Rigoletto

From: Honolulu, Hawaii. LA Opera: Duke of Nottingham in Roberto Devereux (2020, debut); title role in Rigoletto (2025).

Hawaiian baritone Quinn Kelsey, the 2015 Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Award recipient, is in high demand for the Verdi, Puccini and French repertoires in houses such as the Metropolitan and San Francisco Operas, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and the Opernhaus Zürich.

The 2023/24 season includes returns to Opera Philadelphia for his debut as the title role in Simon Boccanegra, then to the Met for another exciting role debut, Count Anckaström in Un Ballo in Maschera. He made his Teatro Real, Madrid, debut in his signature role of Rigoletto before returning to Paris for his role debut as Filippo Visconti in a new Peter Sellars production of Bellini’s Beatrice di Tenda. Mr. Kelsey ends his season with his return to the Opernhaus Zürich and another role debut, Guido di Monforte, in a new Calixto Bieito production of I Vespri Siciliani. Future projects include returns to the Metropolitan Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Opernhaus Zürich, the Canadian Opera Company and a debut with the Royal Danish Opera.

In the 2022/23 season, Quinn Kelsey returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for a role debut: Don Carlo in Verdi’s Ernani as their season opener. He then returned to the Metropolitan Opera for several of his signature-roles: the title role in Rigoletto, Amonasro in Aida and Marcello in La Bohème. His season ended with yet another new role: his first performances of the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth for his long-awaited return to the Canadian Opera Company. In concert, Mr. Kelsey joined the Metropolitan Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Carnegie Hall for Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem.

Prior to that, Mr. Kelsey returned to four important houses in new productions: the Metropolitan Opera for the title role in Rigoletto, the Opernhaus Zürich for the Count di Luna in Il Trovatore, the Sächsische Staatsoper in Dresden for Amonasro in Aida and the Santa Fe Opera as the title role in Falstaff. He was also heard in Zürich in Rigoletto, in Dresden as Scarpia in Tosca and at the Metropolitan Opera as Marcello in La Bohème.

Earlier, Quinn Kelsey returned to the Opernhaus Zürich for a series of concerts of arias and ensembles by Verdi. He made debuts with Opera Philadelphia and the Cincinnati Opera for his role debut as Scarpia in Tosca and the Palm Beach Opera as Marcello in La Bohème. He sang his first Tonio in a filmed version of Pagliacci with the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Prior to that Quinn Kelsey returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for a new role, Miller in Luisa Miller, before reprising Germont in La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera and joining the company as Marcello in Act I of La Bohème for their New Year’s Eve Gala. He made his LA Opera debut with a new role: Nottingham in Donizetti’s Roberto Devereux.

Previously, Quinn Kelsey returned to the Metropolitan Opera for his celebrated Germont in the new production of La Traviata, along with Amonasro in Aida. He also returned to Zurich for the title-role in Rigoletto and to Hawaii for more performances as Germont. He made debuts in Dallas as Ford in Falstaff and in Spain at the Peralada festival as Germont.

Prior to that Mr. Kelsey returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for the title role in Rigoletto, the Metropolitan Opera for Peter in Hansel and Gretel, Count di Luna in Il Trovatore, and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Opernhaus Zürich for Germont in La Traviata, and made his debut with Washington National Opera as Posa in Don Carlo. In concert, Mr. Kelsey sang the baritone solo in Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and Thomas Søndergård at the Proms.

The previous season, Mr. Kelsey returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago to sing Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, for Count di Luna in Il Trovatore, Oper Frankfurt for the title role in a new production of Rigoletto, and the San Francisco Opera for further performances of Rigoletto. He ended the season with his debut at the Chorégies d’Orange Festival singing Amonasro in Aida and with his Australian debut as Athanaël in Thaïs with the Melbourne Symphony and Sir Andrew Davis.

Earlier, Mr. Kelsey’s 2015/16 season began with his return to Toronto as Germont in La Traviata, followed by performances of Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Oper Frankfurt, Marcello in La Bohème at the Metropolitan Opera and the title role in Rigoletto with Opernhaus Zürich. He also made two important house debuts: first as Germont in La Traviata at the Royal Opera House, then in the title role of Rigoletto in a new Claus Guth production at the Opéra National de Paris. Mr. Kelsey was also heard in solo recital at London’s Wigmore Hall and in Frankfurt.

Quinn Kelsey has performed major roles at many of the most prestigious opera houses, including the title role in Rigoletto (Opernhaus Zürich, Canadian Opera Company, Santa Fe Opera, English National Opera, Norwegian National Opera), the Count di Luna in Il Trovatore (Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Staatsoper Dresden), Germont in La Traviata (Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Opernhaus Zürich, Seoul Arts Center), Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Oper Frankfurt, Deutsche Oper Berlin), Amonasro in Aida (Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Vancouver Opera, Bregenz Festival and in concert with Hawaii Opera Theatre), Marcello in La Bohème (Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera), the Forester in The Cunning Little Vixen (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Saito Kinen Festival, Teatro Comunale in Florence), and Sharpless in Madadma Butterfly (San Francisco Opera, New York City Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater). His complete repertoire is wide-ranging, however, and has included roles such as Valentin in Faust (Opera Grand Rapids), the title role in Falstaff (Saito Kinen Festival), the Messenger Spirit in Die Frau ohne Schatten (Lyric Opera of Chicago), Paolo in Simon Boccanegra (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome), Ezio in Attila (San Francisco Opera), Guy de Montfort in Les Vêpres Siciliennes (Oper Frankfurt), Sancho Pança in Massenet’s Don Quichotte (Canadian Opera Company), and Athanaël in Thaïs (Edinburgh Festival).

In concert, Mr. Kelsey has performed Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the San Francisco Symphony, Nashville Symphony, and Milwaukee Symphony, Faure’s Requiem with the San Diego Symphony, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater with the Grand Park Music Festival, and numerous works with major orchestral and choral organizations throughout Hawaii, including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, Duruflé’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Fauré’s Requiem, Mozart’s Requiem, Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Rutter’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Thompson’s Peaceable Kingdom, Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and Creation, and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria. In recital, he has been heard in Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall, at Wigmore Hall on the Rosenblatt Recital series, with Oper Frankfurt, at the Kennedy Center under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation and on their “On Wings of Song” Series in New York City, at the Cerritos Center in Los Angeles in the Jose Iturbi Recital Series, with the Lyric Opera and the Harris Theatre in Chicago, and with Performance Santa Fe.

Quinn Kelsey won a Richard Tucker Foundation Career Grant (after winning a Sarah Tucker Study Grant) and was a finalist of the 2004 Placido Domingo Operalia Competition. He was a member of the Lyric Opera Center for American Artists, now known as the Ryan Center, for three years. In 2003 Quinn Kelsey won a scholarship from the Solti Foundation of Chicago. Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Mr. Kelsey received his bachelor’s of music degree in vocal performance from the University of Hawaii at Manoa under John W. Mount.

Learn more at QuinnKelsey.com.

From: Caserta, Italy. LA Opera: Gilda in Rigoletto (2025, debut).

Rosa Feola came to international attention after winning multiple awards including second prize, the audience prize and the zarzuela prize at the Operalia in 2010. She was recently awarded the Premio Speciale of the Spoleto Festival dei Due Mondi.

Operatic roles include Corinna (Il Viaggio a Reims), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), Gilda (Rigoletto), Norina (Don Pasquale), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Amina (La Sonnambula) to name just a few, performing at houses including Teatro alla Scala, the Metropolitan Opera New York, Teatro dell’Opera in Rome, Opernhaus Zürich, Bavarian State Opera, Ravenna Festival, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Teatro Regio Torino, Salzburg Festival and the Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Recent career highlights include a number of debuts, namely at the Royal Opera House in London in an Oliver Mears production of Rigoletto and as Liu in Turandot at the Opernhaus Zurich. She also returned to the Metropolitan Opera for performances of Rigoletto and Olga in Fedora.

Engagements for the 2023/24 season include appearances with Washington National Opera for Romeo and Juliet, Teatro di San Carlo for Liu in a new production of Turandot, Vienna State Opera for Don Pasquale and Opera Royal de Wallonie-Liège for I Capuleti e i Montecchi.

Tenor René Barbera has quickly established himself as one of today’s most exciting vocal artists. The first-ever recipient of all three top awards of the Operalia Competition in 2011 and winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2008, René has earned critical praise and audience acclaim for his effortless singing, his “old-fashioned warmth” (Opera News), and his expressive musicality.

This season, René returns to Opéra national de Paris for two productions: Ernesto Don Pasquale and Alfredo La traviata. He stars as Lord Riccardo Percy in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and then returns to Tokyo to sing Ferrando Così fan tutte with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy. He concludes the season with his debut as Ottavio Don Giovanni at Teatro Comunale di Bologna. On the concert stage, René sings Verdi’s Requiem with Orchèstre de la Suisse Romande and Myung-Whun Chung.
 

In the 2022/23 season, René starred as Il Duca di Mantova Rigoletto at Dallas Opera and returned to the Metropolitan Opera as the Italian Singer in Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier. He made his highly anticipated role debut as Fenton Falstaff at Teatro La Fenice and starred as Elvino La Sonnambula at Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège. Additionally, he sang Nemorino L’elisir d’amore at Royal Opera House Muscat, Ernesto Don Pasquale at Teatro Massimo, and Lord Riccardo Percy Anna Bolena at Teatro di San Carlo. He concluded the season with his debut as Adelberto in Rossini’s Adelaide di Borgogna at the Rossini Opera Festival. On the concert platform, he performed Verdi’s Requiem with both the NHK Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Fabio Luisi, and Orchestre de Paris under the baton of Jaap van Zweden.

Other operatic highlights include Nemorino L’elisir d’amore, Ernesto Don Pasquale andAlfredo La Traviata at Teatro alla Scala; Il Conte d’Almaviva Il barbiere di Siviglia at Wiener Staatsoper, San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opéra national de Paris, Dutch National Opera Teatro Carlo Felice Genova, and the New National Theatre in Tokyo; Alfredo La traviata at Dallas Opera, Teatro Massimo di Palermo and

Festival Castell Peralada; Don Ramiro La Cenerentola at Bayerische Staatsoper, San Fransico Opera, Seattle Opera, and Los Angeles Opera; Lindoro L’italiana in Algeri at The Metropolitan Opera; Edgardo Lucia di Lammermoor at Deutsche Oper Berlin and Lyric Opera of Chicago; Iopas Les Troyens at San Francisco Opera; Arturo I puritani at Opéra national de Paris and Staatstheater Stuttgart; Ernesto Don Pasquale at Wiener Staatsoper and Lyric Opera of Chicago; Tonio La fille du régiment with Opernhaus Zürich, Austin Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis and Greensboro Opera; Giannetto La gazza ladra and Narciso Il turco in Italia at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro; Uberto La donna del lago in Santa Fe Opera; the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier at Lyric Opera of Chicago; Ricardo Percy Anna Bolena at Teatro dell’Opera di Roma; and the title role in Idomeneo at Teatro Massimo di Palermo.

On the concert platform, René has performed Verdi’s Requiem with Teatro alla Scala and Riccardo Chailly on tour to Padova, the Philharmonie de Paris and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg; Seattle Symphony; Melbourne Symphony; Moscow Conservatory; Wiener Konzerthaus and The Shed in New York City with MusicaAeterna led by Teodor Currentzis. He has also performed Rossini’s Stabat Mater with Orchestre Philharmonie Luxembourg led by Gustavo Gimeno, Teato alla Scala led by Myung-Whun Chung and the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. René was a featured artist at the annual Deutsche AIDS-Stiftung Gala benefit concert in Berlin.

Learn more at ReneBarbera.com.

From: Paducah, Kentucky. LA Opera: Count Monterone in Rigoletto (2025, debut).

One of the most exciting vocal talents to emerge in recent seasons, Blake Denson, described as a “roaring baritone” (Klassik begeistert), is praised for his “captivating dramatic interpretations” with “a striking upper register” and “a sound that boomed to the back of the house” (Opera Wire). Recently, Denson was named a winner of the Richard Tucker – Sarah Tucker Grant Award, by the George London Foundation Competition, at the 59th International Concurs Tenor Viñas Competition, and a winner in the Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition. He was also a grand finalist winner of the 2020 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, performing with Bertrand de Billy and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

The 2023/24 season includes Denson’s return to Houston Grand Opera, debuting the role of Ford in Falstaff. He joined the Metropolitan Opera roster for the first time in two productions: Madama Butterfly as Prince Yamadori and Fire Shut Up in My Bones as Pastor/Kaboom. Denson was also heard in concert alongside Lisette Oropesa at New Orleans Opera.

In the 2022/23 season, Denson made his German debut in The Girl of the Golden West with the Bayerische Staatsoper singing the role of Larkens. Additionally, he was heard in performances with the Staatsoper Hamburg, including his house debut in a new production of Carmen singing the role of Morales. Denson also made his debut with English National Opera as Donner in their new production of Das Rheingold. He then joined Washington National Opera for their production of La Bohème, where he debuted the role of Schaunard. In symphonic works, Denson performed Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Paducah Symphony. Denson also made his debut with the Santa Fe Opera in two different productions in the summer of 2023: as Angelotti in Tosca and Plutone in Orfeo.

A graduate of the prestigious Houston Grand Opera Studio, Denson was in residence with the company from 2020-2022. While with the company, he was heard as the Father in Hänsel und Gretel, Daddy/Tim in the world premiere of The Snowy Day, as Moralès in Carmen, the Jailor in Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Gregorio in Romeo et Juliette. Additionally, he was featured in multiple scenes programs (live and digital) and in HGO’s Giving Voice and Suite Española concerts.

Along with his international accolades, Denson has also been named a winner in multiple competitions including The Pasadena Competition, NOA Competition, Opera Mississippi Competition, Opera Ithaca, Annapolis Opera, Partners for the Arts, Gilbert and Sullivan, Orpheus Vocal Competition, and Perfect Day Music Foundation. He is a graduate of Rice University and University of Kentucky and has received additional training as a member of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio in 2019 and 2020.

Learn more at BlakeADenson.com.

From: Hulunbuir, China. LA Opera: King of Egypt in Aida (2022, debut); Commendatore in Don Giovanni (2023); Sparafucile in Rigoletto (2025).

Peixin Chen is recognized for his majestically resonant bass voice and for a keen dramatic instinct that he brings to a wide range of roles on the international opera stage. His repertoire spans from the comic parts of Donizetti, Mozart and Rossini to the strong and serious roles of Puccini, Verdi and Wagner. Peixin Chen has worked with an illustrious array of conductors and directors including Harry Bicket, James Conlon, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Lorin Maazel, Enrique Mazzola, Zubin Mehta, Giancarlo del Monaco, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Michel Plasson, David Pountney, James Robinson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Patrick Summers, Krzysztof Urbański and Francesca Zambello.

Performances of the 2022/23 season included Sarastro in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera, Fasolt in Das Rheingold at the Dallas Opera, a return engagement with Washington National Opera as Colline in La Bohème, and Philippe (cover) at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in the company’s Sir David McVicar new production premiere of the French, five act version of Verdi’s Don Carlos.

Last season he joined the Metropolitan Opera in productions of The Magic Flute and Boris Godunov, bowed as the King of Egypt in Aida for LA Opera and Cincinnati Opera, and appeared with his home company, Houston Grand Opera, as Timur in Turandot conducted by Principal Guest Conductor Eun Sun Kim. The bass’s concert scheduled included performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Rafael Payare and the San Diego Symphony and with Michael Stern leading the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra.

Highlights of recent seasons include a European debut at the Festival d’Aix en Provence in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in a new production by Ivo van Hove, a Metropolitan Opera debut as Sarastro in The Magic Flute conducted by Harry Bicket and later performances as Masetto in Don Giovanni led by Cornelius Meister, and a return to Opera Philadelphia as Colline in La Bohème conducted by Corrado Rovaris. He has sung the Verdi Requiem with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Music Director Patrick Summers and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra as well as with Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Houston Symphony.

Peixin Chen has sung Sparafucile in Rigoletto at Santa Fe Opera and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Sarastro in The Magic Flute with Opera Philadelphia, Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore at Washington National Opera, and the Patriarch of Moscow in Dvořák’s Dmitrij at the Bard Music Festival in a new production directed by Anne Bogart. With Houston Grand Opera, he has bowed as Doctor Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, Oroveso in Norma, the King of Egypt in Aida, Ferrando in Il Trovatore, Sarastro in The Magic Flute, and as Hunding in Die Walküre. As a member of the Merola Program under the auspices of San Francisco Opera, he appeared as Basilio in performances of The Barber of Seville.

The Marriage of Figaro has featured prominently in the bass’s career, assaying the title role in a new production by David Paul for Opera Saratoga and bowing as Bartolo at the Houston Grand Opera conducted by Harry Bicket in the company’s acclaimed production by Michael Grandage, at Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts, and in fully-staged performances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra led by Edo de Waart.

He is a graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio and a student of Dr. Stephen King.

Learn more at PeixinChen.com.

From: Grass Valley, California. LA Opera: soloist in Frankenstein with Live Orchestra (2022); Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia (2023); Jocabed in Moses (2023); Emilia in Otello (2023, mainstage debut); Third Frida Image in Frida y Diego (2023); Third Maid in The Dwarf (2024); Flora in La Traviata (2024); Maddalena in Rigoletto (2025). She is an alumna of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program (2022-24).

Mexican-American mezzo-soprano Sarah Saturnino is quickly becoming known for her versatility and “range of vocal colors” (Miami Herald). She is a 2023 national winner of the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.

Her 2024 engagements include Fricka in excerpts from the Ring cycle in concerts with Lyric Opera of Kansas City. In 2025, she will make her Santa Fe Opera debut as Fricka in Die Walküre.

Her appearances for the summer of 2023 included Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte with the Tel Aviv Summer Opera Festival, and Alice Ford in SIr John in Love by Ralph Vaughan Williams at the Bard Music Festival. In October 2023, she performed the title role in Carmen with Santa Barbara Opera.

Her appearances for the 2022/23 season included Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, appearances with LA Opera as Lucretia in The Rape of Lucretia and Emilia in Otello, and a Callas centenary concert with Dayton Opera.

Recent roles include: Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro and Carmen in The Tragedy of Carmen with Shreveport Opera, Vera Boronel in The Consul with Baltimore Concert Opera, Maddalena in Rigoletto with Opera San Antonio and Painted Sky Opera, and the Mother in Hansel and Gretel and Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte with Yale Opera.

She recently completed her second season with the Shreveport Opera Company's Resident Artist program. In 2020 she performed in Art After Dark where she sang Maria in Feel the Tango, Angie in Pepito, and Julia Child in Bon Appétit. She also sang in their 2021 recorded production of Rigoletto as Maddalena and Giovanna.

In 2022, she returned to Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist, covering Meg Page in Falstaff. During the 2021 summer season with Santa Fe Opera, she covered the roles of Marcellina in The Marriage of Figaro and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is an alumna of the Chautauqua Opera Company’s Young Artist program. She has performed with the Miami Summer Music Festival as Le Prince Charmant in Massenet’s Cendrillon and was a soloist in Handel's Messiah with the Wintergreen Performing Arts Festival, as well as multiple concerts in Tuscany, Italy, with Bel Canto in Tuscany.

She received the Campbell/Wachter Scholarship Award from the Santa Fe Opera for the 2021 season. She received the Faculty Award from the Vann Vocal Institute in 2020. She was a first place winner of the Pacific NorthWest Competition in Eugene, Oregon in 2019. She has placed in the top ten in the Brava! Competition two years (2018, 2019) in a row and was a Grand Finalist in the Talents of the World Competition in 2018.

She has performed in many concert works including Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Handel’s Let God Arise, O Sing unto the Lord, and Messiah. She has also sung in recitals for the Trinity on Wall Street, Pipes at One and the Chautauqua Opera Company’s Emerging Artists Recital. She has also performed the Old Lady in Candide with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra.

She graduated cum laude from the University of California, Los Angeles, with a bachelor of arts in vocal performance and a minor in music industry in 2016. Roles at UCLA include: Jenny in Down in the Valley, the Shepherd in L’enfant et les sortilèges, Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, the Old Lady in Candide, and Le Prince Charmant in Cendrillon. She graduated with honors from the Yale University School of Music with a master's of music in 2018. Roles at Yale included: Second Lady in The Magic Flute, the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Bertarido in Rodelinda, and Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking. She continued to work and study at the Potomac Vocal Institute where she studied under the world-renowned Elizabeth Bishop and Arianna Zuckerman in the inaugural class of the Professional Development Program. Roles in that program included Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Quickly in Falstaff and Charlotte in A Weekend in the Country.

Miss Saturnino is a choreographer, fight director and intimacy director. Her work includes Feel the Tango, Speed Dating, and The Marriage of Figaro for Shreveport Opera. She works with Sordelet, Inc., as a fight and intimacy director. She is also trained in fencing.