Andrea Chénier

Yonghoon Lee studierte Gesang an der Seoul National University in seinem Heimatland Südkorea und am Mannes College of Music in New York. Seit seinem Debüt als Don Carlo am Teatro Municipal in Santiago de Chile führen ihn regelmässige Gastengagements u.a. an die Metropolitan Opera in New York, das Teatro alla Scala in Mailand, die Lyric Opera of Chicago, die Bayerische Staatsoper in München, die Oper Frankfurt, das Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, die Hamburgische Staatsoper, die Deutsche Oper Berlin, das Opernhaus Zürich, die Semperoper in Dresden, die Arena di Verona sowie zum Glyndebourne Festival und zu den Wiener Festwochen. Sein Repertoire umfasst Partien wie Cavaradossi (Tosca), Calaf (Turandot), Turridu (Cavalleria rusticana), Giuseppe Hagenbach (La Wally), Manrico (Il trovatore), Arrigo (La battaglia di Legnano), Macduff (Macbeth), Don José (Carmen), Pollione (Norma), Radamès (Aida), Luigi (Il tabarro), Dick Johnson (La fanciulla del West), die Titelpartie in Andrea Chénier, Canio (Pagliacci) und Samson (Samson et Dalila). Am Opernhaus Zürich debütierte er in der Spielzeit 2018/19 als Don Alvaro (La forza del destino) in der Regie von Andreas Homoki und unter der Leitung von Fabio Luisi. Jüngst sang Yonghoon Lee Calaf an der Semperoper Dresden, an der Seoul Metropolitan Opera in Korea sowie an der Washington National Opera, gab an der Wiener Staatsoper sein Rollendebüt als Dick Johnson (La fanciulla del West), übernahm die Rolle des Luigi an der Bayerischen Staatsoper und wird an den Münchner Opernfestspielen 2024 bei La fanciulla del West beteiligt sein.

George Petean was born in Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and studied piano, trombone, and voice. He made his stage debut in 1997 at the Cluj-Napoca Opera as Don Giovanni. In 1999, he won the Grand Prize at the international singing competition Hariclea Darclée. In 2000, he made his debut as Marcello (“La bohème”) at the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, and from 2002 to 2010 he was a member of the Hamburg State Opera ensemble. Since then, he has worked as a freelance artist. Engagements have taken him to the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Vienna State Opera, Opéra de Paris, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the New York Met, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Berlin opera houses, Semperoper Dresden, Opera Amsterdam, and the Bregenz Festival. His repertoire includes roles such as Figaro (“Il barbiere di Siviglia”), Silvio (“Pagliacci”), Conte di Luna (“Il trovatore”), Rodrigo, Marquis of Posa (“Don Carlo”), Lord Enrico Ashton (“Lucia di Lammermoor”), Giorgio Germont (“La traviata”), Amonasro (“Aida”), Simon Boccanegra, and Rigoletto. At the Zurich Opera House, he has recently appeared as Macbeth, Simon Boccanegra, and Renato (“Un ballo in maschera”). More recently, he has performed Simon Boccanegra at the Berlin State Opera, Conte di Luna at the Hamburg State Opera and Berlin State Opera, Carlo Gérard (“Andrea Chénier”) at the Vienna State Opera, and Marquis of Posa at the Bavarian State Opera.

Erika Grimaldi, geboren in Asti, studierte Gesang und Klavier am Konservatorium «Giuseppe Verdi» in Turin. Sie gab ihr Bühnendebüt als Serpina in Pergolesis La serva padrona und gewann in den folgenden Jahren mehrere renommierte Wettbewerbe, darunter der «Concorso Lirico Internazionale» in Orvieto. Sie trat an Opernhäusern wie der Mailänder Scala, dem Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, dem Teatro Regio in Turin, dem Teatro di San Carlo in Neapel, der Bayerischen Staatsoper in München, der Deutschen Oper in Berlin und der San Francisco Opera auf. Zu ihren jüngsten Erfolgen gehören Mimì (La bohème), Aida und Manon Lescaut in Turin, Leonora (La forza del destino) in Bologna, Tosca als Rollendebüt in Las Palmas und anschliessend in Parma sowie beim Puccini-Festival in Torre del Lago, Lady Macbeth in Seoul, Leonora (Il trovatore) in Auckland und Desdemona (Otello) in Washington. Im Konzertbereich sang sie Verdis Messa da Requiem mit dem Czech National Symphony Orchestra in Prag, Rossinis Stabat Mater am Teatro Filarmonico in Verona, Mozarts Requiem in Granada und Beethovens 9. Sinfonie auf einer Tournee in Alicante, Madrid, Barcelona und Zaragoza. Am Opernhaus Zürich debütierte sie als Maddalena in einer konzertanten Aufführung von Andrea Chénier. Zu ihre zukünftigen Engagements gehören Contessa (Le nozze di Figaro) an der Welsh National Opera, Alice Ford (Falstaff) in Genua, Abigaille (Nabucco) in Bonn sowie ihr Rollendebüt als Cio-Cio-San (Madama Butterfly) in Santiago de Chile. In Washington wird sie ausserdem unter Gianandrea Noseda in Beethovens Missa solemnis zu hören sein.

Siena Licht Miller, German-American mezzo-soprano, studied voice at the Curtis Institute of Music and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. She completed her training with programs at Opera Philadelphia, the Santa Fe Opera, the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and the Aspen Music Festival. She is a scholarship holder of the Bagby Foundation and a prizewinner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, the Marilyn Horne Rubin Foundation, and the Gerda Lissner Foundation.

Highlights of her career so far include role debuts as Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, and one of the two solo roles in the world premiere of Denis and Katya by Philip Venables at Opera Philadelphia. At the Aspen Opera Center, she sang the title role in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges under the baton of Robert Spano.

She also regularly dedicates herself to song repertoire. She appeared in The Song Continues recital series at Carnegie Hall in honor of her mentor Marilyn Horne, and toured the United States with a recital alongside pianist Kevin Murphy.

In the 2020/21 season, she was a member of the International Opera Studio in Zurich, where she performed in Maria Stuarda, Simon Boccanegra, Viva la mamma, Salome, Odyssee, in the ballet Monteverdi, in L’italiana in Algeri, and as Flosshilde in Das Rheingold. Since the 2022/23 season, she has been a member of the ensemble at Zurich Opera House, where she recently appeared in Barkouf, Salome, Anna Karenina, Lakmé, La rondine, Die Walküre, and Götterdämmerung.

She also sang the title role in Handel’s Serse at Theater Winterthur.

Sarah Castle, Mezzosopran, wurde in Neuseeland geboren und studierte am Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Eine enge Zusammenarbeit verbindet sie mit dem Royal Opera House in London, wo sie 2001 als Tisbe (La Cenerentola) debütierte. Dort war sie auch als Flosshilde und Siegrune (Der Ring des Nibelungen), als Dryade (Ariadne auf Naxos), als Page (Salome), als Mademoiselle Dangeville (Adriana Lecouvreur) und als Flora (La traviata) zu hören. Als Wagnerinterpretin gastiert sie weltweit an den bedeutendsten Häusern und Festivals. Bei den Bayreuther Festspielen war sie als Wellgunde und Grimgerde im Ring des Nibelungen zu erleben, an der Bayerischen Staatsoper als Flosshilde, als Siegrune in Florenz unter der Leitung von Zubin Mehta sowie konzertant bei den BBC Proms. Weitere Gastengangements führten sie an die Oper Amsterdam, die Israeli Opera, die San Francisco Opera, die Seattle Opera, die San Diego Opera, die Staatsoper Stuttgart, an das Opernhaus in Sydney, ans Teatro Real in Madrid, ans Spoleto Festival USA und ans Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brüssel. Zu ihrem Repertoire gehören u.a. Rollen wie Nerone (L’incoronazione di Poppea), die Titelrolle in Händels Teseo, Teseo (Arianna in Creta), Ruggiero (Alcina), Sesto (Giulio Cesare), Juno und Ino (Semele), Idamante (Idomeneo), Annio (La clemenza di Tito), Smeton (Anna Bolena), Siébel (Faust), Nicklausse (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) sowie die Titelrollen in La Cenerentola und Carmen. Manfred Trojahn hat die Partie der Elektra in Orest für sie geschrieben.

Brent Michael Smith is from the USA. He studied voice at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and the University of Northern Iowa, as well as piano at Hope College. In 2021, he won 3rd prize at the Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino, was a finalist at the Queen Sonja International Music Competition, and received the Zachary L. Loren Society scholarship. In 2020, he was a semifinalist at the Metropolitan Opera Council Auditions; in 2018, he won prizes at the Opera Index Competition and the Opera Birmingham International Competition, as well as awards at the Giargiari Bel Canto Competition. In the 2016/17 season, he sang Zuniga (Carmen), the British Major (Silent Night by Kevin Puts), Friedrich Bhaer (Little Women), and Ashby (La fanciulla del West) at the Michigan Opera Theatre. In the same season, he made his debut at the Toledo Opera as Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro) and at the Glimmerglass Festival as Ariodante (Xerxes). At the Santa Fe Opera, he appeared as a Lackey (Ariadne auf Naxos). At Opera Philadelphia, he sang Celio (The Love for Three Oranges) and Peter Quince (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) in 2019. After a season at the International Opera Studio, he has been a member of the Opernhaus Zürich ensemble since 2020/21, where he has performed roles in Boris Godunow, Simon Boccanegra, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, in the ballet Monteverdi, as Sparafucile (Rigoletto), Count Lamoral (Arabella), Raimondo Bidebent (Lucia di Lammermoor), Pistola (Falstaff), Angelotti (Tosca), Gualtiero Raleigh (Roberto Devereux), Gremin (Eugene Onegin), Friar Laurence (Roméo et Juliette), and Fafner (Das Rheingold).

David Astorga wurde 1988 in Costa Rica geboren. Er begann sein Musik- und Geschichtsstudium an der Nationalen Universität von Costa Rica und setzte es dann am Königlichen Konservatorium in Brüssel fort. Er nahm an Nachwuchsprogrammen wie der International Opera Academy (Gent), dem Centre de Perfeccionament Plácido Domingo (Valencia), der Scuola dell'Opera (Bologna) und dem Tenerife Opera Studio teil. Engagements führten ihn an Häuser wie das Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Teatro Regio di Parma, Teatro Comunale Bologna, Teatro de la Maestranza de Sevilla, die Estnische Nationaloper, das Teatro Sociale di Como, den Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, die Flämische Oper Antwerpen, das Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica, Teatro Nacional de República Dominicana, Arts Center Philippines und an die Opera de Tenerife, wo er seit 2016 als Residenzkünstler tätig ist. Zu seinen jüngsten Rollen gehören Fenton (Falstaff) in Las Palmas, Alfredo (La traviata), Ein Soldat/ Harlekin (Der Kaiser von Atlantis) und Hoffmann (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) auf Teneriffa, Rossinis Petite messe solennelle in Perm (Russland), Nemorino (L'elisir d'amore) in Bologna und Cagliari, Malcolm (Macbeth) in Nizza, Antibes und beim Verdi Festival in Parma, Rodolfo (La bohème) am Teatro Massimo Bellini, L’Abate (Andrea Chénier) an der Opéra de Monte-Carlo, die Titelrolle in Roberto Devereux in Košice, Idamor (Paria) beim Frederic Chopin Festival in Warschau unter Fabio Biondi und Gilbert (Lucie de Lammermoor) beim Donizetti Festival in Bergamo. 2015 gewann er den Maria-Callas-Wettbewerb und 2017 den Concorso Internazionale di Canto Lirico Salice d'Oro.

Omer Kobiljak is from Bosnia and studied at the Winterthur Conservatory from 2008 to 2013 under David Thorner. He attended masterclasses with Jane Thorner-Mengedoht, David Thorner, and Jens Fuhr, and in 2012 won first prize with distinction at the Thurgau Music Competition. The following year, he sang a apprentice (Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg) at the Salzburg Festival under Daniele Gatti. From 2014, he studied voice at the Kalaidos University of Applied Sciences in Aarau with David Thorner. In 2016, he made his debut as Baron von Kronthal (Lortzing’s Der Wildschütz) at the Operettenbühne Hombrechtikon. In 2017, he performed at La Scala Milan in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. From the 2017/18 season, he was a member of the International Opera Studio and appeared in productions such as Salome, Ronja Räubertochter, La fanciulla del West, Parsifal, Der fliegende Holländer, and La traviata. In the 2018/19 season, he sang Lord Arturo Buklaw in Lucia di Lammermoor as well as the Notary in a concert performance of La sonnambula. Since the 2019/20 season, he has been a member of the Zurich Opera House ensemble, where he has appeared as Abdallo in Nabucco, Nathanaël in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Macduff in Macbeth, Froh in Das Rheingold, as well as roles in Il trovatore and I Capuleti e i Montecchi. At the Bregenz Festival, he sang Il principe Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, Prince Alexis in Umberto Giordano’s Siberia, and Don Riccardo in Ernani. Recently, he made his role debut as Alfredo in La traviata at the Zurich Opera House and also sang Tybalt in Roméo et Juliette as well as the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland.

Stanislav Vorobyov is a native of Russia and studied at the Moscow Conservatory. He was a member of the International Opera Studio and has been part of the ensemble at Zurich Opera House since the 2018/19 season. In Zurich, he has appeared in roles such as Colline (“La bohème”), Alidoro (“La Cenerentola”), High Priest (“Nabucco”), Notary (“Der Rosenkavalier”), Reinmar von Zweter (“Tannhäuser”), Faust (“The Fiery Angel”), Zaretsky (“Eugene Onegin”), Cesare Angelotti (“Tosca”), Fifth Jew and First Nazarene (“Salome”), Lord Rochefort (“Anna Bolena”), Doctor Grenvil (“La traviata”), Crébillon (“La rondine”), and Zuniga (“Carmen”), as well as Roberto (“I vespri siciliani”), Roucher (“Andrea Chénier”), and the Police Commissioner (“Der Rosenkavalier”). He also sang Don Basilio (“Il barbiere di Siviglia”) at the Bregenz Festival, Nourabad (“Les Pêcheurs de perles”) at Opera Vlaanderen and in Luxembourg, and Ombra di Nino (“Semiramide”) at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. At the Bregenz Festival, he also appeared as Uncle Bonzo in “Madama Butterfly” and as Il capitano/L’ispettore in Umberto Giordano’s “Siberia.” In 2024, he was additionally heard as Colline (“La bohème”) at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre and ROHM Theatre Kyoto.

Valeriy Murga studied at the Ukrainian National Music Academy in Kyiv. He was a finalist both at the 41st Concours International de Chant in Toulouse in 1996 and at the 7th Julian Gayarre Competition in Pamplona in 1998. In 1997, he won second prize at the Maria Callas Grand Prix in Athens and was able to take part in the Cardiff Singer of the World competition (BBC) in 1999. From 1997 to 1999, he was a soloist at the Ukrainian National Opera in Kyiv, where he performed roles including Figaro, Don Giovanni, Germont, Escamillo, Onegin, Prince Igor, and Schaunard. His repertoire also includes roles such as Marchese di Posa ("Don Carlo") and Shaklovity ("Khovanshchina").

At Zurich Opera House, Valeriy Murga appeared as a member of the IOS in productions such as Tosca (Sciarrone, Jailer) and Rigoletto (Monterone). Since the beginning of the 2000/01 season, he has been a permanent member of the ensemble and has performed in The Queen of Spades (Yeletsky), Carmen (Moralès), Salome (Second Soldier), Il barbiere di Siviglia (Fiorello/Officer), La sonnambula (Alessio), Rigoletto (Marullo and Monterone), L’italiana in Algeri (Ali), Faust (Wagner), as well as in family operas such as The Canterville Ghost (Dr. Bürkli), Robin Hood (Little John), The Enchanted Pig (Pig), and Jim Button (Half-Dragon/Grand Bonze Pi Pa Po).

He appeared in Tiefland at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona and in L’italiana in Algeri at the Berlin State Opera Unter den Linden. Most recently in Zurich, he has been seen in The Odyssey (Eurylochus), Dialogues des Carmélites (The Jailer), La bohème (Doctor Grenvil), Alice in Wonderland (Dormouse/Tweedledum), La rondine (Butler), and The Merry Widow (Bogdanowitsch).

Irène Friedli grew up in Räuchlisberg, Switzerland, and completed her soloist diploma at the Music Academy in Basel. The alto continued her studies in the interpretation class of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in Berlin, took part in masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender, and received further training with Helen Keller. She won numerous prizes at international song competitions. Since the 1994/95 season, she has been a member of the ensemble at Zurich Opera House. Here she has performed, among others, as the Second and Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Mercédès (Carmen), the title role in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges, Elsbeth in Schlafes Bruder, Lily in Harley, Annina and Flora (La traviata), Flosshilde (Das Rheingold, Götterdämmerung), Marcellina (Le nozze di Figaro), Emilia (Otello), Lucia (Cavalleria rusticana), Olga in Peter Eötvös’ Three Sisters, Marthe in Gounod’s Faust, Margret (Wozzeck), Lovis in Ronja Räubertochter by Jörn Arnecke, Flower Maiden and Voice from Above (Parsifal), Gertrud/Witch (Hänsel und Gretel), Clotilde (Norma), Mother/Other Mother (Coraline), Fortune Teller (Arabella), and Nurse (Boris Godunov). In the world premiere of the family opera Die Odyssee, she portrayed Eurykleia/Mother, and in Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tanneke. In 2012, she appeared at the Opéra Bastille in Paris. Most recently in Zurich, she has appeared as the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, Filipyevna in Eugene Onegin, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, Miss Bentson in Lakmé, Mrs. Waas/Mrs. Grindtooth in Jim Knopf, the Head Chef in Amerika, and Ninetta in I vespri siciliani.

Andrew Moore, bass-baritone, is from New Jersey. He studied at Rutgers University and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. In 2017, he was a finalist in the New Jersey State Opera Alfredo Silipigni Competition and in the same year sang the baritone part in Fauré’s Requiem with the New Jersey Chamber Singers. In 2018, he participated in the Merola Opera Program in San Francisco, where he sang in the Schwabacher Summer Concert and The Rake’s Progress. In 2019, he was a participant in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and reached the New England Regional Finals, where he was awarded the Susan Eastman Encouragement Award. That same year, he appeared at Santa Fe Opera in productions of La Bohème, Così fan tutte, and Jenůfa. Further appearances included Vicar (Albert Herring), Fiorello (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Talpa (Il tabarro), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Rocco (Fidelio), L’Arbre (L’Enfant et les sortilèges), and Adonis (Venus und Adonis). From 2020 to 2022, he was a member of the International Opera Studio, where he sang Mamma Agata in Viva la mamma, Gouverneur (Le Comte Ory), Masetto in Don Giovanni, and the title role in Die Odyssee. Since the 2022/23 season, he has been part of the ensemble at the Opernhaus Zürich. In the 2024/25 season, he will perform as Paolo Albiani (Simon Boccanegra), Max (In 80 Tagen um die Welt), Don Fernando (Fidelio), Paqui / Vertreter (Das grosse Feuer), and Marullo (Rigoletto) in Zürich.

Gregory Feldmann studied at the Juilliard School with Elizabeth Bishop, Randall Scarlata, and Sanford Sylvan. At Juilliard Opera, he appeared as Belcore in “L’elisir d’amore”, as Virgil T. in “The Mother of Us All”, and as Guglielmo in “Così fan tutte”. At the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, he sang Almaviva in “Le nozze di Figaro”. As a soloist, he has performed in Fauré’s “Requiem” as well as Handel’s “Israel in Egypt” and “Messiah”. He has a close artistic partnership with pianist Nathaniel LaNasa. In 2019, he won first prize at the “Joy in Singing” International Song Competition and in 2021, first prize at the “Gerda Lissner” Song/Lieder Competition. In 2022, he was a Young Artist at the Glimmerglass Festival. From 2022 to 2024, he was a member of the International Opera Studio at Zurich Opera House, where he appeared in productions including “Roberto Devereux”, “Don Pasquale”, “Serse”, “Jakob Lenz”, “Sweeney Todd”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, and “Carmen”. Together with pianist Nathaniel LaNasa, he has given song recitals at Wigmore Hall in London, at the September Festival: Royaumont in Viarmes (FR), and at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

Samson Setu, Bariton, begann seine Ausbildung in Neuseeland, wo er Mitglied des Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Programme for Young Singers war, und studierte am Royal College of Music in London. Ab 2020 war er Mitglied im Lindeman Young Artist Program der Metropolitan Opera New York, wo er in Don Carlo einen der Flämischen Deputierten sang. Er war Finalist bei der Dame Malvina Major Aria Competition und der IFAC Handa Australia Singing Competition. An der New Zealand Opera war er in Gilbert and Sullivans Trial By Jury als Usher zu hören. Seit der Spielzeit 2023/24 ist er Mitglied des Internationalen Opernstudios am Opernhaus Zürich.

Aksel Daveyan studied at the Yerevan State Conservatory in Armenia with Anna Mousayelyan and Arnold Kocharyan. At the Yerevan Opera Studio, he sang Malatesta in Don Pasquale in 2021. He has also performed in several concerts, including at the Opera and Ballet Theatre of Yerevan and at Teatro Politeama. In 2017, he won third prize at the Renaissance International Competition, in 2019 first prize at the “Gohar Gasparyan” Pan-Armenian Competition, and in 2021 third prize at the Opera Crown Tbilisi International Voice Competition. In 2020, he was awarded the “Boghossian Youth Prize,” and in 2023 he was a prizewinner at the Queen Sonja Singing Competition in Oslo. Since the 2022/23 season, the baritone has been a member of the International Opera Studio at Zurich Opera House and has appeared so far in Eliogabalo, Tosca, Roberto Devereux, and Viva la mamma.