H.M.S. PinaforeH.M.S. Pinafore

H.M.S. Pinafore

October 10/11, 2025
7:30 PM
Forest Hills Fine Arts Center

Set sail on a sea of satire with Gilbert and Sullivan’s beloved comic operetta, H.M.S. Pinafore. This witty tale follows the forbidden love between Josephine, the captain’s daughter, and Ralph Rackstraw, a lowly sailor. With mistaken identities, class commentary, and a shipload of catchy tunes, Pinafore delivers sharp humor and melodic charm in equal measure. A delightful romp for opera lovers and newcomers alike!

Tickets

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Student Tickets $5 Valid student I.D. must be presented at the door.

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Digital Playbill

Production Team

Cody Martin | Conductor

American conductor Cody Martin is currently the Music Director at Pensacola Opera, where he has led the nationally renowned Jan Miller Studio Artists Program since 2017. 

His 2025-26 conducting engagements include H.M.S. Pinafore with Opera Grand Rapids, as well as Three Decembers and La traviata with Pensacola Opera. Cody also recently joined the faculty of the University of West Florida as conductor of the Runge Strings ensemble.

Cody recently returned to Florida State Opera to helm their production of The Cunning Little Vixen, and recent seasons have seen him leading productions of Le nozze di Figaro, Pagliacci, and Lucia di Lammermoor in Pensacola. Other companies he has enjoyed working with include Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Opera Birmingham, Virginia Opera, and the Janiec Opera Company at Brevard Music Center. Cody holds degrees from Murray State University and Florida State University.

Eve Summer | Stage Director & Choreographer

Eve Summer is hailed as a star of stage directing “whose approach refreshes hope for the future of opera.”

Her recent directing credits include Trouble in Tahiti at The Glimmerglass Festival, Ariodante at Boston Baroque, Rigoletto, Tosca, Don Giovanni at Opera Columbus, Così fan tutte, Les Mamelles de Tirésias/The Seven Deadly Sins, Albert Herring at The Curtis Institute, Tosca at The Princeton Festival, The Barber of Seville at Opera Saratoga, The Little Prince at Tulsa Opera, The Pearl Fishers at Opera Tampa, La Traviata at Annapolis Opera, The Tales of Hoffmann at Opera Orlando, Le nozze di Figaro at Knoxville Opera, Carmen at MassOpera, and Don Giovanni at Opera Carolina. Here at Opera Grand Rapids she has directed L’elisir d’amore, The Pirates of Penzance, Don Giovanni, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, The Mikado, Le Docteur Miracle, and Così fan tutte.

Described as having “a gift for translating classic symbolism into familiar detail” with work that is “transfixingly personal,” this season Eve also returns to Tulsa Opera for The Pirates of Penzance, Opera Columbus for La traviata, Resonance Works for Kamala Sankaram and Kelley Rourke’s The Jungle Book, Boston University for Romeo et Juliette, and The Princeton Festival this summer.

Catherine Marlett Dreher | Lighting Designer

Catherine Marlett Dreher has designed lights for over 300 productions in the West Michigan area.

Credits include shows for Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, Circle Theatre, Actors’ Theatre, Jewish Theatre Grand Rapids, Opera Grand Rapids, Aquinas College, Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids Community College and Cornerstone University. She works as the Production Manager and Resident Lighting Designer at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre.

John A C Despres | Set Designer & Technical Director

This is John’s 35th season with Opera Grand Rapids and despite his general grumpiness, he does indicate he’s always excited to come back. 

Nearly 50 years working professionally in the arts has allowed John great opportunities such as unveiling world-class sculpture, a National Endowment for the Arts award for his own sculpture, designing opera for arena performances and is owner of The GR Shop LLC. A favorite nugget of trivia is he won an EMMY for art direction in 2006. His list of corporate clients is extensive and wide ranging. John’s career has taken him through feature films, television production, and industrial films. For fun John enjoys winter and summer ultra distance races on bicycle all around the country. Competitions are often over 100 miles and in temperatures ranging from -30° to 100° F. When not engaging in crazy stuff like that, John also owns a company building custom bike bags for bike packing and commuting. He is married to Lea with one son, Nicolas. The dog’s name is Artemis and she’s the sweetest pupper on the planet.

Brett Finley | Stage Manager

Brett Finley has worked for over 40 years gleefully calling shows and sharing her love of opera with her colleagues and students. 

She spent 10 years on the University of Michigan faculty, and created the BFA program in Stage Management there before returning to full time freelancing.  She frequently stage manages opera productions at UMich, mentoring students, several of whom have subsequently ASM’d for Brett at opera companies around the country. In recent years she stage managed productions for Opera Grand Rapids, Tri-Cities Opera, New Orleans Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Colorado, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Lyric Opera of Chicago / Scenario Two, San Diego Opera, Tulsa Opera, West Edge Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera San Jose, and Detroit Opera. In 2023, Brett was thrilled to be one of three recipients of the national Stage Management Association’s 2023 Del Hughes Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Tracy D. Hofmann | Assistant Stage Manager

Tracy is from Cincinnati, Ohio and has worked as a freelance stage manager since 2008. 

She studied graduate level Stage Management at the University of Cincinnati’s College Conservatory of Music. In addition to her 15 seasons at Washington National Opera, she has worked at Opera San Antonio, Cincinnati Opera, West Edge Opera, Palm Beach Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Madison Opera, Bard College, Opera Columbus, North Carolina Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Opera Southwest, Ash Lawn Opera, Opera North, and Atlanta Opera.

Tracy’s first 20 year career was as an engineer in the US Navy. She holds a BSME (mechanical engineering) from The Ohio State University, a MS in Financial Management from The Naval Postgraduate School, and is a registered engineer in the state of California.  

Neil Fortin | Costume Designer

Neil Fortin is a UK-based costume designer who is pleased to be designing his first show for Opera Grand Rapids! 

Fortin is a graduate of Boston University with an MFA in Design and Production. Neil’s most recent productions include a production of Ariodante for Boston Baroque (alongside stage director Eve Summer) a Regency-Era Cinderella for The Roses Theater in the Cotswolds in England and an original production of The Marriage of Figaro for Opera Columbus directed by Bruno Baker. Neil has produced historical millinery for a variety of West End production companies and BBC programming including Pretty Woman, Sanditon and a BBC Bridgerton reality show. In addition to costume design Neil is co-owner of a menswear company, Thomas Fortin LTD that has just opened a store in England. Upcoming projects include The Anonymous Lover at Opera Columbus, Jack and the Beanstalk for The Roses Theater in England and Idomeneo at Boston Baroque. 

William Bokhout | Chorus Master

Operatic baritone William Bokhout’s performance career has taken him coast to coast in as many as 35 different operatic roles, countless solo appearances and directing of over 40 different stage productions.

He has been featured with Opera Grand Rapids, the Grand Rapids Symphony, Duruflé Requiem in Carnegie Hall, the Pine Mountain Music Festival, and the Blue Lake Festival Orchestra. His operatic roles include Barone Douphol in Verdi’s LaTraviata, Count Ceprano and Marullo in Verdi’s Rigoletto, the Sacristan in Puccini’s Tosca, Dr. Bartolo in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, El don Cairo in Bizet’s Carmen, Gregario in Gounod’s Romeo and Juliette, Slim in Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men, and Father in Humperdink’s Hansel and Gretel. He also appeared as the title role in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi with the Blue Lake International Repertory Opera. In concert Mr. Bokhout has been featured with the Blue Lake Festival Orchestra for Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra as soloist in Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, and The Music of Final Fantasy. In 2003, Mr. Bokhout founded The 2nd Act opera company, a professional touring group dedicated to promoting Opera as an art form to young people, performing in many of the schools in the area as well as touring with his wife Hollis presenting Children’s Opera Workshops in elementary schools
across the country. Mr Bokhout is the composer of 6 original children’s operas and is also known as The Opera Farmer, the tile role of a feature length independent family film.

Cast

Andre Chiang | Captain Corcoran

Baritone André Chiang has been described as “vocally commanding” (Oregonian), “handsome of voice” (Opera News), and lauded with “let’s hear more from this singer” (Washington Post). 

Chiang’s recent engagements include Artist Martinez/Ecce Homo (Behold the Man (world premiere)) with Opera Las Vegas, Ping (Turandot) with OperaDelaware, and Escamillo (Carmen) with Opera Western Reserve and Mobile Opera. He previously performed with Portland Opera, Virginia Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, the Glimmerglass Festival, and the Louisiana Symphony to name a few. Chiang’s Carnegie Hall debut came as the Baritone soloist in the World Premiere of Martin Palmeri’s Gran Misa. Competition honors include Winner of the 2018 NATS Artist Awards Competition and MONC Regional Finalist. His recent album of new music, Choice Pages, is available on Spotify and Apple Music.

As an educator, Chiang was a 2018 NATS Intern and a part of the first cohort of Pan American Vocology Association – Recognized Vocologists (PAVA-RV) in 2022. His research regarding new American
art song and voice range extension has been presented at national and international conferences. Chiang is an Assistant Professor of Voice at Florida State University and runs a private online and in-person studio teaching acoustic and amplified styles.

Helen Zhibing Huang | Josephine

Helen Zhibing Huang is a Chinese-born soprano, praised as “impressive” (The New York Times) for her portrayal of Pamina in The Magic Flute at The Glimmerglass Festival.

In the 2025-2026 season, will debut as Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore with Opera Grand Rapids, and Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi at Knoxville Opera. She will also return to the Alabama Symphony Orchestra for Handel’s Messiah. She will reprise the role of Ming in Byron Au Yong’s Stuck Elevator with Opera Grand Rapids, as well as Juliette in Roméo et Juliette at Resonance Works Pittsburgh. 

Huang’s operatic roles include Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Zerlina (Don Giovanni), Monica (The Medium), the Nightingale (Le rossignol), and Amor (Orfeo ed Euridice). Her concert repertoire includes Bach’s Magnificat, Fauré’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 4.

She has performed with The Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Kentucky Opera, Portland Opera, Washington Concert Opera, North Carolina Opera, Nashville Opera, Annapolis Opera, Naples Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, and the Alabama Symphony Orchestra.

Huang is the executive director and co-founder of Wear Yellow Proudly, a non-profit organization amplifying Asian voices in classical music. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking and eating traditional Chinese dishes.

Nicholas Nestorak | Ralph Rackstraw

Nicholas Nestorak is a tenor on the rise since joining the Metropolitan Opera roster in 2021 and making his highly anticipated Met début as Pang in their lavish production of Turandot. 

Also at The Met, he has covered the roles of Pang, Tanzmeister in Ariadne auf Naxos, Bardolfo in Falstaff, and Spoletta in Tosca. He returns this season as the Second Priest in the holiday presentation of The Magic Flute and covering the Waiter in Arabella.

This season, in addition to the Met, Nestorak makes his company debut with Opera Maine as Beadle Bamford in Sweeney Todd, and will appear as a soloist in concert with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra and the Columbus Symphony Orchestra. Additional engagements last season included Goro in Madama Butterfly with Opera San Antonio and Austin Opera, and Spoletta in Tosca with the Princeton Festival.

Sandra Eddy | Little Buttercup

Praised for her “dark and sensuous mezzo and charming stage presence” (Opera Magazine), Sandra Piques Eddy is thrilled to make her Opera Grand Rapids debut as Little Buttercup this fall in HMS Pinafore.

Ms. Eddy boasts a career marked by standout performances including; Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia, Isabella L’Italiana in Algeri, Charlotte Werther, Paula Florencia en al Amazonas, Poppea L’Incoronazione di Poppea, Orfeo Orfeo ed Euridice, Cherubino Le nozze di Figaro, Maddalena Rigoletto at companies such as Vancouver Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Colorado, Atlanta Opera, Boston Lyric Opera, Canadian Opera Company, Chicago Opera Theatre, Michigan Opera Theatre, Austin Opera, Portland Opera, Opera North UK, New Zealand Opera and Hyogo Performing Arts in Japan. A celebrated Carmen, Sandra has performed the title role with numerous companies and orchestras, most notably, two tours of Japan with legendary Maestro Seiji Ozawa. 

With over 100 performances at the Metropolitan Opera in roles such as Cherubino, Fiona Two Boys, La Badessa Suor Angelica, Mercedes Carmen, Zulma L’Italiana in Algeri, Lola Cavalleria Rusticana, Ms. Eddy holds positions as Associate Professor of Voice at both the Boston Conservatory and Longy School of Music. Sandra looks forward to adding the role of Aunt March in Little Women this fall with the Opera Department at Boston Conservatory and the role of the Marquise in The Daughter of the Regiment with the Boston Lyric Opera next spring. 

Wilbur Pauley | Sir Joseph Porter

In four decades as a professional entertainer, bass Wilbur Pauley has accumulated credits in a variety of musical and theatrical disciplines. 

His work in classical music extends from medieval liturgical dramas to contemporary operatic premieres, including roles in The Ghosts of Versailles at The Met, McTeague and Amistad at Lyric Opera of Chicago, Atlas and Where’s Dick? at Houston Grand Opera, and Haroun and the Sea of Stories at New York City Opera. 

In 2019, Mr.Pauley sang with symphony orchestras in Buffalo, Shanghai, New Jersey and Oregon, reprised his roles in Haroun with Boston Modern Opera Project, sang Astradamors in Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre at Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, and made his debut at the Tanglewood Music Festival.

Outside the classical music world, Wilbur Pauley has appeared twice on Broadway: in the Peter Hall production of The Merchant of Venice (with Dustin Hoffman), and in the musical Band In Berlin. His voice can be heard on eleven Disney film soundtracks, including the original Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Pocahontas, and Tangled.

More recently, Wilbur recorded another Disney soundtrack in 2022: Disenchanted. He sang in two operas with Chicago Opera Theater in 2023: Albert Herring and The Nose. And he joined the cast of Tosca with the Kalamazoo Symphony in 2024.

Wilbur was born in Beaver, PA, and now lives in Kalamazoo.

Gabriel Lockheimer Toso | Dick Deadeye

Bass-baritone Gabriel Lockheimer Toso makes his Grand Rapids Opera debut as Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore. 

His recent stage credits include Colline (La Bohème, SERIO Opera), Alidoro (La Cenerentola), Sarastro (The Magic Flute), and Leporello (Don Giovanni) with Michigan State University Opera. With Concordia Opera he has performed Count Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Father (Red’s Dinner), Ophemon (L’amant Anonyme), Dater numbers 13 and 18 (Speed dating tonight) and he has sung in the chorus for Carmen and Le Nozze di Figaro with Fargo-Moorhead Opera. Equally active in concert repertoire, Mr. Lockheimer Toso has also appeared as soloist in Bach’s Cantata No. 140 with the Bach Chorale of Grand Rapids and in The Passion of Jesus Christ with Concordia’s Tactus. He is a graduate of Michigan State University (MM, 2025) and Concordia College Moorhead (BM, 2023).

Ethan Wiersma | Bill Bobstay

Ethan Wiersma is a local operatic baritone and composer based in the Grand Rapids area. 

He studied with William Bokhout and earned his Associate of Music degree from Grand Rapids Community College in 2023. He began working with Opera Grand Rapids in 2022, performing in the choruses of Turandot, The Pirates of Penzance, Aida, The Abduction from the Seraglio, La Bohème, and The Elixir of Love. Through both his compositions and his stage performances, he strives to create stories that resonate with all audiences. Ethan is delighted to make his debut in a named role with this production and is honored to perform alongside such talented musicians.

David Skidmore | Bob Becket

David Skidmore is pleased to play a part in HMS Pinafore. Having fond memories of being in OGR’s youth chorus in the 1980s (Tosca and Carmen), he reengaged with the company last year for La Boheme (chorus). 

David has sung in the chorus for Patience and Iolanthe by West Michigan Savoyards, and in the pirate chorus for Peter Pan at GR Civic Theatre (30 performances!). He also plays his euphonium with the Alumni Spartan Marching Band at MSU football games. When not making music, David is a family inheritance dispute attorney and partner at Warner Norcross + Judd LLP. He thanks Bill Bokhout for this opportunity. He would also like to gratefully acknowledge the music teachers of his youth (Bill Klimas, George Shirley, Sheri Reifinger, Larry Biser, Becky Knapp, C. David Bass, Jim Mollema, Bill Wiedrich, and John Madden) for giving him the lifelong gift of music. Finally, he would like to thank Ruth, David, Anna and Harrison for their support; they have had “A British Tar” stuck in their heads for two months.

Rosalie Baxter | Cousin Hebe

Involved in choral singing for much of her life, Rosalie Baxter is a mezzo-soprano from Coopersville, Michigan, who has been involved in numerous community choirs. 

She has been a member of the Opera Grand Rapids Chorus since the spring of 2024.

Rosalie has had the opportunity to participate in the major choral works of Mozart’s Requiem Mass, Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Opera Chorus performances include Puccini’s La Boeme and Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love.

Rosalie has also been highly involved with Children’s Opera Camp since 2014. This day camp is currently being hosted by Opera Grand Rapids each summer to give children the opportunity to learn about
this art form.