Così fan tutte

From: East Greenwich, Rhode Island. LA Opera: her appearances include Mrs. Naidoo in Satyagraha (2018, debut); Annina in La Traviata (2019); Musetta in La Bohème (2019); title role in Eurydice (2020); Shepherd in Tannhäuser (2021); Clorinda in Cinderella (2021); Donna Clara in The Dwarf (2024); Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte (2025). She is an alumna of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program (2018-20).

Of American soprano Erica Petrocelli, Broadway World exclaimed that “Her voice can richly convey all the emotions, while masterfully integrating all those coloratura tricks and making them seem easy and natural. She is amazing—the most remarkable voice of the evening!”

She recently graduated from both young artist programs of Opernhaus Zürich and LA Opera. In the 2023/24 season, Ms. Petrocelli returns to LA Opera as Donna Clara, the Infanta, in Zemlinsky’s The Dwarf, conducted by James Conlon. Concert appearances include Strauss’ Four Last Songs with Peoria Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with Florida Orchestra, and concerts of Puccini favorites with Sarasota Opera. Opera appearances of recent seasons have included Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Delia in Il viaggio a Reims and covers of the title role in Arabella as well as Stella in The Tales of Hoffmann, all with Opernhaus Zürich. Stateside, she has performed Pamina in The Magic Flute with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Sarasota Opera, and Clorinda in La Cenerentola and the Shepherd in Tannhäuser with LA Opera. Recent concert highlights have included Mozart’s Requiem with James Conlon at the Cincinnati May Festival, as well as with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

As a young artist with LA Opera, Ms. Petrocelli sang Musetta in La Bohème and the First Lady in The Magic Flute at LA Opera, both conducted by James Conlon. She also made her principal debut at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, singing Micaëla in Carmen. In the 2018/19 season, she made her LA Opera debut as Mrs. Naidoo in Satyagraha, conducted by Grant Gershon, and appeared as Annina in La Traviata, also conducted by James Conlon. Other season highlights included her role debut as Pamina in The Magic Flute with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, conductor Louis Lohraseb, and young daughter.

From: Montreal, Canada. LA Opera: Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro (2022, debut); Dorabella in Così fan tutte (2025).

Tunisian-born Rihab Chaieb is a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Program where she appeared in numerous productions, including L’Italiana in Algeri (Zulma), Luisa Miller (Laura), Cavalleria Rusticana (Lola) and Hänsel und Gretel (Sandman). Returning since as a guest in Don Giovanni (Zerlina) under Cornelius Meister, she appears there this season as Nefertiti in Phelim McDermott’s unforgettable production of Philip Glass’ Akhnaten, conducted by Karen Kamensek.

In the 2021/22 season, Rihab Chaieb debuts at Washington National Opera in Così fan tutte (Dorabella), sings Penelope on a European concert tour and recording of Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with Ensemble I Gemelli and Emiliano Gonzalez Toro, returns to Opéra et Orchestre National de Montpellier as Maddalena in Marie-Eve Signeyrole’s new staging of Rigoletto, and joins Palm Beach Opera in the title role of Carmen. In concert, Chaieb joins the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah, and Les Violons du Roy for Mozart’s Requiem.

Demonstrating strong repertoire versatility in recent seasons, Rihab Chaieb debuted as Charlotte in Werther at Opera Vlaanderen under Giedrė Šlekytė, at Houston Grand Opera in the world premiere of Tarik O’Regan’s The Phoenix, as Rosina (The Barber of Seville) at Cincinnati Opera and as Offenbach’s Fantasio at Opéra de Montpellier. For Dutch National Opera, Chaieb sang Lola in Robert Carsen’s new staging under Lorenzo Viotti, Dorabella at Teatro Santiago de Chile, Kasturbai in Philip Glass’ Satyagraha at Opera Vlaanderen, and received unanimous acclaim for her first Carmen in Lydia Steier’s intense new production for Oper Köln.

On the concert stage, Rihab Chaieb has performed with Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal under Johannes Debus in Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and in a programme of Rossini under Kent Nagano; with both Vancouver Symphony Orchestra under Otto Tausk and Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Carlos Miguel Prieto in de Falla’s Three-Cornered Hat; and at the Toronto Summer Music Festival in her first Das Lied von der Erde. Last season, Rihab Chaieb joined Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s line-up of soloists for an audiovisual recording of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 with Orchestre Métropolitain for broadcast on DG Stage, Deutsche Grammophon’s new online platform.

A former member of both Canadian Opera Company’s Ensemble Studio, where she earned major acclaim as Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito), and San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program, where she debuted as Cherubino (The Marriage of Figaro), Chaieb also enjoyed several summers at the Glyndebourne Festival as Mércedès (Carmen) under Jakub Hrůša, and Flora (La Traviata) under Andrés Orozco-Estrada.

The recipient of many major grants, Rihab Chaieb has also enjoyed competition success, taking Third Prize at the 2018 Operalia Competition, winning the 2016 Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition, and taking prizes at both the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the 2018 George London Foundation Competition.

From: San Juan, Puerto Rico. LA Opera: Mimì in La Bohème (1997, debut; 2004); Violetta in La Traviata (2001); Amelia in Simon Boccanegra (2012); Nedda in Pagliacci (2015); Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly (2016); title role of Carmen (2017); Elisabetta in Don Carlo (2018); Soleá in El Gato Montés (2018); Countess in The Marriage of Figaro (2022); Catrina in El último sueño de Frida y Diego (2023); Despina in Così fan tutte (2025); Margarita Xirgu in Ainadamar (2025).

Grammy Award winner Ana María Martínez is considered to be one of the foremost sopranos of her time, with an international career that spans the world’s most important opera houses and concert halls. A winner of the 15th Annual Opera News Awards, her repertoire encompasses opera’s most intriguing and diverse leading ladies, and she engages her audiences season after season with signature roles, spellbinding debuts, and a myriad of captivating recordings.

In 2019 Ms. Martínez joined Houston Grand Opera as their first-ever Artistic Advisor, and following a two year appointment as Artist-in-Residence at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, in July 2021 she became a Professor in their Department of Voice. She is honored to have been a 2021 recipient of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s Hispanic Heritage Award in the Arts. Ms. Martínez continues to explore all aspects of her career, both on and off stage, highlighted by such diverse opportunities as voicing the role of opera singer Alessandra in season three of Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle, performing in tribute to operatic legend Justino Díaz at the 44th Annual Kennedy Center Honors (CBS), to proudly representing her birthplace of Puerto Rico as an honoree and performer in the 62nd Annual Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City. She is steadfastly committed to being a leader in the industry, an advocate and educator to the next generation of musicians, and all the while maintaining a robust performance schedule.

On stage, Ms. Martinez is known worldwide for her stunning portrayals of the title roles of Rusalka, Carmen, and Florencia in Florencia en el Amazonas, as well as Mimì in La Bohème, Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Soleá in El Gato Montés, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Nedda in Pagliacci, Liù in Turandot, Marguerite in Faust, Alice Ford in Falstaff, Desdemona in Otello and Amelia in Simon Boccanegra. These roles have taken her to the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera, Ópera de Puerto Rico, Santa Fe Opera and Dallas Opera, as well as to Opéra National de Paris, Vienna Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, De Nederlandse Opera, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Glyndebourne Festival, and the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, among countless others.

Her dynamic concert career includes engagements with some of the world’s most celebrated orchestras and conductors. Highlights include London’s Philharmonia Orchestra for the world premiere of the oratorio Dreamers with Esa-Pekka Salonen, Teatro alla Scala with the Filarmonica della Scala, conducted by Gustavo Dudamel, the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, conducted by Alan Gilbert, and with the Puerto Rico Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, English National Opera Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Bernard Haitink, Ravinia Festival Orchestra, conducted by James Conlon, and the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. For many years she has toured with star tenors Andrea Bocelli and Plácido Domingo.

An alumnae of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, and a resident of Houston, Ms. Martínez was the inaugural recipient of the Lynn Wyatt Great Artist Award. In 1994 she won first prize in HGO’s Eleanor McCollum Auditions and Awards Competition, and in 2015 established the Ana María Martínez Encouragement Award as part of that same competition. Born in Puerto Rico to a Puerto Rican mother and a Cuban father, Ana María spent her formative years in Puerto Rico and New York City. She graduated from The Juilliard School with both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees.

Learn more at AnaMariaMartinez.com.

From: Riverside, California. LA Opera: Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor (2022, debut); Spoletta in Tosca (2022); Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia (2023); Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro (2023); Ramses in Moses (2023); Roderigo in Otello (2023); Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni (2023); Young Man / Second Villager in Frida y Diego (2023); Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte (2025). He is an alumnus of the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program (2022-24).

The American-born Cuban and Colombian tenor Anthony León is quickly developing an international performing career. He was a 2023 grand finals winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and the 2022 first place winner of Operalia, where he also won the zarzuela prize.

His engagements for the summer of 2024 include Telemaco in Il Ritorno d'Ulisse at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, Arbace in Idomeneo with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the Ravinia Festival, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.

His appearances in the 2023/24 season included Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni at LA Opera and Nadir in The Pearl Fishers with the Cologne Opera. He also created the role of the Consumer in the world premiere of Ellen Reid's The Shell Trial at the Dutch National Opera. In the summer of 2024, he appeared in Ravel's L’Enfant et les sortilèges with the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singers Project and performed at the Aix-en-Provence Festival.

For the 2022/23 season, his appearances included several roles with LA Opera, Pelléas in Impressions de Pelléas with James Conlon at the Ebell of Los Angeles, and Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

Previous appearances include singing Remendado in Carmen at Santa Fe Opera, Ernesto in Don Pasquale at New England Conservatory and being on tour performing the roles of Giove and Amphinome in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria with the ensemble I Gemelli. On tour, Anthony performed at Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, France; Arsenal Theater in Metz, France; and Victoria Hall in Geneva, Switzerland. A recorded album is in the works and is set to be released in 2023. In the fall of 2021, Anthony also presented the role of Count Almaviva in the Opera Theatre of St. Louis production of The Barber of Seville. During the summer of 2021, Anthony was an Apprentice Artist at Santa Fe Opera covering the role of Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In addition to these contracts, Anthony has performed in other leading roles recently such as Le Chevalier in Dialogue des Carmélites, Agenore in Mozart's Il re pastore, Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Tamino in The Magic Flute, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel, and Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance.

Recent honors include receiving a Career Development Grant from the Sullivan Foundation. Other accolades include being named “Best up-and-comer” in the Inland Empire Magazine’s “Best of the Best 2019” list and being awarded the Wendy Shattuck ‘75 Presidential Scholarship for Vocal Studies among other prestigious awards.

Anthony holds a bachelor of music from La Sierra University and a master of music degree concentrating in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, studying under the tutelage of Bradley Williams.

Learn more at AnthonyLeonTenor.com.

From: Stuttgart, Germany. LA Opera: soloist in the online recital Songs of Protest (2021); Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet (2024, mainstage debut); Guglielmo in Così fan tutte (2025).

Possessing a “mighty lyric voice” (The New York Times) and praised in Opera News as “vocally impressive, verbally elegant,” Drama Desk Award nominated baritone Justin Austin has appeared on concert and operatic stages across the globe since the young age of four. Born into a family of opera singers, his early career took him to venues such as Teatro Real, Bregenzer Festspiele, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center.

As the 2024 Marian Anderson Vocal Award winner, Justin was featured in recital at the Kennedy Center, presented by Washington National Opera. Other appearances for the 2023/24 season include solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Pickman Hall with the Celebrity Series of Boston, and Spivey Hall in Atlanta. On the operatic stage, appearances include a return to Lyric Opera of Chicago, starring as Young Emile in Terence Blanchard’s Champion; Washington National Opera’s production of Romeo and Juliet, portraying Mercutio, at the Kennedy Center; Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in The Barber of Seville, playing Figaro; and the Metropolitan Opera in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking. Justin also joins Des Moines Metro Opera for the world premiere of Damien Geter’s full-length American Apollo; stars in the New York premiere of Lyric Fest’s COTTON, composed by Damien Geter, at the 92nd Street Y; and performs in two renditions of Fire Shut Up In My Bones: Opera Suite in Concert at the Kimmel Center and then with Strathmore and Washington Performing Arts.

During the 2022/23 season, the “standout” (Operawire) baritone appeared as Ned Keene in Peter Grimes at the Metropolitan Opera; sang Carl Nielsen’s third symphony with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Alan Gilbert; premiered Damien Geter’s song cycle COTTON alongside Denyce Graves with Lyric Fest in Philadelphia and Washington Performing Arts at The Kennedy Center; and premiered a new edition by Damien Sneed of Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in the roles of Scott Joplin/Remus. Justin also sang on a concert tour of Our Song, Our Story, a tribute recital to African American operatic pioneers Jessye Norman and Marian Anderson, with music director Damien Sneed, giving performances in Tucson, St. Louis, Washington D.C., Akron, and Aspen.

Favorite highlights of recent seasons include his house debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Marcellus in the company premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet; his house and role debut as Charles in Fire Shut Up In My Bones at Lyric Opera of Chicago; starring as George Armstrong in Lynn Nottage and Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel at Lincoln Center Theater; joining Washington National Opera in his company debut and Des Moines Metro Opera as Thomas McKeller in the chamber version premiere of Damien Geter and Lila Palmer’s American Apollo; starring as Captain Macheath in a film adaptation of Kurt Weill’s The Threepenny Opera produced by City Lyric Opera; and debuting at the Bard SummerScape Festival as Mordred in Chausson’s Le roi Arthus. Justin created the role of Pyarelel Kaul in the critically acclaimed world premiere of Jack Perla and Rajiv Joseph’s Shalimar the Clown at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and was featured on the commercial recording of the work.

In concert, Justin recently presented a solo recital at the Park Avenue Armory with pianist Howard Watkins. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall as the title role in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with the Oratorio Society of New York and as the baritone soloist in Margaret Bonds’ Ballad of the Brown King with the Cecilia Chorus; and with New York Festival of Song for their debut concert at Little Island in addition to their mainstage series at Kaufman Music Center. He has been featured with the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Maine, Opera Saratoga, Mistral Music, Voices of Ascension, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Copland House, and Strathmore Music Center, plus the Hamburg International, Penn Square, Lakes Area, and Moab Music Festivals. Justin has previously joined IDAGIO for online concerts at the Global Concert Hall.

As a multifaceted musician, Justin enjoys performing a wide range of repertoire, from jazz, R&B, and musical theater, to opera and oratorio. He has collaborated, performed, and recorded with multiple groups and artists such as Aretha Franklin, The Boys Choir of Harlem, Mary J. Blidge, Elton John, Lauryn Hill, The Roots, 30 Seconds to Mars, John Cale, Ricky Ian Gordon, Kanye West, Avner Finberg, M. Roger Holland, Jack Perla, Peter Andreacchi, and Odeline de la Martinez, plus jazz legends Reggie Workman, Hugh Masekela, and Wynton Marsalis.

Justin strongly believes in utilizing his artistry to benefit music programs, new music projects, and community services around the world. He works with organizations such as MEND (Meeting Emergency Needs with Dignity), QSAC (Quality Services for the Autism Community), Holt International, and St. Mary’s Children’s Hospital to construct and perform benefit concerts. The proceeds of these projects supply emergent living essentials to those in need.

With a “velvety-dark baritone” (Cleveland Classical) described as “heroic” by Broadway World, Justin has received accolades and awards from The Recording Academy, NAACP, George London Foundation, Washington National Opera, Opera Ebony, Gerda Lissner Foundation, Manhattan School of Music, NANM, Choir Academy of Harlem, and Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. He is the recipient of a 2023 Mabel Dorn Reeder Award from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, which goes to “the single artist in each season with the greatest potential to make a significant contribution to the art form of opera.” Justin is under the tutelage and mentorship of Catherine Malfitano.

Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Justin Austin is an alumnus of the Choir Academy of Harlem, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, Heidelberg Lied Akademie, and Manhattan School of Music (M.M. and B.M.).

Learn more at Justin-Austin.com.

From: Rancho Cucamonga, California. LA Opera: Herald in Otello (1986, debut). He has performed 32 roles with the company to date, including the title roles of Billy Budd (2000), The Barber of Seville (1991, 1997) and Don Giovanni (1994). His most recent appearances include Walt Whitman in Crossing (2018); the baritone soloist in David Lang's the loser (2019); Eurydice's Father in Eurydice (2020); and Alfred Stieglitz in The Brightness of Light (2022). He will return as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte (2025).

Rod Gilfry is a two-time Grammy nominee, singer and actor who performs in operas, musicals, recitals and cabaret world-wide. He appears on over 30 recordings. An important part of his 75-role repertoire are the 13 leading roles he has created in new operas. Recent performance highlights include a role debut as Baron Scarpia in Tosca at the Houston Grand Opera, Claudius in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Bavarian State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, and Owen Hart in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking at the Metropolitan Opera.

In the summer of 2019, he began a tour of Kevin Puts’ The Brightness of Light with soprano Renée Fleming at the Tanglewood Festival, which they later performed with the National Symphony at the Kennedy Center, the Colorado Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic, the Dallas Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony, LA Opera, the Chicago Lyric Opera, the Aspen Festival, and the Oregon Symphony. Several more performances with leading orchestras will be announced soon.

His appearances in the 2023/24 season include Claudius in Brett Dean’s Hamlet at the Bayerische Staatsoper and Opera Australia in Sydney, Owen Hart in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking at the Metropolitan Opera, Henrik in Kaija Saariaho’s Innocence at the San Francisco Opera, and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte on tour in Japan with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, as well as concerts with Renée Fleming and the Fort Worth Symphony, with soprano Sumi Jo at the Yaamava Theater in California, a gala with the Detroit Opera, the title role in Sweeney Todd with the Virginia Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago, and Handel’s Messiah with the Nashville Symphony.

Recent appearances include the Marquis de la Force in Houston Grand Opera’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, Robert McNamara in the world premiere of Huang Ruo and David Henry Hwang’s The Rift at the Washington National Opera, the premiere of David Lang's solo opera the loser at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the LA Opera, as Walt Whitman in the premiere of Matthew Aucoin's Crossing in Boston, Brooklyn and Los Angeles; as Mr. Potter in the premiere of Jake Heggie's It's a Wonderful Life at the Houston Grand Opera and San Francisco Opera.

Mr. Gilfry was born and raised in Southern California where he earned advanced degrees from Cal State Fullerton and the University of Southern California. He was a member of the Frankfurt Opera ensemble from 1987 to 1989 and the Zurich Opera ensemble from 1989 to 1994. He was an Associate Professor of Vocal Arts at the USC Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles for nearly 15 years, but he recently retired to make more time for performing.

(RodGilfry.com)