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Dame Josephine Barstow CBE, DBE
Dame Josephine Barstow CBE, DBE is recognized as one of the world’s leading singing actresses. During a long career she has performed in most of the world’s major opera houses and with many of the great conductors, singing a varied repertoire of Verdi‚ Richard Strauss‚ Puccini, and Janáček, among others. She has performed on stages around the world, across Europe, Asia, and Australia, including a historic trip in 1986 to the Soviet Union singing Tosca and Lady Macbeth. Herbert von Karajan invited her to sing the title role in Tosca with Pavarotti‚ and Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera with Plácido Domingo. Recent and forthcoming engagements include Bernstein’s Symphony No. 3 with Antonio Pappano and the Orchestra Nazionale di Santa Cecilia Roma; Heidi Schiller, Follies (National Theatre)‚ Countess, Queen of Spades (The Grange Festival), and Mme Armfeldt in A Little Night Music (Opera North), among many others. Josephine Barstow was awarded the CBE in 1985, promoted to DBE in 1995.
Ted Chapin
Ted Chapin was chosen by the Rodgers and Hammerstein families to run their office. He expanded it into the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, which is responsible for management of the copyrights created by Richard Rodgers and/or Oscar Hammerstein II. He was the co-founder of the Encores! series at City Center and was for two seasons the producer of the 92nd Street Y’s Lyrics and Lyricists series with programs saluting Bobby Darin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Irving Berlin, among others. In addition to his chairmanship of the Kurt Weill Foundation, Ted serves on several other boards including the American Theater Wing where his is co-chairman, New York City Center, and Goodspeed Musicals. His book Everything Was Possible: The Birth of the Musical ‘Follies,’ based on his experience as the production assistant on the original Broadway production, won both an ASCAP/Deems Taylor Award and a Special Jury Prize for Distinguished Achievement by the Theatre Library Association.
James Holmes
James Holmes is a British musical director, editor and arranger. A former staff conductor at English National Opera and Head of Music at Opera North, his long-time interest in classic American musical theater has seen him play a significant role in its emergence as a staple in the repertoire of those houses. While at ENO, he conducted the first production by a British opera company of a work by Stephen Sondheim, Pacific Overtures, the recording of which earned a Grammy nomination. James has conducted as wide a range of Kurt Weill’s work as anyone in the world, including multiple productions of Street Scene, as well as Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, One Touch of Venus, Arms and the Cow (Der Kuhhandel), Lady in the Dark, and The Seven Deadly Sins. In recognition of his service to the composer, the Kurt Weill Foundation honored him with their seventh Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Kyle Scatliffe
Kyle Scatliffe currently appears in the Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson role in the Broadway production of Hamilton. His theatrical credits include Enjolras in the recent Broadway revival of Les Miserables, Haywood Patterson in the London premiere production of The Scottsboro Boys (Olivier Award Nomination), Coalhouse in Ragtime (Zach Theatre), Jud Fry in Oklahoma (5th Avenue Theatre), Marley in A Christmas Carol: The Concert (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/PBS) and Mitch Mahoney in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Alabama Shakespeare Festival). He has appeared in television roles on “Bull” (CBS) and “Chicago P.D.” (NBC). Kyle is a graduate of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York.
Alicia Russell Tagert
Alicia Russell Tagert has upcoming debuts at Virginia Opera as Waldvogel (Siegfried) and at Glimmerglass as u/s Musetta (La bohème). Recent credits: Gretel at Opera Birmingham; Susanna at Fargo-Moorhead Opera; and Morgan (Fierce), a world premiere by Cincinnati Opera. COVID cancelled her debut with Lyric Opera Unlimited in the Chicago premiere of Blue. She has sung with the Charlotte Symphony (Beethoven’s 9th). Alicia was a semifinalist in Shreveport Opera’s Singer of the Year Competition and finalist in Opera Birmingham’s Competition. She is a four-time award winner in the Met’s Laffont Competition. Alicia has an MM from Northwestern.
Celeste Rose
Originally from California, Celeste Rose received her BFA in Musical Theatre from Ithaca College, and has since called NYC home. Off-Broadway she has appeared in We Are The Tigers and The York Theatre Company’s Unexpected Joy, as well as on the original cast recordings of both. Regionally, Celeste has performed in A Connecticut Christmas Carol and the world premiere of Passing Through (Goodspeed Opera House); Freaky Friday and the world premiere of Bernice Bobs Her Hair (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma); Sister Act (Ogunquit Playhouse and The Gateway Playhouse); and Titanic (Westchester Broadway Theatre). www.CelesteRose.com, @_Celeste_Rose
Stavros Koumbaros
Tenor Stavros Koumbaros is originally from Shelton, Connecticut. A graduate of the musical theater program at University of Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, Stavros is a veteran of the national tour of Les Miserables (Joly; u/s Marius). He played Tony at the Summer Rep Theatre Festival production of West Side Story in 2017, and more recently was seen in Titanic (Fleet) at Milwaukee Rep. Stavros is also a personal trainer and group fitness instructor at “Ambition” in Brooklyn Heights. He’d like to thank Hannah and Joey for their help in preparing, and to his family for their constant and continuing support. @stavros.koumbaros
Lucie St-Martin
Lucie St-Martin studied at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal and École de musique Vincent d’Indy, and is currently a member of the Atelier lyrique at Opéra de Montréal. She has sung Giannetta (L’Elisir d’amore, Opéra de Québec), Armide/narration (L’Enfer des lumières,), la Passagère (Le Flambeau de la nuitOpéra de Montréal), the title role of La Fille du tambour-major), Titania (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Adèle (Die Fledermaus), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Pauline (La Vie parisienne and Meg Giry and Christine Daaé (The Phantom of the Opera). In 2019, she received the Lieutenant Governor’s Youth Medal.
Midori Marsh
American-Canadian soprano Midori Marsh hails from Cleveland, OH. She received her BM at Wilfrid Laurier in 2017 and her MM at the University of Toronto in 2020. She won both first prize and the audience choice award at the Canadian Opera Company’s Centre Stage Competition in 2019. Midori is currently a member of the COC’s young artist ensemble. In 2020 she was named one of the CBC’s “30 Hot Classical Musicians under 30,” and in 2022 was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her portrayal of Papagena in the COC’s The Magic Flute. She is a semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2023 Laffont Competition.
Ian Williams
Fort Wayne, IN native Ian Williams is thrilled to return as a LLC finalist! He has sung as the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah and the Fauré and Mozart Requiems with the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, and with Broadway veteran J. Mark McVey (Les Misérables). Recent roles include Coalhouse Walker, Jr (Ragtime) and Jason (Ordinary Days) with Art 4, and The Captain (The Three Hermits) with Heartland Sings, Inc. He is a Level I graduate of the Institute of Somatic Voicework™ The LoVetri Method, and a co-founder of the Fort Wayne chapter of Opera on Tap. Ian also serves as a Unit Director at the Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Indiana.
Juliane Stolzenbach Ramos
Juliane Stolzenbach Ramos has worked privately with Teresa Berganza, Natale de Carolis and Raúl Giménez. She has appeared with the Philharmonie Baden-Baden, the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, and the Theater Bern. She sang Sandmännchen (Hänsel und Gretel) and Ida (Die Fledermaus) at the Freiburg Theater and Carolina in Il matrimonio Segreto in Budapest. She received scholarships from “LiveMusicNow” and the International Music Festival Portogruaro, and won a Special Prize at the Tenor Viñas Contest in 2021. The same year she joined the young artist program of Teatro Real Madrid and sang the title role in Viardot’s Cendrillon at the Teatro Real, Opera of Seville, and Opera Oviedo.
Jeremiah Sanders
Described as “a hulk with a robust voice,” Jeremiah Sanders is currently a Resident Artist with Minnesota Opera. He has performed with the Indianapolis Symphony, Lima Symphony, Lakes Area Music Festival, Opera Saratoga, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Union Avenue Opera. Sanders has also won several national and international voice competitions. The baritone is currently a doctoral candidate at Indiana University after previously earning a Vocology Certificate and Performer’s Diploma in Voice from Indiana, a MM in Vocal Performance from Butler University, and a BA from Manchester University.
Taylor-Alexis DuPont
Hailing from Orlando, Taylor-Alexis DuPont received her MM in Voice from Peabody Conservatory. She was in the ensemble of the Met’s Grammy -winning Porgy and Bess in 2019-202 and then sang Moth in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Santa Fe Opera. She debuted as a soloist with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra in El Amor Brujo. and won the inaugural Rebecca Luker Award in 2021. In 2023 she debuted with Washington National Opera as Pheobe in The Passion of Mary Cardwell Dawson and with Virginia Opera as Flora in La Traviata. She will be play Audrey in the world premiere of The Rip Van Winkles at Glimmerglass this summer.
Ryan Johnson
Ryan Johnson’s performing experience spans opera and music theater. He recently appeared at the Opera Saratoga as Ira in Lembit Beecher’s Sky on Swings. In 2023, Ryan will debut at Glimmerglass as the Grand Inquisitor and Governor in Candide. He has been a finalist in the George London Foundation Competition and a district winner for the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions. As a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Ryan performed the role of Borsa in Rigoletto and covered Nero in The Coronation of Poppea and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi. He holds an MM from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and a BM from Texas Tech.
Rebekah Howell
Praised for her bell-like tone, Rebekah Howell is comfortable with everything from bel canto to “can belt-o.” Her repertoire includes The Witch (Into the Woods), Cunegonde (Candide), Ado Annie (Oklahoma!), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), and the soprano solos in Mahler’s 4th Symphony, Carmina Burana, and Messiah. This year, Rebekah will play Mother Abbess (The Sound of Music) with Studio Tenn and be featured at Knoxville Opera. In 2021, she won the inaugural Kurt Weill Award in the Lenya Competition. Rebekah has taught voice both privately and as a masterclass clinician.
Nyla Watson
Nyla Watson is a Cleveland-born NYC-based actor, singer and coach currently on tour with Hadestown (Fate 2 and Persephone). She is a 2019 Lenya Competition award-winner, and recorded “But You’ll Be Fine” for the LLC Songbook series. She has appeared on Broadway in Waitress and Off-Broadway in Black No More and Gigantic. National Tours include Wicked and The Color Purple. Notable concerts: ShowBoat: Live at Lincoln Center, Oklahoma! at 75, and “Broadway Sings Whitney Houston.” She attributes her success to her Christian faith, her parents, her education, and her professional and personal influences. Nyla is a graduate of Baldwin Wallace and NYU Steinhardt. www.queennyla.com, @brandnewnyla. Acts 4:7-12.