CONCERT News:
SANTA FE —The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus and Santa Fe Opera announced late Monday evening that baritone Zachary Nelson would step in for Darren Drone, who is unable to perform in the Christmas Eve performance of “A Night at the Opera” this week at The Lensic.
Nelson, who resides in Santa Fe, is a former Santa Fe Opera Apprentice and frequently appears with the Opera, including its 2019 production of La bohème and 2017 production of Lucia di Lammermoor. Nelson made his professional debut as the title character in the Santa Fe Opera’s 2013 production of Le nozze di Figaro and returned in 2014 as Malatesta in Don Pasquale. He has appeared with leading companies across the world, including Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Dresden Semperoper, and more. This Spring, Nelson will perform with St. Bart’s Music Festival, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, and New Orleans Opera.
“I’m truly happy to step in at the last minute for this concert. Santa Fe holds a special place in my heart —especially because I now call it home! I love the Santa Fe Opera and The Symphony and it’s great that they’re collaborating in this way. This program features some of my favorite repertoire—from Mozart to Leoncavallo—and I’m so thrilled to perform here again!” —Zachary Nelson, Baritone
It is with great anticipation that The Santa Fe Symphony presents this spectacular Christmas Eve collaboration with one of its sister organizations, the Santa Fe Opera. Friday evening, concert attendees are promised a delightful program of renowned arias, duets, trios, quartets, and overtures from some of the world’s most beloved operas—under the baton of The Symphony’s Principal Conductor, Guillermo Figueroa. In addition to former SFO Apprentice, Zachary Nelson, “A Night at the Opera” presents three more brilliant voices hand selected by The Symphony from the Opera’s 2021 Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Singers Program: Soprano, Marlen Nahhas; Mezzo Soprano, Ana Mora; and Tenor, Duke Kim.
Marlen Nahhas, Soprano
Mexican-Lebanese soprano Marlen Nahhas recently completed the Cafritz Young Artists program with Washington National Opera. Highlights of her time at WNO include The Magic Flute (Pamina), La traviata (Violetta) directed by Francesca Zambello, Tesori’s The Lion, The Unicorn and Me (Flamingo), The Consul (Foreign Woman), the world premiere of Sankaram’s Taking Up Serpents (Queer Kid), and a Concert of Comedic Masterpieces under the baton of Maestro Joseph Coloneri. Next season she will debut with Virginia Opera in La bohème (Musetta), a role she performed with Opera Naples and Finger Lakes Opera. Recent orchestral debuts include the National Symphony Orchestra in excerpts from La bohème (Mimì) conducted by NSO music director Maestro Gianandrea Noseda and Kansas City Symphony for excerpts from Le nozze di Figaro(Susanna). She was a member of the Merola Opera program at the San Francisco Opera Center where she performed scenes from Il tabarro, Don Giovanni, Don Carlo, and La rondine in the Schwabacher and Grand Finale concerts. She was also an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera where she covered roles in Tosca (title role) and Così fan tutte (Fiordiligi). Additional performing experience includes Madama Butterfly (title role) and Die Fledermaus (Rosalinde).
Marlen Nahhas was a National Semi-Finalist in The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a graduate of Oklahoma City University and Indiana University.
Ana Mora, Mezzo-Soprano
Venezuelan mezzo-soprano Ana Mora began her career in 2013, when she made a name for herself performing oratorio repertoire. Mora made her operatic debut in 2015, playing the role of Giovanna in Rigoletto and The Page of Herodias in Salome at the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo in Bogotá, Colombia. Later, she played the role of Hermia in A Midsummer’s Night Dream and Emilia in Willy Decker’s production of Otello at Bogota’s Teatro Colón. Mora has always had an interest in performing new music, which led her to participate in the premieres of Aproximación a la patria by Sergio Cote, Opúsculo a la Noche by Felipe Hoyos, Mestizaje by Sergio Martínez, and the operas Nadja’s song by Lucy Armstrong, Melpomene: drama lírico en un acto, by Felipe Hoyos and ¡Dime! by Sergio Martínez. During her studies at the New England Conservatory in Boston, Mora performed the roles of Maman in L’enfant et les sortilèges, Estelle in Later the Same Evening, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, Mezzo in Postcard from Morocco, Marguerite in La Damnation de Faust, La badessa in Suor Angelica, Miss Jessel in Turn of the Screw, and Idamante in Idomeneo. She also performed and recorded Shostakovich’s From Jewish Folk Poetry, Op. 79 at NEC’s Jordan Hall. Mora was a Boston District Winner in the 2019 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
In 2021 Mora performed the roles of Madame Flora in The Medium, and Mère Marie in Dialogues des Carmélites. In the summer of 2021, Mora was an Apprentice Singer at the Santa Fe Opera. Her assignments included covering the role of Larina in Eugene Onegin and Smeton in a scene from Anna Bolena. Additional roles include the title roles in Carmen and Serse.
Duke Kim, Tenor
Tenor Duke Kim was a Grand Finals Winner and the recipient of the Dominique Laffont Award in the 2021 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Kim was most recently seen at Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist, where he performed Lysander in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. During his studies at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, he performed Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Laurie in Little Women, and Count Belfiore in La Finta Giardiniera. After graduation, he was in the Studio Program at Wolf Trap Opera, and also in the Benenson Young Artist Program at Palm Beach Opera. Equally adept at concert, he has been the tenor soloist for the Mozart Requiem, Handel Messiah, Mendelssohn Elijah, Bach Magnificat, and Saint-Saëns Oratorio de Noël. Duke has received numerous prizes including 1st place at Shreveport Singer of the Year Competition, 2nd place in Gwendolyn Roberts Young Artist Auditions, and 1st place in New Century Singers Whittier Competition. Also, he was one of the finalists in Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition.
Kim is currently in the Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera.
Zachary Nelson, Baritone
Zachary Nelson, a native of Annapolis, Maryland, studied vocal performance at The Catholic University of America, and later the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. He has sung a number of roles for Santa Fe Opera, including the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, and most recently Marcello in La bohème. The baritone made a major role debut during the summer of 2021, as the title role in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd with Des Moines Metro Opera. During the 2021-2022 season, Zachary is engaged with Lyric Opera of Chicago for its production of L’elisir d’Amore, and sings Marcello in La bohème with both New Orleans Opera and the Jacksonville Symphony.
Nelson was an ensemble member at Semperoper Dresden, where roles included Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Marcello in La bohème, Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Guglielmo in a new production of Così fan tutte. Additional career credits include: Donner in Das Rheingold, Ping in Turandot, and Marcello in La bohème with Lyric Opera of Chicago; Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy; Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Pittsburgh Opera; and Escamillo in Carmen with Den Norske Opera in Oslo, Canadian Opera Company and San Francisco Opera.
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets starting at $25 are still available at santafesymphony.org or through The Symphony Box Office at 505.983.1414 or 505.983.3530.
Subscription packages are also available for the remainder of the season. Half-price tickets are available upon request for children 6 to 14. No children under 6
Face masks, proof of full vaccination or negative COVID test, and Photo ID are required for entry to ALL Symphony concert venues.
View The Symphony’s COVID-19 Protocols at santafesymphony.org/covid-19.
For more information, visit santafesymphony.org.
