Opera Cabaret at Union 50 Cast

LEAH CRANE soprano

Indianapolis vocalist Leah Crane is well known to audiences in the Hoosier state, throughout the Midwest, and beyond. The versatile singer studied at the renowned IU Jacobs School of Music. Equally at home on the international concert stage, in commercial recording studios, and in faith communities, she is also the lead vocalist for Pavel & Direct Contact Latin Jazz and Salsa.

Following her collegiate musical studies, Leah embarked on a varied and extensive career as a professional vocal soloist and choral artist. She has been featured as soloist in Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Leonard Bernstein’s Mass and Chichester Psalms, Poulenc’s Gloria, Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise, John Rutter’s Mass of the Children, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s The Seasons, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, Ned Rorem's Evidence of Things Not Seen, and Samuel Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915.

In 2013, she was selected to be the soprano soloist in the release of composer Carson Cooman’s In Beauty Walking, recorded in the Czech Republic with Maestro Kirk Trevor and the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, she appeared as soloist in Carissimi’s historic mid-17th century oratorio, Jephte with Alchymy Viols. Most recently, she was a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Indy Baroque Orchestra and Lafayette Symphony Orchestras, in Arvo Pärt’s groundbreaking oratorio, Passio, as well as with Anderson Symphony Orchestra’s Christmas Pops concert in 2019.

Her versatility shines in recent projects as the vocalist for Latin Jazz & Salsa band, Pavel & Direct Contact. Leah is an accomplished studio session singer, and she can often be heard on national promotional recordings for various music publishers, including Walt Disney, Hal Leonard, Beckenhorst, Lorenz, Alfred, Carl Fischer, and Shawnee Press. She recently finished recording a solo album of jazz and Brazilian standards with Chicago based producer/arranger Paul Langford, “Lucky to Be Me” available on all platforms.

Throughout central Indiana, Leah continues her work as a musician in faith-based communities, singing as a soloist in many churches and synagogues. She is currently the Contemporary Worship leader at the historic Tabernacle Presbyterian Church. In addition to her many musical pursuits, she is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker at IU Health’s Riley Hospital for Children, having earned a graduate degree in Social Work from Indiana University. She and her husband Jeff reside in Indianapolis with their two children, Karis and Carson.

GAVIN HUGHES tenor

Gavin Hughes is a native of Jackson, Mississippi where he sang in churches throughout the region from childhood through college. He began his classical journey in 2015. In 2017, Hughes debuted his first role as “Cephus” at the Thalia Mara Hall with the Mississippi Symphony orchestra in Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha. In 2021, Hughes graduated from Jackson State University with his Bachelor’s of Music Education and began the pursuit of his masters degree under Russell Thomas at IU Jacobs where he debuted his first lead opera role as Tamino in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with the IU Jacobs Opera Theater. In February 2023, he sang his first flamenco role with the IU Jacobs Opera Theater as Ruiz Alonso in Ainadamar. That following May, Hughes made his professional title role debut in Charles Lloyd, Jr.’s Emmett Till with Opera Southern Company. In the following month, he was featured in a video and audio recording presenting Kenyan folk songs for Carnegie Hall’s “Musical Explorers” program. In October, Hughes will sing the role of the Count Belfiore in Mozart’s La finta giardiniera, in his final show with the IU Jacobs Opera Theater, and in the Spring of 2024, Hughes will serve as tenor resident artist with Indianapolis Opera for their 50th season, appearing as Count Almaviva in Rossini's The Barber of Seville.

TZYTLE STEINMAN mezzo-soprano

Tzytle Steinman, once described as, "Wickedly funny and talented" by The Fargo Forum, is a mezzo-Soprano originally from San Diego, CA. She has performed with multiple companies including Ohio Light Opera, Fargo-Moorhead Opera, San Diego Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Sarasota Opera and Florentine Opera, and she is looking forward to joining the Glimmerglass Festival this summer as a young artist. Her roles include L’enfent in L'enfant et les sortilèges, Buttercup in HMS Pinafore, Venus in Orpheus in the Underworld, Rosina in the Barber of Seville (Tour), Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte, Dinah in Trouble in Tahiti, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Stephano in Roméo et Juliette and Mercedes in Carmen. Tzytle was recently a Grand Prize Winner at the Patricia Crump Vocal Competition and has won three Encouragement Awards from the Laffont Competition. She received her MM in Voice and Opera from Northwestern University and her BM from Boston Conservatory. She also has a large background in dance, musical theatre, and choreography. Her choreography has been seen in many productions including Carmen (Opera NEO) and La Cenerentola (Fargo-Moorhead Opera). In 2021, she was a contestant on the Price is Right. When she isn’t singing, Tzytle loves take her rescue dog, Golde, to her favorite dog beach.

JACOB SURZYN baritone

Born and raised near Detroit, baritone Jake Surzyn has performed with many of Michigan’s opera companies including Detroit Opera. With Detroit Opera he performed in Yuval Sharon’s production of Ragnar Kjartansson’s Bliss as Antonio and Rodríguez’s Frida as Mr. Rockefeller. Throughout Michigan he has sung the roles of Der Lautsprecher in Der Kaiser von Atlantis, Dandini in La Cenerentola, King Melchior in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and Pirate King in Pirates of Penzance. Jake was an emerging artist at Opera Idaho during the 2022/2023 season, covering the roles of Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Macbeth (Macbeth), Jim Crowley (An American Dream), and Vodník (Rusalka) while performing as Fiorello, il Medico and il Servo, and the Hunter. In the 2021/2022 season he was a studio artist with Madison Opera where he covered Jupiter in Orpheus in the Underworld and Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor. Jake has been a developing artist with Central City Opera and an emerging artist with Charlottesville Opera, having performed as Samuel in Pirates of Penzance, Mr. Jones in Street Scene, Herr Zegler in The Sound of Music, Sir Lionel in Camelot, and covered Danilo in The Merry Widow, Franz in The Sound of Music, Marcello in La bohème, Lancelot in Camelot, and Escamillo in La tragédie de Carmen. An avid performer of oratorio, Jake has been a soloist in works ranging from the Baroque to the contemporary. These engagements include Mendelssohn’s Elijah, J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion, Haydn’s The Creation, Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, and Rossini’s Petite messe solennelle. As Indianapolis Opera’s baritone resident artist Jake will sing the role of Fiorello and cover Figaro in their fall production of Il barbiere di Siviglia.

RACHEL PURVIS soprano

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. Recently, Purvis was also seen in Puccini’s Tosca (Chorus) with Indianapolis Opera, and sang the title role in Dvořák’s Rusalka under the direction of Luke Housner of the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia. Purvis has performed internationally with La Musica Lirica and the International Opera Performing Experience singing the title role of Suor Angelica, Mimì (La Bohème) and Alice Ford (Falstaff) as well as in choruses of Verdi’s La Traviata and Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites. Purvis earned her Performer Diploma (2021) and Master’s degree (2020) in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of Jane Dutton at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. At IU, she performed the role of Mrs. Grose (The Turn of the Screw) and appeared in the choruses of La Traviata and Wagner’s Parsifal. During this time, she also was the second prize winner with the Indianapolis Matinee Musicale Competition. She earned her undergraduate degree in voice at Butler University, where she performed the roles of Edith (Pirates of Penzance), First Witch (Dido and Aeneas), Madame Pompous (Too Many Sopranos), and the title role in Suor Angelica.