to rest on their laurels before the competition resumes. Ms. Cambio left yesterday for an audition in Italy. Ms. Julin leaves on Wednesday for a two week working-session at La Scala where she has been invited to coach three roles for possible future performances. Ms. Cornelius will be stepping onstage again tomorrow night to sing the role of Silvanna in AVA’s concert performance of Respighi’s La fiamma.

The best part of having these three young ladies together is that they will be there to support each other during the competition. There is strength in numbers and I wish them all the best!

Just checking in...

I get so much of my alumni and resident artists information, not first hand, but from Facebook! Everyone who is anyone has an account, and the bigger AVA ‘family’ tends to stick together on there as friends.

This week the most beautiful photo of alumna soprano Jennifer Check was waiting for me when I opened my account - dressed, it seemed as Norma. Jennifer was so gracious to send me an email telling me about singing the title role in Norma for Palm Beach Opera this week beginning on January 23. Also in the cast is  AVA alum Allan Glassman as Pollione, who next month will be in Princeton singing Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus for New Jersey Opera with AVA star Ruth Ann Swenson.

This is not Jennifer’s first time as the Druid Priestess. In a past blog I wrote of how she was a last minute replacement for an ailing singer in act two of Norma for the Opera Company of Philadelphia.  This was not her only time stepping in for a colleague but it happened again  when she made a triumphant debut at the Palau de les Artes Reina Sofía in Valencia when she stepped into the  role of Iphigenie in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride mid-performance with Placido Domingo . The New York Times said of her in that performance “ a rare talent that can send chills down a listener's spine even in familiar music”.

You might have seen Ms. Check recently at the Metropolitan Opera as the High Priestess in Aida and Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, as well as Clorinda in La cenerentola at the Spoleto Festival U.S.A.

Singing perks...

There are times in a resident artist’s year at AVA, that they are offered professional contracts and must be gone for anywhere from two days to two months. This does make it hard on the Dean of Students, who keeps the master schedule for the singers. This is also one of the benefits for the singers at AVA – having time to sing outside of the program. 

First year mezzo-soprano Carla Dilikov, who starred as the future Queen Jane Seymour in AVA’s production of Anna Bolena will be singing her first Maddalena in Rigoletto next month.

Carla will make her debut with Knoxville Opera in Tennessee on February 13 and 15 in this sultry role, which is one of the favorites of most young mezzos. I know for a fact that Carla has been chatting with AVA alumna Nicole Piccolomini, who has done the role many times. I’m sure Nicole will say, just have fun with it and make the most of your one act on the stage!

And for your next selection...

Sometimes great things come out of being thrown a curve ball. Alumna Othalie Graham was thrown that curve last week at the finals of the Liederkranz Competition in New York City. Before telling the story, I’m going to give you the ending – she won!

Ms. Graham was singing in the Wagner Division of the competition and after her first Wagner selection one of the judges asked for Richard Strauss for her second selection.  This would not generally throw off a singer, since usually they go into competitions and auditions with a list of five diverse offerings, but when you’re set on Wagner, nothing else fits the bill. Well this was a home run for Othalie!

Ms. Graham had her first taste of Strauss at AVA when she sang the title role in Elektra in 2004.

The Liederkranz Competition has three sections – General Opera, Arts Songs and Wagner. Resident Artist soprano Jessica Rose Cambio was the winner of the Rita Z. Mehos Award this year as well in the General Opera division.

Back to Othalie – she would be a great reason to make a weekend trip. First to Columbus, Ohio where she stars as the Ice Princess in Turandot on February 20 & 22 for Opera Columbus, followed by the title role in Tosca with the Harrisburg (PA) Symphony on April 25 & 26.

That’s two state capitols down, and 48 to go!

A New Years beginning...

As you know AVA has been wedding –central with five weddings last year, but resident artist bass-baritone Jeremy Milner wanted to get a jump start in 2009. He and his fiancee Abla Hamza planned their  wedding for New Years Day! Jeremy was fortunate to have a beautiful fiancee, who traveled with him to Philadelphia three years ago when he began his studies at AVA. They were lucky last winter to both be a part of the Sarasota Opera season, but this year, Abla is there alone, while Jeremy works on the title role of Don Pasquale for a February opening.

I was honored to be invited to the wedding, but getting to Dallas, TX for the event on New Year’s Day was not in my schedule.  AVA was represented by resident artists Angela Meade, who happened to be there working with Dallas Opera in Roberto Devereaux, and Stephen La Brie, who is a resident of Dallas and lives there with his Mom and Brother.

There wasn’t much time for a Honeymoon since Abla had to be in Florida five days later, and Jeremy was back at AVA for rehearsals.  I think Gershwin said it best, Their love is here to stay!

What a way to start the new year...

Soprano alum Latonia Moore spent  her holidays in London, hopefully enjoying the sights and sounds of that amazing city. But come the day after New Years she had to go to work by killing herself in front of the Ice Princess.

Ms. Moore made her Royal Opera House debut as Liu in Puccini’s Turandot. Tenor Michael Fabiano, flew to London to see Latonia in this great role. He told me that they are wonderful friends and he just couldn’t miss her debut . When he returned he told me that she was fantastic.

At the moment Ms. Moore is at least in sunny weather singing the title role in Madama Butterfly as part of the St. Barts Music Festival with AVA alums Jennifer Hsiung as Suzuki, and Jeffrey Halili as Goro. Later this winter in March,  Ms. Moore will be at the Hamburg State Opera to make her house debut again as the title character in  Madama Butterfly.

Run, run, run...

Third year tenor Cody Austin is having a great semester. He was a top prize  winner of the Opera Index Competition in NYC earlier in the fall. He also received  the Alfonso Cavaliere Award in Philadelphia.

Where does the running come in? He and his lovely wife Carissa took part in the Philadelphia Marathon in November 2008. They made the complete 26K run in under five hours (if that was me, I’d still be walking!)

If your summer plans bring you to the San Francisco Bay area, you can hear Mr. Austin as Ferrando in Così fan tutte with the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program. Other recent AVA’ers who have performed with the Merola Young Artist Program  have been basses Ben Wager, Kenneth Kellogg, and soprano Ailyn Perez.

Tenor saves the day...

If something sensational is going to happen, it will probably be at LaScala Opera in Milan, and the hot story last month was that AVA alum tenor Stuart Neill stepped into the tenor lead in Verdi's Don Carlo three hours before the grand opening of the season.

Mr. Neill was already scheduled to sing in the second cast, but problems with the opening night tenor warranted Stuart going on for the complete run.

This was not his debut at La Scala, but his triumphant return after a brief hiatus. The story made it to the front page in the Philadelphia Inquirer and was picked up by the Associated Press as well.

Mr. Stuart is the third AVA tenor to sing at La Scala in the past year.  Fourth-year resident artist Michael Fabiano sang the role of Rinuccio (Gianna Schicchi) in March , and alum James Valenti made his debut with the company as Rodolfo in La boheme last summer.

This Past week Mr. Neill sang the Verdi Requiem in London under Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony. The Finicial Times of London said "the tenor Stuart Neill ranged the most widely, from the softest of head voices to a high-decibel fortissimo that could blast through any opposition."

If you are in the Philadelphia area and would like to hear him in person, Mr. Neill will be the tenor soloist with The Mendelssohn Club’s concert of the Verdi Requiem on March 29 at Verizon Hall.