John Arsenault
Music Director

John Arsenault has been enjoying a busy musical career in BC since 1998 as a frequent performer of opera, oratorio and choral music. John was a member of the Vancouver Opera Chorus for 14 seasons, during which time he also appeared in a dozen small and supporting roles.

Currently concentrating on engagement as a freelance conductor, John is the former founding Music Director of DragonDiva Operatic Theatre, and the former conductor for the Vancouver Academy of Music opera workshop. He works frequently with small opera companies in British Columbia and has been the principal conductor of Vancouver Island Opera for seven seasons. His other passion is life is Organizational Effectiveness and Leadership Development. In June 2017, John graduates with an MA in Leadership from Royal Roads University.

Jeanine Fynn
Stage Director

Jeanine Fynn is an active director in the Vancouver opera scene who is known for putting twists on traditional works. Trained as a singer and performer, her imagination, experience and expertise are assets to every production she helms. A proponent of Opera as entertainment for all, Jeanine was founding Artistic Director of DragonDiva Operatic Theatre which premiered in 2007 and closed its doors after a triumphant run in the Summer of 2014. The award-winning non-profit company produced semi-professional shows across the lower mainland, giving performance opportunities to young professionals, post-secondary students, and community members. Jeanine is the founding Curator/Director for the viral photography project Fez on a Chaise as part of her ongoing commitment to community engagement. She is also a proud member of Vancouver Opera’s professional chorus, and can be seen in this season’s upcoming production of Requiem for a Lost Girl.

Maria Jung
Collaborative Pianist

Maria Hwa Yeong Jung is an active vocal collaborative pianist from Burnaby.Maria has worked at University of Toronto Faculty of Music as a vocal coach and staff accompanist, and accompanied the renowned Oriana Women’s Chorus and Acquired Taste Choir with conductor Mitchell Pady. She also worked as a music director and repetiteur for the Summer Opera Lyric Theater for the productions of Handel’s Cesare, and Marschner’s Der Vampyr. Maria is a graduate of University of Toronto, where she earned her Master’s degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, and Bachelor’s degree in Music Education under the tutelage of Lydia Wong and Dr. James Parker. Recently graduated from New England Conservatory of Music, she studied with Dr. Cameron Stowe and John Moriarty in the Collaborative Piano Graduate Diploma program. 

She has performed with Music friends recital society as a collaborative artist, worked closely with Opera Mariposa for their production of Puccini’s Gianni Scchichi and debuted as a music director for their opera scenes concert. She is a faculty member at VSO school of music, a vocal coach at Vancouver Academy of Music for their college department and a staff pianist at Shadbolt Center for the Arts Dance department. 

Kevin Armstrong, Tenor
Don Carlo

Kevin Armstrong grew Nelson, British Columbia, where studied guitar, drums and voice. He moved to Montreal to pursue music studies at McGill University, completing his Master’s Degree in Opera Performance. Kevin was a member of Zürich opera’s “Internationales Opernstudio” in 2002, followed by hundreds of performances in numerous theatres, including Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Bremen and Zürich. He performed the role of Pontius Pilate in several productions of Jesus Christ Superstar, and spent several months on tour in Austria, Germany and Switzerland with “Night of the Musicals”. Kevin presently resides in New Westminster, and splits his time between singing and acting in film and television. His credits include featured roles in commercials for Transamerica, General Mills, goodnessKnows, Cox Communications, and appearances in “Lucifer”, “The Flash” and “Arrow”. He performs regularly with Vancouver opera, as well as on the Fringe circuit with his solo performance “Opera for Heathens”.

Allyson Hop, Soprano
Elizabeth de Valois

Soprano, Allyson Hop holds a Master’s degree in Opera from the University of British Columbia and Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Victoria. She participated in several competitions throughout her studies winning the University of Victoria Concerto Competition, the District NATSAA Competition, and an encouragement award from the  Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. She has performed roles such as Suor Dolcina in Suor Angelica; Mařenka in Prodaná nevěsta; La Contessa in Le nozze di Figaro; Donna Anna in Don Giovanni; and the titular role in Rusalka.
In 2016, Allyson was honoured to portray the role of Grandmother in the touring production of Stickboy with Vancouver Opera in Schools and continues to sing with Vancouver Opera. More recently, Allyson explored her love of lieder presenting a concert with pianist Karl Hirzer at the
National Music Centre and subsequently collaborated on a new work as a Stringray Classical artist-in-residence with Studio Bell. Allyson is absolutely thrilled to be performing her first Verdi role with Heroic Opera alongside this wonderful cast and crew!

Andrew Greenwood, Bass-Baritone
King Philip

“Another discovery was the Amonasro of Andrew Greenwood. The young baritone from Vancouver’s voice has a seductive texture. His focused but nevertheless round sound had sufficient power and at the same time creamy elegance. He was able to manipulate Aida with an extremely refined and beautiful vocal sound.” Das Opernglas, February 2011. Recent engagements include: the role of Amonasro in Aida for the Stadttheater Hildesheim, and the Stadttheater Wolfsburg, Germany; Frank in Die Fledermaus for Vancouver Opera; Zuniga in Carmen and The Doctor in Samuel Barber’s Vanessa for Pacific Opera Victoria; the title role in Rigoletto for the Stadttheater Hildesheim; the roles of Prince Yamadori and  The Imperial Commissioner in Madama Butterfly for Vancouver Opera; the title roles in Macbeth, and Nabucco, Enrico in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Germont in La Traviata for Vancouver’s Opera Pro Cantanti; the role of the Emperor in Der Kaiser von Atlantis for City Opera Vancouver; the role of Count Almaviva in Le nozze di Figaro for Opera Kelowna and for the 2006 Okanagan Vocal Arts Festival; Marcello in La bohème for UBC Opera, the 2005 Okanagan Vocal Arts Festival, and for Vancouver Island Opera; Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia for Vancouver Island Opera; Danilo in The Merry Widow for Burnaby Lyric Opera; and guest appearances with UBC Opera in the title roles of Falstaff and Eugene Onegin.

Cameron Killick, Baritone
Rodrigo

With a voice hailed by Opera Canada as ‘stunning’, ‘powerful’ and ‘sonorous’, baritone Cameron Killick has established himself among the forefront of Vancouver’s resident classical singers. He began studying music at the age of 16, attending Douglas College and later transferring to the University of British Columbia where he graduated with a degree in Opera Performance in 2014. He has worked with many of the arts organizations in town including Vancouver Opera, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, City Opera Vancouver, the Post-modern Camerata and the Vancouver Cantata Singers. Recent performance credits include baritone soloist in Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’ with Laudate Singers and the Vancouver Philharmonic Orchestra, Banquo in Verdi’s ‘Macbeth’ with Heroic Opera and Guglielmo from Mozart’s ‘Cosi fan Tutte’ as well as Germont from Verdi’s ‘La Traviata’ with Opera Mariposa. Over the past few years he has branched into music production, arranging and recording, mostly as a means of staying sane during COVID.

Melissa Ratcliff, Mezzo-Soprano
Eboli

Hailed as “brilliant” (Opera Canada) and “honey-voiced” (Review Vancouver), Mezzo-Soprano Melissa studied music at the University of Alberta before moving to Vancouver. Recent appearances include Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte with Opera Mariposa, Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Klytaemnestra in Elektra and Rossweisse in Die Walküre with Heroic Opera,  Lady Jane in Patience Prince Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus with the North Shore Light Opera Society, Griselda in Alma with East Van Opera, Lt. Commander Joanne Galloway in A Few Good Men and Judge Group in Miracle on 34th Street with Theatre in the Country, and Cio Cio San’s Aunt in Madama Butterfly with Burnaby Lyric Opera. Melissa has performed regularly with the Vancouver Bach Choir, Burnaby Lyric Opera, Opera Opulenza, Chilliwack Opera and others.