Pinocchio

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.

Collin Salmon received his degree in vocal music education at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Many semesters in UNLV’s scenes program led to his collegiate debut as Peter Quint in Benjamin Britten’s Turn of the Screw. He was invited this past summer to participate in two summer programs in Europe, one with UNLV Choirs touring Northern Europe, and the second participating in the Classical Music Festival in Eisenstadt, Austria. He looks forward to pursuing a master’s degree in vocal performance leading to a professional career in performing.

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.

Pauline ‘Ofa Tamale, mezzo-soprano, is a native Pacific Islander from the Kingdom of Tonga in the heart of the South Pacific. She was praised by the Schmopera for “sung stirringly” in her first opera and Florida debut in the role of Mrs. Patrick De Rocher in the opera Dead Man Walking by Jake Heggie. Currently in her third year of studies for her Doctoral of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance studies at the University of Nevada Las Vegas under the direction of Dr. Alfonse Anderson. Before moving to Southern Nevada, she completed her Masters of Music in Vocal Performance at California State University Northridge and Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at California State University Long Beach from the voice studio of Shigemi Matsumoto. She has won several competitions including NATS Las Vegas Chapter 2021 among many in the South Bay area in Los Angeles. She appeared on stage at the Nevada premiere of the Letters to Lily by Emily Clemens with the Opera Las Vegas on September 30th –October 2nd, 2022 seasons. She has performed the role of Zita from Gianni Schicchi, and La Zia Principessa from Suor Angelica by Giacomo Puccini, as well as L’Opinion Publique from Jacques Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers with the California State University Northridge OperaProgram.

She has performed and won the title "Choir of the World" competition with the Bob Cole Chamber Choir at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales, 2016, and has performed at the St. Paul Cathedral in London, St. Mary the Virgin at the Oxford University in England. Her training also led her to perform with the El Camino Chorale in Carnegie Hall in 2013 with the work of Faure Requiem. She also performed as an Alto soloist for Messiah in the Los Angeles area. During her 2019 summer program in Graz, Austria, she was hired as the alto soloist for the Missa Purification by Fux at the Münzgrabenkirche in Austria and performed with the orchestra at the Schloßbergbühne Kasematten, Austria. She also worked and sang for a new opera read with the LA Opera for Placido Domingo in their 2020-21 season opera.

Baritone, Chase Orlando Gutierrez, a native of Las Vegas, is a talented and charismatic young artist whose expressive voice and engaging stage presence has earned him opportunities to perform across the globe. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he studied under Dr. Alfonse Anderson. Chase has appeared as Le Gouverneur in Le Comte Ory, Jupiter in Orpheus in the Underworld (English version), The Notary in Don Pasquale, The Jailer in Tosca, and Marchese D'Obigny in La Traviata. He has also participated in a variety of outreach performances throughout Las Vegas. In concert, Chase has performed internationally, performing with La Strada in Graz, as well as with American Spirituals ensembles in Austria, Spain, and Portugal.

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.

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.

Linda Lister (Director) is Professor of Music and Director of Opera at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Winner of the 2014 American Prize for Directing, she is a graduate of Vassar College, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She has led UNLV Opera to two first place wins in the 2015 National Opera Association Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition and a second place win in NOA’s 2016 Opera Production Competition. She is author of So You Want to Sing Light Opera and Yoga for Singers: Freeing Your Voice and Spirit through Yoga, and co-author of So You Want to Sing Music by Women and Voice Secrets: 100 Performance Strategies for the Advanced Singer. Also a composer, she has written three one-act operas: Body of Art, State of Grace, and How Clear She Shines! She sings her own compositions on the Albany Records release Pleas to Famous Fairies.