Opera Orlando has announced that four singers will join the company’s Studio Artist program for the company’s 2022-23 Opera Everlasting season. The artists are Sara Lucille Law, soprano; Raphaella Medina, mezzo-soprano; Robert Hartfield, tenor; and Geoffrey Peterson, lyric baritone.

“Opera Orlando’s Studio Artist Program offers talented young singers the opportunity to hone their craft and learn skills that will serve them well throughout their professional careers. Singers accepted into this residency are truly an extension of the Opera Orlando family,” says Program Director and Education Director Sarah Purser. Not only do they perform roles on stage, but they spread the joy of opera in our Central Florida community.”

Artists from the company’s studio can be seen performing in both MainStage and On the Town productions throughout the season. They will also engage with the Central Florida community through school programs, concerts at retreat centers, and other outreach events. Singers will receive acting, movement and singing training, and work with special guest artists in masterclasses. The program is designed to give young singers the opportunity to receive real-world experience and training to help propel their operatic careers.

The Studio Artists will be featured in a number of concerts and events this fall, including a concert on Wednesday, September 21 at 1 p.m. at the University Club of Winter Park. For more information, please visit www.UClubWP.org. They will also participate in a masterclass with conductor Chaowen Ting of The Magic Flute on Saturday, October 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Broadway United Methodist Church. Both events are free and open to the public. Please email Info@OperaOrlando.org for more information and to RSVP.

Learn more about Opera Orlando’s 2022-2023 studio performers below:

Sara Lucille Law

Praised for her “…striking stage presence and precise high coloratura,” soprano Sara Lucille Law (South Florida Classical Review) is quickly making a name for herself on the opera and musical theater stages. A two-time BroadwayWorld actress-singer, Ms. Law has performed with the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Quisisana Resort, Charleston Symphony Orchestra, MSC Cruises, Victor Herbert Renaissance Project, Peach State Opera, /kor/ Productions , City Lyric Opera, Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston, Playground Opera, Taylor Festival Choir, Christman Opera Company, Moon River Opera, Commonwealth Lyric Theatre, Janiec Opera Company of Brevard Music Center, Miami Music Festival Professional Alumni Institute and Hawaii Performing Arts Festival.

Raphaelle Medina

Praised for her colorful timbre and moving performances, mezzo-soprano Raphaella Medina is in high demand as a classical singer, with previous seasons including opera, concert and recital performances at venues across the United States. and abroad. During the 2021-22 season, Ms. Medina joined Opera Santa Barbara as a Chrisman Studio artist, performing MainStage roles, including a role and home debut as Diana in the mariachi opera, Cruzar the Cara de la Luna with the Grammy-winning ensemble Mariachi. Los Camperos. Ms. Medina spent the summer of 2021 in residence at Florentine Opera, performing concerts throughout the greater Milwaukee area, and in the 2019-2020 season she joined Opera Columbus as a resident artist, covering Rosina in The Barber of Seville, and giving concerts with the New Albany Symphony Orchestra and the Central Ohio Symphony. Ms. Medina was also named the winner of the Bonnie Bell Encouragement Award in the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition.

Robert Hartfield

Robert Hartfield, tenor, hails from the farmlands of Kansas and Missouri. He has a very personal singing style, carefully developed since birth under the mentorship of his father, former opera singer Paul Hartfield Sr., and the college teachings of legendary baritone Professor Kim Josephson. Mr. Hartfield won a number of prestigious awards early in his singing career, including winning six National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) competitions. Soon after, he was in leading roles with opera companies including Opera in the Ozarks, Cimarron Opera, and the Collegium Musicum. A strong proponent of musical prowess, Mr. Hartfield has extensively studied cello and organ and enjoys performing a range of compositions from the Baroque era to contemporary operatic compositions. He recently earned his master’s degree in opera performance at the University of Oklahoma, immediately embarking on his singing career. His latest engagements include performances with Central City Opera, Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, Music on Site Opera and Pensacola Opera. Robert’s next appearances include performances with Pensacola Opera, Opera Saratoga and Finger Lakes Opera.

Geoffrey Peterson

Geoffrey Peterson, lyric baritone, is originally from Trumansburg, New York. He recently created the role of Augustus in The Secret River with Opera Orlando as a studio artist for the 2021-22 season, and he also created the roles of pastor/promoter/Walter White in the world premiere of Marian’s Song at the Houston Grand Opera. Mr. Peterson has also been active as a teaching artist with Houston Grand Opera’s HGOco program, leading empathy training workshops at the Harris County Juvenile Detention Center and performing story operas. He was also a featured performer on Houston’s acclaimed “Opera to Go” program, which included the roles of Pavo Picasso in Strega Nona, Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love and Isabella/The King in Cinderella in Spain. An advocate for social justice through music, Mr. Peterson has served as soloist and ensemble member of the Houston Ebony Opera Guild, the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers and the Vitamin L Chorus. In 2021, he returned home to Trumansburg, NY to collaborate with the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts to host a Black History Month concert that highlighted the works of some lesser-performed African-American composers, including Margaret Bonds, William Grant Still, Moses Hogan, Damien Sneed, Jaqueline B. Hairston and H. Leslie Adams. Mr. Peterson is currently a board member and artistic advisor to I Colori Dell’Opera, an opera company that strives to provide performance opportunities and training resources to people of color in the greater region. of Houston.

Applications are now open for the 2023-2024 Studio Artist Roster. Interested singers should submit their material no later than January 2, 2023 via OperaOrlando.org/StudioArtists. LatinX singers are strongly encouraged to submit for this season given the role opportunities available. For more information or to express
If you are interested in the program, please email the Director of Education, Sarah Purser:
SPurser@OperaOrlando.org.

Season passes for Opera Orlando on MainStage are on sale now. Subscriptions are sold through the Bill & Mary Darden box office at the Dr. Phillips Center (445 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando), online at www.DrPhillipsCenter.org, or by calling (407) 839-0119, ext. 0.

About Opera Orlando:

Opera Orlando celebrates, develops and shares the world’s greatest art form with the 2022-23 Opera Everlasting season marking the company’s seventh season producing high-quality, lyrical educational and entertainment programming that engages the diverse audiences of the center of Florida.

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