Madama Butterfly will be performed in Italian with projected English titles.  The opening night performance will feature a discussion on the opera with Dr. Glen Bauer, Director of Music History and Literature at Webster University beginning at 7 PM in Fellowship Hall.  Audio description will be provided on July 11 for the visually impaired.  Performances will be conducted by UAOT founder, and artistic director, Scott Schoonover.  Tickets are $25 for center front, $20 for adult general admission, and $18 for students/seniors (60+).

  All performances are at 8 PM at Union Avenue Christian Church, 733 North Union Blvd., St. Louis, MO, 63108, located one block north of Delmar.  Doors open at 7:15 PM.  Lighting parking is available behind the church and the building is disabled accessible.  For more information call 314-361-2881 or e-mail uaot@juno.com. 

Cio Cio San (Patricia Andress) and  Suzuki (Un Chong Christopher)

Gustavo Antonio Ahualli,Sharpless, was born in San Miguel de Tucuman, Argentina.  He began his musical training at age 7 with Hilda Deniflee, a student of Kodaly and Bartok. In 1998, he obtained his Master’s Degree in Voice from the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colon. Mr. Ahualli made his operatic début in 1992, as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte at the Teatro San Martin in Tucuman, Argentina. Since then, he has sung several leading roles in operas including Dido and Aeneas, Le Nozze diFigaro, Così Fan Tutte, Don Pasquale,La Traviata, La Favorita, La Bohème, Hansel und Gretel, and Carmen. .He made his oratorio debut at the Teatro Colon under the direction of Maestro Javier Logioia in Bach’s Magnificat. This year he sang in productions of Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Sevilla and Mozart’s Don Giovanni for the Palm Beach Opera, and has been engaged to return next season to sing in Carmen and La Traviata. Mr. Ahualli sang the role of Germont in UAOT's La Traviata last summer.  Patricia Andress, Cio Cio San, began her second UAOT season as Hanna in The Merry Widow. Last summer she sang her first Violetta in La Traviata and in the fall she performed the role of Mimì in Opera Theatre of Saint Louis' touring production of La Bohème. Ms. Andress has sung on the main stage with Toledo Opera (2003 Valentine's Day Gala), OTSL (as Iza in The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein) and with Nashville Opera. While a student at the University of Kentucky she sang the roles of Norina in Don Pasquale and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Ms. Andress debuted abroad singing Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with the Rome Festival Orchestra in 2000. Her awards include winning the 2002 Heinz Rehfuss Singing Actor competition hosted by Orlando Opera and 2nd place in the NATS Artist Awards at the National Convention in July, 2002. A three-time regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Ms. Andress also won a study grant with the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation in New York City.

Sharpless (Gustavo Ahualli) and  Suzuki (Un Chong Christopher)

Pinkerton (Mathew Edwardsen) and  Cio Cio San (Patricia Andress)

Un Chong Yi-Christopher, Suzuki, is an Adjunct Professor of Voice at the University of Missouri at Kansas City-Conservatory of Music and at Rockhurst University. She received her Bachelor's degree in Piano Performance under the tutelage of Joanne Baker and Master's degree in Vocal Performance under Inci Bashar. Ms. Yi-Christopher has performed the title role in Bizet's Carmen, Charlotte in Massenet's Werther, Zita in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi, Madame de Croissy in Poulenc's The Dialogue of the Carmelites, and Jenny in Stephen Paulus' Village Singer, and has toured throughout the Republic of South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi with the International Student Ministries. She has won numerous competitions, awards and scholarships in both voice and piano including national finalist and subsequent alternate Fulbright Scholar to Austria, NATS Artist Division Winner, "most promising young singer award" at the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, and Pfeiffer Scholar at Inspiration Point. She has performed piano concertos with the Kansas City Symphony, Liberty Symphony, Independence Symphony, and the UMKC-Conservator Orchestra. Ms. Yi-Christopher is the resident Alto Soloist for the 'Bach Aria Soloists' of Kansas City and is in great demand for both vocal and piano recitals, accompanying, coaching, master classes and adjudicating. She lives in in Leawood, Kansas with her husband, Charles Christopher, their two young opera lovers, Un Joo and Eddie. Mathew Edwardsen, Pinkerton, made his international concert debut last summer as a soloist at the Santorini International Music Festival in Greece, performing excerpts of Don Carlos and Tosca. He recently entered the competition circuit, garnering the Fourth Grand Finalist prize at the 2002 Palm Springs Opera Guild Scholarship Competition. Other notable performances include Tom Rakewell in The Rake's Progress for Dell Chamber Opera, the Beadle in Sweeney Todd for Larchmont Concert Opera, and Nanki-Poo in The Mikado at the Redlands Bowl. This is his first UAOT appearance.

Suzuki (Un Chong Christopher), Dolore (Jeremy Auch) and Cio Cio San (Patricia Andress)

James Lynn, The Bonze, is a native of Richmond, Virginia, and proud to be making his debut with UAOT reprising the role of the Bonze, which he recently performed with Opera Illinois. Other recent productions have taken him throughout the Southeast with performances at Opera Carolina, Virginia Opera, Shreveport Opera and the South Carolina Opera. Some of his favorite roles are Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Timur in Turandot and both Figaro and the Count in Le Nozze di Figaro. While at the Santa Fe Opera he appeared as the First Apprentice in Wozzeck and participated in the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Emmeline. He sang in the world premiere of Seasons in Hell by Harold Blumenfeld while earning his Masters degree from Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.  Mark James Meier, Goro, has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Saint Louis Symphony, and Colorado Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Sir Georg Solti, Christoph Eschenbach, Peter Schreier and Erich Kunzel. Notable operatic roles include Pang in Turandot with New Orleans Opera, Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Grand Rapids, and Don Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro with Evansville Philharmonic. Mr. Meier has received critical acclaim for many operetta and musical theater appearances, among them Eisenstein and Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Che in Evita, and the title characters in Jekyll & Hyde. He also appeared at the Ravinia Festival in Schumann’s Scenes from Goethe’s Faust. Mr. Meier portrayed Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance with Grant Park Music Festival, and made his international debut as Tony in West Side Story at the Music Festival of the Canary Islands. His vast concert repertoire spans from Bach to Penderecki. Career highlights include Orff’s CarminaBurana, Handel’s Messiah and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

Cio Cio San (Patricia Andress)

GIRO GIRO GIRO - 18th Giro della Montagna

This year marks the 18th anniversary of Giro della Montagna.  Many different people in our neighborhood have continued, nurtured, and built upon an idea so wonderful that now there is an entire weekend of cycling, with the Hill Giro della Montagna continuing its Sunday afternoon tradition as the showcase event..

The event is currently sponsored by the HILL 2000 Neighborhood Organization.  The last few years the weather has cooperated and simply glorious days transpired.  With a little break from the heat, this year’s event should be just as grand.  The Giro Bike Races on the Sunday of Labor Day Weekend has become a day of ‘homecoming’, as it marks the end of summer vacation and the beginning of school. 

  The neighborhood festivities actually start the evening before, when the Italian-American Bocce Club sponsors the Giro Pasta Dinner.  Proceeds go to the Youth Bocce Program.  The All You Can Eat dinner is from 4:00 - 7:00 pm Saturday night.  Beginning at 5:30pm the neighborhood will have the chance to meet some of these guys when they are not peddling at 30 mph.  Cyclists will need advice in the sport of Bocce, which they seem genuinely enthused about each year at the Bocce Club. 

The highlight of the Gateway Cup weekend is the Giro della Montagna.  The Italian community provides warm hospitality, a terrific atmosphere, and large crowds to greet the 400 participants.  For many cyclists this is their favorite race of the year.  They enjoy the ambiance of culture, food, and spirits that give this race its European flair.  This fast paced race will begin and finish at St. Ambrose Church.  There will be four races beginning at 12:15 p.m.  Prior to the Pro category at 3:50 pm, there are two men races and a womens race.  The highlight of the day more than likely will be the children’s races at 3:00 p.m.  Giro! Giro! Giro! Will be the call by the race announcer all day long.  Be prepared to enjoy a salsiccia as you stroll through the different bicycle booths, and buy a Giro t-shirt as you visit the Hill 2000 booth.

The Gateway Cup Bicycle Races kick off  on Friday August 29th with a night races at Lafayette Square.  The Cup next moves to Kirkwood Park Saturday August 30th.  The Gateway Cup concludes its adventure in the famous LOOP of University City. 

 Some of the best cyclist in the country will be in our neighborhoods.  You can expect to see Kenny Labbe and Robbie Ventura from the US Postal Service Team.  Members of the 7up, and Saturn teams will compete against top amateurs like national champion Ben Sharp of the Go Mart Team.  St. Louis has some fast guys too.  Our best hope lies in Joe Hill of Big Shark and Eric Pirtle of DogFish.