Sarasota Opera has announced the young artists who will be part of its 2022 Saratoga Opera Apprentice Artists program.

The 2022 participants include sopranos Ariel Andrew, Tori Franklin, Jardena Gertler-Jaffe, Sara Kennedy, Ashlee Lamar, Abigail Raiford, and Julia Wolcott; mezzo-sopranos Ashlyn Brown, SarahAnn Duffy, Kaylee Nichols, Victoria Thomasch, and Zara Zemmels; tenors Pedro Valdez Espinoza, Nicholas Hudak, James Mancuso, Samuel Rosner, Joseph Sacchi, and Gregory Sliskovich; Baritones and bass Jose Cuartas, Daniel Chiu, Johan Hartman, Samuel Rachmuth, Justin Ramm-Damron, and John Siarris.

In addition to participating in the chorus for productions of “Tosca,” “La Fille du Régiment,” and “Les pêcheurs de perles” throughout 2022, apprentices will participate in masterclasses, language coachings, and will even cover main stage roles. They will also perform in concert.

Young artists will receive instruction from such artists as  Lindsay Woodward, Chorus Master and Program and Music Director of the Apprentice Artists, Martha Collins, Apprentice Artists Program stage director Stephanie Sundine, Apprentice Artists Program stage director, Marco Nisticò, baritone, and artistic administrator, among others.

“We are all looking forward to working with our Apprentices and introducing new performers to our community. In recent years opera companies have had to fill in the technical gaps left by university training, and we are happy to offer a program that can help do that,” said Principal Conductor and Artistic Director Victor DeRenzi, who also founded the Apprentice program.