Illustration of a countryside scene with a white barn decorated with an American flag, a girl in a brown dress sitting on a rock, and green mountains in the background, with a purple sky and white clouds.

Celebrate America’s 250th with an opera that captures the American spirit.

July 18 & 19, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Temple Har Shalom

About The Tender Land:

Deeply rooted in the American spirit, Copland’s The Tender Land portrays one young woman’s quiet but radical act of choosing her own future. Set against the open landscapes of the American West, The Tender Land is a coming-of-age story about longing, independence, and resilience in the face of hardship.

As Laurie stands on the brink of her high school graduation, the arrival of a handsome outsider awakens dreams of a life beyond her family’s farm. When hope, love, and disappointment collide, she must decide whether to remain within the life she knows or step boldly into the unknown.

Bringing The Tender Land to Park City:

Celebrate summer and America’s 250th with complimentary American light bites, a cash bar, and a relaxed indoor–outdoor setting at Temple Har Shalom that beautifully reflects the opera’s open-prairie spirit. In this intimate venue, the singers and orchestra perform just feet away, making every moment feel personal and immediate.

Run Time: 2 hours

Language: English

Cast and Creative Team

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Rachel Kobernick

Lena Goldstein

  • Rachel Kobernick is a versatile soprano praised for her “power and sweetness” (The Observer), “seamless coloratura sparkle” (Seen and Heard International), and “captivating performance” (The New York Times). In 2025, Rachel premiered four roles, singing La Statue Animée in Rameau’s Pygmalion (Kentucky Opera), Marguerite in Faust (Heartbeat Opera), Tzeitel in Fiddler on the Roof (Cincinnati Opera), and Norina in Don Pasquale (Opera Magnifico). In 2026, Rachel makes her concert debut as a soloist with the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, returns to Kentucky Opera to sing Berginella in Songbird, and makes her role debut as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro (Indianapolis Opera). Additional performance credits include appearances with Sarasota Opera, Opera on the James, Queen City Opera, the NF Opera Collective, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and Cincinnati Song Initiative. She is a 2025 George and Nora London Foundation Competition Finalist, and a graduate of The Eastman School of Music and Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.

  • Lena Goldstein is an American soprano who has appeared recently with Opera Parallèle, Vox Opera, San Francisco Conservatory, Songfest, Chicago Summer Opera, Opera Theatre of Yale, Yale Baroque Opera, and the Yale Symphony Orchestra. Her recent roles include Berta (The Barber of Seville), The Governess (The Turn of the Screw), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Eurinda (Doriclea), and Nora (Riders to the Sea). Offstage, Lena works to strengthen the artistic landscape for emerging professionals. She serves as a marketing consultant for WE INC., supporting arts and culture organizations across the Bay Area, and is an adjunct professor of professional development and digital strategy at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Lena is a recent graduate of Yale University (B.A. in Molecular Biology, cum laude), and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (M.M. in Voice) as a recipient of the Samuel Clark Scholarship. Outside of her operatic work, Lena finds joy in leading High Holiday services as a cantor, watercolor painting, and skiing.

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  • 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.

  • A rising dramatic mezzo-soprano, Laura Zahn has been praised for her warm, voluptuous voice and powerful delivery. This season, Laura sings Elgar’s Sea Pictures with the Adelphi Orchestra, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 as alto soloist with the Emory Symphony, and Maddalena in Rigoletto with Indianapolis Opera. Other notable roles include Dalila (Samson et Dalila), Santuzza (Cavalleria rusticana), Carmen (Carmen), Romeo (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), La Frugola (Il tabarro), Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Secretary (The Consul), Giulietta di Kelbar (Un giorno di regno), and Dorabella (Così fan tutte).

    An accomplished concert artist, Laura has appeared as a soloist in Verdi’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah, and has served as resident alto soloist of the Great Auditorium in Ocean Grove, NJ since 2021. In 2019, she made her Carnegie Hall debut singing Amneris (Aida) and Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), and in 2023, she made her international debut in Hong Kong singing excerpts from Carmen.

    In competition, she was a finalist in the 2021 John Alexander National Vocal Competition and a semi-finalist in the 2020 NYIOP/Premiere Opera Foundation Competition and the 2016 Mildred Miller International Voice Competition. Laura holds degrees from Boston Conservatory and Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.

Laura Zahn

David Silvano

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Erik Danielson

Joseph O’Shea

  • Bass-baritone Erik Danielson is an in-demand artist who has been described as “commanding attention” with a “barihunk instrument” and “a voice smooth enough to sell cologne.” He has performed widely in opera, oratorio, and musical theatre, including Escamillo in Carmen, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte, Silvio in I pagliacci, Don Giovanni, Leporello, and the Commendatore in Don Giovanni, Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, Bill Sikes in Oliver!, and as the bass soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra.

    Erik earned his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Piano Performance from Texas Christian University in 2014, where he was a National Merit Scholar, recipient of the Chancellor’s Scholarship for academic excellence, and a finalist for the Nordan Scholarship as both a vocalist and pianist. He then completed a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Conducting from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2017 and later finished the Opera Institute Program at Boston University in 2021.

    Earlier in his career, Erik spent nine years with the Texas Boys Choir, touring extensively throughout the United States and Europe. In addition to his performing career, Erik is an accomplished church musician and collaborative pianist with more than twenty years of experience, having begun accompanying high school clarinet students before the age of ten.

  • American baritone Joseph O’Shea has recently appeared as William Dale in Florida Grand Opera’s production of Kevin Puts’ Silent Night and as Papageno in Mobile Opera’s production of The Magic Flute. In the 2026 summer season, he returns to Opera Theatre of Saint Louis to perform Samuel and cover the Major-General in The Pirates of Penzance.

    In the summer of 2024, Joseph first joined Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, covering Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and Cincinnati Opera, where he participated in the world premiere of the first fully staged production of Paul McCartney’s Liverpool Oratorio. While at Cincinnati Opera, he also performed in a workshop of Edmond Dédé’s Morgiane as Haji Hassan, presented through Cincinnati Opera’s Opera Fusion: New Works in collaboration with Opera Creole and Opera Lafayette. Previous summer engagements include The Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center, Cincinnati Opera, and FIO Italia.

    Hailing from Mobile, Alabama, Joseph holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of South Alabama, where he studied with Dr. Thomas Rowell, and a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he studied with Amy Johnson.

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Sam Plumb

McKenzie Mulberry

  • Originally from Pearland, Texas, soprano McKenzie Mulberry completed her Master of Music in Vocal Performance at Brigham Young University in April 2026. In 2026, McKenzie won BYU’s Concerto Competition and was named BYU’s Singer of the Year in 2025. She also received an Encouragement Award from the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition in the Utah District.

    While at BYU, she appeared as Drusilla in L’incoronazione di Poppea (2026), Monica in The Medium (2025), and La Fée in Pauline Viardot’s Cendrillon (2024).

    In addition to her operatic work, McKenzie performed with the BYU Singers, touring Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Greece, and Switzerland.

  • Tenor Sam Plumb is a Utah-based artist whose repertoire spans opera and concert work.

    In 2024, Sam won the Grand Prize in the Graduate Level Concerto Competition at the University of Utah, performing Gerald Finzi’s Dies Natalis, Op. 8 with the University of Utah Philharmonic. Last summer, he was a Resident Artist at Teatro Nuovo under Will Crutchfield, where he covered the role of Elvino in Bellini’s La sonnambula, performed in its original key as written for the tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini. In the 2025 season, Sam performed with Park City Opera as a chorister in The Barber of Seville and in The Gift of the Magi, and appeared as a guest soloist on the company’s fall recital series.

    Sam graduated summa cum laude from Utah Valley University in 2022 and holds a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Utah (2025). Based in Salt Lake City, he operates a private voice studio, Memory Grove Music.

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Chelsea
Alexandra

Akshay
Ghiya

  • Chelsea Alexandra is a Utah-based soprano who returns to Park City Opera as a member of the The Tender Land ensemble. Most recently, she appeared as Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with Lyrical Opera Theater. In Fall 2025, she performed with Opera Contempo as Hera in the world premiere of opera Protectress, and as Billie Jo Casta in Oedipus Tex. In Summer 2025, she made her Washington, D.C. debut as Juliette in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with Shakespeare Opera Theatre.

    In Utah, Chelsea has appeared twice previously with Lyrical Opera Theater, singing Micaëla in Bizet’s Carmen and Mimì in Puccini’s La bohème, a role she later revisited in Novafeltria, Italy. Additional operatic engagements include The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Cendrillon in Cendrillon, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte.

    Outside of performing, Chelsea enjoys scuba diving and is passionate about empowering women through holistic health advocacy.

  • 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.

  • Ellie Niver is a soprano and voice educator dedicated to cultivating expressive, technically grounded singers. She holds both a Bachelor and Master of Music in Vocal Performance from Brigham Young University, where she performed leading operatic roles including Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, and Valencienne in The Merry Widow. She also appeared as Frasquita in Carmen with the Reno Philharmonic. A two-time participant in the Dolora Zajick Institute for Young Dramatic Voices, Ellie has worked with internationally recognized coaches including Dolora Zajick and Beatrice Benzi. 

    Alongside her performance career, Ellie is a passionate educator. While she works with singers of all levels, she is especially passionate about helping women navigate vocal changes through aging, motherhood, and seasons like perimenopause and menopause – restoring confidence, freedom, and joy in voices that are evolving, not declining.

  • Tenor Jacob Kenison has performed a variety of roles in opera and concert throughout Utah. Recent performances include Tamino in The Magic Flute and Fenton in Falstaff with Lyrical Opera Theater, and Prisoner 1 in Fidelio with Utah Opera. He returns to Park City Opera after appearing in the company’s production ofThe Barber of Seville.

    A prizewinner in national competitions, Jacob placed third in the 2025 NATS National Student Auditions (Advanced Classical) and is a three-time MTNA national finalist. Trained by Lawrence Gee, former Assistant Conductor of the New York City Opera, he performs regularly throughout the Salt Lake area.

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Jacob
Kenison

Ellie
Niver

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Benjamin Beckman

Lisl Wangermann

  • 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.

  • 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.).

Hayley E. Wallenfeldt

Mac
Merchant

  • Hayley E. Wallenfeldt is a Chicago-born, New York-based scenic designer and artist. They have a passion for collaborative storytelling, new work, and creating worlds just on the edge of the fantastical. She is the set designer for Teatro Grattacielo’s upcoming world premiere of The Tin Angel. Their recent credits include The Receptionist (Centenary Stage Company); 13 Suits and Haven (Outer Loop Theater); Make Way for Ducklings and Pete the Cat  (Hangar Theatre); Waitress and Matilda (Quincy Community Theatre); Love and War (The Glimmerglass Festival); and Be Mean to Me and The Snowy Day (Northwestern University). They were the resident scenic design assistant for the 2023 Glimmerglass Festival season. She is the 2025 recipient of the USITT Scenic Design Award & a recipient of the 2025 Robert L.B. Tobin Director-Designer Prize. Hayley received their degree in design and archaeology from Northwestern University.

  • Mac Merchant is a pianist and coach based in Sandy, Utah, where he plays for lessons and works with singers at the University of Utah. Mac has extensive experience playing for singers, instrumentalists, and choral ensembles, as well as productions of musical theater and opera. His studies include a master’s in collaborative piano from University of Colorado-Boulder and a master’s in piano performance from Washington State University. Mac's playing is featured in Naxos's album "Sing Wearing the Sky," a collection of Jake Runestad's choral music performed by the Denver-based choir, Kantorei.

The role of Laurie will be performed by Rachel Kobernick on Saturday, July 18th and by Lena Goldstein on Sunday, July 19th. 

The Tender Land will be accompanied by a chamber orchestra of thirteen players, performing an orchestral reduction by Murry Sidlin. This version was produced with and supervised by Aaron Copland himself, preserving the clarity and character of the original score.

“Little by little it came to be
That line between the earth and sky
Came beckoning to me”

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