Joshua Borths  
Creator and Stage Director

Joshua Borths is a stage director, arts administrator, writer and dramaturg with numerous companies across the U.S. Borths is entering his eighth summer on the directing staff of Des Moines Metro Opera and serves as the Resident Scholar at Virginia Opera. Recent directing credits include an “uproariously funny new production” (Arizona Daily Star) of The Barber of Seville at Arizona Opera and a “beautiful, even poetic” (Opera Today) new production of The Falling and the Rising for Des Moines Metro Opera. As an experienced educator, Borths has served on the faculty of Capital University as the Director of Opera & Musical Theatre and Professor of Music History. He has taught at SUNY Potsdam (Crane School of Music), The University of Richmond, Shenandoah University and University of Maryland. His work has been featured in Opera Newsand TED-Ed. His children’s operas and programming can be licensed on OperaClassroom.com 

Valerie M. Trujillo  
Music Supervisor 

Valerie M. Trujillo has been associated with numerous opera companies including Santa Fe Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Wexford Festival Opera (Ireland), Chautauqua Opera, Ohio Light Opera and Opera in the Ozarks. Trujillo served as artist faculty at the Tanglewood Music Center, Ars Vocalis México (Mexico), Taos Opera Institute, Si parla, si canta (Italy), and as -academic faculty at Mannes College and Yale University. She was the NATS Master Teacher for the 2020 and 2021 NATS Intern Program. She can be heard on the Grammy-nominated Chandos release of Bennett’s The Mines of Sulphur. She can also be heard on the Mark Records, Albany, and Azica labels. Trujillo trained at Eastern New Mexico University and the University of Illinois. She teaches on the faculty at The Florida State University where she is professor of vocal coaching and accompanying and served as coordinator of the voice and opera programs from 1995 through 2023. 

Kerry Byard 
Music Director / Pianist 

Kerry Byard, musician and educator, holds a masters degree of Music in Piano Pedagogy/Piano Performance from Kent State University and a bachelor’s degree of Music in Piano Performance from Youngstown State University. Since 1983, Byard has thrived as an independent piano instructor and freelance accompanist, shaping the musical journeys of students with dedication and expertise. In addition to teaching, he has led congregational worship at First Baptist Church of Mayville, Conduit Ministries, Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, Lakeside Bible Chapel and Lakewood Baptist Church infusing services with heartfelt musical expression. 

Byard’s versatility extends to roles as Bassoonist in the Youngstown Symphony Orchestra, accompanist and music director for esteemed productions such as Chautauqua Opera’s “Opera in the Schools,” The Bremen Town Musicians, and The Barber of Seville in California, showcasing a breadth of musical talent. Further, as Music Faculty at Mercyhurst College and Emmanuel Christian School, he has nurtured aspiring musicians.

Amia Langer, soprano 
Gretel

Amia Langer, soprano, recently graduated from University of Houston, where she studied with Melanie Sonnenberg, and was a soloist with Ars Lyrica Houston. Favorite previous roles include Margarita Xirgu (Osvaldo Golijov’s Ainadamar), Adele (Die Fledermaus), Cleopatra (Giulio Cesare) and Anne (A Little Night Music). Past awards include the Encouragement Award at the Upper Midwest Region, North Dakota-Manitoba District Winner in the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, finalist in the inaugural Duncan Williams Voice Competition, semifinalist in the 2023 Houston Saengerbund Vocal Competition. Previous young artists programs include the Festival Napa Valley Opera Program, the Brevard Music Festival and the Houston Grand Opera Young Artist Vocal Academy. Upcoming events include Houston Grand Opera’s 2023–2024 Opera To-Go! season and Dew Fairy, Echo, and Gretel (cover) in the 2024 Chautauqua Opera Company’s performance of Hansel and Gretel.

Brennan Martinez, mezzo-soprano 
Hansel 

Brennan Martinez has been described as “a mezzo-soprano to be watched” (Opera Lively) and sings with “power, authority, and a most intriguing color to her wide-ranging voice” (Classical Voice of North Carolina). 

Recent role credits include Flora Bervoix in La traviata and Second Lady in The Magic Flute (Quisisana Resort), Marian Paroo in “The Music Man in Concert” and Mother in Ragtime (Metropolis Performing Arts Centre), Third Wood Sprite in Rusalka (Milwaukee Opera Theatre) and the Woman in the world premiere workshop of La Jetée (Chicago Fringe Opera). Other credits include roles at Cedar Rapids Opera, Glimmerglass Festival, Piedmont Opera, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre, and Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. She trained at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts as a Fletcher Fellow at the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, and at the Wanda L. Bass School of Music at Oklahoma City University. 

Eric Botto, tenor 
The Witch & Tom Thumb 

Praised for his “robust voice,” Mexican American tenor Eric Botto has triumphed in romantic leads as Rodolfo (La bohème), Alfredo (La traviata), and Roméo (Roméo et Juliette). The year 2023 provided him with multiple debuts as Gennaro (Lucrezia Borgia) with New Amsterdam Opera, King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors (Central City Opera) and Benvolio (Roméo et Juliette) with Opera San Antonio. 

Possessing an avid passion for contemporary works, Botto directly shaped the role of IRS Agent Cordero with the renowned composer Tom Cipullo in his latest project The Calling (working title). In March of 2024, he participated in a new workshop with LOLA Austin and Venezuelan Composer Carlos Cordero in their semi-staged production of Un Cuento de Luces y Sombras. 

Botto has received accolades from esteemed competitions in recent years, receiving second place in Lyra New York’s International Vocal Competition, a Career Advancement Award from Pikes Peak Opera League, and was deemed a finalist in the Lotte Lenya Competition. 

Joel Clemens, baritone 
The Father & Older Hansel

Hailed as a “smooth, thrilling Baritone” and “strong dramatic actor” (Boston Musical Intelligencer), baritone Joel Clemens is quickly becoming known across the East Coast for his exemplary musicianship and dynamic characterization across a broad range of challenging repertoire. Clemens returns to Boston for the 2023–2024 season to be featured as a baritone soloist in the Holiday Pops, where he makes his Boston Symphony Hall debut under the direction of Keith Lockhart. He will also be featured in operatic productions with companies such as Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, White Snake Projects, Boston Opera Collaborative and Boston Conservatory. Equally comfortable in 21st-century repertoire, Clemens will reprise the role of Manfred in Jake Heggie’s For a Look or a Touch with West End Lyric this Spring. He is a proud alumnus of Seagle Festival’s Emerging Artist Program, Boston Conservatory at Berklee and James Madison University.