Baritone Franco Pomponi made his European debut in the title role of Hamlet at the Liceu in Barcelona and success followed worldwide. He created a sensation in Paris as Pentheus in The Bassarids by Henze at the Théâtre du Châtelet and has returned to sing the title roles in new productions of Nixon in China (broadcast on Mezzo) and Sweeney Todd. His Italian debut came at Teatro Massimo, Palermo, as Nick Shadow in Cesare Lievi’s production of A Rake’s Progress. He debuted at Opernhaus Zürich in a new production of Les pêcheurs de perles as Zurga (dir. Rizzi), the title role of Don Giovanni for his debut at Bolshoï Opera (dir. Currentzis) and in Budapest in a new production of The Tempest as Prospero at Hungarian State Opera.

Mr. Pomponi was a member of Lyric Opera of Chicago and made his Chicago debut as Germont in Verdi’s La traviata. He made his New York debut as Escamillo in Carmen at New York City Opera. Other debuts: Ford in Falstaff for The Santa Fe Opera (dir. Arrivabeni), ‘Four Villains’ in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Finnish National Opera (dir. Fournillier). He made his Carnegie Hall debut as Pater Ecstaticus in Symphony Nº 8 of Mahler with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Additional highlights include: Ezio, Attila, Seïd, Il Corsaro, OFC Chicago; Tebaldo, Giulietta e Romeo (Zandonai), New York; Prigioniero, Il Prigioniero (Dallapiccola), Chicago; Pangloss, Candide, Metternich, L’Aiglon, Lausanne; Hamlet, Barcelona, Marseille, Brussels, Kansas City; Don Giovanni, Bolshoi, Moscow, Geneva, Athens, Montpellier, Guangzhou; Eugene Onegin, FGO, Miami, Spoleto Festival; Escamillo, Carmen, L.A. Opera, NYCO, Helsinki, Bremen; ‘Four Villains,’ Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Golaud, Pelléas et Mélisande, Reisopera Netherlands; Paolo, Simon Boccanegra, Grand Théâtre de Genève; Germont, La traviata, Grant Park Music Festival; Ford, Falstaff, Canadian Opera; Count di Luna, Il trovatore, Austin Lyric; Michele, Il tabarro, Opera Festival of Chicago; Jack Rance, Fanciulla del West, KYO; Marcello, La bohème, Opéra de Lausanne, Opéra Vichy; Schaunard, La bohème, Count Dominik, Arabella, Metropolitan Opera, New York; Valentin, Faust, Opéra de Toulon; Hérode, Hérodiade, Silvio, Pagliacci, Dorset Opera; Frank/Pierrot, Die tote Stadt, Teatro Massimo, Palermo; Guglielmo, Così fan tutte, Belcore, L’elisir d’amore, Opéra National du Rhin, Strasbourg; Argante, Rinaldo, NYOpera Fest; Ping, Turandot, Mercutio, Roméo et Juliette, Malatesta, Don Pasquale, Lyric Opera of Chicago; Carbon, Cyrano, Teatro Real, Madrid. Mr. Pomponi has sung leading roles under Abell, Abbassi, Andrizzi, Bartoletti, de Billy, Eschenbach, Gergiev, Guidarini, López Cobos, Luisotti, Mehta, Minkowski, Levine, Mazzola, Nagano, Nelson, Niquet, Olmi, Ōno, Pappano, Pidò, Schwarz, Soltész, Villaume, de Waart.

Franco is the Artistic Director and co-founder of the Opera Festival of Chicago

Described as “brilliant” and possessing “…a strong, pleasantly ringing voice with a nice extension up top, incredible stamina, and acting abilities not often seen on the operatic stage” by Opera News, tenor Matthew DiBattista is continually in demand on some of the world’s most prestigious stages. He has sung with such conductors as Charles Dutoit, Andris Nelsons, Robert Shaw, and Sir Andrew Davis. Mr. DiBattista has performed over 70 different roles spanning the operatic repertoire and makes his Houston Grand Opera debut in the Fall of 2025 as Tinca/Gherardo in Il trittico.  In 2024/25 Mr. DiBattista made his San Francisco Opera debut as the Doctor in The Handmaid’s Tale, his Carnegie Hall debut as the Teacher in Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk with the Boston Symphony Orchestra recorded on Deutsche Grammophon, and recorded King Nebuchadnezzar in The Burning Fiery Furnace with Enigma Chamber Opera. He has been on the roster of the Metropolitan Opera and performed several seasons with Lyric Opera of Chicago singing Normanno in Lucia di Lammermoor, Esquire in Parsifal, Faninal’s Major-Domo in Der Rosenkavalier and others. Highlights from recent seasons include Triquet in Eugene Onegin, Goro in Madama Butterfly, and Scaramuccio in Ariadne auf Naxos at the Santa Fe Opera, Beppe in I pagliacci and Monostatos in Die Zauberflöte with Palm Beach Opera, the Madwoman in Curlew River with Enigma Chamber Opera, and Soloist in Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings with the Bach, Beethoven and Brahms Society, and the Captain in the Grammy-nominated recording of Corigliano’s Lord of Cries with Odyssey Opera. Further performances include the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel, Triquet in Eugene Onegin, and Borsa in Rigoletto with Michigan Opera Theatre; Amrou in La Reine de Saba, and the Earl of Surrey in Saint-Saëns’ Henry VIII with Odyssey Opera; the Doctor in Poul Ruders’ The Handmaid’s Tale, Don Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, and Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with Boston Lyric Opera.

Other successes include work with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Glimmerglass Opera, Florida Grand Opera (“Matthew DiBattista was splendid in the multiple character-tenor turns, with a beautifully produced voice at his command.” – Opera News), Cincinnati May Festival, New Orleans Opera, Opera Omaha, Tulsa Opera, Opera Boston, Virginia Opera, Opera Colorado, Tanglewood, and has appeared nine seasons as principal artist with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis (“As the villain Bégearss, the mega-talented Matthew DiBattista was appropriately showy…” – Opera News).

Tenor Aldo Alan started his journey in music at the age of 21. He discovered his talent through a voice class for beginners where he found his passion for classical singing and Broadway. In 2021, he received his Bachelor of Arts in music studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. In 2023, he graduated with a Masters of Music in vocal performance at Depaul University. Currently, he is finishing his Artist Diploma at DePaul University. In addition, Aldo Alan is a current volunteer at Zarzuela USA International since 2019. In 2023, he attended workshops with Zarzuela Por El Mundo and Zarzuela USA International, where he received acting and singing classes from mezzo-soprano Nancy Fabiola Herrera.

Aldo Alan has played the role of Rinuccio from Gianni Schicchi. In March 2023, he played the role of Lippo in Street Scene. He has also played the roles of Spalanzani and Frantz from The Tales of Hoffmann, and Martin from The Tender Land. For oratorio, Aldo Alan has been the tenor soloist in Messa di Gloria by Puccini and in King David by Honegger.

Passion is guaranteed when it comes to Viktoria Vizin, the internationally acclaimed mezzo-soprano whose name is often seen in the world’s most prestigious houses such as the Metropolitan Opera, Hungarian State Opera House, Chicago Lyric or Royal Opera House Covent Garden.

Ms. Vizin has embarked on an exciting dramatic mezzo-soprano repertory in her past seasons. This includes Charlotte in Werther (Scottish Opera debut 2013), The Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos (Budapest 2013, 2015), Phedre in Rameau’s Hypolite et Aricie, Dejanira in Handel’s Hercules (Budapest 2013 and 2012), the Wagner Ring Cycle at the Luzerne Festival conducted by Jonathan Nott (2013). Ms. Vizin sang the highly acclaimed supporting roles Flosshilde (Das Rheingold, Gotterdammerung), 1st Norn (Gotterdammerung) and Schwertleite (Die Walkure) and Waltraute in Götterdämmerung (Palermo) directed by Graham Vick. In addition to her new repertory, she completed her 100th Carmen performance (2012) at the Budapest State Opera House, performed Judit in Bluebeard’s Castle in the Miskolc International Opera Festival (2013), with the Oregon Symphony (2016) and with the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Ivan Fischer (2019), made her appearance at the Grand Theatre du Luxembourg as Preziosilla (2013) and had her Danish debut at Den Jyske Opera, Aarhus as Dulcinee (2014). She debuted as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s Don Giovanni in an innovative production at BartokPlusz Festival (2018).

Ms. Vizin had a role debut of Hannah Glavary in The Merry Widow at the BartokPlusz Opera Festival in Hungary (2014, 2015) and sang the title role of Tosca in Hungary (2015-16). She debuted as Nerone in Monteverdi’s Incoronazione di Poppea at Palace of Arts, Budapest (2016).

Ms. Vizin has a passion for contemporary performing arts. She debuted as Nina in Senza Sangue written and conducted by Peter Eötvös in which she was claimed to have had an outstanding success.