Has directed and assisted in the former Soviet Union, in Europe, in Japan and in the United States at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington Opera, Kirov Opera, Wexford Opera Festival, Saito Kinen Festival and Opera Santa Barbara. Since 1999, Mr. Maizel has worked as a Guest Stage Director for the Metropolitan Opera where, among other productions, in 2004 he directed Madama Butterfly with Placido Domingo conducting. He also directed The Merry Widow at the Opera Santa Barbara and Little Women, The Impresario and the U.S. Premier of Handel's "Silla" for BASOTI. Mr. Maizel has directed productions of: Lucia di Lammermoor, Il Trovatore, Die Fledermaus, Carmen, Rigoletto, Don Pasquale, L'Italiana in Algieri, Tales of the Nutcracker, Manon Lescaut, Luisa Miller, La Ttaviata, Eugene Onegin, Das Rheingold and many others. Mr. Maizel was named Artistic Director for BASOTI in 2009. He has been a member of the faculty since 1998.

International careers as mezzo- and dramatic soprano. Since 1990, leading trainer of young singers in U.S. Mezzo roles: Carmen, Octavian (San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, Teatro Colon); Composer in Ariadne (Los Angeles) and Klytemnestra (Portland). As dramatic soprano: over 100 performances as Salome (Berlin, Venice, Zurich, Bologna, many others). Twenty-five Wagner roles as mezzo- and soprano; Die Meistersinger and The Ring at Bayreuth. Sybille in Carl Orff's de temporum fine comoedie (World premiere), as well as Die Zauberflöte, both under Herbert von Karajan, Salzburg Festival. Title role, Carl Orff's Antigone, Athens Festival for Greek Tragedy. Voice faculty, San Francisco Conservatory of Music since 1990. Founded BASOTI 1992. Directorial debut: Suor Angelica and Dido and Aeneas, BASOTI, 2002. BASOTI’s Artistic Director '92-'08.

Leading conductor of German and Italian repertoire, and dedicated teacher/conductor of Mozart. Previous positions: Principal Conductor, Munich National Theater, Hamburg State Opera, National Theater Mannheim General Music Director, Lubeck Opera and Philharmonic, and Saarbrücken State Opera and Symphony. Noted Wagnerian conductor (Tristan und Isolde), Paris, Trieste, Teheran, others. Guest conductor, Colorado Symphony, Buffalo Symphony, Utah Symphony orchestras (Mozart, Bruckner, Mahler, Strauss). Has conducted with Opera Colorado, Utah, and Vancouver Operas (Fidelio, Macbeth, Flying Dutchman, Carmen, Magic Flute, Die Fledermaus) and Manon Lescaut at West Bay Opera. Has been the Music Director of BASOTI since its inception.

Stage director: Postcard from Morocco and La Calisto (The Juilliard School); Der Fliegende Hollander (Atlanta Lyric Opera); Albert Herring (Wolftrap Opera); many others. In addition to teaching acting at BASOTI and U.S. universities, has taught directing and modern drama at University of California, Berkeley. Has recently written a book, Acting for Singers, published by Oxford University Press. Ostwald has directed over 12 productions with BASOTI since 1993,such as Abduction from the Seraglio, Old Maid and the Thief, Gluck's Orfeo, and Don Giovanni. Directed the Abduction for San Francisco Lyric Opera,and recently directed "Queen of Spades" and "The Flying Dutchman" for West Bay Opera.

 

Teacher, Alexander Technique, San Francisco Conservatory since 1984; BASOTI since 2000. Private teaching practice, San Francisco and Marin County; also Alexander Training Institute of San Francisco, Chairman of the American Society for the Alexander Technique, 1997-1999. Studies in Buddhist meditation, Zen practice and Asian martial arts. Mr. Britton is on the Faculty Executive Committee at the Conservatory and serves on the Board of Directors at BASOTI.

 

 

 

 

 

Metropolitan Opera: Marjenka in The Bartered Bride under James Levine, Butterfly, Mimi, The New Prioress in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Jenny in Mahagonny. Puccini specialist. Leading soprano for 12 years, New York City Opera. Other career highlights: Manon Lescaut (Venice), Butterfly (Marseille), Lisa in Pique Dame (Festival of Two Worlds, Spoleto and Charleston), Violetta in La Traviata (Cincinnati, New York City Opera), Leonore in Il Trovatore (Cincinnati). Since 1990, voice faculty, New England Conservatory of Music. BASOTI faculty since 1992.

 

Tenor, director and translator. Recent roles: Kromov, The Merry Widow (Los Angeles Opera); the Madman, War and Peace (San Francisco Opera). Recital "Gods and Goblins" based on vast character tenor repertory. International tour: Faust in Ken Hill's Phantom of the Opera. Stage director: Handel's Serse (BASOTI 2002); U.S. Premier of "Silla" (BASOTI, 2007)The Marriage of Figaro, Die Fledermaus at North Bay Opera, Calif.

 

 

 

Five seasons at BASOTI; conductor, Suor Angelica (2002), Old Maid and the Thief and The Telephone (2003). Coach and chorus master, Merola Program; assistant conductor, Rigoletto and L'Italiana in Algieri. Conducted more than 40 musical stage works in the San Francisco Bay Area: Faust (Opera San Jose), A Masked Ball (West Bay Opera); Don Giovanni (Bay Shore Lyric Opera). "La Boheme" (Livermoor Opera) Mr. Katsman is also the Music Director of the newly formed California Academy of Opera as well as a member of the coaching staff at San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

 

Rod Gomez has served as faculty or associate faculty member of BASOTI (Bay Area Summer Opera Theater Institute), San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Holy Names College and Summer Music West International, directing opera, operetta and musical theater. He serves as Artistic Advisor and Resident Stage Director for New York’s One World Symphony and has directed numerous productions for the company including Carmen, Le Nozze di Figaro and Suor Angelica, among others. Recent New York-area productions include Chelsea Opera’s I Pagliacci (the direction of which the New York Times praised as “endearingly homey”), Giulio Cesare with the Opera Company of Brooklyn, West Side Story with New Jersey Concert Opera and the American premiere of British composer Joby Talbot‘s Path of Miracles at New York‘s Winter Garden. In addition, he has directed productions at California State University, Northridge and San Francisco’s Pocket Opera (this past season‘s highly-acclaimed Madame Butterfly). His work extends from the standard repertoire (Die Zauberflöte, Rigoletto) to the more obscure (Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, Menotti’s The Saint of Bleeker Street, von Flotow’s Martha) and contemporary (the world premiere of John Beeman’s award-winning Law Offices). Upcoming engagements include returns to BASOTI (Dido and Aeneas, summer 2008) and One World Symphony (Peter Grimes). He holds a B.M. from California State University at Northridge and an M.M. from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Patricia Wise

Has received the title of Kammersängerin from the Vienna State Opera. This internationally known and versatile soprano has a long list of operatic credits in Europe and the US, including appearances in La Scala, San Francisco Opera, Chicago Lyric, the New York and Vienna Philharmonic with such conductors as Zubin Mehta and Carlo Maria Giulini. Known especially for her Zerbinetta, Queen of the Night, Sophie and Lucia, Miss Wise joins BASOTI for her seventh summer as Master Teacher of Voice. Patricia Wise is Professor of Voice at Indiana University.