Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artists | Boston Lyric Opera (original) (raw)

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Jane & Steven Akin Emerging ArtistsBrock Poirier2025-10-22T14:13:17-04:00

BOSTON LYRIC OPERA
JANE & STEVEN AKIN EMERGING ARTISTS

The pursuit of a successful career in opera is a challenging—and expensive—undertaking. Singers must continually hone their talent with regular coaching, expand their repertoire by learning new roles, and find opportunities to make themselves heard. BLO recognizes that the next generation of opera stars needs to be nurtured in order to flourish, and that the future of the art form depends on their success.

To that end, BLO has proudly expanded the opportunities we provide to our Emerging Artists:

Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artists are identified during the casting process of each season’s repertoire. The Artists have, in most cases, already established themselves professionally and are drawn primarily from the post-graduate and post-young artist fields. In certain exceptional cases, younger candidates who are appropriate for specific repertoire with the Company are considered.

2025/26 EMERGING ARTISTS

Fred C. VanNess, tenor, Boston Lyric Opera 2021/22 Jane and Steven Akin Emerging Artist

Angela Yam | soprano

Angela Yam returns as a BLO Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artist for the 2025/26 Season as Second Apparition in Macbeth and Hortensia in Daughter of the Regiment, also covering Marie. Her debut as Ismene in BLO’s 2024 production of Mitridate was awarded the _Boston Globe_’s Best Breakout Performance in a Supporting Role and featured on the cover of Opera Magazine. Her 2024/25 season included the title role in La Calisto, Opera Memphis; Liesgen, Coffee Cantata, Boston Baroque and North Star Baroque; Horse and Rabbit, The Big Swim, Asia Society Texas/Houston Grand Opera; and Heavenly Friend 1 and Carrie Pipperidge (cover), Carousel, Boston Lyric Opera. Past roles include Johanna, Sweeney Todd, Chautauqua Opera and Opera Saratoga; Josephine Young (cover), An American Soldier, PAC NYC; Cobweb, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Santa Fe Opera; and Diana, Iphigénie en Tauride, Boston Baroque. Yam was a New York City District winner in the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and her self-directed visual recital was awarded 3rd place in the 2022 American Prize Competition. As a composer, Yam’s output includes art songs, chamber/dance works, and operas for Nightingale Vocal Ensemble, Catalyst New Music, Boston Opera Collaborative, songSLAM NYC, Robert Moses’ Kin, SMFA at Tufts, and DREAMGLOW.

Laura Santamaria

Laura Santamaria | soprano

Laura Santamaria (she/her) is a Colombian-American soprano from West Palm Beach, FL. She is a recipient of the Richard Gaddes Career Award from Opera Theatre of Saint Louis—for the second consecutive year—and was named a Florida District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. Santamaria has performed in numerous masterclasses as part of Boston Lyric Opera and Boston Conservatory’s “Opera Innovators” series, working with artists such as Karen Slack, David Angus, Lawrence Brownlee, Shawn Marie Jeffery, and Christine Goerke. In 2025, Santamaria returned to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as a Gerdine Young Artist, where she performed the role of Peaseblossom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and covered Norina in Don Pasquale. In April, she made her role debut as Fiordiligi in Boston Conservatory’s production of Così fan tutte. This August, she joins Ravinia’s prestigious Steans Institute as a fellow, where she will appear in Schubert on the Road, a curated recital led by Graham Johnson. Santamaria recently earned her Master of Music in opera performance from Boston Conservatory, studying under Dr. Rebecca Folsom. A passionate advocate for her Latin American heritage, she enjoys performing art songs by composers such as Jaime León, María Grever, and Alberto Ginastera.

Josie Larsen, soprano

Josie Larsen | soprano

Josie Larsen, a student of Bradley Williams, is a lyric soprano from Sammamish, Washington, joining Boston Lyric Opera as a Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artist for the 2025/26 Season. She is thrilled to have performed as Annunciata in Bolcom’s Lucrezia, Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Elaine in Musto’s Later the Same Evening, Rosalinda in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, Mimì in Puccini’s La bohème, and the Governess in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw. Additionally, she has covered Donna Anna in Don Giovanni at Music Academy of the West and the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro at the Aspen Music Festival. Her concert work includes performances of the Brahms Requiem, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Villa-Lobos, as well as “From Jewish Folk Poetry” as part of the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Decoding Shostakovich series. Larsen completed her bachelor’s degree at Brigham Young University in 2021, her master’s degree at the New England Conservatory in 2023, and her Artist Diploma also at the New England Conservatory in 2025. Larsen’s greatest joy in music is connecting people across many languages and cultures in a common musical experience.

Mary Kray, mezzo soprano, Boston Lyric Opera

Mary Kray | mezzo-soprano

Mary Kray is a Boston-based mezzo-soprano and returning Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artist at Boston Lyric Opera. She is thrilled to return for the 2025 season, having recently appeared as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel for BLO’s Opera on Tour educational program and as Second Woman in BLO’s production of Carousel. Kray has performed a wide range of operatic and concert repertoire with local organizations such as Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Opera Collaborative, and NEMPAC Opera Project. Operatic highlights include Orfeo in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice and Marcellina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. As a concert soloist, she has performed as the alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria, Bach’s Magnificat, Mozart’s Vespers, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, and Handel’s Messiah. She has received numerous awards at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (2018-21) and received recognition from the National Society of Arts and Letters. A graduate of Boston Conservatory at Berklee with an M.M. in opera performance, Kray also teaches musicianship at the Handel + Haydn Society and maintains a private voice studio. She brings a trauma-informed and compassionate approach to her teaching and performance practice.

Morgan Mastrangelo, tenor, Boston Lyric Opera

Morgan Mastrangelo | tenor

Tenor Morgan Mastrangelo is a returning Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, where their credits include Enoch (cover), Carousel; Marzio (cover), Mitridate; Hades (cover, performed), Eurydice and Don Ramiro (cover) in La Cenerentola. Regional credits include Hades, Eurydice, Opera Grand Rapids; Count Almaviva, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Wichita Grand Opera; Edemondo (cover) in the modern premiere of Anna di Resburgo, Teatro Nuovo; Frederic, The Pirates of Penzance, New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players; and Tobias, Sweeney Todd, Opera Saratoga. Concert credits include their debut as The Narrator in Bach’s Coffee Cantata with Boston Baroque; the tenor solos in Bach’s BWV 5, 78, and 94, 148, and 181 with Emmanuel Music in Boston; Messiah, Hudson Valley Philharmonic; Petit messe solenelle, Opera Saratoga; Carmina Burana, Carnegie Hall; and 2nd place in the 2025 American National Oratorio Competition and the 2024 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition. An avid interpreter of cross-genre projects and contemporary music, Mastrangelo recently appeared with Contemporaneous in the world-premiere chamber-rock opera The Precipice, and at Lincoln Center as Michael in Bryce McClendon’s musical play The Smallest Sound, in the Smallest Space, a role which they originated. They studied at Northwestern University and New England Conservatory.

Devon Russo,bass-baritone, Boston Lyric Opera

Devon Russo
bass-baritone

Devon Russo | bass-baritone

Bass-baritone Devon Russo performs frequently as a soloist and ensemble member in opera, contemporary music, and early music throughout the United States and abroad. He has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Handel & Haydn Society, Boston Lyric Opera, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Seraphic Fire, Boston Baroque, Trinity Repertory Company, the Chorus of Westerly, and the Rhode Island Civic Chorale. He is also a current choral fellow at Marsh Chapel and is the 2023 winner of the American Prize in Voice (Friedrich & Virginia Schorr Memorial Award Men’s Division). He has participated in the Internationalen Sommerakademie am Mozarteum Salzburg, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute, Source Song Festival, Orford Musique, Voces8 Scholars Programme, Aspen Music Festival & School, and the Boston Early Music Festival Young Artist Program. Russo earned his Doctorate of Musical Arts from Boston University, his master’s degree in vocal performance from the Manhattan School of Music, and bachelor’s degree in vocal performance and education from the University of Rhode Island. Russo is currently an Artist-Teacher in Classical Voice and director of Opera Theatre at the University of Rhode Island; he is also the Director of Choral Activities at Bryant University. www.devonrusso.com

Zizhao Wang,bass-baritone, Boston Lyric Opera

Zizhao Wang
bass-baritone

Zizhao Wang | bass-baritone

Chinese-born bass-baritone Zizhao Wang is a current Jane & Steven Akin Emerging Artist with Boston Lyric Opera, where he appeared in Concert in the Courtyard, covered the Cosmic Weatherman in the world premiere of The Seasons, and performed as the Third Man/Baritone Soloist/Sailor in Carousel during the 2024/25 season. In the 2025/26 season with BLO, Wang will sing First Apparition and Assassin/Herald/Valet in Verdi’s Macbeth. He also returns to Houston for the 2026 revival of The Big Swim, a co-production of Houston Grand Opera and Asia Society Texas. As a Resident Artist at the 2025 Glimmerglass Festival, he performed the roles of Bum Man, Munch, and Tree in the world premiere of The House on Mango Street, as well as covering the Sacristan and Jailer in Tosca. Wang was awarded second place in the New England Regional Finals of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in 2019. His recent roles include Tiger & Rooster, The Big Swim, Houston Grand Opera / Asia Society Texas; Bartolo, Le nozze di Figaro, Knoxville Opera; Martino, L’occasione fa il ladro, Opera Southwest; Colline, La bohème, New England Conservatory; Imperial Commissioner, Madama Butterfly, Virginia Opera; and Yang Yaozu, Country & Home, Chinese National Opera Festival.

Alexandra Dietrich, Stage Director, Boston Lyric Opera

Alexandra Dietrich
stage director

Alexandra Dietrich | stage director

Alexandra Dietrich, originally from Freeport, Maine, is a Puerto Rican American stage director. At Boston Lyric Opera, Ms. Dietrich was the Intimacy Director for The Seasons, as well as the Assistant Stage Director for both Mitridate and The Seasons. Notable works include directing Glory Denied at Opera Company of Middlebury, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder and Little Women, The Broadway Musical at Marblehead Little Theatre, The Little Prince at both the Longy School of Music of Bard and NEMPAC Opera, and La tragédie de Carmen at Boston Opera Collaborative. Recently, she was Assistant Director to Loretta Greco for The Light in the Piazza at The Huntington, and to James Robinson for Awakenings at Odyssey Opera. She served on the voice faculty at the University of Southern Maine Osher School of Music as an Artist Faculty in Voice from 2019-2025. With the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Ms. Dietrich was an Associate Artistic Producer on the GRAMMY®-nominated recording of Anthony Davis’s X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X.

“ BEING AN EMERGING ARTIST AND BEING AT BLO IS LIKE BEING IN A BIG POND WITHOUT BEING THROWN INTO THE DEEP END.”

– SIMON DYER, JANE & STEVEN AKIN EMERGING ARTIST ALUMNUS

PAST CLASSES

2024/25
Angela Yam, soprano
Alexis Peart, mezzo-soprano
Mary Kray, mezzo-soprano
Morgan Mastrangelo, tenor Fred C. VanNess, Jr., tenor
Devon Russo, bass-baritone Zizhao Wang,bass-baritone

2023/24
Junhan Choi, baritone
Sarah Joyce Cooper, soprano
Emily Michiko Jensen, soprano
Alexis Peart, mezzo-soprano Fred C. VanNess, Jr., tenor
Angela Yam, soprano

2022/23 Junhan Choi, baritone
Nicholas LaGesse, baritone
Brianna J. Robinson, soprano
Fred C. VanNess, Jr., tenor

2021/22 Nicholas LaGesse, baritone
Zaray Rodriguez, mezzo-soprano

2020/21
Nicholas LaGesse, baritone
Omar Najmi, composer
Brianna Robinson, soprano
Zaray Rodriguez, mezzo-soprano

2019/20 Brianna J. Robinson, soprano Robyn Marie Lamp_, soprano_ Brendon Shapiro_, pianist_ Nathan Salazar, pianist Melanie Bacaling, production Nicholas LaGesse, baritone

2018/19 Brianna Robinson, soprano Jessica Johnson Brock, mezzo-soprano Nathan Salazar, pianist Brendon Shapiro, pianist Melanie Bacaling, production

2017/18 Antonia Tamer, soprano
Sara Womble, soprano
Emma Sorenson, mezzo-soprano
Jesse Darden, tenor Vincent Turregano, baritone
Anderson Nunnelley, director

2016/17 Antonia Tamer, soprano
Sara Womble, soprano Felicia Gavilanes, mezzo-soprano
Vera Savage, mezzo-soprano
Emma Sorenson, mezzo-soprano
Jesse Darden, tenor
Jon Jurgens, tenor
Vincent Turregano, baritone Simon Dyer, bass
Maja Tremiszewska, pianist
Rachel Arditi, stage manager
Anderson Nunnelley, director Nathan Troup, director

2015/16 Heather Gallagher, mezzo-soprano
Vera Savage, mezzo-soprano
Emma Sorenson, mezzo-soprano Jon Jurgens, tenor Omar Najmi, tenor
Brad Raymond, tenor
Vincent Turregano, baritone Bruce Stasyna, conductor
Nathan Troup, director

2014/15 Chelsea Basler, soprano
Heather Gallagher, mezzo-soprano
Rachel Hauge, mezzo-soprano
Jon Jurgens, tenor
Omar Najmi, tenor
Brad Raymond, tenor
David Wadden, bass-baritone R . B. Schlather, director

2013/14 Chelsea Basler, soprano
So Young Park, soprano
Michelle Trainor, soprano Nicole Rodin, mezzo-soprano Omar Najmi, tenor
David McFerrin, baritone
Liam Moran, bass

2012/13 Michelle Trainor, soprano Nicole Rodin, mezzo-soprano
Alan Schneider, tenor
David McFerrin, baritone

2011/12 Meredith Hansen, soprano
Michelle Trainor, soprano Nicole Rodin, mezzo-soprano Julius Ahn, tenor
Neal Ferreira, tenor John Irvin, tenor
David Cushing, bass-baritone Brett Hodgdon, pianist
Allen Perriello, pianist

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