SINGERS' BIO

 

John Duykers: Narrator
Internationally acclaimed tenor, John Duykers, made his professional operatic debut with Seattle Opera. Since then he has appeared with many of the leading opera companies of the world including The Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Netherlands Opera, the Grand Theatre of Geneva, Frankfurt Opera, Opera de Marseille, the Canadian Opera Company, Santa Fe Opera, Los Angeles Opera, San Diego Opera and the Opera Company of Philadelphia.

He is particularly known for his performances of contemporary music, having sung in nearly 70 contemporary operas including 41 world premieres. He created the role of Mao Tse Tung in John Adams' Nixon in China which he performed throughout the world. He has been a frequent performer at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and likewise has appeared regularly with San Francisco Opera where he performed this season in Thomson's The Mother of Us All and Los Angeles Opera where he sang in Strauss' Die Frau Ohne Schatten this spring. John Duykers has had a close association with a number of contemporary composers, notably John Adams and Philip Glass. He sang the premiere of Glass' In The Penal Colony and 2001 and Galileo Galilei in 2002.

John Duykers has appeared frequently with symphony orchestras throughout the United States including the National Symphony Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Kansas City Symphony, Tri-Cities Symphony, Sacramento Symphony, Santa Rosa Symphony and the San Jose Symphony. His appearances at major festivals have included Aspen, the American Music Theater Festival, the Gaudeamus Music Week, Kaitheater Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music's 'Next Wave' Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, the London International Festival of Theatre, Internationale Teaterfestival in Copenhagen, Edinburgh Festival, the Festival Internacional de Teatro of Granada and Juneau Jazz and Classics.

Other performances include premieres of Bitter Harvest by Kurt Rohde for Kent Nagano and the Berkeley Symphony, a new version of the opera KALI by Tony Prabowo, Jarrad Powell and Goenawan Mohamed; and Janacek's Cunning Little Vixen with San Francisco Opera in June.

John Duykers has received critical acclaim in numerous productions of George Coates Performance Works, the Paul Dresher Ensemble and the A.Ga.Pe Performance Group which have been seen on the world's most important contemporary music and theater stages. He is currently developing an opera program for the School of Music at the California Institute of the Arts.

Eleazar Rodriguez: Caesar
A native of Piedras Negras, Mexico, tenor Eleazar Rodriguez began his musical studies at the age of 15 at the Escuela Superior de Musica in Coahuila, Mexico. A recipient of the Placido Domingo Voice Scholarship, he was the youngest singer to be invited to join the Sociedad Internacional de Valores de Arte Mexicano (SIVAM), Mexico's most renowned young artist program. In 2004 he was the winner of both the "Revelacion Juvenil" and the "Antonio Davalos" prize for the best young male voice in the "Carlo Morelli
National Competition" in Mexico City. For the past three summers he has attended the renowned International Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI), where he performed in Il Tabarro, Le Medicin Malgre Lui and Lucia Di Lammermoor.

Most recently (2006) he performed the role of Pedrillo in the Abduction from the Seraglio in Israel with IVAI. He has also performed in concerts and recitals throughout Mexico, including the Teatro del Palacio de Bellas Artes and with Artescenica productions in "Amahl and the Night Visitors" as Kaspar'Mr. Rodriguez has worked with such distinguished musical authorities such as Joan Dornemann, Denise Masse, Sheril Milnes, Diana Soviero and Tito Capobianco. For the past four years he has been under the tutelage of the internationally recognized tenor and voice teacher Cesar
Ulloa.

Eugene Brancoveanu, Nicomedes
Romanian Baritone Eugene Brancoveanu has been an Adler Fellow for 2 years with the San Francisco Opera. During this time he sang no less then 10 roles with the Opera center and the mainstage, among them Frank ( Fledermaus ), Silvano ( Ballo ), Morales ( Carmen ) and Don Giovanni (Opera Center ). In 2004 he sang the role of Tarquinius in the Rape of Lucretia with the SF Opera Merola Program. In 2003 he received an honorary Tony award for his Marcello in Baz Luhrmann's Production of Puccinis La Boheme. In 2001 Brancoveanu originated the role of Phillip Glass' Orphee, for the european premiere, in Salzburg Austria. Also, in 2001 he sang the title role in Mozarts Figaro with the international Music Festival in Bavaria. His numerous roles with the Romanian State Opera include Figaro ( Rossini ), Ottone ( Incoronazione di Poppea ), Don Giovanni, Escamillo ( Carmen ) and Silvio.

Brancoveanu was appointed solo recitalist in 2005 for the Schwabacher Recital Series and gave his Carnegie Hall and SF Symphony debuts under MTT singing the role of Boris Tomashefsky in the Tomashefsky Project. A role which he reprised in Orlando with the New World Symphony again under MTT. In April he will sing an extensive aria repertoire in a concert tour through Germany with the Markgraf Symphony Orchstra of Bavaria.

Wendy Hillhouse, Julia
Mezzo Soprano Wendy Hillhouse has achieved a versatility and mastery of diverse repertoire that is rare. Her operatic career has encompassed performances with the Metropolitan Opera, the Glyndebourne Festival and most of the major American opera companies, as well as in Europe and Japan. Miss Hillhouse is an accomplished concert artist, having performed with the symphony orchestras of Boston, Seattle, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Denver, and the Tanglewood, Cabrillo and Midsummer Mozart Festivals, as well as maintaining a busy schedule of Bay Area concert appearances. In addition to the role of Aunt Julia in Lou Harrison's Young Caesar with Blueprint Festival, the current season will include performances of Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky, the Brahms Alto Rhapsody, and numerous recital and concert appearances. Recent opera performances have included a return appearance with the Utah Opera in Carlyle Floyd's new opera Cold Sassy Tree, the Witch in Lou Harrison's Rapunzel with the Cabrillo Festival, and Mama McCourt in Utah Opera's The Ballad of Baby Doe. Wendy can be seen in on video recordings of Le Nozze di Figaro at Glyndebourne in the role of Marcellina, and as Grimgerde in the Metropolitan Opera's Die Walküre. Recent audio recordings include vocal pieces by Lou Harrison and Elinor Armer, Britten's A Ceremony of Carols with the Schola Cantorum and Henry Cowell's Atlantis, Dusan Bogdanovich's Games, and George Benjamin's Upon Silence with Parallèle Ensemble. She is a member of the voice faculty and former co-chair of the Voice Department of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a member of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Song Festival. A resident of Redwood City, she holds degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of California at Berkeley.

J. Raymond Meyers: Zilo
Tenor, J. Raymond Meyers is a highly sought after West Coast artist with projects ranging from grand opera to the newest works of Lou Harrison. Last season marked his debut with Opera Tampa as Trin in La Fanciulla del West as well as a return to San Francisco's Pocket Opera for his debut as the title role in The Tales of Hoffmann. Most recently, Mr. Meyers has turned his attention to the leading roles of the lyric stage. The Duke in Rigoletto, Ferrando in Cosi fan Tutte, Rodolfo in La Boheme and Alfred in Die Fledermaus are just of a few of the roles for which he is becoming known. Last summer the tenor made his European debut in Prague singing the Requiem of Hungarian composer F. Hidas. This season he starts off with a debut at Opera Grand Rapids as Goro in Madama Butterfly and then returns to San Francisco to perform as Tenor Soloist in Mozart's C Minor Mass. Upcoming projects include Zilo/Marcus Verras in Lou Harrison's Young Caecar with Ensemble Parallèle under the baton of Nicole Paiement and Mozart's Vesperae Solennes and Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra.

Jonathan Smucker: Demetrius
A native of Zoar, Ohio, tenor Jonathan Smucker recently completed his first season at the Aspen Opera Theater Center, where he was featured as Simon Stimson in the Western US Premiere of Ned Rorem’s Our Town. A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, he holds a Bachelor and Master of Music, and a Postgraduate Diploma in Voice Performance. This season he appeared as Camille in The Merry Widow for Lamplighters, Gérard in Phillip Glass’s Les Enfants Terribles at Oakland Opera Theater, and Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville for San Francisco Opera Guild’s Opera a la Carte program, performing in over 30 Bay Area schools. He has sung with Pocket Opera, North Bay Opera, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Cinnabar Theater, and BASOTI, in roles including Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, Jupiter in Semele, and the title roles in Bastien und Bastienne, Albert Herring, and Acis and Galatea. A frequent concert soloist, his credits include Evangelist in Bach’s Johannespassion and tenor soloist in the “Sing-It-Yourself” Messiah for the San Francisco Conservatory, and Obadaiah in Elijah with the UC Berkeley Orchestra and Chorus. This spring he will debut at West Bay Opera as St. Brioche in The Merry Widow. He is a student of Jane Randolph.

Sheila Willey, Cornelia
Soprano Sheila Willey makes her San Francisco debut in the role of Cornelia. An Iowa native, Miss Willey holds degrees in vocal performance from the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University and the University of California at Santa Cruz. She has performed the
roles of Donna Anna, Helena, Lucy, Rose Maurrant, Sophie Scholl, and Julia in the premiere of David Evan Jones' The Rehearsal. Miss Willey has appeared as a soloist in oratorio works of Pergolesi, Bach, Handel, Mozart, Stravinsky and others in addition to performances of
Cowart, Ford, and Gorecki with the NewMusicWorks ensemble. Miss Willey is a student of Patrice Maginnis and will be singing the role of Constanza in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Berkeley Opera in March.

Eric Thériault, Gniphos
Tenor, Eric Thériault has received numerous grants and important mentions, including the France-Acadie Grant (Nice International Summer Academy), the New-Brunzwick’s arts council grant and the Baxter & Alma Ricard Scholarship as well as the 2001 Award for Best Interpretation of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition in Montreal, Canada. He has worked with the Orchestre de la Garde Républicaine de Paris, Montreal Chamber Music Festival, Sherbrooke, Trois-Rivières, and Montérégie Orchestras, and with Quartango Ensemble. Besides his concert and opera commitments, M. Theriault was, on many occasions, broadcasted on the air waves of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, in addition to being seen on the set of the Bravo ! television series Street of Dreams. In 2005, he has portrayed the roles of Alfred and Eisenstein in the Canadian tour of Die Fledermaus, presented by the Canada Musical Youth. He also studied at the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute. Most recently, he took part in Bach to Tango (2006 Opus Award for Classical music), created Robert Ingari’s Psalm 23 and was guest soloist with the McGill Chamber Orchestra and the Lameque International Baroque Music Festival. Mr Theriault is currently studying voice with maestro Cesar Ulloa.

William O'Neill: General Thermus
Originally from the state of Rhode Island, baritone William O’Neill comes from an active arts background from both musical theater and opera. Past credits include: Bartolo in “Le Nozze di Figaro”, Miles Gloriosus in "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", Father in "Children of Eden", Frederick Egarman in "A Little Night Music", Teddy Lloyd in "The Prime of M! iss Jea n Brodie", Agwe in "Once on this Island", Prince Dauntless in "Once Upon a Mattress", and Billy Bigelow in "Carousel". Mr. O’Neill has also appeared as soloist with several organizations in the Bay Area. Upcoming engagement include Bottom in Britten’s "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the San Francisco Conservatory where he is completing a graduate degree under the guidance of Leroy Kromm.

Nathaniel Marken: Loyalist
Nathaniel Marken, baritone, is a first-year Masters student in Voice Performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. His most recent role has been Guglielmo in Mozart's Cosi fan Tutte with Center Stage Opera in Los Angeles, CA. A graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University ('03), he performed the roles of Uberto in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, Dr. Falke in Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Zuniga in Bizet’s Carmen, and Smudge in Forever Plaid. His opera chorus credits include CSO’s Fall 2005 production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor and the IWU productions of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Britten’s Noye’s Fludde. Nathaniel’s recital repertoire has included Brahms’ Zegeunerlieder (Op. 103), selections from Vaughn-Williams’ House of Life, and works by American composer Ned Rorem. Nathaniel has studied with Sammy Scifres at IWU, David Scott at California State University, Northridge, and currently studies with Ruby Pleasure at the Conservatory.