
Emily Providence
Samantha Jones - Thursday
Stella McCabe-Soares - Saturday
Kathleen Smith
Leila Collins - Thursday
Zlata Godunova - Saturday
Frankie Moore
Patrick Valdes-Dapena - Thursday & Saturday
Prof. Elizabeth (Lilly) Wilson – Voice Teacher of the Paris Academy
Jade Schoenfeld - Thursday
Arianna Shafy - Saturday
Mon. Lalune - Prof. Director of Paris Academy of Performing Arts
Gia Dreyer - Thursday
David Barad - Saturday
Francois Malon – Producer
Sebastian Harris - Thursday
Theodore Mankiewicz - Saturday
Jonathan Vassy – Pianist of the Paris Academy of Performing Arts
Nicolas Parker - Thursday & Saturday
Sister Jean
Hannah Katz - Thursday
Gjystina Bojaj - Saturday
Sister Billie
Haley Strayer - Thursday
Renee Cheri Ricevuto - Saturday
Mother Superior
Shani Baker - Thursday
Haley Strayer - Saturday
Julius Rudel – Director of New York City Opera (spoken) - Nicolas Parker
The choir of the NY APA – mixed SATB
The Sisters Choir - SSAA
CAST
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THE SECRET MELODY
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ACT 1
SCENE 1
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1. The Secret Melody (Overture)
2. I Wanna Sing - (Sister Billie & Sister Jean)
3. Santa Claus Is Coming (full ensemble of women)
4. Let’s Be Ready for Love - (Trio: MS-SB & SJ)
5. My Secret Song (Trio: MS-SB & SJ)
6. My Secret Song (Instrumental – transition)
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SCENE 2
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7. Bonjour Paris (Chorus) (full ensemble)
8. Cantada Juntos (full ensemble)
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SCENE 3
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9. Music Is Life - (Mon. Lalune)
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SCENE 4
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10. To Love You (Duet, Jonathan – Emily)
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SCENE 5 – Dialogue
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SCENE 6
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11. My Heart Is in Her Song - (Elisabeth)
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​End of ACT
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ACT 2​​
SCENE 1 – Dialogue
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SCENE 2
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13. Doing It All - (François)
14. “Siamo volcani” from Il regno dell’amore - (Emily)
15. Top of the World - (Frankie)
16. Breaking Down the Door - (Kathleen)
17. Dames of New York - (Trio)
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SCENE 3
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18. This Is Not for You - (François)
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SCENE 4
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19. Bring Her Home - (Jonathan)
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SCENE 5
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20. Fly, Little Sparrow, Fly - (Mother Superior)
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SCENE 6
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21. I’m Not Alone - (Emily)
22. My Secret Song - (Emily)
23. My Secret Song - (Emily and François)
24. My Secret Song - (Instrumental - transition)
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SCENE 7
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25. To Love You - (Instrumental- underscore)
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SCENE 8
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26. My Secret Song - (Elisabeth joined by François)
27. The Melody of Love - (Elisabeth, Emily, and chorus)
28. FINAL BOWS - (Instrumental)
PRODUCTION TEAM

Luc Baiwir, Composer
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LUC BAIWIR is an internationally celebrated Belgian composer, pianist, and symphonic innovator whose work spans classical concert music, film scoring, electronic sound design, and large-scale multimedia performance. A graduate of the Liège Conservatoire and the University of Liège, he began his career as a prize-winning pianist before turning fully to composition.
He rose to prominence after receiving the prestigious Prix François de Roubaix for his symphonic work Seasong, launching a prolific career scoring major international television productions and award-winning underwater and wildlife documentaries. His film and media compositions have earned him multiple Palmes d’Or at festivals in Antibes, Toulon, Montpellier, Strasbourg, and Rabat.​
Baiwir’s music has been featured in concerts across Europe—including Montpellier, Ajaccio, Calvi (broadcast live on France 3), Strasbourg, London, Lugano, and Liège, where he performed before an audience of more than 30,000. His dynamic performance style and cinematic orchestral language have made him a sought-after collaborator for both stage and screen.​In 2000, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie commissioned his monumental Symphonie des Âges for piano, soprano, choir, and orchestra. Premiered for an audience of 35,000, the work established Baiwir as a distinctive symphonic voice blending classical writing with modern sonic textures. His compositions have since been performed by distinguished soloists and ensembles at festivals throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States.His international reach includes notable success in Asia, where his debut album sold over 100,000 copies, and his score for the Korean film Friends propelled In Memoriam into the Korean Top 50. Today, Luc Baiwir continues to compose for film, television, and the concert stage, bringing his unmistakable blend of lyricism, drama, and symphonic imagination to audiences around the world leading to his first opera, The Secret Melody.

Susan Gonzalez, Director/Producer
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SUSAN GONZALEZ is the Director of Hunter Opera Theater (HOT) at Hunter College, where she champions the development and production of new operatic works. Since launching HOT’s inaugural season in 2007, she has cultivated a dynamic platform for emerging composers, librettists, and singers. The 2025 season continues this mission with a workshop of The Secret Melody by Luc Baiwir, for which she also serves as dramaturg and librettist.
Dr. Gonzalez’s international career spans decades across film, theater, and opera. Her screen work includes the BBC series Sailor, honored with the British National SUN Award for Excellence.
She began her professional singing careerwith the National Opera Company in leading roles such as Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), and Norina (Don Pasquale). She later performed Violetta in La Traviata with the Lyric Opera of Chicago at Grant Park, as well as with Chicago Opera Theater, New Orleans Opera, and many other companies. Her international credits include acclaimed debuts with the Bolshoi Opera in Cheboksary and Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Her televised performance as Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia earned an Emmy nomination. Her concert appearances include performances at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall with the National Symphony and at Carnegie Hall with the American Composers Orchestra. She has been featured with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, Cincinnati Symphony, and Annapolis Symphony. A passionate advocate of contemporary music and women composers, she has recorded for Naxos, Artek, Leonarda, and Westland Music Inc., showcasing works by Nicholas Flagello, Luc Baiwir, Joyce Hope Suskind, Ruth Schonthal, Elisenda Fábregas, and Elizabeth R. Austin.Dr. Gonzalez holds degrees from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and the Eastman School of Music, where she earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Literature and Performance.

Lana Norris, Conductor/Coach
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LANA NORRIS is a NYC-based conductor and educator known for dynamic musicianship. In addition to her Hunter professorship facilitating both new opera and classical performances, Lana is the first-ever Associate Conductor of Ember Choral Arts; Teaching Artist with Musica Sacra; Staff Musician at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine; and a Staff Contributor to I CARE IF YOU LISTEN powered by American Composers Forum with her music journalism in the Library of Congress. She is on the creative team for the Lincoln Center 2025 production of Jeanine Tesori’s BLUE. Lana is a member of the Maestra Music network.

James Archie Worley, Music Editor
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JAMES ARCHIE WORLEY, Hunter College adjunct assistant professor, has covered roles at the Metropolitan Opera, and has appeared as tenor soloist in a variety of major venues in the US and abroad. Archie premiered P. D. Q. Bach’s Four Next-to-Last Songs at Carnegie Hall, and sang the role of The King on Philip Glass’s recording of The Witches of Venice. He has toured with the Mark Morris Dance company and the New York Vocal Arts Ensemble and appears as an Irish singer in the movie The Other Guys, and the opera singing vendor in A Complete Unknown.

Corinne Schaefer, Production Manager
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CORINNE SCHAEFER serves as Production Manager at Hunter Opera Theater and Assistant to Artistic Director Susan Gonzalez. Her operatic roles include Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte), Olympia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Nanetta (Falstaff), Musetta (La Bohème), Clotilde (Norma), Norina (Don Pasquale), and Beth (Little Women). She has performed internationally as a soloist, including appearances with the New Jersey Symphony and for the U.S. Consulate in Hamburg, Germany. Corinne also performed in the German production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera in Hamburg, where she appeared as Carlotta over 100 times. In 2022, she founded Creative OPERAtions, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Monmouth County, NJ, dedicated to sharing the transformative power of opera, classical music, and the arts through accessible performances and community partnerships.

Naoko Aita, Piano Collaborator
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NAOKO AITA, Piano, is an adjunct accompanist at Hunter College, a pianist at Ron Raines’s voice studio, the music director at the Japanese American United Church. She has over 34 years of experience teaching piano. Naoko has been performing throughout Metropolitan area as an accompanist. She has YouTube channel as Ministry Thru Piano, there are over 1000 piano accompaniment tracks to sing along with.

CAST
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Sara Banleigh, Rehearsal Pianist
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SARA BANLEIGH is a graduate student at Hunter College, pursuing her Master of Arts in Classical Voice and Music History. As a singer and pianist, she has performed at Lincoln Center, The Institute for Sacred Music at Yale University, The Library of Congress, the New England Folk Festival, the Portsmouth Maritime Folk Festival, and many others stages nationally and internationally. She performs regularly with The Red Skies Music Ensemble, an innovative group combining music, research, theater, and live performance. She is also an ensemble pianist with Country Dance New York, playing Baroque and Classical dance tunes for CDNY’s English County Dance events. Her original folk music and arrangements can be found at http://sarabanleigh.bandcamp.com.

Shani Baker, Mother Superior (Thursday, December 11th)
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Mezzo Soprano, Shani Baker, a Jamaica native and village of Harlem resident, was inspired by artists Anita Baker, Rachelle Ferrell, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Jessye Norman and Mahalia Jackson. These are just a few legends that have influenced her style of performance and love of music.
She began formal voice training and the study of classical music at the Harlem School of the Arts under the tutelage of Yvonne Hatchet. From there she went to LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts. To further her education, she studied Classical Music at CUNY Hunter College, where she received her B.A. in Music.
Her deep love and appreciation for all genres of music, which include Spirituals, Classical, R&B, Gospel, Jazz and Reggae, has allowed her public performances with Stevie Wonder, Winton Marsalis, and Michael Bolton to name a few. She has toured with Legendary Reggae bands, Choruses, and Ensembles that have taken her to Europe, the Caribbean and the United States.

David Barad, Mon. Lalune (Saturday, December 13th)
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David, a transfer student embarking on a Hunter College music degree with vocal concentration participates in Jazz Ensemble and Opera Workshop and enthusiasticly looks forward to additional oppurtunities to expand on his singing and entertaing experience. A hopeful broadway bound singer, also enjoys writing and recording his own original music.

Gia Dreyer, Mon. Lalune (Thursday, December 11th)
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Zlata Godunova, Kathleen Smith (Saturday, December 13th)
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Zlata is a performer, puppeteer, and designer. Classically trained at the National Academic Theatre of Drama and Musical Comedy in Ukraine, she recently starred in the one-woman show The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe.
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She puppeteered in Magic of Light with Yara Arts Group and Tom Lee at La MaMa, and was part of the International Puppet Slam in 2024.
You can find her in Central Park, where she works as a puppeteer at the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater. @zlata_god

Sebastian Harris, François Malon (Thursday, December 11th)
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Sebastian Harris is a senior B. Mus. (Classical Voice Performance) student at Hunter, a Teaching Assistant with Park Avenue Armory, and a certified ballroom instructor with Arthur Murray International.
He’s one of the newest members of Classic Lyric Arts, and plans to work with Sight & Sound Inc. post-graduation. His work spans across multiple genres from classical, music theatre, jazz, and pop.

Samantha Jones, Emily Providence (Thursday, December 11th)
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Samantha Jones is currently a senior B.Mus student in the Hunter College Music Department. Samantha is also a department College Assistant and lover of opera and choir. Previously, Samantha has performed in HOT's Precipice and multiple pocket operas and is a frequent soloist for the Hunter College Choirs. You can find Samantha next as a soloist in Bach's St. Matthew Passion at St. Ignatius Loyola next spring!

Hannah Gabrielle Katz, Sister Jean (Thursday, December 11th)
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Hannah Gabrielle Katz is a 20-year-old soprano from New York City, currently in her first semester studying classical voice at Hunter College. Before joining Hunter, she studied voice privately for one year, and performed at the 2025 Summer of Song Festival with the Art Song Preservation Society of New York. Hannah Gabrielle is also an experienced choral singer: she sang with the Young People’s Chorus of New York City for eight years as a child; touring with them across the country; performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall, the New York Philharmonic, and Jazz at Lincoln Center; and debuting works such as Fire in My Mouth, which received two Grammy nominations.
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Theodore Mankiewicz (Saturday, December 13th)
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Theodore (Ty) is a freelance choral singer currently pursuing his Master’s degree in vocal performance at Hunter College. His life passion is singing choral music, from large symphonic works to small chamber pieces—singing in harmony is his favorite thing in the world. In his free time he likes gaming and singing different kinds of chants with friends. He is well aware that this makes him a giant nerd.

Stella McCabe-Soares, Emily Providence (Saturday, December 13th)
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Stella is a music student at Hunter. She loves to sing and is very grateful to all of you who came to this performance!!!

Nicolas Parker, Jonathan Vassy (Thursday, December 11th & Saturday, December 13th)
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Nicolas Parker is a Tenor from Queens and Music Performance Major at Hunter College currently in his senior year of study. After many years of study, He is delighted to be performing in his first production with the Hunter College Opera among many talented artists..........also his favorite composer is Franz Schubert.

Renee Ricevuto, Sister Billie (Saturday, December 13th)
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Renee Ricevuto has always loved singing. In fifth grade, the young diva made the rather odd choice to sing “Think of Me” at a school talent show. Family friends suggested she audition for Brooklyn Youth Chorus. At BYC, Renee had the privilege to develop her music skills in prestigious concert halls, alongside musicians such as Anthony Roth Costanzo. As an adult, she continues to pursue performance opportunities at Mastervoices and Hunter College’s various ensembles. Renee will be graduating next Spring with a BA in English and Music. When she’s not singing, Renee loves to read, write, and paint.

Jade Iris Schoenfeld, Prof. Elizabeth (Lilly) Wilson (Thursday, December 11th)
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Jade Iris Schoenfeld (Prof. Elizabeth (Lilly) Wilson) is currently a choral conducting master's student at Hunter College. She recently made her Hunter conducting debut with the Chamber Singers, performed at The Met Museum, premiering her composition, The Road Not Taken, and participated in the CLA Italy Vocal Summer 2025 Intensive. Recent opera credits include The Magic Flute (2nd Lady), Gallantry (Announcer), Bastien and Bastienne (Bastien), and Le nozze di Figaro (Cherubino Cover). Jade has performed at Carnegie Hall and toured with the Wagner College Choir in France 2024 and Italy 2022. Other solo concert credits include mezzo-soprano soloist in Missa Pacem in Terra (Juneau) and Requiem (Durufle).

Arianna Shafy, Prof. Elizabeth (Lilly) Wilson (Saturday, December 13th)
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Arianna Shafy is an undergraduate student at Hunter College, currently in her junior year. She is a 60-credit B.Mus Vocal Performance Major, studying classical voice under Susan Gonzalez. Performing in her first opera workshop, she is excited to be a part of the planning process and
execution of this new Opera, The Secret Melody.

Haley Strayer - Sister Billie (Thursday, December 11th) & Mother Superior (Saturday, December 13th)
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Haley Strayer is a CUNY BA student with a concentration on Performing Arts and Arts Administration. She is the recipient of the Barbera Price Fellowship and the Thomas Smith Academic Fellowship. From 2003 to 2009 she trained with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. She graduated with the honor of Excellence in Musical Theater from Talent Unlimited High School in 2011. In 2012 she received a TANYS Meritorious Award for Acting for her work in Wells College's Our Beds Are Crowded. Since her time at Hunter, she has been fortunate to perform with the Hunter College Chamber singers and College Choir as both an ensemble and solo performer. In addition, she appeared in the Theater Departments Electra, The Threepenny Opera, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show shadowcast. She graduates spring 2026. She is sad about this.

Patrick Valdes-Dapena - Frankie Moore (Thursday, December 11th & Saturday, December 13th)
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Patrick Valdés-Dapena is a BMus in jazz vocal student at Hunter College. He has an AS in voice performance from LaGuardia Community College, where he sang with the jazz
ensemble. He sang with the Amore Opera Company from 2013-2020, playing the Mikado in The Mikado, Major General Stanley in Pirates of Penzance, Private Willis in Iolanthe, and soloed in Scrooge and Gilbert and Sullivan. He sings with the Church of the Holy Trinity choir. He is a songwriter, who performs original songs at open mic nights around Astoria. He will release his new album, LUX, on Spotify in January.




