Ai-Lan Zhu, soprano (Cio-Cio-San)
Ai-Lan Zhu is one of America’s most sought after interpreters of the lyric repertoire, with notable appearances as: Cio-Cio-San in Madame Butterfly for the Royal Albert Hall in London, L’Opèra de Montreal, Vancouver Opera, and San Antonio Symphony, Mimi in La bohème for Opera Pacific, Michigan Opera Theater and Virginia Opera, Violetta in La traviata for Austin Lyric Opera and Boston Lyric Opera, and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte at the Glynebourne Festival and Knoxville Opera. This past season, she debuted with the National Reisopera as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly. Ms. Zhu also appeared as Zerlina in Peter Sellars production of Don Giovanni which was later filmed in Vienna. A native of China, Ms. Zhu studied at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. She was a finalist in the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s Luciano Pavoratti International Vocal Competition.

Gigi Mitchell-Velasco, mezzo-soprano (Suzuki)
Gigi Mitchell-Velasco has been praised by critics and public alike for her vocal interpretations of Wagner, Mahler and Strauss. She recently performed Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the San Francisco Symphony and the Brooklyn Philharmonic. Her 2004-2005 season also included Das Lied von der Erde with the Boston Philharmonic and Sacramento Chamber Symphony, a recital and master class at The Anderson Center for the Arts at SUNY Binghamton and a debut as Perseis in Massenet’s Esclarmonde with the Washington Concert Opera. Ms. Mitchell-Velasco is well known to Toledo opera fans for her portrayal of Dorabella in Toledo Opera’s production of Cosi fan tutte in 2003. A protégée of Christa Ludwig, Ms. Mitchell-Velasco is a three-time winner of the Robert Lauch Memorial Grant of the New York Wagner Society and a recipient of the American Wagner Association Award at the Liederkranz Competition for Wagnerian Voice.

George Dyer, tenor (Pinkerton)
George Dyer is a regular guest of opera companies throughout North America. Recent engagements include Tamino in Die Zauberflöte for Opera Carolina, Alfredo in La traviata for Opera Columbus and Piedmont Opera, the Duke in Rigoletto and Nanki Poo in The Mikado for Piedmont Opera, Ralph Rakestraw for New York City Opera, and a notable debut in Chicago at the Auditorium Theater in Noel Coward’s operetta After the Ball. Last season, Mr. Dyer made his debut with the Austin Lyric Opera as the Steersman in Der Fliegende Holländer, and returned to the Utah Opera as Ralfe Rakestraw in H.M.S. Pinafore. This season, he will return to the Utah Opera as Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte and will debut with the Atlanta Opera as Jacquino in Fidelio. His concert performances include Handel’s Messiah and Britten’s The Burning Fiery Furnace.

Jason Hardy, bass (Bonze)
Bass singer, John Hardy’s recent operatic roles include Dulcamara in L’Elisir d’Amore, Bardolfo in Falstaff at the Wolf Trap Opera, Crespel in Tales of Hoffman with the Palm Beach Opera, Sparafucile in Rigoletto with Opera Birmingham, Don Alfonso in Cosi fan tutte with Western Opera Theater, and Frank in Die Fledermaus with the Merola Opera Program. Mr. Hardy was a Regional Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, National Finalist for the Lyric Opera of Chicago Center for American Artists, and a winner in the Palm Beach Opera, Fort Worth Opera, Opera Birmingham, and Connecticut Opera vocal competitions. Mr. Hardy made his concert debut at Carnegie Hall as a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem and recently appeared at the Marlboro Music Festival in works ranging from Purcell to Prokofiev.

Weston Hurt, baritone (Sharpless)
After a highly successful debut at Carnegie Hall in 2003 in Britten’s War Requiem, Juilliard Opera Center graduate, Weston Hurt has been heard as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with the Lyric Opera of San Antonio and Handel’s Oreste at the Spoleto Festival in Italy. A favorite with Kentucky Opera audiences, he has performed the roles of Sciarrone in Tosca, the First Nazarene in Salome and the Corporal in The Daughter of the Regiment. Gifted not only in operatic singing, Mr. Hurt also has a prolific concert repertoire that includes Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Magnificat, and Mozart’s Mass in C Minor. His many awards while a student include prizes from the Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation and The Metropolitan Opera National Council.

Mark Lin, baritone (Yamadori)
Born and raised in the Far East, Mark Lin earned his Master’s degree in voice performance from Manhattan School of Music. His operatic roles have included Schaunard in La bohème, Dr. Grenvil in La traviata and Yamadori in Madama Butterfly. He was a Resident Artist of New York’s Dicapo Opera Theatre for two years, where he sang roles in Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, La Vida Breve and Vanessa. With the National Lyric Opera, he has toured New England performing the parts of  Marullo in Rigoletto and the King of Egypt in Aida. His musical repertoire also includes the baritone solos in Faure’s Requiem and Brahm’s German Requiem, the bass solos in Handel’s Messiah, and the first performances of several scores including the role of Dead Mao in the multimedia opera Mao Zedong: Jealous Son by Yoav Gal.

John Easterlin, tenor (Goro)
Recent engagements for Mr. Easterlin have included Fourth Jew in Salome with the Metropolitan Opera and New York City Opera; the Major-Domo in Der Rosenkavalier with the Metropolitan Opera, Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte, Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro, and Fourth Esquire in Parsifal with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Jaquino in Fidelio with Seattle Opera, the Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos with Spoleto Festival USA, the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel with Utah Opera, and Tobias in Sweeney Todd with the Princeton Festival. He has performed the title role in Candide with Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Concert highlights have included Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for the Ravinia Festiva, Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro with the Westfield Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah with the New Choral Society.

Micah Graber, bass (Imperial Commissioner)
Bass singer Micah Graber’s operatic roles include Blitch in Susannah at Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music, First Priest in The Magic Flute at Toledo Opera, Starveling in Midsummer Night’s Dream with San Francisco Opera, Zuniga in Carmen with Western Opera Theater, and Osmin in Die Ehtfuhrung aus dem Serail with Skylight Opera. Mr. Graber received his Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance from Bowling Green State University and his Artist Diploma in Opera from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He was a Resident Artist with Toledo Opera and had an Adler Fellowship with the San Francisco Opera. Mr. Graber is a resident of Toledo.

Helena Binder, Stage Director
An actor and a director of plays and musicals for over 20 years before focusing her career on opera, Helena Binder has earned praise for her direction of Ermione and Il ritorno d’Ulisse for New York City Opera, The Magic Flute for Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, The Bartered Bride for New York City Opera’s Education Program. As a choreographer Ms Binder choreographed DieTote Stadt for New York City Opera, Queen of Spades and Le nozze di Figaro for the Dallas Opera and Bluebeard and La Calisto for Glimmerglass Opera. She has performed as an actor in regional theatre in the U.S. and abroad in roles ranging from Peter Pan to Shakespeare’s Juliet, and was the lead singer in the rock n’ roll group Blotto, that recorded the hit I Wanna Be A Lifeguard. Other recent engagements include productions of L’elisir d’Amore for Wolf Trap, Fidelio for Pittsburgh Opera, Madama Butterfly for Chattanooga Opera, and L’Italiana inAlgeri for Lake George Opera.

A committed arts educator, Ms. Binder was an instructor in acting at Union College, and founded the Acting School, a studio for children and adults in Schenectady, New York where she was the Performing Arts Specialist for the City’s first Magnet School program. She has staged scenes for the University of Maryland Opera Theatre Program and has taught classes and workshops all over New York State.

Thomas Conlin, Conductor
Thomas Conlin’s performances in America and abroad have generated great enthusiasm. The New York Times calls his leadership “brilliant” and Opera News “passionate,” also reporting that he “conducted the complex work [Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia] with a beat so clear that he must have brought joy and confidence to his singers and instrumentalists.”

Thomas Conlin conducts the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, Chorus and soloists in George Crumb’s Star-Child on a CD which won the 2001 Grammy Award for “Best Contemporary Classical Composition.” Even before the Grammy finalists were selected, Conlin’s recording (Bridge 9095) had received highest recommendations from virtually every music publication in the world, including Billboard, Classic CD, Klassik Heute, Gramophone (“monumental”), Amazon.com (Editor’s Choice), and ClassicsToday.com: “This miraculous disc represents the fulfillment of a dream for all those music lovers who find themselves captivated by Crumb’s haunting, evocative and passionate musical landscapes.” His recording of Crumb’s A Haunted Landscape (Bridge 9113), also with the Warsaw Philharmonic, was nominated for an Indie Award in the category “Best Orchestral Recording.” The third CD in the series, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Echoes of Time and the River was released in October, and Crumb’s Variazioni will be recorded later in 2004. For Naxos, Conlin is recording the six piano concertos by Brazilian composer Camargo Guarnieri with the Warsaw Philharmonic and pianist Max Barros.

Thomas Conlin is a frequent guest conductor with opera companies, ballet companies and symphony orchestras on five continents, while serving as  Principal Conductor of  Toledo Opera. Recent seasons have included performances in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Turkey and throughout the United States. He founded the Snowshoe Music Festival in the Appalachian mountains and frequently conducts at music festivals in Europe, Japan and America. His repertoire includes compositions of all styles and periods, with an emphasis on music of our time. Conlin has presented numerous world and national premieres of works by American composers.

Maestro Conlin has collaborated with many of the world’s greatest singers, including Kathleen Battle, Maureen Forrester, Marilyn Horne, Cornell MacNeil, Robert Merrill, Sherrill Milnes, Roberta Peters, Giorgio Tozzi and Frederica von Stade. He has served as vocal coach for many artists currently on the rosters of San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Metropolitan Opera and other major companies. He is a distinguished teacher of the art of conducting, having served in that capacity for the American Symphony Orchestra League, Queens College of the City University of New York, the Conductors’ Institute at the University of South Carolina and elsewhere. Articles by or about Thomas Conlin have appeared in numerous international publications, and he has lectured widely on opera and other musical subjects.

While a student at Peabody Conservatory of Music (Johns Hopkins University), Conlin made operatic history with the Chamber Opera Society of Baltimore through his innovative use of projected English translations (Supertitles). As the society’s Artistic Director, he prepared and presented the American premiere – and first staged performance in modern times – of Mozart’s early masterpiece, Lucio Silla. His performing edition has been heard at San Francisco Opera and New York’s Mostly Mozart festival. The conservatory awarded him the Bach-Horstmeier Prize for performance of works by J.S. Bach and the Zaidee Thomas Prize in composition. He holds honorary degrees from the University of Charleston (Doctor of Music) and West Virginia Wesleyan College (Doctor of Humane Letters).