Amahl and the Night Visitors + Four Lost Santas

Gian Carlo Menotti (July 7, 1911 – February 1, 2007) was an Italian-American composer, librettist, director, and playwright who is primarily known for his output of 25 operas. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. One of the most frequently performed opera composers of the 20th century, he wrote his most successful works in the 1940s and 1950s. Highly influenced by Giacomo Puccini and Modest Mussorgsky, Menotti further developed the verismo tradition of opera in the post-World War II era. Rejecting atonality and the aesthetic of the Second Viennese School, Menotti's music is characterized by expressive lyricism which carefully sets language to natural rhythms in ways that highlight textual meaning and underscore dramatic intent.

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JAWAN JENKINS, Baritone and native of New York City. Jawan received his training early as a member of The Boys Choir of Harlem. Premiered roles include Asku in Stomping Grounds with The Glimmerglass Festival, Mr. Delgado in Jake Heggie’s It’s A Wonderful Life, and Ricky Ian Gordon’s A Coffin in Egypt, both with Houston Grand Opera. Roles with the Butler Opera Center include; Ford in Falstaff, Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Maquis de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites, Charlie in Three Decembers and, Vater in Hänsel und Gretel. With Houston Grand Opera, Opera to Go, he premiered three roles by Mary Carol Warwick. As a 2018 and 2019 Young Artist with The Glimmerglass Festival, he was seen in West Side Story, Silent Night, ShowBoat, Porgy & Bess, Blue, and The Ghost of Versailles. Jawan has had recent debuts with Vegas City Opera as Marcello in La Bohème, as Action in West Side Story with Opera San José, Asku in Stomping Grounds at Seattle Opera for a workshop performance, Bill Bobstay in H.M.S. Pinafore with Opera Las Vegas, and a guest soloist with Albany Symphony Orchestra and Georgia Symphony Orchestra. He has also appeared in Champion at Lyric Opera Chicago.

Jawan obtained his Bachelor’s from Prairie View A&M University, Master’s in Opera Performance and Doctorate of Musical Arts in Voice Performance and Vocal Pedagogy from The University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Voice at University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Joshua Hughes, lauded for his “full-voiced, highly expressive, bass-baritone pipes” (Theatre Eddy’s), \\\"powerful lyricism” (Texas Classical Review), and \\\"brilliant vocal range” (DC Metro Theater Arts), has performed in opera, operetta, theatre, cabarets, and concerts ranging from Gilbert and Sullivan to Mozart to Verdi. A recent Vegas transplant, Joshua made his Opera Las Vegas debut as Don Basilio in Rossini\\\'s Il barbiere di Siviglia and has appeared as the bass soloist in J.S. Bach’s Ich habe genug, Cantata BWV 82 and Purcell’s The Fairy Queen with Las Vegas Sinfonietta. Previous credits include the U.S. premiere of Carlo Coccia’s Matilde (Pantarotto) with Opera Southwest, La Traviata (Dottore Grenvil), Don Giovanni (Masetto & Commendatore), and Der fliegende Holländer (Daland) with West Bay Opera, The Pirates of Penzance (Major-General Stanley) and Iolanthe (Lord Chancellor) with Lamplighters Music Theatre, and Il barbiere di Siviglia (Fiorello), Tosca (Sciarrone), Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella (Minister), and West Side Story (Baby John) with Opera San José. He has performed internationally at Hong Kong Disneyland and across the United States with San Francisco Opera, American Baroque Opera Company, Dallas Bach Society, Young Victorian Theatre Company, Victorian Lyric Opera Company, Opera in Concert, Orchestra of New Spain, and Lyric Opera Baltimore.

William is an emerging artist with an expressive, clarion sound. Frequently sought after as a soloist and collaborator, he has performed leading roles ranging from Bacchus in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos to Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème. Most recently heard as Marcos in Behold the Man with Opera Las Vegas, William has interpreted Froh in Das Rheingold with the Miami Music Festival, as well as Erik in Der Fliegende Höllander and Canio in I Pagliacci with Vegas City Opera. Happy to be returning to Opera Las Vegas, William has previously performed the roles of Jaffet in Benjamin Britten’s Noye’s Fludde and Geppetto in John Davies’ Pinocchio.

Aaron Oberlander is a baritone who received his Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance with a focus in Pedagogy at the University of Houston. Recently he has performed works with Moores Opera Center, Mercury Early Music Chamber Ensemble, Santa Rosa Symphonic Chorus, and Operativo Houston. Currently he plans to continue his graduate work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to receive his Master of Music. Mr. Oberlander believes strongly in a personal connection to music and maintains that the art form should remain as free and unhindered as possible while still remaining fun for all ages. He has taught voices of all ages since 2018 in operatic, choral, musical theater, and more casual genres.

Pianist Nathan Carterette recently moved to Las Vegas after completing his Doctorate in piano from the University of Iowa. There, he was also on the board of the Cedar Rapids Opera and with founder Daniel Kleinknecht established the first Liederabend, featuring the company's Young Artists. Nathan has toured the US extensively both as piano soloist and with organist Edward Alan Moore as the Arsenal Duo.