PUCCINI: Tosca

Yannick Nézet-Séguin - Opera, Conductor

Canadian-born conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin became the Met’s Jeanette Lerman-Neubauer Music Director with the beginning of the 2018–19 season, during which he conducts a new production of Verdi’s La Traviata, revivals of Debussy’s Pelléas et Mélisande and Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, and concerts with the Met Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. He made his company debut in 2009 with a new production of Bizet’s Carmen and has since returned every season, conducting new productions of Verdi’s Don Carlo, Gounod’s Faust, and Verdi’s Otello, as well as revivals of Dvořák’s Rusalka, La Traviata, Richard Strauss’s Elektra, and Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer and Parsifal. He has been music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra since 2012 and held the same position with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra—where he now serves as honorary conductor—between 2008 and 2018. Since 2000, he has served as artistic director and principal conductor of Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain. 

Maestro Nézet-Séguin has worked with many leading European ensembles and enjoys close collaborations with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, Munich’s Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and the Chamber Orchestra of Europe. From 2008 to 2014, he was principal guest conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. He has appeared at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival and the BBC Proms, as well as the festivals of Edinburgh, Lucerne, Grafenegg, Lanaudière, Vail, and Saratoga. He made his Salzburg Festival debut in 2008 conducting a new production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and returned in 2010 and 2011 for Mozart’s Don Giovanni. 

Other operatic appearances have included performances at La Scala, Covent Garden, the Dutch National Opera, and the Vienna State Opera. In 2011, he began a cycle of seven Mozart operas for the Festival Hall Baden-Baden, which Deutsche Grammophon recorded live. 

During the 2017–18 season, Maestro Nézet-Séguin led performances of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in concert in Baden-Baden and concerts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Montreal’s Orchestre Métropolitain, Berlin Philharmonic, and Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. 

Recent recordings include Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Die Entführung aus dem Serail and the complete symphonies of Schumann with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe; Stravinsky’s Le Sacre du Printemps, Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (featuring pianist Daniil Trifonov), and Bernstein’s Mass with the Philadelphia Orchestra; and Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 with the Rotterdam Philharmonic. 

Maestro Nézet-Séguin studied piano, conducting, composition, and chamber music at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec in Montreal and choral conducting at the Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, before going on to study with renowned conductors, most notably Carlo Maria Giulini. His honors include the Order of Montreal, Oskar Morawetz Award, Musical America’s 2016 Artist of the Year, the Royal Philharmonic Society Award, Canada’s National Arts Centre Award, the Prix Denise-Pelletier awarded by the Quebec government, and the 2015 Medal of Honor from the National Assembly of Quebec. He holds honorary doctorates from McGill University, the University of Quebec in Montreal, Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute, and Westminster Choir College of Rider University. He has received the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres du Québec in 2015 and was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2012 and an Officer of the Order of Québec in 2015.

Julianna Di Giacomo, Soprano

With her recent debuts in several top international opera houses, soprano Julianna Di Giacomo has earned the reputation as one of the exciting young up and coming lyrica-spinto sopranos on the classical music scene today. 

This season, Ms. Di Giacomo makes her debuts at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Leonora in Il Trovatore, Teatro La Fenice as Lina in Stiffelio, and Teatro de la Maestranza as Desdemona in Otello.  In addition, she will appear with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a concert performance of Tosca with Gustavo Dudamel, Maggio Musicale in Florence for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Zubin Mehta, the Cincinnati May Festival with James Conlon for Mendolssohn’s Elijah and Dvorak Stabat Mater, and the San Antonio Symphony in concert performances of Il Trovatore. 

 Ms. Di Giacomo made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Clotilde in Norma and was subsequently re-engaged for Lina in Stiffelio and Leonora in Il trovatore. Other recent North American engagements have included Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera at the San Francisco Opera, both Nedda in Pagliacci and the Verdi Requiem  at the Hollywood Bowl, special performances of Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in both Los Angeles and Caracas and broadcast live to movie theaters in North and South America;  Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and excerpts from Don Giovanni with the New York Philharmonic, Margherita/Elena in Mefistofele with the Collegiate Chorale at Carnegie Hall, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Los Angeles Opera, Il trovatore and Mathilde in Guillaume Tell at the Caramoor International Music Festival and Mme. Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmelites at the Pittsburgh Opera. She also appeared at Lincoln Center as a feature soloist in its Puccini 150th Birthday Celebration gala concert, and most recently made her Cincinnati May Festival debut in a performance of Elijah conducted by James Conlon. 

In Europe, Ms. Di Giacomo most recently made her debut at the Vienna Philharmonic in performances of the Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with Mo. Dudamel.  Other European engagements have included Lucrezia in I due Foscari at La Scala, the title role of Norma at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma in the famed Terme di Caracalla, Otello at the Teatro di Bari and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Valentine in Les Huguenots, Elena in I Vespri Siciliani, and the title role in Suor Angelica at the Teatro Real de Madrid, Le Roys d’Ys at the Opéra National Montpellier and Opera Comique, Il trovatore at Teatre Principal de Mao in Minorca, and performances of Il trovatore, Otello and Un Ballo in Maschera with Zubin Mehta and the Israel Philharmonic. In concert she has sung the Verdi Requiem with the Deutches Symphonie-Orchester in Berlin under James Conlon, with Daniele Gatti and the l’Orchestre National de France at the Théâtre des Champs–Élysées, the Teatro Comunale di Firenze with Zubin Mehta, the Teatro Massimo in Palermo, and with Los Angeles Philharmonic under Gustavo Dudamel recorded live from the Hollywood Bowl. 

A native of Santa Monica, CA, Ms. Di Giacomo is a graduate of the San Francisco Opera’s prestigious Merola Program and the Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Program. Her many awards include the Leonie Rysanek Prize from the George London Foundation, the Top Prize from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the First Prize from the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation Competition, the NYCO Richard F. Gold Career Grant for her portrayal of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and numerous scholarships from the Opera Buffs Foundation.  Please consider donating to this wonderful foundation which gives grants to young singers.

Yusif Eyvazov, Tenor

Yusif Eyvazov is a dramatic tenor, People’s Artist of Azerbaijan.  

Eyvazov kicks off his 18/19 season as Dick Johnson (La Fanciulla del West) at the Metropolitan Opera. Following this he will be seen at the Bolshoi Theatre as Herman (The Queen of Spades) and in the title role of Don Carlo. Then he will go back to Europe to perform Don Alvaro (La forza del destino) at Royal Opera House and the title tole role of Andrea Chenier at Vienna State Opera. On the concert stage together with his wife, soprano Anna Netrebko, the tenor will be heard at Formentor Sunset Classics in Mallorca, Kölner Philharmonie, opening of the concert-hall Zaryadye in Moscow, Knight Concert Hall in Miami, KKL Luzern, Alte Oper in Frankfurt and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. He finishes the 18/19 season, performing Maurizio (Adriana Lecouvreur) in concert at the Salzburg Festival. 

At the beginning of 2018 Eyvazov performed on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater: in January- Renato de Grieux in “Manon Lescaut” with Anna Netrebko, in February he sang for the first time the part of Herman in the new production of “The Queen of Spades”, P.I. Tchaikovsky, and Don Carlo, D. Verdi, in March.  

On December 7, Yusif successfully opened the season at La Scala by performing the part of André Chénier in the opera of Umberto Giordano. As a result of the close cooperation with the musical director of the production, Riccardo Chailly, Yusif debut on the Milan stage was named one of his best performances in the last few years by the critics. 

On September 1, 2017, duo Netrebko-Eyvazov released a new CD “Romanza”. The CD consists of the love songs that were specially written for the singers by the famous Russian composer Igor Krutoy.  

Mr Eyvazov´s 2016/17 season highlights the number of role debuts: Andrea Chenier, Don Carlos, Maurizio from “Adriana Lecouvreur”.  

In the 2015/16 season, Yusif Eyvazov made a series of important debuts at the world-renowned opera houses. He stared as Canio in Los Angeles Opera’s production of I Pagliacci conducted by Plácido Domingo, made his first appearances at the Metropolitan Opera and the Wiener Staatsoper singing Calaf in Turandot, and debuts at both the Paris Opera and at the Staatsoper Berlin as Manrico in Il Trovatore. His Salzburg Festival debut took place in the summer of 2016, as Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut. On the concert stage, he sang in Parma under the baton of Marco Boemi with a programme featuring works by Verdi and Puccini, in concert with Riccardo Muti in December, and undertook a major concert tour throughout Asia alongside Anna Netrebko, in the spring of 2016.  

In the 2014/15 season, Yusif Eyvazov performed Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana at the Teatro Filarmonico for the Verona Opera Festival and Radames in Aida with the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma. Mr Eyvazov sang Verdi’s Requiem at the Auditorium di Milano with the LaVerdi Symphony Orchestra and also a recital at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona alongside Anna Netrebko, conducted by Massimo Zanetti. 

Mr Eyvazov´s repertoire includes the roles of Alfredo in “La Traviata”, Cavaradossi in “Tosca”, Renato des Grieux in “Manon Lescaut”, Kalaf in “Turandot”, Andrea Chenier in “Andrea Chenier”, Rodolfo in “La Boheme”, Don Carlos in “Don Carlos” and many others. 

He lives in Vienna with his wife Anna Netrebko and her son Tiago. 

On March 9, 2017, by the decree of the President of Azerbaijan I. Aliyev Yusif Eyvazov was awarded the title of “People´s Artist of Azerbaijan”.

Elchin Azizov, BARITONE

Season 2019-20 includes new appearances of Azerbaijani baritone Elchin Azizov at Metropolitan Opera in New York – as Paolo in Simon Boccanegra and Lescaut in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut.

Within seasons 2018-2020 he participates in Samson et Dalila and Iolanta at Metropolitan Opera.

In seasons 2017-18 debuted as Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth at Opera de Lyon and the role of Scarpia in Tosca at Opera Nacional de Chili.

Together with Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvazov sang with big success the role of Gerard in concert performance of Andrea Chenier in Budapest in December 2017.

Also he participated in Netrebko and Eyvazov Halfworld Around Tour, that took place in Japan, New Zeeland, Australia, China, South Korea and Dubai in September-October 2017.

Last year engagements included Teatro dell’Opera di Roma (High Priest in Samson et Dalila), Opéra-Théatre de Limoges (Conte de Luna in Il Trovatore), Municipal Teatro Sant Santiago, Chili (Amonasro in Aida), Theatre an der Wien (Ibn Khakia, Iolanta).  Also performed “The Bells” by Rachmaninoff with Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and National Symphony Orchestra in Washington.

In 2015 made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Ibn-Hakia in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and received in immediate re-invitation.

In 2009 debuted as Jago in the concert performance at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Great Hall with Maestro Vladimir Fedoseev. Participated in the production of Tsar’s Bride at the Royal Opera Covent Garden with Maestro Mark Elder.

Participated in the Rostropovich International Festival in Baku in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011.

From 2008 – principal soloists at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow where he has sung among others Rodrigo (Don Carlo), Escamillo (Carmen), Germont (La Traviata), Ibn Khakia (Iolanta), Lescaut (Manon Lescaut – together with Anna Netrebko and Yusif Eyvasov), Misgir (Snow Maden),  Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), Prince Igor (Igor), Gryaznoj (Tsar’s Bride), Tomsky (Pick Dame).

From 2007 – soloists at the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Academy and Center (professor – Badri Maisuradze).

In August 2005 entered the Summer Academy “Mozarterum in Salsburg, during 2006-2006 had studied with Alessandro Milashi.

In 1997 graduated the Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Art

Born in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Richard Bernstein, Bass

The 2018/19 season will mark his 24th consecutive season with the Metropolitan Opera as he sings Pistola in Falstaff, Zuniga in Carmen, Bello in La Fanciulla del West, 2nd Armored Man in The Magic Flute and Commissioner #2 in Dialogues des Carmélites while also covering roles in Gianni Schicchi, Samson et Dalila, Adriana Lecouvrer, Tosca and Siegfried. 

In the 2017/18 season with the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Bernstein performed in Die Zauberflöte – both the full-length opera in German and a family-friendly abridged version in English – Tosca and Parsifal, while also covering roles Le nozze di Figaro, Elektra, Roméo et Juliette, and the American premiere of Thomas Adès’s The Exterminating Angel (new production). In addition he performed the role of Angelotti in Tosca with The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, bass soloist in Beethoven’s magisterial Ninth Symphony with the New Jersey Choral Society, and returned to one of his touchstone roles: Leporello in Don Giovanni, at Chautauqua Opera. 

Mr. Bernstein’s versatility is displayed in the diverse mix of repertoire he has performed and covered over the years with the Metropolitan Opera, running the gamut from classic operas to contemporary works, in languages as varied as Czech, French, German, Italian, Sanskrit, Russian, and English. These include roles in Faust, Satyagraha, Das Rheingold, Siegfried, La bohème, Simon Boccanegra, Die Zauberflöte, Tosca, Hamlet, From the House of the Dead, Armida, Ariadne auf Naxos, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Ernani, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, War and Peace, Macbeth, A View From the Bridge, and Wozzeck. 

Mr. Bernstein has also performed leading roles around the country and abroad. In particular, he has performed his signature roles of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) and Leporello (Don Giovanni) worldwide. In the 2014-15 season, Mr. Bernstein debuted the role of Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin at the Chautauqua Festival in July and August. The 2012-13 season saw him garner warm praise for his first leading Wagnerian role: Daland in Der fliegende Holländer at the Princeton Festival.  That year also included successful debuts as Tiresias in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex (Cincinnati May Festival) and Herod in Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ (at Carnegie Hall). In 2011-12, he returned to LA Opera – the company of his operatic debut – to sing Superintendent Budd in Albert Herring under Maestro James Conlon’s baton. He made his July 2010 debut with Opera Fairbanks as Leporello, followed by a turn as Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro at the Ravinia Festival.

Patrick Carfizzi, Baritone

In the 2018-2019 season, American bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Sacristan in Puccini’s Tosca, the Jailer in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, Betto di Signa in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, a role debut as Quinault in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, and covers the role of Talpa in Puccini’s Il Tabarro. Mr. Carfizzi will also return to Lyric Opera of Kansas City to reprise the role of Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Così fan tutte under the baton of Jane Glover. On the concert stage, Mr. Carfizzi will sing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Utah Symphony Orchestra. 

Patrick Carfizzi’s 2017-2018 season featured a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Sacristan in a new production of Puccini’s Tosca opposite Anna Netrebko, Mandarino in Puccini’s Turandot, and covering the role of Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore. He sang Dr. Dulcamara at the Hessisches Staatstheater in Wiesbaden, Germany, returned to San Diego Opera as The Major General in Pirates of Penzance and returned to Santa Fe Opera as Taddeo in L’italiana in Algeri. Concert highlights included performances with the Utah Symphony Orchestra, featuring a program of Brahms songs and Mozart’s C minor mass under the baton of Markus Stenz. 

Notable past engagements include Cecil in Sir David McVicar’s production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda (Metropolitan Opera), his role debut as Zeta in Lehár’s The Merry Widow opposite Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson, directed by Susan Stroman and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Henry Kissinger in Nixon in China (San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera and Houston Grand Opera), Music Master and Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos at Seattle Opera, Paolo in Simon Boccanegra (San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and Houston Grand Opera), Belcore in L’elisir d’amore (Santa Fe Opera), Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola (Seattle Opera and Houston Grand Opera), Dr. Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Austin Lyric Opera, Seattle Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Central City Opera, and Canadian Opera Company), Taddeo and Mustafa in L’italiana in Algeri (Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera and the Canadian Opera Company), Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Houston Grand Opera and Dallas Opera), and Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore (Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Houston Grand Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City). Mr. Carfizzi made his company debut at Opera Philadelphia as Bartolo in a new production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by Corrado Rovaris, and at Central City Opera as Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Così fan tutte. 

Mr. Carfizzi made his European debut with Oper Köln as Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and reappeared with the company as Fra Melitone in La forza del destino. He made his role and company debut as the title role of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with the Hessisches Staatstheater, and later returned as the title character in gala performances of Le nozze di Figaro. 

Orchestral highlights of Mr. Carfizzi’s recent seasons include performances with the St. Louis Symphony under the baton of Markus Stenz in Brahms Deutsches Requiem and Vier ernste Gesänge, and Britten’s Peter Grimes with the St. Louis Symphony under the baton of David Robertson, performed both in St. Louis’ Powell Hall and New York City’s Carnegie Hall in commemoration of the composer’s 100th birthday. 

Mr. Carfizzi made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1999 and has performed over 300 times with the company in a variety of roles, including Schaunard in La Bohème, which was broadcast on the Live in HD series to movie theaters around the world, the Jailer in John Dexter’s production of Dialogues des Carmélites, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Haly in L’Italiana in Algeri, Brander in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust, Peter Quince in Tim Albery’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Frank in Jeremy Sams’ new production of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. Other Met productions include Le nozze di Figaro, Turandot, and Gianni Schicchi. 

Mr. Carfizzi’s concert work includes performances of Handel’s Messiah with the San Francisco Symphony, Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda with the Washington Concert Opera, and Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with Seattle Symphony. He has performed with The Opera Orchestra of New York, Washington Concert Opera, and the Mostly Mozart Festival. Notable conductors with whom Mr. Carfizzi has worked include James Levine, Louis Langrée, Marco Armiliato, Vladimir Jurowski, Plácido Domingo, and Philippe Jordan. 

Mr. Carfizzi is a graduate of the Yale University School of Music and the winner of several prestigious awards including the Richard Tucker Career Grant Award, the George London Award, the Sullivan Foundation Award, The Richard F. Gold Career Grant from The Shoshana Foundation, and the Sergio Franchi Memorial Scholarship from the National Italian American Foundation. He also participated in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions where he was the Connecticut District Winner. 

Photo Credit: Ken Howard

Greg Fedderly, Tenor

American character tenor Greg Fedderly received a Master's Degree from the University of Southern California, where he was the first recipient of the Marilyn Horne Scholarship.

Greg is a principal artist at the Los Angeles Music Center Opera and is a protégé of Plácido Domingo. With Los Angeles Opera, Greg has performed leading roles such as the title role in Britten's Albert Herring, Rodolfo La bohème, Der Jungling Die Frau ohne Schatten, Pinkerton Madama Butterfly, Don Ramiro La Cenerentola, Janek The Makropolous Case, Alfredo La traviata, Fenton in Falstaff and Ernesto in Don Pasquale.

Other past engagements include his European debut at the Aldeburgh Festival as Tom Rakewell The Rake's Progress in 1992. He also performed Tom Rakewell in concert in Cologne and Vienna with the West Deutsche Rundfunk Orchestra. In 1996, he filmed and recorded the role for Swedish Television under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen which has gone on to win numerous prestigious awards. Other important appearances include his debut at the Théâtre du Châtelet as Die  Erscheinung eines Jünglings Die Frau ohne Schatten conducted by Christoph von Dohnanyi and the title role in Philidor's Tom Jones at the Drottingholm Festival. He made his debut at Washington National Opera as Alfredo La traviata under the baton of Plácido Domingo and later under Domingo in Liege. He also performed the role of Arcadio in the world premiere of Florencia en el Amazonas at the Houston Grand Opera to great acclaim, and the production was subsequently revived in Los Angeles and Seattle. Greg made his debut with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in concerts of Haydn's Paukenmesse with Trevor Pinnock. He also made his debut with the Orquestra Sinfonica de Barcelona in concerts of The Creation conducted by Lawrence Foster and at the Glimmerglass Opera as Telemaco The Return of Ulisses directed by John Cox. He later returned to Houston Grand Opera for Don Ottavio Don Giovanni.

In recent seasons, Greg changed the direction of his repertoire and now focuses on many of the comprimario tenor roles, with which he has achieved great success. These roles include Gastone La traviata, Beppe Pagliacci, Bardolfo Falstaff, Valzacchi Der Rosenkavalier, Raoul The Merry Widow, Brighella Ariadne auf Naxos, Pang Turandot, Four Servants Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Goro Madama Butterfly, Basilio Le nozze di Figaro and Gherardo Gianni Schicchi for Los Angeles Opera. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2003 as Basilio Le nozze di Figaro and has subsequently appeared there as Goro Madama Butterfly, Four Servants Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Valzacchi Der Rosenkavalier, and Monostatos Die Zauberflöte. Greg Fedderly made his debut at the San Francisco Opera in 2002 as Brighella Ariadne auf Naxos.

Greg’s most recent engagements include Monostatos and Don Basilio at the Metropolitan Opera, Bob Boles Peter Grimes, Prunier La Rondine, Monostatos, Red Whiskers Billy Budd and Orellano Ducle Rosa for Los Angeles Opera, Bob Boles for San Diego Opera, Brighella for Washington National Opera, Don Basilio, Monostatos, Pang Turandot and Bardolfo for San Francisco Opera, Arcadio Florencia en el Amazonas for Opera Colorado, Philistine Messenger Samson et Delila, Messenger Aida for San Diego Opera and Gheraldo for LA Opera.

Christopher Job, Bass

Praised for his “commanding sonority” (Opera News) and described as “handsome, agile and with a voice to match” (Boulder Daily Camera), Bass-Baritone Christopher Job is a “rising star on the American opera scene.” (Grand Junction Free Press)  

A house favorite at the Metropolitan Opera since the beginning of his career, he has been featured in six of their “Live in HD” broadcasts, and has appeared in numerous other productions such as Tosca, Der Rosenkavalier, Roberto Devereux, Werther, Macbeth, and The Nose; among others. He was also featured on their 50th Anniversary Lincoln Center Gala last May. 

After his debut in Shostakovich’s The Nose under the baton of Valery Gergiev, he has been featured in some of the Metropolitan Opera's newest and most stirring productions: most recently as Sciarrone in Sir David McVicar's gripping new Tosca, and previously as Sir Walter Raleigh in their first-ever production of Roberto Devereux directed by Sir David McVicar, the role of Brühlmann in the newest production of Werther, and the role of Servo in Macbeth (recently released on DVD).  Additional Met credits include productions of Verdi's Don Carlo, Gounod's Romeo et Juliette, Massenet's Cendrillon, Berg's Lulu, Puccini's La Rondine, Janacek's From the House of the Dead, the baroque "pastiche" of Enchanted Island and Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream. 

He returns to the Met in the 2018-19 season for productions of Tosca, La Fanciulla del West and La Clemenza di Tito. He debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic this February under the baton of Esa-Pekka Salonen, and returns to make his Hollywood Bowl debut in July, under Maestro Gustavo Dudamel. 

Other career highlights include creating the role of Senator Thomas Jordan in the world premiere of The Manchurian Candidate by Pulitzer Prize winning composer Kevin Puts with Minnesota Opera; his debut with Ash Lawn Opera as Olin Blitch in Susannah, a role he also performed at Opera Idaho (where he returned in 2017 as Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore); the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with Fargo-Moorhead Opera; and the roles of Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Virginia Opera; Colline in La Bohème at Lyric Opera Baltimore; the 5th Jew in Salome at Palm Beach Opera; the High Priest of Baal in Nabucco with Lyric Opera Baltimore; Escamillo in Carmen with Lyric Opera Virginia; Ashby in La fanciulla del West, Kilian in Der Freischütz and Angelotti in Tosca at Des Moines Metro Opera; and Caronte in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo ed Euridice, the Poet in Philip Glass’ Orphée, and Capellio in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi at Glimmerglass Opera. 

Mr. Job made his Italian debut at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna as Sparafucile in Rigoletto and Il Podestà in Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra. He made his French debut as Alidoro in La Cenerentola with Le Festival Lyrique de Belle-Île En Mer. 

Spanning into the musical theater repertoire, Mr. Job was featured as the opening workman soloist in the pre-Broadway production of Bernstein’s On The Town at Barrington Stage Company under the direction of Tony-Award winning director John Rando and Emmy-Award winning choreographer Joshua Bergasse. Under the baton of Rob Fisher, he has performed at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic, where he was featured in the Cockney Quartet in My Fair Lady, sharing the stage with Kelsey Grammer and Brian Dennehy. This summer he takes on the dynamic roles of the Wolf and Prince in Sondheim's Into the Woods with Charlottesville Opera. 

His concert appearances have included the Verdi and Mozart Requiems at Carnegie Hall and Barcelona's Palau de la Musica Catalana, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at Avery Fisher Hall, Haydn’s Creation with the Greeley Philharmonic and Concord Symphony, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and multiple performances of Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall, and additionally with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra and the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. 

Other engagements have included the role of Leporello in Don Giovanni with Bar Harbor Festival, Hobson in Peter Grimes with Princeton Festival, Baron Douphol in La Traviata at both Syracuse Opera and Lyric Opera Virginia; singing Frère Laurent in Romeo et Juliette and Count Horn in Un Ballo in Maschera at Minnesota Opera; and the roles of Dr. Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore, Zuniga in Carmen, and Count Ribbing in Un Ballo in Maschera, as well as creating the role of General Godofredo de la Barca in the world premiere of La Curandera by Robert Xavier Rodriguez at Opera Colorado. Mr. Job has also been seen with Aspen Opera Theatre, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Fort Collins, Opera Omaha, Opera Pacific, and Opera Theatre of the Rockies, as well as numerous other opera and concert appearances in France, Italy, Israel, Austria, the UK, Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil. 

Mr. Job is a Grand Prize Winner of the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition, and a second place winner of The Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions for both the Upper Midwest Region and the Rocky Mountain Region. He received his Masters degree in Vocal Performance from Northwestern University and his undergraduate degree in Vocal Performance from Cal State Fullerton.

André Courville, Bass

Praised by Opera News for his "splendid, lush bass-baritone", André Courville is quickly establishing himself as one of America’s foremost young singers. This season brings debuts with Arizona Opera as the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro and with Opéra National de Bordeaux as Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia.

Highlights of previous seasons include Masetto in Don Giovanni with The Dallas Opera, his European debut at Karlsruhe’s Badisches Staatstheater as Mozart’s Figaro, the Marquis in La traviata with the Santa Fe Opera, and a return to the Philadelphia Orchestra as the Jailer in Tosca under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Trained at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, he garnered critical acclaim for performances there of many important roles including Méphistophélès in Faust, Mustafà in L’Italiana in Algeri, and Colline in La bohème.

An equally busy concert performer, he has appeared at Carnegie Hall for the past three seasons since his debut there with Opera Orchestra of New York. Other recent performances include the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, the bass solos in Mozart’s Great Mass in C minor at the Spoleto Festival USA, and Bach's Cantata 150 with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

A Louisiana native, Courville is the recipient of top awards in eight national and international vocal competitions, including First Prize in the Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition and Top Prize in the Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition.

James Alexander, Stage Director

James Alexander’s extensive career in the performing arts ranges from founding a music theatre company in his native Scotland, managing The Boston Pops, staging musicals in London’s West End, serving in A&R at The Decca Record Company, managing a roster of classical musicians and soloists and conductors, to producing television and operas on three continents with a large number of prestigious companies, orchestras and conductors. 

In Europe his engagements range from The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, to various productions with Scottish Opera, Opera North, The Gabrieli Consort & Players, (Venice & London), to serving as the Associate Director of the Olivier Award-winning Carmen Jones at London’s Old Vic Theatre. 

In the USA, Mr. Alexander was a long time collaborator with Maestro Seiji Ozawa and The Boston Symphony Orchestra. For Cincinnati Opera, his highly acclaimed staging of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro was hailed by Opera News as, “a perfect combination of tastefulness and humor”. 

Alexander is Creative Director of Symphony V, a production company realizing revolutionary immersive experiences for audiences of symphony orchestras and opera companies.