After reviewing over 1,000 applicants from across the country and abroad, Palm Beach Opera is excited to announce the international roster of 14 resident artists who will train with the company for the next five months. Throughout their 2024 Season residency, the artists appear on the PBO mainstage in supporting roles, perform in local concerts, train with esteemed guest faculty, and more.
Home to one of the leading training centers for emerging artists in the industry, Palm Beach Opera is proud to offer competitive artist training opportunities for singers at several key stages of their careers. The three-tiered training initiative includes PBO Studio, a free eight-month program for high school students, and two paid professional residencies—the Bailey Apprentice Artist Program, designed for recent conservatory graduates, and the Benenson Young Artist Program, offered to singers on the verge of national careers as principal artists.
During their five-months with PBO, the Benenson Young Artists and Bailey Apprentice Artists focus full-time on their artistic growth with frequent concert performances and daily coaching with a world-class guest and resident faculty. Young Artists also appear on the mainstage in supporting roles and cover leading roles, while Apprentice Artists cover supporting roles, study leading roles, add strength to the Palm Beach Opera Chorus, and perform in the company’s Concerts in the Classroom, an education initiative that brings live opera to classrooms across the county.
“We are pleased to welcome another season of rising singers to Palm Beach Opera,” said PBO General & Artist Director David Walker. “Our programs provide up-and-coming artists with the training and experience they’ll need to embark on successful, international careers in opera. We are proud to support the next generation.”
The artists selected to join the company’s 2024 Season Benenson Young Artist Program are soprano Maria Vasilevskaya (Novosibirsk, Russia); mezzo-soprano Cloe SanAntonio (Locust Valley, NY); tenor Devin Eatmon (Ocala, FL); baritone Edward Thomas Bland (Morganton, NC); and bass-baritone Ben Brady (Denver, CO). Vasilevskaya, Eatmon, and Bland will be returning to the company after previous PBO residencies.
The artists selected to join the company’s 2024 Season Bailey Apprentice Artist Program are soprano
Maggie Kinabrew (Hartford, CT); soprano Alexis Seminario (Levittown, NY); mezzo-soprano Ashlyn Brown (Palm Springs, CA); mezzo-soprano Ori Marcu (Brooklyn, NY); tenor Garrett Evers (Orlando, FL); tenor Ajit Persaud (Georgetown, Guyana); baritone David Wolfe (Shamokin, PA); bass-baritone Jacob O’Shea (Malden, MA); and pianist Emma Luyendijk (Cape Town, South Africa). Brown and O’Shea are returning to PBO for a second season.
Vasilevskaya returns to Palm Beach Opera as a Benenson Young Artist, marking her fourth season with the company. The soprano trained as a PBO Bailey Apprentice Artist for last the two seasons, following her first season with the company as a Young Artist mezzo-soprano. The Eastman School of Music graduate was a Renée Fleming Artist at the Aspen Music Festival last summer and she is a 2019 and 2023 District Winner of the esteemed Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition. Vasilevskaya performed as Hansel in the company’s 2019 “Hansel and Gretel,” and she will be seen this season as Clotilda in “Norma.”
Selected as a District Winner of the Met’s Laffont Competition in 2022, SanAntonio graduated from Mannes School of Music and has trained with Portland Opera, Opera North, and Teatro Nuovo. Recent career highlights include her performance of Mercédès in Portland Opera’s “Carmen” and Dorabella in Opera North’s “Così fan tutte.” She will be featured this season as La Voix in “The Tales of Hoffmann.”
Eatmon is returning to PBO as a Benenson Young Artist after training as a PBO Bailey Apprentice Artist last season. The Florida native graduated from Florida State University and has also trained with Aspen Music Festival and Opera Colorado. His roles this season with PBO include Spoletta in “Tosca,” Nathanaël/Spalanzani in “The Tales of Hoffmann,” and Flavio in “Norma.”
Returning as a Benenson Young Artist after a season as a PBO Bailey Apprentice Artist, Bland is also an alumnus of the Eastman School of Music and trained with SongFest. Another recent District Winner of the Met’s Laffont Competition, Bland will appear on the PBO mainstage this season as Angelotti in “Tosca” and as Hermann/Schlémil in “The Tales of Hoffmann.”
Selected as National Semifinalist at the Met’s 2020 Laffont Compeition, Brady graduated from the University of Michigan and trained with Santa Fe Opera and the Merola Opera Program. The Colorado native’s career highlights include singing the role of Arkel in “Pelléas et Mélisande” at Santa Fe Opera and Fafner in Dayton Opera’s “Das Rheingold.” He will appear as Luther/Crespel in PBO’s “The Tales of Hoffmann.”
Alumna of the Oberlin College and Conservatory and Indiana University, Kinabrew also trained with the Merola Opera Program in addition to Wolf Trap Opera. Kinabrew was also named a District Winner of the Met’s 2023 Laffont Competition.
New York native Seminario is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music and Bard College Conservatory. Seminario has trained with Atlanta Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and Houston Grand Opera’s Young Artist Vocal Academy.
Brown returns to PBO as a second-season Bailey Apprentice Artist. A graduate of Indiana University, where she performed in several opera productions, Brown has trained with Santa Fe Opera and Sarasota Opera.
Another New York native to join the roster, Marcu finishes her degree this fall from the Eastman School of Music. The mezzo-soprano trained this summer at the Lakes Area Music Festival.
Evers is a graduate of Florida State University, where he starred in several opera productions. The Florida native trained with Santa Fe Opera and has performed with the Bayview Music Festival.
Persaud, a Florida resident originally from Guyana, graduated from Stetson University and Florida State University. A district Winner of the Met’s 2023 Laffont Competition, Persaud also trained with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.
Wolfe’s education includes Eastman School of Music and Northwestern University. Originally from Pennsylvania, Wolfe was selected as a National Grand Finalist in the Met’s 2023 Laffont Competition and trained at both the Ravinia Steans Institute and Des Moines Metro Opera.
O’Shea returns to the company as a second-season Bailey Apprentice Artist. The Massachusetts native graduated from Syracuse University and Boston University, and trained with Des Moines Metro Opera, Central City Opera, and Seagle Festival.
Originally from South Africa, Luyendijk joins PBO as the only pianist in the Bailey Apprentice Artist Program. A graduate of Boston University and the Julliard School, Luyendijk has trained with Aspen Music Festival, Franz-Schubert-Institut, and SongFest. She has served as a rehearsal pianist for the New Yock City Ballet and Opera Neo, and as an associate music director at American Opera Project.
Each artist benefits from a rigorous individualized curriculum of vocal, musical, linguistic, dramatic, and movement instruction from esteemed coaches and teachers. The 2024 Season guest faculty includes Greg Ritchey, PBO’s Associate Conductor and Chorus Master; returning vocal coaches Ben Malensek and Anna Betka; vocal coaches Shelby Rhoades and Marika Yasuda; voice teachers Stephen King, Michael Paul, and Nova Thomas; acting coach Paul Curran, who also directs the Resident Artist Showcase; and diction coaches Nicolò Sbuelz (Italian), Bénédicte Jourdois (French), Marianne Barrett (German), and Ksenia Leletkina (Russian).
All artists will be featured in a curated collection of opera scenes at the annual Resident Artist Showcase at The Cornelia T. Bailey Opera Center on Dec. 9 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $200 and include a pre-performance reception, valet parking, and a post-performance toast with the cast. The 2024 Season also includes mainstage performances of “Tosca,” “The Tales of Hoffmann,” and “Norma.” For more information and to purchase tickets, visit pbopera.org.