The Opera Tattler

Last night, nine of ten Adler Fellows for 2012 were interviewed by Director of Music Administration Kip Cranna, San Francisco Opera Center Director of Musical Studies Mark Morash, and Director of Artistic Adminstration Gregory Henkel, at Cowell Theater at Fort Mason. We learnt that pianist and apprentice coach David Hanlon was off to Houston to music direct HGOco‘s The Bricklayer, a more than valid excuse for missing this event. The other apprentice coach, Robert Mollicone, aspires to conduct.

Marina Boudart Harris has only been singing soprano for twenty months. Nadine Sierra was somewhat ill, but earlier this year had sung Gilda in Florida Grand Opera’s production of Rigoletto to great acclaim. Renée Rapier had her professional debut late last year at LA Opera’s Roméo et Juliette when the person whom she was covering withdrew from the production. She is to cover Joyce DiDonato in I Capuleti e i Montecchi this fall. Laura Krumm just covered DiDonato in Jake Heggie’s song cycle about Camille Claudel. Krumm also sings in Love/Hate at ODC this April. Joo Won Kang is a baseball fan. Brian Jadge was covering Don José in French, whilst singing it in English in Carmen for Families. Ryan Kuster is to singing three roles from Don Giovanni in two months at LA Phil and WolfTrap. Ao Li relates to the title character of Le Nozze di Figaro because he is “smart.” Li delivered some of the English dialogue of Carmen for Families, and it was rather hilarious. 

The interviews were interspersed with selections from Così fan tutte, Les pêcheurs de perles, Mignon, and Don Carlo. Mollicone gamely accompanied all of the pieces. “È lui! desso, l’infante…Dio, che nell’alma infondere” with Jadge, Li, and Kang was perhaps most impressive.