Recognized as a leading force in cultivating and nurturing emerging opera talent, Opera San Jos\u00e9\u2019s Artist-in-Residence Program serves as a thriving incubator, providing a fertile environment where promising artists can flourish and develop their skills to their fullest potential. Focused on giving the opera stars of tomorrow their \u201cfirsts,\u201d OSJ puts rising artists center stage, on the podium, and in the director\u2019s chair. Each Artist-in-Resident receives a personalized mentorship, allowing them to refine their technique while experimenting and exploring their artistic range. Additionally, OSJ\u2019s Artist-in-Residence program provides free housing to its artists during their residency, an uncommon and significant commitment in a city with the highest price-to-rent ratio in the country. This benefit allows artists from around the country and the world to live and work in the heart of Silicon Valley. From mainstage productions to community engagements, Artists-in-Residence showcase their talents to diverse audiences in the theatre, the digital sphere, and in the community, gaining invaluable stage experience while building their professional portfolios.<\/p>\n
All the Artists-in-Residence will be featured throughout Opera San Jos\u00e9\u2019s 43rd season, an exciting lineup that includes beloved operatic classics, a groundbreaking American musical, and the company\u2019s first-ever opera by John Adams<\/a>. The 2026\u201327 season opens with Mozart\u2019s vivid retelling of the Don Juan legend, Don Giovanni (September 13\u201327, 2026). This masterful dramma giocosa, a blend of comedy and drama, follows the downfall of an arrogant and reckless serial philanderer. Later in the fall, OSJ will present the musical that revolutionized American theater, Fiddler on the Roof (November 15\u201329, 2026). Winner of nine Tony Awards, the beloved musical became the longest-running production in Broadway history at the time of its premiere, holding that distinction for a decade. The new year begins with the company\u2019s first-ever John Adams<\/a> opera, Doctor Atomic (February 14\u201328, 2027), presented in a new production honoring the renowned Berkeley-based composer\u2019s 80th birthday. Featuring a libretto by Peter Sellars<\/a>, the opera explores the intense psychological, moral, and technical pressures surrounding the creation of the first atomic bomb. The season concludes with Bizet\u2019s passionate and dramatic masterpiece, Carmen (April 18\u2013May 2, 2027). This tragic opera follows a soldier whose obsession with the fiery and free-spirited title character leads to devastating consequences. Featuring a roster of celebrated artists alongside exciting company debuts, Opera San Jos\u00e9\u2019s 43rd season showcases an extraordinary range of works spanning operatic masterpieces, groundbreaking contemporary repertoire, and iconic musical theater.<\/p>\n Mar\u00eda Brea (soprano)<\/p>\n Venezuelan soprano Mar\u00eda Brea returned to Arizona Opera in the 2025\u201326 season to reprise the role of Ana Mar\u00eda Soza in Zorro. In the same season, she joined Opera in Williamsburg as the title role in Orfeo ed Euridice and made her Austin Opera debut as Mim\u00ec in La Boh\u00e8me. Her additional highlights include her American Ballet Theatre debut in the U.S. premiere of Like Water for Chocolate at The Metropolitan Opera, as well as her Carnegie Hall<\/a> debut as the soprano soloist in Carmina Burana with the Cecilia Chorus of New York. She has also appeared with Opera San Jos\u00e9 as Ana Mar\u00eda in Zorro and as First Lady in The Magic Flute. Brea was a finalist in the 2022 Paris Competition and competed in the 2021 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition. She is a recipient of awards from the Opera Cultura, Gerda Lissner, Giulio Gari<\/a>, Mary Truman Art Song, and New York Lyric Opera competitions, and received an encouragement award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Connecticut District Auditions.<\/p>\n Shanley Horvitz (soprano)<\/p>\n After appearances throughout Europe, soprano Shanley Horvitz made her American debut as Meg Page in Falstaff with Opera San Jos\u00e9, where she also earned second place in the company\u2019s Irene Dalis Competition. She was additionally featured portraying Irene Dalis in OSJ\u2019s digital fundraiser celebrating the company\u2019s artistic legacy. Her other performance credits include the title role in La Vestale with Teatro Grattacielo, as well as appearances in Vienna at Palais Ehrbar with the PolyMuse Orchestra. She is a featured performer in the Candlelight Concerts series throughout the Philadelphia and New Jersey region.<\/p>\n Rodrigo Gonzalez Jacob (conductor)<\/p>\n Argentine conductor Rodrigo Gonzalez Jacob specializes in orchestral, ballet, and operatic repertoire. He previously served as chief conductor of the Academic Orchestra of the National University of the Arts (UNA), where he led more than one hundred symphonic and operatic productions. He also held the position of associate conductor of the National Symphonic Band for the Blind and has appeared as a guest conductor at major international festivals, including the Youth Orchestra of the Americas (YOA), the Isla Verde Bronces International Festival, and the Juvenile Philharmonic Festival. Jacob has collaborated with ensembles including the Oregon Symphony, Eugene Opera, Eugene Symphony, Eugene Ballet, Anchorage Symphony, Opera San Jos\u00e9, Orchestra Next, Opera in Williamsburg, the Alabama Symphony, and the Oregon Mozart Players. He currently serves as assistant conductor of Eugene Ballet and music director of the Promusica Foundation. His artistic training includes advanced study and mentorship with the National Symphony Orchestra of Argentina, the Teatro Col\u00f3n, and the Federal Conducting Fellowship program.<\/p>\n Nicole Koh (soprano)<\/p>\n Daly City, California native soprano Nicole Koh has appeared with Opera San Jos\u00e9 in the roles of Annina (La Traviata), Despina (Cos\u00ec Fan Tutte), and both the Queen of the Night and Papagena (The Magic Flute). She has also performed Gretel (Hansel and Gretel) with Chautauqua Opera, as well as the title role in Jan\u00e1\u010dek\u2019s The Cunning Little Vixen with the Chautauqua Opera Conservatory. Additional credits include covering the role of Winnie in Sky on Swings, singing the title role in L\u2019incoronazione di Poppea, and performing Nella in Gianni Schicchi.<\/p>\n Michael Jesse Kuo (baritone)<\/p>\n Praised by Opera Tattler for his \u201cbright and robust lyrical voice and spirited Stage Presence<\/a>,\u201d Taiwanese baritone Michael Jesse Kuo has performed throughout the United States and Europe. In the 2025\u201326 season at Opera San Jos\u00e9, he covered Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Alfio and Silvio in Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci, and performed the role of the Marchese while also covering Germont in La Traviata. Kuo has appeared with companies including San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera Studio Weimar, Pocket Opera, San Francisco Opera Guild, and West Edge Opera. His repertoire includes Dulcamara in L\u2019elisir d\u2019amore, Schaunard and Marullo in La Boh\u00e8me, Papageno and Second Priest in The Magic Flute, Officer in The Barber of Seville, and Marullo in Rigoletto.<\/p>\n Phillip Lopez (bass-baritone)<\/p>\n Baritone Phillip Lopez is earning growing acclaim in both new and established repertoire across the United States. In the 2026\u201327 season, he will appear as Le Temps\/Adonis in Rameau\u2019s Les surprises de L\u2019amour with Opera Lafayette. His past credits include Curio in Giulio Cesare and Schaunard in La Boh\u00e8me with St. Petersburg Opera Company, Abdul in The Last Savage with Odyssey Opera, and Sid and Jos\u00e9 Castro in La fanciulla del West with Wichita Grand Opera. He made his Carnegie Hall<\/a> debut as the bass soloist in Vaughan Williams<\/a>\u2019 Serenade to Music. Signature roles in his repertoire include Angelotti in Tosca and Zuniga in Carmen. Lopez can also be heard on several studio recordings, including The Last Savage with Odyssey Opera and the Boston Modern Opera Project. He is a two-time district winner of The Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.<\/p>\n Courtney Miller (mezzo-soprano)<\/p>\n Mezzo-soprano Courtney Miller will appear in June as Ruggiero in Alcina with Festival Opera and the San Francisco Early Music Society. Her additional credits include Despina in Cos\u00ec Fan Tutte with Livermore Valley Opera, Elmire in Tartuffe with Pocket Opera, Warren\u2019s Wife in The Handmaid\u2019s Tale with San Francisco Opera, Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro with Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera, and Berta in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Opera San Jos\u00e9. She has also performed with Florida Grand Opera, Detroit Opera, Madison Opera, and aboard Azamara Club Cruises. An award-winning recitalist, Miller is recognized for curating narrative-driven programs that often highlight works by female composers. She is also a dedicated arts educator, working with the San Francisco Opera Guild and touring her children\u2019s recital, How\u2019s it bee?<\/p>\n David Morgans (tenor)<\/p>\n Three-time Grammy Award\u2013winning tenor David Morgans will also serve as a Generational Voices Fellow with the Denyce Graves<\/a> Foundation in the 2026\u201327 season. His credits include Narraboth in Salome with Heartbeat Opera; covering Kevin Richardson<\/a> in The Central Park Five at Detroit Opera; Third Jew in Salome with Union Avenue Opera; and a featured appearance in a semi-staged concert with Metro Opera Tech at the Kaufmann Center in New York City. Additional highlights include Ally in X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X at the Metropolitan Opera, Lensky in Eugene Onegin with Opera Baltimore, and Nate in Highway 1 USA at St Stephens Festival Opera.<\/p>\n At the Metropolitan Opera, Morgans has appeared as Pledge in Fire Shut Up in My Bones, Prayer in Porgy and Bess, and in Terrence Blanchard\u2019s Champion. All three productions received Grammy Awards for Best Opera Recording. He can be seen as Julio (tenor) in the feature film \u201cShe Came to Me,\u201d directed by Rebecca Miller<\/a>, alongside Anne Hathaway<\/a>, Peter Dinklage<\/a>, and Marisa Tomei<\/a>.<\/p>\n Micah Perry (tenor)<\/p>\n In the 2025\u201326 season, tenor Micah Perry covered the role of Ferrando in Cos\u00ec Fan Tutte and performed Beppe in Pagliacci with Opera San Jos\u00e9. That same season, he also appeared as Will Parker<\/a> in Oklahoma! with Pensacola Opera, following his 2024\u201325 engagement as a Jan Miller Studio Artist with the company, where he sang Don Basilio, Curzio, and Beppe in mainstage productions. In the summer of 2025, Perry was a Gerdine Young Artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and returned this summer as a Gerdine Young Artist, currently performing with the company as Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet. He has also appeared with Wolf Trap Opera, Austin Opera, American Baroque Opera, Landlocked Opera, Quisisana Resort, and Festival Napa Valley. Perry is a recipient of Second Place in the 2025 Gulf Coast Region Laffont Competition.<\/p>\n Melissa Sondhi (soprano)<\/p>\n Indian American soprano Melissa Sondhi is an emerging artist on the rise. In the 2025\u201326 season, she made her European debut with Parma OperArt, performing in concerts in both Tallinn, Estonia, and Busseto, Italy. That same season, she also made her Ars Minerva debut, performing the roles of Venere and Pasithea in the West Coast premiere of Antonia Bembo\u2019s Ercole Amante. Sondhi has appeared with Opera San Jos\u00e9 as the inaugural recipient of the Wadhwani Chair for South Asian Artists in roles including Juliette (Rom\u00e9o et Juliette), Gilda (Rigoletto), Musetta (La Boh\u00e8me), and Pamina (The Magic Flute). She has also been seen with Pocket Opera as Adele (Die Fledermaus) and Mariane (Tartuffe). In 2025, she was a semifinalist in the prestigious Loren L. Zachary Competition, and in 2023 she won first place in the Adult Classical Voice category at the Los Angeles Semifinals of the Music International Grand Prix Competition.<\/p>\n Bass Wm. Clay Thompson<\/a> is emerging as one of the most promising artists of his generation. In the 2026\u201327 season, he will perform Oroveso in Norma with Madison Opera. His 2025\u201326 season engagements included Colline in La Boh\u00e8me with Madison Opera; Mark Torrance\/Forest Ranger in The Shining with Nashville Opera; Basilio in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Charleston Opera Theater; Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro with Finger Lakes Opera; and bass soloist in Defiant Requiem with the Syracuse Orchestra. An alumnus of the Lyric Opera of Chicago\u2019s Ryan Opera Center, his mainstage credits there included the King in Aida, Zuniga in Carmen, and Chevalier Deux in Le Comte Ory, as well as cover roles such as Alidoro in La Cenerentola, Rychtar in Jen\u016ffa, and Arnie Duncan in the world premiere of Proximity. His performance history spans major companies including The Metropolitan Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Minnesota Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles Spectacles.<\/p>\n A native of East Los Angeles, stage director Mark Anthony<\/a> Vallejo was named the JoElyn Wakefield-Wright Stage Director Fellow by the National Opera Association for the 2026\u201327 season. Vallejo first gained operatic experience assisting Paul Houghtaling on Carmen at Music on Site, Inc. He went on to become a two-time finalist for The Metropolitan Opera\u2019s Stage Directing Fellowship (2023 and 2024), including participation in a weeklong intensive for Carrie Cracknell<\/a>\u2019s Carmen. He made his Opera San Jos\u00e9 debut in fall 2024, assisting Michelle Cuizon on La Boh\u00e8me. His broader theatrical training includes working with The Actors\u2019 Gang and an internship with CONTRA-TIEMPO. He has also assisted productions at Chance Theater and South Coast Repertory<\/a>. Additional credits include assisting Bill Rauch<\/a> on La Commedia of Errors at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and co-directing La V\u00edctima with Jos\u00e9 Luis Valenzuela at the Latino Theater Company.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
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