Tickets
Individual Concert: $75
Festival Pass: $200
One ticket for all three concerts per pass
Festival passes can be purchased at the Friday Ticket Link only
For more information about SHSF please visit sagharborsongfestival.org
We are thrilled to announce the six opera stars who will comprise the roster at the Sag Harbor Song Festival 2024, presented here in partnership with us at The Church the third weekend in September.
As you will see, the singers have already appeared at many of the world’s major opera houses and recital halls. We are incredibly excited to hear what they will be offering all of us at the 2024 Festival!
Artistic Director Brad Woolbright once again leads the Festival, working closely with Music Director Robert Tweten who will also accompany the singers at the piano.
A full repertoire of the program can be found below.
For all inquiries regarding donations and/or donor status please contact info@sagharborsongfestival.org.
For any questions pertaining to ticketing please contact info@thechurchsagharbor.org.
MUSICAL PROGRAM
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Ah! lève-toi soleil! (from Roméo et Juliette) | Gounod
- Duke Kim, tenor
Sorge infausta (from Orlando) | Handel
- William Guanbo Su, bass
Deh vieni, non tardar (from Le nozze di Figaro) | Mozart
- Erika Baikoff, soprano
Don Quichotte à Dulcinée | Ravel
I. Chanson romanesque
II. Chanson épique
III. Chanson à boire
- Justin Austin, baritone
Romani Songs, Op. 55 | Dvořák
I. My song of love rings through the dusk
II. Hey, ring out, my triangle
III. All round about the woods are still
IV. Songs my mother taught me
V. Come and join the dancing
VI. Wide the sleeves and trousers
VII. Give a hawk a fine cage
- Sarah Mesko, mezzo-soprano
Nedda! Silvio! (from I Pagliacci) | Ruggiero Leoncavallo
- Lydia Grindatto, soprano & Justin Austin
Cruda sorte (from L’Italiana in Algeri) | Rossini
- Sarah Mesko
Let us garlands bring | Gerald Finzi
I. Come Away, Come Away Death
II. Who is Silvia?
III. Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun
IV. O Mistress Mine
V. It Was a Lover and his Lass
- William Guanbo Su
Silver Aria (from The Ballad of Baby Doe) | Douglas Moore
- Erika Baikoff
Romanze
I. Ideale | Tosti
II. L’alba separa dalla luce l’ombra | Tosti
III. Mattinata | Leoncavallo
- Duke Kim
Czárdás (from Die Fledermaus) | Johann Strauss
- Lydia Grindatto
Esulti pur la barbara (from L’elisir d’amore) | Donizetti
- Erika Baikoff & Duke Kim
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La calunnia (from Il Barbiere di Siviglia) | Rossini
- William Guanbo Su, bass
Aure, deh, per pietà (from Giulio Cesare) | Handel
- Sarah Mesko, mezzo-soprano
Six Romances, Op. 38 | Rachmaninoff
I. In my garden at night
II. To her
III. Daisies
IV. The pied Piper
V. Dreams
VI. A-Oo (The Quest)
- Erika Baikoff, soprano
Chansons de Don Quichotte | Jacques Ibert
I. Chanson du Départ
II. Chanson à Dulcinée
III. Chanson du Duc
IV. Chanson de la Mort
- William Guanbo Su
Ah! fors’ è lui… Sempre libera (from La Traviata) | Verdi
- Lydia Grindatto, soprano
Mortal Storm, Op. 29 | Robert Owens
I. House in Taos
II. Little Song
III. Jaime
IV. Faithful One
V. Genius Child
- Justin Austin, baritone
Poema en forma de canciones | Joaquín Turina
I. Cantares
II. Los dos miedos
III. Las locas por amor
- Lydia Grindatto
The Tale of the Oyster (from Fifty Million Frenchmen) | Cole Porter
- Sarah Mesko
Mack the Knife (from The Threepenny Opera) | Kurt Weill
- Justin Austin
“Mario Lanza Songs”
I. Come Prima | Di Paola & Panzer
II. Because You’re Mine | Brodszky & Cahn
III. Be My Love | Brodszky & Cahn
- Duke Kim
I Have Dreamed (from The King and I) | Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. Fred Wells
- Erika Baikoff, Lydia Grindatto, Sarah Mesko, Duke Kim, Justin Austin & William Guanbo Su
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I Could Have Danced all Night (from My Fair Lady) | Lerner & Loewe
- Lydia Grindatto, soprano
Largo al factotum (from Il Barbiere di Siviglia) | Rossini
- Justin Austin, baritone
Habañera (from Carmen) | Bizet
- Sarah Mesko, mezzo-soprano
The Trees on the Mountain (from Susannah) | Carlisle Floyd
- Erika Baikoff, soprano
Father’s Prairies, Mother’s River | Urantugar & Tzi
- William Guanbo Su, bass
Without a Song | Vincent Youmans
- Duke Kim, tenor
Abendsegen (from Hansel & Gretel) | Engelbert Humperdinck
- Erika Baikoff & Sarah Mesko
Musica proibita | Stanislao Gastaldon
- William Guanbo Su
Song to the Moon (from Rusalka)| Dvořák
- Lydia Grindatto
Au fond du temple Saint (from Les pêcheurs de perles) | Puccini
- Duke Kim & Justin Austin
Make Believe (from Showboat) | Jerome Kern
- Sarah Mesko & William Guanbo Su
And This Is My Beloved (from Kismet) | Alexander Borodin, arr. Wright and Forrest
- Lydia Grindatto
If I Were a Bell (from Guys and Dolls) | Frank Loesser
- Erika Baikoff
Maria (from West Side Story) | Leonard Bernstein
- Duke Kim
I Wish it So (from Juno) | Marc Blitzstein
- Erika Baikoff
My Funny Valentine (from Babes in Arms) | Rodgers & Hart
- Sarah Mesko
Soliloquy (from Carousel) | Rodgers & Hammerstein
- Justin Austin
Climb Every Mountain (from The Sound of Music) | Rodgers & Hammerstein
- Lydia Grindatto
Nessun dorma (from Turandot) | Puccini
- Duke Kim
O sole mio | Eduardo di Capua
- Erika Baikoff, Lydia Grindatto, Sarah Mesko, Duke Kim, Justin Austin & William Guanbo Su
PERFORMER BIOS
Erika Baikoff
Soprano
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Russian American Soprano, Erika Baikoff, is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program during which time she performed mainstage roles as Xenia, Boris Godunov and Barbarina, Le nozze di Figaro. She has since returned to the Met as a guest artist.
Recent orchestral highlights include Bach’s B minor mass with Orchestre Métropolitain/Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Rotterdam Philharmonic’s tour of Das Rheingold withNézet-Séguin, Mahler's Symphony No. 4 with the Ulster Orchestra/Daniele Rustioni, with Taipei Music Academy & Festival/Kent Nagano and with Orchestre National de Lyon in Mahler's Symphony No. 4.
Erika’s opera work includes multiple appearances with Opéra National de Lyon includingLe Feu/ Princesse/Rossignol in L’Enfant et les Sortilèges, and, as an alumnus of the prestigious Atelier Lyrique at Verbier Festival, she sang Musetta, La bohème with James Gaffigan.
In the 2023-24 season, Erika makes her role and house debut as Zerlina, Don Giovanni at Houston Grand Opera, as the four heroines, Les Contes d’Hoffmann at Palm Beach Opera and returns to the Bayerische Staatsoper. In addition, Erika joins the London Symphony Orchestra/Simon Rattle as Jano Jenůfa and Detroit Symphony in Les Illuminations. An acclaimed recitalist, this season includes appearances at the Teatro Zarzuela Madrid, Palau de la Música Catalana, Schubertiade Hohenems and Alice Tully Hall New York.
Erika is a multi award-winning artist including the Oratorio-Lied Prize and Schubert Prize at the Tenor Viñas Contest, Helmut Deutsch Liedwettbewerb, 10th Concours international de chant-piano Nadia et Lili Boulanger, George London Foundation Award recipient and many more.
Erika holds a Bachelor of Arts in French Studies from Princeton University and a Master of Music from The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Learn more at www.erikabaikoff.com
Lydia Grindatto
Soprano
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A native of Tijeras, New Mexico, soprano Lydia Grindatto is a fourth-year Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia, and was a 2024 Grand Finals Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.
Lydia begins the 2024-2025 season as a soloist with the Sag Harbor Song Festival, followed by her role debut as Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust at AVA. The spring brings her company and role debut with Utah Opera as Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.
During the 2023-24 season Ms. Grindatto made house debuts with Arizona Opera as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Opera Columbus as Tatiana in Eugene Onegin. During the summer, she joined the prestigious Merola Opera Program, returning to the role of Donna Anna. Earlier that season, Lydia sang the title role in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at AVA, and was invited to perform popular opera selections alongside featured guest star Michael Fabiano in a concert with Opera Italiana in the Air at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. She was a 2023 Apprentice Artist at the Santa Fe Opera, where she made her company debut as the Second Wood Sprite, in addition to covering the title role, in Dvořák’s Rusalka.
Her opera roles at the Academy of Vocal Arts have included Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Violetta in La Traviata, and Tatiana in Eugene Onegin. Lydia has been recently recognized as a winner in several prestigious competions, including the Opera Index Awards, The Loren L. Zachary Society Competition, the Gerda Lissner Foundation Competition, and AVA’s Giargiari Bel Canto Competition.
Sarah Mesko
Mezzo-Soprano
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Praised by The Washington Post for her “consistently beautiful sound,” American mezzo-soprano Sarah Mesko is rapidly gaining attention for her “rich mezzo soprano” voice and musicality.
In the 2024-25 season, Sarah returns to the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro and debuts with Sag Harbor Song Festival as a guest soloist in their 2024 festival concerts. Last season, Ms. Mesko debuted with Vancouver Opera as the titular character in Carmen and returned to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for the title role in Handel’s Julius Caesar. On the concert stage she made her debut with the Houston Chamber Choir and Orchestra in the world premiere of Daniel Knaggs's new major work The Joyful Mysteries.
Recent career highlights include returns to Houston Grand Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for the title role in Carmen and to The Metropolitan Opera for Rodelinda (Eudige). Sarah also returned to The Metropolitan Opera for Semiramide (Arsace), Carmen (Mercédès), and she covered the title role in Agrippina. Sarah sang the title role in Carmen with Tulsa Opera and made her Canadian debut in Le comte Ory (Isolier) with Edmonton Opera. On the concert stage she appeared in Handel’s Messiah at the US Naval Academy and presented recitals at the University of Arkansas and Hendrix College. In previous seasons, Ms. Mesko was seen at The Metropolitan Opera in Die Zauberflöte (Zweite Dame) and Il trovatore (Ines) while covering in Cendrillon (Le Prince Charmant). She also made her New York Philharmonic debut, her Cincinnati Opera debut in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Ottavia), and her house/role debut in Little Women (Jo) with Annapolis Opera.
Duke Kim
Tenor
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Tenor Duke Kim is a Second-Place Winner of Operalia (2022), Second-Place Winner at the inaugural Juan Pons International Singing Competition (2022), Grand Finals Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (2021), and a recent graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera.
In 2023-24 Duke makes debuts with Irish National Opera and Berkshire Opera Festival in Faust (Title Role), Pittsburgh Opera in La traviata (Alfredo), returns to Washington National Opera for Roméo et Juliette (Roméo), and Seattle Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera for Il barbiere di Siviglia (Il Conte d'Almaviva). On the concert stage he makes his South American debut at Teatro Colón in Messiah, gives a solo recital at the Korean Music Association and a duet recital with mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven at Seattle Opera. Future seasons include his debuts at The Metropolitan Opera and LA Opera in leading roles.
Last season he made debuts with Seattle Opera in La traviata (Alfredo); The Glimmerglass Festival, Florentine Opera, and Opera San Antonio in Roméo et Juliette (Roméo); The Atlanta Opera in Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio); and returned to Palm Beach Opera for Così fan tutte (Ferrando). On the concert stage he debuted with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in Messiah.
Mr. Kim is a graduate of Chapman University and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Learn more at www.dukekimtenor.com.
Justin Austin
Baritone
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As this year’s Marian Anderson Vocal Award winner, Mr. Austin returns this fall to open the Metropolitan Opera season as the Motorcycle Cop in the company’s premiere of Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking in a highly anticipated production directed by Ivo van Hove and conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He also returns to the Washington National Opera, making his role debut as Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, and Lyric Opera of Chicago as Young Emile in the company’s premiere of Terrence Blanchard’s Champion. He sings the title role in Barber of Seville at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, before returning to the role of Thomas McKeller in a full-length debut of Damien Geter and Lia Palmer’s American Apollo at Des Moines Metro Opera. In recital, Mr. Austin tours with pianist Howard Watkins, giving recitals at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Hall, the Longy School of Music with Celebrity Series of Boston, University of Delaware with Delaware’s Master Player’s Concert Series, and Atlanta’s Spivey Hall. He reprises Damien Geter’s song cycle Cotton at New York’s 92nd St. Y, having premiered it alongside Denyce Graces last season with Lyric Fest in Philadelphia and Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center.
Last season, Mr. Austin returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Ned Keene in Peter Grimes before singing Carl Nielsen’s Third Symphony with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Alan Gilbert. He sang in a concert tour of Our Song, Our Story, a tribute recital to African American operatic pioneers Jessye Norman and Marian Anderson, with music director Damien Sneed, giving performances in Tucson, St. Louis, Washington D.C., Akron, and Aspen. He also premiered a new edition by Damien Sneed of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha to critical acclaim at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in the roles of Scott Joplin/Remus. Learn more at www.justin-austin.com.
William Guanbo Su
Bass
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William Guanbo Su returns to the Metropolitan Opera this season as the Speaker in The Magic Flute as well as to Houston Grand Opera as the Bonze in Madama Butterfly. He makes company debuts with Seattle Opera as Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Santa Fe Opera as Masetto in Don Giovanni, and Utah Opera as Colline in La bohème. He also joins the American Symphony Orchestra as Simon in Handel’sJudas Maccabeus. Coming seasons see debuts with Staatsoper Hamburg, Dallas Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Nashville Opera, and returns to the Metropolitan Opera.
Recent performances include Blitch in Susannah (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis); Colline in La bohème (Boston Lyric Opera); Alidoro in La Cenerentola (Opera Maine); Bonze in Madama Butterfly (Grand Tetons Music Festival); Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Angelotti in Tosca (Austin Opera); Jailer in Tosca (Metropolitan Opera); and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Basilio in Il barbiere diSiviglia, and Garibaldo in Rodelinda(Aspen Opera Festival).
He is a former member of the Butler Studio of the Houston Grand Opera at which he sang roles in Carmen, Dialogues des Carmélites, Die Zauberflöte, Turandot, Rigoletto, and Roméo et Juliette. His concert performances include the Demon inPergolesi’s Li prodigi della divina grazia nella conversione e more di San Guglielmo Duca di Aquitaina (Les Talent Lyriques at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence) and Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and Handel’s Messiah (Cecelia Chorus of New York).
He is a 2019 national Grand Finals winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Learn more at www.sempreartists.com/william-guanbo-su.
Brad Woolbright
Artistic Director
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Following receipt of a Bachelor of Science Degree in Dance from Southern Illinois University (Edwardsville), Brad Woolbright interned at The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, leading to an invitation to spend a summer at The Santa Fe Opera. Woolbright retired from The Santa Fe Opera in December 2020, following 43 years with the Company, the last several serving as Director of Artistic Administration. During his tenure at Santa Fe he was involved in the presentation of over 40 American and World Premieres, including the GRAMMY® nominated recording of Jennifer Higdon's Cold Mountain and the GRAMMY® Award Winning Best Opera Recording of Mason Bates and Mark Campbell's opera, (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. He has served as a judge of numerous vocal competitions including the Richard Tucker Award and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
Robert Tweten
Music Director
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Robert Tweten has performed extensively as both a pianist and conductor throughout the USA and his native Canada, and currently holds the positions of Head of Music Staff for The Santa Fe Opera, and Music Director of Graduate Opera Studies for the New England Conservatory.
Robert began his career as a soloist after winning competitions including the Canadian National Piano Championship and the Du Maurier Search for Stars, but quickly found his affinity and passion for collaborating with singers, and has gone on to perform with many of the industry’s most prominent singers throughout North America and Europe.
During his tenure with The Santa Fe Opera, Tweten has been on the podium for six productions, most recently stepping in during the 2022 season for three performances of Falstaff. Robert has conducted eighteen productions with the Utah Opera/Symphony since his debut in 2005, and other companies he has collaborated with include: Lyric Opera of Chicago, Calgary Opera, Vancouver Opera, Florentine Opera, Opera San Antonio, Kentucky Opera, Edmonton Opera, Dayton Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Sarasota Opera.
The 2023/2024 season found Robert conducting La bohème with both Utah Opera and NEC, as well as leading NEC’s productions of La Calisto and Die Fledermaus. Recent concert work has included curating and performing recitals for Performance Santa Fe’s Festival of Song with singers including Ailyn Perez, Samatha Hankey, Huw Montague Rendall and Rolando Villazon. Upcoming projects include leading Sweeney Todd for Utah Opera, and Rigoletto with Pacific Opera Victoria. Learn more at www.roberttweten.com.