The Soloists

Elisabeth Turchi, Soprano

Soprano Elisabeth Turchi is pleased to join the Robert Page Festival Singers on their European tour. Her dramatic presence and agile vocal styling has charmed audiences in Italy and the United States.

Ms. Turchi's most notable performances include Alice in Falstaff, Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, and Madame Silverklang in Der Schauspieldirektor. She has also performed with New York City's Gotham Chamber Opera in Les Larmes du Couteau, Dido and Aeneas and Les Malheurs d'Orphée. Upcoming engagements include Mozart's Così fan Tutte and Great Mass in C Minor, and Orff's Carmina Burana.

Ms. Turchi is an alumna of The International Institute of Vocal Arts, The International Opera Academy of Rome and The Ezio Pinza Council of American Singers of Opera, and holds degrees in Vocal Performance from Carnegie Mellon University and Shenandoah University.

Amanda Russo, Mezzo-Soprano

Amanda Russo, mezzo-soprano, is currently pursuing a Master of Music in vocal performance at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She made her debut this February as Marcellina in IU Opera Theater's production of Le Nozze di Figaro. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Russo received her Bachelor's in vocal performance and German from Carnegie Mellon University. While studying at Carnegie Mellon, she appeared as Nancy in Britten's Albert Herring, Ruggiero in Handel's Alcina, Cassie in Hamlisch's A Chorus Line, and Charlotte in Sondheim's A Little Night Music. She was also a featured soloist for Copland's In the Beginning and Corgliano's Fern Hill. Ms. Russo was a 2006 recipient of the Vira Heinz Scholarship for study abroad, which funded her studies at the Goethe-Institut in Munich, Germany and The American Institute for Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.

Douglas Ahlstedt, Tenor

Douglas Ahlstedt has sung professionally in the world's greatest opera houses and concert halls. He has been heard in leading Mozart roles, including Alessandro, Tamino, Ferrando, Belmonte, Don Ottavio, Sifare and Idomeneo in Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Cologne,Dresden, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, New York, Saltzburg, Stuttgart, Tokyo, Wien and Zurich.

Mr. Ahlstedt is well known for his leading roles in Rossini operas, again, in major theaters around the world. Mr. Ahlstedt sings Lindoro on Deutsche Grammophone's recently released DVD of the delightful Jean- Pierre Ponnell, Metropolitan Opera production of "l'Italiana in Algeri," with Marilyn Horne as his Isabella, Paolo Montarsolo as Mustafa, and James Levine conducting. He is represented in a Salzburger Festspiel DVD of "Il Ritorno di Ulisse et Patria", television productions of "Gianni Schicchi" in Amsterdam, and "Fra Diavolo" from the Deutsche Oper am Rhein, in Dusseldorf, where Mr. Ahlstedt was a permanent company member for ten years. He is sings the role of Iopas, in the Metropolitan Opera's DVD of "Les Troyens" which he sang on the opening night of the Metropolitan Opera's 100th year anniversary, James Levine conducting. Other favorite Metropolitan Opera assignments include Fenton, in Verdi's "Falstaff", and Pelleas, in Debussy's "Pelleas et Melisande, with Frederica von Stade and Jose van Dam , maestro Levine on the podium.

Mr. Ahlstedt is equally engaged on the concert stage, having sung with the orchestras of New York, Pittsburgh, Rochester, San Francisco, Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Tokyo, in works such as "Messiah', the Passions and the Christmas Oratorio, of Bach, "Elijah",
The Creation, the Requiems of Berlioz, Britten, Mozart, and Verdi. He has also sung and recorded contemporary works, including composers such as Amaya, Kroll, Thomas, Rands and Scelsi.

Mr. Ahlstedt earned a Bachelor of Science in Music Education at the State University of New York in Fredonia, and a Master of Music at the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music.

Mr. Ahlstedt is an Associate Professor of Voice at Carnegie Mellon University, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Craig Verm, Baritone

Craig Verm is rapidly gaining recognition for his exciting performances. Following recent performances of Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette exclaimed that he was "again impressive. His Mercutio was a winning mix of insouciance and insolence with a superb grasp of the French." The Denver Post agrees, enthusiastically citing his ability to "make full use of his resonant, expressive baritone voice, bringing the necessary depth to this complex role and imbuing the all-important final scene with poignancy and depth."

In the 2007-08 season, he sings Joseph Pitt in Peter Eötvös' Angels in America with Fort Worth Opera, the Count in Le nozze di Figaro and Falke in Die Fledermaus with the Opera Theatre of Pittsburgh, and the Minskman in Jonathan Dove's Flight as a guest artist with the Pittsburgh Opera Center. He also joins the Asheville Symphony Orchestra for Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs and returns to the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale for both Schubert's Mass in G. His other future engagements include Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with Florentine Opera and Connie Rivers in Ricky Ian Gordon's The Grapes of Wrath in a return to Pittsburgh Opera.

Mr. Verm enjoys a strong relationship with Pittsburgh Opera, where he sang both Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette and the Novice's Friend in Billy Budd in the 2006-07 season following previous performances with the company as Guglielmo in student performances of Così fan tutte as well as Angelotti in Tosca, Wagner in Faust, the Second Prisoner in Fidelio, Marullo in Rigoletto, and Lakai in Ariadne auf Naxos. He also recently made his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut at the legendary Hollywood Bowl as Angelotti in Tosca. Mr. Verm has sung Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen with Aspen Opera Theater where his performances also included Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer with the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble.

Equally adept within the realm of oratorio, Craig Verm's concert appearances encompass performances of Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on Christmas Carols with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass with the Boston Youth Symphony, Bach's Mass in B minor at Portugal's Aviero Music Festival, Faure's Requiem with the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, and Rutter's Mass of the Children with the Pittsburgh Concert Chorale. He has also sung performances of Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem in Cincinnati and Handel's Messiah in Houston.

He received his Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music where he also sang the title role in Carlisle Floyd's Markheim, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, and Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande. He was graduated cum laude from Rice University's Shepherd School of Music where he sang Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro. He was also a 2006 national semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and is a former member of the young artist programs of Pittsburgh Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and Cincinnati Opera.

Andrew Wentzel, Bass-Baritone

An exciting and commanding figure in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world, bass-baritone Andrew Wentzel was declared a "vocal standout ... who alone achieved a touch of human emotion through strong, sensitive singing" by Opera News following performances of Banquo in Macbeth. The Washington Times agreed, lauding his "flexible but powerful voice" which has "vocal reserves to spare and total abandon in his phrasing."

Mr. Wentzel begins his 2007-2008 season staying close to home, performing with the Knoxville Opera Company, first in a concert showcasing him in the Epilogue of Boito's Mefistofele and then as the Pere Guardiano in Verdi's La Forza del Destino. He will complete the season performing Haydn's Creation with the Robert Page Singers in Budapest and Vienna.

Mr. Wentzel's 2006-07 season engagements included performances of Le Comte de Breville in the world premiere production of Stephen Hartke's The Greater Good or the Passion of Boule de Suif with Glimmerglass Opera (recorded for the Naxos record label), and of Colline in La Bohème with Knoxville Opera. Concert appearances include Handel's Messiah with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and the Mozart Requiem with the Chattanooga Symphony.

During the 2005-06 season, Mr. Wentzel performed Mozart's Requiem with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra, in Messiah with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, and in Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra. In the 2004-05, he sang Olin Blitch in Susannah with Opera Columbus, Schoeck's Elegie with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and Handel's Messiah with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Wentzel's engagements in the 2003-04 season included Bach's St. Matthew Passion with the Berkshire Choral Festival, Haydn's The Seasons with the Spokane Symphony Orchestra, Don Fernando in Fidelio with the Chattanooga Symphony and Opera Association, and Handel's Messiah with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra.

At the Metropolitan Opera, where he made his debut in 1985, Mr. Wentzel has appeared in numerous productions including Roméo et Juliette, Billy Budd, I Puritani, Rigoletto, La Fanciulla del West, Turandot, Manon, and Les contes d'Hoffmann. His other operatic credits include Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with New York City Opera and San Diego Opera, Mr. Flint in Billy Budd with Houston Grand Opera, La Bohème with the Washington Opera, Norma with Minnesota Opera, Collatinus in The Rape of Lucretia with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with Glimmerglass Opera, and Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Boston Lyric Opera.

Mr. Wentzel's other opera highlights include Brander in La damnation de Faust with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (with a performance at Carnegie Hall), and Le Père in L'Enfance du Christ with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, conducted by Charles Dutoit. He has performed the roles of Horace Giddens in Regina with Florida Grand Opera, Comte des Grieux in Manon with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Alidoro in La Cenerentola with Knoxville Opera, and Olin Blitch in Susannah with Calgary Opera, Nashville Opera and Indianapolis Opera. With Opera Theatre of St. Louis he performed in Japan as Old Emperor, Sea God, and Recluse in the premiere of Minoru Miki's The Tale of Genji.

On the concert stage Mr. Wentzel has performed the Mozart Requiem with the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra under Hans Vonk. He has sung the Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, and the University Musical Society Chorus of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. Wentzel performed arias by Handel and Mozart at the Bravo! Colorado Music Festival, and the title role in Elijah with the Richmond Symphony Orchestra and Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. He has performed Bloch's Sacred Service with the Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra, Bach's Mass in B Minor with the Choral Arts Society of Washington at the Kennedy Center, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, and Philip Glass' Symphony No. 5 with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. With the Boston Symphony Orchestra he sang Weill's Seven Deadly Sins and the world premiere of Ned Rorem's Swords and Plowshares. Other performances include Berlioz' L'Enfance du Christ with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (recording available on the Decca label), Schumann's Szenen aus Goethes Faust with the Bard Festival at Lincoln Center, and the world premiere of Shostakovich's Rayok with the National Symphony Orchestra (recording available on Erato Records).

Mr. Wentzel's other recordings include the Dvorák Te Deum with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra on the Koss label, and the role of Godoy in Menotti's Goya, recorded live at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, on the Nuova Era label. His performance of Shojo in the world premiere of Minoru Miki's Joruri with Opera Theatre of St. Louis is available on Videodisc and VHS.