Agrippina

Agnese Gallenzi is an Italian Soprano. She graduated in 2016 from Conservatorio G. B Pergolesi di Fermo (ITA) with high honors. Winner of prizes in International competitions including the Metropolitan Laffont Competition, she performed a variety of female lead operatic roles, and made her European debut in the role of Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore in State Opera Stara Zagora, Bulgaria, April 2022. She is currently enrolled in the Master in Operatic Performance at California State University Northridge, studying under the guidance of Dr. Diane Ketchie. Her training also includes an intensive summer program at the Bologna International Opera Academy where she worked with world-renowned coaches and teachers including Soprano Svetla Vassileva, Master Vocal Coach Danielle Orlando and Pavarotti-Freni’s coach Leone Magiera. Agnese has received many accolades and much critical acclaim for her beautiful and warm sound, her crystalline clear coloratura, her soaring high notes and her exquisite phrasing. She performed the role of Mimi last March for which she received much acclaim. She presented her Graduate Recital there this May 6th 2023.

Mallory Bogle, soprano, is a M.M. student at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has most recently performed the title role of Massenet’s Cendrillon (CIM), Prioress Lidoine in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites (CIM), Alice Ford in Act 2 of Verdi's Falstaff (CIM), and the roles of The Princess and The Bat in Ravel's L’enfant et les sortilèges (Belmont University). Bogle also recently won first prize for voice in the 2022 Medici International Music Competition. She currently studies under Dr. Mary Schiller, and earned her B.M. in voice performance from Belmont University.

Taiwanese soprano Jung-An Chou is a rising young artist in both the US and Asia. She received her Master of Music in vocal performance from Michigan State University, and is currently earning her Doctor of Musical Arts from University of North Texas. Her recent opera roles include Despina in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, Hen and Jay in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen, First Spirit in Mozart’s Magic Flute, Lucy from Menotti’s The Telephone (scenes), Beth in Mark Adamo’s Little Woman (scenes), Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro (scenes), Servillia in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito (scenes), and Nursing Sister in Puccini’s Suor Angelica (scenes). Jung-An is currently teaching at Tarrant County College NW. She also serves as soloist and soprano section leader at First United Methodist Church of Denton.

Washingtonian soprano Kendra Lund (Poppea Cover) is delighted to be joining the Chicago Summer Opera family. She recently played Mabel in Furman Lyric Theater’s The Pirates of Penzance and Mary Sunshine in Pauper Players’ production of Chicago. She is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Bachelor of Arts in German Studies at Furman University.

Kaisa Herrmann is a mezzo-soprano based in the Milwaukee area. She completed her MM in Vocal Performance at CU Boulder under the instruction of Abigail Nims and received her BFA from UW Milwaukee, where she studied with Dr. Colleen Brooks. Some past operatic roles include Judy (Night of the Living Opera), Arsamene (Serse), Euridice (L’Orfeo), Narciso (Agrippina), the Sandman (Hänsel und Gretel), Annio (La Clemenza di Tito), the Fox (The Little Prince), Belinda (Dido and Aeneas), and Violetta (La Pèrichole). Taking special interest in early music, she has been a part of various ensembles, most notably Aperi Animam, as well as CU Boulder’s Early Music Ensemble and UW Milwaukee’s Collegium Musicum. Recently, Miss Herrmann was a finalist for the Audrey Rooney Vocal Competion and performed as the alto soloist in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with the Collegium Ladyes.

Georgina Wu, mezzo-soprano, currently living in New York City but originally from Beijing, China. She is a passionate individual who wishes to express emotional sensitivity through singing. Wu obtained her bachelor degree in Vocal Performance from Manhattan School of Music, under the guidance of Joan Patenaude-Yarnell. Previous role engagements include La Zia Principessa from Puccini’s Suor Angelica with La Musica Lirica, Miss Foster from Kurt Weil’s Lady in the Dark with the Bronx Opera, and Dritte Dame from Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with MSM senior opera theater. In addition, she has been an ensemble member in other operatic and musical productions including the Elixir of Love and the Two Widows with the Pocket Opera in San Francisco.

Sol Adam Lehman is a countertenor and an emerging artist within the Chicago area. They enjoy exploring the human experience through the works of a range of composers, including Handel, Britten, Philip Glass, and Duparc. In their work, Lehman hopes to expand what the countertenor's voice is known for, bringing its beauty to many styles beyond the Baroque and Modern.

Lehman was born and raised in Wichita Falls, Texas. A chance recital they attended in their hometown opened Sol up to the possibility of the countertenor's voice. It was then that they knew the ultimate direction of their artistic life.

Their roles include Raphael/Jonathan Dove's Tobias and the Angel and the live premiere Chicago Healthcare Worker in David Shenton's On Call: Covid-19. In addition to opera, Lehman is involved in music theatre. Their roles include one of two ‘ladies’ in Cabaret and Chip Tolentino in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Lehman holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Austin College. They hold a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from Roosevelt University where they studied with Mark Crayton.

Arthur Keast, countertenor and baritone, completed a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance degree from Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) in May 2023. While at PLU, he performed principal roles in 10 full opera productions, including the title role of Handel’s Giulio Cesare.

In summer 2022, Arthur attended American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS), a selective 6-week opera program in Graz, Austria, and studied in Germany with world-renowned countertenor Daniel Taylor.

At PLU, Arthur sang with the acclaimed Choir of the West, serving as a soloist for their 2021 and 2022 PLU Christmas concerts. While in college, Arthur performed over 120 solo concerts (voice and violin) off-campus in the Puget Sound area.

Praised for his wonderfully dynamic and versatile sound, countertenor Graham Day’s voice runs a wide expressive gamut from a full bellow to a tender whisper. He is making his summer opera debut in the role of Narciso in Handel's Agrippina with CSO. Other recent performances include music from Handel's “Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne” and the role of the Spirit in Purcell's “Dido and Aeneas”. An accomplished creator and storyteller, his own compositions have been performed across Dallas/Fort Worth, and he can be found singing with some of the area’s foremost ensembles, such as Lumedia Musicworks and the Dallas Chamber Choir.

Mr. Day completed both a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance at the University of North Texas, where he studied with internationally-acclaimed countertenor Daniel Bubeck. He will begin pursuing his Masters at UNT this Fall.

Gregorius (Joris) Valkenberg graduated from The Catholic University of America's Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art in May 2021. He first fell in love with music when he joined The Maryland State Boychoir after his family moved from The Netherlands to the USA. While with MSB, he toured around the country and the world, singing in many magnificent cathedrals and concert venues, and served as deputy head chorister for 3 years, and head chorister his senior year of high school. After graduating high school, he attended CUA's school of music, and since then has been training as a counter-tenor, under Gustavo Ahualli. During his semester abroad in England, he studied with Michael Solomon-Williams, and coached with David Owen Norris, FSA. In his sophomore year, he performed the role of Tolomeo in Händel's Giulio Cesare. He also prepared the baritone role of Mr. Jenks in a staging of Copland's The Tenderland, which was sadly cancelled due to the Coronavirus pandemic. In Dec. 2021, he participated in YAA's Messiah Intensive, studying with Joy Schreier and Arianna Zuckerman. During this program, he participated in a masterclass with Rebecca Smithhorn. In addition, he coached with, and studied with, Jonathan King and David Daniels. In 2022, he finished as a Semi-finalist in the Classical Singer Vocal Competition for Young Artists/Emerging Professionals. Staring in the Fall of 2023, he will begin his Master's degree at Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.

Erin Chang is a mezzo soprano who is pursuing her Masters of Music degree at the Manhattan School of Music, studying under the tutelage of Mignon Dunn. This past year, she performed in three opera scenes from various time periods and in MSM’s mainstage production of “The Cunning Little Vixen” . Erin completed her Bachelor’s of Music Education at Rutgers University in 2022, under the tutelage of Susan Quittmeyer. During her time at Rutgers, Erin performed with the Kirkpatrick Choir for 4 years as well as with Rutgers Opera Theater in various operas and opera scenes. In addition, Erin has done various competitions, talent shows, and music programs both throughout New Jersey and internationally. Erin is excited to be performing the roles of Juno and Lesbus with Chicago Summer Opera this summer!

Mezzo-soprano Lindsay Uhrich is a rising fifth year at DePauw University, pursuing a B.M. in Vocal Performance, and a B.A. in mathematics, under the tutelage of Dr. André Campelo. Her collegiate operatic credits include Second Witch in Dido and Aeneas, Operator #1 in Sorry Wrong Number, and La fata verde in La bella dormente nel bosco, as well as being the cover for Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice. She was also a member of the Ohio Light Opera's 2022 season, in which she played Kate in The Pirates of Penzance among other roles. When not performing, she enjoys watching whatever movie she can find, as well as binging true crime podcasts.

Gavin Mason is a lyric baritone who studied vocal performance at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI. During his stay there he was in The Bewitched Child by Ravel as well as The Old Maid and the Thief by Menotti. Additionally, Gavin has competed in Wisconsin NATS and placed 2nd and 3rd in 2019 and 2020. He looks forward to working with fantastic people in the Chicago Summer Opera program.

Emma Gulovsen is a soprano studying vocal performance with Dr. Carol Chapman at Missouri State University. Emma found her love for opera after auditioning on a whim for the university’s production of Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and since then has taken part in the choruses of Ozark Lyric Opera’s productions of I Pagliacci with Michael Spyres and Don Giovanni with Ben Wager. With Missouri State, Emma has performed the roles of Angelina in Trial by Jury and Dorothee in Massenet’s Cendrillon. She also travels extensively with the Missouri State Chorale, and has been to Spain, South Africa, Canada, Little Rock, and Cincinnati. This summer she recorded an album in Indianapolis with them. Many thanks to her teachers and her family for their endless support and belief in her.

Sarai Burgos is a Mezzo-soprano studying Vocal Performance at Liberty University under Dr. Samantha Miller. She has studied classical voice for 5 years following her passion of music from an early age and is constantly seeking out opportunities to sing. She performs with Liberty University's select touring choir, the Chamber Singers, and was the Mezzo-soprano soloist in their performance of Aaron Copland's "In the Beginning." As a Young Artist in collaboration with Opera Roanoke, she has performed the role of Laetitia in their 2023 production of "The Old Maid and the Thief." Sarai was featured in Opera Lucca's Summer 2022 program, performing in scenes from composers such as Mozart, Rossini, Handel, and in a full production of "Suor Angelica." In Liberty’s 2023 production of "Le Nozze di Figaro" she performed the role of Cherubino. Sarai is also a featured vocalist in the Liberty University Jazz Band. This year at the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition, she placed 1st in the mid-Atlantic regional round. Her talents have been featured in the Bach Magnificat with the Jefferson Choral Society and in excerpts from Handel's Messiah with Opera Roanoke.