Victoria Bond
Composer
A major force in 21st century concert music, Victoria Bond leads a dual career as composer and conductor. Her compositions have been praised by the New York Times as “Powerful, stylistically varied and technically demanding,” and her conducting has been called “impassioned” by the Wall Street Journal and “full of energy and fervor” by the New York Times. Read more
Hilary Bell
Librettist
Hilary Bell writes for stage, radio, screen and music theatre. Plays include Wolf Lullaby(Atlantic, Steppenwolf, Griffin Theatre),Fortune, The Falls (Griffin), The Anatomy Lesson of Doctor Ruysch (Vitalstatistix; The University of the South in Tennessee), Shot While Dancing (shortlisted for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award), Memmie Le Blanc(Vitalstatistix, Deckchair), Open-Cut (WAAPA),Read more
Victoria Woodhull
Victoria Woodhull (1838 – 1927) was a pioneer of the woman’s suffrage movement, an advocate of free love, the first woman to have a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, the first women to start a newspaper, and the first female candidate for President of the United States. No stranger to either poverty or wealth, Woodhull’s career was an ebb and flow of successes and controversies. Read more
Valerie Bernhardt
Victoria Woodhull
Dramatic soprano Valerie Bernhardt will sing the title role of Victoria Woodhull. Scoring successes with the New York City Opera and the Pittsburgh Opera, Valerie was praised in her German debut as Abigaille in Verdi’s Nabucco, for “an enthralling portrait of the power-hungry Abigaille, thanks to her phenomenal coloratura-technique and superior high register even in the dramatic passages. She has been called “…a dramatic soprano with a soaring range, who makes the most difficult vocal gymnastics seem effortless.” Read more
Scott Ramsay
Henry Ward Beecher
Praised by the Chicago Sun-Times for his performances of Edgardo in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Lucia di Lammermoor, tenor Scott Ramsay will portray the charismatic preacher Henry Ward Beecher in Mrs. President. Ramsay made his Canadian debut in Verdi’s Requiem with the Toronto Symphony led by Sir Andrew Davis and recently sang Fritz in Offenbach’s La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein opposite Stephanie Blythe at Opera Boston.Read more
Katrina Thurman
Isabella Beecher
Last seen in Anchorage as Maria in The Sound of Music Katrina Thurman’s most recent engagements include Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow with Shreveport Opera, and Gilda in Rigoletto with Sacramento Opera. The 2010-2011 season included a return to The Opera Show with the Kilworth House Theater in the UK, Yum-Yum in The Mikado with Syracuse Opera, Soloist in Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915.. Read more
Kirk Dougherty
Joseph Treat
Tenor Kirk Dougherty sings in concert and opera throughout the US, including recent performances with Greenwich Choral Society, Opera Saratoga, Bronx Opera, Opéra Louisiane, and Missouri Civic Orchestra, among others.Read more
Robert Osborne
Col. James Blood
Bass-baritone Robert Osborne created the role of Colonel Blood for workshop performances of Mrs. President, and is delighted to reprise it for the premiere in Anchorage. Read more
Rebecca Cloudy
Elizabeth Beecher
Noted for her stage presence and nuanced performances, Soprano Rebecca Cloudy will sing the role of Elizabeth Tilton. In 2010, Ms. Cloudy made her European debut to critical acclaim at Teatro Sociale in Amelia, Italy..Read more
Joy Hermalyn
Roxie Claflin
Joy Hermalyn is thrilled to return to Anchorage Opera after appearing as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel. She has performed in operas from Austin to Lincoln Center to Spoleto to Utah in roles as diverse as Minnie in Fanciulla to Ragonde in Le Comte Ory to Musetta in Boheme. Read more
Lemuel Wade
Chicago native Lemuel Wade brings an international, critically acclaimed career as a singer/dancer to his craft as a stage director. Of his recent collaboration with the University of Kentucky Opera, the Lexington Herald-Leader called his work, “intricate, lively and carefully orchestrated.” Read more