Rehearsals continued this week for ROC's Magic Flute which opens October 2.
 
Papagena (Maureen Davis), disguised as an old woman, convinces Papageno to pledge himself to her. Then she reveals herself in all her wonderfulness.
 
Ceremonies of the Magic Flute
 
Evil Monastatos and our dancing slaves under the spell of the magic Glockenspiel - Wai Chan, Steve Moritsugu and Ken Snyder
 
Monastatos is dragged off for his deserved punishment (Joe Prokop, Steve Moritsugu and Ken Snyder) while Papageno (John Hansen) and Pamina (Aneta Augustyn) are happy.
 
Monastatos tries to blackmail Pamino into loving him.

Debbie Dey enjoyed singing last season with Repertory Opera Company. Her roles with the company were Annina (La Traviata) and Mercedes (Carmen). In the 2010/2011 Repertory Opera company season Debbie will be singing 3rd Lady (The Magic Flute) and Gertrude (Romeo and Juliette). Ms. Dey is also a soloist with Pilgrim Congregational Church Choir in Pomona and regularly sings at 2nd Street Bistro Opera Cafe in Pomona.

New to ROC, Ariel Pisturino will be performing as the Second Lady in The Magic Flute.

Ms. Pisturino completed her undergraduate work at Northern Arizona University and completed her graduate at the University of Southern California. She has performed roles such as Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), Dorabella (Cosí fan tutte), Bianca (The Rape of Lucretia), and Prince Orlovsky (Die Fledermaus). In 2010, Ms. Pisturino made her opera debut singing the role of Nancy T’ang in Nixon in China with Long Beach Opera.

Extensively educated in Classical Vocal Training, Opera/Art Songs, Acting and the International Phonetic Alphabet, Ms. Aneta Augustyn earned a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Boston University (BU), a Bachelor’s degree in Opera Performance from California State University Long Beach (CSULU) as well as an Associate degree in Music from Santa Ana College (SAC).

This Polish born American soprano specializes in Baroque, Classical and Bel Canto styles of singing. She has trained with renowned Vocal coaches and directors, including Joan Dornemann of the Metropolitan Opera, Valery Ryvkin of Opera Santa Barbara, Yelena Kurdina and Henri Venanzi of Opera Pacific as well as Maestro Enrique Arturo Diemecke of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Augustyn also took part in Master classes featuring: Simon Estes, Phyllis Curtin, Ken Cazan, Elizabeth Futral, Suzanna Guzman, Larissa Gergieva an Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Academy of Young Artist in Moscow, Russia, Claude Corbais and Julius Rudel.

Ms. Augustyn is an active performer throughout Southern California and the east coast. Her professional credits include working with Opera Royale, Repertory Opera Company, Opera Providence of Rhode Island, Opera Nova, Opera Pacific, Tusia Operafestival, Opera in the Ozarks and Long Beach Symphony Orchestra.

As an active recitalist, Ms. Augustyn has performed in New York City, Boston, Rhode Island, Seattle, as well as parts of Southern California and Internationally in Poland and Italy. She maintains a private vocal studio working with beginning and intermediate level students and is on the voice faculty at IvyCrest Montessori Private School providing fundamental music knowledge and vocal training to K-6th grade students.

Ms. Augustyn received prestigious awards and recognition from: the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, Léni Fé Bland Music Scholarship Competition, Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Foundation Competition, Sigma Alpha Iota Vocal Competition, the Young Musician Foundation and was named The Best Female Young Artist at the Opera in the Ozarks.

Her recent portrayal of Lucia from Lucia di Lammermoor proved to be an artistic triumph. Other operatic credits include: Violetta from La Traviata; Pamina from The Magic Flute; Ms. Blemley from Tobermory, The First Lady in The Magic Flute, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Marie in La fille du regiment, and Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. While attending the Tusia Operafestival, Ms. Augustyn covered Countess Almaviva from Le nozze di Figaro, and performed Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi at Opera in the Ozarks. Her solo concert appearances include: Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra as well as Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate K. 165 with a Boston University string sextet.

Repertory Opera Company opens its second season in Pomona with The Magic Flute, presented in English with Musical Director Brian Farrell on the piano. The Magic Flute is a fun adventure that started out as a Japanese fairy tale. It holds wonderful characters such as a dragon; a Birdcatcher, who is half bird himself; the Queen of the Night, who plots against the Brotherhood of the Sun; a Princess, the Villain who is pursuing her and the Prince who gains her heart. Mozart’s telling of this tale includes some of his most familiar and his most sublime melodies.

Magic Flute
October 2, 9 and 16 at 2 pm
at First Christian Church of Pomona
1751 N. Park Ave., 91768
Tickets are $30
For tickets go to www.repertoryoperacompany.org
For more information, call (909) 230-4949.

Maggie Lane is an upcoming soprano from Columbus, Ohio. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree (cum laude) from Pepperdine University in Music and Spanish. There, she studied under the tutelage of Dr. Melanie Emelio. Maggie is currently a member of the National Music Honors Society, Pi Kappa Lambda and the National Spanish Honors Society, Sigma Delta Pi. As a former international elite gymnast, Maggie transitioned into a springboard diver as a member of the Division I Pepperdine Swimming and Diving team. When not diving off the Pepperdine diving boards, Maggie performed as Miss Pinkerton in The Old Maid and the Thief and as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. After completing her Bachelors of Art degree from Pepperdine, Maggie attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for her Masters of Music and post graduate work (magna cum laude, summa cum laude). While in San Francisco, Maggie sang the roles of Bellezza in the SFCM production of Cavalli’s L’Egisto, Véronique in Bizet’s Doctor Miracle, and Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute. She has also performed with the Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute she was Mlle. Silverpeal in The Impresario. Maggie also sang in the San Francisco Song Festival where she was amongst the leading composers of the American Art song, David Conte and Conrad Susa. Maggie has also performed the musical theater roles: Sarah in Guys & Dolls; and Lily in The Secret Garden. Maggie has also participated in the Operafestival di Roma, performing the First Lady in Die Zauberflöte. In February 2009, Maggie returned to Pepperdine and performed the Queen of the Night. In the Fall 2009, she moved to Los Angeles and sang the role of Blondchen in Celestial Opera Company’s Abduction from the Seraglio. In the Spring 2010, Maggie performed Musetta in La Bohème with Speech Level Singing International in Hollywood.  She is honored to work with Repertory Opera Company and perform in Carmen as Micaëla. Maggie also is an experience voice teacher and has a small studio in Los Angeles.  As her passion and love for music grow, Maggie continues her musical journey as a blossoming soprano in this wonderful world of music!

Choose the date you wish to attend

Saturday, June 19 at 2 pm $30.00 Saturday, June 26 at 2 pm $30.00

ROC’s talking tenor Lee Conger is working diligently to prepare his pre-performance lecture for ROC’s upcoming production of Georges Bizet’s Carmen. “I don’t think I need to give a spoiler alert here,” he says, “if I divulge that at this point, my research is focusing on musical markers of ‘the cultural other’ in opera, from its early Baroque origins through the mid-19th century. In this work, these musical markers show up in reference not only to the opera’s gypsy heroine Carmen, but even to the whole of Spain. I can’tpredict how much of my lecture I’ll devote to these ideas, but I’m having fun exploring them, if only for myself!” Lee will also include historical background information on the opera’s creators and will narrate the story with musical highlights.

For folks who plan on attending one of the three ROC performances of Carmen, Lee thinks it’s none too early to look into the original fictional work that titillated hordes of Parisian readers and that inspired composer Georges Bizet and his librettists Henri Meilhac andLudovic Halévy to make some bold—and initially disastrous—decisions regarding the stage work. An English translation of Prosper Mérimée’s1845 novella Carmen can be downloaded for free at Project Gutenberg’s website: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2465.

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Lee Conger will be presenting a free pre-performance lecture on Bizet's Carmen at 1:00 p.m. before each of the performances, June 12, 19, and 26.

Hear the Pre-show lecture, and reserve your tickets to Carmen, today!

Choose the date you wish to attend

Saturday, June 12 at 2 pm $30.00 Saturday, June 19 at 2 pm $30.00 Saturday, June 26 at 2 pm $30.00

Ms. Bond is a mezzo-soprano originally from New Jersey, now based in Los Angeles. Her recent performances include Alisa in “Lucia di Lammermoor” and Siebel in “Faust” for Center Stage Opera & as a Reporter in the world premiere of Stephen Schwartz’s “Séance on a Wet Afternoon” (Opera Santa Barbara). Other roles include Cornelia in Giulio Cesare (Celestial Opera), Hansel in Hansel & Gretel (Red Rock Opera) Mother in Amahl & The Night Visitors (Nevada State Opera) and Flora in La Traviata(Intimate Opera). Ms. Bond has been a company member and composer for The Grand Canyon Shakespeare Festival. She has had the pleasure to sing with the Bakersfield Symphony, the California Philharmonic, Lyric Opera of Los Angeles, El Dorado Opera, Once Upon an Opera, the Redlands Bowl Festival & more. Ms. Bond holds a Bachelor degree in vocal performance from Arizona State University, a certificate in theatrical performance from National Theatre Institute and studies with Victoria Hart. www.DanielleMarcelleBond.com

Photos from other performances:

From left to right, above: Siebel in Center Stage Opera’s “Faust” (copyright Center Stage Opera & photobyyulia.com) Cornelia in Celestial Opera’s “Giulio Cesare” and Alisa in Center Stage Opera’s “Lucia di Lammermoor” (copyright Center Stage Opera & photobyyulia.com).

photos by Bill Domb