One of the great American tenors of his generation, Paul Groves continues to enjoy an impressive international career performing on the stages of the world’s leading opera houses and most prestigious concert halls. Groves came to national attention as a winner of the Met’s National Council Auditions in 1991. A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Young Artists Development Program, Mr. Groves made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1992 as the Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer. Mr. Groves returned to the MET for performances as Camille de Rosillon in their new production of The Merry Widow, opposite Placido Domingo and Frederica von Stade; Ferrando in a new production of Cosi fan tutte; Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress; Lysander in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Fenton; and Don Ottavio in nationally-televised season-opening performances of Don Giovanni opposite Bryn Terfel and Renee Fleming. In 2006, he created the role of Jianli in the world premiere of Tan Dun’s The First Emperor, opposite Placido Domingo, and he returned to the MET in 2008 for further performances of this role. Paul Groves made his debut with San Francisco Opera as Fenton, and he returned in subsequent seasons for performances as Ferrando, Belmonte and Pylade. His debut with Lyric Opera of Chicago was in 1998 as Nadir in a new production of Les pêcheurs de perles, and audiences in Chicago saw him in later seasons as Tamino, Pylade and the title role in La Damnation de Faust. Los Angeles Opera audiences first saw him in season-opening performances of the title role in La damnation de Faust, and he recently returned for performances as Fritz in a new production of La Grande Duchesse de Gerolstein directed by famed Hollywood director Garry Marshall.

Emily Pulley has now begun her fourth decade of appearing with opera companies and orchestras across the country and around the world. She has sung nearly 200 performances with the Met, where her roles have ranged from Marguerite in Faust to Gerhilde in Die Walküre to Valencienne in The Merry Widow. Long established in both classical and contemporary soprano repertoire, Emily is enjoying a successful exploration of mezzo soprano and musical theatre roles, including the title role in Carmen, Mrs. de Rocher in Dead Man Walking, Desirée in A Little Night Music, and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd.  Upcoming engagements include the Fairy Godmother in Viardot’s Cendrillon with Resonance Works, which she will also direct, Kate Adams Keller in the world premiere of Touch with Opera Birmingham, Ježibaba in Rusalka with Opera Orlando, and the Mother and Witch in Hänsel und Gretel with Eugene Opera.

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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Lyric soprano Allanda Small is an award winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Gulf Coast Region), the NATSAA Young Artist Award, and the American Prize Competition (opera). Operatic roles include Countess Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro), Micaëla (Carmen), Mrs. Jenks (The Tenderland), Mrs. Gleaton (Susannah) and Elektra (Idomeneo). She is a graduate of William Carey University and The University of Southern Mississippi having earned her Doctorate of Music Arts in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. As a solo artist, she presents recitals, concerts and master classes throughout the year. In conjunction with the Dream Consortium of Chicago, she presented Vision, a recital celebrating the art songs and spirituals of African-American composers with acclaimed baritone, Robert Sims, as well as a music tour of Spain as soloist with Triumph Chorale. Concert performances include Mozart’s Requiem, Bach Magnificat in D, Handel’s Messiah, Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, multi-city performances of Felix Mendelssohn’s Elijah with The Leipzig Youth Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time with the Carolina Master Chorale and Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Tarik O’Regan’s Triptycb with the Choral Society of Pensacola. Recently, Allanda debuted with West Bay Opera’s (Palo Alto, CA) production of Giuseppe Verdi’s Aida as the Voice of the High Priestess and cover for the title role. In a performance review by Opera News Magazine, the article noted that, “In their debut, Allanda excelled as the High Priestess…” Regionally, she also premiered the opera, The Crossing, a second part of the Slavery Trilogy by Odaline de la Martinez in New Orleans. Allanda is a New York native who resides in Mobile, AL. She serves as part of the music faculty at The University of West Florida.

Bass-baritone Justin Hopkins has recently worked with Geneva Opera, Teatro la Monnaie Brussels, Opera Vlaanderen Antwerp and the St Gallen Theatre. Roles included TITUREL Parsifal, PUBLIO La Clemenza di Tito, LORD KRISHNA, PARSI RUSTOMJI Satyagraha and LE BAILLI Werther, COLLINE La Bohème and NARUMOV Pique Dame. In the USA he has sung with the Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Philadelphia, Opera San Antonio, and others, roles such as SPARAFUCILE Rigoletto, IL RE Aida, OROVESO Norma and LEPORELLO Don Giovani. Concert appearances have included collaborations with Boston Pops, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra, and BBC Concert Orchestra in venues such as Carnegie Hall, Symphony Hall Boston, Lincoln Center and Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. He was the 2012 Lotte Lenya Competition 2nd place winner.

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