Destination: Opera!

Maestro Jason Tramm

Jason C. Tramm is quickly becoming recognized as one of the most dynamic young conductors on the music scene today. Maestro Tramm’s primary position is as the Artistic Director of the New Jersey State Opera.
In this position he succeeds his principal mentor, the late Alfredo Silipigni.

Maestro Tramm is also the Director of Music Ministries of the renowned Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association. In this capacity he oversees many exciting performances including the Annual Choral Festival, which annually boasts over 1,000 singers, the annual Sacred Masterwork, and weekly services with the Auditorium Choir.

Education and working with young musicians has always been a central part of Dr. Tramm’s career. Having taught on the music faculties of both Rutgers and Drew Universities, he has directed ensembles, both choral and orchestral, and taught courses in conducting. He is also actively sought as a clinician and regularly presents lectures.

Anna Shafajinskaia - Dramatic Soprano

The dynamic Canadian dramatic soprano Anna Shafajinskaia was born in Odessa, Ukraine. Growing up in a family with a tradition of acting, music and art, she pursued a university degree in voice and theater from Moscow’s Gnesin Academy. With drama parallel to any opera, she found herself in Toronto when a show tour ended, the troupe’s bank closed and the airline went bankrupt, thus stranding her in Canada.

Turning adversity into promise, she waited for her landed-immigrant status and studied voice. A first role as Tosca with Michele Stano’s Centuries Opera began a career with a voice that has been described as huge, lustrous and creamy. Her talents were quickly recognized as she won the Pavarotti Competition in Philadelphia in 1997. The following year, Mr. Pavarotti chose her to sing Tosca opposite him. Winning an additional 14 national and international competitions allowed her to continue funding her voice studies. The results are outstanding, and her coloratura ability allows her dramatic spinto repertoire to include bel canto. Excellent acting skills round out her talents as an opera star of the highest caliber.

Anna has appeared on many world stages, including in Oslo, Liège, London (Covent Garden), Durban, New Orleans, New York and Amsterdam. Recent triumphs have included the title role in La Gioconda for the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, a role repeated in Liège and Nice. She returned to Finnish National Opera as Lisa in Pique Dame and to Den Norske Opera as Tosca. She also made her role debut as Fata Morgana in L'amour Des Trois Oranges for the Nederlandse Opera and her Spanish debut as Turandot for the Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona (which she has also sung in Detroit). She made her role debut as Leonora in La Foraz Del Destino at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (a role she subsequently sang at the National Theatre in Tokyo) and sang further performances of Turandot for the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. She has just made her role debut as Abigaille in Nabucco for Dallas Opera and sung Maddalena in Andrea Chenier in Barcelona.

Franco Tenelli - Tenor

A magnificent and powerful tenor, Franco Tenelli studied classical singing at the Georgian State Conservatory. He made his 1989 debut in Georgia in the role of the Duke or Mantua in Rigoletto. Early in his career, he was principal tenor with the Tbilisi National Opera, which is one of the oldest opera houses in the former USSR, having been founded in 1851.

His operatic successes are many. In his 1993 North American debut, Mr.Tenelli performed the role of Nadir in Bizet’s Pearl Fishers to great critical acclaim from Opera Canada. In the same year he also recorded Bethoven’s Mass in C with the Societe Philharmonique, and also performed Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Kodaly's Psalmus Hungaricus and Te Deum, Liszt's Missa Coronationalis, Berlioz's La Damnation di Faust, and both Verdi's and Mozart's Requiems.

In 1994 he appeared on Italian television, and performed in both solo and gala concerts in Montreal’s Place des Arts and Toronto’s Ford’s Art Center. A highlight of that season included performing the Duke of Mantua with Opéra Lyra Ottowa and the great Canadian baritone Louis Quilico as Rigoletto. In 1995 Franco Tenelli sang Canio in I Pagliacci and in 1996 he performed once again with Louis Quilico in Debois’ Les Sept Paroles du Christ.

Not only is Franco Tenelli a versatile singer and musician, he also is a fine guitarist and composer. In fact, before becoming an opera singer, Franco Tenelli performed as a Jazz-Fusion guitarist in many international jazz festivals. He was praised as an original-virtuoso musician and composer, receiving prizes for his compositions and performances.

Eugenie Grunewald - Mezzo-Soprano

American Mezzo-soprano Eugenie Grunewald has performed to popular and critical acclaim in a broad repertoire that encompasses both the dramatic roles of Verdi and Wagner and the “bel canto” repertoire of Bellini and Donizetti. She has earned recognition for her dramatic abilities and for her vocal artistry on the stages of leading opera companies here and in Europe.

A sought after artist on the concert stage, Ms. Grunewald has performed the Verdi Requiem in Lisbon, Washington D.C., New Orleans, Dusseldorf, Aspen Music Festival, and the Los Angeles Master Chorale; Brahms' Alto Rhapsody with the Tulsa Symphony; Jocasta in Oedipus Rex with Aspen Music Festival conducted by David Zinman; Joan of Arc in Tchaikovsky's The Maid of Orleans and Lubov in Tchaikovsky's Mazeppa with the Opera Orchestra of New York, Rosa Mamai L’Arlesiana, and Margherita in Mascagni's Guglielmo Ratcliff at Alice Tully Hall in Lincoln Center, Mahler’s Symphony No 8 with the Bruchnerfest in Linz and SWF-Sinfoniaorchester of Frieburg (Michael Gielen conducting), Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with The Columbus Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke's. She was also a featured soloist on “Live from Lincoln Center’s Pavarotti Plus.” She will sing Mahler’s Das Knaben Wunderhorn and Bernstein’s Jeremiah Symphony on tour with Klaus-Peter Seibel.

Samuel De Palma - Bass

Samuel De Palma, Basso Verdiano, has a rich, warm, and vibrant Italianate timbre that spans a three octave range of flawless virtuoso legato singing, reminiscent of the Golden Age of Opera. He has a dark timbre with plenty of steel to his powerful voice. His repertory includes over thirty-one major operatic roles, eight oratorios and song literature in eight languages.

His international roles include: Ludovico in Otello at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago Chile, Sparafucile in Rigoletto at the famed Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, Scarpia in Tosca at the Teatro Opera Equador, Count Rodolfo in La Sonnambula at the Teatro Municipal Poerto Alegre, Brazil, He performed with Jesse Norman under Ricco Sacagni in the Rossini Mass, Mahler’s Eighth Symphony with the New York Choral Society, Turandot and Aida at the Teatro Nazional in Verona and Liguria. He has performed with Teatro Solis Montevideo, Teatro Municipal Brazil, Cuidad de Mexico Bellas Artes, Oregon Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Columbus, and the New Jersey State Opera.

Galouzine Headlines 
Internationally Renowned Cast

Vladimir Galouzine, noted interpreter of Italian and Russian repertoire, makes his New Jersey debut this summer following his Spring 2008 performance as Alexi in The Gambler at the Metropolitan Opera.

Of his performance, Anthony Tomassini, critic for the New York Times writes, “Vladimir Galouzine brings his Otello-size voice to the daunting role of Alexei, singing with clarion power and rich colorings”.

A star of the Mariinsky Theatre and a colleague of Valery Gergiev, Galouzine has mesmerized audiences throughout Europe. In the Fall of 2007, President Vladimir Putin designated Galouzine as The People’s Artist, Russia’s highest artistic award.

Gregg Baker - Baritone

A baritone of imposing voice and stature, Gregg Baker continues to make an indelible mark on the world of opera theater. Since his opera debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1985, Gregg has performed leading roles at Vienna Staatsoper, Arena di Verona, Glyndebourne Opera, Hamburg Opera, New Israeli Opera, Stuttgart Opera, Frankfurt Opera, Vancouver Opera, Baden-Baden Opera, Scottish National Opera, Michigan Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Greater Miami Opera, and Berkshire Opera.

A successful veteran of Broadway and a Laurence Olivier Award nominee, Mr. Baker discovered his gift for and love of opera while performing the role of Crown in Porgy and Bess. The Metropolitan Opera heard his performance in Radio City Music Hall’s production of Porgy and Bess and immediately engaged him for their own production. Since then, he has returned to the Metropolitan Opera in the roles of High Priest (Samson et Delila), Amonasro (Aida), Escamillo (Carmen), Silvio (I Pagliacci), Donner (Rheingold), and Belcore (L’Elisir d’Amore).

Marquita Lister - Soprano

Washington D.C. native Marquita Lister is taking audiences everywhere by storm with her intense, expressive portrayals of operatic roles and her enormous versatility. Critics all over the world rave about the soprano’s poignant, precise and intelligent technique, her exquisite voice, and her courage and determination to dare the utmost in her performances.

Her convincing performance of Bess in the celebrated production of Porgy and Bess at the New York City Opera (with a televised broadcast) prompted the opera house to award Marquita Lister its “NYCO Diva Award 2002”.

Ronald Naldi - Tenor

Ronald Naldi is an American lyric tenor whose more than 40-year career has brought him to the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Arena di Verona, L’Opéra Français, Salzburger Landestheater, and New Jersey State Opera, to name a few. He has performed with many renown conductors as James Levine, Valery Gergiev, James Conlon, David Robertson, Leonard Slatkin, Joseph Colaneri, Charles Mackerras, Vincent LaSelva, Christopher Keene, Alfredo Silipigni, Thomas Booth, Lukas Foss, Nello Santi, and Eduardo Müller.

Boris Statsenko - Baritone

A native of Russia, baritone Boris Statsenko learned singing in Chelyabinsk Musical School and in Moscow State Conservatory.

The baritone was invited and worked in Hemnitz since 1993 to 1999 and is the soloist of German Opera on Rhine in Dusseldorf since 1999.

Statsenko regularly performs with concerts in the festival in Lucca Province and sang in Traviata, Force of Fate, Tosca, Rigoletto, Bohema, Tangeiser, Iolanta and the Queen of Spades in theaters of Venice, Torino, Paduja, Lucca and Rimini.

Manrico Tedeschi - Tenor

Internationally acclaimed Canadian tenor Manrico Tedeschi was born in Montreal of Italian parents. His distinguished his distinguished career of almost 20 years has led him to such famed opera houses as La Scala, Arena di Verona, Berlin Staatsoper, Hungarian State Opera, La Fenice, Regio di Parma, Opera Marseilles, Regio in Turin, Massimo Bellini in Catania, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, the Berlin Philharmonie and the Munich Gasteig among others.

He has been privileged to have worked with such distinguished artists as Fiorenza Cossotto, Piero Cappuccilli, Carlo Bergonzi, Elena Obratzova, Giuseppe Giacomini, Aprile Millo, Grace Bumbry, Rolando Panerai, Dimitri Hvorotovsky, Cecilia Bartoli, Leo Nucci  and Giorgio Zancanaro.