C A S T & C R E A T I V E

F I G A R O

"A master of his touching, yet bold baritone" (Berkshire Fine Arts), Matthew Cossack is quickly making a name for himself at notable opera houses in the USA and abroad. He holds degrees and awards from SUNY Purchase, Mannes College and the Yale School of Music. A native of Brooklyn, New York, he was a winner in the Opera Foundation Scholarship Competition in 2019 and made his European debut in 2019 as a member of the Stipendiat Ensemble at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. There, he performed roles such as Dancairo (Carmen), Imperial Commissioner (Madama Butterfly), Christiano (Un ballo in maschera), Fiorello (Il barbiere di Siviglia), Starveling (A Midsummer Night's Dream), and was the baritone soloist in a world premiere 'Once To Be Realised' which toured through Berlin, Munich and Athens in 2021. Mr. Cossack was named winner of the 2022 Sullivan Award with the prestigious Sullivan Foundation, and a Role Preparation Grant recipient in 2023. He was a 3rd Place Winner in the Opera Birmingham Competition, a Finalist in the Premiere Opera and Opera Index Competitions, a Quarter- Finalist in Opera Crown Tbilisi International Voice Competition, and a Regional Winner in the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. He's an alumnus of Young Artist Programs such as Florida Grand Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Naples, Chautauqua Opera, and Music Academy of the West. He made his French debut in 2024 with the Opéra Orchestre National Montpellier singing Bassidji (Négar) by Keyvan Chemirani. This season, his role debuts include Dr. Malatesta (Don Pasquale), and Marcello (La Bohème) and Ko-Ko (The Mikado) with Opera Naples.

R O S I E

Soprano Kaileigh Riess is a dynamic performer dedicated to bringing fierce authenticity, lyrical beauty, and vivid expressivity to operatic, crossover, and contemporary repertoire. Favorite stage credits include include Nannetta (Falstaff), Violetta Valéry (La traviata), Anne Trulove (The Rake’s Progress), Contessa Almaviva (Le nozze di Figaro), Laurie (The Tender Land), and Blanche (Dialogues of the Carmelites). Kaileigh completed her education at Northwestern University, USC, and the Boston University Opera Institute and has since worked with Boston Lyric Opera, Virginia Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Central City Opera, Pacific Northwest Opera, Seaglass Theatre Company, Beth Morrison Projects, and the Boston Pops. Kaileigh has received awards in the Lotte Lenya Competition, the Laffont Competition, and the Jensen Foundation Vocal Competition and was a recent quarterfinalist in the American Traditions Competition. She can next be seen this summer at the Glimmerglass Festival as Dot (cover) in Sunday in the Park with George, Bard 2 in Odyssey, and Lucy (cover) in The House on Mango Street. Maine holds a deeply special place in Kaileigh's heart, as her family has gone camping there every summer since before she was born, and so it is a true privilege to be singing this role and house debut with Opera in the Pines. Kaileigh is based in New York and represented by Encompass Arts. 

C H I E F

Jared Vigue is a tenor classical voice student at the Osher School of Music, where he studies with Professors Scott Wheatley and Mary Letellier. He has performed several roles in Osher Opera Theater productions, including Nemorino in L’elisir d’amore, Candide in Bernstein’s Candide, Roméo in Gounod’s Roméo et Juliette, Alfred in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus, and Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi. Jared has sung in the chorus for professional productions of Le nozze di Figaro, Aida, La Bohème and La Fille du Régiment. Recently, he sang in Opera Maine’s Studio Artist Masterclass with Ron Raines and was a Studio Artist with the Opera Company of Middlebury. A recipient of the 2024 Nordica Scholarship  Award and a winner of the National Association of Teachers of Singing Competition in his division, Vigue was also selected as an Honors Recital performer for the Osher School of Music in 2024 and 2025. In 2024, he was also one of the winners of the OSOM Concerto and Aria Competition. This summer, he will perform the role of Bastien in Mozart’s Bastien und Bastienne with Modern Vintage Opera in Connecticut, and serve as a soloist at the White Mountain Musical Arts Bach Festival in North Conway, NH.

B A R T

Bass-baritone John David Adams is a versatile and accomplished artist, with a career spanning concert, opera, recital, and award-winning vocal ensembles. He made his debut with Opera in the Pines last season in the role of Rev. Hale in The Crucible; other opera and musical stage credits include Lucrezia Borgia (Opera Boston), Tosca (San Francisco Lyric Opera), Carmen (Granite State Opera), Romeo et Juliette (PORTopera),  Cosi fan tutte (Apollo Opera), Trouble in Tahiti(Goat Hall Opera), The Medium and The Telephone (SOLO Opera), Die Fledermaus and The New Moon (New England Light Opera), The Desert Song (Maine State Music Theater), and Susannah, Sweeney Todd, and A Little Night Music(Heartwood Regional Theater Company). He sang the U.S. premier of Karl Amadeus Hartmann’s Simplicius Simplicissimus in San Francisco, and created the role of Marino in Daughter of the Cabinet, Berkeley Opera’s timely political adaptation of LeCoq’s La Fille de Madame Angot. An acclaimed concert soloist in repertoire ranging from Baroque masterworks to world premieres, his engagements include the San Francisco Symphony, Berkeley Symphony, Hartford Symphony, Portland Symphony, Bangor Symphony, Berkeley lyric Opera Orchestra, Redwood Symphony, Arlington Philharmonic, North Shore Philharmonic, Masterworks Chorale, Choral Arts Society, Oratorio Chorale, Longfellow Chorus, San Francisco Bach Choir, and the Blue Hill Bach, Portland Bach, White Mountain Bach, and Portland Early Music festivals. He studied voice and opera at the Hartt School of Music and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and currently serves on the vocal faculty of Bay Chamber Music School in Camden, Maine.

P A S T A P P E A R A N C E S

Reverend Hale in The Crucible

B A S I L

Baritone Jacob O’Shea is a rising young artist whose performances have been deemed, “visually and vocally [commanding]” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). In the 2023/2024 season, O’Shea completed his second year as a Bailey Apprentice Artist at Palm Beach Opera and was an Apprentice Artist at Des Moines Metro Opera. Current season highlight include winning the Boston District of the Metropolitan Opera’s Laffont Competition and joining the Aspen festival as a Reneè Fleming Artists covering Marcello in La bohème and Guglielomo in Così fan Tutte. Equally at home in standard repertoire and new works, role highlights include Dr Gibbs (Our Town), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Colline (La bohème), The Sodbuster (Proving Up), and Paul (If I Were You). O’Shea has been seen as an emerging artist at some of the top programs in the country, including Palm Beach Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, Central City Opera, Boston University Opera Institute, and the Seagle Festival. He has also worked with companies such as Cambridge Chamber Ensemble, Opera in the Pines and Syracuse Opera. Offstage, O’Shea finds solace in the art of embroidery, a creative outlet that complements his musical pursuits, allowing time to explore various unique forms of artistic expression. Hailing from Albany, New York, O’Shea completed his BM in Vocal Performance from Syracuse University and his MM in Vocal Performance from Boston University. He is currently under the tutelage of Bill McGraw.

P A S T A P P E A R A N C E S

Cover in The Crucible

B E R T H A

Originally from Evian, France, Mezzo-Soprano Joëlle Morris has performed throughout Europe and the United States and is admired for her versatility, from the concert stage to the operatic arena, in intimate jazz settings and French cabaret or simply sharing her gifts as voice teacher and coach. An accomplished recitalist, Joëlle has performed extensively across the United States and Europe. Most recently, she portrayed Mary Magdalene in the premiere of Blood & Breath, a concept opera by composer Lucas Richman and librettist Honora Foah, held in the Vatican City, Rome, Italy. 

Since relocating to Maine in 2011, Joëlle has appeared with the Bangor Symphony Orchestra, the Mozart Mentor Orchestra and is regularly a featured artist at Colby College, Bates College, Bowdoin College, the Franco Center, Waterville Opera House, Nordica Auditorium, the Colby Jazz Faculty Ensemble, and the Early Music Festival in Portland. 

Mrs. Morris is the co-founding member of the Resinosa Ensemble, which specializes in 21st century chamber works, and the Amethyst Chamber Ensemble, a professional vocal and instrumental group based in Midcoast Maine. In addition to annual summer appearances in France, she is currently on the music faculty at Bates College.

C O V E R

Irish-American baritone Liam Shannon has been praised by the South Florida Classical Review for his “strong” voice, and is quickly establishing himself as one of the most sought after singers in the New England region. Recent concert and opera engagements include the baritone soloist in the Fauré Requiem with the Bennington County Choral Society, Finzi Requiem da Camera with with the Connecticut Chamber Choir, as well as Albert in Massenet’s Werther with Modern-Vintage Opera, and Ping in Puccini’s Turandot with Opera Vermont and the New England Repertory Orchestra. Other highlights include The Sacristan in Tosca, Minskman in Flight, and The Ferryman in Curlew River.

Liam graduated with his Master of Music in Vocal Arts & Opera from the USC Thornton School of Music where he studied with renowned voice teacher, Lynn Helding. He currently studies with Jonathan Beyer.

C O V E R

Born on a small farm in rural Maine, March Steiger has found their passion performing works by underrepresented composers, such as J. Rosemond Johnson, Lili and Nadia Boulanger, Cécile Chaminade, Josephine Lang, among many others.

In 2024, they performed with Hogfish Maine in their production of The Breasts of Thérèsias as Elegant Person as well as covering Thérèse. In the spring, March performed the role of Valencienne in Portland State University’s production of The Merry Widow. In 2023, they starred in the academic premier of Sherlock Holmes and the Case of the Fallen Giant, as well as reprising the role of the Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte, both with Portland State University.

Also in 2023, March was the second place winner of the Portland State University Aria Competition, as well as placing first in their division at the Cascade Classical NATS Competition. March has also been chosen as an Emerging Outreach Artist in 2022-2025 for Opera Maine’s outreach program, dedicated to bringing opera to schools across Maine.

March holds a Bachelor of Music Degree in Voice Performance from the Osher School of Music at the University of Southern Maine and a Master of Music in Voice Performance from Portland State University.

C O V E R

Luke Scott appeared in New York's Broadway district in the critically acclaimed ¡Figaro! (90210) followed by the title role in Don Giovanni with Salt Marsh Opera, Trial at Rouen with Odyssey Opera, L'Elisir d'Amore, Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera Naples, Rogers and Hammerstein in Concert with Opera Theater of Connecticut, Soloist at the Oregon Bach Festival, Tosca with Long Island Lyric Opera, La Bohème and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum at the Natchez Festival, Lancelot in Camelot with Indianapolis Opera, and Purcell's Tempest at the Connecticut Early Music Festival. 

Other appearances include Le Nozze di Figaro with Geneva Light Opera, L'Elisir d'Amore with Opera Theater of Connecticut, Die Zauberflöte with Opera Vermont, Ludus Danielis with Boston Camerata at Early Music Seattle, South Pacific with the Norwalk Symphony, Carmen with Maryland Symphony, Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera on the Avalon, Rinaldo with Boston Opera Collaborative, Don Giovanni with Opera Western Reserve, Brahms Requiem with Dartmouth Handel Society, Mozart Requiem at Wesleyan University, Judas Maccabaeus with New Haven Chorale, Soloist with Cape Cod Symphony, Winner of the New England Concerto Competition, Messiah with the Eastern Connecticut Symphony, and Finalist for the Art Song Preservation Society of NY. 

Mr. Scott has received awards from The Martina Arroyo Foundation, The American Prize in Opera, Bel Canto Scholarship Foundation, Shreveport Opera, and Gerda Lissner Foundation.

C O V E R

From Wagner roles to modern opera, chamber music to art song, Sarah Tuttle's performances have been praised for their "fine balance of energy and introspection." (The Wall Street Journal). Sarah has a special interest in contemporary vocal music and collaboration with composers, and she’s delighted to have participated in the creation of new works. Most recently, Sarah launched Songs From Here, a Maine-based initiative dedicated to commissioning and presenting new vocal works from Maine’s composers. Sarah has appeared as soloist with ensembles around New England, including TUNDI, Venticordi, Classical Uprising, the Amethyst Chamber Ensemble, and Friends of the Kotzschmar Organ.

Offstage, Sarah shares her knowledge and passion for music over the air on Maine Public Classical, where she shares music and stories with listeners all over Maine and beyond. She also curates and hosts Songbook, a weekly vocal program with an emphasis on art song. Learn more about how you can tune here. A committed and enthusiastic voice teacher, Sarah maintains a voice studio at 317 Main Community Music Center in Yarmouth, where she works with students of various ages and abilities towards meeting their personal goals.

Sarah holds a Masters degree from the Bard Graduate Vocal Arts Program at Bard College, and a Bachelors degree from the Sunderman Conservatory of Music at Gettysburg College. She is proud to have spent two summers as a Vocal Fellow with the Tanglewood Music Center, from whom she received the Grace B. Jackson Prize for Excellence. She makes her home in Portland, Maine. 

P R O P S D E S I G N E R

Jennifer Kennedy is so excited to have a chance to work alongside the incredibly talented creative team of Opera in the Pines. You may have seen Jennifer recently in Lyric Music Theater’s A Christmas Carol as the Ghost of Christmas Past, where she got to be both performer as well as puppet designer for all the ghosts alongside her sister Sarah Kennedy. Nothing makes her happier than being back in Maine creating and performing with the people she loves. Toi toi toi!

C O S T U M E D E S I G N E R

Sarah Kennedy is an independent director, screenwriter, actor, and costume designer in both theater and film. She graduated from the University of Southern Maine majoring in theater, and continued her studies in NYC. Since moving back to Maine, she has started her own theater company, Out There Theater Company, alongside her best friends Joanna Clarke and Dalton Kimball.

Past costume design credits include The Crucible with Opera in the Pines and Once Upon A Mattress and The Wizard of Oz with Lyric Music Theater.

Sarah is extremely happy to be collaborating with this amazing group of artists again!