Tickets
Individual Concert: $75
Festival Pass: $200
One ticket for all three concerts per pass
Festival passes can be purchased at the Friday Ticket Link only
For more information about SHSF please visit sagharborsongfestival.org
The Church is delighted to announce the return of Sag Harbor Song Festival – the annual, beloved autumnal celebration of vocal performance, now in its fourth year!
The six opera masters who will make up the roster of Sag Harbor Song Festival 2025 on the third weekend in September are: Amber Norelai, Susanna Phillips, Cecelia Hall, David Portillo, Darren Lekeith Drone, and Le Bu.
Each singer is a musician of great talent and accomplishment. Together, they will present a program of opera, musical theater, songs, and lieder in three concerts on successive days in late September.
The 2025 event — which follows immensely successful Sag Harbor Song Festivals in 2022, 2023, and 2024 — will again be led by two extraordinary directors: Artistic Director Brad Woolbright and Music Director Robert Tweten. Details of the individual concert programming will be available in July.
Tickets will go on sale on Friday, July 11 at 12 PM
MUSICAL PROGRAM
…Coming Soon…
THE 2025 TALENT
Amber Norelai
Soprano
Photo by Curtis Brown
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American-Venezuelan soprano Amber Norelai appears in the 2024-25 season as Madama Cortese in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims with the Salzburger Landestheater, as Amore in Orfeo ed Euridice with The Dallas Opera and Forest Bird in Siegfried with Atlanta Opera.
Highlights of recent seasons include Dayton Opera’s season-opening gala and New Year’s concerts in Wroclaw, Poland, as well as a return to Santa Fe Opera as Euridice in Monteverdi’s L'Orfeo. She was a 2023 Benenson Young Artist with the Palm Beach Opera, covering Despina in Così fan tutte and Nannetta in Falstaff, a role she also covered in David MacVicar’s production at The Santa Fe Opera in summer 2022.
She has appeared in concert in Vienna’s prestigious Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic, singing Das himmlische Leben from Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Wiener Akademische Philharmonie. She has also appeared as the soprano soloist in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater under the baton of Erwin Schrott and the Webern Kammerphilharmonie in Schlosstheater Schönbrunn.
She made her European debut in 2020 singing Anna Reich in Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor in the Wilhelma Theater in Stuttgart, Germany and returned the next season as Zerlina in Don Giovanni.
Ms. Norelai earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Education from the University of Oklahoma and her Master of Music from the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart. She has received awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions as a 2023 District Winner and was the winner of the 14th International Vocal Competition “Giovani Musicisti.”
Susanna Phillips
Soprano
Photo by Zachary Maxwell
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Alabama-born soprano Susanna Phillips is one of today’s most sought-after singing actors and recitalists. Ms. Phillips is a recipient of The Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Artist Award. Known for her sparkling portrayal of Musetta in La bohème, Ms. Phillips has sung at the Met as Musetta, Pamina, Donna Anna, Rosalinde, Antonia/Stella, Micaëla, Donna Elvira, and most recently in her role debut as Mimi. Role highlights at the Met include Fiordiligi, which The New York Times called a “breakthrough night”, and Clémence in the Met premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de Loin. Ms. Phillips was also a featured artist in the Met’s Summer Recital Series.
In the current season, Ms. Phillips joins Boston Baroque for Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. She joins both Music of the Baroque and Oratorio Society of New York for the Mozart Requiem and Bach Magnificat, and returns to OSNY later in the season for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2. In addition, she presents recitals with Myra Huang, Gloria Chein and Anthony McGill at Dallas Chamber Music Society, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society and Spivey Hall in Atlanta.
Last season, Ms. Phillips returned to the Metropolitan Opera for role debut as Mimi in La Bohème. She joined the Dallas Symphony for Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang and the Utah Symphony for Elijah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Other concert and recital engagements included Strauss’s Vier letzte Lieder with the Amarillo Symphony, a recital with True Concord at the Tucson Desert Song Festival, Vaughan Williams’s Sea Symphony with Oregon Bach Festival and a recital with Chamber Music Northwest.
Cecelia Hall
Mezzo-Soprano
Photo by Barbara Aumüller
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Cecelia Hall is a member of Oper Frankfurt’s prestigious ensemble and appears regularly as a guest artist on many of the world’s finest stages.
This season Cecelia appears in four new productions at Oper Frankfurt: Henze's Der Prinz von Homburg, Berg's Lulu, Magnard’s Guercoeur, and Reimann's Melusine. Inconcert, she sings Mozart’s Requiem with the Utah Symphony conducted by ChristopherAllen, and Mendelssohn’s Lobgesang at the Alte Oper Frankfurt conducted byThomas Guggeis.
Recent opera highlights include the title role in Rossini’s La Cenerentola for Boston Lyric Opera, title role in Bizet’s Carmen for Austin Opera, title role in a new production of Mozart’s Ascanio in Alba and title role in Handel’s Xerxes (both for Komische Oper Berlin), title role in Handel’s Ariodante for Israeli Opera, Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti e i Montecchi for Opera Omaha and title role Xerxes for Opera Holland Park.
Concert appearances include Mozart’s Requiem with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jaap van Zweden, Bach’s St. John Passion with the Orchestra of the 18th Century conducted by Daniel Reuss, Mendelssohn’s AMidsummer Night’s Dream at Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s conducted by Harry Bicket, Mozart’s Mass in C minor and Requiem with Louis Langrée at the Mostly Mozart Festival, and Les Nuits d’été with the Bay Atlantic Symphony. In recital, Cecelia has appeared at New York’s Carnegie Hall and London’s Wigmore Hall.
Cecelia is an alumna of the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Opera Center,
Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, The Juilliard School and DePaul University.
David Portillo
Tenor
Photo by Simon Pauly
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American tenor David Portillo, winner of the 2024 Sphinx Medal of Excellence by the Sphinx Organization, and praised by Opera News for “high notes with ease, singing with a luxuriant warm glow that seduced the ear as he bounded about the stage with abandon,” has established himself as a leading classical singer of his generation. In the 2024-25 season, Mr. Portillo sings Tamino in The Magic Flute holiday presentation at the Metropolitan Opera, the roles of Natura, Pain and Furia in Cavalli’s La Calisto at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Dr. Richardson in Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking the Waves at Houston Grand Opera, Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, Bénédict in Berlioz’ Béatrice et Bénédict with Irish National Opera, Bajazet in Handel’s Tamerlano with Haymarket Opera in Chicago, and in concert, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the San Antonio Symphony and Septimius in Handel’s Theodora with Dame Jane Glover and Music of the Baroque.
Past season highlights include performances at the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Houston Grand Opera, the Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, the Salzburg Festival, The Santa Fe Opera, Opera Australia, the Glyndebourne Festival, Opera Philadelphia, the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, the Opéra de Lille, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan, Washington National Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Recent orchestral appearances include performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, San Antonio Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, New York Choral Society, Phoenix Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Netherlands Radio Orchestra, Orchestre Métropolitain, Kansas City Symphony, US Naval Academy, Richmond Symphony and the Colorado Music Festival.
Darren Lekeith Drone
Baritone
Photo by Hector Hernandez
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In the 2024-25 season, Mr. Drone appears as Amonasro in Dayton Opera’s Aida, the title role in Falstaff at Portland Opera, and Germont in La Traviata at the Berkshire Opera Festival. Other engagements include Pagliacci (Tonio) with Utah Opera, Jubilee (Edmund Watkins) at Seattle Opera, Cendrillon (Pandolfe) with Orlando Opera, and Amahl and the Night Visitors (Melchior) with Chamber Orchestra of the Triangle. Next season, he returns to the Metropolitan Opera for Porgy & Bess (Undertaker) and Seattle Opera for Carmen (Zuniga).
Mr. Drone is a natural fit for the signature roles of Falstaff, Gianni Schicchi, Rigoletto, Amonasro and Germont. His performance as the title character in Verdi’s Falstaff with Opera San José showcased his ability to balance boisterous humor with vocal finesse, while his turn as Gianni Schicchi with Michigan Opera Theater was praised for its energy and theatrical flair.
In the 2023-24 season, Mr. Drone was engaged with the Metropolitan Opera, singing Foreman/Adult James and covering Chester in Fire Shut Up in My Bones, as well as covering Moralès in Carmen. He also joined the Florentine Opera Company for L’elisir d’amore (Belcore) and was a featured soloist in Brahms’ Requiem with the Dayton Philharmonic. The previous season included several notable debuts, including Seattle Opera as Baron Douphol (La traviata), Portland Opera as Zuniga (Carmen) and Opera San José in Falstaff. He also appeared in concert with the Santa Fe Symphony and joined the Lyric Opera of Chicago roster, covering Preacher Man and Bilal in the world premiere of The Walkers by Daniel Roumain and Anna Deavere Smith.
Le Bu
Bass-Baritone
Photo by Dario Acosta
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Chinese bass-baritone Le Bu, a First Prize winner of Operalia in 2024, a 2022 Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition and a recent alumnus of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, is fast becoming a major rising star in opera and in concert.
This season, Le Bu returns to the Metropolitan Opera in a number of roles: he sings the Speaker in the holiday presentation of The Magic Flute and the First Nazarene in Salome and covers Ferrando in Il Trovatore, Angelotti in Tosca, Queequeg in Moby Dick and Colline in La Bohème. In the summer he returns to The Santa Fe Opera as Monterone in Rigoletto and covering Hunding in Die Walküre. Future engagements include returns to the Met, the Washington National Opera and The Santa Fe Opera and debuts with the Salzburg Easter Festival, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and the Opéra National de Paris.
During the 2023–24 season, his Metropolitan assignments included the High Priest of Baal in Nabucco, Biterolf in Tannhäuser and the Mandarin in Turandot. He made his Met debut the previous season as a Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo and appeared as the Second Guard in Julie Taymor’s holiday production of The Magic Flute. He repeated the role of the Mandarin in Turandot with the Washington National Opera and appeared as Colline in La Bohème and as the French General in Silent Night at Wolf Trap.
Brad Woolbright
Artistic Director
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Following receipt of a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dance from Southern Illinois University (Edwardsville), Brad Woolbright interned at The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, leading to an invitation to spend a summer at The Santa Fe Opera. Woolbright retired from The Santa Fe Opera in December 2020, following 43 years with the Company, the last several serving as Director of Artistic Administration. During his tenure at Santa Fe he was involved in the presentation of over 40 American and World Premieres, including the GRAMMY® nominated recording of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain and the GRAMMY® Award Winning Best Opera Recording of Mason Bates and Mark Campbell's opera, (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. He has served as a judge of numerous vocal competitions including the Richard Tucker Award and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Robert Tweten
Music Director
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Robert Tweten has performed extensively as both a pianist and conductor throughout the USA and his native Canada, and currently holds the positions of Head of Music Staff for The Santa Fe Opera, and Music Director of Graduate Opera Studies for the New England Conservatory.
Robert's musical journey began as a soloist, highlighted by his victories in competitions such as the Canadian National Piano Championship and the Du Maurier Search for Stars. However, he soon discovered his true passion for collaborating with singers, leading him to perform alongside many of the industry's leading talents across North America and Europe.
During his tenure with The Santa Fe Opera, Tweten has been on the podium for six productions, most recently stepping in during the 2022 season for three performances of Falstaff. Robert has conducted eighteen productions with the Utah Opera/Symphony since his debut in 2005, and other companies he has collaborated with include: Lyric Opera of Chicago, Calgary Opera, Vancouver Opera, Florentine Opera, Opera San Antonio, Kentucky Opera, Edmonton Opera, Dayton Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Tulsa Opera and Sarasota Opera.
In addition to his opera work, Robert is also the Music Director for Santa Fe’s Festival of Song, where he curates and performs recitals with artists from The
Santa Fe Opera’s summer roster. This season, he has conducted Sweeney Todd with Utah Opera, as well as Later the Same Evening and Così fan tutte at the New England Conservatory and Rigoletto with Pacific Opera Victoria.
Learn more at www.roberttweten.com.