Thomas W. Burns (Amahl) has always enjoyed singing, and in March of 2023 began formal training in the Burlington Boys Choir (BBC) under the direction of Dr. Bill Allred. Thomas participated in the 2023 Baltimore Boychoir Festival with guest conductor Dr. Anton Armstrong and was thrilled to go on his first BBC tour performing in North Carolina this summer. More recently, Thomas also joined Highland Elementary’s co-ed High Notes Choir. In addition to singing, Thomas keeps up a busy schedule of soccer, Webelos Cub Scouts, and gaming with friends. He enjoys singing at church, camping, reading adventure novels, watching old movies, and playing a good hand of Gin-Rummy.
Detra Davis (Mother), a native of St. Thomas US Virgin Islands, sang the role of Annie in Greensboro Opera’s Porgy and Bess in January of 2022 and recently made her New York debut at Merkin Hall in the Riverside Opera Ensemble’s presentation of American Composers Concert: Matthews and Fornarola. She sang Valentine’s Aria and other excerpts from Nathan Matthews’ opera, Count of Monte Cristo. She has also appeared in productions at the Pistarckle Theatre, Island Center, and Reichhold Center for the Performance Arts. While earning a BA in Music Education from the University of the Virgin Islands, she sang with local bands such as Imagination Brass, Headline Band, Spectrum Band, and Full Circle. Detra received her MM in Vocal Performance from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and is currently pursuing her DMA. She performed in and was assistant to the director in several operas with UNCG and Greensboro Opera such as Carmen, Madama Butterfly, Hansel and Gretel, The Magic Flute, Falstaff and Pagliacci.
Robert Anthony Mack (Kaspar) recently premiered the title role in Emmett Till, an American Opera, composed by Mary D. Watkins and presented by Opera Noire International, the Harlem Chamber Players, the Harlem Arts Alliance and John Jay College. He is a member of the critically acclaimed Three Mo’ Tenors and the American Spiritual Ensemble. He sang with Pittsburgh Opera in The Summer King, as well as the roles of Remus in Treemonisha with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro and Ferrando in Così fan Tutte with Opera Carolina and Opera Grand Rapids, Elijah and Street in the opera Malcolm X with New York City Opera, and the role of Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess with Greensboro Opera, Toledo Opera, Springfield Symphony, Traverse City Symphony, New York City Opera, and at Margaret Island Open-Air Theatre in Budapest. He has performed principal roles Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, Opéra Française de New York, Nashville Opera, Opera Carolina, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Indianapolis Opera, The Paris Bastille, The Teatro Real in Spain, The Royal Danish Theater, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, as well as being on the roster of The Metropolitan Opera. He also performed in both the national and international tours of Smokey Joe’s Café. He can be heard on DECCA records, Paragon records, and KSW Music.
Scott MacLeod (Melchior) maintains an active career as a singer, spanning classical and musical theatre genres. He has appeared as a soloist in a variety of national and international venues, including Opera North, Utah Festival Opera, Opera Omaha, Central City Opera, Mobile Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Piedmont Opera, Greensboro Opera, Opera on the James, Eastern Music Festival, Carolina Ballet, Center for Contemporary Opera, the Tucson Symphony, the Winston-Salem Symphony, the North Carolina Symphony, the National Symphony of Costa Rica, and Carnegie Hall. In 2022 he received a State Department grant from the U.S. Consulate in Marseille, France, to perform an ocean conservation-themed recital tour, which culminated in a performance in Monaco for Prince Albert II and invited guests; he performed the same concert in the Washington National Gallery music series on Earth Day 2023. Other 2022-2023 performances include Rob Kapilow’s The Polar Express and soloist in the annual Independence Day tour with the North Carolina Symphony, Father in Piedmont Opera’s production of Ragtime, and Melchior in an HPU and Greensboro Opera collaboration of Amahl and the Night Visitors. Dr. MacLeod is an Associate Professor of Music at High Point University, where he received the HPU “Innovation and Creativity in Teaching” Award in 2021.
Branch Fields (Balthazar), 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 3 children.