THE WITTY SQUIRREL CAST & CREATIVE TEAM
Elizabeth Stepkowski Tarhan, a director, award winning actor, singer and educator makes her home in Treaty 7 Territory. Elizabeth has directed for Calgary Opera, The Shakespeare Company, Drama on a Dime, Seadreamer, Destiny Theatre, Storybook Theatre and Stage West, as well as new works in development at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. She has appeared on stages across much of Canada as well as the US, Mexico and Scotland. Most recently Elizabeth donned her performers cap for Essential Opera as a Weird Sister in their presentation of In Her Hands, returned for her third year as an educator to the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, and Assisted Peter Hinton-Davis on Das Rheingold for Edmonton Opera. Enjoy this delightful little TAIL!
Elizabeth stepkowski Tarhan - stage director
Calgary-based pianist and vocal coach Evan Mounce is in demand as a leader and collaborator. Evan is Assistant Chorus Director of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Répétiteur with Calgary Opera, and Director of Music at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. As a vocal coach Evan has worked with kd lang, preparing her for her 25th anniversary tour of Ingenue. Recent collaborations include work with Luminous Voices, Spiritus Chamber Choir, and Edmonton Opera. With his wife Laura Brandt, Evan has presented numerous recitals including for the Mountain View International Festival of Song and Chamber Music, the ProArts Recital Series, and together they have performed on two river cruises from Budapest to Amsterdam as ambassadors of Calgary Opera.
Evan Mounce - music DIRECTOR
Kelsey Ronn - Soprano
Canadian-Ukrainian soprano Kelsey Ronn is ecstatic to join Calgary Opera’s McPhee Artist Development Program this season. She was recently seen as a soloist at the Calgary Public Library’s Lit Gala charity event, and will be covering Norina for Calgary Opera’s Don Pasquale this February. She holds a master’s degree from McGill University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Manitoba. Last summer she participated in Opera Kelowna’s VOSI Program. Other operatic achievements include District Winner and Audience Choice Award recipient in the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition in 2019 and Runner-up for the Wirth Vocal Prize in 2022. Furthermore, Miss Ronn debuted with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in 2022 for the Manitoba Hydro Holiday Tour as their featured soloist.
Christina Thanisch-Smith - Soprano
Born in Fredericton and raised in Winnipeg, Canadian/German soprano Christina Thanisch-Smith is delighted to return to Calgary Opera as a second year McPhee Artist. Last season, Christina made her Calgary Opera main-stage debut as Giannetta in L’elisir d’amore and sang Beauty in Beauty & The Beast. Last summer, she was an Artist in Residence with Brott Music Festival and Toronto Summer Music Festival. In 2023, she completed her graduate studies at McGill University, made her Maison Symphonique debut as soloist for Mahler’s Symphony no. 4, and attended the Franz-Schubert-Institut in Austria. She was recently a soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
alessia vitali - mezzo soprano
Alessia Vitali is an Italian-Canadian mezzo soprano hailing from Montréal, Québec. Recent role highlights include Signora Guidotti in Nino Rota’s I due timidi, Mercédès in Bizet’s Carmen, Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Cherubino in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro and the title role in Handel’s Serse. Alessia is in her first year of the McPhee Artist Development Program. Her 2024-25 Calgary Opera season includes a role study of Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni, the title role in Nino Rota’s family-friendly production of The Witty Squirrel, and the role of La Ciesca in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. She attained her Master of Music in Opera at the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Elizabeth McDonald.
Colin Mackey - Baritone
Newfoundland baritone Colin Mackey is a new addition to the McPhee Artist Development Program and has proven himself equally capable on concert, recital and operatic stages. In 2022, Colin earned a Master of Music degree from McGill University and has since completed an Artist Diploma at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory. Most recently Colin performed the role of Marquis de La Force in Dialogues of the Carmelites at Koerner Hall. In 2024, Colin was among the winners of the Concerto and Chamber Competitions at the Glenn Gould School. In addition to performing, Colin is an experienced teacher and is passionate about music education and community music making. Last summer Colin attended the Schubert Institute in Austria.
Nicholas Murphy - bass baritone
Acadian bass baritone Nicholas Murphy is thrilled to join the McPhee Artist Development Program for the 2024-25 season. He obtained his bachelor’s degree from the University of Prince Edward Island and his master’s degree and graduate diploma from McGill University. Nicholas has been seen in the roles of Pandolfe in Cendrillon, Don Magnifico in Cenerentola, Papageno in Die Zauberflöte, Leporello in Don Giovanni, and Doctor Grenvil in La Traviata. He was a finalist in Opéra de Montréal’s Talent Gala competition for the Atelier Lyrique in 2023 and was a finalist in the Wirth Vocal Prize in early 2024. Last summer he debuted the role of Dr. Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Brott Opera and Highlands Opera Studio.
Bass baritone Luke Noftall is in his first year of the McPhee Artist Development Program at Calgary Opera. Recent credits include Zuniga in Carmen with Southern Ontario Lyric Opera, Count Monterone in Rigoletto with Opera by Request, and Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd with Doctor Bird Productions. Luke spent the last two summers at the Banff Centre for Arts & Creativity in both the Chamber Music and Opera: Interplay, and Opera in the 21st Centuries programs. During these programs, he was seen as The Commander in The Handmaid’s Tale, Masetto in Don Giovanni, as well as Morris in a workshop of Adoration by Mary Kouyoumdjian and Royce Vavrek. Luke holds both a master’s and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Toronto.
Luke Noftall - bass baritone
Toronto-born tenor Arieh Max Sacke is in his second year of the McPhee Artist Development Program at Calgary Opera, where he appeared last season as Beast in Beauty and the Beast and Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro. Other recent stage credits include Giuseppe in La traviata with Cincinnati Opera, Urizen in Allan Bevan’s Perfectly Mad with Orpheus Choir of Toronto/Chorus Niagara, Ferrando in Così fan tutte with Opera by Request, and Don Ramiro in La Cenerentola with COSA Canada. Arieh was a 2023 Manitoba Opera Digital Emerging Artist, and a Festival Artist with Opera Saratoga. He attained his Master of Music at the University of Cincinnati College–Conservatory of Music, and is co-founder of the Toronto-based Fonitika Vocal Ensemble.
arieh max sacke - Tenor
Born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, tenor Ryan Nauta is in his first year of the McPhee Artist Development Program at Calgary Opera. This season Ryan will be seen as the Notary in Don Pasquale, and the Minister in Nino Rota’s The Witty Squirrel. Previous credits include Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, First Armoured Guard in The Magic Flute, Albert Herring in Albert Herring, and Lysander in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has completed residencies at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, the Sewanee Summer Music Festival, the Franz-Schubert-Institut, and the Halifax Summer Opera Festival. Ryan was a finalist in Vancouver Opera’s VOX Competition in 2019. Ryan is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and McGill University.
Ryan Nauta - tenor
deneane osmond - set design
DeNeane is an emerging designer currently based in Calgary, Canada and is excited to be debuting with Calgary Opera. An aspiring character designer, her work is characterized by a whimsical aesthetic exploring humor and colour. While her passion lies in creating quirky characters, she is currently most active in Calgary’s vibrant theatre scene as a set designer and scenic artist. Additionally, she is dabbling in the film world as a storyboard artist and production assistant. Select credits include: StoryBook Theatre’s Heathers and Honk!
brett johnson - Lighting Design
Brett Johnson has spent forty years behind the scenes in lighting, audio, carpentry, construction, and technical direction. He has been with Calgary Opera for the last five years and was with Alberta Ballet for the previous twenty. Highlights include working rock shows such as Pink Floyd and the Rolling Stones, the TV series The Little Vampire, various productions at the Citadel Theatre, the Edmonton Fringe Festival, as well as touring in China, Egypt, and Finland, and, of course, driving forklifts. He has put mics on George Hearn and Paul Brandt and partied with Joni Mitchell. He has designed soundscapes for theatre, lighting for raves, sets for plays. Brett designed the lighting for Calgary Opera’s 50th Anniversary Concert, and Beauty and the Beast.
Heather Moore - Costume design
Heather Moore’s design credits include the Canadian premiere of a new production of Die tote Stadt, as well as Macbeth (Betty Mitchell award winner for Outstanding Costume Design), Hansel and Gretel, Brothers Grimm and South Pacific for Calgary Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Macbeth, The Last Wife, and The Virgin Trial for ATP, and The Allan Parkinson’s Project, Mesa, The Carrot Warrior Seminar and Confessions of a Paperboy for Ghost River Theatre. As a film professional her credits include The Assassination of Jessie James, Inception, Hellboy, Hell On Wheels, Interstellar and Togo. Her most recent productions are The Last of Us and The Thicket.
Emily Hamper - Head Coach
Originally from Vancouver, Emily is one of Canada’s most highly regarded vocal coaches and has worked for opera companies across Canada and abroad. As a collaborator for voice recitals, she has partnered many of Canada’s finest singers at numerous venues, including Zoomer TV, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, L’Opéra National de Paris, the Canadian Opera Company, Queensland Music Festival. She is an alumna of UBC, the University of Toronto and Merola opera programs, and winner of the Best Collaborative Pianist Prize at the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition. Emily recently coached at the Institute for Young Dramatic Voices and Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and will join Nuova Vocal Arts in 2025 for the world premiere of the new Canadian opera Silence.
Kate is thrilled to be joining Calgary Opera for all productions in their 2024/2025 season. Since graduating from the University of Lethbridge with a BFA in 2017, she has stage managed for operas, plays, and live events throughout Alberta, as well as toured across Canada as the Stage Manager for bliss: the birthday party play (Verb Theatre) to Victoria’s Uno Fest and to Ottawa’s National Arts Centre. Select credits include: Das Rheingold, L’elisir d’amore, Béatrice et Bénédict, Macbeth, La traviata, La bohème, Amahl and the Night Visitors (Calgary Opera), Ghost Opera (Old Trout Puppet Workshop/Calgary Opera), The Black Bonspiel of Wullie MacCrimmon, The Jungle Book (Alberta Theatre Projects), STRUCK (Ghost River Theatre), The Thin Man, The Drowning Girls (Vertigo Theatre).
Kate Pallesen - STAGE MANAGER
Nicole is a recent graduate of the University of Lethbridge’s Dramatic Arts – Tech/Design program. Apprentice credits include: Ms Holmes & Ms Watson - #2B (Vertigo Theatre). Selected Stage Management credits include: Misery (New West Theatre), Zauber (Centre Artistique International Roy Hart), Jesus Christ Superstar, The Little Prince, A Dinner Party (University of Lethbridge). She is excited to debut with Calgary Opera with The Witty Squirrel, and would like to thank her Calgary family for the love and support.