Francesca Zambello is an internationally recognized director of opera and theater who has served as the Artistic Director of the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center since 2013. She was Artistic and General Director of the Glimmerglass Festival from 2011 to 2022, when she was named the company’s Artistic and General Director, Emerita. Francesca’s work has been seen at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, the Bolshoi, Covent Garden, the Munich Staatsoper, Paris Opera, New York City Opera, Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and English National Opera. She has staged plays and musicals on Broadway, at the Royal National Theatre, BAM, the Guthrie Theater, Vienna’s Raimund Theater, the Bregenz Festival, Sydney Festival, Disneyland, Berlin’s Theater des Westens, and at the Kennedy Center. She received the San Francisco Opera Medal for Artistic Excellence for her more than 30 years of artistic contributions to the company, including serving as Artistic Advisor from 2006 to 2011. She received the Knighthood of the Order of the Star of Italy for her contribution to the promotion of Italian culture and heritage and has been awarded the Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for her contribution to French culture. Theatrical honors include three Olivier Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, two French Grand Prix des Critiques, Helpmann Award, Green Room Award, Palme d’Or in Germany, and the Golden Mask in Russia. She began her career as the Artistic Director of the Skylight Opera Theatre and as an assistant director to the late Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. An American who grew up in Europe, she speaks French, Italian, German, and Russian. She is a graduate of Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, from which she also received an Honorary Doctorate. Francesca lives in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Cooperstown, New York with her wife, Faith Gay, a founding partner of Selendy & Gay, and their son, Jackson.  

Mexican-born conductor Roberto Kalb is the current music director of Detroit Opera. ln the 2023-2024 season, Roberto will make multiple house debuts including Santa Fe Opera conducting L'elisir d'amore, Atlanta Opera Rigoletto, the Kansas City Symphony, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Alongside these debuts, Roberto will return to Detroit Opera to conduct The Cunning Little Vixen and an Arias and Overtures Gala, and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City to conduct Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci.   Highlights from the 2022-2023 season included performances at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, San Diego Opera, and San Francisco Opera.   ln 2019, Kalb concluded his five-season tenure as resident conductor and head of music at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis with a critically acclaimed run of Rigoletto in collaboration with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, which Opera News lauded: "The orchestra sounded sublime under the baton of Roberto Kalb, whose buoyant conducting simultaneously led and followed the singers."   Roberto has an impressive repertoire of performances with various renowned opera companies. These include the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier, Florida Grand Opera, Kentucky Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Michigan Opera Theatre, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Maine, and Tulsa Opera. Additionally, he has conducted performances with the Orquesta Carlos Chavez in Mexico City and the Orquestra Sinfonica da USP in Sao Paulo. Roberto's experience also extends to his previous work as a cover and assistant conductor for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, as well as performances with the National Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, San Diego Symphony, and Louisville Orchestra.   In 2021, Roberto was awarded the prestigious Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He is married to soprano, Mané Galoyan.   Photo credit: Simon Pauly

Joshua R. Horowitz is a theater and opera director originally from Old Bethpage, New York. He began his work in opera while assistant directing for the inaugural season of the Finger Lakes Opera in Rochester, New York in 2014, and returned for their 2015 season. After studying directing at Miami University of Ohio and earning his Master of Fine Arts in Directing at Baylor University, he began directing and assistant directing at opera companies throughout the United States. Joshua has had the opportunity to assist directors such as Francesca Zambello, Simon Godwin, Phelim McDermott, James Robinson, and Allison Moritz. 

Andrea Beasom’s work has been hailed as “visually stimulating” by OperaWire, “ethereal and intimate” by BroadwayWorld, and “sexy” by the Los Angeles Times. Her direction and award-winning choreography have been featured at Washington National Opera, Kennedy Center, LA Opera, Seattle Opera, Atlanta Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera San Antonio, Glimmerglass Festival, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Bard SummerScape, Berkshire Opera Festival, and Austin Opera. Andrea has collaborated with director Francesca Zambello, Washington National Opera’s artistic director, and many other celebrated directors. She has worked closely with the Tony and Olivier Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori, Tony Award-winning director Warren Carlyle, American theater director Anne Bogart, and artists including Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, Nadine Sierra, Kelsey Grammer, and Christine Ebersole. In addition to her work as a director and choreographer, Andrea has performed as a professional singer and dancer at the Royal Opera House of Muscat, Kennedy Center, Hawaii Opera Theater, New York City Center, Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Washington National Opera, Pasadena Playhouse, Glimmerglass Festival, and Dallas Opera. She danced with Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet Studio, Pasadena Dance Theater; in commercial productions for Sony, Puma, Moncler, and Microsoft; and in the film The One That I Want. Andrea earned her bachelor of music degree in voice from Mannes School of Music. www.andreabeasom.com 

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.

Coming soon

Mexican-American tenor Galeano Salas is establishing himself as one of the leading operatic tenors of his generation, praised for his romantic, Italianate sound. His 2023–24 season highlights included Camille de Rosillon in Die lustige Witwe (Teatro Colón), Rodolfo in La bohème (Teatro Regio Torino, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Semperoper Dresden, Teatro Carlo Felice), and Alfred in Die Fledermaus (Semperoper Dresden). In Verona, he made his role debut as Ruggero in Teatro Filarmonico’s production of Puccini’s La rondine and sang Nemorino in L'elisir d'amore at the Bayerische Staatsoper. His 2022–23 season included Chevalier des Grieux in Manon (Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Chile), Rodolfo in La bohème (Teatro Filarmonico, Verona), Alfred in Die Fledermaus (Bayerische Staatsoper), and Rodolfo in La bohème (Semperoper Dresden). He made his professional role and theater debut as Alfredo in Volksoper Wien’s production of La traviata, sang Arvino in I lombardi alla prima crociata in concert performances with the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra, and debuted as Don José in Carmen at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago. He spent seven seasons as a member of the Bayerische Staatsoper, where his roles included Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore), Rinuccio (Il trittico), Fenton (Falstaff), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), and the Italian singer in Strauss’s Capriccio and Der Rosenkavalier, among others. He made his film debut in the critically acclaimed film Orphea in Love by Axel Ranisch, in conjunction with the Bayerische Staatsoper. Galeano is a grand prize and audience choice award winner of the Éva Marton International Singing Competition in Budapest. He holds degrees from the University of Houston, Yale University, and the Academy of Vocal Arts, and was an apprentice with Santa Fe Opera, Central City Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera Company. 

Rod Gilfry is a two-time Grammy nominee, singer and actor who performs in operas, musicals, recitals and cabaret world-wide. He appears on over 30 recordings. An important part of his 75-role repertoire are the 13 leading roles he has created in new operas. Recent performance highlights include a role debut as Baron Scarpia in Puccini’s Tosca at the Houston Grand Opera, Claudius in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Bavarian State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, and Owen Hart in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking at the Metropolitan Opera. In the summer of 2019, he began a tour of Kevin Puts’ The Brightness of Light with soprano Renée Fleming at the Tanglewood Festival, which they later performed with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the Colorado Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic, the Dallas Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, the Los Angeles Opera, the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Aspen Festival, and the Oregon Symphony. Several more performances with leading orchestras will be announced soon. In the 2023/24 season Rod appears as Claudius in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Bayerische Staatsoper and Opera Australia in Sydney, Owen Hart in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking at the Metropolitan Opera, Henrik in Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence at the San Francisco Opera, and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte on tour in Japan with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy. In concert, he appears in a gala concert with Renée Fleming and the Fort Worth Symphony, in concert with soprano Sumi Jo at the Yaamava Theater in California, a gala performance with the Detroit Opera, as the title role in Sweeney Todd with the Virginia Symphony, as the baritone soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, and in Handel’s Messiah with the Nashville Symphony. Recent appearances include the Marquis de la Force in Houston Grand Opera’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, Robert McNamara in the world premiere of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s The Rift at the Washington National Opera, the premiere of David Lang's solo opera the loser at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Los Angeles Opera, as Walt Whitman in the premiere of Matthew Aucoin's Crossing in Boston, Brooklyn and Los Angeles; as Mr. Potter in the premiere of Jake Heggie's It's a Wonderful Life at the Houston Grand Opera and San Francisco Opera. Mr. Gilfry was born and raised in Southern California where he earned advanced degrees from Cal State Fullerton and the University of Southern California. He was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble from 1987 to 1989 and the Zurich Opera ensemble from 1989 to 1994. He was an Associate Professor of Vocal Arts at the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles for nearly 15 years, but he recently retired to make more time for performing.

Jonathan Lasch has been described by critics as possessing a voice of “arresting color and heft,” capable of making “every note of the fast passagework perfectly clear,” and a “master of the stage” and “tour de force.” Last season, Jonathan was baritone soloist in the Philadelphia Orchestra’s performance of Brahms’s Requiem with the UMS Choral Union, led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor. He performed and taught at the historic Athens Academy in Athens, Greece; sang a recital of new works at Purdue University; and performed Carmina Burana with the Macomb Symphony. Other recent performances include the Green Lake Festival of Music in Wisconsin, Rackham Choir, and Wayne State University combined ensembles. In July, Navona Records released its recording of Jocelyn Hagen’s Amass, featuring Jonathan as baritone soloist. This season, Jonathan returns to Detroit Opera as Doctor Grenville in La traviata, sings Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Wayne State University combined ensembles, and will perform at the College Musical Society’s International Conference in Bogotá, Colombia. Jonathan’s degrees include a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. He has taught voice at Concordia College in Moorhead (Minnesota), Adrian College (Michigan), and University of Michigan, and returns to Wayne State University in Detroit as assistant professor and coordinator of voice. Jonathan lives in Ferndale, Michigan with his wife and three children. He is co-founder and director of Detroit Song Collective, dedicated to fostering professional, accessible, and inclusive music-making spaces. 

Mezzo-soprano Kendra Faith Beasley, acclaimed by Opera News for her “big voice, powerful at both extremes of the range,” made her debut at Des Moines Metro Opera (DMMO) in the summer of 2024. As an Apprentice Artist with DMMO, Kendra took on the dual roles of Florence McKeller/Mrs. Smithson in the world premiere of Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s new opera American Apollo, about Thomas Eugene McKeller, a Black hotel worker who served as model and muse for painter John Singer Sargent. In 2023, Kendra captivated audiences with standout performances as Berta in Cincinnati Opera’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Girlfriend #3 in New Orleans Opera’s Blue. In 2022, Kendra premiered the role of Raksha in Glimmerglass Festival’s innovative adaptation of The Jungle Book, directed by Francesca Zambello. She earned an Artist Diploma from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and a master’s degree in performance from the University of Kentucky. During her Detroit Opera residency, Kendra will perform on the Detroit Opera House main stage and other metro Detroit performance venues.  

Baritone Cole Bellamy hails from Olathe, Kansas. Highlights of Cole’s 2023–24 season included his Santa Fe Opera debut singing the role of Deacon 1 in the world premiere of Gregory Spears’s The Righteous. Cole was a 2023–24 studio artist at Opera Neo in San Diego, where he was featured in the annual Aria Gala at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center and was described by the San Diego Story as a “rich baritone” with “commanding presence and fearless declamation.” He was a first-place winner in Mobile Opera’s 2024 Madame Role Palmai-Tenser Scholarship competition. Cole’s solo professional debut was with Wichita Grand Opera in the role of Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia; he made his professional concert debut with Tallahassee Community Chorus as the baritone soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana. As a master’s degree student at Florida State University, Cole has participated in numerous productions by the Florida State Opera, including Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire (Stanley Kowalski) and Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro). He earned his undergraduate degree from Wichita State University, where he performed in productions including Così fan tutte (Guglielmo) and Street Scene (Frank) and was baritone soloist in the university choir’s performances of Brahms’s Requiem and Orff’s Carmina Burana. 

Baritone Cameron J. Rolling, hailing from Waycross, Georgia, is recognized for his “mellifluous baritone” (San Francisco Classical Voice) in the realms of opera, oratorio, symphonic, and recital performance. As a 2023 Young Artist in the Merola Opera Program, Cameron performed the role of Junius in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia. As a Young Artist at the 2024 Glimmerglass Festival, he sang the role of Sylvano in Cavalli’s La Calisto and covered the roles of Mr. Lister/Karl Marx/Voiceover/Solomon Weil/Witness #8 in Kevin Puts’s Elizabeth Cree. In November, he will make his symphonic debut as bass soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Savannah Philharmonic. Recent performances include Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte (University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, UMKC), bass soloist in Bach’s Jesu, meine Freude and Mendelssohn’s Elijah (UMKC), bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah (Spire Chamber Ensemble), and chorus master for Massenet’s Chérubin (UMKC Opera). Cameron won first place in Classical Singer Magazine’s national voice competition in 2020. He holds master’s degrees in Choral Conducting and Vocal Performance from UMKC and a bachelor’s degree in music education with concentrations in voice and conducting from Mercer University. 

Soprano Brianna J. Robinson, proclaimed as “a radiant voice and presence” by the Boston Globe, is a native of Ravenna, Ohio and a proud graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Eastman School of Music. As a Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, she covered and performed roles including Lucy in Gregory Spears’s Fellow Travelers, Mimì (cover) in Puccini’s La bohème, and Lena in Ana Solokovic’s Svabda; she also covered several roles in Paul Ruders’s The Handmaid’s Tale. She recently stepped in as Julie in Omar, Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’s 2023 Pulitzer Prize-winning opera, at Boston Lyric Opera. In the 2023–24 season, she made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Cecilia Chorus of New York in Vaughan Williams’s Dona nobis pacem and was a District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Brianna has performed in the Handel and Haydn Society’s immersive concert experience Crossing the Deep and with ensembles including the Akron Symphony Orchestra and Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra/New World Chorale. Brianna was a finalist in Opera Ebony’s Benjamin Matthews Vocal Competition and was awarded first prize at the Getting to Carnegie Competition in 2020. She made her international debut in Ruse, Bulgaria in 2021, creating the role of Ophelia in the world premiere of Joseph Summer’s Hamlet. Brianna returned to Boston Lyric Opera in 2024 in the role of Leontine in Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges’ The Anonymous Lover. www.briannajrobinson.com/  Photo credit: Chellypic Photography