Meryl Dominguez (soprano)
Salud
Cuban-American soprano Meryl Dominguez has been praised for her “intensity and warm tone” (Bachtrack). An alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Butler Studio and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, she has been celebrated for her “gorgeous, crystalline highs and a powerful mid-range.” Recent seasons have seen Dominguez in performance with Houston Grand Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, and The Glimmerglass Festival, among others. Dominguez has earned recognition in notable competitions, including as a Finalist in the Houston Grand Opera Eleanor McCollum Competition, the Jensen Foundation Competition, and a Semi-Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
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A graduate from Oberlin College and Conservatory’s Double Degree program, Dominguez also holds a degree in Dance, focusing on the narrative and storytelling elements of movement.
Alex McKissick (tenor)
Paco
Opera News has hailed American tenor Alex McKissick as possessing a “melting tone and poignant phrasing” and reviewed a recent performance saying “[his] soaring voice brought the evening to a sweeping conclusion.” Mr. McKissick began working with the Metropolitan Opera for the first time this season, understudying several roles in Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded, Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar, and Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades. Other noteworthy engagements include appearances with Irish National Opera, San Diego Opera, NC Opera, and the Cleveland Orchestra to name a few. Mr. McKissick is a 2018 Sullivan Foundation Career Grant Winner, a 2017 Sara Tucker Study Grant Winner, a 2018 Operalia quarterfinalist, and a Toulmin Scholar. He received his Bachelor’s of Music and Master’s Degree from the Juilliard School of Music.
Allegra De Vita (mezzo-soprano)
Abuela
Hailed by Opera News as a “complex mezzo, [whose] fine-spun vibrato, was lovely in itself, but it also consistently conveyed human utterance,” Allegra De Vita has performed with the Tulsa Opera, The Maryland Lyric Opera, The Spoleto Festival, Washington National Opera, and performed the title role in Carmen with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic.
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Ms. De Vita was a 2018 graduate from the Washington National Opera’s Cafritz Young Artist Program, and she was a 2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Finalist. She can be heard on the Grammy Award-winning CD of Wozzeck conducted by Hans Graf with the Houston Symphony. Ms. De Vita holds a master’s degree in voice from Rice studying with Dr. Stephen King, and a BA Magna cum Laude in biology with a neuroscience concentration from Sacred Heart University.
Alan Williams (bass-baritone)
Uncle Salvador
This season, Bass-baritone Alan Williams joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera to cover Judge Advocate General in the New York-premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s groundbreaking new opera Grounded, directed by Michael Mayer and conducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin. As a two-year member of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program with the Los Angeles Opera, he performed in numerous productions varying from Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’ Omar to Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Le nozze di Figaro. Mr. Williams received his specialist and master's degrees in voice performance from the University of Michigan and received his undergraduate degree from Northern Arizona University.
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Jonathan Kauffman (tenor)
Offstage Voice
In their review of Jonathan Kaufman’s portrayal of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, BroadwayWorld makes it clear why Kaufman is quickly ascending the ranks as one of the greatest tenors of his generation: “Tenor Jonathan Kaufman, as Pinkerton, has a voice so grand — even heroic — that there are many times when, lost in the glory of that voice, we quite forget what a cad the Lieutenant is. Superb!” Last season, Kaufman rejoined Opera Carolina for their productions of Cavalleria rusticana and Madama Butterfly as Turiddu and Pinkerton, respectively. This season, he makes role débuts as Samson in Samson et Dalila with St. Petersburg Opera, Obadiah in Elijah with Charlotte Symphony & Master Chorale, and as Der Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer with Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.
Jennifer Beattie (mezzo)
Carmela
Mezzo-soprano Jennifer Beattie, called a “smashing success” (San Francisco Examiner) and praised for her “warmth” (New York Times) and “exuberant voice and personality” (Opera News), revels in performing everything from traditional to brand-new classical repertoire, as well as engaging in ongoing collaborations with performance, visual, jazz, folk, and theater artists. Jennifer has been a featured soloist with organizations including The National Opera Orchestra at the Kennedy Center; The Philadelphia Orchestra; the Columbus Symphony Orchestra; and the Mozarteum in Salzburg to name a few. Jennifer is a member of two chamber music duos: Albatross, with pianist Adam Marks; and So Much Hot Air, with oboe/ English horn player Zachary Pulse. She also serves as co-director of Artists at Albatross Reach, a retreat for the development of weird, wonderful new work and artistic collaborations in northern California.
Will Hughes
Manuel
Dr. Will Hughes has sung with companies including The Dallas Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Florida Grand Opera, singing and covering roles in Così fan tutte (Guglielmo), Madame Butterfly (Yamadori, Yakusidé), Doctor Atomic (Jack Hubbard), and the title role in Billy Budd.
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Will continues to perform frequently and maintains an in-person and virtual voice studio, teaching a wide variety of students. He has a passion for teaching and enjoys helping students realize their fullest potential as singers, embarking with them on a journey toward self-discovery. Will holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in voice performance and pedagogy from Wheaton College and Westminster Choir College respectively.
Juan Pedro Jimenez
Cantaor
A native of Cádiz in the South of Spain, Juan Pedro Jimenez was raised performing with the gypsy family Romeros de Vejer. A singer and guitarist, he studied music at the Royal Conservatory. His cante (song) brings the power of his native Andalusia to wherever he performs. Recently, he has toured the Ferias in Sevilla, Jerez, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Sanlucar, Algeciras, and Cordoba, Spain. He has also played in El Rocio with the Hermandad de Jerez and in Peñas Flamencas and Festivals throughout the Province of Cádiz.
Elisabeth Torras
Dancer
Elisabet Torras Aguilera was born and raised in Barcelona where she studied and earned her B.A in Flamenco and Danza Española from the Conservatory of Dance and Theatre of Barcelona and continued her studies later in Madrid. She has toured Europe and Asia with Zarzuela, Clasico Español and Flamenco companies. In 2009 Elisabet was invited as a guest artist for the Flamenco Festival “Viva España” in Moscow and the “Presidence Belge”-Festival in Brussels. Since 2013, Elisabet has lived in NYC and is a frequent performer with a variety of projects in the TriState Area and beyond. She is cast member of the companies NOCHE FLAMENCO, A PALO SECO, OMAYRA AMAYA Flamenco Dance Company, FLAMENCO VIVO CARLOTA SANTANA. Elisabet recieved the Award to Outstanding Artistic Carreer 2019 at Homenaje a la Prensa Internacional.
Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana
Founded in 1983, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana is one of America’s premier flamenco companies with home bases in New York City and Durham, NC. We reach more than 30,000 people nationwide each year through inclusive programs that entertain, educate and empower. Our mission is to promote flamenco as a living art form and a vital part of Hispanic heritage; produce and perform high quality dance works; provide arts education programs that catalyze connections among young people; and nurture the next generations of Spanish dance artists and educators. We believe that the universal spirit of flamenco – with diverse influences from Roma, Arabic, Jewish, Spanish, African and Latin American cultures – gives this art form a unique power to build bridges between people.
Susan Klebanow
Choir Director
Susan Klebanow (Zachary Smith Term Distinguished Professor) is the Director of Choral Activities at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she conducts the Carolina Choir and UNC Chamber Singers and teaches courses in conducting. Her B.A. is from Brandeis University and M.M. in Choral Conducting from the New England Conservatory of Music. She taught at Brandeis University and the New England Conservatory Extension Division before joining the UNC Music Department faculty. Also devoted to period instrument performance, Klebanow is the regular guest conductor of Ensemble Courant, the UNC faculty’s historical performance ensemble. Klebanow has led choral festivals, workshops, and clinics throughout the United States and in Mexico, Italy, and Hong Kong.
UNC Carolina Choir
Chorus
Carolina Choir is the UNC Music Department’s select concert choir of 75 singers devoted to the performance of the finest choral literature at the highest level. Its membership is drawn from the entire student body and is made up of undergraduate and graduate students from many different departments. Carolina Choir’s repertoire ranges from sacred and secular a cappella music of all periods to the choral/orchestral masterworks. In addition to its frequent collaborations with the UNC Symphony and Ensemble Courant, Carolina Choir has been heard with other outstanding instrumental ensembles, including performances of Philip Glass’ A Toltec Symphony with the Bruckner Orchestra of Linz, the Verdi Requiem with the Wheeling Symphony in West Virginia, Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with the European Union Youth Orchestra, and numerous works with the North Carolina Symphony.
James Clotfelter
Lighting Designer
James Clotfelter’s work in live performance has been presented throughout the US and internationally in a myriad of venues ranging from Lincoln Center and the Cairo Opera House to an abandoned Rite Aid and the rural Pennsylvania forest. He has developed collaborative visual designs with established musicians and composers including Pete Wyer, Eighth Blackbird, Prism Quartet and Spektral Quartet and has realized custom installations for retail companies such as Muji, Pas de Calais and Eddie Bauer. In 2018, James co-founded Studio C Projects, a performance-based, collaborative research studio in Durham, NC that investigates the intersections of movement, design, and architecture that inform our shared experience.
Lauren Carmen
Costume Designer
Lauren Carmen is a costume designer, maker, craftsperson, ballet dancer, artist in NYC. She comes to the performing arts first and foremost through a life of dancing, having worked as a professional ballet dancer, dance & pilates instructor, before diving more fully into the world of costume. Projects of particular excitement include teaching costume courses to Undergraduate students at NYU and working with dancers of American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet.
