Setting: The El Dorado, a steamboat sailing down the Amazon from Leticia, Colombia, to Manaus, Brazil, in the early 1900s

Act I

At the dock, Riolobo, a mystical character who can assume many forms, announces that the El Dorado is bound for the opera house in Manaus. There, the legendary opera diva Florencia Grimaldi, who has not returned to her native country for 20 years, will give a concert to reopen the theater. From among the crowds selling their local wares, we see the ship’s passengers come aboard: a young journalist, Rosalba, who is working on a biography of Florencia Grimaldi, Paula and Alvaro, a middle-aged couple journeying to hear Grimaldi in hopes of rekindling their marriage, and the diva herself, traveling incognito.

As the ship pulls away from the busy port, Florencia reflects on her life and her longing to find her long-lost lover, Cristóbal, a butterfly hunter who searched for the rare Emerald Muse.As they set sail Rosalba’s notebook falls into the river, but is partially rescued by the ship Capitán’s nephew, Arcadio, and they exchange confidences about their longings and desires. Alvaro and Paula attempt to dine on deck, but misunderstandings about the exotic menu lead to bitter exchanges.

Florencia, awakened by the sounds of the jungle the next morning, learns from the Capitán that the butterfly hunter has disappeared into the jungle without a trace.Later, a tempestuous game of cards revels the growing affection between Rosalba and Arcadio and the increasing tension between Paula and Alvaro. A violent storm quickly develops, and Riolobo appears in the guise of a river-spirit to implore the mercy of the gods of the river

Alvaro saves the boat from being crushed by tree trunks but is plunged overboard. With the Capitán unconscious, Arcadio ably takes the helm but is unable to stop the forces of nature as the ship runs aground.

Act II

In the quiet after the storm, Florencia wanders out into the magic of the night jungle, wondering if she will ever see Cristóbal again.Arcadio and Rosalba rejoice to find they have survived the storm, but frightened by the intensity of their feelings for each other, vow not to fall in love and risk disillusionment. Paula laments the loss of Alvaro, recognizing that the wall between them was pride – not lack of love.Riolobo and the creatures of the jungle once again call upon the mystical and transformative powers of the Amazon.Suddenly Alvaro is returned to the boat, explaining that Paula’s voice called him back from the brink of death. On behalf of all the passengers, Florencia thanks him for saving their lives and they resume their journey to Manaus.

Rosalba finds more of her ruined notes for the biography of Florencia washed up on the deck. She is distraught by the loss of two years’ work, but Florencia tells her she has lost nothing irreplaceable.The two women begin to argue about the source of Grimaldi’s talents, and when Florencia passionately declares that the diva’s voice sprang from her love for a man, Rosalba suddenly realizes the woman standing before her is the opera singer herself.

With both pairs of lovers reconciled to their need for each other, the ship is about to reach Manaus when it is discovered that no one may disembark because of a cholera epidemic. In despair at being unable to fulfill her search, Florencia’s spirit drifts toward Cristóbal in a song of mystical and joyful reunion.

by Candace Evans

Take a journey down the Amazon River. Step on the boat and disappear from the realities that surround you and the self you were. Let nature and music wash into your spirit and allow yourself to emerge at a new destination. Unexpected, but essential, allow yourself to change.

This is the invitation extended by the opera Florencia en el Amazonas. Spun from a libretto in the magic realism style of Gabriel García Márquez, the intensely evocative score was written by the late Daniel Catán as a co-commission for Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, and Seattle Opera.

In preparation for this new production, I considered the opera, an actual journey, from the viewpoint of each character. Why were they there? What was their story, their wish, and their eventual outcome? It is rare that every character has an essential need and a tangible transformation, but in this instance each role is part of an intricate and well-balanced puzzle, with the river holding their world in absolute space and time.

In consideration of this, it became clear to me that the river itself was the most imperative character. Down the mighty Amazon, the boat sails through dense rain forest, enduring powerful bursts of weather, and encountering the most astonishing creatures of the jungle. My production concept, to create a more tangible representation of this magic, was realized by my immensely talented design team.

It’s easy for us to identify, even without the exoticism of an Amazonian jungle, with the power of nature to take hold of us. From the viewing of a spectacular sunrise out of an airplane window, to standing at the edge of an enormous canyon, to the simple pleasure of tracing raindrops down a kitchen window, we are given a life pause when we allow ourselves to really see. In the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson, “Nature is made to conspire with spirit to emancipate us.”

Throughout literature and music, plots have focused on how nature affects personal discovery. Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, Sondheim’s Into the Woods, and a myriad of Shakespearean plays, most powerfully The Tempest.

In a strong parallel to this opera, Shakespeare’s play tells of a ship isolated in a magical environment with curious beings called forth by the main character, Prospero. In the words of Margaret Atwood about him, “Prospero uses his arts—magic arts, arts of illusion—not just for entertainment, though he does some of that as well, but for the purposes of moral and social improvement.”

In the opera, Riolobo, a man/creature guides the journey and opens situations for each character to meet their own demons. Without force, he offers opportunity through the magic of the river, the creatures of the jungle, and the cleansing power of water. Riolobo is balanced against the character of the El Dorado’s captain, a practical man whose very heart and soul are the river. The boat sails with Florencia, an opera singer searching for the lost love that gave her a voice, Rosalba and Arcadio, young hopefuls with aspirations for a life more fulfilling, and Paula and Alvaro, a couple with unspoken wishes are for a renewal of their love.

Step aboard and journey with us. Allow the music, imagery, and power of magic to become reality. Allow yourself to consider your lost loves, wishes for a life more fulfilling, and a renewal of what really matters.

In the words of Henry David Thoreau, “Not until we are lost do we begin to find ourselves.”

by Christine Wisch
Ph.D. Candidate in Musicology

“It is, I believe, the story of the return journey that we all undertake at a certain point in our lives: nel mezzo del camin di nostra vita, the moment when we look back at what we once dreamed of becoming, and then confront what we have now become.” – Daniel Catán

The idea of a journey, physical or metaphorical, has captured the imagination of writers and artists for centuries. For its creators, characters, and audiences alike, Florencia en el Amazonas is itself a representation of many journeys, both on and off the stage.

From a historical perspective, the opera represents a milestone in the journey of Spanish-language opera from regional production to national and international stage. Following a successful performance in 1994 of La hija de Rappaccini (Rappaccini’s Daughter) at the San Diego Opera, Mexican composer Daniel Catán caught the attention of opera houses nationwide.Soon after, he received a co-commission by the Houston Grand Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, and the Seattle Opera to write another work.The resulting Florencia en el Amazonas became the first Spanish-language opera commissioned by a major US opera house, and since its premiere in 1996 at the Houston Grand Opera, it has enjoyed great success around the world.

The opera itself is about a journey, both a literal journey of a boat and its passengers down the Amazon River to the port city of Manaus, and an emotional journey for the characters, as they come to discover truths about themselves while onboard. The title character, famous Brazilian soprano Florencia Grimaldi, boards the El Dorado in disguise in search of her lover. Other passengers, however, are travelling to hear the reclusive soprano sing at the Manaus opera house. While on board, both the crew and passengers succumb to the magical power of the Amazon River and the power of love.

At a broader level, Catán’s choice of topic and setting for Florencia is also indicative of an artistic journey.Catán strove to capture and depict Latin American culture and identity on the operatic stage in a way that went beyond stereotypes or touristic clichés. For this challenge, Catán turned to the renowned Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez (1927-2014), who attended the premiere of La hija de Rappaccini and had offered his services to Catán for his next opera.García Márquez suggested that Catán collaborate with Marcela Fuentes-Berain, whose projects as a television and screenplay writer frequently invoked the themes of García Márquez’s writings.

As early as the 1970s, García Márquez was credited with giving Latin America a voice and identity both at home and abroad.For the subjects and ideas explored in his writings, the author drew upon personal and collective Latin American experiences, and in 1982 he became the first Colombian and only the fourth Latin American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.Set in distinctly Latin American locales, both real and imagined, his novels and short stories explore issues of cultural identity through themes of solitude, violence, family, love, and faith.

One vehicle for exploring these themes was magical realism, a style and genre cultivated by García Márquez, in which supernatural or mythical elements are incorporated into an otherwise realistic narrative. In Florencia, magic is woven carefully into the fabric of both the libretto and the musical score. A prominent example is the character of Riolobo, a mysterious figure who walks among the mortal characters on the boat yet also appears as a river god, mediating between the magical and real worlds and serving as a guide for the characters within the story as well as the audience witnessing the events on stage. Riolobois able to summon and control the mystical power of the mighty Amazon River and its inhabitants. He is the omniscient narrator, filling in details about the characters for the audience, while revealing to the characters truths about themselves.

Though some claim that Florencia en el Amazonas is based loosely on García Márquez’s novel Love in the Time of Cholera, Fuentes-Berain draws from themes commonly found in García Márquez’s writing. Most directly related to Love in the Time of Cholera are Florencia’s prominent, complicated love stories and the early twentieth-century river setting.On the other hand, themes of oppression and time may recall other works such as One Hundred Years of Solitude, while the figure of Riolobo may remind audiences of the short story A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.Florencia’s overarching theme of character journeys, both down the Amazon and of self-discovery, can be found in the majority of García Márquez’s works, as characters are forced to confront truths about themselves.Upon reading the final libretto of Florencia, García Márquez complimented Fuentes-Berain on the imitation of his style and ideas.

Part of Florencia’s enduring success is certainly due to its musical language.Catán’s score for Florencia is often described as lush and rich, reminiscent of Puccini. Catán’s musical world is one full of complex emotions and constant motion. Like Puccini, Catán is able to develop and sustain emotional tension, especially in long vocal lines.Cadences and moments of rest feel brief, sometimes fleeting, as the music serves to remind the audience of the continuing journeys of the boat and the characters alike.Adding to the sense of constant motion is Catán’s use of arioso—a style of singing that is more melodic and less declamatory than recitative—which allows arias and instrumental interludes to emerge seamlessly from the dialogue.Throughout the score, recurring ostinatos and undulating melodic lines function as musical analogues to the river’s waves and motion, while thick textures and the use of full orchestral forces often remind the audience of the Amazon’s power, both physical and magical. The sound of the marimba, an instrument of Latin American origin, often colors the orchestral texture, hinting at the presence of magic and its involvement in onstage events.

Whether the characters attribute their transformations to magic, the river, or simply circumstance is up to audience interpretation. What is certain, however, is that the combination of timeless themes, soaring melodies, colorful orchestration and the tropical setting of Florencia has afforded this opera great success, and it promises to enchant audiences for decades to come.

In 2012 Opera News wrote, “The happy news of David Neely’s appointment as Des Moines Metro Opera’s first-ever music director portends some exciting operatic growth at Des Moines in years to come.” Since then, Neely has continued to elevate the company’s musical profile with acclaimed performances of a wide range of repertoire.Recent conducting highlights at DMMO include Elektra, Peter Grimes, Dead Man Walking, Three Decembers, La Fanciulla del West, Falstaff, Jenůfa, Manon, as well as appearing as collaborative pianist with baritone David Adam Moore in a multi-media performance of Winterreise for DMMO’s 2nd Stages series.The DMMO broadcast of Jenůfa has recently been nominated for an Emmy Award.

Internationally, Neely has appeared as a conductor with the Bochumer Symphoniker, Dortmunder Philharmoniker, the Symphonieorchester Vorarlberg, and numerous European opera houses including Bonn, Halle, Dortmund, and St.Gallen.In the United States, he has appeared at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Roosevelt University’s Chicago College of Performing Arts, and Sarasota Opera, where he has led numerous productions including their American Classics series of 20th-century operas.He has collaborated with such soloists as Joshua Roman, Bella Hristova, Benjamin Beilman, Rainer Honeck, Nicholas Daniels, Ricardo Morales, Ben Lulich, and Phillippe Cuper.

In addition, Neely heads Orchestral Activities at the University of Kansas, where he has brought distinction and visibility to the orchestra program since joining the faculty in 2007.The KU Symphony Orchestra has performed with prominent international soloists, has frequently appeared at the renowned Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City, and in the summer of 2011, performed as resident orchestra of the Eutiner Festspiele in Eutin, Germany.Neely fosters a strong community-university relationship in Lawrence, Kan., by partnering in and directing engagement activities, including an annual family-oriented Halloween concert and free Kansas Sinfonietta summer concerts.He established the collaboration between the KU Symphony Orchestra and Lawrence Arts Center on annual staged performances of Peter and the Wolf for young audiences, and has partnered with Reach Out Kansas Inc.on free statewide performances for underserved communities.He has also played an active role in Lawrence’s Sister City program.

Upcoming appearances include the Portland Symphony Orchestra and Sarasota Opera, as well as David T.Little’s Soldier Songs, Britten’s Billy Budd, and Puccini’s Turandot in Des Moines.

He holds a B.M.in Piano Performance and an M.M.in Orchestral Conducting from Indiana University, where his teachers were Zadel Skolovky and Leonard Hokanson(piano), and Thomas Baldner and Bryan Balkwill (conducting).He received post-graduate study in orchestral conducting with Gerhard Samuel at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.

Candace Evans is delighted to return to Indiana University, where she has staged Candide, Werther, and a new production of Akhnaten, which was selected by composer Philip Glass for release as a definitive DVD. Praised internationally, she is known for the clarity and ease of her storytelling and has been reviewed by Opera News for her “flawless sense of timing.” Through the interplay of music, movement, and text, she brings stories to life and audiences to their feet. Her career encompasses the direction and choreography of over ninety operas, musicals, plays, and ballets.

Passionate about blending the arts to enhance audience expectations of opera as a full theatrical experience, Evans is known for her probing dramatic productions of traditional repertoire, as well as her innovative new productions. Her production of Salome for the inaugural season of Opera San Antonio featured Patricia Racette in her title role debut. Following that, she developed an abridged version of La Wally for Dallas Opera in tandem with the world premiere of Joby Talbot’s Everest. Reviewed by Opera News, her interpretation of Three Decembers for the Fort Worth Opera Festival spoke of “bringing characters vividly to life,” and her new production of L’Italiana in Algeri for Opera Southwest was described as “riveting and effervescent.” She has served as dramaturge and workshop director for Riders of the Purple Sage, a work which will have its world premiere in 2017.

Candace was honored by the legendary Teatro Colón, where her production of La Viuda Alegre was voted in the top three operas of the season by the Argentinian National Music Critics.

Acclaimed productions include her Carmen and Eugene Onegin for Madison Opera, as well as the Merry Widow for Dallas Opera, where she was asked to return to direct Don Pasquale for their inaugural season at the Winspear Opera House.

Among Evans’ other past engagements are the opera companies of Santa Fe, Arizona, Palm Beach, North Carolina, Knoxville, Grand Rapids, and Indianapolis, as well as Florentine Opera. Her past summers have been spent in Italy, where she directed for the Montefeltro and Icastica festivals.

Evans trained as an opera singer, danced with the Wisconsin Ballet Company, toured the world as a stage actor and has an MFA in classical theatre/direction; a combination which gives her a unique ability to understand the disciplines essential to artistic success. Her focus on clear and supportive communication to singers uses an integration of voice, mind and body to release a performance of true emotional and physical freedom.

Relocating to Dallas from New York City, Evans taught for the theater and music departments at Southern Methodist University from 1994-2000. In addition to her active directing career, she now lectures and teaches internationally, with an essential component of her work including the use of neutral and character masks to encourage physical connection for opera singers.

A Bloomington-based designer and scenic artist, Mark Frederic Smith is also the director of scenic painting and properties for the Jacobs School of Music Opera and Ballet Theater, where he has worked on over a hundred productions during the past 20 years. Design work for Jacobs-related projects includes Transformations and Maria de Buenos Aires, assistant designer on the world premiere of Ned Rorem’s Our Town, and the reworking of Max Rothlisberger’s classic design for Hansel and Gretel in 2013. In addition to his work for Indianapolis Civic Theater, Butler Ballet, and Indianapolis Ballet School, area theater goers will recognize Smith’s designs for over a dozen Cardinal Stage Company shows including Les Miserables, A Streetcar Named Desire, My Fair Lady, Big River, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.Smith earned a Master’s of Fine Art in Scenic Design from the Indiana University Department of Theatre and Drama and was a student of Jacobs professors C. David Higgins and Robert O’Hearn. Smith is thrilled to be a part of the creative team behind this production of Florencia en el Amazonas.

Costume designer Linda Pisano designs for theater, dance, musical theater, ballet, and opera throughout the United States; her ballet designs have toured the UK and Canada. An award winning designer, her work has been featured in the Quadrennial World Design Expo in Prague and the World Stage Design exhibition, and a three-time winner of the National Stage Expo for performance design, and a four-time recipient of the Peggy Ezekiel Award for Excellence in Design. Her work was selected from top designers in the United States to be featured in a world design exhibition with the Bakhrushin Museum in Moscow (2015) and the China Institute of Stage Design in Beijing (opening summer 2016). As professor of costume design at Indiana University, she directs their Theatre and Drama study abroad program in London, heads the Design and Technology Area, and co-authored the recent book The Art and Practice of Costume Design.Pisano designs professionally with many companies including Utah Shakespeare Festival, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Opera San Antonio, BalletMet, The Jacobs School of Music and Lyric Repertory. Some of her most recent work around the country includes Miranda, Protean Hearts, Anne Frank, As You Like It, Salome (also with director Candace Evans), To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet, Oklahoma!, Twelfth Night, Sense and Sensibility, Chicago, the opera Dead Man Walking, A Little Night Music, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, and the opera Akhnaten (also with Candace Evans). Upcoming work includes Music Man with director Vincent Liotta and Madama Butterfly with director Lesley Koenig, both at the Jacobs School of Music this season. Linda serves on the board of directors for the United States Institute for Theatre Technology and is a member of the United Scenic Artists, Local 829.

Todd Hensley returns to IU after lighting La Rondine, Candide, Akhnaten, and The Tale of Lady Thi Kinh. He is a Chicago-based designer whose work includes such productions as Un Ballo in Maschera, Don Giovanni, and Cavalleria / Pagliacci for Florida Grand Opera, Boris Godunov for San Diego Opera, Carousel and From the Towers of the Moon for Minnesota Opera, and productions for Baltimore Opera, Cleveland Opera, Skylight Opera Theatre, Tulsa Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, and Chicago’s Lyric Opera Center. Other design work includes the Noel Coward musical A Marvelous Party, with engagements in Chicago, Laguna Beach, Palm Beach, and Rochester, N.Y.; and The Hobbit for The Children’s Theatre Company of Minneapolis.Hensley is a partner with Schuler Shook Theatre Planners, with projects including Chicago Millennium Park’s Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills, Chicago’s Lookingglass Theatre and Victory Gardens Theater, the Shanghai American School’s Pudong Campus theater, the Ryan Center for the Musical Arts at Northwestern University, and major opera house renovations in New York, Seattle, Chicago, and Sarasota. He is a member and past president of the American Society of Theatre Consultants (ASTC) and a lighting design member of United Scenic Artists. Hensley has designed stage lighting for theater and opera productions in many US theaters.He also teaches stage lighting at DePaul University.

Along with his responsibilities as professor of choral conducting and faculty director of opera choruses at the Jacobs School of Music, Walter Huff continues his duties as Atlanta Opera chorus master. He has been chorus master for The Atlanta Opera since 1988, preparing the chorus in more than 120 productions and receiving critical acclaim in the United States and abroad. Huff earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory and his Master of Music degree from Peabody Conservatory (Johns Hopkins). He studied piano with Sarah Martin, Peter Takács, and Lillian Freundlich, and voice with Flore Wend. After serving as a fellow at Tanglewood Music Center, he received Tanglewood’s C.D. Jackson Master Award for Excellence. Huff served as coach with the Peabody Opera Theatre and Washington Opera, and has been musical director for The Atlanta Opera Studio, Georgia State University Opera, and Actor’s Express (Atlanta, Ga.). He also has worked as chorus master with San Diego Opera. He served on the faculty at Georgia State University for four years as assistant professor, guest lecturer, and conductor for the Georgia State University Choral Society.

He was one of four Atlanta artists chosen for the first Loridans Arts Awards, given to Atlanta artists who have made exceptional contributions to the arts life of Atlanta over a long period of time. While serving as chorus master for The Atlanta Opera, Huff has been the music director for The Atlanta Opera High School Opera Institute, a nine-month training program for talented, classically trained high school singers. He has served as chorus master for IU Opera Theater productions of Don Giovanni, The Merry Widow, Akhnaten, Le Nozze di Figaro, Lady Thi Kính, H.M.S. Pinafore, La Traviata, The Italian Girl in Algiers, La Bohème, The Last Savage, South Pacific, Die Zauberflöte, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Dead Man Walking, Die Fledermaus, Carmen, Oklahoma!, and La Fille du Regiment. In June 2015, Huff served as choral instructor and conductor for IU’s Sacred Music Intensive, a workshop inaugurated by the organ and choral departments at the Jacobs School.In addition, he maintains a busy vocal coaching studio in Atlanta. This past summer, he conducted Arthur Honegger’s King David for the Jacobs Summer Music series with the Summer Orchestra and Chorus.

Presently coordinating opera coach for Indiana University’s Opera and Ballet Theater, Kimberly Carballo is also an active international performer and educator. She has previously worked as the mainstage and young artists’ program coach for the Compañía Lírica Nacional de Costa Rica, and music theory instructor and vocal coach at the Conservatorio Musical de Alajuela, the Escuela de Artes Musicales de la Universidad de Costa Rica, and the Universidad Nacional in Costa Rica. In addition to her duties at the IU Jacobs School of Music, she maintains a private studio as a freelance coach, collaborator, and piano teacher. She is founder and director of Reimagining Opera for Kids (ROK), a music community engagement and education program based in Bloomington, Ind. Carballo also forms part of the inaugural and ongoing team for Tunaweza Kimuziki (Through Music All is Possible), a project promoting exchange among music educators, scholars, and performers in Kenya and the US.

A native of Newark, N.J., Dennis Helmrich began his piano studies at the age of five, and both he and his twin brother sang in the famous boy choir of St.Thomas’ Church on Fifth Avenue in New York City. As a boy he studied solfège with Max Goberman, piano with Eugene Hellmer, and flute with George Opperman and Gerald Rudy. Helmrich earned his B.M.(cum laude) and M.M.(with honors) from Yale University. He also undertook doctoral studies at Boston University. During his years at Yale, Helmrich received prizes from the Lacewood and Ditson foundations and the National Endowment for the Arts, having studied piano with Donald Currier.

At age 24 he joined the musical faculty of Antioch College, and subsequently served on the faculties of the State University of New York campuses at Albany and Purchase, the Jewish Theological Seminary, Manhattan School of Music, The Juilliard School, and New York University. Invited to the Tanglewood Festival in 1969 to aid in the musical preparation of Berg’s Wozzeck under Erich Leinsdorf and Michael Tilson Thomas, in the following year Helmrich was appointed vocal music coach at the Tanglewood Music Center, a position he has held ever since.

Almost from the outset of his career Helmrich has concentrated on chamber music and the art song literature. It is as a sonata partner and accompanist that he now makes most of his concert appearances in a schedule that has taken him in recent years to thirty states, Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Asia, and to stages such as Avery Fisher, Alice Tully, and Carnegie Halls in New York, Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco, Symphony Hall in Boston, and Severance Hall in Cleveland. He has performed with such artists such as John Aler, Kathleen Battle, Richard Stilwell, Mary Ann Hart, Eugenia Zukerman, Claire Bloom, Carol Wincenc, Gary Shocker, Roberta Peters, Petra Lang, Roberta Alexander, and Charles Holland.

Helmrich has appeared frequently at the Tanglewood, Bard, Yachats, and Caramoor Festivals. A continuing interest in contemporary music has led Helmrich to give first performances of many American compositions. For four years he was co-director of Hear America First, a New York concert series devoted to the performance of American music. He has recorded chamber music and songs on the Orion, Spectrum, Nonesuch, Chesky, Musical Heritage, Albany, Newport Classic, Delos, and Samsung label. His publications include translations of opera libretti and song texts, and he has created supertitles for numerous operatic productions.

Soprano Kaitlyn Johnson is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Voice Performance at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music under the guidance of Heidi Grant Murphy. Johnson spent summer 2016 as a young artist with the Prague Summer Nights Festival, where she performed Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni on the stage of the Estates Theatre in Prague. During the first year of her studies at IU, she was featured as Mrs. Charlton in Dead Man Walking and Carmen. She is a 2015 cum laude graduate of Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she studied with Stephen King. Highlights of her Rice career include performances as Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica, and as soprano soloist for the Duruflé and Rutter Requiem Masses. Kaitlyn made her international debut in summer 2014 as Yvette in Puccini’s La Rondine in Cortona, Italy. She is a two-time alumnus of the Aspen Opera Center, where she was seen onstage in various scenes from Mozart operas and the French repertoire, in addition to Candide, Suor Angelica, and the world staged premiere of The Cows of Apollo. Johnson is the recipient of a 2016 Georgina Joshi International Fellowship, the 2015 Farb Family Outstanding Graduate Award (Rice University), and a proud alumnus of Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy. She is originally from Atlanta, Ga.

Lauren Jean McQuistin, born in 1993, is a soprano from the South West of Scotland. She completed her undergraduate studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in 2011 with mezzo-soprano Margaret Izatt and pianist Sinae Lee. Her first taste of international success came when she won the Art Song class of the Sergei Leiferkus Competition for Voice in Moscow, Russia. At the Conservatoire she performed in the chorus in La Rondine and appeared in scenes as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. Through the Conservatoire and Royal Scottish National Orchestra she performed in Poulenc’s Gloria, Fauré’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Verdi’s Simon Boccanegra, Purcell’s Funeral Sentences, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Holst’s The Planets, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony and Handel’s Messiah. She was a member of BBC 3 Choir of the Year Les Sirènes, and was featured as a soloist on their debut CD. Her operatic principal debut came with the McOpera Collective in Shostakovich’s Roschild’s Violin, where she played Marfa. Since moving to the US to study with Carol Vaness at the Jacob’s School of Music, she has performed in the chorus of Dead Man Walking and Carmen, as well as Alice Ford in Falstaff for Vaness’ opera workshop. This year she was a District winner for the Metropolitan National Opera Competition, and she performed The Countess in Blooming Voce’s production of The Marriage of Figaro in Bloomington, Ind. McQuisten is excited to be making her IU Opera Theater principal debut and is grateful for the financial support of The Dewar Arts Awards and The Holywood Trust.

Though she began her musical studies as a violinist, soprano Tabitha Burchett has found a home in the vocal world. Currently pursuing a Doctor of Music, she studies at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she previously earned a master’s degree in Voice Performance. Her primary teacher is Heidi Grant Murphy.Burchett’s IU stage credits include Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore. Other solo work includes Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Paukenmesse, and Libby Larsen’s Sonnets from the Portuguese. In 2014, Burchett won an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She has received additional training at Interlochen Arts Camp, the MasterWorks Festival, and the Ash Lawn Opera. Burchett earned her Bachelor of Music, cum laude, from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music (Wheaton, Ill.). During her undergraduate work, she performed a number of roles including Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Lily in The Secret Garden, and Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance.Burchett is from Terre Haute, Ind.

Soprano Hayley Lipke, a native of Racine, Wis., is making her IU Opera Theater principal debut as a first-year master’s student under the tutelage of Jane Dutton and Gary Arvin. While earning her Bachelor of Music from the Jacobs School of Music, Lipke performed as Gertie Cummins (Oklahoma!) and in the choruses of Falstaff, Le Nozze di Figaro, La Traviata, South Pacific, Dead Man Walking, and Così fan tutte. Lipke sang as a concert soloist at the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy, in 2012 and was awarded the Bella Voce award in the 2015 Bel Canto Foundation competition.

Mezzo-soprano, Courtney Jameson, is a first year doctoral student from Frankfort, Ind. She graduated from Indiana University with her Master of Music degree in Voice Performance in May 2014 and her Bachelor of Music degree from Taylor University in 2010. Recently, she was seen as Angelina in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Bay View Music Festival in Petoskey, Mich. Her other opera credits include Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Jo (Little Women), Jade Boucher (Dead Man Walking), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Carmen (Carmen), and the Third Spirit (Die Zauberflöte). As a concert soloist, Jameson has been featured as the mezzo-soprano soloist for Fern Hill (John Corgliano) and Serenade to Music (Ralph Vaughan Williams) and as the alto soloist for Messiah (George Frideric Handel). Courtney is an associate instructor of voice and a student of Mary Ann Hart.

Courtney Bray made her debut in Germany in the title role of Cenerentola in Rossini’s La Cenerentola. As a professional singer in Germany, Bray performed a large and varied repertoire including opera, operetta, orchestral concerts, and art song recitals. In addition, she has appeared as a leading lyric mezzo-soprano in Greece, Poland, the Czech Republic, Italy, Mexico, and the United States.Recent productions include the title role in Bizet’s Carmen, Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, Iphigénie in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, Frugola in Puccini’s Il Tabarro, Waltraute in Wagner’s Die Walküre, and Dritte Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Bray made her American concert debut on the main stage of Carnegie Hall as a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and Bruckner’s Te Deum. In collaboration with Constantine Kitsopoulos, she performed with the NYU Philharmonia in Manuel de Falla’s El amor brujo and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the OK International Mozart Festival. Other roles include Suzuki in Madame Butterfly, Giulietta in Tales of Hoffmann, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, and Maddalena in Rigoletto.

Andres Acosta is a second year graduate student at the Jacobs School of Music where he studies with Carol Vaness. The Miami, Fla., native received his undergraduate degree from Florida State University as a part of David Okerlund’s studio.Acosta made his IU Opera Theater debut as Alfred in Die Fledermaus and sang Dancairo in Carmen. He has recently sung the roles of Ferrando in Moazrt’s Così fan tutte, Sellem in Stravinsky’s The Rakes Progress, Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and Sam Kaplan in Weill’s Street Scene.Acosta was awarded the Judy George Junior Young Artist First Prize Award in the 2015 Young Patronesses of the Arts competition. He was nominated as Humanitarian of the Year in 2014 at Florida State University and is recognized as a Brautlecht Estate Endowed and Music Guild Scholar.

Tenor Michael Day is a second-year master’s student at the Jacobs School of Music.Originally from Rockford, Ill., Day also earned Bachelor’s degrees in music education and vocal performance from the Jacobs School. For IU Opera Theater, he has sung the roles of Tamino (The Magic Flute), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), and Schmidt (Werther). Day has worked as a Festival Artist at Utah Festival Opera, where he sang the role of Padre (Man of La Mancha), and as a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where he was awarded a Richard Gaddes Fund Career Grant.He will return to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in 2017 as a Gaddes Festival Artist to sing the role of Al Joad in Ricky Ian Gordon’s Grapes of Wrath. Day is a student of Andreas Poulimenos and Gary Arvin.

Seattle native Reuben Walker most recently served as an apprentice artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, performing the role of Cardinal Sinceri in Philip Glass’s Galileo Galilei. This spring, he performed the role of Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with Festival of the Arts Boca Raton. With New Voices Opera, he premiered the roles of Captain Keeney in Ezra Donner’s Ile and Richard Nixon in Chappell Kingsland’s Intoxication: America’s Love Affair with Oil. Reuben has toured southern Indiana with Reimagining Opera for Kids, performing the dual role of El Duende and Payador in Piazzolla’s Maria de Buenos Aires and premiering the role of Prometheus in Chappell Kingsland’s Fire. Prior rolesperformed with IU Opera Theater include Joseph De Rocher in Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, Mr.Scattergood in Menotti’s The Last Savage, Captain Corcoran in Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, Le Bailli in Massenet’s Werther, and Pandolfe in Massenet’s Cendrillon.

A native of Glen Head, N.Y., baritone Robert Gerold is currently pursuing his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance as a senior at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Prior to transferring to the Jacobs School, Robert’s operatic credits include Il Mandarino in a concert production of Puccini’s Turandot with Coro Lirico, Le Premier Ministre in Massenet’s Cendrillon with SUNY Purchase Opera, and Peter (der Vater) in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel in German with SUNY Purchase Opera. With IU Opera Theater, Robert has performed the role of Peter (the father) in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel in English, the title role of Abdul (the Savage) in Menotti’s The Last Savage, Lieutenant Buzz Adams in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s South Pacific, the title role of Figaro in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and most recently the leading role of Curly in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!. In April 2014, he premiered the dual roles of Retrograde/Asher in New Voices Opera’s premiere of Eric Lindsay’s Cosmic Ray and the Amazing Chris.Gerold has also performed the title role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with the Oberlin In Italy program in Arezzo, Italy. Robert is a student of Andreas Poulimenos.

Bass-baritone Julian Morris, originally from Arlington, Va., has previously appeared on the MAC Stage as Pistola in Falstaff, Pritschitsch in The Merry Widow, and Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi, as well as in productions of Vincent and Die Zauberflöte.With the IU Summer Opera Workshop, he has performed scenes from Le Nozze di Figaro (Figaro, Bartolo), Don Giovanni (Leporello), Don Pasquale (Don Pasquale), Così fan tutte (Don Alfonso), and Die Zauberflöte (Sarastro), among others. He has performed the dual role El Duende/Payador with the Bloomington based ROK: Reimagining Opera for Kids. This summer, he appeared as Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola at the Bay View Music Festival. He has appeared as a soloist with NOTUS, The Bloomington Bach Cantata Project, and The New Music Ensemble.Julian has been the recipient of several awards at IU, including the Giorgio Tozzi Award, the Bruce Hubbard Memorial Award, and an Artistic Excellence Fellowship. He has previously studied with Dale Moore and earned his B.M. and M.M. degrees at the Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of Patricia Stiles.He currently studies with Wolfgang Brendel.

Christopher Seefeldt is in the second year of his master’s degree and holds undergraduate degrees in voice performance and Germanic studies from Indiana University. Seefeldt’s solo credits at The Jacobs School of Music range from comedic to dramatic and include Sir Joseph Porter (Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore), Benoît and Alcindoro (Puccini’s La Bohème), Speaker (Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte), Guard 1 (Heggie’s Dead Man Walking), and Jud Fry (Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!).Seefeldt’s IU opera chorus credits include Puccini’s La Bohème, Bernstein’s Candide, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Massenet’s Cendrillon, Handel’s Xerxes, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and Verdi’s La Traviata. Seefeldt also actively participates in student-led productions and has performed the role of Pirate King (Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance) with the IU Gilbert and Sullivan Society, and has premiered new works with New Voices Opera.This past summer, Seefeldt performed the roles of Betto (Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi) and Coroner (Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess) with Utah Festival Opera, and appeared in the choruses of Flaherty’s Ragtime and Kern’s Showboat. With the Blooming Voce Summer Opera Workshop, Seefeldt performed the role of Sarastro (Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte). Seefeldt frequently performs as bass soloist and chorus member with various choruses in southern Indiana and at IU; this major choral repertoire includes Michael Haydn’s Missa Sancti Gabrielis, Mozart’s Requiem, Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Handel’s Messiah, Clausen’s New Creation, Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony, Britten’s War Requiem, and Bach’s B Minor Mass.Seefeldt has been a student of Timothy Noble for the past eight years.

Peruvian bass-baritone Jeremy Gussin is a doctoral student studying under Andreas Poulimenos. He earned his bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (UWEC) and his master’s degree from the IU Jacobs School of Music. While at UWEC, Gussin sang with the DownBeat Award-winning Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Bob Baca, and composed for and student-conducted the Singing Statesmen. A strong proponent of contemporary popular music, Gussin was a panelist in a discussion on vocal jazz and contemporary a cappella at the national American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) convention in 2013 and arranged for the Community that Sings initiative for the 2014 North Central Division ACDA convention. While at IU, he has performed as a soloist for Singing Hoosiers and Vocal Jazz Ensemble under the direction of Ly Wilder, Duane Davis, and Steve Zegree. Gussin has appeared in Verdi’s Falstaff (Pistola), Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (Antonio), P.Q. Phan’s The Tale of Lady Thi Kính (Ly Troung), Menotti’s The Last Savage (Maharajah), Heggie’s Dead Man Walking (Warden), and Bizet’s Carmen (Zuniga) for IU Opera Theater. He sings professionally for clients such as Hal Leonard, Alfred Music, and Lorenz Corporation through Aire Born Studios in Zionsville, Ind.

Rivers Hawkins is a second-year graduate student in the studio of Brian Gill. The role of Capitán marks his solo debut on the MAC stage and he is thrilled to be a part of this production. He has previously been seen at IU in the chorus of Dead Man Walking and with the University Singers and Summer Chorus, and is also an associate instructor and active voice teacher. Rivers received his undergraduate degree from the Steinhardt School at New York University and took part in numerous productions there.Favorites include the role of Don Alhambra in The Gondoliers, as well as featured roles in Italian Songbook and Liebeslieder—fully-staged, devised opera pieces featuring the music of Wolf and Brahms. While in New York he also had the opportunity to work on a number of other creative new projects, including performing as a soloist in a musical collaboration with the Tisch School’s Second Avenue Dance Company.