Fort Worth Opera Civic Impact | May 2, 2024

FORT WORTH OPERA CIVIC IMPACT

Scenic Showcase

Facets of Future and Farewell Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists

May 2, 2024 - 7:00pm

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FORT WORTH OPERA CIVIC IMPACT presents

Facets of Future and Farewell

Director

AYVAUNN PENN Music

Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists

SU HYEON PARK SOPRANO

SERGIO MANZO BARITONE

KASWANNA KANYINDA MEZZO-SOPRANO

Director DR. CHARLENE LOTZ

WONJIN CHOI TENOR

Curated by the Fort Worth Opera Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists

Su Hyeon Park, Kaswanna Kanyinda, Wonjin Choi & Sergio Manzo

We are delighted to announce our showcase of the Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists for the 2023-2024 season, made possible by the generous support of the Hattie Mae Lesley Foundation and esteemed Fort Worth Opera Board of Trustees member, Joseph D. Lesley.

By nurturing talents like Su Hyeon, Kaswanna, Wonjin, and Sergio, we are laying the groundwork for future generations of opera professionals. Their accomplishments bring us great pride, and we eagerly anticipate their bright futures in the world of opera.

Warm regards,

Angela Turner Wilson General and Artistic Director

As Director of COT (Education) Production and Civic Impact (Outreach), I strive to uphold the mission of our organization: enrich people’s lives with performances and programs that educate, entertain, inspire, and expand the horizons of current and future audiences. Our goal is to create art that tells beautiful stories using contemporary expressions and unconventional methods. By definition, “outreach” means “to reach further than”. We are committed to reaching further than our city limits, current audiences, existing spaces, and

This season, Su Hyeon, Kaswanna, Wonjin, and Sergio have made invaluable artistic contributions to our company. Their performances in the Children’s Opera Theater, Civic Impact projects, and mainstage productions have not only enriched our community but also demonstrated their significant growth in vocal skill, artistry, and stage presence. traditional styles of presentation and engaging a whole new generation of opera lovers. Thank you for taking this amazing journey with us!

Sheran Goodspeed Keyton Director of COT Production & Civic Impact

The Hattie Mae Leslie Resident Artists’ Scene Showcase

PROGRAM

Così fan tu+e Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)

Act I, Scene 2

Don Alfonso Fiordiligi

Dorabella Ferrando

Guglielmo Despina

Tres Hunter

Su Hyeon Park

Kaswanna Kanyinda

Wonjin Choi

Sergio Manzo

Ruby Warren

Eugene Onegin Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 – 1893)

Act II, Scene 2

Eugene Onegin

Vladimir Lensky

Zaretsky

Sergio Manzo

Wonjin Choi

Tres Hunter

Pagliacci Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857– 1919)

Act I, Scene 3

Silvio Nedda

Sergio Manzo

Su Hyeon Park

Cavalleria rusEcana Pietro Mascagni (1863– 1945)

“Tu qui, Santuzza?...No, Turiddu”

Santuzza Turiddu

Lola

Kaswanna Kanyinda

Wonjin Choi

Ruby Warren

Cinderella 99 Jake Heggie (b. 1961)

Mother Father Daughter

Son

Kaswanna Kanyinda

Sergio Manzo

Su Hyeon Park

Wonjin Choi

Hattie Mae Lesley Resident Artists.............................. Su Hyeon Park, Kaswanna Kanyinda, Wonjin Choi & Sergio Manzo

Guest Artists .................................................................................... Ruby Warren & Tres Hunter

Producer............................................................................................... Sheran Goodspeed Keyton

Stage Director .......................................................................................................... Ayvaunn Penn Music Director .................................................................................................. Dr. Charlene Lotz

Rehearsal Pianist ........................................................................................................ Igor Parshin

Stage Manager ...............................................................................................Tyrinika Washington Assistant Stage Manager ................................................................................Meredith Browning Supertitles ........................................................................................................... Katherine Watson

WHO’S WHO IN THE CAST

Su Hyeon Park (soprano) Young Korean soprano Su Hyeon studied with soprano Eun-Kyung Oh at Sejong University for her bachelor’s degree. After coming to America in 2021, she studied with soprano Amy Johnson and tenor Thomas Baresel at CCM for her master’s degree. She performed Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro and Poppea in Agrippina at CCM, and participated in a masterclass with soprano Nicole Cabell. She also sang as an ensemble member at Cincinnati Opera and Korea National Opera.

Kaswanna Kanyinda (mezzo-soprano) A second-year Resident Artist, she portrayed Flosshilde in Michigan Opera Theatre’s Twilight: Gods. In 2020 she finished an active season with Opera MODO’s with lead roles in their productions of La Gioconda and Dialogue of the Carmelites. She won a Wilde Award for her performance as the Mother in Opera MODO’s 2019 production of The Consul and had joined Pittsburgh Festival Opera as a member of their Mastersingers Program. She was awarded 1st place in the 2017 Opera Guild of Charlotte competition. Wonjin Choi (tenor) A recent graduate from Texas Christian University, he holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance. He is the 1st place winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Tulsa) and won the concerto competition and Pi Kappa Lambda Honors recital at TCU, performing the role of Governor in Bernstein’s Candide. With a versatile repertoire, he has sung roles in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Choi has been selected as a representative singer for special occasions, including a visit from the queen of Belgium.

Sergio Manzo (baritone) most recently sang the titular character in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Texas Tech University Opera Theater. Other roles with TTU Opera include Publio in La clemenza di Tito and Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus. He has also performed internationally in Berlin Opera Academy’s production of Gianni Schicchi as Betto, Ser Amantio,

and Dr. Spinelloccio. He joined Portland Opera as Schaunard in Puccini’s La bohème and Dr. Bartolo in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia. Ruby Warren (mezzo-soprano) A new Artist Diploma student at TCU and Fort Worth Opera studio artist, Ruby earned her Master’s in voice performance at the University of Colorado-Boulder in 2018, where she was featured in performances of Mozart’s Requiem, Ariodante, Die Lustige Witwe, and Die Zauberflöte with guest director Herschel Garfein. Ruby has also worked with Central City Opera as a studio artist and featured in productions at Martina Arroyo’s “Prelude to Performance” program in New York City. Tres Hunter (bass-baritone) pursues bringing stories, experiences, and characters to life on-stage around the globe. Making his international debut as a performer at Hong Kong Disneyland at the age of 22, and is actively employed as an opera singer with The Dallas Opera, Opera Arlington, and the American Baroque Opera Company singing both comic and dramatic roles. Recent credits include the role of Vodnik in Dvorak’s, Rusalka, with Opera Arlington.

Ayvaunn Penn (Director) Columbia University Playwriting Dean’s Fellow, Ayvaunn Penn, is a playwright and director whose community-centric work has been seen by audiences across the United States of America and internationally. Select credits include: directing Fabulation at Jubilee Theatre; directing The Feather Doesn’t Fall Far from the Wing featured at the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre; and serving as assistant director to Tony Award-winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Golden Globe-winner Regina Taylor on various shows.

Dr. Charlene Lotz (Music Director) An active performer since her debut solo recital at the Fourth Bela Bartok International Piano Festival in Lima, Peru at the age of 14. She has played both solo recitals and concerto performances in the United States, South America, and Europe, and is highly sought-after as a collaborator. In 2010, Char-

lene was awarded a Master of Arts degree in piano performance from the Royal Academy of Music in London. She was a semi-finalist in the 2011 Sorantin International Concerto Competition and was awarded the 2014

Judith Solomon Award at Texas Christian University. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from Texas Christian University.

STAFF FOR FORT WORTH OPERA

Angela Turner Wilson ................................................... General and Artistic Director

Joe Illick .................................................................................. Music Director Emeritus

Mary Goosens ............................................................................. Chief Financial Officer

Sheran Goodspeed Keyton .................. Director of COT Production & Civic Impact

Gordon Kelly ............................................. Director of Marketing & Communications

Jennifer Chung Quintard ..................................... Director of Artistic Administration

Courtney Kennebeck ................................Director of Development & Special Events

Collins Osei ..................................................................... IT & Systems Administration

Dr. Charlene Lotz............. Music Director for Children’s Opera Theatre and Civic Impact, Company Pianist

Nikki Washington .......................... Sr. Manager of COT Production & Civic Impact

Meredith Browning .................................. COT Production & Civic Impact Assistant

Faye Falconnier ...................................................... Accountant & Business Operations

Emily Dear .................................................... Box Office Lead & Marketing Associate

Lynen Heilmann ................................................................................. Marketing Intern

Kwedar & Co. ..................................................................................... PR Representation

FORT WORTH OPERA

Board of Trustees

RANDY SABBAGH Chair HAYNE SHUMATE Vice Chair

ASHLEY LACAMP MOORE Treasurer

NICOLE DUVALL Secretary JUDY BENNETT GARNER Governance JILL FISCHER Chair Emerita

ALLIE BETH ALLMAN

JEN APPLEMAN

KEON ANDERSON, DDS

NELSON E. CLAYTOR, Ph.D.

ROBERT ESTRADA

JENNIFER GOLDBERG

ROBERT L. JAMESON

BARBARA JORDAN

TERESA CARTER KING

JOSEPH D. LESLEY

GUY V. MANNING

MIKE R. MARTINEZ

JUSTIN NEWTON

SUSIE OLMOS-SOTO

SKYLAR BROGDON O’NEAL

MARY B. PENCIS

KATHERINE POLENZ

VERNON E. REW, JR.

EBONY ROSE

Funded in Part by

2024-2025

FORT WORTH OPERA 79th SEASON

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