Featuring

Upcoming engagements during the 2024/2025 season for Victor Starsky include appearances as Maurizio in Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Cavaradossi in Tosca and Tenor Soloist in an all Puccini Concert with New York City Opera as well singing as Tenor soloist in a Verdi Concert and the title role in Verdi’s Stiffelio with Sarasota Opera.

A native of Richmond Hill New York, tenor Victor Starsky is a star on the rise. Of his Don José in Carmen, Opera Today writes “Starsky’s Don José is terrifying and compelling – a voice that performs vocal acrobatics with strength and beauty that remains undiminished through his final line.” Starsky received tremendous acclaim for his debut as Radamés in Verdi’s Aïda at the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater this past summer, where he simultaneously debuted the role of George Gibbs in Rorem’s Our Town. Starsky made his debut as Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with New York City Opera in September (2023) and as Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Bohème with Wichita Grand Opera in November (2023). Starsky made his Sarasota Opera debut as Don José in Carmen in winter (2024) to rave reviews and will debut the roles of Nemorino in Charlottesville Opera’s 2024 production of Donizetti’s L’elisir D’amore and the role of Casy in Ricky Ian Gorgon’s Carnegie Hall premier of his opera The Grapes of Wrath in April (2024).

Other roles performed include Pinkerton Madama Butterfly Long Island Opera, The Duke Rigoletto (role debut) Modesto Opera, Alfredo La Traviata in Narni, Italy, and Il Postiglione in Fanciulla del West (2017). Starsky’s Carnegie Hall debut was in 2019 as tenor soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass and returned to Carnegie Hall in October 2023 as a soloist to sing The Young Gypsy’s Romance from Rachmaninoff’s Aleko. Other highlights include Tony in West Side Story with Opera North, and The Celebrant in Leonard Bernstein’s Mass conducted by Maurice Press at the Colden Auditorium in Queens. A participant in 2019’s Merola Program, he was a 2020 San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow and awarded the Shoshana Foundation’s prestigious Richard F. Gold Career Grant.

Marianne Cornetti is an internationally renowned Verdi mezzo-soprano who has appeared as Amneris in Aida, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, and Princess Eboli in Don Carlos at prestigious opera houses across the world, garnering rave reviews and winning the hearts of audiences globally. Opera magazine claims, “If her timbre did not sear itself into the memory, her vocal command of this redoubtable role was complete” and Seen and Heard International raves, “[Her] voice is a miracle of power and flexibility from top to bottom. It is the emotion which she imparts into her singing, however, that makes her Azucena so memorable…Cornetti imbues each [role] with an emotional force all its own… The cheers and applause that rained down upon her at the end were well deserved.”

Cornetti made her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in the fall of 2023 in the role of Burya in Janacek’s opera Jenůfa. In 2024, she plays the role of Cieca in La Gioconda at The Deutsche Oper in Berlin and the role of Madame Croissy in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites with Amigos Canarios de la Opera in the Gran Canary Islands. In the summer, Cornetti sings the role of Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro at The Hudson Valley Voice Festival. She will make her Calgary Opera debut with Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi singing the role of Zita in the 2024- 25 season.

Cornetti opened her 2022-23 season with performances as Ježibaba in Rusalka with Pittsburgh Opera, where she was last seen as The Witch in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Later in the season, she joined the company in her signature role of Azucena in Il Trovatore, which she also reprised with Opera Hong Kong in the spring. Finally, Cornetti joined the Metropolitan Opera to cover the role of Madame de Croissy in Dialogues des Carmélites.

Her previous season began with a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with Orchestra Miami. In early spring, she was seen in the role of Leokadja Begbick in Kurt Weill’s The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the Teatro Regio Parma Italy and subsequently at the Teatro Emilia-Romagna. She closed the season in Orange, France, singing the role of La Cieca in Ponchielli’s Gioconda with the Choregies d’Orange, where she delivered “an impeccable ‘Voce di donna o d’angelo’” and her performance was deemed “a total success” (Premiere Loge).

Cornetti has performed to great acclaim the iconic leading Verdi roles of Azucena in Il Trovatore at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Metropolitan Opera, Arena di Verona, Bregenz Festival, Teatro Comunale in Florence, National Theatre of China in Beijing, Teatro Municipal in Sao Paulo, Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Bavarian State Opera in Munich, La Coruña in Spain, Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, Teatro Regio in Parma, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and in the Teatro Comunale di Bologna’s tour in Japan; and Amneris in Aida at the Teatro alla Scala, Hamburg State Opera, Vienna State Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin, New National Theatre Foundation in Tokyo, Theatre Royale de La Monnaie in Brussels, Israeli Opera at Masada, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Auditorio de Tenerife, Opera Naples, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie in Belgium and Choregies D’Orange. Cornetti’s appearance as Amneris for Pittsburgh Opera in 2020 was rescheduled for their 2023 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Highlights of Cornetti’s recent engagements include her debut as Princess Eboli in Verdi’s Don Carlos in Tokyo as well as performances in Parma, Bilbao, Rome, Vienna, and London; Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and at the Bolshoi Theatre; performances of Gianni Schicchi and L’enfant e les Sortiléges with the Seiji Ozawa Music Academy Opera Project in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Nagoya, Japan; her debut as Dame Quickly in Falstaff at the Palacio de la Ópera in La Coruña, Spain, followed by a reprisal of the role at the San Diego Opera; Fidès in Le prophete at the Aalto-Musiktheater Essen; Ježibaba in Rusalka and The Witch in Hansel and Gretel at the Minnesota Opera; Lady Macbeth in Macbeth and Laura in La Gioconda with the Deutsche Oper Berlin; Preziosilla in La Forza del Destino at Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, La Monnaie in Brussels, and at Carnegie Hall in New York City; as the title role in La Gioconda at the Rome Opera and Romanian National Opera; and Abigaille in Nabucco at the New National Theatre Foundation in Tokyo, La Monnaie in Brussels, and at the Metropolitan Opera.

In 2005, Cornetti sang her first Wagnerian role, appearing as Ortrud in Lohengrin at the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste. She continued her excursion into this repertoire with her debut as Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and has since sung the role of Ortrud in Amsterdam, Paris, Sao Paolo, and Palermo, and has appeared as Brangäne in Genoa. Cornetti’s verismo repertoire includes Santuzza in Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana, which she performed at Teatro alla Scala; Princess de Bouillon in Adriana Lecouvreur at the Teatro Massimo of Palermo, Teatro di San Carlo, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Regio in Turin, Opera di Firenze, and Dutch National Opera; and Rosa in Cilea’s L’Arlesiana, which she sang to great acclaim at the L’Opera de Montpellier and at Carnegie Hall with the Opera Orchestra of New York.

She appears frequently in concert in such works as Verdi’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Elgar’s Sea Picture and De Falla’s El Amor Brujo. She has recorded Cilea’s L’Arlesiana and Puccini’s Edgar opposite Plácido Domingo and was recently featured on a Teatro Regio di Parma recording of Verdi’s Don Carlo released in 2017 on the Dynamic record label.

Michael Chioldi, acclaimed for his powerful baritone voice and magnetic stage presence, has carved an illustrious path, enchanting audiences worldwide with his rich timbre and emotive performances. Born with a natural affinity for music, Chioldi’s journey from humble beginnings to operatic stardom is a testament to his unwavering dedication and innate talent.

In January 2022, Chioldi made a triumphant major role debut with the Metropolitan Opera, portraying the title role of Rigoletto in a new production. Critics lauded his performance as nothing short of a triumph, with Robert Levine of Bachtrack proclaiming it as “a true Verdian voice that displays booming power, tender softness, and ravaging tragic colors.” This debut solidified Chioldi’s status as one of the preeminent interpreters of Verdi’s iconic roles.

In the 2023-24 season Chioldi returned to the MET to reprise his role as Rigoletto and debuted the role of Don Alvaro in Daniel Catan’s Florencia en Los Amazonas, a production seen across the world as part of the MET’s Live in HD Performances and PBS’s Great Performances schedule. He sang the titular character in Verdi’s Falstaff at Palm Beach Opera, where critics lauded “a bravura performance” and returned to Utah Opera for the title character of Wagner’s Flying Dutchman. He sang one of his signature roles (over 100 performances) of Papa Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata with the Pittsburgh Opera, where critic George P Parous of Onstage Performances hailed: “The most astonishing singing of the evening came from baritone Michael Chioldi.”

Chioldi’s ascent to prominence was marked by an array of notable performances in such places as São Paulo Brazil, Barcelona Spain, Macao, Tsingtao, Hong Kong and Shenzhen China, San Francisco Opera, over 250 performances with the New York City Opera (including Sharpless in Madama Butterfly which garnered an Emmy Award in 2008) and several performances across Japan with the late grate Maestro Seiji Osawa. With a repertoire spanning from Verdi, Puccini, to Strauss he effortlessly traversed the operatic landscape, infusing each role with a depth of emotion and artistry that resonated with audiences on a profound level.

As one review from The New York Times noted, “Chioldi’s performance was nothing short of revelatory, his voice imbued with a rare combination of power and vulnerability that left the audience breathless.” This sentiment encapsulates the essence of Chioldi’s artistry. His collaborations with esteemed conductors and directors have garnered widespread acclaim, earning him a reputation as one of the foremost interpreters of his generation.

Upcoming performances in 2024-25 will take Michael to Seattle Opera for Tonio in Pagliacci, Irish National Opera and the MET again for the title role in Rigoletto, the MET for Amonasro in a new production of Verdi’s Aida, Bryant Park w NYCO Summer Concerts as Scarpia in Tosca, and Michonnet in Adriana Lecouvreur with Pittsburgh Festival Opera.

Chioldi’s most recent recording can be found on classical-music.com. A live performance recording of Henry VIII by Saint-Saens, conducted by Maestro Gil Rose of Odyssey Opera. Chioldi’s performance of the infamous Henry VIII was marked by the Boston Classical Review saying, “the audience was treated to some true, world class baritone singing.”

Since his 1974 San Francisco Opera debut, tenor Joseph Frank has specialized in the lyric character tenor repertoire. In a career spanning over 50 years, the tenor has garnered acclaim in over 80 roles. He has sung with many of the world’s greatest voices, including Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, Jose van Dam, Leontyne Price, Jose Carreras to name a few. He has sung at the most prestigious opera venues including the Metropolitan Opera and the opera companies of Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Washington, San Diego, London, and Paris.

Engagements include San Francisco Opera as Altoum in Puccini’s Turandot, Salome for the San Diego Opera, and Pong in Turandot for the Austin Lyric Opera, Monsieur Triquet in Eugene Onegin for the Pittsburgh Opera and Horace Adams in the San Diego Opera production of Peter Grimes conducted by Steuart Bedford. Other notable productions included the premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon’s revised The Grapes of Wrath as Grampa Joad for the Pittsburgh Opera and Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus for Austin Lyric Opera. For San Diego Opera, Frank performed in both Boris Godunov and a new production of Wozzeck by director Des McAnuff (Jersey Boys), the Tanzmeister in famed film director William Friedkin’s production of Ariadne auf Naxos and a new production of Tosca with Samuel Ramey and Salvatore Licitra both for the Los Angeles Opera; Turandot at the Hollywood Bowl; Pong in Turandot for Hawaii Opera Theater; Los Angeles Opera’s world premiere of Nicolas and Alexandra and Fanciulla del West both with Placido Domingo.

His DVD discography include Ariadne auf Naxos with Jessye Norman and Katthleen Battle, and Der Rosenkavalier with Dame Kiri TeKanawa and Luciano Pavarotti both for the Metropolitan Opera, Turandot (with Eva Marton) for the San Francisco Opera. Recordings include Boris Godunov, Adriana Lecouvreur, Madama Butterfly, Pagliacci (with Domingo) and Turandot (with Pavarotti).

As a professor of voice, art song and opera, Joseph Frank recently retired from San Jose State University with a tenure of 28 years. In 2018 he inaugurated the Joseph Frank Opera Excellence Endowment which has raised over $140,000.00. Mr. Frank received a Bachelor of Music, Masters of Music and the coveted Performers Certificate from Indiana University and an Opera Diploma from the Curtis Institute of Music.

Praised by Opera News as “utterly loveable, with an expansive sound and easy stage presence”, bass-baritone, Jesús Vicente Murillo has been performing opera, musical theater, concerts and art song across North America since making his debut with Michigan Opera Theatre as The Android in The Very Last Green Thing at the age of eighteen.

In the 2023-24 Season Murillo makes his house debut at Portland Opera playing the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro, along with debuts at Anchorage Opera and Opera Ithaca as the Commentator in Scalia/Ginsburg, Nashville Opera as Papageno in The Magic Flute, and the Helena Symphony as Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana. He also sings as a soloist in Verdi’s Requiem with Concerts at St. Ignatius.

Murillo made his Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2022-23 season as a Flemish deputy in Don Carlo. His other recent roles have included Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro at Opera San Jose, Papageno in an abbreviated production of The Magic Flute at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, César Chávez in the orchestra preview of Nicola Lell Benavides and Marella Martin Koch’s new work Dolores with West Edge Opera, Don Fernando in Fidelio with Opera Middlebury, Figaro in ¡Figaro! (90210) with Chautauqua Opera, and a “self-assured, assertive” Doctor Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera Neo, for which he was cited for his “vigorous, rich bass-baritone” (San Diego Story). Murillo previously covered Dr. Bartolo at Santa Fe Opera.

He has also sung the roles of Guillermo Kahlo/Rockefeller/E.G. Robinson/Petate Vendor in Frida, The Professor/Used Car Salesman in the world-premiere of Lisa Despain’s That Hell- Bound Train, Il Prince di Bouillon in Adriana Lecouvreur, the title role in Iannis Xenakis’s Kassandral, Leporello in Don GiovanniI, Betto in Gianni Schicchi/Buoso’s Ghost, and Masetto in Don Giovanni. He has performed with companies including Michigan Opera Theatre, El Paso Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Baltimore Concert Opera, Bare Opera, the Chamber Cartel of Atlanta, and has made numerous appearances with Opera Saratoga, Opera Louisiane, Charlottesville Opera, Caramoor and Opera in Williamsburg. In 2019 Murillo completed a two-year residency with Utah Opera where he sang over 450 performances with the company.

Murillo received his Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan, and a Master of Music in Opera and Voice Performance from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.