The Christmas Spider
Music by Clint Borzoni
Libretto by John de los Santos
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December 14, 2025 at 2:00pm
Union County Performing Arts Center
Conductor
Stage Director
Richard Nechamkin
Joseph Mayon
Cast
(listed in order of appearance)
Zoya
Dmytro
Federov
Olha Petrina
Caroler's Chorus
(and Olha Petrina cover)
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Genesis Jacinto
Vincent Nativo*
Theodore Chang
Anita Lyons
Lori Rohrs
Instrumentalists
Piano
Flute
Percussion
Richard Nechamkin
Nancy Horowitz
Anita Lyons
Synopsis
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"On a bitterly cold Christmas Eve, a poor woodcutter and his two children have no gifts, barely enough to eat, and are in danger of losing their home to an impatient landlady. The surprise discovery of a large, but gentle arachnid leads to a seemingly miraculous turn of good fortune for the family, reinforcing the importance of love and togetherness.
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Inspired by a Ukrainian legend (which resulted in the placing of spider ornaments on Christmas trees for a lucky New Year), THE CHRISTMAS SPIDER is the third operatic collaboration between composer Clint Borzoni and librettist John de los Santos following When Adonis Calls and The Copper Queen. Their goal is to dramatize a new tale for all ages, complete with an original yuletide carol, that adds to the rich musical tapestry of the holiday canon. "
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https://www.aopopera.org/christmas-spider
Artistic Director
Company Music Director
Company Stage Director
Administrative Director
Outreach and Educational Coordinator
Digital Media Coordinator
Company Staff
Joseph Mayon
Richard Nechamkin
Dennis Oliveira
Anita Lyons
Kelly Wenz
Michelle Tolentino
* New Jersey Opera Theater Mainstage Debut
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Richard Nechamkin - Conductor Mr. Nechamkin is a conductor, pianist and vocal coach with 40 years of experience and a repertoire of over 75 operas. He is the founder, artistic director and conductor of New York Opera Forum. Richard's extensive experience includes musical direction and conducting for the Atlantic Chamber Orchestra (comprised of members from the Philadelphia Orchestra), Johanna Meier Opera Institute, Opera-On-The-Go, New York Lyric Opera, New York Opera Theatre and Ottocento Opera Company. He has held staff positions at New York City Opera, Mississippi Opera, New York Grand Opera, Amato Opera and Hudson Valley Opera. In the 1980s, he was Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Y Sinfonietta, an orchestra based in Flushing, NY.
Richard was associate musical director (2002-2008), and is assistant conductor of the Natchez Festival of Music (2014-present) and Mississippi Opera (since 2012). Richard is also presently Artistic Director and Conductor of New York Opera Forum, as well as conducting for The North Jersey Symphony Orchestra, and the Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Company.
Richard has accompanied many singers, including Montserrat Caballe, Susanne Marsee and Gabriella Tucci, and has played for the voice studios of Tucci, Marsee, Joshua Hecht, Johanna Meier, Renata Scotto, Carol and Nico Castel, Betty Allen, Michael Warren and Gary Glaze among others. In addition he arranged and conducted several film scores, and has served as music director for two off- off- Broadway productions.
Richard is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, and studied conducting with Pierre Boulez, Sixten Ehrling and Anton Coppola.
Joseph Mayon – Stage Director Tenor Joseph Mayon has performed in opera, concerts, oratorios, recitals, and musical theater internationally and throughout the United States. A Rahway, NJ resident and Louisiana native, Mayon attended Interlochen Arts Academy, Louisiana State University, University of Denver, and Brooklyn College Conservatory. Mayon has performed with New Jersey Opera Theater, Taconic Opera, Rome Festival Opera, Hudson Opera Theater, New York Dramatic Voices, TUNDI’s Wagner in Vermont Festival, New York Opera Forum, West Side Opera, Underworld Opera, Harmony Project NYC, and Vera Musica. Roles include Siegmund (Die Walküre), Florestan (Fidelio), Parsifal (Parsifal Act 2), Pollione (Norma), Siegfried (Götterdämmerung Prologue), Luigi (Il Tabarro), Idomeneo (Idomeneo), Carlo (Giovanna D’Arco), & Loge (Das Rheingold).
Upcoming performances include Siegfried in Siegfried in New Jersey Opera Theater’s production in May of 2026. Mayon is the Founder and Artistic Director of New Jersey Opera Theater at the Union County Performing Arts Center. He is also the founder of The Mayon School of Performing Arts, LLC, teaching musical theater after school programs and private voice.
Cast
(listed in order of appearance)
Genesis Jacinto – Zoya Genesis is no stranger to the New Jersey Opera Theater stage, as she was previously seen in our production of Amahl and the Night Visitors as part of our Ensemble. We are thrilled she is making her lead role debut with us today. Genesis has been in 13 different plays and operas, alongside choir and many classes on the performing arts. Besides theater, she is also involved with other arts forms such as writing, sculpting and painting.
Vincent Nativo - Dmytro 14 year old Vincent Nativo makes his New Jersey Opera Theater debut in the lead role of Dmytro in Clint Borzoni’s The Christmas Spider. A rising young performer with a natural performative energy and a powerful emotional range, Vincent has quickly become recognized for his expressive storytelling and disciplined stage presence.​
Vincent has performed in school productions, theaters, and earned praise for his ability to bring depth to complex characters. The Christmas Spider marks his first leading role in a professional opera production, and he is honored to help bring this new holiday work to life. When he is not performing, Vincent enjoys practicing his guitar, acting, singing with the C-tonians & Music Ministry all at Seton Hall Preparatory High School. He is grateful to the New Jersey Opera Theater creative team for this opportunity and to his family and teachers for their constant support.
Theodore Chang - Federov Theodore Chang is a baritone who hails from the New York City metro area. Upcoming engagements include Rochefort in Anna Bolena with New York Opera Forum, covering Caretto in Korngold’s Die stumme Serenade with Mannes Opera, as well as Don Fernando and covering Don Pizzaro in Beethoven’s Fidelio with the Sotto Voce Opera Collective. Previous performance credits include Flora’s Servant, Marchese d’Obigny (cover) and Germont (cover) in La Traviata with New Jersey Opera Theater, the Editor in Michael Ching’s Notes on Viardot with Music on Site, Inc., both Masetto and Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni with Chicago Summer Opera, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte with the Queen’s Summer Vocal Institute, Mr. Jones in Street Scene and Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro both with Frost Opera Theatre. He has also served as an auxiliary chorister with Florida Grand Opera, singing in productions of L’elisir d’amore and Carmen.
He is a current graduate student in voice at the Mannes School of Music, studying under Professor Stephen Powell and earned his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, under the tutelage of Metropolitan Opera baritone Kim Josephson. In addition, he is a proud member of the eVoco Voice Collective, an award-winning choir ensemble from Long Island, where he currently resides.
Anita Lyons – Olha Petrina - soprano, is excited to be returning to the UCPAC stage for the third time. Rahway audiences will recognize her from New Jersey Opera Theater’s production of Norma, where she played the title role, and she returned a year later to sing the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. Having most recently been seen as Maddalena di Coigny in Andrea Chenier and in the title role of Adriana Lecouvreur with New York Opera Forum. She was also seen as the Mother in Wilmington Concert Opera’s production of Hänsel und Gretel. Her varied career also recently saw her in the Off-Broadway production of a dramatic retelling of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and in the Ullman Project’s The Emperor of Atlantis in Pleasantville, NY. During the pandemic, she played the Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas) in Wilmington’s Concert Opera’s virtual production. Upcoming engagements include the title role of Turandot with New York Opera Forum.
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Previous seasons have included her role debut as Brünnhilde (Götterdämmerung) with NY Verismo Wagner Opera Guild and the Mother/Witch (Hansel and Gretel) at the Palace Theatre in Stamford,
CT. She joined the Summit Symphony (NJ) to sing Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder. Ms. Lyons was honored to sing Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana) in a performance under the auspices of the Japanese embassy to raise funds for the Earthquake victims of Kumamoto. Other roles to her credit include Sieglinde (Die Walküre), Brünnhilde (Siegfried), Giorgetta (Il Tabarro), Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), Leonore (Fidelio), Elisabetta (Don Carlo), and the title roles of Elektra and La Gioconda. Radio appearances include Minnesota and Peoria Public Radio.
She has performed at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Snug Harbor, Columbia University, Indianapolis Opera, Garden State Opera, Boheme Opera NJ, Riverside Opera Company, Opera Theatre of Montclair, Somerset Symphony, Summit Symphony, Bach Society of Minnesota, North Star Opera (St. Paul, MN), and the Twin Cities Chamber Orchestra. Instagram @anitalyonsopera
Lori Rohrs – Caroler's Chorus/Olha Petrina Cover – Lori is excited to return to the Union County Performing Arts Center, having previously performed with New Jersey Opera Theater as a Valkyrie in Die Walküre and the Foreign Princess (cover) in Rusalka.
Lori has performed with American and European orchestras to critical acclaim. Her powerful voice was identified by the Fresno Bee, in the World Premier of the Sisters of Manzanar: “Rohrs, as the younger sister, was strong and sure in the role, and her diction was clear and precise clear to the back of the [3,000 seat theater].” As an actor-singer, Ms. Rohrs’ was praised by Opera News for her performance at Lincoln Center: “Standouts. . . included Lori Rohrs, exuberantly funny as Zita in Schicchi.” Upcoming roles include, among others, Maddalena in Andrea Chénier and a return to the roles of Donna Anna and Turandot. Beyond her many premiers of contemporary operas, past seasons have included the title roles in Aida, Ariadne auf Naxos, Suor Angelica, Turandot and Fidelio, Brünnhilde and Third Norn (Götterdämmerung), Sieglinde, Helmwige, Gerhilde and Siegrune (Die Walküre), Elettra
(Idomeneo), Mother and Witch (Hansel and Gretel), Elisabetta (Don Carlo), Alice Ford (Falstaff), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Madama Altina (La Divina), Elisabetta (Roberto Devereux), Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito), Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier), Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera) and Kundry (Parsifal).