Holiday on Broadway

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 has appeared with Opera Las Vegas on many occasions, in Holiday on Broadway, the Old Lady and the doll Olympia in Pinocchio, and Despina in The Three Little Pigs. She is also the director of the OLV Youth Chorus.  Most recently, Athena was Alice B. Toklas in the West Coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Royce Vavrek’s 27, sang in the Twentieth Anniversary Season Reveal, and portrayed Lilly in Sasha Matson’s Cooperstown. She was scheduled to sing the role of Papagena in June’s The Magic Flute, before it was canceled.

Francisco Corredor is a Puerto Rican/Colombian tenor, composer, and director born and raised in New York City. His comedic and lively operatic interpretations have been praised by Opera News, The New York Times, El Diario, The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and the Oklahoman. A former artist with Tony Bennett’s Exploring the Arts Foundation and Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance, he’s performed in some of New York’s most prestigious venues including Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and Radio City Music Hall as well as abroad in France, Switzerland, Austria, and Israel. He’s also sung backup for Tony Bennett, Josh Groban, and Jennifer Hudson. As a singer songwriter, he’s performed throughout the New York piano bar scene and the famous Caveau de la Huchette in Paris, France. He is the composer and lyricist of “Happy Birthday David: The Musical!” which premiered at the People’s Improv Theater MainStage. His self produced EP, recorded in Paris as Frankie Amadeus, is currently available on music streaming platforms. Recently, he directed Vegas City Opera's The Ring Vegas! which won “Most Innovative Production” at the 360° of Opera 2020 Awards.

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, Lyric Opera Orange County, Vegas City Opera and Opera Santa Barbara. Roles include: Colline, Alidoro, Reverend Hale, Il Commendatore, Sparafucile, Leporello, Bartolo, Seneca and Sarastro to name a few.

Norman is currently a Chrismas Studio Artist for the 2021-2022 season with Opera Santa Barbara and recently won 3^rdplace for the 2021 Classical Singer Competition’s Classical Young Artist/Emerging Professional category.

Norman now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada with his wife and off stage they run a small business in financial services. They are a great team and have a passion for educating others about financial literacy/helping others reach their goals and dreams.

A native of New Orleans, LA, soprano, Kourtney Holmes is an emerging artist of opera, concert, and recital repertoire. Recently performed roles include Gertrude (Hänsel und Gretel) at the Vienna Summer Music Festival and Annie (Royal Flush) at UNLV Opera. Kourtney has performed roles at the Turner-Fischer Center for Opera at Louisiana State University which included Madame Larina (Eugene Onegin), Edka (Two Remain), Rosette (Manon), and Zita (Gianni Schicchi). Kourtney has also performed at regional opera houses and for community outreach events. She gained international experience in Italy, where she sang Mother (Madama Butterfly), La Badessa (Suor Angelica), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro), and Flora (La Traviata). Kourtney holds a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Mississippi State University, a Masters of Music degree from Louisiana State University and is currently a Doctoral candidate at The University of Nevada, Las Vegas where she studies with Dr. Alfonse Anderson. She is also a passionate, licensed music educator who works as a certified EMT in her spare time.

Karsten Pudwill is a Vegas-based tenor from North Dakota. Written as possessing a "warm lyric quality," (Callback News) his recent production credits include Paul in A Secret Sanctuary with Blue Gate Musicals, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel with Opera Las Vegas, and Parpignol in La BoDead with Vegas City Opera. Past credits include Tamino in The Princess and the Magic Flute, and Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, all with Vegas City Opera. He also performed with Majestic Repertory Theatre in the new musical comedy, Bigfoot and sang the role of Jay Newman in the world premiere of the new opera, No Guarantees with UNLV Opera Theatre. He is thrilled to spread some holiday cheer with Opera Las Vegas!