Francesco Maria Colombo, conductor. The Opera Company of North Carolina welcomes the return of Maestro Colombo after his appearances conducting La Bohéme and Tosca. Already this season, the maestro has toured Asia with renowned soprano Sumi Jo, and appeared as guest conductor with Flint Symphony Orchestra in Michigan. The maestro made his debut in 1998 with the Orchestra Stabile di Como in a concert with the legendary soprano Renata Scotto. He has since been on the podiums of the Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi in Milan, the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, the Orchestra della Toscana, the Philharmonia Veneta, the Philharmonia Mediterranea and the Choir of the Cappella della Pietà de’ Turchini in Naples, the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, the Orchestra Haydn in Trento and Bolzano, the Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan, the Accademia dei Filarmonici in Verona, the Toscanini Orchestra in Parma, and others. In 2001, Gian Carlo Menotti “symbolically offered him the baton of Thomas Schippers” with an invitation to conduct the traditional closing concert of the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, South Carolina. Maestro Colombo returned to the 2002 Spoleto Festival for a new production of Menotti's The Telephone and The Medium, directed by the composer himself.
Emily Newton, soprano, praised for her “full voice and striking presence,” has appeared on the opera stage in the roles of Fiordiligi in Cosi fan Tutte, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Mìmì in La Bohéme, the title role in Bellini’s Beatrice di Tenda, and others. Equally at home on the concert stage, Ms. Newton has performed excerpts of the roles of Violetta in La Traviata and the Marchallin in Der Rosencavalier, as well as Samauel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Debussy’s La Damoiselle Élue, and Beethoven’s Mass in C and Ninth Symphony, Brahm’s Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, The Creation by Haydn. Twice she has won at the district level of the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions. A native of Lake Jackson, Texas, Ms. Newton currently resides in New York City and is a student of Ruth Golden.
Angela Renée Simpson, soprano, has graced both opera and concert stages around the world appearing with the Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Diego Opera, Miami Opera, Piedmont Opera, and New York City Opera. Her roles include Ariadne in Ariadne auf Naxos, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Senta in Der Fliegende Hollander and Aida. This season, Ms. Simpson sings the role of Serena in Dallas Opera's production of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, and will make her debut with Opéra Comique of Paris, in their premiere production of the same opera. Also, in 2008, Ms.Simpson will make her Carnegie Hall debut with the New York Pops Orchestra in a Gershwin tribute under the baton of Maestro Andrew Litton.
Joel Andrew Weiss, tenor, returns to The Opera Company of North Carolina, having sung the role of Don Ottavio in the 2006 production Don Giovanni. This season Mr. Weiss appeared in Don Pasquale at the Festival Cultural Mazatlan, Mexico, Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Salt Marsh Opera in Rhode Island, and debuted as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Eugene Opera. Other recent engagements include La Traviata with the Polish National Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor with the Vermont International Opera Festival, Die Fledermaus with Maine Grand Opera. Also, he created and recorded the role of Mikhail Gorbachev in the new show Raisa by. Also a composer, Joel’s latest opera Ophelia premiered as part of the Saint John’s Concert Series in New York City. With his wife Kelly, Mr. Weiss founded the St. Blaise Foundation. Named after the patron saint of throats, the foundation raises money for cancer research.
John Fowler, tenor, is a favorite with The Opera Company of North Carolina audiences, having sung Cavaradossi in Tosca and Rodolfo in La Bohéme. At the Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Fowler performed the roles of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo in La Bohéme, the Duke in Rigoletto, Jacquino in Fidelio, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. He has performed major roles with the San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, Arizona Opera, Atlanta Opera, and the Boston Lyric Opera. His international appearances include Opera Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, the Haifa Symphony in Israel, the Vienna State Opera, Opéra de Wallonie in Liege, Belgium, Dublin Grand Opera, Opera Northern Ireland, Hamburg State Opera, and Opera de Tours in. In addition to performing, Mr. Fowler is on the vocal faculty at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
Scott Bearden, baritone, was recently named the First Place winner of the 2007 Chester Ludgin American Verdi Baritone Competition by a panel of judges that included Placido Domingo, Mignon Dunn, and Julius Rudel. In 2008, Mr. Bearden will perform the title role in Verdi’s Rigoletto with the Opera San Jose and Mississippi Opera, as well as Conte di Luna in Il Trovatore with Festival Opera of Walnut Creek, and Scarpia in Tosca with Opera Theatre of Connecticut. Mr. Bearden has sung the title roles in Verdi’s Falstaff and Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, as well as leading roles La Bohéme, Madama Butterfly, Cosi fan tutte, L’Elisir d’amore, Manon and Pagliacci. Mr. Beardon has appeared at the Glimmerglass Opera in [country] and in the United States on the stages of Opera Memphis, Mississippi Opera, Opera Theatre of Connecticut, West Bay Opera, Eugene Opera and Bayshore Lyric Opera. Mr. Bearden can be heard as Mr.Gedge, the Vicar, for the Vox Classics recording of Brittens’ Albert Herring.