In a career that has spanned three decades, Stage Director, Mezzo-Soprano, and Voice Teacher, Layna Chianakas has portrayed over 50 leading opera roles across the United States, including over 80 performances of Carmen. Most recently, she was heard with Intermountain Opera, in the role Mme. Larina in Eugene Onegin and with Livermore Valley Opera as Filipyevna in Eugene Onegin. She returns to both companies this spring as Emilia in Verdi’s Otello, and Marcellina in Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro. 

 As an award-winning opera Stage Director, her most recent win was the 2021 American Prize for Opera Production for Livermore Valley Opera’s double-bill of Zemlinsky’s A Florentine Tragedy and Pucinni’s Gianni Schicchi and the National Opera Association third prize for Postcard from Morocco for the San José State Opera Theater.  For Opera San José, she directed La Voix humaine, Hansel & Gretel, Carmen and Il barbiere di Siviglia. Other directing credits include, Le nozze di Figaro, Cavalli’s L’Ormindo, Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortileges, Die Fledermaus, Orpheus in the Underworld, as well as a fully-staged version of Mendelssohn’s Elijah.  Rachel J. Peter’s Rootabaga Country marked her third production as the Stage Director for the Vivace Youth Chorus Summer Opera Workshop, which saw her productions of Menotti’s Chip and His Dog, and Krasa’s Brundibar. Opera Santa Barbara presented her Summer Youth Opera production of Ben Moore’s Odyssey, Jake Heggie’s At the Statue of Venus for Soprano Young Artist, Brooklyn Snow, and she returns again this October to stage their double-bill of Falla’s El amor brujo (with choreographer, Cecily MacDougall) and Puccini’s Il Tabarro.

 In addition to a thriving private voice studio, Ms. Chianakas is Vocal Director of Musical Theater for Valley Christian High School Conservatory in San Jose, CA, where her credits include, Hello, Dolly!, Mary Poppins, Godspell, Found: A Musical Revue, and The Addams Family.

She lives in San Jose, CA with her husband, and two children; her greatest productions.

Last OSB Role: Stage Director for OSB’s Young Artist Showcase, At the Statue of Venus by Jake Heggie, Brooklyn Snow, Soprano

Upcoming Opera: Emilia, Otello, Livermore Valley Opera; Marcellina, Le nozze di Figaro, Intermountain Opera

Carmen / Carmen

Jan/Feb 2002 (debut)

Kostis Protopapas was named General Director of Opera Santa Barbara in December 2017, after two-and-a-half seasons as Artistic Director. 

During his time as Artistic Director and principal conductor, Kostis brought a unified vision to OSB’s musical and production values, strengthening the orchestra and chorus, engaging some of the country’s most promising young directors and singers, building a high-performing production team, and increasing focus on contemporary American opera. As General Director Kostis assembled a team of enthusiastic overachievers with a passion for innovation and the desire to strengthen the company’s bond with the community, who consistently deliver programs and communications far greater than what can be expected from the size of the company.

Performance highlights from Kostis’ tenure include grand opera classics like Madama Butterfly, Manon, and Eugene Onegin as well as contemporary works like Daniel Catan’s Il Postino, the mariachi opera Cruzar la cara de la luna,  and Robert Ward’s The Crucible, which the Santa Barbara Independent called “one of the season’s most exciting performances of any kind in Santa Barbara”.

Between March 2020 and June 2021, under Kostis’ leadership Opera Santa Barbara remained active and fully staffed.  It was the first performing arts organization in Santa Barbara to offer streaming programming, and one of only two opera companies in California to present three live operas in the 2020-21 season.  Additionally, Opera Santa Barbara became an advocacy leader for the reopening of the performing arts, and funded live performances by local musicians through “Operation Eurydice”.   

Before coming to Santa Barbara Kostis was the Artistic Director of Tulsa Opera since 2008.  He previously  was an Assistant Conductor with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, LA Opera and Santa Fe Opera. At the Lyric Opera of Chicago, he also served as Assistant Chorus Master under Donald Palumbo for two seasons..

Born in Athens, Greece, Kostis Protopapas studied Archaeology and History of Art at the University of Athens before coming to the United States in 1993, on an Onassis Foundation scholarship, to study piano at The Boston Conservatory and conducting at Boston University. He became an American citizen in 2011.  He loves living in Santa Barbara, and enjoys downtown restaurants, the Funk Zone’s tasting rooms, and sailing on the Santa Barbara Channel.

Yuki Izumihara is a Los Angeles based freelance scenic, projection designer for theater and opera, and a production designer for film.

Yuki has received her MFA in Entertainment Design from UCLA in 2016.

A native of Helsinki, Finland, Helena Kuukka joins the Opera SB staff from Orlando, Florida. Helena’s Opera Santa Barbara debut was as Lighting Designer of The Barber of Seville in 2018, followed by Eugene Onegin in 2019. Other favorite opera designs include The Marriage of Figaro and Eugene Onegin (Florida Grand Opera), Aida (Vancouver Opera, Portland Opera), Samson and Delilah and La Boheme (Tulsa Opera), La Traviata and The Merry Widow (Kansas City Lyric Opera), and Rockland (Pine Mountain Music Festival). Her dance designs include Carmen, Giselle, Vampire’s Ball and Firebird for Orlando Ballet as well as Swan Lake, The Little Mermaid, and several contemporary works for Ballet Memphis. Helena is also a frequent designer at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma where her credits include productions of Titanic, Oklahoma, Dreamgirls, Ragtime, Hello Dolly, Newsies, Mamma Mia and the world premiere of When We’re Gone.

Greek soprano Eleni Calenos is capturing critics' and audiences' admiration for her warm, beautiful voice and her dignified characterizations. Of her performance as Tosca, Opera News said: "Eleni Calenos gave a performance for the ages, both vocally and dramatically." Recent appearances include Giorgetta in Il Tabarro (Opera Company of Middlebury), Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly (Annapolis Opera and Ash Lawn Opera), Tosca (Opera Idaho), Mimì in La bohème (Shreveport Opera and Palm Beach Opera), Micaëla in Carmen (Palm Beach Opera), and Desdemona in Otello (Phoenicia International Festival). In the 2016/2017 season, she sang Giorgetta in Il Tabarro and the title role in Suor Angelica with Opera Delaware, and covered Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly for Glyndebourne Opera. Her repertoire also includes Gilda in Rigoletto, Liù in Turandot, Nedda in Pagliacci, Antonia in Les Contes d'Hoffmann, Lia in Debussy's L'Enfant Prodigue, Countess in The Marriage of Figaro, and the title role in The Merry Widow with companies including Palm Beach Opera, Shreveport Opera, Opera Idaho, Tulsa Opera, Austin Lyric Opera, Sarasota Opera, Mississippi Opera, and Zomeropera (Belgium). Her concert repertoire includes Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Strauss' Four Last Songs, Verdi's Messa da Requiem, and Barber's Knoxville: Summer of 1915. Her recordings include Mascagni's Zanetto with Odyssey Opera of Boston, and George Tsontakis' Mirologhia, released on the KOCH International Classics. Ms. Calenos won the Gerda Lissner Foundation award (2010), and was a finalist of the Renata Tebaldi International Vocal Competition in San Marino (2009), and the Concurso del Canto de Bilbao (2008). She was a member of Boston University's Opera Institute and holds a Masters Degree in Vocal Performance from Queens College in New York, as well as a Diploma in Violoncello Performance form the Municipal Conservatory of Thessaloniki, Greece.

elenicalenos.com

Korean American tenor Adam Diegel regularly earns international acclaim for his impassioned dramatic sensibilities, powerful voice, and for his classic leading man looks. From a performance as Cavaradossi in Tosca at Glimmerglass Opera, Opera News raved: “The opera became a showdown between Adam Diegel’s impulsive, shaggily handsome Cavaradossi and Lester Lynch’s fearsome, animalistic Scarpia… (Diegel’s) spacious, Italianate tenor…delivered a stirring ‘Recondita armonia’ and built ‘E lucevan le stelle’ masterfully from hushed intimacy to an unfettered cri de coeur.”

This season Mr. Diegel will make his Boston Lyric Opera debut as Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana and will debut with Opera Columbus singing Cavaradossi in Tosca, as well as a gala concert with Knoxville Opera.

The 2020-2021 Adam Diegel returned to the Pensacola Opera for Don Jose in Carmen as well as making his role and company debut singing Manrico in Il Trovatore with Opera Tampa, as well as joining New York City Opera in their Bryant Park concert series and debuting with Victoria Hall Opera in their concert series.

In the 2017-18 season, Diegel reprised his critically acclaimed role as Cavardossi in Tosca with Palm Beach Opera and returns to The Metropolitan Opera in Norma and Madama Butterfly. Additionally, Diegel performed two of his signature roles throughout the world as Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly at Opera Hong Kong and Palm Beach Opera and Don José in Carmen at San Francisco Opera, PORTopera, and Opera San Antonio. Additionally, Diegel sang the title role in Verdi’s Don Carlo with Lithuanian National Opera, Ruggerio in La Rondine with Opera Santa Barbara, Ismaele in Nabucco with The Metropolitan Opera, and the tenor solo in Verdi’s Requiem with Alabama Symphony Orchestra and Spokane Symphony.

Other international appearances have included: Don José in Carmen in a new production at Opera Australia’s Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour; Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly with Lithuanian National Opera, The Savonlinna Opera Festival, and on tour in China at the Guangzhous Opera House in Anthony Minghella’s acclaimed production; Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur at The National Theatre in Budapest, where he later performed Cavaradossi in Tosca; and David Alden’s new production of Luisa Miller for Opéra National de Lyon.

Ruggero / La rondine

April 2017 (debut)

Wayne Tigges (Bass-Baritone) is quickly establishing himself as one of the bright young stars in the opera world today. He has sung at many of the great opera houses of the world including: The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Paris Opera, Glyndebourne, Opera del Liceu, LA Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Santa Fe Opera, and the Teatro du Capitol Toulouse, among others.  Mr. Tigges Enjoys a strong relationship with the Lyric Opera of Chicago (12 roles with the company), San Francisco Opera (10 roles with the company), and the Santa Fe Opera (7 roles with the company).  In addition, he will be making his debuts at  Philadelphia Opera, Teatro Municipal de Santiago, Palm Beach Opera, Edmonton Opera, and the Des Moines Metro Opera in the near future. Mr. Tigges has appeared with many of the great orchestras of the world including: the NY Philharmonic, Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, LA Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Lukes, among others.  He has worked with such conductors as Sir Andrew Davis, Pierre Boulez, Nello Santi, Bruno Bartoletti, Sir Mark Elder, James Conlon,  Alan Gilbert, Esa Pekka Salonen, Christoph Eschenbach, Stephan Deneve, and Harry Bicket.  Mr. Tigges repertoire includes Handel's Messiah, Bach's St. John's Passion, Bach's St. Matthew's Passion, Haydn's Creation, Mozart's Requiem and Mass in C minor, Mendelsohnn's Elijah, Stravinsky's Les Noces and Rossignol, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Neilson's Symphony #3, and Zemlinsky's Psalm #3. Lauded by the Chicago Sun Times for his "rich, dark, and beautiful legato, Mr. Tigges is equally at home doing roles that require vocal acrobats, (roles in Handel, Rossini Opera), and roles that require significantly more heft (Wagner, Strauss, Verdi).  He has been involved in 7 world premieres, and has over 60 roles in his repertoire.

He created the role of Joe St. George in the world premiere of Picker’s Dolores Claiborne with San Francisco Opera; sang Escamillo in Carmen at the Glyndebourne Festival and with San Diego Opera; Kolenaty in The Makropolous Case with the Opéra National de Paris; and Ariodate in Xerxes, Sam and Wesley in the world premiere of Theofanidis’ Heart of a Soldier, Ariodate in Xerxes and Zuniga in Carmen with San Francisco Opera. He sang Achilla in Giulio Cesare in his Metropolitan Opera debut and returned to the Lyric Opera of Chicago the following season for further performances of the role as well as Basilio in The Barber of Seville. Mr. Tigges enjoys a strong relationship with the Lyric Opera of Chicago where he sang the title role in The Marriage of Figaro to great critical acclaim while still a member of the prestigious Ryan Opera Center (formerly Lyric Opera Center for American Artists). Also with the company, he sang Snook in Bolcom’s A Wedding, Capulet in Roméo et Juliette, Angelotti in Tosca, Sam in Un Ballo in Maschera, and Bonze in Madama Butterfly.

www.waynetigges.co