Staff Artists

If you’ve ever called our Patron Services Office, you have likely spoken to Eva Gemlo, our beloved Associate Patron Services Manager, and if you attend other organizations around the Twin Cities, you’ve undoubtedly run into her because she is an accomplished actress, most recently at The History Theatre in Courting Henry! You can see her this summer as Horatio in Gray Mallard Theater Co’s production of Hamlet.

Photo by Rick Spaulding

When Lexi Reed isn’t busy keeping projects on track as our Communications Coordinator, she is a freelance opera singer and a performer with Magical Moments MN, making kids’ dreams come true by dressing up, acting, and singing as characters from their favorite movies, including Elsa from Frozen and Rapunzel from Tangled. This summer you can see her as Antonia in Mixed Precipitation’s adaptation of The Tales of Hoffman and this fall in the world premiere of MNOP’s The Many Deaths of Laila Starr.

Celeste Marie Johnson, our Principal Coach & Chorus Director, grew up embroidering after her grandmother taught her when she was five, and she recently took it up again as an alternative to being on her phone. She recommends an Etsy kit if you’re looking to start!

New to the Twin Cities, our Civic Engagement and Audience Development Manager, Allison Lewis, has been using her artistry to build community, challenge oppressive systems, and rediscover her own musicality. Recently, she became a member of the Black liberation band, Brass Solidarity, and is in the early stages of developing a new band with other local instrumentalists, name pending – stay tuned!

Photo by Gysland Photography

Our VP of Administration and Board Relations, Theresa Murray, has generously shared her photography skills at various opera events and for many years, has been pursuing a National Geographic worthy shot of a Humpback Whale breaching, which she finally achieved in January of this year while on vacation in Maui!

Maddi Scott Smith, our Scene Shop Supervisor, is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, banjo, tenor banjo, mandolin, bass, drums, Latin hand percussion, and piano), and when performing with her classically-trained wife, Keara, they do so as “The Hannan-Smiths.” Next up on July 27 at the Luminary Arts Center, they’ll be performing at a medical fundraiser for fellow staff member, Julia Gallagher’s, husband, Tim Allen.

Lani Willis, our VP of Advancement, plays flute and piccolo for the St. Cloud Symphony Orchestra. She also knits, crochets, gardens, and uses her kitchen as a creative outlet for baking and “putting food by,” which I googled and means “to preserve or store for future use.”

Our Patron Services Manager, Alexis Alcala, learned to crochet from their Nana when they were 10 years old and returned to it during the pandemic, picking it back up quickly because of the firm foundation instilled by their grandmother. Crocheting brings Alexis joy and peace during stressful times and results in beautiful projects, like this gorgeous poncho, which they made as a gift for a fellow staff member.

Jared Mikach is one of our three Youth Programs Directors helping to lead the Youth-Opera Studio class, and other programs like Stories Sing in local libraries, and NOOMA, an opera for babies. Jared is a recipient of a Creative Individuals Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, presenting Pianistico: An Art Song Exploration, a series of four recitals inspired by the work of four Minnesota non-profits: Caring for Cats, CLUES, SHE Shed, and M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital. Each program features art songs selected from Latin America, South America, and the Iberian Peninsula. August 28th at 7:30pm with Kara Morgan, and October 16th at 7:30pm with Corissa Bussian, all at First Universalist Church of Minneapolis.

For the last 23 seasons, Development Director Emily Skoblik-Diallo has sung Alto in The National Lutheran Choir.

Quincy D’Alessio, a stitcher in our exceptional Costume Shop, loves exploring new skills and mediums,  and is especially proud of two projects celebrating a new nibling due in October! Firstly, a scrap square quilt with a thread-painted scene stitched onto the back with a free motion foot. Quincy said: “It’s another manifestation of textile art that requires a very different set of skills than what I’m used to and allows me to stretch my creativity in different ways!” And with their partner, they designed and carved custom rubber stamps that were used at the baby shower to create a banner for the baby’s room. The theme was “A Silly Goose is Almost Loose!”

Isaac Mayhew, MN Opera’s Associate Director of Marketing and Communications, is an active composer and trumpet player whose music has been performed, recorded, and commissioned by soloists and ensembles across the United States. He works to create opportunities for contemporary music and the artists who make it as a board member of the Twin Cities-based RenegadeEnsemble and Executive Director of the Millennium Composers Initiative, a collective of more than 100 early-career composers from across the U.S. and beyond.

Adam Zahller, last in the alphabet, but the first one we call when anything goes wrong with the building, is not only a stellar Facilities Manager, but a multi-disciplinary musician, performing with Border CrosSing, in his rock band Sick Eagle, and gigging around town as a singer and guitarist. He’s also a composer who records improvised and experimental music with his vast network of musician friends and through different labels, including All Sky, Flaming Pines, Zoomin’ Night, Eh?, and Sawyer Editions. He also works as a writer and translator, recently completing translations of prose-poems and essays for Pablo Picco’s (Argentina) forthcoming solo album/book.

Our Human Resources Director, Jen Thill, is the keeper of secrets, but it’s no secret which cookies she brings to a staff party because her macarons are works of art. I’d say they look too good to eat, but they’re delicious and impossible to resist. There’s also a bonus picture of her with her niece and their fruits and veggies garden masterpiece made from marzipan!