Opera Orlando Announces Sara Lucille Law, Raphaella Medina, and More as 2022-2023 Studio Artists

Opera Orlando has announced four singers joining the company's Studio Artist program in the Company's 2022-23 Opera Everlasting season. The artists are Sara Lucille Law, soprano; Raphaella Medina, mezzo soprano; Robert Hartfield, tenor; and Geoffrey Peterson, lyric baritone.

"Opera Orlando's Studio Artist program provides talented young singers the opportunity to hone their craft and learn skills that will serve them throughout their professional careers. The singers accepted into this residency are truly an extension of the Opera Orlando family," says program director and education director Sarah Purser. They not only perform roles on stage, but spread the joy of opera throughout our Central Florida community."

Company Studio Artists can be seen performing in both the MainStage and On the Town productions throughout the season. They will also engage with the Central Florida community through in-school programs, retirement center concerts, and other outreach events. The singers will receive acting, movement, and vocal training, and work with special guest artists in masterclass settings. The program is designed to give young singers the opportunity to receive real-world experience and training in order to help propel their operatic careers.

The Studio Artists will be featured in a number of concerts and events this Fall including, a concert on Wednesday, September 21 at 1 p.m. at the University Club of Winter Park. For more information please visit www.UClubWP.org. They will also be featured in a masterclass with The Magic Flute conductor Chaowen Ting on Saturday, October 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Broadway United Methodist Church. Both of these events are free and open to the public. Please email Info@OperaOrlando.org for more information and to RSVP.

More about Opera Orlando's 2022-2023 Studio Artists below:

Sara Lucille Law

Praised for her "...striking stage presence and pinpoint high coloratura," (South Florida Classical Review) soprano Sara Lucille Law is quickly making a name for herself on both opera and musical theatre stages. A two-time BroadwayWorld recognized singing actor, Ms. Law has performed with Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, Quisisana Resort, the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, MSC Cruises, Victor Herbert Renaissance Project, Peach State Opera, /kor/ Productions, City Lyric Opera, the Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston, Playground Opera, the Taylor Festival Choir, Christman Opera Company, Moon River Opera, Commonwealth Lyric Theater, The Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center, the Miami Music Festival Professional Alumni Institute, and Hawaii Performing Arts Festival.

Raphaella Medina

Praised for her colorful timbre and moving performances, mezzo-soprano Raphaella Medina is in-demand as a classical singer, with previous seasons including performances of opera, concert, and recital repertoire at venues across the United States and internationally. In the 2021-22 season, Ms. Medina joined Opera Santa Barbara as a Chrisman Studio Artist, performing MainStage roles, including a role and house debut as Diana in the mariachi opera, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna with Grammy award-winning ensemble Mariachi Los Camperos. Ms. Medina spent the summer of 2021 in residency with Florentine Opera, giving concert performances throughout the greater Milwaukee area, and during the 2019-20 season, she joined Opera Columbus as a resident artist, covering Rosina in The Barber of Seville, and giving concert performances with the New Albany Symphony Orchestra and the Central Ohio Symphony. Ms. Medina was also named a Bonnie Bell encouragement award winner in the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition.

Robert Hartfield

Robert Hartfield, tenor, is originally from the farmlands of Kansas and Missouri. He possesses a highly personal singing style, carefully developed since birth under the mentorship of his father, former opera singer Paul Hartfield Sr., and the collegiate teachings of legendary baritone, professor Kim Josephson. Mr. Hartfield earned a number of prestigious awards early on in his singing career, including winning six National Association of Teacher of Singing (NATS) competitions. Soon after, he was performing leading roles with opera companies including Opera in the Ozarks, Cimarron Opera, and the Collegium Musicum. A firm believer in music prowess, Mr. Hartfield has extensively studied cello and organ, and enjoys performing a range of compositions from the baroque era to contemporary operatic compositions. He recently earned his master's degree in opera performance from the University of Oklahoma, immediately jumping into his career as a singer. His latest engagements include performing with Central City Opera, Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, Music on Site Opera, and Pensacola Opera. Robert's upcoming appearances include performances with Pensacola Opera, Opera Saratoga, and Finger Lakes Opera.

Geoffrey Peterson

Geoffrey Peterson, lyric baritone, is from Trumansburg, New York. He most recently created the role of Augustus in The Secret River with Opera Orlando as a Studio Artist for the 2021-22 Season, and he also created the roles of the Pastor/Promotor/Walter White in Houston Grand Opera's world premiere of Marian's Song. Mr. Peterson has also been active as a teaching artist with Houston Grand Opera's HGOco program, leading empathy training workshops at the Harris County juvenile detention center and performing Storybook Operas. He has also been a featured performer with Houston's acclaimed "Opera to Go" program, which included the roles of Pavo Picasso in Strega Nona, Dulcamara in The Elixir of Love, and Isabella/The King in Cinderella in Spain. An advocate for social justice through music, Mr. Peterson has been a soloist and ensemble member with the Houston Ebony Opera Guild, The Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers, and the Vitamin L Chorus. In 2021, he returned home to Trumansburg, NY to collaborate with the Trumansburg Conservatory of Fine Arts to curate a black history month concert that highlighted the works of some lesser performed African-american composers, including Margaret Bonds, William Grant Still, Moses Hogan, Damien Sneed, Jaqueline B. Hairston, and H. Leslie Adams. Mr. Peterson currently serves as a board member and artistic advisor for I Colori Dell'Opera, an opera company that works to provide performance opportunities and training resources to people of color throughout the greater Houston area.

Applications are now open for the 2023-2024 Studio Artist roster. Interested singers should submit their materials no later than January 2, 2023 via OperaOrlando.org/StudioArtists. LatinX singers are strongly encouraged to submit for this season given the role opportunities available. For more information or to express
interest in the program, please email education director Sarah Purser:
SPurser@OperaOrlando.org.

Season ticket subscriptions for Opera Orlando on the MainStage are on sale now. Subscriptions are sold through the Dr. Phillips Center's Bill & Mary Darden Box Office (445 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando), online at www.DrPhillipsCenter.org, or by calling (407) 839-0119, ext. 0.

About Opera Orlando:

Opera Orlando celebrates, expands, and shares the world's greatest art form with the 2022-23 Opera Everlasting season marking the Company's seventh season producing high-quality operatic entertainment and educational programs that engage Central Florida's diverse audiences.

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