Opera Bites

Tenor, Salvatore Atti, has lived in the Boston area for a decade now; originating in Buffalo, NY. Mr. Atti is a graduate of The Boston Conservatory, where he received a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance, a Master’s degree in Opera, and a Post-Master’s Certificate. During his time at the Conservatory Mr. Atti performed in eleven mainstage operas. Most notable performances include Rodolfo in La Boheme, Character 4 in Transformations, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.  He has sung with many opera companies in the Boston area to acclaimed reviews. The Boston Globe wrote about his most recent performance of Faust with Boston Opera Collaborative, noting that, “Salvatore Atti was radiant in his cavatina “Salut! demeure chaste et pure”.  He has also sung with NEMPAC Opera project, Boston Bel Canto Opera, Opera Hub, and Intermezzo Chamber Opera.  

Mr. Atti has sung internationally with the St. Paul’s Cathedral Choir based in Buffalo, NY; visiting England, Sweden, Germany, France, and Italy. His most notable performance abroad was as Alfredo in Verdi’s La Traviata with the Flagstaff in Fidenza program. This performance was in honor of Verdi’s bicentennial, celebrated in his hometown of Busseto Italy, where Mr. Atti came to be endearingly known as “Piccolo Pavarotti”. Salvatore made his New York debut in 2015 with New Rochelle Opera in the role of Don Jose in Carmen. He is actively involved with the North End of Boston, performing for several festivals and prominent figures of the area.  He has also performed with several choirs in the area as a featured soloist including Old North Choir, the Fine Arts Chorale, and the MetroWest Choral Artists.  Mr. Atti took second place in Marvin Hamlisch’s final competition of the Buffalo Star search.  You can follow Mr. Atti on his website at www.salvatoreatti.com for all upcoming events. Mr. Atti is a student of Victor Jannett.

Boston based baritone, Scott Ballantine, was most recently seen as the title role in Tobias Picker's Fantastic Mr. Fox  with Emerald City Opera's Artist Institute in Steamboat Springs, CO. Other recent credits include, Mercutio (Roméo et Juliette) with Opera51, John Brooke (Little Women) with MetroWest Opera, Schaunard (La Bohème) with NEMPAC Opera, Oreste (Iphigénie en Tauride), Taddeo (L'italiana in Algeri) and Junius (The Rape of Lucretia) with The Boston Conservatory, Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) with Greater Worcester Opera and Sid (Albert Herring) with Boston Opera Collaborative. In 2015, he appeared in Opera Reimagined: Singed as a part of the OperaWorks Advanced Artist Program in Los Angeles, CA. Mr. Ballantine has also performed various roles and partial roles internationally, including Marcello (La Bohème), Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale), and Count (Le nozze di Figaro).

Mr. Ballantine received his Master’s of Music in Voice Performance from The Boston Conservatory in 2015 and a Bachelor’s of Music in Voice Performance from Northern Arizona University in 2013.  Previous credits at NAU include the title role in Gianni Schicchi and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte).  He was a three-year member of the world-renowned Shrine of the Ages Choir under the direction of Edith Copley and has sung extensively with the Sedona Academy of Chamber Singers under the direction of Ryan Holder. In Arizona, he placed first in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Vocal Competition four years consecutively and was a finalist in the Classical Singer Competition.
 

A native of Colorado, Mr. Ballantine currently resides in Boston, MA, where he studies voice with Rebecca Folsom. 

Praised by the Boston Musical Intelligencer for his “burnished tenor” and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel for his “thrilling dramatic impact,” the lyric tenor Fausto Miro has sung with some of the country’s leading ensembles, and is a critically acclaimed performer of concert and operatic repertoire. Recent operatic performances include Catalbutte in the world premiere of Francine Trester’s Sleeping Beauty at the Nahant Music Festival, as well as Mr. Owen in Argento’s Postcard from Morocco, Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Leon in Pasatieri’s Signor Deluso, and Aeneas in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with the Longy School of Music. Other recent performances as a soloist include Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil, Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël, Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, and Brubeck’s La Posada. A resident of Boston, Mr. Miro holds the position of choral scholar and concert soloist at Trinity Church in Copley Square, and was recently appointed the new cantor of the Central Reform Temple. He’s also a core member and featured soloist with local ensembles such as: Cappella Clausura, The Copley Singers, and The Henry Purcell Society of Boston. Highlights from his 2016 season include, Tenor Soloist for Britten’s The Company Heaven, Tenor Soloist for “A Night at the Opera” with the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra, and a summer choral residency taking place at both Winchester Cathedral and Westminster Abbey in the United Kingdom.

Baritone Eric Viñas has performed in numerous locations throughout the United States, including his debut operatic role at the Miami Summer Music Festival as Sid in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring. The South Florida Classical Review said, “Eric Viñas brought movie-star charisma to Sid, his pleasant light baritone dominating his scenes. Sparks really flew in his duets with his counterpart, Nancy.” Also in 2015, Viñas learned and performed the role of Mr. Goldbury in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Utopia Limited at the MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players.

Concert performances include collaboration with the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria in performances of “Chi mi frena in tal momento” or “The Sextet” from Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor as Enrico and “Agnus Dei” from Puccini’s Messa di Gloria as well various New England Conservatory ensembles. Other roles include a debut as Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème at Miami Music Festival in Miami, FL. Future performances include a concert performance as King Melchior in Gian Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors in December of 2016 and Don Giovanni in Mozart’s Don Giovanni in April of 2016. Viñas plans to continue the momentum of learning music and roles in the years to come so to increase his experience as an on-stage performer.

Based in Boston, MA, he continues to improve his skills as a performer whilst studying at the New England Conservatory of Music under the instruction of Bradley Williams. Viñas will be graduating with a Bachelor of Music degree in May of 2017.

Luis Herrera Albertazzi was introduced to percussion at the age of 13, when he began studies with renowned Costa Rican National Symphony musicians Bismarck Fernández Vásquez, and Alejandro Molina Salas. Luis Later went to study with the same pedagogues at the National Institute of Music of Costa Rica for his Bachelor Degree on Percussion Performance.

Luis Has played with major orchestras in Costa Rica, including a solo performance with the National Youth Symphony. During his undergrad studies, Luis was a regular substitute with The National Symphony Orchestra, and performed with many well- known soloists and conductors, such as Carl St. Clair, Chosei Komatsu, Néstor Torres, John Nelson, among others. In addition to classical percussion, Luis is an enthusiast of Latin Music, and has studied Latin Music/Latin Percussion for 7 years, with Marvin Diz Abalí as his main professor.

Luis Has performed with many Latin ensembles and is a frequent substitute for various symphony orchestras. Luis’ performance experience has led him to a variety of concert settings, including the Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Symphony Hall in Boston, and NEC’s Jordan Hall. In addition to actively performing, Luis teaches individual and group percussion lessons.

Luis is currently finishing his Master of Music’s Degree at the New England Conservatory of Music, where he studies with Boston Symphony Orchestra percussionist Will Hudgins. 

Liubomyr Senyshyn was born in Ukraine. He began playing violin in his 6, not even realizing that music would become his calling in life. He began his practice at Ivano-Frankivsk Music School # 1, followed by D. Sichynskyi Music College. In 2009 he entered M. Lysenko Lviv National Music Academy, which he graduated with Master of Music, in the class of T.Surotyk. By that time Liubomyr started playing lots of chamber music, one of his most favorite form of classical music. In 2013 he started working in K&K Philharmoniker professional symphony orchestra in Austria. Today he continues his education as a student at Longy School of Music of Bard College, in class of Mark Lakirovich.

Lilian-Terri grew up in Melbourne, Australia and has an Associate Music Diploma from the Australian Music Examinations Board in violin and viola, Bachelor of Music from the University of Melbourne and an Honours degree in Viola Performance from the Elder Conservatorium, South Australia.  She has been a participant in the Australian Festival of Chamber Music and orchestral training programs with the Melbourne Youth Orchestra, Australian Youth Orchestra, Tasmanian and Melbourne Symphony Orchestras. 

Prior to arriving in the U.S. Lilian-Terri was based in Adelaide, South Australia where she was teaching violin and viola privately and in schools including Prince Alfred College and for the junior program at the Elder Conservatorium.  She was also a member of the Zephyr String Quartet, an ensemble that composes original music and collaborates with different art forms such as painting, dance and poetry.  Her time with the quartet included a performance for the Australian Embassy in Manila and an opportunity to collaborate with the Leigh Warren Dance company for the Edinburgh International Festival.

Lilian-Terri is a Graduate Performance Diploma candidate at the Longy School of Music of Bard College, following a Masters of Music Performance degree at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.  She has been a participant at the Colorado College Music Festival (2014), LyricaFest in Lincoln MA (2015) and this past Summer was the recipient of a full scholarship to participate in the Cremona International Music Academy in Italy.

Dr. Jean Anderson Collier is the principal opera coach at Boston Conservatory and also teaches diction courses and coaches privately.  She is also a vocal coach at New England Conservatory of Music where she works in the opera department, coaches privately, and teaches diction and art song courses.  She is also active as musical advisor and coach for the Boston Opera Collaborative, and is the organist and choir director at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Scituate, MA.

She has collaborated with many New England musical organizations, including Boston Lyric Opera, the Tanglewood Music Festival, The Boston Symphony Orchestra,  Opera Providence, Harvard University’s Summer Chorus, the Harvard-Radcliffe chorus, the Orpheus Singers, the Back Bay Chorale, MetroWest Opera, Longwood Opera, Brandeis University choruses, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  She also maintains an active performing schedule, concertizing with singers in the United States and Europe.  Recent engagements have included those in New York, Pittsburgh, Rome, and Louisville.  

Widely known for her vivacious playing, Canadian collaborative pianist Patricia Au leads an active performing and coaching career. In the past several seasons, she has toured throughout North America and Europe performing opera and art songs and worked with Boston-based organizations such as Boston Opera Collaborative, Opera on Tap and Phoenix.  Currently based in Boston, Patricia Au is pursuing a doctoral degree at New England Conservatory majoring in Collaborative Piano where she is also part of the coaching staff. Most recently, she joined the coaching staff at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and served as Education Pianist for Boston Lyric Opera's Education Outreach Programs.

Brendon Shapiro is a versatile pianist, vocal coach and conductor with a specialty in opera and a passion for contemporary music. He has worked for numerous companies including Boston Lyric Opera, Opera NEO, Boston Opera Collaborative, MetroWest Opera, Opera Fayetteville, North End Music and Performing Arts Center, Opera on Tap and Juventas New Music Ensemble.

Brendon is currently serving as a staff pianist at Boston University, the organist for First Parish in Arlington, MA and the assistant music director for the Boston Saengerfest Men's Chorus. He has also been on faculty as a vocal coach at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute. As a freelance pianist, Brendon is frequently sought out for recitals, competitions, concerts, auditions, recording sessions and coachings.

Brendon has enjoyed working outside of the classical music scene as well. He served as musical director for the first four seasons of the newly renovated Woodstock Playhouse in Woodstock, NY. In a performance praised by the Boston Globe, he appeared in a production of Master Class with the New Repertory Theatre portraying Manny, the onstage pianist. In addition, he has performed as a featured soloist with Video Games Live with whom he also recorded a solo piano album, Through Time and Space, which became a #1 bestseller on Amazon.com.  

Brendon holds a Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano Performance from Boston University and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Ithaca College School of Music where he won the Mary Hayes North Piano Competition Award.

Monica Daly is a recent graduate of the Longy School of Music of Bard College where she earned a M.M. in Collaborative Piano. She has worked as as rehearsal pianist for Boston Opera Collaborative and Boston Midsummer Opera, and performed Dan Shore's An Embarrassing Position with Longy's Opera Workshop last spring. In June, Monica was the music director and pianist for BOC’s performance for the City of Cambridge’s RiverFEST. Most recently, Monica performed in a Halloween-themed art song recital with fellow Longy graduates. She is currently a piano teacher at the Keys for Kids music school in Lexington, the music director for Boston College High School's production of Elf Jr., and a staff pianist at Longy.

Stephanie Mao was born in San Francisco, California and is a recent graduate of New England Conservatory with a Masters degree in Collaborative Piano.  During her time there, she studied under the tutelage of Cameron Stowe and Jonathan Feldman and had the privilege of performing in several Liederabend concerts and Sonata nights as well as with the orchestra in several opera productions including Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and Menotti’s “The Consul”.  Prior to NEC, she received her Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance at Carnegie Mellon University and studied under Professor Hanna Li.  There, she was the pianist for the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic and the Carnegie Mellon Wind Ensemble and performed with them at Carnegie Hall as well as the Kennedy Center.  She also worked extensively with the students at the School of Drama and assisted in the production of several musicals with performers who are now in Broadway productions of “The Book of Mormon”, “Newsies”, “Motown the Musical”, and “Jersey Boys”.  She has played for several master classes for accomplished musicians such as Midori, Andrew Garland, Jane Eaglen, Thomas Hampson, Georg Lehner, Kyoko Hashimoto, Byron Janis, Robert Page, and Christopher O’Riley.   

Stephanie has been recognized by Boston Musical Intelligencer for her “virtuosic musicianship” and has been invited to perform with several Boston music groups including Opera Hub, Boston Art Song Society, Cambridge Philharmonic, Unitas Ensemble, and the Boston University Choral Society.  She is also a member of the Kalliope trio as well as an avid Groupmuse performer.  This past season, she music directed Boston Opera Collaborative’s production of “Naomi in the Living Room” by Jonathan Bailey Holland, worked with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra/Boston Symphony Orchestra on a production of “La Cenerentola”, and was assistant music director for Opera Hub’s production of “El Gato Con Botas” by Xavier Montsalvatge.  She is currently a staff member at the Boston Ballet School, the NEC Preparatory School, and the Longy School of Music.

Adrienne Boris is a Boston-based director and producer with a special interest in new work and opera for new audiences in non-traditional spaces. She is thrilled to return to Boston Opera Collaborative after staging two short operas in last season’s inaugural Opera Bites. Recent directing credits include a touring production of Baltimore, a new play by Kirsten Greenidge (New Repertory Theatre/Boston Center for American Performance), The Last Five Years (Arts After Hours),  La Bohème and Die Fledermaus at the Great Hall at Faneuil Hall (NEMPAC Opera Project), The Merry Way, a new play with music (Anthem Theatre Company) and Mark Adamo’s Little Women at Opera North, where she was the 2013 Young Artist Stage Director. With Opera Boston Underground, Ms. Boris staged several operas in non-traditional spaces including The Seven Deadly Sins in The Lizard Lounge, Trouble in Tahiti at Cafe 939 @ Berklee, and Salieri’s Prima la musica e poi le parole at Emmanuel Church. Ms. Boris has directed readings of new plays at New Repertory Theatre, Maiden Phoenix Theatre Company, Fresh Ink, and others, and has served as National New Play Network Producer-in-Residence at New Repertory Theatre. This winter, she will serve as Assistant Director for Fiddler on the Roof at New Repertory Theatre, directed by Austin Pendleton. Also an acting coach, Ms. Boris has served on the adjunct faculty of Boston University School of Theatre. She is the Artistic Associate of OperaHub, Boston’s home for innovative chamber opera, where she is currently developing a new devised opera project. M.F.A. Boston University, B.A. Kenyon College.

Kristin Holland is a Director, Choreographer, AEA Performer/Dance Captain, and Teaching Artist with over sixteen years of professional theatre experience. Since graduating with honors from Point Park University (BA Dance, Theatre minor) in 2002, she’s worked almost non-stop in Theatre and Dance on both the East and West Coasts, performing in over thirty musicals and choreographing and assisting on more than fifty. Highlights inclue performing in the original company of Disney’s Aladdin at the 5th Avenue Theatre (directed and choreographed by Tony Award winning director Casey Nicholaw) and winning the Seattle Theatre Writer's Award for Outstanding Choreography of a large budget musical for Village Theatre’s, The Producers. Kristin is currently pursuing her Master’s Degree in Theatre at Emerson and choreographs and teaches musical theatre dance at Berklee College of Music.

Tommy Neblett has been in the dance profession for thirty-five years – first as a performer, then as a choreographer, educator and administrator. He is the Associate Director of Dance at The Boston Conservatory and co-Artistic Director (with his wife Diane Arvanites) of Prometheus Dance Company and The Elders Ensemble (a group of post-professional dancers ages 60-94). Prometheus Dance is Company-in-Residence at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA.

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As a dancer, Mr. Neblett danced with Dan Wagoner and Dancers, Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians, Concert Dance Company of Boston, Maryland Dance Theater, and with Prometheus Dance, which has five times been named “One of the Years’ Ten Best” by Boston’s Globe, Herald and Phoenix newspapers. As a freelance dancer, he has performed in films, operas, theatre productions, fashion shows and nightclubs. As a choreographer, Mr. Neblett and Ms. Arvanites have received a Creativity Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, six Artist Grants in Choreography from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and a Citation for Outstanding Artistic Achievement from former Governor Deval Patrick. Their concert work has been performed at The Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Jacob’s Pillow, Bates Dance Festival, Joyce SoHo, Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston and others; and in Spain, France, Denmark, Venezuela, Ecuador and China. Their work in opera has included Nixon In China, Alceste and The Pearl Fishers for OperaBoston, and Rinaldo and Idomeneo for Boston Opera Collaborative.

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As an educator, Mr. Neblett has been on the faculty of The Boston Conservatory since 1994. He has previously been on the dance faculties of Boston Ballet, Harvard University, Emerson College, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, The Dance Complex and the Ouse Idraetshojskole in Denmark. 

Ingrid Oslund, is a playwright, director, choreographer and teaching artist in the Boston area. She served as Assistant Director for Boston Opera's Collaborative's Faust et Marguerite. Her work has also been featured by a number of Boston Area companies such as Newburyport Actors Studio (Postpartum Nativity), Emstage (Richard the III), Suffolk University (Mountain Air, Hum's Girls, 4:48 Psychosis), Hampshire Shakespeare Company (A Midsummer Night's Dream) and Boston Community Collaborative (The Olympus Complex, East High Tales, A Night of Classical Anarchy). Ms. Oslund strives to create theater that is innovative, immersive and cerebral. She holds a BA in Theater with a focus in Directing and Playwriting from Suffolk University and an MA in Applied Theater from Emerson College. Her upcoming productions include Women Writer's Suicide Club and Alice in Wonderland at Boston Community Collaborative.