Guild Hall and Bel Canto Boot Camp’s 2022 Resident Artist series will conclude on Saturday, October 15, at 7 p.m. with a recital featuring baritenor Michael Spyres alongside resident artists soprano Teresa Castillo and tenor Samual Keeler. The series, which began in May, supports an emerging generation of opera singers while bringing operatic performances and community engagement programs to the East End. The recital, part of Guild Hall: Offsite programming, will take place in Hoie Hall at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton.
Michael Spyres joins the Guild Hall & Bel Canto Boot Camp Resident Artist series in a recital of arias and songs of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, and Verdi. As a tenor with an extraordinary range (traditionally called a baritenor), the program explores the diverse characters and roles within bel canto and opera, encompassing repertoire normally assigned to both tenors and baritones.
“Michael Spyres joins Bel Canto Boot Camp in a journey through his favorite bel canto repertoire including opera and song,” said Bel Canto Boot Camp co-founders, Derrick Goff and Rachelle Jonck. “As a singer with an extraordinary range the world is his oyster, and a voice like this does not come along all that often. We are privileged to have a long history with Michael — he was the lead tenor in the first professional opera production Derrick ever worked on as a pianist and coach and had worked with Rachelle for many years at the same company — Bel Canto at Caramoor. He is a champion of bel canto rarities as well as excellence in singing, all while being a down-to-earth colleague and friend. We are thrilled to work with him again at Guild Hall!”
Joining Spyres in performance will be resident artists Teresa Castillo and Samual Keeler. Castillo and Keeler will spend a week in-residence with Bel Canto Boot Camp coaches/co-founders, Rachelle Jonck and Derrick Goff, where they will study new repertoire and coach alongside Michael Spyres amid his performances of Idomeneo at The Metropolitan Opera.
“We are so excited to welcome Michael Spyres as the guest artists for the final Guild Hall & Bel Canto Boot Camp Resident Artist program of the 2022 season,” said Anthony Madonna, Guild Hall’s Patti Kenner Senior Associate for Learning + Public Engagement. “Throughout this past year, both Guild Hall & Bel Canto Boot Camp have seen the incredible learning and progress that occurs when singers of various experiences are paired together. To give the opportunity for these two emerging artists, Teresa Castillo and Samual Keeler, to learn and perform with an artist of Spyres’s caliber and experience — especially as he is performing at The Metropolitan Opera — is such a gift, to both the artists and our audiences. We cannot wait to see the learning that will occur and get to celebrate their work in recital.”
Guild Hall and Bel Canto Boot Camp’s 2022 Resident Artist series concludes on Saturday, October 15, at 7 p.m. at Hoie Hall at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 18 James Lane, East Hampton. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit guildhall.org.
Staff Writer on Oct 6, 2022