The Barber of Seville
Meet the Artists
Emily Senturia
Praised for her ability to “draw a rich and beautiful sound,” Emily Senturia is quickly earning recognition as a talented opera conductor capable of leading a wide spectrum of repertoire (Washington City Paper). Drawing from her diverse experience as a violinist, conductor, and coach, San
Francisco Bay Area native Emily Senturia approaches operatic repertoire with a sympathetic affinity for both singers and instrumentalists. In the 2025-26 season, Senturia leads performances of La traviata with Kentucky Opera, Giulio Cesare with Opera Santa Barbara, and Così fan tutte with Madison Opera.
Other recent highlights include appearances with the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera and Wolf Trap Opera, leading Le nozze di Figaro, Pirates of Penzance with Kentucky Opera, Bulrusher with West
Edge Opera, and The Rape of Lucretia with Temple University. In the 2022-23 season, her performances included Il barbiere di Siviglia with New Orleans Opera, Anonymous Lover with Atlanta Opera, and Rinaldo with both Minnesota Opera and the Glimmerglass Festival. In 2021, Ms. Senturia conducted La clemenza di Tito with Opera Steamboat, assisted Eun Sun Kim in the opening night gala for San Francisco Opera, conducted Dvořák’s 8th symphony with the Diablo Symphony, and
continues coaching students at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In 2022, she conducted Semele at Opera Santa Barbara, The Tragedy of Carmen with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Fellow Travelers with Florida Grand Opera, and Sky on Swings at Opera Saratoga.
Ms. Senturia made mainstage conducting debuts with Houston Grand Opera and Washington National Opera in 2018, both with Il barbiere di Siviglia. Recently she has conducted La traviata with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Ariadne auf Naxos with Wolf Trap Opera, and Fellow Travelers with Boston Lyric Opera. She music directed the world premiere of Denis & Katya at Opera Philadelphia’s O19 Festival, and has been on the music staff at Houston Grand Opera (Nixon in China, Tosca, Faust, Aida), the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (Le nozze di Figaro), The Atlanta Opera (Sweeney Todd, Carmen), Wolf Trap Opera (The Ghosts of Versailles, Giulio Cesare, La bohème), and Opera Philadelphia
(Sky on Swings, Elizabeth Cree, War Stories).
Ms. Senturia is an alum of the Houston Grand Opera Studio, Wolf Trap, the Aspen Music Festival, and the Royal Academy of Music. She studied orchestral conducting at Boston University and violin at Rice University
Lisa Marie Rogali
This season, Ms. Rogali returns to Virginia Opera to make her role debut as Angelina in La Cenerentola. She brings her magnetic Carmen to both Toledo Opera and Gulfshore Opera and returns to Detroit Opera as the Offred Double in The Handmaid’s Tale. On the concert stage, Ms. Rogali is pleased to join Asheville Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem and Virginia Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah.
In the 2024-25 season, Ms. Rogali made her début as the title role of Carmen with both Virginia Opera and Florentine Opera, a portrayal hailed by the Virginian Pilot as, “not to be missed, a bang-up performance.” As part of Sarasota Opera’s Winter Festival, she reprised her charming Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, garnering high praise from Opera with Opera News who called her, “a Rossini star in the making.” She returned to the South Florida Symphony as the alto soloist in their annual Messiah, in addition to singing Paquette in their semi-staged concert production of Candide. She concluded the season by bringing her celebrated Rosina to Central City Opera.
During the 2023-24 season, Ms. Rogali joined the Detroit Opera’s Resident Artist Program, singing the roles of Kate Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly and the Dog/Woodpecker in The Cunning Little Vixen. She also made her role debut as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia with North Carolina Opera and performed Der Trommler in Ullman’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis with Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings. Ms. Rogali was named a Finalist in the Dallas Opera National Vocal Competition and was awarded the Jonathan Pell People’s Choice Award. On the concert stage, she made her Carnegie Hall Debut as the alto soloist in Mozart’s “Coronation Mass” with MidAmerica Productions. That summer, she performed the title role in The Rose Elf by David Herzberg with OrpheusPDX.
Ms. Rogali began her 2022-23 season by debuting the roles of Princess/Lucy/Fancy Doll #1 in the World Premiere of Edward Tulane with Minnesota Opera. That spring, she performed Hansel in Opera Birmingham’s production of Hansel & Gretel. On the concert stage, she was featured as the alto soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Naples Philharmonic, as well as Mozart’s Requiem with The Masterwork Chorus. That summer, she returned to The Glimmerglass Festival to sing Stéphano in Roméo et Juliette and Paquette in Candide. Opera News singled her out as a “live-wire mezzo [who] aced Stéphano’s tricky chanson.” Throughout the season, Ms. Rogali received prestigious accolades including 3rd Place in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (Eastern Region), 2nd Place in the Opera at Florham Competition, 4th Place in the Giulio Gari International Vocal Competition, the Munday Encouragement Grant in the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition, 3rd Prize in the Pasadena Vocal Competition, among others.
As a multifaceted artist, Ms. Rogali’s versatility extends into the world of musical theatre, where she has performed and covered leading roles such as Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, Louise in Gypsy, and Maria in The Sound of Music. In the crossover competition circuit, she has placed 2nd in the American Traditions Vocal Competition and received a special award from the Lotte Lenya Competition.
Ms. Rogali has participated in several esteemed young artists programs including Detroit Opera, Minnesota Opera, The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and Opera Saratoga. She is a graduate of The University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music (M.M. Vocal Performance) and The Pennsylvania State University (B.M.E. in Music Education).
Minghao Liu
In the previous season, Mr. Liu made debuts with the Glyndebourne Festival as Narciso in a revival of Mariame Clément’s witty production of Il Turco in Italia with Vincenzo Milletari conducting the London Philharmonic Orchestra; Bard SummerScape singing Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with the American Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leon Botstein, designs by John Horzen, and directed by Marco Nisticò; Opera Philadelphia singing Belfiore in Il Viaggio a Reims under the baton of Music Director Corrado Rovaris in the production of Olivier Award-winning director Damiano Michieletto. Further debuts included his portrayal of Count Alamaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Opera Omaha alongside co-stars Daniela Mack and Alexander Birch Elliot with Gary Wedow on the podium and Stephen Lawless directing; Charleston Opera Theater under the baton of Wojciech Milewski and San Diego Opera with Yves Abel on conducting duties and Chuck Hudson directing where he revived his portrayal of Count Almaviva for both companies. Mr. Liu also performed a recital at the Vita Brevis Club in San Francisco with pianist Roberto Berrocal.
Recent engagements for Mr. Liu include the title role of Le Comte Ory at the Merola Opera Program conducted by Pierre Vallet and directed by Garnett Bruce; Ernesto in Don Pasquale at Opera Naples with conductor Ramón Tebar; covering tenor Jonah Hoskins in the role of Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore with Florida Grand Opera led by Anthony Barrese; Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni with Opera Tampa with Michael Francis conducting; covering the role of Lindoro in L’Italiana in Algeri with St Petersburg Opera; Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Miami Music Festival; Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia and Pong in Turandot with Gulfshore Opera under Music Director Jorge Parodi; and Alfred in Die Fledermaus at Opera in Williamsburg. Mr. Liu was invited to cover Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia for the 2021 Rossini Opera Festival, but it was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Instead, he returned to Miami to study in the Frost School of Music, where he participated in four programs, all under full scholarship. Early 2022, he participated in Sherrill Milnes Voice Experience Program in Tampa, Florida, and the Savannah Voice Festival in Savannah, Georgia.
In concert, he has performed Mozart’s Mass in C Major, K. 317, “Coronation” at Carnegie Hall with conductor Leslie Dala; the Verdi Requiem with the Savannah Philharmonic led by Keitaro Harada; and a gala Christmas concert titled “Comfort and Joy” with Master Chorale of South Florida. Mr. Liu sang in the premiere of Michael Dell’aria’s The Leopard alongside Frank Ragsdale, Robynne Redmon, Kim Josephson, and Kevin Short, with the Frost Symphony Orchestra and Gerard Schwartz on the podium. The production was subsequently recorded and released on the Naxos label. OperaWire wrote: “As Tancredi Falconeri, tenor Minghao Liu finely conveyed the passionate nature of the prince’s nephew.”
In recent competitions, Mr. Liu has won top prizes including the 2025 Luciano Pavarotti Foundation Opera Naples International Voice Competition with a jury that included Nicoletta Pavarotti, Bruce Ford, and Nicola Colabianchi; The Lissner Charitable Fund Award for the 2024 Opera Index Vocal Competition followed by a gala performance in New York City honoring Bryn Terfel; and first prize in the 2023 SAS Annual Vocal Competition at The National Opera Center. He has also won the D’Angelo Young Artist Vocal Competition in Tampa, FL; Camille Coloratura Awards in Maryland, MA; and Pesaro International Music Competition in Italy.
Born in Qingdao, Mr. Liu is fluent in English, Russian and Chinese. In 2008, he went to Ukraine to study at the S.S. Prokofiev Music Conservatory in Donetsk, earning Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in opera. In 2014, he fled Ukraine because of the escalating war crisis, and continued his studies at the University of Alberta, Canada. After finishing his studies, he received a scholarship from the Franz Schubert Institute in Baden, Austria, where he received vocal and German diction training from Elly Ameling, Robert Holl, Julius Drake and Helmut Deutsch. Mr. Liu has coached with Joan Dorneman, John Churchwell, Carrie-Ann Matheson and currently studies voice with Manny Perez.
Charles H. Eaton
In the 2025/2026 season, Mr. Eaton sang the role of Oleskii in a workshop presentation of The Mothers of Kherson at The Metropolitan Opera, to be premiered in their 2027/2028 season. He made his company debut with Houston Grand Opera, returning to the role of William Dale in Silent Night, and at Shreveport Opera in the title role of Don Giovanni. Charles returned to Wolf Trap Opera in the summer of 2025 as a Filene Artist to make role debuts as Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro, Dancaïre in Carmen, and his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra as baritone soloist in Carmina Burana. His portrayal of Il Conte was praised by Opera News, who stated that “his singing was excellent, displaying fluid and meaningful phrasing as well as an effortless delivery.” His 2024/2025 season also included a return to Minnesota Opera for his role debut as Mercutio in Roméo et Juliette, a role and company debut as Silvio in Pagliacci with Pensacola Opera, and a debut of the title role in Don Giovanni with Madison Opera.
In the summer of 2024, Mr. Eaton made his company and role debut as Brother in Seven Deadly Sins at Wolf Trap Opera. His subsequent role debut in Silent Night garnered the following praise from Washington Post: “…my favorite performance came from baritone Charles H. Eaton, whose Ponchel was powerfully sung, endearingly acted and endowed with an easy humanity…” He also returned to the prestigious Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall as baritone soloist in the Duruflé Requiem.
Charles graduated the Minnesota Opera Resident Artist program in the spring of 2024, where he received great acclaim for his “beautiful, deep voice” and “astonishingly chameleonic” performances as Sam in Trouble in Tahiti, Schaunard in La bohème, Argante in Rinaldo, and Masetto in Don Giovanni. Mr. Eaton made his Carnegie Hall debut in the summer of 2023 as the baritone soloist in the Fauré Requiem, and received third place in the Houston Saengerbund Competition.
In addition to Wolf Trap Opera and Minnesota Opera, Charles is a graduate of programs at The Glimmerglass Festival (2018, 2019), Opera Colorado (2015-2017), and Des Moines Metro Opera (2016, 2017). He received his Bachelor of Music in 2013 from the University of Connecticut, and his Masters of Music in 2015 from the University of Minnesota.
He was a third place winner in the 2023 Houston Saengerbund Competition, a third place winner in the 2021 Lotte Lenya Competition, a second place winner of the 2019 American Prize Competition, and a district winner of the 2016 Metropolitan Opera National Council Competition.
Dennis Jesse
Recognized for his versatility as both performer and educator, Jesse has appeared in more than forty operettas and numerous musical theater productions, while performing a broad range of operatic repertoire. His roles include the title characters in Rigoletto, Don Giovanni, Gianni Schicchi, Nabucco, and Il Barbiere di Siviglia, as well as leading roles in Tosca, Madama Butterfly, La bohème, Carmen, Così fan tutte, and Les contes d’Hoffmann. Recent engagements include Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Charlottesville Opera and Kentucky Opera, Scarpia in Tosca with Pensacola Opera, Elder McClean in Susannah with Shreveport Opera, and Germont in La traviata with Opéra Louisiane.
An accomplished concert artist, he has performed major works including the Verdi Requiem, Mozart Requiem, Messiah, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and has appeared at Carnegie Hall. He will appear with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra this coming December on their Classical Christmas Concert. He is also an active international teaching artist, having served on the faculties of programs in the United States, Italy, and Brazil.
Brian Kontes
Kontes’ 2024-2025 season included a role debut of the
Sacristan in Tosca with Pittsburgh Opera, as well as Bartolo in Le nozze di Figaro with Sarasota Opera and bass soloist in
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Colorado’s Grand Junction
Symphony Orchestra.
During the 2023-2024 season, Kontes returned to Pittsburgh Opera, where he sang the role of Don Basilio in their production of Il barbiere di Siviglia. He also returned to The
Metropolitan Opera to cover the Bonze in Madame Butterfly for the entire season.
During the 2022-2023 season, Mr. Kontes was engaged by The Metropolitan Opera for their productions of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and Die Zauberflöte. That season, he was also a featured soloist with the Valdosta Symphony for their performance of Brahm’s Requiem and sang the role of The Commendatore in Don Giovanni at Pittsburgh Opera. Another notable season debut was with the Pittsburgh Symphony for their concert of Bruckner’s Te Deum. Mr. Kontes also returned to The Metropolitan Opera for their production of Manon Lescaut.
In recent years, Mr. Kontes has received high praises for his singing and acting by audiences and reviewers alike. Those seasons included his debut at Central City Opera as Lt. Ratcliffe in Billy Budd and The Bonze in Madama Butterfly, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte at Sarasota Opera, The Bonze in Madama Butterfly at Pittsburgh Opera, M. Javilenot in Dialogues des Carmelites at The Metropolitan Opera and Le Spectre in Hamlet for Washington Concert Opera.
Career highlights for Kontes at The Metropolitan Opera have included HD productions of Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg under the baton of Maestro James Levine, Der Rosenkavalier
under the baton of Maestro Sebastian Wiegle, and The Nose led by Maestro Valery Gergiev.
Other notable career highlights have included performing the roles of Timur in Turandot at San Diego Opera, Hogboy in Brokeback Mountain at New York City Opera, Bartolo in Le
nozze di Figaro at Pittsburgh Opera, Leporello in Don Giovanni at Seattle Opera, Banquo in Macbeth at Opera National de Lorraine, Palemon in Thaïs at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and Kentucky Opera, The Commendatore in Don Giovanni at New York City Opera, Colline in La bohème with Opera Hong Kong, Happy in La Fanciulla del West at Opera Omaha, Dr. Grenvil in La Traviata at Opera Colorado, Zuniga in Carmen at New Orleans Opera, The Bonze in Madame Butterfly for Nashville Opera and Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte with Ash Lawn Opera. He has also sung many operas in concert
with the Opera Orchestra of New York.
Concert highlights for Mr. Kontes include Mozart’s Requiem, Haydn’s Paukenmesse, Faure’s Requiem, Mozart’s Coronation Mass, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, Bach’s Magnificat and Rossini’s Stabat Mater with various orchestras and conductors in Carnegie Hall. He has also
been a guest soloist with the Charlotte Symphony on numerous occasions, including Beethoven’s Mass in C, under the baton of Maestro Cristof Perick. Recently, he has been a
soloist with Boston Baroque as Don Fernando in Beethoven’s Fidelio, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park for their concert of Dvorak’s Stabat Mater and was also a guest
soloist with The New Choral Society of New York for performances of the Verdi Requiem. Mr. Kontes was a first place winner of the George London Competition and is a graduate of Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, PA.
Amanda Batista
Puerto Rican Cuban American soprano Amanda Batista launches her 2025-26 season with a return to the Metropolitan Opera to sing Helen in the season opening premiere of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, composed by Mason Bates and libretto by Gene Scheer, which will be conducted by Music Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and directed by Bartlett Sher. Additional duties with the illustrious company include covering the role of Musetta in the iconic Franco Zeffirelli production of La bohème under the baton of Keri-Lynn Wilson. She joins the roster at the Lyric Opera of Chicago to cover the role of Catrina in Gabriela Lena Frank’s El último sueño de Frida y Diego with the artistic team of conductor Roberto Kalb and director Lorena Maza. The lirico-spinto soprano will make her role and company debut as Nedda in Pagliacci with Minnesota Opera led by Christopher Franklin as well as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte at the Glimmerglass Festival directed by Eric Einhorn and conducted by Joseph Colaneri. She also joins Nashville Opera for a gala concert celebrating the 30-year career of CEO and Artistic Director John Hoomes with the company. Ms. Batista wrapped up the 2024-25 season with a highly anticipated role debut of Micaëla in Carmen with Wolf Trap Opera under the direction of John de los Santos and conducted by José Luis Gómez. Earlier in the season, she made her debut at The Atlanta Opera as Mimì in La bohème with a creative team that included director Tomer Zvulun, conductor James Lowe, and designer Vita Tzykun. She returned to the Metropolitan Opera to sing the High Priestess in Michael Mayer’s new production of Aida led by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and covered the role of Berta in the return of Bartlett Sher’s production of Il Barbiere di Siviglia with conductor Giacomo Sagripanti in the pit. Additionally, Ms. Batista was a featured soloist alongside Frederica von Stade, Joshua Hopkins, and Ben Bliss in the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s 55th Emerald Anniversary Gala at Alice Tully Hall. Ms. Batista had the distinct honor of receiving the 2025 Hildegard Behrens Foundation Award.
Highlights from recent seasons include Batista’s role debut as Mimì in the revival of John Caird’s production of La bohème at Wolf Trap Opera with Grant Gershon leading the National Symphony Orchestra in the Filene Center to a capacity crowd of over seven-thousand. While at the company she also performed ¡Te Adoro!, a concert of love songs from Spain and Latin America, with Steven Blier at the piano. Ms. Batista made two role debuts at the Metropolitan Opera: First Lady in Julie Taymor’s production of The Magic Flute and Bianca in Nicolas Joël’s production of La Rondine led by Speranza Scappucci, the latter of which was broadcast around the globe in cinemas via The Met: Live in HD series. Further highlights of the season included a concert of Puccini and Rossini with Academie de l’Opera National de Paris at the Opéra Bastille, and appearing as the soprano soloist in Dvořák’s Te Deum with Colorado’s Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Music Director Charles Latshaw in a concert that also included orchestral songs “Morgen” and “Cäcilie” by Richard Strauss.
Ms. Batista made her Metropolitan Opera debut in the 2022-23 season singing High Priestess in Aida under the baton of Paolo Carignani in the farewell performances of Sonja Frisell’s monumental production that had seen over 240 performances at the company and she covered the role of Clotilde in Norma under the baton of Maurizio Benini. Additional appearances that season included singing the role of Elettra in Idomeneo at the Aspen Music Festival under the direction of Francesca Zambello and conductor Robert Spano; artist in residency with the Académie du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence in France where she sang a concert featuring the music of Meyerbeer, Mozart, Adamo, and Miguel Matamoros on the Cours Mirabeau with the Balthasar Neumann Orchestra under the baton of Thomas Hengelbrock; joined the prestigious Merola Opera Program where she sang Florencia Grimaldi in Daniel Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas and Salud in de Falla’s La Vida Breve on the Schwabacher Summer Concert; and appeared as a featured soloist on the Merola Grand Finale concert where she sang the act one duet from Madama Butterfly on stage at the San Francisco Opera.
A native of New Jersey, Ms. Batista holds degrees in Vocal Arts from the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University and the Juilliard School where she was a proud recipient of the Kovner Fellowship. She is a distinguished graduate of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera.
Brandon Whitish
Brandon Whitish, baritone and Wisconsin native, studied vocal performance at Luther College (2018) and later earned his master’s degree at the University of Northern Iowa (2022). Most recently he originated the role of Connor in the world operatic premiere of A Nation of Others by Mark Campbell and Paul Moravec. Whitish has performed with Opera Maine, Opera Colombus, Kentucky Opera, the American Spiritual Ensemble, Bay View Music Festival, Cedar Rapids Opera, and the Sherrill Milnes Voice Program.
Some of Whitish’s notable opera performance credits include Father in Hansel and Gretel, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Elder McLean in Susannah, Betto in Gianni Schicchi, Barone Douphol in La Traviata, Moralès in Carmen, The Duke of Plaza-Toro in The Gondoliers, Baron Mirko Zeta in The Merry Widow, and Tommy Albright in Brigadoon. He currently resides in Lexington, Kentucky, where he studies with Dr. Everett McCorvey while pursuing his DMA at the University of Kentucky.