Snapshots 2019 Program

presents

November 3rd, 2019, 3:00pm PROGRAM

Achilles Leonidas Bezanis, tenor Christina Giuca, piano

Selections from A Young Man’s Exhortation Gerald Finzi 1. A Young Man’s Exhortation Thomas Hardy 2. Ditty 4. Her Temple 7. The Sigh 10. The dance continued

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Anna Laurenzo, mezzo soprano Christina Giuca, piano

I'm a Stranger Here Myself from One Touch of Venus Kurt Weill Ogden Nash

Soir d'hiver Nadia Boulanger Nadia Boulanger

Soleils couchants Nadia Boulanger Paul Verlaine

La maja dolorosa, No. 1 Enrique Granados Fernando Periquet

El mirar de la Maja Enrique Granados Fernando Periquet

Callejeo Enrique Granados Fernando Periquet

ARTIST BIOS

ACHILLES LEONIDAS BEZANIS: Achilles Leonidas Bezanis, Tenor, is currently based in Chicago, IL, while singing, working, and pursuing a career in the arts. He was recently a Resident Artist with Opera Naples for their 2018/19 Season. He completed his Master’s in Voice and Literature at the Eastman School of Music, studying under Professor Robert Swensen. He also holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, where he studied with Dr. Scott Piper.

Achilles has performed the role of Fabrizio Naccarelli (The Light in the Piazza) at the Eastman School of Music, Gonzalve (L’Heure Espagnole) at the University of Michigan, Lucano (L’incoronazione di Poppea) at the Eastman School of Music, Beppe (I Pagliacci) at the Fresno Opera and Orchestra Summer Academy and El Remendado (Carmen) at the Bay View Music Festival. Most recently, Achilles was a Young Artist at the Brevard Music Festival where he performed the roles of Tybalt (Roméo et Juliette) and Sam (Cover - Susannah) in the Summer 2019 Season. He has also recently made some exciting debuts in Naples, FL as Gernando (L’Isola Disabitata) with Opera Naples and in Chicago as Charles / Roderick II (Cover – The Long Christmas Dinner) with Chicago Fringe Opera and an Ensemble member (Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick) with Chicago Opera Theater. Scene highlights include performances as Ferrando (Cosi Fan Tutte) at the Castleton Festval and Pang (Turandot), Candide (Candide), and Orombello (Beatrice di Tenda) at “Si parla, si canta” in Urbania, Italy.

Upcoming Performances include a double bill of Joby Talbot‘s Everest and Rachmaninoff’s Aleko (Ensemble) with Chicago Opera Theater.

ANNA LAURENZO: Noted for her “deeply moving” performances and “lovely tone,” mezzo-soprano Anna Laurenzo has gained experience in a wide range of repertoire over her young career. Her 2019/20 season sees debuts with Lincoln Center Theater, Glacier Symphony, and return engagements with Chicago Opera Theater and the Metropolitan Opera Guild.

Particularly recognized for her performance of new American operas, Ms. Laurenzo is a veteran of multiple world premiere productions including JFK and Voir Dire with Fort Worth Opera. Her recent performance credits include a Carnegie Hall debut, as well as appearances with Center for Contemporary Opera, LOFTrecital, Chicago Opera Theater, New York Theatre Ballet, American Lyric Theater, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, and the American Opera Society.

CHRISTINA GIUCA: Romanian-American pianist Christina Giuca enjoys a dynamic career as a collaborator, performer, vocal coach, and educator. She was the pianist winner of the 2017 Marilyn Horne Song Competition and played in Carnegie Hall’s 2018 “The Song Continues” series in master classes with Renée Fleming, Graham Johnson, and Marilyn Horne. Christina works as a pianist and coach with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Chicago Opera Theater, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center, Music of the Baroque, North Park University, and Northwestern University and is on faculty at Lutheran Summer Music Festival.

Christina has premiered numerous works by living composers and prepared new operas, including Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones. She is a founding member of contemporary piano duo 4x5 with her husband, composer Benjamin Krause.

Christina holds degrees from the Oberlin Conservatory and Rice University's Shepherd School of Music and received a Postgraduate Collaborative Piano Fellowship from the Bard College Conservatory.