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 Fabiana Bravo, soprano (Tosca)
Fabiana Bravo made
her professional debut in 1996 at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia
after winning the 5th Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition.
Since then she has appeared with Central City Opera as Mimi in La
bohème, Cio-Cio-San
in Madama Butterfly with both Dallas Opera and San Francisco
Opera, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with New Orleans Opera,
and Giorgetta in Il Tabarro with New York City Opera. In
2001 she joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera. As a concert
artist Ms. Bravo has performed in Europe, North and South America.
In 2005, she inaugurated the new theatre in Mendoza, Argentina with
a Verdi concert and sang Tosca in Shanghai, China. Her 2005-2006
engagements include a return to the Met roster for Aida and
the title role in L’Amore de tre re at Carnegie Hall
with Opera Orchestra of New York. In addition to being a Pavarotti
winner she is also an Operalia Finalist, an Opera Index winner and
Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera Competition.
 Dinyar Vania, tenor (Cavaradossi)
The 2005-2006 season began with debuts at Connecticut Grand Opera,
Cedar Rapids Opera Theater, Knoxville Opera and Nevada Opera Theater.
During this period he also made his Carnegie Hall debut as tenor
soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony as part of a Pakistani Earthquake
Relief Concert. Mr. Varnia returned to New York City Opera for performances
as Meleagros in Mark Adamo's Lysistrata and Rodolfo in La
bohème,
followed by a company debut with Syracuse Opera as Edgardo in a production
of Lucia di Lammermoor. He is a prize winner in the prestigious
Licia Albanese-Puccini Competition and a semi-finalist in Placido
Domingo's Opaeralia in Madrid (Spain), one of only four Americans
to compete in the competition. Mr. Varnia's performance as Cavardossi
in Toledo Opera's production of Tosca will be his debut with the
company.
 Michael Chioldi, baritone (Scarpia)
Known for his
beautiful voice and incredible stage presence, Mr. Chioldi began
2006 with a highly acclaimed debut with Palm Beach Opera in the role
of Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasquale. Following
this debut, he went on to sing in the world premiere of an exciting
new piece, The Birth of Something in Houston. He recently
appeared as Escamillo in New York City Opera’s production of Carmen,
as well as in performances with City Opera’s innovative program
VOX: 2006. Mr. Chioldi made a highly successful European debut with
the French Opéra National de Montpellier in Cilea’s L’Arlesiana. Other
notable appearances include John Sorel in Arizona Opera’s The
Consul and the Don in Don Giovanni with Connecticut
Grand Opera. Carnegie Hall saw his performance as Prince Otokkar
in Opera Orchestra of New York’s Der Freischütz. Other
career highlights include his debut at the Metropolitan Opera as
Fléville
in Andrea Chénier. Toledo Opera audiences will remember
his exciting portrayal of John Proctor in the company’s recent
performance of The Crucible.
 Art Joslin, baritone (Angelotti)
Recognized as a versatile artist
with a commanding baritone voice, baritone Art Joslin recently performed
at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. Recent operatic performances
include Don Giovanni, La bohème, Otello,
Amahl & the
Night Visitors and The
Crucible. He has appeared with Toledo Opera, the Michigan Opera Theatre,
and the Motor City Lyric Opera. Mr. Joslin is pursuing a master’s
degree in voice at the University of Michigan School of Music in
Ann Arbor.
 Steve
Grudzien, tenor (Spoletta)
Lyric tenor Steven Grudzien’s
most recent appearances were as Emile Du Becque in South Pacific at
The Valentine Theatre, and Benvolio in Toledo Opera’s production
of Romèo
et Juliette. As tenor soloist he has appeared with the Central
Florida Orchestra and the Dearborn Orchestra. A member of the
Toledo Opera Chorus, he has performed in productions of The Crucible, Don
Giovanni and La bohème.
 Timothy Hill, baritone (Sciarrone)
Baritone Timothy
S. Hill has received accolades for both his beautiful singing and
visceral stagecraft. During the summer of 2004,
Tim participated in the prestigious Santa Fe Opera's Apprentice Program
for Singers. In 2005, Tim returned to The Santa Fe Opera and sang
the role of the Sergeant in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and
performed scenes from Barber’s A Hand of Bridge and
Verdi’s Rigoletto. He also has sung the role
of Don Basilio in Paisiello's original and rarely performed Il
barbiere di Siviglia at the Théâtre d'Evreaux
in Evreaux, France. Other roles include Conte di Luna in Il
Trovatore, Melisso in Alcina and King Melchior in Amahl
and the Night Visitors. Tim participated in the Caramoor
Center for Music and the Arts' 2003 world premiere of Donizetti's Elisabeth under
the direction of Maestro Will Crutchfield.
 James Kleyla, baritone (Sacristan)
Mr. Kleyla has performed leading roles with the Boston Lyric Opera, Tulsa Opera,
Gold Coast Opera of South Florida, June Opera Festival of New Jersey, and the
Tanglewood Festival Chorus. His oratorio credits include Mendelssohn's Elijah,
Bach's Mass in B-minor , Haydn's Di Schöpfung and Die
Jareszeiten, Berlioz's L'Enfance du Christ, Bloch's Sacred
Service, and the Requiems of Brahms, Durufle, Fauré, Mozart
and Verdi. Recent appearances include performances of Our Town with
Lake George Opera, The Ballad of Baby Doe and La Traviata with
Boston Lyric Opera, Le Nozze di Figaro at Virginia Opera, The
Magic Flute at Tulsa Opera, Die Fledermaus with Kentucky Opera, Carmen with
Ocean City Lyric Opera, and The Magic Flute with Opera Pacific.
He returns to Tulsa Opera to sing the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro Upcoming
performances include Rambaldo in La Rondine with Utah Symphony & Opera,
Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro with Knoxville and Syracuse
Opera, Baron Douphol in La traviata with New Orleans Opera,
and The Speaker in The Magic Flute and Ping in Turandot with
Cleveland Opera.
 Micah Graber, Bass
(The Jailer)
Bass singer Micah Graber’s operatic roles include Blitch in Susannah at
Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, First Priest in The Magic Flute at
Toledo Opera, Starveling in Midsummer Night’s Dream with San Francisco
Opera, Zuniga in Carmen with Western Opera Theater, and Osmin in Die
Ehtführung aus dem Serail with Skylight Opera. Mr. Graber received
his Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance from Bowling Green State University
and his Artist Diploma in Opera from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music.
He was a Resident Artist with Toledo Opera and had an Adler Fellowship with the
San Francisco Opera. Mr. Graber has recently appeared in Toledo Opera productions
of Madama Butterfly and Roméo et Juliette. He is currently
a resident of Toledo where he has a private vocal studio.
 Aubry Hagadorn, Soprano (The
Shepherd)
Young Soprano Aubry Hagadorn joined the Toledo Opera Chorus
for the 2006-2007 season. She has appeared in the Opera’s recent
productions of Romeo et Juliette and Don Pasquale. Other
performances include Amahl in Amahl & the Night Visitors,
Colin Craven in The Secret Garden, and Handel’s Messiah. She
has studied voice under the direction of Lora Knight and most recently
Renay Conlin. Aubrey is the youngest member ever accepted into
the Toledo Opera Chorus.
 Lorna Haywood, Stage Director
After an operatic
career that took her to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Glyndebourne
Festival Opera, English National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Chicago
Lyric Opera and numerous other American Opera companies, Lorna Haywood
is now in demand as an opera director. Ms. Haywood’s productions
include La traviata for
Norway’s Opera Nordfjord, Le nozze di Figaro, La
traviata La bohème, Madama Butterfly and Tosca for
Madison Opera, Die fledermaus and Il trovatore for
Opera San Jose, Die Zauberflöte and Fidelio for
Atlanta Opera and Amahl and the Night Visitors for Toledo
Opera. Ms. Haywood recently made her directorial debut with Virginia
Opera directing Le nozze di Figaro and returned to San Jose for a
new production of Don Giovanni. Productions for the 2006-2007
season include Roméo et Juliette for Opera San Jose, Madama Butterfly for
Shreveport Opera, Samson et Dalila for Hawaii Opera Theatre
and a return to Virginia Opera for Cavallaria and Pagliacci.
 Thomas Conlin, Conductor
Thomas Conlin is a frequent guest conductor with symphony orchestras
and opera companies on five continents, most recently in Belgium,
Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Korea, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey and throughout
the United States. Last season at the National Opera of Croatia he
led performances of La fille du Régiment and the
Eastern European premiere of Leonard Bernstein’s West Side
Story. Future appearances include an arena staging of Aida in
four cities in India and return engagements in Croatia, Germany,
Poland and Italy. Next summer he performs and records music by George
Gershwin with the Dallas Symphony.
Maestro Conlin’s recording of George Crumb’s Star-Child,
on which he conducts the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus,
won the 2001 Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Classical Composition.
His music video, Symphonic Wonderworks, won the Gold Award
(1st Prize) at the 1992 Houston International Film Festival and was
nominated for a Telly Award. His CD of Crumb’s A Haunted
Landscape was nominated for an Indie Award as Best Orchestral
Recording of 2002, and his latest CD on the Bridge label, the Pulitzer
Prize-winning Echoes of Time and the River, was released
in 2004 to great acclaim. The first in a series of recordings of
works by the Brazilian composer Camargo Guarnieri was released on
the Naxos label last Year and will be followed by Vol. 2 in December.
Conlin has collaborated in concert with renowned vocalists Kathleen
Battle, Marilyn Horne, Robert Merrill, Roberta Peters, Giorgio Tozzi
and Frederica von Stade and with instrumentalists Emanuel Ax, Alicia
de Larrocha, James Galway, Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman and Isaac Stern.
For Toledo Opera he has conducted recent productions of The Turn
of the Screw, La traviata, Sweeney Todd, Don Giovanni, La
bohème, The Crucible, The Barber of Seville, Faust,
Madama Butterfly, Pagliacci, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The
Marriage of Figaro and Così fan tutte and five
of TO’s Opera Galas: Three Tenors! – the Next Generation, A
Night in Old Vienna, The Greatest Wagner Concert Ever!,
Opera Goes to the Movies and From Broadway to the
Met. |
