• Steffanie Pearce, Founder
Artistic Director
Over the last twenty years Ms. Pearce has earned international acclaim for her distinctive portrayals of such operatic heroines as Violetta, Tosca, Donna Anna, Konstanze, the Hoffmann heroines and Marguerite. She has performed in over 50 American and European Opera Houses and been a concert soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Dorothy Chandler Pavillion and The Kennedy Center, to name a few. Her formal studies began at The Cleveland Institute of Music and finished with a double major in acting and opera performance at University of
Southern California. She was a resident Young Artist with both the
San Diego Opera and the Cincinnati Opera where she further refined her stage craft.

Now a resident of Naples, Ms. Pearce continues to perform nationally and has recently performed title roles in several operas at The Naples Philharmonic and The Barbara B. Mann. She teaches private voice lessons and produces concerts using local talent in the Naples area. Through these experiences in our community, she was encouraged to start a professional regional opera company.

• Thomas Smith
Managing Director
Tom Smith, an arts executive whose career has spanned more than 15 years, came to Opera Naples in July of 2011 with experience in all facets of opera administration. Previous positions include: Executive Director and CEO of Des Moines Metro Opera, the first such appointment in the company’s history, Director of Finance for the Cincinnati Opera Association, responsible for managing an operating budget that grew in excess of $6.5 million, plus an endowment valued at more than $15 million, four years with the Baltimore Opera Company, leaving that organization with the title of Director of Administration and a one year term as President and CEO of The Modesto Symphony in 2009-10.

Tom’s education credentials include a B.B.A. in Finance from the College of William and Mary in Virginia, an MBA from the University of Cincinnati, and a Master’s of Arts Administration from Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. He has written and spoken for Opera America on topics including the implications of Sarbanes-Oxley on the opera industry, budget management and insurance issues.

Tom has served on the Board of Directors of the Indianola Chamber of Commerce, and The Friends of the Indianola Public Library. He was a member of the 2008 Class of the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, a member of the Indianola Rotary, and was the most recent Chair of the Indianola Tourism Committee. Tom’s interests include travel, distance running and cycling, golf and animal rescue. He is a native of Hampton, Virginia.