February, 2011—For Immediate Release
ANNAPOLIS OPERA PRESENTS MOZART'S THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO
Annapolis Opera presents Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s eternally popular comedy The Marriage of Figaro in two performances running March 11 and March 13 at the Maryland Hall for Creative Arts. A cast of vivid characters is headlined by soprano Zulimar L?pez-Hernández in her highly-anticipated Company debut as Susanna and young bass Liam Moran as Figaro. Soprano Colleen Daly returns to Annapolis Opera as the Countess Almaviva and Troy Cook is her philandering husband. Joining the cast as Cherubino is mezzo-soprano Olivia Vote. Artistic Director Ronald Gretz conducts the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra in Annapolis Opera’s beloved production directed by Braxton Peters.
Vocally and visually stunning lyric soprano Zulimar L?pez-Hernández brings a fresh look to Annapolis Opera for her Company debut as the beautiful maid Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro. The Puerto Rican soprano is celebrated for her lustrous timbre. Ms. López-Hernández was recently the third place winner in the 2010 Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition. A Metropolitan National Semifinalist in 2006, and a Gulf Coast Region Finalist in 2008, she was also awarded Radio Choice Audience Favorite in the 2007 Academy of Vocal Arts Giargiari Bel Canto Competition in Philadelphia. In 2009 she was a finalist in the Greenfield Philadelphia Orchestra Competition.
Captivating young bass Liam Moran debuts at Annapolis Opera in the title role of this production. The young bass recently appeared with Austin Lyric Opera as Colline in La bohème, Opera Omaha as Angelotti in Tosca, and in two consecutive seasons at Wolf Trap Opera as Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos, Melisso in Alcina and Sirocco in L’Étoile. He has taken part in the Young American Artists Program at Glimmerglass Opera, and in the Prestigious Merola Opera program with San Francisco Opera.
American soprano Colleen Daly returns to Annapolis Opera as Countess Almaviva. Ms. Daly is rapidly emerging as a “dramatically powerful” (The Washington Post) singer in today’s operatic arena. Her wide range of roles include the title roles in The Academy of Vocal Arts’ productions of Lucia di Lammermoor, La Traviata, Kát’a Kabanová and Manon, the title role in Opera Vivente’s production of Alcina, Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare with the Maryland Opera Studio, Die Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte with Opera New Jersey and Annapolis Opera, Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, and Cunegonde in Candide at the Merle Reskin Theatre in Chicago.
Baritone Troy Cook, will make his Annapolis Opera debut as Count Almaviva. Mr. Cook recently debuted the Hamburgische Staatsoper as Marcello in La bohème, where he also performed his first Ford in Falstaff in the spring of 2010, and the Royal Opera at Covent Garden as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte. In the 2010-2011 season, Mr. Cook returns to Lyric Opera of Kansas City as the Count in Le nozze di Figaro, sings his first Escamillo in Carmen at Green Mountain Opera Festival with Leonardo Vordoni, and appears on the concert stage in performances of the Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Pacific Symphony and the Arizona Musicfest, the St. John Passion with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, and Handel’s Messiah with the Winston-Salem Symphony. Future seasons include appearances at Minnesota Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Central City Opera, and a recording of Donizetti's Caterina Cornaro with Opera Rara in 2011.
Troy Cook made his New York City Opera debut in the 1999/2000 season with roles in the trilogy, Central Park, which he also sang with Glimmerglass Opera. Those performances were taped and later telecast on the PBS series Great Performances. He was a member of the Apprentice Artist Program of the Santa Fe Opera, the Florida Grand Opera Studio and holds a Master of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.
Sung in Italian with English supertitles, the two performances of The Marriage of Figaro are scheduled for March 11 (8 p.m.), and March 13 (3 p.m.), 2011.
Tickets and Information
Tickets for the performance of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro are priced from $25 for students to $85 and may be purchased at www.annapolisopera.org or through the Maryland Hall Box Office [801 Chase Street, or by phone at (410) 280-5640].
Casting, programs, schedules and ticket prices are subject to change. For further information about The Marriage of Figaro and Annapolis Opera’s 2010–11 season, please visit www.annapolisopera.org.
Contact: Jennifer Fletcher, General Manager, 410-267-8135
