Audiences will recognize Sonia from her star turn as Cassio in SOT’s 2022 production of Othello. Donning the mustache once again, this time as the ever-conniving Don John, she is over the moon to return to working with such a dynamic and talented cast and fantastic crew. Her love for Shakespeare and opera makes this company a perfect fit. Sonia splits her time between performing onstage and working behind the scenes for theatrical productions, both at the professional and community level. Most recently, she directed Our Town at Fauquier Community Theater to great acclaim. When she last tread the boards, ironically as Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, she earned a best supporting actress nomination. Sonia loves to spend her free time with her family, John, Gwen and Ellie. It’s their love and support that keeps her working in theater and moving forward, for which she’s eternally grateful.
Olivia Currier is a mezzo-soprano originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Following her tenure as an Apprentice Artist at the Sarasota Opera, she made her Shakespeare Opera Theatre debut as Béatrice in Béatrice et Bénédict/Much Ado About Nothing. Since then, Currier has been an SOT favorite, covering Gertrude and The Gingerbread Witch in Hansel and Gretel, and performing as a a soloist on the Jim Galloway Memorial Concert. This summer, she will cover the roles of Roßweiße in Die Walküre and Zweite Norn in Götterdämmerung at TUNDI Productions’ Wagner in Vermont Festival, and will travel to Berlin, Germany as a Frank Nemhauser Vocal Apprentice with Berkshire Choral International. Olivia holds a degree from Texas Tech University and currently resides in Waco, Texas. She is now in her graduate studies at Baylor University. When not on stage, Olivia loves to travel, write, and spend time with her amazing partner, Justin Ramm-Damron!
Originally from Williamsburg, Virginia, soprano Kelly Monteith graduated from Philadelphia’s Temple University with the Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance. During her time at Temple, she performed the role of Barbarina in Le Nozze di Figaro and covered the role of Almera in Nico Muhly’s Dark Sisters. Other notable roles include Susanna (cover) in Le Nozze di Figaro and Annabel in the European premiere of Paul Richard’s Mondo Novo with the Vienna Summer Music Festival, as well as Celia in Handel’s Silla with Chicago Summer Opera. During her undergraduate studies at George Mason University, she performed in six mainstage productions, including Belinda (cover) in Dido and Aeneas and Leila in Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe. Most recently, she was seen in the chorus of Opera Baltimore and Opera Delaware’s joint production of La Traviata. Hero in Much Ado About Nothing/Béatrice et Bénêdict marks Kelly’s debut with Shakespeare Opera Theatre, and she is excited to perform in this beautiful and unique production.
A native of South Africa, Marieke de Koker is a New York City-based mezzo-soprano. Her 2022/23 season included Speaker in AGAMEMNON (Theatre for a New Audience), Cloud in the world premiere of Iceland (Overtone Industries), Liza Elliott in Lady in the Dark (Bronx Opera Outreach) and Giunone in La Calisto (Mannes Opera). Also In 2023 she won the DePaul Concerto competition with her original song cycle Never Again (2021) based on poetry by Valentine Kizito. In 2021 Marieke was an Emerging Artist at the Windybrow Arts Center in South Africa where she was interviewed on the ETV morning show. She has also appeared with RSG radio, Brooklyn Theatre TV, Gauteng Philharmonic, Career Bridges, Johannesburg Opera, Really Spicy Opera, Windy City Performing Arts, and the Art Song Preservation Society of New York, among others. She is delighted to be making her debut in the title role of Béatrice in Much Ado About Nothing/Béatrice et Bénédict with Shakespeare Opera Theater.
A native Virginian who resides in Middleburg, Mallory began her career with SOT as an intern Assistant Stage Manager before moving up to staff Assistant Stage Manager. She now makes her debut as SOT’s Stage Manager with Much Ado About Nothing/Béatrice et Bénédict. Mallory is a recent honors graduate of The Highland School, where she served as captain of the district prize winning robotics team along with captaining the lacrosse and field hockey teams. Mallory’s future plans include attending Allegheny College, where she will double major in Theater and Environmental Science and continue to play field hockey for the Allegheny Gators.
Kirsten Nordland is a rising dramatic artist currently residing in Northwest Ohio. Most recently, Nordland joined the Toledo Opera Guild as a chorister for the 2023-2024 season. Her most recent credits include Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro with the Trentino Music Festival in Trentino, Italy; Nerone in L’incoronazione di Poppea at Bowling Green State University; and the Stewardess in Jonathan Dove’s Flight at NUOVA Vocal arts. Nordland is also an avid social activist & digital portrait artist. She strives to combine her passions to help serve the longevity of opera.
a DMV actor and passionate storyteller, Justin made his SOT debut in 2023 as Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing/Béatrice et Bénédict, charming audiences with his amiable performance. An Army brat, Justin lived in Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, Hawaii, and Tennessee before high school. After studying at Longwood University, he moved to Northern Virginia and has performed in Art of Murder, Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe, Finding Neil Patrick Harris, and Madame Quixota’s Last Words. By day, he’s a magazine editor for Tax Notes Today; by night, he enjoys hiking, video games, and horror novels. Thanks to friends and family for their support!
Praised for his “Deeply human Marcello” (La bohème) by Opera Codebar (Paris, France), JP Gorski returns to SOT as Gregorio for Romeo & Juliet. Audiences will recognize JP from numerous roles such as Iago (Othello), Peter (Hansel & Gretel), the title role of Macbeth, and from Much Ado About Nothing where he portrayed the dual roles of Berlioz’s Somarone and Shakespeare’s Dogberry. After graduating from James Madison University, JP studied at Bel Canto in Tuscany (Tuscany, Italy) where he performed as Figaro (The Barber of Seville), and the title role of Rigoletto. JP has performed with numerous companies including Charlottesville Opera (Virginia), Sarasota Opera (Florida), and Annapolis Opera (Maryland) where he appeared as Second Armored Man in The Magic Flute (November 2023) and The Commissioner in La traviata (March 2025). JP currently works as a Branch Coordinator for ABC, an Apria company, and a data entry clerk for Reaching Potentials VA, LLC.
A resident of Arlington, Virginia, James McKenzie is a retired member of The United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own.” As a trumpet player, his duties included sounding “Taps” in Arlington National Cemetery for fallen soldiers. He has also participated in inaugurations, concerts, and other military ceremonies and events at the White House, the Pentagon, the National Mall, and throughout the country and overseas. James holds music degrees from Sam Houston State University and Rice University. After catching the acting bug, he graduated from the Honors Conservatory Program of The Theatre Lab School of Dramatic Arts, where he was in productions of As You Like It, and David Mamet’s Reunion. James was previously seen as Leonato in Grassroots Shakespeare DC’s production of Much Ado About Nothing.
New York tenor Jacob Rivera earned the Master of Music degree from Purchase College’s Conservatory of Music. While at Purchase, he portrayed Ezekiel Cheever in The Crucible, King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Liberto/Lucano in L’incoronazione di Poppea, Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi and The Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas. During the summer of 2022, Jacob appeared with Miami Music Festival in Bizet’s Carmen (El Remendado) and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Flute). He has won Gold Prize in the Contemporary Modern Division in the World Class Music Awards, Fourth Place in the International London Music Competition, and Third Place at the Lyra New York International Art Song Competition. He was also a Finalist this year at the The International Vienna Competition where he earned an Honorable Mention, and he is a Finalist at the upcoming American Song Prize Competition.