Resident Artist Program

The Resident Artist Program gives vocal artists an opportunity to hone their skills in the beginning stages of their career.  They perform in Toledo Opera's touring education program, Opera on Wheels, and they often perform smaller roles in the Opera's mainstage productions.  Each year in the Spring, four vocal artists spend two months with Toledo Opera.  Selected by audition, they fill roles in the Opera on Wheels production that the company takes on tour to elementary schools throughout the region.  This year's production is Gioacchino Rossini’s The Italian Girl a modern day adaptation from the original L’italiana in Algeri, created by Jennifer Cresswell, Artistic Director of the Opera on Wheels program. 

2013 ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE

Danielle Messina, soprano (Vera)

Danielle earned a Bachelor's Degree in Voice Performance from Carnegie Mellon University in 2009 and a Master's in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music in 2011. While at CCM, she sang the role of Blanche de la Force in its main stage production of Dialogues of the Carmelites by Poulenc. Danielle has since performed with many companies, including Opera Saratoga; Toledo Opera; the Queen City Chamber Opera, where she sang the roles of Bastienne in Mozart's Bastien und Bastienne and Mme. Silberklang in Der Schauspieldirektor in the company's very first production; and Opera Columbus, where she recently sung the role of Musetta in La bohème. Danielle will be joining Kentucky Opera as a Studio Artist for their 2013-2014 Season.

Adrienne Price, mezzo-soprano (Isabelle)

Adrienne completed her Master of Music in Performance and Pedagogy in 2011 and a Professional Performance Certificate in 2012 at Pennsylvania State University. Among the roles she performed at Penn State Opera Theater are Zita in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, Mother in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel and Nero in Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea . She was also a soloist in its 2011production of Verdi’s Requiem and has performed in the chorus with Chicago Lyric Opera and Lakeland, FL Opera Theatre. In 2012 Adrienne won first place at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Easter Region Competition, singing “Cruda sorte” from Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri.

Ryan Connelly, tenor (Lenny)

Ryan has a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Temple University and in 2011 he completed a Master’s Degree in Voice Performance at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. He made his professional debut with Kentucky Opera in the role of Remendado in Bizet’s Carmen in 2011, where he also sang the roles of Don Basilio in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and Njegus in Lehàr’s The Merry Widow. In 2011 he also sang Florville in Rossini’s Il Signor Bruschini at the Spoleto Music Festival in Italy, and Bastien in Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne and Vogelsang in Der Schauspieldirektor on a double bill at Cincinnati’s Queen City Chamber Opera. On the concert stage, Mr. Connelly has sung the Messiah with the Cincinnati Boychoir and Bach’s Weinachts-Oratorium with the Bourbon Baroque in Louisville, Kentucky. Ryan will be joining Virginia Opera this fall as an Emerging Artist for their 2013-2014 season.

Brandon Coleman, bass-baritone (Mac)

Brandon received his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of  Hartford’s Hartt School of Music. He has performed with the Connecticut Opera, Opera New Jersey, Sarasota Opera, Dicapo Opera Theatre, and Opera North. Among the roles he has played are Jesus in Haydn’s The Seven Last Words of Christ, Raimondo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor, Acciano in Verdi’s I Lombardi, Sarastro in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Angelotti in Puccini’s Tosca, Ibn-Hakia in Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta, and Parsons in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen. In the summer of 2013, Brandon will be a Young Artist at Central City Opera, CO, where he will also cover the role of Joe in Jerome Kern’s Show Boat.