Guild Opera Company to Present Free Concert Of IL TROVATORE This Weekend

Guild Opera Co. will present Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi in concert. A musical masterpiece filled with passion, revenge, and a mistaken identity. The opera is renowned for its memorable arias, powerful choruses (including the famous "Anvil Chorus"), and intense, tragic storytelling.

Thanks to the generous support of Darcy and Richard Kopcho, this performance is offered free of charge to the public. Seating is open, and no reservations are needed.

The performance stars baritone David Hodgson as Conte di Luna, tenor David De Melo as Manrico, soprano Emma Berggren as Leonora, mezzo soprano Julia Powers as Azucena, and bass Dennis Rupp as Ferrando, accompanied by pianist Helen Wu. Guiding the chorus is Guild Opera Company's Artistic Director Gabriel Reoyo Pazos.

David Hodgson has sung principal baritone in many operas including The Magic Flute, Rigoletto, La Bohème, Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana, The Tales of Hoffmann, Susanna, Romeo and Juliet, Carmen, Oedipus Tex by P.D.Q. Bach, and Der Freischütz over the past two decades. He has also been selected by notable composers John Biggs and Enrique Gonzales Medina to originate leading roles for the premieres of their operas: Hobson's Choice, by John Biggs, and Serafina y Arcangela, by Enrique Gonzales Medina. Soloist engagements include Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Mahler's Rückert Lieder, Orff's Carmina Burana, Händel's Messiah, Durufle's Requiem and Mozart's Requiem.

Tenor David De Melo has performed leading roles such as Radamès (Aida) with the Temecula Valley Symphony, Turiddu (Cavalleria Rusticana) with the Con Forza Lyric Theatre, Mario Cavaradossi (Tosca) and Rodolfo (La Bohème) at the Mediterranean Opera Festival in Sicily and Don Josè (Carmen) with Guild Opera Company. Additional credits include B. F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut, the tenor soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Handel's Messiah. A versatile tenor equally at home in opera and musical theatre who has been featured with San Diego Community Orchestra, Inland Valley Opera and Valley Opera & Performing Arts.

Swedish soprano Emma Berggren was a Bayreuth-Stipendium Wagner Society Gothenburg with GöteborgsOperan Opera Vocal Competition finalist. Operatic highlights include Violetta (La Traviata) with Pacific Lyric Association; Tosca, Suor Angelica, Lady Macbeth (Macbeth) with Guild Opera Company; Leonora (Il Trovatore) with Ridgecrest Chamber Music Society; covering Gertrude/The Gingerbread Witch (Hansel and Gretel) with Lyric Opera of Orange County. She has also been featured with Cabrillo Chamber Orchestra, Palisades Symphony, Riverside Lyric Opera, Ridgecrest Opera, Mission Opera, Golden State Pops Orchestra, California Philharmonic and AIMS Opera Studio in Austria.

Mezzo-Soprano, Julia Powers, recent performances include Alto Soloist in Beethoven's 9th Symphony with the Antelope Valley Symphony, Soprano soloist in Brahms's Op. 62 Liebeslieder Walzes with Adoro Ensemble, And Third Witch in Verdi's Macbeth with Guild Opera Company. She has sung Alto Soloist in Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Mozart's Requiem with I Cantori di Carmel, and sings with the LA Master Chorale. Favorite opera roles include Myrtis in Floyd's Cold Sassy Tree with Mission Opera, Musetta in Leoncavallo's La Bohème, the title role in Menotti's The Old Maid and the Thief, Jo in Little Women and Desirée in A Little Night Music.

Bass-Baritone Dennis Rupp's performances include such highlights as his portrayal of Méfistofélès in Gounod's Faust, which received an L.A. Emmy Award for Best Entertainment Feature, and the role of Colline in La Bohème at the renowned Shanghai International Arts Festival in the People's Republic of China. Elsewhere, Mr. Rupp has bowed with Anchorage Opera, Opera Idaho, Rimrock Opera, Sacramento Opera, Long Beach Opera, Pacific Repertory Opera, Opera San Jose, The Chattanooga Symphony & Opera, The Mendocino Music Festival, The Bear Valley Music Festival, as well as tours of Bulgaria, Italy and Germany in a number of diverse roles.

Pianist Helen Wu was the recipient of a Trustee Scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California. She continued her studies with Mikhail Voskresensky at the Moscow Conservatory and Jerome Lowenthal at the Juilliard School. She has appeared with the Pacific Symphony and the Philharmonic Society of Orange County and performed at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts and the Kosciuszko Foundation. She has participated in the Aspen Music Festival, Holland International Music Festival, and Chopin International Music Festival. Her awards include the gold medal from the J.S. Bach Piano Recording Competition and silver medal from the Stravinsky Awards International Competition.

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