John Allen Nelson, baritone, makes his West Bay Opera debut singing the title role in Don Giovanni.  He made his Spoletto Festival debut last season as Alcindoro (La Bohème) and he returns this season to sing Nicholas the Major-Domo in Vanessa. This season he will also make his debut with Seaglass Theater Company as Escamillo (La tragèdie de Carmen). Last season he appeared as Schaunard (La bohème) at the Bar Harbor Music Festival, Imperial Commissioner and Sharpless cover (Madama Butterfly) with Lubbock Symphony, and as Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro) at Opera Ithaca. He has been featured with New York City Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Boston Lyric Opera, Utah Opera, and Minnesota Opera, among others. Mr. Nelson is an active performer of new works, including Angels in America, Hamlet, The Grapes of Wrath, and Stonewall, a work for which he originated the role of Giordano. He holds degrees from Boston University’s Opera Institute, UMKC Conservatory of Music, and St. John's University. 

Antonio Azpiri, bass-baritone, makes his West Bay Opera debut singing Leporello in Don Giovanni. He has performed extensively in his native Mexico. Most recently he sang Leporello in a fully-staged production of Don Giovanni by the Universidad Panamericana at the CENART theater. At Mexico City’s National Opera he has appeared as Don Fernando (Fidelio), Sid (La fanciulla del West) and Antonio (Le nozze di Figaro.)  In 2021 Antonio made his international debut as Fra Melitone (La forza del destino) with Operafabriken in Malmö, Sweden, and also sung Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) with ISOFOM (International Summer Opera Festival of Morelia). He has also performed Basilio (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Bartolo (Le nozze di Figaro), and Betto (Gianni Schicchi.) As a conductor, Antonio made his debut on June of 2022 with the premiere in Mexico of Iain Bell’s Stonewal opera.

Michelle Drever, soprano, makes her West Bay Opera debut singing the role of Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Most recently, Ms. Drever sang the role of Violetta (La traviata) in a joint production with Pocket Opera and Cinnabar Theater. With Pacific Opera Project, she sang the roles of the Queen of the Night (The Magic Flute), Le Feu/Le Rossignol (L'enfant et les

sortilèges), and covered Violetta (La traviata). She has also sung with Opera Buffs, Utah Lyric Opera, LA Opera (workshop), and Miami Lyric Opera. A native of Northern California, Ms. Drever holds a master’s degree in vocal performance from the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music where she created the role of La condesa in the world premiere of Juana by Carla Lucero. She is a finalist of the Premiere Opera Foundation and National Opera Association vocal competitions.  Later this season, she will return to Pacific Opera Project as the Queen of the Night, Pocket Opera as Tosca (Tosca), and Vox Visceralis as Lucia (Lucia di Lammermoor).

Shaina Martinez, soprano, returns to West Bay Opera to sing Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. She made her WBO debut earlier this season singing Violetta in La traviata. Ms. Martinez has sung the role of Violetta with MassOpera and Lighthouse Opera Company, the latter with whom she has sung Susannah (Susannah) and Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni). As a studio artist at Florida Grand Opera, she sang the roles of Cio Cio San and Kate Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), and covered Donna Anna (Don Giovanni). With Opera Maine, she sung the role of Giannetta and covered Adina (L’Elisir d’Amore). At Manhattan School of Music, she performed the roles of Fiordiligi (Cosi fan tutte) and Saffi (Der Zigeunerbaron). Other roles include Salud (La vida breve) with The In Series, the title role of Viardot’s Cendrillon with City Lyric Opera, and Marie/cover (La fille du Regiment) with Martina Arroyo’s Prelude to Performance. A 2021 Metropolitan Opera National Council semifinalist, Ms. Martinez has received awards from the National Federation of Music Clubs, Washington International Competition, Loren L. Zachary Society, Opera at Florham, Vero Beach Opera, and SAS Performing Arts Competition. 

Eric Levintow,  tenor, , returns to WBO to sing Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni. He made his WBO debut singing the role of Giuseppe (and Alfredo understudy) in La traviata. Mr. Levintow sang this season with Pocket Opera as Gastone (La traviata) and Antonio (Wagner's No Love Allowed). Last year he made his debut with Opera San José as First Sailor (Dido and Aeneas) and the San Francisco Opera Guild (understudy) as Tamino (The Magic Flute). As a graduate student with Opera UCLA, he appeared as Jo the Loiterer (The Mother of Us All), The Bishop of Puebla (Carla Lucero's Juana), Judah (Janice Hamer's Lost Childhood), and the tenor soloist in Bernstein's Songfest and Mozart’s Coronation Mass. Past roles include Dorvil (La scala di seta) with Phenix Opera and Léandre (Le médecin malgré lui) with Pocket Opera. He will return to the San Francisco Opera Guild this fall to sing Rodolfo (La

bohème).

Sarah Benzinger,  soprano, sings the role of Zerlina in Don Giovanni. She made her West Bay Opera debut singing Anna in Nabucco and has also appeared as Prilepa in Pique Dame last season. Most recently, she sang Erste Dame (Die Zauberflöte) with Opera Modesto. A native of Eureka,CA, prior to the pandemic she was engaged to sing Nedda in Pagliacci with Eureka Lyric Opera and Woman 1 in Frida with Opera Cultura in San Jose. Previous roles include Musetta (La bohème), Amore (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice). She has additionally appeared with Redwood Symphony, Capitol Opera Sacramento, Goat Hall Productions, Astoria Music Festival, Opera Tijuana, Chamber Music Silicon Valley, and the Oregon Bach Collegium. She was a Regional Finalist in the NW Metropolitan National Council Auditions.

Joshua Hughes,  bass-baritone,  returns to West Bay Opera to sing Masetto and the Commendatore in Don Giovanni. He made WBO debut singing Dottore Grenvil in La traviata earlier this season. Adept at a wide variety of repertoire, he has performed locally with Lamplighters Music Theatre as Lord Chancellor (Iolanthe) and Man 1 (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder), Opera San José as Baby John (West Side Story) and the Wolf (Barab, Little Red Riding Hood), and as soloist with Soli Deo Gloria (Saint John Passion; CPE Bach, Magnificat). Previously based in Dallas, TX, he has appeared with American Baroque Opera Company as Uberto (La serva padrona) and Melisso (Alcina), Orchestra of New Spain as Licomede (Courcelle, Achille in Sciro), Opera in Concert as Der Fischer (Blach, Die Flut), and as a frequent soloist with Dallas Bach Society (The Fairy Queen, Saint Matthew Passion, Saint John Passion). Additional credits include performances with Lyric Opera Baltimore, Young Victorian Theatre Company, Victorian Lyric Opera Company, and Hong Kong Disneyland. He holds degrees from Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins University and Oklahoma City University.