Praised by Opera News as a “gleaming, pitch perfect soprano” and the Wall Street Journal as “piercingly lovely,” soprano Leela Subramaniam has sung with some of the world’s most prestigious houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Bavarian State Opera, Gärtnerplatz Theater, Theater Basel, Irish National Opera, LA Opera, and Carnegie Hall. A winner of the Bjorn Eklund Scholarship, she was a member of the Bavarian State Opera studio as a young artist. She was the 1st prize winner of the Joan Taub Ades Competition, as well as a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition, Tenor Viñas Competition, Giulio Gari Foundation, and the Zinka Milanov International Competition. Passionate about new music, Leela has performed in five world premieres, two of which have been by women of color.   

In the upcoming season, Ms. Subramaniam will be performing the title role in the world premiere of Minnesota Opera’s The Many Death of the Laila Starr by Kamala Sankaram, Governess in the Turn of the Screw with Opera UCLA directed by James Darrah, and Beethoven’s Mass in C with the La Jolla Symphony. In previous seasons Ms. Subramaniam performed the title role in Handel’s first opera Rodrigo directed by James Darrah, Pauline Oliveros’ Bye Bye Butterfly with Long Beach Opera, Veronica in the world premiere of Richard Danielpour’s The Grand Hotel Tartarus directed by Peter Kazaras, and made her role debut as Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro with Portland Opera. She has also been seen in Kamala Sankaram’s Thumbprint with Portland Opera, Turan in Threshold of Brightness by Iranian composer Niloufar Nourbakhsh with Beth Morrison Projects and Contemporaneous at National Sawdust, the title role in Kamala Sankaram’s virtual reality opera Miranda with Tri-Cities Opera and the Contemporaneous ensemble, and performed with the LA Philharmonic in a workshop as Marzelline in Fidelio with Deaf West Theater. 

Her past performed roles include the title roles in Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) and Thais (Massenet), Pamina (Die Zauberflote/Mozart), Donna Anna (Don Giovanni/Mozart) with Heartbeat Opera, Miss Wordsworth (Albert Herring/Britten) with the Bavarian State Opera, Soeur Constance (Dialogues of the Carmelites/Poulenc), and Angelica (Orlando Paladino/Haydn). As a young artist, she was also a Gerdine Young Artist with the Opera Theater of St. Louis and attended the Chautauqua Institution Voice Program for several years with Marlena Malas.  

Ms. Subramaniam received her Master of Music and Professional Studies Certificate in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music and her B.A. from the University of California-Los Angeles in Art History and Music (Vocal Performance). She is currently pursuing her Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance at the University of California-Los Angeles. Ms. Subramaniam speaks German, French, Italian, and Spanish conversationally and lives in Los Angeles, California, where she maintains a voice studio and enjoys painting alongside her black cat Lucia. She was born and raised in Los Angeles of multiracial descent; her father is South Indian and her mother is Ecuadorian and Cuban.   

Soprano Jessica Sandidge has been praised for her “luminous strands of silver vocalism” (Parterre Box) and her “voice of both power and beauty” (OperaWire). She debuted as Manon Lescaut last season with Opera Festival of Chicago, in which The Hyde Park Herald deemed her a “marvelous Manon, bringing superb technique that resulted in admirable consistency [with] silver sparkle.” Other credits include the role of Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow, with Musica Viva in Hong Kong. Recent performances include Micaëla in Carmen: The Traveller with Pensacola Opera, the title role in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah with St Petersburg Opera, and a Candle Light Concert of Puccini and Verdi arias with The Highline String Quartet. She also debuted as a soloist with the Los Angeles Symphony, and Gulf Shore Opera. This Fall she appeared on screen as Opera Singer #2 in Apple TV’s The Morning Show, and will return as a soloist with the Los Angeles Symphony in December. In the Spring of 2026 she will make a company and role debut as Foreign Princess (Rusalka) with Opera Modesto, and perform as a soloist in Opera Las Vegas’ Passion for Puccini concert. 

​ Jessica first joined The Metropolitan Opera in their 2016/17 season. She was cast in cover roles such as Jano (Jenůfa) and Dawn in the US premiere of Nico Muhly’s Marnie, which is based on the Hitchcock film. 

​ In 2022, she was a Grand Prize Winner in the Marker and Pioneer International Singing Competition Soprano category as well as Third Place Winner in both the London International Music Competition and the Medici International Music Competition. She was also granted an Encouraegment Award from The Wagner Society of New York in 2019. She has worked with Sarasota Opera several times. ​Her debut there was in 2020 as Musetta (La bohème) and Walter (La Wally). Her performance as the trouser role Walter in La Wally  “displayed vocal virtuosity” (Opera Warhorses). In 2022, she made her role debut as Marie in Donizetti’s La fille du régiment, which received critical acclaim from The Herald Tribune: “Sandidge has a voice you could listen to all day as she negotiates florid coloratura with great ease up and down her range.” 

​ In 2019, Jessica was honored to debut the role of Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly) with Long Island Lyric Opera with stage director Carol Castel, of the late Nico Castel. 

​ Jessica has performed in a number of World Premiere pieces during her career. In the Summer of 2022 she performed with The American Opera Project in a World Premiere performance of Letters that you will not get: Women’s voices from The Great War, a contemporary chamber opera by Kirsten Volness. In 2024, with West Bay Opera, she sang the role of Eva Peròn in the US premiere of Corpus Evita by Carlos Franzetti. In 2017 she was only the second soprano to ever perform the role of Margaret Hughes in Carlisle Floyd’s last work, Prince of Players.  

 She has also received critical acclaim in rarely performed operas such as Donizetti’s Il Pigmalione (Galatea) with New York City Opera which was hailed by The New York Times. And three of Gluck’s one act operas: The Reformed Drunkard (Colette) with Little Opera Theater of NY, and La Corona (Atalanta)/ Il Parnaso Confuso (Apollo) with Pacific Opera Project.​ 

 In 2018, she made her company debut with St. Pete Opera as Violetta (La Traviata), a role she had previously performed several times. She then sang Norma which she debuted later that year in New Jersey. That summer she also reprised Mimì  (La bohème) with Pittsburgh Festival Opera.  

 Jessica has performed at Carnegie Hall several times in new works and the old classics. Her debut was Soprano in Fauré’s Requiem in 2015. And in 2016 she premiered A Prayer for Mother Earth by Ivo Antogninni. This concert also included solos in Requiem for the Living by Dan Forrest. Her Lincoln Center debut was in 2016 when she performed Violetta’s aria, “Ah, forse è lui…Sempre libera” in Rose Hall. She then performed as Soprano in the National Chorale’s Messiah Sing-in at David Geffen Hall. 

 Jessica currently lives in Los Angeles and teaches voice at Azusa Pacific University and Concordia University in addition to her performance schedule. She also sings and plays mandolin with her band The Opera Cowgirls at opera houses and theaters across the US.

Two-time Emmy Award winner, Grammy nominee, Los Angeles Opera Legacy Ambassador, and 2023–24 L.A. Opera Hispanic Opera Legend, Suzanna Guzmán, a native of East Los Angeles, rose to international acclaim for her portrayal of Bizet’s Carmen (Houston Grand Opera, Kennedy Center, Opéra de Nice). TIME Magazine hailed her as “a fire-breathing, singing actress.” 

She is a champion of new works and has created numerous world-premiere roles, notably the Duchess of Alba in Menotti’s Goya; Paula in Catán’s Florencia en el Amazonas; and Lucha in Yuval Sharon’s Hopscotch. 

A celebrated radio and PBS television host, she won two Emmy Awards (2019, 2021) for Best Live Event as host of PBS SoCal’s broadcast of The Music Center’s Annual L.A. County Holiday Celebration.  

Guzmán is an award-winning arts education advocate. Her honors include the Mentor of the Year Award from the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Woman of the Year from the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Nederlander Association. 

Marcus Klotz is a tenor, music educator, and conductor. He has recently served as faculty at Pepperdine University, teaching and conducting the Concert Choir. Formerly, Klotz served as a faculty member of the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSU Long Beach where he directed the university’s treble chorus Bel Canto, and served as the assistant conductor of the Bob Cole Chamber Choir.

Klotz has trained with many teachers including Vladimir Chernov, Timothy Mussard, Louise Lofquist and Henry Price. He sings with LA Master Chorale and LA Philharmonic under the direction of Grant Gershon and Gustavo Dudamel. He has performed with other organizations such as Palm Springs Opera Guild, Opera Buffs, and Pasadena Opera Guild. 

Klotz holds a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from CSU Long Beach and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance from Pepperdine University. He serves as the choir director at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village and as a Professor of Voice at Moorpark College. He also owns and operates a private music lesson company with his wife Christy called Westlake Music Academy.

Hailed by Opera News as a “seemingly unlimited baritone,” Dr. José Luis Maldonado is an international vocalist from Los Angeles, California. He holds degrees from Cal State Fullerton (BM), Manhattan School of Music (MM), and a Doctor of Musical Arts  from Michigan State University. A recipient of grants from Opera Buffs Inc. and the Shoshana Foundation, Maldonado’s roles include Falstaff, Don Giovanni, Escamillo, and Don Alfonso. He has performed with Long Beach Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Opera Grand Rapids, and Pacific Opera Project. Highlights include covering Sir Bryn Terfel at Aspen, his Carnegie Hall debut in Nuestros Sonidos, and his Lincoln Center debut as Escamillo in La Carmencita. In 2025, he debuted as Rigoletto with Indianapolis Opera and appeared with the San Bernardino Symphony. This season, Maldonado returns to Los Angeles as Dr. Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore and makes his role debut as Tonio in Pagliacci with Birmingham Opera in April.

Daniel Klein, praised by the New York Times for his “stentorian bass-baritone” and “dark, steely voice,” is known for his powerful and nuanced performances across a wide range of repertoire. Recent appearances include Seattle Opera, Opera on the James, Teatro Grattacielo, Sacramento Opera, and El Paso Opera. In 2023, he appeared as Judge Moriarty and Stanley in Huang Ruo’s Bound with Seattle Opera and performed the title role in Gianni Schicchi with both Opera on the James and the New Jersey Festival Orchestra. He also appeared in the world premiere of Eric Moe’s Artwork of the Future, named one of New York City’s top ten classical performances of 2023. Daniel received his graduate degree from the University of Southern California and serves on the voice faculty of the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and the Queens Summer Vocal Institute. He will return this summer to Teatro Grattacielo in NYC for his third season and third world premiere, singing Prospero in Joseph Summer’s The Tempest. 

Stage Director

Tanya Kane-Parry: Director/choreographer in theatre, opera, and dance. Artistic Director of Opera del Espacio. Full-time faculty in the Department of Theatre and Dance since 2001. Teaches acting, dance, Viewpoints, devising theatre and more. Credits include: I’ve Fallen/Clap Off! at Highways Performance Space; The Way Of Water at Cal State LA, Bootleg Theatre, Cal Poly Pomona, Hollywood Fringe and South Coast Rep’s SCRamble; Meet Me @ Metro II and III ; Space: The Final Frontier presented at SOSE Company Creation Festival; Private in Public  at SoCal Dance Invitational Concert and World Dance Alliance-Americas in Honolulu; Triple [Inter]sect dance concert at Highways Performance Space; multiple site-specific performances - desert ruins at Llano del Rio, Downtown Art Walk, Brewery Art Walk, Echo Park Art Walk, The Series at the Standard. Additional credits include productions at Long Beach Opera, LA Phil, Festival Opera, Opera Omaha, Houston Grand Opera, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Liceo Opera (Barcelona), National Opera of Bordeaux and Angels Vocal Arts. Most recent project was created collaboratively with students in the Department: Dreaming of Our Future/Soñando de Nuestro Future, a live-streamed performance centered on the challenges and terrorization of immigrants in the US. Tanya has lived and worked in Spain, France, the former Soviet Union, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, and Japan. She is fluent in Spanish and French and conversational in Russian and just spent the past 3 months volunteering in Poland and Ukraine supporting the Ukrainian refugees and orphaned pets suffering due to the Russian invasion.