We recently sat down with Dr. Marc Heeg and discussed his many hats at OPC, the Opera Academy, and more. Read the full article below. Thank you to Columbus Underground for this opportunity!
Join Opera Project Columbus June 10 & 12 as we present “Don Pasquale: Love or Deception”
Ticket sale information coming soon!
OPC Opera Academy was a huge success!
Congratulations to Owen Miller, cellist and Senior at Grove City High School, for being selected from the OPC Opera Academy to fill a seat in our Don Pasquale pit orchestra for the June 10 & 12 performances.
On April 30 & May 1, Opera Project Columbus held its inaugural session of its Opera Academy to teach high school students and exceptional middle school students how to play in an opera pit orchestra. Taught by Dr. Marc Heeg, headmaster; Aaron Schwartz, OPC concertmaster; and Pavana Stetzik, OPC Orchestra Manager, the students learned to play the Overture to Don Giovanni by Mozart and Norina's aria "So anch'io la virtu magica" from Don Pasquale by Donizetti.
One student from the Opera Academy session was promised a space in the pit orchestra for the June performances of OPC’s Don Pasquale at the Southern Theater.
The Opera Academy session had 13 students representing 11 different Central Ohio schools, including Grove City High School, Wellington, Dominion Middle School, Dublin Coffman High School, Finland Middle School, Westerville Central High School, Home School, Edison High School, Olentangy High School, Marysville High School.
The talent of those in attendance was superb and we thoroughly enjoyed working with each of them.
Registration Open for OPC Opera Academy
Registration is open for Opera Project Columbus’ first session of The OPC Opera Academy.
The Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1, session is designed for College and High School aged students (and exceptional Middle School students) who are interested in learning more about playing in a pit orchestra as well as how to play in an opera orchestra.
There will be a performance the final day for guests of the attendees as well as the opportunity to audition for a seat in our next production.
If you know of a young aspiring musician, please share this opportunity with them.
What A Show!
Thank you to all who stepped back in time to the 1940’s with Opera Project Columbus as we presented,
“Great American Opera: Menotti & Gershwin”
What a spectacular show by our amazing cast and talented team at OPC!
The Cast of "Great American Opera: Menotti & Gershwin"
ALEXIS DAVIS HAZELL | Miss Todd
Alexis Davis-Hazell performs a diversity of repertoire as a concert soloist and performer of opera’s dramatic mezzo-soprano roles and relishes the opportunity to sing modern and contemporary works. While continuing to develop an intimacy with the heroines and anti-heroines of Verdi, Bizet, and Wagner, her performances of Mme. de Croissy of Poulenc’s Dialogue of the Carmelites, Dritte Dame of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Frugola of Puccini’s Il Tabarro, and the High Priestess of Verdi’s Aida have earned accolades for the size and quality of her instrument, and the dramatic intensity she brings to supporting char acters. Alexis originated the role of Rachel in Joseph Landers’ new opera Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, premiered by the Tuscaloosa Symphony, and broadcast on Alabama public television in September 2020.
Alexis’ other career highlights include more than one hundred performances of numerous productions of The Gershwins’ masterwork Porgy and Bess, singing the roles of Maria, Lily, and Strawberry Woman as a principal and ensemble swing in opera houses throughout North America, Germany, Russia, Poland, Greece, Latvia, Switzerland, and North America. These performances include critically acclaimed productions at the Dresden SemperOper, Hamburgische Staatsoper, the Moscow Philharmonic, the Polish National Opera of Warsaw, and the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. Along with a celebrated production of Porgy and Bess at San Francisco Opera, she also performed in their seminal production of Show Boat—both directed by Francesca Zambello, conducted by John de Main, marketed internationally on DVD and shown nationally on PBS.
The Assistant Professor of Voice and Diction at the University of Alabama and Creative Director of the innovative production company Jazzoperetry (Jazz-Op-ruh-tree), Inc. founded by her husband, Basso Cantante and com poser/arranger Earl Hazell, Alexis continues to be a featured guest artist, masterclass clinician, lecturer and session presenter throughout the U.S., including national conferences of voice, opera and arts research alliances.
She will return to Cincinnati Opera in the summer of 2022 for their production of Verdi’s Aida.
MERYL DOMINGUEZ | Letitia
Meryl Dominguez, a Cuban American soprano praised for her “intensity and warm tone” (Bachtrack), is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. She has performed roles such as Violetta (La Traviata), Juliette (Roméo et Juliette), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Lucia Ashton (Lucia di Lammermoor), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus) and most recently made her international debut as the title character in Norma with Musica Viva Hong Kong. A Double Degree graduate of Oberlin, and an apprentice artist at Santa Fe Opera, Meryl shines on the competition sphere as a recent finalist with Houston Grand Opera’s prestigious Eleanor McCollum Competition, a National Semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and First prize winner at Vero Beach Opera’s inaugural Rising Stars competition.
Recital work includes work with LyricFest on a premiere of John Musto’s set Be Music, Night, and has featured Lili Boulanger’s Clairières dans le ciel, Debussy’s Fêtes galantes II, R. Strauss’ Brentano Lieder, Britten folk songs, Poulenc’s Fiançailles pour rire, Rachmaninov op.38, Wolf’s Spanischeslieder buch and selections from Musto’s Penelope (2005).
JOHN GLANN | Bob
Baritone John Glann has performed nearly forty leading roles in opera, oratorio, and musical theatre. Operatic roles include Mozart’s Figaro and Count Almaviva, Belcore, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Escamillo, and Ford in Falstaff. Favorite musical theatre roles include Billy Bigelow in Carousel, Frank Butler in Annie Get Your Gun, Fred Graham/Petruccio in Kiss Me, Kate, Emile de Becque in South Pacific, Edward Rutledge in 1776, Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music, and Aldolpho in The Drowsy Chaperone.
An avid recitalist, John recently sang the world premiere of Patrick Michael Wickham’s Songs of Death and Taxes with the Lecoq Ensemble in Paris, and is a frequent collaborator at the Ann Arbor Art Fair Song Fest. A native of Huron, Ohio, John now maintains a private voice studio in New York City.
MEGAN SANTORA | Miss Pinkerton
Megan Santora is a 2016 Artist Diploma in Opera graduate from the University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. She completed a Masters in Voice Performance at CCM, as well as a Masters in Opera Theatre and Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at the Oberlin Conservatory. Recently, Ms. Santora covered the role of Nella in Gianni Schicchi as a member of the Manetti Shrem Opera Program with Festival Napa Valley. She also returns to Opera Project Columbus as Lisette in La Rondine and covers the role of Norina in Don Pasquale with Opera MODO this year. Recent engagements include the role of Adele in Die Fledermaus with Opera Project Columbus, Anna Gomez in The Consul with Opera MODO and the role of Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Project Columbus. In 2016 she sang the roles of Vixen Sharp Ears in The Cunning Little Vixen at CCM and Serpina in La Serva Padrona with the Cincinnati Chamber Opera. At CCM she sang the roles of Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, Princesse Laoula in L’etoile, and Thibault in Don Carlos; was the Soprano Soloist in Stravinsky’s Les Noces; and was featured in a Kurt Weill Cabaret. In 2013 she was the Soprano Studio Artist with Opera Saratoga and a Young Artist with Opera Columbus. She has participated in Cincinnati Opera’s Opera Fusion: Champion, Meet John Doe.
EARL HAZELL | Porgy
Earl Hazell, Basso Cantante and native New Yorker is a performing and creative artist developing a multi-faceted career through the embrace of opera, literature and modern jazz on the world stage. Earl has performed with the New York Philharmonic numerous times, including their landmark performances of the Britten War Requiem under Kurt Masur in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine; the Beethoven Ninth Symphony under Zubin Mehta in the United Nations, and the nationally televised Beethoven Choral Fantasy with pianist Alfred Brendel in the One Hundredth Anniversary of Carnegie Hall, conducted by James Levine of the Metropolitan Opera. Earl has also performed with San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cincinnati Opera, Tulsa Opera, Arizona Opera, Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre, Townsend Opera of California, and Phoenix Opera, performing and covering a variety of roles that include Colline in Puccini’s La Boheme; Crown in the Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess; Zuniga in Bizet’s Carmen; Ferrando in Verdi’s Il Trovatore; Joe in Jerome Kern’s Show Boat; Booker T. Washington in Flaherty & Ahrens’ Ragtime; Sarastro and The Speaker in Mozart’s Die Zauber flöte; Talpa in Puccini’s Il Tabarro; and both Ramfis and Amonasro in Verdi’s Aida.
HANNAH MARIE BULLOCK | Bess
Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, Hannah Marie Bullock is a new and emerging artist making her footprint in the opera world. Recent engagements include Contessa Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) at the International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia and I, Too, Sing America, a collaboration with Opera Project Columbus. Ms. Bullock also recently had the privilege of performing as the soprano soloist in Opera Columbus’ concert series The Voice of Freedom: Civil Rights. Ms. Bullock is a graduate of Capital University with Bachelor of Music in Music Technology and of Ohio University with a Master of Music in Vocal Performance. Some of her favorite collegiate roles include Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus (Ohio University Opera Theater, “German Opera Scenes”) and First Lady in Die Zauberflöte (Ohio University Opera Theater). In addition to performing, Ms. Bullock serves as the Director of Operations for Graves Piano Company here in Columbus. She thoroughly enjoys working with the Columbus community to promote local music and artists.
JERMAINE SMITH | Sportin’ Life
The tenor is closely associated with the role of Sportin’ Life, in which he recently made his debut at Atlanta Opera; Metropolitan Opera Artist Contract; Sydney Opera House; Teatro San Carlo in Napoli, Italy; Seattle Opera; and Tanglewood Music Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Hollywood Bowl’s premiere performance of Porgy and Bess in concert, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s production of Porgy and Bess as well as in Cape Town Opera’s guest engagement at the newly opened opera house in Oslo, Norway a couple of seasons ago. He has also performed the role in Japan, Germany, Sweden, Austria, The Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sicily, The Grand Canary Islands, and stateside at Union Ave Opera, Opera Pacific, and in Francesca Zambello’s productions at both Washington National Opera and Los Angeles Opera. Most recently he has brought his portrayal to Paris’ Opera-Comique, the Theatre de Caen, the Granada Festival, the Opera de Luxembourg, and the Santa Fe Symphony. His other operatic repertoire includes the title role in Joshua’s Boots (world premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, revival at Kansas City Lyric Opera), Henry Davis in Street Scene and Zodzetrick in Treemonisha (both with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis). He has made numerous appearances with the St. Louis Symphony. Smith is an alumnus of the New England Conservatory of Music and University of Missouri–St. Louis. He will be performing at the Virginia Arts Festival this spring and with the Des Moines Metro Opera in the summer.
RON BRYANT | Radio Announcer
Ronald N. Bryant has been a fixture in Columbus’ print, radio, and television media since he arrived in Central Ohio in 1984. He has over 49 years of professional expertise in Radio and Television as a Music and Program Director, News and Community Affairs Director and Media Consultant. Ron has operated as an Ohio News Correspondent for The American Urban Radio Network and SBN News. He has developed and produced special first-run TV programming including the Telly Award winning “Trailblazers-African Americans Making a Difference,” and “Conversations with Ron Bryant” that aired on Bounce 23 TV Columbus. Ron has been Deputy Communications Director for the Ohio Democratic Party and Minority Media Coordinator for the 2008 Obama for Ohio Presidential Campaign. As a much sought-after Voice Over Artist, he’s provided live and recorded voice for The United Way of Central Ohio, the United Negro College Fund, Ohio Humanities, The Ohio Rosa Parks Celebration & Community Leaders Forum, the Ohio Democratic Party and the Congressional Black Caucus. Previously, the White House has tapped Ron as the “Live Voice Of God” for several Central Ohio events for the Obama Administration working with their advance team.
KATHERINE DOBBS | Miss Todd (cover)
From Grafton, Wisconsin, mezzo-soprano Katherine Dobbs is an undergraduate senior vocal performance major with two minors in German Studies and Italian Cultural Studies at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. She currently studies with Dr. Thomas King and works with coach/accompanist Dr. Amanda Hopson and has also studied with Dr. Kerry Jennings and Professor Caroline Smith during her undergraduate tenure. Katherine has performed an array of wonderful roles while at DePauw, including Orfeo in last weekend’s production of Orfeo ed Euridice, Miss Todd in a virtual production of The Old Maid and the Thief, Die Knusperhexe in Hänsel und Gretel, Miss Shingle in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, and Madame de la Haltière in Cendrillon. She looks forward to her third summer at The Institute for Young Dramatic Voices with Dolora Zajick and attending graduate school as a next step on her artistic journey. She is thrilled to be revisiting the role of Miss Todd as a cover in the Opera Project Columbus’s production of The Old Maid and the Thief.
Thank you Peter Tonguette and The Columbus Dispatch for this fantastic article!
Far more unique is to blend two distinct works into a cohesive whole.
“I just love ... how they’re interspersing ‘Old Maid and the Thief’ with selections of ‘Porgy.’ It has this way of bringing this cultural context of just how much brilliance and amazing composition and artistry was coming out of the ’30s, said Hazell, 54, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
“In this country, opera has been presented as an elitist art form,” Smith said. “I think that in itself limits or diminishes the potential for it to reach a broad audience. That is not the way opera was designed. In Italy, everybody sings.”
-Peter Tonguette
Please read the entire article HERE!
A note from our Stage Director, Audrey Chait, about "Great American Opera: Menotti & Gershwin"
In the 1940s, the “radio play” was a leading popular entertainment, until television stole its thunder in the 1950s. The radio play, an art form in which a story is experienced through sound alone, is a perfect match for opera, a medium in which we already suspend our disbelief in many ways.
We invite you into the imagined W-Opera Project Columbus (WOPC) station, in a slightly revisionist version of the 1940s. A group of singers gather to perform the new works of the time for the opera lovers of Columbus. We are so lucky to be joined by local radio legend Ron Bryant in the role of the announcer. Though The Old Maid and the Thief and Porgy and Bess seem of two different worlds, they premiered only four years apart in the 1930s. We chose to put them together because both pieces moved the landscape of classical music forward.
Porgy and Bess premiered in 1935, not in an opera house, but on Broadway, with a cast of classically trained African-American singers. This landmark piece has evolved throughout the 20th century: it was made into a movie, toured to La Scala, and was embraced by American opera companies later in the 20th century. The leading roles have been portrayed by iconic African American singers, from Leontyne Price as Bess and Cab Calloway as Sportin’ Life in the 1950s, to Angel Blue and Eric Owens in the current Metropolitan Opera production.
The young Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti also had a gift for innovating the art form. He was approached by NBC to write an opera specifically for radio, a project that became The Old Maid and the Thief in 1939. Later, he would go on to also write the first opera commissioned for TV, Amahl and the Night Visitors.
Today, these works are well known, and even canonical, but they were revolutionary in the early 20th century. I invite you to imagine yourselves back into the 1940s, hearing this music with fresh ears. I encourage you also to look forward - what new operas of today have that special magic that endures? I can think of no better gift to the art form than to seek out these works and help them succeed.
Opera Academy hosts session for young orchestra musicians
Opera Project Columbus is hosting The OPC Opera Academy. This Saturday, April 30 and Sunday, May 1, session is designed for College and High School aged students (and exceptional Middle School students) who are interested in learning more about playing in a pit orchestra as well as how to play in an opera orchestra.
Stay tuned for more OPC Opera Academy sessions to come!
OPC is Excited to Present "Great American Opera: Menotti & Gershwin"
OPC announces its early-Spring performances of Gian Carlo Menotti’s “The Old Maid and the Thief” with excerpts from George Gershwin’s masterful creation, “Porgy and Bess”.
Menotti’s opera buffo tells of Bob, a happy-go-lucky hobo, who, through no fault of his own, gets swept up in the machinations of his landlady and her maid. Gossip and a criminal on the loose make for some hilarious misunderstandings with a pointed philosophical conclusion.
“The Old Maid and the Thief” was originally conceived and presented as an opera for live radio. Our production will feature a 1940s vintage radio studio with folks singing into their microphones, the live radio audience being our wonderful theater audience!
The cast includes John Glann as Bob, Alexis Davis Hazell as Miss Todd, Meryl Dominguez as Laetitia, and Megan Santora as Miss Pinkerton.
Gershwin’s great singular opera, “Porgy and Bess” is represented by some of its most famous arias and duets.
The cast includes Hannah Marie Bullock as Bess, Earl Hazell as Porgy, and Jermaine Smith as Sportin’ Life.
Local Radioman, Ron Bryant, will be joining the stellar cast as the radio announcer.
Audrey Chait, our guest stage director, blends both stories and casts together in a delightfully funny production: Two different radio broadcasts are scheduled mistakenly on the same evening in the same studio. The host and producer that evening realizes his only choice is to allow BOTH performances to occur together.
Performances are at the Lincoln Theater, Friday, March 11th at 7:30pm, and Sunday, March 13th at 3:00pm.
2/22/2022 - Give $222 + Get 2 Tickets!
Donate $222 OR MORE to Opera Project Columbus by midnight on the upcoming day of 2’s!
Twosday, 2/22/2022
As a Thank you, you will receive 2 tickets to Opera Project Presents: Great American Opera, Menotti & Gershwin. Featuring "The Old Maid and the Thief" and familiar pieces from "Porgy & Bess"
March 11 &13 at The Lincoln Theatre.
*Offer ends 2/22/2022 at midnight EST
*If unable to attend this performance, please let us know and we can modify your tickets for another upcoming show.
Get your tickets today for Great American Opera! March 11 & 13
Tickets are now available for Opera Project Columbus Presents, Great American Opera, Menotti & Gershwin.
March 11, 7:30 P.M. & March 13, 3:00 P.M.
The Lincoln Theatre
Transport yourself to the days of old radio shows as we share the music of Menotti & Gershwin with familiar sounds from "The Old Maid and the Thief" and "Porgy and Bess".
You can purchase your tickets here->
It’s Showtime!
What an AMAZING feeling to be onstage at The Lincoln Theatre this week as we rehearse with our orchestra and amazing singers! We could not be more excited to welcome YOU back to the theatre this weekend for a LIVE performance!
Meet Our Cast:
Lucas Levy
Described by Opera News as having “dominated the scene vocally,” tenor Lucas Levy brings “operatic power” (Tampa Bay Times) to his portrayals, is “a joy to watch” (Broadway World), and was praised by The Wall Street Journal for being “remarkably loud."
His 2021-2022 season begins with debuts at Berkshire Festival Opera, Opera Company of Middlebury, and Opera Project Columbus. The 2019-2020 season saw Mr. Levy in an immersive production of Rigoletto at infamous New York City nightclub The Box. The 2018-2019 season featured his return to St. Petersburg Opera as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, and to Opera Maine for their 25th anniversary season as Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, where Opera News noted his “vocally forward and strong” performance. He was also seen in performances of Haydn’s Creation, Schubert’s Mass in G major, and Mozart’s Requiem. Recent performance highlights include Falstaff with Opera Omaha, LaTraviata and Les Contes d’Hoffmann with St. Petersburg Opera, and Otello with LoftOpera.
Jason Budd
Hailed as a “buffo with a legitimate voice,” Jason Budd has garnered a reputation for being a consummate singer-actor. Having received accolades for his performances across the United States and Europe, Jason recently made his South American debut with the title role in Verdi's Falstaff in São Paulo, Brazil. He has also had much success in vocal competitions over the years including wins at the Opera Columbus Competition, the Heinz Rehfuss competition with Orlando Opera, the Mary Jacobs Smith Singer of the Year competition with Shreveport Opera, and the Meistersinger Competition in Graz, Austria, which was broadcast on Austrian television.
Recent engagements include performances with the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, Boston Midsummer Opera, Toledo Opera, Fremont Opera in California, Opera Project Columbus, and Cleveland Opera Theater.
Robert Kerr
Known for his stage savvy, Robert Kerr’s foundation in opera began in musical theater. Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times wrote of his Falstaff: “He made words matter and conveyed the self-delusion of this likable laughingstock…”
Kerr, a hearty baritone, was recently heard as Germont with the Philharmonia Orchestra of New York at Lincoln Center; and sang the King in Aida with Opera Columbus. He has been engaged with other recent solo engagements with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic, the Ohio Song Project and Denison University. No stranger to Central Ohio Stages, Kerr returns to the Opera Project Columbus stage after many previous engagements, notably as the title roles in Rigoletto and Gianni Schicchi.
Victor Cardamone
Victor Cardamone has garnered much attention and critical acclaim over the last few years, and he continues to do so. Slowly, but surely, he is making his way into a major career in opera.
Victor graduated from Youngstown State University with his Bachelor of Music in Music Education degree, receiving a double major in applied voice and French horn. He took additional coursework at Ball State University, where he served as a graduate teaching assistant in the voice department, before officially transferring to the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music to earn his Master of Music in Vocal Performance degree. He is currently pursuing the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at CCM.
Carolyn Redman
Carolyn Redman, mezzo-soprano, is originally from Bellevue, Ohio and received a MM and DMA in vocal performance from the Ohio State University.
She has performed operatic roles as well as musical theater roles with various professional companies including Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera/Columbus, Opera Project Columbus, Columbus Light Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Weathervane Playhouse, and Lyric Opera Cleveland. She was selected as an apprentice artist with both Des Moines Metro Opera and Cincinnati Opera Young Artists programs and was also chosen to perform in masterclasses and performances at the Instituto Superior de Arte of the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Redman has been a winner or finalist in four competitions, including a first-place finish in the Opera/Columbus vocal competition. Recent roles include La Badessa in Suor Angelica, Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief, Zita in Gianni Schicchi, Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette, Martha/Ayah in The Secret Garden, Golde in Fiddler on the Roof, Jo in Mark Adamo’s Little Women, Second Lady in The Magic Flute, and Countess Charlotte Malcolm in A Little Night Music. She has also been a featured soloist in oratorios and other concert works with groups such as Cantari Singers, Denison University, Columbus Bach Ensemble, Marion Civic Chorus, Master Singers, Inc. Chorale, New Albany Symphony, Saint Joseph Cathedral, Westerville Symphony, and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.
In addition to performing, she serves on the voice faculties of Kenyon College and Denison University.
Caroline Bergan
Caroline Bergan (soprano): Born in Florida of a French mother and Norwegian father, she has had the great fortune of being raised with three native languages.
Ms. Bergan made her debut with the Cleveland Orchestra in their centennial season opening production of The Cunning Little Vixen. Ms. Bergan’s international credits include Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica) in Arezzo, Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) and Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw) for the Music Academy International festival in Mezzano and Siena. She performed for the CIM Opera Theater as Amelia (Amelia al ballo), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Morgana (Alcina), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas) and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte). Ms. Bergan sang Drusilla (L’Incoronazione di Poppea) with the Young Artist program at Pensacola Opera, Florida. She recently performed the role of Countess (Le nozze di Figaro) with The Ohio State University Lyric Opera Theatre. Ms. Bergan has sung in masterclasses for Renée Fleming, Renata Scotto, Julia Faulkner, Warren Jones, and Bo Skovhus. Ms. Bergan is a past winner of the Mirabell Schloss Competition in Salzburg, Austria and is a recipient of the Anna Sosenko Artist Trust Fund Award. She has performed Poulenc's Gloria with the Firelands Symphony Orchestra and Berlioz selections from Beatrice et Benedict with the Duke Orchestra.
Jennifer Forni
Praised for her "warm, gleaming lyric soprano" voice (Washington Post), American soprano Jennifer Forni has distinguished herself as a dynamic singer possessing the raw yet luxurious power of a classic full lyric soprano. Always “attentive to the subtler points of interpretive expression” (The Baltimore Sun), Ms. Forni, while possessing a “fuller lyric sound” (Opera News) has maintained an "exquisite pianissimo" (Springfield News-Leader) above the staff. Oregon Arts watch commented, "she has the best messa di voce... I've heard in a long time!".
Recently, Forni stepped into the iconic role of Turandot in Puccini’s final work Turnadot with the Springfield Regional Opera. She has performed such roles as Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello with Springfield Regional Opera as well as La Contessa in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. She was featured as Tatyana with the Portland Opera in their brand new production of Eugene Onegin. Forni can been seen in the Metropolitan Opera’s HD Broadcast performance of Wagner’s Parsifal under the award-winning direction of Francois Gerrard.
Hannah Marie Bullock
Hailing from Columbus, Ohio, Soprano, Hannah Marie Bullock is a new and emerging artist making her footprint in the opera world. Recent engagements include covering Contessa Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) at the International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia and I Too, Sing America, a collaboration with Opera Project Columbus.
Featuring Art by:
Reagan McCarthy
We are thrilled to have had the artwork for “To See Again The Stars” painted by Dublin High School Senior, Reagan McCarthy.
Art is Reagan’s passion and she has been creating since she was old enough to hold a crayon. She takes extracurricular classes at Columbus College of Art and Design and College Credit Plus classes at Columbus State Community College. She is never far from her sketchbook! In addition to creating art, Reagan participates as a squad leader in the Color Guard, is a Delegate leader on the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland’s Advisory Council, she earned her First Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo and is a member of the German club. Reagan also works as a camp counselor and as a lifeguard. We love being able to feature the work of young artists in the Greater Columbus area!
Important Information…
Please allow yourself adequate time as guests will be asked to show I.D. and vaccination status or negative COVID test results. More information below.
We will be following the COVID safety protocols as stated by CAPA. Guests will need to either show proof of vaccination status or a negative COVID test result along with their I.D.
All guests will be required to wear masks properly regardless of vaccination status.
If you are not feeling well, we ask that you please stay home.
Please read more on CAPA’s Website.
If you have questions, call CAPA at 614-469-0939 or email at tickets@cbusarts.com
We appreciate your cooperation and thank you for your support and understanding.
"I, Too, Sing America" Wins The Greater Columbus Arts Council's Art Makes Excellence Award!
We are excited to share that we were announced as the winner for The Greater Columbus Arts Council’s, Columbus Makes Art Excellence Award, Organizations with budgets under $1 million. We are honored and touched by the support and community response for our program, “I, Too, Sing America”.
Congratulations to all the winners and nominees!
Thank you Greater Columbus Arts Council; Columbus Mayor, Andrew Ginther; the City of Columbus, and Franklin County for your continued support of the arts in Cbus!
We are so grateful to all of the talent associated with this project, Ed Bak, as the pianist and the amazing soprano’s: Hannah Marie Bullock. Crystal Sellers Battle, and Dione Parker Bennett; narration by Dr. Toni Smith, and contributions by Lorri Reid McCall, and students Zion Mosley-Brinkley and Naomi Baker.
To see these works executed so beautifully was a treat and the educational value that this program carries is invaluable to educators to keep these important moments in our history relevant.
Many thanks to our friends at Spyroll Studios for the production of this powerful and important program.
#artmakescbus
Opera Project Columbus Returns with a Weekend of Sentiment, Drama, Prayers, and Joy
Friday evening, the 19 th of November, in the Lincoln Theatre, OPC will emerge
from its COVID-driven chrysalis, flutter its multi-spectral wings, and create an
unforgettable evening of magical music-making.
Our beloved Maestro, Alessandro Siciliani, with his hand-picked orchestra of
musicians from Columbus and regional Ohio, will be joined by a rich stable of
vibrant operatic talent including: Caroline Bergan, soprano; Jennifer Forni,
soprano; Carolyn Redman, mezzo-soprano; Victor Cardamone, tenor; Matthew
White, tenor; Robert Kerr, baritone; Jason Budd, bass-baritone; and, Hannah
Bullock, narrator.
The title, “To See Again the Stars”, refers to the 34 th canto of Dante’s “La Divina
Commedia”, in which Dante emerges from Hell, having seen Lucifer, the “Light
Bringer”. Our program commemorates the 20 th anniversary of 9/11 and the
pandemic crisis, but with faith in humans and our creativity, moves forth towards
a new awakening and proverbial dance of joy into our future – like Dante,
emerging from Darkness into the Light.
Maestro Siciliani has constructed a lavish visually and aurally stunning program.
The entire first half features opera scenes of Giuseppe Verdi, beginning
appropriately and reverently with the “Salce” and “Ave Maria” from Otello (Act 4).
There follows en temps voulu the powerful overture to La Forza del Destino.
Reflecting on the intrigue and tremors in our political world, Verdi demonstrates
these ever-constant realities – not to diminish their significance, but to remind us,
perhaps we’ve experienced and withstood many such moments in our human
history – in chosen excerpts from La Forza del Destino and Un Ballo in
Maschera.
The second half looks comedically at ourselves – humor being one of the
greatest medicaments for suffering – with Act 2, Scene 1 of Falstaff, that loveable
jocular hero. There follow moments of agonizingly beautiful memorable arias by
Rossini, Donizetti, and Lehar with a hilarious deliciously and devilishly difficult
duet, “Cheti, Cheti immantinente” from Donizetti’s Don Pasquale.
Please come and envelop yourselves in the magical wings of this new butterfly,
as OPC emerges into a new vivid season of miracles for 2021-2022!
“To See Again the Stars” will be presented at the Lincoln Theatre, 19 November
at 7:30 pm and 21 November at 3:00 pm. For tickets, CLICK HERE.
Thank you To The Greater Columbus Arts Council
Opera Project Columbus is honored to have been awarded an Annual Seasons grant from the Greater Columbus Arts Council. We are grateful for the Arts Council’s continued support of our programming and support and advancement of the arts and the cultural fabric of Columbus. A special thank you as well as to the city of Columbus and Franklin County.
The Project Support grant provides funding for a broad range of arts and cultural projects, events and programs and we are thrilled to be among this cycle’s recipients.
#artmakescbus
#gcacgrants
2021-2022 Season
We are proud to announce the 2021-2022 Season for Opera Project Columbus. Ticket sale information coming soon!
Audition Video Scholarships
Opera Project Columbus is pleased to announce that we will be awarding two Audition Video Scholarships for Black singers looking at taking the next step in their career. If you are a singer committed to pursuing a career in classical vocal artistry, apply today! Applications are limited to the first 25 applicants.
Petite Messe Solennelle
Opera Project Columbus will be welcoming a live, limited audience to The Lincoln Theatre, Saturday, March 20, at 3 PM for a performance and live taping of Italian composer, Gioachino Rossini’s, sacred work, ‘Petite Messe Solonnelle’ conducted by Alessandro Siciliani.
Joining us on stage is Caroline Bergen, soprano; Victor Cardamone, tenor; Robert Kerr, baritone; Lauren McAllister, mezzo-soprano; as well as a chorus of 15; Dr. Marc Heeg, chorus master and pianist; Ed Bak, pianist; Mark Rubinstein, accordion.
Pianos for the program have been donated by Solich Piano.
Tickets are very limited and are on a first come first serve basis. All COVID restrictions set by CAPA will be followed. For tickets, please email operaprojectcolumbus@gmail.com
Please provide your email address, name, and contact information, and how many tickets you would like to reserve.
Following this live taping, the program will be available for churches to share with their congregations for their Easter celebrations as well as for all to enjoy this beautiful piece of music from the comfort of their home.
Also, check out OPC featured on the Columbus Dispatch
