Previous Directors
Rolando-Michael Sanz, Tenor
Cuban-American tenor Rolando Sanz recently completed his Master of Music
degree and Artist Diploma at the Yale University School of Music, where
he appeared as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Nerone in L'incoronazione
di Popped and Basilio in Le
Nozze di Figaro. With the Aspen Opera Theatre Center, he has appeared as
L'Aumônier in Dialogues des Carmélites under the baton of James Conlon
and as Lippo Florentino in Street Scene under the baton of Julius
Rudel. Other recent operatic credits include: scenes from The Turn of
the Screw, A Midsummer Night's
Dream, and Albert Herring, all under the guidance of Graeme Jenkins,
Rinuccio in
Gianni Schicchi, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, as well as
Romeo in the Italian premiere of Lee Hoiby's Romeo and Juliet with
the Amalfi Coast Music Festival in Salerno, Italy. Rolando also appeared
with the Westminster Songfest in the role of Roberto in Puccini's rarely performed
masterpiece, Le Villi, and has also
recently been seen as Fernando in Goyescas.
Mr. Sanz has also distinguished himself as a gifted concert performer and recitalist. He has performed as tenor soloist in such works as Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio, Randall Thompson's Nativity according to St. Luke, Honegger's Le Roi David, Vaughn Williams' Hodie and Handel Ode to St. Cecilia and Messiah, as well as the Washington, DC premiere of the Donizetti Requiem. Rolando appeared as tenor soloist in Stravinsky's Les Noces in 2002 with the Yale Camerata as well as at the Aspen Music Fesitval under the baton of Michael Stern. Mr. Sanz made his Yale Symphony Orchestra debut as soloist in the Mozart C minor Mass and appeared in the Mozart Requiem with Orchestra New England. Rolando is also a recipient of grants from the Leni Fé Bland Foundation, The Opera Buffs and the Opera Reading Club of Hollywood.
Rolando was most recently awarded first place in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in the Orange County district. He appeared as a resident artist with the Songfest 2004 program, collaborating with such esteemed artists as Martin Katz, Graham Johnson and composer John Harbison. Mr. Sanz also served as assistant conductor for Long Beach Opera's 2004 production of Die Schweigsame Frau.
In the summer of 2005, Rolando will be a resident artist at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California.
(Last updated March 2005.)