Soprano Leah Partridge has received consistent praise for her warm, agile voice, virtuosic technique, and dramatic characterizations. Her repertory already includes the great bel canto roles of Lucia and Amina (La Sonnambula) as well as Violetta in La Traviata and Gilda in Rigoletto. She performed Roxane in the world premiere of David DiChiera’s Cyrano with Michigan Opera Theatre and made her Metropolitan Opera debut as the First Niece in Britten’s Peter Grimes in 2008. In spring 2008 she returns to Florida Grand Opera as Cleopatra in Handel’s Guilio Cesare and appears there next winter as Lakme and in concert with Marcello Giordani. She makes her role and WCO debut as Maria Padilla.

Tenor Bruce Ford returns to WCO after his acclaimed performance in the title role in Rossini’s Otello in 2007. Considered one of the finest singers of his generation, gifted with equal vocal and acting talents, he sings many of the most challenging Mozart and bel canto roles. His extended discography ranges from familiar roles (in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Lucia di Lammermoor) to a Rossini compilation album and a recital of arias by Donizetti, Mercadante, Meyerbeer, and others. He appears frequently at renowned opera houses in Europe, including the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, La Scala, Paris Opera, and the Pesaro, Salzburg, and Glyndebourne Festivals, and with Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Metropolitan, Los Angeles, Dallas, and San Francisco Operas.

Lyric mezzo-soprano Jennifer Rivera garners praise for negotiating the fiendish coloratura of Rosina and La Cenerentola with ease and also for lesser-known roles in Chabrier’s L’Etoile, as Hansel, and in Adamo’s Little Women and Lysistrata. She was named Outstanding Debut Artist by New York City Opera in 2002 and was a finalist in the Plácido Domingo World Opera Competition. A frequent performer with NYCO and regional opera companies throughout the U.S., she debuts in 2008 at Teatro Regio di Torino and Opera di Bologna. In early 2009 she appears with Florida Grand Opera in Cenerentola. She is the recipient of awards from the George London, Licia Albanese Puccini, and the Richard F. Gold Shoshana Foundations and was a National Semi-Finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.

Baritone Scott Hendricks is known for his impressive, burnished voice and his versatility in a repertory ranging from Monteverdi to 20^th century opera and, increasingly, Verdi and Wagner. He performed Nathan Landau (Sophie’s Choice) and Sharpless (Madama Butterfly) with Washington National Opera and has sung numerous roles with Houston Grand Opera as well as with the San Francisco, San Diego, and Santa Fe Operas and other U.S. companies. In addition, he has sung with the English National Opera, Opera National de Lille, De Nederlands Oper, and Welsh National Opera. A principal soloist with the Oper de Stadt Köln for three seasons, he also performs extensively with major U.S. and European orchestras.

Soprano Elizabeth Futral, who drew extended bravas as Desdemona in WCO’s Otello in 2007, brings her acclaimed coloratura, dramatic range, and stunning vocalism to a new role in Il Giuramento. Her diverse repertoire includes Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart, Bellini, Donizetti, Rossini, and Verdi plus Philip Glass, Andre Previn, and Tan Dun. She has appeared in the premieres of The First Emperor at the Metropolitan Opera and in A Streetcar Named Desire at San Francisco Opera. She is also a favorite with the major opera companies in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and Michigan Opera in this country and at Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, Vancouver Opera, and the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro. She has collaborated with most of today’s distinguished conductors and has an extensive discography that includes bel canto and contemporary works (in English as well as the original languages).

Tenor James Valenti debuts with WCO as Viscardo, a role perfect for his Italianate sound and dashing presence. He is building an impressive career in Europe singing Verdi and Puccini roles, with debuts in 2008 at the Salzburg Festival and La Scala and in future seasons at Covent Garden and Paris. He has already performed with Opera de Marseilles, Rome Opera, La Monnaie Brussels, and the leading opera houses in Hamburg, Las Palmas, Geneva, Dresden, and Marseilles. In the U.S. he has appeared with the New York City, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Miami, Palm Beach, and Washington Operas. He has won awards in prestigious competitions, and, following his fall 2006 debut, New York City Opera presented him their Betty Allen Prize that recognizes exceptional singers for their artistic excellence.

Baritone Donnie Ray Albert returns to WCO after his outstanding portrayal of Luisa’s father in WCO’s Luisa Miller in 2005. Throughout his distinguished career he has appeared with major companies throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan. His repertory includes Wotan and the Wanderer in the New National Theater’s Ring in Tokyo, the Four Villains in Tales of Hoffman at Covent Garden and in Cologne, Jack Rance in La Fanciulla del West with Prague National Opera and Arizona Opera, Jochanaan, Sharpless, Nabucco, and many other dramatic baritone roles. He also has performed as a concert artist under renowned conductors with the National Symphony and the orchestras in Cincinnati, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, and other U.S companies and in Cologne, Vienna, and Linz, Austria.

Mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe was spectacular in WCO’s production of Rossini’s Tancredi in 2006 and is acclaimed for her performances with The Metropolitan Opera, Opera National de Paris, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opera Bastille, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, the Santa Fe, Los Angeles, and Seattle Operas, and others around the world. She also appears on the concert stage with the Boston Symphony, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Minnesota Orchestra. A frequent recitalist, she has been featured by the Vocal Arts Society in Washington, Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, the Art Song Festival at the Cleveland Institute of Music, and in a series co-presented by the Marilyn Horne Foundation.

Soprano Nathalie Paulin returns to WCO following her outstanding performance in Handel’s Orlando in 2006. She has been praised for the great depth and allure of her rich, agile voice on both the concert and recital stage as well as in opera. Her repertory includes works by Handel, Mozart, Poulenc, Bizet, and Janacek, and she has appeared with L’Opera de Montreal as Melisande, Chicago Opera Theater as Galatea and Semele, Constance in Dialogues of the Carmelites for Calgary Opera, Zerlina for L’Opera de Quebec, Susanna for Cincinnati Opera, and in Carmen and The Cunning Little Vixen for Dallas Opera. She is known as an interpretive artist of the very first rank throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Far East.