Christopher James Ray
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Latest News on Christopher James Ray
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Birth Place: Mississippi
Bio:
Christopher James Ray is a conductor with a diverse background in both traditional and contemporary operatic works. He is currently Resident Conductor at Opera San José and an assistant with the San Francisco Symphony. In 2017, Christopher joined the music staff of the renowned Bayreuth Festival ...
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Latest News on Christopher James Ray
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Christopher James Ray Biography
Christopher James Ray is a conductor with a diverse background in both traditional and contemporary operatic works. He is currently Resident Conductor at Opera San José and an assistant with the San Francisco Symphony. In 2017, Christopher joined the music staff of the renowned Bayreuth Festival where he worked on productions of Der Fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Götterdämmerung, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Parsifal.In the 2020-21 season, Christopher will conduct performances of Opera San José’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Carmen, Salome, and West Side Story. Recent performances at Opera San José have included Il trovatore, Hansel and Gretel, Die Fledermaus, Heggie/Scheer’s Moby Dick, and Pagliacci.
Christopher made his professional conducting debut leading a double bill of Gianni Schicchi and Pagliacci with the Mississippi Opera in 2014. Later that year he conducted performances of Cosi fan tutte, Suor Angelica, and Gianni Schicchi with Opera in the Ozarks. Additional conducting credits include Copland’s The Tender Land, Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte Handel’s Alcina, Nico Muhly’s Dark Sisters, Heggie's Three Decembers, Glass's In the Penal Colony, and Britten's The Beggar's Opera.
As assistant conductor, Christopher has worked with the Salzburg State Theater (Brokeback Mountain), North Carolina Opera (La bohème, Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro), Sarasota Opera (Le nozze di Figaro, Don Carlos), Opera on the James (Carmen), Opera on the Avalon (Die Zauberflöte), Syracuse Opera (Die Fledermaus) as well as the Memphis Symphony and Portland (ME) Symphony.
A protege of American composer Carlisle Floyd, Christopher is a sought-after interpreter of Floyd's works. In addition to serving as the assistant to the composer, Christopher recorded an album of Floyd’s songs with the celebrated mezzo-soprano Susanne Mentzer. It is available through GPR Records on the Naxos label.
Mr. Ray is native of Sumrall, Mississippi and is a graduate of Florida State University where he studied with Douglas Fisher and Carlisle Floyd.
Christopher James Ray News
Berkshire Opera Festival Launches its Summer With New Production of Heggie's THREE DECEMBERSby Stephi Wild - Jun 17, 2022
Berkshire Opera Festival opens its 2022 summer season with a compelling new production of Jake Heggie's intimate THREE DECEMBERS on July 21 and 23 at PS21 in Chatham, NY, conducted by Christopher James Ray and directed by Beth Greenberg. This contemporary American opera is based on Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally's original script for Some Christmas Letters.
Photos: Opera San José Stages WEST SIDE STORY, April 16-May 1by A.A. Cristi - Mar 18, 2022
Opera San José will close its 2021–2022 season with West Side Story, Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins’s classic American tale of two star-crossed lovers and the prejudices that keep them apart.
Photos: Opera San José Presents Flamenco-Infused CARMENby Chloe Rabinowitz - Feb 11, 2022
Fiery flamenco joins brilliant singing to ignite Bizet’s iconic opera, Carmen, in a vibrant Opera San José production conducted by Music Director Joseph Marcheso, with reimagined stage direction by Lillian Groag and a new collaboration with the acclaimed Flamenco Society of San José.
Photos: First Look at Opera San José's CARMENby A.A. Cristi - Feb 11, 2022
Fiery flamenco joins brilliant singing to ignite Bizet’s iconic opera, Carmen, in a vibrant Opera San José production conducted by Music Director Joseph Marcheso, with reimagined stage direction by Lillian Groag and a new collaboration with the acclaimed Flamenco Society of San José. Dance, singing, and drama come together to tell the tale of a defiant heroine whose rebellious quest for freedom defies societal expectations  and seals her tragic fate.
Stunning New WEST SIDE STORY Comes Alive On California Theatre Stage from Opera San Joséby A.A. Cristi - Jan 21, 2022
Opera San José will close its 2021–2022 season with West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's classic American tale of two star-crossed lovers and the prejudices that keep them apart.
Opera San José Presents Flamenco-infused CARMENby Stephi Wild - Jan 20, 2022
Fiery flamenco joins brilliant singing to ignite Bizet's iconic opera, Carmen, in a vibrant Opera San José production conducted by Music Director Joseph Marcheso, with reimagined stage direction by Lillian Groag.
Opera San José Returns To California Theatre With Purcell's DIDO AND AENEASby Stephi Wild - Oct 15, 2021
Opera San José will make its much-anticipated return to the historic California Theatre with a new production of Purcell's baroque masterpiece, Dido and Aeneas.
Donato Cabrera Leads Opera San José In Online Production Of Rimsky-Korsakov's Mozart And Salieriby A.A. Cristi - Sep 30, 2021
Today, Opera San José launches its 2021-22 season with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's rarely-seen opera Mozart and Salieri, presented virtually to opera lovers throughout the Bay Area and beyond.
Opera San José Unveils 2021-22 Season Casting and Resident Artistsby Stephi Wild - Sep 10, 2021
General Director Khori Dastoor has announced the 2021-22 Resident Company who will be cast in leading roles for Opera San JosĂ©'s upcoming season, welcoming a cohort of opera talent who will be starring in this season's California Theatre mainstage productions.Â
Opera San José Announces MOZART AND SALIERIby Stephi Wild - Sep 1, 2021
Opera San José launches its 2021-22 season with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s rarely-seen opera Mozart and Salieri, presented virtually to opera lovers throughout the Bay Area and beyond. In this intimate psychological thriller, Vienna’s leading composer, Antonio Salieri, is seething over the upstart Mozart – a brash newcomer whose genius is undeniable.
