Elaine Alvarez

“Luminous” declared the Chicago Sun-Times of Elaine Alvarez’s Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Mimì in La bohème. In a production directed by Renata Scotto and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, the critics were unanimous with praise for the Cuban-American soprano: “Conveying lyric pathos seems to come as naturally to Alvarez as breathing” (Chicago Tribune). Also in the 2007 - 2008 season, Ms. Alvarez returns to Oper Leipzig as as Violetta in La traviata, Mimì in a revival of the Peter Konwitschny La bohème and Corinna in a new production of Il viaggio a Reims. As a grand prizewinner of the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition, Ms. Alvarez recently made her New York recital debut under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation.

The 2006-2007 season marked Ms. Alvarez’s European opera debut singing the roles of Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Mimì in La bohème with Oper Leipzig. She also toured to Hong Kong for a series of performances of Mozart’s Mass in C minor with the Leipzig Ballet and the Gewandhaus Orchestra. For the 2006 summer festival season with Glimmerglass Opera, Ms. Alvarez was seen as Barena in Dr. Jonathan Miller’s production of Jenufa and La Comtesse de Breville in the world premiere of Stephen Hartke’s The Greater Good, which is now commercially available on Naxos Records.

A resident artist at the Music Academy of the West for the 2004 and 2005 summer festival seasons, Ms. Alvarez was seen in recital with renowned pianist Warren Jones, heard in the title role of Anna Bolena and Norina in Don Pasquale as part of the company’s scenes program, and performed the roles of Elena in Nino Rota’s Il cappello di paglia di Firenze and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, both under the baton of the late Randall Behr.

Elaine Alvarez is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music where she received her Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees under the tutelage of Joan Patenaude-Yarnell and Warren Jones. While at the Manhattan School, Ms. Alvarez was most notably featured in the title role of Mirandolina by Martinu, which received its North American premiere at the Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater. New York Magazine called her performance “...attractively nuanced...leaving little room for improvement...” Ms. Alvarez also appeared in such productions as Béatrice et Bénédict (Hero), The Cunning Little Vixen (Vixen), Don Pasquale (Norina), and Die Zauberflöte (First Lady). In addition, Ms. Alvarez was a Resident Artist for the 2004-2005 season at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia where she was featured as Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte and covered the role of Mimì in La bohème.

A winner of many awards for her voice and artistry, she was most recently a Grand Finalist in Plácido Domingo’s OPERALIA 2006 competition, held in Valencia, Spain. Other notable awards include the William Randolph Hearst Foundation Award, the Lotte Lenya Competition for Singers Award and the Panasonic Harmony Series Scholarship. Ms. Alvarez was a National Finalist in the 2004 and 2006 George London Foundation Awards and a 2006 Encouragement Award winner at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Southeast Regional Competition. After receiving the 2004 MHF Encouragement Award, she was a grand prizewinner at the 2005 Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition.

 

Thomas Bagwell

Called by Marilyn Horne, “A pioneer for his age,” Thomas Bagwell is one of a handful of today’s most active pianists in the field of song recital. His appearances as a collaborative pianist have taken him to such venues as New York’s Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Musikverein, the Concertgebouw, and numerous halls across the United States and Canada. Thomas Bagwell’s activities as a coach and teacher have led to invitations to give masterclasses for colleges and apprentice programs in opera companies. Mr. Bagwell was an assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera for nine seasons, and has served in the same capacity for many seasons at the Washington National Opera, the Santa Fe Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

Thomas Bagwell has partnered in recital such singers as Marilyn Horne, Susan Graham, Denyce Graves, Frederica Von Stade, Andrea Rost, Kristine Jepson, James Morris and Roberta Peters. His recital partnerships with the rising generation of singers include Elaine Alvarez, Gregory Turay, Rinat Shaham, Eric Cutler, Thomas Meglioranza and Jesse Blumberg. In the field of chamber music, Mr. Bagwell has been a participant at the Marlboro Music Festival and has performed recitals with violinists Midori and Scott St. John, with whom he made a critically acclaimed CD of works by Antonin Dvorak on the Marquis Classics label.

Thomas Bagwell has received degrees from the Mannes College of Music, the Manhattan School of Music, and has studied with Warren Jones, Graham Johnson and Edna Golandsky. After his formal studies, Mr. Bagwell pursued additional training with Elly Ameling and Rudolf Jansen at the Academie Villecroze.

As a teacher of opera and art song, Thomas Bagwell has been on the faculties of Yale University, and currently teaches at the Mannes College of Music where he has recently been asked to teach a graduate degree program in collaborative piano. He has taught masterclasses at the Santa Fe Opera, New Jersey Opera Theater, Simpson College, Portland State University, and will teach a masterclass for NATS at the University of Oregon this January.