11/21/2025
Introducing Our Cast of PAGLIACCI
November 26, 28, 30
www.TheVirtuosi.org
Jax Hassler (CANIO) is a young tenor from the Mountains of Big Sky country Montana. He is dedicated to the lyric and dramatic Italian and French repertoire. He is noted by critic and colleague alike for his “soaring high notes” “generous volume” and meticulous preparation. Jax’s recent roles include Ernani in Ernani with Blue Mountain Opera, Don Jose in Carmen with Amici Opera, Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca with Regina Opera, Canio in I Pagliacci with New Rochelle Opera and Regina Opera, and Turridu in Cavalleria Rusticana with the Philadelphia Orchestra Society. His upcoming roles include Turridu in Cavalleria Rusticana, Canio in I Pagliacci, and Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor. He currently lives in New Jersey and studies with world class tenor and Maestro Di Canto Arturo Spinetti.
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Praised for her “powerful, rich voice with great control,” American soprano Emily Tate Daniel (NEDDA) is quickly rising across diverse repertoire. Her 2024–2025 season features European debuts in Mosset, France, performing scenes from Tosca, Adriana Lecouvreur, and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and in The Hague, presenting a concert of arias. She also makes her role debut as Nedda in Pagliacci with Greve Opera, reprising the role later in 2025. Recent highlights include the title role in Luisa Miller with Verismo Opera, the premiere of Poe Songs by Marie Herrington, and participation in OperaWorks. A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with leading artists and received scholarships, Emily has performed with Opera San José, Livermore Valley Opera, and Asheville Lyric Opera. She is also an alumna of the Peabody Institute, with roles ranging from Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel to Verdi’s Macbeth and Mozart’s Don Giovanni.
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Jonathan R Green (TONIO) is an American Verdi Baritone originally from Chicago and now resides in Harlem NY. He is an alum of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and studied with Richard Miller. Jonathan also attended Indiana University and the University of Kentucky and studied with Tim Noble and Dr Everett McCorvey. Jonathan has been a soloist with the National Choral (NYC) performing as the baritone soloist in Carmina Burana. He has internationally performed at the Sempr Oper (Dresden), Deutsche Oper am Rein (Düsseldorf), Teatro Massimo Bellini (Catania), Teatro San Carlo (Napoli), and most recently Teatro Regio (Torino). His operatic credits include the title roles of Rigoletto, Falstaff, and Figaro (Mozart and Rossini), Scarpia (Tosca), Renato (Un Ballo in maschera), Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Marcello (La Bohème), Crown (Porgy and Bess), and Germont (La Traviata).
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Eliam Ramos (SYLVIO), a Puerto Rican bass-baritone with a rich lyric voice, began his training at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico and debuted in 2011 as Il Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni. His career includes roles such as Balthazar in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Luis Nogales in Luisa Fernanda, Don Pedro in El Barberillo de Lavapies, and performances in the Fauré and Mozart Requiems. He has sung with ensembles and workshops, portraying characters like The Superintendent in Britten’s Albert Herring, Der Tod in Ullmann’s Der Kaiser von Atlantis, and the Priest in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. In New York, Ramos appeared with Brooklyn College Opera Workshop in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims and Verdi’s Rigoletto, and internationally in Donizetti’s Don Pasquale (Spain), Mozart’s Don Giovanni (Israel), and Henze’s El Cimarrón (Mexico). Recent highlights include La Bohème and upcoming performances with Bach in Baltimore and the Metropolitan Opera Guild.
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Known for his expressive, agile singing, Mario De La Garza (BEPPE) is a young up and coming tenor from Brownsville, Texas. He is currently a senior at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, where he studies with Dr. Shayna Isaacs. Roles at UTRGV include Camille in The Merry Widow and Jack in Into the Woods. Mario completed additional studies at Texas State University, where he was seen as Alfred in Die Fledermaus. In the summer of 2024, Mario attended La Musica Lirica, where his roles included Giuseppe in La Traviata and Don Curzio in Le nozze di Figaro. In the summer of 2025, Mario attended Greve Opera Academy, Mario was the tenor soloist in the Mozart Coronation Mass and performed Beppe in Pagliacci, a role he is excited to return to with the Virtuosi Opera.
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Wednesday, November 26 @ 7:30 pm
Opera PAGLIACCI
Garde Arts Center 325 State St., New London, CT
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Friday, November 28 @ 7:30 pm
Opera PAGLIACCI
Santo Fragilio Performing Arts Center 200 LaRosa Lane, Middletown, CT
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Sunday, November 30 @ 6:00 pm
Opera PAGLIACCI
First Presbyterian Church in Hartford 136 Capitol Ave, Hartford, CT
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Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci is a gripping masterpiece that blends raw emotion, unforgettable music, and timeless drama. Audiences should not miss the chance to experience what resonates across generations: love, betrayal, jealousy, and revenge—all set within a traveling performing troupe. The famous aria “Vesti la giubba,” where the lead character Canio sings of hiding heartbreak behind a painted smile, is one of the most iconic moments in operatic history.
