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Celebrating
26
seasons
Est. 1999
November 1, 2024 • Download →
Celebrating
26
seasons
Est. 1999
Soprano
Soprano
Follow Claudia
Claudia Affan is pursuing an MM in vocal performance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She holds her BM in vocal performance from Auburn University, where she studied with Dr. Matthew Hoch. Her operatic roles include Jenny Slade in Roman Fever, Sam in Emily Clements’s Letters to Lily, The Daughter in Strawberry Fields, Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor, Sophie in Werther, Kitty Hart in Dead Man Walking, Clorinda in La Cenerentola, Violetta in La traviata, Rosie in Royal Flush, Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Adina/Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore, Norina in Don Pasquale, L'Eternità in La Calisto, Carolina in Il matrimonio segreto, and Lady Saphir in Patience. Affan has received awards at the state, regional, and national level from NATS, the Vann Vocal Institute, MTNA, and Alabama Federation of Music Clubs. She studies voice with Dr. Linda Lister.
Baritone
Baritone
Follow Brian
Baritone Brian James Myer has been praised as a stage animal of "both voice and character to make him stand out in the crowd" (Sarasota Observer). In the spring of 2021, Mr. Myer returned to New York City Opera as Alberto in their workshop of The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Gordon/Korie) and in 2022, he reprised the role in the opera’s world premiere (a recording of the opera will also take place in 2023). Later in 2022, he joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera as the cover of Marcellus/Player 4 in Brett Dean’s Hamlet, made his Opera Delaware and Baltimore Concert Opera debuts as the title character in Il barbiere di Siviglia and joined the Bard Symphony Orchestra as Second Nazarene in Salome. Upcoming engagements include Mr. Myer making his debut with Berkshire Opera Festival debut as Masetto in Don Giovanni, covering Morbio in Strauss’ Die Schweigsame Frau with Bard Summerscape, joining Brooklyn Art Song Society for selections by Ivor Gurney and Gerald Finzi, returning to Opera Orlando as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, rejoins Opera Las Vegas as David Miller in Approaching Ali, joining Symphony San Jose as the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana, and debuting the role of Count Almaviva with Tri-Cities Opera and Syracuse Opera.
Tenor
Tenor
Christian Shelton, Tenor is a student at UNLV. He is currently a senior at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he is majoring in Vocal Performance and studies with voice teacher Dr. Alfonse Anderson. He won 1st place at the National Classical Singer competition 2023 in the Classical University Divison. Christian also won 1st place for local NATS in 2023. He gained international attention with his powerhouse rendition of Andra Day’s "Rise Up" for the Indeed 2021 Super Bowl commercial. He has garnered the praise of many celebrities including, Sam Smith, Meghan Trainor, Lizzo, Billie Eilish, and Jennifer Hudson.
Pianist
Pianist
Deborah Gordillo, originally from New York City, is a winner of the Prix D’Excellence, France, and the New York Artists International Competition. She has performed at Carnegie Hall, for President George W. Bush at the White House, and has served as accompanist for studios of Metropolitan Opera tenor Nico Castel and cellists Gary Hoffman and Timothy Eddy.
Mrs. Gordillo sang in the choir of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, where she became its sole Composer-In-Residence in history after winning the competition to compose the New York Archdiocese’s bicentennial hymn. Commissions include orchestral arrangements for the New York Papal masses in 2008, a Spanish mass, additional mass parts, anthems, and orchestrations. Her choral works were performed throughout New York State and at the Vatican.
Mrs. Gordillo served on the faculties of her alma mater, the Mannes College of Music, and Eugene Lang College. She teaches music theory, piano, ear training, and has written textbooks for beginner through undergraduate music theory levels.
WORLD PREMIERE
A comic opera very loosely based on Pierre Corneille’s "The Theatrical Illusion"
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Composer
Composer
Follow Conrad
A versatile composer on the faculty of the Juilliard School Extension, Conrad Cummings writes operas, instrumental music, and music for amplified instruments and voices. His work – “music that reveals the unexpected joys and shadowy depths of the American experience” (The New Yorker) – is heard in venues from Carnegie Hall and BAM to alternative clubs (le) Poisson Rouge and The Knitting Factory.
Opera productions range from the three-act, grand opera exploration of the Vietnam War Tonkin, commissioned and premiered by Opera Delaware, to a three-week Off-Broadway run of the electoral campaign opera Photo-Op by Ridge Theater at New York’s legendary La Mama ETC.
Positions 1956, a self-help opera with Tony-nominated librettist Michael Korie, was commissioned and premiered by Washington DC’s UrbanArias. “Thoroughfare,” a theatrical song cycle with Pulitzer-winning librettist Mark Campbell, written for Met Opera tenor Keith Jameson, was premiered at the National Opera Center. “At the Window” commissioned by the Paul Dresher Electro-Acoustic Ensemble and “avant-diva” Amy X Neuburg, received its premiere at Cal Performances.
Recent projects include commissions from the Five Borough Music Festival, HERE Arts Center and mezzo Hai-Ting Chinn, the Yale Guild of Carrilloneurs, New York Philharmonic associate principal bass Max Zeugner, and fortepianist Yi-heng Yang.
Cummings trained at Yale, Stony Brook, and Columbia, did post-doc work at IRCAM in Paris, taught at Oberlin Conservatory for ten years where he directed the music and media program, and since 2003 teaches composition in The Juilliard School Extension.
Honors include selection of The Golden Gate as one of Opera News Magazine’s “Best New Operas of the 21st Century,” fellowships to the MacDowell and Djerassi Foundations, and grants from the NEA, Opera America, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Librettist
Librettist
Mark Campbell’s work as a librettist is at the forefront of the contemporary opera scene in this country. A prolific writer, Mark has created 39 opera librettos, lyrics for 7 musicals, and the text for 6 song cycles and 2 oratorios. His works for the stage have been performed at more than 90 musical venues around the world and the names of his collaborators comprise a roster of the most eminent composers in classical music and include three Pulitzer Prize winners.
Mark’s best-known work is Silent Night, which received a Pulitzer Prize in Music and is one of the most frequently produced operas in recent history. The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, an audience favorite, received a 2018 GRAMMY Award for Best Opera Recording. Mark's other successful operas include The Shining, Stonewall, Later the Same Evening, The Nefarious, Immoral but Highly Profitable Enterprise of Mr. Burke & Mr. Hare, The Manchurian Candidate, As One, The Other Room, Empty the House, Approaching Ali, A Letter to East 11th Street, Dinner at Eight, Volpone, Frida Kahlo and the Bravest Girl in the World, Bernadette's Cozy Book Nook, Stone Soup, and Bastianello/Lucrezia.His musicals include Songs from an Unmade Bed, The Audience and Splendora. He has also created a successful new adaptation of Stravinsky/ Ramuz's The Soldier's Story.
Mark has received many other prestigious prizes for his work, including the first Kleban Foundation Award for Lyricist, a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Recording, two Richard Rodgers Awards from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, three Drama Desk nominations, a Jonathan Larson Foundation Award, a New York Foundation for the Arts Playwriting Fellowship, the first Dominic J. Pelliciotti Award, and a grant from the New York State Council of the Arts.
Recordings of his works include: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Pentatone), Sanctuary Road (Naxos), Silent Night (Naxos), As One (Bright Shiny Things), Volpone (Wolf Trap Records), Bastianello/Lucrezia (Bridge), Rappahannock County (Naxos), Later the Same Evening (Albany) and Songs from an Unmade Bed (Ghostlight).
Mark is also an advocate for contemporary American opera and serves as a mentor for future generations of writers through such organizations as American Opera Projects, American Lyric Theatre, and Washington National Opera’s American Opera Initiative. In 2020, he created and is funding the Campbell Opera Librettist Prize, the first and only award for opera librettists. The award is given annually and administered by OPERA America.
Future premieres include The Secret River for Opera Orlando (Stella Sung, composer); A Nation of Others for the Oratorio Society of New York (Paul Moravec, composer); Edward Tulane for Minnesota Opera (Paola Prestini, composer); A Sweet Silence in Cremona for the Villa la Pietra–Continuum Theater, Florence (Roberto Scarcella Perino, composer); Supermax for Saratoga Opera (Stewart Wallace, composer; Michael Korie, co-librettist); A Thousand Acres for Des Moines Metro Opera (Kristin Kuster, composer) and the book for the musical Les Girls (Cole Porter, composer).
Conductor
Conductor
Praised for conducting with "steady acumen and considerable aplomb" and "awesome control” (Opera Today), Joshua Horsch is an extremely versatile operatic and symphonic conductor. A two-time winner of the American Prize in Opera Conducting, Joshua serves as Music Director and Principal Conductor of Opera Las Vegas. Joshua’s recent and upcoming conducting engagements include appearances with Washington National Opera, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Orlando, Opera Idaho, Opera Baltimore, Greensboro Opera, Mobile Opera, Pacific Opera Project, and Tri-Cities Opera. With a diverse repertoire of over sixty operas and a broad spectrum of orchestral and choral works, Joshua has recently held positions as a conductor and pianist/coach on the music staff of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera, Detroit Opera, Florida Grand Opera, North Carolina Opera, Opera Saratoga, Pensacola Opera, the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Newport Music Festival. Joshua studied conducting and piano at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Pennsylvania State University, and Ithaca College.
Director
Director
Follow Marc
Marc Callahan is a multi-award-winning director and designer, having won both the Charles Nelson Reilly Award for directing and multiple first prize awards for opera production from the National Opera Association. He has received critical acclaim from The Guardian for his production of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes, saying it was “designed and directed with jaw-dropping invention.” His work has taken him around the world with productions at the Royal Opera House, the Aldeburgh Festival, the Holland Festival, Scottish Opera, Miami Music Festival, the New World Center, Théâtre du Châtelet, the Théâtre du Capitole, and Opera Las Vegas. Recent productions include: From the towers of the Moon, Approaching Ali, The Marriage of Figaro, Cendrillon, The Blue Forest, Help, Help, the Globolinks!, Der Jasager, Lohengrin, Alcina, Die Walküre, Il Sogno di Scipione, Atlas, and L’incoronazione di Poppea, for which he was praised in reviews for “…devising a brilliant production of remarkable dramatic intimacy.”).
Baritone
Pridament
Baritone
Follow André
Baritone André Chiang has been described as “vocally commanding” (Oregonian), “handsome of voice” (Opera News), and lauded with “let’s hear more from this singer” (Washington Post). Chiang’s engagements include Ping (Turandot) with OperaDelaware, Marcello (La bohème) and Artist Martinez/Ecce Homo (Behold the Man - world premiere) with Opera Las Vegas, and Escamillo (Carmen) with Opera Western Reserve. Chiang has also been seen with the Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera Philadelphia, the Atlanta Opera, Portland Opera, Virginia Opera, New Orleans Opera, Opera Las Vegas, Mobile Opera, and other American opera companies.
As an educator, Chiang was a 2018 NATS Intern and in the first cohort of Pan American Vocology Association – Recognized Vocologists (PAVA-RV). Chiang is an Assistant Professor of Voice at Emory University, an Instructor of Voice at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, and runs a private online and in-person studio teaching acoustic and amplified styles.
Mezzo-Soprano
Alcandra
Mezzo-Soprano
Erin Gonzalez has performed with UNLV Opera Theater, Pacific Symphony, Sin City Opera, Florentine Opera, Martina Arroyo Foundation, Opera Las Vegas, Nevada Opera Theatre, Eastman Opera Theatre, and Opera Chapman. Role highlights include Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Hermia (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice), Secretary (The Consul), Angelina (La Cenerentola), and Dorabella (Così fan tutte).
Winner of the 2015 and 2016 Nevada District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Friends of Eastman Opera Voice Competition and Bramledge Opera Award and Robert Kuntz Scholarship, Erin received a Bachelor in Music from Chapman University Conservatory of Music and Master in Music from Eastman School of Music.
In July and August of 2017, Erin was a member of the Opera Studio at the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Graz, Austria. While in attendance, she won first place in the elite Meistersinger Competition.
In April 2019, Ms. Gonzalez was named the Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year for the College of Fine Arts.
She graduated with her Doctorate in Musical Arts; Voice from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in May 2019.
Tenor
Clément
Tenor
Follow Xavier
Xavier Prado is a Chilean-born tenor who has received numerous accolades for his exceptional singing. An “Accademia Rossiniana Alberto Zedda 2023” alumnus, he was a finalist and grant winner at the 2023 Loren L. Zachary Vocal Competition, finalist at the 2023 Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition, and has won numerous awards including Second Prize at the 40th anniversary Palm Springs Opera Guild 2023 Vocal Competition as well as the Audience Choice Award and Third Prize at the 2023 edition of the same competition. He has also been recognized as a finalist at the 2024 and 2024 Pasadena Vocal Competition where he also received the audience choice award, and as a finalist and Robinson/Tyrrell award winner at both the 2023 and 2024 Mary Jacobs Singers of the Year Competition. In 2019-20, he won the Beverly Hills National Auditions.
Mr. Prado's performances have been internationally praised and described as possessing "truly stunning acting and vocals” and as a tenor who “marque par la vigueur d’une voix bien posée” [marked by the vigor of a well-posed voice]. He has starred in leading roles in various new works and world premiers such as Don Quixote in the opera Dulcinea XL by Juan Colomer, performed in January of 2019 with the Los Angeles Grand Ensemble under the direction of maestro Ignazio Terrasi. He made his film debut in 2018 with the lead role in an American television miniseries, and performed the role of Ruodi in Guillaume Tell with Opera Southwest, which was broadcast across the United States.
As a Studio Artist in Sarasota Opera during their 2016-17 season, he performed dozens of concerts and lead role covers as well as the role of Le Premier Commissaire in Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmélites. At Opera San Jose he sang roles in Le Nozze di Figaro and Streetcar Named Desire, as well as the role of Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri.
Mr. Prado has performed as a soloist in a wide range of repertoire with various opera companies and orchestras worldwide including the Rossini Opera Festival in Italy, Palms Springs Opera Guild, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Buffs, California Philharmonic, The Lyric Opera of Orange County, Golden State Pops Orchestra, the Santiago Canyon Symphony, Pocket Opera, The Rousse Philharmonic in Bulgaria, Livermore Valley Opera, Santa Barbara Choral Society, Cameretta of Los Angeles, Mission Opera, The Valley Opera and Performing Arts, The Huntington Beach Symphony, Antelope Valley Symphony and Master Chorale, Ridgecrest Opera Guild, Pacific Palisades Symphony, Opera en Castellano, Barskaya Independent Opera Company, and the Pacific Lyric Association.
In 2020, through the Consortium of Music Presenters of Southern California, he presented a recital series throughout Southern California. His last public appearance in 2020 was in March, as the tenor soloist for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony at The Soraya Hall with the CSUN Symphony and a grand union of chorales. In late 2021 he made his return to the post-pandemic opera stage in Il Barbiere di Siviglia as Count Almaviva with the Huntington Beach Symphony & in the title role in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Kaschey The Deathless with Barskaya Independent Opera Company and the title role in Gounod's Faust with Huntington Beach Symphony.
Recent performances include Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Barskaya Independent Opera Company, Romeo in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette in several productions, including those by Mission Opera, Valley Opera and Performing Arts, and the Lyric Opera of Orange County, Rodolfo in La Boheme with VOPA; his participation in the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro, Italy, in the opera Il Viaggio a Reims singing Zefirnino, this past Summer of 2023, and the title role in the opera Zorro by Hector Armienta with Opera Santa Barbara in 2024.
Baritone
Adraste
Baritone
In 2025, baritone Justin Burgess returns to Washington National Opera (WNO) to sing the role of Paul in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs. This fall, he makes his Opera Las Vegas debut in the world premiere of Conrad Cummings and Mark Campbell’s Again & Again & Again, and will join Lyric Opera of Kansas City to cover Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia. In summer 2024, he joined Des Moines Metro Opera, also covering Figaro. Last season, as a Cafritz Young Artist at WNO, he was seen as Mercutio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Donkey in Jeanine Tesori’s The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me and A Mobster/The Guide in Songbird.
In his first season with WNO, he sang Schaunard in Puccini’s La bohème. In summer 2023, he sang Schaunard and covered Martin/James in Candide at the Glimmerglass Festival. In summer 2022, at Santa Fe Opera, he sang Der Steuermann in Tristan und Isolde and covered Morales in Carmen. He spent three summers with Wolf Trap Opera where he sang the roles of Fiorello in Il barbiere di Sivigliaand Zerbin in L’ile de Merlin, as well as covering Figaro, Merlin, Toby in Sweeney Todd, and Baron Pictordu in Viardot’s Cendrillon.
A rising star in the world of contemporary opera, he has appeared in several workshops, including as Ty in A Thousand Acres for Des Moines Metro Opera and Walter in The Hours for The Metropolitan Opera.He has also premiered two new operas through WNO’s American Opera Initiative.
In competition, he was a two time Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, a finalist for the McCammon Vocal Competition at Fort Worth Opera, and an Emerging Artist Award Winner in the Opera Index Vocal Competition. As a concert artist, he will join the Richmond Ballet and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra as the Baritone soloist in Carmina Burana. He also sang in the North American premiere as Pilatus in Sixten’s Johannespassionen with the University Choir at the University of Cincinnati.
Justin received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, and his master’s degree and artist diploma from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). He has been a Young Artist with Santa Fe Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Wolf Trap Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera.
Soprano
Isabel
Soprano
Soprano Kayla Wilkens is delighted to return to Opera Las Vegas after appearing as Littler Zegler in Missy Mazzoli’s Proving Up and as Teen Zelda in Evan Mack and Joshua Snyder’s The Ghosts of Gatsby. Most recently, she joined Vegas City Opera at Meow Wolf's Omega Mart in Prokofiev's The Love For Three Oranges and in Kings & Queens: Madness, Mayhem & Macabre, and as the soprano soloist in The Light of Hope Returning with Desert Singers Las Vegas. An enthusiastic supporter of developing new works, she appeared in the premiere and national tour of the musical We’ll Meet Again (Millie O’Brien), and opera premieres of Diary of a Madman (Sahfee), Vía Láctea (Peggy cover/featured soloist), Culture, Culture! (Page), and O Pioneers! (Marie Shabata). Other contemporary concert soloist credits include Stephen Paulus’ To Be Certain of the Dawn with the Lincoln Choral Artists, John Muehleisen’s Pietà with Abendmusik, and the premiere of Libby Larsen’s Moabit Sonnets with the Linfield Chamber Orchestra.
Soprano
Lyse
Soprano
Athena Mertes, Soprano, is one of the Valley’s most celebrated sopranos, whose opera and concert credits include Marie (The Daughter of the Regiment), Mimi (La Bohème), Musetta (La Bohème), Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Lucy (The Telephone), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Gianetta (L’Elisir d’Amore), Morgana (Alcina), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Abigail (The Crucible), Nella (Gianni Schicchi), Waldvogel (Siegfried) and soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, Brahms Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Beethoven's 9th and Honegger’s King David. She has performed as a guest soloist with the Burbank Philharmonic, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Henderson Symphony, Opera Las Vegas, Vegas City Opera, Lexington Opera Outreach and the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society. Some of her recent credits include Sylvia in the World Premiere of Behold the Man, Zelda in the West Coast Premiere of Ghosts of Gatsby and Alice B. Toklas in the West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek’s 27 with Opera Las Vegas and she portrayed Mimi in Vegas City Opera’s La BoDead.
She is also the Chorus Master of the Opera Las Vegas Youth Chorus and the Director of Choirs at Thurman White Academy of the Performing Arts where she has 400 students. In 2020, she received the Teacher of the Year Award from Magnet Schools of America and is also a National Board-Certified Teacher. In March of 2024, her Choir was featured at the American Choral Directors Association Regional Conference in Pasadena, California and in April of 2024, her contemporary a cappella group was featured at the National Magnet Schools of America Conference in New York City.
Bass-Baritone
Geronte
Bass-Baritone
Follow Peter
Peter Barber is an American bass-baritone and graduate of the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts. He is currently a member of the Arizona Opera Studio, where he has performed Basilio in The Barber of Seville, Capulet in Romeo et Juliette, and Masetto in Don Giovanni.
While at AVA, Peter performed numerous roles, including; the title role in Don Giovanni, Schaunard in La Bohème, and Gremin in Eugene Onegin. Some of Peter’s other role highlights include: Colline in La Bohème, Escamillo in Carmen, Bottom in Midsummer Night's Dream, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro, Stobrod/Blindman in Cold Mountain, and Sarastro in The Magic Flute.
Outside of the opera world, Peter has grown a substantial audience on YouTube, surpassing 160,000 subscribers via videos with music analysis of contemporary music, as well as musical covers. He is also a member of award-winning musical group, The Bass Gang. They have released three EPs, as well as numerous singles, amassing over 10 million views/streams between YouTube and Spotify alone.
Production Pianist
Production Pianist
Timothy Accurso is the Principal Pianist for Opera Santa Barbara, joining the company in the fall of 2018. Tim has been on music staff with Utah Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera Saratoga, and the Seagle Music Colony. Originally from Glen Lyon, Pennsylvania, he completed his undergraduate studies at Susquehanna University in Vocal and Piano Performance. To further his studies in opera, Tim received a Master’s of Music in Vocal Coaching and Accompanying from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied with Dr. Julie Jordan Gunn. Following his studies, Tim was a resident artist with Utah Opera from 2015-2017. In his work with Opera Santa Barbara, he plays all mainstage rehearsals, serves as chorus master of the Opera Santa Barbara chorus, directs the Chrisman Studio Artist program for emerging singers, and performs in community concerts throughout Santa Barbara and the central coast. In addition to his work at the opera, Tim was named the Artistic Director of the Santa Barbara Gay Men’s Chorus in the fall of 2022.
Lighting and Projection Design
Lighting and Projection Design
Follow Catherine
Catherine M. Pratt is a theatrical, dance, and opera Lighting Designer based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Her recent design credits with Opera Las Vegas include Approaching Ali, A Capacity for Evil, Letters to Lily, and Proving Up. Catherine has also worked on various other lighting design projects that include Alice\'s Adventures in Wonderland (Rainbow Company Youth Theatre), Elf the Musical (Sierra Repertory Theatre), La Canterina & Der Scheuspiedirektor (UNLV Theater Opera & Nevada Conservatory Theatre), Little Shop of Horrors (Nevada Conservatory Theatre), Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (UNLV Department of Dance), This Moment of Movement (UNLV Department of Dance), Marcus; or the Secret of Sweet (Nevada Conservatory Theatre), and DramArt (a collaboration between UNLV and Cirque du Soleil).
Catherine holds a Master of Fine Arts in Theatre with emphasis in Lighting Design from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a B.A. in Theatre from Mount Marty University in Yankton, SD.
Conductor
Conductor
Praised for conducting with "steady acumen and considerable aplomb" and "awesome control” (Opera Today), Joshua Horsch is an extremely versatile operatic and symphonic conductor. A two-time winner of the American Prize in Opera Conducting, Joshua serves as Music Director and Principal Conductor of Opera Las Vegas. Joshua’s recent and upcoming conducting engagements include appearances with Washington National Opera, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Orlando, Opera Idaho, Opera Baltimore, Greensboro Opera, Mobile Opera, Pacific Opera Project, and Tri-Cities Opera. With a diverse repertoire of over sixty operas and a broad spectrum of orchestral and choral works, Joshua has recently held positions as a conductor and pianist/coach on the music staff of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera, Detroit Opera, Florida Grand Opera, North Carolina Opera, Opera Saratoga, Pensacola Opera, the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Newport Music Festival. Joshua studied conducting and piano at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Pennsylvania State University, and Ithaca College.
Director
Director
Follow Josh
Named as one of Musical America’s Top 30 Innovators in Classical Music, Josh Shaw is the Founding Artistic Director and CEO of Pacific Opera Project (POP), which has been described as "L.A.'s most exciting new opera company." Over the past twelve seasons, Shaw has directed over 50 productions at POP, including The Rake’s Progress, Ariadne auf Naxos, La Calisto, Tosca: A Moving Production; and La Boheme: AKA “The Hipsters”. A frequent librettist for English updates, his Star Trek inspired Abduction from the Seraglio and Nintendo inspired Magic Flute AKA #SuperFlute have gained national attention and have been produced at multiple companies, shattering attendance records.
Since turning his attention to directing in 2011, Shaw has directed over 100 productions at companies including Opera Santa Barbara, New Orleans Opera, Opera Orlando, Festival Opera, Gulfshore Opera, Intermountain Opera, Salt Marsh Opera, Opera Neo, and Opera in the Heights. His Barber of Seville at Opera Santa Barbara was described as "riotously funny" and "thoroughly amusing from overture to final bow." His work as a director has been described as "brave and unflinching," "ingenious," "relentlessly and adorably rambunctious," and "with enough good comic ideas for at least three productions." As a producer, Shaw has been praised for his "supreme savvy" and "high level of production quality" with "the power to enthrall and captivate audiences."
Recent projects include a new English adaptation of Die Fledermaus at Gulfshore Opera, a ground-breaking production of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta starring “The Blind Soprano” Cristina Jones, and the US Premiere of Vivaldi's Ercole su'l Termodonte. One of the busiest directors during Covid, Shaw directed more than a dozen productions during the pandemic including US staged premieres of Gluck’s La Corona and Il Parnaso Confuso, a drive-in Don Pasquale for Opera Santa Barbara, and an updated Cosi– “Covid fan tutte” set in 2020. Other recent projects include productions of Don Giovanni, La Gazzetta (Rossini), La Traviata, Guillaume Tell, The Mikado, and Tabasco: A Burlesque Opera, a newly rediscovered operetta by G. W. Chadwick, last performed in 1894, which was described as "delightful, packed with humor, and a feast for all the senses" by The New Orleans Advocate. In addition to directing the production, Shaw also wrote a new book and additional lyrics for the project that celebrated the McIlhenney Company’s 150th anniversary.
Beyond the rewrite of Tabasco, Shaw has written several English version libretti including a Wild West setting of Die Lustige Witwe, a contemporary setting of Die Schauspieldirektor, a production of Die Zauberflöte set in the world of 1990s video games, Covid fan tutte, a Star Trek inspired Abduction from the Seraglio, a 1930s Hollywood Fledermaus, and a groundbreaking production of Madama Butterfly sung in Japanese and English, a co-production of POP and Opera in Heights (Houston).
This season, Shaw directs Into the Woods for Intermountain Opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Don Giovanni at Gulfshore Opera, La Rondine at The Southern Illinois Music Festival, The Pirates of Penzance at POP, Falstaff at Salt Marsh Opera, and Tosca at Opera Orlando.
Soprano
Rosina
Soprano
Follow Cecilia Violetta
Celebrated soprano, Cecilia Violetta López, has been named one of “Idaho’s Top 10 Most Influential Women of the Century” by USA Today and has been named one of opera’s “25 Rising Stars” by Opera News. The singing actress is constantly praised for her “alluring voice and incredible range” (Washington Post).
She has received accolades for her signature role of Violetta in La traviata, which she has performed countless times throughout North America. Critic, James Jorden, exclaimed “she is a Violetta fully- formed and, I think, ready for the great stages of the world.” She has now performed the role with Minnesota Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Tampa, Opera Idaho, Ash Lawn Opera, The Northern Lights Music Festival, Madison Opera, Pacific Symphony and Virginia Opera. Ms. López made her European début as Norina in Don Pasquale with Zomeropera in Belgium, for which Klassiek Centraal exclaimed: “She turns out to be the revelation of the show and wins over the audience with her funny rendition, irresistible charm, and [she is] natural in the different vocals.”
From her performance as Adina in The Elixir of Love with Virginia Opera, The Virginian- Pilot hailed, “Cecilia Violetta López is showing local audiences why Opera News named her one of its ’25 Rising Stars.’ In the lead role of Adina, she hit the highest notes with ringing clarity, performed the vocal runs with precision and grace and showed a particular charm and humanity in the softest passages and lowest ranges.” In her recent performance as Marguerite in Faust with Opera Omaha, the Omaha World-Herald claimed “...López sang Marguerite’s seduction, madness and salvation with an other wordly wisdom and artistry.”
Despite the halting effects of COVID-19 in the opera industry, Ms. López’ 2020-2021 has included both virtual and live recitals with Opera Idaho, Opera Las Vegas, Austin Opera, Opera Southwest, Chatter ABQ, and Madison Opera. Ms. López made her company debut with Pacific Symphony as Violetta in their 90 minute version of La traviata, and Ms. López will also be the featured soprano soloist in the world premier of Mi Camino, a virtual project with Opera Cultura. Cecilia will also return to Opera Colorado as a soprano soloist in Canciones de Nuestras Tierras: a live, outdoor performance.
Tenor
Count Almaviva
Tenor
Baritone
Figaro
Baritone
Follow Armando
Praised for “the easy caramel syrup of his voice” (Opera Today), Mexican-American baritone Armando Contreras is quickly becoming a standout in the world of opera. In the 2024-2025 season, he joins Pacific Opera Project as the title role in Antonio Cagnoni’s Don Bucefalo, appears as Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Las Vegas, and will sing as the baritone soloist in Ein deutches Requiem by Johannes Brahms with the Larimer Chorale. He recently joined the Crested Butte Center for the Arts for concerts including as Guglielmo in an abridged version of Così fan tutte.
In the summer of 2023, Mr. Contreras made his company debut with Cincinnati Opera as Lt. Roberto Gonzalez in the stage premiere of The Knock. In the 2023-24 season, Mr. Contreras sang the roles of Hemingway and Santiago in the world premiere of The Old Man and the Sea with the Beth Morrison Projects at both Carolina Performing Arts and ASU Gammage, joined the Omaha Symphony as the Baritone soloist in Brahms’s Requiem, performed as Older Thompson in Glory Denied with the Cleveland Institute of Music, and joined Arizona Opera as Zazueta and Moncada in excerpts from Zorro.
In the 2022-2023 season, Mr. Contreras performed Dandini in La Cenerentola with Kentucky Opera, the role of Cesar Chavez in a workshop of Dolores, a new opera by Nicolas Benavidas based on the life of civil rights leader Dolores Huerta, performed recitals with Colorado State and Pikes Peak Opera League, and returned to Salt Marsh Opera to sing the role of Papageno in The Magic Flute.
Bass-Baritone
Bartolo
Bass-Baritone
Follow Adelmo
Adelmo is excited to return to Opera Las Vegas for his fourth production! You saw him last season as Don Pasquale and since then he has portrayed various roles including Zuniga in Carmen with Salt Marsh Opera, Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro with Shreveport Opera, Don Alfonzo in Cosi Fan Tutte with Cedar Rapids Opera and Morales/Zuniga with Helena Symphony. He is a GRAMMY award winning soloist and in addition to opera landed two national TV commercials for SONY’s PS4 Pro “Opera Campaign,” one of which debuted during the 2018 Super Bowl game day coverage on NBC. He is a featured soloist on the GRAMMY award winning album “All The Sounds” by Lucy Kalantari and The Jazz Cats as “Mr. Opera Man” and has hosted a TV show called “Voices Among Us.” He won The MAC Award for “Best Comedy Performer” for the opera comedy show OPERATION OPERA, was invited by Ryan Seacrest to perform Mozart’s “Non più andrai” on his E! Channel series Bank of Hollywood, was heard on a national commercial for Lidia’s Italian Gourmet Kitchen, and is a featured soloist on a German Children’s CD called "Der Kleine Tanzbar Schubidu". He is also part of the SONY MBA (Music Business Association) catalog singing the seasonal hits “A Christmas Toast” and “Sing Your Song” (lyrics by Michael MacKenzie Wills). His debut solo album titled “Treasured Songs of Italy & Germany” spawned an International Association of Independent Recording Artists (IAIRA) certified International #1 hit for his dual language version of “Funiculi, Funicula”, and he won The Akademia Music Award for Best Gospel Song for his rendition of “Sweet Little Jesus Boy”. He is a voting member of The Recording Academy and an annual participant at the Grammy Awards.
Bass-Baritone
Basilio
Bass-Baritone
Follow Joshua
Joshua Hughes has been lauded for his “full-voiced, highly expressive, bass-baritone pipes” (Theatre Eddy’s), "powerful lyricism” (Texas Classical Review), and "brilliant vocal range” (DC Metro Theater Arts). The 2024/2025 season marks his debut with Opera Las Vegas, a return to San Francisco’s Lamplighters Music Theatre as Major-General Stanley in “The Pirates of Penzance,” and his debut with Albuquerque’s Opera Southwest in the US premiere of Carlo Coccia’s “Matilde.” Recent performances include Il barbiere di Siviglia (Fiorello), Tosca (Sciarrone), Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella (Minister), and West Side Story (Baby John) with Opera San José and La Traviata (Grenvil), Don Giovanni (Masetto & Commendatore), and Der fliegende Holländer (Daland) with West Bay Opera. He has performed with Hong Kong Disneyland, San Francisco Opera, The San Francisco Symphony, American Baroque Opera, Dallas Bach Society, Young Victorian Theatre Company, Victorian Lyric Opera Company, Opera in Concert, Orchestra of New Spain, and Lyric Opera Baltimore. www.joshuahughesbassbaritone.com
Bass
Fiorello
Bass
Follow Norman
Norman Espinoza, a Bass originally from San José California, has performed internationally and with numerous opera companies around the country. He is a graduate from San José State University where he obtained both his M.M. and B.M. in Vocal Performance.
Recognized for his powerful low notes, he has sung for Opera San José, Livermore Valley Opera, Lyric Opera Orange County, Opera Las Vegas, Opera Modesto, Berlin Opera Academy, Montefeltro Music Festival in Italy, and was recently a Chrisman Studio Artist for Opera Santa Barbara.
Roles Norman has sung include: Colline, Alidoro, Mustafà, Reverend Hale, Leporello, Il Commendatore, Sparafucile, Bartolo, Dr Grenvil, Seneca and Sarastro to name a few.
Norman now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife/new born son and works closely with Opera Las Vegas. He's also a Gondolier Singer for the Venetian Resort and he would love to take you on a ride on his gondola in Las Venice!
Soprano
Berta
Soprano
Follow Claudia
Claudia Affan is pursuing an MM in vocal performance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She holds her BM in vocal performance from Auburn University, where she studied with Dr. Matthew Hoch. Her operatic roles include Jenny Slade in Roman Fever, Sam in Emily Clements’s Letters to Lily, The Daughter in Strawberry Fields, Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor, Sophie in Werther, Kitty Hart in Dead Man Walking, Clorinda in La Cenerentola, Violetta in La traviata, Rosie in Royal Flush, Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Adina/Giannetta in L'elisir d'amore, Norina in Don Pasquale, L'Eternità in La Calisto, Carolina in Il matrimonio segreto, and Lady Saphir in Patience. Affan has received awards at the state, regional, and national level from NATS, the Vann Vocal Institute, MTNA, and Alabama Federation of Music Clubs. She studies voice with Dr. Linda Lister.
A Mariachi Fiesta
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Director, Mariachi Plata
Director, Mariachi Plata
Perry Chacón Jr. is a doctoral candidate at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas under the tutelage of Dr. Alfonse Anderson. He holds a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Opera and Music Theatre performance from Arizona State University, where he studied with renowned operatic baritone Gordon Hawkins. Chacón began his musical studies as a guitarrón player and lead vocalist with the high school ensemble Mariachi Chula Vista in California. With Mariachi Chula Vista, he performed at the Tucson International Mariachi conference, Albuquerque Espectacular, the Encuéntro Nacional del Mariachi y la Charreria in Guadalajara, and the Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in Washington D.C. Chacón continued his musical studies with Mariachi educator and composer Dr. Jeff Nevin and is currently a guitarist and lead vocalist for Mariachi Champaña Nevin. As part of this ensemble, Chacón has performed with the San Diego Symphony, Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, Idaho Falls Symphony Orchestra, Yakima Symphony ,York Symphony Orchestra, and Santa Rosa Symphony among others. Chacon is currently one of the directors at one of the nation’s top Middle School Mariachi programs, Mariachi Los Gavilanes de Monaco Middle School and the director three-time college national champion Mariachi Plata from the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas.
Mariachi Ensemble
Mariachi Ensemble
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In four short years, CSN’s Mariachi Plata has earned a place as the finest Collegiate Mariachi in the United States. Mariachi Plata is comprised of students from CSN’s mariachi courses, part of its fine arts music curriculum. Founding Directors Fernando and Lupe Gonzalez have led this group of 17 highly accomplished student musicians to the very top of the mariachi world, winning the Mariachi Vargas Extravaganza Competition for the last two years in a row. This competition, held in San Antonio, Texas is widely acknowledged as the national championship of collegiate mariachi. CSN’s “Plata” is the first band from outside of Texas to win this prestigious title in the 28-year history of the competition.
This year, under the direction of nationally renowned Mariachi vocalist and guitarrón artist Perry Chacón, Jr., Mariachi Plata continues to be one of the points of pride of the College of Southern Nevada. They are an outstanding example of how we, at CSN, continue to empower our students and communities to achieve, succeed and prosper.
In collaboration with Pacific Opera Project
More Info → Conductor
Conductor
Praised for conducting with "steady acumen and considerable aplomb" and "awesome control” (Opera Today), Joshua Horsch is an extremely versatile operatic and symphonic conductor. A two-time winner of the American Prize in Opera Conducting, Joshua serves as Music Director and Principal Conductor of Opera Las Vegas. Joshua’s recent and upcoming conducting engagements include appearances with Washington National Opera, Las Vegas Philharmonic, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Orlando, Opera Idaho, Opera Baltimore, Greensboro Opera, Mobile Opera, Pacific Opera Project, and Tri-Cities Opera. With a diverse repertoire of over sixty operas and a broad spectrum of orchestral and choral works, Joshua has recently held positions as a conductor and pianist/coach on the music staff of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Austin Opera, Detroit Opera, Florida Grand Opera, North Carolina Opera, Opera Saratoga, Pensacola Opera, the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Newport Music Festival. Joshua studied conducting and piano at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Pennsylvania State University, and Ithaca College.
Director
Director
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Named as one of Musical America’s Top 30 Innovators in Classical Music, Josh Shaw is the Founding Artistic Director and CEO of Pacific Opera Project (POP), which has been described as "L.A.'s most exciting new opera company." Over the past twelve seasons, Shaw has directed over 50 productions at POP, including The Rake’s Progress, Ariadne auf Naxos, La Calisto, Tosca: A Moving Production; and La Boheme: AKA “The Hipsters”. A frequent librettist for English updates, his Star Trek inspired Abduction from the Seraglio and Nintendo inspired Magic Flute AKA #SuperFlute have gained national attention and have been produced at multiple companies, shattering attendance records.
Since turning his attention to directing in 2011, Shaw has directed over 100 productions at companies including Opera Santa Barbara, New Orleans Opera, Opera Orlando, Festival Opera, Gulfshore Opera, Intermountain Opera, Salt Marsh Opera, Opera Neo, and Opera in the Heights. His Barber of Seville at Opera Santa Barbara was described as "riotously funny" and "thoroughly amusing from overture to final bow." His work as a director has been described as "brave and unflinching," "ingenious," "relentlessly and adorably rambunctious," and "with enough good comic ideas for at least three productions." As a producer, Shaw has been praised for his "supreme savvy" and "high level of production quality" with "the power to enthrall and captivate audiences."
Recent projects include a new English adaptation of Die Fledermaus at Gulfshore Opera, a ground-breaking production of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta starring “The Blind Soprano” Cristina Jones, and the US Premiere of Vivaldi's Ercole su'l Termodonte. One of the busiest directors during Covid, Shaw directed more than a dozen productions during the pandemic including US staged premieres of Gluck’s La Corona and Il Parnaso Confuso, a drive-in Don Pasquale for Opera Santa Barbara, and an updated Cosi– “Covid fan tutte” set in 2020. Other recent projects include productions of Don Giovanni, La Gazzetta (Rossini), La Traviata, Guillaume Tell, The Mikado, and Tabasco: A Burlesque Opera, a newly rediscovered operetta by G. W. Chadwick, last performed in 1894, which was described as "delightful, packed with humor, and a feast for all the senses" by The New Orleans Advocate. In addition to directing the production, Shaw also wrote a new book and additional lyrics for the project that celebrated the McIlhenney Company’s 150th anniversary.
Beyond the rewrite of Tabasco, Shaw has written several English version libretti including a Wild West setting of Die Lustige Witwe, a contemporary setting of Die Schauspieldirektor, a production of Die Zauberflöte set in the world of 1990s video games, Covid fan tutte, a Star Trek inspired Abduction from the Seraglio, a 1930s Hollywood Fledermaus, and a groundbreaking production of Madama Butterfly sung in Japanese and English, a co-production of POP and Opera in Heights (Houston).
This season, Shaw directs Into the Woods for Intermountain Opera, Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Don Giovanni at Gulfshore Opera, La Rondine at The Southern Illinois Music Festival, The Pirates of Penzance at POP, Falstaff at Salt Marsh Opera, and Tosca at Opera Orlando.
Baritone
Captain Corcoran
Baritone
Follow André
Baritone André Chiang has been described as “vocally commanding” (Oregonian), “handsome of voice” (Opera News), and lauded with “let’s hear more from this singer” (Washington Post). Chiang’s engagements include Ping (Turandot) with OperaDelaware, Marcello (La bohème) and Artist Martinez/Ecce Homo (Behold the Man - world premiere) with Opera Las Vegas, and Escamillo (Carmen) with Opera Western Reserve. Chiang has also been seen with the Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera Philadelphia, the Atlanta Opera, Portland Opera, Virginia Opera, New Orleans Opera, Opera Las Vegas, Mobile Opera, and other American opera companies.
As an educator, Chiang was a 2018 NATS Intern and in the first cohort of Pan American Vocology Association – Recognized Vocologists (PAVA-RV). Chiang is an Assistant Professor of Voice at Emory University, an Instructor of Voice at the Interlochen Summer Arts Camp, and runs a private online and in-person studio teaching acoustic and amplified styles.
Baritone
Sir Joseph Porter
Baritone
Follow Jake
Jake Stamatis, born and raised in Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, has performed a variety of roles on the operatic stage. His quick, kind, and lovable demeanor has charmed audiences in such roles as Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Figaro in both Il barbiere di Siviglia and Le Nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Marcello and Schaunard in La Boheme, and The Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance. His varied repertoire also includes Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles, La Bête in La belle et la bête (Glass), Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, and Anthony in Sweeney Todd. Jake has been a studio artist at Sarasota Opera, a fellow at the Music Academy of the West, an emerging artist at Seagle Music Colony, an artist in residence with Tri-Cities Opera and Opera Memphis, and even served as a performer and staff choreographer with Bel Cantanti Opera’s Summer Festival. Jake received his Bachelors Degree in Vocal Performance from Susquehanna University, and his Masters Degree in Opera from Binghamton University.
Soprano
Josephine
Soprano
Follow Olivia
Soprano Olivia Yokers is well regarded for her thrilling voice and versatility onstage. Her notable roles include Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance (Dayton Opera, Tulane Summer Lyric, Utah Festival Opera), Zerlina in Don Giovanni (Dayton Opera, Chance Opera Theatre), and Miss Honey in Matilda (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma). Miss Yokers has performed as a solo artist with Virginia Opera, Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, and Oklahoma City’s Canterbury Voices. In concert, she performed masterworks such as Haydn’s Creation, Handel’s Messiah, and Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem. With Opera Las Vegas, Miss Yokers performed the roles of Lily in the debut of Letters to Lily, Adriana in Behold the Man, and Musetta in La bohème. Miss Yokers serves as the Director of Opera and Assistant Professor of Voice at Stetson University in Deland, Florida.
Bass-Baritone
Dick Deadeye
Bass-Baritone
Bass-Baritone, E. Scott Levin has been described as being "larger than life," having a “smooth, buttery voice," “incredibly sharp timing," and delivering "well-considered impersonations grounded in truth." He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Washington University in St. Louis and a Graduate Certificate in Vocal Performance from the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. Since 2002, Scott has sung in over twenty productions with Union Avenue Opera and in thirty productions with Pacific Opera Project including Don Alfonso in Covid fan Tutte, Papageno in “Super” Magic Flute, Don Pomponio in La Gazzetta, KoKo in The Mikado, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, and Leporello in Don Giovanni to name a few. In 2015, Scott made his Los Angeles Opera mainstage debut as Dr. Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi, starring Placido Domingo, and in 2019, he made his LA Opera feature role debut as Hormigon in El Gato Montes, also starring Domingo. Scott is thrilled to make his Opera Las Vegas debut.
Tenor
Ralph Rackstraw
Tenor
Follow Brian
Praised for his “finely focused and well-mannered” voice (Dallas Morning News), tenor Brian Wallin is a “gifted tenor...who took the stage with flair and commitment” (Opera Today). The 2023/24 season brings returns to Arizona Opera (Conte Almaviva, Il barbiere di Siviglia) and Annapolis Opera (Tamino, Die Zauberflöte; Nemorino, L’elisir d’amore), as well as debuts with Permian Basin Opera (Younger Thompson, Glory Denied) and the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra (Carmina Burana). Previous appearances include Arizona Opera (Brighella, Ariadne auf Naxos), Annapolis Opera (Basilio/Don Curzio, Le nozze di Figaro), Pacific Opera Project (Frederic, The Pirates of Penzance), Opera Baltimore (L’Abate di Chazeuil, Adriana Lecouvreur), An Opera Theatre “AOT” (Male Chorus, The Rape of Lucretia), and Opéra de Montréal, with whom he was proud to debut as Tamino in The Magic Flute.
Contralto
Little Buttercup
Contralto
Follow Emily
Lauded for her "lower extension that has to be heard to be believed," NYC-based contralto Emily Geller is establishing herself as a singer to watch. 2024-2025 season performances include a return to Pacific Opera Project as Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, the Alto Soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with Taconic Opera, the Marquise of Berkenfield in La fille du régiment with Opera Company of Middlebury, Second Lady in a new projection-based production of The Magic Flute with Tri-Cities Opera and LUMA Arts Festival, Ježibaba in Rusalka with Gulfshore Opera, the Marquise of Berkenfield in La fille du régiment with Opera Santa Barbara, and Mrs. Cripps in H.M.S. Pinafore in a co-production with Opera Las Vegas and Pacific Opera Project.
Her 2022-2023 performances include Mrs. Quickly in Falstaff and Zita in Gianni Schicchi with Salt Marsh Opera, Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance with Pacific Opera Project, Benoît/Alcindoro in La bohème with Newport Classical, and Suzuki in Madama Butterfly with Teatro Lirico d’Europa (US Tour).
Equally at home with new music, Ms. Geller performed Elder Constance in Matthew Aucoin’s chamber opera Second Nature with Opera Fayetteville, Scholar in John Austin’s Heloise and Abelard with Center for Contemporary Opera, and Wife in Richard Wargo’s The Music Shop with Opera on the James. She garnered rave reviews for creating the role of Sylvia, an image-obsessed Hollywood mother, in the world premiere of Chunky in Heat with Experiments in Opera and Contemporaneous as a part of New York Opera Festival, directed by Alison Moritz and conducted by David Bloom. Opera News singled her out for the "layers of complexity" she brought to her character.
Since 2022, Ms. Geller appeared in numerous concerts, including Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody and Elgar’s The Music Makers with Cappella Cantorum, Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody with the Mendelssohn Glee Club of New York City, Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem with Taconic Opera, and a concert at the Pasadena Tournament of Roses House with the Rose Parade. Other notable concert soloist work includes Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach's Weihnachts-Oratorium and Schwingt freudig euch empor, Duruflé’s Requiem, and Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb with companies across the United States.
As an audience favorite, Ms. Geller returned to Opera North several times, performing Ma Moss (The Tender Land), Hattie (Kiss Me, Kate), Oreste (La belle Hélène), and Mrs. Jones (Street Scene), where she was described as “dangerously close to stealing the show with her effortless comic delivery." After covering Marthe (Faust) at St. Petersburg Opera, she was invited back as a Principal Artist, appearing as Alma Hix and covering Eulalie Mackecknie Shinn (The Music Man). As a two-year Resident Artist with Tri-Cities Opera, she performed Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Mercédès (Carmen), Lola (Cavalleria rusticana) and Ines (Il trovatore).
Ms. Geller holds a Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance from New England Conservatory under the Ruth S. Morse Scholarship and a Master of Music in Opera from Binghamton University with a full assistantship.
Bass-Baritone
Bob Becket, Carpenter’s Mate
Bass-Baritone
Bass-Baritone Joshua Thomas, born and raised in Houston, TX has been hailed for letting “his rich bass notes shine” (Arts Louisville) in addition to portraying “a properly dour Seargeant of Police” (Wall Street Journal).
Some of Mr. Thomas' notable opera performance credits to date include the Seargant of Police (Pirates of Penzance), Commendatore (Don Giovanni), Le Baili (Werther), Le Comte de Grieux (Manon), Tolomeo (Giulio Cesare), Bonze/Yamadori (Madame Butterfly), the title role in Hailstork's Rise for Freedom: the John P. Parker story, and Simone (Gianni Schicchi).
On the concert stage, Josh has been seen as the Bass soloist in Bach’s Wachet auf, Mozart's Requiem, Handel's Alexander's Feast, Wynton Marsalis' All Rise, Bruckner's Te Deum, and the North American premiere of Schumann's Adventlied.
Thomas has been seen at the Glimmerglass Festival, Des Moines Metro Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera Louisiane, and the Druid City Opera and among others.
Choreographer
Choreographer
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Amy started singing and dancing at the age of 7, literally following the footsteps of her mother who was a professional dancer. After attending the LA County High School for the Arts, she earned her bachelor’s degree in music with opera emphasis at The Boston Conservatory where she perfected her music and dance talents. She continued her vocal training at the USC Thornton School of Music the same year she began choreographing for Pacific Opera Project “POP” (Josh Shaw, Dir). Amy went on to choreograph many productions with POP, most notably The Pirates of Penzance, Carmen, The Merry Widow, L\'elisir D’amore, Into the Woods and La Traviata. Amy has also choreographed for New Orleans Opera, Opera in the Heights, Opera Neo and for several films including the short comedy “Foxy Trot” for the Austin Film Society. Amy teaches ballroom dance to students of all levels in Los Angeles.