Madama Butterfly

Japanese soprano Eri Nakamura first shot to prominence as a Jette Parker Young Artist when she stepped in to replace Anna Netrebko in I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Giulietta) at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. She has since made notable debuts in Europe, Asia, and North and South America, capturing worldwide acclaim for her assured singing and artistic intensity.

During the 2024-25 Season, Eri debuts with the Canadian Opera Company in Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio San), sings in Un ballo in maschera (Amelia) at Suntory Hall, and appears in concert with the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, and Latvian National Opera.

Last season, she made her debut appearances with the Royal Swedish Opera in Madama Butterfly (Cio-Cio San) and English National Opera in 7 Deaths of Maria Callas and sang in Simon Boccanegra (Amelia) with The Hallé. Recent highlights also include her role debut as Cio-Cio San at the New National Theatre, Tokyo, later performing the same role in her return to the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and in concert with The Hallé, La Rondine (Magda) at Biwako Hall, and Toshio Hosokawa’s Hanjo (Hanako) with the Catapult Opera of New York and Fondazione Haydn di Bolzano.

For the ROH, she performed in La bohème (Musetta), Carmen (Frasquita), Gianni Schicchi (Lauretta) and I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Giulietta) as a Jette Parker Young Artist, and returned as a guest to sing in The Marriage of Figaro (Susanna), Werther (Sophie) and Turandot (Liù). As ensemble member with the Bayerische Staatsoper, her many performances included The Elixir of Love (Adina), Hansel and Gretel (Gretel), The Magic Flute (Susanna & Pamina), Don Giovanni (Zerlina), and she has also appeared with the Wiener Staatsoper, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera de Oviedo, New National Theatre, Tokyo, Théâtre du Capitole Toulouse, Teatro Municipal de Santiago de Chile, and Washington National Opera.

On the concert platform, recent highlights include Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Japan, Osaka, and Tokyo Philharmonic orchestras, Mahler Symphony No. 4, and Rossini Stabat Mater with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, St Cecilia Mass with Orchestre National de France, Das Rheingold (Woglinde) with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Dvořák’s Stabat Mater with the Czech Philharmonic, Ravel’s Shéhérazade with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, and appearances with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Pannon Philharmonic, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and NHK Symphony Orchestra.

Eri is an alumna of the Osaka College of Music, the Opera Studio at the New National Theatre Tokyo, the Opera Studio Nederland and the Jette Parker Young Artist Programme at the Royal Opera House.

Texas-born tenor Joseph Dennis studied at The Juilliard School in New York and has been honored with numerous awards, including Grand Final winner of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition and the top prize at the Gerda Lissner Foundation competition.

This season, Joseph returns to Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton) with Austin Opera, makes his role debut as Faust in Berlioz’ La Damnation de Faust with the Santa Fe Symphony, and joins the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra for performances of La traviata (Alfredo).

In the 2023-24 Season, the tenor made his debut at Washington National Opera creating the role of Eric in the world premiere of Jeanine Tesori’s opera Grounded. He returned to the Prague National Theatre in Alexander Zemlinsky’s Kleider machen Leute (Wenzel Strapinski). Elsewhere during the season, performances included The Magic Flute (Tamino) and Verdi’s Otello (Cassio) with Semperoper Dresden, and The Barber of Seville (Almaviva) with Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz.

During the 2022-23 Season at the Semperoper Dresden he performed in Nabucco (Ismaele). Important debuts followed performing in Albert Lortzing’s Undine (Ritter Hugo von Ringstetten) at Oper Leipzig and at Prague National Theater. He returned to the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv in Madama Butterfly (Pinkerton).

Joseph was a member of the soloist ensemble at Semperoper Dresden for six seasons. Additional highlights include the Emmy-winning production of Manon (Des Grieux) and Jenůfa (Števa) at Des Moines Metro Opera, and Spoleto Festival USA in the world premiere of Huang Ruo’s Paradise Interrupted.

Hailed as a “richly powerful singing actress” (Broadway World), Nina Yoshida Nelsen captivates audiences throughout North America and Europe with her world-class voice and magnetic stage presence. In the 2023-24 Season, Nina joined Indianapolis Opera for the title role in Carmen, sang in Alcina (Melissa) with Seattle Opera, sang in Madama Butterfly (Suzuki) with Opera Carolina, sang in The Marriage of Figaro (Marcellina) with Utah Opera, and sang in An American Soldier (Mother Chen) at the Perelman Performing Arts Center, which she has previously performed with Bard Opera. This season she appears as the alto soloist in Messiah with Boise Philharmonic.

Nina also performs her signature role of Suzuki in Madama Butterfly at Anchorage Opera and Utah Opera this season, and will sing the role at Calgary Opera and Opera Colorado in the 2025-26 Season. Nina has performed Suzuki with Atlanta Opera, New Orleans Opera, Portland Opera, Manitoba Opera, Utah Opera, Atlanta Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Phoenicia International Festival of the Voice, Sarasota Opera, and New York City Opera, and covered the role with Lyric Opera of Chicago. With her home company of Opera Santa Barbara, Nina has leant her interpretations of the role of Fricka in the Dove reduction of Die Walküre, a double bill of El Amor Brujo and Il Tabarro (Frugola), and The Crucible (Tituba), as well as their 25th anniversary concert. Nina made her Boston Lyric Opera debut in Cavalleria rusticana (Mama Lucia). She has also performed in Amahl and the Night Visitors (Mother) at New York’s Avery Fisher Hall.

An established interpreter of new works, Nina has performed in Jack Perla’s An American Dream (Mama) with Opera Santa Barbara, Kentucky Opera, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Anchorage Opera, and Seattle Opera. Regarding her performance in Mark Adamo’s Becoming Santa Claus (Queen Sophine), Fran Zell of Splash Magazine writes: “Yoshida Nelsen, a seasoned artist making her COT debut, offers nothing less than perfection in her operatic interpretation of a tempestuous mother…a poignant, powerhouse of a mezzo…” She has sung in Bound (Khanh) with Seattle Opera and Houston Grand Opera; Huang Ruo’s Angel Island with Santa Fe Opera; and in The Memory Stone (Woman) with Houston Grand Opera. World premieres include Ruo/Hwang’s The Rift (Phoung Tran) with Washington National Opera.

In concert, she recently performed selections of orchestrated lieder by Alma Mahler with the Toledo Symphony and performed in the Uplifting Asian Voices concert at Boston Lyric Opera.  She has performed as the alto soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Rhode Island Philharmonic, Santa Barbara Symphony, the Santa Fe Concert Association, Southwest Florida Symphony, and at Carnegie Hall; Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with the Grand Junction and Flagstaff Symphony Orchestras; Mozart’s Requiem with the Santa Barbara and Southwest Florida Symphonies; Verdi’s Requiem with the Guelph Symphony and Bakersfield Symphony Orchestra; and Handel’s Messiah with Nashville Symphony Orchestra and Santa Barbara Chorale.

Nina has won first prize in the Performing Arts Foundation, the Profant Foundation and the Santa Barbara Foundation Vocal Competitions. She was also a national semifinalist in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, a national finalist in the Loren L. Zachary Society Vocal Competition, and a finalist in the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition.

Nina is a graduate of Boston University and the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia.

With a velvety tone and a stage presence that exudes confidence and charm, Levi Hernandez has made a name for himself in a wide variety of baritone repertoire. Opera News has praised him for his “voice with natural power,” and “warm, inviting baritone.”  The El Paso native has joined the rosters of leading opera companies including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, and Houston Grand Opera, where he debuted in Madama Butterfly (Sharpless).

Most recently he joined El Paso Opera for their Mozart by Moonlight concert, Opera San Antonio in Hansel and Gretel (Father), appeared in La Cenerentola (Dandini) with Boston Lyric Opera, performed in Pagliacci (Tonio) with Hawaii Opera Theatre, returned to Opera Omaha in El último sueño de Frida y Diego (Diego Rivera), and appeared with the Virginia and Oregon Symphonies in Handel’s Messiah. Additional recent appearances include joining Opera Idaho in their Celebrando a México concert, Manon Lescaut (Lescaut) with North Carolina Opera, a return to The Metropolitan Opera in The Magic Flute (Papageno, cover) and The Elixir of Love (Dulcamara, cover), Handel’s Messiah with Kansas City Symphony, an appearance with the El Paso Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem, and Opera Idaho’s Opera in the Park concert. The upcoming 2024-25 Season sees his return to Madison Opera for The Barber of Seville (Bartolo), Manon Lescaut (Lescaut) with the Washington Concert Opera, Handel‘s Messiah with the Tucson Symphony, Florencia en el Amazonas (Alvaro) with North Carolina Opera, and Mozart’s Requiem with the Utah Symphony.

In recent seasons, Levi returned to Lyric Opera of Chicago in Florencia en el Amazonas (Alvaro), reprised the title role in Gianni Schicchi with Tulsa Opera, debuted with Hawaii Opera Theater in Madama Butterfly (Sharpless), and performed Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer with Cheyenne Symphony Orchestra. He has continued his longstanding relationship with the work of composer Daniel Catan, appearing in La hija de Rappaccini (Rappaccini) with Chicago Opera Theater. Additionally, he sang in Pagliacci (Tonio) with Opera Colorado and El Paso Opera, and in El milagro del recuerdo (Aba) with Houston Grand Opera. He has sung in The Grapes of Wrath (Pa Joad) with Michigan Opera Theatre, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Virginia Opera, Nashville Opera, Arizona Opera, and Chattanooga Symphony & Opera. He recently debuted with Opera Colorado in La bohème (Marcello), with Chicago Opera Theater in Elizabeth Cree (Inspector Kildare), with San Diego Opera and Madison Opera in Florencia en el Amazonas (Alvaro), and with Intermountain Opera in Falstaff (Ford).

A 2002 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions finalist, his many awards include a Licia Albanese-Puccini Foundation grant as well as being a 2002 Operalia competition finalist. With an undergraduate degree from Westminster Choir College and his master’s degree from the University of North Texas, Levi also attended the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia and was a member of the prestigious Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

Praised by Opera News as a “vocally charismatic” performer with a “golden tenor,” Martin Bakari’s recent engagements include the title role in Charlie Parker’s Yardbird with Atlanta Opera, Arizona Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Dayton Opera, New Orleans Opera, and Indianapolis Opera; the tenor soloist in Carmina Burana with Cecilia Chorus of NY at Carnegie Hall and Symphony San Jose; Kodály’s Psalmus Hungaricus with Grant Park Music Festival; Messiah and the premiere of Paul Moravec’s A Nation of Others with Oratorio Society of NY at Carnegie Hall; The Pirates of Penzance (Frederic) with Virginia Opera and Kentucky Opera; Madama Butterfly (Goro) with Dallas Opera and Opera Philadelphia; Das Rheingold (Mime) with Seattle Opera; Falstaff (Dr. Caius) and the premiere of Jake Heggie’s Intelligence (Wilson, cover) with Houston Grand Opera; Turandot (Pong) with Opera Colorado; The Marriage of Figaro (Don Basilio) with Seattle Opera at the Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival; Roméo et Juliette (Tybalt) with Vashon Opera; The Cartography Project with Washington National Opera at The Kennedy Center; and a United Kingdom recital tour with Mirror Visions Ensemble. Internationally, he has also appeared at major venues in Munich, Hamburg, Dresden, Frankfurt, Cologne, Tel Aviv, and Bari. Martin’s 2024-25 Season includes The Barber of Seville (Count Almaviva) with Indianapolis Opera; the premiere of Jubilee (Greene Evans) with Seattle Opera; Madama Butterfly (Goro) with Utah Opera; La traviata (Gastone) with Seiji Ozawa Music Festival in Japan; the premiere of Steele Roots (Michael) with Atlanta Opera; a workshop of The Factotum (Bootleg Joe) with Portland Opera; Messiah with the Boise Philharmonic and Calvin Oratorio Society; and Carmina Burana with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra. Future seasons include his debut performances and recording with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra and his return to Opera Colorado. A 2018 George London Competition award winner, Martin’s recording of Grigory Smirnov’s Dowson Songs (Naxos) was featured by Opera News as a “Critic’s Choice” album.

Commanding bass Young Bok Kim has dazzled audiences in Turandot (Timur) with Opera Colorado in its 2022-23 Season and in Lucia di Lammermoor (Raimondo), Don Giovanni (Il Commendatore), Rigoletto (Sparafucile), The Magic Flute (Sarastro), the title role in Verdi’s Atilla, and in Verdi’s rarely-performed La Battaglia di Legnano (Barbarossa), all with Sarasota Opera. A favorite of both houses’ audiences, he will return to Colorado for Il trovatore (Ferrando) and Madama Butterfly (Bonze) and to Sarasota for The Barber of Seville (Don Basilio) and Stiffelio (Jorg)in upcoming seasons.

Young Bok is a native of Korea and appears frequently on Korean stages, most recently singing in Così fan tutte (Don Alfonso) with National Opera of Korea and the Seoul Metropolitan Opera. His other Korean credits include Lucia di Lammermoor (Raimondo) and The Magic Flute (Sarastro) with National Opera of Korea, Semiramide (Nino’s Ghost) with City Opera of Seoul, Britten’s Curlew River (Abbot) with Seoul Metropolitan Opera and Barber of Seville (Don Basilio) with City Opera of Seoul and Kim Sun International Opera.

In the U.S., Young Bok made his New York City Opera debut in La bohème (Colline). He went on to sing in many other productions with the company, including Carmen (Zuniga), The Magic Flute (Sarastro), and most notably in their televised Madama Butterfly (Bonze), which received the 2008 Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class — Classical Musical / Dance Program. Young Bok has sung with Kentucky Opera, Dallas Opera, Utah Opera, Opera North, Opera New Jersey, Opera Boston, Nashville Opera, Nevada Opera, El Paso Opera, Opera Delaware, Baltimore Concert Opera, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and Teatro Grattacielo, among other American companies.

An incredibly versatile artist, Young Bok’s extensive repertoire also includes the Bass soloist in Verdi’s Requiem, Jack Perla’s An American Dream (Papa Kobayashi), Aida (Ramfis), Don Carlos (Ferrando Phillip II), Otello (Lodovico/Montano), Simon Boccanegra (Fiesco), Roméo et Juliette (Frère Laurent), Dialogues des Carmélites (Marquis), L’amore dei tre re (Archibaldo), La forza del destino (Padre Guardiano), I Capuleti e i Montecchi (Capellio), Faust (Mephistopheles), Norma (Oroveso), La Gioconda (Alvise), Tosca (Angelotti), Samson and Delilah (Old Hebrew), Ariadne auf Naxos (Truffaldino), Eugene Onegin (Prince Gremin), The Rake’s Progress (Trulove), I masnadieri (Massimiliano), and Lakmé (Nilakantha).

Young Bok received both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in music from Chung-Ang University in Korea. He then completed another Master’s degree and professional studies certificate at the Mannes College of Music and continued his studies at the Juilliard Opera Center. During his years at Mannes, Young Bok received the Marion Marcus Wahl Award for Excellence in performance. As a young artist, he made his Aspen Opera Theater Center debut as Colline with Maestro Julius Rudel and sang in Wozzeck (First Apprentice) with Maestro James Conlon.

Appointed in 2015 as Opera Colorado’s first-ever music director, Ari Pelto’s “breathtaking wizardry in the pit” (The Denver Post) has been widely celebrated, with Pelto in demand at opera houses and concert halls throughout the United States. At the age of 24, Pelto was appointed Assistant Conductor at the Spoleto Festival and he has since gone on to conduct worldwide. International engagements include performances with Bochumer Philharmoniker and opera productions at New National Theatre of Tokyo and the Teatro Nacional Sucre in Quito, Ecuador. In 2004 he made his highly-praised debut with New York City Opera, conducting La Traviata, after which he became a regular, returning for productions of Madama Butterfly, La bohème, and Carmen. Recent successes include Eugene Onegin at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Lucia di Lammermoor at Virginia Opera, and La Voix Humaine at Chicago Opera Theater.

Iranian conductor and pianist, Sahar Nouri, has been Music Director of Lamont Opera Theater at University of Denver since 2019. She has also served at Opera Colorado as Chorus Master & Assistant Conductor since 2016. Ms. Nouri is the founder/director of Dandelion Opera Institute.

At the University of Denver, Ms. Nouri has conducted productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Die Zauberflöte, Alcina, Cabildo, Les mamelles de Tirésias, and The Little Prince.

Her work with Opera Colorado has included productions of Samson and Delilah, The Flying Dutchman, Don Giovanni, Turandot, Die tote Stadt, Rigoletto, Carmen, The Shining, Tosca, Cavalleria rusticana, Pagliacci, The Marriage of Figaro, La traviata, Falstaff, The Barber of Seville, La bohème, La fanciulla del West, and the world premiere of Steal a Pencil for Me (Gerald Cohen).

Previously, Ms. Nouri has been part of the music staff at San Francisco Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Dallas Opera, Philadelphia Orchestra at Bravo! Vail, Opera Parallèle, Opera North Carolina, Glimmerglass Festival, Utah Opera, Aspen Opera Theatre, Opera Steamboat, Merola Opera, Boston Conservatory of Music, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

An active performer, she has given numerous recitals around the US including those alongside international stars Mane Galoyan, Heidi Melton, and Matthew Polenzani. A multi-lingual coach, she has studied in Czechia, Italy, and Austria and is frequently in demand as a language coach.

Ms. Nouri is a former violinist who has performed with Tehran Philharmonic Orchestra and has won several prizes, for both violin and piano, in national music festivals and competitions in Iran.