soprano

Stacey Canterbury (she/her) is delighted to again sing with Off Brand Opera in their inaugural season. She was honored to perform the role of Milky White and Stepmother in Into the Woods. From the East Coast to the Rocky Mountains with roles like Micaëla in Carmen sung with the Wichita Grand Opera, Elisabeth in Verdi’s Don Carlos for the Metropolitan Opera Guild and also Center Stage Opera, as Elsa in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg with Opera Pomme Rouge, the Witch in Hansel and Gretel with Opera Theatre of Montclair and Tri-Cities Opera and most recently had the pleasure of origination the role of La Direttrice in Jake Landau’s new Opera Pietà. She has garnered the praise of critics: “Canterbury unveiled a voice that combined superb purity of tone and breath control… The riveting performance earned her several brava’s from an appreciative audience.”

dramaturg & writer

Phoebe Corde (she/her) is a dramaturg, writer, and illustrator from Westport, Connecticut, specializing in stories of the strange, magical, and otherworldly. She is currently Resident Dramaturg at The Civilians, an investigative theater company based in Brooklyn, NY, where she is director of their artistic development group, the R&D Group. She was previously New Work Development Assistant at The Public Theater, where she provided dramaturgical notes and creative support to shows like Ain’t No Mo’, Wild Goose Dreams, and Disney’s Hercules. She has a BFA in Creative Writing from Connecticut College, where she was awarded the Sally Abrahms Prize in Fiction. phoebecorde.wixsite.com

dancer

Misha Culver (she/her) is originally from Juneau, Alaska where she began her dance training at Juneau Dance Theatre. Misha graduated cum laude from Marymount Manhattan College in NYC with a BFA in Modern Dance. She joined Martha Graham’s Second Company: Graham 2, in 2018 under the Direction of Virginie Mécène where she has performed many of Graham’s iconic pieces: Diversion of Angels and Appalachian Spring. Most recently, Misha has performed as a principal dancer for the Des Moines Metro Opera appearing in Platee directed by Chas Rader-Shieber, and Queen of Spades directed by Matthew Ozawa.

violist

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 a new one-act opera, Pietà, written by Jake Landau, and in 2021, performed as a soloist in the European premiere of Pietà in Narni, Italy.

mezzo-soprano, deviser & translator

Mezzo-soprano Christine Duncan (she/her) has always been fascinated by the voice and all the different ways it can sound, convey emotion, and tell a story. Christine has trained with the Handel and Haydn Society of Boston and Vermont-based World Folk Ensemble Village Harmony; she has worked 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 Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival. Christine resides, sings, and maintains a private voice studio in NYC. christinejennoraduncan.com

mezzo-soprano & guitarist

Kayla Faccilongo (she/her) is a Bronx native vocalist of Puerto Rican descent. Equally at home in the worlds of opera, jazz, & indie folk, her artistry is distinguished by its versatility and originality. This spring, Kayla will premiere the role of Salome in The Wages of Sin, a new comedic, Prohibition-era musical by Jed Bolipata. Upcoming highlights also include joining the Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble for their productions of Pelleas et Mélisande & the East Coast premiere of Juana, as Kayla continues to sing with the BronX BandA, led by Latin Jazz legend Arturo O’Farrill.

librettist

Emily Garber (she/her) is a novelist, poet, and librettist of both opera and musical theater. Her diverse array of work draws on her lifelong love of myth and magic, as well as her studies of ancient languages. Emily’s new opera & Aeterna will be premiered this summer at the Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival.

director

Shira Helena Gitlin (they/them) is a director, dramaturg, gender consultant, and musical theatre enthusiast. Select directing credits include: Organic, Theatre: A Love Story (National Women's Theatre Festival), 7 Rooms... (Flat Earth Theatre), Camp Strangewood (Sparkhaven Theatre), Shrek: The Musical (Mohawk Trail Regional School), and Putnam County Spelling Bee (Hampshire College). Shira is a graduate of the Arden Professional Apprentice Class 26, was an Artistic Fellow at SpeakEasy Stage Company, and is an alumni of Directors Lab North in Toronto, Canada. BA from Hampshire College in directing and musical theatre studies. For more information, please visit shirahelenagitlin.com.

librettist

Bea Goodwin (she/her) is a librettist and operatic stage director. Her work has premiered in traditional theatrical spaces such as BAM, La Mama Experimental Theatre, DiMenna Center for Classical Music as well as site specific immersive experiences like the Mount Vernon Gardens, the Mark Hotel penthouse and the Montauk Club. During the pandemic, Bea has written and co-produced two radio plays with Whitney George and two micro-operas with Felix Jarrar. “Six Feet Apart” won the Really Spicy Opera’s 48 hour score contest at the beginning of the stay at home order. For more on this artist: @asongfrombea , beagoodwin.com

director & deviser

Brendan Hartnett (he/him) is an accomplished educator, director, and singer. Before moving East, Brendan directed up and down the coast of California with companies including Opera Parallele and Pacific Opera Project. Most recently, he directed Yeomen of The Guard with Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company. Some favorite projects Brendan has led include The Tragedy of Carmen with Opera UCLA, The Araboolies of Liberty Street and Xochitl and the Flowers with Opera Parallele’s ‘Family Opera’ program, and The Center Cannot Hold with Pacific Opera Project. Brendan holds an MFA from UCLA’s TFT, and a Bachelor’s of Music from UC Santa Cruz. brendanhartnett.com

actor

Keyana Hemphill (she/her) is a NYC-based theater maker and recent graduate of Tisch School of the Arts. She is excited to return to Off-Brand Opera after appearing in their first production as Florinda (Into the Woods)! Notable works include: Untitled 1-5 (The Shed), i was unbecoming then (Ars Nova), Antarabhava (Columbia University), If You Give a Kid a Sucker (The Hive).

tenor & actor

E.B. Hinnant (he/him) is an actor and songwriter from South Carolina now living in New York City. He recently appeared as Jack in Off-Brand Opera’s Into the Woods. Some favorite credits include Jake in Clarkston by Samuel D. Hunter at Boise Contemporary Theater and playing Mr. Sir in PITS: The Unauthorized ‘Holes’ Musical all over NYC. Talk to him about fried okra, televangelists, and Dolly Parton.

composer

With music described as “dreamlike” by the Boston Globe, composer/pianist Felix Jarrar’s (he/him) list of accomplishments includes performances at (le) poisson rouge, the BAM! Fisher Hillman Studio, and Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. Amongst his approximately 220 works, he’s written over 189 art songs, 12 operas, 2 string quartets, 2 cantatas, and an oratorio. He is the assistant music director for BARN OPERA in Brandon, Vermont and a vocal coach at Mannes School of Music. He completed his Bachelor of Arts at Marlboro College and his Master’s of Music degree at Brooklyn College.

soprano, pianist, deviser & translator

Erin Kennedy (she/her) is an NYC-based soprano, actor, and pianist dedicated to creating joyful, accessible performances of both contemporary and classic music. Recently, Erin sang the newly-devised role of Angel and covered Musetta with the Light Opera of New Jersey’s production of La Bohème and appeared in Off-Brand Opera’s inaugural production, Into the Woods, as the Baker’s Wife. This summer she will appear as Belinda in both Dido & Aeneas and the world premiere of Jake Landau’s companion opera & Aeterna at the Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival. erinkennedysoprano.com

composer, pianist, arranger & translator

Jake Landau (he/him), b. 1995, is a composer, conductor, and music director from New York City. His own music has been performed by the New York Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera, the New Albany Symphony, and more in venues such as David Geffen Hall, New York Live Arts Theater, and the Royal Palace of Amsterdam. As a conductor, he has worked with The Narnia Festival, Little Opera Theatre of New York, and Premiere Division Ballet. Jake earned his Bachelor of Music degree under John Corigliano at The Juilliard School and his Master of Studies in Music (Composition) from Oxford University. jakelandau.com

actor

Anna Larranaga (she/her) is an actor, comedian, and writer from Minneapolis, Minnesota. She returns to Off-Brand Opera after appearing as Little Red Ridinghood Into the Woods. As an actor she has performed with Lyric Arts, Actors Theatre of Minnesota, The Black Hills Playhouse, and many more faraway theaters you’ve never heard of. Anna is also an improviser with training from HUGE Improv Theater and The Upright Citizens Brigade, and is a member of the all-women and non-binary improv team Manners and Misconduct: Improvised Jane Austen. Anna is a founding editor for Minnesota satire site The Nordly and is an associate writer for the podcast Fraudsters.

tenor

Mark Martinez (he/him) is a tenor in NYC. Outside of Off-Brand Opera, Mark's upcoming performances include Ferrando in Così Fan Tutte, and Frederick in Pirates of Penzance. Recent roles he has sung include, Acis from Handel's Acis and Galatea, Col Fairfax from Sullivan's Yeomen of the Guard, and Don Ottavio from Mozart's Don Giovanni. Undergrad: Harvard, Grad school: Princeton.

cellist

Anthime Miller (they/them) is an internationally sought-after composer and performance artist based in Brooklyn. They studied Early Music Performance and Musicology at McGill University and Musical Theater Performance at Circle in the Square Theater School. Anthime is the composer-in-residence for Circle Theater of New York for whom they scored The Mountain (New York 2014), which was nominated for Best Original Music at the 2015 New York Innovative Theater Awards. Anthime is also a frequent collaborator with The National Theater of Luxembourg’s director Anne Simon, most recently performing and scoring their April 2022 adaptation of Shakespeare’s Richard II.

mezzo-soprano

Sophia Mortensen (she/her) is based in New Jersey, though her love of music and classical singing began in Washington DC and the Kennedy Center’s children’s operas. She graduated from the Conservatory of Music at Brooklyn College with her Masters in Vocal Performance. She sang the role of Ljubica in the New York City premiere of Ana Sokolović’s chamber opera Svadba. She has also sung roles including Tessa in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers; Phoebe in Yeomen of the Guard; Third Lady in The Magic Flute; and Siébel in Charles Gounod’s Faust. Her concert roles include Handel’s Messiah; Schubert’s Mass in G Major; and Arthur Honegger’s King David.

baritone

Aaron Petrovich (he/him) is very honored to be singing with Off-Brand Opera for the first time. This will also be his New York City solo debut. While living in Chicago, he played the role of Long Tom in the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company production of Merry England and the role of Robin Oakapple in the Savoyaires production of Ruddigore. Some of his favorite past roles include Dulcamara in L'elisir d'amore, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, and Benoît in La Bohème. In addition to opera, he regularly performs both operetta and musical theater. This includes his international debut, a staged revue of Bernstein theater pieces, which he performed in Beijing, China at the Peking National Opera House and China Conservatory of Music. During the day, Aaron is a middle school general music and chorus teacher at MS 301.

percussionist

Nathan Repasz (he/him) is an NYC-based drummer, vocalist, composer, improviser, and music director. He works as a session/pit drummer, choral tenor, voice actor, and goat cheese monger. His solo performance work explores the liminality of sense/nonsense and groove/noise and he frequently collaborates on improvisational music projects and devised theatre. He holds a B.A. in music from Wesleyan University.

mezzo-soprano & actor

Lotus Rogers (she/they/he/ze) is a Brooklyn based multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, actor, and creative. They are a recent graduate of University of Arizona. Previous regional credits include The Wolves, Richard III, Pippin, and Kiss Me Kate. Many thanks to the entire team for their patience and support! For info on upcoming projects check out lotusrogers.com or @lotusjamesrogers on instagram.

soprano, director & translator

Veronica Shea (she/her) is an actor, digital marketer, and theatrical producer who is attracted to roles in multiple genres with companies of all sizes. Veronica most recently appeared as Musetta in Light Opera of New Jersey’s production of La Bohème. Other recent engagements include The Yeomen of the Guard (Elsie) and the inaugural Off-Brand Opera production, Into the Woods (Cinderella). Upcoming projects include the world premiere of Jake Landau’s & Aeterna at the Narnia International Vocal Arts Festival, a double bill of Landau’s Pietà/Suor Angelica at Axelrod Performing Arts Center, Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, and Wanda in Venus in Fur. veronicashea.com

baritone

Steve Valenzuela (he/him), a Connecticut native, received his Master of Music degree from Louisiana State University and his bachelor’s of music degree from Western Connecticut State University. Opera credits include: Howard in David T. Little’s Dog Days, Figaro in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, Nick Shadow in Stravinsky's The Rake’s Progress, Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Count (Le nozze di Figaro), Marcello (La Bohéme), Danilo (The Merry Widow), and Sam (Trouble in Tahiti).

choreographer, movement director, actor & writer

Leslie Andrea Williams (she/her) was born in Newport News, Virginia and was raised in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ms. Williams studied at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City, and graduated with a BFA in Dance. She now is a Principal dancer at the Martha Graham Dance Company, performing featured roles around the world. One of her most notable roles is the lead in Martha Graham’s Chronicle. In the company’s almost 100 year history, Ms. Williams is the first Black woman to ever perform this iconic role. Her performance earned her a mention in The New York Times’ “Best Dance of 2019” list. She has also been named in Dance Magazine as a dancer “On the Rise” and in Teen Vogue as a “Rising star Personifying Black Excellence.” Ms. Williams' work has been described in reviews as “hypnotic,” “larger than life,” and she is someone who “effortlessly controls the gaze of the audience.”