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2017 Norcop Song Recital Prize. In 2016, she
received a grant from the Jacqueline Desmarais
Foundation to attend the Franz Schubert Institute
in Baden bei Wien, where she was deeply inspired
by the late Dr.Deen Larsen. Simona received her
MMus. Opera Performance at the University of
Toronto under the tutelage of Wendy Nielsen. She
joins the Canadian Opera Company’s 2018/19
Ensemble Studio Program after winning First
Prize and Audience Choice Award at the 2017
Competition. As a Gerdine Young Artist, Simona
returned to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis this
summer to sing Annina in
La Traviata
under the
direction of Patricia Racette. Additional credits
include Mary Turner in
Of Thee I Sing
(U of T
Opera); Nettie Fowler in
Carousel
(Chautauqua
Voice); Cabin Mistress in
The Grapes of Wrath
(Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); La Sciagurata in
Prima Zombie
(U of T Opera); Sister Helen in
Dead
Man Walking
(Opera Nuova); Mistress Quickly in
Falstaff
(UWOpera).
Tal Heller
, mezzo-soprano
Ravinia
Associates
Board
Fellowship
American mezzo-soprano of
Israeli descent, Tal Heller recently
graduated from Mannes College
of Music with her Bachelor’s and
Master’s degrees in Classical Vocal Performance. This
year, with Mannes Opera, she performed Marcellina
in Mozart’s
Le Nozze di Figaro
and covered Baba
the Turk in Stravinsky’s
The Rake’s Progress
under
the baton of Metropolitan Opera conductor Joseph
Colaneri. In the year prior, she performed in the
chorus of Donizetti’s
L’Elisir d’Amore
. At Mannes,
she was the alto in a performance of Brahms’ Vier
Quartette, a soloist with the Oltman/Newman Guitar
Duo, and the featured singer in Massenet’s Elegie
with the Mannes Sounds Festival. Ms. Heller also
sang Elgar’s Sea Pictures as part of a sign language
and classical music festival, Sign & Sing. She has
participated in masterclasses with Will Crutchfield,
Margo Garrett, and Michel Sénéchal. Ms. Heller has
sung in concerts around the world, including France,
Italy, and her father’s native country Israel. She
has received recognition from institutions including
Classical Singer and the National Association of
Teachers of Singing. Ms. Heller was born and raised
in Sharon, Massachusetts. She is a student of Arthur
Levy and Cristina Stanescu.
Cadie Jordan
, soprano
S.J. Ipsen Fellowship,
John N. Stern Fellowship*,
FMC Technologies Fellowship*
Soprano Cadie Jordan returns this
summer for her second season
with Ravinia’s Steans Music
Institute. In the fall, she will join Arizona Opera
for the 2018-2019 season as a member of the
Marion Roose Pullin Studio Artist Program where
she will sing Chan Parker in
Charlie Parker’s
Yardbird
, Despina in Così fan tutte, Barbarina in
Le nozze di Figaro, and Annina in La Traviata.
The Louisiana-born soprano recently appeared on
the Des Moines Metro Opera stage singing Second
Wood Sprite in Rusalka as well as the Indiana
University Stage in the revised premier of Jake
Heggie’s It’s A Wonderful Life in the role of Clara.
In the summer of 2017, she joined Des Moines
Metro Opera as an Apprentice Artist where she
covered Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music.
She received her Master’s Degree from Indiana
University where she performed Marian Paroo in
The Music Man and Despina in Così fan tutte.
Concert performances include Handel’s Messiah and
Salve Regina during her time at Indiana University.
Ms. Jordan received her Bachelor’s degree from
Louisiana State University where, she made her role
debut as Despina in Così fan tutte and Zerlina in
Don Giovanni.
Diana Newman
, soprano
S.J. Ipsen Fellowship, Merrill
and Judy Blau Fellowship,
Waldo Morgan Allen Memorial
Fellowship*
American
soprano
Diana
Newman brings fresh and intense
performances to opera houses and concert stages
across the United States. Currently in her third
year at the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera
Center, she appears on the company’s mainstage
this season as the Page in Verdi’s
Rigoletto
, a role
she debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Following her performances in 2016 as Woglinde
in
Das Rheingold
for Chicago’s Ring cycle, she
returns for the Lyric’s 2018/19 season in November
as Woodbird in Wagner’s
Siegfried.
Additional
upcoming performances include her house and role
debuts as Micaëla in Carmen with the Rochester
Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as her mainstage
debut at The Dallas Opera in the fall of 2019. During
her tenure at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Diana has
performed the roles of Frasquita in
Carmen
, Pedro
in
Don Quichotte
, Clorinda in
La Cenerentola
, and
Papagena in Die Zauberflöte. She has appeared in
the title role of Monteverdi’s
L’incoronazione di
Poppea
with The USC Thornton School of Music
Opera Program, where she also performed leading
roles as Miranda in Hoiby’s
The Tempest
, Pamina
in
Die Zauberflöte
, and Lauretta in
Gianni Schicchi.
On the concert stage, Diana has recently appeared
as a soloist in Maria Schneider’s Winter Morning
Walks at the Lucerne Festival, Barber’s Knoxville:
Summer of 1915 with the Eastern Sierra Symphony
Summer Festival, and Vivaldi’s Gloria in Havana,
Cuba. Her debut with the Grant Park Music Festival
came in 2016, appearing as Curly’s Wife in Floyd’s
Of Mice and Men
. Committed to the performance
of art song and new works, Diana has attended
numerous programs including the Ravinia Festival
Steans Music Institute, SongFest, and the Fall
Island Vocal Arts Seminar run by Stephanie Blythe.
She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the
USC Thornton School of Music, where she studied
with Elizabeth Hynes. She currently studies with
Patricia McCaffrey in New York.
Nils Nilsen
, tenor
Arthur J. and Glenna B. Collins
Memorial Fellowship*
The Norwegian tenor, Nils Georg
Nilsen, hails from Oslo, Norway.
At the age of 13, he sang (duets)
together with Dame Kiri te
Kanawa in Oslo Spektrum. As a young singer he
often performed in concerts both in Norway and
abroad, in addition to roles at the Norwegian Opera.
In March 2014, he made his debut at Avery Fisher
Hall in the Lincoln Center, New York and since
then he has worked for the Norwegian Opera House
in Oslo and Opera Tampa. Mr. Nilsen is an artist
in residence at Malaga Clasica Chamberfestival
in Spain visiting for the 6th time this summer. He
is a sought after tenor in Norway where he often
sings with orchestra´s, in oratorios and concert
productions. In 2017, he recorded op. 24, op. 39
and op. 48 by Robert Schumann with pianist Josu
de Solaun, which is planned to be released with
Centaur Records in 2019. He holds a bachelor from
the Norwegian Academy of Music and received his
Master of Music from Manhattan School of Music
under the tutelage of Neil Rosenshein and Patricia
McCaffrey.
Katarina Van Droogenbroeck
,
mezzo-soprano
Marilyn Heath Fellowship, Samuel
R. Sherwin Memorial Fellowship*
from his family
Katarina Van Droogenbroeck
began her singing studies at
the Royal Conservatory of Liège under Hélène
Bernardy. She then continued her musical
training in Berlin. During her studies and during
her participation in programs for young artists,
Katarina had the opportunity to perform the roles
of Dido in Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas,
of Cherubino and Dorabella (Mozart), and of
Hansel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. She
has also prepared for the role of Octavian in
Richard Strauss’s Der Rosenkavalier with Brigitte
Fassbaender. In July 2014 she will perform the role
of Dorothée in Massenet’s Cendrillon at the Oslo
Opera House. Passionate about baroque music,
in June 2014 Katarina joined the Baroque Vocal
specialization program in Mainz as a soloist, where
she has worked with major names in baroque
music such as Ton Koopman, Jaap ter Linden and
Andreas Scholl. Since September 2014 she has
been perfecting her skills at the Queen Elisabeth
Music Chapel in Belgium, under the direction of
José van Dam.
*an endowed fellowship at Ravinia’s Steans Music
Institute
RSMI
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