2010 DIRECTORS

Nick Olcott, Stage Director, Don Giovanni

Mr. Olcott returns to Ash Lawn Opera Festival, where he has previously directed The Magic Flute, Madame Butterfly, Annie, The Barber of Seville , The Merry Widow, and Annie Get Your Gun. He is a faculty member of the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland, where he has directed of L'elisir d'amore , Serse, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Il matrimonio segreto, Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, and Die Zauberflöte .  Other opera credits include Wolf Trap Opera ( Bastianello/Lucrezia and Viva la mamma!), Opera Cleveland ( Roméo et Juliette and The Turn of the Screw), Boston Lyric Opera (The Daughter of the Regiment), the In Series (Carmen and Così fan tutte Goes Hollywood ), and Pine Mountain Music Festival ( Il matrimonio segreto). His theatre credits including Arena Stage ( The Miracle Worker), the Philadelphia Theatre Company (Sylvia) , People's Light and Theatre Company (A Midsummer Night's Dream), the Berkshire Theatre Festival (The Book Club Play), the Round House Theatre (a dozen productions, including Uncle Vanya and A Year With Frog and Toad), and the Kennedy Center Family Theatre (a number of world premieres and national tours, including Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ). After leaving Ash Lawn he will travel to Germany to join the faculty of the Saarburg Festival. Upcoming productions include Bunnicula (The Vampire Rabbit Musical ) at Imagination Stage and Die Entführung aus dem Serail for the Maryland Opera Studio.

Dorothy Danner, Stage Director, Brigadoon

Ms. Danner, noted for her inventive staging, has directed more than 180 productions of operettas, musicals and plays throughout the U.S. , Canada and Belgium : and has staged operas for many companies including Cleveland , Cincinnati , Glimmerglass, Houston , Miami , Minnesota , Philadelphia , Portland , San Francisco Merola and Virginia . She garnered wide critical acclaim for A Midsummer Night's Dream at Juilliard; for the PBS television showing of Richard Wargo's “Ballymore”, the first musical staging of a Brian Friel play : and the Boston Pops' Tribute to Gilbert and Sullivan. Interested in contemporary opera, Ms. Danner has staged premieres for Barab, Botti, Hamlisch, Harnick, Musgrave, Sirotta, and Wargo. Ms. Danner's recent productions include The Elixir of Love for Virginia Opera, The Audition for Washington Opera's 50 th anniversary Gala starring Placido Domingo and Kristen Chenoweth, Hansel and Gretel for Opera Company of Philadelphia, The Light in the Piazza for Piedmont, La fanciulla del West for Tampa, The Barber of Seville for Portland, La fille de Régiment for Cincinnati, Three Penny Opera for Opera Omaha, I Do, I Do and Tartuffe for Skylight Opera, La Bohème for San Antonio, Die Fledermaus for Orlando and the premiere of Thea Musgrave's Voices of Protest at the United Nations. Before turning to directing, Ms. Danner (aka Dorothy Frank) performed in many Broadway shows from the original Once Upon a Mattress to Michael Bennett's Ballroom . She also did extensive television work and appeared in several films including “The Producers”. Ms. Danner was co-founder of the Glimmerglass Young Artist Program, has served on the faculties of the Juilliard School and Curtis Institute of Music, and has been a guest director at Academy of Vocal Arts , New York University, Boston University and Carnegie-Mellon. Ms. Danner is part of a theatrical and musical family which includes actors Harry, Hillary and Blythe Danner, nieces Gwyneth Paltrow, Katherine Moennig, writer and director Jake Paltrow and international violin maker and dealer William Moennig.

2010 CAST

Principal Singers  

David Barron (Mr. Lundie in Brigadoon ), bass-baritone, has performed more than forty operatic roles with such opera companies as Glimmerglass, Virginia, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Omaha, Chautauqua, Santa Fe, Lake George, Utah Festival, Milwaukee Skylight and the Opéra Comique in Paris. On Broadway Mr. Barron was Judge Turpin in the Tony-nominated revival of Sweeney Todd . Brigadoon marks Mr. Barron's first appearance with Ash Lawn Opera . He has recorded and performed Harry Partch's US Highball , a dramatic microtonal monologue, with the Kronos Quartet throughout Europe and the United States . He most recently appeared in Virginia Opera's production of La fille du Régiment.

Alicia Berneche (Fiona MacLaren in Brigadoon ), soprano, attracts national attention in new and standard works with recent engagements at the Austin Lyric Opera as Gretel ( Hansel and Gretel ) and Adele ( Die Fledermaus ); Virginia Opera as Mabel ( The Pirates of Penzance ) and Yum-Yum ( The Mikado ); Lyric Opera of Chicago as Daisy Buchanan ( The Great Gatsby ); Portland Opera as Constance ( Dialogues of the Carmelites ) and Sophie ( Werther) ; Kentucky Opera as Norina ( Don Pasquale ); Arizona Opera as Susanna ( Le nozze di Figaro ) and Adina ( L'elisir d'amore ); Opera Pacific and Sarasota Opera as Despina ( Così fan tutte ); Opera Omaha as Polly Peachum ( The Three Penny Opera ); and The Barbican in London and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in the world premiere of Philip Glass' Galileo Galilei .

Christopher Burchett (Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni , Tommy Albright in Brigadoon ), baritone , has sung with New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera Orchestra of New York, Opera Omaha, Eugene Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Kentucky Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Glimmerglass and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. This season, Mr. Burchett returned to Eugene Opera as Count Almaviva ( Le nozze di Figaro ), sang the title role in Boston Youth Symphony's production of  Don Giovanni  followed by a Rodgers and Hart concert for Orchestra Kentucky and VOX Opera Workshop with New York City Opera.  Upcoming performances include  Elijah  with the Canterbury Choral Society and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic.  Christopher can be heard in the role of M. Carré-Lamadon in Stephen Hartke's opera The Greater Good on Naxos records as well as baritone soloist in Bethlehem Bach Festival's Emmy winning national PBS broadcast of Bach's B Minor Mass .

Seth Mease Carico (Leporello in Don Giovanni , Jeff Douglas in Brigadoon ), bass-baritone, noted for his commanding stage presence and expressive vocalism, is distinguishing himself as an accomplished young American singer. In the 2009-2010 season Seth returned to the Fort Worth Opera Festival, where he created the role of Victor in the world premiere of Jorge Martin's Before Night Falls . He also returned to Nashville Opera to perform Monterone in Verdi's Rigoletto , and made his debut as Alidoro in La Cenerentola with Opera Idaho. He spends his upcoming season with the Deutsche Opera Berlin for performances of Tosca , Elektra , Il barbiere di Siviglia , Le nozze di Figaro , Carmen and Andrea Chénier.

Aundi Marie Moore (Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni ), soprano, career highlights have included Donna Elvira ( Don Giovanni ) with L'Opéra de Monte Carlo; Nedda ( I Pagliacci ) with Sarasota Opera; covering Rusalka for the 2008 Salzburg Festival; Fiordiligi ( Così fan tutte) and Donna Elvira ( Don Giovanni ) as a Young Artist with Washington National Opera; Jo ( Let Freedom Sing ): The Marian Anderson Story , sponsored by the Washington National Opera and the Washington Performing Arts Society; Messiah with the Virginia Symphony; a Holiday Pops concert with the National Symphony Orchestra; and first-place in the Leontyne Price Voice Competition and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions for Puerto Rico.

Liam Moran (Commendatore/Masetto in Don Giovanni ), bass-baritone, is a recent alumnus of the Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Program, where he sang featured roles in productions including Le nozze di Figaro, Eugene Onegin, The Rape of Lucretia, Aida, La Bohème and Flight. He has also made recent appearances with Austin Lyric Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Omaha and Merola Opera. This season he will be a guest artist in Juilliard's L'incoronazione di Poppea and make his debut with Boston Lyric Opera in A Midsummer Night's Dream. He is a prize winner in the Florida Grand Opera Competition and Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions/New England region. Mr. Moran completed his studies at McGill University in Montreal and the Yale School of Music.

Jonathan Smucker (Charlie Dalrymple in Brigadoon ), tenor, returns to ALO after appearing as Don Basilio ( The Marriage of Figaro ) and Merlyn ( Camelot ) as a 2009 Young Artist. His repertoire includes roles by Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Gilbert & Sullivan, and numerous contemporary works. Based in San Francisco , his recent credits include Frederic ( The Pirates of Penzance ) with Opera San Luis Obispo, Acis ( Acis and Galatea ) for Marin Oratorio, Don Ramiro ( La Cenerentola ) with Pocket Opera, Simon Stimson in the Western US Premiere of Ned Rorem's Our Town with the Aspen Opera Theater Center , and season preview concerts for Opera Santa Barbara . A member of the Philharmonia Baroque Chorale, he will sing Pedrillo ( Die Entführung aus dem Serail ) for Townsend Opera in 2011.

Lynn Summerall (Mr. MacLaren in Brigadoon ), baritone, professional musical theater credits include principal roles in Annie Get Your Gun , The Boy Friend, The Pirates of Penzance, Damn Yankees, Guys and Dolls, Fiddler on the Roof , and the title role in Man of La Mancha . He also acted in North Carolina 's Lost Colony outdoor drama. His 1992 Virginia Opera debut was as the Coroner in the Porgy and Bess that toured South America . He subsequently played speaking roles in Virginia Opera productions of The Merry Widow, Susannah, this year's Porgy and Bess , and covered the role of Major General in The Pirates of Penzance . Mostly, his career has been in publicity and administration for theaters that include Baltimore 's Center Stage, Maryland Ballet, Radio City Music Hall , and the Metropolitan Opera. As assistant to Tony Award winning director Joe Layton, he worked on the production staffs of Broadway shows, television specials, ballets for the Royal Ballet, and the infamous musical version of Gone With the Wind in London . Since 1990 he has been affiliated with WHRO TV/FM in Norfolk , first as a classical announcer and currently as Manager of Volunteer Activities.

Dan Stern (Archie Beaton in Brigadoon ), baritone, stage credits include: Cabaret, Company, 1776 (Four County Players ); Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Urinetown, Floyd Collins, Candide (Live Arts); Oliver, The Light in the Piazza, Ragtime (Heritage); The Sorcerer, The Mikado, The Pirates of Penzance, Patience, The Gondoliers, HMS Pinafore (New Lyric Theatre); The Consul (Opera Organique); Carmen (Ash Lawn, 2001). Film: Mister Angerhead, Albright .

Janette Zilioli (Donna Anna in Don Giovanni ), soprano, is establishing herself as an exceptional, dynamic, engaged singing-actress with a beautiful shimmer and brilliance in her voice. In the 2009/10 season, Janette Zilioli sings Micaëla ( Carmen ) with Mad Cow Theatre. On a European tour with The Opera Show she performed in Barcelona , Lisbon and Milan . In previous seasons she sang Hanna in The Merry Widow at Opera Santa Barbara , Rosalinde ( Die Fledermaus ) at Orlando Opera, Musetta ( La Bohème ) at Palm Beach Opera, and the roles of Rosina ( Il barbiere di Siviglia ) and Mabel ( The Pirates of Penzance ) with Central Florida Lyric Opera. As a Resident Artist at Orlando Opera, Ms. Zilioli performed Adina ( L'elisir d'amore ), the High Priestess ( Aida ), Pitti-Sing ( Mikado ), and Blondchen ( Die Entführung aus dem Serail ). She sang Countess Ceprano while covering Gilda in Rigoletto . Ms. Zilioli's repertoire includes the title role of Eva Peron ( Evita ), Nedda ( I Pagliacci ), Fiordiligi ( Così fan tutte ) and Magda ( La Rondine ).

Young Artists

Maria Elena Armijo , mezzo-soprano, roles include Amastre ( Serse ), Adah ( The Naughty Marietta) , Angelina ( La Cenerentola), Stéphano ( Roméo et Juliette), Mercédès ( Carmen ) , Annina ( La Traviata) , Aminta ( Il Re Pastore), L'Enfant ( L'Enfant et les Sortiléges ), Third Lady ( Die Zauberflöte ), Venus ( Orphée aux Enfers ), Zita ( Gianni Schicchi ), Donna Elvira ( Don Giovanni ), Second Witch and Second Woman ( Dido and Aeneas) , and Marianne ( The Cat That Turned into a Woman) . She has performed with Opera Manhattan, Pocket Opera of New York, Light Opera of New York, New Rochelle Opera, Ash Lawn Opera, Syracuse Opera, Dicapo Opera Theatre, Empire Opera, Bay View Music Festival, Tacoma Opera, Dona Ana Lyric Opera, America Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS), and OperaWorks. Concert appearances for Ms. Armijo include a soloist with Ideation Productions at Carnegie Hall, a Christmas POPS celebration with the Traverse Symphony Orchestra, a soloist for the Golden Key Music Institute Recital Series, Gateway Music Society, Metropolis Opera Project, El Paso Summer Music Festival, and the alto soloist in Mozart's Requiem , Mozart's Solemn Vespers, Bach's Cantata 156 and Bach's St. John Passion .

James Barbato , tenor, recently completed a residency with the Boston University Opera Institute, where his performances included Ferrando ( Così fan tutte ) and Edgardo ( Lucia di Lammermoor ), as well as leading roles in three contemporary American operas under the guidance of the composers – William Bolcom's Lucrezia , Tobias Picker's Thérèse Raquin , and Jorge Martín's Tobermory . A graduate of the Eastman School of Music, he was previously a resident artist with the Tri-Cities Opera of Binghamton, NY, where he performed Don Ottavio ( Don Giovanni ) and Tamino ( Die Zauberflöte ). He has also been a young artist with Central City Opera and Opera New Jersey, appearing on the mainstage with those companies as Normanno ( Lucia di Lammermoor ) and Tybalt ( Roméo et Juliette ). Following his performances at Ash Lawn, Mr. Barbato will spend the remainder of the summer performing chamber music as a member of the Marlboro Music Festival. In the fall, he joins the young artist program at Florida Grand Opera, debuting as Pong ( Turandot ).

David Blalock , baritone, is a native of Burlington , North Carolina . David is completing his graduate degree in Opera Performance at the University of Maryland , where he studies with Dominic Cossa. This year, he has won awards from the Mario Lanza Institute, the Charlotte Opera Guild, the Heafner Williams Competition, and the Sally and Tony Amato Scholarship Competition. David has sung professionally with Raleigh Capital Opera and the Opera Company of North Carolina , singing roles in Amahl and the Night Visitors , La Traviata , and Madama Butterfly . He received his undergraduate degree from UNC Greensboro, where he studied with Dr. Carla LeFevre. Upcoming roles include Figaro ( Il barbiere di Siviglia ) and Riolobo ( Florencia en al Amazonas ) with the Maryland Opera Studio.

Anne Byrne, mezzo-soprano, is from Endwell , NY .  She is currently working on her M.M. in voice at New England Conservatory.  Anne graduated from Ithaca College with a B.M. in 2009.  Recent roles include The Witch (cover) ( Hansel and Gretel ) at NEC, The Princess ( Suor Angelica ), and Armelinda in Pauline Viardot's Cendrillion at Ithaca College .  She participated in a Master Class with William Bolcom and Joan Morris at Ithaca College in 2008.  Most recently she was the mezzo soloist in the concert version of Stravinsky's Pulcinella with the NEC chamber orchestra under the direction of Hugh Wolff.  Anne spent the 2008 summer season at Glimmerglass Opera performing in Kiss Me Kate and Das Liebesverbot .  She is currently a student of Carole Haber.

Katharine Dain , soprano, has been praised by the New York Times for her "rich tone," "deep emotion," and "lovely, passionate" performances. Her opera credits include Fiordiligi ( Così fan tutte ), the title role of Cavalli's La Calisto , and various premieres of contemporary operas. She also has extensive experience in oratorio and concert music from all periods. She has performed with the Alexandria Symphony, Ravinia Festival (where she was a 2009 Steans Fellow), Amherst Early Music Festival, Collegiate Chorale, Mark Morris Dance Group, New York City Ballet, Joy in Singing, and the New York Festival of Song in venues including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center . She has co-founded two critically acclaimed chamber groups in New York: Callisto Ascending, a
period-instrument ensemble, and Lunatics at Large, a contemporary chamber group lauded as “young, energetic and highly polished” by senior Times critic Allan Kozinn. She holds degrees from Harvard University , the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and Mannes College of Music.

Rebecca Fay , soprano, From Olympia, Washington, is a four-time Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition award winner. She recently won Second Place in New York Lyric Opera Theater's Young Artist Competition. This season, she appeared as a Young Artist with Opera Santa Barbara singing scenes as Juliette and Nannetta. A graduate of Indiana University 's Jacobs School of Music, there she received many honors including a Graduate Assistantship and was chosen by the Dean to represent the school in recital with legendary conductor, Raymond Leppard. Some of her recent roles include Susannah ( Susannah ), Musetta ( La Bohème ) in IU's new production directed by Tito Capobianco, and Amy ( Little Women ) at the Brevard Music Center .

Edward Hanlon, bass, a 2010 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Semi-Finalist, is excited to be singing with Ash Lawn Opera for the first time.  A recent graduate with a Specialist in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan, highlights from Edward's time on the university stage include the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, Bottom (A Midsummer Night's Dream ) , and Prince Gremin (Eugene Onegin).  He has taken part in several young artist programs in the past year, singing as an Apprentice Artist with Michigan Opera Theatre and a Studio Artist with Chautauqua Opera.  Next year he will tour with Opera for the Young as the Pirate King and Major General in their children's production of The Pirates of Penzance .  Ned is most excited about the chance to perform this summer with his wife, Tanya Roberts, who is also a Young Artist at Ash Lawn!

Meredith Mecum, soprano, recently completed her Master of Music degree at Manhattan School of Music ( MSM ) in the studio of Joan Patenaude-Yarnell.  She received her Bachelor of Musical Arts from The Pennsylvania State University in voice performance and art history. Ms. Mecum was awarded Second Place in the first annual Ades Vocal Competition at MSM , as well as an Encouragement Award from the Gerda Lissner Foundation Competition.  She was seen on stage at MSM as Frau Fluth in scenes from Nicolai's Die lustige Weiber von Windsor , and as Rose Segal in the New York premiere of John Musto's Later the Same Evening .  She can be heard on the recording of Musto's work, released by Albany Records.  Other roles include Rosalinde ( Die Fledermaus ) with Prelude to Performance, and scenes from Le nozze di Figaro , Der Rosenkavalier and Madama Butterfly .  Upcoming engagements include Soprano Soloist in Beethoven's 9th Symphony with Williamsport Symphony Orchestra.

Craig Philip Price , bass-baritone, a native of South Carolina , holds a BM in Voice Performance from Furman University and a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music.  He has been seen with opera companies across the United States including Central City Opera, Lake George Opera, FBN Productions, and the Schmidt Opera Outreach program at the University of Kentucky .  Most recently he was a Resident Artist with Kentucky Opera where he sang the Marquis ( La Traviata ), covered Candy ( Of Mice and Men ), and sang the Bonze in a concert performance of Madama Butterfly .  He currently resides in Lexington , KY where he maintains a successful private voice studio. 

Tanya Roberts, soprano, enjoys a reputation as a versatile and exciting young artist. A recent graduate of McGill University 's Master of Music program, Ms. Roberts has since been contracted with every opera company in the metropolitan Detroit area. Recent engagements include touring as an Outreach Artist with Motor City Lyric Opera, Spirit/2 nd Woman/2 nd Witch (Dido and Aeneas) with the Metropolitan Baroque Ensemble, the title role in Katinka and Kitty ( Orange Blossoms) with the Comic Opera Guild, Belinda (Dido and Aeneas) and Ida (Die Fledermaus) with Arbor Opera Theater, Lady Ella (Patience) with the University of Michigan G&S Society, and chorus in Nabucco and Don Giovanni with the Michigan Opera Theatre. Tanya looks forward to intensive vocal study at the International Vocal Arts Institute in August.

Dustin L. Scott , tenor, spent the spring as a Young Artist with Toledo Opera performing Tamino in a reduced version of Die Zauberflöte ; in May he sang Ferrando ( Così fan tutte ) with Ann Arbor 's Primo Passo Ensemble.  Last summer he was an Emerging Artist with the Green Mountain Opera Festival in Vermont , where he was praised for his performance of Nemorino ( L'elisir d'amore ) by local critics as “theatrically ideal and very funny,” and “he sang sensitively with a pliable, beautiful sound.”  Mr. Scott received his Master of Music degree in voice performance from the University of Michigan, where he studied with George Shirley; his roles included Lyric Tenor ( Postcard from Morocco ), Ferrando ( Così fan tutte ), and Principál komediantu ( Prodaná nevesta ).  As a concert soloist, Mr. Scott has appeared with the University of Michigan 's Chamber Choir, Orpheus Singers, and Residential College Choir, the Windsor Community Orchestra, and the Ann Arbor Cantata Singers.

Tatiana Vassilieva, pianist, a native of St. Petersburg , Russia , has earned degrees in piano performance and accompanying from the Eastman School of Music.  She is the recipient of many of Eastman's awards, most notably being named a two-time First Prize winner of the Kneisel Lieder Competition.  As a coach with Eastman Opera Theatre, she prepared productions of The Turn of the Screw and Cabaret , as well as an evening of opera scenes.  Ms. Vassilieva spent two summers as a fellow at Tanglewood Music Center , assisting on productions of Così fan tutte and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny .  She also studied at Music Academy of the West, and was recently a young artist with Opera North, where she played continuo for Il barbiere di Siviglia .  She spent the past year as a member of the staff at Boston University , playing fortepiano continuo for Così fan tutte and second piano for Bolcom's Lucrezia .  Next spring, she will join Florida Grand Opera as an apprentice coach.