Meet our new artists-in-residence 2022-23!
During our successful 10th Season, four Colorado resident singers joined us in different concerts and performing roles in our fully staged opera productions, such as: “Opera in the Park” -a free outdoors concert at the Boulder Bandshell-, L’Enfant et les sortilèges by Ravel, Il Trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi, and also received coachings to help develop their careers.
During our 11th Season, our Artists-in-Residence will perform roles in our fully-staged productions:
Gato con Botas by Montsalvatge: September 2022 at the Louisville Center for the Arts, as part of our Educational Outreach program.
Hansel & Gretel by Humperdinck: December 2022 at the Dairy Arts Center.
Manon by Jules Massenet: February 2023 at the Dairy Arts Center.
Additionally, our Artists-in-Residence will receive coachings and participate in masterclasses to help develop their careers.
Our 2022-23 Artists-in-residence
MARÍA JOSÉ FABARA
Born in Quito Ecuador, soprano María José Fabara holds a Master’s in Opera Performance from Wichita State University and is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma in Voice Performance at the University of Denver. Before coming to the United Sates, she was part of the professional opera company of the "Teatro Nacional Sucre" in Quito. Her previous performances include, La Traviata (Violetta), L’Elisir d’Amore (Adina), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Die Zauberflöte (Queen of the Night) Così Fan Tutte (Despina), West Side Story (Maria). María José has performed as a featured soloist in different concert productions including Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Coffee Cantata, Handel's Messiah among others.
Natacha Cóndor, Mezzo-soprano
Natacha is originary from Ecuador. She joined the cast of Teatro Nacional Sucre´s production of The Magic Flute of the Andes as Third Lady and as Lupe in the Mariachi Opera: Crossing to the other side of the moon. She also performed the role of Flora in La Traviata with the Guayaquil Symphony Orchestra, and the role of Wendla in Spring Awakening during three seasons.
In 2019, Natacha won the second prize at the Youth Talent National Competition promoted by the National Symphony Orchestra of Ecuador and also at the First International Classical Singer competition CantOpera.
Natacha was a member of the Youth and Professional choirs at Teatro Nacional Sucre in Quito. She currently resides in Denver for her studies in vocal performance at the University of Denver Lamont School of Music.
MELVIN WILLIAMS, BaSS-BARITONE
Melvin Williams is a bass-baritone born and raised in Chesapeake, Virginia. He attended Norfolk State University and Old Dominion University where his discipline was in vocal performance. Melvin has worked with various opera companies and music festivals both in the United States and abroad. He has performed in principal roles in Magic Flute, Ragtime, Marriage of Figaro, Mikado and Tosca.
Alexis Haro, Tenor
Alexis Haro, originally from Ecuador, is a lyric tenor based in Denver, Colorado. He obtained a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance at the University of Denver – Lamont School of Music, where he studied with Sara Bardill. His recent engagements include operatic roles such as Tamino (Die Zauberflöte) with the Lamont Opera Theatre (2020 and 2021). Alexis was also featured as a soloist in Opera Galas with the Lamont Symphony Orchestra. Past engagements include Maipomue (The Firebringers, an opera by Chappell Kingsland), The Song Seller (Il Tabarro), Alfred (Die Fledermaus), and the Tenor solo in Ariel Ramirez’s Misa Criolla. In addition to performing operatic repertoire, Alexis enjoys performing Zarzuela and art song literature in Spanish, German, Italian, French, and English. Future performances include concerts and main stage productions with the Boulder Opera and Loveland Opera Theatre.
JUNYUAN CHEN, BASS-BARITONE
Junyuan Chen is a Bass-baritone from Zhejiang, China. He received his BA in Musicology from Shaoxing University, China, MEd in Music Education from Colorado State University-Pueblo and is working on his DA in Music Performance of voice-emphasis in the University of Northern Colorado. During the college time, Chen has been Italy to study singing and Italian. During his time in the CSU-P, Chen has sung in many concerts and the bass solo of Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy. He performed Mr. Piquette in UNC’ production of Threepenny Opera in 2021.
We’re so excited for what these artists will do this year! Please consider donating and support the Boulder Opera help develop the careers of our local talent.