Artists

ANTHONY BARRESE

associate conductor Chicago, Illinois L’inganno felice 2020 Winter Roméo et Juliette 2017 Winter L’Italiana in Algeri 2010 Winter Hänsel und Gretel 2006 Le nozze di Figaro 2002-03 Associate Conductor (debut)

(partial list)

OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Conductor Bottesini Alì Babà, Tancredi, Guillaume Tell, Lohengrin Artistic Director, Principal Conductor (Opera Southwest) Conductor Faccio Amleto (OperaDelaware) Conductor Norma (Florida Grand Opera) Conductor Turandot (Teatro Ventidio Basso/Italy)

HANNA BRAMMER

soprano Traverse City, Michigan Isabella L’inganno felice Sofia Il signor Bruschino 2020 Fall Artist 2020 Juliette Roméo et Juliette 2019 Winter & Fall Pamina Die Zauberflöte, Gilda Rigoletto 2018 Winter & Fall Micaela Carmen, Nuri Tiefland Soloist Operetta Recital 2017 Winter & Fall Studio Artist 2016 Fall Apprentice Artist The Mr. and Mrs. Robert Arthur Sponsored Artist OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Micaela Carmen (Wichita Grand Opera) Fiordiligi Così fan tutte (Festival Amadeus/Montana) Woglinde Das Rheingold, Helmwige Die Walküre (Pittsburgh Festival Opera) Musetta La bohème (Salt Marsh Opera/Connecticut) JOSEPH BEUTEL

baritone Fort Wayne, Indiana Batone L’inganno felice 2020 Winter Alcindoro La bohème, Pâris Roméo et Juliette The Joel D. and Ellen S. Fedder Endowed Artist OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Sir Marshall Mila (Angel Orensanz Center/New York) Troy Bell Stonewall (New York City Opera) Sulpice La Fille du régiment (Intermountain Opera Bozeman/ Montana) Goffredo Il pirata (Bel Canto at Caramoor/New York) Secret Police Agent The Consul (Baltimore Concert Opera)

LISA CHAVEZ

mezzo-soprano Oakland, California Dido Dido and Aeneas 2020 Winter Gertrude Roméo et Juliette, Afra La Wally 2019 Winter Fenena Nabucco 2018 Winter & Fall Carmen Carmen, Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia 2017 Winter Madame de Croissy

Dialogues des Carmélites The Ron and Barbara Archbold Endowed Artist OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Maggie Bell Stonewall, Dolores Claiborne Picker

Dolores Claiborne, Paula Catán

Florencia en el Amazonas (New York City Opera) Isabella L’Italiana in Algeri, Carmen Carmen, Maddalena

Rigoletto, Hänsel Hänsel und Gretel (Opera San José) Suzuki Madama Butterfly (Shreveport Opera, Opera San José, Knoxville Opera) ALEXANDER CHARLES BOYD

baritone Purcellville, Virginia Tarabotto L’inganno felice Bruschino Padre Il signor Bruschino 2020 Fall Artist 2018 Le Dancaïre Carmen, Maruccio Tiefland 2017 Winter & Fall Studio Artist Haly L’Italiana in Algeri 2015 Winter & Fall Apprentice Artist 2012 Fall Apprentice Artist OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Robert Redgate and King Kittypuss

Mr Roger’s Operas Donner Das Reingold (Pittsburgh Festival Opera) Imperial Commissioner

Madama Butterfly (Tulsa Opera) Guglielmo Così fan tutte (Festival Amadeus/Montana)

MARTHA COLLINS

stage director Ottawa, Canada L’inganno felice Dido and Aeneas Winter 2020 Roméo et Juliette 2019 Winter & Fall Nabucco, Brundibár 2018 Winter & Fall Carmen, The Little Sweep 2017 Winter & Fall Dialogues des Carmélites, Rootabaga Country 2005-2020 Sarasota Youth Opera stage director 2004-2020 Apprentice Artists Program stage director

(partial listing) OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Faust, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci (Tri-Cities Opera/New York) Ariadne auf Naxos, Les Mamelles de Tirésias (Land of Enchantment Opera/New Mexico) Die Zauberflöte, Orphée aux enfers (New York University) CHRISTOPHER BOZEKA

tenor Akron, Ohio Bertrando L’inganno felice Florville Il signor Bruschino Sarasota Opera debut OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Tenor soloist Petite Messe Solennelle,

Don Gaspar La Favorite, Messenger

Aida, Nemorino L’elisir d’amore, Pedrillo Die Entführung aus dem Serail (Houston Grand Opera) Nadir Alì Babà (Opera Southwest) Tom Rakewell A Rake’s Progress, Count Almaviva Il barbiere di Siviglia (Wolf Trap Opera) Tamino Die Zauberflöte (Opera Theater of St. Louis) Giovanni Simone Medea (Teatro Nuovo)

MARCELLO CORMIO

conductor Trani, Italy La serva padrona 2019 Winter Rita, Il segreto di Susanna 2016 Winter Così fan tutte 2015 Winter Le nozze di Figaro 2014 Winter Il barbiere di Siviglia 2010 Winter & Fall Assistant Conductor OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Conductor A Room with a View, Così fan tutte, L’elisir d’amore (Michigan State University) Conductor Hänsel und Gretel (Savannah VOICE Festival) Conductor Roméo et Juliette (University of Kentucky Opera) Assistant Conductor (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra) Music Director (Central Kentucky Youth Orchestra) Artistic Director (Opera Lucca)

STEFANO DE PEPPO

bass-baritone Milan, Italy Uberto La serva padrona Gaudenzio Il signor Bruschino 2020 Doctor Dulcamara L’elisir d’amore 2018 Fall Bartolo Il barbiere di Siviglia 2016 Winter Don Alfonso Così fan tutte 2014 Winter The Baron of Kelbar

Un giorno di regno 2010 Fall Don Magnifico La Cenerentola 2008 Fall Bartolo Il barbiere di Siviglia (debut) The Gabriel and Valerie Schmergel Endowed Artist OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Leporello Don Giovanni (Finnish National Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma) Don Pasquale Don Pasquale (Memphis Opera, Bellas Artes/Mexico) Sulpice La Fille du régiment (Arizona Opera, Atlanta Opera)

JAMES EDER

bass Cleveland, Ohio Resident Artist Vespone La serva padrona 2020 Studio Artist 2019 Winter Studio Artist First Priest/Second Man in Armor

Die Zauberflöte, High Priest of Baal Nabucco 2018 Winter & Fall Studio Artist Sponsored by Anonymous OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Truffaldino, Lackey Ariadne auf Naxos, Doctor Grenvil La traviata, The Judge Bilodeau

Another Brick in the Wall (Cincinnati Opera) Colline La bohème (Cleveland Opera Theater) Alcindoro, Benoit La bohème (Knoxville Opera) Lo zio bonzo Madama Butterfly (Chattanooga Symphony & Opera) VICTOR DERENZI

conductor New York, New York L’inganno felice, Il signor Bruschino Sarasota Opera Artistic Director and Principal Conductor since 1982 Winter 2020 La bohème, La Wally 2019 Winter & Fall Turandot, Nabucco, Rigoletto 2018 Winter & Fall Manon Lescaut, Norma, Il barbiere di Siviglia 1982 The Turn of the Screw, Orphée aux enfers (debut)

(partial listing)

OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Gala Concert: A Verdi Celebration (Opéra de Montréal) La fanciulla del West (Théâtre de l’Opéra de Nice) Un ballo in maschera, La bohème (Canary Islands Spain) Maestro DeRenzi is a Knight of the Italian Republic and the only conductor to have performed all of Verdi’s music.

TORI FRANKLIN

soprano Greeneville, Tennessee Resident Artist Second Woman Dido and Aeneas 2020 Winter Apprentice Artist Sponsored by Forrest S. Crawford, in loving memory of Sally H. Foote OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Frankie Frank Pesci Royal Flush (Marble City Opera) Alice Ford Falstaff (Astoria Music Festival) Marcellina Le nozze di Figaro, Ramiro La finta giardiniera, Carmen Carmen. (University of Tennessee Opera) Alisa Lucia di Lammermoor (Knoxville Opera Studio) JOSHUA DEVANE

baritone Waycross, Georgia Ormondo L’inganno felice Filiberto Il signor Bruschino 2020 Studio Artist 2019 Fall Studio Artist Marullo Rigoletto OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Alfio Cavalleria rusticana, Guglielmo Così fan tutte, Signor Deluso Signor Deluso (Boulder Opera) Gianni Schicchi Gianni Schicchi, Don Pasquale Don Pasquale (Martina Arroyo Prelude to Performance/New York) Giorgio Germont La traviata (Boulder Symphony) Danilo The Merry Widow (Loveland Opera Theatre/Colorado)

MARK FREIMAN

stage director New York, New York La serva padrona 2020 Winter La bohème 2019 Winter Die Zauberflöte 2018 Winter Norma 2017 Winter L’Italiana in Algeri, Stage Director for the Apprentice Artists 2006 Benoit La bohème, Moser I masnadieri OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Les Pêcheurs de perles, La bohème, Tosca, Die Fledermaus, Otello, Il trovatore (Winter Opera St. Louis) Così fan tutte (Mobile Opera) La bohème, Nabucco (Union Avenue Opera/Missouri) Le nozze di Figaro (Nickel City Opera/New York) KATHRYN DOMYAN

soprano Allentown, Pennsylvania Resident Artist First Witch Dido and Aeneas 2020 Studio Artist 2019 Fall Studio Artist 2019 Winter Apprentice Artist Sponsored by Anonymous and Katherine Benoit and John Brooks OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Blanche Dialogues des Carmélites, Rose Murrant Street Scene (Loyola University/New Orleans) Suor Angelica Suor Angelica (Susquehanna University) Gretel Hänsel und Gretel Mother, Grandmother

Little Red Riding Hood (Metro Pelican Opera/Louisiana)

ROBERT GEROLD

tenor Queens, New York Resident Artist Bruschino son Il signor Bruschino 2020 Winter Apprentice Artist 2019 Fall Apprentice Artist Sponsored by Eleanor Faber and Hank and Melinda Foster OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Croupier Candide (Des Moines Metro Opera) Dr. Falke Die Fledermaus, Commissario La traviata,

Antonio Le nozze di Figaro (Palm Beach Opera) Cinderella’s Prince Soundheim Into the Woods (Utah Festival Opera) Lockdown Dwayne Fulton A Gathering of Sons,

Riolobo Florencia en el Amazonas (Pittsburgh Festival Opera)

KEVIN HARVEY

tenor Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Resident Artist The Coachman A Musical Evening with Serpina Sailor Dido and Aeneas 2020 Winter Apprentice Artist 2019 Winter & Fall Apprentice Artist Sponsored by Joan Mathews and Alain and Helene Lebleu OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Sailor Dido and Aeneas (Central City Opera) Bénédict Béatrice et Bénédict (Asheville Lyric Opera) Remendado Carmen (Opera Louisiane)

ANNA MANDINA

soprano Kansas City, Missouri Serpina La serva padrona 2020 Mimì La bohème 2019 Winter Liù Turandot 2018 Winter & Fall Studio Artist Berta Il barbiere di Siviglia 2017 Winter & Fall Apprentice Artist Annina La traviata, A Handmaiden L’amore dei tre re The Jan Schmidt Endowed Artist OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Mimì La bohème, Micaela Carmen (Missouri Symphony) Eva Crowley Perla

An American Dream (Opera Maine) Second Lady Die Zauberflöte (Opera Company of Middlebury/ Vermont, Opera Maine) Violetta La traviata (Boston Conservatory Opera) GEORGE HEMCHER

music staff Frazer, Pennsylvania Assistant Conductor Dido and Aeneas Youth Opera Coordinator 2020 Winter Children’s Chorus Master

La bohème 2019 Fall Assistant Conductor

Brundibár 2019 Winter Children’s Chorus Master

Turandot 2018 Fall Assistant Conductor

The Little Sweep 2017 Fall Assistant Conductor

Rootabaga Country (debut) OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Assistant Conductor The Beggar’s Opera, La Vie parisienne (Hofstra University/New York) Coach Otello, Die Fledermaus, Carmen (Delaware Valley Opera/New York)

JESSE MARTINS

conductor Sapiranga, Brazil Dido and Aeneas 2021 Program & Music Director of the Resident Artists/Chorus Master, Sarasota Youth Opera Music Director Music Administrator 2020 Program & Music Director of the Apprentice Artists/Chorus Master 2019 Winter & Fall Conductor

Die Zauberflöte, Brundibár 2018 Winter & Fall Conductor

The Little Sweep Assistant Conductor Carmen, Tiefland 2017 Winter & Fall Conductor

Rootabaga Country Assistant Conductor L’Italiana in Algeri Debut 2011 OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Assistant Music Director (Opera Factory/New Zealand) HOWARD TSVI KAPLAN

costume designer Oceanside, New York Resident Costume Designer Debut 1998 OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Resident Costume Designer (Alley TheatreTexas, Asolo Center/ Florida, Westport Playhouse/ Connecticut, Ringling Brother’s Clown College) Guest Designer for over 100 productions (Opera Delaware, Virginia Opera, Baltimore Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera Boston, Florida Grand Opera, Malabar Limited/Canada, Des Moines Metro Opera, Barter Theater/ Virginia, Virginia Stage, Capital Repertory Theatre/New York, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, ABC, PBS)

MARIA MILLER

mezzo-soprano Paducah, Kentucky Resident Artist Sarasota Opera debut Sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Mallof and Helen Panoyan OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Mezzo soprano soloist opera concert Songs of Hope (Opera on the James) Nancy Smith Scott Davenport Richards Blind Injustice (Cincinnati Opera) Rumer William Menefield Fierce, Celeste Gregory Spears

Castor and Patience (Cincinnati Opera Fusion Workshops) Apprentice Artist (Santa Fe Opera) GEOFFREY LOFF

music staff Miami, Florida Sarasota Opera debut Assistant conductor L’inganno felice, Il signor Bruschino Sponsored by Mr. Alan Kesten and Ms. Melba Jimenez and Mr. and Mrs. William Lloyd OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Assistant Conductor (Houston Grand Opera) Vocal Coach (Mainly Mozart Festival, Chopin Foundation) Music Director for outreach program (Atlanta Opera) Associate Conductor (Des Moines Opera) Resident Artist (Minnesota Opera)

KARA MORGAN

mezzo-soprano Andover, Minnesota Resident Artist Spirit Dido and Aeneas 2020 Winter Apprentice Artist Sponsored by Mrs. Margaret Renner, in memory of Ernst Renner OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Hansel Hänsel und Gretel, Dorabella Così fan tutte, Mercedes Carmen (Fargo-Moorhead Opera) Ottone Agrippina, Madame de Croissy Dialogues des Carmélites, Dritte Dame Die Zauberflöte (New England Conservatory)

LINDSAY OHSE

soprano Topeka, Kansas Belinda Dido and Aeneas 2011 Viclinda I Lombardi alla prima crociata, Ann Putnam The Crucible 2010 Queen of the Night Zauberflöte 2009 Winter & Fall Apprentice Recipient of Sarasota Opera Guild Special Artist Award The Lynn and Steve Blackledge Endowed Artist OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Bekhetaten Glass Akhnaten (Metropolitan Opera) Serpina La serva padrona, Norma Norma (Opera Southwest) Violetta La traviata (Princeton Festival) Sandrina La finta giardiniera (Portland Opera) Alice Falstaff (Intermountain Opera)

LOUIS RIVA

tenor New York, New York Resident Artist A Police Sergeant Il signor Bruschino 2019 Winter Apprentice Artist 2018 Fall Apprentice Artist Sponsored by Paul and Sharon Steinwachs OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Rodolfo La boheme (Charlottesville Opera) Frederic/Major General Stanley

Pirates of Penzance, Spoletta Tosca (Virginia Opera) Fenton/Bardolfo Falstaff, Gastone/ Giuseppe La traviata (Bronx Opera Company) KYLE OLIVER

baritone Plano, Texas Resident Artist The Cook

A Musical Evening with Serpina Sarasota Opera debut Sponsored by Dean Scarborough and Janice Bini OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Zurga Les Pêcheurs de perles (Bel Cantanti Opera) Petrucci Lucrezia Borgia, Ceprano Rigoletto (Caramoor Opera) Dandini La Cenerentola, Yamadori

Madama Butterfly, Count Robinson

Il matrimonio segreto, Zurga

Les Pêcheurs de perles, Father Hänsel und Gretel (Pittsburgh Opera)

LAUREL SEMERDJIAN

mezzo-soprano Tacoma, Washington Marianna Il signor Bruschino 2018 Flora Bervoix La traviata 2017 Suzuki Madama Butterfly 2014 Winter Apprentice Artist The Joey Frye Endowed Artist OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Carmen La tragédie de Carmen (Florentine Opera) Bradamante Alcina, Suzuki

Madama Butterfly, Fenena

Nabucco, Emilia Otello, Mother Goose The Rake’s Progress, Asakir Mohammed Fairouz Sumeida’s Song (Pittsburgh Opera) Lucretia The Rape of Lucretia (Tacoma Opera) Veronica Bizet Docteur Miracle (Dallas Opera) JOANNA POPE

mezzo-soprano Jackson, Mississippi Resident Artist 2020 Apprentice Artists Sponsored by Pat Starke, in memory of John Starke OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Hänsel Hänsel und Gretel, Carmen Carmen (Opera 51) D Do Michael Ching

The Birthday Clown (Savannah Opera) Wife of Peter Poul Ruders

The Handmaid’s Tale (Boston Lyric Opera) Prince Charmant Cendrillon (Opera del West)

CURTIS SERAFIN

music staff New Windsor, Maryland Assistant conductor Dido and Aeneas 2020 Apprentice to the Music Staff OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Vocal Coach & Staff Pianist (Manhattan School of Music) Vocal Coach (Berlin Opera Academy) ABIGAIL RAIFORD

soprano Queens, New York Resident Artist Second Witch Dido and Aeneas 2020 Winter Apprentice Artist Sponsored by Gilbert Roth, in loving memory of Ann Roth OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Shirley Kaplan/Mrs. Fiorentino

Street Scene (Mannes Opera) Queen of the Night Die Zauberflöte (Manhattan Opera Studio) Despina Così fan tutte (Opera Experience) Rose Maurrant Street Scene, Despina Così fan tutte, Queen of the Night Die Zauberflöte (University of Tulsa Opera Theater)

JAKE SKIPWORTH

baritone Detroit, Michigan Resident Artist 2018 Winter & Fall Apprentice Artist 2017 Winter & Fall Apprentice Artist Sponsored by Peter and Louise Shimkin OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Monterone Rigoletto, Yakusidé Madama Butterfly (St. Petersburg Opera) Commissario La traviata (Chautauqua Opera) Baron Grog The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein (Wichita Grand Opera) King Melchior Amahl and the Night Visitors (Opera Kansas)

STEPHANIE SUNDINE

stage director Moline, Illinois Il signor Bruschino 2020 La Wally 2019 Winter & Fall Turandot, Rigoletto 1993 Minnie La fanciulla del West 1989 Wally La Wally 1984 Tatiana Eugene Onegin (debut)

(partial list) OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Turandot (Des Moines Metro Opera) La fanciulla del West, Aida, Tosca (Utah Opera) Les Pêcheurs de perles (Madison Opera, Atlanta Opera, Opera Carolina) Lucia di Lammermoor (Opera Carolina) Il trovatore (Opera New Jersey)

KEN YUNKER

lighting designer Seattle, Washington Resident Lighting Designer Debut 2007 OTHER ENGAGEMENTS 2004-2017 Principal Lighting Designer (Alliance Theatre Company/Georgia) 1993-2015 Resident Lighting Designer (Atlanta Opera) Lighting Designer (FIO Americas Brazil, Florida Grand Opera, Bermuda Arts Festival, Utah Opera, New Orleans Opera, Tulsa Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera New Jersey, Toledo Opera, San Antonio Opera) ANDREW SURRENA

tenor Pleasanton, California Aeneas Dido and Aeneas 2020 Roméo Roméo et Juliette 2019 Winter Tamino Die Zauberflöte 2018 Winter Studio Artist Nando Tiefland 2017 Fall Principal Artist Alfredo

La traviata 2016 Winter Apprentice Artist A Messenger Aida, First Prisoner Fidelio The David and Edith Chaifetz Endowed Artist OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Tonio La Fille du régiment (Opera North/New Hampshire) Tenor Roles Matthew Peterson Voir Dire (Ft. Worth Opera) Ferrando Così fan tutte (Opera in the Heights/Houston) Don José La Tragédie de Carmen (Tri Cities Opera/New York)

KELLEN M. EASON

hair & make-up designer Portland, Oregon Resident Hair & Make-up Designer Debut OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Wig and make-up assistant Madama Butterfly, Le nozze di Figaro, Eugene Onegin, Norma,

Don Pasquale (partial listing) (Florida Grand Opera) Wig and make-up assistant

Il barbiere di Siviglia, La Cenerentola, Orfeo ed Euridice, Faust (partial listing) (Portland Opera) Wig and make-up designer H.M.S. Pinafore, Il barbiere di Siviglia (Eugene Opera) Wig and make-up designer Roméo et Juliette, L’heure espagnole, Scalia/Ginsburg Derrick Wang (Castleton Festival) HANS TASHJIAN

bass East Concord, New York Resident Artist 2017 Winter Studio Artist Imperial Commissioner

Madama Butterfly, 2nd Officer Dialogues des Carmélites 2016 Winter Apprentice Artist Second Prisoner Fidelio 2015 Winter & Fall Apprentice Artist Sponsored by John Suhre and Carla Koeffler OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Enrico Anna Bolena (Baltimore Concert Opera) Mark/Igor The Stonewall Operas (American Opera Project) Aleko Aleko, El Capitán Florencia en el Amazonas Gremin Eugene Onegin, The Emperor Le Rossignol (Yale School of Music) Podestà La gazza ladra (Teatro Nuovo) LINDSAY WOODWARD

music staff Salt Lake City, Utah Assistant Conductor La serva padrona, Il signor Bruschino 2020 Assistant Conductor

La bohème, La Wally 2019 Fall Program & Music Director of the Apprentice Artists/Chorus Master

(Partial list) OTHER ENGAGEMENTS Coach La bohème, Rigoletto, Thaïs, Bolcom Dinner at Eight, Don Pasquale (Minnesota Opera) Chorus Master/Coach Madama Butterfly, La Cenerentola, Roméo et Juliette (Janiec Opera Company/North Carolina) Coach Tosca, Rossini La pietra del paragone (Wolf Trap Opera/Virginia) Coach Così fan tutte, The Rake’s Progress (Utah Opera)