Our People

23331487_10101623400594129_220199460396665396_o (1).jpg — Kelly M Turpin

**Founder, Producer, and Artistic Director**
She/Her • kelly@anoperatheatre.org
It isn’t every day that newspapers mention arts administrators, but AOT Founder/Producer Kelly M Turpin was praised by the Star Tribune for having “thrown a gauntlet down to those inclined to think opera consists mainly of prima donnas, pretty tunes and preening.”
Kelly’s career in artistic development and administration began as Company Director for Mill City Summer Opera. Since then, she has worked with The Southern Theater, 113 Composers Collective, Cantus, and currently GTCYS (Greater Twin Cities Youth Symphonies) on top of her responsibilities at AOT.
Originally planning on a career in opera performance, (Ithaca College BM, Arizona State MM) she quickly tired of the stale and pompous US opera culture and invested in creating a space for greater transparency and honesty in the art form. AOT was founded on this vision of social action and community inspired through opera.
When not dreaming up new artistic ventures in Minneapolis, Kelly enjoys cooking, swimming, running, road trips, and reading all in the company of her favorite collaborator, Justin Spenner, and their cat kids Percy and Motley.

Justin+Anthony+Spenner+%28role+of+Male+Voice%29_PC_+Brent+Dundore.jpg — Justin Spenner

**Grant Manager**
He/Him
Justin Spenner is a Minneapolis-based Baritone who realized the best way to make art is to let people pay for it. He started his grant writing career in 2015, securing himself a MN State Arts Board Artist Initiative Grant. Since then, he has secured funding on local, state, and national levels for various artists and arts non-profits. He works with national philanthropy research consulting firm Access Philanthropy. His local clients include Anne Labovitz, Opera Reading Project, and Saint Paul Ballet.

KrisAnne Weiss.jpg — KrisAnne Weiss

**Voice Lab Host & Facilitator**
She/Her • krisanneweiss.com
KrisAnne Weiss is a Minneapolis-based mezzo-soprano and voice teacher. She enjoys an eclectic performing career of music-theater and concert work, and is an accomplished recitalist, chamber musician, and narrator. She most recently performed principal roles in Skylark Opera Theatre’s productions of *The Most Happy Fella* and Così fan tutte, in Opera on the Lake’s *Die Fledermaus*, and in AOT’s inaugural production, *The Consul.* As an advocate of contemporary music and art song, she has premiered and workshopped countless new compositions, has been a performer in Nautilus Music-Theater's Composer-Librettist Studio, and has frequently been a featured artist at Source Song Festival. She is on the voice faculty at Carleton College, teaches private lessons in the Twin Cities, and hosts and facilitates AOT’s Voice Lab.

Jerrald Spencer Jr.

**Graphic Design**
He/Him • jerraldspencerjr.design
If everyone saw the world like Paul Rand sees white space, we'd be in a better place.

Jerrald has been designing for over a decade. His specialties include illustration, branding, typography, conceptual design, and social media strategy. Pro wrestling, comic books, and cartoons were just some of his inspirations growing up. As a lifelong cinephile and comic book lover, he draws inspiration from the likes of Jack Kirby and Jim Lee. His father was also a major source of inspiration in my life. He was once featured alongside Thomas Edison in a book of young inventors. My goal is to leave behind as powerful and meaningful of a legacy as he was able to create. When not doodling/designing, you can catch him creating music or playing Street Fighter 2.

Education Immersion Teaching Artists

Adán Varela

Adán (he/him) has worked as an actor and singer with Lyric Arts of Anoka, Mixed Precipitation, Frank Theatre, Ordway Center for the Arts, Second City, Park Square Theatre, Freshwater Theatre, Minneapolis Musical Theatre, Teatro del Pueblo, Minnesota Orchestra, Border CrosSing, Skylark Opera, Minnesota Opera, The Kenny Kiser Show, Artistry, and Hey Rube. He has directed pieces for stage with Mixed Precipitation and Gadfly Theatre. In addition, Adán produces work for his company, Adelante Productions and works as the drag performer, Bird of Paradise. He also works in graphic design and video production/editing.

Anna Hashizume

Anna (she/her) is thrilled to be involved with AOT and LEAP this year! Previous credits include: Artistry Theater: Mary Poppins; Theatre Elision: Of Art and Artists; Lyric Arts: Sense and Sensibility; Collective Unconscious Performance: Into the Darkness; Mixed Precipitation: The Clemency of Tito’s Tennis Club, Dr. Falstaff and the Working Wives of Lake County, Philemon and Baucis: Planet in Peril; Minnesota Opera: La Traviata, Thaïs; Fargo Moorhead Opera: Speed Dating, Tonight!; Lyric Opera of the North: Rigoletto. In 2017 she was a Schubert Club Competition Winner. TRAINING: M.M., University of Minnesota; B.S.O.F, Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Anna also teaches voice in the Twin Cities and hosts a podcast called Thank You Places which can be found on most streaming platforms. www.annahashizume.com @annahashizume

Brian Wallin

Praised for his “finely focused and well-mannered” voice (Dallas Morning News), tenor Brian Wallin (he/him) has “proved [to be] another gifted tenor…who took the stage with flair and commitment” (Opera Today). The 2019-2020 season began with appearances with Austin Opera in the role of Borsa in Rigoletto and a reprised role of Count Almaviva in The Ghosts of Versailles with the Château de Versailles Spectacles. This past January he continued his work with contemporary repertoire making his Opera Birmingham debut in a regional premiere of Independence Eve, a chamber opera commentating on civil rights issues.

Jared Miller

Born in San Diego, California, Jared (he/him) discovered his passion for Collaboration while participating in his high school choirs. He graduated from St. Olaf College with a B.A. in Music and an Asian Studies concentration studying with Dr. Ananda-Owens, and recently finished a Master’s Degree in Collaborative Piano and Coaching at the University of Minnesota with Dr. Lovelace. As a freelance pianist in the Twin Cities, Jared has worked with Calliope Women’s Chorus, BorderCrosSing, Schubert Club, Mississippi Valley Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Mill City Opera, Arbeit Opera Theatre, and Journey North Opera Company. One of Jared’s musical passions is in studying and performing the music of Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula.

Justin Spenner

Praised as a “Standout” with “boisterous comic energy” by the Star Tribune, Baritone Justin Anthony Spenner (he/him) is known throughout the Twin Cities for his artistic honesty and engaging versatility. At home with Schubert, as he is with Stockhausen, Justin’s appearances run the gamut from recital and oratorio staples with regional organizations to world premieres of experimental music.

Joel Mathias

“A force in his own right” who expresses “real, authentic, raw emotion”, baritone Joel (he/him) has performed extensively in the Twin Cities with An Opera Theatre (AOT), Minnesota Opera, Journey North Opera, Mill City Summer Opera, and Skylark Opera. Joel grew up in White Bear Lake, MN, studied voice with John De Haan at the University of Minnesota, and currently resides in Minneapolis with his husband Chris and their dog Blair and cats Shadow and Oliver. Joel currently studies with tenor Dennis Petersen.

Maria Kosovich

Maria (she/her) is a singing actor based in Minnesota. Her opera credits include Cecilia March in Adamo’s Little Women, La Badessa in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, and La marchande de journaux in Poulenc’s Les mamelles des Tiresias. Theatre credits include Mary in Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano, Hattie in Porter's Kiss Me, Katie, and the gender-bent titular character in Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus. Maria currently serves as a board member of Minnesota Valley Chorale. She is a graduate of Simpson College.

Sahar Hassan

Sahar Hassan (she/her) is the artistic director of Ladyslipper Ensemble. She has performed with Mill City Opera and Out of Box Opera. Also, she sang the role of Venus in La Dafne with Bold North Baroque Opera. Most recently, she was cast as Bianca in An Opera Theatre’s upcoming production of The Rape of Lucretia. She holds a Master Music from the New England Conservatory of Music. Sahar is a recipient of a 2017 Artist Iniciative grant and a 2020 Next Step Fund. Her CD “The World’s Highway” was released in 2019. She is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique.

Mikalia Bradberry

Mezzo-soprano Mikalia Bradberry (she/her) is a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota with a master’s degree in vocal performance. Mikalia was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Niagara Falls natives and received her bachelor’s degree in vocal performance from Abilene Christian University. Bradberry performed the title role of Carmen in Le Tragedie de Carmen and prepared the role of Madame de Croissey in Poulenc’s Les Dialogues des Carmelites for the University of Minnesota’s opera program for the '19-'20 season. She also prepared the role of Lucretia from Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia with An Opera Theatre (AOT) in the spring of 2020. She is a former student of Dr. Julie Pruett, Adriana Zabala and is a current student of Victoria Vargas.