The Pirates of Penzance Artist Biographies

Gary Briggle (Stage Director and Major General), tenor, previously directed Falstaff, Carmen, Faust, Romeo et Juliette, and Turandot for the Sacramento Opera. His cabaret tribute to Noel Coward, A Talent to Amuse was enthusiastically received here last season. Mr. Briggle graduated with both Bachelor of Music in Voice and Speech-Theater degrees from St. Olaf College, then went on to sing comprimario roles and world premieres (Argento's The Voyage of Edgar Allen Poe, Mayer's A Death in the Family, Wargo's The Music Shop) with The Minnesota Opera Company under Wesley Balk's visionary guidance for nearly a decade. Mr. Briggle has performed at Nautilus Music-Theater, La Theatre de la Jeune Lune/Berkeley Rep, The Ordway Center for Performing Arts, The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, "A Prairie Home Companion," The Guthrie Theater, The Walker Art Center, Minnesota Dance Theater, VocalEssence, and The Children's Theater Company of Minneapolis, where he makes his home. He has been a member of The Arizona Theatre Company, has directed for Dayton Opera (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, and also performed in H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and Candide), Nevada Opera (The Pirates of Penzance), sung with Virginia Opera (The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, A Christmas Carol), Anchorage Opera and Opera Omaha (H.M.S. Pinafore), Memphis Opera (Rosina), directed Fargo-Moorhead Opera (La Cenerentola, Don Pasquale, Carmen, La Perichole), and often performs with The Skylight in Milwaukee (The Threepenny Opera, Sweeney Todd, Patience, Iolanthe, Hansel and Gretel, and Koko in The Mikado, taped for PBS). From 1995-98 Gary served as artistic director of Lyric Opera Cleveland, where he had sung principal roles for a dozen years prior. Recently Gary produced, concieved, directed, and performed the first-ever staging of Elvis Costello's The Juliet Letters, returned to The Artist Series of Sarasota with his Cole Porter celebration, Let’s Misbehave!, and sang the role of The Stage Manager in the professional premiere of Rorem's Our Town with Skylark Opera in St. Paul. 

Lyra Dominguez (Kate), soprano, has appeared in numerous shows in California since 2005, including Sacramento Opera productions of Die Fledermaus, Turandot, Aida, and Carmen. Ms. Dominguez has much experience performing in musicals and plays. She was Audrey in Chautauqua Playhouse's Leading Ladies, Princess Phyllis in The Frog Prince, Belle in Hoopman's Scrooge, Connie in Magic Circle Theater's A Chorus Line, and Tuptim in The King & I. In 2006, she was a recipient of the Birdsall Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical. In 2008, she was a William Shakespeare Award nominee for the role of Sally Brown in Stockton Civic Theatre's You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. In 2009, she is scheduled to play the role of Wu Mei-Li at Community Asian Theater of the Sierra's production of Flower Drum Song. Ms. Dominguez has a degree in Voice from the University of the Philippines. She is now under the tutelage of Baritone Daniel Elias. She has participated in numerous vocal competitions all over the U.S., including the 2008 Fritz and Lavinia Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition in New York, the 2007 Lois Alba Vocal Competition in Houston, the 2007 Loren Zachary Vocal Competition in Los Angeles, and the 2007 Chautauqua Opera Young Artists Vocal Competition in New York.

Edith Dowd (Ruth), contralto, made her debut at New York City Opera in the role of Effie in Moore's The Ballad of Baby Doe. Ms. Dowd continued her appearances with New York City Opera as the Third Lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Pitti-Sing in Sullivan's The Mikado (ENO production), Alissa in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, and Annina and Flora in Verdi's La Traviata. Other performances with the company include Abbess in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Frugola in Il Tabarro,  Zita in Suor Angelica, Mary in Wagner's Der Fliegende Hollander, and Mrs. Sengupa in New York City Opera world premieres of Wuorinen's Haroun and the Sea of Stories. She also performed the role of Carmen with New York's Bellayre Festivasl and Pacific Repertory Opera in San Luis Obispo. Ms. Dowd made her European debut a the Spoleto Festival, Italy,  in the role of Juno in Handel's Semele, after which she was invited to sing the role of Madame Flora in Menotttti's  The Medium in an Italian translation directed by the composer. She sang the role of Orphee with Les Amis du Lyrique en Mer Bretagne, France in productions of Gluck's Orphee et Eurydice. Other career highlights include Lucy Lockitt in John Gay's The Beggar's Opera and second maid in Strauss's Elektra with Santa Fe Opera; Prince Orlovsky in Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus and Maddelena in Verdi's Rigoletto with Chattanooga Opera and American Opera Theatre in Taipei; and Dritte Dame in Mozart's Die Zauberflote with Xalapa Symphony, Mexico. A Tennessee native, Ms. Dowd received her Bachelor of Music from San Francisco State University and her Master of Music at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. She is a Gerda Lissner Foundation grand prize recipient.

Julianne Gearhart (Mabel), soprano, a devoted singer of Strauss, Ms. Gearhart has sung Zerbinetta for numerous companies including, most recently, The Grand Theatre Geneve and the New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv. She recently sang her first Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier for the Seattle Opera with Carol Van Ness. Gearhart's relationship with Seattle has been close and longstanding. A graduate of their Young Artist Program, she made her mainstage debut in Seattle as Helen Niles in the premiere of the revised Mourning Becomes Electra. Other roles followed, as well as a relationship with the Seattle Symphony, for whom she recently sang Bach's Cantata #51, Jauchzett Gott in allen Landen. Her next appearance with the opera in Seattle will be in the Ring Cycle of 2009, as both Woglinde and the Forest Bird. Ms. Gearhart has performed with Opera North, Seattle Opera, Sarasota Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Seattle Symphony, The Canadian Chamber Orchestra of New York, Salem Philharmonic Orchestra, Palm Beach Symphony, the Alba Music Festival in Alba, Italy, Grieg Choral Festival in Bergen, Norway, Chamber Music Amarillo, New Israeli Opera, and the Grand Theatre Geneve. Her roles include Blondchen in Die Entfürhung aus dem Serail, Madame Goldentrill in The Impresario, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, Najade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Oscar in Ballo in Maschera, Gilda in Rigoletto, Nanetta in Falstaff, Olympia in The Tales of Hoffman, Juliette in Romeo et Juliette, Helen Niles in Mourning becomes Electra, and Marzelline in Fidelio. Ms. Gearhart is a MacAllister finalist and a winner of the Meistersinger Competition in Graz, Austria, as well as other awards. She will return to Geneva for their upcoming Peter Grimes as the First Niece and recently made her Italian debut this fall as Blondchen for Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, in Sardinia.

Pamila Gray (Lighting Designer) has previously designed lighting for the Sacramento Opera’s productions of Aida, Die Fledermaus, Otello, and Tosca. She designs for several companies in the San Francisco Bay area including Opera San Jose, American Musical Theatre, TheatreWorks, and Marin Theatre Company. Her work has been seen in Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Sacramento, Ft. Lauderdale, Colorado Springs, and Washington D.C. Before moving to California, she spent time in Houston, where she designed for The Alley Theatre, Houston Grand Opera, and Theatre Under The Stars, among others. Her recent work has won her Drama-Logue Awards in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, six Bay Area Critic’s Circle Awards and numerous nominations, and four Dean Goodman Choice Awards. Ms. Gray is a graduate of Northwestern University.  

Robin Gray, (Production Stage Manager) is in her sixth season for the Sacramento Opera. Her credits here include Carmen, La Boheme, Faust, La Traviata, Tales of Hoffman, Hansel and Gretel, Don Giovanni, La Cenerentola, Madama Butterfly, The Barber of Seville, Die Fledermaus, Turandot, Cosi fan tutte, Aida, Otello, The Turn of the Screw, and Tosca. Ms. Gray’s other opera credits include The Aspern Papers at Dallas Opera (starring Frederika von Stade and filmed for Great Performances) and Dead Man Walking (both at Cincinnati and Pittsburgh Operas and radio broadcast on NPR). She has stage managed operas also in West Palm Beach, Raleigh, Atlanta, and New Jersey. Her musical theatre credits are many and include Broadway and national tours of Man of LaMancha, Jesus Christ Superstar, Annie, The Magic of David Copperfield, Tap Dogs, Phantom of the Opera, and Hello Dolly. She recently stage managed a Motown revue at Bally’s in Atlantic City, and The Sound of Music in Minneapolis.

Carrie Hennessey (Edith), soprano. For the past year and a half she has had the privilege to be on tour with Minneapolis, MN based theatre company Theatre de la Jeune Lune in the opera fusion productions of Don Juan Giovanni and Figaro under the direction of Dominique Serrand. During this time she has had the opportunity to perform these innovative and collaborative productions at esteemed theaters around the country; including both the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA and the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley CA. Carrie is a graduate of the University of MN, Morris. In her years there, she was a two-time winner of the Minnesota/Wisconsin District Metropolitan Opera Auditions, both times receiving special awards in the Regional Competition. Ms. Hennessey has spent much time developing, premiering, and performing original art songs, operatic, and theatrical works of composer Hiram Titus since 2003. Their latest and most exciting collaboration is the release of Carrie's debut CD "A Prelude to Summer,” available through her website www.carriehennessey.com. This recording premieres performances of song cycles featuring off-beat Mother Goose rhymes and the ecstatic and mystical poetry of the Carmelite Monk, St. John of the Cross. A transplant to the Sacramento area from Minneapolis, Ms. Hennessey also recently made her debut with members of the Sacramento Philharmonic in Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 for Voice and Eight Cellos and will sing again with Sacramento Opera as Barbarina in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in February 2009.

Ming Luke (Chorus Master). Conductor and Pianist Ming Luke is the Director and Conductor for the Berkeley Symphony education programs, the Chorus Master for the Sacramento Opera, the Assistant Conductor for the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, Music Director of the Modesto Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the General Director of the Napa Valley Youth Symphony. Prior to his appointments in Northern California, he was a staff conductor for the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh and helped prepare the choir for such conductors as Charles Dutoit, André Previn, Mariss Jansons, Michael Stern and Lucas Richman. As a pianist, he has been described as "passionate" and "intelligently sensitive" and made his debut at Carnegie Hall's recital hall at age 18. He has been in constant demand as a coach, collaborative pianist and concert pianist. He recently performed as piano soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony and has performed as a keyboardist with many ensembles around Pittsburgh. Recognized nationally for his work in music education, Luke has been involved with numerous youth ensembles during his career and was President of the largest collegiate Music Educators National Conference (MENC). He has experience with the major music education systems and methods including: Orff, Gordon, Dalcroze, Kodály and Suzuki. He has served as a panelist for the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA). Mr. Luke holds a Master of Fine Arts in Conducting from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Piano Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College of Rider University. Mr. Luke studied at the Pierre Monteux School and serves on the Grants and Cultural Committee of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission.

Matt Morgan (Frederic), tenor, has been hailed by critics and audiences all over North America, and abroad. The television special “Matt Morgan in Concert” has been awarded two international television Accolade Awards and has been seen on PBS stations across the United States. As an operatic tenor he has performed over 60 different roles and has the distinction of making debuts at three of the four theaters at New York’s Lincoln Center. After first joining the roster of the New York City Opera for their 2004-2005 season taking part in Haroun and the Sea of Stories and Platée, he has returned for three seasons. His most recent appearance came in their new production of The Pirates of Penzance. He made a house and role debut as Tony in West Side Story with New Orleans Opera and returned to Fort Worth Opera as Curly to Anthony Dean Griffey's Lennie in Of Mice and Men. Other recent engagements include Laurie in Little Women with Dayton Opera, Paris in La belle Hélène with North Star Opera, Prince Karl Franz in The Student Prince with Skylark Opera, Ernesto in Don Pasquale with Fort Worth Opera, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado with Pittsburgh Public Theater, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Opera Atelier, Don Gomez in Die drei Pintos with the Bard Music Festival, and Tamino in Die Zauberflöte with Pittsburgh Opera Theatre, Romeo in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette with Skylight Opera, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with Nevada Opera and Pensacola Opera, and Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Portland Opera. The 2008-2009 Season sees him returning to Dayton Opera as Camille in The Merry Widow and Opera Theater Pittsburgh for Haroun in Bizet's one act masterpiece Djamileh. Mr. Morgan is an alumnus of the Pittsburgh Opera Center, National Opera Company, and Louisiana State University. He is a student of Bill Schuman.

Peter Petty (Samuel), tenor, has sung with the Sacramento Opera chorus in Rigoletto, Les Contes d’Hoffman, La Bohème, Faust, La Traviata, Romeo et Juliette, La Cenerentola, Madama Butterfly, Aida, Carmen, and Tosca. He also performed the roles of Giuseppe in La Traviata, Gregorio in Romeo et Juliette, and Uncle Yakuside in Madama Butterfly. A long time resident of Sacramento, Mr. Petty has performed as an actor and singer in and around the region for more than two decades. He has worked with The Capital City Stage and Music Circus; done voice work for the State of California, starred in a series of industrial training films for Tower Records (featuring local treasure Jack Gallagher), and starred in the independent GIG Ventures feature film, Jump-Cut.  Mr. Petty has recorded with Elektra recording artists Papa’s Culture and Columbia Records’ Cake, and was one of the founding members of the Valdo Herby tribute band, “Swing This!” CurrentlyPeter is a guest vocalist with local pop band Larry and the Lobsters, and local bluegrass band The Spillet Quickers, as well as fronting his own jug band. He is thevoice of Sacramento Swim League’s Sutter Lawn Tsunami’s, and frequently emcees at various local festivals and fundraisers. Asthe vocalist and emcee of the Harley White Jr. Orchestra big band, Peter is currently working with bandleader Harley White on packaging their stage show for symphonic exhibition throughout the country. Mr. Petty is an alumnus of CSUS.

Ellen Presley (Isabel), lyric soprano, is in her third year of the Voice program at Sacramento State University where she is a voice student of Dr. Robin Fisher. Most recently, Presley was featured in the title role in Sacramento Opera Educational Outreach’s production of Seymour Barab’s Little Red Riding Hood. She has been an active member of the Sacramento Opera Chorus since 2006. Other performing credits include the Sacramento State Opera Theatre productions of Cendrillon (Massenet) and “Love & Death at the Opera.” Ms. Presley started studying voice at the age of 14 and is an accomplished harpist as well. Through her high school years she was active in her church choir, the California State Regional Honor Choir, and the Davis High School Madrigals. She toured Australia, New York, and the UK with the Madrigals under the direction of Dr. Karen Gardias. Ms. Presley received the Brunelle Award from the Davis Music Association for her work at Davis High School as a soloist, section leader, student director, and harpist. She decided to pursue a career in opera after attending the Rising Star Singers Institute sponsored by the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in the summer of 2005. This summer, she was one of sixteen singers chosen to participate in San Diego Opera’s Summer Intensive Workshop for Young Singers.

Timm Rolek, (Conductor) The 2008-2009 Season marks Mr. Rolek’s eleventh season as Artistic Director of the Sacramento Opera and sixth as Artistic Director and Conductor of the prestigious Lake Tahoe Music Festival. Formerly he was Music Director of the Grand Forks Symphony (1995–2005) and Heartland Symphony (1993–1998) and a member of the conducting staff at the Metropolitan Opera. He is a busy guest conductor on both the concert and operatic stages, having led performances with Nevada Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Skylight Opera Theatre, Chatauqua Opera, Opera Delaware, Rimrock Opera, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Minneapolis Civic, and Glacier Symphonies, as well as the Ravinia Festival. Maestro Rolek’s repertoire ranges from Johann Strauss to Puccini, Sondheim to Musgrave. He has recorded Jerre Tanner’s The Kona Coffee Cantata with the Prague Chamber Orchestra, and Joseph Fennimore’s Eventide (both on the Albany/Troy label). He conducted the American premiere of Ernst Krenek’s Das Geheime Koenigreich andhas participated in the Pierre Boulez / IRCAM composers and conductors workshop at Carnegie Hall. Twin Cities Public Television KTCA-2 has featured Maestro Rolek on their two-time Emmy Award-winning program Arts on 2, and, in conjunction with Northern Lights Public Radio, he produced a nine-part radio-program called Music In Our Century. He also served on a Lila Wallace / Reader’s Digest grant panel and Singer Workshop panel for Opera America. He has been a frequent judge for competitions including the National Council Auditions for the Metropolitan Opera. Under his tenure, the Grand Forks Symphony secured awards from ‘Meet The Composer’ and ‘Chamber Music America.’ After studying composition atthe University of Minnesota, Maestro Rolek studied conducting with Herbert Blomstedt, Sir Neville Marriner, Klaus Tennstedt, and James Levine.

Donald Sherrill (The Pirate King), bass baritone, has performed around the world in operas, musicals, plays, film and television including performances at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City, Beijing (China) Music Festival, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Russian Tour with Yakatarinburgh Symphony, Mexico City Philharmonic, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Metropolitan Opera Guild, Los Angeles Music Center Opera, Dallas Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Pacific, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Atlanta Symphony, National Chamber Orchestra, Summer Opera of Washington DC, Florida Grand Opera, Opera Colorado, Palm Beach Opera, Cleveland Lyric Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera Omaha, Arizona Opera, New York Grand Opera, Santa Barbara Grand Opera, Sacramento Opera, Central City Opera, Lake George Opera, Birmingham Opera,  Greensboro Opera, Saskatoon (Canada) Philharmonic, Sinaloa (Mexico) Music Festival, and the Menadnack (New Hampshire) Music Festival. Mr. Sherrill has received several awards and honors during his career including The Stettner Award at Santa Fe Opera for the Outstanding Apprentice Artist, The Richard F. Gold Career Grant, and the Summer Opera of Washington, D.C. chose him as The Artist of the Year in 2004 for his portrayal of Iago in Verdi’s Otello. Mr. Sherrill’s work in film and television includes Analyze That with Robert DeNiro and Billy Crystal, PG with Jason Ritter, and a television pilot called Little Mozart with Timothy Nolen.

Matthew Treviño (Sergeant of Police), bass. In the 2008-2009 Season and beyond, Mr. Treviño performs Colline in La Bohème with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Fresno Grand Opera, and the Sacramento Opera; Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Nevada Opera; and Victor in the world premiere of Before Night Falls at the Fort Worth Opera. He made his debut at the Caramoor Festival in summer 2008 performing Alcade in La Forza del Destino and Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Recent engagements from the past two seasons include Ramfis in Aida with Nevada Opera, Monterone in Rigoletto and Sam in Un Ballo in Maschera with Opera Santa Barbara, Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro in Coeur d’Alene, Durufle’s Requiem with Marin Symphony, and made his Michigan Opera Theatre debut in Turandot and Dallas Opera debut in Salome. In addition, he was contracted for his Teatro Municipal de Santiago debut as Alvise Baodero in Ponchielli's La Gioconda. A Texas native, Mr. Treviño began his career singing with the Fort Worth Opera in a variety of operas including Susannah, Salome,and Rigoletto. Later, he went on to perform in leading roles with other Texas companies including Amarillo Opera, Waco Opera, Waco Symphony, and the Dallas Bach Society. After relocating to the San Francisco Bay area, Mr. Treviño joined the San Francisco Merola and Resident Artist in Education program, performing Sylvano in La Calisto, Simone in Gianni Schicchi, Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte. Mr. Treviño is a graduate of Baylor University. He was a finalist in the Loren L. Zachary Foundation Competition, Dallas Opera Guild Competition, Fort Worth Opera’s McCammon Voice Competition, Shreveport Opera’s Singer of the Year Competition, and was the recipient of the Thomas Stewart Award for Vocal Excellence at Baylor University.