Sidney Outlaw (Don Giovanni) is returning to Greensboro Opera after previously appearing as Jake in Porgy and Bess, Schaunard in La bohème, and Dandini in La Cenerentola. He has delighted audiences in the U.S. and abroad with his “weighty and forthright” sound (San Francisco Chronicle) since 2010, when he exploded onto the international scene after winning the Grand Prize at the Concurso Internacional de Canto Montserrat Caballe. This season, Mr. Outlaw will sing Marcello in La bohème with Chattanooga Symphony and Opera, Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette with Toledo Opera, and the title role in Don Giovanni with Boston Baroque. In addition, he will appear in concert with Opera Memphis, American Composers Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, Jacksonville Symphony, the Oratorio Society of New York, and the Nashville Symphony. In recent seasons, Mr. Outlaw sang Dizzy Gillespie in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with New Orleans Opera, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Omaha, Salieri in Mozart and Salieri with Opera San Jose, and Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Pensacola Opera and Opera Saratoga. He made his San Francisco Opera début as the First Mate in Billy Budd, sang Messiah with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony, and was Tommy McIntyre in Fellow Travelers with Madison Opera. On the concert platform, he made his début with Boston Baroque as soloist in Handel’s Messiah, returned to Oratorio Society New York as soloist in Bach’s B Minor Mass, and joined Youngstown Symphony Orchestra for Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. A graduate of the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Mr. Outlaw serves on the Manhattan School of Music faculty.
Branch Fields (Leporello), described by Opera America as “a bass of resonant richness,” is a versatile performer engaged throughout North America and beyond in opera, musical theater, and concert. He has sung with Santa Fe Opera, New York City Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Edmonton Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Utah Opera, Opera San Jose, and many other regional companies throughout the U.S. and Canada. In concert, Branch has performed with the Munich Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra, Santa Fe Symphony, MDR Leipzig, and the American Symphony Orchestra. Branch’s versatility as a singing actor led to his Broadway debut in South Pacific, understudying the role of Emile de Becque in the 2008 Lincoln Center Theater production, which won seven Tony Awards. He has since been Emile in 7 productions of South Pacific throughout the U.S. and Canada and was nominated for “Best Actor in a Musical” by theater critic circles in Boston, Massachusetts, and Richmond, Virginia. Recent performances include Sir Lancelot for Intermountain Opera Bozeman, Robert in Bridges of Madison County for The Ghostlight Theater in Michigan, Leporello in Don Giovanni for Indianapolis Opera, and Capt. Von Trapp for Charlottesville Opera and Montana TheaterWorks. Branch resides in Williamsburg, VA, with his wife and three children.
The Salt Lake Tribune praises Melinda Whittington (Donna Anna) for her “performances of emotional resonance along with their powerhouse vocals.” Last May, Melinda sang her role debut as Mimi in Minnesota Opera’s performance of Puccini’s La bohème. Last season, Melinda sang again with her home company, Opera Carolina, for her role debut as Violetta in La traviata. The previous season with the company, she sang Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and the Coming Home Soldier in Redler and Dye’s The Falling and the Rising. She also returned to the Metropolitan Opera for its production of Akhnaten and sang performances of Donna Anna with Opera Grand Rapids. Other recent performances include debuts with Arizona Opera as Donna Anna and a return in the title role of Rusalka, Utah Opera as Donna Anna, Ash Lawn Opera as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, North Carolina Opera as Ada in Higdon’s Cold Mountain and Nedda in Pagliacci. She has sung Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro with Opera Carolina, Opera Grand Rapids, and Kentucky Opera, the title role in Arabella with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette with Opera Birmingham and Pensacola Opera, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Green Mountain Opera, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte, previously with Opera Carolina. The soprano joined the roster of the Lyric Opera of Chicago for its recent production of Eugene Onegin and appeared in the Metropolitan Opera’s productions of Akhnaten and Macbeth. She sang Micaëla in Carmen and Marie Antoinette in Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles as a Filene Young Artist at Wolf Trap Opera and subsequently returned to the company for a birthday concert celebration honoring the composer. No stranger to Greensboro, Ms. Whittington sang Micaëla with Greensboro Opera in 2017 and earned her MM at UNCG.
Tenor Roderick George (Don Ottavio) has graced prestigious venues on stages across the globe. As a noted concert artist, he has sung over seventy performances of Handel’s Messiah, including his New York Lincoln Center debut and recent appearances with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra and North Carolina Baroque Orchestra. Equally at home on the operatic stage, he has performed leading roles in operas such as L’elisir d’amore, La bohème, Madama Butterfly, Die Zauberflöte, Roméo et Juliette, Lakmé, and Porgy and Bess. In summer 2023, he sang the role of Alfredo in La Traviata with Opera Wilmington. Other recent engagements include Mozart Requiem with Northwest Florida Symphony, Carmina Burana with Huntsville Symphony, Faust et Hélène with New York Repertory Orchestra, Dvořák Stabat Mater with Highland Park Chorale and Orchestra, The Chariot Jubilee at University of Maryland, and I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes with Nashville Symphony. Mr. George has concertized internationally, with notable highlights including appearances throughout Russia with the Orpheus Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Krasnoyarsk Philharmonic, and in concert at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow. A multifaceted artist, his professional ensemble affiliations include recordings and multiple concert tours across North America and Europe with the American Spiritual Ensemble and with the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers, including recent appearances at the Kennedy Center, the National Cathedral, Choral Canada, and on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. Based in Birmingham, Alabama, he is professor of music at the University of Montevallo and holds a doctorate from The Florida State University. www.roderickgeorge.com
Samantha Anselmo (Donna Elvira) has been named a finalist three times in the Madame Rose Palmai-Tenser Competition hosted by Mobile Opera and a finalist in the John Alexander Voice Competition with Opera Mississippi. Her stage credits include Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, First Lady in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, and Giannetta in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore. Upcoming performances include Chloe in Offenbach’s Daphnis et Chloe with Minerva Stage Company at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she is pursuing her doctoral studies, immersed in advancing her expertise in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy. Prior to her studies at UNCG, Samantha taught several courses at the University of South Alabama, including Diction for Singers, Introduction to Music, and private voice lessons. While balancing her doctoral studies, Samantha remains an active performer, dedicated to music education and community outreach, evident through her active involvement with local schools, churches, and her participation in opera outreach initiatives.
American soprano, Amber Rose (Zerlina), hailed for her “effervescent” and “iridescent” sound, was recently seen in Greensboro Opera’s production of The Gift of the Magi in the role of Della and as Kate Pinkerton in Opera Carolina’s production of Madame Butterfly last January. Ms. Rose has performed multiple principal roles across the United States with notable companies such as Utah Festival Opera, Opera Carolina, NC Summer Opera, Greensboro Opera, Signature Inc., NH Piccola Opera, Miami Music Festival and Opera Fusion. Her 2022-2023 season highlights included Ms. Rose’s international debut at the Teatro Comunale in the role of Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann and the creation of two roles in new music productions. Ms. Rose sang the role of Megara in House of Orpheus with Opera Carolina and the role of Mama in An Extra Penny with Signature Inc. Other engagements included performing as the soprano soloist in both the Mozart Coronation Mass and the Bach Cantata Wachet auf ruft, uns die Stimme with the Masterworks Chorus of the Palm Beaches and performing as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Taylor Festival Choir. Her stage credits also include Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos), Olympia (Les contes d’Hoffmann), First Lady (The Magic Flute), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Madame Silvertone (The Impresario), Nannetta (Falstaff), Dew Fairy (Hansel and Gretel), and Zerlina (Don Giovanni). Ms. Rose is a graduate of the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she earned her Master’s degree in Vocal Performance.
Christian Blackburn (Masetto), baritone, originally from Lakin, Kansas, holds degrees from Kansas State University and the University of North Carolina Greensboro and is currently a student of Victoria Livengood. Most recently, Christian appeared as Jake Wallace in La Fanciulla del West with North Carolina Opera, for whom he also sang Masetto in Don Giovanni (2023), Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata (2023), and the Speaker in Die Zauberflöte (2022). On the concert stage, Mr. Blackburn has been the baritone soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Greensboro Choral Society and in Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht. Since 2020, Christian has taken a step back from full time performing and runs a financial planning and advisory practice in Greensboro. While not working for his clients or performing, he spends time with his two young children, Lilla and Ruby, his dog Pablo and his wife Talia.
No stranger to Greensboro Opera audiences, bass-baritone Donald Hartmann (Commendatore), last appeared as Colline in GO’s 2022 production of La bohème. 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 has been reviewed as “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 Doefor 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 sang this past spring 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.