FREDERIC

LEO BALKOVETZ is a tenor and librettist in the Boston area. In 2024 he sang “L'Amico Fritz” (Federico) with West End Lyric, “Pagliacci” (Beppe), and “Don Giovanni” (Don Ottavio) with Opera51. He was a guest artist with the Thurston Consort in Fitchburg, Paradox Opera in Durham, NC and Jupiter Opera in Chicago. Offstage, Leo was a 2024 FUSE collaborative poet with Catalyst New Music where he wrote the text for Rachel DeVore Fogarty’s song cycle “Poor Katy”. His 2025 season includes “Postcard from Morocco” (Lyric Tenor) with Lowell House Opera, “Carousel” (2nd Guard) with Boston Lyric Opera, and “Alcina” (Oronte u/s) with MassOpera.

MABEL

Originally from St. Louis, MO, Julia Pottinger, Soprano (She/Hers) is excited to be emerging as a young artist in the Boston area! Julia enjoys taking a holistic approach to performance, with her wide-ranging repertoire of art songs, musical theater, and opera. Recent operatic roles include Nedda (Pagliacci), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Adelina Altina (La Divina), Vitella (La Clemenza di Tito), Frasquita (Carmen), Ida (Die Fledermaus), Lady Billows (Albert Herring), and Miss Jessel (The Turn of the Screw). In 2019, Julia was honored to portray Sara in the North American premiere (Wichita State University) of Adam Gorb’s opera, The Path to Heaven. Notable musical theater appearances include Rose Maurrant (Street Scene), Meg March (Little Women), and Marian Paroo (The Music Man). Julia is thrilled to be singing Mabel in the Boston Summer Opera’s production of The Pirates of Penzance!

Julia graduated with a Master of Music in Opera Performance under the tutelage of Dr. Rebecca Folsom at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. In addition to her master’s, Julia holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre, and a Professional Certificate in Opera from Wichita State University.

THE PIRATE KING

Lucas Ludwig Coura is a Boston-based Brazilian-American countertenor, composer, and music educator. He is thrilled to be appearing with Boston Summer Opera for the first time!

A passionate interpreter of both early and new music, Lucas has appeared with several Boston area companies including Odyssey Opera, Boston Opera Collaborative, and Promenade Opera Project. He specializes in immersive theatrical experiences that bring audiences into the story; most recently, he appeared as Virgil in Boston Opera Collaborative’s Opera Inferno, a spooky operatic experience that led audiences through a hell only slightly more terrifying than the one we’re currently living in. This fall, he will make his debut with WhiteSnake Projects in White Raven, Black Dove, where he will be covering the role of Raven. His operatic highlights include Oberon in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Endimione in La Calisto, Tolomeo in Giulio Cesare, and Doodle in The Scarlet Ibis.

To learn more: www.lucasludwigcoura.com

MAJOR-GENERAL STANLEY

Dalton Rowe, baritone, is a 2025 graduate of the Boston University School of Music, where he earned his MM degree in Vocal Performance with Dr. Lynn Eustis. Dalton is from Oxford, Alabama, and received a degree in Music Education from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2022. In 2024, Dalton made his operatic debut as Le Premiere Ministre in BU Opera Institute’s productions of Massenet’s Cendrillon. At BU, he would go on to perform the roles of Bartley (Riders to the Sea), The Captain (Siren Song), and Marco (Gianni Schicchi). Last summer, Dalton was privileged to portray Masetto in Boston Summer Opera’s inaugural production of Don Giovanni and is thrilled to return this summer for roles in both Rigoletto and Pirates of Penzance. (enter) Beyond the world of opera, Dalton is an avid choral singer and soloist in the Boston area, having been a full-time member of the all-professional choir at Church of the Advent since 2023. At the Advent, Dalton has been the bass soloist in Vaughan Williams’s Mass in G Minor, Schubert’s Mass in C Major, and Mozart’s Vesperae and Mass in F Major. He has also been a soloist with Choral Arts Society of the South Shore, Cape Cod Chorale, and the BU Graduate Vocal Ensemble.

RUTH

Vanessa Moya is a Latina mezzo-soprano based in Boston who expertly uses her voice to sing music of both the past and present. A flexible artist comfortable in many styles and settings, she can regularly be seen and heard singing everything from contemporary opera to Baroque oratorios. (enter) Vanessa has done justice to several difficult roles in the operatic canon, including Ruggiero (Alcina), Sesto (La Clemenza di Tito), Candelas (El Amor Brujo/Manuel deFalla), and Gertrude Stein (After Life/Tom Cipullo). She has also performed Mamma Lucia (Cavalleria Rusticana), Arsamene (Serse), Dritte Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Cornelia (Giulio Cesare in Egitto), and L’enfant (L’enfant et les sortilèges). (enter) The highlights of her oratorio career include jumping in for Mozart’s Mass in C Minor on 24 hours’ notice and performing as Mercurius in a staged production of J.S. Bach’s Phoebus und Pan. She has also been a featured soloist in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Vivaldi’s Gloria, and multiple performances of The Messiah across Massachusetts.

In the technical theatre realm, Vanessa has stage managed Rigoletto and Don Giovanni with Boston Summer Opera, as well as Die Fledermaus with The Opera Company. She was previously the assistant stage manager for Così fan tutte with the Utah Vocal Arts Academy Summer Opera Festival.

Vanessa holds a Master of Music from Longy School of Music of Bard College and a Bachelor of Music from Stetson University, where she was awarded the Orestes Santos Music Scholarship for outstanding Cuban American music students in 2018. For more information, visit her website at www.vanessamoyamezzo.com.

THE CHIEF OF POLICE

Johan Hartman, bass-baritone, is a graduate of both NEC's undergraduate program and CCM's graduate program. He has worked with a number of professional opera companies, most recently performing the role of Colline in Florida l'opera and Zarzuela's production of La Boheme and the role of Uberto in Mostly Baroque's production of La Serva Padrona. He has also worked as a young artist at Sarasota Opera in Sarasota Florida under the tutelage of Maestro DeRenzi.

His list of operatic roles is extensive, including Mozart operas such as Leporello from Don Giovanni and Sarastro from Magic Flute, to the operas of Richard Strauss (Truffaldin in Ariadne auf Naxos) . He’s performed some of the earliest operas ever written, such as Seneca from Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea, to premiering new operas, such as playing The Hunter in Timothy Ayres-Kerr’s Game of Werewolf.

As a composer, he has written three song-cycles, Blood and the Moon, Soliloquy of the Spanish Cloister, and Love and Death, which are settings of poetry by W.B. Yeats, Robert Browning, and Lord Byron respectively. He also set Part One of Yeats’ epic poem, The Wanderings of Oisin. Most recently he has written a one-act chamber opera entitled The Signal Man, with a libretto based on Charles Dickens’ short-story of the same name.

SAM

California born soprano Akela Franklin (she/they) is steadily earning her place as one of New England’s rising classical singers. Blessed with a lush, agile full lyric instrument, she enjoys lending her voice to opera, musical theater, art song, and oratorio and other sacred music. As a fervent G&S enthusiast, Akela is ecstatic to be making her Boston Summer Opera debut in a show particularly near to her heart.

Earlier this summer, Akela worked behind the scenes as the manager and casting director for the debut season of MassOpera’s Community and Youth Ensemble (CYE), which was featured in the company’s production of Handel’s Alcina. CYE’s debut was met with rave reviews by OperaWire, who declared their performance an “utter delight”. Back in March, Akela took to the stage in The Opera Company’s production of Die Fledermaus as featured chorus and Ida cover. Other recent roles include Clarice in Caldara’s Il giuoco del Quadriglio, and Suzel (cover) in Mascagni’s L’amico Fritz, both with West End Lyric.

Akela currently serves as the soprano section leader and soloist at Park Avenue Congregational Church in Arlington. She also leads an active career as a teaching artist in the greater Boston area. She is a faculty member and the Voice Department Chair at Brookline Music School and also runs her own voice studio within Bloch Performing Arts. Akela holds a Master of Music (M.M.) in Vocal Performance from Longy School of Music of Bard College.

EDITH

Larisa Bainton Hernandez, an emerging soprano, is celebrated for her captivating performances and profound emotional depth. Recognized by the Boston Globe, OperaWire, WBUR and Bachtrack for her pioneering work in the classical realm, Larisa has earned her place in the spotlight. In 2021, the Eastman School of Music named her one of the “Outstanding Eastman Women” for her groundbreaking digital production of Hänsel und Gretel.

She studied at the world-renowned Eastman School of Music and New England Conservatory with Jan Opalach and Dr. Ian Howell respectively. She has performed around the globe on stages in Austria, Italy, Hawaii, Miami, California, New York, and in Boston where she resides. Her notable roles include Helena (Midsummer Night’s Dream), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Cendrillon (Cendrillon), and the Countess (Le Nozze di Figaro).

As a competitor, Larisa's accolades include being a semifinalist in the Orpheus Vocal Competition, Mario Lanza Scholarship Competition, and an alternate in the prestigious Washington International Competition. She was an encouragement award winner in the Mixtape Recital Competition, and a winner of Massachusetts Cultural Council grants in 2019 and 2022 for creative projects. (enter) Larisa’s creative interests concentrate on using technology to make classical music and opera more accessible to the modern day listener. She currently studies with Ms Carole Haber at New England Conservatory. Beyond her vocal talents, Larisa is also proficient in instruments like the piano, guitar, ukulele, and balalaika. When not performing, she enjoys spending time with her husband, three dogs, and two cats.

KATE

Dasom (Julia) Kim is classical singer who sings operas and art songs. She wants to express various characters through opera and tell people about life and various topics through songs. For this goal, she decided to study in the USA. She is studying under Dr. Dana Varga in MM course in Longy. In 2023/2024season, she performed the role ‘Fox‘ and ’Common rose 1’ in the opera “The Little Prince” (Longy) and the role ‘Euridice(cover)’ in the opera “Orfeo ed Euridice”(NEMPAC). In 2024/2025 season, she performed the title role ‘Cendrillon’ in the opera “Cendrillon” in the Fall Production of Longy. She completed her master’s recital, ‘On My Way (to grow)’ on May, 2025. She completed her mater’s course successfully. She graduated from Sookmyung University in Seoul, South Korea. She, for a while, puts aside her diverse experiences in the Korean music field and in order to learn broader and deeper musical experiences and teaching methods, she continues to challenge herself and learn without stopping. Now, she is excited to be ‘Kate’ in the production “The Pirates of Penzance” and she is looking forward to be a part of BLO singers and more challenges await in the 2025/2026 season.

Judd Blake is grateful and excited to be a part of BSO’s seafaring shenanigans. In May 2023 he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from James Madison University. He has since moved to Beantown and is now studying for his Master’s degree in Voice Performance at the historic Boston University. Judd is an avid performer of opera and musical theatre alike. Some of his favorite roles include Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Male Authority Figure in Hairspray, and, most recently, Gherardo in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. He is thankful for the support of his partner and family, and he dedicates each of his performances to his late grandmother. Love you Pawpaw.

Alicia Boucher, soprano, is a New Hampshire native based in Greater Boston, where she studies with soprano Sue Ellen Kuzma. Recent roles include Ellen in Lakmé (Chicago Summer Opera), Grandma Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof (Millis Theatre Group), and Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro (Winter Harbor Music Festival). Concert highlights include excerpts as Olympia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Despina (Così fan tutte), and Pamina (Die Zauberflöte). Alicia previously sang in the Don Giovanni chorus with Boston Summer Opera and is delighted to return for her second season. She is a soloist at St. Cecilia’s Church in Ashland, an emerging composer of songs and piano music, and also creates digital paintings. Alicia holds an ScB and ScM in Computer Science from Brown University.

Wallace Brown (Vienna, VA), baritone, is a recent graduate of the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland. He received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University where he studied with Dr. Joseph Amaya. Notable roles include Top (The Tender Land) with Appalachian Opera Theatre (Appalachian State University), Perichaud (La Rondine) L’Horloge Comtoise (L’enfant et les sortilèges) Marchese D’Obigny (La Traviata) The Father/Gardener (Beauty and the Beast) with Opera in the Ozarks, Guglielmo (Cosi Fan Tutte) and Herr Fluth (Die Lustigen Weiber Von Windsor) with the Maryland Opera Studio.

Wallace recently won an Encouragement Award in the Maryland District of the 2025 Laffont Competition. He is a student of John Holiday.

Abigail Cunningham, soprano, from Lexington, Kentucky, is a Master of Music student under the tutelage of Dr. Lynn Eustis. Abigail received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Vocal Peformance from Carnegie Mellon University, along with a Certificate in Music Education and Minor in Orchestral Conducting.

This fall, Abigail performed Lucinda/Dark Sisters with Boston University. Notable credits include Despina/Cosí fan tutte (Carnegie Mellon University), Tullia/Ottone in Villa (Carnegie Mellon University), Noémie/Cendrillon (Utah Vocal Arts Academy), Papagena/Die Zauberflöte (Harrower Summer Opera Workshop), and Bianca/La Rondine (Opera in the Ozarks). Abigail made her Pittsburgh Opera debut in 2021 as Third Spirit/The Magic Flute. She is excited to be performing in her first Gilbert & Sullivan opera this summer with Boston Summer Opera, and for the opportunity to cover the role of Edith!

Lee Ellis (any pronouns) is a writer, actress, musician, and director from the Greater Boston area. Ellis graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island where they studied professional writing and classical voice. They are an active performer in a diverse array of genres including opera, operetta, musical theatre, and straight plays. Notable projects include a madrigal dinner with the First Congregational Church of Randolph, a solo set at the Providence Music Mansion as a part of their February Musicales, and their self-directed recital, Women’ Wrongs. Other recent credits include: Rapunzel (Into the Woods, FCC Randolph), Columbia (The Rocky Horror Show, Ashland Community Theater), Mad Margaret (Ruddigore, Abridged, The Maenad Theatre Troupe), and the Greater Worcester Opera’s summer concert series.

They are the founding member and executive director of The Maenad Theatre Troupe, a project focused on bringing opera, operetta, and classical drama to Massachusetts’ South Shore. They recently directed and performed in the Maenads’ first project at the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy, Crimes of Passion: A Valentine’s Day Concert which featured an abridged staging of G&S’s Ruddigore. Professionally, they are a part of the enrollment team at a local music school and the alto section leader at the Pilgrim Church of Duxbury. Additionally, they are a full-time student pursuing a degree in biochemistry at Bridgewater State University.

Abbey Diana Engelmann harnesses the power of her dynamic, zesty and unique voice to create empowering connections with audiences. Praised by The Boston Musical Intelligencer as a "fairy godmother" whose charm "won the praise of the audience," she is known for her ability to enchant with both her vocal artistry and onstage presence.

She has performed with Longy School of Music, Boston Lyric Opera, North End Performing Arts Center, Chicago Summer Opera, Manhattan Opera Studio, Millikin Opera Theatre and now Boston Summer Opera. Recent performance credits include Pernille in Dan Shore’s The Beautiful Bridegroom, Victoria in Hildegard’s Ordo Virtutum, Noémie in Massenet’s Cendrillon, Second Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Deianira in Sophie Carpenter’s A Haunted Palace, Amore in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, and more! Engelmann was awarded “Broadway World Chicago’s Best Production of an Opera 2023” during her time as Flora in Britten’s The Turn of the Screw.

Engelmann is a co-founder of Little Songbook Opera, an organization dedicated to making music fun, accessible, and meaningful. She holds a Masters in Music from Longy School of Music of Bard College and a Bachelors in Music from Millikin University.

Cristina Evans is a mezzo-soprano with a historically informed background in Renaissance polyphony and early Baroque opera and oratorio. She began her studies in vocal performance at Randolph College in Lynchburg, Virginia. Afterward, she headed to Cambridge, Massachusetts to pursue a Masters in Music in Historical Performance at the Longy School of Music of Bard College. While there, she studied voice under Pamela Dellal and lute under Douglas Freundlich. She currently works in museum education, and enjoys spending time with her pet snake, Ringo.

Anna Gaddie, soprano from Hebron, Kentucky, is entering her second year of graduate studies at Boston University, earning a Master of Voice and studying under David Guzman. She received a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Western Kentucky University in 2024, where she was twice recognized as Performer of the Semester. Her performances with BU Opera Institute include Presendia in Dark Sisters, Doncella Ensemble in El Caminante, chorus in Florencia en el Amazonas, and La Maestra delle Novizie in Suor Angelica. She has also appeared as Marie in Cinderella with Ramsey Theatre Company at Southern Kentucky Performing Arts Center, where she served as music director for children’s community theatre shows as part of BG OnStage. Anna is the 2020 Cincinnati Overture Award Winner and a member of Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honorary Society.

Quinn Gutman (they/them/he/him) is a Jewish transmasculine nonbinary tenor and composer. They have sung opera, musical theater, contemporary classical music, medieval music, experimental/improvisatory music, and indie folk.

Quinn is also a voice teacher, both singing and speech. They have their own studio, and they teach lessons and classes at WholeTone Music Academy and the Cambridge Center for Adult Education. Their specialty is in gender affirming voice, helping people of all genders find the voice that works for them and how to maintain it in their day-to-day life. They also teach lessons and classes to cis people who’ve never learned how to sing and want to give it a try.

As a composer-performer, Quinn’s most known for their A Cappella Arias. In 2020, they wrote their first one-person show You Know Who You Are about their experiences coming out as nonbinary.

Quinn’s song cycle, “We Will Outlive Them...Letters to Rivka from Galicia”, premiered in May 2024, setting letters that Jessica Bloch's great grandmother, received in the US from her family in Galicia in the former Austro-Hungarian Empire, during the country's rise of antisemitism. Quinn is currently collaborating with librettist and tenor Leo Balkovetz on an opera called Violetta, a queer reimagining Verdi's La Traviata set in New York City in 1989.

Quinn holds a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Oberlin Conservatory of Music. They hold a double masters in Vocal Performance and Composition at the Longy School of Music.

Quang first arrived in Boston in 2016, where he started his doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering at Boston University. Prior to his move to Boston, Quang completed his Master of Engineering at the University of Cambridge. His training includes several internships, with positions at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories. Quang earned his degree in 2021 and has been working as a software engineer since graduation.

It wasn’t until 2019, while exploring the gorgeous scenery of New Mexico during one of his internships, that Quang had his first meaningful encounter with choral singing, where he joined the Chancel Choir of St. John's Methodist Church in Albuquerque. Inspired by the collaborative nature of choral music, Quang began taking private voice lessons and has actively participated in several choruses and chorales in the Greater Boston area. Currently, Quang sings with the choir of Trinity Church in Copley Square and Masterworks Chorale. He has also taken part in the Handel and Haydn's Society recent program, CitySing, where community members were invited to sing alongside with the professional chorus.

Olympia is a Boston-based soprano and actress, currently a staff singer at the Church of the Advent and a student of Emily Siar at Boston Conservatory. She has appeared onstage as Natasha in Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 (2023), Galatea in Acis and Galatea (2023), and Cherubino in Le Nozze di Figaro (2022). She has also served as President of the Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players (2022) and stage director of Harvard College Opera's The Merry Widow (2023). Outside of music and theater, she is a research technician in the Burns Lab at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, studying the biology of jumping genes. She also likes drawing pictures of dinosaurs.

Eliza is an active vocalist and writer, and in the last year has performed her original music at notable venues including The Drake, Club Passim, The Lilypad, and The Bitter End. Recent theatrical performances include Speed Dating Tonight! (Dater) with Dee Opera, The Suppliant Women (Women’s Chorus) with Apollinaire Theatre Company, and The Medium (Baba) with Tufts Opera. Alongside Pirates of Penzance, her Summer 2025 season includes singing in the choruses for Tosca with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Sweeney Todd with Opera51. Eliza holds a BM in Voice Performance and Composition from UMass Amherst, and an MA in Composition from Tufts University.

Thai Johnson is an award-winning tenor living in the Boston area. Originally from Marietta, Georgia, Mr. Johnson is establishing himself as an exciting and compelling artist to watch. He has been featured in performances with notable ensembles such as Odyssey Opera, The Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, Dee Opera, Greater Worcester Opera, and the Sudbury Savoyards. Recent credits include Alfredo in La Traviata (Verdi), premiering the role of Filippo in The Falcon (Robert Rogler), appearing as various Daters in Speed Dating Tonight! (Ching), and portraying Cyril in Princess Ida (Gilbert and Sullivan), for which he earned a DASH award for Best Supporting Performer in a Musical-Comedy. Mr. Johnson makes his debut with Boston Summer Opera singing in the chorus and as the cover for Frederic.

Mr. Johnson received his MM in Vocal Performance with a certificate in Vocal Pedagogy from the New England Conservatory of Music (2023) and an AD in Vocal Performance and a BA in Music from Columbus State University (2021/2019).

Molly Knight is a Boston-based soprano and recent graduate of New England Conservatory, where she received her Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance with a concentration in Teaching Artistry and Music Education. Recent credits include Dido and Aeneas (Chorus), Die Zauberflöte (Papagena, Spirit #3), and Le Nozz di Figaro (Susanna). Molly has also performed with NEC Chamber Singers and the BSO/Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and is passionate about combining performance and community engagement through music.

Soprano Sophie Urquhart is happy to be joining Boston Summer Opera for The Pirates of Penzance! Hailed for her “exquisite technical proficiency,” Sophie’s recently performed roles include Violetta in La Traviata, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. Sophie Urquhart is a graduate of Boston Conservatory and a student of Kathleen Wilson.

Danielle Shevchenko is thrilled to join Boston Summer Opera covering the role of Kate and singing in the Daughter’s Chorus for Pirates of Penzance. Other recent company debuts include Chorus in Menotti’s The Labyrinth with Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, Lady Psyche in Princess Ida with Sudbury Savoyards, covering Zerlina with Boston Baroque, and performing as a featured artist with Calliope. Danielle also frequently performs alongside husband Bohdan, specializing in Ukrainian art song, with a mission to cultivate awareness for the beautiful music of Ukraine.

Praised for her “effervescence,” “charming stage presence,” and “golden-age sound,” Danielle has portrayed a variety of roles, including Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Woglinde in Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Pernille/Captain Lovelock in John Duke’s Captain Lovelock, Taumännchen and Hänsel in Hänsel & Gretel, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Amore in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Katharina in the world premiere of Mihai Valcu’s Katharina von Bora, Peep-Bo in the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival’s award-winning The Mikado, First Touriere in Suor Angelica, Amelia in Franz von Suppe’s The Finishing School, and Landry in Offenbach’s Chanson de Fortunio.

In addition to her performance work, Danielle is a certified yoga teacher, NASM CPT, and voice teacher. Danielle studies with Carol Mastrodomenico and holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Longy School of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Westminster College.

Nora is thrilled to be making her Boston Summer Opera debut in Pirates of Penzance. She previously performed in the ensemble for Opera51’s productions of Don Giovanni and Sweeney Todd. Other past roles include a Bridesmaid in Ruddigore, wicked stepsister Louise in Ashpet: An Appalachian Cinderella Story, and Mother in Der Jasager. In addition to her stage roles, Nora has sung with several local choruses, including the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus, the Harvard Summer Chorus, and the Camberville Somerchoir. She sends her love and gratitude to her family, friends, and crazy-eyed cat Pepper.

FREDERIC

Thai Johnson is an award-winning tenor living in the Boston area. Originally from Marietta, Georgia, Mr. Johnson is establishing himself as an exciting and compelling artist to watch. He has been featured in performances with notable ensembles such as Odyssey Opera, The Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, Dee Opera, Greater Worcester Opera, and the Sudbury Savoyards. Recent credits include Alfredo in La Traviata (Verdi), premiering the role of Filippo in The Falcon (Robert Rogler), appearing as various Daters in Speed Dating Tonight! (Ching), and portraying Cyril in Princess Ida (Gilbert and Sullivan), for which he earned a DASH award for Best Supporting Performer in a Musical-Comedy. Mr. Johnson makes his debut with Boston Summer Opera singing in the chorus and as the cover for Frederic.

Mr. Johnson received his MM in Vocal Performance with a certificate in Vocal Pedagogy from the New England Conservatory of Music (2023) and an AD in Vocal Performance and a BA in Music from Columbus State University (2021/2019).

MABEL

Soprano Sophie Urquhart is happy to be joining Boston Summer Opera for The Pirates of Penzance! Hailed for her “exquisite technical proficiency,” Sophie’s recently performed roles include Violetta in La Traviata, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. Sophie Urquhart is a graduate of Boston Conservatory and a student of Kathleen Wilson.

THE PIRATE KING

Eliza is an active vocalist and writer, and in the last year has performed her original music at notable venues including The Drake, Club Passim, The Lilypad, and The Bitter End. Recent theatrical performances include Speed Dating Tonight! (Dater) with Dee Opera, The Suppliant Women (Women’s Chorus) with Apollinaire Theatre Company, and The Medium (Baba) with Tufts Opera. Alongside Pirates of Penzance, her Summer 2025 season includes singing in the choruses for Tosca with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Sweeney Todd with Opera51. Eliza holds a BM in Voice Performance and Composition from UMass Amherst, and an MA in Composition from Tufts University.

MAJOR-GENERAL STANLEY

Wallace Brown (Vienna, VA), baritone, is a recent graduate of the Maryland Opera Studio at the University of Maryland. He received his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the Hayes School of Music at Appalachian State University where he studied with Dr. Joseph Amaya. Notable roles include Top (The Tender Land) with Appalachian Opera Theatre (Appalachian State University), Perichaud (La Rondine) L’Horloge Comtoise (L’enfant et les sortilèges) Marchese D’Obigny (La Traviata) The Father/Gardener (Beauty and the Beast) with Opera in the Ozarks, Guglielmo (Cosi Fan Tutte) and Herr Fluth (Die Lustigen Weiber Von Windsor) with the Maryland Opera Studio.

Wallace recently won an Encouragement Award in the Maryland District of the 2025 Laffont Competition. He is a student of John Holiday.

RUTH

Lee Ellis (any pronouns) is a writer, actress, musician, and director from the Greater Boston area. Ellis graduated summa cum laude from the University of Rhode Island where they studied professional writing and classical voice. Throughout their education, Ellis performed as a featured soloist with URI’s Concert Choir and Opera Workshop, participated in several projects by the Encore Opera Company, and sang with the Warwick Symphony Orchestra as a part of their Emerging Voice Artists quartet. Since graduation, they have been an active performer in a diverse array of genres including opera, operetta, musical theatre, and straight plays. Notable projects include a madrigal dinner with the First Congregational Church of Randolph, a solo set at the Providence Music Mansion as a part of their February Musicales, and their self-directed recital, Women’ Wrongs. Other recent credits include: Rapunzel (Into the Woods, FCC Randolph), Columbia (The Rocky Horror Show, Ashland Community Theater), Mad Margaret (Ruddigore, Abridged, The Maenad Theatre Troupe), and the Greater Worcester Opera’s summer concert series.

They are the founding member and executive director of The Maenad Theatre Troupe, a project focused on bringing opera, operetta, and classical drama to Massachusetts’ South Shore. They recently directed and performed in the Maenads’ first project at the Thomas Crane Public Library in Quincy, Crimes of Passion: A Valentine’s Day Concert which featured an abridged staging of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Ruddigore. Professionally, they are a part of the enrollment team at a local music school and the alto section leader at the Pilgrim Church of Duxbury. Additionally, they are a full-time student pursuing a degree in biochemistry at Bridgewater State University.

SAM

Molly Knight is a Boston-based soprano and recent graduate of New England Conservatory, where she received her Bachelor’s in Vocal Performance with a concentration in Teaching Artistry and Music Education. Recent credits include Dido and Aeneas (Chorus), Die Zauberflöte (Papagena, Spirit #3), and Le Nozz di Figaro (Susanna). Molly has also performed with NEC Chamber Singers and the BSO/Tanglewood Festival Chorus, and is passionate about combining performance and community engagement through music.

THE CHIEF OF POLICE

EDITH / MABEL STUDY COVER

Abigail Cunningham, soprano, from Lexington, Kentucky, is a Master of Music student under the tutelage of Dr. Lynn Eustis. Abigail received her Bachelors of Fine Arts in Vocal Peformance from Carnegie Mellon University, along with a Certificate in Music Education and Minor in Orchestral Conducting.

This fall, Abigail performed Lucinda/Dark Sisters with Boston University. Notable credits include Despina/Cosí fan tutte (Carnegie Mellon University), Tullia/Ottone in Villa (Carnegie Mellon University), Noémie/Cendrillon (Utah Vocal Arts Academy), Papagena/Die Zauberflöte (Harrower Summer Opera Workshop), and Bianca/La Rondine (Opera in the Ozarks). Abigail made her Pittsburgh Opera debut in 2021 as Third Spirit/The Magic Flute. She is excited to be performing in her first Gilbert & Sullivan opera this summer with Boston Summer Opera, and for the opportunity to cover the role of Edith!

KATE

Danielle Shevchenko is thrilled to join Boston Summer Opera covering the role of Kate and singing in the Daughter’s Chorus for Pirates of Penzance. Other recent company debuts include Chorus in Menotti’s The Labyrinth with Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, Lady Psyche in Princess Ida with Sudbury Savoyards, covering Zerlina with Boston Baroque, and performing as a featured artist with Calliope. Danielle also frequently performs alongside husband Bohdan, specializing in Ukrainian art song, with a mission to cultivate awareness for the beautiful music of Ukraine.

Praised for her “effervescence,” “charming stage presence,” and “golden-age sound,” Danielle has portrayed a variety of roles, including Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Woglinde in Wagner’s Das Rheingold, Pernille/Captain Lovelock in John Duke’s Captain Lovelock, Taumännchen and Hänsel in Hänsel & Gretel, Papagena in Die Zauberflöte, Amore in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Katharina in the world premiere of Mihai Valcu’s Katharina von Bora, Peep-Bo in the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival’s award-winning The Mikado, First Touriere in Suor Angelica, Amelia in Franz von Suppe’s The Finishing School, and Landry in Offenbach’s Chanson de Fortunio.

In addition to her performance work, Danielle is a certified yoga teacher, NASM CPT, and voice teacher. Danielle studies with Carol Mastrodomenico and holds a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Longy School of Music and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Westminster College.

FREDERIC STUDY COVER

Judd Blake is grateful and excited to be a part of BSO’s seafaring shenanigans. In May 2023 he earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from James Madison University. He has since moved to Beantown and is now studying for his Master’s degree in Voice Performance at the historic Boston University. Judd is an avid performer of opera and musical theatre alike. Some of his favorite roles include Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress, Male Authority Figure in Hairspray, and, most recently, Gherardo in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. He is thankful for the support of his partner and family, and he dedicates each of his performances to his late grandmother. Love you Pawpaw.