Finger Lakes Opera

Introducing pianist Edward Forstman! Drawn to opera through contemporary music, Edward seeks out collaborations and opportunities to bring fresh perspectives and new stories to the opera and concert stage. He has worked with composer Whitney George on the premieres of her operas Julie (New Camerata Opera) and Princess Maleine (dell’Arte Opera Ensemble) and with Andrea Clearfield for the premiere of Mila, Great Sorcerer (Prototype Festival). In the 2021-2022 season, Edward wi...ll be the Baumgartner Studio Artist pianist at the Florentine Opera in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During the pandemic, he has presented virtual concerts with soprano AddieRose Forstman for the Downtown Music at Grace series in Westchester, NY, and the Songs from Hibernation series hosted by dell’Arte Opera Ensemble. These programs were celebrations of American art song, and included works by Eve Beglarian, Nailah Nombeko, Nico Muhly, Brad Mehldau, and the premiere of two songs by Maria Thompson Corley. Edward and AddieRose also recorded performances of works by Corley and Yvonne Fuller for Christman Opera Company’s virtual project Voices Raising Voices. Other projects of this season have included recording two radio plays (one upcoming), scored by Whitney George, with members of the contemporary chamber ensemble The Curiosity Cabinet, conducted by the composer. In addition to a Master’s degree in Contemporary Piano Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Margaret Kampmeier, Christopher Oldfather, and Anthony De Mare, Edward holds a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music.

Finger Lakes Opera seeks chorus members and supernumeraries who will appear in the 2021 summer headlining production of The Barber of Seville scheduled for August 6 and 7. Chorus members are needed for the chorus for Barber (tenor and bass only). Due to Covid-19, auditions will not be held live but rather, interested applicants may submit a video of themselves (SEE BELOW) performing either an aria, classical art song, or a musical theatre selection (16-32 bar cut is adequate).... In addition, Finger Lakes Opera is seeking supernumeraries (non-speaking, unpaid acting roles). Those interested in these positions can submit resumes and headshots. All material must be submitted for review no later than Friday, May 23, 2021. Chorus rehearsals for The Barber of Seville will begin July 13, 2021 and will run three days weekly (Tuesday-Thursday) from 7-9 pm. Staging rehearsals begin July 26 and technical rehearsals, August 2. Performances will take place at Perinton Pavilion in Fairport. Travel stipends are available for chorus members. To submit an audition video, resume and/or headshots, simply upload materials to the link below no later than May 23, 2021. If you have questions, feel free to contact [email protected]. https://www.dropbox.com/request/JCG4wTjDLmjEzvC7TNz2

Our next Tomita Young Artist feature is tenor David Soto Zambrana! He is a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico and was awarded a Weitzenhoffer Opera Fellowship and Master’s degree at the University of Oklahoma under Metropolitan Opera baritone Kim Josephson. Last summer, David interpreted Alfredo (La Traviata) and Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) as part of New York Opera Conservatory in Peekskill and Pinocchio (Pinocchio) with Finger Lakes Opera in the Fall. Credits: Nadir (Pearl Fish...ers), Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Astrologer (Le Coq d’Or), Duke Grimoaldo (Rodelinda), Clock/Arithmetic (L’enfant et les sortilèges), Normanno/Arturo (Lucia), Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), Pat (Speed Dating Tonight). This summer he will be interpreting Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor) with Taconic Opera and covering Almaviva (Il barbiere with siviglia) with Finger Lakes Opera. See more

Online auditions are now being accepted for chorus members (tenor and bass only) and supernumeraries for our 2021 summer headlining production of The Barber of Seville scheduled for August 6 and 7! For more information about submitting an audition video and resume and/or headshots by May 23rd, visit fingerlakesopera.org!

From animating a children's opera with marionette puppets to producing virtual recitals and video-podcasts that feature a wide variety of music from all time periods, FLO is proud to be a part of OPERA America’s #MeetOpera campaign! Opera is for everyone and can be found everywhere from local theatres to right here on Instagram! Follow the hashtag to discover more

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Tomita Young Artists! Oops, we meant to say, we hope you all have a safe and Happy Halloween this weekend! We are looking forward to sharing the beautiful and festive holiday music we recently filmed together with you all this December Thank you for the , @empirewestphoto!

Join OPERA America as it hits the road virtually! President/CEO Marc A. Scorca is crisscrossing the country via Zoom over the next several months to visit as many opera companies as possible. Marc will lead a presentation about the progress of opera in this country from French opera in New Orleans to digital opera on Instagram. On Thursday, October 29th, he'll highlight the contributions Finger Lakes Opera and Opera Ithaca have made to this progress and how our achievements enrich the national opera landscape! Registration is required, but free, through the link in our bio.

Happy World Opera Day from the Tomita Young Artists! We wish we could have performed for you live and in person like we were supposed to, but we’re grateful for your continued support of Finger Lakes Opera. And, we hope you tune in for our unique rendition of Pinocchio featuring marionette puppets, this December. Until then, stay safe, be well, and keep supporting opera! All staff and artists were sequestered, tested, and health monitored for two weeks before and throughout the rehearsal and recording process.

Now that our Tomita Young Artists are here in Rochester, our rehearsals for Pinocchio are (safely) underway! Check out our website for more information, link in bio.

Rochester native and internationally renowned soprano Elena O’Connor is joined by pianist Chiao-Wen Cheng for a recital jointly presented by Finger Lakes Opera and the Joseph Avenue Arts & Culture Alliance - JAACA. Download the program at https://fingerlakesopera.org//pr/elena-oconnor-program.pdf Special thanks to Dave Jones from Empire West Photo

Double Feature & Young Artist Spotlight! Tune in for a weekend of beautiful music, starting tonight at 7PM with Rochester native Soprano, Elena O'Connor and Pianist, Chiao-Wen Cheng! Update: Tomita Young Artist, Brock Tjosvold’s DMA Recital titled, "A Comparative Study: Debussy and Ravel's settings of "Soupir" and "Placet futile" by Mallarme is now available to watch on YouTube! Link in comments.

Tonight at 7 p.m. - Rochester native and internationally renowned soprano Elena O’Connor is joined by pianist Chiao-Wen Cheng for a recital jointly presented by Finger Lakes Opera and the Joseph Avenue Arts & Culture Alliance - JAACA. Download the program at https://fingerlakesopera.org//pr/elena-oconnor-program.pdf Watch here on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pg/FingerLakesOpera/videos... Or on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BLSg4uXMcI&feature=youtu.be Note: the video will not be live until 7 p.m. this evening (Friday, Oct 16), clicking the YouTube link early will tell you that it's private. Special thanks to Dave Jones from Empire West Photo

Soprano and Rochester native, Elena O'Connor, starred in FLO’s 2017 production of Die Fledermaus and is returning virtually to perform in a recital on October 16th at 7PM with Chiao-Wen Cheng on piano! Tune in on YouTube for a night of beautiful music featuring Puccini, Verdi, Giordano and more! O'Connormade her European opera debut in Wiesbaden in 2017 in the title role of Tosca. Along with countless performances of Verdi's Aida, she has made a career of singing these sign...ature roles and has performed with opera companies and orchestras throughout the United States and Europe. In concert, O'Connor has sung the soprano solos in numerous Bach Cantatas, Poulenc's Gloria, Mendelssohn's Elijah, the Requiem masses of Brahms and Verdi. She is a frequent guest of the Philharmonic Orchestra and Oratorio Society in her hometown of Rochester, New York. See more

Young Artist Spotlight! Mezzo-Soprano, Victoria Thomasch will be performing in our virtual outreach opera, Pinocchio, later this month, but first, she is producing and singing in her 4th Annual Recital for Refugees this Saturday, October 10th at 7PM ET. We love the work she is doing to help others both on and off the stage! To join, go to the link in her bio.

Young Artist Spotlight! This summer, Tomita Young Artist Steph Doche wowed our audiences with her performances of Rossini's "Una voce poco fa" and Bizet's famous "Habanera" on our YouTube channel! Earlier this month, as a Fall Handorf Company Artist with Opera Memphis, she performed in their "Pride on Wheels and "Sing2Me," an outdoor mobile concert at a food drive in Memphis, and we are so proud of all the beautiful work that she is doing!

Join our Artistic Director, Maestro Gerard Floriano, as we explore Opera - the past, present and future. This episode features our "Three Tenors Trivia." Guess the three and email us at [email protected] with your answers (by Wed. Sept 30).

Finger Lakes Opera presents the third and final program of our Summer Season, featuring the 2020 Tomita Young Artists. This concert, sponsored by WXXI 91.5 FM, showcases the young artists in solo and duet performances by such composers as Offenbach, Mozart, Bernstein and more. While we'd rather be with all of you together, in person, we hope our "digital season" in 2020 has helped bring more opera to more people! Support the Arts - please consider donating at https://fingerlakesopera.org