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SCOTT PIPER (Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana / Canio in I Pagliacci) Spinto tenor Scott Piper’s rich, resonant voice and charismatic stage presence are quickly establishing him as a sought after interpreter of opera’s romantic leading men, in roles such roles as the Cavaradossi in Tosca, Don José in Bizet’s Carmen, Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana. In the 11-12, season Piper debuts as Turiddu with the New Israeli Opera, adds Canio for a Cav and Pag double bill with Opera Tampa, debuts as Manrico in Verdi’s Il Trovatore with Opera Roanoke, debuts with Sarasota Opera as Anatol in Barber’s Vanessa and returns to his signature roles: Rodolfo in La Bohème with Angers-Nantes Opera in France and Don Jose in Carmen with Kentucky Opera. He has recently appeared with Houston Grand Opera, the International Music Festival of Macau, Vancouver Opera (British Columbia), Compañia Lírica Nacional de Costa Rica, the New Peoples Theater of Moscow (Russia), Minnesota Opera, Opera Pacific, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Opera, Madison Opera, Michigan Opera Theater and New York City Opera. In Italy, he has appeared in Rome, Catanzaro, Modena, Ravenna, and at Teatro di Verdi in Busseto. As a guest soloist Piper has appeared with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, the Plymouth Symphony, the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Flint Symphony, the Handel Choir of Baltimore, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the Madison Symphony, the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra and the Shreveport Symphony.
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CRISTINA NASSIF (Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana / Nedda in I Pagliacci) This year Nassif has performed the title role in Bizet's Carmen in an abridged semi-staged production in Allentown, Pa., at Allentown's Symphony Hall as well as in a fully staged production in Pretoria and Johannesburg, South Africa with Opera Africa. She then joined the Eclipse Chamber Orchestra for Berlioz's cycle Les nuits d'été. Ms. Nassif’s operatic repertoire includes Violetta, Nedda, Musetta, Rosina, Alice Ford, Pamina, Despina and Tatiana, among others, with audiences and critics alike praising her performances with the Washington National Opera, London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Shanghai Opera Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony, Virginia Opera, Shreveport Opera, Piedmont Opera, Opera Tampa, Opera Delaware, Virginia Symphony, West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Pan-American Symphony Orchestra, Wichita Grand Opera, Central City Opera and Opera Theater of Pittsburgh. In addition to a Chinese concert tour, Ms. Nassif has performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Zankel Hall, the Concert Hall, Terrace Theater and Millenium Stage of The Kennedy Center, the Austrian Embassy and D.C.’s Lisner Auditorium, among others. Among those selected from the Montserrat Caballé International Competition and Masterclasses, Ms. Nassif performed in the closing concert in the Sala Mozart del Auditorio de Zaragoza, Spain. Other concert highlights include Mahler’s “Des Knaben Wunderhorn,” Mendelssohn’s “Elijah” and Lobgesang’s “Duende!,” an all Spanish solo recital sponsored by the International Poetry Forum. Of Spanish and Lebanese descent and the daughter of two musicians, Ms. Nassif began her vocal training with her mother, mezzo-soprano Cristina Herrera de Nassif. |
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MICHAEL CORVINO (Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana / Tonio in I Pagliacci) has proven himself one of America’s leading verismo and Verdi baritones. With nearly 200 performances achieved of Verdi’s leading baritone roles, he continues to impress audiences and critics alike. Mr. Corvino began his operatic career in 1997, singing the role of Sharpless with Opera Northeast’s production of Madama Butterfly. Since then, his career has continued to grow and flourish, taking him to Europe and Asia, as well as to many houses in the United States. In the 2000–2001 season, he joined the roster of New York City Opera, where he made many returns in the years to follow. Roles in his repertoire include Verdi’s Rigoletto (title role), Germont (La Traviata), Nabucco (title role), Amonasro (Aïda), Iago (Otello), the Count di Luna (Il Trovatore), Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Alfo (Cavalleria Rusticana), Tonio (I Pagliacci), Marcello (La Bohème), David (L’amico Fritz), Lescaut (Manon Lescaut) and Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor), among many others. On the concert stage, he has sung Verdi concerts with Dayton Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Birmingham and the New Haven Symphony Orchestra, in addition to a gala concert with Opéra de Montréal. In the 2010-2011 season, he joined the Metropolitan Opera roster, as part of the casts of Capriccio (R. Strauss), Roméo et Juliette (Gounod) and Don Carlo (Verdi). |
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KEITH HARRIS (Silvio in I Pagliacci) made his Metropolitan Opera debut in the production of Verdi’s Don Carlo. He sang the title role in Karsa’s Brundibar with the Phoenix Symphony and joined the cast at the New York City Opera as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore. In the 2011-2012 season, Mr. Harris will join Opera Tampa as Silvio in I Pagliacci, the Lyrique en Mer Festival in France as Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, the Lancaster Symphony in “Carmina Burana” and the National Chorale in Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall. Not a stranger to musical theater, Mr. Harris sang Billie Bigelow in Carousel for the Baltimore Dinner Theater this season. In the summer of 2007, he sang the roles of Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd and Pirate Bras Pique in Naughty Marietta with Light Opera Oklahoma. Mr. Harris has appeared at the Seattle Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Holders Festival in Barbados, Nevada Opera, Opera of East Texas, El Paso Opera, Skagit Opera, Chelsea Opera in such roles as Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, Silvio in Pagliacci, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Le Dancaïro, Escamillo and Moralés in Carmen, Sid in La fanciulla del West, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Athanaël in Thaïs and Dandini in La Cenerentola. He holds a Master’s of Music in Vocal Performance from University of Washington and a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University in Wisconsin.
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IAN O’BRIEN (Beppe in I Pagliacci) A voice student of Maria Spacagna, Mr. O’Brien is a Vocal Performance major at Rhode Island College. He was selected to perform as the featured soloist at an ASCAP-sponsored event celebrating the life of George M. Cohen and has enjoyed performances on regional stages in Rhode Island, Boston and New York. Mr. O’Brien has apprenticed as a New Artist with Opera Tampa and performed in their production of The Merry Widow with Anton Coppola conducting. Mr. O'Brien has performed on many of the northeast's greatest stages including Symphony Hall and Jordan Hall in Boston and Alice Tully Hall and Carnegie Hall in New York City. Mr. O'Brien's specialties include Irish, Scottish and German dialects as well as superior pronunciation of Italian and German. In addition, he studied for 12 years classical viola and renaissance flute.
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DAWN PIERCE (Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana) is a mezzo soprano, possessing a unique vocal quality described as “deep liquid velvet.” An exceptional performer, Ms. Pierce combines vocal artistry with advanced acting abilities and training in dance. Her present repertoire includes Carmen, Isabella (L’Italiana in Algeri), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly) and Charlotte (Werther). On the operatic stage she recently performed as Dorabella (Così fan tutte), the Contessa di Coigny and Madelon (Andrea Chenier), Tisbe (La Cenerentola) and Jo (Little Women). She is equally comfortable in musical theater where she portrayed Franca (The Light in the Piazza), The Grand Duchess (The Student Prince) and Anita (West Side Story). In 2004, her talents were recognized when she won the Metropolitan Opera District Competition. Pierce is an assistant professor of voice at Ithaca College in New York State. Completing her formal undergraduate education at Ithaca College, Pierce graduated Magna Cum Laude with bachelors’ degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education. She continued her education at the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute at the North Carolina School of the Arts where she earned a Summa Cum Laude master’s degree in Vocal Performance along with a Performing Artist Certificate in Opera. Pierce has studied privately with Bill Schumann, Penelope Bitzas, Elizabeth Mannion, Ruth Golden, Marilyn Taylor and Carol McAmis.When she is not busy with performance, vocal training and teaching, she enjoys designing jewelry, reading, dancing, weight training and spending time with her family and friends.
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SUSAN NICELY (Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana) has performed as Thelma Predmore in Cold Sassy Tree and Mary in The Flying Dutchman with the Atlanta Opera, Emma Jones in Street Scene with Chautauqua Opera and Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette with Syracuse Opera. Additional engagements include Marquise de Berkenfeld in La Fille du Régiment with Florentine Opera, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro with Chautauqua Opera, Annina in La Traviata with Atlanta Opera and Opera Pacific, Mamma Lucia in Cavelleria Rusticana and Tisbe in La Cenerentola with Dallas Opera and Dame Marthe in Faust with Palm Beach Opera. She made her European debut in Strasbourg, France, in the role of Mary with Opera du Rhine’s production of Der fliegende Holländer and her debut in South America as Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd with Opera Breve in Caracas, Venezuela. Other acclaimed previous engagements include Mother Goose in The Rake’s Progress with San Francisco Opera, Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with New York City Opera, Marthe in Faust with Houston Grand Opera, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor with Dallas Opera, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro with Cincinnati Opera, The Old Lady in Candide with Austin Lyric Opera, the Witchin Hänsel und Gretel with Chicago Opera Theatre, Dame Quickly in Falstaff with Chautauqua Opera, Katasha in The Mikado with Portland Opera and Little Buttercup in H.M.S. Pinafore with Cleveland Opera.
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| OPERA TAMPA ORCHESTRA |
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Violin I
Nancy Chang
Annabelle Gardiner
Eric Nordstrom
Milene Moreira
Valerie Adams
Bryan Payne
Hollis Elizabeth
Veronica Pellegrini
Juan Jaramillo
Kasia Dolinska
Violin II
Sarah Shellman
Cynthia Gregg
Nonoko Okada
Ovidiu Sutic
Eliza Cho
Jason Erwin
Andrea Pettigrew
Amanda Nix
Viola
William Goodwin
Ben Markwell
Karen Dumke
Mike Holub
Renate Falkner
Karl Bawel
Cello
Lowell Adams
Laura Smith
Ron Gardiner
Chris Pegis
Sacha Von Dassow
Martin Bernstein
Bass
Dee Moses
Jim Petrecca
Wendy Leggett
TJ Glowacki
Harp
Dolly Roberts
Flute
David Tagliarini
Daphne Soellner
Oboe
Amy Collins
Clarinet
Stacey McColley
Miranda Dohrman
Bassoon
Kevin Fuller
Trumpet
Jay Coble
Robert Smith
Horn
Andrew Karr
Candler Schaffer
Trombone
Tom Brantley
Bass Trombone
Jim Hall
Timpani
Bob McCormick
Percussion
Kurt Grissom
OPERA TAMPA CHORUS
Soprano
Sarah Coit
Michelle Doddy
Alessandra Feliciano
Ashley Fowler
Phoenix Gayles
Katlyn Iacovino
Shayna Isaacson
Allison Novak
Melody Ossi
Aleksandra Ritums
Theresa Rose
Melody Rubin
Theresa Seagers
Melissa Stewart-Hoffman
Cori Svoboda
Mezzo-Soprano
Kaci Alfonso
Alice Fortunato
Dani Janesick
Rachael Marino
Kimberly Milton
Erin Moyse
Anne Page
Morgan Ryan
Jennifer Sabin
Victoria Stout
Tenor
Tom Accardo
Lucas Coura
Alejandro Donawa
Kavanaugh Gillespie
Frank Maggese
Richard Marenda
Michael Pruitt
Christopher Romeo
Bass
Robert Amer
Jesse Lancaster
Jesse Martin
Joel Mercer
Jonathan Milton
Jinho Park
Robert Richard
Gene Tate
Steve Wright
Assistant Stage Manager: Jimmy Featherstone
Assistant Stage Manager: Erin Thompson-Janszen
Supernumeraries:
A supernumerary, or “super” as they are referred to in the industry, is a
non-singing extra and an important member of the cast. Supers often appear
as townspeople, servants, soldiers and many other characters.
They may even have multiple roles to play in one opera. Whatever the part, supers help
to add detail and authenticity to a production.
Michael Fox
Kevin Katroscik
Edward Katroscik
Tracy Yarbrough
Dylan Wallace
Jay Hoffer
Adam Norris
Mark Bensonoff
Devon Diaz
Daryn Diaz
Makenzie Horner
Samantha Money
Will Cespedes
Al Felman
Matthew Belopavlovich
George Ordiway
Adam Crain
Zoe Zalta
Kara Goldberg
Peter Konowicz
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