Alcina

Ashley Holguin is a first year Graduate student at CSULB, studying Vocal Performance with voice instructor Dr. Katharin Rundus. She received an A.A. degree at Fullerton College and a B.M in Vocal Performance at Biola University. She has performed in chorals and operas since a teenager but debuted as lead roles at Fullerton College in 2018. Her most recent roles include, Pamina from "Die Zauberflöte" by Mozart with CSULB, and OC Lyric Opera’s “Orpheus in the Underworld” by Offenbach as Venus.

Crystal Amendola is a soprano from New Jersey. She recently appeared as Nedda in Pagliacci, Euridice in Orfeo ed Euridice, and Wellgunde and Gutrune in Götterdämmerung with the New York Opera Forum. She also portrayed Fiorilla in Il turco in Italia with Amici Opera Company in Philadelphia, and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni with Clyde Opera in Glasgow. She has appeared in many productions with the Metro Lyric Opera of New Jersey, including as Micaëla in Carmen and as Flora in La Traviata, under the baton of Maestro Anton Coppola. She earned her Master of Music at SUNY Purchase Conservatory, where she sang the roles of Frasquita in Carmen, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, and La Fée in Cendrillon.

Taiwanese Soprano, Tzu-Jung Jennifer Wang is passionate about collaboration and continues to explore the vast music styles in different cultures. This July, she will debut as Suor Genovieffa/Suor Angelica in Prague, Czech Republic, and as Morgana/Alcina with the Chicago Summer Opera. In June 2024, she performed the role of Penny in the world premiere of Sutto’s one-act opera buffa, Lost in the Scroll, at the Mostly Modern Festival. Ms. Wang's previous engagements include Barbarina/Le nozze di Figaro with the Chicago Summer Opera and roles such as Adèle/Malvina and Masha/Enemies, A Love Story with Peabody Opera Theater.She also understudied Lauretta/Gianni Schicchiat theInternational Summer Opera Festival of Morelia.

Ms. Wang placed first in the Women & BIPOC Composers categories, and second in the Chicago Chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). She also received the Peabody Conservatory Career Development Grant in 2022 and 2024, the George Castelle Award, and the Charles P. Sachs Scholarship. As a concert soloist, Ms. Wang has performed at the Peabody New Star Concert at Taiwan’s National Concert Hall and appeared in works such as Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Williams’s The First Nowell, Fauré’s Requiem, and Peter Gilbert’s Tsukimi.

Ms. Wang holds a B.F.A. in Voice Performance from Tunghai University in Taichung, Taiwan, and M.M. in Voice Performance & Pedagogy at the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University— Ms. Wang is currently based in Schaumburg, IL. When she is not singing, Ms. Wang enjoys learning German, Italian, and hanging out with her cat, Latte.

Camryn Cole is an American soprano specializing in classical and jazz performance. A recent graduate of the Bower School of Music at Florida Gulf Coast University, Camryn has been able to acquire a plethora of performing experience across multiple genres during the course of their education. Recently, they played the role of First Witch in FGCU’s production of Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell as well as Zweite Dame in scenes from Die Zauberflöte by Wolfgang Amedas Mozart. Camryn also just finished performing in the chorus for Opera Naples in their productions of Die Zauberflöte and La Bohème. During their time at FGCU, Camryn was a recurring featured vocalist with FGCU’s Top Flight Jazz Combo where they performed multiple concerts with names such as Laila Biali and Benny Benack III. They lead their own jazz quartet that performs across SWFL—the Camryn Cole Quartet—featuring the musicians from the PK Trio. Camryn is preparing to attend DePaul University this fall, where they will be pursuing a Masters of Vocal Performance.

Anna Therese George is a twenty-one year old lyric mezzo-soprano from Green Bay, Wisconsin, who is now based in Chicago as a classical singer, soloist, and chorister. Her previous engagements have been with the CCPA Opera as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, CCPA Undergraduate Opera as Ma Moss in The Tender Land, and the Berlin Opera Academy as Dritte Knabe in Die Zauberflöte. Anna is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s of Music at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, with an interest in orchestral conducting.

Mezzo-soprano Danielle Alexis Smith from Los Angeles, California has a strong passion for music. She earned a BA degree in Music with Honors- Concentration in Performance from Stanford University and a MM degree in Voice Performance from Boston University. Danielle is very grateful and excited to perform Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina with Chicago Summer Opera. Other roles she loved performing include Marcellina and Cherubino from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at the Estates Theatre in Prague, Ada Lovelace from Kamala Sankaram’s The Infinite Energy of Ada Lovelace at Boston University, and the Sorceress from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. She is fortunate to have participated in various voice programs, including Prague Summer Nights Young Artists Music Festival, Bel Canto Institute Summer Vocal Performance Program in Florence, Italy, and the Utah Vocal Arts Academy Summer Opera Festival. She enjoyed getting to perform various lead roles at the schools she attended and she has sung in many voice recitals and concerts. Danielle is honored to have received various music awards, including membership in the Pi Kappa Lambda National Music Honor Society at Boston University and Music Departmental Honors and the Department of Music Marie Gibson Prize in Vocal Performance at Stanford.

Fengzhen Liu, a mezzo-soprano, is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance at Michigan State University under the guidance of Professor Jane Bunnell. She has participated in China’s Opera Talent Development Program and starred in the opera “Jiang Jie”. Additionally, she played the leading roles in the musicals “To Youth” at the Nanning Opera House and “Cai Qing” at Guangzhou Black Box Theater. She performed as Cherubino in opera scenes from “Le nozze di Figaro” and presented her doctoral solo recital. Her solo concert ”Precious Love Song“ at Liuzhou Grand Theatre was highly praised.

Fengzhen has achieved significant recognition in competitions, including the Silver Medal at the 2024 NTD International Vocal Competition, Third Prize at the China Golden Bell Awards, and First Prize at the "Ode to the Red Boat" National Singing Competition. She has also earned honors at prestigious events such as the Shanghai and Shenzhen International Vocal Competitions. Beyond performance, she has contributed to teaching model reforms in postgraduate folk opera performance courses in China, reflecting her commitment to both artistry and pedagogy.

Caleb Horner, tenor, recently earned his Bachelor’s of Music from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Originally from Detroit, Michigan, he moved to Winston-Salem to attend UNCSA, under the tutelage of Phyllis Pancella. He began performing in local Musical Theatre, performing regionally and professionally around the Blue Water area of Michigan throughout his teenage years. He discovered an intense passion for classical music over the pandemic, leading him to UNCSA. During his time at UNCSA, he performed the role of Joseph Brennan in the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute’s production of Ballymore, composed by Richard Wargo, as well as the choruses of Donizetti’s Maria di Rohan and Linda di Chamounix, as well as J. Strauss’ Die Fledermaus. Caleb has had ample opportunity to perform regionally in the Piedmont area, appearing frequently in choruses at Piedmont Opera, conducted by James Allbritten. He appeared in the choruses of Ragtime and La traviata in 2022, Don Pasquale and Il Trovatore in 2023 and The Marriage of Figaro and The Trial at Rouen in 2024. During the summer of 2023, he was a member of the Janiec Opera Company at the Brevard Music Center, where he appeared as Giuseppe in La traviata, under Steven White, and covered Jack in Into the Woods, under Craig Kier. He sang in the chorus of Verdi’s Requiem at the Brevard Music Center’s season finale, conducted by Keith Lockhart. Particularly passionate about modern music, Caleb attended the Mostly Modern Music Festival, where he premiered 2 different vocal works, including MMF Artistic Director Robert Paterson’s Rules in Effect from his cycle New York Stories. Caleb’s passion lies in the profound capability of music to express complex human emotions, and hopes that his work will push the boundaries of classical music to speak to the pressing issues of today’s world.

Carlo Santos (he/him) is an emerging Filipino-Canadian tenor based in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples. Carlo has just completed his third year of a Bachelor of Music in Opera Performance at the University of British Columbia. This season, Carlo is excited to venture onto the opera stage, with a recent operatic debut as Henry Davis and Charlie Hildebrand in UBC Opera’s production of Kurt Weill’s Street Scene. He is thrilled to be singing the role of Oronte in Handel’s Alcina at Chicago Summer Opera. As a soloist, Carlo is also an avid performer of art song, arias, and musical theatre. He also explores his Filipino heritage through kundiman art song repertoire. During his time at UBC, Carlo has been the recipient of the Sonya and Charlotte Wall Award in Opera and the Elizabeth Lamberton Award in Voice. Beyond opera, Carlo is a proud member of the UBC University Singers and Vancouver Youth Choir, with whom he has toured nationally in Canada and internationally–including participation as the sole North American choir in the Jeju International Choral Symposium in South Korea with VYC, in February 2025.

Yuhao Zhang, a baritone, graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the Central Conservatory of Music and is currently pursuing his master’s degree at the New England Conservatory of Music, studying under Bradley Williams.