Faculty & Principal Administration

Hugo Vera, Tenor

Co-Founder & Artistic Director
​Master Faculty ~ Voice & Stage Direction
Mr. Vera has performed 34 roles and 20 choral orchestral works with distinguished companies in the US as part of his musical and artistic development of the full lyric and spinto tenor repertoire.  In addition to The Metropolitan Opera, Mr. Vera has sung with Spoleto, New York City Opera, Aspen Music Festival, Sarasota Opera, Tanglewood Music Festival, and many others....
​Read full bio HERE

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Clara Salomon, Soprano

​Co-Founder, Director of Development & Outreach
Clara holds a master’s degree from Stanford University in Literature where she created and taught an opera workshop course for the department of music, as well as a public speaking and body awareness seminar for professors and doctoral students. She has lectured on such subjects as verismo literature & opera, trauma and the voice, & breathing patterns as related to posture. She holds a graduate degree in vocal performance, and has worked as a vocal director for numerous university productions...
​Read full bio HERE

Raffaele Cipriano, Conductor

Master Faculty ~  Orchestral Director
In Fall 2018, Maestro Cipriano joined the musical staff of Sarasota Opera as vocal coach and assistant/cover conductor for the Barber of Seville, Nabucco, and Turandot.  In  2016 he became the artistic and music director of the Philharmonia of Greater Kansas City, and he has also been conductor at the Olimpic Theatre in Vicenza, the Pollini Auditorium in Padova, and the St. Mark Cathedral in Venice.
​Read full bio HERE​

Kristin Roach, Conductor

Master Faculty ~ Conductor & Vocal Coach
Kristin Roach is in demand as a conductor, pianist, and vocal coach. She has prepared productions for the San Francisco Opera, San Diego Opera, Utah Opera, Brevard Music Institute, Aspen Music Festival, and many others. Music Director of Alamo City Opera, Music Director of Spotlight on Opera, and Lecturer in Opera at Texas State University, she has performed in thirty states, Canada, Japan, France, England, and the former Soviet Union.
​Read full bio HERE​

Marie Te Hapuku, Soprano

Master Faculty ~  Vocal Director

New Zealand Maori soprano Marie Te Hapuku joined the Metropolitan Opera artist roster in 2010 as immediate cover for Lina in Verdi's Stifelio. Her roles include Aida, Leonora, Amelia, Turandot, Tosca, Fiordiligi,  Maddalena, Donna Anna, Donna Elvira, at principal theaters in Tokyo, Bercelona, Sydney, the United States, and New Zealand.
​Read full bio HERE

Allison Price, Stage Director, Acting Instruction

2019-2021, and Future Seasons. Allison has been awarded the Kennedy Center SDC Directing Fellowship, the WildWind New Play Development Residency, the Stage Directors and Choreographer's National Directing Award (Kennedy Center), and the Kennedy Center Directing Fellowship. Allison first came to us as a directing intern, and her work as an apprentice directing Il giuoco del quadriglio was so highly esteemed by faculty, students, and audiences alike, that we couldn't wait to have her back as one of our two faculty stage directors.  ​​Read full bio HERE​

Sarah Horn
CFO, Concert Artist

Sarah Horn is a full lyric soprano whom some may recognize from her work on stage as Fiordiligi in Cosi fan tutte, performed with the Vocal Academy of Orvieto in Italy in 2019. Apart from her career in singing, she is responsible for the creation of the opera program at California Baptist University, designed and launched in Fall 2020. She's thrilled to be a part of the production team for VAO's 2021 season in Bodrum Turkey and is honored to act as the go-between for students and faculty in the preparation phase. For more information, visit SarahHornMusic.com

Melis Selçuk

Director of Production & Marketing
Melis Selçuk is the founder and project curator of Slow Story Co Social Enterprise and a brand reputation consultant with projects featured in the national and international press. Shereceived her undergraduate 'Management of Performing Arts' at Istanbul Bilgi University (Member of Laureate Universities), her master’s degree on 'Retail & Brand Experience Management' at Italia Politecnico Di Milano-Milano Fashion Institute University, her 'Image Consultancy' education at Istituto Marangoni, and her academic education at the University of Toronto in Canada. Selçuk also completed NLP-Neuro Linguistic Programming at Yeditepe University and published an original academic thesis. 
Linkedin for more details:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/melis-selcuk-239ba749/
 

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