SENIOR STAFF
Leon Natker’s career was launched at the age of twelve (as the Major General in The Pirates of Penzance) and has spanned two continents and included more than three hundred productions. He was accepted at New York’s Juilliard School (Drama Division) and studied with teachers including John Houseman, and also assisted Gian Carlo Menotti in a production of Don Pasquale. After earning a bachelors degree from Roosevelt University in Theater and Communications, Leon pursued a career in regional theatre and summer stock, performing works including Shakespeare, Chekhov and Williams. He began to seriously study voice at the age of 23 and was soon touring with the Lyric Opera Center for Young Artists in productions of La Cenerentola and The Barber of Seville. Leon made his directing debut at the age of 24 with a production of The Beggar’s Opera. He has worked with such companies as Lyric Opera of Chicago, Oak Park Civic Opera, DuPage Opera Theater, Lincoln Opera, San Diego Opera, The Goodman Theater, California Music Theater, Chamber Opera of Chicago, San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Symphony and San Diego Civic Light Opera. He was a founder of Chicago Opera Theater, where he sang in more than a dozen productions. As a director his productions have included works ranging from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas to Gershwin’s Lady Be Good, and the now infamous “Venice Beach” Gondoliers. Leon continues to perform; among his favorite roles are Canio in I Pagliacci, Siegmund in Die Walküre, Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, Vasek in The Bartered Bride and Tevye in A Fiddler on the Roof. Recent appearances have included the Promusica Chamber Orchestra in Columbus, Ohio, as Colonel Ricci in Sondheim’s Passion, and Nevada Opera in Lucia di Lammermoor. In previous summers Leon has been on the faculty of The American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. He has also taught master classes for the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Ohio State University, Arizona State University and the University of Nevada.
J.
Sherwood Montgomery J. Sherwood Montgomery began his career as a child performer in San Diego. While earning a Bachelor of Arts from San Diego State University, he launched his producing career as president of the Aztec Theater Guild. He holds a Master of Fine Arts from Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont. In 1969 he made his professional debut as artistic director and producer at Circle Arts Theater on Kearny Mesa, with San Diego Artists Incorporated, an organization he founded. This led to a career as a stage designer in regional theaters throughout the country, from Juilliard’s Drama Division (where he worked with John Houseman) to Atlanta’s Alliance Theater and Missouri Repertory Theater in Kansas City. While working there, he was tapped to become the Artistic Director of the oldest community theater in the country, the famed Resident Theater of the Jewish Community Center in Kansas City, Missouri. He was then chosen by Joyce Hall to consult on Hallmark theater projects to be included in that company’s Crown Center Plaza development. Moving to Chicago, Jack worked as co-producer and artistic director of both The Professional Performing Company at Kennedy-King College and the Shawnee Festival Theater in Bloomfield, Indiana. During an eight-year period with these two regional theaters he produced more than 60 productions. While in Chicago, Jack was also involved in the founding of Chicago Opera Theater, served on that organization’s board of directors, and designed the productions for its first two seasons. Since returning to San Diego in 1986, Jack has directed, designed and produced at Starlight, The La Jolla Stage Company, Poway Center for the Arts, The Village Vaudeville, The Coronado Playhouse, San Diego Opera and San Diego Comic Opera. He was associate artistic director of Comic Opera for three seasons prior to being designated artistic director of the company in 1998. In that time he has been involved with more than 30 of the company’s productions. Jack was commissioned by San Diego Opera to write the libretto for a children’s opera, Rip van Winkle, in 1989. As part of San Diego Opera’s Education and Outreach program, this show has introduced thousands of San Diego children to the joy of opera. He is also stage director for the San Diego Opera Ensemble, which tours abridged opera productions throughout the region. Jack has been honored by the governor of Baja California for his work with the Ensemble, which brings opera awareness to audiences south of the Mexican border.
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