Emily Dyer has been noted as a promising young soprano to watch in the professional circuit. She was most recently engaged with Opera Roanoke with a warmly-received Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia. Recent seasons include an “exquisitely sung” Lily in The Secret Garden with UTBAssociation and Rapunzel in Into The Woods with Utah Festival Opera. Palm Beach Arts Paper hailed her “a very fine Musetta, bossy and free-spirited, with an agile, strong voice” for the 2017 production of La bohème at Festival of the Arts Boca. Roles include Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Micaëla in La tragédie de Carmen, Contessa Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and Pamina in The Magic Flute. Ms. Dyer has concertized with the California Philharmonic, The New West Symphony, Golden State Pops Orchestra, The Redlands Bowl Symphony, and Amici Symphony Orchestra. Her love of teaching voice is fostered by her mentors, Carol Neblett, Fred Carama, Timothy Noble, and Marya Basaraba.

A native San Diegan, tenor Alexis Alfaro has performed for OperaWorks, Opera Academy of California, Lyric Opera Kansas City, Euitn Festspiele, Center Stage Opera and Point Loma Opera Theater. This season he is performing the role of Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet with Pacific Lyric Association, in Verdi’s Aida with the San Diego Opera and making his debut with Lyric Opera Orange County. Alexis is also an accomplished rugby player winning several national championships, playing internationally in New Zealand and working as a coach, referee and administrator across the nation.

Steve Pence has appeared as a soloist in the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra’s “Baroque Conversations” series, and as Hercules in The Civil Wars by Phillip Glass with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He is a frequent soloist with the Los Angeles Master Chorale, having recently appeared with them in Alexander’s Feast and Messiah by Handel, and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, B-minor Mass, Magnificat, and St. John Passion. He has appeared as Elijah with the Mountainside Master Chorale, and in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra. He created and recorded the role of Kaiser Wilhelm II in John Powell’s oratorio A Prussian Requiem, which he has performed in Lima, Peru and Montevideo, Uruguay. Steve also created the role of Paderewski in Jenni Brandon’s The Three Paderewskis, with performances in Los Angeles, Poznan, Poland and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Film credits include “Muppets Most Wanted,” “Despicable Me 2,” “Happy Feet 2,” “The Secret Life of Pets,” and “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.” He lives in Long Beach with his wife and son.

Ethan is a 13-year-old 8th grader in the Classical Voice Conservatory at Orange County School of the Arts. While Ethan has performed in 10 community musical theatre productions, this is his operatic debut. His community musical theatre performances with Christian Arts and Theatre include roles such as John in Peter Pan and Chip in Beauty and the Beast. He has had solos performances at school as well as in his community. He had the honor of being the only child ask to sing during a 9/11 remembrance for the City of Corona in 2016. He also takes piano lessons and is a Star Wars aficionado.

Michael O’Halloran, baritone, graduated from the Manhattan School of Music with a Master’s in Classical Voice Performance. This year, he has been seen as Don Annibale in Donizetti’s Il campanello with Capitol Opera, Marcello in Puccini’s La bohème with the Marina del Rey Symphony, Mizgir’ in the West Coast premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Snow Maiden with Independent Opera, Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte with Mission Opera, and Peter in Hansel and Gretel with Lyric Opera of Orange County.

Mr. O’Halloran is a winner of the Aspen Music Festival vocal concerto competition, performing with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, and was featured as both an Emerging and Spectrum Resident Artist with Virginia Opera and as the first American to be a junger Künstler Bayreuth as part of the Bayreuther Festspiele.

Norman Espinoza, a Bass from San Jose California, is delighted to be making his Lyric Opera OC debut singing King Balthazar. Norman graduated from San Jose State University where he obtained both his M.M. and B.M. in Vocal Performance and recently moved to Orange County. He has performed internationally and with numerous opera companies in the Bay Area. Recognized for his powerful low notes, he has sung the roles of Sarastro, Sparafucile, Senca, Zuniga, and Leporello to name a few. Off stage, Norman has a passion for teaching in the classroom and privately with students of all ages.

Andrew Dana Walker is honored to make his Lyric Opera OC debut! He sings regularly with LA’s Independent Opera Company (Leporello in Don Giovanni, Capulet in Roméo et Juliette) and Guild Opera Company (Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Colline in La bohéme, Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro), while also singing seasonally with the Verdi Chorus. Andrew performs regularly with the LA Korean Musicians Association as a soloist and section leader. He also performs in student-composed micro operas with UC Riverside, actively stretching musical genre and subject matter to new heights with colleagues.

Tenor Luke Norvell resides in the Seattle and Los Angeles areas. An undergraduate student at the Master’s University, Luke frequently sings in church, concert, and operatic settings throughout Los Angeles and Orange County. After years of singing bass and baritone repertoire, he made his tenoral debut as Eisenstein in Die Fledermaus in July 2019 with Clyde Opera Group. He has since been diving into Verdi repertoire, covering Alfredo in La Traviata with Landmark Opera and Riccardo in Un ballo in maschera with Puget Sound Concert Opera in June 2020, with whom he will sing Giudice in the same production. His additional role include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni.

Stacey Simbulan is a Filipino-American Soprano, born and raised in Southern California. A shy child growing up, she developed a growing confidence and passion for the arts through honor choirs and theatrical productions. She began her classical training under the study of Dr. Katharin Rundus, and operatic direction of Aram Barsamian. She has since sung through various extended opera scenes as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni (Mozart), Manon Lescaut in Manon (Massenet), Armide in Armide (Gluck), and Adriana in Adriana Lecouvreur (Cilea). Today, she continues her training with her teacher Gail Gordon. This will be her first collaboration with the Lyric Opera of OC family.

Kelsey is thrilled to be singing a favorite Christmas music tradition for her first production with Lyric Opera of Orange County. Hailing from the Pacific Northwest, she decided she wasn’t cold enough and opted to spend her college years in Minnesota, where she sang in the St. Olaf Choir and performed in Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, and The Coronation of Poppea. Kelsey now lives with her husband and two cats in San Diego County, where she recently sang with Pacific Lyric Association, and continues to indulge in her love of Scandinavian folk music as a member of the Southern California Damekor.

An artist of various talents, Stephen Oey has been singing and performing for the majority of his life. The young baritone earned his Bachelor of Music in Music Performance from Biola University, where he performed as Frank in Die Fledermaus, George in Street Scene, and the Second Armored Man in Die Zauberflöte. Since earning his degree, Stephen has performed in several Pacific Opera Project opera choruses, as well as professional choirs performing across the Los Angeles region. Stephen is blessed to be working with Lyric Opera of Orange County.

Gary Toops, organist and conductor, has been the Artistic Director of The Festival Singers of Orange County since it was founded in 1982. He holds degrees in music from the University of California at Berkeley and the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. He is Professor of Music Emeritus at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA and Associate Organist for St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Long Beach. Gary has traveled extensively as an organ soloist in the U.S. and South Korea with his presentation of “Meet The King of Instruments,” a multimedia recital/demonstration of the pipe organ. He frequently appears as guest organist at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in San Diego’s Balboa Park (“the world’s largest outdoor organ”) where his programs include a mixture of classical and theatre styles of organ music. He made his Carnegie Hall debut as an organist along with The Festival Singers in 1996, and subsequently returned to Carnegie Hall to perform as organist under the direction of English composer John Rutter. Gary is listed in The International Who’s Who in Music and Who’s Who in American Keyboard Music, and is a member of the American Guild of Organists, the California Choral Conductors Guild, Chorus America, and a life member of the American Choral Directors Association. Gary was Music Director for Lyric Opera of Orange County’s inaugural production of Henry Purcell’s The Fairy Queen.

Kate Bode graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music in piano performance. She has performed nationally as a solo concert pianist in venues such as the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and Carnegie Hall in New York City. An active collaborative pianist and répétiteur, she has worked with Lyric Opera of Orange County, Biola Music Conservatory, Biola Youth Theater, Haven Academy of the Arts, and currently with Santa Ana College Music Department as staff pianist. She has served on many productions as rehearsal pianist, including Die Fledermaus, Le Pauvre Matelot, L’île de Tulipatan, Roméo et Juliette, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Annie Get Your Gun, Guys and Dolls, The Wizard of Oz, Frankenstein, and The Music Man. She was Music Director for Hansel and Gretel with Lyric Opera of Orange County, and looks forward to reprising that role for their production of Pauline Viardot’s Cinderella in February 2020, and for Musical Theatre Village’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat this summer. Kate has also worked as an accompanist with Biola chorale, Biola men’s chorus, Kenneth Lee Clarinet studio of music, Sarratt studio of music, and Haven Academy of the Arts Choir. Kate teaches a private piano studio in Buena Park, CA.