Beyond Downtown
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Manfred AnayaScrawny Coyote The Coyotes & The Rabbits |
Praised for his “wonderful lyric tenor” (BizJournal Reviews) and “standout” performances (Parterre Box), tenor Manfred Anaya is quickly gaining recognition for his versatile performances. As a young artist, he trained with Des Moines Metro Opera and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Anaya has appeared as Gastone in La Traviata with Dayton Opera and Telamone in Ercole su’l Termodonte with Pacific Opera Project. Additionally, he was the tenor soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the South Bay Wind Ensemble. An alumnus of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, he portrayed Doctor Caius in Falstaff and the Chevalier de la Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites. In the upcoming season, he will debut as Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro with Opera Santa Barbara.
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Mauricio PerusquiaLoco Coyote The Coyotes & The Rabbits |
Mauricio Perusquia, baritone, holds an Masters of Music in Opera Performance from Arizona State University and a Bachelors of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Texas at El Paso. Perusquia has engaged in many new Opera works such as Arizona Opera’s Silent Night and the New Works reading of the jazz interactive opera, Marie Begins, as well as concert works such as Cipher. With Arizona State University’s Music Theatre and Opera, Perusquia performed the roles of Frank in Street Scene and Simone in Gianni Schicchi, as well as participating in many productions including Trouble in Tahiti and Bernstein’s Mass. Perusquia has also performed many roles with Gilbert and Sullivan Company of El Paso for which he is on the board of directors, and is a past Joan Quarm Scholarship winner. Perusquia is a proud alumnus of the music fraternity Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, a former member of First Presbyterian Church of El Paso’s scholarship singer program, and a current Valley Singer at Valley Presbyterian Church.
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Jenny Madruga ChavezChiquita Rabbit The Coyotes & The Rabbits |
Chavez is a multifaceted artist and dedicated community leader, known for her roles as a wife, mother, opera singer, voice teacher, and business owner. With over 10 years of experience serving the Arizona community, she brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her endeavors.
As the Executive Director and Founder of Arizona Lyric Theatre, Chavez is committed to fostering a vibrant arts community and empowering aspiring artists to reach their full potential. She is a proud student of Stephanie Weiss and holds a Masters in Vocal Performance, enriching her singing career with standout performances as Atalanta in Xerxes and Nora in Riders to the Sea.
Chavez began her journey with Arizona Opera as Malla in A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim in 2022 and has also sung in the Arizona Opera chorus for Tosca and Don Giovanni. She is excited to now be playing Chiquita Rabbit in Hector Armienta’s The Coyotes and the Rabbits in fall 2024!
In addition to her captivating performances, Chavez is also an accomplished voice and piano teacher, mentoring students of all ages from 5 to 65. Her dedication to nurturing young talent extends beyond the stage, as she has made significant contributions to music education through teaching and directing musicals such as Les Misérables: School Edition, The Little Mermaid, Lion King, and Into the Woods Jr.
Chavez’s entrepreneurial spirit shines through her ownership of Sing Pretty Designs, a creative venture where she designs opera-inspired merchandise for the modern singer. With her diverse skill set and unwavering passion for the arts, Jenny Madruga Chavez continues to make a meaningful impact in the Arizona arts community and beyond.
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Danielle CorellaBanana Rabbit The Coyotes & The Rabbits |
Dramatic Mezzo-Soprano, Danielle Corella, is a 7th generation Arizona native. Most recently she performed in the Arizona Opera Arlyn M. Brewster OperaTunity Program production of Beauty and the Beast as Belle. She regularly performed in the Southern California area. Corella debuted with Opera Santa Barbara as Madame Larina in Eugene Onegin. As an Education Artist at Long Beach Opera, she performed in Monkey See, Monkey Do and The Playground King. In 2018, she performed in the west coast premiere of Le Vin herbé with Long Beach Opera. Corella joined the Arizona Opera Chorus in 2022. In the 2023/24 Season, she will be performing the role of Gertrude in Charles Gounod’s Roméo & Juliette. Corella has studied voice at DePaul University, has her Master of Music from University of Southern California, and Bachelor of Music from Westminster Choir College. She lives in Prescott with her husband and one year-old daughter.
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Katherine KozakPianist The Coyotes & The Rabbits / The Tell-Tale Heart |
Pianist, coach and chorus director Katherine Kozak has enjoyed affiliations with numerous companies throughout the United States. Her most long-standing relationship is with The Glimmerglass Festival, where she is the current Chorus Director, and in 2023 recently completed her 12th summer season. Katherine’s work with the chorus can be heard on Château du Versailles Spectacles 2021 CD/DVD release of The Ghosts of Versailles, for which she also performed on celesta and piano.
A deft and vivacious chorus master, Katherine notably garnered much acclaim with the Florida Grand Opera Chorus, with whom, up until the pandemic, she prepared approximately 20 productions. Under her direction, they were critiqued as “astutely balanced and exuberant”, “[having sung] with power and majesty”, “outstanding” and “vocally flawless”.
Katherine has a repertoire of over 80 complete operatic and musical theatre scores, and has operated in nearly every music staff role. She has functioned as head coach, rehearsal pianist, recitalist, supertitle caller, recitative accompanist, assistant conductor and administrator, and this wide range of abilities has brought her to The Dallas Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, The Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Colorado, and Central City Opera, among others. Notable conductors she has assisted include Richard Bonynge, Joseph Colaneri, John Demain and George Manahan.
In addition to her involvement in highly-regarded Young Artist programs, she has also helped develop singers at the university level. Appointments have included Associate Coach at The Juilliard School, and Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Miami (FL).
Katherine holds the Master of Music in Vocal Coaching and Accompanying from the University of Illinois, where she was a student of John Wustman. She has enjoyed collaborating with singers since the young age of 11, when she began accompanying and touring with the Singing Angels, based in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.
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Sedona LiberoMezzo-Soprano The Tell-Tale Heart |
Mezzo-soprano Sedona Libero is known for the authenticity, playfulness, and passion that she brings to the operatic stage. Libero made her professional debut with the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival in 2018 as Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti, and, subsequently, made her professional symphonic debut as the Alto Soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra. In the Summer of 2024, she performed as a Studio Artist with Teatro Nuovo, covering Romeo in Bellini’s I Capuleti ed i Montecchi. She has also appeared as a Young Artist with Opera Southwest as Ernestina in Rossini’s L’occasion fa il ladro, and as an Emerging Artist at the Seagle Festival where she performed as Rosie Chaney in Kevin Puts and Mark Campell’s The Manchurian Candidate, and as Carmen in Marius Constant’s adaptation of Bizet’s opera, La tragédie de Carmen. She has performed locally in Arizona as a Teaching Artist with Arizona Opera’s OperaTunity tour, and has been a regular guest artist with Chandler Opera Company, which included her first appearance as Rosina in The Barber of Seville. Libero completed her graduate training at University of Michigan and baccalaureate work at Northern Arizona University.