Luciano Marsalli, age 11, is a member of the Opera Naples Young Artists Program. He has performed in numerous Opera Naples productions including Elixir of Love, H.M.S. Pinafore, and La Boheme and played the title role in ON's Family Opera, Amahl and the Night Visitors in December, 2009. He captured the comic role of the Major General in the Pirates of Penzance at ON's Teen Summer Camp, performing the popular patter song at the age of nine. This summer he played the role of Ko-Ko in The Mikado. His solo appearances include a benefit concert for the New Horizon’s Super Kids Club, 2008 Opera Naples’ Christmas Concert, and as a guest with Steffanie Pearce at the North Naples United Methodist Church Festival of Arts. Luciano has studied voice with Ms. Pearce since age 7 and is also an aspiring violinist. He performed in March 2009 with the Bach Ensemble of Naples as a Bach Festival Outstanding Young Artist. Luciano is a home schooled Naples resident in sixth grade. He also enjoys playing soccer and reading.

Zofia Majewski, age 11, now a Naples resident, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. This delightful young talent began singing at a very early age. She is home schooled, is a frequent soloist at St. William's Catholic Church, and has participated in the Philharmonic Children's Chorus, Opera Naples' Children's Chorus and in the Sugden Theater KidzAct troupe. You might remember her expressive face and lovely voice in ON's Youth Production of The Mikado this past summer. Zofia is one of the first Opera Naples' Youth Sponsorship Program award winners. In their awards celebration event, Voices of the Future, Zofia, along with the other winners, serenaded their sponsors and other Opera Naples patrons.

Melissa Vitrella moved to Naples to be the Opera Naples Artist in Residence. She was seen as Alisa in Lucia di Lammermoor, and as Jo in ON's American Opera Workshop performances of Mark Adamo’s Little Women. Ms. Vitrella made her professional debut at Opera Naples in the role of Flora in Verdi's La Traviata. The Naples Daily News called her a "surprise power hitter: an attention-getting mezzo voice and good stage presence." The rich-timbred singer has also performed at ON as Third Lady in Mozart’s Magic Flute, and in various ON concerts and galas. 
 
Melissa earned her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from Stetson University, where she was the 2003 Concerto Competition Winner. While there, she performed the roles of Hansel in Humperdink's Hansel and Gretel, Sesto in Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito, and Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. She attended graduate school with a voice teaching assistantship at Florida State University, where she sang the roles of Florence Pike in Britten's Albert Herring, Dinah in Bernstein's Trouble in Tahiti, and Cornelia in Handel's Giulio Cesare in Egitto. Melissa was an Affiliate Artist at Orlando Opera, where she performed the roles of the Mistress of the Novices in Puccini's Suor Angelica, and Isabelle in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance and the mezzo-soprano soloist at ON's Requiem at. Ave Maria in March, 2011.

Melissa is a soloist at Naples United Church of Christ, a performer in Opera Naples’ ONcore professional young artist's ensemble, and a singer with the Naples Carolers. As well as performing, Ms. Vitrella is a private voice instructor, and a teacher for the United Arts Council Miracle Plus program.

Ms. Leonardi is performing in her fifth season with Opera Naples. She graduated from Westminster Choir College with a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance, studying under the vocal teachings of soprano, Sally Wolf. Since graduating, Ms. Leonardi has appeared in regional performances of Carmen and La Traviata in her home town of Bar Harbor Maine. While living in Naples, Anne has been actively involved with Opera Naples’ opera chorus, Educational Outreach Program and is a member of their newest professional young artist group, ONcore. She has performed The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Lady 2 in The Magic Flute and Beth in Little Women. In her most recent performance, Ms. Leonardi was privileged to make her professional debut las season as Micaela in ON’s production of Carmen.
As well as performing with Opera Naples, Ms. Leonardi is also a soloist with The First Presbyterian Church of Naples.

Joseph Ryan attended the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where he received his Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Vocal Performance. He has participated in many young artist programs, notably with the Opera Theatre of Lucca, Central City Opera, and Sarasota Opera.

Mr. Ryan’s repertoire includes Masetto (Don Giovanni, University of Cincinnati), Dancaire and Morales (Carmen, Opera Fresca), Yakuside (Madama Butterfly, Sarasota Opera), Pistola (Falstaff, Opera Theatre of Lucca), and the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana (Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, FL). In his hometown, he sang with Maestro James Conlon and the Cincinnati May Festival, Maestro Eric Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and performed for eight seasons as a core chorus member with the Cincinnati Opera. With St. Petersburg Opera, he covered the roles of Escamillo and Germont in their productions of Carmen and La Traviata, respectively, performed as Rapunzel’s Prince in Into the Woods and, most recently, was seen as Monterone in Rigoletto.

Patrick Moran is 16 years old and is a junior honors student at The Community School of Naples. He first performed the title role of Amahl and the Night Visitors at eight years of age and was privileged to sing the role many times. Now a baritone, Patrick has twice performed the role of the Page in the same opera. He has participated in several Opera Naples performances including Show Boat and Lucia di Lammermoor. This summer Patrick played Pish-Tush in The Mikado and Frederic in Pirates of Penzance. As a treble soloist, Patrick sang Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms with the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra and Gloria Musicae in Sarasota, the shepherd boy in Tosca with ON, solos from Messiah with The Bach Ensemble, and the Theme from Lord of the Rings with The Naples Orchestra. 

Alissa, age 19, is currently studying Opera Performance with Dr. Tony Boutté at the University of Miami Frost School of Music where she recently performed the roles of Cis in Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring and La Musica in Visions of Orpheus. She will also be performing the role of Barbarina in Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro in the spring. She began working with Opera Naples in the summer of 2009 when she sang the role of Mabel in Gilbert and Sullivan's Pirates of Penzance. Since then she has been very involved in both Opera Naples' Main stage and Summer performances, singing with the Chorus in Mozart's The Magic Flute and Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor as well as portraying the roles of Josephine in H.M.S. Pinafore and Yum-Yum in The Mikado. For the past two summers she has traveled to Washington D.C. to perform with the Gilbert and Sullivan Youth Company in the Capital Fringe Festival. Alissa is thrilled to be making her professional debut this winter with Opera Naples!