Program Director

Stage director, acting teacher, coach of English, French and Italian diction. Ms. Bachman consistently receives critical praise for her innovative opera staging. Conversant in five languages, she has directed more than 50 operas in over 30 companies in North America, Japan and Argentina. In addition to her extensive operatic resume, Ms. Bachman spent 13 years as the stage director, acting teacher and production coordinator for the San Francisco Girls’ Chorus’ Opera Arts Training Program. She has taught at the Baltimore Opera Young Artist Program, University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music, Carnegie Mellon University, Webster University in St. Louis, and the Banff Centre for the Arts.

Some of the companies Elizabeth has worked with include: The Metropolitan Opera (Where she has directed such artists as Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Kathleen Battle, and Sherrill Milnes), Teatro Argentino, Boston Lyric Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Portland Opera, Vancouver Opera, Calgary Opera, Opera Columbus, and Òpera de Puerto Rico, where she was Artistic Advisor for 5 years

Music Director

Prompter & Coach, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Metropolitan Opera, Australian Opera, Oper der Stadt Köln, Semper Oper Dresden

Kathryn Wright is an American coach/prompter living and working in Germany. She received her training at McGill University in Montreal, as well as under Joan Dornemann in New York.

She is currently engaged at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, under the musical leadership of Christian Thielemann. She is looking forward to a guest engagement this coming season at the Staatsoper in Hamburg, assisting Maestra Young on a new production of Simone Boccanegra.

Voice

Soprano,  NY City Opera, Seattle Opera, San Francisco  Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Michigan State University

She has been hailed by The New York Times for her "dark soprano that warms the ear." She made her international debut as Marietta/Marie in Korngold's Die Tote Stadt at the Brisbane (Australia) Biennial. Her successes include Lucrezia Borgia at the Caramoor International Music Festival, Aida with Opera Carolina, as well as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Caramoor, Opera Carolina, and Lake George Opera Festival. Other engagements included Alice Ford opposite the Falstaff of Sherrill Milnes at the New York City Opera, Maddalena in Andréa Chénier, Elsa in Lohengrin, Foreign Princess in Rusalka, and Leonora in Il Trovatore for Seattle Opera, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni for New York City Opera, and the title role in Norma for Teatro de Colon, Bogotà. In addition, she has sung leading roles with the San Francisco Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and Washington Opera.

Voice

Hailed as one of opera's most versatile baritones, Kim Josephson is a regular guest of leading opera companies, including the Metropolitan Opera where, since 1991, he has performed more than 230 performances of 24 roles including the title role in Rigoletto, Germont in La Traviata, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore to name a few. He has also appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, most notably as Eddie Carbone in the world premiere of William Bolcom's A View from the Bridge and, from the standard repertoire, Rigoletto, Germont, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, and Marcello in La Boheme.

Business, Aria Ready TM Trainer

Ms. Buness' roots are in the mountains of Montana, with horses and a creek through the pasture below the house her musical mother and father built. Their musical roots helped her become a winner at NATS auditions, which inspired her to want to spend her life in music.

She spent her undergraduate years in Vocal Education at St. Olaf College and her Masters years in Vocal Performance at the University of Denver. She is currently on the voice faculty on the Auraria Campus in Denver, CO.

German

Claudia Schwarzmann is the Director of the Achensee Volkshochschule.

Administration

Martina Mayer passed her degree in "Sports, Culture and Event Management" in September 2008. She has worked in the administration of the Tyrolean Opera Program since February 2007.