Ravinia 2019, Issue 7, Week 13

MILES MYKKANEN, tenor A winner of the 2019 Metropolitan Opera National Council Audi- tions, tenor Miles Myk- kanen has garnered rec- ognition on the world’s concert and operatic stages. Over the next year, Mykkanen will make debuts at the Metropolitan Opera in Berg’s Wozzeck , led by Yannick Nézet- Séguin, and the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea , under the baton of Leonardo García Alarcón. Other highlights include the title role of Bernstein’s Candide at the Opéra de Lausanne and Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman at the Canadian Opera Company. The tenor’s vibrant concert schedule includes performances of Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the world premiere of Mohammed Fairouz’s Anoth- er Time with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Mozart’s Requiem with the San Antonio Symphony. Recently graduated from The Juil- liard School with an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies, Mykkanen also earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the school under the tutelage of Cynthia Hoffmann. Miles Mykkanen is making his Ravinia debut. SHARLEEN JOYNT, soprano Coloratura soprano Sharleen Joynt has earned substantial crit- ical acclaim in Europe, and this past season she made her Opera Phil- adelphia debut as Winnie in Lembit Beecher’s Sky on Swings , a new opera about Alzheimer’s disease starring Frederica von Stade. Joynt also made debuts with Vancouver Opera as Muset- ta in Puccini’s La bohème and with the Guelph Symphony, singing Glière’s Concerto for Color- atura , and Charleston Symphony, singing the soprano solo in Handel’s Messiah . Recent high- lights have included singing her first Musetta as well as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute with Pacific Opera Victoria and debuts with both Anchorage Opera and Tan- glewood as Cunegonde in Bernstein’s Candide , which she has also sung with the Orlando Phil- harmonic. In concert, Joynt has recently been a soloist in Howard Goodall’s requiem Eternal Light with the Bach Society of St. Louis and in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony with the Thunder Bay Symphony. Sharleen Joynt is making her Ravinia debut. MARGARET GAWRYSIAK, mezzo-soprano Originally from Gen- eseo, IL, mezzo-sopra- no Margaret Gawrysiak was a fellow at Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute in 2005 and is making her first return to the fes- tival. Earlier this season, she took the stage as Madame Larina in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin with Atlanta Opera, Marcellina in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro with Opera Colorado, and Emma Jones in Weill’s Street Scene with Virginia Opera, and she will soon reprise Madame Lar- ina in a return to Seattle Opera and appear as Berta in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville in her debut with Dallas Opera. Gawrysiak’s recent credits include The Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel (Virginia Opera), the Mar- quise in Donizetti’s La fille du régiment (Arizona Opera), Vera Boronel in Menotti’s The Consul (Seattle Opera), Mrs. DeRocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking (Dayton Opera), the world premiere of Lori Laitman’s Scarlet Letter (Opera Colorado), Giovanna in Verdi’s Rigoletto (Flori- da Grand Opera), and workshops of Nico Muh- ly’s Two Boys (Metropolitan Opera). EVAN JONES, baritone Originally from Buffa- lo, NY, baritone Evan Thomas Jones enjoys a diverse performing ca- reer. In opera, his reper- toire includes Figaro in both Rossini’s The Barber of Seville and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro , the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni , Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute , Junius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia , and Sam in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti . Mu- sical theater and operetta highlights include Voltaire and Pangloss in Bernstein’s Candide , Danilo Danilovich in Lehár’s The Merry Widow , Fredrik Egerman in A Little Night Music , and Dr. Falke and Frank in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus . In concert, he has been a featured soloist in Orff ’s Carmina burana , the Requiems of Brahms and Fauré, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis , and Bach’s Magnificat and Saint Matthew Passion. Jones has sung with Opera Memphis, Opera Naples, the Berkshire Opera Company, Compañía Líri- ca Nacional de Costa Rica, Finger Lakes Op- era, Mercury Opera, the Buffalo and Rochester Philharmonics, and the Memphis and Jackson Symphonies. ALEXANDER ELLIOTT, baritone Baritone Alexander Birch Elliott contin- ues to garner praise for his performances on both opera and concert stages. This past year he debuted with the Metropolitan Opera and Houston Grand Opera, appearing as Zurga in Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers , and returned to Opera Omaha for his role debut as Silvio in Leoncaval- lo’s Pagliacci . In concert, Elliott made his debut with the Cleveland Youth Orchestra performing Vaughan Williams’s Five Mystical Songs , and he returned to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra singing Brander in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra for Bruckner’s Te Deum . Last summer he made debuts at both Tanglewood, in his present roles in Bernstein’s Candide , and Ravinia, in the Street Chorus in Bernstein’s Mass . Elliott’s recent cred- its also include Sonora in Puccini’s La fanciulla del West for his New York City Opera debut, Anthony in Sweeney Todd and the title role of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin with Portland Op- era, and Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Opera Omaha. ALEX MANSOORI, tenor Alex Mansoori special- ized in character ten- or roles, with a varied repertoire ranging from Handel and Mozart to Bernstein and Sond- heim. This season he made his Dallas Opera de- but as Bardolfo in Verdi’s Falstaff and returned to Opera Orlando for his role debuts as Beppe in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and the Four Servants in Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffmann . Mansoori’s recent credits include a return to Opera Naples in his role debut as Goro in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly and his company and role debuts as Dr. Caius in Verdi’s Falstaff with Opera Colo- rado. He also made his Opera Tampa debut in the dual roles of Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro , and last summer he made his Tanglewood debut with his present roles in Bernstein’s Candide . A 2011 alumnus of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, he previously appeared at the festival as Monosta- tos in Mozart’s The Magic Flute in 2012. RAVINIA MAGAZINE | AUGUST 26 – SEPTEMBER 2, 2019 98