The Marriage of Figaro Cast & Artistic Team

Jason Cox Figaro

Born in Dayton, OH baritone Jason Cox received his Bachelor and Master degrees in Vocal Performance from Manhattan School of Music. As a member of the Fest Ensemble at the Luzerner Theater in Lucerne Switzerland, notable roles include Jochanaan (Salome), Faninal (Der Rosenkavalier), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni), Germont (La Traviata), Ford (Falstaff), Brétingy (Manon), Lord Cecil (Maria Stuarda), General Bumm (La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein). At Theater Basel he sang Jochanaan (Salome), Frère Léon (St François d’Assise), Vater (Hänsel und Gretel), Junius (The Rape of Lucretia). Other guest appearances include Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) Northern Lights Music Festival; Belcore (L’elisir d’amore) Charleston Opera Theater; Papageno (Die Zauberflöte) Indianapolis Opera; Ned Keene (Peter Grimes) and Baritone soloist in a scenic realisation of Carmina Burana at Theater Bremen; The Stranger (Max Brand’s Stormy Interlude) Landestheater Salzburg; Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte) Theater Magdeburg.

Rachel Kobernick Susanna

Rachel Kobernick is a versatile soprano praised for her “power and sweetness” (The Observer), “seamless coloratura sparkle” (Seen and Heard International), and “captivating performance” (The New York Times). In 2025, Rachel premiered four exciting roles singing La Statue Animée in Rameau’s Pygmalion (Kentucky Opera), Marguerite in Faust (Heartbeat Opera), Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof (Cincinnati Opera), as well as Norina in Don Pasquale (Opera Magnifico). This season, Rachel makes her concert debut as a soloist with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, returns to Kentucky Opera to sing Berginella in Songbird, makes her role debut as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (Indianapolis Opera), and debuts with Park City Opera singing Laurie in The Tenderland. She is also a 2025 George and Nora London Foundation Competition Finalist. Additional performance credits include appearances with Sarasota Opera, Opera on the James, Queen City Opera, the NF Opera Collective, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and Cincinnati Song Initiative.

Rebecca Krynski Cox Countess

Hailed by The New York Times as a “vibrant soprano...with a secure, appealing sound and eye-opening volume,” Rebecca Krynski Cox returns to Indianapolis Opera as Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. She recently appeared as Leonora (Il trovatore) North Carolina Opera, Mimì (La bohème) and Wendy (The Shining) with Portland Opera, Mimì (La bohème) Knoxville Opera, Soprano soloist (Verdi’s Requiem) Sarasota Key Chorale, Leonore (Fidelio) Opera Company of Middlebury; Mimì (La Bohème) and Stella (A Streetcar Named Desire) Florida Grand Opera; Mother (Amahl) Dayton Opera; Pamina (Die Zauberflöte) and Julie Jordan (Carousel) Indianapolis Opera. At the Luzerner Theater in Switzerland, she sang Donna Anna (Don Giovanni), Elisabetta (Maria Stuarda), Alice Ford (Falstaff), Gretchen (Faust-Szenen), Raja (Dschungel), & Tatyana (Eugene Onegin). Previous notable performances include Violetta (La traviata) Kentucky Opera; Micaëla (Carmen) El Paso Opera; & Cynthia (Two boys) in the final workshop of Nico Muhly’s premiere at The Metropolitan Opera.

Jorell Williams Count

American baritone Jorell Williams is praised for his “solid vocal core and easy, natural production” (Opera News) and a “deliciously resonant baritone voice” (Broadway World). He appears regularly with leading opera companies and orchestras including the National Lincoln Center Theater, Canadian Opera Company, Seattle Opera, Opera Omaha, Greek National Opera, and Pacific Opera Victoria, and in concert with the National Philharmonic, Omaha Symphony, and Symphony Nova Scotia. A sought-after interpreter of contemporary music, Williams has created roles in world premieres by Ricky Ian Gordon, Matt Aucoin, Kamala Sankaram, and Ian Cusson, among others. As a composer and arranger, he has written for New York Festival of Song, Brooklyn Art Song Society, and Grammy Award–winning artists, and was recently commissioned by Kentucky Opera. His recordings include Wynton Marsalis’ Abyssinian Mass and Nadia Boulanger’s La ville morte. Williams is a recipient of top awards from The American Prize, The American Traditions Competition, and the Lys Symonette Award from the Kurt Weill Foundation.

Elise Miller Cherubino

Elise Miller, mezzo soprano, is becoming increasingly well known for her impressive versatility and shimmering vocalism. Recently, she returned to Charlottesville Opera as an Emerging Artist, performing the role of Mercédès (Carmen) and Isabel (The Pirates of Penzance). She also attended the Ravinia Steans Music Institute as a Vocal Fellow. In 2024, Miller performed the role of Rosa Saks in the world premiere of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, a co-production between the Metropolitan Opera and Indiana University. Highlights of the 2023-2024 season include performing Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd, IU Opera Theater) and joining the Choral Art Society of New Jersey as the mezzo-soprano soloist for Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass. This season, Miller joins Indianapolis Opera as a Resident Artist, where she makes her role debut as Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro), and returns to Charlottesville Opera to perform her first Rosina (Il barbiere di Siviglia).

Cara Collins Marcellina

Praised for her “sweet and seductive” vocal color, soprano Cara Collins is known for vivid character portrayals and nuanced dramatic presence. She created the role of Brittomara in the world premiere of If I Were You by Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer at the internationally acclaimed Merola Opera Program, a performance praised by Opera News. Collins has been a member of the Lyric Opera of Chicago Chorus for four seasons, covering roles including Giovanna in Ernani, Tetka in Jenůfa, and Mrs. Moreno in The Listeners. Additional highlights include her company debut with Opera Naples as Flora in La Traviata, performances with Palm Beach Opera as Mother and Witch in Hänsel und Gretel, and Tisbe in La Cenerentola with the Northern Lights Music Festival. Collins is district winner of the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition.

Rafael Porto Don Bartolo

Praised by Opera Today for “his bass-baritone with sheen and allure,” Brazilian Rafael Porto continues to make a name for himself in the opera world. He mostly recently sang the Sergeant (La bohème) at Lyric Opera of Chicago and Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro) with the Northern Lights Festival and Indianapolis Opera. On the concert stage Porto was recently a guest soloist in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Missouri Symphony with Wilbur Lin and previously with Carl St. Clair; Handel’s Messiah with the South Florida Symphony; and Lizst’s Missa Solemnis with Patrick Godon. He recently starred in Indianapolis Opera’s Opera in the Park Concert with Angela Brown; Amarillo Opera’s Opera Gala! and debuted a solo recital in Miami Beach featuring the arias and art songs of Verdi. He has also been as soloist in Haydn’s Creation, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music under the baton of Raymond Leppard. Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s St. John Passion, P.Q. Phang’s A Vietnamese Requiem, Porto is frequent recitalist at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in New York. He made his Aspen Music Festival debut as Leporello (Don Giovanni) under the baton of Dame Jane Glover and continued with a return to Florida Grand Opera as Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia). A lover of new works, he recently created the roles of Guard in David Lang’s world premiere (prisoner of the state) with the New York Philharmonic led by Jaap van Zweden and Putnam in Jake Heggie’s world premiere (If I Were You) conducted by Nicole Paiement with San Francisco Opera’s Merola Opera Program.

Antonio Domino Don Basilio & Don Curzio

Antonio Domino, tenor, recently completed a Studio Artist residency with the Chautauqua Opera Company, where he performed Doodling Pennsylvania in Lincoln in the Bardo and appeared as a recital soloist. In 2024, he joined Opera Creole as the cover of Ali in the world premiere of Morgiane and participated in Des Moines Metro Opera’s Apprentice Artist Program, performing Walter in the world premiere of American Apollo and covering Second Jew in Salome. He previously appeared as Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro and Jasper in The Snowy Day with Portland Opera. Mr. Domino holds a Master of Music from Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music and a Bachelor of Music from Loyola University New Orleans. He is also an alum of Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy.

Ian Michael Antonio / Figaro Cover

Ian Michael (he/him) is a versatile singing actor who resides in South Bend, IN. An Indianapolis native, Ian has performed as a soloist in various concerts throughout Northern Indiana, including Handel’s Messiah, the Mozart Requiem, and Shawn E. Okpebholo’s Songs in Flight. His theatrical credits include Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime: The Musical, Drifter/Ensemble in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Simone in Gianni Schicchi, and Count Ceprano in Rigoletto. He is also a three-time finalist of the Lotte Lenya Competition. Ian Michael is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a BMA in Voice Performance and Bachelor of Theatre Arts. In addition to performing, he has a passion for education and community outreach. He is currently the chair of the Community Engagement and Education committee for South Bend Lyric Opera and the owner of the Ian Michael Vocal Studio.

Rachel Purvis Barbarina / Countess Cover

Rachel Purvis, soprano, is a native of Indianapolis, IN, where she made her professional debut as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte with Indianapolis Opera in May of 2023. Purvis was also seen as Berta in The Barber of Seville, Mrs. Nordstrom in A Little Night Music and in Puccini’s Tosca (Chorus) with Indianapolis Opera. Additionally, Purvis appeared with the Carmel Symphony Orchestra as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony Other roles include Edith in Pirates of Penzance, First Witch in Dido and Aeneas, Madame Pompous in Too Many Sopranos, and the title role in Suor Angelica (Butler University), the title role in Rusalka (LAH-SOW Workshop), Mimì in La Bohème and title role in Suor Angelica (La Musica Lirica), Alice Ford in Falstaff (International Opera Performing Experience), and Mrs. Grose in The Turn of the Screw (Indiana University).

The Marriage of Figaro Coro Ensemble

Ava Brown

Kaitlyn Daily

Kelsee Hankins

Qianting Huang

Todd Edwards

Shederick Whipple

Grant Jackson

Sean Manterfield

Artistic Team

A. Scott Parry Production Director

With over 125 productions spanning an enormous range of repertoire, from Così fan tutte to West Side Story, A. Scott Parry's direction has been hailed by Opera News as "marvelous," "lively," "imaginative," and "spot-on," working with such companies as New York City Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Michigan Opera Theatre, Dallas Opera, Chicago Opera Theatre, Pittsburgh Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Delaware, and Madison Opera to name only a few. He conceived of, directed, and designed the world premières of I lavori d’amore persi, a pastiche of music theatre fragments by Claudio Monteverdi for the Bloomington Early Music Festival, and the modern absurdist opera The Pig, the Farmer, and the Artist by David Chesky for the New York Fringe Festival at La Mama Off-Broadway. Mr. Parry spent almost a decade on the directing staff of New York City Opera at Lincoln Center, has served on the faculty of Indiana University in Bloomington, and has been a visiting professor at the New England Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, and Amherst College, in addition to spending a decade as the Producing Artistic Director of The Ohio State Opera & Lyric Theatre in Columbus. He currently serves on the faculties of Manhattan School of Music and New York University and is the Stage Director and Acting Coach for Dolora Zajick’s Institute for Young Dramatic Voices and the American Wagner Project. As a composer, he premiered his quartet theatre song-cycle "On the Impracticality... of Love" at NYC’s Singer's Forum and recently completed a libretto adaptation of La mère coupable (The Guilty Mother), the third "Figaro play" of Beaumarchais, which is being set to music.

Jessica Burton Stage Director

Jessica is from Austin where she teaches voice lessons and is the Operations and Production Manager for Density512. She has a Doctor of Musical Arts in Opera Direction from the University of Texas at Austin. She also has a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and a Bachelor of Science in Technical Theatre from West Texas A&M University. She has worked in almost every aspect of theatre: director, performer, designer, and administrator. While in residency at Indianapolis Opera, Jessica directed mainstage shows Il barbiere di Siviglia, the Indiana premiere of Charlie Parker’s Yardbird at the historic Madam Walker Legacy Center, and the 50th Anniversary Gala Concert. Other directing credits include Pinocchio with St. Petersburg Opera, Gallantry, and Veteran Journeys with Indianapolis Opera; Little Women, At the Statue of Venus, Speed Dating Tonight, and Das Lied von der Erde with UT Austin; Cendrillon and Pomme d’api with FAVA France; Angels in America, The Laramie Project, and Bent with Avenue 10; and numerous scenes and concert programs. She has also assistant directed at Florentine Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Indianapolis Opera, Austin Opera, Amarillo Opera, LOLA (Local Opera Local Artists), UT Austin, Spotlight on Opera, and FAVA France. Jessica’s passion is cultivating community engagement among the next generation of opera goers. Jessica would also love to thank Emily Hancock for being a wonderful host and all around fabulous human being during her time in Indianapolis!

Bernard McDonald Conductor

Bernard McDonald’s 2026–27 engagements include Le Nozze di Figaro (Indianapolis Opera); Don Giovanni and Albert Herring (Opera Orlando); Mozart and Salieri and The Magic Flute (Mobile Opera); and Così fan tutte, Dark Sisters, Of Mice and Men, and Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria at Florida State University. Recent engagements include Rigoletto, Tosca, La Bohème, Suor Angelica, Gianni Schicchi, Il tabarro, Le Villi, La Canterina, Ghosts of Gatsby, Trouble in Tahiti, and Gallantry with Mobile Opera; West Side Story (associate conductor) with Indianapolis Opera; and Rusalka with Opera Orlando. He conducted the U.S. staged premiere of Montemezzi’s L’incantesimo for Pittsburgh Festival Opera, where he also led Gianni Schicchi, Le Nozze di Figaro, The Merry Widow, and The Magic Flute. McDonald has worked with major opera companies throughout North America, Europe, and the Far East. International engagements include the New National Theatre Tokyo, Netherlands Opera, Netherlands Radio Choir, the Dutch National Opera Academy, and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. In Canada, he has conducted Carmen, La Bohème, Die Zauberflöte, and Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera Kelowna in British Columbia. After training at the San Francisco Opera Merola Program, he joined the music staff of New York City Opera and later served as Head of Music and Chorus Master at Florida Grand Opera in Miami. As Chorus Master at Glyndebourne, he prepared more than twenty-five productions for conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Sir Charles Mackerras, and Vladimir Jurowski. He is Director of Opera and the Marcus B. and Betty Graves Shelfer Professor of Music Theatre and Opera at Florida State University.

Amy Helms Assistant Director

Amy Helms is an intuitive, dynamic, and joyfully collaborative stage director hailing from Cincinnati, Ohio. She recently graduated from Florida State University with a Master of Music in Opera Production, having directed Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice as her culminating thesis project. During her studies with directors Matthew Lata and James Marvel, Amy also directed two educational outreach projects: Abrazo de Oso and an adaptation she created of The Magic Flute, in addition to assistant directing mainstage productions. She has joined Indianapolis Opera as the Resident Assistant Director this season, where she will serve as the Stage Director for the children’s outreach series and Opera Cabaret events in addition to duties as Production Coordinator and Assistant Director. This summer, she will act as Assistant Director for two mainstage productions and Stage Director for the educational tour of Monkey See, Monkey Do! for Opera In the Ozarks in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Yihao Zhou Rehearsal Pianist

Yihao Zhou is a New York City-based pianist who has performed at esteemed venues including Carnegie Hall, Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, Kaufman Music Center, and Lincoln Center. Beyond the concert stage, he has served on the music staff of Beth Morrison Projects, Chicago Summer Opera, Music On Site, New York City Lyric Opera, Opera Company of Middlebury, and recently assisted in the preparation of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s highly anticipated new opera, Hildegard, for its World Premiere with LA Opera in the 2025-2026 season. He joined Indianapolis Opera as a Resident Artist this spring, marking a return to the state where he earned his master’s degree at IU Jacobs School of Music. Yihao currently serves on the accompanying and coaching staff at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, from both of which he earned graduate degrees in collaborative piano.