2021

Merola's Home for the Holidays

Sunday, December 12, 2021, 5:00 PM PST
Available for ticket buyers to view through January 1, 2022

Amber R. Monroe (Merola '19), soprano
Edward Graves (Merola '21), tenor
Kevin Thompson (Merola '10), bass
James Harp, piano

Celebrate the spirit of the holiday season with Merola alums Amber R. Monroe ('19), Edward Graves ('21), and Kevin Thompson ('10). They bring you home for the holidays with a program featuring arias from well-known operas, operetta, and musical theater, along with beloved holiday songs. Music will be from composers such as Boito, Donizetti, Handel, Lehár, Puccini, and Strauss, along with music by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Margaret Bonds, and more. The recital will be performed at National City Christian Church in Washington D.C.

Tickets are $25 for individuals and $40 for households. A limited number of $80 VIP tickets are available that include a live virtual reception with the artists. The virtual recital will be available for ticket buyers to view through January 1, 2022.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio, Amber R. Monroe has been recognized as “a crystalline lyric soprano and a superb singing actress” (Seen and Heard-International). She will be joining the Cafritz Young Artists for the 2021-22 season and recently made her Opera Columbus debut as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. Her professional credits include Nedda in I Pagliacci (El Paso Opera), Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Kentucky Opera), Clara in Porgy and Bess (Opera Western Reserve), and the title role in Nkeiru Okoye’s Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom (Cleveland Opera Theater). In the summer of 2019, Monroe participated as an artist in the Merola Opera Program where she performed as Magda from La rondine in the Schwabacher Summer Concert, and Madame Lidoine from Dialogues des Carmélites in the Merola Grand Finale.

Tenor Edward Graves is a native of Oxon Hill, Maryland. Edward, a 2021 Merola Opera Program young artist was featured in a recital entitled What the Heart Desires and a filmed project entitled Back Home: Through The Stage Door. Recent performances include Policeman 2 in Blue at Michigan Opera Theatre where he was a 2019-20 Studio Artist. Other recent performances include Bastien in filmed version of Bastien and Bastienne with Raylynmor Opera, a concert with the LaPorte County Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gary Wedow, and as a soloist with the Minot Chamber Chorale in a newly commissioned virtual choral cantata entitled We Will Shine. In 2022, Edward will become an Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera and make his Portland Baroque Orchestra debut as the Tenor Soloist in Handel’s Messiah.

American Bass Kevin Thompson has performed throughout the world, including as Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte); Mephistophélès (Faust); Grand Inquisitor (Don Carlos); Judge Turpin (Sweeney Todd); Hans Schwartz (Die Meistersinger); and in the Verdi Requiem; Mozart Requiem; and Beethoven 9th Symphony. He recently played Polonius in the world premiere of Hamlet by Joseph Summer in Ruse, Bulgaria. In 2021/2022 he will appear in Don Giovanni with San Antonio Opera, Samson et Dalila with Bob Jones, Rigoletto with Nashville Opera, Salome with Tulsa Opera, Verdi Requiem with Roanoke Opera, and Beethoven 9th with the Florida Orchestra. Mr. Thompson is an alumnus of The Juilliard School and the Santa Fe Opera Program as well as a 2010 alum of the Merola Opera Program.

James Harp is a successful pianist, soloist, writer, stage director, and arts administrator. He is the Artistic and Managing Director of Maryland Opera, the Mid-Atlantic’s newest opera company and arts organization. Harp is the Principal Performance Accompanist and Chorus Master for Baltimore Concert Opera, a coach/accompanist with the Wagner Society of Washington, DC, organist for the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and Cantor (Organist/Choirmaster) at Baltimore’s historic St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. James has accompanied many artists including Stephen Costello, Marilyn Horne, and Leontyne Price. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Peabody Conservatory of Music.

What the Heart Desires

Now Playing! Stream available for all to view free online.

Ronnita Miller (Merola '05), co-curator
Nicholas Phan, co-curator

Celebrating diversity in song, this recital co-curated by mezzo-soprano Ronnita Miller (Merola ‘05) and tenor Nicholas Phan will explore the many things our hearts desire. Featuring compositions by women and people of color, the program will include selections about romantic desire, physical desire, and the longing for home, for rest, for peace, and for a better world performed by select 2021 Merola young artists.

This performance of What the Heart Desires is sponsored by Amazon.
Ronnita Miller is sponsored by Mr. Glenn H. Reid and Five Arts Foundation.
Nicholas Phan is sponsored by Bob and Terri Ryan.

Back Home: Through the Stage Door

Now Playing! Stream available for all to view free online.

Back Home: Through the Stage Door, conceived and directed for film by award-winning director David Paul, showcases the 2021 Merola artists in an exciting digital format. This innovative work will highlight the program’s imaginative approach to adapting to the digital demands of the opera world today. Paul’s work has been praised by The New York Times and The Washington Post for its energy, humor, and emotional depth, and has been seen across four continents in five languages.

Back Home: Through the Stage Door is sponsored by William and Edie Dwan.
David Paul is sponsored by Darla and Richard Bastoni.

2022

A Merola Valentine with Daniela Mack and Alek Shrader

Saturday, February 12, 2022, 1:00 PM PST

Daniela Mack (Merola '07), mezzo-soprano
Alek Shrader (Merola '07), tenor
Douglas Fisher, piano

Celebrate Valentine's weekend with Daniela Mack and Alek Shrader, whose real-life romance began when they met in the Merola Opera Program in 2007. Tickets are $25 for individuals and $40 for households. A limited number of $80 VIP tickets are available that include a live virtual reception with the artists.