Festival Cast

VINCENT GOVER, baritone, from Clarksville, MD, is known for his comic portrayals in opera and musical theater. In Winter 2019 he was an apprentice artist at Sarasota Opera, performing the Third Slave in Die Zauberflöte, and joined Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre for the world premiere of Michael Ching’s 8 Woods and a Van. He joined the Ohio Light Opera in 2019, where he performed Commander Harbison in South Pacific, one of The Foursome in Girl Crazy, and Sir Amayas Wendell in Perchance to Dream, and understudied Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance. Previous roles include Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Opera in the Ozarks, Betto in Gianni Schicchi, Father in Hänsel und Gretel, Tobias Mill in La cambiale di matrimonio, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and the Learned Judge in Trial by Jury. Additionally a composer and librettist, he recently wrote Lend Me a Roll, a comic operetta that pokes fun at life in the early weeks of the COVID-19 quarantine. A video production can be found online on YouTube, featuring alumni of Ohio Light Opera.

MARK HOSSEINI, baritone, is a frequent performer of stage and concert works ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century. Recently, he was seen as part of the virtual performance troupe Where the Good Songs Go, where he performed in premiere recordings of musical comedies by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin, and Sissle and Blake. Favorite stage performances include Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Opéra Louisiane, the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance with College Light Opera Company, Pandolfe in Cendrillon with Eastman Opera Theatre, and Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus with Oakland University Opera. He has appeared as soloist with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Bachfest Malaysia, and the Oakland Symphony Orchestra. Mark has been a semifinalist in the Lotte Lenya Competition, a winner of the Oakland Symphony Orchestra Concerto Competition, and has received four first-place awards from the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition. He holds a master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he was a recipient of the Renée Fleming Endowed Scholarship, and a bachelor’s degree from Oakland University, where he was given the Music, Theatre, and Dance Department Award for “Outstanding Student in Voice Performance.”

BENJAMIN KRUMREIG, tenor, is excited to be returning to OLO for a seventh summer. A native of Cleveland, Benjamin received his BM from the Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music. He then earned his MM from the University of Illinois School of Music. Well-versed in opera, operetta, and musical theater, Benjamin’s roles include Arcadio in Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas, Marco in The Gondoliers, Freddy Eynsford-Hill in My Fair Lady, Fenton in Verdi’s Falstaff, and Pluto in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld. Previous roles at OLO include the title role in Candide, Rodney Hatch in One Touch of Venus, Freddie Falls in Primrose, Charlie Dalrymple in Brigadoon, Gardefeu in La vie parisienne, NankiPoo in The Mikado, and Ralph Rackstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore.

TERYN KUZMA, soprano, is a Ukrainian-American hailing from Hartford, CT, where she studies voice with Constance Rock. She is thrilled to be returning to OLO for a second exciting season as Luisa in The Fantasticks and as a featured performer. Ms. Kuzma is a part of the Women’s Bandura Ensemble of North America, for which she is an ensemble member and serves on the artistic committee. She has performed with the Ohio Light Opera, the Ukrainian Art Song Project, and the Hartford Opera Theater. Teryn is a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut with a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance, and she looks forward to continuing her studies in the fall of 2021 in the graduate vocal arts program at Bard College-Conservatory.

JOELLE LACHANCE, mezzo soprano, is excited to return to OLO for her third (in person, fourth total) season as Carolie in The Daring of Diane and as a featured performer in The Musical Magic of OLO! and

Operetta: Rare and Well Done. Last season, you may have glimpsed her on your computer as Tessa in The Gondoliers and Trixie Flynn in Let ‘Em Eat Cake. You saw her in past seasons as Clorinda in Into the Woods, Flora James in Girl Crazy, and Joyce Wheeler in Fifty Million Frenchmen. Recent roles include Ernesto, a goat who tackles bullying in The Three Billy Goats Gruff, a candy-eating Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, and an energetic First Spirit or flirtatious Third Lady in various productions of The Magic Flute. While she calls Cooperstown home, she has only been to the Baseball Hall of Fame once and credits the Glimmerglass Festival for her love of all things opera. Joelle received her BM and MS in music education from Nazareth College in Rochester, NY and her MM in historical performance from Boston University. She is a student of Constance Fee. When not singing, she enjoys Marvel superhero movies, pub trivia nights, reading copious books, and spending time with her family.

MICHELLE MARIE PEDERSEN, soprano, is thrilled to be part of this year’s 2021 Ohio Light Opera season. Michelle’s debut season with OLO was in 2019 in the production of South Pacific, playing the beloved and boisterous role of Bloody Mary. She has recently performed the role of Gilda in Rigoletto with the University of Utah’s Lyric Opera and Musetta in La Bohème with the St. George Opera. Other recent performance credits include Madame Lidoine (Dialogues des Carmélites), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor), The Old Lady (Candide), and Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors). Michelle holds a BA in both vocal performance and music education from Oregon State University and an MM in vocal performance from the University of Utah. Ms. Pedersen has been a visiting professor of musical theater voice at the University of Memphis Theatre & Dance Department, and is currently working on her DMA in vocal performance with a secondary emphasis in stage directing at the University of Utah.

PERKINS, soprano, made her stage debut in OLO’s 2011 production of Jubilee and is thrilled to be back for her sixth season. She is a rising sophomore at Vassar College and studies voice with Susan Eichhorn Young and OLO alum James Ruff. IG: @elizabethstocktonperkins

TANYA ROBERTS, soprano, is overjoyed to return for her sixth season as Diane (The Daring of Diane), Counsel for the Plaintiff (Trial by Jury), and featured performer in The Musical Magic of OLO! and Operetta: Rare and Well Done. She hopes you remember her as Anna (The King and I), Lilli (Kiss Me, Kate), Frieda (Music in the Air), Eliza (My Fair Lady), Baker’s Wife (Into the Woods), Dolly (Have a Heart), and the title role in Countess Maritza. Tanya has performed over 75 roles worldwide. She has appeared with Lyric Opera Chicago, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Opera, Edmonton Opera, Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Lyrique-en-Mer, Teatro Grattacielo, Banff Centre, Charlottesville Opera, Sound of Austria, and the Tel Aviv Festival, among many others. She is a founding member of the opera crossover quartet Prosecco. An avid traveler, Tanya has visited 65 countries, half of which while performing with Azamara Cruises, appearing in cabarets, her solo show “Hostess with the Mostess,” and as Micaela (Carmen). Tanya is also the founder of Tanya Roberts Creative, a boutique video editing and graphic design studio for performing artists. She is a native of Toronto and graduate of McGill University.

CAITLIN RUDDY, soprano, is a versatile singer-actress with a passion for opera, operetta, and classic music theater. She is thrilled to be back with the Ohio Light Opera, after being a Young Artist in both 2015 and 2018. In 2018 she performed the title role in Franz Lehár’s Cloclo. Other favorite roles at OLO include Paquette (Candide), Berginella (La Périchole), Poopsie (The Pajama Game), and Jane Ashton (Brigadoon). In 2019 Caitlin was an Emerging Artist with St. Petersburg Opera, and covered the role of Valencienne in The Merry Widow. In NYC, she originated the role of Perketta in the workshop and presentation of Under the Overture, a “hilarious musical comedy/operatic romp” that features music by Rossini, and was directed by Gerard Alessandrini (creator of Spamilton and Forbidden Broadway). Also in NYC, she performed with the Victor Herbert Renaissance Project LIVE! Other favorite roles include Rosabella (The Most

Happy Fella), Baker’s Wife (Into the Woods), Natalie (White Horse Inn), Hodel (Fiddler on the Roof), and Anytime Annie (42nd Street). Caitlin graduated with her BM in vocal performance from the University of Florida, and her MM in voice performance and literature from the Eastman School of Music. She currently resides on Long Island.

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN SAPP, tenor, is delighted to be performing with OLO for his third season. Currently living in Brooklyn, Christopher thoroughly enjoys composing his own music, learning new musical theater and operetta repertoire, and teaching music for multiple instruments. Most notable performance credits include Anthony Hope in Sweeney Todd, Thomas Andrews in Titanic: The Musical, Charlie Dalrymple in Brigadoon, Flynn Rider in Tangled: The Musical, and Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance. Instagram: @christopherrobinsapp