Artists in Residence

American soprano Hallie Schmidt has performed with the Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Seattle Opera, Tacoma Opera, Pacific Northwest Opera, and Vashon Opera, to name a few. Recent performances include The Abduction from the Seraglio (Blonde) and The Marriage of Figaro (Susanna) with Pacific Northwest Opera; Carmen (Frasquita) with Tacoma Opera; Der Rosenkavalier (Sophie), Ariadne auf Naxos (Zerbinetta), and The Magic Flute (The Queen of the Night, filmed production) with Opera Theatre of St. Louis. Originally from Olympia, WA, Hallie received her Bachelor of Music from Oklahoma City University and an Artist Diploma from William Jewell College in Kansas City, MO. Hallie received awards from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, the Lotte Lenya Competition, and the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, and was the 2023 winner of the Seattle Opera Guild Singer Development Awards. In the 2024-25 Season at Opera Colorado, Hallie will perform in Daughter of the Regiment (Marie, cover/Student Matinee) and La bohème (Musetta). She will also sing in Opera Colorado’s touring productions of The Barber of Seville (Berta) and Hansel and Gretel (Gretel).

Originally from Philadelphia, PA, mezzo-soprano Melanie Dubil’s most recent operatic credits include The Pirates of Penzance (Edith) and Street Scene (Second Nursemaid) with Central City Opera and Don Giovanni (Donna Elvira/Student Matinee) and Cinderella (Angelina/touring production) with Opera Colorado. As a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera, Melanie appeared in Romeo and Juliet (Stéphano) and Kiss Me, Kate (Wardrobe Lady/Chorus). Alongside Bard College Conservatory’s The Orchestra Now (TŌN) and the Graduate Vocal Arts Program, Melanie appeared in Iolanthe (Queen of the Fairies), The Cunning Little Vixen (Lapák/Mrs. Pásková), Seven Deadly Sins (Anna I), and The Medium (Mrs. Nolan). Previously, Melanie appeared in Jake Heggie’s Two Remain (Edka) as a Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Studio Artist with Central City Opera. Growing up in an Armenian- and Ukrainian-American household, Melanie has always been curious about her ancestry and how she can learn more about it through her music-making. Most recently, Melanie shared the work of iconic Armenian composer and ethnomusicologist Komitas Vardapet in an art song recital for Central City Opera’s annual Lunch and a Song series. Last spring, Melanie won first place in Art Song Colorado’s (ASC) 2024 competition, and she will present a recital in November 2024 as part of ASC’s song recital series. Melanie returns as an Artist in Residence with Opera Colorado in the 2024-25 Season, during which she will cover The Marquis of Birkenfeld in Daughter of the Regiment and perform the role for their Student Matinee. She will also sing in Opera Colorado’s touring productions of The Barber of Seville (Rosina) and Hansel and Gretel (Hansel).

Tenor Daniel Miller, a native of Arvada, CO, is thrilled to join Opera Colorado’s roster of talented Artists in Residence for the 2024-25 Season. With a robust background in opera performance, Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree from The University of Northern Colorado and a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University. This season, Daniel is excited to perform in Daughter of the Regiment (Tonio, cover/Student Matinee). He will also study cover the role of Rodolfo in La bohème. Daniel will also perform in Opera Colorado’s touring productions of The Barber of Seville (Count Almaviva) and Hansel and Gretel (The Witch). He has previously appeared in a variety of opera and musical theater productions, including Les Misérables (Jean Valjean), Die Zauberflöte (Tamino), Albert Herring (The Mayor), Little Women (Laurie), and many others.

Alex Granito is a baritone from Orange County, CA. He is delighted to join Opera Colorado for a second year as an Artist in Residence for the 2024-25 Season, during which he will perform in Daughter of the Regiment (Corporal, mainstage and Student Matinee) and La bohème (Schaunard). He will also sing in Opera Colorado’s touring productions of The Barber of Seville (Figaro) and Hansel and Gretel (Father). In the summer of 2024, Alex was a Studio Artist at Chautauqua Opera and sang in the world premiere of Love, Loss, and the Century Upon Us (Young Man). In the 2023-24 Season with Opera Colorado, Alex sang in the mainstage productions of Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni, cover/Student Matinee), Samson and Delilah (Second Philistine), The Flying Dutchman (Ghost Chorus), and in Opera Colorado’s touring productions of The Elixir of Love (Belcore) and Cinderella (Dandini). In the summer of 2023, Alex was a fellow at Music Academy (of the West) where he sang in La bohème (Schaunard). Alex earned his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music in Vocal Performance at San Francisco Conservatory of Music where he studied under Cesar Ulloa.

Bass-baritone Oliver Poveda Zavala, originally from the highland country of Ecuador, is a graduate of the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver. In the 2024-25 Season, Oliver is joining the Opera Colorado Artists in Residence program, during which he will sing in the touring productions of The Barber of Seville (Bartolo) and Hansel and Gretel (Father cover). In the season’s mainstage productions, Oliver will perform in Daughter of the Regiment (Sergeant Sulpice cover/Student Matinee) and La bohème (Benoit). Oliver made his debut as José Castro in La fanciulla del West as an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera for their 2024 summer festival season, where he also covered the role of Ashby in La fanciulla del West and Mr. Olsen in Street Scene. In 2023, Oliver appeared in Opera Colorado’s Student Matinee performance of Don Giovanni (Masetto), sang in Die Fledermaus (Dr. Falke) with Opera in Williamsburg, and participated in Central City Opera’s apprenticeship program, where he sang in the Emerging Artists Matinee of Romeo and Juliet (Frère Laurent) and in Otello (Elmiro Cover). Oliver has worked with multiple companies in Colorado, including Opera Steamboat, Boulder Opera, and Denver Immersive Opera, where he performed in La bohème (Colline), the abridged version of Lori Laitman’s The Three Feathers (Frog King), Xavier Montsalvatge’s El gato con botas (El ogro), and Bluebeard’s Castle (Duke Bluebeard). In November 2022, he sang in Don Giovanni (Leporello) with the Vincerò Academy in Mazatlán, Mexico, and in 2021, he made his company debut with Opera in Williamsburg in The Elixir of Love (Dottore Dulcamara). In August 2021, he performed in ISOFOM’s production of The Marriage of Figaro (Bartolo and Antonio) in Morelia, Mexico. Other recent roles include Monsieur Presto Les mamelles de Tirésias (Monsieur Presto), L’enfant et les sortilèges (Le fauteuil and L’arbre), Cabildo (Gaoler), the Magic Flute (Sarastro), Gianni Schicchi (Simone), and Il tabarro (Talpa) with the Lamont Opera Theatre during his studies at the University of Denver. Oliver is the 2021 and 2022 winner of the Ann Logan Craft Vocal Competition, a 2021 finalist at the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition, and a recipient of the Sherry Shepherd Sargent Memorial Award.

James Eder is a bass from Columbus, OH. In 2024, he returned to Opera Carolina in their renowned production of Turandot (Timur) and was a soloist in Mozart’s Great Mass in C Minor with his hometown Columbus Symphony. James is very excited to be joining Opera Colorado for the 2024-25 Season as an Artist in Residence. On the mainstage, James will perform in Daughter of the Regiment (Hortensius, mainstage and Student Matinee) and La bohéme (Alcindoro, Colline cover). He will also sing in Opera Colorado’s touring productions of The Barber of Seville (Ambrosio, Bartolo cover) and Hansel and Gretel (Sandman). In 2022 and 2023, James sang in Gianni Schicchi (Simone) with Chautauqua Opera and Opera on the James and Tosca (Sacristan) with Opera Carolina. While in Chautauqua, James also performed in The Mother of Us All (Anthony Comstock). In 2021, James performed in La serva padrona (Vespone) and L’inganno felice (Ormondo) with Sarasota Opera, then reprised the role of Ormondo with Opera Southwest. During the summer of 2020, he was a young artist with Chautauqua Opera, performing in the world premiere song cycle, In Our Silence. Other recent engagements include La bohéme (Colline) with Cleveland Opera Theater, Ariadne auf Naxos (Truffaldino) with Cincinnati Opera, Nabucco (The High Priest of Baal) with Sarasota Opera, and Another Brick in the Wall (The Judge) with Cincinnati Opera. James earned a Master of Music in Vocal Performance from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from The Ohio State University.