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FACULTY

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VOICE


Kevin Short | Artistic Director / Opera Studio Voice

CynthiaMunzerVersatile American bass-baritone Kevin Short is thrilling audiences around the globe in a wide range of repertoire ranging from the depths of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Monteverdi’s L’Coronazione di Poppea to Verdi’s Attila, Carmen’s Escamillo and Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer. A sampling of his North America appearances include performances with the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Washington Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Opera Pacific, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Sarasota Opera Company, Spoleto Opera Festival, Canadian Opera Company, Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Opera Theater of St. Louis, and the Opera de las Americas.

His European and Asian credits include appearances with multiple opera companies, orchestras, and festivals. They include Paris’ Opera Comique, Welsh National Opera, Kazan State Theater-Russia, Theatre Caen, Grand Theatre du Luxembourg, Oper der Stadt Köln, Semperopera Dresden, Stadttheater Stuttgart, Theater Aachen, Theater Basel, Theater Bern, Theater St. Gallen, Teatro Nacional de Sao Carlos, Savonlinna Festival-Finland; Bregenzer Festspiele-Austria, Baden-Baden Festspiele-Germany, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence-France, Festival Montpellier-France, l’Opéra de Rouen-France, l’Opéra de Reims-France, Saito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto, Japan and festivals in Beijing, China; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Granada, Valencia, Gran Canaria, and Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Mr. Short also enjoys an active concert and recital schedule and has performed with the Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, National Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Handel and Haydn Orchestra-Boston, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Filharmonisch Orkest, Swiss and Italian RAI Orchestra, Radio France Orchestra, Marseille Philharmonie, Gulbenkian Orchestra-Lisbon, Portugal, Parma Reggio Emilia Orchestra, Malta Philharmonic, Thüringen Symphony Orchestra-Germany, Jena Symphony-Germany,Moscow Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Symphony, Russia, Omsk Philharmonic-Russia, Siberian State Symphony, New Japan Philharmonic, Hiroshima Symphony, the Kazan Symphony for the opening of the Universiade Games in Kazan, Russia, and the Winter Olympics Festival Orchestra for the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.

He received his training at Morgan State University, B.S., the Curtis Institute of Music, M.M., and the Juilliard School of Music’s American Opera Center.  While attending these institutions he was a prizewinner in numerous competitions and garnered many awards. Highlights include the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Internazionale Concorso per Voce Verdiane, the Rosa Ponselle International Vocal Competition, the Bruce Yarnell Competition for Basses and Baritones, the Liederkranz Competition, and awards from the Sullivan Foundation, Opera Index, Shoshana Foundation, and the George London Foundation. His solo CD on the Pentatone label, Mephistopheles and Other Bad Guys, was listed by WQXR as one of the outstanding classical recordings of 2018. His other recordings include Otello (Pentatone), the Grammy-nominated L'enfant et les Sortileges and Amahl and the Night Visitors (Naxos), The Death of Webern (Albany), and Don Carlo with the Metropolitan Opera (Sony Classics). Upcoming releases include Porgy and Bess (San Francisco Classical Recording Company).

In addition to his active performance and recording schedule, Mr. Short is a member of the voice faculty at Juilliard, and also serves as Associate Professor of Voice and Opera at the University of Maryland. A member of our faculty for several summers, Musiktheater Bavaria is thrilled to appoint Kevin as our new Artistic Director beginning in October 2023.

 

Monique Phinney | Opera Studio Voice

Monique PhinneyMonique Phinney is an Associate Professor of Voice at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she has been a faculty member teaching private voice lessons to classical/opera and musical theater students for over 25 years.

Ms. Phinney has performed with the Santa Fe Opera, as well as Boston Concert Opera at Symphony Hall (Boston), the San Angelo Symphony, the Hartford and Indian Hill symphony orchestras, Musica Sacra (New York), and Amor Artis. She has worked with the conductors Edo de Waart, John Fiore, Raymond Leppard, and Richard Westenburg. She has also worked with directors Rhoda Levine, Bliss Hebert, and Rosalind Elias. Ms. Phinney was a finalist in the Connecticut Grand Opera competition, the Eleanor Steber vocal competition, and a member of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, and appeared in the American premiere of Debussy's La Chute de la Maison Usher with Ignace Strasfogel, which aired on CPTV. She has been on faculty at the Orfeo Music Festival in Vipiteno, Italy, has given master classes throughout the United States, and has served as a judge in the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the Classical Singer competitions.

Monique Phinney is a graduate of the University of Hartford's Hartt School of Music. In addition to her Boston Conservatory studio, she maintains a private studio in Boston. Her students have won in competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and have performed with Boston Lyric Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Seagle Colony, Brevard Music Festival, Ohio Light Opera, and Boston Opera Collaborative, among others, and they have been admitted to top graduate schools in the country. She has students on Broadway and in national touring companies. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition New England Region Committee. 
Through a positive and respectful learning environment, she strives to teach to each student’s strengths, working collaboratively to discover and develop the unique color and depth in their voice while cultivating exemplary vocal technique.

 

 Arnold Rawls | Opera Studio Voice

Arnold RawlsAmerican tenor Arnold Rawls has been praised for having a “powerful, clarion-sounding tenor,” a “firm, pliant lyrico spinto tenor with ringing high notes,” as well as a “flair for acting.” His portrayal of Radamès (Aida) recently thrilled audiences as he “rose to the occasion, singing the famous ‘Celeste Aïda’ with a creamy tone and a beautiful sense of Italian lyricism. It included a dazzling high B-flat that seemed to ring for an eternity.” 

Recent engagements include an Operatic Gala at the Sydney Opera House, Manrico (Il Trovatore) with Seattle Opera, Radamès (Aida) with Royal Opera Liege in Belgium. He is presenting recitals and concerts across the United States. He has just returned from a command performance with Dame Edna and Opera Australia in Melbourne. Other performances include Calaf (Turandot) and Manrico (Il Trovatore) at the Metropolitan Opera, Radamès (Aida) with Opera Australia and the Pacific Symphony, and Don José (Carmen) with the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria. He performed the role of Bacchus (Ariadne auf Naxos) with Switzerland’s Theater St. Gallen and appeared as Manrico (Il Trovatore) with Opera Australia and the Sacramento Opera. He excelled as Hagenbach (La Wally) with Oper St. Gallen in Switzerland and the Dallas Opera, and as Erik (Der Fliegende Holländer) also at Theater St. Gallen. 

Rawls graduated the University of Oklahoma where he received a Doctor of Musical Arts. He is a former Artist in Residence at Moody Bible Institute of Chicago and Ouachita Baptist University in Arkansas. A native of West Monroe, Louisiana, Rawls and his wife, Julie, have two children – Graham and Madison – and enjoy life at home in Colleyville, Texas. He is a recent recipient of a major grant from the Olga Foraii Foundation of New York City.  Currently Dr. Rawls is Artist in Residence at White’s Chapel Methodist Church in Southlake, Texas.

 

Chelsea Packard | Musical Theater Studio Voice

Chelsea PackardChelsea Packard is an Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre at the University of Michigan, specializing in private voice instruction. Ms. Packard appeared in Kristin Chenoweth’s PBS Live recording of her concert Home, in which she and Chenoweth duetted on the song “Enough Is Enough.” She sings with the GRAMMY-nominated gospel choir Broadway Inspirational Voices.  She was heard on the NBC series Smash any time there was an ensemble of singers. Ms. Packard was the original “Woman 2” in Pasek and Paul’s Edges, and can be heard on that cast recording as well.

As a teacher and clinician, Ms. Packard has worked with the following organizations: Joffrey Ballet, Broadway Classroom, Broadway Workshop, A Class Act NY, Brave Arts, Broadway for All, Broadway Teaching Group, and Broadway In South Africa. Her private voice studio in New York is an offshoot of her mentor’s, the Tony Award-winning Joan Lader. She received her BFA in musical theatre from the University of Michigan, and is a proud member of AEA, SAG-AFTRA, and AGVA.


Chelsea Packard’s performing credits include: 

BROADWAY/NEW YORK: Wicked (Elphaba understudy); Beautiful (Cynthia understudy); Hands on a Hardbody (Original Broadway Cast); Promises, Promises (Original Revival Cast); New York Spectacular @ Radio City (Jenna).

NATIONAL TOURS: Kristin Chenoweth’s Some Lessons Learned album tour (Featured Cast Member); Wicked (Nessarose Understudy).

SELECT REGIONAL: Marriott Lincolnshire: Legally Blonde (Elle Woods); Kansas City Starlight: Aida (Amneris); Buck’s County Playhouse: Meet Me In St. Louis (Esther); Summer of ’42 (Dorothy); Paper Mill Playhouse: A Funny Thing… (Philia); Public Theatre NYC: Rock Bottom. 


Sylvia Greenberg | Opera Studio Voice

Sylvia GreenbergSylvia Greenberg will present a guest master class at MTB this summer. Israeli soprano Sylvia Greenberg made her debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. As a recipient of a scholarship from the America–Israel Foundation for Young Artists, she took part in the International Opera Studio in Zurich. Her distinguished operatic career began a year later, when she became a full-fledged member of the Zurich Opera House, singing many coloratura roles, such as Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute). The latter soon became the artist’s hallmark and she performed this role at virtually all of Europe’s major opera houses.

Later, as a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Sylvia Greenberg expanded her repertoire to include Blonde (Abduction from the Seraglio), Oscar (Un Ballo in Maschera) and Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier). Guest engagements led her to the festivals in Salzburg, Bayreuth, and Aix en Provence, as well as to the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where she sang, among others, the title role in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. She appeared in world premieres of operas by Berio and Manzoni in Salzburg and Milan. The role of Konstanze in Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio was soon added to Ms. Greenberg’s repertoire, followed by the more lyric roles of Pamina (The Magic Flute), Micaëla (Carmen), Donna Elvira and Donna Anna (Don Giovanni).

In addition to her operatic work, Sylvia Greenberg is well established in the concert world. She made her highly acclaimed U.S. debut in Chicago, performing Haydn’s The Creation under George Solti. This was followed by a New York performance of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana with the New York Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. She has appeared frequently with the great orchestras of Europe and beyond, under many of the world’s leading conductors, including Abbado, Chailly, Dohnanyi, Frühbeck de Burgos, Harnoncourt, Lopez-Cobos, Luisi, Maazel, Muti, Nagano, Norrington, Sawallisch and Tilson-Thomas. Her wide concert repertoire includes Bach’s passions, Mahler’s symphonies, Dvorák’s, Szymanowski’s, and Poulenc’s Stabat Mater, as well as many of Mozart’s sacred works. In addition, she has premiered works by Krzysztof Penderecki and Gil Shohat and is also active as a recitalist, performing with pianist David Aronson throughout Europe, Israel, Canada and the United States.

Ms. Greenberg can be heard on numerous recordings, including Mozart’s Abduction, Haydn’s Creation and L’anima del filosofo, Gluck’s Paride ed Elena, sacred music by Poulenc and Bizet, Orff’s Carmina Burana and Berio’s Un re in ascolto. Among her most recent releases are Mahler’s Symphony No.8 under Kent Nagano, as well as the first recording of Handel’s recently discovered cantata Crudel tiranno amor.

Ms. Greenberg is also a highly respected voice teacher, serving on the faculty of both the Vienna Conservatory Private University and the University for Performing Arts in Munich. She has given master classes in Austria, Israel, Spain, Germany and the United States.

 

COACHING


David Aronson | Opera Coach / Collaborative Piano

David AronsonDavid Aronson, a native of New York, holds degrees from the Manhattan School of Music and the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam. He began his career as a vocal coach and accompanist in New York City, followed by engagements as assistant conductor with the opera companies of Kansas City, Miami, and Lake George, New York. After four years as coach, assistant chorus master and conductor at the Zurich Opera, Mr. Aronson began a nine-year appointment as Kapellmeister of the Municipal Theater of Lucerne, where he conducted over 40 operas, operettas, and ballets. During this time he assisted Herbert von Karajan at the Salzburg Festival.

In 1991 Mr. Aronson began a 24-year association with the Vienna State Opera. It was here that he assisted many of the world's foremost conductors, including Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Christian Thielemann, and Seiji Ozawa. As conductor of the State Opera's acclaimed children's opera program, he led over 100 performances, both on the main stage and in the innovative Children's Opera Tent on the opera house terrace. A highlight of his tenure was conducting the world premiere of Violeta Dinescu's Der 35. Mai. A seasoned continuo player, Mr. Aronson has performed at the pianoforte and harpsichord throughout his tenure at the State Opera and was afforded the opportunity to tour to Israel, Italy, China, Korea, Singapore, and Japan as well as record with the Vienna Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophon. A particular honor was being chosen as Ricardo Muti's designated continuo player for his acclaimed productions of the Mozart-da Ponte operas, a position he held for five years.

David Aronson has had multiple engagements with the European Sinfonietta of Gibraltar and the Schönbrünn Palace Orchestra in Vienna, and has also guest conducted at the Darmstadt State Theater and the European Music Festival in Stuttgart. Most recently Mr. Aronson served as music director of Teatro Barocco's acclaimed productions of Le Nozze di Figaro and Così fan Tutte in the Baroque theater of Schloss Laxenburg near Vienna, garnering the following review from Austria's Der Standard:  "Conducting from the fortepiano, David Aronson unleashes a gamut of emotion, from passionate rage to tender love. He delights with wild accompagnato and nuanced secco recitatives. A wonderful musician!"

As a respected opera coach, he has worked with many of the world's vocal luminaries, including Walter Berry, Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti, Bryn Terfel, Renee Fleming, Neil Shicoff, Elina Garanca and Anna Netrebko, to name a few. Furthermore, Mr. Aronson's international stature as an accompanist has led to numerous recital engagements throughout Europe, Australia, Israel, and the United States. Aronson and his wife, the soprano Sylvia Greenberg, have together performed their unique song-recital program, Hausmusik, on three continents, as well as recording it for the Telos Label. The program consists of songs composed by Bruno Walter and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, both of whom were earlier residents in the Aronsons' current Viennese home.

In addition to his position as teacher of conducting and opera coaching at the Music and Arts University of Vienna, Mr. Aronson and his wife have, for over 20 years, held master classes at institutions and programs throughout the world, including the University of Miami's summer music program in Salzburg, the Schleswig Holstein Festival, the Musica Mallorca Festival, the University of Michigan, the University of California at Los Angeles, the Manhattan School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music and the Melbourne Conservatory.

2018 brought an auspicious American debut, when David Aronson conducted Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos at Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts. In 2020 he conducted the well-received Gianni Schicchi and Buoso's Ghost at Michigan Opera Theater in Detroit. Later that year, he made his debut with the Haifa Symphony Orchestra in an evening of Viennese Operetta. Recently Mr. Aronson conducted the Jerusalem Symphony in fully staged productions of Die Fledermaus and Le Nozze di Figaro.

 

Philip Tillotson | Musical Theater Coach / Collaborative Piano

Phillip TillotsonPhilip Tillotson received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Victoria in his native Canada before continuing study in Musicology at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität in Freiburg, Germany on an exchange scholarship from DAAD, the German Academic Exchange Program. Thereafter he earned his Master of Music, studying accompanying and chamber music under the renowned Mme Koldofsky at the University of Southern California. He then returned to Canada as Assistant Professor at Canada’s most distinguished piano faculty, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, founding a program for accompanists. This period included numerous broadcasts for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation both with young artists beginning their careers and with such luminaries as the tenor Ben Heppner, and coaching for Canada Opera Piccola, a summer program initiated and run by the great Mozart tenor, Leopold Simoneau.

Once the accompanying program at UBC was well established, he moved to New York, living for several years as a freelance accompanist in Manhattan. During his time there, he taught several summer school sessions in Munich with the International Chamber Music Festival alongside such great musicians as Walter Berry, Elly Ameling, Rudolf Jansen and Tom Grubb, before deciding in 1990 to move entirely to Munich. He toured for some time with Das Kleine Ensemble, a theater company which wrote and produced its own musical comedies, before being engaged as coach and then also as conductor by the Bavarian State Theater, the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, where the repertory ranged from Wagner and Verdi to operetta and musical comedy.  

In 1996 Mr. Tillotson was called by Germany’s foremost theater director, the legendary August Everding, to become Musical Director of the newly founded Studiengang Musical (Department of Musical Theatre) at the BayerischeTheaterakademie, the theater branch of Munich’s Hochschule für Musik und Theater.  During the many years that he held this post, he worked with most all of Germany’s leading directors of the genre and conducted numerous musicals, including world premieres, German first performances and guest appearances with a whole range of productions including the Bregenzer Festspiele with the Wiener Symphoniker, the Staatstheater Nürnberg, Theater Linz, the Erfurter SymphonikerDeutsches Theater München and the Klingenburger Sommerfestspiele, among others.

Simultaneously Mr. Tillotson is a certified teacher of the Feldenkrais Method and of Taketina, a most unusual and effective rhythm schooling. He continues to maintain an active conducting and teaching career, and now divides his time between Germany and Canada.

 

Cameron Burns | Opera Coach / Collaborative Piano

Cameron BurnsCameron Burns is Senior Vocal Coach at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland working in both the Opera and Vocal Performance departments. In 2012 he made his conducting debut with the London Symphony Orchestra “Take a bow” project. He was mentored by Sir Jeffrey Tate for three years, and from 2015-2020 he was Kapellmeister of the Staatsoper Hannover where he conducted over 150 performances of opera and ballet and prepared the ensemble singers for hundreds of roles in a wide variety of repertoire. During this time he made his Concertgebouw debut in Amsterdam.  Opera highlights include Turn of the Screw (CCB Lisbon), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Hannover and Japan)Die Zauberflöte, Trojahn: Was ihr WolltLes dialogue des Carmélites, Owen WingraveLe Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosí fan tutte (ROH), L’italiana in Algeri, Hänsel und Gretel, Alcina, Tosca, Greek Passion, L'elisir d'amore and Candide. Guest engagements include Orquestra Clássica do Sul, Portugal, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra and Salomon Orchestra. Symphonic highlights include Strauss Vier letze Lieder, Elgar The Dream of Gerontius, Nielson Symphony 4 and Wagner Wesendock Lieder. 

Mr. Burns has worked as music staff for Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Mariinsky Theatre, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Opera North (UK), Reisopera, The Netherlands, Hyogo Arts Center, Japan and the BBC Proms with the John Wilson Orchestra.  He was a conducting scholar with the London Symphony Chorus, Chorus Master of Grange Park Opera for three seasons, Assistant Chorus Master of ENO and a guest Chorus Master for Reisopera, The Netherlands. He has accompanied masterclasses and private lessons with many of the world’s greatest singers including Dame Kiri Te Kanawa (at the Metropolitan Opera, New York), Dame Felicity Lott, Sir John Tomlinson and Sherrill Milnes, and he has prepared singers for role debuts at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayreuther Festspiele, Glyndebourne and La Scala, Milan. Recently he was both assistant conductor and vocal consultant for a recording project with John Wilson and the Sinfonia of London with star singers from both Broadway and the Westend. 

Cameron Burns was raised in Manchester and London but has strong Scottish heritage. He graduated with a starred-first in piano performance from New College, Oxford where he was an academic scholar and organ scholar and he subsequently studied with Mirella Freni at CUBEC in Italy, with Dennis O’Neill at WIAV, and at the National Opera Studio, London. He is an alumnus of the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme and the Solti-Perretti Accademia. He studied privately with Graham Johnson and Martin Isepp, and he accompanied lessons regularly for Laura Sarti. 

 

Perrin Manzer Allen | Musical Theater Coach

PerrinManzerAllenPerrin Manzer Allen began his career as a child actor and musician. The love for both music and theatre has informed his career since, and he is a specialist in the musical theatre of all styles and genres. Additionally, he has carved a niche working with young performers, both as creative partner and as educator.

He has lived in Europe since 1995, where he took on the role of Jean Valjean in the German Premiere production of Les Miserables. He later added the role of Javert to his repertoire, and was the first individual to perform both parts successively. Further European appearances, including Opera de Monaco, John Neumeier Ballet, Barbican Center, and Opera Comique (Paris), Davos Economic Forum, Lyric Hammersmith Theater (London) followed. He has toured extensively with Julia Migenes throughout Europe, North America and Australia.

Education has always been a cornerstone of his work.  He has taught at the Tanglewood Festival, Boston University, Theater Akademie August Everding (Munich), Hochschule Osnabrück, and was Artistic Director of the Joop van den Ende Academy in Hamburg from 2010-2016. Under his tutelage, this school became the ‘go to’ institution for training of stage performers on mainland Europe. In 2020, he developed on online teaching platform, and accompanying written materials, Vocal Barre.  His active private studio includes stage performers as well as classical and pop singers and he has consulted on casting or production aspects for many German musical productions of the past 20 years, including Sister Act, Wicked, Aladdin, Tarzan, Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, Tanz der Vampir, Black Rider, Lazarus, etc.  

In the late ‘90s, he returned to composing and writing, which had always accompanied his performance work, writing Anonymous Society with Andrew Wale. The show was the surprise hit of the 1999 Edinburgh Festival and London season, winning numerous awards and selling out in its Scottish and English engagements. Their follow-up show, Some Girls are Bigger than Others, premiered in London’s West End and later toured the United Kingdom. Perrin has composed music for 3 FIFA World Congresses, written numerous songs, chamber works and musical theater pieces with other collaborators.

Parallel to his composition activities, he was the musical director of Mamma Mia’s original German production, and subsequently was involved throughout Europe with Mamma Mia productions as Musical Supervisor. Other work as Musical Supervisor includes Buddy, Spring Awakening (Wien), and as orchestrator for Eric Woolfson and Ariel Dorffman’s Musical Dancing with my Shadow. He won the best orchestrations award for this piece.

He currently lives in Vienna, Austria, and will be a guest coach at MTB this summer. 

 

DANCE, STAGE DIRECTION, ACTING, CAREERS


Douglas Hall | Musical Theater Scenes / Acting

DouglasHallDouglas Hall has directed at theatres across the country including The Williamstown Theater Festival, Mountain Playhouse, Seven Angels Theater and Merry Go Round Playhouse. As Associate Professor of Theatre at the University of South Florida’s School of Theatre and Dance, he balances his teaching schedule with a busy directing career.

Mr. Hall directed the New York premiere of THE RELIGION THING, and other past credits include directing Austin Pendleton in the one-man play KEATS, both off-Broadway and in Los Angeles, and the World Premiere of DUSE'S FEVER on Theatre Row. His production of ALTAR BOYZ opened the Auburn Public Theater as part of the Finger Lakes Musical Theater Festival, where he also directed GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES. He has directed multiple casts of FOREVER PLAID, and has received accolades for his productions of THE DYING GAUL, OF MICE AND MEN, and THE LONESOME WEST among others. He directed the short film, “Second Glance,” starring Valerie Wright and Robert Clohessy, which has been seen at film festivals across the country. He directs the annual New York Industry Showcase for DRAMA UK, a consortium of the top drama schools in Great Britain.

Mr. Hall started his career as a theatre professional as a performer acting in plays and musicals as well as dancing in modern dance companies and musicals. Prior to joining the faculty of USF in 2015, he taught for ten years on the faculty at CAP 21 in New York City. In addition to CAP 21, he has taught at Pace University, The Growing Studio and Broadway Classroom. He holds a BA in English from University of California at Berkeley and an MFA in directing from Rutgers University, and he heads the Musical Theater department at Musiktheater Bavaria.

 

Fenlon Lamb | Opera Scenes / Aria Workshop

DouglasHallFenlon Lamb has been recognized by The Kansas City Star as "one of the most creative forces in Kansas City...presenting satisfying and ingenious productions." Seen and Heard International praised her "well-honed theatrical sensibility." Fenlon is the co-creator and Artistic Director of Papermoon Opera Productions that she launched with her artistic partner, Jefferson Ridenour. Last season Papermoon created new productions of Madama Butterfly for Inland NW Opera and Don Giovanni with Pensacola Opera, and remounted their flagship production of Hänsel und Gretel at Palm Beach Opera.

Papermoon's La voix humaine recently received first place in the National Opera Association competition. A frequent collaborator with Arizona Opera, she directed the world premiere production of Riders of the Purple Sage and returned to the company for a "fantastic revival of this timely western" (Opera Wire). Recently, she directed new productions of Charlie Parker's Yardbird for Arizona Opera and Scalia/Ginsburg for Opera Delaware.

Ms. Lamb has directed Carmen for Pensacola Opera, Annapolis Opera, North Carolina Opera, Mill City Summer Opera and Dayton Opera, along with engaging productions of Tosca, La Bohème, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Don Pasquale for Palm Beach Opera, where she returns for Così fan tutte in 2023. Other highlights include Der Fliegende Holländer for Opera Carolina with Greer Grimsley in the title role and  Werther with Gran Wilson at Mobile Opera. As the Director of Opera and Vocal Programming of the Bar Harbor Music Festival, she designed and directed engaging productions of Carmen, L'elisir d'amore, Madama Butterfly, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Le nozze di Figaro, La bohème, La Cenerentola, Don Giovanni and Hänsel und Gretel.

Other recent productions include a new Papermoon Production of Il barbieri di Siviglia, Hänsel und Gretel with Amarillo Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor with Madison Opera, and La bohème for New Orleans Opera.  www.fenlonlamb.com

 

Stacy Alley | Dance / Choreography

Stacey AlleyStacy Alley is Head of Musical Theatre and Professor of Musical Theatre/Dance at The University of Alabama (UA).  She is also a professional director and choreographer whose teaching and artistic credits include work in Denmark, Tanzania, Norway, Scotland, and Chile and in theatres throughout the U.S.  She recently directed and choreographed the Danish premiere of LaChiusa’s The Wild Party at Fredericia Theatre. She has served as the Artistic Director of SummerTide Theatre since 2014 where she has directed/choreographed NunsenseAll Shook UpPump Boys and Dinettes, Ring of Fire, The Marvelous Wonderettes, Forever Plaid, and Smoke on the Mountain.  Recent UA credits include Legally Blonde, Spring AwakeningThe Drowsy ChaperoneA Chorus Line, and August: Osage County.  She has been performing professionally for over thirty-five years, including five years as a featured dancer in Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular

Ms. Alley is the former President of the Musical Theatre Educators’ Alliance, a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, and co-founder of the Musical Theatre Committee for the Southeastern Theatre Conference.  She has an MFA in Acting from The University of Alabama, a BA in Theatre from the University of Southern California, and is a Certified Movement Analyst through The Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in NYC.  Stacy is the recipient of the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award from the University of Alabama’s National Alumni Association and the President’s Faculty Research Award through The Office for Research & Economic Development.

 

Lynda Kemeny | Operetta Scenes

FINALLyndaDevonCass000The American soprano Lynda Kemeny has enjoyed a vast international career in Europe since 1987. After completing her Bachelor's and Master's degrees with concentrations in vocal performance, piano and dance, she studied voice in Chicago and New York. She belonged to a professional pantomime troupe for two years. Upon winning 1st prize in the International Bel Canto vocal competition in Chicago, she studied voice in Italy with opera diva Renata Tebaldi and world-renowned tenor Carlo Bergonzi. In 1986, she performed as a soloist at the annual Metropolitan Opera Gala Ball.

From 1987 to 1992, Ms. Kemeny was a soloist at the State Theater of Bielefeld, Germany, where in her first season she was awarded the cherished Operntaler Award for outstanding performance. Since 1992, she has been a free lance soloist and has made guest appearances in both operatic and musical theater roles in international theaters such as the Leipziger Opera/Musikalische Komödie, National Theater Mannheim, Theater Wiesbaden, Dortmunder Theater, Deutsches Theater Munich, L'Opera de Wallonie in Liège, Belgium, Hoofstaad Operette Amsterdam, Stadtstheater Bern, Switzerland, and the Tiroler Landestheater, Innsbruck under the direction of Frau KS Brigitte Fassbaender.

Ms. Kemeny is often called upon to sing solo lecture recitals and has performed in concert with such orchestras as the Bielefelder Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Dortmunder Philharmonie, Radio-Tèlèvisión-Belgique-France-Orchestra, and the Westdeutschen-, Süddeutschen-and Mitteldeutschen Radio Orchestras. She participated as the soprano soloist in the 44th German Mozart Festival in Zwickau, Germany and toured with the Salon Orchestra "Melange" in the 1998 International Music Festival in Poland. She has made numerous solo appearances on the major German television channels, including the Sunday Concert on ZDF.

In addition to her performing career, Ms. Kemeny has taught voice and English diction for singers at the Bavarian Theater Academy August Everding at the University for Music and Theater in Munich, and is often called upon to give master classes at European summer programs and to sit on juries for both classical and musical theater national competitions. She has served as head of the voice department at the Music School in the Artists Center in Rosenheim, Germany, taught voice and song interpretation in the Musical Department at the two year college for music in Sulzbach, Germany near Nürnberg, and currently teaches a private voice studio.

 


Kalle Kanttila | Auditioning and Career Workshop 

CynthiaMunzerArtist Manager Kalle Kantilla is the founder and director of IOA Management. International Opera Artists was established in 2010 and is an agency for opera singers and conductors. It is based in Germany, Italy, France, Russia and Helsinki, and provides worldwide services in the field of opera. IOA has rapidly become one of the largest and most significant opera agencies in Europe, and distinguishes itself from many European opera agencies due to its additional strong presence in the USA.

Born in Finland, Mr. Kantilla studied at the Helsinki Conservatory of Music, the Zürich Conservatory, and the Music Department of University Karlsruhe, Germany. Before founding IOA, he had a career as an opera singer, appearing as a soloist at many important opera houses such as the Komische Oper Berlin, National Theater Mannheim, the State Operas of Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Meiningen, Nürnberg, and Karlsruhe, Alexander Theater Helsinki, Opera Wuppertal, Schwetzingen Music Festival, and Savonlinna Opera Festival, among many others. He is a sought-after lecturer at many master classes and seminars in Germany and abroad, and is a jury member at many important international singing competitions.

 

GERMAN


Katja Riek | German Language and Diction 

KatjaheadshotA native German speaker based in the Scottish Highlands, Katja Riek is a specialist in teaching German for Singers. Her coaching engagements include The Scottish Chamber Orchestra Chorus, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra Chorus, and acclaimed mezzo Karen Cargill. Her freelance work is frequently delivered online and covers text-coaching sessions and specialist German language instruction for singers, voice teachers, conductors, collaborative pianists, and opera directors. Past students have gone on to work at Staatstheater Nürnberg, Wiener Staatsoper, Scottish Opera, and Theater Ulm. Since 2000 she has been Visiting Lecturer (German) at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland where she teaches German Language, Morphology, and Diction in the Vocal Studies and Opera Departments. She also held positions at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, the Open University, the Goethe Institute, and the Humboldt Institute.

Katja Riek also translates from English into German and vice versa specializing in vocal repertoire, artists' biographies and websites, cd sleeve and program notes. Publications include Alma and Gustav Mahler song texts for Linn Records. For further information visit
www.katjariek.eu.

 

ADMINISTRATION


Joan Travis | Managing Director, Musiktheater Bavaria

JoanateventJoan Travis holds a B.A. in German and Spanish from Gettysburg College, with additional studies at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität in Bonn, Germany, and the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana in Medellín, Colombia. She earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania and practiced corporate and commercial real estate law for a number of years.

A mezzo-soprano, Ms. Travis has appeared in over 25 professional opera productions with Opera Memphis, Nashville Opera, Opera Columbus, Como Opera and Kansas Opera Theater. Additionally, she has performed many roles in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas with such companies as Chicago's Light Opera Works, The Savoyaires, The Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Chicago, Columbus Light Opera and Denver's Empire Lyric Players. She has appeared in concert as a soloist with chamber orchestras and church choirs throughout the United States, and has been a member of several professional choral ensembles. A church musician for many years, Ms. Travis has directed children's choirs and children's musicals, and an a capella sacred early music ensemble. She currently serves as the Auditions Manager for The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Florida District.

First introduced to the MTB program when her son attended in summer 2007, Ms. Travis served as President and Chair of the Board of the nonprofit Music Theater Bavaria, Inc. from 2010 to 2021, and provides executive direction of the operations of the Musiktheater Bavaria summer program as a member of the board of directors and Managing Director of MTB programs. A firm believer in the value of study-abroad programs and foreign language study for students in every discipline, she enjoys helping MTB's young artists with their German skills as well as working in support of the program and its students year-round, both onsite and at home in Florida.

 

Clarissa Shan | Program Manager

CynthiaMunzerDr. Clarissa Shan serves on faculty at Concordia University and California State University Fullerton.  At CUI, she directs both Donne di Canto and Men’s Chorus, teaches Applied Voice Lessons, and Opera Workshop.  Her responsibilities at CSUF include teaching Studio Voice, and Music Theory in the Musical Theater Department. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she is also a church musician, serving as the Director of Music at both the Glendale City Seventh-day Adventist Church and Temple City First United Methodist Church. Dr. Shan is also active as an educator in Los Angeles and Orange County, working as a clinician at local high schools, guest conducting, and adjudicating for events with the Southern California Vocal Association and Music Teacher’s Association of California. 

Dr. Shan is also an active soloist and a professional chorister in the Southern California area and is a staff singer and member of Pacific Chorale.  In 2019, Dr. Shan had the privilege to sing on the Grammy Winning Deutsche Grammaphon recording of Gustav Mahler’s  Symphony No. 8 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the direction of Gustavo Dudamel.  Dr. Shan earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Vocal Performance with an emphasis in Sacred Music and a Masters of Music in vocal performance from the University of Southern California. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from La Sierra University. In her free time, Dr. Shan runs a baking business and loves to spend time with her husband, Drew, and their dog, Wicket.

 

Please note that faculty may be subject to change, in the event a contracted teacher needs to cancel their engagement. In the event of any changes, we will promptly update the list on this page.

 

EMERITUS FACULTY


Richard Owens (1931-2018) | Founder and Director Emeritus

richardRichard Owens, baritone, enjoyed a long career on the opera and concert stage, in arts administration and in teaching, in both Europe and the United States. He received degrees from Trinity University (BM), Yale University (MM) and Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology (MSTh), and completed advanced training in Opera and Lied at the Akademie für darstellende Kunst in Vienna.

Mr. Owens was an active soloist and recitalist in Austria, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and the U.S., and sang over 400 performances of 20 major baritone roles with the Municipal Opera of Ulm, Germany, the Municipal Opera of Regensburg, Germany, the Radio Symphony Orchestra of Milan, Italy, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Corpus Christi Symphony, the Dallas Civic Symphony, the Florida Symphony Orchestra, the Florida Space Coast Symphony, the Winter Park Bach Festival, and the Robert Shaw Chorale, among others. He performed the Southwestern premieres of Cantorial roles in the Sacred Services of Ernest Bloch, Darius Milhaud and Simon Sargon, and was the first American to perform the Shostakovich 13th Symphony, Babi Yar. He also sang the premiere recordings of La Grande Bretéche by Avery Claflin for CRI Records, and Three Gothic Ballads by John Duke for WNYC, New York.

Mr. Owens was a founder of the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria, and served as its Artistic Director from 1968 until 1984, when he moved to Orlando, Florida, to serve as General Director of the Orlando Opera Company, a position he held until 1990. The Orlando Opera experienced dramatic growth during his tenure, greatly increasing its attendance and subscriber base, as well as its community outreach, number of performances, and engagement of international stars. He founded the Musiktheater Bavaria program in 2000, and served as its General and Artistic Director for many years.

Mr. Owens was honored with the title Distinguished Adjunct Professor of Voice at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where he taught from 1992 - 2018, and previously also served on the voice faculties of Baylor University, Southern Methodist University, Texas A & I University and North Texas State University, and as an adjunct Professor of Music Theatre at the University of Central Florida. He published books titled Towards A Career in Europe (a handbook for singers auditioning for opera houses in the German-speaking countries) and The Professional Singer's Guide to New York, and conducted many career training seminars on both topics.

Passionate about teaching, and equally at home working with students of either opera or musical theater, he was a mentor to hundreds of successful opera singers and musical theater performers, including more than 20 who have sung at the Metropolitan Opera, and many who performed in, or are currently in, major Broadway productions. He was honored with the Director Emeritus title at Musiktheater Bavaria, recognizing his long history of contributions to the program.

 

Rolann Owens | Co-Founder

RolannOwensRolann Owens is recognized as one of America's foremost teachers of dance. An award-winning choreographer and frequent judge of national and international dance competitions, she received both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in dance from The Juilliard School.

Experienced in all areas of dance, Ms. Owens has particular expertise in musical theater dance styles and tap. Beginning her professional career while still in high school, she was a member of the original Broadway casts of My Fair Lady, Li'l Abner and Destry Rides Again. Her television dance credits include The Perry Como Show, The Gary Moore Show, The Jackie Gleason Show (with the June Taylor Dancers) and the Miss America Pageant, as well as national TV commercials.

Ms. Owens has chaired the Tap Committee of the International Dance Organization, and also serves on juries such as the International Dance Organization's World Championship (Germany), the Trofeo Internazionale di Danza for the Regione Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy), the Just Dance Festival (Slovenia), the American Dance Awards and the Headliners National Talent Competition. She has also judged for the German National Tap Dance Championship, the Swiss National Tap Competition Finals, the Slovenian National Dance Competition Finals, and American Dance Spectrum.

Working extensively as a choreographer in a variety of settings, Ms. Owens has choreographed for the Miss New York State Pageant, Holiday on Ice, the Ice Follies, the U.S. Olympic Team Ice Skating Pairs and National Ice Skating Pairs, and has prepared the Croatian Formation Tap Team for the World Competition. At home in Orlando, Florida, she counts numerous shows for Walt Disney World among her credits, including Ellington Under the Stars: A Salute to the Duke (in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institute), Bob McGrath's Sesame Street Show, the World's Largest Concert (a PBS special with Sandy Duncan), the Millenium Show and the World Dancers Special Events Show, and has also served as Disney World's College Program dance director. At the acclaimed Passionspielhaus in Erl, Austria, Ms. Owens choreographed the world premiere of the Jürgen Doetsch opera Altes Testament.

Recipient of a Presidential Scholar Teacher Award from President Bill Clinton, Ms. Owens maintains an active studio where she and her staff teach a full curriculum of ballet, tap, jazz, lyric and contemporary dance, as well as musical theater voice and dance. She has presented master classes in New York, L.A., Miami, Buffalo and New Orleans on musical theater dance and audition technique. Many of her former students are appearing on Broadway, television, video, cruise lines and opera stages throughout the world. A number of them have recently been cast in major Broadway shows, including Aladdin, The Book of Mormon, Evita, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Billy Elliott, The Pirate Queen, Rock of Ages, Oklahoma, A Chorus Line, Gypsy, Jersey Boys, All Shook Up, Young Frankenstein, Wicked, The Little Mermaid and Curtains, and some have been featured with the famous Rockettes. Ms. Owens was the childhood dance partner of Michael Bennett, the creator of A Chorus Line, and maintains extensive connections in the dance and Broadway communities. Ms. Owens is a Teacher of Dance Emerita at MTB, recognizing her long history of contributions to the program.

 

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P.O. Box 545, Winter Park, FL 32790-0545
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