MADAMA BUTTERFLY CAST & CREATIVE TEAM
Jonathan Brandani - Conductor
Conductor Jonathan Brandani was appointed Calgary Opera’s Artistic Director in September 2021. Recent engagements include opera productions and concert appearances at Gothenburg Opera (Sweden), Meininger Hofkapelle (Germany), the Bregenzer Festspiele (Austria), the Danish Royal Opera House Copenhagen, Teatro Comunale di Bologna (Italy), Théatre Royal de Wallonie-Liège (Belgium), Teatro Lirico di Cagliari (Italy), The Atlanta Opera and Opera Theatre of St. Louis. From 2014-2019 he was Associate Conductor of Minnesota Opera (USA), and from 2017-2020 he was Principal Guest Conductor of Daegu Opera House (South Korea). Upcoming engagements include a double-bill of Bluebeard’s Castle and Gianni Schicchi for Calgary Opera, as well as concert appearances at the Rossini Opera Festival and the Orchestra Filarmonica Toscanini.
Mo Zhou - Stage Director
Chinese-born stage director Mo Zhou is a visionary force in opera and theater. Ms. Zhou made several company débuts this past season, including revivals of her acclaimed Madama Butterfly with Florentine Opera and Kentucky Opera, the revival of Meilina Tsui and Melisa Tien’s The Big Swim for Houston Grand Opera, La Bohème for Arizona Opera, as well as a new production of Così fan tutte for Virginia Opera. This spring, she will direct Madama Butterfly for Vancouver Opera and a new production of Don Giovanni for Music Academy of the West. Future engagements include a début with Opera Colorado for Madama Butterfly and a new production of Madama Butterfly for Calgary Opera, Arizona Opera, and Opera Grand Rapids.
Yasko Sato - Cio-Cio-San
After earning her doctorate with highest honors from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, Yasko Sato completed her training in Italy under the guidance of Raina Kabaivanska.
She has excelled in numerous international competitions; after her early debuts, she has delved into the role of Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, investigating the composer's ultimate intentions through an analysis of the character's evolution within the opera's various revisions.
She premiered Madama Butterfly in Sabadell with vivid critical acclaim; following this debut, she has had the opportunity to sing the same role in some of the major opera houses, including Vancouver Opera, Seattle Opera, Atlanta Opera, Opera Royal De Wallonie-Liege, Tokyo National Theater, Megaron Theater, Estonian National Opera, Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Teatro Regio di Parma, Arena di Verona, and many more.
Matthew White - Lt Pinkerton
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Nina Yoshida Nelsen - Suzuki
Acclaimed for her compelling performances that blend vocal prowess with dramatic intensity, Mezzo-soprano Nina Yoshida Nelsen has earned recognition as a “richly powerful singing actress.” Recent highlights include Suzuki in Madama Butterfly (Utah Opera, Atlanta Opera, New Orleans Opera); Mama in An American Dream (Opera Santa Barbara, Kentucky Opera); Mother Chen in An American Soldier (Perelman Performing Arts Center); Fricka in Die Walküre (Opera Santa Barbara); and the title role in Carmen (Indianapolis Opera). In concert, she has performed with several national orchestras including the Toledo Symphony, Rhode Island Philharmonic, Santa Barbara Symphony, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and the Boise Philharmonic. A graduate of Boston University and the Academy of Vocal Arts, she is co-founder of the Asian Opera Alliance and Artistic Director of Boston Lyric Opera.
Phillip Addis - Sharpless
Phillip Addis is perhaps best known as Pelléas Pelléas et Melisande, a role he sang with opera companies and orchestras in Modena, Piacenza, Parma, Luxemburg, Cincinnati, Dresden, Bochum, Hamburg, Paris and London. He is as renowned for his Count Almaviva Le Nozze di Figaro whom he has portrayed in over a dozen different productions world-wide. Current engagements keep him at home in Calgary for most of the season and include the title role Don Giovanni, Malatesta Don Pasquale and Marco Gianni Schicci at Calgary Opera, as well as orchestral engagements with Calgary Philharmonic (Carmina Burana) and The Messiah with Orchestre Classique De Montréal.
Recent season highlights include Zurga Les pêcheurs de perles with Vancouver Opera, Don Alfonso Così fan tutte with Pacific Opera Victoria and Sharpless Madama Butterfly with Opéra de Québec.
Versatile tenor Julius Ahn delights audiences around the world with his unique interpretations. Of his signature role, Goro in Madama Butterfly, critics hail “As the marriage broker Goro, tenor Julius Ahn was in his element, delivering the wickedness of his character with gusto.” This season, Mr. Ahn returns to The Metropolitan Opera to cover the Valet tenors in Les contes d’Hoffmann, and he brings his incomparable Goro to the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto, Pittsburgh Opera, and Vancouver Opera. Last season, engagements included a return to Detroit Opera as Goro in Madama Butterfly and house débuts with Palm Beach Opera as the Valet tenors in Les contes d'Hoffmann and Los Angeles Opera as both Gastone in La traviata and Pong in Turandot.
Julius Ahn - Goro
Stephano Park - Uncle Bonze
South Korean bass Stephano Park was named the winner of Operalia 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa.
This summer, Park makes his American debut as Sparafucile Rigoletto at Sante Fe Opera (Carlo Montanari). Highlights of the 2025/26 season include a house and role debut as Uncle Bonze Madama Butterfly at Calgary Opera, as well as his Chicago Symphony debut in performances of Mozart Requiem (Manfred Honeck).
Last season saw Park make numerous house and role debuts, including as the title role in a new production of Le Nozze di Figaro at the Korean National Opera, as Mandarino Turandot at the Baltic Opera Festival (Keri-Lynn Wilson), and as Gran Sacerdote in concert performances of Verdi Nabucco for Opéra de Toulon.
Nikkei-Canadian artist, Luka Kawabata 川端ルカ strives to push the boundaries of representation in opera through new works. As a baritone and producer, he has quickly established himself as a rising artist in Canadian opera, having performed from Victoria to St. John’s. He is passionate about diversifying the definition of performance and highlighting seldom heard languages in classical music. Luka’s series ‘The HAFU ハーフ Project’ premiered as part of City Opera Vancouver's 2024 season and was met with overwhelming acclaim. Luka is a graduate of the Yulanda M Faris Young Artist Program with Vancouver Opera, Beth Morrison Projects’ Producer Academy, in addition to development programs with Opera on the Avalon, Pacific Opera Victoria and Manitoba Opera.
Luka Kawabata- Yamadori/Imperial Commissioner
Alessia Vitali - Kate Pinkerton
Alessia Vitali is an Italian-Canadian mezzo soprano hailing from Montréal, Québec. Recent role highlights include Signora Guidotti in Nino Rota’s I due timidi, Mercédès in Bizet’s Carmen, Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and the title role in Handel’s Serse. Alessia is in her first year of the McPhee Artist Development Program. Her 2024-25 Calgary Opera season includes a role study of Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the title role in Nino Rota’s family-friendly production of The Witty Squirrel, and the role of La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. She attained her Master of Music in Opera at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Elizabeth McDonald.
George Theodorakopoulos - Yakusidé
George Theodorakopoulos is a Greek-Canadian baritone from Toronto, Ontario. He received a BMus in Voice Performance and a MMus in Opera from the University of Toronto. During the 2025-‘26 season, George will be joining Calgary Opera for his 1st year in the McPhee Artist Development Program, as well as Edmonton Opera as part of their Emerging Artist Program. Upcoming performances include Moralès & Le Dancaïre in Carmen as part of the Brott Music Festival, Danilo in The Merry Widow as part of the Highlands Opera Studio, Sacristan in Tosca with Edmonton Opera (in collaboration with the National Arts Center Orchestra, the Yukon Arts Centre, and the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra), as well as Officer in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Yakusidé in Madama Butterfly, both with Calgary Opera. Recent operatic highlights include Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Pandolfe (Cendrillon), Marullo (Rigoletto), Emilio (Il cappello di paglia di Firenze), Dr.Pangloss (Candide).
Maria Milenic - Cio-Cio-San’s Mother
Serbian-Croatian-Canadian mezzo-soprano, Maria Milenic, is delighted to be entering her first year of the McPhee Artist Development Program with Calgary Opera. A University of Toronto alum, Maria also completed an Advanced Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School, and has studied with faculty from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory. Her voice thrives in contemporary opera, and one of her favourite roles to date is Minskwoman in Dove’s Flight, which she performed on the Koerner Hall stage. She has taken part in the 21C Festival, where she premiered Chaya Czernowin’s piece The Habekhi (The Crying), written for mezzo-soprano, ensemble, and electronics. In 2024, she was the first-place prize winner in the OMFA provincials in the open voice category for singers aged under 28 in Ontario. Maria is also part of a voice-guitar duo entitled MileBib, with classical guitarist Christ Habib. She is looking forward to singing the role of Sandman in Hansel and Gretel with Calgary Opera this upcoming season, as well as Cio-Cio San’s Mother in Madama Butterfly, and the roles of Mother and Grandmother in Little Red Riding Hood.
Kelsey Ronn - Cio-Cio-San’s Aunt
Canadian-Ukrainian soprano Kelsey Ronn is ecstatic to start her first year of the McPhee Artist Development Program with Calgary Opera. She holds a master’s degree from McGill University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Manitoba. During her time at McGill, she appeared as Marchesa di Poggio in Un giorno di regno and Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. This summer she will be participating in Opera Kelowna’s VOSI Program. Other operatic achievements include District Winner and Audience Choice Award recipient in the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition in 2019 and Runner-up for the Wirth Vocal Prize in 2022. Furthermore, Miss Ronn debuted with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 2022 for the Manitoba Hydro Holiday Tour as their featured soloist.
Katelyn Bird - Cio-Cio-San’s Cousin
Ms. Bird is a Canadian soprano in her first year of Calgary Opera’s McPhee Artist Development Program and was nominated as a 2025 laureate of the Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques of Théâtre Lyrichorégra 20. She also participated in the North American premiere of Quid sit Musicus by Philippe Leroux and was a 2025 Laffont Competition Encouragement Award winner. In 2024, she made her professional debut as Barbarina in Le nozze di Figaro with Pacific Opera Victoria. A graduate of the Glenn Gould School, she holds both a Bachelor of Music and an Artist Diploma, and is Artistic Director of Crashcat Studios, a company dedicated to mentoring young artists. Other roles include Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor, Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore, Adele in Die Fledermaus, and Milica in Svadba by Ana Sokolović.
Luke Noftall - Registar
Bass-baritone Luke Noftall is in his first year of the McPhee Artist Development Program at Calgary Opera. Recent credits include Zuniga in Carmen with Southern Ontario Lyric Opera, Count Monterone in Rigoletto with Opera by Request, and Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd with Doctor Bird Productions. Luke spent the last two summers at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity in both the Chamber Music and Opera: Interplay, and Opera in the 21st Centuries programs. During these programs, he was seen as The Commander in The Handmaid’s Tale, Masetto in Don Giovanni, as well as Morris in a workshop of Adoration by Mary Kouyoumdjian and Royce Vavrek. Luke holds both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto.
Marie Yokoyama - Lighting Designer
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Kathleen Trott - Costume Designer
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Shelby-Jai Flick - Stage Manager
For Calgary Opera: Das Rheingold, The Elixir of Love, Le nozze di Figaro, Macbeth, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Carmen, La traviata, The Merry Widow, Opera Labs, Norma, La bohème. Favourite credits include: As You Like It, (Theatre Calgary), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Nutcracker, Cinderella, La Fille mal gardée, The Sleeping Beauty, The Seagull (National Ballet of Canada); The Two Gentlemen of Verona, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Julius Caesar, The Importance of Being Earnest, West Side Story (Stratford Festival); Mimi, Courageous, If We Were Birds (Tarragon Theatre). Other: The Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Film work includes Prey (Disney), Heartland (CBC), My Life With The Walter Boys, and the upcoming series The Abandons (Netflix).
Kate Pallesen - Assistant Stage Manager
Kate is thrilled to be joining Calgary Opera for all productions in their 2024/2025 season. Since graduating from the University of Lethbridge with a BFA in 2017, she has stage managed for operas, plays, and live events throughout Alberta, as well as toured across Canada as the Stage Manager for bliss: the birthday party play (Verb Theatre) to Victoria’s Uno Fest and to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre. Select credits include: Das Rheingold, L’elisir d’amore, Béatrice et Bénédict, Macbeth, La traviata, La bohème, Amahl and the Night Visitors (Calgary Opera), Ghost Opera (Old Trout Puppet Workshop/Calgary Opera), The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, The Jungle Book (Alberta Theatre Projects), STRUCK (Ghost River Theatre), The Thin Man, The Drowning Girls (Vertigo Theatre).
Jenny Yeung - Assistant Stage Manager
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