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Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek

Birth Place: Milwaukee, WI

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BIO

"'Time After Time' was never better, and I heard Sinatra sing it!"
- Carol Burnett

Christiaan has sung on concerts which also featured six-time Grammy Award Nominee Frederica von Stade as well as Tony Award Winners Alice Ripley and Randy Graff. He has performed with NEA Jazz Master Richard Davis. Christiaan's songwriting was featured when he opened for one of the President's campaign speeches, and he has sung opera across the US and in Italy.

Christiaan recently played Schaunard in La Bohème with Kentucky Opera and Townsend Opera, Joseph DeRocher in Dead Man Walking with the Modern American Music Project, and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Cinnabar Opera. He also sang Dancaïre in Carmen in his second summer at Music Academy of the West, where he worked closely with Marilyn Horne. While there, he sang Jule Styne's "Time After Time" for Carol Burnett at the Music Academy's Cabaret night, which prompted the quote you see at the top of this page. Christiaan recently sang cabaret in the Kansas City Lyric Opera's World War I cabaret night Over There! directed by Francis Cullinan at the National WWI Museum.

Christiaan has worked closely with the composer Jake Heggie, who invited him to sing on his Composer Salon at Opera America in New York and his Noe Valley Chamber Music concert which also featured Frederica von Stade. Mr. Heggie also asked Christiaan to sing two roles in the workshop of his newest opera, Great Scott, in collaboration with the Dallas Opera.

With Madison Opera, Christiaan played Christiano in Un ballo in maschera and Mr. Jenks in The Tender Land. He spent two summers as an Ash Lawn Opera Young Artist, singing Papageno in Mozart's Magic Piccolo, Tommy in The Music Man, and Un Ufficiale in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He has been a Music Academy of the West Vocal Fellow, a Kentucky Opera Resident Artist, an Ash Lawn Opera Young Artist, a Des Moines Metro Opera Apprentice Artist, and a soloist with the Madison Early Music Festival. He has toured Northeastern Italy singing Marco in Gianni Schicchi with La Musica Lirica.

Christiaan graduated from three world renowned institutions: Indiana University-Bloomington (IU), Boston University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a Master's degree from IU where he played an agile Papageno in Die Zauberflöte directed by Tomer Zvulun. At IU he studied voice with Timothy Noble and acting with Carol Vaness. With a full-ride scholarship to Boston University's Opera Institute he was seen as John Wilkes Booth in Sondheim's Assassins, Count Robinson in Il matrimonio segreto, Frank in The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, and Charlie in Three Decembers. He holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he played Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro and Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas.

He is the 2010 recipient of the Orpheus Vocal Competition Nora Sands Award, and was a Phyllis Curtin Artist at Boston University.

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BWW Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Enchants at the Orpheum Now Thru July 10

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Enchants at the Orpheum Now Thru July 10!
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Beauty and the Beast, a "tale as old as time," has landed at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.  The beloved Disney musical adaptation, based on the studio's animated 1991 Best Picture Oscar nominee, still has the ability to enchant an audience of children.  And, apparently, plenty of parents or kids at heart, too.
BWW Review: Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at The Hippodrome

Be their guest at the Hippodrome for Disney's lavish musical, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
BWW Review: Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Ultimately Grabs The Heart

BWW Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Goes Beyond Skin Deep
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No doubt one of the greatest classic Disney films of all time, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST has launched a new NETworks tour, which reunites original Broadway director, Rob Roth, choreographer, Matt West, along with the original design team, including Ann Hould-Ward (costume designer), Natasha Katz (Lighting Designer), Stanley A. Meyer (Scenic Designer), John Petrafesa Jr. (Sound Designer) and Music Supervision by Michael Kosarin.
BWW Review: Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

PNC Broadway in Louisville fills the Kentucky Center this week with the current tour of the 1993 Broadway hit Beauty and the Beast, the stage version of the 1991 Disney animated movie. The opening night audience included many family groups who clearly were fans of the movie.
BWW Interview: Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek Serenades Audiences with BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

We're taking you on a journey to the magical world of Beast, Belle, Gaston, and friends as we travel through time. Taking place in 18th century France, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's Beauty and the Beast is making it's way to Atlanta's Fox Theatre. I had the chance to sit down with Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek (Gaston) to talk about bringing this great book, turned film, and now theatrical play to life.
BWW Review: An Enchanting BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Overture Center

Belle, in her bookish ways and reserved manner, was always a stand out princess of Disney's canon. Disinterested in being one of the aptly named "Silly Girls" who spend their idle time fawning over local hunk Gaston, she is a much different kind of Disney heroine.
BWW Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Enchants at Saenger

The magic of Disney continues this season at the Saenger Theatre with the pinnacle tale of enchantment BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. This classic fairy tale makes a return to New Orleans, closing out 2015 with the ultimate "tale as old as time."
BWW Review: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at the Paramount a Tale as Old as Time

First off, it feels superfluous for me to be reviewing this production, for the show is only running for two more days, so before you continue reading, buy your tickets to see it first.*
Photo Flash: First Look at New Images of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST National Tour Featuring Brooke Quintana, Sam Hartley and More!

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BWW Reviews: Vindicating the ASSASSINS

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Lyric Opera Hosts OVER THERE! 1914 Tribute Benefit at WWI Museum Tonight

In conjunction with the centennial of World War I and the Kansas City debut of the Pulitzer Prize winning production of Silent Night, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City presents Over There! at the National World War I Museum tonight, August 23. This 1914 field dining experience, co-chaired by Trudy and Jack Gabriel, will include a cabaret performance featuring music of the era.
Lyric Opera to Host OVER THERE! 1914 Tribute Benefit at WWI Museum, 8/23

In conjunction with the centennial of World War I and the Kansas City debut of the Pulitzer Prize winning production of Silent Night, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City presents Over There! at the National World War I Museum on Saturday, August 23. This 1914 field dining experience, co-chaired by Trudy and Jack Gabriel, will include a cabaret performance featuring music of the era.
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Cinnabar Theater is on a roll: today, after selling out the opening weekend for its opulent production of The Marriage of Figaro, it extended its fourth straight show. This elegant and hilarious opera concludes a spectacular season at Sonoma County's beloved professional theater. Figaro has added a performance on June 11 at 7:30 PM - but this Marriage must end on June 15, so don't wait to get seats!
Cinnabar Closes Season with THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO, Now thru 6/15

After a string of sold-out hits, Cinnabar Theater in Sonoma County concludes its spectacular season of live performances with Mozart's masterpiece: The Marriage of Figaro opens at Petaluma's beloved professional theater tonight, May 30 and plays through June 15.
THIS WEEK IN PICTURES: May 10th-May 16th

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Photo Coverage: EVERYTHING'S COMING UP BROADWAYWORLD.COM at Joe's Pub

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Last night, BroadwayWorld produced an elegant and elaborate celebration all about the man behind the music for such legendary and unforgettable musicals as GYPSY, FUNNY GIRL, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES, PETER PAN and many more - the incomparable Jule Styne - all to honor the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of America.
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So, now, we share with you a look behind the scenes at the creative team and performers before they went onstage at the hallowed Joe's Pub for the fantastic show, EVERYTHING'S COMING UP BROADWAYWORLD.COM: A JULE STYNE TRIBUTE. Enjoy!

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