Eugene Brancoveanu (Figaro)
Mr. Brancoveanu's recent appearances have included the San Francisco Opera's The Little Prince, for which the San Francisco Chronicle hailed him as an "extravagantly gifted baritone…with unforced charisma, vocal clarity, and tonal heft”.  This season, he made his New York City Opera debut as Pandolfe in Cendrillon, and returned to collaborate once again with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony in performances of The Tomashevskys: Music and Memories of a Life in the Yiddish Theatre. In 2008-09 he returns to San Francisco Opera as Belcore in L'elisir d'amore. Mr. Brancoveanu made his debut with San Francisco Opera in 2005-06 as Fra Melitone in La forza del destino. He held a prestigious appointment as an Adler Fellow at San Francisco Opera for two seasons, directly following his critically acclaimed summer 2005 performances of Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia with the company's Merola Opera Program. With San Francisco Opera he has performed Christian in Un ballo in maschera, Marullo in Rigoletto, Moralès in Carmen, Frank in Die Fledermaus, Fiorello in Il barbiere di Siviglia, and the Innkeeper and the Captain in Manon Lescaut. He also originated the role of Marcello in Baz Luhrmann's Broadway La Bohème, and received a 2004 LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award for his performances of the Luhrmann production in Los Angeles.

Nikki Einfeld (Rosina)
Hailed for her “bright, lithe tone, pinpoint accuracy and saucy stage demeanor” (San Francisco Chronicle), Canadian soprano Nikki Einfeld has appeared this season as Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro (New Orleans Opera), Adele in Die Fledermaus (Manitoba Opera), the title role of Lucia di Lammermoor (Syracuse Opera), and with Opera Francais of New York as Telaire in Casper et Pollux.  As an Adler Fellow, her many performances at San Francisco Opera included Mascha in Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame, Papagena in The Magic Flute, Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro, Serpina in Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, and the title role in Donizetti’s Rita.As a participant in their Merola Opera Program she performed in Menotti’s The Medium and J. Ibert’s Angelique. Other appearances have included Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Nevada Opera, Stanford Orchestra and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra in concert. In Canada she has appeared as The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute with the Canadian Opera Company and as Adina in L’Elisr d’Amore for Manitoba Opera. Her competition credits include first prize in the internationally recognized Eckhardt-Gramatee National Music Competition (2002). Ms. Einfeld was also a multiple prize-winner in the 32nd CBC Radio-Canada National Competition for Young Performers (2003), and the first place winner of the Metropolitan Opera Pacific Regional Auditions (2005).

Eleazar Rodriguez (Count Almaviva)
Just 22 years old and still a student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Mr. Rodriguez has already established himself as an extraordinarily gifted singer.  In February of 2008 he appeared in recital at the Kennedy Center, as part of the Center’s Conservatory Project series.  Also this season he sang the title role in Cavalli’s L’Egisto at Fort Mason Center.  “A heroic four-performance marathon…the voice is so right and true, its beauty so great,” said SF Classical Voice. A native of Piedras Negras, Mexico, Mr. Rodriguez arrived in the U.S. in August of 2006. He auditioned for a chorus part, and found himself immediately cast in the leading role of Lou Harrison’s Young Caesar, produced at Yerba Buena Center in 2007.   He has also appeared as Pedrillo in Mozart’s Abduction from the Seraglio in Israel with IVAI. He has performed in concerts and recitals throughout Mexico, and with Artescenica productions in Amahl and the Night Visitors as Kaspar. A recipient of the Placido Domingo Voice Scholarship, Mr. Rodriguez was the youngest singer to be invited to join the Sociedad Internacional de Valores de Arte Mexicano (SIVAM), Mexico's most renowned young artist program. In 2004 he was the winner of both the "Revelacion Juvenil" and the "Antonio Davalos" prize for the best young male voice in the Carlo Morelli National Competition" in Mexico City.

Jason Budd (Bartolo)
“Jason Budd as Bartolo was the definition of a buffo bass: rotund, blustery, funny, with an alluring, deep-chested voice,” said the Detroit Free-Press of Mr. Budd’s recent performance in The Barber of Seville at Michigan Opera Theatre.  Other appearances in 2008 and beyond include the Sacristan in Tosca with Virginia Opera, Benoit/Alcindoro in La bohème with Opera Cleveland, Frank in Die Fledermaus with Orlando Opera, the title role in Falstaff with Opera in the Heights, and Benoit/Alcindoro in La bohème with the Princeton Festival. Last season he appeared as Montfleury in the world premiere of Cyrano at Michigan Opera Theatre; Major-General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance and the Bonze in Madama Butterfly with Orlando Opera; and Dulcamara in L’elisir d’amore with Cedar Rapids Grand Opera.  Others among his many roles at Orlando Opera have been the title role in Gianni Schicchi, Pooh-Bah in The Mikado, Crespel/Luther in Les contes d'Hoffmann, Monterone in Rigoletto, Antonio in Le nozze di Figaro, Melchoir in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Speaker/First Priest in The Magic Flute, and the Sacristan in Tosca with Carol Vaness in the title role. He has also appeared in  numerous roles with Augusta Opera, Opera Birmingham, Piedmont Opera, Lyric Opera Cleveland, Opera Carolina, and Nashville Opera.     

Kirk Eichelberger (Basilio)
Mr. Eichelberger returns to Fremont Opera after his appearance last summer as Colline in La Bohème.  Since then, he spent much of the current season at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, appearing in Shostakovich’s The Gamblers, and covering roles in Verdi’s Macbeth and Ernani, as well as Wagner’s Tristan.  Last fall he sang the roles of Monterone in Rigoletto with the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and Luis in William Bolcom’s A View from the Bridge with the Washington National Opera Company. Later in the season he sang two small roles in Berlioz’ Les Troyens, with James Levine and the Boston Symphony. Mr. Eichelberger was recently seen as Alaska Wolf Joe in Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny with Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC. This summer he also returns to Festival Opera in Walnut Creek for appearances as Ferrando in Verdi’s Il trovatore and Bottom in Benjamin Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has performed numerous roles with Opera San José including Frère Laurent in Romeo and Juliette, Leporello in Don Giovanni, Reverend John Hale in The Crucible, Daland in The Flying Dutchman, Méphistophélès in Faust, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and Colline in La bohéme.  Mr. Eichelberger was a national finalist in the 1999 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and the 1999 MacAllister Awards for opera singers.

Elspeth Franks (Berta)
British-born mezzo-soprano Elspeth Franks had a busy season in 2007-08.  Major events  included her debut with George Cleve’s Midsummer Mozart Festival, a production of Handel’s Alcina with Opera Vivente in Baltimore, her debut with the Portland Baroque Orchestra, and her return to Sacramento Opera in their production of Britten's Turn of the Screw. Hailed as "...singing with rich intensity and potent expression" (Kip Cranna, San Francisco Classical Voice), Ms. Franks is an active performer in both opera and oratorio.  Last season she debuted with the Los Angeles Bach Festival in the B minor Mass,and was called on at  the last minute to sing Handel’s Messiah with Nicholas McGegan and the Philharmonia Baroque. She  made her New York debut in the role of Commère (Four Saints in Three Acts) with the Mark Morris Dance Group. At Sacramento Opera she has appeared as Stefano in Romeo and Juliette and as Berta in The Barber of Seville. A signature role for Ms. Franks is Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus, which she has sung for Virginia Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Rogue Opera, Bear Valley Music Festival, and Berkeley Opera. 

Eric Wenburg (Ambrogio)
Mr. Wenburg appeared in Fremont Opera’s La Bohème last summer in the two roles of Benoit and Alcindoro.  His other opera credits include Manon Lescaut, La Périchole, Un ballo in maschera, and The Barber of Seville at West Bay Opera.  At TheatreWorks he has appeared in the musicals Bat Boy and Little Shop of Horrors, and in many acting roles as well.  With the Lamplighters in San Francisco, he has been seen in The Gondoliers, Earnest in Love, and The Yeomen of the Guard.  He has also appeared with the Stanford University Vienna Festival, the Traveling Jewish Theatre, and the Dickens Christmas Fair.

Nikolaus Schiffmann (Fiorello, Police Officer)
Mr. Schiffmann has appeared in numerous roles at Opera San José, including Gregorio in Roméo et Juliette, Christian in A Masked Ball, and Masetto in Don Giovanni.  He made his Opera San José debut as Dancairo in Carme) during the 2004 - 2005 season. Other roles performed recently include Colline (La bohème) with Portland Opera Works, the Imperial Commissioner (Madama Butterfly) with Opera Santa Barbara, Schaunard (La bohème) with San Francisco Lyric Opera, Masetto (Don Giovanni) for West Bay Opera and San Francisco Lyric Opera, and Zuniga (Carmen) and Alidoro (La cenerentola) for Bay Shore Lyric Opera.  With the UCSC Opera, Mr. Schiffmann performed the roles of Escamillo and Zuniga (Carmen), Dulcamara (L'elisir d'amore), and the title role in Gianni Schicchi.