FACULTY

CINDY SADLER, Director. Mezzo-soprano Cindy Sadler is well-known in the classical community as a singer, teacher, writer, and consultant. A working singer and frequent lecturer on the business of singing, she brings current experience to her students. Most recently, she has been heard as Erda in Das Rheingold with Indianapolis Opera, Mere Jeanne in The Dialogues of the Carmelites with Austin Lyric Opera, the Pigeon and the Snail in the US premiere of Jonathan Dove’s The Adventures of Pinocchio with Minnesota Opera, and as Mama Lucia in San Antonio Opera’s concert version of Cavalleria Rusticana, starring Andrea Bocelli. Ms. Sadler has appeared on the stages of Chicago Lyric Opera, Opera Pacific, Arizona Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Austin Lyric Opera, New Orleans Opera, and the Hollywood Bowl, among many others. She has published over 100 articles in Classical Singer Magazine and is widely recognized for her “Ask Erda” advice column. She travels the country to consult with singers and lecture on singing careers in her Business of Singing Workshops, most recently to UCLA, the CoOPERAtive program at Westminster College of the Arts, Portland State University, and the Classical Singer Convention. She teaches on the music faculty of St. Edward’s University and maintains a private studio. She has served as Executive Director of the Astoria Music Academy in Oregon, and this is her third year as Director of Spotlight on Opera. For more information, please visit www.cindy-sadler.com, www.thebusinessofsinging.com, and www.thenext100pounds.com.

Bruce Cain, Assistant Director. Baritone Bruce Cain is an Associate Professor of Music at the Sarofim School of Fine Arts at Southwestern University, where he is the principle voice teacher and director of the Opera Theatre. His career began as an apprentice with the Chautauqua Opera and then on to Chicago, where the Sun-Times hailed his debut with the Chicago Symphony as "an eloquent soloist" and the Chicago Tribune joined in praising his "sensitivity" as an artist. Dr. Cain’s most recent operatic appearance was at the Natchez Opera Festival playing Papageno in Mozart’s Magic Flute, andin Chicago portraying Ford in L’Opera Piccola’s Falstaff. His other roles include Dr. Lomax in Austin Lyric Opera’s premier of Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree, Belcore in The Elixir of Love, Dr. Blind and Falke in Die Fledermaus, Marcello and Schaunard in La Bohème, Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutté, and a gambler in Prokofiev’s The Gambler, with the Chicago Lyric Opera. He has often appeared with the Austin Symphony, the Austin Vocal Arts Ensemble, and the Georgetown Festival of the Arts, as well as in concert venues across the U.S. and at the famed Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Most recently, Dr. Cain was heard as the baritone soloist in the Mozart Requiem with the St. Edward’s University Madrigal Singers.

Chuck Dillard, Music Director. Originally from South Carolina, Chuck Dillard has been praised as an educator, chamber musician, vocal coach, and soloist. He has been heard from coast to coast with orchestras, choirs, chamber musicians, and in instrumental and vocal recitals. As an opera pianist, he has worked with several major companies including Central City Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Carolina, and summer programs in Santa Barbara and Aspen among others. As an educator, he regularly participates in outreach performances for school children as well as having served as instructor at Furman University and the University of Colorado. In the fall, Mr. Dillard will be joining the newly formed collaborative piano department at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds degrees from the University of Maryland, Furman University and is currently completing his doctorate at the University of Colorado.

Rebecca Herman, Stage Director/Drama Coach. Rebecca Herman is a young opera director in Austin, TX.  She recently directed Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne at the Butler Opera Center at The University of Texas at Austin as well as working with Austin Lyric Opera as the Assistant Director for their production of Dialogues of the Carmelites.  Previously she has directed numerous Opera Scenes for various scene nights and workshops as well as worked as an Assistant Director on Susannah, Hansel and Gretel, The Impressario and numerous Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.  She holds two degrees from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI: a BA in English Literature and a Self-Designed BM in Opera/Vocal Studies that combined study of theater, voice, and music history.  In the summer of 2005 she spent the summer in Dublin studying acting at the Gaiety School of Acting. Rebecca is currently pursuing her MA in Opera Directing at The University of Texas at Austin.