ALYSON CAMBRIDGE
Soprano

The young, American soprano -- whose voice has been described as “sweetly evocative”, “creamy” and “dynamic” -- has established herself as “one to watch” in the operatic and concert world. Recognized for her beauty of voice, striking stage presence, and affecting musical and dramatic interpretation, Alyson Cambridge is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera's Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, which she joined after becoming a Grand Prize Winner of the 2003 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She has since embarked on an exciting opera and concert career.

During the 2008/09 season, Ms. Cambridge returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Crobyle in a new production of Thaïs, conducted by Jesús López-Cobos, and as Bianca in Nicolas Joël’s new production of La Rondine, conducted by Marco Armiliato. Both productions were be broadcast live in high-definition to cinemas around the world. She also made her debut at Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Mimì in La bohème, followed by her role debut as Violetta in La Traviata at Granite State Opera, and rounded out the season as Mimì at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Her concert calendar included Les Chants d’Auvergne with the Baton Rouge Symphony, as well as the Brahms’ Requiem and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 with the Roanoke Symphony. In the 2009/2010 season, Ms. Cambridge will make debuts with Portland Opera as Musetta in La bohème, Opera Cleveland as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, and return to Washington National Opera as Clara in Porgy and Bess.

During the 2007/08 season, Alyson Cambridge made several company and role debuts. She began the season as Musetta in Washington National Opera's new production of La bohème, under the baton of Emmanuel Villaume, followed by her company and role debut as Mimì with Boston Lyric Opera. For her debut with Atlanta Opera, she sang her first Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. On the concert stage, Alyson appeared with the Omaha Symphony, Roanoke Symphony, and in a recital tour of William Bolcom's From the Diary of Sally Hemings.

In the summer of 2007, Alyson Cambridge toured Japan as Frasquita in Carmen, under the baton of Seiji Ozawa. Also during the 2006/07 season, she made her debut at the Los Angeles Opera as Clara in Francesca Zambello’s production of Porgy and Bess, having previously performed the role at the Washington National Opera; she also debuted with Michigan Opera Theater as Clara, and with the Handle and Haydn Society as Euridice in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, and she returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Karolka in Jen?fa. Her 2006/07 concert engagements included an all-Gershwin program with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Lansing Symphony, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Baton Rouge Symphony.

The young American soprano is a frequent guest of the Metropolitan Opera, having made her debut in 2004 under the baton of James Levine as Frasquita in Carmen (a performance for which The New York Times noted her "powerful, clear voice"). Other Met roles include the Flowermaiden in Parsifal, and Gianetta in L’Elisir d’Amore. Highlights of past seasons include her role debut as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Portland Opera Repertory Theatre; Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with Sir Simon Rattle and the Oberlin Chamber Orchestra; Gounod’s Juliette with Opera Theatre of St. Louis; her company debut with Palm Beach Opera as Musetta; Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore with Wolf Trap Opera; selections from Porgy and Bess with Peter Nero and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra; and Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne with Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra.

Alyson Cambridge received both a B.M. in Voice Performance from the Oberlin Conservatory and a B.A. in Sociology from Oberlin College. With Oberlin Opera Theater, she performed the roles of Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, the Maiden in Henry Mollicone's Coyote Tales, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and Dido in Dido and Aeneas. During her summers at the Chautauqua Institution Voice Program, she performed the title role in Suor Angelica, Mrs. Gobineau in Menotti’s The Medium, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Metella in La Vie Parisienne. After graduating from Oberlin in 2002, Cambridge continued her studies at the Curtis Institute of Music, pursuing a Master's of Music, and where she performed the role of Anna Gomez in Menotti’s The Consul. She also continues to be an active recitalist in New York and Washington, D.C.

Among numerous awards and prizes, Alyson Cambridge received First Prize in the 2003 Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Voice Competition, was a 2004 George London Foundation Award recipient, and is the 2008 winner of the Regine Crespin Award from the Elardo International Opera Competition.

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Justina Lee
Pianist

Originally from San Francisco, pianist Justina Lee, a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, joined the music staff of the Metropolitan Opera during the 2005-06 season. She has worked as a vocal coach/pianist for the Seattle Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Lorin Maazel’s Châteauville Foundation, the CoOperative Program at Rider University, and Centro Studi Italiani in Urbania, Italy. She has been a collaborative artist with the Cleveland Art Song Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Music Academy of the West. Ms. Lee received a Masters of Music in piano performance from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Masters of Music in accompanying from the Manhattan School of Music. Concert performances include residencies with the Marilyn Horne Foundation and Châteauville Foundation, the Manchester Music Festival, and recitals with tenor, Lawrence Brownlee. Ms. Lee is currently on faculty at the University of Maryland, College Park.