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Members
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Lisa Chavez, an emerging young mezzo soprano, is currently a Resident Artist with Dicapo
Opera. She most recently received praise for her portrayal of Madame de Volanges in Dicapo
Opera's New York premier of Conrad Susa’s Dangerous Liaisons. Opera Magazine UK stated “…
and Lisa Chavez (as Mme. Volanges, her Mezzo boasting pleasing definition and sheen)
offered the most integrated performances vocally”. In November Lisa will be singing the role of
Elizabeth Proctor in Ward’s The Crucible which will be televised as part of the Mezzo
Television Opera competition in Szeged, Hungary. Other roles during her residency with
Dicapo include the title role in Carmen, Gertrude in Roméo ét Juliette, Margot in The Merry
Widow, and La Maestra della Novizie in Suor Angelica. Last summer she sang the role of Kate
in Pirates of Penzance with Opera New Jersey. Also, she traveled to Germany to be a part of
the Festival Ensemble Stuttgart participating in the dynamic War Requiem by Benjamin
Britten, conducted by the renowned Helmuth Rilling. Lisa is a recent graduate of the Master's
Degree Program at Manhattan School of Music. While there, she was the co-founder of the
One Act Opera Company, and embodied the character of Sensuous Woman in the New York
premier of Milton Granger's The Proposal. Ms. Chavez is also a founding member of Opera
Collective, an independent opera company making operatic repertoire accessible to all of
New York City. Ms. Chavez has sung with Opera of the Hampton's, One World Symphony,
Staten Island Symphony, Brevard Music Center, Bay Area Summer Opera and Theater
Institute, and Manhattan School of Music Opera Studio. Favorite roles include, Carmen,
Dorabella, Octavian, Charlotte, Meg Page, Cherubino, Cupid, as well as Anita from West Side
Story. www.lisachavez.com
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Scottish Pianist Geoffrey Duce has performed throughout Europe, in Japan, Hong Kong and
in the USA. He has appeared as soloist with the Sinfonie Orchester Berlin in the Berlin
Philharmonie, with numerous British orchestras, including the Scottish Sinfonia and the
Edinburgh Philharmonic, and with the New York Sinfonietta.
Geoffrey has given recitals in London’s Wigmore Hall, New York’s Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall,
Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall and in Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall. He won the Young Artists
Award from Britain's National Federation of Music Societies, and was awarded the Prix de
Piano at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, France. Also in demand as a chamber
musician and accompanist, he has recorded for BBC Radio and Hong Kong Radio, and has
performed in Berlin’s Konzerthaus and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Geoffrey initially studied in Manchester, before receiving a DAAD scholarship to the
Universität der Künste, Berlin. He has just completed his doctorate at the Manhattan School
of Music, New York, where he currently teaches.
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Robert Hughes, a native of Houston, TX, holds degrees from St. Thomas University (BA) and
the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music (MM). Robert has performed in
AWOL, an Off-Broadway play at 59E59 Theatres, and has also performed with such
distinguished orchestras as the New York Phiharmonic and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. He has
sung with the New York Choral Artists, worked with Julie Taymor in Grendel, the opera, and in
the New York premiere of Paul McCartney's Ecce Cor Meum at Carnegie Hall. Robert has
performed at other renowned institutions such as Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Jazz at
Lincoln Center, the Lincoln Center Festival, and the Mostly Mozart Festival. This past year,
Robert performed with the Metropolitan Opera Extra Chorus in Aida and War and Peace and
will return this season in Verdi's Requiem, Berlioz's The Damnation of Faust and Wagner's
Gotterdamerung. This past season, Robert was a resident artist with Dicapo Opera and Opera
Company of Brooklyn.
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Douglas Jabara is happy to be performing with Opera Collective! Doug recently covered
the lead baritone in Donizetti’s LINDA DI CHAMOUNIX at the Caramoor Festival. Doug’s debut
at Caramoor was in the world premiere of the long lost Gaetano Donizetti opera ELIZABETH in
which he played the cameo role of Alterkan. Doug also recently made his debut as Germont in
LA TRAVIATA with the Salt Marsh Opera in Westerly, Rhode Island. Doug has also sung
Marcello in LA BOHEME with Taconic Opera, Belcore in L'ELISIR D'AMORE with the New
Jersey Verismo Opera, the title role in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA with the St. Barth’s Music
Festival, and Sharpless in MADAMA BUTTERFLY with Opera Colorado.
Equally at home in the world of musical theatre, recently sang the role of Emile DeBecque in
a concert version of South Pacific with the One World Symphony Orchestra for his New York
City Town Hall debut. Other recently performed roles include the Beast in BEAUTY AND THE
BEAST at the Wheelock Family Theatre in Boston and Juan Peron in EVITA and Old
Deuteronomy in CATS at the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina. On November 16th and 18th
Doug will be singing excerpts from the musical RENT
Go to www.DouglasJabara.com to keep abreast of Doug's future performances!
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Countertenor George Kasarjian was born in California. At the age of fifteen he began his
studies as a tenor. Tenor credits in California included Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore with
Livermore Valley Opera, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance with the San Jose Gilbert and
Sullivan Society, and various supporting parts with Berkeley Opera. In 1998, after studying in
Venice, Italy for six months, he moved to New York. He apprenticed with the Sarasota Opera
and he performed with the New Jersey Opera Theater in outreach productions of The Magic
Flute and Carmen. He was also the tenor soloist at Calvary Episcopal Church, where he also
sang recital performances of Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Vaughan-Williams’ The Songs of
Travel. Mr. Kasarjian is also involved in contemporary music, and sang world premieres of
Evan Hause’s Nightingale and Michael Capobianco’s Il canto di Francesca. In October 2005,
he began re-training as a countertenor. Since then he has performed the role of Tolomeo in
scenes from Giulio Cesare with One World Symphony, as well as Giulio Cesare in scenes from
Giulio Cesare with the Centro Studi Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy.
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Victor Khodadad was born in Shiraz, Iran of an Iranian father and a Cuban mother, and
shortly after his birth the entire family moved to the U.S. His mother, a classically trained
pianist and conductor, provided a childhood full of music and performing opportunities.
In college he pursued a classical theatre training and in 1992 received a Master of Fine Arts in
Acting from San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater. Following several years of work in
Los Angeles, including membership with the Improv group Los Angeles Theatresports, he
moved to New York to pursue his career in theatre. By 2000, Mr. Khodadad had worked at
Boston Center for the Arts, Hartford Stage Company, New Jersey Shakespeare Festival,
Theatreworks/USA and Yale Repertory Theater. He was also in the original New York
International Fringe Festival production of “Urinetown!(the musical)”. While the majority of his
efforts had been placed on getting work as an actor, he would occasionally be cast in musicals.
After playing the role of Jesus in a production of “Jesus Christ Superstar” at Swine Palace
Productions, directed by Barry Kyle, former Associate Director for the Royal Shakespeare
Company, the fusion of music and drama prompted Mr. Khodadad to shift his focus and begin
formal vocal study with Jerome Pruett, Associate Professor of Voice at The Hartt School, in
April of 2001.
In the summer of 2001, he was cast as Ferrando and Don Ottavio in concert readings in Italian
for New York Opera Productions. After a turn as a super in the Met’s “War & Peace” he found
himself, in the summer of 2002, in the Resident Artist Program at Natchez Opera Festival and
then traveling to Italy, via a talent scholarship, to take part in the Spoleto Vocal Arts
Symposium where he studied Italian and voice with Master Teachers Enza Ferrari and Bruno
Rigacci. Recitals performed in New York and New Haven helped raise money for that trip.
Singing in the chorus of Connecticut Opera in the fall of 2002 brought him his first contact
with a larger regional house and encouraged him to continue his studies. This paid off when,
in the summer of 2003, he returned to Natchez Opera Festival, alternately performing the roles
of Benvolio and Romèo in “Romèo et Juliette”, and then to Hot Springs Music Festival, where
he continued to gain experience singing with orchestra by performing in their production of
“The Magic Flute”. The culmination of these efforts was enough to get him accepted into the
Graduate Professional Diploma Program at The Hartt School of Music where he could gain
leading role operatic experience and continue studying with Mr. Pruett.
In February of 2004, playing the role of The Male Chorus in Benjamin Britten’s “The Rape of
Lucretia” at The Hartt School, conducted by Kyle Swann, Assistant Conductor for Connecticut
Opera, proved to be another turning point for Mr. Khodadad. This was the beginning of a string
of performances including Testo in “Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda”, Tamino in “The
Magic Flute” sung in German and conducted by the Met’s Steven Crawford, Don Ottavio in
“Don Giovanni” and his professional operatic debut singing the role of Lensky in “Eugene
Onegin” at Opera Theater of Connecticut which was the opera’s premiere in that state. This
production was presented in English with full orchestra conducted by Doris Lang-Kosloff.
Some recent performances include Alfredo in “La Traviata”, Rodolfo in “La Bohème”, Roméo
in “Roméo et Juliette” and Nanki-poo in “The Mikado”. In January 2007, Mr. Khodadad sang as
a soloist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a concert of “Der Rosenkavalier” excerpts
conducted by Donald Runnicles. In October 2007, he sang Don Carlo and Bishop of Puebla in
Carla Lucero’s new Spanish opera “Juana” which played to sold-out audiences at Theater
Artaud in San Francisco. Engagements for 2008 included being in the Young Artist Program
at Opera Santa Barbara, where he understudied Nemorino in “L’Elisir d’amore”, and a return to
Commonwealth Opera, CT Lyric Opera and Natchez Opera Festival as the Duke in “Rigoletto”,
Alfred in “Die Fledermaus” and Ferrando in “Così fan tutte”, respectively. Upcoming
engagements include Don Ottavio in “Don Giovanni” for Hill House Opera Project in October
2008, Gerald in “Lakmé for Philadelphia Concert Opera in February 2009, Cavaradossi in
“Tosca” for Amarillo Opera in April 2009 and Don Jose in “La Tragédie de Carmen” for Hot
Springs Music Festival in June 2009. As time permits, Mr. Khodadad coaches privately with
legendary tenor Nicolai Gedda in Switzerland.
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Kristen Lamb, mezzo-soprano, graduated from North Carolina School of the Arts where she
frequently appeared in productions with the Fletcher Opera Institute and as a concert soloist,
including several world premieres by resident composers. Ms. Lamb has toured Emilia
Romagna, Italy as part of Centro Studi Lirica, and recently received acclaim for her role in
Amadeus Opern Ensemble's production of Le Nozze di Figaro in Salzburg, Austria. She is
currently a resident artist at DiCapo Opera in New York.
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Adrienne Patino, soprano, is actively singing major oratorio and sacred works in the New
York City region with the National Chorale at Lincoln Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and
Mineola Choral Society. Recently she sang the soprano solos for Beethoven's 9th Symphony
at Yankee Stadium for Pope Benedict XVI, and Bruckner's Te Deum and Haydn's Mass in the
Time of War.
She is co-founder, producer and performer of Opera Collective, a group of young performers
that make opera accessible to the general public. Through Opera Collective, Adrienne has
performed a variety of roles including Nedda from I Pagliacci, the Marschallin from Der
Rosenkavalier, the Countess from Le Nozze di Figaro, and countless scenes from a variety of
operas.
Adrienne earned a Master’s Degree at Manhattan School of Music. During her tenure there
she co-founded and produced the One-Act Opera Company, and performed the villainous
Officer in Milton Granger’s The Proposal. When she finished her graduate work, Adrienne was
accepted to the New Jersey Opera Theater Institute for the summer and then continued on the
following year in New Jersey Opera Theater’s Singer Circle Apprentice Program.
In New York City, Adrienne is a regular member of the One World Symphony and Cornerstone
Chorale, in which most notably she has sung Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, and the soprano
solos in Bach's Cantatas 131, 140 and 105, Saint-Saens Christmas Oratorio, Vaughn-William’s
Dona Nobis Pacem, and Handel’s Dixit Dominus, along with other major sacred Masses and
Requiems.
Some of her favorite opera roles include: Anne Sexton in Transformations, Fiordiligi in Cosi
Fan Tutte and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Beth in Little Women by Mark Adamo.
Along with her busy singing and private teaching schedule, Adrienne is a soloist and section
leader at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and Music Director at Chelsea Piers.
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Carla Wesby recently made her Lincoln Center debut as Jungfrau in “The Destruction of
Jerusalem” with American Symphony Orchestra. A professional soprano pursuing her career in
New York, she received her Bachelor of Music from Valparaiso University, and her Master of
Music from Manhattan School of Music. While at MSM, she collaborated numerous times
with the Baroque Aria Ensemble, performing Bach Cantatas and Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare.
She also co-founded the One Act Opera Company, and launched the New York Premiere of
Milton Granger’s The Proposal, in which she played the comedic Five-Year-Old. Since her
graduation, Carla has been freelancing in New York as a soloist and choral singer. She has
sung with New York Philharmonic, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and St.Luke’s Orchestra. She
has also collaborated with One World Symphony many times, performing Barbarina in Le
Nozze di Figaro, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, and Eve in The Creation. She has been a
soloist with Staten Island Symphony, Westchester Chorale, Mineola Choral Society, and can
be heard on numerous Alice Parker recordings. In 2005 she had the honor of sharing a joint
recital with soprano Heidi Grant-Murphy. She also had the opportunity to meet and
collaborate with Paul McCartney in the U.S. premiere of his oratorio Ecce cor Meum. She was
an ensemble member of the NY Philharmonic 2007 production of “My Fair Lady”, featuring
Kelsey Grammar, Kelli O’Hara, and Marni Nixon. She is a founding member of Opera
Collective, a group devoted to performing and making opera more accessible. Opera
Collective regularly performs in the Music Under New York program, and has been featured on
NHK’s documentary series “New York Streets”. Currently, Carla is a cantor and soloist at the
Cathedral of St Patrick.
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