For more than five decades, Wolf Trap Opera (WTO) has nurtured and launched the careers of some of the most promising emerging opera artists. From performing in the world’s best opera houses to winning top awards and competitions, take a look at just a few of the recent accomplishments of these stars as they excel around the globe.
Outstanding Accolades
WTO alumni were seeing gold and silver through earning some of the most distinguished awards. Tenor Nick Phan (’03, ’04) received the 2025 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for his performance in the stunning world premiere recording of Saariaho: Adriana Mater. Will Liverman (’15, ’16) also received a Grammy nomination for Best Classical Solo Vocal Album with Show Me The Way, which features mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges (’15, ’16) and the incomparable Renée Fleming.
Superstar tenor Lawrence Brownlee (’01), received one of France’s highest artistic honors when he became a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in December. Earlier in the fall, Brownlee earned rave reviews for his performance as Tonio in La Fille du Regiment at the Paris Opera. He reprises this role at The Metropolitan Opera this October, before performing as star-crossed lover Arturo in the company’s first new production of I Puritani in nearly 50 years.
Lawrence Brownlee ('01)
Taking Center Stage at The Met
Brownlee isn’t the only familiar WTO face at The Metropolitan Opera. Erin Morley (’07, ’08) stars with Brownlee in the upcoming La Fille du Regiment, plus last fall she captivated audiences as the charming doll Olympia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and made a lovely reprisal as Gilda in Rigoletto. J’Nai Bridges (’15, ’16) also joined the cast of Rigoletto, making her role debut as Maddalena. The opera house’s riveting production of Il Trovatore featured an exceptional performance of mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton (’09) as Azucena and powerful bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green (’13, ’14) as Ferrando.
In the upcoming 2025–2026 season, more than half of The Met’s productions star WTO alumni in leading roles. Soprano Ailyn Perez (’06) will make an exciting Met role debut as the devastatingly beautiful Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly.
From left: Alumni J’Nai Bridges, Brenton Ryan, Will Liverman, and Kerriann Otaño in WTO’s 2016 production of The Rape of Lucretia.
Generations of WTO talent unite in December for Porgy and Bess with Denyce Graves (’89), Tichina Vaughn (’89, ’90), Alfred Walker (’99), Ryan Speedo Green (’13, ’14), and Jazmine Saunders (’23), and The Met’s holiday presentation of The Magic Flute includes four notable alums: Erin Morley (’07, ’08), Michael Sumuel (’10, ’11), Joshua Blue (’19), and Le Bu (’24).
From Wolf Trap to the World’s Stages
WTO alumni perform in every corner of the globe! Heidi Stober (’06) assumed the role of Pamina in Die Zauberflote in Dresden and was a soloist for Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in Lusławice and Warsaw, Poland. Diego Torre (’08, ’09) celebrates Bizet’s Carmen by singing for a 150th anniversary concert with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra before bringing Don Jose to life at Opera Australia this summer.
In Germany, this summer’s Filene Artist in Residence Tamara Wilson (’08), known as the world's leading Verdi soprano, performed in Oper Frankfurt’s visionary Macbeth earlier in the year. Wilson sang Lady Macbeth alongside alumnus Nicholas Brownlee (’13) as Macbeth. Taking it to South America, Craig Colclough (’12, ’13) makes his mark on the same role in Sao Paulo, Brazil this fall.
Alum Ying Fang in WTO’s 2014 production of Giulio Cesare.
Four for Figaro and Carmelites
It is hard to find a major production in the US that doesn’t include a WTO alum, or multiple. While WTO presents Dialogues of the Carmelites and The Marriage of Figaro this summer, the two operas recently showcased alumni success at other top opera houses.
When The Met last performed Carmelites in their 2022–2023 season, the production featured alumni Christine Goerke (’95), Jamie Barton (’09), Ailyn Perez (’06), and Piotr Buszewski (’18). Plus, the Lyric Opera of Chicago’s rollicking production of The Marriage of Figaro last year saw alumni Ying Fang (’13, ’14) as Susanna, Nicholas Newton (’18, ’20, ’21) as Dr. Bartolo, and current Filene Artist Gemma Nha as Barbarina. Matt Boehler (’03, ’05, ’06), who performed in WTO’s 2006 production, could be seen as Antonio.
Studio Success
Congratulations to former Studio Artists Sadie Cheslak (’24) and Emma Marhefka (’22), two of the 2025 winners of The Met’s Laffont Competition, as well as Jazmine Saunders (’23) and Tessa McQueen (’23) who recently completed their first season with The Met’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program!