MEET THE 2018 SUMMER RESIDENCY ARTISTS

Nicole Heinen (Soprano) Ms. Heinen, a Wisconsin native, is noted for her “sparkling voice” and “deft hand at verbal and physical comedy” (The Isthmus). She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music in Vocal Performance from the Eastman School of Music and a Master’s degree in Music in Vocal Performance from UW-Madison. Recently, she has played Mademoiselle Silberklang in Der Schauspieldirektor, Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Miss Wordsworth in Albert Herring. She has toured with Opera for the Young as Adina in their production of Elixir of Love and participated with them in the Ravinia Festival.

Briana Moynihan (Mezzo-soprano) Ms. Moynihan, holding a Master of Music degree from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, is a seasoned performer and artist. In the past, she has portrayed the roles of Hermia in Midsummer Night’s Dream, the Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, the Chief Elder in The Giver and more. Briana has also won numerous competitions, including the Metropolitan Opera National Council North Dakota District Competition, among others. Ms. Moynihan will continue with the Florentine as a Baumgartner Studio Artist for the 2018-2019 season.

Nicholas Huff (Tenor) The talented Mr. Huff has successfully taken on many roles, most recently as Joseph Treat in Victoria Bond’s opera Mrs. President, which was also his debut at the Rochester Lyric Opera. He has performed numerous roles with the Toronto Summer Opera Workshop, Carthage College Student Opera and the Eastman Opera Theater, where he created a role as Niño Polilla in No se culpe a nadie, in both the world and international premieres. Mr. Huff is also active in concert and oratorio work. Recently, he performed as a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem with the New York State Ballet, and has twice been a soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Waukegan Symphony Orchestra.

Stephen Hobe (Baritone) Mr. Hobe, a performer in both opera and musical theater, has flourished in classical and crossover repertoire in his hometown of Chicago. Most recently, he performed as Silvio in Pagliacci at Main Street Opera, and he has also taken on other impressive roles, such as Sid in Albert Herring, John Proctor in The Crucible, and Kauz in The Homecoming. Mr. Hobe has performed regionally with Music Theater Works, Main Street Opera, NewMoon Theatre, Towle Theatre, Chicago Summer Opera, North Park University, as well as internationally with La Musica Lirica in Novafeltria, Italy.

Ruben Piirainen (Pianist) Mr. Piirainen holds degrees in piano performance from the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music and Bowling Green State University. His credits include the Florentine Opera’s @ The Center Series; numerous performances with Skylight Music Theatre; performances on piano, harpsichord and toy piano with Present Music; pianist and celesta player with Festival City Symphony and Kenosha Symphony Orchestra; performance on toy piano at the 2012 Make Music New York Festival; numerous projects with Milwaukee Opera Theatre; and a CD recording of Pulitzer Prize winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s music. Mr. Piirainen recently performed a concert of new American operatic works from the Florentine’s recording anthology at Opera America’s National Opera Center in New York City. This season also marks the world premiere of his children’s opera, A Busy Bee, commissioned by the Florentine Opera.