Opera Bites
Conrad Susa's
The
Dangerous
Liaisons
A Boston Premiere!
MUSIC BY CONRAD SUSA, LIBRETTO BY PHILIP LITTELL
March 24 - April 1, 2017
The Plaza Theatre at the Boston Center for the Arts
People Rave
"A feast for the eyes and ears and an important local premiere for a rarely heard work."
"The BOC boasts a stellar cast, and the opera beams from the performances of fine singer-actors."
Boston Classical Review
"Deliciously dark...Boston Opera Collaborative has assembled a treasure box of a show."
The New England Theatre Geek
Lust. Seduction. Revenge.
It’s all fun and games until someone falls in love.
Based on the scandalous 18th century novel by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, The Dangerous Liaisons explores the sexual machinations of the Vicomte de Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil, two French aristocrats locked in a battle of wits, wills and sexual conquest.
Performed in English with piano accompaniment.
On this page:
The Experience
Cast & Creative Team
Cast
(Valmont) Scott Ballantine is a guest in our performance. Please scroll down this page to see his full bio.
(Cecile) A native of Bethel, CT, Jennifer Caraluzzi is a performer, educator and administrator. Hailed by Opera Today as a "polished, soaring soprano," Jennifer completed her masters at NEC, studying with John Moriarty, Stephen Lord, Carole Haber and currently, Lisa Saffer. Proud to be part of the NEC community, Jennifer currently serves as the Chair of the Preparatory School Voice Department at New England Conservatory as well as voice faculty for the School of Continuing Ed.
(Volanges) Julia received her master’s degree from Boston University and bachelor’s degree from Harvard College. She has performed with the Boston Early Music Festival, Boston Landmarks Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, Emmanuel Music, and Handel and Haydn Society. Festivals include the Amherst Early Music Festival, Boston Early Music Festival, International Baroque Institute at Longy, Pacific MusicWorks, and the Vancouver Early Music Festival.
(Cecile) Allesandra Cionco, soprano, completed her Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory in 2010. Since then, she has been a performing member of Boston Opera Collaborative, where she has also served as the Director of Internal Operations for 3 seasons and is currently Managing Director. Recent roles include The Maid (Four Sisters), Sophie (Werther), Emmie (Albert Herring), and Diana (Orpheus in the Underworld).
(Emilie/Chorus) Rhaea is a Boston-based soprano who received her Bachelor of Music degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Master of Music degree from the Longy School of Music. She is equally at home in opera, art song, lieder, and oratorio. She is also a lover of musical theatre and has most recently appeared as Maria (West Side Story) in Durban, South Africa, as well as a tribute to the beloved music of Stephen Sondheim in Mission Viejo, California.
(Tourvel)
(Azolan/Chorus)
(Danceny)
(Bertand/Chorus)
(Volanges) Shannon obtained her MM from The Boston Conservatory and her BM from Ithaca College. Performances with BOC include: Opera Bites in 2015 and 2016 and Our Town. She has performed with MetroWest Opera in Hansel and Gretel, NEMPAC in Die Fledermaus, and was a Resident Artist at the Atlantic Music Festival singing scenes from Rigoletto and L’elisir d’amore. She was top 20 finalist for the Classical Singer Competition – Young Artist Division.
(Merteuil)
(Victoire/Chorus)
(Merteuil) Krista received her BM and MM in Vocal Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. In 2015 as a Young Artist with Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theater, Krista covered the roles of Aldonza, Antonia and Housekeeper in Man of La Mancha. She has also performed with Central City Opera, Odyssey Opera, Boston Opera Collaborative, MetroWest Opera, New Voices Opera and the Bay View Music Festival.
(Valmont)
(Rosemonde)
(Danceny)
(Tourvel)
(Rosemonde)
Creative Team
Scenic Designer. Andy is a guest for our production. Please scroll down on this page to see her full bio.
Costume Designer. Mark is a guest for our production. Please scroll down on this page to see his full bio.
Music Director. Brendon is a guest for our production. Please scroll down on this page to see his full bio.
Greg studied with the late Wesley Balk, a noted pioneer in the field of singer-actor training. Greg was co-founder and artistic director of 15 HEAD, a critically acclaimed experimental theater company in Minneapolis and served as managing director of Theatre for Young America in Kansas City, a professional theater for children. Greg served for 7 years on the faculty of New England Conservatory and is currently a faculty member of the American Institute for Musical Studies in Austria.
About Our Guest Artists
Performing Artists
Scott Ballantine
Valmont
Boston based baritone, Scott Ballantine, was most recently seen as Melchior in Opera51's Production of Amahl and the Night Visitors. Other recent credits include, the title role in Tobias Picker's Fantastic Mr. Fox with Emerald City Opera's Artist Institute, 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.
Sam DeSoto
Azolan/Chorus
Sam deSoto is a sophomore at Boston University where he is pursuing degrees in voice performance and music education. An avid performer, he was a member of The College Light Opera Company in the summer of 2016, where he headlined in productions such as Brigadoon, Guys and Dolls, Of Thee I Sing, and The Merry Widow. He is excited to be making his operatic debut with Boston Opera Collaborative.
David Evans
Danceny
David Evans is a Boston-based tenor keen on exploring the frontiers of the musical canon, both through research into underperformed music from previous centuries and by supporting works from our own time. He holds a Master of Music in Historical Voice Performance from Boston University, where he studied with Aaron Sheehan, and a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Palm Beach Atlantic University. Past roles include Artemidoro (Salieri’s La grotta di Trofonio); Tancredi (Monteverdi’s Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda); Maese Pedro (Falla's El retablo de Maese Pedro); and Acis (Handel’s Acis and Galatea). David enjoys an ongoing association with the Boston Early Music Festival, beginning in 2013 as a member of BEMF’s Young Artist Training Program when he joined the cast of Handel’s Almira. Since, he has assisted opera director Gilbert Blin on three productions—Monteverdi’s Ulisse and Handel’s Acis in 2015, and 2016’s pastiche Versailles—and will rejoin the BEMF singing cast for the 2017 mainstage production of Campra’s Le carnaval de Venise. David is a current student of Sharon Daniels.
Mieczyslaw FitzDaniel
Bertand/Chorus
Mieczyslaw FitzDaniel is thrilled to be making his BOC debut! He has previously appeared as Simon Fenton in Emmeline, Starveling in Midsummer NIght's Dream, and in Cosi Fan Tutti, all at Boston University. He will next appear in Le Nozze Di Figaro at BU, where he will graduate with an M.M. this spring.
Joyner Horn
Victoire/Chorus
Joyner Horn, mezzo-soprano, is pursuing her Bachelor of Music at Boston University, where she is a student of Penelope Bitzas. In February, she will be seen in the Boston University production of Emmeline as a Mill Girl. In 2016, she performed the role of Prince Orlovsky in Boston University Tanglewood Institute’s production of Die Fledermaus, and was most recently seen in BU’s Opera Workshop production of Captain Lovelock as Terentia. Prior roles include Mrs. Jones (Street Scene), Juniper (The Golden Apple), Beatrice (Beatrice et Benedict), and Alicia (Gigi) in scenes programs with BU’s Opera Project. Prior to attending Boston University, she was a student at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she was a chorus member in their productions of La Rondine and Les Contes d’Hoffmann.
Andrew Miller
Valmont
American Baritone, Andrew Miller, is known for his "warm, mellow baritone" and "fine comic sensibilities". Previous credits include Ogre, and Dr. Rappaccini with OperaHub, Don Magnifico and Alcindoro/Benoit with NEMPAC Boston, Bass Soloist for Mozart's Requiem with Newburyport Choral Society, The Steward, The Marquis, Antonio, Schaunard, and Papageno with The Boston Conservatory, The Marquis at Teatro Magnani in Fidenza, Italy, the title roles of Don Giovanni and Gianni Schicchi, King Melchior and multiple engagements with the Janiec Opera Company and Fort Worth Opera. He is the recipient of an encouragement award from The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Andrew trained as a young artist at the Brevard Music Festival and is currently finishing his B.M. at The Boston Conservatory. Upcoming this season, Andrew will make his Boston Opera Collaborative debut as Vicomte de Valmont in Dangerous Liaisons and will return to sing Don Pizarro in Beethoven's Fidelio with NEMPAC Boston. He would like to thank his friends and family for all their support throughout the years. Andrew is a native of Arlington, TX.
Creative Team
Andy Nice
Scenic Designer
Andy Nice holds an M.F.A in Scenic Design from Boston University's School of Theatre, Boston, MA. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Notable designs: Cortland Repertory Theatre's SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE WEST END HORROR, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (Astoria Performing Arts Center), the Boston University Opera Institute's DON GIOVANNI built by the Huntington Theatre Company, the Algonquin Arts Theatre's summer production of GODSPELL, Boston Center for American Performance's THE EFFECT OF GAMMA RAYS ON MAN IN THE MOON MARIGOLDS and THE IMAGINARY INVALID at the Virginia Wimberly Theater in Boston's South End. Andy is resident scenic designer at Boston Opera Collaborative.
While Andy loves designing for all forms of performing arts, she is particularly interested in opera and has worked with the Glimmerglass Festival and Opera Saratoga, as well as assisted scenic designers Alexander Dodge, Julian Crouch, Louisa Pregerson Thompson, and Beowulf Boritt. Andy also has a background in drawing and painting and is an avid equestrian. She grew up overseas in a diplomatic family and has lived in Turkey, Uruguay, Croatia, El Salvador, Italy and Austria.
Andy is currently a creative designer at Adirondack Studios, a scenic and themed entertainment design and production company based in upstate New York and previously worked as an adjunct professor of theatre at CUNY -York College.
Mark Pearson
Costume Designer
Mark has been a member of the CLOC family since 2003 and has held several different positions including costume designer; set designer and technical director; and stage director. Mark has also appeared on the Highfield stage as a last minute cover. In addition to his dedication to CLOC, Mark has also kept up an active theater career designing, stage managing and assistant directing in Germany at several opera houses including the Aalto Musiktheater in Essen and the prestigious Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf.Originally from Hull, Massachusetts, Mark received his BA in theater and philosophy from Boston College and his MFA from Boston University. While completing his practicum at the Washington National Opera, he had the opportunity to work with Placido Domingo. Mark has been a member of the CLOC family since 2003 and has held several different positions including costume designer; set designer and technical director; and stage director. Mark has also appeared on the Highfield stage as a last minute cover. In addition to his dedication to CLOC, Mark has also kept up an active theater career designing, stage managing and assistant directing in Germany at several opera houses including the Aalto Musiktheater in Essen and the prestigious Oper am Rhein in Dusseldorf.
Brendon Shapiro
Music Director
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.