OCB Stars
Are you an OCB alum? We’d love to hear from you! Send us your recent info and pic to be included.
AUBREY ALLICOCK, Bass-Baritone- www.aubrey-allicock.webs.com
Recent Career Highlights: Metropolitan Opera, the Juilliard School, Opera theatre of Saint Louis, Wexford festival, Phoenix Opera, Concerts Austria- Vienna, and Chamber music PLUS concert with Louis Gosset Jr.
Upcoming engagements: Guest artist with the Juilliard school as the Grand Inquisitor in the American premiere of Kommilitonen, Principle Artist with Opera theatre of Saint Louis as the Mad Hatter in the American preimere of Alice in Wonderland.
Aubrey’s quote about his OCB experience:
“What a great platform for young artists to have there New York city debuts! I will always remember my wonderful experience with OCB.”
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DERRICK BALLARD, Bass-Baritone - www.derrickballard.com
Recent Career Highlights: Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, Staatsoper Hannover, Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt, Kasseler Konzertchor, Bühnen der Stadt Gera, Deutche Oper am Rhein, Emerald City Opera, Staatstheater Kassel, Theater Dortmund, Staatstheater Kassel, Oper der Stadt Bonn.
Derrick’s quote about his OCB experience:
“It was a pleasure to work at the Opera Company of Brooklyn. The talent level was very high, and they provide young, upcoming singers a very important opportunity to expand their repertoire and work in a professional environment. My opportunity at OCB came at exactly the right time, and helped me to further my career, which has since taken me to Germany. Jay is a wonderful, old-fashioned impressario, who can identify and nurture young talent. That is a rare combination today!”
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MARNIE BRECKENRIDGE, Soprano - http://www.marniebreckenridge.com/
Recent career highlights: Prague State Opera, English National Opera, San Francisco Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Arizona Opera, West Bay Opera, and Ravinia Festival.
Marnie’s quote about her OCB experience:
“How wonderful it was to get to learn and perform the roles of Juliette in Romeo et Juliette and Elvira in I Puritani in a quick week with OCB. With the excellent guidance of Jay Meetze, I was able to sing through the role in public in a beautiful space with fantastic colleagues. OCB has quite a loyal following of people who understand that art needs to be supported…that young artists need an audience to sing to…that beautiful art is created in a fun, casual and approachable environment at OCB! Great casts. I love everyone. So good and so nice too! Maestro Meetze is a great conductor; I love how joyfully he conducts and is so good at giving cues. He rocks.”
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CHERRY DUKE, Mezzo-Soprano – www.cherryduke.com
Recent career highlights: Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, the title role in Carmen, Sally Rogers in the world premiere of The Life and Love of Joe Coogan by Paul Salerni and Lady Olive in the world premiere of Dellaira’s The Secret Agent. This season she continues on the roster of New York City Opera, covering the role of the Notary’s Wife in Intermezzo.
Cherry was a guest artist with OCB and performed as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro and Second Lady in Die Zaubefloete.
Cherry’s quote about her OCB experiences:
”Singing with OCB was a great opportunity to try out a new role with other young professionals.”
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ERIC FENNELL, Tenor - www.ericfennell.com
Recent Career Highlights: New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Dallas Opera, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Salzburg Landestheater, Macau International Music Festival, Teatro Petruzzelli Bari, Arena di Verona
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LUKE GROOMS, Tenor – http://lukegrooms.com/
Recent career highlights: Metropolitan Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Orchestra of New York, Chautauqua Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Sarasota Opera, and Opera North.
Luke’s quote about his OCB experience:
“OCB provided me with the chance to learn a role and perfect my craft in a supportive atmosphere, something in this world of fast paced shows that we don’t get very often. Whether you are revisiting a role you have already done, or learning one for the first time, the chance to sing for an audience without fear is rare. I personally sang Nemorino, The Duke, and Ruggiero for the first time at OCB, all roles I have performed again!!!”
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CANDICE HOYES, Soprano – www.candicehoyes.com
Recent career highlights: Natchez Music Festival, Opera Naples, Caramoor International Music Festival,Carnegie Hall, Amadeus Opera Ensemble in Salzburg, and the Akron Symphony Orchestra.
Candice was an OCB Resident Artist and performed the role of Despina in Cosi fan Tutte 2007.
Candice’s quote about her OCB experience:
“I think of Jay and still appreciate singing with OCB Resident Artist Program – getting to do three roles in a season, and through you getting the audition that led to work with Lorin Maazel at the Castleton gig afterwards. I’ve got lots of OCB love!”
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KENNETH OVERTON, Baritone – www.KennethOverton.com
Recent career highlights: Porgy (Porgy andBess) with Lexington Opera Society and the University of Kentucky, San Francisco Opera as Sid in La Fanciulla del West (starring Deborah Voigt), Opera Carolina as Porgy (Porgy and Bess), The Sarasota Orchestra and Opera Memphis as Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), and the Sacramento Opera as Germont(La Traviata). Other recent engagements include performances with Nashville Opera, Connecticut Opera, Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, Duluth Superior Symphony, and San Antonio Symphony, Broadway debut in Baz Luhrman’s La Boheme. Later this season, the young baritone reprises the role of Porgy for ”The 75th Anniversary Tour” to Montreal and returns to New York City Opera in a concert production of Scott Joplin’s (Treemonisha).
Kenneth’s OCB roles include Papageno in the 2003 production of The Magic Flute and Sharpless in Madame Butterfly in 2010.
Kenneth’s quote about his OCB experiences:
“Working with OCB was and continues to be a wonderful experience. You are surrounded by wonderful colleagues and a very supportive artistic team. The results are magical and I am so much better for the experiences.”
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DARREN K. STOKES, Bass-Baritone – http://www.darrenkstokes.com/
Recent career highlights: Rachmaninoff’s The Bells, Opus 35 (Baritone Solo) with the Grant Park Music Festival, Calkas (Troilus and Cressida) for Opera Theater of St. Louis, Ferrando (Il Trovatore) for Indianapolis Opera, Commendatore (Don Giovanni),and Escamillo (Carmen) for Opera North, the Washington National Opera as Jake (Porgy and Bess), Lake George Opera in a reprise of Escamillo (Carmen), a debut with The Dallas Opera as Queequeg in Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick, Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro) for San Antonio Opera, Theseus (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) at Boston Lyric Opera, Indianapolis Opera for Escamillo in performances of Le Tragedie de Carmen. Upcoming projects include: a company debut with Seattle Opera in a reprise of the Undertaker together with a cover of Crown, the Dallas Opera where he performs the 2nd Armored Man, and a Carnegie Hall debut with the distinguished Cleveland Orchestra singing 5thJew and Cappodocian.
Darren’s quote about his OCB experiences:
“It was a pleasure to work at the Opera Company of Brooklyn. The talent level was very high, and they provide young, upcoming singers a very important opportunity to expand their repertoire and work in a professional environment. My opportunity at OCB came at exactly the right time, and helped me to further my career, which has since taken me to Germany. Jay is a wonderful, old-fashioned impressario, who can identify and nurture young talent. That is a rare combination today!”
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JOHN ZUCKERMAN, Tenor – www.johnzuckerman.com
Recent career highlights: Salzburger Landestheater – roles include Farnace (Vivaldi, title role), Nemorino, Don Ottavio, Teseo in Marcello’s
Arianna; next season with Theater Dortmund – roles include Camille in Die Lustige Witwe, Alessandro in L’Eliogabalo (Cavalli), tenor in staged Elijah; and an upcoming return to Rossini Opera Festival in La Scala di Seta.
Other notable experiences: Don Ramiro in Cenerentola at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Tonio in La Fille du Régiment in Hong Kong, Libenskoff at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, Mozarts Coronation Mass at Carnegie Hall, Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Virginia Opera, Opera Delaware, Dayton Opera, West Bay Opera, and the Duluth Festival Opera, cover of Rossini’s Otello with Opera Orchestra of New York, cover of Arturo in I Puritani at Caramoor.
Roles with OCB: Goro, Tamino, Spoletta, Prunier, Ferrando, Romeo, Tybalt, Arturo, Lindoro, Almaviva, Don Ottavio
John’s quote about his OCB experiences:
“I started with Opera Company of Brooklyn in 2001 as a Resident Artist and Goro in Madama Butterfly. Back then, they were the only company giving me a chance to get up there and sing roles, and I sang anything they would throw at me, from small parts to leading roles, under just about every possible circumstance. It’s great experience, and there are a lot of talented singers who come out of OCB. If you look on the roster of any opera company in America (and quite a few in Europe too) and you’ll find singers who’ve sung with OCB.”
