Aldo Abreu

Recorder

Aldo Abreu has taken the recorder and its repertoire to many prestigious venues throughout the United States, Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and his native Venezuela.  Since winning First Prize at the 1992 Concert Artists Guild Competition, Mr. Abreu has been heard in recital at the Ambassador Auditorium in Los Angeles, the Gardner Museum in Boston, Northwestern University’s Pick-Staiger Hall in Chicago, Spivey Concert Hall in Atlanta, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York. 

Laureate of the Premio Flauto Dolce (Germany) and the Concours Musica Antiqua (Belgium), Mr. Abreu has been featured in many festivals including Spoleto, OK Mozart, Boston Early Music Festival and Recorder 200 in Australia.  He has been a concerto soloist with Solisti New York, the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque the West Shore Symphony, the Illinois Chamber Symphony, the Savannah Symphony, the Billings Symphony, and the Dubuque Symphony Orchestra 

Mr. Abreu frequently performs contemporary works for the recorder.  Among them, The Kid from Venezuela by composer Pete Rose, Echoes and Shadows by Christopher Cook, Concerto for Recorder and Orchestra, commissioned from Ricardo Lorenz by Concert Artists Guild, and most recently, Concerto for Recorders and Orchestra by Lawrence Weiner, were written for Mr. Abreu.  Mr. Abreu has also explored the rich but rarely heard music by Latin American composers of the Baroque and Contemporary periods. Mr Abreu teaches on the faculties of New England Conservatory, Boston University and Berklee College. 

Mr Abreu has been for many years, the principal recorder player for Boston Baroque, Boston’s Premier Baroque Orchestra, conducted by Martin Pearlman.  He has participated in numerous Boston Baroque opera, oratorio and cantata productions by Handel, Purcell, Bach and Monterverdi.  He has also appeared many times as a concerto soloist in their New Year Celebration concerts.  

Mr Abreu is on the faculties of New England Conservatory, where he is the chair of the Early Music Department of the NEC Preparatory School, and of the Boston University Historical Performance Department in the College of Fine Arts.  In October 2019, Mr Abreu has been appointed El Sistema Symphonic Ensemble Conductor at the East Somerville Community School. 

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AVERY AMEREAU

Contralto

A native of Jupiter, Florida, Avery Amereau studied at Mannes College and The Juilliard School, where she was the proud recipient of a Kovner Fellowship and the Shoshana Foundation 2017 Richard F Gold Career Grant.

She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2016 as the Madrigal Singer in Puccini’s Manon Lescaut and has since sung at the Glyndebourne Festival (Dryad/Ariadne); Seattle Opera (Ursula/Beatrice et Benedict); Opera Columbus (Carmen) and at the Grand Théâtre de Genève (Cherubino/Nozze di Figaro). This season, Avery will sing Alcina/Bradamante, at Glyndebourne and in her house and role debut for the Hannover Staatsoper, as well as Irene/Bajazet for Portland Opera. On the concert platform Avery will open the season with the world premiere of ‘The Listeners’ by Caroline Shaw on a US concert tour with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Avery will also sing Messiah with Bernard Labadie and the National Arts Centre Orchestra, perform Mahler 2 at Salisbury Cathedral and record her debut solo album, also with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra.

Recent concerts include Dido and Aeneas at the Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam with Early Opera Company, Vivaldi arias with the Orchestra of St Luke’s in New York; Mozart’s Requiem with the Rhode Island Philharmonic and Bramwell Tovey; Bach’s St John Passion and Duruflé’s Requiem with the Voices of Ascension, New York; Berlioz Les Nuits D’été and Brahms Alto Rhapsody with the American Classical Orchestra, and concerts of Handel and Vivaldi with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Nicholas McGegan. Exceptional in baroque repertoire, she has worked with William Christie, Helmuth Rilling and Maasaki Suzuki, and at the Bachfest Leipzig and the Boston Early Music Festival.

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PAUL APPLEBY

Tenor

October 4
2024

Boston Baroque debut

Admired for his interpretive depth, vocal strength, and range of expressivity, tenor Paul Appleby is one of the most sought-after voices of his generation. He graces the stages of the world’s most distinguished concert halls and opera houses and collaborates with leading orchestras, instrumentalists, and conductors. Opera News writes, “[Paul’s] tenor is limpid and focused, but with a range of color unusual in an instrument so essentially lyric... His singing is scrupulous and musical; the voice moves fluidly and accurately.”

Mr. Appleby’s concert calendar for the 2024- 2025 season includes the title role of Berlioz’ La damnation de Faust with Hannu Lintu leading the Gulbenkian Orchestra and Choir; Haydn’s The Creation with Martin Pearlman and Boston Baroque; concert performances of Puccini’s La Rondine with Sir Antonio Pappano and the London Symphony Orchestra; John Corigliano’s captivating Poem in October, inspired by a rich and imaginative poem by Dylan Thomas, with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center; and Evangelist in Bach’s Matthäus-Passion with Kent Tritle at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. The tenor returns to the stage of The Metropolitan Opera for the company premiere of John Adams’ Antony and Cleopatra, reprising the role of Caesar which was written for him, in a staging by groundbreaking director Elkhanah Pulitzer.

Mr. Appleby gave the world premiere of Antony and Cleopatra at San Francisco Opera conducted by Music Director Eun Sun Kim and other highlights of the recent past include the title role of Bernstein’s Candide for the Opéra de Lyon, Los Angeles Philharmonic performances of John Adams’ Girls of the Golden West under the baton of the composer as well as Die Zauberflöte with Music Director Gustavo Dudamel, Handel’s Samson with the Dunedin Consort at the Edinburgh International Festival, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with David Zinman and the Bamberger Symphoniker, Bach’s Matthäus-Passion both with the New York Philharmonic and Hong Kong Philharmonic conducted by Jaap van Zweden, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Marin Alsop leading the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Britten’s Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings with the Met Orchestra Chamber Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, and a wide range of repertoire and on numerous occasions in North America and Europe with his frequent musical partner Manfred Honeck.

A leading artist of The Metropolitan Opera, where his association with the company has yielded critically acclaimed performances, Mr. Appleby has bowed in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg led both by Sir Antonio Pappano and James Levine, Rodelinda conducted by Harry Bicket, the title role of Pelléas et Mélisande conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, The Rake’s Progress under the baton of James Levine, and the North American premiere of Nico Muhly’s Two Boys with David Robertson. Celebrated as a distinguished Mozartean, he has bowed at The Metropolitan Opera in the leading tenor roles of Don Giovanni and Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

Mr. Appleby is a founding core member of the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC) and is a graduate of The Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program. A recipient of an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies at The Juilliard School, he also earned a Master’s Degree from Juilliard and a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature and in Music from the University of Notre Dame.

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Mario Bahg

Tenor

Tenor Mario Bahg graduated from Korea National University of Arts where he sang the role of Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto. He recently received his master’s degree from Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts. He has appeared as a soloist in Haydn’s Die Schöpfung and Christmas Oratorio at Mainfranken Theater Würzburg and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Konzerthaus Berlin. He has also performed in a gala concert of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Verdi’s Requiem with Bergen Symphony Orchestra, and at Kirsten Flagstad Festival in Norway.

He is the first prize and opera aria award winner in the aria division at the 2018 Montreal International Music Competition, and first prize at the 2017 Queen Sonja International Music Competition. Other notable recognition includes first prize at the 2016 Citta di Alcamo Competition (Italy), second prize at the 8th DEBUT European Opera Singing Competition (Germany), and second prize at the 2016 Wilhelm Stenhammar International Music Competition (Sweden).

Mario is currently a member of The Metropolitan’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.  He is also the proud recipient of the Joseph Rouleau Career Development Grant funded by the Azrieli Foundation.

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justin
bland

Trumpet

Applauded for his “gleaming trumpet work” (Hyde Park Herald) and “dazzling virtuosity” (Grunion Gazette), the American trumpeter Justin Bland is a versatile musician, performing on both historical and modern trumpets. He specializes in early music, most notably in difficult high-register music for Baroque trumpet; for example, he has played Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 with groups in Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Germany, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Sweden, and the USA. Before formally studying Baroque trumpet, Justin won first prize in multiple historical instruments divisions of the National Trumpet Competition. As a highly sought-after solo/principal Baroque trumpeter, Dr. Bland has performed with several leading early music ensembles throughout North America including American Bach Soloists, Apollo’s Fire, Bach Collegium San Diego, Boston Baroque, Handel and Haydn Society, Lyra Baroque Orchestra, Musica Angelica, Scaramella, Tempesta di Mare, Washington Bach Consort, and many others. He has also played in South America with Ensamble Barroco de Bogotá.

Now living in Denmark, Justin continues to perform as both a soloist and ensemble musician, combining ongoing North American engagements with new collaborations with leading Baroque ensembles in Denmark as well as in the rest of Scandinavia and Europe. In Europe he has played with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Arte dei Suonatori, Barockorchester L’Arco, Barokksolistene, BaroqueAros, Camerata Øresund, Croatian Baroque Ensemble, Enghave Barok, ensemble Paulus Barokk, Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Göteborg Baroque, Göttinger Barockorchester, Händelfestspielorchester Halle, Höör Barock, Les Arts Florissants, Nivalis Barokk, the Næstved Early Music Festival, Orkester Nord (previously known as Trondheim Barokk), Sächsisches Barockorchester, TSO Tidlig (the early music band of the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera), Wrocław Baroque Ensemble, and several others.

As a modern trumpeter, Justin has experience performing in orchestras, wind ensembles, jazz ensembles, pit orchestras for opera and musical theater, British brass bands, and numerous chamber ensembles. Before beginning his college career, he was principal trumpeter of the DC Youth Orchestra and had the opportunity to tour Japan as a trumpet soloist. He also performed regularly with the Prince George’s Philharmonic while in high school. More recently, he as appeared as a soloist with the South Dakota Symphony, the Firelands Symphony, and the Las Vegas Sinfonietta.

In addition to being a trumpeter, Justin is also a countertenor and has sung with Apollo’s Fire and Opera Cleveland. While in Ohio working on his Master’s degree, he was an alto section leader in the chamber and chancel choirs at Trinity Cathedral in downtown Cleveland and was the countertenor with Cantores Cleveland (now Contrapunctus). Justin also plays recorder and has performed with ensembles including Croatian Baroque Ensemble, Enghave Barok, Finnish Baroque Orchestra, Orkester Nord, and Nivalis Barokk.

Justin earned his DMA in trumpet performance from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He received his MA in early music performance practices from Case Western and his BM in trumpet performance from the University of Maryland. His primary trumpet teachers include Chris Gekker, Barry Bauguess, Steven Hendrickson, Steven Trinkle, and Justin Emerich. He has studied voice with Delores Zeigler, Ellen Hargis, and Aaron Sheehan. As a graduate assistant, Justin taught courses in ear training and music appreciation, and was a harpsichord tuner.

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Jesse Blumberg

Baritone

Baritone Jesse Blumberg enjoys a busy schedule of opera, concerts, and recitals, performing repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque to the 20th and 21st centuries. He has performed featured roles at Minnesota Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Boston Early Music Festival, Opera Atelier, and at Château de Versailles Spectacles and London’s Royal Festival Hall.

Jesse has sung major concert works with Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, American Bach Soloists, Boston Baroque, Carmel Bach Festival, Apollo’s Fire, Oratorio Society of New York, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and on Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series.  He has been increasingly active on concert stages in Canada for the last several years, appearing with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, Early Music Vancouver, Arion Baroque, Grand Philharmonic Choir, and at the Montréal Baroque Festival.‍

Jesse’s recital highlights include appearances with the New York Festival of Song, Marilyn Horne Foundation, and University Musical Society in Ann Arbor, in addition to teaching and performing residencies at song festivals across the United States.  He is very proud to have participated in the world premieres of several acclaimed American operas and song cycles, and works closely with many renowned composers as a member of the Mirror Visions Ensemble.

He has been featured on nearly thirty commercial recordings, including the 2015 Grammy-winning and 2019 Grammy-nominated Charpentier Chamber Operas with Boston Early Music Festival.  Jesse’s other albums include Bach cantatas with Montréal Baroque, Winterreise with pianist Martin Katz, Rosenmüller cantatas with ACRONYM, Green Sneakers with the Miami String Quartet, and St. John Passion with Apollo’s Fire, as well as American Bach Soloists’ 2015 film release Handel’s Messiah in Grace Cathedral. 

Jesse received undergraduate degrees in History and Music from the University of Michigan and a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, before participating in young artist programs at Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, the Ravinia Festival, and Chicago Opera Theater.  His early career was buoyed by recognition in several competitions in the U.S. and Europe.  In 2007 he took First Prize at the International Hilde Zadek Singing Competition in Vienna, and in 2008 he was awarded Third Prize at the International Robert Schumann Competition in Zwickau, becoming its first American prizewinner in over thirty years. 

A passionate advocate for chamber music in its myriad forms, in 2007 Jesse co-founded Five Boroughs Music Festival in New York City and for twelve years served as its Artistic Director. In 2021 and 2022 he stepped into a Visiting Faculty position at The Cleveland Institute of Music, and continues to enjoy private teaching as well as the occasional masterclass and guest coaching engagement. Starting in Fall 2023, Jesse will be based in both Toronto and NYC, enthusiastically making musical connections across North America and beyond.

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Julie Boulianne

Mezzo-soprano

French-Canadian mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne is acclaimed for the vocal agility and expressive power of her dark-hued tone, focusing on the works of Berlioz, Mozart, and Rossini.

“Julie Boulianne’s Marguerite is gloriously sung, her sound replete with grace and power.”

— The Independent

During the 2021-2022 season, Ms. Boulianne returns to the Metropolitan Opera as the title role in Massenet’s Cinderella, in a new production for family audiences, the Wiener Staatsoper as Charlotte in Werther, and both the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, and the Glyndebourne Festival as Dorabella in Così fan tutte. Additionally, in her native Québec, she joins Opéra de Montréal as Rose Valland in the world premiere of Julien Bilodeau’s La Beauté du Monde and Opéra de Québec as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. On the concert stage, Ms. Boulianne performs César Franck’s Redemption with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by James Gaffigan, Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, and Ravel’s Shéhérazade and Cinq mélodies populaires grecques with Orchestre Classique de Montréal.

Cancellations due to the Covid-19 pandemic include a return to the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden as Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, the Metropolitan Opera as Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier for a new production with La Monnaie de Munt in Brussels, Duruflé’s Requiem with both the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Les Violons du Roy, Vivaldi’s Gloria and select concert arias for her debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mozart’s Requiem with the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, and Debussy’s Cinq poèmes de Charles Baudelaire with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and Robin Ticciati.

In the 2020-2021 season, Ms. Boulianne appeared as Dorabella with the Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, while in concert she performed a Christmas concert with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with the Orchestre de chambre McGill, and a concert utilizing the works of Canada’s indigenous composers with Orchestre Classique de Montréal.

In the 2019-2020 season, Ms. Boulianne performed with the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden on tour in Japan, performing Siébel in Faust, the title role in Mignon with Oper Frankfurt, Robin-Luron in Laurent Pelly’s production of Le Roi Carotte with Opéra de Lyon, La Mort de Cléopâtre with Orchestre de l'Opéra de Rouen, and Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Vancouver Opera. Concert engagements included Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Metropolitain in both Montréal and Ottawa, as well as Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliette with Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra.

In past seasons, Julie Boulianne has appeared as Marguerite in Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust (Glyndebourne Festival, San Sebastián Music Festival, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Festival Opéra de Québec) Charlotte in Werther (Oper Frankfurt, Opéra de Québec, Ópera de Colombia), Juliette in Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliette (Opéra national de Paris, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin with Robin Ticciati, l’Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, BBC Proms with Sir John Eliot Gardiner), the title role in Béatrice et Bénédict (Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse), Aloès in Chabrier’s L’Étoile (Royal Opera House at Covent Garden, Dutch National Opera), Annio in La Clemenza di Tito (Opernhaus Zürich with Ottavio Dantone, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse), Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro (Vancouver Opera, Opéra de Montréal), the title role in La Cenerentola (Opéra-Théâtre de Limoges, Opéra de Montréal), the title role in Cendrillon (Opéra de Montréal, l’Opéra de Marseille), Sesto in Giulio Cesare (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Theater an der Wien, Aalto-Musiktheater, San Sebastián Music Festival), Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (Théâtre des Champs-Elysées), Rosina in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Opéra de Québec), The Cabaret Singer and Bad Pupil in Philippe Boesmans Pinocchio (Festival Aix-en-Provence, La Monnaie de Munt, Opéra de Dijon), Giunone in Legrenzi’s La divisione del mondo (Opéra National du Rhin, Opéra National de Lorraine, Opéra Royal de Versailles), and Concepción in L’Heure espagnole (Angers Nantes Opéra, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire).

At the Metropolitan Opera, Ms. Boulianne has appeared as Siébel in Faust, Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette conducted by Plácido Domingo, Diane in Stephen Wadsworth’s production of Iphigénie en Tauride, the Kitchen-Boy in Rusalka with Renée Fleming, and Ascanio in Francesca Zambello’s production of Les Troyens conducted by Fabio Luisi.

Recent orchestral engagements have included Berlioz’ The Childhood of Christ with Royal Albert Hall, Toronto Symphony Orchestra in Mozart’s Mass in C minor, San Francisco Symphony and Orchestra of St. Luke’s in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, Cleveland Orchestra singing the title role in The Cunning Little Vixen conducted by Franz Welser-Möst, Charles Dutoit and the Boston Symphony Orchestra in L’enfant et les sortilèges, the Baltimore Symphony singing Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Marin Alsop, Saito Kinen Festival in Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher, Mostly Mozart Festival in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Lincoln Center, Honegger and Ibert’s L’Aiglon with Kent Nagano at the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Schéhérazade and 5 mélodies populaires grecques with the Essen Philharmonic and Hans Graaf, Ravel’s Shéhérazade with Emmanuel Villaume and the Utah Symphony, Les Nuits d’été at the Concertgebouw with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra and with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, performances of Bach’s Magnificat and select Bach cantatas with I Musici de Montréal, and Handel arias with Les Violons du Roy at Domaine Forget in Montréal, Chausson’s Poeme de l’amour et de la mer and Beethoven’s Egmont Schauspielmusik with the Bamberg Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with the Colorado Symphony, Haydn’s Theresienmesse with Les Violons du Roy, Haydn’s Harmoniemesse with the Orchestre Symphonique de Québec and Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Orchestre Métropolitain, Gulbenkian Musicá in Lisbon, Portugal in the Pergolesi Stabat Mater, Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Atlanta Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Calgary Philharmonic and Mozart’s Requiem with the San Antonio Symphony.

In March 2009, Naxos Records released a recording of Shéhérazade and L’enfant et les sortilèges featuring Ms. Boulianne and the Nashville Symphony, which was nominated for the Grammy® Award for Best Classical Album. Ms. Boulianne can also be heard on a 2011 ATMA Classique release of Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Kindertotenlieder. She recorded L’Aiglon by Ibert and Honegger under the baton of Kent Nagano released by Decca in 2016, and two CDs with Luc Beauséjour released by Analekta: “Handel & Porpora – The London Years”, and recently, “Alma Opressa, Vivaldi – Handel: Arias”. 

A graduate of McGill University’s Schulich School of Music, Juilliard, and Université de Montréal, Julie Boulianne won First Prize in both the Canadian Music Competition and the Joy of Singing Competition in New York. She has been awarded the International Vocal Arts Institute’s Silverman Prize, and in 2007, the Prix de la Chambre des Directeurs for Most Promising Career at the Concours International de Chant de Montréal.

michelle
bradley

Soprano

Michelle Bradley, a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, is beginning to garner great acclaim as one of today’s most promising Verdi sopranos.

Michelle Bradley, a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, is beginning to garner great acclaim as one of today’s most promising Verdi sopranos.

This season Ms. Bradley debuts with the San Francisco Opera as Madame Lidoine in Dialogues des Carmélites and returns to the Metropolitan Opera as the title-role in Aida, a role she will also perform for the Fort Worth Opera.  She will return to the San Diego Opera as the title-role in Tosca and will debut in Japan as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at the Hyogo Performing Arts Center.  In concert Ms. Bradley will sing the soprano soloists in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Eva Ollikainen at the Hollywood Bowl and in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Baltimore Symphony and James Conlon.  Future projects include a return to the Lyric Opera of Chicago in a leading role.

Last season Michelle Bradley made her debut with the Lyric Opera of Chicago as the title-role in Tosca and with the Savonlinna Opera Festival in the title-role in Aida and returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Liù in Turandot.  In concert, she debuted with the San Francisco Symphony and Daniel Stewart as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with the Atlanta Symphony and Nicola Luisotti as the title-role in Act 3 of Aida and with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Tanglewood.  She was also heard in a pair of solo recitals for the San Diego Opera with Brian Zeger at the piano.

The previous season, Ms. Bradley made debuts with the Prague State Opera as the title-role in Aida and in recital with the Houston Grand Opera and the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.  She also appeared in concert with the Dallas Symphony in a program of Gospel and in a gala concert with the San Diego Opera.  

Previously Michelle Bradley made debuts with the Vienna State Opera as Leonora in Il Trovatore (a role debut), the San Diego Opera as the title-role in Aida and returned to the Metropolitan Opera for their New Year’s Eve Gala as Liù in Act II of Turandot.  She appeared in solo recital at the Kennedy Center and performed Barber’s Knoxville, Summer of 1915 with the New World Symphony.

Prior to that, Ms. Bradley made a string of notable debuts in Frankfurt for Leonora in a new production of La Forza del Destino, in Nancy and Erfurt for the title role in Aida, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin for the soprano solo in staged performances of the Verdi Requiem. In concert, she debuted in Paris as the soprano solo in Sir Michael Tippett’s A Child of our Time with the Orchestre de Paris under Thomas Adès, sang the soprano solo in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin and sang in recital under the auspices of the George London Foundation in Miami and New York City.

In the 2017-2018 season Ms. Bradley returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Clotilde in the new David McVicar production of Norma. She also appeared in Santiago de Chile as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni.  On the concert stage the soprano made her debut at the May Festival in the Verdi Requiem, sang the Four Last Songs with the Santa Cruz Symphony, a program of Chausson and Caplet chamber works with the New World Symphony and solo recitals in Palm Beach and Santiago de Chile.

In the Metropolitan Opera’s 2016-2017 season, Ms. Bradley made debuts in Mozart’s Idomeneo and as the High Priestess in Verdi’s Aida. Other engagements included recitals at the Théâtre du Châtelet and at New York’s Park Avenue Armory and a return to Santa Cruz for Verdi’s Messa da Requiem.

In January 2016, Ms. Bradley performed in Carnegie Hall’s Neighborhood Recital Series in honor of Marilyn Horne, and in May she made her debut singing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Santa Cruz Symphony Orchestra. Prior to that, she completed a nationwide recital tour ending in May of 2015.

Ms. Bradley is the 2017 recipient of the Leonie Rysanek Award from the George London Foundation, the 2016 recipient of the Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award, and a first place winner in the Gerda Lissner and the Serge and Olga Koussevitzky vocal competitions. She is the 2014 grand prize winner of The Music Academy of the West’s Marilyn Horne Song Competition.

Ms. Bradley received her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from Bowling Green State University.  She has participated in master classes with Stephanie Blythe, Anne Sofie von Otter, Marilyn Horne, Deborah Voigt, James Morris, and Renata Scotto.

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Matthew Brook

Bass/Baritone

Matthew Brook has appeared widely as a soloist, and has worked extensively with conductors such as Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Richard Hickox, Sir Charles Mackerras, Harry Christophers, Christophe Rousset, Paul McCreesh and Sir Mark Elder.

Recent and future highlights include Purcell’s The Fairy Queen and Dido and Aeneas with the Handel and Haydn Society; Bach’s St. John Passion with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Haydn’s Creation with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra; Bach’s Magnificat and Brahms’ Triumphlied with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Il Re di Scozia in Ariodante with the Staatstheater Stuttgart and on tour with The English Concert; Bach’s B minor Mass at the Al Bustan Festival in Beirut and with Les Violons du Roy in Québec; Fauré’s Requiem with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Mozart’s Requiem with the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw; a tour of Bach cantatas with the Monteverdi Choir and Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and with the Nederlandse Bachvereniging and Early Music Vancouver; a tour of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and with Gli Angeli Genève; Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra; Tippett’s A Child of Our Time at Festival St. Denis; the roles of Herod and Father in Berlioz’s L’Enfance du Christ with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis; Argante in Rinaldo with Opéra de Oviedo; and Claudio in Agrippina with Teatro de la Maestranza.

On the concert platform, notable performances include Brahms’ Requiem with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic; Bach’s B Minor Mass and Haydn’s Harmoniemesse with the Dresden Staatskapelle; Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with Richard Hickox; Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3 with the Hallé Orchestra and Sir Mark Elder; Bach’s Mass in B minor and St. Matthew Passion with Collegium Vocale Gent and Philippe Herreweghe; Bach’s St. John Passion with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Oleg Caetani; Bach Cantatas with Marcus Creed and the Tonhalle-Orchester, Zurich; Elijah at the Three Choirs Festival with the Philharmonia Orchestra; and Handel’s Apollo e Dafne with Retrospect Ensemble and Matthew Halls at Wigmore Hall.

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Jonas Budris

Tenor

Jonas Budris is a versatile soloist and ensemble musician, engaging new works and early music with equal passion. A member of the Boston Baroque chorus, he is a featured soloist in Boston Baroque’s GRAMMY®-nominated recording of Monteverdi’s opera Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, and sang on Blue Heron’s album “Music from the Peterhouse Partbooks, Vol. 5” which received the 2018 Gramophone Award for Early Music.

Mr. Budris enjoys performing, touring, and recording with such groups as the Handel and Haydn Society, Spire, The Thirteen, Skylark Vocal Ensemble, and Cut Circle. He has performed with Opera Boston, OperaHub, Guerilla Opera, and Odyssey Opera, originating such roles as John in Giver of Light and the title role in Chrononhotonthologos.

Mr. Budris recently made his debut at the Carmel Bach Festival. He is a Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellow at Emmanuel Music, where he performs regularly in the Bach Cantata and evening concert series.

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William Burden

Tenor

American tenor William Burden has won an outstanding reputation in a wide-ranging repertoire throughout Europe and North America.

He has appeared in many prestigious opera houses in the United States and Europe, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Santa Fe Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, New York City Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Opéra National de Paris, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Thèâtre du Châtelet, Bayerische Staatsoper, Berliner Staatsoper, Madrid’s Teatro Real, the Netherlands Opera, and the Saito Kinen Festival. His many roles include the title roles of Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Faust, Pelléas et Mélisande, The Rake’s Progress, Roméo et Juliette, Béatrice and Bénédict, Candide, and Acis and Galatea; Loge in Das Rheingold, Laca in Jenufa, Captain Vere in Billy Budd, Aschenbach in Death in Venice, Florestan in Fidelio, Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw, Don Jose in Carmen, Pylade in Iphigénie en Tauride, Gerald in Lakmé, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Nerone in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Ferrando in Cosí fan tutte, Narraboth in Salome, and Lensky in Eugene Onegin.

Also a supporter of new works, he appeared in the US premiere of Henze’s Phaedra at Opera Philadelphia, and created the roles of George Bailey in the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life at the Houston Grand Opera, Peter in Mark Adamo’s The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and Dan Hill in Christopher Theofanidis’ Heart of a Soldier at the San Francisco Opera, Frank Harris in Theodore Morrison’s Oscar at the Santa Fe Opera, Gilbert Griffiths in Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy at the Metropolitan Opera, Dodge in Daron Hagen’s Amelia at the Seattle Opera, V.P. Inglesias in Jimmy Lopez’ Bel Canto at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Niklas Sprink in Kevin Puts’ Pulitzer Prize- winning Silent Night at the Minnesota Opera.

In concert, Mr. Burden has appeared with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Houston Symphony Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Edinburgh Festival, and on tour with Les Arts Florissants at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Barcelona and Lyon.Mr. Burden’s recordings include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony (SFS Media), Barber’s Vanessa (Anatol) with the BBC Symphony Orchestra (Chandos) and Musique adorable: The Songs of Emmanuel Chabrier (Hyperion). He also appeared in the Metropolitan Opera’s live HD broadcast of Thomas Adès’ The Tempest.

This season, Mr. Burden returns to the San Francisco Opera as Captain Vere in Billy Budd and to the Glimmerglass Festival as the 2020 Artist-in-Residence, where he will also appear as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music.

Raised in Florida, Mr. Burden received his master’s degree in Vocal Performance at Indiana University. He was also a member of the Merola Program in San Francisco and at the Apprentice Artists Program at the Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Burden has been a member of the faculty at the Mannes School of Music since the fall of 2015, and in the fall of 2018, he joined the voice faculty of the Juilliard School of Music. He previously served as Artist-in-Residence at the 2017 Glimmerglass Festival.

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patrick carfizzi

Bass-Baritone

In the 2021-2022 season, American bass-baritone Patrick Carfizzi marks the twenty-second anniversary of his Metropolitan Opera debut by returning to the company as the Sacristan in Tosca, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Speaker in The Magic Flute, and the Lackey in Ariadne auf Naxos. Last season, he returned to Santa Fe Opera as both Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro and Starveling in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, returned to San Diego Opera to reprise his celebrated Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and sang Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore in a recording made with Seattle Opera. He had also been scheduled to join the Metropolitan Opera as Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Houston Grand Opera as Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, and Arizona Opera as Dr. Dulcamara.

During the 2019-2020 season, Mr. Carfizzi returned to the Metropolitan Opera as the Speaker, Brander in La damnation de Faust, conducted by Edward Gardner, and the Sacristan in the New Year’s Eve gala featuring Anna Netrebko and conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. He also returned to Minnesota Opera as Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and had been scheduled to sing Dr. Dulcamara at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden.

Notable past operatic engagements include Cecil in Sir David McVicar’s production of Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda (Metropolitan Opera), his role debut as Zeta in Lehár’s The Merry Widow opposite Renée Fleming and Thomas Hampson, directed by Susan Stroman and conducted by Sir Andrew Davis (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Henry Kissinger in Nixon in China (San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera and Houston Grand Opera), Music Master and Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos at Seattle Opera, Paolo in Simon Boccanegra (San Francisco Opera, Metropolitan Opera, and Houston Grand Opera), Belcore in L’elisir d’amore (Santa Fe Opera), Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola (Seattle Opera and Houston Grand Opera), Dr. Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Austin Lyric Opera, Seattle Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Central City Opera, and Canadian Opera Company), Taddeo and Mustafa in L’italiana in Algeri (Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera and the Canadian Opera Company), Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Houston Grand Opera and Dallas Opera), and Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore (Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Houston Grand Opera and Lyric Opera of Kansas City). Mr. Carfizzi made his company debut at Opera Philadelphia as Bartolo in a new production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, conducted by Corrado Rovaris, and at Central City Opera as Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Così fan tutte.

Mr. Carfizzi made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1999 and has performed over 300 times with the company in a variety of roles, including Schaunard in La Bohème, which was broadcast on the Live in HD series to movie theaters around the world, the Jailer in John Dexter’s production of Dialogues des Carmélites, Masetto in Don Giovanni, Haly in L’Italiana in Algeri, Brander in Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust, Peter Quince in Tim Albery’s production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Frank in Jeremy Sams’ new production of Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. Other Met productions include Le nozze di Figaro, Turandot, and Gianni Schicchi.

Mr. Carfizzi made his European debut with Oper Köln as Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and reappeared with the company as Fra Melitone in La forza del destino. He made his role and company debut as the title role of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with the Hessisches Staatstheater, and later returned as the title character in gala performances of Le nozze di Figaro.

​Orchestral highlights of Mr. Carfizzi’s recent seasons include performances with the St. Louis Symphony of Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem and Vier ernste Gesänge, under the baton of Markus Stenza, as well as Britten’s Peter Grimes under the baton of David Robertson, performed both in St. Louis’ Powell Hall and New York City’s Carnegie Hall in commemoration of the composer’s 100th birthday. Past concert work includes performances of Handel’s Messiah with the San Francisco Symphony, Maria Stuarda with the Washington Concert Opera, and Janáček’s Glagolitic Mass with the Seattle Symphony. He has performed with The Opera Orchestra of New York, Washington Concert Opera, and the Mostly Mozart Festival. Notable conductors with whom Mr. Carfizzi has worked include James Levine, Louis Langrée, Marco Armiliato, Vladimir Jurowski, Plácido Domingo, and Philippe Jordan.

Mr. Carfizzi is a graduate of the Yale University School of Music and the winner of several prestigious awards including the Richard Tucker Career Grant Award, the George London Award, the Sullivan Foundation Award, The Richard F. Gold Career Grant from The Shoshana Foundation, and the Sergio Franchi Memorial Scholarship from the National Italian American Foundation. He also participated in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions where he was the Connecticut District Winner.

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Layla Claire

Soprano

Frequently praised for a colorful, flexible voice and graceful stage presence, Canadian soprano Layla Claire has recently expanded her repertoire with a highly successful role debut as Handel’s Alcina at Karlsruhe Händel-Festspiele, conducted by Andreas Spering. This marked Claire’s return to Karlsruhe after her first foray into Handel there in 2015, as Tusnelda in Arminio, which brought her universal acclaim as “a wonderful discovery” (Der Neue Merkur), and was released commercially by Decca Classics.

The current season continues Layla Claire’s Handel theme with the new production of Belshazzar at Opernhaus Zürich, conducted by Laurence Cummings, as well as her debuts in the title role of Rodelinda (Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra) and Ginevra in Ariodante (Boston Baroque).

Highlights of past opera seasons include a debut at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as Sandrina in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, broadcast throughout Europe on ARTE, bringing the soprano immediate European attention and leading to a re-engagement with the Festival for a production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; and a role debut as Catherine Earnshaw in Opéra National de Lorraine’s production of Wuthering Heights by Herrmann.

Layla Claire was a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Program, making her debut there as Tebaldo in Don Carlo under Yannick Nézet-Séguin. She has since returned to The Met’s stage for several guest appearances, including the creation of the role of Helena in the Baroque pastiche The Enchanted Island under William Christie (available on Virgin Classics DVD) and as Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress.  Layla released her solo album, “Songbird”, in 2017; Opera News, in review, described her soprano as “one of the most heartwarmingly beautiful around.”

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Anna Christy

Soprano

Praised by The New York Times as “nimble of voice, body and spirit,” soprano Anna Christy continues to impress and delight audiences with an extraordinary blend of sparkling voice, powerful stage presence, and innate musicality.

The 2018-2019 season saw Ms. Christy as Tytania in Robert Carsen’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Opera Philadelphia. She also debuted with Colorado Symphony Orchestra singing In Terra Pax conducted by Brett Mitchell. The previous season, Anna returned to the Canadian Opera Company as Gilda in Rigoletto. She also returned to Japan for performances of Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi with Seiji Ozawa. Other roles included the title role in Lucia de Lammermoor with the Florida Grand Opera, Marzelline in Fidelio with Boston Baroque, and Adele in Die Fledermaus with Des Moines Metro Opera.

In the 2016-2017 season, Anna Christy was seen as Sophie in the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Werther. She returned to Japan for performances of L’enfant et les sortilèges with Seiji Ozawa and sang Carmina Burana with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony. At home in Denver, she sang Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera Colorado and reprised her performances of Morgana in David Alden’s production of Alcina at Santa Fe Opera, a role she sang to great acclaim at Teatro Real in Madrid and Opéra National de Bordeaux. She returned to the Bayerische Staatsoper as Constance in Dialogues des Carmélites and celebrated the 60th Anniversary of Central City Opera as Baby Doe in The Ballad of Baby Doe. She returned to Japan to sing Adele in Die Fledermaus with Seiji Ozawa to open the new opera house in Kyoto. Last season, Ms. Christy was seen as Morgana in Alcina with Harry Bicket at the English Concert on tour in London, Madrid, Vienna, and New York. She made New York City recital debut at Pace University’s “Voce at Pace” series and was seen with Baroque ensemble Les Vents Atlantiques as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In the summer of 2015, she returned to Santa Fe Opera as Marie in La fille du régiment.

Anna Christy made her role debut as Gilda in Christopher Alden’s production of Rigoletto at the English National Opera. She was also seen at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City as Adele in Die Fledermaus and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at Central City Opera. Ms. Christy made a triumphant debut in her signature role of Cunegonde in Candide at the Tanglewood Festival with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Christy began the 2012-2013 season as Cleopatra in a new production of Handel’s Julius Caesar at English National Opera, followed by concerts of Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges and Stravinsky’s Le rossignol with Charles Dutoit and the NHK Symphony in Tokyo. She returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Lisette in the Nicholas Joel production of Puccini’s La rondine and Toronto audiences heard Ms. Christy as Lucia in the highly-acclaimed David Alden production of Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor. She closed the season as Emily Webb in Ned Rorem’s Our Town with Central City Opera, followed by performances of Le feu, La princesse and Le rossignol in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges at the Saito Kinen Festival with Seiji Ozawa conducting.

Ms. Christy has been seen as Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann at Lyric Opera of Chicago, followed by her role debut as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos. She has also appeared as Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Metropolitan Opera, Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Lyric Opera Chicago and the English National Opera. She returned to Santa Fe Opera as Kitty in the highly-acclaimed production of Menotti’s The Last Savage. Ms. Christy has performed Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the San Francisco Opera and sang the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor at English National Opera. She appeared as Oscar in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera at both the Paris Opera and at the Royal Opera House-Covent Garden. She was Cunegonde in Robert Carsen’s production of Candide at English National Opera with further debuts at Teatro alla Scala and at Théâtre du Châtélet in the same production. Other opera credits include Lisette in La rondine with the San Francisco Opera, Adele in Die Fledermaus in Japan conducted by Seiji Ozawa, and Bianca in Rossini’s Bianca e Falliero with the Washington Concert Opera. She also appeared as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera with San Francisco Opera and as Constance in Robert Carsen’s production of Dialogues des Carmélites at the Lyric Opera of Chicago conducted by Andrew Davis. In addition, she made her debut at Opéra de Lille as Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm and directed by David McVicar.

On the concert stage, Ms. Christy has been a featured soloist the New York City Opera Gala “American Voices” and portrayed Angela in a semi-staged version of Kurt Weill’s The Firebrand of Florence with the Collegiate Chorale at Carnegie Hall. She has performed Candide with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Carmina Burana with the Saint Louis Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, Candide, and Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the Chicago Symphony at the Ravinia Festival. Other concert engagements have included appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New York Festival of Song, and solo recitals in Japan.

Ms. Christy made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Papagena in Julie Taymor’s new production of Die Zauberflöte conducted by James Levine followed by Hortense in the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy. Two more debuts followed with appearances as Muffin in the world premiere of William Bolcom’s A Wedding at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Zemire in Zemire et Azor. Other important engagements for Ms. Christy include her San Francisco debut as Angel More in The Mother of Us All conducted by Donald Runnicles and directed by Christopher Alden; Marzelline in a concert version Fidelio with the San Francisco Symphony under Michael Tilson Thomas; Zerlina in Don Giovanni with the Los Angeles Opera; and Mrs. Nordstrom in A Little Night Music and Annabelle in The Glass Blowers with New York City Opera. She made her Santa Fe Opera debut as Jiang Ching in the world premiere of Madame Mao and later returned as Celia in Lucio Silla.

Selected by New York City Opera, Anna Christy is the recipient of the Martin E. Segal Award presented annually to nominees by two of Lincoln Center's twelve resident arts constituents. She is also the recipient of a Richard Tucker Music Foundation Career Grant, the ARIA Award, Sullivan Foundation Grant, a Richard F. Gold Grant and the Shouse Debut Artist Award from Wolf Trap Opera.

Anna Christy was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Pasadena, California.  She spent her summers in Tokyo, Japan, at her mother’s family home, and is fluent in Japanese.  Ms. Christy attended Polytechnic School in Pasadena and was a founding member of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus.  She is a graduate of Rice University and the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.  Ms. Christy currently resides with her husband and children in Colorado.

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Daniel james cole

Costume Designer

Daniel James Cole has designed costumes and scenery for opera, theatre, film, and television, including several collaborations with Don Giovanni director Chuck Hudson. Daniel designed costumes for Arizona Opera’s recent production of Ariadne auf Naxos. At Manhattan School of Music, he designed costumes for Il matrimonio segretto, Der Wildschutz, Zemire und Azor, Cendrillon, Cosi fan tutte, The Ghosts of Versailles, and Macbeth. Productions at Seattle Opera include Don Pasquale, Cavalleria rusticana, and Das Barbecü. Other opera credits include Le Comte Ory for Wolf Trap Opera, Hansel and Gretel for Opera Cleveland, Il barbiere di Siviglia for Opera Maine, La rondine for Chautauqua Opera, and Dido and Aeneas for New York Chamber Opera. Daniel served as stylist for La sonnambula for Opera Orchestra of New York, and he created recital gowns for Madame Vera Galupe-Borszkh of La Gran Scena Opera, the drag alter-ego of musicologist Ira Siff.

Off and off-off Broadway credits include productions for Theater for the New City, The Actors Studio, Bleeker Street Theater, Here Arts Center, The Vortex Theater, Grove Street Playhouse, and the Cherry Lane Theater. He has also designed several films, including Mint Julep, starring Angelica Page, David Morse, and James Gandolfini, and he art-directed rear-projection visuals for the REM Monster concert tour. His work as a stylist has included print and media campaigns, as well as fashion editorials for the Thai edition of L’Official magazine.

Daniel is on the faculty of both New York University and Fashion Institute of Technology, teaching classes in costume design, fashion history, and fashion ethnography. He is the co-author of The History of Modern Fashion (Laurence King Publishers, 2015), which was shortlisted for the Millia Davenport Award. He has also published numerous academic articles and chapters and is a specialist in traditional dress and textiles of Indonesia and Malaysia. Daniel received his MFA from New York University, and is a member of United Scenic Artists, and Costume Society of America. He is frequently quoted on fashion history topics in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Town and Country, The Houston Chronicle, The New York Post, and The Los Angeles Times.

Thomas Cooley

Tenor

Praised by San Francisco Classical Voice as “an indomitable musical force,” Thomas Cooley is a singer of great versatility, expressiveness, and virtuosity.  He is in demand internationally for an exceptionally wide range of repertoire in concert, opera, and chamber music.

He has collaborated with internationally prominent conductors including Teodor Currentzis, Nicholas McGegan, Robert Spano, Manfred Honneck, Donald Runnicles, Helmuth Rilling, Osmo Vänskä, Eji Oue, David Robertson, Markus Stenz, Bernard Labadie, Jane Glover, and Franz Welser-Möst. He performs regularly with major orchestras such as the Atlanta, St. Louis, and National Symphonies; the Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra; Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec; Copenhagen Philharmonic; Bavarian Radio Symphony; the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig; and the Osaka Philharmonic.

Thomas Cooley’s repertoire on the symphonic stage includes works such as Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis; Berlioz’s Requiem; productions of Britten’s Peter Grimes and War Requiem in Carnegie Hall as part of the Britten Centennial; Haydn’s Creation; Britten’s Serenade and Les Illuminations; Mendelssohn’s Elijah; Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius; Rihm’s Deus Passus; Mahler’s Lied von der Erde; Penderecki’s Credo, and Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus. Recent highlights include Mozart’s Requiem with musicAeterna, and the world premiere and recording of Christopher Theofanidis’s Creation/Creator with Atlanta Symphony.  Other important recordings include Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Copenhagen Philharmonic and the title role in Handel’s Samson with Nicholas McGegan and the Festspiel Orchester Göttingen.

Renowned for his agility and skill in Baroque music, Mr. Cooley is in demand, particularly as an interpreter of the works of Bach and Handel. This summer he returns for his ninth season as the tenor soloist at the Carmel Bach Festival. He was named Artist-in-Residence by Music of the Baroque in Chicago in the 2015-16 season.  Of his Evangelist with Jane Glover, the  Chicago Tribune wrote, “In the stylish tenor Thomas Cooley she had an ideal Evangelist, firm of voice and commanding of expression.  So intensely did he penetrate the long and demanding narration that the familiar saga took on the urgency of on-site reportage.”  He appears regularly with such groups as Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, Boston Baroque, Handel and Haydn Society, Akadamie für Alte Musik Berlin, Les Violons du Roy, and the Göttingen Händelfestspiele.  Important recent engagements of Baroque music include Telemann’s Tag des Gerichts in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the Evangelist in St. John Passion on tour in Italy with the Munich Bach Choir; Purcell’s Indian Queen with musicAeterna; Bach’s Lutheran Masses with Violons du Roy in Montreal;  Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Seattle Symphony; Handel’s Joshua with Philharmonia Baroque; and created the role of Acis in a new production of Acis and Galatea with the Mark Morris Dance Group.

On the operatic stage he has performed many of the great tenor roles in the operas of Mozart, including Tamino, Belmonte, Ferrando, Don Ottavio and the title role in Idomeneo. Other roles include Count Almaviva in Rossini’s Barbiere di Siviglia, the title role in Bernstein’s Candide, and Bajazet in Handel’s Tamerlano.  He was a member of the ensemble at the Gärtnerplatz Theater in Munich for four years.  Additionally, he has performed at the Bavarian State Opera, the Krakow State Opera, Cincinnati Opera, and the Göttingen Händelfestspiele, where he returns in 2020 as Grimoaldo for their 100th Anniversary production of Rodelinda. Of his performance in Turn of the Screw with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Pioneer Press wrote, “Thomas Cooley proved breathtaking as Peter Quint, a ghost seemingly able to hypnotize his victims with, in Cooley’s case, a velvety voice”.

During the 2019-20 season, Cooley will tour with Orchestra of the 18th Century in the role of Don Ottavio for their production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Orchestral highlights include Messiah performances with Seattle Symphony and Boston Baroque and Beethoven works with Cincinnati Symphony. He also makes a return to San Francisco’s Voices of Music performing Bach’s Mass in G. Abroad, he performs Bach’s Phoebus und Pan in Hamburg, and the title role in Handel’s Samson with the NDR Hannover.

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Anthony Roth Costanzo

Countertenor

Countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo began performing professionally at the age of 11 and has since appeared in opera, concert, recital, film, and on Broadway. His debut album, ARC, on Decca Gold was nominated for a 2019 GRAMMY Award, and he is Musical America’s 2019 vocalist of the year.

Costanzo has appeared with many of the world’s leading opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Los Angeles Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Glyndebourne Opera Festival, Dallas Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Spoleto Festival USA, Glimmerglass Festival and Finnish National Opera. In concert he has sung with the New York Philharmonic, Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, London Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has performed at a wide-ranging variety of venues including Carnegie Hall, Versailles, The Kennedy Center, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, National Sawdust, Minamiza Kyoto, Joe’s Pub, The Guggenheim, The Park Avenue Armory, and Madison Square Garden.

Costanzo is a Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions and won first prize in Placido Domingo’s Operalia Competition. He was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his role in a Merchant Ivory film. He has begun working as a producer and curator in addition to a performer, creating shows for National Sawdust, Opera Philadelphia, the Philharmonia Baroque, Princeton University, WQXR, The State Theater in Salzburg, Master Voices and Kabuki-Za Tokyo. Costanzo graduated from Princeton University where he has returned to teach, and he received his masters from the Manhattan School of Music. In his youth he performed on Broadway and alongside Luciano Pavarotti. 

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Richard Croft

Tenor

Tenor Richard Croft is internationally renowned for his performances with leading opera companies and orchestras around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Opera National de Paris, Berlin Staatsoper, the Salzburg Festival, and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, as well as the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, and Boston Symphony Orchestra. His clarion voice, superlative musicianship, and commanding stage presence allow him to pursue a wide breadth of repertoire from Handel and Mozart, to the music of today’s composers.

Operatic highlights of Mr. Croft’s past seasons include; Captain Vere in Billy Budd for Deutsche Oper Berlin; Handel’s Jeptha directed by Claus Guth and conductor Ivor Bolton at Dutch National Opera; Idomeneo with the Orquestra Metropolitana de Lisboa;  the title role of Mozart’s Idomeneo at the Teatro alla Scala, Theater an der Wien, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Ravinia Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Mozarteum’s Mozartwoche in Salzburg; Hyllus in Handel’s Hercules at the Canadian Opera Company and Lyric Opera of Chicago; Jupiter in Handel’s Semele at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées; Captain Vere in Britten’s Billy Budd at Los Angeles Opera; the title role in La Clemenza di Tito with the Wiener Staatsoper; Lurcanio in Handel’s Ariodante with the San Francisco Opera; Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with the Seattle Opera; Ubaldo in Haydn’s Armida and the title role of Mozart’s Mitridate at the Salzburg Festival; Mamud in Vivaldi’s La Verità in Cimento with Opernhaus Zürich; and M. K. Gandhi in a new production of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha at the Metropolitan Opera, which was broadcast on the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning Live in HD series to movie theatres around the world.

During the 2017/18 season, Mr Croft performed Tito in the critically acclaimed Glyndebourne production of Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito at Glyndebourne directed by Claus Guth, with Robin Ticciati leading the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. The run of performances concluded with a semi-staged performance at the Royal Albert Hall for the BBC Proms. The 2018/19 season saw Mr. Croft in the role of Mamud in La verità in cimento at Opernhaus Zürich. Mr Croft’s 2019/20 engagements include; a stage production of the Mozart’s arrangement of Handel’s Messiah at Salzburg Mozartwoche with Les Musiciens du Louvre conducted by Marc Minkowski and directed by Bob Wilson.

Recent symphonic engagements include Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Leipzig Gewandhaus, National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Berlin Philharmonic; Handel’s Messiah with the Singapore Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, and Theater an der Wien; Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with the Milwaukee Symphony; Berlioz’s Te Deum with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra; Idomeneo with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, which was recorded and released by Harmonia Mundi; Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Boston Symphony at the Tanglewood Festival; and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Croft has been Grammy-nominated for his recordings of Handel’s Hercules with Anne Sophie von Otter (Deutsche Grammophon/Archiv) and Scarlatti’s Il Primo Omicidio with Dorothea Roshmann (Harmonia Mundi). Other recordings with Deutsche Grammophon include Handel’s Ariodante and the Paris version of Gluck’s Orphée et Eurydice, both with Marc Minkowski and Les Musiciens du Louvre. For Erato, he has recorded Handel’s Theodora with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants. On Phillips Classics, he has been featured on Rameau’s Les Indes Gallantes from the Paris Opera and as Almaviva from the Netherlands Opera in Dario Fo’s production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He can also be heard on Querstand Records performing Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Gewandhausorchester under Herbert Blomstedt. His performance in Peter Sellars’ critically-acclaimed production of Theodora from Glyndebourne has been released on DVD, as has his performance in the title role of Mozart’s Mitridate with the Salzburg Festival (Decca).

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Sarah Darling

Violin

Described as “a tireless force of musical curiosity, skill, and enthusiasm” (The Boston Musical Intelligencer), Sarah Darling enjoys a varied musical career, holding a variety of leading roles in A Far Cry, Musicians of the Old Post Road, Les Bostonades, Gut Reaction, and Antico Moderno, also performing with the Boston Early Music Festival, Emmanuel Music, Newton Baroque, Sarasa, the Boston Ballet Orchestra, and the Carmel Bach Festival. Sarah studied at Harvard, Juilliard, Amsterdam, Freiburg, and New England Conservatory, working with James Dunham, Karen Tuttle, Wolfram Christ, Nobuko Imai, and Kim Kashkashian. She has recorded old and new music for Linn, Paladino, Azica, MSR, and Centaur, plus a solo album on Naxos and two GRAMMY®-nominated CDs on Crier Records. Sarah is active as a teacher and coach, on the faculty of the Longy School and serving as co-director of the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra. She regularly shares her thoughts on music at her blog, Listening Deliberately.

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Kevin Deas

Bass-Baritone

Kevin Deas has gained international renown as one of America’s leading bass-baritones. He is perhaps most acclaimed for his signature portrayal of the title role in Porgy and Bess, having performed it with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, National Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, as well as the most illustrious orchestras on the North American continent, and at the Ravinia, Vail and Saratoga festivals. 2018-19 season highlights include performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria and the Buffalo Philharmonic, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius with the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico, Porgy and Bess with the Florida Orchestra, performances of Handel’s Messiah with the National Cathedral and Virginia Symphony, Bach’s St. John Passion with the Louisiana Philharmonic, Joe Horowitz’s “Dvorak in America” project with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, and Verdi’s Requiem with the National Philharmonic.

Recent successes include Messiah with the Houston Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic and National Cathedral; Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem with the Richmond Symphony, Verdi’s Requiem with the Virginia Symphony, Puccini’s Messa di Gloria with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park, Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with the Buffalo Philharmonic, Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius with the Jacksonville Symphony, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with Baltimore Choral Arts Society, Mozart’s Requiemwith VoxAmaDeus, The Trumpet Shall Sound with the PostClassical Ensemble, and Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with JoAnn Falletta at SUNY Potsdam.

He has performed Verdi’s Requiem with the Richmond and Winnipeg symphonies and the National Philharmonic; Messiah with Boston Baroque, the Cleveland Orchestra, Seattle and Kansas City symphonies, the National Philharmonic, and at the Warsaw Easter Festival; Mozart’s Requiem with the Alabama and Vermont symphonies; Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Grand Rapids Symphony and the Oratorio Society of New York; St. John Passion with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park and Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Mexico; Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges with the New York Philharmonic; and Copland’s Old American Songs with the Chicago and Columbus symphonies.

A strong proponent of contemporary music, Kevin Deas was heard at Italy’s Spoleto Festival in a new production of Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors in honor of the composer’s eighty-fifth birthday, recorded on video for international release. He also performed the world premieres of Derek Bermel’s The Good Life with the Pittsburgh Symphony and Hannibal Lokumbe’s Dear Mrs. Parks with the Detroit Symphony. His twenty-year collaboration with the late jazz legend Dave Brubeck has taken him to Salzburg, Vienna and Moscow in performances of To Hope! He performed Brubeck’s Gates of Justice in a gala performance in New York.

Kevin Deas recorded Wagner’s Die Meistersinger (Decca/London) with the Chicago Symphony under the late Sir Georg Solti, and Varèse’s Ecuatorialwith the ASKO Ensemble under the baton of Riccardo Chailly. Other releases include Bach’s Mass in B Minor and Handel’s Acis and Galatea(Vox Classics); Dave Brubeck’s To Hope! with the Cathedral Choral Society (Telarc); and Haydn’s Die Schöpfung with the Virginia Symphony and Boston Baroque (Linn Records). Dvorák in America (Naxos), features Mr. Deas in the world premiere recording of Dvorák’s “Hiawatha Melodrama” and the composer’s own arrangement of “Goin’ Home” with the PostClassical Ensemble.

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Jeanine De Bique

Soprano

Recently described as a "revelation” and “breath-taking from start to finish” (NRC, Netherlands), Trinidadian soprano Jeanine De Bique is recognized as an artist of “dramatic presence and versatility” (Washington Post, USA) and possessing “genuine star quality” (New York Amsterdam News).

Appearances in the 2018/19 season included the title role of Handel’s Rodelinda at Opéra de Lille, role debuts as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni for Opéra National du Rhin and as Aida in the world premiere of Caruso a Cuba by Micha Hamel at Dutch National Opera, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, conducted by Teodor Currentzis, in Milan, St Petersburg, Munich and Budapest, Handel’s Messiah with the Melbourne Symphony, New Year’s concerts with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Handel arias and Mozart’s Requiem with the Budapest Festival Orchestra, conducted by Iván Fischer, at the Hollywood Bowl and Lincoln Center. Ms. De Bique concluded the season with returns to the BBC Proms in the role of Iphis in Handel’s Jephtha with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Richard Egarr and to the Ravinia Festival for Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Marin Alsop.

In 2017, Ms. De Bique gave highly acclaimed debuts at the Salzburg Festival as Annio in a new production of La Clemenza di Tito by Peter Sellars and at the BBC Proms and the Aldeburgh Festival with the Chineke! Orchestra in works by Handel. This was followed by concerts of La Clemenza di Tito throughout Europe with Musica Aeterna, conducted by Teodor Currentzis, Handel's Messiah with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, her house debut at Dutch National Opera as Annio in Peter Sellars’ Salzburg production, Musetta in La Bohème at Theater St. Gallen, her Berlin debut in Arvo Pärt's Como la cierva sedienta with the Konzerthausorchester under Iván Fischer and a recital at the Ravinia Festival.

The season 2019/20 will see further important house debuts: as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro for San Francisco Opera, as Helena in Ted Huffman’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Deutsche Oper Berlin, conducted by Donald Runnicles, and as Micaëla in Calixto Bieto’s acclaimed production of Carmen at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona. Ms. De Bique will also return to Theater St. Gallen for her role debut as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, to the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra for Mozart’s Exultate Jubilate and Handel’s Messiah, which she will also perform with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. She will appear at La Seine Musicale in Paris in Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with Raphaël Pichon and sing Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse under the baton of Tugan Sokhiev in Toulouse and at the Philharmonie de Paris.

Concert appearances and opera highlights include Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Munich Philharmonic and L’Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana under the baton of Lorin Maazel, with whom she also made her New York Philharmonic debut in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 at Avery Fisher Hall, Rachel in Kurt Weill's Die Verheissung with the MDR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Kristjan Jaervi, Consuelo in John Adams’ I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky at Teatro dell' Opera di Roma, Sophie in Werther at Theater Basel, Pearl in Morning Star at Cincinnati Opera, Clara in Porgy and Bess for the Royal Danish Opera, Sister Rose in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking with Central City Opera, Handel’s Messiah with Boston Baroque and Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra.

Ms. De Bique is a former member of the Vienna State Opera, where she appeared as Gianetta in L’elisir d’amore, Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Eine Modistin in Der Rosenkavalier, and Ada in Wagner’s Die Feen.

She holds a Master degree from the Manhattan School of Music. Her awards include First Prize at the Young Concert Artists, Inc. Music Competition, the Arleen Auger Prize at the Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition, Third Prize in the Viotti International Music Competition. She was a prize winner at the Gerda Lissner Vocal Competition (New York), a finalist and study grant award recipient of the 2011 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and received a study grant from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation. She is a recipient of the ambassador for peace, awarded by the National Commission of UNESCO, Trinidad and Tobago.

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Kiera Duffy

Soprano

American soprano Kiera Duffy is recognized for both her gleaming high soprano and insightful musicianship in repertoire that encompasses Handel, Bach, and Mozart to the modern sounds of Berg, Glass, and Zorn.

This season, Ms. Duffy debuts with the Cleveland Orchestra in Mozart’s Exsultate, jubilate conducted by Harry Bicket and returns to the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Knussen’s “O Hototogisu! fragment of a Japonisme” conducted by Daniela Harding. Last season, she appeared with the Berlin Philharmonic as Le Feu/Princesse in L’enfant et les sortilèges, soprano soloist in Messiah with the Kansas City Symphony, and Lembit Beecher’s world premiere opera Sophia’s Forest in Philadelphia. Ms. Duffy also sang a world premiere by composer Michael Hersch with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra at the Ojai and Edinburgh Festivals.

Ms. Duffy recently earned the highest critical praise for the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Breaking the Waves as Bess McNeill at Opera Philadelphia. She has also been seen as Le Feu/La Princesse in the Laurent Pelly production of Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges at the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy in Japan under the leadership of Maestro Ozawa, her Metropolitan Opera debut as a Flower Maiden in the new production of Parsifal conducted by Daniele Gatti, which was an HD broadcast, and at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire. She was seen at Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival in “The Illuminated Heart” in selections from Mozart’s operas. A specialist in modern and rarely heard operas, she has been seen as Queen Tye in Philip Glass’ Akhnaten with the Atlanta Opera, Ghita in Vicente Martín y Soler’s rarely performed opera Una cosa rara at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Violet Beauregard in the European premiere of The Golden Ticket and Florestine in Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles at the Wexford Festival, as well as the Center for Contemporary Opera’s new production of Morton Feldman’s only “anti-opera” Neither at the Brut Wien.

Ms. Duffy was a finalist in the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and is featured in the film “The Audition” which was recently released on DVD by Decca. She was an accomplished pianist before pursuing singing and holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College. Ms. Duffy is the recipient of numerous awards and recognition from such esteemed organizations as the Metropolitan Opera National Council, the Philadelphia Orchestra Greenfield Competition, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Young Concert Artists International Competition. In addition to her active performing career, Ms. Duffy is Associate Professor and Head of the Undergraduate Voice Studio at the University of Notre Dame.

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Tara Faircloth

Stage Director

The American director Tara Faircloth’s work has been seen widely across the nation.  Lyric Opera of Chicago’s season opener Barber of Seville, which she helmed as revival director, was hailed as “wickedly funny, elegantly sung, cleverly directed” by the Chicago Tribune.  In recent seasons, Faircloth has created new productions of The Little Prince (Utah Opera), Ariadne auf Naxos (Wolf Trap Opera), Il re pastore (Merola Opera), Agrippina (Ars Lyrica Houston), and L’incoronazione di Poppea (Boston Baroque). She is currently working on two major new productions: Emmeline (Tulsa Opera) and Monkey (White Snake Projects).

Faircloth has directed two world premieres for Houston Grand Opera’s East+West series and has a thriving career in regional houses such as Utah Opera, Arizona Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Boston Baroque. The Baroque repertoire is of special interest to Faircloth, who made her directorial debut with Ars Lyrica Houston’s production of Cain: Il primo omicidio in 2003 and has since designed and directed numerous productions for the company. She is the Drama Instructor for the Houston Grand Opera Studio, and regularly coaches the fine singers at Rice University.

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Maggie Finnegan

Soprano

Maggie Finnegan is a versatile artist, singing repertoire spanning medieval to contemporary. An avid concert performer and recitalist, she made her international concert debut at South Korea’s PyeongChang Winter Music Festival. Recent appearances include performances with Beth Morrison Projects, the Avanti Orchestra, the Capital Fringe Festival Chamber Series, The New Dominion Chorale, City Choir of Washington, Boston Lyric Opera Signature Series, Handel and Haydn Society, and the Halcyon Stage in Washington, DC.

Highlights last season included her European operatic debut (L'Enfant et les Sortileges with the Belgian National Orchestra); the world premiere of Dan Visconti’s PermaDeath: A Video Game Opera; her Boston Baroque debut (L’incoronazione di Poppea); and a duo recital with mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe.

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Jason Fisher

Viola

Violist Jason Fisher is a founding member of A Far Cry. A child of the Northwest, Jason grew up in Seattle and is a proud enthusiast of rainy days. He first picked up an instrument at age 11 in elementary school when the orchestra teacher told him they needed “somebody to play the viola.” Jason went on to study with Helen Callus, Victoria Chiang, Katherine Murdock, and Roger Tapping, and is a graduate of Peabody Conservatory, and the Longy School of Music.

A Carnegie Hall Fellow and a Peabody Singapore Fellow, he has toured Europe, Asia, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic and has given concerts at Vienna Musikverein, Singapore Esplanade, The Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall. Jason has performed with Pink Martini, Jake Shimabukuro, Itzakh Perlman, Yo-Yo Ma, Renée Fleming, Kiri Te Kanawa, and with members of the Florestan Trio, and the Æolus, Brentano, Cleveland, Emerson, Mendelssohn, and St. Lawrence String Quartets.

Principal violist of Boston Baroque, Jason plays period viola with The English Concert, Handel and Haydn Society, Seattle and Portland Baroque Orchestras, Byron Schenkman & Friends, and The Sarasa Ensemble. He has spent recent summers at the Staunton Music Festival, Oregon Bach Festival, Connecticut Early Music Festival, and the Aston Magna Music Festival. Jason performs frequently as a band member and contractor for musical theatre at the American Repertory Theater, including world-premiere productions of Crossing, The Great Comet, Jagged Little Pill, Moby-Dick, and the upcoming revival of 1776. He plays on an English viola by Richard Duke, 1768.

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Amanda Forsythe

Soprano

Highly praised by Opera News for her “light and luster” and “wonderful agility and silvery top notes,” Amanda Forsythe is recognized internationally as a leading interpreter of baroque and classical repertoire. 

She sang Eurydice on the 2015 GRAMMY-winning recording of Charpentier’s La descente d'Orphée aux enfers.  Her debut solo album of Handel arias, “The Power of Love” with Apollo’s Fire on the Avie label, earned widespread critical acclaim.  She toured with the outstanding French countertenor Philippe Jaroussky performing works based on the Orfeo myth and subsequently recorded the role of Euridice with him in the 1774 version of Gluck’s Orfeo on the ERATO label. 

Amanda Forsythe’s collaborations with leading baroque ensembles have included Teseo (title role) with Philharmonia Baroque at the Tanglewood Festival, Alexander’s Feast with Tafelmusik, Iole in Hercules with the Handel and Haydn Society, Partenope (title role) and Poppea in Agrippina with Boston Baroque, Isabelle in Le Carnaval de Venise, Serpina in La serva padrona, Edilia in Almira, and the title roles in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Venus and Adonis, and Niobe for the Boston Early Music Festival.  Many of these performances have been recorded commercially.  She is also a regular soloist with Vancouver Early Music, Apollo’s Fire and Pacific Musicworks.

Her major opera house engagements have included Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at Rome Opera, Pamina and Iris in Semele for Seattle Opera, Nannetta in Falstaff, Amour in Orphée, Manto in Steffani’s Niobe, and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Jemmy in Guillaume Tell, Corinna in Il viaggio a Reims, and Rosalia in L’equivoco stravagante for the Rossini Opera Festival, Pesaro and Dalinda in Ariodante at the Grand Theatre in Geneva and the Bavarian State Opera. 

Amanda Forsythe has performed with several major symphony orchestras in the USA and Europe including Handel’s Messiah, Sileti venti and Laudate pueri and Schubert’s Mass No. 6 in E Flat with Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Boston Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic, Bach’s Magnificat and concert performances as Marzelline in Fidelio with the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. 

Following performances as Amour in Gluck’s Orphée at London’s Royal Opera House, she sang both this work and Mozart’s C Minor Mass and Requiem on tour with the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra under Sir John Eliot Gardiner.  She also performed Mozart’s Concert Arias with Kymi Sinfonietta in Finland.

Amanda Forsythe’s engagements in 2019 include her debut at Opera Philadelphia in the title role of Semele, the title role in L’incoronazione di Poppea for Boston Baroque, Angelica in Orlando generoso for Boston Early Music Festival, Cabri and Carmi in La betulia liberata with Les Talens Lyriques at the Salzburg Mozartwoche, at the Festival Mozart Maximum in Boulogne-Billancourt (plus a commercial recording), and a concert tour of the USA with Philippe Jaroussky.    She makes her debuts with The Philadelphia Orchestra in Mozart’s Requiem and with Lucerne Symphony Orchestra in Messiah. 

Other future engagements include concerts and recordings with the Boston Early Music Festival and Apollo’s Fire, a program of Handel arias and Vivaldi’s Gloria with Chicago Symphony. and her return to the Royal Opera, Covent Garden to sing Marzelline in Fidelio.

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Andrew Garland

Baritone

Baritone Andrew Garland is widely recognized as a leader in recital work, with dozens of performances around the country including Carnegie Hall with pianist Warren Jones and programs of modern American songs all over the Unites States and in Canada. Jones, Marilyn Horne, Steven Blier, a number of American composers, and several major music publications all endorse him as a highly communicative singer leading the way for the song recital into the 21st century.

Garland brings his highly communicative style to the concert stage with orchestras including the Atlanta Symphony, Boston Baroque, the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, Washington Master Chorale at the Kennedy Center, and National Chorale at Lincoln Center.

Garland is a regular with the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) and has given multiple recitals at Carnegie Hall, the Ravinia Festival, Vocal Arts DC, Marilyn Horne Foundation, The Bard Festival, Camerata Pacifica, Andre-Turp Society in Montreal, Voce at Pace, Huntsville Chamber Music Guild, Fort Worth Opera, Seattle Opera, Fanfare in Hammond, LA, Cincinnati Matinee Musicale, Cincinnati Song Initiative, Tuesday Morning Music Club, and dozens of college music series around the country. In 2014, he was the featured recitalist for the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) National convention, where the organization’s president declared him “the next Thomas Hampson.”

His latest solo CD American Portraits (with Donna Loewy, piano) went to Number 1 on Amazon classical. Garland has five other recordings on the Telarc, Naxos, Roven Records, and Azica Labels.

Garland is the winner of the Lavinia Jensen, NATSAA, Washington International, American Traditions, NATS, and Opera Columbus Competitions and was a prize winner in the Montreal International, Jose Iturbi, Gerda Lissner, McCammon and Palm Beach International Competitions. He was an apprentice at the San Francisco Opera Center, the Seattle Opera, and Cincinnati Opera Young Artists programs.

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Wendy Bryn Harmer

Soprano

The Seattle Times heralded Wendy Bryn Harmer as “a standout Senta with a big, radiant voice” in her first performances of Der fliegende Holländer with Seattle Opera. In the 2022-23 season, she returns to Utah Opera for further performances of Senta. She also sings Sieglinde in Die Walküre in concert with Michigan Opera Theater and the title role of Iphigénie en Tauride in a return to Boston Baroque in addition to returning to the Metropolitan Opera roster for its productions of Lohengrin and Der fliegende Höllander. Her future holds the debut of another Wagner role, Brünnhilde in Die Walküre with Atlanta Opera, a return to the Metropolitan Opera as Kitty Hart in the new production of Dead Man Walking, and Ravel’s Shéhérazade with the with the Utah Symphony. Last season, she debuted the role of Chrysothemis in Elektra at the Metropolitan Opera and joined the company for its production of Ariadne auf Naxos. She also sang Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and Beethoven’s Ah! Perfido with the Chautauqua Symphony and Susan B. Anthony in Thompson’s The Mother of Us All at Chautauqua Opera. 

Sought-after in German repertoire, she has also recently excelled as Leonore in Fidelio with Opera Omaha and Boston Baroque, the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos with Palm Beach Opera, and Eglantine in von Weber’s rarely-performed Euryanthe at the Bard Music Festival. She previously joined Seattle Opera as well as the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the Tanglewood Music Festival for operas the comprise Wagner’s Ring Cycle. Her countless performances within the epic work encompass the roles of Sieglinde, Gerhilde, and Orltinde in Die Walküre; Freia in Das Rheingold; and Gutrune and Third Norn in Götterdämmerung.

In other repertoire, Ms. Harmer has sung Adalgisa in Norma, also at Palm Beach Opera, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with Houston Grand Opera, Fata Morgana in The Love for Three Oranges with Opera Philadelphia, Desdemona in Otello with the Kalamazoo Symphony, Wanda in La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein and Vitellia in La Clemenza di Tito with Opera Boston, Elle in La voix humaine with Utah Opera, Glauce in Medea at the Glimmerglass Festival, and Mimì in La bohème at the Utah Festival Opera.

A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, she has returned to the company’s famed stage countless other times in Parsifal, Die Ägyptische Helena, War and Peace, Khovanshchina, and Le nozze di Figaro. Her performances in Die Zauberflöte, as well as the Ring Cycle, have been released on DVD by Deutsche Grammophon following the company’s Live in HD broadcasts. She has also joined the company for its productions of Iolanta, Fidelio, Norma, Jenůfa, Rusalka, Pique Dame, La clemenza di Tito, Don Giovanni, and Norma.

On the concert stage, she has sung Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the San Francisco Symphony and Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. She joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for its Schubert Festival and, at Lincoln Center, performed as a soloist in its Tribute to Renata Tebaldi. She made her New York recital debut under the auspices of The Marilyn Horne Foundation, and was presented by the George London Foundation in a recital with Ben Heppner at the Morgan Library.

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David Hansen

Countertenor

David Hansen was born in Sydney, Australia. He studied singing with Andrew Dalton at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and furthered his studies with James Bowman, David Harper and Graham Pushee.

Mr. Hansen made his European debut in 2004 for the Aix-en-Provence Festival in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Shortly thereafter, he made his UK debut in concerts with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Emmanuelle Haïm, as well as performing the title role in Handel’s Fernando with Il Complesso Barocco under Alan Curtis. Other operatic engagements include the title role in Handel’s Serse under Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre (Fiore/Den Norske Opera), Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria (De Marchi/Den Norske Opera), Bertarido in Handel’s Rodelinda (Curtis/Bilbao), Trinculo in the American premiere of Thomas Adès’ The Tempest (Alan Gilbert/Santa Fe Opera), Handel’s Giulio Cesare (De Marchi/Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden; René Jacobs/Theater an der Wien; Alessandrini/Den Norske Opera; Spering/Teatro de la Maestranza, Sevilla), Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo (Jacobs/Deutsche Staatsoper-Berlin), Mozart’s Mitridate (Christophe Rousset/Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie), Handel’s Semele (Rousset/Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie), Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea (Boston Early Music Festival; Teatro Calderón), the title role in Bontempi’s Il Paride (Christina Pluhar/Innsbruck Festival of Early Music) and Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro (Teatro Verdi, Sassari). He has worked with directors including Stefan Herheim, Katie Mitchell, Jonathan Kent, Barrie Kosky and Christof Loy.

Concert highlights include Carmina Burana with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Sir Simon Rattle, Handel’s Saul at the Wiener Musikverein under Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the title role in Handel’s Solomon with René Jacobs and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Bach’s St. John Passion with Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble under Marc Minkowski and Handel’s Messiah under Fabio Biondi.

Mr. Hansen’s debut solo recording for Sony/dhm, Rivals – Arias for Farinelli & Co., with Academia Montis Regalis and Alessandro De Marchi was released in August 2013 to critical acclaim. His other recordings include Purcell: Music For Queen Mary, with the Academy of Ancient Music and the choir of King’s College Cambridge, available on EMI Classics, Cavalli’s Giasone and Vivaldi’s Griselda, both recorded for Pinchgut Opera Live, Bach’s St. John Passion with Les Musiciens du Louvre Grenoble under Minkowski for Erato/Warner Classics and Handel’s Parnasso in festa under Marcon for Pentatone.

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Sam Helfrich

Stage Director

Sam Helfrich is a New York-based opera and theatre director.

​He has directed opera productions at New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Portland Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Spoleto Festival/USA, Virginia Opera, Opera Boston, Pittsburgh Opera, and Wolf Trap, among others. Recent opera highlights include the world premiere of PermaDeath, a CGI- based opera about video gaming with White Snake Productions in Boston; the world premiere of Jeffrey Smith’s Why is Eartha Kitt Trying to Kill Me at Urban Arias in Washington DC; Mozart’s The Magic Flute with the Indianapolis Symphony; a staging of Haydn’s Creation with the Pittsburgh Symphony; the New York premiere of Angels in America at New York City Opera; the world premiere of Dan Sonenberg's The Summer King at Pittsburgh Opera (and, recently, at Michigan Opera Theater);  Bach’s St. John Passion with the Pittsburgh Symphony; Mark Anthony Turnage’s Greek at Boston Lyric Opera; Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld at Virginia Opera; the  world premiere of Enemies: A Love Story by Ben Moore, at Palm Beach Opera; Embedded, by composer Patrick Soluri, at Fargo-Moorhead Opera; Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos at Virginia Opera; Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking at Eugene Opera; Andre Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire at Virginia Opera; the American premiere of Philip Glass’ Kepler at Spoleto Festival/USA; Adams’ Nixon in China at Eugene Opera; a fully staged Messiah with the Pittsburgh Symphony; the world premiere of Michael Dellaira’s The Secret Agent at Center for Contemporary Opera in New York, the Armel Opera Festival in Hungary, and Opera Avignon; The Turn of the Screw at Boston Lyric Opera; Philip Glass’ Orphée at Pittsburgh Opera, Virginia Opera, Portland Opera, and Glimmerglass Opera; and Anthony Davis’ Amistad at Spoleto Festival/USA. 

Recent theatre credits include Arthur Miller’s After The Fall at NYU/Tisch Grad Acting; off-Broadway productions of Owned, a world premier play by Julian Sheppard, and Tape, by Stephen Belber, both of which played to wide audience- and critical acclaim; and a double bill of plays by Shaw and De Musset at the Franklin Stage Company. 

Upcoming projects include a world premiere in development with the Sardinian National Opera and the Hungarian State Opera, as well as a return to Boston Baroque for Handel’s Ariodante. 

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John Holiday

Countertenor

Countertenor John Holiday, winner of the 2017 Marian Anderson Vocal Award, one of Broadway World’s “New York Opera 2015 Gifts that Keep on Giving” and nominee for “Newcomer of the Year” by the German magazine Opernwelt, has quickly established himself as a fast-rising singer to watch.

Original engagements for Holiday’s COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 season began with a collaboration with the Mark Morris Dance Group at the La Jolla Music Festival as a part of their Synergy Initiative. He then reprised the role of First Male Voice in Huang Ruo’s Paradise Interrupted for the Art Macau Festival in Shanghai, followed by his return to the Metropolitan Opera roster to cover the title role in Orfeo ed Euridice. He made his debut with the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra as the Alto Soloist in Handel’s Messiah, also appearing in recital with pianist Roger Vignoles, before returning to Los Angeles Opera as Orpheus’s Double in the world premiere of Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice. He was slated to make his debut in the title role of Serse with Opéra de Rouen (cancelled), and appear with Dayton Opera for their Going for Baroque concert (cancelled), before finishing his season presenting a recital at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, curated as a part of the Jacob Lawrence Struggle series (cancelled), and in concert at The Glimmerglass Festival (cancelled).

Past highlights have included singing the title role in Xerxes at the Glimmerglass Festival in 2017, a debut with Boston Baroque in the role of Tolomeo in Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto in 2016, Holiday’s 2016 Spoleto Festival debut in the world premiere of Paradise Interrupted, his 2014 debuts with Los Angeles Operaas the Sorceress in Barrie Kosky’s acclaimed production of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and with Wolf Trap Opera as Caesar in Handel’s Giulio Cesare in Egitto, as well as engagements with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, the Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, the Chorus of Westerlyin Rhode Island, the Nashville Symphony, and programs with Ars Lyrica and Mercury Baroque in Houston, Texas. Holiday joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in 2013 to cover the role of Nireno in David McVicar’s acclaimed production of Giulio Cesare in Egitto, and his operatic stage debut was with Portland Opera in Galileo Galilei.

In addition to the Marian Anderson and YBCA 100 Awards, numerous other major competitions and award programs have recognized Holiday’s accomplishments. He is a 2014 recipient of the Catherine Filene Shouse Career Development Grant from the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts and is also a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation, first prize from the Richard Tucker Foundation Sara Tucker award, and third place winner of OPERALIA. He was awarded first place at both the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition for 2013 and the Sullivan Foundation for 2012. Holiday also received a first place win at the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. In 2007, he was the first place winner in his district of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Alongside his classical repertoire, Holiday excels in jazz and gospel music having opened for Grammy award winner Jason Mraz in concert. Holiday recently released his debut jazz album entitled The Holiday Guide.

He received a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati College—Conservatory of Music, and the Artist Diploma in Opera Studies from The Juilliard School in New York City. Holiday grew up in Rosenberg, Texas, located near Houston, and attended the town’s public schools.

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SOLOMAN HOWARD

Bass

Winner of the 2021 Washington Performing Arts’s Ambassador of the Arts Award and the Kennedy Center’s 2019 Marian Anderson Vocal Award, Soloman Howard garners high praise from the press for his vivid performances on the great opera and concert stages of the world. His voice is described as “sonorous” by The New York Times, “superhuman” by The Denver Post, and “a triumph” by The Guardian.

Mr. Howard’s 23-24 season begins with Barry Kosky’s new production of Das Rheingold at The Royal Opera House, where he will perform the role Fafner. He returns to The Metropolitan Opera for performances of Timur in Turandot, and role debuts in La Forza del Destino as Il Marchese di Calatrava and Il Padre Guardiano. Mr. Howard also makes his house debut at Staatsoper Hamburg in Rigolotto as Sparafucile. He will perform the role of Hunding in the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra's tour of Die Walküre, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. To conclude the season, Mr. Howard returns to Santa Fe Opera to perform Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni.

Last season Mr. Howard made his debut as Ramfis in Aida at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden with Sir Antonio Pappano leading a new production by Robert Carsen, and performed the role of Le Grand Inquisiteur at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in the company’s new production by Sir David McVicar of Don Carlos under the baton of Enrique Mazzola. Other operatic appearances of the season included Sarastro in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera, Fafner in Das Rheingold at The Dallas Opera, and the title role of Approaching Ali with Opera Las Vegas.   

For the Washington National Opera, Mr. Howard has bowed as Fafner in Der Ring des Nibelungen directed by Artistic Director Francesca Zambello and conducted by Philippe Auguin, as well as in leading roles in The Magic Flute, Show Boat, Approaching Ali, Don Giovanni, and Nabucco. He was heralded for the roles of Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr. in the world premiere of the revised edition of Appomattox composed by Philip Glass in a production by Tazwell Thompson and in the title role of The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me written by Jeanine Tesori and J.D. McClatchy. 

On the concert stage, he has given performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Music Director Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic on a European tour and with Christian Arming and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra on tour in Asia.  He has joined Harry Christophers and the Handel and Haydn Society for Mozart’s Requiem, Kent Tritle and the Oratorio Society of New York in performances of Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht at Carnegie Hall, and with Christoph Eschenbach and the National Symphony Orchestra in a concert presentation of Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier.

Washington Performing Arts’s Ambassador of the Arts Award was created in 2013, annually recognizing extraordinary achievement, service, and advocacy in the performing arts by an individual.  Winner of the 2021 Award, Mr. Howard has been a voice not only for artistic excellence but for inclusivity, working to share the arts with ever larger and more widespread audiences from all walks of life. Past recipients of the Ambassador of the Arts Award include Jessye Norman, Leon Fleisher, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Denyce Graves, and Lonnie G. Bunch III.

The Anti-Defamation League presented Mr. Howard with its “Making a Difference Award” in the summer of 2016 for raising awareness of voting rights though his performances of Appomattox at the Kennedy Center; and for bringing opera into the larger community. A graduate of Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program, Mr. Howard is a proud alumnus of the Manhattan School of Music and of Morgan State University.

CHUCK HUDSON

Stage Director

Chuck Hudson has directed opera productions at major international companies including Cape Town Opera (South Africa), Cincinnati Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, Atlanta Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, Seattle Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, and San Francisco Opera Center among others.

He has directed award winning theatre productions in New York and regionally, including The Pearl Theatre, The Chester Theater, Cape May Stage, The Children’s Theatre Festival of Houston, New City Theatre, and Chicago’s Fox Valley Shakespeare Festival. Chuck’s work as a director was mentioned in the January 2011 Edition of American Theatre Magazine and the October 2018 Edition of Classical Singer Magazine.

In addition to directing, Chuck continues to focus on work with young professional artists. He was a co-creator of Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program where he directed productions as well as created and instructed specialized classes on Acting and Movement skills for singers. He has directed productions at San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, Santa Fe Opera’s Apprentice Artist Program, Florida Grand YAP, Yale Opera, AVA Opera Theater, BU Opera Institute, USC-Thornton Opera, Carnegie-Mellon, Manhattan School of Music Opera Theater, Cincinnati Conservatory, Indiana University Opera Theatre, and Music Academy of the West. He was the Artistic Associate of La Lingua della Lirica for two seasons in Italy, a guest artist at S.I.V.A.M. in Mexico City and has been an annual Master Teacher at San Francisco Opera’s Merola and Adler Fellows programs for almost two decades. In 2022, Chuck created a Certificate Training Program for Opera Stage Directors at Ithaca College.

Chuck travels often to Australia to work with singers at The Melba Opera Trust in Melbourne, The Sydney Conservatorium, N.I.D.A., Opera Australia Young Artist Program, the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts in Perth, and professional singers via the Opera and Arts Support Group. He directed the Australian Premiere of the German Opera by Goetz based on Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (at WAAPA), was a Guest Director at the Melbourne Conservatory of Music’s Opera Training Program, and presented public Showcases for professional singers at the residence of the American Consul General in Sydney for the Opera and Arts Support Group. The Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Foundation also invited Chuck to work with their singers in New Zealand for several seasons.

For 7 years Chuck was Artistic Director of The Immediate Theatre in Seattle: a physically based company committed to the creation of visually exciting dramatic works. Chuck’s specialty in movement comes from a background in gymnastics as well as being one of three Americans to have received a diploma from the Marcel Marceau International School of Mimedrama in Paris. He is the only American to be appointed to teach at Marceau’s School, and he performed with Marceau on his 1991 European Tour and in Klaus Kinski’s film Paganini. Chuck also studied at the Paris School for Theatrical Fencing and was awarded an Honorary Diploma from the French Academy of Arms.

Acting roles include Orsino in Twelfth Night, Brutus in Julius Caesar, and Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew with the Seattle Shakespeare Festival, and Caliban in The Tempest with his own Immediate Theatre.

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HERA HYESANG PARK

Soprano

October 4
2024

Boston Baroque debut

Praised for her “radiant, seemingly effortless singing” (The Times) with “a sense of pure joy and excitement” (OperaWire), soprano Hera Hyesang Park is celebrated not only for her exquisite voice and stagecraft, but for the profound ideas embodied in her work.

Hailing from South Korea and trained at The Juilliard School, she infuses her music with a cosmopolitan perspective that blends her Korean heritage and Western life experiences in a style she describes as “traditional but uncommon”: open to learning from both classical and modern attitudes to life and art. Her lyric coloratura voice carries both immaculate technique and a seemingly infinite variety of tonal colors, combining in a fearless and captivating stage presence. Central to her music is a powerful drive for empathy and understanding, challenging discrimination and stereotypes of all kinds. Live performance and recordings represent, for Ms. Park, acts of self- discovery and a means of heartfelt, emotionally honest connection with others.

In the 2024-2025 season, Ms. Park will be featured in a variety of operatic roles, concert performances and recitals, including her highly anticipated debuts with the LA Philharmonic in a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, led by Gustavo Dudamel; with Boston Baroque in Haydn’s The Creation, led by Martin Pearlman; as Despina in Così fan tutte at Edinburgh’s International Festival with Maxim Emelyanychev; and her return to San Diego Symphony with Raphael Payare in a Mozart gala celebration. In other engagements, she performs with the NHK Symphony Orchestra in Tokyo, led by Sascha Goetzel; the Wiener Symphoniker for Mozart and Mahler, conducted by Petr Popelka; the Solti gala concert at the Hungarian State Opera, led by János Kovács; and a concert with the Orchestre National de Bordeaux Aquitaine, led by Sora Elisabeth Lee. Later in the season, she takes on the role of Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni at Staatsoper Hamburg, and returns to The Metropolitan Opera as Pamina in The Magic Flute. In recital, she appears in South Korea to celebrate a new Gangneung album and returns to London in recital, this time at St. John’s Smith’s Square.

In the course of her fast-rising career, Ms. Park has taken the stage at venues from The Metropolitan Opera to Glyndebourne Festival. Her opera roles have included Rosina in the Glyndebourne Festival’s 2019 production of Il barbiere di Siviglia (a performance described
by The Times in London as “phenomenal”) and Musetta in Barrie Kosky’s production
of La bohème at Komische Oper Berlin. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2017
as the First Wood Sprite in Rusalka and made successful returns as Amore in Mark Morris’s staging of Orfeo ed Euridice, Pamina in The Magic Flute and Nannetta in Falstaff. She sang the role of Violetta Valéry in the 2020 world premiere of 7 Deaths of Maria Callas, Marina Abramović’s pioneering opera project for the Bayerische Staatsoper, reprising the role at Opera de Paris in 2021. Other key roles have included Adina in Donizetti’s L’Elisir D’Amore at Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Despina in Così fan tutte at Bayerische Staatsoper, Aldimira
in Rossini’s Sigismondo with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, and two additional roles at Glyndebourne Festival: Despina in Così fan tutte and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro. She has also performed as a soloist in concert with the New York Philharmonic and the Los Angeles Opera, and in a performance of Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiem at Leipzig’s Thomaskirche.

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Jesse Irons

Assistant Concertmaster

Violinist Jesse Irons enjoys a busy and excitingly diverse musical life in and around his home city of Boston. A member and co-artistic director of the GRAMMY®-nominated ensemble A Far Cry, he has appeared in concert across North America, Europe, and Central and Southeast Asia. Mr. Irons’ playing has been described as “insinuating” by The New York Times. Mr. Irons appears regularly with Boston Baroque, the Handel and Haydn Society, the Boston Early Music Festival, and with numerous small ensembles including the quintet Gut Reaction. He has recently appeared as soloist with Newton Baroque, Sarasa, and Chicago’s Baroque Band. As an educator, Jesse has worked with students on entrepreneurship and chamber music at MIT, Yale, Stanford, Eastman, Peabody, and New England Conservatory.

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Rebecca Ringle Kamarei

Mezzo-soprano

Praised by Opera News for her “richly focused voice,” mezzo-soprano Rebecca Ringle Kamarei’s performances have brought her acclaim on operatic and concert stages. Her New York City Opera debut as Lola in Cavalleria rusticana was hailed as “sultry” and “sweetly sung” by The Wall Street Journal and London’s Financial Times. She returned to NYCO as Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, Dorothée in Cendrillon, and to cover Rosmira in Partenope.

Her 2018-2019 season included Marnie’s shadow in Marnie, the cover of Rossweisse in Die Walküre with the Metropolitan Opera, and Lucienne in Die tote Stadt with the Bard SummerScape. The 2019-2020 season includes her return to the Metropolitan Opera for productions of Akhnaten, Manon, and La Cenerentola, as well as Berlioz’s Les nuits d’été with the Missoula Symphony.

Most recently, Ms. Ringle Kamarei appeared as Catherine in Shining Brow with UrbanArias; Arnalta in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Cincinnati Opera; Maddalena in Rigoletto with Baltimore Concert Opera; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Rogue Valley Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, and Brevard Symphony; Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Cheyenne Symphony; Verdi’s Requiem with the Midcoast Symphony Orchestra; Handel’s Messiah with Augustana College, the Omaha and Jacksonville Symphonies, and Rhode Island Philharmonic; Elijah with the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park; Mozart’s Mass in C minor with the New West Symphony; and returned to the Metropolitan Opera for productions of Alfano’s Cyrano de Bergerac, The Death of Klinghoffer, Manon, Shostakovich’s The Nose, and Elektra.

Other operatic highlights include her Metropolitan Opera mainstage debut singing Rossweisse in Die Walküre and repeating the role with the Washington National Opera directed by Francesca Zambello, her international debut as Dido in Dido and Aeneas with the Macau International Music Festival, Armida in Handel’s Rinaldo with Opera Vivente, Leda in Die Liebe der Danae with the Bard SummerScape, the title role in Handel’s Ariodante and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with The Princeton Festival, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel with the Piedmont Opera, Suzuki with Cedar Rapids Opera, Dorothée in Cendrillon with New Orleans Opera, and the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos with Utah Opera.

The 2010-2011 season saw Ms. Ringle Kamarei join the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for its productions of Nixon in China and Die Walküre. She made her professional debut as Tebaldo in Don Carlo with the Cleveland Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst. She has performed with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano Giuseppe Verdi as a soloist in Piazzolla’s Songe d’une Nuit d’été and as Pâtre/La chatte in L’enfant et les sortilèges.

A consummate concert artist and recitalist, Ms. Ringle Kamaeri has performed Handel’s Messiah with the Oratorio Society of New York, Jacksonville Symphony, Branford Camerata, Richmond Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, and Utah Symphony. She has sung Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Richmond Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem with the National Chorale, and Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Orchestra New England. She has appeared in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall performing da Falla’s Siete Canciones Populares Españolas and has collaborated with Ars Antiqua Baroque Orchestra on arias from Handel’s Hercules and Rinaldo and Vivaldi’s Juditha triumphans. She has also appeared at the acclaimed Marlboro Music Festival, performing chamber music and songs by Ravel, Mahler, Janacek, and Britten.

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Maya Kherani

Soprano

Indian-American soprano Maya Kherani has been lauded for her vibrant voice and exciting characterizations in repertoire from the Baroque to the modern. Upcoming projects include a debut at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence as Drusilla/Fortuna in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Mo. Alarcon, Messiah with Boston Baroque and Martin Pearlman, Bach cantatas Portland Baroque Orchestra with Jonathan Woody, Reena Esmail's Meri Sakhi Ki Avaaz (My Sister's Voice) Berkeley Symphony, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro and Belinda in Dido and Aeneas Opera San Jose, as well as a world premiere project Pay the Piper with Glyndebourne.

Most recent engagements include her European debut with the Fondazione Giorgio Cini – Seminari di Musica Antica singing the modern-world première of French Baroque works from Caribbean. She then returned to sing in a follow-up program, directed by Mr. Memelsdorff and Vivica Genaux. Additionally, she sang the title role of Partenope Opera NEO, Beatrice in Three Decembers Opera San Jose, Polly Peachum in The Threepenny Opera West Edge Opera, Rosina at Cinnabar Theater, Laura Kaminsky’s Today It Rains Opera Parallèle, and Musetta in La Bohème West Bay Opera.

Additional recent engagements include Despina in Così fan tutte and Lisette in La Rondine Opera San Jose, Altisidore in Boismortier’s Don Quichotte chez la Duchesse at Central City Opera, her debut in the role of Meera in the world première of Jack Perla’s River of Light Houston Grand Opera (HGOco), Britomarte in Martín y Soler’s L’arbore di Diana (The Chastity Tree) West Edge Opera, Jill in the world première of Jack and Jill and the Happening Hill Salt Marsh Opera, the title role of Semele at Pocket Opera, and Frasquita in Carmen West Bay Opera. Other premières include Neil Rolnick’s Anosmia, released by Innova Records in 2013, and Dante de Silva’s “graphic opera” Gesualdo with Opera Parallèle. A passionate interpreter of early music, Ms. Kherani has been featured with the American Bach Soloists, the San Francisco Bach Choir, the Amherst Early Music Festival, Early Music Vancouver, and the American Handel Society Festival.

Ms. Kherani’s numerous awards include semi-finalist in the 2020 Glyndebourne Cup, 3rd place in the 2021 Handel Aria Competition, the 2015 McGlone Award from Central City Opera, 1st Place and Audience Favorite at the James Toland Vocal Competition, 2nd Place at the Peter Elvins Vocal Competition the Kalvelage Award at West Bay Opera’s Holt Competition, two Encouragement Awards from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the top overall Barlow Award at the San Francisco Bay Area NATS competition, where she also won 1st Place in both the Professional Art Song and Aria categories.

Ms. Kherani graduated summa cum laude from Princeton University with a B.S.E. in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and certificates (minors) in Music Performance, Materials Science, and Robotics and Intelligent Systems. At Princeton, she received the Isidore and Helen Sacks Award for excellence in Music Performance and was a dancer and choreographer for Naacho South Asian Dance Company and a member and soloist in the Princeton University Glee Club. She holds a Master of Music degree with honors from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and a Professional Certificate from the Boston University Opera Institute.

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Brian Kontes

Bass

Noted by Opera News for his “dark bass and strong dramatic energy”, Brian Kontes continues to perform throughout this country and abroad. Mr. Kontes begins his 2019-2020 season with a return to Pittsburgh Opera where he will sing the role of The Commendatore in Don Giovanni and returns later in the season to sing the role of Capitan in Florencia en el Amazonas by Daniel Catan. Additionally, he will make his debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony as the bass soloist for Bruckner’s Te Deum. Brian Kontes will also appear as the bass soloist with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra for their performances of Mozart’s Requiem. He will then return to the Metropolitan Opera for their production of Manon Lescaut. This marks his tenth season with the company.

Last season Mr. Kontes received high praises for his singing and acting by audiences and reviewers alike. His season included his debut at Central City Opera as Lt. Ratcliffe in Billy Budd and The Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Sarastro in Die Zauberflote at Sarasota Opera, The Bonze in Madama Butterfly at Pittsburgh Opera, and M. Javilenot in Dialogues des Carmelites at the Metropolitan Opera.

Career highlights at the Metropolitan Opera have included HD productions of Die Meistersinger Von Nurnberg under the baton of Maestro James Levine, Der Rosenkavalier under the baton of Maestro Sebastian Wiegle, and The Nose, led by Maestro Valery Gergiev.

Other notable career highlights in opera have included performing the roles of Timur in Turandot at San Diego Opera, Hogboy in Brokeback Mountain at New York City Opera, Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro at Pittsburgh Opera, Leporello in Don Giovanni at Seattle Opera, Banquo in Macbeth at Opera National de Lorraine, Palemon in Thais at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Kentucky Opera, The Commendatore in Don Giovanni at New York City Opera, Colline in La Boheme with Opera Hong Kong, Happy in La Fanciulla del West at Opera Omaha, Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata at Opera Colorado, Zuniga in Carmen at New Orleans Opera, The Bonze in Madame Butterfly for Nashville Opera and Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Sprecher in Die Zauberflote with Ash Lawn Opera. He has also sung many operas in concert with the Opera Orchestra of New York.

Brian Kontes is also a noteworthy concert artist. He has sung on numerous occasions at Carnegie Hall in New York City as well as venues throughout the United States. Career highlights have included Mozartʼs Requiem, Haydnʼs Paukenmesse, Faureʼs Requiem, Mozartʼs Coronation Mass, Beethovenʼs 9th Symphony, Bachʼs Magnificat and Rossiniʼs Stabat Mater with various orchestras and conductors in Carnegie Hall. He has also been a guest soloist with the Charlottesville Symphony on numerous occasions, including Beethovenʼs Mass in C, under the baton of Maestro Cristof Perick. Recently, he has been a soloist with Boston Baroque as Don Fernando in Beethoven’s Fidelio, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park for their concert of Dvorakʼs Stabat Mater and was also a guest soloist with The New Choral Society of New York for performances of the Verdi Requiem.

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David Kravitz

Baritone

Hailed as “a charismatic baritone” by the New York Times and “a first-rate actor” by Opera (UK), David Kravitz’s recent opera engagements include lead roles at Washington National Opera (Davis Miller in the world premiere of Approaching Ali), Chautauqua Opera (Captain Balstrode in Peter Grimes), Skylight Music Theatre (Scarpia in Tosca), Opera Santa Barbara (The Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen), Grand Harmonie (Don Pizarro in Fidelio), Opera Saratoga (Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola), Charlottesville (Ash Lawn) Opera (Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof), Boston Lyric Opera (Abraham in Clemency), Emmanuel Music (Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress and Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby), and the New England Philharmonic (Wozzeck in Wozzeck).  He recently created the lead role of De Sade in Nicola Moro’s Love Hurts at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan, Italy, and at Symphony Space in New York.  His many concert appearances include the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony, the Virginia Symphony, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Emmanuel Music, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, and Boston Baroque.

This season, Mr. Kravitz joins the Jacksonville Symphony singing the bass solos in Messiah and appears with Odyssey Opera as the Duke of Norfolk in Saint-Saëns’ rarely heard Henry VIII. With the Boston Symphony Orchestra he will sing the Helmsman in Tristan und Isolde, which will be performed in Boston and subsequently at Carnegie Hall. In the 2018-19 season, Mr. Kravitz returned to Odyssey Opera for Gounod’s La Reine de Saba, performed Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with the New England Philharmonic, presented the Defiant Requiem Foundation’s Hours of Freedom in New York City’s Zankel Hall, and reprised Bernstein’s Arias and Barcarolles with mezzo-soprano Sandra Piques Eddy.

Highlights from the 2017-18 season included three appearances with the Boston Symphony Orchestra: The Damnation of Faust, Tristan und Isolde, and Schumann’s Neujahrslied (the latter two under music director Andris Nelsons); Schoenberg’s Ode to Napoleon with the Boston Chamber Music Society; and Creon and the Messenger in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex with Emmanuel Music.

An exceptionally versatile artist, Mr. Kravitz’s repertoire ranges from Bach to Verdi to Sondheim to cutting-edge contemporary composers such as Matthew Aucoin, Mohammed Fairouz, Paul Moravec, and Elena Ruehr.  Mr. Kravitz has recorded for the Naxos, BIS, Sono Luminus, Koch International Classics, BMOP/sound, Albany Records, and New World labels.  His distinguished legal career has included clerkships with the Hon. Sandra Day O’Connor and the Hon. Stephen Breyer.

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Marie Lenormand

Mezzo-Soprano

Masterful French mezzo-soprano Marie Lenormand has been praised for her performances on the operatic and concert stage. After completing a dazzling turn in the title role in Ambroise Thomas’ Mignon at l’Opéra comique de Paris, her performance was met with popular and critical accolades. In recognition of her portrayal, the French national press awarded her the honor of “2010 Musical Revelation.” She was the first vocal artist in six years to win the award after a string of renowned conductors and a string quartet.

The 2018-2019 season saw her as La Mère/L’Autre Mère in Coraline with Opéra de Lille, Madame Michu in Les p’tites Michu with Théâtre de Caen and Opéra de Reims, Anna in Les Sept Pêchés Capitaux with Opéra de Tours, and Beatrice in Albert Roussel’s Le Testament de Tante Caroline with Les Frivolités Parisiennes. Engagements for the 2019-2020 season include Testament de la Tante Caroline with the Théâtre Imperial de Compiègne, Les p’tites Michu with l’Opéra de Tours, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro with l’Opéra de Lorraine, Meg Page in Falstaff with l’Opéra de Montpellier, Gertrude in Roméo et Juliette in concert with Montpellier and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and a reprise of the Petite Balade aux Enfers with l’Opéra Comique.

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Christopher Lowrey

Countertenor

In the American school, but with a British accent, countertenor Christopher Lowrey balances the best elements of these diverse traditions, merging directness of expression and beauty of tone with precision and agility. Now regularly working alongside many of the world’s leading opera houses, orchestras, and festivals, his career takes him throughout Europe, the USA, and Australasia. Highlights this season include Christopher’s debut at the Teatro Real in Corselli Achille in Sciro (Ulisse) under the baton of Ivor Bolton, Handel Giulio Cesare (title role) at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, Ambronay Festival, and the Enescu Festival in Bucharest, where he will also perform Handel Agrippina (Ottone) with Les Talens Lyriques directed by Christophe Rousset, a return to the Göttingen International Handel Festival to sing Bertarido in Rodelinda, conducted by Laurence Cummings, his debut at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, where he will reprise the role of Guildenstern in Brett Dean’s Hamlet, with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest conducted by Markus Stenz, a return to Sydney to sing the title role in Vivaldi Farnace with Pinchgut Opera under Erin Helyard, his debut at the Wigmore Hall in a programme of Purcell with Ensemble Marsyas directed by Peter Whelan, Falvetti Il Diluvio Universale with Cappella Mediterranea under Leonardo García Alarcón at the Ambronay Festival, Pergolesi Stabat Mater with the Orchestra of the Teatro Real in Toledo, Spain, Bach Trauerode and Perez Mattituno de Morte with the Gulbenkian Orchestra in Lisbon, and solo recitals in San Francisco with Voices of Music.

Recent operatic roles include Steffani Orlando Generoso (Ruggiero) for the Boston Early Music Festival, directed by Stephen Stubbs and Paul O’Dette, the world premiere of a 17th-century work by Legrenzi, La Divisione del Mondo (Marte) for Opéra National du Rhin in Strasbourg and Opéra National de Lorraine in Nancy, Handel Theodora (Didymus) with Potsdamer Winteroper, Handel Arminio (title role) for the Göttingen Handel Festival, Handel Rinaldo (Argante) with Kammerorchester Basel at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, the Halle Handel Festival, and St Martinskirche in Basel, Handel Orlando (Medoro) with La Nuova Musica at St John’s Smith Square London, Christopher’s English National Opera debut in both Handel Rodelinda (Unulfo) and Muhly Marnie (Terry, cover), Handel Tamerlano (title role) with Les Talens Lyriques for Ambronay Festival, and Dean Hamlet (Guildenstern) for the Adelaide Festival.

Recent concert appearances include a tour of Pergolesi Stabat Mater with superstar French soprano Sandrine Piau and Les Talens Lyriques, conducted by Christophe Rousset, which will also be released as a recording later this year, a North American and European tour of Handel Semele (Athamus) with The English Concert directed by Harry Bicket, culminating in Christopher’s Carnegie Hall debut, Bach St John Passion with Le Banquet Céleste, directed by Damien Guillon, a Bach and Vivaldi programme in Hong Kong with British group Arcangelo, directed by Jonathan Cohen, Bach Cantatas at the Philharmonie de Paris with Ensemble Pygmalion, Handel Messiah with Clare College Choir at Union Chapel London, and Bach B Minor Mass at Winchester College, Handel Israel in Egypt at the BBC Proms with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment conducted by William Christie, Bach St Matthew Passion for the London Handel Festival, Falvetti Il Diluvio Universale (La giustizia divina) and Nabucco (Arioco) with Cappella Mediterranea, and solo recitals with Voices of Music in San Francisco and Sarasa Chamber Music Ensemble in Boston.

His growing catalogue of recordings includes Handel Arminio (title role) on the Accent label, Theodora (Didymus) with Pinchgut Opera on ABC Classics, Dean Hamlet (Guildenstern) on DVD from the Glyndebourne Festival on the Opus Arte label, i 7 Peccati Capitali, a disc of Monteverdi opera and madrigals on Ricercar records, Handel Susanna (Joacim) on Accent, Vivaldi Bajazet (Tamerlano) on ABC Classics, Handel Faramondo (Gernando) on Accent, Monteverdi Il ritorna d’Ulisse in Patria (L’Humana Fragilità) with Boston Baroque on Linn Records, Handel and Vivaldi Dixit Dominus on the Harmonia Mundi label, the Bernstein Missa Brevis on Hyperion, and a solo album of Handel Arias for the EMI Emerging Artists Series.

Christopher is also active as a conductor and performer in smaller consort ensembles and chamber choirs. He is the founder and conductor of Ensemble Altera, Cambridge Clerkes, Ensemble Aeterna, and passio. Recent concerts that he has organized and directed include ‘Hail Mary’, a program of music based on Marian texts, ‘illumine’, a concert of sacred music on the theme of light, Tudor choral music for male voices, a fundraising concert in London based around settings of the Requiem mass, a church service of English sacred music for the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, a program of music from the Eton Choirbook, and composer-focused concerts on William Byrd, John Taverner, and Thomas Tallis, and appearances on concert series in his native Providence and Newport, Rhode Island.

Originally from the United States, Christopher holds degrees with distinction from Brown University, the University of Cambridge, where he was a choral scholar with Trinity College Choir under Stephen Layton, and the Royal College of Music International Opera School. He is a winner of the Helpmann Awards, the Sullivan Foundation Award, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Michael Oliver Prize at the London Handel Singing Competition, and the Keasbey Award. He has studied with Russell Smythe, Derek Lee Ragin, Ashley Stafford, and Pierre Massé.

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Daniela Mack

Mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack leads the vanguard of a new generation of opera singers, infusing her artistry with a mix of intensity, adventurousness, and effortless charisma.

The 2021-22 Season is filled with exciting debuts for Daniela. She begins the season with her house debut at the Teatro Real in the role of Rosmira in Handel’s Partenope. She continues on to her next house debut at Teatro de la Maestranza, in her role debut as Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuletie i Montecchi. She has her next role debut as Dardano in Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula with Boston Baroque. The season progresses with a tour of Handel’s Serse where she debuts the role of Amastre with The English Concert, making her Carnegie Hall debut, followed by a performance at Auditorio Baluarte in Pamplona, Spain. She returns to Teatro Real for her role debut as Fenena in Verdi’s Nabucco.

Though the COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the landscape of the opera industry, Mack embarked on an exciting initiative as an inaugural member of Atlanta Opera Company Players for the entirety of the 20/21 season. Mack was one of the twelve renowned singers in this initiative, along with her husband, tenor Alek Shrader, Jamie Barton, Morris Robinson, and more. In recent seasons, Daniela Mack made debuts at Royal Opera House-Covent Garden as Rosina in  Il barbiere di Siviglia with Javier Camarena, at The Metropolitan Opera as the Kitchen Boy in Mary Zimmerman’s new production of Rusalka, at Ópera de Oviedo as Sesto in La clemenza di Tito, with the BBC Philharmonic as Béatrice in Béatrice et Bénédict, and at Boston Lyric Opera and Michigan Opera Theatre as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and she made her role debut as Juno in Semele with Opera Philadelphia. Ms. Mack made her house and role debut as Dorabella in Così fan tutte at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and debuted at Florida Grand Opera in Carmen where she returned in a highly-anticipated role debut as Charlotte in Werther. Ms. Mack was seen at The Santa Fe Opera for her first North American performances as Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri, as Bradamante in Alcina conducted by Harry Bicket, and in her title role debut in Carmen. She was seen at Washington National Opera as Bradamante in Alcina, debuted at Seattle Opera as Béatrice in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict, and returned to Arizona Opera as Angelina in La Cenerentola.

Daniela Mack has been seen at San Francisco Opera and Minnesota Opera as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia and as Rosmira in Partenope. She created roles in the world premieres of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell’s Elizabeth Cree (title role) at Opera Philadelphia, and in David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s JFK (Jacqueline Kennedy) at Fort Worth Opera with subsequent performances at Opéra de Montréal. She debuted at Lyric Opera of Chicago as the Kitchen Boy in David McVicar’s production of Rusalka conducted by Andrew Davis, and returned to Madison Opera as Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking. She has been seen at English National Opera in a new production of Julius Caesar as Sesto under Christian Curnyn, the first time the opera was produced at ENO since the legendary 1979 production. She also debuted at Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse and LA Opera as Nancy in Albert Herring, Washington National Opera as the Madrigal Singer in Manon Lescaut, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Verbier Festival as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, Opéra National de Bordeaux as Isabella in L’italiana in Algeri, and Opera Colorado in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s famous production of La Cenerentola directed by Grischa Asagaroff.

On the concert stage, Ms. Mack debuted with three orchestras under Charles Dutoit: Orchestra de la Suisse Romande in Ravel’s L’heure espagnole and L’enfant et les sortilèges, Boston Symphony Orchestra in L’heure espagnole, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat. She also debuted with the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk in Rossini’s Giovanna d’Arco under James Gaffigan and performed Vivaldi’s Juditha triumphans with Boston Baroque.She debuted with the New York Philharmonic in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 under Alan Gilbert and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Manuel de Falla’s La vida breve under the baton of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. She performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis with the Washington Chorus, Verdi’s Requiem with Opera Philadelphia, Handel’s Messiah with the National Symphony Orchestra, Ravel’s Shéhérazade with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne and Falla’s Siete canciones populares españolas with the Sydney Symphony. She also made her Cincinnati May Festival debut in Mozart’s Requiem under James Conlon and in an all-star gala at the Opera Theater of San Antonio.

Daniela Mack is an alumna of the Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera where she appeared as Idamante in Idomeneo, Siebel in Faust, and Lucienne in Die tote Stadt for her house debut. She performed the title role of La Cenerentola as a member of the Merola Opera Program and made her West Coast recital debut as part of San Francisco Opera’s Schwabacher Debut Recital Series. Ms. Mack was a finalist in the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

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MORGAN MASTRANGELO

Tenor

Praised for their “ringing and clear” tenor (The Toledo Blade), Morgan Mastrangelo is an Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, where they were most recently seen as Hades in Matt Aucoin’s Eurydice.

Other recent credits at BLO include Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola, (Boston Lyric Opera, cover), and Marzio in Mitridate (Boston Lyric Opera, cover). Regional credits include Count Almaviva in il Barbiere di Siviglia (Wichita Grand Opera), Edemondo in the modern premiere of Anna Di Resburgo (Teatro Nuovo, cover), Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance (New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players), and Tobias in Sweeney Todd (Opera Saratoga).

Recent concert credits include the tenor solos in Bach’s BWV 5, 78, 94, and 148 (Emmanuel Music, Boston) Handel’s Messiah, (Hudson Valley Philharmonic), Rossini's Petit Messe Solenelle (Opera Saratoga), and Orff's Carmina Burana (Carnegie Hall). An avid interpreter of cross-genre projects and contemporary music, Morgan recently appeared with Contemporaneous in the world-premiere chamber-rock opera The Precipice, led by David Bloom, and at Lincoln Center as Michael in Bryce McClendon's musical play The Smallest Sound, in the Smallest Space, a role which they originated.

In 2025, they will make their Opera Grand Rapids house debut, reprising the role of Hades in Eurydice. They will also cover Enoch Snow in Carousel (Boston Lyric Opera), appear as a finalist in the American National Oratorio Competition, and join the cast of the Tony-Award winning musical, The Light in the Piazza at the Huntington Theatre. They are an alumnus of the Young Artist Programs of Opera Saratoga and Teatro Nuovo, and studied at Northwestern University and New England Conservatory.

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JASON MCSTOOTS

Tenor

April 24
2025

Boston Baroque debut

Reviewers describe Jason McStoots as having an “alluring tenor voice” (ArtsFuse) and as “the consummate artist, wielding not just a sweet tone but also incredible technique and impeccable pronunciation.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer) A respected interpreter of Early Music, he has been an integral part of the Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) since 2005 and appears on 8 of their 14 recordings.) In 2015 he was a featured soloist on the GRAMMY award winning opera recording of the music of Charpentier with BEMF. His opera performances with BEMF include Le Jeu in Les plaisirs de Versailles by Charpentier, Apollo in Orfeo, Eumete and Giove in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria both by Monteverdi.  In addition, he was the Prince in the baroque pastiche The White Cat with Les Délices.  Other performances include evangelist in Bach’s St. Mark Passion (Emmanuel Music), evangelist and soloist for Bach’s Christmas Oratorio (Bach Collegium San Diego), and soloist for Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610 (Green Mountain Project NYC.) He works regularly with Piffaro in Philadelphia, Les Délices in Cleveland and with Bach Collegium San Diego. 

“McStoots was the consummate artist, wielding not just a sweet tone but also incredible technique and impeccable pronunciation.”

— Cleveland Plain Dealer

He is a core member of the Renaissance ensemble, Blue Heron, and can be heard on all their recordings. Additionally, McStoots is an experienced stage director and dedicated educator; directing operas by Purcell, Mozart, Handel, Scarlatti, and Jacquet de La Guerre with the Boston Early Music Festival Young Artist Training Program, Les Délices, the Connecticut Early Music Festival, Amherst Early Music Festival, and Brandeis University. Since 2017 he has been the Associate Director of the BEMF Young Artist Training Program. 

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Joseph Monticello

Flute

Flutist Joseph Monticello’s playing has been praised by both the New York Times as “graceful." Equally at home on both modern and historical flutes, Joseph spends most of his year as second flutist of the Florida Grand Opera and Palm Beach Symphony orchestras, making his home in Miami. Joseph remains active in the historical performance world, performing with Philharmonia Baroque, Boston Baroque, New York Baroque Incorporated, and as the principal flute of the newly formed Teatro Nuovo festival orchestra, specializing in the historically informed presentation of Bel Canto operatic masterworks on period-appropriate instruments.

Having received his Masters in Historical Performance from The Juilliard School, Joseph has performed and toured worldwide with many of the leading conductors and ensembles of the early music movement, including: Nicholas McGegan, Masaaki Suzuki, Jordi Savall, Harry Bickett, Richard Egarr, and William Christie, having twice participated in the Les Arts Florissants summer festival “Dans les Jardins de William Christie” in Thire, France. Prior to his studies at Juilliard, Joseph received his Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory under Michel Debost and later, Alexa Still. It was there he first took up the baroque flute under Kathie Stewart, before continuing his studies with Sandra Miller at Juilliard.

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ERIN MORLEY

Soprano

March 21
2025

Boston Baroque debut

Erin Morley is one of today’s most sought-after coloratura sopranos. She has stepped into the international spotlight in recent years with a string of critically acclaimed appearances in the great opera houses of the world.

Erin Morley has been praised for the “silken clarity of her voice and the needlepoint precision of her coloratura” (New York Times). A recipient of the Beverly Sills Award, and a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, her performances have garnered huge critical acclaim worldwide and she regularly appears on the greatest opera stages, such as the Vienna State Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Bavarian State Opera, Opéra National de Paris, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Teatro La Fenice, Glyndebourne Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Los Angeles Opera and of course, Metropolitan Opera where she has now sung more than 100 performances and has been featured in eight “Live in HD” broadcasts.

“Morley sang [Ricky Ian Gordon’s] cycle with exceptional dignity, her precise English diction revealing the poetry in its best light, generally set to advantage by Gordon’s voice-centered approach. Other than some shimmering high notes, Gordon avoided coloratura decoration. Morley instead delivered a poignantly beautiful legato tone, lyrical and refreshing…”

— Washington Classical Review, May 2024 (Vocal Arts DC)

In the 2024-25 season Morley returns to the Metropolitan Opera with a double appearance: as Olympia in The Tales of Hoffman and Gilda in Rigoletto. Further highlights include Gilda and a special performance of Orff’s Carmina Burana at the Arena di Verona and Cunegonde in concert performances of Candide at Semperoper Dresden. Elsewhere on the concert platform, Morley will tour in Berlin and Vienna as soloist with Maestro Christian Thielemann and the Staatskapelle Berlin with a program of Strauss Orchesterlieder, as well as appearances with Boston Baroque and Boston Symphony Orchestra. In recital, she presents Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch together with Huw Montague Rendall and Malcolm Martineau at London’s Wigmore Hall and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw; and presents her “Rose in Bloom” program at Park Avenue Armory, Yale School of Music, Friends of Chamber Music, and the BRAVO! Series at Brigham Young University.

Last season saw Morley making her highly anticipated company debuts at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden as Gilda in Rigoletto, and at Teatro la Fenice in Venice as Zerbinetta in a new production of Ariadne auf Naxos. On the concert platform further highlights included her debut at the Arena di Verona in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, and Morgana in Alcina with Les Musiciens du Louvre under the baton of Marc Minkowski at Teatro alla Scala to mark the release of a new recording of the opera on Pentatone. Further concert engagements included the soprano soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana with the Orchestre de Paris under the baton of Andrés Orozco Estrada; a gala concert with Washington Concert Opera; Poulenc Gloria with Houston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Juraj Valčuha; Brahms Requiem with the Orchestra of St Luke’s at Carnegie Hall conducted by Xian Zhang; and recitals in Berkeley and at the Kennedy Center, Washington DC, to mark the release of her solo recital album, “Rose in Bloom.”  Recent operatic highlights include: Pamina in a new production of Die Zauberflöte, the title role in Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier and Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, all at the Metropolitan Opera; her Teatro alla Scala debut as  Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos; Gilda in a new production of Rigoletto, Tytania in a new production of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Zerbinetta, and Sophie, all at the Wiener Staatsoper; Norina in Don Pasqualeand Zerbinetta both at Glyndebourne Festival; a critically acclaimed debut in one of the most iconic coloratura title roles in Lakmé with Washington Concert Opera; Gilda at Staatsoper Berlin; Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Sophie at Opéra de Paris; Fiakermilli in Arabella and Gilda at Bayerische Staatsoper; the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor in Nancy; Tytania, Roxana in Krol Roger, Mme Silberklang in Der Schauspieldirektor and the title role in Stravinsky’s The Nightingale, all at Santa Fe Opera. Cunegonde in Candide is another role that Morley has made her own and has performed in stellar company at LA Opera with James Conlon and actors Kelsey Grammer and Christine Ebersole; with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Philadelphia Orchestra with Alek Shrader, Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan; and at the Carnegie Hall Centenary with John Lithgow. Equally at home on the concert platform, Morley has performed with leading orchestras such as Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Staatskapelle Dresden and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Recent successes include Beethoven Missa Solemnis with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Riccardo Muti; Carmina Burana with the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood Festival conducted by Andris Nelsons; Mozart’s Mass in C Minor for the Mostly Mozart Festival at the Lincoln Center, conducted by Louis Langrée, a tour with Harry Bicket and The English Concert, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Met Chamber Ensemble in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall; and Poulenc Gloria with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Lorenzo Viotti at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Vienna’s Musikverein. Morley also appeared in the famous televised New Year’s Eve concerts with the  Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann, performing Princess Mi in Léhar’s Das Land des Lächelns. She has collaborated with the Staatskapelle Dresden on tour as well, again with Maestro Thielemann, in a program of Strauss Orchesterlieder, including a world premiere of Thomas Hennig’s “Nacht.” A dedicated recitalist, Morley’s appearances include collaborations with pianists Vlad Iftinca, Ken Noda, Gerald Martin Moore, and Malcolm Martineau.

Morley’s debut recital disc with Gerald Martin Moore, “Rose in Bloom,” released in 2024 and has received critical acclaim worldwide, praising the ‘crystalline debut of a new high coloratura star’. Morley’s many recordings include Morgana in a complete recording of Handel’s Alcina for the Pentatone label, Eurydice in the Met’s GRAMMY-nominated recording of Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice, Princesse Isabelle in Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable with Opéra National de Bordeaux for Palazzetto Bru Zane, Sister Constance in the Met’s GRAMMY-nominated Les Dialogues des Carmélites, as well as Sophie in the Met’s GRAMMY-nominated Der Rosenkavalier on DVD/Blu-Ray for the Decca label; Mater Gloriosa in the LA Phil’s GRAMMY-winning Mahler Symphony No. 8 with Gustavo Dudamel for Deutsche Grammophon; Princess Mi in the Staatskapelle Dresden’s Das Land des Lächelns with Christian Thielemann for Unitel; Sandrina La Finta Giardiniera with Emmanuelle Haïm in Opéra de Lille’s production for the Erato label; Woglinde Götterdämmerung in the Metropolitan Opera’s GRAMMY-winning Lepage Ring Cycle for Deutsche Grammophon; Marguerite de Valois in Les Huguenots, live from Bard SummerScape for the American Symphony Orchestra; Carl Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3 “Espansiva” with Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic for Da Capo Records; and Sylvie in Gounod’s opéra-comique La Colombe with Sir Mark Elder and The Hallé Orchestra for the Opera Rara label. 

Morley spent her early years studying violin and piano, and frequently collaborated with her mother, violinist Elizabeth Palmer. An undergraduate of the Eastman School of Music, she went on to earn her Master of Music voice degree from The Juilliard School and her Artist Diploma from the Juilliard Opera Center in 2007, where she received the Florence & Paul DeRosa Prize. Morley also trained at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis as a Gerdine Young Artist, the Ravinia Festival Steans Institute, and the Wolf Trap Opera Company as a Filene Young Artist. She won 1st Prize in the Jessie Kneisel Lieder Competition in 2002, and 1st Place in the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation Competition in 2006. She also received the Richard Tucker Career Grant in 2013, the Beverly Sills Award in 2021, the Opera News Award in 2023, the Eastman School of Music Centennial Award in 2023, and the Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French government in 2024. 

Erin Morley is represented by MWA Management worldwide. 

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Louisa Muller

Stage Director

Heralded by Opera News for her “absorbing, provocative staging,” Louisa Muller recently made her European debut directing a new production of The Turn of the Screw for Garsington Opera. The production received the prestigious Royal Philharmonic Society Award and was named by The Guardian as one of the Top Ten Classical Music Performances of the Year. Concurrently, she was named as a finalist in the “Best Newcomer” category of the International Opera Awards.

In the 2021-22 season, she returns to Garsington Opera to reprise the critically-acclaimed production. Additionally, she creates new productions of Amadigi di Gaula for Boston Baroque and The Rake’s Progress for The Juilliard School. She also returns to Los Angeles Opera to direct Tannhäuser and the Lyric Opera of Chicago to direct Tosca; the latter title serves as her debut with Opera Colorado as well. Her future seasons hold a new production of Ethel Smyth’s The Wreckers for Houston Grand Opera, a reprisal of her production of Amadigi di Gaula with Philharmonia Baroque, as well as further new productions for her debuts with Santa Fe Opera and Pinchgut Opera and another return to Garsington Opera.

Last season, she directed concert stagings of Ariadne auf Naxos at the Edinburgh International Festival and Don Giovanni at the Royal Conservatory Antwerp; her production of Porgy and Bess for the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic as was a new production of Gordon’s The Grapes of Wrath at the Aspen Music Festival in 2019.

She received rich critical acclaim for her staging of Das Rheingold with the New York Philharmonic, which the New York Times called “riveting…a remarkable evening of music theater” and named among its list of the Best Classical Music Performances of the Year. She made her debuts with Los Angeles Opera and Minnesota Opera, leading Don Carlo and La traviata, respectively, and has returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to direct Madama Butterfly after directing La bohème with the company. Ms. Muller has also led productions of Madama Butterfly for Opera Queensland, Grand Théâtre de Genève, and Houston Grand Opera. As a member of the Metropolitan Opera’s directing staff, Ms. Muller has helmed revivals of Don Giovanni as well as Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci and L'elisir d'amore.

She has been a frequent and beloved presence at Wolf Trap Opera, where she has directed new productions of Corigliano's The Ghosts of Versailles, called “a dazzling thing all around” by the Washington Post; The Rape of Lucretia, with the Washington Post again heralding her work as “an intense wallop of a well-sung production;” Tosca, praised as “searing summer verismo” by Washington Classical Review; and Roméo et Juliette, “the drama taut” and with “compelling stage pictures,” reported the Washington Post.

Invested in the dramatic training for singers, she has twice directed the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Rising Stars concert featuring its Ryan Opera Center and has collaborated with those singers in individual dramatic coaching tailored to their repertoire. She has given masterclasses and dramatic coaching at the National Opera Studio in London, Houston Grand Opera Studio and Young Artists Vocal Academy, Wolf Trap Opera, Baylor University, University of Wisconsin, Lawrence University, and the University of Texas and has been a faculty member of the Scuola di Belcanto in Urbania, Italy. She has directed scenes programs for Santa Fe Opera, Houston Grand Opera Studio, Wolf Trap Opera Studio, and Rice University. 

She holds degrees from Lawrence University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is a citizen of the United States and Germany and makes her home in Vienna.

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Rufus Müller

Tenor

English-German tenor Rufus Müller is a leading Evangelist in Bach’s Passions; his unique, dramatic interpretation of this role has confirmed his status as one of the world’s most sought-after performers. He gave the world premiere of Jonathan Miller's acclaimed production of the St. Matthew Passion, which he also recorded for United and broadcast on BBC TV; he repeated his performance in three revivals of the production at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. 

In demand for oratorio and opera, Rufus Müller has worked with many leading conductors including Franz Welser-Möst, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Sir Roger Norrington, John Nelson, Ivor Bolton, Richard Hickox, Nicholas McGegan, Gustav Leonhardt, Frans Brüggen, Trevor Pinnock, Philippe Herreweghe, Joshua Rifkin, Andrew Parrott, Nicholas Kraemer, and Ivan Fischer. He has given solo recitals at Wigmore Hall in London as well as for BBC Radio, and in Munich, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Barcelona, Madrid, Utrecht, Paris, Salzburg, and New York. Rufus has had a regular partnership with pianist Maria João Pires with whom he has performed in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, Japan and the UK, notably in a three-concert Schubertiade in Spain and London's Wigmore Hall.

Operatic roles include Tamino in The Magic Flute with Garsington Opera, Ottavio in Don Giovanni in Tokyo, Lurcanio in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Houston Grand Opera, the title roles in Rameau’s Pygmalion and Lully’s Persée for Opéra Atelier in Toronto, the title role in Monteverdi’s Orfeo with Opera Zuid in The Netherlands, Aminta in Peri’s Euridice with Opéra de Normandie, Alessandro in Handel’s Poro in Halle, and Lurcanio in Handel’s Ariodante in Göttingen with Nicholas McGegan, released on a prize-winning disc by Harmonia Mundi USA. He has also sung Tersandre in Lully’s Roland with René Jacobs in Paris, Lisbon and Montpellier; Giuliano in Handel’s Rodrigo in Siena; Castor in Rameau’s Castor et Pollux in Magdeburg; Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria in Athens, Florence and Cremona; Oronte in Alcina with Paul Goodwin and the Academy of Ancient Music in Montreux; Soliman in Mozart’s Zaïde with Ivor Bolton and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra in London; and the title role in the modern-day premiere of Manuel Garcia’s Don Chisciotte, which toured Spain as part of the country’s celebrations of Cervantes’ 400th anniversary.

Other recordings include Bach’s St. John Passion and Cantatas with John Elliot Gardiner for DG Archiv; Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasia with Roger Norrington for EMI; Dowland’s First Book of Airs with lutenist Christopher Wilson for ASV; Haydn’s O Tuneful Voice and songs by Benda with soprano Emma Kirkby, and three recordings of 19th-century songs with Invocation, all for Hyperion; Telemann’s Admiralitätsmusik on CPO; Telemann’s solo cantatas on Capriccio; Ned Rorem’s Evidence of Things Not Seen with the New York Festival of Song on New World Records; songs by Franz Lachner with Christoph Hammer on Oehms Classics; Haydn’s Creation with Oxford Philomusica with Edward Higginbottom; and Messiah with the National Cathedral, Washington, DC and Michael McCarthy, with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Ivars Taurins, as well as a live DVD with the same artists, first broadcast on Canadian TV. 

Rufus Müller's numerous performances as the Evangelist include London, New York, Lucerne, Munich, Toronto, Calgary, Birmingham, Göteborg, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Dortmund, Bordeaux, and Washington DC. His many performances of Messiah include regular appearances at Carnegie Hall in New York, a televised tour in Spain with Trevor Pinnock and the English Concert, as well as performances in Canada,Denmark, Japan, Norway, Sweden and the UK. Numerous other concert engagements have included Bach Cantatas with John Eliot Gardiner in London, works by Bach and Handel with the Philhamonia Baroque Orchestra and Nicholas McGegan in San Francisco, a European tour of Casals’ El Pessebre with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Bach’s Magnificat at the BBC Proms, Finzi’s Dies Natalis with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiano, Britten’s Serenade in Toronto and Düsseldorf, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Stockholm and Toronto. 

The 2017-2018 season included Bach’s Passions and Handel’s Messiah in New York, Princeton, Toronto, Washington, DC, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Carmel Bach Festival, The Royal Albert Hall, and Canterbury Cathdedral; Monteverdi’s Vespers, Schubert’s Winterreise, and Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Ottavio) in Tokyo; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Pennsylvania; Haydn’s Creation in London; as well as recitals and masterclasses in Japan, Spain, Germany and the USA.

Rufus was born in Kent, England and was a choral scholar at New College, Oxford. He studied in New York with the late Thomas LoMonaco. In 1985 he won first prize in the English Song Award in Brighton, and in 1999 was a prize winner in the Oratorio Society of New York Singing Competition. He is Associate Professor of Music at Bard College, New York.

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Tamara Mumford

Mezzo-Soprano

A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, mezzo-soprano Tamara Mumford made her debut there as Laura in Luisa Miller, and has since appeared in more than 140 performances with the company, some of which include the Pilgrim in the new production of Kajia Saariaho’s L’Amour de loin, Smeaton in the new production of Anna Bolena, and in productions of Rigoletto, Ariadne auf Naxos,  Il Trittico, Parsifal, Idomeneo, Cavalleria Rusticana, Nixon in China, The Queen of Spades,  the complete Ring Cycle, The Magic Flute, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Wozzeck.   Other recent opera engagements have included the world premiere of The Thirteenth Child at the Santa Fe Opera, her role debut as the title role in Tancredi with Teatro Nuovo, the first ever American performances of Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira at the Caramoor Festival, L’Amour de loin at the Festival d’opéra de Québec, Iolante at the Dallas Opera, the title role in the American premiere of Henze’s Phaedra,  the title role in The Rape of Lucretia, and the world premiere of Daniel Schnyder’s Yardbird at Opera Philadelphia; the title role in Dido and Aeneas at the Glimmerglass Festival,  Ottavia in L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival and the BBC Proms, Orsini in Lucrezia Borgia at the Caramoor Festival , Isabella in L’Italiana in Algeri at the Palm Beach Opera, the title role in The Rape of Lucretia, conducted by Lorin Maazel at the Castleton Festival; the title role in Carmen at the Crested Butte Music Festival, Principessa in Suor Angelica and Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi with the Orchestra Sinfonica Giuseppe Verdi di Milano in Italy; and the title role in La Cenerentola at Utah Festival Opera.

Also an active concert performer and recitalist, Ms Mumford appeared with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in US and European tours of the world premiere of John Adam’s oratorio The Gospel According to the Other Mary and in performances of Mahler Symphony No. 3. She also appeared with the Mo. Dudamel and the LAPO in performances of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in a production by Yuval Sharon and the Chilean theater group Teatrocinema. Other concert engagements have included appearances with the New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Utah Symphony, Oregon Symphony, and Milwaukee Symphony orchestras; the Berlin Philharmonic (in Berlin and on tour in Asia), the Netherland Radio Philharmonic, and at the Hollywood Bowl and the Ravinia, Tanglewood, Grand Teton, Vail, Tucson Desert Song, Britt and La Jolla Summer Music festivals.  She made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2005 as part of the Richard Good and Friends concert series in Zankel Hall, and has since appeared there with James Levine and the Met Chamber Orchestra. She has also made multiple appearances in the Musicians from Marlboro’s summer festivals and US tours. In recital she has been presented in New York by the Marilyn Horne Foundation, the Frick Collection, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and in Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society.

Ms Mumford has appeared in the Metropolitan Opera’s Met: Live in HD series broadcasts of Anna Bolena, Das Rheingold, Gotterdämmerung, The Magic Flute, Nixon in China, Manon Lescaut, and Il Trittico. Her recordings include Handel’s Messiah with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (Momon Tabernacle Choir), Beethoven’s Cantata on the Death of Emperor Joseph II with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony (Avie), and John Adams’ The Gospel According to the Other Mary with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon). She was and was one of sixteen singers invited to work with Naxos Records and Yale University in a collaborative project to record the complete songs of Charles Ives.

A native of Sandy, Utah, Ms. Mumford holds a Bachelors of Music from Utah State University and has received awards from the Opera Index Competition, Palm Beach Opera Competition, Sullivan Foundation, Connecticut Opera Guild Competition, Joyce Dutka Foundation Competition and the MacAllister Awards.

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Paula Murrihy

Mezzo-soprano

Irish mezzo-soprano Paula Murrihy received her Bachelor of Music from DIT Conservatory of Music and Drama in Dublin before continuing her studies in North America at New England Conservatory. She also participated in the Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme, San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program, and as an apprentice at Santa Fe Opera.

A member of Oper Frankfurt’s acclaimed ensemble, her many roles included Medoro in Orlando Furioso, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Lazuli in L’étoile, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, and her role debut as Carmen in Barrie Kosky’s iconic production.

Recent highlights include her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, as Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette, and a return to Santa Fe Opera as Ruggiero in Alcina and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus. She made her first appearance at the Salzburg Festival as 2nd Dame in Die Zauberflöte, and opened the 2019 Salzburg Festival as Idamante in Peter Sellar’s Idomeneo with Teodor Currentzis conducting. Paula has appeared with the Dutch National Opera as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier and Sesto in La Clemenza di Tito, at Opernhaus Zurich as Concepcion in L’heure Espagnole and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro, at the Teatro Real in Madrid as Frances, Countess of Essex in Britten’s Gloriana and at Oper Frankfurt as the Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos. She returned to her native Ireland to make her role debut as Judith in Bluebeard’s Castle for Irish National Opera.

Further appearances include Ino in Semele for Boston Lyric Opera, Ghosts of Versailles for Opera Theatre St Louis, Dido in Dido and Aeneas for Los Angeles Opera, Tebaldo in Don Carlo and Mercedes in Carmen for Covent Garden, Annio in La Clemenza di Tito at the Théâtre Capitole Toulouse, Medoro in Orlando Furioso for Opéra de Nice, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier at Staatsoper Stuttgart, and Ascanio in Terry Gilliam’s production of Benvenuto Cellini at English National Opera.

In concert, Paula enjoys a close relationship with MusicAeterna and Teodor Currentzis; performances include Cosi fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, Purcell’s Indian Queen, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, Hindemith’s Die Junge Magd and Das Knaben Wunderhorn at the Mariinsky Theatre and on a tour of Europe. She made her debut at the BBC Proms in 2016 in Haydn’s Paukenmesse and recently jumped in for performances of works by Tommaso Traetta with La Nuova Musica and David Bates, and Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Sir Mark Elder and the Britten Sinfonia. Further appearances include Messiah with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris; Elijah with the Spanish National Orchestra and Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra; Christmas Oratorio with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra; Handel’s Solomon, Alexander’s Feast and Honneger’s Judith for the Nederlandse Programma Stichting; and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. In the United States she has worked with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, where she premiered John Harbison’s Symphony No. 6, the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra (Beethoven Symphony No. 9), the Handel and Haydn Society (Juno/Ino in Handel’s Semele) and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra in performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.

An accomplished recitalist, Paula has given performances at the Aldeburgh Festival, the Shannon International Music Festival, the Chancellor’s Concert at the University of Limerick, in Frankfurt, and at the Diaghilev Festival in Perm. She recently made her debut at Wigmore Hall with the pianist Malcolm Martineau.

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OMAR NAJMI

Tenor

Boston-based artist Omar Najmi splits his time between composition and performance, maintaining a busy schedule as an operatic tenor. Praised as "a world class voice in every respect," Najmi recently made his international debut creating the title role in Joseph Summer’s operatic adaptation of Hamlet with Bulgaria’s State Opera Rousse. Other recent and upcoming engagements include Rodolfo in La Boheme with Opera Steamboat, Shakur in Thumbprint with Portland Opera, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet with Boston Lyric Opera, Lord Byron in the world-premiere of The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage with Guerilla Opera, Alfredo in La Traviata with MassOpera, Gastone in La Traviata with Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras, tenor soloist in St John Passion with Emmanuel Music, Tito in La Clemenza di Tito with Opera Steamboat, Bilal in This Is Not That Dawn with Catalyst New Music, and featured soloist in Boston Lyric Opera’s virtual concert series B., highlighting works by Asian and Asian-American composers/poets. Najmi enjoys a long standing relationship with Boston Lyric Opera where he began his professional career as an Emerging Artist (2013-2015). He has performed over 15 productions at the company, and he served as their first ever Emerging Composer in the 2020/2021 season. His other operatic engagements have included Opera Colorado, Chautauqua Opera, Annapolis Opera, Opera Saratoga, Opera Maine, Opera Fayetteville, Opera NEO, Opera North, Odyssey Opera, American Lyric Theater, and more.

Najmi made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2018 as the tenor soloist in Mark Hayes’ Gloria. He has since returned as the soloist in Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living, and as a soloist in Talents of the World Inc.’s Caruso Tribute Concert. He has performed several times as a soloist with the touring concert Video Games Live, including an appearance with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra at the Red Rocks Amphitheater. Najmi has been the recipient of the Harold Norblom Award from Opera Colorado, the Stephen Shrestinian Award from Boston Lyric Opera, 2nd place nationally in the Handel Aria Competition, 2nd prize from the Wilkinson Young Singers Fund, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson Fellowship from Emmanuel Music, and he has been a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions.

Najmi began his composition career with the production of his first opera, En la ardiente oscuridad, in 2019. After a run of sold-out performances, he was invited to serve as the first ever Emerging Composer in residence with Boston Lyric Opera, where he worked with Boston Youth Poet Laureate Alondra Bobadilla in the creation of the song cycle my name is Alondra. The piece received its live premiere on BLO’s Street Stage in 2021. In 2022, his motet The Last Invocation was premiered by Emmanuel Music. His song cycle More Than Our Own Caves will be premiered by Juventas New Music in January 2023. He is currently working on Jo dooba so paar - a short opera exploring the intersection of queer and Muslim identity - which will be premiered as part of White Snake Projects’ Let’s Celebrate initiative.
 

In 2022, Najmi and his husband Brendon Shapiro co-founded Catalyst New Music - an organization dedicated to fostering, developing, and producing new works. Catalyst’s first project - presented with the support of The Boston Foundation’s Live Arts Boston grant - was a concert performance of Najmi’s new opera This Is Not That Dawn, a drama set during and after the Partition of India. Visit www.catalystnewmusic.com for more info.

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NICHOLAS NEWTON

Bass-baritone

October 4
2024

Boston Baroque debut

Hailed for his “polished vocal technique” and “heart-tugging emotional communication” (San Diego Story), Nicholas Newton garners due attention as an up-and-coming bass-baritone in the classical music world. Mr. Newton's 2024-2025 season features a debut at the Opéra national de Paris in Rameau’s Castor et Pollux in a new production directed by Peter Sellars under the baton of Teodor Currentzis, Le nozze di Figaro at Lyric Opera of Chicago directed by Barbara Gaines led by Erina Yashima, and a new production of Don Giovanni at Opera Philadelphia directed by Alison Moritz and conducted by Music Director Corrado Rovaris. Concert performances include a debut with Boston Baroque joining Music Director Martin Pearlman for Haydn’s The Creation, and Handel’s Messiah with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Patrick Summers.

Last season’s diary included the Houston Grand Opera world premiere of Intelligence, a new American epic created by a powerhouse trio: composer Jake Heggie, librettist Gene Scheer, and director/choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, founder of Urban Bush Women; Rossini’s comic masterpiece La cenerentola at Lyric Opera of Chicago; John Adams’ El Niño at The Metropolitan Opera in a new production directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz led by Marin Alsop; and the world premiere of Gregory Spears' and Tracy K. Smith’s The Righteous, along with the role of Leporello in a fresh interpretation by Stephen Barlow of Don Giovanni at the Santa Fe Opera under the baton of Music Director Harry Bicket. Concert performances included Handel’s Messiah with the Ann Arbor Symphony and the Rhode Island Philharmonic as well as a three-city tour of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones in a new suite of music from the composer’s historic opera, performed with the celebrated trumpeter, his E-Collective, and the GRAMMY® Award-winning Turtle Island. Highlights of past seasons include a European debut at the Salzburg Festival in Purcell’s The Indian Queen with Teodor Currentzis conducting Utopia choir and orchestra, the role of Peter in Richard Jones’ acclaimed production of Hänsel und Gretel at Lyric Opera of Chicago conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, Il barbiere di Siviglia at Cincinnati Opera and Santa Fe Opera, Handel’s Rodelinda at The Metropolitan Opera, Xerxes at Detroit Opera, Rigoletto at The Dallas Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and both La bohème and Sweeney Todd at Wolf Trap Opera.

An avid concert performer and recitalist, Mr. Newton is an alumnus of Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute and has toured with renowned pianist Kevin Murphy, performing at the Tucson Desert Song Festival. He also has worked with the Cincinnati Song Initiative and performed in their virtual recital series, A World of Song, and appeared in Houston Grand Opera’s Giving Voice: Lawrence Brownlee & Friends concert. Other notable concert performances include Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, Fauré’s Requiem, Stephen Paulus’ To Be Certain of the Dawn, Gershwin’s Catfish Row with San Diego Winds, Duruflé’s Requiem with San Diego Master Chorale, and the world premiere of Michael Capp’s Christmas Revels with Las Colinas Symphony.

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Camille Ortiz

Soprano

Internationally recognized for her compelling performances of baroque and concert repertoire, native Puerto Rican soprano Camille Ortiz is quickly establishing herself as a leading artist in standard operatic roles. The 2021-2022 season includes recitals and masterclasses of Latin American art song across the United States; a faculty recital at University of Oregon's Beall Hall with pianist David Riley of repertoire by Rachmaninoff, Strauss, Margaret Bonds, and Ernesto Cordero; Pamina in Eugene Opera’s production of The Magic Flute; an Ars Lyrica Houston tour of Spanish baroque repertoire, including a debut with the Music Before 1800 music series in New York City, and a highly anticipated debut with Boston Baroque as Oriana in Handel’s Amadigi di Gaula. 2020-2021 performances included a recorded Christmas concert with Ars Lyrica Houston singing Scarlatti's Christmas Cantata and several virtual recitals and masterclasses.

2019-2020 appearances include a full recital for Opera Orlando's Opera on Park series, scenes from West Side Story for Gulfshore Opera's Song and Dance, and a faculty recital for the Nisita Concert Series at Florida Gulf Coast University. She was also a featured soloist on national radio, San Francisco's Classical KDFC, as part of the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale broadcasts.

2018-2019 highlights include Micaëla in Magic City Opera's Carmen; a debut with the Naples Philharmonic as soloist in their Link-Up Series; Norina in Don Pasquale with Gulfshore Opera; a return to San Francisco for the "Mozart Magnified" series with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra and Chorale as the featured soprano soloist in Exsultate, jubilate, Coronation Mass in C major, and Litaniae Lauretanae; and a Houston debut as Poppea in Handel’s Agrippina with Ars Lyrica Houston.  The summer of 2018 saw her debut as soprano soloist for Rutter’s Requiem, J. Rutter conducting the Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina; and Schubert’s Mass in G-major and Vivaldi’s Gloria in Syros, Greece with the International Festival of the Aegean.

Other roles include Antonia (Les Contes d'Hoffmann) at UNT Opera, Lucia (Rape of Lucretia) at Manhattan School of Music, Blondchen (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) for the Martina Arroyo Role Learning Class, Oscar (Un Ballo in Maschera) for Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance, Fire/Nightingale (L’enfant et les sortilèges) for Coópera: Project Opera of Manhattan, Susan Hoerschner (Clarence and Anita) for the Center of Contemporary Opera NY, Adina, Norina, and Musetta for Centro Studi Lirica in Italy, and Frasquita in Carmen with Dell’Arte Opera. 

Notable engagements include directing and performing for Opera Hispánica NY; soprano soloist with the Zipoli Ensemble NY; appearing in venues such as the Sala Manuel de Falla in Granada, Spain under the tutelage of Teresa Berganza, the Carlos Chávez Hall of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, D.F., Avery Fischer Hall at the Lincoln Center, the Heckscher Theater at El Museo del Barrio, Steinway Hall NY, The Kaye Playhouse, the America’s Society, the Museum of the City of New York, as well as on national television broadcast network Telemundo and HBO live.

Ms. Ortiz is Assistant Professor of Voice at the University of Oregon, School of Music and Dance.  She completed a D.M.A. at University of North Texas, a Master of Music degree at Manhattan School of Music, a Bachelor of Music degree at Oral Roberts University where she double-majored in voice and violin, and is a graduate of the pre-college division of the Puerto Rico Conservatory.  She is the winner of the Gerda Lissner Foundation 2008 Encouragement Award and a finalist in both the Liederkranz 2009 competition, Lieder division, and the Sergei and Olga Koussevitzky 2010 Young Artists Competition.  She has also served on the faculty of Florida Southwestern State College, Florida Gulf Coast University, Ave Maria University, and the Greek Opera Studio.  

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Sidney Outlaw

Baritone

Lauded by The New York Times as a “terrific singer” with a “deep, rich timbre” and the San Francisco Chronicle as an “opera powerhouse” with a “weighty and forthright” sound, Sidney Outlaw was the Grand Prize winner of the Concurso Internacional de Canto Montserrat Caballe in 2010 who delights audiences in the U.S. and abroad. A graduate of the Merola Opera Program and the Gerdine Young Artist Program at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, this rising American baritone from Brevard, North Carolina recently added a GRAMMY nomination to his list of accomplishments for the Naxos Records recording of Darius Milhaud’s 1922 opera trilogy, L’Orestie d’Eschyle in which he sang the role of Apollo.

In the 2022-2023 season, Mr. Outlaw sings Schaunard in La bohème with Greensboro Opera, Dizzy Gillespie in Yardbird with New Orleans Opera, and brings his celebrated Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro to Opera Omaha. On the concert platform, he makes his debut with Boston Baroque as soloist in Handel’s Messiah, returns to Oratorio Society New York as soloist in Bach’s B Minor Mass and joins Youngstown Symphony Orchestra for Mahler’s Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen. The 2021-2022 featured Mr. Outlaw as Salieri in Mozart and Salieri with Opera San Jose, Jake in Porgy and Bess with Greensboro Opera, and Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Pensacola Opera and Opera Saratoga. Engagements for the COVID-affected 2019-2020 season included his San Francisco Opera debut as the First Mate in Billy Budd, Messiah with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony, and Tommy McIntyre in Fellow Travelers with Madison Opera. In previous seasons, Mr. Outlaw sang Dizzy Gillespie in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with both Atlanta Opera and Arizona Opera, returned to the Baltimore Symphony as a soloist in Handel’s Messiah and Minnesota Opera for the world premiere of The Fix, sang Fauré’s Requiem at Augustana College, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem at Cornell University, and made his debut with Mill City Summer Opera as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte.

Mr. Outlaw has been a featured recitalist with Warren Jones at Carnegie Hall and performed Elijah with the New York Choral Society. He traveled to Guinea as an Arts Envoy with the U.S. State Department, where he performed a program of American music in honor of Black History Month and in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King. Mr. Outlaw made his English National Opera debut in the 2011-12 season as Rambo in The Death of Klinghoffer and joined the Metropolitan Opera roster in 2014- 2015 also for The Death of Klinghoffer. Recent engagements include Tommy in Fellow Travelers with Minnesota Opera, Frank Lloyd Wright in Shining Brow with UrbanArias, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with Madison Opera, Dandini in La Cenerentola with Greensboro Opera, Bach’s B Minor Mass with the Oratorio Society of New York, his Spoleto Festival debut as Jake in Porgy and Bess, Dallapiccola’s Il Prigioniero with the New York Philharmonic, Schaunard in La bohème with the Ash Lawn Festival, and Guglielmo in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte with North Carolina Opera. Other roles include Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Atlanta Opera, the title role in Moses with the American Symphony Orchestra, Malcolm X at New York City Opera, Prince Yamadori in Madame Butterfly at Opera on the James, Ariodante in Handel’s Xerxes and Demetrius in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream for the International Vocal Arts Institute, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte and his international debut as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, in both Germany and Israel.

A sought-after concert singer and recitalist, Mr. Outlaw made his Schwabacher Recital debut at the San Francisco Opera center with pianist John Churchwell and collaborates regularly with renowned pianists Warren Jones, Carol Wong, Steven Blier, and Michael Barrett. His concert and recital appearances include debuts of renowned works at major concert halls: Haydn’s The Creation and Handel’s Messiah at Carnegie Hall, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 at Avery Fisher Hall, Mahler’s Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen with Music Academy of the West and “Wednesday At One” at Alice Tully Hall, John Stevens in the world premiere concert of H. Leslie Adam’s opera Blake at the prestigious Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, and the world premiere of Wayne Oquin’s A Time to Break Silence: Songs inspired by the Words and Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., commissioned by The Juilliard School. Mr. Outlaw won 2 nd Prize in the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation’s International Competition, 2nd Prize in the 2011 Gerda Lissner Foundation Awards, National semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, semi-finalist in the Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition, finalist in both Concours International Musical de Montreal and George London Foundation, and grand prize in the Florida Grand Opera/YPO Vocal Competition. His debut album, Lament, recorded live with Warren Jones, was released by Emitha LLC in 2021.

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eric owens

Bass

Bass-baritone Eric Owens has a unique reputation as an esteemed interpreter of classic works and a champion of new music. Equally at home in orchestral, recital, and operatic repertoire, Mr.Owens brings his powerful poise, expansive voice, and instinctive acting faculties to stages around the world.

In the 2022-2023 season, Mr. Owens returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Emile Griffith in James Robinson’s new production of Champion, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and to Los Angeles Opera as Raimondo in Simon Stone’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor. He also debuts at the Wiener Staatsoper in Wagner’s heroic Ring Cycle, first as Wotan in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, and as the Wanderer in Siegfried, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. Additional operatic engagements include King Marke at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Opéra National de Paris in a multimedia production of The Tristan Project, led by conductor Gustavo Dudamel and director Peter Sellars. Concert engagements include performances of Mozart opera excerpts with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Nathalie Stutzmann.

In the 2021-2022 season, Mr. Owens returned to the Metropolitan Opera as both Philippe II in Sir David McVicar’s new production of Don Carlos, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and Porgy in James Robinson’s Grammy Award-winning production of Porgy and Bess, conducted by David Robertson. He also returned to Santa Fe Opera as King Marke in Tristan und Isolde. On the concert stage, he joined the Philadelphia Orchestra for performances of Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, also conducted by Nézet-Séguin, both in Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall and at Carnegie Hall. He sang Vodnik in concert performances of Rusalka with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, led by Alan Gilbert.

In the 2020-2021 season, Mr. Owens performed Sarastro in The Magic Flute at the Glimmerglass Festival, while serving as Artist in Residence for the festival’s Young Artist Program. He also sang in a pop-up concert in New York City alongside other soloists and members of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus and Orchestra, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Mr. Owens’s career operatic highlights include both Alberich and Hagen in the Metropolitan Opera’s Ring cycle; Wotan and the Wanderer in Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ring cycle directed by Sir David Pountney; Orest in Patrice Chereau’s production of Elektra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen at the Met; the title role of Der Fliegende Höllander and Stephen Kumalo in Weill’s Lost in the Stairs at Washington National Opera; his San Francisco Opera debut in Otello conducted by Donald Runnicles; his Royal Opera, Covent Garden, debut in Norma; Vodnik and Porgy at Lyric Opera of Chicago; the title role in Handel’s Hercules with the Canadian Opera Company; Ramfis in Aida at Houston Grand Opera; Die Zauberflöte for his Paris Opera (Bastille) debut; and the title role of Macbeth at the Glimmerglass Festival.

Mr. Owens has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Musical America’s 2017 Vocalist of the Year award, 2003 Marian Anderson Award, a 1999 ARIA award, second prize in the Plácido Domingo Operalia Competition, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the Luciano Pavarotti International Voice Competition. He serves on the Board of Trustees of both the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts and Astral Artistic Services.

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Soula parassidis

Soprano

Praised for her unique timbre and glamorous stage presence, Soula Parassidis first appeared on the international operatic scene in 2009 as Fiordiligi in Mozart's COSI FAN TUTTE on tour in France with the Ensemble Philidor directed by Yves Beaunesne and conducted by Francois Bazola. Later that year she was invited to sing at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence where she performed Diane in ORPHÉE AUX ENFERS, also directed by Yves Beaunesne, conducted by Alain Altinoglu and the Salzburg Camerata, which was broadcast on ARTE on French and German television. 

As a member of the ensemble at Oper Leipzig, Soula performed a wide variety of leading roles accompanied by the Gewandhausorchester, including productions of AUFSTIEG UND FALL DER STADT MAHAGONNY (Jenny), DON GIOVANNI, CARMEN, DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE, HÄNSEL AND GRETEL all conducted by Ulf Schirmer, and she also starred in a new production of ADMETO RE DI TESSAGLIA directed by Tobias Kratzer and conducted by Federico Maria Sardelli. During her engagement she had the privilege to work closely with German director Peter Konwitschny in productions of AL GRAN SOLE CARICO D‘AMORE, PARSIFAL, ELEKTRA, AIDA and COSI FAN TUTTE. Since leaving Oper Leipzig, Soula has appeared on several occasions as a guest with the company.

Other notable performances include Soula's Asian debut as Vitellia in LA CLEMENZA DI TITO with the Taipei Symphony orchestra conducted by Benjamin Bayl and directed by Justin Way, Mahler's 4th Symphony at the Orchestre National de Capitole de Toulouse conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero, the title role of VANESSA by Samuel Barber at the Opéra-Théatre de Metz Métropole, where she also sang the Gräfin Madeleine in CAPRICCIO by Richard Strauss, marking her debut in the dramatic fach. She made her debut as Elettra/IDOMENEO at Teatro Massimo in Palermo and in Bordeaux singing Helmwige (and cover Sieglinde) in Die Walküre in spring 2019. In november 2018 she also made her debut at the Theater an der Wien in Handel’s TESEO under the baton of René Jacobs. She also made her debut as Donna Elvira/DON GIOVANNI in China (with the Compagnie Soleil Bleu) and future engagements include her American debut as 1st Lady/DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE at Houston Grand Opera. Other roles that she prepares at the moment include Kaiserin in DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN, SALOME, Chrysothemis in ELEKTRA as well as Elsa in LOHENGRIN.

Concert engagements include the Czech Philharmonic at the Rudolfinum Prague - CORRESPONDANCES by Henri Dutilleux, which was also broadcast on Radio France, the Attersee Festival in Wagner's WESENDONCK LIEDER, BACHAINAS BRASILIERAS at the Berliner Waldbühne, GIUDITTA at the Teatro Massimo Palermo, GIULIO SABINO at the Gewandhaus Leipzig, COSI FAN TUTTE at Theater Athenée Paris, BEETHOVEN 9TH SYMPHONY with the Wüttembergische Philharmonie, as well as operatic performances of COSI FAN TUTTE at the Berlin Philharmonie and at Nürnberg Opera, DIALOGUES DES CARMELITES with Vancouver Opera, LES PECHEURS DE PERLES at Opera Holland Park. and concerts with RTÉ concert orchestra and John Wilson, performing excerpts from DIE LUSTIGE WITWE and DIE FLEDERMAUS.

Born to a Greek father and Irish mother, Soula grew up in Vancouver, Canada and first trained as a flutist and actor before studying voice. She completed her formal education at the University of British Columbia and the Vancouver Academy of Music, subsequently studying in Europe with Brigitte Fassbaender, Cheryl Studer and Karan Armstrong in Innsbruck, Wurzburg and Berlin respectively. Soula has been the recipient of generous support from the Canada Council for the Arts, as well as multiple prize winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions.

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Nicholas Phan

Tenor

Described by the Boston Globe as “one of the world’s most remarkable singers,” American tenor Nicholas Phan is increasingly recognized as an artist of distinction. Praised for his keen intelligence, captivating stage presence and natural musicianship, he performs regularly with the world’s leading orchestras and opera companies. Also an avid recitalist, in 2010 he co-founded the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago (CAIC) to promote art song and vocal chamber music, where he serves as artistic director.

A celebrated recording artist, Phan’s most recent album, Clairières, a recording of songs by Lili and Nadia Boulanger, was nominated for the 2020 Grammy Award for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album. His album, Gods and Monsters, was nominated for the same award in 2017. He is the first singer of Asian descent to be nominated in the history of the category, which has been awarded by the Recording Academy since 1959. His other previous solo albums Illuminations, A Painted Tale, Still Fall the Rain and Winter Words, made many “best of” lists, including those of the New York Times, New Yorker, Chicago Tribune, WQXR, and Boston Globe. Phan’s growing discography also includes a Grammy-nominated recording of Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony, Berlioz’ Roméo et Juliettewith Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, Scarlatti’s La gloria di primavera and Handel’s Joseph and his Brethren with Philharmonia Baroque, an album of Bach’s secular cantatas with Masaaki Suzuki and Bach Collegium Japan, Bach’s St. John Passion (in which he sings both the Evangelist and the tenor arias) with Apollo’s Fire, and the world premiere recordings of two orchestral song cycles: The Old Burying Ground by Evan Chambers and Elliott Carter’s A Sunbeam’s Architecture.

Phan has appeared with many of the leading orchestras in the North America and Europe, including the Cleveland Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Philharmonia Baroque, Boston Baroque, Les Violons du Roy, BBC Symphony, English Chamber Orchestra, Strasbourg Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, Philharmonia Orchestra of London, and the Lucerne Symphony. He has toured extensively throughout the major concert halls of Europe and has appeared with the Oregon Bach, Ravinia, Marlboro, Edinburgh, Rheingau, Saint-Denis, and Tanglewood festivals, as well as the BBC Proms.  Among the conductors he has worked with are Marin Alsop, Harry Bicket, Herbert Blomstedt, Pierre Boulez, Karina Canellakis, James Conlon, Alan Curtis, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Charles Dutoit, James Gaffigan, Alan Gilbert, Jane Glover, Matthew Halls, Manfred Honeck, Bernard Labadie, Louis Langrée, Cristian Măcelaru, Nicholas McGegan, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, John Nelson, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Helmuth Rilling, David Robertson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Masaaki Suzuki, Michael Tilson Thomas, Bramwell Tovey and Franz Welser-Möst.

An avid proponent of vocal chamber music, he has collaborated with many chamber musicians, including pianists Mitsuko Uchida, Richard Goode, Jeremy Denk, Graham Johnson, Lisa Kaplan, Roger Vignoles, Orion Weiss, Inon Barnatan, Myra Huang and Alessio Bax; violinist James Ehnes; cellist Paul Watkins; guitarist Eliot Fisk; harpist Sivan Magen; the Brooklyn Rider, Jasper, and Spektral string quartets; and horn players Jennifer Montone, Radovan Vlatkovic, and Gail Williams. In both recital and chamber concerts, he has been presented by Carnegie Hall, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, Boston’s Celebrity Series, and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. In addition to his work as artistic director of CAIC, he also has served as guest curator for projects with the Laguna Beach Music Festival, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Merola Opera program, WQXR, and San Francisco Performances, where he served as the vocal artist-in-residence from 2014-2018.

Phan’s many opera credits include appearances with the Los Angeles Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Chicago Opera Theater, Seattle Opera, Portland Opera, Glyndebourne Opera, Maggio Musicale in Florence, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, and Frankfurt Opera. His growing repertoire includes the title roles in Bernstein’s Candide, Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and Handel’s Acis and Galatea, Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Fenton in Falstaff, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, and Lurcanio in Ariodante. 

A graduate of the University of Michigan, Phan is the 2012 recipient of the Paul C Boylan Distinguished Alumni Award and the 2018 Christopher Kendall Award. He also studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the Aspen Music Festival and School, and is an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Studio. He was the recipient of a 2006 Sullivan Foundation Award and 2004 Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation.

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Susanna Phillips

Soprano

Alabama-born soprano Susanna Phillips, recipient of The Metropolitan Opera’s 2010 Beverly Sills Artist Award, continues to establish herself as one of today’s most sought-after singing actors and recitalists.

In the 2019-20 season, Ms. Phillips will return to the Metropolitan Opera for a twelfth consecutive season to sing the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro and make her role debut in the title role of Kát'a Kabanová. She will also reprise Musetta in La bohème with the company. Additionally, she will return to Opera Theatre of St. Louis to make her role debut in the title role of Floyd’s Susannah. In concert, Ms. Phillips will sing the Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Jane Glover, as well as Adams’ El Niño with the Houston Symphony under the baton of David Robertson.

In the 2018-19 season, Ms. Phillips returned to the Metropolitan Opera to make her role debut as Micaela in Carmen. She also sang Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Musetta in La bohème there as well. In addition, Ms. Phillips sang the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro at Cincinnati Opera. On the symphonic front, Ms. Phillips performed and recorded Berg’s Sieben Frühe Lieder with the San Francisco Symphony, led by Michael Tilson Thomas, and appeared in Mahler’s Fourth Symphony and Ravel’s Trois Poèmes de Stéphane Mallarmé at La Jolla Music Society’s SummerFest. Ms. Phillips appeared at the Aspen Music Festival, and gave a solo recital at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York City.

Highlights of Ms. Phillips’s previous opera seasons include performances at the Metropolitan Opera as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Rosalinde in a new production of Die Fledermaus, and Clémence in the Met premiere of Kaija Saariaho’s L’amour de loin. Internationally, she made debuts at the Gran Teatro del Liceu as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and at Opernhaus Zürich and Opera Frankfurt as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni.

Highly in demand by the world’s most prestigious orchestras, Ms. Phillips has appeared with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic under Alan Gilbert, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Orchestra, and Philadelphia Orchestra, among many others. She has also sung the title role of Agrippina, as well as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare, with Boston Baroque.

An avid chamber music collaborator, Ms. Phillips recently teamed with bass-baritone Eric Owens for a recital of all Schubert which they have taken on tour in Chicago with members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, at the Gilmore Festival, and Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and made her solo recital debut at Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall with pianist Myra Huang.

A native of Huntsville, Alabama, over 400 people traveled from her hometown to New York City in December 2008 for Ms. Phillips’ Metropolitan Opera debut in La bohème. She returns frequently to her native state for recitals and orchestral appearances.

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Sean Michael Plumb

Baritone

Hailed for his “full, exciting lyric baritone” (Opera News), 27-year-old Sean Michael Plumb returns to the Ensemble of the Bayerische Staatsoper in the 2019-20 season to sing Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Schaunard in La bohème, Apollon in Alceste, Jake Wallace in La fanciulla del West, and Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos on a company tour to Asia.  He also makes a debut at The Dallas Opera as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte conducted by Music Director Emmanuel Villaume.

Performance highlights during his tenure in the Munich ensemble include Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Dandini in La cenerentola, Schaunard in La bohème, Prosdocimo in Il turco in Italia, and Marco in Gianni Schicchi working with Antonello Allemandi, Ivor Bolton, Lotte de Beer, General Music Director Kirill Petrenko, and Constantin Trinks, among many others.

In North America, Sean Michael Plumb joined the Cleveland Orchestra as Melot in fully staged performances of Tristan und Isolde led by Franz Welser-Möst, gave the world premiere of The Call by German composer Arnulf Hermann with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and bowed in Die Zauberflöte with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra conducted by Krzysztof Urbański.

Passionate about Art Song, Sean Michael Plumb has been presented in numerous German venues and most recently offered programs of R. Strauss, Ives, Barber, and Bernstein under the auspices of the Bayerische Staatsoper, the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, and the Heidelberger Frühling Festival.

The California native made his Bayerische Staatsoper debut in the 2015-16 season in the world premiere of South Pole by composer Miroslav Srnka and librettist Tom Holloway, conducted by Kirill Petrenko and directed by Hans Neuenfels. His continued devotion to contemporary music has yielded marvelous results in the world premiere workshop of Jennifer Higdon and Gene Scheer’s Cold Mountain with Opera Philadelphia and Santa Fe Opera, in workshop performances of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Breaking the Waves in New York and San Francisco, and in Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy at The Glimmerglass Festival.

Mr. Plumb has performed across the United States in such prestigious venues as the Kennedy Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, the Kimmel Center, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Gusman Theater, and the Broad Stage, as well as with orchestras including the Florida Orchestra, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, and the Curtis Symphony.  He was a member of the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singers Project in 2016 and has been a young artist at The Glimmerglass Festival, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and the Aspen Music Festival.

Sean Michael Plumb made his national television debut in the HBO documentary “Renée Fleming: A YoungArts MasterClass” and performed as the youngest soloist at the Grammy Week Salute to Plácido Domingo in 2010.  He was honored by President Obama as a United States Presidential Scholar in the Arts at a ceremony at The White House and has garnered a multitude of awards for his singing, including the Grand Prize of the 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Top Prize at the 2016 Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition, a 2016 Shoshana Foundation Grant, the 2015 Sullivan Foundation Award from The Sullivan Foundation, Top Prize at the 2015 Opera Index Competition, a 2015 Sara Tucker Grant from The Richard Tucker Foundation, First Prize at the 2015 Gerda Lissner Liederkranz Competition, and the 2015 Theodor Uppman Prize from the George London Foundation.  Sean Michael Plumb graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music where he studied under renowned instructors Mikael Eliasen and William Stone.

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