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 John Bellemer - Don Ottavio
John Bellemer appears in leading roles at opera houses across North America and Europe. The 2009-10 season John Bellemer sings as soloist in Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Haydn's "Harmoniemesse" with New York Choral Society, "Messiah" with the New Choral Society, Don José in Carmen in a return to Boston Lyric Opera, Rodolfo in La bohème with the Arizona Opera Company, and Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore with Toledo Opera.
His engagements in 2008-09 included Boconnion in The Mines of Sulfur at the Wexford Festival, Ferrando in Così fan tutte with both Madison Opera and Opéra de Rouen in Paris under Oswald Sallaberger, Toni in Henze's Elegy for Young Lovers at Teatro Arriaga in Spain, Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia at the Buxton Festival, Don José in Carmen with Michigan Opera Theatre, and "Messiah" with Alabama Symphony.
Recent Engagements also include the Duke (Rigoletto) and Alfredo (La traviata) with Idée Fixe in Belgium, Macduff (Macbeth) in Vancouver, Alfredo (La Traviata) with New York City Opera, Ferrando (Così fan tutte) with Opéra National de Bordeaux, Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) with Opéra de Rennes, Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) with Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) and Belmonte (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) in Calgiari.
 Garnett Bruce - Stage Director
Garnett Bruce serves as Opera Omaha's Principal Stage Director and Artistic Adviser. He returned recently from the Lyric Opera of Chicago for directing their opening production of Tosca. Other productions this season include Madama Butterfly for Dallas Opera, Carmen for Utah Symphony & Opera, La Bohème for Austin Lyric Opera and Rigoletto for Lyric Opera of Kansas City. A snapshot of highlights from his past seasons include La Traviata and collaborating with Peter Sellars for Doctor Atomic at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Tosca (Opera Pacific, Houston, Denver, Cleveland); Turandot (San Francisco, Dallas, Cleveland, Louisville); his own production of La Cenerentola (Kansas City, Austin and Orlando); Aida, Madama Butterfly and Vanessa for San Diego Opera; new productions of La Clemenza di Tito and La Cenerentola for Wolf Trap Opera; Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Madama Butterfly for Utah Symphony and Opera; and Francesca Zambello's productions of Madama Butterfly (Houston, Opera Pacific, Pittsburgh) and Jenufa (Dallas, San Francisco) and his European debut staging the David Hockney production of Turandot for Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy.
 Matthew Burns - Leporello
In 2010-11 Matthew Burns sings as Notary in Intermezzo in a return to New York City Opera, and Taddeo in L'italiana in Algeri with Opera Southwest. He recently performed Paolo in Schreker's Die Gezeichneten with Los Angeles Opera; Leporello with Opera Cleveland; Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia with Toledo Opera; sang as soloist in "Messiah" with Princeton Pro Musica; in Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" with Hong Kong Sinfonietta; in Walton's Belshazzar's Feast with the New Choral Society; and in Mozart's "Coronation Mass" with Atlanta Symphony, under Roberto Abbado.
In summer of 2010 he returned to Bard's SummerScape as Innkeeper and Policeman in Schreker's Die Ferne Klang and appears at Symphony Space to sing in the world premiere of John Eaton's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
Recent highlights include joining the roster of the Metropolitan Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni in his Arizona Opera debut; Leporello with Boston Lyric Opera; the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance with Kentucky Opera; Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera New Jersey; Agrippa in Antony and Cleopatra in his sixth season with New York City Opera; a return to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to perform the role of Tita in Martín y Soler's Una Cosa Rara; the title role in Le nozze di Figaro at Opera Grand Rapids; Stravinsky's Pulcinella with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra; Grandpa Moss in The Tender Land for the Southeastern Festival of Song with the Charleston Symphony; Beethoven's "Symphony No. 9" with the Albany Symphony; a return to Boston Lyric Opera as Colline in La bohème; and his Dayton Opera debut as Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia.
 Kelly Markgraf - Don Giovanni
Kelly Markgraf recently performed Schumann’s "Dichterliebe" at the La Jolla Music Festival earning notices for his rich, assertive voice which seemed to grow in warmth and flexibility as the cycle went on…” During his tenure at the Juilliard Opera Center, his work last season included the roles of Mamoud in a staged concert of John Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer, conducted by the composer, and Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff. In Fall 2008 he participated in the West Side Story portion of the all-Bernstein program that opened Carnegie Hall’s season and was nationally televised, under Michael Tilson Thomas.
Mr. Markgraf also made his Pittsburgh Opera debut as Ragged Man in Ricky Ian Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath, a role he created at Minnesota Opera in 2007 during his time there in the Resident Artist Program. In Spring 2009 he was part of Ken Noda’s Winterreise project at Juilliard; in 2008, as a second-year apprentice at the Santa Fe Opera, he sang the role of the Bosun in Billy Budd.??In the 2009-10 season, Mr. Markgraf made is New York City Opera debut as Masetto in Don Giovanni, followed by the Count in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Omaha.
 Darren Perry - Masetto
American baritone Darren Perry holds a Masters and a Bachelors degree in Music from the University of Maryland, where he studied voice with François Loup.
His performances include Lockit in The Beggar’s Opera conducted by Lorin Maazel, Sid in Albert Herring with the Merola Opera Program, Sam in The Pirates of Penzance with Opera Omaha, the "St. John Passion" at Shepherd University, and Brahms’s "Requiem" with Master Singers of Milwaukee.
He appears as Courchemin in Opera Layfette’s recording of Lully’s Armide for Naxos, and was last in Omaha as a member of our Voices in Residence in the fall of 2008.
 Dean Peterson - Commendatore
Dean Peterson is a regular guest of the leading opera houses of the world, including the Metropolitan Opera (the Four Villains in Les Contes d’Hoffman, Boito's Mefistofele, Mustafa in L’Italiana in Algeri, Mephistopheles in Faust, Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, King in Aida), Lyric Opera of Chicago (Frank Maurrant in Street Scene, Lodovico in Otello), San Francisco Opera (Mustafa), Canadian Opera (Kecal in The Bartered Bride), Cincinnati Opera (Escamillo in Carmen, title role in Don Giovanni, Oroveso in Norma, Timur in Turandot), The Dallas Opera (the Four Villains in Les Contes d’Hoffman, Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Oreste in Elektra, the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen and the Doctor in Wozzeck), Houston Grand Opera (Rucker Lattimore in the world premiere of Cold Sassy Tree, the Villains in Les Contes d’Hoffman), Los Angeles Opera (Pistola in Falstaff and Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow), Minnesota Opera (Philip in Don Carlos in French and Ferrara in Lucrezia Borgia), Pittsburgh Opera (Escamillo), San Diego Opera (Rucker Lattimore, Alphonso in Cosi fan tutte, Leporello in Don Giovanni), Casals Festival (Boito’s Mefistofele), Santa Fe Opera and Spoleto, U.S.A. Festival (Walther in Luisa Miller). He has also appeared with Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall (Ferrara in Lucrezia Borgia, Giorgio in I Puritani) and the Washington Concert Opera (Phorcas in Esclarmonde).
He also appears with many regional companies, including the Atlanta Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Calgary Opera, Opera Carolina (Charlotte), Cleveland Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Edmonton Opera, Opera Hamilton, Manitoba Opera, New Orleans Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and Portland Opera, and has earned critical acclaim as a sought after interpreter of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Leporello, Escamillo, the four Villains, Mephistopheles, Mustafa, Olin Blitch in Susannah, and as Rucker Lattimore in Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree, written for him and premiered by the Houston Grand Opera.
In Europe, he has appeared in Italy with Teatro alla Scala Milan (Mephistopheles, Colline in La Boheme, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Don Fernando in Fidelio), Teatro Massimo Bellini di Catania, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Carlo Felice di Genoa (Rodolfo in La Sonnambula), Teatro Massimo di Palermo (title role in Bartok’s Bluebeard's Castle), in Spain with the Teatro Real in Madrid, Palma de Majorca (Mephistopheles, The Villains, and title role in Mefistofele), Malaga, Oviedo, in Austria at the Vienna State Opera (title role in Le Nozze di Figaro), in Germany at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (Olin Blitch, Villains), in France with Opera de Nice, in the Netherlands with the Netherlands Opera (title role in Le Nozze di Figaro), and in Switzerland with Geneva Opera.
Recent appearances include the New Orleans Opera (Basilio), Minnesota Opera (Four Villains), Dallas Opera (King Henry in Lohengrin), San Diego Opera (the Doctor in Wozzeck), the Metropolitan Opera for their productions of Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Madama Butterfly, Romeo and Juliette, War and Peace, Peter Grimes, Aida, and Ernani, Opera Pacific as Olin Blitch in Susannah and as Basilio, debut with Teatro de la Opera in San Juan, Puerto Rico as Raimondo, and return to the Metropolitan Opera for Il Trovatore and Madama Butterfly. He returned to the Met this season as Luther and Crespel in their new production of Les Contes d’Hoffman. Later this season, he will appear with Madison Opera as Daland, and with the Madison Symphony in scenes from Boris Godunov.
Notable orchestral engagements include the Maggio Musicale (Florence) for Mendelssohn's Oratorio St. Paul (Colin Davis) and Handel's Messiah (Zubin Mehta), Teatro alla Scala (Milan) in the title role of Mendelssohn's Elijah (Gianandrea Gavazzeni) Rossini's Petite Messe Solenelle (Neville Mariner), Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Riccardo Muti), Ravenna Festival in the Verdi Requiem (Riccardo Muti) which was taped for commercial release by EMI, Ravinia Festival for Rossini's Stabat Mater, (Riccardo Chailly),Valencia and Cuenca (Spain) for Rossini's Stabat Mater (Jesus Lopez-Cobos); L'Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice in Messiah, Elijah, Brahm's Requiem, Verdi Requiem and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony; the Israel Philharmonic for Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis (Zubin Mehta) and Symphony No. 9.
 Sandra Piques Eddy - Zerlina
Sandra Piques Eddy’s 2009-2010 season included her return to the Metropolitan Opera as Mercédès in Richard Eyre’s new production of Carmen, seen live in movie theaters worldwide as part of The Met Live in HD series. Also this season, Sandra returns to Boston Lyric Opera in her role debut as Idamante in Idomeneo, presents a recital at Amherst College, sings Sycorax in the Metropolitan Opera’s workshop of The Enchanted Island and performs Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti with Boston Midsummer Opera.
Upcoming performances include the title role in Carmen at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel at Portland Opera, Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri at Austin Lyric Opera, and her European debut as Carmen with Opera North UK.
Among Ms. Eddy’s most recent performances are as the title role in La Tragedie de Carmen with Chicago Opera Theater; the title role in La Cenerentola with both Austin Lyric Opera and Spoleto Festival (USA); Charmian in Antony and Cleopatra with New York City Opera at Carnegie Hall; Juno and Ino in Semele with Florentine Opera; Romeo in I Capuleti ed I Montecchi at Glimmerglass Opera; Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro at the Canadian Opera Company and Atlanta Opera; Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri with Vancouver Opera; Stephano in Romeo et Juiliette with Hawaii Opera Theater; Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte with Pittsburgh Opera and New York City Opera; Beatrice in Béatrice and Bénedict with Chicago Opera Theater; and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Austin Lyric Opera and Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.  Tamara Wapinsky - Donna Elvira
Soprano Tamara Wapinsky, an alumna of the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship and Merola Opera Center, made her San Francisco War Memorial Opera House debut as Freia in Das Rheingold and Musetta in La bohème in San Francisco Opera’s 2008-2009 season. The Pennsylvania native made her Company debut as The Water in The Little Prince and created the role of Tallulah Carter in Thomas Pasatieri’s The Hotel Casablanca with the 2007 Merola Opera Program.?This season she was seen as The Lover in Il tabarro and the First Alm Sister in Suor Angelica, and later returned for Helmwige in Die Walküre. While at San Francisco Opera, she covered the roles of such demanding repertoire as Marietta in Die Tote Stadt, Elettra in Idomeneo, and Desdemona in Otello.??She has sung under the batons of Donald Runnicles, Patrick Summers, Giuseppe Finzi, Nicola Luisotti, Michael Tilson Thomas and John DeMain. As an apprentice artist at Chautauqua Opera, she sang the role of Nella in Gianni Schicchi. Other roles in her repertoire include Giorgetta (Il tabarro), Beatrice Carbone (A View from the Bridge), Ellen Orford (Peter Grimes), Helena (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), and Folia in Noam Sivan’s The Fruits of Folia. Ms. Wapinksy is past prizewinner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Licia Albanese Puccini Competetion and the Opera Index Competition.
 Karin Wolverton - Donna Anna
Soprano Karin Wolverton most recently sang Pamina in The Magic Flute with the Minnesota Orchestra. Engagements for 2009-2010 included Musetta in La bohème and a cover of the title role of Salome with Minnesota Opera, and a concert appearance with Great Falls Symphony.
Other recent engagements include Mimi in La bohème with Pensacola Opera and the Spirit as well as covering the title role in Rusalka with Minnesota Opera. 2008-2009 saw a reprisal of her role in The Grapes of Wrath with Pittsburgh Opera, which she originated in the World Premiere with both Minnesota Opera and Utah Opera as well as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Piedmont Opera, and Mimi in La bohème with Teatro Nacional de Managua in Nicaragua. With the Des Moines Metro Opera Ms. Wolverton has sung Micaëla in Carmen, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, and Antonia in Les Contes d’ Hoffmann.
 J. Gawf - Chorus Master/Resident Music Director
A native of Oklahoma, Gawf is currently Resident Music Director and Chorus Master for Opera Omaha. Gawf has helped prepare education and outreach programs with the Omaha Symphony, Nebraska Choral Arts Society, Omaha Area Youth Orchestras, The Rose Theater, and several area Omaha high schools and middle schools. Within the last three years, Gawf has prepared four world premieres, including David DiChiera’s Cyrano for Michigan Opera Theater, Ned Rorem’s Our Town for Lake George Opera and the Opera Omaha premieres of Anthony Davis’ Wakonda’s Dream and Paul Moravec’s The Blizzard Voices. He has also prepared works with Lake George Opera, Augusta Opera and New Jersey Opera Theater. Having served on the music staff of both the University of Central Oklahoma and Temple University in Philadelphia, Gawf has frequently concertized throughout the United States and Europe.
 R. Keith Brumley - Set Design
R. Keith Brumley is the resident set designer for Lyric Opera of Kansas City, where his most recent projects include sets for Rossini’s Cenerentola and Verdi’s Ballo in maschera, Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Britten’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Brumley has also designed sets for the Des Moines Metro Opera, Kansas City Ballet, Utah Festival Opera, Opera Carolina, Virginia Opera, and Anchorage Opera and the Alaska Repertory Theatre. He has designed La Fanciulla de West for Seattle Opera, where he was master scenic artist from 1986-1991. Upcoming projects include Turandot to open Kansas City’s new Kaufmann Center for the Performing Arts in October 2011.
Susan Memmott Allred - Costume Design
Ms. Memmott Allred has been the Resident Costume Designer for Utah Opera since 1979. Her work has been seen in over 75 of the Company’s productions, and through the Utah Opera costume rental program, at venues throughout the U.S. and Canada. She also served as Designer and Consultant for the Mormon Miracle Pageant from 1983 to 1998, where her designs were seen by 100,000 audience members each summer.
James Sale - Lighting Design
Mr. Sale has designed over 500 shows in the last 30 years. His work in theater, opera and ballet has taken him all over the United States and the world. Design credits include: Oregon Shakespeare Festival, English Speaking Theater of Vienna, Denver Center, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Portland Center Stage, Alley Theater, Seattle Repertory, Studio Arena, Intiman Theater, St. Louis Repertory, Alliance Theater, Hartman, Asolo Theater, Alaska Repertory, Spoleto Festival in Italy, LA Opera, Wolf Trap, Opera Colorado, Palm Beach Opera, Tulsa Opera, Colorado Opera Festival, Kansas City Opera, Central City, Sarasota Ballet and Colorado Ballet. He is also senior designer and partner at James Sale Lighting, Inc., a firm specializing in high-end residential and commercial lighting design in Denver, Colorado. A frequent collaborator with Garnett Bruce, he lit most recently lit La Bohème and The Marriage of Figaro for Opera Omaha.
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