John Aler was first in my camera at Juilliard, the American Opera Center, DON PASQUALE, as Ernest Dec. 1972. Sweet sweet voice, two images. I studied the contact sheets and was surprised to see that Jimmy Conlon was the young conductor and Gian Carlo Menotti did the staging.
Now we jump to 1981 and 1982 New York City Opera PURITANI, with Gianna Rolandi as Elvira and John as Arturo. In this image kneeling on right is Raven Wilkinson. At that time I did not know about her important ballet career. See Christy Copeland's ballet book to learn about Raven.
This image is also from Puritani, March 1982. Ashley Putnam was the Elvira. Shooting from the wings was very hard due to the set construction which blocked view.
Dear John, I'm so glad you had a successful career. To friends and family my heartfelt condolences.
