The Norwegian dramatic soprano’s extensive concert and operatic repertoire includes Wagner (Senta in Der fliegende Höllander, Elsa in Lohengrin, Eva in Die Meistersinger, Elisabeth and Venus in Tannhäuser and Gutrune in Götterdämmerung); Richard Strauss (The Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, Arabella, Ariadne and Salome); Mozart (The Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Elettra in Idomeneo); Johann Strauss (Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus); her signature role of Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio (original and revised versions), Verdi’s Aida and more.  In recent seasons, Ms. Karlsen has given sensationally received performances at Opera Pacific, in the title roles of Salome and Turandot, as well as Leonore in Verdi’s Il trovatore.  Ms. Karlsen’s astonishingly varied concert repertoire includes Mahler’s Eighth Symphony (which she sang on Canadian television with the Montreal Symphony), Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony and Missa Solemnis, and the Verdi Requiem (giving a critically acclaimed performance with Zürich’s Tonhalle Orchestra).

Jay Hunter Morris (The Tenor)

Jay Hunter Morris has established himself as one of the most exciting young tenors on the operatic scene today.  He brings a clarion voice and magnetic stage presence to a wide range of challenging roles in theaters around the globe.  Mr. Morris began the 2004-2005 Season with performances of Erik in Der fliegende Holländer at the Teatro Municipal in Santiago.  He was also a soloist in Verdi's Requiem with the Cathedral Choral Society in Washington, D.C., followed by his Dallas Opera triumph as Steva in our highly acclaimed production of Jenůfa, a role he first sang with the San Francisco Opera.  In the New Year, Mr. Morris made his role debut as Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut with Seattle Opera – opposite Carol Vaness – before taking on another new role: Don Jose in Carmen, with Minnesota Opera.  He concluded his season with a gala Wagner concert for L'Opéra de Nice.  Jay Hunter Morris first earned nationwide attention in 1995 when he created the role of Tony in Terence McNally's play Master Class at the Philadelphia Theatre Company.  He continued in the role in the Los Angeles production at the Mark Taper Forum, in the Washington production at the Kennedy Center, and on Broadway.  In April 1996, he received an “Outstanding Debut of an Actor” nomination from the Outer Critics Circle.

Lyubov Petrova (Zerbinetta)

Born in Russia, Ms. Petrova was a special participant in the Lindemann Young Artist Devlopment Program of the Metropolitan Opera and made her hugely successful 2001 Met debut as Zerbinetta, when replacing an ailing colleague – a role she reprised last season for both Los Angles and the Paris Opera.  Other recent highlights include the role of Elvira in I puritani for Palm Beach Opera, followed by Metropolitan Opera performances as Oscar in Un ballo in maschera and Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier.  Ms. Petrova’s future engagements include her role debut as Marie in La fille du Regiment, Elvira in L’italiana in Algeri for Washington Opera and a return to the Glyndebourne Festival in the summer of 2006 in Prokofiev’s Betrothal in a Monastery.  This award-winning singer is a graduate of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.  She appeared in Placido Domingo’s 2001 Red Square Concert and has made numerous appearances with the Russian National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev.

Elizabeth Byrne (The Composer)

Established as one of the most exciting dramatic sopranos of her generation, the success of Elizabeth Byrne’s first performances of Brünnhilde in the new Tim Albery production of Wagner’s complete Ring Cycle at Scottish Opera was recognized by a Royal Philharmonic Society Award nomination.  She will cover the same role at the Metropolitan Opera before making her Stuttgart State Theater debut in Jossi Wieler’s production of Siegfried.  Ms. Byrne is internationally recognized for her portrayals of the Italian heroines.  She has performed her signature role of Tosca at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Festival of New Jersey, Cleveland Opera and Calgary Opera, to name a few.  She made her Italian debut as Verdi’s Lady Macbeth at Teatro Giuseppe Verdi in Pisa and will make her Arizona Opera debut this season as Senta in Der fliegende Höllander.  Other upcoming engagements include her debut in The Netherlands as Agave in a concert performance of Egon Wellesz’ opera Die Bakchantinnen, to be conducted by Edo DeWaart at the Royal Concertgebouw and broadcast by VARA Radio.

Richard Stilwell (The Music Master)

Hailed by The New York Times as "representative of the best type of American singing actor," Richard Stilwell appears regularly with the major opera companies of North America and Europe.  He has performed roles in operas spanning the history of the medium, including Monteverdi's Orfeo, L'incoronazione di Poppea and Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria, Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte, Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin, Verdi's Falstaff and Don Carlo, Britten's Billy Budd, Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande and Pasatieri's The Seagull and Ines de Castro.  In addition to his operatic engagements, Mr. Stilwell is sought out for appearances as soloist with leading orchestras including the symphonies of Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Atlanta, St. Louis, Toronto, the National Symphony in Washington, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.  Richard Stilwell's recent operatic engagements include Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Seattle Opera and in a new production with the Netherlands Opera, Redburn in Billy Budd with Lyric Opera of Chicago and Seattle Opera, Balstrode in Peter Grimes with Los Angeles Opera, and Emile De Becque in the national company in the revival of South Pacific.  Last season, Mr. Stilwell sang the roles of Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte with San Francisco Opera, and the Old Doctor in Samuel Barber's Vanessa with San Diego Opera.

Graeme Jenkins (Conductor)

Graeme Jenkins, Music Director of The Dallas Opera, conducts The Tales of Hoffmann, Ariadne auf Naxos, Rodelinda, and The Magic Flute this season.  Maestro Jenkins has served as Music Director since 1994 and has conducted more than 35 productions for the Company.  Following his music studies at Cambridge University, Mr. Jenkins was named the Adrian Boult Conducting Scholar at the Royal College of Music (UK).  From 1985 until 1992, he was the music director of the Glyndebourne Touring Company.  More recently, Mr. Jenkins held the position of chief guest conductor at Germany’s Cologne Opera (1997-2002).  All told, he has conducted 140 productions around the globe; notably, with the Australian Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Deutsche Oper Berlin, the English National Opera, the Royal Danish Opera, Nuremberg Opera, Paris Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Glimmerglass Opera, and Netherlands Opera.  Mr. Jenkins has also appeared at the Aldeburgh, Hong Kong and New Zealand International Festivals.  Since the end of the 2004-2005 Dallas Opera season, Graeme Jenkins has conducted Guilio Cesare for Opera Colorado and is preparing for a series of summer engagements including Wagner’s Der fliegende Höllander and Janáček’s From the House of the Dead at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin; his Covent Garden debut conducting the Vilar Young Artists Gala (a concert to be recorded by BBC Radio 3); and his upcoming Vienna State Opera debut in October, conducting Britten’s Billy Budd.  Mr. Jenkins remains in-demand on the world’s concert stages and, this year, has conducted concerts in Stavanger, Norway; Lyon, France; Monte Carlo; Porto, Portugal and Copenhagen, Denmark.  Mr. Jenkins has conducted nearly all the major orchestras in both the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, in addition to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Minnesota Orchestra, Utah Symphony and the Colorado Symphony.  His overseas concert engagements include performances with the State Philharmonic of Brno, The Athens Symphony, Finnish Radio Symphony, and the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as several orchestras in Australia.

John Lloyd Davies (Stage Director/Production Designer)

John Lloyd Davies has worked throughout Europe as a director, designer and lighting designer in both opera and theatrical productions; most recently undertaking The Rape of Lucretia for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; and Maria de Buenos Aires in Los Angeles.  Other recent season highlights include Madama Butterfly for the Royal Danish Opera, Albert Herring and The Turn of the Screw at Aldeburgh, Cabaret in Graz, Racine’s Phaedra at the Vienna Volkstheater, and Les contes d’Hoffmann in Nuremberg.  He also designed and lit the world premiere of John Casken’s opera God’s Liar at the Alameida (London) and La Monnaie (Brussels).  John Lloyd Davies was recently awarded the Josef Kainz Medal, one of Austria’s major theater prizes for his work in opera and theater in Vienna.  His future engagements include Il re pastore for the Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

Peter J. Hall (Costume Designer)

The award-winning costumes of the internationally renowned designer, Peter J. Hall, have graced the likes of Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Dame Joan Sutherland, Dame Judi Dench, Dame Maggie Smith, and Dame Elizabeth Taylor.  The resident costume designer for The Dallas Opera has also designed for Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo, David Bowie and many other stars.  His work has been seen on stage at The Royal Opera House, London; Vienna State Opera; La Scala, Milan; Kirov Opera, St. Petersburg; the Sydney Opera House; the Metropolitan Opera, and Los Angeles Opera.  Mr. Hall has also designed for theatre productions at The National Theatre, London and The Royal Shakespeare Company.  Recent career highlights include Stiffelio for Teatro Nuovo, Argentina; Simon Boccanegra at San Francisco Opera; and Otello in South Korea.  He is currently preparing costumes for Much Ado About Nothing to be directed by Franco Zefferelli in Rome.   Peter J. Hall has designed costumes (and occasionally, sets) for over 70 Dallas Opera productions beginning with Il barbiere di Siviglia in 1962.  In the 2005-2006 Season, this living legend will design costumes for our production of Rodelinda, as well as Ariadne auf Naxos.

Marie Barrett (Lighting Designer)

Designer Marie Barrett has been lighting opera for two decades, making her Dallas Opera debut in 1992 with the Manuel de Falla triple bill, which she reprised in our productions of El amor brujo and La vida breve during the 2003-04 season.  Earlier, her work was seen by Dallas Opera patrons in our critically acclaimed production of La bohème.  Most recently, she designed the lighting for our stunning 2005 production of Madame Butterfly in addition to productions of Vanessa in San Diego and Roméo et Julliette in Houston.  Ms. Barrett has designed lighting for many opera companies including San Diego Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Florida Grand Opera, and the Seattle, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Tulsa, Baltimore, Portland, and Fort Worth Operas.  Overseas, Ms. Barrett has designed for the Netherlands Opera, OpPra Bastille in Paris, and at the Maggio musicale in Florence.  She has worked with many noteworthy directors including Jonathan Miller (Tosca, The Rise and Fall of Mahoganny, The Mikado), Andre Serban (The Fiery Angel), and Michael Hampe (Die Zauberflöte, Un ballo in maschera, Der Rosenkavalier).  Recent career highlights include well-received productions of Turandot (the Southwest premiere of the new ending by Luciano Berio at The Dallas Opera), Katya Kabanova (San Diego), Un ballo in maschera (Canadian Opera Company), and Salome for Fort Worth Opera.  Upcoming productions include The Magic Flute for The Dallas Opera; Un ballo in maschera in Genoa, Italy; and La traviata for Fort Worth Opera.