CAST in order of vocal appearance
RAVEN MCMILLON GILDA
Praised for her“ crisp, silvery tone”( Callum John Blackmore – Parterre Box) and“ fiery coloratura”( Sherry Cheng – Arts and Culture Texas), soprano Raven McMillon is a native of Baltimore, MD and a 2021 Grand Finals Winner of the Metropolitan Opera’ s Eric and Dominique Laffont Competition.
An alumna of the Houston Grand Opera Butler Studio, Raven returned to Houston Grand Opera in 2025-26 season as Clara in Porgy and Bess. She also returns to the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra for Carmina Burana and makes her hometown debut as Gilda in Rigoletto with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.
In the 2024-25 season, Raven made two company debuts, first at Minnesota Opera as Peter in The Snowy Day, then with Washington Concert Opera in her role debut as Servilia in La Clemenza di Tito. She also joined Fort Worth Symphony for the premiere of Jake Heggie’ s Earth Song 2 and sang Salome in Stradella’ s San Giovanni Battista with Catapult Opera.
In previous seasons, Raven has performed with New Orleans opera as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, Austin Opera as Johanna in Sweeney Todd, Welsh National Opera as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte, Opera Philadelphia as Gilda in Rigoletto, Cincinnati Opera as Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, among other roles.
Ms. McMillon received her MM in Vocal Performance at the University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music and her BFA in Vocal Performance at Carnegie Mellon University.
DEBORAH NANSTEEL GIOVANNA
“ A formidable display of vocal power and dramatic assurance,” mezzo-soprano Deborah Nansteel is poised for international stardom, having already performed at almost all the leading opera companies in the U. S.
This season brings several exciting engagements for Ms. Nansteel including a return to The Metropolitan Opera as Teresa in La Sonnambula, a house debut with Minnesota Opera for the world premiere production of B. E. Boykin and Harrison David River’ s My Name is Florence, Mrs. Miller in Douglas J. Cuomo and John Patrick Shanley’ s Doubt for Opera Parallele, a return to North Carolina Opera to sing her acclaimed Azucena in Il trovatore, and Giovanna in Rigoletto with Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. On the concert stage, she will debut at the San Juan Symphony as a featured soloist in Edward Elgar’ s The Music Makers and return to the Kalamazoo Symphony for Mahler’ s Symphony No. 3.
Last season, Ms. Nansteel created the role of civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer in White Snake Project’ s world premiere production of Is This America? She also joined Chicago Opera Theater to sing the role of civil rights pioneer JoAnn Robinson in the world premiere of Jasmine Barnes and Deborah D. E. E. P. Mouton’ s She Who Dared. In addition, Ms. Nansteel made her house debut with Opera Colorado as Azucena in Il trovatore, returned to Dayton Opera as Amneris in Aida, and returned to The Glimmerglass Festival to perform Baba in The Rake’ s Progress, and Mama Cordero in the world premiere of Derek Bermel and Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street.
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