Praised as "the kind of performer who makes it all look easy," Heather Buck has established herself internationally as a consummate singing actress, "combining agile, liquid soprano, a bright, natural stage presence, and the timing of an expert comedienne," (Opera News).

In 2008-09 she joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera, sang Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with Florentine Opera, Ännchen in Der Freischütz with Opera Boston, and Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance with Indianapolis Opera.

Recent highlights include her English National Opera debut singing the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute. She returns to Opera Birmingham as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia and to Arizona Opera as Queen of the Night, her first performances of Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail with Connecticut Opera, Valencienne in The Merry Widow with Florentine Opera, her debut with Central City Opera as La Fée in Cendrillon, and her appearance as Angel in Pascal Dusapin's Faustus, the Last Night with Spoleto Festival USA.

Heather Buck is a recipient of New York City Opera's Kolozsvar Award, recognizing artists who excel at new and unusual repertory. She made her New York City Opera debut creating the title role in Charles Wuorinen's Haroun and the Sea of Stories and returned the following season as the Comtesse de Folleville in Il Viaggio a Reims. Other international credits include appearing with Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu as both Echo in Ariadne auf Naxos and First Niece in Peter Grimes. She also performed at the Britten-Pears School (UK) in the role of Tytania in A Midsummer Night's Dream and at the Spoleto Festival.

Anthony Kearns, considered Ireland's Finest Tenor, is a true lyric tenor. He has incredible agility and flexibility of voice and the ability to color notes gracefully and beautifully. Kearns has a deep love of opera and a devotion to the genre, and feels that French and Italian operas best suit his voice.

Hailing from Ireland's County Wexford, Anthony Kearns has been singing all his life. His credentials include winning countless All-Ireland singing competitions, the Dermot Troy Trophy for oratorio in 1995 and 1996, the Best Male Singer at the Waterford International Festival of Light Opera in 1995, and the Veronica Dunne International Singing Competition in 1999.

Mr. Kearns trained with Ireland’s celebrated vocal teacher Veronica Dunne at the Leinster School of Music in Dublin, continuing his studies at the College of Music in Wales. Kearns is founding member of The Irish Tenors, among PBS’s largest grossing artists, becoming one of Ireland’s most prestigious touring groups. Performing for over a decade in the world’s most prestigious venues from Carnegie Hall to the Sydney [Australia] Opera House, The Irish Tenors have produced many best-selling CDs including two new albums this year.

Anthony’s operatic work includes the lead in Faust and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi for Opera Ireland. With Dublin's Lyric Opera he sang Alfredo in La Traviata and Macduff in Macbeth. In addition to his opera work in Ireland, Kearns sang the role of Fenton in an Italian production of Verdi's Falstaff in Tuscany, and at Carnegie Hall in 2002 performed lead tenor in The Irish Ring, a compilation of three Irish operas.

Anthony tours three times annually with The Irish Tenors, and has a thriving solo career performing concert tours, oratorio, and opera.

Leah Summers, American mezzo-soprano, has appeared extensively on opera and concert stages throughout the United States and abroad. A frequent presence at the New York City Opera, she has performed, among others, the roles of Cherubino in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Page in R. Strauss’ Salome, Maddalena in Verdi’s Rigoletto, Suzuki in Puccini’s Madame Butterfly and Melanto in Monteverdi’s Il ritorno d’ Ulisse in Patria. Elsewhere, she has appeared in leading roles at the Vienna Staatsoper, Pittsburgh Opera, Berkshire Opera and Opera Orchestra of New York. She has been a featured soloist with the Dallas Symphony, the New York Chamber Orchestra, the Ensemble Musica Sacra in Salzburg/Austria, the Richmond Symphony, the West Virginia Symphony, the Continuum Ensemble, the Tanglewood Music Festival, the New Julliard Ensemble and the New York Festival of Song. Ms. Summers is the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship and a Sullivan Foundation Grant. She holds degrees from the University of Miami, The Manhattan School of Music, the “Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst” in Vienna/Austria and the Juilliard Opera Center in New York City.

will be joining us for our Third Annual Opera Stars Under the Stars this November. He also played

He was the 2003-2005 baritone Resident Artist for Orlando Opera where he made his company debut as Marullo in Rigoletto. Other projects with Orlando Opera have included Nogales in Luisa Fernanda, 2nd Soldier/Nazarene in Salomé, Pish-Tush in The Mikado, Belcore in L’Elisir d’Amore, Count Almaviva in Le Nozze di Figaro, Sciarrone in Tosca, and Elder McLean in Susannah.
Mr. Holloway has appeared as a Juror in the world premiere of Tod Machover’s Resurrection with Houston Grand Opera, Vicar Gedge in Albert Herring, Ford in The Merry Wives of Windsor, Ben in The Telephone, Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief, L’Armonier in Les Dialogues des Carmelites, Tom/John in Mollicone’s Face on the Barroom Floor, and the Doctor in Douglas Moore’s Gallantry. Always a stand-out, Mr. Holloway has been proclaimed as a baritone who “[demonstrated] burnished tones with excellent diction,” and an “audience favorite, [who] stole the show…” Welcme back, Ch

Robert Swedberg is a stage director and music educator who enjoys an extensive international career. He has directed productions for the Macau Music Festival, the Beijing Music Festival in China, Calvia Music Festival in Mallorca, Spain, the William Walton Music Foundation in Ischia, Italy and several theaters in Germany, including those in Hof, Bamberg, Pforzheim, and Bayreuth. From 1990 through 2007, Mr. Swedberg was the general director of Orlando Opera, one of the largest opera companies in the Southeast, and was responsible for artistic direction and management.
Mr. Swedberg became active as a stage director while on the Seattle Opera staff, where he was assistant director for the Ring Cycle from 1978-1982. Since then, he has produced or directed more than 125 productions for several opera companies in the United States.
Professor Swedberg is also Associate Professor of Music at the University of Michigan, where he directs the Opera Studio and teaches Yoga for Performers. He has B.A. and B.M. degrees from California State University, Northridge, and earned an M.B.A. from the University of Central Florida. He founded the Heinz Rehfuss Singing-Actor Awards, was co-founder of the ”Negro Spiritual” Scholarship Foundation, and hosted Opera with Robert Swedberg on 90.7 WMFE-FM, for over 15 years. He was on the Board of Directors of OPERA America from 2002-2007, and continues to be active as a consultant for the National Endowment for the Arts.

Cal Stewart Kellogg is Principal Conductor of the Arizona Opera. Companies for whom he has led productions include the Baltimore Opera, Canadian Opera, Cleveland Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Houston Grand Opera, L'Opera de Montreal, Opera Theater of St. Louis, San Francisco Opera, Seattle Opera, a sixteen-year association with the Washington Opera, plus the festivals at Chautauqua, Santa Fe, Spoleto and Wolf Trap. In Italy, he has led productions for the opera companies of Florence, Genoa, Naples and Parma.