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Texts & Translations

The Shepherds Settembre, andiamo. É tempo di migrare. Ora in terra d'Abruzzi i miei pastori lascian gli stazzi e vanno verso il mare: scendono all'Adriatico selvaggio che verde è come i pascoli dei monti.

Han bevuto profondamente ai fonti Alpestri, che sapor d'acqua natìa rimanga nei cuori esuli a conforto, che lungo illuda la lor sete in via. Rinnovato hanno verga d'avellano.

E vanno pel tratturo antico al piano, quasi per un erbal fiume silente, su le vestigia degli antichi padri. O voce di colui che primamente conosce il tremolar della marina!

Ora lungh'esso il litoral cammina la greggia. Senza mutamento è l'aria. Il sole imbionda sì la viva lana Che quasi dalla sabbia non divaria. Isciacquìo, calpestìo, dolci romori.

Ah perchè non son io co' miei pastori?

English translation by Mark Whatley

Almen se non poss'io

September, letˈs go. It is time to migrate. Now in the land of Abruzzi my shepherds leave their folds and go toward the sea: they descend to the wild Adriatic that is as green as the mountain meadows.

They have drunk deeply at the Alpine springs, so that the taste of native water may remain in their exiled hearts as comfort that it may long elude their thirst on their way. They have renewed the staff of hazelwood.

And they go along the ancient sheep path to the plain as if through a silent grassy river on the footprints of the ancient fathers. Oh, voice of the one who first knows the trembling of the sea!

Now the herd wanders along the coastline. The air is without change. The sun so gilds the living wool that it is nearly indistinguishable from the sand. Swishing waters, clopping steps, sweet sounds.

Ah, why am I not with my shepherds?

At least if I cannot Almen se non poss'io seguir l'amato bene, affetti del cor mio, seguitelo per me.

Già sempre a lui vicino raccolti amor vi tiene e insolito cammino questo per voi non è.

At least if I cannot follow my beloved, affections of my heart, follow him for me.

Already always near him, love gathers and holds you and this path is not unusual for you.

English translation © Jonathan Retzlaff, from Exploring Art Song Lyrics (Oxford University Press, 2012)

Vanne, o rosa fortunata

Vanne, o rosa fortunata, a posar di Nice in petto ed ognun sarà costretto la tua sorte invidiar.

Go, oh fortunate rose

Go, oh fortunate rose, to rest upon Nice’s heart. And all will be compelled to envy your fate.

Oh, se in te potessi anch'io transformarmi un sol momento; non avria più bel contento questo core a sospirar.

Ma tu inchini dispettosa, bella rosa impallidita, la tua fronte scolorita dallo sdegno e dal dolor.

Bella rosa, è destinata ad entrambi un'ugual sorte; là trovar dobbiam la morte, tu d'invidia ed io d'amor.

English translation © Jonathan Retzlaff, 2012

La pastorella

Odia la pastorella quanto bramò la rosa, Poiché vicino a quella la serpe ritrovò.

Non più sui primi albori ad innaffiar va i fiori, Da che nascosta un’ape la bella man piagò.

Anch’io da che l’amore crudel ferimmi il core, Odio l’indegno Aminta ch’il giuro profanò.

English translation © Garrett Medlock, provided via www.lieder.net

Al campo della gloria

Al campo della gloria or che il dover mi chiama per chi si fido t’ama é barbaro il partir. La tua gradita immagine sempre terro nel petto, saprai destar mi ardir.

Fin del Giordan sul margine nell’ispivato canto, di tua beltade il vanto sull’arpa innalzerò; E ancor fra l’armi intrepido, fido guerrier di Dio, ogni pensiere mio a te rivolgerò.

Oh, if I could transform myself into you for a single moment; this heart could not hope for any more beautiful happiness.

But you bow humiliated, beautiful fading rose, your brow turns pale from the disdain and the pain.

Beautiful rose, it is destined for both of us the same fate; to find death there together, you from envy and I from love.

Hates the shepherdess how much she yearned for the rose, Because close to it the serpent she found.

No more at first dawn does she go to water the flowers, Where was hidden a bee [which] the beautiful hand plagued.

I also where cruel love wounded my heart, I hate the vile Aminta who the vow defiled.

the field of glory

To the field of glory, now that duty calls me, for those who so faithfully love thee, it is barbaric to depart. I will hold your welcome image always in my breast, You know well how to arouse boldness in me.

On the banks of the Jordan, I’ll raise a shining song of your beauty on the harp. And still amidst the weapons, as a faithful and intrepid warrior of God, I will turn my every thought to thee.

Ma se pugnando vittima al ciel sarò gradita, l’ultimo di mia vita ti piaccia d’accettar. E allor tu essendo memore d’un infelice amore, due lagrime ed un fiore non mi potrai negar.

Translation source Ryan Bede, 2025

Apparition

La lune s’attristait. Des séraphins en pleurs

Rêvant, l’archet aux doigts, dans le calme des fleurs

Vaporeuses, tiraient de mourantes violes

De blancs sanglots glissant sur l’azur des corolles.

C’était le jour béni de ton premier baiser.

Ma songerie aimant à me martyriser

S’enivrait savamment du parfum de tristesse

Que même sans regret et sans déboire laisse

La cueillaison d’un Rêve au cœur qui l’a cueilli.

J’errais donc,

l’œil rivé sur le pavé vieilli,

Quand avec du soleil aux cheveux, dans la rue

Et dans le soir, tu m’es en riant apparue

Et j’ai cru voir la fée au chapeau de claret

Qui jadis sur mes beaux ommeils d’enfant gâté

Passait, laissant toujours de ses mains mal fermées

Neiger de blancs bouquets d’étoiles parfumées.

But if in fighting I shall fall as a victim and if heaven should receive me in grace, please accept the last of my life. And then being mindful of an unhappy love, two tears and a flower you cannot deny me

Apparition

The moon grew sad.Weeping seraphim, dreaming, bows in hand, in the calm of hazy flowers, drew from dying viols white sobs that glided over the corollas’ blue. It was the blessed day of your first kiss. My dreaming, glad to torment me, grew skillfully drunk on the perfumed sadness that without regret or bitter after-taste the harvest of a Dream leaves in the reaper’s heart. And so I wandered, my eyes fixed on the old paving stones, when with sun-flecked hair, in the street and in the evening, you appeared laughing before me and I thought I glimpsed the fairy with her cap of light who long ago crossed my lovely spoilt child’s slumbers, always allowing from her half-closed hands white bouquets of scented flowers to snow.

English Translation © Richard Stokes, from A French Song Companion (Oxford University Press, 2000)

Dame du ciel, régente terrienne

Dame du ciel, régente terrienne, Emperière des infernaulx paluz, Recevez-moy, vostre humble chrestienne, Que comprinse soye entre vos esleuz, Ce non obstant qu’oncques riens ne valuz. Les biens de vous, ma dame et ma maistresse, Sont trop plus grans que ne suys pecheresse, Sans lesquelz bien ame ne peult merir

N’avoir les cieulx, je n’en suis menteresse. En ceste foy je vueil vivre et mourir.

À vostre Filz dictes que je suys sienne; De luy soyent mes pechez aboluz:

Pardonnez-moy comme à l’Egyptienne, Ou comme il feut au clerc Théophilus, Lequel par vous fut quitte et absoluz,

Lady of heaven, Regent of earth

Lady of Heav’n, of purgatory Empress, Queen of earth, of all things here below.

Receive a humble Christian woman. Count me ‘mongst thy chosen and elect. Well do I know I am nothing alone. Thy graciousness, oh Virgin Lady and mother, is greater far than all my sins unnumbered. Without thy help not one can hope to mount the starry skies. Lady, well do I know it. And in this faith will I live here and die.

Say to thy Son that by Him I was saved. All my sins were by Him washed away. Pardon me then, as pardoned was th’Egyptian. Or, as t’is said, Theophilus of old, crying to Thee, was freed from ev’ry sin.

Combien qu’il eust au diable faict promesse.

Preservez-moy que je n’accomplisse ce! Vierge portant sans rompure encourir

Le sacrement qu’on celebre à la messe. En ceste foy je vueil vivre et mourir.

Femme je suis povrette et ancienne, Qui riens ne sçay, oncques lettre ne leuz; Au moustier voy dont suis paroissienne, Paradis painct où sont harpes et luz, Et ung enfer où damnez sont boulluz:

L’ung me faict paour, l’aultre joye et liesse. La joye avoir fais-moy, haulte Deesse, A qui pecheurs doibvent tous recourir, Comblez de foy, sans faincte ne paresse. En ceste foy je vueil vivre et mourir.

Though he had sold himself unto the devil. Lady, preserve me from such a fate as that. And guard and bless me as I humbly kneel for the blest Eucharist at the mass given. And in this faith I will live here and die.

A lone, old woman I, so poor and weary; Naught do I know, not a word can I read. In the great monastery of my parish pictures of Heav’n and Hell I do see: Heav’n with its harps of gold, Hell with the damned.

Fills me with fear one, and rapture the other. Be harps of gold for me, Lady of Heaven. To Thee may all sinners hasten in time, with faithful hearts, not doubting Thee nor slothful. And in this faith will I live here and die.

Nahandove Nahandove

Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove!

L’oiseau nocturne a commencé ses cris, la pleine lune brille sur ma tête, et la rosée naissante humecte mes cheveux.

Voici l’heure; qui peut t’arrêter, Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove!

Le lit de feuilles est préparé; je l’ai parsemé de fleurs et d’herbes odoriférantes; il est digne de tes charmes, Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove! Elle vient.

J’ai reconnu la respiration précipitée que donne une marche rapide; j’entends le froissement de la pagne qui l’enveloppe; c’est elle, c’est Nahandove, la belle Nahandove! Reprends haleine, ma jeune amie; repose-toi sur mes genoux. Que ton regard est enchanteur! Que le mouvement de ton sein est vif et délicieux sous la main qui le presse! Tu souris, Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove! Tes baisers pénètrent jusqu’à l’âme; tes caresses brûlent tous mes sens; arrête, ou je vais mourir. Meurt-on de volupté, Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove!

Nahandove, O lovely Nahandove!

The bird nocturnal has begun its cries, the full moon shines on my head, and the dew forming moistens my hair. It is time: what can be delaying you, Nahandove, O lovely Nahandove! The bed of leaves is prepared; I have strewn it with flowers and herbs aromatic; it is worthy of your charms. Nahandove, O lovely Nahandove! She comes.

I have recognized the quick breathing given by a rapid walk; I hear the rustling of the grass skirt that covers her; it is she, it is Nahandove, the lovely Nahandove! O recover your breath, my young friend; rest yourself on my knees. How your look is enchanting! How the movement of your breast is quick and delicious under the hand that caresses it!

You smile, Nahandove, O lovely Nahandove! Your kisses penetrate down to my soul; your caresses burn all my senses; stop, or I will die. Does one die from voluptuousness, Nahandove, O lovely Nahandove?

Translation © Nita Cox from Trois Ballades de François Villon (Durand et compagnie, 1910)

Le plaisir passe comme un éclair.

Ta douce haleine s’affoiblit, tes yeux humides se referment, ta tête se penche mollement, et tes transports s’éteignent dans la langueur. Jamais tu ne fus si belle, Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove!

Tu pars, et je vais languir dans les regrets et les désirs. Je languirai jusqu’au soir.

Tureviendras ce soir, Nahandove, ô belle Nahandove!

English translation © Jonathan Retzlaff, 2012

Aoua! Aoua! Méfiez-vous des blancs, habitans du rivage.

Du tems de nos pères, des blancs descendirent dans cette île. On leur dit: Voilà des terres, que vos femmes les cultivent; soyez justes, soyez bons, et devenez nos frères. Les blancs promirent, et cependant ils faisoient des retranchements. Un fort menaçant s’éleva; le tonnerre fut renfermé dans des bouches d’airain; leurs prêtres voulurent nous donner un Dieu Que nous ne connoissons pas; ils parlèrent enfin d’obéissance et d’esclavage. Plûtot la mort! Le carnage fut long et terrible; mais malgré la foudre qu’ils vomissoient et qui écrasoit des armées entières, ils furent tous exterminés. Aoua! Aoua! Méfiez-vous des blancs. Nous avons vu de nouveaux tyrans, plus forts et plus nombreux, planter leur pavillons sur lerivage. Le ciel a combattu pour nous. Il a fait tomber sur eux les pluies, les tempêtes et les vents empoisonnés. Ils ne sont plus, et nous vivons, et nous vivons libres. Aoua Aoua!

Méfiez-vous des blancs, habitans du rivage.

English translation © Jonathan Retzlaff, 2012

Pleasure passes like a flash. Your sweet breath weakens, your moist eyes close again, your head bends down gently, and your passions calm down in languor. Never have you been so lovely, Nahandove, O lovely Nahandove! You depart, and I shall languish in regrets and desires. I will languish until evening. You will return this evening, Nahandove, O lovely Nahandove!

Aoua! Aoua! Do not trust the whites, inhabitants of the riverbank. In the time of our fathers, whites descended to this island. One said to them: here is land, et your women cultivate it; be just, be good, and become our brothers. The whites promised, and however they made some changes. A menacing fort was erected; thunder was enclosed in mouths of bronze; their priests wanted to give us a God that we knew not, they spoke finally of obedience and of slavery. Rather death. The carnage was long and terrible; but in spite of the lightning that they vomited, and that crushed whole armies, they were all exterminated.

Aoua! Aoua! Do not trust the whites! We saw new tyrants, stronger and more numerous, plant their pavilion on the riverbank: the sky fought for us; it made rain fall on them, tempests and poisonous winds. They are no more, and we live, and we live free.

Aoua!

Do not trust the whites, inhabitants of the riverbank.

Aoua!

Il est doux

Il est doux de se coucher, durant la chaleur, sous un arbre touffu, et d’attendre que le vent du soir amène la fraîcheur. Femmes, approchez.

Tandis que je me repose ici sous un arbre touffu, occupez mon oreille par vos accens prolongés.

Répétez la chanson de la jeune fille, lorsque ses doigts tressent la natte, ou lorsqu’assise auprès du riz, elle chasse les oiseaux avides.

Le chant plaît à mon âme. La danse est pour moi presque aussi douce qu’un baiser. Que vos pas soient lents; qu’ils imitent les attitudes du plaisir et l’abandon de la volupté. Le vent du soir se lève; la lune commence à briller au travers des arbres de la montagne. Allez, et préparez le repas.

English translation © Jonathan Retzlaff, 2012

Skogen sover

Skogen sover.

Strimman på fästet flämtar matt.

Dagen vakar i juninatt.

Tystnat har nyss hennes muntra skratt, redan hon sover.

Vid hennes sida jag stum mig statt.

Kärleken vakar över sin skatt, kärleken vakar i juninatt.

It is sweet to lie down, during the heat, under a dense tree, and wait for the wind of night to bring coolness. Women, approach. While I lie here under a dense tree, occupy my ear with your accents prolonged. Repeat the song of the young girl, when her fingers weave a braid or when sitting next to the rice, she chases the greedy birds. The song pleases my soul The dance is for me almost as sweet as a kiss. Let your steps be long; let them imitate the attitudesof pleasure and the abandonment of voluptuousness. The wind of evening rises; the moon begins to shine through the trees of the mountains. Go and prepare the meal.

The forest sleeps

The forest sleeps. A streak of light flickers in the firmament. The day keeps vigil in the June night. Her merry laughter has just fallen silent, already she is asleep. I silently lie by her side. Love keeps vigil over its treasure, love keeps vigil in the June night.

English translation © Anna Hersey, provided via Oxford International Song Festival (www.oxfordsong.org)

Tonerna

Tanke, vars strider blott natten ser Toner, hos eder om vila den ber

Hjärta, som lider som lider av dagens gny Toner till eder

Till er vill det fly

Melodies

Trouble of the mind that only comes at night, melodies that ask you for respite. The ailing heart, ailing from the day’s furor, Music to you, to you it will rush.

English translation © Dr. Alf Lunder Knudsen, provided via Pacific Coast Norwegian Singers Association (www.pcnsa.org)

Es rauschet das Wasser

The water rushes Es rauschet das Wasser Und bleibet nicht stehn; Gar lustig die Sterne Am Himmel hin gehn; Gar lustig die Wolken Am Himmel hin ziehn; So rauschet die Liebe Und fähret dahin.

Es rauschen die Wasser, Die Wolken zergehn; Doch bleiben die Sterne, Sie wandeln und gehn. So auch mit der Liebe, Der treuen, geschicht, Sie wegt sich, sie regt sich, Und ändert sich nicht.

The water rushes by and is never still; The stars pass merrily by in the heavens; The cloud scud merrily by in the heavens, so too does love rush by.

The waters rush by, the clouds disperse; But the stars remain, they wander and move; So it is with love, with true love –it moves, it stirs, and never changes

English translation © Richard Stokes, provided via Oxford International Song Festival (www.oxfordsong.org)

All’ mein Gedanken

All’ mein Gedanken, mein Herz und mein Sinn, Da wo die Liebste ist, wandern sie hin. Geh’n ihres Weges trotz Mauer und Tor, Da hält kein Riegel, kein Graben nicht vor, Gehn wie die Vögelein hoch durch die Luft, Brauchen kein’Brücken über Wasser und Kluft, Finden das Städtlein und finden das Haus, Finden ihr Fenster aus allen heraus, Und klopfen und rufen: mach’ auf, laß uns ein, Wir kommen vom Liebsten und grüßen Dich fein.

All my thoughts

All my thoughts, my heart and my mind, wander there to where my beloved is. They go their way in spite of wall and gate, there holds no bar, no grave against them, they fly as the birds high through the air, needing no bridges over water and cliff. They find the little city and find the house, find her window and knock and call: open up, let us in, we come from your beloved and greet you sweetly.

English translation © Jonathan Retzlaff, from Exploring Art Song Lyrics (Oxford University Press, 2012)

Schlagende Herzen

Über Wiesen und Felder ein Knabe ging, Kling-klang schlug ihm das Herz, Es glänzt ihm am Finger von Golde ein Ring, Kling-klang schlug ihm das Herz.

Oh Wiesen, oh Felder, Wie seid ihr schön!

Oh Berge, oh Täler, Wie schön!

Wie bist du gut, wie bist du schön, Du goldene Sonne in Himmeshöh’n!

Kling-klang schlug ihm das Herz.

Beating hearts

Over meadows and fields a boy went, cling clang, beat his heart; there gleams on his finger a gold ring. Cling clang, beat his heart; O meadows, O fields, how beautiful you are! O mountains, O valleys, how beautiful! How good you are, how lovely you are, you golden sun in heaven’s heights! Cling clang, beat his heart.

Schnell eilte der Knabe mit fröhlichem Schritt, Kling-klang schlug ihm das Herz, Nahm manche lachende Blume mit, Kling-klang schlug ihm das Herz.

„Über Wiesen und Felder weht Frühlingswind, Über Berge und Wälder weht Frühlingswind.

Im Herzen mir innen weht Frühlingswind, Der treibt zu Dir mich leise, lind!

Kling-klang schlug ihm das Herz.

Zwischen Wiesen und Feldern ein Mädel stand, Kling-klang schlug ihr das Herz, Hielt über die Augen zum Schauen die Hand, Kling-klang schlug ihr das Herz.

Über Wiesen und Felder, Über Berge und Wälder

Zu mir, zu mir schnell kommt er her!

Oh wenn er bei mir nur, bei mir schon wär!

Kling-klang schlug ihr das Herz.

Quickly rushes the boy with joyful step, cling clang, beat his heart.

Took many a cheerful flower along – cling clang, beat his heart.

Over meadows and fields blows the spring wind, over mountain and forest blows the spring wind. In the depths of my heart blows the spring wind, that drives me to you gently, softly; cling clang, beat his hear

Between meadows and fields a maiden stood, cling clang beat her heart. She held her hand over her eyes to see, cling clang, beat her heart.

Over mountains and fields, over mountains and forests, to me, to me, quickly he comes here. O if only he were by me, by me already! Cling clang, beat her heart.

Die Kranke

Soll ich dich denn nun verlassen, Erde, heit'res Vaterhaus?

Herzlich Lieben, mutig Hassen, Ist denn alles, alles aus?

Vor dem Fenster durch die Linden Spielt es wie ein linder Gruß. Lüfte, wollt ihr mir verkünden, Daß ich bald hinunter muß?

Liebe ferne blaue Hügel, Stiller Fluß im Talesgrün, Ach, wie oft wünscht ich mir Flügel, Über euch hinweg zu zieh'n!

Da sich jetzt die Flügel dehnen, Schaur' ich in mich selbst zurück Und ein unbeschreiblich Sehnen Zieht mich zu der Welt zurück.

The sick man

Shall I now then leave you, O earth, happy home of my childhood? Heartfelt love, intrepid hatred, is everything, everything gone?

Outside the window through the lime trees the wind stirs, as though in gentle greeting. Breezes, do you wish to tell me that I must soon depart?

Dear blue and distant hills, quiet river in the green valley, ah, how often have I wished for wings to soar away above you!

Now that my wings are spread, I recoil into myself; And an indescribable yearning draws me back into the world.

English translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005), provided via Oxford International Song Festival (www.oxfordsong.org)

Glückwünsch

Ich wünsche dir Glück.

Ich bring dir die Sonne in meinem Blick. Ich fühle dein Herz in meiner Brust; es wünscht dir mehr als eitel Lust. Es fühlt und wünscht: die Sonne scheint, auch wenn dein Blick zu brechen meint. Es wünscht dir Blicke so sehnsuchtslos, als trügest du die Welt im Schoß. Es wünscht dir Blicke so voll Begehren, als sei die Erde neu zu gebären.

Es wünscht dir Blicke voll der Kraft, die aus Winter sich Frühling schafft. Und täglich leuchte durch dein Haus aller Liebe Blumenstrauß!

Congratulations

I wish you happiness. I bring you the sun in my gaze. I feel your heart beat in my breast; it wishes you more than mere pleasure. It feels and hopes; the sun shines, even when your eyes think to close in death. It wishes your eyes to be as free of yearning, as if you carried the world in your womb. It wishes your eyes to be as full of desire, as if the earth were to be born again. It wishes your eyes to be full of the strength that fashions spring from winter. And may your home be daily lit by the gleaming bouquet of love!

English translation © Richard Stokes, author of The Book of Lieder (Faber, 2005), provided via Oxford International Song Festival (www.oxfordsong.org)

About the Performers

Dr. Ryan Bede, baritone, joined the Belmont faculty as an Adjunct Instructor of Classical Voice in the Fall of 2022 and a full-time Instructor in Fall 2024. He holds degrees from the University Of Washington (MM, DMA) and the University Of Puget Sound (BM) and taught previously on the faculty of Seattle Pacific University before relocating to the Nashville area. Among his repertoire of nearly thirty operatic roles, his most frequent have been Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Schaunard in La Bohème, and Albert in Werther. He appeared regularly as a principal artist with Seattle Opera for several seasons, singing Fiorello in The Barber Of Seville, Prince Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, and Moralés in Carmen. He made his Nashville Opera mainstage debut as Mr. Gobineau in Menotti's The Medium in October 2022, and returned in the Fall of 2024 as Moralés in Carmen. He is also deeply passionate about contemporary American opera and has sung Jim Crowley in Jack Perla's An American Dream to great acclaim. In the summer of 2015, he premiered the role of the Land Speculator in Sarah Mattox's opera Heart Mountain. He also recently performed a recital in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of 9/11, featuring Jake Heggie's Pieces Of 9/11.

Bede’s concert engagements have included numerous performances of Handel's Messiah, Mozart's Requiem as well as those by Brahms, Duruflé, and Fauré, and Vaughan Williams' Fantasia On Christmas Carols and Serenade To Music, among others. One of his doctoral recitals featured J.S. Bach's two solo cantatas for bass, Ich habe genug (BWV 82) and Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen (BWV 56), and his repertoire also includes Bach's Magnificat and Christmas Oratorio

Bede is an active member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) and recently completed a term as President of the Tahoma chapter. His students have won awards at the regional and national levels, and he also served for several years on the Northwest regional

auditions committee, and recently on the planning committee for the 2024 National NATS Conference in Knoxville. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was active in planning numerous virtual presentations for NATS at both the local and regional levels and continues as a regular presenter for the Emerald Choral Academy, based in Seattle.

Born in Moscow, Russia, Elena Bennett received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in piano performance from the Russian Academy of Music, recognized worldwide as one of the premier conservatories in Russia.

In addition to working with many internationally recognized professors, she has studied with Lev Naumov, chief assistant to the world famous Russian pianist and teacher Heinrich Neuhaus, whose students included Svyatoslav Richter

Bennett is a full time Instructor of piano and a faculty member in the Belmont University School of Music since 2000. Bennett teaches class piano, applied piano, and collaborative piano and serves as a pianist for the School of Music’s largest ensemble, Oratorio, Christmas at Belmont, and the President’s Concert. Bennett serves as Class Piano Coordinator and Accompanist Coordinator in the School of Music. Bennett also serves as an academic advisor in the School of Music and a former Faculty Senator-at-Large.

Bennett regularly performs in collaborative and solo recitals throughout the Southeast, including numerous appearances with the Nashville Ballet, Nashville Symphony, including their Spring 2012 performance in Carnegie Hall, Nashville Opera, Belmont Faculty Concert Series, Belmont Camerata, Vanderbilt and Sewanee Universities, Frist Museum for the Visual Arts, Tennessee State Museum, and recitals for Leadership Music. Many of her performances have been broadcast on Nashville Public Television. Bennett serves as a collaborative pianist for the National Orpheus Competition and Metropolitan Opera auditions. She is also an accomplished television producer. Her accolades include creation of the first broadcast directory for Russia, an American Bible Society documentary, a film on the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, and production credits with Russian National Television “Ostankino,” where she was the producer of numerous musical and variety shows and entertainment news.

Sara Crigger, mezzo-soprano, has been praised for her “rich mezzo-soprano voice” and “flawless comedic timing.” A few of her operatic credits include Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Nashville Opera), The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors (Opéra Louisiane), Addison Moore in the stage premiere of The Copper Queen (Marble City Opera), and Second Lady in The Magic Flute (Nashville Opera). She has appeared as a concert soloist in works such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio.

A lover of contemporary music, Crigger works with living composers regularly. She has premiered works such as Jeffrey Wood’s Songs of Ascents, Rachel Devore Fogarty’s “As the rain hides the stars” and Darryl Nettles’ Harlem Shadows. Recently, Sara appeared as the soloist for Gateway Chamber Orchestra’s performance of Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs.

Beginning her career in commercial music, Sara received her Bachelor of Music from Berklee College of Music in Boston. On completion of her degree, Sara moved to Nashville where she worked singing backup and playing cello in rock and country bands. During this time, Sara also

rediscovered her love of classical music, eventually receiving her Master of Music from Austin Peay State University and completing Nashville Opera’s Mary Ragland Emerging Artist program.

Sari De Leon-Reist, cello, performs regularly with some of Nashville’s finest musicians and ensembles on stage and in the recording studio. She is Principal cellist of the Nashville Opera Orchestra, and is a regular substitute for the Nashville Symphony. She was Artistic Director of the Grammy-nominated Alias Chamber Ensemble from 2018-2022. In the popular realm, she can be heard on the recordings of Lady Antebellum, Kings of Leon, Faith Hill, Ben Folds, Train, Carrie Underwood and countless others.

De Leon-Reist received her Bachelor of Music degree in cello performance from San Francisco Conservatory of music under the tutelage of Irene Sharp. She currently teaches privately at her home in East Nashville. She was formerly on the faculty of Mannes College of Music, School for Strings NY, and The Children’s Orchestra Society of New York, as well as the Governors School of the Arts in TN, Lipscomb University, and Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt. In 2018, she was a guest artist in the First National Youth Cello Festival in Ningbo, China.

Dr. Savanna Sokolnicki, soprano, is a sought-after singer, vocal instructor, lecturer, and language expert. Currently a Lecturer in Classical Voice at Belmont University, Sokolnicki also serves as the Tennessee District Governor for the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). Sokolnicki’s students have seen success in vocal competitions, summer programs, and performances all over the world.

Sokolnicki is a versatile performing artist whose repertoire encompasses everything from bel canto and romantic operatic repertoire to cutting-edge contemporary works. Recent career highlights include a series of commercial performances in association with the Chicago Lyric Opera Building, the world premiere of Wide Waters by Canadian composer Ronald Beckett, and performances with Nashville Opera in Les Contes D’Hoffmann and Amahl and the Night Visitors. Other performing credits include the role of Mrs. Peachum in Street Theatre Company’s production of Threepenny Opera, Carlotta in Phantom of the Opera (UK Opera Theatre), Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (Opera in Orvieto), Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette (UK Opera Theatre), Lily in Eastman Opera Theatre’s production of The Secret Garden, Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos (Eastman Opera Theatre), Freulein Schneider in Cabaret (Eastman Opera Theatre), Olga in The Merry Widow (Eastman Opera Theatre), and Adele in Die Fledermaus (AIMS in Graz).

Sokolnicki holds the D.M.A degree from the University of Kentucky and her dissertation is entitled Gretchen's Soliloquy "Ach Neige Du Schmerzenreiche" from Goethe's Faust: A vocal performance analysis and set of performance guidelines for various solo voice settings. She also holds a Master of Music Degree in Vocal Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester NY and completed her undergraduate work at Eastman, as well, receiving a Bachelor of Music Degree in Voice Performance.

Dr. Carolyn Totaro is Instructor of Flute in the Belmont University School of Music. She is an active solo and chamber performer, and has performed as a guest artist in Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Her solo and chamber performances have been broadcast throughout the southeast, and she has performed at numerous conferences and festivals including recitals at the National Flute

Association Convention and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. Totaro performs regularly with the Belmont Wind Quintet and has performed with numerous other chamber ensembles such as Duo Brilliante (flute & guitar), Belmont Organ Trio (flute, trumpet, & organ), The Adelicia Trio (flute, viola, and harp), Centaur Trio (flute, cello, and piano), and Triptych (2 flutes & piano). Her chamber recitals include diverse works, ranging from the chamber works of J.S. Bach to George Crumb's Vox Balaenae.

An active guest clinician, Totaro has presented clinics and masterclasses at high schools, universities, and the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts, and has served as an adjudicator for concerto competitions and MTNA performance competitions. Totaro teaches flute and coaches chamber ensembles at the Belmont University Summer Wind Symphony and the Tennessee Valley Music Festival each summer. She has performed with symphony orchestras in Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Texas.

Totaro received her Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Texas (at Austin), her Master of Music (Flute) and Master of Music (History) from the University of Akron and her Bachelor of Music Education and Bachelor of Music from Baldwin-Wallace Conservatory of Music. Totaro's primary instructors have included William Hebert (Cleveland Orchestra), Jaqueline Hofto (Interlochen Arts Academy), Peter Lloyd (London Symphony, London Virtuosi), and George Pope (Akron Symphony, Solaris Wind Quintet). She has also performed in masterclasses with such renowned player/pedagogues as Martha Aarons, Julia Bogorad, Leone Buyse, Adrianne Greenbaum, Eric Hoover, Katherine Kemler, Kate Lukas, Sandra Miller, Trygve Peterson, Robert Stallman, Jim Walker, Robert Willoughby, and Trevor Wye.

Italian pianist Alessandra Volpi began her piano studies at the age of four under the direction of Maestro Gaeta in Carrara, Italy and with Busoni Competition Winner Daniel Rivera at the Livorno Conservatory, Italy. She had her orchestral debut at age ten playing Mozart K.488 Piano Concerto. She has won many international piano competitions and performed in Europe and across the United States most recently performing with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, Nashville Concerto Orchestra, Nashville Ballet, NPR radio, Lexington Philharmonic, Alias, Chatterbird & Intersections. Volpi is currently working as Resident Staff Pianist/Coach at Belmont University where she enjoys performing in faculty recitals working with Classical Voice and Instrumental Students. She also served as Pianist for the Belmont Opera program. Through her work with the Nashville Ballet, Volpi has been able to premiere several works including Lizzie Borden, The Raven, A Streetcar Named Desire as well as a recent adaptation of Peter Pan arranged by British composer and pianist Philip Feeney. She works as the Company Rehearsal Pianist as well as performs on stage or in the pit with Nashville Symphony during Nashville Ballet performances. An avid chamber musician, Volpi performs often with Grammynominated chamber ensemble Alias as well as Nashville alt-classical ensemble Chatterbird and contemporary ensemble Intersections. As part of the 2021-2022 season of Sparks and Wiry Cries Song Slam, Volpi appeared alongside soprano Rebekah Alexander to present a new composition by German composer Ingrid Stölzel at the Blue Building in New York City in January 2022.

Dr. Mark Whatley, baritone, saw his professional singing career gain national prominence in 2002, when he won first place in the Metropolitan Opera mid-south regional auditions. He was later named one of nine national finalists, and performed in concert with the Metropolitan Opera orchestra with Julius Rudel conducting. Since that time he has sung over forty operatic roles,

including Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Marcello in La bohème, Escamillo in Carmen, Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos, and both Frank and Fritz in Die tote Stadt. His concert repertoire is equally extensive and varied, including Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s The Creation, Handel’s Messiah, Saint-Saën’s Christmas Oratorio, Orff’s Carmina Burana, and requiems by Brahms, Fauré, Duruflé and Mozart. He has performed with many professional companies, including Glimmerglass Opera, Nashville Opera, Opera North, Opera Birmingham, Augusta Opera, Chattanooga Opera, Aspen Opera Theatre, Opera Company of Brooklyn, Cincinnati May Festival, Lexington Philharmonic, Woodlands Symphony, Paducah Symphony, Nashville Ballet, Sacramento Ballet, and Houston Choral Society.

Mark Whatley is Coordinator of Vocal Studies and Professor of Voice at Belmont University. He holds degrees in voice performance from Belmont and the University of Kentucky. He received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Rice University in May of 2014, and his doctoral document is entitled “A Singer’s Guide to the Songs of Ildebrando Pizzetti.”

Dr. Kristi Whitten, soprano and Professor of Music, joined the Belmont University School of Music Classical Voice Faculty in the fall of 2001. She earned her Master of Music and her Doctor of Music in Vocal Performance and Literature with minors in Musicology and Speech and Hearing Sciences at Indiana University where she studied under the direction of the renowned Romanian soprano, Virginia Zeani, and with Kammersängerin, Patricia Wise. She holds a Bachelor of Music from Belmont University. Prior to joining the Belmont faculty, she served as Assistant Professor of Voice and Assistant to the Vocal Department.

Coordinator at Brevard College where she taught applied classical voice, vocal diction, and opera. At Belmont, Whitten previously served as Coordinator of the Graduate Vocal Pedagogy area, Vocal Arts Laboratory, and the Summer Vocal Pedagogy and Performance Workshop 2001-2004. She teaches Graduate Song Literature courses and applied Classical Voice to a full studio of undergraduate and graduate students. She also served as the Stage, Music, and Artistic director of the Belmont Opera Theatre 2004 - 2020 and currently serves as the Artistic Advisory Director for the 2022-2023 academic year. Under her direction, the Belmont Opera Theatre has presented such works as Le nozze di Figaro, The Merry Widow, The Magic Flute, Dido and Aeneas, Little Women, Suor Angelica, Ballad of Baby Doe, Ruddigore, The Bartered Bride, The Tender Land, Così fan tutte, Massenet’s Cendrillon, The Medium, Help! Help! The Globolinks!, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Die Fledermaus, L'enfant et les sortilèges, and Amahl and the Night Visitors. The opera workshop also received the privilege of working on the critical edition score of Gioachino Rossini’s L’occasione fa il ladro under the guidance of late musicologist and bel canto opera historian, Dr. Philipp Gossett.

Whitten’s guest clinician work includes masterclasses, choral retreats, and workshops. She has enjoyed adjudicating for music and vocal competitions such as The Blair School of Music MTNA Voice competition and Concerto Competition, Trevecca Nazarene Aria Competition, and the Schmidt competition. In 2008 she had the honor of serving on the fiftieth National NATS Conference Committee in Nashville. During her recent Fall 2021 faculty sabbatical she visited various collegiate voice and opera departments and enjoyed exploring methodologies and research related to learning styles and Whole Musician Wellness concepts.

Dr. Angela Yoon, coloratura soprano, has been known for her delightful and beautifully expansive

voice and her ability to deliver texts through music. As a soprano soloist, she has been named as a winner and finalist in various competitions and has performed solos, recitals, and concerts as a guest artist throughout the United States, South Korea, Germany, Canada, and France. She has been featured on radio broadcasts and recordings and appeared as the soloist and principal artist in oratorios, cantatas, and operas. In addition to standard recitals and concerts, she is interested in creating interdisciplinary musical experiences for the audience through collaborating with other fields such as visual art, science, social justice, history, and even political science. Her current concert programs include WWI program, Broken Harmony: Reconstructing Art, diversity concert program, Colorful Harmony: Melodies from Near and Far, and social justice concert program on refugee, human trafficking, marginalized youth, and undocumented immigrants called Songs of Hope: Unveiling Darkness. The social justice concert was premiered at Birmingham Museum of Art followed in the fall of 2022 followed by performances at Johns Hopkins University and Carnegie Hall.

She serves on the voice faculty at Belmont University as the coordinator of vocal pedagogy program, and on the voice faculty at Interlochen Center for the Arts where she continues to return as a summer faculty member. As an educator, Yoon has had diverse experiences with musicians and non-musicians alike. Her voice and musical theatre major students have been accepted to music schools in the U.S. and abroad as well as professional opera houses, theatres, and cruise lines.

Upcoming Concerts and Events

Join Belmont University’s College of Music Arts for Sounds of Belmont: The 35th Annual President’s Concert & Reception on Saturday, April 12th in the Fisher Center at Belmont University. Experience an evening of stories and songs to support our talented students. The concert will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by a festive dessert reception for all guests and performers. The purchase of a ticket to this concert and reception will benefit endowed music and theatre scholarship funds for students in the college. Premier works from the College of Music and Performing Arts Fall 2024-Spring 2025 performance season will be showcased. This concert and reception is celebrating its thirty-fifth year (formerly the President’s Concert and Reception).

For more information on upcoming concerts and events, please visit www.belmont.edu/cmpa or “like” Belmont University School of Music on Facebook.

FCS Ryan Bede Classical Voice Faculty 1.27.25

Belmont University School of Music

Faculty Concert Series

presents Ryan Bede, baritone

Texts & Translations

the field of glory

Tonerna

Melodies

About the Performers

Upcoming Concerts and Events