Claire Griffin (Mabel) is a soprano and actress from Brevard, NC, whose upcoming 2026 engagements include Ilia (Idomeneo) with A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, Soprano Soloist (Mahler, Symphony No. 4) at the Washington National Cathedral, Créuse (Milhaud’s Médée), and Sylvie (Gounod’s La colombe). She recently appeared as Adina (L’elisir d’amore) with the Janiec Opera Company, Barbarina (Le nozze di Figaro) with Piedmont Opera, Mag (Richard Wargo’s Ballymore) and Adele (Die Fledermaus) with A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, and as Marie (The Bartered Bride) with the UNCG Opera Theatre.
In addition, Claire sang Polly Peachum in The Threepenny Opera and covered Musetta and Tina in La bohème and Jonathan Dove’s Flight, respectively with the Janiec Opera Company. She sang at the Aspen Music Festival Opera Theatre and VocalARTS in 2022 and portrayed Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers with the Utah Vocal Arts Academy in 2021.
Ms. Griffin won the Encouragement Award in the 2024 and 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition NC District and was a Finalist in Opera Grand Rapids Collegiate Vocal Competition in 2021 and the YoungArts winner in 2018.
Tenor, Johnathan Stanford White (Frederic) was a featured artist at Greensboro Opera’s First Annual Ovation Gala in November and at Opera in the Vines in December. Last month, Mr. White sang the role of Goro in North Carolina Opera’s Madama Butterfly. He began his operatic studies at the College of Charleston in 2004 while working on his BA in Vocal Performance. Since moving to Charlotte in 2013, Johnathan has become a staple in the classical music scene. After making his main stage debut with Opera Carolina in Turandot as the Emperor in 2015, Johnathan has performed numerous roles in productions of Turandot, Eugene Onegin, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte, The Tales of Hoffman, Le Nozze di Figaro, Rigoletto, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Pirates of Penzance, La Bohème, Pagliacci, and Carmen among others. Apart from his operatic pursuits, Johnathan is also an accomplished Symphonic soloist performing throughout the East Coast. In 2023, he made his international debut in the Tales of Hoffman in Vicenza, Italy.
Baritone Boyd Mackus (Major General Stanley) has enjoyed success in a wide variety of operatic, theater, and concert repertoire throughout the United States. He has appeared in major roles with the Goldovsky Grand Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Cincinnati Opera, Lyric Opera of Cleveland, Ohio Light Opera, Opera Southwest, Akron Lyric Opera Theatre, and the Urbana Symphony. Earning particular acclaim in the operetta and musical theater arena, Mr. Mackus has performed in over 90 leading and featured roles in works of Kalman, Lehar, Offenbach, Romberg, Strauss, Gilbert & Sullivan, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Lerner & Lowe, Bernstein, and others. His operatic roles include Rossini’s Figaro, Mozart’s Don Giovanni, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Tonio and Silvio in I Pagliacci, and the title role in Gianni Schicchi.
Mr. Mackus has recorded on the Newport Classics and Albany Records labels.
No stranger to Greensboro Opera audiences, bass-baritone Donald Hartmann (Sergeant of Police), last appeared as the Commendatore in GO’s 2024 production of Don Giovanni. His professional career began in 1978 in Germany with the Stadttheater Regensburg and a debut with Greensboro Opera in 1979. He has been described as possessing a, “big, rich voice with an amazing timbre” and “… his flair for comedic bel canto is major-league-worthy.” Having performed in over 160 operatic productions, in over 60 operas singing over 70 different roles, he is “one of the best character singers on any opera stage anywhere.” Notable performances include William Jennings Bryan in the 60th anniversary production of Ballad Baby Doe for Central City Opera in Colorado, and the Sacristan in Tosca in the historic reopening of New York City Opera’s return to Lincoln Center. Some of the best-loved portraits in Mr. Hartmann’s gallery of characters are Dr. Bartolo in The Barber of Seville, which he sang for Greensboro Opera in 2018, and Dr. Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro which he also sang for Opera Roanoke. A frequent presence on stages throughout the United States, he has appeared with the Michigan Opera Theatre, Toledo Opera, Opera Delaware, Arizona Opera, Madison Opera, Piedmont Opera, Opera Carolina, North Carolina Opera, Florentine Opera, Chattanooga Opera, Nashville Opera, and Virginia Opera.
Amber Nicole Guest (Ruth) is a soprano based in Durham, North Carolina. New York credits include Elvira in Noël Coward’s Blithe Spirit (The Gallery Players), For Goodness Sake and Smile (Musicals Tonight!), The Pirates of Finance (NYMF). Amber’s favorite regional engagements have included Gabby/Bobbi in City of Angels (Theatre Raleigh), Miss Bates in Emma (Playmakers Rep), Rosabella in The Most Happy Fella, and Abigail in 1776, the latter two at Lyric Stage in Dallas. She received a Bachelor of Music from Southern Methodist University, and is currently pursuing her Masters at UNCG, where she will next be singing Papagena in the UNCG Opera Theatre’s production of Die Zauberflöte. Follow her on IG: @dearmissbarrett
Aaron Phillips (The Pirate King) is thrilled to return to Pirates of Penzance as the Pirate King, a role he has proudly performed twice before. Regional stage credits include Sweeney Todd (Sweeney Todd) at Triad Stage, Jekyll & Hyde (John Utterson), and Les Misérables (Foreman). Aaron is also one of four featured vocalists for the international touring symphony production Disney in Concert. In addition to his stage work, he has an extensive career in film, television, and commercials. Mr. Phillips has an extensive voice-over performance career, and he is best known for voicing Laurent Thierry in the Netflix Anime Series Great Pretender. This production of Pirates marks a special homecoming, as Aaron is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Music, where he last played the Pirate King during his studies. Aaron extends heartfelt thanks to his old friend David Holley for the opportunity to return to this beloved role, to his family for their constant support, and to his partner Kerri and their perfect angel baby dog, Reggie, for being his foundation at home.
Lynn Thompson (Conductor) served as Music Director with The Ohio Light Opera (OLO) for 32 seasons. With OLO, he led over 1,100 performances of more than 100 different productions, including three world premieres, several American premieres, and the complete works of Gilbert and Sullivan. Additionally, Thompson and the OLO have to their credit 17 full-length recordings of their productions on the Newport Classic and Albany Records labels
He spent 27 seasons with Atlanta Lyric Theatre, where he served as Music Director/Conductor for 27 years and as Artistic Director for 17 years.
His work has led to collaborations with conductors Louis Lane and Robert Spano, as well as singers Michael Hume, Victoria Mallory, and Metropolitan Opera tenor Paul Groves. Composers Wright and Forrest consulted on Thompson’s 1998 production of “Kismet” in Atlanta, and he worked closely with the Kurt Weill Foundation in the remounting of the rarely performed The Firebrand of Florence with the Ohio Light Opera in 1999. In the summer of 2005, Thompson collaborated with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Robert Ward on his newest work, A Friend of Napoleon, and Thompson conducted its world premiere with the Ohio Light Opera. In 2006, Thompson conducted another world premiere of a new musical, Pride and Prejudice, again with OLO.
Thompson has appeared with Pensacola Opera, The Akron Symphony, Theatre of the Stars in Atlanta, the Empire State Orchestra in Schenectady, New York, and recently the Virginia Symphony Orchestra.