Lyric Opera 2022-2023 Issue 10 - West Side Story

31 | Lyric Opera of Chicago as the alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria in 2021 and Rachmaninoff’s Vespers in 2017. This summer she will return to the festival in Mendelssohn’s The First Walpurgis Night . Wallace-Crane trained as a young artist at the Natchez Opera Festival, Central City Opera, and Sarasota Opera. NICHOLAS WARD | ENSEMBLE Previously at Lyric: Moralès Carmen (2022/23) and Jailer/ Tosca (2021/22). The baritone has been a member of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Chorus since 2019, and appeared in comprimario roles in Lyric’s Dead Man Walking (2019/20) and Tosca (2021/22). He has also performed with Lyric’s Opera in the Neighborhoods productions, portraying the Father in Hansel and Gretel in the Park, and Charles Knight in Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt . He has performed across the country with Opera Birmingham, Chicago Opera Theater, Florida Grand Opera, Union Avenue Opera, Opera Fayetteville, Opera in the Heights, Central City Opera, and many more. He is a three-time Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, First Place Winner of the Opera Birmingham Competition Competition, and a nalist for the Luminarts Competition, the Opera Guild of Dayton Competition, and FAVA’s Grand Concours de Chant. He received his degrees from the University of Michigan and the University of Cincinnati-CCM. RON WATKINS | ENSEMBLE Watkins, a Lyric Opera Chorus member since 1992, has performed seven solo roles at Lyric, most recently in Der Rosenkavalier, The King and I (both 2015/16), and Carousel (2014/15). He has also appeared at DuPage Opera Theatre as Marcello/ La bohème , at the Grant Park Music Festival as Samuel/ The Pirates of Penzance , and at Light Opera Works as Captain Corcoran/ HMS Pinafore and Sir Richard Cholmondeley/ The Yeomen of the Guard , as well as with Chicago Opera Theater, Madison’s Opera for the Young, Eastman Opera Theater, and College Light Opera Company in Falmouth, Massachusetts. NIKOLAS WENZEL | ENSEMBLE, u/s OFFICER KRUPKE The bass-baritone made his debut with Lyric Opera in 2016, appearing as the Second Trojan Soldier in Berlioz’s Les Troyens . He has since appeared in a wide range of roles with the company, most notably as Flora’s Servant in La traviata (2019/20), the Sergeant in La bohème (2018/19), and the Bass of the Cockney Quartet in My Fair Lady (2016/17). Wenzel has performed as a soloist with other leading opera companies, including the Madison Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, and Opera Theatre St. Louis, and is a three-time Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. TARA WHEEKER | ENSEMBLE A chorus member at Lyric, the soprano has been a featured soloist in various concert works including Handel’s Messiah and Haydn’s Creation. Favorite operatic roles include Valencienne/ The Merry Widow, First Lady/ Die Zauber öte, Saint Marguerite/ Joan of Arc at the Stake, and Jessie/ Mahagonny Songspeil. Wheeker won rst place at the New York Lyric Opera Theater vocal competition in 2019 and was a nalist and rst runner-up for the Palm Springs Opera Guild 2018 Vocal Competition. She holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), and a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance and Music Education from CCM. MICHELLE K. WRIGHTE | ENSEMBLE Previously at Lyric: Emilia/ Otello (2001/02) and Mercédès/ Carmen (19990/00). Wrighte is an alumna of Lyric’s Ryan Opera Center, with which she created the role of Lucy Cross/Michael John LaChiusa’s Lovers and Friends . Prominent among the mezzo-soprano’s six mainstage roles at Lyric have been Emilia/ Otello , Mercédès/ Carmen , and the Tango Singer/ The Great Gatsby (company premiere). Other credits include Cherubino/ The Marriage of Figaro (Chicago’s Opera Piccola), Isabella/ L’italiana in Algeri (Pamiro Opera), Armindo/ Partenope (Glimmerglass Festival), Ino/ Semele (Spoleto Festival), Dinah/ Trouble in Tahiti (Tampa Opera), Ramiro/ La nta giardinier a (San Francisco Opera Center), and the Fox/ The Cunning Little Vixen (Tulsa Opera). UNDERSTUDIES JEFFREY KRINGER | u/s TONY Lyric debut The acclaimed stage performer has under- taken quintessential roles like Arthur ( Camelot) , Tony ( West Side Story) , Frederick ( Pirates of Penzance) , and Billy Bigelow ( Carousel) . This summer he’ll serve as faculty for the Open Jar Institute in NYC. Kringer earned a BFA at SUNY Fredonia. ALEXIS ROSTON | u/s DOC & GLAD HAND Lyric debut Roston’s portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill received widespread acclaim, including Chicago’s Jeff, Black Theater Alliance, and Black Excellence Awards. Other credits nationwide include Don’t Make Me Over: A Tribute to Dionne Warwick (Jeff Award Nomination, Black Theater Alliance Award Nomination), Mary Poppins (Mrs. Banks), Porgy and Bess (Bess), Ragtime (Sarah), Sister Act (Deloris), For Colored Girls... (Lady in Orange), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Charlaine), Shrek: The Musical (Dragon),