Manetti Shrem Opera
Gaetano Donizetti's
Don Pasquale

Peruvian & Mexican American Soprano Vanessa Becerra begins the 23/24 season as the featured soloist at Fort Worth Opera’s annual gala. Additional engagements include returns to Opera Omaha for Don Pasquale (Norina), Minnesota Opera for L’elisir d’amore (Adina) and Arizona Opera for Don Giovanni (Zerlina). On the concert stage she debuts with The Phoenix Symphony for Messiah.

Last season she debuted at Opera Delaware for Opening Night at The Grand followed by debuts with Florida Grand Opera for El matrimonio secreto (Carolina), Opera Omaha for Le nozze di Figaro (Susanna), and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis for Così fan tutte (Despina) along with returns to Minnesota Opera for La fille du régiment (Marie) and Houston Grand Opera for El Milagro del Recuerdo (Un Mujer). On the concert stage, she debuted with the newly formed San Antonio Philharmonic.

Vanessa made debuts at The Metropolitan Opera in Cendrillon (Noémie), Intermountain Opera Bozeman for Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rosina), and Boston Lyric Opera for Roméo et Juliette (Juliette), returned to Washington National Opera for Sankaram’s Rise (Alicia Hernández), part of the world premiere tetralogy Written in Stone, and debuted with Austin Opera for Fidelio (Marzelline) and Opera Parallèle for La Belle et la Bête (Belle). In Concert, she debuted with Minnesota Opera for Ópera Afuera and returned to Fort Worth Opera for Entre Amigos.

She returned to Opera San José for the title role in Il segreto di Susanna by Wolf-Ferrari, debuted with Arizona Opera for the feature length film adaptation and world premiere of The Copper Queen (Julia Lowell), and debuted with St. Croix Valley Opera in a concert of popular arias entitled Opera on the River. Vanessa debuted at Houston Grand Opera in the world premiere of El Milagro del Recuerdo (La mujer) and Washington National Opera in Don Giovanni (Zerlina). Additional recent appearances include Francesca Zambello’s West Side Story (Maria) with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Glimmerglass Festival, and Atlanta Opera. She also joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera and returned to Opera Omaha for Glass’s Les enfants terribles (Lise).

Vanessa debuted with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel in Die Zauberflöte (Papagena), San Francisco Symphony with Michael Tilson Thomas in Candide (Paquette), Lyric Opera of Chicago in Fellow Travelers (Miss Lightfoot), Opera Delaware and Baltimore Concert Opera in Werther (Sophie), Opera Omaha in Medea (Glauce), and Atlanta Opera in Sweeney Todd (Johanna). The winter of 2017 saw Ms. Becerra’s return to Opera San Jose as the title role in Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella (featured internationally on Medici.tv) conducted by Jane Glover.

Ms. Becerra is a graduate of the Young Artist Program at the Los Angeles Opera. During her time with LAO, she appeared in Le nozze di Figaro (Barbarina), Die Zauberflöte (Papagena), La traviata (Annina), Gossip 2 in the GRAMMY Award-winning recording of Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles, and as a featured soloist in a concert with bass-baritone Erwin Schrott. Vanessa enjoys a long relationship with The Glimmerglass Festival where she has been seen in Oklahoma! (Laurey), La bohème (Musetta), and in their Young Artist performances of The Magic Flute (Pamina). Other training programs include Wolf Trap Opera Company, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Seagle Music Colony. She received her master’s degree from The Boston Conservatory, her bachelor’s degree from Texas Christian University in her hometown of Fort Worth, TX and is a graduate of the Fort Worth Academy of Fine Arts.

A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, baritone Alexey Lavrov made his Met company debut in the 2012-2013 season and has since appeared there in numerous celebrated roles. He was a semi-finalist at the 2014 Operalia International Voice Competition and has garnered numerous international awards.

A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, baritone Alexey Lavrov made his Met company debut in the 2012-2013 season as the Herald in Otello and the Flemish Deputy in Don Carlo and has since appeared there in numerous celebrated roles. Recent career highlights have included his debuts at the Opernhaus Zürich, Teatro Real in Madrid, CulturArte de Puerto Rico, Opera Carolina, Cincinnati Opera, Atlanta Opera, Festival Internacional de Ópera Alejandro Granda in Peru, Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre and Mikhailovsky Theatre in Russia, and Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg Festival in Germany. Lavrov was also a member of the Young Artist Program at the Bolshoi Theatre where he sang Moralès in Carmen, Shchelkalov in Boris Godunov, and Robert in Iolanta.

A native of the Komi Republic, Russia, Lavrov studied voice at the Republican Art College, Syktyvkar and the St. Petersburg State Conservatory. He was a semi-finalist at the 2014 Operalia International Voice Competition. His many other awards and distinctions include first prize at the 2014 Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition and 2010 Hariclea Darclée International Voice Competition, second prize at the 2014 Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation International Voice Competition and Byulbyul International Vocal Competition, and third prize at the 2014 Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition. He has received the 2014 Musique et Vin Festival Prize and 2014 Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award, as well as a diploma from the International Rachmaninoff Competition

Bass-baritone Matthew Burns is celebrated for his musical and comedic capabilities in equal measure. As a master-interpreter of comedic roles, he is highly sought after as Leporello in Don Giovanni, Doctor Bartolo and Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro.

Bass-baritone Matthew Burns is celebrated for his musical and comedic capabilities in equal measure. Engagements last season included those with the Delaware Symphony, Nashville Opera, and Utah Opera. This season sees him featured with Portland Opera, Inland Northwest Opera, and Pensacola Opera. He also returns to the Metropolitan Opera to cover Richard in The Hours. A master-interpreter of comedic roles, Burns is highly sought after as Leporello in Don Giovanni, Doctor Bartolo and Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro. Frequently reengaged by companies around the country, he is often seen with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Palm Beach Opera, Virginia Opera, and Opera Southwest. Burns made his debut with New York City Opera as Masetto in Don Giovanni and subsequently returned to the company in numerous roles. In addition, as a member of the Juilliard Opera Center, he performed Blitch in Susannah and created the villainous role of William de Champeaux in Stephen Paulus and Frank Corsaro’s Heloise and Abelard.

A sought after concert artist, Burns’s orchestral engagements include his Carnegie Hall debut singing Händel’s Messiah, which he has performed across the country; Mozart’s Coronation Mass with the Atlanta Symphony; and Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, as well as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with many orchestras around the world. Burns is a two-time recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant for Singers. He is featured on the commercial recordings of Los Angeles Opera’s Die Gezeichneten, American Symphony Orchestra’s Haggadah shel pessach, and Florentine Opera’s live recording of Carlisle Floyd’s Wuthering Heights.

Rising lyric tenor Jonah Hoskins, a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, is one of the most promising young voices today. A Grand Finals winner of the 2020 Met Competition, Hoskins continues to triumph on the competition scene, as well as on opera house stages worldwide. 

Rising lyric tenor Jonah Hoskins, a graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s prestigious Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, is one of the most promising young voices of the opera world. A Grand Finals winner of the 2020 Met Competition, Hoskins has continued to triumph on the competition scene: he was awarded with the second prize at Placido Domingo’s Operalia Competition at the Bolshoi Theatre, was the recipient of the Extraordinary Artistic Promise Award at the Lotte Lenya Competition, and placed first in the National Opera Association Competition. 

In the 2023-24 season, Hoskins begins his tenure as an ensemble member at Theater St Gallen in Switzerland. With Opéra National de Bordeaux and Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, he sees his first performances of Nadir in Les pêcheurs de perles. He makes his house debut with the San Francisco Opera, and on the concert stage, he presents a solo recital at the Kennedy Center. Highlights of recent seasons include his highly anticipated role debut as Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore at the Metropolitan Opera and his European debut as Chevalier Belfiore in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims at Semperoper Dresden.  

Born in 1996 in Saratoga Springs, Utah, Hoskins earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Brigham Young University. He subsequently was a participant in the distinguished Apprentice Artist programs of the Santa Fe Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera, as well as Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy.  

Jean-Romain Vesperini is a widely acclaimed artistic director and producer of operatic performances on stages from La Scala to the Bolshoi, Paris to Monte Carlo. A trained baritone, he is deeply connected to music, with a unique awareness of what a score brings to dramaturgy.

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Jean-Romain Vesperini studied acting at l’École du Théâtre National de Chaillot in Paris and singing at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he trained as a baritone. After graduation, he decided to pursue a career as a stage director and spent several years collaborating with Luc Bondy, Peter Stein, and Georges Lavaudant. As a result of these long-term partnerships, he built solid professional experience by managing, leading the artistic ensembles, planning, and negotiating in major opera houses such as La Scala, the Paris and Lyon Operas, the Bolshoi Opera, Opéra-Comique, Salzburg Festspiele, Verona Opera, and the Aix en Provence festival. In 2012, he was invited by the Rennes, Limoges, and Reims Opera houses to create a production of La Traviata, broadcast on French national television and radio.

Vesperini then founded his own company and was appointed Artistic Director of Les Nuits de Corté festival in Corsica. He has since been invited to create productions with Opéra National de Paris, the Geneva Opera House, Bolshoi Theatre, Hong Kong Opera, Ekaterinburg National Opera House, Saint-Etienne Opera House, Palazzetto Bru Zane, Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and Théâtre National de Nice, among others. Recent invitations include those from the Quebec Opera House and the Mariinsky Theater.

Vesperini made his US debut staging Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi at Festival Napa Valley. Following the production, he was invited by Saint Etienne Opera House to direct Joncières’s Lancelo and Gounod’s Faust for the Quebec Opera House. Vesperini continues to develop his career in the US at Festival Napa Valley, staging Elisir d’Amore in 2022 and Don Pasquale in 2023, which will be followed by Mozart’s The Abduction from the Seraglio in 2024.

Vesperini is grateful to have worked with artists such as Sir Antonio Pappano, Tugan Sokhiev, Evan Rogister, Zubin Mehta, Myung-Whun Chung, Daniele Rustioni, Alain Altinoglu, and Daniele Gatti. He is fluent in French, English, German, Italian, and Russian.

Pianist and vocal coach Noah Lindquist is assistant conductor at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. He has coached singers heard on the world’s most renowned stages, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Oper Frankfurt, and Opernhaus Zürich.

Pianist and vocal coach Noah Lindquist is assistant conductor at the Lyric Opera of Chicago. In his private studio he has coached singers heard on the stages of the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Oper Frankfurt, and Opernhaus Zürich, among others. Lindquist is also in demand as a guest coach at Young Artist programs and has coached the young artists of the Ryan Opera Center and Hawaii Opera Theatre’s Orvis Studio, as well as San Francisco Opera’s Adler Fellows. Active as a performer and recitalist, Lindquist has appeared with Matthew Polenzani, Quinn Kelsey, Michael Fabiano, and Kathryn Lewek and at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, and Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall. In the summer of 2016, Lindquist recorded with Ana Maria Martinez for Amazon’s Emmy Award-winning Mozart in the Jungle. Their collaboration is featured throughout the soundtrack to the third season. Lindquist received a Master of Music from Mannes College, where he studied with Cristina Stanescu. After participating in the Merola Opera Program, Lindquist continued his training through the Adler Fellowship program at San Francisco Opera. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and music from Williams College.

Anouar Brissel is a self taught artist who is passionate about all art forms that arouse his imagination. As a video artist and photographer, Brissel explores the connections between drawing and musical composition, creating original video designs for opera, theater, and ballet across the world. 

Anouar Brissel is a self taught artist who is passionate about all art forms that arouse his imagination. As a video artist and photographer, Brissel explores the connections between drawing and musical composition. In 2006, with the Gradus Ad Musicam choir, he created his first video for composer Etienne Perruchon in Nancy, France. From 2008 to 2011, he worked with the theater company Cie les Bestioles. 

In 2016, Brissel met James Bonas and Grégoire Pont at the Lyon Opera House and started his career as a video assistant. During their successful collaboration, three artistic performances were created: L’heure espagnole (2018), Der Mond (2020), and Snow Queen (2021). Brissel followed these productions with original video designs for Gianni Schicchi (2021), l’Elisir d’Amore (2022), and Don Pasquale (2023) at Festival Napa Valley.  

Brissel’s latest productions include The Rite of Spring with the Aurora Orchestra for the BBC Proms, Emma Bovary with the National Ballet of Toronto, Une autre histoire de Manon at St Étienne Opera House, and Ariadne auf Naxos at Magdeburg Oprhaus. He continues to collaborate with many celebrated directors such as Georges Lavaudant, Richard Brunel, Sam Brown, Claus Guth, Waut Koeken, Pierrick Sorin, and Yoshi Oida.