Sara LeMesh, soprano, makes her West Bay Opera debut singing Isabel Perón in Corpus Evita. A native of San Rafael, CA, Ms. LeMesh recently covered the role of Nellie/Madwoman in the world premiere of Rene Orth’s 10 Days in a Madhouse with Opera Philadelphia. With Opera Naples, she sang the roles of Frasquita (Carmen), Woman #1 (Rodriguez, Frida), and Josephine (H.M.S. Pinafore). Additional credits include Lisa/Young Leah in Lori Laitman’s Uncovered with City Lyric Opera, Bess in Missy Mazzoli’s Breaking The Waves with West Edge Opera, and Norina in Don Pasquale with the Mendocino Music Festival. Passionate about art song, Ms. LeMesh attended the Marlboro Music Festival (2022-23) and made recent debuts with the Brooklyn Art Song Society and Jupiter Symphony Chamber Players. She won First Place in the 2023 Federation of the Art Song Competition, Third Place in the Serge & Olga Koussevitzky Young Artist Awards, and was a Grand Finalist in the 16th International Opera Vocal Competition of Gabriela Beñačkova in Jihlava, Czech Republic.

Patrick Bessenbacher, tenor, makes his West Bay Opera debut singing the role of Ministro in Corpus Evita. Most recently, Patrick joined Opera San Jose performing the role of Count Almaviva (Il barbiere di Siviglia) as well as Opera Birmingham, originating the role of Peter Fagan in the world premiere of Touch, the Carla Lucero and Marianna Mott Newirth opera about Helen Keller. Patrick will be covering the role of Léonard in Catapult Opera’s newly commissioned orchestration of Nadia Boulanger’s La ville morte, and singing Tonio in Opera Company of Middlebury’s production of La fille du régiment.  During the ‘22-’23 season, Patrick was a Baumgartner studio artist with The Florentine Opera where he performed the roles of Tybalt (Roméo et Juliette) and Ferrando (Così fan tutte: Remix.) Also at that company, he understudied and stepped in to sing Count Almaviva, to critical acclaim. In summer 2022, Patrick was a Gerdine Young Artist at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, where he performed Remendado (Carmen).  Patrick has also gained valuable experience at Seagle Music Festival as well as Marlboro Music Festival, where he discovered his affinity for vocal chamber music. He earned his B.M. in Vocal Performance at the University of Colorado, where he studied with tenor Matthew Chellis. He performed many roles on the Macky stage, including Bénédict (Béatrice et Bénédict), George Bailey (It’s a Wonderful Life), and Tony (West Side Story), among others. After CU, Patrick earned his M.M. in Vocal Arts from The Juilliard School. He studied with tenor William Burden performing Acis (Acis and Galatea), Tom Rakewell (The Rake’s Progress), and Fenton (Die Lustige Weiber von Windsor), among other roles. When he’s not working, Patrick enjoys spending time with friends and family. He is always looking for an excuse to go back to Colorado and ski. He loves cooking, sports, running, picking the guitar, and telling or listening to a good story.

Casey Germain, bass, makes his West Bay Opera debut singing Juan Perón in Corpus Evita. Most recently, Casey sang The King of Egypt in Aida with Finger Lakes Opera and Elder Ott in Susannah with Opera Theater of St. Louis. He has also appeared in opera productions with Bel Cantanti Opera, University of Maryland, and New England Conservatory. Casey has

performed the roles of Capellio in Bellini’s I Capuleti ed i Montecchi, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Gus O’Neil in Later the Same Evening, King Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Littore in L'incoronazione di Poppea, the Jailer in Tosca, and Colline in La bohème. Mr. Germain received his Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance from the New England

Conservatory and Master of Music in Opera from the University of Maryland.

Anders Froehlich,  baritone,  returns to West Bay Opera to sing the role of the Doctor in Corpus Evita. He made his WBO debut singing the title role in Tchaikovsky's Yevgeny Onegin.  A current tenured member of the opera chorus at San Francisco Opera, Mr. Froehlich, began his musical pursuits as a pianist. A native of Connecticut, Mr. Froehlich attended the Connecticut Conservatory for the Arts where he also trained in ballet and theater. After attending Indiana University and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles he began his professional career at Los Angeles Opera, as a chorister and comprimario. Mr. Froehlich has performed with companies including San Francisco Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera San Jose and West Edge Opera among others.

Laure de Marcellus,  mezzo-soprano, returns to West Bay opera to sing Corpus in Corpus Evita.  She made her WBO debut as the Countess in Pique Dame. Most recently she sang Mary in the WBO production of The Flying Dutchman.  Ms. de Marcellus sung the role of Carmen and Dalila with Opéra Sudio de Genève in Geneva, Brangaene (Tristan und Isolde) with the Volkstheater in Rostock, Germany and honed her craft at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin, where she sang multiple roles like Maddalena (Rigoletto), Smeton (Anna Bolena) and Grimgerde (Die Walkuere) and the Third Lady (Die Zauberfloete). A native of Geneva, Switzerland, her concert repertoire has led her to sing The Messiah, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and the Verdi Requiem with symphony orchestras in Spain, Austria, Serbia, Singapore and Switzerland. An enthusiastic recitalist, she is currently touring with a concert celebrating the release of her first CD, Pauline Inspired, an album of French and Spanish romantic melodies, recently heard in San Francisco, Madrid and Geneva. Ms de Marcellus is an avid reader of historical biographies and loves to bake.