They shared Modesto stage in show 30-plus years ago. Now married, they lead its revival
More than 30 years ago, Roy Stevens and Annalisa Winberg were among the lead cast of a production of “La Bohème.” Today, they lead the company that again will present it.
Modesto’s Townsend Opera Players first produced Giacomo Puccini’s famed opera in 1986, with Stevens as Marcello and Winberg as Mimi.
Today, Townsend Opera has been renamed Opera Modesto and the now-married Stevens and Winberg are its general director and artistic director, respectively.
Winberg also is directing this season’s performance of “La Bohème,” set for April 29 and May 1 at the Gallo Center for the Arts in Modesto, according to a press release from Stevens.
“It really is funny how things come around and go around,” Winberg said in an email. “If you had told me (35!) years ago that I would 1) marry that guy I was onstage with and 2) that we would come to be in charge of the opera company here, I never would have believed it!”
“It is a wonderful progression, actually, and we are very happy about it,” Stevens, a Modesto native, said in an email. Winberg was born in Oceanside.
The couple met in the opera department of San Jose State University in 1982 and went on to have parallel international solo opera careers, he said.
Stevens said their “experiences as young singers here and around the world deeply inform our approach to and pleasure in working with young developing singers, both locals and at the national level — such as in this production.”
Winberg said directing opera takes a lot of knowledge and skill, and she has three decades of experience performing internationally.
“I am thrilled to keep evolving as an artist, and to be able to create something beautiful, to help (others) hone their craft,” she said, and to bring something to the audience which will touch and inspire them.”
About the production
“La Bohème” is “arguably the most performed and beloved opera in the world, filled with fun, romance, tragedy and incredible melodies,” the press release said.
The four-act story, set in Paris around 1830, shows the Bohemian lifestyle of a poor seamstress and her artist friends, according to the release. It’s part of opera’s verismo style, in which the characters are real people, rather than gods, kings or magical creatures.
It’s a “wonderful opera that somehow manages to charm, delight and move audiences of all ages and nationalities,” the release said.
“La Bohème” has inspired musicals (“Rent” and “Moulin Rouge”) and cartoons (“The Simpsons”), and its music often appears in movie scores, according to the release. “The famous arias (songs) are recognizable, exciting, and emotional. It is a great first opera or 100th opera.”
“La Bohème” contains “some of the most-memorable arias and musical scenes in all of opera. It is renowned for its celebrated melodies and unforgettable characters,” the release said. “Puccini once said that his success came from putting ‘great sorrows in little souls.’ His operas tell us that at some point in their lives, people everywhere, in all walks of life, endure the same trials: love and envy, loss and heartbreak, especially so in La Bohème.”
Cast from near and far
The Opera Modesto cast includes “fast rising young stars from New York, a charming children’s chorus, a small marching band of outstanding area high school instrumentalists, an acrobat, a stilt walker, a magician and even a tiny dog,” the release said.
Ashley Bell of New York stars as Mimi, returning to Modesto after performing here in the title role of Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” in 2018. The leading role of Rodolfo will be performed by New York tenor Jeremy Brauner, in his Opera Modesto debut.
Baritone Robert Balonek, who recently relocated to Sonoma County from New York, plays Marcello, paired in an off-and-on romance with Musetta, played by Katherine Sanford from Maryland.
Bass-baritone Ben Brady from Oregon will play philosopher Colline; CSU Northridge student and baritone Eddie Tavalin will perform as Schaunard; Ralph Cato of Los Angeles will play the comic roles of landlord Alcindoro and the rich Benoit; and Modesto’s Shawn Soelberg will make his solo debut as the toy seller, Parpignol.
The production will be conducted by Opera Modesto Music Director Ryan Murray, with Chorus Director Liisa Dávila leading the community-based chorus. The children’s chorus will be performed by members of Center Stage Kids.
The production will be sung in the original Italian, with English supertitles. Both performances include a free-with-admission Opera Insights Talk an hour before curtain time featuring Murray and author Hillari Deschane.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. April 29 and 2 p.m. May 1 at the Gallo Center, 1000 I St., Modesto. Tickets are $20-89, available at galloarts.org.
This story was originally published April 20, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
