Vismaya Lhi – Artistic director and Lady Macbeth
spintosoprano Vismaya Lhi was adopted into the U.S. from South Korea when she was a small child. Although she was having serious language problems when she first arrived, her mother says that she sang complete songs off the radio before speaking her first English words. She garnered top honors and her degrees from the University of California at Santa Cruz and continued her professional vocal studies with Lilyan Loran. She has sung in Italy, Mexico, Canada and across the U.S. in concert, opera and theatre. Venues and musical organizations have included The Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, Andanza Spanish Arts, Verismo Opera, Phénix Opera, The San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Theatre Flamenco, The Cabrillo Music Festival and the Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival. In addition, she has premiered new works by various composers including Five Songs on poems by Gabriela Mistral by Dusan Bogdanovic at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City; these songs were written and dedicated to her. During the last years of his life, she worked closely with the late Joaquin Nin-Culmell (who was the last living student of Manuel Falla) for whom she premiered and recorded several new songs. Production/Conducting credits include Verdi’s Il Trovatore, Leoncavallo’s – I Pagliacci and Puccini’s – Madama Butterfly. Onstage Opera roles include the title roles in Tosca and Carmen, Leonora – Il Trovatore, Santuzza – Cavalleria Rusticana and Amelia – Un Ballo in Maschera. As the founder/Artistic director of Teatro Mistral, she envisions an ongoing intersection and reconception of music, opera-theatre and dance. She maintains a private studio in San Francisco where she teaches voice, piano, public speaking and musicianship.
Osvaldo De Leon – Stage Director and Conductor
Osvaldo de León finished his Bachelor´s Degree in Piano Performance at Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey, Mexico and was the recipient of the Mexican National Fund for Culture and Arts grant in 2011 to finish his Master´s Degree in Piano Performance and Chamber Music at San Francisco State University (SFSU). He has received The Avalos Award in 2010 after his interpretation of Latin American Music; and the Concerto Competition at SFSU in 2010; the FINANCIARTE grant in 2006 to produce, direct the opera “La Voix Humaine” by Francis Poulenc; and the Mexican National Fund for Culture and Arts grant in 2003 to study a year at the University of Texas in Austin.
In Mexico he was admired due to his capacity to approach solo repertoire as well as to perform chamber music, accompany singers and instrumentalists, coach opera, and direct choirs both amateur and professional. He has conducted with Verismo Opera in Vallejo, CA the productions of Madama Butterfly by G. Puccini, and Il Tabarro by G. Puccini. He conducted with Berkeley Chamber Opera the production of The Marriage of Figaro. In 2015, he Founded and became the Artistic Director of Phénix Opera Company, a 501c3 organization that performs in Pacifica CA. His company has produced operas from the standard repertoire as well as unknown operas such as: Suor Angelica by G. Puccini and Opportunity Makes a Thief by G. Rossini. This is Osvaldo´s second participation with Teatro Mistral and he couldn’t be more excited and proud to be a member of this production.
Tristan Robben – Macbeth
A heroic baritone, Mr. Robben specializes in the high flying tessitura of Verdi. He has sung with numerous companies in the Bay Area including North Bay Opera, Bay Shore Lyric, Teatro Mistral, Verismo Opera and Goat Hall Productions. He counts Escamillo (Carmen), The Count di Luna (Il Trovatore), Alfio (Cavalleria Rusticana) , Iago (Otello), Michele (Il Tabarro), Scarpia (Tosca), Renato (Un Ballo in Maschera), Fafner (Das Rheingold), Tonio (I Pagliacci) and Ford (Falstaff) in his onstage repertoire. He studies voice with Vismaya Lhi.
Jill Morgan Brenner, Lady Macbeth – Oct. 20th
Hailed for her “vivid tone and expressive elegance” by the San Francisco Chronicle, soprano Jill Morgan Brenner channels a deep sense of connection to music and text allowing her to communicate with conviction and nuance. Previous seasons include performances as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Julie in David Conte’s Firebird Motel, First Lady in Die Zauberflöte, and Ottavia in L’incoronazione di Poppea. A champion of new music, Jill created the role of Addison for the world premiere of Hunter by Joseph M. Colombo and portrayed the goddess Athena in the world premiere of Troilus & Achilles by Elliot Encarnación. In 2020, she will perform the title role of Ottorino Respighi’s Lucrezia with Phénix Opera Co.
Originally an instrumentalist, Jill’s singing evolved from her extensive background as a violinist and pianist. She is a recipient of the Paul L. & Phyllis Wattis Foundation Scholarship, the Anna Freeland Memorial Prize, and the Vocal Department Award at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from Syracuse University’s Setnor School of Music and a Master of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. In addition to performing, she also maintains a private studio.
Don Hoffman – Banco
Don Hoffman, bass-baritone, has been praised for his “handsome, suave and confident” presence across repertoire that includes opera, oratorio and new works. A native of New Orleans, he graduated from Amherst College where he was active in numerous choirs, studied vocal performance at Loyola University, and made his professional debut with New Orleans Opera, appearing in more than 20 productions and singing lead roles in Don Giovanni and L’elisir d’amore. While living in Paris, he was a frequent guest soloist with the Paris Choral Society, performing works by Handel, Rossini, Saint-Saëns and Susa and participating in the Festival de Musique Sacrée in Rocamadour.
While based in Los Angeles, he was a featured vocalist with the popular Angel City Chorale and joined that ensemble for the world premiere of a new composition by Grammy Award-winning composer Christopher Tin at Carnegie Hall. A frequent performer on Bay Area stages, he recently sang Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni) for Bayshore Lyric Opera, Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with the Diablo Valley Orchestra, Colline (La bohème) for Island City Opera, and Sparafucile (Rigoletto) with Pocket Opera. He studies in San Francisco with acclaimed bass Gregory Stapp. Operatic repertoire includes Escamillo (Carmen), Don Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), the Four Villains (Tales of Hoffmann), Comte des Grieux (Manon), Raimondo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), Oroveso (Norma), Nilakantha (Lakmé), Philip II (Don Carlos), Zaccaria (Nabucco), Nick Shadow (The Rake’s Progress), and the Rev. Olin Blitch (Susannah).
Gregory Spear – Macduff
Since moving to the Bay Area in 2012, Mr Spear has been very active singing with various opera companies throughout the area. He has appeared with Opera San Jose, Lyric Theatre of San Jose, Bayshore Lyric Opera, Verismo Opera, and Phenix Opera. Mr Spear has also sung with Cincinnati Opera, Kentucky Opera, Sorg Opera and Whitewater Opera. He has sung such roles as Werther in Massenet’s Werther, Pollione in Bellini’s Norma, Ricardo in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera and Don Jose in Bizet’s Carmen.
Hanna Socorro – Dama di Lady Macbeth
Witch 2 and ensemble
Hanna Socorro, a San Francisco native, is honored to breathe life into La dama di Lady Macbeth alongside an exuberant cast of singers and artists. She has studied opera for eight years in New York City and has contributed her voice to many new media projects, including video articles featured in Paper Magazine where she sang excerpts from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. She has taken part in productions of Puccini’s La bohème and Meyerbeer’s La pardon de Ploërmel with NYC’s Amore Opera and has sung the roles of Nedda in Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci, Oberto in Handel’s Alcina, the title role of Handel’s Semele, and Liu in Puccini’s final opera Turandot with NYC based workshops. She hopes to continue in her artistic journey as an ambassador of Opera to the modern world.
David Phillips – Malcolm
David was Secretary to Maestro Nicola Rescigno at The Dallas Opera, and sang with its chorus under Maestro Roberto Benaglio (chorus master of La Scala and Vienna State Opera). Later he studied with John Hudnall, competed in Barcelona’s 1997 34è Concurs Viñas, and sang each season 1996-2000 with the San Francisco Opera Chorus. Guest appearances include Husband in Hindemith’s Hin und Zurück, The Husband (of Thérèse–the drag king who will repopulate post-war France as Tirésias) in Poulenc’s The Breasts of Tirésias, Smiley in Lucas Foss’ The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Mavra–the transvestic and hairy paramour Vassili–in Stravinsky’s Mavra. In the annual holiday pageant Los Pastores, he sang “El Evangelista” in San Rafael’s Pickleweed Community
Jeremy Green
Medico, Sicario, Araldo and Ensemble
Jeremy Green, baritone, has performed as a chorus member in productions with much of the cast and is excited to be involved with Macbeth. He studies voice with Vismaya Lhi.
Elizabeth Patterson
Witch 1 – Ensemble
Elizabeth Patterson is a classical soprano and a voice teacher. Raised in Pennsylvania by a family of accordionists, she resisted the family tradition and pursued her love of singing. She has since settled down in South San Francisco with her husband, John, and her cat, Bubby.
Elizabeth has sung throughout the Bay Area with Opera Cultura, Phénix Opera, Just Opera, Verismo Opera, West Bay Opera Chorus, and Valhalla Productions. She is best known for her appearances with Opera Cultura in La Llorona, as the manipulative seductress Carmela. Her other roles include Ernestina (L’Occasione Fa il Ladro), Suor Genovieffa (Suor Angelica), First Witch (Dido and Aeneas), Anna Gomez (The Consul), Giulia (La Scala di Seta), Chiquita (Coyotes and Rabbits), Waldvogel (Siegfried), Monica (The Medium), Oscar (Un Ballo in Maschera), and Gerhilde (Die Walküre).
Offstage, Elizabeth teaches a private voice studio of 20+ students. Her clients include adults and children, singing a variety of styles from rock to opera.
Emily Crawford
Ensemble – Witch 1
Soprano Emily Crawford has sung with Phènix Opera Company (Laysister/Novice Suor Angelica) West Bay Opera (Chorus Eugene Onegin, Faust, and Mozart’s Entferüng aus dem Serail), and Marin Baroque (understudy to Dido Dido & Aeneas). She has sung with Classical Revolution in performances of Bach’s Kaffe Kantata and Glenn Gould’s So You Want to Write a Fugue? She recently graduated with an MM in vocal performance from SFSU, in which she premiered roles like Carlos J. Gonzalez’s Hamlette as well as portrayed classic roles in Die Fledermaus (Adele) and La Finta Giardiniera (Serpetta). In June 2019, she presented her research on Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land at Propera’s “Opera and the City: Technologies of Displacement and Dissemination” conference in Lisbon.
Veronique Kherian
Ensemble – Witch 2
Veronique is thrilled to sing in her second production with Teatro Mistral! Prior, she has performed with Cinnabar Theater (Pagliacci), Lamplighters Music Theatre (Candide, Ruddygore, HMS Pinafore, The Mikado, Trial By Jury), West Edge Opera (La Bohème by Leoncavallo), Island City Opera (Don Quichotte), Livermore Valley Opera (La Traviata), and San Francisco Opera (Nixon in China), among others. Early in 2019, she held an operatic cheese recital called “Miss Cheesemonger Sings,” where each aria or art song in the program was thoughtfully paired with an artisan cheese. When not singing and performing, she runs her portrait photography business and cheese-centric blog Miss Cheesemonger. She studies voice with Dr. Julia Nielsen.
Winona Hendrick
Ensemble – Witch 3
Winona Hendrick is a mezzo-soprano and instrumentalist who graduated from SF State.
She currently teaches band and choir at Marina Middle school,
and serves as an assistant conductor for the Skyline Community College Chorus.
Last year Winona performed in a double bill of Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas
with Pacifica based Phénix Opera.
She has sung with the SF Renaissance voices in their most recent season
and in their production of Hildegard von Bingen’s medieval opera, “Ordo Virtutum”.
In her free time, she enjoys performing with her husband in their ukulele duet, The Letterboxers,
which will be playing at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass for a second time this year.
Celeste Camarone Mojica
Ensemble – Witch 3
Celeste Camarone studied at the Conservatory of Las Rosas in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico. She enjoys historical movies, sharks and magic tricks.