Photo by Greg Mills
(LAFAYETTE, NJ) -- Skylands Museum of Art has announced that Broadway's The Phantom of the Opera singer, Satomi Hofmann will join the May 3, 2025 Artist's Reception for Anne Bachelier, creator of the museum's current exhibition featuring the oil paintings that illuminate the gothic tale. The day's festivities will also include an artist's meet and greet, book signing and silent auction, featuring not only the last three limited-edition editions of Bachelier's books, a new oil painting called "Night of the Masks" but also two "Fondest Greetings" prop letters from the show, both of which were tucked into Madame Giry's bodice then read/sung aloud in performance in the Broadway production.
Hofmann was a member of the cast when The Phantom of the Opera ended its record-breaking run on April 16, 2023 having played 3,642 performances in the roles of Carlotta Giudicelli, Madame Giry and The Confidante. She continues to bring The Phantom of the Opera to life on tour with No More Talk of Darkness, a concert celebration of Broadway music with fellow Phantom cast member Jeremy Stolle, who played the Phantom.
“I’m very proud to support the wonderful Skylands Museum, who has brought the gift of these enigmatic Phantom pieces to the public. It’s very special to see a story I hold so dearly come alive in these remarkable paintings. And being able to see them in person – there is a richness and deliciousness that a photo simply can not capture. This is a full, immersive collection,” said Hofmann. “I am also pleased to lend my voice to honor the artist and her art. Once I saw these beautiful paintings, I knew donating the prop letters from my personal collection – each used in my performance as Madame Giry at the Majestic Theatre - was a must!” said Hofmann.
Photo by Greg Mills
Skylands Museum Founder Ailene Fields said, “Satomi’s voice will add another story-telling layer to the day, we are very happy to have her join us. Art is found in many forms and her artful performances tell the story differently than sculpture, painting and illustration do. We are thrilled to add this live performance to the day’s festivities.”
The museum’s Artist’s Reception will be held on Saturday, May 3 from 12:00pm to 4:00pm to honor the talent of Anne Bachelier, who arrives from France, and concludes the museum’s The Phantom of the Opera temporary exhibition. The 26 oil paintings will return to France with the artist, unlikely to be united again in the USA. The non-profit museum is located at 15 Route 15 in Lafayette, NJ USA. The suggested entry donation of $10 per person includes the event and supports the museum’s expanded hours and cultural programming. To learn more about The Skylands Museum of Art and The Phantom of the Opera exhibition, visit www.skylandsmuseum.org
Satomi Hofmann is a Broadway, television, film, and commercial actress. Credits include M Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin and Law & Order: Organized Crime. Hailing from the San Francisco Bay area, Satomi - who is half Japanese and half German - began her creative pursuits as a classically trained pianist, attending the renowned San Domenico School Virtuoso Program where she trained with classical greats Yehudi Menuhin and Leif Bjaland, among others. During this time, she discovered her additional passions for acting and singing.
A few years after graduating from UCLA’s prestigious theater program, she landed the leading lady role opposite original Phantom of The Phantom of the Opera Michael Crawford, and later opposite the legendary David Cassidy, in the Las Vegas spectacular, EFX.
While working in Las Vegas, Satomi became a founding member of fan-favorite all-female Celtic rock band Killian’s Angels in which she sang and played keyboard, guitar, spoons, bass, and percussion.
Photo by Greg Mills
Her acting work eventually let her east where she joined the Broadway cast of The Phantom of the Opera, bringing her full circle to the boards Mr. Crawford had graced so many years before. Satomi was a member of the cast when The Phantom of the Opera ended its record-breaking run on April 16, 2023 having played 3,642 performances in the roles of Carlotta Giudicelli, Madame Giry and The Confidante. She continues to bring The Phantom of the Opera to life on tour with No More Talk of Darkness, a concert celebration of Broadway music with fellow Phantom alum (having played the Phantom himself) Jeremy Stolle.
Satomi stars in the short film, The Fast Track Program, for which she was nominated for Best Actress in a Short Film at the 2024 Garden State Film Festival, the 2024 Golden Door Film Festival. And the 2024 Newark Film Festival. She also stars in the upcoming feature film Death on the Brandywine, premiering in May at the Cannes Film Festival.
Satomi has been featured in numerous television hits, including Mare of Easttown (HBO MAX), Servant (Apple TV), and FBI: Most Wanted (CBS). She has also appeared in commercials for Bank of America, Smartwater, and Blue Cross Blue Shield, among others.
She is a longtime member of Broadway Hearts, a charity that brings interactive music experiences to children and their families in children’s hospitals across the country.
Anne Bachelier is a contemporary French artist and illustrator known for her surreal and fantastical paintings and detailed painting style. Her art frequently centers around classic tales, literature and mythology. Born in Louvigne du Desert, France in 1949, Anne studied and received her degree from the Ecole des Beaux Arts, La Seyne-Sur-Mer between 1966 and 1970. Her work is characterized by a unique blend of dreamlike imagery and detailed brushwork. The artist captivates her audience with compelling, highly imaginative images that are distinct, unique, inventive and immediately recognizable, which evoke feelings simultaneously powerful, peaceful, and protective. This unique otherworldliness, untouched by time or place, engages the viewer in the eternal dance of transformation and regeneration. Bachelier’s 2005 version of Alice in Wonderland has been called the only Alice where the illustrator has enhanced the story. The art of Anne Bachelier is exhibited in museums and private collections throughout Europe and North America and is on permanent exhibition in New York City, New Jersey and New Orleans. Galleries representing her work include Hôtel de Saulx Gallery in Beaune, France and Galerie Vent des Cimes in Grenoble, France as well as Imagine Gallery in England. Anne Bachelier currently lives and works near Grenoble, France.
The Skylands Museum of Art opened in October 2023 and has been gaining recognition as an important venue for American and international 20th and 21st century art focusing on realism and modern surrealism. Complete with a sculpture garden, the museum is a delightful sanctuary where art, nature, mythology and humanity harmonize. The Skylands Museum of Art is home to a permanent collection of over 300 works of sculpture, paintings, illustrations and more. The collection depicts characters both real and imagined from fairy tales, literature, myth and from the artists’ deep personal connections with the world around them. The gallery rooms are filled with thoughtfully curated examples of approachable surreal and realistic works exploring Fairy Tales, Dragons, Sacred Spaces, the Human Psyche, Faces and Flowers, Baba Yaga (a Ukrainian fairy tale), Eastern vs. Western Animals and Mythology. The museum’s three floors are home to works by noted artists including Anne Bachelier, Brian Branch, Salvador Dali, Ailene Fields, Brian Froud, Leonor Fini, Pablo Picasso, Massimo Rao and many more.
The Skylands Museum of Art is a 501(c)(3) organization, a proud member of ArtPride New Jersey, New Jersey Association of Museums, Institute of Museum and Library Services, Sussex County Arts & Heritage Council and the Sussex County Chamber of Commerce. The museum is supported in part through the generosity members and visitors whose donations have contributed to our expanded hours and programming. Skylands Museum is a first-time grant recipient, meriting funding made available in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, through the State/County Partnership Block Grant Program, as administered by Sussex County Arts and Heritage Council.
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