Here’s a list of all of our authors.
Our Authors
Joan Patenaude-Yarnell
Miss Patenaude-Yarnell serves on the Voice faculties of Manhattan School of Music and the Curtis Institute of Music. Her students perform with the Metropolitan Opera, New York City Opera, San Francisco Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Paris Opéra, Chicago Lyric Opera, and Stuttgart Opera and are participants in the young artists programs at Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Center (Zurich, Switzerland), and Volksoper (Vienna). Several of her students are current winners of the George London Foundation Awards, Marilyn Horne Foundation Awards, and Puccini Foundation Awards, as well as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions First Prize Winner, 2004. She has presented her master class “The Principals of Bel Canto” throughout the U.S. and Canada. In the 2014-15 season Miss Patenaude-Yarnell has given master classes in the Art of Bel Canto at the Royal Opera House (Covent Garden) Young Artists Program, Princeton University, and the University of Southern Ontario (Canada). She is presenting classes in spring 2015 at Guild Hall (London, England), the Royal Welsh College of Music/Drama (Cardiff, Wales), and Oberlin in Italy (Arezzo, Italy).1 Articles
Jennifer Johnson Cano
Jennifer Johnson Cano is a Mezzo Soprano whose portrayal of Michele in the recent premiere of The Righteous at Santa Fe Opera earned her accolades from The New York Times, which noted how she “voluptuously captured” the pain and strength of her character; Musical America called her a “standout” and The Wall Street Journal described her as “riveting.” Opera Today noted her “substantial, creamy mezzo-soprano” and called Ms. Cano’s arias in The Righteous “flawless combinations of radiant, poised, attractive singing invested with heartfelt delivery.” Opera News has described her as a “matchless interpreter of contemporary opera.” In the summer of 2024, Cano created the role of Michele in the world premiere of Gregory Spears’s The Righteous with Santa Fe Opera. Her 2024–2025 season highlights include roles in Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung in the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s concert productions of Wagner’s Ring Cycle under Fabio Luisi; Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Orchestre Métropolitain under Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Haydn’s Mass in Time of War at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra conducted by Manfred Honeck; Beethoven’s Mass in C Major with Handel and Haydn Society in Boston; and holiday performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Cincinnati Symphony and Handel’s Messiah with the Houston Symphony. She sings the role of Amneris in a concert production of Verdi’s Aida with Arizona Opera and Hermia in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Cano undertakes a balance of orchestral, opera and chamber music performances each season. Recent highlights include performances as Mistress Quickly in Falstaff at Houston Grand Opera; Mozart’s Requiem with The Philadelphia Orchestra at Bravo! Vail Music Festival; and Marc Neikrug’s A Song by Mahler with the FLUX Quartet. She has collaborated on numerous projects with The Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel in both the US and Europe. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic in both New York and Vail; Pittsburgh Symphony under Manfred Honeck; Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; Chicago Symphony and Riccardo Muti; and Atlanta Symphony under Nathalie Stutzman. Highlights of Cano’s operatic career have included performing the roles of Donna Elvira, Carmen and Offred with Boston Lyric Opera; The Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen with The Cleveland Orchestra; the Mother, Dragonfly, and the Squirrel in L'enfant et les sortilèges with the San Francisco Symphony; performances of El Niño with John Adams and the London Symphony Orchestra; Carmen with New Orleans Opera; and Orphée with Des Moines Metro Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. She has appeared in more than 100 performances on the stage at The Metropolitan Opera since her debut in the 2009-2010 season. Cano debuted the role of Virginia Woolf in the world premiere of Kevin Puts’s The Hours with The Philadelphia Orchestra about which The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, “Every word was clear both in content and intention, and her mezzo-soprano tone was deeply alluring.” A native of St. Louis, Cano earned degrees from Rice University and Webster University, where she was honored as a distinguished alumna and commencement speaker in May 2017. Her debut recital recording with pianist Christopher Cano, “Unaffected: Live from the Savannah Voice Festival,” was recorded live and unedited. She sings as a soloist on a live recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony and in Bernstein's Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She also recorded Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble. Ms. Cano joined the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera after winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Among her honors are Winner of the Young Concert Artist International Auditions, a Sara Tucker Study Grant, a Richard Tucker Career Grant and a George London Award.1 Articles
Thomas Morris
Atlanta-native pianist and vocal coach Thomas Morris begins his first season in WNO Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program in the fall of 2018. In WNO 20182019 season he will be Assistant Conductor for Tosca. He will spend the summer of 2018 as an apprentice coach at the Merola Opera Program. He has worked as a staff pianist and coach at the Manhattan School of Music, Indiana University, the Harrower Summer Opera Workshop, and the Castleton Festival, and he spent three summers at the Aspen Music Festival and School in the collaborative piano and opera coaching programs. Morris received his undergraduate degree from Indiana University, where he studied piano and composition. As part of this degree, he spent a s ester in Vienna, Austria, where he studied German language, opera, and Lieder. Morris recently graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a master degree, studying under Warren Jones.1 Articles