Turandot

From: Prudnik, Poland. LA Opera: title role in Turandot (2027, debut).

With a voice that captivates the stages and stage charisma that resonates across borders, Polish-American soprano Ewa Płonka has steadily emerged as one of the most compelling artists of her generation. Praised for her vocal richness, dramatic range, and keen musical insight, she stands among the leading figures on today’s international operatic stage—her name often associated with vocal brilliance and expressive depth.

Her musical journey began early with the discipline of the art of the keyboard. Płonka first earned academic honors in piano performance from the Poznań Academy of Music in her native Poland, as well as second master degrees from Oklahoma City University and a doctorate from the University of Utah, where she specialized in piano performance with a secondary focus in voice. An artist diploma in opera studies from the prestigious Juilliard School further polished her dual mastery of voice and piano, which informs every phrase she shapes, adding rare interpretive depth to her performances.
 
Though she first made her mark as a concert pianist—garnering prizes in international competitions, performing solo recitals and with orchestras across Europe, Israel, and North America—Płonka’s destiny lay on the grand stages of opera. Her voice—luminous in the lower register, searing and unflinching in its upper reaches—quickly drew the attention of major opera houses around the globe. What followed has been a remarkable succession of triumphs in the world’s most demanding spinto and dramatic soprano roles. Her unique combination of musicality, intellect, and dramatic instinct quickly set her apart on the international stage. 

In recent seasons, Płonka has captivated audiences in iconic portrayals, including the title role of Turandot at London's Royal Opera House (2025), Teatro Real Madrid (2023), Deutsche Oper Berlin (2024), Seoul COEX Center (2024), the Tokyo Bunka Kaikan (2024), Washington National Opera (2024), Staatsoper Hamburg (2024) and the Teatro Massimo in Palermo (2024); Abigaille in Nabucco at the Arena di Verona (2022), Teatro Real Madrid (2022), Teatro Massimo (2022), Semperoper Dresden (2023), Deutsche Oper Berlin (2025); Lady Macbeth in Macbeth at the Opernhaus Zurich (2023), Deutsche Oper am Rhein (2021 and 2022), Washington National Opera (2024); the title role of Tosca at the Dallas Opera (2023), Virginia Opera (2019), Opera Wrocławska (2022); the title role of Aida at the Polish National Opera (2023), Prague National Opera (2022 and 2023); the Foreign Princess in Rusalka at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (2023); and Venus in Tannhäuser at the Royal Opera House (2023).

Her engagements for the 2025/26 season include her debut at Teatro alla Scala as Turandot, Abigaille in at the Bavarian State Opera, Elisabetta in Don Carlo at the Staatsoper Berlin, Tosca at the Staatsoper Hamburg, Aida in Paris National Opera, and Turandot at the Savonlinna Opera Festival.

Before her celebrated transition to the soprano repertoire, Płonka earned early acclaim as a mezzo-soprano. Notable appearances included Azucena in Il Trovatore at Oper Frankfurt and Giovanna Seymour in Anna Bolena at Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe. These performances revealed an artist of profound depth, already foreshadowing the dramatic soprano she would become.

Equally commanding on the concert stage, Płonka has appeared as soloist in monumental works such as Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Rachmaninov’s The Bells, Delius’s A Mass for Life, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Szymanowski’s Stabat Mater, and gala performances at Carnegie Hall, the Lincoln Memorial and concert halls and festival across Europe and the United States. 

In the academic field, Ms. Płonka held university teaching assistant positions both in Poland and in the USA, as piano and vocal coach.

Learn more at Ewa-Plonka.com.

Photo: Kyrre Kristoffersen

From: Yerevan, Armenia. LA Opera: Calaf in Turandot (2027, debut).

Arsen Soghomonyan is one of today's most sought-after tenors for the dramatic repertoire. He made his professional tenor debut in 2017 as Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre in Moscow. Prior to that, he was a leading baritone at the Stanislavsky Theatre, performing roles such as Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Germont in La Traviata, Belcore in L'elisir d'amore, Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades, and Napoleon in Prokofiev's War and Peace. He also appeared as a guest at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Highlights of recent seasons include Hermann in The Queen of Spades at the Metropolitan Opera, Bavarian State Opera in Munich and Palau de les Arts in Valencia; the title role of Otello at the Stuttgart State Opera, Washington National Opera, and in Munich; Calaf in Turandot at the Royal Opera House in London and at the Berlin State Opera; Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana and Canio in Pagliacci at the Greek National Opera; and both Cavaradossi and Calaf at the Baths of Caracalla.

He received his musical education in Yerevan, among other places, and has been honored with numerous awards.

From: Yerevan, Armenia. LA Opera: Liù in Turandot (2027, debut).

Soprano Juliana Grigoryan is among the most promising talents of her generation. Winner of the first prize and the audience award at the Operalia competition in 2022, she performs in the most prestigious opera houses including the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam. In her hometown, she collaborated with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra and the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia.

Her appearances in the 2025/26 season include Mimi in La Bohème and Liù in Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera. Recent engagements include Iphigénie in Iphigénie en Tauride in Baden Baden; Musetta in La Bohème in Houston; Liù in Turandot in Seoul and at Covent Garden in London; Leila in The Pearl Fishers in Berlin, and Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore in Hamburg. At La Scala she was the soprano soloist in Mozart’s Requiem. Juliana was honoured to become a stage partner of Andrea Bocelli during his European concert tour. Additional concert highlights include the Victoria de los Ángeles Centenary Gala at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu with the Prague Philharmonic as well as at the Ravenna Festival for a gala concert with Riccardo Muti.

Juliana graduated from the Yerevan State Conservatory. Winner of the first prize at the Stanislaw Moniuszko International Vocal Competition, she also received the Marcella Sembrich-Kochańska Prize and the Krystyna Bochenek Prize. In 2024 she was awarded the prestigious Hildegard Behrens Prize.

From: Hulunbuir, China. LA Opera: King of Egypt in Aida (2022, debut); Commendatore in Don Giovanni (2023); Sparafucile in Rigoletto (2025); Timur in Turandot (2027).

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: Phoenix, Arizona. LA Opera: Le Dancaïro in Carmen (2026, debut); Maximilian in Candide (2026); High Priest in Nabucco (2027); Ping in Turandot (2027). He will join the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program in the 2026/27 season.

Recognized for his “booming baritone voice” and “particularly beautiful tone”, Mario Manzo is quickly becoming an exciting talent to hear and watch on the stage. Previous training includes two summers (2023 and 2024) as a Studio Artist at Wolf Trap Opera, where he performed the role of Wagner in Faust. He also covered the roles of Don Giovanni, Marcello in La Bohème, and both Father Palmer and the British Major in Silent Night by Kevin Puts, and he participated in the company’s Studio Spotlight performances. 

Mr. Manzo spent the 2024/25 season as a Bailey Apprentice Artist with Palm Beach Opera, making his debut with that company as Grégorio in Roméo et Juliette. He returned there for the 2025/26 season as a Henry and Marsha Laufer Young Artist, performing the roles of Schaunard in La Bohème and Count Monterone in Rigoletto and covering the role of Zurga in The Pearl Fishers.

Recent competition accolades include a district win and regional encouragement award in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2024. Additionally, Mr. Manzo was awarded district encouragement awards in the Laffont Competition in 2025 and 2026.

Mr. Manzo is a graduate of Arizona State University and holds a master’s degree from Rice University where he performed the title role of Don Giovanni in 2022.

From: Coral Springs, Florida. LA Opera: Pang in Turandot (2024 and 2027).

American tenor Terrence Chin-Loy, whom Opera News described as having a “beautiful lyric tenor voice” pairs passionate performance with a full, sweet sound. In the 2025/26 season, Mr. Chin-Loy made two role debuts, first as Rodolfo in La Bohème with Madison Opera, and later as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Arizona Opera. Elsewhere, he  headlined Bozeman Symphony’s Christmas program. In the 2024/25 season, Mr. Chin-Loy made his European debut singing Gualtiero in Vivaldi’s Griselda with the Danish National Opera, returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago for Cop 1 in Blue, sang Ferrando in Così fan tutte with Virginia Opera, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Opera Omaha and in concert, Graf Albert in Die tote Stadt with Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Future debuts include engagements with Santa Fe Opera and the Dallas Opera.

Highlights of recent seasons include Mr. Chin-Loy’s solo debut at the Metropolitan Opera in Terence Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up In My Bones, Tamino in The Magic Flute with the National Taichung Theater in Taiwan, Don José in Carmen with MasterVoices at Lincoln Center, Pang in Turandot with LA Opera, and Roméo in Roméo et Juliette, Victor Frankenstein in the world premiere of Frankenstein, Henrik Egerman in A Little Night Music, Ferrando in Così fan tutte, and Tamino, all with Arizona Opera. He has also performed the tenor solos in Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road with Virginia Opera, and Benny Paret Jr. in Boston Lyric Opera’s production of Champion. In concert, Terrence performed and recorded Taneyev’s At the Reading of a Psalm with the American Symphony Orchestra and Leon Botstein at Carnegie Hall, the Lubbock Symphony for Haydn’s Creation, North Carolina Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem, the Caramoor Festival for an Independence Day celebration concert, the Boise Philharmonic for a performance of Hailstork’s I Will Lift Mine Eyes as well as a residency with the College of Idaho.

Terrence’s favorite roles include Idomeneo in Idomeneo: afterWARds (Pittsburgh Opera), director David Paul’s retelling of Mozart’s masterpiece with the composer’s original music, Edgardo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (Indiana University) and Younger Thompson in Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied (Pittsburgh Opera, Penn Square Music Festival). He was happy to make his Carnegie Hall debut in Handel’s Messiah in the 2018-2019 season.

Terrence is a graduate of Indiana University, where he received a Performer Diploma. He also holds degrees from Mannes College and Yale University. At Mannes, he performed the roles of Laurie in Mark Adamo’s Little Women and Bill in the New York premiere of Jonathan Dove’s Flight with Mannes Opera, and received the Michael Sisca Opera Award, the school’s top prize for an opera singer. Terrence holds a BA in Music from Yale University, where his studies concentrated on Music Theory and Musicology. While at Yale, Terrence was also a frequent performer with the Yale Baroque Opera Project, with which he performed major roles in La Calisto, Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in patria and Scipione affricano. He is a 2018 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions National Semifinalist.

Learn more at TerrenceChinLoy.com.

From: Seattle, Washington. LA Opera: Pong in Turandot (2027, debut).

Praised by Opera News as a "vocally charismatic" performer with a "golden tenor", Martin Bakari continues to distinguish himself as a dynamic artist in a wide array of musical and theatrical genres. A 2018 George London Competition award winner, Mr. Bakari's 2025/26 season includes all three tenor roles in performances and a commercial recording of L'enfant et les sortilèges (Barcelona Symphony Orchestra), Ernesto in Don Pasquale (Opéra de Baugé), Sportin' Life in Porgy and Bess (Dayton Opera), Goro in Madama Butterfly (Opera Colorado), Bill Watson/Lloyd the Bartender in The Shining (Nashville Opera), Second Shepherd in Daphne (Seattle Opera), a song recital (Lyric Fest), and the tenor soloist in Lori Laitman's Vedem (Music of Remembrance), The Ordering of Moses (The Syracuse Orchestra), Messiah (Pacific Symphony, Boise Philharmonic), and On Wenlock Edge (Cannon Beach Music Festival). His 2026/27 season includes returns to Seattle Opera and Calvin Oratorio Society and debuts with LA Opera, Northwest Sinfonietta, the Bellingham Symphony, and the New Jersey Symphony. 

Other recent opera credits include Charlie Parker in Charlie Parker's Yardbird (Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, New Orleans Opera, Dayton Opera, Indianapolis Opera), Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance (Virginia Opera, Kentucky Opera), Goro in Madama Butterfly (Dallas Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Utah Opera), Mime in Das Rheingold and Greene Evans in the premiere of Jubilee (Seattle Opera), Dr. Caius in Falstaff and Wilson (cover) in the premiere of Jake Heggie’s Intelligence (Houston Grand Opera), Don Basilio in The Marriage of Figaro (Seattle Opera, Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, Opera Saratoga), Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville (Opera Montana), Pong in Turandot (Opera Colorado), Ferrando in Così fan tutte (Syracuse Opera), Tamino in The Magic Flute (Opéra Louisiane), Prince Claus in Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus (Chicago Opera Theater), Michael in Dave Ragland's Steele Roots and Mingo in Porgy and Bess (Atlanta Opera), Bootleg Joe in Will Liverman and DJ King Rico's The Factotum (Portland Opera), Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette (Vashon Opera), Sellem in The Rake’s Progress (Lakes Area Music Festival), Gastone in La Traviata (Seiji Ozawa Music Academy, Cincinnati Opera), Beppe in Pagliacci (Raylynmor Opera), Peter the Honeyman in Porgy and Bess (Seattle Opera, Fort Worth Opera), and Triquet in Eugene Onegin (Seattle Opera).

Recent concert and recital engagements include the tenor soloist in the premiere of Paul Moravec’s A Nation of Others (Oratorio Society of NY at Carnegie Hall), Messiah (Oratorio Society of NY at Carnegie Hall, Indianapolis Symphony, Boise Philharmonic, The Syracuse Orchestra, Calvin Oratorio Society), Carmina Burana (Cecilia Chorus of NY at Carnegie Hall, Symphony San Jose, Lubbock Symphony, New Hampshire Philharmonic), Ellen Reid’s dreams of the new world (Prototype Festival), and Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus (Grant Park Music Festival), a United Kingdom recital tour (Mirror Visions Ensemble), recitals of Paul Laurence Dunbar songs (Seattle Opera) and German Lieder (Sound Salon), and The Cartography Project (The Kennedy Center/Washington National Opera). Mr. Bakari also premiered and recorded Grigory Smirnov's song cycle Dowson Songs (Naxos) which was featured by Opera News as a "Critic's Choice" recording.

Other notable new music credits include the premiere of Sheila Silver’s A Thousand Splendid Suns (Seattle Opera), a national tour of Wynton Marsalis' Abyssinian Mass (Blue Engine Records/Sony), Philip Glass’ In the Penal Colony and a double bill of David Lang’s the difficulty of crossing a field and the little match girl passion (Portland Opera), Daniel Catan's Il Postino and Philip Glass' The Witches of Venice (Opera Saratoga), Dan Sonenberg's The Summer King (Pittsburgh Opera, Detroit Opera), Ricky Ian Gordon's Morning Star and Michi Wiancko's Murasaki’s Moon (On Site Opera), Jeremy Howard Beck's The Long Walk (Utah Opera, Pittsburgh Opera), Tobin Stokes' Fallujah (The Kennedy Center), the premiere of Anthony Gatto's Wise Blood (Walker Art Center/New Focus Recordings), William Bolcom's Lucrezia and Tobias Picker's Thérèse Raquin (Boston University), James Dashow’s Archimedes (Neuma Records), and Ted Hearne's The Source (Beth Morrison Projects).

Since 2016, Mr. Bakari has joined NY Harlem Productions for tours of Porgy and Bess as both Sportin' Life and Mingo, which have marked his German debuts at Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Hamburg, Deutsches Theater München, Alte Oper Frankfurt, and the Kölner Philharmonie, his Israeli debuts in Haifa and Tel Aviv, and his Italian debut at Bari's Teatro Petruzzelli.

Chosen by James Levine to sing in a Tanglewood production of Ariadne auf Naxos, Mr. Bakari spent two summers as a Tanglewood Fellow during which he also sang John Harbison's Full Moon in March and a double bill of Milhaud's L'enlèvement d'Europe and L'abandon d'Ariane directed by Mark Morris. Of his performance in Full Moon in March, The New York Times wrote, "Bakari mastered completely the high-tension and occasionally melodic vocal writing."

In addition to the George London Competition, Mr. Bakari has received major awards from the Palm Beach Opera Vocal Competition, Orpheus Vocal Competition, Tanglewood, the Juilliard School, and Boston University. He has since been engaged by Palm Beach Opera and has also appeared with Madison Opera, Opera North, Opera Carolina, Eugene Opera, Opera Ebony, Little Opera Theatre of NY, Pine Mountain Music Festival, and the Harlem Chamber Players.

Mr. Bakari is an alumnus of the master's degree program at Juilliard, the B.M. and Opera Institute programs at Boston University, and the study-abroad program at London's Royal College of Music. In addition to the numerous opera and musical theatre roles he performed while in Boston, he was an active concert soloist with performances including Elijah (Symphony Hall) and a solo concert of Italian arias (Salem Philharmonic Orchestra). A Filipino-African American, Mr. Bakari is featured as the cover story of FilAm Magazine’s June 2022 issue.

Learn more at MartinBakari.com.

From: Chehalis, Washington. LA Opera: First Man in Pagliacci (2015, debut); Parpignol in La Bohème (2016); Emperor Altoum in Turandot (2027).

Praised by Opera Today for his “sizable lyric instrument” and “honeyed tone on all registers”, in the 2025/26 season tenor Arnold Livingston Geis joined San Diego Opera for his first performances of Beppe in Pagliacci, and the Reno Philharmonic for Carmina Burana. In the previous season, he returned to the role of Josef Bader in Zigman’s Emigré with Beijing Music Festival, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He also joined Opera Carolina for Rodolfo in La Bohéme, Cincinnati Opera for Motel in Fiddler on the Roof, Opera in the Heights for his first performances of Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, San Francisco Symphony for Carmina Burana, and the Baltimore Symphony for Tenor I in Stravinsky’s Renard.

He recently created the role of Josef Bader in the world and US premieres of Aaron Zigman’s new oratorio Emigré, a co-commission by the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He also sang performances of Carmina Burana with both the Phoenix Symphony and Erie Symphony, and returned to the LA Philharmonic for Mormon/Housmate in Leith’s Last Days. Mr. Geis recently joined LA Master Chorale at Walt Disney Hall for Haydn’s Creation, sang Rodolfo in La Bohéme with Greensboro Opera and Pacific Opera Projects, returned to the LA Philharmonic as the Shepherd in Tristan und Isolde, sang his first performances of Faust in La Damnation de Faust with the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, and returned to Chautauqua Opera for Pirelli in Sweeney Todd.

Mr. Geis made his Lincoln Center debut creating the role of Mr. Marks in Ricky Ian Gordon’s Intimate Apparel, and joined four-time Grammy Award-winner Esperanza Spalding as Agamemnon in her and Wayne Shorter’s new opera Iphigenia on tour with performances at the Kennedy Center, MassMOCA and ArtEmerson in Boston. His other recent engagements include Philidor’s The Blacksmith with Opera Lafayette, Beadle in Sweeney Todd with Opera Saratoga, and Nemorino in L’Elisir d’Amore with Pacific Opera Projects. He recently joined Washington National Opera for Jonathan Dale in Silent Night, Gastone in La Traviata, and Busdriver/New Preacher in Kamala Sankaram and Jerry Dy’s world premiere of Taking Up Serpents. He also sang Nikolaus Sprink in Silent Night with Glimmerglass Opera, Arnold Murray in The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing with Chicago Opera Theater, and Tamino in The Magic Flute with Pacific Opera Project.

While a Young Artist at Washington National Opera, he also sang Oronte in Alcina (Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Performance), Snake and Vain Man in The Little Prince, Miles in the world premiere of Missy Mazzoli and Royce Vavrek’s Proving Up, and Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville (Domingo Cafritz Young Artist Performance). Mr. Geis created the role of Corpsman Harris in the world premiere of Heather Raffo and Tobin Stokes’ Fallujah with Long Beach Opera, and later reprised the role with New York City Opera. His other recent performances include Ernesto in Don Pasquale and Apollo in L’Orfeo with Chautauqua Opera, George Power in A Touch of Poetry with Opera A La Carte, Satyaván in Holst’s Savitri with Pasadena Pro Musica, Vanderdendur/King in Candide with Long Beach Opera, Peter Quint in The Turn of the Screw with Opera on the Avalon, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Pasadena Schubertiade, and Duck in Alice in Wonderland with L.A. Philharmonic, Count in I due Figaro with UCLA Opera Theater, and Ferrando in Cosí fan tutte with the Paul Delgado Singers.

On the concert stage, Mr. Geis sang performances of Carmina Burana with the LA Philharmonic and Maestro Gustavo Dudamel, as well as with Oregon Symphony and the Berkshire Choral International at the Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech, sang Georges in La Dame Blanche with New Amsterdam Opera, Handel’s Messiah with Indianapolis Symphony, Obadiah in Mendelssohn’s Elijah with St. George’s Choral Society in New York City, Gitzy Razaz in the world premiere of Flight of Faith with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Pasadena Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with Salastina Music Society, and Britten’s Canticle III with Pacific Palisades Chamber Ensemble. He has also sung Handel’s Alexander’s Feast, Messiah, and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with the L.A. Master Chorale.

In addition to his work in the classical sphere, Mr. Geis is a member of both SAG-AFTRA and Actors’ Equity unions, and has recorded solo vocals for many television projects, including popular shows like Tom and Jerry and Family Guy, and has also sung for such blockbuster film soundtracks as The Jungle Book, Sing, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: Rogue, Fifty Shades of Grey, Minions, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and Disney’s live-action film of The Lion King.

Mr. Geis is a graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist Program, has been an Apprentice Artist with Chautauqua Opera, a Young Artists with Opera on the Avalon, and an Apprentice Artist with Bel Canto at Caramoor. He received his Master of Music from the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California and his Bachelor of Music from Biola University.

Learn more at ArnoldLivingstonGeis.com.

From: São Paulo, Brazil. LA Opera: Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly (2024, debut); Duke of Verona in Roméo et Juliette (2024); Jose Tripaldi in Ainadamar (2025); Count Ceprano in Rigoletto (2025); Aye in Akhnaten (2025); Pistol in Falstaff (2026); Zuniga in Carmen (2026); James/Martin in Candide (2026); Mandarin in Turandot (2027); Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro (2027). He joined the Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program in 2024.

Bass Vinícius Costa has been a Renée Fleming Artist at the Aspen Music Festival, singing the title role in The Marriage of Figaro and the role of Victor Fyodorov in Jimmy Lopez's Bel Canto.

In the summer of 2026, he will be a Gaddes Festival Artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, where he will appear as Count Capulet in Roméo et Juliette.

He sang the roles of Amaral and the Father in a recently released recording of Brazilian composer André Mehmari's 2023 opera O Machete.

Winner of the Ralph Vaughan Williams award for best performance of an English song at the 2022 Wigmore Hall Song Competition, he and his collaborator Pierre Nicolas-Colombat were among the 10 semi-finalists out of more than 120 entries in the most important song competition in the United Kingdom and one of the biggest competitions on the European continent. He was also a first place winner in the Brazilian and Latin American Linus Lerner Singing Competitions.

He has performed with Theater Basel and Bühne Bern in Switzerland and with Teatro São Pedro, Teatro Municipal de São Paulo and Sala São Paulo in Brazil. His roles include Sarastro in The Magic Flute, Dandini in La Cenerentola, Zuniga in Carmen, Fiorello in The Barber of Seville and Rodimarte in Scarlatti's The Triumph of Honor. On the concert platform, he has been a soloist in works such as Bach's Ich Habe Genug and the Saint Matthew Passion, as well as Symphony No. 5 (“Requiem, Bardo, Nirmanakaya”) by Phillip Glass.

He began his vocal and musical education with the Guri Santa Marcelina Program in 2014 with Naraine Sri Hamsa and Paulo Cavalcante. In Brazil he was a student of Maria Lúcia Waldow and Francisco Campos; graduated with a bachelor's degree in singing in 2021 and in 2023 completed his master's degree in performance with Marcel Boone, with specialized training in song with Jan Schultz at the FHNW Hochschule Für Musik Basel. His training also includes the Old Music Workshop at the Escola Municipal de Música de São Paulo with Nicolau de Figueiredo and master classes with Brigitte Fassbaender, Ludovic Tezier and Margreet Honi. In 2023, he participated in the Reneé Fleming Song Studio at Carnegie Hall.