Artists` Bios

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2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Johann Sebastien Bach: Mass in B minor
2016 - 2017 season
Performances: Friday, October 21, 2016 | 8 PM & Sunday, October 23, 2016 | 3 PM
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KIERA DUFFY, soprano - American soprano Kiera Duffy who
returns to perform with Boston Baroque after her performance in
Messiah in 2014, is recognized for both her gleaming high
soprano and insightful musicianship in repertoire that
encompasses Handel, Bach, and Mozart to the modern sounds
of Berg, Glass and Zorn.
Kiera Duffy opened the 2015-2016 Los Angeles Philharmonic
season with Gustavo Dudamel in Beethoven’s Egmont Overture
as part of their all-Beethoven gala. Ms. Duffy will also debut with
the Bergen Philharmonic in Mozart’s Mass in C minor with
Nathalie Stutzmann conducting. She will sing the Mozart again
with the Jacksonville Philharmonic and perform Ginastera’s
Quartet No. 3 with the Miro Quartet at the Chamber Music
Society of Lincoln Center. Last season, Kiera Duffy was seen at
Carnegie Hall in Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire with James Levine
and the MET Chamber Ensemble. She was also seen with the
St. Louis Symphony in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and
as Le Feu/La Princesse in the Laurent Pelly production of
Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges at the Seiji Ozawa Music
Academy in Japan under the leadership of Maestro Ozawa.
Kiera Duffy’s 2013-14 season included performances of
Carmina Burana with the Atlanta Symphony under Robert
Spano and her debut with the Detroit Symphony under Leonard
Slatkin in the same work. She made her Saint Paul Chamber
Orchestra and Boston Baroque debuts as soprano soloist in
Handel’s Messiah, and was seen with the Charlotte Symphony
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion. She was seen with Ensemble
ACJW in Schoenberg’s 2nd String Quartet at the Juilliard
School’s Paul Hall. She makes her Australian debut touring with
the Australian Chamber Orchestra in performances of Mahler’s
4th Symphony. An active chamber musician, Duffy performed
Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire at the Bard SummerScape Festival
as well as at the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival in
Virginia. She also appeared with the Collaborative Arts Institute
of Chicago in programs of Britten and Beethoven.
Ms. Duffy began her prolific concert career with her New York
Philharmonic debut in Pierre Boulez’s Pli selon pli:
“Improvisation II sur Mallarmé” under the baton of Lorin Maazel,
then returned as Venus in the critically acclaimed performances
of György Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre under Alan Gilbert. She
has gone on to sing György Ligeti’s seminal works, Aventures
and Nouvelles Aventures for her first performances with the Los
Angeles Philharmonic and has since returned in Pierrot Lunaire
and Unsuk Chin’s Cantatrix Sopranica. Ms. Duffy debuted with
the San Francisco Symphony in Messiah and returned in
Mozart’s Requiem and Feldman's Rothko Chapel, both under
Michael Tilson Thomas. She made her London Symphony
Orchestra debut singing Cunegonde in Candide under Kristjan
Järvi, Atlanta Symphony debut with Mozart’s Coronation Mass
under Roberto Abbado, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra debut
in Carmina Burana with Andreas Delfs, and sang Berg’s Lulu
Suite with the American Symphony Orchestra under Leon
Botstein at Bard Summerscape.
Ms. Duffy has appeared with much success at the Tanglewood
Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as Despina in
Così fan tutte, Tebaldo in Don Carlo, and the US premiere of
Elliot Carter’s What Next?, all under the baton of James Levine.
In addition to her varied work in modern music, Ms. Duffy excels
in baroque music and has worked extensively with the baroque
ensemble Apollo’s Fire, most notably for performances and a
recording of Handel’s music written for the British monarchy and
in Michael Praetorius’s Christmas “Vespers”. Other concert
appearances have included engagements with the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir, Utah Symphony, Omaha Symphony,
Masterwork Chorus and Orchestra for her Carnegie Hall debut,
Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra,
Fort Smith Symphony, Palm Beach Symphony, California
Symphony, Reno Philharmonic, and the Metropolis Ensemble at
New York’s newest destination: The Times Center.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Kiera Duffy
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JENNIFER RIVERA, soprano - Grammy® nominated artist
Jennifer Rivera consistently earns praise for delivering
exceptional vocalism, superb musicianship, and a powerful
stage presence. She returns for a performance with Boston
Baroque after her stunning performance in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in
Patria in 2014. Her performance of the title role in Handel's
Faramondo with Brisbane Baroque in Australia recently earned
her The Helpmann Award for best leading female performer in
an opera. Her European debut as Sesto in La clemenza di Tito
with the Teatro Regio di Torino directed by Graham Vick and
conducted by Roberto Abaddo was followed by her debut with
the Berlin Staatsoper as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, as well
as Nerone in a new production of Agrippina conducted by Rene
Jacobs. She was then invited to sing Licida in L’Olimpiade by
Pergolesi at the Innsbruck Early Music Festival and returned to
the Berlin Staatsoper as Rosina, and as Ismene in a new
production of Antigone by Traetta conducted by Maestro
Jacobs.
Recent seasons have found Ms. Rivera singing Faramondo with
Brisbane Baroque, Sister Helen in Dead Man Walking with
Opera Parallele, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Portland
Opera, as well as singing with the Milwaukee Symphony, for
Schubert’s Mass No. 6 under Hans Graf; Gotham Chamber
Opera, for Baden-Baden 1927; Opera Omaha as Nerone in
Agrippina; Boston Baroque, as Penelope in Monteverdi’s Il
ritorno d’Ulisse in patria; and Central City Opera, to debut the
role of Sister Helen Prejean in a new production of Dead Man
Walking. Current and future seasons include a return to include
a return to Music of the Baroque for Bach Cantatas, a debut
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
with Dallas Opera in the Mark Adamo world premiere Becoming
Santa Claus, and Sister Helen in Dead Man Walking with New
Orleans Opera. Ms. Rivera will also present a solo recital at
Bargemusic to introduce the release of her first solo recording
Innocence / Experience released by Roven Records and
distributed by Naxos. Ms. Rivera returned to Innsbruck for the title role in
La Stellidaura Vendicante during summer of the 2012. The
ensuing 2012-2013 season included a return to the Berlin
Staatsoper and an appearance at the Salle Pleyel in Paris for
Agrippina, Mrs. Williamson in The Difficulty of Crossing a
Field with Nashville Opera, and a debut with Central City
Opera as Rosina in a new production.
2011 saw the release of two recordings for the mezzo: Nerone in
Agrippina for Harmonia Mundi (Grammy® Nomination 2013) and
Licida in L’Olimpiade for Sony Music. The 2011-12 season
found her engaged as Cherubino with Opera Royal de Wallonie,
as Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette for Palm Beach Opera, and
with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.
While still a student at Juilliard, Ms. Rivera was invited to join
the roster of the New York City Opera, and after winning their
prestigious Debut Artist of Year award, went on to sing over 70
performances with the company including Cherubino, Rosina,
Lazuli in L’Etoile, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, and Nerone in
Agrippina. Praised repeatedly by the New York Times for her
“radiant mezzo soprano” (Elmer Gantry), her “warm dark
tone” (Barbiere), and “fresh ready singing”, (Hansel) her voice
has also been described by the Times as being “dark, musical,
and very agile”(Cenerentola) and possessing “richness, ease,
and exactness” (L’Etoile).
Previous season’s engagements for Ms. Rivera include Rosina
with Opera Pacific, Angelina in La cenerentola with Florida
Grand Opera, and Ines in Donizetti’s Maria Padilla with
Washington Concert Opera. She also appeared at Avery Fisher
Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra singing Varese’s
Offrandes and with the Polish National Opera as Orsini in
Lucrezia Borgia conducted by Will Crutchfield. Other
engagements for the mezzo have included her debut with New
Orleans Opera as Stephano in Roméo et Juliette and her return
to Portland Opera for Rosina.
A favorite among living composers, Ms. Rivera created the
starring role of Sharon Falconer in the critically acclaimed World
Premiere of Robert Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry, which premiered at
Nashville Opera in 2007. Additionally, Ms. Rivera has performed
in four productions of Mark Adamo’s very successful opera Little
Women (in New York, Tokyo, Cleveland, and Dayton), as well as
his newest work Lysistrata. The summer of 2010 found her in the
World Premiere of Peter Ash’sThe Golden Ticket as Veruca Salt
at Opera Theater of Saint Louis.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Jennifer Rivera
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DAVID DANIELS, countertenor - Mr. Daniels makes his debut
with Boston Baroque, this season. The 2014 – 2015 season saw
David Daniels in the title role of Theodore Morrison’s Oscar,
based on the life of Oscar Wilde, in a company debut and East
coast premiere with Opera Philadelphia. Daniels will also make
his company debut with the Wiener Staatsoper in the Robert
Lepage production of The Tempest as Trinculo, conducted by
the composer, Thomas Adès. He will also return to San
Francisco Opera to sing the role of Arsace in Paretenope,
directed by Chrisopher Alden. Concert performances include
the Bach Mass in B Minor with the American Classical Orchestra
at Alice Tully Hall, Handel’s Messiah with the University Musical
Society in Ann Arbor, and an gala performance with soprano
Laura Claycomb and Mercury Houston. Additional appearances
include a recital with Martin Katz at the Converse College with
the Friends of Petrie School of Music in his home town of
Spartanburg, SC.
David Daniels’ 2013 – 2014 season was highlighted by a return
to a role he originated at The Metropolitan Opera: Prospero in
The Enchanted Island opposite Susan Graham and Plácido
Domingo. Daniels also sang Lichas in the Peter Sellars
production of Hercules with the Canadian Opera Company
under the baton of Harry Bicket, opposite Alice Coote and Eric
Owens. With Gran Teatre del Liceu, Daniels sang Ottone in
David McVicar’s production of Agrippina and with The English
Concert he sang Didymus in Handel’s rarely heard Theodora,
opposite longtime colleague Dorothea Röschmann, in an
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
international concert tour culminating with a performance at
Carnegie Hall. Concert engagements included Pergolesi’s
Stabat Mater with conductor Nicholas McGegan and the
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Recital engagements include
appearances with Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago, the
Pushkin Museum in Moscow, Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, as
well as a special guest appearance at Marilyn Horne’s 80th
Birthday Song Celebration alongside Renée Fleming, Samuel
Ramey, and Frederica von Stade, among others.
The world premiere of Theodore Morrison’s Oscar, based on the
life of Oscar Wilde, also highlighted the same season in a return
to the Santa Fe Opera. Daniels’s performance of the piece,
which was written for him, was lauded by the New York Times:
“Mr. Daniels was superb, not only singing but also acting the
role with a savvy Wildean mix of arrogance and vulnerability. His
sustained tone was beautiful, and his occasional purposeful
flirtations with a baritonal register were amusing.”
Other highlights included the title role of Radamisto at Theatre
an der Wien as well as an international concert tour of the same
opera with The English Concert under the direction of Harry
Bicket which included performances in Paris, Birmingham Town,
London, Toulouse, Ann Arbor, and culminated with a
performance at Carnegie Hall.
Highly sought after for the works of Handel, Monteverdi, Gluck,
Mozart and Britten, David Daniels has been featured on the
great operatic stages of the world to overwhelming critical
acclaim. Highlights of recent seasons include multiple
appearances at the Metropolitan Opera as the title role of Giulio
Cesare in David McVicar’s inventive production, Prospero in the
Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island, and in the title role of
Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice in a new production marking Mark
Morris’ debut at the Met as a stage director and conducted by
music director James Levine. Appearances at the Lyric Opera of
Chicago include the title role in Handel’s Rinaldo, Oberon in
Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Lichas in Peter
Sellars new production of Handel’s Hercules. Additional
appearances include Arsamenes in Handel’s Xerxes and
Bertarido in Handel’s Rodelinda with the San Francisco Opera.
At Santa Fe Opera his role debut as Roberto in Vivaldi’s
Griselda, the work’s first major U.S. production by Peter Sellars,
drew rave reviews as did the world premiere of Theodore
Morrison’s Oscar, based on the life of Oscar Wilde of which the
New York Times lauded “Mr. Daniels was superb, not only
singing but also acting the role with a savvy Wildean mix of
arrogance and vulnerability. His sustained tone was beautiful,
and his occasional purposeful flirtations with a baritonal register
were amusing.”
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
David Daniels
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AARON SHEEHAM, tenor American tenor Aaron Sheehan has
established himself as a first rate singer in many styles. His
voice is heard regularly in the United States, South America, and
Europe, and he is equally comfortable in repertoire ranging from
oratorio and chamber music, to the opera stage. His singing has
taken him to many festivals and venues including; Tanglewood,
Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Washington
National Cathedral, the early music festivals of Boston, San
Francisco, Vancouver, Houston, Tucson, Washington DC, and
Madison, as well as the Regensburg Tage Alter Musik.
Known especially for his Baroque interpretations, his voice has
been described by the Boston Globe as "superb: his tone
classy, clear, and refined, encompassing fluid lyricism and
ringing force" and the Washington Post praised his "Polished,
lovely tone."
In the concert world, Aaron has made a name as a first rate
interpreter of the oratorios and cantatas of Bach and Handel.
The San Diego Classical Voice said, "Tenor Aaron Sheehan
performed the role of Evangelist, and sang with assured vocal
and linguistic fluency, tasked with telling the audience the story
while imparting its drama. In this regard, he was superb."
He has appeared in Concert with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra,
American Bach Soloists, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston
Baroque, North Carolina Symphony, New York Collegium,
Charlotte Symphony, Boston Cecilia, Charleston Bach Festival,
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Baltimore Handel Choir, Les Voix Baroque, Pacific Chorale,
Boston Early Music Festival, Tempesta di Mare, Aston Magna
Festival, Bach Collegium San Diego, Washington National
Cathedral, Pacific Music Works, Boston Museum Trio,
Magnificat, Tragicomedia, the Folger Consort, and Concerto
Palatino.
On the opera stage, Aaron made his professional debut in 2005
as Ivan, in the Boston Early Music Festivals world premiere
staging of Mattheson's Boris Gudenow, a role in which Opera
News praised his voice as "Sinous and supple". He has since
worked with the company in leading roles such as L'Amour and
Apollon in Lully's Psyché, Actéon in Charpentier's Actéon, and
as Acis in Handel's Acis and Galatea. He also has worked on the
opera stage with American Opera Theater and Intermezzo
Chamber Opera in leading roles of operas by Cavalli, Handel,
Weill, and Satie.
Aaron also continues to work extensively in the chamber music
world. He has sung with Theater of Voices, Blue Heron Choir,
Tenet, Fortune's Wheel, La Donna Musicale, Folger Consort,
Newberry Consort, Dünya, The Rose Ensemble, and the Pro
Arte Singers.
Aaron has appeared on many recordings, including the
Grammy® nominated operas Thésée and Psyché of Lully,
recorded with BEMF on the CPO label.
A native of Minnesota, Aaron holds a BA from Luther College
and a MM in Early Voice Performance from Indiana University.
He is currently on the voice faculties of Boston University,
Wellesley College, and Towson University.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Aaron Sheehan
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JESSE BLUMBERG - Baritone Jesse Blumberg returns to
perform with Boston Baroque after his concerts with the
orchestra in 2013, 2013 and 2015. He is equally at home on
opera, concert, and recital stages, performing repertoire from
the Renaissance and Baroque to the 20th and 21st centuries.
His performances have included the world premiere of The
Grapes of Wrath at Minnesota Opera, Niobe, Regina di Tebe
with Boston Early Music Festival, Bernstein’s MASS at London’s
Royal Festival Hall, and appearances with Atlanta Opera,
Pittsburgh Opera, Utah Opera, and Boston Lyric Opera. Recital
highlights include appearances with the Marilyn Horne
Foundation and New York Festival of Song, and performances
of Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise with pianist Martin Katz.
He has performed major works with American Bach Soloists,
Los Angeles Master Chorale, Boston Baroque, Oratorio Society
of New York, Apollo’s Fire, Charlotte Symphony, TENET/Green
Mountain Project, and on Lincoln Center’s American
Songbook series.
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
renowned composers as a member of the Mirror Visions
Ensemble.
Jesse has been featured on a dozen commercial recordings,
including the 2014 Grammy-winning Charpentier Chamber
Operas with Boston Early Music Festival. He has been
recognized in several competitions, and was awarded Third
Prize at the 2008 International Robert Schumann Competition in
Zwickau, becoming its first American prizewinner in over thirty
years. Jesse received a Master of Music degree from the
University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and
received undergraduate degrees in History and Music from the
University of Michigan. Jesse is also the founder and artistic
director of Five Boroughs Music Festival, which brings chamber
music of many genres to every corner of New York City.
His 2014-2015 season included a European concert tour with
Boston Early Music Festival, a U.S. concert tour with Apollo’s
Fire, and debuts with Atlanta Opera and Hawaii Opera Theatre.
In 2013-2014 he debuted with Kentucky Opera and Opera
Omnia, and returned to Minnesota Opera as Papageno in The
Magic Flute. Jesse has given the world premieres of Ricky Ian
Gordon’s Green Sneakers, Lisa Bielawa’s The Lay of the Love
and Death, Conrad Cummings’ Positions 1956, and Tom
Cipullo’s Excelsior. He also works closely with several other
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Jesse Blumberg
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2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Frideric Handel: The Messiah Artist Bios
2016 - 2017 season
Performances: Friday and Saturday, December 9 & 10, 2016
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AMANDA FORSYTHE, soprano - Amanda Forsythe returns to
perform with Boston Baroque following her performance in
Agrippina in 2015. Amanda Forsythe sang the role of Euridice on
the recording of Charpentier’s La descente d'Orphée aux enfers
with Boston Early Music Festival which won the 2015 GRAMMY
AWARD for Best Opera Recording. She has been praised by
Opera News for her “light and luster," “wonderful agility and
silvery top notes." She was a winner of the George London
Foundation Awards and was sponsored by them in her New
York recital début. She also received prizes from the
Liederkranz Foundation and the Walter W. Naumburg
Foundation.
Amanda Forsythe’s operatic repertoire also includes Iris in
Semele, Poppea in Agrippina, the title role in Partenope,
Amenaide in Rossini’s Tancredi, Bastienne in Bastien und
Bastienne, Serpina in La serva padrona, Ninfa/Proserpina in
Orfeo (Monteverdi), Amore in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Oberto
in Alcina, Dafne in Apollo e Dafne, Atalanta in Xerxes and roles
in Les Indes Galantes and The Fairy Queen.
Amanda Forsythe created the role of Young Margarta/Nuria in
Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, a role which she later repeated
with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Calgary
Philharmonic. She also received high critical acclaim for her
début as The Angel in the North American première of Peter
Eötvös’ opera, Angels in America. She has also sung world
premières by John Austin and Elena Ruher, and recorded songs
by the composer Ken Sullivan.
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Ms. Forsythe’s concert engagements in North America have
included her recent débuts at the Tanglewood Festival and
Lincoln Center in the title role of Teseo with Philharmonia
Baroque, and her début with Seattle Symphony in Handel’s
Messiah. Other highlights have included Dorinda in Orlando and
Handel’s Il trionfo del tempo with Early Music Vancouver, Dafne
in Apollo e Dafne with Pacific Musicworks and Haydn and
Mozart arias with Apollo’s Fire, Handel arias with Portland
Baroque Orchestra, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with the Handel
and Haydn Society and Haydn’s Creation and Messiah with the
Charlotte Symphony.
Amanda Forsythe recently made her début at Seattle Opera as
Iris in Semele which resulted in an immediate invitation to return
to sing Pamina Die Zauberflöte in 2017. In the Autumn she
returns to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as Amour in
Gluck’s Orfeo under Sir John Eliot Gardiner, a role she then
repeats in concerts with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra,
before returning to the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia to
sing the role of Marzelline in concert performances of Fidelio.
She also recently sang Poppea Agrippina for Boston Baroque.
She sang Poppea in L'incoronazione di Poppea, Giunone in Il
Ritorno d'Ulisse and the Monteverdi's Vespers for the 2015
Boston Early Music Festival.
On the concert platform, Amanda Forsythe recently made her
début with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome in
performances of Bach's Magnificat under Sir Antonio Pappano.
In January 2016 she made her début with The Boston
Symphony under Andris Nelsons in Mendelssohn’s A
Midsummer Night’s Dream, following a tour of Mozart Requiem
and Mass in C minor with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra
under Sir John Eliot Gardiner. Other forthcoming concert
engagements include Messiah with Philharmonia Baroque and
Kansas City Symphony, Bach Cantata 51 and Vivaldi's Gloria
with Seattle Symphony, Handel and Vivaldi Concert arias and
performances and a recording of Bach St John Passion with
Apollo’s Fire.
Amanda Forsythe’s recordings include the 2015 Grammywinning CD of Charpentier’s La déscente d'Orphée aux enfers,
as well as Venus in Venus and Adonis, Aglaure Lully’s Psyché,
and La Grande Pretresse in Lully’s Thésée with Boston Early
Music Festival (all for CPO), Manto Steffani’s Niobe with BEMF
(Erato), the title role in Handel’s Teseo with Philharmonia
Baroque (PBO’s own label), Mozart’s Lucio Silla: In un istante
Parto, m'affretto and Messiah with Apollo’s Fire (Avie), Minerve
Dorinda Handel’s Orlando with Early Music Vancouver (ATMA)
and Haydn’s Creation with Boston Baroque (Linn). She also
sings on the DVD recordings of the Pesaro productions of
L'equivoco stravagante and Guillaume Tell as well as Manto in
the Royal Opera production of Steffani’s Niobe (Opus Arte).
In Autumn 2015 her début solo recording of Handel arias with
Apollo’s Fire was released on the Avie label.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Amanda Forsythe
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ANN MCMAHON QUINTERO, mezzo-soprano - Praised for
her “crème caramel tones,” Ann McMahon has been recognized
as a “warm and ingratiating mezzo” in Albuquerque Journal.
Her complex portrayal as Azuceno in Il Trovatore was described
as “loving and sensitive, fierce and provocative, hypersensitive
but generous” in Le Soir. In her 2014-15 season Ms. Quintero
toured Poland as soloist in Messiah with Boston Baroque. She
sang Ulrica in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera with Austin Lyric
Opera, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Buffalo Philharmonic
under JoAnn Falletta, and Verdi’s Requiem with the Defiant
Requiem Foundation at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall. In summer
of 2015 Ms. Quintero was soloist in Dvořàk’s Stabat Mater in a
return to Berkshire Choral Festival and in the 2015-16 season
she debuts with Musica Viva as Azucena in Il trovatore at Hong
Kong City Hall.
Her 2013-14 season included her debut with Virginia Opera as
Mistress Quickly in Verdi’s Falstaff, soloist in Beethoven’s
Symphony No. 9 in a return to Boston Baroque, and in Verdi’s
Requiem with the Defiant Requiem Foundation at Strathmore,
under Murry Sidlin. In summer 2013 she was mezzo soloist in
Britten’s Spring Symphony and Vivaldi’s Gloria with the
Berkshire Choral Festival. In the 2012-13 season she made her
debut with the Spoleto Festival USA as Suor Pazienza in
Giordano’s Mese Mariano, sang Mary in Der fliegende Holländer
in a return to Boston Lyric Opera, Amneris in Aida with
Annapolis Opera and soloist in Messiah with Boston Baroque
under Martin Pearlman.
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Recent highlights include Azucena in Il trovatore with Opéra
Royal de Wallonie, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff with Opéra de
Lausanne and the Old Lady in Candide with Portland Opera. At
the Virginia Arts Festival Ms. Quintero was soloist in Mahler’s
Symphony No. 8 as Mulier Samaritana under JoAnn Falleta, and
she sang selections from Les Pêcheurs de perles, La Rondine,
and Aida at the Berkshire Choral Festival.
Other recent engagements include performances of Hippolyta in
A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Boston Lyric Opera, singing
as soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with the Buffalo Philharmonic
Orchestra, Verdi’s Requiem with the Cathedral Choral Society at
Washington National Cathedral, a return to Boston Baroque for
Handel’s Messiah, to Washington National Opera as Auntie in
Peter Grimes, and to Boston Baroque for Michael Haydn’s
Requiem. She also sang as Mistress Quickly in excerpts of
Falstaff at the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors
Inaugural Awards Concert at the Kennedy Center.
Her successes include her international operatic debut with New
Israeli Opera as La Haine in Gluck’s Armide and a return to the
company as Marquise Melibea in Il viaggio a Reims. She also
sang Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress with Angers Nantes
Opera and joined Teatro alla Scala for its production of Maazel’s
1984. Previously with Washington National Opera she sang
Tisbe in La cenerentola and Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte. She
joined Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Olga Olsen in Street
Scene and the company’s production of Hänsel und Gretel,
Palm Beach Opera as Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri, and Toledo
Opera as Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette. With Santa Fe Opera,
she sang Glasa in Kátya Kabanová as well as Teresa in La
sonnambula, in addition to scenes of Cornelia in Giulio Cesare
and Leonora in La Favorita.
An accomplished oratorio soloist, Ms. Quintero has appeared
frequently with Boston Baroque where her performances have
included the title role in Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans and soloist
in Messiah. She has also sung Messiah with Charlotte and
Alabama symphony orchestras and the National Philharmonic;
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Columbus Symphony;
Haydn’s Paukenmesse at Carnegie Hall; and a concert
performance of Guillaume Tell with Opera Orchestra of New
York.
Ann McMahon Quintero graduated with honors and received her
Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University, where her
performances included Ravel's Shéhérazade and Bach's
Magnificat and Mass in B Minor.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Ann McMahon Quintero
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KEITH JAMESON, tenor
Keith Jameson, a native of South Carolina, recently appeared
at Lyric Opera of Chicago, as Basilio in a new production of Le
nozze di Figaro. He also returned to The Dallas Opera and sang
Yab the Elf in the world premier of Becoming Santa Claus by
Mark Adamo, which will be released on DVD in 2016. He sang
the title role of Candide with Opera di Firenze, Maggio Musicale
Fiorentino (production by Francesco Micheli, conducted by
John Axelrod), and with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
(production by Garnett Bruce, conducted by Marin Alsop). Keith
made his debut with Central City Opera in 2015 as Sancho
Panza in Man of La Mancha. This past year he peformed Alméric
in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta (seen “Live from the Met Opera” in HD
in movie theaters worldwide), and Remendado in Carmen at the
Metropolitan Opera. Last season he sang Bardolfo in Falstaff at
the Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, Japan, conducted by
Fabio Luisi, and he debuted with the Orquestra Sinfônica do
Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, as Candide, conducted by Marin
Alsop. Keith created the role of Henry Snibblesworth in the
world premier of The Classical Style: An Opera (of sorts) by
Steven Stucky and Jeremy Denk at the Ojai Music Festival in
California and in Berkeley, Californa, and in December at Zankel
Hall in New York City. He returned to the Los Angeles Opera for
the Novice in Billy Budd, and returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago
as Monsieur Taupe in Capriccio and made his debut with Seattle
Opera as the Four Servants in Offenbach’s Les Contes
d’Hoffmann. He sang Bardolfo in Robert Carsen’s new
production of Falstaff at the Metropolitan Opera, conducted by
James Levine and seen on “Live from The Met in
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
HD”movietheaters around the world. Keith also sang a
workshop of a new one-man opera entitled Why Is Eartha Kitt
Trying to Kill Me? by Jeffrey Dennis Smith and David Johnston
at le Poisson Rouge in New York City, as part of the Opera
America New Works Forum and presented by American Lyric
Theatre.
Keith has sung the Novice in Billy Budd at the Metropolitan
Opera, and Osman in Handel’s Almira with NYC’s operamission
in the North American premiere staging of the entire opera at the
historic Gershwin Hotel. He performed Sancho Panza in Man of
La Mancha with Greenwood Community Theatre in his
hometown of Greenwood, South Carolina in June 2012. He sang
Grandpa Joe in The Golden Ticket with Atlanta Opera, which
was released on CD in 2012. During the 2011-2012 season, he
was the tenor soloist in Haydn’s The Creation with Boston
Baroque and as Nicolas in Britten’s Saint Nicolas with the
Greenville Chorale in South Carolina and made his debut with
Arizona Opera as Goro in Madama Butterfly. During 2010-2011,
he was heard as the Simpleton in Boris Godunov with Dallas
Opera, Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls with the Greenwood
Community Theatre and as Triquet in Eugene Onegin with Los
Angeles Opera. In the summer of 2011, he debuted with the
New York Philharmonic as the Mosquito and Schoolmaster in
the critically acclaimed production of The Cunning Little Vixen.
Keith is the composer of the children’s opera Petunia, based on
the book by Roger Duvoisin. It was premiered by FBN
Productions’ Opera for Kids! in Aiken, South Carolina, in
January 2014, and toured across South Carolina, North Carolina
and Georgia, where it was seen by over 11,000 children and
adults. Petunia was featured in FBN’s 2015 Tour. He is now
completing a Christmas-themed “community” opera and
another children’s opera, in addition to chamber works. His
Uptown Market Fanfare and Serenade, written for the
GreenWood Winds, Emerald Brass and timpani, will be
premiered at the Grand Opening of the Uptown Market in
Greenwood, SC, in April, 2016.
Keith can be heard on the recordings of Haydn’s The Creation
and Lord Nelson Mass, both with Boston Baroque, and also on
the Opera America Songbook on a song by Conrad Cummings.
Keith can also be seen on the DVD of Carmen (production by
Richard Eyre, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin) from the
Metropolitan Opera and on the upcoming DVD of Falstaff
(production by Robert Carsen, conducted by James Levine),
also from the Metropolitan Opera.
His upcoming engagements include his debut with Houston
Grand Opera in Le nozze di Figaro and Rusalka and with
Pittsburgh Opera in The Rake’s Progress. Keith also returns to
Los Angeles Opera in Madama Butterfly. In addition to his
upcoming opera performances, Keith will record his first solo
CD featuring new song cycles by Conrad Cummings, Peter Ash,
Glen Roven, and Sayo Kosugi. Keith lives in New York City
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Keith Jameson
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ANDREW GARLAND, bass-baritone
This season Andrew Garland returns to Seattle Opera as
Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos. He has performed the role of
Dandini with Opera Philadelphia and Fort Worth Opera, Mercurio
(La Calisto) and the title role in Galileo Galilei (by Philip Glass) at
Cincinnati Opera, Papageno at Boston Lyric Opera and Riolobo
(Florencia en el Amazonas) and Schaunard (La Bohème) at
Seattle Opera.
Garland is widely recognized as a leader in recital work with
dozens of performances around the country including Carnegie
Hall with Warren Jones and programs of modern American
songs all over the Unites States and in Canada. Mr. Jones,
Marilyn Horne, Steven Blier and a number of American
composers and major music publications all endorse him as a
highly communicative singer leading the way for the song recital
into the 21st Century.
He brings his style to the concert stage with orchestras
including the Atlanta Symphony, Boston Baroque, Albany
Symphony, Boston Youth Symphony, National Philharmonic,
Washington Master Chorale at the Kennedy Center and DCINY
Orchestra at Lincoln Center.
He is a regular with the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) and
has given multiple recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Ravinia Festival
as well as Vocal Arts DC, Marilyn Horne Foundation, The Bard
Festival, Andre-Turp Society in Montreal, Voce at Pace,
Huntsville Chamber Music Guild, Fort Worth Opera, Seattle
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Opera, Fanfare in Hammond, LA, Cincinnati Matinee Musicale,
Tuesday Morning Music Club and dozens of college music
series around the country. In 2014 he was the featured recitalist
for the NATS National convention where that organization’s
president declared him “the next Thomas Hampson.”
His latest solo CD American Portraits (with Donna Loewy, piano)
went to #1 on Amazon classical. Garland also has four other
recordings on the Telarc, Naxos, GPR and Azica Labels.
In past seasons Garland has portrayed Rossini’s Figaro with
Dayton Opera, Knoxville Opera and Cincinnati Opera (cover),
Schaunard at Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Saratoga, Atlanta
Opera and Dayton Opera; Ping (Turandot) at Arizona Opera,
Silvio (I Pagliacci) with Hawaii Opera Theater, Don Giovanni at
Opera New Jersey, Mozart’s Count at Dayton Opera, Guglielmo
at Opera Saratoga, Mercutio at Lyric Opera of San Antonio and
Annapolis Opera, Giuseppe (The Gondoliers) with Utah Opera
and Danilo with Sarasota Artist Concert Series.
Other concert performances include Handel’s Messiah with
Boston Baroque, UMS (Ann Arbor, MI), Dartmouth Handel
Society (Helmuth Rilling, conductor) and the Colorado Bach
Ensemble. He has also performed Carmina Burana, Ein
Deutches Requiem, Five Mystical Songs, Faure Requiem,
Durufle Requiem and a number of new and world premiere
works for orchestra.
Particularly suited for Baroque repertoire, Garland has sung
numerous performances with Boston Baroque and the Colorado
Bach Ensemble, sang in Cincinnati Opera’s first Baroque
production (La Calisto). He has also soloed with Emmanuel
Music in Boston.
Garland is the winner of the Lavinia Jensen, NATSAA,
Washington International, American Traditions, NATS and Opera
Columbus Competition and was a prize winner in the Montreal
International, Jose Iturbi, Gerda Lissner, McCammon and Palm
Beach International Competitions. He was an apprentice at the
San Francisco Opera Center and the Seattle Opera and
Cincinnati Opera Young Artists programs. He has studied at the
Steans Institute and is a graduate of the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst and the Cincinnati CollegeConservatory of Music. His teachers and coaches have included
Paulina Stark, Jon Humphrey, Oren Brown, William McGraw,
Penelope Bitzas, Elizabeth Mannion, Martin Katz, Margo Garrett,
Steven Blier, Donna Loewy, Kenneth Griffiths and Terry Lusk.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Andrew Garland
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2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Franz von Bieber: Mystery Sonatas
2015 - 2016 season
Performance: Friday, March 10, 2017
12
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CHRISTINA DAY MARTINSON, concertmaster, Boston
Baroque
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
in 2009, recorded this masterwork with Boston Baroque for
Telarc Records.
Born in Saskatchewan, Canada, baroque violinist Christina Day
Martinson has twice been a National Finalist and prize-winner in
the Canadian Music Competition. She has performed solo
concertos with Boston Baroque, Tempesta di Mare, the
UNICAMP Symphony Orchestra in Brazil, the NEC Bach
Ensemble and the Symphony Orkest Mozart in Amsterdam.
She is also the recipient of the Netherland-America Foundation
Grant and Frank Huntington Beebe Award.
Ms. Martinson serves as the concertmaster for Boston Baroque,
is a tenured member of the Handel and Haydn Society and
recently served as concertmaster under Sir Roger Norrington.
She was principal second violin of Philadelphia's baroque
orchestra Tempeste di Mare from 2003 - 2006 and she is also a
member of the award-winning chamber ensemble Musicians of
the Old Post Road.
Ms. Martinson has been featured twice on WGBH radio's
Classics in the Morning with Cathy Fuller, performing Heinrich
Biber's Mystery Sonatas with harpsichordist Martin Pearlman.
She has given chamber music recitals in Jordan Hall as well as a
nationally televised chamber concert in Japan's Ishihara Hall in
June 2006. In March 2008, Ms. Martinson performed all of J.S.
Bach's Brandenburg Concertos with Joshua Rifkin's Bach
Ensemble at the Turingen Bachwonen Festival in Germany. She
also performed Vivaldi's Four Seasons with Boston Baroque and
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Christina Day Martinson
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2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
OPERA!
Frideric Handel: Giuio Cesare
Friday April 21 and Sunday April 23, 2017
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SUSANNA PHILLIPS, soprano - Alabama-born soprano
Susanna Phillips, recipient of The Metropolitan Opera’s 2010
Beverly Sills Artist Award, continues to establish herself as one
of today’s most sought-after singing actors and recitalists. The
2015-16 season will see Phillips return to the Metropolitan
Opera for an eighth consecutive season starring as Roselinda in
the Jeremy Sams production of Die Fledermaus conducted for
the first time by music director James Levine, as well as a return
of her acclaimed Musetta in Puccini’s La Bohème. Phillips will
also return to the stage of Lyric Opera of Chicago as Juliet in
Gounod’s Romeo and Juliet under the baton of Emmanuel
Villaume. A return to Boston Lyric Opera will mark Phillips’ debut
in the role of Hanna in a new production of Lehár’s The Merry
Widow.
2015-16 orchestra engagements include a return to the San
Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas conducting
Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Beethoven’s Missa
Solemnis with David Robertson and the Sydney Symphony and
Mahler’s Das klagende Lied with Jaap van Zweden and the
Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Phillips will also return to the St.
Louis Symphony Orchestra for Vivier’s Lonely Child and
Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with David Robertson, as well as the
Oratorio Society of New York for Filas’ Requiem with music
director Kent Tritle.
Last season saw Phillips return to the Metropolitan Opera
starring as Antonia in Bartlett Sher’s production of Les Contes
D’Hoffmann under the baton of James Levine, as well as a
reprise of her house debut role of Musetta in La Bohème.
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Additional engagements included her debut at Oper Frankfurt as
Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Arminda in Mozart’s La Finta
Giradiniera at Santa Fe Opera conducted by Harry Bicket,
Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with Paul McCreesh and the
Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon and the title role in Handel’s
Agrippina with Boston Baroque under Martin Pearlman.
Phillips’ 2014-15 orchestral engagements were highlighted by a
performance of Fauré’s Requiem with the Dallas Symphony
Orchestra with Jaap van Zweden and a return to the San
Francisco Symphony for Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with
Michael Tilson Thomas. Additional performances included
Strauss’ Four Last Songs at the opening night gala of the
Louisiana Philharmonic’s season and with the Mexico National
Symphony Orchestra, a solo concert with Music of the Baroque
conducted by Jane Glover, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with
Oratorio Society of New York, and Mendelssohn’s arrangement
of Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with the Mendelssohn Club of
Philadelphia.
Highlights of Phillips’ previous seasons include numerous
additional Metropolitan Opera appearances as Fiordiligi in Così
fan tutte in what The New York Times called a “breakthrough
night,” Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Donna Anna in Don
Giovanni, Pamina in Julie Taymor’s production of The Magic
Flute, Musetta in La Bohème (both in New York and on tour in
Japan) and as a featured artist in the Met’s Summer Recital
Series in both Central Park and Brooklyn Bridge Park. She also
appeared at Carnegie Hall for a special concert performance as
Stella in Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Reneé
Fleming – a role she went on to perform, to rave reviews, at
Lyric Opera of Chicago and as Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes with
the St. Louis Symphony. She made her Santa Fe Opera debut
as Pamina, and subsequently performed a trio of other Mozart
roles with the company as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Countess
Almaviva in le Nozze di Figaro, and Donna Elvira in Don
Giovanni. As a member of the Ryan Opera Center, Phillps sang
the female leads in Roméo et Juliette and Die Fledermaus.
Additional roles include Elmira in Reinhard Keiser’s The Fortunes
of King Croesus, Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice and the title role
in Lucia di Lammermoor, Countess in le Nozze di Figaro and
Donna Anna, as well as appearances with the Dallas Opera,
Minnesota Opera, Fort Worth Opera Festival, Boston Lyric
Opera and Opera Birmingham.
Highly in demand by the world’s most prestigious orchestras,
Phillips has appeared with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic
under Alan Gilbert, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San
Francisco Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Oratorio Society of
New York, Santa Fe Symphony, Santa Barbara Symphony, St.
Louis Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and Santa Fe Concert
Association.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Susanna Phillips
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LAWRENCE ZAZZO, countertenor
The American countertenor Lawrence Zazzo is one of the most
outstanding singers of his generation. He makes his debut this
season with Boston Baroque. A native of Philadelphia and a
graduate in both English and Music from Yale University and
King’s College, Cambridge, Lawrence made his operatic debut
as Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream to great acclaim
while completing his vocal studies at the Royal College of
Music, London.
He has since appeared in many of the world’s finest opera
houses and concert halls. His opera roles include the title role in
Giulio Cesare (Metropolitan Opera New York, Paris, London,
Brussels, Seville, Bilbao), the title role in Gluck’s Orfeo (Vienna,
Toronto, Oslo, Netherlands), Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s
Dream (Rome, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Toronto), Farnace in
Mitridate (Munich), the title role in Radamisto (English National
Opera), Arsamene in Serse (Theatre des Champs-Elysees,
English National Opera), Goffredo in Rinaldo (Berlin Staatsoper,
Zurich, Opéra de Montpellier), Ottone in Agrippina (Brussels,
Frankfurt, Theatre des Champs- Elysees), Endimione in La
Calisto (Munich, Brussels, Paris), Ottone in L’incoronazione di
Poppea (Vienna, Berlin, Brussels, Munich), Ruggiero in Orlando
Furioso (Frankfurt), and the title roles in Handel’s Sosarme (Sao
Carlos, Lisbon) and Alessandro (Karlsruhe).
Lawrence is also a keen advocate of 20th century and
contemporary music. He recently sang the premiere
performance of Rolf Riehm's Sirenengesang at the Frankfurt
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Opera, and created the role of Trinculo in Thomas Ades’ The
Tempest at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. His Paris
Opera debut was as Kreon in Liebermann’s Medea. He has also
sung Sciarrino’s Luci mie traditrici in Brussels, New York and
Rouen, and is closely associated with the role of Mascha in
Peter Eötvos’ Three Sisters which he has performed in several
productions in Lyon, Brussels, Edinburgh, Vienna and the
Netherlands. He made his BBC Symphony Orchestra debut in
their commission of Jonathan Dove’s Hojoki and sang the
Refugee in Jonathan Dove’s Flight for the Glyndebourne
Festival. He made his Wigmore recital debut with a programme
of 20th-century American songs, and recently also premiered
there a commissioned song cycle of Shakespeare fool songs by
composer Iain Bell.
Lawrence has worked with many distinguished conductors in
the fields of Baroque and contemporary music, including René
Jacobs, William Christie, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Rinaldo
Alessandrini, Christophe Rousset, John Nelson, Ivor Bolton,
James Conlon, Alan Curtis, Hervé Niquet, Harry Bicket, Joshua
Rifkin, Christopher Hogwood, Peter Eötvos, Jean-Claude
Malgoire, Trevor Pinnock, Jordi Savall, Harry Christophers and
Paul Goodwin. He was the first western countertenor invited to
China to sing Messiah at the Shanghai Opera. His international
concert career highlights include: the title roles of Handel’s
Lotario and Riccardo Primo with the Kammerorchester Basel in
a European tour and recording with Paul Goodwin, Messiah with
Rene Jacobs and the Freiburger Barockorchester and in Notre
Dame Cathedral with John Nelson and L’ensemble orchestrale
de Paris, Bach Lutheran Masses under Joshua Rifkin in Leipzig,
the St. Matthew Passion in Ambronay and Köthen with the
Akademie für Alte Musik, the title role in Handel’s Amadigi with
Christopher Hogwood and the AAM in London and Birmingham,
the title role in Mozart’s Ascanio in Alba with the Berliner
Symphoniker, Vivaldi’s Nisi Dominus and Gloria with the Israel
Camerata, the B Minor Mass with Ivor Bolton in Salzburg,
Jephtha in Graz with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Theodora in Paris
and Vienna with Hervé Niquet and Le concert spirituel and Saul
in Berlin and Lisbon with René Jacobs and Concerto Köln. An
accomplished recitalist, he has given many concerts around
Europe, most recently at the Wigmore Hall, the Norwegian
Opera, the Festival d’Opera Baroque de Beaune, the Rheinvokal
Festival, the MA Festival Bruges and the Vienna Konzerthaus.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Lawrence Zazzo
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JOHN HOLIDAY - Countertenor
John Holiday, recent nominee for “Newcomer of the Year,” by
the German magazine Opernwelt and a third prize winner at
Plácido Domingo’s 2014 Operalia Competition, has established
himself as a singer to watch in the opera world. Singing the role
of Cesare in the U.S. Premiere of Catone in Utica by Antonio
Vivaldi during the 2015 Glimmerglass Festival, Holiday was
greeted with standing ovations and outstanding critical praise.
“. . . there is a major reason to see this production: the superb
young countertenor John Holiday, in the role of Caesar, who
displayed an arrestingly powerful, secure, and dramatically high
instrument. I had that jolt of excitement once before: exactly 20
years ago, at Glimmerglass, when David Daniels sang the title
role in “Tamerlano” and made operatic countertenors something
to be reckoned with,” stated Heidi Waleson, of The Wall Street
Journal.
This fall, Holiday reprised his role as Caesar in Catone in Utica
with Opera Lafayette with performances in Washington, D.C.
and New York City, also to critical acclaim – “Holiday has it all
going. His voice is powerful and agile and has an immense
range, with seamless registers top to bottom,” stated The
Washington Post. Also during the 2015-2016 season, Holiday will sing a program
with Ars Lyrica in Houston, and The Holiday Experience: One
Night Only at the Glimmerglass Festival 2016. Holiday will
reprise the role of First Male Voice in Huang Ruo's Paradise
Interrupted for The Lincoln Center Festival 2016.
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Holiday debuted with the Spoleto Festival USA 2015 in the
world premiere of Paradise Interrupted, composed by Huang
Ruo with visual design and direction by Jennifer Wen Ma.
Holiday also substituted in the role of Zaida in Veremonda,
l’amazzone di Aragona by Francesco Cavalli during its U.S.
Premiere run at the USA Spoleto Festival. Due to last minute
cast needs, he learned the role in only one day. Holiday also
debuted in 2014 at the Los Angeles Opera in Barrie Kosky’s
acclaimed production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas as the
Sorceress and appeared with the Wolf Trap Opera in June 2014
as Caesar in Handel’s Giulo Cesare. During the 2013-2014
season, he was also seen in the title roles of Radamisto at the
Juilliard School with the Juilliard Orchestra in Giya
Kancheli’s And Farewell Goes Out Sighing . . . under Anne
Manson, and as Sposo in Scarlatti’s La Sposa dei Cantici with
Ars Lyrica in Houston. Holiday made his Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist with the
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 2012 in Bernstein’s Chichester
Psalms. John also joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera to
cover Nireno in Giulio Cesare under Harry Bicket in David
McVicar’s new production and reprised his roles in Philip
Glass’s Galileo Galilei at the Cincinnati Opera, having first
performed the work at the Portland Opera for his operatic stage
debut. He was an apprentice artist at Santa Fe Opera where he
covered the role of Corrado in Peter Sellars’s production of
Vivaldi’s Griselda and was seen as the Refugee in Jonathan
Dove’s Flight for the Apprentice Scenes Program. John’s recital schedule includes engagements in Saint Paul,
Minnesota with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the
Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Chorus of Westerly in Rhode
Island, the Nashville Symphony and programs with Ars Lyrica
and Mercury Baroque in Houston, Texas.
Major competitions and award programs have recognized
John’s accomplishments. He is a 2014 recipient of the Catherine
Filene Shouse Career Development Grant from the Wolf Trap
Foundation for the Performing Arts and is also a recipient of the
Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation
and first prize from the Richard Tucker Foundation Sara Tucker
award. He was awarded first place at both the Gerda Lissner
International Vocal Competition for 2013 and the Sullivan
Foundation for 2012. John also received a first place win at the
Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. In 2007, he was the first
place winner in his district of the Metropolitan Opera National
Council Auditions. In addition to his classical repertoire, Mr. Holiday excels in jazz
and gospel music having opened for Grammy award winner
Jason Mraz in concert. Mr. Holiday recently released his debut
jazz album entitled The Holiday Guide.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
John Holiday
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ANN MCMAHON QUINTERO, mezzo-soprano - Praised for
her “crème caramel tones,” Ann McMahon has been recognized
as a “warm and ingratiating mezzo” in Albuquerque Journal.
Her complex portrayal as Azuceno in Il Trovatore was described
as “loving and sensitive, fierce and provocative, hypersensitive
but generous” in Le Soir. In her 2014-15 season Ms. Quintero
toured Poland as soloist in Messiah with Boston Baroque. She
sang Ulrica in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera with Austin Lyric
Opera, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Buffalo Philharmonic
under JoAnn Falletta, and Verdi’s Requiem with the Defiant
Requiem Foundation at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall. In summer
of 2015 Ms. Quintero was soloist in Dvořàk’s Stabat Mater in a
return to Berkshire Choral Festival and in the 2015-16 season
she debuts with Musica Viva as Azucena in Il trovatore at Hong
Kong City Hall.
Her 2013-14 season included her debut with Virginia Opera as
Mistress Quickly in Verdi’s Falstaff, soloist in Beethoven’s
Symphony No. 9 in a return to Boston Baroque, and in Verdi’s
Requiem with the Defiant Requiem Foundation at Strathmore,
under Murry Sidlin. In summer 2013 she was mezzo soloist in
Britten’s Spring Symphony and Vivaldi’s Gloria with the
Berkshire Choral Festival. In the 2012-13 season she made her
debut with the Spoleto Festival USA as Suor Pazienza in
Giordano’s Mese Mariano, sang Mary in Der fliegende Holländer
in a return to Boston Lyric Opera, Amneris in Aida with
Annapolis Opera and soloist in Messiah with Boston Baroque
under Martin Pearlman.
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
Recent highlights include Azucena in Il trovatore with Opéra
Royal de Wallonie, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff with Opéra de
Lausanne and the Old Lady in Candide with Portland Opera. At
the Virginia Arts Festival Ms. Quintero was soloist in Mahler’s
Symphony No. 8 as Mulier Samaritana under JoAnn Falleta, and
she sang selections from Les Pêcheurs de perles, La Rondine,
and Aida at the Berkshire Choral Festival.
Other recent engagements include performances of Hippolyta in
A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Boston Lyric Opera, singing
as soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with the Buffalo Philharmonic
Orchestra, Verdi’s Requiem with the Cathedral Choral Society at
Washington National Cathedral, a return to Boston Baroque for
Handel’s Messiah, to Washington National Opera as Auntie in
Peter Grimes, and to Boston Baroque for Michael Haydn’s
Requiem. She also sang as Mistress Quickly in excerpts of
Falstaff at the National Endowment for the Arts Opera Honors
Inaugural Awards Concert at the Kennedy Center.
Her successes include her international operatic debut with New
Israeli Opera as La Haine in Gluck’s Armide and a return to the
company as Marquise Melibea in Il viaggio a Reims. She also
sang Baba the Turk in The Rake’s Progress with Angers Nantes
Opera and joined Teatro alla Scala for its production of Maazel’s
1984. Previously with Washington National Opera she sang
Tisbe in La cenerentola and Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte. She
joined Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Olga Olsen in Street
Scene and the company’s production of Hänsel und Gretel,
Palm Beach Opera as Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri, and Toledo
Opera as Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette. With Santa Fe Opera,
she sang Glasa in Kátya Kabanová as well as Teresa in La
sonnambula, in addition to scenes of Cornelia in Giulio Cesare
and Leonora in La Favorita.
An accomplished oratorio soloist, Ms. Quintero has appeared
frequently with Boston Baroque where her performances have
included the title role in Vivaldi’s Juditha Triumphans and soloist
in Messiah. She has also sung Messiah with Charlotte and
Alabama symphony orchestras and the National Philharmonic;
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Columbus Symphony;
Haydn’s Paukenmesse at Carnegie Hall; and a concert
performance of Guillaume Tell with Opera Orchestra of New
York.
Ann McMahon Quintero graduated with honors and received her
Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University, where her
performances included Ravel's Shéhérazade and Bach's
Magnificat and Mass in B Minor.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Ann McMahon Quintero
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JENNIFER RIVERA, soprano - Grammy® nominated artist
Jennifer Rivera consistently earns praise for delivering
exceptional vocalism, superb musicianship, and a powerful
stage presence. She returns for a performance with Boston
Baroque after her stunning performance in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in
Patria in 2014. Her performance of the title role in Handel's
Faramondo with Brisbane Baroque in Australia recently earned
her The Helpmann Award for best leading female performer in
an opera. Her European debut as Sesto in La clemenza di Tito
with the Teatro Regio di Torino directed by Graham Vick and
conducted by Roberto Abaddo was followed by her debut with
the Berlin Staatsoper as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, as well
as Nerone in a new production of Agrippina conducted by Rene
Jacobs. She was then invited to sing Licida in L’Olimpiade by
Pergolesi at the Innsbruck Early Music Festival and returned to
the Berlin Staatsoper as Rosina, and as Ismene in a new
production of Antigone by Traetta conducted by Maestro
Jacobs.
Recent seasons have found Ms. Rivera singing Faramondo with
Brisbane Baroque, Sister Helen in Dead Man Walking with
Opera Parallele, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with Portland
Opera, as well as singing with the Milwaukee Symphony, for
Schubert’s Mass No. 6 under Hans Graf; Gotham Chamber
Opera, for Baden-Baden 1927; Opera Omaha as Nerone in
Agrippina; Boston Baroque, as Penelope in Monteverdi’s Il
ritorno d’Ulisse in patria; and Central City Opera, to debut the
role of Sister Helen Prejean in a new production of Dead Man
Walking. Current and future seasons include a return to include
a return to Music of the Baroque for Bach Cantatas, a debut
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
with Dallas Opera in the Mark Adamo world premiere Becoming
Santa Claus, and Sister Helen in Dead Man Walking with New
Orleans Opera. Ms. Rivera will also present a solo recital at
Bargemusic to introduce the release of her first solo recording
Innocence / Experience released by Roven Records and
distributed by Naxos. Ms. Rivera returned to Innsbruck for the title role in
La Stellidaura Vendicante during summer of the 2012. The
ensuing 2012-2013 season included a return to the Berlin
Staatsoper and an appearance at the Salle Pleyel in Paris for
Agrippina, Mrs. Williamson in The Difficulty of Crossing a
Field with Nashville Opera, and a debut with Central City
Opera as Rosina in a new production.
2011 saw the release of two recordings for the mezzo: Nerone in
Agrippina for Harmonia Mundi (Grammy® Nomination 2013) and
Licida in L’Olimpiade for Sony Music. The 2011-12 season
found her engaged as Cherubino with Opera Royal de Wallonie,
as Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette for Palm Beach Opera, and
with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.
While still a student at Juilliard, Ms. Rivera was invited to join
the roster of the New York City Opera, and after winning their
prestigious Debut Artist of Year award, went on to sing over 70
performances with the company including Cherubino, Rosina,
Lazuli in L’Etoile, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, and Nerone in
Agrippina. Praised repeatedly by the New York Times for her
“radiant mezzo soprano” (Elmer Gantry), her “warm dark
tone” (Barbiere), and “fresh ready singing”, (Hansel) her voice
has also been described by the Times as being “dark, musical,
and very agile”(Cenerentola) and possessing “richness, ease,
and exactness” (L’Etoile).
Previous season’s engagements for Ms. Rivera include Rosina
with Opera Pacific, Angelina in La cenerentola with Florida
Grand Opera, and Ines in Donizetti’s Maria Padilla with
Washington Concert Opera. She also appeared at Avery Fisher
Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra singing Varese’s
Offrandes and with the Polish National Opera as Orsini in
Lucrezia Borgia conducted by Will Crutchfield. Other
engagements for the mezzo have included her debut with New
Orleans Opera as Stephano in Roméo et Juliette and her return
to Portland Opera for Rosina.
A favorite among living composers, Ms. Rivera created the
starring role of Sharon Falconer in the critically acclaimed World
Premiere of Robert Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry, which premiered at
Nashville Opera in 2007. Additionally, Ms. Rivera has performed
in four productions of Mark Adamo’s very successful opera Little
Women (in New York, Tokyo, Cleveland, and Dayton), as well as
his newest work Lysistrata. The summer of 2010 found her in the
World Premiere of Peter Ash’sThe Golden Ticket as Veruca Salt
at Opera Theater of Saint Louis.
Boston Baroque 2016-2017
Jennifer Rivera
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MARY BIRNBAUM, director Nominated for Best Newcomer of
2015 at the International Opera Awards in London, Mary
Birnbaum has been singled out as a young stage director to
watch. Passionate about using live performance as a tool to
create community as well as full-throttle acting, Birnbaum has
directed opera and theater in New York, regionally and
internationally.
Her recent production of The Rape of Lucretia at Juilliard
garnered a rave from Anthony Tommasini at The New York
Times who called it “viscerally overwhelming”. Other New York
credits include the premiere of Jeremy Denk and Steven
Stucky’s The Classical Style at Carnegie Hall in December 2014,
and a 9-singer chamber version of Eugene Onegin, also for the
Juilliard School, co-led by conductor Matt Aucoin.
Regionally and internationally, her work has taken her to Santa
Fe, Seattle, Costa Rica, Tel Aviv, Houston, TX, Ojai and Berkeley,
CA. Her production of Hänsel und Gretel in Houston was #2 on
a list of ‘Best Operas in 2014’, following only the Ring Cycle at
HGO.
2015 - 2016 Season Artist Bios
as over 40 actors performed scenes all over the park. She has
also worked with playwrights to develop new work, most
notably in the Soho Rep Writers/Directors Lab and at Ars Nova.
Most recently, she co-wrote a feminist pop-concert called Baby
No More Times with Melissa Lusk and Caroline V. McGraw. Teaching and coaching is another important part of Ms.
Birnbaum’s career. She was invited to teach acting at Juilliard at
age 26 and now holds the position of Associate Director of the
Artist Diploma Program. In addition, she has worked with
singers from the Lindemann program in acting class and scenes
programs.
Ms. Birnbaum holds an AB in English Language and Literature
with a minor in French from Harvard College and a certificate in
movement and design from Ecole Jacques Lecoq in Paris.
Upcoming gigs include The Magic Flute in Juilliard's Peter Jay
Sharpe Theater, Il barbiere di Siviglia at Rice University, Otello at
the Taipei Philharmonic, and La Traviata at Opera Columbus. Ms. Birnbaum has produced and developed new plays and
theatrical events in New York. From 2009-2012, Birnbaum
founded/ran a theater company, Art Party, which produced
story-specific events that engaged the audience in creative
ways. STARBOX, a performance installation in Bryant Park,
involved the audience lining up for a face-to-face meeting with a
star. However the real play happened while the audience waited,
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