Photos: Donald Lee III Named Music Director, New Handorf Company Artists Named
Soprano Hallie Schmidt, mezzo-soprano Miastasha Gonzalez-Colón, and tenor Reece Ruhl join the company roster.
Opera Memphis has announced Donald Lee III as its new Music Director, along with three new 2026-27 Handorf Company Artists: soprano Hallie Schmidt, mezzo-soprano Miastasha Gonzalez-Colón, and tenor Reece Ruhl.
Donald Lee III, Music Director
American conductor and pianist Donald Lee III has quickly established himself as one of the most compelling young artists of his generation. A recipient of the 2025 Solti Foundation Career Assistance Award, Lee recently conducted the American premiere of Lorin Maazel's 1984 at the Castleton Festival and has appeared on the podium with the Reno Chamber Orchestra and Bay Area Rainbow Symphony. Recent engagements also include Washington National Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, Opera Parallele, and Virginia Opera. In addition to his conducting career, Lee remains an active collaborative pianist, performing in recital with Lawrence Brownlee, Nicole Heaston, and Justin Austin.
More information is available at donaldleeiii.com.
Soprano Hallie Schmidt
American soprano Hallie Schmidt has sung with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Seattle Opera, Pacific Northwest Opera, Central City Opera, Opera Colorado, and Des Moines Metro Opera. Most recently, Hallie made her debut with Central City Opera in The Ballad of Baby Doe, singing Mary, and returned to Pacific Northwest Opera in the spring to sing Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos. Other recent performances include Marie in Daughter of the Regiment (Opera Colorado), and Rose in At the Statue of Venus (Opera Colorado- celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Ellie Caulkins Opera House). Other past roles inclue Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier (Pacific Northwest Opera Opera), Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro, Blonde in The Abduction from the Seraglio, and The Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute (Opera Theatre of St. Louis). This season, Hallie will make her debuts with Opera Memphis, the Kirkland Chorale Society, Opera Omaha, and will return to Pacific Northwest Opera to sing the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute.
More information is available at hallieschmidtsoprano.com.
Falvey-Woodside Mezzo-Soprano Miastasha Gonzalez-Colón
Miastasha Gonzalez-Colón is a Puerto Rican mezzo-soprano from New York City. She has most recently performed as the Composer in Bronx Opera's production of Ariadne auf Naxos, a company with which she has done extensive work. She has performed with them for the past three seasons, singing roles such as Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte and Zita in Gianni Schicchi. This past winter, Miastasha performed as an ensemble member in Amahl and the Night Visitors at Lincoln Center Theater in association with The Metropolitan Opera. Last summer, Miastasha was a resident artist at Central City Opera where she joined the ensemble in Once Upon a Mattress and The Knock while also covering the role of Aisha McNair in The Knock.
Tenor Reece Ruhl
Reece Ruhl is a rising tenor from Paragould, Arkansas. He has been acclaimed for his dynamic, captivating timbre. Reece has been in productions with Opera in the Ozarks, Wichita Grand Opera, and Opera Memphis. He's portrayed Judge Danforth (The Crucible), Rodolfo (La boheme), Le Petit Vieillard (L'enfant et les Sortileges), and more, and has covered Nemorino (L'elisir d'amore), Alfredo (La traviata), and Sam Polk (Susannah). Reece has recently stepped into the concert works as a tenor soloist in Schutz's Johannespassion, Camille Saint-Saens's Oratorio de Noel, and Handel's Messiah. Recently, Reece returned for a second season with the American Institute of Musical Studies (AIMS) in Austria, performing with their orchestra as Duca (Rigoletto) and Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), and portrayed Pinkerton (Madama Butterfly) in the Italian Scenes performance. He competed in the Meistersinger Competition being awarded with an honorable mention singing 'Dein ist mein ganzes Herz'. Reece is an honored alumnus of Arkansas State University (MM, '25), and Henderson State University (BMA, '22).
More information is available at reeceruhl.com.
2026-27 Season Tickets
Opera Memphis' 2026-27 season subscriptions and single tickets are now on sale. A 2026-2027 Opera Memphis subscription includes one ticket to Rigoletto, Opera Goes to Broadway, Pirates of Penzance, Voices of Tomorrow, and Mozart's The Secret Gardener.
Single tickets may be purchased for any event listed below. However, single tickets for Rigoletto must be purchased through the Memphis Symphony Orchestra website, which go on sale August 3rd.
Season Schedule
Rigoletto — In collaboration with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra. Saturday, October 24, 2026 | Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. Savor some of the best music in the canon ('La donna e mobile' & 'Caro Nome') in the service of a story that pits the purest of hearts against the darkest of souls. (Sung in Italian with English surtitles) Single tickets purchased via the Memphis Symphony Box Office.
Opera Goes to Broadway — November 14, 2026 | Location TBD. Handorf Company Artists offer a selection of old favorites and new discoveries from across the Musical Theater spectrum.
The Pirates of Penzance — February 12-14, 2027 | Germantown Performing Arts Center. Can Frederic, a Very Virtuous & Penitent Pirate, escape the Pillaging Pals of his Past while simultaneously finding True Love with the daughter of a Modern Major General? (Sung in English with English subtitles)
Voices of Tomorrow — March 20, 20276 | Location TBD. A selection of works co-curated by Handorf Company Artists, offering a glimpse into the minds and hearts of opera's future superstars.
Mozart's The Secret Gardener (La finta giardiniera) — April 10, 11, 17, 2027 | The Morrow Lawn at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. This Mozart rarity, set entirely in a garden, will receive its regional premiere at the Morrow Lawn at The Dixon Gallery and Gardens. Written when the composer was still a bachelor yearning for love, this fast-paced romantic comedy is filled with secret identities, star-crossed lovers, and tulip jokes. (Sung in English)