Hubbard Hall Opera Theater 2012- 2013

Saratoga Arts Fest concert series featuring:

Paul Houghtaling, bass-baritone

Kevin Chance, pianist

Paul Houghtaling, a native of Troy, NY, returns to his home turf to present his widely acclaimed "Bach to Rock" concert.  This program will feature a fully staged Bach Cantata on the first half, followed by a variety of American song on the second – art song and some musical theater (Paul Bowles, Jerome Kern, Harold Arlen, William Finn, Richard Hundley, and others.)

Saturday, June 8 at 6pm in the Filene Recital Hall, Skidmore, Saratoga Springs, NY

Paul Houghtaling, bass-baritone and operatic stage director, has been hailed by critics for his versatility and distinctive style. Career highlights include European tours as Papageno in Die Zauberflötewith Teatro Lirico d’Europa; a debut with the Bard Music Festival and the American Symphony Orchestra in Haydn’s L’Infedeltá Delusa; several works with the St. Cecilia Chorus and Orchestra at Carnegie Hall; baroque works with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s “Bach Cantatas in Context” Series, American Classical Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Amor Artis, Folger Consort, Mark Morris Dance Company, and others;  American tours with Waverly Consort, including Kennedy Center appearances; “Opera Buffa: Comedy On Stage” on Lincoln Center’s “Meet the Artists” series; and his acclaimed Gilbert & Sullivan interpretations with Anchorage, Cedar Rapids, Central City, Knoxville, Lake George, and Nashville Operas, among others. He has appeared with Boston Lyric, Baltimore, Des Moines, and Santa Fe Operas, and the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Recent engagements have included stage director for Mobile Opera’s Candide, appearances with the Alabama Symphony as soloist in the Requiems of Duruflè and Faurè, and stage director for Die Zauberflöte with Hubbard Hall Opera Theatre in New York. Mr. Houghtaling is a frequent studio artist with Philip Glass and can be heard as a featured vocalist on Glass’s soundtrack to Reggio’s film Naqoyqatsi for SONY. He has recorded for the Albany, New World, EMI, and Balkanton labels and is currently Director of Opera at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Julia Chalfin, soprano

Russell Posegate, pianist

How did a country bumpkin from Chester Springs, PA become and international opera prima donna, and how did a seasoned prima donna become a popular diva on the cabaret stage?

Julia Chalfin, a not too distant Skidmore graduate, returns to her alma mater to make her debut at the Saratoga Arts Fest with her autobiographical one­woman show The Birth of a Diva. She shares her humorous journey of musical self­discovery through Musicals, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Jazz and Classical music, in search of the appropriate genre, the spotlight and world fame. Critics in both Europe and the United States have praised her storytelling as "Enchanting!" and being full of "humor and self­irony." Get a fascinating glimpse into the psychology behind the polished façade of a budding diva. It's a guaranteed divalicious time!

Sunday, June 9 at noon in the Filene Recital Hall, Skidmore, Saratoga Springs, NY

"A delicious voice in a delicious person" is one way to describe American lyric soprano Julia Chalfin and her golden-hued, “dignified soprano voice.”(Süddeutsche Zeitung) Applauded as a versatile singer and magnetic actress on the operatic stage, Julia has performed Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Micaëla in Carmen, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Diana in Diana Amante, Venus in Gourzi/Haydn’s Philemon & Baucis and Maid Marion in the world premiere of Hartmut Zöbeley’s Robin Hood. In summer 2012, she sang another world premiere of Zöbeley’s: Zottl und das Krokodil – ein Alpensingspiel. The singing, dancing, yodeling, bavarian speaking role of Reserl, the cheese maker, was written expressly for Julia’s talents.  Julia is a passionate proponent of making classical music more accessible. She has authored multiple opera-meets-cabaret shows infused with her humorous stories and high-quality vocalizing. Announcing the premiere of Julia’s latest opera show Frauen, die Brunchen, the Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote: "The American soprano Julia Chalfin has made a name for herself as a cabaret performer with her shows, The Birth of a Diva, A Taste of America and Sopranos!" From New York to Munich to Rome, Julia has appeared as the soprano soloist in Requiems by Mozart, Fauré and Pinkerton, Mahler’s 4th Symphony, Bach’s B Minor Mass and Christmas Oratorio, Haydn’s Nelson Mass, and in Händel’s Joshua as Achsah. About her performance as Achsah, the Augsburger Allgemein wrote lauded “the duet with Soprano Julia Chalfin as Achsah, who let the bliss of love glowingly blossom bloom glowingly with her bright, vibrant soprano voice, literally breathed romance into the love scene."

Admission: $10 or $8 with an Arts Pass.  Kids under 12 are free.