Meet The Artists
ROSA D’IMPERIO (Aida) has received a myriad of glowing reviews by the European and American press. Ms. D’Imperio most recently made her debut as Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth with the Fresno Grand Opera and Opera Santa Barbara, sang the title role in Strauss’s Die Ägyptische Helena for the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Abigaille in Nabucco in Paris, Basel, Hamburg, and Mannheim for Companions Opera, title role in Adriana Lecouvreur in concert with the Prague Radio Orchestra, the title role of Tosca with Opera Tampa, Opera de Puerto Rico, New York Grand Opera, and Treasure Coast Opera, title role of Aida in a co-production of the Teatro de la Opera and Opera de Puerto Rico Opera and in concert with the Gateway Classical Music Society Orchestra, Leonora in Il trovatore and Amelia in Un ballo in maschera with the Bel Canto Opera, Desdemona in Otello with Palm Beach Opera and the One World Symphony Orchestra, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Opera de Puerto Rico, among others. Ms. D’Imperio’s concert career has included highlights of Manon Lescaut in the Puro Puccini Gala for Opera de Puerto Rico, Verdi’s "Missa da requiem" with the West Village Chorale, Rossini's "Stabat Mater" for Gateway Classical Music Society Orchestra, Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s "Magnificat" with the Puerto Rico Symphony Orchestra, and a Gala at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall for The Italian Academy Foundation. She was graduated from Loyola University Maryland and did post-graduate study at the Juilliard School.
STACEY RISHOI (Princess Amneris) In the 2011-12 season Rishoi sings as Amneris in Aida with Opera Tampa, joins the roster of Lyric Opera of Chicago for its production of Aida, sings as soloist in Beethoven's "Choral Fantasy" and "Symphony No. 9," both in a return to Jacksonville Symphony and, in another return, in "This is Opera" with Opera Omaha. She also returns to Cincinnati Opera as La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi and as Flora in La traviata. In 2010-11 she returned to Calgary Opera to sing Amneris and to Cincinnati Opera to sing Maddalena in Rigoletto and Madama Larina in Eugene Onegin. She also performed the role of Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos with Toledo Opera, and appeared as soloist with both the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra and Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra in Verdi's Requiem, and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9." Other highlights of Ms. Rishoi's recent seasons include two successful role debuts: Dalila in Samson et Dalila with Nashville Opera and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Orlando Opera; her return to Washington National Opera as Waltraute in Die Walküre; Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" with North Carolina Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Grant Llewellyn; Dvorák's Stabat Mater and Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with Choral Arts Society of Washington, DC; de Falla's The Three Cornered Hat with Columbus Symphony; joining the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for the world premiere of Tan Dun's The First Emperor; Mozart's Requiem with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, among others. Ms. Rishoi is a winner of the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the Norman Treigle Award from New York City Opera.
GUSTAVO LOPEZ-MANZITTI (Radames) Argentinian-born tenor Gustavo Lopez-Manzitti has been thrilling audiences here in the USA and in Canada for the past few years, earning his reputation for exciting vocalism and stylish phrasing in lyric-spinto roles such as Don Jose in Carmen, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Cavaradossi in Tosca, and Manrico in Il Trovatore with Opera de Quebec, the Virginia Opera, Opera Tampa and Orlando Opera respectively. The current season includes performances of Jacopo Foscari in I Due Foscari at the Teatro Colon, Turiddu and Canio for Sarasota Opera, and Cavaradossi for Opera Delaware. Before emigrating to the United States, he was a regular guest of the Teatro Colon and the Teatro Avenida in Buenos Aires and the Teatro Argentina in La Plata, Argentina. In addition to his vocal studies, Manzitti has studied piano at the Conservatorio National Carlos Lopez Buchardo, and private studies in composition, harmony, counterpoint and conducting.
MARK S. DOSS (Amonasro) accomplished one of his major goals during the 2010/11 season by successfully singing the role of Amonasaro in Aida with the Vienna State Opera Company. Doss' recent debuts include Italy's famed Arena di Verona (Escamillo), Florence's Teatro del Maggio Musicale (Jochanaan in Salome), Madrid's Teatro Real and Bologna's Teatro Comunale (Jochanaan), as well as Teatro La Fenice in Venice (Přemysl in Janacek's Šárka). Mr. Doss also made his role debut as Balstrode in Peter Grimes with Teatro Regio Torino, and opened the season in Salome (Jochanaan) as his house debut at the Deutsche Staastoper Berlin. Highlights of recent seasons include a Covent Garden debut, as well as a La Scala verdi role debut, as Amonasro in Aida, the title role in Boito's Mefistofele with Oper Frankfurt, Escamillo in his debut at Teatro alla Scala, among others.
GEORGE CORDES (King of Egypt) Bass-baritone George Cordes has earned high praise in both the comic and serious repertoire with such companies as the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera and Dallas Opera. Mr. Cordes’ many roles with NYCO include Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Colline in La Boheme, the Four Villains in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Timur in Turandot, Monterone in Rigoletto, the Speaker in The Magic Flute, Zuniga in Carmen, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Harasta in The Cunning Little Vixen, Tchelio in The Love for Three Oranges and Pistola in Falstaff. As a concert soloist, Cordes has performed most of the standard sacred and secular works, including "Messiah," Mozart's "Requiem," Verdi's "Requiem," "Elijah," Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" and "Magnificat," the masses of Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert, among others. Cordes began his vocal training at the Boston Conservatory of Music with Iride Pilla and Bradley Pennington. He continued his vocal and dramatic studies with Clifford Billions and Alfred Anderson at the University of Akron School of Music, where he earned his master of music degree. He was an apprentice artist with Santa Fe Opera for two seasons and Pittsburgh Opera for three seasons and has won numerous awards and competitions.
GUSTAV ANDREASSEN (Ramfis) Norwegian-American bass Gustav Andreassen has performed with major opera companies and orchestras throughout North American and Europe. Mr. Andreassen’s prolific opera career includes Daland in Der fliegende Holländer, Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos, King in Aida, Blitch in Susannah and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. He has performed as Sourin in Pique Dame and as Prince Gremin with San Francisco Opera, Osmin with both Boston Lyric Opera and Glimmerglass Opera, Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Wolf Trap Opera, as well as Commendatore in Don Giovanni with Boston Baroque, Florida Grand Opera and Cincinnati Opera, among others. Internationally Mr. Andreassen has appeared with Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Hamburgishe Staatsoper, De Vlaamse Opera, and in Lucca, Italy in such roles as Ferrando in Il trovatore, Sparafucile in Rigoletto and King Philip II in Don Carlos. An avid concert artist, Mr. Andreassen has an extensive list of symphonic engagements. In addition to winning the Heinz Rehfuss Singing-Actor Award at Orlando Opera, Mr. Andreassen received three prestigious awards while a graduate student at Cincinnati Conservatory or Music: the Italo Tajo Award, the Norman Treigle/New York City Opera Award, and the Corbett Award. While an undergraduate at the University of Arizona he was awarded first place in the Amelia Rieman Competition and placed second in the Western Region Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.