Liz Cass - Dinah LeFarge, LOLA Executive Producer

Liz Cass is a producer, educator, arts leader, and active operatic performer. Ms. Cass is the originator of the mezzo role in the opera, Pancho Villa; From a Safe Distance by Graham Reynolds and Lagartijas Tiradas al Sol for which she garnered an Austin Critic’s Table Award for Best Singer. Other recent performance highlights: Mrs. Lowe and Dora in The Manchurian Candidate by Kevin Puts with Austin Opera, The Brahms Alto Rhapsody with Chorus Austin, mezzo soloist in Handel’s Messiah at the Teatro Nationale and Casa Santo Domingo in Guatemala and Pancho Villa; From a Safe Distance with PuSh Festival in Vancouver and the Prototype Festival in NYC.

Founder and the Executive Producer of the award-winning LOLA, Local Opera Local Artists, Liz also holds the title of Executive Director of the Armstrong Community Music School and serves on the boards of Seagle Festival, Austin Classical Guitar, and is on the community advisory board of KMFA 89.5.

Upcoming, Ms. Cass is originating the role of Dinah LeFarge in LOLA’s commissioned opera, Lardo Weeping, by Peter Stopschinski and Terry Galloway which will have its fully staged premiere in August of 2022. Other upcoming performances include a concert with Austin Chamber Music Center at their annual Gala and the premiere of Donald Grantham’s song cycle “Love Songs Sweet and Sour” with pianist Carla McElhaney.

Liz began her vocal studies with Dr. Rebecca Folsom. Ms. Cass is a graduate of the University of Missouri at Kansas City Conservatory of Music where she received her degree in Vocal Performance under the tutelage of renowned voice teacher Inci Bashar with whom she continues to study.

Rebecca Herman - LOLA Artistic Producer, Stage Director

Rebecca Herman is Artistic Producer of LOLA, Local Opera Local Artists in Austin, TX and an operatic stage director. This year Rebecca is especially excited to be Associate Director for Tomer Zvulun's new production of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs at Lyric Opera of Kansas City, and Atlanta Opera in Spring 2022 and return to Queen City Opera to direct Fidellio.

2021 Highlights include: Tosca (AD) & Le Nozze di Figaro (AD), Austin Opera; Lardo Weeping, part 2 (Dir & Prod) & Good Country (Dir & Prod), LOLA. Pre-pandemic highlights include: Dido and Aeneas(Dir), LOLA & Panoramic voices; La Finta Giardiniera (AD), Portland Opera; The Magic Bullets (Dir) & Die Walküre, Act I (Dir), Queen City Opera; Otello (Dir), Don Giovanni (Dir) & The Daughter of the Regiment(Dir), Austin Opera.

Rebecca received an M.M. in Opera Direction from The University of Texas at Austin and both a B.A. in English Literature and a B.M. in Opera/Vocal Studies from Lawrence University.

Peter Stopschinski - Composer, Pianist, Music Director

Peter Stopschinski Composer/Pianist, has an extremely wide-ranging musical career ranging from co-founding the noise-punk big band Brown Whörnet to co-founding Golden Hornet Project with Graham Reynolds to producing drag-terrorist pop sensation CHRISTEENE to working with theater superstars Rude Mechs to playing Farfisa organ in the Cumbia band Money Chicha nominated for Best Latin Album in 2021 Austin Music Awards.

Peter's work has received much recognition including NEA grants, Austin Music Awards, Centre Theater Group Commissions, Orchard Project Residency, University of Texas New Musical Theater initiative, as well a arranging strings and organ on Grupo Fantasma's Grammy Award winning album El Existential. Peter's operas, musicals, bands, and other works have been performed across the globe.

Terry Galloway - Librettist

Terry Galloway, a deaf, queer writer, performer, and activist who writes, performs, and agitates.  After receiving cochlear implants, Galloway, profoundly deaf since age nine, fell in love with music. October will see the debut of her second venture into musical theater, The Cursed House of Ravensmadd, a queer, feminist take on Victorian Gothic fiction ala Jane Eyre. cowritten with playwright Stacey Abbott, featuring music by her favorite composer, Peter Stopschinski.  Lardo Weeping is her first opera.

Galloway was known in Austin for her writing and performances at Esther’s Follies, of which she was a founding member; for her crossing-dressing roles in Shakespeare at Shakespeare at Winedale; and for her solo performances at theaters and dives around the city. With Donna Marie Nudd, her wife and collaborator of 38 years, she’s toured all four of her solo shows across the United States, Canada, Mexico and the UK.

As a community activist/organizer she co-founded the now defunct Actual Lives in Austin, Texas and the 35 year-old, Mickee Faust in Tallahassee, Florida,  theaters designed to promote original work for members of marginalized communities, particularly LGBTQ+ and people with disabilities.

For her writing, performance, and activism she has received awards, grants, or fellowships from, among others, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the Texas Institute of Letters, the Kennedy Center, the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

She’s presently working with California writer Nikki Braendlin on the film adaptation of her memoir Mean Little deaf Queer, published by Beacon Press,

Donna Nudd - Dramaturge

Donna Marie Nudd, a Professor at Florida State University, was Galloway's partner in creating the original Lardo Weeping. She has served  as dramaturge, director and producer for every stage performance from its debut in Chicago House in Austin, Texas in l985 to its 2015 performances in Mannheim, Germany. She has also authored two academic publications on the development of Lardo Weeping.

Nicole Taylor - Chorus

Native Texan Nicole L. Taylor, hailed by the American Recording Guide for her “full, rich soprano voice,” enjoys a diverse singing career that includes opera, sacred music, and the promotion of music by African American composers. She performs for events in the Houston and Austin, Texas areas including those of professional organizations, corporations, and churches.

Nicole’s operatic roles include Lady Billows in Britten’s Albert Herring, the Queen of the Night and the First Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Lidoine in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, and Lia in Debussy's first opera L’Enfant Prodigue. Her voice can also be heard on the recording of the newly rewritten opera by Duke Ellington called Queenie Pie. Nicole has commanded the stage in San Jose, Costa Rica, and Mazatlan, Mexico as well as in Houston, Galveston, and Austin.

In March of 2007, she produced and performed a concert of works by African American composers. The following year, a much grander sequel became the first ever Black History Music Celebration of The Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin. This celebratory concert is now an established annual event, creating opportunities for not only the musicians onstage but also those in the audience to be introduced to a rich and largely unfamiliar repertoire by African American composers. This concert was last celebrated in February 2019.

Nicole received her Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Houston Moores School of Music, and both her Master of Music degree in Opera (2006) and her Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance and Opera (2011) from the Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin.

Currently, Nicole is the soprano section leader at University Presbyterian Church. She has continued to educate the public on the contributions of Black American Composers to the classical music landscape while performing in various productions, concerts, and recitals.

Page Stephens - Chorus

Page Stephens is a mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, and arts administrator based in Austin, TX with a soft spot for new music. Stephens has premiered works by Matthew Lyons, Donald Grantham, Dana Lyn, Adrienne Inglis, Russell Podgorsek, Alex Heppelmann, Keenan Boswell, Steven Serpa, Nathan Nokes, Franklin Piland, and more. She most recently premiered the role of Eva Mozes Kor in Thomas Yee’s Holocaust remembrance opera Eva and the Angel of Death.

Throughout her time in Austin, Stephens has performed with several UT Austin ensembles, Austin Symphony Orchestra, line upon line percussion, Sō Percussion, Density512, invoke string quartet, Tetractys New Music, Fast Forward Austin, Austin Shakespeare, Austin Chamber Music Center, Butler Opera Center, Inversion Ensemble, the Tinsel Singers, Conspirare, Local Opera Local Artists, and many other organizations and artists.

During the pandemic, Stephens became a founding member of the new music collective Less Than <10, which streamed concerts from 2020-21 and gave their first live performances this year. Additionally, she helped found VAMP, an all-female vocal quintet, which champions music by women and living composers.

Stephens is the Assistant Director of Operations at the Butler School of Music, concurrently working towards her D.M.A. in Vocal Performance & Pedagogy. Prior to singing, she studied dance from childhood through college, which sparked her love for classical music and taught her how to listen deeply.

Holt Skinner - Chorus

Countertenor and Tenor Holt Skinner is a native of West Plains, Missouri, and a graduate of the University of Missouri. This is Holt’s 4th show with LOLA, previously performing in Dido and Aeneas, LOLAs Online Video Series and the 2021 workshop of Lardo Weeping. He lives in Austin, TX and sings regularly with Inversion Ensemble, Texas Early Music Project, Chorus Austin, Ars Longa, and Austin Cantorum.

When not performing, Holt works for Google as a Developer Advocate.

Alexa Capareda - Choreographer, Dodo Bird

Alexa Capareda is a sugar-powered dancing noodle robot who engages in unaffected virtuosity, versatility, and the earnest, and playful.

Alexa began studying ballet in her native Philippines, eventually trained in Austin and Montreal, and danced professionally with Balet Bratislava in Slovakia. Alexa has worked in Austin since 2013 with Performa/Dance, Frank Wo/Men Collective, ARCOS, Magdalena Jarkowiec, Jennifer Sherburn, BLiPSWiTCH, Transitory Sound and Movement Collective, Austin Camerata, and LOLA Austin. She has collaborated with sound artists Steve Parker, Brent Baldwin, and Henna Chou, and visual artists Tom Suhler and Susan Scafati.

She is Rehearsal Director for Ballet Austin II and the Butler Fellows and has restaged and choreographed multiple works for BAII and the fellowship program. She has presented work at Austin Dance Festival, Barnstorm Dance Festival, and Fusebox Festival.

She was a prize winner at the 2013 Festival of Choreographic Miniatures in Serbia and recipient of the 2017 Austin Critics Table Award for Excellence as Dancer. She has a BA in English and a minor in Theater and Dance from UT-Austin.

Daniela Bennetti - Dodo Bird

Born in Tampa, Florida, Daniela received her pre-professional ballet training at Patel Conservatory Youth Ballet until the age of 13, when she was invited to join Next Generation Ballet as a trainee. In 2020, Daniela became a Butler Fellow with Ballet Austin, and in 2021, was promoted to Ballet Austin II. As a member of Ballet Austin II, Daniela has performed in Stephen Mills’s The Nutcracker, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Swan Lake.

She has also had the pleasure of being featured in works such as Maria Konrad’s Portraits, and a piece by Jennifer Archibald performed in Ballet Austin’s Her Stories.

Phil Davidson - Violin

Phil Davidson began playing violin at the age of 6 as a Suzuki kid and went on to major in music at Drake University where he was concertmaster of the university symphony as well as a member of the Des Moines Symphony and Des Moines Metro Opera orchestra. Since moving to Austin in 2002, Phil teaches a full studio of violin, viola, and fiddle students ranging from adult beginners to Suzuki kids as young as age 4. Phil performs regularly throughout the US and Canada with The Invincible Czars, presenting their own new scores to classic silent films.

When in Austin he plays with guitarist Tim Bond, songwriter Andrew Nolte, and various groups from classical to bluegrass to heavy metal to world music. His recent recording credits include Flamenco Symphony, Muppletone, and Proud Peasant.

Barbara George - Cello

Barbara George is a cellist with the San Antonio Symphony and the Pearl Trio. Before coming to Texas she was the principal cellist of the Orlando Philharmonic and a member of the Orlando Philharmonic String Quartet. She was a cello professor at the University of Florida Gainesville and the University of Central Florida. Prior to her principal position, she was a member of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and also performed, recorded, and toured with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, and the Lyric Arts Chamber Ensemble. As a studio musician, she recorded many motion picture soundtracks, commercials, and record albums.

Barbara was awarded a Master of Music degree from the University of California at Los Angeles as a student of Ronald Leonard and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music as a student of Stephen Geber. She has performed at the San Luis Obispo Mozart Festival, the Spoleto Italy Festival, the Sarasota Music Festival, the Mainly Mozart Festival, the Victoria Bach Festival, the Sunflower Music Festival, and the Austin Chamber Music Center Festival. In 2019 Barbara released a solo album, Femme, of all women composers with pianist Jim James.

Ia Ensterä - Set and Props Designer

IA ENSTERÄ has designed sets and costumes for over 200 theatre, dance, and opera productions in the United States and Europe. She earned her BFA in Acting from Texas State University, and her MA in Design for The Performing Arts from Aalto University. In 2015, just before relocating her home base from Austin, TX to Helsinki, Finland, she was awarded the John Austin Award for Conspicuous Versatility by the Austin Critics Table.

Her collaborators have included creatives such as Salvage Vanguard Theater, Breaking String, Zachary Scott Theater, Hyde Park Theatre, Capital T, Rude Mechanicals, Sky Candy, Orange Theatre Company, Teatteri Avoimet Ovet, and En Route Productions (for which she served as Co-Artistic Director), and educational entities such as St.Edwards University, Texas State University, Johns Hopkins University, and Austin Community College (for which she served on the advisory committee to design their scenic construction program).

For her work, Ia Ensterä has been awarded the B.Iden Payne award six times for sets and costumes, the Austin Critics Table award for scenic design for 12 productions, and a few “Best of Austin” nods by the Austin Chronicle. She is currently working on theatrical productions in Finland and the United States, including a set design/art installation for Salvage Vanguard and Blanton Museum of Art in Austin, TX.

Kendra Wiley - Lighting Designer

Kendra S. Wiley (Lighting Designer) holds an M.F.A. in lighting design from the University of Texas at Austin. Kendra is a theatre designer, dancer, and choreographer who explores the intersection of dance and design in their creative work. During the academic year, Kendra teaches theatre technology and design at Concordia University Texas. Kendra is excited to teach Concordia’s first-ever Dance Technique course in the Fall 2022 semester.

Their notable lighting design credits include Disney’s Newsies (Brentwood Christian School 2022), In the Ether (ARCOS Dance 2021), 12 Ophelias (UT Austin 2019), and Good Country (UT Austin New Works Festival 2019). In 2020, Kendra also designed their own M.F.A. thesis performance, in which they performed a twenty-minute solo dance while controlling the lights from the stage.

Ginger Snaps - Wardrobe, Hair and Makeup Designer

Ginger Snaps is a weirdo who likes to make weird art. She is thrilled to be given the opportunity to create with this group of talented artists and friends. When not making physical art Ginger is an award-winning performance artist and full-time shenanigans instigator!

Cheraya Esters - Technical Director and Master Carpenter

Cheraya Esters is a queer builder and maker based out of Austin. They build theatre sets, custom furniture, bus homes, and mobile spaces. They are always looking for exciting projects that help grow the community and arts in this town.

Eric Graham - Director of Cinematography

A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Director/Cinematographer Eric Graham has been making film and video in Austin and beyond since before Clayton Williams made his fateful joke about the weather. His music video for Standing Waves’ “Vertigo” was the first Austin-produced video to run in rotation on MTV.

Over the years, he’s worked on a wide range of video/film projects –TV commercials, documentaries, unscripted TV, corporate, feature films, and many arts-related efforts. He was the Director of Photography for three seasons of the comedy series “Stand Up Empire.” He’s worked with Cirque du Soleil, Dave Chapelle, and countless musical artists from Snoop Dogg and Kacey Musgraves to Paul Simon and David Byrne.

Paul has been a member of the “Austin City Limits” camera team since 2010. In the local performance community, he’s collaborated with Andrea Ariel Dance Theatre, Forklift Danceworks, Austin Opera, Blue Lapis Light, Hyde Park Theatre, Austin Shakespeare, Natalie George Productions, and many others. His work on Paper Chairs’ 2016 production “Art/Model Show: Subject” was nominated for a B. Iden Payne award for Best Media Design.

His many collaborations with LOLA also began in 2016 with their production of “La Femme Boheme.” During the recent pandemic, he’s directed or directed the photography on dozens of livestream performances by musicians and theatre artists, including LOLA’s 2021 workshop livestream of “Lardo Weeping, pt 2.” And he’s very excited to be part of bringing the world premiere of “Lardo Weeping” to a global audience.

Andy Sharp - Sound Design and Engineering

Andy Sharp (sound design/audio technician) is a regular on the LOLA production crew. Recent collaborations include The Diva Cage Match and the Outside Voices series. A University of Texas graduate, his credits include sound design, editing, mixing and production on many records, movies, tv shows and video games.

Carolina Cass - Supertitltes

Carolina Cass has been creating and running super titles for LOLA since 2014. Ms. Cass is a Talent Acquisition Coordinator for VMware, history buff, and mother of two cats, Tobey and Francis.

Adam Fulmer - Production Stage Manager

Adam M. Fulmer is happy to make his LOLA debut. Recent credits include Tosca and The Secret Garden at Chautauqua Opera, Carmen at Sarasota Opera, and La traviata at Austin Opera. Adam is a proud member of the Actors' Equity Association and the American Guild of Musical Artists.

Carlee Abschneider - Assistant Stage Manager

Carlee Abschneider enjoys working on and off the stage. She has had the privilege of working with LOLA as an Events Assistant for the Outside Voices series and is now serving as Assistant Stage Manager for Lardo Weeping! As a singer, Carlee was named the 2019 Vocal Division Winner of the New Texas Symphony Orchestra’s Community Concerto & Aria competition. Carlee has performed with Gilbert & Sullivan Austin, Music On Site, Inc., Texas State Opera, Spotlight on Opera, Varna International Music Academy, Resonance Opera, Texas A&M University-Commerce Opera Ensemble, and Houston Baptist University Opera Workshop.

Carlee appeared as Hanna in the Texas premiere of The Path to Heaven with the TAMUC Opera Ensemble. She particularly enjoys comedic roles and some of her favorite shows to have been a part of were Gallantry and Gianni Schicci. Carlee also enjoys teaching voice and works with students of all ages.

Lisa Goering - Rehearsal Stage Manager

Lisa Goering's stage management credits include: Middletown, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Flea in Her Ear (St. Edward's University); Hedda Gabler, As You Like It, A Streetcar Named Desire (Austin Shakespeare); The Who's Tommy, Ragtime, The Drowsy Chaperone, RENT, Hairspray (ZACH Theatre); Little Shop of Horrors (Zilker Theatre Productions); and It's A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play (Penfold Theatre Company). Lisa has also worked as an ASM for Austin Opera, and as the Production Manager for Jarrott Productions and ZTP. In addition, Lisa works as a costume technician locally and regionally.