OPERA CAST
BREVARD MUSIC CENTER | OVERTURE
2016 GUEST ARTIST DAVID DANIELS, countertenor This Season at BMC: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Oberon) BMC Alumnus David Daniels is known for his superlative artistry, magnetic stage presence and a voice of singular warmth and surpassing beauty, which have helped him redefine his voice category for the modern public. Highly sought after for the works of Handel, Monteverdi, Gluck, Mozart and Britten, American countertenor David Daniels has been featured on the great operatic stages of the world to overwhelming critical acclaim. He made history as the first countertenor to give a solo recital in the main auditorium of Carnegie Hall. The Chicago Tribune has called Daniels “today’s gold standard among countertenors”, Gramophone magazine acknowledged his contribution to recorded excellence as well as his expansion of the repertoire for his voice type by naming him one of the “Top Ten Trailblazers” in classical music today. Mr. Daniels is Professor of Music at the University of Michigan.
2016 JANIEC OPERA CAST (LISTED ALPHABETICALLY) RACHEL ANTHONY, soprano This Season at BMC: The Magic Flute (Papagena) Rachel Anthony just completed the first year of her MM in Vocal Performance at UNCG. She graduated summa cum laude from Brevard College in 2015, where she received her BA in Vocal Performance and Photography. Most recently, Ms. Anthony performed the role of Laetitia in UNCG Opera Theatre’s production of Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief and Suor Constance in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. Ms. Anthony studies under the tutelage of Dr. Carla LeFevre.
AUGUST BAIR, baritone This Season at BMC: Falling Angel (Detective Deimos) The Magic Flute (2nd Priest) Lyric baritone August Bair was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. He has studied voice and opera for 11 years. He studied voice at Bard College, where he graduated in the spring of 2016. Mr. Bair will be attending graduate school in the fall, to pursue a Masters degree in voice. He is very excited and thankful to be a part of the Brevard community this summer!
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BRANDON BELL, bass-baritone This Season at BMC: Falling Angel (Toots Sweet) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom) Brandon Bell, from Suffolk, Virginia, appeared as a Studio Artist at Wolf Trap Opera in 2015, performing roles such as the English Ambassador in The Ghosts of Versailles and L’imperial Commissario in Madama Butterfly. Mr. Bell has also been seen as Leporello in Don Giovanni, Mr. Kofner in The Consul, Melisso in Alcina, and Pistola in Falstaff. Mr. Bell is currently a graduate student at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
BRIANNA BRAGG, mezzo-soprano This Season at BMC: The Magic Flute (3rd Spirit) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Moth) Mezzo-soprano, Brianna Bragg, is debuting at Brevard this summer. She will be beginning her fourth year at The University of Cincinnati: College-Conservatory of Music in the fall. Ms. Bragg’s most recent roles include Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina and Anna Kennedy in Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda with Opera d’Arte at CCM.
MELANIE BURBULES, mezzo-soprano This Season at BMC: Falling Angel (Margaret Krusmark) A 2016 Master of Music graduate of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Ms. Burbules performed roles such as The Secretary (The Consul), Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte), and the title role in the world premiere performance of Medea by Larry Delinger. She has also performed with the Harrower Opera Workshop as Annina (Der Rosenkavalier) and Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro), and with Knoxville Opera in the choruses of Mefistofele and Carmen and as an outreach soloist.
CAROLINE DUNIGAN, soprano This Season at BMC: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helena) Caroline Dunigan is a current master’s student in the Vocal Arts Program at the Bard College Conservatory of Music, directed by soprano Dawn Upshaw. She is a student of Lorraine Nubar. Most recently, Ms. Dunigan appeared as Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte at the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts and in “Star Wars: The Opera” with the Albany Symphony Orchestra and conductor David Alan Miller. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music.