Connect with a Chorister

My name is Alexis Alfaro, and I am born and raised in San Diego. I have a strong background in arts and athletics and can trace my love of both back to the early days of my childhood.

I have sung with SDO since 2012. I started going to SDO opera’s when I was in high school and enjoyed watching Dr. Nicolas Reveles on UCSD-TV’s OperaTalk!. I attended masterclasses with SDO conductors/singers and studied with voice teachers who encouraged me to audition. I got my start with SDO as a chorus member and participated in their education and outreach program “Words & Music” throughout the city. Being with SDO has been a great training ground and has prepared me to perform at all levels of productions from chorus to lead roles on a national and international level.

It is a pretty cool feeling to be a part of SDO and known as one of the top tenors in San Diego and the Western Region! I like to say that one reason I became an opera singer is because we have an opera house in our city and I got opportunities to experience it. I thank everyone who has believed in me and helped me along the way. I have enjoyed my journey and cherish all my performances with SDO over the past decade. More than anything, thank you for supporting the arts:)

Training: Jerabek Elementary, San Diego Children’s Choir, San Diego Junior Theater, Scripps Ranch High School, University of San Diego, San Diego Youth Symphony, Mainly Mozart, San Diego Symphony, La Jolla Playhouse, OperaWorks, Academy of Performing Arts, Opera Academy of California, OPERA WEDNESDAYS, University of Kansas

Companies: San Diego Opera, Point Loma Opera Theater, Lyric Opera Kansas City, Eutiner Festspiele, Pacific Lyric Opera Association

Teachers: Martin Wright, Dr. John Craig Johnson, Dr. Genaro Mendez, Sharmay Musacchio

Coaches: Dr. Nicolas Reveles, Ines Iwarati

Abigail Grace Allwein is a Craig Noel winning artist who has been seen in the Kathleen Marshall directed Much Ado About Nothing at the Old Globe Theatre in 2018, as well as the 2019 Globe For All’s The Winter’s Tale, for which she composed original music.  She also has appeared in Once (Lamb’s Players Theatre)*Craig Noel Award Winner, Sister Act (Walnut Street Theatre), Indecent (Cape Repertory Theatre + Chatauqua Theatre Company and numerous other theatrical productions. Her San Diego Opera productions include Turandot, One Amazing Night, Così fan tutte, Romeo and Juliette, and El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego. Upcoming work includes San Diego Opera’s upcoming performances of Suor Angelica as Suor Osmina, and as The Little Shepherd Boy in Tosca.

Kaitlin Barron, mezzo-soprano, graduated (’20) with a Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music (MSM). With a passion for classical music, rooted in choral repertoire, she has toured Europe and had solo opportunities that endowed her with numerous festival awards.  While in New York City, Kaitlin performed with EnsembleNYC as one of Ronnie Oliver’s original members.  Notably, she enjoyed covering the alto solo from Bach’s Magnificat.  Kaitlin spent three summers, alongside her teacher Mignon Dunn, at the Canadian Vocal Art Institute in Montreal where she participated in master classes with Judith Forst and coached with artists like Joan Dornemann. Kaitlin’s performance roles include Le Prince Charmant in Cendrillion with the MSM Outreach program and Third Lady in Die Zauberflöte at Opera America. A Southern California native, Kaitlin moved to San Diego in 2021 and works for La Jolla Music Society.  She also participates in the San Diego Master Chorale and is a staff singer at St. James by the Sea in La Jolla.  Kaitlin is thrilled to be a new member of the San Diego Opera Chorus and looks forward to performing the ’22-’23 productions

Venezuelan American BariTenor Bernardo Bermudez, started his musical education at The Conservatory of Music Juan Manuel Olivares, in Caracas Venezuela. He has recently began essaying roles and repertoire for the Tenor voice. Currently living in the United States he has performed in productions and concerts with companies including San Diego Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Long Beach Opera, Anchorage Opera, Portland Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, The San Diego Symphony, Pacific Opera Project, Opera North, Union Avenue Opera, West Bay Opera, Livermore Valley Opera and The Music Academy of the West to name a few.  Most recent operatic roles performed include the central character Laurentino in Cruzar La Cara De La Luna, as well as his signature role of Diego Rivera in Frida, by Robert Xavier Rodriguez.  Equally comfortable singing Tenor or Baritone repertoire, other operatic roles performed include Don Jose in Carmen, The Messenger in Aida in San Diego Opera production fall 2019. Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire, Danilo in The Merry Widow, Silvio in Pagliacci, Escamilloin Carmen, Valentin in Faust, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, the title role in Don Giovanni, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Count Almavivain Le nozze di Figaro, Vidal Hernando in Luisa Fernanda, Aeneas in Dido & Aeneas, other roles include El Dancairo and Morales in Carmen, Marullo in Rigoletto, Schaunard in La Boheme, Price Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, as well as Morald in the North America stage premier of Richard Wagner’s Die Feen, as part of Los Angeles Opera’s Ring Festival. He participated as a voice fellow at the prestigious Summer Festivals at The Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara California, under the direction of famous American Mezzo Soprano Marilyn Horne, Opera North in New Hampshire under the direction of Louis Burkot as well as Opera Neo in San Diego California under the direction of Peter Kozma. He received 1st place in NATS LA singing competition, 1st place winner in AEIOU, 39th Annual Opera Scholarship and Competition, finalist in the Burbank Philharmonic Hennings-Fischer Opera Competition, Opera BuffsGrant recipient, semifinalist in the Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition, recipient of the Doug Acker Memorial Vocal Scholarship, and 2nd place winner in the Virginia Hawk Vocal Competition. Most recently he has received the Music Academy of the West Alumni Enterprise Award in 2019 and 2020. Mr. Bermudez is also co-founder of Opera4Kids a new music education non-profit organization, whose mission is to inspire young minds to thrive through the use of the transformative power of live vocal and classical music performance.

Roles:

• Maestra delle Noviziae Suor Angelica Puccini, independent production
• Berta The Barber of Seville Rossini, Lyric Opera San Diego
• Kate The Pirates of Penzance Gilbert & Sullivan, Lyric Opera San Diego

Other Performances:

• 2^nd Seraphim, Elijah, Mendelssohn, San Diego Symphony
• 2^nd Fairy, Midsummer Night’s Dream, San Diego Symphony
• Works of Bach, Beethoven, Caldara, Duruflé, Fauré, Handel, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Pergolesi, Rachmaninoff, Saint-Saens, Schubert, and Vivaldi, various organizations

Opera chorus:

• The Abduction from the Seraglio
• Aida
• The Barber of Seville
• La Boheme
• Boris Godunov
• Candide
• Carmen
• Cavalleria Rusticana
• Cosi fan tutte
• Die Fledermaus
• Don Giovanni
• Falstaff
• Florencia en el Amazonas
• Great Scott
• Madame Butterfly
• The Marriage of Figaro
• The Merry Widow
• Nabucco
• Nixon in China
• Pagliacci
• The Pearl Fishers
• Peter Grimes
• The Pirates of Penzance
• Roméo et Juliette
• Samson and Delilah
• Suor Angelica
• Tannhauser
• Tosca
• La Traviata
• Turandot
• El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego
• Verdi Requiem

Laura Bueno is a San Diego Opera core chorister of 19 years and recently a soloist in One Amazing Night and Maria de Buenos Aires. She has a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of Missouri and owns a children’s theater company, Playground Players Productions, which provides children around San Diego County the opportunity to perform in fully-staged theatrical productions. Her credits include roles with several regional companies. Moonlight Stage Productions: Ragtime, Beauty and the Beast; Lyric Opera San Diego: Gigi (Gigi), Tessa (The Gondoliers), Petra (A Little Night Music), Hope (Anything Goes), Iolanthe (Iolanthe), Peep Bo (The Mikado); Ion Theater: Sophie De Palma (Master Class); Anna 1 (Seven Deadly Sins) with Bodhi Tree Concerts; and Anna (TinTypes) with the Carlsbad Playreaders. Regional credits: Wendy (Peter Pan), The Secretary (The Consul), Dorothy (The Wizard of Oz), Zaneeta (The Music Man), Chava (Fiddler on the Roof), Margy (State Fair), and Nanette (No, No, Nanette). In addition to her children’s theater company, Laura also owns Edudance-Classrooms in Motion, which teaches children ballroom dance! She is also an accomplished baker and cake and cookie decorator, and owns Lollypop’s Bake Shoppe, making treats for all occasions.

Mezzo-Soprano Sarah-Nicole Carter has been hailed by the L.A. Times as “simply wonderful”, by San Diego Story as a “fiery mezzo-soprano who added verve and vibrant color”, and by the Salt Lake Tribune as having a “velvety alto”.

A frequent collaborator with San Diego Opera, Sarah-Nicole originated the role of 2nd Frida in the premiere of El último sueño de Frida y Diego. She will next perform Suor Dolcina in Suor Angelica, and previously has been seen as Mezzo in two woman opera Ascension, Giovanna in Rigoletto, Kate in Pirates of Penzance, and in multiple concerts with the company.

In the summer of 2022, she sang Ma Moss in The Tender Land, Third Lady in The Magic Flute, and the Housekeeper in The Man of La Mancha with Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater and Priscilla in Graceland and The Woman (older) in A Long Trip with the Del Mar Composer’s Symposium.  

Sarah-Nicole made her debut at the Kennedy Center performing La Lettre du jardinière by Marcel-Lucien Tournier and has performed in concert with Opera Saratoga, Bach Collegium San Diego, Eureka Symphony, La Jolla Symphony, The Spreckels Organ Society, Musica Vitale, the Los Angeles Conducting Institute, San Diego Master Chorale, San Diego Festival Chorus, Loveland Opera, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater, Center Chorale & Escondido Choral Arts, and Grossmont Symphony Orchestra.

A specialist in comedic roles, Sarah-Nicole studied improvisation at the UCB Training Center and The Groundlings Theater & School. She is a staff singer at The Mission Basilica in San Juan Capistrano and Co-Founder of the FF Collective.  Sarah-Nicole is passionate about advocating for other performers with chronic illnesses. Visit her website at www.snrcarter.com or find her on Instagram @mobcapmezzo. 

Shelby Condray is known for his mercurial career choices, bacchanalian hospitality, jovial personality, and singing really low notes that sound pretty. After decades in school studying chemical engineering, neuroscience, opera, and theology, he holds masters degrees from Yale and Boston University. He escaped his bucolic childhood spent in Texas and Kansas homes lacking plumbing when his father’s military career took the family to exciting places such as rural Kentucky; Ansbach, Germany; Utica, New York; and Broomfield, Colorado. Since moving to San Diego — for the weather — he has appeared regularly with the San Diego Opera (Count Ceprano, Aldeano 3, and chorus) and other local companies. Previous engagements include jazz and gospel concerts in Mongolia, Russia, and Cuba, Don Alfonso in Barbados, Colline in France, and Beethoven 9th after the Boston Marathon bombing. He is most proud of his volunteer work with children and post-Katrina gospel performances in Biloxi, Mississippi. Mr. Condray is also a NY Times published writer and visual artist (onelineink.com). He pays the bills as a communications manager for an advanced mathematics software development company.

Carly Cummings is a versatile performer who has sung roles in a variety of productions throughout the country. Most recently Cummings performed as Pamina in a fully staged production of Die Zauberflöte with Music on Site in Wichita Kansas. During the height of the pandemic she performed Juliette in Romeo et Juliette and first Lesní žínka in Rusalka for online operas with the companies, Midwest Institute of Opera and LAH-SOW.

At Peabody Conservatory she starred as Magda in Puccini’s La Rondine, and prior to that she sang Prima Sorella Cercatrici in Suor Angelica, Soprano Monster in the outreach production of The Hiding Tree, and Doctor #3 in The Falling and the Rising.

Recognized for her shimmering voice and her charismatic stage portrayals, Coloratura Soprano Laynee Dell, a native of Nebraska, has quickly established herself as an artist in demand since arriving in San Diego. Ms. Dell made her San Diego Opera debut in One Amazing Night accompanied by the San Diego Symphony. She joined the San Diego Opera Apprentice Artist Program in the 2019/2020 season appearing in concerts throughout San Diego County and was the Study Cover for Gretel in Hansel & Gretel. Ms. Dell was previously a Young Artist with the Ezio Pinza Council for American Opera Singers Program. A winner of numerous competitions she’s been named the First Place Winner in the Virginia & Susan Hawk Vocal Competition, First Place Winner in the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus Young Artist Competition, and Winner of the Musical Merit Trovillo/Graham Award.

Her operatic roles include, in part, the title role of Lakmè, Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann, the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, Birdie in Regina, Sofia in Il Signor Bruschino and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. Ms. Dell earned her Masters of Music from the Maryland Opera Studio at University of Maryland and her Bachelor of Music from Nebraska

Wesleyan University. She is a student of Enrique Toral.

For over thirty-five years Walter DuMelle has been engaging audiences performing with such companies and festivals as Skylight, DiCapo, Des Moines Metro, Central City, Chautauqua, Natchez, Intermountain, Bronx, Connecticut Grand, Utah Festival, Ash Lawn and the Opera Theaters of Chicago, Rochester and Connecticut. In 2012 DuMelle co-founded with his wife Diana DuMelle Bodhi Tree Concerts, a performing-arts non-profit, presenting concerts and donating profits back to charitable organizations. In 2017 he performed the title role in BTC’s production of Sir Peter Maxwell Davies’ 8 Songs for a Mad King, winning “Best in Fest” at the San Diego International Fringe Festival. Now a San Diego based artist, he has performed frequently with San Diego Opera, Lyric Opera SD, Coronado Playhouse, La Jolla Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, and Bach Collegium San Diego. He also performs regularly with Opera de Tijuana, having sung such roles as Timur, Frère Laurent, Bartolo, Sacristano, and the Bonze. DuMelle made his New York City Opera debut this past summer singing Grenvil (La Traviata) and returned for All Is Calm this Fall. Upcoming engagements with San Diego Opera include the role of the Colonel (The Falling and the Rising) and Pinellino (Gianni Schicchi). He received his Master’s in Music from the Eastman School of Music.

Recently named an “OC Visionary” by the LA Times for her work as Artistic Director of Lyric Opera OC (named Emerging Arts Organization of 2022 for the county of Orange), soprano Diana Farrell is an active artist with companies across the country. Her most notable roles include Verdi’s Lady Macbeth, Puccini’s Tosca, and Menotti’s Magda Sorel. She makes her SDO debut in Suor Angelica.

Soprano Abla Lynn Hamza has been described as having “a genuinely beautiful (voice), warm, liquescent and nimble” (Dallas Morning News). She performed Musetta in La Bohéme with New Camerata Opera and “excelled as Ofelia” (London Financial Times) in Opera Southwest’s Amleto (Franco Faccio). She performed roles by Verdi to critical acclaim, including Giselda in Sarasota Opera’s I Lombardi where “her coloratura…brought down the house” (Opera News), and Violetta in St. Petersburg Opera’s La Traviata.

Additional roles include the title role in Suor Angelica (Opera Southwest), Bianca in La Rondine (Dallas Opera), Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte and Clorinda in La Cenerentola (Sarasota
Opera), the title role in Manon and Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (dell’Arte Opera Ensemble).

Abla also delights in performing concerts and recitals, and has performed with the Artist Series of Sarasota, DCINY at Carnegie Hall, Voces Intimae (Dallas, TX), Opera Wednesdays at the La
Jolla Community Center, and the Opera en la Calle series with Bodhi Tree Concerts and Opera de Tijuana. Upcoming performances include recitals with the Encinitas Library and Mission Aria
as well as debut performances with the San Diego Opera Chorus in El último sueño de Frida y Diego and Suor Angelica.

Mezzo-soprano Hannah Headland is an Orange County native who has made the rounds at many opera companies in Southern California and beyond, including Orange County Lyric Opera, Riverside Lyric Opera, San Luis Obispo Opera, Centerstage Opera, Sarasota Opera, and made her San Diego Opera debut in the chorus of Madame Butterfly in 2016. Currently she is a student at California State Long Beach in the Single Subject Credential Program and hopes to teach Middle School Choir. She works as a Cantor and section leader in the English Choir at Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove.

Andrew Konopak is a baritone who has worked with both San Diego Opera and Los Angeles Opera companies.  In addition to his work around San Diego and Los Angeles, he has performed around Germany and Austria.

Andrew has placed and advanced in competitions such as the Los Angeles Western Regional level of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Musical Merit Foundation of San Diego, the Loren L. Zachary, and others.

Notable appearances include All Is Calm with Bodhi Tree Concerts and San Diego Opera, der Musiklehrer in Strauß: Ariadne auf Naxos in Berlin, Le Philosophe in Massenet: Chérubin, and Belcore in Donizetti: L’elisir D’amore.

Leslie Ann Leytham is a San Diego-based mezzo-soprano who actively commissions mutli-media narrative vocal works, and collaborates with composers not only as a singer and actor, but as a director and producer as well. Ms. Leytham has premiered works by and worked closely with numerous living composers, including Anthony Davis, Nicolas Reveles, Carolyn Chen, Marti Epstein, Andy Vores, Nicholas Deyoe, Beat Furrer, Chaya Czernowin, and many more. She has performed as a featured artist with CityWater Ensemble (San Francisco), The Industry Opera Company (Los Angeles), WildUp (L.A.), Noon 2 Midnight concert marathon produced by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Monday Evening Concert Series (L.A.), La Jolla Symphony (San Diego), wasteLAnd concert series (L.A.), Bach Collegium (SD), San Diego Opera Company, City Opera of San Diego, and Guerilla Opera (Boston).

Ms. Leytham has also been featured in installation performances at NOWY Teatr (Warsaw), the Mengi (Reykjavik), Space4Art (SD), and Bread and Salt (SD). Leslie is founder and Co-Artistic Director of Project [BLANK], an interdisciplinary concert series in San Diego.

Having previously sung as a chorister and concert soloist in Washington DC, around New England, and in Tokyo, Japan, Tony is happy to be in San Diego. He has performed with many groups in the area, including as Alfred in Pacific Lyric’s production of Die Fledermaus (2021). He is excited to make his SD Opera debut in the El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego chorus.

Baritone David Marshman received his Master of Music degree in Vocal performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Since 1998, David has been performing regularly with the San Diego Opera, both in the chorus and in several roles on the main stage, including Friar John in Romeo and Juliet, Third Noble in Lohengrin, Second Trojan Man in Idomemeo, the Notary in Don Pasquale, the Herald in Otello, the Usher in Rigoletto, and the Customs Guard in La Bohème. He has also sung with the Los Angeles Opera Chorus during the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

David has appeared as a soloist in major choral and solo works, including Handel’s Messiah, Saul, Israel in Egypt; Bach’s St. John Passion, Christmas Oratorio, Magnificat, Cantatas No. 56, 82; Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Requiem; Faure’s Requiem, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah, in which he was featured in the title role. He is a former member of the Bach Collegium and Sacra Profana, two San Diego based professional choral ensembles and has also been a guest soloist with the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus.

Kevin studied Vocal Performance at Orange Coast College, Chapman College, Cal State Fullerton and Notre Dame. He has performed with Long Beach Civic Light Opera, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Chicago Symphony Chorus, San Diego Opera and numerous other organizations, and has sung professionally for 40 years at various Episcopalian, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Congregational and Unitarian churches.

An Iowa native, Ms. Mein holds a Masters of Music degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Luther College.  Past operatic roles include Zerlina/Don Giovanni, Lauretta/Gianni Schicchi, Despina/Cosí fan tutte, Suor Genovieffa/Suor Angelica, and Mabel/Pirates of Penzance, as well as Papagena/Die Zauberflöte and Barbarina/Le Nozze di Figaro with the New Opera Festival di Roma. Also while in Rome she understudied the roles of Susanna/Le Nozze di Figaro and Pamina/Die Zauberflöte.  Ms. Mein has also performed partial roles as Zerbinetta, Nannetta, Ännchen, Violetta, Sandman, Romilda, and Mrs. Fiorentino.  In 2003 she traveled to Graz, Austria with the AIMS program, performing various opera and operetta concerts in the region. Ms. Mein won the 2000 Iowa NATS competition as well as placing 2nd and 3rd in other years.  In 2003 she was also awarded the Alan and Sally Brudos Scholarship for operatic vocal performance. In 2005 Ms. Mein had the honor of performing Barber’s Knoxville: The Summer of 1915 with the UNLV orchestra as a winner of the James K. Huntzinger Concerto Competition.  She currently lives in San Diego, California and sings with the San Diego Opera, Church of the Nativity, and Temple Adat Shalom. Ms. Mein formerly taught at Point Loma Nazarene University, Mesa College, Moreno Valley College, and Nightingale Music. She currently works at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. as an executive assistant. Amy lives with her husband and personal chef Schuyler and son Rigel.

Maria Miller has been a member of the San Diego Opera Chorus since 2014. Locally, she has performed with Pacific Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Orange County, San Diego Master Chorale, Sacra/Profana, San Diego Pro Arte Voices, as well as many other ensembles. A graduate of SFCM, in the Bay Area she performed with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, West Edge Opera, Pocket Opera, and West Bay Opera. She particularly enjoys performing and premiering new music, a passion which grew out of her time singing with the Berkeley-based new music collective, Wild Rumpus. She teaches voice and piano in Oceanside, while also putting her English degree to use, working on her first collection of short stories.

Victor has had the honor of gracing the stages of The Old Globe (Trouble In Mind, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Ruby In Us), La Jolla Playhouse (His Girl Friday), Moxie Theatre (Trouble In Mind), San Diego Rep (Storyville), and the title role of Othello at Artist Rep in Portland. Film credits include Stephen King’s Grey Matter, Nora Ephron’s Sleepless in Seattle, Gus Van Sant’s Restless, and Ernest Dickerson’s Surviving The Game. Television credits include roles in American Vandal, Grimm, Criminal Minds, and Leverage. As an instrumentalist, Victor is proficient in trumpet and Lakota flute. He has studied voice with maestri Franco Corelli, Grace Bumbry, George Shirley, Franco Iglesias, and George Peckham. Victor is presently a tenor with the San Diego Opera and the ff Collective Opera Company, and is Principal Tubist for the Westminster Orchestra in San Diego. His biggest Life Achievement Awards are being married to Lisa, papa to Anaka and Raina.

Frank Napolitano studied voice at New England Conservatory under Edward Zambara. His operatic roles include Ferrando (Cosi Fan Tutte), Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Basilio (Le Nozze di Figaro), and Ramiro (La Cenerentola). As a choral singer he has sung with Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church (NYC), The Church of Saint Mary the Virgin (NYC) and Old South Church (Boston). Since moving to San Diego, Frank has appeared most frequently with San Diego Pro Arte Voices and Sacra/Profana. In his spare time, Frank can be found volunteering at Free Flight Exotic Bird Sanctuary in Del Mar, CA carrying on full-length conversations with birds he is convinced understand him completely.

Soprano, Caroline Nelms grew up studying piano and voice in Irvine, California where she developed her love for music from her mother and grandmother, both professional pianists. She spent much of her childhood involved in music at Tustin Presbyterian Church which had a strong classical focus for its worship services. Caroline went on to receive a music scholarship at Pepperdine University where she studied voice with New York City Opera Tenor, Henry Price. Dr. Price instilled in her a passion for opera and Caroline then went on to receive her Master’s degree in vocal performance from UCLA, studying with Juliana Gondek. During her college years Caroline coached with Dale Fundling of the Mozarteum in Salzburg and with William Vendice at UCLA and LA Opera. Upon graduation, Caroline made her way down the coast singing with musical theater and opera companies from Los Angeles to San Diego, in addition to performing jazz standards and favorites from the Great American songbook throughout Southern California.

Jonathan Nussman is a baritone whose varied interests include opera, theater, improvisation, and chamber music, with a special emphasis on works from the 20th and 21st centuries. Appearances include San Diego Opera, Opera Boston, Guerilla Opera, Juventas New Music Ensemble, Cape Cod Opera, the Cambridge Symphony Orchestra, Bodhi Tree Concerts, Project [BLANK], the La Jolla Symphony and soundSCAPE New Music Festival. As a performer of contemporary and experimental music, he frequently premieres his own compositions as well as pieces by composers from around the world.

In addition to originating prominent roles in over twenty world-premiere operas and theatrical works, he has performed extensively in more traditional repertoire, with notable roles including Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Larry Foreman (The Cradle Will Rock), and Sid (Albert Herring). Jonathan is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, and lives in San Diego, California. He holds a doctoral degree in Contemporary Music Performance from UC San Diego, and master’s degree from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Hailing from Davis, California, Soprano Lisa Parente is known for her effortless high notes and agile coloratura.

She has been seen as Madame Goldentrill in The Impresario, Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro, Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, The Dew Fairy in Hänsel und Gretel, Amore in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and Pepik/Grasshopper in The Cunning Little Vixen. Lisa has also been an artist with San Diego Opera’s Opera Exposed! 

In addition to opera, she has been the soloist in Poulenc’s Gloria, the Soprano soloist in Ralph Vaughn Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem,  and the soprano soloist in Faure’s Requiem. She is frequently featured as the Soprano soloist with local group Musica Vitale, and has been featured in concert series such as Bach in Baltimore, The Music Box Concert Series, and Union Square Concert Series.

Lisa received First Place in the California Women’s Choral Competition, Second Place in the San Diego Choral Club Competition, Honorable Mention in the La Jolla Young Artist Competition.

Lisa holds a Master’s of Music in Vocal Performance from Peabody Conservatory a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance from San Diego State University.

San Diego native Søren Pedersen, baritone, is a product of local arts and educational institutions and teachers. He discovered his passion for opera relatively recently when, as a sophomore at Point Loma Nazarene University, he sang the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni in an international summer program in Italy. This led to performances in lead roles in La Bohéme at PLNU and Gianni Schicci with the International Opera Performing Experience in Italy, directed by San Diego Opera (SDO) Chorus Director Bruce Stasyna. More recently, Søren has had the chance to make his official opera debut with SDO as the supporting role of Aldeano I in the opera El Último Sueño de Frida y Diego. During his university studies, he was coached in masterclasses by or had lessons with several singers on the international stage including Ginger Costa-Jackson, Nathan Gunn, Konu Kim, and Stephen Powell.

Mr. Pedersen was raised in a musically active family which exposed him to the world of music and singing early in life. This rich childhood environment allowed him to begin cultivating his musical abilities at a young age, as he studied violin for six years and piano for twelve. In addition, Søren has been singing in choirs and participating in solo performances since the age of five through programs at La Jolla Presbyterian Church and San Diego High School.

Søren graduated from Point Loma Nazarene University this past spring with majors in music and psychology. Opportunities at PLNU, facilitated by his voice teachers J. Craig Johnson, Michael Sokol, and Joseph Han, opened the doors to classical singing for him. At the university, he also sang solos in Schubert’s Mass in G, Bach’s Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit (BWV 106), and annual performances of Handel’s Messiah. Most recently, he performed the bass solos in Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah. Other singing accomplishments include placing first in the Upper College Classical division of the San Diego NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing) competition and receiving an encouragement award in the Denver Division of the Metropolitan Opera National Council competition. Søren is currently applying to young artist programs and graduate opera programs for next year while teaching voice lessons and singing at All Souls Episocal Church in Point Loma as a baritone section leader.

Hailed by Opera News as “vibrant,” Katherine Polit is excited to be performing with the San Diego Opera Chorus this season, making her house role debut as First Touriere in Suor Angelica. Other appearances during the 2022 – 2023 season include singing Belinda in Dido and Aeneas with Bodhi Tree Concerts, and her debut with Orchestra Santa Monica. Locally, she has been a soloist with La Jolla Symphony (Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Handel’s Messiah),
Pacific Symphony (Pamina in The Magic Flute), and San Diego State University Symphony. Throughout the United States, she has been a principal artist with Virginia Opera (Ännchen in
Der Freischütz, Diana in Orpheus in the Underworld), Opera Naples (Papagena in The Magic Flute), and Ohio Light Opera (Rose Maybud in Ruddigore, Fiona in Brigadoon). Concert
highlights include Mozart’s Exsultate, Jubilate (Helena Symphony), Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (Charlotte Symphony), and Vivaldi’s Gloria (David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center).
Katherine is also a member of the voice faculty at San Diego State University and an active recitalist.

Tenor from Chile who has been part of several opera productions in Southern California. He sang the role of El Remendado in Carmen, Aldeano in El ultimo sueño de Frida y Diego and, The Prince of Persia in Turandot with San Diego Opera, Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca, Alfredo in La Traviata, and Alfred in Die Fledermaus with Pacific Lyric Association, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte by W.A. Mozart with Lyric Opera of Orange County , Il Duca di Mantova in Rigoletto with Guild Opera Company. He was also Rodolfo in La Opera de Tijuana´s production of La Boheme, and Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte with Pacific Palisades Symphony. Additionally he has been a featured soloist for the concert Opera Highlights with the California Philharmonic Orchestra. As an active member of multiple professional ensembles such as the California Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale he has had the great honor to perform in great venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Warner Grand Theater, The Santa Anita Race Track, and the UCLA’s Royce Hall

Chelsea Seener Gornall is a San Diego native and is excited to be a part of San Diego Opera’s upcoming season. Most recently Chelsea sang the role of Micaela in Carmen (Pacific Lyric Association Opera) and Carmela in Taleggio’s Last Unveiling (composer Ben Read) in Summer 2022. Previous roles include Nella in Gianni Schicchi (Pittsburgh Festival Opera), the title role in Cendrillon (New York Lyric Opera), Beatrice in Béatrice et Bénédict (Asheville Lyric Opera), Servilia in La clemenza di Tito (Chicago Summer Opera), Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni (Hawaii Performing Arts Festival), and Abigail Williams in The Crucible (Miami Music Festival). Chelsea received her MM from Boston University performing the roles of Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, Holy St. Francis’ Trainer in David T. Little’s Vinkensport, and as a Spirit in Cendrillon. Chelsea received her BM from San Diego State University where she performed as Monica in The Medium and as Pamina in The Magic Flute. She has been a featured young artist for San Diego Opera’s Educational Outreach and a soloist with the San Diego Symphony, San Diego Youth Choir, La Jolla Symphony, FEDCUP Tennis Tournament, San Diego Padres, San Diego Bach Collegium, and SACRA/PROFANA. Chelsea has sung internationally in six different countries, including solos for Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Basilica, and for the Mayor of Nakagawa, Japan. In the future, Chelsea aspires to become a professional operatic performer and educator.

Michael Segura is a young artist with a Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance from California State University of Fullerton. Michael has shared his artistry around Orange County through roles such as Papageno (The Magic Flute) and Dancaïro (Carmen) with Lyric Opera of Orange County, Dandini (Cinderella) and Belcore (Elixir of Love) with Pacific Symphony, as well as the roles of Don Giovanni and Gianni Schicchi in their eponymous titles. Additionally, he works with Southern California’s Pacific Chorale as a staff singer whilst broadening his reach to bring inspiration and creativity to the stage.

Timothy has been a part of San Diego Opera’s chorus since 2006 and has sung in 25+ productions as a core chorister. Most recently, Timothy performed in Bodhi Tree Concerts’ production of Dido and Aeneas and will be part of All is Calm’s 6^th year. He has also sung with SACRA/PROFANA, San Diego Master Chorale, San Diego Pro Arte Voices, and is the tenor soloist for First United Methodist Church of San Diego. He has a been a featured soloist in Handel’s Messiah, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Bach’s Magnifcat in D and Cantata 63, and several solo quartet concerts at First United Methodist Church of San Diego, Handel’s Messiah with SACRA/PROFANA, Handel’s L’Allegro, Il Penseroso, ed il Moderato, Bach’s Cantata 140 and Vivaldi’s Lauda Jerusalem, and Schubert’s Mass in G, with Grossmont Symphony and Master Chorale, and Schubert’s Mass in Eb at Chapman University. In concert with San Diego Symphony, Timothy was featured in “Beyond the Score: Ives’ Symphony #2: Things Our Father Loved”, and also in the Symphony’s Summer Pops, he has been a soloist in the Final Fantasy and Broadway Pops concerts. Timothy holds a Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from Chapman University, where performed the roles of Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Herr Eiler in The Impresario, and Henrick in scenes of A Little Night Music, and many opera scenes programs with Opera Chapman.

Michael Sokol, Baritone

Company appearances: Sergeant of Police, The Pirates of Penzance (2017), Ensemble, All is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914 (2018); soloist, When I See Your Face Again (2021); Maestro Spinelloccio, Gianni Schicchi (2023)

Notable appearances:  Metropolitan Opera; Philadelphia Orchestra; Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago; Frank Lloyd Wright, Shining Brow (Madison Opera); director, San Diego Summer Gilbert and Sullivan Workshop.

Cole Tornberg is from Sea Cliff, NY and is a graduate from Binghamton University with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Performance. His first exposure to opera came during college when he volunteered for the chorus of La Boheme at Tri Cities Opera and he fell in love with the art form. His passion for the art form continues to grow and he is honored to perform with this exceptional company.

Emily Weinberg is a 27-year-old mezzo-soprano who has been studying with private teacher Daniel Hendrick (tenor) for the last 13 years. Since her graduation from CSUF in 2019, Emily has become a regular performer with the Pacific Chorale and has gone on to perform as Cenerentola in Pacific Symphony’s “La Cenerentola”, Miss Todd in “The Old Maid and the Thief” with the International Lyric Academy in Vicenza, Italy, and made her debut as the title role in “Carmen” with the Pacific Lyric Association in October, 2022. Her upcoming engagements include appearances in the San Diego Opera’s “Suor Angelica” and “Tosca” in the spring of 2023.

Karin Wilcox, mezzo-soprano, first discovered her love of classical singing as a youth growing up in Germany, which then developed into a passion for opera upon starting her studies at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA. There, she performed the roles of “Zweite Dame” in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, “La Ciesca” in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, “Second Witch” in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and “Madame de la Haltière” in Massenet’s Cendrillon with Point Loma Opera Theatre.

In October 2011, Karin distinguished herself as District Winner at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in San Diego. She has been a frequent featured performer in the Colorado Springs Vocal Arts Festival, and made her debut with Opera Theatre of the Rockies in 2014 in the role of “Miss Bentson” in Delibes’ Lakmé, where she was recognized for bringing “[…] fine vocalism and entertaining acting to the libretto’s stereotyped depiction of English females.” She returned to Opera Theatre of the Rockies in 2016 to cover the role of “Dorabella” in Mozart’s Così fan tutte and then again in 2017 to cover both the roles of “Pitti-Sing” and “Peep-Bo” in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado. Shortly thereafter, she reprised the role of “Madame de la Haltière” in Massenet’s Cendrillon with Boulder Opera Company in December, 2017. Karin made her debut with Breaking Glass Arts as “The Secretary” in Menotti’s The Consul in April, 2018.

Karin participated in San Diego Opera‘s Young Artist Training Program in it’s 2019-2020 season. She was also seen in early 2020 as “Siebel” in Valley Opera and Performing Arts’ production of Gounod’s Faust, and as “Armelinde” in Lyric Opera of Orange County’s production of Pauline Viardot’s Cinderella. Most recently, Karin has been active as a recitalist, having presented her lecture-recital “A Journey in Classical Singing” in Colorado Springs (September, 2021), Greely (January, 2022), and La Jolla (May, 2022).

Tenor Dennis Williams comes to San Diego from New York City where he was a full-time member of the Metropolitan Opera Chorus in a career that spanned over 20 years.  He made his solo debut as Giuseppe in La Traviata starring Edita Gruberova as Violetta.  Other notable Violettas in subsequent performances included Renee Fleming, Krassimira Stoyanova, June Anderson and Diana Soviero.

In total, Mr. Williams appeared in 200 solo performances in such roles as Parpignol in La Boheme starring Hei-Kyung Hong and Marcello Giordani and in featured roles in La Fille du Regiment, Der Rosendavalier, Madama Butterfly, and Kat’a Kabanova.

His solo performances are regularly streamed on Sirius XM and he was seen in telecasts of Madama Butterfly starring Catherine Malfitanno on PBS Great Performances and Die Zauberflote starring Kathleen Battle, available on Met Opera on Demand.

Since moving to San Diego, Mr. Williams has appeared as King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Genesis Opera Theater, Gastone in a concert version of La Traviata with the FF Collective and with the San Diego Opera Chorus.

Anna Yelizarova has performed over twenty-five roles, including Angelina and Tisbe in La Cenerentola, the title role in Carmen, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Olga in Eugene Onegin, Marina and Fyodor in Boris Godunov, Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera, Siebel in Faust, La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, Smeton in Anna Bolena, Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte, Flora in La Traviata, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Hänsel und Gretel, Suzuki in Madama Butterfly, and Annio in La clemenza di Tito.

She has sung with Opera San Jose, West Bay Opera, Dicapo Opera Theatre, Opera in the Heights, Livermore Valley Opera, One World Symphony, New Opera NYC, dell’Arte Opera Ensemble, Center City Opera, Opera Company of Brooklyn, Opera Manhattan, Long Island Opera, New York Lyric Opera Theater, Intermezzo Opera Festival, and Martina Arroyo Foundation among others.

Ms. Yelizarova sang at Carnegie Hall with Pacific Encore Opera, and was a guest artist at the Midsummer Mozart Festival, and Natchez Opera Festival.

During Covid-19 pandemic, she participated in many recording projects and online concerts, including a video project by Opera Modesto at the Gallo Center for The Arts. She just returned to in-person theater work as Governess in Pique Dame at West Bay Opera, and a chorister of San Diego Opera.

Originally from Moscow, Russia, Ms. Yelizarova holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in voice from the Manhattan School of Music and New Jersey City University. In Russia, she received her first Bachelor’s Degree in Conducting.