Here is Little Red Riding Hood and Puss in Boots wonderful cast!
Little Red Riding Hood: Elise Walters
Elise Walters (Little Red Riding Hood) is a musical theater and opera performer from Buffalo, NY. Elise received her Bachelor of Music and Dance/Theater from the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College. Recent credits include Hansel & Gretel with Storybook Theatre, Pirates of Penzance and Elixir of Love with Pacific Opera Project; The Many Lives of Abigail Season with Ballview Entertainment; The Path to Catherine with Write Act Repertory and Turkeys! The Musical, at Zombie Joe’s Underground. This fall Elise is performing as the Beautiful Princess in Aladdin every Saturday through January with Storybook Theatre, reprising her role in Turkeys! and will be a featured soloist in Artes Vocales choir concert on December 2nd. Elise is a voice, piano, and drama teacher serving the greater Los Angeles area.
Wolf/Oldest Brother: Jamie Sanderson
Jamie Sanderson, baritone, possesses a voice that critics have described as “mellifluous” and “commanding.” He is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, but now resides in Los Angeles and performs with many local opera companies. He recently performed the role of Marullo in Verdi’s Rigoletto, as well as Albert in Massenet’s Werther. Other recent roles include Morales in Bizet’s Carmen, The Wolf in Cesar Cui’s Little Red Ridinghood, and Prince Ivan-Korolevich in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Kashchey the Deathless. Jamie is also a Fox singer in the Verdi Chorus of Santa Monica and has gone on tour to Japan with the Roger Wagner Chorale. Jamie earned a Master of Music from the Peabody Institute in 2019 and a Bachelor of Music from the University of California, Irvine in 2016.
Mama/Grandma: Alexis Wesley
Versatile actor/mezzo-soprano Alexis Wesley is a frequent performer with IOC. Equally at home in opera, oratorio, musical theatre, stage plays and film, she is also a writer and producer of independent film and theatre. Locally, she has performed principal roles with Pacific Opera Project, Mission Opera, The Definiens Project and IOC. Favorite roles include Mrs. Lovett (Sweeney Todd), Charlotte (A Little Night Music), Prudie Cupp (Pump Boys & Dinettes), Miss Todd (The Old Maid and the Thief), Madame Flora (The Medium), Kashcheevna (Kashchey the Immortal), Spring Beauty (The Snow Maiden), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Princess Anhilte (The Gipsy Princess), Gertrude (Roméo et Juliette) and Marcellina (Le Nozze di Figaro). Favorite oratorio solo work includes Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah, Kodály’s Missa Brevis, Buxtehude’s Jesu Meine Freude and Vivaldi’s Gloria. She is a frequent soloist at churches across LA County. Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, she holds an MM in Voice from CSUN and is a graduate of the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in NYC. By day, she is a graphic designer.
Lead Hunter / Narrator/ Ensemble: Melanie Keller
Melanie Christine Keller received her Bachelor's degree in Music, Jazz Vocal Performance from San Francisco State University and certificates in Audio Recording and Production from Women's Audio Mission in San Francisco. While finishing her degree, Melanie started out performing once a week at a San Francisco piano bar on "cabaret night". From 2002 to 2015 she put on her own shows including residencies and toured as a solo artist-songwriter. Since 2012 she has worked as a Soprano and Alto section leader in many church choirs throughout Los Angeles, then serendipitously fell into opera one year ago. Other LA adventures include co-fronting tribute band Vitamin B-52 and co-founding Silver Lake-based artist collective, Fireside Troupe. Melanie performed solo at the Vatican in 2018 and has also worked as an assistant choir director, piano teacher, session singer, recording/mixing engineer and producer. This is her third production with IOC and first principal role.
Lead Lumberjack / Narrator/ Ensemble: Maureen Mihalik
Maureen Mihalik is a Mezzo-Soprano based in Los Angeles, CA. She regularly performs as a soloist with the “Opera Ensemble” and spent the 2021/2022 season performing the roles of Armelinde in “Cendrillon” and Prince Orlofksy in “Die Fledermaus” at the Broad Stage. In 2020 she designed and performed a short opera film entitled “Resilience” for UCLA Art Sci Center’s contribution (“Telluric Vibrations”) to the ARS Electronica Festival. The performance represented the shared human experience of Covid-19 from the onset of the pandemic through our global transition into a new world.
Cat: Phil Pritchard
Mr. Pritchard was trained at the Mountview Conservatoire and The Kogan Academy of Dramatic Art in London, UK.
Recent Credits include ON GOLD MOUNTAIN with LA Opera at The Huntington, KISMET, directed by Lonny Price, at The Granada Theater, Santra Barbara, LA TRAVIATA and TOSCA at Opera Santa Barbara and THE MIKADO with the Pacific Opera Project. He played Ferrando in COSI FAN TUTTE and Sesto in GIULIO CESARE with the Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera Company. He also appeared as Benvolio in ROMEO & JULIET, Bobyl in THE SNOW MAIDEN by Rimsky-Korsakov., and Don Ottavio in DON GIOVANNI all for The Independent Opera Company. Phil's first role in the US was in the Beatles Musical BACKBEAT at The Ahmanson Theatre. In the The UK he has appeared in THE BARBER OF SEVILLE at The Royal Opera House Linbury Studio, LA TRAVIATA for Opera Piccola at The Edinburgh International Festival, the West End Production of Sondheim's A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC directed by Sir Trevor Nunn, and in the Cameron Mackintosh production of LES MISERABLES.
Jean / Marquis de Caraba: Jacob Walters
Jacob Walters is a multi-genre vocalist whose youthful, but powerful voice touches the Heart as much as it does the Ear. Having begun training in music at 8 years old, taking lessons in both voice and piano, Walters has developed and refined his musical flexibility and passion for the art form. Throughout his life, he has performed in productions that span the entirety of the classical/contemporary spectrum, including his own compositions and arrangements. In addition to singing and songwriting, he has served as Music Director and Piano Accompanist for several youth theatre companies, including Troubadour Theatre and Gaslight Youth Theatre in Tucson, and Sierra Canyon Dance Studio in Los Angeles. An Arizona native, he received his Bachelor of Music in Voice from The University of Arizona, and recently earned his Master of Music in Voice from California State University, Northridge. He is currently teaching voice and performing in the Los Angeles area. When not partaking in musical projects, you’ll probably find him enjoying a big helping of pasta! Visit him on instagram at @khakijake.
2nd Brother / Ogre: Alex Perkins
Alex Perkins has always had a passion for music. Alex studied voice at El Camino College under the tutelage of Rhona Klinghofer, M.M., Julliard, where he was a featured soloist with the orchestra. It was also there where he debuted is first opera role, King Kaspar in Ahmal and the Night Visitors. Since then, Alex has performed with Long Beach Opera in their productions of The Death of Klinghofer and Difficulty of Crossing a Field. He is also an alumnus of the Angel Vocal Arts program, performing in several of their arts and oratorio recitals. For the past 9 years, Alex has performed with The Ensemble, a South Bay based group of classical singers who have produced an annual concert series of opera favorites. Follow him on Facebook @alexperkinstenor
King: Ezra Thompson
Ezra Thompson is a native of Cleveland, Ohio, an alumnus of the University of Oklahoma, and a fourth-year PhD student in Mathematics at UCLA. While at Oklahoma, Ezra was a member of Men’s Glee Club, where he was first introduced to opera performance as a member of the chorus in Carmen and L’Orfeo. During undergrad, Ezra spent a year on academic exchange in Bologna, Italy, at the University of Bologna, where he learned Italian and performed with the university chorus, Collegium Musicum. Ezra also performs each Sunday with his church choir at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church.
Ezra and his wife, Holly, reside in Mar Vista. Outside of music, Ezra enjoys cooking, watching sports, playing board and card games with friends, and participating in a competitive online trivia league.
Princess: Rachel Yeo
Rachel Yeo is a classically trained high soprano. A Los Angeles native, she has been an active member of the local performance arts industry since a young age. Past engagements include On Gold Mountain with LA Opera at The Huntington, Puss in Boots, Rigoletto, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Independent Opera Company, and Madama Butterfly with Pasadena Schubertiade. Ms. Yeo is an experienced choral singer and recitalist.
She recently performed as a soloist with Artes Vocales and made her international solo debut as part of the Roger Wagner Chorale’s 2022 Japan Tour. She was a featured artist in the LA Korean Cultural Center’s 2022 Ari Project and in the St. Andrew Catholic Church’s 26-28 th Annual Bach to Broadway Concert series. She is the soprano section leader and soloist at St. Edmund's Episcopal Church. Rachel received her Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Mount Saint Mary’s University where she attended with a full merit scholarship.
Ensemble: Kyrian Corona
Kyrian Corona performs with and serves as Vice President on the Executive Board of Independent Opera Company. Kyrian began her musical career as co-founder, multi-keyboardist and lead singer in the award winning band Rocky Road. She advanced her music education at Cal State Long Beach and UCLA Extension studying piano performance, film scoring and composition. She later developed and performed in multimedia projects at LACE, Museum of Art Downtown Los Angeles and the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London. Kyrian sings with and is President of the Burbank Chorale, one of the oldest musical organizations in the state of California. She also sings with and is on the Executive Board of Wagner Ensemble. She has performed with Los Angeles Korean-American Musicians' Association, Southern California Combined Choirs, and LA Opera’s The the Zarzuela Project, with concerts at Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Zipper Hall, Royce Hall, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, and First Congregational Church of Los Angeles.
Ensemble: Cal Aldred
Cal Aldred performed with the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club for 4 years, where he participated in the Emmy winning music video/documentary Love, Life, Loss. He is also a member of the Verdi Chorus in Santa Monica and a former member of the Annex Singers in Toronto, ON. He loves sports data analysis and strategy gaming, as well as his cats, Skipper and Shuri.
Ensemble: Misha Barsky
Misha Barsky was born at Kiev(Ukraine). He studied cello and piano.
Also he has degree in choral conducting. He has sung with different kind of choirs(from small to big choirs) and vocal ensembles(classical, jazz, arrange of instrumental music). Presently he sings at Wagner Ensemble(Director: Jeannine Wagner) and choir of St.Mary of the Angels Church(Bass section leader). Mr. Barsky has sung several principal roles with IOC including Sobakin in "Tsar's Bride" and Old Gypsy in "Aleko".
Dancer: Mariana Uchoa
Mariana Uchoa Dancer was born in Brazil where she began to dance at the age of 3. Mariana studied the Vaganova ballet method and performed with the group Jovem Ballet de Santa Catarina. She took some time off from dancing to finish her doctorate in LA and was thrilled to meet Liza Barskaya who inspired her to come back to the stage!
Dancer: Jennifer Spears
Jennifer Anise is a multidisciplinary artist who began dancing as an expressive complement to her work in film production. A graduate of NYU, Jennifer's dance training has mostly been in the Vaganova style of ballet around Southern California, where she continues to enjoy and explore various forms of dance as a means of storytelling.
