Voice Teacher

Elizabeth Byrne, soprano has established herself as one of the most exciting dramatic sopranos of her generation. She has performed leading roles at The Metropolitan Opera both in New York, Tokyo & Seoul, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Dallas Opera, Opernhaus Zurich, Staatstheater Stuttgart, Canadian Opera Company Toronto, Staatstheater Luzern, Scottish Opera in Glasgow and The Edinburgh Festival, English National Opera in London, the Glyndebourne Festival and in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem & Haifa with the Israeli Philharmonic to name but a few.

Ms. Byrne has worked with such conductors as James Levine, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, Sirs Antonio Pappano, Andrew Davis, Richard Armstrong, Charles Mackerras, Mark Elder and Bernard Haitink, Dr.Jane Glover, Bruno Bartoletti, Claudio Desderi, Edo de Waart, Leonard Slatkin, Maurizio Arena and Lothar von Zagrosek. She established herself firstly in the Italian repertoire, most notably as Tosca, as well as the title role in Manon Lescaut, Minnie in La Fanciulla del West, Leonora in Il Trovatore, the role of Amelia in both Un Ballo in Maschera and Simon Boccanegra, Aïda, Maddalena di Coigny in Andrea Chenier, Elena and Margarita in Boito’s Mefistofele and lesser known roles such as Asteria in Boito’s Nerone and the title role of Lucretia by Ottorino Respighi. Her first foray into the German repertoire was singing Gerhilde and 3rd. Norn at Welsh National Opera.

In the latter part of her performing career, Miss Byrne excelled in many German roles such as the title role in Salome (Glimmerglass Opera) and Leonore in Fidelio. Her Wagnerian repertoire includes the roles of Sieglinde, Brünnhilde, Senta, Isolde, Ortrud, Gutrune, Gerhilde, Ortlinde and Fricka Her Brünnhilde at the Edinburgh Festival earned her The Herald Award for outstanding performance as well as a Royal Philharmonic Society award nomination. An excellent musician, she created the role of Blanca in the world premiere of James Macmillan’s Ińes de Castro which was also broadcast on BBC-TV. and the role of The Stepdaughter in Hugo Weisgall’s Six Characters in Search of an Author recorded by New World Music. The Edinburgh Festival production of Siegfried was also filmed for the BBC and she has recorded the role of Respighi’s Lucretia on the Bongiovanni label.

Ms. Byrne received her musical education in her native UK. She graduated from The Birmingham School of Music and then continued her postgraduate studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester where she studied with Frederic Cox. She was invited to join The National Opera Studio which was the forerunner of the Jette Parker YAP at The Royal Opera House,Covent Garden where she worked with such luminaries as Tito Gobbi, Hans Hotter, Graziella Sciutti and Regina Resnik. This was followed by a years study at The International Opera Studio in Zurich under the direction of Marc Belfort. Ms. Byrne emigrated to the USA in 1989 after her marriage to her husband James, a native Chicagoan. She continued her vocal studies with the legendary teacher Margaret Harshaw until her death in 1997. Ms. Byrne was a member of the Voice Faculty at De Paul University School of Music from 2009-2017.

Voice Teacher

Nicole Cabell, the 2005 Winner of the BBC Singer of the World Competition in Cardiff and Decca recording artist, is one of the most sought-after lyric sopranos of today. Her solo debut album, “Soprano” was named “Editor’s Choice” by Gramophone and has received an incredible amount of critical acclaim and several prestigious awards, including the 2007 Georg Solti Orphée d’Or from the French Académie du Disque Lyrique.

This season Nicole Cabell makes both a company and a role debut when she sings Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with the Royal Swedish Opera and returns to Tucson to perform Poulenc’s Gloria and a solo recital.

Last season Ms. Cabell returned to the BBC Proms for a concert of George Walker’s Lilacs, before performing the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro with the Pittsburgh Opera. Further opera performances included Bess in Porgy and Bess with Opera Carolina and North Carolina Opera and concerts of Clara in the same opera with the NDR and Alan Gilbert at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg. In concert, Ms. Cabell sang Messiah with the Seattle Symphony, Vaughan-Williams’ Sea Symphony with the Atlanta Symphony and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Rochester Philharmonic.

Nicole Cabell’s past season included a triumphant return to the San Francisco Opera in her role debut as Fiordiligi in Così Fan Tutte, performances in London and on tour in the United States with the London Symphony Orchestra and Simon Rattle performing George Walker’s Lilacs (a piece she repeated for her return with the Cleveland Orchestra with Franz Welser-Möst), a solo recital with Cincinnati’s Matinee Musicale and concerts of Barber’s Knoxville, Summer of 1915 and Mahler’s 4th Symphony with the Tucson Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra and with the Apollo Chorus of Chicago on the occasion of their 150th anniversary, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Cincinnati May Festival and Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem with the Buffalo Philharmonic. In the summer she joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Andris Nelsons for Barber’s Knoxville, Summer of 1915 and for Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni before going to the Grand Teton Music Festival for Mimi in La Bohème with Donald Runnicles.

Voice Teacher

Tenor Allan Glassman has thrilled audiences throughout America and Europe for decades with his vibrant timbre and committed interpretations of roles. Critics exclaim “his very presence on stage made those around him sound better.” A regular at The Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Glassman triumphed as Herod in a production of Salome and has since been heard in The Met’s productions of Billy Budd as Red Whiskers; Die Frau ohne Schatten as The Hunchback Brother; Salome as the First Jew; Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk District as The Shabby Peasant; and in productions of Boris Godunov, The Great Gatsby, Carmen, Elektra, Káťa Kabanová, The Ghost of Versailles, Mussorgsky’s Khovanshchina, and Wozzeck.

Mr. Glassman has performed the role of Herod in Salome to wide acclaim in opera venues throughout the world. Critics wrote: “His fear and distress seemed to come from his heart and soul.” Some notable engagements as the patriarch include productions with San Diego Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera San Antonio, the Ravinia Festival (under the baton of Maestro James Conlon), with Cape Town Opera in Cape Town, South Africa, and most recently with Los Angeles Opera. This season, he returns to The Metropolitan Opera for their productions of Die Zauberflöte and Hänsel und Gretel.

Mr. Glassman’s impressive career includes many titular roles in some of opera’s most notable works, including Samson in Samson et Dalila at the former Opera Pacific, Sacco in Sacco and Vanzetti at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann, and Idomeneo at Los Angeles Opera, where he was double cast with the esteemed Plácido Domingo. Hailed as the Otello of his generation: “Glassman is a full-on Verdian tenor… Glassman is more than equal to the demands of the role, conveying Otello’s pain and suspicion vividly.” In past seasons, he has performed the role with Opera Company of Philadelphia, Arizona Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Dallas Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and at Chautauqua Opera. Other highlights from his leading roles résumé include Don José in Carmen, Cavardossi in Tosca, and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with New York City Opera; and Canio in Pagliacci with Arizona Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and Nashville Opera.

Additional engagements from recent seasons include the roles of Herald in Assassinio nella cattedrale and Shuisky in Boris Godunov with San Diego Opera; Nick in La fanciulla del West and Monsieur Taupe in Capriccio in his début at Santa Fe Opera; Pollione in Norma with Palm Beach Opera; Walter Engelmann in Frau Margot with Fort Worth Opera; Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore with Arizona Opera; The Witch in Hänsel und Gretel with Portland Opera; Boris in Kát’a Kabanová, Shuisky in Boris Godunov, and Caláf in Turandot all with Florida Grand Opera; and productions of Wozzeck, Das Rheingold, and Elektra with Lyric Opera of Chicago.

International performances include Manrico in Il trovatore with the Deutsche Oper Berlin; Samson in Samson et Dalila at the New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv; the Prince in Rusalka in the Czech Republic; title role in Verdi’s Ernani, Don José in Carmen, and I vespri siciliani with L’Opéra de Nice; I vespri siciliani with Den Norske Opera; Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Belleayre Music Festival; Carmenwith Opera Valencia in Spain; and the Prince in Rusalka with Oper Frankfurt.

Sought after by orchestras, both domestic and international, Mr. Glassman maintains an active concert calendar. Notable engagements include: Prince Osaka in Mascagni’s Iris with the Münchner Philharmoniker, Verdi’s Requiem with L’Opéra de Nice, Mahler’s Lied von der Erde with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa in Mexico, Rusalka with The Fort Worth Symphony, Erik in Der fliegende Holländer in concert with the Syracuse Opera, Das Lied von der Erde with Grand Rapids Symphony, and Boito’s Mephistofele with Boston Concert Opera.

Voice Teacher

American soprano Alexandra LoBianco, whom the Seattle Times exclaimed, “gave an impassioned performance” as the title role in Aida at Seattle Opera, has established herself as a dramatic soprano of unequaled versatility, musicality, and consistency. An international presence, Ms. LoBianco recently stepped in for an ailing colleague as Leonore in Fidelio for her debut with the Wiener Staatsoper while under contract for the title role in Turandot. Subsequent appearances with the Wiener Staatsoper have included performances as Helmwige in Die Walküre, as well as the cover of Brünnhilde, while on tour in Japan.

In the 2022–2023 season, Alexandra LoBianco returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing Gertrude in Hansel and Gretel and the Metropolitan Opera to sing Marianne Leitmetzerin in Die Rosenkavalier and to cover the Otle role in Aida. Finally, Miss LoBianco joined Detroit opera to sing Gerhilde in a semi-staged performance of Act III of Die Walküre.

Operatic highlights of previous seasons have included Chrysothemis and the Fourth Maid in Elektra as well as Helmwige at Lyric Opera of Chicago, the title role in Tosca at both North Carolina Opera and Minnesota Opera, the title role in Aida at Opera Colorado, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Seattle Opera, Miss Jessel in The Turn of the Screw at Dallas Opera, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera at Florida Grand Opera, and the prima donna in Ariadne auf Naxos at Austin Opera. At Des Moines Metro Opera, Ms. LoBianco has performed the title role in Turandot and Minnie in La fanciulla del West. Of her Turandot, Opera Today wrote, “Alexandra LoBianco is well remembered here for her feisty Minnie in a recent season. If Fanciulla is a Big Sing for the soprano, Princess Turandot is a Big Sing on Steroids... Ms. LoBianco is short of physical stature but makes up for it with potent spinto vocalizing that has its own towering presence.”

Additional repertoire includes Sieglinde in Die Walküre, Leonora in Il trovatore, the title roles in Suor Angelica and Madama Butterfly, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Mimì in La bohème, Magda Sorel in Menotti’s The Consul, and Brünnhilde in Jonathan Dove’s abridged Ring Cycle. She made her European debut singing at a Viva Verdi concert in Zürich, under the direction of Lotfi Mansouri. A native of Saint Petersburg, Florida, Alexandra LoBianco received her education in voice, theater, and clarinet, and currently resides in Chicago, where she trains the next generation of opera singers and advocates for music education. She also serves as a board member for Sharing Notes, a local organization dedicated to improving the lives of hospital patients through live performance.

Voice Teacher

Baritone Jeffrey Mattsey is renowned worldwide for the signature baritone roles that define his prominent career. He has been a house favorite at The Metropolitan Opera for more than 20 years and over 100 performances. Recently, he performed the role of Mayor Shinn in The Music Man: In Concert with Pacific Symphony, Uncle John in The Grapes of Wrath with Michigan Opera Theatre, and Alfred Doolittle in My Fair Lady: In Concert with Utah Symphony. Additionally, he reprised the role of Germont in La Traviata with Northern Lights Music Festival.

After making his Metropolitan Opera début in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Mr. Mattsey returned to the house as Marco in Gianni Schicchi, Mercutio and Paris in Roméo et Juliette, Silvano in Un ballo in maschera, Schaunard in La bohème, Joe Castro in La Fanciulla del West and Marullo in Rigoletto. After enjoying his 100th performance with the company as Señor Cascada in The Merry Widow, Mattsey returned to The Met as Montano in Bartlett Sher’s new production of Otello, Marullo in the Rat-pack inspired setting of Rigoletto, and for their productions of Die Fledermaus and L’elisir d’amore. Most recently he joined the esteemed house to reprise the role of Señor Cascada in The Merry Widow, sing the role of Padre Parson in The Exterminating Angel, and for their productions of Cosí fan tutte, Romeo et Juliette, La Fanciulla del West, Gianni Schicchi, Otello and La Traviata.

Voice Teacher

Viktoria Vizin has displayed the elocution and musicianship to lift her entrance to the top. While she has devoted a significant portion of her concert schedule to the great works of song literature and has performed this repertoire to international acclaim, she is perhaps best known for her work with major orchestras and opera companies in the world’s foremost music center's such as the Metropolitan Opera NY, London ROH, Wiener StaatsOper, Budapest State Opera House, Teatro Alla Scala, London's East End among others.

Her opera roles include Carmen (Metropolitan Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Phoenix Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Taipei Opera, Beijing Opera, Hungarian State Opera, Wiener VolksOper, Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Aalto Theater,Vlaamse Opera, Opera am Gars Festival), Judit (Oregon Symphony, Serbian Music Festival, Hungarian State Opera, BartokPlus Opera Festival), Donna Elvira (Teatro alla Scala, Bartok Plus Festival), Charlotte (Scottish Opera, UK), Dejanira, Nerone, Nina (Senza Sangue), Gutrune, Marguerite (MUPA, Palace of Arts, Hungary) Adalgisa (Megaron Theater Greece, Aalto Theater, Deutsche Oper am Rhein Germany), Dulcinee (Den Jyske Opera, Denmark, Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Italy) Rosina, Idamante (Opera Maghiara, Romania), Maddalena (Metropolitan Opera, Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper am Rhein Germany), Preziosilla (Vlaamse Opera Belgium, Grand Theatre de Luxembourg), Tosca (Miskolc and Budapest State Opera, Hungary), Amaranta, Jadwiga (Wexford Opera Festival, Ireland), Mrs. Meg Page, Contessa di Ceprano (Arena di Verona, Italy), Dorabella, Composer, Phèdre (Budapest State Opera, Hungary), Cherubino (Wiener StaatsOper, Austria, Karlsruhe Opera Festival, Germany), Pauline (Covent Garden, COC, Dallas Opera), Melibea (Canadian Opera Company), Isabella (Central City Opera Company), Clairon, Fox, Hansel (Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Germany), Hannah Glawari (Bartok Plus Opera Festival), Waltraute (Teatro Massimo, Italy), 1st Norn, Flosshilde, Schwertlaute (Lucerne Festival, Switzerland), Rossweisse (Grand Theatre de Geneve, Switzerland).

Her theatrical appearances include Carmen Disruption by Tony Award winner Simon Stephens (Almeida Theatre, Londons East End, UK), A Festive Comedy with Krisztian Gergye Dance Theater (Manhattan Dance Theater) and The Witch by Gertrud Andrasi and Viktoria Vizin (Kodaly Festival, Hungary).

Viktoria has appeared in numerous concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, Dorothy Chandler Concert Hall, McAninch Arts Center, Opera i Rebild, Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Romanian Athenaeum, Roy Thomson Hall and Palace of Arts.

Her live broadcasts contain Vlaamse Opera - Carmen, Metropolitan Opera Rigoletto, Hungarian State Opera - Hypolite et Aricie, Così fan tutte, Carmen, Palace of Arts - La Damnation de Faust, Hercules, Messiah, Incoronazione di Poppea, BBC (ROH) - Carmen, Hungarian TV - Mozart Requiem, Teatro Massimo - Götterdämmerung.

Artistic Director & Conductor: The Medium/Gianni Schicchi, Puccini & La Boheme, Puccini

Codrut Birsan serves as the Artistic Director of Chicago Summer Opera. Born in Brasov, Romania, he began piano lessons at age 6. By age 17, he was one of the accompanists for Opera Brasov. While a voice student at the Academy of Music in Bucharest, Birsan was also a piano accompanist for the Academy’s opera class. Birsan moved to the United States in 2005. He obtained a Master of Music degree in Voice at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, while also collaborating as a vocal accompanist in that setting.

Stage Director: The Medium/Gianni Schicchi, Puccini & La Boheme, Puccini

Professor Mark Ross Clark

Mark Ross Clark is an award-winning international director, teacher, author and clinician. He is Artistic Director of the British Opera Academy in England, where he has recently presented masterclasses and workshops at the Royal Academy of

Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama and Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Drama. He is founder and Artistic Director of the Louisiana Opera and recently resigned as Professor of Music and Director of Opera and Musical Theater at the University of Louisiana after 17 years so he can continue to accept opportunities abroad and will be residing in the UK. He is a frequent adjudicator of the Metropolitan Opera Auditions, with directing credits throughout the US and abroad, particularly in Italy, England, Mexico, Brazil and the Far East, of well over 100 operas, operettas, musicals and plays.

Author of several books including Singing, Acting, and Movement in Opera and Guide to the Aria Repertoire (Indiana University Press) and The Broadway Song

(Oxford University Press), his next book is currently being published by IUP. Dr Clark regularly presents workshops internationally, most recently at the Berklee School of Music, Boston Conservatory. He has brought together and “synergized” his vast background experience in the Arts, integrating essential principles of the Alexander Technique as a certified international teacher, in his popular Singer-getics workshops.

Clark began his career as a singer after earning two university degrees in both voice performance and vocal pedagogy. He toured internationally with the Roger Wagner Chorale and several major symphony orchestras (soloing with the LA Philharmonic, LA Sinfonia, Pasadena and Pacific Palisades, Cincinnati Symphony, Vancouver Symphony and Dayton Symphony), toured with his own televised group that he created, ‘Sing Out America!’ with soprano Janet Payne and pianist Robert Hunter, and sang in Germany at the Giessen Stadttheater for 3 years. He studied with the acclaimed singer/actor Giorgio Tozzi and was apprentice to opera directing guru Wesley Balk, earning his doctorate in Opera Production (Music and Theatre) at the University of Washington, where he subsequently served as Director of Opera. After joining the faculty as Head of Opera at the renowned Indiana University, he directed or produced over 80 operas in 10 years and taught all of the opera workshop programs and opera history for conductors, directors and singers. He has produced numerous students who have sung leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera and other major opera houses (including Lawrence Brownlee, Jaimie Barton, Kate Lindsey, Ailyn Perez and Kyle Kettelsen), as well as many graduates who are now leading their own opera programs throughout the US and Canada.

Conductor: Silla Handel

Matthew Cooperman is a conductor, composer, and educator originally from Columbus,

Ohio whose previous positions include Assistant Conductor of Florida Grand Opera and Palm

Beach Symphony, Music Director of the East Central Indiana Chamber Orchestra, Co-Conductor

of the Youth Symphony Orchestras of East Central Indiana, and Director of Orchestras at

Brazoswood High School (TX).

Mr. Cooperman made his debut with Florida Grand Opera serving as Chorus Master for

their 2021-2022 season production of Rigoletto. In 2019 he made his international debut in

Russia with the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Saint-Petersburg, and previously conducted the

Eastern Festival Orchestra and the Oregon Bach Festival Baroque Orchestra and Chorus.

As a composer, he was fortunate to study composition with respected American

composer Donald Harris, and previously attended the Young Composer’s Program at the

Cleveland Institute of Music.

Stage Director: Silla, Handel

Marinette Gomez is a young, up and coming opera director focused on building connection and shared experience through music and performance. A Young Artist Director at Lyric Opera of Chicago for their 24/25 season, she works with the staging staff throughout the season, and is mentored by the visiting and in-house directors. 

As a solo director, she has directed various opera scenes for University of North Florida’s Opera Scenes Workshops. In Fall 2021 she was the Director and Producer of a contemporary music recital, culminating in her staging of Samuel Barber's A Hand of Bridge. In Fall 2023 she directed Bold City Opera’s inaugural production of Puccini’s Suor Angelica. This Spring 2025, she will direct Chicago Opera Theatre’s Premier of the Vanguard Initiative’s new work: Remedios Varios by Carlos R. Carrillo. 

The start of her journey was at the University of North Florida, where she was the Assistant Director and Stage Manager for the opera program from 2020-2023. Outside of UNF, Marinette has worked with the Jacksonville Symphony on their symphonic staging of Puccini's La Bohéme with director Gregory Keller, and Mozart’s The Magic Flute with Kristine McIntyre. Summer programs include Chicago Summer Opera, and Glimmerglass Festival.

In Fall of 2023, she assisted Paul Curran at Rice University of their Eugene Onegin. Particularly interested in acting, she attended six of his acting classes. This past Spring, she was the Directing Fellow at the Metropolitan Opera, where she was on the directing staff, and mentored by both visiting and resident Stage Directors. This Summer, Marinette was a Young Artist Director at the Glimmerglass Festival for Pagliacci with Director Brenna Corner.

Conductor: Lakme, Delibes & Alcina, Handel

French-Italian-American musician, Adriano is a graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist program with Washington National Opera. Eager to explore every trend, his repertoire covers music from the 16th century to present day, giving concerts on piano, organ or harpsichord, as a soloist, improviser, chamber musician or with orchestra. He has performed all over Europe, USA, Canada, Russia, Japan and India, in music venues such as Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, The Kennedy Center, the Paris Philharmonic… Adriano studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, obtaining four Bachelor's degrees (piano, organ, choreographic accompanying, and musicology) and a Master’s degree with academic honors in collaborative piano.

With a strong interest in baroque music, Adriano is regularly called to perform as a soloist or continuo player. In 2019, he won the Special prize of the Art-Assembly and Tavricheskaya Chapel for the best rendition of baroque music, at M. Tariverdiev's International Organ Competition. Previously organist at United Methodist Christ Church in NYC, he currently serves as the assistant director of music-organist at St Paul's Episcopal Church in Alexandria, VA.

With a profound appreciation for dance, he gave several piano-dance recitals, highlighting Isadora Duncan’s repertoire at venues like the Orangery Museum, set amidst Monet’s Water Lilies, and at the Fondation Louis-Vuitton surrounded by Matisse's paintings. He also had the chance to perform alongside renowned choreographer Maguy Marin.

Vocal music holds a significant place in his life, dedicating himself to opera, choir music and art songs. Lately, he's been appointed pianist-organist for Thomas Circle Singers choir in D.C and regularly works with The Neemrana Music Foundation in Delhi to promote opera in India. He also was a member of Renée Fleming’s Song Studio in 2019. His collaboration with soprano Axelle Fanyo earned them the Grand Prix Prince Rainier III of Monaco at Nadia and Lili Boulanger 11th International Voice-Piano duet competition.

His recordings enjoy popularity among a substantial audience on digital platforms. From solo performances to collaborative projects, his diverse repertoire resonates with numerous listeners worldwide and an expanding fanbase. Adriano's presence on Spotify reflects the widespread appreciation of his artistry.

With multiple accolades including the Drouet-Bourgeois piano prize from the French Foundation, prestigious Zellidja Scholarship from the Académie Française and a Fulbright Scholarship, Adriano is not only an accomplished musician but also an emerging conductor. His experience includes cover conductor roles at Opera Saratoga and Opera North, assistant conductor positions at Washington National Opera and conducting engagements at Chicago Summer Opera.

Stage Director:Lakme, Delibes &Alcina, Handel

Cathy Dunn is a distinguished artist in the performing arts, celebrated for her roles as a stage director, soprano, and pianist. With a remarkable thirty-year tenure as a soprano at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, she has collaborated with world-class performers, drawing inspiration from their talent. Her contributions have been recognized with an Emmy certificate from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for her work on Lyric’s 2021 film I Pagliacci. Holding degrees in Vocal Performance from Texas Christian University and Northwestern University, along with further studies in Germany, she blends education with extensive practical experience. Currently in her fifth season at Chicago Summer Opera, Cathy has directed productions such as Lucio Silla, Serse, Agrippina, Don Giovanni, and a double bill of Dido and Aeneas and Orfeo ed Euridice.

As Resident Director at Petite Opera Productions, she has led 16 productions, including the Chicagoland premiere of The Falling and the Rising, the NPR-acclaimed Brundibar, and innovative adaptations of Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, and Cosi fan tutte, the latter updated and translated by the Petite Opera team. She has taught voice and acting at institutions such as the University of Alabama, Whitman College, Montay College, and Roosevelt University, in addition to offering private lessons. A passionate advocate for emerging talent, Cathy thrives on mentoring the next generation of performers. Her affinity for directing Baroque and Mozart operas infuses her productions with creativity and authenticity, and her musical expertise as a singer, pianist, and organist allows her to craft rich, immersive experiences for audiences and artists alike. Recently appointed as the organist at Fair Oaks Presbyterian in Oak Park, she embraces the challenge of creating moving experiences for congregants through music.

She is also the co-founder and President of LOSA (Lyric Opera Stage Artists), an organization that partners with various non-profits to bring opera to underserved communities, striving to make the transformative power of music, voice, and drama more accessible. Other credits include Fort Worth Opera, Tulsa Opera, Bel Cantanti Opera, and Opera in the Ozarks, among others. With every project, Cathy remains dedicated to inspiring and engaging through her artistry, leaving a lasting impact in the world of music and theater.

Conductor: Ariadne auf Naxos, Strauss

Marlon Daniel, a Chicago-born conductor, is recognized as one of the most dynamic musicians of his generation. Acclaimed as “a natural and enormous talent” (Chicago Sun-Times) and “fabulous and exceptional” (Pravda), he has performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Rudolfinum. A laureate of the 2018 Bucharest Symphony Orchestra International Conducting Competition, he has led esteemed orchestras across Europe, the Americas, and the Caribbean, including Chineke! Junior Orchestra, Havana Lyceum Orchestra, and Sofia Sinfonietta. In 2016, he made history as the first African American to conduct the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba.

An authority on Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Daniel is also a champion of underrepresented composers, premiering works by Adolphus Hailstork, Libby Larsen, Arturo Márquez, Nkeiru Okoye, and Pulitzer Prize winners Tania Léon and George Walker. Educated in the U.S. and Europe, he studied at the Manhattan School of Music and Prague Academy and trained under Jiří Bělohlávek, David Gilbert, and Jorma Panula, receiving artistic guidance from Sir Simon Rattle and Iván Fischer.

Beyond conducting, Daniel is a leader in arts education and diversity, holding key roles with the Colour of Music Festival, Florida Grand Opera, and the Pazardzhik Symphony Orchestra. He has lectured at Columbia, Rutgers, and Yale universities and created initiatives such as Columbia University’s Diversity in Classical Music Project and the Opera Discovery Project in Cuba. He has also collaborated with renowned artists including J’Nai Bridges, Savion Glover, Kristin Lewis, Norm Lewis, Phylicia Rashād, and Chita Rivera.

Currently, Daniel serves as Artistic and Music Director of the Festival International de Musique Saint-Georges, Artistic Director of Festival Mahogany, and Founder of the All Caribbean Youth Orchestra. In 2024, he was appointed Artistic Director and Conductor of the Universität Münster Musikhochschule Orchester. His latest projects include a feature on Sony’s They Did That! and the acclaimed recording Total Tango: Music of Ástor Piazzolla. A passionate advocate for classical music’s transformative power, he continues to shape the global music landscape through his artistry and leadership.

Stage Director: Ariadne auf Naxos, Strauss

A stage director noted for his “gorgeously constructed stage pictures,” Josh Miller has served on the directing staff of The Glimmerglass Festival, Virginia Opera, Palm Beach Opera, The Fort Worth Opera Festival, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Opera San Antonio and Austin Shakespeare. Miller is a winner of the American Prize in Opera Directing, The Charles Nelson Reilly Prize. He is Dean and Faculty at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. 

directedbyjoshmiller.com

Conductor: Magic Flute, Mozart

Curtis Serafin has recently concluded his fifth festival season as assistant conductor with the Sarasota Opera, where he has played productions of Le Nozze di Figaro, Cavalleria Rusticana,Pagliacci,Tosca, Attila, La scala di seta, and Dido & Aeneas. Between 2022 and 2024, Serafin completed a collaborative piano fellowship with Yale Opera. As coach and répétiteur, Serafin also made his Merkin Hall debut with Berkshire Opera Festival for The Reef by Anthony Davis and joined the Opera Company of Middlebury. Die Zauberflöte will mark Serafin's fifth production as conductor with Chicago Summer Opera. Other summer seasons have included fellowships at the Tanglewood Institute, Stephanie Blythe’s Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar, Manchester Music Festival, and Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. Curtis Serafin is a graduate of Warren Jones’s studio at the Manhattan School of Music; this was preceded by the completion of his undergraduate studies in piano performance at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music.

Stage Director: Magic Flute, Mozart

Margaret Jumonville (she/her) is an opera stage director who cultivates bold dramatic work, consent-forward spaces and queer storytelling. She is currently the Company Artist Assistant Stage Director at Minnesota Opera. Directing credits include: Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Opéra Louisiane), Hansel und Gretel, Alcina, Così fan tutte, Le nozze di Figaro, Giulio Cesare, La voix humaine (Chicago Summer Opera), La Clemenza di Tito, Suor Angelica, Così fan tutte, Mansfield Park (Butler Opera Center). As an Assistant Director, she has assisted on productions at Minnesota Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Charlottesville Opera, Opéra Louisiane, Chicago Summer Opera, Opera Steamboat, and Opera NEO. She received theatrical training in Suzuki Method for Actors and Viewpoints with the SITI Company. Margaret holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame, Duquesne University and the University of Texas at Austin. She is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.