Lily Zhang, soprano
Dr. Lily Zhang is voice professor in residence at Colorado State University-Pueblo, past Chair of Opera and Chorus Department of Sichuan Conservatory of Music in China and the first soprano to win the grand title “Top Ten Singers in China” three times. She is also the first Chinese voice professors to receive honorable doctorate degrees from three American universities. Lily sings in seven languages for both Eastern and Western opera performing a wide range of repertoire including most the heroines. She has performed at venues throughout the world including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Hollywood Bowl, Smetana Hall, Czech Palace in Prague, The Great Wall, China National Grand Theater, Shanghai Opera House, Tianjin Opera House and Taipei Zhong Shan Music Hall.
Jennifer DeDominici, mezzo-soprano
Jennifer was a soloist with the Denver Philharmonic in 2017 and is thrilled to be back! Some favorite opera roles: Dorabella (Così fan Tutte), Carmen (Carmen), Second Lady (Die Zauberflöte), Siebel (Faust), Third Secretary (Nixon in China), Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel), Guinevere (Camelot), Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins), Judy (9 to 5), Nellie Forbush (South Pacific), Maria (The Sound of Music), Petra (A Little Night Music) and Aldonza (Man of La Mancha). She has sung with the Milwaukee Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Cleveland Pops, National Repertory Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of the Springs; Fresno, Colorado Springs and Arapahoe Philharmonics. She was an apprentice artist at Santa Fe and Anchorage Opera companies and has performed at Opera Colorado and Intermountain, Indianapolis, San Diego, Central City, Piedmont Opera companies.
Matthew Plenk, tenor
This is Matthew’s inaugural year as director of opera at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, where he is also an assistant professor of voice. A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, he has performed in Tristan und Isolde, The Magic Flute, The Makropolous Case, Il Tabarro and Hamlet at The Met. He has also performed with the Los Angeles Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Central City Opera, Virginia Opera, Atlanta Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Des Moines Metro Opera, RAI Torino, University Musical Society, Houston Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Baltimore Symphony, Boulder Philharmonic and Oratorio Society of New York in Carnegie Hall.
Edward Parks, bass
Edward has been hailed by Opera News for his “warm, velvety baritone” and The New York Times for providing “precision, sensitivity and nuance in abundance” and a “robust, earthy voice.” Recent opera credits include Cold Mountain (North Carolina Opera); L’elisir d’Amore (Opera Oviedo, Spain); Faust (Lyric Opera of Chicago, Portland Opera); Carmen (Atlanta Opera); Le Nozze di Figaro, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La bohème, Die Zauberflöte, Don Carlo (Metropolitan Opera); Silent Night, La bohème (Minnesota Opera); Carmen (Seiji Ozawa Matsumoto Festival, Japan); The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (Santa Fe Opera); Roméo et Juliette (Opera de Monte Carlo, Oman); Tobias Picker’s Thérèse Raquin (Chicago Opera Theater/Long Beach Opera); Central City Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Nashville Opera, PORT Opera, Michigan Opera Theater and Opera Theatre of St. Louis.