Veterans from Opera by Request's previous productions of these operas (presented between 2011-2016) will be joined by newcomers at home and abroad.
Peter Furlong, co-founder of Berlin Wagner Gruppe, appears as Siegmund. Career higlights include Lohengrin, Cavaradossi (Tosca), and as Salamone Mortara in the world premiere of Cilluffo's Il Caso Mortara. He performs extensively in Germany, Italy and the United States.
Julie Wyma, the other co-founder of Berlin Wagner Gruppe will be stage consultant and sing the roles of Forest Bird (Lohengrin), Ortlinde (Walkure), and Third Norn (Gotterdammerung). Her extensive repertoire includes Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflote), Gilda (Rigoletto), and Marie (Bartered Bride).
Canadian/German soprano Vanessa Lanch, who has sung numerous roles with OBR including Elsa in Lohengrin, and is now a member of the Berlin Wagner Gruppe, will sing Sieglinde in Die Walkure. She is a former finalist in the prestigious Eckhardt-Gramatee contemporary music competition and for four years was a member of the Bayreuth Festival Chorus.
2017 Western Canada Metropolitan Opera winner Francesca Corrado sings Erda and Siegrune. She has performed Auntie in Peter Grimes and Paquette in Candide with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Most recently as a Resident Artist with Against the Grain Theatre - Banff Centre’s “Opera in the 21st Century” she premiered the role of Esther’s Mother in Silent Light.
Sharing the pivotal role of Brunnhilde are Australian/American soprano Miriam Gordon- Stewart and Canadian Susan Tsakaris. Ms. Gordon-Stewart is artistic director of Virginia's Victory Hall Opera, and was resident soloist with Hamburg Staatsoper from 2005-2009. She sang Sieglinde in Australian Opera's Ring Cycle and appeared as Marie in Wozzeck with the Sydney Symphony.
Susan Tsakaris, who virtually sight-read the Siegfried Brunnhilde in 2015, stepping in for an ailing soprano, will return to sing the role in Gotterdammerung, which she performed previously in 2016. She performs extensively in concert both in Canada and abroad and appeared as Turandot with Florida Grand Opera.
Sharing the role of Wotan will be OBR veteran Andrew Tees, a former member of the Canadian Opera Ensemble who has previously performed all the Wotan roles plus Hagen, and Peter Bass, who recently performed the title role of Der Fliegende Hollander with OBR and sang Telramund in Lohengrin with the Miami Summer Music Festival.
Other former COC Ensemble members include tenors Lenard Whiting (Loge) and Robert Martin (Siegfried).
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