Calvin Griffin recently made exciting debuts with Atlanta Opera as Mother in The Seven Deadly Sins, Opera Birmingham as Escamillo in Carmen, Opera on the James as Leporello in Don Giovanni, and Opera Orlando as Alidoro in La Cenerentola. Additionally, he returned to Arizona Opera to sing Dr. Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Atlanta Opera as Morales in Carmen, and debuted with Minnesota Opera as the Potter’s Assistant in Fellow Travelers.In the 2018-2019 season, he returned to Florida Grand Opera in the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, Minnesota Opera as Eddie in The Fix, and to Wolf Trap Opera as Bartolo in Il barbiere di Sivigliaand Gomez in L’heure espagnole. With Florida Grand Opera he has appeared as Escamillo in Bizet’s Carmen,Victor in Before Night Falls, and Samuel in Un ballo in maschera. Additional roles with Arizona Opera include Captain in Florencia en el Amazonas, Zuniga in Carmen, Pistola in Falstaff, Count Ceprano inRigoletto, Zaretsky in Eugene Onegin, Speaker/2nd Armored Man in Die Zauberflöte, Hortensius in La fille du régiment, Colline in La bohème, and Dr. Grenville in La traviata.On the concert platform he recently sang Handel’s Messiahwith the Richmond Symphony and Bach’s Mass in B minorwith Gloria Musicae in Sarasota, Florida, and has been a soloist in Brahms’s Ein deutsches Requiemand Mozart’s Requiem. Calvin spent two summers with the Glimmerglass Festival appearing in their productions of Xerxes, Porgy and Bess, and La gazza ladra, as well as covering the title role in Sweeney Todd. As an Apprentice Artist to Santa Fe Opera his assignments included Count Ceprano in Rigolettoand Hortensius in La fille du régiment. He is thrilled to join the roster of the Metropolitan Opera in the 2019-2020 season for their production of Werther.
Known for her clarion sound and striking presences, Ariana Douglas brings artfulness and insight to numerous operatic characters from standard literature to contemporary.
Recent and Upcoming: Ms. Douglas has been a member of the Florentine Opera where she recently portrayed the role of Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte. In addition, she was previously a member of their young artists’ studio performing the roles of Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Mrs. Vance in Sister Carrie, Sally in Die Fledermaus and Cugina in Madama Butterfly. This past season she was Guilietta in Les contes d’Hoffmann with Skylight Music Theater and was invited to return to the Glimmerglass Festival to workshop a 2019 world première of Jeanie Tesori’s Blue, helping to create the roles of the Nurse and Girlfriend #1. This fall is she is soloist with the Rockford Symphony in Haydn’s Paukenmesse. In 2016 she was engaged with the festival to cover both Mary Warren and Ann Putnam in The Crucible and returned the following season to cover Clara in Porgy and Bess. This season she is soloist with the Rockford Symphony and soloist cover with Southwest Suburban Symphony; is Daniele in La Susanna by Stradella with Opera Lafayette and Heartbeat Opera; joins Florentine Opera in the 2019-20 season as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro; and is Diana in Orpheus in the Underworld with Madison Opera.
Ms. Douglas was heard at Operafestival de Roma as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro; sang Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte with Opéra Louisiane and was Magda in La rondine with La Musica Lirica.
On the concert stage she has soloed with the University of Wisconsin in their presentation of Messiah and was guest soloist with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in Bruckner’s Te Deum. She also has sung with the Milwaukee Children’s Chorus in Mozart’s Missa brevis and the Requiem with Louisiana State University.
Ms. Douglas has been honored three-times by the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions; once as a District Winner for Wisconsin; two-Encouragement Awards as well as the winner of the Josephine L. LiPuma Casa Italia award.
She has worked under the baton of William Boggs, Michael Borowitz, John DeMain, Francesco Lecce-Chong and Joseph Rescigno. Directors include William Farlow, John Hoomes, Dugg McDonough and Francesca Zambello.
Ariana Douglas is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and received an advance degree in Vocal Performance from Louisiana State University.
British-Canadian baritone Alexander Dobson is renowned on opera and concert stages for his artistry. Recent major roles include the title role in Wozzeck, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin with Théâtre du Nouveau Monde and Orchestre Métropolitain du Grande Montréal; Masetto in Don Giovanni with Calgary Opera and Milwaukee’s Florentine Opera; and Guglielmo (Così Fan Tutte), Belcoré (L’elisir d'amore) and Ned Keene (Peter Grimes), all with L’Opera de Montréal.
Concert performances of note include Walton’s Belshazzar's Feast with Toronto Symphony and Sir Andrew Davis, Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfayer with Orchestre Métropolitain, Faure Requiem with the Windsor Symphony, Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 with Yannick Nézet-Séguin conducting the combined National Arts Centre Orchestra and Orchestre Métropolitain, Bach’s Magnificat with Milwaukee Symphony, and Haydn’s Seasons with Cleveland Orchestra.
Mezzo-soprano Abigail Levis is enjoying a flourishing career on opera and concert stages from Berlin to Los Angeles. Featured in a recent Opera News Sound Bites column, her active 2019/2020 season includes appearances as Romeo in I Capuletti e i Montecchi for Promfest - Pärnu International Opera Music Festival in Estonia, Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro for Florentine Opera, Annio in La clemenza di Tito in Nantes, Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus for Fort Worth Opera and Mozart’s Requiem for the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra.
The Maine native was a member of the Lucerne Opera last season where her roles included Orfeo in Gluck’s opera of that name, Stephano in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Zerlina in Don Giovanni. 2017/2018 season highlights include Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus for Utah Opera, her debut with San Francisco’s Philharmonia Baroque in Joseph and his Brethren, Testo in Il combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda and Third Memory in I Have No Stories To Tell You by composer Lembit Beecher and librettist Hannah Moscovitch for Opera Philadelphia. Ms. Levis made her debut with Dallas Opera appearing as Flora in La Traviata and for San Francisco’s Opera Parallèle, she sang Rose in Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus and Dinah in Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti. As one of only two winners of the Opera Foundation’s Curt Engelhorn Competition, she appeared with Deutsche Oper Berlin during the 2016/17 season in such roles as Mercedes in Carmen, the title role in Hirsch and Purcell’s Dido, and Tebaldo in Don Carlo. Back in North America, she sang Messiah with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Portland Baroque. An alumna of the Utah Opera young artists program, her roles included Despina in Così fan tutte, the title role in L’enfant et les sortilèges and Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro. Further credits include Handel and Haydn Society, Cincinnati Symphony, New York Festival of Song, Wolf Trap Opera, and she was named “Debut Artist of the Year’ by the Joy in Singing Foundation.
