Denes Striny
Founder and Artistic Director

Director, Vocal Programs
Principal Conductor

Maestro Denes Striny, Founder and Artistic Director of Shaker Mountain Opera . In 2001, Mr. Striny founded the Shaker Mountain Opera and in the premiere festival season conducted the Albany Symphony Orchestra in concert scenes from Wagner's Die Walkure with an international cast. It was hailed by the press as "stunning," "a gesture worthy of the great Wagner himself," and "an evening to write home about." Striny also conduct­ed an all Verdi program with international soprano Lauren Flanigan, and the operas La Boheme and Lucia di Lammermoor.  The 2002 season had Striny conducting con­cert scenes from Wagner's Gotterdammerung with Metropolitan Opera Soprano Carol Yahr, bass John Cheek, also from the Metropolitan Opera, and Dwight Hill from the Berlin Opera. Other con­certs conducted during the 2002 season were the Music of Richard Strauss with Metropolitan Opera Soprano Carolyn James and Cavalleria Rusticana with Rome Opera Soprano Nina Edwards and Royal Norwegian Opera tenor Thomas Ruud. Striny also conducted fully staged versions of Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, and La Traviata.  Maestro Denes Striny was the principal conductor of the Amalfi Coast Music Festival and Institute in Salerno, Italy for seven years, where he conducted the Rome Chamber Orchestra, and the Badia di Cava Music Festival in Cava de Tirenni, Italy, and the Bulgarian National Orchestra. In 2001, he conducted Cavalleria Rusticana with Metropolitan Opera soprano Myra Merritt, which was broad­cast throughout Italy on RAI Television. The performance was praised as being "authentic in its Italianate spirit" and "charged with electricity". “Striny conducted with precision and control, lead­ing his forces to one exciting climax after another." "It was a night to remember." Maestro Striny was born in St. Paul, Minnesota and attended The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree in voice and Master of Music degree in conducting. As a singer, Mr. Striny has sung leading tenor roles in many of the major opera houses in the United States. He made his European debut with England's Opera North as Walther in Wagner's Die Meistersinger to great critical acclaim. Mr. Striny has also sung throughout Germany, Japan and Australia. For his role in Carmen, the newspaper The Australian wrote, "Tenor Denes Striny's Jose was a knockout!" The Australian Daily Mirror wrote, "Denes Striny and Maria Ewing provided a thrilling and unforgettable night out." The London Financial Times called him "a gutsy clear­ voiced tenor," and Opera News called him "a robust and clarion Radames."  Mr. Striny's vocal studio is producing some of this country's most exciting young singers. His stu­dents include Lauren Flanigan, who after scoring a major triumph singing Verdi's 1 Lombardi at The Metropolitan Opera with Luciano Pavarotti, has gone on to thrill opera audiences throughout the world; Stephanie Friede, soprano, who has sung with the Zurich Opera, Munich Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Opera Brussels, Geneva Opera, and at Bayreuth; Soprano Nina Edwards has sung the title role in Aida with The Rome Opera and went on to sing this same role in Buenos Aires. Carmen Balthrop sings throughout the United States, with The Metropolitan Opera and in other operatic ven­ues, concerts and recitals. Alexandra Hughes, mezzo-soprano, has been heard in concert with James Conlon in Aspen, Colorado and with The San Francisco Opera Ring Cycle. Metropolitan Opera Soprano Carol Yahr, has sung Isolde in Hawaii and in Prague, Carolyn James, noted Metropolitan Opera Soprano, and Lucy Shelton, champion of new music for the past two decades, and many other students in the major opera houses in the United States and Europe. Mr. Striny's first book, Head First: The Language of the Head Voice, with a foreword by inter­national opera legend Birgit Nilsson, is due out soon. Birgit Nilsson is also the Honorary Chair of  the Shaker Mountain Opera. She is a tremendous supporter and friend.  In 2003, Striny conducted a concert version Tosca and  fully staged performances of Manon.

In the 2004 Season Striny will conduct a concert performance of Verdi’s Aida with the Albany Symphony Orchestra and the Shaker Festival Chorus with singers from the Metropolitan , Rome, and LaScala Operas.