2009 TOUR

THE ELIXIR OF LOVE

MELISSA ARNING (Dr. Dulcamara) Originally hailing from Walled Lake, Michigan, Melissa Arning received her Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music under the study of Beverley Rinaldi. She has appeared as Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Mercedes in Carmen, Narrator in Sweet Betsy from Pike, Thisbe in La Cenerentola, Pitti-Sing in The Mikado, Quickly in Falstaff, Olga in Onegin, Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, and Petra in A Little Night Music. Ms. Arning has performed with Chamber Opera Chicago, Genesis Opera, Chicago Folks Operetta, Grant Park Chorus, William Ferris Chorale, Cleveland Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony and currently sings with the Chicago Symphony Chorus. This is Ms. Arning’s second tour with Opera for the Young and she couldn't be more excited to return.


MEGAN BELL (Miss Addy) Soprano Megan Bell finished her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance in May 2008 at Bowling Green State University in the Studio of Metropolitan Opera soprano, Myra Merritt. A native of Columbus, Ohio, Megan received her high school diploma at the Interlochen Center for the Arts and her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the Eastman School of Music. Her operatic roles include Sister Constance in Poulenc’s Les Dialogues of the Carmelites, Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, Princess Laoula in Chabrier’s L’Etoile, and Amore in Francesco Cavalli’s La virtù de' strali d'Amore. Awards include the 2008 Kennedy Music Achievement Award, 1st Place Prize Winner in the 2008 Dr. Peatee Art Song Competition, 2nd Place Prize Winner in the 2008 NATS Buckeye State Auditions in Voice, and 2nd Place Prize Winner in the 2007 Ohio Federation of Music Clubs Competition in Voice. Megan recently returned from the Studio Artist program of the Central City Opera in Colorado.


MELISSA KELLY CARDAMONE (Miss Addy), a native of Plymouth, MN, lives in Kenosha. She holds degrees in vocal performance from Lawrence Conservatory and the Eastman School. Roles include Mimì (La Bohème) with Riverside Opera Co. in New York and with Eastman Opera Theatre; Laurie (The Tender Land), Johanna (Sweeney Todd), and Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro) at Lawrence University; and Suor Genovieve (Suor Angelica) and Mariane (Tartuffe), with Eastman Opera Theatre. Solo concert work includes the Rochester Oratorio Society, The New York Cantata Singers, and Lawrence University. Most recently she performed with the Bronx Opera, Milwaukee Opera Theatre and Music by the Lake. This is Melissa’s second tour with Opera for the Young.


MARK CRAIG (Jimmy Reno) is originally from Muskegon, Michigan and currently lives in Chicago. Most recently he performed with the Sarasota Opera in Florida as an Apprentice Artist. Mark was also a member of the Anchorage Opera Studio Theatre in 2004 and 2005. After appearing as a Young Artist with the Janiec Opera Company in North Carolina in 1999 and 2003, Mark returned to NC to sing at Brevard Music Center in 2005, appearing as Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville. Some of his other roles include Albert in Albert Herring, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance, Spoletta in Tosca, and Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi. Mark appeared last season with Opera for the Young as Prince Tamino in The Magic Flute.


DREW DUNCAN (Jimmy Reno) Drew Duncan, originally from Milford, IA, received his bachelor's degree from Simpson College in Indianola, IA. While at Simpson College he sang in numerous productions including: Gabriel von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Judge Dan forth in The Crucible, Mr. Snow in Carousel, Tamino in The Magic Flute, and Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro. In 2006 Mr. Duncan moved to Chicago to continue his journey as a singer and has found many performing opportunities, such as: Camille in The Merry Widow and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, both with DePaul Opera Theater, singing in the chorus of Chicago Opera Theater's production of A Flowering Tree under the baton of John Adams the composer, featured soloist in Orland Park's Sing-along Messiah, Chicago Cultural Center's production of Rossini's Il Signor Bruschino and Chicago Opera Theater Young Artist Program in 2007. 

Other performance credits include: El Remendado in Carmen with Quad Cities Opera Company; covered Alfred in Die Fledermaus with Music by the Lake; and covered King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Chamber Opera Chicago and Des Moines Metro Opera. His oratorio credits include Schubert’s Mass, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Handel’s The Messiah.


VINCENT FUH (Pianist) has been with Opera for the Young since 1998. With a degree in piano performance from UW-Madison, he is a versatile (and, busy!) collaborative pianist, performing classical music with the Oakwood Chamber Players, Bach Dancing and Dynamite Society, the Madison Symphony Orchestra, and jazz with the salsa ensemble Madisalsa and the Afro-Cuban quartet El Clan Destino. In addition to CD recordings by these ensembles, Vincent's playing and compositions have been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio and Public Television. As an educator, Vincent runs a private teaching studio and participates in music clinics, and his playing will be on the accompanying CDs to three instructional volumes of French horn repertoire, to be released by Hal Leonard in 2008.


JOHN GAUTHIER (Bill Corey), a Chicagoan, has been performing in North and Central Illinois for nearly ten years. Most recently, John has worked with Sugar Creek Symphony and Song Festival, Opera Illinois, and St Martin’s Chamber Players in Peoria. John has performed several roles with the Western Illinois University Opera Workshop and is currently singing with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and the St. Charles Singers, for whom he recently performed the baritone solo from Duruflé’s Requiem, and performed Brahms’ German Requiem with the Fox Valley Presbyterian Church. John is currently a student of Maria Lagios. We’re so pleased to welcome back John after his wonderful performance last year in OFY’s The Magic Flute.


BRIAN HOTCHKIN (Bill Corey) returns to OFY for his third season. Brian recently made his role debut as Marcello in La Bohème with the Brevard Music Festival. He also participated in Opera Santa Barbara’s newly founded Young Artist Program where he covered the role of Silvano in Un Ballo in Maschera, and presented a solo recital at Santa Barbara’s Faulkner Gallery. Recent engagements include Schaunard in La Bohème (Millennium Chamber Players) and Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro (Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute, Millennium Chamber Players). Other roles include Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Husband in Amelia goes to the Ball, and KoKo in The Mikado. Brian holds degrees from the Chicago College of Performing Arts and DePaul University, and has participated in Young Artist Programs at Aspen, Brevard, BASOTI, and Oberlin in Italy. He is a funny and sympathetic performer, and we’re delighted to have him with us again.


JAMES HOWES (Jimmy Reno) is a northern Minnesotan who studied choral conducting and vocal performance at Minnesota State University-Moorhead and, after singing opera in a brief stint as a performing waiter, became a chorus member of the Minnesota Opera. In the fall of 2007 he made his role debut as Rodolfo in Theater Latte Da's production of La Bohème. His voice coach is Dr. Clifton Ware, professor emeritus at the University of Minnesota. James appeared last season with Opera for the Young as Prince Tamino in The Magic Flute..

SARAH PONDER (Dr. Dulcamara) Sarah Ponder, mezzo-soprano, received both masters and certificate degrees with honors from Northwestern University. She is an active performer and teacher in the Chicago area. Recent performances include a recital at the Chicago Cultural Center as part of the Musicians Club of Women Award Winners in Concert Series, solos in Handel's Esther with the Callipygian Players, and in Voices of Light by Richard Einhorn as a guest artist with Youth Choral Theater of Chicago. A favorite mezzo of the Northwest Festival Orchestra, Sarah has sung works such as Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and Das Knaben Wunderhorn, excerpts from Mozart's Great Mass in C Minor as well as various opera scenes with the young company. Other recent performances include Schönberg's Gurrelieder, as well as the premiere of young composer Mark Musil's Five Love Sonnets of Pablo Neruda, which was written especially for her. On the operatic stage, she has recently appeared as Dorabella in Così fan tutte, the Second Lady in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, and in the title role of Northwestern's production of Holst's Savitri. Sarah has sung in masterclasses with Regina Resnick, John Corilgliano, Joan Dornemann, and Susan Graham. Previous teachers include Pina Mozzani at the University of Nebraska and Ludmilla Kolas of the Belarussian State Conservatory. She currently studies with Karen Brunssen and Alan Darling.


STEVE RADTKE (Pianist) Steve Radtke is a native of Shawano, WI.  As a 2007 graduate of UW Stevens Point, Steve has a degree in Piano Performance where he studied with Dr. Molly Roseman. Steve has also had the opportunity to study composition in London with Dr. Charles Rochester Young and piano performance with Douglas Weeks at Brevard Music Festival. This is his first tour with Opera for the Young, though he has worked as a freelance accompanist for over six years with vocalists and instrumentalists alike. He has also collaborated with small ensembles such as the UWSP Opera Workshop in their productions of Puccini's Gianni Schicchi and Copland's The Tenderland.  He also worked with UWSP Danstage in their production of Philip Glass' Mad Rush. Outside of opera, Steve enjoys dabbling in composition, improvisation, and electronic music.


PATRICIA RHIEW (Miss Addy) is a young talent that has already graced several regional and national stages. Most recently, Ms. Rhiew was seen as Lucy in The Telephone with Chamber Opera Chicago. Ms. Rhiew was also seen as Micaëla in Dupage Opera Theater’s production of Carmen. On the opera stage, Ms. Rhiew has performed the roles of Susanna in Dupage Opera Theater’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro, Adele in Die Fledermaus for Chicago Light Opera Works, Giannetta in L’Elisir d’Amore with Lyric Opera Cleveland, and several roles with Baltimore Opera in their productions of La Scala di Seta and Salome. Other roles include Micaëla (La Tragédie de Carmen), the Foreign Woman (The Consul), Adina (L’Elisir d’Amore), and Frasquita (Carmen). Upcoming engagements include singing Adina with Opera for the Young in their production of L’Elisir d’Amore. Ms. Rhiew has received several prestigious awards from the Bel Canto Foundation, Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and NATS where she was awarded a scholarship to attend the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Her training has included the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program, Baltimore Opera Studio, Lyric Opera Cleveland Young Artist Program, and the University of Michigan and Hope College where she received her Master’s and Bachelor’s of Music respectively.


DIANE SCHOFF (Dr. Dulcamara) Diane Schoff is a professional singer, whose most recent operatic engagements have included the role of The Old Prioress in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Clytemnestre in Gluck’s Iphigenie En Aulide, The Mother/Witch in Hansel and Gretel and Rusalka with Opera for the Young. She was a National Semi-finalist and Midwest Regional and district winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions and is a graduate of the San Francisco Opera’s Merola program. Originally from Wisconsin, she now lives and works in Chicago and recently put on the biggest production of her life this past September with the birth of her first child, Hugo.


MATTHEW TINTES (Bill Corey) Matthew Tintes, bass, holds a Master's of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin - Madison and a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from North Dakota State University in his hometown of Fargo, ND. Past operatic experiences include singing the title role in Don Pasquale, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande and Uberto in La Serva Padrona. Tintes has been a guest soloist with the University of Wisconsin's Choral Union, performing such works as Mozart's Requiem. Also, while living in Madison, Tintes has had the opportunity to perform with the Madison Bach Musicians on numerous works including Bach's Mass in B Minor. Tintes is very pleased to be performing with Opera for the Young and has loved the idea of opera outreach for years and enjoys sharing his enthusiasm and love of music with young students.

Last Updated: October 8, 2008