Carmen | September 2024

Hailed as having a "rich baritone voice" and being described as a "truly… talented musician and performer," Hayden Höglund is pleased to return to LOT as Zuniga in Carmen. His favorite stage credits include Mr. Todd in Sweeney Todd, Silvio in Pagliacci, Betto in Gianni Schicchi, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, and Seneca in L'incoronazione di Poppea. Höglund recently completed a season at Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre where he performed in the ensembles of Lohengrin, Aida, and Our Town; as well as in Oliver! as Mr. Sowerberry, gaining him praise for "[springing] the show forward with [his] physical comedy and lively singing."

Matthew Thomas Castleton (Salt Lake City, Utah) is delighted to appear with Lyrical Opera Theater. While Mr. Castleton has a large swath of operatic and musical theatre experience, recent credits include La Bohème (Utah Opera 2017), Chabrier's L'Étoile (Sin City Opera 2017), and Lucia di Lammermoor (Utah Opera 2017). Mr. Castleton also was a young artist at the 2009 La Musica Lirica Opera Young Artist Program (Novafeltria, Italy). He holds both Bachelors (2010) and Masters (2014) Degrees in Music-Vocal Performance from the University of Utah. When he is not performing, Matthew also works as a head cashier at The Home Depot while making his home in Midvale, Utah.

Originally from Lodi, California, Caden Webb, Baritone, is a Senior in the Vocal Performance program at Utah State University. He has played Vladimir Popov in Anastasia and Belcore in L'Elisir d'Amore at Utah State University. He has also performed as a principle role all over the country at Summer Programs such as Harrower Summer Opera Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia and Chicago Summer Opera in Chicago, Illinois. Caden has also performed as Don Giovanni in Don Giovanni with Prague Summer Nights in the Czech Republic. In his spare time, Caden loves to build cosplay armor and props, as well as spending time with his colleagues. Caden currently studies with Thomas Glenn and has previously studied with Daniel Ebbers at the University of the Pacific and Dr Cindy Dewey at Utah State University.

DR. JACQUELYN ABBOTT, soprano, has loved singing from a very young age and began her vocal training not far from here in Kaysville, Utah. After obtaining an undergraduate degree in Communication Disorders from BYU, she felt singing was her true calling and went on to receive a Doctor of Music in Voice Performance with distinction from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. Jacquelyn enjoys teaching at Utah State and maintains a private studio with her husband, Marc Abbott. She loves to perform and direct as often as she can and recently appeared as Berta in The Barber of Seville and Phoebe in A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder.

Deborah is excited to make her debut in a lead role with Lyrical Opera Theater. She has recently performed in Hunchback of Notre Dame as Florika, various productions in the Utah Opera Chorus and Lyrical Opera Theater Chorus, Dorothee in UVAA's Cendrillon, and Lady Beconsfield in Draper Historic Theatre's Jekyll and Hyde. She looks forward to playing the role of Adele in Die Fledermaus next February with Lyrical Opera. Outside of evening performances she is a piano and voice teacher as well as a piano tuner. She enjoys mountain biking, four-wheeling, camping, hiking, and crocheting. She'd like to give a big thanks to her husband for all his support in her vocal health and performances.

Lyric mezzo Mandi Barrus is a musician and opera producer. With her "impressive technique and clear tone", her "warm and cozy mezzo-soprano voice" is "a breath of fresh air". Mandi's 23-24 season comprised producing and singing 4 roles with Opera Contempo, premiering Artemis in Rudman's "Protectress" and Nature in Buck's "Le Roman de Silence". She sang on Utopia Music's "Menagerie" and NEXT Ensemble's "Women in Music". Upcoming, Mandi will sing Mércèdes with Opera San Luis Obispo, then The Witch in "Hansel and Gretel" with Rimrock Opera. Mandi holds a Master of Music degree from the UofU and sings at St. Paul's Episcopal as the Mezzo Artist-in-Residence. She lives with her 3 children and partner, composer David Campbell, in South Jordan.

Alex Harrelson is a 24-year-old tenor pursuing a DMA at the U of Utah. With Lyrical Opera Theater, he has performed Gherardo in Gianni Schicchi, Parpignol in La Bohème, and Count Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. At the U, he has performed as Marley, Fred, and Cratchitt in A Christmas Carol, King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, the Defendant in Trial by Jury, and Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte. Other notable roles include Gastone in La Traviata and Lindoro in L'Italiana in Algeri. Most recently, he performed in A.L.I.C.E. by Scurria and Corriher, and Le Roman de Silence, by Buck, both new operas.

Jesse Toftum is a composer, vocalist, and plays several musical instruments. He started studying music theory on his own at 16. By midway through high school his band director was deferring to Jesse to answer other students. He studied music composition for four years at Snow College, where he learned his love for Opera. Jesse is now a Junior at the University of Utah studying Computer Science. This is Jesse's fourth consecutive season with Lyrical Opera. He sang the Duke in their production of Rigoletto and Remendado in Carmen. He is happy to be working again under the direction of Lynnette Owens and with this stellar cast.

My name is Brita Marchant, and I love to sing! I am currently a Vocal Performance major at USU, and I have a long way to go! Carmen will be my first ever musical/ opera production. My other hobbies include painting, hiking, reading, sewing, and spending time with friends and family.

A Utah native, Rebekah loves singing onstage. Rebekah has a MM degree from BYU and a BM degree from Snow College. Rebekah teaches private lessons at Daybreak School of Music. Her favorite roles have been Luisa (The Fantasticks), Johanna (Sweeney Todd), Sarah Brown (Guys and Dolls), Casilda (The Gondoliers), Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), and Fatmé (Zémire et Azor). She sang with the Utah Opera Chorus in Die Zauberflöte, and was principal understudy and background vocalist in Kurt Bestor's The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber. When she's not teaching or performing, Rebekah enjoys spending time with her husband Devan.

Ariana Abadía, ecuadorian soprano, obtained her diploma in classical voice at the National Conservatory of Music, later she received her bachelor's degree in music pedagogy at the Catholic University of Quito. In April 2024 she obtained her Master's degree in voice performance at Brigham Young University. Ariana has performed as Romilda in Handel's Serse, Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow; Marta in Rob Gardner's Lamb of God; Bastiene in Bastien und Batienne; Ilse in Spring Awakening; the First Lady in The Magic Flute; Diana in the national premiere of Cruzar la Cara de la Luna. She's been a soloist in Faure's Requiem, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, Vivaldi's Gloria, Mozart's Requiem, and the cantata Resurrección en Quito by Diego Luzuriaga. Ariana has won several renowned contests in Ecuador and the United States.

Sarah Seamons grew up in Ogden Utah and was part of High School and Community Theater. Sarah has also sung with the Mormon Youth Chorus and is currently taking voice lessons with Lynnette Owens. Sarah sang Giovanna in Rigoletto and is the cover for Suzuki in LOT's Madama Butterfly. She was a soloist with Lyrical Opera Theater's Masquerade Party 2019 and on Salt Lake City's Festa Italiana. She has sung in the chorus of La Traviata and Falstaff.

Amy Banta didn't know she could sing until she was almost 30. Now she's making up for lost time. In Washington, D.C. she performed at The National Cathedral and with The Georgetown Gilbert and Sullivan Society, singing for prominent members of all branches of government. Locally, she's performed at The Empress Theatre and with The Motley Wandering Minstrels. She also sings and plays Celtic Harp (and occasionally the banjo) with her folk trio "The High Desert Harpies." This is Amy's first time performing grand opera. Thank you for being her first opera audience.

Deborah Siddoway,soprano, has worked collaboratively and individually on a variety of concerts. As a classically trained musician, her primary performance focus is Opera and Broadway. Her performances include Kate Pinkerton and Mama in Lyrical Opera Theater's Madama Butterfly, chorus in Carmen, Tosca, and Falstaff and Gretchen in Beth Bruner's, The Grand Duke. Her concert soloist performances include singing Puccini's "O mio babbino caro" and Rossini's "Duetto buffo di due gatti" with Lyrical Opera Theater soloing in the Matsumoto, Japan/Salt Lake City sister city Gala and Lyrical Opera Theater Heart Song concert, and annual Masquerade party. She has been featured in the Italian festival "Ferragosto" and West Valley City, Mayor Mike Winder's Gala concert and enjoys singing at local church events and senior living centers. Her vocal repertoire includes, English, Italian, German, French and Latin. Although she holds a Master's in Business and certification in Human Resources her passion is in the arts. She is living proof you are never too old to follow your dreams.

Miriam Penrod, soprano from Orlando, Florida, recently graduated from Utah State University with a BA in Chinese and minors in both Linguistics and Asian Studies. While at USU, she also pursued her passion for music through private voice instruction and choir performances. This led to numerous solo opportunities from soulful gospel riffs to soloing at USU's 2024 graduation ceremony. Miriam placed 2nd in both contemporary and classical categories of this year's NATS (Northern Utah Chapter) vocal competition. She intends to find a career speaking Chinese daily and plans to seek out every opportunity to sing her heart out for those around her!

Ella Parish is starting her senior year at Mountain Crest High School in Hyrum, UT where she not only performs in the school's theater productions, but she is also the costumer for the theater program. Ella most recently performed in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Once on This Island, Curtains, Antigone Now, and will be performing in Matilda in November. Ella loves singing, acting, dancing and creating. She is a student of Jacquelyn Abbott.

This is Emily's third experience with Lyrical Opera Theater and is very excited to be a part of the Carmen Opera Chorus. She has performed in La Boheme and Pagliacci. Emily has been performing in musical theatre productions for the past four years. Favorite roles include: Fastrada in Pippin and Miss Andrew in Mary Poppins. Other favorite shows include Into the Woods and Addams Family.

Alicia Fairbanks began studying voice at Mesa Community College. She completed an undergraduate degree in vocal performance at Brigham Young University. During that time she had the opportunity to teach BYU's Slavic Choir. Alicia earned a masters degree in voice at the University of Utah. Past roles include Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Pitti Sing in the Mikado, Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors and Athamas in Semele. Alicia loves working with her voice students and watching them progress. She uses her spare time for painting, sculpting and sewing.

Emily Anderson Mijarez is excited to be making her fifth appearance at Lyrical Opera Theater. She recently played the role of Berta in Lyrical Opera's performance of Barber of Seville and played the role of Flora in Lyrical Opera's performance of La Traviata in 2019. However, she has spent most of her musical career on the musical theater stage. She has performed at The Hale Theater Orem in South Pacific and Guys and Dolls, as well as in many local community productions. Her favorite roles to date are Lucy in Jekyll and Hyde and Ms. Hannigan in Annie. Emily is extremely grateful to her family, friends and husband who encourage her daily to pursue her dreams. She is also very grateful to Lynnette Owens who continues to push her outside her comfort zone.

Danny McDonnall is thrilled to return to the Lyrical Opera Theater after his debut role as Dr. Caius (Falstaff) and singing at Festa Italiana. He has recently completed a Performance Certificate at the University of Denver where he performed roles/scenes including The Lamplighter (The Little Prince), Oronte (Alcina), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), Paul (Die Tote Stat), Jean Valjean (Les Miserable), and Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni). While in Colorado, Danny also sings with the chorus for Opera Colorado and as a soloist with Central City Opera touring productions. When he is not singing, Dr. McDonnall is a neuroscientist, biotech entrepreneur, and a biomedical engineering professor.

This is Rod Hansen's fourth production with Lyrical Opera Theater. He played Fiorello in The Barber of Seville, Benoit in La Boheme and sang in the chorus of Pagliacci. Prior to that, he appeared in musicals, such as Spamalot and Fiddler on the Roof and at Evermore Park. He is often found at Renaissance Faires performing as a medieval style bard; singing, playing guitar, and juggling.

Michael can often be found singing, either at the Cathedral Church of St. Mark in Salt Lake City, with the Utah Sacred Harp Singers, or with friends singing Renaissance polyphony for fun. In 2024, he sang in the chorus for Opera Contempo's premier of Le Roman de Silence. In 2023, he joined singers from St. Mary's Catholic Church (Park City) to sing Josquin's Missa Pange Lingua and joined singers from St. Paul's (Park City) and elsewhere to sing Faure's Requiem. When he is not singing, he can be found working for The University of Utah or wandering the foothills and cemeteries of Salt Lake City.

Smera Nair takes vocal and piano lessons privately with Lynnette Owens. She is a talented singer and pianist and enjoys performing songs in English, Latin and Italian. She recently sang "Nella Fantasia" at the 2021 Italian festival in Salt Lake City. In her free time, Smera loves to go swimming, biking and spend time with her family and her pet dog, Buddy.

Hi, my name is Nila, and I'm a 10-year-old who plays piano and sings in English and Italian. I'm on the swim team, chess club, and I do jiu-jitsu, math class, summer camp, ice skating, and yoga. I love animals more than anything in the world. I have already sung in one opera, La Bohème and am about to perform in my second opera, Carmen.

Hi, my name is Alivia, and I am 12 years old. I play piano and I love to sing. For the past 3 years, I have been a member of the American Heritage Youth Choir. I have performed in the Patriotic Program at my school along with other devotionals. I enjoy swimming, riding horses, and camping. This will be my first time performing in an opera.

Carly Schaub lives in SLC, where she also completed her M.F.A. at the University of Utah in Modern Dance. Before SLC, she lived in ND, dancing and serving as Outreach Coordinator for Northern Plains Dance. She also has a B.F.A. in Theatre/Dance from the University of Wyoming. Carly is an adjunct for Salt Lake Community College, and Westminster College, and teaches Modern and Ballet at Wasatch Arts Center. She teaches Dance for Parkinson's for UofU's Skagg's Wellness Center and RDT. She has choreographed for Deseret Experimental Opera, Snow College, and Cache Valley Civic Ballet, Northern Plains Dance and teaches Baroque and Renaissance dance. Carly directs Dance Balletti, an early Ballet reconstruction ensemble and she also dances with Municipal Ballet.

I have 15 years of dance experience and will be going to UVU this fall, majoring in ballet with a minor in entrepreneurship. I got my ballet training at Wasatch Arts center along with experience on their company using modern, and jazz style techniques in addition to my ballet skills. Before becoming serious in dance I took 4 years of drama classes and was in a school production of Fiddler on the Roof. I have found that my roots in theater have been a great tool for me in the dance world and in my performances. Roles I've performed for Oquirrh Mountain Ballet's Nutcracker include, The Mouse King, Spanish Princess, Snow corps, Drosselmeyer's Maid, Chinese, and Russian variations. Roles from other shows include Peter Pan, Marry from the nativity, and Sneezy from Snow White.

Victoria's journey in dance began at the age of 4 and has been an enduring passion ever since! Her days are filled with dance, commencing early and ending late, and she loves every moment of it! For the past 8 years, she's found immense fulfillment teaching Ballet, Tap, and Jazz at Wasatch Arts Center. Victoria has an AS in Dance from Utah Valley University, is currently pursuing a BA in Dance at Brigham Young University, and currently is a member of BYU's Theater Ballet Studio Company. She is grateful for every opportunity to be on stage and hopes you enjoy the show!"

My name is Olivia White. I have been dancing for 16 years training in Ballet, Jazz, Modern, and Tap. I am currently in the ballet program at Utah Valley University. I was on UVUs ballet company, Repertory Ballet Ensemble, for the 2023-2024 season. This season I am pursuing the modern company at UVU, Synergy. I have a passion for dance and look for every opportunity to perform!

Matilda is a stagehand hoping to work in theater lighting design. She has varied experience at The Grand Theater in Sweeney Todd, SLAC in You Will get Sick, and at Pioneer Theater in Hello Dolly. Her hobbies include board games, playing the piano, and creating new worlds. Theater has brought her a great passion for telling stories.

After enjoying his last experience, Lee Wailes is grateful to be invited back to Lyrical Opera and their brilliant production of Carmen. Used to productions where is the only stage manager, and the only stage hand, he is grateful for another experience with a talented crew he can trust at his side; he likes to think the feeling is mutual. "I'd like to once again thank my friend Matilda for reaching out to me about Lyrical Opera and its opportunities. A thank you as well to Aaron and Kayden for their constant professionalism and hard work. If anyone in the audience happens to be from OBT, welcome, hope to work with you soon."

Kaden Larsen, a seasoned stagehand on his third opera, is celebrated for his unwavering work ethic and adaptability. A reliable and versatile team member, he effortlessly takes on any task to ensure the opera's success. Grateful for partner Damien and their extended family, Kaden finds comfort in the company of two senior cats and a growing collection of plants. Amidst the controlled chaos of opera production, he values each team member's unique contributions. Known for his handiness, cat-whispering skills, and familial ties to the opera, working alongside Damien's father and sister, Kaden brings a familial touch to the production. He has eclectic musical tastes and eagerly anticipates each opera, always ready to contribute with enthusiasm and a helping hand.

Brody Peck has a solid theater background, a proficiency in construction, and a passion for the performing arts. Known for flexibility and composure under pressure, he excels in collaboration with directors, designers, and crew members. With strong problem-solving skills and a keen eye for detail, Brody ensures safe and smooth productions.