Pagliacci: Biographies of the Artists

• Craig Fields, Artistic Director
• Marcia Jones Thom, Nedda
• Drew Slatton, Canio
• Robert Garner, Sylvio
• William Andrew Stuckey, Tonio
• Colyn Tvete, Beppe
• Markand Thakar, Conductor

Craig Fields is currently artistic director for the new Opera on the James and for the Duluth Festival Opera in Duluth, Minnesota. During the 1980’s he performed as a leading international baritone in opera theatres around the world, including Los Angeles, New York, Mannheim, Freiburg, Kassel, Zürich, Geneva and Berlin, to name a few. In 1989, he joined the staff at Opera Roanoke where he served as resident stage director, general director and artistic director until 2005. He also served as professor of voice at Virginia Tech’s School of the Arts from 1987-03. He has produced and stage directed over forty professional opera productions since 1989. Before 1989, his singing career included eight years in European opera houses singing Don Giovanni, Germont, Count Almaviva, Amonasro, Escamillo, Papageno, Malatesta, Eugen Onegin, Sweeney Todd and Rossini’s Barber of Seville, performed more than 125 times. He has sung with José Carreras, Margaret Price, Cesare Siepi, Simon Estes, Francisco Araiza, and Hildegard Behrens.

He studied acting and stage directing at Chapman University and, after receiving his Master’s degree in vocal performance at California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles, he completed post-graduate studies at the International Opera Studio of Zürich, the San Francisco Opera Merola Program, Mannes College of Music and Dartmouth College. He has received grants from the National Opera Institute and, two separate awards from the Martha B. Rockefeller Fund for advanced opera studies, and he has studied with renowned opera stage director, Wesley Balk. He has been a guest artist at Virginia Opera, Mobile Opera, North Star Opera of St. Paul, the Minnesota Fringe Festival, University of Minnesota-Duluth, Shenandoah University-Conservatory of Music, and Indiana University’s School of Music.

His productions have received critical acclaim in the national press. Opera News said of his 1993 staging of The Barber of Seville that his "fresh perspective on Rossini's opera was like turning Peter Sellars loose on Francis Ford Coppola's Godfather III, even shedding new light on relationships between characters." Critics have described his work as “innovative”, “sensitive”, “audacious”, “different”, “captivating”, “weirdly visionary” and “sumptuously beautiful.”

He now resides with his wife, Mandy, and two sons, Chris and Robert, in Minneapolis where he has directed Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris for North Star Opera, The Cemetery Club for Grand Marais Playhouse and Soundtrack for the Common Man for the Minneapolis Fringe Festival of 2005. For this coming season, he will be staging Pagliacci and Madama Butterfly.

Soprano Marcia Jones Thom has performed leading and supporting roles with Des Moines Metro Opera, Tennessee Opera Theatre, Kansas City Civic Opera, The Ashlawn-Highland Opera Festival in Virginia, Chattanooga Opera, Nashville Opera Association, Kentucky Opera and Opera Memphis. She has appeared with the Middle Tennessee Symphony, the Nashville Symphony and the Memphis Symphony and sang with Amy Grant in 1996 for the opening of the Nashville Arena. Equally at home on the musical theatre stage, Ms. Jones Thom is an Equity actress and has performed with Tennessee Repertory Theatre, Theatre Memphis and Circuit Playhouse in Memphis.

In 1991, Ms. Jones Thom made her Alice Tulley Hall debut in New York City as a winner of the Liederkranz Competition and in 1998 was named the Vocal Recipient of the Tennessee Performing Arts Commission Grant Awards. In April of 2002, The Nashville Scene named Ms. Jones Thom the Outstanding Opera Singer in Nashville. Ms. Jones Thom records frequently with the Methodist Publishing House in Nashville and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing with a private voice studio of over 50 students. Students of her studio have been accepted at the Eastman School of Music, Florida State University, Indiana University School of Music, New England Conservatory of Music, Boston Conservatory, Northwestern University, University of Miami School of Music, The Tisch School at New York University, University of Southern California School of Music, Carnegie Mellon and North Carolina School of the Arts.

She considers her highest honor that of having sung the National Anthem at the Susan G. Komen “Race for the Cure” in Nashville in 2001 and 2002 before 7500 people - the year her mother was diagnosed and cured of breast cancer.

Ms. Jones Thom is a former member of the Board of Directors of Belmont Weekday School in conjunction with Belmont United Methodist Church and is a former staff member of Magdalene, a two-year residential program for women with a history of prostitution and chemical addiction, serving as coordinator for their national outreach efforts. Ms. Jones Thom has also worked as a Teaching Artist with the Humanities Outreach Program of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center, taught a music education course in conjunction with Vanderbilt University at the Susan Gray School and at Project Reflect in Nashville, and has toured extensively with Opera Iowa as a performer and teaching artist. She has adjudicated competitions for the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Guild and the Belmont University School of Music. Ms. Jones Thom is currently an adjunct instructor of vocal performance at Sweet Briar College and Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, where she teaches Opera Workshop and Vocal Performance. Master Classes include the University of Memphis, the Southern Division of American Choral Director’s Association, and the Governor’s School for the Performing Arts for the State of Tennessee. Ms. Jones Thom serves on the Performing Arts Committee at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg and on the Board of Directors for Opera on the James.

In May of 2002, Ms. Jones Thom released her first recording entitled “I Will Rise – Hymns of Hope” under the auspices of Shiny Penny Productions. This past December, Ms. Jones Thom directed Home for the Holidays at the Academy of Fine Arts in Lynchburg.

Drew Slatton (Tenor) has thrilled opera audiences across the United States as well as in Europe and Korea, garnering much praise for his “focused vocal intensity and fine acting.” Specializing in the repertoire of Verdi, Puccini, and Verismo composers, he is known for his “distinctive steely timbre,” “thrilling high notes,” and “robust tenor voice.” His singing has been described as “impressive,” “impassioned,” “incandescent,” “beautifully phrased,” “intense,” and “riveting.” He has appeared in more than 35 leading roles including Cavaradossi in "Tosca," Radames in "Aida," Canio in "Pagliacci," and Luigi in "Il Tabarro" with Connecticut Opera; Pinkerton in "Madama Butterfly," and Radames with Orlando Opera; Calaf in "Turandot," and Radames with Opera Delaware; the title role of "Les Contes d'Hoffman" with Des Moines Metro Opera; Radames with Tampa Bay Opera; Manrico in "Il Trovatore" with Opera Illinois; Turiddu in "Cavalleria Rusticana," and Cavaradossi with Mobile Opera; Dick Johnson (Ramerrez) in "La Fanciulla del West" with Abilene Opera Association; Pinkerton with ArtPark; Pollione in "Norma" with Hawaii Opera Theatre; Don José in "Carmen" with Teatro Lirico di Bari; Des Grieux in "Manon" with Arizona Opera; Don José with Eugene Opera; Rinuccio in "Gianni Schicchi," and Moby in the world premiere of "Pantomime" with Toledo Opera; Don José with Nevada Opera; MacDuff in "MacBeth" with Syracuse Opera; Pinkerton with Opera Roanoke; the title role of "Andrea Chenier," Pinkerton, and Cavaradossi with Pensacola Opera; Don José with Cedar Rapids Opera; Canio with Tri-Cities Opera; The Duke in "Rigoletto" with Newton Symphony Orchestra; Cavaradossi with The West Virginia Symphony Orchestra ; Samson in "Samson et Dalila" with The West Shore Symphony Orchestra; the title roles of "L'Ormindo" and "Otello," Luigi, Rinnucio, and Cavaradossi with Opera International; the title role of "Don Carlo," and Turiddu with Boston Bel Canto Opera; Des Grieux in "Manon Lescaut" with Opera in the Heights; Radames and Pollione with Metro Lyric Opera; Radames, Cavaradossi, and Don José with Taconic Opera; Edgardo in "Lucia di Lammermoor," Rodolfo in "La Boheme," Camille in "The Merry Widow," Rinuccio, Radames, and Pollione with Opera at Florham; Manrico, Cavaradossi, Rodolfo, the Duke, and the title role of "Werther" with National Lyric Opera; the title role of Puccini's "Edgar" in its first professional American staging, Tonio in "La Fille du Regiment," Ruggero in "La Rondine," Canio, Turiddu, Hoffman, Werther, the Duke, Pinkerton, Pollione, and Rinuccio with DiCapo Opera of New York City.

Mr. Slatton’s awards include honors from Opera Music Theater International, the Center for Contemporary Opera, the Richard Tauber Competition, and Artist of the Year from Syracuse Opera. Also popular in recital, oratorio, and symphonic venues, he has appeared as a featured soloist in such venues as Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall

Baritone Robert Garner has been widely recognized for his vocal artistry and dramatic intensity. His career highlights include: Falstaff’s Mr. Ford for Mississippi Opera and Opera Southwest; Marcello in La Bohème for Mississippi Opera and Opera Roanoke; Ping in Turandot with Anchorage Opera, Valentin in Faust and Germont in La Traviata for Opera Colorado, Silvio in Pagliacci for Boheme Opera and Dicapo Opera; Mercutio in Romeo et Juliette for Opera Carolina and Connecticut Opera; Belcore in L’Elisir d’amore and Dandini in La Cenerentola for Dicapo Opera, and Prince Paul in La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein for L’Opera Français de New York opposite Stephanie Blythe. Recent engagements for Mr. Garner include Papageno in The Magic Flute for Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus for Dayton Opera, Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Ford in Falstaff, both with Union Avenue Opera Theater in St. Louis.

Career concert highlights have included his Carnegie Hall debut in Faure’s Requiem, Orff’s Carmina Burana with Carolina Ballet, Bach’s Coffee Cantata with Reading Symphony Orchestra, and his Alice Tully Hall debut as Sir Tobia Mill in Rossini’s La Cambiale di Matrimonio.

Mr. Garner received his Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Alabama. He was a New York district winner for the Metropolitan Opera National Auditions. He is a past winner of the Friedrich Schorr Memorial Prize for Vocal Performance and recently won third prize in the Giulio Gari Foundation vocal competition.

William Andrew Stuckey is a baritone whose performances have been acclaimed for their visceral power and beauty. In a recent performance of Germont with Opera Delaware his voice was praised as a “strong, soaring baritone”. Mr. Stuckey recently returned to the Santa Fe Opera to perform Germont in their production of La Traviata and also participated in the critically acclaimed American premiere of Kaaja Saariajo’s L’amour de loin. He has performed leading roles with the Washington Opera, Augusta Opera, Toledo Opera and Roanoke Opera, and received excellent reviews for his performance of Comte di Luna in Sarasota Opera’s well-received production of Le Trouvère.

While with the Lyric Opera of Chicago he performed in La Bohème, Madama Butterfly, Amistad, La Gioconda, and La Traviata. A highlight of his time in Chicago was when a colleague became indisposed and, at the last minute, he had the opportunity to step in as Sharpless, opposite Catherine Malfitano’s moving portrayal of Cio-cio-san in Madama Butterfly.

No stranger to oratorio, exciting performances of Britten’s War Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Mozart’s Requiem are among the highlights of his career.An acclaimed singer, many prestigious prizes and grants have been awarded to him. Some of these awards include the Sara Tucker study grant, the William Mattheus Sullivan Foundation grant, and The Union League grant. He has won first prize in both the Florida Grand Opera’s Young Patronesses of the Opera competition and the Palm Beach Opera competition. He was also a National Semi-Finalist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Colyn Tvete, a native Minnesotan, is thrilled to be making his professional debut with Opera on the James. Colyn is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he received his bachelor's degree in Music with a minor in Theater Arts. He has performed leading and supporting roles in such productions as La Traviata, Guys and Dolls, Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, and Into the Woods. He resides in Minneapolis with his wife Melanie.

Markand Thakar is enjoying a remarkable tenure as the music director of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra, which in the four-plus years of his leadership has experienced dramatic and sustained growth. He is also in his second successful as music director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra.

Creative programming and profound musical experiences that energize and grow audiences have been a hallmark of Thakar's tenures in both Duluth and Baltimore. He was cited by the ASOL's SYMPHONY Magazine for "creative programming and rising artistic stands [that] fill the house;" by New Yorker critic Alex Ross, who writes, "On the subject of brilliant programming see this season's programs by the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra;" and by the Baltimore Sun, which suggests he "may turn out to be a classical music hero....anyone who can point to the sort of trend-bucking success that Thakar has generated seems more powerful than a speeding finale by Beethoven." The Sun also praises his "novel programming concepts" for the BCO's 2005-06 season, and "one of the most successful examples of thematic programming heard around here in some time."

Thakar first came to national attention in 1997 when he made his debut with the New York Philharmonic, stepping in for Leonard Slatkin on short notice and with no rehearsal. He returned to the podium that summer, opening the Philharmonic's outdoor season with concerts in Central Park and the boroughs. Appearances in recent seasons include additional concerts with the New York Philharmonic, and with the National, San Antonio, Columbus, Birmingham, Winnipeg, Charlotte, Knoxville, Richmond, Colorado Springs, Greensboro, Illinois, Kalamazoo, Windsor, Flint, Lansing, Maryland, Ann Arbor, Waterbury, Annapolis, and Florida West Coast Symphony Orchestras; the Long Island Philharmonic; the National Chamber Orchestra and the Cleveland Chamber Symphony.

A frequent guest conductor at the Aspen Music Festival, Mr. Thakar has appeared with Yo-Yo Ma and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and with Itzhak Perlman and the Boulder Philharmonic, and is a recent winner of the Geraldine C. and Emory M. Ford Foundation Award. Familiar to national radio audiences as a frequent commentator for National Public Radio's Performance Today, he has appeared on CBS This Morning and CNN conducting the Colorado Symphony.

Formerly Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra and conductor of the Eugene Symphony's “NightMusic” pops series, Mr. Thakar was music director and conductor of the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra in New York City, the Barnard-Columbia Philharmonia, the Classical Symphony of Cincinnati, the Penn's Woods Philharmonia, and the National Festival Orchestra of the Great Lakes Festival of Musical Arts. He is currently co-director, with Gustav Meier, of the graduate conducting program at the Peabody Conservatory.

Mr. Thakar's conducting studies include extensive work with the Munich Philharmonic under the mentorship of Sergiu Celibidache. He was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for study of orchestral conducting in Europe, and is a past winner of the national Exxon Conductors Program auditions. His training includes a bachelor’s degree in composition and violin performance from The Juilliard School, a master's degree in music theory from Columbia University, and a doctorate in orchestral conducting from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory, as well as special studies in orchestral conducting at the Curtis Institute and the Ciprian Porumbescu Conservatory in Bucharest, Romania. Other conducting studies were with Gustav Meier, Max Rudolf and Peter Perret.

Mr. Thakar is the author of Counterpoint: Fundamentals of Music Making (published in English by Yale University Press and in Italian by Rugginenti Editore of Milan), which uses species counterpoint to promote an understanding of how both composer and performer contribute to the experience of musical beauty. He has also lectured on the musical experience at Harvard University.

Markand Thakar and his wife, violist Victoria Chiang, live in Baltimore, Maryland with their son Oliver.