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SOPRANO
- Saundra DeAthos
- MEZZO-SOPRANO
- Stephanie Rodousakis
- TENOR
- Michael Boley
- Harold Meers
- BARITONE
- Greg Frens
- Ryan Kinsella
- David Templeton
- BASS
- Bradley Smoak
- CONDUCTOR
- Louis Salemno
- Allan R. Scott
- STAGE DIRECTOR
- Alexander Gelman
Bass Bradley Smoak has emerged as one of opera’s most exciting young talents. The 2010-2011 season for Mr. Smoak is punctuated by a return to the Wexford Festival in Ireland, where he assumed the roles of Uberto in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, Matouš in Smetana’s Hubička, and the dual assignments of Beauregarde and Grandpa George in the European premiere of Peter Ash’s The Golden Ticket.
Of his performance of in Hubička, OPERA NEWS declared, “Bradley Smoak displayed a handsome, beautifully produced bass as the smuggler Matous.” The BBC hinted at future prospects for the young bass, noting, “In keeping with the obscure operas, the singers in Wexford tend to be unknown too, but usually go on to better things – many famous singers started out in Wexford. So we may hear more in future years of bass Bradley Smoak.” The 2009 Wexford Festival was the occasion for Bradley’s international debut with performances as Pasha in Corigliano’s Ghosts of Versailles and Don Alfonso in Donizetti’s rarely performed Maria Padilla.
Highlights of the 2009-2010 season include bows with the Palm Beach Opera as Zuniga in Carmen, Masetto in Don Giovanni, and Montano in Otello. With Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Bradley performed Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro, was the Gremin cover for Eugene Onegin and was heard as the Floor Manager in the world premiere of The Golden Ticket, an opera based on the Roald Dahl's classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The possessor of a voice that has already garnered significant attention, the Palm Beach ArtsPaper exclaimed, “Outstanding was Bradley Smoak, who has great acting chops and a chocolate-rich bass that was easy on the ear.” The South Florida Classical Review praised his “appealing voice and subtle characterization.” In 2009, Bradley debuted with Opera Theatre of St. Louis as the 2nd Soldier in Salome led by Stephen Lord, and was the cover for Colline in La Bohème. In 2011, Mr. Smoak returns to Opera Theater of St. Louis as Masetto in Don Giovanni and will appear with Sarasota Opera in productions of La Bohème, I Lombardi and The Crucible.
Previous seasons have included debuts with Boston Lyric Opera as Schlémil in Les Contes d’Hoffmann under the baton of celebrated Boston Pops conductor Keith Lockhart, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte and Sulpice in La Fille du Régiment for Opera North among others.
On the concert stage, Mr. Smoak debuted internationally in Norway with the Domkor of Oslo, under the direction of Terje Kvam and has appeared with the Boston Landmark Orchestra at the historic Esplanade Hatch Shell on Boston’s Charles River. Mr. Smoak was a winner of the 2008 Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition.
