Bold. Brave. Brilliant.
By Gioachino Rossini

Cinderella

Gioachino Antonio Rossini (February 29, 1792 – November 13, 1868) was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces. Rossini's best-known operas include the Italian comedies The Barber of Seville and La Cenerentola, and the French-language epics Moïse et Pharaon and William Tell. A tendency for inspired, song-like melodies is evident throughout Rossini's scores, which led to the nickname "The Italian Mozart." Until his retirement in 1829, Rossini had been the most popular opera composer in history.

Dean Williamson

Conductor

Dean Williamson, music director of Nashville Opera, is widely known for his perceptive and commanding conducting.   He was artistic director of Opera Cleveland and was the founder and music director of Seattle Opera’s Young Artist Program.

This past season he made a highly successful Lincoln Center debut with the New York City Opera.  He has conducted at many regional companies, including Seattle Opera, Minnesota Opera, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Des Moines Metro Opera, Lyric Opera of Boston, San Francisco Opera/Merola, Opera Colorado, Chautauqua Opera, and Manitoba Opera..

With Nashville Opera, he has recently released two studio opera recordings by Michael Nyman and Carly Simon on Naxos.  His video recording of Le Comte Ory with Des Moines Metro Opera earned an Emmy nomination.

Crystal Manich

Crystal Manich

Stage Director

Crystal Manich is a Puerto Rican director with almost 70 credits of operas, plays, and musicals. Credits include several productions in Argentina and Australia. THEATER: Nashville Children’s Theatre: Return to Sender (world premiere); Theater Latté Da: Barnarda Alba (musical, based on the Spanish play); Charlottesville Opera: Fiddler on the Roof. OPERA: Pinchgut Opera, Australia: Armida, Rameau Triple Bill; Buenos Aires Lírica: Madama Butterfly, Adriana Lecouvreur, Werther, Ernani; Wolf Trap Opera: Rigoletto; two filmed scenes programs for streaming in 2020; Daniel Catán’s Spanish language opera Il Postino for Virginia Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, and Opera Southwest; Pittsburgh Opera: nine productions; Kennedy Center, Santa Fe Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Utah Opera, Tulsa Opera, American Opera Projects, Opera Omaha, Arizona Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Columbus, North Carolina Opera, Opera Delaware, Opera Roanoke, and Lyric Opera of Baltimore. POSITIONS: Former Artistic Director: Mill City Summer Opera in Minneapolis and Opera Omnia in New York; former Assistant Artistic Director Cirque du Soleil: Quidam in Brazil. FOR 2021: Catán's Hija de Rappaccini streaming live for Chicago Opera Theater; The Copper Queen world premiere film for Arizona Opera.

Daniela Mack

Daniela Mack

Angelina April 1, 7 & 9

Mezzo-soprano Daniela Mack has been acclaimed for her “caramel timbre, flickering vibrato, and crisp articulation” (Opernwelt) as she “hurls fast notes like a Teresa Berganza or a Frederica von Stade” (San Francisco Chronicle).

In the 2016/17 season, Daniela Mack made her Royal Opera House-Covent Garden debut as Rosina in The Barber of Seville with Javier Camerena and will make her Metropolitan Opera debut in Mary Zimmerman’s new production of Rusalka as the Kitchen Boy. She debuts with the New York Philharmonic in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony under Alan Gilbert and the Florida Grand Opera as the title role in Carmen. Ms. Mack also returns to Arizona Opera as Angelina in Cinderella and Santa Fe Opera as Bradamante in David Alden’s production Alcina conducted by Harry Bicket.

Daniela Mack returned to the San Francisco Opera to reprise her performances as Rosina in The Barber of Seville and created the role of Jacqueline Kennedy in the world premiere of David T. Little and Royce Vavrek’s JFK at the Fort Worth Opera in the 2015/16 season. She also made her Arizona Opera debut in the title role of Carmen and was seen in recital with tenor Alek Shrader at the Tucson Desert Song Festival. On the concert stage, Ms. Mack debuted with three orchestras under Charles Dutoit: Orchestra de la Suisse Romande in Ravel’s L’heure espagnole and L’enfant et les sortilèges, Boston Symphony Orchestra in L’heure espagnole, and Chicago Symphony Orchestra in Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat. She also debuted with the Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk in Rossini’s Giovanna d’Arco under James Gaffigan and performed Vivaldi’s Judith triumphans with Boston Baroque.

Recently, Daniela Mack has been seen at San Francisco Opera as Rosmira in Handel’s Partenope in a production by Christopher Alden, as well as Rosina. In the summer of 2014, she made important role and company debut: the title role in Carmen at Santa Fe Opera in a new production by Stephen Lawless. She also debuted at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as the Kitchen Boy in David McVicar’s production of Rusalka conducted by Andrew Davis and returned to Madison Opera as Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking. She has been seen at the English National Opera in a new production of Julius Caesar as Sesto under Christian Curnyn, the first time the opera was produced at the ENO since the legendary 1979 production. She also debuted at Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse and Los Angeles Opera as Nancy in Albert Herring, Washington National Opera as the Madrigal Singer in Manon Lescaut, Deutsche Oper Berlin and Verbier Festival as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Opéra National de Bordeaux as Angelina in L’italiana in Algeri, and Opera Colorado in Jean-Pierre Ponnelle's famous production of Cinderella directed by Grischa Asagaroff.

In concert, Ms. Mack has been heard with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Manuel de Falla’s La vida breve under the baton of Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Washington Chorus in Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Hong Kong Philharmonic in Ravel’s Shéhérazade, and with the Sydney Symphony in Canteloube’s Chants d’Auvergne and Falla’s Siete canciones populares españolas. She also made her Cincinnati May Festival debut in Mozart’s Requiem under James Conlon and in an all-star gala at the Opera Theater of San Antonio.

Daniela Mack is an alumna of the Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera where she has appeared as Idamante in Idomeneo Siebel in Faust and Lucienne in Die tote Stadt for her house debut. She performed the title role of Cinderella as a member of the Merola Opera Program and made her West Coast recital debut as part of San Francisco Opera’s Schwabacher Debut Recital Series. Ms. Mack was recently a finalist in the 2013 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition.

young standout singer Alyssa Martin

Alyssa Martin

Angelina April 2 & 8

Lauded for her vocal agility and dynamic stage presence, Alyssa Martin is quickly garnering attention as a standout young singer.

Ms. Martin is currently a first-year Marion Roose Pullin Studio Artist at Arizona Opera. This season she will perform Mercédès in Carmen, Meg Page in Falstaff, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She will also appear as the mezzo soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Santa Fe Symphony.

Upcoming engagements include a return to The Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist, where she will perform the role of Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette and a return to Arizona Opera in the 2016/17 season singing Kitchen Boy in Rusalka, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, and Angelinain La Cenerentola.

Ms. Martin’s 2014/15 season included her tenure as an Apprentice Artist at the Santa Fe Opera where she covered Don Ramiro in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera. While at Santa Fe, Ms. Martin also performed scenes as Dorabella in Così fan tutte, and Desdemona in Rossini’s Otello.  Other recent engagements include covering Flora and Annina in La traviata and The Page in Salome as an Emerging Artist at Virginia Opera. Ms. Martin was also an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, where she covered Isolier in Rossini’s Le Comte Ory.

This season, Ms. Martin was named a winner in the Arizona District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, where she went on to place 3rd in the Western Region Finals. In the 2014/15 season, she was awarded a Career Grant from the Seattle Opera Guild, an Encouragement Grant from the Career Bridges Grant Foundation, and also 2nd prize at the Young Patronesses of the Opera Competition at Florida Grand Opera. She has been the recipient of numerous awards from organizations such as the Orpheus Vocal Competition, Young Patronesses of the Opera, Opera Guild of Dayton, Indianapolis Matinee Musicale, and Utah Festival Opera.

Ms. Martin completed her studies at the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where she obtained both a bachelor’s and master’s degree under the instruction of Patricia Stiles and world-renowned soprano, Carol Vaness. On the IU stage she performed roles such as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Cendrillon in Cendrillon,  Dorabella in Così fan tutte,  and Prinz Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus.  Ms. Martin is a native of Greensboro, NC.

Alek Shrader

Alek Shrader

Don Ramiro April 1, 7 & 9

The brilliant lyric tenor Alek Shrader continues to impress audiences with the “luxury of his phrasing, the clarity of his diction and the sensitivity and expressiveness of his characterizations”.

Mr. Shrader’s 2015-2016 season begins with performances of Alfredo in La Traviata with Opera Philadelphia, followed by a return to the San Francisco Opera to sing David in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Later in the season he will sing Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Baltimore Lyric Opera and Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress with the Pittsburgh Opera.

In the 2014/15 season, Mr. Shrader returned to the San Francisco Opera to sing the role of Emilio in Handel’s Partenope¸ followed by a return to the Metropolitan Opera for Camille in a new production of Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow. Other engagements include Jupiter & Apollo in Handel’s Semele with the Seattle Opera, singing one of his signature roles, Count Almaviva , in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville at the Canadian Opera Company, and a return to Santa Fe Opera for Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment. In concert, Mr Shrader will sing the title role in Candide with the Vancouver Symphony. Future engagements include leading roles with San Francisco Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Theater an der Wien, and Welsh National Opera. 

Alek Shrader began the 2013/14 season singing Almaviva with the San Francisco Opera, followed by reprises of the role at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and Dallas Opera. The season also included engagements as Tamino in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera, and Ernesto in Don Pasquale at the Santa Fe Opera. Mr. Shrader was also heard as Ferdinand in Thomas Ades’ The Tempest for his San Francisco Symphony debut in the fall and as Ferrando in the Christopher Alden/Gustavo Dudamel Così Fan Tutte with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Disney Hall.

In 2012/13, Mr. Shrader made his Metropolitan Opera debut in Ades’ ‘modern masterpiece’, The Tempest, conducted by the composer himself, and returned to sing Almaviva in the English version of The Barber of Seville. He sang Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola at the Hamburgische Staatsoper and then returned to the U.S. for a North American recital tour, including San Francisco Performances, Oberlin University and his Carnegie Weill Hall debut. Baltimore audiences had the opportunity to hear Mr. Shrader in a gala performance of Belcanto arias and ensembles in the spring. Later in the season, he was featured in an opera gala, sponsored by the San Antonio Opera. Mr. Shrader closed the season with the tenor solo in the Mozart Requiem at the Cincinnati May Festival with James Conlon conducting, followed by his role debut as Ernesto in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at the Glyndebourne Festival.

Mr. Shrader opened the 2011/12 season as Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress with Opera de Lille, followed by Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola at the Hamburg Opera. He sang Tamino in Lyric Opera Chicago’s production of The Magic Flute, and the title role in Britten’s Albert Herring with the Los Angeles Opera. Mr. Shrader appeared as Oronte in David Alden’s highly-acclaimed new production of Handel’s Alcina at the Opera National de Bordeaux and returned to San Francisco Opera for Tamino in The Magic Flute. He closed the season as Gonzalve in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole at the Glyndebourne Festival.

Highlights of the 2010/11 season include the title role in Berstein’s Candide in concert performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Egeo in Medea in Corinto, Belmonte in The Abduction from the Seraglio and Tamino in The Magic Flute at the Bavarian State Opera. On the concert stage, he gave a recital in Santiago, Spain and made his Wigmore Hall Recital debut with pianist Roger Vignoles. Mr. Shrader also appeared as Lindoro in The Italian Girl in Algers with Opera National de Bordeaux and as Almaviva in The Barber of Seville with Theatre du Capitole de Toulouse. He closed the season at the Salzburg Festival, where he debuted as Ferrando in Così fan tutte​.

Highly acclaimed by the San Francisco press as a recitalist who is “natural and effortless, so different from just about everybody else”, Alek Shrader was featured in two On Wings of Song recitals in the spring of the 2009/10 season; at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara and also at Santa Monica College for the Performing Arts (Broad Stage), both sponsored by The Marilyn Horne Foundation. Concert appearances this season included Messiah with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Mozart Requiem with the Pittsburgh Symphony and St. Louis Symphony. 

Mr. Shrader, a former Adler Fellow with the San Francisco Opera, made a spectacular mainstage debut in the San Francisco 2008/09 season, replacing an indisposed Ramon Vargas as Nemorino in two performances of The Elixer of Love. Additional performances with the San Francisco Opera have included Korngold’s, Die Tote Stadt, the role of Arbace in Mozart’s Idomeneo, and Nemorino in student performances of The Elixer of Love. Other opera highlights have included Almaviva in Opera Cleveland’s production of The Barber of Seville and Il Re Pastore with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. He was also a featured soloist in the 2009 Metropolitan Opera Concert in the Park series.

Alek Shrader made his professional debut as Almaviva in Rossini's The Barber of Seville at the Opera Theater of St. Louis, where he had spent the previous two summers as a young artist. He has appeared in Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschino with the Gotham Chamber Opera, in William Bolcom’s A Wedding at the Music Academy of the West, and participated in Renata Scotto's Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Opera Studio. Shrader’s roles in previous seasons have included the title role in Le Comte Ory, Fenton in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Tony in Bernstein’s West Side Story, and Ramiro in Rossini's La Cenerentola.

Alek Shrader is the recipient of a Sara Tucker grant from the Richard Tucker Foundation and a winner of the 2007 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Andrew Owens

Andrew Owens

Don Ramiro April 2 & 8

Winner of the Zarzuela prize at the 2015 Francisco Viñas International Singing Competition, American tenor Andrew Owens has quickly built a reputation as one of the most promising singers of his generation, exhibiting a beautiful Italianate timbre, soaring top notes, and effortless agility. 

Highlights of the upcoming 2016-2017 season include a return to Virginia Opera as Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, a role he later performs at San Antonio Opera, his Concertgebouw debut in Amsterdam as Barbarigo in I due Foscari, and a role debut as Ferrando in Così fan tutte with the Orquestra Filârmonica de Minas Gerais in BrazilHe also returns to Theater an der Wien in Vienna as Mads in a new production of Werner Egk's Peer Gynt. In the spring, Andrew debuts with Arizona Opera in La Cenerentola and with OnSite Opera in La Mère coupable. 

His 2015-2016 season began with his company and role debut with Florida Grand Opera as Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville, a role he reprised later in the season for his company debut with North Carolina Opera. He made his company and role debut with Seattle Opera in Maria Stuarda. Mr. Owens joined Dayton Opera for a double bill performance, pairing the world premiere of The Book Collector with Orff’s Carmina Burana. This past summer he debuted with the Caramoor Music Festival as the title role in Rossini's Aureliano in Palmira and as Jaquino in Fidelio. Highlights of Mr. Owens’ orchestral engagements included his debut with the Bamberger Symphoniker for performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

In the 2014-2015 season, Mr. Owens returned to the Theater an der Wien as Chevalier Léon in Milhaud’s La Mère coupable.  He also debuted at Theater Magdeburg as Tamino in The Magic Flute and Camille in Die lustige Witwe.  The operatic season concluded with his professional lead debut in the US as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola with Opera Saratoga and with Greensboro Opera.  On the concert stage, Mr. Owens appeared as the tenor soloist in The Genius of Mozart at the National Concert Hall, Dublin with the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Owens is a recent graduate of the Junges Ensemble at the Theater an der Wien, where he performed in La bohèmeLa cambiale di matrimonioIl TritticoMathis der MalerLe nozze di Teti e di Peleo, Le comte OryFidelioAttilaLa Cenerentola, La clemenza di Tito, Vinci’s Semiramide, and I due Foscari opposite Plácido Domingo. At the Bayerische Staatsoper as part of the Opernstudio, Mr. Owens appeared in The Tales of HoffmannSigurd der Drachentöter, and Das schlaue Füchslein.  

Concert and symphonic engagements of past seasons include Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust with the Cleveland Orchestra, and Lukas in Haydn’s Die Jahreszeiten, and First Japanese Envoy in Le Rossignol at the Salzburg Festival as a member of the Young Singers Project. He made his New York City recital debut with the New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) in a program entitled Spanish Gold: Songs of the Iberian Peninsula at Merkin Hall and returned to NYFOS for Schubert/Beatles.

Mr. Owens is an award recipient from the Marilyn Horne Foundation, the Mario Lanza Competition, Gerda Lissner Foundation, Francisco Viñas Competition, and the George London Foundation. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Maryland Opera Studio and currently resides in Chicago.

Headshot of opera baritone singer Joseph Lattanzi with Arizona Opera

Joseph Lattanzi

Dandini

A 2017 recipient of a top prize from the Sullivan Foundation, Joseph Lattanzi established himself as a singer to watch with his portrayal of Hawkins Fuller in the world premiere of Greg Spears’ Fellow Travelers with Cincinnati Opera, followed by further performances for his debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago, in New York at the PROTOTYPE Festival, and with Arizona Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera. Praise for Lattanzi's performances included The New York Times saying “Joseph Lattanzi was splendid as Hawk, his buttery baritone luxuriant and robust.” and Opera News described him as a “confident, handsome presence, and a resonant baritone suggesting wells of feeling that the character might prefer to leave untapped.” In the 2022/23 Season, Lattanzi once again joined The Metropolitan Opera for their productions of Peter Grimes and Lady MacBeth of Mtsensk before returning to the role he created in Fellow Travelers with Virginia Opera. Lattanzi also made a debut with the Sacramento Choral Society as the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana.

In the 2021/22 Season, Lattanzi continued his relationship with The Metropolitan Opera, covering the role of Orpheus in Matthew Aucoin’s Eurydice and joining their production of Madame Butterfly. Additionally, Lattanzi returned to his hometown in the title role in The Barber of Seville with the Atlanta Opera, where he was praised for his “stellar” voice and his “top notch” acting by the Atlanta Arts Review. Lattanzi capped off the season debuting the role of Escamillo in Utah Festival Opera’s production of Carmen.

Recent career highlights include his return to Cincinnati Opera as Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Silvio in Pagliacci with Atlanta Opera, Dandini in La cenerentola with Virginia Opera, and the title role in Don Giovanni with the Jacksonville Symphony. A regular at The Metropolitan Opera since the 2018/19 Season, Lattanzi has been on the roster for productions of Der Rosenkavalier, Kat’a Kabanvova, Marnie, Madame Butterfly, and The Barber of Seville. Lattanzi has also maintained a strong relationship with Arizona Opera, where he was a member of the Marion Roose Pullin Opera Studio from 2015 until 2017. During Lattanzi's time with the company, he was heard in the title role of Don Giovanni, as Dandini, Riolobo in Florencia en el Amazonas, and was featured in the company’s Sapphire Celebration with Frederica von Stade. Additional performances included Moralès and Dancaïre in Carmen, Yamadori in Madame Butterfly, and as the Gamekeeper in Rusalka. Lattanzi also appears regularly with Seattle Opera, most recently as the Steward in their filmed production of Jonathan Dove’s Flight.

On the concert stage, Lattanzi was heard in a celebration of the music of Leonard Bernstein with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and in the coast of West Side Story at Grand Tetons Music Festival under the baton of Donald Runnicles. Lattanzi has appeared with Jake Heggie in OPERA America’s Creators in Concert series, previewing Fellow Travelers at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust, and in Carmina Burana with the Reno Philharmonic and at the Christ (Crystal) Cathedral, and with the Chicago Sinfonietta.

The Georgia native has studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). In addition to two summers at the Merola Opera Program, Lattanzi has participated in programs at the Brevard Music Center and the Chautauqua Institute Voice Program.

Stefano de Peppo

Stefano de Peppo

Don Magnifico

Stefano de Peppo is one of opera’s busiest singing actors sought after for the Italian character bass parts in operas by Donizetti, Rossini, and Mozart such as the title role in Don Pasquale, Dulcamara in Elixer of Love, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Mustafa in L’Italiana in Algeri, Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, Leporello in Don Giovanni, title role in The Marriage of Figaro, and Alphonso in Così fan tutte​. Other notable roles include the Sacristan in Tosca, Schaunard in La bohème, and Geronte in Manon Lescaut.

Notable theaters in which he has appeared include the Finnish National Opera, Estates Theater in Prague, Teatro Argentina in Rome, Italy, Jerez de la Frontiera and Gran Teatro de Cordoba in Spain, and Tenerife, Spain (all as Leporello), Teatro Colon in Bogota, Colombia (Bartolo), Teatro Bellas Artes in Mexico City (Leporello, Don Magnifico, Dulcamara, Publio, Bartolo, the King in Aïda and Schaunard), Teatro Aquascalientes in Mexico (Dulcamara), New Israeli Opera (Alphonso), Opera Hamilton in Canada (Mustafa), and Sarasota Opera (Kelbar in Un Giorno di Regno).

Notable engagements include The Atlanta Opera as Bartolo in The Barbe of Seville, Inter Mountain Opera as Don Magnifico, Monterrey, Mexico in the title role of Don Pasquale, and Royal Albert Hall (London) as Schaunard in La bohème.

In the U.S.A., he has appeared with Opera Memphis (Don Pasquale), Connecticut Grand Opera (Don Pasquale and Leporello), Los Angeles Opera (Betto in Gianni Schicchi), Lyric Opera of Kansas City (Leporello, Sacristan, and Alcindoro & Benoit in La bohème), Minnesota Opera (Bartolo), Opera Company of North Carolina (Don Pasquale, Don Magnifico), Palm Beach Opera (Bartolo, Dulcamara, Geronte), Portland (Maine) Opera Repertory Theater (Figaro), Sarasota Opera (Bartolo and Magnifico), Washington National Opera (Betto in Gianni Schicchi), and Wichita Grand Opera (Leporello, Papageno, and Bartolo). In addition, he has toured the U.S.A. with the Mozart Festival Opera as Don Giovanni, Figaro, and Leporello.

On the concert stage, Mr. de Peppo has appeared as Tio Salvador with the BBC Orchestra in a concert version of La Vida Breve at Royal Festival Hall in London, in Rossini’s Stabat Mater with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Puerto Rico and of Mexico City, in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Mozart’s Requiem with the Orquesta Sinfonica Nacional de Mexico.

A native Italian, Mr. de Peppo began his musical career as a member of the Children’s Chorus of Teatro alla Scala of Milan for seven years, after which he undertook vocal studies at Civic School of Music in Milan.

Headshot of opera soprano singer Katrina Galka with Arizona Opera

Katrina Galka

Clorinda

The Oregonian praises soprano Katrina Galka for her recent performances of Adina in L’elisir d’amore, exclaiming that she “looked like a young Glenn Close, projecting power over Nemorino as she thrilled with fine coloratura filigree and pure high notes.” In the 2020/21 Season, she makes her role and company debut as Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann at the Opernhaus Zürich as well as sings a solo digital recital for Portland Opera. Her San Francisco Opera debut as Janine (Ofwarren) in Ruder’s The Handmaid’s Tale was unfortunately cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, as were the roles she added to her repertoire last season: Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and the Charmeuse in Thais for performances at Arizona Opera and Utah Opera. In the first half of last season, she returned to the Wiener Staatsoper to reprise Fritzi in Staud’s Die Weiden following her debut with the company in the work’s world premiere in the season prior. She sang her first performances of the Controller in Dove’s Flight with Minnesota Opera and returned to the Las Vegas Philharmonic for Handel’s Messiah.

Galka recently role and company debuts as Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Atlanta Opera—followed by reprisals at New Orleans Opera and Opera San Jose, Atalanta in Xerxes at the Glimmerglass Festival, and Serpetta in La finta giardiniera with On Site Opera at the Caramoor International Music Festival, and Aithra in Die ägyptische Helena with Odyssey Opera. She sang her first performances of Gilda in Rigoletto in a return to Portland Opera, where she was previously a resident artist and host of role debuts that include Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Johanna in Sweeney Todd, Elvira in L’italiana in Algeri, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, and Frasquita in Carmen. With Arizona Opera Opera, she sang Cunegonde in Candide, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Woglinde in Das Rheingold, and a quartet of roles in Morganelli’s Hercules vs Vampires, the First Wood Nymph in Rusalka and Clorinda in La cenerentola as a resident artist. She joined the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy as a guest artist for Frasquita in Carmen and sang prior performances of Papagena in Die Zauberflöte with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis at which she has been both a Festival Artist and a Gerdine Young Artist. She joined the CoOperative Program as Marie in La fille du régiment and sang the Cat in Schuller’s The Fisherman and his Wife with Odyssey Opera and the Boston Modern Orchestra Project. She also joined Dallas Opera as Voice I in Cuomo's Arjuna's Dilemma, presented as the company hosted the annual Opera America conference.

On the concert stage, she has joined the Rhode Island Civic Chorale for the Angel in Respighi's Laude to the Nativity and Handel's Messiah and returned to the latter previously with the Las Vegas Philharmonic. With the Florida Orchestra, she sang Bernstein favorites in a concert celebrating his work on Broadway. She sang Elvira in excerpts of L’italiana in Algeri with the Oregon Symphony and Violetta in excerpts of La traviata with the Metropolitan Youth Symphony. With various Dallas-based chamber ensembles and orchestras, she has sung Fauré’s Requiem, Mozart’s Exsultate Jubilate, and Bach’s St. John Passion. In 2011, Katrina performed in the east coast premiere of Jake Heggie’s Pieces of 9/11 as the Girl Soprano, with Mr. Heggie at the piano.

Galka is a three-time regional award winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She is the first-place winner of the Mario Lanza Scholarship and has received further awards from the National Opera Association Vocal Competition, Marcello Giordani International Vocal Competition, and the Heida Hermanns International Vocal Competition.

She holds a Master of Music from Boston University, at which she sang Servilia in La clemenza di Tito, Carolina in Il matrimonio segreto, and Rosalba in Catan’s Florencia en el Amazonas. She earned a Bachelor of Music from Southern Methodist University, from which she graduated summa cum laude.

Mariya joined the Santa Fe Opera as a member of the Apprentice Singer Program in Summer 2016, and Arizona Opera as a Studio Artist in the 2016-2017 Season. Upcoming roles include Suzuki in Madama Butterfly and Tisbe in La Cenerentola.

A 2015 San Francisco District Winner and Western Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Russian-American Mezzo-Soprano Mariya Kaganskaya makes several role debuts in the 2015-2016 Season, including La Nourrice in Milhaud’sMédée at Mills College, Marta in Iolanta and Hostess in Boris Godunov with New Opera NYC, and Teacher in the workshop of Mason Bates’ The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs for the Santa Fe Opera, as well as Dorabella in Così fan tutte and Julia Bertram in the West Coast premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Mansfield Park at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she is currently a postgraduate student in the studio of Catherine Cook.

Engagements in the 2014-2015 Season included performing Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti and Ottavia in L’incoronazione di Poppea at the San Francisco Conservatory. She also joined Opera Santa Barbara as a Mosher Studio Artist, performing Mexican Woman in A Streetcar Named Desire, premiered Will You, Won’t You?, a song cycle written for her by acclaimed composer Elinor Armer, and made debuts in Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai, China, performing with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the Shanghai Philharmonicas a Young Artist with the iSing International Festival.

Highlights of Mariya’s 2013-2014 Season included performing the title role of Handel’s Serse at the San Francisco Conservatory and Olga in Eugene Onegin with the Russian Opera Workshop at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and covering the role of Elena in the American premiere of Adam Gorb’s Anya17 for Opera Parallèle, as well as performances with the SFCM New Music Ensemble, SFCM Opera Workshop, and the San Francisco Opera educational outreach program.

Mariya has also performed full roles including Cornelia in Giulio Cesare and Volupia in L’Egisto, partial roles including Charlotte (Werther), Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Idamante (Idomeneo), Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Angelina (La Cenerentola), The Fox (The Little Prince), and Mme Pernelle (Tartuffe), and various scenes, with favorites including Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier), Polina (The Queen of Spades), Mallika (Lakmé), Auntie (Peter Grimes), Lucretia (The Rape of Lucretia), and the Third Lady and Third Spirit (The Magic Flute). Her chorus work includes John Adams’ A Flowering Tree with Riverside Lyric Opera, and Les pêcheurs de perlesDie Fledermaus, and Il Trovatore with Opera San José.

In addition to opera, Mariya is a frequent concert soloist and chamber music collaborator. She was recently the Alto soloist in Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle with the Santa Clara Chorale and Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the San Francisco Master Chorale, and has performed both Alto and Soprano soli in Fauré’s Requiem, Duruflé’s Requiem, Schubert’s Mass in G, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and Handel’s Messiah with the UC San Diego Chamber Singers. She was featured in the late János Négyesy‘s Soirée for Music Lovers series, collaborating with Négyesy and Päivikki Nykter; other notable collaborations have been with Professors John Fonville and Philip Larson.

Mariya is equally passionate about contemporary classical music, and enjoys collaborating with living composers. She has worked in master classes with composers Lembit Beecher and Tobias Picker, and premiered works by Elinor ArmerIlya Demutsky, Philip Skaller, Diarmid Flatley, Samara Rice, and Frank S. Li.

Recognized as a leader among her peers, Mariya currently serves as the Vice Chairperson of the SF Conservatory Student Council. At UC San Diego, she was the recipient of the Bertram Turetzky Award for exceptional participation within the music department and community by an undergraduate performer, as well as a founding member of the Treble Singers and the founding Artistic Director of Undergrads for Opera. Previously, she held the prestigious role of Chorissima Section Leader in the Grammy-winning San Francisco Girls Chorus, with which she toured nationally and internationally and performed with the San Francisco Symphony.

Mariya is currently a postgraduate student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she earned her Master’s in 2015. She earned her Bachelor’s in three years, magna cum laude, at UC San Diego, where she studied with Philip Larson.

Zachary Owen

Zachary Owen

Alidoro

Born and raised in Illinois, American bass-baritone Zachary Owen has performed with such companies as the Glimmerglass Festival, Arizona Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Kentucky Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Central City Opera, Opera North, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Opera Santa Barbara.

He has performed the roles of Dulcamara in Elixir of Love, Alidoro in La Cenerentola, Ashby in La fanciulla del West, Don Fernando in Fidelio, Matouš in Smetana’s The Kiss, Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, Haly in L’italiana in Algeri, Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress, Frank Maurrant in Street Scene, the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, der Sprecher in The Magic Flute, Spencer Coyle in Owen Wingrave, and the title role in Don Pasquale. A strong advocate for new music, he has participated in a composer’s workshop at Cincinnati Opera in which he worked alongside Jake Heggie, Jack O’Brien, and Terrence McNally to develop two characters for Heggie’s new Opera, Great Scott. In the 2017/18 season, Mr. Owen will be returning to the Marion Roose Pullin Studio at Arizona Opera and performing several roles including Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville, Angelotti in Tosca, and Lycos in Hercules vs Vampires.

Mr. Owen is the recipient of numerous awards including the Grace Keagy Award at the Lotte Lenya Competition, the Brudos Family Prize for Opera Performance and was a national semifinalist at the 2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Luther College in Decorah Iowa and a master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.