Frederick Reeder, Baritone
as Sir Joseph Porter
Mr. Reeder trained for the classical stage at The Drama Studio in London, England. He has focused on the musical stage, both as actor and director and has become well known for his characterizations in the operas of Gilbert & Sullivan. During five years as principal comic baritone with Ohio Light Opera, he performed as Zsupan in The Gypsy Baron, The Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance, Despard in Ruddigore and Pooh-Bah in The Mikado. Recently Mr. Reeder has directed productions for Chicago's Grant Park Concerts and frequently serves as stage and/or music director for Ashland University theatre in his home town of Ashland, Ohio.

Colm Fitzmaurice, Tenor, as Ralph Rackstraw
Mr. Fitzmaurice has been making his mark in Operetta, Opera and Music Theater throughout the United States and in Europe. His leading man looks and vocal charisma have been welcomed in the light opera repertoire.This season, he premiered a number of leading roles with New York’s Gilbert and Sullivan Players at New York’s City Center, including Ralph (HMS Pinafore), Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance), Hilarion (Princess Ida) and Marco (The Gondoliers).

Elizabeth Hillebrand, Soprano, as Josephine
Ms. Hillebrand has been a leading lady with New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players (NYGASP) since 2004. She has performed Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Phyllis in Iolanthe, Rose Maybud in Ruddigore, and Yum Yum in The Mikado The Greenville News dubbed her "a knockout lyric soprano and a saucy little actress”. This versatile young singer’s other recent and upcoming engagements include: Kathie in Student Prince, Despina in Così fan Tutte, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Laurie in The Tender Land, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, Galatea in Acis and Galatea, Adele in Die Fledermaus and First Lady in The Magic Flute.

Louis Dall’ Ava, Baritone,
Stage Director, as Dick Deadeye
Mr. Dall'Ava directed and starred as the Judge in the ON G&S Revue/Trial by Jury, April 2007 and and we are delighted that he is returning to direct and perform the role of Dick Deadeye. He has thrilled audiences in more than 24 principal G&S roles, many with the New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players. He is the 2005-2006 recipient of NYGASP’s Isaac Asimov Award for Artistic Achievement. Mr. Dall’Ava performed the roles of Charles and the Comte de Chagny on three international tours of Phantom of the Opera and was named Best Actor in a Musical by Bravo Pix for his portrayal of Fagin in Commonwealth Opera’s Oliver! in 2000.

Stephen Francis Vasta, Conductor returns to Opera Naples for "H.M.S. Pinafore," having previously conducted the Gilbert & Sullivan revue in 2007. A native New Yorker, he has spent some twenty-five years as a conductor, vocal coach, and keyboardist, both with companies there and with prominent regional performing arts organizations. He currently directs for the Light Opera of New York; previous operetta credits include Die Fledermaus, The Merry Widow, and The Mikado for Opera Northeast, and Orpheus in the Underworld as Assistant Professor of Theatre at Ball State University (IN). Opera credits include Handel's Rinaldo at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; Carmen at the Belleayre Festival Opera in upstate New York; Cimarosa's Il Matrimonio Segreto at Berkshire Opera; and, most recently, Così fan Tutte and Fidelio for the Brooklyn Repertory Opera. Mr. Vasta also served as chorus master for the New Jersey Association for Verismo Opera for two seasons. Musical theatre credits include Godspell at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Camelot at Alabama Shakespeare Festival; and the 1992-3 international tour of Peter Pan which played throughout the U.S., Canada, and East Asia. An accomplished classical accompanist, Mr. Vasta has appeared in that capacity at New York's Weill Recital Hall and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. He has been reviewing records professionally since 1993, and is currently a regular contributor to
Opera News and to several websites.

Marian Hixson-Birsa, as Buttercup
Ms. Birsa is a native of California. While living in Italy for 23 years, she graduated from the Conservatory of Music of Trieste in cello and vocal performance and also studied at Salzburg's Mozarteum. She coached with Carlo Cossuta, Tito Gobbi, Luciano Pavarotti and Elizabeth Schwartzkopf. For several years she appeared regularly at the Teatro Communale "Giuseppe Verdi" of Trieste, performing leading roles such as Ulrica in UnBallo in Maschera, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Eboli in Don Carlos and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro. Ms Birsa also performed frequently as a soloist in oratorios and concerts with many orchestras in Italy, Austria, Germany and Yugoslavia. Now living in Naples, she is a staff singer at Trinity-by-the-Cove Episcopal Church and also section leader in the choir of Temple Shalom. She is a charter member of the Philharmonic Chorale and is also a freelance music critic.

Paul Soper, as Captain Corcoran
Mr. Soper made his operatic debut with Houston Grand Opera as the Innkeeper in Manon, and has sung with Boston Lyric Opera, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Glimmerglass Opera, and the National Touring Company of New York City Opera. Paul is well known to audiences in the Boston area, having sung with Opera Aperta, Cambridge Chamber Opera, and Harvard University’s Lowell House Opera. Paul has also championed new works in-progress with the Shakespeare Concerts, the New Opera and New Musical Theater Initiative, and created new roles with Boston’s Intermezzo Chamber Opera. An alumnus of the New England Conservatory Opera/Theater and the Opera Institute of Boston University, he was twice awarded Fellowships to the Tanglewood Institute of Music. No stranger to musical theater, Mr. Soper looks forward to his first Gilbert & Sullivan role and his debut with Opera Naples.

John McKerrow, as Carpenter's Mate
Mr. McKerrow made his Opera Naples debut as a tongue-in-cheek William S. Sullivan. He is delighted to have this opportunity to join Opera Naples' production of H.M.S Pinafore. John has appeared in National Commercials, Regional Theatre, Off-Off Broadway, print ads, Soap Operas and television. He relocated to Naples from New York in 2003. Since then he and his wife MaryAnne, also an actor, have appeared in many local productions. Sugden Theatre recent roles include: Archie in The Secret Garden, Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls, Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors, Richard in Lion in Winter and Sipos in She Loves Me.

Dan Bielinski, as Bo'swain is a senior at Ave Maria University and currently the head of the university’s drama program. Dan starred as the Wolf in Opera Naples’ in-school opera, Little Red
Riding Hood, performed in Collier County schools last season. He has participated in several of Opera Naples productions as a chorus member. He plans to enroll in full-time theatre training after graduation.

Ariane Reinhart, as Cousin Hebe
Ariane Reinhart (Cousin Hebe/Asst. Director) is pleased to be making her debut with Opera Naples. Other G&S work includes: The Pirates of Penzance (Edith); Gondoliers (Vittoria) and many more. Other recent credits include: Sweeney Todd (Beggar Woman); The Last Five Years (Cathy); An Evening of Solos (w/ works by Martha Clarke, Mark Haim, Doug Varone & Shen Wei).