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Tenor Duke Kim is a Second-Place Winner of Operalia (2022), Second-Place Winner at the inaugural Juan Pons International Singing Competition (2022), Grand Finals Winner of The Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition (2021), and a recent graduate of the Cafritz Young Artist Program at the Washington National Opera.

In 23/24 Duke makes debuts with Irish National Opera and Berkshire Opera Festival in Faust (Title Role), Pittsburgh Opera in La traviata (Alfredo), returns to Washington National Opera for Roméo et Juliette (Roméo), and Seattle Opera and Des Moines Metro Opera for Il barbiere di Siviglia (Il Conte d'Almaviva). On the concert stage he makes his South American debut at Teatro Colón in Messiah, gives a solo recital at the Korean Music Association and a duet recital with mezzo-soprano Taylor Raven at Seattle Opera.

Last season he made debuts with Seattle Opera in La traviata (Alfredo); The Glimmerglass Festival, Florentine Opera, and Opera San Antonio in Roméo et Juliette (Roméo); The Atlanta Opera in Don Giovanni (Don Ottavio); and returned to Palm Beach Opera for Così fan tutte (Ferrando). On the concert stage he debuted with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in Messiah.

21/22 engagements included Come Home: A Celebration of Return (soloist), Carmen (Le Remendado), and a workshop of Jeanine Tesori’s new opera Grounded (Eric) at Washington National Opera. He also returned to Palm Beach Opera for The Merry Widow (Count Camille de Rosillon) and gave a solo recital with pianist Kyle Naig in Myrtle Beach, NC. On the concert stage he debuted with the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Noseda in Handel Messiah, Mozart Requiem and Eine kleine Freimaurer-Kantate, and Bach Magnificat, The Santa Fe Symphony for A Night at the Opera, and Grant Park Music Festival in Haydn Creation. In the 20/21 season, Duke returned to The Santa Fe Opera as an Apprentice Artist, where he performed in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Lysander), covered in Eugene Onegin (Lensky), and appeared as a guest soloist on Angel Blue in Concert (Act IV duet from La bohème). Additional Artist training programs include Wolf Trap Opera’s Studio Program and Palm Beach Opera‘s Benenson Young Artist Program.

He is a graduate of Chapman University and the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. During his studies, he performed in L’elisir d’amore (Nemorino), Gianni Schicchi (Rinuccio), Little Women (Laurie), and La Finta Giardiniera (Count Belfiore). Additional concert repertoire includes Mendelssohn Elijah and Saint-Saëns Oratorio de Noël.

© 2023 Duke Kim

Michael Chioldi is one of the world's most sought after Dramatic Baritones. His interpretations of the Verdi, Puccini and Strauss repertoire has been praised by critics and audiences across the world.

In January 2022 Michael made his major role debut with the Metropolitan Opera as Rigoletto to critical acclaim in a new production by Bart Sher. Critics praised his performance as a “Triumph in the title role” (Robert Levine - Bachtrack) and as “a true Verdian voice that displays booming power, tender softness, and ravaging tragic colors” (Maria-Cristina Necula -Women About Town).He recently made his Gran Teatro Liceu (Spain) debut as Gerard in Andrea Chenier along side Sondra Radvanovsky and Jonas Kaufmann and subsequently as Miller in Verdi’s Louisa Miller with Piotr Beczala. His portrayal of Henry VIII by Saint-Seans with Odyssey Opera in Boston was heralded by Ed Tapper with Edge Media as “world class baritone singing…..Moments such as Henry's Act IV monologue and the final passages of the opera were nothing short of thrilling.” A recording of this performance is now readily available.

During the pandemic Michael was fortunate to be able to perform Tonio in Pagliacci with Palm Beach Opera where “Michael dominated the stage. His flawless diction, commanding acting skills and multi-colored instrument were a real showstopper.” (Palm Beach Daily News) He made his Seattle Opera debut as Scarpia in Tosca, now one of his signature roles, and later that season appeared as Marcello in La Boheme. He curated a one man show of Dominick Argento’s The Andree Expedition, a show that will utilize immersive 3D green screen technology. With NYC Opera he performed the title role of Rigoletto at the Phoenicia Festival of the Voice and to over four thousand people in Bryant Park. He is thrilled to be returning to both venues this summer as Papa Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata.This past fall he had two solo recitals with collaborative pianist Nikolay Verevkin in Austin TX with Austin Opera and in Pittsburgh PA with Pittsburgh Festival Opera at the Carnegie Music Hall. He also returned to Charleston SC where he appeared several times with the Spoleto Festival for a gala concert with Charleston Opera Theater.Upcoming Michael will sing Holländer in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Holländer with Utah Opera, Falstaff with Palm Beach Opera, Papa Germont in La Traviata with Seattle Opera and a much anticipated return to the Metropolitan Opera stage to reprise his triumphant performance as Rigoletto.

Chioldi has performed at nearly every major American opera house, including The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera and Los Angeles Opera. Signature roles include Scarpia in Tosca with Hawaii Opera Theater, Ft. Worth Opera, New York City Opera, Toledo Opera, and Spain's Opera de Oviedo; Jochanaan in Salome with Utah Opera, Virginia Opera, and the Saito Kinen Festival in Japan; the title role of Macbeth with Michigan Opera Theatre and Palm Beach Opera, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor with Washington National Opera, Utah Opera, and New Orleans Opera; and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Washington National Opera and in a nationwide broadcast on the PBS television series Live from Lincoln Center, which received an Emmy award in 2008.

In the 2015-16 season Chioldi made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Muscat in performances of Macbeth. Additional recent performances include the title role in Hamlet with Washington National Opera; the title role in Der Fliegende Holländer with Pforzheim Opera; Marcello in La bohéme at London's Royal Albert Hall; Ford in Falstaff with Utah Opera, Chautauqua Opera, and the Ft. Worth Opera Festival; Giorgio Germont in La Traviata with Palm Beach Opera; Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Hawaii Opera Theater, Chautauqua Opera, and the Macau International Music Festival; and Giacomo in Verdi's Giovanna d'Arco with Chicago Opera Theater.

He made his debut at New York's Metropolitan Opera as Fléville in Andrea Chénier with Luciano Pavarotti and Aprile Millo under the baton of James Levine, and traveled extensively in Japan with Maestro Seiji Osawa. He has also performed in Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, Macau and Spain.

A frequent performer of American and English works, he premiered the role of Man in Anthony Brandt's The Birth of Something in 2008. Additional performances include as the First Mate in Billy Budd with Washington National Opera; the title role in Nixon in China with Long Beach Opera; John Proctor in The Crucible with Toledo Opera; and John Sorel in The Consul with Arizona Opera and the Glimmerglass Festival.

Chioldi has performed with symphony orchestras around North America and Europe, including as soloist in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with the Santa Fe Concert Association; Brahms' Requiem with the Städtisches Orchester Pforzheim; and in a concert performance of Debussy & Poe: Fall of the House of Usher & Devil in the Belfry with the Oviedo Philharmonia. Additional orchestral appearances include with the New York Philharmonic and The National Symphony Orchestra under Mo. Leonard Slatkin; as well as the New Jersey, New Haven, and Houston Symphony Orchestras.

Chioldi has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including The Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition (Winner 1995); The MacAllister Competition; The Licia Albanese-Puccini Competition; The Miami Opera Competition; The Sullivan Foundation; and The Anna Case-Mckay Award. He received his Bachelors' degree from West Virginia University, and his Masters' degree from Yale University. His recordings appear on the Sony Classical, BMG, Accord and Newport Classics labels.



Mr. Chioldi makes his home in New York City.

Julia Swan Laird is a first-year Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist in 2022-23. This season, her roles include First Wood Sprite in Rusalka, Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro, and Dalinda in Ariodante. 

Delaware native Julia Swan Laird holds a Master of Music degree in Opera Performance from Arizona State University (ASU). While at ASU's Music Theatre and Opera program, Julia performed as Romilda in Serse, Esmeralda in The Bartered Bride, First Spirit in Die Zauberflöte, and the title roles in Les Mamelles de Tirésias and The Fairy Queen. She is an alumna of the Accademia della Lirica Italiana in Bari, Italy, and the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival Opera Studio where she performed scenes from Don Giovanni, The Ghosts of Versailles, and Carmen. In March of 2020, she made her professional operatic debut with Opera West! in Santa Fe performing Suor Dolcina and Suor Genovieffa in Suor Angelica. She made her OperaDelaware debut as a young artist, performing in "Drive Thru Arias" concerts as a way to connect to the community during socially-distant times. Julia was a Filstrup Resident Artist with Tulsa Opera in the fall of 2020, where she covered Gilda and sang Giovanna and Page in an exciting and innovative new production of Rigoletto, the first live opera in the US since March 2020. She made her North Carolina debut in Piedmont Opera's production of Viardot's Cinderella as Fairy Godmother in March 2021. Julia performed Berta in a joint production of Il barbiere di Siviglia with OperaDelaware and Baltimore Concert Opera (now Opera Baltimore). 

Julia placed fourth in the 2019 AIMS Meistersinger Competition and placed third in the 2019 American International Czech and Slovak Competition in Green Bay, Wisconsin. She has been a finalist with the Saltworks Opera Competition,MIOpera Competition, and the Pittsburgh Festival Opera Mildred Miller Competition, and the first place winner at Arizona NATS, Cal-Western Regional NATS, and North Carolina NATS.

​Ms. Laird’s Residency is generously sponsored by Steven Seibert. 

Hailed by Opera News as “a very promising high tenor” Cuban-American Fran Daniel Laucerica has been praised for his clarity, agility and musical versatility as a rising star on the operatic and concert stages.

Mr. Laucerica joins Virginia Opera as an Emerging Artist for 2022-2023 season singing Alfredo/La Traviata (Emerging Artist Performance) as well as Gastone, and covers Frederic/The Pirates of Penzance and Timothy Laughlin/Fellow Travelers. Later in the season, he joins the Grammy-award winning new music ensemble The Crossing debuting Hearne’s Farming, and making his New York Philharmonic debut singing the premiere of unEarth by Julie Wolf. Other role/house debuts include Opera Ithaca as Pluto and Aristeus/Orpheus in the Underworld and First Coast Opera as Silvio/Le docteur miracle. He also joins Lawrence University as a guest soloist in the Brahms Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52 and debuts with Madison Bach Musicians in a concert of Latin American Baroque Music.

Last season, he was a young artist with The Glimmerglass Festival, premiering the leading role of Dante/Tenor Overboard, a newly fashioned Rossini pastiche by Ken Ludwig, and covered the tenor roles in both Sankaram’s Taking Up Serpents and the premiere of Geter’s Holy Ground. He was also a Resident Artist with Toledo Opera, where he sang Count Almaviva in a touring production of The Barber of Seville, Ferrando/ Cosí fan tutte (Resident Artist Performance) and Gastone in La Traviata. Additionally, Mr. Laucerica joined Seaglass Theater Company to perform scenes from Les pêcheurs de perles and Arrieta’s Marina.

Amidst the shutdown, he joined Wolf Trap Opera for both the 2020 and 2021 seasons as a studio artist where he covered the roles of Adolfo Pirelli/Sweeney Todd, Comte Barigoule/Cendrillon, and Satyavan in Holst’s Savitri, and performed scenes from Billy Budd and Fellow Travelers.

Mr. Laucerica's other recent opera credits include Tamino/Die Zauberflöte with Miami Music Festival, Miguelín in the premiere of Omar Najmi's En la ardiente oscuridad with Catalyst New Music Ensemble, 2nd Seigneur in Saint Saëns’ Henry VIII with Odyssey Opera, The Vain Man/The Snake in Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince as well as Don Ottavio/Don Giovanni (cover) with NEMPAC Opera, and Peter Quint/Turn of the Screw (cover), Reverend Samuel Parris/The Crucible, and the title role in Albert Herring with Chicago Summer Opera. Other roles include Ernesto/Don Pasquale, The Magician in The Consul, and Chevalier de la Force/Dialogues des Carmélites (cover) with Boston Conservatory.

On the concert stage, Mr. Laucerica has been the tenor soloist in varied works including Orff’s Carmina Burana with Lexington Symphony, Handel’s Messiah with the Callipygian Players, Hailstork’s I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes with Glencoe Union Church, as well as Mozart’s Coronation Mass, and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria as a guest soloist with the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra. A passionate advocate for new music, Mr. Laucerica has premiered several works including Samuel Carl Adams’ Light Readings with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra MusicNOW initiative and David Lang’s a house with the Bienen Contemporary Vocal Ensemble.

Mr. Laucerica is a recent Encouragement Award Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, as well as a semi-finalist in the SAS Performing Arts, Camerata Bardi and Music International Grand Prix competitions. He graduated from the Boston Conservatory with a Master’s in Opera Performance and a Bachelor’s from Northwestern University.

Brandon Bell is a first-year Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist in 2022-23. This season, his roles included Hunter in Rusalka and Boy in Denis & Katya. 

Brandon Bell is a baritone hailing from Suffolk, Virginia, currently in his first year as a Lesley Resident Artist with Fort Worth Opera.  After an exciting 2020/21 season, including performances with Utah Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Steans Music Institute at the Ravinia Festival, Mr. Bell's upcoming season sees his debuts with White Snake Projects, Cape Symphony, Fort Worth Opera, and Houston Grand Opera.

Mr. Bell has appeared on numerous stages across the country, including the California Symphony, Oakland Symphony, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Saratoga, and Chautauqua Opera. Mr. Bell has received national awards and recognition from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, Gerda Lissner Foundation, Mondavi Center Young Artist Competition, the Orpheus National Music Competition for Vocalists, and the East Bay Opera League Young Artist Competition.

​Mr. Bell’s Residency is generously sponsored by Robert J. and Sharon E. Sclabassi.

Evan Lazdowski is a first-year Pittsburgh Opera Resident Artist in 2022-23. This season, his roles include Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro and Rè di Scozia in Ariodante. 

Praised in Opera News for his “warm, hearty bass-baritone,” Lazdowski’s recent engagements have included The Magic Flute (Papageno, cover; Speaker) at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as a Gaddes Festival Artist, and Don Giovanni (Il Commendatore) at the Aspen Music Festival as a Renée Fleming Artist.

2021-22 highlights included Lazdowski’s debuts at Madison Square Garden, singing the national anthem for the New York Rangers; and at Alice Tully Hall, singing selections from Songs of Travel for Juilliard’s Wednesdays at One series. He was a finalist in Houston Grand Opera’s Concert of Arias and the Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition, and performed Nick Shadow in The Rake’s Progress with Juilliard Opera.

Other full operatic credits include Figaro/Le nozze di Figaro, Figaro/I due Figaro, Capellio/I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Theseus/A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Nourabad/Les pêcheurs de perles, and Guglielmo/Così fan tutte. Lazdowski was a 2021 Encouragement Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions (Upper Midwest Regional Round). He holds a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, as well as a Bachelor of Music degree from Manhattan School of Music. Lazdowski has received additional training at Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artists Vocal Academy.

Mr. Lazdowski’s Residency is generously sponsored by Leslie Fleischner.

Mezzo-Soprano Leah Heater just finished the Resident Artist Program with Pittsburgh Opera, where she sang the roles of Flora in La Traviata and The Page in Salome, in which she “impressed” with her “solid low register” (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). She portrayed the title role in Riccardo Primo, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, and Jessie Castner in the Long Walk .Her first role with Pittsburgh Opera was the role of Cecelia in Little Women in which she “displayed singing and acting abilities that lifted a secondary character into considerable prominence” (Pittsburgh In The Round).

More recently Ms. Heater has been seen and heard in Verdi's Requiem with Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra in which her "sonorous yet vigorous phrasing stood out" (Chautauquan Daily), and as Gertrude in Opera Ithaca's Hamlet, in which her "passion, carnality, and splendid voice completed communicated the transgressions of sovereigns." (Ithaca.com)

Leah graduated from the Masters and Artist Diploma programs at University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music and she performed many works there, including: Mezzo Soloist in Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and Symphony No. 3, Verdi's Requiem, and John Adam's El Niño, as well as Carmen in La tragèdie de Carmen, Mother Marie in Dialogues of the Carmelites, Dritte Dame in Die Zauberflöte, Aloés in L'Étoile, Mother Goose in The Rake's Progress, and Eboli in the CCM Philharmonic’s concert presentation of the five-act French version of Verdi’s Don Carlos. She has also sung as mezzo soloist in Dvorak’s Requiem with Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and with Asheville Symphony Orchestra in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass. In June of 2015, Leah made her Carnegie Hall debut as mezzo soloist in Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem and was praised by the New York Concert Review for her “exquisite voice”.

Leah has been fortunate to workshop a number of new works: at Cincinnati Opera she created the role of Sadie in two workshops of Ricky Ian Gordon's new opera, Morning Star, and sang the role of Kathleen in the world premiere of the same opera. She also had the opportunity to work closely with Jake Heggie and Terrance McNally in a workshop of their new opera, Great Scott, which premiered at Dallas Opera. As a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Leah covered the role of Kathy Hagen in the world premiere of Terrence Blanchard’s Champion, as well as the role of Gertrude Stein in the premiere of 27 by Ricky Ian Gordon, during which she stood in for the first two weeks of staging for Ms. Stephanie Blythe. Leah sang as Carmen in the touring reduction of Bizet's famous opera with Cincinnati Opera as well as the full length version with Rome Festival Opera. She covered Princess Eboli in Verdi’s French version of Don Carlos as a Studio Artist with Sarasota Opera. While an Emerging Artist at Virginia Opera, she sang the role of Juno in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, and covered the role of Mary in The Flying Dutchman.