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Who's Who at Chamber Opera Chicago
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Victoria
Bond (Conductor) A major force in 21st century concert music, Victoria Bond leads a dual career as composer and conductor. Her compositions have been praised by the New York Times as "powerful, stylistically varied and technically demanding," and her conducting has been called “impassioned” by the Wall Street Journal and “full of energy and fervor” by the New York Times. Victoria's commissions include: American Ballet Theater, Pennsylvania Ballet, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Houston and Shanghai Symphony Orchestras, Cleveland and Indianapolis Chamber Orchestras and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Her compositions have been performed by the Dallas Symphony, New York City Opera, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Anchorage Opera, Irish National Orchestra (RTE), and members of the New York Philharmonic. She was honored with an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, the Miriam Gideon Prize and the Victor Herbert Award and profiled in the Wall Street Journal, NBC’s Today Show, featured in People magazine and in the New York Times. Bond has served as Exxon/Arts Endowment Conductor with the Pittsburgh Symphony and guest conducted throughout the United States, Europe, South America and China. The first woman awarded a doctorate in orchestral conducting from The Juilliard School; Bond has served as Music Director of the New Amsterdam and Roanoke Symphony Orchestras, Artistic Director of Opera Roanoke, Harrisburg Opera and Bel Canto Opera, Music Adviser of the Wuhan Symphony in China and is Principal Guest Conductor of Chamber Opera Chicago. |
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Francis
Menotti (Stage Director) was born in Philadelphia
and studied at the Goodman Theater in Chicago. He perfected
his craft with Lee Strasberg in New York and began his
career with the American Shakespeare Festival in New York.
He has interpreted roles ranging from the opera works
of Gian Carlo Menotti (and is famous for his portrayal
of Toby in The Medium) to the narrator in both Beethoven’s Egmont in the
Alice Tully Hall in New York and Schoenberg’s Ode
to Napoleon at the Charleston Festival. Following in the
footsteps of his adoptive father, Gian Carlo, Francis
took over much of the responsibility for the Festival
of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy and became its Artistic
Director in 1999. The festival was revitalized thanks
to his artistic choices, and he has also made artistic
contributions to more than 52 other festivals throughout
the United States, Italy and Australia. In February 2007,
he directed a critically acclaimed production of The
Medium with the Monte Carlo Opera. Francis directed last season’s
COC production of Samuel Barber’s Vanessa, which
received rave reviews such as “A triumph! Chamber
Opera Chicago dazzles!” (Chicago Sun Times) and “Hats
off to Chamber Opera Chicago!” (Chicago Tribune).
Francis also directed previous productions of Amahl
and the Night Visitors and A
Brilliant Life, A Brilliant Night,
Chamber Opera Chicago’s tribute to his father which
was called “one of the top shows of the year!” (Oak
Park Journal) |
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Kyle Dougan (Stage Director) has assisted with the direction of two UK tours of Persuasion, Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Pride and Prejudice with Chamber Opera Chicago. Kyle moved to Chicago a little over four years ago after completing his Masters in Musical Theatre at Goldsmiths, University of London. While in London, Kyle produced a workshop of new musicals and directed a new musical, Interval, by Eleanor Agius. He also directed a production of Hello Again by Michael John Lachiusa as well as stage-managed a series of new musicals with Perfect Pitch at Trafalgar Studios. In the Chicago area, Kyle has performed in, directed and associate directed shows at Theater at the Center, Big Noise Theatre, The Musical Theatre Company, and Light Opera Works, where he is on full time staff. He recently finished working on a new play with author Irving Welsh based on his book Trainspotting in Chicago, as well as a production of Ruthless! The Musical. Kyle is Artistic Producer of a series of new musicals with Midwest New Musicals and a committee member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. He is also co-owner of Style Theatrical Casting, a professional casting company. |
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Dame Libby
Komaiko (Choreographer) is the Founder, Artistic
Director, and Choreographer of the Ensemble Español
Spanish Dance Theater, Ensemble Español Center for
Spanish Dance and Music, the Ensemble Español Spanish
Dance Youth Company, and the American Spanish Dance Festival,
now celebrating their 32nd anniversary season. Dame Libby
was the first American artist in history to be decorated
with Spain’s highest honor, the Lazo de Dama (Ribbon
of the Dame) by the King of Spain for her superlative work
in spreading the cultural and artistic values of Spain throughout
the U.S. At the age of 18, she was discovered by the legendary
José Greco and danced with his world famous Spanish
Dance Company. She also performed with Lola Montes and for
theater, opera, television, film and orchestra, including
guest performances with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops
and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. In 1975 Dame Libby created
and founded the Ensemble Español, a full
company of 40 dancers and musicians for which she has choreographed
the majority of the company’s extensive 120+ repertoire.
She is a professor of Dance in the Department of Music and
Dance at Northeastern Illinois University, where the Ensemble
Español has been in residence for 32 years.
Her numerous awards have included the coveted Ruth Page
Award in 2003 and the prestigious International Latino
Cultural Center Lifetime Achievement Award, the
Pepsi Cola Hispanic Community Award, the esteemed Brightner
Award, the Art of Ethnicity Award of Excellence/Master
Teacher by the Chicago Office of Fine Arts/Chicago
Public Library, and awards for choreography from the National
Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council, and Chicago
Office of Cultural Affairs. Recent collaborations with Chamber
Opera Chicago include Carmen, Te Amo: A Musical
Evening in Spain and Amahl and the Night Visitors. |
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Nyela Basney (Conductor/Chorus Master/Musical Arranger/Orchestrator) is the founder and director of Orvieto Musica, an international chamber music festival in Italy. She received critical acclaim for her performances with Light Opera Works in the Chicago area, where she recently conducted Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow and Man of La Mancha. Currently Artistic Director of Opera at North Park University, she has recently conducted Le Nozze di Figaro and Suor Angelica with Operfestival di Roma in Italy. In April, 2015, she returned to Bosnia for her second appearance with the Sarajevo Philharmonic,conducting the Eruopean premiere of Jacob Bancks' Lumen. Previously, Ms. Basney was Music Director of the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale as well as Associate Conductor with El Paso Opera. As Associate Conductor of the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra, Nyela conducted over 60 concerts a season. She also guest conducts, having worked with the Springfield (MA) Symphony, Toledo Symphony, Virginia Symphony, and theRochester Philharmonic Orchestra, where she conducted a Gala Benefit Concert with Metropolitan Opera star Renée Fleming. Nyela served as cover conductor for John Nelson at the National Symphony and for Andrew Litton at the Dallas Symphony. She attended the Eastman School of Music on a coveted Alumni Scholarship, receiving her undergraduate and graduate degrees with highest distinction. |
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John Boesche (Projected Scene Design) was the
highly acclaimed scene designer for COC’s productions
of Persuasion, The Crucible, A Menotti
Tribute, and Te Amo. He has
also had his scenic and projection designs for theater
seen by Chicago audiences at the Chicago Shakespeare
Theater, Goodman Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre, Marriott
Lincolnshire Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre, and others.
Broadway credits include The Glass
Menagerie at Roundabout
Theatre, directed by Frank Galati. Regionally his work
has been seen at Arizona Theatre Company, Asolo Theatre
(Sarasota), Denver Center Theatre Company, McCarter
Theatre (Princeton), Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, New
York Shakespeare Festival (NYC), Seattle Repertory Theatre,
Shakespeare at the Folger (Washington D.C.), South Coast
Repertory (Costa Mesa), and Theater On The Square (San
Francisco), among others. Mr. Boesche received a Joseph
Jefferson Special Award for projection design in 2005.
Projection design accompanying the performance of music
includes the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Eos Orchestra
(New York), and the Ravinia Festival Chicago. Projection
designs for dance include Liz Lerman Dance Exchange,
Mordine and Company, and Lucky Plush dance, among others.
His designs for opera have been seen at Austin Lyric
Opera, Barbican Theatre Centre (London), Brooklyn Academy
of Music, Canadian Opera Company (Toronto), Dallas Opera,
Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Lyon,
Opera Pacifica, Portland Opera, Salt Lake Opera, San
Francisco Opera, Theatre de la Monnaie (Brussels), Washington
Opera (D.C.), and Vancouver Opera, among others. In
addition to his work in theater, Mr. Boesche designs
media for his own gallery installations, history museums,
and outdoor events. |
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