We are still finalizing our faculty and staff for IPAI 2012.
Faculty
BRUCE EARNEST, PRODUCING ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Bruce has appeared in over 50 operatic and musical theatre roles in Europe and the United States and has appeared with the Munich State Theatre, State Theatre Passau, Opera Roanoke, The Berkshire Opera, Passinger Theatre, Dayton Opera, Orlando Opera, Worcester Light Opera, Florida Grand Opera, The Vienna Folks Opera, Virginia Opera, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Black Hills Playhouse, Berkshire Theatre Festival, The USD PLayhouse, The Vineyard Playhouse, Walt Disney World, Saint Cecilia Ensemble, The Springfield Symphony, the Hamburg Musical Orchestra and the Orlando Philharmonic and off-Broadway. He has produced, directed or music directed more than 90 shows including; Side by Side by Sondheim, Big River, Little Shop of Horrors, Lend Me A Tenor, My Way, Tin Types, Into The Woods, The Fantasticks, Baby, Oklahoma, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Camelot, The Saint of Bleeker Street and The Impresario to name a few.
He has conducted masterclasses and workshops on Belting and musical theatre acting interpretation in the United States and throughout Europe and has current or past students working in major productions in the UK, Europe, on Broadway and in National tours in the United States in shows such as Jersey Boys, Tarzan, Buddy Holly, Billy Elliot, Lion King, Putnam County Spelling Bee and others. He is former co-founder and Program Director of Music Theatre at the University of Central Florida, Director of Musical Theatre at the University of South Dakota, Interim Associate Professor of Voice at Folkwang Hochschule in Essen, Associate Professor of Music Theatre at the Bavarian Theatre Academy/Hochschule in Munich, Voice and Artistic Consultant for Stage Entertainment and European productions of AIDA by Elton John, Mama Mia, and Phantom of the Opera.
Professor Earnest earned his Bachelor of Arts in Musical Theatre/Administration from Westfield State College, a Master of Music Degree from the University of Miami. Bruce is Assistant Dean and Chair and Artistic Director of Musical Theatre at the University of Mobile in Mobile, Alabama. His teaching/administrative responsibilities have included teaching courses in Musical Theatre Voice, Musical Theatre Acting, Musical Theatre History, Arts Management as well as coordinating enrollment activities, music and stage direction. Recent professional engagements include concerts at Carnegie Hall and performances of Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha. He is slated to direct Don Pasquale with Mobile Opera in 2012.
Bruce is passionate about the success of young performing artists and the healthy and balanced development of their craft.
ROBERT TANNENBAUM, EUROPEAN OPERA FACULTY ON CAREER DEVELOPMENT
Robert Tannenbaum is a dynamic stage director, making a reputation both in Europe, where he is one of the few active American directors, and America. He was the youngest and only American General Director and C.E.O. of a German state theater, the Stadttheater Giessen, where he presented a year-round program of opera, musicals, plays, dance, and symphony concerts with a staff of more than 200 full-time employees and a yearly operating budget of 15 million dollars.
Prior to becoming General Director in Giessen, he served as Director of Opera at the Städtische Bühnen in Münster. At the same time, he was engaged as a guest director for new productions throughout Germany, France, and the U.S.A., including, most notably: Der Traumgörge in Bremen; Cardillac, Don Carlo, and The Mikado in Freiburg; The Rape of Lucretia in Cologne; Turandot in Kassel; La Fanciulla del West in Tulsa; Idomeneo for Chicago Opera Theater; L'Italiana in Algeri in Bogota, Colombia; Die Entfürhrung aus dem Serail for L’Opera du Nice and Aida in Dayton.
Upon completion of his education at Columbia University in New York, Mr. Tannenbaum began a short-term apprenticeship with the San Diego Opera that became a four year association as Resident Stage Director. In that capacity, he directed 20 operas, including Aida, Faust, La Cenerentola, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Gianni Schicchi, and the west coast premieres of John Philip Sousa's The Free Lance and Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart and Salieri.
After leaving San Diego, Mr. Tannenbaum joined the directing staff in Wuppertal, Germany, where he staged revivals of Der Ring des Nibelungen, Nabucco, and Lortzing's Der Wildschütz. In the fall of 1985, he went to Los Angeles to serve as Company Manager to assist the Deutsche Oper Berlin's presentations of Tosca, Le Nozze di Figaro, and Die Tote Stadt. In 1987, he staged his first new production in Europe, von Dittersdorf's Doktor und Apotheker. That same year, he joined the directing staff at the Cologne Opera, where he directed his new production of The Rape of Lucretia. He also returned to San Diego as a guest to direct Rigoletto and, the following year, Fidelio.
In recent seasons he directed La Traviata for the Florentine Opera Company (Milwaukee), New Orleans Opera and Merola Opera, Don Giovanni for the Orlando Opera, Carmen and Tosca for Cincinnati Opera, Die Fledermaus for the Florida Grand Opera and for Yale Opera, Il Trovatore for Edmonton Opera, and Johann Strauss’ Eine Nacht in Venedig for the Landestheater Linz in Austria and the Städtische Bühnen Nürnberg in Germany, Nabucco for L’Opera de Montreal, Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims for the Landestheater Linz and the European premiere of William Bolcom’s A View From the Bridge for Theater Hagen, as well as serving a short term as General Director for the New Orleans Opera Association.
In the fall of 2002, Robert Tannenbaum assumed the position of Director of Opera for the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe where he has directed new productions of Il Trittico, Luisa Miller, Werther, Don Giovanni, Elektra, L’Elisir d’Amore, Eugene Onegin, Idomeneo, Simon Boccanegra, Die Frau ohne Schatten and a cycle of 3 new operas by the English composer Michael Nyman, Facing Goya, Man and Boy: DADA and Love Counts. Other productions during this period included Il Trittico for Theater Graz in Austria, a new production of Der Rosenkavalier for the Theater Erfurt in Germany, Elektra in Kiel, Germany and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Los Angeles. In addition, Robert’s production of Michael Nyman’s Man and Boy: DADA was presented by the National Theatre in Prague, Czech Republic in the 2004/2005 season. Upcoming engagements include additional new productions of Don Carlos, Der Rosenkavalier and Cosi Fan Tutte.
As an educator, Mr. Tannenbaum has served on the faculties of the Conservatory of Music in Graz, Austria, Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Düsseldorf Conservatory of Music, San Diego State University, Bowling Green State University, University of Illinois, and with the young artists' programs of the San Francisco Opera Center, Houston Grand Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera and the Metropolitan Opera National Council. Robert Tannenbaum is presently serving as Professor of Opera at the Conservatory of Music and Theater in Munich, Germany and has been named Executive Director of Cultural Programs for the Esterhazy Corporation.
MICHAEL STRAUSS, COORDINATOR OF OPERA AND COLLABORATIVE PIANO
Michael Strauss is a native of Cape Town, South Africa.He received his BM in piano performance from the University of Capetown, and began his teaching career at the University of the Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, where he taught piano and chamber music and was the head vocal coach and chorusmaster of the Opera Department.As a performer, Mr. Strauss was associated with the South African Broadcasting Company, where he was a frequently a soloist and accompanist on radio and television.He has also been the featured concerto soloist with the main orchestras of the country, including performances of Liszt’s piano concerto #1 with the Cape Town Performing Arts Board (CAPAB), Rachmaninoff’s Paganini Variations with the Cape Town Symphony Orchestra, and Gershwin’s I got rhythm Variations with the South African Broadcasting Company Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Strauss has resided for the past twenty years in Boston, where he has taught for several performing arts institutions and is a very active and highly-sought coach and accompanist. At the New England Conservatory for the past ten years, he has been the head of the undergraduate opera program and currently serves as vocal coach for the prestigious graduate opera program, where he both gives classes and music directs the conservatory’s scenes programs and mainstage operas.He also holds a faculty position at the Boston Conservatory, where he maintains a studio of private coaching students, as well as teaches various song and operatic repertoire classes.In the past, he was music director for the Boston Conservatory’s opera program and conducted various operas including Sour Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Albert Herring, Xerxes, L’Egisto, and the Ballad of Baby Doe. He continues to be an active artist on the conservatory’s faculty recital series. At the Longy school of music, he previously taught vocal performance classes and music directed opera scenes, and he has given numerous guest masterclasses at the institution.
Mr. Strauss maintains a busy schedule of performances outside of his conservatory work.He has been heard in recital at various Boston venues including the Museum of Fine Arts and the French Library and as well as in New York at the Weill Recital Hall in Carnegie Hall.He has been the principal pianist with Boston Music Theater, which has performed in Cambridge’s Regatta Bar, and frequently tours Europe, including concerts at the embassies in Brussels, Paris, and in Russia at both the Spaso House and Rachmaninoff Hall.He has recorded chamber music for WGBH, and was the featured concerto soloist in Mozart piano concerto #27 with the Brookline Chorus for the Mozart bicentennial.As a conductor, Mr. Strauss has led the New England premier of Bizet’s Pearl Fishers, Die Entfürung aus dem Serail at Boston University’s Tsai Center, and most recently, The Dialogues of the Carmeliteswith Boston Opera Collaborative.
KERRY DEAL, VOICE
Full lyric soprano Kerry Deal is a versatile performer in the greater Boston area. As a frequent interpreter of oratorio, she has been especially heard in the sacred works of Mozart, including his Requiem, Coronation Mass, Solemn Vespers, and the Grand Mass in C Minor, but her performances also encompass a variety of other sacred works, ranging from baroque oratorio such as Handel’s Messiah to the more romantic religious works of Fauré and Gounod.Also a champion of new music, Ms. Deal often features 20th century music in recital and has premiered and recorded new works with St. Cecilia Music.As a young artist at Opera in the Ozarks, Ms. Deal sang the role of Mimi in La Bohème.More locally, she has sung with Longwood Opera, Opera Aperta, and with New York Opera Forum as Nedda in I Pagliacci.
Ms. Deal earned her BA magna cum laude in languages and literature at the College of William and Mary in Virginia before pursuing her graduate studies in music, with a MM in Opera Performance from the Boston Conservatory and a DMA in Voice Performance from Boston University.Ms. Deal has been a member of the voice faculty at the Boston Conservatory for the past eight years, where she teaches a combined studio of music theater and vocal performance majors. In addition to her teaching responsibilities at Boston Conservatory, she has been featured in several faculty recital series and as a guest soloist in both Haydn’s The Creation and Mozart’s Regina Coeli (K. 108) with the Conservatory’s Chorale and Orchestra.Ms. Deal also holds an affiliate faculty position at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she instructs recipients of the prestigious Emerson vocal fellowship award.
Former students of Ms. Deal have found success in both operatic and music theater mediums, with acceptance to important young artist programs and contracts in regional opera and theater, as well as on Broadway, at Carnegie Hall, and in national touring companies.
DARLA EARNEST, CO-FOUNDER, VOICE
As a master class instructor and
vocal technician specializing in musical theatre belting technique as well as
operatic vocal technique, soprano Darla Earnest has worked in Austria, Germany and the
United States producing students currently working in the musical theatre and
classical music industries worldwide. Her students can be seen in touring productions of
musicals as well as in opera houses, conservatories, universities and young
artist programs around the globe.
Studying under Metropolitan
Opera soprano Dr. Barbara Daniels and Ms. Daniels’ former teacher, Lucille
Evans, Ms. Earnest developed as an opera singer as well as securing
a technique for belting that is well suited to the modern ingénue repertoire for 20th and 21st
century musical theatre.
As a performer, Ms. Earnest
has a diverse career that includes being a member of the vocal jazz ensemble
“Voices of Liberty” at Walt Disney World’s EPCOT, as well as being the soprano
soloist in EPCOT’s Italy specializing in Neopolitan songs and Italian opera
arias. She has also sung numerous
musical theatre and opera roles including Grace Farrell in Annie, Laura in the world premiere of Parable, the Soprano role in Trouble in Tahiti, Lead Role in Nightclub Cantata, Anna in The King and I, and The Sound of Music’s Maria, Ms. Southingham in a modern adaptation of
Mozart’s Impresario, Nella in Gianni
Schicchi, Valencienne in The
Merry Widow, Gretel in Hansel
& Gretel, Edwina in Mystery
on the Docks, Gasparina in La
Cantarina, Maria in Monkey See,
Monkey Do, Blonda in The
Abduction from the Seraglio, and
Drusilla in The Coronation of Poppea.
Concert works to her credit
are various Rodgers and Hammerstein tributes, Gounod’s St. Cecilia Mass, Bach’s Jesu, Meine Freude, Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, Schubert’s Der Hirt auf dem Felsen, Menotti’s Steal Me, Sweet Thief, and a one-woman revue called “From Beethoven to
Broadway” at the National Music Museum.
Most recently, Ms. Earnest sang as a soloist at Carnegie Hall, was the soprano soloist in the Brahms
Requiem under the baton of New York
Philharmonic’s Assistant Conductor, Delta David Gier and made her debut in
the role of Liú in Puccini’s Turandot with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, also conducted by maestro
Gier.
Darla was most recently on
the voice faculties of the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater/Bayerische TheaterakademieAugust Everding (Conservatory for Music and Theater/Bavarian Theater Academy) and in the Prinzregententheater bothin
Munich, Germany. She is currently adjunct Professor
at the University of Mobile teaching Musical Theatre and Classical Vocal Technique. Darla holds a Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology from
Bethel University and a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the
University of Central Florida where she studied under lyric soprano Elizabeth
Wrancher. Ms. Earnest is on the Voice Faculty and co-founded the International Performing Arts
Institute (IPAI).
DR. CHRISTOPHER MITCHELL,COORDINATOR OF VOICE
Dr. Christopher Mitchell, bass-baritone, joined the Murray State music faculty in the fall of 2007 having previously served on the faculty at the University of South Dakota. Dr. Mitchell received the BM in Vocal Music Education from Michigan State University and the MM and DM in Vocal Performance from Florida State University, where he studied with NATS Master Teacher, Dr. Jerrold Pope. Dr. Mitchell’s commitment to the education of young singers is evidenced in his research interest in the application of music learning theory to the applied studio as well as in his student’s success in state and regional competitions. Additionally, Dr. Mitchell had the honor of being selected as one of twelve collegiate voice teachers to participate in the 2004 NATS Intern Program, where he worked closely with master teacher Linda Di Fiore as well as Robert McIver, Clifton Ware, and Deborah Baxter.
Dr. Mitchell’s versatility as a performer is evident through the diversity of his work in operatic, orchestral, chamber, art song, and musical theater repertoire. Recent highlights of this work include performances of Bartber’s Dover Beach at the Casalmaggiore International Music Festival in Northern Italy, Robert Kapilow’s Polar Express for baritone, children’s choir and orchestra with the South Dakota Symphony, and the role of Nick Shadow in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress with Florida State Opera. Additional roles performed include Leporello (Don Giovanni), Guglielmo (Cosi fan tutte), Frank (Die Fledermaus) and Anthony (Sweeney Todd). Dr. Mitchell is active as a clinician and adjudicator, having given masterclasses throughout the mid-west. As a NATS member, Dr. Mitchell has served as South Dakota District Governor and President of the Lewis and Clark Chapter.
LANI HARRIS, ACTING
A Fulbright Scholar and Full Professor, Lani’s International work includes theatre research in Mexico, teaching acting at MusicTheater Bavaria in Germany, directing and performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (Scotland). In spring 2004, her paper on ‘Acting Chekhov’ was presented at the FIRT Conference, St. Petersburg, Russia. Her original play Air Born was produced at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1996, and in 2006 she directed a new play, Something’s Missing, both in Los Angeles and at the Edinburgh Fringe.
Her MFA in Directing/Acting is from the University of Southern California (1980), under the direction of John Houseman. She studied acting with Stella Adler and Nina Foch. She has acted and directed professionally in Los Angeles, served nine years as Artistic Director for a northern California theatre (RCT Theatre), where she founded a Summer Shakespeare program. Past Chair of the SETC College/University Division, she has also been a director for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival of New Plays since 1999 and a Festival Adjudicator/ Respondent for Irene Ryan Acting Finals (Region VIII) since 1995.
A faculty member of the University of Central Florida since 1997, she was chosen as a Provost’s Fellow in 2006. Tenured at UCF, she has served as a Faculty Associate in the Office of International Studies since 1998. She is also the past Director of Undergraduate Studies in Theatre.
Lani has acted and directed extensively at UCF Conservatory Theatre and has received the ‘TIP’ award at UCF for excellence in teaching innovation. She has played the Mother in Equus ,Clairee in Steel Magnolias and directed Quilters, Run for Your Wife, Sabrina Fair, A Piece of My Heart, Toys in the Attic, LuAnn Hampton Laverty Oberlander, Sylvia, Impossible Marriage, Something’s Missing by Ken Gray, and Under Fire, the winner of America’s Best New Play contest 2001. In 2005, she directed a play from Mexico that was part of her Fulbright Project The Woman Who Fell From The Sky. This was the first play from UCF ever nominated and performed at the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival regional competition. She is the only director at UCF to have had two productions nominated to the KC/ACTF Regional Finals (Region IV).
She established the Professional Theatre Internship program in the Theatre Department and served as Professional Internship Coordinator for eight years. Previous teaching includes the graduate program at The University of Alabama, and in California Universities at Chico and Bakersfield. She has also taught and directed at Shasta College, Butte College and College of the Redwoods in California. In 2000 she directed Impossible Marriage, True West in 2004, and Born Yesterday in 2007 for Court Theatre summer repertory in California. She directed Spoon River Anthology and Orabelle’s Wheelbarrow at the Orlando Repertory Theatre. She has performed with Disney and worked with the Disney Institute.
Christopher Niess is Chair/Artistic Director of the UCF Conservatory Theatre and an Associate Professor specializing in acting, movement and dance. He came to UCF in 2001, having taught previously at Murray State University and Kent State University. He most recently was selected to co-present a paper, with Dr. Julia Listengarten, at the International Federation for Theatre Research in Lisbon, Portugal in July. Mr. Niess will also be on the faculty of the International Performing Arts Institute in Germany later this summer. For UCF, Mr. Niess staged the department's first foray into devised theatre - 'a reality show' - that examined the reality TV phenomenon. Other recent work includes directing a production of Godspellfor the Balhaus-Rosenheim and the Kursaal-Oberaudorf, Germany featuring a cast from the U.S., Netherlands and Slovenia, performing in Ken Gray's original play Something's Missing ("...frightening and moving..." - Three Weeks, "...very fine performances..." - The Scotsman) at the Edinburgh International Festival Fringe in Scotland, and directing Lend Me A Tenor for the return of SummerStage in 2007. Mr. Niess has also served as choreographer for Urinetown the Musical! And Movement Choreographer forMarisol, the Lark, West Side Story as well as many others.
Mr. Niess has worked on over 150 productions as director, choreographer, actor, dancer, performance artist or movement coach throughout the U.S., and in Canada, Germany and Scotland. He has served as Artistic Director for the Great Lakes Festival Ballet and for Ballet Theatre Ohio, staging works including Giselle, The Firebird and an original Alice In Wonderland with commissioned score; performed for companies including the Cleveland Play House, Nebraska Repertory Theatre, Porthouse Theatre, the Berkshire Ballet and the Lexington Ballet; danced a good share of the classical repertoire and noted as a "memorably fine-scaled" performer by critic Jennifer Dunning (NYTimes); acted in productions of Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, The Country Wife, Equus, Life Is A Dream, as Richard in a Suzuki-style Richard III, and Off-Off Broadway in Tap Shoes; and coached dance, combat and movement in a variety of productions. Chris' directing credits include Bye Bye Birdie, You Can't Take It With You, Grease and the premier of Guy Lombardo Views the End of the World; as well as The Trickeries of Scapin, Waiting for Godot, 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress, Lips Together, Teeth Apart and The Marriage of Bette and Boo for UCF. Recent film roles include Real Premonition, which opened in Casablanca this past July and received several Crystal Reel Awards. Mr. Niess played the role of 'John' (F.B.I. agent). MR NIESS IS ON LEAVE FOR 2011.
MATT NESMITH, DIRECTOR OF MUSICAL THEATRE
Matt Nesmith is an assistant professor and director of the music theatre program
at the University of New Hampshire. Matt’s primary area of study is musical
theatre voice and acting, with special emphasis on stage and vocal music
direction. He is a designated practitioner of Lessac Kinesensic voice and
movement training. Resent stage and/or musical directing credits include Curtains, All Shook Up, and Little
Women at UNH, Urinetown: The Musical
and Big River for the Black Hills
Playhouse in South Dakota, and Meet Me in
St. Louis for the Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, NH. On stage,
Matt has performed many roles in plays and musicals including Joe hardy in Damn Yankees, Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Lloyd Dallas in Noises Off, and The King in Big River. He is a member of American Theatre in Higher Education
(ATHE), The Lessac Institute, and the National Association of Teachers of
Singing (NATS). Matt earned a B.A in music from South Dakota State University,
an M.M. in vocal performance and an M.F.A. in Theatre (directing emphasis) from
The University of South Dakota. Matt and his wife, Jo are the proud parents of
Holly Grace and Teddy James. MR. NESMITH IS ON LEAVE FOR 2011.
SCOTT WRIGHT, MASTER CLINICIAN/GENERAL DIRECTOR MOBILE OPERA
D. Scott Wright, JD, is the General Director of Mobile Opera, a singer, conductor,
composer, actor and an active supporter of the arts. For many years he has conducted theatrical productions and
most recently served as Music Director/ Conductor for the LaGrange Lyric
Theatre (GA), and as Resident Music Director/Conductor for the University of Mobile’s Musical Theatre Department productions
since 2010. He is the conductor of the Baldwin
Strings Orchestra and former conductor of the Bay Area Strings Community
Orchestra. He served as assistant conductor to the Mobile Symphony Youth Orchestra, was principal guest conductor for
the Eastern Shore Chamber Orchestra &
Chorus for two years and guest conductor for many others. As a singing
actor, he has performed in more than fifty operas and operettas as well as
numerous oratorio and concert presentations. In addition to conducting musical
theater he has performed as an actor in numerous roles such as Don
Quixote/Cervantes in Man of La Mancha, Frederik in A
Little Night Music, Miles Gloriosus in A Funny Thing Happened On
The Way To The Forum, Lancelot in Camelot, Jupiter/Amphytrion
in Olympus On My Mind, Emile DeBecque in South Pacific,
and Rip Van Winkle in the premiere of Fred Baldwin’s musical, RIP!.
The 2003 season opener for Mobile Opera featured Scott and his wife in a duet
performance, Scott & Sarah @ The Saenger, and together they have
produced two CDs of love songs from the WWII era titled, Something To
Remember You By and You Keep Coming Back Like A Song.Dr. Wright is owner and senior partner
at Wright and Green P.C..Scott is
an active advocate for the arts. He is a past president of the Mobile Arts
Council and is a member of the International Advisory Board of IPAI.
CHRISTOPER RYAN, DANCE
Christopher Ryan's theatrical career spans a wide range, from Choreographing, Directing, and Fight Directing, to Acting, Singing, and Dancing in both straight and musical theatre. After finishing his MFA in Acting at Regent University in 2007, Christopher worked in the Orlando, Florida market for the following year with the Orlando Rep as an actor and fight director, and for Emotions Dance as a modern and lyrical dancer, and taught voice and directed as a free-lancer.
Since moving to Germany in 2008, Christopher has continued to teach voice and to direct, fight direct and choreograph for the theatre there. From 2009-2010 Christopher toured with White Horse educational theatre, playing the deliciously complex character of Tom in The Glass Menagerie, as well as choreographing and performing in several children's theatre shows with the same company. The beginning of 2011 saw the fulfillment of a long-awaited dream, the premier of Head Over Heels: Ein Konzert der Liebe, a show about love which Christopher wrote and performed with his wife, Sidonie Smith! This summer, Christopher can be seen on stage in Hanau, Germany singing and dancing in Ali Baba und die vierzig Räuber (Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves) with the Brüder-Grimm-Märchenfestspiele (Brothers Grimm Fairytale Theatre Festival.)
Some of Christopher's Choreography, Fight Directing, and Directing credits from both the US and Germany include: "One Mission Under God," "Evening Promanade," "Circle of Friends," "Unlikely Heroes," "MADE," "The Scarlett Pimpernel," "Treasure Island," "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe," "The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged," "Cosi," and "Into the Woods."
Some of his other favorite Performance credits (from various theatres including: Quincy Music Theatre, Virginia Summer Shakes, Virgina Repertory Theatre, and Orlando Rep Theatre) include: "Oliver!," "Smokey Joe's Cafe," "The Cotton Patch Gospel," "Hamlet," "The Crucible," "The Imaginary Invalid," "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," "Noises Off," Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," and "The Music Man," to name a few.
Christopher is very excited to be joining the faculty of IPAI this year, and is looking forward to working with this excellent group of students!
DR. PATRICK JACOBS, VOICE
Baritone Patrick Jacobs is a two-time Metropolitan Opera regional
finalist and winner of the Orpheus National Vocal Competition. Patrick has
performed principal roles with opera companies throughout the United States,
including: New Orleans Opera, Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, Fresno Grand Opera, Mobile
Opera, Pensacola Opera, Amarillo Opera, Berkshire Opera, Light Opera Oklahoma,
Bronx Opera, ConcertOPERA Philadelphia, and many others.
Dr.
Jacobs made his debut as a soloist at Carnegie Hall in a program of sacred
music in 2009, and has performed as a soloist in concerts with companies
including: the Berkshire Choral Festival, Tulsa Oratorio Chorus, Louisiana
Philharmonic Orchestra, New Orleans Symphony Chorus, Choral Society of
Pensacola and Stony Brook Symphony Orchestra.
Engagements
for the 2010-2011 season include: Colonel Calverly in Patience, and General Harrison Howell in Kiss Me Kate
with Light Opera Oklahoma, Dr. Pangloss in Candide,
Giuseppe in The Light in the
Piazza and the Sacristan in Tosca
with Mobile Opera, Sharpless in Madama
Butterfly with the Northwest Florida Symphony, solos in
Dvorak’s Requiem with Choral
Society of Pensacola, and recitals in New Orleans, Pensacola, and Mobile. Dr.
Jacobs is the Voice Faculty Chair and Director of Opera at the University of
Mobile.
CHRISTOPHER LOVELY, REPERTOIRE COACH
Christopher
was born and raised in Moss Point, MS and in 1998, received his Associate of
Arts in Business from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gautier,
MS. Fall of that year, he enrolled
at William Carey College and pursued a more in-depth study in music. He received the Bachelor of Music in
Church Music in May 2002. He
continued his studies at the University of Southern Mississippi where he was
awarded the Master of Music in Piano Accompanying in December 2004.
His
performance credits include four seasons of Hattiesburg’s finest dinner
theatre, Carey Dinner Theatre. In May 2004, he traveled with the
William Carey Theatre Department to Nairobi, Kenya for the production of Smoke on the Mountain, for which he was
a supporting actor and pianist. He
has accompanied numerous vocalists, instrumentalists, and ensembles throughout
his collegiate career and up to the present time in and around the southeastern
United States. In June 2004, he
was privileged to accompany Dr. Lawrence Gwozdz, Saxophonist, at the Very
Special Arts Festival in Washington, D.C.
In addition, Christopher presented an organ recital and accompanied Mr.
Byron Johnson, tenor, on the island of Nevis in the West Indies in Spring 2010. In December 2009,
Christopher made his debut on the Carnegie Hall stage when he accompanied
University of Mobile’s voice faculty in Sounds
of the Season.
Christopher
has served as Director of Music, Music Minister, Musician, and Worship Pastor
at several churches throughout Mississippi. In his career, he has had the privilege to lead choral
workshops and assist in many other leadership positions in both academic and
religious settings. He is
currently on faculty at the University of Mobile as Instructor of Music, where
he teaches Freshman and Sophomore Theory and Piano and serves as Staff
Accompanist and Vocal Coach.
Guest Artists & Master Clinicians
BARBARA DANIELS, MASTER ARTIST
The internationally celebrated, Ohio born
and educated, soprano began her career in Innsbruck, Austria with three roles,
Fiordiligi, Rosalinde, and Violetta, which accompanied her through the ensemble
years to Kassel, Köln, and in the case of the last two protagonists,
to the New York Metropolitan Opera. Though she is probably best
known in the beginning of her career for her interpretation of Musetta in
"La Boheme", a role she recorded for Deutsche Grammaphon with Leonard
Bernstein shortly before his death; she became just as well known
internationally for other Puccini characterizations, such as Manon Lescaut,
which she sang for the first time in the Kölner premier Production, at the
Hamburger Staasoper, Wiener Staatsoper, and in the Robert Carsen premiere
production for the Bastille Opera in Paris. Giorgetta debut followed in
the Willi Decker realisation of "Il Trittico" conducted by James
Conlon as well as the Harry Kupfer Production with Gerd Albrecht in Hamburg for
German television. She undertook Tosca, which she sang for the Deutsche Oper
Berlin, the Seattle, Cincinnati, Köln, and Sydney Operas. But especially her
portrayal of Minnie in "La Fanciulla del West", sung for the first
time in the new Giancarlo del Monaco production for the Metropolitan Opera with
Placido Domingo, Sherrill Milnes, and Leonard Slatkin, became her favorite
Puccini role. The MET Production was filmed live by Deutschegrammphon and
is available as DVD .
Never willing to
compartmentalize herself as a singer devoted only to Puccini or other
Verissmo composers, she instead maintained a rewardingly varied
repertoire—including even early musical theater roles such as Aldonza
("Man from La Mancha") or Anita ("West Side Story") and
muscial theater evenings for Austrian television with Dr. Marcel Prawy and
baritone Sherrill Milnes. However, encouraged early on, especially in Köln by
Sir John Pritchard in the famous Ponnelle Mozart Cycle, she sang Illia, Pamina,
Fiordiligi, and Elvira. This opportunity kept her classic enough to tackle the
title role in Michael Hampe’s filmed version of Handel’s
"Aggrippina", "La Traviata" at the Metropolitan Opera and
Wiener Staatsoper---her first Marenka’s at the Chicago Lyric Opera in the
Elijia Mojinski production; then her first "Jenufa" with Leonie
Rysanek; followed by "Die Vier Letzten Lieder", as
preparation for her first Marshallin. Then came the new production of
"Fidelio" in Bonn, her first Leonore; also her first Senta with
James Morris; and the title role of Magda in the new Chicago Lyric Opera
production of Menotti’s "The Consul."The French repertoire served
her well, though she sang few Michaela’s and Massenet Manon’s; she has
continued to sing Marguerite in "Faust," last performed for live
broadcast with Samuel Ramey, Neil Shicoff, and Charles Dutoit at
the Metropolitan Opera. To round out her American
hertiage, she undertook the roles of Mama Rose in the musical "Gypsy" in May 2000 and Dolly Levy in
"Hello Dolly", at the request of, and to be directed by Frau
Kammersängerin Brigitte Fassbaender in her first season as Opera Director in
Innsbruck. Barbara then happily closed the chapter on her stage career and is
now teaching voice at the Salzburg Mozarteum (Innsbruck branch) and the Tirol
Landeskonservatorium.
Barbara
has been married since 1976 to Karl Wiedner, french hornist with the Innsbruck
Symphony Orchestra. Their daughter, Alexandra, has finished her graduate violin
studies at the Frankfurt Hochschule für Musik and plays not only in the
Frankfurt Opera and Museum Orchestras, but is a standing member of the Mainzer
Kammer-, Freiburger Bach-Orchestras, and the Marini Consortium.
RALF SCHAEDLER, MUSICAL THEATRE CASTING
Ralf Schaedler is the Casting Director for Stage Entertainment and is a member of the Musical Theatre Intensives workshop faculty. With an international career as a performer, he is responsible for casting European productions for StageEntertainment including Sister Act, Wicked, Tarzan, The Buddy Holly Story and Lion King in a dozen European cities. Mr. Schaedler is member of the IPAI Advisory Board works with IPAI Artists on career development, casting and musical theatre acting.
LYNDA KEMENY, MASTER ARTIST
The american soprano, LYNDA KEMENY, has been enjoying a vast international career in Europe since 1987. After completing her Bachelors and Master of Music Degrees with concentrations in vocal performance, piano and dance, she studied voice in Chicago and New York. She belonged to a professional pantomime troupe for two years. Upon winning 1st prize in the International Bel Canto Vocal Competition in Chicago, she studied in Italy with Opera Diva Renate Tebaldi and world renowned tenor Carlo Bergonzi. In 1986 she participated as a soloist in the annual Metropolitan Opera Gala Ball. From 1987 until 1992, she was a member of the ensemble of the State Theater of Bielefeld, Germany, where in her first season, she was awarded the cherished „Operntaler Award“ for outstanding performance. Since 1992 she has been a free-lance soloist and has made guest appearances with international theaters such as the Leipziger Oper/Musikalische Komödie, National Theater in Mannheim, Theater Wiesbaden, Dortmunder Theater, L’Opèra de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium, Hoofstaad Operette in Amsterdam, the Stadtstheater Bern, Switzerland, and the Tiroler Landestheater in Innsbruck, Austria under the direction of Frau KS Brigitte Fassbaender.
Ms. Kemeny is often called upon to sing solo lecture recitals and has performed in concert with such orchestras as the Bielefelder Philharmoic Symphony Orchestra, Dortmunder Philharmonic, Radio-Tèlèvisión-Belgique-France Orchestra, Westdeutschen-, Süddeutschen-, and Mitteldeutschen Radio Orchestras. She participated as soprano soloist in the 44th Deutsche Mozart Festival in Zwickau, Germany and toured with the Salon Orchestra „Melange“ in the 1998 International Music Festival in Poland.
In addition to her performing career, Ms. Kemeny teaches voice and english diction for singers at the Bavarian Theater Academy August Everding at the University for Music and Theater in Munich, Germany, is called upon to give master classes and sit on juries for national competitions, is head of the voice department and the director of the theater groups „Kids in Motion“ and the Performance Class at the Music School in the Artists Center in Rosenheim.
KEN GRAY, MASTER CLINICIAN
Kenneth Gray is an
award-winning playwright and director now residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. For many years he was a
professor and Chair at Glendale College, located between Los Angeles and Hollywood
in Southern California. Many of his former
students have gone on to professional careers. He produced and
directed several plays, including large musical
theatre productions annually, both for the college Theatre Department,
and for professional theatres in the greater Los Angeles area. His
last project, West Side Story, for Musical Theatre of Los Angeles
was a Los Angeles Times Critics
Choice and received rave reviews from all local papers. Along the way, Mr.
Gray continued to write and direct for the stage. His latest new work, Something’s
Missing, was presented at the Edinburgh Festival
Fringe in 2005, directed by Lani Harris. Mr. Gray served for three years
as Chair of Region VIII of the Kennedy Center American
College Theater Festival, and the Regional Coordinator of the KC/ACTF Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship
Competition for seven years. He has done graduate work in directing at CSU Fullerton and completed the course work in Dramatic
Writing at Humboldt State University in
2000. Mr.Gray now
splits his time between Northern and Southern California working on theatre
projects and -- as always -- he is currently writing yet another new play.
LYNDA CURRY, DANCE/CHOREOGRAPHER
Professor Lynnda Curry has worked in the
entertainment profession throughout America and Europe. In Germany, she was the Assistant
Choreographer for „CATS“ in Hamburg, the musical that made
history and changed the concept of musicals in Germany. She stayed with the show for the next
three years as the „resident director/choreographer.“ Her duties included
travelling throughout Europe holding „castings“ for replacements for the
show. She was in charge of
teaching the show to new castmembers, and maintaining the show´s high
performance quality which made it so famous.
Professor Curry has performed on Broadway (Lincoln Center, New York City)
and in many musicals,
including „Sweet Charity,“
„Meet Me In St. Louis,“ and „West Side Story,“ to name a
few. Her television credits
include the world famous Grammy Awards and the special „Bob Hope, The First 90 Years.“ As a performer, she originated the role
of „Tantomile“ for the Vienna production of „Cats,“ and later became the
„Supervisor“ for that show.
She has worked with Trevor Nunn, Director of
the Royal Shakespeare Company (England) and choreographed „Guys and
Dolls“ for the Plymouth Theatre Royal in England, which was directed
by the National Theatre´s director Michael Bogdanov. For the Cologne Theatre she choreographed „Little Shop Of
Horrors“ and the Solingen State Theatre commissioned her to create a full
length dance concert titled „Staircase- A DanceEvening,“ which
she directed and choreographed.
She has choreographed for the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus, and
Deutsches Schauspielhaus, Hamburg.
Professor Curry has been the soloist (dance) in
various television specials, including shows for ABC and NBC (USA), BR, SWF, WDR, NDR (Germany), ORF
(Austria). She has been in demand
in various countries, including Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland,
England, as a choreographer,
performer, or teacher of master classes.
During her stay in Los Angeles Professor Curry
was the featured performer in the Los Angeles Premier of „Q´s Journey“ based on
the music of Quincey Jones, directed and choreographed by Mr. Claude
Thompson. In addition to
dancing she has acted in various
plays, workshops and tv-pilot
presentations.
Though her job as Professor of Dance at the
Hochschule für Musik und Theater „Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy“ keeps her busy,
she still finds time for outside projects. Many churches throughout Leipzig have asked Professor
Curry to bring her Dance Ministry,
(praising God through dance) to their
churches. She had the
privilege of dancing for the 09. Oktober 2008 Programm in der Nikolaikirche,
„Rede zur Freiheit“/Friedensgebet,“ with Vizekanzler Dr. Frank-Walter
Steinmeier. Such projects allow her to practice her art, and challenges her to
continue to grow and evolve as a performer.
KATHLEEN MILLER, MASTER CLINICIAN
Kathleen Casey Miller was born and raised in Madison, South Dakota, and attended Dakota State University, the University of South Dakota and graduated from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, with a degree in Music Education.
After moving to Orlando, Florida in 1978, Ms. Miller performed as a soloist with the Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Orlando Opera Chorus and the Montovani Chorus. Kathleen also toured for several seasons as the mezzo-soprano soloist for the New Romberg Orchestra. While performing with the Orlando Opera Chorus, she was introduced to the works of F.M. Alexander’s by visiting music director, Ann Baltz (currently director of OPERAWORKS, INC.). Kathleen also studied privately with Richard Torigi, former vocal teacher from the Julliard School of Music. Combining vocal technique and the Alexander Technique is now the basis for Ms. Miller’s vocal master classes. As a master clinician in the United States, Kathleen has trained all levels of opera and musical theatre performers using Alexander Technique exercises and vocal exercises in her master classes.
Ms. Miller was instrumental in starting the Resident Artist Program for Orlando Opera. Writing and performing in an in-school program, “Recipe for an Opera,” Ms. Miller and the cast performed for thousands of students in Orange and Seminole counties in Florida, over a period of four years. The school program was very well received, and for the last 15 years, Orlando Opera has employed four resident artists every year, providing them training and performing experiences. Ms. Miller has been part of the resident artist program, both as a singer and as an advisor and coach.
Musical theater roles performed by Ms. Miller have included Fiona McLaren in Brigadoon, Mrs. Lovette in Sweeney Todd, Marie Dindon in La Cage Aux Folles, Jenny Lind in Barnum, and Lalume in Kismet. Roles performed in opera have been Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Princess Margaret in The Student Prince, Flora in La Traviata, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Mercedes in Carmen.
Currently, in addition to her travels as a master clinician, Ms. Miller is a soloist and assistant choral conductor at St. James Cathedral in Orlando, Florida. Ms. Miller is married to Steven Miller, formerly of Beresford, South Dakota, and they have three grown children. MRS MILLER IS ON LEAVER FOR 2011.
MICHAEL STURM, MASTER CLINICIAN
Born 1963 in Hamburg Graduate in „musical theater-direction" at the "Hochschule für Musik und Theater" Hamburg in the class of Prof. Götz Friedrich, in 1990: diploma with the production „Suor Angelica" by Giacomo Puccini Assistant director rsp. cooperation to/with Marco Arturo Marelli, Ruth Berghaus and Harry Kupfer et al. at the operas of Hamburg and Berlin Dramatic advisor in Ulm 1991/92 participant in the stage class of Achim Freyer at the Bauhaus Dessau since 1990 works as freelance opera director amongst others at theaters in Potsdam, Meiningen, Dessau, Hamburg, Prague, Linz and Vienna Most important projects: „The Bartered Bride" in Theresienstadt, „Brundibar" at the Kammeroper in Vienna and as first performance in Czech Republic Ullmanns "Der Kaiser von Atlantis" at the National Theater in Prague Temporary lectureships in Hamburg and Prague Authored project: „Götzendämmerung" based on motifs by Friedrich Nietzsche for the Wolf-Ferrari-House in München-Ottobrunn 2002 foundation of the musical theater - „Ensemble Sturm und Klang" 2004 first project as a play director: „Kidnapping" by Dominique Caillat, premiered at the State Theater in Mainz Premieres in 2007 in Saarbrücken, Hamburg and Dessau lives in Berlin and Prague
Productions
Extract:
L'anima del filosofo ossia Orfeo ed Euridice - Joseph Haydn Don Giovanni - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Cosi fan tutte - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Mozarts Figaro - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Sturm und Klang stage Don Giovanni and the woman in black - Mozart/Willaschek, Sturm und Klang stage The elixir of love - Gaetano Donizetti The Bartered Bride - Bedrich Smetana Der Kaiser von Atlantis - Viktor Ullmann Brundíbar - Hans Krása Hansel and Gretel - Engelbert Humperdinck Madame Butterfly - Giacomo Puccini La Bohéme - Giacomo Puccini Tosca - Giacomo Puccini Faust - Charles Gounod The flying Dutchman - Richard Wagner Einstein - Paul Dessau
Upcoming:
Dr.Popels fiese Falle - Moritz Eggert - Hamburg State Opera The Wildschütz - Albert Lortzing - State Theater Saarbrücken Dido and Aeneas - Henry Purcell - Anhaltisches Theater Dessau
ELIZABETH EATON, MASTER CLINICIAN
After completing her studies at the University of Washington and professional performances in her hometown of Seattle, Elizabeth Eaton made the journey over the Atlantic. Her first engagement was with the Baden-bei-Wien Opera House and shortly thereafter at the renowned Köln State Theatre, where she was seen in numerous productions such as Harry Kuper's staging of "Das Schlau Füchslein", the Jean Pierre Ponnelle staging of "Die Zauberflöte" or the prize-winning, highly praised Opera Studio production of Benjamin Britten's "The Rape of Lucretia". Elizabeth was then engaged at the Musiktheater der Stadt Oberhausen and as a guest soloist with various orchestras including WDR-Rundfunk-Orchestra or Westfalian Symphony Orchestra as well as working with other theater groups. Among her favorite roles are Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Musetta in La Boheme and many others. In 1995 Elizabeth moved to northern Germany to take over the role of Maria Elena in "Buddy - The Musical".
ELLEN RISSINGER, MASTER CLINICIAN
Ellen Rissinger, Vocal Coach/Accompanist, joined the music staff of the Semperoper in Dresden, Germany, in January of 2010, after several years with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf and a short contract with Oper Frankfurt. Since 2005 she has worked with the University of Miami's Salzburg Summer Program, where she coaches privately, gives Master Classes and lectures on career-building in Europe and America. She has also given master classes and coached students at The Hartt School, Oklahoma City University, Carnegie Mellon University, Chatham College and the University of Louisville. Prior to her appointment in Dusseldorf, Ms. Rissinger spent two years as head coach for the Stadttheater Pforzheim and was on the music staff of the Mainfranken Theater in Würzburg.
In April of 2010 she started the podcast The Diction Police (www.thedictionpolice.com), a weekly half-hour program where native-speaking singers, coaches and conductors discuss singing diction in their own language. An avid student of language, she continues to work on her conversational skills in French, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Modern Greek, while maintaining fluency in German and English.
During the German orchestra strike in the Fall of 2009, Ellen accompanied a full performance of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein under the baton of Ira Levin. Other conductors she has worked with include John Fiore, Sebastian Weigle, Alexander Joel, Roger Norrington, Mariss Jansons, John Mauceri, Marvin Hamlisch, George Manahan, John Demain, Stewart Robertson, Ward Holmquist and Joseph Rescigno. She has worked with many opera companies in the United States, including Opera Company of Philadelphia, Glimmerglass Opera, Baltimore Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Kentucky Opera, Knoxville Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Opera Iowa and Harrisburg Opera, and has accompanied Master Classes for David Aronson, Sylvia Greenberg, Deborah Voigt, Ermanno Mauro, Bernard Uzan, Diana Soviero, Evelyn Lear and Thomas Stewart, Warren Jones, John Wustman and Regine Crespin. Her operatic repertoire includes all styles from Monteverdi's /Orfeo/ (1605) through to the World Premiere of /The Fashion/ (2008) by Battistelli. She has appeared in recital as a collaborative pianist in both the US and Germany with such artists as Jane Henschel, Mirko Roschkowski and Kenneth Riegel.
Ms. Rissinger earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Piano Performance from Carnegie Mellon University and obtained a Master of Music in Accompanying from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; she also attended the Young Artist Training Programs of Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera and Aspen Opera Theater Center.
