Baritone Alexander Henderson is a native of Evansville, IN and a graduate of LSU. Alexander has performed with LSU Opera in the roles of Count Almaviva from Le Nozze di Figaro, Nick Shadow from The Rakes Progress, Taddeo from l’italiana in Algeri, Sweeney Todd from Sweeney Todd, and Manfred in Jake Heggie’s Farewell Auschwitz from his triptych Out of Darkness. A mainstay with Opéra Louisiane he has performed the roles of Samuel from Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance, Bill Bobstay from Gilbert and Sullivan’s H.M.S. Pinafore, and Peter from Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel. Most recently he starred as Germont in Mobile Opera’s production of La Traviata.
In the 2019 season, soprano Janese Pentico made her role debut as Mimì in La bohème at the Midwest Institute of Opera and in the title role of Madama Butterfly at Operfestival di Roma. Fresh out of her graduate work, Ms. Pentico sang the role of Contessa Almaviva in New York Lyric Opera Theatre’s production of Le nozze di Figaro. As a young artist, Ms. Pentico joined Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre as a cover for Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly. Now, she performs as a Resident Artist with Indianapolis Opera and will be featured as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and as sparrow in Brundibar & Vedem. She will also appear in a variety of educational outreach programs and sing in the popular Sundays at the Basile series. Ms. Pentico hails from the Chicago area. She attained her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education at Southern Utah University, where she studied with Lawrence Johnson and Carol Ann Modesitt. After teaching secondary music education in rural Utah, Janese moved to the Midwest where she now resides with her husband, son, and beagle. More information can be found online at janesepentico.com or on Facebook and Instagram @janesepenticosoprano.
Pianist Andrew Pham currently resides in Eugene, Oregon, where he teaches piano independently and accompanies primarily at the University of Oregon. In summer 2019 he served as a staff accompanist for Accademia Vocale Lorenzo Malfatti, a vocal training intensive held in Lucca, Italy. In 2018 he served as second pianist and assistant to the conductor for Cascadia Chamber Opera, which recently premiered "Tango of the White Gardenias," by Ethan Gans- Morse. In 2017, he served as coach and répétiteur for "The Banshee," a chamber opera by Daniel Daly. In 2015, he played Don Giovanni and La Serva Padrona with Cascadia Chamber Opera, Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Opera Nova Costa Rica, Die Zauberflöte with Astoria Music Festival, and Hänsel und Gretel with University of Oregon Opera Ensemble. Locally he has played for organizations such as Oregon Bach Festival, Oregon Mozart Players, Eugene Opera, Shedd Institute Theatricals, and more. He spent past summers at Bay View Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp, Luray Opera Theater, James Madison University's Opera and Lieder program in Freiberg, Germany, Staunton Music Festival, Masterworks Music Festival, and Brevard Music Festival. With soprano Emma Lynn, he cofounded art song partnership Spire Duo, now in its third season. He studied at the University of Oregon (M.M. Collaborative Piano), Indiana University (M.M. Piano Performance), and James Madison University (B.M. Piano Performance and Music Composition).
Tenor Felipe Prado is a musician from Chile who has been part of several opera productions in Southern California. He sang the role of El Remendado in Carmen and The Prince of Persia in Turandot with San Diego Opera, Alfredo in La Traviata and Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca with Pacific Lyric Association, , Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte with Pacific Palisades Symphony, Borsa in G. Verdi’s Rigoletto with AVSOMC, Gastone and Giuseppe in La Traviata with AVSOMC. He was also Rodolfo in La Opera de Tijuana´s production of La Boheme, the cover for the role of Il Duca di Mantova in Rigoletto with Pacific Lyric Association, the role of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte by W.A. Mozart with Ridgecrest Opera Guild, and Spoletta in Tosca by G. Puccini with Guild Opera. Additionally he has been a featured soloist for the concert Opera Highlights with the California Philharmonic Orchestra. As an active member of multiple professional ensembles such as the California Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale he has had the great honor to perform in great venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Warner Grand Theater, The Santa Anita Race Track, and the UCLA’s Royce Hall. Mr. Prado started his music studies at a very young age. He began playing the piano when he was 6 years old and throughout his childhood he displayed great enthusiasm and huge talent in several disciplines which resulted in him mastering several instruments by the age of 14. During his high school years, he attended the Educational Center Asuncion where he became an active member of the Deo-Datti music group. While for most of his life he was focused on popular music, his true passion always was classical music, and when he finished high school, he entered the National Conservatory of Music of the University of Chile where he studied classical piano under instruction of Jorge Lobos and Milena Viertel. In 2010 he joined the AVC Concert Choir and Master Chorale and there he took part on many concerts in a wide range of repertoire. In 2013 he started collaborating with several groups in Los Angeles area, such as the Pacific Palisades Symphony, Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic and Legal Voices among others. He also became part of the California Philharmonic Chorale as a chorister under the baton of Victor Vener and vocal direction of Marya Basaraba, and the Golden State Pops Orchestra, with which has given him the chance to work with great composers in the Varesse Sarabande concerts among which are found Christopher Young, Joseph Lo Duca, John Debny, Marco Beltrami, and William Ross.
Laura Zahn, a Philadelphia native, is a mezzo-soprano quickly garnering acclaim for her “warm, voluptuous” voice "clearly destined for Puccini and Verdi." She was most recently seen as Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors) with Shakespeare Opera Theater, Flora Bervoix (La Traviata) with Pacific Opera Project, and Olga (The Merry Widow) at Opera Saratoga. Future engagements include Dorabella (Cosi fan Tutte) with Light Opera of New Jersey and Pepa (Goyescas) with Hub City Opera. Ms. Zahn will be making her debut with Bel Cantanti Opera as Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro. Other notable roles include Siebel (Faust), Mrs. Segstrom (A Little Night Music), La Frugola (Il Tabarro), Florence Pike (Albert Herring), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Mother Goose (The Rake’s Progress). She has also covered Mother (The Consul), Mistress Quickly (Falstaf ), Moll (The Cradle will Rock), Minskwoman (Flight) and La Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica). In addition to theses roles, Ms. Zahn has been an Apprentice Artist with Opera Saratoga for both the 2017 and 2018 seasons, a Festival Artist at The Savannah Voice Festival in 2018 and performed with The Boston Lyric Opera and Los Angeles Opera. Laura holds a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory and obtained her Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from Indiana University while also completing a Bachelors of the Arts in International Studies.
In the 2019 season, soprano Janese Pentico made her role debut as Mimì in La bohème at the Midwest Institute of Opera and in the title role of Madama Butterfly at Operfestival di Roma. Fresh out of her graduate work, Ms. Pentico sang the role of Contessa Almaviva in New York Lyric Opera Theatre’s production of Le nozze di Figaro. As a young artist, Ms. Pentico joined Cedar Rapids Opera Theatre as a cover for Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly. Now, she performs as a Resident Artist with Indianapolis Opera and will be featured as Zerlina in Don Giovanni and as sparrow in Brundibar & Vedem. She will also appear in a variety of educational outreach programs and sing in the popular Sundays at the Basile series. Ms. Pentico hails from the Chicago area. She attained her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education at Southern Utah University, where she studied with Lawrence Johnson and Carol Ann Modesitt. After teaching secondary music education in rural Utah, Janese moved to the Midwest where she now resides with her husband, son, and beagle. More information can be found online at janesepentico.com or on Facebook and Instagram @janesepenticosoprano.
Pianist Andrew Pham currently resides in Eugene, Oregon, where he teaches piano independently and accompanies primarily at the University of Oregon. In summer 2019 he served as a staff accompanist for Accademia Vocale Lorenzo Malfatti, a vocal training intensive held in Lucca, Italy. In 2018 he served as second pianist and assistant to the conductor for Cascadia Chamber Opera, which recently premiered "Tango of the White Gardenias," by Ethan Gans- Morse. In 2017, he served as coach and répétiteur for "The Banshee," a chamber opera by Daniel Daly. In 2015, he played Don Giovanni and La Serva Padrona with Cascadia Chamber Opera, Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with Opera Nova Costa Rica, Die Zauberflöte with Astoria Music Festival, and Hänsel und Gretel with University of Oregon Opera Ensemble. Locally he has played for organizations such as Oregon Bach Festival, Oregon Mozart Players, Eugene Opera, Shedd Institute Theatricals, and more. He spent past summers at Bay View Festival, Interlochen Arts Camp, Luray Opera Theater, James Madison University's Opera and Lieder program in Freiberg, Germany, Staunton Music Festival, Masterworks Music Festival, and Brevard Music Festival. With soprano Emma Lynn, he cofounded art song partnership Spire Duo, now in its third season. He studied at the University of Oregon (M.M. Collaborative Piano), Indiana University (M.M. Piano Performance), and James Madison University (B.M. Piano Performance and Music Composition).
Tenor Felipe Prado is a musician from Chile who has been part of several opera productions in Southern California. He sang the role of El Remendado in Carmen and The Prince of Persia in Turandot with San Diego Opera, Alfredo in La Traviata and Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca with Pacific Lyric Association, , Ferrando in Cosi Fan Tutte with Pacific Palisades Symphony, Borsa in G. Verdi’s Rigoletto with AVSOMC, Gastone and Giuseppe in La Traviata with AVSOMC. He was also Rodolfo in La Opera de Tijuana´s production of La Boheme, the cover for the role of Il Duca di Mantova in Rigoletto with Pacific Lyric Association, the role of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte by W.A. Mozart with Ridgecrest Opera Guild, and Spoletta in Tosca by G. Puccini with Guild Opera. Additionally he has been a featured soloist for the concert Opera Highlights with the California Philharmonic Orchestra. As an active member of multiple professional ensembles such as the California Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorale he has had the great honor to perform in great venues such as the Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Warner Grand Theater, The Santa Anita Race Track, and the UCLA’s Royce Hall. Mr. Prado started his music studies at a very young age. He began playing the piano when he was 6 years old and throughout his childhood he displayed great enthusiasm and huge talent in several disciplines which resulted in him mastering several instruments by the age of 14. During his high school years, he attended the Educational Center Asuncion where he became an active member of the Deo-Datti music group. While for most of his life he was focused on popular music, his true passion always was classical music, and when he finished high school, he entered the National Conservatory of Music of the University of Chile where he studied classical piano under instruction of Jorge Lobos and Milena Viertel. In 2010 he joined the AVC Concert Choir and Master Chorale and there he took part on many concerts in a wide range of repertoire. In 2013 he started collaborating with several groups in Los Angeles area, such as the Pacific Palisades Symphony, Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic and Legal Voices among others. He also became part of the California Philharmonic Chorale as a chorister under the baton of Victor Vener and vocal direction of Marya Basaraba, and the Golden State Pops Orchestra, with which has given him the chance to work with great composers in the Varesse Sarabande concerts among which are found Christopher Young, Joseph Lo Duca, John Debny, Marco Beltrami, and William Ross.
Laura Zahn, a Philadelphia native, is a mezzo-soprano quickly garnering acclaim for her “warm, voluptuous” voice "clearly destined for Puccini and Verdi." She was most recently seen as Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors) with Shakespeare Opera Theater, Flora Bervoix (La Traviata) with Pacific Opera Project, and Olga (The Merry Widow) at Opera Saratoga. Future engagements include Dorabella (Cosi fan Tutte) with Light Opera of New Jersey and Pepa (Goyescas) with Hub City Opera. Ms. Zahn will be making her debut with Bel Cantanti Opera as Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro. Other notable roles include Siebel (Faust), Mrs. Segstrom (A Little Night Music), La Frugola (Il Tabarro), Florence Pike (Albert Herring), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro) and Mother Goose (The Rake’s Progress). She has also covered Mother (The Consul), Mistress Quickly (Falstaf ), Moll (The Cradle will Rock), Minskwoman (Flight) and La Zia Principessa (Suor Angelica). In addition to theses roles, Ms. Zahn has been an Apprentice Artist with Opera Saratoga for both the 2017 and 2018 seasons, a Festival Artist at The Savannah Voice Festival in 2018 and performed with The Boston Lyric Opera and Los Angeles Opera. Laura holds a Masters of Music in Vocal Performance from The Boston Conservatory and obtained her Bachelors of Music in Vocal Performance from Indiana University while also completing a Bachelors of the Arts in International Studies.
