PERFORMERS

Yunus Akbas (John Brooke), baritone, is in his second year at the Opera Institute where he studies with David Guzman. He has sung the roles of Guglielmo in Cosi fan tutte, Paul in If I Were You, Charles Babbage in The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace, and Mr. Webb in Our Town with the Opera Institute. In 2019, Yunus completed his BM in Opera and Concert Singing at Haliç University. Recently in January of 2023 he received an encouragement award from Metropolitan Opera Laffont competition in the Los Angeles District. This spring he will perform in Handel’s Alcina as Melisso.

Becca Allen (Meg), a Seattle-born mezzo-soprano, is excited to be making her Opera Institute debut! She is a first-year Performance Diploma in Voice student under the tutelage of Dr. Lynn Eustis. Her previous credits include Carmen in Carmen, La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi, Dryade in Ariadne auf Naxos, Nicklausse in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, The Narrator/Mysterious Man in Into the Woods, Hucklebee in The Fantasticks, among others. Becca can next be seen as Bradamante in Alcina with the Opera Institute.

Wayne Arthur (John Brooke) is a baritone from Brooklyn, New York in their first year at the Opera Institute studying with Jim Demler. While at BU, Wayne has performed the role of Dr. Rappaccini in La Hija de Rappaccini. Wayne performed Baritone 1 in X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X (Detroit Opera, Odyssey Opera) and was in the Ensemble of Fire Shut up in my Bones (Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera). Wayne appeared on the 2021

Grammy Award-winning Metropolitan Opera recording of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Wayne will reprise the role of Baritone 1 in X: The Life and Times of

Malcolm X at Seattle Opera in 2024. Andrew Bearden Brown (Laurie), tenor, from Washington DC, is a first-year Performance Diploma student under the tutelage of Dr. Lynn Eustis. With the Opera Institute, Andrew has performed as Stage Manager in Rorem’s Our Town. Recent roles include Torquemada in Ravel’s L’heure espagnole (Royal College of Music) and Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte (Felici Opera). Upcoming performances include as Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion with Ashmont Hill Chamber Music in March, Oronte in Handel’s Alcina with the Opera Institute in April, and as Marzio in Mozart’s Mitridate with Opera Neo in San Diego in July.

Will Benoit (Laurie cover) is an emerging professional tenor from Portland, Oregon, and is a second-year MM in Voice Performance at Boston University. Throughout his young career, Will has performed with organizations such as the Oregon Symphony, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Previous roles performed at BU include Giovanni in Daniel Catàn’s La hija de Rappaccini and David in Jake Heggie’s If I Were You. This is his fourth and final opera with the BU Opera Institute. Will Benoit studies under the tutelage of Dr. David Guzman. Megan Cook (Quartet, Amy cover), a South Korean soprano, is a first-year MM student at Boston University, under the instruction of Matthew DiBattista. Megan attended The Academy of Musical Arts Darmstadt, Germany and earned her Bachelor of Music degree under the instruction of Soprano Petra Lang and Baritone Thomas Bauer. She performed the roles such as Adele, Blonde, Despina, and Papagena in Darmstadt. She was the finalist of Jugend Musiziert Landes