Bold. Brave. Brilliant.
Music by Giuseppe Verdi, Libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni

Aida

Soprano Leah Hawkins is a graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera, 2021 winner of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra’s Women in Classical Music Career Advancement Award, a 2022 Richard Tucker Career Grant recipient, and the Met’s 2024 Beverly Sills Artist Award recipient.

Hawkins begins the 2023/24 season as the Soprano Soloist in Verdi’s Requiem at The Metropolitan Opera conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Other season highlights include a role debut in Anthony Davis’ X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X (Louise/Betty) with The Metropolitan Opera and Seattle Opera. In the spring, she will make her role and house debut at Dutch National Opera in a new production of Il tabarro (Giorgetta) directed by Barrie Kosky and conducted by Lorenzo Viotti. On the concert stage she performs the Dvořák Requiem with American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. Future engagements include debuts with La Monnaie, The Dallas Opera, and San Francisco Symphony along with returns to The Metropolitan Opera and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Last season, she made her role and house debut at Pittsburgh Opera in Rusalka (Foreign Princess). Other season engagements included debuts with The Santa Fe Opera and Opera Memphis for Tosca (title role), Arizona Opera for Ariadne auf Naxos (title role), and her return to The Metropolitan Opera for La Bohème (Musetta). On the concert stage, she made her debut at the inaugural Sag Harbor Song Festival and presented a recital at the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theatre.

Past engagements include her debut at the Opéra national de Paris in 7 Deaths of Maria Callas (Desdemona) before returning to the roster of The Metropolitan Opera for Fire Shut Up in My Bones and Porgy & Bess (Strawberry Woman). She made her Des Moines Metro Opera debut in Porgy & Bess (Serena).

In the 2020/21 Season, Hawkins debuted at the Bayerische Staatsoper in 7 Deaths of Maria Callas (Desdemona). Additional 2020/21 engagements included debuts with Portland Opera for Journeys to Justice, Tulsa Opera for Greenwood Overcomes, Song of America: Celebration of Black Music with the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and a SummerStage recital in Central Park with The Metropolitan Opera.

While in the Lindemann Program at The Metropolitan Opera she was seen in Porgy & Bess (Strawberry Woman), Pique Dame (Masha), Suor Angelica (Alms Collector), and Aida (High Priestess). She made her Colorado Symphony debut in the Verdi Requiem and gave a recital at the Park Avenue Armory. Leah is an alumna of the Cafritz Young Artists of Washington National Opera, where she appeared in the World Premiere of Mazzoli’s Proving Up (Mrs. Johannes “Ma” Zegner), Don Carlo (Celestial Voice), Fairouz’s The Dictator’s Wife, Blanchard’s Champion (Cousin Blanche/Sadie Griffith), and Glass’ Appomattox (Mrs. Dorsey/Amelia Boynton).

On the concert stage she has appeared with Yale Philharmonia in Mahler Symphony No. 2, the New Haven Symphony Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Porgy and Bess (Serena) with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, and in A Space Odyssey with The Philadelphia Orchestra. She appeared with The Apollo Orchestra in Strauss’ Vier letzte Lieder, the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra in A Celebration of Black History where she performed Knoxville: Summer of 1915, and The National Symphony Orchestra in Songfest by Leonard Bernstein. Hawkins received her Master of Music in Voice from Yale University and Bachelor of Arts in Music from Morgan State University.

Headshot of opera tenor singer Limmie Pulliam with Arizona Opera

Limmie Pulliam

Radamès

Rising dramatic tenor Limmie Pulliam has thrilled audiences with his captivating stage presence and his “stentorian, yet beautiful,” sound.

The 2024/25 Season will feature a combination of returns and debuts for Pulliam, including his role and house debut as Samson in Samson et Dalila with New Orleans Opera, his return to the Cleveland Orchestra under the baton of Franz Welser-Möst for Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, and his house debut with Austin Opera as tenor soloist in Verdi’s Requiem. He returns to the role of Radamès in Aida for concert performances with both Arizona Opera and Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Jonathan Heward. Limmie Pulliam will also make his role debut as Calaf in Turandot for a special benefit concert for University of Houston’s Moore School of Music.

During the 2023/24 Season, the tenor made his European debut with the Gewandhaus Orchester as the tenor soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, continuing his collaboration with Maestro Franz Welser-Möst. In the States, Pulliam debuted the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca with Madison Opera, and returned to the role of Canio in Pagliacci in his company debut with Florida Grand Opera. While in Florida, he also made his debut with the New World Symphony for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. Other concert appearances during the season include holiday concerts with the Madison Symphony, and a “Best of Verdi” concert with the Lubbock Symphony.

In 2022, Pulliam made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Radamès in Aida, which also served as his role debut. He later performed Radamès with Tulsa Opera for their 75th anniversary gala concert. Pulliam also returned to The Cleveland Orchestra for his first performances as Dick Johnson in Puccini's La fanciulla del West, conducted by Franz Welser-Möst. In concert, he debuted with the San Diego Symphony singing Verdi’s Requiem, and made his Carnegie Hall debut performing The Ordering of Moses in collaboration with Oberlin Conservatory, his alma mater. He joined pianist Mark Markham in recital with the Nashville Symphony and Delta Symphony, and closed the season with the Ojai Festival, presenting selections from Rhiannon Giddens’ critically-acclaimed new opera, Omar.

Pulliam’s 2021/22 Season included his company and role debut with Los Angeles Opera as Manrico in Il Trovatore. He additionally made two significant orchestra debuts, singing the title role in Otello with The Cleveland Orchestra and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézét-Seguin. He also appeared in concert with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City for a night of operatic greatest hits, and the Memphis Symphony for their rescheduled Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. During the summer, he joined Madison Opera for their widely popular Opera in the Park concert, and the Bard Music Festival as Albert in Rachmaninoff’s rarely-performed The Miserly Knight, led by Leon Botstein.

An in-demand concert artist, Pulliam has performed Verdi’s Requiem with the Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. He also made a much-anticipated return appearance with Vashon Opera where he was featured in a sold-out Limmie Pulliam & Friends concert. He has also joined The National Opera Association’s 2016 convention to honor of their Lifetime Achievement Award recipient George Shirley, and appeared with The Concord Chorale as tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and the tenor soloist in Stainer’s Resurrection with New Covenant United Methodist Church. Pulliam has been featured in numerous appearances with the internationally renowned chorale Gloriae Dei Cantores, as tenor soloist (Ahab/Obadiah) in Mendelssohn’s Elijah as well as in concerts featuring Intimations of Immortality and For St. Cecelia by Gerald Finzi. He appeared as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Forum Sinfonia Orchestra of Finland and soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the San Angelo Symphony. Pulliam was also a featured soloist on The American Spiritual Ensemble’s 2013 Winter Tour.

The Missouri native trained with the late renowned pedagogue Richard Miller. He is also a former participant in the young artist programs of Cleveland Opera, Opera Delaware and Opera Memphis. He was the 2012 Artist Division Winner of the National Opera Association's Vocal Competition and, in 2013, was a winner in the 3rd Annual Concorso Internazionale di Canto della Fondazione Marcello Giordano in Catania, Sicily.

Jennifer Johnson Cano has garnered critical acclaim for performances of both new and standard repertoire; lauded by The New York Times for her “rich-toned mezzo-soprano” voice and by Opera News as a “matchless interpreter of contemporary opera.”

In summer 2023, Cano performs Mozart’s Requiem with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Bravo! Vail Festival Chorus under Yannick Nézet-Séguin and can be heard in concert with the Santa Fe Chamber Music Soceity and Music from Angel Fire. Her 2023/24 Season highlights include performances as Mistress Quickly in Falstaff at Houston Grand Opera; appearances with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Dallas, Chicago, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, and National Symphonies; the Philadelphia premiere of Marc Neikrug’s A Song by Mahler with the FLUX Quartet. Next summer, she inaugurates the role of Michele in the World Premiere of Gregory Spears’s The Righteous with Santa Fe Opera.

Cano undertakes a balance of orchestral, opera and chamber music performances each season. She has collaborated on numerous projects with the Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel in both the US and Europe. She has performed with the New York Philharmonic in both New York and Vail; Pittsburgh Symphony under Manfred Honeck; Philadelphia Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin; the Chicago Symphony and Riccardo Muti; and Atlanta Symphony under Nathalie Stutzman.

Highlights of Cano’s operatic career have included performing the roles of Donna Elvira, Carmen, and Offred with the Boston Lyric Opera; The Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen with the Cleveland Orchestra; the Mother, Dragonfly, and the Squirrel in L'enfant et les sortilèges with the San Francisco Symphony; performances of El Niño with John Adams and the London Symphony Orchestra; Carmen with the New Orleans Opera; and Orphée with the Des Moines Metro Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. She has appeared in more than 100 performances on the stage at The Metropolitan Opera since her debut in the 2009/10 Season, most recently in the roles of Nicklausse, Emilia, Hansel, and Meg Page. Cano debuted the role of Virginia Woolf in the World Premiere of Kevin Puts's The Hours with the Philadelphia Orchestra about which The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, “Every word was clear both in content and intention, and her mezzo-soprano tone was deeply alluring.”

Other recent roles have included Mother Marie in Poulenc's Dialogues of the Carmelites with Houston Grand Opera; Judith in Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle with Roanoke Opera; Donna Elvira with the Atlanta Opera; and Celeste in the World Premiere of Gregory Spears's Castor and Patience with Cincinnati Opera.

A native of St. Louis, Cano earned degrees from Rice University and Webster University, where she was honored as a distinguished alumna and commencement speaker in May 2017. Her debut recital recording with pianist Christopher Cano, “Unaffected: Live from the Savannah Voice Festival,” was recorded live and unedited. She sings as a soloist on a live recording of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony and in Bernstein's Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" with Marin Alsop and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She also recorded Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde with St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble.

Cano joined the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera after winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Among her honors are Winner of the Young Concert Artist International Auditions, a Sara Tucker Study Grant, a Richard Tucker Career Grant and a George London Award.

“Dramatic intelligence and imagination suffused every note of Ms. Johnson Cano’s performance. Endowed with an attention-grabbing dark mezzo, its depths bracing like strong coffee, she seems to thrive in the role of a storyteller.” — The New York Times

Headshot of opera baritone singer Kidon Choi with Arizona Opera

Kidon Choi

Amonasro

Baritone Kidon Choi is a recent graduate of the prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera. While in the program he was seen in La fanciulla del West (José Castro) conducted by Marco Armiliato, Otello (Herald) conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, and Madama Butterfly (Prince Yamadori).

Choi’s 2023/24 season includes a debut with San Diego Opera for Madama Butterfly (Sharpless) and a return to The Cleveland Orchestra for The Magic Flute. Additionally, he will join the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Aida. On the concert stage, he will appear with the KBS Symphony in Korea for Beethoven Symphony No. 9. In 2022/23, he returned to The Korea National Opera for Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Four Villains). Other engagements included his role and company debut with Opera San José for Tosca (Scarpia) and his company debut with San Francisco Opera for Madama Butterfly (Prince Yamadori) and Die Frau ohne Schatten (Night Watchman #2).

Choi made his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra in Otello (Montano) conducted by Franz Welser-Möst and returned to Wolf Trap Opera for La traviata (Germont). Recent appearances include La fanciulla del West (Jack Rance) with The Korea National Opera, scenes from Verdi’s Otello at the Bay Street Theatre followed by debuts at North Carolina Opera in I pagliacci (Tonio) conducted by Keitaro Harada and Opera Idaho in La Bohème (Marcello). He debuted at Wolf Trap Opera as the title role in Rigoletto and returned to Chautauqua Opera for Rigoletto following his debut in La Bohème (Marcello). Additional performance credits include in La traviata (Germont), Aida (Amonasro), Così fan tutte (Don Alfonso), The Elixir of Love (Dr. Dulcamara), Haydn’s Orlando Paladino (Rodomonte), and in Hänsel und Gretel (Peter). On the concert stage he has appeared with the Philadelphia Orchestra in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Choi is a 2019 Sullivan Foundation Grant recipient. He received second prize in the Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition, fourth prize in the Loren L. Zachary Competition, first prize in the Alfredo Silipigni Vocal Competition, first prize/audience prize in the Cooper Bing competition, third prize in the Opera at Florham Vocal Competition, second prize in the Gerda Lissner Competition, the Major Award in the Opera Index Vocal Competition, and was also a grant winner in the Licia Albanese Puccini Foundation auditions.

Choi earned his professional studies diploma from Mannes School of Music, his master’s degree at the Manhattan School of Music, and his bachelor’s degree from Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea.

Headshot of opera baritone singer Yichen Xue with Arizona Opera

Yichen Xue

Amonasro (cover)

Yichen Xue is a baritone from Anshan, China. In 2023, he was the recipient of Opera Index Competition’s Emerging Artist Award and, subsequently in 2024, received a Career Bridges grant. Xue was also a 2024 finalist and grant winner in the renowned Gerda Lissner Competition. Xue graduated from the Manhattan School of Music and received his Master’s degree from Hunter College, where he was a student of Ron Raines. In summer of 2024, he joins Wolf Trap Opera as a Studio Artist, followed by a residency with Arizona Opera as a Marion Roose Pullin Studio Artist where he will make his company debut as Schaunard in La Bohème.

Headshot of opera bass singer Scott Conner with Arizona Opera

Scott Conner

Ramfis

A Kansas native, Scott Conner has been lauded by critics and audiences for his appearances on both sides of the Atlantic. Conner’s warm, flexible voice and elegant stature brings proficiency in a wide range of repertoire, including Mozart, Rossini, Handel, Donizetti and Verdi. He is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts, and a Sara Tucker study grant winner from the Richard Tucker Foundation.

Scott Conner begins his 2024/25 Season with a return to The Metropolitan Opera, where he performs One-Armed Brother in Die Frau ohne Schatten, 2nd Armored Man in their holiday presentation of The Magic Flute, and Jose Tripaldi in Ainadamar. He also joins the company to cover Don Fernando in Fidelio and Colline in La Bohème. In the spring, Conner makes his anticipated role and house debut as Ramfis in Aida with Arizona Opera.

During the 2023/24 Season, Conner joined The Metropolitan Opera for its production of La Bohème, returning to the stage for a performance of Colline. He also joined the Jacksonville Symphony for his role debut as Zuniga in Bizet’s Carmen. During the summer, the bass makes a return to Santa Fe Opera as the Police Commissioner in Der Rosenkavalier.

The bass’s previous season included a number of roles at The Metropolitan Opera, singing the Voice of Neptune in Idomeneo and returning to the role of the Police Commissioner in Robert Carsen’s acclaimed production of Der Rosenkavalier, as well as covering Colline in La Bohème and Creonte in Medea. He made his Canadian Opera Company debut as the 2nd Soldier in Salome, and made his Handel and Haydn debut in a semi-staged The Marriage of Figaro, singing both Bartolo and Antonio. In May 2023, Conner made his Cleveland Orchestra debut as Ashby in La fanciulla del West before returning to Des Moines Metro Opera for the summer as the King in The Love for Three Oranges.

The 2021/22 Season featured a variety of assignments for the bass at The Metropolitan Opera, most notably singing Schwarz in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, as well as covering Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor and Colline in La Bohème. He then made his return to Santa Fe Opera in the summer as Pistola in Sir David McVicar’s new production of Falstaff.

Original engagements for Conner’s 2020/21 Season included King Balthazar in Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s production of Amahl and the Night Visitors, as well as his return to The Metropolitan Opera, singing the High Priest of Baal in Nabucco, and covering the King in Aida, Goffredo in Il Pirata, and Colline in La Bohème (all Met engagements cancelled due to the pandemic). He closed the season by making his return to Des Moines Metro Opera as Jupiter in Platée. Conner’s COVID-affected 2019/20 Season began with Opera Philadelphia, where he performed the role of The King in The Love for Three Oranges. He then returned to The Metropolitan Opera singing the Police Commissioner in Der Rosenkavalier and covered Colline in La Bohème.

Conner made his debut with The Metropolitan Opera in 2017 as the Police Commissioner in Der Rosenkavalier, and has subsequently returned in numerous roles, including Pinellino in Gianni Schicchi, and covering Bello in La fanciulla del West. Other notable U.S. appearances include San Francisco Opera as Tom in Un ballo in maschera, Colline in La Bohème and Angelotti in Tosca; San Diego Opera as Escamillo in Carmen, Santa Fe Opera as Mustafa in L’italiana in Algeri, Portland Opera as Sparafucile in Rigoletto; Palm Beach Opera as Angelotti in Tosca, Bard Summerscape as a Judge in the American Premiere of Korngold's Das Wunder der Heliane and the Spoleto Festival USA as the First Soldier and First Nazarene in Salome. Additionally, he joined the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago to cover the role of Mephistopheles in Faust.

Scott Conner began his career in Europe as an ensemble member of Semperoper Dresen, where his roles included Colline in La Bohème, Sparafucile in Rigoletto, Masetto in Don Giovanni and Don Basilio in The Barber of Seville. He has also appeared with the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and BBC Proms as the Police Commissioner in Der Rosenkavalier, Zürich Opera for Don Profondo in Il Viaggio a Reims, as well as Zoroastro in Orlando under the baton of William Christie; Bayerische Staatsoper singing Tom in Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, conducted by Zubin Mehta, as well as the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence as Theseus in Robert Carsen’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Cavalli’s Elena; Opéra National de Paris as Nerbulone in Eliogabalo; Opera de Dijon as Jupiter/Vulcano in La finta pazza, led by Leonardo Alarcon; Dutch National Opera as Nerbulone in Eliogabalo and Bernardino in Benvenuto Cellini; Glyndebourne Festival Opera for Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin; and L’Opéra de Lille as Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor.

Conner was the recipient of the 1st Prize Award in the 2012 Gerda Lissner Vocal Competition and the 2012 Loren L. Zachary Vocal Competition. Conner attended the University of Missouri, Kansas City for his Bachelor of Music degree.

Headshot of opera tenor singer Sam Krausz with Arizona Opera

Sam Krausz

A Messenger

Sam Krausz is quickly gaining notice as a young tenor with “shining security” (Opera Today). Most recently engaged as a young artist at Des Moines Metro Opera and Wolf Trap Opera, Krausz’s professional work includes performing the Fourth Jew in Strauss’s Salome (DMMO), and covering Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni (WTO). Competition credits include a 2023 Regional Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, as well as the 2023 national semi-finals of the Lotte Lenya Competition. After his undergraduate work at CCM, graduate roles at Northwestern University include Tamino (The Magic Flute), Oronte (Alcina), and David (Jake Heggie’s If I Were You).

Originally from St Louis, MO, Krausz aspires to be a champion of acoustic storytelling throughout his career. His most recent young artist credits include the Fourth Jew in Strauss’s Salome with Des Moines Metro Opera, and Apollo in Händel’s Semele at Wolf Trap Opera, where he also covered the role of Don Ottavio in their Filene Center production of Don Giovanni. Krausz made his concert debut singing Mozart’s Requiem in 2022 with the Berkshire Lyric Chorus and Orchestra, and he has also appeared before the Apollo Chorus of Chicago and the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble. Competition credits include a 2023 Central Region Encouragement Award in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, participation in the semi-finals of the 2023 Lotte Lenya Competition, and the finals of the National Opera Association Argento Competition. He was trained at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (BM) and Northwestern University (MM), where his graduate roles included Tamino (The Magic Flute), Oronte (Alcina), and David (Jake Heggie’s If I Were You). A pianist from a young age, Krausz has become a sought-after vocal coach for young singers while living in the Cincinnati area, even co-directing one of the nation’s only high school opera scenes programs.

Headshot of opera soprano singer Emma Marhefka with Arizona Opera

Emma Marhefka

A Priestess

Emma Marhefka, soprano, has country-wide performance credits including Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) Opera Tampa, Younger Alyce (Glory Denied) Knoxville Opera and Opera Roanoke, and Frasquita (Carmen) Des Moines Metro Opera. She has been a young artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Santa Fe Opera as cover for Adina (The Elixir of Love). While at CCM, Marhefka sang Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Mary Johnson (Fellow Travelers), The Vixen (The Cunning Little Vixen), and Sandrina (La Finta Giardiniera). She has been a regionalist for the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and a 2023 finalist in Houston Grand Opera’s Eleanor McCollum Competition.

Headshot of opera bass-baritone singer Peter Barber with Arizona Opera

Peter Barber

King of Egypt

Peter Barber is an American bass-baritone and graduate of the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts. He is currently a member of the Marion Roose Pullin Arizona Opera Studio, where he has performed Basilio in The Barber of Seville, Capulet in Roméo & Juliette, and Masetto in Don Giovanni.

Before returning for a 2nd year with Arizona Opera, Barber joined the Renée Fleming Studio at the Aspen Music Festival, performing the bass role in Matthew Aucoin’s World Premiere of Music for New Bodies, Simone in Gianni Schicchi, and Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro, all while having the great opportunity to work one-on-one with Renée Fleming throughout the summer.

Prior to joining the Arizona Opera Studio, Barber spent a 2nd summer at the Music Academy of the West, performing Colline in La Bohème under the baton of Daniela Candillari. While at AVA, Barber performed numerous roles, including; the title role in Don Giovanni, Schaunard in La Bohème, and Gremin in Eugene Onegin. In the summer season of 2022, he joined the Apprentice Program at The Santa Fe Opera, covering Fiorello in The Barber of Seville. In October of 2021, he made his professional role and company debut with Salt Marsh Opera, performing Escamillo in Carmen. Some of Barber’s other role highlights include: Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, Stobrod/Blindman in Cold Mountain, Sarastro in The Magic Flute, and both Don Alfonso and Guglielmo in Così fan tutte.

Outside of the opera world, Peter has grown a substantial audience on YouTube, surpassing 190,000 subscribers via videos with in-depth musical analysis of contemporary music, as well as creating non-operatic musical covers. He is also one of the founding members of an award-winning musical group called The Bass Gang, which was formed during the pandemic, and consists of four bass singers that collaborate virtually from all over the world. They have released three EPs, as well as numerous singles, amassing over 15 million views/streams between YouTube and Spotify alone.

Stephanie Rhodes Russell is an alum of the Dallas Opera’s Institute for Women Conductors, the Houston Grand Opera Studio and San Francisco’s Merola Opera Program. She was a Conducting Fellow with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra from 2019-2021, where she appeared regularly with the ensemble leading education, family, and community concerts while serving as cover conductor for the symphonic subscription series. She is also the recipient of a 2019 Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, designed to aid outstanding young conductors in developing their talents and careers.

The 2024/25 Season brings a number of significant returns for Maestro Rhodes Russell: Hänsel und Gretel with Utah Opera, Aida with Arizona Opera, and Washington National Opera for the orchestrated World Premiere of Jungle Book by Kamala Sankaram (composer) and Kelley Rourke (librettist). She also makes her orchestral debut with the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera conducting works by Prokofiev and Stravinsky.

During the 2023/24 Season, the conductor made debuts with Washington National Opera, leading Jeanine Tesori’s The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me, and Arizona Opera, adding Gounod’s Roméo & Juliette to her repertoire. With Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, she conducted performances of Tchaikovsky’s masterwork Eugene Onegin.

Rhodes Russell’s 2022/23 Season included company debuts with Austin Opera (The Barber of Seville), Utah Opera (La fille du régiment), and Cincinnati Opera (The Knock), as well as returns to Madison Opera (The Marriage of Figaro) and Wolf Trap Opera (Don Giovanni).

The previous season included leading performances of Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah with Wolf Trap Opera, her debut with Opera Orlando conducting Verdi’s La traviata, and a collaboration with Lyric Opera of Chicago, leading a workshop of Git Here (Daniel Bernard Roumain/Anna Deavere Smith) and Four Portraits (Caroline Shaw/Jocelyn Clark). She initially planned to serve as Music Director for Opera Philadelphia’s production of Henze’s El Cimarrón during the season, but it was unfortunately cancelled due to the effects of COVID-19.

Stephanie Rhodes Russell’s 2020/21 Season included scheduled returns to the Dallas Opera to conduct Bizet’s Dr. Miracle, a concert of opera excerpts at the NorthPark Center, and the highly anticipated Lawrence Brownlee: Songs for Dallas concert in the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Additionally, she conducted a filmed production of Britten’s Turn of the Screw with the Temple University Opera Program, and in the summer of 2021 she joined Madison Opera for their annual Opera in the Park program.

Rhodes Russell frequently draws on her Russian specialty, and during the summer of 2020, conducted excerpts of Tchaikovksy’s Eugene Onegin for Wolf Trap Opera, a change from the scheduled full production due to COVID-19. A Fulbright award recipient in Russia, she lived in Moscow specializing in Russian repertoire and pronunciation for non-native singers while working as a guest coach at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. She was thereafter commissioned by The Dallas Opera to transliterate Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta and has taught workshops on Russian diction for singers at young artist programs and universities across the United States. Immediately following her 2020 performances with Wolf Trap Opera, she returned to Fort Worth to lead the Symphony Orchestra in the Concerts in the Garden 4th of July performances.

Following her work on the San Francisco Opera Ring Cycle, she was appointed the 2019 Associate Conductor of the Grand Teton Music Festival, where she served as assistant to Music Director Donald Runnicles and led the GTMF orchestra in the Hartley Family Concert. Additionally, she performed as a pianist in the festival’s renowned Chamber Music Concert Series.

Other recent engagements include concerts with the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra, performances of Handel’s Alcina at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, an engagement with Washington National Opera’s forum for new works, the American Opera Initiative, and The Magic Flute and Dido and Aeneas with the Miami Music Festival. Highlights as an Assistant Conductor include work on two Wagner Ring Cycles with conductors Philippe Auguin and Donald Runnicles and productions of Iolanta, Eugene Onegin, and Queen of Spades with Emmanuel Villaume and Carlo Rizzi. She has served on the music staff of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, The Dallas Opera, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Washington National Opera, amongst others, and her extensive operatic experience in the roles of assistant conductor, prompter, chorusmaster, rehearsal pianist, and diction coach, brings a comprehensive understanding to her work.

Beginning in autumn 2022, Stephanie Rhodes Russell will be Associate Professor and Music Director of Opera at the University of North Texas. This position intersects with her strong interest in educating the next generation of artists, which also led her to found the non-profit Women’s Artistic Leadership Initiative (Women’s ALI). The organization’s aim is to educate and empower young female artists, training them to become future community leaders by equipping them with both leadership skills and business acumen. She holds degrees in Collaborative Piano and Piano Performance from the University of Michigan and Utah State University, respectively, and completed a doctorate in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Utah.

Headshot of director David Murakami with Arizona Opera

David Murakami

Director

David Murakami is a projection designer and film director. Recent productions include The Shining at Atlanta Opera, American Idiot at the Mark Taper Forum, and Lyric Opera of Kansas City’s Journey to Valhalla. Other notable design credits include Arizona Opera's Das Rheingold, Opera Parallèle's La Belle et la Bête, Dead Man Walking, and Champion; Habibati Man Takoun at Riyadh Season; and Spotlight Bar and 5-Skies aboard Princess Cruises’ flagship Royal-class vessels. Other companies include Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Boston Court, Calgary Opera, Dallas Opera, East West Players, LA Opera, McCoy Rigby, Minnesota Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opéra de Montréal, Presidio Theatre, San Jose Repertory Theater, SFJazz, Skylight Theatre, South Coast Repertory, and the Sun Valley Summer Symphony. Murakami is a proud member of USA829 and teaches projection design at the University of California, Irvine.

Karen Slack

Dramaturg and Artistic Collaborator

Praised for her “sizeable voice that captured all of the vacillating emotions” (The New York Times), Karen Slack is "not only one of the nation's most celebrated sopranos, but a leading voice in changing and making spaces in classical music” (Trilloquy).

In the high point of her 2024/25 Season, Slack embarks on a nationwide tour of her new commissioning project, African Queens, an evening-length vocal recital of new art songs celebrating the history and legacy of seven African queens revered as rulers but not widely heralded in the Western world. Featuring new works by acclaimed composers Jasmine Barnes, Damien Geter, Jessie Montgomery, Shawn Okpebholo, Dave Ragland, Carlos Simon and Joel Thompson Slack performs the world premiere of African Queens at the Ravinia Festival, followed by performances at co-commissioners Aspen Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Festival, 92NY, Washington Performing Arts, Denver Friends of Chamber Music, and Newport Classical Festival.

During the season, Slack will perform in the World Premiere of Damien Geter’s Loving V. Virginia with the Virginia Opera and Richmond Symphony; reprise the role of Mama in Minnesota Opera’s production of The Snowy Day; and feature as soloist with the Fresno Philharmonic. Beyond the Years, her debut recording project featuring unpublished songs by Florence Price, developed in collaboration with ONEcomposer and pianist Michelle Cann, is out on Azica Records in summer 2024.

Over recent seasons, Slack has amassed a body of work reflecting her dedication to premiering works by living composers, with particular focus on using her platform to elevate works by Black artists. When the pandemic limited live performances during the 2020/21 Season, Slack made premiere digital performances with Houston Grand Opera, Madison Opera, and Minnesota Opera. She starred in a new production of the opera Driving While Black, presented by UrbanArias, and launched a digital talk show, #kikikonversations, drawing acclaim from Opera News and The New York Times.

Karen Slack has performed on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Scottish Opera, San Francisco Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Austin Opera, New Orleans Opera, Minnesota Opera, Vancouver Opera, Edmonton Opera, Sacramento Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Madison Opera and Arizona Opera, among others. Abroad, she has appeared with the Melbourne Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestras, and St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Slack made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and performed as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra in the World Premiere of Hannibal Lokumbe’s Healing Tones with conductor Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

A recipient of the 2022 Sphinx Medal of Excellence, Slack is an Artistic Advisor for Portland Opera, serves on the board of the American Composers Orchestra and Astral Artists, and holds a faculty position at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Alberta, Canada. She has been named Lyric Unlimited Artist-in-Residence at Lyric Opera of Chicago for the 2024/25 Season as well as Artist-in-Residence at leading entrepreneurial institution Babson College.

A native Philadelphian, Slack is a graduate of the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music, as well as the Adler Fellowship and the Merola Opera Program at the San Francisco Opera.

Headshot of pianist Ava Linvog with Arizona Opera

Ava Linvog

Rehearsal Pianist

Ava Linvog is a sought-after collaborator known for her sensitive, dynamic playing and for bringing warmth and candor to the rehearsal room. Linvog works as a repetiteur across the country, appearing regularly with Opera Omaha, North Carolina Opera, and the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center. In 2022, she was an apprentice artist with Sarasota Opera. In her hometown of Seattle, Linvog worked with Lowbrow Opera Collective to premiere the new opera Adulting and performed with Northwest Opera in Schools etc., bringing opera to schools throughout the Puget Sound. The 2024/25 Season will see Linvog join the Marion Roose Pullin Opera Studio at Arizona Opera, in addition to returning to Opera Omaha (Don Giovanni) and North Carolina Opera (Ernani, The Marriage of Figaro).

Currently based in New York City, Linvog is in demand as a vocal coach and recitalist. Recent performances include Awakening, a recital sponsored by City Lyric Opera which featured three world premieres in a program combining art song, chamber works, and spoken poetry to explore the meaning of freedom. Linvog was featured alongside soprano Jazmine Saunders in the young artist showcase of Eastman School of Music at WQXR’s Greene Space in Manhattan, sponsored by the Gerda Lissner Foundation. Glyndebourne America also engaged Linvog at their annual fundraising event, where she performed arias and art songs by Rachmaninoff and Strauss with soprano Alexandra Kzeski.

Linvog completed her graduate studies at the Eastman School of Music, where she studied under Andrew Harley, Timothy Long, and Russell Miller. Throughout her time at Eastman she held an assistantship with Eastman Opera Theatre, playing a diverse range of repertoire including Argento’s Postcard from Morocco, Cavalli’s La Calisto, and Puts’ Elizabeth Cree. Upon graduating, she received the Jean Barr Award for excellence in accompanying. Linvog holds a Bachelor’s degree from Vassar College, where she studied music and mathematics. At Vassar she studied piano under Todd Crow and Thomas Sauer, and assisted Dr. Kathryn Libin in musicological studies at the Lobkowicz Collections.