I am pleased to announce that I have joined the roster of Wade Artist Management. I look forward to working with Martha Wade and her team to expand my range of professional opportunities. Stay tuned for other New Year’s News!
Author Archives: Alison
Christmas at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine
Since the spring of 2016, I have been a member of the professional choir at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, led by Music Director Kent Tritle. Every December the Choir joins forces with the Cathedral Choristers, Chorale and Orchestra for a beautiful Christmas concert. In addition to my role as an alto in the choir, I will be singing the aria “Qui sedes ad dexteram patris” in Vivaldi’s Gloria.
What?
The program is as follows:
Antonio Vivaldi
Gloria in D major
James Bassi
Quem pastores laudavere
Benjamin Britten
Ceremony of Carols
When?
Saturday, December 9th at 7:00pm
Where?
The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine
1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street
New York, NY 10025 (click for map)
Tickets?
You can buy them online or at the door.
And?
For information on other Advent events at the Cathedral, including a schedule of all of our Christmas services, please visit stjohndivine.org.
Alison Taylor Cheeseman mined comic gold in the dual role of the goddess Diana and Jove disguised as Diana for the purpose of making love to Callisto. (I am not making this up.) The dignified goddess struggled girlishly with her vow of chastity when it came to the handsome poet Endymion. … When the singer added a touch of masculine swagger, all of a sudden there was the king of the gods plotting his latest conquest. Cheeseman delivered it all with firm voice and striking presence. — David Wright, New York Classical Review
Me Prometheus, July 2017
This July I was honored to take the stage as The Great Neepaz, leader of the Gurg, in a musical tale about the discovery of fire and the difficulties of adapting to a changing world…
What?
Me Prometheus — Caveman Love Story
A new musical by Simon Riker & Emerson Sieverts
When?
Tuesday, July 11 at 6:15pm
Friday, July 14 at 9:00pm
Saturday, July 15 at 8:30pm
Sunday, July 16 at 1:00pm
Where?
Hudson Guild Theatre
441 West 26th St. (map)
Tickets?
Buy now! (click here). Tickets are selling like hotcakes!
$23.00 ($24.80 w/service fee)
And?
For more information, visit the official show website at meprometheus.com.
Also, click here to learn more about the non-fictional role of wildfire in our planet’s splendid and complex ecosystems.
Vivaldi’s Gloria, April 2017
What?
Vivaldi’s Gloria
Who?
Alison Taylor Cheeseman, alto
Jessica Marsten, soprano
The Sound Shore Chorale
When?
Sunday, April 30th at 3pm
Where?
Iona College’s Arrigoni Center, 48 Mayflower Avenue, New Rochelle, NY (map)
Tickets?
TBA
La Calisto, August 2017
In my performance career thus far, I have played women and men, young and old, rich and poor. On the power spectrum, I once made it as far as emperor. This August, I’m pleased to announce, I will take it one step further and impersonate divinity, performing the role of Diana (and Jove disguised as Diana!) in a production of Cavalli’s La Calisto.
What?
La Calisto, an opera by Francesco Cavalli from a libretto by Giovanni Faustini, based on myth
When?
August 12th at 7:30pm
August 19th at 2:00pm
August 26th at 7:30pm
Where?
A Summer Share at La Mama
66 East 4th Street New York, NY 10003 (click for map)
Tickets?
You can buy them online or at the door. Prices range from $29-44.
Who?
Brittany Goodwin, Stage Director
Charles Weaver, Conductor and Music Director
You-Shin Chen, Scenic Designer
Dante Olivia Smith, Lighting Designer
Claire Townsend, Costume Designer
— Cast, in order of appearance:—
| La Natura | Kirsti Esch |
| L’Eternità | Rebecca Richardson |
| Il Destino | Sophia Mortensen |
| Calisto | Marie Marquis |
| Giove | Nobuki Momma |
| Diana / Giove in Diana | Alison Taylor Cheeseman |
| Endimione | Jeffrey Mandelbaum |
| Giunone | Allison Gish |
| Linfea | Taylor Kirk |
| Satirino | Victoria Rodriguez |
| Mercurio | Timothy Stoddard |
| Pane | Padraic Costello |
| Silvano | Will Esch |
The Hat, February 2017
What?
The Hat: Arendt Meets Heidegger
a one-act opera by Karen Siegel & Zsuzsanna Ardó
When?
Saturday, February 4, 2017
at 7:30pm
Where?
Dixon Place
161A Chrystie Street
New York, NY 10002
Who?
Hannah Arendt: Karen Siegel
Martin Heidegger: Christopher Dylan Herbert
Ann Mendelssohn: Alison Taylor Cheeseman
Paul McCarthy: Alex Guerrero
Pianist: Trudy Chan
Conductor: Colin Britt
Opera America Career Blueprints
Thanks to a grant from Opera America and the Howard Gilman Foundation, I’ll be spending a few days in September preparing materials for the audition season: new headshots and demo recordings, among other things. Check back in mid-September to see and hear the new me!
New York Opera Alliance: OperaFest 2016
I was very pleased to represent Bronx Opera at the the NY Opera Alliance’s OperaFest kickoff event in April, at the National Opera Center. I sang Cinderella’s final aria from La cenerentola, in my own new translation, accompanied by the marvelous Dmitry Glivinskiy.
Caramoor, Summer 2016
I spent this June/July as an apprentice artist with the Bel Canto Opera program at Caramoor. It was a tremendous learning experience, with lectures and master classes on various aspects of bel canto style and vocal technique. On the performing side of things, I was thrilled to be a part of the U.S. Premiere of Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira. (Read more about it in the New York Times and Financial Times, among others!).