MN Opera’s Resident Artists star in Trouble in Tahiti & Service Provider
Minnesota Opera’s Resident Artists star in Trouble in Tahiti & Service Provider
We are gearing up for our 3rd production of the 2023-2024 season! Minnesota Opera’s Trouble in Tahiti & Service Provider will feature 5 members of our Resident Artist Program: Efraín Corralejo (tenor), Charles H. Eaton (baritone), Keely Futterer (soprano), Erica Guo (pianist/coach), and Jeremiah Sanders (baritone). All our current Resident Artists have returned for their second year in the program, and we are thrilled to have them again! MN Opera’s Resident Artist Program offers full employment for artists at the start of their professional careers. For a 9-month period, participants are mentored in acting, singing, and language by guest instructors and MN Opera staff to strengthen their skills in stage performance.
Audiences may be familiar with some of the Resident Artists. Efraín Corralejo appeared in our season opener, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, with his moving performance as Rafael. Described as “a promising young tenor with colorful voice with an easy top and a powerful center,” Corralejo will be a member of the Jazz Trio in of Trouble in Tahiti and Dallas in Service Provider.
Although Erica Guo will not be in the spotlight of the stage, her piano expertise will be integral to the music heard by audiences. Guo has spent over a decade as a dedicated solo and collaborative pianist and has served as a repetiteur for every MN Opera production since Edward Tulane in 2022. She will continue her role as repetiteur for the rest of the season and through the end of her program tenure as a Resident Artist in May.
Charles H. Eaton returns to the stage with MN Opera after his performance as Masetto in Don Giovanni last season. Known as a “swaggeringly charismatic baritone with a versatile voice,” Eaton covered the role of Belcore in The Elixir of Love earlier this season and will grace the stage with his undeniable talent as Sam in Trouble in Tahiti.
Nearly a year after since singing Hortensius in The Daughter of the Regiment alongside Monét X Change, Sanders will be joining Corralejo in Bernstein’s opera as part of the Jazz Trio. They will star as Beau in John de los Santos and Christopher Weiss’ Service Provider. Their confidence and enthusiasm for the art form comes through in each performance.
Lyric soprano Keely Futterer has a voice that truly touches audiences. She has been called “one of the most gorgeous voices you can imagine with charm to match. Hers [was] a performance you will remember and speak about for years” for her performance as in The Daughter of the Regiment at Opera Saratoga. She will sing Charlene in Service Provider and a member of the jazz trio in Trouble in Tahiti.
We can’t wait to see our Resident Artists share the stage at the Luminary Arts Center from March 9 through 23. We are lucky to have such a talented group of artists and a platform for them to showcase their musical gifts. Don’t miss this exciting double bill production and join us to support our amazing Resident Artists!