Yuval Sharon has amassed an unconventional body of work that expands the operatic form. He is founder and Artistic Director of The Industry in Los Angeles and the newly appointed Gary L. Wasserman Artistic Director of Michigan Opera Theatre. With The Industry, Mr. Sharon has directed and produced new operas in moving vehicles, operating train stations, Hollywood sound stages, and various “non-spaces” such as warehouses, parking lots, and escalator corridors. From 2016-2019, Mr. Sharon was the first Artist-in-Residence at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, creating nine projects that included newly commissioned works, site-specific installations, and performances outside the hall. His residency culminated in a major revival of Meredith Monk’s opera ATLAS, making him the first director Monk entrusted with a new production of her work. The first American ever invited to direct at Bayreuth, Mr. Sharon distinguished himself with a boldly progressive Lohengrin in 2018, using subtle dramatic direction to completely overhaul the opera into a critique of entrenched power structures. He is the recipient of the 2014 Götz Friedrich Prize in Germany for his production of John Adams’s Doctor Atomic. He also directed a landmark production of Song Books at the San Francisco Symphony and Carnegie Hall. In 2017, Sharon was honored with a MacArthur Fellowship and a Foundation for Contemporary Art grant for theater.

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. ln 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.

American bass-baritone Michael Sumuel, lauded as having “vocals that are smooth and ingratiating” (Daily Camera), will return to the Metropolitan Opera in the 22/23 season, singing Belcore in L’Elisir D’amore. Othe debuts include the Father in Blue with English National Opera, Elviro in Xerxes with Detroit Opera, and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Pittsburgh Opera. In concert, Mr. Sumuel will perform Mozart’s Requiem with the Cincinnati Symphony and James Conlon, Bach cantatas BWV 61 and 140 with the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, open Washington Concert Opera’s season, performing in a gala with soprano Tammy Wilson, and return to Mercury Houston for Handel’s Messiah. Finally, with Pacific Chorale, Mr. Sumuel will take part in a European tour, performing in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Florence Price’s Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight. Last season, Michael Sumuel made his debut as Jesus in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with LA Opera, a semi-staged production conducted by James Conlon with choreography by the Hamburg Ballet, Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro with Seattle Opera, Escamillo in Carmen for his debut with The Santa Fe Opera, a concert of arias to open The Dallas Opera season, the King in Massenet’s Cinderella with the Metropolitan Opera, Leporello in Don Giovanni with Opera San Antonio and Escamillo with Chicago Opera Theater. In concert, Mr. Sumuel returned to the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall to sing Mozart’s Mass in C minor with Zubin Mehta, Bach’s Easter Oratorio with Music of the Baroque and Mozart’s Requiem with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. Highlights of past opera seasons have included the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Masetto in a new production of Don Giovanni, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, the San Francisco Opera to perform the title role in a new production of Le nozze di Figaro, Tom in the world premiere of Christopher Theofanidis’ Heart of a Soldier, Escamillo in Calixto Bieito’s production, Masetto, conducted by Marc Minkowski, and Elviro in Handel’s Xerxes. At Houston Grand Opera, he has performed Belcore in L’elisir d’amore, Papageno in The Magic Flute, Frank in Die Fledermaus, Masetto, Sharpless, Marcello and Schaunard in La bohéme. With Glyndebourne Festival Opera, he performed Sharpless, Junius in The Rape of Lucretia, Schaunard and Theseus. At Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, he performed Alidoro and Escamillo, and Figaro in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro with Dayton Opera, later reprising the role for his company debut with Central City Opera. Finally, he performed Leporello in Don Giovanni with Seattle Opera. An in demand concert artist, previous work has included Messiah with San Francisco Symphony, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony, the United States Naval Academy, New Jersey Symphony, Phoenix Symphony and University Musical Society in Ann Arbor. He has performed Mozart’s Mass in C Minor with Cleveland Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Lukes, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, American Classical Orchestra in David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, and the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Other repertoire includes Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis (Pittsburgh Symphony and Grant Park Music Festival), Mozart’s Requiem (North Carolina Symphony), Haydn’s Theresienmesse (Grant Park Music Festival), Puccini’s Messa di Gloria (San Diego Symphony), the bass solos Bach’s St. John Passion (Music of the Baroque), the bass solos in Bach’s St. Matthew Passion as well as the Magnificat (Mercury Houston). Mr. Sumuel’s competition accolades include being awarded a Richard Tucker Career Grant, Metropolitan Opera National Council audition Grand Finalist and a winner of the Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition. A Texas native, he is an alumnus of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Merola Opera Program at San Francisco Opera and the Filene Young Artist program at Wolf Trap Opera. He currently resides in San Francisco with his wife and baby son.  

With “much elegance and youthful tone” (Financial Times), mezzo-soprano Samantha Hankey is increasingly lauded for her powerful stage presence, paired with a voice admired for its “dusky focus and hypnotic allure.” (The Times).

Hankey’s 2023–24 season marks debuts in leading roles at the Royal Opera House (Dorabella, Così fan tutte), Detroit Opera (Fox, The Cunning Little Vixen), and Lyric Opera of Kansas City (Santuzza, Cavalleria Rusticana). She performs as soloist with Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and returns to the Metropolitan Opera as Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette (Met Live in HD) and Opernhaus Zürich as Dorabella in Così fan tutte.

Last season, Hankey appeared in Ainadamar at Scottish Opera, made debuts at Santa Fe Opera (Mélisande, Pelléas et Mélisande) and Lyric Opera of Chicago (Hänsel, Hänsel und Gretel), performed her Carnegie Hall recital debut, and starred as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier at The Met (Live in HD). She held a Fest contract at the Bayerische Staatsoper from 2019 to 2021 and has performed at Den Norske Opera, Dallas Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève, Bard Festival, Wigmore Hall, Lincoln Center, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She co-developed the lead roles in David Herzberg’s The Rose Elf and The Wake World.

Hankey received her Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, followed by multiple prizes at the Glyndebourne Cup and Operalia Competitions, a Career Grant from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation, Grand Finals of the Metropolitan Opera National Council, Dallas Opera Guild Vocal Competition, and more. Learn more at www.samanthahankey.com.

In the current season, Armenian soprano Mané Galoyan, the 2021 Operalia Second Prize, Zarzuela Prize and the Rolex Audience Prize winner, will sing Suor Angelica and Lauretta in a new production of Il Trittico with Donald Runnicles at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with the Wiener Staatsoper, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Canadian Opera Company, Violetta in La traviata with Santa Fe Opera and Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Suor Angelica with the Bayerische Staatsoper. In concert, she will sing Rachmaninoff’s The Bells with Swedish Radio Orchestra, and a holiday concert with the Basel Symphony Orchestra.  In the 2022-2023 season, Ms. Galoyan performed the title role in Luisa Miller with Oper Köln, Berthe in Le prophète with Aix-en-Provence Festival, Avis in The Wreckers with Houston Grand Opera, Donna Anna with the Atlanta Opera, and Violetta with Deutsche Oper Berlin and Seattle Opera. She also performed The Bells with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Bard Festival, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Seattle Symphony, a concert of arias with the Prague Symphony Orchestra and Plácido Domingo in Bad Hofgastein, Austria, and Taneyev’s cantata with the American Symphony Orchestra, to be later released as a recording.  Ms. Galoyan holds two degrees from the Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory in Armenia, where she was named the 2013 winner of the President of the Republic of Armenia Youth Prize. She is married to conductor Roberto Kalb. 

American bass Alex Rosen is quickly finding a home in the concert, operatic, and song repertoire. Recent engagements include Handel’s Semele with Opera Philadelphia, Haydn’s Creation with Orchestre National de Metz, and Bach’s St. John Passion with Les Arts Florissants and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the direction of William Christie. In the 19-20 season, he sang Caronte in a new production of Monteverdi’s L’orfeo with the Nederlandse Reisopera, directed by Monique Wagemakers. The piece incorporated ten singers and ten dancers into one ‘organism’, fully choreographed by Nanine Linning, and featured an art installation by Dutch artist collective Studio Drift. He has appeared as Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Cincinnati Opera under the direction of Gary Thor Wedow, and with Opera Columbus under the direction of Kelly Kuo. Despite losing a number of engagements in the 2020-21 season due to pandemic, Alex still managed to appear with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis for their ‘Opera on the Go’ project. Later, he appeared with the Des Moines Metro Opera as Citheron in a new production of Platée. Alex began the 2021-22 season by making his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu as Truffaldino in Ariadne auf Naxos. He then appeared at Theater Basel as Il Tempo/Nettuno/Antinoo in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and in The man with the Night Sweats at Capella Cracoviensis in Krakow, as well as appearing as Masetto/Commendatore Don Giovanni at the Liceu and Bordeaux Opera. Upcoming performances for the 2022-23 season include Seneca/Console in L'incoronazione di Poppea for the Aix-en-Provence Festival in Versailles, Haydn’s Die Schöpfung for Theater Basel as well as a tour of Alcina where Alex sings the role of Melisso with Musiciens du Louvre throughout Germany, Spain and Netherlands. Alex will also be partaking in a European tour of Ariodante with II Pomo d’Oro as well as concerts of Messiah with the Orchestre Opéra Royal de Versailles with Franco Fagioli conducting. Alex also enjoys an ongoing collaboration with pianist Michał Biel, with whom he won 2nd prize in the 2018 International Hugo Wolf Academy Competition. As laureates of the Royaumont Foundation’s Art Song Academy, they have given recitals in some of Europe’s most prominent art song venues, including the Festival Lied Victoria de los Angeles in Barcelona, and Wigmore Hall in London. Alex is a native of La Cañada, California.  

David Cangelosi made his Metropolitan Opera début in 2004 as Mime in Das Rheingold under the musical direction of legendary conductor James Levine; and has returned to the MET in multiple roles over the past eighteen years. He has performed his signature role of Mime with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Opéra de Montreal, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Additionally, he performed Mime in Das Rheingold and Siegfried with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, both of which were recorded on Naxos and conducted by Jaap van Zweden of the New York Philharmonic. A pandemic shortened 2020/2021 season would have found Cangelosi in his role debut of Loge in Das Rheingold at the famed Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires. Recent and upcoming engagements include The Nose (2023) with Chicago Opera Theater, a special presentation of Siegfried with Juneau Lyric Opera, a role debut of Eisenstein in a new production of Die Fledermaus for Western Plains Opera, a role debut of Edrisi for Chicago Opera Theater’s production of King Roger (2022), and a return to the Metropolitan Opera roster in early 2023. He recently completed a 2022 holiday run of the Magic Flute with the Metropolitan Opera, and performed the roles of Mosquito/Schoolmaster in the original multi-media production of Cunning Little Vixen with the Cleveland Orchestra in Cleveland and toured Vienna and Luxembourg with the same. Mr. Cangelosi is delighted to make his debut with Detroit Opera in this highly acclaimed Yuval Sharon production.

Andrew Potter, bass, has garnered increasing demand across the country for his larger-than-life stage presence and voice to match. Of his recent performance in L’elisir d’amore, Opera Today hailed, “With his huge, all‐encompassing bass voice and precise comic timing he nearly stole the show.” This season includes several important house debuts: joining Seattle Opera as Abimelech in Samson et Dalila and in their World Premiere of A Thousand Splendid Suns, as well as Portland Opera as Vodnik in Rusalka. Potter will join Livermore Valley Opera as Belcore in Elisir d’Amore, perform Scarpia in Indianapolis Opera’s Tosca, and return to both Opera Grand Rapids as The Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance and Pacific Opera Project for their unique take on Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte: Superflute. Potter’s burgeoning career only continues to grow next season as he makes major house debuts at the Dallas Opera, as Angelotti in Tosca, Detroit Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, and returns to both Opera Santa Barbara and Livermore Valley Opera. Last season, Potter performed the roles of Simone in Gianni Schicchi for Tulsa Opera, Sarastro in The Magic Flute for Eugene Opera, Sparafucile in Rigoletto for Opera Orlando, Commendatore in Don Giovanni with Indianapolis Opera, and René in Iolanta with Pacific Opera Project. Concert engagements included Mozart's Mass in C Major for Mid-Ohio Civic Opera, and Verdi’s Requiem for Michigan State University. During the pandemic, Andrew was one of the lucky ones to be able to continue to perform: in addition to a series of virtual concerts, he joined Opera Santa Barbara in the title role of Don Pasquale, Pacific Opera Project as Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, and Southern Illinois Festival for Covid fan Tutte. Previous engagements have included Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin with Livermore Valley Opera, Poo-Bah in Mikado with Opera Grand Rapids, Sulpice in Daughter of the Regiment and Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with Winter Opera St. Louis, Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant with American Lyric Opera, The Bonze in Madama Butterfly with St. Petersburg Opera, Hunding in Die Walküre, Fafner in Das Rheingold and Colline in La bohème with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Vodnik in Rusalka with Steamboat Opera, Osmin in Die Entführung with Opera Orlando, Colline in La bohème with Anchorage Opera and Indianapolis Opera, his Tulsa Opera début as The King in The Little Prince, Sarastro in The Magic Flute and Il Commendatore in Don Giovanni with Pacific Opera Project, the role of Death in the world premiére of Rick Sowash’s Death and the Everyman, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, and Escamillo in Carmen with Mid-Ohio Opera, and Simone in Gianni Schicchi, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte and Ferrando in Il trovatore with Southern Illinois Music Festival. Additionally, Andrew has performed across the country proficiently demonstrating the vocal power and sonority to sing such roles as Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, the range and physicality to perform buffo roles like Don Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Don Magnifico in Cenerentola; and the flexibility and agility to sing challenging Handelian roles including Zoroastro in Orlando, Ariodate in Serse, and Argante in Rinaldo. With years of studying under renowned teachers such as Rick Christman, Braeden Harris, and Kenneth Shaw; Andrew became a standout in mainstage roles at several of the nation's most prestigious Young Artist programs such as Des Moines Metro Opera, St. Petersburg Emerging Artist Program, and the Tyler Young Artist Program. Updated May 30, 2023

Mezzo-soprano Rehanna Thelwell is quickly becoming known for her magnetic performances and expressive vocal power in a wide variety of repertoire. She recently made her mainstage debut at Washington National Opera performing the title role of Carmen. A recent graduate of the Washington National Opera Cafritz Young Artist program, Ms. Thelwell’s busy 2022-2023 season includes her debut at Dutch National Opera as Girlfriend/Congregant 3 in Jeanine Tesori’s Blue, roles which she will reprise later in the season at Washington National Opera. She also makes her role debuts as Dinah/Anna I in Madison Opera’s double-bill of Trouble in Tahiti/The Seven Deadly Sins, returns to South Florida Symphony for Bruckner’s Te Deum, joins Bangor Symphony for Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony, debuts with The Washington Chorus for Undine Smith Moore’s Scenes from the Life of a Martyr and the Duruflé Requiem, and reprises Scenes from the Life of a Martyr with Exigence Ensemble (Detroit, MI). In 2021-2022, her final year as a Cafritz Young Artist, Ms. Thelwell was featured in a performance of the title role in Carmen at The Kennedy Center. She also appeared with Lyric Opera of Chicago as Ruby/Sinner Woman in Fire Shut Up in My Bones, a role she premiered with Opera Theatre St. Louis in 2019, for which Opera News praised her as a “standout” among the supporting cast. Additionally, she made her debut with Opera Philadelphia as Jocasta in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex and joined the South Florida Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah.

Hailed as “confident and charismatic” (Bachtrack), Nigerian-American soprano Victoria Lawal enjoys a diverse repertoire, ranging from staple works of the canon to stage plays and world premieres. With a growing emphasis on Italian opera, Victoria most recently covered Norina in Don Pasquale at Festival Napa Valley as a Maria Manetti Shrem Fellow. Victoria also joined the Festival Orchestra Napa singing excerpts as Magda (La Rondine), Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro) and the title role of Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia. Victoria also looks forward to an upcoming double debut at Detroit Opera, as the Rooster in The Cunning Little Vixen led by Yuval Sharon and Maestro Roberto Kalb.

Lucia Flowers is a current Michigan local and recent graduate of the University of Michigan where she received her Masters in Vocal Performance under Dr. Louise Toppin. She is also a proud graduate of SUNY Fredonia, where she studied under Julie Newell. Flowers has been seen on the Detroit Opera stage in their recent productions of Aida starring Angel Blue and Christine Goerke, Lileana Blain-Cruz’s Faust, and Ragnar Kjartansson’s creation, BLISS, re-staged by artistic director, Yuval Sharon. Additional recent credits include the Soprano Soloist in The Messiah with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Cunegonde in Syracuse Opera’s production of Candide, Musetta in University of Michigan’s La boheme, Frasquita in Carmen with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra,  Morgana in University of Michigan’s Alcina, Cunegonde in University of Michigan’s Candide, Amy in Mark Adamo’s Little Women with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra, Patience in Patience with the College Light Opera Company, Lady Larken in Once Upon a Mattress with the College Light Opera Company, and Marian Paroo in The Music Man with the Western New York Chamber Orchestra. During her time with the Brevard Janiec Opera Company she sang the role of Clorinda in La Cenerentola, the Baroness in Candide, and was one of the soloists in the musical review Sondheim on Sondheim. Upcoming engagements include a return to Detroit Opera in 2024, to perform the role of The Grasshopper in Yuval Sharon's production of The Cunning Little Vixen.