Odele Violista

Violist Alexia DelGiudice (she/her) received her master's degree from Northwestern University, studying under the tutelage of renowned violist Helen Callus. She received her Bachelor of Music from the Juilliard School as a student of Misha Amory and Heidi Castleman. In February of 2017, Alexia debuted as viola soloist performing the Hoffmeister Viola Concerto with the Northwestern University Baroque Orchestra. In 2018 and 2019, Alexia performed with New York City Opera Orchestra in their productions of Donizetti and Rameau's Pigmalione, and their 2019 world premiere production of Stonewall. She currently plays with dell'Arte Opera Ensemble, MidAtlantic Orchestra, and New Amsterdam Opera. In 2019, Alexia performed the Elgar Cello Concerto with the Narnia Festival Orchestra in Amelia, Italy. In 2020, Alexia was featured as a soloist in the award winning NYC film premiere of Pietà, and in 2021 performed in the European premiere of Pietà in Narni, Italy.

Director & Librettist

Andrea DelGiudice’s credits include an international career in Europe and the United States as a leading soprano and conceptual stage director. She has performed at such prestigious venues as the Scottish National Opera, Munich State Opera, Liege Opera, Opera Bonn, Edmonton Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, DiCapo Opera Theater and Arizona Opera alongside renowned artists such as Placido Domingo, Johan Botha, Sherill Milnes, Alexei Steblianko, and Nicola Martinucci. She made her directing debut with her edgy, female-driven conceptual productions of Verdi’s La Traviata followed by Bizet’s Carmen at Italy’s Narnia Festival, followed by a newly imagined double bill of Puccini’s Suor Angelica with the world premiere of Pietà. Recent projects include La Bohème (Light Opera of New Jersey), Don Giovanni (Seton Hall), Dido and Aeneas, & Aeterna, and Hansel and Gretel (Narnia Festival). Ms. DelGiudice is one of the most sought-after voice teachers and vocal consultants in New York City with students currently engaged nationally and internationally at the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Lyric Opera, Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Vancouver Opera, Versailles Opera, Hong Kong Opera, Seattle Opera, Syracuse Opera, Hawaii Opera Theater, Chautauqua Opera, Shreveport Opera, Opera San Jose, Paris Opera, and Knoxville Opera, among others. Andrea is represented by Randsman Artists Management.

Ugo

With over sixty roles to his credit, Detwiler has become well-known for his magnetic and energizing stage performances. Last season saw him perform Counts Almaviva and di Luna, Germont, Scarpia, Lescaut, Peter, and the world premiere of Aeneas (Jake Landau’s & Aeterna) in Idaho, New York, New Jersey, and Italy, as well as numerous role/company debuts as Edgar (Tell Tale Heart) with Opera Modesto, Opera Mississippi’s Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), at Carnegie Hall in Vivaldi’s Magnificat, and with New York City Opera in an abridged The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Papa) in Florence, Italy. The baritone was a 2023 Idaho Commission on the Arts recipient.

Rosanella Violinista

Mezzo-soprano Christine Duncan has always been fascinated by the voice and all the different ways it can sound, convey emotion, and tell a story. Trained simultaneously in classical, world folk and musical theater, she has developed a passion for a diversity of vocal styles and projects that cross genre boundaries. Her pursuit of vocal performance has led Christine to work with companies such as Grammy-winning Odyssey Opera/Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Beth Morrison/White Snake Projects, New Amsterdam Opera, The Center for Contemporary Opera, Fresh Squeezed Opera, Astoria Music Festival and the Narnia Festival. Favorite recent roles include Maurya in Riders To The Sea: The Musical, The Witch in Into The Woods (Off-Brand Opera), La Principessa in Suor Angelica (Narnia Festival) and Nemine in Captain (Susanna Payne-Passmore/University of Oregon). Christine is an original cast member of Pietà and is thrilled to reprise her role as Rosanella Violinista. Christine is also a founding member and Artistic Director of Off-Brand Opera.

Dulce Arpista

Kayla Faccilongo is a Bronx native vocalist of Puerto Rican descent. Kayla recently made her Carnegie Hall debut singing with New York City Opera for the American premiere of Vessels of Light by Lera Auerbach. She also made her Lincoln Center debut last year as a featured soloist with the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Grammy winning Latin Jazz pianist and composer, Arturo O’Farrill. Other notable appearances include The Mikado with Bronx Opera, the original film premiere of Pietà in 2020, as well as the world premiere of Graccus at Stamford Center of the Arts this summer. Kayla holds her Bachelor of Music from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College & Master of Arts from the Royal Academy of Music.

Francesca Flautista

Nicole Eve Goldstein is an NYC-based crossover artist with an affinity for both Opera and Musical Theatre. Recent credits include: Dogfight (Rose) and The Light in the Piazza (Clara cover) at Red River Lyric Opera, On The Right Track at AMT Theatre (The Woman u/s), Iolanthe (Celia), A Concert for Sugihara (Chorus) and Anyone Can Whistle (High Soprano Soloist) at Carnegie Hall, and & Aeterna (Aeterna) world premiere at The Narnia Festival (Italy). Nicole received her BM in vocal performance from Oberlin Conservatory, as well as a graduate certificate from the Professional Conservatory of Musical Theatre at NYFA.

Chiara Lyrica

Erin Kennedy is an original cast member of Pietà thrilled to perform it live in NYC for the first time! Recent roles include: Theater for the New City’s A Stitch in Time (First Lady), Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company’s The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel), Off-Brand Opera’s Carousel (Carrie) and Into the Woods (Baker’s Wife), Eccentric Theatre Company's Die Fledermaus (Ida), Light Opera of New Jersey's La Bohème (Musetta cover/Angel); Fort Salem Theater's Nietzsche! A New Musical (Lou Salomé). Erin also works as a pianist and music director (York Theatre, Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company, Off-Brand Opera). erinkatkennedy.com

Composer & Librettist

Jake Landau, b. 1995, is a composer and librettist based in New York City. His music has been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera, and Premiere Division Ballet, and by Broadway stars including Jay Armstrong Johnson (Parade), Ciara Renée (Frozen), and Sam Gravitte (Wicked). Jake is a  Clarendon Scholar  of Oxford University and an Extension-Division faculty member at The Juilliard School, having graduated from both institutions. His musical Psyche had its first 29-hour Equity reading in November ’22, following the premiere of his opera & Aeterna in Italy that summer. Jake is represented by UIA Talent. www.JakeLandau.com

Genovieffa Lyrica

Claire Leyden (Genovieffa): NATIONAL TOUR: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Mrs. Bucket); New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players: The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel). NEW YORK: Heartbeat Opera: The Extinctionist, Der Freischütz; Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live: Madeleine (Madeleine). REGIONAL: Riverside Center for the Performing Arts: The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel); Bristol Valley Theater: It’s A Small World (or, The Robot Play) (World Premiere), Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Jersey Lily; College Light Opera Company: Brigadoon (Jean), A Little Night Music (Mrs. Segstrom), The Sorcerer (Aline). TV: “Gossip Girl.” AWARDS: Lotte Lenya Competition Songbook Prize and Emerging Talent Award. EDUCATION: Williams College, BA. www.ClaireLeyden.com @claireley

Fia

Michelle Pauker is thrilled to be returning Off-brand Opera! She was most recently seen as Nora in OBO’s Riders To The Sea, adapted by Jake Landau & Phoebe Corde and directed by George Abud. Past credits include A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Idaho Shakespeare Festival), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Great Lakes Theatre Co.), Into The Woods (Forestburgh Playhouse). Michelle is grateful to the team at Off-Brand Opera for creating a space where artists can embrace their curiosity, explore, collaborate, and push boundaries! www.MichellePauker.com

Giorgio

Tenor Jordan Weatherston Pitts has been recognized for his "heroic", "passionate" and "bewitching" performances both on the operatic stage and in concert. He has been seen in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Classical Review, The Financial Times, Opera News, OperaWire, The Boston Globe, Early Music America Magazine, and The New York Times. Jordan has performed with New York City Opera, Opera Saratoga’s Young Artist Program, as an Orvis Studio Artist with Hawaii Opera Theater, as well as in concert with Hartford Symphony Orchestra, The New York Opera Collaborative, The Garden State Opera, The Boston Camerata, Heartbeat Opera, The Newburyport Choral Society, and the Western New York Chamber Orchestra. Mr. Pitts holds a Master of Music from Boston University and a Bachelor of Music Performance from SUNY Fredonia.

La Direttrice

Veronica Shea is a singer, actor, producer and digital marketer passionate about storytelling and sharing authentic onstage connection with audiences. She is excited to return to the role of La Direttrice in Pietà after performing in its Italian premiere at the Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival in 2021. Other recent roles include Musetta in Light Opera of New Jersey’s production of La Bohéme, Juno in & Aeterna at the Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival, Rosalinda in Eccentric Theater Company’s Die Fledermaus, Mabel in both Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan’s and Summit Chorale’s The Pirates of Penzance, and Julie Jordan in Off-Brand Opera’s Carousel. She is a Founder of Eccentric Theater Company and Off-Brand Opera, and the Director of Marketing at The York Theatre Company. veronicashea.com

Editta

Devony Smith, mezzo soprano, hails from Watsonville, California and is currently based in Vienna, Austria. She will debut this season with Opera Modesto and Boheme Jersey Opera, and has appeared with the Brooklyn Art Song Society, Colburn Symphony Orchestra, New Orchestra of Washington, Midatlantic Opera Company, and Utopia Opera. She made her Lincoln Center solo recital debut as the Grand Prize Winner of the MIMF Art Song Competition; she participated in the prestigious Song Continues workshop at Carnegie Hall. Devony is a voice teacher at The Neighborhood Playhouse School.