Esteban Baltazar: A young Bass-Baritone from México, and one of the great promises of Mexico according to the criticism of the most acclaimed journalists in the country. Has been studying music and acting since the age of 13. After performing in 30 productions, he began to narrow his focus on lyrical singing. To work on his technique, he enrolled in “Centro de Perfeccionamiento Operístico” where he studied under the guidance of masters such as: Enrique Patron de Rueda, Marta Felix and Andre Sarre.  He then continued his education by joining “SIVAM” an opera studio founded by Placido Domingo and Pepita Serrano. Here, he took classes with Head mistress Teresa Rodríguez, John Dorneman, Vlad Iftinka, Ugo Mahieux, Cesar Ulloa,  Fernando de la Mora, Peter Volpe, Maureen O’Flynn, Denise Masse and Sergio Vazquez. Esteban has also taken master classes with Mariella Devia, Raina Kabaivanska, Javier Camarena, Sonia Ganassi, Isabel Leonard, Giulio Zappa, Francisco Araiza, Ramón Vargas, Arturo Chacón, Carlos Almaguer, Esteban’s Opera credits include: Mephistopheles in Faust by Gounod, Dulcamara in Elixir d’amor by Donizetti,  Schaunard in Boheme by Puccini, Don Giovanni and Masetto in Don Giovanni by Mozart, Alidoro in La Cenerentola by Rossini, Haly in L’Italiana in Algeri by Rossini, Sciarrone in Tosca by Puccini, Beto, Marco and Notario in Gianni Schicci by Puccini, Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro by Mozart, Barón in Traviata by Verdi, Bonzo in Madame Butterfly by Puccini, Uberto in La Serva Padrona by Pergolesi, Zúñiga in Carmen by Bizet, Gaspard in Rita by Donizetti and Ben in The Telephone by Menotti In July 2019, he made his debut at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in the role of Haly in Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri. In January 2022 he made his debut at Carnegie Hall in NY.

Anna Lawrence is an award-winning British-Polish soprano and a recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music, completing her Masters of Performance with Distinction. Operatic Roles include: Lady Billows Albert Herring with Royal Academy Opera, Miss Jessel Turn of the Screw, The Marschallin Der Rosenkavalier; Margarite Mefistofele with Royal Academy, Suor Angelica (title role) with Greve Opera Academy; Guinone La Calisto, Countess Le nozze di Figaro, Magda La rondine (Morley Opera) Tatyana Eugene Onegin, Vixen The Cunning Little Vixen, and 2nd Lady Die Zauberflöte (Aberdeen Opera); Micaela Carmen (Brent Opera) and the role of Zelatrice Suor Angelica with Minotaur Opera at the Heraklion Festival, Crete.  More recently, Anna has been focusing her time teaching voice and piano to children of all ages in schools and privately.  She is thrilled to be joining Greve Opera Academy as Junior Faculty and performing the role of Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.  

Rodolfo Ruiz-Velasco: Notable performances of American tenor Rodolfo Ruiz-Velasco include Alfredo in La Traviata by Verdi at Teatro Eschilo in Gela, Sicily, Rodolfo in La Bohème by Puccini for the Mediterranean Opera Festival in Sicily and Instant Opera in London, and Rodolphe in the United Kingdom premiere of La Nonne Sanglante by Gounod for Gothic Opera in London. Other appearances include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte by Mozart for the Opera en la Calle Festival in Tijuana, Mexico, ensemble member in Maria de Buenos Aires by Piazolla for San Diego Opera, and played the Press Secretary in On Behalf of a Madman in London. Rodolfo is excited to make his debut as Don Ottavio in this production. Rodolfo studied in the Master of Arts program at Welsh International Academy of Voice in Cardiff with Dennis O’Neal and currently studies with Glenville Hargreaves from the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Kelly Whitesell, soprano, made her professional debut as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare with Connecticut Lyric Opera in 2022. This summer season she enjoys Don Giovanni, performing Donna Elvira in the U.S., and Donna Anna in Italy. She graduated with a BM: Voice and Music Education from Eastman School of Music, and now completes her graduate studies and is a Teaching Assistant at University of Connecticut. Whitesell’s roles include Elle (La Voix Humaine), Monica (The Medium), Rosalinde (Die Fledermaus Act 2), Witch (Into the Woods), and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte). Recently, she was a winner in the Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra Competition, and she received First Prize in the Friends of Eastman Opera Voice Competition in 2019. She enjoys membership in Schola Cantorum at the Cathedral of Saint Joseph in Hartford, and varied concert repertoire, such as new works in UConn’s Composer Concerts, Bach’s Mass in B-minor, and jazz sets.

British born soprano, Natalie Millet, has enjoyed a career performing internationally across Europe and the USA. Natalie has performed many roles including: Mimi, La Contessa, Mistress Page, Tatyana, Miss Jessell and Musetta. She looks forward to reprising the role of Donna Anna, having previously performed it with the state orchestra of the Theater Rudolstadt, Germany 2020. Natalie has participated in Masterclasses given by Dame Felicity Lott, Salvatore Fisichella, Mariella Devia, Jennifer Larmore and many others. Natalie has also worked with a number of conductors and directors including David Gowland, (Royal Opera House), David Syrus (former Head of Music – ROH), Kamal Khan (Metropolitan Opera) and Elaine Kidd (ROH). She graduated from the Royal Academy of Music with a distinction for her Masters. As well as performing more standard repertoire, Natalie has a passion for contemporary classical music. She also enjoys cooking and hopes to start a small bakery selling wedding cakes.

Andre Andrade: a London-based brazilian baritone, André is a former student of Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. André’s opera performance experience includes roles such as Dandini (Guildford Opera), Schaunard (Oxford Opera, Instant Opera); Leporello, Moralès/Zuñiga, Escamillo and Dancaïre (Rogue Opera); Ottokar (Der Freischütz, Blackheath Halls); Stárek (Jenůfa), Krušina (The Bartered Bride) and Roucher (Andrea Chénier, Midsummer Opera); Banquo (Uncovered Opera); Nabucco (Brent Opera); Mr. Gobineau (The Medium, Clockwork Opera) and Surgeon (Stephen McNeff’s “Banished”, Trinity Laban Summer Opera). He has also performed performed in concert partial roles of Wolfram (Tannhäuser, act 3) and Kurwenal (Tristan und Isolde, act 3) with Midsummer Opera.  His Oratorio repertoire includes Mozart’s Requiem and C Minor mass as well as Rossini’s Petite Messe Solennelle.  André has also done chorus work with Oxford Opera (Carmen, La Bohème), Winslow Hall Opera (Il Trovatore), OperaGlass Works (The Rake’s Progress) and Blackheath Halls Opera (Carmen).

Baritone Paolo Breda Bulgherini was born in Chile in 1979. As he grows up he realizes he has a great passion for music. During his adolescence he performed at an amateur level in his adopted country. At the age of twenty he began his training at the Conservatory of Florence. After a few years, the professional career kicks off. His repertoire includes great composers such as Vivaldi, Handel, Rossini, Donizetti, Puccini, Verdi. He also has a thriving concert activity behind him. He has performed in Oratorios, Masses and Lieds. He is currently perfecting himself with the Soprano Susanna Rigacci and with the Maestro di Spartito Cristiano Manzoni

Lisa West studied music at Brigham Young University and began her career performing both as a dancer and soloist as part of an International Dance Team that toured Scandinavia and the western United States.  As a CES motivational speaker she incorporated music into her message and performed to large groups of teenagers around the US for 10 consecutive years.  She then became part of Diane King Vann’s “Belles” group in Southern California and performed Christmas “swing” music to various groups in LA and Orange County.  Most recently she has been studying with Jurate Svedaite-Waller and performed with the Stonington madrigals directed by Robert Guarino.

Anaïs Manon Manz was born in 1999 in Zurich, Switzerland, where she also grew up. She is currently studying at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where she will commence her final year of undergraduate studies under the tutelage of Marie Vassiliou. Her appearances at Opera Greve mark her role debut as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni.   Most recently, Manz performed the role of Cleopatra in Handel’s Giulio Cesare in a reduction created by Linnhe Robertson and John Ramster for the Guildhall School. She has also participated in masterclasses with Tobias Truninger, Ann Murray, Dorothee Labusch and Anette Uhlen.  Equally comfortable on the concert stage, Manz has appeared as a soloist in Mozart’s Missa Brevis in B flat major, in Handel’s As pants the hart, and in Haydn’s The Creation, where she sang the role of Eva. An avid art song performer, Manz has also given multiple Lieder concerts with pianist Joshua Nowak.

Tiara Abraham is a 17-year-old soprano. She is a 2nd year master’s student majoring in vocal performance at Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University, where she studies voice with Prof. Patricia Stiles. She began her classical voice training at 7-years-old. In Fall 2020, as the youngest University Regents Scholar, 14-year-old Tiara transferred to UC Davis, as a 3rd year undergrad, where she graduated in 2022 with a summa cum laude Bachelor of Arts in Music. Tiara has sung with several choirs including the UC Davis Chamber Singers, Schola Cantorum of Sacred Heart Church, Sacramento, Indiana University Singers, and The Washington Chorus. She was a soloist at the Vatican, Musikverein Austria, etc. One of her most memorable performances includes performing as a 10-year-old soloist at the Stern Auditorium in Carnegie Hall, NYC. In addition to being the winner of the 2022 UC Davis Concerto Competition, Tiara has won national and international vocal competitions. She made her orchestral debut in 2022 under the baton of Maestro Christian Baldini with the Camellia Symphony Orchestra’s “Operatic Rising Stars” concert.

Haley Stoliker is thrilled to be returning to Connecticut Lyric Opera in Greve this year. It will be her second time in Greve as well as her second time performing Don Giovanni. Haley has studied voice at the University of Connecticut and has been a part of local companies such as Simsbury Light Opera Company and Modern Vintage Opera. Some of her performances include  having her performances been described as “Charming and talented” (Trumpet Bray Review). She works as a local music teacher and voice instructor and is excited to be performing in Italy again this year.

Katharine Caviness, a soprano from New Jersey, is a student of Jurate Švedaitė at Connecticut College in the USA. She began singing in children’s choirs when she was six years old, and has continued to grow in her vocal artistry and acting skills through lead roles in musical theatre and plays. She began training classically two years ago, participating in the chorus of the productions of the Connecticut Lyric Opera. This will be her second summer attending Greve Opera Academy.

Isabella Dubow is both classically and theatrically musically trained. A native New Yorker, she was given plenty of opportunities to perform in musical productions. Her roles for some include Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie; Fiona in Shrek the Musical; Ursula in The Little Mermaid; Judas in Godspell; and Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof. Besides her time in theatre, Isabella has been involved in a couple of church choirs in Connecticut as a leading soprano. She loves to sing and perform. Currently, she is a rising senior at Connecticut College, majoring in International Relations and Slavic Studies. She also will work on a senior voice recital with her vocal coach, Mrs. Jurate Waller. Isabella is excited to be here with everyone performing in her very first opera productions!

Clare Foster is a rising Junior at Connecticut College and a student of Jurate Waller. She is so excited to be part of the opera festival in Greve this year! This is her first performance in an opera, and she cannot wait to sing in Italy! She would like to thank her teacher Jurate and her family for giving her this fantastic opportunity.