2026 Opera - Pagliacci
Wednesday, August 5th, 2026 – 7:00pm – Soo Theatre
Friday, August 7th, 2026 – 7:00pm – Soo Theatre
Sunday, August 9th, 2026 – 4:00pm – Center for the Arts at Mission Point – Mackinac Island. (Tickets Available Soon Here.)
2026 Opera Apprentice
Soo Opera Apprentice Program
July 16th – August 9th, 2026
Soo Apprentice Artists…
Perform a role in Viardot’s Cendrillon Apprentice Opera, accompanied by the Apprentice Orchestra
Understudy leading roles, sing comprimario roles, and/or lead sections of the ensemble in the mainstage production, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci
Perform a solo with full orchestra in the Aria Showcase Concert
Work with professionals from across the country in masterclasses, lessons, coachings, and workshops
Cost: $1,200 (total, tuition + housing July 15th-August 10th)
Apprentice Photo Gallery
2022 Apprentice Artist Concert: Hayley Shoemaker, Sebastian Sorensen, Krista Lawrence Sorensen, Samuel Kennedy, Rachael Green
2022 Apprentice Artist DIE FLEDERMAUS
2022 Curtain Call DIE FLEDERMAUS
2023 Apprentice Artist GIANNI SCHICCHI
2022 Soo Opera Apprentice Artist & Orchestra Concert; John Nardolillo, conductor
Testimonials
My name is Emily Misch, and I'm an opera singer currently based in NYC. As an opera professional for the past ten years, I've performed in a number of venues across the United States, Canada, and Europe. I recently performed with Soo Opera in Sault Ste Marie; although my time with the company was short, it was one of the most joyous performing experiences I've ever had because of the palpable enthusiasm, care, and talent the community has for theater and music! One highlight was getting to see the
lovingly restored Soo Theatre. It's such a remarkable venue, and its presence creates an incredible opportunity to bring theater and music to the town. Its continued renovation would bring so much value to the arts and the community, and I think it is the perfect candidate to receive grant money from the Local Fiscal Recovery Fund!
All best,
Emily
BIOS
RICHARD GAMMON (STAGE DIRECTOR)
Richard Gammon, a Filipino American stage director, has directed for Wolf Trap Opera, Detroit Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, and Virginia Opera. Acutely interested in contemporary American opera, he directed the world premieres of Family Style, Kandake, and Black Coffee for Opera Theatre of Saint Louis’ New Works Collective, The Lake at ArtSounds; and new productions of Bound (Anchorage Opera), Scalia/Ginsburg (Princeton Festival), Buoso’s Ghost (Detroit Opera), and An American Dream (Hawaii Opera Theatre, Virginia Opera, Opera Santa Barbara). Richard, as the director of the Opera Maine Studio Artist Program, programs and directs almost exclusively contemporary operas including Paul’s
Case, Rappahannock County, As One, and Rocking Horse Winner. Creative positions include directing for the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival, the National Asian Artists Project, and Cleveland Play House; leading workshops for NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program; and creative associate for Sean Curran
Company’s Dream’d in a Dream (BAM Next Wave Festival).
RICHARD GAMMON (STAGE DIRECTOR)
Casey Robards (Conductor)
CASEY ROBARDS (CONDUCTOR)
Maestra Casey Robards (Suh Jung Ahn) is a Korean American adoptee whose work has been seen throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, Central America, South America, and Asia. She has worked with Santa Fe Opera, Kentucky Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Indianapolis Opera, New Orleans Opera, Opera Columbus, Soo Opera, El Paso Opera, South Bend Lyric Opera, and the Bay View Music Festival, where she worked for seventeen seasons. Known for her collaborative leadership, stylistic range, and intimate understanding of both singers and instrumentalists, Maestra Robards’ recent repertoire includes productions of Pagliacci, Le nozze di Figaro, Il barbiere di Siviglia, Carmen, La traviata, La bohème, Die Zauberflöte, Gianni Schicchi, Suor Angelica, An American Dream, Susannah, Three Decembers, and Little Women. In parallel with her work as a conductor, Robards is an accomplished pianist and vocal coach. She is represented by Marvel Artists Management and is on faculty at the University of Illinois.
CHAUNCEY PACKER
Versatile tenor Chauncey Packer honed his craft in theater and musical theater productions including Baby, The Wizard of Oz, School House Rock Live, and Big River. He performed in Paris’ Louvre Museum in controversial and provocative European choreographer/director Robyn Orlin’s Babysitting Petit Louis. In 2013-2014, he was cast in the First National Broadway Tour of The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess as the Honey Man and Sportin’ Life cover. Mr. Packer is featured on several commercial recording releases including Nashville Symphony’s Porgy and Bess on Decca Records and Paragon Ragtime Symphony’s Treemonisha and Black Manhattan Volume 3, both on New World Records. He is featured to critical acclaim in San Francisco Opera’s DVD release of Francesca Zambello’s Porgy and Bess.
Most recently Mr. Packer made débuts with Washington National Opera as Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess, the New World Symphony in their presentation of Der Kaiser von Atlantis, and returned to Charlotteville Opera for his role début of Don Jose in Carmen. Additionally, he sang the role of Ali in Edmond Dede’s Morgiane in a special presentation with Opera Lafayette in collaboration with Opera Creole and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and appeared with the New Jersey Festival Orchestra for their annual 3 Holiday Tenors concert. Other recent engagements include Alfredo in La Traviata with Knoxville Opera, Roldofo in Opera Memphis’ Beale Street La bohème, appearances with the South Florida Symphony and Louisiana Philharmonic for Handel’s Messiah, and his return to The Metropolitan Opera as Howard Boucher in Dead Man Walking and a reprisal of the role of Spinner in Fire Shut Up in Bones. In the upcoming season, Chauncey will return to the stage of The Metropolitan Opera for Porgy and Bess and to Washington National Opera as Judge Danforth in The Crucible.
In the 2022-2023 season, Mr. Packer joined The Metropolitan Opera to sing Bardolfo in Falstaff and Luis Rodrigo Griffith in Champion. He also made his role début as the Witch in Hansel and Gretel at New Orleans Opera, brought his celebrated Sportin’ Life in Porgy and Bess to Germany’s NDR Elbphilharmonic Orchestra, sang and danced as Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls with Charlottesville Opera, and reprised his Cavaradossi in Tosca for the Soo Theatre. Other recent highlights include his role début as Cavaradossi in Tosca and as Jo the Loiterer in Mother of us All at Chautauqua Opera, his return to The Metropolitan Opera as Robbins & Crab Man in Porgy and Bess and Spinner in Blanchard’s Fire Shut Up in my Bones, a role he reprised in 2022 with Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Scalia in Scalia/Ginsberg at Chautauqua Opera.
Mr. Packer made his Metropolitan Opera début in the roles of Sportin’ Life, Robbins, and Crabman in Porgy and Bess, was a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the Colour of Music Festival, appeared in concerts with the Saint-George International Music Festival and the Harrisburg Symphony, was Sportin’ Life with New York Harlem’s Porgy and Bess at Teatro Regio in Torino, Italy, and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at Soo Theatre Project in Michigan. He has performed with Nashville Opera, Mobile Opera, Pensacola Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Opera Grand Rapids, Des Moines Metro Opera, Opera Pacific, and New Orleans Opera. He has sung the roles of Rodolfo (La bohème), Alfredo (La Traviata), Pong (Turandot), Werther, Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Sam (Susannah), Ruggero (La rondine), Dr. Blind (Die Fledermaus), Tamino (The Magic Flute), Arturo (Lucia di Lammermoor), Amon (Akhnaten), and Sportin’ Life, Mingo, and Robbins (Porgy and Bess). Of his Sportin’ Life the Atlanta Journal proclaimed “Here Chauncey Packer was the complete entertainer…” He has performed the role in his 2008 debut with Paris’ Opera Comique, his 2016 debut at Teatro alla Scala, as well as with Tulsa Opera, Atlanta Opera, Opera Birmingham, San Francisco Opera, and a tour throughout Europe with New York Harlem Theatre.
On the concert platform, he has joined Edmonton Opera, Baton Rouge Symphony, Nashville Symphony, Mobile Symphony, Gulf Coast Opera, Shreveport Opera, Grand Rapids Symphony, Pensacola Symphony, Arkansas Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfonica de Mineria, Louisiana Philharmonic, Signature Symphony, and Torun Symphony Orchestra. He was also featured in a concert at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées with the Orchestre Symphonique de la Garde Républicaine benefiting the organization Women of Africa. He was an apprentice with Des Moines Metro Opera and Utah Festival Opera, received his bachelor’s degree from University of Mobile, pursued a Master of Music from University of New Orleans, and postgraduate studies at Louisiana State University in music and theater. Chauncey is a featured soloist on three Grammy Award winning recordings. Porgy and Bess, Fire Shut Up in My Bones, and Champion, all with the Metropolitan Opera.
CHAUNCEY PACKER (CANIO)
THOMAS GUNTHER (TONIO)
THOMAS GUNTHER (TONIO)
Thomas Gunther, Tonio, performs a diverse repertoire spanning opera, musical theatre, and concert works. He was recently seen as Marcello in La Bohéme with South Bend Lyric Opera and Fiorello in Opera Omaha’s The Barber of Seville and as Elder McLean in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah. His concert credits include Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs, Handel’s Messiah, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Britten’s War Requiem, and the requiems of Duruflé and Fauré. Notable stage roles include Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Marcello and Schaunard (La bohème), Germont (La traviata), Scarpia (Tosca), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Billy Bigelow (Carousel), Javert (Les Misérables), and the title roles in Sweeney Todd and Don Giovanni. He has worked with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Merola Opera Program, Des Moines Metro Opera, Soo Opera Theatre, and others. He serves on the voice faculty at Doane University, the University of Nebraska-Omaha and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, and maintains a private studio.
KAREN BEACOM (NEDDA)
With a voice and stage presence described as “warm and lyrical with a lot of dramatic power” by the Omaha World Herald, Karen Hughes Beacom has made a name for herself on the opera and concert stage. A Metropolitan Opera National Council Regional Finalist, her career has crossed borders, with international performances at the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, China as the soprano soloist in Bach’s Mass in B Minor with the Tianjin Symphony and as the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro under the baton of Joseph Rescigno in Novafeltria, Bellaria and Sant’Archangelo, Italy.
This versatile soprano has performed dozens of leading roles in opera, with highlights including the title roles in Puccini’s Tosca and Floyd’s Susannah, Violetta in La Traviata, Mimí in La Bohème, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus, Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly, Micaëla in Carmen, Pamina in The Magic Flute, Fiordiligi in Cosí fan tutte, and Alexandra in the world premiere of O Pioneers!, among others. Her opera credits include Des Moines Metro Opera, Utah Festival Opera, Opera Omaha, Sun Valley Opera, DuPage Opera Theatre, Chautauqua Institution and Soo Opera.
Recent solo concert highlights include Handel’s Messiah and Saint-Saëns Oratorio de Noël with Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mozart’s Requiem and Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Keewenaw Symphony, and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Sault Symphony Orchestra in Ontario, Canada. Karen has also appeared with the Summit Choral Society in Akron, OH, the Nebraska Choral Arts Society in Omaha, Nebraska and recorded backup vocals on the Mannheim Steamroller album Christmas Extraordinaire.
In addition to performing, Karen is the founder and artistic director of the Soo Opera in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Founded in 2007 as a part of the Soo Theatre Project, Soo Opera has brought fully staged works with orchestra to the Eastern Upper Peninsula every year since its inception, including annual performances on Mackinac Island at Mission Point Theater, with their first Mackinac Island performance at the Grand Hotel. Karen also serves as the Artistic Director of Soo Theatre Project and as Director of Music at Little Stone Church.
KAREN BEACOM (NEDDA)
JOHN ARNOLD (SILVIO)
JOHN ARNOLD (SILVIO)
Bass-Baritone
John Arnold is an Atlanta-based singer, actor, writer, podcast host, and multi-instrumentalist. John has performed to great acclaim with opera companies and associated emerging and resident artist programs across the United States, including the Atlanta Opera, Boston Opera Collaborative, Des Moines Metro Opera, Detroit Opera, Kentucky Opera, Knoxville Opera, Madison Opera, the Merola Opera Program, and Opera New Jersey. He is also in demand as a concert and oratorio soloist and has built a reputation for delivering performances imbued with a unique combination of vocal clarity, elegant musicality, and dramatic sophistication.
SCOTT WICHAEL (BEPPE)
Scott Wichael is a versatile tenor celebrated for his dynamic character portrayals and stylistic range across opera, operetta, and contemporary works. With a career spanning more than two decades, he has appeared with companies throughout the United States and abroad, earning recognition for his compelling stage presence and musicianship in both comic and dramatic repertoire.
Recent and upcoming engagements include Beppe in Pagliacci with Soo Theatre, Aegisth in Elektra with Dramatic Voices Midwest, and performances in Le Nozze di Figaro and La Fanciulla del West with North Carolina Opera. He has also appeared as Steuermann in Der fliegende Holländer, Herodes in Salome, Jaquino in Fidelio, and Mime in Das Rheingold.
A frequent interpreter of character tenor repertoire, he has portrayed The Witch in Hansel and Gretel and Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte with multiple companies, as well as Spoletta in Tosca, Pang and Pong in Turandot, Bardolfo in Falstaff, and Don Curzio in Le Nozze di Figaro. His repertoire also includes leading and featured roles such as Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, Nanki-Poo in The Mikado, and Sancho Panza in Man of La Mancha.
He has collaborated with distinguished organizations including Des Moines Metro Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Omaha, Indianapolis Opera, Tulsa Opera, and Asheville Lyric Opera. He has also appeared in world premiere productions, including Ourland and The Tale of Peter Rabbit.
SCOTT WICHAEL (BEPPE)
2025 Opera Events Calendar
2026 Soo Opera Calendar of Events
Please see the poster to the right for all of the upcoming Opera-related events.
Visit the Soo Theatre Box Office for Tickets to Events happening at Soo Theatre.
Email opera@sootheatre.org to reserve your spot at our Annual Fundraiser Home Concert “Around the Piano.”
Tickets for the Soo Opera’s Touring Production of Pagliacci is still TBA. Check back soon for details.
