Student Concerts

Prosseda & Ammara

10AM, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009 (classical pianists)

Intersection

1PM, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010 (classical violin, cello, piano)

10:00 AM & 12:30 PM, Mon./Tues., March 29 & 30, 2010

Indianapolis Opera Ensemble Student Concert Series presents

Rumplestiltskin: Ultimate Bully

Bullies come in all shapes and sizes, and they always come with a bad attitude. Adele and the Prince, along with their mammalian friend, Batzilla, have their hands full with the bully that pushes them around. They don’t even know his name, but he always gets his way! Their greed and lack of honesty put them in such a pickle that they have to rely on the bully’s help, and they know that is a mistake. What will he want in return? Set to the delightful and memorable music from Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Rumplestiltskin provides plenty of laughs as the audience watches the suspense unfold to its bye-bye-bully conclusion, with plenty of great tips for students along the way.

The Players

Soprano Abigail Mitchell is from Seattle, Washington. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and is currently a graduate student there. For IU Opera Theater she performed the roles of Anna Reich in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor and Javotte in Manon, and she also sang Nuria in the collegiate premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar with the IU Chamber Orchestra. In Summer 2009, Ms. Mitchell was the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She made her Indianapolis Opera debut as Naiad in the company’s Fall 2009 production of Ariadne auf Naxos, and will sing Peep-Bo in IO’s The Mikado in March 2010.

Mezzo-soprano Paulette Maria Penzvalto is from Avon, Ohio. She completed her graduate studies in voice with distinction at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales. She also received a diploma from the Università di Siena in Italy and studied at the International Lyric Academy in Rome. Her roles include Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Maddalena in Rigoletto, the title role in Carmen, and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier. She performed as a soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria in Fougères, France, and in the summer of 2009 was a young artist with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre. Ms. Penzvalto made her Indianapolis Opera debut in 2009 as Dryad in Ariadne auf Naxos, and will perform the role of Pitti-Sing in IO’s The Mikado in March 2010.

Tenor Nicholas Nesbitt hails from Athens, Ohio. He received his Master of Music degree in voice from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. While at IU, he performed the roles of Fenton in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Sam in Susannah, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, and the title role in Busoni’s Arlecchino. He was a first-place winner at the NATS Indiana state and regional competitions and won third place in the Bel Canto Foundation’s regional vocal competition. He made his IO debut in Fall 2009 as the Officer in Ariadne auf Naxos.

Baritone Daniel Scofield, a native of Binghamton, New York, is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music degree at Indiana University. He participated in Sylvia McNair's opera workshop class as Count Almaviva and in a workshop concert performance of La tragédie de Carmen as Escamillo. This fall at IU he sang Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with orchestra, and Taddeo in L’italiana in Algeri. Last year Mr. Scofield performed the role of Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Cleveland, and was an apprentice artist at Central City, where he covered Count Carl Magnus and performed in scenes as Guglielmo, Count Almaviva and Curio. He will make his IO debut as Pish-Tush in The Mikado in March 2010.

Coach/Accompanist Eric Andries is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He has played piano all his life, and received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from Louisiana State University. He has studied abroad, participating in summer programs in France and Austria. Mr. Andries has worked for several opera companies as rehearsal pianist for shows such as Cold Sassy Tree and Little Women. In addition to accompanying opera and playing classical piano, he is an avid jazz pianist and arranger. He performed twice at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival as keyboardist for a local salsa band.

Student/school reservations coordinated through MAISD, Arts & Special Projects

For more information, contact MCCA at 231-722-6520.

For more information about Student Concerts, contact Julie Stuberg at

julie@stuberg.com