SWEENEY TODD

Saturday, October 25, 2025 at 7:00 pm

Colorado Springs Chorale, Ensemble

Now in its 69th season, the Colorado Springs Chorale is the premier symphonic chorus of the Pikes Peak region, comprising approximately 80 dedicated adult singers from across the community. Known for its artistic excellence, versatility, and collaborative spirit, the Chorale performs a wide range of repertoire—from classical masterworks to contemporary choral music.

As a cornerstone of the region’s cultural landscape, the Colorado Springs Chorale regularly partners with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic and other leading arts organizations, bringing powerful choral music to life for audiences throughout Southern Colorado. With nearly seven decades of history, the Chorale continues to inspire, connect, and elevate through the shared experience of great music.

Eric McConnell, Sweeney Todd

Denver native Eric J. McConnell is quickly garnering acclaim in the American opera and musical theatre communities for his distinctive dramatic voice and theatrical, performative style. His 2024-2025 season began with an eighteen-show run as the title character in Sweeney Todd with the Greenhouse Cabaret in Bend, Oregon. He emerged from a brief holiday hiatus to sing the bass soloist in Verdi's Requiem with the University of Denver in March. His spring marked a return to his contemporary opera roots with performances as Kinny Kincaid in The Cook-Off with Hub City Opera and as the Vicomte de Valmont in The Dangerous Liaisons with Vegas City Opera. He then spent the summer performing as Inspector Kemp in the musical adaptation of the Mel Brooks classic Young Frankenstein with Breckenridge Backstage Theatre before making his company debut with Painted Sky Opera in his second portrayal of the Sodbuster in Missy Mazzoli’s American masterpiece Proving Up.

Previous seasons have seen professional debuts with Opera Saratoga as the D’Ysquith Family in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder; Sarasota Opera as Leporello in Don Giovanni and Jago in Ernani, Shreveport Opera as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte; Virginia Opera as Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, Donner in Das Rheingold, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro, and Colline in La bohème; Opera Fort Collins as Olin Blitch in Susannah and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro; Opera San Luis Obispo as Gaston in Beauty and the Beast; Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre as Betto in Gianni Schicchi/Buoso’s Ghost and Orin Scrivello, DDS in Little Shop of Horrors; Union Avenue Opera as Carl-Magnus in A Little Night Music, Father in Ragtime, and the Wolf in Into the Woods; Opera Colorado as Figaro/Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro, Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, and Dr. Grenvil in La traviata; Central City Opera as Ceprano in Rigoletto, William Jennings Bryan in The Ballad of Baby Doe, and Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro; the Aspen Music Festival as the Sodbuster in Proving Up; the Albany Symphony Orchestra as Elisha Fitzgibbon in Roscoe; the Missouri Symphony/Landlocked Opera as Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro; Bel Cantanti Opera as Escamillo in Carmen; and the Suncoast Broadway Dinner Theatre as Bob Wallace in White Christmas.

McConnell is a two-time regional finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and also won third place in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild’s 2020 Competition. He holds a master’s degree from Northwestern University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Miami. McConnell is an Eagle Scout, a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and a zealous collector of rubber ducks. He is also a writer; his debut novel, Mall, and its sequel, Park, are available at all major online book retailers.

Thomas Bocchi, Anthony Hope

Thomas Bocchi is a versatile performing artist, equally versed in opera, concert/oratorio, musical theatre, and art song. Upcoming engagements include multiple recitals and a full season with Colorado Bach Ensemble.

Concert and Oratorio roles include Händel’s Messiah, Mozart’s C Minor Mass, Tippett’s A Child of Our Time, Faure’s Requiem, and numerous Bach Cantatas. He performs regularly with Colorado Bach Ensemble as soloist/chorus member and was a finalist in their Young Artist Competition.

Opera credits include the lead role of John Gay in Gene Scheer’s new opera, Polly Peachum with CUNOW, Miles (Proving Up), Joe (Robert Paterson’s Companion), Lesbus (Agrippina), the Witch (Hänsel & Gretel), Basilio/Curzio (Le Nozze di Figaro)and Suitor/Chorus (Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life!). He has premiered multiple operas by composer Ben Morris (The Fall of Man, Perspective) as well as multiple song cycles. Additional Musical roles include Marius (Les Misérables), The Scarecrow (Wizard of Oz), Aldolpho (The Drowsy Chaperone), and Ewart Dunlop (The Music Man).

He specializes in the song repertoire, particularly the works of Schubert, Schumann, and Britten, and commonly features underrepresented composers such as Violet Archer, Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Robert Owens, and Muriel Herbert. Thomas holds a B.A. in Vocal Performance (Whitworth University), a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance & Pedagogy at the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he is currently pursuing a D.M.A, studying under the tutelage of Matthew Chellis and Nicholas Perna, and serves as a graduate teaching assistant and accompanist. He is also an aspiring composer, whose works are performed often on the recitals of his colleagues.

Kacie Kenton, Johanna

Kacie Kenton (Soprano) is a classically trained singer and voice teacher based in Denver. Known for her warm vocal tone and penchant for atypical music ranging from early Baroque to 20th century compositions, Kacie performs with arts organizations up and down the Front Range. She has been a featured soloist with Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Colorado Springs Chorale, Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, Parish House Baroque, Pikes Peak Opera League, Soli Deo Gloria, Loveland Opera Theater, and Fort Collins Opera Guild. Her previous roles include Younger Alyce (Glory Denied), Lola (Gallantry), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Despina (Così fan tutte), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Second Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Laurie (The Tender Land), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Monica (The Medium), and Emily Webb (Our Town).

Kacie hails from sunny San Diego, CA, and received her Bachelor’s of Music in Voice Performance from the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music in Illinois. In 2016 she completed her Master’s of Music in Voice Performance at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, and she continues her pedagogical studies with renowned soprano Martile Rowland. When she’s not singing opera, Kacie enjoys cantoring at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in downtown Denver, where she leads the soprano section of the Cathedral Choir. Kacie also sings early music with the Compline Octet at Grace and St. Stephens Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs.

In addition to her soloist work, Kacie currently serves as the Educational Outreach Director for Opera Theatre of the Rockies and enjoys introducing local students to this unique artform. As the director of OTR’s education program, Kacie has performed in and produced two shows - Little Red Riding Hood (Barab) and Barber of Seville in California (Rossini; adapted by Kristine McIntyre). She began her directorial journey in 2024 as Assistant Director for Glory Denied (a collaboration between Chamber Orchestra of the Springs, Art Song Colorado, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, and the Air Force Academy). Kacie rejoined this trio of arts companies as assistant director for their production of “All About Love; A Flight of Operas” in 2025, and directed A Hand of Bridge, the third opera in the show. Kacie is passionate about fostering collaborative projects with Colorado-based arts organizations and she is elated to see classical music thrive in the beloved “Wild West.”

Marcia Ragonetti, Mrs. Lovett

Esteemed mezzo-soprano Marcia Ragonetti has earned acclaim for her splendid singing and compelling characterizations. As an Opera Colorado veteran with a four-decade history with that company, she has performed over 24 roles including Cherubino, Rosina, Angelina, Mercedes, Meg Peg, Siebel, Third Lady, La Ciesca among others. Career highlights with Opera Colorado were helping inaugurate “The Ellie” in 2005 with its gala concert and celebrated production of Carmen and most recently as the charismatic Narrator of Il Trovatore.

She also has strong affiliations with Central City Opera, Opera Fort Collins, Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Opera Steamboat and Loveland Opera Theatre where she reprised her signature role of Augusta Tabor. She has been a guest artist with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra (a total of 22 times), Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Jefferson Symphony as well as Utah and San Antonio Symphonies and summer festivals in Vail, Crested Butte, Chautauqua-Boulder and Chapel Hill, NC.

Her international debut was as the Beggar Woman in the Italian premiere of Sweeney Todd which toured four Emilia-Romagna cities. She has received Henry Award nominations for “Best Actress” in 2016 for Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard and in 2012 for Maria Callas in Master Class, both hailed as virtuosic portrayals. She also creates cabaret shows on such Great American Songbook composers as George & Ira Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter and others.

Marcia is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Cornell University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and psycholinguistics. With her Bel Canto Fund, she continues her mission to support emerging artists and aspiring arts organizations.

Jim Sena, Judge Turpin

Jim Sena, Bass-baritone divides his time between the musical and the literary. He can be found singing professionally in the choral, Early Music, and English High Church music circles around Colorado. This summer has taken him to the 2025 Crested Butte Arts Festival singing Gilbert & Sullivan (repeating the same program here in town at the historic Pioneers Museum courtroom).

Jim’s fondness (to the point of obsession) for VERY old music has made him the Gregorian chant and Renaissance specialist around these parts. He is staff singer and cantor at Grace and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, staff singer at Colorado College, founding member of the Colorado Vocal Arts Ensemble, and lightens things up singing in an acapella jazz quartet around the Broadmoor Hotel.

His literary exploits have him working in university press publishing and editing. He is the award-winning author of the book Tesla’s Walk: An Invitation to Nikola Tesla’s Colorado Springs (found in your favorite bookstores and at Ivywild School), and is the librarian at Piñon Valley Elementary in Cheyenne Mountain School District 12 where he continually inoculates K-6th grade students with the infectious love of reading (frankly, no purer joy).

Eapen Leubner, Adolfo Pirelli

Eapen Leubner (Tenor) has performed operatic roles ranging from traditional to cutting-edge modern opera. Eapen dreamed of being a professional musician since his first gig at age 10 when he was hired to sing Sandy the Christmas Cat, a novelty song by Milford Fargo (check it out on youtube). Eapen studied voice at Ithaca College and SUNY Binghamton. He started his professional career as a chorister with Seattle Opera. Eapen continued his training as a young artist with Tri-Cities Opera and in the Opera Colorado Outreach Artist Program. His singing has taking him from Alaska to Albania and places in between not beginning with the letter A.

After moving to Colorado in 2014, Eapen founded Denver Art Song Project, now known as Art Song Colorado. Eapen has contributed to the state’s artistic scene as singer (The Mikado with Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs), director (Glory Denied, To Hell and Back), album producer (El Rebelde, Colorado Sky) and collaboration leader with Chamber Orchestra of the Springs and Opera Theatre of the Rockies to co-create the Opera 2030 Initiative. In 2025, Eapen will be performing the solo oratorio roles in Mozart’s Requiem (Chamber Orchestra of the Springs), Bach’s Coffee Cantata (Center Stage) and Herbert! (Art Song Colorado).

Eapen dedicates his work this season to his late mentor and friend, Nancy Rhodes of Encompass New Opera Theatre, who challenged him to use all his skills to be a complete artist. Follow his career at artsongcolorado.org and at eapenleubner.com. When not on stage, Eapen loves hanging out with his family, playing Dungeons & Dragon and practicing Atomic Habits.

Javier Abreu, Tobias Ragg

Puerto Rican tenor Javier Abreu has been described as a commanding force on stage, incorporating a rich, sweet and agile voice, with ample dramatic skills. Recent engagement highlights include Baker with Theaterworks Colorado Springs, Ernesto in Don Pasquale with Pittsburgh Opera, his role debut as Ferrando in Così fan tutte with Mill City Summer Opera, the world premiere of Bless Me, Última with Opera Southwest, Lindoro in L’italiana in Algeri with Blackwater Valley Opera in Ireland, and a debut with Chicago Opera Theater as the title role in Il pigmalione, and Beppe in Rita by Donizetti.

A lover of contemporary opera, Abreu has premiered roles in Before Night Falls with Fort Worth Opera, The Long Walk with Opera Saratoga, The Inspector with Wolf Trap Opera, and La cabeza del bautista with Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona. He has garnered critical acclaim for his portrayals of Rossini’s leading roles with Central City Opera, Nashville Opera, Israeli Opera, Opera de Oviedo, Theater Basel, Teatro Municipal de Chile, Austin Opera, New York City Opera, Atlanta Opera, Florida Grand Opera and the Stuttgart Staatsoper, to name a few. He has also appeared as a featured soloist for Resonance Works, the National Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, Colorado Springs Philharmonic Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra , The Britt Music Festival and the Pennsylvania Ballet, among others.

Debra Siebert, Beggar Woman

Dr. Debra Wesemann Siebert is a dynamic mezzo-soprano, conductor, and composer whose career spans the operatic stage, the concert hall, and the academic classroom.

An artist of impressive versatility, Dr. Siebert has performed in opera houses and concert stages in Albuquerque, Santa Fe Opera Outreach Program, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Houston, Denver area, and abroad in Italy. Her notable roles include Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Hansel and the Mother in Hansel and Gretel, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, and Cherubino and Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, including many oratorio and sacred performances. She also sang several years with the Houston Grand Opera Chorus and has been recognized as a multiple-time winner of the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions and NATS Competitions.

In addition to her solo career, Dr. Siebert maintains an active life as a conductor and educator. She has been appointed the Assistant Conductor for the Colorado Springs Chorale, and is currently the Assistant Conductor with Cornerstone Chorale in Denver, and holds regular appointments with church musician assignments. Dr. Siebert has served as a Director of Choirs at the high school level in the Greater Houston and Colorado Springs areas, consistently achieving high-level choral programs receiving notable awards in festivals and competitions.

Dr. Siebert is a published composer with Brilee Choral Music and released the choral album in 2021 on all audio platforms, in which she arranged, recorded, and produced all tracks.

A lifelong commitment to music education is central to Dr. Siebert's career. She earned her Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and has brought her expertise in voice, diction, and music appreciation to students at Baylor University, Brigham Young University, and UNLV. As a passionate advocate for the arts, she co-founded the Noyes Fine Arts Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to fostering musical theatre and concert programs in Katy, Texas. Dr. Siebert currently balances her schedule as an active piano accompanist, clinician, a Board member of non-profit arts organizations, and long-standing private voice instructor.

Lars Preece, Beedle Bamford

Lars Preece is a Denver based performing artist and floral designer who has appeared on stages worldwide for over twenty-five years. Prior to moving to Denver, Lars was a Resident Artist at the Tony Award winning LaMaMa E.T.C., in New York City, performing roles in The West/East Village Fragments, Ho’ichi the Earless, Dipteracon, and Raw Impressions Musical Theatre.

Locally, Lars has performed the roles of “Bud” Johnson in The Bridges of Madison County (Platte Valley Theatre Arts), Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof (Henry Award nominated), Enoch Snow in Carousel (Henry nominated), Jason in A Grand Night for Singing, Dr. Neville Craven in
Secret Garden, Richard Henry Lee in 1776 (Performance Now Theatre Company), Bruce Bechdel in Fun Home and Young Buddy in Follies: In Concert (Vintage Theatre), Peter and the Starcatcher and Sondheim on Sondheim (Cherry Creek Theatre), and John Utterson in Jekyll &
Hyde (Candlelight Dinner Playhouse.) Other notable credits include Banned the Musical at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Dom in Nathan Hall’s world premiere opera Unbound: A Gay Kink Opera, and the regional premieres of Andrew Lippa’s oratorios I am Harvey Milk (Harvey Milk) and Unbreakable (Lem Billings/Man 2). Additionally, Lars has performed with Opera Colorado, Boulder Opera Company, The Denver Opera Collective, and Opera on Tap. Enjoy the show!

SWEENEY TODD

The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

A Musical Thriller

From an Adaptation by

CHRISTOPHER BOND

Originally Directed On Broadway by HAROLD PRINCE

Orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick

Originally Produced on Broadway by Richard Barr,

Charles Woodward, Robert Fryer, Mary Lea Johnson, Martin Richards

in Association with Dean and Judy Manos

Music and Lyrics by

STEPHEN SONDHEIM

Book by

HUGH WHEELER

Aaron Vega, Stage Director

In addition to his acting career which gave him the opportunity to perform in NYC and around the world, Aaron Vega has adapted and directed Shakespeare; staged rock and symphony concerts; was a founding artist of the puppet and mask ensemble The Zoot Theatre Company; plays with the Irish band Banthom House (@BanthomHouse); and curates The People’s Building (@PeoplesBuilding) which provides access to affordable event and performance space to creatives in the Denver metro area. In the Denver metro region, he has worked with the DCPA, The Arvada Center, Shakespeare in the Wild, Miners Alley Playhouse, The Catamounts, & Theatre SilCo. BFA Wright State University. @bardgeek