Faust 2026

American tenor Ryan Allais continues to captivate audiences across the United States with his versatile performances in opera, musical theater, and concert repertoire. Recently, he appeared as a soloist in Vaughan Williams’ On Wenlock Edge with the Jackson Heights Orchestra. His recital work includes In meinem lied, a joint performance in Taos, New Mexico, alongside his husband, tenor Alonzo Jordan Lopez. Equally at home on the trombone, Mr. Allais performed with the Amore Opera orchestra in their production of Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Allais has worked with New Camerata Opera, Painted Sky Opera, VHRPLive! and Santa Fe Opera.

British-Ghanaian-American bass Kofi Hayford is a prize-winning artist celebrated for his "stentorian," "sonorous," and "impressive" voice. With a repertoire spanning over 40 operatic roles, he has performed across four continents with organizations including Opéra de Toulouse, Fort Worth Opera, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. A double laureate of the 2024 Grand Voix Lyrique d'Afrique Competition, recent highlights include his Carnegie Hall Stern Auditorium and Lincoln Center debuts, and a six-city tour of France. He is also co-founder of the DictionBuddy app and Chairman of the Groupmuse Foundation.

Mezzo-soprano sanjuanera and Helen Hayes Award winner Laura Virella was hailed by the LA Times as “compelling on stage.” Critics around the world have called her a "bright, luminescent mezzo," “powerful,” "silky tone," with a "rich, attractive, plush sound." She's appeared in leading and comprimario roles with San Diego Opera, Detroit Opera, El Paso Opera, Long Beach Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera, and internationally in Germany, Spain, Canada, Austria and Puerto Rico. Her repertoire includes Carmen, Frida, Mari Pepa, Octavian, Maddalena, Lola and Mrs. Grose. You can find her on streaming platforms worldwide.  

www.lauravirella.com

Lauded for his "fine dramatic skill" and "engaging baritone" (Broadway World), Andrew Wannigman is a distinguished singer-actor who possesses exceptional vocal and dramatic versatility. His recent operatic engagements include the title role in Don Giovanni, Silvio in Pagliacci, Dr. Falke in Die Fledermaus, Dandini in La Cenerentola, and Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana. Mr. Wannigman celebrated his Carnegie Hall debut as the bass soloist in Marianna von Martines’ Dixit Dominus with the Cecilia Chorus of New York.  He will be singing the bass solos for Handel’s Messiah with the Queens College Choral Society this December.

 www.andrewwannigman.com

Praised for her “golden tone” and for navigating “difficult music with a glorious ease,” mezzo-soprano Rachel Arky is a singing actress noted for her vocal warmth and stylistic versatility. In the 2025–26 season, Ms. Arky makes her Carnegie Hall orchestral soloist debut in Mozart’s Missa Brevis in F with MidAmerica Productions, presents a series of recitals with soprano Tharanga Goonetilleke, and joins the Bard Festival Chorale for performances under the baton of Leon Botstein. Previous operatic roles include Meg March (Annapolis Opera); Maddalena (Mississippi Opera); Berta (Palm Beach Opera); and Carmen (Amore Opera). 

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia, Elizaveta Ulakhovich graduated summa cum laude from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in 2017. Before graduating, she joined the Bolshoi Theatre Young Artist Program, where she performed in premieres and over 100 concerts throughout Russia. An award winner in international competitions in Belarus, Italy, and the United States, Elizaveta later signed with Lombardo Associates Artist Management. After moving to New York, she made her New York City Opera debut in 2022 and has since performed in the United States and abroad with Maestro Constantine Orbelian. She is grateful to her voice teachers and family for the support.

Handong Fu, baritone, holds Professional Studies Diploma from the Mannes School of Music in New York City, Master’s degree from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing.

Fu has performed leading roles in numerous operas both in US, Europe and China, including Escamillo in Carmen, Sprecher in Die Zauberflöte, Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, Count Almaviva and Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro, Marcello in La Bohème, Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Sprecher in Die Zaubeflöte.

Theodore Chang is a baritone from New York. Recent highlights include Don Fernando and Don Pizzaro (Cover) in Fidelio with Sotto Voce Vocal Collective, Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro and Rochefort in Anna Bolena with New York Opera Forum, Caretto (Cover) in Korngold’s The Silent Serenade with Mannes Opera, Fedorov in Clint Busoni’s The Christmas Spider and Flora’s Servant and Germont (Cover) in La Traviata both with New Jersey Opera Theater. He is a M.M. Voice candidate at the Mannes School of Music and earned a B.M. Vocal Performance from the University of Miami Frost School of Music.