2008 CAST

Principal Singers  

Katherine Altobello, Mezzo, returns to Ash Lawn Opera after her 2007 apprenticeship in which she sang the role of Leisl in the Sound of Music. Altobello has performed with Wildwood Opera, Brevard Music Center, Lexington Music and Theatre Company, and the Austin Symphony. Other roles include Mercedes in Carmen, Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin, and Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk. She holds a Bachelor from Southwestern University and a Master of Music in Voice from Indiana University.

Melina Pineda, Mezzo, joins Ash Lawn Opera for her second season after singing Anita in our 2006 production of West Side Story. She has sung roles such as Melanto in Il Ritonrno d”Ulisse in Patria and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly. Pineda has performed with Chicago Opera Theatre, Boston Lyric Opera, Knoxville Opera, and Florida Grand Opera. She earned her Master of Music in Opera Performance from The Boston Conservatory and holds a Certificate in Opera Performance from the Opera Institute at Boston University.

Christian Reinert, Tenor, has sung with Minnesota Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Baltimore Opera, and Palm Beach Opera. He has gained critical acclaim after stepping into the role of Steva in Jenufa for Glimmerglass Opera, for which he had been a cover. Reinert also performed in L'Orfeo, The Greater Good, and Orphèe and sang Romèo in Minnesota Opera's Romeo et Juliette. Reinert graduated from Winona State University and went on to receive his Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music, where he sang roles in Madame Butterfly, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bèatrice and Benedict, and Die Zauberflote.

Timothy Kuhn, Baritone, has sung the roles of Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni ) for Dayton Opera and Ping (Turandot) with Atlanta Opera. He has performed with Florida Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Omaha, and the Santa Fe Opera Kuhn's most recent role was singing Malatesta in Don Pasquale for Syracuse Opera at the start of 2008. He received First Prize for the Young Patronesses of the Opera/Florida Grand Opera Voice Competition in 2005. Kuhn holds a Bachelor of Music from Central College and a Master of Music from Indiana University.

Rochelle Bard, Soprano, was a Resident Artist with Opera San Josè for two seasons, singing the roles of Gilda (Rigoletto), Pamina (The Magic Flute), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly), Violetta (La Traviata), and Juliette (Romèo et Juliette). Bard has also worked with Baltimore Opera Company, Opera Boston, Maine Grand Opera, and the Tanglewood Music Center. She was awarded First Place in the Classical Singer Competition and was the winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions for the San Francisco Region in 2006. She holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and a Master of Music from New England Conservatory.

Peter Clark, Baritone, returns to Ash Lawn Opera after singing the role of Frank in Ash Lawn's 2005 production of Annie Get Your Gun . He holds an accomplished repertoire including such major roles as Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos and the lead role in Don Giovanni with New York Opera, as well as Schaunard in La Boheme with the American Opera Company. He has also performed with Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, New York Opera Project, One World Symphony, and Bronx Opera. Clark is a graduate of Amherst College.

Apprentice Singers

Caitlin Andrews, Soprano, has performed with the Chautauqua Institute and has sung such roles as Drusilla in L'Incoronazione di Poppea and Susannah in Le Nozze di Figaro. Andrews holds a Bachelor in Music from the University of Cincinnati and is currently pursuing her Master's Degree at Indiana University's School of Music.

Andrew Bawden, Baritone, has performed with Capitol Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Washington National Opera, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Mercury Opera, and Opera Vivente. He has sung the Baron Douphol (La Traviata) , Top (The Tender Land ) , Melchior (Amahl and the Night Visitors) , and Ceprano (Rigoletto) . Bawden has sung as an apprentice artist with the Theater of Humbach in Bavaria, Germany. He received a Bachelor of Music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Music from Eastman School of Music.

Megan Beltran, Soprano, is a returning apprentice, having performed in last season's La Boheme and as Sister Berthe in The Sound of Music . She has also sung the roles of Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Gretel in Hansel and Gretel with such companies as Denmark's Stand Up Opera, Pocket Opera, and San Francisco Conservatory Opera Workshop. Megan was a Pacific Region Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions. She received a Bachelor from UCLA and a Master of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

William Bennett, Tenor, returns after his Ash Lawn Opera apprenticeship in 2007, where he covered Marcello in La Boheme and Captain Von Trapp in Sound of Music. He has sung with Chicago Opera Theater, Cedar Rapids Opera Theater, and the Chautauqua Voice Program. Roles include Papageno (The Magic Flute), Benoit/Alcindoro (La Bohème ), Don Alfonso (Cosi fan Tutte), and Figaro (Barber of Seville). William was a finalist for L'Orfeo by Monteverdi in Vernona, Italy.  He holds a Bachelor in Engineering from the University of Virginia and a Master of Music from DePaul University.

Matthew Edwards, Bass-Baritone, has worked with Bay View Music Festival, Atlantic Coast Opera Festival, Lyric Opera Cleveland, and Cincinnati Opera Outreach and has sung the roles of Gideon March (Little Women ), Don Alfonso (Cosi Fan Tutte), Masetto (Don Giovanni), Lord Capulet (Romèo et Juliette), and Papageno (The Magic Flute). He performed with Ash Lawn Opera in 2006, singing Pritsch in The Merry Wido w and Officer Krupke in West Side Story. He has been in the Resident Artist Program at Tri-Cities Opera since 2006 and received his Master of Music from Louisiana State University.

Shirin Eskandani, Mezzo, has participated in Summer Music Programs in France at the Centre-Lyrique and in Italy at the Centro Studi Lirica. She has sung Mercedes in Carmen, Angelina in La Cenerentola , Romeo in I Capuleti e I Montecchi , and Ruggiero in Alcina. She was awarded the Mildred Johnson Scholarship in Music in 2005. Eskandani received her Bachelor of Music from the University of British Columbia and is currently pursuing her Master of Music at the Manhattan School of Music

Thomas Forde, Bass-baritone, has sung with Central City Opera, Tulsa Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera in the Heights, and the Moores Opera Center. Forde has sung Marchese D'Obigny in La Traviata, Suleyman Pasha in The Ghosts of Versailles, and the Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro. Upcoming engagements include performances as Angelotti in Tosca with Dallas Opera and the Mandarin in Turandot with Fort Worth Opera.

Elizabeth Hartnett, Soprano, has sung the roles of Adele in Die Fledermaus, Pamina in The Magic Flute, and Venus in Orpheus in the Underworld. From 2002 to 2005, she participated in the Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio Young Artist Program with Hawaii Opera Theatre. Hartnett received her Bachelor of Music from DePauw University School of Music and is currently pursuing her Master's Degree at the Manhattan School of Music where she has sung in Griffelkin.

Jason Kaminski, Baritone, has sung Mercutio (Romèo et Juliette), Figaro (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), El Dancairo (Carmen), Papageno (The Magic Flute), Marcello (La Bohème), and Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte). He has performed with the Juilliard Opera Center, Anchorage Opera, New Jersey Opera Theater and Virginia Opera. Kaminski performed in Pocahontas for the Virginia Arts Festival at the celebration of the 400 th Anniversary of the founding of Jamestown and has participated in apprentice programs such as the Des Moines Metro Opera and the Music Festival of Lucca.

Marie Masters, Soprano, has performed with Opera Orchestra of New York, Cleveland Orchestra, and Indiana University Opera Theater, as well as the Aspen Music and Aspen Bach Festivals. Credits also include Pisana (I Due Foscari), Gilda (Rigoletto), Madame Pompous (Too Many Sopranos), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), and Mercedes (Carmen). Marie was the Encouragement Award Winner in the Kansas City District for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2007. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and is currently pursuing her Master of Music at Indiana University.

Philippe Pierce, Tenor, participated in the Young Artist Program at Lyric Opera Cleveland in 2006. Pierce sang Henrik in A Little Night Music, Guiseppe in La Traviata and Frederic in Pirates of Penzance with Opera Cleveland. He has also performed with Opera Boston. Upcoming performances include Don Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera Cleveland. Pierce holds a Bachelor in Theater from Brown and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory.

Gregory M. Smith, Tenor, comes to Ash Lawn Opera after performing as a resident artist with Tri-Cities Opera. While there, he has sung such roles as Tybalt in Romeo et Juliette, Danilo Danilovitch in The Merry Widow, and Monastatos in Die Zauberflote. Other roles include Marcello in La Boheme and Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro. He received his Bachelor of Music from Georgia Southern University and his Master of Music from Georgia State University.  

Brent Turner, Baritone, has sung the roles of Albert in Werther, Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, and Escamillo in L'oiseau Rebelle as well as the role of Colonel Pickering in My Fair Lady. He has sung with Opera North and the role of the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca in Italy. Upcoming engagements include performing in Tulsa Opera's Pirates of Penzance. Turner received his Master of Music from the College-Conservatory of Music at Cincinnati, Ohio

Jami Tyzik, Mezzo, has sung the role of Carmen at Aspen Opera Theatre. Her summer training programs include Amalfi Coast Opera, Tanglewood Institute, University of Miami in Salzburg, and Chautauqua. Tyzik performed the roles of Anna in A Month in the Country, La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, and Bianca in Rape of Lucretia at the Boston University Opera Institute, where she also received her Master of Music.