The Potions of Love: Bel Canto Arias and Ensembles

Samual Keeler, tenor, has been hailed for his “rich tenor” (Culpepper Times) and  “strong vocals and crisp, clear delivery” (DC Theatre Scene). His most recent performances include Alfredo in Verdi’s La traviata, Frederic in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, Sam Kaplan in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, Don Curzio & Don Basilio in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, and Lurcanio in Handel’s Ariodante. He keeps a regular performance schedule as a soloist in the greater Philadelphia region. Keeler is a graduate of the Maryland Opera Studio at University of Maryland, College Park. www.samualkeeler.com

Photo: Kristin Dahl

Bass-baritone Michael Leyte-Vidal is a graduate of Manhattan School of Music with a Master of Music in Classical Voice. Previous credits include Der Richter in Martha, the Marchese d’Obigny in La traviata, and Gregorio in Roméo et Juliette, as well as appearing as Bartolo and Figaro in scenes from Le nozze di Figaro, John Proctor in scenes from The Crucible, and Un ballo in maschera (Sam). Before studying opera Michael was active in musical theater where he performed in Sweeney Todd (Judge Turpin, cover Sweeney Todd), Cabaret (Ernst Ludwig), Evita, and Ragtime, among other professional credits.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

Hailed by Opera News for his “handsome sound,” and described as a “standout” by the Wall Street Journal, tenor Derrek Stark is quickly establishing a reputation as an elegant performer with nuanced and stylish singing. Despite many COVID-19 cancellations, Mr. Stark returned to the stage for the 2020-2021 season with a house premiere at Opera Tampa singing Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. Following these successful performances, Mr. Stark repeated the role with Eugene Opera later that summer. In 2022, Mr. Stark returned to Eugene Opera singing Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, made a house debut with Gulfshore Opera singing Alfredo in Die Fledermaus, and reprised the role of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi with Opera Tampa.

This summer, Mr. Stark will sing as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, and will be heard as Rodolfo in La bohème at the Bar Harbor Music Festival. Previous season highlights include the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier with Opernhaus Zürich, Alfredo in La traviata with Palm Beach Opera, and Arturo in La straniera with Teatro Nuovo at Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has also been heard as Giasone in Medea in Corinto, Rodolfo in La bohème, The Governor in Candide, Harry in La fanciulla del West with Santa Fe Opera, Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, and Fenton in Falstaff.

Equally at home in concert repertoire, Mr. Stark has performed with the Atlantic Classical Orchestra, the Boise Philharmonic, the Orchestra of Saint Luke’s, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in repertoire ranging from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, to Orff’s Carmina Burana and Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle. Mr. Stark won second place in the Giulio Gari International Voice Competition, third place in the Opera Columbus Cooper-Bing Competition, 3rd place in the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod, and is a 2018 Sullivan Foundation Grant Winner. He has also received an encouragement award from the Gerda Lissner International Voice Competition, a Campbell/Wachter Scholarship from Santa Fe Opera, and a Bel Canto Vocal Scholarship Foundation award. Stark is an alumnus of many prestigious training programs including Santa Fe Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Bel Canto at Caramoor, and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. He holds a B.M. from Mansfield University, PA, and a M.M. from The Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University.

derrekstarktenor.com

Photo: Hank Henley 

Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle as a “hugely impressive artist” who sings with a “deep velvety tone” and “sparkling vivacity”,  New Zealand-American soprano Patricia Westley is a former fellow of the Atkins Young Artist Fellowship at the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. In June 2022 Patricia made her debut at Teatro la Fenice as First Niece in Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes. Recent engagements include Giulietta in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi and Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel & Gretel with Palm Beach Opera, a world premier as Selena in Jake Heggie’s If I Were You, Elisa in Mozart’s Il re pastore with Merola Opera Program, soloist debuts with the Oakland Symphony and the Pacific Symphony, a recital series with Opera Santa Barbara, and a Schwabacher Debut Recital with Martin Katz at the San Francisco Opera. Patricia is a two time participant in the Merola Opera Program, Palm Beach Opera’s Benenson Young Artist Program, first place winner of the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation Competition, Winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition NYC District, and an alumna of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Oklahoma. www.patriciawestley.com

Photo: Alexander Jane Studios

Derrick Goff is an alumnus of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and has returned as member of the MET music staff. He has enjoyed many years of collaboration at Teatro Nuovo, a continuation of the young artist program of Bel Canto at Caramoor, where he is resident as a coach, chorusmaster, and Italian teacher. In addition to his work as a pianist, coach, and conductor, Derrick holds degrees in organ and voice from Westminster Choir College, and is on the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music.

Photo: Jiyang Chen

Rachelle Jonck received her musical training at the Conservatory of the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. In her native country she was awarded a FNB/Vita award for her contribution to opera in South Africa and the Nederburg Opera Prize – South Africa’s premier opera award.

Rachelle moved to New York City as Head Vocal Coach and Assistant Conductor of Bel Canto at Caramoor. Her private coaching studio includes established professionals whose careers take them to the largest opera houses of the world, and younger singers still on the verge of a professional career. Her master class topics, while related to her main study field of bel canto, explore the wider application of the bel canto way of singing. rachellejonck.com

Photo: Lisa-Marie Mazzucco

Missouri-born tenor Steven Tharp’s operatic credits include performances with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, Netherlands Opera, among many other houses. Handel and Mozart are well represented in Mr. Tharp’s repertoire of more than 60 operatic parts, and his keen interest in 18th- and early 19th-century opera has led to many roles in operas of Gluck, Haydn, Scarlatti, Conti, and others. In concert, Mr. Tharp has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Cleveland Orchestra, among others. His concert repertoire includes the Bach, Mozart, Handel, and Haydn masterpieces of the 18th and 19th century and extends to Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Schönberg’s Gurre-Lieder, the Verdi Requiem, and Britten’s War Requiem. A dedicated song recitalist, Mr. Tharp has appeared at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the 92nd Street Y, Carnegie’s Weill Hall, venues in Europe, Japan, and South America. His interest in musical theater and cabaret led to his appearance in 3 Tenors in Search of an Act in a sold-out run at Don’t Tell Mama in New York. Steven has recorded for Decca, Delos, Newport, Albany and Naxos, earning a Grammy Award nomination. He has also served as stage director for the Manhattan School of Music and for Caramoor. He lives in Columbia, Missouri with his adorable Westie, Hector, and is Associate Professor of Voice at the University of Missouri. 

BEL CANTO BOOT CAMP

Bel Canto Boot Camp was born during the pandemic when we reached out to singers around the world – singers who had no place and seemingly no reason to sing. To be honest, we needed to find a way to feed our own souls as well while we were cut off from music making – something we never even considered could possibly happen. We created The Vaccai Project – a unique online training course for singers. Just short of two thousand singers from America to South Africa, from Columbia to Russia practiced together for the day when stages would be open to them again and theaters would be filled with audiences. We discovered a beautiful new way to support singers – beautiful in its inclusivity, its expansion of the richness of the New York opera community to artists all over the world, the breaking of often prohibitive barriers of distance, cost, time and audition-only programs.

Now, as the world continues to emerge from Covid-19, Bel Canto Boot Camp strives to support artists in the physical world as we did (and continue to do) virtually. Our ability to work in person with singers is now supported by an online platform allowing us to stay in contact when we cannot be there physically. Additionally BCBC allows singers, teachers, and presenters to network effectively with each other in the ever growing BCBC community. belcantobootcamp.com