Opera is Lit

Having an aunt from the Philippines gave her a personal link to the region, and as a teenager she traveled to China and Hong Kong. Over the years, she has visited other Asian countries and studied the vast range of Asian cultures stretching from Russia to Malaysia, from Türkiye to Japan, and all points in between.

Camellia has also traveled extensively throughout North and South America, Europe, and the South Pacific. Those experiences set Camellia on a path to make an in-depth study of the music and cultures she had experienced. She graduated from the University of Kentucky with a BA in Music (Musicology/Ethnomusicology, Opera Performance). She studied under American musicologist Dr. Ronald Pen. Camellia’s university musicology studies were primarily focused on the hymns, ballads, and folk music traditions of the United Kingdom and Ireland and how these immigrant groups affected the musical traditions of the Southern Appalachian mountains.

Camellia’s love of ethnic music, folktales, and dance extends beyond the Southern USA into exploring the intersection of classical music, world folk cultures, and literature. She has worked as a community choir director and church music minister in various congregations for over 2 decades. She loves incorporating world music into concerts and worship. Her greatest achievement is raising four beautiful children with her husband Robert, all of whom love history, travel, the arts, and of course world music!

Faywen is a senior at Grandville High School (GHS) where she is involved in the music and theatre programs. Recently, she played Princess Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress and Grace Farrell in Annie with StageGR, a local youth theatre company. Other notable past roles include Fairy Godmother in Disney’s:Descendents with StageGR, and Kathryn Schaub in Radium Girls at GHS. Faywen has been a violist for 9 years and enjoys attending Grand Rapids Symphony concerts.

Besides a love of music and theatre, travel has been important in shaping Faywen’s outlook on life. She is grateful to have explored countries such as Ireland, Ecuador, Italy, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, Germany, Japan and many more! She lived in Graz, Austria in 2019, which fostered a love of learning about other cultures, their history, music, literature, language, and gave her insight into how other people live. This school year she was inducted into the Spanish National Honor Society at GHS. She also enjoys nature, singing, and spending time with her family.

This autumn she will attend Grand Valley State University to pursue a degree in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in Theatre. Faywen would like to thank her family for their loving support, and Opera Grand Rapids for, once again, an amazing opportunity to be a part of Opera is Lit.

She studied with Baritone Mark Rucker, and was seen in her most notable role as The Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. She has performed with Opera Grand Rapids for many concerts, including “Hip Opera” and “Opera is Lit” as a lead soprano vocalist. Last summer, she was also a guide for the OGR Summer camp for children ages 6-12, and thoroughly enjoyed aiding and watching children grow as performers and artists. Anna also sings at two churches for services, funerals, and weddings, and she loves to contribute to her communities through song. She is very excited to be back on the stage with Opera Grand Rapids!

Avalon is known for her vocal versatility performing different genres such as R&B, gospel, jazz, and classical. She is a graduate of Grand Valley State University with a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance. She’s had the privilege of touring through Spain and Portugal on the Oh Happy Day Tour with the Alabama Gospel Choir as a featured soloist. Her voice could also be heard in the role of Rosa Parks in Douglas Tappin’s opera I Dream: The Story of a Preacher from Atlanta with both Toledo Opera and Opera Carolina. Avalon currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Girls Choral Academy of Grand Rapids. Avalon Cutts-Jones Music (AVCJ Music) can be found performing throughout the Midwest.

He has performed such roles as Cavaradossi (Tosca) with the Hawaii International Music Festival; Don José (Carmen), B. F. Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly), Father (Hansel and Gretel), Sam (Susannah) with West Michigan Opera Project and Kalamazoo Philharmonia; 2nd Priest/Man in Armor (The Magic Flute), Shem (Noah’s Flood), Remendado (Carmen) with Opera Grand Rapids, along with numerous productions as a member of the OGR chorus; Rinuccio (Gianni Schicchi) with GVSU Opera Theatre; Rodolfo (La Bohème) with the Kent Philharmonic Orchestra; Timothy (Help, Help, the Globolinks!) with 2nd Act Opera. He has also performed as the tenor soloist for Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Kalamazoo Philharmonia, the Elkhart County Symphony, and the Holland Symphony Orchestra; Handel’s Messiah with the Zeeland Civic Chorus; Mozart’s Requiem with the Baroque on Beaver music festival; Rossini’s Stabat Mater with Opera Grand Rapids.

He recently received his doctorate degree from Michigan State University (DMA) in music, vocal performance under the tutelage of Dr. Mark Rucker. He is a career grant recipient from the Opera Buffs Inc. and Richard F. Gold Career Grant recipient from the Shoshana Foundation. Maldonado’s roles include Don Alfonso (Così fan tutte), Don Magnifico (La Cenerentola), Escamillo (Carmen), Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni) and the title role of Falstaff (Falstaff). He first performed with Maestro Anthony Parnther in his Long Beach Opera debut in Anthony Davis’ Central Park Five. In 2022, he covered Sir Bryn Terfel as Sir John Falstaff in Falstaff at the Aspen Music Festival. He reprised Falstaff in March 2023 at Michigan State, and returned to Aspen to sing Father Arguedas in the opera Bel Canto, by Jimmy López. Maldonado was a finalist in the inaugural Duncan Williams Competition, a collaborative effort by Manhattan School of Music and New York City Opera, and was a District winner for the Metropolitan Opera Competition, Audience Prize winner in the Opera Ithaca Competition, and a finalist in the Tenor Vinas Competition in Spain. Maldonado has toured with OperaMaya in Cancún, Mexico and in Aspen he performed a Zarzuela concert with world-renowned Metropolitan Opera Star Ana Maria Martinez, and studied with legendary sopranos, Carol Vaness and Renee Fleming.

Maldonado last season debuted the role of Don Giovanni in Michigan, before returning to Los Angeles and debuting with Lyric Opera of Orange County in Falstaff and the Father in Hansel y Gretel. He then made his Pacific Opera Project (POP) debut as the Hunter in Dvorak’s Rusalka. He also sang and rapped in Opera Grand Rapid’s “Hip Opera” tour, blending opera and hip-hop, which ended the season in May. Maldonado also made his Lincoln Center debut as Escamillo in La Carmencita, an Argentinian adaptation in Spanish of Bizet’s Carmen, and returned to New York in May to sing in Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos celebration. He made his San Bernardino Symphony debut with Maestro Anthony Parnther in March 2025. Dr. Maldonado made his title role and company debut to acclaim in Rigoletto with Indianapolis Opera November 2025. He made  his role debut as Dr. Dulcamara in February in Elisir d’amore in Los Angeles, and will debut the role of Tonio in Pagliacci in April with Birmingham Opera. For more information, visit www.BaritoneJoe.com

After her recent performance and professional debut in Stuck Elevator at Opera Grand Rapids,  she will join the Ryan Opera Center at Lyric Opera of Chicago as the Pianist/Coach for the 2026–27 season, marking her debut with one of America’s leading opera houses.

During the 2025–26 season, her work extends across several major institutions. She served as an Opera Coach Fellow at the Aspen Music Festival and School, coaching Così fan tutte — conducted by Patrick Summers and directed by Renée Fleming — and performing in both Opera Encounters and the festival’s Art Song Showcase. She also worked as a Vocal Collaboration Teaching Fellow at Opera San Antonio. This season, she joins Opera Grand Rapids as pianist/coach for Stuck Elevator, performs in Opera is Lit, and returns as the competition pianist for the VanderLaan Prize.

In addition to her operatic work, Kim has appeared as a solo pianist at the Aspen Music Festival and School, performing in the Spotlight Recital Series and in Piano Palooza, an eight-piano concert featuring esteemed artists including Arie Vardi, Anton Nel, Hung-Kuan Chen, and Yoheved Kaplinsky. Her chamber music activities include performing as a member of the Verderh Trio Fellowship and participating in the Cleveland Institute of Music’s Advanced Piano Trio Program.

Kim earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Piano Performance on full scholarship from the Cleveland Institute of Music, studying under Kathryn Brown. She is completing her Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at Michigan State University under Eric Zuber, where she also served as a Graduate Assistant in collaborative piano.

We use Korean pop music and cultural presentations as a way to learn more about Korean culture. During the year we perform at different events on and off campus, and we also host our own semi-annual showcase in the fall and winter semesters. No prior dance experience is needed!