Nabucco Cast Bios
Jason Duika, baritone, sings the title role in Nabucco. He made his West Bay Opera debut as Marcello in La bohème, in October 2018.  He was later featured as Francesco Foscari in the Bay Area premiere of Verdi's I due Foscari by West Bay Opera.  He most recently sang Herode in New Amsterdam Opera's production of Massenet's Herodiade, to critical acclaim.   In Spring 2018 he was a finalist in the New York Lyric Opera Competition at Carnegie Hall. He was also a finalist at the James Toland Vocal Competition in 2015. He was the recipient of the Bayview Music Festival Scholarship; the VoicExperience, BelCanto Northwest and Aims Scholarships and the Jacobs School of Music Dean’s Award.  Recent engagements include Enrico (Lucia di Lammermoor) at Indiana University; Baron Duphol (La traviata) at NYC Opera Collaborative; and the Wigmaker (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale) at Palm Beach Opera.  He was a member of the young artists program at Palm Beach Opera in 2015 and 2016 where he sang and covered nine roles with the company, including Herman in Ben Moore’s world premiere opera Enemies, A Love Story.   He was also a member of the young artist program at Wichita Grand Opera where he understudied the Count (The Marriage of Figaro) and Iago (Otello). He was a festival artist at Utah Festival Opera, where he sung Ford (Falstaff) and understudied Valentine (Faust). Other roles performed and understudied include Dancairo and Escamillo (Carmen), Harlekin (Ariadne), Paquiro (Goyescas - Granados), Dr. Falke (Die Fledermaus) and Germont (La traviata).  An active oratorio performer, he's sung the title role in Handel's Saul, as well as the baritone solos in Carl Orff's Carmina Burana at Alma College, among other engagements. He holds a BA in Music - Voice, from Alma College, an M.M. in Voice Performance from Portland State University and a Performer Diploma in Voice from Indiana Universituy's Jacobs School of Music.
Christina Major, soprano, returns to West Bay Opera to sing Abigaile in Nabucco. She made her company debut as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni during the 2011-12 Season. Her most recent West Bay Opera appearance was as Lucrezia Contarini in the Bay Area premiere of Verdi's I due Foscari last February. Prior to that she sang the title role in Norma during the 2017-18 Season, and  reprised that challenging role in December 2018, at the Teatro Colón opera house in Buenos Aires, to critical acclaim. She has appeared with a number of opera companies, including the Midsumer Mozart Festival, Fort Worth Opera, Knoxville Opera, Nevada Opera, Rimrock Opera, Opera Coeur d'Alene, Amarillo Opera, and Santa Fe Opera. She performed Elettra in the well noted Packard Humanities / Opera San Jose production. She was a resident artist at Opera San Jose for 3 years. She has been a guest artist with symphony orchestras such as the National Philharmonic, Delaware Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Colorado Music Festival, Fairbanks AK Symphony, Florida Bach Festival, Greenville Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Dallas Symphony Chorus, Duke University Chorale, Winston-Salem Symphony, and Symphony Silicon Valley. Her concert repertoire includes Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the Brahms Requiem, the Verdi Requiem, Carmina Burana, Mozart's Mass in C minor, Mahler's Symphony No. 2, and Poulenc Gloria among other works. Ms. Major was a Grand Finalist at the 2012 and 2013 Irene Dalis Vocal Competition, a grant recipient from the Licia Albanese Foundation and the Gerda Lissner Foundation.
Benjamin Brady, bass baritone, sings Zaccharia in Nabucco.  He was most recently seen as Loredano in I due Foscari. He made his West Bay Opera debut as Rocco in Fidelio.  He has been living and performing in the Bay Area for over four years. Recent roles include the Police Agent (The Consul) with Just Opera; Malatesta (Don Pasquale) at the Mendocino Music Festival; Polifemo (Aci, Galatea e Polifemo) with Black Box Baroque, and the Mikado in The New Mikado with Lamplighters.  He's a district winner in this year's Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions competition - Western Region. Originally from Denver, Colorado, he received his BM in Vocal Performance at the University of Michigan. Mr. Brady teaches regularly at the Palo Alto Children's Theatre and is a prominent member in the Oakland-based rock band Suits of Steel.
Claudia Chapa, mezzo-soprano, makes her West Bay Opera debut singing Fenena in Nabucco.  She has been seen in such theatrically dynamic roles as Azucena (Il trovatore) with Winter Opera St. Louis, St. Petersburg Opera Company and Opera in Williamsburg; and Madame Flora (The Medium) and the Witch (Hänsel und Gretel) with Opera in the Heights.  Upcoming engagements include Lieberson’s Neruda Songs with the Alabama Symphony and her Houston Grand Opera debut as Josefina in Javier Martínez and Leonard Foglia’s El milagro del recuerdo. Engagements include Ortrud (Lohengrin) with Opera Southwest; Ulrica (Ballo) with Opera in the Heights; Fairy Godmother (Cinderella) with Opera San Jose;  Mary (The Flying Dutchman) with Austin Opera; Verdi’s Requiem with the Alabama Symphony; Mahler’s 2nd Symphony and Bloody Mary (South Pacific) with the Gulfshore Symphony, Bruckner’s Te Deum with the Austin Symphony; Eduige (William Tell) with Opera Southwest and Baltimore Concert Opera, Dryade (Ariadne auf Naxos) with Austin Opera, Zita (Gianni Schicchi) with Opera Delaware, Berta (Il barbiere di Siviglia) for  Opera San Antonio and Messiah for DCINY at Carnegie Hall.  Other roles include Dame Quickly (Falstaff) with Winter Opera St. Louis and Opera in the Heights, Marthe (Faust) with Indianopolis Opera, the Third Lady (Die Zauberflöte) with the Glimmerglass Festival in 2015, Portland Opera To Go, and Austin Lyric Opera, and covering the Old Lady (Candide) with Glimmerglass Festival.  Ms. Chapa has been heard in the Verdi Requiem, Manuel de Falla’s El Amor Brujo, and Handel's Messiah with DCINY. Ms. Chapa received her training from the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas-Austin. She is an alumnus of the prestigious young artist programs including the International Vocal Arts Institute (both in Blacksburg, VA and Tel Aviv, Israel), Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Glimmerglass Festival for which she was chosen as a young artist for two consecutive seasons.              



John Kun Park,  tenor, makes his West Bay Opera debut singing the role of Ismaele in Nabucco.  A native of Los Angeles, California, Mr. Park recently debuted with Pittsburgh Opera Festival as Erster König (Die Liebe der Danae, R. Strauss), and covered Siegmund (Die Walküre). Earlier this year, he debuted with Sarasota Opera as Monostatos (Die Zauberflöte) and understudied Ismaele (Nabucco). With Long Beach Opera, he made his debut as the Tenor Soloist (Le vin herbé, Frank Martin). He appeared with Central City Opera performing as Don José (Carmen), and has regularly been a resident studio artist with Sarasota Opera.
Kiril Havezov, bass-baritone, sings the role of High Priest of Baal in Nabucco. Most recently, WBO audiences saw him as Pistola (Falstaff), Shaunard (La bohème). He has also performed Zuñiga (Carmen) and the title role in Gianni Schicchi as well in the roles of Don Fermando (Fidelio), Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro), Monterone (Rigoletto), Bonzo (Madama Butterfly), Second Soldier (Salome) and Talpa (Il tabarro). A native of Sofia, Bulgaria, Mr. Havezov has performed regularly with the largest opera theaters in Bulgaria, including Sofia National Opera, Bulgarian National Music Theatre among many others. In 2013 he sang the role of Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) in China for Opera Art Lirica. Since his debut on the American opera stage in 2014, he has performed with Opera San Jose, West Bay Opera, Livermore Valley Opera, New Opera NYC, Island City Opera and other Bay Area-based companies. Significant roles performed by Mr. Havezov over the last few years include Conte di Luna (Il trovatore), Renato (Un ballo in maschera), Zupan (The Gypsy Baron), Sharpless (Madama Butterfly), Belcore (L’elisir d’amore) and Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro) among others. 
Carmello Tringali, tenor, sings Abdallo in Nabucco.  He has been recently seen at West Bay Opera as Barbarigo and Fante (I due Foscari), Parpignol (La bohème), Remendado (Carmen), Jaquino (Fidelio), Flavio (Norma), Second Jew (Salome), Gherardo (Gianni Schicchi), the Song Seller and Lover (Il tabarro), Basilio and Don Curzio (Le nozze di Figaro). He made his West Bay Opera debut singing Borsa (Rigoletto) and he has also sung Triquet (Yevgeny Onegin). Carmello is a versatile performer and Bay Area native, taking on a wide variety of roles in terms of voice type, musical style and character. Other favorite roles include, Rodolfo (La bohème), the title roles in Candide and Faust, Ko-ko (The Mikado), Grosvenor (Patience) and Camille (The Merry Widow).  
Sarah Benzinger, soprano , makes her West Bay Opera debut singing Anna in Nabucco. Most recently she performed the role of Musetta in La bohème with MiOpera and Second Witch in Dido and Aeneas with Capitol Opera, and covered the role of Jane Bennett in the world premiere recording of Kirke Mechem’s Pride and Prejudice with the Redwood Symphony. Previous roles include Amore (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice), Laetitia (The Old Maid and the Thief), Dido (Dido and Aeneas), and Monica (The Medium). She was a Regional Finalist in the NW Metropolitan National Council Auditions in 2015, and a Resident Fellow with Chamber Music Silicon Valley 2016 - 2018. Upcoming roles include First Lady (Die Zauberflöte) with Opera Modesto in 2020.
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