MasterVoices: The Grapes of Wrath

• Kyle Oliver, baritone (Tom Joad)
• Margaret Lattimore, mezzo-soprano (Ma Joad)
• Nathan Gunn, baritone (Pa Joad)
• Mikaela Bennett, soprano (Rose of Sharon)
• Bryonha Marie, voice (Mae)
• Victor Starsky, tenor (Jim Casy)
• Malcolm MacKenzie, baritone (Uncle John)
• Schyler Vargas, baritone (Connie Rivers, Ragged Man, Truck Driver)
• Christian Pursell, bass-baritone (Noah)
• John Brancy, baritone (Al)
• Ted Sperling, conductor

Since the day it was published on April 14, 1939, The Grapes of Wrath has captured the American imagination with its sweeping plot and epic scope—two elements that make it perfect for an opera. In the true spirit of Steinbeck, Gordon and Korie have fashioned "a people's opera" whose orchestral score is laced with banjo, guitar, harmonica, saxophones, and barroom piano. Originally commissioned by Minnesota Opera, MasterVoices premiered the concert version in 2010. What better way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Artistic Director Ted Sperling's tenure with MasterVoices than to revisit this gorgeous piece—which he brought to us—with fresh revisions and our signature casting of theater and opera stars? At its heart, Grapes is a plea for political and spiritual unity that is as relevant today as the day it was penned.

About MasterVoices

MasterVoices (formerly The Collegiate Chorale) was founded in 1941 by legendary American choral conductor Robert Shaw. Under the artistic direction of Tony Award winner Ted Sperling since 2013, the group is known for its versatility and a repertoire that ranges from choral masterpieces and operas in concert to operettas and musical theater. Season concerts feature a volunteer chorus of 100+ members from all walks of life, alongside a diverse roster of world-class soloists from across the musical spectrum, including Julia Bullock, Dove Cameron, Anthony Roth Costanzo, Renée Fleming, John Holiday, Jennifer Holliday, Norm Lewis, Victoria Clark, and Kelli O'Hara. Under Sperling's direction the group has created cross–disciplinary collaborations with such diverse creative minds as Vogue Editor-at-Large Hamish Bowles, fashion designer Zac Posen, Silk Road visual artist Kevork Mourad, illustrator Manik Choksi, stage designer Doug Fitch, and choreographers Doug Varone and Andrew Palermo. Roger Rees was the group's Artistic Associate from 2003–2015, and in 2021 the group received a New York Emmy Award nomination and a Drama League Award nomination for its multi-genre digital concert production, Myths and Hymns.

Known for its presentation of lesser-known artistic treasures such as Scott Joplin's Treemonisha, and Tchaikovsky's Maid of Orleans, the group has received recent accolades for productions of rarely-heard works such as the 2018-19 season's Lady in the Dark by Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin, Victor Herbert's Babes in Toyland, the Gershwins' Let 'Em Eat Cake, and Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurents’s Anyone Can Whistle. They also commission and premiere new works; recent examples include choral works by Ricky Ian Gordon, Marisa Michelson, Tariq Al-Sabir, and Randall Eng.

As one of the country's first interracial and interfaith choruses, MasterVoices (as The Collegiate Chorale) performed at the opening of the United Nations and has sung and recorded under the batons of esteemed conductors including Serge Koussevitzky, Arturo Toscanini, and Leonard Bernstein, among others. It has been engaged by top-tier orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic and the Israel Philharmonic, and has appeared at the Verbier and Salzburg Festivals.

About Orchestra of St. Luke's

https://oslmusic.org/

About Kyle Oliver, baritone (Tom Joad)

https://www.kyleoliverbaritone.com/

About Margaret Lattimore, mezzo-soprano (Ma Joad)

https://www.margaretlattimore.net/

About Nathan Gunn, baritone (Pa Joad)

"Nathan Gunn commands an operatic baritone whose mighty heft and richness confer an outsize authority on everything it touches..." ~ The New York Times

About Mikaela Bennett, soprano (Rose of Sharon)

https://www.mikaela-bennett.com/about

About Bryonha Marie, voice (Mae)

https://www.bryonhamarie.com/

About Victor Starsky, tenor (Jim Casy)

Victor Starsky is a native of Richmond Hill, New York, where he has learned and practiced his craft as a teacher, martial artist, and professional musician. Mr. Starsky was a participant of the 2019 Merola Opera Program and a 2020 San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow where he gratefully received the prestigious Shoshana Foundation's Richard F. Gold Career Grant. Victor performed the role of Lt. B.F. Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Long Island Opera and made his role debut as the Duke in Verdi's Rigoletto at Opera Modesto. In February 2020, he performed the role of Don José in his company debut with Opera Tampa. Opera Today writes: "Victor Starsky's Don José is terrifying and compelling, with a voice that performs vocal acrobatics with strength and beauty that remains undiminished through his final line."

Victor made his Carnegie Hall debut in April 2019 as the tenor soloist in Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass. In 2018, he traveled to Italy to perform the role of Alfredo in La Traviata, conducted by Audrey Saint-Gill. Victor sang Il Postiglione in La Fanciulla del West and Rodolfo in La Bohème with New York City Opera, and Tony in West Side Story with Opera North. In 2014, Mr. Starsky received the honor of a lifetime to perform the role of The Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein's MASS with its premiere conductor, Maestro Maurice Peress. Victor is blessed beyond expression to be a proud father and husband.

About Malcolm MacKenzie, baritone (Uncle John)

http://www.malcolmmackenzie.org/

About Schyler Vargas, baritone (Connie Rivers, Ragged Man, Truck Driver)

https://www.schylervargas.com/

About Christian Pursell, bass-baritone (Noah)

https://www.christianpursell.com/

About John Brancy, baritone (Al)

https://www.johnbrancy.com/

About Ted Sperling, conductor

Ted Sperling is a multi-faceted artist; director, music director, conductor, orchestrator, singer, pianist, violinist and violist. He is the Artistic Director of MasterVoices and Music Director of the recent Broadway productions of My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof and The King and I, all currently touring nationally and internationally. He has directed the premiere productions of The Other Josh Cohen, Red Eye of Love, Striking 12 and See What I Wanna See, all off-Broadway.

A Tony Award winner for his orchestrations of The Light in the Piazza, Mr. Sperling is known for his work across many genres, including opera, oratorio, musical theater, symphony and pops. His video interpretation of Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns can be viewed on the PBS channel, AllArts, where you can also view his concert of Carole King songs. He earned rapturous reviews for his production of Lady in the Dark with MasterVoices at NY City Center as well as for recent performances of Let ‘Em Eat Cake and Anyone Can Whistle at Carnegie Hall.

Mr. Sperling appeared as Steve Allen in the final episode of Season Two of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" and as bandleader Wallace Hartley in the original Broadway musical, Titanic.

Artists that Mr. Sperling has directed and conducted include Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Isabel Leonard, Stephanie Blythe, Nathan Gunn, Rufus Wainwright, Glenn Close, Eric Idle, Kevin Kline, Martin Short, Deborah Voigt, Kelli O’Hara, Victoria Clark, Audra McDonald, Idina Menzel, Michael Bublé, Randy Newman, Bryn Terfel, Anthony Roth Constanzo, Anne Hathaway, Matthew Broderick, Sarah Jessica Parker, Jeremy Jordan, Santino Fontana, Dove Cameron, Jennifer Holliday, Cheyenne Jackson, Vanessa Williams, Sutton Foster, and Liza Minelli.