PANELISTS

	Carolyn Abbate Carolyn Abbate is the author of several books on opera; she has received awards from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and in 2005 joins the faculty at Harvard University and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.
	Roberto Alagna BIRTHPLACE Clichy-sous-Bois, France THIS SEASON Don José in Carmen at the Met, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Des Grieux in Manon at the Vienna State Opera, Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Orange Festival, and concerts in Paris, Brussels, and Monte Carlo. PREVIOUS MET APPEARANCES Ruggero in La Rondine, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Canio in Pagliacci, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Radamès in Aida, Rodolfo in La Bohème (debut, 1996), Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore, the Duke in Rigoletto, Don José in Carmen, Roméo, Faust, and Werther. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Cavaradossi in Tosca at Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, Rodolfo and Werther at Turin’s Teatro Regio, Manrico in Il Trovatore in Paris, Canio in Pagliacci and Don José in Verona, and Ruggero and Faust at Covent Garden. Other notable engagements include Marius in the world premiere of Vladimir Cosma’s Marius et Fanny in Marseilles, Rodolfo at La Scala, Roméo at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Salzburg Festival, Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra at the Salzburg Easter Festival, and the title role of Don Carlos in Paris and London.
	Marco Armiliato THIS SEASON La Fille du Régiment, La Bohème, Attila, and the Grand Finals Concert at the Met, Il Trovatore in Barcelona, Don Carlo and Tosca in Munich, Falstaff in Bilbao, and La Forza del Destino, Rigoletto, and La Sonnambula at the Vienna State Opera. PREVIOUS APPEARANCES More than 200 performances including La Bohème (debut, 1998), Lucia di Lammermoor, La Rondina, Adriana Lecouvreur, La Traviata, La Fille du Régiment, Il Trovatore, Rigoletto, Aida, Turandot, Madama Butterfly, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, Andrea Chénier, Sly and Cyrano de Bergerac. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS In recent seasons he has led Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Rigoletto, Le Comte Ory, La Rondine, Falstaff, and Il Trittico in Toulouse, Aida and Tosca with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Werther and Manon Lescaut at the Vienna State Opera, and Un Ballo in Maschera in San Francisco. He has also collaborated with leading theaters in Barcelona, Philadelphia, Madrid, Verona, and Paris.
	Ken Benson Artist Manager, Columbia Artists Management
	Sarah Billinghurst Metropolitan Opera Assistant manager, artistic, since 1994. Responsible for the running of the company’s artistic department, for presentations, media, recording and touring. In recent seasons she has organized the Kirov Festivals at the Metropolitan Opera House which has presented both the Kirov Opera and the Kirov Ballet.
	Steven Blier Pianist and Artistic Director of The New York Festival of Song. Also on faculty of the Juilliard School and contributor to Opera News and the Yale Review.
	Johan Botha BIRTHPLACE Rustenburg, South Africa THIS SEASON Siegmund in Die Walküre at the Met and with the Vienna State Opera, Florestan in Fidelio at the Berlin State Opera (UDL), Lohengrin at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and at Covent Garden, Otello in Vienna and with Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, Calàf in Turandot at Covent Garden, and Radamès in Aida in Vienna. PREVIOUS MET APPEARANCES Otello, Canio in Pagliacci (debut, 1997), Lohengrin, Walther, Florestan, Calàf, Radamès, and the title role of Don Carlo. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS He appears regularly at virtually all the major international opera houses, including Barcelona’s Liceu, Berlin’s Deutsche Staatsoper, Dresden’s Semperoper, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Geneva’s Grand Théâtre, the Hamburg State Opera, Covent Garden, Los Angeles Opera, La Scala, Paris’s Bastille Opera and Châtelet, the Salzburg Festival, and Vienna’s Volksoper. In concert he has appeared with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, and Munich Philharmonic Orchestra.
	Zoe Caldwell Bio Coming Soon!
	Joseph Calleja BIRTHPLACE Attard, Malta THIS SEASON Hoffmann in Les Contes d’Hoffmann at the Met, Rodolfo in La Bohème at the Vienna State Opera and in Hamburg, Macduff in Macbeth at Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, Ruggero in La Rondine in Frankfurt, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore at Tokyo’s New National Theatre, and Gabriele Adorno in Simon Boccanegra at Covent Garden. PREVIOUS MET APPEARANCES Macduff, Nemorino, and the Duke in Rigoletto (debut, 2006). CAREER HIGHLIGHTS The Duke for debuts at Covent Garden, the Bavarian State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Netherlands Opera, and Welsh National Opera; Elvino in La Sonnambula, Arturo in I Puritani, the title role of Roberto Devereux, Nemorino, and the Duke at the Vienna State Opera; Nicias in Thaïs at Covent Garden; Alfredo in La Traviata with the Los Angeles Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago; Leicester in Maria Stuarda in Stockholm and Parma; and Arturo and the title role of Faust with the Deutsche Oper Berlin.
	Ben Cameron Executive Director of Theater Communications Group, the national organization for non-profit theatres. Former Director of the Theater Program at the National Endowment for the Arts.
	Alice Coote BIRTHPLACE London, England THIS SEASON Hansel in Hansel and Gretel at the Met and Covent Garden, Nerone in L’Incoronazione di Poppea at the Glyndebourne Festival, and Charlotte in Werther in Frankfurt. MET APPEARANCES Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro (debut, 2006) and Sesto in Giulio Cesare. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Cherubino at Covent Garden and the Scottish Opera, Hansel at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice and Poppea in L’Incoronazione di Poppea at English National Opera, Ruggiero in Alcina with San Francisco Opera and at the Edinburgh Festival, the title role in Ariodante at Paris’s Bastille, the title role of Britten’s Lucretia at the Salzburg Festival, the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos for Welsh National Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Cherubino, Penelope in Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, and Dorabella in Così fan tutte at Opera North.
	Diana Damrau BIRTHPLACE Günzburg, Germany THIS SEASON Marie in La Fille du Régiment and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at the Met, Rosina and Manon with the Vienna State Opera, Marie in San Francisco, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni in Geneva, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor with the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail in Barcelona, Ophélie in Hamlet in Washington, and Aminta in Die Schweigsame Frau in Munich. MET APPEARANCES Gilda in Rigoletto, Pamina and the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos(debut, 2005), Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Aithra in Die Ägyptische Helena, Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Lucia. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Zerbinetta with Vienna State Opera and Dresden’s Semperoper, Konstanze at the Salzburg Festival and in Munich, Adele in Die Fledermaus with the Vienna State Opera, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier and Gilda in Munich, the Queen of the Night in Salzberg and at Covent Garden, and Europa in Salieri’s Europa Riconosciuta for the December 2004 reopening of La Scala.
	David Daniels BIRTHPLACE Spartanburg, South Carolina THIS SEASON Orfeo in the new production of Orfeo ed Euridice and the title role of Giulio Cesare at the Met, Giulio Cesare at the Glyndebourne Festival, Ottone in L’Incoronazione di Poppea with the Los Angeles Opera, and concert performances with the Berlin Philharmonic, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and Seattle Symphony. MET APPEARANCES Sesto in Giulio Cesare (debut, 1999), Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Bertarido in Rodelinda. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Has interpreted numerous Handel heroes, including Orlando with Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, Arsace in Partenope with Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Arsamenes in Xerxes with the New York City Opera. Recent engagements include Bertarido with San Francisco Opera, Orfeo with Lyric Opera of Chicago, and concert performances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall, and the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.
	Robert J. Dennis Curator of Recordings Collections at Harvard University’s Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library. Also writes and lectures on opera.
	Thor Eckert Artists Manager, Thor Eckert Enterprises
	Cori Ellison Dramaturg at New York City Opera. Her English singing translations of operas have been commissioned and performed by New York City Opera, English National Opera, and the Bard Festival.
	Henry Fogel Since July 2003, President and CEO of the American Symphony Orchestra League. For 18 years was President of Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association. Currently, professor at Roosevelt University’s College of Performing Arts in Chicago, where he teaches a course in orchestral studies.
	Phillip Gainsley Attorney Phillip Gainsley speaks annually for opera companies in New York, Los Angeles, Sarasota and Santa Fe, and is a guest speaker for the Minnesota Orchestra, the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the San Diego Opera.
	Elîna Garanca BIRTHPLACE Riga, Latvia THIS SEASON Romeo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Carmen at the Met, Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, and in Valencia. PREVIOUS MET APPEARANCES Angelina in La Cenerentola and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (debut, 2008). CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Adalgisa in Norma, Charlotte in Werther, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Vienna State Opera, Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, Annio in La Clemenza di Tito and Dorabella at the Salzburg Festival, and Dorabella at Covent Garden, the Aix-en-Provence Festival, and Paris Opera. She has also sung Angelina at Paris’s Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Sesto with the Paris Opera, and Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena with the Finnish National Opera.
	Louise T. Guinther Associate Editor, Opera News
	Ara Guzelimian Senior Director and Artistic Advisor of Carnegie Hall since September 1998. Previously, Artistic Administrator of the Aspen Music Festival and School in Colorado, 1993-1998. In September 2003, he was awarded the title Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by the French government.
	Stuart Hamilton Vocal coach; founder of Toronto's Opera in Concert series; Quizmaster, CBC's Saturday Afternoon at the Opera
	Thomas Hampson THIS SEASON Athanaël in Thaïs, the title role of Eugene Onegin and the opening night Gala at the Met, Rodrigo in Don Carlo in Zurich, a recital in Portsmouth, and concerts in New York, Dubrovnik, Milan, Lucerne, Berlin, Madrid, and London. MET APPEARANCES Title roles of Simon Boccanegra, Doktor Faust, Werther, and Billy Budd, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro (debut, 1986), Rodrigo, Don Carlo in Ernani, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Riccardo in I Puritani, Valentin in Faust, Wolfram in Tannhäuser, Marcello in La Bohème, Amfortas in Parsifal, Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and Germont. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Has sung in all the world’s leading opera houses and is a Kammersänger of the Vienna State Opera and was named a Chevalier de l’ordre des arts et des letters by the Republic of France. Holds the Austrian Medal of Honor in Arts and Sciences and was a 1981 winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
	Dmitri Hvorostovsky BIRTHPLACE Krasnoyarsk, Russia THIS SEASON Count di Luna in Il Trovatore at the Met and Covent Garden, the title role of Simon Boccanegra with the San Francisco Opera, and concerts and recitals in St. Petersburg, Kiev, Moscow, Minsk, Odessa, San Francisco, London’s Royal Festival Hall, and New York’s Carnegie Hall. MET APPEARANCES Anckarström in Un Ballo in Maschera, Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades (debut, 1995), Valentin in Faust, Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore, Germont in La Traviata, Rodrigo in Don Carlo, Prince Andrei in War and Peace, Don Giovanni, and Eugene Onegin. . CAREER HIGHLIGHTS He appears regularly at major opera houses throughout the world including Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, La Scala, Vienna State Opera, Buenos Aires’s Teatro Colón, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Mariinsky Theatre. Among his most notable roles are Francesco in I Masnadieri, Eugene Onegin, Don Giovanni, Rodrigo, Germont, Rigoletto, and Anckarström. He has also been heard in concert with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and Rotterdam Philharmonic, among many others.
	Speight Jenkins General Director, Seattle Opera
	Michelle Krisel Assistant to Plácido Domingo, Artistic Director of Washington Opera; Director of the Domingo Young Artist Program at Washington Opera; contributor to Los Angeles Times Book Review.
	Perry Lorenzo Director of Education at Seattle Opera and director of Seattle Opera's Young Artists Program. Teaches at Seattle University and author of Exploring the Ring.
	Bill Lutes Pianist and teacher from Madison, Wisconsin; Artist-in-residence, University of Wisconsin-Madison; vocal coach, University Opera, University of Wisconsin-Madison; former music director and classical music host for Wisconsin Public Radio
	Lotfi Mansouri General Director Emeritus of the San Francisco Opera. Stage director, La Rondine, New York City Opera, September 2004; 40th Anniversary gala production of Die Fledermaus, San Diego Opera, January 2005; and new production of Simon Boccanegra, San Diego Opera, March 2005.
	Suzanne Martinucci New York-based freelance writer and editor, specializing in classical music and education publishing. Former assistant chief usher at the Met; music program auditor for New York State Council on the Arts.
	Robert Marx Theater essayist, producer, and foundation director; ongoing contributor, Opera News; former director of the National Endowment for the Arts theatre program; former executive director, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center
	Terrence McNally Four-time Tony Award-winning playwright (Kiss of the Spider Woman; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Master Class; Ragtime). Wrote book for Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life currently on Broadway; librettist for Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking.
	Evans Mirageas Artistic Director of Cincinnati Opera and an idependent artistic advisor to orchestras and individual musicians around the world.
	Eric Owens BIRTHPLACE Philadelphia, Pennsylvania THIS SEASON General Leslies Groves in Dr. Atomic for his debut and Sarastro in The Magic Flute at the Met, I Capuleti e i Montecchi at Covent Garden and concert engagements with the Los angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra and the Atlanta Symphony. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS General Leslie Groves for the world premiere of Dr. Atomic, with the San Francisco Opera, and subsequent performances with Lyric Opera of chicago, Oroveso in Norma and Covent Garden and with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Fiesco in Simon Boccanegra, and Sarastro with Washington National Opera, Ramfis in Aida withthe Houston Grand Opera, the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte with Paris's Bastille Opera, Rodolfo in La Sonnambula in Bordeaux, and Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, and Colline in La Bohème with the Los Angeles Opera. He has also appeared with the English National Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Florida Grand Opera and Glimmerglass Opera.
	Felicity Palmer BIRTHPLACE Cheltenham, England THIS SEASON Klytämnestra in Elektra at the Met and in concert with the London Symphony Orchestra and Madame de Croissy in Dialogues des Carmélites with Munich’s Bavarian State Opera. PREVIOUS MET APPEARANCES The Countess in The Queen of Spades, Mrs. Sedley in Peter Grimes, the Marquise of Berkenfield in La Fille du Régiment, Geneviève in Pelléas et Mélisande, Madame de Croissy, Fricka in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, and Waltraute in Götterdämmerung (debut, 2000). CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Recent performances include Josefa Miranda in Peter Eötvös’s Love and Other Demons at the Glyndebourne Festival, Kabanicha in Kát’a Kabanová at Covent Garden, and Madame de Croissy with Lyric Opera of Chicago. She has also appeared at La Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Paris Opera, Netherlands Opera, and English National Opera. On the concert stage she has sung with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, and BBC Symphony Orchestra.
	Roberta Peters Roberta Peters (Queen of the Night) b. Bronx, New York Met Debut: Zerlina (Don Giovanni) November 17, 1950 Last Met performance: Gilda (Rigoletto) April 25, 1985 32 Met performances of Queen of the Night between 1/12/1951 & 10/12/1967 including 4 broadcasts photo credit: Sedge LeBlang Roberta Peters “Roberta Peters’ [Queen of the Night] had just the right icy glitter and her high Fs were as clear as a bell.”—Philadelphia Bulletin “[As the Queen of the Night] Robert Peters [sang] the exasperatingly difficult role…with security and a touch of brilliance.”—New York Times “Roberta Peters’ coloratura rang true in the taxing Queen of the Night’s arias.”—New York Journal-American “Roberta Peters, looking regal, supplied all the twinkling staccati of the Queen of the Night.”—New York World Telegram & Sun
	Roger Pines Dramatury of Lyric Opera of Chicago, is a regular contributor to OPERA American publications, Opera News, The Opera Quarterly, International Record Review, and programs of leading American opera companies. He has also written for the New Grove Dictionaries, BBC, Music, Opera magazine, and five major recording companies internationally. Since 1991 he has judged annually for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
	Fred Plotkin Writer and lecturer who divides his time between America and Italy. Lectures for Metropolitan Opera Guild, Los Angeles Opera, Smithsonian Institution, and The Juilliard School. Author of nine books including Opera 101: A Complete Guide to Learning and Loving Opera; Italy for the Gourmet Traveler;La Terra Fortunata, and Classical Music 101.
	Matthew Polenzani BIRTHPLACE Evanston, Illinois THIS SEASON Alfredo in La Traviata, Roméo in Roméo et Juliette, and Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Met, Alfredo with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Tebaldo in I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Paris Opera, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor in Naples, the Duke in Rigoletto in Philadelphia, and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni for his Salzburg Festival debut. PREVIOUS MET APPEARANCES More than 20 roles (since his debut as Boyar Kruschov in Boris Godunov, 1997) including Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, David in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Iopas in Les Troyens, Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites, Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri, and Ferrando in Così fan tutte. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Edgardo at Paris’s Bastille Opera, Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore and Don Ottavio at Vienna State Opera, Ferrando in Così fan tutte at Covent Garden, Roméo at Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Achille in Iphigénie en Aulide in Florence.
	Christopher Purdy Executive Producer of WOSU Classics Network based in Columbus. Writes and lectures nationally on all matters operatic.
	Donald Runnicles BIRTHPLACE Edinburgh, Scotland THIS SEASON Die Walküre, Manon Lescaut, and Peter Grimes at the Met; Tannhäuser, Die Zauberflöte, The Rake’s Progress, and Wagner’s Ring cycle with the San Francisco Opera; Der Rosenkavalier and Der Fliegende Holländer with the Vienna State Opera; and concert engagements with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Berlin Philharmonic. MET APPEARANCES Lulu (debut, 1988), Der Fliegende Holländer, Le Nozze di Figaro, Der Rosenkavalier, Salome, Werther, and Die Zauberflöte. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS He conducts regularly at the Salzburg and Bayreuth Festivals, and with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Munich’s Bavarian Radio Orchestra, among many others. He has been Music Director and Principal Conductor of the San Francisco Opera since 1992, is Music Director of the Grand Teton Music Festival, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.
	Martin Scorsese
	Andrei Serban Director's Roundtable, April 16, 2005
	Howard Shore
	Karen Stone Prior to becoming General Director of The Dallas Opera in May 2003, served as general manager of the Theaters of Graz, Austria. Has also worked with English National Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Cologne Opera, Teatro communale and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Italy, Houston Grand Opera and Los Angeles Music Center Opera. Photo: Andreas Hofer
	Julie Taymor Director's Roundtable, April 16, 2005
	Paul Thomason Writer for the Metropolitan and Houston Grand Operas, the Aspen Music Festival, and San Francisco Symphony; frequent lecturer on opera and classical music.
	Richard Turp In addition to his responsibilities for the André Turp Musical Society, Richard Turp is the Artistic Director of the Festival de musique de Lachine and of the Canadian Vocal Arts Institute. He is often invited to participate as an expert commentator for a variety of programs on la Chaîne culturelle de Radio-Canada and CBC-Radio Two. He also teaches at Université de Montréal where he gives the vocal repertoire class as well as several vocal seminars. The André Turp Musical Society was named in honor of the renowned Montreal-born tenor and is devoted to the production and promotion of the vocal arts. It produces six vocal recitals annually as well as a host of educational events.
	Stephen Wadsworth Director's Roundtable, April 16, 2005
	Alan Wagner Alan Wagner, a prize-winning television and film producer, also writes about opera, serves as creative advisor for a New York concert series, and lectures for such groups as the Metropolitan Opera Guild and the Wagner Society. He is currently working on several projects including both a new edition and a TV version of his book Prima Donnas and Other Wild Beasts.
	Willie Anthony Waters General and Artistic Director of Connecticut Opera who has conducted operatic and orchestral performances across the United States, Canada, Europe, and South Africa. Maestro Waters made his New York Opera debut with Rigoletto in November 2002.
	Brian Zeger Pianist Brian Zeger performs in recital this season with Deborah Voigt, Denyce Graves, and Susan Graham. He is also the Artistic Director of the vocal program at the Juilliard School.

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