People of Pensacola Opera
Artists in Residence
Now in its 18th season, Pensacola Opera’s Artists in Residence program has become an important incubator for emerging talent in the opera world. Four singers and one pianist/coach join us for a 22-week residency, serving as musical ambassadors for the company from September through March. They can be seen during our mainstage season in comprimario and supporting roles. Also, they serve as the performers for all of our education and community engagement programs, including in-school opera performances, pop-up appearances at restaurants, and monthly Brown Bag Opera programs. Past members of the Artists in Residence program include mezzo-soprano Elise Quagliata (Des Moines Metro Opera, Utah Opera, New York City Opera), conductor Michael Sakir (music director at Opera Memphis), and soprano-turned-administrator Annie Burridge (general director at Austin Opera). This spring, our Artists in Residence will be featured in Heartbreak High, a special 90-minute, fifties themed production of The Elixir of Love.
ALYSSA DESSOYE
Soprano | Lafayette, IN
This Season:
• Frasquita, Carmen
• Josephine (cover), H.M.S. Pinafore
• Adina, Heartbreak High
Recently:
• L'elisir d'amore, Don Giovanni, Indiana University Opera Theatre
• Les contes d'Hoffmann, Aspen Music Festival
ERIN ALFORD
Mezzo-soprano | Carlsbad, CA
This Season:
• Mercédès, Carmen
• Cousin Hebe, H.M.S. Pinafore
• Giannetta, Heartbreak High
Recently:
• Eurydice, LA Opera
• Così fan tutte, Teatro Nuovo
• Dead Man Walking, Miami Music Festival
Brian Skoog
Tenor | Cleveland, OH
This Season:
• Fall 2020 Digital Residency
Recently:
• Manon Lescaut, The Cleveland Opera
• Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, Heights Chamber Orchestra
• The Magic Flute, Central City Opera
JACK CHANDLER
Baritone | Tallahassee, FL
This Season:
• Moralès/Le Dancaïre, Carmen
• Bill Bobstay, H.M.S. Pinafore
• Belcore, Heartbreak High
Recently:
• Der Vampyr, Of Mice and Men, La bohème, Florida State Opera
• A Little Night Music, Aspen Music Festival
ANTHONY BENZ
Pianist/Coach | Bismarck, ND
Recently:
• Il barbiere di Siviglia, The Poppea Project, Opera Columbus
• The Tender Land, Die Fledermaus, Des Moines Metro Opera
Meet the Artists
KARL ANDERSON
Stage Manager, Carmen, H.M.S. Pinafore
Stage Manager | Kansas City, MO
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Carmen, 2014
Career Highlights:
• Amahl and the Night Visitors, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
• Lucia di Lammermoor, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
Candide, Des Moines Metro Opera
• La Cenerentola, Pensacola Opera
• Aïda, Pensacola Opera
DEAN ANTHONY
Stage Director, H.M.S. Pinafore
Stage Director | Brevard, NC
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Carmen, 2014
Career Highlights
• The Pirates of Penzance, Nashville Opera
• Glory Denied, Fort Worth Opera
• Street Scene, Janiec Opera Company
• Dead Man Walking, Pensacola Opera
• Falstaff, Opera Delaware
GLENN AVERY BREED
Costume Designer, Carmen, H.M.S. Pinafore
Costume Designer | Pensacola, FL
Pensacola Opera Debut:
The Magic Flute, 2008
Career Highlights
• Owner/Designer, Wardrobe Witchery
BIZHOU CHANG
Micaëla, Carmen
Soprano | Pensacola, FL
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Don Giovanni, 2020
Career Highlights:
• Don Giovanni, Pensacola Opera
• Madama Butterfly, Janiec Opera Company
• Le nozze di Figaro, Miami Music Festival
• The Consul, Boston Conservatory at Berklee
• Carmen, Berlin Opera Academy
ADAM DIEGEL
Don José, Carmen
Tenor | Orlando, FL
Pensacola Opera Debut:
The Three Tenors, 2015
Career Highlights:
• Das Rheingold, The Metropolitan Opera
• Madama Butterfly, The Metropolitan Opera
• Carmen, San Francisco Opera
• Salome, Atlanta Opera
• Carmen, Opera Australia
KRIS KIRKWOOD
Projections Designer, Carmen
Projections Designer | Kansas City, MO
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Don Giovanni, 2020
Career Highlights:
• Hansel and Gretel, Palm Beach Opera
• Elf the Musical, Circa 21 Playhouse
• Madama Butterfly, Inland Northwest Opera
• Chicago, Graceland University
• The Theatrical Illusion, Benedictine College
FENLON LAMB
Stage Director, Carmen
Stage Director | Santa Cruz, CA
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Don Giovanni, 2020
Career Highlights:
• Riders of the Purple Sage, Arizona Opera
• La traviata, Madison Opera
• Scalia/Ginsburg, Opera Delaware
•Tosca, Palm Beach Opera
•Carmen, Dayton Opera
KAMERON LOPREORE
Le Remendado, Carmen
Tenor | New Orleans, LA
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Carmen, 2021
Career Highlights:
• The Ghosts of Versailles, Glimmerglass Festival at Le Chateau de Versailles
• The Blind, New Orleans Opera
Die Zauberflöte, Kahilu Theater Hawaii
• District Winner, Metropolitan Opera National Council (2019, 2020)
• Baroque Christmas, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
CODY MARTIN
Chorus Master, Carmen
Conductor, H.M.S. Pinafore
Conductor | Pensacola, FL
Pensacola Opera Debut:
María de Buenos Aires, 2017
Career Highlights:
• Don Giovanni, Pensacola Opera
• Florencia in the Amazon, Pensacola Opera
• Three Decembers, Fargo-Moorhead Opera
• Rusalka, Des Moines Metro Opera
• La Cenerentola, Arizona Opera
Corey McKern
Captain Corcoran, H.M.S. Pinafore
Zuniga, Carmen
Baritone | Pensacola, FL
Pensacola Opera Debut:
The Marriage of Figaro, 2007
Career Highlights:
•La bohème, Santa Fe Opera
•La bohème, Opera Hong Kong
•Carmen, New York City Opera
•Wozzeck, St. Louis Symphony
Brian Moore
Technical Director, Carmen
Lighting Designer | Muncie, IN
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Don Giovanni, 2020
Career Highlights:
•A Little Night Music, Ball State University Theatre
•Carmen, Bar Harbor Music Festival
•Hansel and Gretel, Palm Beach Opera
•Madama Butterfly, Inland Northwest Opera
•Twelfth Night, Ball State University Theatre
Spencer Reichman
Dick Deadeye, H.M.S. Pinafore
Baritone | New Orleans, LA
Pensacola Opera Debut:
H.M.S. Pinafore, 2021
Career Highlights:
Amahl and the Night Visitors, Nashville Opera
Pepito, Nashville Opera
Carmen, New Orleans Opera
Madama Butterfly, Shreveport Opera
LUIS ALEJANDRO OROZCO
Escamillo, Carmen
Baritone | Fort Worth, TX
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Florencia in the Amazon, 2019
Career Highlights:
•Carmen, Michigan Opera Theater
•Florencia en el Amazonas, Theater St. Gallen
•María de Buenos Aires, Opera Lyon
•La bohème, Kentucky Opera
•Il barbiere di Siviglia, Florentine Opera
Alayna Powell
Assistant Stage Manager, Carmen, H.M.S. Pinafore
Papermoon Opera Director of Production | Kansas City, KS
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Aïda, 2017
Career Highlights:
•Amahl and the Night Visitors, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
•Lucia di Lammermoor, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
•La bohème, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
•Don Giovanni, Pensacola Opera
•Hansel and Gretel, Palm Beach Opera
Elise Quagliata
Carmen, Carmen
Mezzo-soprano | Miami, FL
Pensacola Opera debut:
The Barber of Seville, 2005
Career Highlights:
•Carmen, Pensacola Opera
•María de Buenos Aires, Des Moines Metro Opera
•Hopper's Wife, New York City Opera
•Dead Man Walking, Pensacola Opera
•Otello, Austin Opera
BRITTANY V.A. RAPPISE
Wig & Makeup Designer, Carmen, H.M.S. Pinafore
Wig & Makeup Designer | Pensacola, FL
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Romeo & Juliet, 2019
Career Highlights:
•Stonewall, New York City Opera
•Scalia/Ginsburg, Amleto, Dead Man Walking, Opera Delaware
• Brevard Music Center (8 Seasons)
• Sarasota Opera (3 Seasons)
JEFFERSON RIDENOUR
Scenic Designer, Carmen, H.M.S. Pinafore
Scenic Designer | New York, NY
Pensacola Opera debut:
Don Giovanni, 2020
Career Highlights:
•Dead Man Walking, Opera Delaware
•Scalia/Ginsburg, Opera Delaware
•Party Face, NYC City Center
•The Juliet Letters, Lyric Opera of Kansas City
•Hansel & Gretel, Palm Beach Opera
John Riesen
Ralph Rackstraw, H.M.S. Pinafore
Tenor | Buffalo, NY
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Aïda, 2017
Career Highlights:
•West Side Story Suite, New York City Ballet
•Glory Denied, Des Moines Metro Opera
•Sweeney Todd, Michigan Opera Theatre
•Candide, Chautauqua Opera
•Eugene Onegin, Intermountain Opera Bozeman
Jerome Shannon
Conductor, Carmen
Artistic Director | Pensacola, FL
Pensacola Opera Debut: Rigoletto, 2002
Career Highlights:
•Dead Man Walking, Pensacola Opera
•Tales of Hoffmann, Washington National Opera
•Andrea Chénier, Nashville Opera
•Turandot, Mobile Opera
•West Side Story, Virginia Opera
Barry Steele
Lighting Designer, Carmen, H.M.S. Pinafore
Lighting Designer | Brooklyn, NY
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Carmen, 2006
Career Highlights:
•Florencia en el Amazonas, Pensacola Opera
•Don Giovanni, Edmonton Opera
•Dead Man Walking, Des Moines Metro Opera
•Galileo Galilei, Madison Opera
•The Fall of the House of Usher, Nashville Opera
COREY TRAHAN
Sir Joseph Porter, H.M.S. Pinafore
Tenor | Fort Worth, TX
Pensacola Opera Debut:
H.M.S. Pinafore, 2021
Career Highlights:
•Madama Butterfly, Opera Birmingham
•Tosca, Fort Worth Opera
•Wozzeck, Des Moines Metro Opera
•Camelot, Ash Lawn Opera Festival
•Les Misérables, Strauss Theatre Center
EMILY TRIEBOLD
Mrs. Cripps (Little Buttercup), H.M.S. Pinafore
Mezzo-soprano | Athens, WI
Pensacola Opera Debut:
Easy to Love, 2020
Career Highlights:
•As One , Pensacola Opera
•Candide, Des Moines Metro Opera
•The Tender Land, Des Moines Metro Opera
•The Barber of Seville, OPERA Iowa
•Little Women, University of Nebraska
FLORA WALL
Josephine, H.M.S. Pinafore
Soprano | Houston, TX
Pensacola Opera Debut:
H.M.S. Pinafore, 2021
Career Highlights:
•The School for Scandal, University of Houston Opera
•Viva la Mamma, Lone Star Lyric Opera
•West Side Story, Shreveport Opera
•Hänsel und Gretel, Opera Saratoga
•Le nozze di Figaro, Shreveport Opera
Pensacola Opera Chorus
Soprano
Amber Cobley
Mary Holway
Amy Maddox
Rebecca Replogle
Sylvia Rockwell
Anne-Marie Schoonover
Alto
Chelsea Alberda
Laura Dees
Emily Gordon
Cecily Kopytchak
Vivian Luce
Cindy Swan
Constance Wiggins
Tenor
Davoune Barber
Brian Swan
Greg Watson
Bass
Jean-Michel Newberg
George Phillips
Kelly Pohl
Alex Rigsby
Pensacola Children's Chorus
ALEX GARTNER, Director
Vera Kate Bell
Beatrice Bunnell
Sydney Burkey
Lily Campbell
Lainey Caswell
Luke Cathey
Ainsley Cramblet
Peyton Dykes
Parker Hodge
Kyndall Jefferson
Michelle Kirkham
Ava Lane
Gracie Slocum
McKenzie Taylor
Pensacola Symphony Orchestra
PETER RUBARDT, Music Director | BRET BARROW, Executive Director
Violin
Enen Yu, Concertmaster
Burcu Goker
Nicholas Hatt
Maeanna Naffe
Brian Brown, Principal
Juliana Gaviria
Barbara Withers
Viola
Michael Fernandez, Principal
Courtney Grant
Daniela Pardo
Cello
Chun-hsing Chang, Principal
Jordan Galvarino
Ryan Snapp
Bass
Andrew Chilcote, Principal
John Palensky
Flute, Piccolo
Stephanie Riegle, Principal
Bethany Witter Wood
OBOE
Matt Fossa, Principal
Clarinet
Richard Jernigan, Principal
Newell Hutchinson
Bassoon
Kristina Nelson, Principal
Horn
Jacquelyn Adams, Principal
Jodi Graham Wood
Trumpet
Dale Riegle, Principal
Jonathan Martin
Trombone
Bret Barrow, Principal
Timpani
Laura Noah, Principal
Percussion
Jordan Wood, Principal
