Resident Artist Program

Syracuse Opera has officially launched the Company’s first Resident Artist Program. The program is the cornerstone of a new education and outreach program designed to meet the needs of Upstate New York. Four singers and one pianist are featured in two, 10-week residencies in the 2008-09 season. The Fall Artists include soprano Laura Bohn, mezzo- soprano Shirin Eskandani, tenor Nathaniel Peake, baritone Carlos Aguirre and pianist Eric Andries.

Selected through national auditions, the Resident Artists will work to perfect their craft through training sessions with key leaders in the performing arts including Soprano Diana Soviero and stage director Bernard Uzan, who are the Artistic Advisors to the program along with Stage Director, Patricia Weinmann and Master Movement Teacher, Jerald Schweibert. “This program allows Syracuse Opera to reach parts of the community we've not been able to reach in the past,” stated Douglas Kinney Frost, Director of Music. “Our education and outreach programs will have a dynamic edge and our artistic vision will be accessible and meaningful. Five artists with extreme talent enriching our community 20 weeks of the year will benefit all of us exponentially,” he added.

The Fall Resident Artists are featured in roles in mainstage productions of The Magic Flute and will also be featured in their own production of Peter Brook’s La tragèdie de Carmen, a co-production with Redhouse Arts Center.

The Resident Artists will participate in extensive education and outreach programs throughout Upstate New York. They are featured in a recital by Civic Morning Musicals at the Everson Museum of Art on Wednesday, September 24th at 12:30pm, and in performances of Barrio Bohème, September 27th and 28th at 4pm at the Ward Bakery Park on Shonnard Street. Barrio Bohème is a short opera comprised excerpts from La Bohème, set in Spanish Harlem in the 1960’s, and performed in English, Spanish & Italian. Four star-crossed lovers work through issues of jealousy, betrayal and true love. Barrio Bohème is sponsored in part by the Syracuse Department of Parks & Recreation and the Spanish Action League. Performances are free and open to the public.

The artists will also be performing OPERMANIA!, which is a lively introduction to opera for students of all ages. This fully-staged and costumed production blurs the line between education and entertainment. Created by Douglas Kinney Frost, OPERAMANIA! appeared for two seasons on PBS and has been featured by opera companies across the country in thousands of performances. Opera highlights include: The Magic Flute, Cinderella, Porgy and Bess, and La Bohème.