Applause to our distinguished performers:

PRINCIPALS: Alison Bolshoi (Brünnhilde) Steven Fredericks (Wotan) Barbara Conrad (Fricka) John Short (Siegmund) Sara Greeson (Sieglinde) Stephan Kirchgraber (Hunding) David Gilbert (Conductor)

VALKYRIES: Melissa Sumner (Gerhilde) Annette Hollænder (Flosshilde, Siegrune) Ruth-Ann Cunningham (Ortlinde) Madeline Abel-Kerns (Helmwige) Leslie Middlebrook (Waltraute) Suzanne Schwing (Rossweise) Barbara Fusco (Grimgerde) Fran Bjorneby Kraemer (Swertleite)

This past season included performances of Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Boheme Opera of New Jersey and Hagan in selections from Götterdämmerung with the Hunter College Symphony. Recent performances include his Carnegie Hall debut as the King in Aida with the New York Grand Opera and Strommenger in La Wally with Teatro Grattacielo at Alice Tully Hall in New York City.

Noted for dazzling portrayals of leading mezzo soprano roles and a luscious voice, Barbara Conrad has captivated audiences and garnered extraordinary acclaim at the Metropolitan Opera, NYCO, Carnegie Hall, Wiener Staatsoper, and at international opera houses in Germany, France, Belgium, South America, Canada and throughout the U.S. Under the direction of conductors Levine, Maazel, Rudel, Bernstein, Peters and Patane, among others. Barbara Conrad has performed much of the mezzo-soprano concert repertoire with the world's greatest orchestras, including the NY Philharmonic and the London, Boston, Cleveland and Detroit Symphonies. Her recordings include "Hamlet" with Joan Sutherland and Sherrill Milnes, conducted by Richard Bonynge, and a CD of spirituals recorded by Naxos to rave reviews. A recipient of the University of Texas Distinguished Alumnus Award Barbara Conrad was honored by her alma mater with the founding of the Barbara Conrad Endowed Scholarship in Fine Arts and is currently the Artistic Advisor and Ambassador for the Collection of American Spirituals for the University of Texas Center for American History. Ms. Conrad continues to complement her performing activities with artistic residences and master classes, establishing herself as one of the foremost builders of voice both in this country and abroad. Ms. Conrad remains passionately committed to the development of talented young singers.

John Short, a native of Tillamook, Oregon, attended Portland State University on a voice scholarship. Mr. Short made his Lincoln Center debut in a concert of American Operetta with the Little Orchestra Society at Alice Tully Hall in 1997. That same season he sang his first Florestan in Fidelio with the Connecticut Grand Opera and appeared as Canio during the spring tour of Opera Northeast's production of I Pagliacci. He followed that with the rare feat of appearing as both Turiddu and Canio in the same evening with New York Verissmo in gala performances of Cavelleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci and later performed Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca with Opera New York. Other New York concerts during this period include performances with the New York Richard Wagner Society, the inaugural concert for the Hugo Wolf Society, the Bell' Arte Opera Theater and the Richard Tauber Institute for the Vocal Arts. In June of 2000, Mr. Short was the guest soloist for the Metrpolitan Opera Club's prestigious Annual Spring Banquet. Most recently, he made an exciting debut in the title role of Samson in Saint-Saens' Samson et Delilah with a concert presentation of Act II with the Centre Symphony Orcestra in May of 2007.

Tenor John Short is the recipient of the first James McCracken Memorial Award for American Tenors. Recently his talent as a genuine heroic tenor was recognized by the Olga Forrai Foundation of New York in the form of a generous grant. He also received a grant from the New York Wagner Society and was placed in their international compendium of dramatic and Wagnerian repertoire. Their Gold Book describes him as having a "beautiful, strong and vibrant tone with a ringing top; and [being] an excellent interpreter."

In the 2006-2007 season, Sara Greeson sang Sieglinde in Die Walküre with New York's Wagner Opera Theater and covered the title role of Turandot with the New Jersey Opera Theater as a member of their Young Artists Program. Sara Greeson was a featured recitalist for the Wagner Society of New York's 2007 New Year's Eve Gala. Last season, Ms. Greeson was an apprentice with the Sarasota Opera where she covered Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. As a graduate of Mannes College of Music, she sang Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte and covered Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Sara Greeson has won awards from the George London Foundation, New York Foundation for the Arts and the Wagner Society of New York.

Stephan Kirchgraber made his operatic debut at the Florida Grand Opera in La Giaconda where he also performed Banco in Macbeth, Oroveso in Norma, Timur in Turandot and Bobadilla and Il Terzo Romeo in Franchetti's Cristoforo Colombo. Recent appearances include the King in Aida for Metro Lyric and Opera de Puerto Rico, and in Andrea Chenier alongside Ben Heppner for Culturate de Puerto Rico, as well as Lodovico in Otello and Ashby in La Funiculla del West for the Utah Opera and Ferrando in Trovatore and the Duke in Romeo and Juliet for Opera Tampa. Mr. Kirchgraber received critical acclaim for his portrayal of the Villains in Les Contes D'Hoffman and for Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin with OperaDelaware.

Melissa Sumner has appeared widely in opera, oratorio, and in recital. She has performed at Brevard Music Center and with Theatre Bristol, she is a MACCO Competition winner, and she also was a semi-finalist in the Orpheus Vocal Competition. She recently returned from Rome, Italy, where she performed the title role of Suor Angelica with Opera Festival Di Roma. Ms. Smner will be traveling to San Rafael, California, to perform the role of Ilia in Mozart's Idomeneo with the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater. Roles include Giorgetta in Puccini's Il Tabarro, Gretel in Humperdinck's Hansel and Gretel, Sara Good in Robert Ward's The Crucible, and Susannah in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro. She made her professional operatic debut as Edith in Knoxville Opera's production of Pirates of Penzance.

While living in Germany, Madeline Abel-Kerns performed the Mozart Requiem and Handel's Judas Maccabeus with the Hessische Rundfunk Frankfurt, the KÖn Kammerorchester, and the Deutsche-Americkanische Chor, in addition to making several opera-concert tours to Switzerland and Nassau, Bahamas. Moving to Ashland, Oregon, in 1991, she produced, directed and performed over thirty concerts, operas, and musical reviews for Rogue Opera, OSF, Camelot Theater, ASCO, Medford Arts Commission, and SOSC. She was recently selected by the San Francisco Concerto Orchestra for a 1997 all-Wagner concert tour and bowed as Tosca in 1997 with West Bay Opera. Her favorite roles include Tosca, Amelia in Un Ballo en Maschera, Leonora in Il Trovatore, Santuzza, Siegelinde, Ariadne, and Kostelnichka

Soprano Ruth Ann Cunningham began her Wagner journey as Ortlinde in Die Walküre, under the direction of Deborah Karner and conducted by David Gilbert, in 2002. Subsequently, she has performed Helmwige in Die Walküre, Freia in scenes from Das Rheingold, the Third Norn in GÖtterdämmerung, and Elsa in Lohegrin all with the Wagner Theater Program.

Ms. Cunningham made her New York City Opera debut as a Carmelite Sister in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. Other operatic performances include Vittelia in la clemenza di Tito, Violetta in La Traviata, with the Opera Theater of Philadelphia, and Elvira in Verdi’s Ernani, with Manhattan Opera Repertory Ensemble (MORE Opera). She frequently concertizes in New York and other locales in the USA and in Bern, Switzerland, in repertoire including Bach’s B Minor Mass and Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Semele and Messiah, Mozart’s Litany (K. 195) and C Minor Mass. Ms. Cunningham has won prizes from the Stewart Awards, Aspen Music Festival, Opera in the Ozarks, the American Traditions Competition, and Akron Symphony.

A Cleveland native, Ms. Cunningham completed undergraduate studies at Bowling Green State University and received the Master of Music degree in Voice Performance from The Juilliard School. She currently studies voice with Barbara Conrad and coaches with Patricia Sage.

Leslie Middlebrook has been winning recognition and acclaim throughout the United States from critics and audiences alike. Her recent engagements have included Adalgisa in Norma, Frugola in Il Tabarro, a series of concerts with the Light Opera of New York, and Herodias in Salome with One World Symphony. She appeared at the Bach to Bartok International Music Festival (Imola Italy), making her recital debut at the historic Palazzo Tozzoni, and was alto soloist in Rossini's Sabat Mater and Verdi's Requiem. Her European opera debut was in Bremen, Germany, in the title role in Menotti's The Medium and The Old Maid and The Thief. She also performed in Austria with Vienna Kammeroper. In the U.S., she has sung with the San Francisco, Virginia, Berkshire, Des Moines Metro, Harrisburg and N.J. Verismo Opera Companies, in roles from Orlofsky (Die Fliedermaus), and Amneris (Aida) to La Principessa (Suor Angelica) and Katisha (The Mikado). Miss Middlebrook's frequent concert and oratorio engagements include her Carnegie Hall debut as alto soloist in Sir Eugene Goosen's premiere re-orchestration of Handel's Messiah (The New England Symphonic Ensemble), alto soloist in Pergolesi's Sabat Mater (The St. Thomas More Chamber Orchestra) and Rossini's Petit Messe Solonelle (The Brooklyn Philharmonia). She sang the world premiere of Margareta Zelenaia's Mother's Lamentations for Mezzo-Soprano and Strings (One World Symphony).

Suzanne Schwing's professional performance career as an actress, mezzo-soprano, conductor, and stage director has spanned 24 years and three continents. Trained as a classical actress at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Ms. Schwing made her professional acting debut in 1983 and her debut as vocal soloist with the Boston Pops in 1995. Ms. Schwing's operatic appearance have included The Rake's Progress and Peter Grimes at the Boston Symphony, Osud, The Nose, and Regina at Bard Summerscape, and Dialogues of the Carmelites at New York City Opera. Other Operatic roles include Mrs. Herring in Albert Herring, the Secretary in The Consul, and Othniel in Handel's Joshua. Among her many theatrical roles are Rosalind, Amiens, and Touchstone in As You Like It, Lady Bracknell in The Importance of Being Ernest, Lady Froth in The Double Dealer, Reneé in M. Butterfly, Malvolio in Twelth Night, and the Marquise de Merteuil in Les Liaisons Dangereuses. She is currently the founder /Director of the Shakespeare Workshop at International House New York, and returned to New York City Opera in 2007 to appear in Margaret Garner and Cavelleria Rusticana/I Pagliacci.

Barbara Fusco, a Long Island native, is a graduate of Long Island University, C.W. Post, where she is currently a member of the voice faculty. She performs as a soloist throughout the tri-state area, and has also performed throughout the United States, South America and Europe, most recently with concert tours in Zimbabwe, Africa, Germany and Prague. Ms. Fusco has sung roles with the Center for Contemporary Opera, Opera on the Sound and the West End Opera Company. Orchestral appearances include the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, the Adirondack Festival Orchestra at Saranac Lake, the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Alice Tully Hall under the direction of Robert Craft. A regular soloist at the acclaimed Musica Viva of New York, Ms. Fusco appears on several recordings produced by Greg Smith, including "Southern Harmony." She has also recorded Stravinsky's "Les Noces," "Persephone,"and "The Rake's Progress" under the baton of Robert Craft, and is a featured soloist on several Musica Viva recordings under the direction of Walter Klauss.

Fran Bjornby Kraemer has developed an outstanding reputation in Opera, Oratorio, and concert performances throughout the United States and Europe. Favorite Opera roles include Leonora in La Favorita, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro, Cornelia in Giulio Cesare, Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Dorabello in Cosi fan Tutte, Miss Todd in The Old Maid, and The Thief and Mrs. Peachum in The Beggar's Opera. Musical theater roles include Jenny Lind in Barnum, Lola in Damn Yankees, and Mother Abbess in The Sound of Music. In 2000, she sang Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro (Czech Republic), Cornelia in Handel's Giulio Cesare (Chiari, Italy), Azucena in Il Trovatore (Burgas, Bulgaria), Leonora in La Favorita and Giocasta in Edipo Re. Under Maestro Robert Shaw, Ms. Kraemer made several recordings and Carnegie Hall appearances. Ms. Kraemer has sung with the San Diego Opera, the Atlanta Opera, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, the San Diego Comic Opera, Capital City Opera in Atlanta, Concert Opera Philadelphia and Amici Opera, Pacific Opera, Pelham Bay Opera, and was twice a winner in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions.

Conductor David Gilbert was trained in the Wagnerian repertoire at Bayreuth, having assisted Pierre Boulez for the ground-breaking centenary production of the Ring Cycle directed by Patrice Chereau for the Bayreuth Festival. Maestro Gilbert is the music director of the Greenwich Philharmonic and other orchestras, head of the conducting staff at the Manhattan School of Music, conductor for the Wagner Theater Program since its inception and former Associate Conductor of the New York Philharmonic under Director Leonard Bernstein.