Lyric Opera Of Kansas City Announces 2026-2027 Resident Artists

General Director and CEO Deborah Sandler Kemper has announced the selection of the artists for the Resident Artist Program for the 2026-2027 season. The 2026-2027 Resident Artists include returning soprano Bethany Jelinek, mezzo-soprano Natalie Sweeney, returning tenor David Pelino, and baritone Jon Dirk Ross.

Lyric Opera’s Resident Artist program was inaugurated in the 2016-2017 season. Lyric Opera of Kansas City conducts an extensive audition process to select emerging artists from around the world for its Resident Artist Program. Emerging artists are selected following a series of local and national auditions. During their residency, resident artists appear in mainstage roles, serve as performing resources for education and community engagement initiatives, work with visiting guest artists, participate in masterclasses and career coaching, receive voice lessons and vocal coaching, and study leading roles. Resident artists also receive training in acting, movement, and stage combat under the guidance of industry professionals. Many Lyric Opera resident artist alumni maintain professional careers in the industry. 

“For ten years, the Resident Artist Program has provided a tremendous opportunity for aspiring opera professionals. We welcome this new class of outstanding young artists to Kansas City as they embark on their professional careers,” stated Sandler Kemper. “The program offers invaluable performance experience and the opportunity to learn from accomplished conductors, directors, and guest artists while working alongside seasoned industry professionals. Each year, our resident artists bring remarkable talent, energy, and artistry to our stage, enriching both our productions and our community. We look forward to supporting their development and watching them grow throughout the season.”

The Resident Artists Program is sponsored by the Estate of Richard Hill, Charter Sponsor of the Resident Artists Program, and the Polsky Fund of the Lyric Opera of Kansas City Foundation.

Soprano Bethany Jelinek eagerly returns to Kansas City as a 2026-2027 resident artist. During her residency in the 2024-2025 season, she made her mainstage debut as Diana in Cruzar la Cara de la Luna and performed in the chorus of Turandot. Jelinek performed with the Lyric Opera Learning Department across the Kansas City area as Querulous String in The Haberdasher Prince and made her role debut as Maya in Maya and the Magic Ring. Most recently, she served as the soprano soloist in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Minot Symphony Orchestra. This season, Jelinek will perform as Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro, Edith in The Pirates of Penzance, and the High Priestess in Aida. She will also reprise the role of Maya in Maya and the Magic Ring. In competition, Jelinek was a national semifinalist in the 2024 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, the third-place winner of the inaugural Heartland Sings Vocal Competition, and the Jonathan Pell People’s Choice Award Winner in the 2023 Dallas Opera Guild Biennial Lone Star Vocal Competition. She earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in vocal performance from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

Natalie Sweeney is a mezzo-soprano originally from the Chicago area. She is thrilled to join Lyric Opera of Kansas City as a resident artist for the 2026–2027 season. Natalie’s upcoming roles include Kate in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance and Grandmother in Lori Laitman’s Maya and the Magic Ring. Natalie will also understudy the role of Cherubino in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. Natalie recently earned her master’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. At SFCM, she performed roles including Le Prince Charmant in Massenet’s Cendrillon and Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte. Natalie is also a passionate performer of baroque music, and she performed the role of Ruggiero in Handel’s Alcina and the title role in Handel’s Orlando with the SFCM baroque ensemble. Natalie was a 2023 emerging artist with Seagle Festival, where she crossed over into musical theatre repertoire as Chava in Fiddler on the Roof and Countess Charlotte Malcolm in A Little Night Music. Natalie earned her Bachelor of Music—along with a Bachelor of Science in Physics—from Michigan State University.

David Pelino, Tenor a Haitian American vocalist brings his “powerful tenor” (South Florida Classical Review) to venues across America. This season, David returns to the Resident Artist Program to sing the mainstage roles of Don Basilio and Don Curzio in The Marriage of Figaro, and The Messenger in Aida, as well as the role of the Unicorn in the touring production of Maya and the Magic Ring. In concert, David has sung with reputable arts organizations such as Bach Akademie Charlotte and the Illinois Bach Academy. His most recent concert debut was as the tenor soloist in Rachmaninoff’s The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom with The Thirteen. His versatile, lyric instrument has enabled him to be the soloist in other major works such as Handel’s Messiah, Haydn’s The Creation and Lord Nelson Mass, Theodore Dubois’s The Seven Last Words of Christ, Benjamin Britten’s Rejoice in the Lamb, Adolphus Hailstork’s I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes, Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil, and as the Evangelist in J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion.

On stage, he recently made his role debuts with the Lyric Opera of Kansas City as The Ballad Singer in Carlisle Floyd’s Of Mice and Men and Nelson in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. His other role credits include Don José in Carmen, Booker T. Washington in Ragtime: the Musical, Wesley Harris in Paul Moravec’s Sanctuary Road, Sam Polk in Floyd’s Susannah, Frederic in The Pirates of Penzance, and King Kaspar in Amahl and the Night Visitors.

Baritone Jon ‘Dirk’ Ross is a recent graduate of Angelo State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Music in vocal performance under the tutelage of Dr. Mark Covey. While at Angelo State, he performed the roles of Aeneas (Dido and Aeneas) and Papageno (The Magic Flute). Additional operatic credits include the title role in Gianni Schicchi with Chicago Summer Opera as well as appearances in scenes such as Malatesta (Don Pasquale), Marcello (La bohème), and Figaro (The Barber of Seville). He has also appeared with the San Angelo Symphony and the Permian Basin Opera Company.

At just twenty years old, Ross received an encouragement award from the Metropolitan Opera Laffont competition. He has since placed first in the Southwestern NATS competition and second in the Young Artist Crossover Division of Opera Mississippi’s 2026 John Alexander National Vocal Competition. Summer training programs include the Mediterranean Opera Festival and Studio, AIMS in Graz, Chicago Summer Opera, and OperaMaya. He is a proud recipient of the Presser Scholar Award and the 2025 Schmidt Vocal Arts Alumni Grant. For Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Dirk will sing the mainstage roles of Schaunard in La bohème, Antonio in The Marriage of Figaro, Samuel in The Pirates of Penzance, and the role of the Cat in the tour of Maya and the Magic Ring.

The 2026–2027 season is sponsored by the Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts; the Muriel McBrien Kauffman Family Foundation; the Lyric Opera of Kansas City Foundation; and R.C. Kemper Charitable Trust and Foundation, UMB Bank, n.a., Trustee; with public support from Missouri Arts Council, a state agency.

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