Praised by Opera News as a “silvery-luminescent mezzo-soprano of power and poise,” Sofia Selowsky continues to establish herself as an exciting artist on both the operatic and concert stage. In the 21/22 season, she performs at Alice Tully Hall for a concert of new works by Georgia Shreve, and returns to the MetropolitanOpera, covering the roles of Second Priestess in Iphegénie en Tauride (canceled due to COVID), Dorothée in Cendrillon, and Maketaten in Akhnaten. She subsequently makes her role debut as Angelina inLa Cenerentola with Annapolis Opera.

Sofia joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for her 19/20 season, covering the roles of Javotte in Manon and Maketaten in Akhnaten, debuted with the Milwaukee Symphony for Handel’s Messiah, and with the Atlanta Symphony under the baton of Robert Spano for Bach’sCantata No. 29 and Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music. In the summer of 2020, she was slated to return to Opera Theatre of Saint Louisas Iris. L in the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s Awakenings (cancelled due to COVID).

Sofia’s 18/19 season began in recital with Bethany Self under the auspices of the Metropolitan Opera National Council and saw a return to Ars Lyrica Houston as the title role in Handel’s Agrippina. She made her orchestral debuts in Handel’s Messiah with the Kansas City Symphony and in Mozart’s Requiem with the Charlotte Symphony. Sofia also made her role debuts in concert as Donna Elvira inDon Giovanni with the Jacksonville Symphony and as Dorabella in Così fan tutte with the Rochester Philharmonic.

In prior seasons, notable debuts include Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Houston Grand Opera, for whichSofia was praised by Opera News for her “honey-rich sound,” “silvery top end,” and “amazingly clear passage work,” Mercédes in Carmen with the Atlanta Opera, and the Stewardess in Jonathan Dove’s Flight with Des Moines Metro Opera. Sofia has appeared with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis as Frau Grubach in the American Premiere of Philip Glass’The Trialand Mère Jeanne in Dialogues of the Carmelites. Other repertoire includes William Bolcom’s A Wedding, Despina in Così fan tutte under the baton of Jane Glover, and Lazuli in Chabrier’s L’étoile. Equally at home on the concert stage, she has performed Dominick Argento’s Casa Guidi(Lexington Philharmonic), Storgé in Handel’s Jephtha(Ars Lyrica Houston), Handel’s Messiah(MinnesotaOrchestra), Mozart’s Requiem(Sarasota Orchestra and North Carolina Symphony), and the mezzo soloist in Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hatand Schumann’s The Pilgrimage of the Rose, both with the Houston Symphony.

A graduate of the famed Houston Grand Opera Studio, Sofia was heard in a wide variety of roles during her time as a Studio Artist, including Suzuki in Madama Butterfly opposite Ana Maria Martinez, the Fox in Rachel Portman’s The Little Prince, the Second Wood Nymph in Rusalka, Nell Gwynn in the world premiere of Carlisle Floyd’s new opera, Prince of Players, and Eliza in the premiere of David Hanlon’s After the Storm.

Sofia was a 2016 grant recipient from the Gerda Lissner Foundation and a 2015 recipient of a Richard F. Gold Career Grant from the Shoshanna Foundation. In 2014, she was a National Semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and won Third Place in the Houston Grand Opera’s prestigious Eleanor McCollum Competition. Other honors include the Italo Tajo Memorial Award (CCM Opera ScholarshipCompetition), an Emerging Talent Award from the Kurt Weill Foundation’s Lotte Lenya Competition, the Emile Dieterle Scholarship (CCM), and an Artist Development Fellowship from Harvard University.

Described as having “a voice that could shake the rafters,” and which “…resonates authority,” Cody Müller, Bass, has been thrilling audiences for over a decade with his rich vocal timbre and compelling stage presence. His career so far has spanned the American states, Canada, and Mexico, performing for over 28,000 people in the spring of 2018 alone. His work on stage spans all genres and his comedic work has been touted as being “…played to the hilt.”

Müller has been engaged by opera companies and orchestras alike, finding a home in all types of repertoire.  Some operatic credits include the Commentator in “Scalia/Ginsburg” with the Princeton Festival, Benoit/Alcindoro in “La bohème” with the Columbus Symphony, Sparafucile in “Rigoletto” with the Academy of Vocal Arts, Dr. Bartolo in “Le nozze di Figaro,” the Usher in “Trial by Jury” with Opera Delaware, Henezo in “L’amico Fritz” with Baltimore Concert Opera, Don Basilio in “The Barber of Seville,” Alidoro in “La Cenerentola,” the Four Villains in “Les contes d’Hoffmann” with Bel Cantanti Opera, Gus O’Neill in John Musto’s “Later the Same Evening” with Central City Opera, Don Alfonso in “Così fan tutte,” Marchese in “La Traviata” with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Dr. Gibbs in Ned Rorem’s “Our Town,” Don Magnifico in “La Cenerentola” and The Four Villains in “Les Contes d’Hoffmann” both with Opera in the Ozarks, Leporello in “Don Giovanni,” and Dr. Bartolo in “Le nozze di Figaro” with Eastman Opera Theatre. Müller’s most notable concert performances include Jesus in Bach’s “Matthäus Passion,” Brahms’s “Ein Deutsches Requiem,” Mendelssohn’s “Magnificat,” Beethoven’s “Mass in C,” Handel’s “Messiah,” Bach’s “Mass in B-minor” with the American Bach Soloists, and several Bach Cantatas: BWV 75, 80, 140, 179, & 214.

Müller’s lifelong passion is commissioning works specifically written for the young bass voice. He has sung the works of Patrick Dunnevant and Cortlandt Matthews, and is always looking for new composers to join him in this effort.

An avid choral musician, Müller has performed with various professional ensembles including William Weinert’s VOICES in Rochester, NY, David Schelat’s Master Singers of Wilmington, Delaware, and is currently employed by the Taylor Festival Choir in Charleston, South Carolina.

As Müller is highly sought after both for solo and ensemble appointments, the 2022-2023 season will see Müller make debuts at multiple houses including Opera Columbus. Müller is a graduate of the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts, The Eastman School of Music, and Belmont University. He currently resides in Austin, Texas.

According to Opera Today, Bass-Baritone Artega Wright has excited audiences with his vibrant, mellifluous, and authoritative tone. Singing a range of works including classic early Baroque to more contemporary urban music, Wright has the unique charisma of a “beautiful deep voice, and a smile all the more charming”, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. Originally hailing from Dallas, Texas, Wright is now based in the Mid-West, where he has performed with some of Chicago’s most notable ensembles and storefront opera companies including Chicago Opera Theatre. During his time, he has had the honor to premier in new works commissioned by the playhouse such as Quamino’s Map and Freedom Ride. Wright is also active with Opera Columbus most recently singing Spurton and Nat Turner in Leslie S. Burrs’ Vanqui and the Cardinal in Puccini’s Tosca. In 2022 Wright was named a participant of the Frank R. Brownell III Apprentice Artist program at Des Moines Metro Opera. When COVID compromised the cast, of Des Moines’ Porgy and Bess, Wright stepped in as the lead role of Porgy, “saving the show” according to Opera Today and receiving “an ovation from the audience and cast members the likes of which [they had] rarely heard.” This was a highlight of Wright’s career thus far helping to send off the world-renowned bass-baritone Simon Estes’ 60-year opera career. Wright earned his master’s degree in Vocal Performance from the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University and a bachelor’s in Vocal Performance from Wayland Baptist University.

Praised for her effortless high notes, warm tone and charming stage presence, soprano Ivy Zhou (Tisbe) performs with opera companies across the country and is active in Seattle as a church musician and voice instructor. Most recently, Ms. Zhou was seen as Adina in Opera Unbound’s The Elixir of Love (Sept. 2022). In spring of 2022, she made her debut with Nashville Opera singing Countess Ceprano and the Page and covering Gilda in Rigoletto Noir as a Mary Ragland Emerging Artist. In 2021, she made a tour-de-force role debut as Queen of the Night at Pacific Lutheran University, later reprising the role at Duke Opera Theatre. She also made a splashy company debut with Opera Columbus in 2021 as Musetta in La Bohème. Upcoming engagements include: an Opera Bend debut in November as Fraulein Silberklang in The Impresario, returning to Nashville Opera in the role of Ming in Byron Au Yong’s “comic-rap-scrap-metal-opera” Stuck Elevator, and Mrs. Lee in Tacoma Opera’s world premiere production, Tacoma Method. Aside from singing, Ms. Zhou enjoys antique jewelry, fine art, cats, and good food.

Richard Gammon (he/him), a Filipino American stage director’s productions include: Der Kaiser von Atlantis and Gluck’s L’île de Merlin (Wolf Trap Opera); Gianni Schicchi and Ching’s Buoso’s Ghost (Michigan Opera Theatre); Madama Butterfly and Perla’s An American Dream (Virginia Opera); Scarlatti’s Erminia (Opera Lafayette at The Kennedy Center); Albert Herring and Wang’s Scalia/Ginsburg (The Princeton Festival); Susannah (Charlottesville Opera); CARE Monologue Film Project (Cleveland Play House); The Life and Times of Joe Jefferson Benjamin Blow (National Asian Artists Project); Rorem’s Three Sisters who are Not Sisters (Manhattan School of Music); and Sankaram’s Looking at You (Carnegie Mellon). Creative positions include: Opera Maine’s Studio Artist Program director (Glass’ The Fall of the House of Usher, Kaminsky’s As One, Heggie’s Three Decembers, Fairouz’s Sumeida’s Song); co-founder/director of Art with Arias (Portland Museum of Art/Opera Maine recital collaboration), creative associate for Seán Curran Company’s Dream’d in a Dream (BAM Next Wave Festival); and associate director Porgy and Bess (Greensboro Opera) and The Grapes of Wrath (Michigan Opera Theatre).

https://www.richard-gammon.com/