The Dallas Opera 2021-2022 - The Barber of Seville/The Pearl Fishers

12 Valeriano Lanchas (Doctor Bartolo) The Dallas Opera debut A native of Bogotá, Colombia, the bass-baritone first attracted attention as the winner of several international competitions, including the Pavarotti International Voice Competition in 1995, Operalia in 2001, the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation competition in 2001, and the Toti Dal Monte Competition in 2004. Lanchas studied at The Curtis Institute of Music, and was subsequently among the first group of singers to enter the Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera. In addition to Un ballo in maschera and Idomeneo (the latter with Plácido Domingo and Anna Netrebko), he has been heard as Dr. Bartolo in The Marriage of Figaro , Don Magnifico in La cenerentola , Leporello in Don Giovanni , and the Sacristan in Tosca . He debuted in opera as Fiorello in The Barber of Seville with the Opera of Colombia in Bogotá, and made his international debut in Tosca with Luciano Pavarotti at the Opera Company of Philadelphia (now Opera Philadelphia) in 1996, later returning to the company for The Magic Flute . Adam Lau (Don Basilio) The American bass’ 2021/22 season is highlighted by his return to Utah Opera as Don Basilio; house and role debuts at the Metropolitan Opera (Jailer in Tosca , Second Armored Man in The Magic Flute ); Colline in La bohème at North Carolina Opera; and his Atlanta Opera debut as Kobun in The (R) evolution of Steve Jobs . He won First Prize in the 2016 Jensen Vocal Competition and Top Prize in the 2015 George London Competition. Lau was also a finalist in the 2016 Dallas Opera Vocal Competition. He has appeared with such opera companies as Opera Theatre of St. Louis, The Dallas Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Portland Opera, Utah Opera, and North Carolina Opera, as well as with some of the nation’s leading summer programs including Merola Opera Center, Aspen Opera Theater, and The Santa Fe Opera. Lau has appeared at Carnegie Hall and with the leading orchestras of Los Angeles, Cincinnati, San Diego, and Liverpool, among many other prestigious ensembles. Courtney Maina (Berta) The soprano is a Houston native currently residing in Dallas. She received a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Sam Houston State University in 2012, where she portrayed Adele in Die Fledermaus , Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro , Papagena in The Magic Flute , and Belinda in Dido and Aeneas . Maina then earned a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance at Southern Methodist University, where she appeared as Mrs. Hayes in Susannah and Serpetta in La finta giardiniera . She worked in The Dallas Opera Education Outreach program for four seasons as a Teaching Artist and was featured with the program as Despina in The Three Little Pigs and Dorabella in The Bremen Town Musicians . She returns to TDO this season as Adina in The Elixir of Love and makes her mainstage debut as Berta in this production. Propser Makhanya (Fiorello) South African baritone Prosper Makhanya holds a Performer’s Diploma in Vocal Performance from Southern Methodist University, where he is currently pursuing his Master of Environmental Engineering Degree. In 2019, Makhanya was awarded the Grady Harlan Award, for First Place in the Graduate Men’s Division of the TEXOMA NATS Regional Competition. Roles performed include Banquo in Verdi’s Macbeth , Police Sargent (cover) in Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance at Opera North; and Dr. Gibbs (2019) and Don Alfonso (2020) in Meadows Lyric Opera productions of Ned Rorem’s Our Town and Mozart’s Così fan tutte , respectively. Other roles include Trouble Man and Giant in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Jack and the Beanstalk (The Dallas Opera); the Wolf in Michael Ching’s The Three Pigs Remix ; and Eduardo, Diego Rivera, and Bonito in Joe Illick’s Frida Kahlo and the bravest girl in the world with Fort Worth Opera. THE DALLAS OPERA | 2021/2022 SEASON