Don Giovanni Cast & Artistic Staff

Cast

Christopher Schaldenbrand (Baritone) -
Don Giovanni
Lyric Opera Debut
Recently:
The Nose, Metropolitan Opera
Don Giovanni, Boston Lyric Opera, Utah Opera
Upcoming:
La bohème, Cincinnati Opera
Capriccio, Metropolitan Opera

Brenda Harris (Soprano) - Donna Anna
Lyric Opera Debut
Recently:
Robert Devereux, Minnesota Opera
The Turn of the Screw, Portland Opera
Macbeth, Utah Opera
Der Freischutz, Des Moines Metro Opera
Owen Wingrave, Chicago Opera Theatre

Chad A. Johnson (Tenor) - Don Ottavio
Lyric Debut: Frederick, The Pirates of Penzance, 2009
Recently:
The Pirates of Penzance, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Don Giovanni, Virginia Opera
Mozart Requiem, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Upcoming:
Faust, Opera New Jersey
Lysander, Boston Lyric Opera

Christine Abraham (Soprano) - Donna Elvira
Lyric Opera Debut: Sextus, Julius Caesar, 2008
Recently:
Il barbiere di Siviglia, Hawaii Opera Theater
Anna Karenina, Florida Grand Opera
Così fan tutte, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
Blizzard Voices, Mills Performing Group II
Nobuo Uematsu - Distant Worlds: music from Final Fantasy, San Francisco Symphony

Andrew Gangestad (Bass) - Leporello
Lyric Debut: Don Basilio, The Barber of Seville, 2007
Recently:
La Damnation de Faust, Metropolitan Opera
Il trovatore, Minnesota Opera
La bohème, Arizona Opera
Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra
Upcoming:
Aida, Bregenz Festival (Austria)

Robert McNichols, Jr. (Bass-Baritone) - Masetto
Lyric Opera Debut: Jim/Daniel, John Brown, 2008
Recently:
Rigoletto, H.M.S. Pinafore, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
La Traviata, Southern Illinois Music Festival
The Mikado, Kansas City Civic Opera
Gianni Schicchi, Kansas City Puccini Festival


KU Apprentice

Sarah Burke (Soprano) - Zerlina
Lyric Opera Debut: Annina, La Traviata, 2009
Recently:
The Pirates of Penzance, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
La bohème, Così fan tutte, University of Missouri-KC
Carmen, Kansas Concert Opera
Carmen, City Opera Company of the Quad Cities

UMKC Apprentice

Andrew Harris (Bass) - Commendatore
Lyric Opera Debut: Priest, The Magic Flute, 2008
Recently:
Salome, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis
Tosca, La Traviata, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
La bohème, University of Michigan
Gianni Schicchi, Kansas City Puccini Festival

Additional Cast

Supernumeraries

Artistic Staff

Ward Holmquist - Conductor
Lyric Debut: Conductor, The Marriage of Figaro, 1996
Recently:
La bohème, Tosca, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Tosca, Fort Worth Opera
La bohème, Atlanta Opera Company
Susannah, Palm Beach Opera
Harvey Milk (World Premiere), Houston Grand Opera

Ellen Douglas Schlaefer - Stage Director
Lyric Opera Debut: Stage Director, La bohème, 2008
Recently:
Le Nozze di Figaro, Green Mountain Opera Festival
La bohème, National Symphony Orchestra, Wolf Trap Opera
Scott Joplin, Treemonisha, Opera Memphis
Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Connecticut Opera
Director of Opera Studies, University of South Carolina

Julie Duro - Lighting Designer
Lyric Opera Debut
Recently:
Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Carmen, Opera North
Benny Golson at 80, Kennedy Center for the Arts
Don Giovanni, Connecticut Opera
Le Nozze di Figaro, Green Mountain Opera Festival
Sleeping Beauty, Tulsa Ballet

R. Keith Brumley - Set Designer
Lyric Opera Debut: Candide, 1984
Recently:
Der Freischütz, Des Moines Metro Opera
The End of the Affair, The Magic Flute, John Brown,
La bohème, Tosca, Lyric Opera of Kansas City

Additional Staff
Mark Ferrell - Chorus Master, Rehearsal Accompanist & Coach
Mary Traylor - Costume Coordinator
Jan Delovage - Wig and Makeup Designer
Joanne Weaver - Wig and Makeup Assistant
Deborah Morgan - Props Master
Bill Warren - Fight Choreographer
Erin Thompson - Stage Manager
Kathryn Snyder - Assistant Stage Manager
Victoria Frank - Assistant Stage Manager
Margaret Spare - Assistant Lighting Designer