Portland Opera Will Present a Free Virtual Concert

Portland, OR. Portland Opera has postponed operas like Tosca, (seen above) but it it will present An Evening with Portland Opera: A Free & Virtual Concert from Rose City. The online benefit concert will take place on Saturday, October 17th, at 7:30 PM, and will be available for free on Portland Opera’s Vimeo and YouTube channels. Hosted by General Director Sue Dixon, conducted by Music Director George Manahan, and directed by Kristine McIntyre, An Evening with Portland Opera will feature guest artists whose performances were canceled or postponed due to the pandemic, joined by the 2019/20 Resident Artists, the Portland Opera Orchestra, and Portland Opera Chorus, under the direction of Chorus Master & Assistant Conductor Nicholas Fox. Donations accepted before and during the event will directly support Portland Opera. This hour-long performance, which was recorded and produced safely, will only be available to view for 30 days.

“Although we cannot gather in person, we are delighted to join together to share in an evening of beautiful music,” says General Director Sue Dixon. “We are not alone in facing the very real challenges of this time. The decision to program this concert allows us to celebrate the talent and artistry of the musicians we were going to hear and love this year, be inspired by the vitality of our artform, and connect with the community that is the reason we do the work we do. We hope you will tune in and that we can all find joy and comfort in experiencing music together.”

Guest artists for this special evening will include sopranos Vanessa Isiguen, Alexandra LoBianco, and Caitlin Lynch; mezzo-soprano and former Portland Opera Resident Artist Daryl Freedman; baritones Michael Chioldi, Gordon Hawkins, and Will Liverman; and bass-baritone Daniel Mobbs. They will be joined by Portland Opera’s 2019/20 Resident Artists: soprano Emilie Faiella, mezzo-soprano Camille Sherman, tenor Ricardo Garcia, and baritone Geoffrey Schellenberg. Pianists for the performance include Portland Opera Chorus Master & Assistant Conductor Nicholas Fox, Cris Frisco, Steven McGhee, Joshua Quinn, and Carol Wong.

This benefit concert was made possible by ongoing support from The CARES Act Coronavirus Relief Fund, National Endowment for the Arts, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, and the Regional Arts and Culture Council. Portland Opera is a member of OPERA America. 

Artist Biographies:

Soprano Vanessa Isiguen made her Portland Opera debut in 2017, joining the company for the Big Night concert, and singing the role of Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème. Since then, she has joined the company each year for the annual Big Night concert. This year, she was scheduled to sing the role of Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, prior to its cancellation due to COVID-19. Additional recent credits include the title role in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly with Palm Beach Opera and Opera Idaho, the role of Roberta Alden in Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy with Glimmerglass Opera, and numerous roles with Opera Tampa. Full bio information can be found here.

Soprano Alexandra LoBianco is scheduled to make her Portland Opera debut in the title role of Tosca, a role she has previously sung at North Carolina Opera and Minnesota Opera. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2019 as Marianne Leitmetzerin in Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier. Her credits also include the roles of Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio and Helmwige in Wagner’s Die Walküre at the Wiener Staatsoper; Amelia in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera at Florida Grand Opera, and Donna Anna in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Seattle Opera. Full bio information can be found here.

Soprano Caitlin Lynch was scheduled to make her Portland Opera debut this summer as Bea in Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers, prior to its cancellation due to the pandemic. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Biancofiore in Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini in 2013 and has since sung the roles of Cynthia in Nico Muhly’s Two Boys, Pamina in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and the Countess in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro there. Additional credits include roles with Palm Beach Opera, English National Opera, Seattle Opera, Utah Opera, and the Seattle Symphony. Additional bio information can be found here.

Mezzo-soprano Daryl Freedman made her Portland Opera debut as a Resident Artist as Aglaonice in Philip Glass’s Orphée, and went on to sing numerous roles with the company including Venere in Monteverdi’s Il Ballo delle Ingrate, Dinah in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, Sandman in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Concepción in Ravel’s L’Heure espagnole, and multiple roles in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges. She is scheduled to sing the role of Azucena in Verdi’s Il Trovatore in the 20/21 season. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Schwertleite in Die Walküre in 2019 and is a graduate of Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artist program. Additional bio information can be found here.

Baritone Michael Chioldi was scheduled to make his Portland Opera debut as Tonio in Pagliacci in June 2020, prior to its cancellation due to the coronavirus. He has performed at nearly every major American opera house, including The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera and Los Angeles Opera. Recent credits include the role of Giorgio Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata with Utah Opera, Washington National Opera, and Austin Opera; the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto at Austin Opera, and Gerard in Giordano’s Andrea Chénier at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. Additional bio information can be found here.

Baritone Gordon Hawkins is scheduled to make his Portland Opera debut as Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca. He has previously sung this role with Cincinnati Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Vancouver Opera, and Arizona Opera. He has sung numerous roles with The Metropolitan Opera, including Thoas in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, Donald in Britten’s Billy Budd, Marcello in La Bohème, and Jake in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Additional credits include performances with San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the BBC Orchestra at Royal Albert Hall. Additional bio information can be found here.

Baritone Will Liverman made his Portland Opera debut in 2017 with the company’s Big Night concert and the role of Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème. He was scheduled to return to the company in the role of Silvio in Pagliacci, prior to its cancellation this June. Liverman’s recent engagements include starring as Papageno in The Metropolitan Opera’s production of The Magic Flute, in addition to singing the role of Horemhab in the Met’s premiere of Philip Glass’s Akhnaten and appearing as Malcolm Fleet in Nico Muhly’s Marnie. He also recently appeared as Pantalone in The Love of Three Oranges at Opera Philadelphia, as Silvio in Pagliacci at Opera Colorado, and as Schaunard in La Bohème with Santa Fe Opera, Dallas Opera and Opera Philadelphia. Additional bio information can be found here.

Bass-baritone Daniel Mobbs made his Portland Opera debut in 2004 as Lord Sidney in Rossini’s The Journey to Reims, and subsequent roles with the company have included the title role in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and most recently, Baron Douphol in Verdi’s La Traviata. He was scheduled to return to the company in the title role of Bajazet prior to its cancellation. In previous seasons, Mobbs has performed with numerous American companies, including The Metropolitan Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Los Angeles Opera, and Lyric Opera of Chicago. Additional bio information can be found here.

Soprano Emilie Faiella made her Portland Opera debut as a 2019/20 Resident Artist in An American Quartet: Four One-act Operas, singing the roles of Lucy in Menotti’s The Telephone, Geraldine in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, and Lola in Moore’s Gallantry. Prior to joining the Resident Artist program, Faiella performed the role of Yniold in Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande at Boston University’s Opera Institute. She was a 2016 participant in Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists Vocal Academy, and in 2017, she was a Young Artist at SongFest, an art song festival and training program.

Mezzo-soprano Camille Sherman completed her second year of Portland Opera’s Resident Artist program during the 19/20 season. She made her Portland Opera debut as Flora in La Traviata and has since sung the roles of Ramiro in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, Kate Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and two roles in An American Quartet: Four One-act Operas –the Announcer in Gallantry and Sally in A Hand of Bridge. She was scheduled to sing the role of Asteria in Bajazet this spring, prior to its cancellation. Last year, Sherman was a semi-finalist in The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, after winning the Northwest Regional Competition. Additional bio information can be found here.

Tenor Ricardo Garcia made his Portland Opera debut as a Resident Artist in An American Quartet: Four One-act Operas, singing the roles of Bill in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, and Donald Hopewell in Gallantry. He was scheduled to sing the role of Beppe in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, prior to its cancellation. Before joining Portland Opera’s Resident Artist program, Garcia was a 2019 Apprentice Singer at the Santa Fe Opera, and a member of the young artist program at Wolf Trap Opera in 2017. He has recently sung the roles of the Drunkard/Lamplighter in Portman’s The Little Prince at Tulsa Opera, as well as the role of Bajazet in Handel’s Tamerlano at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Garcia recently joined the Houston Grand Opera Studio Artists Program. Additional bio information can be found here.

Baritone Geoffrey Schellenberg made his Portland Opera debut as the Marquis in Verdi’s La Traviata.  As a Resident Artist, he sang the roles of Fiorello in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Nardo in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera, was a soloist in the 2019 Big Night concert, and sang multiple roles in An American Quartet – Ben in The Telephone, David in Barber’s A Hand of Bridge, and Doctor Gregg in Gallantry.  Last season, he also sang the role of Schaunard in La Bohème with Vancouver Opera. Schellenberg was scheduled to sing the role of Charlie in the Portland Opera premiere of Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers, which was cancelled due to the pandemic. This fall, he joins Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier Lyrique for the 2020/21 season. Additional bio information can be found here.

From Portland Opera:

Portland Opera exists to inspire, challenge, and uplift our audiences by creating productions of high artistic quality that celebrate the beauty and breadth of opera.

Since 1964, Portland Opera has contributed to the cultural, artistic, and economic landscape of the city and region that we love. We celebrate the beauty and breadth of the opera repertoire with performances that take place in the Keller Auditorium, Newmark Theatre, and the Gregory K. and Mary Chomenko Hinckley Studio Theatre at the Hampton Opera Center. The company is also a committed educational partner, touring fully staged operas to schools and community centers throughout Oregon and SW Washington region each year, in addition to a host of other efforts designed to make opera accessible for all.