SYLVIA ANDERSON, BASOTI FOUNDER

Former international mezzo and dramatic Soprano, has sung over 80 different opera characters during her long career. Among her favorites are Octavian in "Der Rosenkavallier," "Carmen," the Countess in "Figaro, "Fiordiligi, "Tosca," Elisabeth in "Tannhaeuser," "Arabella" and "Salome," She spanned three continents during her career, singing at San Francisco Opera, Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires, New York City Opera, Berlin and Hamburg Staatsopern and many others. She sang at the Bayreuth Festival, the Salzburg Festival, the Festival of Greek Tragedy in Athens, and performed and recorded many contemporary works. For the last 24 years Miss Anderson has dedicated her expertise to training young aspiring singers in voice and opera. From her position as Professor of Voice at the San Francisco Conservatory, she founded BASOTI in 1992 and has led it through 22 years of successful training and opera productions.

MATTHIAS KUNTZSCH, MUSIC DIRECTOR AND CONDUCTOR

Born in Germany, the revered conductor of symphony and opera returns for his 23rd year as Music Director and Conductor of BASOTI, using his singing diction expertise and expert musicianship to coach singers to become adept in pronunciation of texts and in the phrasing of their singing roles. leading conductor of German and Italian repertoire, and dedicated teacher/conductor of Mozart. Previous positions: Principal Conductor, Munich National Theater, Hamburg State Opera, National Theater Mannheim General Music Director, Lubeck Opera and Philharmonic, and Saarbrücken State Opera and Symphony. Noted Wagnerian conductor (Tristan und Isolde), Paris, Trieste, Teheran, others. Guest conductor, Colorado Symphony, Buffalo Symphony, Utah Symphony orchestras (Mozart, Bruckner, Mahler, Strauss). Has conducted with Opera Colorado, Utah, and Vancouver Operas (Fidelio, Macbeth, Flying Dutchman, Carmen, Magic Flute, Die Fledermaus) and Manon Lescaut at West Bay Opera. Has been the Music Director of BASOTI since its inception.