The Sound of Music

A former Marion Roose Pullin Arizona Opera Studio Artist, Louisiana-born soprano Cadie J. Bryan has been praised by Opera News as “sparkling” and “pertly pealing”. Recent highlights include a number of house debuts including The Dallas Opera in concert for the Hart Institute for Women Conductors, Opera Las Vegas as Addie Mills in the west coast premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s The House Without a Christmas Tree, and The Atlanta Opera as Berta in The Barber of Seville, as well as a return to Arizona Opera to reprise the role of Despina.

In the summer of 2021, she debuted the roles of Clarine in Rameau's Platée under the baton of Gary Thor Wedow, and Prilepa in Queen of Spades as an Ensemble Artist at Des Moines Metro Opera. Prior to the COVID-19 shut down, she was slated to sing the role of Naiade in Ariadne auf Naxos at Arizona Opera where she completed two years as a Marion Roose Pullin Studio Artist (2018-2020). In her final season, she performed four main stage roles including Bess in Craig Bohmler’s Riders of the Purple Sage, Musetta in La Bohème, Lucy in Fellow Travelers, and Maid in the Taliesin West Premier of Daron Hagen’s Shining Brow.

In her 2018-2019 season, she made her main stage debut at Arizona Opera as Chan Parker in Daniel Schnyder's and Bridgette Wimberly’s Charlie Parker’s Yardbird, as well as Annina in La Traviata, and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. As an apprentice artist at Des Moines Metro Opera, she made her main stage debut as the Second Wood Sprite in an Emmy Award-winning production of Rusalka (2017).

Bryan is an alumnus of Ravinia’s Steans Institute for singers (2017, 2018) where she studied and performed in a variety of art song and Lieder recitals with world-renowned pianists and coaches. Other career highlights include Clara in Jake Heggie’s and Gene Scheer's It’s A Wonderful Life (2017), Marian in The Music Man (2017), Zerlina in Don Giovanni (2014), and Lisette in La Rondine (2014).

She received a Master of Music and a Performance Diploma from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music under the tutelage of soprano Heidi Grant Murphy and her Bachelor of Music from Louisiana State University with baritone Dennis Jesse.

Alexandria Shiner, soprano, continues to garner critical acclaim for her “blazing soprano” (Wall Street Journal) and is a 2020 Grand Finals Winner in The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Shiner’s 2021/22 Season begins with a return to Washington National Opera for Come Home: A Celebration of Return followed by her debut with The Metropolitan Opera in Elektra (4th Maid). On the concert stage, she will make debuts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Die Walküre (Gerhilde) and Victoria Symphony (Canada) for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.

Last season, she returned to The Glimmerglass Festival for Il Trovatore (Leonora), a Wagner concert entitled Gods and Mortals, and a musical theater concert entitled To The World. Recent orchestral engagements include Verdi’s Messa di Requiem with Quad City Symphony Orchestra and Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Alexandria Shiner is a recent graduate of the Cafritz Young Artists Program at Washington National Opera where she was seen in The Magic Flute (First Lady), The Consul (Magda), Don Carlo (Celestial Voice), the world premiere of Sankaram’s Taking Up Serpents (Kayla), and the title role in Handel’s Alcina. Additional performances include the North American premiere of Liszt's lost opera Sardanapalo (Mirra), the title role in Ariadne auf Naxos with Wolf Trap Opera, and Il barbiere di Siviglia (Berta) with WNO and The Glimmerglass Festival. Concert appearances included Schmitt’s Psaume XLVII with the Choral Arts Society of Washington.

Shiner is Sara Tucker Study Grant recipient, Encouragement Award recipient in the Middle East Tennessee District Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and she placed second in the Young Artist category of the Orpheus National Music Competition for Vocalists. She also competed as the Mid-South Regional Winner in the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Artist Awards in Chicago.

A native of Waterford, Michigan, Alexandria received her Master of Music from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and her Bachelor of Music from Western Michigan University.

Luca Grasso is thankful to be back performing with Arizona Opera. He most recently was William in excerpts from Frankenstein. He has performed around the valley in various musical productions. With Valley Youth Theatre he stared in Seussical (Jojo), Tuck Everlasting (Thomas) and is a part of their VYT Tweens Program. He has also performed at other local theatres Banzerini, Moezart Theatre, Spotlight Theatre and The Phoenix Theatre Company. He has been cast in commercials such as Banner Health, APS, AZ Family Channel 3&5, Peter Piper Pizza, Bestway, Valle Luna, Safeway, SRP, Harkins Theatres, and others. His film credits include; The Amazing Mind of Tommy T. Taylor (Tommy), Breaking Character (Nate), A Most Passionate Death (young Duncan), Wrangle Town (young Corey), D After C (nephew), and Arizona Story (Jackson). Grasso is eleven years old and when he is away from the arts, he enjoys playing soccer with his team Fire. Grasso is a model/actor with Ford/RBA in Phoenix and is also represented by The Osbrink Agency in Los Angeles. @yourkingluca

Armand Delgado is eleven years old and recently performed as Kurt in Arizona Opera’s 2022/23 Season production of The Sound of Music and Rafael in Arizona Opera’s 2021/22 Season production of El Milagro del Recuerdo. In Winter of 2023, he understudy the role of Michael in Phoenix Theatre Company’s production of Elf. Film credits include Jake in Fathers and Boy in These Birds Don’t Fly South in the Winter. Delgado was the Second Place recipient of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Arizona District, Summer Heat competition for ages 10-11, and First Place recipient in the boys ages 10-13 division. Delgado’s voice instructor is Kaitlyn Sabrowsky of Sabrowsky Song Studio.

YouTube: @armanddelgado6821

Instagram: @therealarmanddelgado

Delaney Carne is 10 years old and in 4th grade. Carne has been performing since she was five years old and is so excited to be performing the role of Marta in Arizona Opera's The Sound of Music. Carne was in the ensemble of The Lion King, Jr., Mary Poppins, Jr., and Beauty and the Beast, Jr. with Bender Performing Arts. Carne casted roles include Young Fiona in Shrek, Jr. the Musical (Bender Performing Arts), Gretel in The Sound of Music (Desert Stages), Matilda in Matilda the Musical, Jr. (Art & Sol), and most recently as Young Simba in The Lion King, Jr. (Art & Sol).

Praised as a, “Shining and Powerful Bass-Baritone” (Opera Today), Peter Morgan has quickly developed a reputation as an enthralling and dynamic performer, amassing a steadily increasing repertoire performing across the United States and Europe. Signature roles include; Leporello in Don Giovanni, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, and Colline in La bohéme. Morgan has also made a name for himself as an interpreter of new music, with several premieres to his name including; Jason and the Argonauts by Gregory Spears with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, The Scorpions’ Sting by Dean Burry also with The Lyric Opera of Chicago, Lunch Encounter 1929 by Patrice Michaels with The Glimmerglass Festival, as well as the recent landmark production of John Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles with L’Opéra Royal de Versailles which is available now available on the Medici TV streaming app.

In the fall of 2020 Morgan had the pleasure of performing Der Tod in Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Rice University in the very first opera filmed using Chromadepth-3D technology. Morgan is thrilled to be making his house debut with Arizona Opera. Following the filming of The Copper Queen, Morgan will be returning to The Glimmerglass Festival where he will be singing Don Pedro Hinyosa in La Perichole, and covering the legendary Eric Owens as Ferrando in Il Trovatore.

Morgan is currently the Brockman Endowed Scholarship in Voice recipient and Artist Diploma in Opera Studies Fellow at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston, Texas where he studies with Dr. Robin Rice.

American soprano Alyson Cambridge is one of the most diverse and compelling vocal artists on the scene today. She is praised for her “powerful, clear voice” by The New York Times, hailed by critics for her “radiant, vocally assured, dramatically subtle and artistically imaginative” performances (Washington Post), and celebrated for her “sultry and seductive readings” (Opera News). Combined with a striking stage presence and affecting musical and dramatic interpretation, she has nearly two decades of success on the world’s leading opera and concert stages, including The Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Los Angeles Opera, London’s Royal Albert Hall, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Vienna Konzerthaus, and New York's Broadway Theatre, but to name a few. Her operatic repertoire often includes the beloved heroines of Puccini, Verdi, and Mozart (Madama Butterfly, Mimi and Donna Elvira frequently among them), as well as her signature roles of Carmen and Bess in Porgy and Bess. She has also made successful forays into musical theater and jazz repertoire, most notably with award-winning and critically-acclaimed performances as Julie in Show Boat, Vi in Gershwin’s rarely performed jazz-opera Blue Monday, and her Broadway debut in Rocktopia. She will return to Broadway in a new musical fusion show, Rock Me Amadeus, in which she not only stars but is also co-creator and co-producer. She has released three critically acclaimed classical and jazz albums, "From the Diary of Sally Hemings" and "Until Now", respectively. Her most recent album, “Sisters In Song”, along with fellow soprano, Nicole Cabell, is a unique compilation of opera and spiritual duets.

Scheduled performances for Alyson Cambridge in the 2020-2021 included Bess in Porgy and Bess with Washington National Opera, Coretta Scott King in I Dream with Opera Carolina and Charlottesville Opera, Elsa Schrader in The Sound of Music with The Glimmerglass Festival, Mimi in La Bohème with Opera Memphis, a series of holiday concerts with Portland Symphony Orchestra, gala performances with Toledo Opera and Levine Music, and a return to Carnegie Hall for her annual ‘Tis the Season: Songs of the Season concert.

Cambridge’s vast and diverse breadth of experience both on and off stage, and behind the scenes, has also led to her work as a producer. She co-produced New York’s Viennese Opera Ball at the famed former Waldorf Astoria Hotel for four consecutive years, and served as co-host for two. She has produced three concerts at Carnegie Hall, all of which had a philanthropic mission and whose proceeds had a charitable recipient. In November 2018, Cambridge produced the inaugural Tis the Sunday: Songs of the Season, which was met with critical acclaim, and returned in 2019. She is currently the co-creator and co-producer of a new musical show, Rock Me Amadeus, which fuses opera and classical music with classic rock, pop and soul, and features a star-studded ensemble cast.

As a model, fitness enthusiast, with a penchant for fashion, Cambridge has been featured in a wide range of print and television commercial advertising campaigns in the fashion, beauty, health and wellness spaces. She has also been able enjoy collaborations with designers and other lifestyle companies for her concert performances and off-stage appearances. Her comfort both on stage and on camera has also lent itself to numerous acting and hosting engagements.

As part of Alyson Cambridge’s personal mission, and with a strong desire to give back and make an impact beyond the traditional confines of the theater, she lends her time and talent to charities and causes close to her heart, including The Fresh Air Fund, Sing for Hope, Daniel's Music Foundation, The Humane Society, K9s for Warriors, Hope For Hearts Foundation and American Red Cross.

Schyler Vargas, Mexican-American baritone, is establishing himself as a versatile young talent, bringing interdisciplinary performances to the operatic, theatrical, and concert stage. Noted as a “distinguished” (Washington Classical Review) and “powerful baritone,” (Washington Post), Vargas' recent work in the new dramatic song cycle UNKNOWN by Shawn Okpebholo and commissioned by UrbanArias has been featured on PBS News Hour and NPR, among other publications.

In 2021, Vargas made his Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Opera Edwardsville debut as Marco in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and a baritone soloist, respectively. Previously, Vargas has been seen in main stage roles at The Atlanta Opera, the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Glimmerglass Opera Festival, Dayton Opera, and the Château de Versailles Spectacles in France. Vargas’ notable roles include: Count Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro by W. A. Mozart, Gabriel von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus by Richard Strauss, Maximilian in Candide, and Riff, Diesel, and Chino in West Side Story by Leonard Bernstein with original Jerome Robbins choreography, and Frank Schultz in Show Boat by Jerome Kern, among others. On the concert stage, Vargas has performed as the baritone soloist for Orff’s Carmina Burana, Rossini’s Petite Messe Solenelle, Schubert’s Mass in Ab, and Mark Hayes’ Requiem.

An award winning performer, Vargas has seen success in competitions with notable awards including: 1st place in Tri-Cities Opera’s first Virtual Vocal Competition, Rocky Mountain District Winner in The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, 2nd place and Audience Favorite in the Harold Haugh Light Opera Competition, and 2nd place at the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Aria Competition, and District Winner in the Dorothy Lincoln-Smith Voice Competition.

Prioritizing new music in his career, Vargas has worked with Cincinnati Opera’s Opera Fusion, workshopping new operas including Rufus Wainwright’s Hadrian and Tobias Picker’s Awakenings. At The Glimmerglass Festival, Vargas sang the title role of Nicholas Benavides’ Gilberto and while at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, he had the opportunity to take part in the New Works Bold Voices Lab which presented three world premieres.

Vargas received his Master of Music degree from the renowned University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of William McGraw and his Bachelor of Music with a minor in Business Administration from Colorado State University.

Praised for his “healthy and soaring tenor voice” (The Herald Times), Korean American Brad Bickhardt is a vibrant and versatile performer in both the operatic and musical theatre canon. Highlight performances have included Nemorino (The Elixir of Love), Tony (West Side Story), and Alfredo (La Traviata), as well as originating the role of Colin in We Wear the Sea Like a Coat. Additional 2021/22 appearances have included filming Stone Soup for Tri-Cities Opera, appearing in recital with Chelsea Opera and Maryland Opera, and as a guest artist at Baldwin Wallace Conservatory. Bickhardt has previously appeared with Opera Saratoga in their critically acclaimed production of Man of La Mancha under the baton of Broadway conductor, Laura Bergquist, as well as in Opera Naples’ productions of West Side Story and La Traviata.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Bickhardt was on the roster of The Glimmerglass Festival in productions of Wagner’s Die Feen as well as The Sound of Music, and in 2019, was a member of the prestigious Wolf Trap Opera Studio in which he covered and performed principal roles in L’heure espagnole, Lîle de Merlin, Der Kaiser von Atlantis, and Ariadne auf Naxos. On the concert stage, he has appeared as the tenor soloist in Schubert’s Mass in G, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, and Mozart’s Miss Brevis in Bb.

Bickhardt received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in Vocal Performance from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music where he appeared in 13 productions with IU Opera Theater as well as serving as an Associate Instructor of Voice. Bickhardt's graduate thesis consisted of compiling an anthology of musical theatre repertoire for undergraduate tenors and their pedagogical applications, and he was named an Encouragement Award from the Central Region of the Metropolitan Opera National Council. Bickhardt is a proud alumnus of the rosters of Tri-Cities Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Naples, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Saratoga, and Charlottesville Opera. Bickhardt's primary vocal instruction has been under renowned baritone Andreas Poulimenos and husband and wife team Kevin and Heidi Grant Murphy.

Ryan Glover is an operatic tenor, a yoga teacher, and a poet. Over the past decade Glover has performed numerous roles in opera, operetta, musical theatre, and oratorio. Currently, Glover is in his eighth season as a chorister with Arizona Opera and as a staff singer at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Phoenix. The Sound of Music marks his 21st production with Arizona Opera and will include his 100th Main Stage performance with the company. From 2015-2017, Glover created the role of Raphael in Lisa Bielawa's filmed episodic opera Vireo: The Spiritual Biography of a Witch's Accuser (now available for streaming).

Dr. Miriam Schildkret has been an Education Teaching Artist with Arizona Opera since 2017; She has performed Cinderella (Cindererlla), Third Lady/Queen of the Night/Papagena (The Mini-Magic Flute), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), and The Sea Witch (Rusalka: The Littlest Mermaid). Other favorite roles include Dorabella (Così fan tutte), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Tisbe (La Cenerentola), Third Lady (The Magic Flute), and Kate (Owen Wingrave). Dr. Schildkret has been a lecturer and motivational speaker through Arizona Opera's Virtual Masterclass Workshops since Fall 2020. She is a certified Nutrition Coach, and has spoken with students and adults across the nation about health, performance anxiety, opera history, and other topics. Dr. Schildkret was featured in the Arizona PBS series Desert Canvas, a collection of stories about local artists and their impact on the community, and was also a speaker with TEDx Scottsdale Women.

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.

Ian Silverman is a stage director for all forms of music theater, from opera to musical theater to operetta, and creates productions that highlight and shift character focus to enhance the story, connect to the audience, and deliver a vivid personal experience. His own performance background as a singing actor, coupled with a practical knowledge of the totality of stagecraft, make his empathy for the performers’ work central to his process.

This fall, Ian will make debuts with Amarillo Opera and Opera Colorado, working on Papermoon Production’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Rigoletto, respectively. This winter, Silverman makes his directorial debut with Arizona Opera, remounting Francesca Zambello’s production of The Sound of Music. Further engagements will be announced shortly.

Silverman has worked in all forms of music theater, from rare operettas to golden age musicals to large scale grand opera. In addition to standard repertoire, Ian has extensive experience with new work and has worked on eleven world premiere productions. Ian also has experience working for film as both a director and video editor.

This past summer, Silverman returned to The Opera Theatre of Saint Louis assisting James Robinson on the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Awakenings. Ian also returned to The Glimmerglass Festival to assist Francesca Zambello and Eric Sean Fogel on The Sound of Music, and Chloe Treat on a Double Bill featuring Kamala Sankaram’s Taking up Serpents and the world premiere of Damien Geter’s Holy Ground. Silverman has served on the directing staffs of Palm Beach Opera, Experiments in Opera, Opera Naples, The Ohio Light Opera, OnSite Opera, Brevard Music Center, and Pittsburgh Festival Opera among others. He has also directed productions at Youngstown State University, The Rochester Fringe Festival, Miami Children’s Chorus, and Eastman Opera Theater.

Silverman graduated from the Eastman School of Music with Master of Music Degree in Stage Directing and a Certificate in Arts Leadership in May 2020. During his time at Eastman he assistant directed opera productions, taught opera theater classes, and created his own productions. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami, with degrees in both Classical Vocal Performance and Music Business. Upon graduation, he was awarded the Overall Outstanding Senior Award for the Frost School of Music.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Silverman created and developed a new web series, Where the Good Songs Go, that launched in Fall 2020 on YouTube and Facebook. The series featured virtual productions of rare early musical theater works by Jerome Kern, Rodgers and Hart, George Gershwin and Eubie Blake. The works presented had never been recorded before and have rarely been performed in the century since their premiere. Through the series, Ian raised hundreds of dollars to help artists affected by the pandemic.

At Eastman, Silverman was a member of the Arts Leadership Program, where he took classes in Leadership Issues, Digital Marketing, and Grant Writing. At the University of Miami, he was appointed the Artistic Director of BisCaydence a cappella. Under his leadership, the group advanced to the International Competition of Collegiate A Cappella (ICCA) semifinals for the first time, recorded their first EP, and worked with local organizations and charities to better the Miami community. Silverman created a culture of excellence that has continued after he left the group, and BisCaydence has evolved into one of the country’s most acclaimed A Cappella group.

Ian Silverman makes community engagement a focus in his work. He is introducing a new generation of theater-goers to opera by blurring the lines between musical theater and opera. He wants to celebrate all kinds of music theater as opposed to being defined by one genre. In May 2019, he directed, The Little Sweep with the award-winning Miami Children’s Chorus, which provides a musical education and performance program to low income children ages 8-18 in Miami-Dade County. Ian has also worked as an Administrative Associate with the Joseph Avenue Arts and Culture Alliance, developing arts events for the community, where one of the nation's most disadvantaged communities is currently experiencing the richness of a grass-roots renaissance and development with the future Center for Performing and Visual Arts at its core. He hopes to inspire curiosity and help communities learn more about themselves through the arts.

Some of Riffle’s most recent shows include The Elixir of Love (Lyric Opera Chicago), West Side Story (Opera San Jose), The Queen of Spades (Des Moines Metro Opera), La Hija de Rappaccini (Chicago Opera Theater), and The Three Queens (Lyric Opera Chicago). Riffle has designed and worked for such companies as Tribeca Performing Arts Center, New York City Opera, and The New York Botanical Garden, Chatauqua Opera, Joffrey Ballet, Urban Arias in DC, BalletMet Columbus, and Opera Orlando. Riffle regularly works for The Lyric Opera Chicago as a staff assistant and all her work can be seen at slriffledesign.com.