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Press Releases
SRO Presents Princesses and Heroes in Opera
The New Jersey State Repertory Opera (SRO) will present its spring benefit concert, “Princesses and Heroes In Opera,” on Sunday, April 26, 2015 at the Van Vleck House and Gardens in Montclair, NJ from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm.
“Princesses and Heroes in Opera” will feature a concert of operatic scenes “based on royal ladies, both good and bad, and the heroes who love and rescue them.” Performances will include solos, duets, and arias from Orfeo and Euridice by C.W. von Gluck; La Cenerentola by Rossini; Tannhäuser by Wagner; Les Pêcheurs de Perles by Georges Bizet; Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea; and Die Zauberflöte and Le Nozze di Figaro, by W.A. Mozart.
Directed by Dita Delman, “Princesses and Heroes in Opera” will showcase the distinguished talents of operatic vocalists from SRO’s roster, including soprano Tamara Tsoutsouris, mezzo-soprano Katy Sumrow, tenor Steve Wallace, and baritone Mark Fitzgerald Wilson. Warren Helms is the accompanist.
Tickets for the benefit are $150 per person (tax deductible) which includes wines and dinner. To order tickets, call (973) 763-7969. The Van Vleck House and Gardens is located at 21 Van Vleck Street, Montclair, NJ 07042. All facilities are handicapped accessible.
About SRO
Founded by 1975, the New Jersey State Repertory Opera’s primary purpose and mission is to bring high quality operatic performances to diverse New Jersey audiences, showcasing young NJ-based artists who will be tomorrow's luminaries in the opera world.
Under the guidance of founder and Artistic Director Dita Delman, SRO has distinguished itself through the presentation of operas rarely seen in the metropolitan area and its refreshing interpretations of established classics. Its recent productions of Goyescas, The Bartered Bride and Thaïs were the first in the New York area in decades. Its production of Susannah was named the "Best Staged Opera" in New Jersey that year by the Newark Star-Ledger, which also raved over SRO's Goyescas, declaring it the "Most Innovative Opera Staging" that year. In 2001, State Repertory Opera successfully produced The Ballad of Baby Doe, carving a niche for itself as one of New Jersey’s most adventurous opera companies. SRO's 2002 staging of a contemporary Marriage of Figaro received critical acclaim for its singing and updated concept. Its 2003 concert performance of Madame Butterfly also received accolades for the high quality of the singing.
In 2014, SRO presented Georges Bizet’s Carmen at Montclair State University, marking the company’s return to fully-staged productions after the death of long-time conductor James Sadewhite.
About The Performers
Tamara Tsoutsouris (soprano) has appeared with opera companies across the US and internationally, including the Teatro de la Maestranza in Spain, Houston Grand Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera San Jose, Opera Company of Mid-Michigan, Augusta Opera, Lake George Opera, Operafest of New Hampshire, and NJSRO. Ms. Tsoutsouris' operatic repertoire has included Mimi and Musetta (La Bohème), Nedda (I Pagliacci), Marguerite (Faust), Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte), and the title roles in Madama Butterfly, Tosca and Manon. She also performed the world premiere of Ronn Yedidia's Siddur Suite in New York City. Upcoming engagements include concerts with the Florida Sunshine Pops, the Yonkers Philharmonic, the Summit Symphony, and NJRSO.
Katy Sumrow (mezzo-soprano) is a Polish native who at an early age received a full music scholarship to the Chopin School of Music. Upon graduating she joined the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and toured throughout Europe. Ms. Sumrow performed in the Polish Requiem with Leonard Bernstein and Liv Ullman at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw on International television. Her repertoire as a soloist includes baroque, opera, jazz, spiritual and Broadway. Ms. Sumrow is a founding member of the Baroque Ensemble Buccina Cantorum and is heard on her new CD, “Music of the Italian Baroque.”
Steve Wallace (tenor) is a multi-talented singer, songwriter/composer, arranger, instrumentalist and music producer/engineer who has worked in various musical genres, including classical, jazz, pop and R&B. While teaching voice lessons at the Brooklyn Music School, he sang arias to students to demonstrate vocal technique and was encouraged to pursue classical training. Since refocusing his career, Steve has been coached by Nathan Gunn, Derek Matson (Lyric Opera of Chicago) as well as composers Thomas Pasatier and the Pulitzer-Prize winning Yehudi Wyner. His operatic roles have included Rodolfo in La Bohème, Don Jose in Carmen, Alfredo in La Traviata, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana as well as the lead role in the US premiere of the Filipino Opera Noli MeTangere by Filipe De Leon in Chicago in 2012.
Mark Fitzgerald Wilson (baritone) is a two-time Met regional finalist, a two-time award winner of the Bel Canto Opera Scholarship Fund and the first place winner of the Orlando Opera's Heinz Refuss Singing Actor Competition. He has performed with Opera Memphis, Orlando Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Portland Opera Theatre, among others. In addition to his operatic repertoire, Mr. Wilson has performed the musical roles of Agwe in Once On This Island and Jim in Big River. As an active recitalist, he has performed Lee Hoiby's I Have a Dream, Carlisle Floyd's Pilgrimage and works by Joseph Marx, Darius Mihaud, Maurice Ravel, Gustav Mahler, and multiple arrangements of Negro spirituals.
“Princesses and Heroes in Opera” will feature a concert of operatic scenes “based on royal ladies, both good and bad, and the heroes who love and rescue them.” Performances will include solos, duets, and arias from Orfeo and Euridice by C.W. von Gluck; La Cenerentola by Rossini; Tannhäuser by Wagner; Les Pêcheurs de Perles by Georges Bizet; Adriana Lecouvreur by Francesco Cilea; and Die Zauberflöte and Le Nozze di Figaro, by W.A. Mozart.
Directed by Dita Delman, “Princesses and Heroes in Opera” will showcase the distinguished talents of operatic vocalists from SRO’s roster, including soprano Tamara Tsoutsouris, mezzo-soprano Katy Sumrow, tenor Steve Wallace, and baritone Mark Fitzgerald Wilson. Warren Helms is the accompanist.
Tickets for the benefit are $150 per person (tax deductible) which includes wines and dinner. To order tickets, call (973) 763-7969. The Van Vleck House and Gardens is located at 21 Van Vleck Street, Montclair, NJ 07042. All facilities are handicapped accessible.
About SRO
Founded by 1975, the New Jersey State Repertory Opera’s primary purpose and mission is to bring high quality operatic performances to diverse New Jersey audiences, showcasing young NJ-based artists who will be tomorrow's luminaries in the opera world.
Under the guidance of founder and Artistic Director Dita Delman, SRO has distinguished itself through the presentation of operas rarely seen in the metropolitan area and its refreshing interpretations of established classics. Its recent productions of Goyescas, The Bartered Bride and Thaïs were the first in the New York area in decades. Its production of Susannah was named the "Best Staged Opera" in New Jersey that year by the Newark Star-Ledger, which also raved over SRO's Goyescas, declaring it the "Most Innovative Opera Staging" that year. In 2001, State Repertory Opera successfully produced The Ballad of Baby Doe, carving a niche for itself as one of New Jersey’s most adventurous opera companies. SRO's 2002 staging of a contemporary Marriage of Figaro received critical acclaim for its singing and updated concept. Its 2003 concert performance of Madame Butterfly also received accolades for the high quality of the singing.
In 2014, SRO presented Georges Bizet’s Carmen at Montclair State University, marking the company’s return to fully-staged productions after the death of long-time conductor James Sadewhite.
About The Performers
Tamara Tsoutsouris (soprano) has appeared with opera companies across the US and internationally, including the Teatro de la Maestranza in Spain, Houston Grand Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera San Jose, Opera Company of Mid-Michigan, Augusta Opera, Lake George Opera, Operafest of New Hampshire, and NJSRO. Ms. Tsoutsouris' operatic repertoire has included Mimi and Musetta (La Bohème), Nedda (I Pagliacci), Marguerite (Faust), Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte), and the title roles in Madama Butterfly, Tosca and Manon. She also performed the world premiere of Ronn Yedidia's Siddur Suite in New York City. Upcoming engagements include concerts with the Florida Sunshine Pops, the Yonkers Philharmonic, the Summit Symphony, and NJRSO.
Katy Sumrow (mezzo-soprano) is a Polish native who at an early age received a full music scholarship to the Chopin School of Music. Upon graduating she joined the Warsaw Philharmonic Choir and toured throughout Europe. Ms. Sumrow performed in the Polish Requiem with Leonard Bernstein and Liv Ullman at the Teatr Wielki in Warsaw on International television. Her repertoire as a soloist includes baroque, opera, jazz, spiritual and Broadway. Ms. Sumrow is a founding member of the Baroque Ensemble Buccina Cantorum and is heard on her new CD, “Music of the Italian Baroque.”
Steve Wallace (tenor) is a multi-talented singer, songwriter/composer, arranger, instrumentalist and music producer/engineer who has worked in various musical genres, including classical, jazz, pop and R&B. While teaching voice lessons at the Brooklyn Music School, he sang arias to students to demonstrate vocal technique and was encouraged to pursue classical training. Since refocusing his career, Steve has been coached by Nathan Gunn, Derek Matson (Lyric Opera of Chicago) as well as composers Thomas Pasatier and the Pulitzer-Prize winning Yehudi Wyner. His operatic roles have included Rodolfo in La Bohème, Don Jose in Carmen, Alfredo in La Traviata, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana as well as the lead role in the US premiere of the Filipino Opera Noli MeTangere by Filipe De Leon in Chicago in 2012.
Mark Fitzgerald Wilson (baritone) is a two-time Met regional finalist, a two-time award winner of the Bel Canto Opera Scholarship Fund and the first place winner of the Orlando Opera's Heinz Refuss Singing Actor Competition. He has performed with Opera Memphis, Orlando Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Portland Opera Theatre, among others. In addition to his operatic repertoire, Mr. Wilson has performed the musical roles of Agwe in Once On This Island and Jim in Big River. As an active recitalist, he has performed Lee Hoiby's I Have a Dream, Carlisle Floyd's Pilgrimage and works by Joseph Marx, Darius Mihaud, Maurice Ravel, Gustav Mahler, and multiple arrangements of Negro spirituals.
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