Current & Former Ensemble Members

Sopranos

Geraldine Benéitez

Alisa Johnson

Ainhoa Menchen-Mojas

Adriana Peri

Catalina Rodriguez

Rosemarie Ruiz-Houghton

Linette Tobin

Altos

Marisa Arbona-Ruiz

Pilar Casado

Alejandra Duran-Böhme

Lucie Giraud

Cynthia Gorostiaga

Chris Herman

Leyre Varela

Tenors

Guillermo Almada

George Cooper

John Turner

Luis Wanderlinder

Baritones/Basses

Alex Alburqueque

Fernando Delgado

Olivier Delille

Felix Fernández-Pizzi

Gustavo Hernández

Malcolm Leith

Geraldine Benéitez, soprano, has been singing sacro and opera chorus with Lirica Complutense (Spain) and Bel Canto (Washington, DC). Her first engagement with Zarzuela Di Si was vendedora/ensemble in El barberillo de Lavapies following as Antigua/ensemble in La tabernera del puerto and as Rosita/ensemble in Luisa Fernanda.

Adriana Lucia Peri Odar, a native of Lima, Peru, she has been singing, dancing and acting since she attended university. Since coming to the United States she has participated in numerous theatrical, dance, musical and choral presentations.

 

Marisa Arbona-Ruiz is a singer/songwriter, filmmaker and film and television actress.  She has performed in concerts and festivals in the U.S. featuring blues, rock, folk, traditional and contemporary Native American, Mexican and Latin American choral music. 

 

Alejandra Durán-Böhme has been singing choirs in Bolivia, Denmark, London, Spain, and now DC.  Rosita/ensemble in Luisa Fernanda was her first engagement with Zarzuela Di Si. 

Chris Herman

Mezzo Chris Herman has performed with Zarzuela Di Si since the company’s 2006 inception, singing the role of Emma in Los gavilanes, Abel in La tabernera del puerto, Pelagia in Bohemios, and cameo and ensemble roles in Luisa Fernanda and El barberillo de Lavapiés, respectively. Chris also performs with the In Series and serves as alto section leader for Coral Cantigas: Washington’s Premier Latino Chorus. She studies voice with Anamer Castrello and has completed the Crittenden Opera Workshop.

Leyre Varela, alto, studied music and piano in Spain, she has sung in different choirs back in Europe, and has been involved since she can remember in the world of performing arts, as an actress for productions in Spain, France and the US (even ama y aita - mom and dad - met and fell in love on stage!). She also works as a drama teacher and has been part of the Zarzuela Disi ensemble since 2008

Guillermo Almada, tenor, has been singing with the World Bank / International Monetary Fund Chorus for the past 20 years and with Coral Cantigas for the past 10. Guillermo is a founding chorus member of Zarzuela Di Si. He considers singing vital for catharsis from the daily, crazy rhythm of work life, an opportunity to enjoy comradery and friendship while doing something creative and re-charging the batteries.

 

American tenor John Turner is a veteran of over 30 recent productions of opera, operetta, and zarzuela, appearing often in coprimario and character roles as well as coro.  He is a frequent oratorio soloist, tenor soloist in the professional quartet at St. Mary's in Washington, and also performs art songs and opera favorites in area chamber concerts.

Luis Wanderlinder, spinto tenor, is a native of Venezuela. He won first prize at the International Song Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has performed internationally as a soloist.

 

Fernando L. Delgado (Lleida, Spain) studied music and guitar in the Madrid Conservatory and worked semi-professionally as a guitar player in several rock banks in the mid 70s. After many years in the active music’s dry dock, he started to play guitar and sing in the choir of Our Lady Queen of the Americas (Washington DC) in 1991. Currently he is the director of the youth hispanic choir at Nativity Parish in Burke VA and sings and plays with the hispanic choir of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Arlington VA. He also sings as a bass with Coral Cantigas (www.cantigas.org) and collaborates occasionally with the Bank–Fund Choir and musicians in the area.

Olivier Delille, baritone, has participated in every Zarzuela produced by Zarzuela Di Si. He has been singing for more than ten years and has recently collaborated with the Washington, Philharmonic Orchestra and the Georgetown Gilbert and Sullivan Foundation.  He started singing in Spanish in his native Paris with the “Chorale Latino-americaine de la Cité Internationale”.

Felix Fernández Pizzi, bass-baritone , has been singing sacro, folk and opera chorus in Our Lady of Lourdes Church (Bethesda, MD), Interamerican Development Bank Choir (Washington, DC),  Armenian Arevakal (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Saint Matthews Cathedral (Washington, DC). In Zarzuela Di Si he has performed as majo and soldier/ensembles in El Barberillo de Lavapies, following characters as Simpson in La Tabernera del Puerto, and in Luisa Fernanda as Anibal/Nogales and Mazurca de las Sombrillas/ensemble. He also performed as Dulcamara in a short version of L’elisir d’Amore.

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