"Vocal performances well worth listening to."
– San Francisco Classical Voice

Numi Opera 2022 Schedule

Journey Out of Darkness

A RECITAL BREATHING NEW LIFE INTO WORKS BY COMPOSERS WHO SUFFERED OPPRESSION

May 29th • 7 PM at the Broad Theatre in Santa Monica

Numi Opera 2019 schedule

INAUGURAL SEASON

DER RING DES POLYKRATES

December 19 and 22 • 7:30 pm
zipper hall at the colburn school

By Erich Korngold
Conducted by Francesco Milioto
Directed by Gail Gordon

The musician Wilhelm Arndt seems to have everything going for him: he is happily married to Laura, he has been appointed Hoffkapellmeister, and he has just inherited a small fortune. Only the return of his long-lost friend Peter Vogel could make him even more happy. When Vogel actually returns, he is jealous of Wilhelm’s happiness, and convinces him that in order not to challenge fate, he should sacrifice something. Wilhelm starts an argument with his wife about her former life, but the couple’s love is strong enough to overcome all difficulties. In the end, all agree that the sacrifice that has to be offered is the intriguer that tried to ruin their happiness: Peter Vogel has to leave again.

Purchase Tickets

CAST

Wilhelm Arndt
Scott Ramsay, Tenor

Praised by Anthony Tommasini of the New York Times for his “impressive bright-voiced tenor”, Scott Ramsay is highly regarded by Opera companies and Symphony Orchestras across North America and abroad. Following his portrayal of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Chicago Sun-Times proclaimed "He brought a passionate intensity to the role that matched the fire of Natalie Dessay's riveting Lucia."

Operatic highlights include Edgardo/Lucia di Lammermoor, Mark/The Midsummer Marriage, Mitch/A Streetcar Named Desire and the Painter/Sailor in Lulu all at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore at Michigan Opera Theater; Lenski/Eugene Onegin at Madison Opera; Tamino/Die Zauberflöte and Ferrando/Così fan tutte and Jupiter/Semele at Arizona Opera, Riccardo/Un Ballo in Maschera with the Boston Youth Symphony, Narraboth/Salome with the Detroit Symphony and Wilhelm Dantine in Phillip Glass’ A Perfect American in a co-production at Chicago Opera Theater and Long Beach Opera.

Mr. Ramsay's numerous symphonic engagements have included Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini and Tippett’s A Child of Our Time (Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall and Ravinia); Verdi’s Requiem (Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, Greenville Symphony, Apollo Chorus, Berkshire Choral Festival, Louisville Orchestra); Orff’s Carmina Burana (Minnesota Orchestra, Berkshire Choral Festival); Henze’s Kammermusik 1958 with the St. Louis Symphony; Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 (American Symphony Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Pacific Symphony, West Virginia Symphony); Handel’s Messiah (Nashville Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Charleston Symphony) and Richard Danielpour’s An American Requiem (Bel Canto Chorus).

Mr. Ramsay recently joined the voice faculty of DePaul University School of Music in Chicago as a professor of voice. Recent and upcoming engagements include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Pacific Symphony, Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd at Michigan Opera Theater and Wilhelm Arndt the North American premiere of Korngold’s Der Ring des Polykrates with NUMI Opera, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at the Oregon Music Festival and Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Bel Canto Chorus.

Laura
Shana Blake Hill, Soprano

Soprano Shana Blake Hill is known for creating and premiering new roles, operas, and contemporary works. Critics such as Opera News and The Philadelphia Enquirer have described her as a “fearless actress…” “floods of glorious sound…”and as “…visually and vocally voluptuous.” Hill sung principal roles with: The Los Angeles Opera, Savonlinna Festival Opera (Finland), Dayton Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Long Beach Opera, Santa Barbara Opera, and Opera Southwest. She has been a soloist with: The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, The Seattle Symphony, The Pacific Symphony, The Naples Philharmonic, The Pasadena Symphony, The Louisville Orchestra, and The Colorado Symphony. Hill is a Naxos recording artist, and is featured on Sony’s Favorite Film Score Compilation. Her latest world premiere as Dona Angela in the first Flamenco Opera Llantos 1492 with the Tucson Desert Festival of Song made opera history, and her upcoming performance of the title role in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah with Festival Opera is widely anticipated.

Florian Döblinger
ALEX BOYER, TENOR

Alex Boyer is steadily gaining recognition for his commanding voice and dramatic portrayals of the lyric and spinto tenor repertoire. Hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle for Festival Opera’s production of Pagliacci, Boyer “mustered a large, potent sound that brought a welcome measure of anguish and dark menace to the role of Canio; his delivery of the famous showpiece ‘Vesti la giubba’ lacked nothing in the way of grit and vocal power.” Other recent engagements include Ahab in Moby Dick with Chicago Opera Theater, Sam in Susannah with Festival Opera, covering the roles of Pollione in Norma, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and Ahab in Moby Dick with the Dallas Opera, performing the roles of the Abbot in Andrea Chénier and Remendado in Carmen with San Francisco Opera, Rodolfo in La bohème, the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto with Island City Opera, Marcello in Leoncavallo's La bohème and Alwa in Lulu with the acclaimed West Edge Opera production, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Livermore Valley Opera, Lenski in Evgeny Onegin with Opera Idaho, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Manrico in Il trovatore with Island City Opera.

As a resident principal artist with Opera San José, he performed Manrico in Il trovatore, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Canio in Pagliacci, the title role in Faust, Cavaradossi in Tosca, the title role in Idomeneo, and many others. He is an alumnus of the Merola Opera Program and the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program for Singers.

Lieschen
Emily Rosenberg, Soprano

Soprano Emily Rosenberg has been recognized as a “spirited actress” with a “rounded and lyrical voice, well under her control” by Platea Magazine, and “could be part of the program at any established international theater.” This season, Emily made her role debut as Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Jerusalem Lyric Opera and returned to Pacific Opera Project for their “super” take on The Magic Flute, covering Pamina while singing First Spirit. In her 2018/2018 season, Emily appeared in the title role of The Cunning Little Vixen with Opera Steamboat and made her Chicago debut creating the role of the Narrator in the world premiere of For Those in Peril, a new opera by Francis L. Lynch. She also joined Pacific Opera Project to cover Zerlina in Don Giovanni and perform Annina in La Traviata. In the previous season, Emily captivated audiences in multiple portrayals of Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, with performances in Los Angeles, Prague, and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Additional roles include Laetitia (The Old Maid and The Thief), Mabel (The Pirates of Penzance), Amore (Orfeo ed Euridice), Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro), Papagena (Die Zauberflöte), Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), and covering Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi). Emily made her Boston Symphony Hall debut in 2015 as soloist in the Distant Worlds: music from FINAL FANTASY world tour and is the recurring featured soloist for the Berklee Silent Film Orchestra. Emily was awarded Second Place at the 2019 Jerusalem International Opera Competition and was a 2017 recipient of the Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Emily holds degrees in Vocal Performance and Professional Music with a focus in Songwriting from Berklee College of Music. A native of Chicago, Emily is currently based in Los Angeles, where her sound is sought after for commercial and film score recordings in addition to opera and concert producing organizations.

Peter Vogel
Roberto Perlas Gomez, Baritone

Roberto Perlas Gomez has performed his extensive repertoire of over one hundred roles with many of the international and regional opera companies throughout the United States. He sings many of the standard leading baritones roles in Italian and French opera especially his signature role of Figaro in Barber of Seville. Mr. Gomez made his international debut as Marcello in La Boheme in Shanghai and created Rizal in Manila during the centennial year of the Philippine National hero. He recently made his Kennedy Center debut as Elias in the Philippine national opera, Noli me tangere. He made his European debut at the Arena di Verona as Chou en-lai in the Italian premiere of Nixon in China. He has been a frequent leading artist at Long Beach Opera where among his many roles are the American premiere of Vivaldi’s long lost Motezuma and Emperor ofAtlantis. He has made a specialty of modern operas.

Francesco Milioto

Francesco Milioto is excited to be making his conducting debut with Numi Opera in this rarely heard opera by Korngold. He is currently on the music staff at both Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Milioto also enjoys guest conductor relationships with a wide variety of organizations, and was recently named Artistic Advisor to the Florentine Opera Company in Milwaukee. After opening this season with a successful production of Tosca with Opera San Antonio, he then returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago for productions of Luisa Miller, Madama Butterfly and Die Walküre. Mr. Milioto will finish his season by returning to Opera San Antonio for their production of Rigoletto, before heading to The Santa Fe Opera for Wagner's Tristan and Isolde.

VENUE

Zipper Hall
at the Corburn School

200 S. Grand Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Plan your visit!

Der Zwerg

may 30 and June 2
The theatre at ace hotel

By Alexander von Zemlinsky
Conducted by Christopher Luthi
Directed by Gail R. Gordon

“Pick of the Week!”
—Los Angeles Times

Zemlinsky crafted this powerful opera from the short story "The Birthday of the Infanta" by Oscar Wilde. The nightmarish fairy tale concerns the protagonist (The Dwarf) who is given as a gift to, smitten by, and rejected by his love interest (The Infanta), only to discover for the first time his “gruesome appearance”. The story is loosely autobiographical, and echoes Zemlinsky’s own failed love affair with the young Alma, who was to become Alma Mahler. The Opera parable explores themes of innocence, the meaning of true love and beauty, discrimination, social rejection, and crushing loss. After fleeing Nazi Germany and finding a home in America, Zemlinsky’s work remained largely unknown in his new country. Der Zwerg has been performed only a handful of times since its debut in Cologne, Germany in 1922.

CAST

der zwerg
Rodell Rosel, Tenor

Tenor Rodell Rosel is a guest of the major opera companies in the U.S. Following his debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Remendado in Carmen, he has appeared on their stage as the Prince and Man Servant in Lulu, Spoletta in Tosca, the First Priest in Die Zauberflöte, Borsa in Rigoletto and as Faninal’s Major-domo in Der Rosenkavalier, Altoum in Turandot and the Second Jew in Salome,Bardolph in Falstaff, Ruiz in Il Trovatore, Benvoglio in Roméo et Juliette, Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus, the Four Servants in Les Contes d’Hoffman, Monastatos in Die Zauberflöte and Valzacchi in Der Rosenkavalier. For the Metropolitan Opera, he has appeared as Valzacchi conducted by James Levine and as Nathaniel and Franz in their new production of Les Contes d’Hoffman.

ghita
Shana Blake Hill, Soprano

infanta
Oriana Falla, Soprano

Soprano Oriana Falla -- Colombian-American Oriana Falla made her professional concert stage debut as the soprano soloist for Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Long Beach Camerata Singers. Oriana attended UCLA where she studied with renowned baritone, Vladimir Chernov. There she was the featured soprano soloist for Vaughan William’s Dona Nobis Pacem in Royce Hall as well as Orff's Carmina Burana with the UCLA Philharmonia. She frequently sings with the Palm Springs Opera Guild and made her Zipper Hall debut in 2016 with The Opera Buffs. Most recently, Oriana sang the role of La Fée in Massenet’s Cendrillon and Frasquita in Bizet’s Carmen.