Cast

Othalie Graham - Turandot
Career highlights have included the title role in Turandot with Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Columbus, OperaDelaware, Utah Festival Opera, California's Festival Opera, Connecticut Grand Opera, Bohème Opera New Jersey, Sacramento Opera, and the Kalamazoo Symphony (fully-staged); Odabella in Attila with Sarasota Opera; the title role in Aïda with El Paso Opera and Bohème Opera New Jersey; Leonora in Il Trovatore with Utah Festival Opera; the title role in Tosca with California's Festival Opera; the title role in AIDA, the title role in Elektra, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts; and the Marschallin in Der Rosankavalier with Italy's Casalmaggiore Festival.

Concert highlights have included Turandot in Highlights from Turandot with the Washington Chorus at the Kennedy Center; a Wagner concert co-sponsored by Opera Roanoke and the Wagner Society of Washington D.C. featuring Brünnhilde's Immolation Scene from Götterdämmerung and Isolde's Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde; Brünnhilde in excerpts from Die Walküre for both the 2007 Opera Montreal Gala and the Wagner Society of Washington D.C.; Isolde in excerpts from Tristan und Isolde with the Wagner Society of Washington D.C.; Sieglinde in Act I of Die Walküre with the Princeton University Orchestra; the title role in Turandot with Boston's Chorus pro Musica, the Westfield Symphony Orchestra, and the Harrisburg Symphony; Elijah with Bryn Terfel and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir; a featured appearance with Eve Queler at the Dahesh Museum of Art; a and a honoring the victims of September 11th.

Scott Piper - Calaf
Tenor Scott Piper’s rich, resonate voice and charismatic stage presence are quickly establishing him as a sought after interpreter of opera’s romantic leading men. In the 2009-2010 season he was seen as Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor with Tulsa Opera, Cleveland Opera and Seattle Opera, and the title role in Faust with The New Israeli Opera and Dayton Opera. His engagements for 2008-2009 included Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with Dayton Opera, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with both Florentine Opera and the Utah Opera, the Duke in Rigoletto with the Anna Livia International Opera Festival in Dublin Ireland, and Roldofo in La Bohème and Don José in Carmen with New Israeli Opera. Mr. Piper has been heard throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. He has recently appeared with Houston Grand Opera, the International Music Festival of Macau, Vancouver Opera (British Columbia), Compañia Lírica Nacional de Costa Rica, the New Peoples Theater of Moscow (Russia), Minnesota Opera, Opera Pacific, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Dayton Opera, Madison Opera, Michigan Opera Theater, and New York City Opera. In Italy he has appeared in Rome, Catanzaro, Modena, Ravenna, and at Teatro di Verdi in Busseto. He also appears as Alfredo in the new DVD of Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La Traviata with Stefania Bonfadell, Renato Bruson and conducted by Placido Domingo.

Jane Redding - Liu
Hailed for her dazzling virtuosity and charismatic charm, soprano Jane Redding continues to amaze audiences with her near-flawless musicianship, thrilling high notes, and wide-ranging versatility. Applauded by many, Opera news touts: “…the powerhouse Zerbinetta of Jane Redding…was superbly sung.” In the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor, critics hailed: “This rising star delivered a staggering, at times mesmerizing, performance.” Recent engagements for Ms. Redding have included concerts with the International Opera Alliance and the Opera Orchestras of Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; Adina in Elixir of Love with Opera Naples, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Virginia Opera; the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor with New Orleans Opera, Nashville Opera, and Opera Southwest. Other roles include Gilda (Rigoletto), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Violetta (La Traviata), and Musetta (La Boheme). Other concert engagements have included the National Symphony Orchestra/Kennedy Center; Operatic Highlights with the Buffalo Philharmonic; Valentine’s Concert with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra; Tribute to Adelina Patti with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra; and soprano soloist in Carmina Burana with the Charleston Symphony, Shreveport Symphony, and Hartford Symphony. Ms. Redding has been the recipient of many awards including a coveted MacAllister Award and a recipient of a Shoshana Award from the Richard F. Gold Career Grant Foundation. Ms. Redding holds a Bachelors of Music Education degree from the University of Mississippi and Masters and Doctorate of Musical Arts degrees from Louisiana State University.

Matthew Treviño - Timur
Matthew Treviño is proving to be one of the most sought after young basses. In 2010 and beyond, engagements include Commendatore in Don Giovanni at the Fort Worth Opera, bass soloist in the two settings of Mozart’s Solemn Vespers at Carnegie Hall, Dr P in The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat with Austin Lyric Opera, Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore at Opera Carolina, Sparafucile in Rigoletto at the San Antonio Opera, Mathieu/Schmidt (Jailor) in Andrea Chenier at the Nashville Opera, Nourabad in Pearl Fishers with the Syracuse Opera, and Timur in Turandot with Pensacola Opera and with Austin Lyric Opera. In previous seasons, he performed Colline in La Bohème with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Carolina, and Fresno Grand Opera, Pistola in Falstaff at Opera Cleveland, Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Alcade in La Forza del Destino and Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the Caramoor Music Festival, Ramfis in Aida with Nevada Opera, Monterone in Rigoletto and Sam in Un Ballo in Maschera with Opera Santa Barbara, as well as his Michigan Opera Theatre debut in Turandot and Dallas Opera debut in Salome. In addition, he was contracted for his Teatro Municipal de Santiago debut as Alvise Baodero in Ponchielli's La Gioconda. Mr. Treviño was a member of the Merola Opera Program, San Francisco Opera Center’s Resident Artist in Education, and the Des Moines Young Artist Program. He was a finalist in the Loren L Zachary Foundation Competition, Dallas Opera Guild Competition, Fort Worth Opera’s McCammon Voice Competition, Shreveport Opera’s Singer of the Year Competition, and was the recipient of the Thomas Stewart Award for Vocal Excellence at Baylor University.

Dennis Jesse - Ping
Baritone Dennis Jesse has found much success in a wide range of vocal styles and characterizations in a career that has taken him from the madcap world of operetta to the dramatic depths of grand opera. He has appeared in more than 40 operettas including The Desert Song, The Mikado, H.M.S. Pinafore, Gräfin Maritza, Die Fledermaus, and The Merry Widow. His operatic credits include the title roles in Rigoletto, Scarpia, Amonasro, Don Giovanni, Gianni Schicchi, and Il Barbiere di Siviglia, as well as lead baritone roles in I Pagliacci, Madama Butterfly, Faust, Le Nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, La Bohème, Cavalleria Rusticana, Carmen, Romèo et Juliette, and The Crucible. He has appeared in numerous productions with New Orleans Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Arizona Opera, Eugene Opera, Knoxville Opera, Nevada Opera, Sacramento Opera, Pensacola Opera, Opera Idaho, Da Corneto Opera, Triangle Opera Theater, Amarillo Opera, Metro Lyric Opera, El Paso Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Southwest, Ohio Light Opera, Pittsburgh Public Theater, Opera Lenawee, Jefferson Performing Arts Society, and he toured for two years with the National Opera Company as Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Taddeo in L’Italiana in Algeri and Belcore in L’Elisir d’amore. He has recently made his directorial debut with a production of Orpheus in the Underworld forNevada Opera. Some of his most recent and upcoming engagements include: Willie in Willie Stark as guest artist with LSU Opera (with its DVD release available on Newport Classics), Bass Soloist in the Verdi Requiem with the Baton Rouge Symphony, Marcello in La Boheme and Mr. X in Circus Princess with Nevada Opera, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Opera Idaho and Opéra Louisiane, The Red Shadow in Desert Song, Pooh-Bah in The Mikado and Crown Prince Rudolph in Marinka with Ohio Light Opera and Raphael in Haydn's The Creation with Meridian Symphony Orchestra.