Ovation West Musical Theatre Will Present 'An Afternoon Of Opera: From Mozart To Musical Theatre'

Ovation West Musical Theatre presents "An Afternoon of Opera: From Mozart to Musical Theatre" on Sunday, November 17 at 3:00 p.m., at the Evergreen Christian Church, 27772 Iris Drive, Evergreen, CO, 80439. Tickets are $24/adults, $22/seniors (62 & 0ver) and $18/students, and are available by phone 303-674-4002 or online at www.ovationwest.org. Groups of 10 or more receive a 15% discount. Concessions will be available before the concert and during intermission.

We are proud to present soprano Neila Getz, mezzo-soprano Keila Dills-DeSurra, tenor Thomas Cilluffo, and bass-baritone Eric J. McConnell with pianist Jordan Ortman. Ortman, an accomplished pianist, music director, and vocal coach, has created this program to showcase these brilliant emerging voices. These musicians will perform arias and ensembles from "Le Nozze di Figaro," "Carmen," "La Bohème," "Die Fledermaus," and some favorite musical theatre pieces as well.

Jordan Ortman has worked offstage as pianist, coach, music director, and conductor for productions with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, the Arvada Center, and Inspire Theater Company, and has performed on stage in productions of "Oliver," "Pirates of Penzance," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Into the Woods," and "Masterclass." During the 2017-2018 season he was the coach and pianist for the Young Artist Program(now Artist in Residence) at Opera Colorado. He is an Affiliate Faculty member at Metropolitan State University in Denver, where he teaches Class Piano, Theory Lab, and accompanies and coaches voice and instrumental students.

A native of the Missoula, Montana Neila Getz moved to Boulder in 2015 to pursue a graduate degree at CU Boulder. While achieving her master's degree in vocal performance, Getz performed the roles of Madame Lidione in "Dialogues of the Carmelites," Rosalinde in "Die Fledermaus," Queen of the Night in "Magic Flute" and Hanna Glawari in "The Merry Widow." Getz was also thrilled to premiere the role of Clara in Jake Heggie's "It's a Wonderful Life" with the CU New Music Workshop. The Daily Camera stated that Getz "exudes warmth and passion in both voice and character wherever she is on stage."

Kira Dills-DeSurra is a vibrant American mezzo-soprano with a background of performance and leadership in a variety of styles including opera, improv, and circus arts. Last season she debuted with Opera Colorado, and was a Central City Opera Apprentice Artist 2017 and 2018, singing zweite Dame in "Die Zauberflöte" and Mercédès in "Carmen." This summer she endeavored into early music, playing Diana in "La Calisto" with Opera NEO. In 2019/20 she returns to Opera Colorado as an Artist in Residence.

Tenor Thomas Cilluffo received his MM in Voice Performance in 2017 from the University of Michigan where he studied under the legendary tenor, George Shirley. Tom has held positions as artist in residence with Portland Opera, Pittsburgh Festival Opera, and is currently an artist in residence with Opera Colorado. For the past seven years, Tom has held a "second job" making fine custom conducting batons for orchestral and choral conductors all over the world.

Denver native Eric J. McConnell began the 2019-2020 season with a return to the Aspen Music Festival, where he performed the Sodbuster in Missy Mazzoli's "Proving Up." He then returned as an Artist in Residence at Opera Colorado, where he recently performed as Bartolo in the Student Matinee performance of "Il barbiere di Siviglia." Previous seasons have seen McConnell in professional debuts with Opera Colorado, Central City Opera, Opera Saratoga, and the SoBe Arts Institute. He returns to Opera Colorado in spring 2020, singing Angelotti in "Tosca."

Ovation West Performing Arts is an organization based in Evergreen, Colorado, which includes the Evergreen Chorale, Ovation West Musical Theatre, Center Stage, Altezza Chamber Choir, Summer Music Camp, and the Shining Stars Concert Series. In addition to this concert, their 19-20 season include the comedy "Lend Me A Tenor: The Musical" at Center Stage in February/March 2020 under the direction of Warren Sherrill. The Evergreen Chorale will present two major choral concerts: in December, the 75-voice choir will be joined by 65 voices of the Denver Children's Choir to present "Season of Light", featuring a beautiful selection of choral works based on themes of light and the joy of the holiday season. In April, the Chorale will collaborate with the Evergreen Chamber Orchestra to perform Gabriel Fauré's Requiem.

Ovation West will also welcome guest musicians for two additional Shining Stars Concerts at Center Stage - a performance by the Queen City Jazz Band on February 1 and "An Evening of Jazz" with pianist Patrick Lee on May 8, 2020. More information and tickets for all these events are available at www.ovationwest.org or by calling (303) 674-4002.

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