With a voice described as “radiant and rich in vibrato” by The New York Times, and chosen as one of WQXR’s “20 for 20” Artists to Watch, soprano Gabriella Reyes is a rising star on the operatic stage.

Lyric soprano Jacqueline Echols has been praised for her “dynamic range and vocal acrobatics” (Classical Voice) in theaters across the United States. In the summer of 2022, Echols reprised her acclaimed portrayal of Clara in Porgy and Bess in her debut with Des Moines Metro Opera, in addition to her debut with the Cleveland Orchestra for their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Concert and her return to Cincinnati Opera for a special performance alongside Morris Robinson in Morris and Friends.

Australian-Chinese tenor Kang Wang is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after young lyric tenors in the opera world. He is a former member of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program of the Metropolitan Opera and a finalist in the 2017 Cardiff Singer of the World competition.

Gihoon Kim was named BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2021 – “winner Gihoon Kim rose highest with a velvet baritone capable of inspiring tears and awe.” The Guardian.

One of the most exciting vocal talents to emerge in recent seasons globally, baritone Blake Denson, is praised for his "captivating dramatic interpretations" with “a striking upper register “and "a sound that boomed to the back of the house” (Opera Wire). Recently, Mr. Denson was named a winner of the George London Foundation Competition, The International Concurs Tenor Viñas Competition, and the winner in The Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition. Mr. Denson was also a Grand Finalist winner of the 2020 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Peixin Chen is recognized for his majestically resonant bass voice and a keen dramatic instinct that he brings to a wide range of roles on the international opera stage.  His repertoire spans from the comic characters of Donizetti, Mozart, and Rossini to the strong and serious roles of Puccini, Verdi, and Wagner.  Peixin Chen has worked with an illustrious array of conductors and directors including Harry Bicket, James Conlon, Eun Sun Kim, Sebastian Lang-Lessing, Lorin Maazel, Enrique Mazzola, Zubin Mehta, Giancarlo del Monaco, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Michel Plasson, David Pountney, James Robinson, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Patrick Summers, Krzysztof Urbański, and Francesca Zambello.

Performances of the 2023–2024 season include a debut at the Teatro Real as Sparafucile in Rigoletto conducted by Nicola Luisotti, a return engagement with Los Angeles Opera for Commendatore in Don Giovanni led by music director James Conlon, and a debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a fully-staged presentation of Das Rheingold under the baton of music director Gustavo Dudamel.  Additional highlights of the season include a debut at the Salzburger Festspiele in a new production by Peter Sellars of Prokofiev’s The Gambler, and Turandot both at the Metropolitan Opera led by Oksana Lyniv and Marco Armiliato and at Washington National Opera conducted by Speranza Scappucci. The latter production features a newly composed ending to Puccini’s otherwise unfinished fantasy story by Grammy Award^®–winning composer and playwright Christopher Tin, known for his film and video game soundtracks, and acclaimed playwright and screenwriter Susan Soon He Stanton.

Last season Peixin Chen sang Sarastro in The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera, Fasolt in Das Rheingold both at Seattle Opera and The Dallas Opera, and Colline in La bohème in a return engagement with Washington National Opera. He bowed as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia at Cincinnati Opera, and made a Lyric Opera of Chicago debut in the company’s Sir David McVicar new production premiere of the French, five-act version of Verdi's Don Carlos singing the Monk and covering Philippe II.

Highlights of recent seasons include a European debut at the Festival d’Aix en Provence in Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen in a new production by Ivo van Hove, Metropolitan Opera performances of The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, and Boris Godunov, Rigoletto at Santa Fe Opera and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Die Zauberflöte and La bohème with Opera Philadelphia, L’elisir d’amore at Washington National Opera, and Dvořák’s Dmitrij at the Bard Music Festival.

A proud graduate of the Houston Grand Opera Studio and under the tutelage of Dr. Stephen King, Peixin Chen has bowed at Houston Grand Opera in productions of Turandot, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Norma, Aida, Il trovatore, The Magic Flute, and Die Walküre, among others.

Le nozze di Figaro has featured prominently in the bass’ career, assaying the title role in a new production by David Paul for Opera Saratoga and bowing as Bartolo at the Houston Grand Opera conducted by Harry Bicket in the company’s acclaimed production by Michael Grandage, at Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts, and in fully-staged performances with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra led by Edo de Waart.

Peixin Chen’s dynamic concert career includes performances of the Verdi Requiem with the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra and Chorus conducted by music director Patrick Summers, Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis with music director Krzysztof Urbański and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and numerous performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony including with music director Jaap van Zweden and the New York Philharmonic, with music director Rafael Payare and the San Diego Symphony, with music director Michael Stern and the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, Leonard Slatkin and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and with music director Andrés Orozco-Estrada and the Houston Symphony.

Alevtina Ioffe is the new Music Director of Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, appointed in February 2021 after making a sensational debut in December 2020 conducting Die Zauberflöte and her immediate return with Il barbiere di Siviglia in January 2021. She is the first women to lead an important musical institution in Russia. Until 2021 Alevtina Ioffe was also Music Director of The State Opera and Ballet Theatre for Young Audience “Natalia Sats” in Moscow, a position she held for more than a decade.

A native of Youngstown, Ohio joining the Cafritz Young Artists for the 2021-22 season, Amber R. Monroe has been recognized as “a crystalline lyric soprano and a superb singing actress” (Seen and Heard-International). She recently made her Opera Columbus debut as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. Her professional credits include Nedda in I Pagliacci (El Paso Opera), Countess Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro (Kentucky Opera), Clara in Porgy and Bess (Opera Western Reserve), and the title role in Nkeiru Okoye’s Harriet Tubman: When I Crossed that Line to Freedom (Cleveland Opera Theater). She has also workshopped several profound contemporary operas including Blue by Jeanine Tesori and The Hours by Kevin Puts, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera. In the summer of 2019, Monroe participated as an artist in the Merola Opera Program where she performed as Magda from La rondine in the Schwabacher Summer Concert, and Madame Lidoine from Dialogues des Carmélites in the Merola Grand Finale. While an artist at The Glimmerglass Festival, she was seen as the Rooster/Jay in The Cunning Little Vixen, and covered the role of Anna Sørenson in Kevin Puts’ Silent Night. Recently a recipient of the Richard F. Gold Career Grant from The Shoshana Foundation, Ms. Monroe has also been awarded and placed in competitions such as the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Mildred Miller International Voice Competition, the Classical Singer Competition, and more. Monroe completed her studies at Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). During her time at CCM, she performed the Governess in The Turn of the Screw and was scheduled to sing Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte prior to its cancellation due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Soprano Teresa Perrotta, hailing from Orlando, Florida, returns to the Cafritz Young Artists of Washington National Opera for the 2023-24 season where she will perform the role of Also Jess in the premiere of Grounded, and Guadalena in Songbird. This past summer, Ms. Perrotta debuted the role of Mimì in La bohème at the Glimmerglass Festival. She recently made her international debut as Marie Antoinette in The Ghosts of Versailles at L’Opéra royal de Versailles in 2019. In summer 2021, she performed as Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream under the baton of Harry Bicket with the Santa Fe Opera. Ms. Perrotta recently covered Renée Fleming as Clarissa Vaughan in The Hours in concert with the Philadelphia Orchestra. In summer 2022, she will return to the Santa Fe Opera as Alice Ford (cover) in Falstaff. Ms. Perrotta was scheduled to perform as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with The Glimmerglass Festival and Clarissa Vaughan in the workshop of The Hours with The Metropolitan Opera, but both were canceled due to COVID-19. Other performance highlights include: Elle in La voix humaine (independent project), Rose in Tobias Picker’s Awakenings (Cincinnati Opera: Opera Fusion New Works), Soprano Soloist in Carmina Burana (Cincinnati Choral Society), Donna Anna cover in Don Giovanni (Chautauqua Opera), Manja in Countess Maritza (Ohio Light Opera), Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and Vitellia in La clemenza di Tito (CCM Opera). Ms. Perrotta has won numerous competitions including three-time regional finalist of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, finalist in the Lotte Lenya Competition, finalist in the Butler Opera International Voice Competition, first place in Cincinnati SongSlam, and three-time winner of the Corbett Opera Competition. Ms. Perrotta received her undergraduate degree from the Eastman School of Music and her master’s degree and artist diploma from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM).

Returning to the Cafritz Young Artists of Washington National Opera for his second season is tenor, Kevin Punnackal, who will perform the role of Ruiz in Il Trovatore as well as Rodolfo in the Young Artist performances of La bohème. A first-generation Indian-American from Sugarland, TX, Mr. Punnackal recently covered the Captain in Lord of the Cries for Santa Fe Opera. During his time in undergrad at Houston Baptist University, Mr. Punnackal had the opportunity to perform roles including Ruggero (cover, La rondine) in addition to preparing the role of Romeo (Gounod, Romeo et Juliette). He recently received his Master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma where he performed as Le Baron de Pictordu in Cendrillon and prepared the role of Nemorino (L’elisir d’amore). Mr. Punnackal has also performed the roles of Sam Kaplan (Street Scene) and covered Ruggero (La rondine) while attending the Varna International Music Academy in Bulgaria (2018). During the 2021-22 season at Washington National Opera, Mr. Punnackal had the opportunity to sing for a workshop presentation of Grounded, a new opera co-commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and WNO that features the musical writing of Jeanine Tesori set to a libretto by George Brant.

A baritone from Durango, Colorado, Jonathan Patton returns to the Cafritz Young Artists of Washington National Opera for a third season. His major projects for the ‘24-25 season include performing as Steve Jobs in the young-artist performance of Mason Bates’s The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs and Macbeth for the look-in performance of Verdi’s Macbeth. He will also participate in this year's AOI 20 program as Austin in Wolves. In his previous two seasons with WNO, Jonathan has performed many roles including and not limited to Pâris in Romeo and Juliet, Don Pedro in Songbird, and Marcello in La bohème. Outside of WNO, Jonathan has performed with Opera Southwest, Festival Napa Valley, Des Moines Metro Opera, and most recently The Glimmerglass Festival where he received praise from Opera News and the Wall Street Journal for his portrayal of Martin in Berstein’s Candide. This summer, he will be returning to GGF to cover John Cree in Kevin Puts’s Elisabeth Cree, and to debut Silvio in a new production of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. Jonathan’s awards include a district win in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and a win in the Lake Lewisville International Voice Competition.                   

Baritone Justin Burgess, a native of South Lyon, Michigan, returns to the Cafritz Young Artists of Washington National Opera for the 2023-24 season, in which he will perform Mercutio in the YA performance of Romeo and Juliet, the Donkey in The Lion, the Unicorn, and Me, and the Gangster/Old Prisoner in Songbird. Last season, he made his house debut as Schaunard in the Young Artist performances of La bohème. In the summer of 2022, he joined the Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist where he will cover Morales in Carmen and Der Steuermann in Tristan und Isolde. In 2021, he returned to Wolf Trap Opera to cover Toby in Sweeney Todd and Baron Pictordu in Viardot’s Cendrillon. Mr. Burgess performed Walter/Michael in Cincinnati Opera’s workshop of Kevin Puts’s The Hours, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera through their Opera Fusion: New Works initiative. As a Studio Artist with Wolf Trap Opera in 2019 and 2020, he performed as Zerbin in L’ile de Merlin and Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, as well as filmed scenes as Billy in Billy Budd, Schaunard in La bohéme, and Papageno in Die Zauberflöte. Mr. Burgess was a regional finalist and two-time recipient of an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. In 2022, Mr. Burgess received his Artist Diploma in Opera Performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM), where he also received his master’s degree. He received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance. While there, he performed the roles of Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Ormonte in Partenope, and Mercurio in La Calisto.

Christian Simmons, bass-baritone, is a native of the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. He will be joining the Cafritz Young Artists of the Washington National Opera for the 2021-2022 season and making his debut in the documentary film of Jeanine Tesori and Tazewell Thompson’s Blue. He has performed with various festivals and companies around the world including the Morgan State University Theater, Bel Cantanti Opera Company, Washington Opera Society, Castleton Music Festival, Amalfi Coast Music Festival, Berlin Opera Academy, Bare Opera Company, and the Maryland Opera Studio. Performance highlights include The Devil and Daniel Webster (Jabez Stone), The Wiz (Lion), Romeo et Juliette (Duke), Le nozze di Figaro (Figaro), L’incoronazione di Poppea (Seneca), Aida (King), Rigoletto (Sparafucile), and La finta giardiniera (Nardo).     

Bass-baritone Samuel Weiser begins his third season as a Cafritz Young Artist performing the role of Benoit/Alcindoro in the Cafritz Young Artist performances of La bohème. He is a current student of Neil Shicoff. Samuel graduated cum laude B.S.Ed in Music Education from the Indiana University of Pennsylvania and holds his M.M. Vocal Performance from Roosevelt University and an Artist Diploma from Chicago Opera Theater. Recent roles with Washington National Opera includeMarquis d’Obigny in La traviata, Captain in Eugene Onegin, the Jailer in Tosca, 2nd Armored Man in The Magic Flute, and2nd Philistine in Samson et Delilah. Samuel also appeared as Pistola in Act 1 of Falstaff and Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola as part of the “Concert of Comic Masterpieces”. In the fall of 2019, Samuel had the distinct pleasure of performing The Speaker of the Temple in the Cafritz Young Artist performance of The Magic Flute.