Faculty 2023
Kirsten Chambers
Soprano
Kirsten Chambers made her Metropolitan Opera house debut on short notice in 2016 in the title role of Salome. Her Carnegie Hall debut came on just two days’ notice when she sang the fiendishly difficult role of Maria in Richard Strauss’ Friedenstag with the American Symphony Orchestra. Her 2016-17 season started when she joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for the first time this fall as a cover of Isolde in Tristan und Isolde. Upcoming highlights include the title role in Die Ägyptische Helena in a return to Odyssey Opera in Boston, a return the Metropolitan Opera roster to cover Helmwige in Die WalkÜre and creating an innovative new opera with White Snake Projects called "I am a dreamer who no longer has dreams". Engagements include Infantin in Der Zwerg with Odyssey Opera in Boston, the Angel in Angels in America for New York City Opera, Erwartung with The Orchestra Now, and the title role of Salome with Florida Grand Opera.
Luis Ledesma
Baritone
Baritone Luis Ledesma has established a reputation as a "rich and well controlled baritone (Opera News). He frequently portrays the heroes and villains of Puccini, Verdi and the bel canto masters as well as roles in recent new works in Spanish including Florencia en el Amazonas and El pasado nunca se termina.His operatic and concert career has advanced in Europe, the United States and South America and includes theaters such as Teatro alla Scala (Luisa Fernanda), the Liceu in Barcelona (Alphonse in La favorite, Riccardo in I puritani and Marcello in La bohème), Klangbogen Festival in Vienna (Leoncavallo's La bohème), Wexford Festival (Don Pasquale), Teatro Municipal de Santiago (Escamillo), Semperoper in Dresden (Marcello), several roles for Koeln Oper (including Don Carlo and Germont), Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires (Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia) Bellas Artes in Mexico City (Marcello, Germont, and Escamillo ), Macau Festival (Sharpless), Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos (Marcello), Graz Oper (Escamillo), L’opera de Montreal (Jack Rance in La fanciulla del West), Manitoba Opera (Escamillo), Opera Lyra Ottawa (Tonio), the Philadelphia Orchestra (Marcello in a concert version of La boheme and Beethoven Nine) and the Savonlinna Opera Festival (Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and Escamillo), Bucharest National Opera (Scarpia) and Hungarian State Opera (Alfio and Tonio). In the United States, Mr. Ledesma has sung with many companies, including Houston Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Diego Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Washington Opera, New York City Opera, Arizona Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Atllanta Opera, Santa Barbara Opera, Anchorage Opera, Santo Domingo, Madison Opera, Nashville Opera, Portland Opera, Indianapolis and Connecticut Opera, Opera Pacific, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Carolina, Memphis Opera, San Antonio Opera, New Jersey Opera, Minnesota Opera, Florentine Opera, and Hawaii Opera. He also sang two tours with Andrea Bochelli, performing in famous venues such as Madison Square Garden, Hollywood Bowl, Hard Rock Café in Hollywood, Florida, and the Auditorio Nacional Mexico City. The 2017-2018 season begins with performances of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia for the Astoria Music Festival. Mr. Ledesma will make two new role debuts in the fall, Zurga in Les Pêcheurs de Perles with Toledo Opera followed by El Duende in Piazzola's Maria de Aires for Nashville Opera. Last season featured performances of Florencia en el Amazonas with NYCO and Sinfonica Nacional del Estado de Mexico, Madama Butterfly for Palm Beach Opera and Il barbiere di Siviglia in San Antonio. Mr. Ledesma made his Carnegie Hall debut in the Faure Requiem and returned for Dvorak’s Te Deum. He has sung Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Mann Music Center with The Philadelphia Orchestra and with The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia. He has performed a variety of orchestral repertoire including Mozart's Coronation Mass, Orff's Carmina Burana with the Louisville Orchestra, a series of Christmas concerts in Hannover with the NDR Radiophilharmonie and a Verdi concert presented in Die Alte Opera Frankfurt. He also performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the Filarmonica de Jalisco and Gala concerts with Tampa Opera and with Festival Cultural Zacatecas, and a solo with Festival Classique des Hautes-Laurentides in Mont-Tremblant, Canada. His concert performances include La bohème (Marcello) at the Vail Festival and the Mann Music Center with The Philadelphia Orchestra and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Handel’s Messiah in Spain with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Asturias.
Marija Jelic
Soprano
Marija Jelic, Serbian soprano, Balkan rising star is having successful career which is starting to grow in Europe and other part of world. In her repertoire there are also roles: Puccini: Boheme (Mimi), Bizet: Carmen (Micaela), Verdi: Elizabeth (Don Carlo), Puccini Verdi Aida (Aida). She was singing in opera gala concert of ending of Summer festival in Wernigerode (Germany), Teatro del Carmine Sardenia. She was singing Partisian requiem in Moscow International Music Center. She was singing ten concerts with St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Darrel Ang (Mariinsky Theater) in National Library in Beijing, Dongying Grand theater, Liniy Snow Lotus Theater. She was singing in Gala opera concert opening of 60 th Festival Ohrid Summer Festival. Also, she was singing Beethoven 9 th Symphony in Plovdiv opera festival. In 2021 she was singing in Ljubljana summer festival and Belgrade summer festival production of opera “Carmen”, role of Micaela with Elina Garanca, Jonathan Tetelman, Kostas Smoriginas and conductor Karl – Mark Chichon. She was singing Mimi (La Boheme) in Jerusalem opera festival with Jerusalem symphony orchestra and also in Estonia – Narva opera festival. She was singing gala opera concert in Belgrade with Placido Domingo in September 2021. Also, she was singing with Dubrovnik symphony orchestra and Jose Cura in Croatia 2021. She was performing in gala opera concert streamed on Opera vision with Azerbeijan National opera in Baku in October 2021. She had her solo recital in Carnegie hall in October 2021 with pianist Anthony Manoli. Also, she shared stage with Marta Argerich performing Mahler’s 4 th symphony. She is successfully teaching and giving masterclasses to young people around world.
Violetta Zabbi
Vocal coach/Concert pianist/Russian Ukrainian diction and repertoire coach/Conductor
A native of Odessa, Ukraine, Violetta Zabbi is an accomplished pianist, conductor and coach. She received her BM and MM in "Piano Performance" and PhD in “ Musicology” from Odessa State Academy of Music. Dr. Zabbi has been involved in over 100 different opera projects while living in New York for the past 18 years. She is currently on the faculties of Adelphi University and Brooklyn College. She is the music director and conductor with Vocal Productions NYC, New York Opera Studio and the Delaware Valley Opera. She appears as a pianist and coach with Regina Opera, Hofstra University and Opera Manhattan Repertoire. For the past 5 seasons she has performed with DCINY International at Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. Dr. Zabbi is a member of AMAO - American Masters Academy of Music- special , intense vocal program in Moscow, Russia. In addition to her carrier as vocal coach, Dr.Zabbi served as a Piano Professor and later Vice President of Long Island Conservatory from 1998 to 2011 where she had great success for teaching Piano Performance in all levels. Her students were passing all NYSSMA levels, participating and winning local and international competitions.
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Danielle Orlando
Vocal Coach
Danielle Orlando is an accompanist to international opera singers and a vocal coach and artistic consultant to prestigious musical organizations throughout the world. She has appeared with esteemed singers in such venues as the Phillips Collection, Théatre du Châtelet, and Carnegie Hall; and for the United States Supreme Court, the Schubert Club, Vocal Arts D.C., Music at the Morgan Library, Good Morning America, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, and many many more. She also appears in the documentary The Audition. Ms. Orlando has performed recitals for the Harriman-Jewell Series and has appeared at the Florida Opera and Astoria Music festivals, Festival Castell de Peralada (Spain), and Festival International Hautes-Laurentides (Canada). Ms. Orlando served as accompanist, judge, and artistic coordinator for the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competitions and worked with Gian Carlo Menotti at the Festival dei Due Mondi for nine seasons. She was the artistic administrator and head of music staff for the Opera Company of Philadelphia and has served on the music staffs of the Metropolitan, Washington National, and San Francisco operas; Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires; Dresden Semperoper; and Savonlinna Opera Festival. Ms. Orlando is a guest judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a guest coach for the Domingo-Cafritz and Palm Beach young artist programs. Recent residencies include Curtis Summerfest, the University of Tennessee—Knoxville, and the Peking University Academy of Opera in Beijing. She will lead master classes at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music in Summer 2018. Ms. Orlando holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Temple University, where she studied with Harvey Wedeen and Lambert Orkis. She also studied at the Eastman School of Music with David Burge. Ms. Orlando joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 1986, and is also master coach at the Academy of Vocal Arts.
Rodrigo Ilizaliturri
Pianist
Winner of the 2014 Municipal Youth Award granted by the Municipality of Saltillo and Bachelor in Music from the Autonomous University of Coahuila. He has performed in plenty activities, academic and artistic, in 15 states of the Mexican Republic and in countries such as Greece (Athens), United States (Austin and New York), France (Paris), Italy (Arezzo and Bologna), Colombia (Bogotá) and Bulgaria (Varna). To complement his training, he has participated in courses and workshops with pianists Sergio Ruiz, Monique Rasetti, Elda Nelly Treviño, Jo Greenaway, Enza Ferrari, Danielle Orlando and Ayrat Kazhaev. He worked at the UAdeC Opera Workshop as well as at the Ópera de Sinaloa “TAOS” and he has collaborated with the Compañía Ópera de México, Opera of Coahuila, CONARTE-Opera of Nuevo León, Ópera del Noreste and San Luis Opera (México). He has participated as a pianist in the International Summer Opera Festival Of Morelia ISOFOM 2021 and ‘22, as well as principal pianist and coach of Monterrey Summer Opera Academy 2022. As a collaborative pianist, he has played titles such as: Die Zauberflöte, Elisir d’amore, La Bohème, Tosca, Suor Angelica, Don Pasquale, La cambiale di matrimonio, Werther, Luisa Fernanda, Don Giovanni, La Scala di Seta, Il signor Bruschino, Häensel und Gretel, La occassione fa il Iadro, Rigoletto, El amor brujo, Le Nozze di Figaro and Gianni Schicchi. He has worked with maestros Arturo Rodríguez, Alfredo Ibarra, Héctor Sosa, Mónica Belinda Garza, Ivet Pérez, Rafael Blázquez, Yvonne Garza, Oscar Martínez, Linus Lerner, Oswaldo Martín del Campo, Yonatan Cna'an, Guido Maria Guida, Jorge Armando Casanova, Horacio Franco, Julio Saldaña, Luis Ledesma, Ludek Golat, José Arean, Oziel Garza, Rocío Tamez, Jorge Parodi, Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Stefanos Koroneos, James Bagwell, José Manuel Chú, Ragnar Conde, Guenko Guechev and Felipe Tristán. He currently studies a master 's degree in musical performance at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) under the direction of D.M.A. Edith Ruiz.
Raquel Winnica Young
Stage director
Raquel Winnica Young Hailed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as a “beautifully voiced singer-actor," by the American Record Guide as a mezzo-soprano of “gorgeous expressive singing” and by the Chicago Classical Review as a “mezzo-soprano whose solo moments and dark-hued timbre provided a spiritual, even melancholy counterpoint to the more dance-inflected textures, particularly in the inward “Qui tollis” and “Et incarnatus est” portions of the text of the Misatango. Ms. Winnica specializes in Spanish and Latin-American baroque music, with a deep interest in the influence and transformation of the Spanish language and its origins across the centuries. Her career has taken her to concert halls throughout the Americas and Europe. In the US, she has appeared in concert with Chatham Baroque, The Newberry Consort, The Rose Ensemble and Apollo’s Fire. With Les Délices she participated in an interdisciplinary project that honored the life of the Mexican poet and composer Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. With Quantum theater she has performed the role of “Maria” in Maria de Buenos Aires by Astor Piazzolla, “Lorca” from Ainadamar by Osvaldo Golijov, “Hermione” in the baroque pasticcio Winter’s Tale and “Violeta’s sister” in Looking for Violeta, a folk opera by Emily Pinkerton. In November of 2022 Raquel made her debut as an actress portraying the role of “El Duende” from Maria de buenos Aires with Kentucky Opera and recent performances include Misatango by Argentinean composer Martin Palmeri with Chicago Choral, as well as a tour through the United States with baroque ensemble Apollo’s Fire presenting a program of Jewish diaspora. Raquel is also exploring the world of staging. As the opera director of the early music program at the 2021 FEMUSC Festival in Brazil, she adapted and directed Nozze di Fígaro, and in 2022 she created and directed a pastiche of Monteverdi’s and Gluck’s Orfeo. Born in Córdoba, Argentina, Ms. Winnica Young holds a degree from the Instituto de Arte del Teatro Colon and an Artist Diploma from Duquesne University. She is currently finishing her master’s in Advanced Studies in Theatre at UNIR (Universidad Internacional de Rioja (Spain)). Ms. Winnica Young is Adjunct Faculty in Voice at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches Applied Voice and Vocal Repertoire.
David Robinson
Baritone/Language Coach
Mexican baritone David Robinson began his career at the age of 19 as a soloist in Mexico with the National Opera Company, which is housed in the Palace of Fine Arts. He remained five seasons with the company. Twice finalist and prize winner of the National voice competition, Carlo Morelli. After he graduated from the university with a business degree with a focus on arts administration, he was granted a Fulbright scholarship, which allowed him to continue his studies of vocal performance in New York and in the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Further scholarships took him three times to Tel-Aviv to participate with the Israel Vocal Arts Institute Summer Program. He also was part of the Studio Artists at Sarasota Opera. A Belvedere Competition Finalist and an Alta Classica voice competition (New York) first place winner. In Vienna he sang as a soloist in Theater an der Wien (Luisa Fernanda) with Plácido Domingo and in the Wiener Konzerthaus; he also performed roles in Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide’ with Kristjan Jävi as the conductor and sang with the Arnold Schönberg Chor. He has sung as a soloist in the American, European and Asian continents with companies such as the New National Opera of Tokyo, Los Angeles Opera, Sarasota Opera, Lyric Opera of San Diego, Opera Society of Hong Kong, Opera North, Connecticut Grand Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Bremen Music Festival, Théâtre du Châtelet, Wiener Konzerthaus, London Symphony, Theater an der Wien and the Munich Philharmonic among others; and with Washington National Opera and Opera Orchestra of New York in the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center respectively. His repertoire includes more than 60 lead and comprimario roles. Being a versatile performer David Robinson made his debut in musical theatre in “Man of La Mancha” of which the San Diego Tribune said: "The most impressive and subtle voice belongs to newcomer David Robinson...had clarity and emotional power.” In operetta he sang roles in Lehar's “The Merry Widow”, Strauss'; “Die Fledermaus” and in Romberg’s “The Desert Song” of which the Philadelphia Inquirer mentioned: "The show only provides one solo for this role, but David Robinson's remarkable, soaring voice makes you wish for more." David also made his debut in the movie “The Bohemians” as the Landlord, Al P. Benoit; an adaptation of Puccini’s “La Bohème”, which can be viewed at CUETV.ONLINE. (Director: José Luis Cortés). He was invited to tour China with the Vienna Festival Orchestra. He performs regularly as a singer and actor in opera, as well as a soloist in oratorio, operetta, musicals and zarzuela. He could be heard in concerts in the Philippines, Spain, Austria and New York and in Yachats Music Festival in Oregon. In Mexico he has been invited to perform the title role of the opera Nabucco, Amonasro in Aïda and Tonio in I Pagliacci; other performances include Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus) and the title role in Rigoletto, Sharpless in Madame Butterfly, as well as Thor in Das Rheingold. He performed a concert at Teatro de la Ciudad in Mexico City among others. He performs regularly with “The Opera Locos”, created by the Spanish company “Yllana”; which won several awards at the Metropolitan Theater and Musical Awards of Mexico (2019) as one of the Top 5 Music shows in Mexico. David Robinson holds a Master in Cultural Management with the University of Alcalá de Henares in Madrid and has collaborated in Mexico, United States and Austria with many arts organizations in the production and organization of artistic and Community Arts events with a social impact. He is interested in developing cultural exchange and international understanding between cultures through the arts. He was invited as a professor at the National Conservatory of Music in Mexico City where he was the director of the Young Artists Program, and has taught languages, diction, and voice. He was part of the faculty of ISOFOM 2022. To listen to David Robinson’s recent recordings: https://soundcloud.com/david-robinson-2014 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9psUAKbhhto
Leadership:
Juan del Bosco
President and Founder
Internationally acclaimed tenor, Juan Del Bosco made his debut at Carnegie Hall and Apolo Theater in 2016 and has performed at Palacio de Bellas Artes (Mexico City) and Lincoln Center in years past. Mr. Del Bosco frequently performed for European media outlets and royalty. He also performed the Mexican National Anthem at Tennis’ Davis Cup. He won the José Mojica Price for the best tenor at Concurso San Miguel, one of the most prestigious competitions in Latin America. The Mexican tenor Juan Del Bosco has sung, the title role in Haydn’s Orlando Paladino, Riunuccio (Gianni Schicchi), King Artbano (La Dorichlea), The Duke (Rigoletto), Roméo (Roméo et Julieta), Faust (Faust), Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Canio (I Pagliacci), and Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus). Juan Del Bosco is the Founder and President of International Sumner Opera Festival of Morelia, which its first year become the 3rd largest Festival in Mexico. Mr. Del Bosco is also the Founder of Passion for the Opera, which will aims to support operatic vocal careers.
Internationally acclaimed conductor Jorge Parodi has worked extensively in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Asia. Recent credits include Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro for Opera Tampa; Piazzolla’s María de Buenos Aires for New York City Opera, The Atlanta Opera and Opera Grand Rapids; Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia and Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi for Buenos Aires Lírica (Argentina); Britten’s The Turn of the Screw for the Castleton Festival in Virginia and The Banff Centre (Canada); Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann for Opera Orlando; Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges for The Juilliard School at Lincoln Center and the World Premiere of Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt, the latest opera by John Musto –a coproduction of On Site Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago Lyric’s Unlimited and Pittsburg Opera-. Upcoming engagements include his return to The Atlanta Opera and Opera Tampa, and his debut at Chautauqua Opera. Reviewed as having “the most expressive conducting hands since Stokowski” by the New York Daily News, Argentinean born Jorge Parodi has also worked with such companies as the Teatro Colón in Argentina, the Volgograd Opera in Russia, the Encuentros Internacionales de Opera in Mexico, the Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy in Japan, and the International Vocal Arts Institute in Israel. He has collaborated with such artists as Isabel Leonard, Eglise Gutierrez, Tito Capobianco, Sherrill Milnes, Aprile Millo and Rufus Wainwright and has assisted conductors Lorin Maazel and Julius Rudel, among others. Maestro Parodi is the Music Director of Opera in Williamsburg (Virginia), where he has conducted Rigoletto, Il trovatore, L’elisir d’amore, Lucia di Lammermoor, La cenerentola and Le nozze di Figaro, among other titles. He is also the Music Director of the Senior Opera Theatre at the Manhattan School of Music, where he has led its productions to critical acclaim, including Schubert’s Die Verschworenen –that the New York Times praised as being “superbly performed” and the American premieres of Le Roi l’a dit by Délibes and Nina by Paisiello. A featured interview by editor-in chief F. Paul Driscoll to Maestro Parodi and his work with MSM Senior Opera Theater appeared in the March ’18 edition of Opera News.
Jorge Parodi
Music Director
Gerardo Rocha
Tenor / Project manager
He has a degree in vocal performance from the Autonomous University of Nuevo León (UANL) with a master's degree in Business Administration. He began his musical studies in the city of Monterrey in 2006 under the vocal direction of the soprano Graciela Suárez. He has taken classes with the tenors Sergio Blázquez, Adriano Pinheiro, with the sopranos Yvonne Garza, the mezzo Rocío Tamez and the baritones, Arturo Rodríguez, Óscar Martínez and Luis Ledesma. He was part of the opera workshop of the Autonomous University of Nuevo León as well as the opera workshop "Canto en escena". He actively participates in the Nuevo León opera in the Nuevo León opera choir. He has sung the role of Tamino in "The Magic Flute" by WA Mozart, the witch, as a countertenor in the opera "Hansel and Gretel" by E. Humperdinck (Spanish adaptation), "Kabil" in the premiere of the opera "En busca de las palabras” by composer Roberto Carlos Flores, Notaro from the opera “Don Pasquale” by G. Donizetti, Jesus in “Christ on the Mount of Olives” by L.V. Beethoven, Ferrando in the opera “Cosí fan tutte” by W. A. Mozart and Javier Moreno from the zarzuela “Luisa Fernanda” by Federico Moreno Torroba. He has worked with musicians, producers and directors such as Boris Chalakov, Mónica Garza, Claudio Tarris, Ivet Pérez, Noé Macías, Beania Salcedo, Héctor Sosa, Lucía Torres, Yvonne Garza, Rodrigo Ilizaliturri, Alfredo Ibarra and Arturo Rodríguez. In 2017 he began as a producer with the project "Opera 360". He managed and coordinated in 2018 the master classes of the baritone Luis Ledesma at the Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey and the Facultad de Música de la UANL. With Opera 360 he produces and participates as narrator in "La cantata del café" composed by Johann Sebastian Bach. In April 2019, he is invited to take his children's opera company “Ópera 360” to the city of Bogotá, Colombia to bring two children's operatic works (one of them Mexican opera). From 2016 to 2020 he worked as Administrative Director of the Esperanza Azteca Nuevo León Orchestra. In 2021 he was invited to collaborate as a digital marketing strategist at the International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia (ISOFOM), in Michoacán. In 2020 and 2021 he is accepted into the ISOFOM as an active participant playing the roles of Don Basilio (“Le nozze di Figaro” W. A. Mozart) and cover of Rodolfo (“La boheme” Giacomo Puccini). He is currently the musical director of the schola Cantorum belonging to the Sacred Music Commission of the Archdiocese of Monterrey. He is also the founding director of the Opera 360 company and the sacred project “Via Sacra”.
Ivonne Ibarra
Mezzosoprano / Administrative manager
Ivonne has a master's degree in biomedical engineering and physics from the Center for Research and Advanced Studies. Starting musical studies since the age of 9 with Prof. Carlos Zarazua, she has continued music preparation with the baritone Oziel Garza Ornelas and Arturo Rodríguez, the mezzo Rocío Tamez, the countertenor Héctor Sosa and the sopranos Eugenia Garza and Victoria Chapa.