Lyric Opera of KC Announces Resident and Apprentice Artists for 2021-2022 Season

General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler announced the selection of the artists for the Resident Artist Program for the 2021-2022 season. They include Soprano Danielle Beckvermit, Mezzo-Soprano Aubrey Odle, Tenor Wayd Odle, Bass-Baritones Keith Klein and Peter Morgan. High-res photos and more can be found here.

During their residencies, some will appear in mainstage roles. In addition, the Resident Artists will have weekly voice lessons with Vinson Cole, coachings and role study with Piotr Wisniewski, Head of Music Staff, perform in Soundscapes concerts in the community, participate in education performances/visits in schools and the community, perform holiday concerts, sing the roles in the company's holiday performances of AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS, study larger roles in the mainstage productions, participate in master classes in voice, movement, acting, etc., and audition for visiting artistic directors and managers, learn about career-related subjects; headshots & resumes, management, etc.

In addition to these opportunities and new for 2021-2022, Resident Artists will learn about the non-performing aspects of an opera company. LOKC recognizes that not all resident artists who participate in the program will end up as full-time performers, so training young artists to be top-notch administrators who can advocate for opera at the highest levels is essential. Therefore, resident Artists will participate in specialized coursework, and educational experiences focused on Artistic Administration, Production/Stage Management, Marketing, Development, and Education and Community Engagement. This course work will be led by Tom Vansaghi, Assistant Professor of Nonprofit Leadership and Director of Strategic Planning, William Jewell College, Liberty, MO.

About the Resident Artists

The Resident Artists have completed their post-graduate education and have some professional experience and will have a full-time 8-month contract with the Lyric for the 2021-2022 season.

"Since the Resident Artist Program began in 2016, it has been an unqualified success," stated Sandler. "We have always wanted to expand the program to include a broader study of the administrative aspects of the industry and we're thrilled to announce this addition with the 2021-2022 season. The Resident Artists will undoubtedly benefit from a deeper understanding of the myriad of ways we work to create this beautiful artform. We are thrilled to help develop the next generation of advocates wherever their career takes them. I look forward to a spectacular season of productive and engaged experiences with them, and I know our audiences will enjoy their performances."

Lyric Opera's 2021-2022 Resident Artist Program is sponsored by The Estate of Richard Hill, Charter Sponsor of the Resident Artist Program, and Joan Horan.

Soprano Danielle Beckvermit is a graduate of the Mannes School of Music and SUNY Fedonia and made her mainstage Carnegie Hall debut in 2018. Notable roles include Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Alice (Falstaff), and the title role in Susannah. Danielle was the grand prize winner in The Annapolis Opera Competition, Orpheus Vocal Competition, and The Civic Morning Musicals Competition. She also was an award winner in The George London Foundation Competition, The Jensen Foundation Competition, and a Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition Grand Finalist. Beckvermit was an apprentice artist with the Santa Fe Opera (2019) and recently completed her residency with the Minnesota Opera.

Mezzo-soprano Aubrey Odle is a graduate of Utah State University (BM) and Brigham Young University (MM). Notable roles include the title role of Carmen, Mistress Quickly (Falstaff), Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), and La Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica). In the year 2020, Aubrey made her professional debut with Knoxville Opera as Gertrude (Roméo et Juliette). She performed regularly as a resident artist with Knoxville Opera in 2020, most recently featured as Carmen in "On the Lawn with Carmen.". Recently, she won the Utah Opera Ariafest competition, was a finalist in the Orpheus Vocal Competition (Jacqueline Polk Award), and a semifinalist in the Houston Saengerbund Awards.

Tenor Wayd Odle recently worked with Knoxville Opera as a resident artist. Notable roles include Don José (Carmen), Rodolfo (La bohème), Nemorino (The Elixir of Love), Tamino (The Magic Flute), and most recently Tybalt (Roméo et Juliette.) Mr. Odle is the winner and recipient of the 2021 American Prize Award and earned an Encouragement Award at Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2020. He has performed as a soloist with Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Utah Philharmonic Orchestra, and Atlantic Music Festival Orchestra. Mr. Odle attended Wolf Trap Opera's summer apprentice program in 2020 and will return in 2021 to perform Beadle Bamford (Sweeney Todd).

Bass-Baritone Keith Klein is a native of Kansas City, Missouri. A graduate of the Eastman School of Music (2018) and Florida State University (2020), Mr. Klein won the 2014 KC Superstar competition and appeared on season ten of America's Got Talent. Recent performances with Lyric Opera of Kansas City include the Page (Amahl and the Night Visitors), a soloist in the Soundscapes in the City concert series, and a featured soloist in the digital series Opera in Eight Parts.

Bass-Baritone Peter Morgan is a recent graduate of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Notable roles include; Leporello (Don Giovanni), Colline (La bohéme), and the title role in Le nozze di Figaro. Mr. Morgan has performed several regional and world premieres of new works, including Jason and the Argonauts by Gregory Spears with The Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Scorpions' Sting by Dean Burry, also with The Lyric Opera of Chicago, and The Copper Queen by Clint Borzoni with Arizona Opera. Recently he performed in the Glimmerglass Opera production of John Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles with L'Opéra royale Versailles.

About Vinson Cole

American tenor Vinson Cole is internationally recognized as one of the leading artists of his generation. His career has taken him to all the major opera houses across the globe, including The Metropolitan Opera, Opera National de Paris Bastille, Teatro alla Scala Milan, Theatre Royale de la Monnaie, Brussels, Deutsche Oper Berlin, San Francisco Opera, Opera Australia, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Seattle Opera and many more. During his career he had a special affinity for the French Operatic repertoire and was asked to sing Manon at the Opera Comique for the 100th anniversary of the premiere of the opera in Paris. Equally celebrated for his concert appearances, Cole has been a frequent guest of the most prestigious orchestras throughout the world and has collaborated with the great conductors of the era, including Eschenbach, Abbado, Giulini, Maazel, Mehta, Muti, Ozawa, and more. Cole had a close working relationship with the late Herbert von Karajan, who brought him to the Salzburg Festival to sing the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier - the first of many performances there together. Their collaboration went on to include works such as Verdi's Requiem, Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, Mozart's Requiem and Bruckner's Te Deum. Many of these were issued on recordings on Deutsche Grammophon.

Currently, a faculty member at the Aspen Music Festival and School, Cole also teaches at the Curtis Institute of Music. He has previously taught at New England Conservatory of Music and the Cleveland Institute of Music. He has taught for the San Francisco Opera's Merola Program, and he has also worked at Canadian Opera Company, Santa Fe Opera, and Glimmerglass Festival.

A native of Kansas City, Cole received his Bachelor's degree from UMKC before moving on to Curtis to receive an Artist Diploma. He has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants including the Rockefeller Foundation and National Opera Institute. He won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a William Sullivan Foundation Grant. He has performed on the Harriman-Jewell Series four times and received an honorary doctorate from William Jewell College. Cole has received Mayoral arts awards from Seattle and Kansas City for outstanding individual achievement and commitment to the arts.

About the Apprentice Artists

The artists for the Apprentice Artist Program for the 2021-2022 season include Soprano Brianna Perez (KU), Soprano Amy Stuart-Flunker (UMKC), Mezzo-Soprano Katarina Galagaza, (UMKC), Tenor Zachary Devin (KU), Baritone Louis Tiemann ( William Jewell College) and Bass-Baritone Turner Staton (William Jewell College). High-res photos and more can be found here.

Apprentice Artists will appear as chorus members in mainstage productions and in AMAHL AND THE NIGHT VISITORS, as well as take part in master classes and auditions, educational and community enrichment performances, and will be able to participate in the specialized administrative training offered to Resident Artists, as their university and college schedules allow.

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