KRISTA WOZNIAK, Carrie Nation
Krista’s numerous roles have included the title role in Blitzstein’s Regina, Desdemona in Verdi’s Otello, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Lady Billows in Britten’s Albert Herring, Mother Marie in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, and Gran Sacerdotessa in Verdi’s Aida. Krista has performed and produced with New York-based Opera on Tap since its inception in 2005. Krista is also in demand as a lecturer/performer, with topics ranging from the evolution of the singing voice to the hardest arias ever written. National and international reviewers have raved over Krista’s performances, calling her “a magnificent stage animal with appealing soprano” and saying “She can deliver powerful declamation in the middle voice and fling out a splendid high C. She has glamour and personality to burn” and “Her colorful voice and powerful singing brought out the spirituality of life. She sang a dramatic and exciting program with poise, confidence and energy, and, on top of that, she made it look easy.”
JOSEPH FLAXMAN, The Bartender
American baritone Joseph Flaxman has been praised by musicians and critics alike for his “robust and powerful voice” (Howard Kissel, NY Daily News) that “exudes good health and promise” (Bernard Holland, NY Times).
Upcoming engagements include Renato in Un ballo in maschera at Symphony Space, and Bello in La Fanciulla del West with Lorin Maazel and the Munich Philharmonic.
Recently, Joseph has performed Bello in La Fanciulla del West and Montano in Otello at the Castleton Festival, Don Carlo in Verdi’s Ernani with the United Nations Orchestra at Symphony Space, the baritone soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Helena Symphony this April, and All Male Roles in the premiere of SMASHED! with American Opera Projects.
In 2012, he made his Lincoln Center debut as Il Monaco Traba in Montemezzi’s La Nave with Teatro Grattacielo, his international debut as Montano in Verdi’s Otello with the Lyrique-en-mer festival in France, and premiered the role of The Man in the Mask in Bruce Saylor’s Major Molineaux at Queens College.
Roles performed in previous seasons include Il Conte and Figaro, Le nozze di Figaro; Guglielmo, Così fan tutte; Papageno, Die Zauberflöte; Marcello, La Bohème; Silvio, Pagliacci; Falke and Frank, Die Fledermaus; Pangloss, Candide; Milord Arespingh, Cimarosa’s L’Italiana in Londra; Prince Yamadori, Madama Butterfly; Betto, Gianni Schicchi; Wagner, Faust; John Styx, Orpheus in the Underworld; and Marullo, Rigoletto.
Mr. Flaxman has performed at Lincoln Center, Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Festival, Lyrique-en-mer in Belle-Ile France, Opera Memphis, Sarasota Opera, Opera Saratoga, Des Moines Metro Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, BARD Summerscape, Ash Lawn Opera, Brevard Music Center, American Opera Projects, Bronx Opera, Chelsea Opera, Opera Company of Brooklyn, Opera Manhattan, the Martina Arroyo Foundation, the Manhattan School of Music (Master’s of Music), and at Fredonia State University (Bachelor’s of Music).
Recently the Liederkranz Foundation, Opera Index, the Bel Canto Foundation Scholarship, Career Bridges, the Comeptizione dell’Opera, the Armel Opera competition, and the MacGraw Hill Young Artist Showcase on WQXR have all recognized his talents. www.josephflaxman.com ~ www.wademanagement.com
MERLYN WOLF, The Narrator
Merlyn Wolf is not a drunk but he’s played many drunks on stage. Some of his favorite stage drunks are Tom in the Glass Menagerie, Simon Stimson in Our Town, Michael Just in Tony N’ Tina’s Wedding and Tom/B-Dawg in the NYIT Award winning Bouffon Glass Menagerie. Merlyn has also written plays about Jackson Pollock, Hunter S. Thompson and the musical Viva Evel Knievel. He is co-artistic director of Ten Directions. www.tendirections.net
CAMERON RUSSELL, Carrie Nation All-Star
The world is a amazing place for soprano Cameron Russell. Prior to her experience with Opera on Tap’s Roadwork Series she did not have the word “hatchetations” in her vocabulary. How enjoyable it is indeed to broaden ones knowledge and to muse that had she been born in Carrie’s time, California penal code 594 PC would not ring an all too familiar bell. Ms. Russell, as well the majestic and formidable quail hail from that great state of California. She has appeared in operatic roles with Opera San Jose, theatrical productions for TheatreWorks, was a featured artist for the opening of the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas and is a proud member of Opera on Tap’s New Brew Ensemble. She received her BA from UCLA and her MM from Manhattan School of Music.
MICHAEL BRAGG, Uncle Jimmy’s Liquid Courage Brigade
Michael Bragg has sung leading and secondary roles with LA Opera, Lyric Opera Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Cleveland Opera, Seattle Opera, and he just made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Götterdämmerung. In 2009 he made his Jazz at Lincoln Center debut in the world premiere of “The Golden Ticket” by Peter Ash and Donald Sturrock an opera based on “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” which was produced by American Lyric Theater. Not only familiar with opera Michael has performed many recitals throughout the country and Europe as well as the oratorios of Handel, Bach, Mendelssohn, Orff, and Britten. Michael received a Bachelors of Music from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ and a Masters of Music from the Institute of Music in Cleveland, OH.
CHRISTIANA LITTLE, Carrie Nation All-Star
Christiana Little is a singer, actress and writer. Fave roles: The Beggar’s Opera (Lucy), Into the Woods (Cinderella), The Mikado (Yum-Yum), Cabaret (Sally), Hair (Sheila u/s). Her original musical Bombshell Baby! A WWII Musical Starring Veronica Garland, which she wrote with Rachel Felstein, had a sold-out run at the Ensemble Studio Theatre in July 2012. (It’s a musical about a drag queen who fights Nazis.) Christiana is a lyricist in the Tony-honored BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Christiana hosts the live simulcasts of the Philadelphia Orchestra into movie theatres around the world. Voiceover: Mattel, Apple Computers, Houghton- Mifflin. BM: Manhattan School of Music. Creative writing at Columbia University. Improv: Upright Citizens Brigade. Voice with Ron Raines. Christiana plays the accordion, piano, ukulele and euphonium. Proud Member: SAG-AFTRA, Dramatists Guild of America. Please visit www.christianalittle.com for more.
SETH GILMAN, Uncle Jimmy’s Liquid Courage Brigade
A graduate of the University of Michigan and the Mannes College of Music, baritone Seth Gilman is freelancing in New York, especially active in new and early music.
At the Amherst Early Music Festival, Mr. Gilman sang the part Giove in Cavalli’s La Calisto, and performed two roles in Campra’s L’Europe Galante. Other roles have included Chato in La Purpura de la Rosa, Liberto in L’incoronazione di Poppea.
Experienced in operetta, Seth can be heard in Victor Herbert recordings with the Comic Opera Guild of Ann Arbor. Seth’s 2011 activities included the premiere of Osnat Netzer’s The Wondrous Woman Within, and a turn as Don Giovanni with Musica NYC. Last year brought the role of Avsholem in Avrum Goldfaden’s Shulamis, and the premieres of Smashed, of the orchestrated version of Ambiguous Kafka by Ronnie Reshef, and of a song cycle by André Brégégère. Seth also participated in the Brooklyn Art Song Society’s complete Charles Ives festival. Scheduled for 2013 have been premieres of Seth Bedford and Michael Ching songs in operamission new cabaret and of Mary Kouyoumdjian’s I am a Fish with Hotel Elephant. Upcoming premieres include Kamala Sankaram’s Murder Mystery and Jeremiah Bornfield’s The Garden. Seth has also premiered works by James Barry, Seth Bedford, Ben Brody, Robert Cuckson, Noam Faingold, Lin Mu-Xuan, Pat Muchmore, Eric Shanfield, and Alex Temple. He has collaborated with local ensembles such as Anti-Social Music, Doctor Faustus, Hotel Elephant, New Brew, the New York Continuo Collective, operamission, and Opera on Tap.
KAYLEIGH BUTCHER, Carrie Nation All-Star
Kayleigh Butcher grew up in St. Louis, Missouri where she began her musical studies. She enjoys all types of repertoire ranging from the early Baroque to contemporary music of the present day. As an avid performer and advocate of contemporary music, she has been complimented for her “flawless rhythm and nuanced articulations” in addition to providing “breathtaking” performances (The Brooklyn Rail) of new and challenging music. She has commissioned numerous new works for herself and for her vocal ensemble, Quince, and has recently been seen in Daniel Felsenfeld’s Genuine Willingness to Help, Book I, the world premiere of Jamie Leigh Sampson’s one-act opera, Wearing White, in a.per.io.dic’s
John Cage Festival, and performed Tristan Perich’s piece “What’s thought of as a boundless, continuous expanse….” at the Philip Glass: Music with Friends Benefit concert at IPR in Brooklyn. Kayleigh also participates in Opera on Tap NYC’s New Brew Ensemble, which showcases 20th and 21st century compositions in theatrical and entertaining contexts which you can experience every other month at Brooklyn’s Barbes.
She has also sung in many operatic productions throughout the U.S. Her most recent accomplishments include roles in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Gilbert and Sullivan’s Patience, Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, The Three Little Pigs, a contemporary children’s opera, Handel’s Acis and Galatea, the world premiere of Kirke Meechem’s John Brown, and has been featured as alto soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Magnificat in D, and in Bach’s Cantata BWV 4.
She graduated with a Bachelor degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 2008 and completed her Master in Music at Bowling Green State University in 2011. Kayleigh also dabbles with composition, writing fugues and other arrangements for her ensemble,Quince Contemporary Vocal Ensemble.
PATRICIA VITAL, Uncle Jimmy’s Liquid Courage Brigade
Patricia Vital is an up and coming New York City based soprano. She has had an eventful performance schedule in the 2012/2013 season and will be rounding it off with appearances as Marie (La fille du regiment), Sister Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), Serpina (La Serva Padrona), and reprising the role of Musetta (La bohème). Past performances include the roles of Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Il Matto (Cagnoni’s Re Lear), Adina (L’Elisir d’Amore ), Elvira (I Puritani), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Norina (Don Pasquale), and the premier of the Greek opera, Ektor, by George Tsouris. Patricia has been seen on the stages of Opera New York, Regina Opera, Opera Las Vegas, Riverfront Opera, Utopia Unlimited, The Old Vic, and others. An avid supporter of outreach, Patricia devotes a great deal of her free time to the promotion of opera and the performing arts.
MILA HENRY, The music director
Mila Henry is a New York-based pianist who specializes in contemporary opera, musical theater, and chamber music. She is Resident Music Director with American Opera Projects (AOP), where she recently served as Assistant Conductor for The Blind (Lincoln Center Festival 2013) and music directs for their Composers & the Voice workshop series with conductor Steven Osgood. Frequent collaborators include American Lyric Theater, Beth Morrison Projects (BMP), Center City Opera Theater, Gotham Chamber Opera, HERE, OPERA America, Opera on Tap, and new music ensemble Two Sides Sounding. Current projects include Kamala Sankaram and Susan Yankowitz’s contemporary opera-theatre work Thumbprint (PROTOTYPE 2014); Nkeiru Okoye’s folk opera HARRIET TUBMAN: When I Crossed That Line to Freedom (AOP 2014); Stefan Weisman and David Cote’s family opera The Scarlet Ibis (PROTOTYPE 2015); and Greta Gertler Gold and Alexandra Collier’s indie musical Willow’s One Night Stand. Mila holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and Elizabethtown College. She lives in Brooklyn. milahenry.com
ABOUT OPERA ON TAP:
Opera on Tap (OOT)’s mission is to bring opera to new audiences by performing in bars, rock concert halls, and other alternative spaces. Born in the backroom of a Brooklyn divebar in 2005, Opera on Tap has gained national press recognition, several performance residencies across the city, and regional Chapters in New Orleans, Atlanta, Ann Arbor MI, Chicago, Denver, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Denton TX, San Francisco, Seattle, the Twin Cities, and most recently Boston. In addition to its collaborations at Galapagos with American Opera Projects, OOT hosts a new music concert series called New Brew at Barbes in Brooklyn the first Friday of every other month and bi-annually co-produces the critically acclaimed 21c Liederabend (Best of 2009 in TimeOut NY) in collaboration with Beth Morrison Projects and VisionIntoArt. Opera on Tap has recently been featured for its exploits in The NY Daily News, The Denver Post, The LA Times, LA Weekly, Seattle Weekly, and on NPR’s Cross Currents. www.operaontap.org