The Marriage of Figaro

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Bass-baritone Hunter Enoch joined the Cafritz Young Artist program at Washington National Opera in the fall of 2015. During his time with the company, he was heard as Count Almaviva in the Young Artist performance of Le nozze di Figaro, a Corporal in The Daughter of the Regiment, ADC in The Dictator’s Wife, covered Joseph De Rocher in Dead Man Walking, and sang Sharpless in the Young Artist performance of Madame Butterfly. His WNO debut was as Moralés in Carmen and he was later heard as James Miller in the world premiere of Better Gods. In the 2019-2020 season, Mr. Enoch returned to WNO as Montano in Otello, and sang the role of Kurwenal in Act 2 of Tristan und Isolde with the National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Gianandrea Noseda at both the Kennedy Center and at Lincoln Center, and performed Palémon with Maryland Lyric Opera. In the 2018-19 Mr. Enoch performed the role of William Dale in Silent Night at Washington National Opera, made his company and role debut as Scarpia for Opera Birmingham, and sang Happy in La Fanciulla del West and Raimondo in Lucia di Lammermoor for Maryland Lyric Opera, and debuted Wotan with Pacific Northwest Opera in The Ring in One Evening. This season Mr. Enoch will sing Scarpia with Anchorage Opera and returns to Pacific Northwest Opera as Germont in La Traviata.

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South Korean Soprano Nayoung Ban is a young and dedicated operatic soprano with a sizeable and remarkably warm Bel Canto voice. She has been praised for vocal color, stage personality, and musicality beyond her years. Ms.Ban’s upcoming performances include Susanna(Le Nozze di Figaro) with Opera Ithaca and A Voice from Heaven(Don Carlo) with Maryland Lyric Opera. Recently Ms.Ban made her début with Maryland Lyric Opera debut performing the Title role of Lucia di Lammermoor where she also appeared as Gilda(Rigoletto), Musetta(La bohème), Pamina(Die Zauberflöte) and Blonde(Die Entführung) in their Concerts. Additionally, she performed Musetta(La Bohème) with Opera Ithaca and and Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi) with Mannes Opera where she also appeared as Euridice (Orfeo di Euridice), Vixen (The Cunning Little Vixen), Giulietta in (I Capuleti e Montecchi) and Juliette (Roméo et Juliette) with Mannes Opera Opera Scene Performance. Ms. Ban also has performed as a Soprano Soloist in ‘Hear my prayer’ by F.Mendelssohn with Peniel Women’s Choir, T.Dubois’s The Seven Last Words of Christ with Christian Broadcasting System of New York, Soprano Soloist in Gounod’s St.Cecilia Mass with GNC Orchestra and Soloist in Handel’s Messiah with New Hope Reformed Church of New York.

Soprano Nayoung Ban has her Professional Studies in Mannes College of Music, holds her Master’s degree at Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree at ChungAng University in Korea where she also has her Bachelor's Degree.

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Heralded as one of the most sought after and versatile Belcanto baritones of the emerging generation, Chilean baritone Javier Arrey recently did his Metropolitan Opera debut as Schaunard (La Boheme) in the classic Franco Zeffirelli production and joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera; he also did an acclaimed debut at the Wiener Staatsoper as Marcelloin La Boheme.

Engagements in recent seasons include, among others: Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana) at Boston Lyric Opera; Valdeburgo (La Straniera) and Riccardo (I Puritani) at Washington Concert Opera; Giovanni (Don Giovanni) at the Estates Theater in Prague and Castleton Festival; Silvio (I Pagliacci) at the NCPA Mumbai under Antonello Allemandi; Giorgio (Il Postino) and Garibaldo (Rodelinda) at the Teatro Municipal de Santiago.

Following an acclaimed debut as Jago (Otello) at the Castleton Festival under Lorin Maazel, a performance The Washington Post described as "menaced and connived but [Arrey] did so subtly and with a voice so lovely to that his scheming seemed all the more threatening." Praises came also from Mo. Lorin Maazel who published: "Jago was stunningly sung and acted by Javier Arrey [who] manages to give shape to the jealous demon within Otello"

On CD, Mr.Arrey can be heard as Lescaut on the recording of Puccini's Manon Lescaut for Decca Classics alongside Andrea Bocelli and Plácido Domingo.

In addition to his work on the opera stage Arrey has proved to be a world-class interpreter of the concert repertoire most recently performing Carmina Burana in Europe and Dvorák's Biblical Songs & Gypsy Songs in Czech Republic. His repertoire includes Fauré's Requiem, Bach St.John Passion BWV 245, Bach Weihnachtsoratorium BWV 248, Bach Cantata BWV
82, Schumann's Dichterliebe, Brahms's Ein deutsches Requiem and Mahler's Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen, among others.

In 2017, Mr. Arrey received the "Congressional Medal of Honor" at the National Congress of Chile in recognition of his artistic career and his social labor bringing the Opera to populations who have no access to live performances. In 2011 Javier Arrey was the winner of the CulturArte Prize at Operalia Competition in Moscow and in 2009 he was finalist at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition (Song prize). Mr.Arrey is a graduate of The Washington National Opera "Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program" and Dolora Zajick's Program Institute for "Young Dramatic Voices"

Future engagements include, among others his debut as Germont (La Traviata, Verdi) at the
Teatro Municipal de Santiago under Mo. Rizzi Brignoli.

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American soprano Mary Feminear’s voice has been described as “luminous…full of longing and sensual promise” by the critic of the Wall Street Journal, and by the critic of the New York Times as showing “versatility [as Magdalene] in her sorrowing and then in her transcendent joy.” Among her 2019-20 engagements are the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro with Maryland Lyric Opera, and Pallade, Damigella, and Venere in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Opera Delaware. In the summer of 2020, Ms. Feminear is soloist in Beethoven’s Mass in C Major in her debut with the Grant Park Music Festival. Her engagements in the 2020-21 season include a return to Opera Omaha as the Countess.

Ms. Feminear’s engagements in the 2018-19 season included a return to Grand Théâtre de Genève as Micaëla in Carmen, and concerts with Maryland Lyric Opera, where she appeared as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni and Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro. Engagements for the 2017-18 season included Zerlina in Don Giovanni at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Ginevra in Handel’s Ariodanteand soloist in Mariana Sadovska’s The Wreck at the Opera Omaha One Festival, and Amore in Cavalli’s Il Giasone at the Château de Versailles.

As a member of the Troupe des Jeunes Solistes at Grand Théâtre de Genève, she performed a number of roles, including Musetta in La bohème, Amore in Il Giasone, Mimì in Scènes de la vie de Bohème, Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff, and Helena in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Ms. Feminear’s other opera credits include the title role in Handel’s Semele at Opera Omaha and Seattle Opera, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte with Pacific MusicWorks, Proserpine in Charpentier’s La descente d'Orphée aux enfers with Gotham Chamber Opera, and Polissena in Handel’s Radamistoat Juilliard.

She has also appeared in concert, with performances of Monteverdi’s Orfeo with Pacific MusicWorks, Tchaikovsky’s Orleanskaya Deva with Grand Théâtre de Genève, Handel’s La resurrezione with William Christie and Juilliard415, and the St. Matthew Passion with Juilliard415 at Alice Tully Hall.

Ms. Feminear is a recipient of the Novick Career Advancement Prize, the Makiko Narumi Memorial Prize, and the Hardesty and Beverley Peck Johnson Award. She holds an Artist Diploma in Opera Studies and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Juilliard School and a Master of Arts degree from Teacher’s College at Columbia University.

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Allegra was recently seen as Angelina in La Cenerentola at Boston Midsummer Opera, The Page in Salome at The Spoleto Festival, Siebel in Faust at Washington National Opera and the title role in Carmen in a semi-staged production with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic. Future engagements include Maddalena in Rigoletto with Austin Opera, Rinaldo in Rinadlo at the Glimmerglass Festival. As a 2018 graduate from the Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program she was seen as Rosina in The Barber of Seville (Emerging Artist Performance), Tebaldo in Don Carlo, Sister 2 in Provin’ Up, The Fox/A Rose in The Little Prince, Ruggiero in Alcina (Emerging Artist Performance), the title role in The Dictator’s Wife, Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro (Emerging Artist Performance) and Kate Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly. She was also seen as Tancredi in Erminia with Opera Lafayette, Arsamenes in Xerxes at the 2017 Glimmerglass Festival as well as the roles of Olga in Eugene Onegin with Syracuse Opera and Isaura inTancredi with Opera Philadelphia. Allegra was a 2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Grand Finalist.

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Praised for his "commanding stage presence" and "rich, resonant bass", Kenneth was born and raised in Washington, D.C, music has been a part of his life since grade school. Nurtured in the public school system by amazing music teachers, began formal training at the Duke Ellington School of the Performing and Visual Arts as a Vocal and Visual Arts student.

Among his roles are staples of opera repertoire: The title role, in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, as well as Leporello and Il Commendatore, Mephistopheles in Gounod’s Faust, Don Alfonso in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte, Ramfis and Il Re in Verdi’s Aida, Colline in Puccini’s La Boheme, the title role of Handel’s Hercules, The King in Handel’s Ariodante, Osmin in Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Sarastro and the Speaker in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Sparafucile in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Fasolt in Wagner’s Das Rheingold. Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson's opera Blue was written for him. It was named the best new opera of 2020 by the Music Critics Association of North America.

Never afraid to step outside of the box of traditional repertoire, Mr. Kellogg has been involved with several new operas. He sang the role of Queequeg in the workshop of Jake Heggie’s acclaimed, Moby Dick at San Francisco Opera. He led the cast in the west coast premier of Terence Blanchard’s Champion: An Opera in Jazz, as the champion boxer, Young Emile Griffith, to rave reviews with Opera Parallele. He has been a guest at the Opera America’s New Works Forum in NY, where among other roles, he brought to life the character of Sam Bankhead in Dan Sonenberg’s Opera, The Summer King, about the life of Negro League great, Joshua Gibson. He is a frequent collaborator with small companies pushing the boundaries of the Art of Opera and has lent his voice to several voice-over projects.

Mr. Kellogg has managed a very active performing schedule between the US and Europe. He has worked with many leaders in the field at houses including San Francisco Opera, LA Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Atlanta Opera, Washington Concert Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Opera Tampa, Opera Memphis, Opera North Carolina, Opera Parallele, and is set to make several role and house debuts. His European debut was in the role of Sarastro at Opera de Oviedo where he returned to sing the devil himself, Mephistopheles in Faust. He also sang the same 2 roles with Opera de Lausanne.

He in an Alumnus of the Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera and the Domingo-Caftriz Emerging Artist Program at Washington National Opera. He also trained at the Academy of Vocal Arts, Wolf Trap Opera and holds degrees from the University of Michigan and Ohio University. He is a frequent guest lecturer for organizations about music. He is an advocate for artist rights and uses his certification from Cornell University to consult with performing arts organizations on their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives.

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Mezzo-Soprano Leah Heater just finished the Resident Artist Program with Pittsburgh Opera, where she sang the roles of Flora in La Traviata and The Page in Salome, in which she “impressed” with her “solid low register” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). She portrayed the title role in Riccardo Primo, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, and Jessie Castner in the Long Walk .Her first role with Pittsburgh Opera was the role of Cecelia in Little Women in which she “displayed singing and acting abilities that lifted a secondary character into considerable prominence” (Pittsburgh In The Round).

More recently Ms. Heater has been seen and heard in Verdi's Requiem with Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in which her "sonorous yet vigorous phrasing stood out" (Chautauquan Daily), and as Gertrude in Opera Ithaca's Hamlet, in which her "passion, carnality, and splendid voice completed communicated the transgressions of sovereigns." (Ithaca.com)

Leah graduated from the Masters and Artist Diploma programs at University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music and she performed many works there, including: Mezzo Soloist in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and Symphony No. 3, Verdi's Requiem, and John Adam's El Niño, as well as Carmen in La tragèdie de Carmen, Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte, Aloés in L'Étoile, Mother Goose in The Rake's Progress, and Eboli in the CCM Philharmonic’s concert presentation of the five-act French version of Verdi’s Don Carlos. She has also sung as mezzo soloist in Dvorak’s Requiem with Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and with Asheville Symphony Orchestra in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. In June of 2015, Leah made her Carnegie Hall debut as mezzo soloist in Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem and was praised by the New York Concert Review for her “exquisite voice”.

Leah has been fortunate to workshop a number of new works: at Cincinnati Opera she created the role of Sadie in two workshops of Ricky Ian Gordon's new opera, Morning Star, and sang the role of Kathleen in the world premiere of the same opera. She also had the opportunity to work closely with Jake Heggie and Terrance McNally in a workshop of their new opera, Great Scott, which premiered at Dallas Opera. As a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Leah covered the role of Kathy Hagen in the world premiere of Terrence Blanchard’s Champion, as well as the role of Gertrude Stein in the premiere of 27 by Ricky Ian Gordon, during which she stood in for the first two weeks of staging for Ms. Stephanie Blythe. Leah sang as Carmen in the touring reduction of Bizet's famous opera with Cincinnati Opera as well as the full length version with Rome Festival Opera. She covered Princess Eboli in Verdi’s French version of Don Carlos as a Studio Artist with Sarasota Opera. While an Emerging Artist at Virginia Opera, she sang the role of Juno in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, and covered the role of Mary in The Flying Dutchman.

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MELISSA MINO is a versatile and engaging performer in opera, oratorio, operetta, and in concert.  She made her Washington National Opera debut singing the Dew Fairy in Hansel and Gretel. Concert engagements have included Midsummer Night’s Dream with American Ballet Theatre at the Kennedy Center, Brahms’ Requiem and Vivaldi’s Gloria at the National Cathedral, Creation with the Sylvan Chorale, and a return to the Kennedy Center to perform Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise. 2018-2019 engagements included Lord Nelson Mass with York Symphony, Franck’s Beatitudes with Bucks County Choral Society, and a G&S review with Young Victorian Theatre Company. In 2019-2020, she returns to Bucks Choral as soprano soloist for Brahms Requiem, and joins Maryland Lyric Opera as Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro and Nella in Gianni Schicchi.

A proponent of contemporary opera, she covered Rosalba in Washington National Opera's Florencia en el Amazonas, sang Sylvia in Douglas Pew’s A Game of Hearts at the Opera America New Works Forum, premiered the title role in Maurice Wright’s Galatea Reset, and sang in the world premiere of Lost Childhood at Strathmore. In operetta Melissa has been heard as Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Yum Yum in The Mikado, and Casilda in The Gondoliers. Other roles include Zerlina, Pamina, Despina, Janacek’s Vixen, and Monica in The Medium. She trained as an apprentice artist at Sarasota Opera, in the young artist institute at Maryland Lyric Opera, and at the CoOPERAtive program. She holds an M.M. from Temple University and a B.M. in music education, summa cum laude, from Bucknell University.

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Bass-baritone Michael Pitocchi has been described as a brilliant singer with a powerful, rich voice. Hailing from New York, he is a graduate of the Mannes Conservatory, where he performed leading roles including Dr. Bartolo and Antonio in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Nick Shadow in Stravinsky’s The Rake's Progress, Prince Gremin and Zaretsky in Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, and Frank Maurrant in Weill’s Street Scene.

In the summer of 2018, Michael was invited to perform with the prestigious Glimmerglass Festival. There, he performed in productions of Put’s Silent Night, Janáček‘s The Cunning Little Vixen, and Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia.

In 2019, Michael was awarded top prize in the Gerda Lissner Foundation’s concert series. Brooklyndiscovery.com described his “rich basso” as a voice that will “fill the void today of a lack of great dark voices.” He was later invited to attended the 2019 ICAV Institute in Montreal, Quebec where he was featured as Barbemuche in Leoncavallo’s La Bohéme.

Michael has been a featured soloist with the Fairfield County Chorale in Connecticut. Recent concerts include Mozart's Mass in C minor, J. Christian Bach's Magnificat a 4 in C major, and Handel’s Messiah.

Michael was featured in the 2019 MDLO Institute Concert performing lead roles in scenes from Beethoven's Fidelo, Gounod's Faust, and Verdi's Falstaff. Michael was privileged to cover the role of Timur in MDLO's 2022 production of Puccini's Turandot. His most recent performance with MDLO was singing the role of Antonio in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro.

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Tenor Joseph Michael Brent, a native New Yorker, began his operatic career as a doctoral student at the University of Georgia, Athens. Since graduating in the fall of 2014, Dr. Brent’s lyric tenor voice has continued to gain recognition around the United States and abroad. Most recently, he became the inaugural tenor resident artist of the Michigan Opera Theatre Studio, under the artistic direction of internationally acclaimed tenor Richard Leech and opera impresario Dr. David Dichiera. He completed two seasons as resident artist, ending his tenure at the Michigan Opera Theatre in the spring of 2017.

As a member of the Michigan Opera Theatre Studio Dr. Brent’s roles included Theodore “Laurie” Lawrence (Little Women), Martin (The Tender Land), the Kronprinz (Silent Night), Malcolm (Macbeth), Trin (La Fanciulla del West), and Remendado (Carmen).

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Tenor Mauricio Miranda has recently performed with MDLO as The Emperor Altoum in Turandot by Puccini, as Il Conte di Lerma in Don Carlo by Verdi, as Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro by Mozart, and as Joe in La fanciulla del West by Puccini. His future roles with MDLO include The Judge in Un ballo in maschera and Doctor Caius in Falstaff by Verdi.

During his career, Miranda has performed at the Kennedy Center, Strathmore Music Center, Palacio Euskalduna and Teatro La Laboral (Spain); Teatro Goldoni (Italy), Teatro Municipal de Santiago (Chile), among others. His oratorio repertoire includes works by Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Mozart, Rossini, Beethoven and Schubert, and he has given concerts in Chile, Argentina, Peru, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Spain and the United States. He performed with conductors such as Louis Salemno, Dimitry Jurowsky, Jan Latham-Koenig, Roberto Rizzi-Brignoli, and Daniele Rustioni; and directors such as Emilio Sagi, Anne Bogart, Hugo de Ana and Jean Louis Grinda. Miranda has sung Mozart's Requiem at the Washington National Cathedral, and the role of Eros in the U.S. premiere of Debussy's opera Diane au bois. His soloist career began in South America, and he continued his training in Europe and North America with Bruno Pola in Germany, Isabel Penagos in Spain and Diana Soviero in the U.S.

He graduated from the Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera. Miranda received his degree in Music Theory from the National Conservatory of the University of Chile and was the winner of the prestigious FONDART scholarship.