last updated: October 4, 2007 Who's New at Dispeker Season 2006-07 marks another milestone in Thea Dispeker Inc.'s long and distinguished history - its 60th year of representing word-class singers, conductors and instrumental soloists. Under the leadership of Kathryn Takach, the firm is pleased to welcome Stephen Lugosi as Vice President, Conductors and Artists, with his impressive list of conductors and soloists (in alphabetical order): Christoph Campestrini recently made his enthusiastically received US opera debut with the Austin Lyric Opera, in addition to several re-engagements with American and European orchestras. His most notable US-engagement in 2006 was with the Houston Symphony which resulted in an immediate return invitation the following season. George Garrett Keast is one of the latest and youngest additions, already with a demanding guest-conducting schedule that includes appearances with the Oregon Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, Honolulu Symphony and Ridgefield Symphony. Bernard Labadie, the music director of Les Violons du Roy and La Chapelle du Québec, who after his sensational debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2006 and re-engagements with the symphonies of Atlanta, San Francisco, St. Louis, Oregon, Toronto, New World Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, makes his debut with the New York Philharmonic in December 2006. His second disc on Virgin Classics, a Handel / Hasse recording with Vivica Genaux and Les Violons du Roy, was released in the fall. Carlos Miguel Prieto has become the new music director of the Louisiana Philharmonic as of September 2006, determined to ignite the rebuilding of cultural life in New Orleans. He remains music director of the Huntsville Symphony until the spring of 2010. He is also the newly appointed music director of the Orquesta Mine Charles Olivieri-Munroe is in his tenth season as Chief Conductor with the North Czech Philharmonic in Teplice. He is busy guest-conducting this season, making debuts with the Israel Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Quebec and Calgary symphonies and returns to the Toronto Symphony for the third time. Gregory Vajda continues his second year as resident conductor with the Oregon Symphony. In the summer of 2006 he made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra and he had a successful return to the Montreal Symphony. His 06/07 season includes engagements with the Charlotte Symphony, Honolulu Symphony, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, Festival of Round Top and the Atlanta Opera. Jean-Marie Zeitouni had his US opera debut with the Cincinnati Opera in June 2006 which resulted in an immediate reinvitation as well as an invitation for the 2007 Glimmerglass summer season. He makes his US orchestra debut with the Monterey Symphony in November 2006 and conducts the Houston Symphony the season after. Other conductors new to the list are Ermanno Florio, Charles Olivieri-Munroe and James Paul. Several noted pianists also join the roster: Andrew Armstrong, a Gilmore Young Artist, performs with the Columbus Symphony under Günther Herbig and emphasizes the Romantic repertoire in his concerto appearances this season, including Rachmaninov’s 3rd, Prokofiev’s 3rd, Saint-Saëns’ 5th, Chopin’s 2nd, Brahms’ 1st piano concerto, and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Frederic Chiu, the prolific recording artist with more than 20 releases on Harmonia Mundi to his credit, has emerged from a season-long sabbatical and is touring across the US with a program of symphonic transcriptions. Ying Feng is a prize winner of the William Kapell International Piano Competition in Maryland and the Marguerite Long/Jacques Thibaud International Piano Competition in Paris. Alexander Korsantia, known for his virtuoso readings of the romantic repertoire, returns to Israel for concerts with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Rafael de Burgos conducting, and the Israel Chamber Orchestra. He also performs with the Quebec City Symphony Orchestra, Georgian State Orchestra, and Moscow Symphony Orchestra, among others. Benedetto Lupo brings his "keen musical intelligence and probing intellect" (Miami Herald) to the Buffalo Philharmonic and the symphonies of Jacksonville, Tucson, Phoenix, and Augusta during the 2006/07 season. In Europe, he performs with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic, both under Vladimir Jurowski, and tours with the Verdi Symphony Orchestra and Claus Peter Flor across Italy. Seven exciting singers have been added this season: Dramatic soprano Alison Bolshoi possesses a voice particularly suited for the Wagner repertoire. She recently made her debut with La Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. Baritone Stephen Bryant’s repertoire spans from Bach to Stewart Wallace, but he has particularly distinguished himself as the premier interpreter of Tan Dun’s music. He created the role of Dante in the world premiere of Dun’s opera Marco Polo and reprised the role at London’s Barbican Centre in a performance broadcast by the BBC. Other appearances included the Munich Biennale, the Holland Festival in Amsterdam, the Hong Kong Arts Festival, New York City Opera, and the Japan Philharmonic in Tokyo, to name a few. Bass-baritone Won Cho is cast as Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Mercury Opera of Rochester and later sings Bruckner’s Te Deum and Beethoven’s Mass in C Major with the Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus/Orchestra. Canadian soprano Karina Gauvin, who is noted for her superb interpretations of the Baroque repertoire, recently made her Chicago Symphony debut to great acclaim. Later in the season she sings with the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Milwaukee, Edmonton, Honolulu, Montreal, Vancouver, and the National Arts Center Orchestra, as well as the Minnesota Orchestra. Soprano Elizabeth Keusch has recently sung at Disney Hall with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and composer/conductor Thomas Adès. This season, she collaborates again with Helmuth Rilling and the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart as Merab in Handel’s Saul, and with Norman Scribner and the DC Choral Arts Society in Poulenc’s Stabat Mater and Amy Beach’s Canticle to the Sun. Lyric mezzo-soprano Annamaria Popescu has sung 12 productions at La Scala under the baton of Riccardo Muti, Sir Colin Davis, Bruno Bartoletti, Charles Dutoit, Andrew Davis, Michael Tilson Thomas, Christoph Eschenbach and others. Tenor Daniel Weeks, successful in both oratorio and opera repertoire, appears with the Kentucky Opera as Normanno in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, and the Columbus Symphony and Florida Orchestra under Stefan Sanderling in Schubert's Mass in E-Flat. On the staff side, Dispeker is also pleased to announce the arrival of Galiya Valerio as Artist Manager and Booking Director for soloists and special attractions, effective September 25, 2006. She will be in touch with orchestras and performing arts series in particular and give managerial advice in addition to procuring engagements for singers, instrumentalists and special attractions.