Opera in Hamilton Amphitheater
Program - Digital
Jerry Kuderna, Pianist / Music Director and Sara Usher, violinist
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PART I
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Neopolitan Song: “'O sole mio” ... E. di Capua & A. Mazzucchi
Il barbiere di Siviglia ...…….………………… Gioachino Rossini
Figaro’s Aria: “Largo al factotum” …….….. Richard Rittelmann
La Bohème …………………………………….. Giacomo Puccini
Aria:“Che gelida manina”.. Joseph R Meyers / Rodolfo - a Poet
Aria: "Si, mi chiamano mimi "…....…….. Aléxa Anderson / Mimi
Duet: “O soave fanciulla” (O sweet girl) .. discovering their love
“Quando m’en vo” (Musetta’s Waltz) ….....…..…. Lila Khazoum
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Cavalleria Rusticana ….…..… Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni
Aria: "Voi lo sapete" ................................... Lori Willis / Santuzza
Duet:......Santuzza / Aléxa Anderson, Alfio / Richard Rittelmann
Carmen …………………………..…..…….……… Georges Bizet
Toreador Song: "Votre Toast "……........….….Richard Rittelmann
“La Fleur que tu m’avais jette” (Flower Aria) .. Claudio Santome
Pearl Fishers: "Les pêcheurs de perles" ....……. Georges Bizet
Duet: "Au fond du temple saint”
(Two friends, Nadir and Zurga, who vow to never let the love of
a woman come between the two friends.)
......... Richard Rittelmann / Zurga and Joseph R Meyers / Nadir
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Phantom of the Opera…….…….…........ Andrew Lloyd Webber
Aria: “Music of the night” ................... Richard Rittelmann / Erik
Duet: “All I ask of you”.... Richard Rittelmann, Shawnette Sulker
Turandot ….............................................……. Giacomo Puccini
Aria: "Nessun Dorma" ......................... Joseph R Meyers / Calaf
(Let no one sleep. Calaf has a sure-fire strategy to get the cold
hearted princess to marry him!)
INTERMISSION - 20 MINIUTES
PART II
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La Traviata……..……….…………..……..........… Giuseppe Verdi
Libiamo ne Lieti Calici:The Drinking Song, Act I, The Ball Scene
Lila Khazoum/Violetta Valery, Claudo Santome/Alfredo Germont
(Let's drink!)
Cavalleria Rusticana ….…..… Pietro Antonio Stefano Mascagni
Aria: "Voi lo sapete" ................................... Lori Willis / Santuzza
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Rigoletto …..…………………….………….......... Giuseppe Verdi
Aria: Caro Nome ................................. Shawnette Sulker / Gilda
Quartet: "Bella figlia dell'amore"
........... Shawnette Sulker / Gilda, Richard Rittelmann / Rigoletto
.... Lori Willis / Maddalena, Joseph R. Meyers / Duke of Mantua
Das Land des Lächelns (The Land of Smiles) ….... Franz Lehár
(A 1929 romantic operetta)
"Dein ist mein Ganzes Herz” ......... Richard Rittelmann and Tutti
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ENCORE
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Artist Bios - Sopranos and Mezzo
Soprano
Aléxa Anderson, née Sessler, is a soprano with a voice described by Joshua Kosman (San Francisco Chronicle) as a "magical gift," and "glorious," based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has performed with companies such as the San Francisco Symphony, the San Francisco Opera Guild, West Edge Opera, Golden Gate Opera, Lamplighters Music Theatre, Pocket Opera, West Bay Opera, Lyric Theatre of San Jose, and Opera Cultura singing the roles of Mimi (La Boheme), Diana (Cruzar la Cara de la Luna), Nedda (I Pagliacci), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Mariana (Das Liebesverbot), Melisande (Ariane et Barbe-Bleue), Phyllis (Iolanthe), Princess Ida (Princess Ida), and Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia), among others. Upcoming engagements include soprano soloist in Brahm's Requiem with the Santa Clara Chorale, March 2024, and covering Rosalba in Florencia en el Amazonas with Opera San Jose, April 2024. She has four opera-loving cats. More >
Lila Khazoum
Coloratura Soprano
Lila Khazoum, soprano, is known for her “soaring high notes” and for the “smooth quality” of her voice. Lila is an emerging coloratura soprano based in Tracy, California. She made her recital debut in the Bay Area as part of Festival Opera’s Artist Recital Series, opening Piedmont’s post-quarantine recital scene with her program Un Raggio di Speme – A Ray of Hope, an exploration of fear, hope, and emotional endurance. This summer she sang the role of Frasquita in Festival Opera’s Carmen. Other performances have included French Baroque music at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, Italy as well as various engagements in the East Bay. Her next performances will be Into the Mist, a seasonal salon recital with pianist Alexander Katsman, at San Francisco’s Gregangelo Museum. More >
Shawnette Sulker
Soprano
Critically acclaimed soprano, Shawnette Sulker, has recently sung the roles of Mary Jane Bowser (Intelligence by Heggie) for a workshop with Houston Grand Opera, Ariel in the world premiere of Prospero’s Island by Shearer, and Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea) with West Edge Opera. International highlights include an orchestra concert of operatic repertoire at the Teatro di San Carlo in Napoli, touring Die Fledermaus as Adele in Holland and Belgium, and orchestra concerts in Leipzig’s Gewandhaus and Prague’s Smetana Hall. She has been a soloist with companies such as the San Francisco Opera, American Bach Soloists, Mark Morris Dance Group, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Opera Memphis, Opera Fairbanks, Opera Idaho, Opera Naples, Union Avenue Opera, and the Symphonies of Eugene, Oakland, and Berkeley. Upcoming engagements include singing Poppea with Intermountain Opera Bozeman, a workshop for the new opera Bulrusher (Stookey) as Bulrusher in Cincinnati, a concert of Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with San Jose Chamber Orchestra, and Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte) with Livermore Valley Opera. Video >
Lori Willis
Mezzo-Soprano
Mezzo-soprano, Lori Willis, began her musical career as a violinist, receiving scholarships from the University of California, Berkeley Young Musician’s Program and a scholarship award to attend Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. After obtaining a B.A. in Political Science from U.C. Berkeley, Ms. Willis gained recognition as a vocalist and went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in Vocal Performance from California State University, East Bay. She has been a soloist and participated in a variety of staged performances with such groups as Berkeley Opera, Golden Gate Opera, Oakland East Bay Symphony, Oakland Opera, Sacramento Philharmonic and San Francisco Opera. Ms. Willis’ studied voice with Wendy Hillhouse and Allen Shearer. More >
Artist Bios - Baritone and Tenors
Richard Alexandre Rittelmann
Baritone
Richard Alexandre Rittelmann, baritone, belongs to the new promising generation of opera singers, laureate of many international competitions, from Paris, France. He began his career at the age of 22 at the National Opera of Lyon in the new production of Doktor Faust under the Baton of Kent Nagano and directed by Pierre Strosser. He has also been a prizewinner at various international competitions such as the Voix d’Or, Touloiuse, Marmande, Eurpottega and Voix Nouvelles in Paris. This proved to be an important launch pad for his career. His most memorable interpretations of roles include Idomeneo (Ivan Fisher) at the Opera Garnier de Paris, in Ariadne auf Naxos (Ivan Fischer) at the Opera de Nice (Schnitzler/Reiber), in Werther (Alain Guingal) at the Regio Torino, in Cyrano de Bergerac from Alfano in Montpellier/Garnier Monte Carlo and la Maestranza (Guidarini/Alagna), in Manon at Hong Kong Opera (Nicola Colabianchi – Nadine Duffault), in Dialogues des Carmelites at the Opera de Nice (Michel Plasson-Carsen). Video >
Tenor
Joseph Raymond Meyers, tenor, enjoys a varied career in opera, concert work and musical theater. San Francisco, Portland, Anchorage, Tampa, Toledo, Grand Rapids, Utah Festival, San Jose, Sacramento, and Santa Barbara, are just some of the opera companies where he has worked. Over the years, Carmina Burana has become one of his specialties. He has sung it with the symphonies of Kalamazoo, Santa Rosa Silicon Valley, Ballet San Jose (on tour in China) and Spokane, among others. Favorite roles include: Piangi in The Phantom of the Opera- First National Tour, The Opera Singer in the Oscar winning film, “Milk,” The Vain Man/ Snake in The Little Prince with Opera Parallèle, Soloist in West Side Story Suite with SF Ballet, Hoffmann in The Tales of Hoffman at Pocket Opera, Rodolfo in La Boheme at Rogue Valley Opera, the Rector in Cunning Little Vixen and Little Victor in Elizabeth Cree at West Edge Opera. Recent: Roderigo in Otello with Livermore Valley Opera, Carmina Burana with Marin Symphony, William Walton’s Facade with Pacific Chamber Orchestra, Charlie in Mahagonny Songspiel with Expressivo Orchestra, and Mr. Bobo in Coraline with West Edge Opera this past summer. Most recent: The Crooner in The Shining at Opera Parallèle. Upcoming: Carlson in Of Mice and Men with Livermore Valley Opera in October 2023. Video >
Claudio Santome
Tenor
Claudio Santome, tenor, completed his training as a music teacher in Buenos Aires with a master's from the Teatro Colón where he also sang Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida. After emigrating to the US in 1997, he performed Ariel Ramirez’s Misa Criolla in California, Michigan, Switzerland, Italy, and Argentina. He specializes in Belcanto repertoire singing from Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Verdi, and Puccini. In the symphonic repertoire, he sang Carmina Burana, as tenor and baritone, Gustav Mahler’s Ruckert and Des Knaben Wunderhorn. He is the music director, stage director, and choir conductor of Andanza Spanish Arts, performing famous Zarzuela or Spanish Opera scenes in the US. Since 2009 he has performed Argentine Classical and Popular repertoire from A. Ginastera and C. Guastavino to Folk and Tango songs. In February 2015, he presented the show “Marplatenses por el Mundo” at Theater Colon in Mar del Plata with artists from the Buenos Aires Opera House and La Scala di Milano from Italy with a selection from Rigoletto, Carmen, La Traviata.
Instrumentalists
Jerome Kuderna
Pianist
Jerry Kuderna, pianist / music director, who performs widely in the Bay Area and is a favorite soloist with the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra (BSO), Kuderna began serious musical studies at the age of 9 with Antonia Brico in Denver, CO. He sang in the chorus of ‘Beethoven’s Ninth’ shortly after beginning piano lessons with her, and said, “It was the decisive experience of my young musical life.” After attending Juilliard, Kuderna earned his Bachelor of Music degree at the San Francisco Conservatory where he met pianist/composer Robert Helps, who was teaching there. Kuderna continued studying with Helps at the New England Conservatory in Boston, where he earned his Master of Music degree. He received his Ph.D. from New York University in 1982. He said, “I also studied chamber music with the violinist Rudolph Kolisch, with whom I studied the works of Schoenberg, Berg and Webern, composers Kolisch knew personally and whose works he premiered.” Kuderna taught at Princeton University and the University of Louisville. Video >
Violinist
Sara Usher, violinist, has been a successful freelance performer, chamber musician and teacher since moving to the Bay Area in 1977. Her career as an orchestral player began as a founding member of the New England Chamber Orchestra in 1975, and playing with the New Haven Symphony for two seasons before arriving in the SF Bay Area. Since then she has played with or been a member of Marin Symphony, SF Ballet, San Francisco Symphony, SF Opera, Philharmonia Baroque and New Century Chamber Orchestras. She has been Concert Master for the Vallejo Symphony, the Santa Cruz Symphony, the Tassajara Symphony, as well as Principal Second for the SF Chamber Symphony and Oakland East Bay Symphonies. Currently Sara is in her sixth season as Concert Master of the Diablo Symphony and continues to free lance, play chamber music and teach.
Adrian Wong
Sound Technician
Adrian Wong, San Francisco Bay Area leading sound technician. Adrian is currently pursuing his duo passions audio and healthcare. Recent audio credits include westcoast recording engineer for NPR radio program “Says You”, front-of-house engineer for comedians Amy Schumer and the Smothers Brothers, Simulcast mix engineer for the Lamplighters Gala, head audio for mainstage inaugural PortolaFest, 35-channel recordings for Andre Nickatina productions of “Andre Nickatina Reimagined at the Herbst Theatre for an upcoming movie.