The Barber of Seville

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.