We Introduce You To Aryssa Leigh Burrs

Vocalist Aryssa Leigh Burrs is hailed for her “rich sound and thoughtful musical ideas'' while “transcending vocal styles and genres with flexibility and ease.”

In the 22/23 season, Ms. Burrs has been seen with InSeriesOpera as Orpheus/Speranza (“Nightsong of Orpheus”), Requiem, and “Ordering of Moses.” Ms. Burrs spent the Summer '21 season as an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera. While with CCO, she performed a solo Al Fresco Concert, covered the role of Sorceress in “Dido and Aeneas”, and was a featured ensemble member in a paired down production of “Carousel.”

Aryssa will return this year as a Resident Artist with Opera Columbus-Capital University, where she was seen singing the role of Zerlinain their spring 2021 production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” Other recent engagements include Elvis Costello’s “The Juliet Letters” with UrbanArias and Mame Dennis in “Mameat The Seagle Festival.” Zerlinain in their spring production of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni.” Other recent engagements include Elvis Costello’s “The Juliet Letters” with UrbanArias and Mame Dennis in “Mameat The Seagle Festival.”

Ms. Burrs is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, where she obtained a Masters of Music in Voice and Opera Performance. At Northwestern, she performed in numerous opera productions (Orlofsky, “Die Fledermaus”; Captain, “Dog Days”; Baba the Turk, “The Rake’s Progress”), while also appearing as a soloist with various choral and orchestral ensembles (“Am I born”, David T. Little; “Terra Nostra”, Stacy Garrop; “The Branch Will Not Break”, Christopher Cerrone). Ms. Burrs was selected as a Quarterfinalist in the 2022 American Traditions Competition.

As she is committed to using music for cultural and social justice causes, one of Ms. Burrs’ most cherished performances includes her orchestral debut with the Charlotte Symphony as a featured soloist with the acclaimed drag queen production of “Thorgy and the Thorchestra.” During the pandemic, Aryssa Leigh got to continue to hone her passion for progressive concert work and a lifelong interest in exploring musical styles through story and song. In January '21, Aryssa created, produced, and performed in the virtual debut performance of her concert entitled “Identify”, which raised funds for the non-profit organization “Phenomenal Womxn.” Aryssa is now the founder of “ALB Produces”, a community and production company that will present a season of “Concerts and Conversations” with the intent of creating art in all forms to build conversations around the human experience.

Ms. Burrs holds both a Bachelor of Music Degree in Voice Performance and a Bachelor of Music Education Degree in Choral/General Music from the University of Maryland in College Park.

Gerald Veasley Takes the Stage with OPC

We are excited to introduce to you, bass extraordinaire, Gerald Veasley! Gerald Veasley’s musical odyssey has taken him to the top of the contemporary music world as a bassist, bandleader, composer, producer, educator, and curator. His performance as a six-string bassist has been top-shelf, as his extensive body of work attests. Veasley has recorded or performed with many of the world’s top artists in Jazz, R&B, and Gospel: Kirk Whalum, Will Downing, Chuck Loeb, Maysa, Nnenna Freelon, Special EFX, Pieces of a Dream, McCoy Tyner, The Jaco Pastorius Big Band, Gerald Levert, Teddy Pendergrass, Philip Bailey, the Dixie Hummingbirds, John Blake, Odean Pope and Pat Martino.

Veasley’s new recording, “Live at SOUTH”, is the latest chapter of a multi-decade career combining jazz, funk, and soul genres into a tantalizing blend of earthy sophistication. Schooled by his mentors Joe Zawinul of Weather Report fame and saxophone giant Grover Washington Jr., the six-string bassist continues to blur musical boundaries with his latest project. As the title suggests, “Live at SOUTH” was captured live at South Jazz Parlor, a premier jazz venue in Veasley’s hometown of Philadelphia. The recording documents Veasley’s outstanding band in a 10-song set of music that is fresh, in the moment, and crackling with intensity. The songstress Carol Riddick is featured in a breathtaking version of the Sound of Philly classic, “You are Everything.”

“Live at SOUTH” is also the natural outgrowth of Veasley’s role as a curator of the “Unscripted Jazz Series” at SOUTH Jazz Parlor. Launched in October 2015 (co-curated by Roxanne Veasley), the series has presented over 450 exciting nights of music to enthusiastic audiences in an intimate setting. The "Unscripted” format is perfectly suited for artists who, like Veasley, have broad musical tastes and experiences. Allowing them to showcase their versatility, the series has attracted many celebrated guest artists: Gerald Albright, David Benoit, Rick Braun, Randy Brecker, Alex Bugnon, Maysa, Raul Midón, Janis Siegel, Peter White, Kirk Whalum, and a growing roster of established and emerging artists. Veasley has recently been appointed the first Jazz Curator for the Mann Center for the Performing Arts.

Having a passion to educate and motivate other musicians, Veasley has served on the faculty of the University of the Arts (Philadelphia). Veasley is also the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of “Gerald Veasley’s Bass BootCamp.” Established in 2002, the annual event has informed and inspired hundreds of bass players of all levels and ages.

Veasley also serves as President of Jazz Philadelphia, an initiative that seeks to unify Philadelphia’s vibrant jazz community, celebrate its rich musical history, and position it as an international destination for jazz.

Veasley has more intriguing music projects on the horizon: “I Got Life”, a studio album and tour in tribute to the life and music of Nina Simone, an all-star album celebrating the musical legacy of his hometown of Philadelphia, and a spinoff of the “Unscripted Jazz Series”, “Pablo Batista’s Latin Jazz Series.”

Musician. Educator. Curator. Veasley’s life as a creative professional is clearly multifaceted. Indeed, he wears various “hats,” yet he is motivated by a singular purpose - to translate his joy of music to the world - music without boundaries.

George Burton to Play with OPC

We would like to introduce you to George Burton, who will be joining us for our limited engagement performance, November, 28. We are elated to bring his talent to our Columbus audience.

Award-winning pianist, composer and bandleader George Burton has been called a lot of things— “formidable” (NPR),“charismatic” (The New York Times), “revolutionary” (Nextbop), “soulful” (Philadelphia Inquirer); his music “multidimensional” (Phila. Inq.), “sublime” (NPR).

What has become abundantly clear over the years is that, while Burton has established himself as a visionary and prolific force both on record and in the live jazz scene, attempting to categorize Burton’s artistry is not only limiting, but becomes increasingly impossible the more you hear. With a slew of film festival honors and a NAACP Image Awards nomination for his sophomore project, Reciprocity, in 2021, George Burton has secured notoriety as a standout amongst his peers who consistently turns heads across the jazz spectrum and beyond.

“Pianist George Burton is nonetheless a different beast in concert than he is on record. This critic has rarely, in 11 years and hundreds of concerts, seen a musician who fed off the energy of the room as voraciously as Burton.” — THE WASHINGTON POST

For more than a decade, George Burton has been on the radar of everyone who keeps up with innovations in jazz. His dazzling virtuosity and breathtakingly eclectic approach to music reflect his experience in every aspect of the jazz spectrum: beginning with rigorous classical training, branching into his equally rigorous experience in the heady nightlife of the Philadelphia jazz scene, and earning him a place on the world stage with some of the most significant practitioners of bop, post-bop and beyond—from James Carter to Meshell Ndegeocello to the Sun Ra Arkestra—and has landed him on some of the most prestigious of stages with his own groups as a leader, including the Newport Jazz Festival in 2017.

Burton's own work is in a category by itself: he brings not only stunning technique, but music that is complex, uniting all the dimensions of his experience, filtered through the sensibility of a Romantic composer. His compositions are incomparably beautiful—make that scary-beautiful—and powerful—as in mesmerizingly powerful—and haunting—as in "where has this been all my life" haunting.

There is a dynamic quality to hearing Burton play in that just when you think you've spotted an influence or are ready to compare him to one of the greats, he takes a turn, blending modern and classical in a way that is both playful and transcendent. The vitality in Burton’s music is apparent in his effortless switch in tempo, each note carefully thought out, lingering, distinct and alive. He finds balance where others would waver, bringing the fullest expression of himself to the music he creates.

"Burton is painting with a vast palette … creating a variety of moods and textures. It’s clear that both exuberance and daring are in abundant supply.” — JAZZIZ MAGAZINE

Burton shines on his highly anticipated debut album, The Truth Of What I Am > (read: "is greater than") The Narcissist, its title both a remark on today’s “me” driven culture and a nod to Charles Mingus who once said, “In my music, I’m trying to play the truth of what I am. The reason it’s difficult is because I’m changing all the time.” It is a statement highlighting the power of art to transcend the self.

Released in 2016 to much critical acclaim, The Truth Of What I Am... earned Burton a spot on the NPR Music Jazz Critics' Poll (a “Top Debut” that year), and was featured on multiple year-end “best of” lists. The album pushes the boundaries of genre and reveals what many reviewers have noted—Burton's ability to bring out the best in his band. Fully embodying the title, Burton takes listeners on a musical journey through various emotions, at once carefree, playful, despondent and volatile, a spirit trying to make sense of itself. Like all great art, the album shines a light on what we all are: layered, complex and ever-changing.

“Burton’s jazz is multidimensional. It incorporates influences from hip-hop and R&B, electronic music and indie rock into a surprisingly cohesive sound shaped by his mastery of vibe — a soulfulness that underlies all of his tunes, whether the surface feels more like hard bop, avant-garde explosiveness, or blissed-out atmospherics.” — THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER

Everyone knows that there's no tougher act to follow than oneself. But with his groundbreaking, self-produced sophomore project, Reciprocity, George Burton more than proves his talent — creating a modernist landscape that draws on the trajectory of jazz going back to the blues — and establishes him as an oracular presence in a new generation of musicians.

Released in early 2020 along with the award-winning music video for its single, “Finding,” Reciprocity is a concept album woven together with threads of musical and worldly wisdom bestowed on the listener by Marshall Allen, the then-95-year-old leader of the Sun Ra Arkestra, with whom Burton spent two months on tour in Europe in 2019. Along with the soundbites of interviews Burton captured while on the road, the record is loaded with colorful, mind-altering soundscapes, unforgettable songs and solos and vibe, which collectively elevate the listener to the otherworldly realms Allen invokes. It was recognized as a Critics’ Pick by The New York Times and NPR Music; the stunningly creative animated music video (directed by Sigmund Washington) went on to win multiple film festival awards and honors; and in 2021, the album was nominated for Outstanding Jazz Instrumental Album by the NAACP Image Awards.

“George Burton represents what many of jazz’s most exciting figures hoped the genre would become: precarious, dynamic, revolutionary ... unable to be contained.” — NEXTBOP

Join us for conversation, dinner and a performance.

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

5-9 P.M.

Lincoln Theatre

769 East. Long Street., Columbus, Ohio

Tickets are Donations to Opera Project Columbus and are tax deductible.

TICKETS FOR ONE $100

TICKETS FOR TWO $175

Tickets can be purchased on our website at

www.operaprojectcolumbus.com

Leslie Burs Joining OPC for "I, Too, Sing America" Filming Event

Joining OPC for our final recording of "I, Too, Sing America" is Leslie Burrs, Composer of the opera VANQUI, which first premiered in Columbus in 1999.

VANQUI is a tale of death and resurrection through the eyes of the heroine, Vanqui, a 19th century slave woman. The original music of Leslie Savoy Burrs and the libretto by John A. Williams brings new sound and text to this performance by framing a uniquely American experience in a compelling, multi-dimensional work of art. This opera portrays the story of two Africans, Vanqui and Prince. Enslaved in America, this married couple is forcibly separated and then both are cruelly murdered. They are resurrected as spirits who ride the wind searching for each other and for the Baobab tree. During their journey, they encounter famous freedom fighters including Harriet Tubman, Henry "Box" Brown, Nat Turner, Frederick Douglass, and John Brown. Reunited in the end, Vanqui and Prince symbolize the triumph of slaves over an inhumane system and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit.

VANQUI won the acclaim of the opera community from the rural mid-west to The Sorbonne in Paris, France. Excerpts of this opera were performed at the invitation of Harvard University for their APRIL IN PARIS CONFERENCE, AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSIC and EUROPE as well as their Gala Award Presentation in Paris to honor Quincy Jones. The music of VANQUI is grounded in jazz and operatic traditions with contemporary music overtones. Burrs received The Legacy Award from the National Opera Association for composing the opera VANQUI. He was the first composer to receive this award.

You can learn more about Leslie Burrs at the link below...

http://www.leslieburrs.com/vanqui.html

Join us Tuesday, November 28, 2023, to be an audience member for our final filming, dinner, and performance.

Tickets are Donations to Opera Project Columbus and are tax deductible.

TICKETS FOR ONE $100

TICKETS FOR TWO $175

Tickets can be purchased on our website at

https://www.operaprojectcolumbus.com/

Cast for Vanqui selections announced...

VANQUI

Vanqui is an allegory, a love story and a tale of freedom and resurrection featuring two 19th century slaves, Prince and Vanqui. In the end, it is a triumph of the human spirit to which all people can relate. Vanqui (librettist, John A. Williams) was originally commissioned and premiered by Opera Columbus.

Performances of VANQUI productions have been presented at the Sorbonne in Paris, for the Harvard University’s International African American Music and Europe Conference, the Schomburg Center in New York City, University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg, Zellerbach Theater, The Prince Music Theater, numerous universities, OPERA America conference, PBS Radio and WBAI Pacifica Radio, N Y.

 

JOINING US IN THE PERFORMANCE ARE:

 

LESLIE BURRS, FLUTE

ARYSSA BURRS, MEZZO-SOPRANO

BRIAN JOHNSON, BARITONE

GEORGE BURTON, PIANO

GERALD VEASLEY, ELECTRIC BASS

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

5-9 P.M.

The Lincoln Theatre

769 East. Long Street., Columbus, Ohio

Join us for the final filming of our I, Too, Sing America series

We are recording our final episodes of our I, Too, Sing America series and want you to join us.

Join Opera Project Columbus as an audience member as we film the final episodes in our I, Too, Sing America 5-part series with an evening of conversation, performance, and dinner.

Conversation:

“From Slave Songs, Scat, and Symphonies: The Sustaining Power of Black Music”

Leslie Burrs, Composer of the opera VANQUI

Wm. “Ted” McDaniel, OSU Professor emeritus, Jazz History and Performance

Dionne Parker Bennett, Ohio Christian University Associate Professor, Director of Vocal Music

Ed Bak, OSU Associated Faculty, Vocal Coach, Pianist

and Moderator, Toni Shorter Smith, Miami University Professor Arts Management

I, Too, Sing America, is a 5-part video series presenting operatic works by Black composers from the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries that have been largely overlooked or forgotten as a result of the opera world’s history of systemic racism. The Inaugural episode was presented on WBNS-10 TV during Black History Month.

Part one was awarded the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Arts Excellence Award, Winner (2021), and parts 2 & 3 have been named a Finalist (2023)

Buffet-style dinner will be served.

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

5-9 P.M.

The Lincoln Theatre

769 East. Long Street., Columbus, Ohio

Tickets are Donations to Opera Project Columbus and are tax deductible.

TICKETS FOR ONE $100

TICKETS FOR TWO $175

Tickets can be purchased on our website at

https://www.operaprojectcolumbus.com/

OPC Nominated for Columbus Makes Art Excellence Award!

Opera Project Columbus is proud to announce that we have been selected as a finalist for the Columbus Makes Art Excellence Award from The Greater Columbus Arts Council for our work "I, Too, Sing America Parts 2 and 3"

We are honored to be among the other esteemed finalists for this award.

We are looking forward to the Big Arts Night celebration on Thursday, Nov. 2 with GCAC!

Congratulations ot all of the other finalists, nominees, and recent awards winners.

A special thank you to Spyroll Studios / Adam Reiss, for his contribution of the filming and editing of the I, Too series.

A Big Welcome to Eric Gibson

Opera Project Columbus is elated to welcome Eric Gibson to the OPC family as our new Executive Director.

Gibson is a stage director equally comfortable with opera and musical theatre.

He has directed productions of Die Fledermaus, Madame Butterfly, The Pirates of Penzance, Hansel and Gretel, Trouble in Tahiti, Bastien and Bastienne, and The Barber of Seville for Fargo-Moorhead Opera.

Other engagements include The Barber of Seville for Opera Tampa, The Mikado and HMS Pinafore for Union Avenue Opera in St. Louis, Rigoletto for MidAtlantic Opera Company, and The Barber of Seville, The Mikado, Sweeney Todd and The Light in the Piazza for Mobile Opera. Recently Gibson staged la Rondine for Winter Opera in St. Louis after staging The Italian Girl in Algiers for the company.

Gibson served as artistic director of LOOK Musical Theatre (Tulsa) directing nearly fifty original productions including Die Fledermaus, Naughty Marietta, The Merry Widow, Sweeney Todd, Guys & Dolls, South Pacific, Candide and multiple productions of nearly the entire Gilbert & Sullivan cannon.

Gibson has taught acting at AIMS in Graz, Austria and the Kashu-do Opera Studios in Harnosand, Sweden.

He directed Cosi fan tutte for Varna International in Bulgaria and is the current acting teacher and stage director for the International Performing Arts Institute in Kiefersfelden, Germany.

As Director of Lyric Theatre at Northern Arizona University from 2015-2020, Gibson staged original productions of Signor Deluso, Il Campanello, Beethoven’s Slippers, Dido & Aeneas, Kiss me, Kate, Trouble in Tahiti, The Pirates of Penzance, The Magic Flute, The Light in the Piazza, Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi.

Past productions include Dido & Aeneas at Ohio State, with Gallantry, Signor Deluso and Hansel und Gretel on the horizon.

Gibson is currently the professor, opera stage director and acting teacher at The Ohio State University and resides in Columbus, Ohio.

We are great hands with his leadership and the future is exciting with his vision. Eric's experience and expertise will be an amazing asset to Opera Project Columbus and we can't wait to see his imprint on our organization.

Welcome Eric!

A Note from Board President, Michael Smith

Opera Project Columbus would like to thank Greg Eldridge for his service as Executive Director.  We wish him the best of luck as his personal journey is taking him from our home state of Ohio abroad to Germany.  We will miss Greg’s incredible passion, innovation, and his service heart.  Greg made incredible strides for the organization driving progress around organizational modernization with implementation of new organizational policies and an uplift to operational contracts.  During his leadership, the organization continued the expansion of board positions and increased organizational volunteers including the development of two new committees which will further the growth of OPC. We are thankful for Greg's imprint, the projects he initiated that are in flight, identification of new grant opportunities,  and the new networks he has engaged in strengthening our relationship with the community.  We look forward to an exciting 2024 and although Greg will not be a part of our season, his impact will be present. 

Thank you Ohio Arts Council!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You to The Ohio Arts Council for recently awarding Opera Project Columbus with not one but TWO grants. One for general operating support, and one for an ArtsNext grant.

We are grateful for your continued support of our organization and for what this funding will allow us to bring to Central Ohio music lovers.

A note from Greg Eldridge, OPC Executive Director

As with many companies coming out of the pandemic, Opera Project Columbus has been committed to returning to a state of ‘normality’ as quickly as possible, both in terms of programming and in terms of the quality of our productions. We have this season been involved in two tremendously successful projects – I, Too, Sing America, which has reached across multiple communities to bring stories of contemporary lived experience to audiences throughout the state, and our recent concert of Un Ballo in Maschera, which brought together the formidable talents of largely local orchestral players and singers under the baton of Maestro William Boggs in his first guest conducting position for the company. These events showcased the breadth of talent in our region, and also reinforced Opera Project Columbus’ commitment to producing meaningful art that resonates within our communities.

As many companies have discovered recently, however, the combination of the tail-end of the pandemic and global logistics issues have made this current period particularly difficult for companies wishing to produce the highest-quality work. For this reason, we will be postponing our planned production of The Merry Widow to a later season when we can guarantee that circumstances will allow us to present it in its best light.

We remain committed to bringing to Columbus a combination of socially-important new and canon works, and production planning for our next season is already underway. The restructuring work currently being undertaken by the Operations team at OPC is progressing quickly, and we look forward to sharing details of our next season in the near future.

While it is disappointing for us to have to postpone Merry Widow, we do so knowing that the current economic climate will soon return to a place of more certainty. And, when it does, OPC will again be leading the way in bringing local Ohio talent together to tell the stories that are important to all of us.

Greg Eldridge

OPC Executive Director

A note from Dr. Marc Heeg

“As the Artistic Administrator, Chorus Director and Rehearsal Pianist for our production of Un Ballo in Maschera, I had the pleasure of working with most all of you.

As an audience member for both shows on Friday 24 March and Sunday 26 March, with everyone on the knife's edge of nerves for opening night, I heard some wonderful playing and singing.

Today, Sunday, everything came together and music flowed from your hearts and minds! Bill Boggs conducted with extraordinary acumen, taking greater risks with the tempi, and achieving great flowing and expressive AND dramatic music-making. The chorus and soloists sang brilliantly. Even though I had rehearsed and KNEW this music so well, you STILL amazed me with beautiful expressive singing, and brought me to shameless tears with the conclusion.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU EVERYONE! "

We welcome back Geoffrey Gear

Geoffrey Gear has been singing and enjoying music for as long as he can remember. Whether he was listening to his grandmother play the piano for him as a young boy, performing in choirs and musicals in his teens, or studying and performing opera in college; music has always been a crucial part of his life. 

A graduate of Otterbein University, Geoffrey earned a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance, where he studied under Dr. Helen Allen. On stage, he has performed with Opera Project Columbus and in workshops with Opera Columbus and other various Columbus theatre companies. He also teaches private voice & piano lessons to students of all ages through his private studio.

A resident of Westerville, Ohio, he has studied and practiced many forms of singing for nearly a decade -- from jazz, pop, musical theatre, opera, and even scat singing; Geoffrey does a little bit of everything. In the future, he hopes to continue his passion for performance and pass on the joys of music to the next generation of his studio students.

Brian Alvarado joins OPC as Tom

Brian J. Alvarado "sings with a liquid baritone of great charm," "a highly attractive legato," and "precise patter elocution” (Parterre Box). His “sardonic” portrayal of Leporello in Don Giovanni (IndieOpera Podcast) has been heard at Bronx Opera, Long Island Lyric Opera, Lighthouse Opera, and Light Opera of New Jersey (Cover).

Other credits include both The Magic Flute’s Papageno (Opera Theatre of Montclair) and Speaker (Barn Opera), Dandini in La Cenerentola (Bay View Music Festival, Opera Theatre of Montclair), Schaunard in La bohéme (Regina Opera, Amore Opera), the Badger/Parson in Cunning Little Vixen and Le Baron de Pictordu in Cendrillon (dell’Arte Opera Ensemble), and the title roles in The Sorcerer (Utopia Opera, G&S Society of NY), Venus and Adonis (New Camerata Opera; Cover), and Sweeney Todd (City Island Theatre).

His solo concert work includes Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s BWV 147, Keiser’s Markuspassion, Haydn’s Nicolaimesse, Mozart’s Vesperae solennes de confessore, Schubert’s Mass in G, and Gounod’s Messe solennelle de Sainte-Cécile. He has appeared chorally in Juilliard/New York Philharmonic’s co-production of Mother of Us All at the Met Museum of Art, Center for Contemporary Opera’s workshop of Niloufar Nourbakhsh’s We, the Innumerable at National Sawdust, and the New York Philharmonic’s performance of Adolphus Hailstork’s Done Made My Vow in David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. He makes debuts this season as Frank in Die Fledermaus with New Rochelle Opera, and Betto in Gianni Schicchi with SAS Concert Opera.

Steve Valenzuela returns to OPC

Connecticut native Steve Valenzuela has been described as a “Committed actor with a voluptuous baritone” - Opera News.

He has performed in numerous operas, musicals, and concerts with such companies such as The Florentine Opera (Baumgartner Studio Artist), Shreveport Opera, City Lyric Opera, Opera Project Columbus, The New Haven Symphony Orchestra, and the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra / New Paradigm Theater.

He received his Master of Music degree from Louisiana State University and his Bachelor’s of Music from Western Connecticut State University. Past roles performed include: Howard in Dog Days, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress, Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni, Count in Le nozze di Figaro, Marcello in La Bohéme, Danilo in The Merry Widow, and Sam Trouble in Tahiti.

We are excited to have Steve join us on the OPC stage once again.

Returning to the Role of Ulrica is mezzosporano, Ola Rafalo

Ola Rafalo, dramatic mezzosoprano, has been called a “Vocal Powerhouse”, and “the next Cossotto”. She has earned critical acclaim in a variety of roles and venues with her “voluptuous”, “deep contralto-like sound” and mesmerizing acting. Ola is the recipient of a career grant for young dramatic voices from the Olga Forrai foundation, as well as the winner of the Maria Callas prize at the Giulio Fregosi competition in 2019, and Second Prize in the Altamura-Caruso Competition. Ola has performed Azucena in Il Trovatore, Maddalena in Rigoletto, Fenena in Nabucco, as Amneris in Aida, and Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera. Her most celebrated role is Carmen, which she has sung with Syracuse Opera, the Lyric Orchestra, Gulfshore Opera, New Jersey Verismo Opera, and highlights with the Pacific Symphony. Other roles performed include Charlotte in Werther, Fricka in Die Walkure, Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde, La Frugola in Il Tabarro, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, and Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana. Notable concert works performed have been DeFalla’s El Amor Brujo, Brahms 2 songs for voice and viola, Verdi Requiem, Beethoven’s 9th, and Vivaldi’s Gloria.

She has been featured at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, Opera Tampa, Springfield Symphony, Orlando Opera, Baltimore Lyric, Opera Carolina, Teatro Curci di Barletta, Paderewski Symphony, Opera Festival Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, Florentine Opera, the Eugene Symphony, and the Evanston Symphony Orchestra.  

Upcoming, will sing the role of Brangaene in Tristan und Isolde, with the Eugene Symphony, the role of Ulrica in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera, with Opera Project Columbus, and then return to Oregon to sing the Alto solo in Mahler’s 2nd Symphony. 

Introducing Christopher Holmes as Renato

With over 40 operatic roles to his credit, baritone Christopher Holmes has been featured by companies such as Austin Lyric Opera, Central City Opera, Eugene Opera, Opera Idaho, Phoenix Opera, Juneau Lyric Opera, and San Antonio Opera. 

A "powerful, melodious baritone" with "soul and passion" is a small sample of enthusiastic reviews being received by Holmes.  As a full-lyric baritone, Holmes is beginning to make his mark in the Verdi repertoire.   As IAGO with Winter Opera St. Louis critics commented, Holmes sings Iago “with clarity and power, and with a skilled actor's ability to convey mood and character" and with “control and subtlety.”  As RIGOLETTO at St. Petersburg Opera a critic indicates that Holmes “had me crying at points-- an incredibly beautiful lyric baritone with a very clear understanding of who this humiliated and terribly wronged man is.”  His GERMONT was praised as “with crystal clear enunciation, truly polished, controlled, professional and superb.”  But his versatility continues to make him adept at the bass-baritone roles of Mozart and Rossini such as DON ALFONSO in Così fan tutte and BARTOLO in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Over the pandemic Holmes was able to support virtual efforts of opera organizations through performances with Intermountain Opera Bozeman and Ohio Light Opera.  Additionally he recorded the role of ANSELMO in a new opera by William Call entitled El Curioso Impertinente and MICHELE in Il tabarrowith Social Distance Opera/Barn Opera.  Activities in 2022 so far have included singing MARCELLO (Boheme) in the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts at Utah Valley University’s first inclusion of an opera in their professional concert/theater series, the baritone soloist in Dwight Bigler’s Mosaic for Earthperformed by the choirs and orchestras at Virginia Tech, and covering SCARPIA at Utah Symphony & Opera.    

In 2018/19 he was seen as BARONE DOUPHOL in Utah Opera’s La traviata, CONTE ALMAVIVA in Utah Festival Opera’s Figaro, BELCORE in Opera Company of Middlebury’s production and subsequent tour of L'elisir damore, BARTOLO in Il barbiere di Siviglia atWestern Plains Opera, ESCAMILLO in Carmen with the Pine Mountain Music Festival, and the PIRATE KING in The Pirates of Penzance at Rimrock Opera/NOVA. Previously he was seen with Cleveland Opera Theater as FIGARO in Le nozze di Figaro and made a return to Gulfshore Opera in their production of Speed Dating (M. Ching) and in their tour of "Grand Opera Nights" singing the roles of FIGARO (Il barbiere di Siviglia), MARCELLO (La Boheme), GERMONT (La Traviata), and the title role of RIGOLETTO.  

Mr. Holmes remains active as a concert artist having sung such works as Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and St. John Passion, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Brahms' A German Requiem, Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, the Faure Requiem, Mozart's Mass in C Minor and Requiem, Schubert’s Mass in G Major, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, and Verdi's Messa di Requiem.

We welcome back to the Opera Project Columbus stage, American soprano Megan Santora.

American soprano Megan Santora is a versatile and dynamic performing artist. This year, Ms. Santora covered the role of Nella in Gianni Schicchi as a member of the Manetti Shrem Opera Program with Festival Napa Valley (Napa Valley, California). She also returned to Opera Project Columbus (Columbus, OH) as Miss Pinkerton in The Old Maid and the Thief and covered the role of Norina in Don Pasquale with Opera MODO (Detroit, MI).

The 2020 season began with the role of Adele in Die Fledermaus with Opera Project Columbus. Recent engagements include Anna Gomez in The Consul with Opera MODO and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Project Columbus.

Ms. Santora graduated from The University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music (CCM) with an Artist Diploma in Opera in 2016. She also completed a Master of Music in Voice Performance at The University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music (CCM), a Master of Music in Opera Theatre at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance at Oberlin Conservatory of Music. At The University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music (CCM), Ms. Santora performed the roles of Vixen Sharp Ears in The Cunning Little Vixen, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore, Princesse Laoula in L'etoile, and Thibault in Don Carlos. She was also the soprano soloist in Stravinsky's Les Noces and was featured in a Kurt Weill Cabaret.

In 2013, Ms. Santora was the soprano young artist with Opera Saratoga (Saratoga Springs, NY) and Opera Columbus (Columbus, OH). She has participated in Cincinnati Opera's Opera Fusion (Cincinnati, OH): Champion, Meet John Doe, and Shalimar the Clown. Ms. Santora also performed the role of Serpina in La Serva Padrona with the Cincinnati Chamber Opera (Cincinnati, OH). Other opera performances include Cugina in Madama Butterfly, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Miss Jessel in Turn of the Screw, Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Elisetta in Il Matrimonio Segreto, Diana in A Wedding, Lola in Gallantry, Lady Macbeth in Lady Macbeth by Pasatieri, and the narrator in Sweet Betsy from Pike.