about us and Our Musicians
About Opera Ritrovata
Opera Ritrovata is a small portable opera company with a sense of humor. We are dedicated to promoting unjustly forgotten works of women and minorities as well as fresh reinterpretations of currently canonic pieces. Structured democratically, Opera Ritrovata is run by the musicians and artists that form its core, allowing each member of a production to have a say in decisions that might otherwise be determined by one director. As we strongly believe in music’s role as a force for positive social change we do not shy away from the possible current political implications of the musical past. Opera Ritrovata aims to synthesize the worlds of chamber music and opera, allowing the opera of neglected voices to flourish and inspire a new generation.
See below for links to past projects and to our brand new critical edition of L’Amant Anonyme by Joseph Boulogne, the Chevalier de Saint-Georges.
Instrument petting zoo at the Pico-Union Arts Festival
Stephen Karr
Conductor, Board Member and Music Director
Born in Greenville, South Carolina, Stephen Karr is a young conductor and keyboardist establishing himself as a compelling interpreter of a wide variety of orchestral and operatic works. He is a co-founder of Pacific Opera Project and has served as music director and conductor for all thirteen POP productions, often conducting from the harpsichord. He has a long association with Opera UCLA and he served as an assistant conductor and continuo harpsichordist for their production of Agrippina, led by noted lutenist and conductor Stephen Stubbs. He has been on staff at Palm Beach Opera for productions of Glück’s Orfeo and Mozart’s Così fan tutte, and at Opera New Jersey for their production of The Consul. In 2012 Stephen was the music director of the Opera Iowa outreach tour. Stephen has been on staff or taught as a guest artist at Chapman University, Michigan State University and USC.
A Cultural Envoy from the United States Department of State, Stephen made his European debut in September 2009, leading the Rotterdam Youth Symphony and the brass ensemble from Rotterdam’s CODARTS conservatory of music in a program for the city’s annual World Harbor Days festival. Also during the 2009-10 season, Stephen conducted the world premiere production of Kenneth Wells’s The First Lady, an opera based on the life of Eleanor Roosevelt in the weeks following Franklin Roosevelt’s death. Other highlights include a performance as continuo harpsichordist for Le quattro stagioni with Sarah Chang and the American Youth Symphony; coaching the west coast premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Flight with Opera UCLA; and working as a guest coach and accompanist for the young artist program at Opera Santa Barbara.
Amanda A. Keenan
Soprano
With her “velvet tones” and “expressive manner”, soprano Amanda A. Keenan is a voice to be heard [and seen]! Ms. Keenan is a native to Southern California, where she completed her undergraduate Vocal Performance studies at Cal State Fullerton. During her studies, she performed frequently, and had the pleasure to premiere the principal role in the new opera “A Wake or a Wedding” written by Richard Pearson Thomas.
On the opera stage Amanda recently made her debuts with the Corona Del Mar Baroque Festival singing the role of Dorinda in Handel’s ‘Orlando’ and with the Pacific Symphony as Adele in ‘Die Fledermaus’. In 2017 Amanda attended the prestigious American Bach Soloists Academy in San Fransisco, where she was called “captivating” for her performances in Purcell’s ‘King Arthur’ and Bach’s ‘B Minor Mass’.
Equally at home on concert and opera stages alike, her notable solo concert performances include Orff’s Carmina Burana, Poulenc’s Gloria and C.P.E Bach’s Magnificat with the Angeles Chorale, Mozart’s Requiem with the Pasadena Symphony, Mahler’s Second Symphony with Young Artist Symphony Orchestra of Los Angeles, as well as joining Opera Ritrovata for their debut concert.
In 2018 she was selected as a finalist in the Handel Aria Competition this year, and was a semi-finalist in the Lotte Lenya Competition in NY in 2016, and was a recipient of the Opera Buffs award in 2016. Amanda truly enjoys singing and performing a variety of repertoire. She fronts the very sexy, modern jazz fusion band ‘Citizen Kitten’ who performs at various venues throughout LA and beyond. In addition to singing, Amanda is a professional model and a yoga teacher. You might catch one of her classes, or find paintings of her hanging in galleries around her hometown of Los Angeles.
Jon Lee Keenan
Tenor
Tenor Jon Lee Keenan is a native of Las Vegas, Nevada. Currently, Jon is in demand on opera stages and concert halls throughout California and the United States. Recent appearances with Southwest Chamber Music include collaborations on Britten’s A Birthday Hansel for tenor and harp, and A Sunbeam’s Architecture, an orchestral song cycle by E.E. Cummings and Elliot Carter at Red Cat. Recent opera roles with the Pacific Opera Project include “Don Ottavio” in Don Giovanni and “Tanzmeister” in Ariadne auf Naxos. Over the past few seasons, Jon has helped create several new exciting characters through collaborations with The Industry LA including “Clyde Barrow” in Bonnie and Clyde (Andrew McIntosh), “Little Monk” in Brecht’s Galileo (Andy Akiho), Napoleon Bonaparte in Haydn’s Head (Nicholas Deyoe). This past June, Jon performed and recorded the role “Gniphos” in the LA Philharmonic’s co-production of Lou Harrison’s Young Caesar with The Industry LA, slated for international release in 2018. 2017-18 season’s highlights include appearances with the Los Angeles Master Chorale in Handel’s Israel in Egypt; Orange County’s Pacific Chorale as the role of “Evangelist” in Bach’s St. John Passion; tenor soloist in Mozart’s rarely heard “Little Masonic” cantata Laut Verkünde unsre Freude conducted by Gustavo Dudamel; and the role of “Gunner” in the premiere of Orson Welles’ classic War of the Worlds turned into opera by Yuval Sharon, Anne Gosfield, and the LA Philharmonic.
Ariel Pisturino
Soprano
The Los Angeles Times hailed soprano Ariel Pisturino as “an impressive young discovery,” after seeing her professional debut performance as Nancy T’ang in Long Beach Opera’s production of Nixon in China. An enthusiastic advocate of contemporary works and collaborations with composers, Ariel performed the role of Lover in The Industry’s nationally-acclaimed production of HOPSCOTCH and created the role of Laurie in Mark Abel’s premiere opera Home is a Harbor, released on Delos Records. She collaborated with Abel once before on his song cycle Five Rilke Songs on the album Terrain of the Heart, also for Delos Records. Ariel created the role of Rosina Brandram in a newly written Gilbert and Sullivan review, Hail Poetry, with Opera a la Carte. Most recently, Ariel premiered a new song cycle for soprano and electric guitar, Dewdrops, by long time friend, Alexander Miller.
Propelled by her interest in promoting new works, Ariel co-founded the performance troupe Chamber Opera Players of LA and the new music summer concert series unSUNg, focusing on new and unknown vocal music. Highlights of her work with Chamber Opera Players of LA include her commission and premiere of the opera The Last Silent Voice by George N. Gianopoulos and a performance of Ned Rorem's Three Sisters who are not Sisters. Ariel collaborated on an electronic opera The Master and Margarita by Russian composer Gamma Skupinsky. Other contemporary performance highlights include her performances with Long Beach Opera as Witch 1 in Bloch’s Macbeth, performing with the Los Angeles Opera Chorus in conjunction with Beth Morrison Projects in Paola Prestini's The Hubble Cantata, and the premiere of the oratorio Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides by Neely Bruce in remembrance of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who saved thousands during the Holocaust.
E. Scott Levin
Baritone
Bass-baritone, E. Scott Levin, described as having a “smooth, buttery voice,” “incredibly sharp timing,” and “a gifted comic actor,” has been making audiences laugh for the past sixeen years. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis and Graduate Certificate in Vocal Performance from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Since 2002, Scott has sung in over twenty productions with Union Avenue Opera in Saint Louis and many productions with Pacific Opera Project in Los Angeles. He has also sung with several other companies in the Los Angeles area including Opera Santa Barbara, Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera, Long Beach Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Center Stage Opera and Townsend Opera. In 2015, he made debuts with Los Angeles Opera “Off-Grand” debut as Babayan (Bartolo) in Figaro 90210! and on the LA Opera mainstage as Dr. Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi, starring Placido Domingo.
Boryana Popova
Violin, Board Member and Chamber Music Director
Boryana Popova began violin studies at age six, and soon after attended the State Music School in Varna, Bulgaria. Upon graduation, she was accepted to the National Music Academy in Sofia, where she completed her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in violin performance with honors.
After she arrived in the US in 2007, Boryana completed her Masters degree at UCLA in 2009 and in 2012 she completed her DMA studies under the instruction of Professors Movses Pogossian and Guillaume Sutre. At UCLA she has participated in master classes with Stuart Canin, Ani Kavafian, Anne-Akiko Meyers, Martin Chalifour, Mark Robertson, David Low, Renaud Capucon, and the Borromeo String Quartet, among others, and is also a member of a Gluck Foundation String Quartet.
Boryana currently works as a freelance musician in Los Angeles, where she has performed with several orchestras such as: Santa Monica Symphony, American Youth Symphony, Debut, LA Jewish Symphony, Corona Symphony, Pacific Opera Project, Valley Youth Symphony Orchestra, and Culver City Chamber Orchestra. Boryana is a regular member of Mozart Classical Orchestra, LA Dream Orchestra, and Pacific Opera Project.
Mishkar Núñez-Fredell
Violin, Board Member, and Coordinator of Historically Informed Performance Practice
Mishkar Nunez-Fredell completed his Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) at the University of Southern California with an emphasis on historical performance (baroque violin) and early music notation. Mishkar is a founding member of Delirium Musicum, a conductorless chamber ensemble that recently won the Beverly Hills National Auditions. He has given masterclasses in violin at various institutions including Luther College in Iowa, Azusa Pacific University in California, the University of Wisconsin Madison and Hogar de la Armonia School of Music in Dominican Republic. He holds a Bachelor of Music from Luther College in Iowa and a Master of Music in Violin Performance from USC.
Mishkar has performed as soloist with the Cibao Philharmonic, the Corona Symphony, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Kontrapunktus, Delirium Musicum, the Dorian Festival Orchestra, Les Sauvages Americains, and Symbiosis Chamber Orchestra. He has had the honor of working with celebrated artists such as Michael Tilson Thomas, James Conlon, Carl St. Clair, Itzhak Perlman, Midori, and Joshua Bell. Mishkar played a character named Wendell McNeill in the movies Bolden and Louis, directed by Dan Pritzker, the latter of which went on a world-wide tour with Winton Marsalis. A versatile artist, he has also collaborated with artists such as Stevie Wonder, Elton John, and Burt Bacharach. He was also part of roots rock band called The Marietta James which toured along the west coast, made two professional recordings, and had guest appearances on TV and radio. Mishkar has recorded with artists and groups including Elizabeth Blumenstock, American Bach Soloists, Kontrapunktus, Danny Elfman, Delfeayo Marsalis, Marco Antonio Solis, Joan Sebastian, Selena (posthumously), Frank Ocean, Dan Sistos, and numerous other artists. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Mishkar won the Cultural Personality of the Year Award from the Ministry of Music of the Dominican Republic in 2012.
Leila Núñez-Fredell
Violin, Board Member, and Artistic Coordinator
Leila Núñez-Fredell has delighted audiences both nationally and internationally. Based in Los Angeles, she plays with the DuselForty58 Chamber Ensemble, the critically acclaimed Pacific Opera Project, and Opera Ritrovata. Other performance engagements include collaborating with artists such as David Krakauer, John Cale, and the Borromeo String Quartet at the Italian festival Incontri in Terra di Siena. In the studio she has recorded music for films and recently played violin in a successful Funny or Die skit about Beethoven. In addition to teaching violin at Pierce College, Dr. Núñez-Fredell teaches violin at SOL-LA Music Academy and is a faculty member at the Colburn Music Academy, teaching and overseeing the music history curriculum.
As a member of the Royce String Quartet, Leila Núñez-Fredell won the 2013 San Diego MTAC Chamber Competition and the 2013 Ladies Musical Club of Seattle (founded 1891) Small Ensemble Competition. She also serves as concertmaster of the Grassroots Chamber Orchestra in Ithaca, NY and has performed as soloist works by Beethoven, Khachaturian, and Brahms with that orchestra. Other engagements include performances on series such as UCLA Live at Royce Hall, Casa Classic in San Clemente, Concerts at One in lower Manhattan, and Sundays Live at LACMA. Dr. Núñez-Fredell completed her studies in violin performance at the Eastman School of Music, SUNY Purchase, and UCLA. A recipient of UCLA’s prestigious Dissertation Year Fellowship, her dissertation “Performing the Mechanical: Industrialism, Androids, and the Virtuoso Instrumentalist” focused on the exchange between eighteenth- and nineteenth-century musical androids and human virtuosi.
Alison Spieth Perrine
Viola, Board Member, and Orchestra Coordinator
Dr. Alison S. Perrine received her DMA in viola performance from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a full-time chamber musician, orchestral player, recording artist, and teacher, based in Los Angeles.
Alison has performed as a chamber musician in LACMA's Sundays Live broadcast concert series, Beethoven Bagels and Banter at the Broad in Santa Monica, Dilijan Chamber Music Series at Zipper Hall, and in the finals of the 68th annual Coleman Chamber Music Competition. Internationally she has performed at the Incontri in Terra di Siena Festival in Tuscany, and recently performed George Crumb's Black Angels for Electric String Quartet in Yerevan, Armenia.
Alison has also had the pleasure to perform in many great Los Angeles venues including Walt Disney Concert Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Royce Hall, Zipper Hall, The Dolby Theater, The Greek Theater, The Ford Amphitheater, and L.A. Live. She records and sidelines for film, television, commercials, video games, and albums. She can be seen in an episode of Glee (FOX), as well as heard playing in musicals around Southern California.
As an orchestral musician, Alison performs with the Los Angeles Virtuosi, Mozart Classical Orchestra, and Pacific Opera Project. While attending UCLA she was also a member of the American Youth Symphony and Young Musician's Foundation Debut Orchestra. Orchestra tours and festivals have taken her to France, Italy, Armenia, China, Canada, Spain, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Russia, Finland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary.
Maksim Velichkin
Cello
Maksim Velichkin has been active as a solo performer, chamber and orchestra musician, both locally and throughout the world. Mr.Velichkin has appeared as a soloist with Uzbekistan National Symphony, Duquesne Contemporary Ensemble, American Youth Symphony, as well as Torrance, Westchester, Southeast and Bellflower orchestras. He has toured extensively to Europe, Asia, North and South America and Australia with the prestigious Verbier Chamber and Verbier Festival Symphony Orchestras.
Maksim has worked with such outstanding conductors and instrumentalists as James Levine, Kurt Masur, Charles Dutoit, Yuri Temirkanov, Wolfgang Sawallish, Herbert Blomstedt, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Neemi and Paavo Yarvi, Gabor Takacs-Nagy, Sarah Chang, Maxim Vengerov (recording project for EMI), Yuri Bashmet, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Bobby Mc Ferrin, Joshua Bell. Mr.Velichkin’s performances have been featured on Radio Swiss Romande, WQED FM in Pittsburgh, National Radio and Television of Uzbekistan. He has performed A. Vivaldi's Double Concerto with Bobby Mc Ferrin in Switzerland, Mendelssohn Octet at the 2005 Miyazaki Music Festival in Japan. Maksim recent projects included a recording project with Maxim Vengerov and Verbier Chamber Orchestra, a tour of Mexico with Southwest Chamber Music, an Israeli tour with Yuri Bashmet and Verbier Chamber Orchestra as well tour in Switzerland and Japan with Gabor Takacs, Sarah Chang and VCO where Maksim in addition to being a cello principal also performed on harpsichord.
George N. Gianopoulos
Head of Contemporary Music
A native of Syracuse, New York and now a resident of Los Angeles, Gianopoulos’ music has been performed throughout Europe and America, including performances in China, Israel, Spain, England and Greece and regular performances in Southern California. George has been commissioned by The Glendale Philharmonic, The Chamber Opera Players of Los Angeles, Tala Rasa, The Symbiosis Ensemble, The Helix Collective, The Akropolis Quintet and the Malkin-Trybeck Duo, among others. He has been awarded by the American Viola Society, One Ounce Opera, Boston Metro Opera, Aurora Borealis Duo and was the Alumni-in-Residence (AIR) for the State University of New York at Oswego, where he worked with students and faculty. His music has been performed by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Opera, Pacific Symphony and Los Angeles Master Chorale. Mr. Gianopoulos is the currently the Composer-in-Residence for the Los Angeles based Symbiosis Ensemble and concert series Music @ MiMoDa.