MEET THE CAST
Andrew Manea
nabucco
Kate Jackman
Fenena
American mezzo-soprano Kate Jackman is a multifaceted performer, renowned for her magnetic stage presence and “rich, burning tone.” In the 2024-2025 season, Kate sang the role of Federica in Washington Concert Opera’s highly acclaimed production of Verdi’s Luisa Miller. This season, Kate will return to Maryland Opera to sing Suzuki their upcoming production of Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. Kate will also make her debuts with Orlando Philharmonic in Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, the Greenville Symphony, singing Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs, and Beethoven’s monumental Missa Solemnis with the Helena Symphony. Future engagements include her debut as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Opera Hong Kong and her debut as Fenena in Nabucco with Florida Grand Opera. In other seasons, Kate has proven “winningly wily and dauntless” in repertoire ranging from Baroque to Verismo, and classic repertoire to new works and several premieres. Her roles include Bradamante in Alcina with Fargo-Moorhead Opera, Maddalena in Rigoletto and with Maryland Opera, Prince Orlofsky in several productions of Die Fledermaus, and the lead role of Jennie the Terrier in Oliver Knussen’s Higglety Pigglety Pop! at the Tanglewood Festival of Contemporary Music. Kate has also premiered several roles in operas by Michael Ching, Robert Paterson, Douglas Buchanan, and Joshua Bornfield.
Vanessa Goikoetxea
Abigaille
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James A. Mancuso
Ismaele
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Jongmin Park
Zaccaria
South Korean bass Jongmin Park was born in Seoul and studied singing at the Korean National University of Arts.
As a member of the Accademia del Teatro alla Scala, Milan, he was taught by Mirella Freni, Luciana Serra, Luigi Alva and Renato Bruson. Park was the winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Song Prize in 2015 and was a member of
the prestigious ensemble at Wiener Staatsoper from 2013 until 2019.
In the 2025/26 season, Jongmin returns to the Metropolitan Opera for Colline La bohème and Berlin Staatsoper for Colline and Don Basilio Il Barbiere di Siviglia. He also returns to Teatro alla Scala for Fasolt Das Rheingold, Teatro Real Madrid for Il Cieco Iris and Opéra National de Lorraine for a staged version of Verdi’s Requiem. On the concert scene, he makes his Maggio Musicale debut in Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis led by Zubin Mehta and Ninth Symphony with Daniele Gatti and sings Stravinsky’s Pulcinella with the Czech Philharmonic and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig,
conducted by Semyon Bychkov. He sings Vodnik Rusalka with Domingo Hindoyan and the Liverpool Philharmonic, Hunding Die Walküre with David Afkham and Orquesta y Coro Nacionales de España and Beethoven’s Ninth with
Gustavo Gimeno and the Toronto Symphony.
A highlight of last season was Jongmin’s debut at the prestigious Bayreuther Festspiele as Pogner in their new production of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. He also returned to the Metropolitan Opera for Colline in La bohème, Teatro alla Scala for Fasolt in Das Rheingold, Berlin Staatsoper for Vodnik in Rusalka and Don Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Seoul Arts Center for Enrico in Anna Bolena. On the concert scene he toured with the Kammerakademie
Potsdam, singing the roles of Cuno and Hermit in Die Freischütz at the Nikolaisaal Potsdam, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and Berlin Philharmonie.
He has performed on the stages of The Metropolitan Opera New York, Teatro alla Scala, Wiener Staatsoper, ROH Covent Garden, Teatro Real Madrid, Berlin Staatsoper, Staatsoper Hamburg, Opéra de Rouen, Opéra national de Lorraine, Bergen National Opera, Salzburger Sommer- and Osterfestspiele, Arena di Verona, Savonlinna Festival, Steinbruch St. Margarethen.
On the concert platform, Jongmin has appeared at the BBC Proms, at the Wiener Konzerthaus, Royal Festival Hall, Royal Albert Hall; he has performed solo recitals in Munich and Frankfurt, as well as the Musikverein in Vienna and Wigmore Hall.
In addition to the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2015, other prizes and competitions he has won include the
International Tchaikovsky Competition, and the Birgit Nilsson Wagner-Award at Operalia.