Falstaff Creatives' Bios
José Luis Moscovich, is the conductor for Falstaff. He has been General Director of West Bay Opera since 2006. For the preceding decade he was music director and conductor of the San Francisco Camerata, the only professional orchestra in the US devoted exclusively to the music of Latin American composers. He was also principal guest conductor of the ARTEA Orchestra and the Bay Area Concerto Ensemble. He has also appeared with the Marin Chamber Orchestra, the UCSF Orchestra, the Nova Vista Orchestra, and a number of other ensembles. Recently, he has also conducted prodctions at Opera Santa Barbara and Opera Idaho. He has conducted West Bay Opera’s productions of I due Foscari, La bohème, Carmen, Fidelio, Norma, Salome, Il trittico, Despertar al sueño, Le nozze di Figaro, Madama Butterfly, Yevgeny Onegin, Faust, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Il trovatore, Die Zauberflöte, L'elisir d'amore, Tosca, Otello, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Samson et Dalila, Dido and Aeneas, La vida breve, Turandot, Der Freischütz, Orfeo ed Euridice, Der fliegende Holländer, Cavalleria rusticana, and Pagliacci.He has also conducted at the Teatro El Círculo opera house in Rosario, Argentina; taught master classes in opera performance in Beijing, China and at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and lectured for the Wagner Society of Northern California. He was assistant conductor of the San Francisco Choral Society. He wrote the libretto and conducted the premiere of Corpus Evita, an opera by Carlos Franzetti, later conducting the recording of that work for Amapola Records, nominated for a GRAMMY in 2005. His other recording with the Camerata is a CD of Latin American orchestral music, for Klavier Records. He was trained as a clarinetist and conductor in his native Argentina, where he studied at the National Conservatory in Rosario. Selected by the American Symphony Orchestra League, he also trained under Lorin Maazel, and Maurice Abravanel.
Ragnar Conde returns to West Bay Opera as Stage Director for Falstaff. A native of México, he has produced and directed over 70 Performing Arts projects in México, United States, France, Switzerland, Italy and Columbia. Mr. Conde has served as teacher, coach and stage director in several institutions and companies that include SIVAM, ARGOS, Artepost Productions, San Benito Abad Theater, Universidad del Valle de México, Alas y Raíces para los niños, Nickelodeon, Artescenica, ITESM-CEM, National Fine Arts Opera Company, Zacatecas Opera Company, the Madrigalistas Choir, Solists Ensemble, Pro Opera, FIGAROSY, the Centro Histórico Children's Choir, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, West Bay Opera, Golden Ceiba Productions, Mobile Productions, Morela Opera Company, Xcaret Park, Skylight Music Theatre, Pro-Musica and Jalisco Philharmonic Orchestra. In film, he is the co-writer of Sin Retorno, an international feature film (Mexico-Colombia), where he worked also as Acting Coach and Second Assistant. He also worked as Acting Coach in Balls, a Colombian feature film. Mr. Conde also adapted the script for the film Siete Años de Matrimonio, featured in Mexico in 2012, and wrote the script for the film Enamorándome de Abril. Mr. Conde has taught classes in acting, dance, corporal expression and arts. He has extensive experience working with children in professional staging for theatre, opera and concerts, and in coaching acting with opera singers. He has also worked in design, production management and stage management in several national and international projects. Mr. Conde was the Appretince Stage Director selected for the Merola Opera Program for 2011 at San Francisco Opera Center. He worked as stage director in the world premiere of Viva Verdi
in 2012, the 200 years celebration of Giuseppe Verdi’s birth, at the Hallenstadion, Zürich, under the artistic advice of Lofti Mansouri. He is the General Director of Escenia Ensamble, A. C., a performing arts company in Mexico City supported by the Mexican Government through México en Escena grants, since 2015.
Peter Crompton, is the Set Designer and projections co-designer for Falstaff. He saw his first opera at the age of ten, but had to wait until 1990 before he was allowed to design and paint one. His previous designs for West Bay Opera include I due Foscari, Carmen, Fidelio, Salome, Il trittico, Yevgeny Onegin, Faust, L’elisir d’amore, Otello, Aida, Turandot, Manon Lescaut, The Threepenny Opera, Don Giovanni, La traviata, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Lucia di Lammermoor, and Pagliacci.
Mr. Crompton has designed for Festival Opera, Opera San José, Diablo Light Opera Company, Lamplighters, Bay Area Revels, Marin Theatre Company, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Birmingham Opera, Summer Repertory Theatre in Santa Rosa, Western Ballet, NVC, Santa Barbara Grand Opera, Berkeley Opera, and West Bay Opera, among others. He has won San Francisco Bay Area Critic’s Choice, Shellies, and Goodman Choice awards. Recent productions include Carmen for the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Mary Poppins for Santa Rosa Junior College. Mr. Crompton resides in Santa Rosa, where he teaches set design at Santa Rosa Junior College and Sonoma State University, and tends an increasingly bizarre sculpture garden with his wife Robyn. The garden is open every October for ARTrails. His sculpture can be seen at Hammerfriar Gallery in Healdsburg.
Abra Berman, is the costume designer for Falstaff. She has been designing costumes for over twenty-five years. She was designer for West Bay Opera's productions of Dido and Aeneas, La vida breve, Samson et Dalila, Aida, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Die Zauberflöte, Faust, Rigoletto, Le nozze di Figaro, Salome, Norma, Carmen and La bohème . Other collaborations includes SF Playhouse, Marin Shakespeare Company, Company C Contemporary Ballet, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Berkeley Playhouse, Berkeley Opera, Brava Theatre, Pocket Opera, Lamplighters Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, Alameda Civic Light Opera, Palo Alto Players, The De Young Museum, The Museum of Performance and Design, Hillbarn Theatre, Arclight Theatre, Contra Costa Musical Theatre, Ballet Califia, Cinnabar Theatre, and Sonoma County Repertory Theatre, among others. Abra has an MFA from UCLA in theatrical costume design.
Frédéric O. Boulay, is Projection Designer for Falstaff. He made his debut with West Bay Opera as Projection Designer for Les contes d’Hoffmann, and since then has designed projections for Tosca, L’elixir d'amore, Die Zauberflöte, Il trovatore, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Faust, Rigoletto, Yevgeny Onegin, Madama Butterfly, Le nozze di Figaro, Il trittico,, Salome, Norma, Fidelio, Carmen, La bohème and I due Foscari. Frederic's design work is at the intersection of art and technology, and he loves pushing the boundaries of what can be done on stage using new technology. His upcoming engagements as Projection Designer include A Golden Celebration of Dance at the Chicago Auditorium; a new production of Alice in Wonderland with Mark Foehringer Dance Project|SF in San Francisco and the Youth America Grand Prix at the David Koch Theatre in New York City. A native of France, he is a member of United Scenic Artists and holds both a Masters of Arts in Theatre Design & Production and an Executive MBA. Frédéric is of the Owner and Founder of Oaktown Productions and the Managing Director for Rooster Productions. None of this would be possible without the love and support of his amazing wife Magda and his two young boys Étienne & Théodore.
Lisa Cross is Makeup and Wig Designer for Falstaff. She made her debut as makeup and wig designer with the company in Madama Butterfly, and has since designed Yevgeny Onegin, Le nozze di Figaro, Il trittico, Salome, Norma, Fidelio, Carmen, La bohéme and I due Foscari. She has also designed recently for Festival Opera. Ms. Cross is an accomplished actress, dancer, singer, choreographer, director and teacher. Her professional performing arts career spans over three decades and includes film, video, commercials, stage, dance, voice, and magic. She designs costumes, make up, and hair for stage, film and opera. She recently directed, designed and choreographed Zombeo and Juliet, The Musical, which was produced at Burlingame High School. She has successfully blended her performance experience with a 30-year career in teaching drama, dance, movement and art at Odyssey Middle School.
Giselle Lee is Sound Designer for Falstaff. Giselle grew up in Mountain View and earned a BA in Technical Theatre from Cal State Long Beach. Following a string of SoCal gigs at various convention centers, theatres, and clubs on the Sunset Strip, Giselle returned to the SF Bay. After doing work with Western Ballet she spent time at West Bay Opera under the mentorship of Tod Nixon and JF Revon and went on to secure a position at Beach Blanket Babylon. She stepped in as Sound Designer last season and has designed West Bay Opera's productions of Le nozze di Figaro, Il trittico, Salome, Norma, Fidelio, Carmen, La bohème and I due Foscari.
Shirley Benson, is Properties Designer for Falstaff. Both she and her props were last seen in Lyrics production of Trial by Jury in June, 2017. She will also be working on Oklahoma with Lyric theatre this fall. Other credits with West Bay Opera include I due Foscari, La bohème, Carmen, Fidelio, Norma, Salome, Il trittico, Le nozze di Figaro, Madama Butterfly, Yevgeny Onegin, Rigoletto, Faust, Il trovatore, Die Zauberflöte, L’elisir d’amore, Tosca, Otello, Lucia di Lammermoor, Les contes d'Hoffmann, Aida, Don Giovanni, Samson et Dalila, Dido and Aeneas, La Vida Breve
and Turandot. She has sung in the chorus with Mission City Opera, where she has also been properties manager for seven shows, including The Marriage of Figaro in 2009 and La bohème
in 2010. She designed properties for many of Lyric Theatre of San Jose’s productions, including Camelot, Carousel, Kismet, Brigadoon, a Bollywood-style Sorcerer,
and The Grand Duke. She also designed Utopia Limited
for Lyric Theatre. Ms. Benson has been singing and designing and building props for various community theaters and Bahá'í choirs since the age of 12.
Our productions are made possible, in part, by the generous support of our key partners:
