Lynette Tapia, Bolivian-American soprano, is a Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, First Place and “Prix de la publique” in the Operalia International Voice Competition Placido Domingo, First Prize George London Foundation, First Prize Licia Albanese – Puccini Foundation, an Opera Index Award.

Ms. Tapia has recently appeared as Elvira in I PURITANI with Opera Koor Rotterdam; Grote Zangers Recital with John Osborn and Thomas Bagwell in Amsterdam Muziekgebauw an ’t Ij; Phoenician International Festival of the Voice in LA BOHEME as Mimí; in Aalto Theater Essens’s production of LE PROPHETE by Giacomo Meyerbeer as Berthe; Opera Classica Europa’s productions of CARMEN as Micaëla, TURANDOT as Liù, LA TRAVIATA as Violetta Valéry, and RIGOLETTO as Gilda; National Opera and Ballet Constanta, Oleg Danovski Theater in LA TRAVIATA as Violetta; Salzburg Festspiele in LA CENERENTOLA as Clorinda.

Other roles include Die Königen der Nacht in DIE ZAUBERFLÖTE; Zerbinetta in ARIADNE AUF NAXOS; Adina in L’ELISIR D’AMORE; Marie in LA FILLEDU RÉGIMENT; Adele in DIE FLEDERMAUS; Blondchen in DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL; Rosina in IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA; and Cunegonde in CANDIDE.

Recent concert appearances include Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Italy; Kloster Eberbach, Germany; Opéra de Genève Les Nations; Teatro Regio Parma, Italy; Alte Oper Frankfurt, Germany. Prestigious conductors include Donald Runnicles, Richard Bonynge, Julius Rudel, John DeMain, Stephen Lord, and Andrew Litton; She has recorded two albums, “L’amour consacré” and “La coppia degli acuti” with John Osborn, tenor, and Christopher Larkin, conductor, with the English Chamber Orchestra at Henry Wood Hall in London. Most recent recording includes Berthe in LE PROPHETE on Oehms Classics.

Future engagements include Opera Gala with John Osborn, tenor, Ryan Haskins and the Sioux City Symphony Orchestra.

Milena Kitic, a renowned mezzo-soprano, has performed numerous roles with opera companies around the world throughout the last three decades.

Perhaps best known for her signature role of Carmen in Bizet’s Carmen, Kitic has headlined in major performance venues across the United States and Europe such as the National Theater in Belgrade, Serbia (former Yugoslavia), Aalto Theater Essen in Germany, Washington D.C. Opera, Baltimore Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Pacific, and Metropolitan Opera.

She received numerous accolades for her performances, including the German Music Critic’s Award for Performer of the Season in 1998 and the Opera Pacific Guild’s Diva of the Year in 2005. The International Jeunesses Musicales Competition in Belgrade, Serbia, has established a special prize for “the best young mezzo-soprano” in Kitic’s name.

Her talent and incredible career in music earned her the inaugural Artist-in-Residence Award given by Chapman University in Orange, California, where she is an adjunct professor and master class instructor. She also works closely with the Orange County High School of the Arts and many universities and music organizations in Southern California.

Kitic currently serves as chair of artistic excellence at LA Opera with whom she most recently performed the role of Carmen, Albine in Thais (with Placido Domingo), Mrs. Noah in Noah’s Flood, and Suzuki in Madame Butterfly (both conducted by J. Conlon). Among other recent performances are her roles in Carmen and Amneris in Aida with the Pacific Symphony in Costa Mesa, CA, the grand opening concert of Chapman University’s Musco Center for the Arts, the role of The Witch in Hansel and Gretel with the Symphonic Society of Orange County, and the Alto part in Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Madison Symphony and Pacific Symphony Orchestras.

In the past year, Kitic has joined the Board of the Parnassus Society, which is committed to the growth of cultural advancement in Orange County, has established The Milena Kitic Outstanding Mezzo-Soprano Award at The Mentoris Vocal Competition in Pasadena, started mentoring students from Newport Harbor High School in opera and music, and was recognized by the Loren L. Zachary Society for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles for her work as a professional Opera Singer, Educator, and Contributor to the opera community.

Kitic presently resides in Newport Beach, California and runs her private vocal studio.

“The clarion-voiced, impressive” (New York Times) Lirico Spinto tenor Bruce Sledge has been praised for his “bright, attractive sound and superb technical skills” that he has shared with audiences at major opera houses around the world over his career spanning more than two decades.

So far this season Sledge has been involved in projects at the Metropolitan opera including covering the title role in Wagner’s Lohengrin and the role of Sergei in Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mzinsk.

Last season Mr. Sledge’s engagements included performing as tenor soloist in the Verdi Requiem with Seattle Symphony, a reprisal of the role of Paolo Erisso in Rossini’s Maometto Secondo with Washington Concert Opera, and his role debut as Don José in Opera Colorado’s Carmen. He also returned to the Metropolitan Opera covering the title role in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos. He was the tenor soloist in The Parnassus Society’s annual operatic concert at Soka University.

In the 2019-20 season, Sledge made his role debut as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly in a Metropolitan Opera “Live in HD” transmission seen live by over 350,000 viewers in over 70 countries worldwide. He was also seen at UCLA’s Royce Hall as a tenor soloist in Rachel Fuller’s Animal Requiem.

In recent seasons, Sledge returned to the Deutsche Oper Berlin for performances of Jean in Le Prophète and to the Welsh National Opera as Lorenzo in The Merchant of Venice and Macduff in Macbeth. He was praised by Opera Wire for his “dramatic versatility” for his portrayal of Bacchus in the Santa Fe Opera’s Ariadne auf Naxos, and Opera Canada raved that his “radiant, voluminous tenor and ease with language” as Lord Riccardo Percy in Anna Bolena with the Canadian Opera Company was “spot-on.” A regular roster member of the Metropolitan Opera, Sledge made his debut as Almaviva in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, followed by performances as Ferrando in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Don Ottavio in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, and King of Naples in Thomas Adès’s The Tempest.

Sledge counts among his career highlights singing the role of the Duke of Mantua in Rigoletto with companies including Vancouver Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Tulsa Opera and in Avenches, Switzerland; Paolo Erisso in Rossini’s Maometto Secondo with the Canadian Opera Company and Santa Fe Opera; Leicester in Maria Stuarda with the Minnesota Opera, Welsh National Opera and Swedish National Opera; Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with the Hamburgische Staatsoper and Tulsa Opera; Leicester in Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra with the Rossini Opera Festival; and Ernesto in Don Pasquale at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, Teatro Regio di Torino, Teatro Comunale di Bologna and New York City Opera. He performed the role of the Italian Tenor in Der Rosenkavalier at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Léopold in La Juive at La Fenice; Alfredo in La Traviata at the Royal Danish Opera; Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte at the Pittsburgh Opera; and as Tonio in La Fille du Régiment on the Teatro Comunale di Bologna’s tour to Savonlinna. As Vladimir Vladimirescu and the Fisherman in the double-bill of Mozart’s The Impresario and Stravinsky’s Rossignol at Santa Fe, Sledge “sang with appealing lyricism” and “performed to glorious poetic effect” (Opera News).

As a concert soloist, Sledge has performed in The Defiant Requiem in Asheville, NC and Vienna, Verdi’s Messa da Requiem with the Spoleto USA Festival and the Radio Television Ireland Orchestra in Dublin, Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the National Symphony, Schubert’s Mass No. 6 with the San Diego Symphony, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the Berkeley Symphony, and he has sung with the Risca Male Choir in Wales and Opera Companies of Tampa, Atlanta and Hong Kong. Several appearances with the San Francisco Symphony have included Mozart’s Requiem, Stravinsky’s Pulcinella, and singing as the Shepherd in Oedipus Rex and soloist in Schubert’s Mass No. 6 under Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas. With the Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon, he has performed concerts of Bartok’s Cantata Profana and Kodaly’s Psalmus Hungaricus, and sang Brahms’ Liebeslieder Walzer with the New York City Ballet. Sledge appeared in recital at Carnegie’s Weill Hall in celebration of Marilyn Horne’s 75th Birthday.

Bruce Sledge recorded the role of the Fox in Spanish and Catalan versions of Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen for the BBC with Kent Nagano, has been seen on the NBC sitcom Scrubs, and can be heard on the soundtrack of the motion picture The Sum of All Fears.

Sledge was a finalist in the 2002 World Voice Masters Competition in Monte Carlo, a finalist in Placido Domingo’s Operalia 2000 World Opera Contest, and a national finalist in the 2000 Loren L. Zachary Vocal Competition. In 1998, he was a Western Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Auditions and was awarded first place in the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Competition. Bruce Sledge received his master’s degree in vocal arts from the University of Southern California.

Praised by Opera News as a tenor of “stunningly sweet tone,” Edward Graves is a second-year Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera. His most recent Bay Area performances include a workshop of Jake Heggie’s upcoming world premiere opera Intelligence with Houston Grand Opera, as well as Stone/Eunuch in Bright Sheng’s Dreams of the Red Chamber and Gastone in La traviata, both on the San Francisco Opera mainstage. At SFO, he also covered the roles of Alfredo in La traviata and Lensky in Eugene Onegin before engaging in a “thrilling who-can-sing-it-higher face-off from Rossini’s Otello” (San Francisco Chronicle) in the Adler Fellowship’s The Future Is Now concert.

Elsewhere, he has recently joined Virginia Symphony for Handel’s Messiah, Detroit Opera as Policeman 2 in Tesori’s Blue, and Berkshire Choral International as the title role in Judas Maccabaeus. His appearance in Merola Opera Program’s What The Heart Desires earned a San Francisco Chronicle rave for his “superbly bright, clarion sound.” Upcoming performances with San Francisco Opera include Rodolfo in Bohème out of the Box. He also makes his Spoleto Festival USA debut as Anatol in Vanessa.

Additional credits include Rinuccio in a double bill of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost with Michigan Opera Theatre, Robbins in Porgy and Bess with Seattle Opera, and Policeman 2 in the world premiere of Blue at the Glimmerglass Festival, where he also sang Fred in Oklahoma! and Peter in Porgy and Bess. As a Baumgartner Studio Artist at Florentine Opera, he performed roles in The Merry Widow, Venus and Adonis / Dido and Aeneas and The Magic Flute.

Graves is a 2022 San Francisco District winner of the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition. Following his bachelor studies in Voice Performance at Towson University, he received his Performer Diploma and Master of Music in Voice Performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.

While at IU, Graves participated in a Game of Thrones-inspired production of Rodelinda and has since been drawn to the virtuosic music of Handel.

Panamanian-American baritone Nmon Ford begins a new artistic chapter as the composer, librettist, and title-role performer of House of Orfeus (previously Orfeus, A House Music Opera), which was scheduled for its world premiere at London’s Young Vic Theatre (postponed due to Covid-19). The show will be presented in 2024 as a co-production with Lincoln Center and Opera Carolina. Nmon has enjoyed success in increasingly challenging and dramatic repertoire, most recently in concert with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in excerpts from Aïda (Amonasro). He made his role and company debut as Crown in the English National Opera/Metropolitan Opera co-production of Porgy and Bess, preceded by his role and festival debut at Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival as The Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein’s MASS, Iago (Otello) with the Atlanta Symphony, Jochanaan (Salome) at Pittsburgh Opera, and the Celebrant (MASS) at Salzburg’s Grosses Festspielhaus with the Salzburg Mozarteumorchester. He appeared with the Dallas Symphony in Vaughn Williams’ Sea Symphony, Chicago Opera Theater in the title role of a new production of Ernest Bloch’s Macbeth, Atlanta Symphony at Carnegie Hall (Brahms’ Requiem), St. Louis Symphony (Carmina Burana), and Milwaukee Symphony (Brahms’ Requiem). After performing Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire (ONPL) conducted by John Axelrod, Nmon was immediately re-engaged by the ONPL for Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and Fauré’s Requiem.

Nmon made his Italian debut at Teatro delle Muse in Ancona in the title role of a new production of The Emperor Jones directed by Henning Brockhaus and conducted by Bruno Bartoletti (for which he received the Premio Franco Corelli for the outstanding debut of the season), his company debut with Cincinnati Opera as Riolobo in Francesca Zambello’s production of Florencia en el Amazonas, and his role debut as The Traveler in a new production of Death In Venice at Hamburg State Opera. He appeared with Michigan Opera Theater as Zurga in Zandra Rhodes’ production of Les pêcheurs de perles, Teatro Comunale di Bologna in the title role of Pier Luigi Pizzi’s production of Don Giovanni, and the Szeged Open-Air Festival in Hungary as Escamillo (Carmen). Nmon gave his first performances at Italy’s Sferisterio Festival in new productions of Attila and Juditha Triumphans, preceded by Don Giovanni in Ancona. He debuted the roles of di Luna (Il trovatore) with Virginia Opera and Thoas (Iphigénie en Tauride) with Hamburg State Opera, and bowed as Mendelssohn’s Elijah at Washington National Cathedral with the Cathedral Choral Society conducted by J. Reilly Lewis.

In previous seasons Nmon sang both Scarpia (Tosca) and the title role in a new production of Billy Budd with Hamburg Opera; with the Atlanta Symphony conducted by Robert Spano he recorded Jennifer Higdon’s Dooryard Bloom (written for him) and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music for Telarc. He made his Ravinia Festival debut with James Conlon conducting the Chicago Symphony in Shostakovich’s Symphony #13 (“Babi Yar”), which he also performed with Maestro Conlon and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall. Additional engagements include Carmina Burana with the Pittsburgh Symphony, and covering the role of Amfortas with Los Angeles Opera in Robert Wilson’s production of Parsifal starring Plácido Domingo and conducted by Kent Nagano. He received critical acclaim at Spoleto Festival USA as the title role in Don Giovanni, in a production by Günter Krämer conducted by Emmanuel Villaume.

Having begun his musical training in piano at age three, Nmon has since appeared with–in addition to the previously mentioned companies–San Francisco Opera, Teatro Sociale di Rovigo, Utah Opera, Portland Opera, and Opera Memphis in roles such as Iago (Otello), Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde), Renato (Un ballo in maschera), Amonasro (Aïda), Germont (La traviata), and the High Priest (Samson et Dalila). Other roles include Telramund (Lohengrin), Posa (Don Carlo), and Carlo (Ernani).

Nmon has worked with conductors Louis Langrée, James Conlon, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Leonard Slatkin, Robert Spano, Bruno Bartoletti, Kent Nagano, Marin Alsop, Emmanuel Villaume, John Wilson, John Adams, and Simone Young. His concert appearances include the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonics, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, National Symphony, BBC Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Handel and Haydn Society (Boston, MA), and Orchestra of St. Luke’s. He made his New York recital debut under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation.

In addition to his Grammy-winning Naxos and Telarc releases, Nmon has recorded for Universal Music Group/Decca (Vai DaCapo – Songs of Delight, Billboard Top 20 Classical and Classical Crossover) and Koch International (Villa-Lobos’ Symphony #10, “Amerindia”). His awards include First Place in the Wagner Division of the Liederkranz Foundation of New York Competition, as well as major prizes from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the George London Foundation. He earned his Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in music from the University of Southern California, where he graduated with honors for both degrees.

Soprano Chelsea Chaves has performed widely and is adored for her lyricism and winning stage presence. Since graduating with her master’s degree from the USC Thornton School of Music, Ms. Chaves has been featured in opera productions and concerts, including Astoria Music Festival, Musiktheater Bavaria, Opera Santa Barbara, OperaWorks, the 2022 Grammy Award Winning Pacific Chorale, Pacific Symphony, Songfest, and many more. Her favorite roles include Hanna Glawari from Lehár’s Die Lustige Witwe and Pamina from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.
Ms. Chaves is passionate about bringing classical music to the younger generations and is often featured with Long Beach Opera and Pacific Symphony in their outreach pursuits.
In 2018, she was a recipient of the prestigious vocal award from the Profant Foundation in Santa Barbara and was a finalist for the Loren L. Zachary Competition in 2015. She has also sung the National Anthem at two Laker games. Chelsea received her Bachelor of Music degree from Chapman University. For more information, please visit www.chelseachaves.com.

American mezzo-soprano Erin Theodorakis enjoys an active career on the stage and in the concert hall. She has performed throughout the United States and Europe. A compelling storyteller, she engages audiences with her dynamic presence and expressive voice.
On stage, Ms. Theodorakis most recently joined the Aspen Opera Center as a fellowship singer,  erforming the role of Countess Charlotte Malcolm in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. In a review for the Aspen Times, Harvey Steiman wrote: “Erin Theodorakis not only nailed the sneaky wit in Charlotte, Carl-Magnus’ resourceful wife, but found shadings of meaning in Every Day a Little Death.”
In 2017, Ms. Theodorakis had the pleasure of performing the leading role of Jo March in Mark Adamo’s Little Women with the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Also with the Shepherd School, she performed the roles of Mrs. McLean in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah and La Natura in Cavalli’s La Calisto. With Opera Chapman, her other roles have included Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus and La Vecchia Zita in Gianni Schicchi. Last November, Ms. Theodorakis made her debut with Pacific Opera Project in their production of Hansel and Gretel, playing the role of the Mother.
On the concert stage, Ms. Theodorakis’ solo engagements have included featured solos in Bach’s Magnificat, the Vivaldi Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah, to name a few. In 2015, she collaborated with the Pacific Symphony for their “For the Love of Bernstein” concert, and sang the “Doa Daa Day” trio from Trouble in Tahiti under the baton of maestro Carl St.Clair. She returned in 2016 to sing the role of Ruth in Pirates of Penzance for their Family Musical Mornings concert series. For
four years in a row between 2014 and 2017, Ms. Theodorakis was awarded first place in the National Association of Teachers of Singing Los Angeles Competition in her division. Last year, Ms. Theodorakis was recognized as a district winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition for the San Diego District. She went on to win an encouragement award at the Regional Competition in Los Angeles.
Ms. Theodorakis holds a Master’s degree in Voice Performance from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where she was a recipient of the Shepherd School’s Provost Award. Originally from Southern California, Ms. Theodorakis graduated from Chapman University with a Bachelor of Music degree in both Vocal Performance and Music Education. She studies with Reid Bruton.

Andrew Pringle is an up-and-coming American bass-baritone from Los Angeles, California. He has performed as a soloist and chorister with many acclaimed conductors at venues such as Walt Disney Concert Hall, Microsoft Theatre, and the Long Beach Performing Arts Center.

Recently, Andrew was featured in opera masterclasses with brilliant performers and directors such as Lisette Oropesa and James Darrah. He has performed the roles of Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Gloster Heming in Virgil Thomson’s The Mother of Us All, and Antonio in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. He also enjoys performing and advancing new music, having sung in the World Premiere of Carla Lucero’s Juana and the West Coast Premiere of Janice Hamer’s Lost Childhood. Later this year, Andrew will be performing both Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore and Father Trulove in The Rake’s Progress with Opera UCLA.

Andrew is currently earning his Master’s Degree at UCLA’s Herb Alpert School of Music studying with Vladimir Chernov, Peter Kazaras, and Dr. James Bass. Outside of music, he enjoys sports and hanging out with his cat.

Ryan Tan is the director of the Sowers Middle School Viking Choir and has been teaching music in the Huntington Beach City School District (HBCSD) at Isaac L. Sowers Middle School (grades 6-8) since fall 2016. Ryan started singing in choir at a young age with the Pasadena Boys Choir and participated in school choirs from elementary school through high school and college. He completed his teaching credential at California State University, Fullerton and earned his undergraduate degrees in Music Education and Business Administration at Chapman University.

He also currently holds a masters degree & credential in Educational Administration and was recently the recipient of the 2022 Orange County Music and Arts Awards for Secondary Vocal Music. At Sowers, Ryan has taught a variety of music & arts courses including concert choir, show choir, rock band, and general music classes as well as yearbook and the school’s ASB/Leadership class.

In the spring, he also coordinates the school musical with teachers/students from the high school district with productions such as Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cinderella, Winnie the Pooh, and Alice in Wonderland. Each year, all the music classes at Sowers participate in a variety of events, festivals, and concerts ranging from community events/concerts to show choir competitions as well as participation in performances/workshops at Disneyland. This year, Ryan as well as the rest of Sowers and HBCSD are so grateful, honored, and excited for this amazing and unique opportunity to perform with the Parnassus Society at SOKA University. Thank you for having us!

“Warm, grand and rich”, Cheryl Lin Fielding’s pianism has taken her to some of the finest stages in the world, including major venues such as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Recital Hall, Tanglewood Music Center, Music Academy of the West, Aspen Music Festival, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Juilliard Theater, the Mark Morris Dance Group, Musco Center for the Arts, and Soka Performing Arts Center. A sought-after recital partner and vocal coach, Fielding has been honored with the Grace B. Jackson Prize in Excellence by the Tanglewood Music Festival, recognized by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, and received the distinguished Gwendolyn Koldofsky Award in Keyboard Collaborative Arts. Cheryl’s musical training includes three degrees from the Juilliard School. 

Fielding has had the honor of working alongside luminaries such as Christian Badea, John DeMain, Luana Devol, Enrique Arturo Diemecke, James Levine, Timothy Lindberg, Angela Meade, George Mester, Carol Neblett, Linda Watson, and Dolora Zajick, and has served as music director, vocal coach, pianist, adjudicator for organizations including Dolora Zajick’s Institute of Young Dramatic Voices, the Philadelphia Virtuosi, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Pacific, Operafestival di Roma, Opera Laguna, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera San Jose, OperaWorks, Pacific Symphony, Opera Chapman, California State University at Northridge, Azusa Pacific University, the Juilliard School, and the USC Thornton Opera. Dr. Fielding is passionate about keeping the arts thriving in the communities and has recently help produce several concerts with Parnassus Society at Soka Performing Arts Center. She is presently the Artistic Director of Parnassus Society, and coaches at Opera UCLA and Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices.