OPERA AMERICA S EMERGING ARTIST RECITAL SERIES PRESENTS WASHINGTON NATIONAL OPERA S DOMINGO-CAFRITZ YOUNG ARTIST PROGRAM The National Opera Center Saturday, April 11, 2015 4:00 p.m. Raquel González, soprano Kerriann Otaño, soprano Aleksandra Romano, mezzo-soprano Michael Brandenburg, tenor Wei Wu, bass Tomoko Nakayama, piano THE NATIONAL OPERA CENTER AMERICA
PROGRAM Le Printemps Le Rossignol des lilas Chère Nuit Featuring Raquel González REYNALDO HAHN ALFRED BACHELET Chansons de Don Quichotte Chanson du départ de Don Quichotte Chanson à Dulcinée Chanson du Duc Chanson de la mort de Don Quichotte Featuring Wei Wu JACQUES IBERT Six Romances, Op. 25 (selections) Reconciliation Over Burning Ashes The Sun Has Set Featuring Aleksandra Romano PYOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY Cäcilie Zueignung Befreit Featuring Michael Brandenburg RICHARD STRAUSS
The Lilacs O You, My Harvest-Field Spring Waters Featuring Kerriann Otaño SERGEI RACHMANINOFF The Siren s Song Featuring Raquel González JEROME KERN Be My Love Featuring Michael Brandenburg NICHOLAS BRODSZKY Toothbrush Time Featuring Kerriann Otaño WILLIAM BOLCOM Amor Featuring Aleksandra Romano WILLIAM BOLCOM This Nearly Was Mine Featuring Wei Wu RICHARD RODGERS It s a Grand Night for Singing RICHARD RODGERS The Emerging Artist Recital Series is generously supported by The Howard Gilman Foundation and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS A native of Austin, IN, tenor Michael Brandenburg is in his first season of the Domingo- Cafritz Young Artist Program. This season, he will appear as the Steersman in WNO s production of The Flying Dutchman. Brandenburg is a 2013 National Grand Finals winner at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. His recent performances include the title role in Werther and Le prince charmant in Cendrillon at Indiana University s Jacobs School of Music. In summer 2014, he covered the roles of Alfredo in La traviata and Don José in La tragédie de Carmen at Des Moines Metro Opera. He is a recent winner of the Bel Canto Competition in Chicago. He began studying voice while pursuing a master s degree in aquatic biology at Ball State University. Originally from Lawrence, KS, soprano Raquel González is in her first season of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. This fall, she appeared as Mimì in La bohème (Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Performance). She recently received her master s degree from The Juilliard School. At Juilliard, she appeared as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin, Arminda in La finta giardiniera, Dido in Dido and Aeneas and Mélisse in Armide. She has spent several summers at the Chautauqua Institution, singing such roles as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Adina in L elisir d amore and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. As a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, she appeared in the world premiere of Terence Blanchard s Champion. She returned to OTSL in the summer of 2014 as a festival artist in the role of First Lady in The Magic Flute and also covered Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites. In concert, she has appeared with the New York Festival of Song at Alice Tully Hall. With William Christie and Juilliard415, she has sung Iphise in Rameau s Les Fêtes d Hébé, appeared in Handel s Il trionfo del tempo e del disinganno and performed as Diane in Charpentier s Actéon. She made her debut with the New York Philharmonic as the soprano soloist in Beethoven s Symphony No. 9 at Avery Fisher Hall. A 2014 Eastern District winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, she has also been awarded prizes from The Liederkranz Foundation and the Gerda Lissner Foundation.
A native of Japan, pianist/ coach Tomoko Nakayama is in her second season of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. This fall, she served as assistant conductor for WNO s production of La bohème. Last season with WNO, she worked on The Elixir of Love and also assisted on the world premiere of Huang Ruo s An American Soldier. In 2012, she served as apprentice music coach on Wolf Trap Opera s production of The Rake s Progress. She recently served as a staff accompanist at The Juilliard School, and she also served as faculty vocal coach and opera scenes director at Boston University s Tanglewood Institute. She is a former piano fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, where she worked on Don Giovanni under the baton of Maestro James Levine. She recently worked at the International Vocal Arts Institute in Tel Aviv, Israel, where she was a faculty pianist for performances of La bohème. She has also served as pianist, coach and continuo player in Le nozze di Figaro with the Opera on the Avalon festival in Canada. Highlights of recent seasons also include performances at Merkin Concert Hall with the New York Philharmonic Ensembles and collaborations with members of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival. A prolific chamber music performer, she is the founding member of Eta3, a piano, clarinet and flute trio that made its Alice Tully Hall debut in 2006. Originally from Long Island, NY, soprano Kerriann Otaño is in her first season of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. This season with WNO, she sang the role of Katherine in the world premiere of Penny. She is an alumna of the Fort Worth Opera studio, where she recently made her festival debut as Despina in Così fan tutte. In summer 2014, she joined The Glimmerglass Festival Young Artists Program, covering the role of Roberta Alden in An American Tragedy. She advanced to the regional level of the 2014 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was awarded second place in the Mid-South Region. Last season, she was seen as an apprentice artist with Sarasota Opera and Central City Opera, where she covered Queenie in Show Boat and was heard as Berta in the family performance of Il barbiere di Siviglia. In 2012, she received acclaim for her Donna Elvira as a young artist in Seagle Music Colony s production of Don Giovanni. She holds a master s degree from Mannes College, where she sang Maria Corona in The Saint of Bleecker Street under the baton of Joseph Colaneri. She completed her Bachelor of Music at Indiana University.
A native of New Haven, CT, mezzo-soprano Aleksandra Romano is in her first season of WNO s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. This fall with WNO, she appeared as the Fox in The Little Prince. She is a Mid-Atlantic regional finalist and Encouragement Award winner in the 2014 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. In the summer of 2014, she joined The Glimmerglass Festival to cover the roles of Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and Sondra Finchley in An American Tragedy. She has found her voice among the Rossini heroines, performing Angelina in La Cenerentola with Yale Opera and Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia in a family performance at Central City Opera. Other major credits include Romeo in Bellini s I Capuleti e i Montecchi with Yale Opera (2013), as well as Despina in Così fan tutte (2012) and Antonia s Mother in Les Contes d Hoffmann (2011) with Connecticut Lyric Opera. In 2011 and 2012, she was a member of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio. An active concert soloist, she has performed with the Voices of Cooperstown, the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra and the American Symphony Orchestra. She has received prizes from Yale University (Lotte Lenya Scholarship, 2013), the Bard College Concerto Competition (2009 and 2010), the Classical Singer University Competition (national semifinalist, 2010) and the Presser Foundation (2009). Bass Wei Wu, a native of China, is in his second season of WNO s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. This fall with WNO, he appeared as Colline in La bohème (Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Performance), as the King in The Little Prince and as Mr. Shaw in the world premiere of Penny. Later this season, he sings the role of Dr. Javelinot in Dialogues of the Carmelites. Last season with WNO, he was a member of the ensemble in the world premiere of The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me and was also seen as Second Armored Man in The Magic Flute. He recently appeared as the Four Villains in Les Contes d Hoffmann at the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing in a production by WNO Artistic Director Francesca Zambello. He has also recently performed Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Opera Arkansas, and appeared in concert as bass soloist in Mozart s Requiem with the Grand Junction Symphony and in Verdi s Requiem with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. He recently made his Alice Tully Hall debut singing in concert with performers from China s I Sing Beijing opera program. With China National Opera, he has appeared on stage as Ferrando in Il trovatore and Tom in Un ballo in maschera. Wu has sung Leporello in Don Giovanni, Doctor Grenvil/Marchese in La traviata, Olin Blitch in Susannah, Colline in La bohème, Jigger in Carousel, Dr. Gibbs in Our Town and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with University of Colorado Opera. Other past performances include appearances at the China National Opera House, Roma Auditorium Symphony and Opera Hong Kong. In 2010 and 2012, he was a district finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
About Washington National Opera s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program Washington National Opera s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program is a leading resident-training program for artists on the verge of international careers. Founded in 2002 by Plácido Domingo, the program offers exceptionally promising young singers and coach/accompanists two years of intensive training, study and career guidance with a team of world-renowned master teachers and coaches that includes Deborah Voigt, Diana Soviero, William Stone, Peter Kazaras and Kathleen Kelly, among others. Members of the program are featured prominently in performances at the Kennedy Center and throughout the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. They are cast in principal and comprimario roles, given cover assignments, and perform an annual showcase with full orchestra in the Opera House. They are actively involved in WNO s American Opera Initiative, where they have the opportunity to workshop and premiere newly composed operatic works. Young Artists also perform frequently in other landmark venues around D.C., including the Smithsonian Institution and various embassies, as well as with the National Symphony Orchestra. The Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program is dedicated to cultivating successful careers in opera. Graduates of the program have gone on to perform at the world s leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Bayreuth Festival, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Berlin State Opera, Los Angeles Opera, New York City Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, The Glimmerglass Festival and The Santa Fe Opera, among others. Additionally, WNO actively seeks to provide former young artists with the opportunity to return to the company in principal and featured roles upon completion of the program. Emerging Artist Recital Series These recitals reflect the joint efforts of OPERA America and its member companies to identify and nurture the careers of the most promising young artists. Each recital hosts emerging singers and pianists at the National Opera Center s Marc A. Scorca Hall. The concerts are streamed live to opera companies around the world, introducing these artists to a broad community of producers and other casting professionals who can help advance their careers, as well as to a worldwide public interested in tracking the accomplishments of aspiring artists who have achieved success through competitions and young artist programs. The recitals reach a growing audience through live streams from the National Opera Center. OPERA America s recent live streams have each attracted between 10,000 and 20,000 viewers worldwide. For more information about OPERA America s Emerging Artist Recital Series, please contact Laura Lee Everett, director of artistic services, at LEverett@operaamerica.org.
JOIN US FOR THESE FUTURE EVENTS AT THE NATIONAL OPERA CENTER: CONVERSATIONS DAVID DANIELS Tuesday, April 21, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Called today s gold standard among countertenors, David Daniels will join OPERA America President/CEO Marc A. Scorca to talk about his life as one of the rarest voice-types, the industry and upcoming engagements. EMERGING ARTIST RECITAL SERIES 2014 MUSIC ACADEMY OF THE WEST MARILYN HORNE SONG COMPETITION WINNERS Wednesday, May 20, 2015, 7:00 p.m. Michelle Bradley and pianist Michael Gaertner, winners of the 2014 Music Academy of the West Marilyn Horne Song Competition, which took place on July 19, will take the stage to showcase their talents. Register for future events at operaamerica.org/onstage. OPERA CONFERENCE 2015: INCREASING CIVIC IMPACT OPERA America s annual conference will be held May 6 to 9 in Washington, D.C. This year s conference will examine ways opera companies can address community priorities and forge beneficial relationships across the cities they serve. Visit conference.operaamerica.org to explore the conference schedule and register. Speak to an OPERA America staff member if you have questions about any of our events or if you are interested in becoming a member.