Holiday on Broadway

Vocalist Lisa Elliott performs in a wide variety of musical styles. From jazz standards on the Vegas Strip to coloratura soprano opera roles, Lisa enjoys many different genres of singing. She is also the Music Director at Grace Presbyterian Church Las Vegas, where she directs the Chancel Choir as well as the Grace Concert Choir and orchestra regularly in major works such as Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Durufle’s Requiem. Additionally, Lisa is dedicated to music education. She is an adjunct voice professor at UNLV, the director of the Grace Academy of Music Education (GAME), and teacher for her own private voice studio. In 2020, Lisa completed her DMA degree in vocal performance through UNLV, having already earned a Master’s degree at San Diego State University in vocal performance, and a Bachelor’s degree in choral conducting at Scripps College in Claremont, CA.

Athena Mertes is one of the Valley’s most celebrated sopranos, whose opera and concert credits include Despina (Cosi Fan Tutte), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Lucy (The Telephone), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Gianetta (L'Elisir d'Amore), Morgana (Alcina), Musetta (La Bohème), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Abigail (The Crucible), Nella (Gianni Schicchi) and soprano soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Handel’s Messiah 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 and Lexington Opera Outreach. She is also the director of the OLV Youth Chorus.  Athena was Alice B. Toklas in OLV’s  West Coast premieres of Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek’s 27, portrayed Lilly in Sasha Matson's Cooperstown, and Zelda in Evan Mack and Joshua Snyder’s The Ghosts of Gatsby.

Ashley Stone received her Doctorate of Music in Vocal Performance from Indiana University where she studied with Costanza Cuccaro. During her time at IU, she taught studio and class voice as well as performing in Falstaff (Mistress Quickly), Candide (Old Lady), Suor Angelica (Principessa), Mark Adamo's Little Women (Meg). She received her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance and Literature from the Eastman School of Music. While in Rochester, NY, she was in Eastman Opera Theater's Suor Angelica (Principesa) and was soloist with the Voices Choral Ensemble, the Gregory Kunde Choral, and the Eastman Chorale.  Ms. Stone has appeared with Opera Las Vegas in Voices Raised for Vets, Holiday on Broadway, Bravo Bernstein!, and The House Without a Christmas Tree.

Joshua Hager, Tenor, is a first-year M.M. student at the University of Nevada – Las Vegas. A recent graduate from Mars Hill University in North Carolina (B.M. Music Education). Joshua plans on pursuing a career in music education and performance after his time at UNLV.

Joshua grew up in Statesville, NC where he developed a passion for music and theatre as he was cast in local and high school productions such as Footloose, The Wizard of Oz, and Singin’ in the Rain. During his time at Mars Hill University, Joshua would perform repertoire from Britten and Haydn to Miles Goodman. He was regularly found singing with the Central United Methodist Chancel Choir in Asheville, NC in addition to the Civic Choral in Johnson City, TN under the direction of Dr. Rodney Caldwell. Joshua has also enjoyed his time serving with TEAMeffort Youth Missions, facilitating construction-based mission sites, directing, and leading in contemporary-style worship.

Christophe Kennedy (Bass-Baritone) received his Masters of Arts at the Cleveland Institute of Music under Dr. Dean Southern. Prior to, he completed his undergraduate’s degree at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas under Dr. Alfonse Anderson. He began his career in the arts at Legacy high school where he performed roles such as Roat (Wait Until Dark), Snoopy (You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown) and the Cowardly Lion (The Wizard of Oz). At UNLV, he added various roles such as Figaro (Le nozze), Colline (La Boheme), Bottom (Midsummer’s), King Claudius (Hamlet), and Leporello (Don Giovanni). While at CIM he was casted as The Chamberlain (Le Rossignol), L’Ombre (L’Enfant et les sortilege), Thésée (Hippolyte e Ariciee), and The Father (The Juniper Tree). Currently he’s performing the role of Jonathan in Donte Miller’s The Rocking Chair and will soon star in Opera Las Vegas’s The Bremen Town Musicians as General Boom.

Marshall Morrow has recently performed Sciarrone in OLV's Tosca, and the Prince in Vegas City Opera’s Cinderella, Jackie Brown (The Threepenny Opera), Pirate King (Pirate of Penzance), Gamekeeper (Cunning Little Vixen), Father (Hansel and Gretel), and Papageno (The Magic Flute). Opera News stated Marshall Morrow “tall, thin and hilariously snooty, showed real comic skill” (Isouard’s Cendrillon). Previously Marshall performed the role of Rambaldo in La Rondine as a Young Artist at Lidal North in Oslo, Norway. His roles include Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Dandini in Isouard's Cendrillon and the summer of 2017, Marshall performed the role of Le Surintendant des plaisirs in Massenet's Cendrillon the role title of Don Giovanni at Trentino Music Festival. Other performance credits include the role of Miton in the U.S. premiere of Delibes' Le Roi L'a Dit. Marshall performed/ created the role of Gregory in a workshop of Vera by Matthew Barnson in collaboration with American Opera Project. Marshall has sung with the New York Philharmonic under the baton of Alan Gilbert.

Norman Espinoza, a Bass originally from San José California, has performed internationally and with numerous opera companies in California. 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 the Berlin Opera Academy, Montefeltro Music Festival in Italy, Opera San José, Livermore Valley Opera, Lyric Opera Orange County, Vegas City Opera and Opera Santa Barbara.

Roles include: Colline, Alidoro, Mustafà, Reverend Hale, Il Commendatore, Sparafucile, Leporello, Bartolo, Seneca and Sarastro to name a few.

For the 2021-2022 season Norman was Chrisman Studio Artist with Opera Santa Barbara and won 3rd place for the 2021 Classical Singer Competition’s Classical Young Artist/Emerging Professional category.

“Tremendous voice! Love the color, especially in the lower part of his voice. Very good possibilities!!” - CS Music

Norman now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife and works closely with Opera Las Vegas. He also is a Gondolier Singer for The Venetian Resort and he would love take you on a ride on his gondola in Las Venice!

Jim Sohre serves as full-time General Director for Opera Las Vegas, for which he has devised and directed such events as Bravo, Bernstein!, A Passion for Puccini, Viva Verdi! , Latin Fiesta, and Bravo, Bernstein! at the Smith Center Cabaret Jazz; Who’s Afraid of Opera?, Carmen and Rigoletto Informances tours to area schools;  Britten’s Noye’s Fludde (Noah’s Flood) to local churches; Stars of David, saluting Jewish-American opera stars at Temple Sinai; family friendly operatic versions of Pinocchio, The Three Little Pigs, and Jack and the Beanstalk to library theatres; and various other thematic performances like Divas in Diamonds, Operatic Spook-takular, Our Three Tenors, Holiday on Broadway, Beer and Baritones, Opera Legends in Black, Dueling Pianos and Cinderella’s Diamond Ball which performed at the historic Liberace Mansion.

Jim travels throughout North America and Europe regularly to review performances for Opera Today, and Music and Vision among other publications. He is a founding member of the Las Vegas Valley Theatre Awards program. He completed a 40-year civilian career with the Army Entertainment program, most of it spent as the Chief for the European Region.  He was the longtime chair of the International Committee for the Association of Community Theatre (AACT).

He has directed and/or served as music director for more than 200 productions, including Les Miserables, The Addams Family, Something’s Afoot, The Fantasticks, Hairspray, The Producers, The Drowsy Chaperone, and many others. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Wisconsin and a Master’s Degree in Theatre from Tulsa University.

He has received multiple awards from the U.S. Army for his work improving the quality of life for soldiers, and from AACT for “promotion and development of the highest standards for community theatre.”  He has adjudicated theatre festivals in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the United States and is the recipient of the Mort Clark International Theatre Award.  His achievements have been honored with a dedicated chair at the National Theatre in Washington, DC.