Vera Causa Opera is thrilled to announce some of the cast members for our February production of Dracula, by Dylan Langan.
Hillary Krutchick- Lucy
Hillary Krutchick (soprano) is a graduate from the Cleveland Institute of Music, having earned her Master of Music in Vocal Performance. Before this, she went to Baldwin Wallace Conservatory of Music to get her Bachelors degree. She has been performing since the age of five in various different musical capacities around the United States and abroad. She currently sings with opera companies in the Midwest and Toronto. This season she will be performing with Vera Causa Opera as Lucy Western in the newly written Dracula, and she just finished the part of Madeleine in the Buffalo Opera Unlimited production of Silent Night.
Anca Toma-Scarr- Dracula's Second Wife
Born in Romania, less than 30km away from the “Dracula” castle in Transylvania, Anca had a passion for singing from a very young age. She knew she wanted to become a singer since the age of five, an idea that followed her throughout her entire life. She started her singing journey by joining a renowned girls’ choir in Romania: “Camerata infantis”, winner of national and international awards, where she sang during her teenage years. Afterwards, her education took a different turn and she earned a degree in Business and one in Mathematics. Still, singing remained her passion and, in parallel, she was part of several well-known choirs in Romania, participating at national and international concerts and festivals. In addition, she completed a four-year operatic voice training program at the studio of soprano Constanta Campeanu, a well-known opera singer in Romania. After moving to Canada, she completed her Mathematics Degree at the University of Waterloo where she joined the university choir and continued her voice training with soprano Stephanie Kramer at the Conrad Grebel University College. Today, she is an active performer as a vocal soloist and member of a folkloric dance group at Romanian and multicultural events, performing in Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph, Oakville, Mississauga and Parry Sound. Anca considers it is a blessing to have an opera company in our area and she is impressed by the quality of the shows put on by Vera Causa Opera. Without hesitation, she followed her desire to become part of VCO.
Bilal Raza- Martin
This is Bilal's first Vera Causa Opera production. He is a fourth-year Health Studies undergrad at the University of Waterloo. Previously, he has been a part of various theatre productions at the university and also the community theatres in the Waterloo region. Unlike vampires, he really likes foods with garlic in them.
Conlan Gassi- Johnathon Harker
Tenor Conlan Gassi is quickly becoming recognized as a gifted performer on the concert and operatic stage. A graduate of the Masters of Music Program at Western University, Conlan made his operatic debut in 2010 in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. In May 2010, he worked with Orchestra London in Handel’s Giulio Cesare. The following month, Conlan made his international debut as the title character in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, in Sulmona, Italy.
Conlan spent many summers performing abroad, performing roles including Masetto in Don Giovanni, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Sid in Albert Herring, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Escamillo in Carmen, Marcello in La Bohème and the title role in Gianni Schicchi. Conlan has been an active performer in southern Ontario, performing the roles of Ferrando in Così fan tutte, Tamino in The Magic Flute, and Fritz in L'amico Fritz, all with Abridged Opera. He has also recently performed as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Opera by Request and as Sam in Susannah with Peck Productions. Music theatre engagements include Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden with London Community Players, and Larry in Company with Music Theatre on the Thames.
Upcoming engagements include the role of Johnathon Harker in the world premiere of Dracula, an opera by Dylan Langan, with Vera Causa Opera, as well as the Tenor Soloist in the Schönberg & Sondheim concert with the Karen Schuessler Singers.
Bree Horton- Renfield
Canadian Mezzo Soprano Bree Horton is a graduate of the New England Conservatory in Boston, MA, where she studied with Jane Eaglen. She has performed in operas across Canada and the US, her favourite roles including Polina (Queen of Spades) with Opera by Request, Naomi (Ruth) with Arcady, The Witch (Hansel and Gretel) with Opera Nanaimo, Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte) at the Halifax Summer Opera Festival, Miss Todd (The Old Maid and the Thief) with Fear No Opera, and Mrs. Herring (Albert Herring) at the New England Conservatory. Bree is thrilled to delve into the psyche of Renfield in this world premiere of Dracula with Vera Causa Opera.
Jorge Trabanco- Dracula
Brazilian lyric baritone, winner of the 12th Maria Callas (2014) and the 7th Carlos Gomes (2015) International Singing competitions, Jorge Trabanco stands out for his scenic and vocal performances, having already performed main roles in many Operas, Oratorios and Masses in Canada, United States, Italy and Brazil, including Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Count (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) by Mozart, Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi) and Sharpless (Madama Butterfly) by Puccini, Danilo (The Merry Widow) by Lehar, Dandini (Cenerentola) by Rossini, Carmina Burana by Carl Orff, The Messiah by G. F. Handel, The Creation by Haydn, Elijah by Mendelssohn, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Mass in C Major and Schubert’s Mass in
B-flat Major.
Currently studying with the Canadian baritone Theodore Baerg as a Doctoral candidate at Western University of Ontario, Jorge earned his Master's degree from Georgia State University (Atlanta, US) and worked as a Voice and Vocal Pedagogy Teacher while conducting and directing the University’s Choir at the Nazarene University of Brazil for the past 6 years.
Get your tickets today to see these amazing artists in action!