Mark will discuss how new operas like Glory Denied are not getting their due, at least here in the United States. He will mention operas like Cold Mountain, Dead Man Walking, Moby Dick, etc.
MARK JUNKERT (General Director) joined Opera Idaho as Executive Director in 2008 and was named General Director in 2011. He came from New York City and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. In St. Paul, he was Managing Director of Skylark Opera. Concurrently, he served as Executive Director of the Martina Arroyo Foundation, a New York-based organization dedicated to training young opera singers. Mark has also held executive and marketing director positions with The Collegiate Chorale in New York, The National Lutheran Choir in Minneapolis and Augsburg Fortress, a publisher in Minneapolis. A native of Minnesota, Mark studied voice and opera in the Graduate School of Music at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, studying with William Warfield. He received a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Denver. At Opera Idaho he has directed productions of Pagliacci, Hansel and Gretel and Amahl and the Night Visitors. He has served as a judge for the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions in Pocatello, as well as for the Sun Valley Opera Vocal Competition in Seattle. Mark has lectured extensively for The Osher Institute at Boise State University, the Boise City Department of Arts & History, various area clubs and libraries, and before every Met –Live in HD broadcast and every Opera Idaho opera.
