Studio Scenes
Five operas in just over an hour.
PERFORMANCES
February 23, 2023 – 7:00 PM
LOCATION
Pensacola Opera Center
75 S. Tarragona St., Pensacola, FL 32502
details
Proudly featuring our 2022-23 Jan Miller Studio Artists, Studio Scenes is an intimate opportunity to explore the operatic genre by dropping into five different operas in just over an hour. Over the course of the evening, the Studio Artists will present excerpts from operas of Massenet, Rossini, Britten, and Donizetti in a fully-staged, minimally costumed format with live accompaniment by Studio Artist pianist/coach Nathan Cicero. All scenes will include English supertitles projected above the performers to follow along with the story.
FEATURING:
Hayley Abramowitz, soprano
Kayla Nanto, mezzo-soprano
Randy Ho, tenor
Scott Lee, baritone
Nathan Cicero, pianist/coach
Stage direction by Corey McKern.
Music preparation by Cody Martin and Nathan Cicero.
Tickets are $15 and are general admission. No physical tickets will be issued, your name will be on a list at the door.
Jan Miller Studio Artists
Hayley Abramowitz
as SopranoHayley Abramowitz, soprano, is dually based in Houston, TX and Washington, DC. They hold degrees from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music (MM ’20, PD ’21) and from the University of Maryland School of Music (BM ’18), where they studied with Carol Vaness and Delores Ziegler respectively.
Hayley spent the 2021-22 season as a chorister with the Houston Grand Opera, performing in Carmen, Dialogues of the Carmelites, Die Zauberflöte, and Turandot. They also presented a recital as part of the Living Arts Concert Series, featuring Mozart’s rarely performed concert aria, Popoli di Tessaglia.
Favorite roles include Romilda (Serse), Nella (Gianni Schicchi), Blumenmädchen (Parsifal), Lucy (The Telephone), and Mme. Herz (Die Schauspieldirektor). A third-place winner in the inaugural Cincinnati SongSLAM, Hayley is also a passionate advocate of new music, having presented numerous premieres in the past several years. Particularly dear is William Kenlon’s Longfellow Mosaic for soprano and Pierrot ensemble.
Kayla Nanto
as Mezzo-SopranoKayla Nanto is a dynamic mezzo-soprano with a lush and versatile sound who is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. This season, Kayla joined Pensacola Opera as a Jan Miller Studio Artist where she appeared as Nettie Fowler in Carousel and as a featured soloist in various concerts. She is a recent winner in the Georgia District of The Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition.
During the 2021-2022 season, Kayla was a winner in the Colorado/Wyoming District of The Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition. This past summer, sang the title role in Carmen with Painted Sky Opera and was recently a Studio Artist with Fort Worth Opera, with whom she made her mainstage debut as Flora in La traviata. In addition, she returned as a Performing Artist with The Dallas Opera’s Education and Outreach program.
Some of Kayla’s other recent engagements include Second Witch in Dido and Aeneas and Eustazio in Rinaldo with American Baroque Opera Company, Alto soloist in Messiah with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Frida Kahlo/Mother in the world-premiere of Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World with Fort Worth Opera, Alto Soloist in Petite Messe Solenelle with University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Suzuki (cover) in Madama Butterfly with Opera Fort Collins, Ulisse in Achille in Sciro with Orchestra of New Spain, and Edith in Pirates of Penzance with Loveland Opera Theatre.
Kayla holds degrees from University of North Texas (Master of Music) and University of Northern Colorado (Bachelor of Music). During her time at University of North Texas, she performed the roles of Siébel in Faust, Petra in A Little Night Music, and Flora in La traviata. While at University of Northern Colorado, she performed the roles of Angelina in La Cenerentola and the title role in Carmen.
Randy Ho
as TenorComplemented on his “affectionate vibrato” (OperaWire), tenor, Randy Ho is looking forward to joining the team at Pensacola Opera as an Artist in Residence. This season, Mr. Ho will be singing as Parpignol and covering Rodolfo (La bohème), and singing Enoch Snow (Carousel).
Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, Mr. Ho is a recent graduate of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Ho holds a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration concentrating in Marketing from the University of Denver.
Most recently, Mr. Ho will be showcased in Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s scenes program singing excerpts from Faust, La Traviata, and Carmen. Previously, Mr. Ho has been featured as a studio artist at Carnegie Hall’s Song Studio led by world-renowned Soprano Renee Fleming, Peabody Opera Theater productions of La scala di seta (Dorvil), Hin und Zurück(Robert), Postcard from Morocco (Man with old Luggage), Lamont Opera Theater’s production of Il trittico (Rinuiccio), and as a soloist with The National Repertory Orchestra, Denver Opera Collective, and The Denver Spirituals Project.
Scott Lee
as BaritoneA native of Statesville, North Carolina, baritone Scott Lee has been praised for his “…substance and velvety bass voice” by the Winston-Salem Journal. In recent years, he has performed with Piedmont Opera, The Princeton Festival, Opera Theater of the Rockies and Magnolia Baroque. In 2020, Lee received the Ron Payne Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in Charlotte, NC. His most recent engagement was the role of Antonio in Donizetti’s Linda di Chamounix, where “the opportunity to experience a staging of Linda di Chamounix was a rare gift to UNCSA’s audiences, but singing such as Lee’s is still rarer not only in student production but upon all the worlds stages.” (Voix des Arts) Lee received his Bachelor of Music degree and Master of Music degree from UNCSA. In addition to performing, Lee is a seasoned teaching artist, having served as a member of UNCSA’s ArtistCorps. He is a student of Dr. Marylin Taylor.