David Walton Belmonte, The Abduction from the Seraglio
1. Where were you born and raised?
Nashville, Tennessee.
2. If you weren’t a singer, what profession would you be in?
Teacher.
3. The first opera I was ever in was…
Aida.
4. My favorite opera is…
Aida.
5. My favorite food to eat is…
Spicy noodle/rice dishes
6. People would be surprised to know…
I used to be 240 pounds and played high school football.
7. If I could travel anywhere, real or fantasy, I would travel to…
Japan.
8. I like to binge-watch…
Frasier.
9. What four people would you like to invite for a dinner party?
Stephen Colbert, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, C.S. Lewis, and Benjamin Britten.
10. Everyone should see The Abduction from the Seraglio because….
It’s a thrilling score, funny and charming libretto, and a relatable story about forgiveness and peace.
11. Bonus: One question you wish someone would ask you.
Q: What is the one food item you absolutely WILL NOT eat?
A: Raw onions.
Don’t miss the chance to see David in the upcoming production of The Abduction from the Seraglio, Mozart’s first major success. Performances are February 9 & February 11 in Capitol Theater. Tickets start at $25; visit madisonopera.org for more information.
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Keely Futterer
Rosina, The Barber of Seville
Hometown: Dover, AR Madison Opera Debut: Léontine, The Anonymous Lover (2024)
Recently: Anna Sørenson, Silent Night (Wolf Trap Opera); Musetta, La Bohème; Armida, Rinaldo; Charlene, Service Provider; Jazz Trio, Trouble in Tahiti (Minnesota Opera);
Armida, Rinaldo; Vanderdendur, Candide; Angostura, Tenor Overboard (Glimmerglass Festival);
Rodelinda, Rodelinda (Hudson Hall); Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte (Opera Memphis);
Upcoming: Marcellina, Leonora (Chicago Opera Theater);
Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte (Virginia Opera); Verdi Requiem (Erie Philharmonic)
Weston Hurt
Baritone, Opera in the Park
Hometown: Spring, TX Madison Opera Debut: Germont, La Traviata (2019)
Recently: Sharpless, Madama Butterfly (Houston Grand Opera, New Orleans Opera);
Britten's War Requiem (Opera Roanoke); Scarpia, Tosca (Arizona Opera);
Germont, La Traviata (Lyric Opera of Kansas City); Nabucco, Nabucco (Seattle Opera)
Upcoming: Rigoletto, Rigoletto (English National Opera)
Joshua Sanders
Tenor, Opera in the Park
Hometown: Plain, WI Madison Opera Debut: Giuseppe, La Traviata (2011) Also at MO:Tobias Ragg, Sweeney Todd; Inmate, Dead Man Walking; Ensemble, Acis and Galatea
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Tamino, The Magic Flute (Nashville Opera); Sam Clay, The Amazing Adventures of
Kavalier & Clay workshop (Metropolitan Opera)
Upcoming: Victorin, Die tote Stadt (Boston Symphony Orchestra)
Sachie Ueshima
Zerlina, Don Giovanni
Hometown: Wakayama City, Japan Madison Opera Debut Former Madison Opera Studio Artist
Recently: Cio-Cio-San, Madama Butterfly (Virginia Opera); Violetta, La Traviata;
Krystyna Zywulska, Two Remain (UW-Madison)
Hometown: Twin Cities, MN Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2017 Also at MO: Belmonte, The Abduction from the Seraglio
Recently: Ferrando, Così fan tutte (Princeton Festival); Ramiro, La Cenerentola (Toledo Opera);
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Frederic, The Pirates of Penzance (Opera San Antonio); Filippo, Deceit Outwitted (Sarasota Opera)
Upcoming: Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville (Minnesota Opera); Candide, Candide (South Florida Symphony);
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Emily Fons
Donna Elvira, Don Giovanni
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2012 Also at MO:Opera in the Park 2024; Rosina, The Barber of Seville (2015)
Recently: Nicklausse, The Tales of Hoffmann (Palm Beach Opera);
Rosina, The Barber of Seville (Cincinnati Opera, Santa Fe Opera);
Woman, Ghosts (San Diego Opera); Cherubino, The Marriage of Figaro (Canadian Opera Company);
Hansel, Hansel and Gretel (New Orleans Opera)
Hometown: Madison, WI Madison Opera Debut: Acis & Galatea (2013) Recently at MO: Florencia en el Amazonas; Trouble in Tahiti / The Seven Deadly Sins
Lisa Thurrell
Choreographer, María de Buenos Aires
Hometown: Madison, WI Madison Opera Debut: Florencia en el Amazonas (2018) Recently at MO: The Anonymous Lover, Trouble in Tahiti / The Seven Deadly Sins Co-Artistic Director of Kanopy Dance
Recently: Director and Choreographer, Winter Fantasia: Reimagined; Polaris + Revelations;
The Next Generation; Confluence: A Prelude; Graham: In Her Voice; Shades of Light (Kanopy Dance); Choreographer, Bluebeard's Castle (Des Moines Metro Opera)
Upcoming: Director and Choreographer, Inner Passages (Kanopy Dance);
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Kirstin Chávez
El Duende, María de Buenos Aires
Hometown: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia / Albuquerque, NM Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2006
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Upcoming: Carmen, Carmen (Kentucky Symphony Orchestra); Carmen, Carmen Inside Out (the film)
Ryan Nash
Sergeant, The Barber of Seville
Hometown: Longmeadow, MA Madison Opera Debut
Madison Opera Studio Artist
Recently: Gherardo, Gianni Schicchi (American Gothic Performing Arts Festival); Frederic, The Pirates of Penzance (Madison Savoyards);
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John DeMain
Conductor: Opera in the Park, The Barber of Seville, Don Giovanni
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Rebecca Herman
Stage Director, The Barber of Seville
Hometown: Austin, TX Madison Opera Debut
Recently: Carmen (Austin Opera); Don Giovanni (Opera Colorado, Cincinnati Opera);
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Upcoming: The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Washington National Opera); New Opera Workshop,We Might be Struck by Lighting (LOLA)
Fenlon Lamb
Stage Director, Don Giovanni
Hometown: Princeton, NJ
Madison Opera Debut: La Traviata (2019) Recently at MO: Lucia di Lammermoor
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The Marriage of Figaro (Portland Opera); Carmen (Opera Santa Barbara); Charlie Parker's Yardbird (Dayton Opera); La Bohème (New Orleans Opera); Mozart and Salieri (Opera San Jose)
Kamna Gupta
Conductor, María de Buenos Aires
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Upcoming:Ruinous Gods (Spoleto Festival USA)
Frances Rabalais
Stage Director, María de Buenos Aires
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Recently: Macbeth (Resonance Works); Hansel and Gretel (Opera Birmingham); The Magic Flute (North Carolina Opera); The Barber of Seville (Pensacola Opera)
Charles Eaton
Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni
Hometown: Storrs, CT Madison Opera Debut: Moralès, Carmen (2017) Recently at MO: Count Malcolm, A Little Night Music
Recently: Ponchel, Silent Night; Brother, The Seven Deadly Sins (Wolf Trap Opera); Schaunard, La Bohème;
Sam, Trouble in Tahiti; Masetto, Don Giovanni; Argante, Rinaldo (Minnesota Opera);
Fedorov, The Christmas Spider (Opéra Louisiane, Marble City Opera);
English Ambassador, The Ghosts of Versailles (Royal Opera Versailles);
Marcello, La Bohème (Imperial Symphony Orchestra)
Recently: Marcello, La Bohème; Beau, Service Provider; Jazz Trio, Trouble in Tahiti;
Hortensius, The Daughter of the Regiment; Mago, Rinaldo;
Abilenes's Father / Bryce's Father, Edward Tulane (Minnesota Opera);
Colline, La Bohème (Lyric Opera of the North); Lackey, Ariadne auf Naxos (Lakes Area Music Festival); Charlie, Three Decembers (South Bend Lyric Opera); The Villains, The Tales of Hoffmann (Union Avenue Opera)
Ashraf Sewailam
The Commendatore, Don Giovanni
Hometown: Cairo, Egypt / San Francisco, CA
Madison Opera Debut: Captain, Florencia en el Amazonas (2018)
Recently: Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville (Des Moines Metro Opera, Seattle Opera);
Dr. Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro (New Orleans Opera); Sparafucile, Rigoletto (Opera San Jose);
Giove, La Calisto (Opera Memphis)
Upcoming: Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville (Lyric Opera of Kansas City);
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Andrew Stenson
Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni
Hometown: Rochester, MN Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2021
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Pang, Turandot (Houston Grand Opera); Don Ottavio, Don Giovanni (Seattle Opera);
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Count Almaviva, The Barber of Seville (Opera Colorado, Garsington Opera);
Nikolaus Sprink, Silent Night; Tamino, The Magic Flute (Utah Opera);
Fadinard, The Italian Straw Hat (Minnesota Opera); Danny Chen, An American Soldier (Opera Theatre of St. Louis)
Hailey Cohen
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Hometown: Edgemont, NY Madison Opera Debut: Dorothée, The Anonymous Lover (2024) Also with MO: Paquette, Candide Madison Opera Studio Artist
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Sally, The Boy Who Wanted to be a Robot; K., Would You Eat Me? (Thompson Street Opera)
Lifan Deng
Fiorello, The Barber of Seville Masetto, Don Giovanni
Hometown: Shenzhen, China Madison Opera Debut Madison Opera Studio Artist
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Old Adam Goodheart, Ruddigore; Carpenter's Mate, H.M.S. Pinafore (The Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company);
Olin Brett, The Music Man (Metropolis Performing Arts Centre)
Upcoming: Papageno, The Magic Flute (Opera for the Young)
Laureano Quant
El Payador, María de Buenos Aires
Hometown: Barranquilla, Colombia Madison Opera Debut
Recently: Schaunard, La Bohème (Wolf Trap Opera); Foreman, Jenufa; Dancaïre, Carmen;
Count of Lerma, Don Carlo (Lyric Opera of Chicago); Escamillo, Le tragediedeCarmen;
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Demetrius, A Midsummer Night's Dream; Captain / Ragotsky, Candide (Orquestra Filarmónica de Bogotà)
Upcoming: Belcore, The Elixir of Love (New Orleans Opera);
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Kelly Guerra
María, María de Buenos Aires
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA Madison Opera Debut
Recently: María, María de Buenos Aires (Kentucky Opera); Lupita, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna; Carlotta de Obragón, Zorro (Opera Santa Barbara); Renata, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna (West Edge Opera);
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Luisa Fernanda, Luisa Fernanda (Opera Hispánica, Opera Williamsburg)
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Alex Taylor
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Hometown: Beloit, WI Madison Opera Debut: Mother, The Seven Deadly Sins (2023)
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Sarastro, The Magic Flute; Dr. Bartolo, The Marriage of Figaro (Carnegie Mellon University)
Levi Hernandez
Dr. Bartolo, The Barber of Seville
Hometown: El Paso, TX Madison Opera Debut: Papageno, The Magic Flute (2006) Recent at MO: Alvaro, Florencia en el Amazonas; Opera in the Park 2018
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Upcoming: Lescaut, Manon Lescaut (Washington National Opera); Benoit/Alcindoro, La Bohème (Lyric Opera of Chicago);
Alvaro, Florencia en el Amazonas (North Carolina Opera)
Benjamin Taylor
Figaro, The Barber of Seville
Hometown: Waldorf, MD
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Recently: Bello, La Fanciulla del West (Bayerische Staatsoper); Moralès, Carmen (Metropolitan Opera);
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Silvio, Pagliacci (Austin Opera)
Upcoming: Marcello, La Bohème (Arizona Opera); Jake, Porgy and Bess (Washington National Opera);
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Katerina Burton
Donna Anna, Don Giovanni
Hometown: Ocean City, MD Madison Opera Debut: Opera in the Park 2024
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(National Symphony Orchestra); Britten’s War Requiem (Strathmore Music Center);
Russian Chamber Art Society; Postclassical Ensemble Concert (The Kennedy Center); Girlfriend 2, Blue;
Micaëla, Carmen (Washington National Opera); Alice Ford, Falstaff (Aspen Music Festival);
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