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William Paterson University Stages Opera Workshop on November 20 and 21

Scenes from operas by Mozart, Massenet, Humperdinck, and Monteverdi will be performed by members of William Paterson University’s Opera Workshop on Wednesday, November 20, and Thursday, November 21, at 8 p.m.

The performances, which will be staged, costumed and performed in the original languages, will take place in the Hobart Hall Martini Room on campus in Wayne. Tickets are $7 standard and $5 for the William Paterson community, senior citizens and students.

Stephen Bryant, professor of music and director of choral activities at William Paterson, will stage the scenes. Mary Pinto, adjunct professor, and vocal coach and accompanist, is the music director. Vocalists will present portions of Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro” and “The Magic Flute,” Massenet’s “Manon,” Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel,” and Monteverdi’s “The Coronation of Poppea.”

Vocalists include Michael Kern, Sarah Ciccarelli, Malden Comanda, Cori Bott, Ashley Overa, Anna Gordon, Anna Petrilla, Rebecca Morris, and John Westlake, all students in the vocal program at the University.  

Bryant’s distinguished career in concert and opera has taken him around the world, with acclaimed performances in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. A bass-baritone, he has numerous oratorio and opera credits. He created the major role of Dante for the world premiere of Tan Dun’s “Marco Polo” in 1996, and was nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award in the Best Opera Recording category for a recording of a new production of the opera staged for De Nederlandse Opera in Amsterdam in 2008. Bryant has performed the opera at the Munich Biennale, the Holland Festival in Amsterdam, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, New York City Opera, and with the Japan Philharmonic in Tokyo. He has sung with the New York City Opera, the San Francisco Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, the Indianapolis Opera, and other companies of renown, and performed with major orchestras from The New York Philharmonic and Philadelphia Orchestra to the Israel Philharmonic and Japan Philharmonic.

Bryant received his bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and his master’s degree in voice and choral conducting from the University of Michigan. He resides in Montclair.

For additional information on the concert, please call the Shea Center for Performing Arts Box Office at 973-720-2371.