Jose Maria Condemi’s directorial work, which has been presented by companies in North America and abroad, encompasses an eclectic range of styles and repertoire and has been consistently praised for its creatively theatrical and innovative approach. Notable engagements include Carmen, Madama Butterfly, Faust, Tosca, Così fan tutte, Un ballo in maschera, The Elixir of Love for Families and the world premiere of The Secret Garden (San Francisco Opera), Ernani, Tristan und Isolde and Il barbiere di Siviglia for Families (Lyric Opera Chicago), Aida (Houston Grand Opera), Luisa Miller (Canadian Opera Company), Orphée et Eurydice, La bohème, Tosca and Il trovatore (Seattle Opera). Condemi returns to director Frida again for the Michigan Opera Theatre. Other works include Tosca, Ainadamar, Don Giovanni, La Traviata, Il trovatore and Maria de Buenos Aires (Cincinnati Opera), A Streetcar Named Desire (Kentucky Opera), Don Giovanni (Portland Opera), Cosi fan tutte and Il barbiere di Siviglia (Atlanta Opera), Cendrillon (New Orleans Opera), Simon Boccanegra (Teatro Colon/Buenos Aires), Il trovatore (Austin Lyric Opera), Tosca and Maria de Buenos Aires (Florida Grand Opera), La traviata (Wolftrap Opera), Carmen (Lyric Opera of Kansas City), Falstaff, Die Zauberflöte, L'elisir d'amore, La rondine, Don Pasquale and La traviata (Opera San Jose), Susannah and Roméo et Juliette (Festival Opera) and the San Francisco Opera Western Opera Theater's national tours of Die Fledermaus and Don Giovanni. As Associate Director, he has worked on The Ring Cycle and Les Troyens (San Francisco Opera), Così fan tutte (Lyric Opera Chicago) and Un ballo in maschera (Canadian Opera Company). Collaborations with contemporary composers include directing the world premieres of Hector Armienta's River of Women and The Weeping Woman and the workshop performance of San Francisco Opera’s newly commissioned piece Earthrise by 2000 Pulitzer Prize winner Lewis Spratlan. Current and upcoming directing engagements include new productions of Tosca (Cincinnati Opera) and La traviata (Opera Naples).

Known for her versatility and energy on the podium, Detroit Opera veteran Chorus Master Suzanne Mallare Acton has more than 160 production credits covering seven languages. In addition to her chorus work, Suzanne has conducted over 35 productions for the company, including West Side Story, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Carmen, The Music Man, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, Die Fledermaus, La traviata, A Little Night Music, a staged version of Carmina Burana with members of Cirque du Soleil, The Medium, A View from the Bridge, Les pêcheurs de perles, and Frida. Additional conducting credits include My Fair Lady and La traviata for Dayton Opera; The Merry Widow and Madama Butterfly for Artpark; Tosca for Augusta Opera; La traviata, L’elisir d’amore, and Gianni Schicchi for Verdi Opera Theatre; and Frida for El Paso Opera. Suzanne was guest conductor for the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, Lexington Bach Festival, Rochester Symphony Orchestra, Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, and Dearborn Symphony Orchestra. She premiered Too Hot To Handel at the Detroit Opera House, Chicago’s Auditorium Theatre, and The Orpheum Theatre in Memphis. For 25 years, Suzanne was artistic director of Rackham Choir. Under her leadership, the Rackham Choir received the prestigious 2008 Governor’s Awards for Arts & Culture for outstanding contributions to arts and culture in Michigan. Suzanne has been recognized by Corp! Magazine as one of Michigan’s 95 Most Powerful Women. In 2014, she was one of 12 women selected as WJR’s Women Who Lead.

Marco Pelle, recipient of the 2016 Primi Dieci USA Award, under the patronage of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as one of the ten most influential Italians in the USA, began his dance training in his Italy, continued in Monaco at the Academie de Danse Classique Princesse Grace before moving to New York City to study under several merit scholarships with Merce Cunningham. He’s been one of New York Theatre Ballet’s resident choreographers since 2012. He created several works for the company, among which Solitude, Spaces and Endless Possibilities of Being, whose musics were all composed by his brother, Federico Pelle. In 2013 Mr. Pelle also collaborated with great ballerina Alessandra Ferri on her comeback show The Piano Upstairs presented at the Spoleto Festival, starring Mrs. Ferri and Mr. Boyd Gaine. As an Opera choreographer he has worked extensively in the US and abroad. In Beijing, China, he has choreographed a total of four productions at the National Centre of the Performing Arts, including Aida, with costumes by Academy Awards winner Franca Squarciapino and sets designed by Academy Awards nominee Ezio Frigerio. In 2013 he choreographed Passage, starring Mr. Bolle and Mrs. Semionova, a short movie directed by Fabrizio Ferri, with music by Fabrizio Ferri which opened Venice Film Festival. Passage went on to become a viral video. In 2015, American Ballet Theater soloists, Luciana Paris and Sterling Baca, performed his work Libera! at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC. American Ballet Studio Company has performed Libera! extensively ever since. In 2017, Marco Pelle had his directorial debut with Florida Grand Opera, directing and choreographing Un Ballo in Maschera. After that, directed and choreographed contemporary operas like Frida and Song From The Uproar for Cincinnati Opera and Tosca for Michigan Opera Theatre. In January 2018, his new work, Carmen, for American Ballet Theater Studio Company debuted at the Frick Collection before engaging on a national tour. The same year, he became ballet choreographer of Pose, the Golden Globe nominated tv series created and directed by great American tv and movie director, Ryan Murphy. In 2019 he was the Artistic Director of the dance gala Alessandra Ferri: The Art of the Pas De Deux, featuring Alessandra Ferri, Marcelo Gomes and Herman Cornejo, among others. His new piece Shall I breathe?, with original lights by Brandon Stirling Baker, was danced by Sarasota Principal Dancers Kate Honea and Ricardo Graziano.

Known as the "Fiery Soprano", Colombian-American soprano Catalina Cuervo holds the distinction of having performed the most productions of Astor Piazzolla's Maria de Buenos Aires and Frida by Robert Xavier Rodríguez in the history of these operas and is considered one of the leading voices of Latin American Repertoire in the world. Cuervo has performed for numerous prestigious companies including New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, The Atlanta Opera, Cincinnati Opera and Theatro Municipal de São Paulo. Cuervo made her debut as Frida Kahlo in the revival of the opera Frida with Michigan Opera Theatre in 2015 and has since performed the role with Cincinnati Opera (2017), Florida Grand Opera (2019), Atlanta Opera (2019), Anchorage Opera (2020) and Portland Ópera (2021). Those productions ended with all sold-out shows and triumphant reviews, one even calling Frida the best opera of the 2015 season. Frida will be presented next at Michigan Opera Theatre and El Paso Opera. Consequently, Catalina was named one of the five most successful Colombian Sopranos in the opera world by the Ministry of Culture of Colombia. Catalina Cuervo has a prolific symphonic career as well. She recently debuted at Theatro Municipal de São Paulo, Brazil; singing Manuel de Falla’s El Amor Brujo and The Three Cornered Hat. She has also performed with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Philharmonic, The Atlanta Symphony, Saint Louis Symphony and Filarmonica de Medellin, to name a few. Besides opera, Catalina Cuervo is also one of the leading voices of Symphonic Rock/Metal Music in Colombia.

Ricardo Herrera, bass-baritone, performer, teacher, stage director. Ricardo has sung more than 50 operatic roles around the USA, Mexico, and Europe. He has sung with San Francisco Opera, Gotham Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, El Paso Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Caramoor Festival, Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, Atlanta Opera, among others. Ricardo was honored the First Prize Award Winner of the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation Competition in NYC and was also invited to participate in Plácido Domingo’s Operalia World Opera Contest. As a Merola Opera Center participant in San Francisco he performed the title role in the Western Opera Theater National Tour of Don Giovanni. Mr. Herrera received the Demodocus Award that entitled him to his Carnegie Hall debut as the bass soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony after participating in the premiere season of Opera Aegean in Greece under the Artistic Direction of Sherrill Milnes. He also received the Adler Fellowship with San Francisco Opera where he appeared in many San Francisco Opera productions including La Traviata, Eugene Onegin, The Mother of Us All and Billy Budd. He has presented masterclasses, concerts and recitals in Europe including a recital on music by Paul Bowles in Palma de Mallorca, Spain and L’enfance du Christ by Berlioz in the Cathedral of Monaco and a recital and masterclass in China at the University of the Arts in Nanjing. After his debut with Michigan Opera Theater’s production of Frida in the role of Diego Rivera in 2015, he has sung this role with Cincinnati Opera and Florida Grand Opera and Atlanta Opera.

Mexican-Lebanese soprano Marlen Nahhas recently completed the Cafritz Young Artists program with Washington National Opera. Highlights of her time at WNO include The Magic Flute (Pamina), La traviata (Violetta) directed by Francesca Zambello, Tesori’s The Lion, The Unicorn and Me (Flamingo), The Consul (Foreign Woman), the world premiere of Sankaram’s Taking Up Serpents (Queer Kid), and a Concert of Comedic Masterpieces under the baton of Maestro Joseph Coloneri. Next season she will debut with Virginia Opera in La bohème (Musetta), a role she performed with Opera Naples and Finger Lakes Opera. Recent orchestral debuts include the National Symphony Orchestra in excerpts from La bohème (Mimì) conducted by NSO music director Maestro Gianandrea Noseda and Kansas City Symphony for excerpts from Le nozze di Figaro (Susanna). She was a member of the Merola Opera program at the San Francisco Opera Center where she performed scenes from Il tabarro, Don Giovanni, Don Carlo, and La rondine in the Schwabacher and Grand Finale concerts. She was also an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera where she covered roles in Tosca (title role) and Così fan tutte (Fiordiligi). Additional performing experience includes Madama Butterfly (title role) and Die Fledermaus (Rosalinde). Ms. Nahhas was a National Semi-Finalist in The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a graduate of Oklahoma City University and Indiana University.

Detroit-born tenor Corey Roberts is thrilled to return to Michigan Opera Theatre to reprise his role as Frida’s first love Alejandro in Rodríguez’s Frida. A passionate creative with a penchant for pushing boundaries, Corey draws on his eclectic experience on stage, in the studio, and in front of the camera to bring the characters he plays to life. Most recently, he portrayed the role of Rumples in Rumples, an immersive video opera experience that premiered at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, followed by a New York premiere at the White Box Gallery. Corey and his husband Cristian can be seen co-hosting Series 1 of On-The-Road, a So-Cal travel series presented by Toyota. Since his Michigan Opera Theatre debut during the original 2015 production of Frida and as a featured MOT artist during the Detroit Tree Lighting ceremony, Corey has continued to expand his experience in the studio and on stage in Los Angeles. He also has found tremendous inspiration focusing on new works. He originated the role of The Sweeper in Alex Weston’s The Lingerer for the English National Opera and spent five years giving a voice to Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Bonhoeffer the Musical—from a single demo to a full studio album and multiple sold-out showcases nationwide. Corey has been musically inclined his entire life, studying French horn and later receiving his BFA in Voice from Carnegie Mellon University.

Leah Dexter, mezzo-soprano and Detroit area native, is praised for being a performer of “commanding force, both vocally and dramatically” (Chicago Classical Review), and enjoyed a busy 2021-22 season. A frequent artist with Chicago Opera Theater, she was seen as Mercedes in Carmen, Ib in Becoming Santa Claus, and Mistress Paddington in the world premiere of Wallen's Quamino's Map. Ms. Dexter joined Detroit Opera for revival performances of the opera Frida, for which she reprised her roles of Dimas’ Mother and Lupe. She was seen at Lyric Opera of Chicago for Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in My Bones, singing the role of Bertha, and participated in a live performance, as a featured soloist, celebrating the release of the LYNX Project’s Amplify Series’ first album of art songs. She concluded the season with additional  performances as Dimas’ Mother/Lupe in El Paso Opera’s re-imagining of Frida, this past summer. For the 2022-23 season, Ms. Dexter is excited to be returning to Detroit Opera for performances as Siegrune in The Valkyries. She will also have a role debut as Mrs. Herring in Albert Herring with Chicago Opera Theater, followed by a debut as the alto soloist in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Urbana-Champaign Symphony. She will join Northwestern University and Cedille Records in a concert performance and professional recording of Garrop’s oratorio, Terra Nostra, as the alto soloist, and will re-join Lyric Opera of Chicago for performances of Don Carlos and Carmen, throughout the season. Leah attended the University of Michigan for her musical degrees and is a past Studio Artist of Sarasota Opera, at which she won the Anne J’ O Donnell Outstanding Artist Award for her work with the company.

Hailed by Opera News as “utterly loveable, with an expansive sound and easy stage presence”, Bass-Baritone, Jesús Vicente Murillo, has been performing Opera, Musical Theater, Concerts and Art Song across the United States and Canada since making his debut at with Michigan Opera Theater as The Android in The Very Last Green Thing at the age of eighteen. In 2019 he completed a two-year residency in Salt Lake City, with Utah Opera where he sang over 400 performances with the company. Since then, he has gone on to cover Dr. Bartolo in The Barber of Seville at Santa Fe Opera, perform Figaro in ¡Figaro! (90210) with Chautauqua Opera, Dr. Bartolo in The Barber of Seville with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Betto in Gianni Schicchi/Buoso’s Ghost with Michigan Opera Theater, and Masetto in Don Giovanni with Bare Opera.  He has also made numerous appearances with Opera Louisiane, Charlottesville Opera, Opera in Williamsburg, Salt Lake Choral Artists, Opera Saratoga, Seagle Music Colony, Arbor Opera Theater, Thompson Street Opera, Main Street Opera, and many others. Projects for the 2021-22 season include Leporello in Don Giovanni with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Guillermo Kahlo in Frida with Michigan Opera Theater and El Paso Opera, Kassandra in Kassandra with The Chamber Cartel of Atlanta, and Jeff in Lisa Despain’s That Hellbound Train through a generous grant from The National Endowment for the Arts. He received his Bachelor of Music: Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Music: Opera and Voice Performance from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He is currently based out of Philadelphia where maintains a vocal studio, is a member of the Vox Ama Deus ensemble, and the Bass Soloist at All Saint’s Episcopal Church in Wynnewood, PA.

Jacob Surzyn is glad to perform in Michigan Opera Theatre’s Frida as Mr. Rockefeller! Jake is a graduate of the University of Michigan where he performed the roles of Schaunard in La bohème, Melisso in Alcina, and Cacambo/Don Issachar in Candide. He returned to the University of Michigan in 2020 as a guest performer to portray Johannes “Pa” Zegner in Mazzoli’s Proving Up. Born and raised in Michigan, Jake has worked with companies such as Plymouth’s Main Street Opera Theatre, Ann Arbor’s Arbor Opera Theatre, and Detroit’s Opera MODO. With these companies he has performed as Marquis de la Force in Dialogues des Carmélites, Doctor Gregg in Gallantry, Jupiter in Orphée aux enfers, Crespel in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, King Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance. A pioneer of virtual opera, Jake covered the role of Guglielmo in Opera NexGen’s inaugural performance of Così fan tutte. This past summer Jake was a resident artist with Opera North performing the role of Marcello in La bohème, and in March of 2020 he made his debut with First Coast Opera where he sang the role of The Pilot in Portman’s The Little Prince. Jake has been a Young and Apprentice Artist with Charlottesville Opera where he covered the roles of Marcello, Lancelot, and Escamillo. An avid performer of oratorio, Jake has sung as the soloist in concerts ranging from the Baroque to the Contemporary. Such works include J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, Haydn’s The Creation, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, and Lang’s The Little Match Girl Passion. This spring Jake will cover the role of Jupiter in Madison Opera’s production of Orpheus in the Underworld.

Diane Rae Schoff, mezzo soprano, is a regular character on stage with regional companies throughout Michigan and around the country. Diane recently received high praise for her company and role debuts with Opera Carolina and Opera Grand Rapids as Marcellina in their joint production of Le Nozze di Figaro. Opera News said “It would be hard to imagine a better portrayal of Marcellina, both physically and vocally than that of Diane Schoff.” Career highlights include her work with Michigan Opera Theatre as the second maid in Elektra 2014, Natalia Trotsky in Frida 2015, the Second Lady in The Magic Flute 2016 and as Aunt Cecilia in Little Women 2017; with Toledo Opera as the Old Baroness in their 2017 production of Vanessa where she earned where she earned acclaim for her “look that could drop a horse at 50 feet” -Toledo Blade.

Brian is no stranger to theatre. He was a member of the chorus at Michigan Opera Theatre for the debut of DiChiera’s Cyrano, and continued with La Traviata, Madame Butterfly, Carmen, The Mikado, La Boheme and Rigoletto. Beginning the 2009-2010 season with Nabucco and Don Giovanni, Brian made his main stage debut in the role of Spoletta in Tosca in May of 2010.   He also depicted a “slimy, reprehensible Monastatos clothed in a ringing tenor that was happily free of the character’s disgusting physical attributes,” according to Opera News, during Michigan Opera Theatre’s Magic Flute in April of 2011.  Brian also received acclaim for his portrayal of the comical Don Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro. A native of Detroit, attended Wayne State University for undergraduate work in instrumental education and voice performance; here he received acclaim in both operatic and musical theatre productions. He has given life to such roles as Frederic in Pirates of Penzance and Che in Evita. Brian has appeared as a guest artist on many programs; he has made appearances at churches and theatres all over metro Detroit and around the world. Following a 10 year post as Assistant Director of Music at Christ Church Cranbrook in Bloomfield Hills, Brian currently takes residence on the music staff of The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Midtown, Detroit, and as Assistant Director of Music at Holy Name Catholic Church in Birmingham, Mi.  He also serves as Assistant Director of the Festival Choir at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Mi.

A veteran performer with Detroit Opera, Jennifer Cresswell has been seen as the Social Worker in X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, Mrs. Ford in Frida, Cherubino in Bliss, and the Cropper Woman in The Grapes of Wrath. Her passion for American Opera has allowed her to embody such characters as Magda Sorel in The Consul, Anna Maurrant in Street Scene, Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire, The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Charlotte in Before Breakfast, and Hannah After in As One. In 2021 she premiered the role of Olivia in INTERSTATE, a chamber opera by Kamala Sankaram, which was released as a film by Minnesota Opera and has appeared at numerous film festivals. In addition to the operatic stage, Dr. Cresswell is an accomplished recitalist and concert performer, including soprano soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Handel’s Messiah, Poulenc’s Gloria, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and David Lang’s Simple Song #3, as well as themed recitals that challenge the gender narrative and singer-pianist relationship through song.

Canadian soprano Clodagh Earls embraces a range of repertoire from oratorio to contemporary operatic music and is thrilled to return to Michigan Opera Theatre to reprise the roles of Calaveras, Bathtub Lover, and Ensemble in Rodriguez’s Frida. Earls has performed regularly with the Michigan Opera Theatre since 2014, and her credits include the company premiere of Rodriguez’s Frida (2015), Olga in Lehar’s The Merry Widow  (alongside celebrated American soprano Deborah Voigt), Mrs. Jenks in Copland’s The Tender Land (2016), and Amy in Adamo’s Little Women (2017). Earls also performed as a featured artist in MOT’s Summer Serenade Series and in concerts throughout the metro Detroit area. Earls has enjoyed performing the following roles: Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Adina in L’elisir d’amore, Miss Silverpeal in The Impresario, Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Papagena and Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte. She is also drawn to modern opera having starred in two premieres – Emilia in the Andrew Ager’s The Wings of the Dove in Toronto, and Eve in Jonathan Dove’s The Walk from the Garden with Rackham Choir and Orchestra in Detroit, Michigan. Earls performs concert and oratorio works throughout the USA and Canada, including soprano soloist in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Sheba in Handel’s Solomon, and all soprano roles in Handel’s Samson with Masterworks of Oakville, Bach’s Kaffee-Kantate with Oakville Chamber Orchestra, Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël with Waterford UMC, and guest artist engagements with the Oakville Symphony Orchestra, Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra, and the Stratford Symphony Orchestra. Earls holds a Master of Music: Voice Performance from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Music: Honours Voice Performance from Western University, Canada.

David Moan is ecstatic to be reprising his roles in Frida with Michigan Opera Theatre. Along with the 2015 production of Frida, other previous MOT credits include Martin in Candide, Il Notaro/Magistrate in Gianni Schicci/Buoso’s Ghost, Bird Seller/Dr. Fogg in Sweeney Todd, and as Jack in MOT’s children’s tour of Jack and The Beanstalk. David is also the current drama director for the Michigan Opera Theatre Children's Chorus and the Big Bad Wolf in the MOT’s children’s tour of Little Red Riding Hood. Other favorite performances include John Wilkes Booth (Wilde Award Winner) in Assassins and Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd at the Encore Musical Theatre Company; Monty in A Gentleman’s Guide… (Wilde Award Winner) and God/Himself in An Act of God at the Dio; and Cinderella’s Prince/Wolf in Into The Woods at the Ringwald Theatre. David is also one-half of the musical improv duo Torch Song.

Mezzo-soprano Antona Yost grew up in Salt Lake City where she discovered a passion for singing while a student at the Madeleine Choir School. She went on to complete a Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Southern California and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from the University of Michigan. In 2018, she made her professional operatic debut with Detroit-based Opera MODO, singing the role of Angelina in their innovative adaptation of Rossini's La Cenerentola. Since then, she has continued to nurture her love for opera, oratorio, and choral music, performing operatic roles with various companies in the upper Midwest region, and appearing as a soloist and ensemble member with groups such as Ann Arbor’s UMS and the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Antona is passionate about teaching and maintains a small voice studio in Ann Arbor, where she is based.