Soloists for Verdi Requiem

Our soloists for the March 20 Verdi Requiem concert:

Lori Hicks, Soprano

Debuting as Opera Theater of Pittsburgh’s “magnetic” Bess in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess this past February, soprano Lori Celeste Hicks has only begun to leave her mark on the world of classical music. Ms. Hicks has “completely amazed everyone with her beautiful voice and warm personality.” She will continue performances of Porgy and Bess with El Paso Opera in March of 2010.

An active recitalist and concert performer, Ms. Hicks will sing Verdi’s Requiem with the Jackson Michigan Symphony Orchestra. She sang a recital in Detroit in September at the Westminster Church and will perform a recital at Claflin University. In addition, she will take part in an African Women’s Composer’s Forum at the University of Dayton.

The 2008-2009 season brought many engagements, such as the Verdi Requiem with the Holland Symphony Orchestra, Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Arbor Opera Theater, “A tribute to Black Pioneers in Music” Gala Concert in Denver, Colorado singing alongside tenor George Shirley in Act IV of Otello, along with a Holiday Concert at the Lincoln Center Library. Ms. Hicks closed the season with another concert of Verdi’s Requiem in Detroit, MI , and several recitals also in Michigan, Colorado, and Ohio.

Internationally, Ms. Hicks was featured in concerts and recitals throughout Italy and France, as well as starring as Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff under the baton of Maestro Joseph Rescigno. A frequent performer in the Midwest area, Lori has sung Mimi in La Boheme, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus, Laetitia in Menotti’s The Old Maid and the Thief, and the world premiere of James P. Johnson’s jazz opera Dreamy Kid. Ms. Hicks’ concert work has included Verdi’s Requiem, Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël, Bach’s Magnificat, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, and the Wesendonck Lieder by Wagner.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ms. Hicks holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, a Masters of Music from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and a Bachelors of Music Education from Kentucky State University. She currently serves on the voice faculty of the University of Dayton and Central State University in Ohio.


Molly Fillmore is assistant professor of voice (mezzo-soprano) at the Michigan State University College of Music.

Following an international career as a mezzo-soprano, Fillmore recently moved into the dramatic soprano repertoire and has since joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for the past three seasons. She made her San Francisco Opera debut in the title role of Salome under the musical direction of music director Nicola Luisotti in October 2009. She will return to San Francisco Opera in the 2009-2010 season to cover the role of Brunnhilde and sing Ortlinde in Francesca Zambello’s production of Die Walkure conducted by Donald Runnicles.

Also in the 2009-2010 season she made her Arizona Opera debut in the title role of Salome directed by Sonja Frisell. Fillmore continues to be active on the concert stage as well. In early 2010 she will sing with the Jackson Symphony Orhestra in a performance of Verdi’s Requiem and with the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

She has appeared as a soloist with such organizations as Seattle Opera, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Cologne Opera, Washington National Opera, Spoleto Festival, Chattanooga Opera, and Utah Symphony, and at both Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall. She has worked with directors Sonja Frisell, Robert Carsen, Chris Alexander, Garnett Bruce, Tomer Zvulun, Bernard Uzan, and Christof Loy, and with such conductors as Sir Jeffrey Tate, Gerard Schwarz, Nicola Luisotti, Hans Graf, Joel Revsen, Daniele Callegari, Richard Buckley, Christopher Keene, Heinz Fricke, Graeme Jenkins, Norman Scribner, Robert Bernhardt, and Keith Lockhart.

Following high school graduation, she studied for a year at the Stadtgymnasium in Dortmund, Germany. She won a scholarship to attend the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C. to major in international relations. At the end of her sophomore year she changed her major to vocal performance, and within a year, made her professional solo debut with the Washington National Opera as Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, conducted by Richard Buckley.

After graduating magna cum laude from American University with a B.A. in music, she remained in the Washington, D.C. area to complete her master’s degree while studying with Dominic Cossa at the University of Maryland at College Park. During this time, she appeared in seven additional roles at Washington National Opera, including a principal role in the zarzuela El Gato Montes when the singer she was covering fell ill before a performance.

She also appeared at the J. F. Kennedy Center Concert Hall with the Choral Arts Society of Washington, at the Spoleto Festival in Charleston as Margret in Wozzeck, as Medora in the American premiere of Il Corsaro with Opera Theatre of Northern Virginia, and with numerous other concert organizations in the greater Washington, D.C. area. She studied the interpretation and performance of Lieder at the Franz-Schubert-Institut in Baden-bei-Wien, Austria, where she worked with Walter Berry, Elly Ameling, Ernst Haefliger, Helmut Deutsch, and Rudolf Jansen.

Upon completion of her master’s degree, Fillmore was made a principal soloist with Oper der Stadt Koeln (Cologne Opera) in Germany, where she appeared in more than 25 roles. Highlights during her time in Cologne, included two roles (Wellgunde and Waltraute) in Cologne’s Ring Cycle, conducted by Sir Jeffrey Tate and directed by Robert Carsen. She also worked with Daniele Callegari as Romeo in I Capuleti e I Montecchi, and with Graeme Jenkins as Krista in Vec Makropulos, Mercedes in Carmen, and Smeraldine in L’amour des trios oranges. Other featured roles in Cologne include Cherubino and Don Ramiro in La finta giardiniera.

After returning to the United States, Fillmore appeared with Seattle Opera in Rusalka, directed by Bernard Uzan, and Ariadne auf Naxos, directed by Chris Alexander and conducted by Gerard Schwarz, who afterwards invited her to sing with the Seattle Symphony in performances of Mozart’s Requiem. She sang Marguerite in La damnation de Faust with Utah Symphony under the direction of Keith Lockhart, and made both her Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall debuts in performances of Mozart’s Requiem. She also appeared as a soloist at Avery Fisher Hall in a gala celebrating the music of George Gershwin.

Recent engagements include Orfeo and Cherubino with Chattanooga Opera, as well as appearances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah and Verdi’s Requiem, conducted by Hans Graf. She has sung the Verdi Requiem with the Detroit Civic Symphony, Jackson Symphony, at Smith College, the United States Naval Academy, and Michigan State University.

Richard Fracker, Tenor

Richard Fracker is associate professor of voice (tenor) and Area Chair of Vocal Arts at the Michigan State University College of Music.

Prior to joining the MSU faculty in September 2003, Fracker performed regularly in opera houses and concert halls throughout the world, including ten seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera (MET). Known for his versatility both vocally and dramatically, he enthusiastically explores both traditional and contemporary repertoires ranging from Britten and Beethoven, to Verdi and Philip Glass.

Some of Fracker's MET performances include: appearances in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, The Gambler, Turandot, Moses und Aron, and Die Frau ohne Schatten, and the leading tenor role in Philip Glass' The Voyage. He has appeared several times in Texaco’s “Live from the MET” national radio broadcasts.

Recent international credits include performing with three other Metropolitan Opera singers in gala performances of arias, duets and quartets in Guangzhou, China. Fracker also performed four gala concerts in Norway

Career highlights include world debuts of Philip Glass’s Hydrogen Jukebox and Orphee, as well as Fracker’s Carnegie Hall debut as the tenor lead in Glass’s demanding Civil Wars. He has performed leading tenor roles in Spain, Italy, and Iceland, and with companies throughout the United States. Fracker has participated in the prestigious Spoleto Festival (Italy) and the Saito Kinen Festival (Japan) and has worked with such illustrious conductors as James Levine, Seiji Ozawa, Carlos Kleiber, Nello Santi, Valery Gergiev, and Marco Armeliato.

Adrian Rosas, Bass-Baritone, is a Graduate Student at The Juilliard School. He has performed in Operas across the country and was in residence at the Aspen Festival summer 2009. Mr. Rosas has appeared twice before with the JSO as soloist in Messiah and Le Nozze di Tutti.