Celebrate the return to live opera with a program featuring selections from the most beloved works of opera and musical theater!
Be transported through the journey of a day in this 90-minute, one-act evening featuring favorites from Faust, Lakmé, Norma, Rusalka, Samson and Delilah, Sweeney Todd, West Side Story and more. Directed by HOT Artistic Program Officer Jamie Offenbach, with musical direction by Timothy Shaindlin, this inviting program sets the stage for the most epic of all the metamorphosis in the animal kingdom—the transformation of a butterfly—a reminder of our need to adapt and grow. Headlined by Jacqueline Piccolino, John Pickle, Emmett O’Hanlon, and local-favorite Blythe Iakuinipuaʻokahana Kelsey, Re-Emerging features the talents of local artists from Hawai‘i Opera Theatre’s Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio and the HOT Chorus.
Re-Emerging: HOT Live in Concert
Friday, March 11 at 7:30pm
Sunday, March 13 at 4:00pm
Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall
Note to attendees: As a reminder, audience members are required to present proof of vaccination with a matching photo ID for entrance to all HOT performances and public events, with testing accommodations made for individuals with protected exemptions and keiki under the age of 5. Patrons are required to wear a mask at all times, regardless of vaccine status, which must cover your nose and mouth. Learn more about how we’re preparing to welcome you back to live performances and important audience guidelines at hawaiiopera.org/plan-your-visit.
Watch the Trailer!
MEET THE CAST & ARTISTIC TEAM
Jacqueline Piccolino, Soprano | American soprano Jacqueline Piccolino has been hailed by the San Francisco Chronicle as having "impeccable technique and stage presence" and as “an artist to watch." In the 2019-2020 season, Ms. Piccolino covered the title role of Kayla in the Midwest premiere of Taking Up Serpents with the Chicago Opera Theater and was scheduled to sing Erste Dame in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte and cover the title role in Dvořák’s Rusalka at the Santa Fe Opera. In addition, Ms. Piccolino was invited to perform Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge with the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
As a San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow, Jacqueline performed in numerous mainstage shows such as The Magic Flute, Norma, Madama Butterfly, Susannah, Luisa Miller, La chute de la maison Usher, and Les Contes d’Hoffmann. She also performed with the Seattle Opera, and participated in programs such as the Merola Opera Program and Wolf Trap Opera.
John Pickle, Tenor | Tenor John Pickle quickly has established himself as a strong tenor, most recently for his portrayals of Erik in Der fliegende Holländer, a role he débuted with Los Angeles Opera. Of a performance as the jilted hunter with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, The Kansas City Star raved, “Pickle’s emotionally wrought characterization drove this [performance] even harder home than usual.” In recent seasons, Mr. Pickle also enjoyed performances as Erik with Mobile Opera, Utah Festival Opera, and Michigan Opera Theatre. Last season, Pickle joined the esteemed roster of Lyric Opera of Chicago for their production of Norma.
This season performs Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Hawaii Opera Theatre, the title role in Les Contes d’Hoffmann with Opera Louisiane, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Canton Symphony, as well as Mozart’s Requiem with Pacific Symphony.
Blythe Iakuinipua'okahana Kelsey, Mezzo-Soprano | Honolulu native, Blythe I. Kelsey, has been involved in HOT’s productions since the age of 12. She attended the Westminster Choir College of Rider University, where she majored in Vocal Performance with a concentration in Opera Studies, and minored in Musical Theatre. Past roles include the Third Lady, The Magic Flute (2015); Sister Mathilde, Dialogues of the Carmelites (2013); High Priestess, Aïda (2012); Miss Todd in a radio production of The Old Maid and the Thief (2011); the Nurse in Romeo and Juliet–all with HOT; Cobweb, A Midsummer’s Night Dream; Michaëla, Carmen–both with Westminster Opera Theatre. An alumna of HOT’s Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio program, Blythe has played numerous roles in HOT’s Opera Express tours over five seasons, and performs frequently as a soloist with Hawaii Opera Theatre, including the Great American Voices and Great Singers, Great Songs concert series. She is currently the Director of Artistic Administration for Hawai’i Opera Theatre.
Emmett O'Hanlon, Baritone | Irish-American baritone Emmett O’Hanlon’s 2021 – 2022 season sees his house debut with Irish National Opera as Simon in Donnacha Dennehy and Edna Walsh’s The First Child, conducted by Ryan McAdams and presented as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival. Mr. O’Hanlon also joins the ensemble at Deutsche Oper am Rhein this season which will see his role debut as Count in Le nozze di Figaro, as well as Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Silvio in Pagliacci, and Kaiser Overall in Der Kaiser von Atlantis. He also appears in Austin Opera’s annual gala, Serenata, and with Hawaii Opera Theatre’s Re-emerging: HOT in Concert gala in Honolulu. In concert, Mr. O’Hanlon appeared with mezzo soprano Isabel Leonard and tenor Emmet Cahill in Scenes from a New York Stage at the Blue Building in Manhattan.
The 2020 – 2021 season saw Mr. O’Hanlon’s return to Deutsche Oper am Rhein as a resident artist to debut the role of Kaiser Overall in a new production of Viktor Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis, which was broadcast on OperaVision and his role debut as Figaor in Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Mr. O’Hanlon was also scheduled to debut the roles of Count in Le nozze di Figaro and Fritz in Korngold’s Die tote Stadt.
Leslie Goldman, Soprano | Before returning home to join HOT’s Orvis studio, Leslie enjoyed performing in companies on the mainland and in Europe where she hit the stage as Musetta from Puccini’s La Boheme, Susanna from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro and Adina from Donizetti’s L’elisir D’amore to name a few. She made her Hawai’i Opera Theatre main stage debut as Frasquita in the 2017 season’s kick off opera, Carmen, by Bizet. In 2019 she performed the role of Annina with HOT in Verdi’s la Traviata. In HOT’s 2020 digital season, Leslie can be seen as The Witch in Chicken Skin Serenades, and The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors by Menotti. Leslie is one of the head teaching artists for Hawai’i Opera Theater, as well as a principle singer for the outreach program which brings music to over 85 school across the islands.
Sydney Branch, Soprano | With music in her life from a young age, Sydney began to play the viola in middle school. Though she had an interest in singing early on, she did not receive classical training until college. She took a beginner group voice classes at Leeward Community college and fell in love with a new world of music. In 2018, Sydney graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a Bachelors of Arts in Music—focus on vocal performance and secondary in viola. During her time at UH, she participated in the University’s Opera Workshop, choir, played with the UH Symphony Orchestra, and joined Hawai’i Opera Theatre’s Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio. Currently, she works as a music teacher for beginner violin, viola, and voice.
Ian McGuffin, Baritone | An American baritone and resident artist of Hawai’i Opera Theatre’s Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio, some of Ian’s favorite operatic ventures include Count Almaviva in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro with the Miami Summer Music Festival, Marcello in Puccini’s La Bohème in the Tuscia Opera Festival of Viterbo, Italy, and Abraham Fleischman in Laura Kaminsky’s Hometown to the World with the Hawaii Opera Theater. In addition to finding Ian on the operatic stage, he also performs in the mediums of oratorio and recital. Such works include the collaborative world premiere of the Dried Tobacco Project, an LGBTQ-themed song cycle written by the Chicago composer Cassandra Kaczor and several benefit recitals for the Agape National Academy of Music of Liberia. Ian received his Bachelor of Voice Performance at Campbellsville University and his Master of Voice Performance in Opera at Roosevelt University’s College of Performing Arts Conservatory.
Robert Feng, Bass | A born collaborator who creates powerful performances, Robert is the recipient of the Seagle Festival Guild Scholarship, the George Woodhead Prize in Voice, and the Peabody Career Development Award. He placed second in the NYCMS International Competition, third in the Lyra Mozart International Competition, and third in the Opera for Earth Competition. Performance highlights include Don Giovanni (Il Commendatore) with Opera on the Rocks, Les pêcheurs de perles (Nourabad) with /Kor/ Productions, The Mikado (Ko-Ko) with Hawai’i Opera Theatre, Emmeline (Pastor Avery) and La traviata (Dottore Grenvil) with Manhattan School of Music, and Massenet’s Chérubin (Le Philosophe) with Peabody Conservatory. Robert also created the role of Rev.Joseph Twitchell in Robert Carl’s Harmony with Seagle Festival. He received his B.M. at Peabody Conservatory and his M.M. at Manhattan School of Music. Robert is an alumni of Seagle Festival and member of Hawai’i Opera Theatre’s Mae Z. Orvis Opera Studio.