Hye Jung Lee
Soprano
Korean soprano Hye Jung Lee is an alumna of the 2010 Merola Opera Program, where she performed as Giannetta in L’Elisir d’Amore and holds degrees from Indiana University, Mannes College of Music, Seoul National University, and Dresden Musik Hochshule. Recently she made her professional operatic debut at San Francisco Opera performing the role of Madame Mao in Nixon in China and at Carnegie Hall as a soloist in Mozart’s Mass in C Minor and in Bach’s Weihnachts Oratorio with the St. Cecilia Orchestra and Chorus. This season at FGO she will perform the roles of Papagena in Die Zauberflöte and Lisa in La sonnambula. In 2011 she represented Korea in BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition. Her debut at While at Indiana University, she sung Adele in Die Fledermaus and Sophie in Der Rosenkavalie. Ms. Lee’s awards include Winner: Shizuoka International Opera Competition, ARD International Music Competition, Career Bridges Grant, Regional Finalist: Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and the Maria Callas International Music Competition.

Her participation in the Young Artist Studio is generously sponsored by Grace Panvini & Curtis Rice.

Lacy Sauter
Soprano
Lacy Sauter was seen last season as Bianca/A Singer in La Rondine. She returns to FGO this season to sing 1st Lady in Die Zauberflöte and Flora in La Traviata in addition to covering the roles of Mimi, Musetta, Violetta, and Pamina. She spent the summer as an Apprentice Singer at The Santa Fe Opera. Ms. Sauter is a graduate of Arizona State University and pursued graduate studies at Indiana University. At IU, she sang the roles of Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus and Juliette in Roméo et Juliette. As a Young Artist at the 2011 Glimmerglass Festival, she sang the role of Valentina Scarcella in Later the Same Evening and covered the roles of Frasquita in Carmen and the Young Woman in the world premiere of A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck. Ms. Sauter was an active performer with Arizona Opera, where she sang the role of the First Bridesmaid in Le nozze di Figaro and worked with the Opera Street Singers and Opera Dell’Arte outreach programs. She was a Festival Artist at Utah Festival Opera in 2009, where she covered the roles of Frasquita in Carmen and Peep-Bo in The Mikado. As a studio artist at Chautauqua Opera, in 2008 and 2010, she played the roles of the Baby Vixen in The Cunning Little Vixen and the Second Graduate in Street Scene. Ms. Sauter was a winner of the Arizona and the Middle-East Tennessee Districts of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2008 and 2011. She was also nominated for a Sara Tucker Study Grant in 2011.

Her participation as a second-year in the Young Artist Studio is generously sponsored by Louise and Terry Moore.

Carla Jablonski
Mezzo-Soprano
Mezzo-Soprano, Carla Jablonski, has been hailed a "seasoned and multi-dimensional" young performer.  She has been building a name for herself as an exciting and promising young actress on both the concert and operatic stage with her "appealingly burnished tone" as described by The New York Times. She received her Masters Degree from The Juilliard School and has sung with Wolf Trap Opera Company, Chautauqua Opera and Central City Opera. Awards include a Drama Desk in theatre, ASCAP, Bori Grant, and Novick Career Advancement Award. She recently performed in a co-production between the Metropolitan Opera and The Juilliard School conducted by James Levine and directed by Stephen Wadsworth. She sang the role of La Ciesca in Gianni Schicchi and reprised the role with Central City Opera Company. Other highlights include Mère Jeanne in Dialogues des Carmélites, Mrs. Jones in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene and Thelma Yablonski in John Musto’s Later the Same Evening. This season at FGO she will perform the roles of Lady #3 in Die Zauberflöte and Annina in La traviata. The Pittsburgh native made her Lincoln Center debut at Alice Tully Hall singing Five Songs by Charles Ives arranged for orchestra by John Adams. She returned to the Tully stage to sing the role of Fileno in Handel's Clori, Tirsi, e Fileno under the baton of Maestro Nicholas Mcgegan. This past December Ms. Jablonski made her Carnegie Hall debut as the alto soloist in Handel's Messiah and recently sang Bernstein’s Jeremiah with NYYS and El amor Brujo with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Her participation in the Young Artist Studio is generously sponsored by Carlos & Marta Lopez-Cantera.

Matthew Maness
Tenor
Matt Maness was recently seen performing in the concert “Bel Canto a Due” as an apprentice artist with The Caramoor Festival under the direction of Maestro Will Crutchfield. He returns to Florida Grand Opera after his debut as Benvolio in Romeo et Juliette. This year he was chosen by Metropolitan Opera tenor, Marcello Giordani to perform in the Vero Beach Opera’s annual Gala. Competing this year, he is a recipient of the encouragement award at the Florida district Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Mr. Maness was active as a Young Artist with Center City Opera Theater (2011-2012) performing five leading roles; Alfred in Die Fledermaus, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Christoph in the North American premiere of The Shops, and Nijinsky in the World Premiere of Danse Russe. He received his Bachelors cum laude from the University of Florida where his roles included, Ferrando (Cosi fan tutte), The Lover (Amelia Goes to the Ball), and Jenik (The Bartered Bride).

His participation in the Young Artist Studio is generously sponsored by Isa & Marvin Leibowitz.

Matthew Newlin
Tenor
Tenor, Matthew Newlin, has been praised as a “pleasing, pliant tenor” with “easy stage manner” who delivers solos with “warmth” and “clear diction.” Last season he performed The English Tailor in Menotti’s The Last Savage and covered The Captain in Wozzeck at Santa Fe and performed Tamino while completing a Professional Diploma in Opera at the Chicago College of Performing Arts. This season at FGO he will perform the roles of Priest #1 and Armored Guard in Die Zauberföte and The Notary in La sonnambula.  Mr. Newlin is also returning to The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program where he will perform Condulmiero in Rossini’s Maometto II and cover Matteo in Strauss’ Arabella. Other operatic roles include le Mari in Poulenc’s Les mamelles deTirésias, Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance, The Teapot in Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortilèges, Satyavan in Holst’s S?vitri, and the leads in Stravinsky’s Mavra and Janácek’s The Diary of One Who Disappeared, which he also covered at Chicago Opera Theater. His concert appearances with orchestra include Vaughan-Williams’ On Wenlock Edge, Mozart’s Requiem, and Messiah.  Mr. Newlin’s awards include Winner: Opera Birmingham Competition, the American Opera Society’s Scholarship Competition and Third Place: The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Regional Finals.

His participation in the Young Artist Studio is generously sponsored by the Young Patronesses of the Opera.

Ryan Milstead
Baritone
Baritone, Ryan Milstead recently made his professional operatic debut with the apprentice program at the Santa Fe Opera performing the roles of the American Tailor in Menotti’s The Last Savage and the Second Apprentice in Berg’s Wozzeck and covering the role of Wagner in Gounod’s Faust.  Last season at FGO he performed the roles of Don Lucas in Luisa Fernanda, Périchaud in La Rondine, Marullo in Rigoletto, and Gregorio in Roméo et Juliette. This season he will be performing the roles of Schaunard in La bohème and Baron Douphol in La traviata. Last year he was a national semi-finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and a regional finalist in 2010. He received his Masters in Music from the University of Illinois, frequenting the stage with performances of Mercurio in Cavalli’s La Calisto, Marullo in Verdi’s Rigoletto, and the title role in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. He was also honored with the Jerry Hadley Memorial Award and the Grace Wilson Memorial Award during his masters. He received his Bachelor of Music from the University of Mississippi where his roles included Strephon (Iolanthe), Escamillo (Carmen), Poo-Bah (The Mikado), Frank (Die Fledermaus), and Antonio (Le Nozze di Figaro).

His participation as a second-year artist in the Young Artist Studio is generously sponsored by Victor & Lisa Mendelson.

Adam Lau
Bass
Bass, Adam Lau recently completed his Master of Music degree at Rice University. Recent credits include Timur (Turandot) at West Bay Opera; Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) at the Symphony and Opera Academy of the Pacific; Masetto (Don Giovanni) at Rice University; and Dr. Bartolo (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Leporello (Don Giovanni), Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte), George Wilson (Harbison’s The Great Gatsby) and King Louis XVI (Corigliano’s The Ghost of Versailles) with the Aspen Opera Theater Center. In 2008, he made his San Francisco Opera debut as a Baobab/Hunter (Portman’s The Little Prince). In 2011, he was a finalist in both the Northwest Region MONCA and the Houston Grand Opera McCollum Competition. During the HGO competition he won the Audience Choice Award. He also made his debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic singing Lane/Merriman in the world premier of Gerald Barry’s opera The Importance of Being Earnest. In the summer of 2011, he sang the role of Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia at the San Francisco Merola Opera program. This year, he recently performed Leporello in Don Giovanni with West Bay Opera. He also made his debut with the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra singing Boris in the Coronation Scene from Boris Godunov. In May, he covered Masetto in the LA Philharmonic’s first fully produced opera of Don Giovanni led under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel. This season at FGO he will perform the roles of Colline (La Bohème), Sprecher (Die Zauberflöte), Alessio (La sonnambula) and Marquis d’Obigny (La Traviata).

His participation in the Young Artist Studio is generously sponsored by Olga & David Melin.

Cynthia Cook
Mezzo-Soprano
Cynthia recently graduated from The Academy of Vocal Arts, where she performed a number of roles including Adalgisa in Bellini’s Norma, Meg Page in Verdi’s Falstaff, and Dorabella in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte. Her Clairon in Capriccio was well received in February 2010 as well as Adelaide in Arabella in 2011. In the Spring of 2011 she added the role of Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni to her repertoire. In the Fall of 2011 she debuted with Annapolis Opera performing in their Shakespeare in Love concert. Cynthia’s voice has been described as a “warm and confident sound” with a “throbbing vibrato that is impressive and beautiful”. She competed in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Regionals in Boston, MA in January 2012. She has also won an Encouragement Award with The Gerda Lissner Competition as well as The Licia Albanese- Puccini Foundation. In the Spring of 2011, she was a semi-finalist for the Loren L. Zachary Competition as well as the Belvedere Competition in Vienna, Austria. In the summer of 2012, she joined The Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Program covering Particia Bardon as Calbo in Rossini’s Maometto II. She also covered Victoria Livengood as Adelaide in Strauss’ Arabella. Cynthia Cook, a native of Whitehouse Station, NJ, graduated Magna cum laude with a BM in Vocal Performance at The University of Hartford.

Her participation in the Young Artist Studio is generously sponsored by the Leibowitz-Greenway Family.

Lyndon Meyer
Coach/Accompanist
Lyndon Meyer has distinguished himself as a musician with great versatility and insight. He holds degrees from the University of Arkansas (BM) and the Eastman School of Music (MM). Beginning in September of 2012 Lyndon will be the Apprentice Coach for the Young Artist Studio at the Florida Grand Opera in Miami. As a pianist and vocal coach, Lyndon has held positions with the Eastman School of Music and Mercury Opera Rochester, and has been on the faculty of the Druid City Opera Workshop and the Si Parla, Si Canta summer program in Urbania, Italy. Even while still a student at the Eastman School of Music, he was sought out for his pianistic ability, sensitivity, and knowledge of the art and performance of vocal literature. He has won numerous honors for Lieder and instrumental accompanying, including 1st prize in the Jesse Kneisel Lieder competition, and has been invited on several occasions to perform at the Kennedy Center. He has also performed in recital with such noted artists as Ani Schnarch, Kevork Mardirossian, Dennis Parker, and Ben Pierce, and as soloist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra and North Arkansas Symphony. He has served as musical director or conductor for such shows as The Last Five Years, The Secret Garden, Pirates of Penzance, The Grand Duke, Urinetown, Little Women, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, among many others. Since 2009 he has been staff accompanist for the annual Lotte Lenya Competition, and has coached and assisted in the Musical Theatre Workshop at the University of Rochester. His sole stage credit is performing the role of Smudge in Plaid Tidings!, the Christmas sequel to Forever Plaid. Lyndon has studied voice with Carol Webber and Janice Yoes, and has performed continuo accompaniment on both harpsichord and organ. An experienced choral director and accompanist, he served formerly as music director and organist for St. Thomas More Church in Rochester, New York.

His participation in the Young Artist Studio is generously sponsored by Arlene and Laurans Mendelson.

Master classes for the 2012-2013 season are generously sponsored by Alicia Celorio.