Described as an “eloquent and decisive” conductor by the Wall Street Journal and praised for his “uncommonly expressive and detailed” performances by the Miami Herald, Steven Jarvi (Conductor, The Barber of Seville) is the Music Director of Winter Opera Saint Louis and the Associate Conductor of the Kansas City Symphony where he leads over 25 performances a year. Jarvi previously served as the Conducting Fellow with Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony in Miami Beach and as an Associate Conductor for the New York City Opera. A former Tanglewood Fellow, Jarvi studied with James Levine and Kurt Masur and was also the first conductor ever invited to be a member of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera, a position he was personally selected for by Plácido Domingo. Upcoming engagements include the Rochester Philharmonic and a Virginia Opera production of Philip Glass’ Orphée.

David Paul (Director, The Barber of Seville) has worked extensively on operatic and theatrical stages throughout the United States and abroad. Recent directing credits include Cosi fan tutte for Westminster Choir College, Le nozze di Figaro at the Washington National Opera, featuring the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artists, and William Walton’s The Bear for the Tel Aviv Summer Opera Festival. He returns to the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC this summer to direct Julius Caesar, having previously adapted and directed Hamlet with the company’s Acting Fellows and served on the company’s artistic staff. Paul is a member of the faculty at the Juilliard School in New York, where he serves as Dramatic Advisor and acting teacher for the Masters program in voice, as well as the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program and the International Vocal Arts Institute in Israel. A native of Hamburg, Germany, he was graduated summa cum laude from Columbia University and is an alumnus of the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.

In the 2010-11 season, Liam Bonner (Figaro, The Barber of Seville) sings Pelléas in Pelléas and Mélisande with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and returns to the Metropolitan Opera for the same title as well as for Le Comte Ory. He also sings Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles (New Orleans Opera) and Ned Keene in Peter Grimes (Houston Grand Opera). Previous performances include Hamlet (Washington National Opera), Morales in Carmen, Horatio in Hamlet (Metropolitan Opera), Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (English National Opera); Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Claudio in Béatrice et Bénédict, Count in Le nozze di Figaro, Redburn in Billy Budd (Houston Grand Opera); Malatesta in Don Pasquale (Opera New Jersey); Papageno in Die Zauberflöte (Wolf Trap Opera); and Count in Le nozze di Figaro (Berkshire Opera). He has also recently sung Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall).

Karin Mushegain (Rosina, The Barber of Seville) is captivating
audiences with her dynamic vocal sound. This season’s engagements
include her return to New York’s Gotham Chamber Opera to sing
El Gato in Xavier Montsalvatge’s El gato con botas and to perform the
Minskwoman in Flight at Austin Lyric Opera. In the 2009/10 season,
she performed Dorabella in Così fan tutte at Opera Memphis and
Angelina in La Cenerentola at Opera Idaho. While at Glimmerglass
Opera during the summer of 2009, Mushegain sang Tisbe in Rossini’s
La Cenerentola, and cover-performances of the Secretary in Menotti’s
The Consul and Angelina in La Cenerentola. Mushegain made her debut
with Los Angeles Opera in 2008 as the Novice in William Friedkin’s production of Suor Angelica. This was followed by performances of
Flora in La Traviata and Tisbe in Rossini’s La Cenerentola at Florida
Grand Opera. In 2007, Ms. Mushegain collaborated with Ricky Ian
Gordon as a soloist in a concert titled “Bright Eyed Joy” at the Hawaii
Performing Arts Festival. The same year, she performed Maddalena
in Rigoletto with Opera Western Reserve. Since making her company
and professional debut in 2006 at the Pittsburgh Opera as Dryade in
Ariadne auf Naxos, Ms. Mushegain has returned there several times.

Winner of the distinguished George London Award, tenor Arthur Espiritu (Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville) has performed
numerous roles throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States.
In Europe he has performed with the Accademia of Teatro alla
Scala, Piccolo Teatro di Milano, Opera Fuoco, Theatre St. Gallen
in Switzerland and Théâtre Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. In
the US, Espiritu has been seen on the stages of Pittsburgh Opera,
Connecticut Opera, Opera Memphis, Opera North, and has sung
in concert with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Louisiana
Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Jefferson Performing Arts Society.
He was also chosen to participate in the distinguished summer series of
the Marlboro Music Festival. Recent and upcoming debuts for
Espiritu include the Israeli Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, the Learners
Chorus in Hong Kong, Gotham Chamber Opera, and the Oulu
Sinfonia of Finland.

Bass, Brian Kontes (Basilio, The Barber of Seville) recently made his
Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2009–2010 season in Shostakovich’s
The Nose and also debuted as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni
(New York City Opera). This season he appeared in La fanciulla del
West (Metropolitan Opera), debuted as Colline in La bohème (Opera
Hong Kong), and returned to Carnegie Hall with Opera Orchestra of
New York as Remigo in Massenet’s rarely-heard opera, La Navarraise.
Recently, Kontes has appeared as Alexis in Barber’s Antony and
Cleopatra (New York City Opera at Carnegie Hall), Zuniga in Carmen
(New Orleans Opera), and in Rossini’s Stabat Mater (New York Choral
Society). Other recent engagements include Leporello in Don Giovanni
(Seattle Opera), Alessio in La sonnambula (Opera Orchestra of New
York), Palemon in Thaïs (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Dr. Grenvil
in La traviata (Opera Colorado), and Don Fernando in concert
performances of Fidelio (Charlotte Symphony). Kontes was the
grand prize winner of the George London Foundation Competition
and studied at Curtis Institute of Music with Marlena Malas, during
which time he sang at Opera Company of Philadelphia. He has also
participated in the Young Artist Programs of the Opera Theater of St.
Louis and Chautauqua Opera.

Andrew Adelsberger (Bartolo, The Barber of Seville), bass-baritone,
has performed with Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Festival as Mat of the Mint/The Beggar’s Opera and Spinelloccio/Gianni Schicchi and with Chautauqua Opera as Mr. Kofner/The Consul, and the Sacristan/Tosca. He holds a Master of Music from the Maryland Opera Studio, where he performed the role of Don Alfonso/Così fan tutte and created the role of Gus O’Neil in the world premiere of John Musto’s Later the Same Evening. Other roles include Antonio/Le nozze di Figaro, Sacristan/ Tosca (Annapolis Opera), Bartolo/Il barbiere di Siviglia, Nardo/ La Finta Giardiniera, Elviro/Xerxes (Maryland Opera Studio), Don Magnifico (cover)/La Cenerentola (Opera New Jersey), Betto/Gianni Schicchi, Dulcamara/L’elisir d’amore (Bel Cantanti Opera), Colline/ La Bohème (Chesapeake Concert Opera). Adelsberger studies with\ François Loup. Adelsberger also covers the King in The King and I this season at Ash Lawn Opera.

Soprano, Megan Weston (Berta, The Barber of Seville/Tuptim, The King and I) recently premiered and recorded the role of Anne in Harold
Farberman’s Diamond Street for Albany Records, performed Masha in
Ben Moore’s Enemies, A Love Story with the Center for Contemporary
Opera in New York, sang Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Glens
Falls Symphony, performed Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance with
Lyric Opera San Diego, and appeared at the St. Amand de Vergt
Festival in France. She first gained attention in her San Diego Opera
debut as Lightfoot McClendon in Carlisle Floyd’s Cold Sassy Tree, and
achieved further notice as Lisa in La sonnambula with the Caramoor
International Music Festival, and as Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann with Tulsa Opera. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and has sung with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New Haven Symphony, Cape Cod Symphony, and San Diego Symphony in such repertoire as Carmina Burana, Messiah, St. Matthew Passion, and the Verdi Requiem. Weston has received major awards from such esteemed organizations as the Gerda Lissner Foundation, the Metropolitan Opera Western Regional Auditions, and the Zachary Competition.

In 2007, young Ukranian baritone, Oleksandr Pushniak (Fiorello, The
Barber of Seville), was a semi-finalist in Plácido Domingo’s ‘Operalia’
competition held in Paris, and became a prize winner of the ‘European
Song Contest’ in the Styriarte Music Festival in Austria. In March
2008, Pushniak joined the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program.
During this period with Washington National Opera he performed
in several productions. The 2008-2009 season included: Dottore
Grenvil (La Traviata, Verdi); Petrucci (Lucrezia Borgia, Donizetti);
Mandarin (Turandot, Puccini). In the 2009-2010 season, Pushniak also
performed Fiorello (Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Rossini); Antonio (Le nozze
di Figaro, Mozart); Conte (Le Nozze di Figaro, Mozart – Young Artist
Performance); Falstaff (Falstaff, Verdi – Young Artist Performance),
as well as concert performances with the Young Artist Program. At
the National Music Academy of Ukraine, Pushniak performed a
number of operatic roles: Wagner (Faust, Gounod); Bartolo (The
Marriage of Figaro, Mozart); Dulcamara (Elixir of Love, Donizetti);
Marco (Gianni Schicchi, Puccini), as well as roles in several Ukrainian
operas e.g., Vyborny from Natalka Poltavka of M.Lysenko, Karas from
Zaporozhets’ za Dunaem of S. Gulak-Artemovsky. Pushniak enjoyed
success at the Castleton Festival during the summer of 2010, singing
the role of Simone in Gianni Schicchi, conducted by Maestro Maazel
and directed by William Kerley. Pushniak is currently working as a
soloist in the Braunschweig Staatstheater in Germany. Pushniak also
covers Bartolo in The Barber of Seville and performs Bartolo in “The
Barber of C’ville” this season at Ash Lawn Opera.

Maestro Jon Kalbfleisch (Conductor, The King and I) enjoys a wide-ranging musical life as a conductor, pianist, award-winning music director, freelance musician and organist. Kalbfleisch received a Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Cameron University, and
a Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. While in Dallas, Kalbfleisch was Assistant Conductor of the SMU Symphony and Music Director of the Perspective Chamber Ensemble, pianist for the Dallas Ballet, and accompanist for the Dallas Opera. In Oklahoma, after four years as its music director and conductor, he guided the Lawton Philharmonic Orchestra to newfound heights in both artistic success and community outreach. Since relocating to the Washington, DC area, Kalbfleisch has been a
twenty-time nominee and five-time recipient of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Musical Direction. As resident music director of the Tony Award-winning Signature Theatre, he has conducted over 1,000 performances of some thirty musicals. Nationally, Kalbfleisch was Associate Conductor for the touring company of Les Misérables that included a stop on Broadway. As a pianist, he can be heard on the 2009 Grammy-nominated recording of Bernstein’s MASS with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Baayork Lee (Director, The King and I) was the original Princess Ying in The King and I on Broadway and created the role of Connie in A Chorus Line. As Michael Bennett’s assistant choreographer on A Chorus Line, she has directed many national and international companies. Her directing credits include The King and I and Bombay Dreams (National tours), Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (NYC Opera), Barnum (Australia), Carmen Jones (Kennedy Center), Porgy and Bess and Jesus Christ Superstar (European tours), Gypsy and A New Brain. She has choreographed shows including Mack and Mabel (Shaw Festival);Cocoanuts, Camelot, Damn Yankees, Helen Hayes nomination for Animal Crackers and South Pacific (all at Arena Stage); and Goya, Sly and The Merry Widow (Washington National Opera). She received the 2003 Asian Woman Warrior Award for Lifetime Achievement from Columbia College, as well as the Asian/Pacific American Heritage Association Achievement in Arts Award. Her new company, National Asian Artists Project (NAAP), naaproject.org, promotes Asian performers in theatre across the country.

Since age seven, Susan Kikuchi (Associate Director/Choreographer, The King and I) has been involved in over twenty productions of The King and I as director, performer, dancer and re-creator of the choreography. In 2009, Kikuchi staged the choreography of The King and I for a new production at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England starring Daniel Dae Kim. Broadway credits: The King and I, Pacific Overtures, Flower Drum Song, South Pacific, Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. Kikuchi received her B.A. from the University of Rochester and has taught on the faculties of The Ailey School and the Martha Graham School. Kikuchi was a member of the Martha Graham Dance Company and has served
as the Director of the Martha Graham Ensemble and the Martha Graham School. She is the Artistic Director of the New Dance Drama Educational Projects, which performed its premier season in Italy at Pietrasanta in Danza International Festival 2010.

Hailed by Opera News as “powerful in both voice and presence,” bassbaritone Seth Mease Carico (King, The King and I) is distinguishing himself internationally as an important young singer. His recent European credits include Zuniga in Carmen, Sacristan in Tosca, and Panthée in Les Troyens with Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Roberto in I Vespri Siciliani and Marquis in La Traviata with Teatro Regio Torino. In 2010, in addition to debuting with Ash Lawn Opera as Leporello in Don Giovanni and Jeff in Brigadoon, he created the role of Victor in the world premiere of Jorge Martín’s Before Night Falls with Fort Worth Opera, released on Albany Records. Other featured roles include Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Olin Blitch in Susannah, Kecal in The Bartered Bride, Harašta in The Cunning Little Vixen, and Monterone in Rigoletto, and he has appeared with companies including Michigan Opera Theatre, Chautauqua Opera, Nashville Opera, Florentine Opera, and Opera Idaho.

Acclaimed by The Washington Post for her “round, ringing high notes”
and “lovely range of color,” Elizabeth Andrews Roberts (Anna, The
King and I) is a graduate of Washington National Opera’s distinguished
Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program. During her tenure at WNO,
she performed as Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Page in Rigoletto, Jano in Jenufa, and Fourth Maidservant in Elektra. Operatically, this season began with a return to Lake George Opera as the Prima Donna in Donizetti’s Viva la Mamma, then joining Opera in the Heights as Stella, Olympia, Antonia, and Giulietta in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus. An active concert artist, this season includes a Rutter Magnificat with the Shrewsbury Chorale and Haydn’s Creation with the Garden State Philharmonic. Recent operatic highlights include her debut at the Opéra de Monte Carlo as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Violetta in La Traviata at Lake George Opera, Miss Wordsworth in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring at Opera North, Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro at Center City Opera, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and La Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro both at The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. Roberts holds degrees from Dartmouth College and the Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music.

Megan Weston (Tup Tim)

See bio above

Brandy Lynn Hawkins (Lady Thiang, The King and I) departed on
high ground as a recent graduate of the Domingo-Cafritz Young
Artist Program at Washington National Opera in Washington, DC. At
the culmination of her tenure, she was awarded The Richard F. Gold
Shoshana Foundation Award for her outstanding achievements with
WNO. Hawkins has traveled to Beijing and Milan to perform with
Plácido Domingo and other Young Artists at the Reignwood Theatre
and La Scala. This past summer, Hawkins returned to The Santa Fe
Opera as a second year apprentice artist covering and singing Suzuki
in Madama Butterfly which marked her debut with the company. Her
concert appearances include Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Prokofiev’s
Alexander Nevsky, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and the Duruflé
Requiem. Hawkins can be heard on the premiere recording of The
Hotel Casablanca, by composer Thomas Pasatieri on Albany Records.
This season Hawkins made her role debut with Kentucky Opera as Lola in Cavalleria Rusticana. She joins Palm Beach Opera as an associate
artist through March 2011. In spring of 2011, she covered the title
role of Médée at Chicago Opera Theater and sings Gypsy in Janácek’s
The Diary of One Who Disappeared. She will perform the title role of
Carmen with Kentucky Opera in the fall of 2011. Hawkins received
her B.M. of Music from Loyola University and her M.M. in Vocal
Performance from the University of Kentucky. Hawkins also covers
Rosina in The Barber of Seville and performs Rosina in “The Barber of
C’ville” this season at Ash Lawn Opera.

With over 50 roles in his repertoire, Corey Trahan (Lun Tha, The King
and I) is an active performer in opera, oratorio, music theatre, operetta
and recital venues. Trahan’s 2010/11 season includes performances of
Spoletta in Tosca at the Fort Worth Opera, Mr. Erlanson in A Little
Night Music at St. Petersburg Opera, the role of Giordano Bruno in the
new opera Bliss by Joseph Illick and as a featured soloist in Jacques Brelis Alive and Well and Living in Paris, both with the Santa Fe Concert
Association, and as the tenor soloist in Bach’s Cantata N. 104 in New
York City. In the 2009/10 season, Trahan performed at Fort Worth
Opera in the world premiere of Before Night Falls, Opera Birmingham
as Don Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro, Natchez Festival of Music as
Matt in The Fantasticks and was a guest vocalist in two productions
for Louisiana Delta Ballet/Monroe Symphony Orchestra. He also made
debuts with Santa Fe Concert Association as Kaspar in Amahl and
the Night Visitors, at Ash Lawn Opera Festival as Mordred in Camelot
and Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, and reprised the roles of Dr.
Blind/Ivan/Frosch in Die Fledermaus for Salt Marsh Opera. Trahan
performed a 2009 recital tour entitled Strike Up the Band! featuring
works written by George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, Irving
Berlin and Richard Rodgers, and the same year a Holiday Concert Tour,
both funded by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.

Margie Jervis (Scenic Designer, The Barber of Seville/The King and I) is a unique scenic designer with a career spanning 30 years of art making. Her training began at the Rhode Island School of Design in Fine Arts in Sculpture. Her theatrical experience grew as a scenic artist for the Seattle Repertory Theater and the Seattle Opera. She went on to be the head of the Scenic Art Department at Seattle Opera. Returning to the east coast in 1999, Jervis was commissioned by the Washington National Opera to design the sets and largescale puppets for Thunder of Horses and in 2004 for Enchantment of Dreams. She was also Associate Designer to Tom Lynch for Seattle Opera’s Ring Cycle, and Design Assistant and Scenic Artist for projects for the Washington National Opera. Drawn to their focus on art for a multigenerational audience, in 2009, Jervis joined the Creative Cauldron’s theatrical
production team, in her hometown of Falls Church, Virginia. She is currently in her second season as Scenic Designer and as a Teaching Artist for their Arts Programs for children. In 2010 she was awarded a Strauss Fellowship Grant from the Arts Council of Fairfax County.

Stephanie Cluggish (Costume Coordinator, The Barber of Seville) has worked in theatre and opera all over the US, working in costumes with such companies as Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, and acting as the resident assistant designer at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC. Recent design credits include Henry V (KMU Productions, NYC); Hamlet (dir. David Paul); Hansel and Gretel (Boston Lyric Opera/ Opera New England); Top Girls (Emerson College). Cluggish has recently relocated to Chicago, IL in the MFA Stage Design program at Northwestern University.

Nuria Carrasco (Costume Designer, The King and I) has worked extensively for more than a decade with internationally acclaimed directors and renowned institutions such as Cairo Opera House, Timisoara National Opera House and Warsaw Opera House. Her international work as costume designer has taken her to countries such as China, England, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, France, South Africa, Australia, Qatar, Egypt, and Lebanon. She designed costumes for a cast of more than 800 people for Opera Aída, under the Pyramids of Giza, Egypt, in collaboration with The Cairo Opera House, and worked
as lead designer for Opera AVICENNA, commissioned by both the Emir and the Emira of Qatar and broadcast live on TV for an audience of 300 million. Other selected works include: Nights of the Moon (Artistic Advisor: Nicholas Joël. Scenography: Ezio Frigerio. Caracalla Dance Theatre. Qatar Foundation) Madame Butterfly (Pretoria, South Africa.
Visual Dir: Paolo Micciché. Projections: Patrick Watkinson.) Carmen (Expo Lisboa ‘98), El huesped del sevillano (Madrid. Cervantes Festival. Musical Dir: Ignacio Pilone) Chateau Margaux (Madrid. San Isidro Festival). Originally from Madrid, Carrasco resides in Miami where she combines her international work as costume designer and recent commissions as production designer for TV and film, with her career as a visual artist. Assistant to Costume Designer: Nathaly Bacilio,
Second Assistant to costume designer: Leticia Rios.

Laura R. Krause (Production Stage Manager) is originally from Albany, NY, but currently resides in McLean, VA. She has been a member of the stage management staff of the Washington National Opera for twelve years and spent recent summers stage-managing for Wolf Trap Opera, the Bard SummerScape Festival and as Production Stage Manager for
Berkshire Opera in western Massachusetts. Other companies she has worked for include Cincinnati Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, Florida Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Atlanta Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and Palm Beach Opera.

Richard Gammon (Assistant Director, The Barber of Seville/The King and I) is a Filipino-American stage director based in New York City. Productions include Hand of Bridge, Gallantry, Hin und zurück, La Divina, and Jake Heggie’s Again with the Wolf Trap Opera Studio (Directing Fellow 2009), Much Ado About Nothing (Globe Players) for the 50th Anniversary Season of the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, Gianni Schicchi (dell’Arte Opera, NYC), and the world premieres of two of Jorge Sosa’s operas The Lake (Artsounds, Kansas City) and Tonatzínas well as a staging of Sosa’s electronic opera The Calling (Union Station, Kansas City). Gammon has worked for companies such as Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Michigan Opera Theatre, Fort Worth Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Virginia Opera, Opera North, and PORTopera. Education includes New England Conservatory of Music (B.M. Vocal Performance) and University of Missouri-Kansas City (Artist Diploma). Gammon directs “Barber of C’ville”, “Opera Buffa on the Mountain!”, and “Opera Under the Stars.”

Cassey Kivnick (Assistant Choreographer, The King and I) has worked as a lighting designer, stage manager, and performer. Credits include: Assistant to Baayork Lee (Broadway revival, A Chorus Line), Assistant Director (New Dance Drama Festival, Italy), Assistant to the Choreographer (King and I–U.S., China, and England), Stage Manager (La Mama), Lighting Designer (Thang Dao Dance Company).

Ohio native, Shelby Rhoades (Principal Coach/Accompanist) is currently in demand as a recitalist and coach/accompanist in the New York City area. She has been an Associate Coach at The Juilliard School since 2008. Rhoades was also a coach fellow for the Aspen Music Festival Opera Theater during the summers of 2003-08. Other engagements have included music staff for Seattle Opera/Young Artists Program, coach/accompanist for Tacoma Opera, musical director for Pacific Lutheran University Opera Theater, musical director for the Seattle regional production of Opera America, and music staff for the Annas Bay Music Festival, WA. In spring 2007, she assisted in musical preparation for the world premiere of Jake Heggie’s For a Look or a Touch. Rhoades has worked with maestros Julius Rudel, George Manahan, Gary Thor Wedow, and Anne Manson. She has also worked with renowned singers such as Jane Eaglen, Vinson Cole, and Lawrence Brownlee. Rhoades holds degrees in piano, accompanying, and vocal performance and has served as faculty for the University of Washington - Seattle, Pacific Lutheran University, Albion College, and
Anderson University.

In the 2010/11 season, Timothy Birt (The Barber of Seville) returns to South Texas Lyric Opera to perform Rodolfo in La Bohème. He debuts at Sparkling City Light Opera as Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola. In the spring he returns to Opera in the Heights to sing Nadir in Les Pêcheurs de Perles and in the summer he appears with San Antonio Opera as Ralph Rachstraw in H.M.S. Pinafore. In 2009, Birt debuted with South Texas Lyric Opera as the Duke in Rigoletto and also performed Des Grieux in Manon there to great critical acclaim. He sang at Teatro Grattacielo in New York City in Wolf-Ferrari’s I Gioielli della Madonna and in Calgi, Italy he sang Dr. Cajus in Falstaff for Professional Advantage. In 2008, he appeared with San Antonio Opera as El Remendado in Carmen, as well as making a successful debut with the Opera Theater of Lakeland as Conte Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. In February 2010, he made his Carnegie Hall debut as the tenor soloist in Dewi Sant by Arwel Hughes. Birt covers Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville and performs Count Almaviva in “The Barber of C’ville” this season at Ash Lawn Opera.

Anthony Caputo (Ensemble, The Barber of Seville/The King and I) is a native of New York and has just completed his graduate work at SUNY Purchase College Conservatory of Music where he studied under the tutelage of Jacque Trussel. Highlights from Caputo’s time at Purchase include: Balthazar and Melchior-Amahl and The Night Visitors (Menotti),
Antonio- Le nozze di Figaro (Mozart), Mercurio- L’Incoronazione di Poppea (Monteverdi), Prince Ferdinand- The Tempset (Hoiby) East Coast Premiere, Father Francis-Confession (Lucas) World Premiere, Papageno- Die Zauberflöte (Mozart), Le Directeur- Les Mamelles
de Tiresias (Poulenc), Escamillo- Carmen (Bizet). In winter 2008, Albany records recorded The Tempest by Lee Hoiby, on which Caputo sang the principal role of Prince Ferdinand. In conjunction with the release of the opera, in the spring of 2009, Caputo made his New York City debut of the same role at Symphony Space in a condensed version of the opera. He also performed in a “Salon Series” promoting the recording at Opera America later that year. The performances of The Tempest were televised on NBC as well. Caputo was described in Opera News as, “Sounded beautiful” and “Professional”. Most recently, Caputo was a featured singer in a master class given by Samuel Ramey, spring 2010. Caputo performs in ensembles for both productions this summer at Ash Lawn Opera.

Albanian soprano, Elona Çeno (Ensemble, The King and I) first attracted attention here in the U.S.A. as a National Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council auditions in 2005 following the completion of her M.M. at the Mannes School of Music. Since that time, she has earned an Artist Diploma at the Yale University School of Music while appearing as a soloist in concerts with the Hartford Symphony (Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and Villa Lobos’ Bachianas Brasilieras), Yale Symphony Orchestra (Fauré Requiem), numerous recitals, plus staged productions at Yale of L’Enfant Prodique (Lia), Cosi fan
tutte (Fiordiligi), La Bohème (Mimi), Die lustige Witwe (Valencienne) and Suor Angelica (Angelica). As a graduate student at Mannes, she appeared as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. In her native Albania, Çeno was a soloist with the National Theater of Opera and Ballet where she appeared in productions of Le Nozze di Figaro (Cherubino), Il Matrimonio Segreto (Elizetta). Çeno is also the recipient of awards from the MacAllister Competition, Career Bridges (The Schuyler Foundation), Arleen Auger Memorial Fund, and the Gerda Lissner Foundation. Çeno covers the role of Lady Thiang and sings in the ensemble for The King and I this summer at Ash Lawn Opera.

Mexican soprano, Aída De la Cruz (Ensemble, The King and I) studied at the Conservatorio de Música in her hometown of Chihuahua, Chih, and she earned her voice degree from Oakland University in Rochester, MI. In 2007, she was privileged to receive the Hollingsworth Grant to be a part of the AIMS Summer Voice program in Graz, Austria, where she was a finalist in the Meistersinger competition. In 2004, she was a guest artist for the official visit of the former president of Mexico. From 2003-2005, she was a part of the Michigan Opera Theatre Summer Voice Program. Since then she has been a regular singer with the choruses at Michigan Opera Theatre, where she participated in the world premiere of David DiChiera’s Cyrano, and Fort Worth Opera, where she participated in the world premiere of Jorge Martín’s Before Night Falls. De la Cruz currently lives in Berlin, Germany, where she is studying privately with members of the staff at Deutsche Oper Berlin. De la Cruz sings in the ensemble of The King and I this summer at Ash Lawn Opera.

Aurelio Domínguez’s (Ensemble, The Barber of Seville/The King and I) operatic appearances include the Duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Don Carlo, Nemorino, Orpheus in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, Rodolfo in La Bohème, Tonio in Donizetti’s The Daughter of the Regiment, and Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly, Tamino in Magic Flute, and Colonel Fairfax in The Yeoman of the Guard. Domínguez was also a Virginia Opera’s Spectrum Program Young Artist in which he had the opportunity to cover both Rodolfo and Tonio in its productions of La Bohème and The Daughter of the Regiment. He has also performed and recorded in Italy and in Washington, DC with the choir of the National Shrine where he is also a regular guest soloist. Domínguez covers the role of Lun Tha in The King and I and sings in the ensemble for both productions this summer at Ash Lawn Opera.

Drew Duncan (Ensemble, The Barber of Seville/The King and I), originally from Milford, IA, recently covered the role of 2nd Noble in Wagner’s Lohengrin at Lyric Opera of Chicago and returned to Opera for the Young for their 2011 tour of Pirates of Penzance. This winter
he debuted at Dubuque Symphony Orchestra as Goro in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. Last season, Duncan debuted at Des Moines Metro Opera as Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro. Other recent engagements include joining Sarasota Opera for their Apprentice
Artist program, performing with Empire State Lyric Opera as Gabriel von Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus, working with composers Lindsey Baker and Amanda Jacobs as they workshop their new one act opera, Lily. In 2009, he was involved in the inaugural season of Lorin Maazel’s Castleton Festival, covering Peter Quint and Prologue in The Turn of the Screw and playing Harry Paddington in The Beggars Opera. This past April, Duncan sang with Chicago Opera Theater covering Demo in Cavalli’s Giasone and in the chorus in Rossini’s Mosè in Egitto. Previously with Chicago Opera Theater, Duncan covered the roles of Tito in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito, Sir Philip Wingrave/Narrator in Benjamin Britten’s Owen Wingrave, chorus in Don Giovanni, Béatrice et Bénédict, and the mid-west premiere of John Adams’ A Flowering Tree. Duncan received his bachelor’s degree from Simpson College in Indianola, IA. Duncan performs in the ensembles for both productions this summer at Ash Lawn Opera.

Danya Katok (Ensemble, The King and I) is a vibrant soprano whose shimmering vocal quality, keen musicianship, and compelling stage presence have led her to burst onto the contemporary classical music scene. She has debuted with the Boston POPS in An Evening of Cole Porter and Boston Symphony Orchestra in Die Entfühurung aus dem Serail. She makes her New York City Opera debut in April 2011 reprising the role of Max in Where the Wild Things Are. Other upcoming engagements include Soprano Soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with New York Symphonic Arts Ensemble and Judy in Lee Hoiby’s This Is the Rill Speaking with Chelsea Opera. Her recent credits include the title role in Barab’s Little Red Riding Hood, Governess in The Turn of the Screw, and Adele in Die Fledermaus. She received her Master of Music in 2009 from Peabody Conservatory where she studied with Ah Hong. She is currently finishing her first year in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at CUNY’s Graduate Center in the studio of Rita Shane. Katok covers the role of Anna and sings in the ensemble in The King and I this summer at Ash Lawn Opera.

Soprano, Celine Mogielnicki (Ensemble, The King and I) finds herself equally at home on the opera stage, concert hall, and in contemporary music. In the summer of 2010, she sang the role of Mary in Der Ferne Klang at Bard Summerscape with the American Symphony Orchestra. Before that, she sang Leonard/Premiere Bohemienne in the Bard Summerscape production of Les Huguenots with the ASO under Leon Botstein. Mogielnicki created the role of Sir Elton John’s Trainer in David Little’s Vinkensport for Bard’s Graduate Vocal Arts Program. As part of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio, Mogielnicki performed Miss Jessel
in scenes from Britten’s Turn of the Screw and covered the title role of Alcina. She also recreated the role of Eurinda in the North American premiere of Cavalli’s La Doriclea with the Juilliard Opera Workshop. Other operatic performances include the Juilliard Opera Center production of Le Comte Ory, where she covered the role of Alice, Gertrude Stein in Virgil Thomson’s Mother of us All with the Juilliard Opera Workshop, Offenbach’s Orfée aux Enfers with the Juilliard Opera Center, and the second spirit in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with the Juilliard Opera Workshop, where she also covered Pamina. Mogielnicki received her B.M. from the Juilliard School and her M.M. from Bard College under the tutelage of Dawn Upshaw. Mogielnicki performs in the ensemble of The King and I this summer at Ash Lawn Opera and covers the roles of Berta in The Barber of Seville and Tuptim in The King and I.

Zack Rabin (Ensemble, The Barber of Seville/The King and I) has performed the title characters in Don Pasquale, and Le nozze di Figaro, Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore, both Leporello and Masetto in Don Giovanni, and Friar Lawrence in Roméo et Juliette for his Carnegie Hall debut with New York Lyric Opera. During the 2010 season, Rabin performed with the Natchez Festival of Music, Sarasota Opera, Opera on Tap, and Opera New Jersey. He is currently an Apprentice Artist at Sarasota Opera. Rabin has performed in the world premieres of Wildflowers, Picture Perfect, and Scourge of Hyacinths in a program of new American one-act operas with The Remarkable Theater Brigade at New York’s Carnegie Hall. Other credits include Fiddler on the Roof, Gershwin’s Of Thee I Sing, Man of La Mancha, A Little Night Music, and Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore. A native of Portland, Oregon, Rabin has studied and performed internationally at the International Vocal Arts Institute (IVAI) in Tel Aviv, Israel, the Lyrique en Mer Festival in Belle-Isle, France, the International Institute of Vocal Arts (IIVA) in Chiari, Italy, and the Bel Canto Scuola d’Italia in Florence, Italy. He also received extensive training at V.O.I.C.Experience with legendary baritone Sherrill Milnes, and continues to study with Mark Schnaible. Rabin performs the role of Don Basilio in “The Barber of C’ville” and sings in the ensemble of both productions this summer at Ash Lawn Opera.

Hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek (Ensemble, The Barber of Seville/The King and I) is a lyric baritone full of passion and energy in his first year at Boston University’s Opera Institute, where he studies with Dr. Jerrold Pope. He holds a Master of Music degree in Voice from Indiana University-Bloomington, where he studied with Timothy Noble and played Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte for director Tomer Zvulun and conductor Mark Gibson. His physical talent was highlighted in The Most Happy Fella when he played Clem and was a featured dancer under choreographer Joshua Bergasse. He also worked closely with Professor Carol Vaness as part of her opera workshop, performing scenes from Ariadne auf Naxos, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Eugene Onegin. Smith-Kotlarek completed his undergraduate studies to receive a B.M.
Voice Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied classical singing with Paul Rowe and jazz with Richard Davis. In Madison Opera’s production of Copland’s The Tender Land, he performed the roles of Mr. Jenks and Dancer for Director
Doug Scholz Carlson and conductor John DeMain. Smith-Kotlarek was an apprentice artist with La Musica Lirica in Italy, and with the Des Moines Metro Opera. Smith-Kotlarek covers Fiorello in The Barber of Seville, and sings in the ensemble for both productions this summer at Ash Lawn Opera.