Studio Cabaret 2026

Francesca Herrera

soprano

Francesca Herrera is a soprano hailing from Atlanta, Georgia. Most recently, she was a studio artist with Wolf Trap Opera where she covered the roles of Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro and Frasquita in Carmen. She was the recipient of an Encouragement Award in the 2025 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition North Carolina District. The Opera Guild for Atlanta awarded her the Tommy Trotter Memorial Scholarship in their 2025 scholarship competition. During the 2024/25 Season, Herrera performed the role of Flora in Britten’s Turn of the Screw under the direction of Chía Patiño with the University of Michigan Department of Voice & Opera. She sang the roles of Cathy/Shamana 1 and covered the role of Lucy in the first orchestral workshop of Derek Bermel’s The House on Mango Street, a collaboration between the SMTD OperaLab and the Glimmerglass Festival. She had her role debuts as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Johanna in Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd with Seagle Festival in 2024. As an accomplished dancer, Herrera also choreographed Seagle Festival’s 2024 Season opening production of Lerner and Loewe’s Brigadoon. She graduated cum laude from Duke University with a B.A. in music as well as minors in computer Science and psychology. There she was also awarded the Duke Music Department’s Julia Wilkinson Mueller Prize for Excellence in Music. She began pursuing a master’s degree at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance under the tutelage of Amanda Majeski before joining the Marion Roose Pullin Arizona Opera Studio.

Sam Krausz

tenor

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.

Wanchun Liang

bass-baritone

Wanchun Liang, a Chinese bass-baritone born in 1998 in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, is a classically trained singer currently based in the United States. He began studying classical music at a young age and was admitted to the Vocal Department of Xi’an Conservatory of Music in 2015 as the top-ranked candidate. There, he studied under the renowned tenor Prof. Chen Yong and earned his Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance in 2019.

In 2021, Liang was admitted to the New England Conservatory (NEC) where he studied under the esteemed baritone Michael Meraw and earned his Master of Music in Vocal Performance in 2023. That same year, he received a full scholarship to attend the prestigious Boston University Opera Institute, where he serves as a vocal teaching assistant under the mentorship of celebrated baritone James Demler. He is expected to receive his Opera Performance Diploma in 2025.

Sedona Libero

mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano Sedona Libero is recognized for her authenticity, playfulness, and passion on the operatic stage. She made her professional debut as Dinah in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti with the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, and her symphonic debut as the Alto Soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.

In 2025, she joined the Glimmerglass Festival as a Resident Artist for its 50th Anniversary season, performing in the World Premiere of Derek Bermel’s The House on Mango Street. She has also appeared as a Studio Artist with Teatro Nuovo (covering Romeo in I Capuleti ed i Montecchi), a Young Artist with Opera Southwest (Ernestina in L’occasione fa il ladro), and an Emerging Artist at the Seagle Festival (Rosie Chaney in The Manchurian Candidate and Carmen in La tragédie de Carmen).

Libero is a member of Arizona Opera’s Marion Roose Pullin Studio (2024-2026). An active performer in her home state of Arizona, she has appeared as Rosina in The Barber of Seville with Valley Opera Company and served as a Teaching Artist for a season with Arizona Opera’s OperaTunity tour. She holds degrees from the University of Michigan (M.M.) and Northern Arizona University (B.M.).

Madeleine Snow

Stage Director & Choreographer

Madeleine Snow is a director and creative collaborator who is passionate about reimagining ways for contemporary audiences to engage with classical music. She has enjoyed directing site-specific performances and collaborating with composers including Ricky Ian Gordon and Ben Moore. She directed the World Premiere of Joshua Hershfield’s critically acclaimed rock musical Rise and won second place of the 2023 American Prize in Directing for her inventive production of La Calisto with Eastman Opera Theatre. A 2024 Festival Artist at Central City Opera, Snow has recently worked as a director at PAC NYC, Palm Beach Opera, Boulder Opera, Loveland Opera Theatre, Rochester Philharmonic, Boston Youth Symphony, and Harvard College Opera.

Yichen Xue

baritone

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.

Wan-Ting Yu

piano

Wan-Ting Yu, born in Taiwan, is an accomplished collaborative pianist and double bassist whose versatile artistry spans chamber, orchestral, and operatic performance. She holds degrees in piano and double bass performance from National Taiwan Normal University and Taipei National University of the Arts and is currently a doctorate candidate in Collaborative Piano at Arizona State University. Yu has performed internationally across Europe, Asia, and the Americas and has collaborated with prestigious festivals such as the Prince Claus Conservatory in the Netherlands, the Arcada Festival in Portugal, and the “Lan Yang” Double Bass Summer Camp in Taiwan. She has also contributed to three CD albums by acclaimed double bassist Catalin Rotaru.

Yu’s passion for opera has led her to serve as a rehearsal pianist for Arizona Opera’s productions of Zorro and Mozart’s The Secret Gardener, as well as Hansel and Gretel and Sanctuary and Storm at Arizona State University. She has also performed as a double bassist with Valley Opera in La Traviata and Carmen. From 2015 to 2020, she was a member of the Taipei Symphony Orchestra and is currently active playing with the Phoenix Symphony and various chamber ensembles throughout Arizona. In 2022, she was featured as a soloist with the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Chamber Orchestra in Moscow and has presented double bass masterclasses at major international festivals including the Biarritz International Bass Academy in France, the “Grzegorz Olkiewicz” International Music Festival in Poland, and the International Double Bass Festival in China. In 2024, she earned a Guinness World Record for participating in the world’s largest double bass ensemble.