ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Emmanuel Villaume CONDUCTOR

From: Strasbourg, France

Dallas Opera: The Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director (2013/2014-present)

Career highlights: Maestro Villaume has been

The Mrs. Eugene McDermott Music Director of The Dallas Opera since 2013 and the Music Director of the Prague Philharmonia since 2015. Recognized for his interpretation of the French and Italian repertoire, he regularly guests with the most important opera companies and orchestras worldwide. Most recently, Maestro Villaume appeared at the Metropolitan Opera for the HD simulcast of Massenet’s Cendrillon, at the Munich Staatsoper for Carmen, in Covent Garden for La bohéme, as well as with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Mariinsky orchestras. Maestro Villaume has recorded extensively with all major labels. He studied music in Strasbourg, his hometown, and at the Sorbonne in Paris.

Tomer Zvulun DIRECTOR

From: Tel Aviv, Israel

Dallas Opera: Die Fledermaus (2008/2009, debut), La bohéme (2018/2019), Rigoletto (2022/2023)

Career highlights: General and Artistic Director of The Atlanta Opera since 2013, his work has been presented by prestigious opera houses around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, the opera companies of Israel, Buenos Aires, Wexford, Glimmerglass, Houston, Washington National Opera, and Seattle, as well as leading educational institutes and universities such as The Juilliard School, Indiana University, Boston University, and IVAI in Tel Aviv. Zvulun’s work at The Atlanta Opera attracted international attention by earning numerous awards and prizes including the nomination of The Atlanta Opera for the International Opera Awards in London and the selection of his production of Silent Night as both the Irish Times and AJC production of the year. His focus on innovation led to an invitation to deliver a TED talk as well as a case study that is being taught at Harvard Business School. Upcoming productions include Madame Butterfly (Atlanta), The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Salt Lake City, Calgary), Maria de Buenos Aires (San Antonio), Das Rheingold, and Die Walküre (Atlanta).

From: Seattle, Washington Dallas Opera: La bohéme (2018/2019, debut), Rigoletto (2022/2023)

Career highlights: Mr. Rom has designed settings for more than 250 productions and in 2015 he was named as a finalist in the designer of the year category for the International Opera Awards in London. His designs have frequently been featured in the Prague Quadrennial International Design exhibition, San Francisco Opera, Royal Swedish Opera, Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Vancouver Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Minnesota Opera, and many more. In 2014 he designed the European premiere of Silent Night for the Wexford Festival. The Irish Times Theatre Awards named it audience choice and best opera production of 2014. Mr. Rom teaches design at Montclair State University.

From: San Diego, California

Dallas Opera: debut

Career highlights: Ms. Ullrich is known for large scale, character-driven designs that focus on rich storytelling. You may have seen her work at LA Opera, Norwegian Opera, Theater an der Wien (Vienna, Austria), Palau des les Artes (Valencia, Spain), Washington National Opera, Opéra de Montréal, and Opera Philadelphia, among many others. Opera highlights include the world premiere of David T. Little’s JFK (Fort Worth Opera and Opéra de Montréal), The Israeli Opera’s Gulio Cesare performed in the medieval Crusader Fortress (Acco, Isreal), an award-winning production of Phillip Glass’ Satyagraha at The Ekaterinburg State Theater (Russia) and the Bolshoi (Moscow), and I due Foscari (co-production LA Opera, The Royal Opera House), Theater an der Wien, and Palau des Artes. Notable theater designs include The Starry Messenger with Mathew Broderick, The Pride directed by Joe Mantello (Wicked), Fault Lines directed by David Schwimmer (Friends), and Things We Want directed by Ethan Hawke.

From: Branford, Connecticut

Dallas Opera: Les contes d’ Hoffmann (2005/2006, debut), La bohéme (2018/2019), Rigoletto (2022/2023)

Career highlights: Mr. Wierzel has worked with artists and directors from diverse disciplines and backgrounds, in opera, theatre, dance, museums and contemporary music, and on stages throughout the country and abroad. His NYC Broadway productions include Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, the musical FELA! (Tony Award nomination) and David Copperfield’s Dreams and Nightmares. Mr. Wierzel has designed productions with opera companies in New York (Glimmerglass Festival, NYCO), Paris, Tokyo, Norway, Toronto, Vancouver, Wexford, Atlanta, Boston, Seattle, Houston, Dallas, Portland, Denver (Opera Colorado), Washington D.C, Minneapolis and Chicago (Lyric Opera & Opera Theatre), among others. Future projects include a new musical A Walk On The Moon. Mr. Wierzel is a creative partner at Spark Design Collaborative and is on the faculty of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Design For Stage & Film.

From: Dallas, Texas

Dallas Opera: The Barber of Seville (2006/2007, debut), 44 productions since 2006/2007

Career highlights: Mr. Zimmerman has worked with numerous opera companies around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera, and those of St. Louis, Santa Fe, Paris, Philadelphia, Chicago, Minnesota, Santa Barbara, Amsterdam, and more. His career extends to Broadway, where he has worked on such shows as Wicked, Rocky Horror, Show Boat, South Pacific, and Evita. Some of his personal clients include Renée Fleming, Joyce DiDonato, Susan Graham, Patricia Racette, Martha Stewart, and Ricky Martin. Mr. Zimmerman has also worked with DIFFA Fashion Runway, Dallas Fashion and Art, and Yelp.com Fashion Magazine; credits include spreads in Opera News, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. TV and Film credits are Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year, Margaret (starring Anna Paquin), and Hostiles (starring Christian Bale and Rosemund Pike).

From: Mobile, Alabama

Dallas Opera: La bohéme (2018/2019, debut)

Career highlights: Mr. Brownlee is a first prize winner of the Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition, winner of the Zarzuela prize at Operalia, and a grand prize winner of The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He begins the 2022/2023 season with a return to the Ensemble at Oper Frankfurt for Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Don Giovanni. Additional season engagements include returns to Bayerische Staatsoper for Der Freischütz and the Santa Fe Opera for the title role in Der fliegende Holländer. Last season at Oper Frankfurt, Mr. Brownlee was seen in Salome, Oedipus Rex, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Fedora, Król Roger, Rigoletto, and Bluebeard’s Castle. Additional engagements included debuts with Bayerische Staatsoper for La bohème, Wiener Staatsoper for Anna Bolena, and La bohème, and returns to the Metropolitan Opera for La bohème, Opernhaus Zürich for Simone Boccanegra, and the Santa Fe Opera for Tristan und Isolde.

From: Durban, South Africa

Dallas Opera: debut

Career highlights: Ms. Echalaz has appeared at leading opera houses, such as the Royal Opera House, the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago and Sydney Opera House. She has sung the title role of Tosca for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Sydney Opera House, Opera National du Rhin, Staatsoper Berlin, Salzburg Landestheater, Semperoper Dresden, English National Opera, Opera Holland Park and Santa Fe Opera. Appearances include Cio-Cio-San/Madama Butterfly, Ariadne/Ariadne auf Naxos, Ker in the world premiere of Birtwistle’s The Minotaur, Lucia in the world premiere of Ades’ Exterminating Angel, Tatyana/Eugene Onegin, title role/Manon Lescaut, title role/ Salome, Elisabetta/Don Carlos, Amelia/Un Ballo in Maschera, and Maddelena/Andrea Chenier. Ms. Echalaz recently made her role debut as La Gioconda for Grange Park Opera and Lady Macbeth/ Macbeth for New Zealand Opera.

From: Cut’n’Shoot, Texas

Dallas Opera: Great Scott (2015/2016, debut), Everest (2016/2017)

Career highlights: Mr. Mayes enjoys a celebrated operatic career in both traditional and contemporary roles with theaters throughout the United States and Europe. In the 2022/2023 season, Mayes returns to The Atlanta Opera as the title role in the US Premiere of Bluebeard’s Castle, makes his role and company debut as Mr. Potter in It’s a Wonderful Life at English National Opera, and sings the title role in Saint François d’Assise by Olivier Messiaen at Staatsoper Stuttgart. Mr. Mayes recently debuted the role of Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music and reprised his role as Daddy in Taking Up Serpents, both at The Glimmerglass Festival.

Brenton Ryan LOGE

From: Sedalia, Missouri

Dallas Opera: La traviata (2017/2018, debut), Der Ring des Polykrates (2017/2018)

Career highlights: The 2022/2023 season sees Mr. Ryan make his house debut with Bayerische Staatsoper as Pedrillo in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Missail in Boris Godunov, and Second Jew in Salome, as well as his house debut with the Royal Opera House as Monostatos in David McVicar’s production of Die Zauberflöte. Mr. Ryan also returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Monostatos in the new Simon McBurney staging of Die Zauberflöte and a reprise of Spoletta in Tosca.

From: Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Dallas Opera: Arjuna’s Dilemma (2016/2017, debut), Le coq d’or (2019/2020)

Career highlights: Ms. Ammann returns to the Ensemble of the Bayeriche Staatsoper for the 2022/2023 season where she will appear in revivals of La Fanciulla del West, Elektra, Die Zauberflöte, Die Fledermaus, Eugene Onegin, Die Teufel von Loudun, and Rusalka Last season, Ms. Ammann joined the Ensemble at the Bayerische Staatsoper where she was seen in new productions of Das schlaue Füchslein, Les Troyens, and Die Teufel von Loudun and revivals of Il trittico, Falstaff, and Die Zauberflöte. Recent engagements include a return to The Dallas Opera for The Golden Cockerel with Emmanuel Villaume, the Metropolitan Opera for Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi conducted by Bertrand de Billy, Washington National Opera for Eugene Onegin, a debut at Madison Opera in Rusalka, a return to the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for Rigoletto, and a debut at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival in Eugene Onegin.

From: Hulunbuir, China

Dallas Opera: debut

Career highlights: Performances of the 2022/2023 season include The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera, La bohème at Washington National Opera, and Don Carlos with Lyric Opera of Chicago. Highlights of Mr. Chen’s recent seasons include Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny at Festival d’Aix en Provence, The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni at the Metropolitan Opera, Aida at Los Angeles Opera and Cincinnati Opera, Rigoletto at Santa Fe Opera and, with his home company, Houston Grand Opera, productions of Turandot, Norma, The Magic Flute, and Il barbiere di Siviglia.

From: Washington, D.C.

Dallas Opera: debut

Career highlights: This season Mr. Howard makes his Royal Opera House debut in Aida and also performs Don Carlos at Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera, and Approaching Ali with Opera Las Vegas. Highlights of the recent past include La bohème and Aida at Teatro Real, Simon Boccanegra at Opéra national de Bordeaux, Turandot, Don Giovanni, Tosca, and Fidelio at San Francisco Opera, Luisa Miller at English National Opera and Lyric Opera of Chicago, and productions of Der Ring des Nibelungen, Show Boat, Don Giovanni, and Philip Glass’ Appomattox at Washington National Opera.

From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Dallas Opera: debut

Career highlights: Ms. Slack’s 2022/2023 season includes the world premiere of Shawn Okpebholo’s Freedom on the Move: Songs in Flight, developed by Sparks & Wiry Cries, alongside Rhiannon Giddens with Philadelphia Chamber Music Society at The Kimmel Center, and at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; performances in Austin and Portland with the Miró Quartet, and in Cincinnati and Albany with the Pacifica Quartet; a recital in Fort Worth with pianist Michelle Cann and at Cal Poly Arts with organist Alan Morrison; featured soloist with the Nashville Symphony and Oklahoma City Philharmonic in two world premieres by Hannibal Lokumbe; Beethoven’s Egmont at Carnegie Hall with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra; Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Fresno Philharmonic; and titled roles in productions at Portland Opera and Edmonton Opera.

From: Groveland, Massachusetts

Dallas Opera: debut

Career highlights: Mr. Stahley will appear in the 2022/2023 season at Utah Opera singing Erik in Der fliegende Holländer, Cavaradossi in Tosca with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Siegmund in Jonathan Dove’s reduction of Die Walküre with Opera Santa Barbara, Melot and the Young Sailor in Tristan und Isolde with the LA Philharmonic, Leukippos in Daphne with the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and Verdi’s Requiem with the Bakersfield Symphony. A recent graduate of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein young artist program at LA Opera, he performed Walther in Tannhäuser, Le Berger in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, Valcour in L’Amant Anonyme, and First Armored Man in Barrie Kosky’s famed production of Die Zauberflöte. In the 2021/2022 season, Mr. Stahley performed Jupiter in Semele with Opera Santa Barbara, Narraboth in Salome with Bard Festival, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and a concert of opera favorites with Dayton Performing Arts.

From: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Dallas Opera: debut

Career highlights: Mr. Barron recently returned to San Francisco Opera to cover Leporello in Don Giovanni, the Metropolitan Opera to cover the title role in Le nozze di Figaro as well as the Police Officer in Boris Godunov, made his role and company debut as Don Pizarro in Fidelio with Opera North Carolina, reprised Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Finger Lakes Opera and made his role debut as Colline in La bohème with Charlottesville Opera. Upcoming engagements include debuts with The Atlanta Opera as Donner in Das Rheingold, returning to the Metropolitan Opera to cover Swallow in Peter Grimes and Monterone in Rigoletto, and returning to Charlottesville Opera as Baron Zeta in The Merry Widow.

From: Stoke-on-Trent, England

Dallas Opera: Le coq d’or (2019/2020, debut)

Career highlights: Mr. Banks’ 2021/2022 season saw a triumphant return to the Metropolitan Opera singing the role of Hades in Matt Aucoin’s acclaimed new opera Eurydice, earning him the highest of praise from audiences and critics alike. Notable operatic roles have included Arnold (Guillaume Tell) at Welsh National Opera, the title role in Mitridate, re di Ponto at the Bayerische Staatsoper, Ernesto (Don Pasquale) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore) at the Metropolitan Opera and Oreste (Ermione) at the Santa Fe Festival. During a long association with English National Opera, Banks has appeared in a string of new productions and roles including Tom Rakewell (The Rake’s Progress), Edgardo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Hoffmann (The Tales of Hoffmann) and the Duke of Mantua (Rigoletto).

From: Malibu, California

Dallas Opera: Die Zauberflöte (2019/2020, debut)

Career highlights: Ms. Newman begins her 2022/2023 season with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra as the soprano soloist in Bernstein’s Kaddish Symphony. She returns to The Dallas Opera later in the season as Despina in Così fan tutte. In the 2021/2022 season, Newman made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, as well as covered the role of Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos. She also joined the Alabama Symphony Orchestra as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and sang the leading role of Clara in The Light in the Piazza with Central City Opera.

From: Waterloo, New York

Dallas Opera: debut

Career highlights: Ms. Brown’s 2022/2023 season includes concert debuts in both Verdi and Mozart’s Requiem with South Florida Master Chorale and New Choral Society respectively, and her conducting debut in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Tri-Cities Opera and Syracuse Opera. Recent engagements include: covers of the Inkeeper (Boris Godunov), Big Stone (Eurydice), and Marcellina with the Metropolitan Opera, covers of Minkswoman and Stewardess (Flight) with The Dallas Opera, Hippolyta (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Marcellina with Santa Fe Opera, and Giovanna (Rigoletto), Gertrude (Hansel and Gretel), and covers of Léonor (La favorite) and Herodias with Houston Grand Opera. An avid competitor, Ms. Brown has competed and placed in competitions hosted by The George London Foundation, The Metropolitan National Opera, Opera Columbus, and Houston Grand Opera. Ms. Brown founded United in Opera, an organization dedicated to mentoring the opera community, in December 2020.

From: Sacramento, California

Dallas Opera: Die Zauberflöte (2019/2020, debut)

Career highlights: Ms. Ludwig’s 2022/2023 season includes Isabella/L’italiana in Algeri (Eroica Berlin), Maddalena/Rigoletto (Utah Opera), Calbo/Maometto II (Teatro Nuovo), and, on the concert stage, Elgar’s Sea Symphony (Colorado Symphony) and Handel’s Messiah (National Symphony Orchestra, Las Vegas Philharmonic). Her recent performances include Pippo in La gazza ladra, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Isaura in Tancredi (Teatro Nuovo), Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor (Opera Philadelphia), the District Attorney in Central Park Five (Portland Opera), Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte (The Dallas Opera), Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena (Baltimore Concert Opera), and excerpts of Adalgisa in Norma (Sacramento Philharmonic).