“gave a moving performance…he sang with attention to expressive details and completely embodied the role.” -Opera News Arthur Woodley has appeared with prestigious opera companies all over the U.S. including the San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Dallas Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Pittsburgh, Opera, New Orleans Opera, and the Opera Theatre of St. Louis.  His many roles have included Varlaam in Boris Godunov, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro, the Four Villains in Les Contes d'Hoffman, Kuno in Die Freischütz, Banquo in Macbeth, Nick Shadow in The Rake's Progress, Sulpice in La Fille du Régiment, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Rocco in Fidelio, Publio in La Clemenza di Tito, Angelotti in Tosca, Achillas in Guilio Cesare, and Dansker in Billy Budd. He also recently created the role of Dick Hallorann in Paul Moravec's The Shining at the Minnesota Opera and Emile Griffith in Terence Blanchard's Champion at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Mr. Woodley was born in New York City and raised in Saint Croix. He current resides in Montclair, NJ. He recently named joined the faculty for Vocal Performance at NYU.

"She is almost too good to be true..a vital artist, a beautiful woman, a regal presence." -The Washington Post  "Put simply: if the human voice has the power to move you, you will be touched by Denyce Graves." -Atlanta Journal Constitution Recognized worldwide as one of today's most exciting vocal stars, Denyce Graves continues to gather unparalleled popular and critical acclaim in performances on four continents. Her career has taken her to the world's great opera houses and concert halls. The combination of her expressive, rich vocalism, elegant stage presence, and exciting theatrical abilities allows her to pursue a wide breadth of operatic portrayals as well as delight audiences in concert and recital appearances.

“Baritone Aubrey Allicock could make his career on the vocal, dramatic and physical strength of his portrayal of Young Emile, a very human mixture of sunshine and darkness.” -Sara Bryan Miller, Champion, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Hailed by the New York Times as "sturdy", "dynamic", and "excellent", Aubrey Allicock continues to make his mark among important opera companies and symphonies both at home and abroad. A Grammy nominee for his participation in John Adams's Doctor Atomic as General Groves, Mr. Allicock adds to that nominee list a BBC Music Magazine Award for Opera. He debuted at the Concertgebouw in John Adams’s El Niño this past December and made his Washington National Opera debut in a reprise of Terence Blanchard’s Champion as the Young Emile in the spring of 2017. He returned to Europe to make his BBC debut as General Groves in Doctor Atomic and recorded the work for Nonesuch Records. Mr. Allicock returned to Bard Music Festival as Janusz in Stanislaw Moniuszko's opera Halka, sung in Polish; made his Opera Philadelphia debut in the fall of 2017 in We Shall Not Be Moved, music by Daniel Bernard Roumain with Bill T. Jones directing and a reprise at the Apollo Theater in New York and Dutch National Opera. He made his Los Angeles Philharmonic debut under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel in works by Mozart; debuted with New Orleans Opera in Champion and reprised the title role in Le nozze di Figaro with the Salzburger-landestheater in 2018. Upcoming engagements include Bernstein Songfest in Carnegie Hall conducted by Marin Alsop; a debut with Opera de Montréal in Champion; a reprise of Figaro with Opera Theater of Saint Louis and a return to Glyndebourne as Argante in Rinaldo.

“Victor as Nadir, has an aria, really a scene in which he completely captivated the audience. His performance nearly stopped the show!” -Burt Sailed American tenor Victor Ryan Robertson offers a versatile singing ability and style allowing him to cross seamlessly across genres. He recent enjoyed critically success with  Sarasota Opera’s Il barbiere di Siviglia as The Count Almaviva. “…Victor Ryan Robertson is a case in point. Vocally the star of the show, singing a very fine Count.” – Talkingbroadway.  Last season Victor made his Met debut in The Merry Widow with famed director Susan Stroman and Made his Broadway debut in the longest running show on Broadway, Phantom of the Opera. Victor starred in the World premiere of multiple grammy-award winning trumpeter and composer Terrence Blanchard’s Champion, creating the role of Benny “Kid” Peret in a landmark production with Washington National Opera. He will reprise the role of Benny with Opera Montreal. He recently enjoyed a successful run as Hosea Williams in Douglas Tappin’s I Dream with Kennedy Center, Toledo Opera and Opera Carolina.

American contralto Meredith Arwady Kahrl studied at Loy Norrix High School in Kalamazoo, Michigan and at Kalamazoo Area Mathematics and Science Center. She received a Master of Music degree from the Curtis Institute of Music where she studied voice with Marlena Kleinman Malas. Hailed by critics as a “rarity” and “a genuine contralto,” Meredith Arwady delights audiences in the USA and abroad with rich vocal intensity and captivatingx stage presence. She is a 2012 Grammy Award winner for Best Opera Recording (John Adams’s Dr. Atomic). In the 2016-2017 season, she will debut at Washington National Opera reprising her acclaimed performance as Kathy Hagen in Terence Blanchard’s Champion. She also will be seen at the Dallas Opera as Filippyevna in Eugene Onegin and Houston Grand Opera as the 1st Norn in Götterdämmerung. In the summer of 2017, she will return to Santa Fe Opera as Amelfa in Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Le coq d’or.

American soprano Kimwana Doner has been described as “absolutely luminous” as well as “mesmerizing to watch and thrilling to hear.” A product of the distinguished young artist training programs of San Francisco Opera (Merola and Adler Fellowship), Seattle Opera, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Opera North, Ms. Doner is establishing a career that includes the full breadth of the lyric to dramatic soprano repertoire. With acclaimed performances on the mainstages of the San Francisco Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Boston Lyric Opera, and Opera North, the statuesque Ms. Doner is becoming increasingly seen as an important young talent. Her repertoire already encompasses many of the Mozart heroines including Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Pamina and Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni), and the Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro) as well as Puccini's Liu (Turandot) and Musetta (La Bohème) and Bizet's Michaëla (Carmen). In recent years, she is excited to have expanded her repertoire into Verdi and Strauss with Leonora (Il Trovatore), Alice (Falstaff) and a title role in Ariadne auf Naxos. Also an avid concert performer, she has appeared with the Saint Louis Symphony, Modesto Symphony, Yakima Symphony, Napa Valley Opera House, and Rackham Symphony as well as several prominent concert series including the Music at Meyer Concert Series in the acoustically superb Meyer Sanctuary in San Francisco, CA and the Eureka Chamber Music Concert Series which brings together prominent artists from the US and abroad. Ms. Doner is the proud recipient of the Best Performance Leading Female Award 2006 from Opera Online and the Emily Gaddes Memorial Award 2002 from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.

American conductor Kazem Abdullah currently lives in Nürnberg, Germany. He was Music and Artistic Director of the City of Aachen, Germany from 2012 to 2017. During his tenure, he succeeded in reaching newer and diverse audiences through innovative programming and moving out of the concert hall, and into atypical venues. In addition to exploring new venues to bring concerts to audiences and experimenting with juxtapositions of styles in non-traditional concert formats, he also performed over 25 operas and collaborated with musicians such as Johannes Moser, Lise de la Salle, Angela Gheorghiu, Augustin Haedelich, and Midori. A passionate advocate of new music as well as established repertoire, Mr. Abdullah continues to develop relationships with national and international orchestras and opera houses. Among his recent orchestral credits are the symphony orchestras of Oregon, Indianapolis, Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati. In addition to his symphony engagements, he recently conducted an opera Gala for the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the American premiere of Charles Wuorinen’s opera Brokeback Mountain with the New York City Opera, and Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda for Cape Town Opera.

American stage director James Robinson is Artistic Director at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where he has mounted productions including Chin’s Alice in Wonderland (American premiere), Ash’s The Golden Ticket (world premiere), Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles (also presented at the Wexford Festival), and Adams’ The Death of Klinghoffer and Nixon in China (a production seen throughout the United States and Canada). Elsewhere, Robinson has directed new productions for Houston Grand Opera (Lucia di Lammermoor, Giulio Cesare and Abduction from the Seraglio), San Francisco Opera (Norma, Il Trittico and L’Elisir d’amore) and the Canadian Opera Company (Norma, Elektra and Nixon in China). For the Santa Fe Opera, he has directed new productions of Capriccio, Così fan tutte and The Rake’s Progress, and numerous productions for the New York City Opera (La bohème, Hansel and Gretel and Il viaggio a Reims). His work has also been seen at the Australian Opera, the Washington Opera, the Los Angeles Opera, the Seattle Opera, the Royal Swedish Opera, the Dallas Opera, the Minnesota Opera and Chicago Opera Theater. Additionally, he has created productions for the London Symphony Orchestra (Bernstein’s Mass and Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher), the Hollywood Bowl (Amadeus), Carnegie Hall, and the Minnesota Orchestra.