An artistic illustration for Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet,' featuring a woman and man embracing and gazing into each other's eyes on a balcony, a floating ornate perfume bottle, and a cityscape with classical and modern buildings in the background, with pink roses and a pastel sky.

You’ve read the play — maybe seen the movie, the musical, even the ballet. But have you experienced the opera?

August 21 at 7:00 PM &
August 23 at 3:00 PM
Eccles Center, Park City

About Roméo et Juliette:

In Charles Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers come to life amid the pageantry and passion of Verona, reimagined through the grand orchestral and theatrical language of French Romantic opera.

At a ball, Roméo and Juliette fall instantly and irrevocably in love, only to discover they belong to rival families locked in a deadly feud. Secretly married in the hope of reconciliation, their brief happiness is undone by violence, prompting a desperate attempt to preserve their love.

With Gounod’s lush score at its heart, Roméo et Juliette unfolds as a celebration of the warmth, passion, and exuberance of young love.

Beyond the Stage:

Arrive early to explore displays of art, history, and themed concessions that set the scene for Roméo et Juliette, and stay after for a Q&A with the artists and creative team. A 40-player orchestra and soaring voices deliver the full grandeur of opera in an immersive experience close to home.

Run Time: 3 hours

Language: French with English supertitles

Cast and Creative Team

Patrick Bessenbacher

Nicole
Heinen

  • Baritone Jake Stamatis has performed a wide range of dramatic and comedic roles on the operatic stage. He makes his return to Park City Opera after performing the role of Figaro in PCO’s Summer 2025 production of Il barbiere di Siviglia. In the 2025–26 season, Jake returns to Sarasota Opera for role debuts as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte and Danilo in The Merry Widow. He also performs Figaro in Opera Memphis’ production of Il barbiere di Siviglia, makes his company debut with Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre as John Dickinson in 1776, and appears as the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance.

    In the 2024–25 season, Jake made his role debut as Il conte Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Sarasota Opera. Other highlights include revisiting Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, and Sir Joseph Porter in H.M.S. Pinafore.

    His repertoire also includes Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles, and Marcello in La bohème. Jake has been a studio artist at Sarasota Opera, a fellow at Music Academy of the West, an emerging artist at Seagle Music Festival, and an artist in residence with Tri-Cities Opera and Opera Memphis. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Susquehanna University and a Master of Music in Opera from Binghamton University. A native of Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania, Jake currently resides in New York City.

  • Joshua Hughes, lauded for his full-voiced, highly expressive bass-baritone sound, powerful lyricism, and brilliant vocal range, has performed in opera, operetta, theatre, cabarets, and concerts ranging from Gilbert and Sullivan to Mozart to Verdi. In the 2025–26 season, Joshua performs Amahl and the Night Visitors (Balthazar) and Spicer Carr’s Four Lost Santas with Opera Las Vegas, and makes house debuts with Opera Today! in The Pirates of Penzance (Pirate King) and Opera Neo in Vivaldi’s Arsilda (Cisardo).

    Previous credits include Il barbiere di Siviglia (Don Basilio) with Opera Las Vegas; the U.S. premiere of Carlo Coccia’s Matilde (Pantarotto) with Opera Southwest; La traviata (Dottore Grenvil), Don Giovanni (Masetto and Commendatore), and Der fliegende Holländer (Daland) with West Bay Opera; The Pirates of Penzance (Major-General Stanley) and Iolanthe (Lord Chancellor) with Lamplighters Music Theatre; and Il barbiere di Siviglia (Fiorello), Tosca (Sciarrone), Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella (Minister), and West Side Story (Baby John) with Opera San José.

    Joshua has also performed internationally at Hong Kong Disneyland and throughout the United States with San Francisco Opera, American Baroque Opera Company, Dallas Bach Society, Young Victorian Theatre Company, Victorian Lyric Opera Company, Opera in Concert, Orchestra of New Spain, and Lyric Opera Baltimore.

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  • Nicole Heinen is a Utah-based soprano who has recently made company debuts with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (as soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah) and with the Mississippi Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra (as soprano soloist in Carmina Burana). She returned to Pensacola Opera for her role debut as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro and to New Orleans Opera for her role debut as Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, where she also covered Adina. She also returned to Opera Louisiane as a guest soloist in the company’s Puccini Gala Concert.

    Nicole performed and recorded Bach’s Cantata No. 51 and Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with members of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra string ensemble. During the summer of 2025, she performed Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915 with the Southeastern Young Artists Festival and appeared as a guest soloist with the Caroga Lake Music Festival.

  • Tenor Patrick Bessenbacher, praised for his “purity of tone and ardent, youthful stage presence” (Opera News), was raised in Overland Park, Kansas, where he grew up a three-sport athlete and avid music lover. Most recently, Patrick performed Mechtild in the world premiere of Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Hildegard and appeared in the ensemble in his Off-Broadway debut in Lincoln Center Theater’s production of Amahl and the Night Visitors.

    Patrick has performed with Florentine Opera, Opera San José, Pacific Opera Project, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera Birmingham, West Bay Opera, and the Opera Company of Middlebury, among others. He holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Master of Music from The Juilliard School. He is represented by Kathy Olsen of Encompass Arts. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends, skiing in the mountains, or relaxing by the beach.

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Joshua
Hughes

Jake
Stamatis

Kevin
Spooner

Mala
Weissberg

  • Bass-baritone Kevin Spooner joins Park City Opera for his role debut as Frère Laurent in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

    In the 2025–26 season, Kevin makes his Lincoln Center debut and role debut as Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Teatro Nuovo. He also performs as an Artist in Residence with Opera Colorado, singing Marchese D’Obigny in Verdi’s La traviata and the Imperial Commissioner in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly for the company’s mainstage productions, as well as the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance and Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet for its touring productions. Additional engagements this season include his Charlottesville Symphony debut as the bass soloist in Dvořák’s Mass in D Major and a guest recital appearance with the Savannah VOICE Festival.

    During the summer of 2025, Kevin joined Catapult Opera in New York City as cover for King Herod in the U.S. staged premiere of Stradella’s San Giovanni Battista. He then performed with Teatro Nuovo, where he made his New York City Center debut as the Medico in Verdi’s Macbeth, while covering the role of Banco. In November 2024, Kevin received an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition (New York City District). During the summer of 2024, he was an Ader Emerging Artist at Charlottesville Opera.

  • Praised for her “beauty of tone, admirable legato, and radiant stage presence” (Revue L’Opéra) and “articulate, authoritative and fluent vocal technique” (San Diego Story), Belgian-Israeli mezzo-soprano Mala Weissberg recently made her Oper Köln debut as Moritz in Max und Moritz. Upcoming engagements include Lisa in Vivaldi’s Arsilda, regina di Ponto with Opera Neo in San Diego and participation as an Emerging Artist at the International Meistersinger Akademie in Germany.

    Mala’s roles include Angelina in La Cenerentola, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Le Prince Charmant in Cendrillon, Ino in Semele, Miles in The Turn of the Screw, Cendrillon in Cendrillon, and Fernando in Vivaldi’s Motezuma.

    A passionate advocate for Baroque repertoire, she has appeared as a soloist with Tafelmusik in Toronto, at the Youngbaroque concert of the Innsbruck Early Music Festival, and with Ensemble I Gemelli in France. She is a winner of the 2026 Concours International d’Art Lyrique de Namur and a recipient of the State of Israel’s “Musical Prodigy” title. She has also been recognized by the Cesti Baroque Competition, Froville Baroque Competition, and the Career Bridges Foundation. 

    Mala holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and McGill University.

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Allison
Deady

Chad
Kranak

  • Allison Deady is a Philadelphia-based mezzo-soprano with a stage presence that commands the spotlight and a voice to match. This season, she performs Amy Lowell in the world premiere of Patricia Wallinga’s The Sisters, Antonia’s Mother in Les contes d’Hoffmann, and Julia Child in Lee Hoiby’s Bon Appétit!.

    Known for her comedic roles, Allison has appeared as Mrs. McClean in Susannah, Tisbe in La Cenerentola, Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance, Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel, and Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro. Company highlights include performances with Opera Tampa, Nashville Opera, Dayton Opera, and Knoxville Opera.

    A graduate of SUNY Fredonia and the University of Tennessee, Allison has further refined her craft through training programs including the Dayton Artist in Residence Program, the Mary Ragland Emerging Artist Program at Nashville Opera, the Knoxville Opera Studio, Chautauqua Opera Company (Studio Artist), the Spoleto Festival, and the Brevard Music Center.

    Beyond the stage, Allison is a passionate advocate for the accessibility of opera and opera education. Her collaborations with educational programs include having written her own opera outreach program to introduce the art form to the next generation of music lovers.

  • Tenor Chad Kranak, praised for his “lyrical eloquence” and “attractive lyric sound” (Opera News), enjoys an active operatic and concert career throughout the United States and abroad.

    Most recently, Chad appeared as Sam Polk in Susannah with St. Petersburg Opera, in Rothstein’s All Is Calm with Opera Orlando, as Cavaradossi in Tosca with Heartbeat Opera, and as Don José in Carmen the Traveler with Pensacola Opera.

    Equally at home on the concert stage, Chad has performed Handel’s Messiah and Mozart’s Requiem at Carnegie Hall with DCINY and MidAmerica Productions, at Lincoln Center, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

Cody
Carlson

Akshay
Ghiya

  • Baritone Cody Carlson is a Park City, Utah native. In the 2026 summer season, Cody returns to Charlottesville Opera as an Ader Emerging Artist, singing Fiorello in The Barber of Seville and covering the King in Alma Deutscher’s Cinderella. During the 2025 summer season, he was also an Ader Emerging Artist with Charlottesville Opera, performing Zuniga in Carmen and covering the Pirate King in The Pirates of Penzance. He recently returned to Charlottesville Opera to perform in the company’s touring educational program, Sing Me a Story.

    While a master’s student at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, Cody performed the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Greatorex/Gissing in Kevin Puts’ Elizabeth Cree, and the Badger in The Cunning Little Vixen.

    He also spent two seasons with the Ohio Light Opera, appearing in both light opera and musical theatre productions. Notable roles include Michael in George Gershwin’s Primrose (North American premiere), Hubert in The Student Prince, and Josef in Lehár’s Cloclo. Additional performances include Ben in The Telephone, Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, and Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd.

    Cody holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Utah and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor. Outside of performance, he enjoys reading, hiking, traveling, and listening to history podcasts.

  • With a warm, captivating, and lyrical voice, baritone Akshay Ghiya is an emerging professional on operatic and concert stages. A recent graduate of the University of Utah and the University of Northern Colorado, he has brought to life roles including Marcello in Puccini’s La bohème, Father in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Belcore in Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore.

    His notable teachers include James Bobick, Dr. Robert Breault, and William Wilson. He served as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Utah, where he performed regularly with the school’s Graduate Vocal Quartet and taught voice lessons.

    Outside of performance, Akshay loves to write and improvise his own music, take photos of nature, and read. He hopes one day to bring his craft to the world’s largest stages and to inspire audiences to engage with fine arts globally.

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Christopher Holmes

David
Silvano

  • Baritone Christopher Holmes has performed more than 40 operatic roles with companies including Austin Opera, Central City Opera, Eugene Opera, Opera Idaho, Phoenix Opera, and San Antonio Opera.

    Christopher continues to expand his presence in the Verdi repertoire. As Iago with Winter Opera St. Louis, critics noted he sang “with clarity and power, and with a skilled actor’s ability to convey mood and character,” praising his “control and subtlety.” As Rigoletto with St. Petersburg Opera, he was described as “an incredibly beautiful lyric baritone with a very clear understanding of who this humiliated and terribly wronged man is.” His Germont in La traviata was praised for its “crystal clear enunciation” and polish. Additional Verdi roles include Conte di Luna in Il trovatore with Opera in the Heights and Renato in Un ballo in maschera with Opera Project Columbus.

    Recent engagements have included Marcello in La bohème at the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts at Utah Valley University; the baritone soloist in Dwight Bigler’s Mosaic for Earth at Virginia Tech; covering Scarpia in Tosca with Utah Symphony & Opera; participating in the workshop of John Massaro’s opera Isabella; and serving as soloist in Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem with Craig Jessop at Utah Valley University. Additional collaborations with Jessop include Vaughan Williams’ Dona nobis pacem, Hodie, and Serenade to Music with the American Festival Chorus and Orchestra, as well as Pilate and bass soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion.

    Other recent projects include Jesus in R. Cundick’s The Redeemer with the Orchestra and Chorale at Temple Square; Gabriel in Mary and Elizabeth commissioned for the BYU Women’s Chorus; Germont in La traviata and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Bellevue Opera; the title role in Don Giovanni with Painted Sky Opera; and Escamillo in Carmen with Western Plains Opera.

    Earlier in his career, Christopher appeared as Barone Douphol with Utah Symphony & Opera, Conte Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with Utah Festival Opera, Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Opera Company of Middlebury, Bartolo in Il barbiere di Siviglia with Western Plains Opera, and Escamillo in Carmen at the Pine Mountain Music Festival.

    Christopher holds degrees in opera performance from the Oberlin College Conservatory (B.M., M.M.) and Temple University (M.M.), and has previously served on the voice faculty at Texas State University. He is based in Provo, Utah.

  • David Silvano is a Peruvian-American tenor known for his powerful yet vibrant and flexible voice and his natural dramatic instinct. He recently sang the titular role in Héctor Armienta's Zorro with Pacific Opera Project, Martin in Copland’s The Tender Land with University of Utah Opera, and made his role debut as the Duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto with Mobile Opera. In the summer of 2022, Silvano portrayed Theodore Billings in the staged premiere of Clint Borzoni’s The Copper Queen with Marble City Opera, earning praise from Arts Knoxville for bringing “a deliciously romantic lyrical side” to the character. During the 2023 season, he joined Indianapolis Opera as a Resident Artist, covering Don José and singing El Remendado in Carmen. David holds a B.M. from Colorado Mesa University and an M.M. from Colorado State University, and he currently studies and teaches applied voice at the University of Utah. In addition to his work on the opera stage, David is passionate about bringing the music of Latin America (particularly Peruvian works) out of obscurity into the ears of audiences. He has formed a close relationship with Park City Opera where he performs regularly.

Benjamin Beckman

Lisl Wangermann

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  • Winner of the 2021 Yale University Louis Sudler Prize in the Performing and Creative Arts and recipient of an Encouragement Award from the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, Lisl Wangermann is a lyric soprano from Dallas, TX. Her recent roles range from Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni) to her "standout performance" (Cleveland Classical) as Sophy in the world premiere of Margi Griebling-Haigh's The Higgler. In 2023, Lisl was a semifinalist for the Dallas Opera’s Lone Star Vocal Competition, and in 2024, Lisl was a finalist for the Gerda Lissner Art Song and Lieder Competition and received an encouragement award. Lisl holds degrees from Yale University (B.A.) and the Cleveland Institute of Music (M.M., A.D.).

  • Benjamin Beckman is a Los Angeles-based conductor, composer, and pianist. Ben has served on the music staff for productions with Sarasota Opera, Pacific Opera Project, Opera Company of Middlebury Vermont, Chicago Summer Opera, USC Thornton Opera, and the Opera Theater of Yale College, assisting on more than two dozen operas. In Summer 2025, following his fellowship at the Manetti Shrem Opera Program at Festival Napa Valley, Ben led Park City Opera's inaugural mainstage production (of Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia) to a sold-out run. In 2025/2026, he makes his company debut at The Atlanta Opera assistant conducting Glass’s La Belle et la Bête and returns to Pacific Opera Project as rehearsal pianist and chorusmaster for Fra Diavolo, Zorro, The Abduction from the Seraglio, and Turandot, and USC Thornton Opera for The Cunning Little Vixen and The Turn of the Screw. With Park City Opera, this season he conducts Conte’s The Gift of the Magi, Copland’s The Tender Land, and Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette.

In addition to our cast, our performances of Roméo et Juliette will be joined by a twelve-voice chorus and Gounod’s original orchestration, realized by an orchestra of forty players. 

“A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life, 
Whose misadventured piteous overthrows
Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.”

Mark your calendars.

Ticket pre-sales began for members of our
Giving Circle on March 1. Tickets go on sale to the public on April 1.
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