Cast & Creatives

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.

Baritone Jack Chandler is from Arlington, Virginia. Mr. Chandler’s recent credits include Belcore (L’elisir d’amore), Le Dancaïre and Morales (Carmen), Bill Bobstay (H.M.S. Pinafore), Schaunard (La bohème), Slim (Of Mice and Men), Claudio (Béatrice et Bénédict), Sir Berkley (Der Vampyr), Mr. Lindquist (A Little Night Music), Sciarrone (Tosca), Stewpot (South Pacific), and Dottore Grenvil (La Traviata). In the 2020-21 season, Jack was an Artist in Residence at Pensacola Opera, where he covered the role of Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen. He also covered the role of Captain Corcoran in the company’s production of H.M.S. Pinafore. Upcoming performances include Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) at Florida State Opera in October, and a return to Pensacola to sing Fiorello and the Official in Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia in March 2022.

Jack is an alumnus of the Aspen Music Festival and School, where he studied with Vinson Cole for three summers. He earned a master’s degree from Florida State University under the instruction of David Okerlund.

American conductor Cody Martin was recently named Music Director at Pensacola Opera, where he was previously the Director of Education and Director of the Artists in Residence Program since 2017.  During the 2023-24 season, he leads a production of Lucia di Lammermoor and serves as associate conductor and chorus director for Die Fledermaus, in addition to continuing his work with the company’s nationally respected Jan Miller Studio Artist Program. He also appears as guest conductor for Florida State Opera‘s The Cunning Little Vixen. Recent seasons have seen Cody leading productions of Carousel, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, As One, Florencia en el Amazonas, Man of La Mancha and María de Buenos Aires in Pensacola, in addition to various concert appearances. He made his debut with Fargo-Moorhead Opera conducting Jake Heggie’s Three Decembers in 2019. Other companies Cody has enjoyed working with include Des Moines Metro Opera, Arizona Opera, Opera Birmingham, Virginia Opera, and the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center.

Cody holds degrees from Murray State University and Florida State University. He lives in Pensacola with his former shelter dog, Rosina, a corgi/dachshund mix (@rosinathelongdog).

>> Artist Website