2023 Cast

Lisa Algozzini // Lady M

Lisa Algozzini is an Italian-American soprano described as "powerful & rich in substance" (Der Tagesspiegel) & praised for her "remarkable performance" (OperaPlus). She has performed operas all over the world including: Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland & the USA. Well-suited for verismo repertoire, she has performed Nedda (Pagliacci), Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Musetta (La bohème) & covered Mimi (La bohème). Also specializing in Mozart repertoire including Despina (Così fan tutte), Fiordiligi (Così fan tutte), Mademoiselle Silberklang (Der Schauspieldirektor), Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) & Donna Anna, Donna Elvira & Zerlina (Don Giovanni). Other roles include the title role in Handel's Alcina, Adina (L'elisir d'amore), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Micaela (Carmen), Poppea (L'incoronazione di Poppea) & Mahler's Symphony No. 4. She is an alumna of Juilliard, Aspen Music Festival & has studied with Renata Scotto in her academies in New York & Rome. www.LisaAlgozzini.com

Kenneth Stavert // Macbeth

Praised for his strong "sense of theatricality," Baritone Kenneth Stavert has performed on operatic, concert and recital stages throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. Some of his recent highlights include Silvio in Pagliacci, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and Ping in Turandot (Dayton Opera), Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos (Palm Beach Opera), Yamadori in Madama(Santa Fe Opera), Renato in Un ballo in maschera, Scarpia in Tosca (Opera in the Heights) and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly(Pacific Opera Project). He recently performed in the West Coast premiere of Michael Torke's Strawberry Fields with Opera Las Vegas. Kenneth's orchestral credits include Berlioz's Lélio, Fauré's Requiem, Orff's Carmina Burana, Handel's Messiah and Mozart's Vesperae solennes de confessore. He has also been a featured recitalist throughout the United States specializing in less performed English art song. Upcoming engagements include Don Carlo in Ernani and Rabmbaldo in La rondine.

Isaiah Musik-Ayala // Banquo

With a voice that the New York Times has described as “burly and resonant,” and the San Francisco Classical Voice has called “commanding and compelling,” American bass-baritone Isaiah Musik-Ayala has been gaining recognition as a performer to watch.

In addition to a dozen roles at Opera San Jose, Isaiah has performed with Sarasota Opera, Opera Tampa, Savannah Opera, New Amsterdam Opera, New York City Opera, Chautauqua Opera, West Bay Opera, Union Avenue Opera, Loft Opera, Opera San Luis Obispo, Tel Aviv Summer Opera, Tri-Cities Opera, Syracuse Opera, On Site Opera, and the Opera Company of Middlebury. Recent highlights include Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, Alidoro in La Cenerentola, the Archbishop in The Maid of Orleans, Basilio in The Barber of Seville, Figaro in The Marriage of Figaro, Banquo in Macbeth, Escamillo in Carmen, Elmiro in Otello, Oroveso in Norma, Phanuel in Hérodiade, and the French General in the new American opera, Silent Night, as well as numerous festival and concert appearances.

Samarie Alicea // Sister

Puerto Rican soprano Samarie Alicea praised by The New York Times for her “bright-voiced and endearing soprano” has performed with Heartbeat Opera as Zerlina (Don Giovanni) in NYC & Portland, Oregon and in their Messy Messiah’s Drag Extravaganza.  Samarie made her New York City Opera role debut as Aire in Literes’ Spanish Baroque opera Los Elementos.  Also with NYCO, she performed the role of La Statue in Rameau’s Pygmalion.  Recently, she has been seen in concerts promoting Latin American repertoire with Opera Hispánica in NYC. Roles include Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Frasquita (Carmen) with the Axelrod Performimg Arts Center, Clorinda (La cenerentola) with NYCO’s Park Series at Bryant Park.  She has also been seen Off-Broadway in the role of Susana in Vid Guerrerio’s Figaro 90210!.  Also performed as Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro) with Long Island Opera and as Servilia (La clemenza di Tito) with dell´Arte Opera Ensemble.  Samarie was a first prize winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council District Auditions in Puerto Rico. www.samariealicea.com

Taylor-Alexis Dupont // Sister

Taylor-Alexis DuPont is an engaging singer from Orlando, FL who received her Masters in Voice from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University while studying with Denyce Graves. She performed in the ensemble of the Metropolitan Opera’s Grammy award winning production of Porgy and Bess in 2019-2020. In 2021, Taylor-Alexis sang the roles of Moth in A midsummer night’s dream with Santa Fe Opera and Bessie in Mahagonny Songspiel with Florentine Opera as well as debuting as a soloist with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra in El Amor Brujo by Manuel de Falla. That same year, Taylor-Alexis was the inaugural recipient of the Rebecca Luker Award for the Kurt Weill Lotte Lenya Competition. She will be performing in the world premiere of The Rip Van Winkles as Audrey at the Glimmerglass Festival this summer.

Sishel Claverie // Sister

Mexican Mezzo-soprano Sishel Claverie enjoys a versatile career in opera, musical theater, new music, and multidisciplinary collaborations. She’s thrilled to join Heartbeat Opera again after the online presentation of Lady M, and her appearance as Carmen back in 2017. A champion of new works, she has been involved in many world premieres, including HGO’s El Milagro del Recuerdo, Ted Rosenthal’s jazz opera Dear Erich, with the New York City Opera; and Jake Landau’s latest opera, Pietá. Recent engagements include her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra in Bernstein’s MASS, the role of Gloria in the video opera series Everything for Dawn by Experiments in Opera, and her appearance as Carmen/Lola in the short film Chinese Laundry, directed by Giorgio Arcelli. She currently resides in New York City.

Meet the Director

Emma Jaster // Director

Jaster has worked her entire life in theater, dance, opera, and immersive live events. She started onstage with her father, mime Mark Jaster, at the age of 6, studied at the Lecoq school in Paris, and went on to work with U-Theatre in Taiwan, the Natanakairali Institute in India, Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center, and the Grotowski-based Teatr Zar in Poland among others. With Heartbeat Opera, she has served as Movement Director for 9 productions since 2016 including Breathing Free, Lady M, Fidelio, La Susanna, Butterfly, and Dido & Aeneas. Other Movement Director credits include: Theater for a New Audience: Remember This: The Lesson of Jan Karski | Shakespeare Theater: Our Town | Juilliard: Agrippina | Constellation Chor/Marisa Michaelson: Desire/Divinity Project, Sappho Fragments | Center Stage: Stones in His Pockets | Theater J: Our Class, Falling Out of Time.

Learn more about Jaster: www.emmajaster.com