John Buffett, Baritone, a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, is known for his concert, recital and opera work in various styles from Monteverdi to Puccini. Some of his favorite roles include Schaunard in La Bohème, Golaud in Pelléas et Méllisande and Figaro in Le Nozze di Figaro. He has performed with the opera companies of Utah, Sarasota, Memphis, Rochester and the Boston Early Music Festival, and on the concert stage with the Syracuse Symphony, the Rochester Philharmonic, and Apollo’s Fire. John has won various competitions, including the Kneisel Lieder Competition and Eastman’s Concerto Competition. Mr. Buffett has been a young artist with the opera companies of Sarasota and Memphis as well as Utah Opera. Now in his second year as a Utah Opera Resident Artist, he will sing Marullo in Verdi’s Rigoletto and cover Belcore in Donizetti’s L’Elisir d’Amore.
Jennie Litster, Soprano, has been charming audiences with her “coquettish sparkle and suppleness” in the San Francisco Bay Area for years. Recently seen with Utah Festival Opera, Opera San Jose, and the Ash Lawn Opera Festival, highlights include Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Adele in Die Fledermaus, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, and Tytania in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Ms. Litster has also been recently featured as the soprano soloist with the Virginia Consort's Carmina Burana and the Mormon Choral Organization's Messiah in America. As Utah Opera’s Soprano Resident Artist, she will sing Countess Ceprano in Verdi's Rigoletto and Gianetta in Donizetti's L'Elisir d'Amore, while covering Gilda and Adina in those productions as well as Curley's Wife in Of Mice and Men. Visit her website at http://www.jennielitster.com/
Sishel Claverie, Mezzo-Soprano, was born in Mexico City, and is an Alumna of S.I.V.A.M., Mexico’s most prestigious Young Artist Program. Sishel holds a Master’s degree in music from Rice University. Her operatic roles include Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, the title role in Chérubin, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, and Meg in Little Women. Ms. Claverie has been a Studio Artist at Wolf Trap, and at Renata Scotto Opera Studio in Rome, Italy. Sishel was a member of Houston Grand Opera’s outreach program, Opera to Go! Her future engagements include the role of Secretary (cover) in Menotti’s The Consul at Opera New Jersey. As a Utah Opera Resident Artist in the current season, she will sing Gianetta in Verdi’s Rigoletto.
Andrew Penning, Tenor, is a native of St. Paul, Minnesota and holds the degrees of Master of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Cincinnati: College Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Lawrence University. Andrew spent the summer of 2011 as a Fellow at Tanglewood Music Festival singing, among other assignments, the Second Tenor in Stravinsky’s Renard. Recently he performed the roles of the Male Chorus in Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia, The Chevalier in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Monsieur Lacouf in Les Mamelles de Tiresias. With Utah Opera this season, he will sing the role of Borsa in Rigoletto and cover the role of Nemorino in The Elixir of Love. Visit his website at http://andrewpenning.com/
Pianist Daveth Clark is from the United Kingdom and completed his undergraduate and Masters degrees at Cambridge University. Moving to Paris, France, in 2005, where he was in demand as a répétiteur, coach and accompanist, he continued his studies at the Conservatoire National de Région de Paris. During his time in France he appeared at a number of venues there and abroad, including Paris’s Salle Cortot and the Hammamet Festival in Tunisia. Since arriving in the States, Daveth has worked as a coach for Center City Opera Theater in Philadelphia and recently took part in Opera New Jersey’s summer program.