PROFILE

Dr. Rusthoi's most recent operatic stage performance was an appearance with the Opera Theater of the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in the starring role of Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus. Other recent performances include regular appearances with the United Methodist church of Steamboat, vocal recitals with the Arts Consultancy, and cameo appearances with the Rocky Mountain Hockey League and the Spirituals Project Choir from Denver. In recent years she has performed with the Emerald City Opera (Falstaff), the Heart of Steamboat Concert Series and several appearances with the Steamboat Institute national events featuring former Vice-President Dick Cheney and Alan Dershowitz. She has been a featured artist with the Steamboat Springs Arts Council, the Steamboat Orchestra's Winter Soiree, and has appeared as Countess Almaviva in Emerald City Opera's production of Le Nozze di Figaro as well as in its production of The Elixir of Love in the lead role of Adina. She has also championed new music, joining the Ivy Street Ensemble (Colorado Symphony Orchestra) for two contemporary music concerts in Denver on the Trinity Music and the Englewood Arts Concert Series.

In past seasons, Dr. Rusthoi has appeared in a wide variety of vocal performances with credits in numerous operatic productions throughout the country, appearances as a symphony soloist with several regional orchestras, and made frequent international performances of solo recital concerts for summer music festivals in Europe. (Please see the REPERTOIRE link at the top of this page or click here for specific information.)

Born into a family of dedicated musicians, Keri Rusthoi began her musical instruction at age 7, studying both the piano and viola. A natural musician and performer, Dr. Rusthoi was also actively sought for young stage roles as a singer and actress throughout her childhood. Dr. Rusthoi was an avid competitor and performer in both the vocal and instrumental scene, and received numerous awards and certificates for her talents during her school years, prompting one adjudicator to proclaim, "I have never seen such an abundance of vocal talent in someone her age." Dr. Rusthoi continued to develop her musical abilities during her college career, choosing to focus solely on her vocal gifts. She was rewarded for her collegiate efforts by winning the 1991 Denver Lyric Opera Award and the 1992 Marie Clough Gillis Award for Excellence in Vocal Music while attending The Colorado College.

Dr. Rusthoi completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with Dr. Alfonse Anderson, where she was awarded Outstanding Honors for both juries and other stage appearances. Her early schooling involved study with the eminent Jean Kraft of the Metropolitan Opera (emeritus) for many years. Prior to her operatic studies with Ms. Kraft, she received her academic training from the Manhattan School of Music, earned a master's degree in Vocal Performance from the University of New Mexico, and completed undergraduate work in music at The Colorado College. While pursuing her Master's degree, Dr. Rusthoi was the winner of the New Mexico Symphony Young Artist Competition, and a finalist for the Fulbright Awards to study in Italy.

Dr. Rusthoi is the Founder and former Artistic Director of the Emerald City Opera, now in its eighteenth season (renamed Opera Steamboat.) She currently serves as the Music Director of the Yampa Valley Singers community chorus and enjoys teaching in her private vocal studio. She continues to serve as studio and academic faculty at UNLV and as Music Director for the United Methodist Church of Steamboat Springs, CO. She has been a member of the Adjunct Faculty at the Colorado Mountain College - Alpine Campus for over twenty years, teaching academic courses in Music. She also regularly served as vocal faculty for the Emerald City Opera Artist Institute, the Perry-Mansfield School for the Performing Arts, and Arts for the Soul program. Her consulting business, The Arts Consultancy produces the Yampa Valley Music Teachers Honors Concert, has served as a state grant panelist with Colorado Creative Arts and is providing valuable arts administration services to non-profits in the region.

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DEDICATION to Jean Kraft, Mezzo-Soprano

After a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts and a Master of Music, as well as several years in Manhattan at an internationally-respected conservatory of music, I had “hit a wall” in terms of my vocal technical capabilities with my maturing instrument. I was lucky enough to finally be taught how to sing properly by a bonafide star from The Metropolitan Opera who had retired just down the street from a family friend in rural New Mexico. Only by sheer chance did the universe bring me the opportunity to work with this amazing artist who had done very little actual teaching over the course of her thirty-year performing career at the world’s most important opera house. The eminent mezzo-soprano, Jean Kraft, patiently and insistently rebuilt my voice from the ground up, always believing that I had a unique instrument and an amazing performing talent. Her teaching was unconventional and her pedagogy somewhat controversial, but I’d worked with many, many voice teachers prior to her who had all told me to “do A, not B”. Jean was the first teacher to say to me, “Oh my darling, never do A, only do B.” And it worked. I am forever grateful to Jean Kraft, artiste extraordinaire, for the gift she gave me.

Obituary Mezzo Soprano Jean Kraft Passes at 94

Wikipedia

Conversation Piece: Mezzo-Soprano Jean Kraft

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Opera Voodoo: Casting for Regional Operatic Productions

Paperback – August 30, 2021
by Dr Keri Rusthoi (Author)

Providing real-world guidance and insights for opera producers, Opera Voodoo, is the long-needed "how-to" book for professional opera companies, local amateur productions and university directors. The author discusses the most important roles within any operatic production, how these roles are essential to the final product's success and the best practices for casting agents to utilize when determining hiring choices in order to assemble the most creative, efficient and harmonious production team. Dr. Rusthoi delves into the characteristics and behaviors considered the most valuable when hiring for specific cast and crew positions for full-scale, professional opera productions, and delineates a few of the typical pitfalls that casting agents and/or artistic directors can encounter when building a team for any production. Addressing "red flags" for casting agents, band-aids for unfortunate situations and providing resources for the work of pursuing the best artists, this book is an essential guide for regional professional stage producers everywhere.

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