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ARTIST PROFILES
American conductor
STEPHEN LORD
is return-
ing to Lyric Opera this season to lead
Don Pasquale
.
He debuted with the company conducting
Tosca
(2009-10
season), having previously led the Ryan
Opera Center’s 2004
Rising Stars
concert. Lord is
music director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis,
where he has most recently conducted new produc-
tions of
Sweeney Todd
,
Pelléas et Mélisande
,
A
Little Night Music,
and
Salome
.
Former music
director of Boston Lyric Opera, he is currently artis-
tic director of New England Conservatory’s opera
studies program. Named by
Opera News
as one of
the “25Most Powerful Names in U.S. Opera,” Lord
regularly guest-conducts throughout North
America, with major appearances in recent seasons
including
Les contes d’Hoffmann
(
Santa Fe),
Rigoletto
(
San Francisco Opera debut),
La traviata
(
Portland Opera),
Macbeth
(
L’Opéra de Montréal),
and
L’elisir d’amore
(
Detroit). During the 2009-10
season he debuted at London’s English National
Opera with
Rigoletto
,
returning the following sea-
son for
La bohème
.
He debuted at New York City
Opera conducting
La rondine
(2004)
and later, at the
Metropolitan Opera, led a nationally broadcast con-
cert of the company’s National Council Auditions
winners. Other guest-conducting highlights include
appearances with the National Symphony Orchestra,
Wolf Trap Opera, and the major companies of
Toronto, Denver, and Philadelphia.
MARTIN WRIGHT
is about to begin his first
season as Lyric Opera’s chorus master. The
Idaho native is former artistic director of the
Netherlands Opera Chorus (2006-12) and for-
mer chief conductor of the Netherlands Radio
Choir (1993-2002). In 2011 he served as guest
chorus master for the Bavarian Radio Chorus
and began an annual engagement as principal
guest conductor of the chorus of the Shanghai
Opera House. In 2010 he was guest chorus mas-
ter for the Hong Kong Philharmonic Beethoven
Festival. He served in that same capacity for
Los Angeles Opera (1988-89) for performances
of
Otello
and
Les contes d’Hoffmann
starring
artistic director Plácido Domingo. As principal
guest conductor of Lyric Opera San Diego
(2000-06),
Wright led productions of works by
Mozart, Rossini, Johann Strauss, and Leonard
Bernstein. He is also former chorus master of
San Diego Opera (1984-97) and former music
director of the San Diego Master Chorale
(2002-06).
As guest conductor of Nevada Opera
(2000-03),
he led performances of
Don
Giovanni
,
La traviata
,
Carmen
,
and
Die
Fledermaus
.
He has also served as guest con-
ductor of the Berlin Radio Choir (2001-03).
Wright has taught at Music Academy of the
West and the University of Arizona.
Texas-born tenor
RENÉ BARBERA
has per-
formed in each
Stars of Lyric Opera at
Millennium Park
concert since 2009. The Ryan
Opera Center alumnus returns to Lyric Opera
this season as Ernesto/
Don Pasquale
,
his 11th
role with the company. Most recently he has
been heard at Lyric as Tamino/
Die Zauberflöte
(
student matinees), Brighella/
Ariadne auf
Naxos
,
and both Edgardo and Arturo/
Lucia di
Lammermoor
.
Earlier this year he portrayed
Almaviva/
Il barbiere di Siviglia
(
Vancouver),
Rinuccio/
Gianni Schicchi
(
Toronto), and Tamino
at Ravinia. Last year Barbera starred as
Tonio/
The Daughter of the Regiment
at Opera
Theatre of Saint Louis, after which he made
international headlines in Moscow by winning
the men’s first prizes for opera and for zarzuela,
as well as the audience favorite prize, in Plácido
Domingo’s highly prestigious Operalia compe-
tition. Barbera is a former Grand Finals winner
of the Metropolitan Opera National Council
Auditions and Grand Prize winner of the
Charles A. Lynam Vocal Competition
(
Greensboro, North Carolina). He is also a for-
mer participant in San Francisco Opera’s
Merola Program and Florida Grand Opera’s
young-artist program.
American mezzo-soprano
J’NAI BRIDGES
,
a
first-year Ryan Opera Center member, appears
at Lyric Opera this season in
Elektra
(
debut),
Simon Boccanegra
,
and
Rigoletto
.
Her roles
onstage have included Polly/
The Beggar’s
Opera
and Ino/
Semele
(
Manhattan School of
Music); Idamante/
Idomeneo
,
Carmen/
La tragédie
de Carmen
,
Teresa/
La sonnambula
,
Iras/
Antony
and Cleopatra
,
and Baba the Turk/
The Rake’s
Progress
(
Curtis Institute of Music); and the
title role/
Carmen
(
Glimmerglass Festival). A
native of Lakewood, Washington, Bridges
made her professional debut in 2008 with
Opera North (New Hampshire) as the Second
Lady/
Die Zauberflöte,
later returning as
