Cast bIOS
Summer Hassan (Salome) has most recently performed as the Soprano Soloist in Portland Symphony’s Verdi Requiem in 2022 and collaborating with Aula Simfonia Jakarta in March 2020. In January 2020, she showcased her talent as the Mahler 2 Soprano Soloist with Chicago Sinfonietta. Summer debuted with Chicago Opera Theater in 2019 as Pip in Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick and also starred in the world premiere of A Rose by Kamala Sankaram with HGO. Additionally, she performed with Heartbeat Opera in 2019 in their production of Der Freischütz.
In 2018, she made her role debut as Tisbe in Hasse’s Piramo e Tisbe with Little Opera Theater of NY and returned to LA Opera to reprise her role as Virginia in The Canterville Ghost. Her LA Opera performances include roles such as Ghost Quartet Soprano in The Ghosts of Versailles, Second Lady in The Magic Flute, Lady in waiting in Macbeth, and 2nd Daughter in Akhnaten. Summer’s earlier accomplishments include her role debut as Musetta in Wolf Trap Opera’s 2016 La Bohème and her Carnegie Hall debut as Second Niece in Britten’s Peter Grimes with the St. Louis Symphony. She has also performed in Rossini's The Touchstone, Musto's Bastianello, and Glass/Moran's The Juniper Tree.
Summer earned her Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and her Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory. She is an alumnus of LA Opera's Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist program, having made her company debut in 2014 as the Second Lady in Barry Kosky's Dido and Aeneas. Additionally she was a Metropolitan Opera Semi-Finalist in 2017.
Patrick Cook (Herod) recently debuted as Siegfried at Landestheater Coburg, Die Hexe in Hänsel und Gretel at Deutsche Oper Berlin, and Erik in Der fliegende Holländer at Landesbühnen Sachsen. The 2022-23 season began with his return to Washington National Opera as Junger Diener in Elektra. As a member of the soloist ensemble of Deutsche Oper Berlin from 2020-2023, his many performances with the company include Albi in Der Schatzgräber, Froh in Das Rheingold, and Ismaele in Nabucco.
Cook began the 2019-20 season with his Metropolitan Opera debut as the Master of Ceremonies in The Queen of Spades. In the 2018-19 season, he made his WNO debut as the Kronprinz in Puts’ Silent Night followed by his European debut at Theater Aachen as François in Bernstein’s A Quiet Place. Other performances include Bacchus in Ariadne auf Naxos and Steuermann in Der fliegende Höllander at the Miami Music Festival.
Cook is an alumnus of the Wolf Trap Opera Studio, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of Maryland College Park, Master of Music degree from Bard College Conservatory, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Juilliard School. For more information please visit www.patrickcooktenor.com
Nathaniel Sullivan (Jokanaan) is a musician, theatre artist, and writer devoted to holding space for reflection, understanding, and creative projects that champion change. An "alert and highly musical baritone" (Opera News), Nathaniel infuses his work with "impressive strength and precision" (Schmopera), as well as “great eloquence” and "allegiance to both music and words" (ConcertoNet). Upcoming highlights: Messiah with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra (December 2024); Jochanaan in SALOME with Heartbeat Opera (February 2025); Escamillo in Carmen in concert with the West Virginia Symphony (March 2025); recitals with Chamber Music Quad Cities (March 2025) and Piano Lunaire (May 2025). Other recent highlights: the role of The King in the North American premiere of George Benjamin's Lessons in Love and Violence at Tanglewood; soloist and Jesus in the St. John Passion with Abendmusik; premiering two works for baritone and chamber ensemble with Contemporaneous at Carnegie Hall; covering the role of Harvey Milk in the world premiere of Stewart Wallace's Harvey Milk Reimagined at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Nathaniel was one of seven winners of the 2023 Astral Artists National Competition and has been awarded the Grace B. Jackson Prize for exceptional service at Tanglewood (2019),Third Place in the Washington International Competition (2023), Third Place in the Lyndon Woodside Oratorio SoloCompetition (2019), Third Place in the Orpheus Vocal Competition (2019), and First Place in the NATS National Musical Theatre Competition (2018). He received his BM from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (2014) and his MM from the Bard College Conservatory of Music (2017). Connect with Nathaniel at nathanielsullivan.com.
Manna K. Jones (Herodias), American Soprano, is known for her dramatic brilliance across opera and classical music as well as musical theater. She has appeared in the title roles of Madama Butterfly at Carnegie Hall, internationally as Fiordiligi in Cosí fan tutte and made her Broadway debut in Rocktopia, a Classical Revolution. Manna is featured in the Naxos documentary film, Global Wagner – From Bayreuth to the World for her work as Brünhilde in Götterdämmerung.
Her many career highlights include riveting title-role portrayals of Cio-cio San in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly at Carnegie Hall and Suor Angelica with the California Opera Association. Additionally, Pamina in The Magic Flute with the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Micaëla in Carmen at Lincoln Center, and Susanna in the Marriage of Figaro with Washington Opera Society.
When Manna sang for Marilyn Horne, the legendary mezzo-soprano pronounced her voice, “An incredible instrument."
David Morgans (Narraboth) is a 3 time Grammy Award-winning tenor known for his riveting performances and dynamic voice. Next up for Mr. Morgans is work with Detroit Opera on Anthony Davis’ The Central Park Five. This winter Morgans also appeared in a concert titled Celebrating Iconic American Composers presented by Metro Opera Tech here in New York City.
In the 2023/24 season, Mr. Morgans returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Ally in the critically acclaimed X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X. He was thrilled to debut Lensky in Opera Baltimore’s Eugene Onegin, and returned to cinemas worldwide. Mr. Morgans appears as Julio (a tenor) in the feature film, She Came to Me (directed by Rebecca Miller) alongside Anne Hathaway, Peter Dinklage, and Marissa Tomei. She Came to Me (released worldwide October 2023) is available on Hulu and Disney+.
David appeared as James Keller in TOUCH with Birmingham Opera, and debuted the role of Aret in Jupiter’s Journey to Earth with the Little Opera Theater of New York. At Charlottesville Opera, he covered Nemorino in L’elixir d’amore , and ended his summer with the St. Stephen’s Music Festival, reprising the role of Nate in Highway 1, USA. DavidMorgans.com / IG: HunkenTenor
Melina Jaharis (Page), heralded by Opera News for their “lush” voice, is a Greek-American with a “rich, dark, resonant” mezzo soprano.
This season includes four exciting new productions, one as the world premiere of Beyond the Horizon, as well as another world premiere as Heather in Tin Angel, both with Teatro Grattacielo. The third production is here with Heartbeat Opera. In July, they join Teatro Grattacielo as Marcellina. They join Opera Magnifico and Regina Opera for Il trovatore, Rigoletto and other works in concert.
2023-2024 brought covering Santuzza and performing Lola and covering Santuzza with Regina Opera and joining the company for concerts, and covering Mamma Lucia with MidAtlantic Opera Productions as well, covering La Gran Vestale with Teatro Grattacielo. Melina joined Bronx Opera as La Ciesca, Marianna (Il signor Bruschino) and Fairy Queen cover (Iolanthe). The summer brought Fricka/Erda in Das Rheingold.
Highlights of their 2022-2023 included covering Madre in Madama Butterfly and scenes as Eboli and Ulrica with Sarasota Opera. That summer she covered Amneris, Ortrud and Mrs. Soames with Utah Festival Opera. They also sang the title role of Carmen with MIOpera.
Previous roles include performances and covers of Hannah After, Azuena and Maddalena / Countess Ceprano (Wolf Trap)
Jeremy Harr (Soldier) is praised for his “warm, smoothly produced bass” and “knack for animating a line” (Opera News), bass Jeremy Harr has emerged as an exciting talent to watch. Most recently, he appeared with Virginia Opera as Zuniga in Carmen and Opera San Jose covering Sarastro in The Magic Flute.
In 2023-24, Harr joined The Metropolitan Opera for their workshop of Jeanine Tesori’s Grounded, The Princeton Festival as Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte, Salt Marsh Opera as Pistola in Falstaff, Pacific Northwest Opera as Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier, the title role in Le nozze di Figaro, and Osmin in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, and Lakes Area Music Festival covering Nick Shadow and Father Trulove in The Rake’s Progress.
He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory and the University of Maryland, as well as young artist programs at Pittsburgh Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, and Des Moines Metro Opera.
Francesca Federico (Alternate Performer for Salome) was born in Paris, and is based in New York City. Hailed as having a voice of “such strong presence and beauty of tone that she left one longing for more.” (Opera News), she loves performing both standard and contemporary repertoire, and is overjoyed to be making her debut with Heartbeat Opera.
This season, Francesca is a soloist with the New York Session Symphony in Mahler’s Symphony No.4, and with the Hudson Chorale in Bach’s BWV 140. She will also release her debut album, Visions and Ecstasies, on Odradek Records, a compendium of Irish folk song and art song by Irish composers, borne from her research as a Fulbright Scholar in Ireland.
Other recent projects include: Nannetta in Verdi’s Falstaf with Salt Marsh Opera; Anna di Resburgo (cover) in the modern premiere of Carolina Uccelli’s Anna di Resburgo with Teatro Nuovo at Lincoln Center; soloist in John Rutter’s Requiem with the New England Symphonic Ensemble, conducted by Maestro Rutter at Carnegie Hall; Eurydice in Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld with Opera Ithaca and Raylynmor Opera, and soloist with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble at The Morgan Library, performing Ravel’s Chansons Madécasses and the premiere of Clarice Jensen’s Enheduanna.