Tannhäuser

Cast Bios

**Myka Murphy (Venus) | ACO Debut 2022, Beatrice and Benedict**
Hailing from Atlanta, GA, Myka Murphy is a mezzo-soprano, who has been described as “a (vocal) powerhouse...with an abundant quality of strength” (OperaWire). Ms. Murphy is thrilled to be performing Venus in Wagner’s *Tannhäuser* with Atlanta Concert Opera, the Alto Soloist in Mahler’s *Das Lied von der Erde* with Natchez Music Festival and Festival South, and being a part of the World Premiere of *Waiting Rooms* in Sacramento by friend and fellow Juilliard Alumni, Trey Makler. Most recently, she performed as the Alto soloist in the *Messiah* with Calvin University and returned to Opera Mississippi to perform in their double bill of Menotti’s *the Medium* as Madame Flora and Puccini’s *Gianni Schicchi* as Zita. Past performance highlights include: her Jackson Symphony debut as the mezzo soloist for Beethoven’s *9th Symphony* and portraying Sorceress in the Juilliard School’s production of *Dido and Aeneas* with Juilliard’s Historical Performance ensemble—Juilliard 415, which traveled to London’s Holland Park and Versailles Opéra Royal. Ms. Murphy has a Masters of Music degree in Voice from The Juilliard School and a Bachelors of Music degree from the University of Southern Mississippi. She has completed the certificate program at the Opera Institute at Boston University. She is currently managed by Martha Wade of Wade Artist Management.

**Michael O’Hearn (Landgrave) | ACO Debut**
Atlanta native Michael Blake O'Hearn has been hailed by critics for his abundance of personality, his authoritative singing and acting, and his wide impressive range and rich low tones.
Enjoying a full and busy performing career, Michael has appeared in 89 roles to date and greatly anticipates adding to this total in coming seasons. Favorite roles include Pooh Bah in *The Mikado*, Dr. Bartolo in both *Le Nozze di Figaro* and *II Barbiere di Siviglia*, Dr. Dulcamara in *L'elisir D'amore*, Sulpice in *La Fille du Regimen*t and the title roles of *Don Pasquale* and *Gianni Schicchi*; as well as the Oratorios Elijah, Messiah, Creation and the Requiems of Faure, Mozart, Brahams and Verdi. Mr. O'Hearn has previously been featured with the Amarillo Opera, Atlanta Opera, Augusta Opera, Bronx Opera, Chelsea Opera. DiCapo Opera Theater, Little Orchestra Society of New York, Long Island Choral Society, Mississippi Opera, National Lyric Opera, NYCO National Company, Opera Carolina, Opera Orchestra of New York, Oswego Opera, Piedmont Opera, Sarasota Opera Association and Tulsa Opera. He currently holds the Bass Staff Singer position at Fayetteville First United Methodist Church and formerly at Christ Church Bronxville, NY (with Philip Stopford.)
Michael pursued a Vocal Performance Degree at Georgia State University and continued his studies with the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria and has been a finalist and prize winner in the AIMS Meistersinger Competition. Michael studied privately in Atlanta with Elizabeth Nohe Colson and participated in the Sarasota Opera Association Apprentice Program. He has also served as Artist in Residence for the Long Island Choral Society and received the Choral Guild of Atlanta Fellowship for 8 consecutive seasons.

**Daniel Weisman (Heinrich) | ACO Debut 2019, Le Nozze di Figaro**
As a young tenor and aspiring director, Daniel Weisman has been praised for his versatility as a performer and as a singer, impressing audiences with a “sweet and empathetic tenor” and “impactful gravitas” as an actor. On stage, Mr. Weisman began his career professionally in 2012 as the messenger, Giuseppe, in Jonathan Field’s setting of Verdi’s epic *La Traviata* while also having the privilege of covering both the roles of Gastone and Alfredo. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Weisman enjoyed a bountiful career singing as a young artist with the Janiec Opera Company in Brevard, North Carolina, where he sang the role of Daniel Buchanan in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene, a role he had previously covered with the inaugural production of Nightingale Opera Theatre, this time under the direction of Dean Anthony and the baton of Robert Moody, also singing the role of Don Curzio in *Le Nozze di Figaro* during his time as a young artist.
While finishing his master’s degree at Georgia State University, Mr. Weisman took backstage as the stage diretor for Small Opera Company’s *Cosi fan Tutte* while preparing to sing the role of The Witch in Carroll Freeman’s production of *Hansel and Gretel*. Beginning his work as a producer and director, Mr. Weisman has served as the assistant director for Peach State Opera Company in Kurt Zeller’s *La Boheme* as well as the assistant director for Capitol City Opera Company’s productions of *La Traviata, Gianni Schicchi, Buoso’s Ghost,* and *Roméo et Juliette.*
An avid recitalist, Mr. Weisman has produced numerous concerts in and around the Atlanta area, including his Songs of War and Peace, which featured works by Barber, Heggie, Copland, Weill, and more alongside collaborative pianist Mauro Ronca. He served as the co-manager for Atlanta’s chapter of Opera on Tap from 2016-2020 and has appeared as a soloist with the Art Song Collective of Richmond, Kentucky, Newnan, Georgia’s Masterworks Chorale, The Atlanta Boy’s Choir, Georgia Tech Symphony, and many local Atlanta churches in oratorio and concert works from Bartok to Schubert. He made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2022 as the rehearsal cover for tenor soloist in Martini’s Domine, Ad Adjuvandum me Festina and Haydn’s The Heavens are Telling from *The Creation*.

**Nicole Lewis (Shepherd) | ACO Debut**
Ms Lewis received her Bachelor of Music in vocal performance from Birmingham Southern College and Master of Music from Washington University in St Louis. She currently sings with the Atlanta Opera Chorus.

**Jessica Crowell (Elisabeth) | ACO Debut**
Heralded as “delightful, with the right note of playfulness and a beautiful voice that projected clearly into the large auditorium” by Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio native soprano Jessica Crowell has begun launching a professional singing career. Jessica has had the pleasure of performing a world premiere of Beneath Suspicion, by award-winning composer Dr. Jesse Ayers, and was then named a semi-finalist for the American Prize “Ernst Bacon Award”. Ms. Crowell became a three-time Voices of Canton competition winner while completing her Bachelor of Arts at Malone University where, she was featured in roles including Susanna (Le Nozze di Figaro), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica. Ohio audiences have also seen her as Magda in Menotti’s The Consul with Nightingale Opera Theatre’s Young Artist Program, Esmeralda (The Bartered Bride) and Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) with The Cleveland Opera. She was also featured as Lysia in Pittsburgh Festival Operas 2022 feature film of Mark Adamo’s Lysistrata. Jessica received her Masters degree studying under Robin Rice at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, singing the role of Vitellia in their 2020 production of La Clemenza di Tito and Donna Elvira in their 2022 production of Don Giovanni.

John Arnold (Wolfram) | ACO Debut

John Arnold is an Atlanta-based singer, actor, writer, podcast host, and multi-instrumentalist. John has performed to great acclaim with opera companies and associated emerging and resident artist programs across the United States, including the Atlanta Opera, Boston Opera Collaborative, Des Moines Metro Opera, Detroit Opera, Kentucky Opera, Knoxville Opera, Madison Opera, the Merola Opera Program, and Opera New Jersey. He is also in demand as a concert and oratorio soloist and has built a reputation for delivering performances imbued with a unique combination of vocal clarity, elegant musicality, and dramatic sophistication. John lives in the Kirkwood neighborhood of Atlanta with his partner, the writer Drew Dotson (drewdotson.com), and their three beagles (threagles).

**Michael Vavases (Walther) | ACO Debut**
Michael Vavases is a native of North Georgia with a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance from Reinhardt University in Waleska, GA. He performs regularly with churches around Atlanta and can be seen singing with Capitol City Opera a few months out of the year. All performances are dedicated to his wonderful fiancée/Physical Therapist.

**August Bair (Biterolf) | ACO Debut 2019, Le Nozze di Figaro**
August Bair is an Atlanta native and graduated with a BA from Bard College’s undergraduate voice program in New York and went on to complete his masters in voice at Manhattan School of Music (MSM) in New York City where he sang the role of Count Carnero in Johann Strauss’s *Der Ziguenerbaron*. He sang in the Atlanta Opera’s 2019 productions of *Dead Man Walking, Eugene Onegin*, and *La Traviata*. With Brevard Music Center’s Janiec Opera Company, he has performed the role of Doctor Malatesta in Donizetti’s *Don Pasquale*, covered the roles of Papageno in Mozart’s *The Magic Flute* and Starveling in Benjamin Britten’s *A Midsummer Night’s Dream*, and debuted a major role in J. Mark Scearce’s new opera, *Falling Angel*. In the summer of 2015, August starred in Jonathan Sheffer’s contemporary opera *Blood on the Dining Room Floor* at the Napa Valley Music Festival. He was Mercutio in Capitol City Opera’s 2020 production of *Roméo et Juliette.*

Robin Sewell (Shepherd) | ACO Debut 2020, 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, ATL Vocalite, and small opera company in Atlanta. Recently, she has enjoyed performing with Capitol City Opera's Madrigal Singers for their Boar's Head Feast and in the chorus of The Shining with The Atlanta Opera. Upcoming performances include Mabel in Pirates of Penzance and Anna in Anna Bolena, both for Capitol City Opera's Dinner and a Diva. Ms. Sewell also teaches voice and piano at Musicology in Newnan.