Il Trovatore Live Broadcast

Soprano Guanqun Yu is a regular guest at international opera houses in Europe and America. Her engagements in the 2021/22 season include the staged version of Verdi's Messa da Requiem at the Nederlandse Opera Amsterdam, Micaela in Carmen at the Staatsoper Hamburg, her role debut as Elvira in Ernani in a new production (de Beer/Mazzola) of the opera at the Festspielhaus Bregenz, and again Verdi's Messa da Requiem with the Royal Danish Symphony Orchestra.

In addition to the major Mozart roles such as Vitellia, Elettra, Contessa, Fiordiligi, Donna Anna and Donna Elvira, Guanqun Yu's repertoire includes the Italian repertoire in particular. She has sung Leonora in Il Trovatore at the Metropolitan Opera, at LA Opera and at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra in Valencia, Hamburg and Frankfurt, Desdemona in Otello at the Palau de les Arts Valencia, at the Deutsche Oper Berlin as well as at the Hamburg State Opera, Mimì in La Bohème in a new production at the Zurich Opera House as well as at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and Liù in Turandot at the Metropolitan Opera, the Opéra de Paris, Staatsoper Hamburg, in Zurich, Cologne and at the Bregenz Festival.

Guanqun Yu is also familiar with the French repertoire singing Micaëla in Carmen and Mathilde in Guillaume Tell, a role which brought her a great personal triumph in a new production at Hamburg State Opera.

Her numerous engagements also led her to the Deutsche Oper Berlin and the Semperoper Dresden. With Lucrezia in a concert performance of The Two Foscari, she celebrated her highly noticed debut at the Salzburg Festival in 2017.

Guanqun Yu has already worked with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, James Levine, Michele Mariotti and Cornelius Meister. In 2010 she made her debut in Vienna in Honegger’s Jeanne d’Arc under the baton of Bertrand de Billy. Numerous concert commitments have taken Guanqun Yu to Scandinavia and Germany.

Guanqun Yu is winner of the Belvedere singing competition and winner of the renowned Operalia competition. After studying in Shandong and Shanghai, she was a member of the opera studio at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna.

Her interpretation of Lina in Verdi's Stiffelio was released on DVD in a production from Parma.

Learn more at GuanqunYu.com.

Hailed by the New York Times as a "mezzo-soprano with a burnished voice and dramatic fervor" and by the San Francisco Chronicle for her "electrifying sense of fearlessness," she will make her La Scala debut in 2022 as Ulrica in Un Ballo in Maschera. Other upcoming engagements, in addition to her return to Los Angeles as Azucena in Il Trovatore, include Azucena at the Glimmerglass Festival and at the Staatstheater Nürnberg, Fricka/Ortrud in Gods and Mortals at the Glimmerglass Festival, Componist in Ariadne auf Naxos at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, La Principessa in Suor Angelica at La Monnaie de Munt, and a role debut as Joan of Arc in Tchaikovsky's Maid of Orleans with Theater St. Gallen. 

Additional credits include Eboli in Verdi's Don Carlos at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Preziosilla in Verdi's La Forza del Destino at Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Leonora in Donizetti’s La Favorite at the Teatro Massimo di Palermo, Marguerite in Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust conducted by Maestro John Nelson with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Costa Rica, Ms. Alexander in Phillip Glass' Satyagraha at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Kristina in The Makropulos Affair at the Janáček Brno Festival, Wellgunde in Wagner’s Die Ring-Trilogie at Theater an der Wien, Madeline Mitchell in Heggie’s Three Decembers at Opera Maine, and Nezhata in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sadko at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen.

Ms. Bryce-Davis’ concert highlights include the world premiere of Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road at Carnegie Hall; which won a Grammy nomination, Verdi’s Requiem with conductor Kent Nagano and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal at the Olympic Stadium, Elgar’s Sea Pictures at the Musikverein in Vienna with the Tonkünstler Orchestra, Verdi's Requiem with the Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall, the world premiere of Anthony Davis' We Call the Roll with The Lied Society, Martinů’s Julietta with the American Symphony Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Corigliano’s Of Rage and Remembrance at the Aspen Music Festival, the world premiere of Come, My Tan-Faced Children by Melissa Dunphy at Lyric Fest, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine, Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky with Maestro Philippe Entremont at Manhattan School of Music, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra.

As a producer/performer Bryce-Davis has released "To the Afflicted," her first music video, which received much critical acclaim and was chosen as an official video for World Opera Day. Her second digital short, “Brown Sounds,” was co-produced with LA Opera and Aural Compass Projects, and won Best Music Video at film festivals around the globe including the New York International Film Awards, New York Cinematography Awards, Hollywood Boulevard Film Awards, the Anatolian Short Film Festival, and the Silk Road Film Awards - Cannes.

Bryce-Davis is a 2018 recipient of the prestigious George London Award at the George London Competition, the 2017 first place and audience prize-winner of the Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino competition; chaired by Dominique Meyer, winner of the 2016 Richard F. Gold Career Grant at the Merola Opera Program, winner of the 2015 Hilde Zadek Competition at the Musikverein in Vienna, and the 2015 Sedat Gürel - Güzin Gürel International Voice Competition in Istanbul. She holds a Master of Music and Professional Studies certificate from the Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Raehann Bryce-Davis is a co-founder of the Black Opera Alliance and is an advocate for social justice in opera.

Learn more at Raehann.com.

Rising dramatic tenor Limmie Pulliam has thrilled audiences with his captivating stage presence and his “stentorian, yet beautiful,” sound.

The 2017/18 season included several debuts beginning with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra in Verdi’s Requiem, and his company debut with Springfield Regional Opera in the title role of Otello. He also made a much-anticipated return appearance with Vashon Opera where he was featured in a sold-out Limmie Pulliam & Friends concert.

The 2016/17 season saw his debuts as a guest artist with Arkansas’ Delta Symphony Orchestra and appearances as one of The 3 Holiday Tenors with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra. His season also included an acclaimed role and house debut as Canio in Pagliacci with Vashon Opera. He appeared as a special guest at the National Opera Association’s 2016 convention in Indianapolis to honor their Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and 2015 National Medal of Arts honoree, legendary tenor George Shirley. The highlight of his season was his festival debut with the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice in his first foray as the title character in Otello.

Mr. Pulliam’s other recent engagements include performances with the Concord Chorale as tenor soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and the tenor soloist in Stainer’s Resurrection with New Covenant United Methodist Church in The Villages, Florida. Mr. Pulliam has been featured in numerous appearances with the internationally renowned chorale Gloriae Dei Cantores, as tenor soloist (Ahab/Obadiah) in an original language presentation of Mendelssohn’s Elijah as well as in concerts featuring Intimations of Immortality and For St. Cecilia by Gerald Finzi. He has also presented concerts featuring spirituals with the Concord Chorale. He appeared as the tenor soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Forum Sinfonia Orchestra of Finland and soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass with the San Angelo Symphony. Mr. Pulliam was also a featured soloist on the American Spiritual Ensemble’s 2013 Winter Tour.

The Missouri native trained with the late renowned pedagogue Richard Miller. He is also a former participant in the young artist programs of Cleveland Opera, Opera Delaware and Opera Memphis. He was the 2012 Artist Division Winner of the National Opera Association’s Vocal Competition and, in 2013, was a winner in the 3rd Annual Concorso Internazionale di Canto della Fondazione Marcello Giordano in Catania, Sicily.

Learn more at LimmiePulliam.com.

Regarded as one of the most accomplished singers on the international opera stage today, the American tenor Gregory Kunde appears regularly at the most prestigious opera houses around the world. His appearances for the 2021/22 season include the title role of Otello at the Vienna State Opera.

Highlights in the 2019/20 season include the title role in Otello at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Calaf in Turandot at the Gran Teatre del Liceu and at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Jean de Leyden in Le Prophète at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the title role in Don Carlos for Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and Manrico in Il Trovatore at the Wiener Staatsoper. In concert, he will perform Verdi's Requiem with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra and Alan Gilbert.

Recent highlights include Samson in Samson et Dalila at the Metropolitan Opera, title role in Otello for Opéra national de Paris and Opéra de Monte-Carlo, title role in Andrea Chénier and Radames in Aida at the Wiener Staatsoper, Calaf in Turandot at the Teatro Real, Madrid, Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut in concert for Dallas Opera, Don Alvaro in La Forza del Destino at the Semperoper Dresden, title role in Peter Grimes at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Valencia, Radames in Aida at the Teatro Real, Madrid, and a return to the podium to conduct The Barber of Seville at the Teatro La Fenice.

On the concert platform, recent highlights include Verdi's Requiem and Calaf in Turandot with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Zubin Mehta, Das Lied von der Erde at the BBC Proms, Verdi's Requiem in Bilbao, the title role in Otello at the Cincinnati May Festival, title role in Peter Grimes with Sir Antonio Pappano at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and Faust in The Damnation of Faust in concert at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam with Charles Dutoit.

Acclaimed throughout his earlier career for his performances in French and Italian bel canto roles, Kunde has now established himself as a leading exponent of many of the Verdi roles and other such dramatic repertoire. Since his critically acclaimed debut as Verdi's Otello at La Fenice in 2012, he has performed this signature role in Valencia, Genoa, Salerno, Florence, Turin, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Seoul, and São Paulo. Since moving into this repertoire, Kunde earned the unique distinction of being the only tenor in recorded history to perform both Rossini's Otello and Verdi's Otello in the same season (2014/15 and 2015/16).

Kunde’s discography includes his solo album Vincerò! (Universal Music Group), Il Trovatore at Royal Opera House London (Opus Arte DVD), Les Troyens at the Théâtre du Châtelet (Opus Arte DVD, Gramophone magazine’s ‘DVD of the Year’), Benvenuto Cellini (Virgin Classics CD, Gramophone’s ‘Opera Recording of the Year’), Benvenuto Cellini with Sir Colin Davis (LSO Live CD), and Verdi's Otello from the Palazzo Ducale in Venice (Unitel DVD).

Learn more at GregoryKunde.com.

Praised by the New York Times for his “warm, attractive voice” and by Opera News for his “gorgeous legato sound and remarkable breath control”, Vladimir Stoyanov has gained international recognition as one of today's leading baritones. He has appeared with the Opéra de Paris, Vienna State Opera, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Metropolitan Opera, Baden Baden Festival, Teatro Real de Madrid, Gran Teatre del Liceu de Barcelona, Bayerische Staatsoper of Munich, Deutsche Oper and Staatsoper Berlin, San Francisco Opera, New National Theatre Tokyo, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, the Arena of Verona and many others.

His major roles include Rigoletto (Bregenz Festspiele, ROH Muscat, NCPA Beijing, Palau de les Arts Valencia, Maggio Musicale fiorentino Florence, Sofia Opera House, Terme di Caracalla Rome, Center of Performing Arts, Macerata Sferisterio, Teatro Comunale in Bologna), Iago in Otello (New National Theatre of Tokyo, Royal Opera of Stockholm, Arena di Verona-Philharmonic Theatre, Baden-Baden Festival with Berliner Philharmoniker), Macbeth (San Carlo in Naples, Festival Verdi in Parma, Berlin State Opera, Teatro Colon in Bogotà, ABAO Bilbao), Giorgio Germont in La Traviata (La Scala Milan, Vienna State Opera, San Carlo in Naples, Bavarian State Opera, Arena di Verona, Hamburg State Opera, San Francisco Opera, La Fenice in Venice), Rodrigo in Don Carlo (Verdi Festival Parma, Zurich Opera House, Bunka Kaikan Tokyo, Municipal de Sant Jago Chile, Macerata Sferisterio, ABAO Bilbao), Don Carlo di Vargas in La forza del destino (Paris Opèra, Israeli Opera Tel Aviv, Liceu de Barcelona), Renato in Un ballo in maschera (La Fenice Venice, Zurich Opera House, Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, Teatro Regio Parma), Ezio in Attila (Hungarian State Opera Budapest, Festival Verdi Parma), Prince Yeletsky in The Queen of Spades (ROH in London, Metropolitan Opera, Dutch National Opera Amsterdam), Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor (Metropolitan Opera, Palau des les Artes of Valencia, Deutsche Opera of Berlin).

Vladimir Stoyanov was born in Pernik (Bulgaria). He studied singing at the Academy of Music of Sofia, and he later studied at the Academy Boris Christoff at Rome under the guidance of famous opera singer Nicola Ghiuselev, who was his mentor and source of inspiration in his youth years. Vladimir’s soft and extended baritone voice, and his natural talent for singing legato and drama accent, led him to the bel canto repertoire with particular attention to Verdi’s repertoire.

In 1998 he made his debut at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples (Italy) in the title role of Verdi’s Macbeth. This successful Italian debut quickly led to engagements at the major opera houses around the world.

Learn more at VladimirStoyanov.info.

Morris Robinson is considered one the most interesting and sought-after basses performing today.

In the 2022/23 season, in addition to her LA Opera appearances, Tiffany Townsend performed Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. Other engagements of the season include the role of Idleness in the world premiere of Kate Soper's The Romance of the Rose with Long Beach Opera, the Verdi Requiem with the Bakersfield Symphony, Fauré’s Requiem and George Walker's Lilacs with the New Jersey Symphony.

In the summer of 2023, she will reprise Lilacs with the National Orchestral Institute + Festival at Wolf Trap, as well as perform the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Wolf Trap Opera.

She recently returned to Opera Philadelphia as the featured soloist in George Walker's Lilacs and she also performed Strauss's Four Last Songs with the Artosphere Festival Orchestra. In the summer of 2022, she was a Filene Artist with Wolf Trap Opera.

In the spring of 2021, she performed the role of Katherine in Douglas Pew's Penny with Opera Grand Rapids. 

She started the 2019/20 season as Princess Ninette in Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges with Opera Philadelphia. In February 2020, she appeared with Long Beach Opera in the Dream Variation concert.

In 2019, she performed Brenda in Rene Orth’s Empty the House, a co-production with the Curtis Opera Theatre and Opera Philadelphia. 

At Millsaps, she was seen as Lucy Lockit in Benjamin Britten's The Beggar's Opera and performed Fiordiligi in Cosí fan tutte in scenes. At Juilliard she covered the role of the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro. She also performed George Crumb’s Winds of Destiny at Alice Tully Hall with the Juilliard Percussion Ensemble. At the Chautauqua Institution, Ms. Townsend performed the First Lady in The Magic Flute.

At Curtis she performed lead roles such as the Female Chorus in The Rape of Lucretia, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. She was a winner of the 2019 New Orleans District of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She then received an Encouragement Award in the 2019 Gulf Coast Regionals.

She holds a Professional Studies Certificate in Opera from the Curtis Institute of Music, a Master of Music from the Juilliard School, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Millsaps College. 

Photo: Daniel Welch

“Orson Van Gay II was an ardent Alfredo...his sound was fluent and his high notes golden.” - Maria Nockin, Broadway World

Operatic tenor Orson Van Gay II possesses a unique voice that captivates the audience with his charisma and command of the stage for a singer of his generation. His performances showcase vocal talents that have brought him constant recognition in Southern California and across the United States.

Recent and Upcoming:
In the 2021 COVID-affected season, Mr. Van Gay joined Long Beach Opera for their production of Les Enfants Terribles as Gérard. He was slated to perform the role of Virtue and Lucano in Comet/Poppea this summer (cancelled). In the 2019/20 season, he created the role of Raymond Santana in the world première of Anthony Davis’s Central Park Five with Long Beach Opera and made his role debut as Rodolfo in La Bohème with Pacific Opera Project. ("Orson Van Gay II’s top notes were thrilling...” OperaWire)

He debuted as Nemorino with the Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice and sang the romantic lead of the Young Man in Last Romance with Kansas New Theater. (“Van Gay II is one of the finest operatic tenors I have had the pleasure of hearing in a very long time.” Broadway World)

Equally at home as a recitalist, Mr. Van Gay has appeared with the Portsmouth Community Concert, Inc. (VA), the Rio Hondo College and at Carnegie Hall in a recital with Wang Wei.

Mr. Van Gay has sung extensively with LA Opera in many venues including the Connects “City of Hope” “IAMLA" series. He debuted the role of Bernard Curson (aka “Cherubino”) in the world première of ¡Figaro! (90210) with the company and was Ramerrez in The Prospector in two different seasons. Other operatic roles include Alfredo in La Traviata, Ben in The Night of the Living Dead and the title roles of Candide and Orpheus.

He joined the Cal Philharmonic Orchestra in celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s 100th anniversary and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as tenor soloist at Walt Disney Concert Hall. In his review, George van Wagner stated that he was “beautifully sung and strongly acted...audience members were visibly moved.” He has sung the haunting role of Orlando in The Industry’s nationally acclaimed production of Hopscotch. In addition to performing in the romantic and Germanic languages of opera, Mr. Van Gay was selected to perform in Mandarin last season making his debut with SINO U.S. Performing Arts Organization as tenor soloist for their concert series with performances in Los Angeles and in Phoenix, Arizona.

He premiered Nathan Wang's Golden, a composition based on the life of Polish composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski in Los Angeles and sang the role of Prince in the world première of Ricky Ian Gordon’s Morning Star.

He holds a bachelor of science in Vocal Performance from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia and has been honored by the NATS organization on several occasions. As a native of southern California, Mr. Van Gay is also an actor in several nationally recognized television series.

He has been featured in major television commercials and starred on a variety of shows for Netflix; including foreign film and television. In 2020 he co-starred on the Disney series Coop and Cami Ask the World.

Learn more at OrsonVanGay.com.

Since his debut that year with La Traviata, he has conducted 66 different operas and more than 435 performances to date with the company. Highlights of recent seasons include the 2020 company premiere of The Anonymous Lover (L'Amant Anonyme) by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, the 2021 company premiere of Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex, and the 2022 company premiere of Bach's St. Matthew Passion.

(Click here to visit James Conlon's Corner, where you can find essays, videos and conversations he has created especially for LA Opera.)

One of today’s most versatile and respected conductors, James Conlon has cultivated a vast symphonic, operatic and choral repertoire. He has conducted virtually every major American and European symphony orchestra since his debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1974. He has conducted more than 270 performances at the Metropolitan Opera. Through worldwide touring, an extensive discography and videography, numerous essays and commentaries, frequent television appearances and guest speaking engagements, Mr. Conlon is one of classical music’s most recognized interpreters.

In September 2021, he became Artistic Advisor of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

He has been Principal Conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra in Torino, Italy (2016–20); Principal Conductor of the Paris Opera (1995–2004); General Music Director of the City of Cologne, Germany (1989–2003), simultaneously leading the Gürzenich Orchestra and the Cologne Opera; and Music Director of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra (1983–91).

Mr. Conlon has served as the Music Director of the Ravinia Festival, summer home of the Chicago Symphony (2005–15), and is now Music Director Laureate of the Cincinnati May Festival―the oldest choral festival in the United States―where he was Music Director for 37 years (1979–2016), marking one of the longest tenures of any director of an American classical music institution. As a guest conductor at the Metropolitan Opera, he has led more than 270 performances since his 1976 debut. He has also conducted at leading opera houses and festivals including the Vienna State Opera, Salzburg Festival, La Scala, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Mariinsky Theatre, Covent Garden, Chicago Lyric Opera, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino.

As LA Opera's Music Director since 2006, Mr. Conlon has led more performances than any other conductor in the company’s history—to date, over 420 performances of more than 60 different operas by over 20 composers. Highlights of his LA Opera tenure include conducting the company’s first Ring cycle, recently re-aired in a marathon webcast celebrating the performances’ tenth anniversary; initiating the groundbreaking Recovered Voices series, an ongoing commitment to staging masterpieces of 20^th-century European opera that were suppressed by the Third Reich; and spearheading Britten 100/LA, a city-wide celebration honoring the centennial of that composer’s birth. During the period in which Dorothy Chandler Pavilion was closed due to the pandemic, Mr. Conlon conducted LA Opera’s live-streamed, socially distanced production—staged at the Colburn School—of The Anonymous Lover by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, a prominent Black composer in 18^th-century France. The performance was presented as an online-only event in fall 2020 and marked the work’s West Coast premiere. The Pavilion reopened in June 2021 with Mr. Conlon conducting the company premiere of Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, with which LA Opera became the first major American opera company to perform live in its own theater since the coronavirus outbreak. The performance was subsequently released online for at-home viewing. During LA Opera’s 2021/22 season, Mr. Conlon conducts three operas long absent from the company’s repertory: Verdi’s Il Trovatore, which opens the season; Wagner’s Tannhäuser; and Verdi’s Aida. He also conducts John Neumeier’s ballet adaptation of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, performed at LA Opera for the first time.

Francisco Negrín is an award-winning stage director, based in Barcelona and working at major opera houses worldwide as well as in major events, film, popular music and other media.

He works primarily in opera but he has also created arena and stadium projects, museum openings, as well as other commercial events, including one of the largest shows ever, the opening of the 2017 AIMAG, with 6,000 performers, as well as two ice shows in the Arena di Verona and a one-kilometer-wide show at the Dubai World Cup. He has directed over 70 critically acclaimed productions in the leading opera houses around the globe, many of which have been televised and released on DVD. The Royal Opera House in London, Chicago Lyric Opera, the Liceu in Barcelona, Sydney Opera House, New York City Opera, the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam or the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris are only a few of the major companies where his work has been presented.

His work is distinguished by faithfulness to the text and music, refracted through a thoroughly modern but elegant sensibility that changes style to suit and enhance the piece rather than impose on it, and a strongly visual and kinetic approach often described by the press as "cinematic". He is admired by singers and conductors alike as a director who deeply understands the musical aspects of the piece and collaborates with the musicians to achieve better dramaturgy. His work has especially had an impact on changing audiences' perception of "difficult" or unknown pieces. He has a special liking for directing site-­specific events and using dance and other media in truly telling ways.

Francisco Negrín has won several awards for his work and his London production of Handel's Orlando was nominated for two Laurence Olivier awards.

Learn more at Francisco.Negrin.com.

Stage director Sara E. Widzer continues to produce exceptional operatic and theater works at companies across the United States and abroad.

Currently serving on faculty at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in Los Angeles, her guest engagements for the 2019/20 season included as director of La Morte d’Orfeo in her directorial debut at LA Opera, in addition to serving as assistant director to Sir David McVicar for the mainstage production of Pelleas and Melisande at the same company. She returned to the Kennedy Center in March of 2020 as assistant director to Peter Kazaras for a new production of Samson and Delilah with the Washington National Opera.

Her 2018/19 season included engagements as assistant director for Putz’s and Campbell’s Silent Night at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., as well as her debut with Beth Morrison Projects as associate director to Michael Counts for Madame White Snake in Hong Kong. She was also assistant director to Jorge Torres Medina for El Gato Montes: The Wildcat.

A frequent collaborator at summer opera festivals across the United States, Ms. Widzer made her debut with the Chautauqua Opera Company as associate director to Eric Einhorn for ¡Figaro! 90210 as well as assistant director to Peter Kazaras for The Ghosts of Versailles and as stage director for the Young Artist Scenes Program. She spent the previous summer at Santa Barbara’s Music Academy of the West where she directed OperaFest: Campus Takeover alongside the festival’s creative director James Darrah. She made her debut with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 2018 directing a semi-staged production of Carmen.

Director, scenery designer and costume designer Louis Désiré was born in 1956 into a family of musicians. He has participated in numerous opera productions in Europe, North America and Asia, including work for the Paris National Opera, Royal Theater of La Monnaie in Brussels, Amsterdam Opera, Royal Theater in Copenhagen, Teatro de la Maestranza in Seville, Festival of Santander, Festival of Perelada, Liceo de Barcelona, ​​Palau de les Arts de Valencia, Leipzig Opera, Megaron of Athens and Tessaloniki, Festival del Centro Historico de Mexico, Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires, New York City Opera and more.

In September 2007, he made his debut at the Teatro Colòn in Buenos Aires designing the sets and costumes for Werther. Since then he has worked all over the world. In 2009-10 he was invited to the Santa Fe Opera for Alceste (set and costumes) and to the Teatro Colòn in Buenos Aires for The Two Foscari (stage direction, sets and costumes) . In 2010-11, the artist was invited to San Francisco for Werther (sets and costumes), Buenos Aires for Francesca da Rimini (staging, set and costumes), Monte-Carlo for Un ballo in maschera (staging and costumes), and Bilbao for Macbeth (sets and costumes). In 2011-12, he was in Beijing for La Cenerentola (costumes), in Monte Carlo for Francesca da Rimini (staging, set and costumes). In 2012/13 he designed the decor and costumes for Carmen in Seoul, Werther in Chicago and Il Trovatore in Macerata. In 2013/14, he created the staging, decor and costumes of La Cenerentola in Metz and The Flying Dutchman in Buenos Aires. He designed sets and costumes for Alcina in Oslo, directed La Bohème in Montevideo, and designed the sets and costumes of Mitridate in Drottningholm. In 2014/15 he was in Bilbao for Werther, Copenhagen for Alcina, Marseille for Tosca and the Chorégies d'Orange for Carmen.

His designs for leading opera houses include Rusalka (Sydney Opera House, Australian Green Room Award), The Marriage of Figaro, Carmen (English National Opera); Peter Pan (Welsh National Opera, Komische Oper Berlin); Mahagonny, Don Giovanni, Connectome, The Two Foscari, La Donna del Lago (Covent Garden); Carmen, Don Giovanni (Oslo); The Threepenny Opera, The Two Foscari, Béatrice et Bénédict (Theater an der Wien); Rinaldo (Chicago); I Puritani (Netherlands Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève) and productions for Opera North and Garsington Opera. Theater work includes Frankenstein (Olivier and Knight of Illumination awards); Miss Saigon, From Here to Eternity (West End); and productions for the National Theatre, RSC, Old Vic, Royal Court and Barbican. He won a second Knight of Illumination Award for his design of Sigur Ros’ world tour and also designed their 2016 world tour.

His engagements for 2020 include Alcina with the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Aida for Houston Grand Opera and Uncle Vanya in London's West End.

(BrunoPoet.co.uk)

Hailed for his adventurous and bold artistic leadership, and for eliciting technically precise and expressive performances from musicians, Grammy Award-winner Grant Gershon celebrated his 20th anniversary as Kiki & David Gindler Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Master Chorale in the 2021/22 season. The Los Angeles Times has said the Master Chorale "has become the most exciting chorus in the country under Grant Gershon,” a reflection on both his programming and performances. 
 
During his tenure, Gershon has led more than 200 Master Chorale performances at Walt Disney Concert Hall in programs encompassing a wide range of choral music, from the early pillars of the repertoire to contemporary compositions. He has led world premiere performances of major works by John Adams, Louis Andriessen, Eve Beglarian, Billy Childs, Gabriela Lena Frank, Ricky Ian Gordon, Shawn Kirchner, David Lang, Morten Lauridsen, Steve Reich, Ellen Reid, Christopher Rouse, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Chinary Ung, among many others.  

Gershon is committed to increasing representation in the choral repertoire, and in 2020 he announced that the Master Chorale will reserve at least 50% of each future season for works by composers from historically excluded groups in classical music. 
 
In July 2019, Gershon and the Master Chorale opened the famed Salzburg Festival with Lagrime di San Pietro, directed by Peter Sellars. The Salzburg performances received standing ovations and rave reviews from such outlets as the Süddeutsche Zeitung, which called Lagrime “painfully beautiful” (Schmerzliche schön). Gershon and the Master Chorale debuted the production in Los Angeles in 2016 and began touring the world with it in 2018. In its review of the premiere of Lagrime, the Los Angeles Times noted that the production “is a major accomplishment for the Master Chorale, which sang and acted brilliantly. It is also a major accomplishment for music history.”

He was the Resident Conductor of LA Opera from 2012 to 2022, and in this capacity conducted the West Coast premiere of Philip Glass’s Satyagraha in November 2018. He made his acclaimed debut with the company with La Traviata in 2009 and has subsequently conducted productions including Il Postino, Madama Butterfly, Carmen, Florencia en el Amazonas, Wonderful Town, The Tales of Hoffmann and The Pearl Fishers. In 2017, he made his San Francisco Opera debut conducting the world premiere of John Adams’s Girls of the Golden West directed by Peter Sellars, who also wrote the libretto, and made his Dutch National Opera debut with the same opera in March 2019. Gershon and Adams have an enduring friendship and professional relationship which began 27 years ago in Los Angeles when Gershon played keyboards in the pit for Nixon in China at LA Opera. Since then, Gershon has led the world premiere performances of Adams’ theater piece I Was Looking at the Ceiling and Then I Saw the Sky, premiered his two-piano piece Hallelujah Junction (with Gloria Cheng), and conducted performances of Harmonium, The Gospel According to the Other Mary, El Niño, The Chairman Dances, and choruses from The Death of Klinghoffer. 

In New York, Gershon has appeared at Carnegie Hall and at the historic Trinity Wall Street, and he has performed on the Great Performers series at Lincoln Center and the Making Music series at Zankel Hall. Other major appearances include performances at the Ravinia, Aspen, Edinburgh, Helsinki, Salzburg, and Vienna festivals, the South American premiere of LA Opera’s production of Il Postino in Chile, and performances with the Baltimore Symphony and the Coro e Orchestra del Teatro Regio di Torino in Turin, Italy. He has worked closely with numerous conductors, including Claudio Abbado, Pierre Boulez, James Conlon, Gustavo Dudamel, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Simon Rattle, and his mentor, Esa-Pekka Salonen. 
 
His discography includes the 2022 Grammy Award-winning recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 with the Los Angeles Philharmonic as well as Grammy–nominated recordings of Sweeney Todd (New York Philharmonic Special Editions) and Ligeti’s Grand Macabre (Sony Classical); six commercial CDs with the Master Chorale, including Glass-Salonen (RCM), You Are (Variations) (Nonesuch), Daniel Variations (Nonesuch), A Good Understanding (Decca), Miserere (Decca), and the national anthems (Cantaloupe Music); and two live-performance albums, the Master Chorale’s 50th Season Celebration recording and Festival of Carols. He has also led the Master Chorale in performances for several major motion pictures soundtracks, including, at the request of John Williams, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. Gershon was named Outstanding Alumnus of the Thornton School of Music in 2002 and received the USC Alumni Merit Award in 2017.  

His work has been seen on stages around the world, with productions including Armida at the Metropolitan Opera, SAFE at the Edinburgh Theatre Festival, West Side Story at the Kilden Teater (Norway), A Little Night Music at the Huntington Theatre Company, Cold Mountain at Music Academy of the West, and productions of Carmen, Don Giovanni, I Puritani and Greek at the Boston Lyric Opera. 

New York credits include Forever Dusty for New World Stages, Pinocchio's Ashes for Theater for a New City and The Saint of Bleecker Street at Dicapo Opera Theatre, among others, and he has worked at numerous regional opera and theater companies around the country. 

As resident fight director for Central City Opera, he staged numerous productions there between 2008 and 2014, including Dead Man Walking, Carmen, Madama Butterfly, West Side Story, Oklahoma! and Rinaldo, while also serving as the stage combat instructor for the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists Training Program.