Le nozze di Figaro

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart^[a][b] (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age resulted in more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoires. Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music,^[1] with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture".^[2]

Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. At age five, he was already competent on keyboard and violin, had begun to compose, and performed before European royalty. His father, Leopold Mozart, took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy. At 17, he was a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position. Mozart's search for employment led to positions in Paris, Mannheim, Munich, and again in Salzburg, during which he wrote his five violin concertos, Sinfonia Concertante, and Concerto for Flute and Harp, as well as sacred pieces and masses, the motet Exsultate Jubilate, and the opera Idomeneo, among other works.

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Lorenzo Da Ponte (né Emanuele Conegliano; 10 March 1749 – 17 August 1838) was an Italian, later American, opera librettist, poet and Roman Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's most celebrated operas: The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), and Così fan tutte (1790).

He was the first professor of Italian literature at Columbia University, and with Manuel Garcia, the first to introduce Italian opera to America. Besides Mozart, Da Ponte was also a close friend of Casanova.

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Chinese-American Bass, Colin Ramsey, has become known for his “majestic, rotund, ravishing bass” (Opera Today). This year, Mr. Ramsey will feature as Alidoro in Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s La Cenerentola, the title role in Opera Santa Barbara’s Giulio Cesare, Timur in both Pacific Opera Project and Orchestre Philharmonique et Choeur des Mélomanes’ productions of Turandot, and joins the Metropolitan Opera roster to cover Dumas in Andrea Chénier. Last season, he returned to Opera Santa Barbara for the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, Amarillo Opera for Escamillo in Carmen, the title role in Polifemo in its US premiere, and sang Messiah with The Pacific Chamber Orchestra and Santa Barbara Choral Society. Mr. Ramsey has been a soloist at myriad opera houses including the Santa Fe Opera, San Diego Opera, Opera San Jose, Seattle Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Sarasota Opera. His repertoire encompasses a wide range of roles and styles, including Colline in La bohème, Hunding in Die Walküre, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor.

Tori Tedeschi Adams is an exciting young soprano who is quickly gaining the attention of the opera world. In the 2025-2026 season, Ms. Adams will join The Metropolitan Opera roster, covering Student #3 in Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence. She will also originate the role of Elva Heaster Shue in the world premiere of Everlasting Faint with Madison Opera and make her Opera Las Vegas debut as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. This season, she made her role debut as Frasquita in Carmen with the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra. In the 2023-2024 season, Ms. Adams made an exciting house debut with the Houston Grand Opera as Liesl von Trapp in their production of The Sound of Music, after a successful run in the same role with the Glimmerglass Festival, in which she was praised as a “lovely, sonorous Liesl” (Opera News). Passionate about new music, Ms. Adams performed in the world premiere productions of Douglas Cuomo’s Doubt with Minnesota Opera and Susan Kander’s The Giver with Project Opera, originating the role of Jonas. She has also participated in the workshops of acclaimed operas, including Paul Moravec’s The Shining with Minnesota Opera and Kevin Puts’ The Hours with Cincinnati Opera/Opera Fusion, which saw its premiere at The Metropolitan Opera.

Katherine Whyte has delighted audiences and critics alike on opera and concert stages across her native Canada, the United States and Europe. Opera Today has praised her “keen artistic sensibility” while the San Francisco Classical Voice singled out “her glamorous, vibrato-rich voice”. Following her Metropolitan Opera debut in DIE ÄGYPTISCHE HELENA, she has returned to the company as Brigitta IOLANTA, Countess Ceprano RIGOLETTO and Blumenmadchen PARSIFAL

Recent and upcoming engagements for Ms. Whyte include Countess Almaviva LE NOZZE DI FIGARO with Intermountain Opera Bozeman, her debut with Syracuse’s Symphoria performing Poulenc Gloria; a return to New Choral Society as the Soprano soloist Carmina Burana, a solo recital at Gordon College, her debut with Heartbeat Opera as Agathe DER FREISCHÜTZ, and Fiordiligi COSÌ FAN TUTTEwith Opera Grand Rapids.  Whyte performed a solo recital with Djordje Nesic at the celebrated Kolarac hall in Belgrade Serbia and was the soprano soloist for Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Santa Rosa Symphony and Eugene Symphony.  Katherine will sing the Poulenc Gloria with the Greensboro Symphony, a Sibelius Concert with the Vallejo Festival Orchestra and On this Island with Cameron Stowe for Music for Food.  Upcoming roles include Aminta  IL RE PASTORE with Orpheus PDX (Portland)

Other recent operatic engagements include the title role IPHIGÉNIE EN TAURIDE and Iris SEMELE with Canadian Opera Company, Gilda RIGOLETTO with English National Opera, Donna Anna DON GIOVANNI with Vancouver Opera and Opera Hong Kong, Pousette MANON for Dallas Opera, Pamina in DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE with Michigan Opera Theatre, Euridice ORFEO ED EURIDICE with Atlanta Opera, Adina L’ELISIR D’AMOREwith Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra, the Countess LE NOZZE DI FIGARO with Charlottesville Opera, Opera Saratoga, Princeton Festival, the Norwalk Symphony, Virginia Opera and Opera Hamilton andIphis JEPHTA with Opéra National de Bordeaux.  At the Metropolitan Opera Katherine has covered the roles of Karolka (cover) JENUFA, Rebecca (cover), TWOBOYS, Zerlina (cover) DON GIOVANNI, Despina (cover) COSÌ FAN TUTTE, and Novice (cover) SUOR ANGELICA.

Concert engagements include Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Louisiana Symphony, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, National Chorale and the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional,Handel Messiah with Edmonton Symphony, Houston Symphony, the New Choral Society and the National Symphony Orchestra, Mendelssohn A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the Colorado Symphony, Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, Mozart Requiem with the Houston Symphony and the Alabama Symphony, Mozart Mass in C-minor with the Vancouver Symphony, Neilsen Symphony No. 3 with the San Francisco Symphony, Beethoven Mass in C Major and Stravinsky Pulcinella with the Houston Symphony, Fauré Requiem with Manhattan Concert Productions at Carnegie Hall and Orff Carmina Burana with the National Chorale.  Katherine has given concerts with the Qingdao Symphony Orchestra in China, the Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of China’s National Opera at the Meet in Beijing Arts Festival and at the Mountain View International Festival of Song.  The winner of the 2007 Alice Tully Recital Competition, Ms. Whyte made her Carnegie Hall debut in Solo recital at Weill Hall in 2008.

Praised by the Colorado Spring's Gazette for his "stunning" singing with "power and beauty", Matthew Peterson is a baritone acclaimed for his rich voice and expressive acting ability. His career highlights are the leading baritone roles in Don Giovanni, Cosí fan tutte, and Le Nozze di Figaro, as well the Novice in Billy Budd, Silvio from Pagliacci, and the title role of Gianni Schicchi. As a sought-after concert soloist he's performed many of the most demanding works for baritone including Carmina Burana with the Colorado Ballet, Poulenc's Le Bal Masque with the New England Symphony, Mozart’s Requiem, Five Mystical Songs by Vaughen-Williams, Haydn's Creation, and premiered the dance oratorio Ode to Nature that was recorded and released by Albion Records. Matthew is a first place winner of the Denver Lyric Opera Guild competition, a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera's Laffont competition, and was recently the highest placing male singer with the Palm Springs Opera Guild. He is a graduate of the prestigious Yale School of Music and University of Denver. He currently lives in Santa Barbara, CA and teaches private voice lessons.

Christina Pezzarossi Ramsey, mezzo-soprano, has been praised for her “smoky mezzo” and expressive stage presence. A native of Miles City, Montana, she has performed a wide range of operatic roles with companies across the country. Recent highlights include Carmen (Carmen), Ino (Semele), Margaret (The Light in the Piazza), Flora (La traviata), and Dorabella (Così fan tutte), as well as comedic turns in El Gato con Botas and COVID fan tutte with Pacific Opera Project. This season, Christina returns to Opera Santa Barbara in two featured roles: Cornelia in Handel’s Giulio Cesare and Sharon Falconer in Aldridge’s Elmer Gantry. She is currently completing her Doctor of Musical Arts in Voice at UC Santa Barbara.

GRAMMY & MAC Award winning Baritone Adelmo Guidarelli is excited to return to Opera Las Vegas for his 6th production! He is one of opera’s busiest singing actors sought after for the Italian character parts in operas by Donizetti, Rossini, and Mozart such as the title role in Don Pasquale, Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Bartolo in The Barber of Seville and Le Nozze di Figaro, Leporello in Don Giovanni and Don Alfonso in Così Fan Tutte. Other notable roles include Falstaff in Falstaff, Gianni Schicchi in Gianni Schicchi, the Sacristan in Tosca, Benoit and Alcindoro in La Bohème, and Sulpice in The Daughter of the Regiment.

In addition to opera, Mr. Guidarelli 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 also part of the SONY MBA (Music Business Association) catalog singing the seasonal hits “A Christmas Toast” and “Sing Your Song.” 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 is a voting member of The Recording Academy.

Claudia Affan is an emerging soprano residing in Las Vegas. She holds her BM in vocal performance from Auburn University, where she studied with Dr. Matthew Hoch. She has an MM from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where she continues her studies. Affan was a studio artist with Opera Las Vegas for their 2024-2025 season, and is pleased to return this season. Her operatic roles include Jenny Slade in Robert Ward’sRoman Fever, Sam in Emily Clements’sLetters to Lily, The Daughter in Michael Torke’sStrawberry Fields, Kitty Hart inDead Man Walking, Clorinda inLa Cenerentola, and Berta inIl barbiere di Siviglia. Her concert work includes Handel’sMessiah and Mozart’sRegina coeli, K. 108. 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, Chase Orlando Gutierrez, a Las Vegas native young artist whose personable and charismatic singing has taken him from Las Vegas to Spain. Mr. Gutierrez has performed in numerous operas throughout the years: Don Alfonso in Così fan Tutte, Jupiter in Orpheus in the Underworld (English), The Notary in Don Pasquale, The Notary/Buoso Donati in Gianni Schicchi, Thierry in Dialogues of the Carmelites (English), Quartet Chorus of Dido and Aenaeus, Chorus of Pirates of Penzance, and Chorus of La Cenerentola. In concert Chase has performed as the baritone soloist in Charpentier’s Te Deum, and has sung spirituals throughout Spain and Portugal. Chase is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at UNLV under the supervision of Dr. Alfonse Anderson. Outside of the world of opera Chase is a multimedia specialist as the onsite audio engineer and photographer in his studio.

Aaron Oberlander is a baritone who received his Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance with a focus in Pedagogy at the University of Houston. Recently he has performed works with Moores Opera Center, Mercury Early Music Chamber Ensemble, Santa Rosa Symphonic Chorus, and Operativo Houston. Currently he plans to continue his graduate work at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to receive his Master of Music. Mr. Oberlander believes strongly in a personal connection to music and maintains that the art form should remain as free and unhindered as possible while still remaining fun for all ages. He has taught voices of all ages since 2018 in operatic, choral, musical theater, and more casual genres.

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.

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.”).