VERO BEACH — Seduction and Betrayal comes to the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center stage on Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. when Vero Beach Opera presents their Opera Showcase Concert in collaboration with the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia.
The AVA artists coming to Vero Beach for this one-night only concert are Marina Costa-Jackson, soprano; JoAna Rusche, mezzo-soprano; Dominick Chenes, tenor; and André Courville, baritone. They will explore love and heartache in opera, the American Songbook and more in a concert setting with Vero Beach Opera Music Director Bruce Stasyna as pianist and emcee.
The performance takes place at the Vero Beach High School Performing Arts Center, located at 1707 16th Street in Vero Beach.
This is a rare opportunity to hear some of the best up-and-coming voices together on one stage. Costa-Jackson is already performing at The Metropolitan Opera in New York, and Chenes was just seen as Don Jose in Palm Beach Opera’s performance of Carmen on Jan. 23.
Tickets are $30, $40 and $50, and student tickets are half price. To purchase tickets online, please go www.verobeachopera.org and click on “Tickets – Buy online.” Tickets can also be purchased by calling the Vero Beach High School PAC Box Office at (772) 564-5537. It is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. weekly and open every day of the performance week beginning Feb. 1 during the same hours. Please call the VBO office at (772) 569-6993 for assistance.
Dominick Chenes is a fourth-year Resident Artist from Las Vegas, Nev. He received a B.M. and M.M. in Vocal Performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In 2014, Chenes won Second Place in the Giargiari Bel Canto Competition and from 2013-2015 was a Grant Winner from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition. At AVA, Chenes performed the title role in Faust, Rodolfo in La bohème, Hermann in Pique Dame, Gustavo III in Un ballo in maschera and Triquet in Eugene Onegin. Other roles include Alfredo in La traviata with Opera på Skäret, Ferrando in Così fan tutte and Rodolfo in La bohème both at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) Opera Theatre.
Marina Costa-Jackson is a fourth-year Resident Artist from Sandy, Utah. She studied Vocal Performance at Utah State University and Music Studies at the University of Utah. In 2015 Marina won both the Top Prize for the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Vocal Competition and Top Prize in the Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition. Costa-Jackson also became a National Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2015. At AVA, she has performed Marguerite in Faust, Mimì in La bohème, Liza in Pique Dame and Amelia in Un ballo in maschera. Other roles include Musetta in La bohème with Michigan Opera Theater, the title role in Iolanta, Violetta in La traviata with the Lyric Opera Ensemble at the University of Utah and Suzy in La Rondine at Utah State University.
André Courville is a third-year Resident Artist from Lafayette, La. He studied Vocal Performance at Loyola University. Courville won First Prize in the 2015 Loren L. Zachary Vocal Competition, Second Prize in the 2015 Giulio Gari Foundation International Vocal Competition, became a District Winner in the 2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Detroit), and won First Place in the 2014 Giargiari Bel Canto Competition. At AVA, Courville roles included Leporello in Don Giovanni, Méphistophélès in Faust, Mustafà in L’italiana in Algeri, De Bretigny in Manon and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte. Other roles include Marquis in La traviata at Santa Fe Opera, Count Monterone in Rigoletto at the Caramoor International Music Festival, and Masetto in Don Giovanni with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.
JoAna Rusche is a first-year Resident Artist from Raleigh, N.C. Rusche earned a B.A. in Vocal and Piano Performance from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an M.M. in Vocal Performance from University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is a 2015 District Winner (SC) in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. At AVA, she performed the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. Previous roles include Soeur Mathilde in Dialogues des Carmelites at Caramoor International Music Festival.