The Magic Flute Performers

William G. Ludtke has been a member of the staff and faculties of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, Illinois, Marin Opera, Cinnabar Theater in Petaluma, CA and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. While living in Chicago, Bill formed his own grass roots opera company which performed over 50 operas covering repertoire from Mozart to Hindemith during the company’s existence. He is currently musical and artistic director of the Handel Opera Project in Berkeley, California and music director and organist at the First Church of Christ, Scientist, also in Berkeley, California. His compositions have received broad public and critical acclaim in performances by many Bay Area musical organizations including the Oakland East Bay Symphony, the San Jose Symphony, the Diablo Symphony, the Oakland Civic Orchestra and such choral organizations as the San Francisco Chorale Artists, San Francisco Chamber Singers, Piedmont Children’s Choirs and the Cantabile Choral Guild. His Symphony No. 3, which received a Mu Phi Epsilon award, was premiered by the Oakland East Bay Symphony and received a subsequent performance by the Cascade Symphony in Seattle, Washington. His works have also been performed throughout America and in Europe (Austria, France, Germany and England) and have been aired on the local radio stations KDFC, KQED, KKHI and most recently on KUSF. He has received awards from The American Composers Forum, the Meet the Composer Program, the American Guild of Organists, ASCAP, Mu Phi Epsilon, the American Music Center in New York City, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Irvine Foundation, San Francisco Art Commissions, the City of Oakland Cultural Funding Program and the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University.

Dazzling audiences with her easy coloratura, storytelling, and passionate performances, Chelsea Hollow loves finding new ways of connecting her art to the world around her. She “shows how it’s done” with her “fun and effortless” performances curated to welcome audiences into the intimacy of recital seamlessly weaving together music from all eras and genres. Recent operatic performances include Birds and Balls with Opera Parallèle, Dolores with West Edge Opera, and Albert Herring with Pocket Opera. Known for her “soaring high range” and “stage panache,” favorite traditional roles include Die Königin der Nacht (Die Zauberflöte/Mozart), Zerbinetta (Ariadne auf Naxos/Strauss), Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail/Mozart), Olympia (Les Contes d’Hoffmann/Offenbach), Lakmé (Lakmé/Delibes), and Marie (La Fille du régiment/Donizetti). Concert appearances include Concerto for Two Orchestras (Gubaidulina) with the Berkeley Symphony, Carmina Burana (Orff) and Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Golden Gate Symphony Orchestra and Judas Maccabaeus by Handel with the San Francisco City Chorus. Chelsea Hollow “has rewritten the book on the potential of musical activism” creating art that invites her audiences to think collectively and gain perspective. In 2023, she released her debut album, Cycles of Resistance, including 22 commissions in 8 languages chronicling international stories of human resilience. In recognition of this project, Chelsea presented on a panel hosted by the United Nations’ Office of Human Rights to discuss Art and Activism. Hollow cherishes her mission as an artist to build capacity for empathy, harness a venue for community healing, and amplify marginalized voices. In addition to her solo work, Hollow created Allowed to be Loud (2021) for the students of San Francisco Ruth Asawa School of the Arts (RASOTA) Vocal Department, commissioning song repertoire for young voices using texts by Bay Area high school students, The Kids and Art Foundation, and other anonymous community members. Highlights from the 21 commissioned songs include, “Being a Student in 2020” (Emily Shisko), “The Future Holds Water in a Wicker Basket” (Joel Chapman), and “I am Growing” (JooWan Kim).

A former apprentice with the Santa Fe Opera and resident artist with Opera San Jose, Cliff has performed with numerous bay area opera companies such as San Francisco Opera, West Bay Opera, Berkeley Opera and Pocket Opera. Cliff is a regular with the SF Opera Chorus, having performed with the company for 20 years. He is a founding member of the Sing for America Foundation, an innovative fundraising organization dedicated to supporting the arts and other community non-profits. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and Indiana University and is an avid cyclist, rower, bread baker and photographer.

Daphne Touchais was born in Greece and from a very early age begun studying music. At the age of fifteen she moved to France and studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris (CNR). A prize-winner in the 2004 Macon Voice Competition , she was awarded the 1st Prize in the International Baroque Competition of Chimay, 2005 (Belgium) presided by William Christie. Daphne’s career led her all over Europe: from the Netherlands, where she made her debut as Papagena in Die Zauberflöte under Ton Koopman and Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas at the Concertgebouw, to Germany (Cupidon in Offenbach’s Orphée aux Enfers in Köln), Ireland (title role in Donizetti’s Rita and 1st Nymph in Rusalka at Wexford Festival), the UK (recording of Ariane et Barbe-Bleue by Dukas with the BBC Orchestra), Belgium (Iphis in Haendel’s Jeptha) and Switzerland (Zdenka in Arabella in St Gallen). In France she has sung at the Châtelet (Mrs Segstrom in Sondheim’s A Little Night Music), at the Opéra Comique (Isabelle in Grétry’s L’Amant Jaloux and Fiorella in Les Brigands by Offenbach), at the Cité de la Musique (Eurydice in Orpheus by Telemann), in Lyon (La Musica in Monteverdi’s Orfeo), in Toulouse (Tebaldo in Don Carlo), in Bordeaux (Oscar in Un Ballo in Maschera, Valetto in L’Incoronazione di Poppea , Celia in Lucio Silla, Agnès in Die Schule der Frauen by R. Liebermann), in Ambronay Festival (Charite in Cadmus et Hermione by Lully), in Sully Festival (Mrs Silberklang in Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor, Tonina in Salieri’s Prima la Musica poi le Parole), and has worked with conductors such as Ton Koopman, David Stern, Rinaldo Alessandrini, Jérémie Rohrer, Christophe Rousset, Paolo Olmi and François Xavier Roth, in addition to our esteemed director of the Handel Opera Project, William G. Ludtke.

San Francisco Bay Area soprano Eliza O’Malley has performed leading opera roles throughout Northern California. She has performed the roles of Prokofiev’s Maddalena, Verdi’s Joan of Arc, Romilda (Serse), Luisa Miller, Magda (The Consul), Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Constanze (The Abduction from the Seraglio), Marguerite (Faust), Georgetta (Il Tabarro), Vitellia (La Clemenza di Tito), Tosca, Mimì (La bohème), Cherubini’s Médée, Leonora (Il Trovatore), Fiordiligi (Cosi fan Tutte), Lucia, Desdemona (Otello), Norma, Lauretta (Gianni Schicchi), Micaela (Carmen), Gilda (Rigoletto), Suor Angelica, Violetta (La Traviata), the Countess and Susanna (The Marriage of Figaro), Antigone in Mark Alburger’s Antigone, as well as Nedda (Pagliacci). She sang in the premiere of Peter Josheff’s chamber oratorio Europa and the Bull at UC Santa Cruz composed in honor of her grandmother Mary Holmes. O’Malley acts as Artistic Director for both her own professional company Berkeley Chamber Opera and the community opera collective Verismo Opera based in Vallejo. A lover of new music, O’Malley has enjoyed giving a premiere of Josheff’s chamber opera Inferno and singing in an improvised opera on the subject of John Brown by William Crossman. She also sang in a new one-act opera by Jeff Meyers. She has premiered works by Alexis Alrich, Stephen Clark, Allan Crossman, Patrick Dailly, Sheli Nan, Lisa Scola Prosek, Mary Watkins and more. O’Malley has sung roles with Berkeley Chamber Opera, Verismo Opera, The Handel Opera Project, Goat Hall Productions/San Francisco Cabaret Opera, The Santa Cruz Chamber Orchestra, Oakland Opera Theater, Berkeley Opera, Solo Opera, BASOTI and Capitol Opera Sacramento. She also sang the role of Emma in a workshop production of Khovanshchina conducted by Kent Nagano. She produces and sings in the “Dazzling Divas” nights of opera arias at the Bateau Ivre and a series of monthly Work-in-Progress concerts at the Chamber Arts House in Berkeley, which she helped to found. Raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, soprano Eliza O’Malley received training in the summer programs AIMS in Graz, Austria, Aspen School of Music, the Wesley Balk Institute and BASOTI as well as at Oberlin College. She earned an M.M. in Voice Performance at Texas Tech University School of Music. In addition to performing, Eliza teaches voice lessons privately as well as at The East Bay Center for Performing Arts. Her singing students have been awarded professional engagements as well as leading roles in their high school musicals. She has led her students in performances of Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas.

Based in San Francisco, soprano Jayne Diliberto is a distinguished graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Jayne recently made her debut with the Sacramento Philharmonic and Opera as Barbarina in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. In the 2024 season, she appeared as the soprano soloist with i Cantori di Carmel, performing works by Romantic German composers such as Rheinberger, Mendelssohn, and Humperdinck. Her other notable engagements include covering the role of Anne Page in Pocket Opera’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and presenting German Lieder in Lee Mingwei’s acclaimed exhibit Sonic Blossom at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco. In 2025, Jayne eagerly anticipates portraying Constance Partlet in Lamplighters Music Theatre's production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sorcerer, bringing a new perspective to this charming role. Additionally, she will take the stage as Second Lady in the Handel Opera Project's production of Die Zauberflöte, highlighting her dynamic range and expressive artistry within the operatic repertoire. In previous seasons, Jayne was featured as the soprano soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the Mill Valley Philharmonic. She was also featured as a Manetti Shrem Fellow at the Festival Napa Valley, performing scenes from Verdi’s Rigoletto, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. In May 2023, she covered the role of Lilette in Lamplighter Music Theatre’s world premiere of By Georges! - A Day in the Life of the Legendary Chevalier de Saint-Georges, making her company debut. In October 2022, Jayne reprised the role of Clearte in Ars Minerva’s production of Vinci’s Astianatte. Throughout her career in San Francisco, Jayne has portrayed roles such as Gontran in Chabrier’s Une Éducation Manquée, Gretel in Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, and Léontine in Chevalier de Saint-George’s L’amant anonyme at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. At Oberlin, Jayne’s notable roles include Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, Mrs. Nolan in The Medium, and Maria in the Oberlin Conservatory production of A Bernstein Revue. Beyond her performances, Jayne serves as a scheduler for the San Francisco Opera and is dedicated to nurturing young talent through her teaching.

Kathleen Moss, mezzo soprano, has been recognized as a singer with a “great voice and projection" and "a dramatic ability seldom seen on the opera stage." Ms. Moss has performed with many bay area opera companies including San Francisco Opera, Opera San Jose, West Bay Opera, West Edge Opera, Fremont Opera, Livermore Valley Opera, Berkeley Opera, San Francisco Lyric Opera, Cinnabar Opera & Pocket Opera and is a former Resident Artist with the San Francisco Opera Center. Favorite operatic roles include the title role in Carmen, Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana, Judith in Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle, Maddalena in Rigoletto & Polina in Pique Dame. Her concert engagements include solo appearances with the Sacramento Choral Society & Orchestra, Stockton Symphony, Fremont Symphony, Mendocino Music Festival, UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra, Bay Choral Guild, Masterworks Chorale, Handel Opera Project, Camerata California, San Francisco Opera Guild and a live concert broadcast on National Public Radio. Her concert repertoire includes Handel's Messiah, Mahler’s 2nd Symphony, Mozart's Requiem & Coronation Mass, Bach's Magnificat, Mendelssohn's Elijah, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Pergolesi's Stabat Mater, Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio de Noël, Beethoven's Mass in C, Vaughan Williams' Magnificat, Duruflé's Requiem, and Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass. As a crossover artist, she most recently appeared as Princess Puffer in The Mystery of Edwin Drood with Lamplighters Music Theatre. She has also performed with American Musical Theater of San Jose, 42nd Street Moon, TheatreWorks, Lyric Theatre of San Jose, Sacramento's Music Circus, Montalvo Arts Center & Shakespeare Santa Cruz. She can also be heard on the original cast recording of The 3 Musketeers featuring Tony Award winners Sutton Foster & Christian Borle.

Wayne Wong (Zophar) last appeared with the Handel Opera Project as Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas. Other engagements include Berkeley (West Edge) Opera, Opera Parallele, Festival Opera, Island City Opera, Lamplighters, SF Playhouse, Shotgun Players and Teatro Bocchino. Roles include Don Alfonso (Cosi fan tutte), Benoit and Alcindoro (La boheme), Frank and Frosch (Die Fledermaus), Angelotti, Sciarrone and the Jailer (Tosca), and Gideon (Little Women). He recently sang the role of Dr. Caius in The Merry Wives of Windsor with Pocket Opera, will appear next month as Silla in Ars Minerva's production of La Flora.

Courtnee a native of New Orleans, Louisiana, holds a Master's of Music in Vocal Performance from California State University, East Bay, and a Bachelor's in Vocal Performance from Dillard University in New Orleans, LA. Her performance background is wide-ranging and she's participated in such roles with Verismo Opera in Gianni Schicchi for the role of Nella, Golden Gate Opera in Menotti’s The Boy Who Grew Too Fast as Lizzy Splendor, and The Handel Opera in The Card Game as Clarice. She also had the privilege to participate in the Franco-American Vocal Academy in Angers, France where she played the role of Mere Superieure in La Fille Tambour Major and La Cadette in Isabelle Aboulker’s Cendrillon. Other performances have been with the Berlin Opera Academy and the Vienna Summer Music Festival in the role of Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni. As an equal lover of opera and musical theatre, she made her role debut with Contra Costa Musical Theatre.

Steve Kahn is delighted to join this production and work with the Handel Opera Project for the first time. Over the last several years, he has appeared as Germont (La Traviata); Mr. Page (The Merry Wives Of Windsor); Count Walter (Luisa Miller); Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte); and Méphistophélès (Faust). Immediately after this he will be appearing as Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana with Verismo Opera in Vallejo, and as Colas in Pocket Opera's production of Mozart's Bastien & Bastienne. More information is available at stevekmusic.net and pawhammerbanjo.com.He is also an avid performer of art songs and chamber music. He has studied with Heidi Moss Erickson and Jonathan Smucker. In early 2022, he took third place in a multi-state competition held under the auspices of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. He also holds a B.Mus. in composition from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, having studied with David Garner. Steve Kahn (Papageno) is delighted to join this production and work with the Handel Opera Project for the first time. Over the last several years, he has appeared as Germont (La Traviata); Mr. Page (The Merry Wives Of Windsor); Count Walter (Luisa Miller); Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte); and Méphistophélès (Faust). Immediately after this he will be appearing as Alfio in Cavalleria Rusticana with Verismo Opera in Vallejo, and as Colas in Pocket Opera's production of Mozart's Bastien & Bastienne. More information is available at stevekmusic.net and pawhammerbanjo.com.

Soprano Bryana Marrero is excited to be making her company debut as First Spirit with The Handel Opera Project. She was last seen performing with the Ensemble for These Times singing Alban Berg's Sieben Fruhe Lieder. Ms. Marrero received her Masters and Postgraduate Degrees in Vocal Performance from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. During her time there she won the 2019 San Francisco Conservatory of Music Concerto Competition and had the pleasure of performing in master classes for artists such as Frederica von Stade and Martin Katz. Ms. Marrero lives in San Francisco and enjoys spending time in nature.

Reuben Zellman is an American teacher, author, rabbi, and musician. He became the first openly transgender person accepted to the Reform Jewish seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2003. Zellman received his B.A. in Linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley. He received his master's degree in Hebrew literature from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles. He was ordained as a rabbi by the seminary in 2010. He received a master's in choral conducting from San Francisco State University.

Teena is not an opera singer, but she is an avid supporter who is just as important. Teena is a seasoned occult practitioner with familiar roots in Freemasonry and the Order of the Eastern Star. She is a ceremonially trained magician with a working background in Qabalah, Hermetics, Kemetics, Grimoire/Solomonic Magic, and Italian Witchcraft. She has been reading Tarot professionally since 2016 at The Sword and Rose in San Francisco, and more recently at Feathered Outlaw in Alameda. Teena is also the founder of Void Moon Press, a publishing company that brings theoretical and practical magical information to twenty-first century practitioners in an affordable and accessible manner. We are fortunate that she has consented to play our dragon in Mozart's most esoteric work.