Manon Lescaut Cast Biographies Soprano Lianna Haroutounian made her San Francisco Opera debut in 2014's Tosca and returned in 2016 as Cio-Cio-San in Madama Butterfly, a role she recently sang to great acclaim at the Vienna State Opera, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, Hamburg State Opera and Seattle Opera. She opened San Francisco Opera’s 2018–19 Season as Nedda in Pagliacci and makes her role debut with the Company as the title heroine in Manon Lescaut next season. She has performed Elisabetta in Don Carlo at Deutsche Oper; Staatsoper Berlin; Royal Opera, Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera. Her operatic appearances also include the title role of Tosca for her Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia debut in Valencia, Leonora in Il Trovatore at Covent Garden, Amelia in a concert performance of Simon Boccanegra at Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw and Amelia in Un Ballo in Maschera in Bern and Tours. Upcoming performances include the title role of Iolanta at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia, Elisabetta at Hamburg State Opera and Leonora in a new production of Il Trovatoreat the Teatro Real in Madrid. Tenor Brian Jagde made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2010 as Joe in La Fanciulla del West and has returned to the Company as Cavaradossi in the new production of Tosca, Calaf in Turandot, Radames in Aida, Don José in Carmen and Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly. Recent highlights for the American tenor include Don José at Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Cavaradossi at the Opernhaus Zürich, San Carlo Opera Festival and Deutsche Oper Berlin; the Verdi Requiem at Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw; Der Fremde in Korngold’s Das Wunder der Heliane at Deutsche Oper Berlin; Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur at Covent Garden and Radames at Seattle Opera. He also performed as Don José at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre and the Arena di Verona Opera Festival. In 2019, he embarks on a series of role debuts including Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticanaand Luigi in Il Tabarro with the Dresdner Philharmonie, Enzo Grimaldo in La Giocondaat Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, Don Alvaro in La Forza del Destino at Paris’ Opéra Bastille and Des Grieux with San Francisco Opera, the latter two assignments under the baton of Nicola Luisotti. Jagde is a graduate of the San Francisco Opera’s 2009 Merola Opera Program and a former San Francisco Opera Adler Fellow. Tenor Rafael Davila makes his San Francisco Opera debut this fall as Chevalier des Grieux in Manon Lescaut, a role he first performed for Opera de Valencia in Spain under the baton of Maestro Plácido Domingo and repeated in 2018 for his house debut at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu. Other important debuts include Don José in Carmen with the Metropolitan Opera; the premiere of Bel Canto with Chicago Lyric Opera; Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci for Sarasota Opera, Teatro San Carlo in Naples and the Macerata Festival; and Don Carlo, Carmen, Norma and La Forza del Destino for Washington National Opera. Career highlights include the title role of Verdi’s Otello for Sarasota Opera and Teatro de la Opera in Puerto Rico; Radames in Aida for Opera de Valencia and Manitoba Opera in Canada; Dick Johnson in La Fanciulla del West for Michigan Opera and Minnesota Opera; Manrico in Il Trovatore for Opera New Jersey and Lyric Opera of Kansas City; Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera for Teatro San Carlo and Florida Grand Opera; and Calaf in Turandot for Opera de Puerto Rico, Connecticut Grand Opera, and New York Lyric Opera. His Don José has also been heard in Minnesota, Miami, Kansas City, and in New Zealand. This season he makes his house debuts with Opera Colorado and Opera San Antonio as Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca, a role he has also sung in Kansas City, Sarasota, Miami, San Juan, and Leipzig. American baritone Anthony Clark Evans made his San Francisco Opera debut in 2016 as Sharpless in Madama Butterfly. Highlights of recent seasons include his Metropolitan Opera debut as the Huntsman in Rusalka, Riccardo in I Puritani with Lyric Opera of Chicago, Sharpless at the San Diego Opera, Tonio in Pagliacci with Opera San José, and Marcello in La Bohème with Querido Arte: Ópera de Guatemala and the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. A graduate of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s prestigious Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center, he was heard as Montano in Otello for his debut with that company, as Yamadori in Madama Butterfly, and as the Jailer in Tosca. With Lyric Opera of Chicago, he created the role of Simon Thibault in the 2015 world premiere of composer Jimmy Lopez and Nilo Cruz’s Bel Canto, based on Ann Patchett’s bestselling novel. Concert work includes an appearance at the annual Richard Tucker Gala at Carnegie Hall, Angela Rice’s Easter Oratorio Thy Will be Done with the National Chorale at David Geffen Hall, Bernstein’s Songfest at Ravinia Festival with Ensemble dal Niente, Les Mamelles de Tirésias with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the “Stars of Lyric Opera at Millennium Park.” Later this season, Evans makes role debuts in the title role of Rigoletto at Kentucky Opera, Zurga in Les Pêcheurs de Perles with Santa Fe Opera, Leporello in Don Giovanni at Tulsa Opera, and sings Marcello with Dallas Opera. Internationally celebrated American bass Eric Halfvarson is one of today’s foremost interpreters of many of the darkest Verdi and Wagner roles. He is a regular guest artist at the world’s foremost opera houses and will be remembered for his numerous performances at San Francisco Opera including Lodovico in Otello; Landgraf in Tannhäuser; Geronte in Manon Lescaut; Fafner and Hagen in the 1999 Ring cycle; Prince Gremin in Eugene Onegin, and Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, among others. In the 2018-19 season, he makes his role debut as Tirésias in Enescu’s Oedipe conducted by Marc Albrecht at Dutch National Opera and returns to Washington National Opera to sing Prince Gremin in Robert Carsen’s production of Eugene Onegin. He will also sing Hunding in concert performances of Die Walküre with Sir Simon Rattle’s leading the Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. Recent performances include Daland in a new production of Der Fliegende Holländer at Bergen National Opera conducted by Eun Sun Kim and The General in Prokofiev’s The Gambler at Opera Vlaanderen. Concert appearances included Hagen in Götterdämmerung with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jaap van Zweden and recently released on the Naxos label. At London’s Royal Opera, he has performed in Guillaume Tell, Manon Lescaut, Das Rheingold, and Siegfried all under the baton of Antonio Pappano. His acclaimed credits feature long relationships with Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, Metropolitan Opera, Barcelona’s Gran Teatre de Liceu, Munich’s Bavarian State Opera, Bayreuth Festival, Opéra de Paris, Wiener Staatsoper, LA Opera, and Washington National Opera. In addition to his stage performances, Halfvarson is a respected voice teacher and university lecturer. He currently makes his home in Barcelona. .