Lyric Opera 2021-2022 Issue 4 Florencia en el Amazonas

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 24 Award in the Opera Index Vocal Competition, and most recently a 2020 Luminarts Foundation Fellowship Award. Rojas has been heard in the Harris Theater’s “Beyond the Aria” series and Kentucky Opera’s Sidecar cabaret series. DEBORAH NANSTEEL | PAULA Previously at Lyric: Three roles since 2015/16, most recently Suzuki/ Madama Butterfly (2019/20), Siegrune/ Die Walküre (2017/18). The American mezzo-soprano’s recent successes have included Emilia/ Otello and Marthe/ Faust (both at Washington National Opera), Alisa/ Lucia di Lammermoor (Metropolitan Opera debut), and roles in several contemporary works: Mother/ The Consul (Opera Saratoga), Mother/ Blind Injustice (world premiere, Cincinnati Opera), Brigitta/ Die tote Stadt in concert (Bard Music Festival), Lucinda/ Cold Mountain (North Carolina Opera, after creating the role at Santa Fe Opera), Sister Helen/ Dead Man Walking (Opera on the Avalon), and Granma/ The Grapes of Wrath and Grace/Daniel Sonenberg’s The Summer King (both at Michigan Opera Theatre). Nansteel also has portrayed Nettie/ Carousel and Elvira/ An American Tragedy at the Glimmerglass Festival. She debuted with the New York Philharmonic in 2015 alongside Eric Owens in In Their Footsteps: Great African American Singers and Their Legacy . The mezzo-soprano is an alumna of the University of Cincinnati College- Conservatory of Music and the young artist programs of Washington National Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Seattle Opera. LEVI HERNANDEZ | ALVARO Previously at Lyric: 10 roles since 2003/04, most recently Schaunard/ La bohème (2007/08); Waiter, Footman/ Der Rosenkavalier (2005/06). The American baritone, a Ryan Opera Center alumnus, has rapidly gained momentum as a sought-after artist. Among his most important successes in leading roles have been Sharpless/ Madama Butterfly (opposite Ana María Martínez at Houston Grand Opera), Papageno/ The Magic Flute and the Music Master/ Ariadne auf Naxos at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Guglielmo/ Così fan tutte with Spoleto Festival USA. He has appeared with many major American companies, including those of Boston, Philadelphia, and Omaha, among many others. He also has been heard internationally at the Teatro Nacional Sucre in Quito, Ecuador as well as Komische Oper Berlin. Recent important credits include Rambaldo/ La rondine (Minnesota Opera); Rabbi Lampert/ Enemies, A Love Story (Kentucky Opera); Sharpless/ Madama Butterfly (Virginia Opera); Pa Joad/ The Grapes of Wrath (Michigan Opera Theatre); Aba/ El milagro del recuerdo (Houston Grand Opera); Dvorˇák’s Te Deum (ShippensburgMusic Festival); andMahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer (Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra). ETHAN VINCENT | RIOLOBO Lyric debut An alumnus of Northwestern University and Philadelphia’s Academy of Vocal Arts, the baritone sang the Captain/ Eugene Onegin this summer as a Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist. He also recently portrayed Marcello/ La bohème at the National Performing Arts Center, Taiwan. Highlights of previous seasons also include Juano/ West Side Story with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting; Joseph De Rocher/ Dead Man Walking (Northwestern University, Chicago premiere); Belcore/ L’elisir d’amore at Indianapolis Opera; and Behike/ Hatuey: AMemory of Fire (North American premiere) in collaboration with the Peak Performance series. As a Resident Artist at AVA, Vincent portrayed Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, title role/ The Demon by Anton Rubinstein, Gianni Schicchi, Count di Luna/ Il trovatore , Albert/ Werther , and Guglielmo/ Così fan tutte . The baritone was a national semifinalist in the 2018 Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Vincent appears as César in the acclaimed film Bel Canto alongside Julianne Moore and KenWatanabe. RAYMOND ACETO | CAPTAIN Previously at Lyric: 13 roles since 1997/98, most recently Ramfis/ Aida , Varlaam/ Boris Godunov (both 2011/12). The American bass is well established as an important presence among the world’s leading opera companies and symphony orchestras. Recent successes include his return to the Metropolitan Opera as the Bonze/ Madama Butterfly , Surin/ The Queen of Spades , Zuniga/ Carmen , and Nourabad/ The Pearl Fishers ; Rocco/ Fidelio at L’Opéra de Montréal, celebrating Beethoven’s 250th birthday; and return engagements with New Orleans Opera (Archbishop/Tchaikovsky’s The Maid of Orléans ) and Florida Grand Opera (a reprise of one of the bass’s signature roles, Sparafucile/ Rigoletto ). Aceto is a favorite at Washington National Opera (Méphistophélès/ Faust , Hunding and Fafner/ Ring cycle), and has reprised the latter roles at San Francisco Opera and Lyric Opera. Among his many prestigious appearances abroad have been leading roles at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Deutsche Oper Berlin, and the major companies of Madrid, Palermo, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, and Frankfurt. DWAYNE BROWN | DANCER Lyric debut Dancer and performer Dwayne Brown is currently based in Harlem, New York. In addition to numerous appearances in film, television, and various stage productions, he has worked as a dancer with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, Ralph Lemon, Sean Curran, Reggie Wilson/Fist and Heel Performance Group, and most recently Kevin Beasley.