UW News

May 6, 2010

Spring Opera Gala coming May 14, 16

It’s opera time again at the School of Music. Students and faculty of the Voice Division and the University Symphony, conducted by Maestro Peter Eros and guest conductor Jonathan Pasternack, present a Spring Opera Gala on May 14 and 16.


Faculty artists Thomas Harper and Joyce Guyer will join top voice students to perform some of the great arias and ensembles of the opera repertoire, including works from La Traviata, Der Rosenkavalier, Die Walkure, and more.


The gala will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 14, and at 3 p.m. Sunday, May 16, in Meany Hall. There will be reserve seating and tickets are $15 for general admission, $15 for students and seniors. (This is not a School of Music “Notecard” event.)


The program (subject to change) is scheduled to include:



  • Verdi’s La Forza del Destino, overture, Jonathan Pasternack, conductor.
  • Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffman, aria: “Les oiseaux dans les charmilles,” Cecile Farmer, soprano.
  • Verdi’s La Traviata, aria: “Deh, miei bollenti spiriti”; duet: “Un dì felice.” Jonathan Pasternack, conductor, David Margulis, tenor, Tess Altiveros, soprano.
  • Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana, aria: “Voi lo sapete,” Jonathan Pasternack, conductor, Brittany Hines-Hill, soprano.
  •  Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, sextet: “Chi mi frena in tal momento,” Jonathan Pasternack, conductor; Brenna Sluiter, soprano; Sylvia Baba, mezzo soprano; Thomas Harper, tenor; Jung-Hwan Jang, tenor; Woong-C. Kim, baritone; Jared Ice, baritone.
  • Mozart’s Die Zauberflote, aria: “Ein Maedchen oder Weibchen,” Drew Dresdner, baritone; duet: “Papagena, Papagena!” Drew Dresdner, baritone, Faina Morozov, soprano; aria: “Ach, ich fuehl’s”; Arian Ashworth, soprano, Peter Eros, conductor.
  • Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, aria: “My-my-my Mother Said”; duet: “Don’t Say You’re the Boy,” Peter Eros, conductor, Tom Harper, tenor, Nataly Wickham, soprano.
  • Wagner’s Die Walkure, aria: “Leb’ wohl,” Peter Erös, conductor, David Borning, baritone.
  • Verdi’s Aida, duet: “Ciel! Mio padre!,” Peter Erös, conductor, Rebecca Paul, soprano. David Borning, baritone.
  • Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, trio: “Marie Theres! Hab’ mirs gelobt”; duet: “Ist ein Traum, kann nicht wirklich sein.” Peter Eros, conductor, Joyce Guyer, soprano, Tess Altiveros, soprano, Arian Ashworth, soprano.

Tenor Thomas Harper came to the UW School of Music in 1998 as artist in residence. He has sung in Europe for more than 25 years, performing in many opera houses and concert halls in Italy, Switzerland, and Germany. His repertoire includes over fifty roles.


Joyce Guyer, one of America’s leading sopranos, is an assistant professor of voice at the School of Music. Guyer has been a valued principal artist for 16 seasons at New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Known throughout the U.S. and in Europe for her versatility on both the operatic and concert stage, Guyer has performed at Carnegie Hall 10 times, as well as at Weill Hall and Avery Fisher Hall.


Hungarian-American conductor Peter Eros came to the UW in 1989 as the Morrison Endowed Professor of Conducting and Music Director and Conductor of the University Symphony. As a guest conductor, he has appeared regularly with major symphony orchestras and opera companies on five continents.


Jonathan Pasternack has conducted such ensembles as the London Symphony Orchestra, Residentie Orkest of the Hague, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, among many others. A strong proponent of music education, he has worked with a number of youth orchestras, including the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras, and has served as guest faculty at the UW, Central Washington University, East Oregon University, Pacific University, Conservatoire de Maurepas in France and Conservatoire Superieur de Musique de Geneve in Switzerland.


For more information about this opera concert, call 206-543-4880 or visit online at www.music.washington.edu.