High lyric tenor Victor Cardamone has garnered much attention and critical acclaim over the last decade, and continues to do so. He is a graduate of Youngstown State University, the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music, and the world-renowned Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera.
Victor has bowed with Cincinnati Opera, the Charleston Symphony (Charleston, South Carolina), the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance, Opera Columbus, the Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, San Francisco Opera, the Santa Rosa Symphony, Livermore Valley Opera, the Glacier Symphony, Western Plains Opera, Opera Naples, and the Portland Symphony Orchestra (Portland, Maine), among others. His major role credits include Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Ralph Rackstraw (H.M.S. Pinafore), Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi), Don Ramiro (La Cenerentola), Larry Renault (Dinner at Eight), Jeník (The Bartered Bride), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Count Almaviva (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Rodolfo (La Bohème), and Tamino (Die Zauberflöte/The Magic Flute). His major cover credits include Ernesto (Don Pasquale), Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Chevalier de la Force (Dialogues des Carmélites), Steve Wozniak (The Revolution of Steve Jobs), and Shanty (Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio).
Victor was a four-time Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. He was also a four-time Corbett Competition award winner. He was a semifinalist in the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition in 2019. He is a proud recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshana Foundation in 2022. He was a Tier I finalist in the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition in 2023. More recently, he was named a quarterfinalist in the 3rd Tbilisi Opera Crown, an international voice competition that takes place in Georgia every 2 years.
When not singing or studying scores, Victor can be found making something delicious in the kitchen and relaxing with his favorite feline, a black cat named Bill.
At just twenty-five years old, Canadian soprano Alexa Frankian is already being recognized as one of opera’s most compelling young voices.
Hailed by Opera Canada as “abundantly talented” and praised for her “radiant, surging sense of purpose” (San Francisco Chronicle), she brings to the stage a rare fusion of youthful freshness and interpretive depth.
In 2024, Alexa joined the prestigious Merola Opera Program, debuting as a “simple, unaffected, and beautifully sung” Mimì in Puccini’s La Bohème (San Francisco Classical Voice). Her performances drew acclaim for their emotional honesty and musical richness, including her “voluptuously rich Russian” in the title role of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta. Invited back for a second season in 2025, she expanded her repertoire with excerpts as the title role from Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Alice Ford from Verdi’s Falstaff, and Fidelia from Puccini’s Edgar.
Following two acclaimed seasons with Merola, Alexa has been accepted into the world-renowned Adler Fellowship Program at San Francisco Opera, where she will join as an Adler Fellow beginning in the new year — a dream opportunity that marks the next exciting chapter of her artistic journey.
As a Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA) in Philadelphia, Alexa brought to life roles as Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Suzel in Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz, and Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte. She has distinguished herself on the competition stage as well, receiving Encouragement Awards from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Philadelphia and Buffalo-Toronto Districts) and as the youngest finalist and third-prize winner at the 2023 Mildred Miller International Voice Competition.
Alexa’s artistry is rooted in her love of Puccini, Verdi, Strauss, Wagner, and Mozart, yet she is equally devoted to championing contemporary and culturally significant repertoire. She has appeared in groundbreaking productions such as the North American premiere of the Yiddish opera Bas Sheve and the Dora-nominated world premiere of Alice Ho’s The Monkiest King.
A graduate of the University of Toronto (BMus) and the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory (Artist Diploma), Alexa performed roles as Madame Lidoine in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, Older Woman in Dove’s Flight, and Coach in Chan Ka Nin’s chamber opera Ice Time.
With a voice described as both powerful and tender, Alexa Frankian is part of the new generation of artists carrying opera forward — honoring its traditions while giving it new life.
Mezzo-soprano Anna Kelly is a graduate of the Yale School of Music and a second-year Artist Diploma student at the Juilliard School. This season, she performs as Hänsel in Hansel und Gretel, covers Mistress Quickly (Falstaff), and will perform the Brahms Alto Rhapsody and Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder in recital at Juilliard. She will also make house and role debuts with the Phoenix Symphony for Messiah, the Glacier Symphony for Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, and the Fort Wayne Philharmonic in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. This summer, she returns to the Santa Fe Opera as Hélène Allatini in the American premiere of Tobias Picker’s Lili Elbe.
Recent credits include covers for Waltraute (Die Walküre, Santa Fe Opera), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro, Santa Fe Opera), and Carmen (Carmen, Sarasota Opera), as well as performances as Mère Marie (Dialogues des Carmélites, The Juilliard School), Dorabella (Così fan tutte, Opera Saratoga), and Federica (Luisa Miller, Sarasota Opera).
A 2022 Laffont Competition semifinalist and 2024 Houston Grand Opera McCollum Competition semifinalist, Anna has also earned top prizes from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Opera INDEX, the Zachary Competition, and the National Opera Association. Additional training includes Wolf Trap Opera, Palm Beach Opera, and Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists’ Vocal Academy.
Baritone Titus Muzi III has been hailed as “a powerful stage figure, with a very together: beautifully integrated voice” (Parterre, 2022). He is a recipient of multiple awards including a Richard Gaddes Career Grant from Opera Theatre of St Louis (2022, 23), an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan National Council Auditions (2020) as well as a Presser Foundation Scholarship Award at FSU (2019).
Mr. Muzi was a finalist in the Vincerò World Singing Competition (2022), the Opera Index Vocal Competition (2022, 23), and the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition (2022,23).
Mr. Muzi’s 2024-2025 included his return to Opera Theatre of St Louis where he was noted as being “exceptionally remarkable” (Stage Left, 2024) for his work as both Schauanrd in La bohème but also the Center Stage concert with the St. Louis Symphony where he sang excerpts of Mandryka from Arabella and Gilbert and Sullivan. Titus also made his role and company debut with Livermore Valley Opera as the title role in Mozart’s Don Giovanni in March of 2025.
During the 2022- 2023 season, Mr. Muzi made several notable debuts including his role and company debut as Escamillo in Opera Theatre of St. Louis’ production of Carmen, his company debut with Annapolis Opera as Schaunard in their production of La bohème, and his role debut as the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana with the Cincinnati Ballet.
Mr. Muzi is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts where he performed the roles Dr. Malatesta in Don Pasqaule (2022), the title role in Eugene Onegin (2021), and various scenes and selections as Figaro from Il barbiere di Siviglia and Marcello in La bohème in AVA’s post pandemic concert A Celebration of Opera (2021).
As a recitalist and concert performer, he has presented programs with various associations across the world including the Gerda Lissner Foundation and the Maldives Concert Series of Velaa Private Island.
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Mr. Muzi holds a Bachelor of Music from Florida State University. He will attend the Juilliard School this upcoming fall, 2025, as a member of the Artist’s Diploma in Opera Studies Program.
Soprano Tina O’Malley has been recognized for her “wonderful presence onstage” and “gorgeous vocal color” and has distinguished her artistry in numerous competitions, including Pittsburgh Festival Opera’s Mildred Miller International Voice Competition (1st Place), Camille Coloratura Awards (1st Place), Schubert Club’s Bruce P. Carlson Competition (1st Place and Thelma Hunter Award), Peabody Institute’s Sylvia Green Vocal Competition (1st Place) and Partners for the Arts 12th National Opera Competition (semifinalist).
This season, Tina has joined Opera Memphis as a Handorf Company Artist, where she performed Young Woman in Kamala Sankaram’s one-woman chamber opera A.E. Reverie and will perform Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Freda Ward in the world premiere of Robert Patterson and Jerre Dye’s Pretty Little Room.
This past summer, Tina had her role debut as Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos) with Dramatic Voices Program Berlin and covered the title role in Haydn’s Armida in a coproduction with Opera Neo and the Hungarian State Opera. She also recently appeared as the guest soprano soloist in Orff’s Carmina Burana at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore, MD with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Andrew Grams and performed Darius Milhaud’s Quatre Chansons de Ronsard with the Peabody Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Joseph Young. Other notable engagements from previous seasons include: Young Pauline Viardot (Ching’s Notes on Viardot) with Music on Site, Inc., Clorinda (La Cenerentola) and Tzeitel (Fiddler on the Roof) with Bay View Music Festival, Adele (Die Fledermaus) with Peabody Institute, Armida (Rinaldo) with Chicago Summer Opera, and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) with FIO Italia.
A native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Tina holds a Master of Music from the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University.
Zanny Laird is a performer, vocalist, and teacher who has spent over twenty years working in TV, film, and theatre in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York. Her resume includes the world premiere productions of August: Osage County (Steppenwolf Theatre) and Trust (Lookingglass Theatre), the off-Broadway production of Kragtar: A Monster Musical (The West End Theatre), and the pre-Broadway workshop of Head Over Heels (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). Local credits include The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk and The Cherry Orchard (Quantum Theatre), Waitress, Evil Dead The Musical, and Grease (Pittsburgh Musical Theatre), Phantom (PCLO), and Hamlet (Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks). She holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Carnegie Mellon University and is a member of AEA and SAG-AFTRA.
A native of Kenosha, Wisconsin, James Lesniak joined the Pittsburgh Opera music staff in 2006. After initial studies with Sheila Wiesztort, he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Indiana University, where he studied with pianists Menahem Pressler, Karen Shaw, and Evelyne Brancart, with the mentorship and influence of Nicolas Larin. His university credits include music staff work for Mississippi State University and the Indiana University Opera Theatre. Further studies included an apprenticeship with the Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program at Washington National Opera for two seasons, where he gave his stage debut in the non-singing/piano playing role of Lazinski in Fedora at the Kennedy Center, accompanying Placido Domingo in the opera. In addition, Mr. Lesniak has served on the coaching staff of Brevard Music Center, Glimmerglass Opera, Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center, and the National Symphony. He has been an official pianist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and also made his conducting debut in 2017 with Pittsburgh Opera’s production of composer Laura Kaminsky’s As One and conducted Pittsburgh Opera’s production of Tom Cipullo’s Glory Denied.
Since 2018, James has served as a coach and accompanist for the vocal students at Slippery Rock University, and for over a decade has been an active member of the Pittsburgh Opera Trunks teaching artist presentation team, participating in engagement programs designed to enlighten and inspire youth throughout the region. For the summer months, he frequently returns to the music staff of the prestigious Santa Fe Opera, where he has served as Musical Director for their Winter Concert Tour and was on the music staff for the Grammy Award winning production of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.
Mark Trawka joined Pittsburgh Opera as Director of Musical Studies for the prestigious Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist Training Program in the 2003-04 season. In the 2006-07 season, he also took on the position of Chorus Master.
Mr. Trawka coaches and performs with the Resident Artists and has also accompanied renowned mezzo-soprano Marianne Cornetti in her Pittsburgh recital appearances. He has been a member of the music staff at Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera and Portland Opera (Oregon), where he was principal pianist and assistant chorus master. Mr. Trawka has served as coach/accompanist at Chautauqua Opera and at Glimmerglass Opera for many summer seasons. In the summer of 2006, he was director of the resident artist program at Berkshire Opera.
Educated at the Eastman School of Music and the University of Southern California, Mr. Trawka began his operatic career in the Houston Opera Studio and in San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program.