ARTIST BIOS

The ARTISTS

KATE ASHTON

Designer, New York, NY Lighting Design, Sweeney Todd DMMO DEBUT Wozzeck, 2019 RECENT The Turn of the Screw, The Juilliard School The Marriage of Figaro, Aspen Music Festival The Magic Flute, Opera Maine SPONSORS Ed and Elizabeth Mansfield NEEKI BEY

Creative Director, Dallas, TX Pianist, The John Holiday Experience DMMO DEBUT RECENT Audio Producer, Episcopal Diocese of Dallas The John Holiday Experience, The Dallas Opera, Metropolitan Museum of Art Show Producer, Keller Theater SPONSOR Pat Brown in memory of Doug Brown COREY BIX

Tenor, Clarinda, IA Beadle Bamford, Sweeney Todd DMMO DEBUT Salome, 2002 RECENT Ariadne auf Naxos, Arizona Opera Pagliacci, El Paso Opera Wozzeck, Des Moines Metro Opera SPONSORS Doris Salsbury Endowment Fund

JOSHUA BORTHS

Director, Cincinnati, OH Preview Lecturer Stage Director-in-Residence DMMO DEBUT A Little Night Music, 2017 RECENT A Tale of Two Cities, Capital University The Littlest Mermaid, OPERA Iowa The Barber of Seville, Arizona Opera SPONSORS Carleton and Barbara Zacheis ANDREW BOYCE

Designer, Chicago, IL Scenic Designer, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT Don Giovanni, 2012 RECENT An American Dream, Lyric Opera of Chicago Giulio Cesare, Boston Lyric Opera An American Soldier, Opera Theater of St. Louis SPONSORS Tom and Marsha Mann R. KEITH BRUMLEY

Designer, Kansas City, MO Scenic Designer, Sweeney Todd DMMO DEBUT Die Fledermaus, 1989 RECENT La Bohème, Lyric Opera of Kansas City Flight, Des Moines Metro Opera SPONSOR Schiller Family Foundation

CADIE J. BRYAN Ensemble Artist Soprano, Baton Rouge, LA Clarine, Platée Prilepa, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT Rusalka, 2018 RECENT Riders of the Purple Sage, Arizona Opera La Bohème, Arizona Opera The Marriage of Figaro, Arizona Opera SPONSORS Kate and Tom Carey JONATHAN BURTON

Tenor, Portsmouth, OH Gherman, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT The Girl of the Golden West, 2015 RECENT Luisa Miller, Lyric Opera of Chicago Norma, Utah Opera Turandot, Sarasota Opera SPONSORS Jim and Patty Cownie/ Cownie Charitable Foundation JOYCE CASTLE

Mezzo-Soprano, Lawrence, KS Countess, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT Elektra, 2013 RECENT Bernadette’s Cozy Book Nook,

Fort Worth Opera Bon Appétit!, Des Moines Metro Opera SPONSOR Paul Woodard

JACOB A. CLIMER

Designer, New York, NY Scenic and Costume Designer, Platée DMMO DEBUT The Abduction from the Seraglio, 2015 RECENT Shining Brow, Arizona Opera The Little Prince, Utah Opera The Flying Dutchman, Atlanta Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Houston Grand Opera SPONSORS Ellen and Jim Hubbell SCOTT CONNER

Bass, Kansas City, MO Jupiter, Platée DMMO DEBUT Apprentice Artist, 2005 RECENT Der Rosenkavalier, The Metropolitan Opera The Love for Three Oranges, Opera Philadelphia Carmen, San Diego Opera SPONSORS Janis and John Ruan III/The Ruan Foundation PETER SCOTT DRACKLEY Ensemble Artist

Tenor, Lancaster, PA Pirelli, Sweeney Todd Tchekalinsky, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT Apprentice Artist, 2019 RECENT La Bohème, Opera Idaho Turandot, Opera Grand Rapids Norma, Winter Opera St. Louis SPONSORS Kay and Roger Berger

BEN EDQUIST

Baritone, Lake Jackson, TX Anthony Hope, Sweeney Todd DMMO DEBUT RECENT Fellow Travelers, Madison Opera The Magic Flute, New Orleans Opera The Marriage of Figaro, Houston Grand Opera SPONSORS Daniel M. and Mary Kelly ALEXANDER BIRCH ELLIOTT

Baritone, Florence, SC Prince Yeletsky, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT Apprentice Artist, 2011 RECENT La Bohème, San Diego Opera The Pearl Fishers, Houston Grand Opera The Pearl Fishers, The Metropolitan Opera SPONSOR Frank R. Brownell III SARA GARTLAND

Soprano, Plano, TX Lisa, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT Regina, 2008 RECENT Hansel and Gretel, San Diego Opera Wozzeck, Des Moines Metro Opera La Bohème, Dallas Opera SPONSORS Harry Bookey and Pamela Bass-Bookey

ANDREW GILSTRAP Ensemble Artist Bass-Baritone, Nashville, TN Jonas Fogg, Sweeney Todd Sourin, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT La Bohème, 2019 RECENT Flight, Minnesota Opera The Barber of Seville, Minnesota Opera Elektra, Minnesota Opera SPONSOR Charles Farr JONAS HACKER

Tenor, Lake Delton, WI Master of Ceremonies, The Queen of Spades Mercury, Platée DMMO DEBUT RECENT The Magic Flute, Oper Köln Messiah, Philadelphia Orchestra Fellow Travelers, Lyric Opera of Chicago SPONSORS Dr. Bruce Hughes and Dr. Randall Hamilton TESSA HARTLE

Pianist and Coach, Pittsburgh, PA Musical Preparation, Fellow Travelers Chorus Pianist, Sweeney Todd, The Queen of Spades, Platée Apprentice Artist Program Staff DMMO DEBUT La Traviata, 2012 RECENT Il Postino, Virginia Opera The Grapes of Wrath, Michigan Opera Theatre The Elixir of Love, Sarasota Opera SPONSOR Joan O'Harra Burke

LISA HASSON

Chorus Master, Pianist, Coach, Fort Thomas, KY Irene Graether Chorus Master and Director of the Apprentice Artist Program, Sweeney Todd, The Queen of Spades, Platée DMMO DEBUT La Cenerentola, Ariadne auf Naxos, 2004 RECENT Opera Coach, University of Cincinnati-CCM Sandford Studio Artist Director and Chorus Master, Kentucky Opera The Essentials: La Traviata & Don Giovanni,

Dayton Opera SPONSOR John Graether in memory of Irene Graether WILLIAM HOBBS

Conductor, Pianist, Coach, Weehawken, NJ Associate Conductor and Russian Diction Coach, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT RECENT Street Scene, Opéra de Monte-Carlo Blood Moon, Beth Morrison Projects Suor Angelica/Der Kaiser von Atlantis,

Montclair State University SPONSORS Wes Hunsberger and Mark Holub JOHN HOLIDAY

Countertenor, Rosenberg, TX The John Holiday Experience DMMO DEBUT Flight, 2018 RECENT Finalist, NBC's The Voice The John Holiday Experience,

Metropolitan Museum of Art SPONSORS Linda and Tom Koehn

GRACE KAHL

Soprano, Queens, NY Johanna, Sweeney Todd Mary Johnson, Fellow Travelers DMMO DEBUT A Little Night Music, 2017 RECENT La Traviata, Utah Opera The Thirteenth Child, Santa Fe Opera Die Zauberflöte, Utah Opera SPONSORS Marla Lacey and Steve Znerold JONATHAN KNIPSCHER

Designer, New York City, NY Costume Designer, Sweeney Todd, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT Dead Man Walking, Tragedy of Carmen, 2014 RECENT Billy Budd, Central City Opera Flight, Des Moines Metro Opera Die Fledermaus, Des Moines Metro Opera SPONSOR Janice Walter JOSEPH LATTANZI

Baritone, Mableton, GA Hawkins Fuller, Fellow Travelers DMMO DEBUT RECENT Flight, Seattle Opera Pagliacci, Atlanta Opera The Marriage of Figaro, Cincinnati Opera SPONSOR Dr. Darren R. Jirsa

MARIE-FRANCE LEFEBVRE

Pianist and Coach, Cincinnati, OH French Diction Coach, Platée DMMO DEBUT RECENT Ariadne auf Naxos, Cincinnati Opera The Marriage of Figaro, Cincinnati Opera The Dialogue of the Carmelites,

Metropolitan Opera SPONSORS Diane Morain ISAAC MARTIN LERNER

Dancer/Choreographer, New York City, NY Dancer/Choreographer, Platée DMMO DEBUT Orphée et Eurydice, 2016 RECENT Dancer, Kizuna Dance Dancer, The Bang Group SPONSOR Susan B. Moore ELDEN LITTLE

Pianist and Coach, East Lansing, MI Musical Preparation, Sweeney Todd Apprentice Artist Program Staff DMMO DEBUT The Rake's Progress, Rigoletto, 2006 RECENT Bon Appétit!, Des Moines Metro Opera La Clemenza di Tito, Michigan State University Virtual Magic Flute, Opera NEO SPONSORS Dana Quick-Naig and Scott Naig

KRISTINE MCINTYRE

Director, Portland, OR Stage Director, Sweeney Todd DMMO DEBUT La Bohème, 2011 RECENT Semele, Pittsburgh Opera Glory Denied, Urban Arias Wozzeck, Des Moines Metro Opera The Human Voice, Des Moines Metro Opera SPONSORS Adrienne McFarland and Joe Clamon, Chérie and Bob Shreck KEVIN J. MILLER

Pianist and Coach, New York, NY Pianist, The John Holiday Experience DMMO DEBUT RECENT Lawrence Brownlee Recital, Carnegie Hall, Houston Grand Opera The John Holiday Experience, The Dallas Opera Joseph Calleja Tiny Desk Concert SPONSORS Joshua and Susie Kimelman KYLE NAIG

Conductor and Pianist/Coach, Des Moines, IA Associate Conductor, Sweeney Todd Apprentice Artist Program Staff DMMO DEBUT Amahl and the Night Visitors, 2013 RECENT Joyce DiDonato Concert, The Dallas Opera Aïda, Houston Grand Opera Saul, Houston Grand Opera SPONSORS Jeanine and Bob Carithers

DAVID NEELY

Conductor, Hyattsville, MD The Marshall and Judy Flapan Music Director and Principal Conductor, Sweeney Todd, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT The Crucible, Falstaff, 2003 RECENT American Opera Initiative, Washington National Opera Wozzeck, Des Moines Metro Opera Candide, Des Moines Metro Opera SPONSOR Marshall Flapan ZACHARY NELSON

Baritone, Annapolis, MD Sweeney Todd, Sweeney Todd DMMO DEBUT RECENT Turandot, Palm Beach Opera La Bohème, Santa Fe Opera The Marriage of Figaro, Arizona Opera SPONSORS Nancy and Bill Main SONDRA NOTTINGHAM

Designer, Hardinsburg, KY Wig and Makeup Designer, Platée, Fellow Travelers DMMO DEBUT RECENT La Cenerentola, Nashville Opera The Magic Flute, Opera Maine The Consul, Opera Saratoga SPONSOR Rusty Hubbell Family Fund

YASUKO OURA

Pianist and Coach, Chicago, IL Musical Preparation, Platée Apprentice Artist Program Staff DMMO DEBUT Der Freischütz, Tosca, 2009 RECENT Rappaccini’s Daughter, Chicago Opera Theater Taking Up Serpents, Chicago Opera Theater American Dream, Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Lyric Unlimited SPONSORS Bob and Betsy Freese MATTHEW OZAWA

Director, Chicago, IL Stage Director, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT A Little Night Music, 2017 RECENT The Barber of Seville, San Francisco Opera The Three Queens, Lyric Opera of Chicago Madama Butterfly, Santa Fe Opera SPONSOR Daniel J. and Ann L. Krumm Charitable Trust KSENIIA POLSTIANKINA BARRAD

Pianist and Coach, Kyiv, Ukraine Musical Preparation, Russian Diction Coach, On-Stage Pianist, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT RECENT Manon Lescaut, San Francisco Opera Breaking the Waves, West Edge Opera Carmen, San Francisco Opera SPONSORS Jon Duvick and Carol Hendrick

FRANCES RABALAIS

Director, Houston, TX Assistant Director, Sweeney Todd Apprentice Artist Program Staff DMMO DEBUT Wozzeck, 2019 RECENT The Elixir of Love, Tri-Cities Opera I Pagliacci, Opera Colorado Abduction from the Seraglio, Opera Omaha SPONSORS Jim and Jeanne O'Halloran CHAS RADER-SHIEBER

Director, St. Louis, MO Stage Director, Platée DMMO DEBUT The Abduction from the Seraglio, 2015 RECENT Artaserse, Pinchgut Opera, Sydney La Finta Giardiniera, Portland Opera Shining Brow, Arizona Opera SPONSOR Easter Family Foundation TAYLOR RAVEN

Mezzo-Soprano, Fayetteville, NC Pauline/Milovzor, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT RECENT La Clemenza di Tito, Los Angeles Opera The Barber of Seville, Wolf Trap Opera Don Carlo, Los Angeles Opera SPONSORS John and Peggy Wild

ZOIE REAMS

Mezzo-Soprano, Chicago, IL Beggar Woman, Sweeney Todd Juno, Platée DMMO DEBUT Wozzeck, 2019 RECENT The Sound of Music, Houston Grand Opera Albert Herring, Minnesota Opera Marian's Song, HGOco SPONSORS Stan and Mary Seidler/The Seidler Foundation TODD RHOADES

Choreographer, Chicago, IL Choreographer, Sweeney Todd, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT A Little Night Music, 2017 RECENT Beauty and the Beast, Paramount Theater Candide, Des Moines Metro Opera The Scarlet Ibis, Chicago Opera Theater SPONSOR Kathryn Jessup SARAH RIFFLE

Designer, Chicago, IL Lighting Designer, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT La Bohème, 2019 RECENT Rappacinni’s Daughter, Chicago Opera Theater Carmen, Opera Orlando The Three Queens, Lyric Opera Chicago SPONSOR Stanley Ransom

KIMBERLY ROBERTS

Voice Teacher, Knoxville, TN Resident Voice Teacher Apprentice Artist Staff DMMO DEBUT La Rondine, 1997 RECENT Lecturer in Voice, University of Tennessee-Knoxville SPONSOR Robert L. Larsen Fund BRIAN ROBERTSON

Stage Director and Fight Choreographer, Cincinnati, OH Fight Choreographer, Sweeney Todd, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT Gloriana, The Tales of Hoffmann, 2005 RECENT Cabaret, Northern Kentucky University Fortune, Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati SPONSORS Eric Lindberg and Steve Farver ALEX ROSEN

Bass, La Cañada, CA Citheron, Platée DMMO DEBUT RECENT La Traviata, Bordeaux Opera Orfeo, Nederlandse Reisopera Semele, Opera Philadelphia SPONSORS Phil and Judy Watson

CHRISTIAN SANDERS

Tenor, San Diego, CA Tobias Ragg, Sweeney Todd Timothy Laughlin, Fellow Travelers DMMO DEBUT A Little Night Music, Billy Budd, 2017 RECENT Silent Night, Minnesota Opera The Ghosts of Versailles, Glimmerglass Festival, Chateau de Versailles Spectacles La Rondine, Minnesota Opera SPONSORS Michael and Barbara Gartner in memory of Christopher Gartner DYLAN SAUERWALD

Historical Keyboardist and Conductor, New York, NY Associate Conductor, Platée DMMO DEBUT RECENT King Arthur, Amherst Early Music Festival Esther, Miryam Baroque Ensemble El Retablo del Maese Pedro, Unitas Ensemble SPONSORS Paul J. Meginnis II and Jo Sloan LUCY SCHAUFER

Mezzo-Soprano, Carpentersville, IL Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd DMMO DEBUT RECENT Street Scene, Teatro Real 4.48 Psychosis, Prototype Festival Monstrous Child, Royal Opera House SPONSORS Susan E. and Carl B. Voss

COLTER SCHOENFISH

Director, Fargo, ND Assistant Director, The Queen of Spades, Fellow Travelers DMMO DEBUT RECENT The Human Voice, Opera Theatre of St. Louis Twilight:Gods, Lyric Opera of Chicago Champion, Michigan Opera Theatre SPONSOR Julia Hagen DANIEL SETH

Director, New York, NY Assistant Director, Platée DMMO DEBUT RECENT Godfather of Harlem, EPIX The Fall, New York University Empathitrax, Mountview SPONSORS Paul J. Meginnis II and Jo Sloan MARCUS SHIELDS

Director, Charleston, SC Stage Director, Fellow Travelers DMMO DEBUT RECENT The Glitch, Catapult Opera Agrippina, The Metropolitan Opera Fellow Travelers, Arizona Opera SPONSOR Steve Marquardt

TAYLOR STAYTON

Tenor, Sidney, OH Platée, Platée DMMO DEBUT Don Pasquale, 2011 RECENT The Barber of Seville, Palm Beach Opera La Cenerentola, Norwegian National Opera The Elixir of Love, Opera Omaha SPONSORS Nix and Virginia Lauridsen/ Lauridsen Family Foundation ELIZABETH SUTPHEN

Soprano, Syracuse, NY La Folie, Platée DMMO DEBUT RECENT Xerxes, Oper Frankfurt Rigoletto, Houston Grand Opera Ariadne auf Naxos, Théâtre du Capitole SPONSORS Charlotte and Fred Hubbell BENJAMIN TAYLOR

Baritone, Waldorf, MD Count Tomsky/Zlatagor, The Queen of Spades Un Satyre, Platée Tommy McIntyre, Fellow Travelers DMMO DEBUT RECENT The Barber of Seville, Fargo-Moorhead Opera La Bohème, Pittsburgh Opera Pagliacci, Madison Opera SPONSORS Mollie and Britt Baker

WAYNE TIGGES

Bass-Baritone, Dubuque, IA Judge Turpin, Sweeney Todd DMMO DEBUT Dead Man Walking, Le Comte Ory, 2014 RECENT Dead Man Walking, Lyric Opera of Chicago Billy Budd, San Francisco Opera La Traviata, Los Angeles Opera SPONSORS Dr. Craig and Kimberly Shadur BRIAN WALLIN Ensemble Artist Tenor, New Brighton, MN Mercury & Thespis (covers), Platée DMMO DEBUT RECENT Independence Eve,

Opera Birmingham The Ghosts of Versailles,

Château de Versailles Spectacles Rigoletto, Austin Opera SPONSOR Dr. Beth Triebel CAROLYN WATSON

Conductor, Kansas City, MO Conductor, Fellow Travelers DMMO DEBUT RECENT Hansel and Gretel, Amarillo Opera And Still We Dream, Lyric Opera of Kansas City Penelope, Lyric Opera of Kansas City SPONSOR Trudy Holman Hurd

JOANNE WEAVER

Designer, Detroit, MI Wig and Makeup Designer, Sweeney Todd, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT Summer Festival Season, 1992 RECENT Hansel and Gretel, Michigan Opera Theatre Dreamgirls, Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma City The Passenger, Michigan Opera Theatre SPONSORS David Yepsen and Mary Stuart GARY THOR WEDOW

Conductor, LaPorte, IN Conductor, Platée DMMO DEBUT Orphée et Eurydice, 2016 RECENT Teseo, The Juilliard School Semele, Opera Philadelphia Giulio Cesare (Santorio),

Carnegie Mellon University SPONSORS Roger Brooks and Sunnie Richer NATE WHEATLEY

Designer, Kansas City, MO Lighting Designer, Platée, Fellow Travelers DMMO DEBUT The Tragedy of Carmen, 2014 RECENT Hansel and Gretel, Opera Orlando Alcina, Pittsburgh Opera Don Giovanni, Florida Grand Opera SPONSORS Barbara and Fred Brown

The DANCERS

CALVIN BITTNER

Dancer, Hartford, CT Dancer, Platée, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT RECENT Snow White, Ballet Theatre Company of West Hartford Boy on the Roof, The School at Jacob’s Pillow Die Fledermaus, The Hartt School, University of Hartford SPONSORS Bernie and Linda White MISHA CULVER

Dancer, New York, NY Dancer, Platée, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT RECENTS Diversion of Angels, American Dance Festival, Graham 2 Appalachian Spring, Graham 2 SPONSORS Dr. Stephen and Marsha Stephenson SIDDHARTH DUTTA

Dancer, India Dancer, Platée, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT RECENT Aaiye, ROVACO Dance Company Lost in Translation, Julie Magneville The Last Winner, Cross-Move Dance Lab SPONSORS Ann and Brent Michelson

VICTORIA JAENSON

Dancer, Brattleboro, VT Dancer, The Queen of Spades, Platée DMMO DEBUT RECENT A Fairy Tailored Sleeping Beauty,

Charlotte Ballet Jean Pierre Bonnefoux's Nutcracker, Charlotte Ballet Leonce and Lena, Charlotte Ballet SPONSOR Roger L. Hatteberg ANNA PINAULT

Dancer, New York, NY Dancer, Platée, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT RECENT Kama, Rovaco Dance Company In Lungs, Mobilized Voices Nacirema, Seymour Dance Collective SPONSOR Louise Grzybowski XAVIER TOWNSEND

Dancer, New York, NY Dancer, Platée, The Queen of Spades DMMO DEBUT RECENT Buffer Zone, Dance film, The Pocket Fuel Groovers A Call for Prayer, Project Tag Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise, The Shed SPONSORS Andrew V. and Dr. Katherine Hauser