Melanie Cain, Artistic Director/Co-Founder
Melanie Cain, Soprano, holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and Opera Production and a Masters of Music from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A native of Carroll, Iowa, she received her BA in both Music and Art from Luther College in Decorah, IA.
Ms. Cain was Assistant Director/Stage Manager of the UW Opera’s productions of Orpheus in the Underworld, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro, and Carmen under the direction of William Farlow. She was administrator and project manager for Dorian Opera Theatre for several seasons. Currently she operates a successful private home studio. www.melaniecainstudio.com
Melanie has performed both in the Madison area and nationally receiving rave reviews. The Capital Times wrote, “Melanie Cain sang with a gorgeous range and a strong, thrilling voice that projected to the top row. Cain is a graduate student in vocal performance with a big career ahead of her.” Her past roles include Second Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, The Mother and The Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Madame Lidoine in The Dialogues of the Carmelites, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. She has also studied the roles of Leonora in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Miss Jessel in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, the title role from Gluck’s Armide and Salome in Herodiade by Massenet in UW’s Opera Workshop. While at UW, Cain understudied the well known soprano, Julia Faulkner, in the title role of Vanessa. She has been a finalist and semi-finalist in numerous national vocal competitions including the Orpheus National Vocal Competition in Tennessee and the prestigious Jenson Vocal Competition in New York.
Ms. Cain was Assistant Director/Stage Manager of the UW Opera’s productions of Orpheus in the Underworld, Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte and Le Nozze di Figaro, and Carmen under the direction of William Farlow. She was administrator and project manager for Dorian Opera Theatre for several seasons. Currently she operates a successful private home studio. www.melaniecainstudio.com
Melanie has performed both in the Madison area and nationally receiving rave reviews. The Capital Times wrote, “Melanie Cain sang with a gorgeous range and a strong, thrilling voice that projected to the top row. Cain is a graduate student in vocal performance with a big career ahead of her.” Her past roles include Second Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, The Mother and The Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Madame Lidoine in The Dialogues of the Carmelites, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Rosalinda in Die Fledermaus. She has also studied the roles of Leonora in Beethoven’s Fidelio, Miss Jessel in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, the title role from Gluck’s Armide and Salome in Herodiade by Massenet in UW’s Opera Workshop. While at UW, Cain understudied the well known soprano, Julia Faulkner, in the title role of Vanessa. She has been a finalist and semi-finalist in numerous national vocal competitions including the Orpheus National Vocal Competition in Tennessee and the prestigious Jenson Vocal Competition in New York.
Frank Cain, Executive Director/Co-Founder
Frank's
first love was singing. Most of his life
has been devoted to music. His first
taste of opera was working as an administrative assistant for Dorian Opera
Theatre in Decorah, Iowa. During that
time, he learned the ropes which included overseeing the audition process,
orchestrating special events, and fundraising.
From there, Frank went on to work in the insurance industry as an
operations manager. For over 15 years,
Frank has implemented successful revenue generating programs in several
organizations, and proven to be a leader that generates excitement around a vision
and creates a clear path to success.
Frank's heart has led him back to his first passion. He is excited to share his love of Opera with
others and develop a fresh approach to the genre that will transcend cultural
lines. He holds a Bachelors of Music
Management from Luther College and an Executive MBA from Capella
University. Frank is originally from
Carroll, Iowa where he grew up down the block from his beautiful wife, Melanie. They have two weiner dogs named Mabel and
Peanut and enjoys riding his Schwinn.
I live by this quote: Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. - Anais Nin
I live by this quote: Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage. - Anais Nin
Jess Salek, Musical Director
Jess has degrees in piano performance from Lawrence University and from State University of New York, Stony Brook and is completing doctoral studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has served on the teaching faculty of both Interlochen Arts Academy and Prairie Music Academy, and also as adjudicator at music festivals and concerto competitions throughout the state. Mr. Salek proudly teaches a diverse studio of 40 students. An active performer, he was a featured soloist at the 2008 Syttende Mai festival in Viroqua, WI, and also has performed a solo recital at Farley’s House of Pianos. A passionate chamber musician, Mr, Salek has performed chamber concerts at Unitarian Society of Madison, and, most recently, performed with Jane Peckham in a piano duo recital at Farley's. He also performs as assistant keyboardist in the Madison Symphony Orchestra and the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra for Concerts on the Square.
