Dr. JJ Hudson, stage director, is the Professor of Opera at the Georgia State University School of Music, and joined the School of Music faculty after more than a decade of freelance directing of opera, operetta and musical theater. Having trained initially as a composer and performer, Hudson brings a unique understanding of music, drama and performance to his productions.

His recent directorial projects include Sarasota Opera, Opera Tampa, Asheville Lyric Opera, Opera Roanoke, Mississippi Opera, Opera in the Heights, Tri-Cities Opera, the Natchez Music Festival and the Berkshires Theatre Group. In 2016, Hudson directed John Musto’s satirical opera Bastianello with Rochester Lyric Opera. In summer 2021, Hudson directed Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress with the Lakes Area Music Festival (MN) – his sixth production with this nationally recognized classical music festival. He notably directed a unique performance of Franz Schubert’s song-cycle Winterreise at the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens with baritone Christopher Herbert as part of the Make Music New York winter festival. Zachary Woolfe of The New York Times wrote of the production, “You have not truly experienced Winterreise until you have stood three or four feet from the singer, his breath visible in the cold.”

Dr. Hudson holds a D.M.A in voice performance and literature and an M.M in opera studies – stage direction from the Eastman School of Music, an M.A. in voice performance from the University of Iowa and a B.M in music composition and voice performance from Stetson University.

Prior to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Rolando Salazar served as the Associate Conductor/Chorus Master for his home company, The Atlanta Opera, having previously served for several years as Assistant Chorus Master under longtime Chorus Master Walter Huff. While serving as Chorus Master he worked alongside conductors Arthur Fagen, Joseph Colaneri, Joseph Rescigno, Ari Pelto, Joseph Mechavich, David Charles Abell, Dean Williamson, and others.

During this last year Rolando was featured in Love Letters to Atlanta, performing alongside singers Morris Robinson, Jamie Barton, and Kevin Burdette. He also was featured in the digital version of Madison Opera’s Opera in the Park, as well as in an all-Mozart recital with soprano Jasmine Habersham. Other performances included appearances with Cincinnati Song Initiative, MUS/IQUE In a Minute!, as well as returning to the podium to conduct performances of Pagliacci for the Atlanta Opera’s Molly Blank Big Tent Series, and one of the only covid-safe performances of Handel’s Messiah with the Atlanta Concert Opera, an online broadcast viewed all over the world.

Rolando’s previous performances include appearances on the podium with the Rome (GA) Symphony Orchestra, The Atlanta Ballet, Johns Creek Symphony Orchestra, the Ozark Family Opera, the Permian Basin Opera, Georgia State University Orchestra, collaborative work with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, as well as serving as the Assistant Conductor and festival pianist at the Bellingham Festival of Music.

Career highlights for American soprano Talise Trevigne include her celebrated portrayal in the title role Porgy and Bess at The Atlanta Opera and she returned as a TAO Company Principal Artist in Season 2020/21 as Nedda I Pagliacci. Her career in the United States includes performances with the Cincinnati Symphony and appeared at Cincinnati Opera.  She has played roles with the Boston Lyric Opera, Omaha Opera, Lincoln Centre, Madison Opera, San Diego Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago.  In 2016, she was honored with a GRAMMY Award nomination for her rendition of Christopher Rouse’s master piece Kabir Padavali with the Albany Symphony. Her solo CD, At the Statue of Venus (GPR Records), written by Heggie and Glen Roven, quickly climbed to the top of the US record charts.

As an international artist, she has a return appearance with England’s City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra for Tippett’s A Child of our Time in performances in the UK and Germany conducted by Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. She created the role of Clara JFK, a role she took to Opéra de Montréal for a Canadian debut and she has revived the roles at Israeli Opera with Frederic Chaslin.  In 2007, she won the coveted Royal Philharmonic Society Music Award for her mesmerizing portrayal of Violetta in Graham Vick’s La Traviata with Birmingham Opera.  She has acclaimed world-premiere performances with the Melbourne International Festival and she revived the role to perform at the Checkhov International Arts Festival in Moscow and at the Bastille in Paris.

2014

Don Giovanni

A MidSummer Night’s Dream

“Verdi, Strauss & Friends” – selected scenes

 

2015

Falstaff

Der Rosenkavalier

“Highlights from The Marriage of Figaro” – Scenes

 

2016

Incorozaione di Poppea

The Consul

“A Celebration of Shakespeare” – Scenes

2017

Dialouges of the Carmelites

Carmen

“Scenesational Scenes”

 

2018

Ballad of Baby Doe

Little Women

“…endings…” Scenes featuring opera’s greatest finales!

 

2019

Cosi Fan Tutte

La Nozze doi Figaro

“Seasonal Scenes”  – A scene for all seasons!