La bohème

San Diego Opera debut.

LA Opera: Berta in The Barber of Seville (2023, debut); First Maid in The Dwarf (2024). She joins the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program in the 2023/24 season. Kathleen O’Mara graduated from the Juilliard School with a M.M. in 2020 and Westminster Choir College with her B.M. in 2018.

In the summer of 2024, she will be a Gaddes Festival Artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where she will appear as Duchess Christina in Galileo Galilei by Philip Glass.

In the summer of 2023, she covered the role of Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte for both Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Palm Beach Opera, after previously performing Fiordiligi at the Juilliard School in 2019. Other roles include Zemire in André Grétry’s Zemire et Azor with Westminster Opera Theater. She has covered various roles including the First Lady in The Magic Flute with the CoOPERAtive Program, Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro with Music Academy of the West, the Governess in The Turn of the Screw, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and Susan B. Anthony in VIrgil Thomson’s The Mother of Us All at Juilliard. She has participated in programs including the Gerdine Young Artist Program at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Palm Beach Opera’s Apprentice Program, Sewanee Summer Music Festival, Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy, and Music Academy of the West.

Company appearances – Edith in The Pirates of Penzance (2017), Annina in La Traviata (2017), Frasquita in Carmen (2019), High Pristess in Aida (2019), featured soloist in One Amazing Night: When I See Your Face Again (2021), Soprano in Ascension (2022), Nella in Gianni Schicchi (2023), Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica (2023), Frida 1 in El Ultimo Sueño de Frida y Diego (2023) and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (2024).

Native Hawaiian soprano Tasha Hokuao Koontz has lent her “accurate, powerful voice” (Broadway World) to a gallery of leading operatic ladies and has been recognized by Parterre Box for her “sumptuous, gleaming lyric instrument” and by Opera Wire for her “secure silvery high notes.” In 2024, Tasha will make her South America debut singing the title role in Tosca with Opera Nacional de Chile. Recent engagements include appearances with the San Diego Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Helena Symphony Orchestra, La Jolla Symphony, and Glacier Symphony Orchestra among others.

San Diego Opera debut

During the 2023-24 season, British-American tenor Joshua Blue made his Houston Grand Opera stage debut creating the role of Wilson in the world premiere of Intelligence, a new work from composer Jake Heggie and librettist Gene Scheer, conducted by Kwamé Ryan. He returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Tamino for Julie Taymor’s production of The Magic Flute under the baton of Gareth Morrell. In concert, Mr. Blue reunited with the American Symphony Orchestra and Leon Botstein for Dvořák’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall and Brahms’ Rinaldo at the Fisher Center at Bard; joined the Oratorio Society of New York for a gala evening to celebrate their 150th anniversary with the final movement of Beethoven’s Symphony #9; performed Wendell Logan’s Runagate, Runagate with the Oberlin Sinfonietta; and sang Moravec’s Sanctuary Road with both the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park and Princeton Pro Musica. Mr. Blue will travel to Japan with the Royal Opera on tour covering the Duke in Rigoletto led by Music Director Antonio Pappano. He ends the season with Bard SummerScape celebrating Hector Berlioz by performing in the composers’ works: Lélio, Te Deum, and La Damnation de Faust.

Last season, Mr. Blue made his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut as the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony #9 performed at the Hollywood Bowl with Eva Ollikainen on the podium. He also returned to both the Metropolitan Opera to sing the Royal Herald in David McVicar’s production of Don Carlo under the baton of Carlo Rizzi and cover Chevalier de la Force in John Dexter’s production of Dialogues des Carmélites led by Bertrand de Billy as well as Opera Philadelphia to make his role debut as Rodolfo in the Yuval Sharon production of La bohème, a role he later reprised at the Glimmerglass Festival in the summer before joining the cast of Vaughan Williams’ Sir John in Love to sing Fenton as part of Bard’s SummerScape with Leon Botstein on the podium. Carnegie Hall appearances featured Handel’s Messiah with Musica Sacra and Beethoven’s Symphony #9 for the United Nations General Assembly. Additional concert debuts included the Cincinnati May Festival for Mozart’s Requiem conducted by James Conlon; American Symphony Orchestra performances of Ethel Smyth’s Mass in D led by Leon Botstein; and Temple University for Adolphus Hailstork’s Done Made My Vow. Mr. Blue also performed in the world-premiere of Another City, a new commission by Houston Grand Opera featuring composer Jeremy Howard Beck and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann.

Previously, Mr. Blue made multiple role and house debuts including the Metropolitan Opera as Peter in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess for a revival of the Grammy Award-winning cast including Denyce Graves, Angel Blue, and Eric Owens; Los Angeles Opera singing the Evangelist in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion conducted by James Conlon with members of the Hamburg Ballet choreographed by John Neumeier; Opera Philadelphia as the Duke of Mantua in the Lindy Hume production of Rigoletto led by music director Corrado Rovaris; Virginia Opera as Loge in the Jonathan Dove reduction of Das Rheingold directed by Mary Birnbaum and conducted by Adam Turner; Berkshire Opera Festival as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni led by Brian Garman; and the tenor soloist for Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Beethoven’s Symphony #9 at the Lensic Performing Arts Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Mr. Blue also returned to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Tamino in The Magic Flute with stage direction by Omer Ben Seadia and conducted by Rory Macdonald. He also appeared at Carnegie Hall for The Ballad of the Brown King: A Christmas Cantata by Margaret Bonds with the Cecilia Chorus.

Additional career highlights include performing Act 1 of La bohème in concert with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda; Verdi’s Requiem with the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall and the Cleveland Chamber Orchestra led by James Gaffigan; taking on the role of Tamino in the Maurice Sendak production of Mozart’s The Magic Flute with Washington National Opera and Eun Sun Kim on the podium; making his Kennedy Center debut as Alfredo in La Traviata directed by Francesca Zambello; traveling to Japan to cover the role of Monsieur Triquet in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin conducted by Fabio Luisi and directed by Peter McClintock at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival; joining conductor Michael Francis and The Florida Orchestra for Stravinsky’s opera-ballet Pulcinella which included projected paintings by Geff Strik and Tampa City Ballet dancers costumed by Veronique Carpio; returning to the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to portray Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi directed by Seán Curran and accompanied by members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with conductor Leonard Slatkin at the helm; recording Jeanine Tesori’s Blue for the Washington National Opera with Roderick Cox taking the conducting duties; singing the role of Harlekin in Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis conducted by Geoffrey McDonald at Wolf Trap Opera; premiering Paul Moravec’s “Caltagirone” from A Nation of Others and a quartet reduction of “Much to be Done” from the 2019 work STONEWALL, both works have librettos by Mark Campbell, with the New York Festival of Song; performing the American premiere of the rarely heard Franz Liszt opera Sardanapalo at the Library of Congress; taking part in the Opening Festival of The REACH with performances of Beethoven’s Symphony #9 with the National Symphony Orchestra; singing in the American premiere of Philip Glass’s The Trial at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; and performing the roles of Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos with Austin Opera and Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with the Music Academy of the West.

In 2022, Mr. Blue was awarded the prestigious gift of The Mabel Dorn Reeder Foundation Prize by Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. He was the inaugural recipient of the Lotos Foundation’s James McCracken and Sandra Warfield Opera Prize in 2020; was a semi-finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2018; received the Ellen Lopin Blair award for 1st place in the 2017 Oratorio Society of New York solo competition; and was noted as an Emerging Artist in the 2017 Opera Index Competition in New York City. Mr. Blue appears on the recording of Moravec’s Sanctuary Road which was nominated for a 2021 Grammy Award and he provided vocals for the 2018 Oscar-nominated short film My Nephew Emmett.

Mr. Blue earned his bachelor’s degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and graduated from The Juilliard School with a master’s degree, studying voice with Dr. Robert C. White, Jr. He is a former Apprentice Singer with Santa Fe Opera and is an alumnus of the Cafritz Young Artist program with the Washington National Opera.

San Diego Opera debut

Mexican-born César Delgado has been praised for his “generous, lustrous tenor” and “committed, energetic acting” by Opera News.
This 2024/2025 season he’s been scheduled to sing ‘Rodolfo’ in La Bohème at Teatro de Bellas Artes with the Mexican National Opera Company.. He is scheduled to sing ‘Edgardo di Ravenswood’ in Lucía di Lammermoor returning to Nashville Opera, he will sing ‘Alfredo’ in La traviata returning to Portland Opera in the Park’. Operatic highlights from previous seasons include creating the title role in the World premiere of Zorro (Armienta) in Fort Worth Opera and Opera Southwest. Mr. Delgado covered ‘Arcadio’ in the premiere of Florencia en el Amazonas at the Metropolitan Opera. He performed the same role of ‘Arcadio’ in his double debut with Nashville Opera and Opera San José. Mr. Delgado appeared at Regensburg Theater in Germany as ‘Edgardo’ in the new production of Lucía di Lammermoor directed by Brigitte Fassbaender. He appeared as ‘Duca di Mantova’ in Rigoletto with New Orleans Opera. Delgado created ‘Mr. Rodriguez’ in the East Coast premiere of Tobias Picker’s Awakenings in a co-production with Odyssey Opera of Boston/Boston Modern Opera Project, where recorded it as an album opera release. He made his role debut as ‘Pinkerton’ in Madama Butterfly with Conjuntos Santander Theater, etc.

Company appearances – Aida (2013), Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly (2016), In Concert with Latonia Moore (2023)

When Latonia Moore sang the title role of Aida at the Metropolitan Opera, The New York Times wrote: “… her voice was radiant, plush and sizeable at its best, with gleaming top notes that broke through the chorus and orchestra during the crowd scenes.” Considered one of the greatest sopranos in the world today, Latonia Moore opened the 2023-2024 season of the Metropolitan Opera as Sister Rose with Dead Man Walking (new production). During the 2023-2024 season she’ll sing Mefistofele at Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, she’ll reprise Billie in Fire Shut Up in My Bones at MET, and she’ll sing Verdi Requiem with BBC.

She also opened the 2021-2022 season of the Metropolitan Opera as Billie, in the New York premiere of Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones; a role she reprised for her debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Ms. Moore has received global acclaim for her interpretation of the title role in Aida; houses where she has sung the role include the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera Covent Garden, Opernhaus Zürich, Opera Australia, Teatro Colón, English National Opera, New National Theatre Tokyo, Dubai Opera, Dallas Opera, San Diego Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Detroit Opera, Polish National Opera, and at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under James Conlon.

Additional operatic highlights include appearances as Cio Cio San in Madama Butterfly at the Metropolitan Opera, Liù in Turandot at Royal Opera Covent Garden, the title role in Tosca and Elisabeth in Don Carlo with Opera Australia, Tosca with Washington National Opera, Cio Cio San and Mimi in La bohème with Semperoper Dresden, Cio Cio San at the Hamburg State Opera, Micaëla in Carmen, Liù, Elvira in Ernani, and Lucrezia in I due Foscari in Bilbao, Desdemona in Otello at Bergen National Opera, Serena in Porgy and Bess at both English National Opera and De Nationale Opera Amsterdam, and an appearance on the 50th Anniversary Gala of the Metropolitan Opera.

 Orchestral highlights include the role of Lady Macbeth in a recording of Macbeth with Edward Gardner for Chandos, Mahler’s Symphony No 2 with the Vienna Philharmonic and Gilbert Kaplan for Deutsche Grammpohon, Vivetta in L’Arlesiana and Fidelia in Edgar with the Opera Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall, and Bess in Porgy and Bess with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.

Latonia is a three-time Grammy award winner, for Best Opera Recording together with MET Opera: in 2021 for Porgy and Bess, in 2023 for Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut up in my bones, in 2024 for Terence Blanchard’s Champion singing the role of Emelda Griffith.

She’s a board member board at AVA and ArtSmart.

San Diego Opera debut

Baritone Leroy Davis has built an exciting and diverse career in opera and concert performances. As a member of the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Center Ensemble at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Davis has performed and covered various roles, including appearances in Macbeth, Die Zauberflöte, Florencia en el Amazonas, Tosca, and Fire Shut Up In My Bones.

Recent engagements include his debut with Opera on the Avalon as Charlie in Three Decembers, the world premiere of Laura Kaminsky and Lisa Moore’s FEBRUARY, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte with Cedar Rapids Opera, The Pirate King with Nashville Opera, and Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Florentine Opera. In 2024, Davis appears as Benny Paret in Champion with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Schaunard in Bronzeville Bohème with Florentine Opera, and the world premiere of Ruinous Gods at the Spoleto Festival

Leroy made his Lincoln Center debut in the world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Bartlett Sher’s Intimate Apparel.

San Diego Opera debut

As a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin for five seasons, Bass Harold Wilson sang over 30 roles with the company, including: Arkel in Pelléas et Mélisande, Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Zuniga in Carmen, and the Hermit in Der Freischutz. In the United States, he can often be seen on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, where he has been part of over a dozen productions.

The 2023-2024 season showcased Mr. Wilson in a prominent return to the Metropolitan Opera as Reinmar in Tannhäuser. He also joins the company for their productions of Nabucco and Turandot. In the spring, the bass appears with the Philadelphia Orchestra (Nathalie Stutzmann) for performances of Mozart’s Requiem at both Verizon Hall and Carnegie Hall, and reprises the role of Daland in Der fliegende Holländer with Opera Colorado. The summer brings his return to Bard Summerscape as Zacharie in Meyerbeer’s Le prophète.

Last season, Harold Wilson returned to the Metropolitan Opera as the Sprecher in Simon McBurney’s new staging of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Hobson in Peter Grimes, and Ramfis in a performance of Verdi’s Aida. He also joined the company to cover Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, made his Canadian Opera Company debut as Daland in Der fliegende Holländer, and returned to Bard Summerscape as the Duke of Norfolk in Saint-Saën’s Henry VIII.

Mr. Wilson was featured with the Metropolitan Opera during the 2021-2022 for multiple productions, including Boris Godunov, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, The Rake’s Progress, and Elektra, in which he sang the Guardian. In addition, he triumphed at Bard Summerscape as the central role of Sir Morosus in Strauss’ Die Schweigsame Frau.

Other engagements at the Metropolitan Opera have included Tosca, Armida, Romeo et Juliette, Boris Godunov, Don Carlos, Les Troyens, Turandot, Macbeth, Der Fliegende Holländer, The Fiery Angel, Die Zauberflöte, Nabucco, Iolanta, and Das Rheingold. Equally in demand across the country, the bass has appeared in multiple productions with Opera Colorado as Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Ashby in La fanciulla del West, Ramfis in Aida, and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte; Opera Delaware as the Four Villains in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Polonio in Amleto, and Oroe in Semiramide in a co-production with Baltimore Concert Opera; Ramfis in Aida with Dayton Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Birmingham Opera; Timur in Turandot with Dayton Opera and Hawaii Opera; the Commendatore in Don Giovanni with Opera Memphis and Portland Opera; Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte with Opera Birmingham and Chautauqua Opera; Rocco in Fidelio with Sarasota Opera, where also made his role debut as Mustafa in L’italiana in Algeri; the High Priest of Baal in Nabucco with Palm Beach Opera; and his debut with the Caramoor Festival as Ernesto in Il Pirata.

 He has been seen in concert with the Seattle Symphony for Handel’s Messiah, Carnegie Hall and the Grand Junction Symphony for Verdi’s Requiem, Manhattan Concert Productions for Mozart’s Requiem, and the Greensboro Symphony and Brandenburgische Philharmonic Frankfurt for Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

San Diego Opera debut 

Lidiya Yankovskaya is a fiercely committed advocate for Slavic masterpieces, operatic rarities, and contemporary works on the leading edge of classical music. She has conducted more than 40 world premieres, including 17 operas. Following her debut at Santa Fe Opera in a new production of Dvořák’s Rusalka in summer 2023, Ms. Yankovskaya conducts orchestras across the United States, including Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, North Carolina Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and Symphony San Jose. Ms. Yankovskaya deepens her ongoing relationship with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, leading MusicNOW world premieres by Jessie Montgomery and Curtis Stewart, and designing a series of educational concerts. As Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, she leads a new Francesca Zambello production of The Nose and David T. Little’s Soldier Songs in the company’s 50^th anniversary season, before returning to London for performances of Bluebeard’s Castle at English National Opera. Ms. Yankovskaya closes the season with her debut at Opera Australia in a new production of Puccini’s Il Trittico.

Company appearances:  Pagliacci (2008, choreographer); Rigoletto (2009, choreographer); Peter Grimes (2009, choreographer); Romeo and Juliet (2010, choreographer); Moby-Dick (2012, choreographer); Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (2013, choreographer); Don Quixote (2014, Stage Director); Turandot (2018, Stage Director); La bohème Drive-in Opera (2020, Stage Director); The Barber of Seville Drive-In Opera (2021, Stage Director)

Keturah Stickann’s directing and choreographic work has been seen in opera houses across the United States and Canada, as well as in Chile, Japan, France, Germany, and Australia. Championing new American opera, she directed and choreographed multiple works by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer, Robert Aldridge, Anthony Davis, Ricky Ian Gordon, Jennifer Higdon and Laura Kaminsky. Her work on the premieres of Moby-Dick (2010), and It’s a Wonderful Life (2016) prompted Jake Heggie to ask her to helm the premiere of his opera, If I Were You, at San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program in 2019. Born and raised in the Midwest, Ms. Stickann had an early career as a classical and contemporary dancer, dancing extensively in opera; her background in dance and theatre has made her a sought-after movement director and choreographer. Recent directorial successes include Norma at Palm Beach Opera, a new production of Don Giovanni at Minnesota Opera, and Samson et Dalilah at Opera Colorado.