Eva Lukkonen (Beatrice) | ACO Debut 2019, Le Nozze di Figaro

Eva Lukkonen, mezzo soprano, made her Atlanta Opera debut this past January in the role of Kate/Edith cover in their production of Pirates of Penzance, and then stepped into the role of Texas for Cabaret at Pullman Yards in May/June, both productions under Maestro Francesco Milioto. In early 2020, she was engaged as the Prince Charmant cover in Cendrillon for Opera Birmingham’s 2020 production (canceled due to COVID). She was seen as Cherubino in Atlanta Concert Opera’s 2019 production of Le nozze di Figaro, a role she had previously performed under Maestro Harry Bicket with the Aspen Opera Theatre. Eva had covered Béatrice in Berlioz’s Béatrice et Bénédict for the Aspen Opera Theatre that following summer, and she is excited to finally perform Béatrice for ACO. With Capitol City Opera, she performed in their On the Light Side concerts in 2021 and 2022, and in the 2018-2019 season she was seen as Zita in Gianni Schicchi/Buoso's Ghost. She also covered Stephano in their production of Roméo et Juliette early 2020. In California, she has performed with regional companies such as Townsend Opera Players (Sally in Die Fledermaus) and West End Theatre (Edith in Pirates of Penzance), and has sung with the Bakersfield Symphony in excerpts from Le nozze di Figaro (Cherubino) and Der Rosenkavalier (Octavian). Previous roles at the collegiate level include Angelina in La Cenerentola, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Paquette in Candide, and Elizabeth Proctor in The Crucible. Eva received her undergraduate degree in voice from the University of Southern California, masters degrees in voice and speech-language pathology from California State University Long Beach, and she has been singing with the Atlanta Opera chorus since 2017. She created the voice education and performance community group, ATLVocalite, which had its inaugural voice lecture and performance series in August and September 2019.

Austin Cripe (Benedict) | ACO Debut

Austin Cripe is a tenor with his master’s degree from Florida State University. He has performed with Florida State Opera in roles such as Bénédict in Béatrice et Bénédict, the title role in Candide, Gastone in La Traviata, King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and The Ballad Singer in Of Mice and Men. In 2017, he debuted with Red River Lyric Opera as Oronte in Alcina. In 2018, he debuted with Savannah Voice Festival as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel. He has also performed as the Tenor Soloist in Johannes-Passion.

Robin Sewell (Hero) | ACO Debut 2021, An Evening with the Bard

Robin Sewell is a soprano from Newnan, Georgia. Since earning her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Georgia State University, she has sung with the Atlanta Opera Chorus, Capitol City Opera Company, and ATL Vocalite. Some of her most recently performed roles include the Princess and Nightingale in L’enfant et les sortileges, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and Nannetta in Falstaff. She looks forward to joining Atlanta Concert Opera to sing the role of Hero in Béatrice et Bénédict. Ms. Sewell also teaches voice and piano at Musicology in Newnan.

Timothy Marshall (Claudio) | ACO Debut 2019, Le Nozze di Figaro

Timothy Marshall is a baritone in the Metro-Atlanta area. Currently performs with the Atlanta Opera Chorus, and with regional opera companies in Atlanta. He has performed various roles including; Figaro, Don Bartolo, and Antonio in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Morales in Bizet’s Carmen, Schaunard in Puccini’s La Boheme, Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, as well as other comprimario roles in other operas. Mr. Marshall attended Kennesaw State University where he studied Voice under Dr. Oral Moses. While at KSU, Timothy was apart of the KSU Opera Theater Ensemble where he performed many roles in full length and scenes for gala
programs. He also performed solos in masterworks with chorus and orchestra such as Handel’s Messiah and Hasse’s Laudate Coeli Dominum. Timothy also attended Le Chiavi: The Keys to Bel Canto summer program at University of Houston and InterHarmony Music Festival in Arcidosso, Italy where he debuted the role of Figaro in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. He is also currently preparing for auditions and competitions.

Myka Murphy (Ursule) | ACO Debut

Hailing from Roswell, GA, Myka Murphy is a mezzo-soprano, who has been described as “a (vocal) powerhouse…with an abundant quality of strength” (according to Jennifer Pyron of Opera Wire). This season she is thrilled to be making her return to Opera Mississippi as Madame Flora in Menotti’s The Medium and Zita in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Most recently, she was a highlighted performer of the concert series, Every Person’s Guide to Opera, based out of Minnesota. She is currently in the process of developing two new works with fellow Juilliard composing Alums, Trey Makler and Ivan Enrique Rodriguez.

Ms. Murphy has a Master of Music degree in Voice from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. She has also completed an Artist Diploma with the Opera Institute at Boston University, under the tutelage of Professor Penelope Bitzas. Recent artistic highlights include her Jackson Symphony debut as the mezzo-soloist for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, participating in a Master-class with the Music Director of the Metropolitan Opera—Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin, coaching with acclaimed Mezzo-Soprano Stephanie Blythe, making her Lincoln Center debut and portraying the Sorceress in the Juilliard School’s production of Dido and Aeneas with Juilliard’s Historical Performance ensemble—Juilliard 415, which she reprised in touring production with performances at London’s Holland Park and Versaille’s Opéra Royal. Ms, Murphy is excited to make her Atlanta Concert Opera debut as Ursule in Béatrice et Bénédict.

Samy Itskov (Don Pedro/Somarone) | ACO Debut 2019, Le Nozze di Figaro

Samy, a longtime resident of the Atlanta area, has spent the past six years participating in productions with the Atlanta Opera as a member of its chorus, as well as performing with the recently established Atlanta Concert Opera and the Atlanta staple of Capitol City Opera. He was most recently seen in the chorus for the Atlanta Opera’s productions of The Barber of Seville and The Pirates of Penzance, as Dr. Bartolo in ACO’s Le Nozze di Figaro, and as Gregorio in Capitol City’s production of Roméo et Juliette. Samy received his Bachelor of Music from Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa in 2016.

Samantha Rascle (Soprano) | ACO Debut

Samantha Rascle (soprano) is so excited to perform in her first opera in 4 years! Samantha is a native Atlanta resident with a bachelors and masters in Music. Previous favorite roles include: Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Knüsperhexe & Mutter in Hänsel und Gretel, and Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Samantha's most recent engagement had her returning to her musical theater roots as a Bird Girl in Seussical the Musical.

Laura Hernandez (Soprano) | ACO Debut

Laura Hernandez, a Florida panhandle native, has sung in numerous Operas with Pensacola Opera which
include being a featured soloist in their production of Sweeney Todd and as La Madre in Madama Butterfly.
In college she played the role of Countess Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro and Fanchette in
Offenbach’s The Marriage under the Lanterns. Three years ago she moved from Florida to the peach
state of Georgia to sing as a featured soloist in Atlanta Opera’s production of Dead Man Walking.
Beatrice et Benedict will be Ms. Hernandez’s first performance with Atlanta Concert Opera as well as her
first performance since the start of the pandemic. Needless to say she is very excited to be singing again.

Victoria Kerr (Soprano) | ACO Debut

Victoria Kerr is a soprano from Knoxville, Tennessee. She completed her graduate studies at the University of North Texas with Dr. Stephen Morscheck in 2019 following her undergraduate studies at the Cleveland Institute of Music with Dr. Mary Schiller. Her operatic roles include Lauretta and Nella (Gianni Schicchi), Vixen (The Cunning Little Vixen), Rose (Street Scene), Mrs. Hildebrand (Street Scene), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Servilia (La clemenza di Tito), Spirit (Dido and Aeneas), Second Spirit (Die Zauberflöte), and La libellule (L’enfant et les sortileges). Performances in scenes productions include Musetta (La bohème), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Adina (L’elisir d’amore), and Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro). Her musical theatre roles include Christine (The Phantom of the Opera), Maria (The Sound of Music), Rapunzel (Into the Woods), Rizzo (Grease), and Lady Thiang (The King and I). She attended the “Summer Vocal Institute” with guest master class artist, Marilyn Horne, at the American Institute of Rome, where she also performed in a scenes production as Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro). While a graduate student at UNT, she performed Verdi’s Requiem under the tutelage of Dr. Allen Hightower. She went on to perform frequently with Dallas Chamber Choir. This is her first engagement with Atlanta Concert Opera. She was recently in her second “On the Light Side” program with Capitol City Opera as well as CCO’s “Dinner and a Diva: The Phantom of the Opera.” She currently holds the choral scholar position at St. Martin in the Fields Episcopal Church. In addition to performing, she also has experience stage directing, play writing, and teaching both piano and voice lessons.

Ruth Mehari (Soprano) | ACO Debut

Ruth Mehari is an Eritrean-American Soprano from Atlanta, Georgia. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Reinhardt University in Waleska, Georgia in Cello Performance wherein she discovered her passion for singing, performing on the stage, and opera while under the tutelage of Dr. Rebecca Salter.

Ruth was last seen in Capitol City Opera’s On the Light Side: Music of the Night, On the Light Side: A Night at the Movies, and in FX Productions production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame in both the choir and as Florika. She was also seen as Stephanie in Speed Dating Tonight, Mastrella in La Périchole and in the Ensemble for The Mikado and Pirates of Penzance as well as other various productions at Reinhardt University both on the stage as ensemble and in the pit. She has been extremely grateful for the unending support she has received while pursuing her passions and is happy to see you here!

Natalie Bamford (Alto) | ACO Debut 2019, Le Nozze di Figaro

Natalie Bamford is a mezzo-soprano who graduated from Georgia State University where she studied with soprano, Kay Paschal. After graduating, Natalie appeared in Atlanta Concert Opera’s premiere performance of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro as Cherubino. Shortly after she appeared as Teacup, Un Pâtre, and L’écureil in Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges in ATLVocalite’s inaugural performance. At Harrower Summer Opera Workshop she performed Cecilia March in Adamo’s Little Women. Natalie debuted the role of The One and Only Désirée Armfeldt in GSU Opera Theater’s production of Sondheim’s A Little Night Music. Previously, Natalie has portrayed Florence Pike in Britten’s Albert Herring, Arnalta in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, Ceres in Hoiby’s The Tempest, and Third Spirit from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Natalie has additionally performed excerpts of roles including Mamma Lucia in Cavalleria Rusticana, Mrs. Olsen in Weill’s Street Scene, La Maestra delle Novizie in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Nicklausse in Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Ruth in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, Tisbe in Rossini’s Cenerentola, 3 in Susa’s Transformations, Meg Page in Verdi’s Falstaff, and Gertrude in Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette. Natalie also is a voice actor and regularly narrates audiobooks with a specialty in fiction and poetry.

Esther Maloof (Alto) | ACO Debut 2019, Le Nozze di Figaro

Esther Maloof is a mezzo-soprano based in Atlanta, GA. She graduated with a master’s degree in Vocal Performance from Georgia State University in 2020. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Valdosta State University. During her undergraduate studies, she performed such roles as Miss Todd in The Old Maid and the Thief, Dido in Dido and Aeneas, and Rosine in Signor Deluso. After graduation in the summer of 2015, she was offered the role of Mrs. Herring in
Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring with the Red River Lyric Opera program in Wichita Falls, Texas.
Esther attended Georgia State University for her graduate studies beginning in 2017. She reprised the role of Mrs. Herring in the Georgia State Opera Theater production of Albert Herring in Fall of 2017. In the spring of the ‘17/’18 performance season, she sang the role of Madame Armfeldt in Stephen Sondheim’s A Little Night Music in April 2018. For the 2018-2019 GSU Opera season, she sang the role of La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica and was the cover
for The Old Lady in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. For Christmas 2019 and 2021, Esther has been the alto soloist for the Golden Isles Community Chorus annual concert of Handel’s Messiah. In April 2021, Esther was a featured soloist for Atlanta-based composer Brandon K. Smith’s debut album A Late Bloom.

Allison Nance (Alto) | ACO Debut

Allison Nance, mezzo soprano, is a performer of opera, oratorio, recital, and musical theater. Allison holds a Bachelor of Music degree with an emphasis in vocal performance and psychology from Stetson University where she was a student of both Stephen Ng and Mollie Rich and was awarded the William E. Duckwitz Talent Scholarship.

Beatrice et Benedict is Allison’s first opera since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Prior to the
pandemic, Allison sang with Capitol City Opera in Charles Gounod’s opera, Romeo et Juliette in March 2020. With Capitol City Opera, she was also featured in October 2015 in their Dinner and a Diva series performing scenes from Lucia di Lammermoor in the role of Alisa and has been a regular member of the Madrigal Singers every year since 2015. She has also sung with the Atlanta Opera Chorus, performing in their recent productions of Eugene Onegin, Daughter of the Regiment, and The Flying Dutchman. Other notable roles Allison has performed on stage include Cousin Hebe in Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore, Mother in Gian-Carlo Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Selene in Handel’s Berenice, and Mistress of the Novices in Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica.

As a soloist, Allison was most recently featured in September 2019 in a recital featuring American art song, opera, and spirituals titled Made in America: A Concert of American Art Song & Opera through the Capitol City in Concert Series. In July 2019, she was also a soloist with the Cobb Summer Singers in the Feel the Spirit: Spirituals, Gospel, and Jazz concert through the William Baker Choral Foundation. Other notable performances include performing the Vivaldi Gloria, parts 2 and 3 of Handel’s Messiah, Mozart Requiem, and Durufle Requiem with the Marietta FUMC Chancel Choir, performing the alto solos for Bach’s Ascension
Oratorio with the Georgia Symphony Orchestra, and performing alongside the Meridian Herald Chorale as a guest soloist in the concert Higher Ground: Campmeeting Service. ​Allison is currently on staff as an alto section leader at Holy Innocents Episcopal Church in Sandy Springs.

Laurie Tossing (Alto) | ACO Debut 2019, Le Nozze di Figaro

A transplant from Phoenix, AZ, mezzo-soprano Laurie Tossing has called Atlanta home since 2000. She is a regular long-time member of The Atlanta Opera, having performed in more than fifty of their productions. She is also a familiar face on the Capitol City Opera stage, most notably as Gertrude in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, and Katisha in The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan. Other recent roles include Marcellina in Atlanta Concert Opera’s production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro, and L’enfant in Ravel’s L'enfant et les sortilèges with ATLVocalite. She has also performed as Jenny Reefer in Virgil Thompson’s The Mother of Us All, Bellina in Arthur Benjamin’s The Prima Donna, and Hippolyta in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. She is occasionally dragged against her will to join the irreverent opera improv troupe, ImprOper, based out of Dad's Garage in Atlanta.

Matthew Boatwright (Tenor) | ACO Debut

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Matthew Boatwright is an aspiring tenor whose experience spans a variety of styles, including opera, musical theater, sacred, rock, and metal. Recently he has performed with the Atlanta Opera Chorus in their 2021-2022 season, with appearances in their production Il barbiere di Siviglia. Matthew has been a member of the Atlanta Opera Chorus since 2017, collaborating in previous shows such as Carmen & Turandot. In 2019, he performed Sam in Trouble in Tahiti at Kennesaw State University’s Opera Theater Company. Mr. Boatwright holds a degree from Kennesaw State University and is currently looking towards his next step of attending graduate school

William Green (Tenor) | ACO Debut 2020, An Evening with the Bard

William Green, tenor, made his professional debut with The Atlanta Opera in 2013 as Giuseppe in La traviata; he has sung with TAO in both comprimario roles as well as a core member of the chorus from 2012-2020. Mr. Green made his Capitol City Opera Company debut as Pedrillo in The Abduction from the Seraglio; in addition to joining CCOC in each of their main stage presentations, Mr. Green has also performed in their Dinner and a Diva and On the Light Side programs. In March 2020, he performed the role of Tybalt in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette. Most recently he performed Canio in Pagliacci for their 2022 Dinner and a Diva series. He is also a co-manager of the Atlanta chapter of Opera On Tap.

Mr. Green is a proud alumnus of the American Wagner Project through the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices. He is also pleased to work with the Wagner Society of Washington D.C., having performed multiple recitals for them. 

Jake McWhorter (Tenor) | ACO Debut

Jake McWhorter is a 27 year old Tenor from Atlanta, GA. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Georgia State University. He was in the studio of Dwight W. Coleman and was a five-year member of the University Singers. In
the Fall of 2017, he placed 2nd in his division of the classical singers category of the state NATS competition, and he gave his senior voice recital in the Fall of 2018. In his time working with the GSU Opera Theater, under the direction of Carroll Freeman, he has portrayed KoKo in their production of Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Mikado, was a member of, both, the ensemble in their production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and the “Liebeslieder” in Sondheim’s A Little Night
Music, and portrayed Don Issachar and was an ensemble member in their production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide, in addition to covering the role of Candide. He has also performed with Capitol City Opera, as an ensemble member in their 2020 production of Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette and as a soloist and chorus member in two of their “On the Light Side” programs. This is his first time working with Atlanta Concert Opera.

Daniel Weisman (Tenor) | ACO Debut 2019, Le Nozze di Figaro

Best known for his work in the Atlanta music scene, American tenor Daniel Weisman (he/him) has been a consistent staple both on and off stage. A lyric tenor with unique timbre and empathetic stage presence, Mr. Weisman began his operatic career as Giuseppe in Solon Center for the Arts’ production of Verdi’s La Traviata in 2012. During the 2019-2020 season, Mr. Weisman could be seen and heard as Don Basilio and Don Curzio in Atlanta Concert Opera’s inaugural production of Le Nozze di Figaro and debuting the role of Moon in the world premiere of Ryan Suleiman’s Moon, Bride, Dogs with the North American National Opera Workshop. Behind the scenes, Daniel served as the assistant director for Capitol City Opera Company’s Romeo et Julliette.

After starting Atlanta Concert Opera in 2019 and immediately having to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Weisman’s creativity was put to a test as he produced “An Evening with the Bard”, a digital recital of art song and aria paying homage to William Shakespeare, in partnership with Capitol City Opera Company in January of 2020; additionally, he produced a reduced “role-study” private workshop of Puccini’s La Boheme in February of 2022, featuring Young Artists hoping to dip their feet into a score post-pandemic.

In previous seasons, Mr. Weisman could be seen on the stage as Sancho Panza in Man of La Mancha and Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi and Buoso’s Ghost, all with Capitol City Opera. In 2017 he served as a Young Artist for the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center where he sang the roles of Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro and Daniel Buchanan in Dean Anthony’s staging of Street Scene. As a concert artist, Mr. Weisman was praised for his navigation of Bartok’s difficult tenor solo in Cantata Profana as a guest artist with the Georgia Tech Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, as well as a soloist with Art Song Collective of Richmond, Kentucky, where he debuted singing in their recital, Depths, and as the tenor soloist for the Masterworks Chorale of Newnan, Georgia in their Christmas portion of The Messiah. Upcoming performances include Dr. Blind in Peach State Opera’s Die Fledermaus and Toadie 2 in the world premiere of Amy Leventhal’s new opera Our Sacred World.

Passionate about the Atlanta music community, Mr. Weisman has served on the artistic team of Capitol City Opera, as a manager for Opera on Tap’s Atlanta Chapter, and as the program director for Harrower Summer Opera Workshop. Aside from his passions for cooking, video games (twitch.tv/andersQT), and his cat, Tasha, Mr. Weisman hopes to continue working to provide Atlanta with more opportunities for the growing local talent and showcasing them as the city and artists deserve, believing that a world-class city deserves to showcase its world-class talent.