Lucy Stearns, soprano

SUSANNA, Le nozze di Figaro (Orchestra Cast, 2019)

Lucy Stearns is a native of Columbus, Ohio and received her Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance at The Ohio State University. She has performed in the roles of Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Lucia in Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia with OSU. Additionally, she has performed internationally in such roles as Miss Wordsworth in Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring in Mezzano, Italy, Barbarina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro in Salzburg, Austria, as well as covering Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte in Berlin, Germany. A first place winner of her category at the Georgia State and Regional National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition and a finalist at the Orpheus and Opera Guild of Atlanta competitions, Ms. Stearns has also enjoyed performing in productions with Georgia State University, including Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Yum-Yum in The Mikado, Blanche in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring, and Anne Egerman in A Little Night Music. Ms. Stearns has performed professionally, singing such roles as Clorinda with Peach State Opera’s production of Rossini’s Cinderella , and Mabel in Opera Columbus’ educational outreach production of The Pirates of Penzance. Ms. Stearns earned her Master’s degree in Voice Performance at Georgia State University and is currently studying under the tutelage of Leah Partridge.

August Bair, baritone

IL CONTE, Le nozze di Figaro (Orchestra Cast 2019, Piano Cast 2019)

Atlanta, Georgia native baritone August Bair graduated with a BA from Bard College’s undergraduate voice program in New York’s Hudson Valley, and went on to complete his Master’s in Voice at Manhattan School of Music in New York City. For their spring 2019 season, he sang in the Atlanta Opera’s productions of Dead Man Walking, Eugene Onegin, and La Traviata.  He sang the part of Count Carnero in MSM’s April 2017 production of Johann Strauss II’s Der Ziguenerbaron. August sang the role of Doctor Malatesta in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale with Brevard Music Center’s Janiec Opera Company. He has also debuted a major role in J. Mark Scearce’s new opera, Falling Angel at Brevard, where he also covered the roles of Papageno in Mozart’s The Magic Flute and Starveling in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. In the summer of 2015 he also starred in Jonathan Sheffer’s contemporary opera Blood on the Dining Room Floor at the Napa Valley Music Festival.

Kelsey Fredriksen, soprano

LA CONTESSA, Le nozze di Figaro (Orchestra Cast 2019)

Soprano Kelsey Fredriksen is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. She received her Master's of Music from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and her Bachelor's of Music from the University of Georgia. She has performed several roles nationally and abroad, including the title role in The Cunning Little Vixen, Lady Billows in Albert Herring, Giuletta in Les Contes d'Hoffman, The Second Lady and the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, Liu in Turandot, Lisette in La Rondine, Musetta in La bohème, Adele in Die Fledermaus, as well as covering the role of Christine in Richard Strauss’ rarely performed opera Intermezzo with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, where she also premiered the production "If I Loved You: A Rodger's and Hammerstein revue". Ms. Fredriksen has also studied and performed internationally in Italy, Greece, Germany, The Netherlands, and Austria.  An avid recitalist, she has recently performed the New York City premiere of G. F. Malipiero's I sonetti delle fate. This season, Ms. Fredriksen was heard locally in the title role of Norma with the University of Georgia's Opera Theater for their Bel Canto Gala and with the Atlanta Opera Chorus in La traviata.

Eva Lukkonen Sullivan, mezzo-soprano

CHERUBINO, Le nozze di Figaro (Orchestra Cast 2019)

Eva Lukkonen Sullivan is a native of California and was most recently seen as Zita in Gianni Schicchi double-billed with Michael Ching's Buoso's Ghost with Capitol City Opera. She has performed the role of Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro under Maestro Harry Bicket with the Aspen Opera Theatre, and returned to Aspen the following year as the cover for Béatrice in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict under Maestro Michael Stern.  In California, she has performed with regional companies such as Townsend Opera Players (Sally in Die Flerdermaus) and West End Theatre (Edith in Pirates of Penzance), and has sung with the Bakersfield Symphony in excerpts from Le nozze di Figaro (Cherubino) and Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian).  She sang in the chorus for both Opera Pacific and Long Beach Opera in Southern California and is currently singing with the Atlanta Opera chorus.  Previous roles include Angelina in La Cenerentola, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Paquette in Candide, Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible, and Sally in Die Fledermaus, performed either at the University of Southern California or at California State University, Long Beach. Ms. Sullivan has been an adjunct professor of voice within the music department at Gordon College in the past, and she continues to work with singers and professional voice users/speakers both privately and as a speech language pathologist specializing in voice and vocal rehabilitation.  She is also a collaborator for the start-up Atlanta vocal performance and education group ATLVocalite, with upcoming performances as Mélisande in excerpts from Pelléas et Mélisande as well as the Mother and the Dragonfly in L'Enfant et les sortileges. 

Laurie Tossing, mezzo-soprano

MARCELLINA, Le nozze di Figaro (Orchestra Cast 2019)

A transplant from Phoenix AZ, mezzo-soprano Laurie Tossing has called Atlanta home since 2000.  A graduate of Arizona State University and the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center, she is a regular long-time member of the Atlanta Opera, having performed in more than 50 of their productions.  She is also a familiar face on the Capitol City Opera stage, most notably as Katisha in The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan.  Other operatic roles include Marcellina in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Jenny Reefer in Virgil Thomson's The Mother of Us All, Bellina in Arthur Benjamin's The Prima Donna, Hippolyta in Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and the Child in Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges. An accomplished recitalist, Laurie has performed programs as far afield as San Jose, Costa Rica with pianist Jacques Sagot.  She is also occasionally dragged against her will to join the irreverent opera improv troupe, ImprOper, based out of Dad's Garage in Atlanta.

Timothy Marshall, bass-baritone

Dr. BARTOLO/ANTONIO, Le nozze di Figaro (Orchestra Cast 2019)

FIGARO, Le nozze di Figaro (Piano Cast 2019)

Timothy Marshall is a bass-baritone in the Metro-Atlanta area. Currently performs with the Atlanta Opera Chorus, is a staff singer at Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, Ga, and also performs with regional opera companies in Atlanta. Earlier this season he made his debut with Peach State Opera as Schaunard in Puccini’s La Boheme and with Capitol City Opera as Ser Amantio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi and Friar II in Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost. Mr. Marshall attended Kennesaw State University where he studied Voice under Dr. Oral Moses. While at KSU, Timothy sang a number of roles in full staged operas and opera scenes, ranging from Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) to The Bishop in Paulus’ The Three Hermits. He also performed solos in masterworks with chorus and orchestra such as Handel’s Messiah and Hasse’s Laudate Coeli Dominum. Timothy also attended Le Chiavi: The Keys to Bel Canto summer program at University of Houston and InterHarmony Music Festival in Arcidosso, Italy where he debuted the role of Figaro in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. Mr. Marshall is currently preparing for Graduate School auditions and competitions.

Daniel Weisman, tenor

DON BASILIO/DON CURZIO, Le nozze di Figaro (Orchestra Cast 2019)

American tenor and director Daniel Weisman has earned recognition for his stage versatility, unique lyricism, and interpretive imagination. At the start of the 2018-2019 season, Mr. Weisman was a featured soloist and assistant choreographer in Capitol City Opera Company’s A Bernstein Celebration and as Anthony & Tobias in the same company’s dinner theatre scenes from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He went on to make company debuts with Art Song Collective of Richmond, KY, as the tenor soloist in their concert Depths, with Peach State Opera as the assistant director for their touring production of La bohème, with the Georgia Tech Symphony and Chorus as the tenor soloist in Bartok’s Cantata Profana.

Mr. Weisman continued the season singing the role of Gherardo in Capitol City Opera Company’s production of Gianni Schicchi as well as in Michael Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost, as the tenor soloist in Tim Sharp’s Come Away to the Skies: High Lonesome Mass with Northwest Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, and will round out his season with the premiere of in Ryan Suleiman’s Moon, Bridge, Dogs II as Moon with North American New Opera Works.

Other career highlights include Sancho Panza in Capitol City Opera Company’s Man of La Mancha, Daniel Buchanan in Dean Anthony’s production of Street Scene with Janiec Opera Company, and as Stage Director for Small Opera Company in 2016, staging their inaugural performance of Così fan tutte.

Margaret McMurray, soprano

BARBARINA, Le nozze di Figaro (Orchestra Cast 2019)

SUSANNA, Le nozze di Figaro (Piano Cast 2019)

Margaret McMurray has a BM from the University of Memphis and a MM from Georgia State University, both in voice performance.  She made her professional debut in 2015 with Opera in the Rock in Little Rock, AR. She sang chorus and covered the 1st Spirit in the winter production of The Magic Flute and she sang the roles of the Sandman/Dewfairy, and, later, Gretel in scenes from Hansel and Gretel for Opera in the Rock’s Jennifer Boccarossa community outreach program. While at Georgia State she was giving the opportunity to sing Barbarina’s aria from Le nozze di Figaro with the Atlanta Chamber Winds in their performance of Jonathan Dove’s Figures in the Garden.  She spent the 2017/18 season touring with Peach State Opera as Tisbe in Rossini’s Cinderella.  Originally from Little Rock, she currently lives in Atlanta and studies with Kay Paschal.

Kate Doriot, soprano

LA CONTESSA, Le nozze di Figaro (Piano Cast 2019)

Soprano Kate Doriot graduated from Georgia State University with a BM in Vocal Performance and has since entered her third season with The Atlanta Opera as a member of the chorus. While at Georgia State she studied the roles of Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Mimi in La bohéme while singing the roles of Zweite Dame in Die Zaubertflöte, Mother in Hansel and Gretel, and Pitti-Sing in The Mikado. Outside of Georgia State, Ms. Doriot sang the role of Pallade in L’incoronazione di Poppea with Harrower Summer Opera Workshop.

Natalie Morgan, mezzo-soprano

CHERUBINO, Le nozze di Figaro (Piano Cast 2019)

Natalie Morgan is a mezzo-soprano who graduated from Georgia State University where she studies with soprano, Kay Paschal. Her most recent role was Cecilia March in Adamo’s Little Women. Natalie debuted the role of Désirée Armfeldt in GSU Opera Theater’s production of A Little Night Music. Previously, Natalie has portrayed Florence Pike in Britten’s Albert Herring, Arnalta in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Ceres in Hoiby’s The Tempest, and Third Spirit in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Natalie has additionally performed excerpts of roles including Nicklausse in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffman, Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Ruth in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, Tisbe in Rossini’s Cenerentola, 3 in Susa’s Transformations, Meg Page in Verdi’s Falstaff, and Gertrude in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette.

Esther Maloof, mezzo-soprano

MARCELLINA, Le nozze di Figaro (Piano Cast 2019)

Esther Maloof is a mezzo-soprano based in Atlanta, GA. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Valdosta State University, where she studied under Dr. Carol Mikkelsen. During her undergraduate studies, she performed such roles as Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, and Rosine in Signor Deluso. She will be graduating with an M.M. in Vocal Performance from Georgia State University in May 2019 and will continue studying under Kathryn Hartgrove. She reprised the role of Mrs. Herring in the Georgia State Opera Theater production of Albert Herring in Fall of 2017, was a featured soloist in Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with Georgia State University Symphony Orchestra in March 2018 and Madame Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music in April 2018. For the 2018-2019 season, she sang the role of La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica and was the cover for The Old Lady in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide.

Robert P. Banks, tenor

DON BASILIO/DON CURZIO, Le nozze di Figaro (Piano Cast 2019)

Tenor Robert Banks hold degrees from Berry College and the University of Minnesota - Duluth. A long time member of The Atlanta Opera Chorus, Mr. Banks was privileged enough to sing the roles of Giuseppe in 2019’s La traviata under the baton of Arthur Fagen and the role of French Soldier in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night under Nicole Paiemont.

Grace Rivord, soprano

BARBARINA, Le nozze di Figaro (Piano Cast 2019)

Grace Rivord is currently a junior in high school. While only seventeen years old, Grace is no stranger to opera. She started her career as a supernumerary in Capitol City Opera's production of Man of La Mancha and went on to be a chorus member in La traviata and Buoso Donati in Gianni Schicchi and Buoso's Ghost with Capitol City as well. Most recently, Grace has made her Carnegie Hall debut singing “Oh Had I Jubal's Lyre” with her high school orchestra. She has also won awards in numerous competitions including third place in Southeastern Regional NATS, first place in the Atlanta Music Club Competition, first place in the Performing Arts Conservatory of Atlanta competition, and first place in the GMTA Competition.