Florentine Opera Names 2011-2012 Season Studio Artists

The Florentine’s Artist-in-Residence program returns for fourth season

MILWAUKEE, Wis.—September 12, 2011—The Florentine Opera Company names Erica Schuller (soprano) of Milwaukee, WI; Kristen DiNinno (mezzo soprano) of Pittsburgh, PA; Matthew Richardson (tenor) of Dubuque, IA and Dan Richardson (bass-baritone) of Cedar Falls, IA, as resident artists for the 2011-2012 season’s Florentine Opera Studio Program.  Ms. DiNinno and Mr. D. Richardson are new to the Studio Artist Program, while Ms. Schuller and Mr. M. Richardson return for a second year.

The Studio Program offers a full season of artist-in-residence employment for talented singers beginning their professional careers, and will run from September 2011 through May 2012, to provide performing experience and training essential to career development in the opera art form.

"I am delighted that this fourth group of exceptional artists will join the Florentine this season in the Studio Program as we continue this important initiative," notes General Director William Florescu. "Along with returning Studio Artists Matt and Erica, we are happy to welcome mezzo Kristen DiNinno and bass-baritone Dan Richardson, both of whom bring an already broad experience in regional opera to the Florentine. All four of these artists demonstrate the wealth of talent present among up-and-coming singers today.”

The 2011-2012 Studio Artists will sing supporting roles during each of the Florentine Opera’s mainstage performances, including Puccini’s Turandot (November 4 & 6, 2011), Floyd’s Susannah (March 16 & 18, 2012) and Mozart’s Idomeneo (May 18 & 20, 2012). They will also star in Isn’t It Romantic?: Love Songs From Vienna To Broadway on February 10-12, 2012. This concert, held in Vogel Hall of the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, will feature a Valentine-themed selection of love songs from Viennese operetta to works by beloved American songwriting teams including Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Loewe and Wright & Forrest.  

A major focus of the Studio Artists will be to present the Florentine’s annual children’s touring opera, The Three Little Pigs, to over 60 schools and community venues throughout southeastern Wisconsin. In addition to educational programs for younger students, the Studio Artists will also be featured in initiatives designed for older students, including the High School Masterclass and Get Opera in-school programs.

Once again this season, the Studio Artists will perform as featured soloists with other Milwaukee-area arts groups during their residency, most notably in the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s series of holiday performances of Handel’s Messiah in December 2011.

ABOUT THE 2011-2012 STUDIO ARTISTS:

Erica Lynn Schuller ~ Soprano

Erica Schuller, a Milwaukee native, returns once again to her hometown for the Florentine Opera’s 2011-2012 season, after performing such works as Bach’s Johannes Passion, Jesu meine Freude and Aus der Tiefe with The San Francisco Bach Choir. Erica made her second appearance with the Boston Early Music Festival in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea summer 2009, and was commended for performing her roles (La Fortuna/Damigella) with “skill and grace” by the Boston Globe. She can also be heard on the Festival’s Grammy-nominated recording of Lully’s opera, Psyche, which she performed in 2007. Operatic credits include Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo, Pamina in Mozart’s Magic Flute, Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Amor in Cavalli’s L’Egisto, Noémie in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Lazuli in Chabrier’s L’Étoile, Euridice in Rossi’s L’Orfeo, and Axinia in Boris Goudenow by Johann Mattheson. Erica received her Masters of Music from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Pamela Fry and holds degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied with Kathryn Cowdrick. She was recently seen on the Florentine stage as Elvira in Rossini's The Italian Girl in Algiers and Shepherdess/Second Lady in a double-bill of Blow's Venus & Adonis and Purcell's Dido & Aeneas.

 

Kristen DiNinno ~ Mezzo Soprano

Kristen DiNinno, mezzo soprano, was most recently a Gerdine Young Artist with The Opera Theater of Saint Louis where she covered the three roles of Swiss Grandmother, Austrian Woman, and British Dancing Girl in John Adam’s The Death of Klinghoffer. She was a Young Artist at The Shreveport Opera Company, where she performed in Don Giovanni as Zerlina, The Fantasticks as The Mute, Man of La Mancha as The Moorish Girl Dancer and covered The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors.  Ms. DiNinno received Third Prize in the Mary Jacobs Smith Singer of the Year Competition in 2010. While obtaining her Masters Degree at The Manhattan School of Music in New York City, Ms. DiNinno was involved in a new contemporary chamber opera through American Opera Projects called Love/Hate by Jack Perla where she debuted the role of Laura. She performed the role of The Girl in Manhatten School of Music’s Griffelkin by Lukas Foss. The New York Times praised her performance saying, “Kristen DiNinno, as the girl who has a humanizing effect on Griffelkin, contributes a directness and simplicity that makes her persuasively childlike.” She is currently studying under the direction of Hilda Harris.

 

Matthew Richardson ~ Tenor
Matthew was born in Denver, Colorado and raised in Dubuque, Iowa. He trained at the Eastman School of Music where he performed several roles including Charles Guiteau in Assassins, the teapot in L'enfant et les sortilèges, and Tapioca in L'ètoile. During the summers of 2006 and 2007, Matthew performed twelve supporting and lead roles with the College Light Opera Company including Cacambo in Candide, Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance, and Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore. After spending some time abroad, Matthew moved to Milwaukee to continue his vocal studies. He has spent the past two years singing with various local ensembles including the Florentine Opera Chorus, teaching private voice lessons, and working as a ballroom instructor at East Towne Ballrooms. The 2011-2012 season is Mr. Richardson's second as a member of the Florentine Opera Studio Artist Program. He was recently seen on the Florentine stage as Señor Marcos in the world premiere of Río de Sangre and as Shepherd/Sailor in a double-bill of Blow's Venus & Adonis and Purcell's Dido & Aeneas.

 

Dan Richardson ~ Bass-Baritone

Iowa-native Dan Richardson is pleased to join the Florentine Opera as a member of the 2011-2012 Florentine Opera Studio. This past spring, Richardson made his mainstage debut with Opera Omaha as Prince Yamadori and the Imperial Commissioner in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. Other recent roles include Méphistophélès in Faust with Opera Lousiane, Antonio and Figaro (cover) in Le nozze di Figaro with the Des Moines Metro Opera, and Angelotti in Tosca with the Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre.He has also performed with the Sarasota Opera, Chamber Opera Chicago, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he performed the role of Don Bartolo for their “Opera in the Neighborhoods” production of Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

He has also performed scene work as John Claggart (Billy Budd), Giorgio (I Puritani) Tom (Un ballo in maschera) Leporello (Don Giovanni), Colline (La bohème), Talbot (Maria Stuarda) Hans Sachs (Die Meistersinger), Nick Shadow (The Rake's Progress), Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Collatinus (The Rape of Lucretia) and Antony (Antony and Cleopatra), among others. Mr. Richardson is an alumnus of Simpson College, where he studied with Dr. Maria DiPalma and Dr. Robert Larsen.