The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, this new opera is a coproduction with the Metropolitan Opera and will have its world premiere on the MAC stage.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Michael Chabon, Bates and Scheer’s opera portrays two cousins in 1940s New York City—a refugee from wartime Prague and a closeted queer Brooklynite—who team up to create The Escapist, a comic book superhero who takes America by storm as he battles the Nazis and frees the oppressed.
As the opera unfolds, themes of identity, escape, and freedom are examined while three disparate musical worlds come crashing together.
Bates’ first opera, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, enjoyed its collegiate premiere at the Jacobs School of Music in 2018 as a coproduction with the Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, and San Francisco Opera.
2024 Performances
Nov. 15, 16, 21, 22 Musical Arts Center 7:30 PM
Join us at 6:30 PM before each performance for the Opera Insights Lecture, located on the mezzanine level of the Musical Arts Center.
In the early days of WWII, Joe Kavalier escapes from Prague, leaving behind his parents and teenage sister, Sarah, and arrives in Brooklyn to live with his cousin Sam and aunt Esther. He plans to make enough money to bring his family to the States to escape the German occupation. Joe, a gifted artist and amateur magician/escape artist, and Sam, a wisecracking writer, create a comic book superhero to rival Superman and use comic books to urge Americans to join the fight against the Nazis. Sam’s boss, Mr. Anapol, who runs a toy and novelty company, takes a chance on them and backs the venture. The Escapist becomes a hit, spawning a radio show. Attending a broadcast, Joe meets Rosa, a talented artist who works for the Jewish Children’s fund, which ferries refugee children from Europe to the U.S. on its own ship, The Ark of Miriam.
Joe and Rosa attend a gallery show benefiting the Jewish Children’s Fund, where Salvador Dali entertains the crowd, and Joe helps him escape near suffocation by removing a diving helmet the artist has donned and was unable to remove. Joe and Rosa discuss arranging for Sarah to board The Ark of Miriam, and as they plan for the future, they fall in love. Back in Prague, Joe’s mother is captured by the Germans and sent to a camp, and Joe’s father is killed in a raid led by Gestapo Commander Gerhard, and Sarah narrowly escapes.
Joe and Rosa’s relationship blossoms, and Rosa confirms Sarah’s passage on The Ark of Miriam. Sam and Tracy Bacon, the actor who plays the Escapist on the radio, have fallen for each other. They share a Shabbos dinner with Sam’s mother, toasting the imminent arrival of Sarah’s ship in New York, and spend a romantic night atop the Empire State Building, where they discuss their plan to take the train west to Hollywood, where Tracy will act, and Sam will write. But when they discover a newspaper headline saying The Ark of Miriam has been sunk by German torpedoes, they race to tell Joe, who is performing his Escapist/magic act at a benefit for the Jewish Children’s fund. They have Rosa break the news to him, and before a room filled with dinner guests, Joe has a breakdown.
Joe’s mental deterioration continues, worsened by the news of his parents’ deaths. Hiding out in a warehouse, he imagines a surreal confrontation with Gerhard, the Gestapo Commander who menaced Sarah and his father in Prague. Rosa, meanwhile, hasn’t heard anything from Joe for weeks and can’t find him anywhere. Acting on a clue, she goes to the warehouse and finds a makeshift studio Joe has set up but has trashed, a sign of his fraught mental state. Rosa also finds evidence indicating that Joe has enlisted in the army and shipped out. Sam, meanwhile, is attending a going away party for Tracy, who has joined the army (Sam is 4-F due to childhood polio). The party turns out to be an exclusively gay affair, and when it is raided by the FBI, Sam hides while the others are arrested. A lingering FBI agent discovers Sam and sexually assaults him.
Rosa finds a broken Sam, who can only say he is finished: he’s convinced he will be alone for the rest of his life. Rosa is distraught as well—not only has Joe disappeared without a farewell, she’s learned she’s pregnant. Sam offers to marry her and raise the child as his own. Rosa agrees, and they begin a life together, with Rosa filling in for Joe drawing the Escapist—along with a new character, Luna Moth, inspired by a story Joe made up for Rosa, and running the thriving business.
Joe ends up in a battlefield foxhole in Europe, where he finds Tracy Bacon. Tracy shows Joe a letter from Sam telling him to stop writing to him, and Tracy is surprised to learn Joe has never opened any of the hundreds of letters Rosa has sent him—if he had, Joe would have learned that he has a child. In the following moment, Tracy is killed, and Joe is devastated by another loss. He starts opening Rosa’s letters and reading them one by one. The character of Luna Moth appears and guides Joe out of the battlefield and to the house on Long Island where Rosa and Sam live. Outside the door, Sarah appears and gives Joe the final push to re-enter his life—leading Joe to meet his young daughter, who is also named Sarah, and to reunite with Rosa and Sam. Later, Sam is on a train headed for California and picks up his pen to begin writing The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.
by April Balay
Ph.D. Musicology Student
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay plays with the longstanding operatic convention of hidden identity. However, unlike the romantic intentions of Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro or Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, the hidden identities in this new opera deliver serious political commentary through the main protagonist’s creation and embodiment of a masked hero: The Escapist. This hero, with his own identity, embodies the aspirations of his creators, Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay, by allowing them to pursue their dreams of rescuing the oppressed. Hiding behind the mask of The Escapist, Kavalier and Clay use this alter ego to escape their self-doubt, project their art and imagination to transcend reality, and find their sense of purpose, belonging, and love.
This opera is based on the 2000 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, by Michael Chabon. The novel begins in 1939 and continues until 1954 into the world of suburbia. Because the original novel is over 600 pages, the story for the stage has been altered to end closer to the early forties. Set against the bustling colorful world of New York City, Jewish cousins Josef/Joe Kavalier and Sam/Sammy Clay have a vision: create a hero to capture the hearts and minds of America. In the face of the impending rule of the Third Reich in his homeland of Prague, Joe has sought refuge in America, utilizing the expertise he has acquired through his training as a magician and visual artist. His cousin Sam is tasked with helping him find a job, and once he sees Joe’s drawing talent, he knows that with their imagination and his encyclopedic knowledge of comic books, they could create the next best superhero. Together, they create The Escapist, and the character achieves momentous success, sparking the creation of many more characters, such as Mr. Misterioso and Luna Moth, while connecting the serial’s stories to the tragic events happening in Europe.
From the very beginning of this story, it is evident that The Escapist represents everything that holds our characters back. However, the grief and loss our characters endure, vividly conveyed in the opera’s arias, continually haunts them and drives them to pursue their convictions. Unlike in the novel, the opera also gives us a glimpse into Joe Kavalier’s mind and an idea of what his family might be going through back home in Prague. Using Jewish prayer and song interwoven with Joe’s and his aunt’s feelings, we can connect emotionally to the Kavaliers’ plight and their absence from Joe’s life, even if it is not shown explicitly. Sammy’s world in New York City is steeped in the vibrant sounds of jazz and big band music, not only reflecting his hidden emotions, but also creating a distraction from the broader anxieties of the world around him. Jazz offers an escape, a chance to relax, but always returns to its blue notes and chromatic scales that imply anything but peace.
The relationships between Joe and Rosa Saks, a charity organizer and artist, and Sam and Tracy Bacon, the radio actor who voices The Escapist, provide another form of escape for the protagonists. Through their duets in the opera, each partner reassures the other that it is okay to embrace love. In an honest relationship, you can drop the facade of an outward identity and be yourself. Both couples dream of a world where they can live as they please with the people they love. But love is risky, and living in an America about to enter World War II, their love is tested and pushed to its limits. The veneer of hidden identity returns when a final loss motivates Joe to leave his family, “escape” his relationship with Rosa, and go to the front. Sam is shamed into hidingand his aunt’s his true feelings for Tracy, a male partner, after a tragic encounter of his own. As we already know from our history books, Kavalier and Clay, like so many others, were not the only ones affected by America’s entry into World War II. Though this was not the first large-scale conflict, new technologies of the era—such as radio broadcasts and newsreels—brought the atrocities closer to home. The real-life villains of the war, once depicted in comic books or radio dramas, now felt impossible to ignore. In this transformed society, everyone took on new roles and “masks of responsibility” as the country mobilized for the war effort.
Composer Mason Bates and librettist Gene Scheer took a bestselling novel and shaped a story between three worlds: black and white war-torn Europe, bright and colorful New York City, and the world of superheroes and villains, coming to life through drawings animated on a screen. This structure allows a juxtaposition of situations to occur simultaneously on stage, sometimes with each setting sharing space, creating “vignettes” of life contrasted with others. Embracing the themes of illusion and escape, the opera uses the magic of the stage to blur the lines between what is real and what is thrust from the pages of a comic book, leaving the audience to decide what belongs where.
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay is a modern opera that invites audiences to step back in time and relive the golden age of comic books, exploring themes of survival and escape, love and family, and the transformative power of art. As the characters navigate their journeys, they grapple with the complexities of a hidden identity, revealing how personal struggles can be concealed beneath the surface. Through their experiences, the characters demonstrate that the search for identity often leads them back to what they were trying to escape in the first place, suggesting that understanding oneself may lie in reconciling with one’s past. The dynamic interplay between their hidden identities and their artistic expressions serves as a poignant reminder that even in moments of great upheaval, the connections we forge and the truths we uncover can lead us to healing, self-acceptance, and a step closer to finding who we are, masks aside.
Artistic Staff
Composer of the Grammy-winning opera The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Mason Bates is imaginatively transforming the way classical music is created and experienced, as a composer, DJ, and curator. As the first composer-in-residence appointed by the Kennedy Center, he presented a diverse array of artists on his series KC Jukebox using immersive production and stagecraft. Championed by legendary conductors Riccardo Muti, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Marin Alsop, his symphonic music is the first to receive widespread acceptance for its unique integration of electronic sounds. Named as the most-performed composer of his generation in a recent survey of American music, Bates has also composed for feature film, including Gus Van Sant’s The Sea of Trees. His new opera, based on the book The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera, which will present the piece next season after its debut at Indiana University. Bates created Philharmonia Fantastique: The Making of the Orchestra for animated film and live orchestra with Gary Rydstrom of Lucasfilm and Jim Capobianco of Aerial Contrivance, exploring the connection between creativity and technology. The Grammy-winning soundtrack was recorded by the Chicago Symphony for Sony Classical, and the film is available on Apple TV and Apple Music. Working under the name DJ Masonic, Bates developed Mercury Soul, a show combining DJing and classical music, to packed crowds with clubs and orchestras around the country. A diverse artist exploring the ways classical music integrates into contemporary cultures, he serves on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.
Librettist Gene Scheer is known for his broad and versatile contributions to opera. He has collaborated extensively with composer Jake Heggie, creating several acclaimed works such as the Dallas Opera’s world premiere of Moby-Dick, starring Ben Heppner; Three Decembers with the Houston Grand Opera, featuring Frederica von Stade; and To Hell and Back for the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, written for Patti LuPone. Scheer’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, based on Michael Chabon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, with music by Mason Bates, is his third work with the Metropolitan Opera, His first production at the Met was An American Tragedy, a collaboration with Tobias Picker. This season, Moby-Dick will make its Met debut in March, featuring a distinguished cast including Peter Mattei and Brandon Jovanovich. Last season, the English National Opera premiered a new production of Heggie and Scheer’s adaptation of It’s a Wonderful Life. Other notable operatic collaborations include the Dallas Opera’s production of Everest with composer Joby Talbot. That work was performed last season in a new production at the Barbican in London with the BBC symphony. Last year, along with Talbot, Scheer’s opera based on Jean Dominique Bauby’s bestselling The Diving Bell and the Butterfly was nominated for Best World Premiere by the International Opera Awards. In 2015, Scheer and Jennifer Higdon’s Grammy-nominated opera Cold Mountain, written for the Santa Fe Opera, won the International Award for Best World Premiere. Later this season, Scheer and composer Rachel Portman’s new song cycle, Another Eve, written for Joyce di Donato, will be premiered in Germany. Their first collaboration, The First Morning of the World, was part of Di Donato’s Eden world tour. A composer in his own right, Scheer has written songs for numerous singers, including Christine Goerke, Renée Fleming, Sasha Cooke, Denyce Graves, and Nathan Gunn. The lyrics to his song American Anthem, sung by Norah Jones in Ken Burns’ World War II documentary, The War, were cited by President Biden at the climax of his 2021 inaugural address.
Grammy Award-winning conductor Michael Christie is an innovative conductor at home in both the symphonic and operatic worlds. He is the artistic and music director of the New West Symphony, serving southern California. Christie’s conducting career, spanning more than 25 years, has included serving as music director of the Minnesota Opera (2011-18), Phoenix Symphony (2005-13), Brooklyn Philharmonic (2005-10), and Colorado Music Festival (2000-13), as well as chief conductor of the Queensland Orchestra (2001-04). In the United States, he has led the New York and Los Angeles philharmonic orchestras and the symphonies of Dallas, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis, to name a few. He started his career at the Zürich Opera and went on to lead opera at the Finnish National Opera and Wexford Festival Opera. He has conducted the Czech Philharmonic, DSO Berlin, KBS Seoul Symphony, Swedish and Netherlands radio symphonies, and Sydney and Tasmanian symphonies. He won a 2019 Grammy Award (Best Opera Recording) for the world-premiere recording of Mason Bates’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs with the Santa Fe Opera (Pentatone). He is known for his interpretations of the standard repertoire as well as creating new operatic works, including Silent Night and Manchurian Candidate by Kevin Puts, 27 by Ricky Ian Gordon, An American Soldier by Huang Ruo, The Shining by Paul Moravec, Gospel of Mary Magdalene by Mark Adamo, and The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Mason Bates, in addition to new symphonic repertoire by Mark Adamo, Mason Bates, Michael Daugherty, Osvaldo Golijov, Mark Grey, Daron Hagen, Huang Ruo, Matthew Hindson, Marjan Mozetich, Stephen Paulus, Kevin Puts, and others. He graduated from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s degree in trumpet performance. Christie lives in the Twin Cities with his wife, Alexis, a physician, and their two children.
Bartlett Sher is a Tony Award winner who has been described by The New York Times as one of America’s “most original and exciting directors.” His production of Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway is the bestselling American play in Broadway history. His productions have been nominated for over 90 Tony Awards. His other work on Broadway and in the West End includes Pictures from Home, My Fair Lady, the 2017 Tony-winning Best Play Oslo, Fiddler on the Roof, The King & I, The Bridges of Madison County, Golden Boy, Women on the Verge . . ., Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, South Pacific, Awake and Sing!, and The Light in the Piazza. He has been a resident director at Lincoln Center Theater since 2008, where he recently directed Lerner & Lowe’s Camelot and Corruption. Sher has also directed several operas, including Rigoletto (Berlin, Metropolitan Opera), Roméo et Juliette (Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg, Milan, Chicago), Faust (Baden Baden), Two Boys (ENO, Metropolitan Opera), IlBarbiere di Siviglia (Baden Baden, Metropolitan Opera), Otello, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Le Comte Ory, L’Elisir d’Amore (Metropolitan Opera), Mourning Becomes Electra (Seattle Opera, City Opera). He will direct The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay for the Met in its 2025-26 season. His film of Oslo (HBO, 2021) was nominated for two Emmy Awards and won a Critics Choice Award. Sher recently mounted a hit revival of Kiss Me Kate at the Barbican in London, and his upcoming work includes a stage adaptation of the movie-musical La La Land.
59 is a multi-award-winning studio with offices in London and New York. Recent works as directors and designers include Vogue: Inventing the Runway (Lightroom), The Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks (Lightroom), David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (Lightroom), Bigger Christmas Trees by David Hockney (Battersea Power Station), Immersions Guggenheim Bilbao 25th Anniversary (Guggenheim Museum), Reflections’ Guggenheim Bilbao 20th Anniversary (Guggenheim Museum), About Us (Unboxed Festival), Sting: My Songs (Caesars Palace Vegas Residency), Apollo 50: Go for the Moon (National Air and Space Museum, Washington, D.C.), Invisible Cities (Manchester International Festival/Brisbane Festival), and Leonardo: Creation of a Masterpiece (National Gallery), among others. As set and video designers: The Formula 1 Exhibition (IFEMA Madrid, Lighthouse ArtSpace Toronto, ExCel London), Sam and Her Amazing Book of Dinosaurs (Grand Theatre, Hong Kong), Kan Yama Kan (Global Theatre, Riyadh), Kuwait Calling (JACC, Kuwait), The Last Ship (Northern Stage/U.K. tour/U.S. tour), The Shadow Factory (Nuffield Theatre), Sukanya (Royal Opera House), Metropolitan Opera 50th Anniversary Gala 2017, Get Carter (Northern Stage), and Sleeping Beauty at Tate Tanks (Royal Ballet). As video designer for theater, ceremonies, and events: Stranger Things: The First Shadow (Phoenix Theatre, London), San Francisco Opening Gala (Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco) Pictures From Home (Broadway), Flying Over Sunset, Intimate Apparel (Lincoln Centre Theater), Oslo (Lincoln Center/National Theatre/Harold Pinter Theatre), Wonder.land (Manchester International Festival/National Theatre), An American in Paris (Broadway/London/U.S. tour), Hedwig and the Angry Inch (Broadway), The Forbidden Zone (Salzburg Festival/Schaubühne Berlin), Les Misérables (world tour), and the London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony. As video designers for opera: Candide, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Santa Fe Opera), Satyagraha (Metropolitan Opera/ENO), Marnie (Metropolitan Opera/ENO), Brigadoon (New York City Center), The Shining (Minnesota Opera), Morgen und Abend, Eugene Onegin (Royal Opera House), Pearl Fishers (LA Opera), Two Boys, The Enchanted Island (Metropolitan Opera/ENO), and Al gran sole carico d’amore (Berlin State Opera/Salzburg Festival).
Costume designer Jennifer Moeller’s recent credits include La Bohème (Washington National Opera), Norma (Opera National de Chile), and Candide (LA Opera, Glimmerglass). Her Broadway credits include McNeal, Camelot (Tony and Drama Desk nominations), Pictures from Home, Clyde’s (Tony nomination; Drama Desk Award), and Sweat. Off-Broadway credits include Comeuppance (Signature), The Wrong Man (MCC), Mlima’s Tale (Lortel nom), Tiny Beautiful Things (The Public), Aubergine (Playwrights Horizons), and Love’s Labor’s Lost (Shakespeare in the Park). Regional venues include the Guthrie, Goodman, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Arena Stage, The Old Globe, McCarter, and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, among others. Moeller’s television projects include Dickinson (Apple TV+).
New York-based engineer and producer Rick Jacobsohn has established a multifaceted career in the recording studio and live performance venues. Recent commercial projects include work with many notable artists, including Carlos Simon, Kevin Puts, Marin Alsop, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Du Yun, and Claire Chase. He is the original sound designer for Mason Bates’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, and Karim Suylaman’s UnHoly Wars. Since 2007, Jacobsohn has been the producer and engineer for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. From 2016 through 2022, he produced and engineered a portion of the Philadelphia Orchestra’s weekly broadcasts on WRTI as well as its entire 2020 Digital Stage season. In addition, he has mixed live sound on numerous productions for orchestras including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Atlanta symphonies, as well as AMOC, Atlanta Opera, Calgary Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Philadelphia, San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Seattle Opera. Recent sound design and mixing engagements include The Handmaid’s Tale at San Francisco Opera, La Bohème with the Philadelphia Orchestra at Bravo Vail, and John Adams’ El Nino at Saint John the Divine with AMOC. Jacobsohn holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Ithaca College and a master’s degree in sound recording from McGill University.
Mandy Moore is a world-class choreographer, director, and producer who has garnered three Emmy Awards among her 13 nominations. She is best known for her groundbreaking work as a producer and choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance as well as producing and choreographing Taylor Swift’s record-shattering The Eras world tour. On film, Moore’s highly acclaimed choreography can be seen in the Academy Award-winning film La La Land. Notable film credits include American Hustle, Silver Linings Playbook, Sleeping with Other People, Babylon, and the soon-to-be-released Snow White, The Life of Chuck, and Tron Ares. On TV, Moore had an Emmy Award-winning two-season run on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist. Other notable television credits include Dancing with the Stars, Fox’s Glee, American Idol, Disney’s 60th Anniversary, Modern Family, and Showtime’s Kidding. On stage, she choreographed and directed the 2024 Dancing with the Stars tour. She has also worked on Celine Dion’s sold-out Taking Chances tour, Britain’s Strictly Come Dancing, Cirque du Soleil’s My Immortal, and Shania Twain’s Vegas residency You’re Still the One. Moore is a proud member of the Television Academy and the Academy of Motion Pictures, Arts, and Sciences.
As dramaturg and director of the Met’s Opera Commissioning Program, Paul Cremo has overseen projects developed through the Met/Lincoln Center Theater New Works Program, including Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel, produced by Lincoln Center Theater, well as Met commissions including Jeanine Tesori and George Brant’s Grounded, Kevin Puts and Greg Pierce’s The Hours, Terence Blanchard and Michael Cristofer’s Champion, Matthew Aucoin and Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice, Kelley Rourke’s English-language Cinderella, Blanchard and Kasi Lemmons’ Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Nico Muhly and Nicholas Wright’s Marnie, Muhly and Craig Lucas’s Two Boys, Jeremy Sams’ The Enchanted Island, and his English-language version of The Merry Widow, J. D. McClatchy’s English-language adaptation of The Barber of Seville, and Sams and Douglas Carter Beane’s English-language version of Die Fledermaus. Cremo is currently supervising development of new operas by Valerie Coleman, Maxim Kolomiiets, David T. Little, Missy Mazzoli, Jessie Montgomery, Joshua Schmidt, Carlos Simon, and Joel Thompson, and working with librettists George Brant, Ruby Aiyo Gerber, Lynn Nottage, Dick Scanlan, and Royce Vavrek. He has served on the Tony Awards Nominating Committee and the Pulitzer Prize for Music jury.
Walter Huff is professor of choral conducting and faculty director of opera choruses at the Jacobs School of Music. He served as chorus master for the Atlanta Opera for more than two decades, leading the renowned ensemble in more than 125 productions, with critical acclaim in the United States and abroad. He earned a Bachelor of Music degree from the Oberlin Conservatory and a 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). 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 has served as chorus master for many IU Jacobs School of Music Opera and Ballet Theater productions, including L’Étoile, Lucia di Lammermoor, West Side Story, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, The Elixir of Love, Bernstein’s Mass, Parsifal, La Traviata, Little Women, Xerxes, La Bohème, The Magic Flute, The Coronation of Poppea, Falstaff, Highway 1, USA, La Rondine, H.M.S. Pinafore, Ainadamar, Anne Frank, Candide, The Merry Widow, Eugene Onegin, and Sweeney Todd. For five years, Huff has served as choral instructor and conductor for the Jacobs School’s Sacred Music Intensive. He conducted the Jacobs Summer Music series productions of Arthur Honegger’s King David and Stephen Paulus’s The Three Hermits. This past summer, Huff returned for his sixth year as faculty coach at Ravinia Festival’s Steans Music Institute and also made his debut as guest chorus director with the Chicago Symphony Chorus in concert performances of Mozart’s Idomeneo with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (James Conlon, conductor). This season, Huff continues to serve as principal guest coach for the Atlanta Opera Studio Artists Program.
Paula Suozzi is executive stage director of the Metropolitan Opera Association, where she has directed revivals of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Die Meistersinger Von Nürenberg, Der Rosenkavalier, Le Nozze Di Figaro, Turandot, and Mefistofele, and assisted on over 20 productions. She collaborates with directors around the world (such as Ivo Van Hove, Phelim McDermott, and William Kentridge) to help bring productions successfully to the Met stage, traveling to Festival Aix en Provence and the Sydney Opera House, among others. In the pandemic year, Suozzi, along with a trusted colleague, developed and implemented the Stage Director and Stage Manager Fellowship training program to help diversify the people who have access to the jobs behind the scenes in the operatic industry. Now in year four, Bank of America is supporting this fully paid training program. In the summer of 2022, Suozzi was stage director for the first opera production in the Benedict Music tent at Aspen Music Festival and School. Her staging of Falstaff under the baton of Patrick Summers and starring Bryn Terfel and a host of talented members of the next generation of opera singers “guaranteed that everyone had eye-catching and ear-catching moments to contribute,” according to the Opera News review. Suozzi served as artistic director of Milwaukee Shakespeare and associate artistic director of Skylight Music Theatre. As a freelance director of theater and opera, she has staged everything from Twelfth Night to The Food Chain to Guys And Dolls. She has staged work at companies such as Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Houston Grand Opera, Florentine Opera Company, and Bialystock & Bloom Theatre Company. As a coach and teacher, she has contributed her talents to the CoOperative Program at Westminster Choir College, Metropolitan National Council semi-finalists, and the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Andrew Elliot is a makeup artist, wig designer, and stylist. His work can be seen with IU Jacobs Opera and Ballet Theater, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Beef & Boards Dinner Theatre, Booth Tarkington Civic Theatre, Actors Theatre of Indiana, Phoenix Theatre, Zach & Zack Productions, Summer Stock Stage, and more. As a makeup artist and stylist, his work can be seen locally and nationally in various publications, commercials, and editorials. The facade of the Palladium in Carmel, Indiana, showcases his work as part of the Blockhouse Studios productions of Eos and Frost. He spent 2020 recreating icons of film, fashion, and theater, which gained national attention, with features in The New York Times, NowThis News, The Indianapolis Star, and Indianapolis Monthly.
Samantha Kaufman is an intimacy director, fight director, actor, and teaching artist based in Chicago and working internationally. She is a Certified Intimacy Director, teaching artist, and curriculum developer with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, as well as a Certified Teacher and Fight Director with the Society of American Fight Directors, Jeff Award-nominated fight choreographer, award-winning actor, and certified Michael Chekhov teacher with the Great Lakes Michael Chekhov Consortium. She has been a resident artist with Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Prague Shakespeare Company. Regionally, Kaufman has worked with theaters such as Steppenwolf Theatre, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, and Cleveland Play House, among others. She earned an M.F.A. from Florida Atlantic University.
Joshua Buscher was associate puppet director under James Ortiz last season during his previous venture with the Metropolitan Opera, the premiere of El Nino, with production by Tony Award-winner Lileana Blain-Cruz. Buscher was associate choreographer for the First National Touring, New Zealand, and Norwegian Cruise Lines productions of Priscilla: Queen of The Desert the Musical. He has worked as associate choreographer for five-time Tony Award-winner Susan Stroman, creating The Merry Widow, which had two productions at the Metropolitan Opera, and at Lyric Opera of Chicago. He is currently puppet movement coordinator for Disney’s Hercules, which is currently running in Hamburg, Germany, and will open on the West End in 2025. Buscher directed and choregraphed productions of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Tootsie, Escape to Margaritaville, Kinky Boots, Legally Blonde, and Grease at theaters in Florida and in Colorado. He hails from New York, where he has been seen on Broadway in the Tony Award-winner for Best Musical Kinky Boots, as well as Big Fish, the Academy- and Tony Award-winning Priscilla: Queen of The Desert, and the Grammy Award-winning 2009 Revival of West Side Story.
Cori Ellison, a leading creative figure in the opera world, has served as staff dramaturg at Santa Fe Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival, and New York City Opera. Active in developing contemporary opera, she is a founding faculty member and mentor at American Lyric Theater’s Composer Librettist Development Program and has developed new operatic works for companies including Glyndebourne, Icelandic Opera, Canadian Opera, Norwegian Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Chicago Opera Theater, Arizona Opera, Opera Birmingham, Pittsburgh Opera, Beth Morrison Projects, On-Site Opera, the Miller Theater, Indiana University Jacobs Opera Theater, and Crane School of Music. She has served as production dramaturg for projects including Das Rheingold at Los Angeles Philharmonic; L’incoronazione di Poppea at Cincinnati Opera; Orphic Moments at the Salzburg Landestheater, National Sawdust, and Master Voices; Aci, Galatea, e Polifemo at National Sawdust and Philharmonia Baroque; Washington National Opera’s Ring cycle, Opera Boston’s The Nose, Offenbach!!! at Bard Summerscape, and La Finta Giardiniera at Indiana University. At The Juilliard School, she serves on the Vocal Arts faculty and is also a faculty member at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute Program for Singers. She has coached and taught master classes for singers at schools including the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Cincinnati College-Conservatory, University of Toronto, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Texas at Austin, Boston University, Boston Conservatory, Mannes College, DePaul University, University of Illinois, Loyola University, Montclair State University, University of Utah, University of Nebraska at Lincoln, Florida International University, and Oklahoma State University, as well as the Crested Butte Opera Studio and Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance program. She regularly serves as a judge for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Concurso San Miguel in Mexico, and many other vocal competitions. She creates supertitles for opera companies worldwide and helped launch Met Titles, the Met’s simultaneous translation system. Her English singing translations include Hansel and Gretel (NYCO), La vestale (English National Opera), and Shostakovich’s Cherry Tree Towers (Bard Summerscape). She has often written for TheNew York Times and has contributed to books including The New Grove Dictionary of Opera and The Compleat Mozart.
Cast
Chandler Benn is an operatic baritone from Amherst, Wisconsin, studying under the tutelage of Heidi Grant Murphy. He has performed leading roles including Don Giovanni from Don Giovanni, Figaro from The Marriage of Figaro, Danilo Danilovich from The Merry Widow, Bob from The Old Maid and the Thief, Betto di Signa from Gianni Schicchi, and Frank from Die Fledermaus. He has also performed the chorus role of Jonas Fogg in Sweeney Todd and chorus work in Bizet’s Roméo and Juliet. Additional performances include the baritone soloist in Ein Deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms. Benn has been awarded various scholarships and awards, including a first-place finish in the 2022 NATS student auditions and the 2022 UW-Stevens Point Chancellor’s Leadership Award.
Baritone Sam Witmer, a native of Athens, Ohio, is a second-year D.M. Voice student studying with Heidi Grant Murphy. He is an active teacher and performer of opera, musical theater, concert works, and choral music. Last year, he performed the roles of Mercutio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and the title role in Sweeney Todd with IU Jacobs Opera Theater. He has performed other roles including the title role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff, Fred Graham in Kiss Me, Kate, Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Paul in Philip Glass’s Les Enfants Terribles, and Neville Craven in The Secret Garden. He has won first place at the state and regional levels of the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition. As a concert soloist, Witmer has performed the baritone/bass solos in works such as Orff’s Carmina Burana, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem, and Bach’s Jesu, der du meine Seele, among others. He previously taught voice at Marietta College, Ohio University, and Hocking College. He received a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from Ohio University.
Zachary Olmoz is a second-year master’s voice performance student studying under Russell Thomas. He is originally from LaGrangeville, New York, and has a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Purchase College. At Purchase, he performed as Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Don Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro, Dorothée in Massenet’s Cendrillon, and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte. Olmoz has also performed at the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice under the direction of Louis Otey and Maria Todaro, Light Opera of New Jersey in its 2022 production of Candide under Jason Tramm, and with Nickel City Opera in its production of Rigoletto. In 2023, he was a fellow in the Maria Manetti Shrem Opera Program, covering Xabier Anduaga as Ernesto in Don Pasquale. In his first year at the Jacobs School, Olmoz performed the role of Camille de Rosillon in The Merry Widow and in the ensemble of Roméo et Juliette, as well as being featured in the ensemble of Sweeney Todd. In January 2024, he performed in the workshop of Martin Hennessey’s new opera, Swimming in the Dark as Ludwik.
Michael Varilla, 23, is a tenor from Newtown, Pennsylvania, and a second-year master’s student pursuing an M.M. in voice under the tutelage of Brian Horne. In his first year at Jacobs, he was seen as Benvolio in Roméo et Juliette and in the chorus of The Merry Widow, Eugene Onegin, and Sweeney Todd. In the spring of 2023, he graduated with a B.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Florida. While there, Varilla made his operatic debut as Other 2 in the premiere of Paul Richards’ The Golem of Prague and performed Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Remendado in Carmen, and Bill in A Hand of Bridge. Other previous engagements include Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Spineloccio in Gianni Schicchi, covering Don José in Carmen, the tenor solo in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and chorus member for Carmen, Suor Angelica, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Thompson’s The Peaceable Kingdom, Ellingboe’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Ramirez’s Misa Criolla, Misa por la paz y la justicia, and Navidad Nuestra.
Mezzo-soprano Elise Miller is a third-year doctoral student studying with Heidi Grant Murphy. Miller was most recently an emerging artist with Charlottesville Opera, performing the role of Mrs. Paroo in The Music Man and covering the role of Giannetta in L’Elisir d’Amore. Previously, she was the mezzo-soprano soloist with the Choral Art Society of New Jersey, performing Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. Last spring, she was seen on the MAC stage as Mrs. Lovett in IU Jacobs Opera Theater’s production of Sweeney Todd. Other roles with IU Jacobs Opera Theater include Lazuli (L’Étoile), Emperor Nerone (The Coronation of Poppea), Lolette/Chorus (La Rondine), and Beth March (Little Women). In summer 2023, Miller joined Central City Opera as an apprentice artist, covering the role of Lilli Vanessi/Kate in Kiss Me, Kate. No stranger to new music, she performed the role of Lowri in the world premiere of Rhiannon’s Condemnation by Leigha Amick with New Voices Opera during its 2021-22 season. Other noteworthy credits include La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi (Music On Site, Inc.), Silly Girl and Enchanted Object in Beauty and the Beast (Woodlawn Theater), Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly (Mediterranean Opera Festival). She was a resident artist with OPERA San Antonio from 2016 to 2020 and appeared in the mainstage productions of Tosca, Faust, La Traviata, and Carmen.
Veronica Siebert is a mezzo-soprano from North Carolina and a second-year master’s student under the tutelage of Jane Dutton. In summer 2024, she was a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (OTSL), covering Sesto in Giulio Cesare, and a fellow at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute. In January, she will be the soloist in de Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. Recent highlights include Olga in Eugene Onegin and Beata in a workshop of Swimming in the Dark at IU and a 2023 Ader Emerging Artist fellowship at Charlottesville Opera. She was a soloist with the Salem Bach Festival and sang Isaac in Britten’s Abraham and Isaac for the Music@Home concert series. Siebert earned a B.M. from the Eastman School of Music, where she sang Endimione in La Calisto, the Witch in Into the Woods, and the Foreign Singer in Postcard from Morocco, and was a soloist in 11 concert works, including Vivaldi’s Magnificat and Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms. She has been awarded OTSL’s Barbara and Stanley Richman Career Development award, first place at the Orpheus Competition, second place at the Met-Laffont SE Regionals, first place at the Met-Laffont TN Districts, and first place at the Heafner-Williams Competition, among others.
Steven M. Warnock is a classically trained baritone working in a broad range of styles. Warnock performs regularly in operas and musicals, engages with his community through music- forward administrative work and volunteering, and collaborates frequently with composers and creatives to bring new works to life. Recent highlights include baritone soloist in Vaughan Williams’ 5 Mystical Songs, Dr. Pangloss/Martin in Bernstein’s Candide, and the title role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Warnock was a young artist last year with the Bach Institute at Emmanuel Music, Cedar Rapids Opera, and Finger Lakes Opera. He hails from Glasgow, Scotland, and is currently based in the Midwest.
From Williamsburg, Iowa, baritone Mitchell Widmer is a doctoral student of Timothy Noble. He was most recently seen as Mercutio in IU Jacobs Opera Theater’s production of Roméo et Juliette. In April, he will sing the baritone solo in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Sioux County Oratorio Society and the Northwestern Iowa Symphony. Widmer earned a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music. While there, he sang the role of Gugliemo in Così fan tutte. He was also seen as Masetto in Don Giovanni with Opera Quad Cities as well as Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata and Conte Robinson in Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto with the Martha-Ellen Tye Opera Theater at the University of Iowa. As a 2013 recipient of the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung, he studied at Albert-Ludwigs Universität in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany. In 2018, Widmer was awarded a United States Teaching Assistantship in coordination with Fulbright Austria to study in Vienna.
Mexican American soprano Haley Guerra is a Performer’s Diploma student under the tutelage of Heidi Grant Murphy. A native of McAllen, Texas, Guerra earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), where she studied music education and voice. There, she won first prize in the Texoma region National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Competition three years in a row, was a quarter finalist in the 2021 National NATS competition, and performed as Frasquita in UTRGV Opera Theater’s all-Spanish production of Carmen. She was also the winner of the UTRGV concerto/aria competition and has been invited to sing in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition as a district qualifier for two years. In fall 2022, she made her IU Jacobs Opera Theater debut as La Princesse Laoula in Chabrier’s L’Étoile. She has sung in IU’s University Singers, in the opera choruses for The Merry Widow and the world premiere of Shulamit Ran’s Anne Frank, and in scenes in Heidi Grant Murphy’s Opera Workshop as Rosina from The Barber of Seville, as well as in Michael Shell’s Opera Workshop as Norina from Don Pasquale and Susanna from Le Nozze di Figaro. In fall 2023, she was a soprano soloist with the IU Oratorio Chorus and Orchestra in Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. In June 2024, Guerra was an apprentice artist with OPERA San Antonio and the Classical Music Institute.
Kelly Peralejo holds a Diploma in Creative and Performing Musical Arts and a bachelor’s degree, both in voice performance from the University of the Philippines College of Music, studying with Cecilia Valeña. She is currently a master’s student under the tutelage of Kimberly Gill and is also working toward a Certificate of Vocology at Jacobs, where she is preparing to graduate in December. Peralejo has joined international voice competitions and was a finalist at the National Music Competitions for Young Artists in 2017. This is her IU Jacobs Opera Theater debut. Other operatic credits include Sisa from Noli Me Tangere by Philippine National Artist for Music Felipe De Leon, Anna 1 from Die Sieben Tödsunden by Kurt Weill, Romilda from Xerxes by Handel, Mademoiselle Silberklang from Der Schauspieldirektor, and Jenny from Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters by Ned Rorem. She also performed with the IU Jacobs Opera Chorus in The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Stephen Sondheim. Peralejo is also an internationally accredited classical ballet teacher of the Cecchetti syllabus. She earned an associate diploma with honors from Cecchetti Ballet Australia, a member of Cecchetti International Classical Ballet. She is currently working toward a Licentiate Diploma.
Baritone Aaron Murphy has appeared on opera and concert stages across the Eastern U.S., Canada, Ireland, and France. Born in Cleveland, Tennessee, he is a doctoral student in voice studying with Timothy Noble. He graduated from McGill University and Lee University as a student of Stefano Algieri and Tony Deaton, respectively. On the MAC stage, he has appeared as Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Mr. Van Daan in the world premiere of Anne Frank, and Jim Crowley in An American Dream. His opera roles include Betto in Gianni Schicchi, Don Alhambra in The Gondoliers, and Ben in The Telephone with Lee University Opera Theatre, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte and the Mayor in Bizet’s Docteur Miracle with Opera Tennessee, the Origamist in the Canadian premiere of Michael Ching’s Speed Dating, Tonight!, Frank in Die Fledermaus, and Ramiro in L’heure espagnole with Opéra McGill, and the title role in Eugene Onegin with Opera NUOVA. He covered the role of Valdeburgo in Bellini’s La straniera with Teatro Nuovo at New York’s Lincoln Center. Murphy’s concert credits as a bass soloist include Handel’s Messiah with Southern Adventist University, the role of the Narrator in Charpentier’s Le reniement de Saint-Pierre with the Lee University Chorale, Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Cantabile Chorale de Ste.-Geneviève in Sainte-Geneviève, Québec, and Bach’s Magnificat at historic St. Michael’s Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Praised by Graz’s Kleine Zeitung for his “velvet baritone” and a “powerfully trumpeting performance of Gianni Schicchi,” baritone Robert Wente is a versatile and passionate performer of opera in every form. Originally from Munster, Indiana, he is currently pursuing an M.M. in Voice Performance while studying with Heidi Grant Murphy at Jacobs, where he completed a Bachelor of Science in Music with an Outside Field in Astronomy in spring 2023 under the tutelage of Wolfgang Brendel. He recently attended the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria, where he won first place in the 2024 Meistersinger Competition and performed the roles of Papageno and Gianni Schicchi in concert, as well as scenes from Anna Bolena and La Traviata. With IU Jacobs Opera Theater, he performed as Nardo in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, Masetto in Don Giovanni, and Bob Becket in H.M.S. Pinafore. Also with IU, he has performed as Germont from La Traviata in Heidi Grant Murphy’s opera workshop. Wente has been in many opera choruses, including the world premiere of Shulamit Ran’s Anne Frank, Die Zauberflöte, The Barber of Seville, La Traviata, Parsifal, and Bernstein’s Mass, among others. In addition to opera, he has also performed several oratorio works, as a chorus member of Britten’s War Requiem and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and as the bass soloist of Beethoven’s Mass in C and the baritone soloist of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana.
Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, bass-baritone Aiden Collawn is in his third year of studies pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance under the tutelage of Brian Horne. He made his IU Jacobs Opera debut in the role of the Duke in the 2023 production of Roméo et Juliette. He has also performed as a supernumerary in IU Jacobs Opera’s production of An American Dream and as a chorus member in Sweeney Todd. He recently made his international debut as Sarastro in Berlin Opera Academy’s production of Die Zauberflöte. Collawn also studied musical theater at the Henrico Center for the Arts.
Theo Harrah is a bass from Louisville, Kentucky, and a first-year master’s student in voice performance under the tutelage of Jane Dutton. Harrah’s previous credits at Jacobs include Second Armoured Man in Die Zauberflöte, Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore, Siroco in L’Étoile, José Tripaldi in Ainadamar, Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette, and Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd, as well as the choruses of Falstaff, Candide, The Merry Widow, and Highway 1, USA. He has also been featured as a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Schütz’s Musikalische Exequien, and Howell’s Requiem. Outside of Jacobs, Harrah has been seen as Colline in La Bohème and Simone in Gianni Schicchi at the Canto Program as well as on international concert stages performing repertoire from Schubert to Verdi. In 2024, Harrah was a finalist in the Meistersinger competition in Graz, Austria.
Lily Benson, soprano, is in her second year pursuing an M.M. in voice with Brian Horne. Originally from Seattle, Washington, she spent her undergraduate education in Cleveland, Ohio, studying with Marc Weagraff and Spencer Boyd at Baldwin Wallace University. Recently, she performed her role debut as Die Königin der Nacht (Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte) with Berlin Opera Academy in Germany. During her undergraduate studies, she performed as Mabel (Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance), Amore (Handel’s The Coronation of Poppea), and originated the role of Angustias in the world premiere of La Casa de Bernarda Alba by Griffin Candey. This is Benson’s role debut with IU Jacobs Opera Theater.
Soprano Abigail McKay Cherry is a second-year master’s student pursuing a degree in voice and a Certificate of Vocology under the tutelage of Brian Gill. She hails from Holt, Michigan. Last season, she sang the role of Eva Crowley in the IU Jacobs Opera Theater production of An American Dream. She was last seen in September’s Suor Angelica. Past roles include Lady Billows (Albert Herring), Lady Harriet (Martha), and Rose Maurrant (Street Scene). She previously attended Oakland University, where she studied under Alta Boover and earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance in 2019.
Margaret Raupp is an American mezzo-soprano hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, starting her M.M studies with Jane Dutton. In her undergraduate studies at Baldwin Wallace University, she performed as Cornelia in Handel’s Giulio Cesare in the fall of 2023 and as Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro) in the spring of 2022. In the fall of 2022, she played Empress Ottavia in Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea and Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance. This is her first production with IU Jacobs Opera Theater.
Mezzo-soprano Kathleen Simunek is a first-year master’s student under the tutelage of Timothy Noble. A Midwest native raised in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Simunek recently graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelor of Science in Music (Voice) with an Outside Field in Political Science. Previously with IU Jacobs Opera Theater, she performed in the choruses of L’Étoile, Candide, The Merry Widow (Clo-Clo), Eugene Onegin, Sweeney Todd, and Suor Angelica (Suor Dolcina). In 2023, she received second place in the Oscar Hammerstein Solo Contest. During the summer of 2023, she studied in Vienna, Austria, through the Institute of European Studies as a performer and student manager. Simunek has also appeared in a variety of performance ensembles throughout the years, including the IU Jacobs Ballet Theater Nutcracker chorus, University Chorale, IU Singing Hoosiers, Fort Wayne Children’s Choir, and Fort Wayne Ballet.
Bradley Lieto is a third-year doctoral student at Jacobs, hailing from Michigan’s metro-Detroit area. Under the tutelage of Brian Gill, he was last seen on the MAC stage as the Podesta in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera as well as Dr. Dussel in Anne Frank. Other favorite operatic engagements include Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote and Orpheus in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Central Michigan University and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance degree from the University of Toledo. Lieto has an extensive background in education and works privately as a clinician, collaborative pianist, conductor, and voice teacher.
Andrew Lunsford is an American tenor known for his powerful voice and compelling stage presence. His career, which began later in life, saw him transition from a granite countertop business owner to an acclaimed opera singer. Featured in CNN’s prime-time special The Accidental Tenor and praised by Inside Magazine for his “take-your-breath-away high C,” Lunsford has also been covered by NBC, ABC, and FOX News. Lunsford (M.M.) trains at the Jacobs School of Music under soprano Carol Vaness. His performances have graced iconic stages, including Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. He has taken on an impressive range of roles, including Calaf in Turandot, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Tamino in The Magic Flute, the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier, Podestà in La Finta Giardiniera, and Adolfo Pirelli in Sweeney Todd. He will return to Carnegie Hall in the spring of 2025. Lunsford has also been a featured soloist in Haydn’s Theresienmesse, Verdi’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, and other major works, showcasing his versatility across both opera and concert stages.
Evan Tiapula is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree under the instruction of Brian Horne. Originally from Brisbane, California, Tiapula earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Oberlin Conservatory. With Oberlin Opera Theater, he performed Count Robinson in Il Matrimonio Segreto, Martino in L’occasione fa il ladro, Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring, and Voltaire, Pangloss, Cacambo, and Martin in Candide. This past fall, he played Frank, the prison ward, in IU Jacobs Opera Theater’s Pop-Up Opera production of Die Fledermaus.
David Drettwan is a P.D. student hailing from Elkhorn, Wisconsin, and studying under the tutelage of Jane Dutton. Past roles at Jacobs include Eugene Onegin (Eugene Onegin), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Sam (Trouble in Tahiti), and Kromow (The Merry Widow) as well as being a member of the chorus in Anne Frank and workshop performances of Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi) and Swimming in the Dark (Janusz). Outside of Jacobs, Drettwan was an apprentice artist at Central City Opera this past summer singing the role of Jake Wallace in La Fanciulla del West by Puccini. He made his professional debut in the world-premiere production of the Pulitzer Prize-winning new opera Omar at Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, South Carolina. He also performed Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro), King Arkel (Pelléas et Melisande), Melisso (Alcina), and Keeper/Father Trulove (The Rake’s Progress) at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music.
Originally from Los Angeles, soprano Brittany Rose Weinstock is a second-year master’s student studying under Carol Vaness. She earned a B.A. from Pepperdine University, studying under Louise Lofquist. Kavalier & Clay marks her role debut with IU Jacobs Opera Theater. In spring 2025, Weinstock will sing Micaëla in IU’s production of Carmen. This summer, she was an apprentice artist with Central City Opera, covering Anna Maurrant in Street Scene. Other IU performances include The Rake’s Progress (Anne Trulove) and Pagliacci (Nedda) with Carol Vaness and Zachary Coates’s Opera Workshop, Anna Bolena (Giovanna) with Michael Shell’s Opera Workshop, Swimming in the Dark workshop (Karolina cover), and Eugene Onegin chorus. Weinstock was a study grant artist at the 2023 Sherrill Milnes VOICE Program. Previous credits include H.M.S. Pinafore (Josephine), Into the Woods (Jack’s Mother), Le Nozze di Figaro (Countess), and Stewart Copeland’s oratorio Satan’s Fall (Messiah), with Pepperdine University. In summer 2022, she performed scenes from Susannah (Susannah), L’Elisir d’Amore (Adina) and L’Étoile (Laoula) in Germany. Weinstock was a finalist in the 2024 Carolyn Bailey Argento and 2023 Loren L. Zachary competitions and a 2023 Laffont Competition LA District Encouragement Award Winner. In 2023, she placed second in the Opera Buffs Competition, first in the NATS Cal-Western Auditions, and first in the NOA Opera Scenes Competition.
Rudolph Altenbach is a third-year undergraduate baritone from Chicago, studying with Zachary Coates. He is pursuing a B.S.O.F. degree in health science and vocal performance. He performed the role of Zaretsky in the Eugene Onegin production at IU Jacobs Opera Theater. He has also performed as a chorus member in previous productions at IU, including Don Giovanni, Candide, Roméo et Juliette, and Sweeney Todd.
Hailing from Ann Arbor, Michigan, bass-baritone Patrick Tervo is in his third year of studies pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance under the tutelage of Michelle DeYoung. He was last seen with IU Jacobs Opera as the Captain in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin. A lifelong performer and multi-instrumentalist originally based in Portland, Oregon, he transitioned into the study of opera in high school after portraying the role of Major-General Stanley in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. He is an alumnus of Oregon Repertory Singers and the award-winning West Linn High School Symphonic Choir directed by Aubrey Patterson, and through these programs, collaborated with the likes of Eric Whitacre, Caroline Shaw, and Matthew Lyon Hazzard. Tervo has previously been seen in the opera choruses of Chabrier’s L’Étoile, Ran’s Anne Frank, Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Eugene Onegin.
Talinaiya Bao, a Mongolian soprano born in Beijing, is a senior pursuing double bachelor’s degrees—in voice performance under the tutelage of Heidi Grant Murphy and in piano performance with Spencer Myer—with a minor in French. In the 2023-24 season, she made her role debuts as Setsuko in An American Dream with IU Jacobs Opera Theater and as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Thessaloniki concert hall. Bao has attended Opera Lucca and the Schubert Institute in Baden and performed in master classes for artists such as Elly Ameling, Helmut Deutsch, and Julius Drake. Bao has been involved in the choruses of many productions at Jacobs, including Ainadamar, Roméo et Juliette, L’Étoile, and H.M.S. Pinafore. This spring, she will perform the role of Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw with IU Jacobs Opera Theater.
Mezzo-soprano Madelyn Deininger is completing an M.M. degree at Jacobs with Jane Dutton. At Baldwin Wallace University, she originated the role of the Stream in the new micro-opera The Stream, composed by Michi Wiancko with a libretto by Sarah Labrie. In fall 2021, she performed as Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina, and as Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) in spring 2022. In summer 2022, she was in the premiere of La Casa de Bernarda Alba, playing Amelia, and performed Juno in HPAF’s production of Orpheus in the Underworld. In fall 2022, she played Nerone in Monteverdi’s The Coronation of Poppea. In June 2024, she originated the role of Min-Ji in the premiere of All of Us: An Anti-Asian Hate Opera by Hippocrates Cheng at the Carmel Center for Performing Arts.
Mezzo-soprano Lauren Nicole Smedberg is studying under the tutelage of Deanne Meek for a Master of Music in Voice and a Certificate of Vocology. Originally from Orlando, Florida, she earned a Bachelor of Music in Voice from the University of Central Florida, where she made her operatic debut as Ramiro in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera and chorus appearances in La clemenza di Tito and Bernstein’s Mass. This is Smedberg’s IU Jacobs Opera Theater debut, and later this season, she can be found on the MAC stage again in the chorus of Carmen.
Soprano Macey Rowland graduated with a Master of Music in Voice from the Jacobs School in spring 2024 and is currently pursuing a Performance Diploma under the guidance of Heidi Grant Murphy. At Jacobs, she sang the role of Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow and performed as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C. She has also appeared in the opera choruses of Ainadamar, Roméo et Juliette, and Sweeney Todd. In February 2025, Rowland will perform the title role in IU’s production of Handel’s Alcina as well as appear in the chorus of Carmen in April.
Kale Jette is a second-year ballet major with a minor in chemistry. He began his dance training at Dance Theater of Florida, Florida School for Dance Education, and Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts under the instruction of Michele Zehner, Jerry Opdenaker, and Heather Lescaille. This year, he performed in IU Jacobs Ballet Theater’s Fall Ballet dancing Durante Verzola’s Mouvement Joyeux, Ken Ossola’s world-premiere Silence, and Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Shindig. Jette recently performed in the world premiere of Star on the Rise: La Bayadére Reimagined created by Doug Fullington and Phil Chan, in Sasha Janes’ new rendition of The Nutcracker, and in Justin Peck’s Heatscape as a part of IU Jacobs Ballet Theater’s 2023 Fall Ballet. With IU Jacobs Opera Theater, he has performed as a dancer for Eugene Onegin and Sweeney Todd.
Catherine Payson is a ballet major pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree. At Jacobs, she has performed in the IU Jacobs Opera Theater production of Ainadamar as well as in Ballet Theater works such as Ken Ossola’s Silence world premiere, Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux’s Shindig, Durante Verzola’s Mouvement Joyeux, Phil Chan and Doug Fullington’s Star on the Rise world premiere, Serenade by George Balanchine, Sasha Janes’ The Nutcracker world premiere, Gianna Reisen’s Jupiter world premiere, Michael Vernon’s The Nutcracker, Heatscape by Justin Peck, Shibuya Blues by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, and the world premiere of Autumnsongs by Christian Claessens.
Public Events for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Please join us for these sneak peaks into the transformation of this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel into a world-premiere opera. All events are free!
Friday, Nov. 8, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. | Ford-Crawford Hall CREATIVE TEAM ROUNDTABLE
Moderator Paul Cremo, Metropolitan Opera Dramaturg and Director of the Opera Commissioning Program
Bart Sher, director
Michael Christie, conductor
John Sellers, Metropolitan Opera assistant general manager for production.
Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, 6–8 pm, Recital Hall Refugees and Comics: A Symposium on Themes from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
Sponsored by the Lou & Sybil Mervis Chair in Jewish Culture and the Arts
6:00-6:45 PM: From Europe to Bloomington
Judah Cohen, Welcome
Nicolette van Den Bogerd,“Szymon Laks and Eastern European Musical Recollections of the Holocaust”
John M. Cowan, “Kavalier and Kaufmann: Two Artistic Lives in Exile that Led to Bloomington.”
David Hertz, Personal Recollections of Jacobs' Emigre Faculty
6:45-7:00 PM: BREAK
7:00-8:00 PM: FEATURED SPEAKER: Miriam Mora, University of Michigan: “The Jewish Multiverse: Writing, Cartooning, and Engaging in the Fight Against Nazism”
Friday, November 15, 2024, 12:30–1:30 pm, FORD HALL Panel Discussion on Developing New Opera in Higher Education-Industry Partnerships
Moderator: Tom Kernan, Assistant Dean for Artistic Operations, Jacobs School of Music
Abra Bush, David Henry Jacobs Bicentennial Dean of the Jacobs School of Music
Paul Cremo, Metropolitan Opera Dramaturg and Director of the Opera Commissioning Program
Gene Scheer, Librettist; Cast Member TBA.
Opera & Fall/Spring Ballet Tickets
Seating Location
Regular Price
Student Price*
Center Orchestra
$35
$10
Side/Rear Orchestra
$30
$10
First Balcony
$35
$10
Second Balcony
$20
$10
Third Balcony
$15
$10
*Any child or full-time student with valid ID.
Processing Fees: $8 for tickets purchased online; $5 for tickets purchased over the phone
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