Zachary Hugo

Acclaimed for his “vibrant and ringing” sound, last season Zach’s made his principal role debut as Sharpless in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. 

The 2023/24 season saw him make his company debut with Opera Grand Rapids as Marcello in their production of La bohème as well as covering the roles of Alfio and Tonio for Opera Carolina’s double feature of Cavalleria Rusticana and I Pagliacci. 

Most recently, he has been seen as Il Conte in Le Nozze di Figaro with International Lyric Academy/Opera Carolina and as Pluto in the sold-out preview performance of Nmon Ford’s highly anticipated new opera House of Orfeus. Mr. Hugo reprised the role of Pluto for an October concert performance with Detroit Opera with further performances to be announced. 

Other notable engagements include Germont (Cover) in La Traviata and Scarpia (Cover) in Tosca with Opera Carolina, Schaunard in La Bohème and Belcore in L’elisir d’amore with Central Piedmont Opera Theater, and Silvio in I Pagliacci and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly with Opera Experience Southeast. 

Mr. Hugo’s training also includes graduate studies in conducting, leading to productions of Gluck’s Orpheé et Eurydice, Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, and Mozart’s Così fan tutte under his baton.A native of South Carolina, Mr. Hugo holds a B.M. in Vocal Performance and a M.M. in Conducting from Winthrop University. Additionally, he is an active teacher of voice and piano in the Charlotte area.  During the 75th Anniversary Season, Zach will reprise the role of Marcello in La bohème.

Corey Raquel Lovelace

Corey Raquel Lovelace hails from Chicago, but has happily made her new home in the Carolinas. 

She made her a spectacular debut as Nedda in Pagliacci last season, filling in at the 11th hour for an indisposed Barbara Frittoli.  She made her role debut as Leonore in Fidelio with the Mid-Ohio Opera Company in 2023, and last year retured to the concert stage premiering new works by Ukrainian composer, Sophia Pavlenko-Chandley. She made her debut as the title role in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah and covered the title role in Adriana Lecouvreur. Corey returned to the opera stage post-pandemic performing Mimì in La bohème with Opera North, and she made her company debut with Opera Carolina as Musetta.  

Internationally, she has performed in China with the iSING! Music Festival and made her European debut with the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Additional performing credits include; Cendrillon in La Cendrillon, Kate in Connection Lost: The Tinder Opera, Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, and Lady Billows in Albert Herring. She continues to shine on the Opera Carolina stage this season as Frasquita in Carmen, First Lady in The Magic Flute and Musetta in La bohème. 

Amber Rose Romero

Hailed for her effervescent and iridescent voice, Amber has performed principal roles with opera companies across the United States, including the Utah Festival Opera, NC Summer Opera, Greensboro Opera, Signature, Inc., NH Piccola Opera, the Miami Music Festival and Opera Fusion in an impressive array of roles including Zerbinetta in Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos, Olympia in Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann, Adele in Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus, Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff, the Dew Fairy in Humperdinck’s Hansel und Gretel, and Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. 

She makes her principal role debut with Opera Carolina this season as The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute.

Johnathan Stanford White

Tenor, Johnathan Stanford White began his Operatic studies at the College of Charleston in 2004 while working on his BA in Vocal Performance. In 2011, he was selected to sing at the Jussi Bjorling Centennial Celebration at Gustavus College at the Jussi Bjorling Concert Hall. Since moving to Charlotte and joining the Opera Carolina as a Resident Company Member in 2013, Johnathan has become a staple in the classical music scene. He made his Opera Carolina debut in Turandot as the Emperor in 2015, and has since assailed numerous roles during his tenure with the Opera, including Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni, Spoletta in Tosca, Trique in Yvgeny Onegin and last season as Peppe in Pagliacci, Goro in Madama Butterfly and Pang in Turandot. Johnathan is also an accomplished symphonic soloist performing throughout the East Coast. 

He made his international debut performing the three comedic roles in Les contes d’Hoffmann with the International Lyric Academy, Vicenza, Italy. During the Opera’s 75th he will star as Tamino in The Magic Flute.

Melinda Whittington

Opera Carolina’s Prima Donna, Melinda Whittington joined the roster of the Metropolitan Opera for its productions of Macbeth and Philip Glass’ Akhnaten, and the roster of the Lyric Opera Chicago for its production of Eugene Onegin. Previously with Opera Carolina, she has portrayed Violetta in La traviata, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro, Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi, and Zweite Dame in Die Zauberflöte. 

This coming season, she will return for both Micaëla in Carmen and Mimí in La bohéme. Among the soprano’s other recent performances is her debut with Minnesota Opera as Mimí, Arizona Opera as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni and a return for the title role of Rusalka, Utah Opera for Donna Anna, Ash Lawn Opera as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, and North Carolina Opera for both Nedda in Pagliacci and Ada in Higdon’s Cold Mountain. She has also sung the title role of Arabella with Pittsburgh Festival Opera, Juliette with Opera Birmingham and Pensacola Opera, Micaëla in Carmen with Greensboro Opera, and Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni with Green Mountain Opera. She sang Micaëla and Marie Antoinette in Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles with Wolf Trap Opera, and subsequently returned to the company for a birthday concert celebration honoring the composer. 

Ms. Whittington is a former Resident Artist of the Academy of Vocal Arts, where she performed Marguerite in Faust and Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte. She has been a semi-finalist of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, first place winner of the Opera Birmingham competition, third place winner in Fort Worth Opera’s McCammon Voice Competition, twice winner of the Charlotte Opera Guild Competition, and an encouragement award winner in the Gerda Lissner International Vocal Competition. She is a former participant in the prestigious Merola Opera Program in association with San Francisco Opera at which she performed scenes as the title role in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena, Barber’s Vanessa, and Bizet’s Le jolie fille de Perth