Artists’
PROFILES Jason Howard Cecil | baritone
Internationally renowned baritone Jason Howard is recognized as one of the UK’s leading operatic performers. Over the course of a three decade career he has sung the baritone roles in Attila, La Traviata, Don Carlos, Rigoletto, Macbeth, Nabucco and Il Trovatore . He made his debut at the Royal Opera House and Paris Opera as Marcello (La Bohème). More recently he has enjoyed great success in the German rep as Wotan in Wagner’s Ring, and The Flying Dutchman among others. Other highlights include Death in Venice (Buenos Aires), Mourning Becomes Electra (Chicago Lyric Opera) and Emile de Becque in the Lincoln Center production of South Pacific.
Diego Silva
Leicester | tenor Tenor Diego Silva continues to attract significant national and international attention with his captivating performances, and will make his Metropolitan Opera debut as Tybalt in Bartlett Sher’s production of Roméo et Juliette in the 2016-17 season. Diego recently performed the title role in Faust at the Macau International Music Festival, a role which he also covered at the Opéra National de Paris. Other performance highlights include the roles of Rodolfo in La bohème under the baton of Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival, and with the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra; Alfredo in La Traviata with the Theater Orchester Biel and with Des Moines Metro Opera; Percy in Anna Bolena at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Moscow; and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
Elizabeth Turnbull Anna | mezzo-soprano
Elizabeth Turnbull’s credits include appearances with major orchestras and opera companies across North America. She also portrayed Lyubija in the European and Canadian tours of Svadba. Her roles range from the baroque (Juno in Semele), to the romantic (Carmen), modern (Augusta Tabor in the Canadian premiere of The Ballad of Baby Doe) and new (creating the role of Maria Picariello in Filumena). Upcoming performances include the creation of the role of Elizabeth in Opera on the Avalon’s new John Estacio opera, Ours, as well as a reprise of Maria in Calgary Opera’s upcoming 2017 remount of Filumena, and the role of Clytemnestra for Edmonton Opera’s Elektra. Ms. Turnbull is an instructor of voice and is the director of Opera Workshop at the University of Alberta’s Department of Music, where she has been teaching for seven years.
Kathryn Lewek Mary | soprano
A double prizewinner at the 2013 Operalia World Opera Competition, Soprano Kathryn Lewek is one of the most promising coloratura sopranos of this generation. Ms. Lewek’s interpretation of her signature role, Queen of the Night, regularly garners critical acclaim in performances at the world’s leading opera houses including The Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Houston Grand Opera, to name a few. This season’s engagements include Teresa in Benvuto Cellini at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Carmina Burana at the Dallas Symphony, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte at Teatro Real in Madrid.
Camellia Koo
Scenery and Costume Designer For Edmonton Opera, Camellia designed the sets for Carmen and the sets and costumes for The Tales of Hoffmann. Other recent designs include collaborations with Minnesota Opera, Pacific Opera Victoria, Boston Lyric Opera, Against the Grain, Tapestry New Opera and the Canadian Opera Company. Recent designs for theatre and dance include collaborations with Ballet Jörgen, Cahoots Theatre Projects, Tarragon Theatre, The Second City, the Shaw Festival and Young People’s Theatre. She has received six Dora Awards, a Sterling Award, a Chalmers Award Grant, the 2006 Siminovitch Protégé Prize and third prize (team) at the 2011 European Opera Directing Prize.
Geoffrey George
Lighting Designer
Geoff is pleased to be returning to Edmonton Opera. His work has been seen on this stage for The Merry Widow, Pirates of Penzance, La Bohème, The Mikado, Eugene Onegin and The Barber of Seville. Beginning his career as a lighting technician at the Shaw Festival and working mainly as a lighting designer, Geoff has designed over 200 productions for Carousel Player, Theatre New Brunswick, Neptune Theatre, Northern Light Theatre, the Mayfield, Brian Webb Dance, Mile Zero Dance, Kurt Browning, Leave It To Jane Theatre and last, but not least, Grant MacEwan University, where he recently retired as chair of the award-winning theatre program.
MARY STUART 29