Chinese-American soprano Bizhou Chang is quickly becoming known for her warmth of tone and thrilling interpretations of opera’s most beloved roles. This season, she returns to Opera Columbus, singing Pamina in the world premiere of The Temple: A Magic Flute Experience—an immersive production based on Mozart’s The Magic Flute—and she appears as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte with Pensacola Opera.

In the 2022-23 season, Ms. Chang performed Mimì in La bohème with Pensacola Opera and made her company debuts as Liù in Turandot with Opera Southwest and Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Knoxville Opera. She returned to Guerilla Opera for the concert presentation and theatrical workshop of Emily Koh’s Her: Alive|un|dead, and she appeared as a featured soloist in Pensacola Opera’s 40th anniversary gala concert Forty Forward, along with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra.

During the 2021-22 season, Ms. Chang made her role debut as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Pensacola Opera, performed the role of Maria in the world premiere of Island of Hope, Island of Tears by Gabriele Vanoni with Guerilla Opera, and appeared as Violetta in an immersive production of La Traviata with Opera Columbus and Out of the Box Opera.

During the Covid-19 impacted 2020-21 season, Ms. Chang made her art film debut as Mimì in an innovative film version of La bohème directed by Laine Rettmer with More than Musical (Hong Kong), a co-production of Opera Omaha, Tri-Cities Opera, and Opera Columbus. She also performed Mimì in a new production of La bohème with Opera Columbus and returned to Pensacola Opera as Micaëla in Carmen.

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Mezzo-Soprano Emily Triebold is thrilled to be returning to the Pensacola Opera stage. Native to Wisconsin, Emily has been praised for her acting abilities in both dramatic and comedic roles.
While tenured as an Apprentice Artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, Emily covered the roles of Minskwoman (Flight) and Julia Child (Bon Appétit!) and played the roles Mrs. Splinters (The
Tender Land) and Baroness (Candide). As both a Resident Artist and Mainstage Artist with Pensacola Opera, she was seen in various concerts and performances, covering Hannah After
(As One) and Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and singing the roles of Ines (Il trovatore) and Mrs. Cripps (H.M.S. Pinafore). This past year, Emily sang Giovanna (Rigoletto) with Nashville Opera as a
Mary Ragland Emerging Artist and covered the role of Martha (Sky on Swings) as a Young Artist with Opera Saratoga.

Aaren Rivard, tenor, is praised for a “full and clear” sound. His 2018-19 season as an Artist in Residence with  Opera Colorado included singing Basilio and Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, Gastone in La traviata, Roméo in a touring production of Roméo et Juliette, and the Witch in a children’s production of Hansel and Gretel. He was also fortunate to cover the role of Alfredo in La Traviata. He joined Central City Opera in the summer as an ensemble member, as well as a selected singer for their new Encore performances.

Before spending the summer of 2018 with Des Moines Metro Opera as an Apprentice Artist, Aaren received his Master’s in Opera Performance at Wichita State University. While at Wichita State, Aaren studied with world renowned bass-baritones Alan Held and Sam Ramey. Roles performed with Wichita State include Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Bénédict in Béatrice et Bénédict, Tito in La clemenza di Tito, and Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro. Aaren was featured as the Tenor soloist with Wichita State’s performances of Handel’s Messiah, Stravinsky’s Les Noces, and Orff’s Carmina Burana.

Aaren received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern Maine, where he studied with Ellen Chickering. He performed roles including Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus and Acis in Acis and Galatea, as well as a wide array of scenes and concerts spanning the entire classical canon. His proximity to Southern Maine allowed Aaren to perform multiple seasons with Opera Maine, including La fille du Regiment, Madama Butterfly, La Boheme, Rigoletto, and Tosca. Aaren was also a Young Artist with Opera Maine for their production of Gianni Schicchi, singing Amantio di Nicolao and covering Rinuccio.Other concerts include a series of Bach Cantatas with White Mountain Music Arts, Mozart’s Requiem and another concert of Handel’s Messiah with the University of Southern Maine, Whitbourn’s Magnificat with the Maine Choral Arts Society, and the musical premiere of Dan Sonenberg’s The Summer King. Aaren is also the recipient of multiple vocal awards, including the Naftzger Vocal Prize, the Barbara Littlefield Vocal Prize, and the Lillian Nordica Award.

Praised for his “skill and verve” (New York Times), Shannon celebrates nearly 30 years as a professional operatic pianist, vocal coach, conductor and administrator. During this time, Maestro Shannon has held leadership positions with Sarah Caldwell’s Opera Company of Boston (Artistic Administrator, Assistant Conductor, Conductor), Virginia Opera (Artistic Administrator, Associate Artistic Director, Conductor), Pensacola Opera (Music Director and Principal Conductor, Artistic Director), Shreveport Opera (Music Director and Principal Conductor), Mobile Opera (General and Artistic Director, Principal Conductor) and the Janiec Opera Company of the Brevard Music Center (Resident Conductor and Vocal Coach).