Christopher Oglesby, Tenor, in Recital

Acclaimed young operatic tenor performs art songs by Britten, Vaughan Williams, Strauss and more, accompanied by Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad

Renowned tenor Christopher Oglesby explores the concept of “home” through time, place, heritage, and circumstance with the music of Ralph Vaughn Williams, Beethoven, Italian art songs, traditional Ukrainian pieces, Hoagy Carmichael, Cole Porter, and a selection of Appalachian folksongs. Truly, a feast for the soul!

This season, Christopher is appearing in numerous San Francisco Opera productions, including La Bohème Out of The Box , Innocence, The Magic Flute, Un Ballo in Maschera, The Handmaid's Tale, Tristan und Isolde and Carmen. But nowhere can you hear him sing in such an intimate setting, or to such effect, (or for such a price!) as at Calliope: East Bay Music & Arts!

Christopher is a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship graduate currently residing in San Francisco.

For this program, he will be collaborating with the noted pianist, Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad, who is also a graduate of the San Francisco Opera Adler Fellowship, a full music staff member at San Francisco Opera, and a guest assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.

Join us in person, by live-stream, OR on-demand! (For on-demand viewing, simply purchase a live-stream only ticket, and then watch the recording at your leisure anytime in the following two weeks.)

WE GUARANTEE ALL OF OUR PERFORMERS A MINIMUM FAIR WAGE - thanks to support from people like you!

COVID Safety Protocols:

Your safe enjoyment of this wonderful music is our first priority!

• Masking is encouraged as an individual choice; this protects everyone from the spread of viruses. Masks will be readily available to those who want one.
• Up-to-date immunizations (including flu, COVID, pneumonia and RSV) are strongly encouraged.
• Hand sanitizer will be available, and is encouraged.
• Whenever weather permits, we will ventilate our spaces to the maximum degree possible, and employ the use of air purifiers.
• If you have tested positive for COVID, or feel at all unwell, we urge you in the strongest possible way to stay home.

Very best,

Calliope: East Bay Music & Arts Board of Directors

Artist Profiles

American tenor Christopher Oglesby made his San Francisco Opera debut as an Adler Fellow during the 2018-2019 season as Dancaïre in Carmen, later singing Benvolio in Roméo et Juliette, Edmondo in Manon Lescaut, Jaquino in Fidelio, and covering Ferrando in Così fan tutte during his subsequent years as an Adler Fellow (2020, 2021).

During the 2021-2022 season, Oglesby’s continued assignments with San Francisco Opera included a cover of Caesar in Antony and Cleopatra and performances as First Commissioner in Dialogues des Carmélites.

Oglesby’s engagements with San Francisco Opera for the 2024-2025 season are numerous and thrilling: Rodolfo in La Bohème “Out of the Box” (including an appearance on the corner of Solano and Evelyn in Albany, CA on Thursday, June 27th!) Emilio in Handel’s Partenope, the Bridegroom in Innocence, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Amelia’s servant in Un Ballo in Maschera, Luke in The Handmaid’s Tale, and a reprise of Dancaïre in Carmen.

As a Resident Artist with Utah Opera during the 2017-2018 season, Oglesby sang Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette and was the tenor soloist for Handel’s Messiah with the Utah Symphony. As a participant of the 2018 Merola Opera Program, he debuted as Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress.

An active soloist and recitalist, Oglesby has performed for the SF Film Festival, Dallas Puccini Society, Vallejo Festival Orchestra, and in the Schwabacher Recital Series at San Francisco Opera. Oglesby is a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant. Most recently, Christopher made his role and company debut with Sarasota Opera as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly during the 2022-2023 season, and a role and company debut with West Edge Opera as Boris in Kát’a Kabanová in 2021.

Forthcoming seasons will include mainstage debuts as Rodolfo in La bohème and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor.

Ukrainian-American pianist and vocal coach Dr. Kseniia Polstiankina Barrad is currently on music staff at San Francisco Opera and the Metropolitan Opera.

In previous seasons, Kseniia has worked at opera companies and festivals such as Des Moines Metro Opera, West Edge Opera, Queen City Opera, the Ravinia Festival Steans Institute, the Schmidt Vocal Institute, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

At San Francisco Opera Kseniia has worked on mainstage productions of Manon Lescaut, Carmen, The Barber of Seville, Fidelio, Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Dream of the Red Chamber, and Eugene Onegin and collaborated with such conductors as Nicola Luisotti, James Gaffigan, Eun Sun Kim, Bertrand de Billy, Henrik Nánási, and others.

Kseniia is a 2018 graduate of the Merola Opera Program and the Adler Fellowship at San Francisco Opera where she was mentored by John Churchwell and Carrie-Ann Matheson. She graduated with her master’s degree in Collaborative Piano from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati where she also completed her DMA in Piano Performance studying with Awadagin Pratt and Lydia Brown.

Recital Program:

Ralph Vaughan Williams On Wenlock Edge 

On Wenlock Edge 

 From Far, from Eve and Morning 

Is My Team Ploughing 

Oh, When I Was in Love with You 

Bredon Hill 

Clun 

Ralph Vaughan Williams Whither Must I Wander?

Tommaso Giordani Caro mio ben 

Ludwig van Beethoven Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder 

Francesco Santoliquido I canti della sera 

L’assiolo canta 

Alba di luna sul bosco 

Tristezza crepuscolare 

 L’incontro 

INTERMISSION 

Mykola Lysenko Молитва за Україну 

Vasyl Barvinsky Сонет 

В лісі 

Trad. arr. Carl Deis Loch Lomond 

Trad. arr. Jake Heggie Danny Boy 

Trad. arr. Rhiannon Giddens Wayfaring Stranger 

Robin Pecknold arr. Oglesby Blue Spotted Tail 

Hoagy Carmichael I Get Along without You Very Well

Cole Porter You’d Be So Easy to Love