LILEANA BLAIN-CRUZ is a director from New York City and Miami. Recent projects include: The Skin of Our Teeth (Lincoln Center), Dreaming Zenzile (St. Louis Rep, McCarter Theatre, upcoming: NYTW / National Black Theatre); Marys Seacole (LCT3, Obie Award); Wayne Shorter and esperanza spalding’s …(Iphigenia) (MASS MoCA, Arts Emerson, The Kennedy Center); Hansel and Gretel (a film for Houston Grand Opera); Afrofemononomy (PSNY); Anatomy of a Suicide (Atlantic Theater Company); Fefu and Her Friends (TFANA); Girls (Yale Rep.); Faust (Opera Omaha); Fabulation, Or the Reeducation of Undine (Signature Theatre); Thunderbodies and Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. (Soho Rep.); The House That Will Not Stand and Red Speedo (New York Theatre Workshop); Water by the Spoonful (Mark Taper Forum/CTG); Pipeline (Lincoln Center); The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World (Signature Theatre, Obie Award); Henry IV, Part One and Much Ado About Nothing (Oregon Shakespeare Festival); The Bluest Eye (The Guthrie); War (LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater and Yale Rep.); Salome (JACK); Hollow Roots (the Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater). Upcoming: The Listeners (Opera Norway). Lileana was named a 2021 Doris Duke Artist, a 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist, and a 2018 United States Artists Fellow. She is currently the resident director of Lincoln Center Theater. She is a graduate of Princeton and received her MFA in directing from the Yale School of Drama.

Viareggio native, Maestro Valerio Galli, was born in the cradle of where some of the greatest versimo operas were ever written. Therefore, it is no surprise that his career launched in 2007 at the age of 27 with Tosca for the 53rd Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. This production, published on DVD for the label Dynamic earned him the "Golden Mask" award as a young emerging conductor. After his conducting of TURANDOT at Torre del Lago, the critics wrote: "he grew up with Puccini in his blood". In 2013 he received the 42nd Puccini Prize, awarded for the first time ever for a career. Among the titles directed in past seasons we find: UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, IL TROVATORE, NORMA, RIGOLETTO at the Teatro Comunale in Bologna, IL CAMPANELLO/GIANNI SCHICCHI with Rolando Panerai and Juan Pons at the Carlo Felice Theater in Genoa, CARMEN and LA TRAVIATA at the Teatro Coccia in Novara, TURANDOT and LA FORZA DEL DESTINO at the Teatro Verdi in Pisa, MADAMA BUTTERFLY in the theaters of Lucca, Livorno, Rovigo, Piacenza and Modena, LA TRAVIATA at the Theater Sociale of Mantua, TOSCA at the Teatro Sociale of Trento, Pisa and Rovigo, in Novara and for the opening of the Daegu International Opera Festival (Korea), LA RONDINE for the Fresno Grand Opera, MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Brescia version 1904) in Genoa, TURANDOT for the inauguration of the Huafa Theater in Zhuahi (China), ZANETTO/CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA at the Goldoni Theater in Livorno, ADRIANA LECOUVREUR in Skopje and FEDORA in Genoa (published by Dynamic) with Daniela Dessì, LE VILLI in Managua, LA BOHÈME at the 60th Festival Puccini with Daniela Dessì, Fabio Armiliato and directed by Ettore Scola (published by Raicom in 4K format). He received critical and audience acclaim in his debut at Michigan Opera Theater Detroit with TURANDOT, where he was again invited for CARMEN. He also made his San Diego Opera debut again with Puccini’s TURANDOT. He conducted the inaugural evening of 57th Santander Festival, symphonic concerts with the Orchestra of Padua and Veneto, the Orchestra of Tuscany, the Pomeriggi Musicali, the San Marino Symphony Orchestra, the Symfònica De Les Illes Orchestra Balears, a Verdi recital with Daniela Dessì and the Philharmonic Orchestra "A. Toscanini" in Parma, and a symphonic concert at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam with Mascagni's RAPSODIA SATANICA. Amongst most recent engagements are: LA BOHÈME at the San Carlo Theater in Naples, PAGLIACCI at the Theater Philharmonic of Verona, LA BOHÈME at the Teatro Regio di Parma; DON CARLO in Genoa, TOSCA at the Teatro Romano of Catania, TOSCA and LA RONDINE at the Teatro del Maggio in Florence, MADAMA BUTTERFLY at the Opéra di Toulon, TOSCA in Bologna, TURANDOT at the San Diego Civic Theater, TOSCA at the Michigan Opera Theater in Detroit, IL CAPPELLO DI PAGLIA DI FIRENZE in Naples, TOSCA in the theaters of the Lombardy circuit and in Reggio Emilia, Mascagni's operetta SÌ in Livorno, the diptych UN MARI À LA PORTE/CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA in Florence (published in DVD by Dynamic), L'ELISIR D'AMORE in Toulon, TOSCA and RAPSODIA SATANICA/GIANNI SCHICCHI in Genoa, TURANDOT in Bologna, AIDA in Sanxay, IL TRITTICO and PAGLIACCI/NOI, DUE, QUATTRO by R. Panfili (new commission) in Florence (DVD Dynamic), TURANDOT in Parma, ADRIANA LECOUVREUR in Genoa, MEFISTOFELE at the Stuttgart State Opera. QuickTime™ and a TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor Upcoming appointments include: LA RONDINE in Cagliari, LA BOHÈME in San Diego, LA FANCIULLA DEL WEST in Brescia and the theaters of the Lombardy circuit, ROMEO ET JULIETTE in Detroit, CARMEN in Sanxay, TOSCA in Tokyo, and LA BOHÈME in Toulon.

Raja Feather Kelly is an Obie-winning choreographer, a director, the artistic director of the feath3r theory, and a Creative Associate at The Juilliard School. In 2020, Kelly made his directorial debut at New York City's Second Stage Theatre with We're Gonna Die. Since 2016, Raja has choreographed extensively for Off-Broadway theatre in New York City, most notably for Signature Theatre, Soho Rep, New York Theatre Workshop, and Playwrights Horizons Frequent collaborators include: Lileana Blain-Cruz, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Sarah Benson, and Lila Neugebauer. Other theatre credits include choreography for Skittles Commercial: The Musical (Town Hall), The Chronicles of Cardigan and Khente (SohoRep), Everyday Afroplay (JACK), GURLS (Princeton University, Yale Repertory Theatre), Electric Lucifer (The Kitchen), Lempicka (Williamstown Theatre Festival), The House That Will Not Stand (New York Theatre Workshop), Fireflies (Atlantic Theatre Company), If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muhfucka (Playwrights Horizons, nominated for the 2019 Lucille Lortel Award and the 2019 Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Choreography), The Good Swimmer (BAM), and Faust (Opera Omaha). Most recent work: Fairview (SDCF Joe A. Callaway Award finalist for choreography; Soho Rep, Berkeley Rep, TFANA, and winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama), A Strange Loop (Obie Award winner and SDCF Callaway finalist for choreography; Playwrights Horizons, winner of the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama).

This season tenor Jonathan Johnson makes his debut at the Tulsa Opera as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicci, and returns to Opera Omaha as Anthony in Sweeney Todd and to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in Harvey Milk. He recently appeared as The Prince in The Love for Three Oranges at Opera Philadelphia’s Festival O19, Jonathan Dale in Silent Night at Utah Opera, and Beppe in I Pagliacci at Opera Colorado. In concert, Mr. Johnson appeared as a soloist with Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra in Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri, with the Detroit Symphony for Messiah, and in recital with the Collaborative Arts Institute of Chicago. A graduate of the Patrick G. & Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s professional artist-development program, he appeared in the house’s main productions of Les Troyens, Lucia di Lammermoor, The Merry Widow, Der Rosenkavalier, Capriccio, The Magic Victrola and Mieczysław Weinberg’s Holocaust opera The Passenger. Other recent engagements have included his debut of the title role of Bernstein’s Candide with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, Utah Symphony Orchestra, and Des Moines Metro Opera. He made his debut at Canadian Opera Company’s production of Anna Bolena, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance and Lensky in Eugene Onegin at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Fenton in Falstaff at San Diego Opera, Lindoro in L'italiana in Algeri at the Portland Opera, La Damnation de Faust at the Grant Park Music Festival, Le Fils in Les mamelles de Tirésias with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Beethoven Symphony No. 9 and concert version of Don Giovanni with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, a performance of Schumann’s Dichterliebe as part of a Liederabend in Chicago, and various appearances in the Harris Theater's Beyond the Aria series, the 125th Anniversary Gala for the Auditorium Theater, and on WFMT radio as part of the Ryan Opera Center Recital Series. He also enjoys a touring relationship with Chris Botti, which has taken him through many cities in the US and abroad. Hailing from Macon, GA, Mr. Johnson holds a Master’s degree and Professional Artist Certificate from the A.J. Fletcher Institute of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He also holds a Bachelor of Music from Townsend School of Music at Mercer University.

In the 2021-2022 season, Canadian bass Robert Pomakov makes his debut at Opernhaus Zürich as Fernando in Il Trovatore, and returns to the roster of the Metropolitan Opera to cover Monterone in Rigoletto, the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, and the Bonze in Madama Butterfly. In recent seasons, Mr. Pomakov made important house debuts with Opéra National de Paris as the Bonze in a production directed by Robert Wilson, and with Den Norske Opera as Gremin in Christof Loy’s production of Yevgeny Onegin. Cancellations due to Covid-19 include Claudius in Hamlet at Opera Hong Kong, Vodnik at Cincinnati Opera, Klingsor in Parsifal and Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro at Canadian Opera Company, Frere Laurent in Roméo et Juliette at Michigan Opera Theatre, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. In the 2018-2019 season Mr. Pomakov made role debuts as Nourabad in Les Pêcheurs de Perles in a return to Santa Fe Opera and Méphistophélès in Faust for his house debut with Vancouver Opera. He returned to Oper Frankfurt for King René in a new production of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta directed by Lydia Steier and returned to the Metropolitan Opera to reprise the role of Monterone in Rigoletto. Concert performances included his debut with the Victoria Symphony, singing König Heinrich in Act III of Lohengrin, and the New Mexico Philharmonic as the bass soloist in Verdi’s Messa da Requiem. Mr. Pomakov has been a prize winner in several of the world's premier singing competitions: a finalist in the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Belgium, second place at the Belvedere Competition in Vienna, and third place in Operalia. Mr. Pomakov was decorated with the Simeon, the First Honorary Medal from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria, and with a diploma from the Minister of Culture for his achievements in opera's art and special merit to Bulgarian culture and its dissemination all over the world, as well as an encouragement award in the George London Foundation Competition. Other prizes have included first prize in the Oratorio Society of New York's competition, an award from the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition, the Victoria Scholars Grant, Second Prize in the Canadian Music Competition, and First Prize in the Kiwanis Music Festival in Toronto.  Pomakov is a graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music.

Career highlights for American soprano Talise Trevigne include her celebrated portrayal in the title role Porgy and Bess at The Atlanta Opera; she returned as a TAO Company Principal Artist in Season 2020- 21 as Nedda I Pagliacci. She joined Cincinnati Symphony for her concert debut with Louis Langree and appeared at Cincinnati Opera in their Gala season opening presenting material from their upcoming  production of Castor and Patience in which she soon sings the title role. Miss Trevigne played the role of Sunny desert in for Boston Lyric Opera in their exciting new episodic opera series devised for the  small screen, curated and directed by James Darrah. Previous highlights include her return appearance with CBSO for Tippett’s A Child of our Time in performances in the UK and Germany conducted by  Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. In an earlier season, Miss Trevigne debuted the role of Ma in Missy Mazzoli/Royce Vavrek’s highly lauded Proving Up at Omaha Opera and at Lincoln Centre and went to Madison Opera to sing Nedda. At Theater Basel she appeared in the title role Madama Butterfly, and for her rendition of Christopher Rouse’s masterpiece Kabir Padavali with Albany Symphony she was honored with a 2016 Grammy Award nomination in the category Best Solo Classical CD. Other roles include Mabel Pirates of Penzance, Julie Showboat, Mimi La Boheme, Jemmy Guillaume Tell, Euridice Orfeo ed Euridice and the title role Manon. In concert, the artist’s appearances include Cantaloube's Chants D'Auvergne, Satie's Socrate, Mahler's Second Symphony and Fourth Symphony, Barber's Prayers of Kierkegaar, Strauss' Vier letzte Lieder and  Four Last Songs and Carmina Burana. Talise Trevigne studied at the Manhattan School of Music and graduated with her Master’s in Music. While still a student, she made her operatic début under the  direction of Julius Rudel as Violetta La Traviata and Zerlina Don Giovanni at the Aspen Music Festival.

A singer of diverse talents, Nigerian American Baritone, Babatunde Akinboboye is known for his enthralling stage presence. He has performed with the Los Angeles Opera, Opera Theatre St. Louis, Utah Opera, Opera San Jose, Opera Santa Barbara, and Long Beach Opera. As an advocate for the performance of art song and operatic works written by African and African American composers, Mr. Akinboboye has headlined the Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry awards in Lagos, Nigeria, performing a fusion of opera and traditional African music and has been a featured performer at both the National Association of Negro Musicians Annual Conference, as well as the African American Art Song Alliance Conference. Babatunde’s honors include Regional Finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition and finalist in the International Eisteddfod Vocal Solo Competition in Llangollen, Wales. In December of 2018, Babatunde combined his love of classical opera and hip hop and created the new genre Hip Hopera in a viral video that gained over 10 million views and was featured on Time.com, Classic FM, MSN.com, and more.

Mezzo-soprano, Jenny Anne Flory, from Harrisonburg, Virginia, graduated with her MM in Opera Performance, as a member of the University of Maryland Opera Studio (May 2017).  She holds a BM in Vocal Performance from James Madison University (May 2015).   This is Ms. Flory’s house and role debut with Detroit Opera. Starting September 2022, she joins The Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia as a Resident Artist.  She was a Young Artist with the Palm Beach Opera during their 2021 Festival season, where she sang Second Lady in their production of Die Zauberflote and Romeo in the Discovery Series Production of I Capuleti e i Montecchi. Ms. Flory was an Apprentice Artist at Palm Beach Opera for their 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 season.    

Internationally renowned GRAMMY-winning mezzo-soprano Victoria Livengood has been hailed by audiences and critics worldwide for her multi-faceted and powerhouse performances. Since her acclaimed Metropolitan Opera debut in 1991, she has become known for her dynamic portrayals in more than 120 Met performances, including the title role in Carmen. Victoria’s versatility has allowed her to sing nearly 100 different roles with opera companies throughout the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. Recent seasons have included dual roles as the Mother and the Witch in Hansel and Gretel with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Eunice in A Streetcar Named Desire for Teatro Colon and Hawaii Opera Theater, a return to the Seattle Opera for a role debut as Kabanicha in Katya Kabanova, a company and role debut with Opera Omaha in Johnathan Dove’s Flight, the Mother in The Consul with Long Beach Opera and Chicago Opera Theater, the Old Lady in Candide with the Seoul Philharmonic and Anchorage Opera, Madame Flora in The Medium with New Orleans Opera, and Filippyevna in Eugene Onegin with Washington National Opera. Current engagements include Madame Flora in The Medium with New Orleans Opera, Filippyevna in Eugene Onegin with Opera Omaha, and Marthe in Faust with Detroit Opera.

Ben Reisinger is a baritone from Rochester, New York, living in Lansing, Michigan. A first-year member of the Detroit Opera Resident Artist Program, Reisinger attended Michigan State University studying with Professor Mark Rucker. He also works with Laurie Feldman, stage director, teacher, and coach. Reisinger is a two-time District of Michigan winner in the Metropolitan National Council Auditions and a two-time Encouragement Award winner and recipient of the Dr. David DiChiera award both in 2020 and 2021 in the Eastern Regional event. In 2017 he was the American Prize Award winner in Vocal Performance in the Collegiate Opera/Operetta division. He has performed many roles while studying at Michigan State University; notably, Ricky Ian Gordon's Grapes of Wrath, coached by Ricky Ian Gordon. He was part of the Martina Arroyo Foundation's "Prelude to Performance Program" in 2017. He has been a frequent performer in masterclasses with many great artists, including Renee Fleming, Jan Opalach, and Julia Bullock. Along with being passionate about opera, Ben was one of the Northeast Vocal Finalists for the Michael Feinstein' Great American Songbook' Competition in NYC.