Opera San José has announced its 2022-23 resident company.

The artists include Zhengyi Bai (Tenor), Darren Drone (Baritone), Megan Esther Grey (Contralto), Rene Orth (Composer-in-Residence), Maria Natale (Soprano), and Natalia Santaliz (Soprano); Tara Branham (Director), Eugene Brancoveau (Baritone), and Nikola Printz (Mezzo-soprano), return for another season.

These artists will star in the company’s four mainstage productions which will include “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Cinderella,” “Tosca,” and “Falstaff.” The artists will also star in concerts and recitals, among other events. There will also be a virtual world premiere of a work commissioned by the company’s first ever Composer-in-Residence.

“In continuing Irene Dalis’ brilliant vision, we are proud to welcome Rene Orth as our first-ever Resident Artist Composer, from whom we have commissioned a new opera specifically for the digital realm,” General Director Shawna Lucey noted in an official press statement. “The creation of this residency expands and continues our unique mission at OSJ. We prepare artists for the stage, both live and digital and by supporting the genesis of a new American work but an emerging female composer, we are shepherding Irene’s unique vision into the future – all through the support of our cherished audience.”

The artists will be introduced in concert on August 7, 2022; that performance will be broadcast live via Opera San José’s Heiman Digital Media Studio.