Philip Cutlip, baritone (Don Giovanni)

Philip Cutlip returns to Toledo Opera after his triumphant performance as Tarquinius in the 2010 production of Britten's The Rape of Lucretia.  Recently, Mr. Cutlip sang with the Houston Grand Opera as Joseph de Rocher in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, the Seattle Opera as both Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and played the title role in Philip Glass' Orphée with the Portland Opera and Glimmerglass Opera.  In the 2012-2013 season, Mr. Cutlip will be singing the title role in Eugene Onegin with the Edmonton Opera.  On the concert stage, Mr. Cutlip has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Inna Dukach, soprano (Donna Anna)

Born in Moscow and raised in New York, Inna Dukach has received praise for “an immediately appealing, youthfully rich and velvety voice." Ms. Dukach has recently appeared as Nedda in Pagliacci with Israeli Opera and New Orleans Opera, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly with Pensacola Opera, and Musetta in La Bohème at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, England where she was noted as being “a stunning Musetta” (BBC Music Magazine). Ms. Dukach was a winner of the 2005 Liederkranz Competition and a winner of the 2004 Dutka Arts Foundation Competition.  Ms. Dukach holds a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Mannes College of Music and a Bachelor’s Degree from Smith College.

Jennifer Cresswell, soprano (Donna Elvira)

An artist who wears many hats, Jennifer Cresswell was last seen on the stage with Toledo Opera in the role of Liù in Turandot and as Frasquita in Carmen. Other roles in her repertoire include Blanche in André Previn's A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche de la Force in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites and Anna Maurrant in Kurt Weill's Street Scene. In 2011, Ms. Cresswell made her debut as a soloist with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. A former participant in Toledo Opera’s Artists in Residence Program, she now serves as Artistic Director for its touring education program, Opera on Wheels, and as Co-Director of its summer Opera Camp. She specializes in transforming classic operas into 40-minute touring productions for children, including this year's production of The Italian Girl, a modern-day adaptation of Gioacchino Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri. Ms. Cresswell is also the host of Morning and Evening Classics on WGTE public radio FM91 in Toledo.

Sean Cooper, bass-baritone (Leporello)

A member of the voice faculty at Bowling Green State University, Sean Cooper has performed on the operatic and concert stage in works ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century. He appeared as Colline in the original Broadway cast of Baz Luhrmann’s La bohème as well as in Toledo Opera's Fall 2012 production. Favorite roles include Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni, the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, and Sarastro and Der Sprecher in The Magic Flute. He has performed with Opera Carolina, Opera Memphis, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera North, and Liederkranz Opera, and in concert with the Sacramento Choral Society, the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus, and numerous symphony orchestras.  Dr. Cooper is also the Co-Director of Toledo Opera’s summer Opera Camp.

Joshua Stewart, tenor (Don Ottavio)

Making his Toledo Opera debut, tenor Joshua Stewart has been hailed for his “big, warm, confident” voice (Palm Beach Arts Paper) and “interpretive conviction” (Philadelphia City Paper).  A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Joshua started his musical training as a jazz singer and currently lives in Munich, Germany, where he is a member of the opera studio at the Bayerische Staatsoper. Mr. Stewart’s 2012-13 season begins at the Bayerische Staatsoper, singing roles in various operas throughout their season, including Toni Reischmann in Henze’s Elegie für junge Liebende at the Cuvilliés Theatre in Munich, Germany. Mr. Stewart can also be heard performing Orff’s Carmina Burana in concert with the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. Stewart recently graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, finished his second season at the Marlboro Music Festival and sang concerts throughout Europe as part of Curtis On Tour.

Kathryn Lewek, soprano (Zerlina)

As the 2011 grand prize winner of the Opera Foundation’s International Vocal Scholarship, Soprano Kathryn Lewek is rapidly establishing herself as one of the most promising emerging artists today. Last season, Ms. Lewek accepted a contract with the Deutsche Oper Berlin where she performed roles in thirteen productions including Queen of the Night and First Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen, Heavenly Voice in Verdi’s Don Carlo, Sandman and Dew Fairy in Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel, Barbarina in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, and Pisana in Verdi’s Due Foscari.  Ms. Lewek makes several important company debuts this season, performing Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute with English National Opera in the fall of 2012, Nashville Operas as well as Opera de Toulon in the spring of 2013, then at the Bregenz Festival in the summers of 2013 and 2014, as well as Handel’s Messiah with Musica Sacra of New York at Carnegie Hall and Carmina Burana with the Toledo Symphony. At the Bregenz Festival, she will also perform the role of Jessica in André Tchaikowsky’s The Merchant of Venice in 2013. Next season, Ms. Lewek will make her Metropolitan Opera debut in a prominent role and will return the season after in 2014. Kathryn will also make her Washington National Opera debut in the spring of 2014.

Timothy Bruno, bass (Masetto and cover for Il Commendatore)

Hailed as ‘outstanding’ and ‘hilarious’ by ConcertoNet.com, young bass Timothy J. Bruno is a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music Master’s program and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Bowling Green State University. In 2011-2012 he debuted with six companies including Cincinnati Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, Toledo Opera and Opera Saratoga. Recent roles include Berthold in Offenbach’s Le 66, Timur and The Mandarin in Turandot, Collatinus in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, Count Ceprano in Rigoletto and covering Eric Owens as The Storyteller in John Adam’s A Flowering Tree. Mr. Bruno’s upcoming engagements include Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Curio in Handel’s Giulio Cesare at Michigan Opera Theater, and Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Lawrence Brownlee as Count Almaviva at Opera Western Reserve.

Charles Temkey, bass (Il Commendatore)

American bass Charles Temkey proudly hails from the old port town of Patchogue, Long Island, and is elated to join Toledo Opera‘s production of Don Giovanni as Commendatore! His other credits include many of the great Mozart Bass roles such as Sarastro (Die Zauberflote), Don Alfonso (Cosi fan tutte), Publio (Clemenza di Tito), Bartolo and Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), and Leoporello  (Don Giovanni). 

A versatile singer, at home in many periods of classical repertoire, Charles’ other roles vary widely, and include Charon (Monteverdi’s Orpheo), Polyphemus (Handel’s Acis and Galatea), Fiesco and Banco (Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra and Macbeth), Raimondo (Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor), Colline (Puccini’s La Boheme), Bottom and Snug (Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream), Rakitin (Hoiby’s A Month in the Country), and Shadow Grendel (Elliott Goldenthal and Julie Taymor’s 2006 World Premier: Grendel).

Brian Deedrick, Stage Director

Stefan Sanderling, Guest Conductor

This is Stefan Sanderling’s third appearance with Toledo Opera, having conducting both the 2012 Opera Gala and Turandot in the spring of 2012. He has swiftly emerged as one of the leading German conductors of his generation. Since the beginning of the 2003/04 season, he has simultaneously occupied the positions of music director of the Florida Orchestra and principal conductor and artistic advisor of the Toledo Symphony Orchestra. During the Toledo Symphony's debut performance at Carnegie Hall in 2011, Mr. Sanderling was heralded as a "gifted conductor" having "conducted a brilliant performance" of Shostakovich, according to New York Times reviewer James Oestreich.

As one of Germany's youngest chief conductors, Mr. Sanderling first held this position at the Brandenburgische Philharmonie and the Potsdam Opera in 1990. After five years, he then went on to become music director and chief conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra and Staatsheater in Mainz until 2001. Between 1997 and 2004, he also served as music director or the Orchestre de Bretagne in France.

Worldwide guest conducting appearances include the Bamberg Symphony, Berliner Sinfonie Orchester, Berliner Staatskapelle, Bournemouth Symphony, London Philharmonic, London Symphony, Mozarteum Orchestra (Salzburg), NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg, NTO (Vienna), Philharmonia Orchestra London, Prague Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic London, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, and the Vienna Radio Symphony. Mr. Sanderling has also guest conducted at both the Deutsche Oper and Komische Oper in Berlin. He made debuts in Australia with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and in Japan with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra.

Also an active recording artist, Stefan Sanderling made his first recording on the Sony Classics label with the London Symphony Orchestra. Three CDs with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra have recently been released featuring symphonies by Haydn and Mendelssohn. For Naxos, he has recorded the complete Tchaikovsky Orchestral Suites and Stravinsky's ballet Pulcinella, as well as a recently-released disc of the tone poems and symphonies of Honegger.