Season Opener Blends Traditional with Contemporary for Today’s Audiences
Asheville Lyric Opera’s 2014 Season opener, Don Giovanni, will fuse together a diverse cast of local and internationally acclaimed singers under the guiding leadership of world-renowned opera director David Malis. Among the returning likes of Galen Scott Bowers, Kathy Pyaett, Dominic Michael Aquilino, and local professor Jonathon Ross, the cast will be comprised of up and coming national singer Grant Knox and international singers Kristen Vogel and Randa Rouweyha. This fresh, unique production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni promises to bring an invigorating depth of traditional and contemporary experiences to audiences of Western North Carolina.
With roots at Mars Hill College, David Malis’s seasoned career has taken him around the world to perform at many major opera venues including The Metropolitan Opera and the Thêàtre des Champs-Elysée. He began his operatic career with the San Francisco Opera and had the prestigious opportunity to become a student of the legendary Italian bass Italo Tajo. Employing his traditional training, he has been delighting audiences with his singing and directorial performances for over thirty years. His voice coaching, directing, and teaching at universities have impacted the careers of many budding singers. Returning to ALO after 5 years, he will have the chance to lead a contemporary group of singers who bring their own experiences to this production.
Audiences will be pleased to see the familiar faces of Galen Scott Bowers and Kathy Pyaett returning after their 2013 performances in Tosca, as well as Dominic Alquinio. Jonathon Ross, professor of digital media at A-B Technical Community College, will also be rejoining ALO. A third professor, and brand-new cast member will be Furman University’s Director of Lyric Theatre, Grant Knox. His varied career in opera, musical theater, concert and recital has taken him to the edge of today’s contemporary American music while premiering in the pilot season of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Festival and Nico Muhly’s The Unknown Room. Two more fresh faces joining the cast of Don Giovanni are Kristen Vogel and Randa Rouweyha. While Vogel has performed all over the country, she has recently won the prize for Acting and Interpretation at the International Competition “Cappuccilli – Patané – Respighi” in Italy, and second place in the Michael Ballam Concorso Lirico International Opera Competition. She is currently completing her doctorate at the University of Washington. Rouweyha, making her home in Washington D. C., has also won an award for her singing in the Vocal Arts Society’s art song competition. She can be seen frequently performing in the area, especially with The In Series, one of D.C.’s most creative and original theatrical companies. Her talents have taken her across the globe for a middle-east recital debut at Al Bustan International Music Festival in Lebanon.
These devoted singers have been carefully selected by Asheville Lyric Opera to perform in the opening production for our 15th Anniversary Season. Our fresh approach to the timeless Don Giovanni will blend the traditional with the contemporary giving modern audiences yet another unique production of Mozart’s 226 year-old masterpiece. ALO proudly continues our support of local talents by giving them a stage to perform for the public, as well as bringing accomplished opera singers from around the world to Western North Carolina audiences.
PERFOMANCE DATES WITH ADDED SUNDAY MATINEE
Friday, April 4, 2014, 8pm
Sunday, April 6, 2014 Matinee at 3pm
Diana Wortham Theater, Asheville, NC
For school groups, tickets to the Don Giovanni April 2, 2014 Preview Dress Rehearsal at 7pm are available only through the Asheville Lyric Opera office. Call ALO at 828-236-0670 to make your reservations.