TWO REMAIN CAST

Lara Troyer: Krystyna Zywulska

Described as singing with an engaging, robust tone (clevelandclassical.com), Lara Troyer’s recent performances include A Night at the Opera with the Battle Creek Symphony in Battle Creek, Michigan and Nunsense at Porthouse Theatre. She made her Porthouse Theatre debut in the summer of 2023 where she performed in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and The Prom. As a frequent soprano soloist in the United States, she has performed with the Master Singers Chorale, Akron Baroque, Singer’s Companye, Kent/Blossom Music Festival, Summit Choral Society, Kent State Chorus and Orchestra, Chamber Music Society of Ohio, and the New Sigmund Romberg Orchestra. She has also made solo appearances with the Akron Symphony, Canton Symphony Orchestra, Battle Creek Symphony, Heights Chamber Orchestra, Chagrin Falls Studio Orchestra, Lansing Symphony Orchestra, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Southeast Iowa Symphony Orchestra, Lansing Lyric Opera, Opera in the Ozarks, and Bay View Music Festival. Lara completed her Bachelor and Master of music degrees in the United States. She completed a DMA at Michigan State University. She is currently on the voice faculty at Kent State University in the United States.   

Melissa Davis: Krysia

Soprano, Melissa Davis is a frequent performer of operatic, musical theatre and art song repertoire. She has performed throughout the United States as well as in Australia, Asia and Europe. Her devotion to the genre of art song has led to extensive research and performance of American art song repertoire. She premiered Sebastian Birch’s Three Songs from “Orpheus & Echo,” which were dedicated to her. She premiered a new work by acclaimed composer Jake Heggie titled Could it be Madness–This? in 2022. Recent recordings include Glass Ceilings: Song Cycles of Jake Heggie, which is a collaboration with her husband, pianist Jerry Wong (2021) and Could it be Madness–This? Heggie’s song settings of Emily Dickinson (2023). Both albums are on the MSR label. As Artistic Director of Nightingale Opera Theatre in the United States, she works to provide creative and accessible opera to Northeast Ohio audiences. Melissa completed Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in performance in the United States and she also holds A Master of Arts in Vocal Pedagogy. She is currently a PhD candidate in performance at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music where she is also a member of the vocal staff. She maintains her position as Artistic Director of Nightingale Opera Theatre.

Linda Barcan: Zosia

Mezzo-soprano, Linda Barcan’s affinity for 20th and 21st century opera, oratorio and chamber music has seen her collaborate with contemporary opera and classical music companies in several Australian premieres: Christina’s World (Sydney Chamber Opera), Abelard and Heloise (Opera Hunter), Pecan Summer (Short Black Opera), The Emperor of Atlantis (Lost & Found Opera), love fails (Australian Contemporary Opera Company), Two Remain (Nightingale Opera) and Eumeralla (Short Black Opera). Linda is known as an advocate for contemporary art song, interpreting song works by Australian female composers including Deborah Cheetham Fraillon (Woven Song), Linda Kouvaras (Art and Life) and Katy Abbott (The Domestic Sublime; We’ll Meet Again). Recent recordings include Women of Note: A Century of Australian Composers Volume 2 (ABC Classics), Gardener of Time: Barry Conyngham at 75 (Move Records), and Linda Kouvaras: Instrumental music, chamber works and songs Volume One (Toccata Classics). She holds a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours from the University of Newcastle, a Graduate Diploma in theatre voice pedagogy from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), and a Masters of singing voice pedagogy from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. Linda is currently Lecturer in Music (Voice) at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, the University of Melbourne.

Karen Van Spall: Edka

Karen Van Spall has sung regularly as a guest artist of Opera Australia, soloist for Victorian Opera and various orchestras. She has also performed several roles for Opera Australia’s national touring company. As a frequent performer of operatic repertoire, she created the role of "Therese Rein" (Rain) and played Offred’s Mother in the Australian premiere of The Handmaid’s Tale. She wrote and performed in “Wagner in Paris” for Opera Australia’s “Melbourne Ring Festival.” Karen is a regular performer at the Melbourne Recital Centre having given recitals with Melbourne Art Song Collective and creating exciting new text driven shows for The Parlour. She is also a frequent performer of orchestral concert repertoire including Alto solos in much of the major classical repertoire. She graduated from the Victorian College of the Arts with a Bachelor of Arts (Music) and Bachelor of Music Performance (Hons) after which she lived and worked in London. She performed for ARYA Opera Company under the direction of Olusola Oyeleye and was a creative workshop participant for London’s Opera Factory. Karen enjoys creating engaging musical experiences for audiences as a singer, writer or producer and occasionally all three. In 2015 she formed “The Parlour” as a vehicle to explore the potential of Art Song as a theatrical, agile and evolving genre.

Uma Dobia: Mariola

Uma is a passionate and versatile performer who grew up singing musical theatre and operetta on many Blue Mountains stages. In 2022 Uma performed the role of Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, as well as the roles of Fairy 2 (Fairy Queen, 2022), Amy (Little Women, 2021) and Amore/Valetto (L’incoronazione di Poppea, 2021). Uma also performed in Victorian Opera’s 2022 production of The Selfish Giant. She made her professional opera debut as Bessie/Helen II in The Spare Room workshops with Monstrous Theatre (2023 and 2024). Uma currently a Resident Emerging Artist with the Australian Contemporary Opera Company. Uma sang the role of Anna Gomez in ACOCo’s production Endure, an adapted version of Menotti’s The Consul, and Milly in the school’s production of Figatroll. Uma’s original, critically acclaimed cabarets, (in)tolerant and Popera: Sex, Death & Politics (a Little Train Creative production) are currently touring. She holds both a Bachelor of Music (Performance: Classical Voice) and a Master of Music (Opera Performance) from The University of Melbourne.

Bailey Montgomerie: Manfred Lewin

Bailey Montgomerie is an emerging performer, musical and artistic director, and a fierce advocate for the development of local Australian creative arts and artists. In his creative practice, Bailey prioritises the commissioning, development, and performance of new and innovative works. As co-director of Divisi Chamber Singers, he regularly commissions new creative works from emerging and under-represented composers, especially those from the LGBTQ+ community. He brings this passion into other contracts as a freelance conductor. Bailey is also a practiced chamber musician and choral singer, having appeared with the Consort of Melbourne, Polyphonic Voices, Astra Chamber Choir, and, of course, with his own ensemble, Divisi. On the operatic stage, Bailey has performed with some of Melbourne’s premier opera companies.

Eric van Baars: Gad Beck

Eric van Baars is a theatre artist whose work encompasses performance, direction, choreography and teaching, Eric served as the Director of the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University in the United States from 2014-2022. As an Associate Professor he taught all aspects of theatrical performance for over twenty years. A recent Florida transplant, Eric acted in the critically acclaimed production of A Soldier’s Play for Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe. He is a long-standing company member with Ohio’s Porthouse Theatre company where he has been involved in over 30 productions including Oliver (Fagin), Damn Yankees (Applegate), The Odd Couple (Felix), The Foreigner (Charlie), The Music Man (Harold Hill), Anything Goes (Lord Evelyn), Sweet Charity (Oscar), Jesus Christ Superstar (Herod), and most recently, The Prom ( Barry). Other theatre performance credits include roles with Radio City Music Hall, Walnut Street Theatre, GEVA, Theatre Virginia, St. Louis Rep, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Cherry County Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse as well as the international tours of Hair and 42nd Street. He holds an MFA in Acting from Kent State and is a long-standing member of Actors Equity Association and the Society of Directors and Choreographers in the United States.

Maria Woolford : Kapo Wala

Ensemble: Sarah Amos (Krysia cover), Victoria Knight (Mariola cover), Taco Kuiper, Stephanie Macindoe (Edka Cover), Alex Owens (Manfred Cover), Kate Pengelly (Krystyna Zywulska cover), Ruben Fitton (Gad Beck cover), Darcy Towe, Maria Woolford (Zosia cover) 

(Ensemble members are Australian Young Artists)

ORCHESTRA

Conductor: John Simmons

Flute: Kim Tan

Clarinet: Cameron Smith 

Violin: Marianne Rothschild 

Cello: Charlotte Jacke 

Bass: Hamish Gullick 

Piano: Coady Green 

PRODUCTION TEAM

Stage Director: Cynthia Skelley Wohlschlager

Lighting Design: Kris Chainey

Scenic Design: Eloise Kent

Costume Design: Melissa Davis

Costume/Wardrobe Assistant: Dan Knight

Stage Manager: Finlay Pedler

Fight Choreographer: Lyndall Grant