Season 13
Madama Butterfly
The Cast
Janet Todd
Brendan Boyle
Shengnan Yang
Jean Carlo Rodriguez
Taka Komagata
André Chiang
David Lee
Lydia HoweryCreative Team
Soprano
Cio-Cio-San
Janet Todd is a Los Angeles–based soprano, originally from Melbourne, Australia. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, she has performed with companies across the United States, including Los Angeles Opera, Opera Santa Barbara, Opera Columbus, and Pacific Opera Project.
Her recent operatic highlights include Nedda in Pagliacci, Mimì in La bohème, Setsuko in An American Dream, and Cio-Cio San in Madama Butterfly on multiple occasions.
In Australia, Janet has appeared in leading roles with Victorian Opera, Opera Australia, and Pinchgut Opera. In concert, Janet has performed with the National Symphony Orchestra at Wolf Trap, the LA Phil at the Hollywood Bowl, the American Symphony Orchestra at Madison Square Garden, and the San Francisco Symphony.
Tenor
Pinkerton
Tenor Brendan Boyle returns to Gulfshore Opera following his stunning success as Don José in last season’s Carmen. Mr. Boyle recently performed Radamés in Aida and Don José in Carmen with Toledo Opera, Kamehameha III in the world premiere of Kamalehua: The Sheltering Tree with Hawaii Opera Theatre, and Nikolaus Sprink in Silent Night with Opera Orlando. Earlier engagements include the Prince in Rusalka with Wichita Grand Opera and Cavaradossi in Tosca with Toledo Opera. He received his Master of Music from Baylor University and a Performer’s Diploma from Indiana University.
Mezzo-Soprano
Suzuki
Shengnan Yang, mezzo-soprano, whom we discovered at the GO Professional Artist Workshop, makes her professional company debut in this production. She holds a Master of Music degree from the Mannes School of Music and an Artist Diploma from Rutgers University.
Known for the richness, blossom of her low register and compelling stage presence, her operatic credits include Carmen in Carmen, Zita in Gianni Schicchi, La Zia Principessa in Suor Angelica, and the Old Lady in Candide.
Baritone
Sharpless
Praised for his “fetchingly resonant” voice of “great presence,” Dominican-born baritone Jean Carlos Rodriguez is establishing himself as a prominent performer on opera stages across the United States. During the 2024-2025 season, Mr. Rodriguez portrayed a “lecherous and loathsome” Tonio and “[held] the stage with authority” as Alfio in Sarasota Opera’s Cavalleria rusticana/Pagliacci. He also debuted the title role of Rigoletto with the Savannah VOICE Festival under the guidance of Sherrill Milnes and sang Marcello in La bohème with Opera Tampa. During the 2023-2024 season, he made his Sarasota Opera debut as Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor and returned to Opera Tampa as Germont in La traviata.
Tenor
Goro
Tenor Taka Komagata brightens international classical music with his sincere presence and vibrant vocal style. He performs “with earnest gusto” (The Boston Globe) and has been praised for his “believable and stunning” character portrayals (Los Angeles Times).
Mr. Komagata’s recent highlights include the tenor solo in Britten’s Spring Symphony with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Goro in Madama Butterfly with Opera Grand Rapids, his Carnegie Hall debut performing the tenor solo in Terre Johnson’s Te Deum with New England Symphonic Ensemble, and Nemorino in The Elixir of Love with Hawai’i Opera Theatre.
Baritone
Prince Yamadori
Baritone André Chiang has been described as “vocally commanding” (Oregonian), “handsome of voice” and “stood out for his chiseled vocalism” (Opera News). Chiang’s recent engagements include Ping (Turandot) with Opera Delaware, Captain Corcoran (HMS Pinafore) with Opera Las Vegas, Pacific Opera Project, and Opera Grand Rapids, and Wáng Yuè/Nephew (Stuck Elevator) with Knoxville Opera. He has also been seen with the Glimmerglass Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Opera Philadelphia, the Atlanta Opera, Portland Opera, Virginia Opera, and other American opera companies. He is an Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera at Florida State University.
Baritone
The Bonze
David Lee has appeared in numerous operas, portraying roles ranging from comprimario to principal. His repertoire includes Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro, Snug in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Kobun Chino Otogawa in The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs, Malatesta in Don Pasquale, Frank in Die Fledermaus, Der Lautsprecher in Der Kaiser von Atlantis, and more. As a young artist with Virginia Opera, he performed as a Thug in Daniel Catán’s Il Postino and covered roles including Il Re in Aida, Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola, and Sacristan in Tosca. David studied music at Indiana University, the New England Conservatory, and Temple University. He currently resides in Miami, where he is pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at the University of Miami under the tutelage of Professor Kim Josephson. Most recently, he performed as Frank Maurrant in Kurt Weill’s Street Scene and Minskman in Jonathan Dove’s Flight with Frost Opera Theater, and also appeared as Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro with the Miami Music Festival this summer.
Mezzo-Soprano
Kate Pinkerton
Lydia Howery is a GO Regional artist and founding member of GO Divas and recently played the role of Berta in The Barber of Seville with GO. Howery has also appeared with Boston Bel Canto Opera, Raylynmor Opera, D’Angelo Opera Theater, and Erie Opera Theater in such roles as Maddalena in Rigoletto, Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, Dame Quickly in Falstaff, and the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors. She holds an MM in Voice Performance from The Boston Conservatory.
Music Director, Conductor
Jorge Parodi, Music Director of Gulfshore Opera, is an internationally respected conductor, music educator, and arts leader. He currently serves as Artistic Director of the Savannah VOICE Festival and of both Opera Hispánica and Opera in Williamsburg. He is the founder of the Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy and a faculty member at The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music. Parodi has led productions at The Atlanta Opera, New York City Opera, Chautauqua Opera, Opera Tampa, Opera Orlando, and Buenos Aires Lírica, among others. Notable world premieres include Musto’s Rhoda and the Fossil Hunt, Coppola’s Lady Swanwhite, and Ching’s The Birthday Clown. He has also conducted the Naples Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, and Chautauqua Symphony. Parodi has worked with artists such as Isabel Leonard, Sherrill Milnes, and Rufus Wainwright, and assisted legendary conductors Lorin Maazel and Julius Rudel. Parodi is a faculty member at The Juilliard School and the Music Director of the Moores Opera Center and Assistant Director of Orchestras at the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston. His dynamic leadership continues to shape the future of opera across the Americas and abroad.
Stage Director
Named as one of Musical America’s Top 30 Professionals of the Year in 2023, Josh Shaw is the Founding Artistic Director and CEO of Pacific Opera Project (POP), which has been described as "L.A.'s most exciting opera company." Over the past fifteen seasons, Mr. Shaw has directed and designed over 65 productions at POP, including The Rake’s Progress, Ariadne auf Naxos, The Mikado, Turandot, Zorro, and La bohème: AKA “The Hipsters”.
A frequent librettist for English updates, his Star Trek parody of Abduction from the Seraglio and Nintendo-inspired The Magic Flute: AKA #SuperFlute have gained national attention and have been produced at multiple companies, shattering attendance records. Other English libretti include a Wild West setting of Die lustige Witwe, a contemporary setting of Trial by Jury, Covid fan tutte, a 1930s Hollywood Fledermaus, Rusalka, and a groundbreaking production of Madama Butterfly sung in Japanese and English, a co-production of POP and Opera in the Heights (Houston).
Mr. Shaw has directed over 140 productions at companies including New Orleans Opera, Opera Orlando, Opera Santa Barbara, Gulfshore Opera, Opera Montana, Utah Festival Opera, Opera Columbus, Salt Marsh Opera, Opera Neo, Opera Louisiane, Queen City Opera, and Opera in the Heights. Recent projects include a production of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta starring “The Blind Soprano” Cristina Jones, Turandot, Carmen, Giulio Cesare, Zorro, Fra Diavolo, and the US premieres of Vivaldi’s Ercole su’l Termodonte, Salieri’s La scuola de’ gelosi, and Cagnoni’s Don Bucefalo, and Donizetti’s Il fortunato inganno.
26/27 productions include La rondine at POP, Zorro at Opera Williamsburg, Madama Butterfly at Gulfshore Opera, Rusalka at Salt Marsh Opera, and Sweeney Todd at Cedar Rapids Opera. More at joshshaw.org
Jorge Parodi
Josh Shaw