Studio Artists Program
The Sarasota Opera Studio Artists are members of the more advanced level of Sarasota Opera’s two training programs. The Studio Artists receive the same intense training as the Apprentices, but they participate in main stage productions by performing supporting roles and covering principal roles. With many roles needing covers each season and our extended performance schedule, Studio Artists are often called on to substitute for an indisposed principal artist, sometimes with little notice. The Studio Artists occasionally augment the Apprentice Artists in choruses for larger productions.
The Studio Artists are often Sarasota Opera's musical representatives outside the Opera House. Serving Sarasota and Manatee counties, they perform in various locations. These outreach initiatives take place in schools, retirement homes, community centers, and at guild meetings as well as other locations.
Studio Artists Program participants have often returned to Sarasota Opera as principal artists, and many have gone on to perform with major companies in the United States and internationally.
2024 Winter Studio Artists
Jeremy Brauner
Tenor • Maplewood, NJ
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2013)
Mary Burke Barber
Soprano • Centreville, VA
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2023)
Nathaniel Catasca
Tenor • Albuquerque, NM
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Heeseung Chae
Baritone • Busan, South Korea
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Debut: Yamadori, Madama Butterfly (2023)
Sarah Ann Duffy
Mezzo-Soprano • Cortlandt Manor, NY
STUDIO ARTIST
The Ron and Barbara Archbold Endowed Artist
SARASOTA OPERA
Kate Pinkerton, Madama Butterfly (2023)
Studio Artist (2023)
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2022)
Luke Harnish
Bass-Baritone • Lancaster, PA
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Bryn Holdsworth
Soprano • Atlanta, GA
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Debut: Resident Artist (2022)
Nicholas Huff
Tenor • Kenosha, WI
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Anna Kelly
Mezzo-Soprano • Atlanta, GA
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
The Gabriel and Valerie Schmergel Endowed Artist
Paul Leland Hill
Bass • Clinton, UT
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
The Imperial Commissioner, Madama Butterfly (2023)
Studio Artist (2023, 2021)
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2020)
Virginia Mims
Soprano • West Palm Beach, FL
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2023)
Samuel Schlievert
Tenor • Genoa, OH
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Cavaradossi, Tosca (2022)
Dormont, La scala di seta (2021)
Tybalt, Roméo et Juliette (2020)
Pang, Turandot (2019)
Debut: Apprentice Artist (2017)
Jake Stamatis
Baritone • Tunkhannock, PA
STUDIO ARTIST
The Olga and John Olenick Endowed Artist
SARASOTA OPERA
Hortensius, La Fille du régiment (2022)
Debut: Resident Artist (2021)
Ángel Vargas
Tenor • San Juan, Puerto Rico
STUDIO ARTIST
Sarasota Opera Debut
Eric Luis Viñas
Baritone • New York, NY
STUDIO ARTIST
SARASOTA OPERA
Sharpless, Madama Butterfly (2023)
Morel, Thérèse (2023)
Debut: Studio Artist (2023)