Ricky Ian Gordon is a New-York based composer and writer whose works have been performed at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and all over the USA and Europe. As a leading writer of vocal music that spans art song, opera, and musical theater. Gordon has seen his songs performed and recorded by Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, Nathan Gunn, Nicole Cabell, the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, and Frederica Von Stade. About his work, The New York Times had this to say, “If the music of Ricky Ian Gordon had to be defined by a single quality, it would be the bursting effervescence infusing songs that blithely blur the lines between art song and the high–end Broadway music of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. It’s caviar for a world gorging on pizza!” Gordon’s newest opera, This House (lib. Lynn Nottage and Ruby Aiyo Gerber), makes its world premiere at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis in May of 2025. Gordon’s memoir, “Seeing Through: A Chronicle of Sex, Drugs and Opera” has recently been published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux and is available as an audiobook as well.

Kelsey Lauritano is an American mezzo-soprano of Japanese heritage, originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. She is widely recognized for her expressive artistry and commanding stage presence. Praised by The New York Times for the “warmth” and “heroism” of her voice, by Opera News for her “wondrous power,” and The Boston Globe for a “wine-dark voice with a low range of staggering strength,” she continues to gain international acclaim across operatic and concert repertoire. In May and June of 2025, Lauritano sings the role of Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. She was most recently an ensemble member at Oper Frankfurt, one of Europe’s leading opera houses. Outside of Frankfurt, Lauritano has appeared with the Oregon Symphony, Boston Early Music Festival, New World Symphony, Music Academy of the West, New York Song Festival, Virginia Arts Festival, and Nürnberger Symphoniker. She holds both Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from The Juilliard School. In 2024, she received the Eva Kleinitz Award at the Concorso Lirico Internazionale di Portofino (CLIP) in Italy.