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Baritone Lewei Wang, a native of Beijing, is currently in his third year as an undergraduate student at The Juilliard School, studying under Cynthia Hoffmann. Lewei has displayed his talent in various roles, including the Notary and the Chief of Police in Juilliard’s production of Gianni Schicchi and Amelia al Ballo. He has also been featured as a soloist with iSING and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Lewei recently made his Carnegie Hall debut as a soloist in the Chinese Young Artists Showcase Concert on October 8, 2023. This season, he has taken on the roles of the Narrator and Buff in Juilliard’s productions of I Due Timidi and Der Schauspieldirektor.
Daria Brusova, a native of Salsk in the Rostov region of Russia, obtained her degree from the Academic Musical College at the Moscow State Conservatory, specializing in vocal performance. Currently in her fifth year of study at the Moscow State Conservatory, Daria is also a member of the prestigious Bolshoi Theater Young Opera Program since 2022. In October 2023, she achieved the 2nd Prize at the esteemed 56th International Vocal Competition’s-Hertogenbosch (IVC) in the LiedDuo category. Possessing a lyrical coloratura soprano voice, Daria’s repertoire includes a variety of classical, chamber, and baroque works. She has already portrayed roles such as the Queen of the Night, as well as having Gilda and Musetta in her repertoire.
Sofia Anisimova is a Ukrainian mezzo-soprano, member the Opéra National de Paris academy since September 2023 and resident at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. She made her debut during the 2024-2025 season of the Opéra National de Paris in the role of Kate Pinkerton in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly directed by Robert Wilson. She plays the role of Costanza in Haydn’s L’isola Disabitata. In the 2025-2026 season, she will perform the role of Ramiro in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera. In August 2025, she will sing the role of Olga in Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin at the Verbier Festival. That same month, she will participate in the production of Cosi fan tutte in the role of Dorabella at the Castel Artès Festival.
In June 2024, Sofia played the title role in the opera La Victoire de Karima, created by Edwin Baudo, at the Philharmonie de Paris. In September 2024 at the Salle Cortot in Paris, she presented her narrative show l‘Invitation au voyage, based on the story of her forced journey from Ukraine to France due to the war. She is supported by the Orphée Musique Foundation and has taken part in several masterclasses with major opera figures such as Michel Plasson, Sophie Koch, Thomas Quasthoff, Susan Graham, Karine Deshayes, Zoryana Kushpler, Maciej Pikulski and others. Sofia is also socially and politically committed. For several years she was a deputy on the Kharkiv Youth Council, and has been deputy head of the Department of Cultural Development since 2019
Winner of the 2022 SWR Junge Opernstars competition, mezzo-soprano Valerie Eickhoff is quickly establishing herself as an artist of intense musicality and brilliant vocalism. The 2023/24 season sees several important house and role debuts for her including as Ramiro in La finta giardiniera with Theater an der Wien and as Driade in Ariadne auf Naxos with Bayerische Staatsoper. She will also return to Deutsche Oper am Rhein as a guest artist to debut the roles of Angelina in Cenerentola and Marylou in Märchen im Grand Hotel. Concert work includes Poème de l’amour et de mer with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, Des Knaben Wunderhorn with the Orchestra della Toscana Italy, and a concert of Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder and Respighi’s Il Tramonto with the Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchestra. Ms. Eickhoff also records the complete Hans Eisler Hollywood Songbook with pianist Eric Schneider this season, which is released on the Ars Production label.
German soprano Felicitas Wrede started her studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater ‘Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy with Brigitte Wohlfarth. Since 2022 she has studied with Amanda Roocroft at the Royal College of Music in London as an ABRSM scholar. She won the Second Prize as well as the Audience Prize at the Sollima International Competition 2016 in Enna (Sicily). In concert, she has performed at the Thomaskirche, Nikolaikirche, Gewandhaus and at the Händelfestspiele Göttingen. On the opera stage she has appeared as Pamina in The Magic Flute, as Clomiri in Imeneo, as the title role in Die Kluge and as Gretel in Hänsel und Gretel.
English baritone Redmond Sanders studied at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he was part of the Opera School and studied with Susan Waters, supported by the Countess of Munster Trust and the Drake Calleja Trust. A finalist in the Guildhall Gold Medal Competition 2025 and semi-finalist in the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition, he also participated in the Verbier Festival Academy’s Atelier Lyrique in 2024, where he was honoured with a Prix Thierry Mermod. His operatic roles include Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro at the Verbier Festival, Corporal in The Daughter of the Regiment at Grange Park Opera and a Cappadocian in Salome with the London Symphony Orchestra under Antonio Pappano. He has taken part in masterclasses with artists including Barbara Frittoli, Leo Nucci, Thomas Allen, Sandrine Piau and Anne Sofie von Otter.
Luna Seongeun Park graduated as the top master’s student at the Mannes School of Music and is now continuing her studies at The Juilliard School. She has won numerous awards in international competitions, including Grand Prize at the Career Bridges Grant Awards, First place at the Korea & China International Vocal Competition, Second place at the LISMA International Competition, and recognition in the Opera Index and the Annapolis Opera Competition. Recently, she was a semifinalist in the Belvedere Singing Competition. She has performed in Don Giovanni, L’enfant et les sortilèges, and Dark Sisters and has the roles of Zerlina, Gilda, Nannetta, and Adina in her repertoire. Luna has appeared in major venues including Carnegie Hall and the Seoul Arts Center.
In the 2023/24 season, Chelsea Laggan brings her “memorably timbred dark mezzo” (Opera News) to multiple debuts, most notably in her role debut as Carmen in Bizet’s Carmen with Sarasota Opera. In Spring 2022, she originated the role of Nelly/Heather in the world premiere concert version of Kevin Puts’ The Hours with the Philadelphia Orchestra. She has also brought several classic mezzo characters to life in performance with regional companies throughout the United States, including Olga in Eugene Onegin, Maddalena in Rigoletto, and Erda in Das Rheingold. Along with her extensive opera repertoire, Chelsea has experience in sacred and secular concert music, having performed with many American orchestras. She is a graduate of the Academy of Vocal Arts and in 2023, was a Career Bridges Grant Winner, Jensen Vocal Competition Finalist, and Elizabeth Connell Prize quarterfinalist.
Mark Kurmanbayev gained his experience in his home of Serbia. He has already worked with conductors Dmitry Korchak, Liubof Orfenova and Kirill Petrenko and studied with Grace Bumbry, Barbara Frittoli, Freddie de Tommaso and Sergei Leiferkus. In December 2021, Mark debuted in Ravel’s L’enfant et les Sortileges at the World Opera Workshop. This year he made his debut as Narumov in Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame at Baden-Baden, working with Maestro Petrenko and the Berliner Philharmoniker and last season he began working under the guidance of the world-renowned bass Alexey Tanovitski, and will appear in the world premiere of Animal Farm at Dutch National Opera. This summer he was part of the Summer Residency at the Aix-en-Provence Festival, performing under the baton of Thomas Hengelbrock. This season, he will enter the Dutch National Opera Studio.
South Korea-born baritone Minki Hong is a Master’s Diploma student at The Juilliard School, where he studies with Kevin Short. He previously graduated from Seoul National University with a bachelor’s degree in 2022. While pursuing his studies in South Korea, Minki was honoured with a Hyundai Motor Chung Mong-Koo Foundation scholarship. He has also been awarded in both the Song and Aria division of the Gerda Lissner Competition and, earlier this year, won the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Florida District and Third Prize in the South-East Region. Minki made his debut as Marco and as a cover of Gianni Schicchi in Gianni Schicchi at The Juilliard School. He also sang Masetto in Don Giovanni with Camerata Bardi International Academy. Starting this August, he continues his studies at Juilliard as an Artist Diploma student.