Luke Housner
vocal coach
Synopsis
The Marriage of Figaro is a continuation of the plot of The Barber of Seville several years later, and recounts a single "day of madness" (la folle giornata) in the palace of the Count Almaviva near Seville, Spain. Rosina is now the Countess, Dr. Bartolo is seeking revenge against Figaro for thwarting his plans to marry Rosina himself, and Count Almaviva has degenerated from the romantic youth of Barber into a scheming, bullying, skirt-chasing baritone. Having gratefully given Figaro a job as head of his servant-staff, he is now persistently trying to obtain the favors of Figaro's bride-to-be, Susanna. He keeps finding excuses to delay the civil part of the wedding of his two servants, which is arranged for this very day. Figaro, Susanna, and the Countess conspire to embarrass the Count and expose his scheming. He responds by trying to compel Figaro to marry a woman old enough to be his mother, but it turns out at the last minute that she really is his mother. Through Figaro's and Susanna's clever manipulations, the Count's love for his Countess is finally restored.
Singer Biographies
Leland Alexander is a baritone currently studying voice at the University of California, Los Angeles under the guidance of Juliana Gondek. He began his formal vocal training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has received numerous distinctions, including First Prize in the CS Music Vocal Competition, Second Prize in the Hal Leonard Vocal Competition, and recognition as a two-time YoungArts winner in Classical Voice. Leland has appeared in operatic performances both domestically and internationally, portraying roles such as Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas), the Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Fernando (Rodrigo), and Musiklehrer (Ariadne auf Naxos). His concert repertoire includes solo appearances in Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Fauré’s Requiem in D minor, and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria. He originated the role of General Laturb in the fully staged world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s opera The Grand Hotel Tartarus and is scheduled to perform the role of Oreste in Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride in the spring. Leland has been mentored by distinguished artists including Sherrill Milnes, Vladimir Chernov, Dolora Zajick, Lucas Meachem, and Nicole Cabell.
Emma Daves is a vibrant soprano and educator from North Carolina, who is excited to take on the role of Contessa Almaviva in LAH-SOW's Le Nozze di Figaro this summer!
She received her Master of Music degree in Voice Literature and Performance at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, Canada. She also holds dual degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance from East Carolina University, where she graduated with honors. She also holds a Graduate Certificate from the University of New Mexico, where she was the Teaching Assistant for the Music Appreciation course. Favorite past roles for her include Mimì (La bohème), Lady Billows (Albert Herring), Mabel (Pirates of Penzance), Beth (Little Women) and the Sandman and Dewfairy (Hansel and Gretel).
Soprano Sophia Grace Donelan recently graduated from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University with a Master’s degree under the tutelage of Nova Thomas. Last month, she was a Studio Artist at Opera Neo, covering the role of Margarita in Louise Bertin’s Fausto. This fall, she will be the Resident Artist at Shreveport Opera, performing the roles of Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Mrs Hayes and Susannah (cover) in Floyd’s Susannah and Luigia in Donizetti’s Viva La Mamma. She is an Encouragement Award winner of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Houston District: 2025 & 2026). Recent roles include Alice in Verdi’s Falstaff and Rosina in The Ghosts of Versailles at Rice, and Micaëla in Carmen with Opera in the Ozarks. In 2024, Sophia Grace participated in the Young Artist Vocal Academy at Houston Grand Opera. In 2023, she received her BM from The New England Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Carole Haber.
Hank Evans is a baritone currently studying voice at Stetson University. Most recently, he performed as Father in Humperdinck’s “Hansel and Gretel,” at Stetson University. After his time in LAHSOW, Hank is performing “Madame Butterfly” with Opera Orlando and “Cendrillon” with Stetson University. In the future, he hopes to have a career in Opera and golden age Music Theater.
Maria Fernandez is a Cuban American soprano and first-year undergraduate student at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, where she studies under internationally acclaimed soprano Ana María Martínez. In 2024, she was awarded Second Place in the Tennessee Regional Round of the Schmidt Vocal Competition and was a semifinalist in the 2025 Schmidt Vocal Competition National Finals in Sarasota, Florida. In 2025, Maria attended the Schmidt Vocal Institute, where she performed the roles of Marie in scenes from La fille du régiment and the Countess in scenes from Le nozze di Figaro. Prior to her studies at Rice, she attended New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida, where she studied Classical Voice Performance under Manny Perez and Evelyn Saavedra. During her time there, she performed in the choruses of Così fan tutte, Dido and Aeneas, and Hansel and Gretel.
Simon Fletcher recently graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BFA in Vocal Performance. During his time at CMU, he performed numerous operatic productions and roles, including Oronte in Alcina, The Magic Object in Transformations, and Le Roi Ouf in L’étoile. He has also performed alongside Pittsburgh Festival Opera as Una Voce in La Gioconda, and their child outreach program’s production of The Magic Flute as Tamino. Last summer, Simon attended La Musica Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy, where he performed as Matteo Borsa in Rigoletto, and covered for Nemorino in l’elisir d’amore. Simon has just completed his summer in Chicago with Chicago Summer Opera, where he performed Don Basilio in Le Nozze di Figaro, and is happy to be performing the role once again here in Philadelphia.
Japanese-American mezzo soprano Hanna Frampton recently received her Masters of Music studying with Nova Thomas at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. She performed the title role in Bolcom's Lucrezia with the Moder American Opera's performance with the Shepherd School. In the fall, she sang Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte with Rice University Opera. She previously sang Mercédès in Carmen and Olga in The Merry Widow this past summer. Other roles include The Sorceress in Dido and Acneas, The Resident in Breath of Life and The Ghost Quartet in The Ghosts of Versailles. She completed her Bachelor of Music at The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. Summer programs include The Nashville Bel Canto Institute, Opera in the Ozarks, and the American Institute of Musical Studies where she performed select works with orchestra and performed as a soloist.
Soprano Jayden Greicius is a sophomore at the Shepherd School of Music, studying under Nova Thomas. She has been a soloist for the Colorado Symphony for the Steven Sondheim tribute concert, performed Mahler 4 as the soprano soloist, was a 2-time Concerto winner at Denver School of the Arts, as well as performed Papagena in The Magic Flute at Rice University. She was born and raised in Denver, Colorado and graduated from Denver School of the Arts. She would like to thank her family, as well as the Shepherd School faculty for their wonderful guidance and support.
Jacob Hanes, a native of Arlington, Texas, earned his BA in Music, Economics, and Business Administration from Austin College, where he was a standout in the Austin College Opera Program and served as captain of the football team. He later completed his MM in Voice Performance at DePaul University. Praised for his “towering and tidy” baritone voice, Hanes is currently a Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA), where this season, he performed Ford in Falstaff and Olivier in Capriccio. During the 2024–2025 season, Hanes appeared in the Princeton Festival production of Tosca as Sciarrone/Jailer, W.P. Inman in Cold Mountain at the Seagle Festival, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, and Valentin in AVA’s outreach production of Faust. In competition, Hanes earned Second Prize in the Mario Lanza Competition. An accomplished performer of musical theatre, his signature roles include Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm in A Little Night Music, and Cinderella’s Prince in Into the Woods.
Maya Antoinett Hussein is a Polish-Egyptian-American soprano from Brooklyn, New York. She earned her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, where her stage credits included The Governess (The Turn of the Screw), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Lisette and Yvette (La rondine), and Second Woman (Dido and Aeneas). Internationally, she appeared as Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with Lyric Opera Studio Weimar in Germany. She was a National Finalist for The American Prize Friedrich & Virginia Schorr Memorial Award, a finalist in the John Alexander National Vocal Competition, and a Third Prize winner of the ACPC Marcella Kochańska Sembrich Vocal Competition. This fall, Maya will begin her Master of Music in Classical Voice at the Manhattan School of Music.
Bass Sihan Jin has appeared on multiple stages including Opera Connecticut as King Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors and the register in Madama Butterfly, Simsbury Light Opera as Foreman in Trial by Jury and Notary in The Sorcerer, and Hartt Opera Theater as Sarasto in Zauberflöte among other roles. He has also advanced to Semi-finalist in Premiere Opera Foundation two years in a row, in the year of 2021 and 2022. A recent graduate from University of Hartford with a Master of Music degree, he is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree at University of Missouri-Kansas City. Notable voice teachers include James Morris and Carlo Colombara. He also appeared at the masterclass of Reginald Smith Jr. at Temple University
Samuel Leopold is a Baritone from Wichita, Kansas, pursuing a Bachelor's of Music in Voice at KU under Dr. John A. Stephens. He has most recently appeared as ‘Dr. Dulcamara’ in KU Opera’s L’Elisir d’Amore. He also recently performed as ‘Vater’ in Music on Site’s Hänsel und Gretel, ‘Frank’ in KU Opera’s Die Fledermaus, and as ‘Herbert von Thaden’ in Opera Kansas’s Staggerwing. This winter was his second year with Music on Site, last year he played ‘Masetto’ in Don Giovanni. Last summer he travelled to Krakow, Poland with the KU Chamber Choir and won the Cracovia Cantans International Choir Competition. In the summer of 2024, he travelled to Arezzo, Italy for Opera Seme’s international festival and performed as “Count Robinson” in Il matrimonio segreto.
Bass-baritone Krish Muthukumar is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University, where he studies with Dr. Robin Rice. He has performed in the chorus for the Shepherd School’s fall production of Die Zauberflöte and spring production of Falstaff. This summer, Krish will perform the role of Antonio in Chicago Summer Opera’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro, and he will also sing the roles of Bartolo and Antonio in Luke Housner’s Le Nozze di Figaro workshop. This fall, Krish will also cover the role of Harlekin in the Shepherd School of Music’s fall production of Ariadne auf Naxos.
Jackie Petichakis is from Miami, FL, and is a recent graduate of Florida State University College of Music with a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance. She has performed as Dorothée in Massenet's Cendrillon and as Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan Tutte. She plans to continue her studies at Florida State University in pursuit of her Master's degree in Vocal Performance under the direction of nationally renowned soprano Marcy Stonikas.
Madison Riley is a coloratura soprano located in Sebastian, Florida. She graduated from the Florida State University College of Music with a Bachelor’s of Music in Voice Performance. Since graduating, Madison has performed with the Vero Beach Opera Company in their 2025/2026 season’s productions of The Impressario Presents: Cavalleria Rusticana as Madame's Intern/Ensemble (2026) and Verdi’s Rigoletto as a study cover for Gilda (2026). Her performance highlights include Naiad/ Zerbinetta Cover in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos with Dramatic Voice’s Program Berlin (2025), Fury/ Ensemble in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Florida State University Opera (2025), Zwei Knabe/ Pamina Cover in Mozart’s Die Zauberflote with Miami Music Festival (2024), and Pepik in Janacek’s The Cunning Little Vixen with Florida State University Opera (2024).
Baritone Davis Robe is a junior Vocal Performance major at Drake University, where he studies under the tutelage of Professor Leanne Freeman-Miller. His recent operatic credits include Escamillo in Drake University's 2026 production of Carmen; Ford in Falstaff and Giddeon March in Mark Adamo's Little Women with the International Lyric Academy in Vicenza, Italy; and Count Almaviva (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Leporello (Don Giovanni) in a scenes concert with Opera Carolina. He also appeared in the chorus for Drake University's 2025 production of The Magic Flute. In 2024, Davis was recognized as Iowa's top vocalist in his graduating class. He has also appeared as a finalist in numerous National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competitions, most recently earning First Place in his division at the 2025 NATS Regional Competition.
Soprano Katherine Ryan, a New York native, is a second-year undergraduate student at the Shepherd School of Music, where she studies under Nova Thomas. This past fall, she made her debut at the Morrison Theater at Rice university in the production of Die Zauberflöte, where she portrayed one of the Drei Knaben. In 2023 and 2024, Katherine participated in the Boston University Tanglewood Institute Young Artists Program, performing in opera scenes as Servilia in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito and as Rosalina in Strauss's Die Fledermaus. This past year, she was a winner of the 2026 Schmidt undergraduate competition in the lower level. In 2025 she was named a CS Music Festival's All-State Singer competition. Katherine is also a recipient of a 2023 Merit Scholarship from the YoungArts competition and won First Place in Hal Leonard's Competition for Classical Voice in 2020. Additionally, she received a New York Metro award this past spring for her role as "Miss Honey" in her high school's production of Matilda.
Noyi Soto-Anglade is a Baritone from Denver, Colorado. He is a graduate of the Denver School of the Arts Vocal Music program. He is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music where he is pursuing Vocal Performance and Italian. He has performed with the Boulder Opera, and most recently sang the roles of La Notte and Apollo in a newly revised production of the opera L'Egisto. He has had success in competitions such as the Schmidt National Competition, Classical Singer Competition, and has won the Art Song Colorado, Rising Stars Festival, and Young Vocalists Online competitions. He has participated in programs such as the Schmidt Vocal Institute and the Accademia Vocale Lorenzo Malfatti in Lucca, Italy.
Carly Titus is excited to return to the LAHSOW Opera Workshop. Last summer, she performed the roles of Dritte Dame and Dritte Knabe in Die Zauberflöte. Carly graduated from James Madison University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Music. She currently teaches elementary special education in coastal Virginia.
Ryan Wornall, bass, is a second-year Resident Artist at the Academy of Vocal Arts, where he studies with renowned teacher, Bill Schuman. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Kansas, where he was mentored by Dr Genaro Mendez Jr. Known for his powerful bass voice, Ryan has performed major roles including Falstaff in Falstaff, Leporello and The Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Capellio in I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte and Bartolo and Antonio in Le Nozze di Figaro. Ryan is also a multi-award-winning bass, having earned first place in four different National Association of Teachers of Singing competitions in the West Central Regional, Kansas, and Kansas City Chapter. In addition to his work with AVA and KU, He has performed with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City, touring schools with their production The Haberdasher Prince where he was Stately string.
Looking ahead, Ryan will returning to the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, founded by Dolora Zajick. For AVA, Ryan will be performing the roles of Dr Dulcamara in L’elisir D’amore, Talpa in Il Tabarro, Betto in Gianni Schicchi, and covering the role of Ferrando in Il Trovatore
Stephanie Wornall graduated from the University of Kansas with a BM in voice, where she studied under Dr. Genaro Mendez Jr. A three time first place NATS winner, her previous roles include Suor Genovieffa, and Pamina. Currently, she is a member of the Vox Amadeus choral group. She is a previous two time alum of LAHSOW programs, and is excited to be a part of a third workshop this summer!