Due Foscari Cast Bios
Christina Major, soprano, returns to West Bay Opera to sing Lucrezia in I due Foscari.  She made her company debut as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni during the 2011-12 Season. Her most recent company appearance was in the title role in Norma during the 2017-18 Season. She 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.
Nathan Granner, tenor sings Jacopo in I due Foscari. He made his West Bay Opera debut earlier this season as Rodolfo in La bohème. Among his recent engagements are Nika Maggadoff (The Consul) and Dr. Morel (The Invention of Morel) with Long Beach Opera, Nemorino (L'elisir d'amore), Ferrando (Cosí fan tutte), Curly (Oklahoma!), and Rodolfo (La bohème) with Lyric Opera Kansas City, Opera Theater of St. Louis, Tulsa Opera, Wolf Trap and Glimmerglass Opera. Additionally, Mr. Granner performed 2 consecutive seasons at Spoleto USA, and is a founding member of The American Tenors, whose Sony Masterworks album reached the top five in the classical crossover charts.
Jason Duika, baritone, sings the role of Francesco Foscari in I due Foscari.  He made his West Bay Opera debut as Marcello in La bohème.  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.
Benjamin Brady, bass baritone, sings 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 three 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.
Carmello Tringali, tenor, sings Barbarigo and Fante in I due Foscari.   He has been recently seen at West Bay Opera as 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).  
Katia Hayati, soprano, sings the role of Pisana in I due Foscari. She made her WBO company debut singing Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor and most recently sung Clotilde in Norma.  With Just Opera she recently sang the role of Magda Sorel (The Consul). Favorite past roles include Augusta Tabor (The Ballad of Baby Doe) with Stanford Light Opera, Sempronio (Haydn, Lo speziale) with Bay Area Opera Collaborative, Mother (Hansel and Gretel) with Bayshore Lyric Opera, and Grimgerde (Die Walküre) with Valhalla Productions.

John Paul Kilecdi-Li,  baritone, sings the role of the Doge's Servant in I due Foscari. He is also a member of the chorus. He was last seen at West Bay Opera as customs Sergeant (La bohème) and chorister for Carmen. He is also active outside the operatic world, and recent appearances include chorus for She Loves Me with Portola Valley Theatre Conservatory, and bass soloist for Handel's Messiah with Google choir. A recent post-college transplant from New Orleans, John Paul will perform later this year in the chorus for Pride and Prejudice with Redwood Symphony, Chao (Flower Drum Song) with Palo Alto Players, and Antonio (The Gondoliers) with Lyric Theatre of San Jose.

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