Welcome to Bel Cantanti, an opera company within the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area devoted to giving performance experience to both seasoned and aspiring professionals.  Between the beautiful singing and glorious music, you will find yourself thoroughly captivated.

AUDITIONS! Bel Cantanti  welcomes  singers to audition for principal and chorus parts in the upcoming productions.  Accepted singers receive highly professional vocal coaching and full training in role preparation, musical interpretation and diction. Bel Cantanti provides a unique opportunity for young singers to perform a complete operatic role in friendly and safe environment. Experienced professionals will have one of a kind chance to enhance their repertoire by learning  a new role or shaping up a role that they have not performed recently. To arrange the time for auditions, please contact Dr. Souvorova: katerina@belcantanti.com

Upcoming events:

Auditions for BCO 2008-2009 season are held on May 17, 2008 at the Randolph Theater. Singers are needed for G. Verdi's La Traviata (concert performance) and Donizetti's Don Pasquale. (click for information)

G. Puccini  La Boheme (more photos)

A famous romantic Puccini's masterpiece, performed in commemoration of his 150th birthday. Libretto by Luidgi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scenes de la Vie de Boheme by Henri Murger (read the novel). A beautiful production concentrated on a simple story about the life of six young Parisians. This is a story about falling in love for the first time, a love that ends in tragedy. Opera is sung in Italian with English super titles. Fully staged and costumed. Accompanied by the piano and string quartet. Read the synopsis of the opera. (click here)

Cast: Claire Kuttler, Emily Ezzie, Lucas Tannous, Heyk Chae, Seungwook Ryu, Kotnim Chung, Jessie Sutherland,  Zachary Nelson, Bryan Jackson, Charlie Hyland, Michael Miersma, Daniel Collins,  Sean Pflueger, John White, Tom O'Grady.

String quartet: Oleg Rylatko, Xi Chen, Jennifer Ries, Igor Zubkovsky.

Costume Designer: Kathleen McGhee.

Light Designer: Josh Armenta.

Stage director: Deborah Niezgoda.

General and Artistic Director: Katerina Souvorova

All performances are at the Randolph Road Theater (old Round House Theatre), 4010 Randolph Road, Silver Spring, MD 20902.

Friday, May 16 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, May 18 at 7:30pm (a special "Student's night" performance. Tickets for students are only $15, with ID presented.)

Saturday May 24 at 3:00 pm.

Sundays, May 25, at 6.00pm. 

Saturday, May 31 at 7.30pm.

Sunday, June 1, at 3.00pm

Tickets: $35; groups of 10 people and more:$30; students: $25

Buy tickets online   or send a check to: Bel Cantanti Opera, P.O. Box 12146, Silver Spring, MD. 20908-0146.

Tickets information: 301.438.8682

 

 Recent Events:

W.A. Mozart  Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) ( more photos)

"Bel Cantanti Opera makes a virtue of necessity in Mozart's "Abduction From the Seraglio": Chronically underfunded, this company knows how to do much with little" ( read complete review)

" Bel Cantanti Opera continues to be one of the best kept musical secrets in the Washington area.  Tonight, three singers were especially outstanding.  Bass-baritone Lee Kwang Kyu ...made a superb Osmin,...Amy Call, who is already singing around the world... was dominating the stage with eloquent melodies whenever she sang.  ... Meghan McCall was again a smashing success, this time as Blondchen, the confidant of Constanze..." ( read complete review)

   

E. Humperdinck  Hansel and Gretel (more photos)

" Michelle Rice ... really comes into her own in the second half as the Witch. Decked out in black and purple, Rice cackles and gloats with the best of them and certainly deserves her fate when the kids get through with her... Meghan McCall’s and Jessica Renfro’s ... voices are very good and they do a great job together in the “Evening Prayer” segment. Bryan Jackson as the loving father and Kara Morgan as the Sandman do a fine job in supporting roles..." ( read complete review)

 

 

 G. Donizetti L'Elisir d'Amore (more photos)

         "Bel Cantanti delivered an ebullient performance of L'Elisir d'Amore" at the Randolph Road Theatre in Silver Spring on Sunday. Reduced to its essence -- no chorus, and with piano, string quartet and onstage trumpeter instead of full orchestra -- the opera didn't seem 175 years old. The comedy burbled and bubbled brightly in a burst of strongly crafted characters. And Artistic Director Katerina Souvorova's pianistic prowess moved it along beautifully..." (read complete review)
       
 

G. Donizetti  Lucia di Lammermoor (more photos)

   

" The mad scene in Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor" is justly famous...  And it is extremely unfair to rest the weight of this coloratura showpiece on the slender shoulders of a young and developing soprano...  it is to McCall's tremendous credit that she rises so far. Literally rises: The high E-flats in the mad scene are stratospheric..." Mark J. Estren; Washington Post. (read complete review)

"... Bel Cantanti has produced a surprisingly effective and extraordinarily moving presentation of what may very well be Donizetti's grandest bel canto opera.... In the vocally challenging role of Lucia, soprano Meghan McCall was impressive, navigating her way through Donizetti's wicked ornamentation with smooth professionalism... As Edgardo, tenor Yoon Soo Shin displayed an astonishingly powerful and convincing instrument... Baritone Bryan Jackson was also at the top of his game as the evil Enrico, projecting a cold authority with his knife-edged voice and excellent diction. And as the cleric Raimondo, bass Kwang Kyu Lee's full, rounded tones were as effective in his solo excursions as they were crucial in providing the necessary ballast for the opera's unforgettable sextet... " T.L. Ponick, The Washington Times ( read complete review)


"Masterpieces of Bel Canto" Tribute to Italian Opera (more photos)

In March 2007 Bel Cantanti Opera presented opera scenes  from operas  Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, L'Elisir d'Amore, Lucia de Lammermoor, Le Comte Ory, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Don Pascuale, and I Puritani. Singers: Jessica Renfro, Shelley Jackson, Jennifer Fry, Meghan McCall, Adria McCulloch, Waka Osifchin, Anastasia Robinson, Jim Biggs, Aurelio Dominguez, Bryan Jackson, Matt Osifchin, Andrew Broadaway, Kwang Kyu Lee, Sean Pflueger.


 

W. A.  Mozart  Le Nozze di Figaro (more photos)

" OK, first things first: say it. You know you want to. Figaro. Fee-ga-ro. Figaro, Figaro, Fee-ga-ro. ... Yes! Because here we are in the final month of 2006, the year that marked the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth in Salzburg, Austria..."  (Link to the Article)  

" ... Bel Cantanti accomplishes its surprisingly polished productions with budget sets and sumptuous costuming. But it's the company's talented vocalists who really bring each production alive..." (Link to the article) 

" ... Mozart was just 30 when he wrote it (in a mere six weeks), and all its major characters are young, so the work is particularly well suited to Bel Cantanti's informal staging and its troupe of talented young singers..." (Link to the article)

"Bel Cantanti’s triumphant performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at the Embassy of Austria offers useful hints to many musical organizations in the area..." (Link to the Article)      

" This is great Christmas time fare - I’m talking about Mozart’s wonderfully light-hearted opera, "Le Nozze di Figaro"(The Marriage of Figaro) being staged by the Bel Cantanti Opera Company... All of the singers are, in my opinion, ready for the Met..."  (Link to the article)                                                                                                                                          

 

Salut a la France! Tribute to French Opera. (more photos)

"Katerina Souvorova's ambitious Bel Cantanti Opera Company, a troupe of young up-and-coming singers, regularly programs two operas and two concerts of arias a year. ...Baritone Bryan Jackson projected enormous energy and considerable beauty in everything he touched, ... Soprano Keesun Kwon gave a knock-out reading of the "Bell Song" from Delibes' "Lakme"; mezzo Jessica Renfro's Carmen in the "Habanera" aria was convincingly steamy and seductive; and soprano Rhea Walker lavished a warm sound and fine diction on Salome's aria "Il est doux, il est bon" from Massenet's "Herodiade" ... " (Link to the article)

     P. Tchaikovsky Iolanta  (more photos)

"The best part of the experience was the discovery of this mostly unknown opera, premiered at St. Petersburg's Mariinsky during the December holidays in 1892, where it was paired with his fluffy little ballet about a girl who gets a nutcracker for Christmas. The latter, although charming, is performed far too often, while the former practically vanished."  (Link to this article)

P. Tchaikovsky's Iolanta at La Maison Francaise, Embassy of France. (more photos)

" There really was a King Rene -- he rode with Joan of Arc to Orleans -- and he did have a daughter named Yolande. But there is no truth in "Iolanta" -- only beauty." (read complete review)

S. Rachmaninoff  Aleko (more photos)

First performance in Washington, DC; second performance in the USA since 1926.  Libretto by V. Nemirovich - Danchenko, based on Alexander Pushkin’s poem “The Gypsies.”  Fully staged and costumed, accompanied by piano, string quartet and harp. The opera will be performed in Russian with English super titles combined with slides of famous 19th-century Russian paintings. Bel Cantanti’s first performance of this unique opera-drama, called “the Russian Carmen,” was presented on February 10th, Pushkin Memorial Day, when the famous Russian poet died in 1837. 

Viva  Mozart,  250th  Birthday commemoration.  Opera Gala

Bel Cantanti performs Viva Mozart at la Maison Francaise, Embassy of France, January 14 and 15 2006 (more photos)

Gian-Carlo Menotti  Amahl and the Night Visitors (more photos)

Bel Cantanti presents G. C. Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors at the Embassy of Germany on December 18, 2005.

" ... Formed in 2003, Bel Cantanti has remarkably accomplished young soloists. For Amahl, Menotti specified a boy soprano, but Jennifer Weingartner's clear, focused voice filled the bill nicely. As his mother, soprano Kathleen Sasnett has Wagnerian depth gilded with a mezzo-ish tint. Issachah Savage, VaShawn McIlwain and Daryl Ott made up the trio of kings, combining regal bearing with strength to match... "   (read complete review)

Engelbert  Humperdink  Hansel and Gretel  (more photos)

   " Bel Cantanti Opera gave a capital performance of Engelbert Humperdinck's "Hansel and Gretel" ....The singing (in English) was excellent and -- despite limited space -- reinforced by inventive and tasteful sets, staging and costumes... "   (read complete review)   

Gaetano Donizetti   La Fille du Regiment

Bel Cantanti performs La Fille du Regiment at the French Embassy. (more photos)

   "... Riffing on the Italian term for beautiful singing, Bel Cantanti, founded in 2003 and helmed by General and Artistic Director Katerina Souvorova, offers fully-costumed operas featuring young, up-and-coming singers in local venues backed by budget scenery and small instrumental ensembles. Its latest effort, Gaetano Donizetti's charming "La Fille du Regiment" ("The Daughter of the Regiment") is both a pleasant surprise and an affordable opportunity for suburban audiences to become better acquainted with one of opera's most user-friendly tune fests..."    (read complete review)

  " The future of opera as fun, rather than spectacle or museum piece, lies with such groups as  Katerina Souvorova's Bel Cantanti Opera..."   (read complete review)

The Grimm Brother's classic tale  Hansel and Gretel

An abridged version of E. Humperdink's  famous children's opera. Presented by the City of Gaithersburg on July 9 and 10, 2005 at the Gaithersburg Arts Barn. (more photos)

  

Opera Gala   Aleko and More

  

" Sergei Rachmaninoff's youthful opera "Aleko" had a rare performance Friday at Christ Lutheran Church in Bethesda. The season finale for the energetic, imaginative Bel Cantanti opera company, it was only the third American production of Aleko, and the show was a revelation to many in the audience..." (read complete review)
           

Gioacchino Rossini   Il Barbiere di Siviglia (more photos)

" The Bel Cantanti opera company had its usual energy and sparkle in Sunday night's performance of "The Barber of Seville"... But something new had been added. Katerina Souvorova's piano, which had served as the orchestra in previous productions, was supported by a string quartet -- a very skilled string quartet led by Oleg Rylatko, the excellent concertmaster of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra..."    (read complete review)

Pyotr Tchaikovsky   Eugene Onegin   (more photos)

" Tchaikovsky's opera "Eugene Onegin" is as fine a piece of work as anything by Verdi, Wagner or Puccini, but it is not performed in the United States nearly as often as its quality deserves. That fact adds a special interest to the Bel Cantanti production... One has to make allowances for this production, but considering the context it must be called a triumph... The chief strength of this production is the singing. Cristina Nassif is a striking Tatiana, with a stage presence and acting talent as powerful as her voice. She is well-matched with the cool, aristocratic Onegin of Adam Juran. Jose Sacin is an impetuous Lenski, Andrea Hill a bubbly, carefree Olga..."   (read complete review) 

Opera Gala  Il Barbiere and More   (more photos)

 "  An interesting new opera company, Bel Cantanti, presented a gala recital in the Lyceum, an auditorium in Alexandria, Virginia...  and I came away from that performance more eager to see this Barber production than any other musical event in the near future..."       (read complete review)

Famous Russian Bass Mikhail Svetlov gives a Master Class for Bel Cantanti. (see details)

G. C. Menotti  Amahl and the Night Visitors   (more photos)

Bel Cantanti repeats  Gian-Carlo Menotti's popular opera  Amahl and the Night Visitors in December 2004.

  

Giuseppe Verdi    Rigoletto

 "The Church of St. Stephen, at 16th and Newton St., NW, is hardly an ideal venue for opera; the lighting is dim, and the reverberation becomes a problem above mezzo-forte. So why would anyone go there to see a performance of "Rigoletto"?
There can be several reasons. Perhaps for Verdi's great melodies and tragically ironic plot, or because the price is reasonable. But primarily one goes to such a performance in hopes of seeing and hearing future stars-promising young singers near the start of their careers. That hope was justified, Sunday night in St. Stephen's, when Opera Bel Cantanti gave a semi-staged (costumes and stage action but no scenery) performance of "Rigoletto..."     (read complete review)

 

Gaetano Donizetti    L'Elisir d'Amore   (more photos)

In May 2004 Bel Cantanti presented  L'Elisir d Amore, Gaetano Donizetti's charming musical comedy in two acts.

G. C. Menotti   Amahl and the Night Visitors  ( more photos)

Bel Cantanti's first inaugurated performance of the Christmas opera by Gian-Carlo Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors was held at St. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg, VA, December 2003.