2015 Master Classes
W. Stephen Smith
May 30, 2015 & June 27, 2015 at 2:30 PM
We are so excited about the upcoming Stephen Smith Masterclass! We hope you can join us!
In the fall of 2011, W. Stephen Smith became a Professor of Voice at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University after having served on the voice faculty at The Juilliard School from the fall of 1998 to the spring of 2011. He has held a position on the voice faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School since 1996 where he was honored in 2001 and in 2009 as a “New Horizons” faculty member. He
has taught voice at Santa Fe Opera and Opera on the Avalon. He has also served on the adjunct voice faculty at Curtis Institute of Music, Teachers College of Columbia University, Stony Brook University, University of Southern California, Los Angeles Young Artist Program, and the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Program. Mr. Smith was on the staff of Houston Grand Opera as Voice Instructor for the Houston Opera Studio from 1990 to 2003. Prior to his time a Juilliard, Mr. Smith served for eight years on the voice faculty at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. After moving to Houston from St. Louis where he was Chairman of the Voice Department at the Saint Louis Conservatory of Music, he maintained a voice studio in St. Louis for three years. He was a member of the music faculty at Oklahoma Christian College for eleven years and has also been on the artistic staff at Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony and the Cimarron Circuit Opera Company.
He holds the Bachelor of Arts degree in Voice from Harding University (voice study with Erle T. Moore), the Master of Music degree in Voice from the University of Arkansas (voice study with Richard Brothers), and the Master of Performing Arts degree in Opera from Oklahoma City University where he was a voice student of the late renowned Inez Lunsford Silberg. Other teachers include Dr. William White.
Mr. Smith's book, The Naked Voice: A Wholistic Approach to Singing, was published by Oxford University Press in 2007. He has given master classes and clinics throughout the United States including the Aspen Music Festival and School, University of Southern California, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Oberlin Conservatory, Glimmerglass Opera, and at Regional and District NATS conventions. He has also been a guest lecturer at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil and at Yonsei University in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Mr. Smith's voice students have performed leading roles in most of the major opera houses and concert halls around the world including the Metropolitan Opera, London's Royal Opera at Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, La Scala, New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera, Paris Opera, Oslo Opera, Vancouver Opera, Miami Opera, Sarasota Opera, Omaha Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera among many others. In addition to numerous places in the District and Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions, thirty of his students have been National Finalists in the Met Auditions.
His current and former students include Joyce DiDonato, Christine Brewer, Kate Aldrich, Scott Hendricks, Rod Gilfry, Nicole Heaston, Brian Mulligan, Eric Owens, Jill Grove, Oren Gradus, Keith Phares, Robert McPherson, Gordon Gietz, Sasha Cooke, Ricardo Lugo, Brian Frutiger, Philip Horst, David Salsbery Fry, Jennifer Zetlan, Ryan McKinny, Weston Hurt, Scott Scully, Blythe Gaissert, Josh Winograde, Chenye Yuan, Raymond Very, Laura Knoop Very, Marietta Simpson, Lina Tetriani, Kirsten Gunlogson, Priti Gandhi, Shannon DeVine, Michael Smallwood, Jose Adan Perez, Michael Slattery, Haewon Moon, Bryan Hymel, Daniel Belcher, Beth Clayton, Craig Verm, James Patrick Miller, and Nicholas Pallesen among many others.
His students have also been winners in Chapter and Regional NATS Auditions, The Sullivan Awards, Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, San Francisco Opera Merola Awards, Richard Tucker Foundation, George London Foundation, NATSAA Competition, Worldwide Audition Competition, Charlotte Andrus Brown Grant Competition, Finlandia Foundation, Minna Kaufmann Ruud Competition, Rehfuss Operatic Singing Actors Tournament, Mobile Opera Competition, CIBC National Music Festival, Houston Opera Studio McCollum Awards, Bel Canto Competition, Kansas Cultural Trust Awards, McAllister Voice Competition, Shoshana Foundation Grants, Jussi Bjorling Competition, Pittsburgh Concert Society, Collins Award of the American Opera Society, Stewart Awards, Operalia 94 Contest, Opera Company of Palm Beach, Rosa Ponselle Voice Competition, San Antonio Operatic Talent Competition, and the Naftzger Young Artist Auditions, among many others.
His students have held apprenticeships with Santa Fe Opera, Pittsburgh Opera Center, Central City Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, San Francisco Merola Program, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Wolf Trap, Miami Opera, and Orlando Opera. They have participated in music festivals with Tanglewood, Norfolk Chamber Music, Rome Festival Opera, Brevard, Aspen Opera Theater, Salzburg Music Festival, and the Ravinia Festival.
Mr. Smith himself has performed over forty roles in opera and musical theater including eight title roles. He premiered the title role in "Bonhoeffer," an opera by Ann Gebuhr. He has performed as a soloist with the St. Louis Symphony and the Oklahoma Symphony. In 1996 he performed the role of Germont in La Traviata with Aspen Opera Theatre Center on two hours’ notice. His concert performances include the title role in Mendelssohn's Elijah, baritone solos in Messiah, the Requiems of Faure and Brahms, and the Magnificat and St. John Passion of J. S. Bach. He was a finalist in the District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was a winner of the Robertson Award with the Oklahoma Symphony Young Artist Auditions. Performance venues have included the Aspen Music Festival, Lyric Theater, Oklahoma Theatre Center, Edmond Community Theatre, Oklahoma City University, the University of Houston, and Des Moines Metro Opera. Smith has appeared as a guest soloist from time to time, with such groups as the Houston Choral Society. He is a featured soloist on a CD of the Moores School of Music Wind Ensemble recording of the music of Percy Grainger. He is the baritone soloist on the CD of “Aleinu” by Michael Horvit. He has performed at the annual memorial service for the Hospice at the Texas Medical Center. In Houston, he sang as a volunteer choir member at his church where he occasionally directed the choir. Possessing talents in addition to voice teaching and singing, Mr. Smith has stage-directed twenty-one different productions and served as musical director/conductor for several. He has also served as a District Governor (Oklahoma) of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). In St. Louis in the summer of 1988, he was the coordinator and host of a national vocal workshop sponsored by NATS. He has served as Vice-President for Auditions for the Houston Chapter of NATS and in the spring of 1998 completed a term as President of that organization. He has served as adjudicator for many voice competitions including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Also an accomplished pianist and clarinetist, Smith received the 1998 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Music of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Arkansas. In the same year he was selected the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the College of Arts and Science of Harding University.
Raised in Corning, Arkansas, Smith is the youngest of five children and the son of a retired Ford dealer. He is married to the former Carol Christine Mannen from Stuttgart, Arkansas, an excellent coach/accompanist and private piano teacher. They have two daughters, Emily Carol (Mrs. Bryan) Jobe, a bassoonist and singer who lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and Abby Christine Smith, a professional singing actress who lives in New York City. Both daughters were music majors at Harding University. The Smiths have two grandchildren, Amelia Beth Jobe and Andrew Ryan Jobe.
In the fall of 2011, W. Stephen Smith became a Professor of Voice at the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University after having served on the voice faculty at The Juilliard School from the fall of 1998 to the spring of 2011. He has held a position on the voice faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School since 1996 where he was honored in 2001 and in 2009 as a “New Horizons” faculty member. He
has taught voice at Santa Fe Opera and Opera on the Avalon. He has also served on the adjunct voice faculty at Curtis Institute of Music, Teachers College of Columbia University, Stony Brook University, University of Southern California, Los Angeles Young Artist Program, and the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Program. Mr. Smith was on the staff of Houston Grand Opera as Voice Instructor for the Houston Opera Studio from 1990 to 2003. Prior to his time a Juilliard, Mr. Smith served for eight years on the voice faculty at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. After moving to Houston from St. Louis where he was Chairman of the Voice Department at the Saint Louis Conservatory of Music, he maintained a voice studio in St. Louis for three years. He was a member of the music faculty at Oklahoma Christian College for eleven years and has also been on the artistic staff at Inspiration Point Fine Arts Colony and the Cimarron Circuit Opera Company.
He holds the Bachelor of Arts degree in Voice from Harding University (voice study with Erle T. Moore), the Master of Music degree in Voice from the University of Arkansas (voice study with Richard Brothers), and the Master of Performing Arts degree in Opera from Oklahoma City University where he was a voice student of the late renowned Inez Lunsford Silberg. Other teachers include Dr. William White.
Mr. Smith's book, The Naked Voice: A Wholistic Approach to Singing, was published by Oxford University Press in 2007. He has given master classes and clinics throughout the United States including the Aspen Music Festival and School, University of Southern California, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Oberlin Conservatory, Glimmerglass Opera, and at Regional and District NATS conventions. He has also been a guest lecturer at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil and at Yonsei University in Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Mr. Smith's voice students have performed leading roles in most of the major opera houses and concert halls around the world including the Metropolitan Opera, London's Royal Opera at Covent Garden, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, La Scala, New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera, Paris Opera, Oslo Opera, Vancouver Opera, Miami Opera, Sarasota Opera, Omaha Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera among many others. In addition to numerous places in the District and Regional Metropolitan Opera Auditions, thirty of his students have been National Finalists in the Met Auditions.
His current and former students include Joyce DiDonato, Christine Brewer, Kate Aldrich, Scott Hendricks, Rod Gilfry, Nicole Heaston, Brian Mulligan, Eric Owens, Jill Grove, Oren Gradus, Keith Phares, Robert McPherson, Gordon Gietz, Sasha Cooke, Ricardo Lugo, Brian Frutiger, Philip Horst, David Salsbery Fry, Jennifer Zetlan, Ryan McKinny, Weston Hurt, Scott Scully, Blythe Gaissert, Josh Winograde, Chenye Yuan, Raymond Very, Laura Knoop Very, Marietta Simpson, Lina Tetriani, Kirsten Gunlogson, Priti Gandhi, Shannon DeVine, Michael Smallwood, Jose Adan Perez, Michael Slattery, Haewon Moon, Bryan Hymel, Daniel Belcher, Beth Clayton, Craig Verm, James Patrick Miller, and Nicholas Pallesen among many others.
His students have also been winners in Chapter and Regional NATS Auditions, The Sullivan Awards, Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition, San Francisco Opera Merola Awards, Richard Tucker Foundation, George London Foundation, NATSAA Competition, Worldwide Audition Competition, Charlotte Andrus Brown Grant Competition, Finlandia Foundation, Minna Kaufmann Ruud Competition, Rehfuss Operatic Singing Actors Tournament, Mobile Opera Competition, CIBC National Music Festival, Houston Opera Studio McCollum Awards, Bel Canto Competition, Kansas Cultural Trust Awards, McAllister Voice Competition, Shoshana Foundation Grants, Jussi Bjorling Competition, Pittsburgh Concert Society, Collins Award of the American Opera Society, Stewart Awards, Operalia 94 Contest, Opera Company of Palm Beach, Rosa Ponselle Voice Competition, San Antonio Operatic Talent Competition, and the Naftzger Young Artist Auditions, among many others.
His students have held apprenticeships with Santa Fe Opera, Pittsburgh Opera Center, Central City Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, San Francisco Merola Program, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Chautauqua Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Wolf Trap, Miami Opera, and Orlando Opera. They have participated in music festivals with Tanglewood, Norfolk Chamber Music, Rome Festival Opera, Brevard, Aspen Opera Theater, Salzburg Music Festival, and the Ravinia Festival.
Mr. Smith himself has performed over forty roles in opera and musical theater including eight title roles. He premiered the title role in "Bonhoeffer," an opera by Ann Gebuhr. He has performed as a soloist with the St. Louis Symphony and the Oklahoma Symphony. In 1996 he performed the role of Germont in La Traviata with Aspen Opera Theatre Center on two hours’ notice. His concert performances include the title role in Mendelssohn's Elijah, baritone solos in Messiah, the Requiems of Faure and Brahms, and the Magnificat and St. John Passion of J. S. Bach. He was a finalist in the District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was a winner of the Robertson Award with the Oklahoma Symphony Young Artist Auditions. Performance venues have included the Aspen Music Festival, Lyric Theater, Oklahoma Theatre Center, Edmond Community Theatre, Oklahoma City University, the University of Houston, and Des Moines Metro Opera. Smith has appeared as a guest soloist from time to time, with such groups as the Houston Choral Society. He is a featured soloist on a CD of the Moores School of Music Wind Ensemble recording of the music of Percy Grainger. He is the baritone soloist on the CD of “Aleinu” by Michael Horvit. He has performed at the annual memorial service for the Hospice at the Texas Medical Center. In Houston, he sang as a volunteer choir member at his church where he occasionally directed the choir. Possessing talents in addition to voice teaching and singing, Mr. Smith has stage-directed twenty-one different productions and served as musical director/conductor for several. He has also served as a District Governor (Oklahoma) of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). In St. Louis in the summer of 1988, he was the coordinator and host of a national vocal workshop sponsored by NATS. He has served as Vice-President for Auditions for the Houston Chapter of NATS and in the spring of 1998 completed a term as President of that organization. He has served as adjudicator for many voice competitions including the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Also an accomplished pianist and clarinetist, Smith received the 1998 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Music of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences of the University of Arkansas. In the same year he was selected the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the College of Arts and Science of Harding University.
Raised in Corning, Arkansas, Smith is the youngest of five children and the son of a retired Ford dealer. He is married to the former Carol Christine Mannen from Stuttgart, Arkansas, an excellent coach/accompanist and private piano teacher. They have two daughters, Emily Carol (Mrs. Bryan) Jobe, a bassoonist and singer who lives in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and Abby Christine Smith, a professional singing actress who lives in New York City. Both daughters were music majors at Harding University. The Smiths have two grandchildren, Amelia Beth Jobe and Andrew Ryan Jobe.
Anthony Barrese
June 2, 2015 at 7pm
Anthony Barrese has earned accolades as both a composer and a conductor. He is the recipient of the 2007 Georg Solti Foundation U.S. award for young conductors. His original works have won numerous awards, and he is regularly engaged by opera companies in North America and Italy.
Currently Mr. Barrese works as a freelance composer and conductor. He has led several productions with Sarasota Opera (Lakmé, Le nozze di Figaro, Hansel and Gretel), and with Opera Southwest (Le nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, La cenerentola) where he is Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. He was the Assistant Conductor of the Dallas Opera in 2006-2007 and returned there as Guest Conductor for a production of Tosca in 2008.
In November 2008 Mr. Barrese conducted a new production of Turandot in Ascoli Piceno’s historic Teatro Ventidio Basso, with a cast that included Nicola Martinucci as Calaf. He also made his French debut conducting Turandot at the Opéra de Massy.
In recent seasons Mr. Barrese made debuts with Boston Lyric Opera (Don Giovanni), Mercury Opera, Edmonton (Il tabarro) and DePaul Opera Theater (Ned Rorem’s Our Town).
Mr. Barrese is the recipient of numerous composition awards including a N.E.C. Contemporary Ensemble Composition Competition Award for his Madrigale a 3 voci femminili, and two B.M.I. Student Composers Awards. As a musicologist, Mr. Barrese rediscovered, prepared, and edited the critical edition of Franco Faccio’s opera Amleto, in conjunction with Casa Ricordi.
He made his operatic conducting debut in Milan with La bohème and recorded Roberto Andreoni’s quattro luci sul lago with ”I Solisti della Scala” (a chamber group made up of the first chair musicians of the La Scala Philharmonic) for broadcast on Italian National Radio (RAI 3).
In the 2012-2013 season Mr. Barrese conducted Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera North, and Rossini’s Otello with the American staged premiere of the finale lieto at Opera Southwest. He also returned to Dallas Opera for a production of Bizet’s Dr. Miracle, and made his Opera Theatre of St. Louis debut with Smetana’s The Kiss.
Currently Mr. Barrese works as a freelance composer and conductor. He has led several productions with Sarasota Opera (Lakmé, Le nozze di Figaro, Hansel and Gretel), and with Opera Southwest (Le nozze di Figaro, Die Fledermaus, La cenerentola) where he is Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. He was the Assistant Conductor of the Dallas Opera in 2006-2007 and returned there as Guest Conductor for a production of Tosca in 2008.
In November 2008 Mr. Barrese conducted a new production of Turandot in Ascoli Piceno’s historic Teatro Ventidio Basso, with a cast that included Nicola Martinucci as Calaf. He also made his French debut conducting Turandot at the Opéra de Massy.
In recent seasons Mr. Barrese made debuts with Boston Lyric Opera (Don Giovanni), Mercury Opera, Edmonton (Il tabarro) and DePaul Opera Theater (Ned Rorem’s Our Town).
Mr. Barrese is the recipient of numerous composition awards including a N.E.C. Contemporary Ensemble Composition Competition Award for his Madrigale a 3 voci femminili, and two B.M.I. Student Composers Awards. As a musicologist, Mr. Barrese rediscovered, prepared, and edited the critical edition of Franco Faccio’s opera Amleto, in conjunction with Casa Ricordi.
He made his operatic conducting debut in Milan with La bohème and recorded Roberto Andreoni’s quattro luci sul lago with ”I Solisti della Scala” (a chamber group made up of the first chair musicians of the La Scala Philharmonic) for broadcast on Italian National Radio (RAI 3).
In the 2012-2013 season Mr. Barrese conducted Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera North, and Rossini’s Otello with the American staged premiere of the finale lieto at Opera Southwest. He also returned to Dallas Opera for a production of Bizet’s Dr. Miracle, and made his Opera Theatre of St. Louis debut with Smetana’s The Kiss.
Francesco Milioto
June 9, 2015 at 7pm
Since his debut in Chicago just over a decade ago, Mr. Milioto now balances a busy career conducting a wide range of orchestral and operatic repertoire while maintaining a full schedule as a pianist and vocal coach. He currently holds the positions of Co-founder/Conductor of the New Millennium Orchestra, Principal Conductor of the Highland Park Strings, and Artistic Director/Conductor of Access Contemporary Music.
In addition to these, Mr. Milioto is a frequent guest conductor with Chicago Opera Theater, and cover/assistant conductor at both Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Santa Fe Opera.
Upon returning from a successful production of Salome at the Santa Fe Opera, Mr. Milioto will open the 2015-16 season with a production of Lucio Silla for Chicago Opera Theater, where he recently led a production of Macbeth (Bloch) that was listed as “one of the 10 best performances of 2014” by the Chicago Sun-Times. Immediately following his work with COT, he will return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as cover conductor for The Merry Widow, with Sir Andrew Davis, as well as Der Rosenkavalier.
Mr. Milioto is particularly proud of his work with the New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago, which he co-found in 2005. The NMO has an incredible range of repertoire, playing everything from classical music and opera to collaborations with jazz and hip-hop artists. Last season’s unique production of Bluebeard’s Castle was also listed on the Chicago Sun-Times best of 2014 list. Indie rocker Olga Bell was the guest at a mash-up concert featuring Bell’s original works, Schubert Symphony No. 5, and Nico Muhly’s electric violin concerto “Seeing is believing”. The NMO is very proud to partner with the Emilio Del Rosario International Piano Competition to accompany the finalists in Symphony Center each spring.
His highly acclaimed work with the Highland Park Strings ranges from the earliest string music to the romantic and contemporary orchestral repertoire. As Principal Conductor, Mr. Milioto has had the pleasure to work with many international soloists, and numerous members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This season will bring collaborations with many local artists and feature Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, Brahms Symphony No. 3, Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony, and Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet.
As Artistic Director and Conductor of Access Contemporary Music, Mr. Milioto is in command of the brilliantly vibrant ensemble Palomar, which has been featured on the radio and in performances through the city and abroad. The always exciting Composer ALIVE series will feature a soon to be named international composer, and ACM’s successful Sound of Silent Film performances will continue at the Music Box Theater. Mr. Milioto is very proud of the work ACM does in nurturing living composers, and performing many new works each season by composers in Chicago.
As an assistant/cover conductor, Mr. Milioto has worked at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, the Ravinia Festival, Los Angeles
Opera, Portland Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater. His duties have encompassed the roles of rehearsal pianist, prompter, coach, and chorus master. He has worked closely with internationally recognized instrumentalists, singers and conductors.
In addition to these, Mr. Milioto is a frequent guest conductor with Chicago Opera Theater, and cover/assistant conductor at both Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Santa Fe Opera.
Upon returning from a successful production of Salome at the Santa Fe Opera, Mr. Milioto will open the 2015-16 season with a production of Lucio Silla for Chicago Opera Theater, where he recently led a production of Macbeth (Bloch) that was listed as “one of the 10 best performances of 2014” by the Chicago Sun-Times. Immediately following his work with COT, he will return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as cover conductor for The Merry Widow, with Sir Andrew Davis, as well as Der Rosenkavalier.
Mr. Milioto is particularly proud of his work with the New Millennium Orchestra of Chicago, which he co-found in 2005. The NMO has an incredible range of repertoire, playing everything from classical music and opera to collaborations with jazz and hip-hop artists. Last season’s unique production of Bluebeard’s Castle was also listed on the Chicago Sun-Times best of 2014 list. Indie rocker Olga Bell was the guest at a mash-up concert featuring Bell’s original works, Schubert Symphony No. 5, and Nico Muhly’s electric violin concerto “Seeing is believing”. The NMO is very proud to partner with the Emilio Del Rosario International Piano Competition to accompany the finalists in Symphony Center each spring.
His highly acclaimed work with the Highland Park Strings ranges from the earliest string music to the romantic and contemporary orchestral repertoire. As Principal Conductor, Mr. Milioto has had the pleasure to work with many international soloists, and numerous members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This season will bring collaborations with many local artists and feature Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony, Brahms Symphony No. 3, Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony, and Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet.
As Artistic Director and Conductor of Access Contemporary Music, Mr. Milioto is in command of the brilliantly vibrant ensemble Palomar, which has been featured on the radio and in performances through the city and abroad. The always exciting Composer ALIVE series will feature a soon to be named international composer, and ACM’s successful Sound of Silent Film performances will continue at the Music Box Theater. Mr. Milioto is very proud of the work ACM does in nurturing living composers, and performing many new works each season by composers in Chicago.
As an assistant/cover conductor, Mr. Milioto has worked at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, the Ravinia Festival, Los Angeles
Opera, Portland Opera, and Chicago Opera Theater. His duties have encompassed the roles of rehearsal pianist, prompter, coach, and chorus master. He has worked closely with internationally recognized instrumentalists, singers and conductors.
Andreas Mitisek
June 11, 2015 & June 12, 2015 at 7pm
Andreas Mitisek is Artistic and General Director of Long Beach Opera (since 2003) and General Director of Chicago Opera Theater (since 2012). As LBO’s Artistic & General Director, he is the driving force behind every new LBO concept and production. He creates the vision for each production and reaches out to artists to shape each work. He is conductor, stage director and designer of many LBO productions. His site-specific productions in parking garages, swimming pools, night clubs, warehouses and the Port of Los Angeles have become a successful hallmark of LBO. Andreas Mitisek became LBO's principal conductor in 1998 and Artistic and General Director in 2003. Under Mitisek’s leadership, LBO grew from 2 to 5 operas per season, and the supporting operating budget has expanded from $430,000 in 2003, to $1.5M in 2013, season subscriptions have increased by over 500%. By exploring unorthodox venues, he has been able to attract new audiences for opera and uphold LBO’s artistic vision by presenting 20th century and rare works.
Mitisek serves on the board of directors for OPERA AMERICA, the national service organization for US opera companies. He has been named by Opera News as one of the 25 people that will be a major force in the field of opera in the coming decade. Mitisek was named LA Tastemaker by LA Times Magazine in 2009, Arts Leader of the Year by the Long Beach Arts Council in 2009 and was highlighted as one of the “2012 People” by LA WEEKLY.
A native of Austria, he served as Music Director of the Wiener Operntheater from 1990 – 1997, the foremost contemporary opera company in Austria. Mr. Mitisek has conducted at the Wiener Volksoper, the Komische Oper in Berlin, the festival "Wien Modern", the Wiener Konzerthaus and Musikverein, and others. He is also sought after as a guest conductor in North America, leading productions for the Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia,Vancouver Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, Opera Theatre of St. Louisamongst others.
Currently, Mitisek is preparing for his 11th season with LBO. Recent LBO credits as stage director and production designer: Macbeth, Van Gogh/Tell Tale Heart, Ainadamar, Maria de Buenos Aires, The Difficulty of Crossing a Field, Medea, Akhnaten, Winterreise, The Diary of Anne Frank, Orpheus & Euridice, The Emperor of Atlantis/The Clever One. He conducted over 40 productions for LBO since 1998.
Mitisek serves on the board of directors for OPERA AMERICA, the national service organization for US opera companies. He has been named by Opera News as one of the 25 people that will be a major force in the field of opera in the coming decade. Mitisek was named LA Tastemaker by LA Times Magazine in 2009, Arts Leader of the Year by the Long Beach Arts Council in 2009 and was highlighted as one of the “2012 People” by LA WEEKLY.
A native of Austria, he served as Music Director of the Wiener Operntheater from 1990 – 1997, the foremost contemporary opera company in Austria. Mr. Mitisek has conducted at the Wiener Volksoper, the Komische Oper in Berlin, the festival "Wien Modern", the Wiener Konzerthaus and Musikverein, and others. He is also sought after as a guest conductor in North America, leading productions for the Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia,Vancouver Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, Opera Theatre of St. Louisamongst others.
Currently, Mitisek is preparing for his 11th season with LBO. Recent LBO credits as stage director and production designer: Macbeth, Van Gogh/Tell Tale Heart, Ainadamar, Maria de Buenos Aires, The Difficulty of Crossing a Field, Medea, Akhnaten, Winterreise, The Diary of Anne Frank, Orpheus & Euridice, The Emperor of Atlantis/The Clever One. He conducted over 40 productions for LBO since 1998.
Emanuele Andrizzi
July 2, 2015 at 7pm
Emanuele Andrizzi is a conductor with a strong connection to the rich musical tradition of Rome's Conservatory from which he graduated with diplomas in opera and orchestral conducting, and composition. During the past decade, he has worked extensively throughout Europe and the U.S. as a conductor, pianist, music professor and clinician.
As a conductor, Mr. Andrizzi has collaborated with various symphonic and operatic companies. In the last few years, Mr. Andrizzi has conducted the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, Orchestra della Città di Ravenna, New Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Opera Vanguard, and the Cervantes Orchestra, among others. In addition, he has worked in some of the finest opera theaters both in the US and in Europe, including the Los Angeles Opera, the Dallas Opera, and the Rome’s Opera Theater. He has also collaborated with important music festivals, including the Millennium Park Festival and the Ravinia Festival. In the next few month, Mr. Andrizzi is going to debut with several important operatic companies, among which both the San Diego Opera, where he will conduct a recital of the famous Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, and the Opera Theater of St. Louis, where he will conduct a production of Puccini’s La Bohème.
An active teacher and performer, Mr. Andrizzi has worked since August 2013 as the Conductor and Head of the Orchestra Program at the prestigious Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. In addition, he often collaborates with young artist programs. Lately, he conducted Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” at the Ryan Opera Center - the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Young Artist Program, - Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” and Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” at the International Festival “La Musica Lirica,” and Mozart’s “Così Fan Tutte” at Northwestern University. In addition, Mr. Andrizzi has taught and collaborated with important European musical institutions, including Rome’s Conservatory, the Piaget University, and the Escola Profisional de Música of Mirandela. Mr. Andrizzi will lead the All-State Orchestra in January 2016.
Mr. Andrizzi is a recipient of the Honorable Mention award at the International Competition for Conductors of Contemporary Music “4X4 Prize” and a winner of the “P. Barrasso” International Competition for Chamber Music. In addition to his diplomas in Conducting and Composition at the “Santa Cecilia” Conservatory in Rome, Mr. Andrizzi has earned a doctorate in Orchestral Conducting at Northwestern University, a MFA in Conducting at Bard College, and a Performance Diploma in Piano at the “A. Casella” Conservatory.
As a conductor, Mr. Andrizzi has collaborated with various symphonic and operatic companies. In the last few years, Mr. Andrizzi has conducted the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Opera Theater, Orchestra della Città di Ravenna, New Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Opera Vanguard, and the Cervantes Orchestra, among others. In addition, he has worked in some of the finest opera theaters both in the US and in Europe, including the Los Angeles Opera, the Dallas Opera, and the Rome’s Opera Theater. He has also collaborated with important music festivals, including the Millennium Park Festival and the Ravinia Festival. In the next few month, Mr. Andrizzi is going to debut with several important operatic companies, among which both the San Diego Opera, where he will conduct a recital of the famous Italian bass Ferruccio Furlanetto with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, and the Opera Theater of St. Louis, where he will conduct a production of Puccini’s La Bohème.
An active teacher and performer, Mr. Andrizzi has worked since August 2013 as the Conductor and Head of the Orchestra Program at the prestigious Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. In addition, he often collaborates with young artist programs. Lately, he conducted Rossini’s “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” at the Ryan Opera Center - the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Young Artist Program, - Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro” and Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” at the International Festival “La Musica Lirica,” and Mozart’s “Così Fan Tutte” at Northwestern University. In addition, Mr. Andrizzi has taught and collaborated with important European musical institutions, including Rome’s Conservatory, the Piaget University, and the Escola Profisional de Música of Mirandela. Mr. Andrizzi will lead the All-State Orchestra in January 2016.
Mr. Andrizzi is a recipient of the Honorable Mention award at the International Competition for Conductors of Contemporary Music “4X4 Prize” and a winner of the “P. Barrasso” International Competition for Chamber Music. In addition to his diplomas in Conducting and Composition at the “Santa Cecilia” Conservatory in Rome, Mr. Andrizzi has earned a doctorate in Orchestral Conducting at Northwestern University, a MFA in Conducting at Bard College, and a Performance Diploma in Piano at the “A. Casella” Conservatory.
John Demain
July 13 & July 14, 2015 at 7PM
Maestro John DeMain has served as Artistic Director of Madison Opera since 1994. He is also the Music Director of the Madison Symphony Orchestra and a sought-after guest conductor of orchestras and opera companies around the world.
Recent opera productions include Porgy and Bess at Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago; Aida at Virginia Opera; Show Boat at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Nixon in China at Vancouver Opera; Pagliacci and Carmina Burana at Portland Opera; and A View from the Bridge at Washington National Opera and Portland Opera. As the artistic director of Opera Pacific, he led a seven-company co-production of Dead Man Walking. He has also conducted A Little Night Music and The Merry Widow at Los Angeles Opera; The Glassblowers and Little Women at Glimmerglass Opera; Tosca at New York City Opera; and Candide at the Festival Euro Mediterraneo in Rome. Future seasons find him at the Glimmerglass Festival, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, and Seattle Opera.
In the orchestral world, DeMain’s active conducting schedule has taken him to the stages of the National Symphony, Seattle Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Boston Pops, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of Seville and the Leipzig MDR Sinfonieorchester. In 2007, he donated a critically acclaimed performance to Costa Rica’s Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional to benefit their National Institute of Music. He has also been a regular conductor with Mexico’s Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional and National Opera of Mexico in Mexico City.
During his distinguished 18-year tenure with Houston Grand Opera, DeMain led a history-making production of Porgy and Bess, which he subsequently recorded for RCA, and won a Grammy Award, Tony Award, and France’s Grand Prix du Disque. New York City Opera’s 2002 production of Porgy and Bess, conducted by DeMain, was televised as part of the “Live from Lincoln Center” series and garnered an Emmy nomination.
His orchestral world premieres includes Ned Rorem’s Mallet Concerto, Daniel Catan’s Suite from Florencia en Amazonas, and Joel Hoffman’s The Forty Steps. He was invited by Leonard Bernstein to conduct the world premiere of his last opera, A Quiet Place, and also conducted the American premiere of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten, an operatic treatment of Astor Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires, and the world premiere of Glass’ The Making of the Representative of Planet Eight. He conducted the world premieres of John Adams’ Nixon in China, Carlisle Floyd’s Willie Stark and The Passion of Jonathan Wade, and Sir Michael Tippet’s New Year.
“Live from Lincoln Center” has presented DeMain’s productions of An American Christmas with James Earl Jones, Willie Stark, Treemonisha, Nixon in China and Plácido Domingo & Friends. His contributions to the series were celebrated in the 2006 30th Anniversary Broadcast, which featured excerpts of his New York City Opera Porgy and Bessproduction and of “No Puede Ser” with legendary tenor Plácido Domingo. DeMain has worked extensively with Domingo in concerts throughout the world, most notably the celebrated 1992 Concert for the Planet Earth from Rio de Janeiro.
DeMain began his career as a pianist and conductor in his native Youngstown, Ohio. After winning the Youngstown Symphony’s piano competition at age 18, he went on to earn his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Juilliard School in New York. He made a highly acclaimed debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and was the second recipient of the Julius Rudel Award at New York City Opera. He was also one of the first six conductors to receive the Exxon/National Endowment for the Arts Conductor Fellowship for his work with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
DeMain holds honorary degrees from the University of Nebraska and Edgewood College and was recently named a Fellow by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. He resides in Madison with his wife Barbara; their daughter Jennifer is a student at the UW-Madison.
Recent opera productions include Porgy and Bess at Seattle Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago; Aida at Virginia Opera; Show Boat at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Nixon in China at Vancouver Opera; Pagliacci and Carmina Burana at Portland Opera; and A View from the Bridge at Washington National Opera and Portland Opera. As the artistic director of Opera Pacific, he led a seven-company co-production of Dead Man Walking. He has also conducted A Little Night Music and The Merry Widow at Los Angeles Opera; The Glassblowers and Little Women at Glimmerglass Opera; Tosca at New York City Opera; and Candide at the Festival Euro Mediterraneo in Rome. Future seasons find him at the Glimmerglass Festival, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, and Seattle Opera.
In the orchestral world, DeMain’s active conducting schedule has taken him to the stages of the National Symphony, Seattle Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Boston Pops, Aspen Chamber Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Orchestra of Seville and the Leipzig MDR Sinfonieorchester. In 2007, he donated a critically acclaimed performance to Costa Rica’s Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional to benefit their National Institute of Music. He has also been a regular conductor with Mexico’s Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional and National Opera of Mexico in Mexico City.
During his distinguished 18-year tenure with Houston Grand Opera, DeMain led a history-making production of Porgy and Bess, which he subsequently recorded for RCA, and won a Grammy Award, Tony Award, and France’s Grand Prix du Disque. New York City Opera’s 2002 production of Porgy and Bess, conducted by DeMain, was televised as part of the “Live from Lincoln Center” series and garnered an Emmy nomination.
His orchestral world premieres includes Ned Rorem’s Mallet Concerto, Daniel Catan’s Suite from Florencia en Amazonas, and Joel Hoffman’s The Forty Steps. He was invited by Leonard Bernstein to conduct the world premiere of his last opera, A Quiet Place, and also conducted the American premiere of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten, an operatic treatment of Astor Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires, and the world premiere of Glass’ The Making of the Representative of Planet Eight. He conducted the world premieres of John Adams’ Nixon in China, Carlisle Floyd’s Willie Stark and The Passion of Jonathan Wade, and Sir Michael Tippet’s New Year.
“Live from Lincoln Center” has presented DeMain’s productions of An American Christmas with James Earl Jones, Willie Stark, Treemonisha, Nixon in China and Plácido Domingo & Friends. His contributions to the series were celebrated in the 2006 30th Anniversary Broadcast, which featured excerpts of his New York City Opera Porgy and Bessproduction and of “No Puede Ser” with legendary tenor Plácido Domingo. DeMain has worked extensively with Domingo in concerts throughout the world, most notably the celebrated 1992 Concert for the Planet Earth from Rio de Janeiro.
DeMain began his career as a pianist and conductor in his native Youngstown, Ohio. After winning the Youngstown Symphony’s piano competition at age 18, he went on to earn his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at the Juilliard School in New York. He made a highly acclaimed debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and was the second recipient of the Julius Rudel Award at New York City Opera. He was also one of the first six conductors to receive the Exxon/National Endowment for the Arts Conductor Fellowship for his work with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
DeMain holds honorary degrees from the University of Nebraska and Edgewood College and was recently named a Fellow by the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters. He resides in Madison with his wife Barbara; their daughter Jennifer is a student at the UW-Madison.