Tenor Daniel Juárez is a familiar and admired presence on opera stages throughout New England, having performed with Opera Theater of Connecticut, Connecticut Lyric Opera, The Connecticut Virtuosi, Opera Connecticut, MassOpera, among others. He is also a frequent recitalist and concert soloist, appearing regularly across the region.
Based in Connecticut, Juárez’s artistry has taken him across the United States and abroad. His operatic repertoire encompasses many of the tenor canon’s most demanding and celebrated roles, including Radamès in Aida, Canio in I Pagliacci, Turiddu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Florestan in Fidelio, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Don José in Carmen, Rodolfo
in La Bohème, the Italian Singer in Der Rosenkavalier, Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly, Erik in The Flying Dutchman, Calaf in Turandot, and the title roles in Faust and Don Carlo.
A graduate of the Yale School of Music, Juárez makes his home in New Haven.
Dramatic Bass Andrew Potter has garnered increasing demand across the country for his larger-than-life stage presence with a voice to match. In recent seasons, Mr. Potter made debuts with Florida Grand Opera as Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte, Dallas Opera as Angelotti in Tosca, and The Jailer/Thierry in Dialogues of the Carmelities, Seattle Opera as Panthée in Les Troyens, Abimelech in Samson et Dalilah, and Mullah/Sharif/Soldier in the world premiere of A Thousand Splendid Suns (Sheila Silver), Opera Omaha as the Commendatore in Don Giovanni,and BlitchinSusannah, Atlanta Opera as Quince in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and he joined the roster of The Metropolitan Opera covering Sarastro in Simon McBurney’s Die Zauberflöte and Timur in Turandot. This season, Mr. Potter makes his Metropolitan Opera debut as Jake Wallace in La fanciulla del West, returns to the role of
Ramfis in Aida Toledo Opera, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte with Opera On the James, and returns to Atlanta Opera as Daland in The Flying Dutchman. Mr. Potter is a Grantee of the Olga Forrai Foundation for dramatic voices.
Praised by the Washington Post for her dramatic intensity and vocal ability, Dramatic Soprano Shannon Jennings continues to wow critics and audiences alike. Ms. Jennings has dazzled in exciting role debuts and star billings, including the title roles of Turandot with Gulfshore Opera and Pacific Opera Project, Tosca with Opera Las Vegas and Annapolis Opera, Rusalka with Opera Orlando and Wichita Grand Opera, and Mimì in La bohème with Charleston Opera Theater, Opera Las Vegas, Kentucky Opera, and more. Ms. Jennings has also been featured by Oscar-winning film composer Michael Giacchino, making her debut with the National Symphony Orchestra and the Philadelphia Orchestra in the world premiere of Giacchino’s ADVENT, and her recording debut as a soloist on Giacchino’s first solo album, Travelogue Volume 1. Last season, Ms. Jennings sang Maria in West Side Story with
Wichita Grand Opera, the soprano solo in Verdi’s Requiem with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, and returned to Wichita Grand Opera as Minnie in La fanciulla del West. This season, she returns in concert to Charleston Opera Theatre, and will return to Turandot in 2027. Ms. Jennings is a Grantee of the Olga Forrai Foundation for dramatic voices.
Dann Coakwell, tenor, has performed as a soloist across Europe, Japan, and throughout the Americas, under renowned conductors such as Helmuth Rilling, Masaaki Suzuki, Monica Huggett, William Christie, María Guinand, Nicholas McGegan, Matthew Halls, and Craig Hella Johnson. He can be heard as a soloist on the Grammy-winning album The Sacred Spirit of Russia (Harmonia Mundi 2014), as well as in multiple other Grammy-nominated and critically acclaimed albums, recent examples of which include Mendelssohn & Bach: Matthäus-passion
(Analekta 2024), James Richman & Dallas Bach Society: Messiah (1741 Original Version) (Onyx Classics 2024), Bruhns: Cantatas and Organ Works, Vol. 1 (BIS 2022), led by Masaaki Suzuki, and Considering Matthew Shepard (Harmonia Mundi 2016).
Dr. Coakwell has performed Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully and David Geffen halls, as well as other prominent New York venues such as Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue and Trinity Church Wall Street. He has appeared as a soloist with organizations such as Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart in Germany, Bach Collegium Japan, Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela, Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Canada, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra in San Francisco, Oregon Bach Festival, Portland Baroque Orchestra and Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra, Bach Choir of Bethlehem, Dallas Bach Society, Conspirare, and the symphony/philharmonic orchestras of Orlando, Charlotte, Nashville, Indianapolis, Quad Cities, and Kansas City.
Specializing in the Evangelist and tenor roles of J.S. Bach, Coakwell has performed numerous productions of all of Bach’s major oratorios — St. Matthew Passion, St. John Passion, Christmas Oratorio, and Mass in B-Minor — as well as many of Bach’s cantatas. Also an enthusiast of Benjamin Britten, Coakwell has appeared in multiple productions of Britten’s Canticles, Serenade for Tenor, Horn, and Strings, and St. Nicolas. Among the most prominent solo and titular roles of other frequently performed composers include: Handel’s Samson, Judas Maccabaeus, Israel in Egypt, Alexander’s Feast, and Messiah; Haydn’s Creation; Mozart Requiem and Mass in c (Levin and Süssmayr completions); Mendelssohn’s Elijah; and Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis.
Dr. Coakwell served for more than two and a half decades as an educator at institutions that have included Yale, Cornell, Ithaca College, and Colgate University, and he has appeared around the US and internationally as a guest teaching artist. He holds an Artist Diploma in Vocal Performance from Yale University, a DMA and MM from Texas Tech University, and a BM from the University of Texas at Austin.
A much sought after accompanist and chamber musician, Blake Hansen holds the position of rehearsal and performance accompanist for the Connecticut Lyric Opera, Hartford Opera Theater, Hartt School Choirs, Madison Lyric Stage, and the Greve Opera Academy in Italy. He also accompanies several choirs in Connecticut, including the choirs of The Hartt School, CONCORA, and the Griswold Community Chorus. As a chamber musician, he currently collaborates with pianist and mezzo-soprano Rebecca Batista de Almeida and violin virtuoso Adrian Sylveen. Hansen has performed in notable venues such as Steinway Hall in New York City, Teatro
Municipal de Niteroi, Brazil, and the Illsley Ball Nordstram Hall in Seattle, Washington.
Blake Hansen graduated from The Hartt School, University of Hartford, in 2013 with a Master of Music in piano performance under the tutelage of Luiz de Moura Castro. He now performs frequently as an accompanist and soloist in the U.S., South America, and Europe. Although primarily a pianist, he also pursued studies in violin, double majoring on both instruments during his undergraduate studies at Principia College.
Dr. Caroline O’Dwyer is a mezzo-soprano from Connecticut with a passion for both performance and pedagogy. As an active concert soloist, Caroline has performed with numerous ensembles, including the New Haven Symphony Orchestra and Greater Middletown Chorale, the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, and the Waterbury Chorale, the Nutmeg Symphony Orchestra, the Eastman Philharmonia, the Cordancia Chamber Orchestra, the Warwick Symphony Orchestra, the Skidmore Orchestra, and the Park Church Chamber Orchestra.
On the operatic stage, Caroline debuted the role of Miriam “Ma” Ferguson in the world premiere of Douglas
Buchanan’s Sackler Award-winning opera, Bessie and Ma (University of Connecticut, 2019). Other roles include: Prince Charmant (Cendrillon), Catherine (Le Mariage aux lanternes), the Abbess (Suor Angelica), Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Cousin Hebe (H.M.S. Pinafore), Hansel (Hansel and Gretel), and Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus).
Equally recognized for her sensitive interpretation of art song, in 2018, Caroline was a national semi-finalist for the prestigious NATS Artist Award. She holds degrees from the University of Connecticut (B.M. and D.M.A.) and the Eastman School of Music (M.M.), and has been an Artist/Teacher of classical voice at the University of Rhode Island since 2018. At URI, she is a three-time recipient of the University Artist Series grant, which supports innovative faculty performances. She has been a guest clinician and performer at Bowling Green State University (2024), and has served as a judge for the Rhode Island Civic Orchestra Vocal Competition and the Connecticut NATS Student auditions.
Caroline also maintains a private voice studio and teaches yoga in Connecticut, where she resides with her husband, Steve and their cat, Harry.