Melissa Martinez

soprano

Anam the Witch (La Bruja) 

Melissa Martinez, a Colombian-American soprano from Miami, is known for her lyrical and expressive vocal style, bringing warmth and dramatic intensity to her performances. In 2024, Melissa attended Jennifer Rowley's Aria Boot Camp, a prestigious program where she refined her technique and expanded her repertoire with world-class teachers and coaches.
Melissa earned her Master's degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music (CIM), where she performed scenes from Otello, Thais, and Le Nozze di Figaro.

Jose Olivares
bass baritone

Beto 

A native of Fort Worth, Texas. Jose Olivares began his music studies at East Texas A&M University (previously Texas A&M University - Commerce) where he graduated with honors in music education. He then studied Opera at the University of Oklahoma, performing the roles of Olin Blitch in Susanna, Germano in La scala di seta, Uberto in La serva padrona and Governor Bellingham in The Scarlett Letter.

Coleman Ddziedzic

King Reynaldo (Rey Reynaldo)

Coleman Dziedzic is a singing actor in the worlds of opera, operetta, and musical theatre. He began his journey with Palladium Players, securing leading roles in Mel Brooks’ All American , Andrew Lippa’s Big Fish , and Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing . At the University of Georgia, he joined Dan Bara’s Hodgson Singers, and he appeared in Town and Gown Player’s production of The Secret Garden as Archibald Craven and UGA Opera’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor as Normanno and Arturo. While pursuing his Master's in Voice at Roosevelt University, he has performed in Chicago College of Performing Arts’ annual OperaFests and premiere productions of Kyong Mee Choi’s Pale Courage and Daron Hagen’s 9/10: Love Before The Fall . He gave his capstone performance in CCPA’s spring production of Jonathan Dove’s Tobias and The Angel where Coleman sang the title role of Tobias. 

Mary Alice Rich

Composer

Mary Alice Rich received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in violin performance at the University of Illinois. For 10 years she played in professional orchestras and opera companies in Dallas, Ft. Worth, Tulsa, and the Des MoinesMetro Opera. During that time, she also taught violin and viola at 

Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Madeline Coffey

mezzo-soprano

Beatrice (Beatriz)

Madeline Coffey is a Mezzo-Soprano celebrated for her “superb” singing and captivating vocal quality across both opera and musical theater. Originally from Indiana, she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she performed several mainstage roles, including Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore, Miles in The Turn of the Screw, Sandmann in Hansel und Gretel, and Helen Bailey in Jake Heggie’s It’s a Wonderful Life. In 2022, Madeline made her professional debut as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance at Cedar Rapids Opera. 

David Mejía

Director

David Mejía, a Mexican tenor from Brownsville, Texas, holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance from UT Arlington and M.M. from TCU, where he is pursuing an Artist Diploma. This year, he is cast with The Dallas Opera for their Education and Outreach production of Rachel Portman’s “The Little Prince,” with performances at the Winspear. Recent highlights include a Vegas City Opera debut, opera premiere of Schiele in Prison in NYC by American composer Jared Schwartz, and tenor soloist for Stephenson’s Symphony No. 5. He is a two-time national winner in classical vocal competitions for APO and NATS:NSA.

Claudia Jameson

Librettist

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Claudia Navarro Jameson, librettist, is no stranger to the stage. She began singing ingenue roles professionally at the age of 18 while a freshman in college. After moving to Atlanta from San Antonio, she continued performing in musicals and opera, then moved to Dallas. and performed roles such as Maria in West Side Story, Yum Yum in the Mikado, Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof and Despina in Cosi Fan Tutti. She was also a soloist for Lloyd Pfautsch and the Dallas Civic Chorus at SMU. Soon after, she became a bilingual teacher and used her music to compose children’s songs in Spanish and English as a teaching tool. She retired in 2019, after 25 years of service and is still active in various music organizations in Dallas. Ms. Jameson is thrilled to have collaborated with Maey Alice Rich to write this children’s opera. 

Igor Parshin
Pianist

A graduate of the famous Gnessin State Musical College (2004 – 2008) and Gnessin Russian Academy of Music (2008 – 2015), Igor Parshin graduated with the highest marks of his graduation year. Igor Parshin currently serves as a collaborative and solo pianist as well as music teacher in Fort Worth, Texas. He gives piano lessons at The Music Conservatory at Fort Worth Country Day, performing Cliburn in the Classroom series of educational programs organized by The Cliburn foundation, as well accompanying singers at the Fort Worth Opera. He is also pursuing Doctor of Musical Arts degree at TCU under the guidance of Doctor Tamas Ungar.