An international soloist featured in the 2009 Festival Ensemble Stuttgart, Owen McIntosh is quickly gaining recognition at home and abroad. His most recent appearances include the tenor soloist in Bach’s B Minor mass (Tucson Chamber Artists), tenor soloist in Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 (Sound of Stowe), evangelist in Telemann’s Passion of St. Luke and St. John (Boston University, Exsultemus), and as comprimario soloist in The Nose (Opera Boston). He has performed in Jordan Hall as soloist in Benjamin Britten’s Serenade for tenor and horn. He has also been featured as Camille in The Merry Widow (Townsend Opera), Dema in Cavalli’s L’Egisto (NEC), Robert in Hin und Zurück (Kurt Weill Festival) in Dessau, Germany, as Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte and Rinuncio in Gianni Schicchi (North Star Opera Repertory Theater). Owen can be heard regularly with Exsultemus, Boston Baroque, Blue Heron, Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra, Handel and Haydn Society, Emanuel Music, Opera Boston, Tucson Chamber Artists, and Seraphic Fire. Owen McIntosh holds a masters degree from the New England Conservatory of Music.
Canadian soprano Linda Tsatsanis enjoys an active and diverse career. Hailed as “ravishing” (New York Times) and possessing a voice with “crystalline purity” (Seattle Times), Ms. Tsatsanis’ career spans the concert hall, opera stage, movies and television.
Linda has appeared as soloist with ensembles such as the Seattle Baroque Orchestra, Auburn Symphony, Orchestra Seattle, and Pacific Baroque Orchestra and has recently been presented by Indianapolis Early Music Festival, San Francisco Early Music Society, Early Music in Columbus, Renaissance and Baroque Society (Pittsburg), the Early Music Guild (Seattle), Early Music Now (Milwaukee), Magnolia Baroque Festival, and Bloomington Early Music Festival. Ms. Tsatsanis holds degrees from the University of Toronto and Indiana University. She has a solo album with Origin Classical, And I Remain: Three Love Stories, described as a “seductive recital of the darker sides of 17th-century love” (Gramophone), and can also be heard on recordings by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Naxos.
Baritone Jacob A. Cooper recently made his debut in the role of Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff (Boston Opera Collaborative) to critical acclaim. The Hub Review called his performance “the best piece of Shakespearean acting I’ve seen all year” and the Boston Musical Intelligencer raved, “One of the more dramatic highlights of the production was Jacob Cooper’s performance of Ford’s aria … His dramatic, musical interpretation and delivery was a pleasure.” Jacob recently sang Comus in Mondonville’s Bacchus et Erigone with the Harvard Baroque Orchestra (BEMF Fringe Concert), as well as Belcore in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore, and John Brooke in Boston Opera Collaborative’s Little Women. He has also performed as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah (Arcadia Players), Haydn’s Cäcilienmesse (Cambridge Concentus), Bach’s Johannes-Passion (Providence Singers), as well the Matthaus-Passion (Santa Fe Pro Musica). Jacob can be regularly heard with The Handel & Haydn Society, Capella Clausura, Arcadia Players and Schola Cantorum.
Toronto based baritone Keith Lam‘s most recent engagements include an acclaimed production of Canadian composer John Estacio’s new opera Lillian Alling in the role of Sergei at the Banff Centre and as Schaunard (La Bohème) with Against the Grain Theatre in Toronto. Among his other operatic roles, highlights have included the title role of John Blow’s Venus and Adonis, Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus), Nireno (Giulio Cesare), Der Lautsprecher (Der Kaiser von Atlantis), and Dr. Dulcamara (L’Elisir d’Amore). As a concert soloist, he had appeared in Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Faure’s Requiem, and Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs.
Keith makes frequent appearances with Opera Atelier, Aradia Ensemble, Opera in Concert, and Toronto Operetta Theatre. Also an active performer of Canadian music, his repertoire includes Blanchet in Charles Wilson’s Kamouraska, Phillip in the revival of Telgmann’s Leo, the Royal Cadet and John Estacio’s Frobisher. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Keith continues his vocal study with baritone John Fanning. He is an alumnus of the Banff Centre’s Opera as Theatre program, Opera NUOVA, Highlands Opera Studio and Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute. He was also a recent prize winner at the Classical Music Consort inaugural Handel competition.
Marcio de Oliveira has been praised for his “agile, multi-faceted voice” and “vibrant stage presence” (ModBee.com). His operatic roles include Aladino in Scarlatti’s La principessa fedele (Amherst Early Music Festival 2011), Ferrando in Così fan tutte (Westminster Opera Theater), Albert in Albert Herring (Westminster Opera Theater), Tamino in The Magic Flute (Townsend Opera Players), Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi (CSU Stanislaus Opera Workshop), and Dr. Blind in Die Fledermaus (Townsend Opera Players).
Marcio has appeared as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion (Fuma Sacra, Andrew Megill); Britten’s Five Canticles; Poulenc’s Calligrammes; Handel’s Messiah; Bach’s Missa in G Minor BWV 235 and Cantatas BWV 29, 147, 166 & 211; Mozart’s Requiem, Missa Brevis, and Coronation Mass; as well as Rachmaninov’s Vespers. He can be heard performing Bach’s St. Matthew Passion & Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the Handel & Haydn Society this spring. Marcio sings regularly with the Advent Choir of The Church of the Advent on Beacon Hill and is a recent graduate of the Masters of Music degree program in Voice Performance & Pedagogy at Westminster Choir College.
Sophie Michaux was born in London, England. She studied music at the Haute École de Musique in Geneva, Switzerland, graduating in 2010 with a degree in Early Music. She went on to Italy to study and perform as soloist at the Egida Sartori and Laura Alvini Early Music Seminar, directed by René Jacobs, and in the fall of 2010 came to Cambridge, where she is currently studying at the Longy School of Music with Anna Gabrieli. In Europe, she performed with directors Gabriel Garrido, Jean-Marie Curti and Leonardo Garcia Alarcon. Although Sophie is concentrating on the classical opera repertoire, her rich mezzo-soprano voice makes her a sought-after soloist for jazz, tango, cabaret and other popular music genres.
James Dargan performs widely as a baritone and as a violinist. He studied at Leeds University and has taken lessons with Dr. Anton Belov and Dr. Jerrold Pope and masterclasses with Penelope Bitzas, Karyl Ryzcek, Lynn Torgove, and Sondra Kelly. While in the UK, James performed in many early music and choral groups, including the Leeds Baroque Ensemble and Choir and the York Minster Cathedral choir as Bass choral scholar. Since moving back to Boston, James has appeared in many productions and concerts, including Verdi’s Tosca, Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette and a one-on-a-part performance of the Bach B Minor Mass. He is also happy to be a member of the Cantata Singers.
New York native Claire Raphaelson has made a home for herself in Boston as an active recitalist and soloist with wide-ranging musical pursuits. Praised for her “stylistically nuanced performances,” and “charming sense of chutzpah,”(Boston Musical Intelligencer) Claire collaborates frequently with lutenist Matthew Wright and keyboardist Matthew Hall, and appears with numerous local ensembles such as Musical Offering, Long & Away, Harvard Early Music Society and others. Recent performances include the title role in the fringe opera Bacchus and Erigone by Mondonville at the Boston Early Music Festival as well as many innovative lute song programs. She has participated in masterclasses given by Ellen Hargis, Stephen Stubbs, William Christie, and Emmanuel Music, has trained at the International Baroque Institute at Longy and at the Vancouver Early Music Baroque Vocal Programme. Claire received her MM in Historical Performance from Longy School of Music and her BM in Vocal Performance from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. She is a choir member and soloist at Parish of the Good Shepherd and is a student of Pamela Dellal.
Kynesha Patterson Shaw is a soprano based in the Boston area, equally at home in concert repertoire and opera. Possessing a naturally light, clear, agile tone, she finds a special affinity for early and contemporary music alike. Kynesha has performed choral and solo work with many local ensembles including Longitude New Music Ensemble, Back Bay Chorale, Connecticut Early Music Festival, Peter Freisinger Chamber Orchestra, Harvard Early Music Society, Paul Madore Chorale, Cantata Singers, Ludovico Ensemble, Opera Providence and Boston Ballet. She is an ensemble member of Cantata Singers Ensemble and on the substitute roster for the Handel and Haydn Society.
Shannon Rose McAuliffe has been praised for her “marvelous voice” and ability to create “tender moments” onstage. Shannon had the privilege of performing under Martin Pearlman in a collaboration between BU Baroque and Boston Baroque, where she sang as a soprano soloist in Telemann’s St. Luke Passion. Under Simon Carrington, she appeared as a soloist in CPE Bach’s Magnificat (Canto Armonico). She was featured soloist on Ensemble ad Libitum’s Italia ad Libitum program, touring Massachusetts and performing on the Fringe Series of the Boston Early Music Festival. Shannon has been a soloist in Monteverdi’s Vespers (Sounds of Stow Festival), Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass (Masterworks Chorale), as well as Fauré’s Requiem and Vivaldi’s Gloria (Paul Madore Chorale). Her roles include Dido (Dido and Aeneas) with Five College Opera, Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Singers at Play, Lily (Secret Garden) and Johanna (Cover, Sweeney Todd) with the MIT Gilbert and Sullivan Players and First Spirit (Magic Flute) with MetroWest Opera.
Shannon earned her Bachelor’s degree in music history and voice from the University of Massachusetts, where she studied with William Hite. She also holds a Master’s degree in historical performance from Boston University, where she studied with tenor Frank Kelley.
Canadian soprano Erika Vogel has recently moved to Boston after time in New York City and Montreal. Her upcoming engagements include appearances in the title role of Cavalli’s La Calisto with the Harvard Early Music Society, and as soprano soloist in Handel’s Israel in Egypt in Edmonton, Canada.
Erika’s previous opera and concert appearances include Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Vesperae Solennes de Confessore, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Galatea in Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Valetto in Monteverdi l’Incoronazione di Poppea, Laetitia in Menotti’s Old Maid and the Thief, Fairy One in Montreal Baroque Festival’s Production of Purcell’s Fairy Queen. Erika has a passion for Latin American and Spanish classical music, studying in Barcelona and making her Spanish début at the Ateneu Barcelones. She is a recipient of the prestigious Jacqueline Desmarais Grant for Young Canadian Opera Singers and sings regularly at the Church of the Advent.
Tenor and Wisconsin native Paul Halverson is delighted to be performing with Helios in its inaugural production of David et Jonathas. Paul is currently in his second and final year at Boston University pursing a master’s degree in Historical Performance, and is a student of James Demler. Paul has sung in master classes with the late Paul Kiesgen at Indiana University, Stephen Robertson of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Sondra Kelly of the MET and William Christie. Paul has played leading roles in Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera, Charpentier’s Les Arts Florissants, Offenbach’s La Perichole and has sung in numerous performances with the Harvard Early Music Society.