Pasatieri Divas Recording
OUR FIRST RECORDING!
We are delighted to announce that our very first CD is now available to purchase! The CD contains Thomas Pasatieri's "La Divina" and "Signor Deluso" and was recorded with Albany Records in January 2006.
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CASTS: La Divina Signor Deluso |
THE MUSIC
The Divas CD includes three charming vocal works by American composer Thomas Pasatieri, featuring divas of a "certain age" and the devoted, long-suffering people who adore them. The Opera Company of Brooklyn's Music Director, Jay Meetze, conducts the cast and chamber orchestra in the latest of Albany's American Opera Series, with producer, John Ostendorf.
DIVAS OF A CERTAIN AGE a fanciful, brief scena for two "mature" sopranos and piano. Composed for the occasion of Matthew Epstein's 50th birthday, and sung at a gala at Carnegie Hall in his honor, it was originally sung by Sheri Greenawald and OCB's Artistic Trustee, Frederica von Stade. It is sung here by celebrated America sopranos Ashley Putnam and Sheri Greenawald, accompanied by Mr. Pasatieri.
LA DIVINA a comic chamber opera for four singers and instruments, words and lyrics by Thomas Pasatieri, depicting the farewell performance of the great diva also "of a certain age" Adelina Altina (recorded here with much fanfare by Ms. Greenawald), with Ms. Putnam as her faithful attendant Cecily, written in 1965 and revised in 2005 for the Opera Company of Brooklyn. Ryan Kinsella, baritone, sings the role of Matthew, the diva's agent and Eric Margiore, tenor, plays the young conductor.
SIGNOR DELUSO an amusing comedy of errors for seven vocal soloists, strings, winds and piano, music and text created by the composer in 1974 and based on Moliere's Sganarelle. The chamber opera features talented young artists from the OCB roster including: Alissa Rose, Bryan Glenn Davis, Laurie Seely, Luke Grooms, Walter Du Melle, Jordan Shanahan and Leslie Ann Friend.
THE ARTISTS
Thomas Pasatieri, born in Brooklyn in 1945, entered The Juilliard School at age sixteen and eventually became the school's first recipient of a doctoral degree. He composed 19 operas and hundreds of songs that have been performed and recorded by Frederica von Stade, among others. In Los Angeles, he formed his film music production company, Topaz Productions. His film orchestrations can be heard in Road to Perdition, American Beauty, The Little Mermaid, The Shawshank Redemption, Fried Green Tomatoes, Legends of the Fall, and Scent of a Woman, among many others.
Jay Meetze, lauded for his "passionate" and "undeniably impressive" (Opera News) command of performances, is founder and artistic director of the OCB. He has wide experience of facilitating collaboration between artists and high-school students in an attempt to make opera more accessible and understandable to young people, especially those in underserved communities, who may have had limited exposure to the performing arts. He has been featured on CNN, ABC, FOX, ZDF (German public television), as well as in various newspapers such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Post and New York Daily News.
Sheri Greenawald, San Francisco Opera Center Director, has had a distinguished international operatic singing career as a soprano, noted in particular for her enormous range of roles. She has sung featured roles with (among others) San Francisco Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Venice's La Fenice, the Munich State Opera, Paris's Châtelet Theater, Welsh National Opera, Seattle Opera Company, Houston Grand Opera, the Netherlands Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Naples's Teatro San Carlos and Opera Theatre of St. Louis.
A special combination of vocal, theatrical, and physical gifts has made Ashley Putnam a unique presence in the opera world. With a career equally brilliant in the United States and Europe, her extraordinary range of repertoire came to encompass everything from Mozart to the contemporary works of Hans Werner Henze, Virgil Thompson and Thea Musgrave, with Rossini, Donizetti, Strauss, Verdi, Janacek and others.
Baritone Ryan Kinsella (Matthew) has collaborated with the Opera Company of Brooklyn in readings of Tosca and La traviata. His recent engagements include performances of Silvio in Pagliacci with Lake George Opera and Belshazzar's Feast with The Washington Chorus. Mr. Kinsella has also worked with New York City Opera, Encompass New Opera Theatre, Metro Lyric Opera, Bronx Opera, Minnesota Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Central City Opera.
Tenor Eric Margiore (The Young Conductor) was a National Semi-Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, as well as a National Finalist in the Houston Grand Opera McCollum competition. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Chautauqua Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and throughout Italy.
Soprano Alissa Rose (Célie) performs in recital, oratorio, and opera, and is particularly versed in contemporary music. A native of Billings, Montana, she has sung the lyric soprano repertory throughout the United States and in Germany.
Tenor Luke Grooms (Léon) has performed with Glimmerglass Opera, New York City Opera, Sarasota Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Bronx Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Dicapo Opera Theatre and Opera Company of Brooklyn. He has won numerous prizes, including an Encouragement Award from The Mario Lanza Scholarship Fund.
Hawaiian baritone Jordan Shanahan (Deluso) has sung over 30 roles with the Santa Fe Opera, Netherlands Opera, and Metropolitan Opera and many others. He is currently a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Center for American Artists.
Soprano Lesley Ann Friend (Clara) made her operatic debut as Magda Sorel in Menotti's The Consul at Montclair State University under the direction of Jeffrey Gall. Ms. Friend will be spending the summer of 2006 at the Aspen Opera Theatre Centre at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, under the direction of Ed Berkley.
Laurie Seely, mezzo-soprano (Rosine), recently returned to Kentucky Opera for a tour of The Happy Prince, in which she sang The Author and The Mayor. She has also sung the title role in Carmen with Kentucky Opera. Ms. Seely's other recent engagements include performances of Cherubino with Opera Company of Brooklyn, and roles with Lake George Opera and The Ashlawn Opera Festival.
Bass Walter Du Melle's (Magistrate) many operatic roles include Colline, Leporello, Frère Laurent, Basilio and Raimondo, with such companies as Des Moines Metro, San Diego, Natchez, Utah Festival, Tijuana and Ash Lawn, among others.
Bass Bryan Glenn Davis (Gorgibus) has been described as possessing a, "resonant, rich voice with an amazing timbre" He has performed with opera companies throughout the US including Santa Fe Opera, Florentine Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, and Sacramento Opera.
Chad Armstrong (cover for the baritone roles) is a lyric baritone who has performed the Puccini, Verdi, Bel Canto and Mozart repertoire. His roles have included: Germont, Mozart's Figaro, Dulcamara, Don Alfonso and Marcello.
Hailed by The New York Times as possessing "a beautiful and powerful voice" Soprano Linda Smargiassi (cover for Madame Altina) has premiered several modern compositions. She has also sung Agathe, Tosca, Leonora, and Cio Cio San.
Elizabeth Saunders (cover for the mezzo-soprano roles) regularly performs in Germany, Japan and the U.S. Her repertoire includes Carmen (title role),Cosi (Dorabella), Weill's Die Bürgschaft (Anna), and Ariadne (Composer), and a host of songs by Charles Ives.
Soprano Amberleigh Aller (cover for Célie) has performed roles such as Susanna, Despina, Adele, Marzelline, and Olympia. Ms. Aller has participated in the premieres of several works including a Philip Glass opera.
Opera Company of Brooklyn
Artistic/Music Director..............Jay D. Meetze
General Manager...........................Sarah Osa
Director of Artist Programs.........Enrique Torál
Web Manager......................Susannah Pearse
Assistant Conductor / Pianist.....William Hicks
Orchestra Contractor / Violist.......Ryan Rump
Cover Artists for the Recording
CHAD ARMSTRONG (cover for the baritone roles)
LINDA SMARGIASSI (cover for Madame Altina)
ELIZABETH SAUNDERS (cover for the mezzosoprano roles)
AMBERLEIGH ALLER (cover for Célie)
Send checks along with a note indicating your name, shipping address and the number of CDs you require to:
Opera Company of Brooklyn
33 Indian Road, 1G
NY, NY 10034
or email info@operabrooklyn.com to be invoiced by credit card.
We hope you enjoy the recording!