Making her stage debut with Lyric Opera OC is American lyric spinto soprano, Diana Farrell, has been hailed for her “golden voice.” Her most recent stage performances include the titular role of Puccini’s Tosca, Magda in Menotti’s The Consul, and Verdi’s Lady Macbeth, for which her “passionate intensity…” earned high praise as she “consistently sang with beauty and sensitivity.” In 2023, Ms. Farrell will be seen in her signature role of Tosca with South Coast Symphony in Southern California, as well as her role debut of Jake Heggie’s Krystyna Zywulska in Two Remain. She has also appeared in the roles of Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Contessa Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Micaëla (Carmen), Anna Maurrant (Street Scene),  Berta (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Miriam (Lee Hoiby’s The Scarf), and the title role of Amelia Goes to the Ball, among others, with companies such as Opera Western Reserve, The Crested Butte Music Festival, Nightingale Opera Theatre, Pacific Lyric Association, and Simsbury Light Opera.

Behind the scenes, Diana has garnered attention for her insightful work as a stage director and vocal coach. She is the Artistic Director for Lyric Opera of Orange County, which was named Emerging Arts Organization of the Year for 2022 by Arts OC. In 2022 Diana was also named a Women Leader in Orange County Arts, and an OC Visionary by the LA Times. Diana has become a frequent judge and panelist for competitions, grant committees, and young artist training programs around the country. She has worked as a director at multiple opera and musical theatre programs around the Great Lakes area and for companies like Pacific Lyric Association and Opera Western Reserve.

When not focusing on opera, Diana performs with the Pacific Chorale. Highlights from past concert engagements include Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Soprano Soloist with Poway Symphony Orchestra, a performances of Strauss’s Vier Lied with Peninsula Symphony Orchestra, Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été with the Dana Symphony Orchestra, an appearance with the Miami Valley Symphony Orchestra, and the soprano soloist with the Centre Chorale for Mozart’s Requiem and Saint Saën’s Oratorio de Noël. Diana is the winner of multiple awards throughout her career, completing her formal studies with an Artist Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music. Diana is currently a student of celebrated Wagnerian tenor, Jon Friedric West.

American soprano Melissa Davis is a frequent performer of operatic, concert and musical theatre repertoire. She has performed numerous light lyric coloratura soprano roles in the United States and has also made appearances at the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria and the Asian International Opera Festival, in Taipei, Taiwan. Notable roles include Amy (Little Women), Pamina (Magic Flute), Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel), Hermia (The Fairy Queen), Sophie (Werther), Abigail (The Crucible), Lucy (The Telephone), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Mabel (Pirates of Penzance), Josephine (HMS Pinafore), Yum-Yum (Mikado), Katherine McGowan (Titanic), Jenny (Company), Nellie Forbush (South Pacific), Rapunzel (Into the Woods), and Anna Held (Tintypes).

Her devotion to the genre of art song has led to a great deal of research and performance of American art song repertoire. She has recently performed major song works of Charles Ives, Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Ned Rorem, William Bolcom, André Previn, and Jake Heggie. She recently premiered Sebastian Birch’s Three Songs from “Orpheus & Echo,” which were dedicated to her. She is thrilled to be premiering a new work by acclaimed composer Jake Heggie in 2022, titled Could it be Madness, This? on the poems of Emily Dickinson.

Ms. Davis is the creator and Artistic Director of Nightingale Opera Theatre. Since the inception of the company in 2012 she has been working to create performance opportunities for local musicians and to provide artistic and accessible opera to Northeast Ohio audiences. She has produced several operas including: Street Scene (Kurt Weill) Werther (Massenet), The Scarf (Hoiby), Orpheus and Euridice (Gordon), Hansel and Gretel (Humperdinck), Elixir of Love (Donizetti), Little Women (Adamo), and The Consul (Menotti). She has created and produced several Young Artist programs as well as an opera program for young children called Little Nightingales.

She received a Bachelor of Music degree and a Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Kent State University. She received a second Master of Arts degree in Vocal Pedagogy along with a Singing Health Specialization Certificate from The Ohio State University. Specific areas of research include Vocal Health, Voice Disorders and Performance Anxiety. She served on the voice faculty at Kent State University for ten years where she enjoyed teaching classes in Vocal Pedagogy, Song Literature and Diction, while maintaining a large voice studio.

She is currently a PhD candidate in performance at the University of Melbourne Conservatorium of Music. She also maintains her position as Artistic Director of Nightingale Opera Theatre in the United States.

Michael O’Halloran has performed over 40 operatic roles domestically and internationally. Recently, he has been seen as Sharpless in Puccini’s Madam Butterfly, Marcello in Puccini’s La bohème, Mizgir’ in the West Coast premiere of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Снегурочка, Guglielmo in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Mercutio in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Don Annibale in Donizetti’s Il Campanello, Dancaïro in Bizet’s Carmen, King Melchior in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Peter in Hansel and Gretel, and Lysander in Purcell’s The Fairy Queen. He workshopped the role of Tenorio in Armienta’s Bless Me, Ultima with Opera Southwest, and performed the role of the Policeman, as well as covered Orphée in Philip Glass’ Orphée as an Emerging Artist at Virginia Opera. Michael made his Virginia Opera debut as a Spectrum Resident Artist, singing Il Principe Yamadori and covering Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. While at Manhattan School of Music, he was seen as Pisandre in Fauré’s Pénélope, and Vernon in Summer and Smoke, having the honor of being a part of the world premiere recording, which was hailed as one of the “Top Ten New Recordings” by Opera News. He is proud to be the first American vocalist to be a junger Künstler Bayreuth at the Bayreuther Festspiele. he has performed as a featured soloist with the Aspen Festival Orchestra, the Marina del Rey Symphony, and the Lucca Festival Symphony Orchestra. Michael holds a Masters in Music from the Manhattan School of Music.

Soprano Yewon Yoon is a native of Seoul, Korea. Ms. Yoon made her opera debut as Mimi in Puccini’s La boheme at Korea National University of Arts where she also performed Gilda in Verdi’s Rigoletto. Some of her operatic credits include: Le Fue in L’enfant et les Sortilèges(Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra), Servilia from La clemenza di Tito (CCM), Erste Dame in Die Zauberflöte (Incheon Symphony Orchestra in Korea). Ms. Yoon earned the First prize from Three Arts Competition in Cincinnati. She was a finalist of Korea National Opera Competition and 3rd prize of Seil Art song Competition in Korea. Ms.Yoon holds degree from Chung-Ang University and Korea National University of Arts. Currently, she is pursuing her doctoral degree at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where she earned master’s degree with Thomas Baresel.

Jessica Mamey is a mezzo-soprano, performing a variety of musical styles from Cabaret to Classical. She has been noted for her wide dramatic and musical range, bringing a “gorgeous mezzo soprano voice that is crisp and clear” (Stage and Cinema). Ms. Mamey enthusiastically digs into new musical compositions, which led to her Long Beach Opera Debut as the District Attorney in Anthony Davis’ Pulitzer Prize winning Central Park 5. This past year, she made her Lyric Opera of Orange County (LOOC) debut in the title role of Bizet’s Carmen. This upcoming year she will appear with LOOC in Jake Heggie’s Two Remain as Edka and with Vox Visceralis, debuting as Sesto in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito.

A native to Southern California, Ms. Mamey has enjoyed performing with Pacific Opera Project, Chamber Opera Players of LA, Center Stage Opera and Townsend Opera in roles including Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti, Dorabella and Despina in Così fan tutte, Zerlina in Don Giovanni and in several new and rare works. Past concert engagements include Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Pasadena Master Chorale and Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy with Hollywood Master Chorale. Ms. Mamey graduated from Occidental College where she began her vocal studies with Scott Blois. She continues her studies with teacher Joann Zajac. www.jessicamamey.com

Jessica Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Mexican-American Mezzo-Soprano, “Both strong of technique and elegant of presence” (New City Stage) “A particular highlight” (Operawire). Ms. Gonzalez-Rodriguez made her Opera Santa Barbara mainstage debut in October of 2021 as Renata in Cruzar la cara de la Luna. A multiple Opera Buffs grant recipient, highlight engagements include the role of Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro) with the 2021 International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia, where she studied with superstar Soprano, Jennifer Rowley, Eufemia (Don Procopio) with Pacific Opera Project, Frida Kahlo (Frida) with the 2019 Opera Steamboat Summer Intensive, Prince Orlofsky in Vienna, Austria with the 2019 Vienna Summer Music Festival and as Marcellina with the 2018 Prague Summer Nights Festival, in collaboration with world- renowned tenor, Lawrence Brownlee and contralto, Rosalind Plowright. Recent engagements include Susan (Company), La Seconda Cercatrice (Suor Angelica), The Abbess (Suor Angelica), Mercedes (Carmen), Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice), La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi) and Hansel (Hansel und Gretel). Ms. Gonzalez-Rodriguez is an alumnus of the 2021-2022 Chrisman Studio Artist program with Opera Santa Barbara. She has been the recipient of several scholarships including for the 2021 International Summer Music Festival of Morelia. She holds a B.A. from Mount Saint Mary’s College and a M.M. from California State University, Los Angeles. She coaches with Douglas Sumi and studies voice under Reid Bruton.

STEPHANIE BRINK, Contralto, has performed extensively in the American Southwest. Miss Brink is a Colorado native who began her vocal career in the jazz and music theatre realms. Notable roles include Lucy Van Pelt in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown!, Amy in Sondheim’s Company, and Liza in Weill’s Lady in the Dark. Following her undergraduate study at Colorado College, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, she made her operatic debut with Opera Theatre of the Rockies as the Second Nursemaid in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene. While completing her Master of Music degree in vocal performance at the University of Arizona, as a scholarship student of Dr. Kristin Dauphinais, she performed the roles of the Secretary in Menotti’s The Consul, the Mistress of the Novices/Abbess in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and Flora in Verdi’s La Traviata. She was called back after her graduation to perform the role of Dritte Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, a role she later revived in New York City with Mark Oswald’s Summer Opera Experience. Miss Brink maintains an active performance life in the Pikes Peak region, performing regularly as an Outreach Artist for Opera Theatre of the Rockies. Also with Opera Theatre of the Rockies, Miss Brink has performed the roles of Announcer in Moore’s Gallantry, Katisha/Peep-Bo in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado, and La Zia Principessa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, a role she was invited to perform in Santa Fe for Opera West! Miss Brink is a member of the Performance Faculty at Colorado College, and is a voice student of renowned soprano Martile Rowland.

Molly Noori is an Orange County based mezzo-soprano and owner of Molly Noori Voice Studio. In addition to her performance experience, Molly has enjoyed working with academic and professional companies across the country, serving as a vocal coach, music director, stage manager, assistant director, and director for a variety of productions spanning plays, musicals, cabarets, operettas, and operas. Recent credits include High School Musical (vocal coach) with Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, A Game of Chance (director) with Opera Reimagined, and most notably, Ruddigore (vocal coach and stage manager) , The Sorcerer (music director) and Iolanthe (director) with Detroit Opera Theatre’s long running summer operetta program. Molly looks forward to 2023 which has her directing Tosca with South Coast Symphony in March and serving as assistant director for Lyric Opera OC ‘s production of Jake Heggie’s Two Remain in January.