American baritone, Scott Ballantine, has returned to Boston for the 2017-2018 season after a summer with the Utah Festival of Opera and Musical Theatre, where he rehearsed and performed for twelve weeks in four productions. The day he returned to the east coast, he jumped immediately into a new performance schedule--joining the Southern Vermont Lyric Theatre as Schaunard in La Bohème. Now, Ballantine is thrilled to join Boston Opera Collaborative (BOC) as a member for the season.

Baritone Junhan Choi, a native of South Korea, was recently awarded three special prizes at the 54th Viñas international voice competition in Barcelona which are ‘Mercedes Viñas’, ‘Victoria de los Ángeles’, and ‘Franz Schubert’. He also won 1st place in MetroWest Opera’s Vocal Competition and placed 4th with Audience Favorite prize at Rochester’s Classiac Idol Vocal Competition in 2017. Mr. Choi holds Master’s degree and Graduate Diploma from New England Conservatory of Music.

Carley DeFranco has been commended for her “stunningly exquisite, silvery smooth voice” (Melrose Free Press) and “warm, supple soprano” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). Recent credits include the title role in Alcina (Opera del West), Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Greater Worcester Opera), Yvette in La Rondine: Remix, Clara in a staged, immersive presentation of Fraunenliebe und Leben and From the Diary of Virginia Woolf (BOC). Carley received her MM from Longy School of Music of Bard College.

Mieczyslaw is thrilled to be a member of the Boston Opera Collaborative this season. Performances this past season include Philip Glass’ Hydrogen Jukebox (Baritone) and Tobias Picker’s Emmeline (Simon Fenton) at Boston University, as well as Conrad Susa’s Dangerous Liaisons (Bertrand/Ensemble) with the BOC. He was a fellow of the Fall Island Vocal Arts Seminar in 2017 and is currently an artist for the Boston Art Song Society. Mieczyslaw received his MM in Vocal Performance from BU.

Celeste Godin recently performed as “a completely brilliant Rodolfo” (Boston Musical Intelligencer) in MetroWest Opera's La Femme Bohème, Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos (Lowell House Opera), Andeng in Noli Me Tangere (Opera Brittenica), and Annio (La Clemenza di Tito) with Promenade Opera Project. Between shows, she placed second in the Five Towns Music and Art Young Musicians Competition in New York.

Shannon Grace obtained her MM from The Boston Conservatory in Vocal Performance in 2013 and her BM in Voice from Ithaca College in 2010. This year she will be performing in BOC’s Opera Bites as Lucy in Lucy. Past performances include: Dangerous Liaisons (Madame de Volanges), Mirror (Virginia Woolf in From the Diary of Virginia Woolf), Opera Bites 2016 (American Flag), Opera Bites 2015 (Tempo Fuori del Tempo & The Act) and Our Town (Mrs. Webb).

Soprano, Alyssa Hensel is excited to be working with Boston Collaborative Opera this season. Her previous 2017 performances include: Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito), Eliza (Dark Sisters) and Louisa Berry (A Letter to Vanguard, new commission). Hensel attended Oberlin Conservatory of Music (B.M. ‘14, Voice) and recently graduated from The Boston Conservatory (M.M. ‘17, Voice). For more info and updates on Ms. Hensel’s performance schedule, please visit: www.alyssahensel.com

Stephanie Hollenberg recently made her Italy debut as Papagena (Die Zauberflöte) with Music Academy International, also covering the role of Zerlina (Don Giovanni) and singing the role of an Esprit (Cendrillon). Additionally, Stephanie has appeared in Orontea (Tibrino) in Haymarket Opera’s Summer Course, Hansel & Gretel (Sandman), An Embarrassing Position (Eva), and Dido & Aeneas (Dido). Stephanie received her MM from Longy School of Music of Bard College.

Rebecca Krouner’s performances as Carmen have been praised as “fiery and sultry” with a “luscious, powerful voice of wide range and dynamics.” Resident Artist at Opera San Jose and MM from Manhattan School of Music. Past roles include Azucena, Orlofsky, Komponist, Abbess, Cherubino, Meg Page, and Dritte Dame. Local performances with Panopera, Lowell House Opera, MetroWest Opera, Boston Civic Symphony, Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, Harvard Radcliffe Chorus, Odyssey Opera.

Natalie Logan makes her debut with Boston Opera Collaborative, Handel + Haydn Society, Metropolitan Chorale, Opera Steamboat, Symphony Nova, and Newburyport Choral Society this season. Finalist of the 2017 MetroWest Opera competition, she was 2016-17 Winner of The American Prize in Vocal Performance. Roles include Morgana (Alcina), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), and Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress). B.M. Louisiana State University; M.M., P.S.C Voice Performance from Boston Conservatory.

Jenny Searles Margulies trained at Butler University (BM), Southern Methodist University (MM) and Indiana University (PD). She has performed with Indianapolis Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera North, Bronx Opera, Manhattan Opera Repertory Theater and Regina Opera. Previous roles include Tosca, Susannah, Alice Ford, Nedda, Countess (Nozze di Figaro), Woglinde (Das Rheingold), Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream). She has performed with BOC as Mabrouka (Sumeida’s Song).

Tenor Fran Rogers’ recent opera credits include Ruggero in Puccini’s La Rondine, Danceny in Susa’s The Dangerous Liaisons, Ramiro in Rossini's La Cenerentola. Upcoming performances include Art in Solitro’s Triangle, and Rodolfo in Puccini’s La Boheme. Fran makes his Symphony Hall debut this October with the Terezin Music Foundation singing a collection of songs by Pavel Haas and Gideon Klein.

Soprano Tamara Ryan has been hailed by The Boston Globe as a "breathtakingly solid" soprano,” by the New England Theater Geek as "a performer of note," and by the Boston Musical Intelligencer as having "the comedic genius of Madeline Kahn" and a "captivatingly expressive strength.” The Cleveland Plain Dealer finds her "charming" and "fearless.”

Sirgourney Calven Fate Tanner, a Chicago, IL native, completed her graduate education at Longy School of Music of Bard College in Cambridge, MA where for two years; she was named a Presidential Scholar and earned a Master of Music Degree in Opera Performance, May 2016. There, she studied with Bass-Baritone, Robert Honeysucker. Among many performance opportunities, Sirgourney was privileged to perform for the Following In Her Footsteps Awards.

New England based mezzo-soprano Susannah Thornton is equally at home performing operatic roles and interpreting art song. While earning her undergraduate degree at the University of New Hampshire, Thornton performed the role of L’Enfant (Ravel, “L’Enfant et les Sortileges:) as well as studying Hermia (Britten, “Midsummer Night’s Dream”), Dorabella (Mozart, “Cosi fan Tutte”), and Cherubino (Mozart, “The Marriage of Figaro”).