Bio Category: 2324 israel

CODY BOWERS

Described as “a voice of rare beauty” (Seen and Heard International), award-winning countertenor Cody Bowers is a Sullivan Foundation Award winner, a National Semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and a George London Foundation Finalist Award Recipient. In the 23-24 performance season, Mr. Bowers will make his Lincoln Center debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Handel’s Israel in Egypt, in addition to debut performances with The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in a World Premier of Jonathan Leshnoff’s The Sacrifice of Isaac. In previous seasons, Mr. Bowers has performed in The Metropolitan Opera house, San Francisco Opera War Memorial Opera House, the Stern auditorium at Carnegie Hall, San Diego Opera, Minnesota Opera, Utah Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Boston Early Music Festival, Opera Neo, and Tanglewood Music Center.

On the Operatic stage, Mr. Bowers continues to expand a broad and contrasting list of characters that range from Tolomeo, Handel’s Cesarian foil, and prince of Egypt; the lost and mysterious Refugee from Jonathan Dove’s Flight; Federico Garcia Lorca, the celebrated 20th century poet and playwright in Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, who was martyred during the Spanish Civil War; Leonardo, the ghostly Greta Garbo impersonator who inspires Frida Kahlo to make peace with her troubled life in Garbiela Lena Frank’s new Opera El último sueño de Frida y Diego; the stubborn child who, after being disobedient, is scorned by his own furniture as it comes to life in Ravel’s Lenfant et Les Sortilèges; and Orlando, the conquering hero of antiquity who’s desire to love and be loved drives him into the pits of insanity—and the underworld.

As a concert performer, Mr. Bowers has performed numerous works by J. S. Bach including St. John Passion, St. Matthew Passion, Magnificat, Christmas Oratorio, Mass in B minor. Other concert credits include Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri, Ralph Vaughn William’s Mass in G Minor, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Mozart’s Mass in D Major.

Mr. Bowers is an active member of internationally celebrated ensembles like Gramophone Award-winning Blue Heron Renaissance Choir, The Handel & Haydn Society, Apollo’s Fire Baroque Orchestra, The Thirteen, Bach Society Houston, VAE: Cincinnati, Ensemble Altera, and The Choir at the Church of the Advent.

Permanently based in New Haven Connecticut, when he isn’t singing, Mr. Bowers enjoys tending to his many houseplants, brushing his two cats Lily & Leonard, and exploring new Ina Garten recipes with his husband.

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AMANDA FORSYTHE

The American soprano Amanda Forsythe, highly praised for her performances on both sides of the Atlantic, sang Euridice on the recording of Charpentier’s La descente d’Orphée aux enfers with the Boston Early Music Festival which won the 2015 GRAMMY AWARD for Best Opera Recording. Her highly acclaimed CDs have included her début solo album of Handel arias “The Power of Love” with Apollo’s Fire on the Avie label. She recently toured with the outstanding French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky, performing works based on the Orfeo myth, and subsequently recorded the role of Euridice in a new edition of Gluck’s Orfeo for the ERATO label.

Equally at home on the concert platform and on the opera stage, in recent seasons Amanda Forsythe’s major engagements have included Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Boston Symphony under Andris Nelsons and the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Susanna Mälkki, Handel’s Sileti venti and Laudate pueri with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Nicholas Kraemer, Messiah with Seattle Symphony, Bach’s Magnificat and concert performances as Marzelline Fidelio with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia under Sir Antonio Pappano. Following performances as Amour in Gluck’s Orphée at London’s Royal Opera House, she participated in tours of this work, and of Mozart’s C Minor Mass and Requiem with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra under Sir John Eliot Gardiner.

She is a regular soloist with the highly acclaimed baroque ensembles Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO), Apollo’s Fire, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Pacific Musicworks, the Boston Early Music Festival, and the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra. She sang the title role of Teseo with PBO at the Tanglewood and Mostly Mozart Festivals under Nicholas McGegan, and made her début at the Oregon Bach Festival in Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Magnificat under Matthew Halls.

Amanda Forsythe made her USA stage début with the Boston Early Music Festival, where her many roles have included Poppea and Drusilla L’incoronazione di Poppea, Niobe and Manto (recording) in Steffani’s Niobe, regina di Tebe, Aglaure Psyché (Lully), Venus Venus and Adonis (John Blow), Pallas The Judgment of Paris (Eccles), Isabelle Le Carnaval de Venise (Campra), Serpina La serva padrona and Edilia Almira, Königin von Castilien, for which she received rave reviews. Having made her début at Seattle Opera as Iris Semele, Amanda Forsythe recently returned there to sing Pamina Die Zauberflöte. Her operatic repertoire also includes Poppea Agrippina, the title role in Partenope, Dorinda Orlando, Amenaide Tancredi, Bastienne Bastien und Bastienne, Ninfa/Proserpina Orfeo, Amore Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, Oberto Alcina, Dafne Apollo e Dafne, Atalanta Xerxes, Vagaus Juditha Triumphans and roles in Les Indes Galantes and The Fairy Queen.

She made her European operatic début in the role of Corinna Il viaggio a Reims at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, subsequently returning to perform Rosalia L’equivoco stravagante, and Jemmy Guillaume Tell, described by one critic as “…the best singing of this crucial part I’ve ever encountered…”. At her invitation, Amanda Forsythe joined the distinguished American mezzo soprano Joyce di Donato in a performance of Bellini duets in the festival’s ‘Malibran’ recital.

Major European opera house engagements have included Dalinda Ariodante in Geneva and Munich and Barbarina Le nozze di Figaro,Manto in Steffani’s Niobe, regina di Tebe, Amour in Gluck’s Orphée and Nannetta Falstaff at London’s Royal Opera House. Her performance as Nannetta was described by Gramophone Magazine as “meltingly beautiful”.

Amanda Forsythe’s recordings include Venus Venus and Adonis, Aglaure in Lully’s Psyché, and La Grande Pretresse in Lully’s Thésée with the Boston Early Music Festival (all for CPO), Manto in Steffani’s Niobe with BEMF (Erato), the title role in Handel’s Teseo with Philharmonia Baroque (PBO’s own label), Bach’s St. John Passion and Messiah with Apollo’s Fire (Avie), Dorinda Handel’s Orlando with Early Music Vancouver (ATMA) and Haydn’s Creation with Boston Baroque (Linn). She also sings on the DVD recordings of the Pesaro productions of L’equivoco stravagante and Guillaume Tell as well as Manto in the Royal Opera production of Steffani’s Niobe (Opus Arte). Her latest CD of Steffani duets with the Boston Early Music Festival was awarded the Diapason d’Or in January 2018.

SONYA HEADLAM

Born of Jamaican parentage, soprano SONYA HEADLAM has been praised as “an entrancing soloist… with elan, flawless intonation, a velvety middle voice, and on-the-mark coloratura” (South Florida Classical Review).  Engagements in 2022 include her Philadelphia Orchestra debut in Handel’s Messiah; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Handel’s Messiah with the North Carolina Symphony; Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Grand Rapids Symphony; a much praised debut with the New World Symphony (Miami) in Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate; and her Severance Hall debut with Apollo’s Fire, with critics calling her “the highlight of the concert… she sang flawlessly and with seeming abandon” (ClevelandClassical.com).  

Sonya’s previous solo performances include Carnegie Hall, Trinity Wall Street, Bang on a Can All-Stars, and venues in South America, Europe, and Asia, as well as a Caribbean tour with members of the Cuban Philharmonic. On the opera stage, her favorite roles have included Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Light Opera of New Jersey. Sonya holds a Doctorate in Vocal Performance from Rutgers University, where she has also held a visiting scholar appointment.

JACOB PERRY

Jacob Perry Jr., tenor, based in the Washington Metro Area, receives praise for his “gorgeous and stylish” interpretations of Renaissance and Baroque repertoire. He has been featured as a soloist with Apollo’s Fire, Handel Choir of Baltimore, Mountainside Baroque, Tempesta di Mare, The Thirteen, Washington Bach Consort, and The City Choir of Washington. Mr. Perry was selected as the tenor participant of the Virginia Best Adams Masterclass of the 2020 Carmel Bach Festival (postponed).

Deeply immersed in vocal chamber music, Mr. Perry enjoys playing with Les Canards Chantants, a soloist-ensemble based in Philadelphia, as well as engagements with ensembles such as The Thirteen, the Art of Early Keyboard, New Consort, and Cathedra. Additionally, he can be heard singing with larger choirs such as Yale Choral Artists, The Clarion Choir, Washington Bach Consort, and the Choir of Washington National Cathedral. He has explored vocal works by contemporary composers through engagements with Third Practice, hexaCollective, and Great Noise Ensemble. As Co-Artistic Director of Bridge, a genre-defying vocal ensemble based in Washington, he draws on his instincts for theatricality and story-telling, as the group explores the connections between early masterpieces and ground-breaking new works.

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EDWARD VOGEL

With a voice described as “velvet-toned” (BBC Music Magazine), and praised for his “appealing, midweight baritone” (The New York Times), “forthright agility and bold declamation” (Musical America), baritone Edward Vogel is recognized as a sensitive, versatile performer. Recent highlights include solo appearances with GRAMMY®-winning Apollo’s Fire under the direction of Jeannette Sorrell, solo debuts with the Jacksonville and Tucson Symphonies, and his solo debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in Handel’s Israel in Egypt, for which Musical America praised him as “one of the evening’s highlights.” Other recent solo appearances include Handel’s Messiah and Monteverdi’s Vespers with Apollo’s Fire; and Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Dona Nobis Pacem, Bach’s Mass in B minor, and Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem with GRAMMY®-nominated True Concord under the direction of Eric Holtan. In 2019 Edward made his international solo debut in Bach’s Mass in G Major at Snape Maltings, UK, under the direction of Philippe Herreweghe.

Highly in-demand as an ensemble singer, Mr. Vogel has performed with groups including Bach Collegium Japan, and Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices in the world premiere of David Lang’s the writings at Carnegie Hall.

An avid recitalist, Edward finds passion in delivering sensitive, intimate performances of both art song and genres that go beyond the traditional classical canon. A two-time Vocal Fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center, he has honed his craft by coaching with champions of art song including Dawn Upshaw, Roger Vignoles, and the late Sanford Sylvan. His musical interests have led to engaging and acclaimed recitals of repertoire ranging from music of medieval Iberia to British art songs of the twentieth century.

Mr. Vogel holds degrees from the Yale School of Music and the University of Notre Dame.

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“The U.S.A.’s hottest baroque band.” –CLASSICAL MUSIC MAGAZINE (UK)