Ed Banyas – Conductor for Gianni Schicchi Edward Benyas is the Music Director of the Southern Illi-nois Symphony Orchestra, Music Director Designate of the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, with which he made his European conducting debut, and founder and Artistic Di-rector of the Southern Illinois Music Festival. Mr. Benyas has also served as Music Director of the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra, the North Shore Chamber Orches-tra, Symphonie Fantastique!, and the Southern Illinois Youth Orchestra. Under his leadership, the Southern Illi-nois Symphony was named Community Volunteer Orchestra of the Year in Illinois. In 2005, he was named Conductor of the Year by the Illinois Council of Orchestras. Mr. Benyas holds a graduate degree in Orchestral Conducting and Oboe Performance from Northwestern University, as well as Bachelor and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Michigan. He has guest conducted orchestras in California, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, Maine, Washington, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. His conducted repertoire in-cludes nearly 400 works, including a dozen world premieres and nearly a dozen complete operas and ballets. Ed also enjoys an active career as an oboe and English horn player. He serves on the Boards of Directors of the Illinois Council of Orchestras, the WSIU Friends Board, and the Southern Illinois Symphony Patrons Committee. He is also a member of the state bar of Illinois and practiced law for five years in Chicago before pursuing music full-time.
Steve Jarvi – Conductor for Il Barbiere di Siviglie Mr. Jarvi returns for his second season with the Kansas City Symphony holding the Bruno Walter Associate Conductor Chair as a winner of the 2009 Bruno Walter Memorial Foun-dation Award. He came to Kansas City after spending sev-eral years as the Conducting Fellow under Michael Tilson Thomas with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach and as an Associate Conductor for the New York City Opera at Lincoln Center. In the spring, he will make his official Classi-cal Series debut after filling in last season on short notice. Mr. Jarvi has also served as a cover conductor for the Los Angeles Philhar-monic, and conducted the Helsinki Philharmonic. He also holds the distinction of becoming the first conductor to be a member of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Kennedy Center’s Washington National Opera. He has held conducting positions for over 30 opera productions with companies in-cluding the Washington National Opera, New York City Opera, Baltimore Lyric Opera, Opera Company of Brooklyn and Peabody Opera. Steven is also the Principal Guest Conductor of Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble in New York City. Raised in Grand Haven, Michigan, Steven Jarvi holds a Bachelor’s of Music Theory from the University of Michigan where he studied with Kenneth Kiesler, Martin Katz and Jerry Blackstone, along with a Master’s Degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Peabody Conservatory of Music at Johns Hop-kins University, where he studied with Gustav Meier.
Melissa Konetchy -Costume Designer Melissa Konetchy brings to New Opera St. Louis over 10 years of experience in wardrobe styling and consulting. In 2002 she received a BA in Business Administration from Principia College, and in 2004 earned an AA in Merchandise Product Devel-opment from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, in Los Angeles. She loves to collect textiles and clothing on her world travels.
Julie Maykowski – Stage Director for Il Barbiere di SiviglieDr. Maykowski has worked in opera in a variety of capacities including per-forming, directing, producing, and arts administration. Audiences have seen Julie as Carmen in La tragédie de Carmen, Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret, Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, and the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. As a director Dr. Maykowski has directed at the university level as well as professionally such varied works as Le nozze di Figaro, The Consul, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Dialogues of the Carmelites which was the topic of her Doctoral research at the University of Kansas. Julie was the Director of Education for Kentucky Opera for three seasons and then worked as the Director of Development for Granite State Opera in New Hampshire. Currently, Dr. Maykowski is working as a free-lance grant writer and pursuing her passion for directing opera.
Scott Schoonover – Conductor for Werther Scott Schoonover returns to Winter Opera after conducting Rigoletto, Samson et Dalila, I Pagliaci and Don Pasquale in past seasons. Schoonover is Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of Union Avenue Opera and is a frequent guest conductor of many local musical organizations. Schoonover serves as Music Director for Union Avenue Christian Church and is Artistic Director of The Saint Louis Women’s Chorale. In addition to Winter Opera’s last season he recently conducted two world premieres – Abe! The Musical at Muddy River Opera and Barbara Harbach’s O, Pioneers! at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. as well as Il Trovatore and The Merry Widow at Union Avenue Opera. Upcoming engagements include Madama Butterfly at Muddy River Opera, Pirates of Penzance and Pique Dame at Union Avenue Opera and will lead a choral concert tour of Italy in June, 2010 with the Union Avenue Christian Church.
Artist Bios:
Joy Boland – Berta in Il Barbiere di Siviglie Joy Boland, soprano, is delighted to make her debut with New Opera St. Louis. In February 2009, Joy created the role of 'Mary Todd Lincoln' for Muddy River Opera's world pre-miere of ABE: The Musical in Quincy , IL . In March, as the winner of the 2008 Artist Presentation Society auditions, she presented a full recital at The Ethical Society. July found Ms. Boland singing the role of 'Inez' for Union Avenue Opera's Il Trovatore and she just returned with great reviews for her performance of 'Alisa' in Tulsa Opera's October production of Lucia di Lammermoor starring Sarah Coburn. Ms. Boland will be the soprano soloist for Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the American Kantorei, with whom she has sung for 13 years, this coming December. Favorite opera roles include: Rosalinde (Die Fleder-maus) for LyriCo, Light Opera of St. Louis, Emilia (Otello), La Badessa (Suor Angelica) Clotilde (Norma), Marthe (Faust), Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butter-fly), Mrs. Nolan, (The Medium), Annina (La Traviata) all for Union Avenue Opera, La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi) for Webster University, and Lola Mark-ham (Gallantry) for SIUE, as well as professional ensembles for Carmen, La Boheme, Turandot, and Eugene Onegin . Ms. Boland was a member of the voice faculty at St. Louis University from 1999 to 2004 and is a licensed massage therapist currently working with singers, dancers, instrumentalists and other artists. She was also the St. Louis district Metropolitan Opera auditions winner for 2004. Joy has been employed full time in theatrical administration at The MUNY in Forest Park since 1998. Much love to my family and Ian, meine glück.
Nicole Birkland – Zita in Gianni SchicciNicole Birkland is a mezzo-soprano who will make her debut with Cleveland Opera in 2010 singing Alisa in Lucia di Lam-mermoor. In 2009 she returned to the Young Artist Program at Chautauqua Opera as an Apprentice Artist where she covered several roles as well as sang Inez in Il Trovatore and Isabel in The Pirates of Penzance. Previously Ms. Birkland was a mem-ber of the studio artist program with Sarasota Opera where she covered Eboli in Don Carlos. She also appeared with Wichita Grand Opera as Pitti-Sing in The Mikado. As a 2008 participant in the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera, Ms. Birkland appeared as Florence Pike in Albert Herring and in the Grand Finale concert at San Francisco Op-era's War Memorial Opera House. Ms. Birkland has appeared as a studio artist with Chautauqua Opera and as an apprentice artist with the Des Moines Metro Opera. During her studies at Indiana University, Ms. Birkland appeared as Giulietta in Les contes d'Hoffmann, Maddalena in Rigoletto, and she was the mezzo-soprano soloist in the IU Oratorio Chorus and Philharmonic perform-ance of Verdi's Requiem. She has also appeared as a soloist with the Gaines-ville Civic Orchestra (Verdi's Requiem), Columbus Indiana Philharmonic (Wagner’s Wesendonk Lieder, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony) and the Fort Dodge Area Orchestra and Chorale (Mozart’s Requiem). A native of Moor-land, Iowa, Ms. Birkland holds Bachelor of Music and Master of Music de-grees from the University of Northern Iowa, and a Performance Diploma from Indiana University. Ms. Birkland has studied with Carol Vaness, Carlos Mon-tané and Jean McDonald.
bunsoldNew Benjamin Bunsold – Rinuccio in Gianni SchicchiThis season Benjamin has performed Alfred in Die Fleder-maus at Opera Delaware and the Arbor Opera Theater, Fer-rando in Cosi fan tutte at the Shreveport Opera and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi at Opera Tampa. Mr. Bunsold’s active 2008 performance schedule included the role of Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor for Opera Company of North Caro-lina, Il Duca in Rigoletto with New Opera St. Louis, Laurie in Little Women for Opera Delaware, Gastone in La Traviata for Opera Memphis with Maestro Michael Ching and Camille in The Merry Widow for Opera New Jersey. In other recent seasons Mr. Bunsold sang the roles of Fenton in Falstaff at Fort Worth Opera, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’amore and Il Duca in Rigoletto for Opera in the Heights with Maestro William Weibel. His repertoire also includes Alfredo in La Traviata which he performed for Asheville Lyric Opera, Opera in the Ozarks and covered at Fort Worth Opera. In Mark Adamo’s new opera Lysistrata, he sang Nico in a con-cert presented by the composer with the Van Cliburn Foundations’ Cliburn at the Modern series in Fort Worth, Texas. In 2005 and 2006 he participated in the Glimmerglass Opera Young American Apprenticeship Program. The previ-ous year he was engaged by the The Utah Festival Opera and from 2004 - 2006 he was a Resident Artist with Fort Worth Opera. In 2007 and 2008 he worked with Sherrill Milnes and Maria Zouves at VOICExperience in Tampa, Florida and at the Tampa Opera. Benjamin’s future engagements include Beppe in Il Pagliacci at Opera Columbus and Carmina Burana at the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra.
Dan Cole – Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglie Dan interrupted his doctoral degree in conducting from Indiana University to pursue a Professional Studies in Opera degree at Temple University. He subsequently placed first in the Metro-politan Opera National Council auditions in the New Jersey district and first again in the New York regional finals. Since then Mr. Cole has appeared in theatres in Lisbon (Il Re in Aida ), Cologne (Colline in La Boheme), Taiwan (Colline) Am-sterdam (Voice of God in Stravinsky's The Flood) , New York (Marco in L'Arlesiana at Alice Tully Hall) and throughout the United States . He has also established a respectable concert career, including performances of Penderecki's St. Luke Passion with the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, Handel's Messiah in Philadelphia, Mozart's Mass in C minor with the Canton Symphony, Bernard Rands' Canti dell'Eclissi with the Boston Modern Orches-tra Project, Haydn's Mass in Time of War and Beethovan’s Mass in C with Cincinnati Symphony, excerpts from Die Meistersinger with the Cincinnati May Festival, and the Mozart Requiem in his debut at Carnegie Hall with Mid-America Productions. Mr. Cole also performed his first Die Winterreise with pianist William Ransom at the Highlands-Cashiers Chamber Music Festival. Dan has appeared with the Dayton Opera Company in La Boheme (Colline); Kentucky Opera in Salome (First Soldier); Opera Boston in Luisa Miller (Wurm) and The Consul (Secret Police Agent); Utah Festival Opera in La Cenerentola (Alidoro), Rigoletto (Sparafucile), Turandot (Timur), and The Crucible (Reverand Hale); Fargo-Moorhead Civic Opera in The Magic Flute (Sarastro) and Rigoletto (Sparafucile); Opera Carolina in La Cenerentola (Alidoro); Western Plains Opera in Phillip Marshall (Lucius). Mr. Cole served on the voice faculty at the University of Delaware from 2004-2007. He is cur-rently the Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia , South Carolina . He is currently recording Dominic Argento's Johnah, with the Bos-ton Modern Orchestra Project. Mr. Cole and his wife Holly have two boys, Nathanael and Benjamin. They reside in Columbia , SC.
David Dillard – Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglie Baritone, David Dillard, has been featured with the Florida Grand Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Lake George Opera, Union Avenue Opera, New Opera St. Louis, DiCapo Opera Theater, Tanglewood Music Center, and San Diego Opera Ensemble under conductors including Seiji Ozawa, Robert Spano, Carl St. Clair, Harry Bickett, and Daniel Beckwith. His wide-ranging repertoire includes over 30 roles from Monteverdi, to Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Janácek, Bernstein, and Robert Ward. Mr. Dillard is particularly passionate about lieder. Among his collaborations with internationally acclaimed collaborative pianist Martin Katz are several performances of Schubert’s Winterreise. He currently bal-ances performing with teaching at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Brian Downen – Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglie Brian’s recent appearances have included Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglie with Opera Columbus and Dayton Op-era; Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri with Central City Opera and Nevada Opera; Elvino in La Sonnambula and Ferrando in Così fan tutte with the Caramoor Festival; Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Dayton Opera and Colorado Symphony, Central City Opera, Opera Idaho, and the Caramoor Festi-val; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with OperaDelaware; Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola with Cleveland Opera, Knoxville Opera, and Eugene Opera; Roméo in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Northeast; both Belmonte in Die Entführung ause dem serail and Paolino in Il Matrimonio Segreto with Lake George Opera; the Spirit of the Masque in the first American production of Britten's Gloriana with Central City Opera; Nanki-Poo in The Mikado with Eugene Opera; and Roderigo in Otello with Virginia Opera. Mr. Downen has also performed Ali in Les Pèlerins de la Mec-que at the Kaye Playhouse with L’Opéra Français de New York; the Mayor in Albert Herring with Yale Opera; Little Bat in Susannah with Opera Theater of Pittsburgh; and Gerald in Lakmé for the Israel Vocal Arts Institute. Equally renowned on the concert stage, recent highlights have included Ralph Rack-straw in H.M.S. Pinafore with the Colorado Symphony; Bénédict in Béatrice et Bénédict with Yale Opera at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall; a Carnegie Hall debut for Handel’s Messiah; additional performances of Messiah with many other orchestras; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Dayton Philhar-monic; Elijah with the Caramoor Festival and the Colorado Springs Sym-phony; The Creation with the New Haven Symphony; the title role in Britten’s Saint Nicholas cantata at Yale University; and the Mozart Requiem at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. Mr. Downen has also sung the Evangel-ist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion and Christmas Oratorio, as well as the tenor solos in the St. John Passion and the Mass in b Minor. Originally from Sparta, Illinois, Brian Downen received his training in the Yale Opera Program at Yale University. He performed apprenticeships with Chicago’s Steans Institute for Young Artists at Ravinia, with Santa Fe Opera, with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and with Lake George Opera, and is a William Matheus Sullivan Foun-dation Award winner.
Meaghan Dieter – La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi Originally, from Sabetha, Kansas, Meaghan Deiter spent this past summer performing with the Seagle Music Colony in upstate New York singing the role of The Old Lady in Can-dide. With Seagle, she has also sung Katisha in the Mikado and participated in workshop performances of two new op-eras. Last season, Ms. Deiter performed with the Kentucky Opera as a Studio Artist participating in a weeklong work-shop with composer Jake Heggie and singing the role of Laura in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta. Meaghan recently received her master’s de-gree in Vocal Performance from the University of Kansas, where she per-formed several leading roles including Mrs. Jones in Street Scene (2008), Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief (2006), Meg Page in Falstaff (2006), and Mrs. Herring in Albert Herring (2005). Equally interested in musical theatre, Ms. Deiter spent the summer of 2006 performing in the New Theatre Dinner Restaurant’s production of Fiddler on the Roof and as Mrs. Paroo in the KU production of The Music Man (2007).

Allyson Ditchey – Stage Director for Gianni Schicchi Ms. Ditchey received a B.A. in music from Humboldt State University in 2005 and a M.M. in Vocal Performance from Washington University in 2007.  While at Wash. U., she was the assistant director for Susannah (2006) and Lizzie Borden (2008).   Since graduating she has worked as a stage manager for Union Avenue Opera (L’elisir d’amore – 2008, Carmen – 2008, Lakmé – 2009), New Opera St. Louis (Rigoletto – 2008, Samson et Delila – 2008), and O Pioneers! at the Touhill (2009).   She has also been a guest instructor for the Washington University Opera program, the Opera Theatre St. Louis Edward Jones’ Opera Camp for Kids, the Opera Theatre Spring training program, HLO KidCo, and also the director of the musical theatre program at Turtle Bay Elementary School. This past spring Ms. Ditchey was the assistant director for Little Women: the Musical and stage director of “the Melodrama” with Humboldt Light Opera Company in northern California.  Following that she attended the Wesley Balk Institute in Minnesota for performing and directing.  While there, she directed scenes from The Fantastics, Into the Woods, Black River, and The Composer-Librettist Studio of Nautilus Music-Theatre. Most Recently, Ms. Ditchey co-wrote (with William Lenihan of the Washington University music department), directed, and produced a one-act opera Family Dynamics: the funeral, which premiered in St. Louis this past October.
Gina Galati – Artistic Director, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglie, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi Gina, a soprano, is the recent recipient of the The Histori-cal Society of St. Louis County’s, James O’Flynn Com-munity Service award for founding New Opera Saint Louis, where she serves as artistic director. Gina received a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences in Music from Washing-ton University and later received a Masters of Opera from the University of Kansas and earned an Artist Diploma from the Academia Verdiana in Bussetto, Italy. Studying under Carlo Bergonzi, Gina performed numerous concerts throughout northern Italy. Ms. Galati has performed major roles in several operas such as Rosina in The Barber of Seville with Amici Opera and the Southern Illinois Music Festi-val, Musetta in La Bohéme with Witchita Grand Opera, and she has peformed frequently with the Atlantic Coast Opera Festival, singing Nedda in I Pagli-acci, Zerlina in Don Giovanni and Norina in Don Pasquale. She has also per-formed Fiordiligi in Cosí fan tutte and Countess in The Marriage of Figaro. Gina sang the role of Giorgetta in Union Avenue Opera’s production of Il Tabarro and made her Powell Symphony Hall debut December 2008 as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the St. Louis Bach Society. Gina recently performed the role of Alexandria in the world premier of O Pio-neers by Barbara Harbach in St. Louis and has performed the roles of Gilda in Rigoletto, Norina in Don Pasquale, and Nedda in I Pagliacci with New Opera St. Louis.
Sara Gottman – Katchen in Werther Sara Gottman, soprano, is proud to be making her debut with New Opera St. Louis as Katchen in Werther. Ms. Gottman holds a B.M. in vocal performance from Millikin University and a M.M. in vocal performance from Washington University in St. Louis, where she continues to study voice with John Stewart. While attending Millikin, Ms. Gottman appeared in many productions including The Magic Flute, Dido and Aeneas, The Old Maid and the Thief, and The Coronation of Poppea. She has also performed a variety of roles with Washington University Opera, most notably her recent appearance as the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. She performed at Union Avenue Opera this summer in the chorus of Il Trovatore, and is on the voice faculty at Washington University.
Ian Greenlaw – Albert in Werther Mr. Greenlaw most recently made his La Scala debut as the protagonist in Lorin Maazel’s opera, 1984. Additional recent engagements include an appearance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as a soloist in Britten’s War Requiem, Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette with Atlanta Opera, Grandfather Clock/Cat in L’enfant et les Sortilèges with New York Philharmonic, and as the soloist in Bartok’s Cantata Profana with the St. Louis Symphony. He also recently sang the title role in Sam Helfrich’s production of Il barbiere di Siviglia at Kentucky Opera and Peter in Hansel and Gretel at Opera Theatre of St. Louis in addition to excerpts from Die Zauberflöte. In the 2008-2009 season Mr. Greenlaw returned to the New York Philharmonic for performances of Britten’s War Requiem and L’enfant et les Sortilèges. Additional upcoming performances include the Fauré Requiem with the Eugene Symphony and St. John’s Passion with the Dayton Philharmonic. Earlier in his career, Mr. Greenlaw made his debut with the Metropolitan Opera as the Theater Manager in Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias and returned as Harlequin in Ariadne auf Naxos, Fléville in Andrea Chénier, Moralès in Carmen and Cascada in The Merry Widow. He has appeared as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Colorado, Dandini in La Cenerentola with Arizona Opera, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte at Chicago Opera Theatre, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Central City Opera, and Falke in Die Fledermaus with Michigan Opera Theatre. Mr. Greenlaw has also performed the title role in Don Giovanni in student matinees with the Dallas Opera, the title role of Eugene Onegin, Albert in Werther, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Iron Hans in Susa’s Transformations with Lyric Opera Cleveland. Ian Greenlaw has performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in works such as Orff’s Carmina Burana, the Brahms Requiem, Rodrigo’s Ausencias de Dulcinea, and Britten’s War Requiem. Mr.Greenlaw has participated at the Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute for Young Artists and is currently on the roster of the Marilyn Horne Foundation. The baritone holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Master of Music degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Mr. Greenlaw is an alumnus of the Pittsburgh Opera Center and the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Joe Hager – Marco in Gianni SchicchiJoe Hager, Baritone, was most recently seen as Albert in Werther with KU Opera. Other performances this season include the Jailor in Tosca with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Sky Masterson in Guy and Dolls with Seagle Music Colony,and the Baron in La Traviata with KU Opera. Equally at home in opera and musical theatre, Mr. Hager has performed the roles of Stanley Kowalski in Streetcar named Desire, Schaunard in La Boheme, El Gallo in The Fantastiks, and Archibald Grosvenor in Patience. A graduate of OCU, Mr. Hager recently obtained his Masters degree in Voice from University of Kansas,where he studies with John Stephens.

Katharine Gunnink – Nella in Gianni Schicchi
Katharine has performed various leading roles including Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro where the TeatriOnline 2009 said of her performance "Katharine Gunnink stands out above all in the role of the unhappy Countess: with having been given a beautiful voice also has a very good interpretation of the character".  The New York Times said she "sang expressively as Cathleen" in Vaughan Williams's Riders to the Sea.  Katharine has also sung Mimi in La Boheme, Venere in Cavalli's L'Egisto, the Mother in Hansel and Gretel, and Mrs. Andressen in A little night music.  Katie sang Mary in the World premier of Family dynamics last October in St. Louis. A native of Sonoma County, California, she has completed her master's degree in Opera Performance and post-graduate work at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  Katharine is now living in New York and studying with soprano, Nova Thomas.   

Marlissa Hudson – Nella in Gianni Schicchi Marlissa Hudson made her professional debut while a student, performing “Summertime” from Porgy and Bess with the Baltimore Symphony Pops Orchestra under the baton of Marvin Hamlisch. She later performed the en-tire role of Bess with Union Avenue Opera in St. Louis. Ms. Hudson’s most acclaimed role is that of Zerbinetta in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, which she performed both as a student and professionally with The Summer Opera Theatre Company (DC). Ms. Hudson received her for-mal training at Duke University and the Peabody Insti-tute of Johns Hopkins University, where she studied with Phyllis Bryn-Julson. She earned awards for music at both schools, including a Peabody Career De-velopment Grant. Marlissa Hudson is also an accomplished concert performer and recitalist. Recent accolades include selection as the soloist for the inaugu-ration of Governor Jay Nixon (MO) and receiving major press coverage in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where she was described as a “superb lyric colora-tura”. Ms. Hudson has collaborated as a soloist with such esteemed organiza-tions as the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony Pops Or-chestra, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Choralis, Loudoun Symphony Or-chestra, St. Louis Civic Orchestra, and the Prince George's Philharmonic. Fu-ture performances include a return to the Town & Country Symphony Orches-tra, and solo recitals with the Pro-Mozart Society (Atlanta, GA) and Crescendo Concert Series (St. Charles, MO).

Evereich – Simone in Gianni Schicchi
An award-winning heavy metal guitarist, accomplished graphic artist, actor, illusionist, and black belt, Evereich brings a wealth of artistic knowledge to the opera stage from many sources. Critically acclaimed for his “rich” and “commanding bass voice,” this eclectic operatic entertainer has performed a variety of roles both modern and classic including Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Bottom (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), and Tobermory the Talking Cat. He made his professional operatic debut in 2005 with Wichita Grand Opera as Colline in La Bohème. Other operatic roles include Leporello and Il Commendatore (Il Don Giovanni), Osmin (Die Entfürung aus dem Serail), and Dottore Grenvil (La Traviata).

Colin Levin – Fiorello in Il Barbiere di Siviglie and Betto di Signa in Gianni Schicchi Baritone Colin Levin, a native of Dover, MA, is thrilled to be making his debut with New Opera St. Louis. Colin spent two summers as an apprentice artist with Opera New Jersey, where he most notably covered Dandini in La Cenerentola and performed Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance, in addi-tion to roles and covers in La Traviata, The Merry Widow, Romeo et Juliette, and Die Zauberflöte. Other engagements include Baron Douphol in La Traviata, Bogdanovitch/Njegus (cover) in The Merry Widow, and Figaro in The Barber of St. Petersburg with St. Petersburg Opera in Florida, L'ombre de Samuel in the North American professional stage premier of Charpentier's David et Jonathas with American Opera Theater, debuting in Italy as Tobias Mill in Rossini's La Cambiale di Matrimonio with the Centro Studi Italiani Opera Festival, a role he has also performed with Longwood Opera and Oberlin Opera Theater, Mr. Jenks/Top(cover) in Copland’s The Tenderland with the Sugar Creek Symphony and Song, and Dandini in La Cenerentola with Opera del West. Other performed opera roles include Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Gideon/Mr. Dashwood in Little Women, and Starveling in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Concert appear-ances include the baritone soloist in Ein deutsches Requiem, the Faure Req-uiem, Vaughan-Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, and Messiah. Colin received a Bachelor of Music from The Oberlin Conservatory of Music, and is currently pursuing a Master of Music at the University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign. At the University of Illinois he has appeared as Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette, Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, and will be performing Sid in Albert Herring this spring.
Ellie Lore – Gherardino in Gianni Schicchi
 Ellie is excited to make her debut with Winter Opera this season. Elle is a student at St. Ambrose whose hobbies include playing guitar, soccer, basketball, softball and volleyball, swimming, singing, dancing, Girl Scouts, and performing in musicals. She has appeared in the choruses of Willie Wonka Jr with Crestwood-Kirkwood Theatre Group, Sleeping Beauty and the Beast with Afton Center Stage, Alice in Wonderland with Whitecliff Theatre Company, Annie with Overdue Thea-tre, and Oliver with Family Musical Theatre. Ellie is also a participant in the Stages education program and has performed in Wizard of Oz, Charlie Brown, Annie, and is currently working on The Jungle Book with Stages.
Charles Martinez – Schmidt in Werther and Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi Charles was born and raised in Wichita, KS. Recently he has sung the roles of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Alfredo in La Traviata, Sam Kaplan in Street Scene, Beppe in I Pagliacci, Roderigo in Otello and Borsa in Rigoletto with New Opera St. Louis, Union Avenue Opera, KU Opera, and has performed with the ensemble at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City for the past two seasons. In the summer of 2009, Charles was a young artist at Opera New Jersey and covered the role of Arturo in Lucia di Lammermoor. Upcoming engagements include the roles of Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi with New Opera St. Louis and Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress at the University of Kansas, where Charles is currently pursuing a DMA in voice performance.
Joshua Stanton – Officer/Chorus in Il Barbiere di Siviglie Joshua Stanton holds degrees from Black Hills State University as well as Washington University where he studies with John Stewart. Joshua spent three seasons with the Johanna Meier Opera Theatre Institute. In the fall, Stanton sang the role of Tinca in Il Tabarro with Union Avenue Opera. Stanton has performed many roles at Washington University including: Le Chevalier des Grieux in Manon, Reverend Harrington in Lizzie Borden, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Aspern in The Aspern Papers, and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. He has performed as a soloist in Carmina Burana, Messiah, Bach’s Magnificat and Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. Musical theatre credits include: Robert in Company and Eddie in Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?.
John Stephens – Stage Director and Le Baillie for Werther John, originally from St. Louis, has sung leading roles with numerous opera companies, including the Houston Grand Opera; Santa Fe Opera; Washington Opera; Opera Theatre of St. Louis; Minnesota Opera; Atlanta Opera; Opera Pacific; Pittsburgh Opera Theatre; Boston Lyric Opera; Glimmerglass Opera; Lake George Festival; Opera Omaha; and the Kansas City Lyric Opera. As a concert soloist, he has sung with the St. Louis Symphony; the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Atlanta Symphony; Orlando Philharmonic; Kan-sas City Symphony; and at the J. F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He is on faculty of the University of Kan-sas School of Music.
William Andrew Stuckey – Gianni Schicci in Gianni Schicci Mr. Stuckey is considered an important interpreter of the Verdi roles including Iago in Otello, Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore, the title role of Falstaff, and Germont in La Traviata. His portrayals of the infamous Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Don Pi-zarro in Fidelio, High Priest in Samson et Dalilah, and Tonio in I Pagliacci are much acclaimed. Among the many theaters with which he has sung are the Santa Fe Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Baltimore Opera, and the Syracuse Opera. No stranger to concert work, ex-citing performances of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Dvorak’s Te Deum, Britten’s War Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Verdi’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Mozart’s Requiem are among the highlights of his career. An acclaimed singer, many prestigious prizes and grants have been awarded to him. Some of these awards include the Sara Tucker study grant, the William Mattheus Sullivan Foundation grant, and The Union League grant. He has won first prize in both the Florida Grand Opera’s Young Patronesses of the Opera competition and the Palm Beach Opera competition. He was also a National Semi-Finalist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Mr. Stuckey has had the privilege to work with some of the most renowned teachers, directors, conduc-tors, and coaches in the music world and they have taught him much, not just about vocal technique and performance, but also about the pursuit of excel-lence in opera.
Nora Teipen – Charlotte in Werther Nora has performed locally with New Opera St. Louis as Delilah in their recent production of Samson and Delilah, and as Maddalena in Rigoletto. She has also performed with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Masterworks Chorale, and the University City Symphony. In addition, she per-formed the role of Catherine in Honegger’s Joan of Arc at the Stake at the Berkshire Festival and was the alto solist with the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh in Dvorak’s Stabat Mater. Nora Teipan made her solo debut with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra singing in Barber’s Prayers of Kierkegaard. She has also appeared with SLSO as a solist in de Falla’s El Amor Brujo, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Duruflé’s Requiem, and Tschaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. Ms. Teipen was a semi-finalist in the Vera Scammon Competition, a finalist in the Lyric Opera of Chicago Competition, and a finalist in the Bartenbach Competition. A native of Indianapolis, Ms. Teipen currently resides in St. Louis, where she is director of Teipen Perform-ing Arts Studio.
Phil Touchette – Ambrosius/Chorus in Il Barbiere di Siviglie and Ser Amantio di Nicolao in Gianni Schicchi Philip Touchette has sung with Union Avenue Opera, New Opera Saint Louis, Washington University Opera and Muddy River Opera. His roles include Elder McLean in Susannah, 2nd Priest in Die Zauberflöte, Dancaïre in Car-men and Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Pen-zance. In concert, Philip has performed as soloist in Jerry Bilik’s Ogden Nash Suite, Schubert’s Mass in G and the Fauré Requiem. Mr. Touchette holds a Bachelors degree in Music Education from Quincy University and a Master of Music from Wash-ington University, where he currently studies with John Stewart.
Hugo Vera – Werther in Werther A native Texan, the young tenor Hugo Vera is described as possessing a “truly heroic voice” that is both “beautiful and brilliant.” A recent addition to The Met-ropolitan Opera artist roster, he has also sung with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Minnesota Opera, Chautauqua Opera, New York City Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera North, Aspen Opera Thea-tre, Nashville Opera, Shreveport Opera, and Tanglewood Music Festival. Mr. Vera recently made his Avery Fisher Hall debut in the acclaimed North American premiere of Mascagni’s Il Piccolo Marat with Teatro Grattacielo. He also sang Rodolfo (La Bohème) in a debut with Sioux City Symphony, Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) for Opera North, Des Grieux (Manon Lescaut) for Shreveport Opera, Samson (Samson et Dalila) for New Opera of Saint Louis, and he reprised Don José (Carmen) for Opera North. Other roles performed in recent seasons include Manrico (Il Trovatore), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann), Faust (Faust), Pietro Nuttini (The Glass Blowers), Luiz (The Gondoliers), Alfredo (La Traviata), and Raffaele (Stiffelio) which he performed while covering the principal role of Stiffelio. Other cover assignments comprise Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto), Jacopo Foscari (I due Foscari), and Sam (Susannah). Upcoming Mr. Vera covers the role of Kedril in Janáček’s From the House of the Dead for The Metropolitan Opera, reprises Rodolfo (La bohème) for Shreveport Op-era and sings several concerts. As a concert artist, Mr. Vera has successfully performed works ranging from the cantatas of J.S. Bach to the works of Brit-ten, Tippett and Vaughn Williams. Recognized as a significantly talented