SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

PERFORMER BIOGRAPHIES

Brian Mulligan (Roderick Usher) American baritone Brian Mulligan made his San Francisco Opera debut as Marcello (La Bohème) with Maestro Nicola Luisotti in 2008 and has since returned as Valentin (Faust), Albert (Werther), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), the Kingʼs Herald (Lohengrin) and as the title role in Nixon in China. He returned in 2014 as Count Anckarström (Un Ballo in Maschera), as well as Marcello, and he recently appeared as Chorèbe (Les Troyens) with Maestro Donald Runnicles during the summer of 2015. In San Francisco Operaʼs 2015-16 season he appears in the title roles of Debussy's La Chute de la Maison Usher and Getty'sUsher House, as well as Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor). Brian has recently appeared as Amfortas (Parsifal) and Prospero (Adèsʼs The Tempest) both at Oper

Frankfurt; Yeletsky (The Queen of Spades) with Jiři Bělohlávek at Opernhaus Zürich; Carmina Burana with Gustavo Dudamel at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, André Thorel (Massenetʼs Thérèse) at Wexford Festival Opera; Peter (Hänsel und Gretel) with Lyric Opera of Chicago; Enrico with Canadian Opera Company, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Washington National Opera; the title role of Hamlet with Minnesota Opera; and Amonasro (Aida) and Balstrode (Peter Grimes) both at the Aspen Music Festival. Other recent engagments include Valentin at the Metropolitan Opera with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin; the title role of The Death of Klinghoffer with Opera Theatre of St. Louis; Prometheus (Die Vögel) at Los Angeles Opera; Marcello at Houston Grand Opera and New York City Opera; Ford (Falstaff) at Japanʼs Saito Kinen Festival with Seiji Ozawa; and the title role in Der Kaiser von Atlantis with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera, and at the Ravinia Festival. Upcoming enagements include Paolo Albiani (Simon Boccanegra) at the Metropolitan Opera with James Levine; creating the role of Jack Torrance in the world premiere of Paul MoravecʼsThe Shining at Minnesota Opera; Yeletsky at Opernhaus Zürich; and John Proctor in a new production of The Crucible by Francesca Zambello at the Glimmerglass Festival.

Jason Bridges (Edgar Allan Poe) has been seen in opera houses and concert halls throughout Europe and the United States. The American tenorʼs notable operatic roles include the title roles in bothCandide and Albert Herring, Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Pylade (Iphigénie en Tauride), Alfredo (La Traviata), Tybalt (Roméo et Juliette), Des Grieux (Manon), Nemorino (The Elixir of Love) and Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor). He has also been seen as Cyrille in the world premiere of Philippe Boesmansʼ Yvonne, Princesse de Bourgogne, recorded for Cypres Records and performed at the Opéra National de Paris, Theater an der Wien and Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie. The list of conductors he has collaborated with includes Roberto Abbado, Semyon Bychkov, Sylvain Cambreling, James Conlon and Jesús López-

Cobos. His recent and upcoming engagements include Lorenzo (The Merchant of Venice) at the Bregenz Festival and in Warsaw, Baroncelli (Rienzi) at Teatro Real Madrid, and Candidewith the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra. Bridges is an alumnus of the Atelier Lyrique young artist program of the Opéra National de Paris, where he was awarded the Prix AROP as the programʼs outstanding male voice.

SAN FRANCISCO OPERA Education Materials THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER

Jacqueline Piccolino (Madeline) Soprano Jacqueline Piccolino is a second-year San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow who made her San Francisco Opera debut in 2013 as Stella in Les Contes d'Hoffmann. She returned as a maid in the world premiere of Dolores Claiborne, and as Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Clotilde (Norma), and Mrs. Hayes (Susannah). As a participant in the 2012 and 2013 Merola Opera Program, she appeared as Countess Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Arminda (La Finta Giardiniera). As a studio artist with Wolf Trap Opera Company, she has appeared in that companyʼs productions of The Inquisitive Women, Sweeney Todd, and Les Contes d'Hoffmann. Other career highlights include appearing in the Napa Festival del Soleʼs Bouchaine Young Artist Concert Series and

participating in the Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy. Piccolino is a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation and winner of the New York Lyric Opera Theatre Competition and the Bel Canto Competition.

Anthony Reed (Doctor Primus) Bass Anthony Reed made his San Francisco Opera debut in various roles in 2015ʼs Les Troyens. He is a first-year San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and alumnus of the 2014 Merola Opera Program. Roles in his repertory include Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Truffaldin (Ariadne auf Naxos), Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Dulcamara (LʼElisir dʼAmore), Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola), and the Four Villains (Les Contes dʼHoffmann), among others. Reed received a 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Regional Encouragement Award and has been a young artist at the Wolf Trap Opera Studio and the Seagle Music Colony, in addition to his studies at the Curtis Institute of Music and the University of Wisconsin.

Joel Sorensen (Le Médecin) American tenor Joel Sorensen made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2004 as the Mosquito in Janáčekʼs The Cunning Little Vixen, returning as Spoletta in Tosca, Dr. Caius in Falstaff, and creating the role of Mr. Pease in the 2013 world premiere of Dolores Claiborne. He appeared as Elder Hayes in last fallʼs Susannah and created the role of Sciortino in last summerʼs world premiere of Two Women. He appeared as Balthasar Zorn in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2013. During his long association with New York City Opera he performed in more than two dozen productions, includingPrince Igor, Falstaff, La Rondine, Il Trittico, Mefistofele, and Mathis der Maler.Other career highlights include Goro (Madama Butterfly), Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte) and

Andrès, Cochenille, Pitichinaccio, and Frantz in Les Contes dʼHoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera; Don Curzio (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Wilhelm (The Ghosts of Versailles) at LA Opera; Mime (Das Rheingold) with Longborough Festival, UK; and Andres (Wozzeck) with the Landestheater in Salzburg.

Edward Nelson (Friend) A first-year San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, baritone Edward Nelson is a graduate of the 2014 Merola Opera Program, where he sang the title role of Don Giovanni. In San Francisco Operaʼs 2014–15 season, he created the role of Lieutenant John Buckley in the world premiere of Marco Tutinoʼs Two Women. Recent engagements include the Ferryman (Brittenʼs Curlew River) with the Mark Morris Dance Group/Tanglewood Music Festival and Montrealʼs Ballet-Opéra-Pantomime, covering Miller in Montsalvatgeʼs El Gato con Botas with Gotham Chamber Opera, as well as the title role of Brittenʼs Owen Wingrave, Dandini (La Cenerentola) and Le Podestat (Bizetʼs Le Docteur Miracle) with the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he holds undergraduate and

graduate degrees. On the concert stage, he has been a soloist with the American Choral Directors Association and the Reno Philharmonic. He is a national semi-finalist in the 2013 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the 2014 Naumburg International Voice Competition, 1st Prize winner of the 2014 Corbett Opera Competition at CCM, and a winner in the 2013 Opera Columbus and 2014 Mildred Miller International Voice Competition.