José Luis Moscovich, is the conductor and stage director for La sonnambula. 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 Corpus Evita, Don Giovanni, La traviata, Pique Dame, Macbeth, Nabucco, Falstaff, 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.
Peter Crompton , is the Set Designer for La sonnambula. 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 Corpus Evita, Der fliegende Holländer, Don Giovanni, La traviata, Pique Dame, Falstaff, 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 (twice), 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.
Callie Floor, is the costume designer for La sonnambula. Previous designs for West Bay Opera include Corpus Evita, Don Giovanni, La traviata, Macbeth, I due Foscari, Fidelio, Il trittico, Yevgeny Onegin, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, L’elisir d’amore, Otello, Don Giovanni, Turandot, La traviata, Madama Butterfly, Der fliegende Holländer, Pique Dame, Manon Lescaut, Lucia di Lammermoor, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Un ballo in maschera, The Marriage of Figaro, Les contes d’Hoffmann, and The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny . Recent projects include The Monster-Builder for Aurora Theatre Co. and Artctic Requiem for Bootstrap Theatre. Ms. Floor earned her BFA from the University of Utah and her Higher Diploma in Theatre Design from the Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London. Since coming to the Bay Area in 1987, she has designed for many theaters, including American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Magic Theatre, Marin Theatre Company, San Francisco Mime Troupe, and Zaccho Dance Theatre.
Frédéric O. Boulay , is Projection Systems Designer for La sonnambula. 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, I due Foscari, Falstaff, Nabucco, Macbeth. Pique Dame, La traviata, Don Giovanni, Der fliegende Holländer and Corpus Evita. 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.
Shirley Benson is Properties Designer for La sonnambula. Both she and her props were last seen in Lyrics production of Oklahoma right before the pandemic. Other credits with West Bay Opera include Corpus Evita, Der fliegende Holländer, Don Giovanni, La traviata, Pique Dame, La bohème, 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.
Giselle Lee is Sound Designer for La sonnambula. 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, theaters, 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, I due Foscari, Falstaff, Nabucco, Macbeth, Pique Dame, La traviata, Don Giovanni, Madama Butterfly and Corpus Evita.
David Gillam returns to WBO as Makeup and Wig Designer for La sonnambula. He made his company debut in that capacity right after the pandemic in Pique Dame, later returning for Madama Butterfly. A designer and author based in New York City, David designed variously for opera, ballet, theatre, independent film, television, and cabaret: the Opera Theatre of Montclair, NJ; Manhattan School of Music’s Opera Outreach Program; the Connecticut Ballet; Off-Broadway for Len Cariou’s Broadway And The Bard; the Spirit of Broadway Theater, Norwich, CT; the Workhouse Theatre; 9th Avenue Film, The Sally Jesse Raphael Show, Broadway By the Year at The Town Hall; and The MAC Awards. David attended Buffalo State College where he studied theatrical costuming, hair and makeup.
