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Conductor: Wayne Marshall

Where Stars Shine Brightest Although we are always happy to support the careers of local artists, The Dallas Opera attracts international casts from as far away as Russia and China in order to bring North Texas audiences the very best the world has to offer. This is the place where opera legend Plácido Domingo made his U.S. debut. Opera’s greatest stars are always shining at The Dallas Opera!

Porgy: Gordon Hawkins	Bess: Indira Mahajan	Crown: Lester Lynch	Serena: Angela Renee Simpson*

Sportin' Life: Victor Ryan Robertson*	Clara: Janice Chandler -Eteme*	Jake: Leon Williams*	Maria: Bonita Hyman*	Mingo: Ivan Tolbert	Robbins: François Dewberry*	Jim: Donald Jones*
Annie: Angela Owens*	Crab Man: Elias Hendricks*	Peter: Fred Wilmer	Lily: Sherna Armstrong*	Director/ Choreographer: Hope Clarke	Lighting Design: Ken Billington	Chorus Master: Alexander Rom

Gordon Hawkins (Porgy)
Baritone – Clinton, Maryland

Highlights: Miller in Luisa Miller (The Dallas Opera); Tonio in Pagliacci (Atlanta, Seattle); title role in Rigoletto (Dallas, Charlotte); Porgy (Washington Opera, Detroit); Amonasro in Aida (Cincinnati, Palm Beach Opera); Porgy, Alberich in Das Rheingold (Washington Opera); title role in Macbeth and Donner/Gunther in the Ring Cycle (Seattle Opera); the Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann (Tokyo); title role of Rigoletto, Scarpia, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (Deutsche Oper am Rhein); Marcello in La bohème (Arizona Opera); Tonio/Alfio in Manitoba Opera’s double bill of Pagliacci/Cavalleria rusticana; Count Almaviva (Theatro Municipal de Sao Paulo); world premiere of Heggie’s A Great Hope Fell (EOS Orchestra, NY); and the European premiere, Of Mice and Men, at Austria’s Bregenz Festival. His performance in Of Mice and Men at Houston Grand Opera was released in a commercial recording.

After Porgy & Bess: title role in Rigoletto (Washington Opera, Arizona Opera); Scarpia in Tosca (Cleveland Opera); Alberich in complete Ring Cycles (Washington, LA Opera).

Indira Mahajan (Bess)
Soprano

Highlights: Maria Callas Debut Artist of the Year Award for Musetta in La boheme, school performances of Don Giovanni (The Dallas Opera); Mimi in Francesca Zambello production of La boheme at London’s Royal Albert Hall; Bess (Washington Opera, Los Angeles Opera); Musetta (New York City Opera, Orlando Opera, Opera Ebony); Mimi (Dayton Opera); Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly (Phoenix); Violetta (Ash Lawn Festival); Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Virginia Opera, Opera Carolina); Clara in Porgy & Bess (New York Philharmonic, New York Harlem Theater’s European tour, George Enesco Festival, Tokyo and Trieste); title role of Treemonisha (Stern Grove Festival, San Francisco); Iris in Semele (Berkshire Opera); the Richard Tucker gala at Lincoln Center. Ms. Mahajan has also appeared in concert with the New York Philharmonic, San Diego and Colorado Symphonies and the Costa Rica National Symphony Orchestra.

Lester Lynch (Crown)
Baritone – Elyria, Ohio

Highlights: Crown (Dallas Opera Debut (1997), L.A. Opera, San Francisco Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, New York Philharmonic, the Ravinia Festival Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Nashville Symphony recording); Marcello in La boheme (New York City Opera); Germont (Houston Grand Opera); Count di Luna (Deutsche Opera am Rhein, Seattle Opera); Flint in Billy Budd (Canadian Opera Company); Tonio in Pagliacci (Pittsburgh, Lake George Opera); Mendelssohn’s Die Erste Walpurgis Nacht (Grant Park Music Festival); Bach Magnificat (Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall); world premiere of Adolphus Hailstork’s Whitman’s Journey (Washington Master Chorale at the Kennedy Center); Carmina Burana (Cincinnati Symphony); Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Virginia Symphony).

After Porgy & Bess: Samson et Dalilah with Denyce Graves (Kentucky Symphony); Di Luna in Il trovatore (Nashville); Sharpless in Butterfly (Opera Theatre of St. Louis).

Angela Renee Simpson * (Serena)
Soprano

Highlights: Serena in Porgy & Bess (New York City Opera broadcast “Live from Lincoln Center,” Los Angeles Opera, Michigan Opera Theater and Dallas Opera debut); Cilla in Margaret Garner (Opera Carolina); Queenie in Showboat (Royal Albert Hall, London); Coleman’s The Painted Lady and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (Hartford Symphony); concert appearances with Minnesota Orchestra, the Colorado Springs Symphony, Weill Recital Hall, the Novaya Opera Theater (Russia), Carnegie Hall, the Charleston Symphony, the Bravo Music Festival and other prestigious venues.

After Porgy & Bess: Serena in Paris and Caen, France as well as in Luxembourg.

Victor Ryan Robertson * (Sportin’ Life)
Tenor – Boston, Massachusetts

Highlights: Sportin’ Life (Los Angeles Opera); Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Michigan Opera Theatre, PORT Opera Festival); Rodolfo in La bohème (Royal Albert Hall) and the same role in Baz Luhrman’s adaptation of La bohème at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles; Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette (Spoleto Festival USA, Atlanta Opera); Richard Tucker Foundation and Cleveland Opera’s “Night of the rising Stars” concert; 3 Mo’ Tenors (off-Broadway) and the title role of Les contes d’Hoffmann (The Dallas Opera school performances).

After Porgy & Bess: Prunier in La Rondine (Michigan Opera Theatre) and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (Opera Carolina).

Janice Chandler-Eteme * (Clara)
Soprano

Highlights: Strauss’ Four Last Songs (Baltimore, Syracuse, Grand Teton Music Festival); Mahler’s Second Symphony (Rome’s Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Nashville Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Pacific Symphony); Donna Elvira (National Philharmonic); Brahm’s Requiem, Vaughan-Williams’ Sea Symphony and A Child of Our Time (Dallas Symphony Orchestra); Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 (Orchestre National de la Pays de la Loire); Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (New Jersey Symphony); Porgy & Bess (Choral Arts Society of Washington, Kennedy Center).

Leon Williams * (Jake)
Baritone – New York City, N.Y.

Highlights: Anthony in Sweeney Todd (Toledo Opera); Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Hawaii Opera Theatre); Porgy in Porgy & Bess (St. Petersburg, Russia); Brahm’s Vier ernste Gesänge (Da Camera Society of Houston); all-American programs at Japan’s Tochigi Music Festival and Maine’s Arcady Music Festival; Sportin’ Life in Porgy & Bess (Duluth-Superior Symphony); Elijah (Honolulu Symphony); Carmina Burana (Florida Orchestra, Westchester, Grand Rapids, Hartford and Colorado Symphonies); “Art of the Spiritual” program at San Francisco’s Herbst Theater and Faure’s Requiem (Kansas City Symphony); Poulenc program with Michel Sénéchal and Dalton Baldwin at the 92nd Street Y in NYC.

After Porgy & Bess: St. Matthew Passion with the National Philharmonic.

Bonita Hyman * (Maria)
Mezzo-soprano

Highlights: Tiatin in the Robert Wilson production of Scourge of Hyacinths (Grand Théâtre de Genève, Opéra de Nancy, Lorraine Opera, FestSpielHaus and Mexico’s Palacio de Bellas Artes); Bégonia in Henze’s Der Junge Lord (Würzburg); Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus (Schwerin); appearances with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Deutsche Oper am Rhein (Düsseldorf), Leipzig Opera, Bonn Opera, Nationale Reisopera (Netherlands), and Opera Ebony (NYC) in roles such as Azucena in Il trovatore, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, Mistress Quickly in Falstaff, Erda in the Ring Cycle and Cornelia in Giulio Cesare. Concert highlights include Serena in Porgy & Bess (Tonhalle Orchestra, Zürich) and Mahler’s Rückert Lieder at Italy’s International Mahler Festival.

François Dewberry * (Robbins)
Tenor – Dallas, Texas

Highlights: As a member of The Dallas Opera Chorus for the past ten years, has participated in company productions including Carmen, Manon, Rigoletto, La bohème, Faust, Die Fledermaus, Turandot, Götterdammerung, Lucia di Lammermoor, Nabucco, The Magic Flute, Fidelio, Un ballo in maschera and Lohengrin. This production marks his Dallas Opera debut as a soloist. Community theater roles include Nicely Johnson in Guys & Dolls, Snoopy in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, the Minstrel in The Dr. Inspite of Himself and the Lion in The Wiz. Mr. Dewberry is a graduate of SMU.

Donald Jones * (Jim)
Baritone – Orange, Texas

Highlights: the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Ferando in Il trovatore, the King in a concert version of Cinderella (SMU); Balthazar in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Vistors (Richardson Symphony, Lamar University); appeared as a soloist for Rev. Martin Luther King III; soloist for Mozart’s Coronation Mass in C; Rocco in highlights from Fidelio and Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (International Opera Studio of Dallas); covered the roles of Leporello in Don Giovanni and Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore for The Living Opera and is a member of The Dallas Opera Chorus.

Angela Owens * (Annie)
Soprano – El Paso, Texas

Highlights: Josephine Baker in the world premiere of Dodsworth with Hal Linden; Sandman/Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel (South Georgia Opera); the role of Susannah in a regional tour of the musical revue Tintypes; Despina in Così fan tutte, Blanche in The Dialogues of the Carmelites, Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Ninetta in La Perichole and Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario in various theaters and venues. Also, the role of Clara in Porgy & Bess in opera houses and concert halls throughout the U.S., New Zealand, Egypt, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Film credits include The Manchurian Candidate with Denzel Washington and The Stepford Wives with Nicole Kidman and Glenn Close.

Elias Hendricks * (Crab Man)
Tenor – Birmingham, Alabama

Highlights: Vocal performance major at Southern Methodist University; performed at the Dallas Museum of Art opening of Van Gogh exhibit; performed at the Meadows Museum of Art in association with the Wagner Society of Dallas; interpreted the role of Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors at Northhaven Church; portrayed Jaquino from Beethoven’s Fidelio in SMU’s Opera Scenes program; The Prince in the world premiere of Simon Sargon’s Let Down Your Hair at SMU; finalist in the 2006 Texoma Regional NATS vocal competition. Presently, a tenor soloist at Highland Park United Methodist Church and soloist in the DSO’s Christmas celebration for the past three years.

Fred Wilmer (Peter)
Tenor – Crestview, Florida

Highlights: Featured tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Mass in C and Choral Fantasy, the Rachmaninoff Vespers (Schola Cantorum of Texas); an “Evening of Spirituals” with the American Chamber Chorus; soloist with the Brazosport Symphony Orchestra and Choral Union in Beethoven’s Mass in C; additional solo performances in Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and works from the sacred, traditional, gospel and contemporary repertoires in churches throughout Texas, including his own: Concord Church of Dallas. Former choral director at Faith Family Academy, adjunct choral director Paul Quinn College; singer and soloist with the Tulsa Chorale, Baptist Singing Men of Oklahoma, Church Choir Director; pursuing graduate studies in vocal performance with Dr. Stephen Austin and choral conducting with Dr. Jerry McCoy.

Wayne Marshall (Conductor)
Oldham, Lancashire, UK.
Internationally renowned organist, conductor and pianist.
Organist-in-Residence, Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall, BBC Music Magazine’s “Artist of the Year Award” (1998).

Highlights: Porgy & Bess (BBC Proms Gershwin centenary tribute, Washington National Opera, Rotterdam Philharmonic); West Side Story (Bregenz Festival); Firebrand of Florence (Central German Radio Symphony Orchestra); Guys & Dolls (Austrian Radio Symphony); appeared in the BBC Big Band Ellington celebration; conducted at the “Prom in the Park,” Sage, Gateshead; and Wonderful Town (Austrian Radio Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Santa Cecilia, Monte Carlo Philharmonic). Other musical activities include improvisation, jazz, radio and television presentations, and composition. In 2004, Wayne Marshall was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Bournemouth University in recognition of his longstanding relationship with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded for several labels, including two acclaimed Gershwin discs with Aalborg Symphony and solo piano releases that include I Got Rhythm and the Gershwin Song Book (winner of the 1998 ECHO award) and his Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis were published in 2001 in the Faber New Choral Works series.

Hope Clarke (Director/Choreographer)
Washington, D.C.

Highlights: Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations for best choreography in Jelly’s Last Jam (1992) and recipient of the Dramalogue Award, the Joseph Calloway Award and the NAACP Image Award for the same piece; director/choreographer for Porgy & Bess (originated at Houston Grand Opera, co-produced at The Dallas Opera and other notable companies); choreographer for numerous works, most recently, Tony Kushner’s Caroline, or Change (2004, New York Shakespeare Festival and on Broadway) and The Odyssey (Willow Cabin Theatre); directed Porgy & Bess, Così fan tutte, The Medium and The Telephone and (Opera Ebony, NYC); Frida (American Musical Theater); directed and choreographed The Gathering (New Professional Theater); Hallelujah Baby (York Theater) and an all-dance version of Porgy & Bess, using the music of Miles Davis and Dick Hyman, for Dallas Black Dance Theatre; collaborated with writer/director George C. Wolf creating dance and staging for works including Spunk, The Colored Museum and The Caucasian Chalk Circle; principal dancer for the Katherine Dunham Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; as an actress Ms. Clarke has appeared in numerous television roles, “A Piece of the Action,” starring Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier and “A Book of Numbers” with Philip Michael Thomas and Raymond St. Jacques; stage credits include leading roles in Don’t Bother Me I Can’t Cope, Grind, Purlie and Hallelujah Baby.

Ken Billington (Lighting Design)
White Plains, New York

Highlights: 2006 Tony Award nominee for The Drowsy Chaperone; 1997 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Chicago; supervised lighting for the North American productions of Riverdance; Drama Desk nominee for outstanding lighting design on Grind (1985); additional Tony Award nominations for End of the World (1984), Foxfire (1983), Sweeney Todd (1979), Working (1978) and The Visit (1974); has designed for more than 80 Broadway productions and 65 operas, world-wide; other awards include Los Angeles Drama Critics, the first television Ace Award for lighting and the Luman award for his architectural designs. Mr. Billington made his Dallas Opera debut with Le Coq D’or and returned to design lighting for Orpheus in the Underworld (1986), Faust (1991, 1998) and our 1996 Porgy & Bess.

Alexander Rom (Chorus Master)
Kharkov, Ukraine

Highlights: Salome (2008), Lohengrin, The Merry Widow, Macbeth, La Rondine and Mary Queen of Scots (2007), Nabucco, The Barber of Seville and The Magic Flute (2006), The Tales of Hoffmann (2005), Cav/Pag (2005), Madame Butterfly (1995, 2000, 2005), Jenufa (1993, 2004) Der fliegende Holländer (1993) and other productions – too numerous to name – for The Dallas Opera. A composer (and confirmed book lover) as well as an internationally renowned chorus master, Alexander’s works have been performed at Carnegie Hall. His arrangements of songs by Edvard Grieg have been performed at New York’s famed South Street Seaport and, in England, by members of the BBC Chorus under the direction of Bo Holten.

After Porgy and Bess: Tosca for The Dallas Opera.

* Dallas Opera Debut
** American Debut