P.O. Box 37
Bozeman, MT
59771
406.587.2889
info@intermountainopera.org
The mission of the Intermountain Opera Association
of Bozeman, established in 1979, is to promote and share the
joy of opera in Montana and surrounding areas by providing affordable,
high quality opera performances to audience members of all ages
and to provide educational outreach to area schools and communities.
|
|
 |
May 12 & 14 at 7 PM and May 16 at 3 PM - Verdi's Il Trovatore
Il Trovatore was Giuseppe Verdi’s
17th opera, written shortly after Rigoletto and at the
same time he was composing La Traviata. Il Trovatore has
been a success from the day of its premiere (January 19, 1853),
and its melodies are among the best known in the world of opera.
It was last produced by IOA in 1996.
 |
Louis
Otey, Baritone, Count di Luna -
A major stage personality noted for his incisive and provocative
interpretations, Louis Otey has performed with leading opera
companies throughout the world. He has sung the Count
di Luna with Portland Opera and Opera Pacific. Other notable
roles include the title role in Don Giovanni with
Houston Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Connecticut
Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Opera Hamilton, Victoria State
Opera in Australia and in Graz, Austria. His Escamillo
in Carmen has been heard at Houston Grand Opera,
Florida Grand Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Theatre of St.
Louis and Connecticut Grand Opera. He has portrayed
Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro in Lyon, Düsseldorf,
Opera Hamilton, Calgary Opera, and with the Michigan Opera
Theatre. Otey has performed Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus with
the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, L’Opéra
de Montreal, New Orleans Opera, Florentine Opera, and with
the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. He is a frequent leading
artist at New York City Opera, performing the baritone leads
in Tosca, Carmen, Don Giovanni, Il
Barbiere di Siviglia, Le Nozze di Figaro, Rigoletto and La
Traviata.
|
 |
Marie
Te Hapuku (soprano, Leonora) The New Zealand-born
Maori soprano has sung principal roles in Il Trovatore,
Aida, Stiffelio, Nabucco, Così Fan Tutte, Le Nozze di
Figaro, Don Giovanni, Turandot, Tosca, Die Fledermaus, and La
Bohème with opera companies including the Metropolitan
Opera, Gran Teatro del Liceu - Barcelona, Sarasota Opera, Phoenix
Opera, NBR New Zealand Opera, Opera Queensland, Utah Festival
Opera, Utah Opera, Opera Delaware, Opera North, and Wellington
City Opera. She has also soloed with orchestras in Syracuse,
Knoxville, Westfield, Brooklyn, San Jose and in New Zealand
and Australia. She has received the Jay Darwin Memorial Award
(San Francisco Opera Auditions), the Sir Frank Tait Bursary
(Australian Singing Competition), the Willi Fels Memorial Trust,
and the Sylvia Lerner and Wagner Society awards (Metropolitan
Opera National Council Auditions). She holds dual citizenship
in New Zealand and the U.S. and currently resides in New York
City.
|
 |
John
Pickle, Tenor, Manrico -
John Pickle enjoys a diverse career that encompasses opera,
oratorio, recital, and concert work and is known for a unique
sweetness with power that makes his voice adaptable to a variety
of genres. Roles this season include Don Jose in Carmen with
Nevada Opera and Cavaradossi in Tosca with Opera Fort
Collins. Last season in addition to a wide range of concerts
around the country he sang Rodolfo in La Boheme with
Nevada Opera and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with
Opera Southwest. In past seasons he has appeared in principal
roles with Opera Company of Philadelphia, Mercury Opera Rochester,
Florentine Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Opera Idaho and the Little
Orchestra Society in Avery Fisher Hall. |
 |
Lisa
van der Ploeg, Mezzo-Soprano, Azucena - Danish-American
mezzo-soprano, Lisa van der Ploeg has been hailed for her
rich, warm, penetrating tone and electrifying stage presence. She was a stunning Amneris
in IOA’s
25th anniversary production of Aida in 2003 and returned
to delight our audiences in 2006 as Katisha in The Mikado.
Her first professional appearances included performances with
Maestro Raymond Leppard and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra
in the Barber of Seville and the Three Cornered
Hat. She made her West Coast debut with the San Francisco
Opera Center singing the title role in Carmen in
the Merola Program, and touring nationally with the Western
Opera Theater. She also received rave reviews for her performances
with Utah Festival Opera. |
 |
John
Sweeney, Bass-Baritone, Ferrando – Born
in Great Falls and raised on a ranch near Belt, John Sweeney
has spent most of his professional career singing opera in
Europe. He lives in Austria and sings in Germany and Italy
as well, taking roles in everything from baroque to modern
operas. He studied English and philosophy at the University
of Notre Dame and graduated with a BA in Music from the University
of Montana. He also studied in the opera program at the University
of Vienna. Operawelt, one of the most renowned European
magazines, wrote: “John Sweeney’s overwhelming
dramatic presentation made him the center of the performance
and the audience’s favorite as Maestro da Capone in Weigl’s Strandgut.” He
will be making his Intermountain Opera debut in Il
Trovatore. |
 |
Alison
Ellis (mezzo-soprano, Ines) makes her IOA debut as
Ines. Alison moved to Bozeman two years ago from Marietta,
Georgia. She has a Masters degree in Music from the University
of Memphis, where she performed such roles as Dorabella (Cosi
fan Tutte), Charlotte (Werther), Vera Boronel
(The Consul), and Zita (Gianni Schicchi) among
others. She was named a Hohenberg-Scheidt Young Artist
for two consecutive years, and was a winner of the Mid-South
District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions as well
as being a finalist at the regional level. She won first
place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing competitions
for both the advanced and the post-advanced divisions. She
has extensive choral experience both as a soloist and a chorus
member, singing with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra,
the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra. She
has also performed in both Eastern and Western Europe, Australia,
and New Zealand. In Bozeman, Alison has a private voice
and piano studio. |
 |
Russell
Milburn, Tenor, Ruiz – Russell Milburn was
seen (and heard) as one of Horace Tabor’s cronies and
as a State Department dandy in IOA’s production of The
Ballad of Baby Doe in October 2009. He directed the
chorus and sang the role of Dr. Blind in our Die Fledermaus in
2008 and directed the children’s chorus for La
Boheme last May. Some years ago, as a student at MSU,
he sang in the Intermountain Opera chorus. He has also performed
throughout Europe and has been singing King Kaspar in the annual
Pilgrim Congregational Church production of Amahl and
the Night Visitors. He is conductor of the Bozeman
Symphonic Choir and Director of Music at First Presbyterian
Church of Bozeman. |
 |
Steven
Daigle, Director -
Steven Daigle returns to Bozeman to direct Il Trovatore.
(He directed our sizzling Carmen in 2008.) He has
served as part of the artistic staff for more than 300 lyric
theater productions, along with calling over 400 professional
operatic performances as a production stage manager. Daigle's
experience as a stage director include productions of opera,
operetta, and musical theater for Ohio Light Opera Company,
Eastman School of Music, Mercury Opera Rochester, The Lyric
Opera of Atlanta, Oberlin Conservatory, Louisiana State University,
Florida State Opera, South Georgia Opera, Columbia Theater
Players, Kent State Opera Workshop, and the Operetta Foundation
of Los Angeles. He is presently associate professor and head
of opera at the Eastman School of Music. He has served
on the faculty at the Eastman School of Music since 1997. He
served on the faculty at Kent State University and at the Oberlin
Conservatory. In the summer of 1998 he served on the faculty
of the “Oberlin in Italy” program in Urbania Italy. |
 |
Julian
Dawson, Conductor, is Musical Director of
the Intermountain Opera Association. Il Trovatore will
be his eighth production with IOA having conducted Pirates
of Penzance, The Mikado, The Magic Flute, Carmen, Die Fledermaus, La
Bohème and The Ballad of Baby Doe.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Dawson was associate conductor
of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and Scottish Opera.
While still in the United Kingdom he was also coach and
associate conductor at Glyndebourn Opera in England. He
moved to the US in 1975 and was Director of Orchestras
and Opera at Illinois State University for 26 years and
opera conductor for nine seasons at the Brevard Music Center
as well as being principal coach of the Chicago Opera Theatre.
He recently spent five summers as conductor for the Oberlin
in Italy opera program in Urbania, Italy and is currently
an adjunct member of the music faculty at Northwestern
University. He has also enjoyed a career as a pianist and
has appeared frequently in recitals and concerts in Europe
and the U.S. |
Check back for cast updates.
Past Productions
For information on our past productions,
please click here.
|
|
|
|
|
