ABOUT THE OPERA CLUB
The Opera Club of The Villages was established to present live musical performances, operas, and concerts to Villagers. Meetings are held the fourth Thursday of each month at Laurel Manor Recreation Center from September through May. In 1997, the Opera Club founded the Harold S. Schwartz Music Scholarship Program to honor the founder of The Villages. The goal was to encourage and support students who plan a career in music by awarding scholarships to applicants in Marion, Lake, and Sumter Counties. Over $600,000 in scholarship money has been awarded to students. Our major source of income is our “Three Tenors Plus One” concert scheduled for February 11, 2023, to be presented at The Sharon L. Morse Performing Arts Center. Celebrated Diva, Aprile Millo, and Tenor, John McVeigh from the Metropolitan Opera Company will be joined by Fernando Varela and Devin Eatmon directed and accompanied by Maestro Bill Doherty.
During the school year, our Scholarship Committee sends applications to schools in the Tri-County area. Students applying must be seniors with a minimum grade point average of 3.0. They must be planning to major or minor in music education or performance in college. The student must complete the application and submit it with two letters of recommendation. Qualified applicants are invited to audition in April at Laurel Manor. Scholarship auditions are adjudicated by a panel of professional judges.
In April, 4 Scholarships will be awarded: $12,000, $10,000, $8,000 and $4,000. Four Study Grants will also be awarded -$1,000 each to deserving candidates.
The Oscar Feliu Award is given annually to a student at The Villages Charter High School who consistently demonstrated outstanding contributions to and participation in the music program. The $3,000 award is in memory of Oscar Feliu, one of the founders of the Opera Club.
Board of Directors
Gerri Piscitelli, President / Program Chair Roy Ullrich, -Membership/ Newsletter
Geri Dempsey-Vice President, Bill Peck - Webmaster
Dave Harrold, Treasurer, Gigi Letrende, - Raffle /Sunshine
Ann Forrester , Recording Secretary, Mary Boczkowski Director-At-Large
Pearl Kosa, Scholarship Chair Rosalie Lock ,MarleneCroft -Hospitality
Bill Doherty- Advisor, Pauline Pan, Director Emeritus
The Opera Club of the Villages is a 501©3 Corporation. Mailing address: PO Box 1228, The Villages, FL 32158
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ASHLEY THUNDER
In a rare and unexpected turn of events, Ashley discovered her operatic talents while meeting with Maestro Mario Laurenti (1921-2022).
A native of Supino, Italy, Maestro Laurenti trained with Riccardo Stracciari, performed for many years with Martha Graham and produced operas with Robert Merrill, Roberta Peters, Anna Moffo et al. Maestro Laurenti went on to become Ashley’s musical mentor and lifelong friend. This chance encounter sparked the once professional female football all-star into a whirlwind of musical experiences. Ashley has had the opportunity to sing overseas and in the US. You may have seen her perform locally with: The Anna Maria Concert Chorus and Orchestra, Richey Community Orchestra, Dunedin Concert Band, Central Florida Lyric Opera, or The St. Petersburg Opera. Not to mention the multitude of opera roles, holiday events, festivals and ceremonies throughout central Florida. This spring she will debut the role of Mimi from La bohème, with the Central Florida Lyric Opera.
Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Ashley now resides in historic Ybor City. You can frequently hear her saying, “There are people all over the world, but there are a lot of great ones here in Florida! Why not share my talent here?”. Among her greatest accomplishments she became a mom in 2022. She looks forward to continuing a love of the arts and classical music with her daughter, Grace.
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JOHN MCVEIGH
Acclaimed for his “fresh-toned and touching portrayal” by Opera News and lauded by the New Orleans TimesPicayune for his “rich lyrical tenor, fabulous top notes, and striking good looks,” John McVeigh continues to garner attention for his countless world-class performances at the most revered houses throughout the United States and worldwide.
Last season, McVeigh returned to the Metropolitan Opera for both Le nozze di Figaro and Turandot. Previously, he performed Pang in Turandot with Palm Beach Opera, Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro with Opera Theater St. Louis, as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra and DCINY, and as a soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with DCINY.
An accomplished “cross-over” artist, McVeigh shares his talents both in operatic and theatrical settings. His extensive work includes performances as Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Utah Opera and in his Central City Opera début; Johnny Inkslinger in Britten’s folkloric operetta, Paul Bunyan, with Central City Opera; Feeny in Bennett’s The Mines of Sulphur and Hot Biscuit Slim in Paul Bunyan at New York City Opera (broadcast on Live from Lincoln Center on PBS); his Ravinia Festival début as Henrick in A Little Night Music alongside Patti LuPone; the title role in Candide with Austin Lyric Opera; the title role in Romberg’s The Student Prince with Central City Opera; and Anatol in Vanessa with San Diego Opera.
Having led a prolific concert and oratorio career, Mr. McVeigh has performed notorious pieces throughout the world including Händel’s Messiah with the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Austin Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, the Masterworks Chorus at Carnegie Hall, the Washington National Cathedral with the Cathedral Choral Society, Philharmonia Baroque, Music of the Baroque, Winston Salem Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and with DCINY at Carnegie Hall; Mahler’s Das Lied der Erde with Trinity Church Wall Street; Celebrant in Bernstein’s Mass with the Brevard Music Center; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at the Grant Park Music Festival, Colorado Music Festival, Arizona Music Festival and with the Portland Symphony Orchestra; Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Memphis Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and Utah Symphony; Haydn’s Creation with the Portland Symphony,
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Berkshire Chorale, and the Winston Salem Symphony, with whom he also sang Bach’s St. John’s Passion; and Philip Glass’ Symphony No. 5 with the The Washington Chorus, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Pacific Symphony, Gewandhaus Orchester in Leipzig, and the Danish National Radio Orchestra under the baton of Dennis Russell Davies. Additionally McVeigh had a solo performance in a brand new concert entitled Rev. 23, the unpublished last chapter of the Book of Revelation as dictated by St. John the Divine which narrates the last battle to recapture Paradise-on-Earth and restore the balance of good and evil to our world, with Prototype Festival.
A house favorite at The Metropolitan Opera, he has performed numerous productions with the esteemed company. Favorite engagements with the house include his Metropolitan Opera début as Pang in Turandot, Bardolfo in Falstaff, Tinca in Il tabarro, Little Bat in their first production of Susannah under James Conlon, and their productions of La Fanciulla del West, Dialogues des Carmelites, Le nozze di Figaro, Turandot, Eugene Onegin, Die Zauberflöte, Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, The Merry Widow, Iolanta, La traviata, Falstaff, Manon, Das Rheingold, Ariadne auf Naxos, and Billy Budd. Also a house favorite at Houston Grand Opera, he has performed the role of Will Tweedy in the world première of Cold Sassy Tree with repeated performances at Atlanta Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Omaha, San Diego Opera, and Opera Carolina; Remendado in Carmen; Lurcanio in Händel’s Ariodante and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, both of which he later performed at New York City Opera; and in their production of Das Rheingold. As an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, his numerous performances there include Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette, St. Stephen in Four Saints in Three Acts, and Michael Daughtery’s Jackie O.
Highlights of John’s considerable European and international career include Monteverdi’s Vespro della Beata Vergine 1610 and Adrastro in Traettas’ Antigona with the Théâtre du Châtelet; Lurcanio in Ariodante at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and de Vlaamse Opera; Endimione in Martín y Soler’s L’arbore di Diana at the Gran Teatre del Liceu; St. Stephen in Four Saints in Three Acts at the Edinburgh Festival; Bill in Jonathan Dove’s Flight with de Vlaamse Opera; Novice in Billy Budd with Teatro Carlo Felice; Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Endimione in Martin y Soler’s L’arbore di Diana at Teatro Real; Emilio in Partenope at the Göttingen Händel Festspiele; Teseo in Traetta’s eclectic reform opera Ippolito ed Aricia with Opéra national de Montpellier; Ozia in Mozart’s only, rarely performed oratorio Betulia liberata with Christophe Rousset and Les Talens Lyriques; and Marzio in Mozart’s prodigal opera seria Mitridate, re di Ponto at Festival Internacional de Música y Danza de Granada.
Additional operatic engagements include Goro in Madame Butterfly with Opera
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Theatre of St. Louis, the role of the Footman in Der Rosenkavalier with Boston Symphony Orchestra; Prunier in La rondine with Opera Theater Saint Louis; Pang in Turandot with Hawaii Opera Theatre and Arizona Opera; Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Colorado; Emilio in Händel’s opera Partenope with Glimmerglass Opera and New York City Opera; Novice in Billy Budd in his débuts with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, and Washington National Opera and in a return to Houston Grand Opera; Fenton in Falstaff and Arbace in Idomeneo with Sante Fe Opera; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Glimmerglass Opera and Austin Lyric Opera; Azor in Zemire et Azor with Arizona Opera; and Ferrando in Così fan tutte in a return to Austin Lyric Opera. In addition, he performed the world première of Carlisle Floyd’s Soul of Heaven for tenor and piano.
Additional concert engagements include Händel’s L’allegro with the Mark Morris Dance Group at the Kennedy Center and Lincoln Center; The Blind at the Lincoln Center Festival; Lackey in Der Rosenkavalier with National Symphony Orchestra; Mozart’s Mass in C minor with the St. Catherine of Siena Concert Series; Acis in Acis and Galatea with the Macau International Music Festival, Glimmerglass Opera, the Detroit Oratorio Society, and Concert Radio Kamer Filharmonie in Amsterdam; Bach’s St. Matthew’s Passion under the baton of Jaap van Zweden with the Dallas Symphony; Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge with the Arizona Music Festival and Portland Chamber Music Festival; Britten’s song cycle Nocturne with the Portland Symphony and Music of the Baroque; Rameu’s Platée with the Mark Morris Dance Group at the Ravinia Festival and Seattle Symphony; The Celebrant in Bernstein’s MASS with the Utah Symphony and Virginia Arts Festival; Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Calgary Philharmonic; Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the Minnesota Orchestra and Richmond Symphony; Mozart’s Requiem with the Colorado Symphony; Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Händel’s Israel in Egypt, and a series of Bach cantatas and Händel arias with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Milwaukee Symphony and under the baton of John Nelson with Soli Deo Gloria; Beethoven’s Mass in C Major with the Honolulu Symphony; Stravinsky’s neoclassical ballet Pulcinella with the Brooklyn Philharmonic; and Haydn’s Harmoniemesse with the Händel and Haydn Society.
Discography includes Will Tweedy in Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree on the Albany Label, Daughtery’s Jackie O and Emilio in Händel’s Partenope.
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FERNANDO VARELA
The story behind Fernando Varela begins and ends with a voice. A voice tells the tale of a breathtaking tenor whose spirit and determination has defied the odds. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Fernando moved to Florida at the age of eight, and while he always loved music it was not until he was seventeen that he discovered the impressive talent he had within him. Fernando trained with some of opera’s renowned classical icons and tours worldwide with Grammy AwardWinning producer David Foster. Varela can also be seen featured on David Foster’s recently released all-new PBS Special. He has also performed amongst some legendary superstars including Lionel Richie, Sarah Brightman, Babyface, Gladys Knight, Peter Cetera, Neil Diamond, Benny Andersson, Seal, Jewel, The Beach Boys, Steven Tyler, Josh Groban, and Chaka Kahn. This year saw Fernando as a special guest performer at The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song honoring Gloria and Emilio Estefan, as well as celebrating Julio Iglesias on The Grammy Salute to Legends. Varela is signed with Universal Music Group and released his debut album “Vivere,” March 2017, accompanied by his debut PBS Special, “Coming Home.” Fernando is currently in the studio with producer Emilio Estefan working on his follow-up album. Fernando Varela sets the standard for what true musicianship is all about, combining a unique voice and an engaging passion which lights up the stage.
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DEVIN EATMON
Praised for his “mature and heroic sound,” 27 year old tenor Devin M. Eatmon is a graduate of the Florida State University where he earned a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in voice performance.
Some roles that Mr. Eatmon performed during his Bachelor’s degree included, Lorenzo in William Bolcom’s one act opera Lucrezia, 2016 and George Villiers, in the scholastic premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s The Prince of Players, 2017. It was during this production that Devin coached with Maestro Floyd and was complimented upon singing “two thrilling B flats!”
With a graduate teaching assistantship offer, Devin found himself once more at the Florida State University studying with his incredible voice teacher, David Okerlund. He was then cast to play the roles of, Rodolfo in Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème, 2018, Curley in Carlisle Floyd’s American classic, Of Mice and Men, 2019 and, Edgar Aubrey in Heinrich Marschner’s german romantic opera, Der Vampyr, 2019.
Mr. Eatmon has also spent a summer at Inspiration Point, Opera in the Ozarks back in 2015 where he played the role of Gastone in Giuseppe Verdi’s La traviata as well as chorus assignments for La Cenerentola by Gioachino Rossini, and Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann. Devin, also spent the summers of 2018 and 2019 at Aspen Music Festival where he sang scenes from roles such as Alfredo in La traviata, Nadir in Georges Bizet’s, Les pêcheurs de perles, Candide in Leonard Bernstein’s, Candide, Rodolfo in La bohème, and Bill in Samuel Barber’s one act opera A Hand of Bridge. As well as taking voice lessons with Carol Vaness and Dr. Stephen King.
Mr. Eatmon spent the 2020/21 season as an Artist in Residence at Opera Colorado. His touring production assignments were to include, The Barber of Seville and The Pirates of Penzance, as well as mainstage performances in Paul Moravec’s adaptation of Stephen King’s novel, The Shining, as well as perform as Don José in Georges Bizet’s, Carmen. The season was ultimately canceled due to the pandemic however, the Artists in Residence remained busy at Opera Colorado filled with weekly coachings with Maestro Ari Pelto, as well as masterclasses with General director, Greg Carpenter, lessons with Baritone, Daniel Belcher, a coaching with AVA vocal coach, Danielle Orlando, and regular acting classes with the director of the Artist in Residence program, Cherity Koepke. Mr. Eatmon had the pleasure of singing, Lennie in the Act 1 duet from Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men as well as Paul in the duet “Glück das mir Verblieb” from Erich Korngold’s opera Die Tote Stadt. He also regularly sang “O soave fanciulla” from Puccini’s,
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La bohème and “The Pearl Fisher’s” duet in Georges Bizet’s titular opera. Finally, Mr. Eatmon was given the chance to sing on the prestigious “Mozart and More” concert at the end of the season which was conducted by Maestro Ari Pelto and accompanied by a string quartet from the Opera Colorado Orchestra. There he performed, “Dei miei bollenti spiriti” from Verdi’s La traviata as well as “O soave fanciulla” as an encore for the event. Recently, Devin has spent his 2021/22 season living in Orlando, Florida performing in multiple venues some of which include, The central Florida Lyric Opera, The Villages Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg Opera, promotional concerts for Opera Orlando, and performances with the legendary pop music composer David Foster as a member of the crossover trio, The Serenad3.
Devin is happy to consider himself now affiliated with St. Petersburg Opera in St. Petersburg Florida. This season he performed as the lead tenor in multiple concerts/programs that Maestro Mark Sforzini organized. The programs included Popera: Love and Madness where Devin sang arias/scenes from Verdi’s Rigoletto, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Bizet’s Carmen. He also performed in Tavern Songs which featured scenes from Operas, as well as classical Musical Theater, and some Oratorio. For that program Devin sang arias/scenes from Orff’s Carmina Burana, Schönberg’s, Les Miserables, Sondheim’s, Sweeney Todd, Bizet’s Carmen, and Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus. Devin was also granted the opportunity to perform as one of the “3 tenors” in an evening soiree for St. Petersburg Opera’s high level donors. Mr. Eatmon is looking forward to performing again with St. Petersburg Opera as Spoletta in Puccini’s, Tosca this fall of October 2022. Finally, Devin is incredibly proud to announce that he will be spending much of his 2022/23 season with Palm Beach Opera as an Apprentice Artist. There he is scheduled to coach with some of the best teachers and vocal coaches the country has to offer as well as sing in the Apprentice Scenes programs. He is scheduled to be singing chorus for their mainstage season for Verdi’s Falstaff, Mozart’s Così fan Tutte, and Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. Additionally, Mr. Eatmon is most particularly excited to announce that he will be covering the role of B.F. Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly.
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BILL DOHERTY
Maestro Bill Doherty has been performing as a concert pianist since the age of four and continues to delight audiences all over the world with his virtuosity at the keyboard. His musical studies included intensive training in piano, conducting, musical composition and voice, studying with such well-known teachers as Albert Bowen (Tanglewood), Barbara Marchesani, Pasquale Caputo (Mohawk Valley Opera), Solomon Mikowski and Sonia Vargas (Manhattan School of Music), Abraham Kaplan (Juilliard School of Music), Carmen Savoca and Peyton Hibbitt (Tri-Cities Opera, NY), and Rita Shane (Metropolitan Opera, Vienna StaatsOper). As an operatic tenor, he sang with the Mohawk Valley Opera and the Tri-Cities Opera, and was later mentored by the legendary soprano Licia Albanese (Metropolitan Opera, La Scala).
As a composer, conductor, pianist and singer, Mr. Doherty has performed in some of the world’s finest performance halls and Cathedrals including the Vatican, Lincoln Center (New York), St. Patrick’s Cathedral (New York), The Prudential Center (Boston), the Villa Faccanoni - Lake Iseo (Italy), and on tour throughout Italy and Asia. He received international critical acclaim for his performances in Kyoto and Osaka, Japan with operatic soprano Takako Yamamoto and tenor Oscar Feliu. In 2012, he conducted members of the Central Florida Lyric Opera and the St. Timothy Choir in a special Mass of Thanksgiving at the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI and in concerts in an around Rome, Italy. His original composition “Requiem” received its world premiere in Jerusalem, Israel, 2014 under the auspices of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music (Pontifico Instituto di Musica Sacra) and in 2016 was presented in Rome, Italy where he and his choir also sang for the “Closing of the Holy Doors” at the Vatican for Pope Francis. This past August, he conducted the world premiere of another original composition “Requiem for World Peace” at the Salzburg Festival in Austria and in October of this year, was inducted into his High School Alma Mater’s “Hall of Distinction” in Clinton, NY. He has conducted and accompanied extensively in opera for over 25 years, collaborating with some of the world’s greatest operatic stars including the legendary Licia Albanese and serving as accompanist to world-renowned Metropolitan Opera sopranos Deborah Voigt, Susan Neves and Grammy Award winning operatic soprano, Molly Fillmore.
Mr. Doherty is also one of the nation’s leading voice coaches and operates a teaching studio in both Florida and New York City. His students have drawn international attention in principal roles with opera companies throughout the world, on and off Broadway, and by winning top awards in national and
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international vocal competitions including the Metropolitan Opera Competition (NYC) among others. His student Fernando Varela (“FORTE”) was among the finalists in the world-renowned talent competition America’s Got Talent. An internationally recognized teacher and workshop clinician, Bill Doherty has conducted Master Classes in opera and voice at universities and conservatories throughout the world, including Marymount Manhattan College NYC, and the Conservatoire Leo Delibes, Ville de Clichy-La-Garenne, France, among others. His interviews and performances have been broadcast on PBS, CBS, and NBC. He has also appeared on various talk shows including the “Late Show with David Letterman”.
Year after year, for the past twenty two years, Mr. Doherty has served as adjudicator for the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation’s International Vocal Competition in New York City and has also performed as an accompanist for the Foundation’s Gala concert at Lincoln Center, NY. He also is adjudicator for the prestigious Gerda Lissner International Opera Competition, NYC and the Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition, NYC.
He is Founder and General Director of the Central Florida Lyric Opera, Inc. and is the Director of Music at St. Timothy’s Catholic Church (The Villages, FL). He is also the host and producer of a weekly livestream musical talk show entitled “Talent Explosion”. His recent work with the International Opera Center of America, Central Florida Lyric Opera’s International Exchange Program, has been recognized and commended by both Florida Governor Charlie Crist and United States President George W. Bush. Mr. Doherty is the Director of Music at St. Timothy Catholic Church in the Villages, FL. Among his many honors and awards, Mr. Doherty is the recipient of the New York State Council on the Arts Humanities Award and his signature has been immortalized on the “Muro di Alassio” in Alassio, Italy.
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Fernando Varela Devin Eatmon
John McVeigh
Ashley Thunder
Maestro Bill Doherty
Presented by The Opera Club of The Villages
