Opera Biographies:
Rebecca Turner, Producer; Dramatic Soprano Rebecca Turner is Associate Professor of Voice and Director of Opera at Converse College, and has sung over 500 operatic performances to date, with repertoire including the lead soprano roles in such operas as Der fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Der Freischütz, Aida, Il Trovatore, La Forza del Destino, Simon Boccanegra, Turandot, Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, La Gioconda, and Peter Grimes. She has performed in the opera houses of many European cities, including Düsseldorf, Bremen, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hannover, Mannheim, Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Graz, and Basel, as well as in the Shanghai Grand Theater, where she was the first soprano in China's history to perform in a Wagner opera. Ms. Turner's students have sung with major opera companies around the world, including those of Berlin, Leipzig, Hannover, Brussels, and Straßbourg, as well as the New York City Opera, Des Moines Opera, and Utah Summer Opera Festival.
Ross Magoulas, Director; An alumnus of Converse College, Ross Magoulas was Associate Professor of Voice and Director of Opera from 1982 until 1992, when he retired as Associate Professor Emeritus. From 1965 until 1992, he was affiliated with the Brevard Music Center, most notably as the General Manager of the Opera Workshop and Voice Instructor. Mr. Magoulas is a specialist in the works of Gilbert and Sullivan, having directed and starred in numerous G&S productions. He is also an active member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), and is still seen in many stage productions throughout the Southeast. A recipient of the 2006 Converse College Career Achievement Award in Music, his return as director of The Mikado marks his first production with the Converse Opera Theatre since his retirement.
Brent Glenn, Director, Scenic Designer and Technical Director; Brent Glenn is Assistant Professor of Theater at Converse College. As a professional actor, director and designer, he has worked for theaters from Alaska to New York. He has performed with the Horizon Theatre Company, Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern, and Theatre Emory; has directed for the Center Theatre, Echota Performing Arts Festival, The Village Gate, Alice's Fourth Floor, Playmakers of Baton Rouge, Spartanburg Repertory Company, Kokopelli Theatre Company; and has done design and/or technical work for Playwrights Horizons, Out North, Scenic Central, Alliance Theatre, Swine Palace, Rosco Lighting, and Georgia Pacific. Mr. Glenn has also taught at Louisiana State University and the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Keith Jones, Conductor and Music Director; Keith Jones is Associate Professor of Music at Converse College and vocal area coordinator. In addition to serving as Musical Director and Conductor of Converse Opera Theatre performances, he teaches applied voice and conducting, and directs the Converse Chorale and Spartanburg Festival Chorus. While at Converse, he has conducted performances of Hänsel und Gretel, The Old Maid and the Thief, The Magic Flute, Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, The Marriage of Figaro, Talk Opera, Little Red Riding Hood, and Die Fledermaus. Dr. Jones, a tenor, has sung with Opera Omaha, Newberry Opera, The Palmetto Opera, and Converse Opera Theatre. He was a Young Artist with the San Antonio Young Artists Festival and sang in an opera scenes program directed by Boris Goldovsky.
Mildred Ann Roche, Assistant Music Director and Coach; Mildred Roche is Director of Accompanying and Assistant Music Director of Converse Opera Theater. She served as coach/accompanist for the Boston University Opera Theater, as staff accompanist for the BU Vocal department, and worked with many local opera and choral groups. Mrs. Roche was a coach/accompanist for the Brevard Music Center Opera Workshop from 1981-1987, and Principal Coach of the group from 1988-1996. She has worked with singers and directors such as Phyllis Curtin, John Haber, Richard Cassily, Shirlee Emmons, Frederica von Stade, and Thomas Dunn, and she has performed in recital with Mark Oswald and Sylvia McNair.
Stafford Turner, Scenic Designer and Constructor; Bass-baritone Stafford Turner is Adjunct Professor of Music at Converse College. During the 2008-2009, he was Set Designer and Constructor for the Converse College Opera Theatre productions of Puccini's Suor Angelica and Barab's Little Red Riding Hood, and in July of 2005 he made his stage directing debut at the Shenandoah Performs Festival in Winchester, Virginia with Britten's Noye's Fludde and Copland's The Tender Land, for which he also served as Set Designer and Constructor. Turner debuted at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1994 and in 1996 he sang the role of Balstrode in a production honoring the 50th anniversary of the American premiere of Britten’s Peter Grimes at the Tanglewood Music Festival, with Seiji Ozawa conducting. He has performed in operas, recitals and concerts in Austria, France, Germany and Spain, as well as throughout the United States, and he recently made his debuts with the Tacoma Symphony and the Spartanburg Philharmonic as the baritone soloist in Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem.
Megan McFarland, Scenic Artist; Megan McFarland has been active in professional theater for over three decades. Best known as the original Della in the Della's Diner musical series, Megan has worked extensively in Atlanta with the Alliance Theatre, Theatrical Outfit, Seven Stages, Georgia Shakespeare Festival, and Theatre in the Square. She has also performed regionally with the Coconut Grove Playhouse, Virginia Stage, and The Duplex. Megan has done voiceovers, television shows and commercials, and films. Megan has also designed scenery for productions of A Little Night Music, Burnus & Estel, and Megan McFarland's Moving Sale, and was scenic artist for the recent Converse Opera Theatre productions of Suor Angelica and Little Red Riding Hood.
