This year's concert features tenor Ben Gulley, soprano Kristen Marie Gillis, baritone Thandolwethu Mamba, and pianist Nathan Cicero along with Opera Orlando’s own Gabriel Preisser and violinist Andreas Volmer
You are cordially invited to Opera Orlando's annual Valentine's Event on February 16, at the home of Audrey and John Ruggieri. Doors open at 1 pm for lunch followed by a musical program with selections from Puccini's LA BOHEME.
This year's concert welcomes back acclaimed tenor Ben Gulley and Opera Orlando general director and Grammy award winner Gabriel Preisser, soprano Kristen Marie Gillis and recent Metropolitan Opera NYC district winner Thando Mamba, with Nathan Cicero on piano and Andreas Volmer on violin.
Tickets include open bar, lunch, dessert, and valet AND the entire event is completely underwritten by the Ruggieri family, so your ticket purchase is fully tax deductible. Woohoo!!!
Ben Gulley
American tenor Ben Gulley has been hailed as “outstanding" (Opera News) and "startlingly gifted" (San Francisco Classical Voice). The award-winning artist’s recent seasons have included feature roles in opera, solo engagements, concert, film work, touring and important appearances abroad.
Recent artistic and critical triumphs include his debut as Romeo in the rave-reviewed Roméo et Juliette with Opera Idaho (2024), headlining “An Evening with Sir Tim Rice” alongside the EGOT legend himself (2024), winning Broadway World’s “Best Actor In A Musical” award for his debut as Quasimodo in Dennis DeYoung's Hunchback of Notre Dame with Skylight Music Theatre (2022), a debut as Cavaradossi in Tosca with Sarasota Opera (2022), Tenor Soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Orchestra Iowa (2023) and international engagements as Tenor Soloist in Bruckner’s Te Deum with Maestro Hartmut Haenchen and as Tenor Soloist in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde opposite renowned mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung with the Belgian National Orchestra in Brussels and Namur, Belgium under Maestro Hugh Wolff (2021). In April of 2023, Gulley enjoyed a triumph with Portland Opera, jumping into the role of the Prince in Rusalka on two days’ notice and traveling directly to a dress rehearsal with no prior musical or stage rehearsals. Then, weeks later, he ended the season in similarly heroic and dramatic fashion by learning and performing the role of Foresto in Verdi’s Attila in three weeks’ time for a last-minute replacement at the Opera Festival of Chicago.
Ms. Boettcher
This season, Ms. Boettcher makes her Mexican debut reprising the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with the Sociedad Artistico del Tecnológico in Monterrey Mexico, in a collaborative production with Teatro Grattacielo. She also joins El Paso Opera for the Encores & Overtures Gala as the featured soloist to celebrate the company's 30th anniversary. Ms. Boettcher will return to perform with the Panama City Symphony Orchestra as the featured soloist for their Bella Notte concert and Viva Italia! Gala. She will then make her debut with Pacific Opera Project, taking on the role of Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, followed by another role and company debut performing Gretel in Hansel & Gretel with Opera Tampa. She will then perform the role of Dot/Marie in Sondheim's Sunday in the Park with George with El Paso Opera later in the spring.
On the concert stage, Ms. Boettcher has presented an array of works with orchestras around the world. She has performed contemporary pieces which include Fredrik Sixten’s Requiem and Tarik O’Regan’s Triptych with the Milwaukee Bel Canto Chorus, as well as more classical works such as aforementioned Mahler’s Symphony No.4., a semi-staged concert production of Die Zauberflöte with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra as Zweite Dame, Mozart’s Requiem with the Carmel Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with the Cairo Festival Orchestra in Egypt, and a selection of popular opera arias and ensemble scenes in a concert with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.
Ms. Boettcher has received the Artistic Excellence Fellowship, the Mavis McRae Crow Scholarship, and the Wilfred C. Bain Scholarship from Indiana University, the Helen & Lynton Caldwell Memorial Award and the First Place Prize Career Grant from the National Society of Arts and Letters in their vocal competition. She has also received the third place prize as a Regional Winner in the Central Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the third place prize in the Emerging Professional Division of the International Classical Singer Competition. In 2021, Ms. Boettcher was selected as a semifinalist in the Lotte Lenya Competition, a finalist in the Partners for the Arts Competition, a finalist in the Music International Grand Prix Competition, and the First Place Grand Prize winner in the MIOpera Vocal Competition.
Kristen Marie Gillis
Black Mexican-American soprano Kristen Marie Gillis is a rising young artist sharing her passion for singing on both opera and concert stages. Most recently, she worked with Finger Lakes Opera as a Tomita Young Artist, performing Nella in Gianni Schicchi and covering the leading role of Florine in B.E. Boykin and Jarrod Lee’s Two Corners. She has also been a member of Opera Ithaca’s Apprentice Artist program, portraying the roles of First Wood Sprite and Turnspit, as well as covering the title role of Rusalka. Previous credits include Eliza in Dark Sisters, Mother in Hansel and Gretel, Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi. In concert, she has been the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Missa in C minor, Handel’s Messiah, Fauré’s Requiem, and Haydn’s Missa Sancti Nicolai. Originally from Central Texas, Ms. Gillis holds degrees from Temple University and Abilene Christian University.
Nathan Cicero
Pianist Nathan Cicero is an energetic and engaging performer, who thrives on working collaboratively with other musicians. As a pianist, conductor, coach, and educator, he is known for his down-to-earth, congenial style, and pursuit of unique and nuanced musical experiences.
Most recently, Nathan returned to Opera Saratoga, serving as world premiere music director and pianist for Clarice Assad’s opera The Selfish Giant. Additionally, he has served on music staff for productions with Gulfshore Opera, Pensacola Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Chicago Summer Opera. Formerly a resident of Minnesota, he has collaborated with many Twin Cities arts organizations, including Skylark Opera Theatre, St. Croix Valley Opera, The Schubert Club, and the Source Song Festival.
Nathan holds a Master of Music degree in Vocal Accompanying from the Peabody Conservatory, where he studied with Eileen Cornett. A native of Wisconsin, Nathan earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Wisconsin- Eau Claire.
Thandolwethu Mamba
Eswatini-born Southern African baritone Thandolwethu Mamba has been described as having a “chilling refinement in bearing and voice.” Recent engagements include his Metropolitan Opera debut in X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, Il Dancaïro in Carmen with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with Frost Opera Theater, Baron Duophol in La Traviata with Opera Wilmington, Town Magistrate in Signor Deluso and Max in Stone Soup with Florida Grand Opera. His creation of the role of Don Calogero Sedàra in The Leopard by Michael Dellaria has been released on Naxos Records. Mr. Mamba is a recent double graduate of the University of Miami and Duke University.
Andreas Volmer
Andreas Volmer moved from Germany to Orlando in 2013. His passion is chamber music: Back in Germany, he played first violin in a string quartet that performed on a regular basis, covering a repertoire from Haydn and Mozart to Debussy, Bartok, and Shostakovich. With his quartet ensemble, he took part in several chamber music master classes with members of the LaSalle Quartet, Buchberger Quartet, Carmina Quartet, and Auryn Quartet, in Germany, Austria and Italy. In Orlando, he made his public debut as a chamber musician with a piano trio recital at the Timucua Arts Foundation in the summer of 2017. He is a core member of the Alterity Chamber Orchestra, founding member of the Fernwood Quartet, is regularly performing with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, and has performed in multiple projects with Opera Orlando and Orlando Ballet.
Gabriel Preisser
Grammy Award winning baritone, Gabriel Preisser originally hails from Apopka, FL. He has been critically acclaimed by the NY Times and Opera News and has performed over 50 leading roles from Harold Hill to Don Giovanni with companies such as Opera San Antonio, Opera Naples, Opera Tampa, Minnesota Orchestra, Utah Opera, and the Colorado Symphony. He is known for having created the role of Lt Gordon in the Pulitzer Prize winning Silent Night which he has performed with Opera Philadelphia, Detroit Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and Minnesota Opera - the latter was broadcast nationally on PBS in 2013. He currently lives in Winter Garden, FL with his loving wife and kids.
Get tickets now. https://operaorlando.org/love.
This event is completely and graciously underwritten by Audrey and John Ruggieri. 100% of your ticket price goes as a contribution to Opera Orlando.
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