Maryland tenor Jason Guerrero is proud of his heritage of mixed American and Salvadoran descent. Jason earned the Associate of Arts degree in Voice Performance from Montgomery College and is continuing toward a Bachelor of Music in Voice at The Catholic University.
Jason previously appeared as a Dancing Shepherd in Shakespeare Opera Theatre’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, and he most recently played to Virginia audiences as Donald in Loudoun Lyric Opera’s production of Gallantry. Jason also enjoys performing Latin rock and rap. He has played for the Dia De Los Muertos DC festival and has performed original music at Flow Jam Festival and the Ann Marie Sculpture Garden Arts Festival. Jason regularly cantors at St. Raphael’s Catholic Church in Rockville, Maryland.
A resident of Washington, D.C., bass-baritone Joseph Wilson has performed to high acclaim in the United States, Canada, and Italy. Recent highlights include Arts on the Horizon’s production of By the Seashore, Prunier in La Rondine, Schaunard in La Bohème with Operavision Academy in Busseto, Italy, and Tinca/Venditore di canzonette in Il Trittico with Opera Niagara. Other roles include Riccardo in I Puritani, Belcore in L’Elisir D’Amore, Argante in Rinaldo, Guglielmo in Le Villi, Rodolfo in La Sonnambula, Giorgio Germont in La Traviata, and Guido Monforte in I Vespri Siciliani. Mr. Wilson has appeared in concert with Maryland Lyric Opera and Piedmont Symphony Orchestra, and he has had the pleasure of working with high profile artist mentors like Richard Bonynge, Jeffrey Gall, and Marco Gandini. In 2022, Joseph was a semi-finalist in the Premiere Opera Foundation Competition. More information on Mr. Wilson can be found on social media: @joseph.michael.wilson
Washington, DC based coloratura soprano Danielle Bendjy is a graduate of Harvard College, Cleveland Institute of Music, and Trinity College Dublin. As a professional translator of Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese into English, she is as interested in translating opera as she is in performing it. Past roles include Marianne in The New Moon, Amahl in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Isabel in El Capitan, Fanchette in Le Mariage aux lanternes, Monica in The Medium, Clorinda in La Cenerentola, and Königin der Nacht in Die Zauberflöte.
Elizabeth Keith is excited to join the Midsummer cast in her first production with Shakespeare Opera Theatre. Past Shakespeare credits include A Comedy of Errors and Much Ado About Nothing. Most recently, she was part of an eight-week immersive theater experience at the Torpedo Factory by Through the Fourth Wall Productions based on the life and works of Edgar Allen Poe. Other area community theater credits include: Almost, Maine; The Glass Mendacity; The Great Gatsby; Children of Eden; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Proof (WATCH Award for Outstanding Featured Actress); The 39 Steps; Widdershins; Picnic; An Inspector Calls (WATCH Award winner for Outstanding Featured Actress); The Dresser; Arsenic and Old Lace; Prelude to a Kiss; and Room Service.
Michael Harris returns to SOT as a teaching artist after masterfully portraying Falstaff in Merry Wives of Windsor in the 2016 season. In the 2017 season he will take on the role of Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
A versatile artist, Mr. Harris has served as the Artistic Director of the Baltimore Improv Group (BIG) since 2010. Mr. Harris has been an invited performer at Comedy and Improv Festivals throughout the country. In the DC area, he has performed with Studio, Signature, and Spooky Action Theaters. He is a company member of Lean & Hungry Theater, and is an alumnus and faculty member of the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Georgetown. He regularly produces comedy videos as part of the duo, The Siegfried Olsson Band. You can find the videos on Youtube at The Siegfried Olsson Band or follow on twitter @siegfriedolsson
“Radiant in voice and striking in stage presence” (The Washington Post) Verdi soprano Lori Lind has won top prizes and career grants from The Annapolis Opera, Violetta DuPont, Albanese-Puccini, Liederkranz, Gerda Lissner, Schuyler-Bender and Tucker Foundations. She has been lauded as “riveting” (Fiordiligi in Cosi Fan Tutte – The Cleveland Plain Dealer), “astonishing” (Aida – The Houston Chronicle) and “dazzling…impress(ing) mightily…” (Violetta in La Traviata – Raleigh News Observer). More recently, her theatrical and musical arrangements, stage directing, and conducting have also been highly praised. Dr. Lind serves as Organist and Choirmaster at St. Thomas Epsicopal Church in McLean, Virginia, whose congregation graciously hosts Shakespeare Opera Theatre. She also maintains a private voice and music studio, judges competitions, and gives master classes throughout the region. She founded Shakespeare Opera Theatre in 2015 and has served as Managing Director ever since. A native Floridian, she now lives in Haymarket, Virginia with her dogs, Quimby and Romeo, where they love enjoying the four seasons of the Mid-Atlantic together.
Dr. Bloy has been with Shakespeare Opera Theatre as a pianist, vocal coach, and conductor since SOT’s 2016 production of Falstaff. In 2018, she became the Associate Artistic Director of the company. She is a vocal coach at George Mason University and has been on the faculties at Pennsylvania State University, Olivet College, and Blue Lake Fine Arts. Dr. Bloy has also served as music director at Atlantic Music Festival in Maine and Bethesda Music Festival in Maryland. In addition, she is an active recitalist in the Washington, D.C. area. Dr. Bloy holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory, Pennsylvania State University, and Michigan State University. She resides in Haymarket, Virginia with her husband and two children.