La Boheme Artists

MIMI  Anna Samuil

Anna Samuil has been singing leading roles at Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, the Edinburgh Festival, Teatro alla Scala Milan, Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg Festival, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Grand Theatre Luxembourg, the Festival de Musique de La Reunion, L'Opéra National de Lyon and Bayerische and Hamburgische Staatsoper.This seasons engagements include various leading roles at Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin and of course Beethoven IX, with Barenboim in the annual New Year’s Eve Gala concert. Outside Berlin her engagements will include Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus) at Hamburg State Opera and Freia (Das Rheingold), Gutrune and Third Norn (Götterdämmerung) at Teatro alla Scala Milan. In summer 2012 she appeared with Daniel Barenboim and his West Eastern Divan Orchestra at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall as well as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Arena di Verona. In future seasons she will take part in Barenboim’s Ring cycle and Mehta’s Ring cycle at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia.

SCHAUNARD Eric Greene

American baritone Eric Greene, praised for his fine musicianship and resonant baritone voice, most recently he thrilled audiences and critics alike in his first foray into the Rodgers & Hammerstein repertoire as Billy Bigelow in Opera North’s new production of Carousel . Next season, Greene takes Donner in Das Rheingold at Teatro Massimo di Palermo. Additional engagements include the Porgy and Bess Concert Suite with the Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos in Lisbon, and the cover of both Donner and Gunter for Seattle Opera’s 2013 Ring Cycle. He first received international acclaim as Jake in Porgy and Bess and saw performances of this role with the Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Los Angeles Opera.

BENOIT/ALCINDORO Michael Ventura

In his young career, bass-baritone Michael Ventura is earning notable acclaim in buffo and dramatic roles. Of a 2009 performance of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, the Modesto Bee said, “Michael Ventura as the Music Master Don Basilio was among the strongest singers in the cast with a booming voice that could be easily heard in the back of the theater.” Likewise, of a 2009 portrayal as Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro, the Daily Progress said, “His profundo bass voice, noble bone-structure and very expressive eyes make him a perfect commedia character, who sings with masterful glee.” This season he performs Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Tulsa Opera and Angelotti in Tosca with Opera New Jersey.

CONDUCTOR  Steven White

Praised by Opera News as a conductor who "squeezes every drop of excitement and pathos from the score," Steven White is one of North America's premier conductors of both operatic and symphonic repertoire. In 2010 he made his acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut conducting two performances of Verdi's La Traviata, starring Angela Gheorghiu, continuing the Met engagement conducting Natalie Dessay this past season. Recent notable engagements include the Strauss Four Last Songs with Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and the Naples Philharmonic, internationally televised concerts with Rolando Villazon Don Giovanni, Carmen and La Bohème at New York City Opera, and Lucia di Lammermoor at L’Opéra de Montréal. As former Artistic Director of Opera Roanoke, Maestro White conducted nearly all of that company's productions from 1999 through 2010, including performances of Fidelio, Falstaff, Otello, Macbeth, and many others. Maestro White has conducted the Philharmonia Orchestra for a recording of arias featuring his wife, soprano Elizabeth Futral.

RODOLFO  Georgy Vasiliev 

One of Russia’ most exciting upcoming opera singers, Georgy Vasiliev is a soloist of The Kolobov Novaya Opera Theatre of Moscow (the New Opera), where he made his debut in the part of Ismael (Nabucco) in 2010. Additional roles include Alfredo (La Traviata), Orontes (I Lombardi), Cavaradossi (Tosca), Vladimir Igorevich in Borodin’s Prince Igor and Mihailo Tucha in Rimsky-Korsakov's The Maid of Pskov. In March 2012 he made his American debut in the part of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Palm Beach Opera and will return for Alfredo in La Traviata in 2013. On the concert stage, Mr. Vasiliev participated in international festivals in Moscow, Istanbul (Turkey), San Sebastian (Spain) with the RNO orchestra (Pletnev), performing in Bruckner's Te Deum, and Rachmaninov’s The Bells. In Mexico City with Maestro Latham-Koenig he performed Verdi's Requiem. In 2011-2012 together with the Moscow Virtuosi and NPR orchestra (under Maestro Vladimir Spivakov) he participated in several music festivals in Russia.

MARCELLO  Timothy Mix

Recipient of a 2008 Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grant, Timothy Mix is recognized for the beauty of his voice and his compelling stage presence. The 2010/11 season brought him to Washington National Opera in the role of Renato in Un Ballo in Maschera, to the San Francisco Opera to sing in Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac , as well as Prus in Janácek’s The Makropolus Case. Highlights of the 2011/12 season include Dancairo in Bizet’s Carmen, as well as a debut at Dallas Opera Verdi’s La Traviata. Career highlights Marcell at Boston Lyric Opera, Escamillo in Carmen for Opera Colorado, Ford in Falstaff at New York City Opera, and Belcore in L’elisir d’amore at Opera Colorado. He has sung with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Asheville Symphony, the Yaraslavl Symphony in Russia, and the Finnish National Opera Orchestra.

COLLINE Christopher Job

Bass-Baritone Christopher Job is establishing himself as an important talent in the opera industry. In the last two seasons alone, he has sung at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Il Podestà in Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra, debuted as Escamillo in Carmen with Lyric Opera Virginia, and joined the Metropolitan Opera roster for their productions of Janacek’s From the House of the Dead, Shostokovich’s The Nose, and The Enchanted Island. Mr. Job has performed at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic, where he was featured in in My Fair Lady, sharing the stage with Kelsey Grammer. Other concert appearances include bass soloist in Haydn’s Creation with the Greeley Philharmonic and Verdi’s Requiem with the Denver Opera Company. 

STAGE DIRECTOR Bernard Uzan

Bernard Uzan’s extensive background in the arts includes success as a general director, artistic director, stage director, designer, librettist, and actor. In the current season and beyond, he directs Attila, a new production of Carmen, Suor Angelica and La Voix Humaine at the Seattle Opera; Tosca and a new production of Faust at Arizona Opera; I Pagliacci at Michigan Opera Theatre; Les Pêcheurs de Perles at Opera Carolina; and Carmen in Erfurt, Germany. In recent seasons, he directed Cyrano (in which he wrote the libretto) at the Florida Grand Opera, Così Fan Tutte at Opera Carolina, Turandot at Arizona Opera, Carmen at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Tosca at Michigan Opera Theatre and Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Otello at Palm Beach Opera and Cincinnati Opera, Roméo et Juliette at New Orleans Opera, and Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Arizona Opera.

LIGHTING DESIGNER Donald Edmund Thomas

One of opera’s leading Lighting Designers, Donald Edmund Thomas has designed productions for companies worldwide including L’Opéra de Montréal, Seattle Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera de Puerto Rico, Dallas Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera Pacific, the Florentine Opera in Milwaukee, Baltimore Opera, Opera Carolina, New Orleans Opera, Arizona Opera, Opera Columbus, Fort Worth Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera Delaware, Toledo Opera and Sarasota Opera. His next lighting productions include Carmen at Seattle Opera, The Mikado at Opera Omaha, Tosca at Fort Worth Opera, and I Pagliacci with Michigan Opera Theatre.