Soprano: Carol Ann Manzi
We are most grateful to Ms. Manzi, who flew to the rescue when
Marlette Buchanan came down with a last-minute case of laryngitis.
Ms. Manzi is no stranger to the Verdi "Requiem", as noted in
the following review of her performance with the Hartford
Chorale: "Manzi was ... brilliant. All through the piece she did some amazingly subtle and imaginative things, especially with her high notes. No lack of operatic fire here -- her work on the final
"Libera Me" was almost beyond praise... she put a thrilling personal stamp on this difficult, register-hopping music."
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A graduate of Yale School of Music, Miss Manzi has been distinguished with numerous honors: the Lucy G. Moses Fellowship for "students of exceptional promise," the Smernoff Scholarship for academic excellence, the Benjamin Jepson Prize for an "outstanding performance major" and the UNICO National Grant for promoting the Italian language and culture.
In 1990, Miss Manzi was a winner in the Miami Opera National Voice Competition.
Following her First Prize wins in the Connecticut Opera Guild Scholarship Competition and the Rosa Ponselle Fund, Miss Manzi made her Connecticut Opera debut singing the role of Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto in the fall of 1992.
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Other leading roles to her credit include: Adele and Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Musetta (La Boheme), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), and the title roles in Massenet's Cendrillon (Cinderella) and Offenbach's La
Perichole. She made her New York debut at Alice Tully Hall
and has been a Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. She
has sung leading roles for Santa Barbara Opera, Opera Carolina,
Connecticut Opera, Sarasota Opera, Shubert Opera Company, Yale
Opera, and the Banff Opera Festival.
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Mezzo-Soprano: Heidi E.
Vanderford
Ms. Vanderford hails from Seattle, Washington where she began her musical
studies and professional singing. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music in vocal performance at Indiana
University, studying with Costanza Cuccaro. She most recently appeared with
the Indiana University Opera Theater in the title role of Britten's "Rape of
Lucretia". She received her Bachelor of Music in vocal performance at
Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, where she appeared as
Zita in "Gianni Schicchi" and the Third Lady in D "Die Zauberflote".
Ms. Vanderford has been an ensemble artist with Opera Theatre St. Louis and covered a leading role for a world
premiere opera by Mikori Midu entitled "Tale of Genji".
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She has also
served as a soloist in several oratorios including Handel's "Messiah",
Bach's "Christmas Oratoria", Rachmaninoff's "Verspers", and Vaughan Williams
"Mass in G minor". Ms. Vanderford holds a Graduate Assistantship at
Indiana University and also was a regional winner of the
MacAllister Award and a Semi-Finalist at the Orpheus Vocal Competition in 2000.
Heidi would like to thank her former teacher, Mira Frohnmayer, for her continued
support.
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Tenor: Bryan Hymel
Brian Hymel comes from New Orleans where he attended Jesuit High School.
Even as a high school student he was recognized as having an outstanding
voice. He elected to attend Loyola University of the South and received
his Bachelor of Arts Degree in vocal performance from that institution.
Mr. Hymel has been a regular soloist in New Orleans, having sung with the
New Orleans Symphony and in opera productions both at Loyola University and
with the New Orleans Opera Company.
In 1999, Mr. Hymel won the Southern region Metropolitan Opera auditions and represented that area in the
national competition. In New York he also won the tenor division of the
Met auditions and since has kept a busy schedule of solo engagements.
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He sang the role of the Messenger in Aida with the Aspen Music Festival and
School, was a winner of the Verdi Competition in Aspen, has performed small roles with the New Orleans Opera Association,
and participated in a Three Tenors Gala presented by the Gulf Coast Opera Association.
At Loyola, Bryan placed fourth overall in the college division of the MacCallister Awards, a national competition held in Indianapolis. Bryan
also performed the roles of Don Ottavio in "Don
Giovanni", Don Basilio in "The Marriage of Figaro",
Gherardo in "Gianni Schicci", and Nemorino Donizetti's
"L'Elisir d'Amore". Bryan is a student of Philip Frohnmayer.
Mr. Frohnmayer, a native of Medford, is "Distinguished Professor of Voice" at Loyola University.
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Bass-Baritone: Alfred Walker
Alfred Walker III grew up in the New Orleans area and first
attended Xavier University. While there his remarkable voice and musicianship were recognized and
he transferred to Loyola University to study with Philip
Frohnmayer, who has been Mr. Walker's mentor and vocal coach. As
his voice developed, he was engaged as a soloist in various churches in New
Orleans and was a consistent winner of National Association of Singing
Contests. He made his operatic debut in 1994 as Seneca in
"L’Incoronazione di Poppea" at Loyola, where he studied from 1993 to 1996.
Mr. Walker was a soloist with the Moses Hogan Chorale for several years.
The Chorale has been recognized as one of the great choruses of the
country. Mr. Walker can be heard on several albums of the Chorale.
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He presently is engaged by the Metropolitan Opera of New York.
He joined the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program in 1997, and made his Met debut in the 1997 – 98 season as Grégorio in
"Roméo et Juliette" (opposite Roberto Alagna); he opened the next season in
"Samson et Dalila" (with Mr. Domingo). He has appeared
in small roles at the Met as his reputation for excellence
has grown, and has sung various parts with the New Orleans
Opera, including Colline in "La Bohème". He also
performed the Verdi "Requiem" with the Louisiana
Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Klauspeter Seibel.
Mr. Walker has refused excellent long-term commitments so he can continue to learn new repertoire and allow his voice to mature
naturally. He now makes his home in New York as he pursues his singing
career.
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