Tenor Andrei Manea is a young artist who proves adept in singing a wide variety of musical styles, from baroque to verismo to modern music. He has worked in some of Romania’s most important theaters including the Cluj-Napoca Romanian Opera House and the Oleg Danovski National Theatre of Opera and Ballet.
He was a finalist in the Armel International Competition in Paris and received a scholarship at the Vienna International Summer Academy in 2018 where he performed a series of concerts under the guidance of well known artists such as Ramon Vargas, Michael Schade, Margit Klaushofer, and Vladimir Kiradjiev.
In 2019, he debuted the role of Rodolfo in La bohème at the Cluj-Napoca Romanian Opera House, where he has also sung the role of Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus numerous times, as well as Ciprian Porumbescu in Lăsați-mă să cânt, an operetta by Romanian composer Gherase Dendrino. In concert, her has sung for the Romanian royal family, with conductors Elisabeth Askren, David Crescenzi, and Tiberu Soare, and alongside tenor Stefan Pop. His repertoire also includes the roles of Alfredo in La Traviata, as well as MacDuff in Macbeth, and Don Octavio in Don Giovanni, and Lensky in Eugene Onegin.
Reviewed as “breathtaking” by Das Opernglas, Giuseppe Varano has been praised as one of the most promising tenors of his generation. He has performed the operas of Verdi and Puccini in major Italian- and international opera houses and festivals including Theatre La Fenice, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Teatro Massimo (Palermo), Teatro Bellini (Catania), New York City Opera, Opera Colorado, Köln Opera, and Savonlinna Opera Festival.
After obtaining a diploma in singing technique, he attended masterclasses at Teatro Lirico Sperimentale with artists such as Maria Agresta and Andrea Carè, and studied with Alain Billard and Beppe De Tomasi at Voci Verdiane Academy in Verdi’s hometown of Busseto. He has worked with world-renowned conductors and directors including Claudio Abbado, Daniele Callegari, Peter Konwitschny, Pier Giorgio Morandi, Renato Palumbo, Pietro Rizzo, Massimo Zanetti, and Franco Zeffirelli, among others.
Beyond the works of Puccini and Verdi, Mr. Varano has gradually and skilfully expanded his repertoire include the main tenor roles in the operas of Bizet, Bellini, Gounod and Montemezzi, always garnering strongly positive reviews and appreciative audiences.
Aaron Cawley is a Germany based Helden Tenor trained by Prof. Robert Alderson in the National Conservatory of Ireland.
Currently in his eighth season as principal Tenor in the Hessian State Theatre, Wiesbaden, Aaron has truly grown into his fach, amassing 35 different roles in his tenure. Exploring his versatility with roles such as Lensky, Eugene Onegin; Don Jose, Carmen; Cavaradossi, Tosca; Ricardo, Un Ballo in Maschera; Steva, Jenufa; Rodolfo, La Boheme; Sergei, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk.
This past season Aaron has debuted his three signature roles of Siegmund, Die Walküre; Manrico, Il Trovatore and Herman, Pique Dame. The latter being also performed in Czech National Opera, Brno; Opéra de Toulon, Opéra Grand Avignon and Teatro Petruzzelli, Bari. Another great success was uncovered in Tiroler Festspiele where he performed the role of Lancelot in Chauson’s Le Roi Arthus to critical acclaim.
Upcoming highlights include his debut in the roles of Otello, Tannhauser and Calaf.
Joshua Wheeker, a recent graduate of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist program of LA Opera, is securing his place as an exciting lyric tenor in the opera world. The “warmth and clarity” of his voice lends itself to many of opera’s leading men, while his musical sensitivity is equally at home in recital and concert.
He was most recently seen as Tamino in LA Opera’s Kosky production of Die Zauberflöte. Prior to that, he made his debut as Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto at Opera Theater of Saint Louis. On his OTSL performances, Broadway World wrote that “his voice is so beautiful that one understands how a girl would be smitten with him.”
During his time in the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program at LA Opera, his performances spanned from varying operatic roles, including Malcolm in Macbeth, Cacambo in Candide, and covering Tito in La Clemenza di Tito, to performing concert series and new works with artist-in-resident composer/conductor, Matthew Aucoin.
His concert work includes engagements with LA Philharmonic, Dayton Philharmonic, LA Symphony, Dayton Bach Society, Colburn School of Music, Dream Orchestra, Palm Springs Opera in the Park, Opera Buffs, and Salastina Chamber Ensemble.
Joshua has received awards in several prestigious competitions. He is the recipient of the following honors: Contract winner in the Giovanni Consiglio International Competition (2020), 2nd place in Mentoris competition (2020), Winner of the Western Region MONC competition (2019), 1st place in the Pasadena Opera Guild Competition (2017), and in March of 2019 Joshua competed as a Semi-finalist in the MONC competition in New York on the Met stage.
This season Joshua will be appearing as The Duke of Mantua with Tulsa Opera in the fall, and Don Ottavio with Dayton Opera next winter. He was engaged to sing Narraboth from Salome with Hawaii Opera Theatre, but it was unfortunately canceled due to the Covid19 crisis. Joshua has also appeared with Aspen Music Festival, Kentucky Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera.
Josh is from Dayton, Ohio and received his Bachelors of Music from University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.
Bradley Daley was born in Australia and studied music at the University of Southern Queensland and the Queensland Conservatorium before continuing his private studies in the United States and Europe.
His many roles have included Riccardo in Oberto, Carlo in Giovanna d’Arco, Alfredo in La Traviata, Radames in Aïda, Riccardo in Un ballo in Maschera, Manrico in Il Trovatore, Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Calaf in Turandot, Boris in Kát’a Kabanová, Peter in Peter Grimes, Samson in Samson et Dalila, Mao Tse Tung in Nixon in China, Eric in Der Fliegende Holländer, and Billy and Bill in Mahagonny Songspiel and Happy End.
Since making his debut with the English National Opera as Rodolfo in La Bohème, Bradley has worked with a variety of companies in the United Kingdom and Europe. These have included Opera North, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera, Holland Park Opera and Co-Opera Ireland. He has performed regularly with Muziektheatre Transparent in Belgium, Compagnia d’Opera Italiana di Milano, Opera Nomade in Paris and, in 2005, he was invited to give the first performance of a Western opera at the Hanoi Opera House.
Concert appearances have included Festival Hall, the Barbican, Brangwyn Hall in Wales, Großes Festspiehaus Salzburg, Melbourne Town Hall and the concert halls of both the Queensland Arts Centre and the Sydney Opera House.
Bradley has been involved in two world premières: he created the role of Staff Officer in English National Opera’s The Silver Tassie by Mark Anthony Turnage and the role of Gunther in The Triumph of Spirit over Matter for Muziektheatre Transparent, Belgium.
Oratorio performances have included Dvoràk’s Stabat Mater, Verdi’s Requiem, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Die Erste Walpurgisnacht for the Prague Music Festival, Messiah with the Britten Sinfonia at Snape Maltings, Elgar’s The Kingdom and The Dream of Gerontius at Melbourne Town Hall.
Bradley Daley was a finalist in the Bayreuth Bursary Competition in London and has been frequently broadcast on BBC, Channel 4 and ABC Television and Radio; he was also a popular Gus in the stage show Cats in Germany. In 2007, he toured Australia and New Zealand playing Brian alongside Monty Python’s Eric Idle in Not the Messiah.
Most recently, in Australia, Bradley has been performing major principal roles with Opera Australia, Opera Queensland and Opera South Australia. These have included Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West, Canio in I Pagliacci, Don José in Carmen and Florestan in Fidelio.
Bradley won the Green Room award for his performance as Curley in Opera Australia’s 2011 production Of Mice and Men. In 2013, he sang Narraboth in Salome for State Opera of South Australia and Mao Tse-tung in Victorian Opera’s production of Nixon in China; 2014 will bring appearances as Don José for Opera Australia in Sydney and Melbourne and as Rodolfo for Opera Queensland.
Robert Brubaker has established himself as a leading tenor in opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, praised for the clarity and power of his voice and the impact of his acting. About his Mime in Siegfried at the Metropolitan Opera, Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times declared, “The tenor Robert Brubaker triumphed as Mime. His singing captured the sneering wiles and befuddled fits of this complex character, at once foolish and dangerous.”
Previous engagements include the following roles at the Metropolitan Opera: Mime in Siegfried and Das Rheingold (conducted by Fabio Luisi); Maletestino in Francesca da Rimini; the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel; and Chairman Mao in Nixon in China (composed and conducted by John Adams). He also recently performed the Jailer/Inquisitor in Il Prigionero at the Teatro Liceu in Barcelona; Herod in Salome with Dallas Opera; Old Man Marshall in Anna Nicole at BAM in New York City; Alviano in Die Gezeichneten, Dr. Caius in Falstaff, and Begearss in The Ghosts of Versailles at Los Angeles Opera; Luigi in Il Tabarro and Canio in I Pagliacci at Opera Theater of St Louis; Mime in Siegfried and Loge in Das Rheingold at Teatre de la Maestranza in Seville; Don Ignacio in Of Love and Other Demons at Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg (composed and conducted by Peter Eötvös); Mime in Das Rheingold at Teatro Massimo Palermo; Herodes in Salome at Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Verdi in Trieste and Torino; the title role in Zemlinsky’s Der König Kandaules at the Volksoper in Vienna; Der Hauptman in Wozzeck and Herod in Salome at the Opera Festival of Santa Fe; Don Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro with Los Angeles Opera; Wilmer McLean / J. Edgar Hoover in Appomattox at Washington National Opera; Herod in Salome at the Pittsburgh Opera; and Aesgisth in Elektra, Emperor Altoum in Turandot and Guillot Morfontaine in Manon with the San Francisco Opera.
Upcoming roles include Aegisth in Elektra with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as other engagements with the Dallas Opera, San Francisco Opera and a return to Lyric Opera of Chicago.
Mr. Brubaker’s performance as Chairman Mao in the Metropolitan Opera production of Nixon in China, conducted by the composer, John Adams, was recently released on DVD. He also appears on DVD as Count Pierre Bezukhov in War and Peace with the Opéra National de Paris, directed by Francesca Zambello (available on TDK); as Alviano Salvago in Franz Schreker’s Die Gezeichneten from the Salzburg Festival, directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff and conducted by Kent Nagano; and as Golitzin in Khovanshchina at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
Bridge Records label also recently released a CD recording of the Los Angeles Opera production of Die Gezeichneten, starring Mr. Brubaker in the role of Alviano, and conducted by James Conlon. He can also be heard on CD in the title role of Der König Kandaules from the Salzburg Festival, conducted by Kent Nagano and available on Andante Records; Gregor in The Makropulos Case, conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras; Boris in Katya Kabanova conducted by Carlo Rizzi on Chandos Records; and on Naxos American Classics’ recording of Avodat Shabbat by Herman Berlinski, conducted by Gerard Schwartz, and Yizkor Requiem, conducted by Sir Neville Marriner.
Other career highlights include Mime in Siegfried at the Metropolitan Opera (conducted by James Levine and broadcast internationally); Mephistopheles in the Metropolitan Opera’s premiere of Busoni’s Doktor Faust; Golitsin in Khovanshchina at the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; Albert Gregor in The Makropulos Case at the Metropolitan Opera opposite Catherine Malfitano, and the same role at Houston Grand Opera and English National Opera, where it was also recorded for Chandos Records with Sir Charles Mackerras. He also performed Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos at Covent Garden on opening night of Antonio Pappano’s first season as music director; the title role in Peter Grimes with the English National Opera and at Aldeburgh, the Canadian Opera Company, and Teatro Municipal de Santiago; Guido Bardi in Zemlinsky’s Eine Florentinische Tragödie with James Conlon conducting; and both Aegisth in Elektra, and Herodes in Salome at Teatro alla Scala. He made his Glyndebourne Festival debut singing his first Laca in a revival of Nicholas Lehnhoff’s acclaimed production of Janácek’s Jenufa, followed by the same role for his Dallas Opera debut; he also performed the title role in Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg at the Opéra National de Paris and Teatro dell’Opera di Roma; Edward Fairfax Vere in Billy Budd at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa; and Jimmy Mahoney in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at Deutsche Oper Berlin.
Mr. Brubaker, a Mannheim, Pennsylvania native, received his degree from the Hartt College of Music in Hartford, where he studied with David Ray Smith. He was recently chosen for the Hartt School 2013 Alumni of the Year Award.
Santa Fe Opera – Herod in Salome
“All of the other four principals proved exemplary in their roles… Tenor Robert Brubaker brought years of experience to his portrayal of Herod, his tight, commanding timbre being custom-made for the role, his stage demeanor emphasizing narcissistic callousness in a way that made viewers accept it as despicable but inevitable.” (Click here for full review)
-James M. Keller, Santa Fe New Mexican, 7/19/2015
