Artists - Faculty

Cheryl Hickman, Artistic Director

Soprano Cheryl Hickman is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Opera on the Avalon.  Top prize winner in the George London Competition, this St. John’s Newfoundland native starred in Saint-Saëns La Principesse Jaune for L’Opera Français de New York in 2001, conducted by Yves Abel, sang Desdemona in 2000 with Florida Grand Opera, and sang the role of Mary in New York City Opera’s Ballad of Baby Doe. Featured in Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi at New York City Opera, Miss Hickman’s roles for this company include Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi) and Fortuna in Il Ritorna D’Ulisse in Patria.

In Canada, Miss Hickman has sung with many of the leading opera companies, including Vancouver Opera (Marianne in Der Rosenkavalier), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni) with Manitoba Opera, Michaëla (Carmen) and Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro) with Pacific Opera Victoria, Madame Lidoine (Les Dialogues des Carmelites), Mother/Witch in Hansel and Gretel, the role of Kitty Hart in the Canadian Premiere of Jake Hegey’s Dead Man Walking and Clorinda (La Cenerentola) with Calgary Opera. 

Miss Hickman is a Graduate of the University of Toronto, the Juilliard School of Music, and was a member of the Juilliard Opera Center. While a member of the prestigious Canadian Opera Company Ensemble, Cheryl sang Female Chorus in Britten’s Rape of Lucretia,Mother/Witch in Hansel and Gretel, and covered the roles of Senta in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer and Marenka in Smetana’s The Bartered Bride. This gifted young artist has attended the Aldeburgh Festival, the Aspen Festival and was a Finalist in the Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition.

Steven Philcox, Head of Music Staff, Head Coach

Quickly gaining recognition as one of Canada's finest collaborators, pianist Steven Philcox has performed with many of our most renowned singers including Richard Margison, Jean Stillwell, and Isabel Bayrakdarian. Recital appearances have taken him to many of North America's greatest concert halls, including his 1998 debut at Carnegie Hall (Weill Hall) in association with the American Society for Contemporary Opera and Song. Further recital appearances have included Los Angeles and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, New York. His debut recording with Canadian soprano Martha Guth features the works of Debussy, Crumb, and Messaien. Steven has participated in the Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara, and The Banff Centre's Twentieth Century Opera and Song Festival. He was also on staff at Chautauqua's 1999 Summer Institute. Steven spent several summers teaching and performing in the Aria International Summer Academy in London, Ontario.

A graduate of the University of British Columbia, Steven received his Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a scholarship student of internationally renowned pianist Warren Jones. He has served as vocal coach, répétiteur, and assistant conductor with the Canadian Opera Company and is on the faculty of The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory.

Judith Yan, Music Director

Judith Yan is currently the Music Director and Principal Conductor of Opera on the Avalon. She has been a staff conductor for the San Francisco Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, and the National Ballet of Canada. Equally adept at conducting opera, ballet, and symphony, she has conducted for companies in Germany, Italy, the United States and Canada. www.judithyan.com

Benjamin Butterfield, Master Teacher Voice

Regarded as a "musically arresting presence" by the San Francisco Chronicle, Benjamin Butterfield is in demand for concert, opera and recital. His stage repertoire has encompassed roles in the Barber of Seville, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, Rake's Progress, Persephone, Cunning Little Vixen and Tamerlano with performances in Naples at Il Teatro di San Carlo, Theatre du Capitole in Toulouse, Welsh National Opera, the Canadian Opera Company, L'Opera Nationale de Montpellier, and Arizona Opera, as well as New York City Opera, L'Opera de Montreal, Vancouver Opera, Glimmerglass Opera Festival, and Canterbury Opera in New Zealand.

John Fanning, CM Master Teacher Voice

Recently invested as a Member of the Order of Canada, John Fanning's schedule of engagements is evidence of his pre-eminent position among today's baritones. A veteran of nine seasons at the Metropolitan Opera, roles there include John Plake in SLY, co-starring with Placido Domingo, Mandryka in ARABELLA, the Father in HÄNSEL UND GRETEL and Count Almaviva in LE NOZZE DI FIGARO. Further Met highlights include Mr. Astly in THE GAMBLER conducted by Gergiev, Faninal in DER ROSENKAVALIER and the Four Villains in LES CONTES D'HOFFMANN conducted by James Levine. At the San Francisco Opera he was conducted by Donald Runnicles in LOUISE, he toured the United States as soloist in Mozart’s REQUIEM with Bernard Labadie and Les Violons du Roy and sang Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Zukerman in Ottawa with the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

ELIJAH, MESSIAH, the FIVE MYSTICAL SONGS of Vaughan Williams and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 are indicative of his concert repertoire with Canada's major symphonies including those of Vancouver, Montréal, Edmonton, Québec, Calgary, Nova Scotia and Toronto. Mr. Fanning was featured as Firmin in THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA both on the national tour and at the Pantages Theatre in Toronto. The operatic voice of many commercials, he starred in an episode of CBC's WIND AT MY BACK and was prominently featured in Norman Jewison's film, MOONSTRUCK. Mr. Fanning is the recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, including the George London Grant to Singers.

Robert Herriott, Director

Canadian stage director Rob Herriot began his career in opera on the stage, singing such roles as Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress and Tamino in The Magic Flute. In 2001 he turned his attention to stage direction and began assisting directors across North America on productions of The Rake’s Progress and The Magic Flute for Vancouver Opera/Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Tosca, Don Pasquale and The Flying Dutchman for San Diego Opera.

Since then he has directed of productions of Lucia di Lammermoor and La Boheme for Manitoba Opera, Carmen for Arizona Opera, La Traviata for Opera Hamilton and Don Pasquale for Connecticut Opera and Opera Hamilton and recently Daughter of the Regiment and HMS Pinafore for Edmonton Opera, the latter of which won A Sterling Award for Outstanding Musical for the 2008 Edmonton Theatre Season.

This season marked his third with Opera Lyra Ottawa acting as "Silver Cast" director of the mainstage production, Marriage of Figaro , having previously taken the same role on productions of Barber of Seville and Don Giovanni. He was also responsible for the creation of a new version of Cinderella for the young artists school tour in December. This past October marked his first time directing at the Canadian Opera Company on a production of The Brother's Grimm.

Cynthia Hoffmann, Master Teacher Voice

Cynthia Hoffmann is a member of the voice faculties of Manhattan School of Music, where she also teaches a class in vocal performance, and The Juilliard School, where she has served as chairperson since l995. She directed the Judith Raskin Opera Class at the 92nd Street Y School of Music from 1984–92 and has been a summer voice faculty member of the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria; the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Chiari, Italy; the Yong Pyong Music Festival in Korea; the Bowdoin Music Festival in Maine; the Centro Studi Italiani program in Urbania, Italy; the Aria International program; and the University of Miami School of Music program in Salzburg, Austria.

Vlad Iftinca, Master Coach

Romanian pianist Vlad Iftinca is rapidly developing a career as a collaborator of choice for many of today's leading singers, including Thomas Hampson, Deborah Voigt and Luca Pisaroni. Recent engagements include performances in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Hong Kong, as well as at the Spoleto Festival and the Ravinia Festival's Steans Institute for Young Artists. Mr. Iftinca is a staff pianist at the Metropolitan Opera and a coach with the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. He has been a teacher at the Renata Scotto Opera Academy in Westchester, New York, and has collaborated with such distinguished artists as pianist Leon Fleisher and singers Hei-Kyung Hong, Shen Yang and Isabel Leonard. Born in Romania, Mr. Iftinca attended the Reina Sofia School of Music and the Real Conservatorio in Madrid, Spain and continued his studies at the Mannes School of Music and the Juilliard School in New York. In 1999, he recorded the complete works for four hands and two pianos by Joaquín Rodrigo with Spanish pianist Consuelo Martín Colinet on the record label Dial Discos.

Ms. Patricia Misslin, Master Teacher Voice

Renowned voice teacher Patricia Misslin has performed at many of the major concert halls and opera houses around the world, including Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Town Hall, and Boston’s Symphony Hall. She has performed with the New York Chamber Music Artists, Canticum Novum Singers, and Boston Opera. Misslin is also co-founder and board member of both Music Theatre North and the Institute of American Studies.

Elizabeth Turnbull, Master Teacher Voice

A Winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, North American finalist in the International Bernstein Song and Oratorio Competition, and recipient of a Canada Council Career Development grant, Elizabeth Turnbull is a mezzo with a distinguished reputation in the U.S. and Canada, hailed by the press as "(one) of this country's finest young singers, luminous and rich-voiced". Recent season highlights include the world premiere of FILUMENA for the Calgary Opera, playing the role of Maria. She was Ulrica in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA for Opera Lyra in Ottawa and other recent engagements include Madame de la Croissy in DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES for Calgary Opera, Juno in Handel's SEMELE for Chicago Opera Theater, Larina in EUGENE ONEGIN for Opera Ontario, and the title role in CARMEN for Edmonton Opera. On the concert stage, she sang in Bach's MASS IN B MINOR for the London Fanshawe Symphonic Chorus and in Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with the Edmonton Symphony.

Paul Transue, Master Coach

Dr. Paul Transue, Assistant Professor of Collaborative Piano, Vocal and Opera Coach at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is also the Head Opera Coach for the Opera on the Avalon Summer Festival, held in beautiful St. John’s, Newfoundland, where he works with colleagues from the Juilliard School and the Metropolitan Opera among others. He has worked professionally as a coach/accompanist with Seattle Opera, Cleveland Opera, Toledo Opera, The Ohio Light Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, Lyric Opera Cleveland, the Janiec Opera Company of the Brevard Music Center, the Southern Illinois Music Festival, McLeod Summer Playhouse, and the Chautauqua Institute Vocal Program.

W. Stephen Smith, Master Teacher Voice

W. Stephen Smith joined the voice faculty at The Juilliard School in the fall of 1998 after having served for eight years on the voice faculty at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. He has held a position on the voice faculty of the Aspen Music Festival and School since 1996 where he was honored, in 2001, as a “New Horizons” faculty member. Additionally, Mr. Smith was on the staff of the Houston Grand Opera as voice instructor for the Houston Opera Studio from 1990 to 2003. He is in great demand as a voice teacher for many professional and aspiring professional singers in New York City and around the world.

Joan Patenaude-Yarnell, Master Teacher Voice

Following her debut with the Canadian Opera Company as MIcaela in Carmen, Joan Patenaude joined both the New York City and San Francisco Operas. A Canadian-born soprano, she has also sung with opera companies throughout North America and Europe. Her roles have included Violetta in La Traviata, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Gilda in Rigoletto, Nedda in I Pagliacci, the title role of Mimi in La Boheme, Julie in Romeo et Juliette, Elle in La Voix Humaine and Hero in Beatrice et Benedict.

Ms. Patenaude-Yarnell joined the voice faculty at the Curtis Institute in 1996, and the Manhattan School of Music in 1997. She is the artistic director of Centro Studi Lirica, a summer program for young singers in Italy. In 2002 she became the editor of her own column, “The Private Studio” in the Journal of Singing, a publication of the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Leslee Heys, Pianist

Leslee is very happy to be helping out again for this, the third season of Opera on the Avalon. At other times, she serves as part-time faculty for Memorial University's School of Music, has a dynamic private piano studio, and enjoys a very busy schedule of vocal coaching, chamber playing, adjudicating and composing. Leslee is the principal accompanist for the internationally acclaimed youth choir, Shallaway, and has performed with them in Asia, Europe, North America and the Carribbean. She was the musical director and conductor for the critically praised CD "Anne and Seamus". Her skills as coach/accompanist have also led to participation in reputable events such as Festival 500, Opera on the Avalon, the Canadian National Music Festival, and the rESOund Festival of Contemporary Music. Live recordings of her numerous collaborations with local and visiting artists have been frequently aired on CBC Radio. She holds a Bachelor of Music Performance from the University of Toronto, and a Master of Music from the University of Western Ontario, specializing in Collaborative Piano. She is a proud HBC (Here By Choice) and lives in St. John's with her husband Howard, and two children, Erin and Bill.