El Gato con Botas (Puss in Boots)

Cameron Howard of Irvington, Kentucky, is an exciting young tenor whose passion for storytelling stretches across opera, 21st century music, musical theatre, and pop. He has appeared with Des Moines Metro Opera and Opera Fusion: New Works, and will join the Marion Roose Pullin Studio at Arizona Opera for the 2026/27 Season.

Howard made his professional debut with Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO) as a Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Artist in 2025, where he performed in the ensembles of Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer and Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen. In 2026, he returns to DMMO as an apprentice artist, where he will cover the role of Lennie Small in Floyd’s Of Mice and Men, and performs the role of Tenor Voice in Szymanowski’s King Roger.

Howard recently graduated with a Master of Music from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). While there, he performed the role of Adolfo Pirelli in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in a monumental collaboration between the departments of opera and musical theatre. He was praised by Talkin’ Broadway for being “outstanding vocally” and “showing versatility in his acting.” He also performed the role of Il Podestà in Mozart’s rarely performed The Secret Gardener. While at CCM, Howard was a champion of 21st century works. He was a featured soloist in the Jennifer Higdon Festival, where he performed as Veasy in an excerpt from her opera Cold Mountain. He also performed the role of Frank in a workshop of Laura Kaminsky’s The Post Office, in collaboration with Opera Fusion: New Works. This work recently made its debut with American Opera Projects in Brooklyn, NY.

Howard found great success during his undergraduate years at the University of Kentucky. He performed the role of Little Bat in Floyd’s Susannah, covered the role of Judge Danforth and performed the role of Ezekiel Cheever in Ward’s The Crucible. He also spent a summer at the prestigious Chautauqua Opera Conservatory, founded by legendary voice teacher Marlena Malas. He had the honor of studying with Malas in her final year of leading the program before her passing. While there, he performed the role of Le petit vieillard in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges. He holds a Master of Music from CCM, a Bachelor of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish from the University of Kentucky. He is a proud Kentucky native, and credits the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts as the inspiration for his pursuit of a career in music.

José Olivares previously served as the 2025/26 Bass-Baritone Young Artist with Fort Worth Opera this past Fall/Spring where he sang the roles of Ludovic in Belle et la bete and Yakuside in Puccini’s Madam Butterfly. Olivares also performed roles with Finger Lakes Opera as Simone in Gianni Schicchi and Count Ceprano in Rigoletto. During his time as a resident artist with Lyric Opera of Kansas City during the 2023/24 Season, he covered the role of Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana and performed Duke in Roméo & Juliette. Other past roles have included Horace in Hello, Dolly!, Pandolfe in Cinderella, and Holborn in The Manchurian Candidate at Seagle Festival, Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love, Colline in La Bohème at Opera Magnífico, Farfarello in The Love for Three Oranges at Des Moines Metro Opera and Theseus in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Olivares holds a Masters from the University of Oklahoma and Bachelors from East Texas A&M University. This summer, Olivares will be performing as Senator Potter’s Assistant/French Priest in Fellow Travelers at Glimmerglass Festival.

Manhattan-based director, writer, and performer Sydney Roslin is constantly crossing genres and state lines in the pursuit of complex, dynamic storytelling. Recent directing credits include Mozart’s Così fan tutte at Opera Neo in San Diego and Centro Cultural Tijuana in Tijuana, Mexico; Handel’s Rodelinda at Opera Neo; Dear Brain, from Heart at NYC’s Green Room 42; and Handel’s Il trionfo del Tempo e del Disinganno at Opera Neo, which was called “absolutely brilliant” by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Assistant directing credits include Gounod’s Roméo & Juliette at Minnesota Opera and Mozart’s The Secret Gardener in a co-production between Opera Neo and the Hungarian State Opera.

Never one to stick to a single medium, Roslin recently tackled the world of audio fiction as the director of The Artisan Who Made Me, a SAG-AFTRA audio drama from Bottled Star Productions, currently streaming across podcasting platforms. She also recently served as Resident Writer at the Matthew Corozine Studio in Manhattan, culminating in a self-directed showcase of her scenes and monologues titled A Touch of Naïveté: Stories of Love, Loss, and Growing Up. Other written works include the chamber opera On Our Street, for which she was the librettist in collaboration with composer Zachary James Ritter, and her one-woman show, From Tolochin to Tin Pan Alley: Irving Berlin and the American Dream.

When she’s not behind the production table, Roslin can be found onstage. Recent roles include Frieda/Betty in Sunday in the Park with George, Mother in Hansel and Gretel, Adolfo Pirelli in Sweeney Todd, Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Martha in Heathers, and Fidalma in Il matrimonio segreto. She is a member of the Letter of Marque Theater Company, a devising and soundpainting ensemble based in Manhattan, and performs around NYC with her all-women musical improv team, “Off the Record.” She has also served for six years as the High Holy Days Cantorial Soloist at Falmouth Jewish Congregation in Falmouth, MA, and subs regularly with choirs throughout New York City. Roslin is a proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University (BFA Vocal Performance & BA Creative Writing) and The Boston Conservatory (MFA Musical Theater Performance).