Departure

Bridget Ravenscraft, soprano, is thrilled to join the Artists in Residence at Opera Colorado for the 2025-26 Season. Recently, she was an apprentice artist with Des Moines Metro Opera, where she sang in Sweeney Todd and Pique Dame (chorus). She spent two summers as a conservatory artist at the Bay View Music Festival, singing in Fiddler on the Roof (Hodel), La Cenerentola (Clorinda), and Carmen (Micaëla). In May 2025, Bridget graduated with her Artist Diploma from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. During her two years at UIUC with Lyric Theatre @ Illinois, she performed in Oklahoma! (Aunt Eller), Monteverdi’s Orfeo (La Musica), and was awarded second prize in the Krannert Debut Artist Competition. During her residency at Opera Colorado, Bridget will sing in the touring productions of Romeo & Juliet (Juliet) and The Pirates of Penzance (Mabel). On the Ellie Caulkins mainstage, she will perform in La traviata (Annina, Violetta study cover).

Jordan McCready is a mezzo-soprano originally from Anchorage, AK. She completed her master’s degree in voice at San Francisco Conservatory of Music, studying with Catherine Cook. There, she performed in Riders to the Sea (Maurya), Così fan tutte (Dorabella), Serse (Serse), Zanetto (Zanetto), The Marriage of Figaro (Cherubino), and Hansel and Gretel (Hansel). She has performed chorus and cover roles at companies such as Des Moines Metro Opera (The Magic Flute chorus), Opera Parallèle (Harvey Milk Reimagined chorus), Anchorage Opera (chorus 2016-2018), and Pocket Opera (Fox cover in The Cunning Little Vixen). In 2026, Jordan won first place at the Denver Lyric Opera Guild Competition, second place and an audience favorite award at the Grand Junction Symphony Voice Competition, and looks forward to serving as an Apprentice Artist at Central City Opera, where she will cover Cherubino in La nozze di Figaro. Recently, Jordan received a Metropolitan Opera Laffont Encouragement Award in 2024 and 2025, was the winner of the Shirley Rabb Winston Scholarship through the National Society of Arts and Letters, received second place in the James Toland Young Artist Competition, and was the winner of the Anchorage Festival of Music Young Artist award in 2023. During the 2025-26 Season, Jordan joined Opera Colorado as one of their Artists in Residence. She sings in the touring productions of Romeo & Juliet (Stephano/Gertrude) and The Pirates of Penzance (Ruth). On the Ellie Caulkins mainstage, she performed in La traviata (Flora) and Madama Butterfly (Kate Pinkerton). When Jordan is not performing, you can find her hiking, trail running, mountain biking, skiing, or doing anything that gets her outside.

Tenor Daniel Miller, a native of Arvada, CO, is thrilled to return to Opera Colorado’s roster of talented Artists in Residence for the 2025-26 Season. Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado and a master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University. This season, he will perform in La traviata (Gastone) on the Ellie Caulkins mainstage, as well as in Opera Colorado’s touring productions of Romeo & Juliet (Romeo) and The Pirates of Penzance (Frederic). In 2025, he was an Apprentice Artist with Central City Opera’s Bonfils-Stanton Foundation Artists, where he covered the role of Count Almaviva in The Barber of Seville. He has previously appeared in a wide range of opera and musical theater productions, including Les Misérables (Jean Valjean), The Magic Flute (Tamino), Albert Herring (The Mayor), and Little Women (Laurie).

Mason Fontanilla O’Brien is a baritone from Memphis, Tennessee, and is thrilled to join Opera Colorado’s Artist in Residence program for the 2025-26 Season. This year, he will appear on the Ellie Caulkins mainstage in La traviata (Barone Douphol) and Madama Butterfly (Prince Yamadori), and will perform in the touring productions of Romeo & Juliet (Mercutio) and The Pirates of Penzance (Major General). Mason holds a master’s degree from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky. Favorite past performances include Don Giovanni (Leporello) at Prague Summer Nights, A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Bottom) and Gianni Schicchi (Gianni Schicchi) at Lamont Opera, and Madama Butterfly (Imperial Commissioner) with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic.

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. Oliver is a returning Artist in Residence for Opera Colorado’s 2025-26 Season. Last season, Oliver sang in the touring productions of The Barber of Seville (Bartolo) and Hansel and Gretel (Father), and appeared in the mainstage production of La bohème (Benoit). This season, Oliver will perform in the touring productions of The Pirates of Penzance (Samuel and Sergeant of Police) and Romeo & Juliet (Friar Lawrence), and will make a role debut in La traviata (Dr. Grenvil). Oliver made his debut in La fanciulla del West (José Castro) 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 (Dr. 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 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.

Bass-Baritone Kevin Spooner has quickly gained traction in the United States as a versatile and commanding performer of opera, art song, and oratorio. Kevin’s 2025/2026 season includes his Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center debut as Leporello in Mozart’s Don Giovanni with Teatro Nuovo and performing as Frère Laurent in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette with Park City Opera. Kevin is a 2025-26 Artist in Residence with Opera Colorado, where he performed in La traviata (Marquis d’Obigny) and Madama Butterfly (The Imperial Commissioner) on the Ellie Caulkins mainstage and in the touring productions of Romeo & Juliet (Lord Capulet/Tybalt) and The Pirates of Penzance (The Pirate King). This season, Kevin made his debut with the Charlottesville Symphony in Dvořák’s Mass in D Major (bass soloist) and performed at the Savannah VOICE Festival (guest recitalist).

Recent performances include Die Fledermaus (Dr. Falke) and Ballymore (The Ballad Singer, Andy Tracey) with the A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute; Joan of Arc: The Trial at Rouen (The Jailor) with Piedmont Opera; Macbeth (Medico; Banco cover) with Teatro Nuovo at New York City Center; The Music Man (Mayor Shinn) and The Elixir of Love (Dr. Dulcamara cover) with Charlottesville Opera; La bohème (Schaunard) and The Marriage of Figaro (Figaro cover, Antonio) with Opera Steamboat; and concert appearances as bass soloist in Messiah, Five Mystical Songs, and several Bach cantatas with the Choral Society of Greensboro and the Salem Bach Festival. Kevin received a 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition Encouragement Award in the New York City District. Kevin completed his Professional Artist Certificate at the UNCSA A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute, where he also received his Master of Music degree, and holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music.

A student of the renowned pianist and pedagogue Martin Katz, John has been in the business of musical collaboration since childhood, playing lead guitar, bass and piano in rock bands, jazz groups and pit orchestras. Before earning his Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Northern Illinois University in 2018, he studied voice, composition, jazz piano and choral conducting. His original composition for piano trio won first prize in the Northern Illinois University Chamber Music Competition, and his playing has been featured on radio stations including WNIJ and Iowa Public Radio.

John completed his doctoral studies in Collaborative Piano at the University of Michigan in May 2025, where his dissertation recitals featured Schubert’s Winterreise and Amy Beach’s Violin Sonata. While working on his degree, he developed a deep passion for opera and served as coach and pianist for numerous productions including Elizabeth Cree, The Turn of the Screw, Gianni Schicchi and Cendrillon. John was awarded the inaugural Collaborative Pianist Prize in the George Shirley Vocal Competition, and his recent projects include multiple world premiere performances, a lecture performance of Magnus Lindberg’s Violin Concerto No. 2, and Brahms’ Liebeslieder-Walzer with Martin Katz and members of the University of Michigan voice faculty.

Besides his fondness for reading, birdwatching and plane-spotting, John loves to join his wife in conspiring to dress their pets in silly costumes, perfecting their at-home barista skills, and miniature golfing.

Dennis loves turning opera houses into community living rooms and stages into catalysts for change. When not championing the arts, you can find him cheering for Pittsburgh sports teams. As a Pittsburgh native, he’ll always be a Yinzer at heart.

Nathan can usually be found on his farm, complete with goats and chickens, in an area just north of Santa Fe, NM, where his family has lived for over 500 years.

Madison Booth earned her MFA in costume design at the University of Maryland, College Park, and moved to Colorado in 2021. Madison is currently the Assistant Costume Coordinator for Opera Colorado as well as a freelance costume designer. Her work on operatic design includes Gianni Schicci, Proving Up, and La bohème with Opera Steamboat, and Otello (principal costumes) with Central City Opera. Her work has been seen in Colorado theatrical designs such as Cinderella with the Arvada Center, Amerikin with Curious Theatre Company, Rent with the University of Denver, Little Women with Theatreworks UCCS, The Rocky Horror Picture Show with Phamaly Theatre Company, and Fourteen Funerals with BETC. Madison has also designed for short films as well as being the resident stylist for the music and outreach group Electric Root.

For the past twenty-plus years, Rachael Harding has built her career around dance—as a professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She received her B.F.A. in Dance and a B.S. in Business Management from the University of Arizona and a M.F.A in Dance from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She began her professional career as a dancer in Denver’s Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. She is currently the resident choreographer for Denver’s professional jazz dance company, Davis Contemporary Dance Company, a performer with Nu-World Contemporary Danse Theatre, co-owner/director of Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop, and owner/director of Miss Rachael’s Dance in Denver, where she is inspired to share her passion for the arts with young dancers every day. She has had the distinct honor of dancing in past Opera Colorado productions, including Nixon in China, The Pearl Fishers, Rusalka, and Josephine, and choreographing for Rusalka, Aida, The Barber of Seville, Josephine, and The Shining.

Paul (he/him) grew up and studied in Colorado as an actor, dancer, and stage combatant. He is a Level 3 Advanced actor-combatant, and recognized Level 1 Associate Instructor with Dueling Arts International. Paul is so grateful for the opportunity to help bring this story to life through the movement and action on stage. Recent credits include: Romeo & Juliet (Opera CO), Angels in America (Vintage Theater), and The Legend of Anne Bonny (Shifted Lens).