2010 Young Artists

Soprano Abigail Mitchell is from Seattle, Washington. She received her Bachelor of Music degree from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music and is currently a graduate student there. For IU Opera Theater she performed the roles of Anna Reich in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor and Javotte in Manon, and she also sang Nuria in the collegiate premiere of Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar with the IU Chamber Orchestra. In Summer 2009, Ms. Mitchell was the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana in Sao Paulo, Brazil. She made her Indianapolis Opera debut as Naiad in the company’s Fall 2009 production of Ariadne auf Naxos. Ms. Mitchell has been honored with a fellowship through IU’s Jacobs School that will enable her to study for two years at the Royal College of Music in London.

Mezzo-soprano Paulette Maria Penzvalto is from Avon, Ohio. She completed her graduate studies in voice with distinction at The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff, Wales. She also received a diploma from the Università di Siena in Italy and studied at the International Lyric Academy in Rome. Her roles include Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Maddalena in Rigoletto, the title role in Carmen, and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier. She performed as a soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria in Fougères, France, and last summer was a young artist with Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre. Ms. Penzvalto made her Indianapolis Opera debut in 2009 as Dryad in Ariadne auf Naxos, and next season will perform the role of Pitti-Sing in IO’s The Mikado. 

Tenor Nicholas Nesbitt hails from Athens, Ohio. He received his Master of Music degree in voice from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. While at IU, he performed the roles of Fenton in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor, Sam in Susannah, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, and the title role in Busoni’s Arlecchino. He was a first-place winner at the NATS Indiana state and regional competitions and won third place in the Bel Canto Foundation’s regional vocal competition. He made his IO debut in Fall 2009 as the Officer in Ariadne auf Naxos. 

Baritone Daniel Scofield, a native of Binghamton, New York, studied voice at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Indiana University. Last year Mr. Scofield performed with Opera Cleveland, and was an apprentice artist at Central City, where he covered the role of Carl Magnus in A Little Night Music. This summer he will sing with the Wolf Trap Opera Company, and in the fall he will begin an apprenticeship with Seattle Opera’s young artist program, where he will perform the lead roles in productions of Don Giovanni and Donizetti’s Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali, as well as the role of Fiorello in the company’s main stage production of Il barbiere di Siviglia. He will make his IO debut as Pish-Tush in The Mikado in 2010. 

Coach/Accompanist Eric Andries is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He has played piano all his life, and received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano performance from Louisiana State University. He has studied abroad, participating in summer programs in France and Austria. Mr. Andries has worked for several opera companies as rehearsal pianist for shows such as Cold Sassy Tree and Little Women. In addition to accompanying opera and playing classical piano, he is an avid jazz pianist and arranger. He performed twice at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival as keyboardist for a local salsa band.