Kathleen Shelton, mezzo-soprano from Cleburne, Texas, holds a Master of Music in Voice from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (Belton, TX). She currently resides in New Jersey where she performed with Light Opera of New Jersey as Tessa in The Gondoliers and attended CoOPERAtive as a Fellow. She looks forward to working as an Apprentice Artist with Sarasota Opera this fall. Her previous roles have included: Zita in Gianni

Schicchi with Mississippi Opera, Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Marmee in Little Women, Hanna in The Merry Widow, Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief, Ado Annie in Oklahoma, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel and Aldonza in Man of La Mancha. Her concert credits include the Alto soloist for Mozart’s Vespers, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Handel’s Messiah. Kathleen is continuing her vocal study with Laura Brooks Rice.

Sonja Krenek, soprano Lyric soprano Sonja Krenek is a passionate and emotionally expressive performer. This season, her engagements include Frasquita in Carmen with New York Opera Exchange, Lola Markham in Gallantry with enCANTA Collective, and the Purely Puccini concert with Chelsea Opera. Past seasons have included young artist engagements with Opera North, where she performed Greta Fiorentino in Street

Scene and covered Violetta in La Traviata in 2014, and Central City Opera, where she performed Monica in The Medium as a Bonfils-Stanton Studio Artist in 2012, and where she is the 2012 recipient of Central City Opera’s Yellow Rose Award for Most Outstanding Female Performer. Other recent appearances include Micaëla in Carmen with MetroWest Opera.

Geoffrey Hoos, Baritone, is quickly establishing himself as an up-and-coming dramatic voice. In 2014, he was heard as an emerging artist with the Dolora Zajick Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. He has appeared recently with Musica Raritana as Abner in Handel’s Athalia and with Opera at Rutgers; the roles of Henry Davis in Street Scene, and Vicomte Cascada in The Merry Widow. Recent performances also included Talpa in Il Tabarro with The Lyric Orchestra, Bobin, The Old Maid and the Thief with Saint Joseph’s University Opera, and the role of Marcello in La Boheme with Philadelphia’s Opera Libera. Having delved into major works as well, he has

performed solos from Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the Kirkpatrick Choir and Orchestra, as well as Mozart’s Requiem with Saint Joseph’s University Orchestra. In 2014 and 2015, Geoffrey was an apprentice artist with The Sarasota Opera where he sang the role of Un Contadino in Pagliacci and also performed Mr. Ford in Falstaff and Don Carlo in Ernani for their outreach program. This past summer 2015 he returned for the young professionals division at the Dolora Zajick Institute. In 2016, he will sing the roles of The Sacristan, Sciarrone, and the Carceriere in Tosca with Knoxville Opera. Geoffrey has garnered prizes from many prestigious competitions including: the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, The Giulio Gari IVC, and the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition. Mr. Hoos holds a BM in vocal performance from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ.

Mary Pinto is an acclaimed accompanist and vocal coach who has worked with international opera singers and major American opera companies for the past 25 years. During the past year, Mary has had the pleasure of coaching for Metropolitan Opera star and international soprano, Deborah Voigt. As Ms. Voigt prepared the three Brünnhilde’s for the Met’s new production of the Ring Cycle during the 2011 and 2012 season, Mary served as lesson and rehearsal

pianist and private coach. Ms. Pinto can be seen in the documentary, Wagner’s Dream: The Making of the Met’s Ring which premiered at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival. The film has since been broadcast globally as part of the HD Broadcasts and will be shown this season on American PBS channels as part of the “Great Performances” series. Mary is a student of John Wustman, the renowned accompanist for Luciano Pavarotti. She began her professional career as a rehearsal pianist for Dayton Opera, Omaha Opera and Augusta Opera. While at Omaha Opera, Mary privately coached many singers, including a young Susan Graham. She went on to coach for the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center preparing performances of Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, and the world premieres of Bright Sheng’s The Song of Majnun and Bruce Saylor’s Orpheus Descending. More recently, Ms. Pinto worked as a rehearsal pianist and coach at Florentine Opera of Milwaukee, where she prepared singers for Tosca, Otello and André Chénier. From 1995 to 1999, Mary was a staff rehearsal pianist for Dallas Opera, working on Carmen with Denyce Graves as well as preparing performances of Billy Budd, Kát’a Kabanová, and Aida. Following Dallas, Mary worked at Opera San Antonio, where in addition to coaching and rehearsal pianist duties, she served as the audition pianist for Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Auditions, an honor she repeated in Chicago several years later. Since returning to her home state of New Jersey, Mary joined the faculty at Montclair State University, where she coaches for the opera departments, as well as giving private lessons. This past spring, she served as rehearsal pianist and harpsichordist for New Jersey State Opera’s production of II Barbiere di Siviglia under Jason Tramm. Mary maintains a busy private coaching studio in New York City.

AMERICAN SONGS AND MUSICAL THEATRE

PROGRAM

“Witchcraft” …………....................................................... Geoffrey Hoos (Cy Coleman) Wicked: The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz (Schwartz and Holtzman)

1. “Popular”...……………….....................................Sonja Krenek

2. “I’m Not That Girl” ......................................Kathleen Shelton Wizard of Oz (Arlen and Harburg)

1. “If I Only Had a Brain”……………….…..........Geoffrey Hoos

2. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”........................Sonja Krenek

“Stars” ...................………………………………………...Geoffrey Hoos Les Miserables (Schönberg and Boublil)

Warren Helms, Music Director

2015/2016 SEASON

Saturday, Dec. 12, 2015, 8:00 pm "A Little Night Music"

The Sounds of Sondheim and Bernstein Bickford Theater at the Morris Museum

Normandy Heights and Columbia Roads, Morristown, NJ

Post-concert reception

Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, 3:00 pm Lenfell Hall, Fairleigh Dickinson Univ., Madison, NJ

Concerts in collaboration with Opera at Florham

Saturday, May 21 2016,

ANNA BOLENA Followed by Gala Reception

Funding has been made possible in part by funds from Morris Arts through the NJ State

Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the

Arts

Coro Lirico

In memory of

Eugenio and Gloria Fernandi

for their love of opera and Opera at Florham.

Wishing Opera at Florham continued success

Ronstan Paper and Packaging Co

The La Morte Family

OPERA PROGRAM Faust (Gounod)

1. “Faites-lui mes aveux”………………………..Kathleen Shelton (Siebels’s aria)

2. “L’Air des bijoux”…………………………...........Sonja Krenek

(Marguerite’s aria) 3. “Avant de quitter ces lieux” ……….....................Geoffrey Hoos

(Valentin’s aria) Hansel und Gretel (Humperdinck)

1. Dew Fairy’s Aria ………........................................Sonja Krenek

2. Witch’s Aria …………………………………..Kathleen Shelton

3. Father’s Aria …………………............................Geoffrey Hoos Die Zauberflöte – (Mozart)

Bei Männernwelche Liebe Fühlen” 1. Pamina /Papageno…….................Sonja Krenek, Geoffrey Hoos

2. Ach, ich fühl’s - Pamina……………………….....Sonja Krenek

3. Der Vogelfänger bin ich ja - Papageno ……. .....Geoffrey Hoos

INTERMISSION (Light refreshments will be served)

In residence at

Fairleigh Dickinson University, Madison, NJ

The Magic of Opera!

Sunday, October 4, 2015 at 3pm

Lenfell Hall -The Mansion Fairleigh Dickinson University

285 Madison Avenue, Madison, NJ 07940

For more information contact OAF: P.O. Box 343, Convent Station, NJ 07961 973-443-8620 | www.OperaatFlorham.org

Welcome Opera Lovers to Opera at Florham's opening Musicale of the 2015-2016 season entitled "The Magic of Opera." We chose this theme because October is a month of "Mystical and Magical" happenings, and we believe every one of our Opera at Florham family has at one time or another been transformed by the 'Magic and Power' of opera and musical theatre. So this afternoon we present arias and songs that contain transformative stories. We believe from the first aria to the last song your lives will be transformed as well. Please refer to your programs to see what else we have in store for the rest of the OAF season. We would love to have you join us.

Mary Pinto, Vice President, Opera at Florham Board of Trustees and Organizer of OAF's Musicales

Stephen DeMaio, President, Gerder Lissner Foundation, New York City,

OAF Board Member and Narrator of the Musicales

CONTRIBUTIONS

ANGELS Stephen DeMaio, President, The Gerda Lissner Foundation

Mary Pinto, organizer and piano accompanist of OAF Musicales’

SUPPORTERS Guy Brennert Mr. & Mrs. Harold Carlson

Betty Mc Colgan Pauline Rush

PATRONS Ann & Gus Anselmi Bette Canarozzi

Arthur Patchett Dee Robertson Al & Pat Wickens