current young artists

Baritone Patrick Dow made his debut at English National Opera as Figaro in The Barber of Seville. In 2024, he appeared as Il Conte in Le nozze di Figaro at Garsington Opera Festival as an Alvarez Young Artist, and as Oeo in Trip to the Moon. Recent operatic highlights included performances in the Glyndebourne Festival chorus during the 2023 season, including Don Giovanni, L’elisir d’amore, Semele, and The Rake’s Progress. Earlier in 2023, while studying on the Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama under Robert Dean, he sang Joseph de Rocher in the UK premiere of Dead Man Walking. Other roles included Des Grieux in Portrait de Manon and King in Fête galante, alongside numerous scene performances and leading roles in contemporary operas such as Bloody Murder and Samhain Bloom.

Born just west of London, Patrick began his musical journey as a music scholar and head chorister at Wellington College, performing on tour in Cologne and singing for members of the Royal Family. He earned a scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he took leading roles in Alcina and Der Jasager, and served as president of the university’s premier a cappella group, The UNC Clef Hangers. Highlights of this period included singing at President Barack Obama’s White House Christmas Party, a private concert for the President of Iceland, opening for John Legend, and completing four European tours with three albums. Patrick completed his master’s degree at the Royal Academy of Music with Alex Ashworth, winning first prize in the Blyth-Buesst competition in 2020.

French-Canadian baritone William Desbiens, from Québec City, Canada, is a current member of the Hamburg State Opera’s International Opera Studio. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree at the Mannes School of Music in New York, studying under Arthur Levy.

A former emerging artist with the Masquerade Emerging Artist Program in Florence, Italy (2021–2024), Mr. Desbiens has performed the role of Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia in Germany and Austria.

During the 2024–2025 season at the Hamburg State Opera, the young baritone appeared in nine different productions, including Killian in a new production of Der Freischütz, Saretzky in Eugene Onegin, and Dr. Pulski in Unsuk Chin’s new work Die dunkle Seite des Mondes, among others.

Mr. Desbiens also participated in the Voice Experience and Opera as Drama programs under the renowned baritone Sherrill Milnes. In 2020, he received an Encouragement Award at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and was a finalist in the 2021 edition of CIOpera – Paris Opera Competition.

Simon Brea is a tenor from the United States, born and raised in New York. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Voice from the Purchase Conservatory of Music in 2023 under the tutelage of Jacque Trussel, and completed his Master’s at the Jacobs School of Music in 2025, studying with critically acclaimed tenor Russell Thomas.

Notable roles during this time include Le Prince Charmant in Cendrillon, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Camille de Rosillon in Die lustige Witwe, and most recently, Oronte in Alcina.

This marks Simon’s European Young Artist debut. He made his professional debut in the United States last summer with the Opera North Resident Artist Program in New Hampshire, where he performed roles such as Mercury in Orphée aux enfers, Jack in Into the Woods, and Borsa in Rigoletto, while also covering the Duke.

His most recent professional engagement was with Cedar Rapids Opera this past March, where he portrayed The Curator in Lisa Despain’s contemporary opera The Song of the Nightingale.

Scene work includes the title role in The Rake’s Progress, Tonio in La fille du régiment, and most notably, Alfredo in La traviata.

Tenor Hongrui Ren earned his Bachelor’s degree from the Central Conservatory of Music in China and is currently studying at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. Described by Opera News as “a liquid-toned tenor with good agility,” he continues to gain recognition for his artistry.

His most recent performances include Rodolfo in La Bohème and the Duke in Rigoletto in the Manetti Shrem Opera Scenes Concert at the Charles Krug Winery Stage as a Festival Napa Valley Artist. In March 2024, he sang the role of The Father in Kurt Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins and Monsieur Lacouf in Francis Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra at the Philadelphia Film Center.

Other recent highlights include Händel’s oratorio L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato in November 2023, and the Ariadne auf Naxos quintet “Die Dame gibt mit trübem Sinn” with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin in October 2023 at Verizon Hall.

Zixin Tang is a Chinese mezzo-soprano currently studying with Kate Paterson, Marie Vassiliou, and Jonathan Papp at the Royal Academy Opera Studio. She previously earned her bachelor’s degree at the Central Academy of Drama Opera Studio in Beijing and her master’s degree at the Royal College of Music. She is supported by the Helen Marjorie Tonks Foundation and the Andrea Bocelli Foundation in Italy.

Zixin’s recent operatic highlight was performing the role of Mutter in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel at RAO, as well as La Vecchietta in Respighi’s La bella dormente nel bosco at the RCM. Opera Source praised her performance: “Zixin Tang’s clear register makes for an eloquent, surprisingly youthful-sounding old woman.”

She has performed the role of Madame Flora (Baba) in The Medium at the Beijing International Opera Festival and appeared in scenes from Così fan tutte, L’Egisto, La belle Hélène, La finta giardiniera, Die Zauberflöte, Werther, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Carmen, and Le nozze di Figaro.

Zixin has participated in masterclasses with Amanda Roocroft, Umberto Finazzi, Lucia Rizzi, and Serena Gamberoni. She won third prize overall in the Verdi International Competition China, third prize in Opera at the Concorso Internazionale di Canto Lirico, as well as second prize in Art Song and third prize in Opera at the Tokyo International Vocal Competition.

Australian-German mezzo-soprano Cassandra Doyle is currently based in Essen for the 2024/25 season as a member of Opernstudio NRW, a collaboration between Aalto Musiktheater Essen, Oper Dortmund, Oper Wuppertal, and Musiktheater im Revier Gelsenkirchen. Her operatic roles this season include Flora Bervoix in Verdi’s La Traviata, Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel, Tisbe in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, Blumenmädchen in Wagner’s Parsifal, and Mrs. Moreno in Mazzoli’s The Listeners.

In 2024, she was selected for the Young Singers Project at the Salzburg Festival, where she made her professional opera debut in Prokofiev’s The Gambler.

At the 2023 IFAC Handa Australian Singing Competition, Cassandra was awarded the Institut Canadien d’Art Vocal (Montreal) scholarship, along with the Nell Pascal Award, Nicole Car Prize, and Zeke Solomon Award to attend the Israeli Opera’s Meitar Opera Studio. In 2022, she won second prize at the Sydney International Song Prize (Joan Sutherland and Richard Bonynge Foundation), and in 2024, she received the 2MBS Fine Music Sydney Stefan Kruger Scholarship.

As a concert soloist, Cassandra has performed with ensembles including the Opera Australia Orchestra, Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, Radio Community Chest Orchestra, Orchestra of the Sydney Conservatorium, and Bach Akademie Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where she studied with Maree Ryan and Rowena Cowley.

Finnish-Swedish soprano Emma Kajander made her professional debut at the Finnish National Opera in 2024, singing the role of Christine Daaé in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera. In the upcoming 2025–2026 season, she will make her house debut at the Royal Swedish Opera.

For the 2024–2025 season, Kajander’s concert engagements include the Turku Music Festival, in collaboration with the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation; Handel’s Messiah with the Lappeenranta City Orchestra; and concerts with the Korsholm Chamber Orchestra and the Turku Academic Orchestra. She also recorded a world premiere for the Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE, featuring songs by Finnish female composers, together with pianist Tuula Hällström.

In 2025, Kajander won first prize in Finland’s preeminent Lappeenranta Singing Competition, having previously won first prize at the international Havets Röst Competition in Åland in 2023. She was awarded the prestigious Martti Talvela Scholarship in 2024.

Kajander has studied at the Helsinki Conservatory of Music with Hanna-Leena Haapamäki and at the Sibelius Academy with Outi Kähkönen. She has also studied with Irina Gavrilovici and participated in masterclasses with, among others, Camilla Nylund, Karita Mattila, and Malcolm Martineau.

Etīna Emīlija Saulīte is a nineteen-year-old soprano from Latvia who began her career last year after becoming a finalist and prize winner in the Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition. Since then, she has made her debut on the Latvian National Opera and Ballet stage in the 2024/2025 season’s opening gala concert. She also gave a solo recital of Debussy songs in one of Latvia’s leading concert halls.

Following her competition success, Etīna appeared as one of the soloists in the concert Dzimuši Latvijā, where she collaborated with renowned tenor Aleksandrs Antoņenko and conductor Ainārs Rubiķis. In the winter of last year, she won the Inessa Galante Foundation competition Ineses Galantes talanti, and in February of this year, she was awarded first prize at the 1st International Vocal Competition VOX IUVENTAE.

Throughout this year, Etīna has been nominated for multiple Latvian music and cultural awards. She is also currently in her second season as a member of the Latvian National Opera Chorus.

Soprano Luna Seongeun Park, originally from Seoul, South Korea, is currently pursuing a Graduate Diploma in Vocal Arts at The Juilliard School.

She has performed as Nannetta in Falstaff at the Verbier Festival, Zerlina in Don Giovanni with Teatro Grattacielo in New York City, Le Feu/Le Rossignol in L’enfant et les sortilèges with Juilliard Opera, and Lucinda in Dark Sisters with Mannes Opera. In July, she looks forward to performing Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 at the Credo Festival in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, conducted by David Chan, Concertmaster of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

Park has received recognition in numerous prestigious competitions. She was named a winner at the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation Opera Naples International Voice Competition, the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition (New York District), the Opera Index Competition, the Gerda Lissner Foundation Vocal Competition, and the Annapolis Opera Vocal Competition. In 2024, she was a semi-finalist in the International Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition. In 2023, she won First Prize at the Career Bridges Grant Awards and First Prize in the Korea & China Vocal International Competition.

She earned her master’s degree from the Mannes School of Music and is a Special Artist sponsored by the SeAH Woonhyung Lee Foundation.

Described as “bright” and “stylish” by Opera News, American soprano Sarah Fleiss is currently pursuing her Master’s degree at the Curtis Institute of Music. This season, she sings Susanna in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro with the Curtis Opera Theatre, debuts with Tempesta di Mare, and presents recitals in Boston, Washington, D.C., and Sarasota, Florida.

Last season, she appeared at the Aspen Music Festival as a Renée Fleming Fellow, performed the Vixen in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen with the Curtis Opera Theatre, and made exciting debuts as the soprano soloist in Fauré’s Requiem with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra, as well as in Poulenc’s Gloria and Dvořák’s Te Deum with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra.

She has also trained at the Verbier Festival and the Music Academy of the West. Fleiss is a recipient of grants from the Gerda Lissner Foundation, Opera Index, and the George London Foundation. In 2025, she became the first vocalist ever to receive the Arthur W. Foote Award from the Harvard Musical Association.

She looks forward to joining the 12th edition of Le Jardin des Voix with Les Arts Florissants under the direction of William Christie and Paul Agnew.

Baritone Geon Kim was born in Seoul, South Korea. He graduated from Seoul National University College of Music, where he studied under Professors Mi-Hye Park and Dae-Beom Lee.

In the 2024/25 season, he performs at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, singing Marcello in La Bohème, Förster in The Cunning Little Vixen, Monterone in Rigoletto, and Moralès in Carmen.

His past roles include Masetto in Don Giovanni, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Gianni Schicchi and Spinelloccio in Gianni Schicchi, and Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, all performed at Seoul National University.

Since the 2023/24 season, he has been a member of the Korean National Opera and is a sponsored artist of the SEAIUNHYUNG Foundation in Korea.

Geon Kim has received notable recognition in competitions. In 2020, he won first prize in both the KBS Vocal Competition and the Korean Classical Vocal Competition. That same year, he was awarded the SAC Hyundai Foundation Scholarship, which led to performances with the Hankyung Philharmonic Orchestra and the KBS Philharmonic Orchestra at KBS Hall.

Australian soprano Juliette Di Bello graduated from The Juilliard School in 2024, where she was awarded the Joseph W. Polisi Prize. For Juilliard Opera, Di Bello performed the roles of Madame Herz in Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor and Lucia in Nino Rota’s I due timidi, and covered the roles of Aristeo in Luigi Rossi’s Orfeo and Nella in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.

She sang the role of Lily in Chautauqua Opera Conservatory’s production of The Secret Garden and has appeared with the Accord Chamber Orchestra on the Millennium Stage at the Kennedy Center, as well as with the Accord Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Maestro Julien Benichou. She has performed in recital for Opera Baltimore and twice for the Washington Opera Society.

In Australia, Di Bello has been the recipient of multiple awards and scholarships, and she also holds a Licentiate Diploma (LMusA) in Classical Voice.