Barbara Shirvis

Roy Cornelius Smith, tenor (Canio)
American tenor Roy Cornelius Smith recently appeared in two new roles: Radames in Aida with Opera Birmingham, and Hoffegut in Braunfel’s Die Vögel at Spoleto Festival, USA. Mr. Smith made his Met debut as the Messenger in Aida and was also heard as Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor. Mr. Smith returns to the Met this season for Aida, Ariadne auf Naxos, and the world premiere of An American Tragedy. Other engagements have included the part of Radames in Aida at Opera Birmingham and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Chattanooga Opera. In the 2003-04 season, Mr. Smith was heard in six different productions at the Metropolitan Opera: Le Rossignol, Die Frau ohne Schatten, The Merry Widow, Boris Godunov, Salome and Nabucco. A winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Mr. Smith was also hand-picked to sing the role of the Rabbi for the re-introduction of Kurt Weill’s opera, Der Weg, der Verheissung (The Eternal Road).

Daniel Sutin, baritone (Silvio)
Baritone Daniel Sutin returns to the Metropolitan Opera this season in Falstaff and Wozzeck, and as Paris in the Met’s new production of Roméo et Juliette. The season continues with his debut as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with the Austin Lyric Opera, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Long Island Symphony. Other recent engagements for Mr. Sutin include his debut at the Canadian Opera Company as Conte di Luna in Il trovatore, his return to the Met for Turandot, the roles Tonio and Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci for the Bohème Opera in New Jersey, and the roles of the King and Ambassador in the Spoleto Festival USA’s production of Respighi’s Sleeping Beauty. Mr. Sutin was a district winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a finalist in the Bruce Yarnell Vocal Competition.

Todd Thomas, baritone (Tonio)
A seasoned performer, Mr. Todd Thomas established himself as a Verdi baritone early in his career in Germany’s Stadttheater Giessen followed by engagements throughout major cities in Europe.  His repertoire includes title roles in Macbeth, Falstaff, Rigoletto, Nabucco, Aida, La traviata, Otello, Tosca, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Fanciulla del West, Cavalleria Rusticana, and Pagliacci. In the 2005-2006 season, he will perform in concert with Sarasota Opera, as Scarpia in Tosca for the New York City Opera, and as Germont in La traviata for Opera Grand Rapids. As an oratorio singer, Mr. Thomas has sung Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem, the Fauré Requiem and Vaughn Williams’s Five Mystical Songs. The Loren L. Zachary Award and the Pennsylvania Artists’ Fellowship Recital Grant have been presented to Mr. Thomas for his achievements. 

Matt Morgan, tenor (Beppe)
Young American tenor Matt Morgan joined the roster of New York City Opera for Haroun and Platée, and will return this season for Capriccio, Il viaggio a Reims and The Little Prince. Mr. Morgan recently performed the roles of Laurie in Little Women with Dayton Opera, Paris in La belle Hélène with North Star Opera, Ernesto in Don Pasquale with Fort Worth Opera, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado with Pittsburgh Public Theater, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Opera Atelier, Don Gomez in Die drei Pintos with the Bard Music Festival, and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Pittsburgh Opera Theatre. Mr. Morgan has also performed the role of Romeo in Roméo et Juliette with Skylight Opera, and will appear this season in the title role in Albert Herring with Gotham Chamber Opera.

Gregory Fortner, Stage Director
Having already directed numerous plays and operas throughout the United States and South America, Gregory Fortner is quickly emerging as an important young director. Previous engagements have included IlTrovatore for the Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, Die Fledermaus for the Palm Beach Opera, Jeffery Hatcher's play Scotland Road, and a remounting of La Bohème for the Central City Opera's student performance. Last season, engagements included a return to Palm Beach Opera to direct Lucia di Lammermoor, and his debut with Opera Carolina directing their production of Carmen.

Recent engagements included directing Madama Butterfly with Michigan Opera Theatre and Don Giovanni with Toledo Opera, and as an assistant director for Cosi fan Tutte with Opera Pacific, Dialogues of the Carmelites and Manon Lescaut with Palm Beach Opera, and La Traviata with Washington Opera. As an assistant director he will return for The Wedding with Robert Altman for the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Manon Lescaut with Seattle Opera. He recently directed Old Clown Wanted, a play by Matei Visniec for the New Jersey Repertory Theatre where he received rave reviews.

Mr. Fortner has worked as an assistant director for the productions of Anoush, Così fan tutte, Falstaff, and La bohème with Michigan Opera Theater, Madama Butterfly, Norma, Susannah, Tannhäuser, Les Contes d'Hoffmann, and Don Giovanni with Palm Beach Opera, La bohème with Opera Pacific and with Portland Opera, and the world premiere of Sacco & Vanzetti with Washington Opera, Andrea Chénier with Virginia Opera, William Bolcom's A View from the Bridge with Anton Coppola at Opera Tampa. He was also a production assistant for the productions of Rigoletto, Ermione, and the world premiere of Venus und Adonis with Santa Fe Opera. Additional opera companies that he has worked with as an assistant include Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera/New York Philharmonic's Concert in the Park series.

Thomas Conlin, Conductor
Thomas Conlin’s performances in America and abroad have generated great enthusiasm. The New York Times calls his leadership “brilliant” and Opera News “passionate,” also reporting that he “conducted the complex work [Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia] with a beat so clear that he must have brought joy and confidence to his singers and instrumentalists.”

Thomas Conlin conducts the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus and soloists in George Crumb’s Star-Child on a CD which won the 2001 Grammy Award for “Best Contemporary Classical Composition.” Even before the Grammy finalists were selected, Conlin’s recording (Bridge 9095) had received highest recommendations from virtually every music publication in the world, including Billboard, Classic CD, Klassik Heute, Gramophone (“monumental”), Amazon.com (Editor’s Choice), and ClassicsToday.com: “This miraculous disc represents the fulfillment of a dream for all those music lovers who find themselves captivated by Crumb’s haunting, evocative and passionate musical landscapes.” His recording of Crumb’s A Haunted Landscape (Bridge 9113), also with the Warsaw Philharmonic, was nominated for an Indie Award in the category “Best Orchestral Recording.” The third CD in the series, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Echoes of Time and the River was released in October, and Crumb’s Variazioni will be recorded later in 2004. For Naxos, Conlin is recording the six piano concertos by Brazilian composer Camargo Guarnieri with the Warsaw Philharmonic and pianist Max Barros.

Thomas Conlin is a frequent guest conductor with opera companies, ballet companies and symphony orchestras on five continents, while serving as Principal Conductor of Toledo Opera. Recent seasons have included performances in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey and throughout the United States. He founded the Snowshoe Music Festival in the Appalachian mountains and frequently conducts at music festivals in Europe, Japan and America. His repertoire includes compositions of all styles and periods, with an emphasis on music of our time. Conlin has presented numerous world and national premieres of works by American composers.

Maestro Conlin has collaborated with many of the world’s greatest singers, including Kathleen Battle, Maureen Forrester, Marilyn Horne, Cornell MacNeil, Robert Merrill, Sherrill Milnes, Roberta Peters, Giorgio Tozzi and Frederica von Stade. He has served as vocal coach for many artists currently on the rosters of San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera and other major companies. He is a distinguished teacher of the art of conducting, having served in that capacity for the American Symphony Orchestra League, Queens College of the City University of New York, the Conductors’ Institute at the University of South Carolina and elsewhere. Articles by or about Thomas Conlin have appeared in numerous international publications, and he has lectured widely on opera and other musical subjects.

While a student at Peabody Conservatory of Music (Johns Hopkins University), Conlin made operatic history with the Chamber Opera Society of Baltimore through his innovative use of projected English translations (Supertitles). As the society’s Artistic Director, he prepared and presented the American premiere – and first staged performance in modern times – of Mozart’s early masterpiece, Lucio Silla. His performing edition has been heard at San Francisco Opera and New York’s Mostly Mozart festival. The conservatory awarded him the Bach-Horstmeier Prize for performance of works by J.S. Bach and the Zaidee Thomas Prize in composition. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Charleston (Doctor of Music) and West Virginia Wesleyan College (Doctor of Humane Letters).