BOARD OF DIRECTORS
STAFF
Lidiya Yankovskaya / Conductor & Artistic Director
Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya is a fiercely committed advocate for Slavic masterpieces, operatic rarities, and contemporary works on the leading edge of classical music. She has conducted more than 40 world premieres, including 16 operas, and her strength as a visionary collaborator has guided new perspectives on staged and symphonic repertoire from Carmen and Queen of Spades to Price and Prokofiev. Her daring performances before and amid the pandemic earned recognition from the Chicago Tribune, which praised her as “the very model of how to survive adversity, and also how to thrive in it,” while naming her 2020 Chicagoan of the Year.
As Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, Lidiya is one of only two women to hold that title at a multimillion-dollar opera company in the United States. Under her leadership, COT has established the Vanguard Initiative, a three-pronged investment in new opera that includes a two-year residency for emerging opera composers.
Lidiya’s experiences as a refugee inspired her to found the Refugee Orchestra Project, which proclaims the cultural and societal relevance of refugees through music, and has brought that message to hundreds of thousands of listeners around the world. A sought-after speaker, she has led sessions at the League of American Orchestras and Opera America conferences, and recently served as U.S. Representative to the World Opera Forum in Madrid.
As Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, Lidiya is one of only two women to hold that title at a multimillion-dollar opera company in the United States. Under her leadership, COT has established the Vanguard Initiative, a three-pronged investment in new opera that includes a two-year residency for emerging opera composers.
Lidiya’s experiences as a refugee inspired her to found the Refugee Orchestra Project, which proclaims the cultural and societal relevance of refugees through music, and has brought that message to hundreds of thousands of listeners around the world. A sought-after speaker, she has led sessions at the League of American Orchestras and Opera America conferences, and recently served as U.S. Representative to the World Opera Forum in Madrid.
Allison Provaire / Executive Director
Soprano Allison Provaire has been hailed for her "gleaming tone" as an up and coming artist in the Boston area where she has performed with several companies including Lowell House Opera, Opera Brittenica, Boston Opera Collaborative, Odyssey Opera and as a soloist with Calliope Music Ensemble of Boston. Recent credits include Mrs. Webb (Our Town), Mrs. Gross (Cover, Turn of the Screw), Lady Billows (Albert Herring), and Kitty Hart (Dead Man Walking).
Allison has also been seen abroad as a soloist with the International Lyric Academy of Rome as part of the Tuscia Opera Festival in Viterbo, Italy under the direction of Timothy Leon of L.A. Opera, as well as in China where she was a soloist with the Cultural Arts and Music Festival of Shanghai. Allison has been an invited singer in masterclasses throughout Boston and abroad and has worked with The Metropolitan Opera's Nico Castel, renowned Baritone Anton Belov, and International Conductor Maestro Stefano Vignati, among several others. Allison also enjoys working with organizations in an administrative capacity and has served as the Development Assistant and Financial Officer for Boston Opera Collaborative. She currently volunteers her time as an Event Planner and Administrative Coordinator for a women’s advocacy group within the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she also works as an Executive Assistant and Development Assistant.
Allison has also been seen abroad as a soloist with the International Lyric Academy of Rome as part of the Tuscia Opera Festival in Viterbo, Italy under the direction of Timothy Leon of L.A. Opera, as well as in China where she was a soloist with the Cultural Arts and Music Festival of Shanghai. Allison has been an invited singer in masterclasses throughout Boston and abroad and has worked with The Metropolitan Opera's Nico Castel, renowned Baritone Anton Belov, and International Conductor Maestro Stefano Vignati, among several others. Allison also enjoys working with organizations in an administrative capacity and has served as the Development Assistant and Financial Officer for Boston Opera Collaborative. She currently volunteers her time as an Event Planner and Administrative Coordinator for a women’s advocacy group within the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where she also works as an Executive Assistant and Development Assistant.
Zachary Goodman / Associate Conductor
Considered by many to be a vibrant and inspired young conductor, Zachary Goodman began studying orchestral conducting in Paris, France at l’École Normale de Musique de Paris and la Schola Cantorum. Recently, he obtained his Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting from the Mannes College of Music. Zachary is a recipient of the Buffalo Philharmonic Julius Rudel Fellowship, serving as cover conductor under JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Zachary works regularly in New York City having most notably collaborated with the soprano Frederica von Stade in the 2016 production with American Songbook of Ricky Ian Gordon’s “A Coffin in Egypt,” On-Site Opera’s production of Britten’s “Turn of the Screw,” and the NYC premiere of Julian Wachner’s “Rev 23” for the PROTOTYPE Festival. A two-time guest conductor with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Zachary has dedicated himself to evolving the musical language by championing living composers and reimagining the classics through inter-disciplinary presentations
John Connolly / Director of Marketing & Communications
John has extensive experience in the arts, from his time as theatre manager at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester to his time with the Mayor's Office of Arts, Tourism & Special Events in Boston. He has held other marketing leadership positions at the Boston Children's Chorus, Urban Nutcracker, School For International Training, World Learning and has served on various marketing committees with the Boston Harbor Islands Alliance, Boston Lyric Opera. He is currently co-chair for the City Ballet of Boston. One of his favorite jobs though was when he was site supervisor for the Boston Landmarks Orchestra in 2003. He currently works at the Harvard Art Museums.