Miami, Feb. 25, 2020 – Miami Dade College’s (MDC) Kendall Opera Theatre Ensemble will present W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s comic operetta, H.M.S. Pinafore produced by the Kendall Campus Performing Arts and Industries Department. The two-night engagement opens Friday, March 13 through Saturday, March 14. Admission is free and open to the public. A $5 suggested donation is encouraged to support the department.
Directed by Misty Bermudez and conducted by Dr. Leo Walz, featuring the MDC Kendall Wind Ensemble, H.M.S. Pinafore has charmed audiences since its London premiere in 1878 with its humorous tale of love between different social classes. The nautical romance filled with endearing characters and memorable tunes kicks off when the captain of the Pinafore makes arrangements for his daughter to marry the Lord Admiral of the Navy. Difficulties arise when she reveals her love for a low-ranking seaman aboard the ship. As in many of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas, an astonishing disclosure changes everything in the end.
A versatile vocalist, Misty Leah Bermudez has an active career as a concert soloist, chamber artist, operatic actress and educator. Bermudez is on the voice faculty of the Kendall Campus, where she also directs the Opera Theatre Ensemble and the Chamber Singers. Her students have been admitted to fine college vocal programs around the country with impressive scholarship awards. Highly sought after, mezzo-soprano Bermudez has captivated critics and audiences alike with her “ravishing” voice and “compelling” concert performances (South Florida Sun Sentinel, Palm Beach Arts Paper). Residents of South Florida will recognize Bermudez as a founding member of the Grammy-nominated vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire. In May 2018, Bermudez became the first female Artistic Director of the Civic Chorale of Greater Miami in its 48-year history.
A well-known conductor and educator, Dr. Leo Walz teaches music history and music theory at MDC’s Kendall Campus. He is the founder of The Alhambra Orchestra, Miami’s longest-lived and most active community orchestra, and works in various capacities with Miami Lyric Opera. Walz also frequently conducts in Eastern Europe and Central America. He holds a doctorate in musical arts from the University of Miami, and studied piano with Gordon DeBroder and Janet Landreth in his native Colorado.
WHAT: MDC’s Kendall Campus to Present H.M.S. Pinafore
WHEN: Friday, March 13, 7:30 – 9 p.m.
Saturday, March 14, 7:30 – 9 p.m.
WHERE: MDC’s Kendall Campus, Alfred McCarthy Auditorium, 6120, 11011 SW 104 Street.
View a schedule of upcoming MDC On Stage events at http://www.mdc.edu/onstage.
On Stage Contact: Carolina Salazar, 305-237-2282, csalaza4@mdc.edu. Images available upon request.