2008 - 2009 Alumni
Alexandra LoBianco, Soprano
Alexandra LoBianco, Spinto Soprano, has a voice that has been described by critics as "filtered through dark chocolate." In the 2004 Opera Carolina Production of Verdi’s Macbeth the online publication Classical Voice North Carolina, wrote “With an unusually firm …voice, Appalachian State University graduate Alexandra (LoBianco) brought more character and weight than usual to the role of Lady Macbeth's Lady-in-Waiting.”
As a professional with over ten years of experience, Ms. LoBianco’s career has been as exciting as it has been diverse. Her opera roles include the Lady-in-Waiting to Lady Macbeth in Verdi’s Macbeth and Sieglinde in Die Walküre in 2008. Ms LoBianco was a member of the Young Artist Program with St. Petersburg Opera where she covered Mimi in La bohème and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. She won the 2008 National Society of Arts and Letters Regional Competition and in traveled to Indianapolis to represent the Clearwater/Tampa Bay Chapter at the National Level.
Ms LoBianco will be returning to St. Petersburg Opera in 2009 to be part of their production of The Merry Widow and has recently been chosen as a Finalist in the NJ Verismo Opera Competition. Ms. LoBianco is a student of renowned voice teacher, author, and adjudicator Carol Kirkpatrick.
Andrea Bellissimo, Soprano
Soprano Andrea Bellissimo is a dynamic and versatile performer who is equally at home in opera, classical, and jazz repertoire. Recent operatic roles include Musetta (Brooklyn Conservatory Summer Opera Workshop), Mlle. Silberklang (Der Schauspieldirektor, New York Opera Forum), La Princesse (L'enfant et les Sortilèges, Opera McGill), and La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi, Opera McGill.) Ms. Bellissimo’s concert and recital repertoire ranges from Bach to Webern and beyond, and as a student at McGill University, her interpretation of Beethoven's Ah Perfido received 1st place in the vocal division of the university's Classical Concerto Competition.
Ms. Bellissimo also has a background in stage direction and improvisational comedy that allows her to more fully inhabit her roles; Opera Canada cited her “deft comic touch” in addition to her vocal ability as Olympia in a 2006 production of Les Contes d'Hoffmann (Opera Nuova). When she is not singing, Andrea enjoys writing and volunteering for Figure Skating in Harlem.
Candace Otto MacDonald, Soprano
In July, Ms. Otto made her New York debut in a concert produced by Opera Singers Initiative, “Summer in the City.” She also appeared in La Bohème with the San Francisco Opera Guild, covering the roles of Mimi and Musetta before taking over as Mimi. In 2008, she was seen in Don Pasquale with Pocket Opera (San Francisco) and was a finalist in the 2008 East Bay Opera League Scholarship Awards Competition (Oakland Lyric Opera).
Ms. Otto has performed extensively in concert and recital venues. This fall she
performed a fireside concert for the Pittsburgh District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council and was featured in Some Enchanted Evening, produced by the Ohio Valley Opera Guild. She has also performed with the Ezio Pinza Council of American Singers of Opera (Treviso, Vittorio Venteto, Oderzo, & Motta di Livenza, Italy) and was a soloist for The Mother of Sorrows Choir Jubilee Tour (Florence, Milan, Assisi, Rome & The Vatican). She performed A Musical Soirèe, a cabaret-style performance of arias and songs, to benefit the Minnesota Ovarian Cancer Alliance (McKnight Theatre at Minnesota's Ordway Center).
A graduate of Northwestern University’s theatre and musical theatre programs, she
was urged by voice teacher Claudia Pinza to pursue a career in opera. She studied in
Italy with the Ezio Pinza Council of America Singers of Opera where she worked with
Maestra Enza Ferrari, pianist and coach for singers from Callas to Pavarotti and former
director of the apprentice program at La Scala. She continues to work with voice teacher
Ross Dacal and coach Marcie Stapp.
As Miss Pennsylvania 2003, she received the Bernie Wayne Performing Arts Award
at the Miss America Pageant, broadcast on ABC. She made over 150 appearances
during her year as Miss Pennsylvania, including ABC’s “The Pyramid Show,” with Donny
Osmond.
Cassandra Douglas, Soprano
Cassandra Douglas, Soprano, most recently appeared in “A Recital of Remembrance” at Rider University and was featured with Nobel laureate Joe Taylor and Pulitzer Prize Winner Paul Muldoon in “An Evening of Poetry, Science and Music”. After receiving her bachelor’s degree from Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey Ms. Douglas began and continues studies with Judith Bettina.
Ms. Douglas acquired a degree in Opera from Manhattan School of Music in 2011.
Crystal Mosser, Soprano
Crystal Mosser is a recent graduate of her Master of Arts degree in Vocal Performance at New York University. Favorite roles include Christine in Maury Yeston’s Phantom and Casilda in The Gondoliers (under Dir. Doug Hodge), Anna Glawari in The Merry Widow, Mabel in Pirates of Penzance (Dir. Bill Wesbrooks), Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Eurydice in Orpheus in the Underworld (Dir. Martha Collins), Geraldine in Hand of Bridge under the direction of Eric Einhorn, u/s Amber in Hairspray, King David, Ragtime, Titanic
and singing “Glitter and Be Gay” with the NYU Symphony Orchestra at the Skirball Center under conducter Joseph Church and the direction of John Simpkins.
Mrs. Mosser recently appeared onstage at the regional Schoolhouse Theatre on Sanibel Island, Florida as well as working with American Idol alum John Stevens in Buffalo, NY playing Marty in Grease. She has also appeared with the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra as the winner of the Keller Competition.
Laura Bohn, Soprano
Laura Bohn, described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “... an amazing blend of vocal splendor and physical virtuosity”, draws from her background in physical theater to nuance her operatic interpretations.
Ms. Bohn’s recent roles include Micaela in La Tragedie de Carmen at Syracuse Opera, where she was the soprano of the 2008 Resident Artist Program. This season at Syracuse she was also heard as The Second Lady in The Magic Flute and Mimi in Barrio Boheme. During her masters studies at the Manhattan School of Music she was featured on the mainstage as Mrs. Fiorentino in Street Scene, Splinterkit in Griffelkin and hailed as “especially evocative” by
Musical America for her portrayal of The Spinster in the New York premier of de Banfield’s Lord
Byron’s Love Letter.
Upcoming engagements include Juliette in Romeo et Juliette as a resident artist with New York Lyric Opera, Marianne in scenes from Der Rosenkavalier at Vertical Player Repertory Opera and Miss Pinkerton in TheOld Maid and the Thief with the New York Metro Vocal Arts Ensemble.
A Seattle native, Ms. Bohn has lived and studied voice and theater extensively in Rome and Reggio-Emilia, Italy respectively. She is a graduate of the Dell ‘Arte International School of Physical Theater, holds a BFA in Vocal Performance from the California Institute of the Arts and a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music.
Ms. Bohn was recently awarded a classical voice grant from the Anna Sosenko Assist Trust, and is a semifinalist in the upcoming 2009 Joy in Singing Competition master class series. She currently studies with Joan Patenaude-Yarnell in New York City.
Megan Candio, Soprano
Megan Candio, Soprano, is a cum luade graduate of The Hartt School. Recently she was the 2nd place winner of the MacDowell Foundation Award. Roles have included "The Plantiff" in G&S's "Trial By Jury", and "Beth" in "The Tender Land"; a performance hailed as "Excellent" by The New York Times. Currently Ms. Candio is studying with Conrad Osborne and Laura Menard.
Starting at the end of July she can be seen in her two person cabaret act which she co-conceived called "50 Years Experience...25 Years in the Making" at the club Don't Tell Mama.
Valentina Fleer, Soprano
Russian-American soprano Valentina Fleer has been drawing continuous attention from musicians and critics alike for her “golden voice,” praised for its “shimmering clarity” and “sweetness and power” (see press section).
Valentina is currently in her second year of the Los Angeles Opera Domingo-Thorton Young Artist Program. She made her company debut in 2010 as Barbarina in “The Marriage of Figaro,” conducted by Plácido Domingo. She also covered the leading soprano roles in “Il Postino,” “Rigoletto,” and “Il Turco in Italia.” This season she sings Musetta in “La Bohème,” conducted by Patrick Summers. She also tours with the Munich Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Philippe Entremont as the soprano soloist for Mozart’s “Requiem.”
Most recently, Ms. Fleer performed Fiordiligi in “Cosi Fan Tutte” with Opera Saratoga (formerly Lake George) as part of the company’s 50th anniversary season.
In previous years, Valentina received training as a young artist at the Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera (2010) and at the Young American Artists Program at Glimmerglass Opera (2008, 2009). At Merola, she sang Adina in “L’Elisir d’Amore,” and performed in the Grand Finale Concert on the stage of the San Francisco Opera. At Glimmerglass, she covered Giulietta in “I Capuleti e i Montecchi” and sang Anna Gomez in Menotti’s “The Consul.”
Valentina made her debut at Carnegie Hall in 2010, as a soloist in Marcos Galvany’s contemporary operatic tableau, “Oh, My Son.” She also made her debut with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra in 2009 as a soloist in Alla Borzova’s “Songs for Lada.”
Ms. Fleer has had the privilege of receiving individual guidance and strong encouragement from industry greats including Plácido Domingo, James Conlon, William Bolcom, Warren Jones, Sir Jonathan Miller and Anne Bogart.
Originally from Moscow, Russia, Valentina grew up in New York City, where she studied liberal arts and music at Columbia Unviersity and did her graduate work in vocal performance at the Manhattan School of Music. Ms. Fleer is a recipient of the 2009 Sara Tucker Study Grant from the prestigious Richard Tucker Music Foundation, and is the second place winner of the 2009 Metropolitan Opera Eastern Region National Council Auditions.
