Professional Artists in Residence

Up and coming tenor Charles Calotta is an exceptional talent. Noted for his fresh lyric voice, innate musicality, and skilled acting, he continues to build an impressive reputation in repertoire of all periods. His creativity and unusual versatility make him an outstanding presence on any stage. Mr. Calotta has performed with the Prague Summer Nights and Lyrique International de Belle-Île Festivals, the Florida Grand Opera, Opera North, the Maryland Opera Studio and the Dell’Arte Ensemble in standard roles such as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Count Almaviva in Il barbiere di Siviglia. He is equally at home in contemporary repertoire. Of particular note is his work in Gregory Spears’ Fellow Travelers, Michael Nyman’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, and André

Previn’s A Streetcar Named Desire. 2023 opera performances include Spoletto in Tosca and Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi, both with Florida Grand Opera, Orpheus in Orpheus in the Underworld with Opera Ithaca and the title role in Mitridate, Re di Ponto at Opera Neo. In 2022 the tenor sang the roles of Ferrando in Così fan tutte for Opera North, Almaviva with the Winter Harbor Music Festival in Maine, and the world premiere of Elena Ruehr’s Cosmic Cowboy with White Snake Projects. Concert performances include performances of the Saint-Saëns Requiem and Beethoven’s Mass in C with the Wallingford Symphony, the Glens Falls Symphony, and the Astoria Choir. A native of New York City, Mr. Calotta has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Delene Laubenheim McClure Prize and the Michelson Collaborative Arts Award. He is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and received his M.M. degree from  the University of Maryland.

St. Petersburg, Florida native, Jordan Blair is a regular performer in the Tampa Bay area. Most recently she has been seen in Opera Tampa’s annual The Witching Hour, Clotilde in Norma, The Voice of Antonia’s Mother in The Tales of Hoffman, Ruth in Pirates of Penzance, and Nella in Gianni Schicchi. This coming season Ms. Blair can be seen as Mother in Hansel and Gretel and Flora in La Traviata both at Opera Tampa as well as Alisa in St. Petersburg Opera’s production of Lucia di Lammermoor. Jordan is a voice teacher, maintaining her own private studio as well as at the Patel Conservatory at the David A. Straz Center for the Arts. In addition, Ms. Blair regularly engages in community outreach, including Opera Tampa’s School Outreach Program, bringing opera to the community who may not otherwise get to experience it first-hand. She is a regular cantor at Christ the King Catholic Church and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Classical Vocal Performance from The Manhattan School of Music.

Hailed for his “show stopping” and “well-schooled” voice, Texas native Michael Pandolfo has enjoyed performances at several prestigious opera houses and training programs. His recent credits include Pastore 2 cover in Orfeo at the Santa Fe Opera, Anthony Hope in Sweeny Toddat Opera Tampa, Hawkins Fuller in Fellow Travelers as a guest at The University of Cincinnati, Marullo in Rigoletto at Florida Grand Opera, and Papageno in The Magic Flute at The Glimmerglass Festival where he also starred alongside Isabel Leonard in a new adaptation of Songbird. 

Prize-winner at the Russian Cities Chamber Ensembles Competition (Volgograd, 2007)

Prize-winner at the 18th International Roma 2008 Piano Competition (Roma, Italy)

Prize-winner at the 16th International Pietro Argento Piano Competition (Bari, Italy, 2012)

Andrey Annenkov was born in Volgograd. In 2003 he graduated from the College of the Serebryakov Arts Institute (now, Serebryakov Volgograd Conservatory), and then in 2008 from the Arts Institute itself (class of professor V.I. Lesenko). In 2014 completed postgraduate studies at the Rachmaninoff Volgograd State Conservatory under artistic direction of professor I.S. Benditsky and professor R.G. Skorokhodov. In 2008, he was offered the position of an accompanist at the chair of folk instruments and the chair of wind and percussion instruments, as well as the position of a teacher at the chair of chamber ensemble and accompaniment at the Serebryanikov Volgograd Conservatory. In 2007–2013, he was an artist of the Symphony Orchestra of the Volgograd Musical Theatre.

Andrey Annenkov was awarded the Best Accompanist Diploma at multiple competitions and festivals, including the Eighth International Young Musicians Competition Symphony in Volgograd (2012).

From 2012 to 2016 was an accompanist with the opera company of the Volgograd Tsaritsinskaya Opera Theatre. He took part in such performances as Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky, Le Nozze di Figaro and Così fan tutte by Mozart, Tosca by Puccini, The Tsar’s Bride by Rimsky-Korsakov, Aridna by Ristory, The Dawns Here Are Quiet by Molchanov.

Andrey Annenkov has performed recital, chamber and vocal music programmes in Russia, West-European countries, China and the USA. In 2015 and 2016 he participated in the productions of operas Sister Angelica by Pucсini, Così fan tutte and the Die Zauberflöte by Mozart at the festival International Lyric Academia in Roma&Viterbo (Italy). In January 2017, he was engaged in the production of Cavalleria rusticana by Mascagni at The Opera Project DSM (Des Moines, USA).

Since March 2017 he has been an accompanist of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre.