Meet The Artists for
Amahl and the Night Visitors!
Nathaniel Baker (Conductor & Pianist)
Nathaniel holds a bachelor's degree from The Hartt School in Piano Performance and Music Theory and a master's in Piano Performance from the University of Connecticut, where as a Graduate Assistant he worked as a coach/accompanist for the school's opera program. He studied piano with Luiz de Moura Castro and Irma Vallecillo. Nathaniel has music directed many local theatrical productions, including for Simsbury Light Opera Company, Seven Angels Theatre, and Choate Rosemary Hall. He is the Music Director of Peace Dale Congregational Church in Wakefield, RI. Nathaniel has also enjoyed an international career as a concert pianist, having performed in Europe and South America, as well as around the United States. He presently works as a staff accompanist at the University of Rhode Island. Nathaniel made his theatrical debut as a composer/arranger with Marc Deaton’s new play, A Memory of Truth, in May of 2021, and Elegy for a Fallen Angel in April 2022. Nathaniel has served as music director on numerous productions with MLS including: Into the Woods, Hansel and Gretel, Music of the Night, The Sun Sits Low, and many concerts. In the 2022 season, Nathaniel conducted Curlew River and The Seven Deadly Sins and was Music Director on Pippin for Madison Lyric Stage. MLS is very excited that Nathaniel will be serving as our Music Director for all events in Season 2024!
Marc Deaton (Director)
Mr. Deaton occupies a prominent place not only among today's most distinctive dramatic tenors but also as a creative and successful stage director, teacher, playwright, producer, and artistic director. As a singer, he has appeared with leading opera companies and orchestras throughout the world, including Vienna, Salzburg, Zurich, Berlin, Dresden, Paris, Barcelona, Augsburg, Munich, Mannheim, London, Bucharest, Budapest, Prague, Bratislava, Sofia, New York, Bangkok, Hong Kong, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Santa Fe among others. He has portrayed the leading tenor roles of Wagner and Strauss: Tristan, Siegfried, Tannhäuser, Lohengrin, Parsifal, Erik in Der Fliegende Holländer, Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos, Narraboth and Herodes in Salome and Der Kaiser in Die Frau ohne Schatten. He is also well-known for his portrayals of leading tenor roles in Samson et Dalila, Otello, Aïda, Turandot, Il Trovatore, Carmen and I Pagliacci; Schoenberg's Moses und Aron, Berg's Wozzeck and Lulu, Reimann's Die Gespenstersonate, Britten's The Turn of the Screw, Peter Grimes, and The Rape of Lucretia, Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress and operettas such as Das Land des Lächelns and Eine Nacht in Venedig. His concert repertoire is just as broad, ranging from classical to modern and comprising virtually all the great tenor parts in such works as Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Schoenberg's Gurrelieder, Orff's Carmina Burana, Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde, Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, and Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire. He was the first man to perform the role at Vienna's Schoenberg Center. His recordings include the title role in Tristan und Isolde with the Bulgarian Festival Orchestra on Titanic Records; the October 2011 Centaur Records release of Marc Deaton WAGNER, a solo disc of Wagner excerpts recorded with the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra; Calaf in Turandot with Bangkok Opera on DVD; and Stephen Suber's Upon the Bank at Early Dawn on Centaur Records. In addition to thirty years as an internationally renowned operatic tenor, Marc Deaton also brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as a stage director. Trained as an actor and director, Mr. Deaton appeared with the Utah Shakespeare Festival and performed key musical theatre roles including Che in Evita, Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Tony in West Side Story, and the title role in Candide, in European theatres such as Salzburg, Baden-Baden, Berlin, Bregenz, and Zurich. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Madison Lyric Stage, serving as producer and director of many of the productions in its twelve-year history. Mr. Deaton is also a playwright, writing the libretto for Glen Cortese’s monodrama The Swan Knight; penning the one-man show We Lived only for the Music: Max Lorenz and the Third Reich; and his plays with music A Memory of Truth? in 2021 and Elegy of a Fallen Angel in 2023, both with music by Nathaniel Baker. For more about Marc, go to his website marcdeaton.org
Steve Brady
Steve Brady is beyond thrilled to return to MLS for All That Jazz, after recent appearances in Elegy for a Fallen Angel and Elektra. With his interests forever split (torn) between the arts and biology, Steve flipped a coin and chose the latter for a career, spending much of his time wading through swamps where he studies Connecticut frog populations. Now, after years away, Steve is overjoyed for the opportunity to return to the stage to help bring to life this deeply moving work. It means the world to him to have the chance to perform such an important piece with this tremendously talented cast.
Andrew Boisvert (King Balthazar)
Andrew Boisvert, Bass, has been hailed as “thundering” (San Diego Story) with a “deep warmth” (The Rutland Herald). Recent 2024 performance highlights include singing Death in Cambridge Chamber Ensemble’s Labyrinth, Il Carceriere in Cedar Rapids Opera’s Tosca, Frank in Die Fledermaus with Bel Cantanti Opera, and Il Carceriere in Cedar Rapids Opera’s Tosca. 2023 highlights included making his Indianapolis Opera debut as Zuniga (where he also covered Escamillo) in Carmen, returning to Sarasota Opera to cover Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni and Lo Zio Bonzo in Madama Butterfly, singing Il Re di Scozia in Opera Neo’s production of Ariodante (August 2022), covering Sergeant Sulpice in St. Petersburg Opera’s production of La Fille du Régiment (June 2022), and performing as Sam in Fargo-Moorhead Opera’s production of Trouble in Tahiti (March 2022) as well as covering Alidoro in their performance of Rossini’s Cinderella (April 2022). Other past opera engagements include covering Cadmus and Somnus in Semele with St. Petersburg Opera, performing Don Basilio in Opera Theater of Connecticut’s The Barber of Seville, and singing Banco in Act I of Verdi’s Macbeth with Opera Avant. Earlier, in 2020, Boisvert performed with Opera North as Sarastro in The Magic Flute as part of their Summerfest Series and Sarasota Opera, where he covered Il Pedone in Catalani’s La Wally, Count Capulet in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Il Conte di Ceprano in Verdi’s Rigoletto. He performed as Olin Blitch in Floyd’s Susannah and covered Count Capulet in Roméo et Juliette with the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center (2019) and performed as Frank Maurrant in Weill’s Street Scene with the Maryland Opera Studio, earlier that year. Upcoming engagements include joining Sarasota Opera once more from January-March 2025 to cover Don Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and then continue his story as the cover of Don Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro. Shortly after April 2025, he will be singing as the bass soloist in the Verdi Requiem with the Schenectady-Saratoga Symphony Orchestra at the Proctors Theater.
Galen Donovan (Shepherd/Dancer)
Galen Donovan (he/him) is so happy to be back on stage with MLS! He was last seen here as Ernst in Spring Awakening last summer and then joined the cast of All That Jazz in 2024. Other recent favorite credits include Spring Awakening (Melchior) with the CT Theatre Company, The Addams Family (Lucas) with the Bradley Playhouse, RENT (Angel) with White Rabbit Theatre, ONCE (Andrej, U/S Guy) with the Wilbury Theatre Group, and Escape To Margaritaville (Ensemble, U/S Tully) with the Ivoryton Playhouse. Galen is also an original cast member of the new musical, Crossing: A Musical Journey. More info at Crossingamusicaljourney.com. Keep up with what he’s doing now and what’s coming up next by following him on Instagram at @galendonovan.
Heidi Engstrom (Amahl's Mother)
Heidi Engstrom, soprano, makes her Madison Lyric Stage debut as the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Heidi is a regular performer with several New York and Connecticut ensembles and is a soloist at Grace Church in Brooklyn Heights. She has performed roles that include Violetta in La Traviata, Morgana in Alcina, Marie in La Fille du Régiment, Nannetta in Falstaff, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor with multiple companies in New York City and surrounding areas. A graduate of Mannes College of Music, Heidi was a member of the acclaimed Mannes Opera with which she performed roles such as Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and a Bridesmaid in Le Nozze di Figaro.
Fredrick Goff (King Kaspar)
Fredrick Goff is delighted to be returning to MLS for a 7th season. Fredrick appeared in the 2022 season in “Curlew River” and in “Seven Deadly Sins” (Father), and appeared with MLS in 2023 in Elegy for a Fallen Angel and Climb Every Mountain. Recent musical theater roles include “A Christmas Carol” (Mr. Fezziwig/Mr. Smythe) “1776” (Richard Henry Lee) “9-5, the musical” (Franklin Hart) “Guys and Dolls” (Nicely Nicely) “Forum” (Senex), “Company” (David) “Bright Star” (Dr. Nordquist) and “Jesus Christ Superstar” (ensemble). Recent opera credits include “Of Mice and Men” (Carlson), “Aida” (Messenger),”Barber of Seville (ensemble) “Die Zauberflote“(Armored Man) and “Eugene Onegin” (Peasant Leader). Some favorite solo appearances include Bach “Magnificat”, Handel “Messiah”, Mozart “Solemn Vespers”, and Saint-Saens “Christmas Oratorio”. Fredrick lives in Middletown with his extremely supportive wife, Ralene, and their adorable corgi, Maestro.
Daniel Hague (King Melchior)
Daniel Hague made his Arizona Opera debut as Douglas D’Agnus in Rossini’s La Donna del Lago and returned as Colline in La Bohème. He has appeared nine times with the Shubert Opera in New Haven; Most notably as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni and as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor. For Opera Theatre of Connecticut, he has been heard Basillio, Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin and Colline; a role he also sang for Opera North as well as Sanibel Festival. The Sanibel Festival has also heard him as Mozart’s Figaro, Raimondo, Colline, and as Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus. For the Bronx Opera, he has been heard as Sarastro, Mozart’s Figaro, the Hermit in Der Freischütz and Leporello; a role he also sang at the Ash-Lawn Highland Festival. His work for Connecticut Concert Opera includes Giorgio in I Puritani and Alfonzo in Lucrezia Borgia. In oratorio, he has been heard in Verdi’s Requiem with the Harrisburg Symphony, Haydn’s Creation with the Bronx Orchestra as well as numerous Bach works with the Fairfield Orchestra and the Bronx Chamber Orchestra. He has also been heard as a soloist with the National Chorale in three concerts at Avery Fisher Hall. His musical theatre credits include Edward Rutledge in 1776, Lancelot in Camelot, and King Maximillian in A Spinning Tale off-Broadway. Mr. Hague has performed with MLS on numerous occasions in Peter Grimes, Salome, Otello, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Of Mice and Men. In our 2021 season, he appeared as Harold in The Boys in the Band; in 2022, in Curlew River and The Seven Deadly Sins, among others. Daniel appeared in 2024 in All That Jazz after his appearance earlier this season as Orest in Elektra.
John Johmann
John Johmann is a New York native and recently appeared with MLS in 2024 as El Gallo in The Fantasticks; in 2023 in Spring Awakening; and in 2022 as Charlemagne in Pippin and George in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? In 2021, he appeared as Michael in The Boys in the Band, and The Sun Sits Low. Previous seasons: Music of the Night, Hotel Fables, the Baker in Into the Woods, Robert in Company, Judas in Jesus Christ Superstar, Che in Evita, Tom in The Glass Menagerie, and Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music. He also appeared in the title role of Macbeth with MLS, a role he also portrayed at the 13th Street Repertory Theater in New York. Other MLS credits include Talk to Me Like the Rain and Let Me Listen, Weimar Masterpieces, Sondheim in the Barn, Phantom of the Barn, Bella Italia, and From Berlin to Vienna. In Connecticut, he played Frosch in Die Fledermaus with Opera Theater of Connecticut and Oliver in As You Like It with ArtFarm Shakespeare. Other NYC credits include Malvolio in Twelfth Night, Claudius in Hamlet, several seasons as Scrooge in A Radio Christmas Carol with Theater 2020, and Great Expectations with AMAS Musical Theatre (Gabriel Barre, dir.). Tours: Babes in Toyland with American Family Theater. Regional: Ralph Clark in Our Country's Good, Bob in Beyond Therapy, The Arbiter in Chess and many others.
Sarah Kennedy (Dancer/Shepherdess, Choreographer)
Sarah Kennedy is the director, teacher, and choreographer of Sarah Kennedy Ballet and Athletic Arts, offering children and adults instruction in ballet, the basics of ballroom, social dance, and Essentrics fitness. Sarah loves for everyone to have a positive, feel-good experience in dance and the arts. She trained at San Francisco Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, and George Washington University; studies voice with Perry Price and Heather Thomson; follows her passion for the ballroom at Ballroom Dancin' Fools (Madison), where she also teaches, and continues to train at Dance With Me (Stamford.) Sarah made her debut with MLS in Hansel and Gretel. She also appeared in Music of the Night: The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and as Anna 2 in The Seven Deadly Sins. Sarah also appeared in the ensemble for Curlew River and Sweeney Todd and Pippin. In 2023 Sarah appeared with Marc Deaton in A Postcard from Pierrot, and in Climb Every Mountain. Sarah also appeared in the ensemble for Curlew River and Sweeney Todd. Sarah loves Madison Lyric Stage for the way it brings the audience into imaginal and musical worlds - with its setting, through its creativity and intimacy, and the generosity and shared beauty of spirit of its creators. Much gratitude for all you do.
Susan Kulp
Susan Kulp is happy to be back at MLS after appearing in their recent productions of The Fantasticks as Mrs. Hucklebee; as the Angel, the Nurse, and Sister Ella Chapter in Angels in America ; and as Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Recent CT credits: A Slice (Lucretia), A Broken Umbrella Theatre; Grumpy Old Men (Ariel), Seven Angels Theatre; The Executioners Wife (Queen) Pantochino Productions; Barbecue (Lillie Ann), Collective Consciousness Theater; Beauty and the Beast (Mrs. Potts) Legacy Theatre. Susan is a company member with New Haven Theater Company (NHTC), can be seen and heard in commercial, print, VO and “acts” as a Simulated Patient/SP Educator for Quinnipiac & Yale University Medical & Nursing schools. Many thanks to Marc and the MLS team for having me back to play. Grateful to our audience for supporting CT theater.
Allison Lindsay
Allison Lindsay is an active operatic, theatrical, and concert performer from the Northeastern United States. A few of her notable roles to date include Frau/Inmate in Erwartung and Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel (both with Madison Lyric Stage), the title role in Handel’s Ariodante (New York Lyric Opera Theatre), Siebel in Faust and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (both with Connecticut Lyric Opera), among others. Ms. Lindsay’s New York television debut on BronxNet came in 2019 when she played Peep-Bo in Bronx Opera Company’s production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado that year. She has also appeared as a soloist in concert with the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra, Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Binghamton Baroque Ensemble, Connecticut Virtuosi Summer Music Institute Faculty Ensemble, Boston Conservatory Baroque Ensemble, and Hofstra University’s Collegium Musicum. Ms. Lindsay has also been heard as a soloist at Carnegie Hall (New York, NY), the Berklee Performance Center (Boston, MA), and at the Bushnell Performing Arts Center and Wadsworth Atheneum, both in Hartford, CT. She made her international concert debut in the summer of 2018 at the Music in the Alps International Music Festival in Bad Gastein, Austria, where she performed as a soloist in chamber music concerts and as one of the winners of the festival’s Concerto-Aria Competition. Ms. Lindsay frequently appears in her hometown of Middletown, CT to perform the National Anthem at various events. MLS is glad to welcome Allison back for All That Jazz, after recent appearances in Elektra and as the Mute in the Fantasticks.
Mary McCue
Mary McCue made her debut with Madison Lyric Stage in 2021 in Suor Angelica as La Maestra Delle Novizie/La Suora Infermiera and has appeared with the company in Pippin, as Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, Curlew River, Climb Every Mountain and Women of Opera, Mary earned a BA in Music from the UConn in 2009. Since graduating, she has performed as a soloist and chorister for various groups both here and internationally. Some of her past roles include Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte, Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro, Micaëla in Carmen, Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica. She was the soprano soloist in Requiem settings by Faure, Mozart, and Brahms as well as Schubert’s Mass No.2 in G and Mozart’s Coronation Mass in C. Ms. McCue is excited to return for her fourth season with MLS for All That Jazz after her portrayal earlier this season of Elektra.
Meera Mennillo
Meera Mennillo has spent six years amassing an impressive body of work, and she is finally breaking into the music industry with her debut album Bloody Murder in a Midsummer Night's Dream under the name Meera Raphael, available July 11th. She has spent the last four years “cross-training” in opera and musical theatre through her involvement with Madison Lyric Stage and Simsbury Light Opera Company, as well as honing her stagecraft as the worship leader at Peace Dale Congregational Church. She also is a senior at the University of Rhode Island studying Psychology and Creative Writing. Meera has appeared with MLS in Suor Angelica, Pippin, Burt and Michel, Spring Awakening, Women of Opera, and this season, in addition to The Fantasticks, in Freedom, Elektra, and is very happy to return for All That Jazz.
Kent Morris (The Page)
Kent Morris is returning for his fourth season with Madison Lyric Stage, appearing in both "Elegy for a Fallen Angel" as well as "Climb Every Mountain: the Music of Rogers and Hammerstein" in 2023. His previous appearances on stage include chorus roles in "Curlew River" and "Sweeney Todd" for the 2022 season of Madison Lyric Stage. He has also performed as the Monster in West Hartford Community Theater's 2018 production of "Young Frankenstein"
Olivia Rich (Amahl)
Olivia Rich is thrilled to be appearing with Madison Lyric Stage. She is a dynamic soprano known for her shimmering timbre and ability to excel in both opera and musical theater repertoire. She is excited to be singing Amahl, which was her first operatic role. Previous orchestral and chamber performances include the soprano soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion with the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra, a soloist in Palm Beach Symphony’s “Sounds of the Season” televised recording in which she sang Handel’s Let the Bright Seraphim, and an alumni soloist with Frost School of Music’s Schubertiade in which she sang the Schubert trio Der Hirt Auf Dem Felsen for piano, clarinet and soprano. Previous roles include Franca in The Light in the Piazza, Angelica (cover) in the world premiere of The Leopard, La Soeur Jumelle in Les Malheurs d’Orphée, and scenes from Anthony Davis’ Lilith in which she sang the role of Lilith/Claire. A Boston-based musician, she serves as the soprano section leader at Eliot Church in Newton, MA, at which she will sing Laurette in Bizet’s comedic operetta, Doctor Miracle, in March. She is also the Musical Movement Teacher for the Handel and Haydn Society Youth Choruses and is the lead voice teacher at South County School of Performing Arts. Rich holds a B.M. and M.M. in Vocal Performance from University of Rhode Island and University of Miami, respectively.
Spencer Reese (Choreographer)
Dr. Spencer Reese is delighted to make his debut with Madison Lyric Stage! A tenor from Enfield, Connecticut, he makes his home as a performer and teacher of opera and musical theater. He recently finished his eleventh season (and sixtieth production) with the Ohio Light Opera, performing the roles of Bill Snibson in “Me and My Girl” and Nicely Nicely Johnson in “Guys and Dolls.” Other recent performing highlights include J. Pierrepont Finch in “How to Succeed in Business…”, Billy Early in “No, No, Nanette,” Georg Nowack in “She Loved Me,” and Frederic in “Pirates of Penzance.” Spencer is the tenor and stage director on the voice faculty at UConn, the artistic director of the Connecticut Gilbert and Sullivan Society, as well as a teaching artist for Goodspeed Musicals. When not performing or teaching, you can likely find him crafting or dabbling in all things
Montana Telman
Montana is thrilled to be joining Madison Lyric Stage for her first time in All That Jazz! She would like to thank everyone involved for giving her this opportunity. Previous credits include Sally Bowles (Cabaret), Wendla (Spring Awakening), Veronica Sawyer (Heathers), and Mopsa (Head Over Heels).
